#like they start out with a sort of grudging respect toward him

[i-love-ptv]

I Just Ride ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

(Prologue?)

Pairing: Knight!Rafe Cameron x Princess!Carrera!Reader

Wc: 719

An: Heyyyy guyssss…..So this was supposed to come out for HALLOWEEN but i got lazy n wrote other things.

I debated on posting this, i was thinking of making a series, but that depends on whether or not y’all want it! so lmk loves!

Feedback is always welcome and encouraged! <3

“This would be monumental for the family, Rafe!” Rafe’s father, Ward, exclaimed.

Rafe remains unsure of how long this conversation has been going on, he fears his horse will have passed on by the time his father decides to make his voice scarce.

Ward Cameron was one of the mightiest knights in all of Kildare Kingdom, if not the.

Everyone knew that he only cared about the family legacy; for the wealth that came from notoriety.

His eldest daughter, Sarah, was arranged to be wed to Prince Topper Thorton. —But it was painfully aware that her eyes lingered elsewhere, they always remained on the Thorton family’s jester, John Routledge.

Ward is even in the process of accommodating his youngest, Louisa, despite her constant protesting. All the young girl wanted was to become a knight, just like her big brother Rafe. But of course this behavior was not allowed in Ward’s book. No, Ward’s daughters need to be nothing but royalty, and the only way was through marriage.

Ward and Rafe’s step-mother Rose had an almost dictatorship-like relationship. Ward’s word goes, no matter what. Nobody even in the family dared to disobey his order.

Hence why, although he isn’t interested in the slightest, Rafe knew he wasn’t going to get out of it.

“Think about this, Rafe! You are already a knight, my son! Now you would just work for one family!” Ward shouted, growing more agitated by the second.

“Unfortunately for you, father, I am not interested,” Rafe maintained with a blank tone.

Ward huffs, raking his fingers through his hair frustratedly. “My word is final, that is it.”

“But-“ Rafe attempts to object.

“That is an order, Rafe! You are to serve the Carrera family, and provide them with the utmost respect,” Ward almost snarls.

He continues, “I wish not to hear another word about the matter, Rafe. Start packing, you will be residing there as well, they’ve offered you one of their spare rooms.”

Rafe stomps to his room, similar to how a young child would.

It’s not like he has a problem with the Carrera family, It’s quite the opposite actually. They treat him with such niceties that would make anyone fawn; since he was a Cameron and all.

The youngest, Kiara, albeit continuously holding a grudge towards Rafe, wasn't his main concern.

You, were his main concern.

You somehow always managed to have that twinkle in your eye, even when falling bored.

You always smiled at him brightly, and he knew that it wasn’t fake like the others’.

You held beauty unlike the rest; Rafe swears there could never be a time where you don’t look divinely ravishing.

He’s thought about writing you a letter, confessing his admiration for you and his want to have your hand in marriage.

Unfortunately, the Cameron boy knew that seeking a relationship with you was futile. After all, was just a mere knight, and you deserved to be married to a man of royalty; since wealth was no issue for Rafe.

Rafe doesn’t know if he’d even be able to handle being in the same vicinity as you, let alone guard you and take up your sacred space.

The thought alone makes his stomach fill with the flutters left behind by butterflies, but he also feels giddy, believe it or not.

He’d be able to see you freshly from your slumber.

….That's rather strange, isn’t it?

It’s not like he was an odd stalker of some sort, he just wanted to be bare witness to the beauty you behold, especially when you rouse from your nightly escapades.

The mere thought of being in your presence makes his heart pound against his chest. The tight feeling makes him reach his arm out and grip his nightstand for stability, as he drops onto his bed.

It’s late now, and despite his urge to just succumb to slumber. Rafe packs his bag, which will reside on his horse tomorrow morning.

Once he’s done, he flops onto his bed, resting under the covers on his back, looking at the ceiling in thought.

‘How would this transpire? Only a god would know,’ he thinks to himself. He thinks about praying, although he doesn’t really have the words in his throat.

Rafe finally rests his head on his pillow, and hopes for the best.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

aita for trying to play matchmaker? for context, this all happened months ago but is coming back now. about halfway through my (18F) senior year of high school, my friend L (also 18F) started crushing on a boy she sat with in math class (18M). she only admitted it to me and the rest of our friend group after we begged her to tell us who she liked for weeks, but in hindsight, it was sort of obvious she really likes him. i have a lot of candid pics on my phone of her glancing over at him during class when she wasn't paying attention but that's beside the point. she wasn't making any moves at all to let him know how she felt and start going out with him, so after a while, we decided to give her a little push. we encouraged her, made subtle hints towards him that someone in class had a crush on him, and when that still wasn't enough, i wrote a love letter for her to sign and give to him. it was easy. prom was a couple of months away by that point and if she was going to struggle so hard to find the words, it made sense for her to just give him a note telling him what she wanted to say. but still, L was stubborn and continued to claim that she wasn't interested in dating at all. apparently she didn't like him *that* much and she was happy just being friends with him (not very convincing when she was constantly making googly eyes at him). she's always been shy, though, and if she doesn't get out of her shell, she's never going to survive in college. for more motivation, i gave her a time limit: if she didn't sign her love letter and give it to him within two weeks, i was going to go up to him and tell him that she liked him. the time game and on the final day, she told me she did it. i trusted her even though she was acting suspicious (barely speaking to him, practically running out of the class they shared together that day, avoiding the friend group for most of the day) but i found out after talking to him later that she lied to me and actually threw the note away. when i confronted her the next day, she apologized and told me that she was terrified i would actually tell him about her crush (i was joking about that, and it hurt that she didn't trust me). out of spite, she ended up asking out one of her childhood friends to prom as her platonic date just so she could say "oh no, sorry, but i already have a date" whenever we tried to help her get with her crush in the future. prom and graduation passed, and the two of them haven't talked much since. i thought this whole situation was over with, but recently, L has been avoiding all of us and makes excuses to not hang out with us. we only have so much time together before she moves out of state for college, so i got a mutual friend to check on her and see what's up. apparently, L's still holding a grudge about how we tried to set her up with the boy. she claims that she was so stressed out for all of senior year that she started getting constant nightmares because of us, and she's upset we never respected her boundaries. however, i think that she's overexaggerating. if it was that serious, she knows that she can always just talk to us instead of keeping it all in so she can make me out to be the bad guy to other people. besides, we were doing what was best for her. he was the first guy she's ever had a crush on, and L has a history of letting her shyness get the better of her. i didn't want her to miss out on this opportunity to be happy, and if she just took our advice instead of acting childish, i'm sure she would have thanked us. i reached out to tell her i'm sorry if she thought i was being too pushy, but it's been days and she still hasn't replied to me. aita?

What are these acronyms?

[yarameijer]

Hi!

OMG are you the writer who wrote "Accidental Reverse"?!

If so, I'm a Huge fan!!!

Anyways... How are you?

If you accept headcannons or drabbles, what are your thoughts on Shindou and Tenma? How would you explain their relationship? Do you have any headcannons about them?

... I should probably stop here, so... Thank you so much for your AMAZING stories! I can't wait for what ideas you have in the future!

Take care and keep up the great work!!!

Heyhey! Yes, I am that writer! I’m good, super busy with exams and finishing my research tho, but hopefully I’ll get some more free time again eventually. Yes, I accept both headcanons or drabbles (as long as it works with my story universe), but I’m VERY bad at actually finishing drabbles haha…

Okay so I LOVE Tenma and Shindou’s dynamic, so thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to ramble about it XD

Shindou and Tenma’s relationship is, in one word, complex. As we all know, Shindou at the start of the anime doesn’t particularly like Tenma because of his behavior towards soccer, for two reasons: he thinks Tenma is very naive and his thoughtless actions will not only get himself in trouble, but also everyone else (and at this point, if Shindou has to choose between the team he’s been a part of for a year and a kid he’s met a day ago, it’s not even a choice).

The second reason is that he understands. Shindou loves soccer too. In a prestigious family where achievement is everything, soccer sometimes felt like the only thing he could just do for fun, not because he had to be good at it. And he was good at it.

But Fifth Sector ruined it for him, and the only reason he hasn’t left the club yet is because he feels a responsibility towards his teammates and because this is the only way he still gets to do what he loves, even if it’s twisted. So when he meets Tenma - cheerful, bright-eyed, hopeful Tenma - he hates him. He sees himself in him. And he can’t stand to see that spark in Tenma’s eyes fade like it did for him, so he tries to push Tenma away, get him to quit, before he has to see that happening. Beyond that Shindou is having a very hard time in general and using Tenma as a… well, a punching bag, in a way. At the same time you’ve got Tenma, who doesn’t know the meaning of backing down, and is also not the type of person to fight back against the type of treatment Shindou is giving him.

Of course, eventually this starts to change; Shindou gains hope that maybe, just maybe they can do something against Fifth Sector, and once he’s made up his mind about something he’ll go all in. With Shindou and Tenma now on the same side, the previous tension in their relationship fades and they have the chance to get to know each other. Tenma is (sort of ironically) very shy and very enthusiastic, and his optimism brings Shindou out of his own depressive slump. It’s contagious, really.

Once Shindou stops targeting Tenma all the time, Tenma gains a new appreciation for him as well. He’s already a fanboy of anything soccer and Shindou’s plans, the way his mind works, blows him away - Shindou is easily the smartest person Tenma’s ever met, and for him to look at Tenma and treat him as a teammate, as someone to be acknowledged… that means a lot. Just like that, their relationship becomes much more amicable, and they bond over their shared love of soccer and their goal of defeating Fifth Sector. They’re, maybe not friends, but at least on friendly terms.

Then there is another important factor that influences the way they interact - the captain switch.

Several people have actually expressed their surprise at the two of them. Tenma essentially ‘replaced’ Shindou as captain, after all, so outsiders would expect Tenma to reject Shindou’s advice - to prove himself as the ‘real’ captain, instead of listening to the old one. Similarly, Shindou was expected to hold a grudge since he was replaced by a first-year. Except that’s about as far from the truth as you can get.

Tenma respects Shindou very much first as captain and later as strategist, and holds his opinion in high regard. Even after all the years they’ve known each other, Shindou is still the one he’ll turn to first when a decision needs to be made and he wants a second opinion. Even if he doesn’t necessarily ask for it, he’ll always listen if Shindou has something to add. Furthermore, Tenma has never wanted to be captain - the role was thrust upon him due to circumstances, and he agrees because his team asked him to, but he’s never seen himself as any sort of leader and if he could, he’d shy away from the responsibility. He’s also of the opinion that Shindou is a great captain - why would he need to be replaced?

Except, of course, Shindou gets injured so there isn’t really a choice in that. What does happen, however, is the decision the team made to have Tenma stay on as captain even after Shindou recovered - which was suggested by Shindou himself.

Because Shindou doesn’t like being captain.

He’s pretty good at it, but it stresses him out a lot. He’s a strategist first and foremost and being captain interferes with that. Shindou wants to make plans, analyze the world around him, observe and gather information but if he’s acting as captain he can’t do that, can’t retreat into his own head like that. He’s got a responsibility to the rest of the team and he always feels the pressure to be aware of them, lift their spirits, lead them, and if he’s too busy with his plans he can’t do that. He also does not see himself as the most empathetic individual - gauging the team’s mood, figuring out what to say, isn’t really instinctive for him. He can do it if necessary but it takes effort and he often second-guesses himself, and with a team so diverse and intense as Raimon, empathy is a must.

So to Shindou, being captain is a burden. He took the position because the team wanted him to and he doesn’t regret it, but once Tenma shows a pretty instinctual talent for it and has a few weeks to polish that talent - once it becomes clear how easy it is for the team to follow him - well, Shindou sees his chance and takes it. He’s the one to voice the thought first, and once he tells the rest of the team, they don’t see any reason to disagree.

Which is exactly why Shindou has no resentment towards Tenma for taking his position. Shindou can do what he likes most - strategize - and aid his team, all the while knowing Raimon is in the best possible hands. And beyond that; Shindou didn’t give up any of his authority in the team. If a decision has to be made, Raimon decides together. Shindou and Tenma are a duo when it comes to leading the team - Shindou makes the plans, Tenma inspires them to do what’s right and encourages them.

Tenma, despite first floundering under the responsibility, handles it well and Shindou (nor the other senpai) refuses to let him shoulder it alone. Tenma’s still just a first-year, after all, and like mentioned before, Shindou sees himself in him. Now more than ever. They both know what it’s like to become captain in their first year, to have the responsibility thrust upon them, and Shindou refuses to let Tenma struggle with it alone. He acts like a listening ear, always willing to lend advice if the younger asks for it, and although at first Tenma is quite hesitant (with Shindou being his senpai), he’s also very earnest and open.

Over time, they get to talking more and more, outside of club-related things. Shindou is the dependable smart friend Tenma can always come to with his issues, while Tenma is cheerful and optimistic and doesn’t really expect anything from Shindou, not like the rest of the world. Doesn’t expect perfect grades or being the best, and while it takes Shindou a while to let go of the mask, eventually Tenma becomes one of the few friends he can just completely be himself around. Shindou is much more relaxed now that he’s no longer the captain and the tension in Raimon that was present under Fifth Sector’s reign is gone, and it shows in his friendship with Tenma. They act crazy, or lazy, and just do things for fun because they want to. They, together with Tsurugi, have been dubbed the new Raimon Trio, and it just works. Their skills complement each other and they settle into a comfortable friendship and shared leadership over the team after Tenma’s first year.

Sure, it takes them quite a while to get to that point, both because they have unspoken issues between them originating from the start of the year, and because they need to learn to understand each other. There's the boundaries caused by Tenma's insecurities and Shindou's expectations for himself. It takes a while for Tenma to learn to depend on other people and for Shindou to learn to be patient and listen, something that's been driven out of him by years of expectation and responsibility. But they get there. Maybe not immediately, but once they do, their friendship is unbeatable and something they both cherish dearly.

As for headcanons…

They tease each other all the time. Tsurugi plays a part in this too. The three of them just full on snark whenever they have the chance (Tsurugi and Shindou especially like making fun of Tenma for being the shortest, Tenma and Shindou like making fun of Tsurugi when he’s pretending to be all cool, and Tenma and Tsurugi will never let an opportunity to mention Shindou’s dramatic tendencies go).

Tenma loves listening to Shindou playing the piano and once Shindou figures that out, he offers to play something whenever Tenma comes over to his house, to Tenma’s absolute delight.

They often discuss team matters, sometimes over video or phone call, and always end up sharing ideas for hissatsu techniques and strategies (either for themselves or their teammates). It’s actually why they’re so in sync and can pull off improvised moves so well; they share their ideas so often they know pretty well how the other thinks/works, and that shows when they’re in the middle of a match. Super convenient when you know your best friend has been designing a new super shot for WEEKS and is itching to try it out.

In the year Shindou goes to high school while Tenma’s still in middle school, they end up calling each other quite a lot, and they like to get ramen or bubble tea or ice cream after school if they’ve both got the time, since they can’t hang out anymore as easily. Soon they drag anyone in the team along if they’ve got time, but it’s a habit that started with just the two of them.

They have a standing agreement to disagree on whether cats or dogs are better.

Tenma has been known to drag Shindou out very early in the morning during weekends if he’s got plans, whether that’s soccer practice or for a walk or whatever they’ve planned this time. Shindou is NOT a morning person but it’s very hard to say no to Tenma.

That’s it for now, I hope you enjoyed it! ^.^

[quakinqueer]

Yay! This is great!! Please donate if you can! Here's the QR code you can use to do that!

But also, I have some thoughts.

(as always, please do not engage if all you want to do is start an argument)

I wanna make one thing and one thing very clear, it is FANTASTIC that he is doing this. Showing actual concrete support and trying to help the cause publicly. Even if he was donating previously (which I've seen people saying but am not certain of), doing it privately is not nearly as impactful or helpful as doing it publicly and rallying your dedicated fan base for the sake of COMMUNITY SUPPORT.

All that to say, much like smosh, he should've been doing things like this for months, but better late than never. It's great that he's actually doing something.

That being said, from a purely PR perspective, doing this without ANY sort of apology to Zayna or acknowledgement of his behavior last week, was not the best move, purely with regards to those who've been expecting and hoping for such a statement, only to get nothing, and then suddenly this; those who are likely going to see this as performative or "damage control". I personally don't agree with this stance at all, but I've already seen ppl on twt claim these things. Admittedly that's more a 'them just having a grudge against damien' problem, but I digress.

(btw I can't believe it's been a full week of this personal hell)

If he did this thinking it would entirely clear his name and absolve him of any wrongdoing, then he clearly misunderstood the situation just as badly as any of his stans did. Showing support is great, now are you going to address the actual situation or just ignore it forever?

Obviously, this is a VERY good thing for him to be doing (I can't emphasize that enough), but frankly, his apology to zayna is still needed and pending, and an acknowledgement, or better yet explanation, of his terrible behavior last week is not *needed* but certainly expected and anticipated.

He did a good thing, awesome, those of you who can please donate. I still think he should've said something first.

(SRSLY THO HOW HARD IS IT TO JUST SAY SORRY LIKE GEEZ MY MAN GET IT TOGETHER WHAT ARE YOU DOING)

At this point, a full week later, it seems silly to still expect an apology or explanation, and I think at this point it's about time to give up. I just- what happened? What happened to the damien that would sooner crawl out of his skin than allow someone to think he had any sort of ill will toward them? What happened to the damien that is supposedly a "recovering people-pleaser" and always takes other's feelings into consideration, often before his own? What happened to the damien who was recently described by a fellow cast member as "not having a mean bone in his body" and across the years has received many similar comments and compliments? Where is he right now??

I'm not AS disappointed as I was to begin with, but I certainly haven't gained any respect for him either (personally).

[helloalycia]

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐒 [𝐓𝐖𝐎] // 𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐤

summary: after moving onto the ranch, you're met with the challenges of settling in and making a new friend of Alicia herself.

warning/s: mentions of death, bereavement and discrimination.

author's note: here’s part 2! bit on the long side but hope you enjoy it :)

one / three / four / masterlist / wattpad

Moving in with the ranchers wasn't smooth sailing, not that anyone expected it to be. There was a huge growing pain, with dirty looks being thrown our way and a heavy reluctance to obey the shared command between my father and Jake, or should I say my father and Madison.

I hadn't spoken to Alicia's mother much, only one quick informal introduction and the impression I received from when she burst onto the reservation to steal back Alicia and break the parley. I was trying not to hold a grudge from that, I knew she was only being an overprotective mother. But I wasn't sure if I could say I trusted her, despite my father seeming to respect her, much more than Jake anyway.

Working with Alicia as we all adjusted to living together wasn't going so bad. She was starting to grow on me, and I her, I think. Our goal was to show a unity between our people, and though many rolled their eyes when they saw us working together or chatting to one another, it kind of seemed to work. Some were encouraged to do the same, the ranchers following in Alicia's footsteps and giving my people a chance, which was all we wanted.

One day, we were searching the shed near the field for some gardening equipment when a rancher walked past, glancing at us and mumbling something under his breath.

"Pardon?" I said, pausing and looking to him with a quirked brow.

"You heard me," he retorted defensively, and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as I looked back down, continuing my search. I didn't know what he'd said, but maybe it was for the best.

"You're just a damn murderer," he muttered again, about to leave, but this time I heard and grew offended.

"Excuse you?" I asked with surprise, straightening up to glare at him. "I didn't murder anyone."

The rancher chuckled dryly. "Whatever you say, Indian."

Trying to contain my irritation, I said, "You can't just come over here and act like an ass. If you've got a problem, say it."

He scoffed, rolling his eyes, but before he could speak, Alicia walked out the shed from behind me and looked between us.

"What's going on?" she asked calmly, though judging from the disapproving stare she was sending the rancher, she already knew. "Do you have something to share, Andy?"

"A few of us are just wondering why you're spending your time with a murderer, Alicia," he snapped bitterly.

I raised my eyebrows, trying so hard not to punch him. "Fuck you!"

"Listen, you bitch–"

"Andy!" Alicia shouted, startling us both. "You can't just–"

"She killed the Trimbols!" Andy yelled. "Her and her people! How do you think Gretchen would feel to see you breaking bread with the enemy? Huh?!"

I scrunched my face together, confused. Alicia said the same thing, back when we were negotiating the parley. Why did everyone here believe it was us who killed the Trimbols?

"It wasn't her, now leave it," Alicia warned with narrowed eyes.

Andy scoffed, shaking his head. "Whatever."

Deciding this wasn't worth half the effort I was giving it, I was going to let Andy walk away and leave it at that – in my experience, people like him couldn't be reasoned with. But Alicia didn't seem to agree, as she spoke up before he could leave.

"Hey," she called to him.

Andy rolled his eyes. "What?"

She crossed her arms sternly. "We all work together now. The past is the past, and this sort of behaviour isn't acceptable anymore. Now apologise."

I sighed inwardly, not liking where this was going.

Andy pointed a finger at me with disgust. "To her?"

Alicia clenched her jaw. "Yes, to Y/N."

Licking my lips awkwardly, I leaned towards Alicia slightly, mumbling, "Alicia, just leave it–"

"No," she said firmly, before nodding to Andy. "Now apologise." When he stayed flabbergasted, like the thought of apologising to me was absurd, Alicia continued, "Without Y/N, we wouldn't have vegetables. We wouldn't have ingredients to cook food with. It all comes full circle, buddy, we work together, now apologise. I'm not asking again."

I pressed my lips together, standing uncomfortably as Andy exchanged looks with Alicia before looking to me, barely.

"Sorry," he forced out, and I didn't know what to do other than stare at the ground.

Once he left, I released a breath and the discomfort dispersed.

"Alicia, you didn't need to do that," I told her as nicely as I could.

She looked to me with assurance. "Yeah, I did. They shouldn't treat you like that."

Sighing, I tried to lighten the mood. "That was pretty polite compared to most encounters I've had."

She frowned, not taking much from my attempt at a joke, and her eyes grew serious. "We're one. There's no them or us. It's all of us now."

Seeing how passionate she was about this all working, admittedly, warmed my heart. I guess I hadn't really noticed how much she wanted this to work until now, especially because she defended me when she didn't need to. I knew she was different to the others from the way she spoke, but sometimes actions spoke louder than words. It was sweet of her.

"Thank you," I said softly.

She offered me a small smile, squeezing my shoulder before returning inside the shed to find the tools.

I was just about to pick up my sandwich and take a bite when I saw my father approaching the bench I was sat at, a smile on his face.

"You alright?" I asked, before digging into my lunch and noticing the absence of his own. "Not hungry?"

He took a seat opposite me, hands resting atop the wood. "I already ate. Just came to check in. See how you were. We haven't talked in a while."

I hummed in agreement, setting down my sandwich. "Yeah, it's been a busy one lately, hasn't it? With the move and settling in. I'm good though."

"Nobody's been giving you any trouble, right?" he asked casually, but I could see the hint of fatherly concern in his eyes. "I know some of the tribe have been struggling."

I shrugged, offering a small smile. "Nothing I can't handle, dad. Besides, I think working alongside Alicia has made it easier for the ranchers to see that we don't have to be enemies, y'know?"

He nodded. "Yes, I saw you've been making an effort with the Clark girl... I appreciate it."

"It wasn't intentional, but she wants the same things as us," I commented, before taking a sip of my juice.

"You're friends," he noticed, eyeing me curiously.

I hesitated, never really giving it much thought. Alicia and I had been spending a lot of time together over the past few weeks, but I'd never put a label on it. Though, I suppose getting to know her more and actually getting along has brought us closer together, a friendship of sorts forming.

"I suppose we are, yeah," I agreed, a little surprised myself.

"That's good," he said with a smile, "just... be careful, yeah? Don't get too close to her."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

Lowering his voice slightly, he answered, "Just don't get too attached to her. Don't forget who she is. Who they all are. What we have here is great, but I'll still worry for you. I don't want you getting hurt."

"Dad, I...," I started, but struggled to find the words. I understood his concern, but it seemed futile given the circumstances. "You're right. What we have is great, and that's because of this partnership we have with them. We kind of have to trust them for this to work."

He sighed quietly, as if I still didn't get it, but nodded. "I know. You know I'll always worry though."

I rested my hand on his, squeezing it gently. "Look, I'll be careful. I promise. But I don't think anything is concerning right now. She's good."

He put his other hand on mine, nodding in agreement, and then we both let go when we noticed Alicia approaching the table, smiling awkwardly.

"Sorry, am I interrupting something?" she asked, hovering with her lunch tray. "I can come back and–"

"No, it's fine, we were just talking," my dad interrupted with a small smile, before standing up. "I'll leave you ladies to it."

Alicia nodded at him as I gave him a reassuring glance when he walked away.

"Everything okay?" she asked as she sat before me, the two of us having planned to eat lunch together.

"All good," I reassured her, before nodding to her tray. "So, what d'you get?"

She began to smile as she used her fork to point. "Trying out this beef lasagne which looked good. How about you?" Before I could answer, she pulled a face when she saw my plate. "Oh, c'mon, a sandwich again? Don't you ever get sick of eating the same thing for lunch?"

I chuckled at her look of disgust. "You can't beat a classic, what can I say?"

"Oh," she scoffed, and I tried not to laugh.

Okay, so yeah, maybe we were friends. But that came out of a well-placed mutual agreement to keep the peace, so it was a friendship well earned.

My friendship with Alicia only continued to grow as time went on, so much, in fact, that I didn't see it coming when I started to like her as much more than a friend.

A few of us were setting up a bonfire one evening, burning the rubbish we'd collated over the past few weeks. Crazy Dog – a member of our tribe – Ofelia and I were managing it as everyone came to dispose of their things and, without meaning to, it became a little getaway from the ranch as people hung around for a change of scenery. As I sat on the sidelines on a foldable chair, I spotted Alicia approaching me, taking a seat next to me.

"So, this is where you've been all evening," she commented lightheartedly. "Some of the others said, but I was like 'no, Y/N wouldn't have a bonfire and not invite me'.”

"Alicia, it's not like that," I started, but stopped when she was smiling with amusement. "God, you're annoying."

She laughed. "I'm kidding. How's it going anyway?"

I sighed, leaning back in my chair. "Not so bad. We've got rid of all that old packaging from the pantry. Also been able to get rid of some rubbish lying around. Plus I think it's making everyone relax a little."

She nodded, leaning back too. A silence fell upon us as we merely watched the bonfire crackle in the dusk-lit sky. It was peaceful, a nice change of association with fire compared to the horrible fires we'd both experienced in the past, with all the ranch-reservation threats.

"The last time I saw a bonfire like this was when I was a kid," she suddenly spoke, earning my attention. "I went camping with my family and my dad made something just like this."

"Sounds fun," I said, eyes fixed on her profile.

She had a distant look in her eyes, the firelight brightening up her face. "Yeah, it was. I had Nick and my parents all to myself. It was actually terrible considering none of us knew how to camp. But my dad really wanted it to work, so despite the fact that our tent fell on us in the middle of the night, or that he almost set his eyebrows on fire trying to keep the bonfire alight, it was really fun."

I chuckled as she reminisced, a soft smile tugging at her lips. That was when I noticed how pretty she was when she wasn't so work-focused all the time. Relaxed, no concerns, just a good old childhood memory to distract her. The curve of her jaw, the laugh lines around her lips, the vibrancy of her green eyes... how hadn't I noticed sooner?

"Have you ever been camping?" she asked, turning to look at me and pulling me from my state of admiration.

I cleared my throat, hoping she didn't feel my betraying eyes. "I– yeah. All the time. My dad loves nature and so do I. We're pretty skilled that way and he taught me all I know about surviving out here."

She smiled, looking back to the fire.

"It's funny, since the thought of camping for fun seems pointless now," I realised. "Having a home is a luxury now."

"True," she agreed, before grabbing her backpack from beside her. "Though, if you think that, then maybe now is a bad time to tell you that I saw the fire and thought roasting hot dogs for fun would be a good call."

I blinked, looking to her. "You what?"

Smiling sheepishly, she pulled out a small plastic baggy filled with hot dogs and wooden skewers. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw it, wondering how long it had taken her to put that together considering we'd only had the fire going for about half an hour.

"We definitely have to roast these," I gave in instantly, unable to stop smiling from how cute she was.

In no time, we had our skewers set up, hot dogs fixed on the end and the two of us attempting to cook them in the fire. Hers finished cooking first and she pulled it out, taking a bite off the end.

"Mmm, that's good," she said contently, before holding it towards me. "Here, try it."

Carefully, I blew on the hot dog before taking a bite, though it still burnt my mouth a little and I tried to cool it down quickly by taking deep breaths.

"You made it look less hot!" I told her as she began to laugh at my expression.

"Shit, your hot dog!" she suddenly exclaimed, before grabbing my hand and pulling my own skewer from the fire. We both blew on it repeatedly, but it was a goner, burnt to a crisp and smoking nonstop.

"This is your fault," I told her jokingly. "If you hadn't distracted me, I wouldn't have burnt it."

She was grinning as she apologised. "I'm sorry. C'mon, I've got plenty more."

As she helped me get rid of the burnt hot dog and make up a new skewer, a suppressed smile was on her face and I couldn't tear my gaze from how happy she looked right now. We hadn't had many reasons to let go lately, but this was refreshing. And for the first time, I realised that, shit, I might have actually liked her. Like that.

I had hoped it was a fluke and I was just caught up in the moment, but the more time I spent with Alicia after that evening, the more butterflies I got around her and the more I couldn't stop checking her out in a way that friends shouldn't. And that's what terrified me.

I was in denial, definitely, because liking her wasn't possible. I just couldn't. It wasn't right, not with so much at stake, not with our friendship on the line. I enjoyed having her in my life – gaining her when I'd already lost so much. But liking her and losing her when she meant so much to me would surely kill me. No, I couldn't put my feelings at risk like that. It was just easier to not get attached.

Though, it didn't help that my father was starting to warm up to her and the idea of us being friends. He brought it up one evening, as we were preparing to go to sleep.

"Things are really starting to get better around here, don't you think?" he was saying casually.

"Yeah, it's good to see," I agreed as I puffed up my pillows.

"Y'know, that's partially down to you," he said with a smile. "Well, you and Alicia. The ranchers and our people, seeing you both together... you really proved that we can work together."

I breathed out, feeling that fuzzy feeling I always did whenever Alicia was mentioned. "Yeah, I suppose it helped."

"Between me and you," he continued as he pulled back his duvet, "I think the Clarks are the best thing to happen to this place since Otto took over."

I raised my brows with surprise, pausing. "You said not to trust them."

He shrugged. "I know, but now that we've been working together these past few months, I've noticed that they're different. They're fair, something the Ottos weren't. Madison and her family only want peace. Maybe it's not a bad thing."

I hummed quietly, glad that he was finally seeing that they weren't bad people, but also conflicted because of my feelings for Alicia. His trust in them wasn't helping with my feelings.

"What's wrong?" he noticed, meeting my eyes. "You and Alicia fall out or something? You seemed pretty close."

I forced a smile, shaking my head. "No, nothing like that. Sorry, I was just thinking."

He wrapped an arm around my shoulder comfortingly. "Well, I've told you many times that you think too much."

I rolled my eyes playfully as he chuckled and kissed my hairline.

"Goodnight, Y/N."

"Goodnight, dad."

Things were going too good at the ranch, so good in fact that it almost felt comical when I realised how time had flown by and what day it was exactly. It was the anniversary of my mother's death, exactly nine years since she'd died.

It was never a good day for me, for obvious reasons, but especially because of how my father never seemed to grieve with me, but alone. I understood it could be a hard time for him too, but he made it even harder when he wouldn't talk about it.

That morning after breakfast, I caught him before he could shoot off to talk strategy with Madison and Jake.

"What is it, dear?" he asked, pausing.

"I was planning to go back to the reservation today," I told him calmly. "Get some belongings, mainly photos of mum. I wanted to ask if you wanted to come with me."

At the mention of mum, his expression fell. "I don't think I'll have time today. But you can go on ahead."

I tried not to feel hurt at his response, instead reminding him, "You know today is her–"

"I know," he cut me off instantly, avoiding my eyes.

I frowned, studying his face and how he couldn't even look at me. "So, that's it? That's all you have to say?"

Sighing quietly, he glanced at me. "You go back and do what you need to do today. I'm doing what I need, okay?"

And that was it. He wouldn't hear any more as he turned on his heel and left, leaving me hollow and deflated. I shouldn't have expected any different, not since he never wanted to talk about her all these years. But I thought it might be different, considering this was the first anniversary in the middle of a literal zombie apocalypse.

Never mind though. If he didn't want to remember her today with me, then he didn't need to. I was still planning to go back to the reservation for the day.

So, with all the determination I could muster, I went back to my cabin and began to pack my rucksack with enough things to get me by on the hike back. It would have been easier to take a truck, but I wanted the time outside to think, plus a change of scenery would be nice. As I was finishing up packing the last few things, a knock on my cabin door made me look up. I hoped it was my dad, maybe changing his mind, but then Alicia walked in and my hope dwindled.

"Just where Walker said you'd be," she said lightheartedly, smile on her face. "And I see you're packing a bag. Planning to take a little trip?"

She helped herself to a seat beside me on the bed, eyeing the contents of my bag that she could see. Usually I would feel nervous and elated to be around her – the terrible symptoms of a crush an' all – but today wasn't a regular day, and the last thing I wanted was to bring her mood down with mine.

"Just heading to the reservation to pick up a few things," I told her, tightening the top of my bag close.

"Were you planning to leave without saying goodbye or...?"

I looked up at her, seeing the amusement in her eyes as she awaited my answer.

"It was gonna be one day," I tried to defend, but she rolled her eyes playfully.

"Wow. Nice to know you care."

"Alicia–"

"It's okay anyway, because I'm coming with you," she said decisively.

I paused, raising an eyebrow. "You're what?"

Her twinkling eyes met mine. "I'm coming with you." When I didn't react, she continued, "D'you really think I'm letting you go alone? There may be no more war with the ranch, but infected still exist. You can't just go alone."

"I'm fine to go alone, I know the route," I assured her, standing up. "I appreciate your offer, but really, it's okay."

She stood up too, not seeming to get the hint. "Partners, remember? I'm coming."

I sighed, not in the mindset to deal with her stubbornness right now. And when I looked over at her, somewhat ready to tell her no, she was watching me with a focused stare and slight hopeful expression, and I just couldn't seem to deny her, even in my solemn state.

"Fuck," I muttered. "Fine. But hurry up. I'm leaving in ten."

Her smile widened as she nodded in agreement. "Ten minutes. See you by the gate."

And just like that, I found myself roped into a hike back to the reservation with Alicia by my side.

It was hot out, the sun beating down on us both, but that didn't knock Alicia's high spirits in the slightest. She was too cheerful for my liking, though maybe she was always like that and I was just too stuck in thought to deal with it today.

"So, what's so important that we're heading back?" she asked curiously.

"Just some belongings," I half-lied. "Some stuff I didn't bring when we first moved into the ranch because I wasn't sure if we would stay long enough. But we have now and I'd like to have them with me."

She hummed in acknowledgement. "Right."

Thankfully, she didn't question it any further and I was glad because it meant I wouldn't have to explain about the real reason I was here. It wasn't that I didn't trust her enough to share, but having being forced to keep it to myself all these years because of my dad's reluctance to talk about it meant sharing wasn't so easy for me. It was just easier to keep quiet.

Aside from the few ramblings Alicia went on about the latest in the ranch, from the new ways everyone was bonding to how annoying her brother was being, it was a pretty quiet walk and I was glad. Because of all her talking, it meant I could just listen and give the bare minimum in effort. By the time we reached the reservation, it was lunch time.

"How about you go find us some food and I'll drop our bags off upstairs," I told Alicia when we entered the diner. "I can pack my things too."

She nodded, giving me her bag, before trailing off to the kitchen to see what she could find. Some of our people still remained living here, so there'd be someone to help her out, giving me the perfect chance to pack some of my things.

I dropped Alicia's bag in my old room and mine in my dad's, knowing we'd be sleeping over tonight, and then grabbed some extra clothing, books and, most importantly, family photos. There was one particular photo of my mum and I that I had always adored. She was smiling down at me, the two of us kneeling down in the garden and me attempting to plant with her when really I was just making a mess. It always brought a smile to my lips because I remembered exactly when it was taken, and she looked so young, so beautiful, just how I remembered her.

Today of all days was my heart aching for her, but I refused to let myself get so emotional right now. There was no time, not with so much going on, and not with Alicia waiting for me downstairs. So, I dropped my things in my dad's room and returned to Alicia to have some lunch.

The rest of our day there was spent checking in on the others to see how they were doing and also helping out where we could, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't just wanna sulk in my room. It was harder than I thought, especially given the circumstances, and I was glad when evening fell and Alicia finally said her goodnight to me, leaving me alone.

I stayed in my dad's room with the intention of going to sleep, but then I found myself going through the family photos I'd collected. Ones of all three of us, just my parents, my mum and I... I looked so young in them and I hated that I wanted to know what my mum would have looked like if she'd aged with me. What would she be doing now if she were here? Perhaps staying with us at the ranch? Gardening with me during the day? Putting my dad at ease?

She was taken too soon. And though nine years had passed, it still felt like yesterday when I'd lost her. All I wanted was to talk about it, to spill out my feelings to my father and have him do the same, to fucking acknowledge my mother's existence. But he refused. And I'd never felt so alone because of it.

Suddenly, the room was getting too stuffy for my liking, though I suppose that was down to my teary eyes and wet cheeks. Pulling my shoes and jacket on, I grabbed the picture of my mum and I before sneaking out, settling behind the diner in the quiet of the night, where I could bask in the cool breeze and get my shit together.

Of course, the longer I stayed sat there, staring down at the smiling face of my mother, the harder everything got. My heart was bursting with pain and I just wanted her back. Even for a second, a simple hug. Why couldn't I have that? Why did I have to lose her for good?

I'd learnt to keep my feelings to myself, courtesy of my father's emotional unavailability, which meant I could cry without even making a sound. It was too quiet, but the hot tears were reminding me of the pain I felt, and I didn't know what to do. One day a year could I truly allow myself to feel this way – but this year was the worst one yet for some reason.

I wasn't sure how long I sat on the bench outside, sobbing quietly to myself, but I couldn't forget the panic and embarrassment that washed over me when I heard the back door of the diner opening. My cries ceased and I wiped my face subtly as a voice spoke up.

"Y/N?"

It was Alicia.

Clearing my throat, I avoided looking her way and was grateful for the shield of the dark. "Yeah? What are you doing up? Did I wake you?"

I heard her footsteps approaching and then she sat beside me, looking over at me.

"I knew you left, but you took a while to come back so I thought I'd come check on you," she admitted. "Look, you've been acting distant today and I knew something was up. So, I asked around and they told me that..." She paused, and I was holding my breath. "I know it's the anniversary of your mum's death. I don't want to leave you out here. I'm worried."

I exhaled shakily, trying not to let my emotions get the better of me. "Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you. Honestly, I'm fine. You can go back in."

"Y/N–"

"Please, Alicia, go back in," I pleaded, because I wasn't sure how long I could sit there and hold everything together.

"I'm sorry, but I can't in good faith just leave you out here alone," she said stubbornly. "It's okay not to be okay."

I frowned, hot tears pooling at my eyelids. "Alicia, please, I..."

I swallowed hard, but the tears were starting to roll down my cheeks, and then all she had to do was put her arm around my shoulders and I found I couldn't quite hold it together anymore. In an embarrassing, soggy mess, I broke down in her shoulder, hating that she had to console me and see me in such a vulnerable state. This was the opposite of what I wanted, but at the same time, being able to let it out on someone that wasn't myself felt so damn good.

She didn't rush me as she held me close, rubbing circles on my back and letting me soak her shirt with my tears. I wasn't so sure I deserved this, but it was hard to say no when she felt so warm, so comforting.

It didn't take long for my embarrassingly quiet sobs to stop, and then the realisation of how close I was and how many boundaries I'd crossed came to mind and I immediately moved back, startling her.

"I am so sorry," I blurted out, voice hoarse and eyes looking anywhere but at her. "I didn't mean to–"

"You don't need to apologise," she interrupted, stopping my hands from furiously wiping at my face. "Hey, don't be sorry."

I swallowed hard when she used her thumb to wipe my tears away, skin burning where she made contact. Her eyes found mine, concerned and patient. Why did she have to be here?

"I know it's a lot to deal with, but I just– it's hard to deal with it alone," she said considerately, pushing my hair behind my ear before dropping her hands to hold mine. "Do you want to talk about it?"

I let go of her hands, despite enjoying the warmth, and covered my mouth as I looked away.

"Y/N?" she tried again, making me close my eyes, as if that would make it all better. "Why isn't your dad here?"

I shook my head slowly. "He doesn't want to talk about it. He never does. The past nine years and he says nothing. I'm just– I'm so fucking tired of it. But it is what it is."

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "You can talk to me if you want."

I bent down, putting my head in my hands and letting out a sigh. It was starting to get cold and I involuntarily shivered, tugging my jacket closer around me, and then I felt a hand on my back, rubbing circles.

"Let's go inside," she suggested. "You don't have to talk to me if you don't want to, but you can't stay out here."

"Alicia–" I started, about to protest, but she stood up and held out her hand.

"Let me help you," she said, and I was touched that she cared this much. It would have been so easy for her to pretend she hadn't known a thing. I hadn't had someone like that in my life in a long time.

I nodded, accepting her hand and letting her lead me back inside and up to my bedroom. It was instantly much warmer, and once I lost my jacket and shoes, she made me get in bed, jumping in beside me and pulling the duvet around us both. We sat there in the dark, the only light coming from a spotlight outside and shining through the curtains.

"I didn't think this would happen," I said after being unable to sit in the silence for so long. "If I did, I wouldn't have let you come."

"I'm glad I did, otherwise you would've been alone tonight," she said like it wasn't a big deal. Shifting so she was sat slightly on her side, looking at me, she continued, "You don't talk about your mum. Is it because your dad doesn't?"

I held the edge of the duvet, fingers playing with it mindlessly. "Dad doesn't like to mention it. So, I guess I don't either. But her anniversary comes and I hope he'll change his mind. He doesn't."

I didn't know why I was oversharing so much, but it felt a relief as I did, and Alicia didn't seem to mind. I'd definitely regret it in the morning, but for now, under the guise of the late night, it was easy to open up.

"You can talk about her with me if you'd like," she offered generously.

I glanced over at her, warmed by her softened gaze, the light from outside making the green in her eyes look golden. "I don't even know what to say, Alicia. I just miss her."

She tilted her head thoughtfully. "Well... what was she like?"

I chewed on the inside of my cheek, looking away as I tried to find something to say. I was never at a loss for words about my mother, but actually vocalising them was a different story. All these years keeping her to myself made it difficult.

"She was a lovely woman," I started, though it didn't feel like enough. "Kind. Funny. She... she was my favourite person. She's the reason I love gardening so much."

I paused, hand reaching for the photograph I'd placed on the bedside table before getting in bed. Reluctantly, I held it out to Alicia, who smiled tenderly before taking and looking at it.

"She used to spend a lot of time in the garden like that," I explained, a sad smile appearing on my lips as I looked at the photo again. "She let me help her whenever I asked."

"That sounds fun," Alicia said, eyes flickering from the photo to me. "She's beautiful, Y/N. You look just like her."

I nodded, eyes glued to the photograph. "She was."

"Nine years ago," Alicia recalled what I'd said earlier. "What happened, if you don't mind me asking?"

My smile faded as I accepted the photo back from her. "A drunk driver got her. She was driving to pick me up from school. He died, too."

Alicia began to frown. "I'm so sorry. That couldn't have been easy for you."

I shrugged, pressing the photo to the duvet and sighing.

"He should talk about her with you," she said apologetically. "It's the only way to keep her alive."

"I know it hurts him to mention her," I tried to defend my dad, knowing he wasn't doing it out of spite. "Sometimes it's easier to keep quiet."

"Well, people deal with grief differently," she said. "He doesn't have to talk about her, but he shouldn't stop you from doing so."

I knew she was right, affirming what I already believed, but it wouldn't change anything.

"If you ever want to talk about her and feel like you can't, I'm here," she added, resting a hand on mine. "Seriously, any time."

I looked to her, immediately put at ease by the comforting expression she wore. "I'll try. Thank you, Alicia. For being here." 

"Always," she promised, barely a whisper, before pulling me close to her side to hug me, and this time I melted into her.

[poindexters-labratory]

Could we please have all of the Michael lore. All of it.

Or hallucinogenic fear gas....

:0!! Not the fear gas... Not again...

Oh goodness, all of the Michael lore?? Well, you are indeed in for a storm (pun intended) :3 It will be in bullet points for optimal reading

Part One covers everything from Wild Cat to the end of Before the Storm <3

CW for mentions of trauma, emotional neglect, homophobia, assault, underage drinking, and child death

Michael is part of the early X generation, being born June 15, 1965.

Was a very sweet little boy growing up, making friends quickly and taking teasing not too seriously.

Was a momma's boy but was enamored with his father's inventions and ideas.

Hated getting a little brother, per trying to figure out all kinds of ways to get rid of Evan (he was seven years old and very jealous of the attention)

Getting a little sister was much easier because he was older and liked looking after her.

Had a permanent grudge against his mother because of his parents' divorce, her taking away his sister, and flying across the ocean, leaving Michael and his brother behind

Getting into those teenage years, he was definitely one of the town troublemakers and seemingly had a burning hatred for his family. His father was... odd, his mother abandoned him, and his brother was an annoying little shit.

He had two friends his sophomore year of high school, Percy and Tulio. Tulio was a kid kinda like Michael, an outcast of sorts, and Percy was a new neighbor from down his street who eventually made his way to the football team.

He met Tulio through his English class and William sent Michael to greet the new neighbors by himself with a pie, meeting Percy while introducing himself.

The three of them are seen together often at parties, restaurants, and school events, they are best friends, getting into trouble, disappearing for hours, the two boys becoming essentially a part of the Afton family. William cared for Percy and Tulio like his own kids. It takes a village.

The fourth member of their group was a boy from the next town over that Percy came from, named Sam. Sam was a member of the Church of Latter-Day Saints and Mike and Tulio were very unsure of him for a while. Sam and Percy's families were friends, but they were not. Very much not. But they pretty soon became friends after Sam's mother sent him to stay with Percy's family.

Michael often butts heads with people of authority, his father not really much of an authoritative figure in his life, but he doesn't do well in the presence of teachers, school officials, police, or Henry.

Michael was a very smart kid, but he just didn't like school. He was able to get his grades high enough to pass, but he never wanted to excel. That wasn't the sort of attention he desired.

He was an artist though, but through his teenage years, he kept that more on the downlow. Didn't really want anyone to know.

Mike might've been smart, but he wasn't a good kid to his dad. He would smoke, drink, badmouth William, steal his car, and bully a wide range of people, even his own brother and father.

After his father's accident, his behavior both got better and worsened. He started treating his dad with more respect and kindness, but also envied the attention he got.

William tried to combat Michael's emotions toward his lack of attention with love bombing him, including impulsively buying Michael a sports car for his seventeenth birthday.

Michael had gotten so talented at art at this point in time, to the point that his paintings and figure drawings had been shown in state fairs, so he had plans to attend college in California as an art major. Henry wanted him to stay in-state, but Will pushed for him to leave. Possibly some projection.

His senior year, Michael found out he was bisexual because of Jeremy Fitzgerald, a childhood friend of his that moved away to California and came back senior year of high school.

He found him very attractive and at first, he had no idea what to do or what the feelings were. So, for a bit, Mike ended up having a strange one-sided hatred for Jeremy. They ended up dating after that short bit.

Late that year, he discovered his dad was gay, and didn't really know how to feel about that information, confiding in Jeremy with the secret.

Sigggh, Jeremy then confided that information with the rest of their school. The problem with that is that there was already a lot of dangerous speculation that William is a gay man. He already got in enough hot water as a feminine person. If anything happened to Michael's father now, after his life-threatening accident, Michael's heart wouldn't be able to take it.

Jeremy and Michael break-up after Mike brutally physically fights him in school after finding out the source of the gossip. Jeremy gets sent to the hospital because of this fight. William pays for Jeremy's hospital bill and no charges are pressed against Michael.

Michael's attitude takes a sharp turn the second half of his senior year of high school. He felt betrayed and let down once again. He became increasingly aggressive, apathetic, unsympathetic, and had a general disregard for his own safety and the safety of others.

Henry wanted to send Michael to a military school to whip him into shape, but William strictly forbode it.

His friends tag along in his behavior, much too intimidated and fearful to say much of anything about it.

The main victim of this behavior was Evan, who became a fun target because of his elevated paranoia and anxiety after the events of his father's accident.

William was too gentle with Michael for his own good, and a bit terrified with Michael's recent behavior. He could've tried to mediate the situation better, but he was still recovering from his accident both physically and mentally. On top of that, he had to work in both Fredbear's and Freddy's interchangeably, managing the locations (Remember the tasks in FFPS, that's basically the jobs Will had to do, minus murderous animatronics).

The week leading up to Evan's twelfth birthday, Michael gets increasingly more jealous of the attention his little brother was receiving. Michael's behavior gets worse and worse throughout the week, William away, preparing for Evan's party, but able to keep an eye on his young son with the help of the Fredbear CCTVs.

It all comes to a head on Evan's birthday where he, Percy, Sam, and Tulio put him in the Fredbear animatronic's mouth, it's programming and the air pressure build-up causing Evan's skull to crack under said pressure, and he has a seizure while still in Fredbear's mouth.

A few nights later, Evan passes away from an inoperable brain aneurysm. William and Michael are devastated.

After Evan's death, Michael and his father only got into more heated arguments more often. Michael blamed himself for what happened and couldn't stand to be around his father much longer as he watched him deteriorate into a shell of a human being.

So, he stayed until just after he finished high school, per his father's request, and then he got the hell out of there. Packed up his necessities in his car and left his father to himself, alone in their home. And he drove all the way to Los Angeles.

He heard about Charlie's murder from his father that fall of 1983, but he couldn't bear himself to go back to that town for the funeral of another child he thought of as a member of his family. He should've never went back at all.

[nerdieforpedro]

Get a room you two and BONE

Part two of the Roc & Doc Series

Tim Rockford x plus size OFC (Doc)

Rating: Mature only because of some of the banter.

This blog is for readers 18+ MDNI

Word Count: about 2.7k

Summary: It’s been a month since “The Case of the Vanishing Pens” had been solved. Things have changed somewhat between Tim and Doc. Are they both okay? Turns out, friends can suck sometimes.

Warnings: bad TV references, teasing, theft, angst?, mention of murder and STD, friends being menaces, the trench coat, bad singing, a murder threat (affectionately)

Notes: Originally, part two was going to be 7k of words. 😅 That was way too long so we’ll have a part two and three. I am working toward something. We’ll all find out when I get there. I’m fond of trench coats now. 😎 A huge smooch to @lady-bess who beta read for me and had some hilarious commentary. 🤣

The top item from the “what should go missing next” poll is in here! The runner ups are in part three. 🤭

Dividers are by the ever lovely @saradika-graphics

Main Masterlist / Tim Rockford Masterlist / Rock & Doc Series

You and the detective had dinner three times a week and tried to alternate who pays. Tim had you pay the first time but he insisted on paying the others. It’s been a month since “The Case of the Vanishing Pens.” You told Tim that his jokes were as old as Columbo. He was not amused. Tim told you that he’s a classic like Columbo, and you need to show respect. And honestly, he’s more like Kojak - able to find a parking space anywhere in LA. You choked on your shrimp fried rice while sitting in the passenger seat of his car, he patted your back to try and help the piece of shrimp go down, it eventually did. 

“You’re not bald Rockford. Are you starting to go bald? Is that why you think you’re like Kojak?”, you asked, "going to start rocking three piece suits with a briefcase?”. Tim’s face freezes and he squints his eyes. 

“I will kick you out of my car and leave you at this restaurant Doc. Don’t joke about a man’s hair.”

“You wouldn’t dare, Kojak would never. If you’re going to be mad about it, don’t compare yourself to a famous bald TV detective. Stick with Columbo Rockford.” The two of you grinned at each other. Since the pen incident, it’s become even easier to joke with Tim. You feel you’ve grown somewhat closer to him, but you still won’t ask him anything personal. He doesn’t ask you those types of questions either. It crosses an imaginary line you both have drawn for yourselves.

Tim had told you that you didn’t need to pay, he’d been teasing you for stealing his pens, though he still doesn’t fully buy it was just about a menu. You had also told him, “no, we’re both city employees getting shit pay. We gotta split it, Tim.” He laughed and reluctantly agreed. So the two of you started alternating tabs. Why would you offer to pay when you clearly have some unnamed grudge against him (in his mind anyway)? Is this a ‘keep your friends close and enemies closer’ sort of deal? 

The answer doesn’t come to him as he finishes the last of his egg roll, some duck sauce is on his chin in his beard. With a moist towelette you pull from the depths of your tote bag, you dab his chin and succeed in getting the sauce off and making Tim re-evaluate what your end goal is. It’s too soft of a touch as you could have pushed his face as part of your teasing but you didn’t. You’ve given him small hip bumps in the autopsy room or even in your office. Those don’t feel intimate like this, maybe it’s because it’s his car or the lack of space. It’s dangerously close to the line he’s drawn in the sand with you. It’s times like these that Tim is thankful you don’t notice him clearing his throat or keeping his cafe brown eyes on you as you slurp your noodles. He’s thinking too much again.

Rockford ensures that you get back to your small car you call ‘the blueberry.’ The car suits your personality. It feels loud, quirky but not over the top, much like its owner. He never leaves before watching you pull out of the parking lot and make the right turn at the light. It’s then that he begins his own drive home. He sometimes has an inkling to text if you got home alright but he’s never texted you outside of work. Except the two times he picked you up tacos… alright, maybe it was four times, but limited to food options. Why is it so weird? 

Rockford sighs at the orange streetlights ahead of the hood of his old Ford Crown Victoria. His mind is on you again, but it’s just because you spend a lot of time with each other and you look a hell of a lot better than any of his other partners. Well, you’re not his partner but it kinda feels like it when he talks out cases with you. Stevenson is a solid partner, but he’s wet behind the ears and still learning quite a bit. You, on the other hand, listen. Look at him with genuine interest with questions that tell him you were indeed hearing him. Tim is in his driveway wondering if you’ve already walked up the two flights of stairs to your apartment. He knows you like music but what else do you like?

“Shit.” Rockford gets out of his car and enters his home, dropping off his trench coat and shoes near the door. He stretches out on the couch and flips on the TV. There should be something to watch. An episode of Kojak is in progress with him parking perfectly, getting out of the car, bald head shining with a three piece suit and his briefcase. “What are the chances…?”

As promised, you brought him 4 boxes of pens over the months you’d been eating take out with him. He had nowhere to stick them and wondered if you were pranking him; you were not. You just felt bad about taking his pens for so long. You overdid it a bit, you explained and offered to hold some of them in your office. Tim declined and made room on the top of one of his file cabinets. Seeing something that you’d given him made him smile softly, before turning to face you, he cleared his throat and put his hands on those hips of his, saying he had work to do. You nodded and told him you’d see him around, you were sure there'd be more bodies to look at before long together. The detective sat at his desk and looked at the reports he needed to finish up, they suddenly seemed tedious. He’s wondering if he should have told you it would have been alright if you wanted to stay for a bit. Could have spoken to you while working on them to make the time go faster. Your absence is an issue for Tim. He’s got too many of those already.

Tim stopped by later in the evening to update you on what happened with the arsenic case. Turns out, the victim’s girlfriend had convinced him to become a pescatarian for better health. The girlfriend found out that the victim had two other lovers and had given them the clap (gonorrhea) in addition to her. The three happened to meet in the same clinic where they were getting tested. She had contacted those two after getting diagnosed as the name was different, but the physical description was the same as her boyfriend. It was then that the girlfriend started dosing his food to kill him. She told Tim and the other detectives that she wanted to watch him slowly die. She apparently laughed as they were taking her away in handcuffs. 

You are engrossed in the details. Tim tells you the entire thing from beginning to end, he adds in tidbits from his notes that wouldn’t be in any of your reports. Despite looking like he was tired of everyone’s bullshit ninety percent of the time, the detective was rather animated in explaining the case to you. He walked back and forth in your office and then placed his hands on the back of a chair while leaning in to go over how the dots were connected between the seemingly unrelated people. If the man wasn’t a detective, he should be a voice actor or teacher…you’re sure there’s a suitable profession you’re forgetting in between the options, whatever would warrant people listening to him for a while. 

Toward the end of Tim’s colorful retelling, Kim, one of the clerks and a friend of yours, stopped by the office. She was watching the two of you, rolling her eyes as she crossed her arms. She would have made a joke about you getting yourself in Tim’s trench coat but knew you wouldn’t forgive her for saying it in front of the man that you swear you only have respect and adoration for. Kim had tried to get you to understand your feelings, to at least see that you may want to spend time outside of work with the famed detective. The time may include an actual date at some point.

You’d always told her that it was because he’s always been respectful toward you, and that he came by your office when he didn’t need to. Like today. Kim was sure you hadn’t asked for any follow up on the case, yet here Rockford is telling you about it and you’re giving him all his attention. It’s annoying to watch the two of you. Sure he might be older than you, but it’s less than ten years and she’s sure he doesn’t talk to his ex-wife at all. At one point the precinct did think they were going to get back together shortly after you’d become the new medical examiner five years ago but nothing ever came of it. Not that Kim kept that close on an eye on things for you.Thankfully, there’s only been rumors of maybe some women here and there. Detective Rockford is one who stays holster deep in murders and crime. Kim did have to agree with you on one thing, those holsters are a damn good look on the man. She understands why your eyes linger on him. Kim preferred her men to be on the skinny side so she could toss them around a bit - she can be a bit rough at times.

Waiting until Tim seemed finished with his story, Kim knocked on the open door so the two of you would hear her. 

“Hey Doc, Tim. What are you two crazy kids up to? Making some more dinner plans? Going to take it a step above take out and go to a place where there might be seats inside the restaurant?” The detective bit the side of his jaw which Kim was quick to notice and smirked. Like how does she not notice how bothered he is when anyone interrupts him speaking to her? Maybe Tim liked her stealing his pens? Hmm…that’s an idea.

Your face hardens at your friend’s joke and you start nervously pressing your hands together. At least it wasn’t the trenchcoat one she likes to make, thank goodness. Tim looked back at the door and stood up, shaking his head. 

“Hey Kim. Just knew Doc would want to hear how the case turned out. I’m going to head out Doc. I’m going to go make sure Stevenson isn’t still working on the homicide from last week. He makes fun of my chicken scratch, but he types slow as hell for someone fifteen years younger than me. Good night Doc, don’t steal anymore pens. I know she’ll be your accomplice.” Rockford nods, gives you a smile and once at the doorway, cuts his eyes at Kira before leaving. Your friend slides by Tim as he exits and plops down across from you and snickering. 

“Did the famed detective get a bit pissed at me because I came between him and his dear Doc? For shame and I guess I did know you were taking his pens. To be fair, I did tell you to stop several times.” She playfully tapped her own hand as if she was being reprimanded. You sat back in your chair and shook your head. She’s been teasing you about this for as long as you had stolen that man’s pens well after. Tim didn’t tease you as much anymore. Well, sometimes, but only when you got in the car and he asked to see your hands to make sure you didn’t remove anything from his glove box or console.

“Could you just drop it? Please…what did you come here for Kim?”. 

“I came to remind you that this weekend is our friend’s engagement party. And before you start,” Kim reached out and took hold of Doc’s hand, “you’ve RSVPed, we bought an outfit a few weeks ago just for this party theme and I could give this back to one such man in a trench coat after you go.” Kim’s free hand exposed a little black book that Tim often carried everywhere for his notes. Your eyes are wide, it’s bad enough about the pens but it’s a funny joke now. His book?! 

“Dammit Kim, you need to give it back now!” Kim is shocked at your growl and lets go of your hand, holding tighter to the book. 

“No. You give it to him and say it fell out of his pocket or something. He has fifty places in that trench coat I could have been. I honestly think he likes it when you take his stuff.” She stood up and so did you, were you really going to fight her over this man’s book? “The fact that you’re this upset, proves my point. You need to talk to him, stop just watching him, have him take you to a place where you order and eat inside and maybe go to your place or his and-”

“Don’t finish that sentence. Just give me the book and maybe he won’t push for me to resign or be in a different county or something for harassment.” Your hands are on your head, running through how badly this could go. No matter how nice Tim is, taking that book is almost as bad as taking his tie or holsters. It’s a part of him. Though it would be kinda cool if you held it for a minute. No…no. You can’t go into that rabbit hole. That is reserved for when you’re in your apartment in your PJs and are sipping on some hot chocolate with some cookies. 

“You just need to bone….be on the desk and bone…maybe he keeps the trench coat on while you bone…I know he’s wearing the holsters when you bone…maybe you pull the hair he still has while you bone…you grab his biceps while you bone…”. Kim is singing horribly off key and if you weren’t so frustrated and anxious you’d tell her to shut it. But you need a laugh to release the tension in your body so you do, doubled over on your desk. Kim drops the black book before you and kisses your forehead.

“You just need a push to talk to him and you're already a bit of a thief. Just slip his book in his car the next time you two eat and talk to him. It’s not like people in the department don’t date. That’s how the captain met his wife.” She pats your head. “They fought over a stapler, she threw it at him. He said she had an excellent throwing arm. Love was in the air.” Kim did a jazz hand flourish and you look up, rolling your eyes.

“I would rather not be violent with the man. And I will not…bone him. Gah, you made me say it.” You shake your head and sit back and sigh. “Just please don’t push it. Can I just stay in my safe little bubble, please? Daydream about the man, why can’t I do that? Why will you not let me do that?” 

Kim sat back down and crossed her arms, sucking her teeth, “Real talk right now Doc. It’s not your job title that keeps you from talking to Tim. It’s that you’re scared that he might actually reciprocate your feelings and you may have to be in a relationship with a grown man with baggage, can hold a conversation with you and will be able to hold it down in the bedroom.” Your hands cover your face. You’re not discussing this at work. No…but you are. “Stop acting like you haven’t thought about it.” Kim laughs at your discomfort and embarrassment, but pauses to sneak a peek at her phone. “I would drop more truth bombs at you but I have to go. Tony’s here to pick me up. I will see you tomorrow and this weekend. Maybe one day you’ll have your detective use his investigative skills under a dress like that.”

“Please go to Tony before I have to call and tell him you're on my slab.”

“You’re too busy trying to find a way into a trench coat to worry about murdering me. Take care getting home.”

“I will never tell you anything again. Good night.”

Part One

Part Three

Keen moots who may want the trench coat on with nothing else 🧥:

@alltheglitterandtheroar @sin-djarin @morallyinept @yorksgirl @bitchwitch1981 @heareball @megamindsecretlair @angelofsmalldeath-codeine @magpiepills @yorksgirl @mysterious-moonstruck-musings @avastrasposts @clawdee @pascalsanctuary @readingiskeepingmegoing @rhoorl @inept-the-magnificent @grogusmum @agentjackdaniels @pedroshotwifey @laurfilijames @frenchiereading

[britishassistant]

Rollo’s civilian identify could be some sort of well-respected city official of some sort or a judge. Either way no could guess the honourable and righteous Rollo Flamme is the same guy who been starting fires all over the city.

Anonymous said: Villain Rollo tries to remove superpowers entirely in both in costume and in civilian mode. In his supervillain persona he’s creating a serum that can remove one’s powers permanently and as a civilian he’s trying to find a way to make superpowers illegal from the city. He’s kinda like Evelyn from the incredibles two.

Thank you for the ask, dear anons!

Rollo Flamme’s reputation is impeachable. Even if his sentences appear to be much more severe towards those who posses abilities and use them for ill, those in Flower City see him as “cleaning up” the city, ensuring minor supervillains are firmly placed behind bars.

The Paragon, on the other hand, is the one plague that Rollo Flamme can’t seem to stamp out. A twisted, burning villain, attacking heroes and civilians indiscriminately, trying to take abilities away by hook or by crook. He has the entirety of Flower City shaken with fear.

This is why Crowley decides it might be a good idea to entrust his hatchling to them: a powerful supervillain, who has dominion over a city, and has a grudge against those with powers? Could there be a better potential partner for his powerless hatchling?

[inchidentally]

'what if the competition between Lando and Oscar turns bad?' between my landoscar post and comments on other SM content it made me want to get weird in notepad again

I'm tagging @481boxboxbaby and @twinkodium who've asked but I'm sorry if someone's asked to be tagged and I missed it! also tagging @huntscunt who's tags put this idea in my little head

(caveat that I'm a casual fan who happens to have been around F1 fans all my life so this is just my not remotely official perspective lol)

just to state I think it's a given that we're all so excited for McLaren's future with these two is that Lando and Oscar feel like generational talents. and they're also very different as drivers and every race is exciting to watch even just for them. also the fact that Oscar was the jolt of competition that Lando needed.

and honestly I'd be more worried about their future harmony if they hadn't already had so many highly competitive and charged moments in their first season together:

Oscar came in at a surprisingly even level with Lando apart from the obvious difference in experience. he's taken risks that have on balance landed decently on the side of ballsy/respectable vs total failure and the time spent as reserve driver hadn't deteriorated any of his ability. so it was fair to worry for a while if Lando would take the competition as motivation or frustration esp after the disparity between him and DR in 2022.

I really liked the sort of respectful if tentative camaraderie Oscar and Lando showed each other when the car was an absolute tractor. but I liked it even more the fact that the turnaround at McLaren by Silverstone saw them both still in such a good place while being very competitive. that was I think the start of us seeing that Oscar wanted to prove himself a real team player and good teammate by starting the habit of showing up consistently for Lando's podiums/qualis.

the pit lane ding-dong in Monza was definitely the biggest test they've had - and that a lot of teammates will ever have - and the whole thing was handled really well all around. Andrea did the right thing of being big bad boss and Lando was quick to say that it was prob down to misjudgement (which is what I always thought) and that they still respect each other the same. I wasn't as active then so I can't remember if Oscar was asked for a response but I do remember my friends/family telling me that it was impressive how that didn't cause any major damage between the drivers since that's a pretty major incident to happen so early in a new partnership.

side note here to say that the ppl around me who've been watching F1 since the 90s overall feel like the hothead in-fighting with teammates seems to be fading/getting less intense with the younger generations. maybe it's because alpha male mentality seems cringe to gen z or because awareness of mental health is way more prevalent. Gasly and Ocon are relatively young drivers but even there the situation is pretty rare and because of hanging onto childhood grudges. I don't get the impression that any of the people around me feel like the Norris/Piastri partnership is likely to blow up or generate bitterness just because they're competing so closely ??

it's fair to say that Oscar has seemed genuinely happy to acknowledge that Lando is the McLaren brand representative and the established fan favorite within the sport as well as the team's fanbase. he's extremely mature for his years and incredibly well-balanced in terms of ambition. he's almost tailor made as a perfect compliment to Lando. EDITED TO ADD: see Oscar's almost lifelong friendship with Logan Sargeant as an example of Oscar having duked it out on track with someone for years while remaining close friends the whole time. and this was Oscar interrupting his own victory radio message to say how awfully he felt for Logan crashing out early. and that this is what Oscar felt about his and Lando's partnership toward the end of the season.

EDITED TO ADD:

Silverstone is a perfect encapsulation of how Lando has felt about Oscar from the very start and this was so beautiful to say.

Lando has measured himself by Lewis Hamilton-level goals since karting. Oscar wants to qualify well and win races. Lando was brought into F1 extremely young coming off of huge expectations and has placed enormous pressure on himself since as early as his second year in F1. Oscar has taken a business-like approach to his career since he was 14 and his calm sense of focus and determination comes from focusing on the race ahead and not letting much else in.

Lando's emotions being driven by his superstar destiny/status and Oscar's ability to have calm perspective even during a race is as solid a foundation as you can get in an F1 partnership honestly. they'll absolutely have the same conflicts that all teammates do and the media and DTS will explode those out of all proportion (both of which I ignore anyway). but I really can't see Oscar suddenly flying off the handle or holding grudges and I can't see Lando becoming a driver who suddenly wants to sustain a bad relationship with his teammate after all these years. Oscar is very clearly not the type to develop a crazy ego and Lando genuinely has more of an insane high self-expectation complex than that big of an ego.

even setting aside the parasocial widely felt agreement that they seem to genuinely like and respect each other, neither of them are alpha types and they're not both superstars jostling for publicity and they didn't come up together with a ton of existing history. idk it's just not on the F1 cards that they become icy or resentful.

so while I know no one can see the future and they're both relatively young and could change I don't really feel apprehensive?? and it's way too early to know if either of them will split from McLaren or when. especially if the car stays competitive with RB and Merc then it's the best place for both of them for the foreseeable (and prob most likely since competitive openings elsewhere look to be scant for the next 5ish? years but pls correct me if that's wrong!).

.

.

side side side note: I personally would not want to see Lando at RB. I know he's itching to try that car but unless RB and Max change drastically before then, Lando would positively shrivel up there. he's a superstar and he needs to be someplace he can be a superstar. it's also why I'm glad Carlos and Daniel moved along bc that's why those friendships are still so strong. we saw what had begun to happen when Lando was eclipsing Daniel and I don't even want to think about Carlos and his family if Carlos was teammates with a dominant Lando.

[raayllum]

decided i’d toss my own “tdp soundtrack title predictions” hat into the ring, given that i haven’t gotten to one of these since S3 aired, and damn the nostalgia

full track list here with S4 seemingly being from 1-28, and S5 from 29-62. also not going to be talking about every track as some (“rescue at the great bookery” and “threate in the forest” for ex) seem pretty self explanatory, and with that all out of the way, let’s get into it

31. I Haven’t Forgotten (3:41) — Could easily see this being an early Viren and/or Aaravos focused scene, as Aaravos holding a grudge kinda necessitates having a good ass memory - maybe even something that relates to Zubeia as well, since she’s ancient in her own way and is clearly gonna have her own role to play this season.

32. Seeking Answers (3:05) — Likely in 5x01 with the group returning to Katolis, perhaps centred on Callum and Rayla individually well, seeking answers. For Rayla, this could mean looking into the dungeons about her family and finding Runaan’s bow. We also get Rayla’s voice over (and clip) that appears to be her in Ezran’s old room in the S5 trailer asking “How do we kill a Startouch elf?” so that and/or answers about Aaravos’ prison may be what they go to Lux Aurea to, well, seek. 

34. My Most Eager Student (4:58) — First Viren and Kpp’Ar conversation (which the implication he had more than one student if that’s the case?? Fascinating) perhaps, or Aaravos reflecting on Claudia, as it seems she will fully be stepping into her own as Aaravos’ protege this season

35. Keep Moving (3:01) — Terry and Claudia, since Viren won’t wake up, realizing that they can’t wait any longer and have to start moving. Maybe end of 5x01 or 5x02?

39. In Your Dreams (1:55) — Callum and/or Viren and/or Zubeia having dreams/nightmares regarding their respective fears?

40. A Familiar Warning (2:04) — Karim and Sol Regem, maybe, beginning to barter, or a warning from Kpp’Ar that Viren disregarded, cutting to the present day with Terry giving the same one to Claudia that she likewise ignores?

42. Stay Safe (2:17) — Some sort of temporary farewell between Amaya and Janai (splitting up library things?) or Claudia and Terry (leading to her getting attacked by the water dragon?) or Ezran (+ Zym) briefly splitting up from his crownguard 

43. Father and Daughter (1:37) — Claudia and Viren most likely, maybe one of the flashbacks to when Soren was sick and how Claudia was introduced to dark magic as a Fix it solution. “I love you Daddy” out of context spoiler?

44. Like Aunt, Like Nephew (2:46) — A conversation between Amaya and Callum or Janai and Rayla about Amaya and Callum, probably. Could be either their good, protective natures, their hair, or their tendency to make some dark humoured off colour jokes

45. We Can Help Them (2:26) — Rayla telling Callum about the coins, and him offering to help and/or Karim being determined that he can still reverse the corrupted core and save the zombiefied elves. If we do get a flashback to Aaravos’ younger years, I could also see him having this viewpoint about humanity (however ‘true’ it is).

50. Times Are Changing (2:21) — Relations between humans and elves in New Aurea / human-dragon Zubeia and Ezran related stuff? This could also be closer to when the Dragang reunite and put the pieces together. Callum and Rayla with whatever they learned about (murdering?) Startouch elves and Ezran with what was gleaned from Evenere (probably the location of Aaravos’ prison, if Callum & co. can decipher the riddle/poem verses)

51. Blood Moon Rises (1:30) — Karim bartering with Kim’Dael, or her showing up of her own accord. Currently leaning toward Rayla and Kim’Dael perhaps not running into each other this season, but if Amaya and Janai bear witness/survive her villainy, Rayla would surely remember and be able to piece it together based on description, leading to a confrontation later

52. If You Kill Me Now (1:59) — Aaravos versus Archdragon confrontations / Viren demanding answers from Aaravos / Kim’Dael and Karim? Janai? / Callum and Rayla possession conversation callback. Either way, delicious, and speaks to the prevalence of murder in this damn children’s show

53. The Wounded Return (2:13) — A failed attempt to take back the corrupted core in Lux Aurea? Or speaks to the idea of “a festering wound” (out of context spoiler). If the kids have had their pirate escapade, this could also be related to the injuries we see Callum sustain in the trailer, which would make sense if anyone else had been hurt as well (hence, plural wounded) 

54. To Kill an Archdragon (3:03) — Lore on Luna Tenebris’ death (or something we don’t know about Avizandum’s) or a threat on Zubeia’s life. If Sol Regem has been corrupted by the corrupted core or is just threatening Janai’s reign, figuring out how to stop him will also be crucial 

55. Not Yours to Give (4:50) — Been wondering if Karim would even be able to free Kim’Dael, since he’s not the proper heir, and Aditi herself said that the magic was a kind “that takes”. This could also be an Aaravos related flashback since he ‘gave’ humanity something they ‘shouldn’t have’ — whether it was related to primal magic alongside the unicorns, or was the discovery / inclination towards dark magic, we’ll have to see. Could be Viren curing Soren and/or Callum ‘giving’ the Moon fam freedom (but again, have to see). Looking at the “gift giving” motif real meaningfully

56. Deadwood Deserves Dignity (3:03) — If a pirate dies or an according ship is ruined? ‘Deadwood’ isn’t a place in Xadia and sounds like a very pirate-y, seafaring moniker to me

62. Tomorrow the Sun Will Rise (3:07) — So I’ve said before that nothing good ever really happens at dawn/sunrise in this show (Sarai and the queens of Duren dying, Callum’s possession, etc) and I don’t think this is an exception. Karim cites that “This empire is ending, that the rising sun is now a falling star!” so if he’s taken over the kingdom by this point, his tendency to metaphoric language would make sense. A rising sun is also mentioned in Aaravos’ short story, Ripples, following a world changing transformation: “The humans huddled together, scarcely daring to breathe, awaiting the rise of the sun. And when the long, dark night had finally passed—for the sun must always rise, mustn’t it?—they gazed out upon an unfamiliar landscape.” Which also bodes well for predictions that Aaravos will be fully released by the end of S5 as well. 

[usagirln12003]

Pepa Madrigal: Hogwarts AU

Pepa Madrigal is a Pureblood witch that was born on the 17th of October 1936 and started attending Hogwarts on the 1st of September 1948, being sorted into Gryffindor house.

She has a Larch wand with a Phoenix Feather core.

Her Patronus is a Thunderbird.

Her favorite subject is Charms and her least favorite subject is History of Magic.

She was one of the Gryffindor Chasers from her fourth year onward.

Described as "overly emotional and dramatic", Pepa is an impatient woman and can get angry easily, contrasting with her husband Félix's more laid-back personality and positive spirit. Pepa also sometimes lets her temper get the better of her, and often says things that she doesn't mean, however she occasionally apologizes for this. When Pepa gets extremely nervous, she rapidly strokes her braid as she repeatedly mutters "Clear skies, clear skies!" to help her control her emotions and thus her magic. As she feels happy, Pepa is very energetic and therefore it is difficult for her to sit still, enjoying dancing by performing quick dance moves when she is having fun. Unlike her composed sister or her shy brother, Pepa is more outgoing and cheerful than them so she is much more expressive of the three. She has frequent mood swings, going from being happy to angry or vice versa in. Pepa can get very nervous, anxious, stressed and sometimes even neurotic very easily. Her emotions sometimes control her more than she can control them, resulting in chaotic cases of accidental magic.

Her temper can easily calm down when supported by the people she loves. Although she can get angry with Félix at times, Pepa loves her husband and always smiles when he supports or helps her, melting into Félix's arms when she dances with him. Félix can calm her by being flirtatious or even simply placing a hand on her shoulder. To a lesser extent, her children can also calm her down and she relies on them to help her whenever she has an emotional meltdown. An example is when her elder son, Camilo attempted to calm her down after learning that the Fourth Wizarding War was about to break out and was dismayed when she accidentally hurt him with a spark of lightning. Much of Pepa's stress is due to the fact that she has to control her temper everyday, not only to prevent bad weather, but also to avoid hurting the people around her. To make her stress even worse, her mother Alma often negatively criticized Pepa for her emotional rants and rarely supported her, which made Pepa feel she couldn't express her emotions freely.

Although she is not ill-intentioned, Pepa can become unintentionally spiteful. She doesn't like to talk about her brother, like the residence of Hogsmead, because Bruno told her "it looks like rain" at her wedding and made her anxious to the point of causing a hurricane indoors, quickly getting angry when Bruno is mentioned. But deep down, she truly missed him despite everything that happened between them, her resentment and grudge actually masking how hurt she was of his absence. When Bruno finally returned, she was overjoyed and ran to welcome him back with a hug. Like Alma initially, Pepa has a tendency for things to be perfect, but does not strive on perfection too much like her mother. She wanted the day when her younger son, Antonio, got his Hogwarts letter to be perfect and worked to give herself a perfect image to her community by controlling her emotions. However, this is all caused by her mother keeping a tight grip on her. Although Pepa respects Alma, she is also not afraid to get angry with her when she reprimands her when her emotions were too strong for her to control. When she reconciles with her mother and brother after the family mansion was destroyed during the war, Pepa became allowed to express her emotions and powers however she likes.

Despite her rapid emotional swings which can cause her to clash with some of them, she is very caring and loving towards her family. Pepa easily forgave her mother when Alma sincerely apologized to her and the rest of the family for her past mistakes. Like her sister, Pepa cares deeply about her children and wants the best for them. She wanted her youngest son's eleventh birthday to be the best day of his life and expressed how proud she was of him several times. When Antonio got his Hogwarts acceptance letter, she was shown approaching him along with Félix to congratulate him and hug him when he received his letter. After the Madrigal mansion collapses, Pepa's main concern was the well-being of her family rather than the loss of her home where she immediately rushed to Antonio who was crying over the loss of his owl. Pepa also quickly accepted Dolores' romance with Mariano Guzmán and is happy for them, showing her daughter that she supports her. Her affection also extends to her nieces and she is close to them. Isabela is noticeably more connected to Pepa than to either of her parents, with Pepa treating her as if she were a second daughter. She was worried that her oldest niece's marriage proposal would go well and the only time Isabela has a genuine smile about the former proposal is when she dances with Pepa.

[samfisheyy]

Dexter OC - Samantha Fassnacht (Moser)

my gal!!! here's her links and some art of her :p Toyhouse Character Hub

any art of her and brian is not canon in her lore/part in the story... they never met and she never knew who he was

her and her imaginary best friend (MASA!! @/el4st1k) , 2nd pic is them as adults

her again - design a bit more clear Some info (Might update)

Brian Moser left his 'girlfriend' of a few months right after finding out about her pregnancy. He had just left the psych ward a few years back, and was not ready for a family whatsoever. He left her on a random day, and never returned. Beate Fassnacht was forced to raise the child on her own, and she named her Samantha. She went by Samantha Fassnacht her entire life, although legally it was still Moser.

After about 10 years of Beate raising Samantha, she also randomly left. Samantha was left to fend by herself for the rest of her teenage years, living in the house she did with her mother now completely alone. She developed an imaginary friend, Masa, who practically enabled her behaviour in every way. Masa was only a figment of her mind - which was a way for her to distinguish her reality checks that her head would automatically do - just in form of an imaginary friend who'd make unnecessary sarcastic comments.

Her mother apparently moved to Utah to start a new life and family, and began sending money to pay for the bills and of course, also added some pocket money. During the rise of The Bay Harbour Butcher and Ice Truck Killer cases, she received a letter, talking about an Uncle she had from her father's side. She didn't think much of it, and obviously didn't want to meet him since she literally had no idea who her father was. Meeting anyone connected to him was like shooting her own foot.

She and Dexter Morgan met at a bus stop, while he was searching for an alibi after throwing a body into the bay. Samantha was there - waiting for her bus, and he offered her a ride. Skeptical, she walked up to the window and asked for some sort of ID, name, or anything she could use to feel at least a bit safer. That's when she saw his name, Dexter Morgan - and she realised that he was the man her mother was apparently talking about in the letter.

She became close with Dexter, Debra, Rita, and some members of the MMPD, but never met her father - and was always kept in the dark about him. She never asked Dexter about anything out of embarrassment, but did ask Debra.

She only ever found out about Brian after his death. Debra told her that he was her father, after she too was manipulated and almost killed by him. Samantha held a grudge against everyone ever since.

Extra :

Masa was the visualisation of a friend Samantha had as a friend. The real Masa is out there, and they've been in the same area more than once - they just never realised.

If Samantha and Brian hypothetically met, and Samantha didn't immediately shut him out of her life after yelling at him, they would have an extremely toxic bond. He could exhibit a superficial form of concern and care, but it would rather stem from a selfish standpoint. It'd be an opportunistic bond rather than an emotional one.

Samantha has a fascinating obsession with serial killers. The bond she has towards the topic stems from her family (Dexter, Brian…) and she could probably be described as a slightly more respectful version of a modern True Crime Podcast fan. She's just intrigued, and probably a bit obsessed - just not with being disrespectful towards the victims.

(NON CANON YET, HYPOTHETICAL)Now in her adult years, Samantha has become a Forensic Scientist like her Uncle. She took Brian Moser's nickname and persona, and began copying his craft. The MMPD now had to deal with The Ice Truck Killer coming back - and they had no idea who was behind it. Masa, her imaginary friend, was no longer a reality check personified, he was now an enabler - and was almost strictly there to help avoid any mistakes she'd make.

She also began seeing Brian Moser. Not as frequently, and not as much as Masa (considering Masa is basically always there by her side), but she still saw him every time she was working on the blood drainage - or anything relating to the preservation. (Somewhat like Dexter seeing him while on the boat.)

At the end of her run, and right before she dies, she sees Masa. The real one.

ICE TRUCK KILLER PERSONA

Victimology

Samantha was originally going to target the same people Brian did, however, with her studies and time living with Dexter, she began primarily targeting Pedophiles, Sex Offenders, and anyone with a history of harassment towards women. (Catcallers included - considering she experienced that.)

She has killed prostitutes before, but that was only to start her journey and spike up the MMPD's interest.

FORENSIC JOB

In her normal life, she works as a Forensic Scientist for the MMPD, however, she's also regarded as one of the better Detectives there. She does both, but has moved on from the lab. (Specifically because of her killing, if she was too good at finding the details as a Forensic, *from her own victims, they'd find it suspicious.)

if anyone else has a dexter oc.. we should make our ocs interact.. :3

[bravewolfvesperia]

"We are in a situation that is beyond morality." — @cataclysmus

@cataclysmus

"Beyond mor-", Yuri stopped. The look he had when he turned to Alexei held an anger in his eyes that he wasn't ready to talk about to anyone else. Until they'd made completely sure everything was settled and that the Adephagos was truly gone, he was trying to push his aggravation toward Alexei out of the way. There were things to sort out still, and that would only grow when the general populace found out Alexei was still alive. Right now though Yuri had been holding back, and Alexei was making it... difficult.

"And who created this situation in the first place?" The very thing Duke was trying to avoid, and Alexei had brought it back into the open. Even if Yuri didn't agree with Duke's current method of trying to eliminate it, he could still understand how annoying it must have been all this time trying to stop humans from risking it coming back. Now that it had, they were at odds with the very man who had been assisting them over and over since this all started.

He got it. He understood. He knew Alexei was going through recognizing his actions had led to this. But the way the former Commandant seemed to sometimes say things that indicated they needed to play nice trapped a pit of fire in Yuri's stomach. For Raven's sake he was doing his damndest not to kill Alexei or turn him in, but trying to force away lingering feelings was still difficult. Right now, impossible, even.

For the time being he had set aside any grudges to focus on the Adephagos, but seeing Alexei from time to time still stung. Originally they had planned to have the man arrested and put on trial, and Yuri hadn't intended to kill him... but the core had fallen and did nearly kill him and would have if Raven had not stepped in. Frankly, Yuri couldn't say a convenient accident like that would have truly bothered him.

"I don't wanna hear this morality nonsense. For you it's just a convenient excuse right now. I'm not turning you in out of respect for a friend of mine, because I would be in the same boat as he is if someone I knew for some ten years that I cared about turned out like you after I'd known the real them. That doesn't mean I'm setting up a pity party for you or handwaving all the destruction you caused that wasn't related to that thing in the sky."

So much had been planned and caused that at this point, the Adephagos was nearly a footnote in Alexei's history. The man had even managed to plan ahead well enough to take out the top heads of the guild cities and cause serious chaos and destruction to the guilds. Natz was a grown man and could protect his city just fine now, but Harry wasn't ready for that role.

Aside from just the guilds, in some way one could even suggest Alexei's destruction had been on a similar scale as the Adephagos itself, simply in a societal manner. His plans had affected people around the world. He was a smart man - one of the most intelligent Yuri could say he'd ever known. There was not a question in his mind that Alexei's morality didn't matter one bit until the truth of his actions was about to literally end all life on the planet.

He sure didn't care about morality when the Lower Quarter was nearly left behind to be decimated. He sure didn't care about morality when he threatened Ioder's life. When he'd tossed aside all the people who believed in and trusted him. When he'd ruined the knights' reputation further and further. When Yuri had hoped he would be the one to fix things within Zaphias because Flynn believed so much in the man, only to have to come to terms with the fact that Alexei was the one who allowed all of it and even fueled some of it for his own purposes.

"It's not about morality that got Don and Belius killed, right? Got Harry wrapped up in a huge mess that affected the Union's standing? Made the empire one of the most distrusted factions of the entire world instead of simply disliked throughout your time as Commandant? Not about the people who suffered at Ragou and Cumore's hands, some of who were killed along the way? You didn't have to see it happen so it was easy, right? You didn't have to see the bones of children in Ragou's mansion, right? No, it's only about morality now that your legacy is unleashing this thing and making people clean up after your mess. If you want that pity party, ask Raven to set it up for you."

[waitingforsecretsouls]

Canon gives us basically nothing and the focus in fanworks tends to fall on Aegon II and Aemond, but I feel like Aemond and Daeron as well have the potential for a very interesting sibling relationship.

First of all, while I don’t think it would make up a large or enduring facet of it, it seems likely they might have been intial disappointment over Daeron being a third son instead of a second daughter: the Greens already had the heir and spare in Aegon and Aemond, a third son might be in the reserve for the spare position but unlike Aemond would not be brought up with the immediate expectation of being his brothers right-hand. Given how Viserys seems to have done his level best to restrict the children from his second marriage from potential outward political connections (by marrying Aegon and Helaena, and looking at how neither Aemond or Daeron were married or even engaged at 15 or 19 years old respectively (compared to Aegon and Helaena having to marry with 15 and 13 years), nor fostered with other influential families (even in Daeron’s case only with his most immediate family in Oldtown that had already plenty of reasons to side with the Greens)), it seems likely that had Daeron been born a daughter, she would have been married to Aemond to continue the trend. And while we obviously don’t know how exactly these characters would have felt about that, given that unlike in the show in F&B the Greens are a united front right from the start, I think Aemond would have had at least a short phase where he was angry that unlike Aegon he was excluded from the good old family tradition, even if only in a more childish sense of being forced out of their tightly knit family unit in that respect.

Another more interesting tibid is the fact that Daeron had bonded with Tessarion by the time he was six years old whereas the 10 year old Aemond was the only one in his immediate family without a dragon. I imagine that ‘falling behind’ his younger brother that way could have fostered a quiet sort of resentment and canonically only added to the need to prove himself ( may have played a part in rejecting Daeron’s assistance later on during the Dance, even if likely mixed with genuine concern for his safety (”Daeron was too young[...]”)). Which should arguably have vanished with claiming Vhagar, but considering how that ‘making up ground’ in regards to being a proper Targaryen coincides with the loss of his eye, and how teenage Daeron is described as the most clever, handsome and charming of Alicent’s sons...I can see Aemond retain vestiges of this feeling of being the least accomplished of his brothers (in the sense that Aegon is the heir by virtue of birth, from their pov the rightful future king, Daeron is the one with the most credentials regarding courtly conduct (something else Aemond probably feels forcefully disadvantaged in, given how he was said to wear his eye-patch to not scare ladies at court) whereas Aemond is the one who may have managed to claim Vhagar but then lost his eye to his five-year-old bastard nephew) and compensate for that by throwing it all into his (as seems traditional for a second son) position as Aegon’s attack dog. While Aemond certainly had a fierce temperament from early on, I’d wager that his need to contrast himself as ‘better’ than Daeron in his way of supporting the cause might have only encouraged him to double down on his tendencies as the one for the dirty work.

While four years is a substantial age difference I also still see Daeron as closer to Aemond (not least bc his age difference with Aegon is consequently even larger) than Aegon, and despite the above can also still see them bonding over their postion as key-supporters towards Aegon and their family as a whole. Despite the way he’s said to be of a gentler temperament than his brothers (not a high bar to clear) Daeron canonical shares all their grudges against Rhaenyra’s sons and likely Rhaenyra herself, and growing up it seems likely that, among his immediate family, Aemond would have been the one most transmitting and reinforcing that to Daeron (aside from the fact that Alicent’s and Rhaenyra’s sons did not get along at all yet were forced to train and study together, which likely would have created plenty of opportunities for a more personalised dislike by itself). Related to the fact that being more even tempered than Aemond or Aegon is not difficult, and does not preclude holding and acting on grudges and resentment, it also seems likely to me that Daeron would have felt disgusted over the fact that he, a trueborn son of the king, was made milk-brothers with a bastard grandson like Jace (while the circumstances are admittedly a bit different, we later seem him disgusted at Hugh  for his ambitions ‘unseemly for one of such low birth’). The reason I’m bringing this up being that just erupting into near violence is not the only way to antagonize each other, and I can see Daeron putting his wit to sharp use with regards to needling Rhaenyra’s sons during their time spent forcefully studying and training together, similar in nature to Aemond’s ‘Strong Boys’ toast.

As it seems reasonable that Aemond was pushed on by Daeron threatening to overshadow him, it might have been that Daeron in turn felt the need to close the gap to his brothers (Aemond it’s easy to see him as looking up to unreservedly, who, despite all one might call faults, was an incredibly hard worker, as seen by his training with Cole) by focusing on displaying and improving the aspects of his conduct they lacked, feeling the need to prove himself as not superfluous. Aemond rides the largest dragon in the world and is an accomplished fighter? Aegon is the future king and has his heirs with Helaena? Well, Daeron can focus on trying to gain them some good PR (like Helaena and Alicent), not only at court but maybe with representatives of the wider reach once he’s serving as cupbearer and squire in Oldtown. At the same time it’s not that he lacks his brothers capacity for rashness and cruelty (as seen during the Dance), it’s only that he’s more calculated in employing it.

For two characters who don’t share specific on page interactions and remain separated the entire Dance, they have a lot of potential for headcanoning, imo.

[erisluna35ocblog]

Characterization Across AUs: Damien Guerrero

Rejects his past actions that hurt a certain boy. It's usually Shizuke but really, it tends to land on someone he can compare to his younger brother.

He used to be on a massive ego trip fuelled by his parents, which is almost always later cut down by Fiona kicking his ass.

Had sort of a crush on Fiona. It's fuelled by elitism more than anything.

His younger brother Dylan is his morality pet. Hurting him is a catalyst for Damien to change for the better.

His family values strength and power above all else... but Dylan is nothing like that so Damien is protective of him. Sadly, he will fail in some way and Dylan comes back scary strong and fights him for a bit until he calms down. Or just argues with Damien in AUs that don't give him powers.

Zephyr looks up to him and wishes to have a brother like him.

Natalia is his best friend because she is so accepting of him.

Forced to work with Keagan against his will. They rarely start out trusting each other.

Wary of the twins, they scream sus to him. Especially the one rizzing his boy crazy best friend. Blake fears him.

He tends to lose someone in a way then someone else comes along to kinda fill the void they left. Those two people eventually meet and they don't get along. It's kinda Damien's fault, he sucks at communication.

His battle gear has the most armor among the main group, sans Shizuke. He's the true tank of the team.

It's more of a mythology gag, but he, Shizuke and Haruji tends to use similar powers at some point. They are all rather tanky melee fighters.

Somehow, Haruji will serve as his mentor and Shizuke as his sparring partner. Shizuke will kick his ass because that guy has been practicing for years to specifically kick Damien's ass.

Just as he and Natalia are finally gaining levels in badass, Shizuke will kick him down. Also, neither stood a chance against Fiona when she was brainwashed and crazy.

While it's not always important, his relationship with the Ryders and the Hales is more or less the same. They're his found family who pseudo adopted him or are always welcoming towards him for his close bond with one of their kids.

He'll end up leaving his well-off family for a less toxic environment and live a more modest life style after the main story.

He will eventually gain Fiona and Shizuke's grudging respect. Emphasis on grudging. While Keagan tends to be the first he befriends from this childhood friends trio.

He's a quiet guy full of regrets. He sees his past self as an arrogant boy and hates himself for it. It'll haunt him.

He's good at keeping kids in line. Most notably, Zephyr Ryder. He and Natalia make the ultimate babysitter team.

Just as Keagan, Fiona and Shizuke are always established as schoolmates, Damien is always some sort of acquaintance (mostly to Fiona and Shizuke, with him knowing about Keagan from a distance) before the rest of the cast trickles in.

His love life is mostly out of focus but he has a thing for nerds... he swears this has nothing to do with Shizuke and/or Natalia. His type is more cutesy and bubbly (he does not consider Natalia to be so lol), and strongwilled with some fire in them (he does not see Shizuke as so, sadly). Well, they say people are attracted to tend to somewhat resemble people they are already close to, like family or friends.

[spinningwebsandtales]

Imagine The Hashira Trying To Get Hashira Kianna To Quit

Characters: The Hashira and Kianna (Hashira OC)

Rating: T+

Warnings: Mentions of death

Word Count: 767

Requested by @nunezs-stuff​

The OC and everything that goes along with the character belongs to @nunezs-stuff​. I own nothing and have no part in the creation of Kianna.

(A/N:) This is something new for me! I have never wrote something for someone else’s OC before! I was honestly a little nervous doing this as someone put their trust in me to do something like this! I really hope I got it right and I want to stress that Kianna is not my character I was asked to write an imagine about her and I did not create her nor did I help in any way with her creation! All credit goes to her creator. So with that out of the way I hope this is everything you wanted! Until next time happy reading! ~Countess

Master had called another Hashira meeting as the dangers Muzan Kibutsuji impose on the world grow ever stronger. The tension between the Hashira could be felt all around as they knelt before their master. Kianna glared at her fellow slayers, mostly at Sanemi who seemed to have some sort of grudge against her. As the youngest of Hashira she couldn’t bring herself much to care what they thought of her. They didn’t know her story and she didn’t feel much like sharing anyway. As the master continued on with all the new details and giving out new orders to each member, Kianna was ready to go when she heard the rustle of her crow’s wings above their heads. It wouldn’t interrupt the meeting until it had been finished and the Hashira dismissed.

Rising up she bowed towards the master as he carefully made his way back inside. The stares were searing her back made Kianna tense as she looked back over her shoulder. Her icy stare didn’t even make them flinch, but these were the people that stood against Muzan’s worse demons. She would lose the sliver of respect she did have for them if one of her nasty looks could startle them. What she didn’t like was the sympathy that she could see in some of the Hashira’s eyes. Who gave them the right to pity her? She held out her arm for her crow to land on but before it could cry out her new orders, Kocho stepped forward interrupting the bird. 

“Are you sure you need to take another mission,” Kocho spoke kindly. “You just got finished with one not too long ago.”

Kianna tightened her grip on the handle of her sledgehammer, her knuckles turning white. Her eyes pierced into Kocho’s but she didn’t reply. There wasn’t any time to say anything with Sanemi pushing his way to the front. The sneer at his mouth causing her anger to bubble up more fiercely.

“She shouldn’t be here at all,” he snarled. His unkind demeanor growing worse every time she saw him. “What good can a small thing like her do but to get killed out there in the field?”

“Sanemi,” Mitsuri tried to calm the Wind Hashira down before he started another fight.

“All she’s good for is demon food,” he retorted not listening to Mitsuri. The other Hashira didn’t speak up but she could tell that in some degree they agreed with him. Of course they would worry about a slip of a girl like her, though they had no idea what she had gone through. The death of her beloved sister had brought a change upon her and she could remember the death of those demons vividly like it had just happened yesterday. She wouldn’t cry, nor would she show them weakness as she turned towards them. If they thought her childish because of her size or uncaring because of her cool personality they could think that. She owed them no explanation and she could do what she wanted in her life.

“Why do you even care about me,” she replied, her voice cool and even. “You don’t even know me and I don’t know you.” She pointed at them as her eyes narrowed. “Stay out of my business and I will stay out of yours.”

Without another word she turned and walked off leaving the Hashira speechless as her crow; now free to give out her orders, spoke. 

Kianna breathed deeply, pulling her hair into a short ponytail she tried to forget the pitying looks from her fellow slayers. They had no idea and she didn’t care if they ever did. They had their reasons for joining and so did she. While she didn’t hate them, except maybe Sanemi, she didn’t want bad things to happen to them. Her crow circled over head giving her directions to where she was going, she gave a small smile ready to face the challenges ahead. If she did anything in life it was slay demons as perfectly as possible. With the idea fueling her she moved her sledgehammer in a fluid motion putting it against her shoulder and with a burst of speed raced towards the unknown. Her light clothing trailing behind her giving her a speed almost supernatural as the demons didn’t know what was coming their way, nor did the Hashira realize how much of a strong warrior she truly was. She would show them all and in time they would realize how wrong they were and she was patient. She could wait but first she had a job to do.