#idk his name yet but he lives in a swamp with his uncle

[chipsoda]

cool and awesome sona i made up just now

[su-univeralai]

GOOODDDD MORRNNNNIINNNGGGGG SUU 💛

I am here for your essay. Or yknow, just any dunebaby facts that you can spare.

*heavy breathing* oh no, she's come for my OCs exactly like she said she would.

lolol Ok, I've got bios on 9 out of 10 of my kids so far, but I wrote a quick blurb about them so hopefully you can't figure out who I didn't start until now lol. The older 4 (which 3/4 are legit characters in LOK, but tweaked to my liking) are grown-ass adults while the other 6 are probably between 14-21. So, our beloved Taang parents have been popping kids out from when they were 18 or 19 to 39 or 40 years old.

At some point I'll make a family tree for you, since most of the older dunebabies have their own families and that can be confusing. Some have more information than others, but more will be added on each of them as time goes on. I just haven't figured them out yet.

Also, gonna put a cut here, because it's a long post and I know not everyone wants to see my OCs lol.

Ok Onto the Dunebabies from oldest to youngest:

Gyatso (M) Airbender, 35: Named after Aang’s father figure, Gyatso is Toph and Aang’s first born and first of several airbending children. He has a knack for the art and excelled quickly with mastering it, narrowly falling short of beating Aang’s record of mastering airbending at 13. As he got older and his parents continued having children, he became like a father figure to the younger ones. That’s the best part about having tons of kids, right? At some point the older ones raise the younger ones and the parents can just have fun. Once Tiao Wu turned 13, Gyatso and his own wife, boyfriend, and kids moved away from home and resided in the Western Air Temple with some Air Acolytes.

Lin (F) Earthbender, 32: Lin is a straight arrow, always following the rules. Sometimes Toph’s jokes that her first born daughter is actually Katara’s because wasn’t as goofy as Gyatso and Tenzin. As kids, Lin and Tenzin butted heads like no other. They may have had a year or two when they got along, but that was when Lin was training to be a police officer and Tenzin was always out because he was dating Pema. They constantly bicker at family gatherings, but make a mean team when they spar against the other next gen kids. Their twin telepathy (yes, they are twins in my universe) comes into play and they are undefeatable. That is until the triplets becomes masters in their own right. While Lin is a talented earthbender and metalbender, she struggled with picking it up (perhaps because of Toph’s hardcore teaching style). She responded to a “more gentle approach” as Katara would say, and Aang helped her learn the basics until she was ready to take on Toph’s more intense lessons. Lin is definitely closer with Aang than she is with Toph, but goes to mom if something needs to be done quickly and under wraps. Lin works long hours as chief of the police force in republic city, so she doesn’t have much time for romance. When she finds a spare moment for intimacy, she frequents a bar that accepts everyone. She brought Songa with her before her little sis fell in love with (insert steambaby daughter name here).

Tenzin (M) Airbender, 32: Tbh Tenzin still marries Pema and has his four kids, like in LOK. Lol. Unlike the show, with the weight of the whole air nation not on his shoulders, Tenzin was not a serious kid. He played pai sho with the white lotus members and roughed it up with Lin. Tenzin had a difficult time mastering airbending, though. He lacked the spiritual connection that his father and brother easily had. He blamed being stuck with an earthbender in the womb for 9 months at his lack of skill with airbending. His masters airbending at 21 and is pumped to finally get his tattoos. Since Pema is an air acolyte, I'm saying that her parents were also acolytes, and she and Tenzin met as kids and got along really well. They started dating at 16. Tenzin wanted to wait to get his arrows before proposing to her, so they date for 5 long years as Pema cheered him on in the grueling training. Tenzin and Pema eventually move to the Northern Air Temple and kept Teo company.

Suyin (F) Earthbender, 26: Suyin was a troublemaker when she was a kid, always pranking her siblings. She spent way too much time with Sokka. At least that’s what Toph says. Her teenage years, that’s when things became dicey. With Lin on the streets as a cop and Su committing petty crimes, the two were bound to cross paths. After Lin brought her in for whay must have been the thousandth time and Toph had to bail her out, Toph sent her to the her old stomping ground: the Earth Rumble 6. Toph still had her ear in the stadium and stayed in touch with The Boulder, and she thought it’d do her some good to get beat up by other earthbenders. Su stayed with her grandparents and got the structure she needed and got her act together. She got pounded by her opponents the first few years, but she slowly moved her way up the food chain and eventually held her mother’s old title as champion. Once she turned 18, she left to travel the world, meeting up with Kya (can't decide if Kya will be a steambaby or a Sukka baby. Is there a cut name for Sukka babies?). Along the way she met Bataar and fell in love with him and together build zaofu and have all their kids from LOK.

Songa (F) Airbender, 21: The oldest of the triplets to be born. Songa is a calm spirit, she reminds Aang of Yangchen with her way of keeping the peace in their large family. She’s a true romantic like her father and catches the attention of a lot of men, but alas, her heart is won over by one of Katara and Zuko’s daughters, (insert steambaby name here lol). She sees the best in everyone and trusts a little too easily. Watch out though, if you get on her bad side or betray her trust one too many times, her mother’s sass and tongue come out and no one wants to be hit by her earthbending styled airbending. Songa is a talented bender and has a tendency to use her airbending like an earthbender, facing things head on. She can seemlessly switch between styles, but she'd prefer to take her opponents on directly.

Kera (F) Nonbender, 21: Kera is the heart of the triplets. She’s passionate like a firebender and meets conflict head-on like her mom. Being the first non-bender didn’t feel great coming from the lineage of the Avatar and Toph Beifond, strongest earthbender in the world and metalbender originator, but she found peace in being a non-bender when hearing all the stories of Sokka, Suki, Mai, Ty Lee, Teo, and their many other friends taking down bender and non-benders alike. Kera begged her parents to live in the Fire Nation to study under Mai and Ty Lee. Aang and Toph didn’t have any problems with her going, but Zuko and Katara did, fearing she (being a dunebaby) would cause mayhem in the palace. Only after swearing to Zuko that she wouldn’t make a mess did the Fire Lord allow her stay with them. During her time there, she mastered Mai and Ty Lee’s techniques and trained under the Yuyan archers. When she came home, she could beat the other two thirds of her triplets easily. Only when she teams up with the other two, can they take down Lin and Tenzin.

Choekyi (M) Airbender, 21: The last of the triplets to come be birthed. Choekyi is a free spirit, much like his father. He enjoys traveling and meeting new people. As a child (and an adult) he is easily excited and is a very charismatic guy, which gets him far with the ladies in his teens and early twenties. He’s never scared of trying new things, sometimes to his detriment, as he gets hurt a lot for someone light on his toes. His preferred method of transportation is air scooter. Choekyi gets along with Uncle Sokka the most, with his never ending jokes and letting him learn how to throw a boomerang even though he’s a bender. Choekyi spends some time in the swamp with the swamp benders just because he finds them to be hilarious and interesting. This is where he connects with his spirituality and returns to excel in airbending, and earns his tattoos.

Songa and Kera are idenitcal twins, so no one (beside Toph and Choekyi) can tell them apart until Songa earns her arrows. Choekyi looks similar to them, as he is their triplet, but since he came from a different egg, he turns out to be much taller than his sisters. Just imagine Toph's face when she feels three freakin' heartbeats along with hers. Idk if that's scientifically sound, but it's my universe, so I can say what I want lol.

Gyun (M) Nonbender, 18: He's a very musical guy. Gyun means music, but it can also mean germ or bacteria. So his older siblings make fun of him when he’s young. While his bending siblings practice and spar, he masters most musical instruments and even becomes a skilled singer. He’s a favorite of Uncle Iroh’s and spends time with him playing music and perfecting his tea making when he’s not training with Master Piandao and mastering different types of sword fighting styles. Gyun is a lover, not a fighter, and is recruited as the youngest member of the national opera company. He rises in fame, without having to reveal his high ranking connections to his family members. Gyun is a true renaissance man (you know if the renaissance existed back then). He looks up to all of his siblings and soaks in all the stories and advice his can get to perfect the art of storytelling and acting.

MeiLin (F) Nonbender, 17: MeiLin may be one of the youngest, but she’s definitely the sassiest of the bunch. With the personality like her mother, it’s no wonder she’s a bosslady even from a young age. She doesn’t take shit from anyone. While she’s the beauty of the dunebabies (but who really isn’t attractive in this family?) and can hold her poise better than any royal, from the tender age of three, she’s wanted to become the fiercest fighter in the world. After a lot of convincing, Toph and Aang let her train with Aunt Suki and learn how to fight like a Kyoshi Warrior. After she masters that, She begs her parents to send her to the Fire Nation to study under Mai and Ty Lee. By the time she’s 14, she’s already mastered the art of dagger throwing, chi blocking, and the Kyoshi warriors fighting style. Aang isn’t too pleased that she fights in tournaments like Toph did, but Toph watches every match she can get! MeiLin asks her to bet on her and they split the wealth at the end. Lin wants her youngest sister to join the police force when she turns 18, but MeiLin isn't sure she wants to enforce the law like Lin.

Tiao Wu (M) Earthbender, 14: The baby of the family, and loves it. Unlike MeiLin, Tiao Wu is a homebody and a huge mama’s boy, though really isn’t a mama’s boy in the Beifong Family? Like his name suggests, he’s a great dancer and for an earthbender, he sure is light on his toes. While Gyatso is called Twinkletoes Jr, Tiao Wu is known as the Fancy Dancer. Literally. That’s the stage name he chose for his bending dance competitions. When he’s not dancing or hanging out with Toph, he’s studying his cousin’s bending forms, wanting to incorporate it into his repertoire. Tiao Wu is also close to Aang, as he showed an early talent to be one with the spirits. As a six year old, he would meditate next to Aang and beat the freakin’ Avatar, master of all four elements and bridge between the physical and spiritual world, to the Spirit World. He’s also known to be the only human who is allowed to visit Wong Si Tong’s library there.

ALRIGHT Joy, here are some basic facts about my dunebabies universe. If you or anyone else wants to send me asks so I can more deeply construct their personalities, feel free!

[cracknoir]

JOHN COLE SPECIFIC HEADCANONS

so this is more an intro thing to a half-formed character i’ve had in my brain for FIFTEEN ENTIRE YEARS (maybe like, four tops) 

basically he’s a rootin tootin cowboy 

fought in the civil war (on the good side but i forget what one that is) 

seventh son of a seventh son so that means he has 6 brothers and 6 uncles - this is why he does what he does, as only seventh sons can hunt the ghouls 

i kinda “artistically borrowed” most of this junk from these old books i used to read called the spooks apprentice except that was set in like old timey england (yuk) and i thought it’d be cooler as cowboys

he’s married to a witch who is like Classic Wizard Of Oz witch she’s green basically 

he has a horse called catherine and a crow that follows him about and gives him advice. the crow does not have a name but john is still Very Attached. it sits on his shoulder sometimes, and it’s always in the vicinity. if he’s inside, sometimes it taps on the windows

he’s probably one of the last of his profession??? i sort of have it in my head that the whole thing started with the church waaaaaayyyyy back and sort of started dying as a profession when industry hit

he’s met aliens before

he’s met the devil too 

even tho he has a long list of accomplishments he spends most of his days exposing scammers - over half the time he gets asked to visit a town it’s humans at the cause of the shit he’s investigating

this song is John Cole vibes

i don’t know how john cole’s story’s going to pan out, but he’s going to meet jimmy at some point, and i know he’s going to be resurrected in the modern day as like, a rotting zombie mans but idk the whole story behind that junk yet

he’s very empathetic. if the creature he’s talking to can be reasoned with, he’ll always choose that before going in guns blazing

this song by the same guy is also very john 

was very religious until he became an official seventh son - i think that’s what i’m calling them?? i was contemplating just lifting spook from the book before but tbh spook means a fed??? 

probably has a weird almost occultish tattoo on him somewhere -- shoulder i’m thinking

being john’s dealt with: “bigfoot” (ape mountain creatures, not supernatural), skinwalkers, vampires, werewolves, demons, ghosts, zombies (not modern zombies, he’s dealt with both Haitian zombies and these like ghoul things that come out of their graves out of spite - these ones are harmless mostly, just spooky), witches (his main area of expertise), skinwalkers, standard ghosts, goblins (only a couple of times, they come over on boats like rats), he’s also dealt with some sort of cult that does something spooky, also sea monsters and river gods, OH AND A SWAMP MONSTER, i got a thing in mind for a swamp monster he meets. 

he spent two years lost in africa, living with a hunter gatherer tribe

so this is really an early early early draft thing i wrote YEARS ago but he has an alien living on his land that makes moonshine (i have nearly brought this character over a million times, i’m intending if i ever do it to use paul from paul - like, this guy is classic alien gray, the reason i want to bring over this sort of dumb element is cos i have it in my head that the aliums in this universe have like this universal awareness type deal that i think would be really cool to write) - also worth noting that john thinks the aliums are just demons, so he might reference spacemen but he thinks it’s all hocum 

the crow i mentioned earlier is a very useful ally to john for a pretty simple reason. u kno i’ve realised lately that leaving out explicit detail is better for writing so doing these informal things is better so i’m not wasting information cos i can just ramble but basically in my head the crow caws twice if there’s danger and once if it’s clear - the crow can pick up on energies and junk (a lot of like spooky stories from the american woods notes how quiet it is, and i been out in the woods a lot lately and u do notice there’s ALWAYS birds, like this background song you sort of tune out, if that’s not there, and the sun is setting, the woods get bad) 

oh! he can talk to trees! or maybe not talk to trees, but he can read a trees personality, and it’s mood, feel it’s history - not see it, he doesn’t know what the tree has seen unless it wants to share it with him

and that also reminds me, he doesn’t have powers, he has senses. all down to that seventh son of a seventh son thing 

ok i’ve rambled enough if ur reading this ur a champ and i love u 

[madebycoffee]

OH ALSO I finished watching Legend of Korra and here is non spoiler thoughts: I really enjoyed it and just like atla I cried at every single season finale. I really like that the main cast while still young, is older than the lITERAL children of atla. atla still holds up watching it as an adult, but I feel like korra is a bit more my jive. There is only one episode that I won’t watch again (season 4 remembrances, when you are binging the show it isn’t necessary as it’s a recap and not as fun as ember island players which serves the same purpose in atla. Also I looked on IMDB, that is the lowest rated episode. I agree. Honestly, if you are binging you can skip it) but I can def see myself watching the whole thing again. Season 1 is my overall favorite of the series. 

Spoiler thoughts below the cut because WOW I HAVE THOUGHTS (it’s long)

hi spoiler time last chance to look away

Before going into LOK I had read a decent amount of spoilers beforehand since this aired back in 2012-2014. I don’t think I even knew about it after it was nearly done so the one thing I knew was that Korra & Asami get together lol. Anyway my point is I knew what was coming overall.

Season 1: My personal favorite, I think it’s a really strong stand alone season. I thought it was really smart to begin the series in the water tribe again, as well as with Katara as that’s how ATLA started. I also think its really clever that with Aang, he was very spiritual and a master airbender already, but needed to learn the other 3 element. Korra is the opposite. It helps it not be so repetitive. We already saw one avatar working to master fire, water, and earth. I also realized how used to the world of atla I was and was confused for a split second how Mako and Bolin were brothers but one was an earthbender and one was a firebender... Yeah I know I’m dumb and I forgot that its a different world lol.  -Another strong point was that no matter how in danger Korra got in season 1 she never went into the avatar state, because as she says in what ep 1? that she has never been good at the spiritual side of being the avatar. Part of me kept expecting it to happen, but even the final showdown with Amon it didn’t so I was like oh damn. The finale when she does go into the avatar state with Aang giving her the bending she lost back.... I was a wreck. Sobbing my eyes out it just HIT ME.  -Other moments that hit me hard: Hearing Dante Basco’s voice as General Iroh ow my soul, Hearing through Katara that Sokka is dead, The flashbacks to the trial of the bloodbender (forgot his name??) and seeing them get bloodbent HURTS MY HEART. And every time Aang’s statue was shown. ;-; Also, just like ATLA there isn’t a main character that I dislike. I genuinely like Korra, Asami, Mako, & Bolin as a team. Lin is my favorite which not hard being Toph’s daughter lol. Tenzin and fam are a delight (though Meelo can get on my nerves but eh)  TL:DR SEASON 1 IS GREAT I CAN’T WAIT TO WATCH IT AGAIN!!

Season 2: Alright so. A lot of Spirit World dealings. Unalaq being a GASP evil brother??? LOK has a thing about brothers lol. First with Amon and whathisname, now with Korra’s dad and uncle. Anyway, season 2 I really like too. Yes even the finale. And it’s been a few weeks (maybe months??) since I watched season 2 so the finale is really all that stands out. Other than that I do really like seeing the story of the first avatar. OH MAN AND IROH IN THE SPIRIT WORLD HAD ME ALL SORTS OF LEVELS OF EMOTIONAL. -SO. This was the big spoiler I knew going in, that the past lives of the Avatar are severed from Korra. I know that A LOT of people really don’t like it either. And upon hearing that plot point I didn’t like it as well. But when I sat down and watched the whole series. I actually thought it was the right thing to do. And I didn’t mind it as much as I thought. Korra can no longer call upon the past lives which is sad, but those Avatars still existed. And with Tenzin being so prevalent in the show, it really feels like Aang is still there in spirit. The reason I thought it was the right thing to do with the story, is that it let’s the show as a whole exist on it’s own. IDK how to properly explain.. I get why people don’t like it, but it makes sense to me. -And I do commend the show runners for sticking to this. There is no getting contact back with the past lives. Which, personally I approve of. Whenever you do something world altering like that it annoys me when the show takes it back. My main gripe is people dying but wAIT NO THEY’RE ALIVE!!! It lessens the stakes. And I think a through line of Korra is that actions have consequences. TL;DR I LIKE SEASON 2 AS WELL. DOESN’T LEAVE A LASTING IMPRESSION SINCE THE FINALE IS SUCH A BIG DEAL.

Season 3: I THINK this would be my second favorite season. I REALLY like Zaheer as I guess the ~big bad~ and the squad he has. SO much so that I’m actually upset that they all are dead by the end. I think P’Li is done the dirtiest. You see and know very little about her until an ~exposition~ line a few scenes before she dies. (But damn if the scene of Su throwing her metal breastplate around her head isn’t hardcore cool. I haven’t said yet but the fight sequences in Korra??? Amazing.) Bolin finding out he can Lavabend??? oh hell yeah that’s the good shit, same with lavabending in GENERAL. seeing what people can REALLY do with their bending is probably my favorite part about Korra. I do think Zaheer looks a little silly when he starts flying around, but hey that part is cool too. Also easily the most horrified I’ve been watching this show was the pulling the aiR OUT OF SOMEONE. JESUS. Up until that point Airbending still seemed like the least dangerous form but HOLY SHIT. I will say that the way Kuvira is if not introduced/ we’re reminded about her in the finale is a little bit more like “uhhh is Korra’s dad going to have an affair???” to me than “she gonna be the big bad next season” Also on IMDB the finale of season 3 is the highest rated finale. 

Season 4: Even thought this has the same number of episodes as season 3, it feels the most rushed to me. However I do appreciate the timejump and GODTDAMN I love me some old lady Toph. I also like that Toph says that she’s watching Su & Lin through the swamp, an episode or two later Su and Zaofu are attacked and captured, and when Lin, Opal, and Bolin go to Zaofu to try and rescue, Toph is there. It’s a nice payoff. As Su was getting captured I was thinking “hmmmm does Toph see this” And she does, which has her leave the swamp, so she’s not there when Kuvira’s army is cutting vines. Because cmon is Toph was there she woulda kicked their asses. -The huge mecha suit with the spirit weapon on it is HARROWING. I like that Baatar Jr. see’s that Kuvira was gonna kill him for thE gREatER gOOD and was instantly like “oh shit well i guess my loyalties were wrong then ok” Oh and out of order but I had a feeling that Zhu Li was telling Kuvira what she wanted to hear to be sneaky and I was v happy to be proven right by Toph. I ALSO like that things like Toph being able to tell if people are lying aren’t forgotten about. Also... Cried like a baby at Zhu Li and Varrick’s wedding. Haven’t mentioned Varrick yet but hot damn if he isn’t one of my favorite characters. What I wouldn’t GIVE to have Sokka and Varrick brainstorm some truly crazy shit. 10/10.  TL;DR SEASON 3 IS REALLY GOOD AND SEASON 4 IS GOOD BUT FEELS LIKE IT’S TOO SHORT.

But yeah. Overall I really enjoyed it. I looked through the episodes on IMDB and nearly everything is above 8.5 except for some of the first episodes in season 2 which I get. I can tell that this is by the same team that did ATLA. It feels so much the same. And I think there was the right amount of the original peeps or their kids but still was focusing on our core four. Other little things:

- I like that the “villains” or ig the conflicts of people weren’t anyone from the Fire Nation. (Although do we know where Zaheer is from??? Family lineage?) Well regardless, what we have is Amon: Waterbender, Unalaq: Waterbender, Zaheer: Airbender, Kuvira: Earthbender. ATLA we were fighting the fire nation, LOK has the range lol. - I do wish we could have been in the Fire Nation tho. I wanna see what’s it like over there :( - Adored seeing all the changes to the world. In ATLA we see the blimps/airships more or less being invented and then 70 years later AIRSHIPS AND CARS GALORE. And having radios/phones VERY nice. Don’t have to rely on letters or talking in person.  - I really like Korra. I feel like it needs to be said lol, but I thoroughly enjoyed her as the Avatar (maybe more than Aang??) - Zuko’s face after Korra says she talked to Iroh in the spirit world I’m not crying you are.

ANYWAY. I think that’s it. I just needed to get it all out somewhere. Not a perfect show (neither is atla) but damn if it isn’t some of the best TV out there. If you read all of that woW good job.

[bensboynton]

Always b.h

@styles-charli asked: hi! a request where ben and the reader head down to australia to visit her family in melbourne for a week because it’s the readers cousins wedding and he meets all her fam and just cute!! thanks lovely xoxoxo

here’s the fic i posted a sneak peak too a few days ago!

this prompt made my heart melt not even kidding. i’m definitely writing a part 2(and potentially part 3) because this prompt is just too cute.

feedback is appreciated:) also my inbox is open for more requests! although i’m quite swamped at the moment, i’ll get to yours eventually. 

word count: 3.3k

warnings: never been to australia so idk if this is accurate, unedited, fluffy

You pulled your bottom lip between your teeth, looking at the time on your phone screen anxiously. Ben said he was going to be home ten minutes ago, and of course, the day you need to talk to him about something important, he's late.

You could smell the scent of spring in Los Angeles drifting through the open windows in the living room of your shared apartment with Ben. You were sat on the brown leather couch, your left leg bouncing in anticipation for his arrival.

You had been living with Ben as a couple for two years, and four years if you count the unfortunate 730 days you both spent absolutely despising each other as roommates. Until one day Ben just kissed you and… well. The rest is history.

You had a last minute obligation that you needed to attend, much to your dismay, and you wanted to see if your lovely boyfriend would be interested in attending with you.

A few moments later, you hear keys jingle in the lock on the other side of the door, followed by a soft thud and a string of curses. After a short delay, the door swings open revealing the Greek God that is your boyfriend.

His hair is messy, lips pressed firmly around his car keys as he walks into the house with five grocery bags in hand. He takes a step forward, carefully lifting his left leg and closing the door behind him, dropping the groceries on the ground. Sighing a breath of relief, he looks up at you, quickly meeting your eye.

You were mesmerized for a moment. He was in black sweatpants and a maroon crewneck, one of the ones you bought for him that he loved so much. He looked slightly breathless from walking up the stairs to your shared apartment.

"Thank you for your help, Darling," he jokes sarcastically, setting the car keys that were previously held in his mouth on the marble countertop, "I really appreciate it."

You laughed, playfully sauntering up to his towering figure. You returned his big grin with a big, toothy smile as you softly looped your arms around his neck.

"Sorry baby, I was distracted," you mumbled, pressing your lips to his quickly before resting your head on his chest. You both stayed like that for a moment in a comfortable silence, the sound of birds chirping right outside your apartment window.

You moved your head from his chest, looking up to gaze into his eyes. They were so clear and bright you swore you keep see your own reflection in them.

“Missed you.” you sighed, eliciting a small giggle from Ben.

“Missed you more.”

“Not possible.”

“Wanna bet, love?”

“Absolutely.”

“Okay, you’re on.”

You and Ben moved your conversation to the kitchen, bringing the bags of groceries with you.

“What’s on the line for this bet?” Ben asked, cocking his head to the left expectantly. He gently placed the plastic bags down on the counter as you looked up at him. An idea suddenly popped in your head.

“If I win, you have to go on a trip with me to a place really far away,” you said, causing Ben to furrow his eyebrows in confusion.

“Okay, I’ll bite. What’s this trip you’re talking about?”

"Okay, so, being serious for a second, you can totally 110% say no if you don't want to, you're not obligated to do this. I won't force you to go with me."

"I can't exactly say no if I don't even know where you're asking me to go?" he spoke, the confusion leaking from his lips. He pulled a green apple out of the plastic bag of ones he had just bought at the store. He kept looking at you expectantly as he took a big bite out of the bulbous fruit

You glared at him playfully as you threw a box of pasta at him. He caught it with ease, casually placing it in the wooden cabinet to his right. So annoying that he could play things off like that so smoothly.

"My cousin is getting married back home in Melbourne, and I have to go. And like I said, the invitation is open but don't feel obligated to go, but if you would possibly, even be slightly interested in going with me and being my plus one?" you said, nervously shaking your right leg, "It would also finally get my mom off my back about meeting you."

You hated weddings. Since your first one when you were 6 and you had to be a flower girl, you hated them. They took forever, and everyone was extra obnoxious and emotional. It wasn’t for you.

So getting the phone call from your mother telling you that, yes, you did have to come home for Delilah’s wedding was not the most pleasant start to your day.

"Is she getting married in the city?" Ben asked, reaching for his phone that was sitting near the sink.

"Well, kind of. It's on this big ranch on the outskirts of the city that's absolutely ridiculous and completely unnecessary if you ask me, but technically-"

"I'd love to go with you, Y/N," Ben interrupted, a boyish grin slowly creeping onto his face.

"Wait, really?" you asked, your mouth agape slightly as you started to smile.

"No, I'm just fucking with you." He said in all seriousness, looking you dead in the eye. His face broke into a grin a few moments later.

"Yes, really. I want to meet your family. I think it's only fair after I dragged you back to London with me to meet my parents." he murmured, making his way over to you, grabbing your hands.

"Is it Delilah that's getting married?" Ben asked, interrupting the momentary silence that had fallen between you.

Your face lit up when he said her name, "Yeah, it is actually. That bloke David finally grew a pair and proposed." Ben laughed, remembering the many rants of yours he listened to after phone calls with a distraught Delilah over "Dumbass David" as you called him.

You sighed lightly in content. You felt your heart start pounding in your chest when you thought about traveling to Australia with Ben. You were so nervous for Ben to meet your Mom and Dad, not to mention your extremely obnoxious extended family. To be honest, you could've upchucked the avocado toast you had for lunch right there.

But on the other hand, you were practically chomping at the bit to take Ben around your town and show him the diner you ate at after school every day, and the movie theater you went to most Saturdays with your friends.

You had been putting off having Ben meet your family for months now, and for good reason. Your family was... judgemental, to say the least. You were scared of them rejecting Ben, and you didn't want to have to put him (or yourself) through that mental and emotional abuse.

So, every time they asked about Ben over the phone, you'd change the subject, or every time Ben would ask about your family you'd suddenly have a very urgent need to use the restroom.

Every once in a while though, you'd tell Ben about your Aunt Frida who was constantly churning up old family drama, or your Uncle Jerry who would always spell your name wrong on your birthday cards.

"When do we have to leave for the wedding?" Ben inquired, again focusing on the many groceries yet to be put away.

"Yeah... about that," you pulled away from him again, grimacing slightly in embarrassment, "tomorrow."

Ben about choked on his saliva as he looked at you in disbelief, "Tomorrow?!" he exclaimed, his hands running through his blonde locks, anxiety flashing over his green orbs.

"Tomorrow."

"Well, Christ, I better get packing then."

Ben scurried off to your shared room, and not long after, you heard a string of profanities and a loud clatter. You smiled warmly and chuckled, calling out to your boyfriend softly, "Thanks for getting my suitcase down, baby!"

Thank God you had Ben.

--

"Remind me again why I thought this was a good idea."

"Neither of us ever said this would be a good idea, love."

You stumbled around your room in the pitch black, trying to find your socks and tennis shoes. It was 3 am in Los Angeles, and it was still dark outside. You finally found what you needed and looked up at Ben, who looked like he was falling asleep standing up. His eyes were closed, and you swore you could see the bags under his eyes from where you were standing.

You lightly tapped his shoulder as you walked by to remind him you had to leave soon as you strolled into your kitchen. Ben was close behind you, trying to grab your shoulders and pull you into a hug. He was very cuddly when he was tired.

You flicked the light on in the kitchen out of habit, immediately regretting your decision as your eyes felt like they were going to pop out of your head. Ben stumbled towards you and turned them off, plunging you both into darkness again.

You both chuckled at the immaturity of your actions, stumbling around to gather anything else you needed that you "forgot" to pack last night.

If you were being honest with yourself, you and Ben both fell asleep in the middle of a Grey's Anatomy episode after procrastinating packing for three hours. You both could’ve gotten everything done with plenty of time to spare, but you chose not to. So, this stressful sweep over the house was needed and most definitely your fault.

Once you were sure you had everything, you wheeled your suitcases out into the hallway of your apartment, the lights dimly lit as you turned around, locking the door. You turned around and reached for your suitcase, smiling at Ben dreamily as you wheeled your extremely heavy suitcase into the elevator.

"You're gonna cuddle with me when we sleep on the plane, right?" you mumbled, your voice whiny and needy. Ben smirked lazily, meeting your eyes.

"If you insist, Miss Y/L/N."

You playfully swatted his shoulder as the elevator doors opened, and you strolled out into the expansive parking lot. You admired the bright moon in the sky as Ben loaded your bags into the back of his car, walking around to the driver's side and glancing at you through the tinted windows.

It was just cold enough to be able to see a faint wisp of your breath in the air, and this caused you to pull your jacket tightly around your figure as you continued to admire Ben.

"You getting in or am I heading to Australia alone?" he drawled, eliciting a playful glare from you. You got in the passenger's seat, immediately putting on the most upbeat Queen song you could find in your music library to stop either of you from drifting off to sleep.

You reveled in every peaceful moment of silence in-between songs with Ben, as you knew the next week and a half was going to be absolutely insane for the two of you. No time to relax, up late every night, awake early every morning, bachelorette parties, gown fittings, the works.

You didn't know how much time you and Ben would have alone, or if you'd even be able to stay for the week and a half. You'd been mulling over the possibility of a fight between you and your family, or your family and Ben. You got goosebumps just thinking about having to deal with that mess.

Granted, it's probably not the best idea to think about becoming estranged from your family due to your boyfriend, but you thought about it anyway.

You hummed along to “Love of My Life” that was now playing softly through the luxurious speakers in Ben's car. The sun had yet to show itself over the thinly drawn line of the horizon, and it allowed you to admire the darkness you so rarely got to see.

You were able to quietly enjoy Ben’s presence (and Freddie Mercury’s) before arriving at the busy airport. Sitting in a car that smelt oddly like Ben (you couldn’t explain it, it just did) and hearing Freddie’s voice float through the air airily-like bubbles- was almost ethereal. It's like Freddie was making your heart grow two sizes for the man who dropped all his plans for the next week to take an impromptu flight to Australia with you.

You don't know how you got so lucky, to be honest. After what seemed like a lifetime, Ben had parked in the airport. He grasped your hand and gave you a reassuring wink as you got out of the car.

“Ready for this wedding?” he asked, nudging your shoulder gently.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

--

"Unbelievable. What kind of airline service doesn't have Bohemian Rhapsody as a movie choice? I'm outraged!" you spoke with a little too much energy after getting off a 15-hour flight.

Ben chuckled beside you, wheeling his own luggage behind him, clearly exhausted, "I think you should send in a complaint," he agreed sarcastically.

"I think I should too!"

Both of you finally made your way to baggage claim, and you sat down on top of your luggage, absentmindedly reading the airline pamphlet they gave you on the plane.

The screeching siren sounded, causing both you and Ben to jump as luggage started making its way to the evermoving carousel.

In no time, you and Ben got your suitcases and you made your way over to the outside of the airport, walking over to a wrought iron bench while Ben called an Uber. You felt a sticky layer of sweat beginning to form all over your body, and it was oddly comforting.

You had lived in Australia for your whole life, and then moved to Los Angeles about four years ago. But the heat in LA wasn't the same.

Here it was humid, to the point where walking outside made you feel like you just got out of the shower. It was so unbearable, sometimes you'd have to actually go to a pool to get any relief from the unrelenting warmth. Your Aunt Frida called the heat in Australia "wet." California consisted of a drier heat, one that could make you sweat but was rougher and felt almost as if the sun was a heating lamp. It felt unnatural.

So climbing into the air-conditioned Uber was a relief, to say the least. You let out a long sigh at the relief of finally being able to cool down. You had recently lost your built up tolerance to the Australian heat, and it was beginning to show.

You sat with Ben in the backseat of the car, holding his hand in your lap regardless of how sweaty it was. You were far too nervous. The idea of introducing your mother to your first serious boyfriend in six years was utterly terrifying. Not to mention, this would be the first time you would be seeing her in almost a year.

In what felt like no time at all, you had arrived at your parent's house. You took a few shaky breaths as you clambered out of the car, clumsily grabbing your clunky case of clothes.

You glued yourself to Ben's side as you walked up the sidewalk, and you were standing in front of the door.

"Whatever happens next, please don't break up with me." You muttered as you knocked on the door three times.

You heard a few heavy steps as the door flew open, revealing your mom standing there with open arms.

"Y/N!" She exclaimed, launching herself forward and into your hesitant arms. You heard Ben chuckle at her enthusiasm from beside you as you wrapped your arms around your eager mother's torso.

She held onto you just long enough to make it feel slightly uncomfortable, pulling away and putting her hands on either side of your face, breathing heavily. "You get more and more beautiful every time I get to see you." She pulled you into another hug before looking up and noticing Ben.

"Oh! My god, hello, you must be Ben. Y/N has told me so much about you!" she said, glancing quickly at your slightly nervous boyfriend.

"It's so great to finally meet you-" Ben began, holding out his hand for a handshake when your mother threw herself into his arms. It was your turn to laugh now. Your mother pulled away again looking at the two of you with wistful eyes.

"How rude of me! Come in, come in, let's get you all situated!" she exclaimed, bustling into the house quickly. You and Ben gave each other reassuring smiles as you followed her inside, bringing all your bags with you.

You trudged up the stairs, heaving as you carried your bag behind you. Ben saw you struggling and lifted up the other side of your bag, shifting half the weight to his other arm. You winked at him gratefully, and he returned it before you made your way to the top of the stairs.

“Ben, I have you in the guest room, and Y/N you can of course stay in your old room.”

You felt your heart drop. It was kind of bold for you to assume your mother would let you sleep in the same bed as your boyfriend in her house, even if you were almost a decade over legal age.

You opened your mouth to say something before she answered the question you had yet to ask.

“It wasn’t my idea. You know how anal your father is about this kind of stuff, my love.”

Your mother’s voice was light and airy, and bubbled so much it could be mistaken for carbonated soda. She wore all her emotions on her sleeve and displayed them through her voice, and that’s how you could tell if her statements her sincere.

Sadly, this one couldn’t have been more genuine.

You huffed in annoyance, tossing your still very full suitcase into your old room, pictures of your friends and favorite bands still hanging up on the walls. You quickly shut the door behind you and walked over to the guest bedroom, where Ben was already beginning to unpack.

“You sure you don’t wanna nap before getting involved in unpacking all that?” you laughed as Ben tried to refold a shirt after messing it up. His face softened at the sound of your voice.

“I wouldn’t be opposed to a nap,” he said, walking over to you before wrapping you in a bear hug, “only if you take one with me.”

“How could I say no to an offer like that?” you inquired sarcastically, tapping Ben on the tip of his nose with the pad of your index finger. He scrunched his face up, making your heart melt for a moment.

You glanced at your watch, sighing with relief, “We have at least 30 minutes to nap before my mom calls us down for dinner.”

“Plenty of time.”

Ben quickly moved his suitcase for doing a dramatic jump and landing on the guess bed, opening his arms wide as an invitation for you to lay in his comforting embrace.

And you did.

You were both out like a light, trying to catch up on sleep and fix your inner-clocks and get them used to the time change.

But for the moment, your clocks were very broken.

So you laid in the guest bedroom of your mother’s house in the arms of your equally as sleepy boyfriend, desperately chasing the sweet release of alertness.

Right before you closed your eyes, you looked up at Ben lazily, “Thank you for coming with me,” you paused to lawn quietly, “it's quite nice having someone to rely on for things like this.”

“Y/N, you can always rely on me. I promise.”

“Always?”

“Always.”

Maybe this wedding wouldn’t be so bad after all.

[witches-and-weirdos]

（＠◇＠）（＠◇＠）（＠◇＠）（＠◇＠）（＠◇＠）（＠◇＠）（＠◇＠）

Send me（＠◇＠）to hear about an OC idea I have!

Wow, okay! I’m gonna link the last two asks here as well: [1 oc] [5 ocs] 

Keronnen, The Cosmic Devoured /  The Avatar of Doom

Keronnen originally The Darkin Reaper, Darkin of Death was ripped apart multiple times by the Darkin rework. First, Rhaast, also The Darkin Reaper, Darkin of Death was introduced, so I changed him to Keronnen, The End Incarnate, Darkin of Doom. Then we got new darkin lore that again conflicted with him, and if I hadn’t dropped him long before, then he would have been obliterated by the complete deletition and replacement of what darkin were (and the complete deletition of Aatrox and having him replaced by a new guy, Darkin of Doom).

Currently, Keronnen has an incarnation in Kenith’s unwritten lore, behind the scenes.In this form, Keronnen is a “dark celestial”, a cosmic being of immeasurable power and an insatiable hunger for mortal pain and suffering. He prefers to invade a mortal’s body and violently remold it to make his Avatar, and then cause suffering personally.He makes empires fall, he ruins lives, he brutally slaughters everyone you ever loved before your eyes and leaves you alive so he can watch your misery bloom.Kenith once destroyed his avatar, and when he returned, he massacred her entire tribe in return, only leaving her and her uncle alive. He dragged her face down his blackened blade, gifting her the scar that cannot be healed, not even though celestial magic. He then hunted down all those who managed to run away and brought their corpses to Kenith.

Leviaraa, The Darkin Dancer

Leviaraa started out as the dead darkin weapon of Maryah, but since my rework of her (not yet written down on her info page, unfortunately) Maryah doesn’t actually have this weapon, so there’s room for her to be still alive.Leviaraa is a female darkin who performs a mesmerizing war-dance that leaves both allies and enemies stunned and amazed, sometimes even halting their fight just to gaze at her disturbingly beautiful carnage. The amazement is partly magic, but even without it, she could stun people by her performance before her ascension. 

Fleyah, The Lhotlan Druid

I don’t have much on Fleyah yet. She is a Lhotlan, and she is a Druid of the Elder Lands like Erelle. She shows up on the meetings and Erelle had noticed her every time because what a strange but beautiful creature, but the two hadn’t actually met or talked.Fleyah has stunningly beautiful green plumage and now that I made her up like 2 minutes ago for another ask (at the time of writing this) I really wanna add her to my muses!(Update a few hours latter as I actually post this while people aren’t asleep: I decided I will work on her and add her eventually.)

The Old Swamp Witch

Another muse from Erelle’s lore behind the scenes. I’ve only talked about her once I believe. The Old Swamp Witch is someone Erelle met through her travels, she (probably) lives in Kummungu and she’s actually a friendly hag.Erelle likes to meet her whenever she travels that way, the old woman is almost like a grandma figure for her. She had learned much from her.

Aaaaaaaaaand alright, since I’m out of sufficiently developed muses from the league verse (until I get ideas again), I’m gonna tell you about some characters from 2 universes I made up alone, and that I intend on producing public content about in the not-near-at-all future. Some of these could easily be brought over to League verse if I wanted, but I’m really not convinced I should. Maybe though… We’ll see.

I’m having classic “someone will steal these ideas before I can actually make them for that thing” concerns, but at the same time, if I could build a fanbase for this, that would actually be quite very useful.

This Woman…

I DON’T KNOW??? She’s in a sci-fi universe, stranded on a colony ship that never arrived at its destination and she has some augments and I think maybe she sells them as well? Like, this woman is so iconic in my mind, the sketchy doodle doesn’t do justice to her…

This Demon Lord

Who’s name I kinda forgot over the many years but it’s written down somewhere. He’s a side character but kind of a big deal when he actually does show up. I’m not sure which God he belongs to, nor where I can put him in the story, but he’s here, and he’s gonna stay.

Amelia

Amelia is a red haired woman, leading a crusade to a land conquered by powers unholy in her faith. Her primary task is to retrieve artifacts. Through many fights, she and her soldiers are tainted by these powers, and though she succeeds, she and her crusaders return infused with demonic powers and partial demonic mutations. Her story is unresolved, as she makes her return at the world’s current time and I wanted to have it stay that way (for now at least).(She is likely the character I will be showing the soonest, so stay tuned for the next, idk, 1-2 years or so :D)

[listdepot]

Top 5 Superhero Teams

5. The Marvel Family

A team of particularly do-goody do-gooders, the Marvel Family are the offshoot of Captain Marvel, the alter ego of child reporter Billy Batson. A team of people mainly granted the power of the amoral yet morally convicted wizard Shazam (he needs an avatar to fight the forces of evil and puts the onus of it all onto a 7 year old), the Marvel Family includes Billy’s sister Mary Batson as Mary Marvel and his friend Freddy Freeman, who sheds his disabilities when he becomes Captain Marvel Jr.

There’s also the Lieutenant Marvels (Tall Billy, Fat Billy and Hill Billy, three men who share Billy Batson’s name) and Uncle Dudley, a dumpy old man without powers who believes he’s the Uncle Marvel, who the Marvels took a liking to. There’s also Tawky Tawny who is quite literally a talking tiger who often wears a tweed suit. Its great. He’s great.

The Marvel Family, similar to Superman’s family, is part of that general “idea” of ideal superheroes. Just... weirder. That’s what makes them great. Its what makes Captain Marvel wonderful. “Superman but a little weirder” works wonders for this character and his team.

4. Justice League Dark

When Metallo is rampaging through Metropolis, you call Superman. When Sinestro or Atrocitus are attacking planets, you call the Green Lantern Corps. These basic villains are often easy solutions when matched with their respective heroes. But what do you do when eldritch creatures from dimensions in between space and time invisibly swarm the planet? Will the Justice League stop that? Or do you need a Darker Justice League?

That’s where Justice League Dark (get it) comes into play. DC’s supernatural side is, I believe, their greatest strength overall. And with a team staffed by, among others, magician Zatanna, magician/conman John Constantine, actual ghost Deadman, avatar of nature and protector from horrors Swamp Thing, and chimp detective Detective Chimp, these creatures certainly have a reason to shake in their boots.

The forces of Heaven and Hell, the occult, the reemergence of Vertigo characters into the main DC canon. Justice League Dark deals in all of these themes, creating a heavy, interesting series of constant world-threatening events within the pages of their comics.

3. Agents of Atlas

A spy, a spaceman, a siren, a mermaid, a robot, a gorilla. One of Marvel’s oddest teams have nothing in common except for a single IRL connection: all six of them first appeared (and then mostly disappeared) in Marvel’s early years during the 40s and 50s, back when the company was known as Atlas.

In the canon, ATLAS was formed by the FBI to rescue President Eisenhower from the forces of the Yellow Claw. Claw’s archenemy Agent Jimmy Woo recruited the Venusian Marvel Boy and siren Venus, before also fixing the mute “Human Robot” M-11 and gaining the aid of Gorilla-Man, a soldier of fortune CURSED TO LIVE FOREVER IN THE BODY OF A GORILLA UNTIL SOMEONE KILLS HIM which is an idea that is incredibly stupid and part of the reason I love this garbage. Also not soon after, the Atlantean Namora (who had refused to help Woo initially) joins the team as well.

Inheriting the Claw’s Atlas Foundation front, the team works mostly in the dark, fighting the forces of evil. Most recently, (2009, they don’t get used often enough, basically) this espionage team has opted to take on the identity of “supervillains” as resistance against Norman Osborn’s regime as head of SHIELD. Again, this was 2009. They need to get out more.

2. X-Statix

Marvel, for some reason beyond my understanding but that I won’t question for reasons you’ll soon find out, decided to hand over the X-Force title to Peter Milligan and Mike Allred. X-Force was a comic known for both portraying a gritty. more aggressive form of X-Men and for being the most Rob Liefeld thing prior to him creating characters with names like DEATHSTRYKE and KILLBLOOD or whatever for his own comics label. Peter Milligan, meanwhile, was known for his mind-bending postmodernist works like Shade the Changing Man and Mike Allred’s pop art sensibilities seemed like the furthest possible artistic style from Liefeld’s grimacing over muscled footless monsters.

And when X-Force #116 premiered, it was not only incredibly different, but it introduced a whole new team of vapid, self-obsessed superheroes. An early 00s take on celebrity through a superhero vein, the original issue takes a turn when the last page features the collective death of all but 3 of the new team, immediately setting up a whole OTHER new team to remember after being introduced to the interpersonal relationships of this ego-driven team of mutants.

Its smart and pretty sharp and the constant retooling in the book itself by scummy mentor and amoral super rich investor creates an odd reality TV aspect of these strange heroes with their constantly shifting, often dying team (even Dead Girl, a mutant whose power is she’s already a ghost/zombie and can return to near-life after dying), all ready to be filmed, in moments of heroism or tragedy by their cameraman, Doop, a character I refuse to go into any more detail for because you should experience Doop for yourself. Just Google Image Search Doop thanks.

There’s a LOT to say about X-Force, who eventually changed their name to X-Statix due to the negative reaction from the 00s comics crowd, which sorta proves they were totally before their time, and, truthfully, its the best to just check it out on your own. There aren’t a lot of runs that I’d tell you to just hey look it up but hey

Look up X-Statix. Its really good.

1. Doom Patrol

The Doom Patrol can, perhaps, best be described by their classic original tagline: “THE WORLD’S STRANGEST HEROES” and hoo boy does that apply. Founded by Niles Caulder, the Doom Patrol features actress Rita Farr aka the size changing Elastigirl (eat it, Pixar), test pilot Larry Trainor aka the radioactive Negative Man, and race car driver Cliff Steele aka Robotman, a robot man.

And things were fairly odd for a while for the Patrol, up to and including the Doom Patrol’s presumed deaths at the hands of General Zahl while saving the small town of Codsville, Maine.

Then Grant Morrison happened.

Grant Morrison never met a comic book convention he didn’t love to openly embrace while also flipping it into some metatextual nonsense (and I can’t help but love it every time). Morrison took the Doom Patrol and created a comic based around Dadaist art and literature, William S Burroughs-esque cut and paste writing and just general absurdity. Negative Man Trainor merges his Negative Spirit with Dr. Eleanor Poole, becoming a multiracial, divine intersex radioactive being who refers to themself as Rebis. New characters were introduced like Kay Challis aka Crazy Jane, a woman with multiple personalities, each of which have different superpowers, and Danny the Street, a street. An actual sentient street. Who is also a drag queen. Its better than it sounds I swear.

The Doom Patrol soon became well... strange. Stranger than the strange they used to be. Their only recurring enemy was a 2 dimensional supervillain named Mr. Nobody who founded the Brotherhood of Dada, a team less about world domination or getting rich, and more about just like... idk? They don’t really recognize good or evil as simplistic concepts and prefer to just mess around like a bunch of dickheads, really.

Soon came Rachel Pollack’s Doom Patrol. Pollack, a trans woman, used the Doom Patrol’s debut in the Vertigo imprint. to discuss issues like identity, bisexuality, Judaism, creating an equally intelligent and mature comic, just on a separate level than Morrison’s. And a decade later, after a few changes in guards all around, Keith Giffen had a Doom Patrol run, letting the team go through a more humorous bent, notably featuring the inclusion of the fouth wall-adjacent comedy hero Ambush Bug. Most recently, Gerard Way (yeah, the dude from My Chemical Romance) has been creating his own Doom Patrol for DC’s Young Animal imprint, a mix of his own ideas and the classic Dadaist Doom Patrol that Morrison created.

Doom Patrol is a team of the strange, the outsiderest outsiders of DC, a team initially brought together by tragedies (unknown to them caused by their sociopathic leader), and who soon grew into an ersatz family of freaks. A loving museum of the weird who defend Earth from just the craziest nonsense imaginable,even if the rest of the superhero community don’t respect them. They do what they do because they have to, and because no one else can even wrap their mind around what they do. They’re the Doom Patrol, The World’s Strangest Heroes.

[joeybelle]

Oh, how the tables have turned -- Part 3

Clyde Logan x Reader

Inspired by @clyde-prompts: “Some guys are rude and use ableist slurs against Clyde. The reader is with them, and although she feels bad about what’s happening, is too scared to say anything in front of her “friends”. She comes back to the bar a couple nights later to try and show him she’s not a bad person. They get to know each other and fall in love”. Doesn’t fully follow the prompt

Warnings: Language, first person POV, driving under the influence cause I assume everyone does it in that movie, IDK what I’m doing.

Rating: Mature

Setting: Pre-Heist

Tags: @lonelyravenclaw​ @kyloren-supreme-ben​ @onmyknees4steve​ @elsablackswift​ @helloimindelaware​ @mwcritics

A.N: I’ve decided to slice this fic into 3000-ish words parts for people to be able to scroll past it without much annoyance. Pert 3 ended up being much longer than expected, so i had to cut it into two parts somewhere in the middle. It’s not perfect, but you’ll be getting both parts today. When I finish editing. Might take a while. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy the story. Feel free to drop me a line anytime or just message me if you wanna squee about Clyde Logan in general.

Rejection is always a tough pill to swallow. It wasn’t the first I’d gotten rejected and it certainly wouldn’t be the last, but it still didn’t go down easily. I found myself moping at home the next few days, following what I’d gotten used to calling the ‘series of unfortunate events’ related to Clyde Logan. Not that I had that many alternatives anyway, being a friendless nobody in a small town, but this time it felt self-imposed.

In the meantime I cut the grass in my yard and discovered a few rose bushes that were beautiful, but mean to my hands, I watched how the living room ceiling started leaking one rainy afternoon, signalling a pretty serious hole in the roof, nearly broke my neck going into the basement because there was a missing step I hadn’t seen before; I opened the vodka bottle all by myself and realized that he had been right, drinking alone wasn’t fun at all, but I was doing it anyway to hide my shame; I ate ice cream and binged Netflix shows for the rest of the week.

But there’s a limit to how much time you can spend alone at home before starting to go insane. I reached mine the next weekend and for a moment I considered paying Mellie a visit, but then I remembered the whole Clyde ordeal and I decided against it. I was sure that he’d told her everything and I really didn’t feel like talking about it. It was bad enough that I was beating myself up over it, I didn’t need someone else to rub it in. So, since the Duck Tape was off-limits for obvious reasons, and I didn’t feel like exploring for another bar in the neighbourhood I was left with only one option: the country fair.

I used to really love country fairs and carnivals and all that when I was a teenager, but it was probably because I’d be with my friends and there would be booze and food and we’d just be stupid together. I wasn’t sure I’d find them as charming nowadays, but at least I’d be moping outside, in public, which was an improvement to being secluded in my own home, waiting for another rain to invade the living room through the ceiling. So I showered, dressed like a semi-decent swamp witch and went to the damn thing.

As expected, the country fair didn’t impress me at all but it was a way to kill a few hours while feeling like less of a hermit than usual. I ate something, tested some insanely sweet drinks, and stuffed my face with enough ice cream to endanger my health, so in the end I found myself sitting on a bench, dangerously close to a food coma, with nothing better to do than to watch the crowd. Other people seemed to have way more fun than me. There were couples holding hands, parents with their kids, teenagers in groups visiting attractions and Clyde Logan with a blonde kid attached to his arm. Wait, what?

I have to say, this was the last place I had expected to see Clyde Logan. In my head, country fairs didn’t really fit his style (because I had spoken to him twice and I knew all there was to know about the man, obviously), and I assumed he’d be too busy with the bar to come to one anyway. I remembered that it was pretty early and the bar probably wasn’t open yet, but his presence in my field of vision was still unexpected.

I sighed dramatically and leaned back, arms crossed over my chest. Speak about bad luck, I thought. I came here to avoid him and here he was, swinging a blonde kid on his very toned arm. Actually, I didn’t mind the view. He was distracted by the kid and far enough not to notice my staring, so I indulged in it for a moment. There’s no harm in looking, right? Especially when he was wearing a dark, short-sleeved shirt that seemed at least a size too small, the buttons threatening to give in anytime he flexed his muscles while lifting the little girl in the air. His niece? Maybe. She seemed vaguely familiar, so I assumed she had been part of the onslaught of school kids that were sent to visit the college I worked at. Or maybe she was his kid. I had no way of knowing for sure.

Whatever the case, he looked really good doing it. He was smiling for a change. An open and honest smile lit up his usually somber face, and I just couldn’t look away. I caught myself wishing he would smile at me like that, but then I realized that we were practically strangers and I hadn’t made the best impression the first time we met. And since he clearly rejected me, I had to get over this crush ASAP if I wanted to live peacefully in this town.

The little girl let go of his arm and ran back to a couple that, after a bit of squinting, I recognized to be Jimmy Logan and his sister Mellie. They both looked different—after all it had been more than a decade since I’d last seen them—but not so much that I didn’t recognize them. Jimmy lifted the girl in the air and kissed her, then put her down and looked straight at me with a shit eating grin on his face. The feeling was similar to being punched in the gut. I remembered that in another life I’d dreamed of Jimmy Logan looking at me with a smile, but right now the only thing I felt was panic, so I decided to get the hell out of there before Mellie noticed me and I’d have to be part of a very awkward conversation.

But luck definitely wasn’t on my side today, because the little girl started running towards me yelling ‘Miss’ at the top of her lungs. Oh, now I recognized her: she was the pageant girl. Really smart kid, very bubbly and friendly, talked my ear off during the college tour. Her favourite subject was, of course, pageants.

“Hi!” I said, when she stopped in front of me, grinning from ear to ear. “You must be… uhhh… uhhhh.” Crap. I had been calling her pageant girl in my head for so long that I’d forgotten her name.

“Sadie!” she helpfully reminded me.

“Sadie, right. How are you today?”

“Good. Daddy brought me to the fair to see the auctioneers. And later uncle Clyde will win me a unicorn.” I did my best not to steal a glance at Clyde at the mention of his name, not wanting to invite any more attention towards me. Hopefully I’d be able to get out of here before the adults ganged up on me.

“Awesome!” I said, panic clearly noticeable in my voice, because Jimmy Logan was rapidly approaching (despite his visible limp) with Mellie following closely. “It was nice seeing you today, Sadie, but I have to go now. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for your unicorn.”

“Aw, leaving already?” She looked genuinely sad and I felt bad for her, but I felt even worse for myself, so I had to go.

“Yeah, leaving already? Without even saying hello?” Jimmy caught up to us before I was able to disappear, so I put on my most believable fake smile and hoped for the best. “Come on, don’t be a stranger, Baby,” he said, pulling me into a hug.

“Well, I kinda thought I was,” I mumbled, but returned the hug. He seemed like a nice person, plus I’d held him on a pedestal for so many years that I could indulge in a hug.

“Daddy, why are you calling her baby?” Sadie aske, giggling.

“Cause that’s her nickname,” he said, ruffling her hair. He explained to her that I’d been called baby ever since I was little, but she had to be polite and call me by my real name. The kid giggled again and I mouthed ‘I hate it’ which made her laugh harder, before turning to face her dad once again.

“I am surprised you know that. I lived under the impression that you had no idea who I was,” I said, going to hug his sister. “Hi Mellie, long time no see.” In hindsight, I should have kept my mouth shut and pretended we were at least acquaintances. And although I knew it could be interpreted that way, I wasn’t bitter that he never acknowledged me in my teens—after all, it was just puppy love and it had been a decade since then—but I was curious what had prompted this sudden display of familiarity. If anything, I would have expected Mellie to come alone to say hi.

“Hiya, sweetheart. It’s good to have you back.” She warmly returned my hug.

“What do you mean I had no idea who you were? You’ve been coming to my games since you were twelve and cheered louder than the whole cheerleading squad.” That was true. “How could I not know my biggest fan?”

“So you what, ignored me on purpose?” I said, arching an eyebrow.

“Well, it’s not like I did it on purpose,” he said and laughed. His laugh was still the same as I remembered, loud and contagious. “But my brother here had the biggest crush on you and I just didn’t wanna make him more jealous.” Well, this was unexpected.

Clyde had conveniently stayed out of my line of sight, keeping his distance, but now I turned to look at him. Never in my life had I seen anyone blush so furiously in a matter of seconds, his whole face even his ears becoming a deep shade of red. He was glaring at Jimmy who seemed really unfazed by it.

“Is that so?” I pressed, feigning innocence, but deep inside me there was a little devil laughing maniacally. I mean, I was aware that it wasn’t very nice of me, but I was feeling a tiny bit of petty satisfaction knowing that I wasn’t the only one embarassed by the whole situation. Misery loves company.

“Yeah, he only ever came to my games to see you cheer,” Jimmy said, same shit eating grin plastered on his face, seeming completely oblivious to his brother’s discomfort.

I smiled back but wonder what Jimmy’s motive was. Talking to me out of the blue, after never acknowledging me before, snitching on his brother in a matter of seconds. I knew he was insanely loyal to his family, so why sell him now?

On the whole, the situation was beyond comical. Jimmy was grinning, Clyde seemed set on killing him with a glare, Sadie attached to his arm again asking ‘Is that true, uncle Clyde’ over and over again until he finally mumbled something that sounded like ‘It was a long time ago’. He looked at me like a deer (or a moose) caught in the headlights and I could feel my own cheeks burning. I was in hell.

“Why didn’t anyone tell me about this?” I asked Mellie, who stood next to me, arms crossed and an amused smile playing on her face.

“‘Cause he’s a bit of a coward and you were infatuated with my other brother,” she kindly explained.

“Right.” Made sense. I still felt like something that I should have known about back then— who knows, I might have liked him back—or you know, forever hold your silence type of thing. But knowing this now explained a lot of things.

Now that the petty satisfaction that I had felt for embarrassing him had died down a little bit, I understood why Clyde rejected me and didn’t seem to react to my flirting. If someone I had been crushing on in my teens showed up on day, insulted me or trampled on my insecurities then tried flirting with me I would have been much less gracious in rejecting them than Clyde had been. Yes, it had been more than a decade since highschool, and I was pretty sure his crush on me was dead and buried (like the one I used to have on Jimmy), but it was something that could potentially still hurt after years. So once again I was flooded by guilt.

“Well, it was… uhh… fun meeting you guys, but I have to head back now,” I said, getting ready to bail. Enough embarrassment for a day. Served me right for wanting to get out of the safety of my home. Never again.

“Come on, we’ve just met and you wanna leave already?” Mellie said with a disappointed look on her face.

“It’s not that, I just have some things to do at home,” I tried excusing myself. “Give me your phone number and we can hang out another time,” I said fishing my phone out of my pocket.

“The things will still be there tomorrow, but you’re never getting back today,” Jimmy said with a wink.

“Wow, who knew my brother was a philosopher,” Mellie arched an eyebrow at him. I laughed.

“Please, Miss,” Sadie latched onto my hand, pulling me towards the booths. “Daddy said I’ll get to be your guide today, show you around the fair. Pleaaase.” How could you say no to a kid? Big-eyed, freckled, and more full of life than I’d ever been.

I looked over to Clyde who had returned to a somewhat normal shade, although there was still some pink tinting his cheeks. He still seemed highly uncomfortable about this whole thing, his whole body looking tense. I tried imagining what he felt: a week ago he was living a (supposedly) peaceful life and then Baby was back in town and he’d been insulted, hit on and then embarrassed by his brother in front of his family. If I’d been in his place, I would have faked my death and left the country by now.

“I don’t think I should…” I said, hoping that at least one of the siblings would take the hint and leave it be.

“Nonsense!” Jimmy proclaimed, patting me on the shoulder and nudging me towards Sadie. “Come stay with us a while and I promise you’ll have plenty of time to do whatever you were planning on doing.”

“Are you willing to help out?”

“If that’s what it takes…”

I snorted. “Half an hour then I’m gone,” I said, following them towards the booths. I send Clyde an apologetic look, hopefully he wouldn’t be bothered too much by my presence for the next half an hour. He seemed to have regained his composure and was following us closely.

Sadie was still holding my hand as we were mingling into the crowd of people staring at the attractions. She diligently explained to me what everything was, like it was my first time going to a country fair. It was entertaining to watch. She was a really cute kid and honestly, after so many days of self-imposed isolation, it was nice to interact with people in my free time.

“So, how’s it like being back in your hometown again?” Mellie asked, once Sadie ran over to her dad.

“Nice, peaceful.” Or that’s how it should have been, if I’d been a little smarter. “But it’s gonna take a bit of getting used to. It’s definitely keeping me busy. My roof just started leaking, something I never thought I’d have to experience, but hooray for adult life,” I laughed.

“Did you get it fixed?” she asked, a little concerned.

“No, not yet. Called a couple of contractors, but they didn’t have any opening this month.” I sighed. “I don’t have that many contacts in the area, but I’ll keep looking and hope there won’t be rain anytime soon.”

“That sucks,” she said and turned to her brother. “Hey Jimmy,” she yelled, “do you know anyone who can fix a roof?”

“What happened to it?”

“I don’t know,” I answered, truthfully. “It’s just raining into my living room.”

“I can come take a look when I’m free. If it’s not something big I can fix it for you.” He offered.

“Thanks, but…” Was I stupid enough to refuse? Yes.

“You don’t trust my skills?”

“Oh, I do, but I don’t want you to waste your free time fixing my leaky roof.” It wasn’t just that. I generally preferred to work with people I didn’t know, who were paid to do a job and with who I could argue at the end if the job wasn’t done properly. With friends and family, you just accept what you get, smile and then pay someone else to fix it later. Plus, if they refused payment, you’d have to find a way to make it up to them which meant more complications. And in this particular case I knew I shouldn’t be spending more time with Clyde or his family if I wanted my unrequited crush to die anytime soon. But how do I tell Jimmy that, when he seemed so eager to help?

“It’s no problem. I’ll take a look and if it’s something I can’t do, I’ll put you in touch with some people. When are you free?”

“Not sure, my schedule isn’t fully decided yet.”

“Then give me a call and we’ll see what works for the both of us. Clyde gimme your phone.” That earned him a frown from his brother.

“Why? What happened to your phone?” he said on what I guessed was a rather disapproving tone, but handed him the phone nonetheless.

“It’s broken.”

“He forgot to pay for it,” Sadie explained with a giggle.

“I didn’t forget, I’m not paying it in sign of protests to the shitty plan they forced down my throat,” he muttered. “Anyway, what’s your number?”

He punched in the number and gave me a call. I typed the name Clyde but then changed my mind and saved it as ‘Logan Bros’. Clyde never really wanted my number, so it was just a way for me to get in touch with Jimmy if I needed help. I decided to never call it unless the roof caught fire and I was trapped underneath.

The phone went back to Clyde and I saw him fiddle with it a bit, probably saving the number. I wondered what he saved me as. Probably used my real name, since I’d never heard him call me Baby. Although for some strange reason, I wouldn’t have minded even if he did. No matter how much I hated the nickname, I was sure I’d very much enjoy it if he moaned it in my ear as he pulled me closer to his chest and… stop. Restrain yourself, woman.

Sadie kept her promise and was a very good guide, which meant I was now very well acquainted with everything at the country fair. Jimmy had bought us corn dogs and cheesy fries and donuts and refused to let me pay for anything, so I retaliated by buying everyone snow cones and funnel cake. By the time we reached the shooting galleries, I was so full I was ready to burst.

As Sadie was searching the booths for the toy she wanted I bought a bottle of water, hoping to wash away the nausea caused by all that deep fried food I had shoved down my throat earlier. Seeing that Clyde had fallen behind and we could finally be alone for a bit, I decided to go and talk to him.

“Sorry for crashing your family outing,” I said, standing besides him as we both watched Sadie’s quest to find the best toy. “It wasn’t my intention.”

“It’s alright” he said, briefly glancing at me. “I have to apologize for how my brother acted today. I guess he’s just excited that you’re back in town. He doesn’t have that many friends.”

I had to admit that Jimmy Logan being lonely and not surrounded by hordes of friends was something that I would have never imagined. But I could see it now, after all we were both in the same position: two formerly popular kids that had fallen from grace and were now regular nobodies. Most friendships we made in our teens weren’t the kind that lasted a lifetime.

“I’m actually really enjoying this,” I said, trying to open the water bottle and failing. My hands were still very greasy from all that deep fried food. “But don’t tell anyone or I have a feeling I might get friend-dopted by your family and you’ll never get rid of me,” I said with a wink, to which he smiled. An actual smile. Directed at me.

“Lemme help you with that,” he said, noticing my pathetic attempt at opening the bottle. He held it under his left arm, effortlessly unscrewing the cap.

“I’m completely useless” I mumbled retrieving the bottle, and he chuckled.

In the meantime Sadie seemed to have found what she was looking for and dragged both Clyde and me towards one of the booths. She showed him what he wanted and after paying he was given a shabby airgun. I don’t think I’d ever seen anyone look at a rifle with more contempt in their eyes. I was certain he was used to a different type of guns, especially since he had been in the military.

“Piece of crap,” he mumbled, to no one in particular, disgust clear in his voice.

“Welcome to the glamorous world of carnivals, Mr. Logan,” I laughed.

He shot me a dirty look and aimed. He missed the first two targets, but got the other three. It was still quite impressive, I was sure the only thing I’d be able to hit with any rifle would be my foot, especially since everyone knows the games are rigged and the guns aim screwed on purpose. He paid for another round and I kept my fingers crossed. Sadie had climbed onto her father’s shoulders and was cheering from above.

This time he got the first target with very little effort. And the second one. And the third. By the fourth I was probably as excited as Sadie, although a little less vocal. The fifth target came down just as effortlessly as the others and both Sadie and I cheered loudly. The vendor faked excitement and handed him the toy, making a bit of a spectacle to attract other customers. ‘Look everybody, you can win even with one arm!’ he bragged, and I hated him already, but Clyde didn’t even seem to notice.

“Which one do you want?” he asked Mellie, after giving Sadie her toy.

“One of those,” she said, pointing to a bunch of little plushies that could be hanged on the rearview mirror.

“Alright,” he said, and paid for another round. This time, it seemed like he didn’t even have to aim. He just pointed the rifle and the targets went down one after another, to the vendor’s increased irritation and to my delight.

Clyde gave the toy to his sister who thanked him with a kiss on the cheek, then turned to me. “Which one do you want?”

“Me?” I said, taken by surprise. “You want to get me one too?”

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[ohmydarla-blog1]

august task | trial: heartache

a quick note: so darla isn’t a hellrunner, but i wanted to use this task as a way to explore her a little more because she is my newest and i think some more development would be good for her. so this is just her having a weird dream because of idk #swynlake magic. i really just wanted to see how she would respond to this. i might do this for my other characters too, haven’t decided yet.

Summary: Sometimes, not being talked about really is worse.

Darla knew she was in the Underworld, but it wasn’t anything like she had imagined. Not everything was made of fire (though a few things were, admittedly) and it wasn’t even dark all of the time. At some points, it was oddly pleasant.

It sure was confusing, though, she mused as she wandered down the path. Darla was there for something specific, but she couldn’t imagine for the life of her what it was, so she kept walking and followed wherever she felt like going. The land began to slope downward, and Darla eventually found herself in a swamp. She began to walk toward the pier where a few canoes were docked when, suddenly, a pair of voices rose in the distance. They sounded familiar. Darla paused.

“To Ellen, and to many more years of Sherman Dental group,” crowed what could only be Uncle Phil. 

“To Ellen,” chorused a group that sounded like the rest of the extended family. 

“You guys are too much.” The put-together, professional tone could be none other than Perfect Ellen.

Weird, Darla thought. She was pretty sure her whole family was not dead. Even in this universe. (Though, Darla imagined, it was unlikely that in this universe Ellen would be getting a toast to Sherman Dental Group. Did Ancient Greece even have dentists? Darla had no idea, but it seemed unlikely). Maybe this particular part of the Underworld was where you could see what was happening in the mortal world, thought Darla. Couldn’t dead people look down from above? Or up from below, or whatever the expression was. 

She followed the voices to the place from where they came, a clearing in the woods a little ways away from the pier. A familiar table was set up: it was Nanna and Pop’s house, and all of the extended family was gathered around in their usual spots. The only difference was that the seat where Darla normally sat was taken up by a new face whom Darla could identify as Ellen’s boyfriend from the way he had his arm around her. 

Darla wasn’t usually jealous of Ellen. Not really. No matter how many times Dad brought her up as a good role model, Darla didn’t see any reason why she would slave away at dental school when she could be pursuing her passions and searching for mermaids. What was the point of doing something if she didn’t love doing it? Ellen was boring and only did what her parents told her to do.

Yet, seeing them all there without her, her chair filled by someone else, hit Darla with a strange feeling she was usually quick to push away. She felt left out.

Darla sat down on a tree stump and watched the dinner continue. She didn’t want to, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away. What if her name did come up? Darla couldn’t have been forgotten so easily, could she?

But it seemed she could be. It was Ellen this and Ellen that and Ellen graduated early and saved so much money and now was able to afford her own apartment without living off of Phil’s money and why couldn’t all millenials be like her? And Ellen and Frank (what an unfortunate name, Darla mused bitterly) were already thinking about moving in together and even though it wasn’t traditional, times were changing and in this economy what could you do? And Ellen and Frank were thinking about getting a dog which sure everyone said not to do, but they were serious about their relationship and would handle it like adults if anything went wrong but they didn’t think it would because-- Frank smirked and Ellen giggled-- who knew how the future could go, the question could be popped any day now.

Wonder about me! Make fun of me! Darla wanted to scream. Flat out insult me! Anything would be better than this. She would have endured any amount of taunts or bullying; Darla dealt with that daily online and it would be preferable to this feeling of total insignificance. At least she was part of something. At least she was affecting someone.

She picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at the table, but it sailed right over the diners’ heads and they didn’t notice it at all. With a moan of frustration, Darla stood up and stalked away, but it didn’t take long for another group of voices to draw her off of the path. This group was less familiar; Darla didn’t even recognize all of them. But she wouldn’t have mistaken one tall blond college student: Nick. He was listening intently to a dark-skinned girl with curly hair who was a little younger than Darla who was saying something about mermaids.

“I’ve done a lot of research, and areas where frequent mermaid-spotting occurs are areas where frequent poaching occurs. That’s not a lurking variable; that’s a direct correlation. Mermaid-spotting attracts poachers and it kills mermaids,” she said seriously.

“But we’re conservationists. We want to bring them to places they’ll be protected,” Nick argued. There we go, Darla silently cheered. You tell her. The previous disappointment was briefly forgotten.

The girl persisted, however. “Do you think animal rights activists put every animal in a zoo so it won’t be poached? Of course not. They try to stop the poachers. Besides, mermaids are more human than animal. Would you like to be rounded up just because some people are trying to kill you?”

“No, don’t listen to her!” Darla exclaimed, waving her arms to get Nick’s attention. But he didn’t see her, and his expression was already changing.

“I guess you have a point,” Nick said, somehow loud enough still to hear over Darla’s angry shouts. “You know what, I’m deleting my blog. And I’m going to tell all my friends to do the same,” he said, gesturing to the rest of the group, some of whom were also Darla’s online friends..

But Darla was standing off to the side. She hadn’t been brought up once, and neither had her arguments. 

She backed away from that scene more slowly. Because she wasn’t angry anymore; in fact, Darla would have preferred to be angry. At least that meant that she was right. But if she was so insignificant, so easily forgettable, then did any of the things she had done really matter? Darla went through her life confident that she didn’t need anyone’s approval, and maybe she didn’t.

But that didn’t mean she didn’t need anyone’s attention.

She returned to the pier and stepped into a boat, eager to get away from those scenes. Maybe they didn’t really happen, she assured herself as she began to float away.

The swamp was eerie, and a few times Darla thought she saw dead bodies. And then she was certain she saw something she had always wanted: the flip of a shiny, scaly tail.

Without hesitation, Darla dove into the water toward the tail, still unable to resist taking what she wanted at any cost.

She woke up in a cold sweat.