#it wasn't ever really meant to be shown to her in the first place because 1. she hated reading long things 2. its so cheesy

[blastburnt]

oh my god i just found the love letter i wrote in the depths of my google drive. god help my lesbian ass

[gffa]

Osha's backstory episode of The Acolyte fits perfectly with a headcanon I've had forever about Force-sensitive children in the galaxy--that some children feel called to the Jedi and some do not, and that the Jedi look out for this. We see that destiny exists in the Star Wars universe, the Force calls to people to walk certain paths, but that it's still up to them to decide, you still have to make your own choices. (See: Everything about Anakin Skywalker and how the Jedi never brought that up around him, it was always about personal choice and agency. Yes, he was the Chosen One, but he had to choose his path.) From the moment we first meet her, child Osha didn't want to be a witch, she wanted to see more of the galaxy beyond Brendok, she was immediately entranced by the Jedi when they showed up during the ceremony, like a magnet pulling her to them, that she was drawing the Jedi Order symbol long before they ever got there. It wasn't just a sudden way to get out of there, she was feeling this pull towards them long before she ever even met a Jedi. She's the one who first slips out to meet Sol during the ceremony despite being told to hide, she's the one who goes over to talk to Kelnacca before the test, she's the one who fights against her entire family to say she wants this. She's the one who wants this even before she knows there will be other children like her with the Jedi. We don't see the Jedi giving Mae that same nudge, because the Jedi path wasn't meant for her, she didn't want it, and I love that both here and in The Phantom Menace, the Jedi make sure that this is what the child wants, too, that both prequels and High Republic Jedi are shown to take such care, that it's done with the parents' permission, but also getting a sense of what the Force is or isn't calling this person to do and whether they accept it. But Sol gently pushes Osha, not to tell them what they want to hear, but to tell the truth, do you want this? Do you feel like this is right for you? Just as Qui-Gon made sure Anakin knew being a Jedi was a hard choice, the Jedi want you to be sure, want you to feel called to this, because the Force exists, a mysterious destiny exists in this galaxy. It's still your choice, you have to have agency over your choices, it's not just, "What does the Force want?" but instead Sol asking, "What do you want, Osha?" The narrative is careful to point out Sol telling her about his own testing, that he knew he was different from his family, that he was scared at first, but it was clearly his choice. "But you must have the courage to say what you want." The Force called her here, the Force is something that exists within Star Wars and has a will of its own, and some people are not called to this particular path, I don't think Mae was ever meant to be a Jedi, she never wanted it, she never felt that pull. But Osha, like so many other Force-sensitive children tapping into this giant mystical energy field that has a destiny for you if you want it, they are pulled to it and the Jedi take such care with that. Some are meant to walk the Jedi path and some are not, that's something only each individual can figure out for themselves, and the Jedi do their best to honor both the Force's calling and the person's own choices. And if a child resists and pulls away, they let them go, it wasn't right, it wasn't meant for them. But when a young Force-sensitive is practically vibrating in place with how badly they clearly feel this is meant for them, that's something that exists as a thing that really does happen with the Force.

[lazyneonrabbitt]

Old dog

Daryl Dixon x reader | SMUT🔞

Daryl is never been watched with such interest before, and it grabs his attention. But he feels like he got his order of actions wrong..

The Kingdom was a strange place.

First there was the King, with his pet tiger.

The King spoke in a strange manner, and his ever so friendly right hand too.

The Queen was a kind woman, she had shown you around and given you a roof over your head after you wandered into her lands.

The Kingdom had guards on horseback, and all its residents referred to their leader as the King.

Like a true old age Kingdom.

It was near summer when you arrived and took some time to get settled, now having your routine all worked out and were a happy new addition to the bakery.

While it meant crazy early mornings, it brought many people a good start of their day. You made your delivery rounds as the first people got up to tend to the gardens before the sun got too hot, passing then with a kind smile and a good morning wish on your way to the school building where you'd make your last delivery of the day.

You continued your daily tasks back at the bakery when a returning resident came by.

Each day he'd come by to pick up the same order, so by now it was standard to have it ready by a certain time.

Like clockwork he showed up, the gorgeous older man with his grey streaked hair that framed his bearded face oh so perfect.

You always wondered about the scar that sat around one of his sea blue eyes, but you never found the courage to ask.

You only knew his first name because the baker mentioned it once.

Daryl.

With rough, scarred hands he accepted the packaged food but remained in his spot.

"M'sorry, ya don't happen ta have sun leftovers, do ya? 'M headin' out fer a couple days 'n could use some extras." A little stunned by the sudden change in routine had you stammer a response neither of you could make out before you disappeared further into the back.

To your luck a fresh batch was just taken out of the oven, so you quickly grabbed a few buns and put them in a tea towel before moving back to the front.

"Here you go, fresh out of the oven." You smiled nervously as you held out the makeshift pouch, almost freezing as the calloused pads of his fingers brushed your skin while taking the bread from you.

With a charming as ever thanks he made his way out the door.

After the third time preparing the order for Daryl, who wasn't in town to come pick it up you were told to go take a day or two off, relax and go try and catch him come back home later during the day.

On your delivery routes and walks around the community you had caught wind of some kind of guard dog. You'd pick it up from time to time but today had been much more frequent.

You wondered what they meant. Maybe you'd ask Carol about it later.

The Kingdom was a nice place.

Each day there would be someone in the community's centre, playing some kind of instruments. Alone or in a group, it varied, but it was always nice to enjoy when you could.

You were enjoying it for so long you barely noticed the sun starting to set and Carol finding you. "Couldn't catch you at the bakery today, was told you were given the day off."

She came to sit beside you, enjoying the music and sharing a small snack she brought with you.

After a short while she got up, turning to you and offering a hand. "Come, we're gonna see something. If I have to believe the baker's words you're gonna love it."

Carol's words confused you, the thought of the baker casually talking about you with her wasn't really a happy one. Yet you followed her every step as she made her way to the front gates of the Kingdom.

"We're heading out? Without weapons or gear?" There was nothing around for you to see, confusion rising even more and edging on annoyance. Why wouldn't she just way where you were going?

You stood and watched as as she bounced on her heels with her arms behind her back. She was being all giddy about something and your mind could not come up with what on earth it could be.

Option after option ran through your mind until the guards spoke and the gates started to open.

Carol passed you a smile and raised her brows as she nudged her head towards the gate before turning back to watch.

You took a step closer to see what she was on about, and within the reach of your first step a figure came into view between the large gate doors.

"Holy shit." You stood frozen, much like those few days ago when Daryl suddenly asked for additions to his bakery order.

Despite the distance between the two of you and the low volume of your words, it looked like he heard you and gave you a smile and a small wave.

The scene before you became crazier by the second, on his shoulders a large deer that he carried without any visible strain but that wasn't all. Tied to his waist with a thick belt he lugged a tarp stacked with different hunted animals.

But something else felt off, beside the show of inhuman strength he seemed to possess.

Out from underneath his hair poked an ear, like it did sometimes before as well, although they seemed.. pointed?

His smile as well. You had seen the stubby pointed canines he had, but there were loads of people who had those slightly longer than average. Why did they look bigger now, accompanied with a similar set on his bottom teeth that surely weren't there before.

Also, was he fuzzier than normal? It was all hard to see in the dim light. It could just have been dirt stuck on his skin from being out in the woods so long. Surely he didn't bother cleaning up out there.

All the while Daryl dragged his game inside and stopped to report to Carol, glancing your way every so often as he could feel the energy radiating off you. He was enjoying the way you stared at him with confusion that slowly morphed into something he almost wanted to categorize as adoration.

It wasn't often Daryl got that look from anyone, so to say he was suddenly more intrigued by the baker woman was an understatement.

"Hey," Daryl's voice pulled you from your thoughts, staring at him without a single word running through your mind. "Wanna help unload all'a this at the butcher?"

A silent nod was all you managed as you followed him, hearing Carol say something but not entirely registering her words.

It was the next day when you saw him outside of his usual routine yet again, before the time of his usual pickup. The early summer sun was up when you made your rounds, and so was Daryl.

Across the street from the butcher’s place was a small area that used to be a children’s playground where you caught him doing pull-ups, flannel hanging open over his torso that you secretly expected to be way more toned, but instead you saw lightly furred soft flesh.

He hadn’t noticed you as you moved past to the butcher’s doorstep where you’d leave her order, quietly mumbling to yourself as you stared at Daryl again. “Lords, I want that man to fold me like a lawn chair..” You were so lost in the view of him pulling up his full weight with just one arm, his legs crossed under him, that you didn’t hear the butcher arrive until she pat you on the shoulder. “I may not be into men, but even I can see the appeal of that old dog bending me over the nearest surface.”

The sudden contact made you squeak and jump away, only to be laughed at as you stumbled over your words before running along on your delivery route.

It was only a couple of seconds after you were out of earshot that Daryl appeared on the butcher's steps, shoulders shaking as he softly laughed at the interaction he heard all too well just a moment ago. "Yer horrible, ya know tha'?" He bumped her shoulder aa he walked past her, into the shop to start working on all the kills he brought back the day before.

The butcher let out a breath through her nose. "And you love me for it, mutt." Behind her she closed the door and flipped off the hunter, sticking out her tongue behind his back. "'Course I love ya, ya crazy knife wieldin' hag."

The rest of the day after running off at the butcher went fairly normal, Daryl picked up his order and you cleaned the place alone with the baker having to leave early for a meeting.

It was only when you closed up shop for the day that it got weird. Daryl stood outside, seemingly waiting with his arms crossed under short sleeves so tight you wondered how they hadn't cut off circulation yet.

Without missing a beat he pushed himself off the wall and stepped beside you. "C'mon. Wanna show ya som'n." His gruff voice could tell you to eat dirt and you'd do it so naturally you followed suit, walking around the community until you reached the homes placed at the far end, right at the forest wall.

You took in the beat up old truck with the hood popped and one wheel missing, and next to it inside the garage with the missing door a bike that looked like it was made over years of collecting parts. Was this his home?

You followed him inside the garage, the door in the back opening and leading into a small kitchen littered with tools and materials. The tea towel you gave him the bread in laid neatly folded on the corner of the messy table, not a single grease or oil covered item near it.

In the moment of distraction Daryl's hand landed on your hip as he scooted past you in the narrow space between the counter and the table, his crotch brushing your ass in the process.

He felt you become rigid at his touch and apologized. "Sorry, doll. Place ain't made fer two."

His hand remained in its place, squeezing as he apoligized making you want to just give in to your haunting daydreams and let him take you right then and there.

"So, what did you wanna show me again?" You were fidgeting, trying to calm your nerves with Daryl so close.

"S' upstairs. Sum ol' items ya can dig through. See if ya wan' sum." With a hand placed on your hip he led you upstairs, steering you around the corner and through one of the doors, ending with your knees pressed against a bed.

Before you had a chance to ask anything one of Daryl's hands came around your front, resting on your lower belly as the other one snuck around your chest. "How 'bout ya be a good girl fer me an' lemme fold ya like a lawn chair." His beard drug across your skin as he came to bite your earlobe. "Tha's what ya want, righ'? Got all hot 'n bothered when the butcher mentioned me bendin 'er over the counter.." with one hand sneaking under your waistband and the other softly squeezing your breast he had you whimpering.

"S'fine, righ'?" His hands stilled at your silence. "Words, doll. Ain' gon do anythin' unless ya give me an okay." His hands moved to cafefully turn you around to look you in the eye, but you quickly buried your face in his chest, hands against him as well and all your body wanted was to squeeze.

Squeeze your fingers into his plump, soft chest. Squeeze your thighs together for some desparately needed friction.

You softly nodded, murmuring something Daryl couldn't make out.

"Need ta hear ya." Daryl softly caressed your shoulder, moving to tilt your head up so you'd look at him.

Your eyes scanned his face, soft and gentle. Eyes glistening a bright blue between the thick, red scarred line that cut right through an eyebrow. Your eyes wandered to his lips, partially hidden by the grey scruff that occupied the lower half of his face as you breathed. "I want this."

With your eyes on his lips you saw his concerned look change into a wicked grin that showed his pointed canines.

In a split second after that you were thrown onto the bed and caged between Daryl's limbs, his face buried in your neck as he nipped and sucked at your skin.

"Go on." He whispered. "Take 'em off. I know ya wan' it." Daryl was on his way to the hem of your shirt already as you slowly worked your hands towards the buttons of of his flannel, undoing them with trembling fingers, focus drifting away with every drag of his teeth across your flesh.

With some assistance your top halves were soon bare. Daryl's hands on your soft chest, tongue all over them as he sucked bruises to the underside.

Your fingers found his hair, pulling at the strands in pleasure as the others traced every scar on Daryl's body. From the small puncture wounds to the large gashes on his back, you caressed each one of them.

Letting out short, panted breaths your body burned wherever Daryl's fingers trailed, the rough pads leaving a path of tingling flesh from your chest down to your side, his tongue following down your body between where his hands had gone.

With the descent of his body his scarred frame moved out of reach, placing both hands in his hair and tugging as his teeth dug into your skin, earning a growl that sounded from deep in his chest.

With newfound interest you pulled again, your nails scratching his scalp in the process as your hips rolled up against his torso.

The low, scratchy moan that left him rumbled against your hip and had him quickly slide his hands down your hips. With no effort you felt your hips rise as two strong hands grabbed your ass and fabric slide off your body. Both your loose trousers and panties were shoved down the rounds of your hips as they lifted off the bed, the fabric pulled off your legs before your knees ended on both sides of your chest and Daryl's teeth were back just below your bellybutton where the meat of your folded torso met in perfect, bite-sized rolls.

You watched him litter your stomach in marks, clamping his jaw onto your thighs to color your skin in where only he could admire them.

"Daryl, please.."

Your voice had him lock eyes with you from where he sat between your legs and watched your pleading gaze with a soft nod before leaning back down and licking a broad stripe over the back of your thigh, moving to delve his tongue right into your centre.

Your moans of his name added fuel to the already raging fire, parting your lips with his tongue and drinking up all of your sweetness. With each stroke against your clit your walls clenched around nothing, muscles tensing but your body laying unmoved under Daryl's strong grip.

You squirm, hands finding his on your thighs as you whine and mewl, signaling you being close to finishing.

"Such pretty sounds, all fer me.." Daryl speaks against your clit before wrapping his lips around it once more and teasing you, making you hold back your own thigh so his fingers could join his mouth, stuffing two down your entrance with ease as he kept licking and sucking in tandem with the curls of his digits.

Your sounds increase in volume with Daryl's ministrations, crying out at your peak, clenching your walls tightly around his fingers as you finished.

"'Ere, lemme stretch those legs fer ya." With gentle hands he laid your legs flat against the bed on either side of him, allowing the blood flow to return while you came down from your high.

You watched him with hazy eyes, on his knees between your legs tugging at the button and zipper of his black jeans. Beneath the oh so inviting trail of dark hair he lowered the layers still on him to reveal his thick, hard cock.

Your view was close to perfection, a gorgeous old man between your spread legs. The lines of his body like rings on a tree, showing signs of age and survival. From the scar at his collarbone, at the edge of the soft dusting of chest hair down to his thick strong legs he was removing his clothes from he was like a piece of art for you to admire as you desired.

And gods, you desired him.

"Ya look like ya wanna eat me alive." He looked down at you, one hand running through his hair while the other slowly stroked his cock.

You licking your lips as you stared at his impressive length was all he needed to ler himself fall forward and catch himself right before he'd make contact with you, calmly catching your lips in a deep kiss. With your tongue against his lips you asked for more and he obliged almost immediately, parting his lips and swiping his tongue against yours, lips moulding together in percect harmony until you desperately needed air.

Your hand lingered on the side of his head, thumb caressing the scar around his eye.

"What's the story on this one?" Daryl couldn't get enough of that look on your face. The one filled with curiosity, not a speck of fear or disgust on you.

"Old girlfrien' decided she didn' like me no more." He averted your gaze as he remembered the fight in the cabin back then, and the serrated edge of the knife catching the skin of his face. He deliberately left out the terms his then lover called him as she chased him out the door with a shotgun. That was a tale for another time.

Right now all he wanted was to ravish the woman underneath him.

The setting sun caught his eyes and for a fraction of a second they seemed to glow, icy blue in a sea of black. When they looked back at you it was gone, a pair of normal blue eyes looking at you.

He shook off the memories and brought his focus back to the now, to you underneath him, the scent of your arousal, and his painfully hard cock.

Daryl adjusted his position, his length rubbing your folds in the process earning a soft moan from you.

"Gonna make more o'them pretty noises fer me, doll?" His hand reached for his member and rubbed the tip between your folds, spreading your wetness around, listening to your soft mutters of "yes" and "please".

Daryl needed no more convincing, nuzzling your noses together before kissing you deeply as he slowly inches himself inside of you. The initial stretch hurt and you couldn't help but groan into the kiss at how big he was. His cock was way girthier than just two fingers, and it had been years since your last time before this.

Daryl's hand moved down your body, slowly rubbing your clit to distract from the stretch. His kisses deepened, your tongue sliding past his teeth, feeling around his fangs with fascination.

A soft whimper sounded from you as he bottomed out, making him halt a moment to let you adjust. "Ya tell me when yer good, 'kay?"

You nodded and answered a soft "uhuh." and a bit later, after a few experimental squeezes you told him you were good.

With his hand still on your hip Daryl carefully pulled back and slid inside at a slow and steady pace, letting you get used to him for a few thrusts until your heels came up to dig in his rear.

"Hmhm, eager are we?" Daryl grinned against your neck, taking the hint and quickening his pace. His hands had your hips in a bruising grasp, his hips snapping against yours earning soft gasps on each impact.

"H.. hah.. ah Daryl fuck--" you were a beautiful piece beneath him, with your head thrown to the side, arm covering your eyes and chest heaving and shaking with each thrust.

"So good, doll. So pretty for me." Daryl was huffing out a laugh, moving his hands off your hips to grab at your lower legs. Deep, short thrusts continued as he moved your legs from around him back to up beside your torso, knees pressed against your shoulders as he fucked into you with your ass up off the matress.

He was so deep all of a sudden it had you see stars, crying out his name aa your orgasm crashed down on you.

You were sweating all over, breaths deep to get enough air and body heavy. With your eyes closed you laid still, getting the air back into your lungs as Daryl teased you by softly rutting into your overly sensitive cunt.

"Don' tell me yer tired already, I haven't even finished yet.." His thrusts changed angles and now brushed your clit, having you mewl out pleas he chose to ignore. "Tha's more like it, music, those sounds o' yers." His thrusts continued, as did your pleas. You didn't even know what you were begging for but the knot in your belly was quickly returning in time with his thrusts getting sloppier, not long after crying out again as you came a few thrusts before je did too.

There were tears rolling down your face, laying limp on the bed. Daryl's hands had let go of your legs again, letting you stretch them for thr short moment before he was fully hard again.

Unexpectedly Daryl flipped you onto your stomach and moving your hips around to his preference.

"Time fer round two?" He wached you nod wit your face in the pillows, moving to slowly press inside you once more and bending down to press soft kisses to your back. Your mind went back to being hazy a few thrusts in with how good his cock felt at this new angle fist gripping at the pillows beneath you that muffled your moans.

His hands were all over your backside, kneading every soft surface he could reach as he continued his steady pace.

Your sounds were like music to his ears, wishing to hear them every night, over and over again until your throat was so soar he had to bring you medicine and nurse you back to health. Your curiosity was already enough to make him want you, never having anyone radiate such a type of energy towards him and it has him hooked. But having you here like this now had him almost addicted, wanting to keep you, claim you but he knew he didn't have the right to do so. He didn't deserve it, for he was sort of still lying to you about large aspects of his life.

But if he could make you feel this good now in this moment, that was all he cared about.

He fucked you from behind until you came once, twice and then moved you onto your side, holding onto one of your legs against his chest as je continued rutting into you, earning two more orgasms from you right before finishing himself for the second time.

As he came down from his high he stared at you, passed out and asleep beneath him. Ever so carefully he moved you so he could lay down as well, pulling you against his chest as he settled to drift off too.

It was morning by the time you woke up, groaning in pain as your legs resisted being moved off the bed. You blinked the sleep from your eyes and shot up off the bed. "Ah, god damn oww.." Your ass hit the matress again, the crunchy layer of dried fluids scratching your thighs.

"Oh for fuck's sake I'm gonna be late!" You stumbled around the place searching for the shower to scrub yourself clean, picking up your shirt off the floor and sniffing it. "Nope, can't wear that. Shit!" You found the bathroom and were vigorously scrubbing your legs and quickly back to digging through all of Daryl's drawers in a panic, trying to find something decent to wear.

"Ya know ya can just ask, right?" You didn't even register what he said and grumbled back at him. "I don't have time, okay? I'm already gonna be late for work and I got nothing to wear because my own clothes stink so I'm gonna have to run home first and be even later."

Face down in a drawer your attention was pulled by a short whistle, and the second you were up and turned towards the noise an entire outfit found your face.

Underwear, socks, simple sweats and a flanel.

"Why do you have a stash of women's clothes?" You were genuinely curious but that didn't stop you from struggling to put on the clothes with your entire body aching. "I don't even know how I'm gonna walk my rounds. Everything hurts.."

You were already dreading today and it had barely even started.

"Need me ta make yer rounds? Got time so I don' mind." Daryl was following you down the stairs now, hands ready to catch you as you stumbled, not wanting you to fall.down the stairs on your wobbly legs.

"No way I'm letting you do my rounds. I don't want the whole community on my neck tomorrow about why I sent you." You were halfway out the door already, walking as fast as possible and waving Daryl off on your not so fast way to work.

You arrived late and got told off for it, but the baker quickly changed his demeanor once he saw you limp. He gave you a quick rundown of what he had planned to do at the bakery and let you stay in as he took over your rounds, which you were very thankful for.

The front door bell rang and Carol appeared, a while after Daryl had dropped by for his usual, and bringing in a bag with your clothes.

"Hey, didn't see you this morning." Carol was as cheery as ever, her hair braided and her smile kind and motherly.

"Yeah," you leaned against the counter, wincing as you moved your weight. "Hurt my leg yesterday, so I'm in here thr whole day now." You tried to shrug it off, not feeling like coming up with a decent enough lie. Not that you needed one anyways.

"Which clearly has nothing to do with you spending the night at Daryl's place?" A knowing smile spread on her face as she looked you up and down, arms crossed over her chest, laughing as she watched your eyes about to pop out of your head in response. "You're wearing my emergency clothes. Looks like we have about the same size."

You felt blessed with today being a quiet day and could clean while you chatted with Carol and closed up shop after, with the baker off again while you ran the bakery.

"There's something wrong with that man." You sighed as you bent down to lock up the garage door, groaning as you came back up. "He's like, what? Almost sixty? And he still held out longer than me. I swear I passed out once before he was done."

Carol was giggling all the way with your bags in her hand. "He's fifty-four, but alright."

"Yeah, okay. That fifty-four year old would have kept going if I hadn't clocked out after lord knows how ma--"

"Five, doll." Daryl's voice suddenly behind you had you jump up and almost fall if it wasn't for his quick response to steady you.

"How the hell are you fine?" Your question was directed at Daryl, but your eyes were on Carol who was having the time of her life seeing you be so confused about her best friend's energy levels.

"There's a lot about Daryl you don't know yet, dear." She winked at her friend, who only grunted in response.

"Oh really? When are you planning on telling me all about yourself? Do I need to cook you a romantic dinner?" Your words came out with way too much excitement, letting out how eager you were to learn about Daryl.

"Ya'll learn eventually. No need ta rush things, righ'?" His voice kept cool, but Carol read his body language like a book and quickly saw he needed help to cross that line. Him scratching the side of his fingers, and obsessively wiping the hair out of his face, eyes looking everywhere but at you. They were all tells, and Carol felt bad for him.

"Why don't you two stay over for dinner? Ezekiel won't make it home in time so I'd be all alone otherwise." Carol quickly set up a plan, making it all seem like coincidence but in her mind she had all the steps figured out already.

"I'd love to stay over, but only if it's not too much effort." Peeking past Daryl you saw her wave your assumption off and assure it was fine.

And thus you three ended up around Carol's nice dinner table in the King's home.

Somehow you expected it to be fancy and pristine, but that would never happen with how selfless the King was.

The food was nice and Carol had gifted you some stronger painkillers she had laying around to ease your body, you all just chatted about your day, and you thought your subtle questions about him were going okay, until Daryl excused himself to go smoke what seemed in a hurry.

"It's okay honey, Daryl has a hard time opening up to people. He needs to find the right moments to talk." Carol gave you a loving shoulder squeeze and pointed you towards the back door where Daryl had just left through.

"He loves the forest, he feels safe there." With a wink she sent you off.

You carefully approached him and settled in the doorframe. "Hey," Your voice was soft as to not startle him. "Wanna go for a walk? Outside the walls."

With a nod he got up and offered you his hand to take, and with a sigh he let a smile come through. "Carol really set us up, didn't she?"

You laughed along with him and decided then you wouldn't push him, and let him talk at his pace.

With your gear gathered the two of you found yourselves walking along the tree line in silence.

"M' sorry." Daryl kept his eyes on the ground where he walked, but with his pinkie he touched yours and hooked them together.

"When Carol brought ya to welcome me back after the huntin' I was confused. But when I felt yer curious stares instead of gettin' negative 'n scared I got.." He fell quiet, his hand pulling away from yours but you quickly grabbed it fully, rubbing your thumb across his knuckles.

But you stayed quiet, and just walked with his hand in yours.

After a long stretch of only hearing the ground crunch under your shoes Daryl stopped.

"S'where I stay when I go out each month." You stood a few feet away from a rock wall, overgrown with green and a small clearing in it. Looking around you there was no way of being seen here from any angle.

You also saw trees with torn off branches and what looked like deep claw marks. "Should'a shown ya 'fore last night."

You looked over at him and made sure he saw you smile. "You really think anything would have changed my mind?" Your hands came up to his face to hold his gaze on you, hoping he'd see the truth in your eyes.

"I know yer not lyin'. Ya haven't lied since we started talkin'." His hand moved to touch the small of your back, the other one gesturing at the overgrown wall. "C'mon."

Daryl had his knife ready as he moved past some hanging vines with your hand in his to keep you close.

The area was void of any dead, except for the picked clean bones covering the ground.

And the seemingly random pile of fabrics and signs of humans staying here.

He let go of your hand and let you wander around, staring at every little thing.

You kneeled down off to the side, getting up to move some vines to let in more light before walking back.

"You stay here?" Your fingers traced the print in the sand, glancing over at Daryl who was slowly stepping closer with calculated steps, like a true huntsman would to not startle an animal.

Quietly he leaned down next to you, and without saying a word moved his hand to the print in the loose sand.

The world went blurry around Daryl's hand as you watched it change. Muscles under the skin warping to reshape as flesh darkened and nails grew, and then fit perfectly into the indentation.

Daryl was hyper aware of everything around him, senses almost overwhelming him as he felt the worms crawl under the earth and heard the birds fly over outside. But even with his senses running on overdrive he couldn't find a single negative feeling coming off you.

You stared at his hand, now more a claw and it felt like everything suddenly made sense.

His strength, the way he heard things from so far off, his way of using terms that didn't make sense and that strange glow in his eyes.

Daryl's mind kept showing you running away, crying as he got closer each time.

Instead, there in the small cave like structure he called home once a month, you reached out your hand and placed it on top of his changed one.

"I don't regret being curious." Your shoulder rested against his, slowly easing into more contact. "And I'm still happy I went home with you, and came here to see this. To see you." Your weight was now entirely resting against his side, and for the first time since he sat down he dared to look at you.

You, who laid comfortably against his side.

"I'm honestly kinda glad you showed me this." You watched Daryl raise his brows at your words. "Suddenly your strange but interesting things make sense. Kinda obvious for someone to be so strong, or have glowy eyes when they're not human."

Your hand gave his a comfortable squeeze. "I hope you'll show me all of this you one day." With a finger pressed to his knuckles you moved your head to kiss his cheek.

"Close yer eyes fer a minute." Daryl moved to stand after he kissed your head, moving behind you.

Noises filled the air. Clothes being undone and landing on the floor.

And then cracking. Tearing and groaning. Coughing and growling, a thud that acompanied a shove against your backside that almost made you turn around, but je asked not to, and you were going to respect his wish.

Once the noises died down and all you heard was deep breathing you opened your eyes again, staring straight forward as you waited. Waited for something to signal it was okay to turn.

That something was a press against your shoulder, a press and a huff of air against your exposed neck.

From the edge of your vision a nose peeked, making you turn and stare right into his scarred eye.

"Wow." It caught you off guard and you stubled backwards just a small bit, staring and laughing at yourself for falling on your ass. "Okay. Big guy. That's ..wow."

You followed his movements as he walked into your view. And you recognised him. All ofrhe features that made Daryl look like himself changed along with him, from the dark, shaggy mane to the scar and beard. Even his tattoos were spots of darker fur, especially clear on the lighter areas.

But, still..

"Wait. So Carol knows about," you wildly gestured at his entire self. "you know, this. She's seen you? And what about the butcher? That comment of hers, she knew."

You gasped in realisation. "You were testing me! You could hear us, you were there on purpose oh my god."

Daryl only sat and listened to your rambling. If anyone had asked him how he envisioned this scene to go, he would have never guessed this to be the way. Not that he was complaining or anything, he liked this.

He liked you, and you liked him too, even in this shape.

With a tap to your hand and his paw covering his eyes he asked you to look away once more, changing back to his human self and getting dressed before coming to press a kiss to your temple. "So, ya sure this's all fine?"

You stood up to join him at eye level. "You're either the most dense man ever, or are still convinced you don't deserve love just because you're different." Your deadpan look spoke more than needed.

"Yeah, alrigh'. Sorry." He shook his head in apology.

"You literally just turned into a goddamn werewolf." You paused. "Wait. That is correct, right? You're a werewolf? I mean, I don't wanna assume and be wrong, or offensive.."

He kept his head low but nodded, telling you were correct in your observations.

You stepped into his space and peppered his face with kisses, grabbing his hands to fake a sense of chaining him to you and it worked. He let himself melt into you and accept your affection.

Your love.

"Let's go home?"

With a nod he stepped back go retrieve your items. "Yeah. Home's good."

The walk home was silent, only sporadic and very random questions with short and simple answers.

Only when he dropped you off at home he spoke full sentences again. "I wan' ya t'move in with me."

You shrugged and nodded. "Yeah, okay. But we gotta clean the place first."

With a nod he agreed and let you go for the day. Only a week later moving the last of your items into his home after strategically cleaning and rearranging his home to accomodate two people.

That night, in bed all cuddled up together after a shower, Daryl pressed his lips against your jaw and uttered three simple words.

"I love ya."

A/N: Okay yeah damn that became way longer than I originally planned. But it wad fun! Hope you enjoyed it~

[cy-cyborg]

Toph Beifong doesn’t hold up as disability representation - Disability in the Media

[ID: A screenshot of Toph, a twelve-year-old girl with black hair in a loose, green and tan short-sleeve shirt and shorts, cheering in an arena. Next to text written in a rough, blocky font: "Disability in Media - Toph Beifong Doesn't hold up as disability representation" /End ID]

Avatar the Last Airbender is one of my all-time favourite TV-shows, and Toph is still easily one of my favourite members of Team Avatar. I was a few years younger than Toph when the show first started airing, and being a disabled kid who was into martial arts, constantly being dismissed by my able-bodied opponents and teachers, meant that I connected very strongly with her right from the get-go.

But upon my last couple of rewatches of the series, I began to come to the realisation that my opinions on Toph as a shining example of good disability representation were... well, pretty heavily influenced by my nostalgia for the show and that many aspects of Toph's character just don't hold up today. Which, honestly is fair, the show is nearly 19 years old (if it were a person in my country, it would be old enough to drink) and I think it's pretty ridiculous to expect every part of every character from an 19 year old show to age well. So today I wanted to talk about the things I think Avatar the original Last Airbender did right with Toph, where I think they missed the mark, and what changes I think would need to be made to Toph to make her work for a modern audience.

So let's start with why I think Toph doesn't really hold up as "good disability representation" today, and the elements of her character that just haven't aged as well.

For me, one of the biggest issues I noticed upon rewatching the show, is how often we are told (often by Toph herself) that she is blind, but how infrequently we are actually shown it's impact on her life beyond her bending or outside of jokey contexts. Outside of her bending, we only ever see her blindness impacting her ability to do things like read or write, otherwise, she functionally has full vision -so far as the audience is informed - with the only exceptions being when she's in the air or water (e.g. on Appa or in the submarines) or in loose soil (e.g. the desert). Having places and circumstances where she doesn't have access to her power that allows her to "see" was a step in the right direction, but I do think it would have been better if her seismic sense wasn't quite as accurate, even in the most ideal of circumstances.

But why? Well, I think Suki explains it really well, long before Toph is even introduced. when Sokka says "I should have seen you as a warrior instead of a girl" Suki stops him and says "I am a warrior, but I'm also a girl". Being a warrior and a woman are both important parts of Suki's character, and only recognising her as one or the other means ignoring a big part of who she is, and the same is true for Toph. Being blind is a big part of toph's character that has informed a lot of her life, but so is being a warrior and bending master. Many people see Toph as a warrior or fighter, but ignore her disability, but both are important. She's disabled, and a warrior, and those things don't cancel each other out, the same way being a warrior doesn't diminish Suki's status as a woman.

When the show was still airing though (and even still today) it was very common to see non-disabled fans of the show exclaiming that they honestly forget that Toph is even blind sometimes, with many people going so far as to say that she's not even disabled (and that this was a good thing). While I do think some of that comes from the fact they weren't used to seeing a disabled character as both disabled and an active participant in these kinds of stories, I do think this mostly happened because of the show's lack of, well, showing the impact of her blindness on her daily life and allowing her earthbending and seismic sense to erase the effects of her disability to some extent. It's much harder to forget a character is blind when it impacts their daily life in ways that are shown to the audience. This doesn't have to be in big, showy ways mind you, showing things subtly but consistently works way better than one "very special episode" type setup.

In the show as it is though, the seismic sense functionally gives Toph a perfect image of her surroundings until it's just not available anymore for *plot reasons*.

[ID: A black and white shot of Toph and how she sees the oponent she's fighting, with shockwaves radiating from him towards her to indicate how she's interpreting the scene. Her foe has jumped into the air and now has his hand dug into the ground of an arena, about to launch rocks towards her. /End ID]

In many ways, her picture of the world is better and clearer than what the non-disabled characters can see, leading to this feeling of her disability being erased. It may have been better though if the seismic sense could give her a general idea of big things in her immediate vicinity but she still missed the finer details, functioning at least a little bit more like a tactile/earthy-vibration version of the limited sight some legally-blind people have in real life. Things like a person's position, movement and overall pose would still be "visible" to her in a general sense, as well as big things in the environment (including things underground, since there are a few plot-points that require that), but smaller things like details about objects and creatures, people's facial expressions or what they're doing with parts of their body that have no direct contact with the ground (like their hands) is less clear. On top of this, she may struggle to detect smaller, lighter objects or creatures that realistically wouldn't cause much of a vibration at all. creatures as small and as light as Momo and Hawky for example might be detectable, but "fuzzy" to her, and anything smaller might make enough of a vibration to tell her it's there when it moves, but not enough for her to be able to tell what specifically it is without some other cue (such as sound). There are a few moments in the show that seem to imply this is what they were initially going for, but it's not really consistent, and is directly contradicted in her debut episode, "the blind bandit" when she explains that she can even "see" something as small as the ants off in the distance.

[ID: A shot of Aang, a twelve-year-old bald boy with an arrow tattoo on his head, dressed in a yellow and orange outfit, standing with Toph at night. In the foreground is an anthill will a trail of ants, which Aang is looking for. /End ID]

With an adjustment like what I'm suggesting though, she still serves her narrative purpose of teaching Aang the importance of being able to wait and listen - possibly even more so, as her needing to wait and collect more information in order to get a clearer image before striking, would back-up what Bumi tells Aang that he needs in an earth bending master. It would also still help to illustrate the connectedness of the world, a theme Toph continues to embody heavily in The Legend of Korra, while still showing the ways her disability impacts her more frequently.

When I talked about the "super-crip" trope a while back, I mentioned that one way to avoid the more harmful elements of the trope (where the character's disability is erased by their powers) is to use the ability in question more like a mobility or disability aid than a straight-up cure. The power should help them, but shouldn't make their disability redundant. People are creative and we would find ways to use a superpower or magic to help with our disabilities if it were available in real life, but what's the point of including a disabled character if you're just going to functionally erase their disability? For a character like Toph, I think this is the kind of approach that should be taken with her. Her seismic sense still helps her, but it's not a perfect replacement. (Ironically, I did use Toph as a "good" example of that trope, but I do think after this last rewatch, for the reasons I'm discussing here, I might have to backtrack that a bit).

I considered giving an alternative approach here, to keep the sensitivity of toph's seismic sense as it is in the show as is, but giving it draw-backs such as making her susceptible to sensory overload similar to what autistic people experience. However, while replacing one disability with another can work for some characters and stories, I don't think it's the best adjustment to make for Toph or any blind character, largely thanks to this also being a trope. The "blind (or d/Deaf) person who's other senses become super-human to make up for it" trope is very common in fantasy, sci-fi as well as older martial arts films, and while I'm not really the best person to cover it, I do know that members of both the blind and deaf communities have expressed a lot of frustration with it. Toph already falls into this trope quite a bit, and any suggestions I could make would have just dialled that element up to 11, and fixing one problem with another is never a good idea.

Another thing that actually did bug me for a while, even before my most recent rewatch of the show, is how Toph is treated on the rare occasions she does point out something won't working for her. There are a number of times where Toph advocates for herself and points out that something The Gaang is doing isn't accessible to her or sets a boundary to do with her disability, and she's either left behind, her concerns are brushed off or she's ignored entirely. The three most noticeable examples of this are in the Episodes "The Ember Island Players," "The Library," and Toph and Katara's segment of "Tales of Ba Sing Se."

In the Ember Island Players, Toph complains that the seats they have for the play are too high up and too far away, and she's unable to "see" what's happening on stage. Her friends don't really take any notice of her though except for Katara who tells her not to worry, "I'll tell your feet what's happening."

[ID: A shot of Katara, a fourteen-year-old girl with long brown hair and blue eyes, sitting with Toph, who is sitting with her arms crossed, annoying in a theatre seat. Both Toph and Katara are wearing red and gold, fire-themed outfits. Katara is looking at something off-screen. /End ID]

My problem here is that this particular kind of situation is something that is familiar to a lot of disabled people. Even the least independent disabled people I know get annoyed when their access needs or requests for accommodations, even among friends, are ignored and their pushback is brushed off with "don't worry, I'll just help you!" It's one of the first things that many disabled people tell non-disabled folks wishing to be better allies to us: you offering help instead of actually accommodating us isn't a good thing. We don't want to rely on others if we can avoid it, because honestly, non-disabled people often aren't very good at actually helping or in this case, relaying information to us without training and more often than not, it just results in us being left out. I find it very hard to believe a character as independent as Toph would accept that without any protest, especially considering that is pretty much exactly what ends up happening (even if the show didn't really acknowledge it). Katara never actually conveys anything about the play to Toph, except when she's attempting to throw Toph's words back in her face when she asks for clarification about the actor playing her - which ends up backfiring on her.

[ID: A shot from the same location as before, this time Toph has a huge smile on her face and is leaning on the balcony excitedly while Katara is leaning towards her, annoyed by her reaction. /End ID]

While it would have been better if Toph was actually listened to, it would have been…fine? if a justification was given for why they had to sit there (e.g. to avoid being recognised), if Katara had actually described the play for her. This wouldn't have been ideal, but it would have been better at least. In real life, many movies, TV shows (including this show's sequel series, The Legend of Korra) and other forms of visual media have an Audio Description track that does exactly that. If they weren't going to move for Toph to be able to see better, having Katara describe the play could have introduced kids to the fact this is an option. but instead it's brushed off, and I'll admit, it left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth, even back in 2006.

The Library is a bit more forgivable in my opinion, since Toph is still new to the group, but in this episode, she states that she doesn't want to go inside the spirit library because she isn't able to read and therefor there wouldn't be anything for her to do. However, it still would have been nice to see her friends consider this at all before they actually arrived. They could have (and should have) still gone, but some acknowledgement that they at least thought about the inclusion of their disabled friend would have been nice.

[ID: A shot of Aang, Katara, Sokka and another man are talking while looking down at a map on the table. Meanwhile, Toph is sitting on the other side of the table, completely disinterested as she sips from a large ice cup with her feet up on another chair. /End ID]

Alternatively, I do feel like Wan Shi Tong, a self-proclaimed all-knowing-spirit or his assistants would have been able to point her in the direction of something to interest her, since he does imply books aren't the only form of knowledge he collects.

The reason I mention this though is two-fold. In real life, disabled people are very often left out of "fun" group activities, whether that be in formal settings or in casual ones, like hanging out with friends. If the episode had been framed as "the Gaang learns about the library and decides to track it down," I might have been less critical, but it's specifically framed as something that at least starts out as a kind of break for the team where they all take turns picking out fun things to do so they can rest, and Toph's access needs not being considered at all until they're already there hits a bit close to home, especially since they just end up leaving her outside. Secondly, there's also a stereotype that disabled people (and especially blind people) don't belong in academia and places of learning, such as in this case, libraries. This stereotype is about as old as the concept of organised institutions of learning, and definitely isn't unique to AtLA, but the assumption is often that disabled people wouldn't be interested in more formal methods of learning, so it's not worth accommodating us. With blind people in particular, when I've seen this in media, the premise is often "well I can't read anyway so why bother?" which Toph definitely falls into here with no push-back against the trope.

[ID: A close up of Toph and the rest of the group, Katara, Sokka and Aang standing in a desert. Toph shrugs, looking bored, while the others looks confused and surprised with the exception of Katara, who looks mildly annoyed, standing with her hands on her hips. /End ID]

It does make sense that she would have been resistant to going in, and I'm not saying this episode should have turned Toph into a bookwork akin to Wings of Fire's Starflight (another blind character) or anything. But there was a chance in this episode to push back against some of these assumptions, and I think it's a shame they missed it. How cool would it have been if Toph had mentioned not feeling welcomed in more formal learning spaces because of her disability, which was just reinforced by the way her old earthbending instructor and her parents treated her. She decides to go inside the library anyway as "backup" in case something goes wrong, grumbling about it the whole way down. Wan She Tong starts his introduction mostly the same way, saying humans aren't welcome and Toph makes a snarky comment about it. Wan She Tong, equally offended that this human thinks he, the all-knowing-spirit, wouldn't have considered something, shoots back with an annoyed comment about humans being so self-centred. He explains that spirits come in all shapes and sizes, and not all of them have eyes, but they can still access his library. She's not the first sightless being in his study, and he-who-knows-ten-thousand-things knows this too. Once everyone is permitted entry, one of the knowledge seekers shows her to a series of slates about a lost earthbending form that she can actually read (or at least, "see" the pictures on) because it's carved. Or instead of a slate, it's a series of statues outlining the form, similar to what Aang and Zuko find in the episode "The Firebending Masters". Perhaps this form is something that helps her develop metal bending later on, and lays the groundwork for Toph becoming interested in teaching in the comics.

And finally, Toph and Katara's segment of Tales of Ba Sing Se. Katara convinces Toph to go get a makeover with her as part of a girl's day. Overall, this segment of the episode is pretty nice, and I liked that they showed that a person's gender expression (in this case, being a tom-boy) doesn't mean they can't like things outside of what we usually associate with that. Tom-boys can like girly things on occasion, and vice-versa, and I think this is an example of an episode that would seem a bit ham-fisted today, but honestly, was needed in 2006. However, there's a throw away joke where Toph says "as long as they don't touch my feet," and it immediately cuts to show spa workers filing down the calluses on her feet in a way so painful several staff are required to hold her down.

[ID: An image of Toph in a bath robe being held down in a chair by two spa workers while a third scrubs at her feet so hard that she is sweating. Meanwhile Toph is fighting against the two holding her down and has a facial expression like she is in a great deal of pain. /End ID]

this might be a minor thing in the grand scheme of the show, but it's still another example of Toph's boundaries about her disability and her access needs being disrespected by her friends, which the show just doesn't acknowledge it at all. People ignoring Toph's wishes about a part of her body she depends on in a much more direct way that others do is played off like a joke in a montage of otherwise enjoyable and goofy activities and this is a very, very common experience in disability circles.

There are a number of other, much more minor issues that show up with Toph as well, such as the fact she's the only one of the main cast who never has an on-screen (or on-page) relationship. not in the original show, not in any of the comics and not in The Legend of Korra. Again, it's not a big issue on it's own, especially because in AtLA, she's young enough where it's possible that she was just not interested yet, and she does have kids in The Legend of Korra where she mentions a relationship with a man named Kanto (Lin's father). So it is implied she does have some form of relationship eventually, but the issue is that it's never shown on screen or on the page. This feeds into a wider pattern in media of disabled characters being the only ones in their respective cast not given on-screen romantic relationships in stories, and so I still think it's worth pointing out, especially since the creators have had a lot of opportunities to correct that by now.

Toph is also portrayed, pretty much undeniably, as the best earthbener in a way that, at times, comes across almost like the creators felt like they need to compensate for her being on the team "despite" her being blind. This trope is one that I think Toph, at least partially, helped to popularise with the current generation of story tellers: The Disabled Savant. In this trope, disabled characters aren't really given the same room for growth as other characters; they aren't permitted to be average or still learning, they start good and get better. If they do progress, they often become the best, which is the case for Toph. To be fair, everyone in the The Gaang is the best at their respective skill by the end of the first series, which is why I say this is a minor point. She dose, however, have the least amount of on-screen growth in skill out of the whole team. Katara starts out barely able to lift any water at all, let alone actually bend it. Sokka is skilled with weapons from the start but does get his butt handed to him a number of times by others with more experience than him whom he learns from throughout his story arc. Zuko spends most of the early-to-middle of the show having things "blow up in his face" (to use his own words) and being belittled by his family of prodigies. While Aang is an airbending and, to a lesser extent, waterbending prodigy, he fails at pretty much everything else for a while before he starts to find his confidence - especially earth and firebending, not to mention the entire situation with locking himself out of the Avatar state. Toph is the only one who doesn't seem to fail or struggle all that much from a combat perspective. She does grow and improve in her bending (she invents metal bending after all) but she never has any moments where she really messes up or even struggles in combat all that much compared to the others.

All of these points and criticisms I've mentioned are not necessarily big in and of themselves, but when looked at together, they build up to create some issues with how Toph is depicted and how the people around her treat her disability

So that's it then? Toph is bad disability rep and Avatar should be "cancelled"?

God no. Like I said at the start, I still adore Toph and Avatar as a whole, but the show is a year away from being two decades old, it's bound to have some elements that don't hold up and I think it's worthwhile discussing them, specifically because I love the show and it's characters. Despite all the negativity I've brought up, I do think there are a lot of things AtLA did well with Toph too.

I've mentioned a few times that we rarely see how Toph's blindness impacts her life outside of her bending and combat abilities, and there's a reason I made that specification. Unsurprisingly, if you know much about the show's development, the ways in which Toph’s blindness and seismic sense impacts her bending and fighting style is one area where the show really does shine, and I still think that is worth a mention. The various types of bending are based on different styles of martial arts, specifically, different types of Kung Fu. Most earthbending in the show takes heavy inspiration specifically from Hung Ga, but Toph is different. Her bending heavily references Southern Praying Mantis Kung Fu, something unique to her within this world.

The reason for this (outside of simply wanting her to be visually distinct) was because the show’s creators made sure to consider what limitations Toph might have and what parts of the more common earthbending styles wouldn't work for her. Since her connection to the earth was critical in order for her seismic sense to work, they decided on a style that would keep her feet on the ground more, prioritised strong stances with minimal jumping and put more focus on attacking with her upper body. While not an intentional choice, the style they went with for Toph, according to the show's head martial arts consultant, Sifu Kisu, was supposedly developed by a blind woman in real life, at least according to legend. The creators also made further adjustments to the style with the help of martial arts consultants and just watching Toph fight is evident that a lot of love and care was put into the decisions made on that front.

I also appreciate that Toph's disability wasn't off-limits to joke about.

[ID: A picture of Toph waving her hand in front of her face with an exaggerated smile to remind the others she's blind. /End ID]

As I already mentioned, they didn't land 100% of the time, but lot of shows are afraid to use disability as a source of jokes, which would have felt weird and out of place in a show like Avatar. I see this hesitance in real-life too; people get extremely uncomfortable when I joke about my own disabilities and I've heard several people and even disabled comedians talk about the same observation. My last video on Tik Tok that got outside my usual audience was a joke about my prosthetic leg, and every single stictch and duet I received was people saying some variation of "I'm such a bad person for laughing!" "I'm going to hell!" or just straight up asking if they're aloud to laugh. If I didn't want you to laugh, I wouldn't have posted the joke! But joking about disability does make it more approachable. Despite how often Toph and the others made blind jokes though, outside of the one instance I mentioned earlier, they never felt mean-spirited or like they were punching down. Even when a very sleep-deprived Katara was intentionally trying to be.

I think it's also worth keeping in mind the context of the media landscape when Avatar The Last Airbender was airing. Today, characters like Toph are very common, so much so there's a whole trope about them (super-crips) but at the time, having a character with a major disability be a main character in an action-orientated kids show like Avatar was really rare. She wasn't the first of course, but a lot of the time, if they were included, they were almost certainly sad and depressed, wishing for a cure or they were designated to the roles of "Guy in the chair" (which is a character, usually a tech person, who helps from the background), inspiration, scary villain fake-out (or other variations of "creepy" character) or the actual villain. Having a character that was not only comfortable in her skin as a disabled person, who didn't want or need to be "fixed" or "cured" to be directly involved in the story, and who's main obstacle (at least in season 2) were how the people around her treated her, was pretty ground-breaking at the time (pun not intended) and went against the most prevalent stereotypes of it's day.

And I really want to emphasise that. For many Millennials and older Gen Zers, myself included, Toph was the first character that didn't tell us we were broken and needed to be fixed in order to be part of the group (even if they slipped up with that messaging occasionally). Prior to seeing Avatar, I honestly thought there was something deeply wrong with me for being happy with my life (a reminder, I was 10 years old when this show first started airing), because every other disabled person in the media only ever talked about how much worse their life was because of their disability, how much they hated it and how much they hated themselves. Many outright said that they wished they had died rather than become like me. Toph wasn't the first to go against those tropes, but she was the first example of a disabled character who wasn't like that many people my age saw. Did she do it perfectly? Hell no, but personally, back then, I was happy to have a character who maybe over-corrected and took things a bit too far than another sad character talking about how lives like mine weren't worth living.

I also deeply appreciated that Toph did struggle with her independence, at least initially, and where to draw the line with accepting help. Because of how much she'd been coddled and overprotected as a little kid, she saw any attempt at people being helpful and working as a team as them trying to baby her. It was very on the nose, but I liked that the show gave her an episode just dedicated to realising that it's ok to accept help. Again, this is a bit of a story telling trope today, but having the disabled character realise that it's ok to accept help, and to do it without talking down to them or saying that them wanting independence was bad, was a refreshing change compared to what was around at the time.

[ID: a zoomed out image of Toph, standing before her parents with Aang, Katara and Sokka standing behind her. /End ID]

While I think the show's creators could have benefited from consulting with disabled people and specifically blind people the same way they brought in consultants for the martial arts featured in the show, it's very clear to me that the intention behind Toph's character was good, and that actual effort was put in to make sure they depicted her well, even if some of it was a bit misplaced. It's also worth noting that the groundwork for a lot of my suggestions is already in place, they just didn't follow it all the way through. Overall, I'd say Toph was good for her time, and she's what was needed in the 2000's, even if she doesn't hold up as well today. I also think it speaks to how far we've come in terms of disability representation. When I first started engaging with the online fandom directly, almost no one, even other disabled people, argued that Toph wasn't good representation, because honestly, the bar was on the floor and we were just happy to have something different. But now there are options, and the standards are higher, and that's so, so good. It means that people, even in the media, are starting to listen and be more thoughtful about their depictions of disability than we were in 2006.

And finally, I want to really quickly mention The Netflix adaptation of Avatar. A few people have asked me now what I think they should do with Toph when they get to her, and what my predictions about the show are. I'm not going to talk about my predictions here, because this post is already way too long and that's not what this is about, but I don't think the suggestions I made today would necessarily work in this particular remake, primarily because of the tonal differences. Some adjustments definitely could, such the other characters doing a better job at listening to Toph when she points out inaccessibility and them actually considering her in the first place, but others might be harder to balance. The original show could get quite dark and serious at times, but it was primarily a light-hearted adventure story for kids. From what I've seen of the live action remake though, they're more heavily leaning into those serious elements - for better or for worse, and as such, trying to tone Toph down in the specific ways I mentioned might not balance out as well as it would in the original show. At the very least, the specifics would need to be different. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what approach they should take, that's not really the point of this post, but I did want to quickly address it to avoid confusion. My suggestions today were specifically on how to approach the cartoon version of Toph for a modern audience, and were not meant to be read as suggestions on how her live-action counterpart should be depicted.

[plussizefantasia]

Hey! Can I get a Thorin x f!reader where the company doesn’t believe in her because of her size and the fact that she’s a woman and then she totally kicks ass and doesn’t care what they think. And he totally regrets ever doubting her? Fluff ending if you can please!!

You Saved Me

Thorin x Warrior!reader

WC: ~3k

warnings: violence, death, it's essentially a botfa re-write so...

a/n: thank you for the request, this was entirely written in a burst of passion at midnight so if they're are any typos I'm sorry, let me know and I'll fix them <3

You were a feared warrior, one with skills you’d been honing since you could walk. Your parents had been killed by an orc pack when you were but a baby and you were taken in by the rangers who found you crying by the bodies of your loved ones. Almost a year ago you were sent a letter by that blasted grey wizard, an invitation, or maybe a plea you weren't sure anymore. Join a company of dwarves on their quest, and keep them safe. That is all he asked of you.

You had tried, you really had tried to keep them safe but when those blasted dwarves took one look at you and decided that there wasn't any possible way you knew anything about fighting, it became difficult. You had several moments where all you wanted to do was clobber them over the head, but you refrained. 

The whole journey was wrought with their endless need to remind you that you were a woman, a bigger one at that. They must’ve thought you hadn’t noticed or something of that nature, for surely they wouldn’t keep bringing it up if not to hurt you on purpose. They never forgot to tell you how much they thought you were soft, incapable, fragile. 

You’d shown them time and time again that this wasn't the case, incapacitating two of the trolls when they were all tied up in sacks ready to be cooked for dinner. You were defending  Ori when you were discovered by the warg scouts before your arrival at Rivendell. You were the first to join ranks and fend off the hundreds of bloodthirsty goblins in Goblin-town. Not to mention how you risked your life for Thorin’s when Azog attacked. You had run in with no weapon, just pure adrenaline and a need to save your leader.Not that you would ever tell him that. Tell any of them that.

Thorin was certainly one of a kind. He was undoubtedly cold, it was his nature, he had lost too much in too short a time to be willing to open himself up to others. Especially when the ‘others’ consisted of a woman ranger he hadn’t wanted on the quest in the first place. You understood though, you too had lost too much.

You wouldn't say that he warmed up to you, but it didn’t seem like he hated you as much as he did in the beginning. You had even caught him smiling once or twice when you cuffed Fili and Kili over the head at their cheeky remarks about your size.

 Over and over again you’ve defended these idiotic men, and yet nothing changed, they still had no faith. Most of them treated you horribly not that you think they noticed. It was hard to ignore their callousness when it came to you, especially compared to the warmth they shared with one another. There were several nights when their words became too much and you had to stray from camp in order to let the tears fall out of sight. But you had promised Gandalf that you would protect them, and if that meant staying even when it was obvious you weren't wanted, then that is what you’d do.

It wasn’t until Thorin, overtaken with his dragon sickness had cast you out that you had finally decided you were done. Done with dwarves, done with being underestimated and belittled at every moment.

“You will never be good enough, you are a burden to all those around you, a burden I no longer wish to be saddled with!” He had yelled from his position on the ramparts as you descended from the same rope that the hobbit had used just moments before. 

Thorin had never been cruel, aloof maybe, but never cruel. You knew deep down that it was his addled mind that allowed this cruelty to spew from his mouth. Thorin may not have known you loved him, but you had thought the two of you had reached a sort of understanding, a mutual bond forged by the danger you’d overcome together. Apparently not.

You joined Gandalf’s side as he spoke to Thorin. You bit your tongue to stop yourself from yelling back at the King Under the Mountain. It wasn't until you heard Thorin’s reply that you couldn’t hold yourself back anymore.

“I will have war!” He yelled.

“You will have death!” You had screamed back “You will have death for you and your kin if you do not stop this foolishness Oakenshield!” With that, you turned and headed back towards the gates of Dale. If there really was to be a war you would be needed, to protect those who could not protect themselves.

You heard the horns of war in the distance and shook your head. Foolish dwarves doing foolish things. You kept running towards Dale hoping to be of some use. 

Arriving at the old armory, you pulled out an old steel sword, one dating back to before the fall of the city. It wasn’t as good as the eleven blades that the elves of Mirkwood confiscated when you were captured, but it was well-balanced. The hilt was wrapped in old black leather, well worn and rough against your skin. 

You didn’t have time to sift for a better weapon, so you took the sword and ran. Bursting out onto the street your eyes scanned for danger. You took in all the rubble, some new and some old from the dragon attack years ago. The screaming of a group of people made you cease your reminiscing and run towards them. 

Taking down several enemies as you run, you finally round the corner into the main square. Landing your sight on Bain, Sigrid, and Tilda. Bain doing his very best to defend his sisters. You run forward without hesitation and trade blows with the monster in front of you, taking him down in no time at all.

“Are you all alright?” You ask rushing towards the girls and helping them down from the cart they had used as a hiding spot.

“We’re fine ma’am” Tilda responds in a shaky voice

“You all were very brave, but now it's time to head to the hall where everyone else is. Take cover, the battlefield is not safe for children I assure you.”

“But-” Bain had cut in.

“No, Bain, I know what your Da has asked of you but I’m telling you to take cover.”

He hesitated but nodded and took his sisters towards the main hall where the rest of the women and children were hiding.

You continue to take down the orcs and their armies as you run toward the main battlefield. 

“Y/N! Y/N!” You hear your name being called, rotating quickly your eyes fall on the hobbit who had become very dear to you over the course of the Journey.

“Bilbo, are you hurt? What’s wrong?” You rushed out

“No. No, I’m fine it’s Thorin.”

“Thorin? What’s happened with Thorin where is he?” Your questioning picked up in intensity.

“The Pale Orc is atop Ravenhill, and Thorin, Dwalin, Fili, and Kili have all gone to kill him.” The Hobbit responded just as rushed.

Without another word, you grab the back of the Hobbit’s coat and drag him behind you. Your eyes quickly scan the horizon, taking inventory of anything that could get you to the top of the Mountain quickly. You spot Lord Dain, on his royal ram, and make a plan in your head.

Hobbit still in your grasp you sprint across the field towards the Dwarf Lord,

“Lord Dain! I need your ram.”

“W-What?!” He sputters.

“I am not asking.” You huff out a frustrated breath and use the hand not currently gripping your friend to shove the dwarf off of his steed, quickly taking his place and beginning your trek to the mountain. Sending a quick prayer to whatever being there might be to keep your love safe. Just long enough for you to kill him yourself.

Once you are sure he won’t fall off you let go of your hold on Bilbo and scan the ground flying past you for any more weapons you could use.

Seeing a discarded elven bow and quiver ahead of you, you steer the ram towards it and scoop it off the ground and into your grasp. Five Arrows, you’ll have to use them wisely, but it’s better than nothing.

You look towards Ravenhill, watching as the dwarves you have reluctantly come to care for dismount their own steed. Pushing your heels into the sides of your own ram you pray to any gods out there that you’ll make it in time. 

You meet a few obstacles on your journey, the occasional orc arrow to be deflected, and even a troll who had fallen right in front of you. Nevertheless, in no time at all you reach the peak and search for the men you came to aid. 

You only see Thorin and Dwalin as they fight their way through hordes of creatures of the dark. You leap into the fray and call out to the two warriors

“Where are the princes?” 

“They’ve gone to search the structure.”

A yell coming from the tower quickly puts that thought to rest. You slash down the last monster before you quickly shift to see a sight that you’ll have a hard time forgetting. The pale orc holds Fili in his grasp. You immediately grasp your bow and nock an arrow. 

The pale orc is too absorbed in his victory speech to notice you pulling back the string. With a deep breath, you let an arrow loose and send a quick prayer that it hits its target. Not a second later you hear a deep grunt and see that your aim is true. The arrow lodged itself deep into the meat of the arm holding the dwarf prince. He drops Fili in surprise and your eyes widen in fear. However, it is short-lived as Fili pulls a dagger out of nowhere and wedges into the stone of the tower, slowing his descent.

Four arrows left. 

Azog staggers back and he catches himself on the wall behind him. His eyes find yours and you try not to shudder at the rage within him. This is a benefit you tell yourself. An angry enemy is a distracted enemy. His rage will be his downfall, you’ll make sure of it.

Fili lets go of the dagger and drops the rest of the distance, landing on his feet and quickly running to your side. Moments later, Kili runs from the tower and practically lunges for his brother. 

“You idiot Fee.” The brother's embrace is hard and you’re a little worried they’ll suffocate each other. Eventually, Kili lets go and turns to you, “Thank you. And I’m sorry.” 

“No need for apologies Kili. Gandalf asked me to protect you, and that’s what I’ve done.”

“Still, I underestimated you, I won’t do it again.” You nod at the prince and clap a hand on his shoulder. 

“I have to go help your uncle, don’t follow me, and whatever you do don’t split up. You’re stronger together.”

“Aye.” They both reply and send a single nod your way.

You clutch your bow and scan your surroundings, a trail of black blood and a broken arrow stem point the way to the Pale Orc’s location. 

“Fili, you wouldn’t happen to have an extra dagger would you?” You turn and ask. He smirks and opens his coat. 

“Take your pick Lass.”

After grabbing two matching daggers from Fili you begin jogging towards the frozen waterfall. You are single-minded in your task, ignoring the shouts of battle from below and the wails of the dying. You cannot let yourself get distracted. Distraction means death and you can’t help anyone when you’re dead.

You come upon a scene that you’d only ever had nightmares about. Thorin and Azog facing off on a barren plane. Neither is holding back and you force yourself to push past the terror that grips your heart. As you run towards your king you begin releasing arrows one after the other. 

Four. Three. Two. One. None.

Each arrow pierces the flesh of the monster pushing him back and back. Blow after blow sends him staggering and gives Thorin the advantage. He swings his sword and slashes at the beast.  But Azog does not fall. 

He yells. He stands and he starts returning blows. They are sloppy, his mace has no aim. It doesn’t need to, the force he puts behind it means he really only has to land one blow. 

You can’t run fast enough to cover the distance, especially not on the ice. Nevertheless, you keep pushing. Your legs burn and so do your lungs but you keep going. You race against time and fate to reach the dwarf you love. 

Thorin falls. The orc closes in. You run.

And run, and run, and run. 

You don’t notice the battle cry that rips from your body, but the orc does. 

He looks up and a sneer crosses his face. 

You get closer.

You pull your daggers.

The orc stands. 

You take a running jump.

Azog runs. 

You smile.

This is foolish. You understand that, not even you as skilled as you are could take down a beast such as this. But you’ll try because you made two promises. One to Gandalf, that you would keep the company safe. And another to yourself, that if you survived this you would stop being afraid, you would tell Thorin you love him and… 

Your daggers land in the Pale Orc’s shoulder blades. You hold on for dear life. His roar of pain nearly deafens you but you hold on still. Ripping one blade from his body you jab it at his neck. He grabs the back of your coat and pulls you away, you scratch him but nothing more. He lifts you into the air and looks into your eyes. The rage is still there, along with smugness, bloodlust, curiosity, and then - shock. His grip loosens and you fall to the ground. 

You scramble away from him, grasping the ice with shaking hands. You stand and turn. Azog is still, frozen in time. Except now, there is a sword piercing his chest. Right where his heart should be, protrudes a sword you know very well. 

Azog grips the blade and looks at you, then falls. He doesn’t get up.

Behind him stands Thorin, looking mightier than you’ve ever seen him. His hair is a mess and there is blood on his face and hands. Yet he’s never looked better. You run towards him and throw yourself into his arms. A laugh escapes you and you let yourself feel for a moment. Feel grateful, and scared and everything you’ve been holding back for the past few days. 

Thorin’s grip on you is strong and you can feel the tremor in his hands as he guides them up and down your back.

“You saved me.” His deep timber pulls you from your thoughts. “Why?”

“I made a promise to Gan-”

“No, you fulfilled your pledge to the Wizard the moment we made it to the mountain, yet you stayed. Why?” Thorin pulls his chest away from yours and attempts to catch your gaze with his.

“Is this really the time?” You ask. 

“When else?” He cocks his head to the side.

“Perhaps after the battle is over?” You fully pull away from him then. 

Thorin pauses, perhaps like you, he had briefly forgotten the battle warring on below you in a moment of joy. But he nods to you and walks back toward the lifeless body of your foe. He rips his sword out of the body. He flips Azog onto his back so his lifeless eyes gaze emptily at the sky. Thorin turns to you, “Perhaps you should look away.” he addresses you.

You simply raise an eyebrow at him. He nods and grasps the sword firmly. From one moment to the next Thorin separates Azog’s head from his body. He takes hold of it and walks towards the edge of the frozen lake, which looks out onto the field below. 

He lets out a mighty shout and hoists the fallen orc’s head into the air. Shrieks echo from below and the enemy begins to retreat. 

You’ve won.

Thorin drops his head and turns to face you, a rare smile graces his face and for the first time since you met him, it truly seems like the weight of the world has been lifted from his shoulders, for at least a moment.

It takes you three seconds to get in front of him, one second to grab ahold of his head, and another to kiss him. Five seconds, five seconds of bravery that you will probably never be able to muster again.

Thorin kisses you back with fervor, gripping you as through he thought you might fade away. Eventually, the need for air separates you. 

“That is why I saved you,” you whisper into the space between you, “because a life without you in it is one I do not wish to bear.”

“You’ll never have to.” is his reply before his mouth is on you again. Where the first kiss was full of passion, a burst of adrenaline between two people. This one is slow, like Thorin is savoring the moment like he is trying to memorize what it is like to have you. The moment is bliss, it's everything you wanted and thought you couldn’t have. 

And then it is ruined. A sharp whistle and laugh from across the lake separates the two of you once more. You turn and see Fili and Kili, holding each other and worse for wear but alive and smiling which you’ll take as a win.

The boys make their way towards you, Thorin never releases his hold on your waist.

“Is it over?” Fili asks.

‘It is now.” Thorin responds.

“Now what?” Kili pops up. Scanning the area around him.

‘We live.” Is your simple reply. Like Kili, you take a moment to look around you. And you really like what you see.

[shychick-52]

I will never get over the injustice of the fact that we never got a mutual hug between Sofia and Cedric. Not once, in all the times she hugged him, has he ever hugged her back.

Not even in season 4 when he finally turned over a new leaf and truly accepted/embraced his friendship with her, and how much he cared about her.

In season 2's 'Winter's Gift', there was a deleted storyboard/scene where they would have actually shared a hug at the end after Sofia gave him the homemade wand case for Wassailia, (which he was canonically overjoyed and touched to receive in the actual episode, saying it was the best present he ever got; it would have made the mutual hug all the more precious and meaningful, a milestone in their relationship, showing how much he truly had come to cherish her friendship). But I can't see any logical reason it would have gotten cut for time, because I don't see how that would have taken up any time at all, especially if it was meant to take place during the sweet "Happy holidays, Mr. Cedric" / "Yes, well, it is happy, isn't it?" exchange right at the end. And I can't see why the Disney higher-ups would have disapproved it, because it would have shown even more growth in Cedric's character. And not only were we deprived of a mutual hug, but there was no hug at all in the actual episode (it would have been so sweet to at least have Sofia hug him).

Near the end of season 2's 'The Enchanted Feast', after Sofia and Cedric manage to defeat Miss Nettle together, Sofia hugs him. And... it's not totally obvious, because Sofia was kind of in the way of his arm, but it does look like he either gave her a one-armed hug or at least affectionately patted her on the back (either way, it's absolutely adorable, and I can't stop rewinding it to this part every time I watch this episode). In any case, it's the closest we got to a canon shared hug between them (and maybe it was one), so it's one of my favorite scenes in the series! I don't know how to make gifs, so I'll try to show it in this clip (it's at the 0:34 mark) and in a couple screenshots:

The only time he TRULY hugged her back wasn't even 100% canon! It took place at the end of that cute 'Rain, Rain, Go Away' nursery rhyme short on Disney Junior's Youtube channel:

Now, if only that's what we'd got at the end of the series finale ('Forever Royal') after she thanked him for saving her from the amulet!! But not only did she not hug him at all one last time, but it would have been a perfect opportunity for him to be the one to initiate a hug, showing even more of his incredible character development and their bond:

Sofia the First~Forever Royal~Cedric Returns Sofia's Amulet (youtube.com)

It also was a missed opportunity for them to share a mutual hug at the end of the first episode of season 4 'Day of the Sorcerers' after Cedric earnestly expressed his gratitude to Sofia for defending him and advocating for a second chance to Roland (during the scene where Cedric was still on his knees after pleading for forgiveness to Roland, and Sofia returns his wand after Roland agrees to reinstate him as royal sorcerer). It really was a missed opportunity, because that the was the episode where Cedric finally truly chose friendship with Sofia over his evil dreams. But again, there was no hug at all:

And another fantastic opportunity would have been in s4's 'In Cedric We Trust', after Cedric sacrificed his safety to save Sofia's life, nearly injuring him. ("I can't believe how you saved me like that! You could have gotten really hurt!" / "So could you, Sofia."). Once again, zero hug at all (but it was so adorable how he took her by the hands, at least):

I would certainly hope that if Sofia had hugged him in all those scenes, he would have finally hugged her back!!

And again, him finally being the one to first hug her would have been FRIGGING EVERYTHING.

@sweetmariihs2 @fantadym @bettathanyou @moonypears-blog @cedric-my-beloved

[silvervioletvalentine]

Love is the way you…

Pairing: Max Verstappen X Cherrie!

Word count: 7k

Summary: in which she’s an unbothered, boss bitch. He’s just madly in love with her. As simple as that.

Max look over at his girlfriend with a unimpressed look on his face as she stumbled up onto the rooftop to where their interview was being filmed, a bottle of half empty wine hanging loosely in her hand as she waved at him lazily , completely unbothered by how late she was.

He looked pointedly at his watch , leaning back into the couch that had been placed in the middle of the rooftop just for them, having been sat there with a apologetic smile being given to the filming crew around him with each minute that passed by with his girlfriend not arriving.

He cursed at himself for telling her the actual time of the interview, knowing that he should have lied and told her that it was an hour before , to give her time to be late only to arrive on time . He wasn't surprised at all and If he didn't know her so well he would have thought that she was unable to actually tell the time because in all of their time together . She had never once arrived to anything on time.

He didn't know if it was because she simply didn't care or if she just did it just to piss him off , knowing that he liked to do things on the dot. That he hated being late to literally anything.

So it was only his luck that he fell in love with a woman who could not give a single shit about anything , in fact, he didn't think that she had ever followed a single rule in her entire life.

If you told her not to do something, she would do it.

You told her not to pick up that spider? She’d pick it up and chase him around their house with it while he screeched in fear like a little girl.

If He told her to take the short cut to where ever they were going, she’d take all the back fields and make him suffer the long way instead. Because she Simply found annoying people amusing, that was it.

Actually now that he thought  about it , the first time that they had met at a party she had told him that she would only be a minute. That she was just going to get a drink and to wait for her in the kitchen .

She had been gone for an hour until she came back with a casual grin and not even a single apology falling from her mouth, simply telling him that she didn't like the booze that the party was offering, holding up a bottle of fancy whiskey that she had ran off to buy from the liquor store instead.

Max should have known then what he was getting himself into but one look at her beautiful face had him in a daze. Still did. The affect that she had on him was absolutely pathetic.

But he wouldn’t change a thing. Because his life would be boring and bland without her. Like chicken without any spices.

He needed her. Just as much as she needed him. (Which meant that he needed her for him to feel happy and at home . She needed him to reverse the car for her and pay off her fines for speeding and parking incorrectly.) but still. They were in love.

And well , here they were , two years later. About to do an interview about their relationship that his girlfriend has turned up late to. Again.

Really, it was only right. A full circle moment for them. In fact. He might have been worried if she had shown up On time.

That just wasn’t who she was.

"What happened to 'just going to say hello to your friend and that you'd only be a minute'?" He questioned her with a knowing look on his face, shuffling over on the couch so that she could sit next to him.

Admiring the tiny shorts and cut up redbull shirt that she was wearing with his number and name on the back , her pierced nipples and pierced belly button shining underneath of the sun proudly as she strutted over to him in her six inch heels , smirking down at him lazily.

The definition of a hot mess. Max wondered how he got so lucky. She was way out of his league and he knew it.

"It turned into a emergency brunch. Her boyfriend cheated on her! that absolute cunt!" She gossiped to him, throwing her little handbag down and kicking off her heels too. Curling herself up on the couch beside him and offering him the half drunken bottle of wine in her hand.

Max gently took it from her and set it aside. Hiding a amused smirk.

No doubt she had been having bottomless mimosas for lunch, she didn't need anymore wine as well. Otherwise he would be carrying her home again.

He looked at her in slight shock , eyes widening at the sudden information she was giving to him.

"No way! How did she find out?" He rushed out, eyes never leaving her pretty face, both of them oblivious to the crew around them that were watching the two of them gossip together like teenagers in amusement.

Cherrie scoffed loudly , pulling a disgusted face. "She found them in her bed! He was shagging her best friend the whole time!" She exclaimed loudly, still in shock from how her day had gone.

Max gasped , mouth dropping open in disbelief. "No! That bitch! I always knew something was off about her." He told her seriously , untucking a piece of her hair from where it had gotten tangled in her necklace.

Cherrie just hummed In agreement , the two having have a lot of gossip sessions and pillow talk about about how shady they thought people were.

They were the most judgmental couple around and they didn't give a single shit either. Max has found out that one of Charles’s engineers had slept with one of his friends, Cherrie had been the first one to find out about it.

Max had hid behind the Ferrari lounge and rang his girlfriend as soon as he overhead the news. Whisper shoutout down the phone to her about how ‘she was not going to believe what he had just heard!’.

Cherrie had successfully turned him into a gossip and max enjoyed every single second of it. Because his girlfriend knew everything about everyone. Even the things that she shouldn’t know at all.

She did. So max did too. Because they were the dream team and the first thing the two of them did when they heard some juicy gossip , was call each other up to tell the other about it dramatically.

They had dirt on everyone.

"I know! So I told her that I'd slash his tires and help her egg his house-" she casually started to tell him of her revengeful plan, leaning back into the couch to get comfortable.

Max paused at that and looked at her warily , frowning in disapproval. "No you're not! You're already not allowed within a ten miles of your friends other ex boyfriend after what you did last time! You can't keep collecting restraining orders like this baby!" He reminded her seriously .

They had a folder at home of all the people that she wasn't allowed near . And all the clubs and bars she was banned from too.

Because his girlfriend was a little shit who was insanely protective of those that she loved and she also believed in karma , karma being her fist being shoved into someone's face and her slashing the tires of assholes cars that had broken her friends heart.

She meant business and max respected that. But he also wanted his girlfriend to not be arrested , he would miss her too much if she went too far and got herself locked up.

She never knew where to draw the like between wrong and criminally wrong.

So max had to remind her every so often so that she didn’t get into too much trouble.

Cherrie groaned at the reminder , rolling her eyes with a huff . "Fine. Will you do it for me then?" She looked at him expectantly , blinking at him with her long lashes and pretty eyes.

Max sighed loudly , looking away from her before he caved in.

It should be illegal for her to look at him like that. Why did she have to be so fucking beautiful? It really wasn’t fair to him when he was trying to tell her no.

“No! I'm not getting involved again Cherrie! The guy caught me last time and I had a black eye for weeks!"

There was a short pause before Cherrie pouted at him prettily , nudging his shoulder gently. "But he called me a evil bitch-" she told him with a small knowing smirk tugging at her lips .

Max's head snapped back to her, his eyes narrowing as his body stiffened in anger .

“I'll sort him out then. Don't worry about it." He murmured to her, quickly changing his mind about staying out of her drama , already planning on breaking the guys nose for speaking to the love of his life like that.

Max was the only one that was allowed to call her an evil bitch (affectionately) not some dickhead who couldn't keep his dick in his pants.

Her drama was now his drama. Her problems were his too. That was true love.

"Thank you baby!" She beamed at him smugly , wrapping her arm around his neck to give him a kiss. Max leaning into her and eagerly kissing her back , smiling contently against her lips as he tasted her strawberry limp balm. His favourite.

The two of them only pulled away when there was a loud clearing of a throat, looking over to their amused interviewer sheepishly.

"Can we get started now?" He asked them, grinning as he took a seat in front of them. The cameras already trained on the couple that most people couldn't believe actually worked out.

Max blushed subtly , laughing a little as he nodded his head and gave the crew a apologetic glance.

Cherrie not giving a single shit, she merely smiled at them and gave them all a polite wave of her freshly manicured hand.

"This is going to be a bit of a invasive one. Some not so nice questions. Is there anything you didn't want to talk about?" He asked them , having already informed them that this was a unfiltered interview for their channel.

Cherrie just laughed , shrugging carelessly. "ask whatever you want. I'll even give you a play by play script of how we fuck-"

Max smacked his hand over her mouth with a nervous laugh. "No you won't! Behave!" He scolded her in amusement . Smacking the back of her head lightly . Knowing that she was only half joking too.

Max had once overheard her on the phone to Pierre , still stark naked after wrestling with him in the sheets the whole night. He had been left to watch her in disbelief , still breathless from the hours of fucking, as she called up her friend and asked him to bring them some more condoms over because they weren’t done.

Max had been forced to waddle over to their front door with her tiny , silky dressing gown wrapped around his body. Neck covered in hickeys and eyes still glazed, too fucked out to even be embarrassed by the amused laugh pierre had gave him when he saw the state he was in.

He had gotten used to her being a blabber mouth. His girlfriend was not the one that you told your secrets to because you could guarantee that the whole group chat would find out within the hour.

But he loved her anyways. She may have been a gobshite but she was his gobshite.

Cherrie just smirked at him mischievously, leaning into his side a little more as she got comfortable. Giving them the green light to start the interview.

They answered a few simple questions about their relationship first , about how they met and how long they had been together before the questions finally got interesting.

She could feel max tense beside her , meanwhile Cherrie had never felt more relaxed in her life .

"There's a lot of people online that accuse you of only being with him to use him for his money. How do you feel about that?" He asked her.

Now most people would get upset over the fact that his fans would think of her as some goldigging whore , but not Cherrie.

She simply grinned and let out a amused laugh, completely unbothered.

She knew that she was the shit and that others were just jealous that she had what they couldn't have. It was a little pathetic really but she honestly didn't give a single shit to what some stranger thought of her.

Why would she? They meant nothing to her. She didn't know them and they didn't know her . They just judged her from a few pictures of her , that was their opinion and they could have that.

Just like she could have her own. There was a reason why she was so popular after all. A controversial, boss bitch. Some would call her.

She embraced it all. Who gave a fuck? Not her!

"I mean, I feel a little bit annoyed because it's not true at all. I'm not using him for his money, I have plenty of my own.." she told the camera with a small smirk , glancing at max who was already biting back a grin at her mischievous eyes .

“I'm actually using him for his sexy body. I wish people would get it right!" She exclaimed , tutting and shaking her head scornfully.

Max burst into laughter, his cheeks flushing pink as he shoved her away from him playfully . The both of them giggling like little kids, not seeing the shocked looks that they were being given.

No one used to seeing max so carefree and happy, taken aback by how lighthearted and carefree he was acting with her. So used to seeing him being so serious and rarely ever laughing.

It was a startling surprise to see him burying his face into cherries shoulder in a fit of giggles, her hand buried in his hair as she lightly scratched at his scalp absentmindedly, grinning to herself smugly. Completely comfortable with her. Clearly in love.

"Yeah! I mean- she loves my hidden eight pack! And my big guns.." he was snickering as he flexed his arms jokingly , grinning down at her in pure amusement. "It's all she ever wants! It's why I'm always so tired." He joked , unable to stop laughing.

Cherrie giggled along with him, tucking her knees up into the couch and resting her arms on them , putting her chin on them lazily as she wiggled her eyebrows at the camera suggestively.

"Oh yeah..." she drawled out , smirking. "All I want is sex, sex and even more sex! He gets home from winning a race and I'm just like - get on the bed with your ass straight up in the air!" She continued to joke, snorting to herself . Reaching over his knees to grab at her bottle of wine again.

Uncapping it and quickly taking a sip, she offered the bottle to max again.

This time he took it and had a big gulp from the bottle giving in , still grinning with tears of laughter in his eyes, his face bright red from her casual words.

"She's incredibly easy to buy gifts for because I am the gift. I just put a bow on myself and she goes crazy! She's obsessed with me!" He told them with a forced straight face , lips twitching as he tried to calm himself down again.

Cherrie side eyed him with a smirk "I am? Who cried when I went away with my friends for the weekend?" She taunted him slyly.

Max paused at that , bashfully looking away from her in slight embarrassment.

He had in fact bawled like a little baby by the second day that she was gone .

He just wasn’t used to it. He couldn’t stand to be away from her for very long . She was his light , his happiness. If he had it his way, he would drag her around with him everywhere. Everyone else could fuck themselves.

She was the only one he wanted to see when he won a race. And the only one he wanted when he lost one too.

She was his person. He wasn’t ashamed of the fact that her love had turned him into a clingy fool. Because he knew that she liked it.

And his girlfriend wasn’t much better either. She had once emailed him a plane ticket after they had been fighting, leading to a few days of stubborn silent treatment , demanding that he come home so that she could ignore him in their house instead. Still wanting him near even when they were arguing.

Something that they rarely did. And even when they did fight , it was usually max that caved and apologised first .

He couldn’t live without her. That much was obvious to him.

She was his best friend.

He shrugged a little sheepishly "I don't like you not being around. I don't really like hanging out with anyone else." He muttered honestly, blushing.

The man looked between them with a grin , amazed at how different max was with Cherrie by his side. It was as though he was witnessing a completely different man!

"Would you say that you two are friends too then?" He curiously asked them. Loving the way they behaved so comfortably with each other. Able to tease and joke around without any feelings being hurt.

"Best friends." Max corrected him quickly , smiling at her. "She's the only person that I can a hundred percent be myself with. And she doesn't judge me because she also bat shit crazy too." He told him simply.

Cherrie nodded along proudly, grinning at the camera. "I am." She agreed, completely unbothered by what a menace she was.

Max knew that she was a little unhinged , and he loved her for it.

"And max, what was your first impression of Cherrie?"

Max looked over at her with a shy grin , laughing  bashfully at the knowing look she was giving him.

"I thought she was beautiful.." he tilted his head a little in thought "and scary. I remember just looking at her and thinking 'holy shit!'. I was so scared to talk to her but at the same time that was all I wanted to do.." he admitted , fidgeting with his fingers. Feeling cherries hand slide across his back and trace her name between his shoulders gently.

She laughed lightly at the memory of the first night they met .

"I don't think you would have ever talked to me if I didn't do it first. You're lucky that I'm not shy otherwise you'd still be gaping at me from a distance!" She teased him, hugging his waist and kissing his shoulder fondly.

Max rolled his eyes at her, chuckling . "I would have.." at her disbelieving look he caved instantly

“okay.. maybe it would have took me a while.."

Their interviewer laughed "so you approached him first then?"

Cherrie nodded her head casually, the more confident one out is the two of them.

Some would call her arrogant. She would agree. She was a little shit but so was max .

That was why they worked so well together.

"yeah I kinda had to. He was just staring at me the whole night , he looked like he had been shot with Cupid's arrow. I felt a little sorry for him." She told them in amusement. Still feeling smug from the effect she had always had on him.

Max scoffed at her, giving her a little push. "Hey! I wasn't that bad' I was just ya know..." he shrugged helplessly "what else was I supposed to do? I had just seen the most beautiful woman in the world.. my brain just completely switched off!" He defended himself weakly.

Knowing that there was no point denying it. He was head over boots in love with her.

He always had been.

Cherrie awed at him with a cheeky grin on her face, nudging his shoulder with hers teasingly .

“He knows just what to say to get himself laid!" She wiggled her eyebrows at him suggestively.

He buried his red face into his hands with a load groan . Muttering nonesense, completely flustered by her. Even now. She never failed to make him feel like a nervous schoolboy with a crush.

Max didn't think the butterflies were ever going to fade away. She was the love of his life and he had never believed in all that lovey dovey shit until he met her.

But he knew that she was the one. She was his best friend and partner until the end. He didn't know what he would do without her craziness and her bad ideas.

She made him so happy and to him that was all that mattered.

The man asked another question "a few of the drivers have said that you humble max. Do you think that's true?"

Cherrie hummed thoughtfully, tilting her head a little . "Maybe but not about his racing. He's a arrogant little shit but he deserves to be because he's one of the best... it's more in the way that he knows not to act like he's better than me .." she tried to find the right words to explain what she meant.

Max was leaning his head against his fist as he gazed at her, waiting patiently for her answer . Giving her thigh an encouraging squeeze.

"It's like- when he pisses me off and gets too big headed about himself I just remind him that I've got footballers and actors , billionaires and rockstars in my dm's so.." she shrugged slyly, smirking at her boyfriend who was shaking his head at , exasperated.

"I just tell him that if he leaves the toilet seat up one more time .. or if he even thinks of missing a single date night or anniversary.. I'm telling them I'm single. I can find myself a new man within seconds.. just because he has me now doesn't mean he can't lose me.." she told them seriously , confidently.

Knowing her own worth and not afraid to remind him of it.

"Some guys stop putting in the effort as soon as they've got you into the bed. But that's how the love dies out  and the resentment grows. You don't stop buying her flowers and telling her how beautiful she is to you. So many guys get too comfortable and end up losing what they had from their laziness and arrogance." She mused , fiddling with the diamond tennis bracelet around her wrist that max had gotten her last week just because he had thought it would look pretty with her new nails.

Max had never stopped putting in effort. He still bought her flowers ever two weeks . He always complimented her and made sure she knew how much he adored her and how lucky he was to have her and that was why it worked so well.

Their love was only growing stronger by the day because both of them never stopped putting in the effort, a relationship was a two way street.

And even now , nearly three years later. Max couldn't look at her without blushing. Couldn't help but stammer over his words when she got dressed up just for him.

He still looked at her like she was his own personal god. It was a nice feeling.

They were in love and if max had it his own way, they were going to stay that way forever.

"That's true." Max agreed quietly , smiling at her gently.

“Never underestimate a woman's worth because she will leave and find someone better."

Cherrie nodded proudly at him, having trained him up right . "amen! If max ever fucks me over then I'll just fuck his best friend instead!" She said with a big grin , just to wind him up.

Max's smile dropped as quick as it came . Narrowing his eyes at her with a loud huff . "You had to ruin the moment didn't you?"

She just scoffed at him with a smirk "I can never ruin the moment. I mean-" she motioned to herself smugly "look at me! I am the moment."

Max slowly turned his head to look at the camera like he was in a episode of the office. "And people say I'm the arrogant one!" He scoffed to himself in amusement.

The man laughed and so did the crew before they moved onto yet another question.

The man looked over  at cherrie  "there's a lot of Criticism about how you dress. How does that make you feel?" He asked her.

Cherrie just shrugged and adjusted her tight, cut up redbull shirt that her boobs were spilling out of. She flicked her hair over her shoulder .

Max running his fingers through the loose curls she had done that morning , admiring her side profile underneath the hot sun.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and quickly took a picture of her, grinning to himself when she gave him a middle finger. He took a picture of her swearing at him too, quickly sending it to their friend groupchat. And telling them that this was what she thought of them.

Snickering at the offended picture charles sent back to him in response.

"I'm not bothered because I have two perfectly working eyes and can see my own reflection. I'm hot as shit and they're just bitter and jealous that they have to pay thousands for their tits and ass while I get all mine for free!" She confidently stated .

She wore whatever the hell she wanted, when she wanted . She was in the prime of her life and if you had it, why not flaunt it? She was proud of her body and unashamed of showing off her skin.

She had big boobs and a big butt , and she loved it. She had been blessed in that department and she wasn't going to let some jealous bitches on the internet ruin her self confidence .

In fact, she didn't think it was possible to. She had built herself up so much over the years that any insult that was hurled her way just went straight over her head.

She preferred to hang out with people that bigged each other up, not tore each other down. Why compare herself to other woman when she was not them? If she was made to look like them, then she would. But she was not.

She was herself. She was curvy in all the right places thanks to her mama.

She was hot and she knew it. Some people would die to look like she did, so why should she have to hide her skin away because some morons sexualised everything?

She could wear a bikini at the beach and because she had big tits and a big ass, she would be called a whore for it . 'That her tits were hanging out!' How scandalous!

She really couldn't give a shit. If they kept giving her shit about it she was going to go to a nudist beach and strip off completely , giving all the jealous bitches the middle finger.

She really was thinking about it. Wondering how she could get her boyfriend in on her shit too.

Max smiled at her in amusement . Eyeing her chest and the piercings pressing through the thin cotton shirt .

He licked his lips, breath hitching at the sight of her "yeah.. she's perfect. And she can wear whatever the hell she wants. And if anyone wants to say differently to our faces.. I'll knock their teeth out." He muttered casually. It was as simple as that two him.

Cherrie lifted her hand up to him, max quickly high-fived her with a supportive grin. Well trained on keeping her happy by now.

She then laughed slyly , slapping Max's bare thigh. "And if anyone looks like a slut it's max in these tiny shorts! Feeling yourself today baby?" She teased him, puckering her lips up for a quick kiss.

He just. smiled at her actions, laughing against her mouth as he gave her a kiss before pulling away. Shoving her head away from him playfully , snorting when she pretended to bite at his fingers. Giggling to herself.

"Totally. You like them? I got them for you." He played along , leaning his thigh towards her teasingly. Stroking his pale leg and pretending to be seductive. Before Breaking off into giggles at the look on her face.

She cackled loudly , patting his thigh with her hand and smirking at him . "Oh yeah, I love them. Can't wait to get em' off!"

A few more questions and then

"Is it true that you got into a fight at a club last weekend?" He asked her curiously.

Cherrie huffed , rolling her eyes in Annoyance just at the reminder of it.

"Yeah. Some asshole said that Max's watch was fake so I decked him. Because that shit is real. and I know it because I fucking bought him it! It's a custom Rolex but that asshole couldn't tell the different between a diamond and plastic! Stupid moron.." She ranted, still pissed off about the whole Incident .

Max hid his grin behind his fist , eyeing his huffy puffy girlfriend in pure amusement .

"You didn't have to punch him though." He muttered to her with a smirk.

Having thoroughly enjoyed her jumping at his defence without any hesitation. It was the hottest thing he had ever witnessed.

He had been ready to put a baby in her right there and then. He hadn’t let her leave their bed all weekend after that.

Cherrie just huffed at him, offended "yes I did. Who did he think he was? He's lucky that's all I did!" She exclaimed, ever the fighter than the lover.

Max just laughed.

"So who would you say wears the pants in your relationship then?" He asked them, already knowing  the answer . Anyone that spent five minutes with the couple knew immediately who the boss was.

Max grinned confidently and pointed to himself.

"me." He said loudly , believing it for a moment .

Silence.

Then he cautiously glanced over at his unimpressed girlfriend , taking in the sharp rise of her eyebrow and the pursing of her lips as she looked back at him sternly.

Daring him to even continue with that lie.

He quickly looked back at the camera with a wince "not me." He blurted out hurriedly , quickly changing his mind before she could give him a scolding in front of everyone.

Everyone laughed as he flushed red, sinking down into his seat with a defeated sigh. Cherrie just patting his thigh sympathetically.

It was official. His tough guy reputation was over after this. Their friends were never gonna let him live this down.

"There was some drama over a year ago between the two of you last summer.." the man slyly brought up the unspoken subject that had sent everyone crazy last year. The media had a shit storm with the photos that were released at the time.

Max groaned quietly , already narrowing his eyes over at a sheepish looking Cherrie in annoyance. Hating being reminded of their small blip in the road.

It was the only break in their relationship that the couple had ever had. Two weeks apart before max was a weepy mess at her front door again, begging for her to take him back.

"The pictures showed cherrie and Charles having some fun together on a yacht . I believe you went on holiday together? Is that true?"

Cherrie sighed a little , grinning despite herself. "Yeah. We went to Hawaii. It was a fun time and max and I weren't talking then. So .." she shrugged, unbothered as usual. It was all behind her as far as she was concerned.

It was no big deal. Just teaching max a lesson not to piss her off again.

Max side eyed her judgmentally , still bitter over it.

"We weren't talking because you wouldn't talk to me." He reminded her in a mutter , rolling his eyes.

She just shrugged again "you missed dinner with my parents even though I reminded you a thousand  times. You went drinking with the guys instead so.." she looked at him boredly "I had to remind you that I can move on. It's the whole.. don't know what you've got till it's done thing ya know.."

Max looked at her exasperatedly "you just wanted to piss me off! You're evil!" He exclaimed, eyes wide at the cheek she had .

Cherrie just smiled, nodding casually In agreement. "I did and it worked didn't it? You came grovelling back and never missed another dinner with my parents again." She smugly stated, completely unbothered.

A girl had to do what a girl had to do sometimes. Even it is meant making him jealous by cuddling up with his rival on a yacht.

The interviewer chuckled at the look on Max’s face , pulling a face at his girlfriend in disbelief.

“And how did it make you feel seeing them pictures of Charles and Cherrie together max?" He asked him curiously . Hiding his own amused grin.

Max just huffed pissily, flicking at his girlfriends forehead  to annoy her . Cherrie slapping his hand away from Her face with narrowed eyes. Daring him to do it again.

He did it again. Even Harder this time.

Smirking to himself like a child when she just rolled her eyes at him and slapped the back of his head in return.

"I wanted to kill him and cry at the same time." He bluntly told them. Being completely honest about how painful It had felt for him to see Charles all cuddled up with the love of his life.

Max had made sure to send Charles a broken

Up ferrari toy in the mail after that. Alongside a box of chocolates filled with laxatives and a nice little note telling him to never touch his girlfriend again.

But still. The two were good friends and max now had to put up with his girlfriends little sleepovers and hangouts with both Charles and Pierre in their house. Side eyeing the two of them the whole night while they got drunk in his garden thanks to cherries own ‘special cocktail’ that was just pure vodka.

Max supposed that he could also call Charles a … friend now too. A reluctant one. One that he had to tolerate because his girlfriend had decided that the Ferrari driver was going to be her new best friend.

The amount of time that he had come home to find the two of them sitting on the floor . Painting each other’s nails and gossiping between each other was ridiculous.

It was so often nice that they had turned their spare room into a bedroom for him now.

But max tolerated it because he loved her. And he also liked listening to the gossip that Charles brought to them too.

It was all his girlfriends fault really. She was the only one to blame for driving him up the wall with her antics all the time.

Cherrie winced a little guiltily "yeah .. not my best idea but .. it worked! Max flew out to take me home , a big vase of roses and a thousand apologies later and we were back to normal." She said to them casually , proud of herself for being so petty.

She then smirked, looking over at max slyly. "Plus you know what they say.. if It doesn't work out with him , it can work out with his rival instead!" She joked , quickly ducking before he could slap her head. Predicting it.

He pulled at her hair instead , sighing loudly at her cheek.

Honestly the nerve she had...

She was so fucking lucky that he loved her so much. Otherwise he might be tempered to leave her crazy ass behind on this rooftop and make her walk home.

"Who's saying these things? You've got to be  making it up!" He exclaimed , looking at her with wide eyes.

Wondering where in the hell she was getting these 'you know what they say..!' Speeches . He had never heard anyone say them. Ever!

She just smugly smirked at him, leaning her head back to rest against his arm that was laid out behind her on the couch. Kissing his bicep softly, keeping eye contact with him the whole time.

Feeling nothing but pride and love when he squirmed in his seat, the blush spreading down his neck as he looked away from her for a moment .

Taking a deep breath to gather himself again, hating how weak he got when she looked at him like that..

She knew exactly what she was doing to him. Glancing over to the camera slyly, winking at it as she wrapped her arm loosely around Max's neck and pulled him down into her embrace

He laid his head against her shoulder with a sigh, tilting his head to kiss her jaw gently. "You’re So lucky that I love you." He mumbled to her , lips twitching into a smile despite himself . He never could stay mad at her.

One look into her pretty eyes and he turned into a pile of goo. But that was love . It was sickening how she made him feel but he wouldn't change it for the world.

He Wouldn't trade her for anyone, even though he was definitely going to turn grey haired soon with her cheeky antics all the time.

She drove him up the wall!

But it was better than being bored all the time he supposed. He had the time of his life when he was with her , he had memories forever. So many of them.. so many special moments.

Giggles at midnight. Whispers underneath the sun.

Dancing in their kitchen together, tipsy on love and wine .

Everything reminded him of her and everytime a damn Taylor swift song came on the radio, he had to call her up just so that she could sing along to it with him too. Even when they were on opposite sides of the world , she was always there .

Max had known since day one that she was it for him. Had known since the moment that he watched her casually  trip someone up when they called him an asshole underneath their breath, daring them to said it again but to her face .

He had known then that someday he was going to marry her , that she was the one.

She was a little troublesome asshole but she was his troublesome asshole.

She made him laugh, she made him smile and she made him feel like he was something special.

She gave him her love and he would give her the whole world . Whatever she wanted , he would bend over backwards to get it for her.

She was the love of his life . But most importantly, she was his best friend.

He couldn't ask for much more than that. She was his dream come true.

She was a pain in the ass. But so was he. So they could be a couple of grade A cunts together.

Because that was love . Having each other's backs. Holding her hair in the morning when the hangover hit full force.

Love was her silently handing him a bottle of water and something to eat at the paddock while he was too busy and stressed to remember to look after himself. She made sure that he was. Without even uttering a single word.

Love was the way he stayed up late just to bake her a cake after hearing  her mutter about craving one lately. It was messy a Messy kitchen and flour covered sweaters , burnt cakes and curses until he got it right.

Love was the smile she gave him when he walked into their room at midnight with a sloppily iced cake in his hands . Kissing him with frosting covered lips , telling him it was perfect even when it wasn't .

Love was the confidence she had in him. Simply telling him that she couldn't wait to see him on the podium that night. Never doubting him , not even for a moment.

Love was the way he gave her his own trainers during their walk home from a club , holding her high heels in his hands. His coat over her shoulders as he shivered and walked home bare footed , his arm wrapped around her waist to tuck her into his side just so she was comfortable and safe.

Love was the way she held him.

Love was the way he reached for her in a crowded room.

Love was the way she proudly showed him off to her friends. Even though she had famous footballers and actors begging her for a chance, he was all she ever saw. She didn't look twice at anyone else.

Love was the way they cried together and the way they laughed together too.

Love was his past, his present and his future.

Love was his best friend sitting next to him with a smile.

Love was all they would ever need.  If he lost everything he ever had, he knew that he would still have her by his side throughout it all.

Because Love was her. Love was them. And that was never going to change . Love was worth all the ups and downs. All the petty fights . All the stressful sighs and tearful goodbyes.

Love was worth the wait. It was worth everything. And if max has to give up everything just to keep her by his side forever , he would do so in a heartbeat.

Because she was his life. She was the reason he looked forward to waking up each morning. She was the reason he slept peacefully through the night .

She was everything . And she was his. Always had been and always would be.

Their love was karma and success. Just them against the world. Together. Forever.

[xysidhequeen]

I know in your Red Knight AU, Jason when on the rampage in another realm, after finding out that Batman replace him with another Robin.

Did Danny manage to be there for him during that time?

He did! Danny was always there for Jason. He actually wanted to chase after Jason immediately, but luckily, the first thing he did was panic call Jazz, absolutely out of his mind. Jazz promptly told Danny to let Jason have some space for a little bit to process.

Which was for the best, really. Jason needed to not feel like he was trapped and that he could be angry. He never really got that before. But the most important thing is Danny came after him and brought him home. Jason needed to feel like he could be angry, but also, like his anger wouldn't mean he'd be punished or abandoned. It was a very delicate time for him, but Danny, Jazz, Sam, Tucker, and all our favorite ghosts made sure Jason knew he was very much wanted still. And that he was utterly irreplaceable.

Skulker handled this by breaking all of his weapons and suits overnight and saying he didn't know how to fix them. (Jason very much knew what he was doing, but the time spent on fixing things helped ground him)

Ember handled this by announcing that she couldn't possibly ever sing ever again unless her only other band member was there (Still very obvious, but music time with Ember usually devolved into very necessary crying time. A lot of ice cream was consumed)

Johnny and Kitty handled this by getting into a MASSIVE fight and refusing to speak to each other unless Jason mediated. (This actually was far less obvious, as the two tend to get into fights often. No one is actually certain if the fight was fake or not to this day, but they also haven't broken up once since and Jason is incredibly proud of that)

Fright Knight handled this by.... well, actually, he took the blunt approach and told Jason there was no one in any realm dead or alive he'd ever consider worthy to be his apprentice besides Jason. (This was highly effective as Frighty has always been bluntly honest with Jason. He didn't wholly believe it but it was a comfort. Frighty then beat his ass in a spar and he didn't think of much else)

Basically, everyone was there for Jason. Not just Danny. Jason was made to feel like his anger and hurt were valid, because they were. But he was also not just told, but shown how precious he was to every life he touched. He didn't get it, not at first and he struggled to really believe it.

It wasn't until later, after Danny opened up more about his own trauma and the effects it had on him that Jason actually began to somewhat understand more of what Jazz meant when she said Danny was getting better. He pieced more of the story together from the others to paint a better picture, and that's when it clicked for him. As much as he needed Danny, Danny had needed him just as much. (Clockwork may have had a hand in this as well, but whatever those two talked about, no one will ever know)

Also, as an aside, once everything calmed down, Danny was very pleased to learn the rebelling realm was now back under control and quite terrified of the Ghost King and his Knight. It saved him so much paperwork.

So yeah, this was a bit all over the place, but hopefully, it answers your question. Team Phantom and the ghosts are basically a very large family, and they might fight and bicker, but they seriously pull through and muster together if anyone is hurting. They're a bit clumsy sometimes with it, but the love they all feel is very obvious. I really, really wanted to give Jason a much more healthy origin story into becoming Red Hood than he got in canon. The poor boy went through enough. It was past time for him to get to heal.

Jason still has some hangups. His abandonment issues are still there, and his fear of rejection. But it's not as bad as it was, and because he'd been allowed to express his anger without being punished(or enabled, anger is a fine emotion to feel. But you should never let it consume you) for it, he figured out how to manage it.

He might still slip now, and then, he has trauma, and that won't go away. But Danny will never, ever let him fall. Neither will the rest of the weird little eclectic family they've built.

[stellanslashgeode]

I'm happily educating myself on all things Barriss via your wonderful blog. If you'd ever feel like unpacking more of your Wrong Jedi thoughts/intrigue, I'd love to hear more of your analysis.

Oh my, you've put a quarter in the machine now you have to hear the whole song.

The arc is very divisive with Barriss enjoyers because her character veers so far from her Legends depiction. She was a pretty prominent character in the original Clone Wars multimedia project and was a caring and selfless healer. And the arc doesn't do much to explain her motivations for turning.

Another thing that vexes me is because it is essentially a police procedural (they even hired a writer from Third Watch for this arc) so much occurs off-screen. So, we do not know quite what happened but have to infer.

Let's start with motivation. In her very few post The Wrong Jedi appearances they've tried to hint at Barriss falling mainly though post-traumatic stress disorder. And that's sort of a good explanation? She was at Geonsis at the start of the war, and was one of two Padawans we know of IN the arena who lived and the other was Anakin! You have to think this is a healer, someone who was trained to be a pacifist, and the battle was so sudden and frantic that she had to witness other Padawans she knew in the creche die all around her and she was too busy defending herself to do anything. So that's trauma and guilt. The short story A Jedi's Duty shows that she sat out nearly the entire first year of the war healing others back at the temple, explaining why she wasn't there to deal with Asajj Ventress with Luminara in TCW season 1. Also, she is having trouble sleeping because of memories of that first battle. She asked for help but they told her to meditate if she couldn't sleep, but she couldn't meditate properly because of this haze of the dark side invading her perceptions. She's even having trouble Force healing and she feels guilty that others are taking risks that she is unwilling to take. She consults with an old friend, Tutso Mara and is finally able to meditate, but right then Luminara calls her to a briefing, and wouldn't you know it, they're going to Geonosis again. She is frightened but memorizes the tunnel formations under the weapons factory they need to destroy because that's her duty to the Light and to her Order. The last scene is her joining Luminara and Gree to depart for the battle. And it's such an ironic story because Master Mara is one of her later victims and the place she bombs is right there in the temple hangar where the story ends. I think that's why she chose it as her target, it was the place she went from safety to chaos.

And what happens next? She almost is buried alive Right Away, then as she's reeling from that she gets a Geonocian brain worm. She was also at the Battle of Umbara, and you know how that goes. So I guess trauma is a fairly good reason, as well as her love and admiration of Jedi ethics and pedagogy that just went right out the window when the Jedi had to do what it took to fight in this war. Barriss is a bookworm, all that heritage meant something to her. And really, that was the purpose of the war, to isolate the Jedi by having them betray their morals and sully their reputation with the public.

Fanfiction writers also can pick and choose from Legends, such as all the crazy stuff that happened to her on Drongar but that's a story for another day.

So we get to the Wrong Jedi Arc itself. We aren't shown how she meets Letta Turmond, how much of a partnership that was. Letta says Barriss was the mastermind of the operation but that's after she's jailed. I don't trust her. I mean, Letta is a grown woman and while Barriss was an idealistic and heartsick Jedi at that point she's just 17-18 according to Feloni. I can see it as a situation where a teenager gets politically radicalized and taken advantage by a woman she trusts. If we get a Letta flashback in Tales of the Empire I will be so happy!

Ahsoka is framed. But there's a multi-step aspect to it. Part A, Letta calls Ahsoka to the prison because she was told she was the only Jedi her collaborator trusted and gets Force choked by someone we do not see. Part B, after she is arrested someone leaves a key card outside her cell and she follows a trail of first injured then dead clones to make it look like she broke out and went on a killing spree. Part C is the only one we actually see start to finish, where Ahsoka contacts Barriss and she lures her to the factory that made the nano-droids.

Barriss is guilty of Part C. But did she do Part A and B? She was at the funeral with Ahsoka and heard same time as her that she was transferred to a military compound. Then in the maybe hour, two hours Ahsoka was in a mission briefing Barriss supposedly broke into a brand-new high security compound, got in the walls, and strangled Letta as Ahsoka was in the cell alone with her. Then Part B, she hung around undetected for a few more hours to set up the escape while also erasing the audio off the recording of the murder.

I personally think Palpatine MIGHT have done part A. He has much greater access and he has the motive (to take away a pillar of stability for Anakin). If Barriss did do Part A, what was the motivation? The most pessimistic reading is she did it to save her own skin and purposely framed Ahsoka. Another is that Barriss genuinely talked up Ahsoka to Letta, and did NOT do so to set her up but because she was one of the lonely girl's only friends (and maybe love interest) and then Letta goes ahead and calls her there, Barriss is in the walls, and she just cannot have Ahsoka's opinion of her ruined. She killed Letta to silence her from tainting this one friendship she had left, did so out of panic, and wasn't thinking of the consequences. Then Part B, oh no I got my girlfriend framed for murder. So she springs her out. So why does she kill those clones to further frame her?

Consider the conversation after the funeral, "Ahsoka, do you think it is right for us to ignore our emotions?" I think the subtext there was "Ahsoka, I'm hurting so much, join me to stop me." She was feeling her out to see if she felt the same about the war as she did. And she did Part B to see if Ahsoka would run, SO THEY COULD RUN AWAY TOGETHER. Sure, it's manipulative as all Hell, but that's the dark side for you. It was a test, and Ahsoka failed because as soon as she gets out, she calls Barriss to help clear her name. So that she could get back to the war. The war Barriss hates with all her being. So that's why she did Part C. She had been alienated by the Order and her own master by all these deployments and the one person left who she valued was buying into the propaganda that the Jedi needed to finish this war. It broke her. And she did something awful.

All and all I think her fall is fascinating because it wasn't for personal power or attachments, she wanted to sacrifice her own grace to save the souls of all other Jedi. She did it out of love for the Order, even if it came in such a twisted and destructive form. That's also why she'd become a lousy Inquisitor. They're the anthesis of all she stood for, an army fighting for the dark side.

I know a lot of fans hate this arc but... man that speech! I spent the whole Prequel trilogy and TCW waiting for a Jedi to stand up and say "What we are doing is wrong, we should stop." Yoda and Mace know their path is leading to the dark, but they see no other way but through. I just wanted someone to say no with their whole chest. And it was Barriss. That's why I love her, your honor. I admire the idealists, her and Satine. They should have teamed up and put a stop too all that nonsense.

Sorry this is so long? I have a lot of FEELINGS and now you can see why I have a lot of trepidation about this Saturday. You know, I thought of you last night when I was rewatching Tales of the Jedi. It was the scene were Dooku was leaving to meet Palpatine with Yaddle following in The Sith Lord. I was imagining how you felt watching that for the first time, and I remembered my reaction was "Oh no, it's the temple hangar! Barriss is going to blow the shit out of this place in a decade and change!"

[tobiasdrake]

Incidentally, part of the reason you know UDG was meant for a much bigger follow-up than the quick wrap-up that DR3 gave it is actually because of Haiji. The game's most despicable character.

We already know it wasn't meant to end here because it ends on a sequel hook. Nothing has been solved, Towa City remains every bit as much in crisis as it ever was, but Komaru and Toko will stick it out until the day is finally saved.

Then it gives us three images to tease us for what's to come.

There's confessed pedophile and sister-beater Haiji looking absolutely sinister, leading the adults against the Monokuma horde.

The sympathetic villains we've come to care about, fighting for their lives against the Monokuma Kids who are now thoroughly turned against them by Monaca.

And Monaca herself, now firmly stepping into the role of Junko 3.0.

Of these three slides, Monaca is the one that gets the most focus in DR3. They spend a bit of time wrapping up her story (and I've spoken at length at how much I prefer their ending for her to whatever UDG was doing here).

The Warriors also get a quick bit of follow-up. We never find out how they got out of the whole "dragged away and beaten by Monokuma Kids" situation but they're shown to be alive, well, and 100% Team Koko/Toko now.

These four were always characters destined for a softer ending. UDG goes to great lengths to examine how sympathetic and tragic they are. But it does feel like we skipped over quite a bit to get from where UDG left them to them being best pals with Komaru and Toko.

But what really stands out is Haiji, who makes no appearance whatsoever in DR3.

They seemed to be setting up a three-way conflict with these slides. Haiji vs. Monaca vs. the Warriors of Hope, with Komaru and Toko caught in the middle and probably drifting to the Warriors' side since they're the ones who least suck here.

DR3 wraps up Monaca's journey and briefly sweeps the Warriors under the rug but Haiji is nowhere to be found at all. Maybe he died. Who knows. Ain't nobody got time for him in an anime that isn't even about these characters in the first place!

It's hard to look at what DR3 gave the UDG cast and believe this was always the plan from the start, when a significant 1/3 of the conflict is barely even touched on and another 1/3 is missing entirely.

[jumpywhumpywriter]

Living Weapon Whumpee *BONUS* Scene part 12

Warnings: forced living weapon/fighter, aftermath of being a weapon/semi-retired weapon, lost family, fractured memories, rejection

His lucky charm, to help him survive the darkness threatening to swallow him up every day.

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

Miranda was... rattled, to say the least, even though she was now standing safe and alone in a small bedroom given to her by Flint, separate from the other prisoners like she'd requested. She had been trapped with the other prisoners for a long time under the ever-watchful eyes of Leader soldiers.

Then, miraculously, they'd been saved. A bunch of strangers appeared and took out their captors, setting them free. The one who had introduced himself as 'Jake' had explained who they were, and that they were here to help.

But then... Weapon. Weapon had shown up, and seemed to recognize her, claiming to be her beloved Whumpee from over a decade ago. She wasn't sure how she felt about that.

Miranda couldn't stop thinking about it, the relief and desperation in the weapon's eyes as he reached out to her. She knew better than to trust words alone, after all the weapon was designed to destroy and manipulate. He could be lying.

But... a part of her wondered what it would mean if Weapon had been telling the truth. What if he was truly Whumpee? What would it mean for her?

Miranda wrapped her arms around herself in a hug and shivered uneasily. It was terrifying to think about. That Whumpee -- her Whumpee -- could possibly be the one responsible for all the carnage and death in the war.

Leader had forcefully taken him from her to create a living weapon, torn the family apart, but she'd been told Whumpee died before the experiments could be completed. The results were inconclusive. And she'd been kept prisoner ever since, so long she'd lost track of the time that passed.

And what was worse, was that she had been forced to give information to Leader about Whumpee's background to help him break her lover faster, when he’d first been taken from her. She'd taken part in the vicious abuse, and if Weapon was really Whumpee... it meant she was partly at fault. And she didn't want to acknowledge that she contributed to the horror, even a fraction. Thinking about it made her stomach twist painfully with nausea.

Leader had threatened and tortured her into compliance, and she'd told him everything about Whumpee, his strengths and weaknesses, what he would fight and die for, his soft spots... everything needed to break the spirit of a man. She helped him break Whumpee, and that was unforgivable.

Miranda shoved the guilt down, because nothing was confirmed yet -- there was still a small chance that Weapon wasn't Whumpee, and they she wouldn't have to confront her actions and be haunted by them and--

She jumped at a light knock on the bedroom door, hurrying to open it.

"Oh... Jake, right?" She said awkwardly.

The man waiting for her nodded. "I was sent to check on you one last time before we're all off to bed. You've been through a lot of trauma. Are you feeling any better now that you're not at Leader's base?"

Miranda chewed her lip worriedly. "Not by much," she admitted softly. "It's... surreal, that I'm not a prisoner anymore. I'd gotten so used to it it feels unnatural to be anywhere else but Leader's base."

Jake smiled sympathetically. "That's perfectly understandable. But I hope you'll rest reassured that no further harm will come to you in this place."

"I suppose," Miranda replied half-heartedly. "It will certainly take some getting used to."

"Indeed." Jake dipped his head respectfully, turning to leave.

"Wait," Miranda blurted before she could stop herself.

Jake paused, turning back expectantly.

She hesitated, wondering how to phrase her question. "May I... request a small favor?" She asked timidly.

"Of course. What do you need? Some food or water? More bedding?" Jake snapped his mouth shut before he could keep rambling, trying too hard to be helpful.

"No, it's... something else," Miranda mumbled. "Uh, I overheard one of your teammates talking to your leader about a file they found on Weapon? And I was wondering... if I could read it?"

Jake's expression shifted from confused to sympathetic understanding. "Are you sure you're ready for that? I mean, you only recently arrived here after your ordeal. And those files are pretty dark. They might give you some answers like you are hoping... but not necessarily the ones you want to know."

"I'm sure," Miranda said determinedly. Not knowing was driving her insane. Even if the answers ruined her, at least she wouldn't be left wondering anymore. She needed to know what happened.

⏪️ Back Next ⏩️

Masterlist

@scoundrelwithboba @lumpofsand @isikedmyself878 @iamheretohurt @fleur-a-whump

@ay5ksal @otterfrost @sausages-things @i-don't-know-sal @togzy

@whump-till-ya-jump @cravesunconditionallove @whumpwritinglover222 @silly-scroimblo-skrunkl @cepheusgalaxy

@dragongodryss @theforeverdyingperson

[thecrushingvoidofspace]

I think there are two key moments in Save the Cat where Adora actually "changes" herself to being a person with her powers driven by emotions (which she wasn't before obviously because the purpose was "duty") and I also think we are done dirty by not being shown one of them.

The first one being Prime's words about Catra including (the most important) "All she ever wanted was you. But you always wanted more"(sorry if im wrong w the words) (in the og script). I think it pierced through the shields Adora had put up around herself in order to maintain a heroic identity which compelled her to totally avoid any proof of the possibility that whatever Catra did was not out of any power hunger or such things but rage because she wantd her back but couldn't. ( It is also clear why that dialogue was very impactful on Adora because twice in the show she changed her words- once: from you will never see US again to you will never have to see ME again and twice: from WE need to I could really use ur help because "ALL SHE EVER WANTED WAS YOU" AHSVSJSBSJH) I think she was devastated and absolutely broken because along with realizing that they were the consequences of what SHE had done, she eas the only one who had to witness what could've been worse.

The other one being Catra herself. She scratched out the soft candy Adora that Adora would herself be comfortable with instead of a overly bubbly relationship that would give her even more pressure of "saving this precious person" .When she let Adora see clearly that she was being wronged by not hiding her pain or screaming. It was when she put herself up with what was real and no masking with power or cockiness, when she made her say "I'm your idiot". It meant a lot of things. (It was beautiful ahsgjsbskbi(ToT)). It also showed that it was the first time Adora had given someone some kind of authority. I'm your idiot as in I'M A FKN RECKLESS IDIOT AND U R THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN KEEP ME IN MY PLACE FXCKDJHSJSHJ. she changed. Period. She didn't just need her friend Catra back since then. She wanted her badly for HERSELF not from for someone's betterment or doing the right thing SHE JUST WANTED HER BACK and when she realized she would go off limits for her. Everyone knows what happens next.....

I would also like to mention how she was expressing her anger laughs tears disappointment more openly since after that argue w the wall

[irinanonyme]

⚠️Long ass XO Kitty post with spoilers⚠️

OK I need to say this: I would MUCH rather people were honest and said that they just personally prefer Kitty x Minho because of their fun dynamic instead of saying stuff like "Kitty x Yuri came out of nowhere" or "it didn't feel natural" or "it was already too late in the season"

Like... No??? It?? Wasn't??

You cannot IMAGINE the euphoria I felt when I realized that this plot is actually going somewhere. As I was watching episode 1, right off the bat I felt like Yuri's and Kitty's "meet-cute" was the most powerful.

With Dae, Kitty had asked him to take a picture of her with her family.

With Minho, he bumped into her with his bag then pretended that he doesn't speak English.

But Yuri??? her car ALMOST runs Kitty over, it STRIKES her, sweeps her off her feet then Yuri gets out in a hurry, worried, offering a ride then they actually have a genuine conversation in the car.

The first half of the season is them being "rivals" while still respecting eachother. (So the whole "enemies to lovers" argument for Kitty x Minho doesn't even work cause like, it was the same??? For Yuri and Kitty?? If not more intense because there is actual tension, not only bickering) Then learning about how their mothers were best friends and roommates adding to the "fate" factor of their relationship after their over the top meet-cute. Finally, they become friends and support eachother as best as they can and as they do, Kitty realizes that this dream she had of Yuri wasn't "just" a random dream and she actually *does* have feelings for Yuri and this. ALL of this progression just felt so organic and gradual and overall just, well-done?? And not rushed at all how some people claim it to be.

To me it just feels like this is the first time in a while (if ever, for ME personally) that the audience of a show got "straightbaited" and honestly? I loved it.

Everytime things were going well or starting to go well between Kitty and Dae I couldn't help but be worried/sad/disappointed, thinking that surely this whole development with Yuri would be dropped and they would go back to being friends but it NEVER HAPPENED. Thus far, everytime things were going good, great or even amazing with Dae, Kitty couldn't help but think back to Yuri and I felt so much relief from it everytime.

And to be clear, this isn't meant AT ALL as hatred towards Kitty x Minho or their shippers. I think their potential is very solid and Minho is really lovable BUT I just don't want Yuri to be erased from the picture by people's claims that their relationship "wouldn't make sense" or that it was rushed or any other complaint of the same type.

People say that while Kitty hasn't shown any interest in Minho (yet) Yuri hasn't shown any in Kitty either and that she's still very much in love with Juliana... now I'm just entering speculation territory here so feel free to leave if you're not interested or take this with a grain of salt but -> I almost fully believe that if (and I hope to god there is) a season two of this show, Yuri and Juliana might encounter some difficulties and break up. Now I don't want to undermine the feelings they have for eachother AT ALL, but as we've seen with this season with Kitty and Dae, the author/writers aren't afraid to end a couple that had (apparently) been going strong for 4 years. So if a 2nd season gets greenlit, although Dae is out of the picture, I bet Kitty Minho and Yuri will somehow end up in a triangle (well, in a way they kind of already ARE but you get my point.)

Realistically we really don't know that much about Yuri and Juliana's relationship beyond the fact that they were most likely eachother's first love and that their parents separated them after finding out that they're gay. I don't think it's impossible that in some way or another, their romantic relationship will end (on a good note hopefully!) To let place to the love triangle. Not that I like love triangles but well, they gotta set something up for 2nd season and this is the most safe bet atm.

On a completely unrelated note, I loved that scene on stage where Minho and Dae were looking at eachother like typical rivals in love with the same girl right out of a k-drama while their "girl" just accidentally set fire to the stage and her clothes because her mind is full of another girl jdhzhdjdhdhd. And that's also a big part of the reason why I'm rooting for KittyxYuri! I feel like a concept like this has never been done to completion. In general the girl will go right back to liking one of the guys while her "crush" towards the girl will be written off as just a short-lived attraction but here? There's still a strong possibility of it being legit.

Aaaaaa anyway this all ended up in a rambling. Sorry about that

[wosomarvel]

communication - 03

i thought i'd let you guys know that this takes place after the wwc, but i will probably stray from what happens in real life from here on out.

also i am taking 6 classes this semester so i apologize for slow updates! i promise i do have a plan for where this story goes and roughly how long it will be. i'm sorry this took so long, but hopefully i can get another update out within two weeks because my first round of midterms is over.

-----

"how's your rehab going?"

sim never liked questions like that when she'd had her surgeries on her knee. the same question that everyone she talked to had asked her. she hated the repetitiveness of it. she hated the pitying gazes she got when she told the other person that her rehab wasn't going at all, that she'd never step foot on the pitch again.

but she'd asked leah the question anyway. she knew that having to miss out on yet another lionesses camp had to be weighing on her friend. sim knew leah probably felt that as captain, she couldn't talk to anyone on the team about feeling left out and probably felt she had to put on a supportive front for the team.

she'd asked leah because she wanted her to know someone was there to listen.

"i'll be running on grass again next month, so i'm not too concerned," leah answered, setting a cup down on the coffee table before settling down on the sofa across from sim with her own.

as camp was nearing, sim made an effort to spend more time with the older girl and had become quite familiar with leah's comfortable flat a few minutes away from london colney.

"i meant... like emotionally. can't be easy watching your team play from the crowd. i know you're still going to camp to support, but being that close and not being able to play..." sim trailed off.

sim had great admiration for the support leah had shown the lionesses from off the pitch. attending the world cup, attending camps to support coaching staff, and doing anything just to be involved wasn't something sim thought she could've handled if she'd been in leah's position.

sim fought back a surge of bitter jealousy when she reminded herself that it was different. leah would get to play again. and even though it had only been a year and a half since sim's own knee reconstruction, the doctors hadn't tried to sugarcoat the low chances of her ever regaining the ability to run, let alone play rugby at the level she had been before it all went to shit.

but she pushed all of it down and away. if she didn't think about it, she could pretend like everything was normal. like she was just out with a sprain for a few weeks and any day now she'd be making her return to the forward pack.

it was less painful to pretend, and if there was one thing sim was good at, it was pretending.

"it's still tough, but i'm not struggling as much as i did at the start. playing again seemed so far away right after the surgery but i think being there for the girls has helped me keep me motivated."

sim nodded at leah's answer, sending her a soft smile before reaching for the cup she'd placed in front of her.

"i appreciate you checking in," leah spoke. there was another beat of silence, almost like the gunner was testing the field before speaking again hesitantly. "what about you?"

sim could feel leah's eyes boring into the side of her head, the weight of the curiosity and concern in her gaze.

sim pulled a long sip of coffee. "well, rehab for me isn't really a thing anymore. they did what they could. this is the best it's going to get."

leah cringed at the iciness that took over the younger girl's tone. she didn't miss the way sim's whole body straightened, muscles taut with tension.

"you know that's not what i meant," she said, her voice soft. she set her coffee cup down on the table, reaching for sim's and doing the same. "how are you dealing with it?"

sim wasn't dealing with it. but she knew that wasn't the answer leah was looking for. she forced herself to relax, painting a smile on her face.

she hoped it was believable.

"it's been almost two years now. i'm over it," she replied with a shrug.

leah took note of sim's seeming nonchalance. the blonde knew it was a facade. sim might be trying her best to claim she was fine but leah knew better.

her ACL injury was hard enough even when she knew she'd make a full recovery. that knowledge hadn't stopped her from itching to rush back. if leah hadn't had the support system she did at the time of her injury, she'd be in much worse shape. physically and mentally.

her heart broke for sim, knowing she didn't have the comfort of making a full recovery. sure, they'd only known each other for just under a year, but leah could see the way sim's reduced mobility was eating away at her.

it was apparent in the look in her eyes when she observed the girls playing football, when she thought no one was paying attention to her. it was apparent in the way sim never let herself rest for a moment, in the way she avoiding talking about rugby, in the way she never talked about her life before the injury.

plus, from what leah could tell, sim didn't have anywhere close to the support system she herself did. sim hadn't even discussed her injury in detail with leah, and the pair were the closest from anyone else on the national team.

knowing what she had gone through with her own fight back to playing football, leah could not imagine what it would feel like if she'd never be able to play again. if she hadn't had her friends, family, and teammates by her side.

"you don't have to do that."

"do what?" sim replied, shrugging her shoulders.

"pretend."

"i'm not," sim defended. "it's in the past. no point dwelling on it. i don't like to think about it."

leah sighed, but decided not to mention that not thinking about it wasn't healthy. sim wouldn't be receptive to further pushing.

instead, she resolved to try and bring the girl out of her shell during camp. she only really talked to leah, beth, alessia, and tooney. maybe, leah thought, maybe she'd click with one of the other girls.

-----

"what are you doing here so early?"

sim jumped, almost dropping the coffee she'd picked up from the meal room at st. george's park.

"i could ask you the same thing," she quipped back.

"i'm filling in as captain, aren't i? got to take it seriously while leah recovers," millie replied.

sim smiled at the thought. this would be leah's first national camp in almost a year. though the older girl wouldn't be fully training with the team, sim knew she was happy just to be back in the environment.

"i'm just getting my equipment set up. i'm going to try and get shots of everyone arriving to camp. i'll clip that together really quick for the socials, shouldn't take too long, but if i set everything up right now i should be able to get shots of training on one of the better cameras, and i'll be pulling some of you lot aside for que-"

sim was cut off my a smack to the shoulder.

"hey!" she whined, rubbing her shoulder with her arm.

"sorry, love, you just kept on rambling and i couldn't get a word in to stop you," millie explained with a grin. sim blushed a deep red, smiling at the ground sheepishly. "and listen," millie added, "don't stress too much about it, yeah? you're good at your job and this team is a lively bunch. you just have to point a camera at tooney for a minute and you're guaranteed content."

sim nodded in response, forcing herself to relax. millie was right. you'd be hard pressed to find a slow day with the lionesses.

millie was proven correct within the next half hour. sim decided to forego using one of the higher end cameras to film the team's arrivals as she was quite aware of their propensity for hugs. settling for using her phone and a tripod for this bit, she'd only been stationed by the entrance for ten minutes before ella came bounding towards her.

"what've you got that cane for, grandma," she teased, throwing an arm around sim's shoulders.

"it's easier to hit you with, isn't it?" sim grinned. katie zelem snorted as she walked up behind the two at a normal pace. sim rolled her eyes playfully, spotting the pout that had taken over tooney's face. "nah, honestly, it's just easier to use and doesn't hurt my ribs as much."

it was true. if the perpetual bruise on her side was anything to go by, sim's prolonged use of a crutch wasn't exactly convenient. she'd made the decision to switch to using a cane instead, teasing be damned.

"good for you, then." the sincere look on ella's face caught sim by surprise, causing her to tear up a little, something that wasn't missed by zel.

"right, who are you and what've you done with ella?" zelem chortled, steering her into the building. sim sent a grateful look her way before getting back to work.

sim didn't know why such a simple comment had her on the verge of tears. she brushed it off as a result of the wind, rather than acknowledging that ella's sincerity had made her feel cared for in a way.

god forbid sim let herself feel an ounce of regular human emotion.

-----

millie might've been right about the ease of capturing content, but that didn't make editing any less of an absolute nightmare. in fact, sim would argue, the chaos of the lionesses only made it more difficult.

the chaos wasn't all bad; it certainly made for some funny clips that could be put together for videos sim knew the fans would love. when it came to more structured videos, however, the process was an extremely tedious one. she was currently working on a best friend challenge video for the youtube, trying to find a balance between letting the girls' personalities shine through in all the giggles and off-topic conversations and keeping the actual challenge front and center. sim didn't know how she was going to manage both without making the video about thirty minutes long.

"couldn't sleep?"

sim was snapped out of her trance by a soft, familiar voice.

"something like that," she replied as alessia took a seat beside her at the meal room table. "what about you? it's two in the morning. shouldn't you be resting for the game tomorrow?"

sim directed her attention towards the slightly older blonde, pushing her laptop shut when she noticed the troubled look on her face.

"hey, what's wrong?" sim inquired.

"it's stupid," alessia mumbled.

"if it's bothering you enough to have you up at this hour, it's anything but stupid. you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but i'm here if you do," sim spoke softly.

"i just-" the forward stuttered. "we lost the world cup final. then i come to arsenal and i miss a penalty kick and we're out of the champion's league. what if i don't-"

"right, i'm going to stop you right there," sim interjected, turning to face alessia. she reached to grab one of the girl's hands, rubbing soothing circles on the back with her thumb. if sim had learned anything in the months she'd spent building a friendship with alessia, it was that she responded well to touch.

"look at me, less," sim prodded softly. when her own brown eyes met blue, she continued. "i watched all your games at the world cup. i've watched all the arsenal games that i could. you are absolutely tearing it up. you made the world cup roster for a reason. if you don't think you're an adequate player, i've got hours of footage that proves otherwise. and even if you have a bad game tomorrow, that doesn't take away from the fact that you're a stellar player, and it sure as hell doesn't make you any less of a wonderful person. do you hear me?"

sim smiled when she saw some of the tension leave alessia's frame. "yeah," she replied, voice so soft that if sim hadn't been listening, she would have missed it.

before she could say anything else, alessia leapt onto sim, squeezing her in a tight hug. "thank you," she whispered into sim's neck.

sim was caught off guard, but after a few moments of hesitation, wrapped her own arms around alessia's frame, rubbing circles on her back.

"let's get you back up to bed, yeah?"

-----

"told ya you'd kill it," sim said, grinning as she pointed her camera at less.

the lionesses had just won their first olympic qualifying match, and sim was tasked with getting some celebration shots.

this was her favourite part of the job: getting to capture such pure joy after matches was something sim would never get tired of.

"oh, shut it," alessia laughed as she made her way back to the locker room. sim missed the way her face flushed.

"nice header you had, hempo," sim called out to lauren.

"nah, it was the cross from rach that should get the credit," she replied, shooting the camera a quick smile.

"charmer, that one," millie joked as she bounded through the hall, arms tangled with rachel's.

sim chuckled, shaking her head as she trailed after the pair on her way the locker room. she was greeted by the sight of ella, georgia, alessia, and jordan dancing around the room as music played through a portable speaker sat on one of the benches. it soon fell silent as sarina walked in.

sim got a quick shot of the post-game brief before shutting the camera off. she made to leave, but sarina's voice stopped her in her tracks.

"sim, there's someone waiting for you in the car park. says she coached you in uni?"

sim tensed. the last thing she wanted was for her two worlds to mix. she didn't like to think about her life before her injury. she'd completely isolated herself after her surgery. the only interactions she'd had with her former teammates and coach since then were when they'd run into each other at school. after graduation, she'd cut them off and she wasn't eager to reconnect.

sim sighed and contemplated her options. she could either confront her feelings and have a chat with her coach, or she could continue to live as she had been, pretending everything was fine and devoting herself to the life she'd created in london.

unsurprisingly, sim chose the latter. without acknowledging sarina's words at all, she swiftly left the room, her camera dangling like a pendulum from the strap around her neck.

-----

sim was so caught up in lugging her bag back to the bus, intent on keeping her head down and ignoring her surroundings, that she'd completely missed leah waiting by the back entrance for the rest of the team.

the older girl frowned to herself in confusion. something was off about sim's demeanor. she seemed rushed in a way that indicated she was running from something. leah pushed herself off the wall she'd been leaning on and made to follow the younger girl outside.

she'd only just exited the building when she caught sim's wavering voice.

"please, i don't want to speak with you, jen," sim let out, almost pleading.

leah knew that she was listening in on a conversation not meant for her ears, but her concern for the girl who'd become somewhat of a little sister to her outweighed her consideration of sim's privacy.

"i just want to check in. we haven't spoken since-"

"how did you even find me?" sim cut off the unfamiliar voice.

"you hadn't responded to anyone's messages so i asked around. one of your professors mentioned you got a job in media here. i already had tickets."

"usually, when someone doesn't respond to messages, it means they don't want to speak with you."

leah was taken aback at how cold sim's voice was. she almost didn't recognize it.

"look, sim, the girls miss you. they miss their captain. just- i get that you don't want to talk, but if you ever need anything, we're here, okay? there's an assistant coaching position open for you, always. it's been cleared by admin-"

"i appreciate the offer, but i'm fine, okay? now, i've got footage to edit and post, so i'm leaving."

leah frowned. sure, sim wasn't the most extroverted person, but leah had never heard her be so short with someone. sim was one of the kindest people she knew. her heart hurt for the younger girl. sim was clearly still going through a lot and leah just wished sim would let her help.

hearing a bit of commotion, leah turned around to notice some of the team making their way towards her. she rushed off to the bus, where sim was undoubtedly burying herself in work, once again. leah wanted to sit beside the girl on the way back to st. george's and offer what little comfort she could.

[helldustedstories]

Tonight had been a disaster. He had been so excited when Blitz called, had asked him on a date, his first ever! Stolas had fully expected to spend the evening alone, watching his Hell-a-novelas, maybe reading one of his latest books and imagining himself and Blitz in the roles, but that had all changed with a single phone call. He'd gotten all dolled up and ready to go, made sure that he had the perfect outfit, that he looked….as good as he could, considering the canvas he was working with, and he'd portaled over to Lust, not wanting to keep Blitz waiting.

Who had taken him to Ozzie's, of all places, only one of the most exclusive spots in all of Hell, let alone just Lust! Blitz had pointed out that he was overdressed, which had flustered Stolas a little bit, but he'd known that trying to dress up such dull plumage had been something of a lost cause from the very beginning.

Still, he wasn't going to let that dampen his spirits, especially not when they headed inside and were shown to their table. While he'd heard quite a bit about Ozzie's, Stolas had never been inside, and seeing it for himself was quite exciting! It was decadent and luxurious, built to encourage the sensual, and he was here with Blitz!

But Blitz….didn't seem that interested in their date. Stolas had tried to engage him, to ask about his business, to get to know more about his life outside of their arrangement, to show him that he wanted to know him more, that it wasn't just about the sex.

And then everything happened.

One of Blitz's associates had chosen to sing a ballad to his wife, and Asmodeus himself, the Deadly Sin of Lust, along with his star performer, Fizzarolli, had made a mockery of the other imp. Blitz had stood up to defend Moxxie, and suddenly the attention was on him.

Stolas hadn't known what to do, and before he could come to a decision, he was the one in the spotlight. Asmodeus brought up the fact that, to the outside world, it looked like he had broken up a perfect marriage, a perfect family, to have an affair with Blitz. Never mind the fact that he and Stella had been arranged, that they'd never loved one another, never mind the fact that she was cruel and insulting, and he did everything he could to insulate their daughter from her.

It had been the spectre of Octavia that had really gotten to him, though. Stolas was used to being the victim, to not defending himself, and he had hidden behind his menu instead of standing up for Blitz, instead of showing him that he cared, that he meant more to him than just their monthly arrangement, that he wanted more. He had been ashamed of himself…., but he made Blitz think he was ashamed of him.

They had left then, and he had tried to fix it, to invite Blitz in to talk…, but Blitz reminded him that the only thing between them was their arrangement. And Stolas hadn't known how to tell him otherwise, hadn't wanted to push…., and he'd given Blitz his space.

He had sat on the stairs of the palace after that, emotions finally catching up with him, and he had sobbed, letting out everything he hadn't been able to show when he actually needed to. Stolas was so used to bottling everything up that it finally just broke something inside him, and the dam of tears washed over him until he felt raw, hollow.

It was at that point he'd gone for the absinthe, drinking himself into a stupor. Because if he was drunk, he wouldn't feel as much. And if he didn't feel as much, it wouldn't hurt as badly.

But that had been a mistake, too.

He'd woken up several hours later, on the floor, empty bottle next to him, surrounded by his plants, with a pounding headache. He must have gone to the greenhouse to pour out his heart, the way he usually did when he couldn't keep things inside anymore. It wasn't as though he had anyone to talk to here, after all. Octavia would probably listen to him, but this wasn't her burden to bear. She was his daughter; she didn't need to know about this. He would put on a good face for her, and shield her from how utterly miserable he was.

If he was going to manage that, he needed to get up, to take his pills; he was pretty sure he'd forgotten them a couple of times this week, what with everything that had happened.

With a groan, he forced himself up off the floor, head pounding, and made his way into the bathroom. He looked even more of a mess than usual, with his makeup all smudged, but he dutifully took his Happy Pills, absently wondering if his dosage needed an adjustment.

Stolas checked his phone, to see if anything was new, and ended up scrolling through the pictures of Blitz he had, noticing just how …. miserable he seemed in all of them. He had wanted to commemorate their time together, so that he would have something to look back on between when they met up, but….maybe he'd been fooling himself.

He'd looked at it before, but even as he was talking to himself about everything, working through things he couldn't talk about outside of in his heart of hearts, he pulled down Asmodeus' book, opening again to the page about the crystals. If there was going to be any hope for him and Blitz to be together…., then something needed to change. They couldn't keep going on like this…, and he was the one that needed to fix things, needed to give Blitz the opportunity to choose what he wanted. Stolas couldn't have more with Blitz with the book between them, his ability to ruin Blitz's life at a moment's notice if he so chose hanging above them like the Sword of Damocles.

The owl knew he had been just….going through the motions of his life until Blitz had shown back up. He had brought Stolas something he hadn't even known he'd been missing, had brought light and life and passion, had shown him that there was more to life than fulfilling his duties and continuing on for his daughter's sake.

But had he ruined all of that tonight, in one moment of inability to properly communicate, the way he always did?

"Prince all alone upon your throne, your power is so frail," he said, mocking himself, his desire to speak out against his circumstances. That hadn't helped him before, but….., things had changed. "You raise your voice, you have no choice, inside your gilded jail," he mused, gazing out into the garden from the balcony, remembering the night Blitz had changed his life, how he'd stood up to Stella for the first time after that.

And then, as though his thought had summoned her, Stolas heard the clacking of Stella's heels behind him. He didn't turn around, just kept looking down at the garden below, remembering another time he'd actually been happy in this house, twenty-five long years ago.

"The fuck are you doing?!" Stella screeched, having apparently heard him talking to himself.

"Reflecting," Stolas responded, knowing that no matter what he said, it wouldn't matter.

"Well, stop!" came the shout from behind him, and Stolas practically flinched. Her sharp words usually came with some sort of violent action, and with the tone of her voice, he didn't doubt that that would be coming too.

"It's annoying to hear you screeching your silly woes all the time!"

Stolas' back was still to Stella, but he heard her approaching. Normally, he wouldn't say anything, would just take her abuse, the way he always did, but he had finally had enough.

"Why are you still here?" he asked, turning around to face her. "You leave with Via on weekends, but then you stay around the house, despite everything."

Stella didn't even hesitate. "I like tormenting you!" she told him, closing the distance between them. "I want to keep reminding you of what you did," Stella leaned forward, putting herself in Stolas' space, forcing him to either back away or hold his ground.

And this time, he didn't back down. "I know what I did!" he exclaimed, pulling himself up to his full height, refusing to take a step back, for the first time in a very long time. "I would feel bad if I hurt you," he added, "but we both know I didn't do that." There couldn't exactly be a betrayal if there was no love between them, when she had already hated him long before Blitz had come back into his life. "You and I were arranged for one reason: to birth a precautionary heir to the Goetia family. Nothing more!" he reminded her.

Stolas took a deep breath, but he wasn't done. There was so much he hadn't said to Stella, had been biting his tongue to try to keep the peace, but he was beyond finished with that.

"I tried, so many years, to make it comfortable us, to have this family, but it was never enough!" and he had been trying on his own. If they could have come to some sort of agreement, they could have worked together, could maybe have at least been friends. "The only reason I have endured your constant insults and cruelty was for that girl" he gestured towards the house, where Octavia was presumably still sleeping, "to have a normal life!"

And after another breath, he knew what he needed to say, needed to do. "I cannot do this anymore! I want you out. Now!" he said, pointing, attempting to get her to leave.

"What do you mean out?" Stella asked, her eyes narrowed, fists clenched, everything in her posture and tone screaming 'danger.'

"I mean out!" Stolas repeated, his voice raised, stronger than he thought he could be, "Out of this palace. Out of my life. We are getting The. DIVORCE." He should have done this a long time ago, but he had never had the courage, never had any reason to stand up for himself. But a lot had changed in the course of a year, and he wasn't the same person he was even that long ago.

"How dare you!" Stella shouted, poking Stolas in the chest, forcing him to step back, trying to get the upper hand once more, the way she always had with him. "What do you think the rest of the Goetia family will think? And Andrealphus--" she lifted her hand to strike him, not for the first time.

But this time, Stolas saw it coming. This time, he caught her before the blow connected, keeping her from hurting him yet again.

"I don't care what your arrogant brother thinks!" he shouted, standing straight, refusing to back down, "And the only thing the Goetia family wanted from our marriage is already seventeen, so it's over. I'm done!" It had taken him far too long to get to this point, where he could stand up to her, but he meant every word. He couldn't do this any longer, not when he knew there was more now, not when he felt like he could actually breathe without suffocating when he wasn't with her.

For a moment, he thought she was going to try to strike him again, and he braced for the blow. But instead, she pulled away from him, eyes still narrowed.

"Fine," she spat, trying to save face. "I have no desire to stay in the place of a traitorous embarrassment. You have fallen from what little grace you had. And I know you'll pay for it," she declared, but quite frankly, Stolas didn't care what she thought, what she threatened, as long as she left.

And after another moment, she turned on her heel, making her way back through the house.

The second she was out of sight, that he was certain he was alone once more, any bravado he had left him, and he slumped down on the railing of the balcony, exhausted, alone…..the way he always would be.

@madefate // plotted starter drabble thing

[bluestar22x]

Chapter 7

Baby Fever - Chapter 7

Series Summary: It all started with a classic case of baby fever

Pairing: Marcus Pike x F!(Wife)Reader

Rating: 18+ Series

Warnings: Fluffy, fluff, fluff, and one or two curse words

Word Count: 1,900 (ish)

Author's Note: I've got a lot of WIPs floating around in my mind but I will be continuing to update this fic monthly and enjoying Marcus Pike being a total softie husband and dad to be. Totally indulgent chapter here. There's no real plot to be seen. Enjoy.

xxx

Marcus had once told you about his failed marriage and an engagement that had been broken off because his fiancée had feelings for another man and had chosen him in the end. In both cases he had admitted to moving too fast, jumping to the next big step before his partner was ready. He'd proposed to his first wife in college, when they were both still too young to fully comprehend what a marriage really was and the compromises that came with it. Before they'd truly gotten to know each other and figured out if they could live with each other's flaws. She had signed the divorce papers almost a year to the date they'd gotten married. He'd known his fiancee for even less time, weeks, rushing because he wanted her to join him in D.C. Then there were the few women in between that just hadn't ended up fitting with his personality or lifestyle, to no one's fault.

Though there had been no malice between him or any of his exes, by the time he'd met you Marcus had learned to be cautious, having been burned too many times, and you had been appreciative of him taking it slow (or at least as slow as was possible for him). You had been burned too many times as well, though your relationships had been a lot more turbulent. For some reason you'd been a beacon for "men" who thought they were cool, but in reality they were just punks and assholes.

Marcus had shown you how a real man loved and how life with another person could be shared. Some mornings like this one, you wondered how you'd gotten so lucky to be in the same art gallery as him that fateful night you met.

You'd woken up that unusually warm April morning to the feel of him curled up against your back, his forehead pressed against your spine and his right arm resting over your right thigh, as if to anchor you close to him. You could feel his chest rising and falling steadily against you, a sign that he was still asleep, so you did your best to remain as still as possible, basking in the softness of the moment.

Like many times before, especially since you'd become pregnant, you were grateful that your paths had crossed and that he hadn't found a good match until you (though you knew that was selfish, Marcus himself had said he was glad too). You were never going to take moments like this for granted after your sad romantic history.

The baby inside you had other plans however, seemingly having sensed you being awake and decided that meant it was time for their morning workout, an abundant amount of kicks and tumbles commencing. Some mornings like this you thought with amusement that they must think you were their personal fitness gym, one that allowed bouncing off walls. You were fine with it, happy even. It meant that they were getting stronger and it wasn't like it was painful yet. You rolled onto your back and placed your hand habitually on your ever growing belly, shutting your eyes to focus on the movements that were still generally gentle, but much more frequent as of late. As a wispy smile formed on your lips an unusually strong tap against the bottom of you bump made your eyes snap back open in surprise. You'd felt that under your palm! Which meant that...

You nudged Marcus awake and he groaned softly. "Five more minutes," he said groggily. His eyes were still closed when you fixed your pillow so you could sit up against it.

"Fine, but then you're going to miss your chance to feel the baby moving," you told him, trying to sound casual about it while a grin was breaking out on your face.

His eyes flew open and he peered up at you, excited. "You think I could?"

"Give me your hand," you ordered.

He eagerly brought his right hand towards yours and you guided it to the spot you'd last felt the tapping movements. "Be patient. Not all of them are that strong."

Marcus gave you an acknowledging nod and pulled himself up the bed into a more comfortable position that would allow him to rest his head against your shoulder while still keeping his hand on the spot you'd left it, your hand resting beside his as you both waited with bated breath for a kick that he could feel.

You knew exactly when it happened because Marcus' eyes grew as wide as saucers and lit up just like they had when you'd told him you were pregnant. His met yours, and you felt your mouth pull tight at the joy on his face. "That's our girl," he declared in awe.

You nodded fervently as tears filled your eyes. "Yeah," you choked out.

Dr. Harrington had revealed the baby was a girl at your last ultrasound three weeks ago, and though you hadn't had a preferred sex in mind, something about your first with Marcus being a girl felt extra special, especially when he brought it up. Maybe because he sounded so proud of her already.

Noticing how emotional you'd become he lifted his head to look at your face and twisted so he could brush a stray tear away when it spilled out. "Happy tears?"

"Yeah."

He tilted your chin up with one hand and gave you a feathery kiss before meeting your eyes. "And how are you this morning?"

"I'm good," you promised him. You really were. You'd never lied to him about how you felt physically and emotionally and that hadn't changed with your pregnancy, even though some days you were tempted to for the sake of not worrying him. As of late you hadn't had to think about it, the latter portion of your second trimester having been going pretty smoothly besides an occasional wave of intense emotion of one or another overtaking you because of the pregnancy hormones, something Marcus had been very considerate of, of course.

"Good," he said. "Cause I was thinking we'd get out together today. We haven't been out on a proper date in weeks and I think we both could use some fresh air, among other things."

"What'd you have in mind?" you asked curiously. You were really tempted to refuse and just lay in bed all day with him after the hectic work week you'd had, but you were also hard pressed to refuse a romantic date with him.

"I got us emission tickets and a parking pass to the National Zoo," Marcus informed you. "I was thinking we could spend most of the day there and eat at a restaurant of your choice after?"

His expression was hopeful. You beamed up at him and palmed his cheek, already grateful to him again. "Now how could I ever say no to a date involving cute animals with my husband?"

"That was the hope," he told you, smirking.

"Five more minutes, then we get up and dressed," you decided.

"Sounds like a plan," he said happily, placing his head on your chest and a hand back on your stomach. You swept your hand through his sleep mussed hair and let your eyelids fall again as you focused on both his and your unborn daughter's movements, on Marcus' words as he began to murmur to her. "You're a strong one like your mama, aren't you?"

You didn't leave the bed for another two hours.

x

The National Zoo had always been one of your favorite places to be, especially on a spring day as seasonal as that one turned out. You didn't even need a jacket as you walked hand and hand with Marcus around the park, taking your time and taking as many breaks as you needed, which was a lot more since you'd started showing your pregnancy. It had affected your knees the most so far, though you were sure your back would start complaining more soon enough.

Marcus' favorite animals at the zoo were classically the tigers, and you both hung out by their exhibit for quite some time, observing as one lazily sunbathed and two others chased each other playfully. They were stunning creatures, and startlingly large. You always forgot how big they truly were, something that always made you very thankful that there weren't wild cats that large roaming the D.C. area.

You also spent a significant amount of time in the bird house, since you loved all the colorful plumage on most of the species it contained, especially the brilliant red feathers on the scarlet tanagers.

Your favorite animals at the zoo though were the alpacas. Your glee upon laying eyes on them every time you visited the kids' farm section made Marcus laugh because they were far from rare to see outside of cities and every time he did you reminded him that horses are even more common but horse girls go crazy over them all the time. It didn't matter if they weren't exotic, alpacas were cute and fluffy, especially the chocolate brown ones, and that was enough to brighten your day immensely.

Funnily enough, when you walked up to their paddock a chocolate one was the first to approach you inquisitively, and you broke out into a grin when you noticed her impressively rounded tummy. "Looks like you're ready to pop," you observed as you slowly stretched your arm out to pet her neck. She leaned into your touch, making your lips pull back even more. "Feel good? If I could reach it, I'd scratch your belly too. I'm sure it's as itchy as mine is half the day." She hummed contently. "Did you see me and figure that I'd understand?" you inquired. Dogs and dolphins and some other particularly intelligent creatures had been noted to act differently, often more gently and protectively towards pregnant women, so it made you wonder if the alpaca had sensed a comrade. "I wonder what your little one will look like." You'd been daydreaming about how your own would look like for months. In every version in your head she had Marcus' eyes.

"We'll have to come visit again in the summer and find out," he said, a bright smile plastered on his face, having been watching your entire interaction with the alpaca mama.

He stepped forward and she took a step away from you, throwing her head a little and pinning her ears back.

You tried to soothe her as you planted a hand on his chest to stop his approach from behind you. "She's going to spit at you if you come any closer."

"They're the only animals who hate me, I swear," he grumbled and you giggled.

"Don't take it too personally, she's probably just not used to big, strong men trying to get up in her space."

He quirked an eyebrow up quizzically. "You trying to hit on me, honey?"

"Is it working?" you responded.

"It always works," he told you, grinning ear to ear. "We should get out of here and get supper before I get other ideas for passing the rest of the night."

"We could eat takeout on the way home instead," you suggested playfully, leaning into his solid frame.

"Don't tempt me," Marcus growled lowly, turning you away from the alpaca paddock. "You're getting a proper meal tonight."

"That's definite," you teased, loving the way his breath hitched a little after.

He found the sensitive spot you had along your rib cage and tickled it with the tips of his fingers. You broke out into a fit of painful laughter. "Okay, I'll stop!" you shrieked, trying to struggle out of his embrace.

He immediately ended his attack and continued leading you out of the zoo, smiling the whole time.

You were too.

xxx

Tagged: @amyispxnk , @harriedandharassed

xxx

Series Masterlist

Main Masterlist