#mommies at the school festival again- this time they ALL meet

[oceanwithouthermoon]

cant believe shuns mom, rikis mom, and kusuos mom are all besties but we didnt even get to see arens mom.. shes the odd one out!! give her justice!! she has to meet kurumi!!

[percontaion-points]

Covet chapters 92-95

Click to see the rest of the snark & image descriptions

Chapter 92

We don’t mean to go that far, but it’s so much fun walking around, checking out the booths, being normal people upon whom the fate of the world doesn’t rest, it’s impossible to resist. 

While it’s only been a few days since they left for this dragon festival, like what? A couple dozen chapters have passed. So yeah. I feel like this is the first time in a while that they’ve mentioned that they probably shouldn’t be messing around and should focus instead on stopping vampire!Hitler. 

And just like that, we start to move, fading through the air, down the access ramp, then up the stairs to my room, in that quiet, perfect space between one breath and the next.

Chapter 92 summary: After the parade, Flint leaves to go join the dragon royalty receiving line. The others go check out the shops, and they have a lot of fun. Most importantly (or least importantly, in my opinion), Grace allows herself to feel normal for two seconds without needing to worry about the end of the world or whatever. 

They get to the end of the street, about three miles from where they started, where there’s a DJ playing and people dancing. They get drinks after their hike up there, but eventually Macy wants to dance. Hudson goes onto the floor with her, which leaves Grace to contemplate that Hudson is a really great guy who loves deeply, but is forced to hide a lot of his feelings. 

Grace eventually goes out with Eden, and they all have a fun time twirling around. The song changes to what I’m assuming is slower, and Grace ends up with Hudson. The two of them make eyes at one another before they rush off to go find someplace private to presumably bang again. 

Chapter 93

“Nuri called her the Crone,” I say. “She said no one had seen her in a really long time but that she helped build the prison and might have some advice for us.” 

“And what, we’re just going to run off and trust some witch because Flint’s mom told us to?”

I’m sorry, exactly what plan do you have? Run home to mommy and hope your tears soften her heart into murdering her husband? 

“I think the more appropriate question is, how the hell can you possibly think it won’t?”

Chapter 93 summary: The next morning, they all basically split off and do their own thing. This results in Grace and Huson lounging around in bed, arguing over old authors. I don’t care. 

Anyway, they finally return to the school, where they meet up with Jaxon. He tells them in the briefest way possible about the meeting he had with his mother. And the only reason why we even got that much is simply because Hudson is there, and the message he has from mommy is for his brother. “Appear weak when you are strong.” Hudson thinks that the entire thing sounds like a joke, but Jaxon is positive that it’s both a message for Hudson but also a comment that Delilah herself is playing a role simply so that she herself doesn’t get killed. Again, Hudson doesn’t like any of this. 

They tell Jaxon about the crone Nuri told them about. Jaxon doesn’t like that. But as I said, it’s not like he’s got any better solutions here. 

Chapter 94

But we’ve been racing dawn across the horizon, which means Hudson and Luca are almost out of time.

Hey, it’s almost like they spent the past two and a half days faffing about with dragons for no good reason. 

Because to me, her sweetness seems more saccharin than sugar, and I’m really not enjoying the aftertaste.

Chapter 94 summary: All of the named characters fly out to the little island that Nuri told them about. They go on the backs of the dragons, which gives Grace a lot of time to think about things.

They find the house on the island, which is kind of a sprawling old manor-house. They spend a lot of time joking about witch cliches, like how they cook children in giant ovens and such. The witch shows up, and she’s less of a crone and more “Greek Goddess”, to use the book's own words.

She invites them in, but gets upset over Jaxon. Says that he has to stay outside. And then gives the others an ultimatum: either Jaxon stays outside, or you can all leave. Grace knows that they didn’t come all this way to give up, so she decides that she has to go in while leaving Jaxon outside. Eden and Mikel stay outside with Jaxon, while everybody else goes in. 

She offers them drinks, but Grace is like “oh hell no.”

Chapter 95

Even before she says, “It was into this chaos, this disorder, these extremes of love and hate, that you—that all gargoyles— were born.”

Chapter 95 summary: The crone says that she has a story in her mind that wouldn’t leave her alone. But now she knows that the story is for them to hear. Grace doesn’t want to piss the lady off further, and says that she’d love to hear the story. 

So the lady launches into a long-winded creation mythology of these twin goddesses who grew up to become the creators of humanity and the supernatural. The two of them were kind of at odds against one another after this point, but eventually both fell and were stripped of their powers after letting hubris take over. They can’t go back to the world of the gods until they’ve learned how to bring balance to their creations, but that fall happened centuries ago. 

The crone continues on and says that the goddess of humanity taught mankind how to hunt supernatural creatures. But it was in this extreme hate that gargoyles were created. 

[willowser]

i am thinking about ex boyfriend touya who is the father of your little girl 🥺 and he works in a tattoo shop and lets her come inside and chill with toga, who runs the front desk, and she always leaves with those little stick on tattoos on her cheeks 🥺 on her face like her dad 🥺

and whenever toga sees you come in, she gets her little coy smile and calls "daaabiiiii~" all sweet and innocent, like she's not going to sit there and reveal how much he still talks about you—even if he is dating someone else now. like she's not going to pick and pry about if you're seeing anyone these days, if you ever think about maybe rekindling the flames.

you think it's fine that he's seeing someone; you've met her twice, a beautiful dark-haired girl that's almost as tall as he is, that nearly matches all the tattoos he has, the piercings. they look like they go together, and you think that's what he likes. she's never been anything but nice, albeit shy, but you suppose you would be too in her position.

touya doesn't look up from his handiwork, when you stand in the doorway of his room. it's all covered, top to bottom, in his own artwork—handrawn and tattooed—or prints from artists he admires. pictures of he and your daughter, her school pictures, and even one of your maternity photos; your growing belly under his pale, decorated hand, the contrast stark and beautiful in plain black and white.

"hey," he says, and then he glances to the face of the man lying on his table. "you don't mind if my kid's mom comes in, do you?" when he's met with a wordless no, then he looks at you. bright, happy. "you look nice."

you're not wearing anything special, shorts and a strappy tank top—your half-hearted effort to beat the summer heat—but you smile anyway, sending him a quizzical look that he shrugs at. "thanks, i feel like i'm going to sweat to death."

touya returns to his piece, but grins. "super hot, like always."

"shut up," but you feel the warmth spread to your cheeks, even as you shake your head. he glances at you and you find reason to look elsewhere, away from that pointed aqua gaze of his. he must have just re-dyed his hair; it makes his eyes look that much more vibrant. "hey, i wanted to tell you about her little school festival next month, if you want to come."

"oh, okay, uh," touya sits up, rolling his chair across the room to the calendar hanging on the wall. "what day?" when you tell him, he pulls off one glove and fishes a sharpie out of his drawer, marking a big X on the date, blocking it out for anything else. "sick, thanks for tellin' me."

"yeah, of course," you murmur, looking down at your feet as you kick them mindlessly, ignoring the stare he gives you. "thanks for—" you wave a hand vaguely at the wall, what he'd done, and he smiles at you again. softer, this time, more genuine.

touya had a hard time, in the beginning. it's what separated you in the first place, having to accept your pregnancy, choosing to step up to be a father and leaving his partying days behind. there was a lot of fear—that you thought was justified, but painful to you nonetheless—and he didn't start working through that, didn't meet her, until she was almost two.

it's something that haunts him even now, even though she doesn't remember a day without him. on the few occasions that he brings her all the way to your apartment to drop her off, he's admitted as much in the quiet of your kitchen. sitting at the table, sharing a beer and speaking too-friendly, in ways you shouldn't anymore. he still looks at you like that, the same way he does when he bears his heart to you in the dark.

i can be better now, y'know? i'd kill myself before leaving again, baby, please.

you hear the little patter of her feet as your daughter turns down the hallway and then she's sprinting for you, jumping just as you turn to catch her.

"mommy!" she squeals, and you hug her tight and you squeal, too, even if it's only been two weeks. her hair screams touya, in both color and style: bleach white and pulled back in a messy french-braid; he's always been better than average with her hair, had plenty of practice on his sister.

you swing her around a little as she tightens her legs around your hips, and from the corner of your eye, you can feel him watching you, unmoving. you don't want to see the look on his face. you don't want to see it because it's changed and you know it; it's morphed into something dark, the same melancholic look he always gives you, when it's time to go.

from the front, toga calls, "dabi, your girlfriend is here!" and touya turns, clearing his throat as he starts back on his piece.

"'m almost done, gimme like thirty minutes!" he shouts, but he looks up at you again, as if to check for something, anything. if there's been any change.

there hasn't, and you can't stomach the look on his face when he realizes that, either.

[cartoonfuel]

Chapter 3: Stupid New Girl

Mind Games (My Hero Academia)

Chapter 3: Stupid New Girl

See Chapter 1 for trigger warnings, rating, etc.

Chapter 4: I Like Her

~~~~~

UA was much smaller than you thought it was going to be. You’d figured it was going to be some glorified campus that appeared larger than most college campuses, being that it was the most prestigious hero academy in Japan.

You followed behind Nezu, beginning to hear more and more thoughts from strangers as you approached the building.

Why can’t I do math? It’s so simple!

I’m going to have a panic attack, these tests are the worst.

What the...? Seriously? This is the easiest exam I’ve ever taken.

This test is making me miss our midterm.

Yep, thoughts were flooding into your mind through the walls now.

“How are you doing?” Nezu asked, glancing over his shoulder at you. Hundreds of comments and thoughts were now flooding into your mind and being processed.

“I feel...very, um, distracted,” you stuttered, trying to get the words out.

“Don’t worry, we’re almost to the nurse’s office!”

Inside the school’s infirmary were two unconscious students and the school’s nurse. You felt a tug at your pant leg and looked down to see Nezu beaming at you once again. “Hawks informed me that your quirk doesn’t work on anyone who is unconscious. Is this true? He wasn’t certain, but he suspected it.”

“Yes, that’s true.” You worked hard to suppress the nearby nurse’s thoughts.

“Excellent! Then I hope you don’t mind the students we have resting in here?”

“No, not at all. I recognize one of them, actually. The Sludge Villain boy we spoke about earlier.”

“Yes, that’s Katsuki Bakugou. He’s gotten himself into a lot of trouble, lately. The other boy is Neito Monoma of Class 1-B. The two of them went a little too hard during one of their occasional combined trainings and ended up here.”

“I see.”

“Now we are not offering you a place in our school as a student, but your quirk is one we are greatly curious about. We hope that you are willing to meet some of the students and staff here, though we plan not to overwhelm you. You will get one, possibly two visitors, at a time. Do you have any questions?” You shook your head. “Wonderful! We will provide you with a school uniform momentarily. Again, you are not a student, but I’m sure it would be nice to get you out of those dirty street clothes and into something nicer.”

“I’ll wear whatever as long as I don’t have to put on another hospital gown.”

“Good deal!” Nezu exclaimed happily. “I have much business to attend to, so I’ll have our school nurse over there, Recovery Girl, get that uniform for you and make sure you’re comfortable. If you need anything at all, don’t hesitate to ask!”

“I do have a question, actually,” you chimed in just before he left. He came to a halt and spun around to face you. “What staff and students will be interviewing me about my quirk?”

“While I wouldn’t call your future interactions with the staff and students at UA ‘interviews,’ I will be sure to let you know who you’ll be meeting the moment I find out. We will be holding a staff meeting late this afternoon to discuss many issues and topics involving UA. I’ll be sure to bring your name up. Is there anyone in particular you would like to meet?”

“I’ve heard a lot about Izuku Midoriya,” you suggested. Nezu’s ears perked up in response to your words. He was clearly thinking hard about your suggestion, and it was rare moments like these where you wished you could read his mind. “I admire how he encouraged Shouto Todoroki to use his fire during the Sports Festival.”

“Ah, I get it! Yes, I know several people who can help you understand and properly utilize your quirk. I’ll be sure to talk to Mr. Aizawa about his students and their take on the situation. Maybe there’s even extra credit assignment potential involving your arrival to UA.”

You felt beyond special in this moment. After all, for the most part, you had detested your quirk since the moment it manifested.

~

I love you so much. If only—

“Awe, Mommy!” you had screamed, running up to hug her leg. “I love you, too!”

Your mom was all smiles until she realized that she hadn’t said she loved you, she’d only thought it. On top of that, she had been in the middle of doing dishes and, quite frankly, daydreaming about your father. You hadn’t been on her mind at all. “Oh, honey, I, um, that’s very sweet!” she said as she wrapped you up in her arms.

What the hell?

“Mom, that’s a naughty word!”

Your mom’s eyes widened. “Okay, this is happening. Sweetie, I think you may have developed a quirk...”

“You think? This is so exciting, Mommy!”

Even at six years of age, you knew neither of your parents had quirks. How you’d gotten a quirk was a mystery to you at the time, but not to your mother. Most quirks at this point in time were genetic, but they did happen to mutate randomly as well.

Later that evening, after your father had gotten home from work and you’d gone to bed, you awoke from a nightmare. Heart racing, you hopped out of bed and made your way down the hall to your parents’ bedroom. This was a fairly regular occurrence for you when it came to nightmares. Before you’d knocked on the door to go in, you began hearing your parents’ voices in your mind.

I can’t believe this.

I can’t believe this.

I’m not the father?

I’m sorry.

I’m not the father...

I’m so sorry.

How dare she.

I made a mistake.

She kept this a secret the whole time?!

I’m scared.

She deserves this!

I deserve this.

Damn woman!

Cheater!

I deserve this.

Damn her to hell!

I deserve this.

Damn that child, too!

I’m so sorry, Aya.

I’m so angry. So angry. I need to leave before I—screw it.

A lot of the words didn’t make any sense to you at all. Suddenly, you heard a loud thump on the other side of the door which sent you flying backwards and onto the floor.

The door swung open, your quirkless father staring down at you.

His thoughts mortified you.

“Guess what, Aya?” he said, a strange look in his eyes that you couldn’t identify. You nervously gulped, barely able to focus on his actual words. “For six years, I thought you were my little girl, but...you’re not my daughter at all!”

I wonder what her daddy’s quirk actually is?

Must have something to do with reading minds.

Or maybe her mom lied to me about that, too!

Can you understand me, Aya?

You were frozen.

Aya! Can you hear this? Answer me.

Hesitantly, you nodded. Where was your mom?

Damn her.

Your father grabbed you by the collar and lifted you off the ground.

Damn her!

Tears were streaming down his face.

Damn it!

After a couple more seconds, he appeared to calm down. He set you back on the ground and stumbled down the hallway without another word. Where were heroes when you really needed them?

You looked inside your parents’ room and found your mom lying face-down on the floor, her cellphone in hand. You poked your head back out into the hallway after hearing the front door open.

“I didn’t do anything wrong!” you heard your dad screaming. “It was her! It was her, get off me!”

All in the same day, you acquired a quirk, your mother was sent to the hospital, and your father was taken into custody. The thoughts you heard throughout the following week echoed within your mind for months.

We need to keep her and her quirk away from villains.

Her mother isn’t responding.

Her quirk has potential.

Her mother is unstable.

The girl’s quirk will traumatize most children her age if she goes around reading minds.

Her mother has experienced serious head trauma.

It would be easy to use her...

What are we supposed to do with her?

Easy to manipulate her...

~

After putting your new uniform on, you began hearing the thoughts of Neito Monoma.

Arrogant...Class A...garbage...must...destroy...

He must have been waking up. Weird guy.

Hm. How odd...I’m definitely sensing a pair of eyes on me.

Monoma shot straight up in bed and turned to look at you.

“Who are you?” he asked, tilting his head to the side. Before you could answer, the Sludge Boy rudely interrupted.

“Keep it down, dammit,” Bakugou snapped, rolling over onto his side.

Stupid new girl.

“I’m not stupid, Sludge Boy,” you growled, causing him to leap out of bed and glare at you.

“What was that, new girl?!” he shouted, cracking his knuckles.

Judging by the boy’s thoughts, Monoma was already considering punching the daylights out of Bakugou.

He was also trying to figure out your bra size.

“And stop staring at my chest, Monoma!” you screeched, throwing the nearest object at him—a clipboard.

Recovery Girl finally played a part in the commotion, raising her voice and silencing the boys. “That’s enough, all of you!” she hissed. They listened instantly, Monoma climbing back onto his bed and Bakugou stomping over towards a chair to sit in.

“So when can I go back to class?” Bakugou asked Recovery Girl, practically shouting.

“Whenever you feel up to it, young man,” the lady replied, returning to her computer.

“Well I feel fine, so then I’m out. Thanks for your help.” After sitting in his chair for not even ten seconds, Bakugou got back up and made his way towards the door. “Oh, and new girl?” You turned your attention towards him, working diligently to ignore Monoma’s disconcerted thoughts. “Call me Sludge Boy again and I’ll kill you.”

Dumb bitch.

You went into hysterics, not even trying to suppress your laughter. “That’s an empty threat, Sludge Boy,” you snickered. “You want to call me ‘dumb bitch’ to my face?”

Bakugou visibly stiffened, just before grunting and leaving the infirmary without another word. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. He marched out of the room muttering the word “die” over and over.

“Whoa, you’re awesome!” Monoma exclaimed, walking up to greet you. “You can read minds!”

“Long story short, yes, I read minds. And yours is all over the place.”

“Oh, is it? I’m not so sure I know what you mean.” He scratched the back of his neck. “Well, I, too, need to return to class. Can I get your name?”

You nodded. “I’m Aya.”

“That’s a lovely name!” He reached out to shake your hand. You were about to take it, but his next thought caused you to freeze.

I wonder what her quirk feels like...

You raised an eyebrow. “What’s your quirk?”

“Oh,” Monoma said nervously. “It’s called Copy. It allows me to duplicate and use another person’s quirk after coming into physical contact with them.”

Damn. So much for that.

“You won’t want to copy mine,” you told him, grabbing his hand and shaking it. “My quirk’s unsettling, to say the least.”

“Ah. Well, I’m going to go back to class now. If you ever wish to see me again, I’m down the hall in class 1-B, the best class at UA!” You expected him to be lying, but according to his thoughts, he wholeheartedly believed that. “Goodbye for now, Aya! Oh, and I almost forgot. Call me Neito.”

With that, he exited the nurse’s office and left you alone with Recovery Girl.

A few painstaking hours passed by, though you had to admit you were thankful for the quietness of it all. Eventually, Recovery Girl went home for the night and Nezu returned with two extra visitors.

“I, the precious UA High principal, have returned!” the creature announced as he came into the room. “And I have brought you some friends!”

The first “friend” Nezu was referring to was a tall, muscular boy with blonde hair. His mere presence made you feel like you were wrapped in a warm blanket. The other person with them was a small girl who appeared to be younger than nine or so. Their levels of friendliness were almost polar opposite, with the little girl hiding behind the boy.

“Hi there!” the blonde exclaimed. “I’m Mirio Togata! And her down there? That’s Eri. We’re pleased to meet you!” After looking them up and down multiple times, the corners of your mouth slowly lifted...

...and you smiled.

~~~~~

Chapter 4: I Like Her

[fybillielourd]

I grew up with three parents: a mom, a dad and Princess Leia. I guess Princess Leia was kind of like my stepmom–technically family, but deep down I didn’t really like her. She literally and metaphorically lived on a planet I had never been to. When Leia was around, there wasn’t as much room for my mom–for Carrie. As a child, I couldn’t understand why people loved Leia as much as they did. I didn’t want to watch her movie, I didn’t want to dress up like her, I didn’t even want to talk about her. I just wanted my mom–the one who lived on Earth, not Tatooine. I didn’t watch Star Wars until I was about 6 years old. (And I technically didn’t finish it until I was 9 or 10. I’m sorry! Don’t judge me!) My mom used to love to tell people that every time she tried to put it on, I would cover my ears and yell, “It’s too loud, Mommy! Turn it off!”–or fearfully question, “Is that lady in the TV you?” It wasn’t until middle school that I finally decided to watch it of my own accord–not because I suddenly developed a keen interest in ’70s sci-fi, but because boys started coming up to me and saying they fantasized about my mom. My mom? The lady who wore glitter makeup like it was lotion and didn’t wear a bra to support her much-support-needed DD/F’s? They couldn’t be talking about her! I had to investigate who this person was they were talking about. So I went home and watched the movie I had forever considered too loud and finally figured out what all the fuss was about the lady in the TV. I’d wanted to hate it so I could tell her how lame she was. Like any kid, I didn’t want my mom to be “hot” or “cool”–she was my mom. I was supposed to be the “cool,” “hot” one–not her! But staring at the screen that day, I realized no one is, or ever will be, as hot or as cool as Princess F-cking Leia. (Excuse my language. She’s just that cool!) Later that year, I went to Comic-Con with my mom. It was the first time I realized how widespread and deep people’s love for Leia was, even after so many years. It was surreal: people of all ages from all over the world were dressed up like my mom, the lady who sang me to sleep at night and held me when I was scared. Watching the amount of joy it brought to people when she hugged them or threw glitter in their faces was incredible to witness. People waited in line for hours just to meet her. People had tattoos of her. People named their children after her. People had stories of how Leia saved their lives. It was a side of my mom I had never seen before. And it was magical. I realized then that Leia is more than just a character. She’s a feeling. She is strength. She is grace. She is wit. She is femininity at its finest. She knows what she wants, and she gets it. She doesn’t need anyone to defend her, because she defends herself. And no one could have played her like my mother. Princess Leia is Carrie Fisher. Carrie Fisher is Princess Leia. The two go hand in hand. When I graduated from college, like most folks, I was trying to figure out what the hell to do with my life. I went to school planning to throw music festivals, but always had this little sliver of me that wanted to do what my parents pushed me so hard not to do–act. I was embarrassed to admit I was even slightly interested. So when my mom called me and told me they wanted me to come in to audition for Star Wars, I pretended it wasn’t a big deal–I even laughed at the concept–but inside I couldn’t think of anything that would make me happier. A couple weeks later I went in for my audition. I probably had never been more nervous in my life. I was terrified and most likely made a fool of myself, but I kind of had a great time doing it. I assumed they would never call me, but after that audition, I realized I wanted to give the whole acting thing a shot. I was definitely afraid, but as a wise woman once said, “Stay afraid, but do it anyway … The confidence will follow.” About a month later, they somehow ended up calling. And there I was, on my way to be in motherf-cking Star Wars. Whoa. Growing up, my parents treated film sets like a house full of people with the flu: they kept me away from them at all costs. So on that fateful first day driving up to Pinewood, I was like a doe-eyed child. I couldn’t tell my mom, but little sassy, sarcastic, postcollege me felt like a giddy, grateful middle schooler showing up to a fancy new school. On that first day, my mom and I sat next to each other in the hair and makeup trailer. (Actually, she wasn’t really one for sitting, so she paced up and down and around me, occasionally reapplying her already overapplied glitter makeup and feeding Gary, her French bulldog.) Between glitterings, the hairstylist crafted what was to become General Leia’s hairstyle, then it was on to me: little Lieutenant Connix. Funnily enough, my mom had more to say about my hairstyle than her own. Even though she complained for years about how the iconic Leia buns “further widened my already wide face,” she desperately wanted me to carry on the face-widening family tradition! Some people carry on their family name, some people carry on holiday traditions–I was going to carry on the family hairstyle. So after we tested a few other space-appropriate hairstyles, we decided to embrace the weird galactic nepotism of it all and went with the mini–Leia buns. She stood in the mirror behind me and smiled like we had gotten matching tattoos. Our secret-handshake hairstyle. On the first day of this thing I could now call “work,” I walked into the Resistance Base set for rehearsal and J.J. Abrams, the director, told me where to stand and what to do–basically just press some pretty real-looking fake buttons. But I have to say, just pressing those buttons and observing the rest of the scene was one of the most fun things I had ever done. I had no lines in the scene, but my mom kept checking on me like I was delivering a Shakespearean monologue. “Are you O.K.?” she asked. “Do you need anything?” I scoffed at her maternal questions like a child embarrassed by her mother yelling goodbye too loud in a carpool line: “Mommy, go away! I’m fine. Focus on you, not me!” In the moment, I was humiliated that my mom was moming me on my first day of work, on the Star Wars set, of all places. But now I realize she was just being protective. Sets are extremely intimidating–I was too green at the time to know that–and she assumed I would be scared as hell. But weirdly, I wasn’t. At risk of sounding insane, something about this bizarre new world made me feel right at home. I had found a place with an empty puzzle slot that perfectly matched my weird-shaped puzzle piece. That night, on the long London-traffic-filled ride back from set, she turned to me and smiled. “Bits,” she said. “You know, most people aren’t as comfortable on sets as you were today. Especially on the f-cking Star Wars set, of all places!” (Excuse my language, but that was her language.) “This might be something you should think about doing.” At first I laughed, assuming she was kidding. But she continued to look me straight in the eye with no inkling of irony in sight. My mom was telling me I should act–my mom? The lady who spent my entire life convincing me acting was the last thing I should do? It couldn’t be true. But it was. I haven’t had many moments like this in my life–those aha moments everyone talks about. This was my first real one. My mom wanted me to be an actress. That was when I realized I had to give it a shot. She used to sarcastically quip that she knew all along what a massive hit Star Wars would be. As with most things, she was kidding. She was absolutely and totally beyond shocked by the massive global phenomenon that was the first Star Wars trilogy. It changed her life forever. Then, when it happened again almost 40 years later, she was even more absolutely and totally beyond shocked. It changed her life yet again. But that time, it changed my life too. I thought getting to make one Star Wars movie with her was a once-in-a-lifetime thing; then they asked me to come do the next movie and I got to do my once-in-a-lifetime twice. On our second movie together, I really tried to take a step back and appreciate what I was doing. I couldn’t tell her because she’d think I was lame, but getting to watch her be Leia this time made me feel like the proud mom. Watching the original Star Wars movies as a kid in my mom’s bed, I never imagined the lady in the TV would get older and get back in the TV. And I definitely never imagined we would end up in the TV together. But that’s where we ended up. Two little ladies in the TV together–Leia and little Lieutenant Connix. We wrapped The Last Jedi a little less than six months before she died. I went back to L.A. to film the show I was on, and she stayed in London to film the show she was on. One of the last times we spoke on the phone, she talked about how excited she was that the next movie in the trilogy was going to be Leia’s movie. Her movie. She used to say that in the original movies, she got to be “the only girl in an all-boys fantasy.” But with each new Star Wars movie, the all-boys fantasy started to become a boys-and-girls fantasy. She was no longer a part of a fantasy, but the fantasy herself. Leia was not just a sidekick one of the male leads had on his arm, or a damsel in distress. She was the hero herself. The princess became the general. My mom died on Dec. 27, 2016. Two days after Christmas, four days before New Year’s and about a year before she was supposed to appear in her final Star Wars film. Losing my mom is the hardest thing I’ve ever been through. I lost my best friend. My little lady in the TV. My Momby. And I inherited this weird, intimidating thing called her legacy. Suddenly I was in charge of what would come of her books, her movies and a bunch of other overwhelming things. I was now the keeper of Leia. About a year later, J.J. called me into his office to talk about the plans for Leia. We both agreed she was too important to be written off in the classic Star Wars introductory scroll. This last movie was supposed to be Leia’s movie, and we wanted it to remain that, as much as possible. What I hadn’t known–and what J.J. told me that day –was that there was footage of my mom that they had collected over the years that hadn’t made it into the movies, footage that J.J. told me would be enough to write an entire movie around. It was like she had left us a gift that would allow Leia’s story to be completed. I was speechless. (Anyone who knows me knows that doesn’t happen very often.) J.J. asked me if I would want to come back as Lieutenant Connix. I knew it would be one of the most painful, difficult things I would ever do, but I said yes for her–for my mom. For Leia. For everyone Leia means so much to. For everyone Leia gives strength to. For my future kids, so someday they’ll have one more movie to watch that Mommy and Grandma were in together. So they can ask me about the lady–now ladies–in the TV and tell me to turn it down because it’s too loud. I grew up with three parents: a mom, a dad and Princess Leia. Initially, Princess Leia was kind of like my stepmom. Now she’s my guardian angel. And I’m her keeper.

[marktuansvevo]

got7: valentines day dates!

warning(s); a little bit of suggestive content in youngjae and bam’s parts, cursing

happy valentines, babes!! ♡

mark;

mark showers you with fancy gifts, no matter how hard you protest. “you don’t have to so much money on me,” you would say through the bathroom door as you slipped into the pretty baby pink floor length gown you had just unwrapped. “you know just spending time with you is the only thing i ever want.”

mark hummed at the sentiment, not looking up from his phone. “i would have whisked you away to taiwan if there wasn’t a goddamned pandemic.”

when you walked out of the bathroom, he instantly brightened, motioning for you to turn around so he could see how well the dress fit. “you always look so pretty,” he said, giggling. “can you wear that to dinner? i love how you look in it.”

now it was your turn to coo. “mark, valentine’s is cheesy. we don’t have to go out, i can order us takeout.”

“stop avoiding all the attention. why can’t i properly show the world how much i love you?” mark raised his eyebrow at you. “you deserve to be spoiled. period!”

“you can show the world how much you love me publicly,” you got on your tiptoes to kiss right below his ear, nipping a little. you smiled at the small giggle he let out. “but just know, i’m showing you how much i love you privately tonight.”

you expected him to blush, mark always got flustered when you talked to him about the bedroom. instead, he smirked at you, biting his lip. “good, because i bought you lingerie for tonight, too. you can be my pretty model.”

now you were the one blushing.

jaebeom;

different from mark, jaebeom keeps the valentines festivities private. he knows that you had a big presentation to pitch in front of the higher ups at your company, so he knew you were stressed. he wanted to relieve you of any and all stress and take care of you for the night. jaebeom made you your favorite meal, as well as a red velvet cake, and had bought three beautiful rose bouquets for you, each one representing one of the years you had spent together.

you walked through the front door, and even from the kitchen he could hear you sigh loudly. it must have been a long day.

“y/n?”

“hmmm?”

“happy valentines,” he whispered, pulling you into a hug and giving you a peck on the lips. “i love you.”

“i love you too. uhm, i don’t mean to be a downer baby, but i don’t feel like going out tonight,” you sighed, resting your head on his chest.

“rough day?” he frowned when you nodded. valentines was always one of your favorite days, so seeing you so down made his heart hurt. “well, good thing i made us dinner so we don’t have to go out.”

you picked your head off his shoulder, looking up at him. “you did?”

“yes, baby, don’t look so surprised,” he laughed, taking your hand and leading you to the kitchen to see pasta and cake on the stove and the three bouquets on the dining room table. “we may have to sit at the island tonight, there’s a garden at the table.”

the two of you sat as the island of the kitchen, him listening intently as you told him about your day from hell. he could tell by your voice that you were exhausted, so once you finished with dessert, he took your plates and put them in the sink.

“cmon babe, you deserve to relax. let me run you a bath and i’ll do the dishes tonight.”

“why don’t you join me instead?” you asked sweetly. “just wanna be close to you.”

he winked at you. “anything for my valentine.”

jackson;

you were under strict instructions from your husband to meet him at a fancy restaurant with your two beautiful daughters in tow, since he had to work all morning and couldn’t make it to their schools valentines class parties. he felt so bad when his youngest, elizabeth, who was still in preschool started to cry when he told her he couldn’t come to her party. the oldest, natalie, who had just turned nine, put on a brave face, but you and jackson could tell she was crushed.

“cmon, girls, daddy doesn’t like when we’re late,” you urged, smiling softly as you watched natalie help beth change into her jumper.

“does daddy have gifts for us?” natalie asked, her eyes wide.

“mm, yes honey, and i have one for you too,” you smiled knowingly as your girls began to scream in excitement, almost knocking you down as they exited their shared room.

you made it to the restaurant, where you let out a breath of relief.  the girls wouldn’t stop pestering you about what your present for them was. you thought you might drop the ball and spill your little secret, but you kept your mouth shut, singing along to one of your husband’s songs that was on the radio, and the girls followed suit.

you walked them into the restaurant, where jackson was sitting alone with balloons and three gift bags – one for each of his girls.

“daddy!” your girls screamed in unison, running through the restaurant to get to their daddy. you watched the looks on the couples face as you passed by – some looked at the girls with joy in their eyes, while others just rolled their eyes, probably just wanting a quiet, romantic night out. you just smiled, nothing could bring your spirit down.

“ah, my girls! i missed you so much!” he said, scooping them both into his arms. “how were your parties, sweeties?”

you sat across from your husband who was taking in the stories of his daughters days, replying with the same amount of enthusiasm that they did. after the girls were done talking, natalie crossed her arms.

“daddy, are you trying to distract beth and i from these gifts?”

you giggled as jackson crossed his arms over his chest. “isn’t valentines supposed to be about love? i just want to hear how my girls are. i love you all very much, you know.”

your heart somersaulted. you fell more and more in love with him day after day.

the girls opened their gifts – a stuffed clifford the big red dog for beth (he was her favorite right now), and a lego set for natalie. they both thanked him endlessly. “daddy, will you help me put this together?” natalie asked, almost shyly.

“of course, baby girl.”

“mommy, what is your gift for us?”

jackson studied your face as you took the rectangular box that was tied up with a single black bow out of your pocket. there was a big, stupid grin on your face. “this is for all of you. i want you all to know i love you so much.”

“go ahead, girls, open it,” jackson urged, still studying your face. you winked at him.

“uh, mommy, what is this?”

jackson’s eyes were blown wide as he looked at the two positive pregnancy tests. “tell me you’re joking?” his eyes were misty now. the two of you had been trying for a third child for two years and had been failing. your daughters looked at the two of you, dissatisfied with your present.

“do you know what this means, girls?” jackson asked in a whisper, squeezing your hand from across the table. “you’re going to have a little brother or sister in a couple of months.”

“no way!!!” they cheered, hugging each other.

“this is the best valentines gift i have ever received, thank you baby,” jackson said. you sent him a wink.

“couldn’t have made it without you.”

jinyoung;

you were glowing as you looked over at jinyoung from across the table. he smiled as you just beamed at him, playing footsie under the table. it was 3am at the diner off campus, and nobody was around to see you two. you were happy, sucking on your milkshake. jinyoung just admired you before saying; “you have sex hair.”

“and who’s fault is that?”

the two of you had been the best of friends for as long as you could remember, and now, your senior year of college, the two of you had been best friends with benefits. you had been hooking up since the day you had called him sobbing about an exam, and he had consoled you by kissing you. it’s been history ever since then.

“when are you going to admit that we were made for each other,” jinyoung was nothing if not blunt. he smiled gently, reaching across the table and holding your hand. you shrinked in on yourself, blushing.

“i thought we agreed it’d be too much,” you said, stealing one of his fries off his plate, avoiding his gaze. “with senior thesis and projects…”

“i never agreed to that. you said that and i just went along with it because i didn’t want to lose what we have. i think it’s bullshit to say that us dating is too much. we see each other at least twice a week,” he paused before smirking. “you’re sitting here in my pajama pants with sex hair. on valentines day”

he had a point. the two of you always made time to see each other – studying at a local coffee shop on mondays and sometimes hooking up on the weekends (to relieve stress, of course).  you couldn’t deny the chemistry that the two of you had…and graduation was only a couple months away...would it really be so crazy to start dating right now?

“i know you adore me,” jinyoung smiled, saying it softly. “and i know that i adore you. so what’s the problem?”

you looked down. “i’m scared. i don’t want to lose you.”

jinyoung knew you had insecurities in relationships – the last guy you dated had moved away without even telling you and moved in with one of his girlfriends. he has helped you through that time of heartbreak in your life…and he didn’t want that to ever happen to you again. he wouldn’t stand for it.

“y/n, i would never hurt you.”

you squeezed his hand. “just give me some time, okay? you’re right, i do adore you.”

“i’ll give you whatever time you need.”

jinyoung picked up the tab and you drove back home in silence, your fingers interlaced with his. you looked over at him in the passenger side. “nyoungie, will you spend the night?”

he kissed your fingers. “of course, sweetheart.”

when you woke up the next morning, you’re alone. you immediately panic until you smell….eggs?

you walk into the kitchen to see jinyoung flipping eggs, and pretty flowers on the countertop. he smiles widely. “good morning, my valentine.”

cheesy bastard.

you wrap your arms around his back, breathing in his scent. “i don’t need anymore time.”

“hm?”

“i want to be yours, jinyoung.”

jinyoung turns around in your arms before kissing you. “i have always been yours.”

youngjae;

“youngjae, are you there?” you giggled as you sat on your shared bed.

“im here baby,” he said. “jinyoung keeps bugging me to watch with us.”

“tell him no! it’s date night,” you frowned. “im gonna go get a bottle of wine.”

“okay, honey.”

you walk into the kitchen, admiring the flowers youngjae had ordered for you for the tenth time that day. you grabbed your favorite bottle of wine and scooped up the little sleepy ball of fluff before heading back into the bedroom. although you would have loved to have physically spent valentines with youngjae, you realized this was the best it was gonna get.

“get the wine?” your boyfriend asked before squealing at the screen. “coco!!! oh, i miss you both so much!!!”

“is that coco!!” you heard jinyoung squeal too. mark came into the frame and started cooing too.

“jinyoung, mark, date night!” you giggled, lifting coco into your lap, shaking the little paw to say “hi.”

“i miss you guys,” you tell the boys. “i really do, but can jae and i enjoy valentines together? we just want some alone time.”

“ahh, okay y/n, happy valentines,” jinyoung winked at you.

“you really should come out here with us, they never listen to me that well,” youngjae says. “you look so pretty. i wish i was there with you.”

you and youngjae had been in a long distance relationship for three years now, and it got easier, but there was just some days you longed for each other. you knew this was one of those days, you could tell by the longing in his eyes.

“jae. i miss you,” you pouted. “coco, say bye to your daddy, mommy has to show him something.”

youngjae knew you were up to something. “jae...how about we skip the movie? i bought something for you,” before you could hear him answer, you started stripping out of your pjs, showing off your brand new lingerie. it left absolutely nothing to the imagination and made you look so sexy. and it was red, too. you could hear youngjae gulp, his pupils blown wide.

“why must you torture me?”

“oh, i mean, we can watch a movie instead....,” you teased, pulling down a strap to reveal more cleavage to your awaiting boyfriend. “its up to you, ill slip into my pajamas and we can —.”

“don’t you even think about stopping,” he growled, shifting the computer down to show you him palming his bulge. you grinned.

your plan was unfolding marvelously.

bam;

you didn’t want to make a big deal about bam working on valentines day. you knew it was a cheesy and cliche holiday...but that didn’t stop you from feeling sad that you couldn’t spend the whole day in your mans’ arms. you pushed the feeling away, texting your boyfriend “happy vday! love u”

you busied yourself with school work to ignore the hurt you felt in your heart, but you couldn’t get your mind off bam. you scrolled through your camera roll to pick the pictures for your instagram post. before you could post a picture of you posing with bam on the beach, a call interrupted you.

“y/n, what are you doing right now??” jackson asks in a panicked voice.

“uh, working on a project...are you okay?”

“bam just fell, he’s in pain. he keeps asking for you, can you take him to the ER??”

“ill be there in ten.”

you sped all the way to the dance studio, bracing yourself for a broken ankle or a gash in his face. oh, god, you wanted your heart to stop racing.

“where’s my baby boy??” you asked jaebeom, who was smirking when you first saw him, but the smirk was completely wiped off his face when he saw your misty eyes. “jaebeom, is he okay? why couldn’t you have brought him to the ER! i could have met you there!”

“uh, y/n, come with me. and stop crying,” jaebeom led you into the studio where bam was sitting on the floor. the studio was surrounded with gifts all wrapped up in pink and red, heart shaped balloons, as well a buffet of your favorite foods. you looked at jaebeom in confusion, who just winked at you and closed the door behind him.

“happy valentines, baby,” there was a knowing smile on his face.

“you are such an ass. i almost had a heart attack driving over here,” you whined, pulling away from his hug.

“y/n!! i was just trying to surprise you,” your boyfriend said, picking one of your gifts up and handing it to you. “please let me spoil you all day. i knew you were upset with me for coming to work, let me give you the valentines i know you want.”

you smiled. “how can i argue with such a big softie?”

“shut up, i cant help that i love you,” he was pouting now. “now let me eat whipped cream off of your body.”

yugyeom;

“how do you expect to meet someone if you have an engagement ring on your finger when you’re a single woman?” your new friend, yugyeom asked you. “seems strange to me.”

“maybe i don’t want to date anybody, did you ever think of that?” you asked him. “besides, it wards off all the creeps. hey, there’s a diner at this exit, wanna stop?”

you pulled off the highway to the diner. it was valentine’s, so of course the place was crowded. yugyeom whined. “can’t we just get mcdonalds or something? we’ve been in the car for six hours and im hungry.”

prior to six hours ago, you didn’t know yugyeom. he was bam’s best friend, so you had heard of him in the past. yugyeom was visiting some art school in new york, while you were going home to see your family for your sister’s birthday. wanting to save both of his friends money, he suggested you drive yugyeom to new york. you didn’t know….it was a long drive from chicago, but yugyeom said he would give you half the gas money, so it would be worth it. new york wasn’t cheap.

“exactly, so we should eat a proper meal. we still have six and a half hours left.”

“fine,” he huffed.

the waitress sat you two down and gave you your menus before squealing. everyone in the diner turned their heads. “oh. my. GOD!!! did he propose to you today? that ring is absolutely stunning!!”

“oh, no I –“

“as a matter of fact, i proposed this morning. we’re on our way to new york to tell our families,” yugyeom beamed at her, kicking your foot under the table.

the waitress looked like she might faint. “that is so romantic. whenever you’re ready, dinner’s on the house.”

she scurried away, and many “congratulations” rang throughout the little establishment.

“aw, honey you’re blushing,” yugyeom winked at you. you rolled your eyes. you didn’t know if you were smitten with this guy or if you plainly disliked him.

“don’t point it out, dear,” you played along. “have you figured out what you want to order?”

the two of you ordered and pretended to be a couple the whole meal. you scoured at your friend when he stole some of your french fries off your plate. he just sent a wink in your direction. when you sipped some of your milkshake, he rested his hand in his cheek, staring at you. you giggled.

“yeom, what are you up to?”

“just admiring.”

okay, so you were smitten by him.

the two of you went back to the car, where a small smile was playing on his lips. “that was kind of fun.”

you blushed, sinking into the drivers seat. “i haven’t had that much fun in years.”

“maybe you should get back into dating. i think you would make anyone have a good time with you.” he said offhandedly. “that ring is going to prevent you from ever going on a date again.”

“dating is never that easy,” you tried to reason with him…you had been burned so many times in the past, why would you ever want to let yourself get hurt again.

“it was with us,” since your eyes were on the road, you couldn’t see him shrug. “i’m going to take a nap, happy valentines.”

you glanced over at his sleeping form, smiling to yourself. you managed to take the ring off your finger without crashing the car and set it in the center console. beside you, yugyeom opened his eyes.

“does this mean i can take you out once we get to new york?”

[spidernerdsblog]

🎄First Times🎄

A/N : This is an extra for my first ever series I Forgot That You Existed. Feedback and suggestions are always welcome.

Pairing :  Dad! Tom Holland x Reader

Summary : Your and Tom's first Christmas with your baby girl.

Warnings : fluff

There's something about first times. The first time riding a bicycle, first love, going on your first date, first kiss. There's an unknown excitement in it, a thrill, a feeling of adventure. Those first times will always be special. Just like your first Christmas with your baby girl. 

After 3 years of marriage you and Tom are proud parents of your one and only daughter Vienna. She was the apple of your eye after all she's your first born. The first time you got to know that you were pregnant was during one of your recording sessions when you suddenly felt nauseous and had to run to the bathroom to throw up. You knew this wasn't mere food poisoning from your past experience and to be honest you and Tom had been trying for a baby for quite some time after you finally decided that you are ready to embrace motherhood again. 

You were rather thrilled than scared this time while you took the test and seeing the two pink lines made your heart swell as a few tears of joy slipped your eyes. When Tom returned home you just ran into his arms to reveal the news that you were expecting and joy knew no bounds for him. He immediately lifted you up and spinned you around in the living room in excitement. 

The first time you went for your check up and saw your baby girl on the monitor Tom was literally sobbing. You were being very careful this time. During the last trimester Tom didn't want to leave your side at all. You had to literally throw him out of the house (pun intended) to go for his shoots. 

You couldn't believe how time flew so fast that the little human you both brought to this earth is almost a year old now. It felt like yesterday you brought her from the hospital wrapped in a blanket in your arms and now she crawls around the house as well as has learnt to stand on her little feet. You never get tired of listening to her continuous babbles with some broken words she has learnt eventually. 

And not to be surprised her first word was obviously ‘Dada’ ofcourse she was daddy's girl because the way Tom has spoiled her rotten since the day she was born you really are gonna have a hard time in future saying no to her and hearing that Tom went on a shopping spree that day, if he could he would have bought the whole toy shop you thought. 

Christmas was around the corner and everyone was in their festive mood. You were in the kitchen baking cookies when your husband came down the stairs hastily. 

"Honey where is my Christmas jumper?" he asks from across the living room. 

"Tom, what is your obsession with that old jumper? Now even the jumper also says let me go Thomas." You joke from the kitchen. Tom huffs rolling his eyes. 

"That jumper carries a lot of sentimental value for me. C'mon now tell me where is it?" he whines. 

"It's in the left bottom shelf of the cupboard." You yell from the kitchen. 

"I already looked there."

"Then look hard it's there only." Sometimes you really feel that you are actually looking after two babies.

Tom ran upstairs again to your bedroom where your 12 months old daughter was sleeping peacefully. He searched through the cupboard and finally found his jumper but the noise he made while doing it woke Vienna up. Tom turned to see his little princess sitting up on the bed with sleepy eyes. 

"Oh did I wake you up bubs? So sorry peanut. Daddy was looking for his jumper." He went and sat beside her on the bed. She instantly got up on his lap, her little hands clutching onto his t-shirt as support and standing up. Tom forgot about everything and began playing with her, her little giggles making his heart melt. After a while she started to get a little fussy and Tom knew that his baby girl was hungry. 

"I know baby it's time for you to have some brekkie, let's see what mommy is doing eh." 

"Look who’s up." Tom announces cheerfully walking down the stairs. You turned around and your face instantly lit up seeing your morning sunshine resting her head on her daddy's shoulder suckling her thumb. 

"Aww you are up my little pumpkin wait a moment mommy is almost done" Tom strolled around the house with her. He went and stood near the glass doors overlooking his snow covered lawn. 

"Look at that peanut, it's snowing isn't it beautiful." He cooed, rocking her gently in his arms making her giggle. Tom was about to slide the door open to the lawn to take her out. 

"Tom it's freezing outside, V isn't wearing enough warm clothes. She will catch a cold" You stopped him. 

"Your mommy is way too paranoid." Tom says rolling his eyes dramatically looking at your daughter.

"I can hear you." You say in a sing-song manner from the kitchen. Tom makes his way to you in the kitchen. 

"Here I can do the rest of the batch" he offers, taking the tray from your hand."My little princess needs to be fed first." He says and you take Vienna from his arms. Tom continued with preparing the rest of the batch of cookies as you fed your daughter. 

Later in the evening you were busy decorating the christmas tree with Tom when you noticed Vienna playing and tugging on to some wires. You panicked out of your motherly instinct.

"Baby no don't touch it, you'll get hurt." You came rushing, taking away the lights from her small hands. She stared at you with her doe eyes for a while before crawling away to get the other decorating stuff from the box.

"God, she's such an active baby, never sits in one place." You shake your head smiling. 

"Well she's my daughter." Tom says proudly.

"Okay Billy Elliot, now go and put Billy Elliot Jr in the crib or else she will not let us set up the tree." Tom did as you said as he placed Vienna in the crib when your attention went to the lights you were holding in your hands and you frowned.

"Tom, why did you bring the bigger lights?" 

"Why what's the problem with the big one?" He asks casually.

"Tom the big ones are for the lawn and the small ones are for the tree. It has always been like that." you state in disappointment.

"For a change let's put the big ones on the tree this year." He suggests.

"No way! it will look odd." you say annoyed. 

"Gosh you're such a control freak." he huffs. 

"No I'm not, it's just my tastes are better than yours." You retort. Soon you both began arguing and seeing the tension between her parents Vienna started crying. Both of you stopped arguing as your full attention turned to your one year old and you both felt guilty of arguing in front of her.

"Aww baby did we scare you? We are so sorry honey." You rushed to her picking her in your arms, rocking her gently pacifying her. She stopped crying after sometime. You sat down on the couch with Tom beside you.

"We shouldn’t have fought like that on such a petty issue I’m sorry I over reacted." You felt sorry.

"No it’s my fault that I messed up the lights, I’m sorry Y/N" Tom apologises

"Hey it’s ok we can put the big ones this year." Tom and you leaned in for a reconciliation kiss but was interrupted by your little munchkin’s hand as if she didn’t want you to kiss Tom.

"Someone seems to be a little possessive." You pout scrunching your nose.

"Well what can I say my little girl loves her dad more, isn’t it princess?" He boops her nose gently to which she giggles.

"Don’t flatter yourself mister." you snicker.

"Aww don’t get disheartened, love." you slap his chest playfully.

"Shut up and do the rest of the decoration I need to put her to sleep, it’s almost her nap time." 

"Okay mam." You took Vienna with you to the bedroom to put her to sleep while Tom carried on with the rest of the decorations. After finishing he went upstairs to call you for watching a movie together.

"Hey Y/N" Tom popped his head through the door.

"Shh!" You hush him immediately. "She just fell asleep". You whisper.

"Sorry." He mouths. I have set up everything. He whispers.

"Okay I’ll be down in a minute." You whisper back. You went down to the living room to find two cups of tea and snacks kept on the coffee table while Tom was lounging on the couch busy choosing a christmas movie to watch for tonight. You went and sat on the couch snuggling close to him resting your head on his broad chest, he smiled wrapping his arm around you. Even though you were totally enjoying parenthood, you also cherished these alone times with your husband. Just two of you cuddled close into each other’s warm embrace. The intimacy of the moment is so soothing and relaxing after a long day. You wondered what you did to get this perfect man as your husband with whom you brought an angel in your lives. You felt you have everything you could have asked for and you are grateful. Tom noticed you lost in deep thought.

"What’s going on in this little mind?" He taps on your head lightly.

"Just can't imagine she's already one. Soon she will go to school then college and a few years later she might bring a boy for the Christmas Dinner to meet with us and then get married and have her own children" you went on as Tom perked up.

"Woah woah slow down, love. You are going way too fast forward. And moreover she isn't dating until she turns 30." He says like a protective father, you let out an airy laugh.

"Look now who's been paranoid huh?" you raise a sly brow.

"Well you know there’s a lot of no good sons of bit.." 

"Uh uh language." You interrupt.

"Sons of butterflies out there." He corrected his dialogue as you both chuckle softly turning your attention back to the movie playing in front of you. 

........................................................

Taglist in bio.

[fromlovetohatredwelivetodie]

To the next guy who has her

Take such good care of her. She’s a rare one. A gem. A diamond in the rough. Her laugh alone, while others apparently made fun of her for it, will melt your heart if you truly love her. She uses emoticons from middle school like “:p, :O, >:(, :(“. She has a smile so bright, you know this girl couldn’t harm an ant. When she smiles, you can see how amazing her soul is through her eyes. and if she truly loves you, you’ll see it in the way she looks at you. I know because I knew the exact moment I was taking her home to my parents.

She can also be a brat. But she’s so sweet, kind, and caring that her bratty attitude is only charming. She’ll ask you for a lot of favors. She’ll start each favor with a “you could do this for me?” And look at you with all the love and awe in the world. She loves comics. She knows The marvel universe off the back of her hand. If you aren’t familiar with marvel, get familiar with it. She’ll love it. She wants someone to talk about it with her. She also has two of the most beautiful dogs in the world. The one dog, Daenerys, while absolutely gorgeous, is probably also the most annoying dog in the entire world. You can’t show this woman any physical affection without Dani going insane. Her barking is incessant, and it’ll drive you insane. But Dani loves her mommy more than anything in the world. She’ll cry when she’s not within 10 feet of her, and she’ll wait ever so patiently at the door for her to come home whenever she leaves. Her other dog Tyson is way more chill. He’s just a happy friendly dog who wants to be loved. He can get jealous though. If you start to show Dani slightly more attention for just a few seconds, he’ll charge through like an NFL running back and launch himself into you for pets. He poops more than Dani whenever you take them out too. So always have a bag ready for him. As for feeding them, make sure they each get half a bag of their food a day. Once in the morning and once more around 5:30-6:00 PM. Heat their food for 45 seconds and stir it up when it’s out the microwave.

This girl was a stud athlete too. While small, she packs a lot of strength and speed in that gorgeous little body of hers. She’ll call herself fat, say that she feels fat, and get down on herself sometimes. Reassure her that she’s the most beautiful girl to grace this earth. Squeeze her cheeks. She says she hates her cheeks. But she has the most perfect face in the entire world.

She calls Starbucks “starbs”. Her go to order are egg bites with sriracha and the sugar cookie almond milk frappucino. She loves massages (she’s got a really bad lower back and neck), flowers, forrero rocher chocolates, sleeping with her mouth open, music festivals, Disney, and most importantly, she LOVES love.

If you get her though, make sure you love yourself first before you start to love her. That was my mistake. I hated myself and took everything out on someone who truly loved me with all her heart. I will have to live with that for the rest of my life. Don‘t be a piece of shit like me. Because the worst part about losing her is not the fact that she’s gone, but it’s hearing the pain in her voice when she asks you “how can you do this to me?”. There is so much more I want to write, but by the time you meet her, she’ll probably be a new person. So the rest is for you to learn about her.

So again, to the guy that has her next, be ever so gentle with her heart. And make sure to give her all of yours. Cherish her, protect her, hype her up, and allow her to love you.

You‘re lucky as fuck.

[gemini-writes]

The One That Got away

Genre: angst

Character: Bokuto Koutarou

Reader: female

Request: none

Warnings: teen? pregnancy(19), absent father!bokuto, reader has past experience with absent father

Part: 1/??

Prompt: the day he left, just happened to be the same day you found out you were pregnant, unbeknownst to him. What happens when he shows up at your doorstep 5 years and some change later?

Word Count: 1,706

A/N: if you know me, you know I thrive on angst so here is a fic I’ve been thinking about lately!

Taglist: @ceo-of-daichi

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Waking up to an empty bed was not something new to you. The feeling of your queen sized bed, one side covered with pillows of all shapes and sizes to accommodate the lack of weight you once felt there.

You look over to the clock on your bed side table, reading the time: 08:37. Roughly three and a half hours until people start arriving for your son’s fifth birthday party.

Sitting up in your bed, you take a deep breathe to push yourself to make it through the day. You loved your son more than yourself but every now and then, you’ll wake up with a reminder of who his father is. Feeling a pain in your heart that only happens when you think of him.

Getting ready for the day in a nice sundress with your hair pulled back and away from your face, you woke up your son and continued to get him ready along with you. The volleyball themed things you bought sitting in the closet as your best friend since high school and roommate helps set up everything.

“Are you excited bud?” You ask your son with a smile.

“I am, Mommy! I can’t wait for my friends to get here!” He responded with a bigger smile than yours.

Your son, Kaori’s, friends came over one by one along with their parents. The sight of their happy marriages causing you to use your best masked smile.

Finally all of his friends were here as you began the party outside. The festivities you had spent hours planning and making were put to well use. Finally it was time for pizza.

As you went inside, you heard a hesitant knock on the door. Thinking that everyone had made their way here already, you hesitate as you walk towards the door and peek outside the window. Oh no.

Opening the door slowly you go wide eyed at the sight of white hair with black roots styled in a way that resembles a horned owl.

“(Y/N)! Looks like I found the right place!” His smile as wide as ever.

“B-Bokuto?” You felt your heart beat speed up at the sound of his voice, somewhat not believing it was him until he spoke.

“Yeah! It hasn’t been that long has it? You haven’t forgotten all about me have you?” His smile falls only slightly as he looks behind you and through the door.

“What are you doing here?” You close the door only slightly once you realise hes looking inside in hopes of coming in. “You shouldn’t be here.”

His smile fades all the way at your words. “(Y/N), can I come in? I’d really like to talk to you...”

You sighed and was about to speak before your son’s voice beat you to it. “Mommy! What’s taking so long? I’m hungry!” He walks up right behind you and tugs on the back of your dress as he looks outside with you and opens the door a bit wider.

“Mommy?” Bokuto’s eyes travel to the voice who spoke only moments ago and sees the small child standing behind you and looks back at you as an explanation.

“Bokuto I-“ you were cut off by Bokuto as he kneels down to your son’s height to let him know he’s not a threat and asks him a question that could determine how this all went down. “How old are you, little man?”

Kaori doesn’t miss a beat and holds up his hand promptly, his hand open to show the number five as he speaks. “I turned five today!” He smiles and looks to you for permission to step closer to the man.

You kneel and look to Kaori. “Why don’t you go get (aunt/uncle) (bf/n) to help with the pizza while I talk to this man. Can you do that for me?”

Kaori nods and runs off, grabbing your bestfriend since high school and getting their help to carry on the party.

You turn back to Bokuto and stands. He looks to you with concerned eyes. “He’s 5?”

You nod and hum. “Today’s his birthday. That’s why today isn’t a good day for you to come in.” You rest your hand on the door as a sign that you want to end this conversation quickly.

He pressed his hand softly on the door desperately. “Is he-“ he can’t even finish his question at the thought, but you know what he’s asking.

You look down at your feet and nod. “He’s yours...” guilt rushes over and as tears begin to well in your eyes.

You can hear his breath get caught in his throat, eyes beginning to tear up as well. He’s still looking to you with sad eyes for some kind of explanation. But you don’t give him what he wants.

“Look, you didn’t want me. That also meant you didn’t want him. I wasn’t going to tell you if you were going to pick volleyball over the both of us anyways.” You sigh shakily and keeps looking down, not trusting your tears if you looked at him.

“That’s not fair. I did want you. I wanted you so much. I just-“ you cut him off.

“No you didn’t. And you made that very clear when you left me to play Volleyball.”

“I didn’t leave you to play volleyball. I just couldn’t give you what you deserved! I wanted you to meet someone new. Someone who could take care of you!” He cries softly.

“That’s the problem! I didn’t want to find someone new! I didn’t want you to leave but you did! You left and I was all alone.” The crack in your voice mixed with the confession made Bokuto’s heart break more than what it already had. He walked closer and immediately pulled you into a hug, knowing all you needed was to be comforted. To know he was there.

You cry into his shoulder as you grip his shirt, half of you wanting to stay like this forever and the other wanting to push him away and slam the door in his face.

You chose to stay in his arms, missing the warmth and comfort he used to provide you. Head buried in his chest as your tears flowed softly, mumbling quietly.

“I missed you everyday. I missed feeling you, talking to you, connecting with you.”

He rubs your back and shushes you softly. “I know. I know and I’m sorry...”

At that, you pulled away and wiped your tears, sniffling softly before straightening out your dress.

“You should go.” You hug yourself, arms wrapped around your middle to comfort yourself.

“(Y/N)... please don’t do this. I would’ve stayed if you would’ve told me!”

“No. I didn’t tell you because I know you would’ve stayed. I know you would’ve given up everything you worked for. Given up the sole reason you left me. I wasn’t going to be the one to make you stay and give up what you’ve been working your whole life towards.” Another sniffle comes from you as you finally look at his face.

He spoke up again. “I’m sorry for leaving you all those years ago. I shouldn’t have. Especially because I never stopped loving you.”

“Why should I believe you? You left and I barely heard a word from you sense then. You moved on and left me in the past.” The bubble in your throat is an indicator that if you don’t stop talking, you’ll cry again. And that’s one thing you won’t allow. Not for him.

“Because every night I had trouble sleeping. Why? Because you weren’t there. Everyday I had to force myself out of bed. Why? Because you weren’t there to provide the smile that kept me going. (Y/N), you know I love you. You know I didn’t want to leave. No matter how much you hate me, you know that’s the truth.” He gives you a look as if to quietly ask if his suspicions were true. He really did love and miss you. His words were nothing but the truth.

“Bokuto...” you sniffle yet again. “I missed you everyday too. But you never called, you never texted. No matter how many times I called, it was always your voicemail. I wanted to tell you, trust me. But I knew the second I did, you’d be on the first plane back here.”

“And I would have happily stayed with you if I had known. Do you know how bad this hurts? To know that I’ve had a son for 5 years and haven’t met him? Didn’t even know he existed until today?” His lip quivers. “You know how much I wanted to build a family with you. But I knew I wouldn’t have been able to take care of you, him and volleyball. If I could go back in time and take it all back, never leave, I would. But I can’t and it’s the biggest mistake I’ve ever made.”

You now have tears falling down your face again. “I know you wanted a family but I assumed you didn’t want one with me. All of my plans that had you in them were thrown out the window when you left. Never expected you to come back. You have to understand that...”

“I do and I’m sorry that I left you like that. I just thought that you deserved better and to find someone who could give you their all. But I want you back. At least back in my life if not back in a relationship.” He looks to you hopefully.

“I don’t know, Bokuto. I’ve been without you for so long that I wouldn’t know where to start.” Wiping your eyes, you hum. “I can’t promise to let you back in my life, but I will let you meet him. Officially...”

He looks to you with wide eyes. “Really? You’d let me do that?”

“You can. But I can’t promise he’ll easily understand why you weren’t here.”

“We’ll figure it out. Please... I want to meet my son.” His voice finally went back to normal at the plea to get to know his own flesh and blood for the first time.

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[jjk-biased]

yoongi x reader

requested by @ughtear​ ( Hi! I was just able to see your post and I was wondering if I could request prompt 3+1 (three times he proposes and the one time you say yes) with Yoongi? The idea of it makes me so soft! Also, I’m new at requesting so I don’t know what format is 🥺)

genre: fluff

words: 1.8k of cute stuff!!

synopsis: 3+1 (Three times Yoongi proposes and the one time you say yes)

masterlist | events masterlist

Kindergarten was such a hassle for young Yoongi. Coloring within the lines and connecting the dots were too exhausting and all he wanted was for nap time to come. He should be at home sleeping with his blanket in hand. Hatred for school aside, Yoongi wasn’t very social. He was a shy boy who would rather listen to some tunes even if he didn’t understand the lyrics that well. 

Well, he couldn’t exactly hate school.

There was this girl who always approached him, someone he could say was his friend. During recess, when the noisy kids stumble their way towards the outside, he could be seen sluggishly lagging behind as he talks (well, listens) to this girl in messy pigtails and pink overalls share her entire life story. 

Y/N Y/L/N.

You were a very cheerful kid who, despite the very young age, could easily detect and adapt to people’s attitudes. Unlike the ever-bratty Sohee who cried because Yoongi wasn’t giving her the compliments she wanted about her new Sailor Moon bag from mommy or the annoying Taka who demanded he play heroes with Yoongi, you knew your limits.

Whatever that meant to two toddlers. 

Yoongi liked you the most. You were a fun person to be with. You would let him nap when he wanted to and you always gave him the dog stickers from the prizes you get for being a good kid. You would give him some of your snacks (except for the juice boxes, he knew you loved those so much) and would wait for him when recess starts.

So one day, little Yoongi asked his parents what it meant to like a friend so much and what he should do about it (well of course, he messily relayed his story because he would get off track and tell them about the dog he saw). His dad wanted to poke fun and tell him something he didn’t understand anyway.

“What’s marriage?”

“Well, Yoongi, it’s when you like your friend so much that you want to be friends with them for life!” His dad replied, earning a smack on the head from his mother because that was wrong on many levels. 

“I’m gonna marriage n/n!!” Little Yoongi cheered, or rather grinned but that was already the most he could express before going back to watching his favorite show. 

The next day, without his mother knowing, Yoongi’s father told him to give you flowers if he wanted to “marriage” you. Yoongi giggled as he pocketed the little rose that his dad handed over before skipping to school. 

He liked being friends with you so much that he wanted to “marriage” you. But he wasn’t expecting the news he’d received that day. 

You had to move to Seoul with your father after your parents separated, leaving little Yoongi in Daegu with a crumpled little rose. 

The next time he saw you was in high school. Obviously, you weren’t the messy pigtails and pink overalls n/n anymore but that was the latest memory of you that Yoongi could remember. To see you, nimbly looking at your fingers as the teacher introduced you to the class as the transferee -- it overwhelmed him. A good kind of overwhelming he supposed. 

But with Yoongi being Yoongi, he didn’t want to approach you first. For all he knew, you could’ve forgotten the little Yoongi who usually wore blue shirts and loved dogs. He wanted to approach you, he really does, but with his reputation as one of the quiet basketball players of Daegu High and the possibility of you being questioned by his so-called fans, he couldn’t.

To his surprise, you approached him the same way you did when you were little. With a “Is that you Yoon?” from you and a rare gummy smile from him, the two best friends were once again joined by the hip. 

“I can’t believe Min ‘I hate moving’ Yoongi is a basketball player,” You snorted, staying close to your only friend in your high school as he goes to the gym. 

“Well I can’t believe Y/L/N ‘I’m never taking my pigtails off’ Y/N isn’t wearing pigtails anymore,” Yoongi replied, chuckling a bit at your embarrassment. 

“Sh-Shut up!” 

Your friendship was easily built again, it was stronger even. You didn’t mind the occasional “You’re my love rival but Yoongi will be mine” declarations that you got once a week (surprisingly, more than half of the female population loved the quiet, basket-ball loving types. )

They should see Yoongi in a pet store, you snickered. 

“Hey! Why are you laughing at me?! You think you’re better than me!?” 

Ah right… You forgot… Sohee, you remembered her as the girl who seemed to like Yoongi in kindergarten, was also issuing a “love war” with you for your best friend’s heart. 

“Not really, darling. I just think you’re stupid… But you didn’t hear that from me,” You cackled just as Yoongi arrived to get your ass out of there. 

That morning aside, the school had finally opened their festival. Your class prepared a cafe-like service where everyone cosplayed (you had no say in it) and you were sadly and unwillingly put in a maid costume. Perhaps it was karma for calling Sohee stupid. Yoongi got lucky and was just put in a simple prince costume.

“I don’t think this is fair,” You sighed, tugging at your skirt so it could cover more skin. Yoongi grunted, somehow also unhappy that he had to dress up as some lame ass prince. 

“Stop whining, short-stack. At least your legs are covered. Now let’s go around to check the other booths,” You huffed, dragging a reluctant Yoongi around. 

Maybe you shouldn’t have done that. 

Class 3-A and 3-B somehow agreed to combine their booths. It would’ve been a harmonious unification had their booths been something other than the ones they had: A marriage and a jail booth. 

The little shits changed their rules and made it into something you thought was so funny. Some idiots from 3-B would “jail” and handcuff you to some poor victim that would also get caught and from there, you had two choices: pay 5,000 won to be set free or get married for only 500won. It was genius and you would’ve made a lot of moola because you’re also a little shit. But you were one of the victims. Fuck.

So here you were now, being dragged by Taka, another someone from your childhood, to 3-A’s marriage booth for your very unfortunate fate. 

“Why is she alone, you idiot? You gotta handcuff two people for it to work,” 3-A’s president chided upon noticing you were the only one handcuffed. Luckily, Yoongi trailed along (to laugh at you or use this as blackmail, you weren’t sure). He seemed so ticked off when Taka dragged you though. 

“Well,” Taka smirked as he raised his free arm, “it can always be me.”

Horrified at his very forward advances, you cringed and silently cried for Yoongi’s help. Before you could voice out your dislike, however, Yoongi had already pulled you from Taka’s hold. 

“Marry me, Y/N.”

Your face immediately turned into different shades of red. You were too speechless to even respond to him shoving Taka away and handcuffing himself to you. Some of the people who were in 3-A’s room gasped because even they couldn’t believe that this was happening. Yoongi was nervous, it was embarrassing after all, but it wasn’t obvious in any way. You were about to give him his answer but then...

“NO!!” 

Sohee crashed the wedding before it could even start and 3-A’s president let you guys go as an apology for the commotion. 

You couldn’t forget that day… especially when you almost answered yes. 

Perhaps it was inevitable. Your friends and their mothers seem to have already known what was ahead before you two got there. But eventually, you and Yoongi got together. You already knew he wanted to pursue a music career and were more than supportive when he decided to sign under a small company named BigHit.

While together, you two worked your best to pay your rent and debts. You two ran away from Daegu after none of your parents approved of your career choices, with him and his dream to be a producer and you and your dream of arts. It was hard having to leave your comfortable life in your little hometown but having Yoongi with you helped a lot.

A few years later, your boyfriend (now changed into the rapper and producer of the idol group BTS) found out that his company loosened its strict ban on dating and he was finally able to introduce you to his friends. (though they knew Yoongi had someone in his heart, they were never able to put a face to it)

Your favorite member (shh don’t tell anyone) had to be Hoseok. He can easily lift everyone’s spirits up and he displayed so much warmth when Yoongi introduced you to the guys.

There was a reason why Hoseok was so easy to hang out with. He was the first to know that Yoongi had someone in his life and would often come to him when he wanted to talk about you (there were times he was so excited about you that he wanted to tell everyone,,, thankfully he had hobi to talk to). So it was like Hoseok already knew you before he could meet you. Because of that, Hoseok was the middleman. The person who would be the voice of reason if you two fought. You also went to Hoseok about Yoongi, especially because you still weren’t allowed to tell the world that you were with Min “BTS’ Rapper and Producer” Yoongi. 

Hoseok was also the first one to know when Yoongi had plans of proposing. He was aware of your history and would always laugh whenever you’d describe a jealous high schooler Yoongi yanking you away from some random named Taka. 

It had to be one of the most painful things for Hoseok when he was told to keep quiet of the surprise. He was bubbling with excitement that day and was mirroring Yoongi’s eagerness to finally ask you the question you’ve been denied of answering since. 

After a simple dinner out, you both decided to walk in a quiet park (it was quite late so no one was around). Yoongi inhaled, unconsciously gripping your hand quite tightly, and looked for the velvet box with his other. 

You stopped at some point to gaze at the comforting contrast of the night with the city lights but you felt Yoongi halt in his tracks so you turned around. 

There he was, one knee on the ground as he grinned that gummy smile of his that you’ll never get tired seeing, with the question you’ve been wanting to answer for your whole life. 

“Will you marry me, Y/N?”

“Yes.”

It took Yoongi three times to propose to you, and he wouldn’t want it any other way. 

permanent taglist: @luvinseokjinnie @97faerie @amoreguk @bbyjoonies @borednia @tanumiki @taescake

[barbasbodaciousbeard]

Here We Are as in Olden Days

Summary: When Rafael Barba returned to New York, he’d spent three years putting in the work to come home to the only real relationship he’d ever known. When he learned there was a little girl sleeping upstairs, he immediately knew she was his. When Rebecca gave him the option to do Christmas with his little family, he couldn’t refuse, even if it was as Mr. Barba.

Pairings: Rafael Barba x OC

First Part - Second Part

A/N: Here’s a Christmas conclusion. I know who I am. There will probably be stand alones later. 

Have yourself a merry little Christmas. Let your heart be light. From now on, our troubles will be out of sight.

“Mommy, who’s this?” a little girl with a mass of dark curls and wide green eyes asked as he came into the living room. Who he could only assume were Al and Rodney watched him from the kitchen, and he shifted nervously as Catalina inspected him.

“This is mommy’s friend, Mr. Barba,” Rebecca smiled softly, a gentle hand on his arm. They’d talked for hours the night before, Rafael only slipping out the door as the sun rose on Christmas Eve. And he’d told her every thing. Not like he had before, no. This time, he told her how he felt as he left. The way his heart clenched every time he thought of her, but he knew he had to be the man she deserved. He even told her the insecurities and triggers and coping mechanisms he’d learned in therapy before detailing the Householder case and his subsequent trial. He thought he’d be coming home to just her though. Then, he cried, reverently looking at each photo in the compilations she handed him. Her name was Catalina, yes for his abuelita. They make the same faces when they’re angry, mouths set in a firm line as they looked to the ceiling. He saw the proof. 

Al didn’t think she should give him a chance so easily, but Rafael was grateful she’d given him the option to attend Christmas Eve as Mr. Barba instead of dad and escorting the pair to midnight mass. Mami was in Florida, or she’d have given him hell for the way he changed in and out of chinos and button downs and sweaters and blazers, desperate to make a good impression on everyone present. That blazer? Too snug now, he couldn’t play with Catalina if she asked. The sweater? Not festive enough to put together gifts from Santa when they got back from mass. Instead, he came in a dark red fair isles sweater Rebecca had gotten him when they were together, slacks and a button down still present. He was torn on a blazer, wearing it only because he’d gotten so used to being in a three piece suit when he was in New York. Adjusting to the casual attire he’d gotten so fond of in Iowa felt wrong when he was here. 

“Hi, Mr. Barba,” she said giving him a shy wave. “I’m Cat.”

“It’s nice to meet you Cat,” he smiled, kneeling. “Your mami is putting your present under the tree, but I got treats.” 

He pulled out a bag of soft chocolate covered salted caramels. When Rebecca told him they had the same taste in sweets, he’d hurried to the shop as he ran the last minute errands to ensure he could spoil her at least a little. There had also been flowers for Rebecca. He knew she cared, but what flowers meant I really love you, expect nothing in return, and am sorry for everything? The florist had happily taught him. Colors were first. What did he was to say? Apparently white meant unity and pureness of new love, but he was assured that if they paired white with pink that meant apology and poetic romance, they shouldn’t come on too strong. They stayed away from roses, feeling they were too romantic this early on, but went with lilies, humility and devotion, and tulips, new beginnings and peace. Was Rafael Barba certain anything the older woman told him was true? No. But he bought a card, writing her a letter of explanation and gratitude within. It was foreign for him. Rebecca loved handwritten letters and their sentimentality, but he hated the way his shaky hand always gave away his nerves so he didn’t write them. He did for her this time, though, and he signed it Always yours, Rafael in shaky, loopy letters at the bottom.

“Can I have one?” she whispered, delighting in the secrecy. He caught Rebecca’s eye, winking as he gave one to Catalina. Nervous he’d have chosen wrong and she could choke, he sat with his legs splayed in front of him to watch her. 

“Don’t tell mami. We don’t want to spoil your dinner.”

“Mama said not to take candy from strangers.”

“Then ask mami. That’s very smart of you, mija.”

“Mommy!” she called over her shoulder. “Can Mr. Barba give me candy?”

“He can, angel.”

“Mommy! What does mija mean?”

“Sweetheart. Mr. Barba learned Spanish at home. Like Jose’s family does.”

“Mommy said I can take candy from you,” she whispered. “I didn’t tell her we’re gonna eat it now.”

“Very sneaky,” he chuckled as she took it. As kids are prone to do, she sucked on the soft caramel, soon covered in sticky sugar and melted chocolate. He gave her one more before he tucked the bag away, and Rebecca was suddenly struck by how different he was being. She’d seen him near kids before, but when they got sticky and grimy, he’d keep away. They threatened the composed, clean version of himself he projected. Now he didn’t flinch as sticky hands fisted his blazer, certain to leave prints if he didn’t work on it now. Instead, he picked up Catalina and sat her on the counter in the kitchen. He didn’t think to help her wash her own hands, instead using a damp cloth to carefully wipe her hands and mouth. When she ran back to the living room as though nothing happened, he dabbed at the sugary stain, shrugging at Rebecca when it didn’t come out. 

“I like this stress free version of you,” she said softly, pressing a chaste kiss to his cheek. He hadn’t expected it, smiling

“I want to leave that part of me in the past. I worked hard to become what you deserve. I’m not sure I’m there yet.”

“You seem more relaxed. I’d say our troubles will be out of sight. It’s a fresh start, Rafael.”

“You mean that, Becs?”

“I do. I’m willing to forget it all. We’ll get you into her life.”

“If we don’t get together again, I understand. Or if I’m always Mr. Barba.”

“I know. But I want both of those things with time.”

Here we are as in olden days, happy golden days of yore. Faithful friends who are dear to us gather near to us once more

He smiled as Catalina bounded across the living room. The red of her Christmas dress matched his sweater and Rebecca’s shoes. The thick satin belt was in a bow, and he helped her bundle into her scarf, coat, and hat. It was nice to bundle her up; it made him feel like he was getting to do some of the raising already. Rebecca looked elegant, as always, in green plaid slacks, belted to nip in her waist with a cream sweater. He stared at her as Catalina stood by his side while he put on his own coat, scarf, and gloves. Her hand found his, and his eyes went wide as he looked up Rebecca. He grinned as the little girl took Rebecca’s hand in her other and pulled him towards the door. Rebecca could’ve cried as they walked to the church, feeling like things were going to be okay for the first time in a while. 

After a block, Catalina had feigned exhaustion until Rafael picked her up and settled her on his hip. It was the little girl’s favorite move. She preferred being carried to walking, but this was a sign she had already accepted Rafael as part of their family unit. It was usually only Rebecca, Al, Rodney, and the secretary at the school who gave her candies who were allowed to hold her, and she certainly never laid her head on the shoulder of the secretary. That meant he’d been even more accepted than just as the bringer of salted caramel. 

Rebecca helped Catalina out of the hat, coat, and scarf as she stood on the pew. As she did, Rafael stood beside her and laid each article over his arm. He took hers as well before un-bundling himself and sitting with Catalina in between them. Rebecca didn’t miss the protective arm he slung over the back of the pew as he listened to Catalina chatter happily about everyone around them. Both adults could both feel eyes on him, Catalina oblivious. This was their regular church before he left, and the little old ladies refused to understand he hadn’t known he was leaving her pregnant. Several of them also disagreed the day he was found not guilty. Now they could see him smiling down at the little girl they’d all grown so protective of. And she’d let him hold her? Each had tried and failed, Catalina wiggling from their arms to hide behind her mother’s legs.

“Everything okay?” he asked softly as Catalina drew in the notebook Rebecca had brought her.

“They’re all staring. We aren’t their business.”

“The abuelitas will gossip, Becs. We’ll get through that easy.”

“I just know they’re making assumptions about you.”

“Maybe. But you know what? You and Cat are happy, so they can say whatever they’d like. All I care about is you two. ”

“Mrs. Garcia is probably mad you got to hold her.”

“Is that not normal?”

“No. Welcome to the elite club. With you, we’re at five.”

“Really?” He had that genuine smile again, the one that crinkled his eyes. Before, he’d only ever let her see it in the privacy of their apartments or the backseat of cars. She was happy to see it here, sat beside their daughter at the midnight service she came to each year, their matching green eyes looking over at her.

“Yeah. We both are really glad you’re here, Mr. Barba.” 

“I’m glad to be here. Te extrañe, hermosa.”

“I missed you too,” she said softly, and he didn’t miss the tinge of melancholy in her voice as her hand smoothed Catalina’s hair. His hand slid off the pew to rest on her shoulder, giving a reassuring squeeze she knew meant I’m right here. She didn’t want to wallow in what he missed, so she chose to refocus. “You know what you get to do tonight?”

“What?” 

“We never did S-A-N-T-A before.”

“Yeah? I get to?”

“You get to help me build everything.” 

He squeezed her shoulder before the organ music began. As they prayed, stood, knelt, and sang, he felt like he was where he was supposed to be. Catalina leaned on Rebecca, who was used to telling Catalina to stand and straightening her dress. As she leaned on Rafael, he’d wrap an arm around her, watching her as he sang hymns he’d long ago memorized. He’d missed so much that he wanted to absorb every second of being around her, still fearing he’d ruin the life he was getting the opportunity to ease into. It felt domestic and homey and like something he could look forward to each day, but he was still trying to accept holidays and church services may be all he got, despite the fact every signal was telling him the opposite. 

“Mr. Barba, you sing pretty,” Catalina whispered, and he smiled softly, looking down at her as he sang to her now. Catalina wrapped around his arm, and he adjusted his hold on the hymnal to let her hang on him. Rebecca had seen him with children before, and he’d always continued to try and seem polished and mature. She liked this version of Rafael, wearing his suit with a festive sweater and mussed hair. He didn’t care as little hands grasped at the fabric. The polished ADA was gone, and he was so delightfully human, messy in a way he hadn’t been before. The steeled edges had been dulled, and seeing him fuss over Catalina highlighted that. She was sure they’d tell Catalina if this continued into the first months of the new year.

“He’s back?” Mrs. Garcia asked after mass, catching Rebecca on the sidewalk as Rafael chatted with someone he recognized. She was pretty sure it was a detective, and she could hear Carisi, you let me tell people on my own being said in his scariest voice, hushed so as not to disturb the sleeping girl. Rafael had been happy to let her rest against his front, a hand spread protectively over her back to keep her upright. She snapped the picture she’d been trying to take, thankful Al was willing to give him enough of a chance to have taken pictures of Rebecca, Rafael, and Catalina as they all cooked dinner together.

“Yeah, he is,” she said fondly, not missing the face the older woman made. 

“Let’s hope she doesn’t get sick.” This was one of the moments Rebecca knew hurt and motherhood had steeled her resolve. She fixed the older woman with a glare, shaking her head.

“He did what he felt was right, Mrs. Garcia. You didn’t even read what happened, just the headline. He’s a good man, and I’d appreciate you getting your nose out of our business.” 

Rafael lifted his brow as she came back to his side, heart soaring as her arm slid around his waist. Carisi had left, and he had a feeling his secret would be safe. Would anyone believe him anyway? They walked back to her apartment in contented silence, her arm keeping around him. Al and Rodney had gone home, so he’d get to sleep on the fold out couch and be there when Catalina woke. With Rebecca’s guidance, he got Catalina tucked in, a proud smile on his face as he took his clothes into the bathroom to change. He met her at the couch, sweatpants slung low on his hips and the Harvard sweatshirt his mother had gotten him when his disintegrated after twenty years. 

“So, mami,” he grinned. “What first?”

“We’re building a train table, but instead of trains, it’ll have her stackers and puzzles and art stuff under it in baskets.”

“Perfect.” He kissed her temple before stretching and standing. She led him to the back closet, tugging out the flat pack with the table and all of its parts. Together, they unpacked it, and Rebecca was pleasantly surprised as he worked on the table. Anytime there had been manual labor to be done, he’d hired someone. Now, she watched as he carefully used the supplied allen wrench to put the table together as she sorted Catalina’s old toys into their new homes. His hair had all fallen over his forehead, tongue poking out from between his teeth as he tightened each screw. When he’d finished, she slid the baskets beneath it, grinning.

“Looks good, papi.” He snorted at the term, once only used when her voice was thick with lust. Now she said it affectionately, tucking herself under his arm as they sat on the floor in front of the table he’d built their child. 

“A brilliant idea, mami. Gives her space.”

“And a way to make a mess on something other than my carpet.”

“Even smarter.”

She stretched up, pressing a sweet, gentle kiss to his lips. His heart fluttered like it had since day one.  

Through the years, we all will be together if the fates allow, so hang a shining star upon the highest bough. Have yourself a merry little Christmas now.

As sun filtered in through the window, Rafael woke up in Rebecca’s bed. He stretched, memories of needy kisses and whispers of I’m sure, Rafael flooding back to him as he smiled softly against her shoulder. Rebecca pressed against him as she woke, and he hummed softly. She twisted until she was facing him, smiling up at him gently as her eyes opened. It was like every morning before he’d ruined things, and he felt Christmas spirit like he had never felt before. Gently, he pressed a kiss to her forehead as he wrapped his arms around her and rolled onto his back, her above him. 

“Morning,” she yawned, head on his chest as she relaxed against him.

“Morning, hermosa. Feliz Navidad.”

“Merry Christmas.” 

“How long do we have until we aren’t alone?”

“Probably not long.”

“I’ll make breakfast? You hop in the shower?”

“You don’t know what I have to cook.”

“I looked last night. I’d have cooked you breakfast any way. French toast or pancakes?”

“French toast,” she grinned, kissing him again. “But we eat in bed? We can’t sneak Santa if she goes down the stairs.”

“You got it.” Rafael stretched as he stood, and Rebecca watched him move around the room to get dressed. The ease with which he moved assuaged any worries he would end up freaking out in the morning. The morning after he’d said I love you, he’d been all frenetic energy. The new calm, collected Rafael was still at ease as he ran a hand through his hair and made his way downstairs. Rebecca took a shower, stealing the sweater he’d worn the night before from the duffel bag he’d left in the bathroom and getting into a pair of leggings. When she walked into Catalina’s room, she was dressed and sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Did Santa find us?” she whispered with wide eyes.

“He did. Mr. Barba is bringing us breakfast in mama’s bed. Then we’ll go see what Santa brought and open presents.” Catalina nodded seriously, letting her mother carry her into the bigger bed and stretching out beside her. Rafael was there soon, three plates and two mugs of coffee on a tray he’d dug up from the recesses of her kitchen. 

“Señor Barba probablemente no debería besar a mamá todavía, eh?” he teased lightly after kissing the top of Catalina’s head.

“Not yet,” she said softly, and he gave her a reassuring smile as their daughter dug into her food happily. 

“Entiendo mi amor.” She squeezed his hand, sipping her coffee. 

“Say thank you,” Rebecca smiled. 

“Thank you, Mr. Barba,” the little girl grinned. 

“Thank you, Rafael,” she smiled.

“I’m glad to cook for you two,” he said breezily. “I imagine we have years of Christmas mornings to come.”

“Me too.” When the empty plates were stacked on the tray and Catalina was buzzed on sugar hanging on Rafael, they made their way downstairs. Catalina clung to Rafael and Rebecca’s hands, determined to walk down the stairs on her own. She stuck her tongue between her teeth with her brow furrowed, the same look Rafael had made as he built the table that was waiting for her. 

“Mama! Mr. Barba! Santa got me a table like at daycare!”

“It’s very cool,” Rebecca grinned, phone out as she took pictures. Rafael knelt beside her.

“And look at that, mija! Your toys are all put away. Santa es sabio.”

“Sabio?” she asked, head tilted. 

“Wise. Smart.”

“He is! We don’t need to put toys away! Sabio Santa!” He sat by Rebecca on the couch as she played, accepting the offered cup of coffee gladly. A break to caffeinate was exactly what they’d need.

“Sabio papi,” she smiled softly. “To the first of many Christmases, papi.”

“To the first of many Christmases, mami.”

[ssatoritendou]

First Date

Pairing: kirishima/reader

eijirou kirishima 

Word count: 1.7k

+ summary: Your twin brother Tetsu sets you up with his hero bro Kirishima and you are both nervous for your first date 

Genre: Fluff 

Warning: none

"Are you nervous?" Tetsutetsu asked you. "Why would I be nervous? You said he was a nice guy, Tetsu and that he liked me. It's not like I didn't like him. I think he's cute but now you are scaring me." "I'm sorry for scaring you, sis. He kind of has a crush on you. Now how are my hero costume improvements coming?" "Good. The steel is the same material as your quirk. So when you use it and are fighting villains it’s like double the power." "Thanks, ____." He pulled you into a hug and a kiss on the head. "Now, don't be nervous. I know Kirishima he will be a gentleman tonight. I'll see you later." He left the support course lab. There was an explosion in the neighboring lab, meaning that it must have been one of Hatsume’s inventions. 

"Hatsume are you ok?" "Tetsutetsu there's no problem just showing this one from 1A one of my inventions that would work well with his quirk." "Hatsume how many times do I have to tell you to call me ____ because then people confuse me with my brother." "Anyways kid what did you think of the invention?" She completely ignored my comment and turned her attention to the kid on the ground. I leaned over the table and saw Kirishima on the ground. "It was cool but I don't think it's for me, Hatsume." He said he was being kind to her. "Is it just me or are there 2 of you and 2 of ____!" He shouted your name at the end shocked that you were here in the lab. You giggled a little bit. "I'll take him to Recovery Girl. Can't have you get detention again for injuring the students. Come on Kiri." You helped him on his feet only for him to stumble a little back onto you. "Sorry." He said turning as red as his hair "It's ok. Just save it for tonight." You smiled at him. "Huh? Oh right." He rubbed his head. He looked like he might explode. "I'm sorry if I'm making you nervous. It's just cute to see you all flustered. Anyhow here we are at Recovery Girl's office. I'll tell her why and you just lay down." "Thank you." "Anytime." You walked over to Recovery Girl's desk. "Hi Recovery Girl Eijirou Kirishima got injured in the support course lab it was my fault. I accidentally bumped into him and he fell and hit his head on the table." "Are you sure it wasn't Hatsume with another of her inventions because I heard that explosion?" "Uh, sorry I lied. I just don't want Hatsume to get in trouble." "It's ok dear. Let me fix your friend and I'll tell him that you brought him here. Now go back to class." She rushed you out of the office.

"Kendo, Momo what are you guys doing here? Did something happen?" "No ____," Momo said reassuringly. "Tetsutetsu sent us over to help you get ready." "I'll help with your makeup and Momo will help you with your outfit." "Um ok. I was thinking about something simple and comfortable. Kirishima said it was going to be casual." "Hm. I think I got something. It will go with your complexion." Momo said while creating the outfit with her quirk. It was a pink corduroy skirt-all with a white sweater for underneath. "You should wear your hair up." "Um ok.” You pulled your hair up into a high ponytail. Kendou then started doing your makeup. When she was done you put on your brown leather knee-high boots. "If Kirishima doesn't end up drooling over you then he must be an idiot," Kendo said. "And I would blame Kaminari and Sero," Momo added. "Thank you, guys." You walked downstairs to see Kirishima waiting for you. Tetsu was there too. You gave him a look. 'What the hell are you doing here?' 'I wanted to make sure you were taken care of.' 'You aren't dad!' "Um, what are you guys doing?" Kirishima said. "It's a twin thing," Tetsu said. "You hurt her I will seriously kill you Kirishima." "Tetsu I suggest you take Kendou and Momo back to their dorms. After all, it's the manly thing to do." He rolled his eyes and went upstairs to retrieve the two girls. "I'm sorry for him. He thinks because we live in the dorms he has to be the father figure." "That is the manly thing to do." He said with a laugh. He looked at you for a minute. "You look...you look very nice. Beautiful, I mean. Damn, why can't I speak?" "Kirishima you look handsome." You kissed his cheek. "So where are you taking me?" "I was thinking about the arcade. But if you don't want to." "No that sounds perfect. Let's go." He held your hand as you walked to the train to go to the nearby mall that had this huge arcade. "We can eat before playing some games or we can play games and then eat?" "How about whoever ends up with the least amount of tickets has to buy the food?" "That doesn't seem fair. I mean I'm the man I should-" "No Kirishima. Just because you are a man isn't a good enough reason come on it will be fun." You whined like a child. "Ok. Ok." The two of you played a lot of games but when Kirishima heard your stomach growl he knew it was time to stop. Both of you counted the tickets. You had sadly lost but you paid for the meal. "So Tetsutetsu tells me that you can control metal with your mind." "Yeah pretty boring I guess compared to the hero course students." "Are you kidding my quirk! Your quirk seems so awesome. I really didn't like my quirk or ever think I have what it takes to be a hero." "Kirishima that's ridiculous. I mean Tetsu’s quirk is similar to yours but I think you are superior and you have natural people skills. You care about others and put them before yourself. That's the making of a great pro." "How is my quirk superior to Tetsutetsu’s?" "Easy. I can't control you with my mind and you won the arm wrestling match during the sports festival. I mean the things I got away with as a child because he did them. The number of cookies he has stolen for me." "What made you decide to be in the support course?" "I always liked making things with my quirk. Tetsu did convince me to take the hero course exam I passed it but I wasn't really interested in it. I rather make the pros better at their job than being involved in combat. Sorry about Hatsume earlier." "Don't worry I think all first years are used to it by now. She a crazy person." "Yep everyone knows that." "You were willing to take the fall for her?" "I didn't want her to get into trouble again. I mean if you had the chance to help Bakugou not get into a fight with someone wouldn't you try?" "I see your point. Damn Bakugou can be such a hot head sometimes but it is useful when it comes to combat." "Uh-huh sure but that's not all it takes to be a hero. You have to deal with civilians and you have to be kind to them. Bakugou isn't really good at reading people's emotions. But I barely know the guy he can be different with his friends." You shrugged. "I mean he can't be all that bad if you risked yourself for him." "He has a softer side when it comes to his friends. He's my best friend." "I'm guessing you are his." "I would like to think so." He said with a smile. "I have to use the bathroom I'll be right back." You left the table and went to the bathroom.

When you were done you saw a little girl crying looking around. "Hey, are you ok?" "I can't find my mommy." She sniffled. "Can you help me?" "Yeah sure. Maybe my friend can help too." You went back to the table to see Kirishima with a big teddy bear. "Huh, I came back with a teddy bear and you came back with a child. I guess you win?" "Um, my little friend here can't find her mommy. I figured that a hero in-training would be able to help me find her." He blushed a little. "Ok! Now little girl what is your name?" "______." "It's very nice to meet you ______. I'm Kirishima and this is ____. Now, do you remember the last place you saw your mommy?" "By the bowling alley." "We should go there first." He picked up ______. "Would you mind holding the teddy bear?" "No." You picked up the teddy bear and followed Kirishima. When you approached the bowling alley. "Do you see your mommy anywhere?" You asked leaning over to the girl in Kirishima’s arms. ______ looked around the alley. "There." She pointed at the women screaming at the manager. "Um, excused me?" The woman whipped her head towards you and took ______ out of Kirishima's arms. "Oh thank god you are alright. ______ never wander away from me again. Thank you so much. I hope she wasn't a pain." "It wasn't a problem ma'am," Kirishima said. "Thank you again." She said before leaving. "Bye ____! Bye Kirishima!" ______ yelled. "She was cute," Kirishima said. "We should probably start going back to school. I'll carry the bear." "You don't have to. Thank you for the bear." "It's the least I could do you did pay for dinner." "It was my pleasure," You said with a smile. "You know how early you said you thought it was cute when I got flustered?" "Yeah." "You are cute when you are smiling." You blushed a little. "Thank you." He walked you to the dorm room doors. "This is my stop. I had really fun tonight Kiri can we do it again next Friday?" "Yes of course. You can call me Eijirou." "Ok. See you later Eijirou." You kissed his cheek and walked back inside. Only to be met by Tetsutetsu. "Coming home late?" "We helped a little girl find her mom. It was the manly thing to do." "When you say that you make me feel bad for scolding you." "That's my point. Go back to your dorm before Vlad gives you detention." "You sound like Mom." "You sound like her too." "Ahh! I was trying to sound like Dad!" he yelled in defeat.

[tundrainafrica]

Title: Sugar Rush

Summary:  

Marley brings the celebration of Halloween to Paradis. Hange and Levi go trick or treating with their child for the first time and start to realize how much the world has changed since the war.

A Halloween piece for the Levihan spookfest, one year late. (I hope you’re still accepting them.)

Written for @levihanweek. to cap off Levihan Angstober. Happy Halloween everyone!

Link to cross-postings: AO3

Notes: For people who read "Rough day," this domestic fluff piece is set in the same universe. I just wanted to contribute a Halloween piece for the Levihan Spookfest. I am one year late though.

"Happy Halloween!" Hange chimed as she entered the kitchen and plopped her already dolled up kid down on the table next to her. 

"So what are the tacky decorations and costumes for?" 

Hange was wearing a full body suit of the colossal titan while Luke, their five year old child was wearing a mini armored titan costume. A part of Levi wondered how people of Paradis had so easily forgotten the attack of Shiganshina that titan costumes existed and were actually being sold. He had seen a few people in titan suits on the way to the market just that morning. 

"These are all to scare away the spirits!" Hange explained.

"Of dead people?"

"Of dead people."

"It would be nice to be visited by some ghosts. Wouldn't you want to see Erwin or maybe even Moblit again?" Levi had seen enough death in his life that the holiday which Marley introduced to them which was supposed to them did not seem as scary as the people were painting it out to be. The idea of the dead people visiting felt almost desirable for that hardened soldier one who'd seen too many people die.

"But daddy, ghosts are scary! They can kill you!" Luke said as he walked towards Levi.

What are they teaching this kid in school? "What if those ghosts were daddy's old friends? Do you think they’ll kill you?" Levi bent down to face his son only to see the boy looking utterly confused.

Levi only had to look back at how they raised him to understand why. Despite his parents background, the boy was raised with what they have considered too peaceful an upbringing. The closest thing to a blood bath he had seen was when Hange so enthusiastically pulled out his baby tooth just a few months ago. Levi was not sure though if the kid had been scared of the blood or the strong reaction of his mother. 

"Levi, get dressed. It'll be our first trick or treat."

"I'm ready already." Levi walked to the balcony room where he had let his old survey corps cloak hang out to dry after thoroughly washing it. 

"You're wearing that?" Hange asked, raising one eyebrow in disappointment. "Isn't that a bit too lazy?"

"Let me try out this new festival of yours and if it's any fun maybe I'll try harder next time." 

Levi and Hange both lived towards the center of Paradis since Hange was closely working with the government to help the island catch up to its peers. They had agreed to use the holiday as an excuse to see parts of the new Paradis they had not seen in a while, having rented a space in the outskirts for a few days. Hange had seen her fair share since she was back and forth from the ports and the center due to work. Levi on the other hand barely visited the outer cities, having spent his time keeping the household running and raising Luke while Hange worked full-time.  

They made the thirty minute walk to the outskirts where Hange concluded was the start to the most time efficient route with the highest possible yield of candy, that looped all the way back to their rented bungalow.

It turned out the strategy of the former commander had been almost foolproof. One kilometer in and Luke's bag was almost half full.

"Hey man, your survey corps costume looks pretty good!" 

Levi looked to the voice behind him to see a teenage boy in a titan costume. 

"Did you make it yourself?" The teenage boy continued. 

Levi looked to Hange as if to ask "Who made our costume?" In fact, Levi had just wanted to walk on, ignoring the teenage boy. It had been less than a decade since the end of the war. With the quick advancement of technology, it felt like more of a century ago to Levi. That instance only reminded him what people saw as a soldier uniform's long ago has been reduced to a costume prop.

"I did actually. What do you think?" Hange asked 

It was a blatant lie.Technically though she did design the new uniform when the war against Marley started. Levi thought to himself. 

"Well you got the colors of the wings of freedom wrong. The blue wing is on the right side not the left." 

                                               Sugar Rush

"Hey Hange, you should monitor how they make the survey corps costume. This is slightly pissing me off," Levi muttered as they started to get to the denser parts of town. 

"Well, with a port to run and research to do, I don't really have time to monitor holiday costume designs."

Although there were many people in titan costumes, there were also a fair number of people donning the survey corps cloak, a few in garrison uniform, and fewer in the military police. Although the survey corps had a rocky start, towards the end of the war against Marley, they were painted to be the main hero, their stories told in bars, restaurants, wherever people would listen. It was only natural that clothing manufacturers got on wind with the popularity. 

But they got it all wrong. Levi thought. He turned to Hange to see that she was just slightly amused at it. 

As they walked on, they passed by a park where a group of kids in survey corps cloaks were playing. 

"I'm Levi! Humanity's strongest soldier!" One kid said as he climbed on top of a rock.

Levi heard Hange chuckling behind her as he stopped to watch the play between the five kids unfold. 

"No I wanna be Levi!" The smaller kid protested as he tried to pull the larger kid down from the rock.

"You can't be Levi! Levi is big and strong! Mommy and Daddy said so!"

Levi did not know who mommy and daddy were but he found himself interested enough to approach the group of kids. At first, they looked almost terrified to see an adult stranger approach. Levi made an effort to smile though which worked enough at least for them to stay put. 

"Levi can be as tall or short as you want him to be." Levi patted the small kid's head then looked at all the kids. "Kids, make sure to take turns." 

"It's okay! I'm Captain Erwin!"

"I'm Captain Hange!"

"I'm Captain Mike!" 

It's Mee-keh not Maik. "That's good. Don't play too rough." Levi found himself struggling to keep the friendly smile. He walked away from them, quickening his pace with every step, trying to stop the urge to play cop and point out the inaccuracies in their casual game of soldier. 

Erwin and Mike probably would not have minded those inaccuracies but something inside Levi protested the omission on his end. 

"You're not going to correct them?" Hange said as he walked back at her. 

"Erwin and Mike probably wouldn't have cared. Do you mind?"

"No. Not really. But humanity's strongest being big and tall..." Hange widened her eye in emphasis as she gave him a onceover from head to toe. 

“Humanity's strongest might even like that.”

"Daddy did you meet captain Levi? Was he really big and tall?" Luke pulled on Levi's cloak as he asked. 

"He can be as big and tall as you want him to be Luke."

                                           Sugar Rush

"Tell me more about Captain Levi! Was he big? Tall? Was it weird that you were also Levi?"

Hange and Levi had allowed their son to eat a few candies that night. Levi was sure he had at least rationed it well to keep the child happy but prevent a sugar rush. 

Maybe it was when he went to take off his cloak, wash it and leave it out to dry did Hange sneak him a few more candies in. As he looked inside the bag to see everything had been opened and half eaten, he was sure that that could have been the only explanation. 

As Levi snuck a glance at Hange, he could tell she was regretting it. I told you a while ago a handful is enough. 

“Where did you learn so much about this captain Levi figure?” Levi asked, humoring the young boy.

“The teacher tells stories about him. He was part of the Ackerman clan and he could destroy one hundred titans in one swoop.” Luke excitedly yet awkwardly swung his imaginary sword in the air and Levi could not help but note that he would have never swung his blades in that manner. “You and mommy were both soldiers right? Did you get to meet him?”

“A few times.” 

“I told my friends in school that my parents were retired soldiers and they said that the soldiers were playing and eating inside the capital while the survey corps actually went outside and fought the enemy. I think you and mommy were different. Mommy would have done research right? While you were fighting the bad people in the walls right?”

“Maybe I was.” Levi turned to Hange for help. The latter was too busy rummaging through her kid’s bag for candy. Luke did not seem to notice or probably did not care, his eyes were fixed on his father and Levi wondered how long the kid had been keeping it in.

“How was Captain Levi?”

“He was a friendly guy.” Levi answered. He heard Hange snort next to him.   

“Did he ever save you from titans?”

“A few times.” 

 “Then you must know what happened to him? Even our teacher doesn’t know!”

                                                Sugar Rush

It was almost midnight. Only thirty minutes ago did Luke’s sugar rush die down. Soon after though, the young boy had fallen asleep and like on most other nights, Levi and Hange were left alone together. They were going through the pile of uneaten candy of their son, having decided that they had to eat what was left since they had no place to store it without risking an ant infestation.

“Why didn’t you tell him?” Hange asked as she went back to the table. She had checked up on their son just a second ago, making sure she was asleep before she brought up the elephant in the room. 

“Didn’t you hear the kid? If we told him where Captain Levi was, he was gonna tell all his friends. We can’t really trust a five year old kid to keep secrets just yet.”

“And you don’t want people to know where Captain Levi is,” Hange said matter of factly.

“I went for this type of life because I wanted peace.” Levi popped a half eaten chocolate in his mouth. 

“Which explains why you wanted our kid to take up my name instead.” 

“Ackerman never stuck. I’ve always been just Levi.” 

Luke Zoe was the more conservative naming choice. Levi Ackerman had become a household name while the full name of the commander had been known only among those who did the research but her stories were not as blown up as that of the captain. 

Oddly enough, their child had not picked up on both their first names being the same ones as those of the survey corps soldiers. Levi had attributed it to the fact that the boy spent most of his days with him while Hange was at work. The retired soldier had dedicated his time to other things like cleaning, housework, child rearing and tea mixing, having put his bloodier past behind him. The kid saw them as parents, not as the heroes he was hearing about in school. 

I wanna meet a survey corps soldier! They sound so cool! You must know one! Bring me to one. I wanna thank them for their service! Ask them how they flew through the air. I wanna see how big and burly they are.

Or possibly, Luke already had expectations on what they looked like and Levi and Hange just did not fit the profile.  

"Maybe we should buy him a mini survey corps cloak too. It feels weird that the survey corps played such a big part of our lives and we’re not even giving him that,” Hange suggested. 

“And support shitty research. No way.” Levi rolled his eyes as he imagined the erroneous design of the wings of freedom insignia. 

“As someone who has worked on research her whole life, I can sympathize.” Hange gave Levi a consoling smile. The cloak was last used more than fifteen years ago and the more recent designs had probably already overshadowed the one used back when the survey corps was still seen as inferior to the garrison and military police. “Hey, can you eat this gooey colorful one? It sticks to my teeth.” 

“How much more do we have to eat?” Levi emptied the bag on the table. Luke had eaten half of every single candy in the bag

“Maybe your trick or treat route was just a little too strategic Hange.”  

They did not sleep that night.    

[the-phoenix-heart]

How do Deku and Bakugou interact with both being double Lion ?

Oooh boy here comes my rant about platonic Bakudeku and their double Lions! (I also just finished watching Heroes Rising so my BakuDeku feels are stronger than usual-cause I’m a multishipper)

First of all, I feel the need to double down on Deku’s primary. He is a Lion primary. Does he want to save people-yes, but there are things about his character you have to consider. Mainly, he’s more focused on the goal of becoming the number one hero and saving people, than the people he wants to save. He doesn’t bond with communities, he bonds with the individuals he meets. But, he does think it’s the right way to live, so Badger primary model. 

And boy howdy do they interact with their double Lions. 

Bakugou for the longest time was a Glory-Hound Lion. He wanted to be the strongest there ever was and he wanted to be on top of everyone else. But, deep down he always felt like he was missing something. What he was missing was that Paragon Lion that Deku had. He liked his Glory-Hound Lion and he didn’t understand that you could have both. And he saw not naturally having a Paragon Lion as a weakness in himself, which is why he bullied him (doesn’t justify it but y’know it’s called character development. 

Deku meanwhile admired Bakugou’s Glory-Hound Lion. He saw Bakugou’s hunger for power and love of strength, and how it made Bakugou powerful and strong and he loved Bakugou for it (platonically! possibly...). 

But they couldn’t understand each other. Bakugou at the time couldn’t let go of his Glory-Hound Lion out of stubbornness and Deku couldn’t understand that his Paragon Lion was causing Bakugou to lash out. Notice, Bakugou only started to grow as a person when Deku left him alone more. 

Now, Bakugou did become friends with Kirishima-another double Lion with a Paragon Lion primary-but it was not Deku’s Paragon Lion. Bakugou grew up with Deku and his Paragon Lion and so he couldn’t accept it at the time, but Kirishima (who is has a small dose of Glory-Hound in him) was able to get through. 

And their secondaries, ever since the first scene of the show they’ve been standing on opposite sides facing each other down. Bakugou did not like how similar he and Deku were despite their differences, which is why Bakugou burned Deku’s secondary. Once Deku’s secondary was burned Deku turned to a Bird secondary model, which ironically Bakugou probably saw and thought, ‘I can do that better.’ Bakugou then used his Bird secondary model to bolster his own Lion secondary. 

And of course we have to talk about how their relationship with All Might relates to their sorting. Bakugou looked at All Might and saw a Glory-Hound Lion primary. This vision was wrong. While seeing that All Might was not wrong, he was wrong in assuming that’s whole All Might was. Deku saw All Might and his Badger primary, and copied it. 

And now we get to the Sludge Villain incident, where Bakugou is in trouble and Deku’s secondary unburns all in one day. This is when Bakugou starts to vaguely respect Deku, and it’s because of his secondary and how he just rushed in. It’s also because he doesn’t want to be in debt, but he still has some respect for him. 

Except what little respect there was shatters when he thinks Deku has lied to him. Lying is very important to Bakugou, in that he refuses to lie and if you lie to him he’ll kick your ass. Bakugou is pissed and immediately rushes in to fight him about it like the Lion secondary he is, and gets stopped. 

Then the first fight in Ground Beta happens, and we see their Lion secondaries really colliding with each other for the first time, they yell at each other and throw punches. Their first fight was not a pretty fight emotionally at all, it was ugly and taxing for both of them. 

We see it clearly on Bakugou’s face that his primary took a hit. He’s literally having a panic attack over losing. His primary isn’t burnt, but it has not escaped the fight unscathed. Failure goes against everything he knows about himself (as a gifted kid I relate), if he has failed who the fuck is he?! He gets over this by using his Lion secondary to drag himself out. If he just proclaims that he’s going to be the number one and surpass All Might then it’s gotta be true. 

And you see it even more clearly in the Sport Festival. At the beginning of the arc he proclaims to the entire country that he’s going to win. I can never get over this because it’s basically him forcing himself to win. If he fails then he’s a hypocrite and no one wants to be a hypocrite. Once again he uses his blunt Lion secondary to drag himself along. The idea that you can rely on you secondary to keep your primary from burning...that’s kind of beautiful, but I think you can only do that with an improvisational primary. 

And in the Sports Festival you see their secondaries on clear display. Especially Deku who breaks his body and yells at a guy until the guy faces years of Mommy and Daddy issues and severe trauma. Bakugou meanwhile fights everyone until his match against Todoroki. 

Todoroki is a Snake primary, who’s unsure what his quirk means to him since he’s just now faced his trauma. Bakugou, a Double Lion, gets pissed off when Todoroki ignores him because he’s his opponent and he deserves his attention. Bakugou proves just how un-Snake he is by telling Todoroki that his family and feelings don’t matter and all that matters is the fight. It almost seems like Todoroki has listened. 

Until the match happens and Bakugou fights and yells at him to use his fire aspect of his quirk. Todoroki only uses his quirk when Deku, house matched with Bakugou, does the exact same thing. Todoroki does it because it was Deku, someone he had bonded with told him. But, then he still can’t do it for understandable reasons. Bakugou finds out he won the fight, but Todoroki didn’t use his fire and that pisses him off more than anything. The idea that he didn’t win the fight fair and square is painful and pisses him off more than anything. He wasn’t more powerful than Todoroki, Todoroki just held back. That’s not a real win.

and then the school chains him to the podium and forces him to take the medal on national tv BUT THAT’S A TOPIC FOR ANOTHER DAY

(also All Might has no idea how to handle a Lion primary that isn’t modeling Badger. “Take this medal as a wound,” no All Might you’re just gonna mess him up further! He’s not SUPPOSED to be wounded!)

Then there comes the fight against All Might where they have to work together. This is after the internship arc, where Bakugou had a Snake secondary pushed on him (which he did not accept) and Deku finally got control of his power and leveled up. Bakugou sees this and it terrifies him. Why is Deku’s Double Lion loved by all but his is hated? For a while Bakugou doesn’t even try to get along with Deku and just beat All Might himself. Then he accepts defeat because he doesn’t want to fight alongside Deku-to him that would be admitting that he is weak. And Deku does the only thing he can think of to get Bakugou to listen-he punches him and says “LET’S WIN THIS KACCHAN!” Because fuck my emotions. 

And then they yell at each other, Deku trying to hype up Bakugou and Bakugou because LISTEN UP WE ARE GONNA WORK TOGETHER MY WAY! And even as they are fight/running from All Might they’re yelling at each other, but it works. They think on the fly and Bakugou fights All Might with all he has until he’s broken. And then Deku, about to win, turns away for a moment and sees Bakugou nearly passed out under All Might and does the most badass thing ever and PUNCHES ALL MIGHT RIGHT IN THE FACE!! HIS OWN MENTOR!! Just so he can save Bakugou. It’s beautiful. 

(Now is a good time to mention I’m writing this to the soundtrack for Heroes Rising and IT FUCKING SLAPS-or that’s just me loving instrumentals)

Then Bakugou gets kidnapped, and a little detour, Deku fully understands that he cannot be the one to reach out to Bakugou. Kirishima has to be the one because Bakugou trusts him. Kirishima and him are friends and Bakugou will let him save him, and Deku recognizes that. 

And then Kacchan vs. Deku part 2 happens, and it is the most Double Lion fight ever. Bakugou is literally venting his feelings at Deku by screaming and exploding him. Deku in turn is explaining how he has always admired Bakugou by yelling back and punching him. And this is another reason why he think he’s a Lion primary: Deku admired Bakugou not because he was kind or cared about people, but because Bakugou was strong and determined-those are Lion traits he admired.

He also says he starts to talk like Bakugou when he gets really into a fight-which makes sense since his Lion secondary was burned for so long and Bakugou was his main example for years. Rip me. 

By the way, Bakugou’s primary had officially burned before this fight. He literally asks if he was wrong to try and emulate All Might the way he did, why he had to be the one to destroy All Might. But, the fight with Deku and winning helps him unburn, or at least recover.

And then pretty much nothing happens in the show for season four but EVERYTHING happens in Heroes Rising and the manga and I can’t TALK ABOUT IT BECAUSE SPOILERS BUT TRUST ME THESE DOUBLE LIONS KEEP DOUBLE LIONING IT UP (and also possibly falling in love idk i’m an equal opportunitist with Kiribaku and Bakudeku)!!

[nanaosaki3940]

The Crimson Butterfly [Boku No Hero Academia X Tokyo Ghoul]

(MHA Various X OC)

Potential Love Interests: Dabi/Touya Todoroki, Shoto Todoroki, Katsuki Bakugo, Hawks/Keigo Takami, Momo Yaoyorozu & Ken Kaneki 

Main Love Interest: Read the story to find out!

Status: Ongoing (Up-to-date with the MHA manga) 

Masterlist: 

OC Profile : Nana Osaki 

Nana’s Ukaku Kagune 

Nana’s Rinkaku Kagune

Ghoul eyes: Kakugan 

Nana’s Parents

Nana’s Ghoul Powers and Abilities 

Nana’s Modified Quirks & Abilities (After the Overhaul Arc)

Nana’s Kakugan Power & Abilities 

Nana’s Third New Quirk (Awakens after the PL War Arc) 

Nana Osaki’s Family Tress

Contents 

1. So We Meet Again 

2. Welcome Home, Old Geezer 

3. I’ll Be Okay, Trust Me 

4. I won’t Hold Back Either! 

5. Call Me Shoto 

6. I’m Not A Monster! 

7. Thanks For Your Concern, Bakugo 

8. Maybe I Still Love Him 

9. Can I Get A Kiss As A Reward? 

10. Did You Just... Bit Me? 

11. Do I Know Her? Maybe 

12. It’s Been A While, Hasn’t It Babydoll? 

13. You’re Just Like Her 

14. What Is He To You? 

15. My Dear Tsubaki 

16. Your Punch Really Hurts! 

17. Three Minutes! 

18. Twisted Future 

19. Let’s Keep Smiling! 

20. Here Comes The School Festival! 

21. Mommy Dearest 

22. His Midsummer Dream 

23. His Start, My Start 

24. Break A Leg Out There, Enji Todoroki!! 

25. Class 1-A’s Victory!! 

26. We’re Heroes Now!! 

27. I’m Not As Kind As Shoto Is!! 

28. Come Dance With Your Son In Hell!! 

29. You Will Realize I Wasn’t A Mistake!! 

30. Fight On, Shota!! You Can Do It!! 

31. It’s About Time The Two Nanas Meet Face To Face 

32. The Beginning Of The End 

33. Awakening Of The Third Quirk: The Lightning Blade Quirk!! 

34. A Tragic Hero 

35. Special Chapter: I Want To Save Them 

36. Team Up: Top Three, Nana, Deku & All Might! 

37. I Care About You The Most 

38. The Arrival Of A New Enemy: The Lovely & Deadly Lady Nagant!  

39. Hey, Do You Remember... 

40. Brother’s Girl and All... 

[chilling-seavey]

Daniel surprising his girls with reindeers ~T

Friday, December 10, 2027

Daniel’s father instincts went off the moment he picked up his girls from school, Penelope climbing into the backseat in tears with Clementine following right after. He glanced over his shoulder to her as she buckled herself into her car seat through her sniffles and sobs.

“Hey, bug, what’s wrong?” Daniel asked softly, reaching back to brush the tears from her cheek.

“Christmas is ruined!” Penelope cried.

“Why ruined? What happened?” Daniel unbuckled his seatbelt so he could turn a bit more in his seat to face her.

“How does Santa get to everyone’s houses?” Penelope asked softly, her voice wavering.

“In his sleigh. You know that.”

“He can’t when reindeer aren’t real!” Penelope sobbed.

“What? Who said that?” Daniel frowned.

“A kid in my class!” Penelope wailed, a fresh wave of tears flowing down her cheeks. “He said they don’t exist!”

Daniel thought for a moment, watching his middle daughter nearly drowning herself in her tears and his eldest sitting quietly beside her, staring at her hands in her lap. He sighed, looking between the two of them.

“They don’t exist, do they, Daddy?” Clementine mumbled sadly.

“They most certainly do.” Daniel answered.

“But I’ve never seen one!” Penelope argued loudly, shaking her head as if to prove her point until her messy brown hair fell over her tear-filled eyes.

“Do you want to see one?” Daniel asked.

The girls only blinked at him.

“Yeah. We’re gonna go see some reindeer.” Daniel said, as if confirming with himself as he turned around and buckled his seatbelt again. “We’re going to get Mommy and Lucy from home and we’re going to go see some reindeer.”

Penelope sniffled, wiping her nose on the sleeve of her coat and looked out the car window as they started for home, snow falling gently from the grey sky. It wasn’t far to home and Daniel parked out front of the apartment building and called Florence to get her to head down to meet them and moments later, they were all set to head to wherever their destination was. The mood in the car was melancholy as Penelope and Clementine were still sad and disbelieving – almost sure that Christmas was ruined – but Daniel wasn’t ready for his daughters to lose their belief of Christmas magic before even hitting ten years old.

Lucy was unphased at three-and-a-half, yelling for Daniel to turn on the music from the middle seat in the back, kicking her legs against the front seats until Florence had to tell her to sit still. Daniel turned on the Christmas station and turned up the volume to try and liven the spirts of the girls in the back – well, other than Lucy who was gladly screaming along to the lyrics the best she could – as he drove towards their destination.

About an hour drive later, they were far out of the city and near rural farmland that was coated in crisp snow and Daniel pulled into a long driveway trimmed in Christmas lights and framed in tall trees and he parked with the few other cars that were there. Florence and Daniel stepped out of the car, sharing excited smiles together before getting their girls out. Penelope sniffled as she stepped out onto the snow and reached for Daniel’s hand with her smaller gloved one.

“Where are we?” Clementine asked quietly, taking Florence’s other hand that wasn’t claimed by the youngest.

“We’re going to visit some real reindeer.” Daniel said as he locked the car and led his family towards the barn.

The property was used as a reindeer farm in the winter where you could go visit and feed the animals and the people who owned it made it all magical for the kids who came too. The barn was trimmed in Christmas lights and was packed with a few people and shy Penelope shuffled closer to Daniel as they walked inside. They found a spot right by the small fence that housed a couple reindeer, each with a red Christmas ribbon around their necks.

Penelope’s eyes went wide and she took a step closer to the fence to get a better look. Daniel petted her hair back from her tear streaked face and brushed it down her back to tame her natural waves, smiling at her shocked expression. Clementine joined her sister at the fence and stepped up on the bottom pole to see over the top and Penelope copied her carefully.

“Horsey!” Lucy shrieked excitedly from Florence’s arms, pointing to the animals.

“They’re reindeer, Lucy Lu.” Florence chuckled, pressing a kiss to her pink cheek.

“Daddy.” Penelope glanced up at Daniel and he leaned forward against the fence so he was bent closer to her height. “Are these Santa’s reindeer?”

“They sure are.” One of the workers answered for him as she walked over to join them, decked out in her festive farm clothes and topped with a red Santa hat. “Santa let us borrow them for a few days so you could come see them!”

Penelope gasped, her face breaking into a grin and she looked back up at Daniel before turning back to the animals.

“Do you want to feed them?” the worker asked the girls.

“Yes, please!” Clementine nodded, jumping off the fence to hold out her hands and the lady passed her a bit of reindeer food from her pocket and then gave a bit to Penelope and Lucy too.

“They’re really friendly but you have to be gentle.” The lady instructed as she called over one of the reindeer. “Hold your hand out like this and he’ll munch it right out of your hand!”

Clementine eagerly joined her with her arm through the fence, watching with an excited grin as the reindeer sure enough licked up the food from her palm. Daniel crouched down beside Penelope and held her hand out with his as she shyly hesitated but once the food was softly eaten up, she was asking for more to do it again.

Penelope’s mood was much improved by the time they finished at the farm, saying goodbye to each reindeer and giving the one they fed a gentle pet on the head. Each girl even got a candy cane as a parting gift and Penelope sucked on hers happily as they headed back to the car, hand still tucked in Daniel’s.

“Daddy.” Penelope looked up at him through her candy cane.

“Yes, Penny?”

“Can I please have a reindeer for Christmas?”

“Where would we keep it?” Daniel chuckled.

“In my room.” Penelope answered, scuffing her boots through the snow of the parking lot.

“I think we should leave the reindeer for Santa, don’t you?” Daniel said.

“Maybe.” Penelope mumbled.

“Do you believe in reindeer now?” Daniel asked as he opened the car door for her and helped her climb in.

“Yeah! I can’t wait to go back to school and tell everyone!” Penelope smiled.

“Tell everyone that you met Santa’s very own reindeer. How cool is that?” Daniel added, leaning over her to buckle her up and then help Florence get Lucy settled in the middle seat.

“So cool.” Penelope said.

He pulled back out of the car and leaned down beside her, “Would I ever lie to you?”

Penelope shook her head, hiding her shy smile behind her candy cane.

“Exactly. Trust me next time. I know what I’m talking about.” Daniel winked at her and pressed a kiss to her cheek before closing the car door behind him.

With all the girls buckled in, Daniel and Florence got back in the front and Daniel started the car and the music.

“I want everyone singing until we lose our voices!” he instructed loudly, turning the volume up loud before starting back for the main road towards home.