#i’m super excited to see what you make my Santa!! i’m sure it’s going to look amazing | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

chronically-ghosted · 11 months ago

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Have Yourself a Moreno Little Christmas

rating: T

pairing: marcus moreno x f!reader

word count: 6K

summary: when the Morenos' happy Christmas is in jeopardy, you think quick and invite them on a trip to an old family tradition. If he’s grateful, would it be safe to tell him how you feel? But why do you think he might already know? What if he feels the same way?

warnings: heavily influenced by the movie While You Were Sleeping, your typical amount of angst for a romcom, mutual pining, ballet in the park, a moody pre-teen, brief discussions of losing a loved one (parent/partner), bad dad jokes, canoodling in the park, one steamy kiss and a few other softer ones

a/n: Happy Secret Santa @noisynaia! You had Marcus M as your number one Pedro boy of choice, and given that I’d never written for him before, I wanted to do something wholesome and sweet in the world of super heroes. The Nutcracker has always been near and dear to me so I hope you like this take on it! @pedrostories

This will be my last fic of 2023 so - much love, stay warm, and happy holidays! 🤍Masterlist

What do you get a man who has everything for Christmas? A tie? A money clip? Something aggressively manly that smells like woodsmoke, patchouli oil, and the raw sweat of a lumberjack after felling a thousand forests?

What do you get a superhero for Christmas? Indestructible tights? A decorative plaque for his swords? A life-time supply of gauze and iodine?

What do you get for your boss, superpowered and single, with the ability to turn a paperclip into a rose? A silver ball into a flat pancake? Decorative swords into deadly weapons? What do you get him that is even remotely useful or exciting or heartwarming when he is so busy with being a single father and mentor, a symbol and an icon, all while running the world’s foremost superhero operation?

Somehow, “world’s best boss” mug feels rather . . . subpar.

What do you get him if he’s become one of your closest friends? When you try to wiggle some sort of information out of him about a potential gift on one of the many long nights where you’re stuck together doing paperwork for the UN and the NSA – but he is annoyingly vague.

His daughter – a fiery mix of headstrong and thoughtful, soothed by a loving kindness that clearly runs in the family – is no help. She teases you with promises “oh yeah, definitely get him a new spatula” when you both know the man has never been anywhere near a BBQ grill. You give her the rest of the Reeses that didn’t make it into the community candy bowl anyway.

You can’t ask for ideas from his mother, or his teammates, the security guards at the headquarter doors, anyone with eyes (who’s not ten years old) because then they’ll know, you sure of it. They’ll see and that’s just not something you can ever, ever, ever bring up because . . .

What do you get for a man who is your boss, a superhero, a leader, a father, your boss, a very close friend, your boss, someone you very much admire . . . and as a result, have fallen deeply, painfully, achingly in love with?

Your still beating heart on a silver platter seems like the obvious choice. A bowl of your tears for unrequited love is a definitely strong second option. A lock of your hair so the FBI can easily identify you as his certifiably insane stalker – there we go, brilliant idea.

A kiss under the mistletoe? A promise for more?

That damned mug is looking better and better every day.

You knock three times, then one more before opening the door. Behind unnecessarily thick glasses, Marcus glances up, life returning to his face when his eyes fall on you.

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry to interrupt, sir, but the president of Belize is on line one for you.”

The man with sticky, molded blonde hair sitting across from Marcus turns around and smiles. His teeth are freakishly white, all stacked together in tight, proper rows. His suit, freshly pressed and clean of any evidence of interaction with the world, carries a giant button on the lapel: Vote Tine!

“President of Belize, my, my, Mr. Moreno, you are a busy man!”

Marcus stands, his gaze peeling off you to the politician in front of him. “Mr. Tine, I apologize, but I have to cut this meeting short–,”

“Ah, it’s no trouble at all!” He stands, batting his hand through the air. “Just as long as we’ll see you at the next rally, right, Marcus?”

He holds out a perfectly square hand and with a tight-lipped grin, Marcus shakes Tine’s hand.

“We’ll see, Senator.”

“Wonderful, wonderful, alright, I’ll get out of your hair. Mr. Moreno . . .” he bows slightly before turning in the direction of the door. You catch a glimpse of him the instant the smarmy smile slides off his face as, with wolf-ish eyes, he evaluates you from your ankles to the candy-cane broach on your chest. You don’t smile as you shut the door after him – as if you’d be bothered by greasy politicians and their wandering eyes.

Marcus all but slumps back in his chair before taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes with his palms.

“Every time election season comes around, they all want the Heroics’ vote. Until Miracle Guy chucks Dr. Evil through the Empire State Building and suddenly it’s ‘we need these vigilantes off our streets’ . . .” He shakes his head and slips his glasses back on, watching as you take the vacated seat. “Sorry, none of this is your problem. What does the president of Belize want?”

“Well, if it makes you feel any better,” you say, tapping the corner of your pad with your stylus, “his slogan sucks. Justine Tine – just in time. I’m not unconvinced he didn’t change his name for the sake of a cheesy one-liner.”

A small smile cracks open the dreary look on Marcus’s face. His eyes flicker to the door. “Seems like the type, doesn’t he? I think you’re onto something.”

“So that’s item one, for the day.” You stand, curling your pad into your arms, you lean on Marcus’s desk, knee against the edge.

He stares intently at your face.

“Number two, I just checked our records and there’s no Dr. Evil anywhere in our data banks. The Empire State building is safe, for now, so you can stop worrying about that.”

You mime-checking off something on your pad and the grin on Marcus’s face softens.

“And number three . . .” you pick up the phone on his desk, that suspiciously doesn’t have any blinking red lights. Marcus frowns, noticing this for the first time, when you lift up the receiver and drop it down. His mouth parts.

“Belize has a monarchy. A king, not a president.”

The frown deepens. You wait. And light parts the sky.

“Oh. Oh – you didn’t – that’s – really?”

His eyes are round, wide, relieved, and you want nothing more than to run your hands through those curls. To rub those broad shoulders loose of their tension. But rearranging meetings and make up fake world leaders to give him a break is the best you can do.

“Yes, really. The Heroics are prepared to make a sizable donation to Tine’s cause, and he will thank us at his next rally. So, Mr. Moreno, your next meeting isn’t for another hour, how would you like to spend it?” You smile, tapping your hanging shoe on the ball of your foot. “I suggest using it to eat something. Have you eaten anything today?”

Marcus sighs, eyes falling shut for just a moment. “What, and I mean this from the bottom of my heart, would I do without you?”

You avert your eyes before the heat in your cheeks climbs too high, his eyes on you, and you hop off his desk.

“Would you, hmm,” you clear your throat, your voice cracking in half, “would you like me to order something and have it delivered, Mr. Moreno?”

He’s chewing on the skin below his lip when you raise your head from the pad in your arms. Being indestructible is one thing; having his face entirely inscrutable is one of Marcus’s most impressive superpowers. He nods, the look of distant contemplation gone. He flips through a few of the notes you’ve left him on his desk – calls to return, items for next week, reports he needs to sign: busy work.

“Yeah, uh, that’s great. Pick something up for yourself too.”

The mood has soured and you’re not quite sure how or why it happened. A second ago Marcus looked like he was going to pick you up and twirl you around the room. Now, he doesn’t want anything to do with you. You nervously tap your stylus against your pad.

“Yes, Mr. Moreno.”

You turn to go, his head down, his gaze fixated on whatever isn’t you, when he calls out your name again.

“Oh, um, did you manage to get anything out of Missy abour what she wants for Christmas when she was here last Friday?”

You pause, remembering the uncharacteristically morose girl spinning listlessly in your chair while you watched from the break room as the hot cocoa warmed up in the microwave. You’d never seen so much as a pout on the girl before and no matter what you did, she didn’t crack a single smile.

“No, she didn’t tell me anything, but . . .” Now this is the part of your job that you loathe the most: trying to figure out the line. You saw Marcus as a friend, absolutely, but it’s not like you went and played volleyball on the beach with him, or went bar-hopping, or whatever it is adults with friends do. You love Missy more than you thought you could ever care about a child who isn’t your own, but you wavered how much to press her on her mood, because how did she see you? Nothing more than her father’s employee, most likely. In the end, you ended up getting one word answers from her until Marcus left his office thirty minutes later.

But here you go, overstepping boundaries . . .

“Mr. Moreno, is she alright? The last time she was here, she seemed . . . I don’t know, sad?”

Marcus’s jaw tightened, his eyes sharpened. You opened your mouth to profusely apologize when –

“Fuck.” Marcus tosses his glasses onto his desk and buries his head in his hands. The instinct to put your arms around him is so strong you take a step forward before you remember exactly who you are.

How do you comfort the man you love when you shouldn’t love him at all? How do you comfort a superhero, when he’s a father first and human second?

Keeping the desk firmly between you, you drop your pad onto one of the chairs and as slowly as you dare, you touch his forearm. He leans, not away, but towards you. He lowers his arms as you keep your touch on him. You squeeze once, looking down at his hopeless expression.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen with Missy?”

Marcus shifts his arm beneath your fingers, his fingers twitching, as if he wants to take your hand but instead puts his other hand over yours.

“This Christmas has just been really hard.”

The words are out of your mouth before you can stop them: “tell me.”

He looks up at you, eyes warm and wide in a way that only his can. Indestructible in the face of evil, inscrutable with his secrets, Marcus’s greatest weakness is Missy, and he knows it. You know you’re crossing a dozen professional lines leaning over him like you are, touching him like you are, asking him to open up. But you don’t care.

He presses his lips together, hesitant. He won’t look you in the eye. “You have to understand something first. Missy’s mom loved Christmas.”

His hand over yours tightens gently as if he thinks you’re going to pull away. You hadn’t considered it but your palm went a little damp at the mention of her.

Oh God, you’ve so played your hand wrong.

Marcus inhales, his gaze on your knuckles. “Isabel, that was her name, and every year Isabel made Christmas this big event. And every Christmas she bought Missy a little nutcracker. Missy was barely out of diapers at the time, I don’t think she even knew what they were, but she loved them. Thought they were the funniest things with their teeth and stuffy white hair . . . but he other day, going through the decoration box, Missy found them all and I guess she suddenly remembered all those Christmases with her mom and she, uh . . .”

He taps your wrist with his thumb, a tell he has when he’s nervous. The seat squeaks slightly as he adjusts himself in it.

“I haven’t been putting out the nutcrackers that Isabel gave Missy. The Christmas after she died, I couldn’t bring myself to put out any sort of real decorations, except for the tree. Missy was so young, I don’t think she cared. But as she got older, she never asked about the nutcrackers so I hoped she just . . . forgot about them. And she did, until she found them last Friday.”

“Last Friday?” You feel like you’ve been sucking on cotton. “Before she came to the office?”

Marcus nods.

“Oh, M-Mar-Mr. Moreno, I’m so sorry. That’s terrible.”

“She was furious that I tried to hide something of her mother’s from her. And she’s right. I was a coward.”

This move is an intentional one. You slip your hand out from his and cup his fingers around yours, as if guiding him. He finally looks up at you, guilt and shame and grief streaking his face like blurry rain against a window pane.

“You are the bravest man I know, Marcus Moreno. You’re a superhero and a single father. Most people can barely handle one. She’ll come around, I promise.”

You swallow the urge to bring his knuckles to your lips, and instead squeeze both of his hands and let go. You slide away from the desk, your heart tight in your chest when his thumbs pass over the palm of your hand. The look on his face is disappointed, you want to believe.

“Thank you. For listening and, uh, everything else. You’re right. I’ll just . . . well, I don’t know what I’ll do but I’ll figure something out.” He leans back, elbows on the chair’s handles. Marcus Moreno, or what you know of him, doesn’t like to dwell, so you watch some of the heaviness shift from his eyes the moment he decides to change the subject. “What are you doing for Christmas? Are you staying in town? Going to see family – or a boyfriend?”

The warm in your chest, lingering from his hands, suddenly bolts across your face. “No, no, um, no, there’s no one –,” Would it be pathetic if you fanned yourself with your pad? God, how does the man work in here for hours with no fresh air? “No, I’m not going home to anyone but I am . . .”

And suddenly there it is. A solution to your Christmas present debacle and maybe a way to save Christmas for Missy Moreno.

You shake your head, beating back the rising heat in your cheeks. “Actually, are you and Missy doing anything this weekend?”

Marcus seems taken aback from this sudden turn in the conversation.

“Um, no. I don’t think so. Why do you ask?”

“If you’ll let me, I’d like to show you and Missy something really, really special.”

You swear the tips of his ears go pink. “Uh, okay. Sure. I-I’ll have to clear it with Missy, but yeah, alright. What time?”

“I’ll put it in your calendar.” You smile and slip your stylus back into your pad. “Have a nice lunch, Mr. Moreno.”

He shakes his head and scratches the back of his neck as you head for the door.

“How many times do I have to ask you to call me, Marcus?

You pause with your handle on the door. “At least once more, Mr. Moreno.”

The mug drops to last place.

Good news.

If you’re ever stranded on a desert island, you’ll survive because you are already intimately familiar with the taste of your own foot in your mouth.

Why did you open with “Hey Missy, your dad tells me you’ve been having a rough Christmas?” to a sullen, grieving pre-teen?

And can time actually go slower, when the air is so stifled with tension? When you’re absolutely sure you’re breathing too loud?

You’ve been glancing at Missy in the rear view mirror for the dozenth time in twice as many miles. Her face is turned towards the window so you can’t actually see the murderous rage in her eyes, but oh wow do you feel it. Nevermind superpowers, this little girl could char you to a crisp with her eyes alone. Potential step-mom failure award goes to . . .

“So.” Marcus clears his throat and you tear your eyes back from the back of his daughter’s head. The fraught silence of the car stretches just long enough after Marcus’s statement to grate ever so gently – “um, how do you, uh, know about this place? Wherever, we’re going.”

You bite the corner of your mouth. Marcus doesn’t appear angry that you’ve soured the mood with Missy before the drive even began. In fact, he looks genuinely curious, the light in his eyes bright. If it weren’t for that single line between his brows, you assume nothing is wrong, but you know that almost frown. Marcus is anxious.

Great.

You settle back in your seat, trying to look as relaxed as you can in a pillowy jacket, your hat and gloves in Marcus’s lap, along with his own. The snow outside stopped falling only a few minutes ago, lining the trees and road with a crisp sparkling white. If anything, it ended up being a beautiful day.

You flex your hand around the steering wheel, trying to summon courage up through your body like your lungs inhale air.

“It’s an old family tradition, actually. My folks would take us out here every year to watch . . . to watch the show.” You glance at him briefly before checking to see if that piqued anything from the roiling black cloud in the back. It didn’t. You hadn’t told either one of the Morenos your plans for this Christmas day. “But I haven’t been back in a while.”

“Why not? And please don’t say it's because of work.” The lilt in his voice has you looking at him, long enough to watch a small smile uncurl. You really thought it was impossible for Marcus Moreno to get any cuter, but with his woolen floppy cap covering his ears and the little white bob at the end fluttering in the warm heater air, you force yourself to remember you’re driving a 3000 pound metal death machine if you stare, starry-eyed, for too long.

“No, it’s not because of work,” you grin back and his own crosses completely across his mouth. “It’s not work related . . . but um, after my parents passed away, my brother and sister moved across the country.” Your hands crinkle around the steering wheel. “I’ve spent most of my Christmas’s alone ever since. Coming here without them, i-it felt . . . wrong.”

In the rear view mirror, you think you see her move.

“That’s terrible. I’m sorry.” The weight of Marcus’s gaze, his own planetary gravitational pull, has your nose drawing down then over. He looks genuinely regretful of your situation and you’re suddenly hit with the understanding that not only did Missy lose a mother, but Marcus lost a wife.

Hell, maybe you can just continue up the bone and eat your whole leg while you’re at it.

“Mhm hmm.”

The rest of the car right goes on in silence, except for the faint, ghost-like christmas carols playing from the speakers through your phone.

When you pull off the dirt road and park your car in the cold grass with dozens of other vehicles, you can’t unbuckle fast enough. The patches of icy dead grass snap beneath your boots as you climb out of the car, and you’re struck in the face with a chilly wind.

The words are on your tongue as you look at him over the hood of the car, the breeze snagging the little puff ball on the end of his cap, his glasses already misting over.

I’m so sorry, Marcus, this was such a bad idea.

I don’t know how to talk about my grief or anyone else's and it’s been drowning me for years but I don’t want to pull you down with me.

I’ll drive you anywhere you want I’m so–

“Is this the Stanley Amphitheater?” Marcus takes off his glasses and rubs the condensation away. “This is where they have that jazz festival every summer, right?”

You’re so surprised by his tone that all you can do is blurt out: “yes.”

“So cool! I’ve actually been dying to check this place out!”

“Y-yeah?”

He smiles at you and you have to grab onto the door frame to keep your knees from buckling.

“C’mon, Missy.”

Tugging his hat further over his head, Marcus lopes forward and then he turns and reaches out for his daughter. The moment arcs, Missy’s stone faced glare demanding that he drop his hand, that he turn away from her, an inch away from leaving a mark that aches in a way that only a loving parent can feel from their loved child –

And she takes his hand.

You watch them follow the crowd, blanket in hand, just a few steps behind them, and you breathe out.

Across the stone amphitheater, a low murmur of dozens of eager voices vibrate in the dugout cup of the earth. Children squirm with anticipation in their parents’ laps, couples share lingering gazes over steaming styrofoam cups of hot chocolate, an air of excitement and delight hovering between chapped lips and knitted gloves as the sun arcs lower in the sky. Just in front of the large stage, a live orchestra prepares, discordant cords breaking and rising like smoke.

A man in a striped hat sells buttery popcorn and sweet, crunchy kettle corn in a small wooden hut a distance from the theater. A few families wait in line, children teasing one another behind their parents, their laughter light on the breezy air.

“So, what is this?” Your head whips around at Missy’s first sentence all day. Marcus looks at you equally stunned. The blanket you’ve spread across three laps keeps you intentionally close so you have to lean back slightly to see her face.

“It’s, um–,”

“Missy, do you like ballet?” You ask

Beneath her maroon hat, her eyes lift up, her back straightening from its hunch. You wouldn’t call her look eager, but you cannot deny there’s interest.

She nods.

“Well, what we’re about to see is a very special ballet performance. Some people who have powers like your dad, they don’t go into crime fighting. Instead, they use their powers to make art.”

She blinks, eyes widening. “What do you mean?”

“You’ll have to wait and see.”

The fringe smile is hidden by a curtain of hair as Missy tilts her head down to her shoes, nodding. Marcus glances at you over the wool of her hat, surprise thinning the lines around his eyes.

“It’s getting kind of cold,” he says slowly, to no one in particular. “Anyone want some hot chocolate?”

“I do,” you wave. Missy nods, grumbling.

Marcus waves over a woman in a striped hat as she wanders through the crowd. The metal box, hanging around her neck and strapped to her back reads, refreshments.

He pays for three styrofoam cups just as the lights in the back of the amphitheater flicker and the orchestra winds down to silence.

Despite the burgeoning chill in the air, and despite the grief dividing yet binding the three of you, and despite the fact that this may be your one chance for Marcus to see you as anything other than his assistant, you’re hopeful. Maybe it’s the music itself, that way that music has to ignite your soul when you need it the most, or maybe it’s the spirit of the season, but for the first time in a long, long time, you don’t feel so lonely. In fact, you can’t remember a time you’ve felt more connected than you do with the people next to you.

Missy’s eyes are bright, flitting around the stage as if determined to not miss a single thing, the cocoa in her hands leaving a dark rim around her mouth that she is blissfully ignorant of. That already full feeling in your chest expands and you want nothing more than to hug her, hug her till she’s warm and hug her till she’s happy. Behind her, her father moves and it catches your eye.

Marcus has never looked at you before the way he is now. Inscrutable, undefined, but it packs such a punch in your chest it feels like you gulped down your entire cup of hot chocolate in one go. You turn away, fearful of what he might see in your eyes, and realize the enormity of what you feel, how it’s all consuming and tugs at you when you least expect it.

The music begins to swell just as the sun sets and the lights at the rim of the theater fade. You take a shaky inhale – nerves and excitement and memories good and bad weighing on your shoulders.

And then it begins to snow.

But not from the sky and it’s not yet cold enough for the consistent sprinkle. Snowflakes tangle with your eyelashes, in the wool of your cap. Then Missy gasps as a translucent ice crystal the size of her palm trickles down into her lap. Glinting like glass, the intricate design of the crystal flashes once before disappearing – not melting – just gone. Around you, other children hold out, giggling their hands as more beautiful flakes of enormous size flutter down from the inexplicable snow drift. A few adults reach out to grab some that burst like bubbles, a wondrous awe crescendoing across the crowd.

From the wings of the stage, a man and a woman, dressed in beautiful light blues and silvers, silks glittering with inset shimmering stones, walk across the stage, their arms moving slowly, thoughtfully.

In sync, they coax the air and the snow follows in a dance of white. Delighted shouts rise up as the snow and ice spin together, arcing and weaving, capturing the essence of a winter wind. The pair on stage bend, their hands flung backwards in a bow and the ball of snow shatters in an icy solar flare, the million white flakes fluttering over the crowd.

Out of the exhilarated murmur that overtakes the crowd, one noise stands out above the rest.

Missy laughs. She laughs as she watches a snowflake melt on the end of her nose.

You wish desperately you could squeeze her to you.

The crowd applauds the snow dancers, bowing again before exiting the stage, as a woman in black steps out. Her short-cropped hair is nearly as white as the snow still melting on the ground and her eyes are crinkled at the edges. When she speaks, her voice booms without the aid of a mic.

“Thank you and welcome to another annual Stanley Kirby production of The Nutcracker.”

Missy’s smile doesn’t fall from her face. In fact it widens. Your heart is pounding in your chest, as you watch her from the corner of your eye.

“I’ve been directing this play for twenty years now and I can honestly say I find something new and beautiful about it every time. Winter is often seen as the end stage, symbolized through literature and poetry as the time when we humans grow old. But I like to think that doesn’t always have to be true. Spirit, however you like to think of it, is exactly that: an endurance, a bravery, a force greater than ourselves that we can either embrace or let slide through our fingers. We hope you leave today with a little bit more spirit in you. Thank you for coming and we hope you enjoy the show.”

She bows as two men enter in from the wings, these dressed in brown and green, the crowd clapping for both the director and the new players.

A little girl, in ballet shoes and a pink dress with ruffles, her hair down to her back and tied out of her face with a bow, joins them on the stage and sits down in the center as the heavy velvet curtains pull back to reveal a backdrop imitating a hallway. With a large door, two round, gilded mirrors and a single chair.

The orchestra begins, the dancers lifting their hands with a wave of a conductor.

Shadows flicker at the back of the theater, eliciting shocked, almost horrified gasps from the crowd. But you know what’s coming. You don’t turn around. You smile.

Beside you both Missy and Marcus stare, mouths open, as eleven foot tall wooden nutcrackers amble down the stone steps between the seats, their knees stocky, their weight uneven as they march towards the stage. Their giant mouths creak and groan as the switch on their backs moves without any visible force. The green and red paint shines in the lights from the stage, their silver buttons glowing like stars. The dancers in brown coax them closer with a curl of their fingers and a bend in their arms. They begin to sway and spin across the stage, their legs outstretched and their feet curved into satin shoes, the little girl paying them no mind. Instead, she gets on her knees and waves to the marching soldiers.

More awed gasps as now teddy bears then porcelain dolls, the size of elephants, follow the nutcrackers down the steps, the orchestra keeping time and building a sense of whimsy and joy. The little girl bounds to the edge of the stage as the first wave of soldiers approaches. With a kiss from her hand into the wind, the first nutcracker freezes and then shrinks, the dancer behind the girl flicking his wrist. The crowd hums with delight as the nutcracker, now the size of a toy, floats next to the chair. One by one, the little girl greets the marching toys just before they shrink and find a place next to the chair.

With the last doll fluttering in the wind as it settles, the little girl spins and twirls until she drops into the chair and seemingly to sleep.

The crowd roars with joy, a thunderous applause swelling in the amphitheater.

But, best of all, Missy is on her feet, cheering and clapping. Her face glows in the light of the stage, her eyes bright and hopeful, her cheeks pink and chapped. In the shadows that flicker of people moving and applauding, beyond Missy’s curly hair, Marcus stares at you in a way that makes your heart grow bigger with every beat, his own silent music swelling the cage of your ribs.

He reaches out his hand for you and you take it.

He keeps holding you long after Missy sits down and the ballet continues.

A nearby park has set up Christmas lights in the trees and on the pathway. Missy, after promising to stay close, has gone and disappeared in the dark, off playing with a few of the other children who stayed after the show was over.

Families sit on benches under covered awnings, the dark night cold but not encroaching, a food truck selling churros and Mexican hot chocolate mystifying the chilly air into white puffs as they serve eager mouths and cold hands.

You walk the lighted path with Marcus, your arm tucked up around his.

The sounds of children laughing fill the comfortable silence between you two.

“This is going to be embarrassingly underwhelming,” he says quietly, the warmth of his body enough to keep a shiver at bay. “But thank you. That was incredible. I mean, I’ve seen The Nutcracker before, but this . . .”

He trails off, shaking his head, awe curling his mouth open.

“It’s pretty fantastic, right?” You smile up at him and squeeze his arm.

He closes his mouth just as his eyebrows jump.

“Kinda makes me wonder if I picked the wrong profession, if other people are using their powers like that.”

You chuckle lowly. “Ha, as if there’s anything you could be except a superhero.”

“What do you mean?” The tone in his voice makes you pause. Just around the curve of the path, you’re hidden by silver-dripped trees and frost-covered shrubs. No children run here and the lights on the path are muffled by the overgrowth.

His eyes are dark when you look into them, but dark in the way under the covers of your parents bed is dark, or the dark in your friend’s mouths when they’re torn open with laughter. Dark in a way that holds and comforts and sinks deep. White mist puffs from his chapped lips, nose pink and cold. The lint from his scarf has stuck to the base of his neck.

“You have to save people. It’s who you are. I don’t believe for a second there’s any part of you that could sit by and watch terrible things happen to good people. Your powers don’t change that.” You swallow, fingering the snaps on his coat as you stand face to face, the decision to say the words on your tongue nearly splitting you apart. “You saved me. If that counts for anything. You saved me from being alone on another really shitty Christmas and I–,”

The soft but determined press of his lips against yours brings silence to the grove, your words dissipating into the air like snowflakes. The whole of the world narrows down to the sensation of his mouth on yours; you forget the cold, the chilly burn on your cheeks, the sweat on your hairline where your woolen cap sits. You forget the sound of people in the distance, forget the lights in the darkness. He kisses like he works, methodically, confidently, and with intention.

His well-kept mustache tickles your nose, his lips a little torn from the cold, but the heat of his mouth warms you to your core. He holds you, his scratchy mitten against your cheek, the rest of him staying perfectly still, letting you savor his touch, commit the shape of his mouth, and by the quietest of moans rumbling in his chest, you think he might be doing the same.

In the split second where you think he’s going to pull back, he cups the back of your head in his glove, sealing the hair around your shoulders to the collar of your jacket. Emboldened by your soft inhale, he turns his head, opening his mouth and more of himself up to you, and you, in turn, run as far as you can with this. You slip your arms around his scarf, trying to get at the heat of his throat, as he gathers as much as he can of you into him.

You aren’t sure who eases you both back down from the clouds, who lifts hands and pulls apart, but your mouths separate, your noses inches from each other, and great plumes of white mist rise from your heated gasps.

“So I’m not crazy,” he murmurs, his eyes nearly completely hidden behind condensation. “There is something here. You feel it too.”

“Yes, Marcus, God, yes.” You close your eyes and bump your head against his as he sniffs in the cold, his cheeks flaming.

“That’s what it takes to get you to call me Marcus, huh? A kiss that knocks your socks off?”

You shake your head, laughing, your nose seeking out the solace of his warm skin. “‘Knocks your socks off’, you’re such a dad.”

“Yeah, I am. And you made my daughter happier than I’ve seen her in weeks. I’ll never forget that.”

The heavy rasp of his voice has your eyes seeking out his. You can’t quite find what you’re looking for behind the glasses, but his relaxed open mouth, the tilt of his head down to you, begs for more.

“W-wait – wait, Marcus.” You fight the sudden spark of images flying across your mind; his bare hands, free of gloves and mittens and wool, lifts your shirt up and those soft lips imprint themselves on the curve of your stomach; scorching water turns his back bright red as he tugs your knees tighter around his waist don’t worry I’ve got you; waking up to him stretched out naked and loose and finally relaxed. Your heart squeezes at the mere fantasy. Everything you’ve ever wanted, inches from your outstretched fingertips. “Are you serious about this?”

Marcus grins, kisses your nose, and pulls you in by your scarf, as if you could possibly get any closer.

“Yes, I’m sure. Very sure. I haven’t made a choice this easy in years. Wait, I want to look you in the eyes when I say this.” He lets you go only to smear the condensation away from his glasses. Remind him to wear his contacts the next time you go out in the snow.

Next time next time next time

“There.” He slips those thick-framed glasses back over his nose and then takes your hand. He holds it near his heart. “I like you and my kid adores you. I’ve been slowly going crazy at my desk, hoping that the way you smile at me is only for me, and that you don’t know anyone else’s coffee order by heart.” You huff a laugh, if only to loosen the knot in your throat. “What? I’m serious.” He chuckles with you before taking you into your arms again. His lips are warm against your forehead. “I’ve had it bad for you ever since you started, but I never said anything because I knew you were new to the city and you didn’t need your boss crypt-keeping on you.”

“I think the correct term the kids use is just creeping, but I get your point.” You tilt your head up into his waiting gaze. Warm like chocolate. Warm like the sturdy earth. Warm like . . . “And if my employment is the only thing keeping us apart, then I totally quit.”

“Good, ‘cause you’re totally fired.”

You both laugh into each other, mist rising from your mouths, the corners of your mouths splitting in the cold. The temperature is steadily dropping, but you can’t seem to care. In fact, one big gust of wind could blow you away, suddenly lighter than air.

“So does this mean I don’t have to get you a World’s Greatest Boss gift?”

He kisses your cheek and you feel it in your toes. “You’ve already given me exactly what I wanted.”

“Merry Christmas, Marcus.”

“Merry Christmas, baby.”

#pedrostoriesgift23 #pedrostories #noisynaia #marcus moreno #marcus moreno x reader #marcus moreno fanfiction #marcus moreno x you #marcus moreno fic #marcus moreno fluff #pedro pascal characters #pedro pascal character #marcus moreno x f!reader

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petertingle-yipyip · 2 years ago

Text

A NONSENSE CHRISTMAS - MATT MURDOCK

yknow what, don’t even blame me for this. it’s fun, the songs so ridiculous i love it. enjoy a break from our regularly scheduled MAG content :) super short, super rushed bc i forgot i wanted to do this lol

Pairing: drunk reader x college!matt (unofficial)

Word Count: 1,063

Summary: End of semester = massive holiday mixer before leaving for break. And a certain blind, super hot, super smart law student shows up when you’re a bit too tipsy for your own good. (merry christmas if you celebrate! hope everyone is safe and has fun!)

“It’s the end of semester!” Your roommate pleaded. “C’mon!”

“I still have KN430 final today.” You reasoned, flipping through your notes as you filled in your study guide. “Semester’s not over yet.”

“Y/N.” She said and bounced across the room. She dragged your chair away from the desk and spun you to face her. “You can’t just not go to the holiday party. Everyone goes!”

“Can I just focus on this test first?” You laughed.

“Wait, is that legal issues in youth sports? Because I know there’s a certain law student that you hooked up with that would-“

“It’s applied sport psych. And leave Murdock out of this.”

“But he’s gonna be at the party!”

“Really?” Your brows raised. “He hasn’t been to anything lately.”

“I know. But I talked to Foggy and he said that he can get Matt to go. He’s pretty sure he’ll stay as long as you’re there.”

“Why am I the bargaining chip?” You laughed at the pointed look she gave you. “Look, let me focus on studying for now and I’ll go. Okay? I really need to pass this one”

“Yes!” She hopped and clapped. “I’m picking your outfit.”

You chuckled and spun back to your notes.

Later that night, you kept your word and went to the party. Your roommate put you in a short long sleeved velvet dress, black glittery stockings, knee high boots and a Santa hat. You had on a heavy coat to keep the cold out until you got inside.

“What are you gonna say to him?” She asked, looking around the party.

“Let me come warm you up. You’ve been out in the snow.” You joked and she laughed.

“Sounds like hoe, hoe, hoe.” She teased.

“Learned it from you.” You winked and her jaw dropped before laughing.

You were about six shots deep when Matt finally showed up. Your coat was long since discarded and you were now playing beer pong with your roommate against two guys from the fraternity hosting the party. You had just sunk the center cup and were being handed a shot when you saw him.

“He’s here!” You whispered, though it wasn’t much of a whisper.

“What?” Your roommate looked around till she found him, only two shots behind you. “Oh! Foggy, Matt! We’re over here!”

You threw back your shot, making a face in regards to the heavy taste and reached around for your chaser. Your hand found Matt’s and you gave him a wide, inebriated grin.

“Matt!” You giggled and he let out a groan when you threw your arms around him. “You made it!”

“I didn’t think you’d be this excited to see me.” He laughed lightly.

“You’re my wishlist.” You gave a shrug.

“What?” His smile remained.

“Looking at you got me thinking Christmas.”

“Y/N! The game!” Your roommate whined so you turned back but missed your next shot. You smacked your hands together but your roommate made her next cup.

“I’m guessing your roommate is carrying your guys?” Matt teased and tapped your leg with his cane.

“It’s you!” You reasoned with a finger in his face. “You make me nervous!”

“Do I?” He smirked.

“Snowflakes in my stomach kind of nervous.”

The boys against you missed boths shots.

“Make this one.” He said warmly, a soft demand underlying his words that sent a shiver down your spine.

“And if I do?” You teased as your roommate took her shot.

He blew out a long sigh. “What do you want?”

“You could fill my stomach with something else.” You hinted and his brows raised. “You be Santa Claus and I’ll be Mrs. When you’re comin down the chimney, it feels so good.”

He gave a small smirk and you laughed. “How could I say no to that?”

You turned back to your game and bounced the shot, landing it perfectly.

“Yes!” You exclaimed as they rolled the balls back to your side. “Can we get a rerack? Uuuuuhhmmmm…. Diamond.”

The boys grumbled as they fixed the cups, muttering that they can’t be losing that obviously. You turned back to Matt with a shit-eating grin as your roommate took her turn. You took the Santa hat off your head and fit it on Matt, earning a chuckle.

“Just out of curiosity… How many drinks have you had already?”

“Pffft.” You waved a hand. “Less than ten.” You nodded confidently.

“That explains it.” He chuckled.

“Explains what?” Your voice went high.

“Why you’re talking like that.”

“What do you mean? I’m talking Christmas.” You turned innocently to your game and threw a shot that went wide.

“Really?” His brows raised.

“Yeah, y’know.. Decking all the halls, spiking eggnog.”

“Big snowballs!” Foggy announced and threw his arms over yours and Matt’s shoulders. “We play winners.”

“Might wanna rethink that.” Matt chuckled and tapped his cane against Foggy.

“I’ll line you up, man. All you gotta do is flick it.” Foggy reasoned and the way your mind was cloudy with liquor had you biting down a laugh at the potential to make a dirty joke.

“You sure?”

“Yeah! I trust you!”

“C’mon, Murdock.” You smiled and tapped his chest. “Where’s your holiday spirit? No gifts. No sweater. No hat.”

“Hey, I caught that holiday glee.” He nodded with a smile, reaching out to find your hand with one and used the other to thump the ball of the hat against your forehead. “My true love gave it to me.”

“Sounds like hoe, hoe, hoe to me.” Your roommate whispered in your ear and you laughed.

“Give the ladies what they want, Matt.” Foggy insisted.

“Alright, alright.” He conceded.

“Oh, we’re gonna kick your ass!” You grinned.

“You’d beat a blind man? On purpose?” Matt asked incredulously.

“Yes I will.” You nodded. “Unless there’s a reason not to. You got a new toy for me?”

“Thought you were gonna be my Mrs.”

“Oh yeah.” You laughed. “I’ll take you for a ride. I’ll be your Vixen.”

You and roommate finished the game and won, beginning a new game against Matt and Foggy. Surprisingly, Matt’s accuracy after Foggy lined him up was better than you expected. Either that, or the shots were stronger than you had initially thought. Still, you and your roommate won and you ended up taking about five shots more.

And your Christmas present from Matt ended up being very worth it.

#matt murdock #daredevil #holiday fic #matt murdock holiday fic #matt murdock teasing #daredevil teasing #matt murdock x reader #college!matt #college! matt murdock #college!matt fic #matt murdock fic #matt murdock x yn #matt murdock x you #matt x yn #matt x you #matt x reader #christmas fic #matt murdock christmas

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ninja-knox-ur-sox-off · 1 year ago

Text

ALRIGHT ALRIGHT FOLKS, SINCE I’M INSANE MY REACTION WILL BE SPLIT INTO FOUR PARTS FOR READING CONVENIENCE FOR Y’ALL BUT I AM GONNA WATCH IT IN ONE SITTING I AM FULL OF FEAR BUT LETS GET STARTED

PT 1 OF THIS NONENSE “THE EMPERORS WRATH” THAT IS INSTANTLY CONCERNING

OH WAIT THAT’S THE NAME OF THE FULL SPECIAL THIS IS “A LIFETIME OF MISTAKES” I’M BEING KILLED

OKAY LETS SEE WHAT THESE LUNATICS ARE UP TO

MONKIE KID THEME SONG MY BELOVED

OH I’M EXCITED

FEAR

OMINOUS MUSIC AND REALITY ITSELF SEEMING TO BE TEARING APART AS AZURE TRIES TO STITCH IT BACK TOGETHER? HORRIFYING

HE LOOKS LIKE HE’S HAVING SOME TROUBLE THERE

YELLOW-TUSK LOOKING TIRED AND CONCERNED

WHAT ARE YOU DOING OLD MAN

I confess I did watch the first like ten seconds yesterday which was funny cause Yellow-tusk showed up and my brain completely ignored Azure to go “ A GRANDPA :D”

SCREAMS

ITS THE CREW

MY BELOVEDS

I WANNA KNOW WHAT YELLOW-TUSK THINKS OF ALL THIS

AND IF AZURE’S REMAINING BROS ARE GONNA TRUN ON HIM

“AT LEAST ITS PRETY” MEI ILY

“yeah if ya ignore the strong end of the world vibes” Pigsy, you ave my entire soul, i love you I LOVE TIHS MAN

THE PIG MAN IS RIGHT

I love how like, killing the Jade emperor apparently means you get to take his place, like dang alright, the Santa Clause movies vibes, all you gotta do is push Azure off a roof-

and exactly no one will understand that reference but i swear i’m funny guys i promise-

Azure @ the Jade Emperor: ALL YOU DO IS SIT AROUND ALL DAY AND MOOCH OFF OTHER PEOPLES SUFFERING Azure, after sitting in the Jade Emperors seat: oh shoot hol up this is so much harder than i thought I’d be breathing is hard-

That’s hilariousGH;LASF

NEZHAAAAA BLESS FOR BANDAGING THIS DUDE UP HE NEEDED THAT HE’S NOT DOING SO HOT BUT GODSPEED YOU REALLY FOUGHT FOR THIS STUFF YOUNG MAN

MONK

I LOVE HOW EVERYONE IS CALLING TANG MONK THIS SEASON DESPITE THE FACT HE’S NOT REALLY ACTUALLY A MONK RN HGL;F;JAOWIEFJSDF (or is he...?)

wait wait

before they turn around he’s asking about the scroll

are they like, putting bandaids and bandages on the scroll pls it’d be so funny-

YUP

YUP AWFUL TAPE JOB

WELL DONE

ILY TANG

THERE AINT’ NOTHING A BIT OF TAPE CAN’T FIX (they can’t say duct tape for legal reasons- /j /j /j)

NEZA UDNERSTANDABLY OUTRAGEDHGL;SDKFJ

NEZHA FEELS LIKE HE’S THE ONE GUY WITH A BRAINCELL HERE AND HE’S RIGHT

I MISSED YOU SM

LOOK HOW FLOOFY HIS HAIR IS

BLESS YOU MONKIE KID ARTISTS

MEI

WHEEZINGNS;DLFMSDF

MK PAYING V CLOSE ATTENTION TO WHAT SHE’S SAYING BUT NO IDEA WHAT SHE’S TALKING ABOUT

SHE CAN’T EVEN FINISH THE SENTENCE PLS HGLSDJFD

HER FACE

WHOEVER DREW THAT EXPRESSION I’M SHAKING YOUR HAND

I’M

I’M WORRIED NOW

HECK I’M WORRIED NOW

ITS MONKEY KING HE’S FINE THAT GUY IS INDESTRUCTABLE

IS HE THO??????

I SURE HOPE HE IS BUT THE MUSIC THAT WAS PLAYING ALONGSIDE WHEN HE SAID THAT MAKES ME SO SO VERY CONCERNED

WOW I’M WATCHING THE SPECIAL THAT JUST HIT ME

HOLY CRAP THE SPECIAL IS OUT

HOLY CRAP I HAVE IT

OH MY GODS I’M INSANE

this season is my fave for how they draw these guys they are just so shaped and so wonderful

MAGICAL TAPE

HELPGLSKMFSD

NEXHA LOOKS READY TO FIGHTOHHMYGODS MACAQUE

RIGHT

HE’S HERE

OH HE’S STILL HERE LETS FREAKING GO

I DONT’ KNOW WHY I WASN’T EXPECTING HIM TO BE THERE MY YOUNGER BROTHER IS GONNA BE SO EXCITED HE LOVES MACAQUE I CAN’T WAIT TO TELL HIM HE’S MAKING AN APPERANCE THIS SPECIAL LETS GOOOOO

MACAQUE’S FACE

IS SO PUNCHABLE

WHATCHA THINKING ABOUT THERE MONKEY

ABANDONMENT?

its nice he doesn’t come out and tell Mk he’s wrong tho y’know? THAT’S WHAT WE CALL G R O W T H !

NEZHA IN

SCREAMS

MACAQUES COMING??? FR??

OH MY BROS GONNA LOSE HIS MIND WE GET MACAQUE

I can’t believe Macaque is actually making sense, who are you and what have you done with the monkey- /j /j /j JOKING

HE MAKES A GOOD POINT! I LOVE HOW HE BELIEVES HE’S ENOUGH TO POSSIBLY TRIGGER WUKONG’S MEMORY LOVE THAT

Ngl it’d be super funny if like, macaque being there didn’t help at all it’d be so funny, but i’m rooting for it does help but also if Wukong has to like, relive a bunch of stuff in order to remember OH BOY LETS SEE HOW THIS GOES

HELPGN;LKMSD

MOOD

I’M MK

THO MAC BOI I DON’T KNOW IF YOU’RE MUCH BETTER BUT WE’LL SEE

BIASED PERSPECTIVE CAN WARP EVENTS THAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED QUITE A BIT AS TIME PASSES SO GL WITH THAT I’M VERY INTERESTED TO SEE IF HE REMEMBERS THINGS RIGHT OR IF WUKONG REMEMBERS THEM RIGHT OR IF WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED IS LOST TO TIME WE’LL SEE HOW THIS GOES

“Your criticism is harsh but fair, ALRIGHT-“ MACAQUE’S FACE IN THAT SHOT PLEASE WHO DREW HIM THERE I’M CRYINGL;SDMKFDS

LEGOOO THEY’RE USING THAT SO MUCH THIS SEASON I NEED TO MAKE A COMPILATION MY GODS

Tang’s got some confidence with his powers now that’s great!!

So…

Wait is it just Mk and Macaque?

HOL UP IS IT JUST THEM GOING??

OH MAN

OPH MAN WAIT

OH MAN WAIT THIS IS FIRE ITS MK AND MACAQUE

WHAT A CHOICE

OKAY

OKAY YEAH

HERE WE GO

CANT’ TAKE TANG HE’S GOTTA BE THERE TO GET THEM OUT OF IT

OHHH I’M SO NORMAL

OHJ MY GODS THEY’RE GONNA RESCUE WUKONG I’M GONNA CRY

hello transitions for AMV’s <3

SNORTS

“wuuukoong, what have you done-“ WDYM HE’S TRAPPED IN A SCROLL CHILLAX BRO

oh ;-;

tearing his way through-

HOL UP IS THAT GONNA HAVE DETRIMENTAL EFFECTS ON HIS MEMORY???

IS HE TEARING THROUGH HIS OWN MIND TO TTRY AND GET BACK TO MK??

SCREAMS??

OH THIS SPECIAL IS GONNA WRECK ME I’M NOT READY

Also, one again, Macaque voice actor, nothing but respect, he’s doing really well

You have got to be kidding me i’m only two minutes in I feel like this has been a whole episode already I am not mentally well HG.,SDJFSKLDF

HELPGNSDFNA;OWEMF

THE DRAMATIC

ATTEMPT AT TAKING OFF AND JUST

OOP THERE HE IS! :D

RIP MACAQUE WHEEZINGSKLMF

Actually Macaque hanging with Mk and the team and being subject to the slapstick that hits the heroes is so freaking funny, welcome to being a hero-warrior macaque, you are now the butt of the joke- HGL;KSADJF;JWEF

I will cry right hecking now

IS A MONKEYYYYY

MK’S BIG SMILE PLS

SOBS LOUDLY

HELPGJSJKF

THAT’S JUST A MEMORY

HE’S JUST A SILLY LI’LL MONKEY

IM WILL CRY RIGHT NOW

RIGHT NOW YOU’LL SEE ME SOB

HELPGN;DFM

I REALLY WISHED THEY’D USED MAGIC TAPE THAT’S SO SILLY

CHOKES

“I’ll know the real wukong when we find him” OH YEAH MACAQUE? WILL YOU? KNOW HIM THAT WELL DO YOU?? Again what an interesting choice to make them so close

very funny Macaque, you look like you smell worse I’M JOKING I’M JOKING- HGKL;SADJF;AWHEFM

i GASPED

I ACTUALLY GASPED

FIRST PROCESSING HOW EXICTED WUKONG WAS TO SEE HIS MONKEYS AND THEN

BAM

MONKEY SO EXCITED TO SEE WUKONG ONL FOR HIM TO DISSAPEAR

ITS

HECK ITS ONE OF THE MONKEYS I’M GONNA CRY

CHOKES

HELPGNSLFMSD

MACAQUE’S FACE

I’M GONNA CRY AGAIN HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A MONKEY SO EXCITED TO SEE SOMEBODY

MONKEY KNOWS AND LIKES MACAQUE THAT’S SO SILLY

MAN

YUP

WELCOME TO SLAPSTICK MACAQUE

I’M SO SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS

MK’S ARM SUDDENLY TEN FEET LONG I’M DYINGNSDL;KMSD

YEAAAHHH RIGHT INTO THE SMASH

HELPNMSLDKMSDF

MACAQUE TRYING TO BE FUNNY

ABSOLUTELY DEADPAN THIS WHOLE TIME

I’M SO INTERESTED IN HOW THIS’LL TURN OUT HECK

Wow thanks for catching him Macaque- HGL;KZSJFL;ASF

…looks at who drew the jump through the cracked yellow light

ily

aNOTHER MONKEY

PROBABLY EXCTIED TO SEE MACAQUE TOO

BARRELS WORTH

HELPGKLMSD;OFEWF

.heck

that

that hurts for some reason heck

“dont you like it :D?”

OH BOY

HE’S SO CUTE

YEAH

REALLY GOTTA READ THE BOOK

I LOVE HOW MUCH THEY’RE SAYING THIS HELP

(Crew’s not so subtle wink wink nudge nudge at the fandom READ THE BOOK (joking joking)) (but no seriously read the book its a banger)

ITS MACAQUE

MAN THE ALMOST SHRILL SOUNDING MONKEY KING

MACAAAQUE! DOIN OKAY BUD? :D

MK MAKING FUN OF HIM HELPGMLSDFLKM

THE MONKEYS HELPGNSDF;AFE

MONKEY KING PLEASEJGLDF

THIS IS KILLLING ME Y’ALL

HE’S SO

HYPER

I LOVE HIM

NOOHOHOOOO maybe a little

THE CREW REALLY HAD A BLAST ANIMATING THE SILLY LITTLE GUY

heck dude “thats not the point! its so we can never worry about anything or anyone every again!!”

THEY’RE SO SILLY

THEY WERE SO SILLY

yeah that’s fair

Okayyyy

OKAYYYYYY

NOT BAD

STILL MACAQUE’S OPINION THO WHICH I DON’T FULLY TRUST STILL

ITS SO HAAARDDDD

CAUSE MACAQUE LIKES TO SAY EXACTLY WHAT WUKONG WAS THINKING IN FEELING BUT HE DOESNT’ ACTUALLY KNOW SO HE MAKES HIM OUT TO BE THIS HYPER AWARE KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT HE WANTS LEAVES HIS FRIENDS BEHIND GUY, WHILE AZURE MAKES HIM OUT TO BE THIS LITTLE GUY WHO’S COOL AND WOULD MAKE A GREAT LEADER BUT DOESN’T KNOW WHAT HE WNATS OR WHAT HE’S DOING AND NEEDS GUIDENCE SO WHICH IS THE REAL MONKEY KING HUH? MY BET IS NEITHER OF THEM REALLY KNOW

Rn tho I’m definitely leaning towards what Macaque’s describing because ITS NOT INFANTILIZING HIM SO I’LL TAKE IT

HOLYU CRAP IS THAT HTE MOUNTAIN

HOLY CRAP IS THAT THE MOUNTAIN

THEY SHOWED THE MOUNTAIN?/???

THEY’RE SHOWING THE MOUNTAIN???

HOLY CRAP??

MACAQUE CAME TO VISIT HIM IN THE MOUNTAIN???

HOLY CRAP???

Small beef here, but the whole point of Wukong’s punishment was so that he could see the world move on without him like, the worst case of FOMO (fear of missing out) you ever done experienced, watching stars die and new ones be born and landscapes change and people pass and not being able to be a part of that. Being totally underground kinda defeats the purpose of that bUT THAT’S SUCH A NITPICK FOR ME TO MAKE BUT I ALWAYS DO WHENEVER THERE’S A VERSION WHERE HE CAN’T SEE THE SKY OR TIME PASSING- DANG WHATS WITH THE CHAINS I’MGBSDLFKMD

man its how angry

HOLY

WOW

HE’S SO BITTER

THIS IS AMAZING

THIS

YES

OKAY

YES, WUKONG BEING THIS BITTER? YES ABSOLUTELY, HE’S IN TIME OUT AND HE’S ANGRY ABOUT IT

AND OFC YOU TAKE IT OUT ON THE ONE PERSON WHO ACTUALLY COMES AND CHECKS ON YOU BECAUSE THEY’RE THE ONLY PERSON NEAR YOU THAT YOU CAN BLAME [BANGS FISTS ON TABLE] M A N

OKAY NOT BAD

WE VIBIN

HOLY

THAT WAS SUCH A SATISFYING EXCHANGE TO SEE ACTUALLY

OKAY FINALLY WE’RE GETTING UNBIASED NARRATION I’M GONNA CRY

OH MY GODS THIS IS SUCH A RELIEF I’M SCREAMIGNFL;KMSF

THIS SHOW IS REALLY DRAGGING ME AROUND LIKE A CHEW TOY I SWEAR

ONLY THING I WOULD HAVE ADDED WAS JUST

WUKONG DOING LIKE, A SCREAM AFTER HE LEFT Y’KNOW?

JUST REALLY LETTING OUT THAT ANGER AND BITTERNESS AND DESPERATION YEAH WOULD HAVE LOVED THAT

HECK

MAN WHAT’S WITH YOU MACAQUE

ITS SO FUNNY

BELIEVED AS IN PAST TENSE

OH FINALLY

FINALLY

OKAY MK FINALLY HAS SOMEONE WHO’S NOT TRYING TO PUSH THEIR VIEW OF WUKONG ON HIM SURE ITS SOMEONE WHO’S DONE IT LOTS IN THE PAST BUT HECK I’M ACTUALLY OKAY WITH THE FACT ITS MACAQUE Y’KNOW??

ALRIGHT FOR NOT VILLIANIZING WUKONG SO MUCH LETS GOOOOOO

I am so basic my gosh hGLK;SAJDF

Macaque’s suddenly got such quiet open narration here its heck

WOW THAT

THAT’S QUITE THE POWER THEY GAVE THE TANG MONK IN THIS

OH THEY JUST HAD HIM SLAP IT RIGHT ON BEFORE HE’D EVEN GOTTEN A CHANCE TO ZOOM AROUND

Tbf it did look like he was lunging for the monk- HGKLSDJFJ

OH WWO THERE’S A SCREAM

YEAH OKA Y

HOLY CRAP DUDE

WELMCOME TO MONKEY KING LETS GO

MAKING THOSE GOOD LIFE CHOICES

ARE WE

FINALLY

GETTING

THE FOR REALSIES BACKSTORY LETS GO MK IS ALL OF US FOR FOUR SEASONS SCREAAAMS

Okay heck i gotta process some of that, path of self destruction we all were that’s great, the monkeys all there jsut as curious as mk, the shots of the jttw crew vibin, Wukong looking more and more carefree as they go AO LIE IS STILL JUST LOOKING AT WUKONG Y’ALL I THINK THAT DRAGON BRO IS ALWAYS WORRIED ABOUT HIM AND I STILL DESPERATELY WANT TO WRITE SOMETHING FOR THEM THEY’RE SO GOOD

“Every choice has consequences kid, for someone” MANS IS JUST ANGSTING OVER EVERYTHING HE CAN WE LOVE TO SEE IT

its so funny cause its like YAY GOOD STUFF!! o-orrr noooott noooooo WHEEZINGLSDFMS

THIS IS GREAT I’M ACTUALLY ENJOYUING THIS SO MUCH

HELPGMLSFMSD

MK IS US FR

MACQQUE JUST WALKING OFF

CAMEL RIDGE

WE BACK

NICE

NOW WE GOT THE

OHHHH

OKAY

WE’RE USING MACAQUE AS THE

GUY FROM THE SIDELINES SEEING THE CONSEQUENCES OF EVERYONE’S ACTIONS WHILE ALL THEY SEE IS THE GOOD HE SEES THE EFFECT AROUND IT NICE NICE INTERESTING APPROACH OKAY COOL YES NICE

NICE

OH WE SAW

WE SAW HIM FOR A SEC

HANG ON GOING BACK

HECK

WHAT IS THAT THE JADE EMPEROR OVER HIM??

HECKING

HOLDING HIS HEADL IKE THAT SCREAMS THE MONKEY THE MONEKYT HE MONKEYGDFMSJ;BHGA;OIWEFB;EF

THE SNIFF

HELPGNSDLKMFSD

JUST MAKIGN SURE HE’S REAL

I WAS GONNA PROCESS MORE AZURE AND CHAT A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW HE’S EVEN CONVINCED HIMSELF LINE BUT HECK IT ITS’ MONKEY TIME SHUSH

AAA ITS HIM ITS HIM WHAT IS HE DOIN GIS HE JUST SITTING THERE IS HE OKAY I’MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

LOOKS LIKE HE’S RELIVING MEMORIES IN FLASHES

OH HE LOOKS SO TIRED

I’M GONNA CRY RIGHT NOW

HELPGMNSDLMF

SORRY THE FLASH BETWEEN HIM AND MK IS JUST SOME GUYS RIPPED PECS I’M WHEEZINGNSDLKF;MWOEF

actually that hair- I think that might be azure’s ripped pecs- \DOESN’T MATTTER MOVING ON

HE SOUNDS SO TIRED

MACAQUE STANDING THERE WITH THE MONKEYS, WUKONGS MONKEYS, MACAQUE WITH WUKONGS MONKEYS IN THAT AREA ALL STANDING THERE WATCHING

HECK HE SOUNDS SO TIRED AND BROKEN?? VOICE ACTING?? HELLO???

HOLY CRAP DUDE

THE LITTLE GUY APPEARING IN FRONT OF MACAQUE

AND MACAQUE REACHING FOR

HECK DUDE

HE MISSES HIS FRIEND SO MUCH HUH

HE REALLY

SEEMS TO ACHE FOR THOSE TIMES WOW

NO LONGER EXIST THO

THAT SIGH

WUKONG

WHAT IS THIS

WHO DREW THESE SQUISHY GUYS

Wukong, having a moment where he’s so so tired of messing up

Mk, absolute ball of nothing but sunshine and good vibes: GOOD THING YOUR’E IMMORTAN THEN HUH :D LESSGOOOO

I DON’T THINK HE REALIZED MACAQUE WAS ACTUALLY THERE TILL HE CAME AND STOOD BEHIND MK

HECKING

WE JUST NEED TO LEAVE THINGS A LITTLE BETTER THAN WE FOUND THEM YEAH

WORDS I LIVE BY GENUINELY

MK’S FACE

WHEN HE SAYS HE’S NOT READY TO NOT HAVE A MENTOR

SOBS LOUDLY

STAFF BACK

SOBS THE

I’M SORRY I SCREAMED

THE LOOK AT MK

AND THEN THE LOOK AT MACAQUE

BECAUSE HERE’S SOMEONE WHO HAS FAITH IN HIM FOR THE FUTURE AND SOMEONE FROM HIS PRESENT WHO BELIEVES IN HIM AND WANTS HIM THERE, AND THEN THERE’S SOMEONE FROM HIS PAST AND HECK DUDE IF ANYONE REALLY KNOWS HE CAN DO BETTER IT’D BE SOMEONE FROM THEN RIGHT? SOMEONE WHO’S SEEN EVERY MESS UP HE’S EVER DONE BUT STILL CAME?? EVEN AFTER TRYING TO KILL HIM?? KILL EACH OTHER?? SURE?? AND THE

HECK THE SMILE???

THE

HECK IT WAS LIKE HE WAS JUST LOOKING FOR SOEM KIND OF REASSURANCE AND DESPITE RELIVING A LOT OF HIS OWN TRUAMA AND HURT MACAQUE STILL PUSHES THAT ASIDE JUST A BIT SO HE CAN GIVE HIM A SMILE CAUSE HEY, THEY ARENT’ PERFECT OR EVEN IN A GOOD SPOT, BUT ITS BETTER THAN BEFORE AND HE KNOWS HE NEEDS THAT LITTLE EXTRA SUPPOT AND REASSURENCE I DON’T KNOW MAN I’M JUST YELLING WORDS RN I’M HAVING A MOMENT

THE SMILE BACK

HE’S BACK BABBYYYYYYYYYYY

THE BREATH

OKAY

WE FINE WE FINE WE FINE I’M FINE I’M GONNA CRY OH MY GODS WHAT AN EPISODE THAT WAS EVERYHTING I WANTED OKAY I’M SO GLAD HECKINGSDFL;AWOF STILL NITPICKING TINY THINGS BUT ALL TOGETHER THAT WAS GORGEOUS

I’M STILL LIKE, HAVING MACAQUE AS BEING SO CLOSE TO MONKEY KING IS STILL KINDA NEW FOR ME EVEN THO ITS BEEN YEARS BTU THIS IS STILL THE ONLY VERSION IV’E SEEN WHERE MAC PLAYS SUCH A BIG ROLE, BTU THEY HANDLED IT PRETTY WELL THE HIM SHOWING UP UNDER THE MOUNTAIN TO BRING HIM FRUIT AND WUKONG JUST ABSOLUTELY HECK DUDE THAT WAS

THAT WAS AWESOME

NICELY DONE

MAN

I just spent like half an hour talking about this ep to two different sibs and hecking i’m insane MY ENTIRE SOUL IS DEVESTATED, THE VOICE ACTING IN THIS EPISODE IS INSANE

MAN OKAY INTERESTING THAT THEY LIKE

PUT AZURE IN THERE KAY CAUSE

ITS BASICALLY BIG OLDER DUDE SAW YOUNGER DUDE THAT PEOPLE LIKED AND WHO’S FAMILY WAS DEDICATED TO THEM BECASUE THEY WERE STRONG AND A PROTECTOR AND WANTED MORE THAN ANYTHING TO PROTECT THEIR FAMILY AND AZURE SAW THAT AND WENT “i can use this” AND PUSHED HIM INTO SOME STUFF WHICH IS INTERESTING BUT WORKS SO WELL WITH THE DIRECTION THEY CHOSE TO TAKE THIS I’M INSANE

OKAYOKAY I GOTTA GET WATCHING THE OTHER EPS IF I WANNA FINISH THIS ALL TODAY WISH ME LUCK THIS EPISODE WILL BRAINROT ME FOREVER

KNOX OUT

#knox rambles #Knox reacts #Monkie kid season 4 #Monkie kid season 4 special spoilers #Lego monkie kid season 4 special #WHAT A WILD RIDE THAT WAS #OKAY I HAVE WATCHED THE FULL THING #BUT I DON'T WANT TO SPAM ALL MY REACTION POSTS SO I'M GONNA POST ONE AT A TIME OVER THE NEXT THREE DAYS #OH M A N #DUDE

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jamietarttsnorthernattitude · 1 year ago

Note

I didn’t make the connection between Jamie’s breakdown in “Mom City” and playing at Wembley in “International Break” but whoaa of course he would freak out and be triggered by it. I’m super bad at commenting on AO3 but I wanted to let you know I thoroughly enjoyed the fic you posted today!! And I can’t stop thinking about how Jamie has Ted’s voice echoing in his head, telling him to forgive his dad, and then Tartt Sr gaslights Jamie about the Wembley situation so badly that he’s the one expecting an apology from Jamie??? As if the entire Wembley incident was Jamie’s fault and had nothing to do with Tartt Sr’s actions??! I also loved how you captured each character’s voice <33

God, you are so nice to send this. Made my day! (this is the fic referenced if anyone hasn't read it and wants to)

I can only imagine Jamie walking into Wembley and picturing the last time he was there but obviously he’s excited to debut for England. I added the panic attack for extra drama but I could see how in the show he might’ve pushed it away and then that combined with the upcoming City match stress it snowballs into what we see in Mom City.

I’m sure Jamie’s Dad has been gaslighting him his whole life so I have no doubt he would view the Wembley incident as all Jamie’s fault since Jamie was the one that punched him. I’m sure he’d completely ignore any of his verbal abuse or that he pushed Jamie first.

Jamie takes Ted advice to heart even if I think Ted might’ve actually meant to forgive him for himself, not for his Dad. There’s a difference between forgiving and moving on from someone and forgiving them and having a relationship which seems to have gotten lost in translation. It's like they're playing a game of phone tag. Jamie is a very literal person (thinking Secret Santa was a secret) and so Ted basically speaks in riddles as far as he's concerned.

And to be fair to Jamie he's contactly sending him mixed messages. The transfer the morning after the ghost ceremony, saying he can't come back to Richmond and then taking him back, etc.

Combine Jamie probably wanting his father to be an actual non piece of shit father with Jamie thinking he’s doing the right thing by forgiving his father and it’s not a surprise that Jamie ends up seeing his father again.

And I understand where Jamie is coming from but I am so angry about how the show portrays it. If it wasn’t the final season and next season could explore Jamie meeting with his father it would be different. But the show basically said “oh his Dad’s sober now so things are great even though he abused Jamie in so many ways.”

What really gets me is THEY DIDNT NEED TO DO THIS. Jamie had a phenomenal arc over the three seasons. He improved both professionally and as a person. He has a great Mum! He has Simon! Roy Kent is his best friend! The rest of the team loves him. They don’t need to reconcile him with his father to give the character a satisfying ending. Not everyone should be forgiven. And especially when the only thing someone does is get sober.

I could go on forever how dangerous the narrative is.

But anyway, thank you for the ask, I really appreciate knowing you enjoyed the story and your thoughts :)

#jamie tartt #ted lasso fanfic #ao3 #fuck jamie’s dad #asks always open #thank you #fic: I say I don’t care I say that I’m fine #whumptober

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twilightmalachite · 5 months ago

Text

Christmas Live - Dot to Dot 1

Author: Akira

Characters: Yuuta, Shinobu

Translation Team: Mika Enstars & 310mc

EN Proofer: ryuseipuka

"Whaa, who said that… If your annoyance level is at 1, then my Aniki’s is at like 530,000, so it’s fine."

[Read on my blog for the best viewing experience with Oi~ssu ♪]

Season: Winter

Location: Classroom 1-B

Shinobu: (Hmhmhm~♪)

(Just a few more nights~ and it’s Chri~st~mas~♪)[1]

(Ehehe, what’s Santa-san’s present for me this year…? ♪)

(Ahh, I can barely sit still from excitement! I’m just so hyped~♪)

(Because Christmas only means one thing, and that’s of course… Ninjas! ☆)

(The skillful art of fulfilling one’s mission by infiltrating a home without being caught! Santa-san is truly a descendant of ninja, who has survived until the present day!)

(Even his fashion sense also somewhat resembles that of a ninja, in my opinion…!)

(That’s why during Christmas time, I get so happy~ It feels as though my comrades have grown~♪)

(In fact…! One day, I will become someone splendid and famous… And then, I’ll absolutely make ninjas as mainstream as Santa-san!)

(And once that happens, I’ll make Hattori Hanzō’s death anniversary into a national holiday~♪)[2]

(That’s another reason why I will do my best with my idol activities! Although, I believe there isn’t any work for RYUSEITAI today?)

(Actually, for a few days now, we have had days off from not only work, but practice, too…)

(Well, we might suddenly be called over for something, like how we were during the summer holiday…)[3]

(Taichou-dono makes sure to provide us with sufficient days off overall. But on the other hand, that means we tend to be overworked when we do have work…?)

Shinobu: (Mm~ It feels lonely~… Without any RYUSEITAI activities, I end the school day talking to practically nobody.)

(I’m aware that ninjas live by concealing themselves without uttering a word, though…)

(……I’m really starting to feel sad now. It is getting chilly out lately~ They say that “cold” and “lonely” go hand-in-hand during these times.)

(Maybe I'll call Isara-dono on my phone… Wait, no, he is probably busy with Student Council work right now.)

(Perhaps I’ll try visiting him under the pretext of helping him out with work… But would that just bother him instead? Urmm~?)

…Fwah!?

S-Something just fell down! This is… hmm, a talisman?

Yuuta: Oh, sorry. Do you mind picking up that flier for me, Shinobu-kun?

Shinobu: Ah, a flier? Oh yes, I see that it’s advertising a shop’s Christmas sale. I’ll pick it up right way, Yuuta-kun~♪

…Wait—What on earth are you doing?

You’re adeptly balancing yourself at the top of a crazy amount of piled up chairs!

Fuhaah, acrobatics~! You’re a skilled performer, Yuuta-kun! ♪

Yuuta: I’m sure even you can do this much, Shinobu-kun. Since you’re crazy lightweight, and all.

I just don’t want to be wasting any of my time… I don’t want to miss out on any training I can get done while doing something else.

I’m working on my sense of balance right now. Wanna join, Shinobu-kun?

Shinobu: Ah, no, no. I’m scared to climb onto what looks like some sort of new party game~ You’ll only injure yourself if the chairs end up collapsing, you know~?

Yuuta: Heheh, as if I’d mess up doing this. …You’ve been chatting with me lately, Shinobu-kun, I’m happy~. ♪

Shinobu: Huh? U-Um!? I apologize! Have I been annoying you!?

Yuuta: Whaa, who said that… If your annoyance level is at 1, then my Aniki’s is at like 530,000, so it’s fine.

Shinobu: I’m not sure I understand that logic… That being said, why have you been looking at that flier?

Are you perhaps going to hold a Christmas party? Are you trying to find the right cake to buy?

Yuuta: Hm~. Well, Aniki goes all out and makes a super huge cake every year for no good reason.

‘Cause you know, he’s got a sweet tooth. What one likes, one will do best, and so that guy’s great at making stuff like sweets.

Well, anyway. Basically, I’m looking for work.

Since it’s almost Christmas, you know? I thought maybe there’d be some shops looking for people to liven things up.

Shinobu: Oooh! You’re so diligent, trying to find work even during Christmas. Are you a vassal of Santa-san, perhaps…? ☆

Yuuta: My Santa is Aniki~, ‘cause the person who’s apparently my father isn’t too enthusiastic about those sorts of things.

That’s not it, though—Holidays are a good time for idols to earn some money, aren’t they?

I’d like to find a way to make my seniors look better, or rather… I wanna sell 2wink better, since we’re comparatively mediocre.

Well, the leader is supposed to be the one to think about this sort of thing, though.

But since all Aniki’s thinking about are Christmas cakes right now… I gotta be the one to find some work to do.

You can help me if you want, Shinobu-kun! If you’re not busy, that is.

Shinobu: O-Okay. RYUSEITAI has the day off today, so I shall assist you~♪

Yuuta: You strong units can afford to do that, huh. …But you better watch your step, you don’t know when you’ll lose your footing!

‘Cause startin’ next year, 2wink will be takin’ over Yumenosaki Academy! ♪

Shinobu: Mhm, hard work deserves to be rewarded. Ahaha, not that I have any right to say something as impudent as that~

How about this shop’s job offer? You’ll wear Santa-san’s outfit while selling cakes! ♪

Yuuta: That’s just a regular old part-time job. I was hoping for something more idol-like…

Yuuta: Hmm… It kinda feels like all the good jobs got taken up by the other units, I guess?

I’d like to increase 2wink’s market value, though… Maybe I’ll ask Anzu-san, like, “Give me a job as a Christmas present ♪”, or something?

[ ☆ ]

← prev | story directory | next →

Shinobu is singing a different variation of the song mou ikutsu neru to oshougatsu (Just a few more nights, and it's New Years). Read more here, with the lyrics.

Hattori Hanzō was a famous ninja in the Sengoku era. Read more here.

Referring to Pirate Festival, which happened in summer.

#christmas live #event #translation #shinobu sengoku #yuuta aoi

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alwaysxlarrie · 2 years ago

Photo

you know it’s an alwaysxlarrie fic when ... + 2022 writing self evaluation

ok so i’m a tiiiiiny bit late to the game, so i’m just combining the two tags lol. thank you to @hellolovers13, @larrysballetslippers, @zannithinks, @lunarheslwt, @brightgolden & @momrryrights for tagging me in the moodboard challenge (that’s what i’m calling it lol). hope everyone enjoys my chaotic moodboard hehe & thank you to @neondiamond, @onlythebravest, @lunarheslwt, @greenblueish, @thedevilinmybrain & @loveislarryislove for tagging me in the self evaluation tag !! here we goooo

for the moodboard we’ve got 2013 larry bc that’s my fav era & how i always imagine them in my fics, football player louis, santa’s sleigh, office space, cute notes on a white board, a clothing rack, new york city & gentle touches. i don’t think i need to say there’s not any specific mood theme going on here for anyone to figure that out LMAO but i did try my best regardless :)

1. Number of stories posted to AO3: 9!

2. Word count posted for the year: if i’m counting correctly ..... 93,735 ????

3. Fandoms I wrote for: one direction. i have a fic for the 5sos fandom that i’ve written a few chapters for & was editing it in an ao3 draft but then the page refreshed for some reason & i lost everything & kinda lost steam, so .... maybe it’ll see the light of day next year

4. Pairings: louis/harry, zayn/liam (side pairing), shawn/niall (side pairing)

5. Story with the most…

Kudos: i swear i could give you everything

Bookmarks: also i swear i could give you everything lol

Comments: it’s i swear i could give you everything again LMAO

Hits: gimme everything you got

6. Work I’m most proud of (and why): i think i’d say either gimme everything you got or i need something, so tell me something new. gimme everything you got bc i put a lot of my personal experience (give or take) into it & it got such a positive response & that made me super happy. i need something, so tell me something new bc it’s my first ever published fic in general & fic in this fandom.

7. Work I’m least proud of (and why): oooof. prob my sub harry fic. i enjoyed being apart of the fest & i enjoyed the experience, but writing it was so much harder than i’d anticipated & it felt like my writing got very redundant after a few scenes. i’m glad i stuck it out & that i published it, but yeah i def don’t think i did it the justice i’d wanted to.

8. Share or describe a favorite review you received: i’m really enjoying all the reviews/comments i’ve been getting on my cinderella au! it’s my first chaptered fic that i’m posting chapter by chapter, so that’s been really encouraging. but in general, i appreciate all the comments i get. as a small/new writer, i don’t expect to get any comments at all really, so whenever i do, i get excited. there was a comment on my christmas fic santa, won’t you bring me the one i really need? where someone said it was the best christmas fic they’ve ever read :)

9. A time when writing was really, really hard: the sub harry fic lmao. i love service kink harry fics so i was like alright sweet this will be a no brainer & basically, i fucked around & found out. i literally went through like 5 drafts until i finally found a premise that went w the prompt i was using that i felt i could build off of without turning the fic super predictable & dead end. i think if i’d waited to do that type of fic next year & done more research than i’d done for this one, it would’ve gone much better.

10. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you: the beginning of my cinderella au -- i’ve been very vocal about the fact that i write only fluff fics to balance out all the angst in our fandom & then i go & write a cinderella fic & make the first two chapters packed w angst LMAO. it’ll turn around soon, but that’s def the biggest one as of yet for me, i think.

11. A favorite excerpt of your writing: i’m not sure if i have a favorite tbh, but i like this one from i swear i could give you everything: --------------

“So what have you got for us today, Haz?” Louis asked, knocking on the table with his fists, excitement and anticipation both thrumming through his body.

“Well, I was just messing around in the kitchen last night, really,” Harry began, messing with the hem of his shirt and seemingly determined to continue looking at the floor as he made his way towards the fridge a few feet away from the table Louis was now sitting at. “And then I realized I had the ingredients. So. I just figured. Why not, you know?”

Louis furrowed his eyebrows, trying to piece together what Harry was talking about. All he’d done was ask Harry what he’d made. He guessed the ingredients were relevant to the conversation and he did enjoy listening to Harry talk - even if he really was talking some shit - so he decided to humor him.

“Oh yeah, sweetheart?” Louis prompted as he placed his elbows on the table and rested his chin on one of his hands.

Harry was apparently too busy rummaging around the fridge to even glance back at him when he responded. Which wasn’t rude, really. Louis just. Wanted to see his eyes, was all.

“Yeah, so like. I thought you might enjoy it. You talk about it a lot, anyway. So I figured, I might as well, if I have the ingredients, you know?”

“Sure, sure. Absolutely. No point in having all the ingredients if you’re not gonna make a good meal out of it.” Louis had completely lost the plot at this point but was still determined to try for Harry.

--------------

12. How did you grow as a writer this year: well let’s start w the fact that i began the year convinced i’d remain a reader & beta forever. so the fact that i’ve published one fic, let alone nine, is pretty big in itself lol. aside from that, i’ve gotten more comfortable writing smut & dialogue. before i wrote fics, i only wrote original stories & never included dialogue, so those were my biggest weaknesses when i first started writing fic & they’re still not my strengths yet, but i’ve definitely gotten better, i’d like to think.

13. How do you hope to grow next year: i def want to get more comfortable writing smut & building sexual tension. i want to write longer fics. i want to finish at least 5-10 of the 20 wips i have lol. i’d love to finish all of them, but 5-10 is a good goal. i want to write some different genres like historical, slow burns, etc.

14. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc): i have a few! @loveislarryislove is a big one -- if i need help w a metaphor, making sure a sentence sounds right, incorporating tension building touches, brainstorming, honest feedback, etc, annika is my pea in a pod. also @panye, steph is so lovely & helpful when it comes to brainstorming, talking out what phrasing sounds better, she tells me what needs fixing & how to fix it; basically, she’s the better half of our shared brain cell. @zanniscaramouche is pretty much the reason i feel as comfortable as i do writing smut. she’s patient, she gives examples, she’s kind, she knows just how to change wording around to make a description or dialogue top tier. @justanothershadeofblue, is my sprinting buddy (along with zanni when our schedules align!). having a daily sprinting buddy who cheers you on is delightful, especially when they’re as supportive & willing to get sidetracked in off topic convos w me as zjo!

15. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year: gimme everything you got is based on personal experience in terms of the stigmas that come w female masturbation / women being shamed for exploring their bodies. i work in retail, so while that didn’t inspire it’s like i’m powerful with a little bit of tender, it def helped me know bts info lol. lastly, i’ve recently switched my major from psychology to interior design & my minor from interior design to psychology, so i guess my (new) major showed up in you are my destiny (you are the reason that i still believe). hostile work environment was also inspired by my retail job as well LMAO. there’s more in my wips tbh, but as for my currently published fics, that’s it, i think!

16. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers: just remember that how ‘popular’ or ‘unpopular’ your fic may be / may get isn’t an indicator of your talent. write something bc you want to write it, not bc you think it’ll appeal to people. take breaks -- if you’re stuck on a scene or sentence, get up & do something else for a bit. if you keep rereading the same sentence over & over, it’s only going to keep sounding more & more scrambled. you’ll work much better with a clear head & will be able to see where the mistakes -- if any -- actually are.

17. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year: my cinderella au for sure! i started a fic inspired by one of my fav fics staring across the room by the lovely @allwaswell16 & it’s been put to the side for much longer than i’ve wanted. i initially put it to the side to get more practice writing tension building, but def want to finish it next year. i also finally started the sequel to my girl direction fic, so that as well. & the sequel to my christmas fic lmao. i have lots of things i need to finish 😭😭

18. Tag some writers whose answers you’d like to read: i honestly don’t know anyone who hasn’t done or been tagged in either of these yet, but i’ll tag a few anyway lol @lululawrence @thebreadvansstuff @panye @kingsofeverything @voulezloux @infinitelymint @londonfoginacup @twopoppies @littleroverlouis @tommokat @crinkle-eyed-boo @disgruntledkittenface @kingonafiftymetreroad @daggerandrose @homosociallyyours @ireallysawanangel & anyone else who wants to do these!

#tags and challenges #my fics #my writing #fic q&a #finally did it with one day in the year to spare #not counting tomorrow at least lmao #wooooo

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needsmoresleepwrites · 10 months ago

Text

Gift for adorations: "Kei goes to Tadashi’s house almost every day and almost every day he falls asleep on his bed." (Dec'23 GDC)

Kei Dreams

read on AO3

Kei doesn’t really like the holidays. It’s not because Christmas starts months in advance and every single ad he sees is about buying your loved one that super special and perfect gift and we can make sure it’s perfect if you buy with US. It’s not even because Santa decorated everythings were suddenly shoved in his face. Although, he admits he once asked Santa to get him a Santa-themed T-Rex figure but he was 10 so he thinks he gets a pass. He didn’t know better…

(Ok, he’s lying. That is a big part of why he dislikes the holidays, especially Christmas)

“Tsukki,” he feels someone shake him awake, “It’s getting late.”

There’s a warm hand on his cheek and he grumbles something that makes Tadashi laugh. There’s movement around the room and he keeps his eyes closed just a moment longer. When he finally opens his eyes, Tadashi is out of his uniform. He’s grabbing all of his stuff (wallet, game console, notebooks, and pencils) and packing them back in his bag. Kei realizes with a bit of annoyance that he did it again.

“I’m sorry,” he says, “I didn’t mean to fall asleep again.”

(He goes to Tadashi’s house almost every day and almost every day he falls asleep on his bed)

Tadashi sets his packed bag down and goes back to Kei’s side. He pats his side and grins, “It’s ok. It was too cold to study anyway, and we did technically finish what we had to at school.”

“Is my brother here?” Kei asks, because even when he tells his mother he can just walk home alone, she always worries and sends Akiteru to pick him up. Tadashi nods and Kei reluctantly gets out of bed.

He thinks that if Tadashi didn’t sleep in it every night, it would smell more like Kei with how often he wakes up on it.

Tadashi hugs him with a grin and asks, “Do you want to brush your teeth?”

He holds Tadashi back loosely, his eyes still feeling a bit crusty and he wants to yawn but he’s very conscious of how his breath smells. He nods and Tadashi pecks him on the mouth, “Ok.”

Kei goes into the bathroom, which is right across from Tadashi’s room to finish waking up. When he steps out, he’s glad he can hear the TV and Tadashi’s voice downstairs. He grabs his bag and heads down too.

His brother is there, sitting at the Yamaguchi table with Tadashi and his parents. When he sees Kei he grins, “Ready to go?”

Kei knows he’s pouting when Akiteru laughs. He turns back to Tadashi’s parents and nods, “Thanks for the tea. It’s really delicious.” He flashes a tea box at them, “I’m sure Mom will love them. I’ll wait outside.”

The last bit is for him because (as Akiteru likes to tease), he knows he doesn’t like to be watched when he’s being all ‘cuddly’ with his boyfriend. Don’t worry, it’s not weird, it’s a teenager thing

Yamaguchi’s parents also tease and he feels himself go red, but Tadashi just grabs his hand and tugs him toward the genkan. He bows his head and excuses himself.

Kei is taller than Tadashi, but when he steps down to put on his shoes, Tadashi is the taller of the two. But only just. He knows Tadashi likes it when they stand like this (Kei does too) because he’s able to wrap Kei in his arms from above. Kei doesn’t like to hold Tadashi like that. He likes to hold him around his back and waist. (So he does)

Tadashi kisses his forehead and it would feel suffocating with anyone else but it feels warm with Tadashi. He knows not to hold on too tightly

He whispers into Kei’s ear, “I’m so excited for tomorrow.”

Kei isn’t, “I’m not.” (He is. Just not entirely. He’ll have to share Tadashi and it’ll be busy).

Tadashi just laughs because he knows, “Will we have time for a nap?”

Kei shakes his head, “We’ll be too busy. Mother likes to cook.”

---

They don’t have Christmas off, which means Kei still has to go to school in the morning and sit through boring lectures. Volleyball is canceled today though, which means he’s able to take the train to Tadashi’s school (still in the same town but a few stops from Kei’s). They both get ready at the dorms at his school. There’s no time to sit down and relax because his mother is already sending him messages of things she forgot to buy that he should get on his way home

Tadashi grins, “It’ll be like a little date.”

Kei smiles back and grabs his hand.

---

Christmas in the Tsukishima household is fairly simple. Most years, his mother just buys most of what they’ll eat but when Kei came home one day and announced (shoes still on, bag still in hand, and a frown on his face), Tadashi will be over for Christmas this year, is that ok? she had been over the moon!

She pulled out old recipe books she only used occasionally, watched cooking videos like she was going to be on some professional cooking show, and asked him repeatedly about Tadashi’s likes and dislikes.

Is he ok with dairy? What about eggs? Does he like cheese?

He likes rice, right? No wait, maybe he’s more of a bread person.

Do you know what kind of cake he likes best?

He reminds his mother that Tadashi isn’t some stranger he picked up off the street but his elementary school friend, It’s not his first time coming over

His mother laughs but continues her barrage of questions, But it’s his first time here as your boyfriend. I can’t disappoint!

---

In the end, Kei and Tadashi walk into the Tsukishima household with a bag of yokan sweets and frozen vegetables. Tadashi sniffs the air and nearly drools, “It smells so good!”

He speaks loud enough to be heard in the kitchen and he knows his mother heard when a muffled, “Did you hear that Aki?” carries through the hall. There’s some shuffling and then his mother hurries over. She’s drying her hands on her apron and her smile is wide. Tadashi matches her cheer but Kei just wants the day to be over with

“Welcome, welcome,” she calls and pulls at Kei’s other arm, “Come in you two. Oh, Tadashi! Look at how much you’ve grown!”

She pulls him into a hug and Kei rolls his eyes. He lets go of Tadashi’s hand and goes to the kitchen to drop off the bag he’s carrying.

When he hears Tadashi say, “Oh! I’d love to help!” he knows they’re doomed. Akiteru gives him a shrug, taste-testing the broth his mother has on low heat. He makes a noise and then hovers a spoon near Kei’s mouth, “It’s so good! Try it!”

Kei just stares and Akiteru does too. It’s been a few years since they’ve talked and figured things out, but sometimes Kei wishes Akiteru still backed down like he used to. Now his stubbornness outlasts Kei’s and he sighs, opening his mouth.

Kei’s eyes go a little wide because it really is good

Before he can say anything, their mother walks into the kitchen, “You two better not be sticking your fingers in there.”

Kei raises his hands and he can see the way Tadashi covers his mouth behind his mother, hiding a laugh. Akiteru, however, doesn’t get off too easily. He’s got the spoon in his hand after all.

He defends, “I’m only making sure it doesn’t burn, just like you said.”

---

They sit down to watch TV after dinner. Dinner had run a little late because they had to let the food cool down. She looks at Tadashi when she says, “You know how Kei is.”

Tadashi, who ends up sitting between the couch armrest and Kei nods. They share conspiratorial grins and Kei rolls his eyes, “You can’t taste anything if it’s too hot.”

Which is why he hasn’t touched his tea yet. It sits on the table with steam coming off the top. And it could be Tadashi’s warmth as he sits tight against Kei’s side, or the warmth of the house, which still has the smell of dinner in the air. Or it could be the sound of the TV and his family’s voices, but eventually, he dozes.

(He dreams of more holidays just like today)

He wakes up a few hours later with his head on Tadashi’s chest and his body askew. He’s somehow maneuvered himself so that he’s half laying across Tadashi, who has also moved to hold him (spoon him, his mind corrects) more comfortably. His mother is sitting on the floor with her legs tucked into the kotatsu at the center of the room, a blanket over her shoulders, and the TV still on (volume lowered). His brother isn’t in the room anymore but he can see another blanket on the other side of the kotatsu so he knows he hasn’t been gone long

The lights from the Christmas tree dance along the walls.

He looks over to see Tadashi dozing as well. His face is peaceful and Kei watches as different parts of his face light up as the lights change. He must be staring too hard or it might be the movement, but Tadashi’s eyes open slowly. When he realizes Kei is awake, he smiles softly and leans their heads close

“Is it time yet?”

“Dunno,” he mumbles.

His mother looks back at them and smiles, “We still have about two hours, but if you kids want to open gifts now and get some proper rest, we can do that too.”

“Where’s Akiteru?” Kei asks, sitting up and rubbing some feeling back into his limbs. Tadashi rubs his back too. Kei grabs his cup of tea, which has gone cold. It helps him wake up some more.

“He’s on the phone, but he should be back soon.”

Soon ends up being fifteen minutes and in that time they’ve cleared the kotatsu and set up the gifts to be unwrapped.

He panics, “Wait! Isn’t it too soon?”

“We’re opening them early because we’re tired,” Kei tells him.

Akiteru only grins, “You mean you’re tired.”

“You can open your gifts last .” Akiteru whines, his mother laughs, and Tadashi snickers. As they all sit around the kotatsu, Kei doesn’t miss the little box Akiteru slips into the pile.

---

His mother sets up her phone to record and Tadashi flashes a peace sign before saying, “Tsukki! Let’s open your gifts first!”

He pushes a box toward him and Kei looks at him with a smirk, “You do realize we’re supposed to guess who these are from, right?”

Tadashi looks at Kei’s mother, “I have no idea who that one is from.”

She smiles, “Oh, I can wager a guess.”

Kei rolls his eyes and opens the gift. When he does, he feels his eyes twitch and he turns to Tadashi, who is smiling innocently. It’s a Christmas sweater with a pixelated T-Rex eating Santa Claus. In a horror-esque font it says SANTA CLAWS and tiny rocks are falling from the top. One of the sleeves is wrapped in Christmas lights and some of them even come off as 3-D puffs.

“It’s…ugly.”

“That’s the point!” Tadashi laughs.

Kei’s mother claps, “Oh Kei! You have to wear it now. It’s perfect.”

And Kei is weak to Tadashi and his mother so when they both urge him, he relents. He puts on the sweater over his clothes and frowns when Akiteru takes a picture.

“Can you send me that picture?”

“Already sent!” Tadashi’s phone buzzes.

Kei didn’t even realize they knew each other’s numbers.

They open gifts in that style and when his mother grabs a small box to see who it’s for, Kei says, “That one’s from Akiteru.”

---

Tadashi spends the night and when they’re both in bed (Kei sans the ugly Christmas sweater), Tadashi gives him an extra gift. It’s small and flat and Kei is pretty sure it’s an envelope but less sure about the contents. He frowns, “Why didn’t you put it with the others?”

Tadashi is blushing and Kei likes the way it makes his freckles pop.

He’s a little quiet when he says, “This one is special. I…I didn’t want your family to see it yet. Open it.”

Kei opens it and feels his eyes widen when he sees what’s inside. It’s a listing for a small apartment and at the top of the paper it says, Do you want to live together? in Tadashi’s messy script

It’s quiet in his room and Tadashi begins to ramble, “We, uh. We haven’t talked about it too much, just vaguely, I know, but I was thinking that starting in the next school year we can do this instead of staying in the dorms. It would be cheaper and we wouldn’t have to-”

“Tadashi,” Kei stops him. Tadashi stops talking and Kei isn’t even sure what he wants to say. His heart is pounding and he’s sure his face is red.

Instead, Kei takes his hand and squeezes. He nods and Tadashi lights up.

“Really?” he asks, “It’s not too much? I know you like your space and-”

Kei squeezes his hand again, “It’s not too much. I want to.” He gestures at the paper, “We can talk more about it tomorrow.”

---

Kei dreams of days that aren’t completely taken up by his long naps. He dreams of waking up to Tadashi’s smiling face and instead of hearing it’s time, Tadashi asks him, “What should we have for dinner?”

---

A/N:

For adorations.

EEEE!! Another gift fic and this one is for the holidays :D i really liked the cute and domestic prompts because that's the kind of HQ i love LOL. Adorations, you mentioned wanting (if possible) some type of chronic rep and idk if this is it but you mentioned fatigue and i suddenly remembered how most of my HS time with my then s/o was spent with me sleeping bc i would always fall asleep at their house xD so tsukki is now sleepy boy. even now i do have a weird sleep schedule sometimes and if i can get away with it, i do everything (yes even washing the dishes) while sitting (hehe) some of the prompts you gave me + established relationship/domestic + canon compliant/college au + meet the family/family dynamics + ugly sweaters

#tsukiyama #i write ff #fanfiction #gifts and exchanges #haikyuu #greatest decoy challenge #established relationship #college au #future fic #christmas fic #amwriting

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somevirtualnolife · 10 months ago

Text

Mistletoe Mishaps

Rating: G Series: Tokimeki Memorial: Girls Side 2nd Kiss Pairing: Daisy (OC) x Masaki Motoharu Summary:

Masaki helps out his kohai when a frustrating customer demands their whole supply of mistletoes. (2024 Secret Santa gift for the TMGS Discord group)

Also on Ao3

Author’s Note:

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone! Secret Santa is still going on in the TMGS discord group and this year my person requested an OC/Masaki art or fic. Since I'm not a great artist, I of course, went with a fic.

Masaki-sempai was one of the first boys (perhaps the second) I completed a playthrough for, so I was SO excited to get a chance to write about him! He holds such a special place in my heart. The person's OC was also super fun to write as well! It's a good way to practice for me as well.

Happy reading~!

“Thank you for shopping with us!” Masaki grinned and waved at the customer who left with a large bouquet of red roses. Someone was going to have a great weekend, that was for sure.

Christmas was right around the corner, so Anneri was a bit busier than usual. They were a mix of pre-orders for Christmas Day itself and for those who wanted to miss the holiday madness and have their couple’s celebrations a bit earlier.

The young man gave a bit of a stretch as he looked at the clock on the wall. About one more hour before his shift ended. Normally he wasn’t this tired, but this time of the year really was one of their busiest. Thankfully, they always managed to push through.

“Come on! Can’t you just make the exception? Why you gotta be such a pain about this?”

Masaki looked over his shoulder as soon as he started to hear the complaining. It seemed to be coming from a guy, roughly his age with a gaudy leather jacket and slicked-back, fake-red hair. Not typically the type you’d see in a flower shop, but who was he to judge? That being said, customers here weren’t normally aggressive, considering the type of stuff they sold. Any that were difficult usually turned an about-face when Arisawa was around. That woman could just glare and people would stop dead in their tracks.

“S-s-sorry, but it really is just a maximum of two per customer…” A teen girl whimpered, lifting a clipboard just above her nose, only showing her blue eyes, which were starting to swell with tears.

Unlike Arisawa, Ali wasn’t exactly one to take on rude customers head-to-head. The second-year Hanegasaki student was much softer spoken and would rather not make any waves, even if she was in the right. It meant that anyone who could bulldoze, would bulldoze her.

“This is so bogus! Why can’t you just do what I say? Customer’s always right, ain’t they!?”

Masaki’s fist clenched he took a deep breath. Keep calm Motoharu. Be diplomatic about this. You don’t want to get the shop in trouble either. But he certainly wasn’t going to leave Ali hanging either.

“She’s right. Only two per customer,” he finally said, strolling up towards the two. He had a welcoming smile on his face, but the tone of his voice had a slight edge to it. “Maybe there’s something else we can help you with?”

“Masaki-sempai!” she let out a long exhale, a relieved smile appearing on her face. He gave her a quick wink and tilted his head slightly to motion for her to get behind him. She quickly did, clutching onto the loose sleeve of his white hoodie and peering over. He felt a slight tingle on the back of his neck when she did that but focused on the current issue in front of him.

“Come on, man, I’m sure you have tons! You’d be helpin’ a guy out!”

Masaki let out a bit of a sigh. Being clear on the rules wasn’t going to persuade him to do differently, so maybe he just needed someone to lend an ear.

“Why would you need so many anyway?”

“It’s for a goukon party!” the customer continued to plead. “I get these above every doorframe, my car, maybe above some of the classrooms at uni… there’s no way I’m not getting lucky!”

Ah.

So, he’s that type of guy. Mistletoes weren’t just cute little decorations that couples would playfully use as an excuse to show their affection to him. No, they were his way to not be alone this holiday.

“Well, if you put those in any classroom, you’re definitely going to get kicked out for harassment.” Masaki continued calmly.

“Dude, it’s Christmas! Cut me some slack here!” the customer’s voice started to crack like he was a toddler instead of an 18-year-old.

“How about we give you three?” Masaki lifted his hand. “One for your party, one for your room, one for… uhhh…”

“O-on your keychain,” Ali peeped. “T-t-hat way you can use it a-a-anytime, a-a-anyplace.”

An eyebrow lifted, impressed with the quick thinking. “Yeah! Why waste your time putting a bunch of mistletoes everywhere, when you could just reuse one when that special moment arises?”

This finally gave the red-haired customer pause, as he was doing the mental calculations in his head.

“That does save me a wad of cash. Fine! I’ll take three.”

The two flower shop workers let out a sigh of relief as they rang the guy through the cash register and gave him his three mistletoes. Sure, they were still breaking the ‘max two per customer’ rule, but it was better than selling the guy their entire stock. They were a hot item considering they imported them all the way from Europe. By the time all was said and done it was time to close up for the evening.

“Do you need a ride home tonight?” Masaki asked.

“Ah, no, it’s okay,” Ali said as she zipped up her coat. “My mom is going to come pick me up this time since it’s cold.”

“I’ll wait for her to come then. I’d hate to leave you outside in the snowy and dark all by yourself.”

The two then did another check around the store, making sure that everything was in its place.

“… Thanks, by the way,” Ali continued. “It’s really hard d-dealing with people sometimes.”

“To be fair, that guy was the exception. You did fine,” Masaki grinned. Sure, Ali was incredibly shy, but she was always trying her best. She worked so hard to try and be more sociable. It was endearing. “You were the one who suggested the keychain thing. Though now I’m worried about what kind of menace we just enabled.”

He then scratched the back of his head, letting out a bit of a sigh. “God, barely anyone does mistletoe kissing in Japan unless you’re at like, partying with some exchange students. He just wants to find an excuse. I bet if he just turns it down a notch, he’d probably be fine. This kind of stuff is supposed to be fun and sporadic. Not forced.”

Once the lights were turned off and everything was well locked up, Masaki held the door open for them to both leave.

“You sound like you speak from experience,” she then clasped her hands over her mouth, perhaps realizing how that sounded and starting to sweat. “I d-d-didn’t mean it like you were a playboy or something. Just like -uh..!”

Masaki couldn’t help but laugh as he finally locked the store door behind them. He’d be lying if he denied it. “As long as you don’t think me a bad guy,”

Ali shook her head furiously, before staring up at him with her big blue eyes. “I could never think that of you. You’re the best.”

The back of his neck started to tingle just like earlier when she was holding onto him. But this time, he had nothing to distract him. All attention was on her.

He’d been feeling that sensation more and more with Ali. Not just when she would compliment him or grab onto him. But when she tried to smile or make eye contact with him. When she’d share what was going on at Hanegasaki. And while it always started on the back of his neck, it always expanded further, creating a certain tightness in his chest.

Masaki knew what this was of course, as much as he tried to ignore it. He wanted to be her reliable sempai who was always there for her no matter what.

And yet, seeing her now in the now dim light, part of him wanted to throw that away. His olive eyes gazed at the short brunette gently, which she took notice of.

“…Masaki-sempai?”

Damn, it. He was doing it again without thinking. His olive eyes lingered on her for a little bit longer before looking up above him.

��No mistletoe.”

“H-huh?”

“Above the door.” He pointed. “We sell it, but we haven’t put any up. Guess no kiss tonight, huh?”

Ali’s glasses then began to fog up as she started to babble incoherently, her arms waving around.

“Wh-wh-WHAT?” was the only clear word that she managed to finally spit out.

“I’m joking, don’t worry,” he replied, a large grin widening on his face. “Arisawa would tear me a new one if I put something up that encouraged couples to block our doorway.”

“Ughh… you almost gave me a heart attack,” she grasped at her chest, clearly trying to regain what little composure she had.

One of Masaki’s large hands ruffled her hair. “Sorry, you’re just so fun to tease. I just wanted to see how you’d react.”

A car then parked in one of the spots near his car. He lifted his hand off Ali’s head and waved politely.

“Looks like your ride’s here. Have a safe drive home and I’ll see you next week, right?”

“You have a safe drive home too, Masaki-sempai. And no more funny stuff!” she scolded before quickly bowing and running off to the car.

Masaki waved as they drove off before hopping into his car and starting it. He leaned back in his seat waiting for it to warm up a bit before hitting the road.

He closed his eyes, thinking about what he had just done.

“A joke, huh?” He said aloud to himself.

No. He knew it wasn’t a joke.

If a mistletoe had been there, he knew it would have been different. His hand would not have been ruffling her head, but instead, caressing her cheek, tilting her chin up, so he could continue to look into her eyes. He would lean in closely and then…

“I would have kissed you, Ali.”

#tokimeki memorial girl's side #tokimeki memorial girl's side 2nd kiss #masaki motoharu #masaki x oc #secret santa gift exchange #fanfiction #otome #also on ao3

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planetnini · 10 months ago

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Hi hi again Nini, I'm here one last time before the big reveal! :D

Where I live it's technically very early on New Year's Eve (a bit past midnight as I write this) so it's officially the big day! I managed to get your gift all finished up (it ran a bit longer than I originally planned hehe :> ) so all I have to do tomorrow is go through and edit to make sure it'll be good for you, and then I'll post it! It may be posted a bit later in the day tomorrow (for me at least, since I have no clue what the time difference is if you're in Australia) since i have some New Year's errands to run tomorrow, but your gift will be officially posted tomorrow before the day ends and the new year starts, and you'll know who I am! :D

I just wanted to say one last time that this exchange was a ton of fun, and I'm glad it gave me the chance to interact with you and get to know you! I'd love to keep chatting even after this exchange, but whatever happens, thanks for making this event so much fun and I really hope you enjoy your final gift tomorrow :]

To answer your last question, this year I'm looking forward to hopefully getting out of my shell more now that I've settled into college and hopefully making some new friends, and I also started journaling to hopefully make myself a bit put together :) Your goals sound super admirable as well, and I hope you have an amazing new year ahead of you!

Please feel free to reach out to me once this exchange is over if you ever wanna chat and be friends, and thanks for making this whole thing so fun! It's been awesome, and I look forward to seeing your reaction to your gift later :]

For the last time,

- Your Secret Santa 🎁

as of when i’m sending it to u, i am far off into th future in 2024😵‍💫 crazy… thank u for being here for me during this month!

it’s finally the time omg, i feel bad i keep typing and haven’t rly edited my piece for my person.. im a terrible secret santa … don’t stress abt being late at all, i’m not fussed about it<3

omg i was also planning to journal more this year too!! hopefully this year treats us well🫡

i’m excited to find out who u are. thank you for everything

happy new years

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kiegotakami · 11 months ago

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helloooo, your content creator secret santa here !!! 🎅🏻

i did a little lurking on your blog already but by all means i wanna ask you a few questions😂😅 what are your favourite movies, tv shows? who are some of your beloved characters? ships? what kind of musical artists do you listen to? do you like to read? favourite book? fav. lyrics/ quote? favourite colour?

any preferences? something in particular you like to see? ANYTHING i should leave out/ avoid while making your gift?

have a great week!!! <3 and until next time 🫡

hi!!!!! I tried to answer this last night and then my phone froze 🫠 let’s try again! I wanna make sure I give you enough variety!

my favorite movies include: castle in the sky, your name, and the scream franchise

my fave tv shows include: black sails, my hero academia, over the garden wall, derry girls, the haunting of hill house, andor, succession, when I fly towards you, gravity falls, and hometown cha cha cha

some of my most beloved characters are: keigo takami, erin quinn, sheeta, cassian andor, sansa stark, kendall roy, izuku midoriya, ochaco uraraka, sam carpenter, sidney prescott, jyn erso, john silver, katara, and zuko

ships: izuku x ochaco, zutara, percabeth, erin x james, cassian x jyn, and sheeta x pazu, to name a few!

I listen to chappell roan, the national, lord huron, tswift, noah kahan, and florence + the machine

I’m a big fan of percy jackson! the og series 😊 I’m super excited for the show as well!

my favorite color is orange or maybe brown but when it comes to edits I tend to like browns and greens and pale tones and reds and black&white the most!

honestly I don’t have any major preferences! I think one thing is that I would prefer a gift that isn’t focused on a music artist, though I’d be delighted if you included lyrics in your gift (if that’s the vibe you wanna go for)! I like sibling bonds and final girls and romances. and I’m just really excited for this event and I’m looking forward to whatever you decide to create! I hope you have fun with it! if you have any more questions or need more options, lmk! I’ll be happy to provide some ⛄️ I hope you’re doing well and I hope you have a good weekend!!

#imagine me bundled up 🧸☕️ waiting by the tree 🎄#ccss2023 #anonymous #answered

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golfupnorth · 2 years ago

Text

February 1, 2023 Newsletter

Anxiously Awaiting Golf Season!

As football is winding down all that is left is the big game. Not my choice of teams to be in the Super Bowl but The Chiefs and the Eagles should be fun to watch. Even though my Lions didn’t make the playoffs (I’m not going there), I have watched every game leading up to this. The only consolation of my team not being in the Super Bowl is that no matter who wins I won’t be crying in my beer (in my case Captain Morgan).

Once the Super Bowl is done I will really start obsessing about getting out on the golf course (my weekends are now open). I have mentioned numerous times that I got new clubs last season and how much I loved them. Especially my Big Bertha 7 wood. I have also mentioned numerous times how much I struggle with irons.

Do I need Irons?

I am slowly getting to the point where I may never need an iron other than a pitching wedge and sand wedge.

My set came with a 3 wood, 5 & 6 hybrids and I added the 7 wood. Those clubs are my go-to clubs for fairway shots. There are still times where I have to grab an iron and because I don’t believe I can hit them well, I rarely do. Santa is trying help me with the under 100 yard lies that my current woods/hybrids just won’t work with and my irons are hit or miss with. Woke up Christmas and found a Big Bertha 9 wood under our tree. I have not had a chance to try it and am planning to go to a simulator and give it a try. We will see how that works out.

Simulators, Driving Ranges, and Practice Swings

I am not a patient woman and not a fan of doing something that doesn’t have immediate measurable results. Because of that I don’t take practice swings, I am bored at driving ranges and simulators seem silly. That said I want to try my 9 wood and that may be the only way and I can suck it up and try it again.

My lack of patience and unwillingness to practice is probably why I haven’t seen under 100 yet. Now I do love playing at Top Golf, which has goals and scores in a way that makes sense to me. Simulators have a weird algorithm that using my club speed, angles, etc. to determine how far and where my ball landed. I am just not sure what to do with simulators.

Are you asking yourself this?

Why am I reading a newsletter by someone that hasn’t golfed for that long and that really doesn’t know enough about golf to write about golf? You are exactly right, I don’t know enough, but I love this game. I hope my passion and commitment to the sport comes through. That my struggles with my irons and getting below 100 have you remembering when you were in my shoes (maybe you still are). That every year I am sure I will break 100 and get so excited about the first par of the year reminds you of your early years of golf. Maybe even have you chuckling here and there.

This newsletter is not meant to make you a scratch golfer or provide tips that will get you to the top of the leaderboards. It is entertainment about my experiences on various courses. My perspective is not from a “good” golfer’s views, but someone still learning and just having fun on the course.

Why a Newsletter?

Funny story, I never planned to write a newsletter. A website (more on that later) that I dreamed up was built. The webmaster added the option to sign up for a newsletter. I missed that in the final walk through before going live and before I knew it we had subscribers.

Oh sh*t! I am barely a golfer, how will I write about golf?

Our first issue was stiff and boring, a recap of the stats/specs of a few golf course up north. I was falling asleep writing it. I can only imagine what our readers thought. Surprisingly, nobody unsubscribed and our subscribers started growing. Now I was really on the line to be witty and charming to folks I have never met. What have I done?

Based on our newsletter open rates every month and growing subscribers we must be doing something right. I appreciate all the wonderful feedback and comments. I am having a blast with coming up with content and writing this newsletter.

What about the Website?

golfupnorth.com came about out of my need. When I started golfing I became a tad obsessed. I wanted to golf every course I could find in northern Michigan. Wanting to book stay and play trips every weekend. I would search for courses in northern Michigan. Then have to visit their website to see if they offered lodging. It was not as easy as you would think in this digital day and age to find options easily.

There are several national and statewide websites for courses. Having to go down too many rabbit holes to find courses. I was not able to see all courses available in an area on one page. Going course by course to see what they offered and writing notes on scrap paper.

I wanted to enter an address of a hotel or an area I wanted to visit and see what courses were nearby and basic information about them. None of these sites offered me a way to see several courses and what they offered “at a glance” within a certain mile range of a location.

Frustration breeds Innovation

In my frustration I started a data base in an excel document of courses and what they offered. That soon got clunky and I would have to reduce the file on the screen so much that I could barely read the rows and columns. It just wasn’t easy to manage and didn’t provide what I wanted.

My needs are simple. I want to be able to go to one place and find courses that offered stay and play packages in different parts of northern Michigan. To find other courses in that general area/region. To show me those courses on one screen so I could compare. That is where the website idea came up. Could we do a filter command that would allow me to sort my database in a way that provided the information I wanted in a format that worked for me. Turned out we could.

Golf Up North was Born

I never thought others would use golfupnorth.com or even find it. The site was to make my life easier and it has. I use it all the time to find courses to play at.

I should have suspected that if golf is in the domain name you will be found. Next thing you know folks are using the site the same as I am. And signing up for this newsletter.

Finding courses that may not be easily found any other way. Many of the smaller courses don’t have the marketing budget to advertise or join tourism groups. It can be hard to get their name out there. They subsist on word of mouth and locals. I have found that the places only the locals know about are typically the best whether it is a restaurant, beach, or a golf course.

I love going to courses that I have read about, and everyone raves about. Who wouldn’t want to golf some of the best courses in the country? But northern Michigan has some jewels hiding off the beaten path. If you haven’t explored more than just the “known” courses you are missing out.

Having so much fun we added more websites!

Discovered I enjoy writing and this led us to create a few blog sites - Adventures in Northern Michigan and Northern Michigan History.

Seeing the favorable response to Golf Up North, we have also created the same type of directory websites for other industries in northern Michigan - Up North Breweries, Up North Wineries. We are having a lot fun with this and have more sites coming in the near future. We love northern Michigan and happy to promote it!

Golf Up North's Top 5 Golf Balls

A few people have written us and suggested I do reviews on balls, clubs, etc. I laughed and laughed. While I appreciate the confidence, but let us be real, do you really want to take my word on clubs or balls? I am 7-8 years into playing and because my first used set of clubs were Callaway and the first balls I was given were Callaway, bet you can guess what I use. 😊

Since my giving intelligent and insightful reviews was not going to happen I decided I could take a different approach. I started watching what clubs, shoes, balls, etc. that golfers on courses I visited were using. Because I am very adept at being annoying, I would ask when I would run into them at the clubhouse, the turn, even the parking lot what they used and why.

I was Charming, Not Creepy at All!

Well, a little creepy LOL. This led to some remarkably interesting conversations. Did not change my mind about Callaway but wasn’t expecting it to. I have compiled all that data and working on putting it all together to share. The first one I completed was the top 5 golf balls. This is based on hundreds of golfers I talked to. You can read the top 5 picks on our website.

You may have noticed we are now an amazon affiliate. This helps us maintain the site and to continue to offer free schwag. We felt this was a better option than having a lot of annoying ads constantly popping up. If you are inclined and need some golf balls, use the links in the article or click on the images and order your golf balls on Amazon through those links. We receive a small percentage of the sale and it does not affect your price at all.

Join the discussion on Golf Up North Facebook Group

Let us know your favorite course, tips or anything golf related! We encourage golf courses to share their news and specials with our group.

You can also like and follow us on Facebook and/or Instagram where we share information on golf courses Up North and what we think are funny or interesting tidbits about golf.

Share Your Favorite Course With Us

We would love to hear about your favorite Course in the Upper Peninsula or Northern Lower Michigan. Send pictures of golfing your favorite course and a couple of sentences about why you love the course. We will share your pictures and recommendations with our readers and on our social media accounts. If you include a mailing address, we will send you some Golf Up North schwag as a thank you!! Send your pictures and comments to [email protected]

Find your Up North Golf Course

If you would like to find your perfect Up North golf course visit Golf Up North.

We hope you enjoyed our latest issue of The Golf Up North Newsletter.

Disclosure: We never tell a course who we are when we book and play a course. We do not ask nor will we accept free rounds to write about a course. We pay full price for our rounds for everyone in our group.

Golf Up North is part of the Up North Entertainment Group. Our family of sites also includes Up North Entertainment, Up North Wineries, Up North Breweries, Golfing Northern Michigan, Adventures in Northern Michigan, and Northern Michigan History.

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