#most of which are living in my room until they’re old enough to take on the slightly older chicks

[luveline]

I used to send you lots of requests before, but haven't sent you requests for a long time for exams, really missed it babe:) Can I ask for a Steve x reader kbd where our favourite Bethie catches reader at night staying up to do work, but we know how silent she is, so probably she doesn't tell reader about it? I just really wanna see one where reader overworks herself which not even Steve knows, but Beth finds out, really wanna see how her point of view changes on her mother. Hope this makes sense. Love you lots, Jade, and your pretty little kbd universe:)

love you !!!!!!! kbd — beth and dad!steve catch you working late at night, mom!reader. 1.4k

The day Steve takes the baby gates down is the best day of Bethie’s life. They’ve been up and down and up again, but now Dove is old enough to manage the stairs by herself without danger (just about) and Wren won’t be able to crawl for months, they’re back in the basement. 

Bethie can go downstairs whenever she wants. She doesn’t have to wait for Avery’s help on the funny top latch. 

She can tell already that Steve is sleeping, your bedroom door open, her father curled on his side with his hand stretched out across the empty side where you’d usually be snoring. The baby bassinet by Steve’s side has its own soft snoring, baby Wren fast asleep too. 

Beth has to find you, then. The bathroom door is closed (though she’s now allowed in there at night on account of needing to pee and her promise not to touch the washing machine again). Avery’s door is ajar, but when Bethie peeks inside, you’re not there either. Dove is half hanging off her toddler bed and you’re not there scooping her up, so where are you? 

Beth’s getting spooked, until she hears the sound of paper being shuffled downstairs. 

She holds the rungs of the stair bannister and sneaks carefully. Through the hallway and into the kitchen, she finds you at the dinner table with a frown on your lips so similar to her own. She loves looking like her mommy, even if the rest of her sisters look more like Steve. 

You’re working, she thinks. She’s not sure. It looks like you are. On rare occasions you’ve needed to finish things after dinner and her dad corrals them into the living room for TV, Beth has seen you crowded at the table with a pen and a weary expression. It can’t be much fun, work.

She isn’t sure how long she watches you. A weird feeling gathers in her chest, and she thinks about speaking up. You look upset at times. You bite your bottom lip like Avery does when she’s sad. 

It’s one of the first times Bethie's really looked at you and worried you weren’t happy.  

She doesn’t know why she goes back upstairs. She’s a bit scared, perhaps, to see you that way, without Steve by your side. 

He’s still sleeping, arm still looking for you in the dark. Bethie climbs up into bed with him and pushes her way under his arm, to which she is immediately pulled into his chest, squished and too warm. 

“Avery?” he mumbles. Then, a moment later. “No, that’s my Beth.” He peels one eye open, a smile taking slow form on his lips. “What’s wrong, babe?” 

“Mommy’s downstairs.” 

He peers past her head. “Oh. What for?”

“Don’t know. She looks sad.” 

“You think so?” He blinks. Bethie thinks her dad is the most love they can put into one person besides you, and she doesn’t usually look at him and see handsome or tired or anything, she just sees dad. Right now, though, he looks befuzzled. “Should we go see?” 

“Um. Well…” 

He kisses her forehead. “You tired, baby? You can sleep here if you want. Let me just go see if mommy’s okay. Go to sleep, okay? I’ll be back in a minute.” He kisses her cheek. “It’s okay, baby. Just sleep. It’s so late.” 

Steve tucks her in. She doesn’t look very tired, but she closes her eyes obligingly. 

Steve doesn’t know what you’re doing out of bed. He hadn’t felt you go. The only times he can remember you getting up in the middle of the night would be with pregnancy cravings, and you definitely aren’t pregnant, Wren’s still too small to support her own head. Plus, Steve’s sure he would’ve guessed. He knows you pretty well by now. 

You hear him coming down the stairs but you aren’t quick enough putting your things away to hide that you’re working. “What are you doing?” he asks, his voice rough. “It’s one in the morning.” 

“I couldn’t sleep,” you lie, “figured I’d get this done.” 

Steve leans on the doorway and crosses his arms over his chest. “Really?” 

“Yeah, really.” 

You’re still lying. 

“I think Beth is upset,” he suggests.

“What for?” 

“She’s been down here. You didn’t hear her?” 

You flatten your pile of papers unhappily. “No, do I ever? She’s my mouse.” 

Steve abandons his interrogative pose to hug you. It hadn’t been working, anyways. He put his arm behind your neck and rests his cheek against your temple, the other arm across your chest, your elbow clutched in his hand. “Do you do this a lot?” he asks quietly. 

“Not much.” 

“Let me take you to bed,” he says. 

“Yeah, I just have to finish this.” 

“Wasn’t a question. Bed, now.” He rubs your arm. “Please.” 

Steve’s looked out for you since he met you, of course, but you’re the first person who taught him what it was like to be intrinsically taken care of, and he’s tried to pay that back for the last eight years. It’s hard to explain the incredible value of love, because it’s without transaction, completely paradoxical. He can’t pay it back. There’s nothing to be paid. But he can help you up the stairs, and he can worry for your sake about work and why you’re doing it in the middle of the night. 

“You need to sleep, babe, I mean it,” he says quietly, not wanting to disturb the other sleeping girls as you crest the last stairs onto the landing.

“I know. I’ll sleep. I’m sleeping.” 

He pinches your sides from behind.

“I love you,” he says, stopping you before you can get to the bedroom door. “Please don’t stay up late. We’ll make you more time if you need it in the daytime. I’ll make it for you.” 

You accept his promise and his kiss with a gluey smile. “Okay, H. No more staying up. I got it.” You drop your forehead to his shoulder quickly. “Thanks.” 

“Yeah. Well, go ahead, there’s a Beth in need of scrunching on your side of the bed.” And he needs to pass out. 

Steve crashes into his own side of the bed, and he gives Beth a good kiss, and then suddenly he’s sleeping before you’ve fully settled. 

You slide down onto your back. Bethie breathes too softly to be sleeping, her head off of the pillows and the legs of her pyjama pants ridden up her calves where she’s kicked her legs out of the blankets. 

“Bethie?” you whisper. 

“Mommy.” 

“Hey, sweet girl.” You peek at her. She’s peeking at you. “Daddy said you came downstairs. I wish you would’ve said hello.” 

“You…” She eyes your sleeve. “Busy.” 

“I’m never too busy for you if you need me. Are you okay? You don’t usually stay up this late.” 

“You don’t, too.” 

You slip your hand under her shoulders and lift her up onto the pillows. Careful, you pull the blanket from under her legs, smooth out her pants, and pull the blankets back over the both of you, enclosing you in a warm bubble. “Wanna cuddle with mommy?” you whisper. 

“Will dad be lonely?” 

“No, sweetheart. Are you lonely, sometimes, sleeping by yourself?” 

“Sometimes.” 

You might regret this, but Bethie’s your world. You hate thinking about her having such a horrible feeling and not telling you.

“If you’re ever lonely,” you begin gently, tracing the little remnants of your husband where they glow in the colour of her irises and her shy smile, “that’s what me and daddy are here for. If you’re lonely at bed time, you can come and cuddle with me. It doesn’t have to be all night long, just until the feeling goes away.” 

“Are you lonely when you’re in the kitchen?” she asks. 

Her whispers are sweet for how much effort she puts into them. Avery can’t whisper, not really, and Dove wouldn’t even try, but Bethie talks so quietly you strain to hear her under Steve’s harsher breathing. 

“I’m never lonely when I have you and your sisters and your daddy in the house. Just knowing you’re upstairs makes me feel better.” You kiss the tip of her nose with a whispered ‘mwah’. “But I’m best when you’re right here.”

“I don’t want you to be lonely.” She grins at you, eyes fluttering, “I love you, mom.” 

“I love you, too,” you whisper back.  

She curls onto her side to lay her arm over you. You bring her in for your cuddle, your knuckles brushing Steve’s arm. “Should we go to sleep now?” she asks. 

“Good idea, lovely girl.”

[sweetsungiie]

Warm Up To You

| mutual friend!Minghao x reader, grumpy! Minghao x sunshine!reader (if you squint) | 

| warnings! none really, some mild swearing and making out teehee, clueless Dino lol, this is very poorly edited (my bad) | 

|wc roughly 6.9k | 

Meeting Lee Chan by clumsily tripping over his leg at a local park was completely by chance, offering to pay from his dry cleaning after spilling your drink all over his pants due to said tripping was by choice. Now choosing to spend the rest of the afternoon together and become friends was fate. 

Your friendship with Lee Chan came out of nowhere and yet just in time during a moment of your life when you needed it most. Freshly twenty three years old and living on your own for the first time in a new city. You were both so upbeat and bubbly that becoming close friends came naturally. Being friends with Lee Chan also came with constantly hearing about the twelve other guys he considered his brothers but it wasn’t until his birthday that you were actually introduced to them. 

You had smoothed your hands over the soft fabric of your dress for what felt like the hundredth time before Chan finally opened the front door. Seeing your dear friend on his special day brought a smile to your face and erased your nerves about meeting all these new people, albeit momentarily. 

“Channie! Happy birthday!” The smile on your face as you hand him his gift is as wide as can be and Lee Chan instantly returns it with a bright smile of his own. He takes the gift from your hands with a grateful bow. 

“Thank you, you know you didn’t have to get me anything. Come in, everyones excited to meet you!” He pulls you inside and closes the door behind you before pulling you into a tight hug. 

Within seconds Chan is pulling you into the living room area where everyone seems to be scattered about. Suddenly all eyes are on you and you are quick to realize whatever you have done to attempt to prepare yourself for meeting all of Chan's friends was not enough. 

“Guys, this is Y/N.” Lee Chan’s introduction only adds to your nerves as you awkwardly smile and wave at everyone in the room. The faces staring back at you seem friendly enough, most had kind smiles of their own, few had blank stares as though unsure how to react, and one had just barely looked up from his phone before glancing back down to the screen in his hands. 

With the descriptions Chan had mentioned to you previously you tried to pick some of the guys apart, you were so busy trying to recognize their faces you almost didn’t notice two of them standing up and coming to greet you with bright grins on their faces. 

“It’s so nice to meet you, Chan has told us a lot about you. I’m Seokmin.” The taller man held his hand out in greeting which you happily took with a smile in return. 

“Likewise, I have heard a lot about you guys too. It’s nice to finally match faces with the names.” 

Seokmin takes a step back to allow the other guy to greet you as well, “I’m Mingyu, it’s nice to meet you.” 

The next few minutes are filled with a few other introductions before Chan announces he was pulling you away to offer you a drink and some air. Once you enter the empty kitchen you feel like you can finally breathe in the comfort of just Chan's presence. 

“Okay, I know that was a lot. I’m sorry, I figured you may need a minute.” He smiled at you apologetically, opening his fridge to show you what beverages he had. You point over to a bottled water which he grabs and hands to you in a moment's notice. 

“It’s fine, I knew I was going to be meeting a lot of people today. They all seem very nice but it is a lot, they’re only meeting one of me, I’m meeting twelve of them.” You let out a nervous laugh as you take a sip of the cold water. Chan shrugs and nods at you in understanding. 

“Yeah, I’m sorry about that. Hopefully the rest of the night goes smoother, I’ll tell the guys to lay off and give you some space to breathe-” 

“Chan! Where’s the second controller?” You hear a voice shout from the living room but you can’t pinpoint who it is exactly. Chan sighs with a shake of his head, “I’ll be back, make yourself at home, okay?” 

You nod up at him, “No worries, go ahead I’ll be fine.” He smiles down at you and softly pats your head without a second thought before turning to his left to exit the enclosed kitchen space. Neither one of you had noticed the third presence lingering by the doorway seemingly analyzing the two of you. 

“Hao, you scared me. Y/N this is Minghao, Minghao this is Y/N, meet me out there when you’re done.” The introduction is rushed, more out of politeness since Minghao was already standing there, you watched Chan leave and turn to smile at the guy standing just a few feet away from you. 

You recall Chan telling you about Minghao, probably the most reserved of the group. Chan described him as an observer, someone who is often more quiet than not. Chan had also warned you that Minghao may come off as a bit cold, however you didn’t expect a full on shiver to crawl up your spine under his cold stare. His gaze was unreadable, almost paradoxing, you caught glimpses of what could have been anger, disgust, or straight up indifference towards you. 

What Chan failed to mention is how utterly gorgeous this man is. Most of the men you were introduced to today were handsome, Lee Chan himself was attractive, but there was something about Minghao that genuinely brought you to a halt. It wasn’t even just his physical attributes that attracted you but the way he carried himself and the way his stare left goosebumps on your skin. 

It is because of that that you decide to pull out your bubbly personality by offering the stoic man the brightest and warmest smile you could muster.

“Hi, I’m Y/N! Lee Chan has told me a lot about you, it’s very nice to meet you.” The sincerity in your voice could not be mistaken, you could tell Minghao seemed like the protective type over his friends and you wanted to show him that he could trust you, or at least that he could trust in that Lee Chan could trust you. 

Minghao only nods with a slight bow before turning for the fridge. His silence completely catches you off guard, you wanted to think he wasn’t trying to be rude but it was hard not to when the rest of their friends have greeted you so warmly thus far. You can only watch in silence as the quiet man grabs water from the fridge and takes a sip before walking out of the kitchen without muttering a single word. 

It takes another couple seconds for you to digest what just occurred before you decide to also rejoin the party. As expected most of the guys are seated in front of the television with some game playing on the screen. Others are scattered around the living room, some even outside on the patio. Despite the previous awkward encounter with one of the guys, you decide to show the rest of them the kind hearted person you are without all the nerves holding you back. Jun and Hoshi were especially kind towards you which resulted in you spending most of the remainder of the party with them. 

The hours passed quickly and you found yourself actually fitting in quite well with the group, the guys were interested in getting to know you and learning about how you and Chan met. Overall you felt very welcomed by all but one, throughout the entire night you couldn’t help but notice the lack of attention from one particular member. After the encounter in the kitchen and the absolute lack of conversation, let alone eye contact from the man, you have come to the conclusion in just three short hours that Minghao does not like you. 

~~~~

In the weeks following Chan’s birthday, he had decided to integrate you into the group even further, according to the youngest boy the rest of his friends really liked you and they enjoyed hanging out with you. It all happened very quickly as suddenly you were being invited to game nights, then dinners and now you practically were over Chan and Jun’s place every other day. Today was no exception as you find yourself lounging on Chan’s bed whilst he sits at his desk scrolling through something on his computer. 

You were enjoying the silence when someone abruptly knocks on Chan’s bedroom door. The noise startles you into sitting up, rubbing your eyes after staring into your phone screen for the past forty minutes or so. 

“Come down, we’re watching a movie, we got dinner downstairs too.” Jun doesn’t bother waiting for a response before his footsteps echo down the hall. 

“We? Who else is here, I haven’t heard anyone walk in?” You ask Chan with a raised eyebrow. The boy only shrugs as he gets up from his seat, obviously quite excited to hear about dinner and a show. 

“Who knows, at this point I’m surprised when we don’t have random people in our house.” He eyes you pointedly before cracking into laughter and dashing off down the hall. 

“Hey! Lee Chan, don’t forget who invited who over! Hey, come back here!” In an instant you’re running after him down the hall and down the stairs, knowing very well you wouldn’t catch up to him but you had to at least try. You can hear his laughter bouncing off the walls which only causes you to laugh out as well, not caring who else heard you as you reached the bottom of the stairs, finding Chan collapsed on the couch still dying of laughter and three other pairs of eyes watching you quizzically. 

“Saved by your buddies, Channie, lucky man.” You shake your head as you straighten yourself to greet the other guys standing by the dining table. Hoshi immediately lights up as you approach him, he greets you with a hug and pulls out your chair for you. As you thank him and take your seat your eyes meet Minghao sitting across from you. 

Within the past few weeks since meeting Minghao, you have accepted that Minghao simply does not like you, however upsetting that was to originally admit, it has allowed you to develop some kind of routine. Whenever the two of you would happen to make eye contact or see each other for the first time, you would exchange a brief nod and his expression would be as unreadable as ever whilst you force a small tight lipped smile his way. None of the other guys ever mentioned the awkwardness between the two of you and it took a lot of begging from your part for Chan to sheepishly admit that Minghao may just be weary around you since he doesn’t know you. Nevertheless it didn’t change the fact that he clearly wasn’t interested in getting to know you which explains the curt nods and lack of speaking on his part when you happen to be near.

It was a shame really, considering how intriguing you found him to be. If he would only speak to you, you were certain your relationship with him would be a lot different than it is now. Despite how opposite you appear to be, with you being this ray of sunshine and Minghao seemingly the dark sky itself, you were sure you would work so well together. It also doesn’t help that you’ve developed a slight crush on the man. He was just so jaw droppingly handsome it was hard not to fall for him. His aloofness towards you, unfortunately, only made you want him more. 

Chan finally walks up from the couch and takes the seat beside you, not before patting your head as a silent apology for his joke. As you throw him a glare with no real heat behind it, you can feel eyes on you, you can’t help but whip your head in his direction but by the time you do so, Minghao is looking toward the other end of the table where Jun is seated. It was hard to not admire him like this, with his head turned you could really admire his side profile, everything from the slope of his nose to the plump of his lips. You force yourself to look away before being caught, bringing your attention back down to the food in front of you. The rest of the night goes on like this, as does any other night with Minghao in attendance, with you unable to keep your eyes off him and with his literally anywhere else. 

~~~~

“Why do you think Minghao hates me?” You can’t stop the question from pushing past your drunken lips. You had the side of your face resting against the cold surface of the bar, one arm under the weight of your head whilst the other cradles your drink close to your chest. Chan, Hoshi and Mingyu instantly turn to stare at you in shock. 

“Not this again, Hao doesn’t hate you, Y/N.” Chan sighs as he grabs your drink from your hand and helps you in sitting up. The sudden movement makes your head feel fuzzy but you still manage to slur out another sentence. 

“He does though, he barely looks at me. It’s almost like he doesn’t approve of me or something? Did I do something wrong?” You mumble with a pout of your lips as you eye the guys sitting next to you. None of you were sober enough for this conversation which is probably why Mingyu answers with something he probably shouldn’t have said. 

“You didn’t do anything, Hao is just incapable of talking to pretty girls. He’s dumb.” Mingyu’s giggles are cut off with a slap on the chest from Hoshi who seemingly has somehow sobered up for this conversation. Chan tenses from your side as he looks up at his two friends who freeze as if caught doing something they shouldn’t. 

“Minghao thinks I’m pretty?” You hiccup, “I think he is very pretty, if only he would talk to me then I could tell him that!” Your eyes flutter closed as you feel yourself lean onto Chan’s shoulder. 

“Okay, let’s get you home.” Chan’s voice sounds muffled as you already feel the drunken slumber crashing over you. 

You don’t remember getting home last night, you don’t remember leaving the bar at all. As you awake to the faint beams of light peeking in through the dark curtains, your eyes scan the room around you, quickly finding you are not home at all. Chan’s sleeping body on the ground makes your chest ache with guilt, you felt guilty that we were so drunk last night you couldn’t even make it home and poor Chan had to sleep on the floor. You get up and kneel next to him, softly shaking him awake. 

Chan hums with half open eyes, furrowing his eyebrows up at you. “Chan, get into bed, I’m awake, I’m sorry.” The man only shakes his head as he snuggles on the soft carpet and closes his eyes again, the sight almost makes you laugh. With a sigh you decide to freshen up seeing as you were still in your clothes from last night, you grab some of Chan’s sweats and a hoodie before making your way to the bathroom to freshen up, luckily since you were here so often, you had some toiletries in his bathroom but you make a mental note to bring some extra clothes next time too.

After washing up and changing into Chan's clothes, you enter the bedroom again to find that he has somehow migrated over to the bed whilst you were gone. His deep snoring confirms he was still asleep so you decide to make your way downstairs, your mind was set on one thing and one thing only. With the throbbing headache, granted by the lovely hangover you’ve acquired, the only thing you could think of right now was a nice hot cup of coffee. 

Which is why a smile is printed across your lips as you jog down the final steps of the staircase. The closer you get to the kitchen the more you notice the familiar scent of brewing coffee. The smell reaches you and you almost sigh out loud. You fully expect Jun to be hovering near the coffee machine with that signature smile of his so when you spot Minghao leaning against the counter, his right hand bringing a mug to his lips, you almost gasp in surprise. 

“Good morning.” Your greeting is hesitant as your gleeful skipping turns into soft steps toward the kitchen. Minghao softly looks up from his phone and nods towards you, “Good Morning.” His voice was deep and rich, you could tell he just woke up, the sound sends a wave of warmth through your body and suddenly you want to keep talking to him to hear it again. 

“I..uh didn’t know you were here.” Once again your words come out unsure, almost as though saying the wrong thing would shatter whatever plane of ice you and Minghao were skating over right now. 

“I was here last night with Jun when Chan carried you in after your night out.” He says matter of factly but the crispness of his words hold a bite to them that you weren’t expecting. You wonder if he thinks you're a sloppy drunk, one more point to add to the list of things he doesn’t like about you, you guess. 

“Oh.” You whisper with your head turned downwards as you walk up to the coffee machine but before you could serve yourself a cup, Minghao grabs one from his side and offers it to you. He doesn’t say a word as you hesitantly grab it before walking around the kitchen island to take a seat on one of the barstools facing Minghao. You mutter a thank you as you take a sip to find the coffee just to your liking. You can’t help your eyes from looking up only to find Minghao already staring at you. “Good?” He asks, tilting his head toward the mug in your hands and you can only nod wordlessly as you take another sip. Minghao nods and takes a sip from his mug as well. You didn’t want to begin to question how Minghao knew how you like your coffee, that was a question for post hangover you. 

“I thought you didn’t like coffee?” In that moment you decided to throw out the comfortable routine you have placed between you and Minghao, suddenly feeling the need to hear him speak to you. This is the first time since meeting him that the two of you are alone, and those fleeting seconds in which his eyes are on you, his words targeted directly at you and no one else, feel so intoxicating you would do anything to have them return to you even for just another moment. 

His eyes glance back up and you swear you catch a faint smirk on his lips hiding behind the yellow coffee mug in his hand. You’re convinced you feel your heart stop at the sight, was Minghao truly cracking his stoic expression towards you and what did you have to do to make him do it again? 

“I don’t like coffee, this is tea.” His words are straightforward as though it is the most obvious thing in the world. Your eyebrows furrowed together in confusion, it didn’t seem like anyone else was awake this early so he had to have been the one to brew the coffee. 

“If you’re not drinking it, then why did you make the coffee?” You can’t force your eyes to look away from his own. 

“For you.” You don’t even have time to process his words when footsteps sound from the stairs, alerting you that someone new was awake, with your back to the stairs you can’t see who it is until you feel a hand pat down on your head. 

“Good morning, Y/nnie. Ooh, you made coffee!” Chan ruffles your hair at the top of your head, “Hey, when did you steal my clothes?” He notes, eyeing the oversized hoodie on your figure before walking around the island to greet Minghao and serve himself a cup of coffee. 

You don’t respond, you can’t, not when you can only watch as Minghao’s eyes travel down from your own to the hoodie swallowing your small frame. He doesn’t say a word before pushing away from the counter and walking away from the kitchen with his mug in hand and not another word spoken. 

“Channie, you have the worst timing.” You groan as you rest your forehead on the counter. 

“What did I do?” You heard him through a mouthful of cereal that you aren’t sure when he had the time to grab. 

~~~~

It’s another couple days before you see Minghao, if you didn’t know any better you’d think he was purposefully avoiding you after that morning. You do know better though, anything you felt that morning between you and Minghao was clearly one sided, just your hopeless romantic side wanting to attain the same affections it was wanting to give out. Of course Minghao didn’t mean anything by making you coffee, you were dumb to think otherwise is what you would tell yourself constantly to get him out of your head. But truthfully it was getting harder and harder to do so the more time passed. 

Minghao could not rationalize what he was feeling right now. Truth be told, the shift in his feelings towards you recently have caught him entirely by surprise. When he first met you, Minghao thought you were gorgeous but inevitably he concluded that you were Lee Chan’s. From that day in the kitchen during his birthday, when he saw how close you and Chan were, the way he patted your head, Minghao understood that you were already spoken for. After the initial encounter, Minghao also came to the realization that you were entirely too sweet for him. You deserve someone equally as bubbly and happy as you, someone like Lee Chan who could match your energy. 

He would avoid you in group settings but his eyes always found you when you weren’t looking, he honestly didn’t mean to be rude, he just didn’t know how to interact with you. He was weary about getting to know you because the little bits and pieces he learned from observing you or from Chan himself were enough to intrigue Minghao further and he knew it was not a good idea to get to know you anymore than that. You were like a temptation, one that was getting increasingly more difficult to refuse. 

Jealousy was not an emotion he was familiar with, but the more he saw you with Chan the more he was getting used to that dreadful pit in his chest. When he saw Chan carry your drunken body through the front door that night, his initial reaction was utter concern, he worried if you had gotten hurt. The speed in which he got up from the couch sprouted a chuckle from Jun. When Chan had explained that you just had too much to drink and he would be putting you to bed, that pit in his chest erupted into something stronger and Minghao had to physically force himself back down on the couch to hold his tongue. 

He’s not sure what caused him to wake up at the crack of dawn in the silence of the living room where he sat for who knows how long until he heard footsteps upstairs. In that moment he remembered you mentioning once how a good cup of coffee could cure any hangover so without thinking much of it, the quiet man found himself in the kitchen brewing you some fresh coffee despite hating the smell himself. 

He internally cursed himself for admiring how beautiful you looked in the morning or how adorable you were when you tried the coffee for the first time as you let out a hum of relief at the taste. It was concerning how he found himself wanting to continue talking to you, he had spent so long avoiding individual conversation with you and now that he had it, however fleeting it may be, he doesn’t want to let go. That is until Chan stumbles down the steps with a lazy smile, the way he ruffles your hair is like a wave of cold water over Minghao, a wake up call and a reminder that he can not have you, not in the way he wants you. When Chan points out his clothes engulfing your frame Minghao swears he feels his fists clench around the mug he was holding. He decides to take his leave at that moment, not before muttering a quiet greeting toward Chan. 

Minghao knows he shouldn’t react like this, he knows it isn’t Chan’s fault or your own but he can’t help but feel upset, upset that he didn’t meet you first, upset that he couldn’t let himself get close to you without feeling like he was betraying his friend. A small part of him realizes he is being ridiculous, Chan has never openly declared having any feeling for you, never once referred to you as anything other than a really good friend but Minghao is convinced there is something more between the two of you because how can someone be so close to you and not fall for you? 

~~~~

It was game night at Jun and Chan’s place, your first time being in the same room as Minghao since that morning a couple days ago and you could tell things were seemingly back to normal with him avoiding your gaze and staying on the opposite end of the room. The guys were currently playing Mario Kart with Mingyu constantly reaching over to cover his opponents eyes in an attempt to win. The sight brought you damn near to tears as you laughed at his futile attempt to get past eighth place. Jun was yelling at him for cheating and Chan was too busy laughing to realize that his rank was dropping in the race. In the midst of your laughter your eyes found Minghao who was lounging on one of the love seats, his eyes were directly on you and there was a soft smile on his lips, an actual smile. The sight alone was enough to knock the wind out of you, your laughter died down but your smile was as bright as ever. Minghao seemingly caught himself staring and stood up whilst clearing his throat, claiming he needed some air as he walked to the sliding back door and stepped out into the night. 

It all happened so quickly, you’d think you hallucinated it if it weren’t for the soft shove on your shoulder from a smiley blonde boy. Hoshi grinned up at you before nudging his head over to the sliding door Minghao had just walked out of. You instantly shake your head but feel Hoshi begin to softly push you up off the couch. 

“Go, he’s too stubborn to make the first move.” Hoshi almost grumbles out as you stand on your own two feet, your eyes widened at his words but as you turn to question him, he only shakes his head and smiles. “Go.” 

You can feel their eyes on you as you walk toward the sliding door but you don’t dare turn around to face them. Stepping out into the cool night air you allow yourself to take in a deep breath, Minghao is standing off to the side with his hands in his pockets. He doesn’t turn his head to face you which only confirms he is aware of who followed him outside. 

Without hesitating, you take a step closer to him while still keeping a good distance anyway. You decided to stand there in the silence as you rub your hands together and look up at the moon. Normally you hated the silence but being out here with Minghao was peaceful, you didn’t mind the silence as much as you admired the stars in the sky. After a few moments you feel eyes on you which causes you to break away from the moon and the stars only to find Minghao gazing at you with that once again unreadable expression on his face. 

“Hi.” Your voice is just above a whisper as if speaking any louder would disrupt the calm that surrounds you. The corner of his lips lift upward in a gorgeous crooked smile. 

“Hi.” He whispers back without bothering to look away from you. His eyes on you raise goosebumps on your skin, he had never looked at you for this long without looking away and you didn’t want to do anything to disturb it. A smile graces your own lips as you admire him in return. He looked beautiful with the moonlight reflecting in his eyes with a sparkle that you could admire for hours if he let you. 

You didn’t want to disturb the peace between the two of you but you had to know, you had to get it out. You were never one to hold your emotions in for long, if something was on your mind you usually spoke it aloud. 

“Do I make you uncomfortable?” You flinch at your own words, worried that the side of Minghao he has decided to share with you right now would slip away and that stoic expression would return. To your surprise, Minghao just sighs and shakes his head. 

“No, you don’t make me uncomfortable, Y/N.” His response along with the use of your name made your head spin, you don’t think you’ve ever actually heard Minghao use your first name, at least not directed at you. It sounded so nice coming from his lips, you didn’t realize your name could sound so pretty. 

“Did I do something wrong then? Did I offend you somehow?” At this point you were searching for any kind of explanation for the way he treats you, at least if you knew what you did wrong you could apologize and give him his space. 

He shakes his head again, this time a soft chuckle slips past his lips. 

“Then why…why do you avoid me as much as you do, why do you hate me?” 

Minghao couldn’t help the way his eyes widened in surprise at your blunt question. How could he not realize he was treating you so badly to the point you believed he genuinely hated you? 

“Oh, angel. I don’t hate you, I’m sorry for making you think I do. I just…” He grows silent then, not knowing how to voice his emotions. He was never too good at doing so with words, he often found himself expressing his feelings through actions instead. 

You don’t say anything, not wanting to discourage him from sharing how he really feels about you if it isn’t hatred. 

“I’m not used to this…you make me feel different, I thought I could ignore it.” He pauses again, turning to look up at the moon as he sighed. “I don’t hate you, I never did. I - I think I have stronger feelings for you that I was prepared to have and…it doesn’t help to see you with Chan, I guess I felt…jealous and guilty for having these emotions when you two are…” He trails off and shakes his head again. 

“Whatever you two are is none of my business. I was only trying to keep my distance, I’m sorry for making you feel this way…that wasn’t my intention.” Minghao continues to face the sky, not daring to look you in the eye after his confession. 

His words take a moment to fully sink into your skin, you don't know whether to smile, laugh, or cry. All this time, Minghao was brushing you off because he liked you and here you were accusing him of hating you. He just didn’t know how to express his feelings for you because of Chan - you blink a couple times, realizing the last point of his confession. 

“Wait, you think there’s something going on between Chan and me?” You point to yourself and then towards the house again, a look of disbelief on your face as Minghao only shrugs before turning his head to face you again. With his hands still in his pocket and that unreadable expression still painted across his features he looks so incredibly nonchalant, you almost want to kick him for looking so casual while you were trying your very best to not freak out in front of him. 

“Isn’t there?” His tone is once again extremely calm as if the concept of you and Chan being romantically involved was obvious to everyone. Your eyes nearly bulge out of your head at his response. 

“No! Absolutely not, why would you think that?” Minghao’s eyebrows twitch up and you find yourself wondering if his reaction is that of surprise with a mix of relief. 

“I..I guess I just assumed since you guys are so close and-” 

“Wait, has Chan said something? Because we are not together, do the others think so? No, no I think you’re the only one that thinks Chan and I are anything more than friends.” You shake your head at the thought, the others knew you well enough now to know that Chan and yourself treat each other like siblings, there were no questions about it. 

“Okay, maybe I am the only one that thought that, I don’t know…I’m sorry.” His apology is sincere if the downturn of the corner of his lips was anything to go by. 

“So, you were jealous? Because you thought I was with Chan?” You turn your body to fully face him now and you allow yourself to take a step toward him, still keeping a distance between your bodies.

Minghao hesitates for a moment as he looks back up at the stars littering the night sky. With him looking away, you find yourself admiring him once again but really when aren’t you admiring this man? 

“It didn’t start off as jealousy, at first I just didn’t know you and I’m not very comfortable around people when I first meet them. Then you started hanging out with us more and I found myself enjoying your presence. I thought you and Chan were together, or at least that you liked each other so I felt guilty because I couldn’t help myself from looking at you or listening intently to your every word even when you thought I wasn’t paying attention. I felt like I was betraying a friend, I hated myself for thinking of you that way because I was so convinced you were Chan’s. It made me feel even more uncomfortable, every time I saw you I just wanted to talk to you, touch you, I wanted your attention. But lately it’s been getting harder to push you away.” 

Your heart was beating so rapidly against your ribcage you were sure it would burst through the constraints and land on the ground in front of you. Part of you wanted nothing more than to embrace the quiet man before you, you wanted to call him an idiot for not talking to you sooner, you wanted to reassure him how he should have never felt guilty for feeling the way he felt, and most importantly you wanted to kiss him until your lips bruised.

“I don’t like Lee Chan, he’s my best friend and there is nothing going on between us at all. If you would have tried to have even just one conversation with me, you probably would have noticed that I don’t like Chan because…I like you, Minghao.” Unsure of his reaction, you can’t help but hold your breath as you watch him. His head slowly turns to face you and his eyes display a kind of emotion you have never seen on him before. 

“Really?” His tone is full of disbelief, he wasn’t expecting the conversation to turn this way but he couldn’t be happier. Minghao felt his breath get caught in his throat awaiting your response, suddenly nothing else mattered, not even breathing.

You nod enthusiastically up at him, taking another step towards him without being able to stop yourself. Minghao feels his own body turn to fully face you now and his hands come out from his pockets to rub at the sides of his cargo pants. 

“I like you, Minghao.” You whisper as you look up at him with big eyes that nearly melt him right then and there. He’s never heard you say his name before and now he’s addicted to the sound. Minghao doesn’t even realize he has taken the necessary steps toward you to completely close the gap between the two of you, his hands instinctively reach out to softly cup your jaw and tilt your head up to meet your eyes. 

“Say it again, please.” His voice is quiet and almost pleading. The sound alone makes your knees weak, there is just something about hearing his voice sound so nervous when he is normally so calm and collected that you can’t resist. You don’t hesitate to repeat yourself whilst gazing up at him in admiration. 

“I have feelings for you, Minghao. Only you.” You whisper again with a smile as Minghao caresses your cheeks with his thumbs, his hands still holding your jaw. Your own hands come up to hold onto his wrists, tilting your face to press a kiss to his fingertips. The way he looks down at you can only be described as mesmerized the way his eyes study your face as though you would fade into the night at any moment. 

“You sound so pretty saying my name, angel.” Your heart swells in your chest and your cheeks grow warm at his words. How can he say he’s not good with words and then say something like that? 

“Minghao..” The tone in which your voice morphs sounds more like a whimper than anything else which causes an amused smirk to grow on his lips. “Hmm?” He hums in response at you, still caressing your face in his hands. 

“Kiss me?” You practically beg him, pouting your lips for good measure. The taller man grins down at you before leaning in to finally press his lips into yours. You melt into the kiss instantly feeling a warmth overtake your entire body. If it weren't for Minghao’s hands still holding your jaw you were sure you’d collapse from how weak your knees felt. Your grip on his wrists only tightened as he deepened the kiss with his tongue licking at your bottom lip. 

Parting your lips for him, you finally feel his tongue swipe against your own and the kiss only deepens from there. Suddenly you both forget you are right outside the house, with your friends waiting just inside and any one of them could step out and catch the two of you in your current state but this doesn’t seem to stop Minghao from trailing his left hand down to your waist, the other slightly lowering to the side of your soft neck. His left hand squeezes at the skin on your side, groaning into the kiss as he feels you arch your back for him. Your hands find his hair and instantly tug at the dark tresses by the nape of his neck. You would do anything to stay in this moment forever but eventually the two of you have to pull away for air. Minghao doesn’t hesitate in trailing kisses along your jawline and down the side of your neck making you smile and sigh. 

It was so peaceful being with him like this, his presence made you feel comfortable and safe. The way he looked down at you now with affection completely countered the looks he used to throw at you, you wondered how you could have ever considered that he hated you. 

“How mad do you think Chan will get with me for stealing you away from him?” He asked with a bright grin on his face, you decide at that moment you don’t ever want to go another day without seeing that wide smile. 

“About as mad as Jun will be with me for stealing you away from him.” You joke back with him, giggling as he pulls you in for a tight hug, as his larger hand holds the back of your head, pulling you as close to him as possible. 

“Thank you.” You feel him whisper into your hair. Your eyebrows furrow together in confusion at his words. “For what?” 

He shrugs, “For following me out here.” You smile into his chest, wrapping your arms around him tightly. 

“Would it be entirely too cringey to say I’d follow you anywhere?” Your words are broken up with giggles inbetween causing you to lightly shake in his hold. You can feel Minghao groan from deep within his chest and his head shake from above you. 

“Entirely.” He chuckles as he shuts his eyes but only pulls you impossibly closer. 

“Okay.” You smile into his chest as your fits of giggles die down and you return to that comfortable silence you can only fully experience with him. 

| ahh! my first fic after so long! thank you for reading, it was really fun to get back into this writing style. it was only fitting my first fic on here be about minghao himself lol |

[sunnymoon-sunshine]

The first passage is SO GOOD it made me actually get the book and start reading (something I do embarrassingly rarely) and man, it’s just interesting. Like, even going in knowing that the books have a lot of theme issues later on, it’s good for inspiration, I think. The salute is so creative and interesting and auuugh.

Thank u mister Bonefall for reading so I would end up reading too

A fire happens, the cute little stallion gets torched, and Clan territory is totally incinerated. They spent the night on the beach and Ratha wakes up to the proper introduction of Mr. Meoran, Our Antagonist For Today

[ID: Ratha bares her throat in a customary greeting and worried Meoran might abuse his ceremonial right and just bite her open]

I have SUCH a softness for big bads like this, man. I love this king caveman of a brute, and the idea he's such a primitive beast that there's a real chance he will enact the Law of the Jungle on her.

Aside from this custom being a really neat way to feline-ify a salute, it's just super cool how quickly we get across that Meoran is more animalistic than other Named cats.

With his hatred of the Unnamed, it would have been a really neat way to establish right off the bat for the series, "The real threat is an animal in our own midst, and he keeps us fighting against people who are not our enemies"

But ho hum. Anyway, Chad Meoran time

[ID: Thakur gently tries to suggest that maybe Meoran shouldn't bring the clan back to a barren, fire-ravaged wasteland. Meoran says Shut Up]

This is so funny djfhdjd brainless fucking dude. "I WANT TO GO HOME THE HORSECOWS WILL BE FINE."

"Sir this is a bad idea"

"1-800-DID-I-ASK?"

[inmyminditsreal]

Lego Is Life

Fem!reader x Spencer reid

Word count: 700 ish

Summary: Woken up by a very eager 8 year old daughter, Spencer and I crawl out of bed and indulge in Lego like true adults.

Warnings: sweetnessss

I'm supa tired so if this is rusty IM SORRRY!! also sorry i haven't posted in like 30 years. been tired and focused on school!! Hope you enjoy

Enjoyyyy!!!!

Spencer had just finished a case and as soon as he got home, he almost fell asleep while hugging me. I told him we should just go to bed, he agreed. So now we’re crawling into bed, finally able to get some sleep. Though, with an eight year-old daughter it’s very hard. Most nights we're woken up by bad dreams, the monster under the bed, that she puked, or that she wants to cuddle. We eventually both drift off to sleep, holding each other close. Until,

“Daddy! Come look at this!” Our daughter says as she bursts open the door. With a loud groan followed by a smile, Spencer crawls out of bed, picks her up and says,

“Where to sweetheart?"

“My bedroom!” She says with a stifled giggle. Curious as to what this mystery was, I crawl out of bed too and begin to follow them. I check my phone to see a whopping 1:37am. In the bedroom I see that Kasey has just finished building her Lego friends set.

“Awww that’s awesome sweetie.” I smile from the doorway with a yawn, and see Spencer give her a big high-five.

“I love it. Which one is this?” Spencer asks.

“This is the best waterpark ever. I call it Kasey’s Kool Slides, but cool with a k. It has all the cool characters and I can make them fight each other! It says you can add water to it! Can I?” 

“As long as you do in the living room, where there’s no carpet.” I add with a smile.

“So! Wanna play?” She zaps while looking at us with the biggest grin I've ever seen. 

We both look at each other with tired eyes and smile. “Absolutely.”

“YES! Okay so this is Emma, she’s my favourite and she likes Mia, Autumn, and Stephanie. But the other girls are their enemies! They’re the mean girls at their school.”

“Are they mean enough to give a tickle attack?” Spencer laughs as he throws her on the bed and tickles her into a fit of giggles. 

“Stop!!! Let's go to the living room and fill it with water!” She giggles as she escapes from his arms and runs down the stairs. 

“Are you sure you’re not too tired honey?” I ask Spencer, seeing his giant eyebags. 

“Of course. How could I miss out on this waterpark drama.”

I smile as he picks up the Lego set and walks down the stairs. Kasey has already cleared a big spot on the living room floor and filled a cup with water. “Are you ready?” She asks us both.

“Mhm.” I say, as we sit down by her and watch as she pours the water in with a giant smile. I watch as Spencer takes one of the characters and begins to fight with the one in her hand. She gasps and pushes his down the slide. Both of them, smiling like idiots. I join in  and they eventually tire eachother out. She collapses on top of Spencer, who has already fallen asleep on my lap. I snap a picture and gently wake him up,

“Spence, wake up its 3 in the morning. Honey, wake up.” I whisper while gently shaking his shoulder. His eyelids shutter and he looks up at me.

“Hi beautiful.” He smiles and shuffles his position.

“Don’t move!” I whisper-shout while pointing towards Kasey. He slips her into his arms, we both walk up as I pick up the lego set. In her room he sets her down on the bed and pulls the covers up slowly. She opens her eyes and smiles at us. 

“Goodnight mommy. Goodnight daddy. Can we play more tomorrow?” 

“I’ll see what I can do about that sweetheart. I love you.”  He says as he places a soft kiss on her forehead, and I do the same.

“I love you so so soooo much sweetie. Goodnight.” I whisper.

“I love you too.” She mumbles as she snuggles into her blankets. We turn out the lights and quietly shut the door. 

“She’s so cute, oh my god.” I mumble as we walk back to the room.

“So cute.” he says with a sleepy smile. I show him the picture I took of the two of them sleeping. He smiles and whispers softly,

“I love you so much.” While looking down at me. He collapses into the bed and I follow right after, crawling into his arms and drifting softly asleep.

[selkra-souza]

In the Spectrum Solar System in Broken Yolk Galaxy, three roommates travel from planet to planet on the spaceship Appex (x)(x), for work and misadventures.

Rutan was born and raised in a zrai community on a space colony that broke off from an older zrai colony that was uplifted by the sophant space faring nedal centuries ago, which chose to recreate ancient zrai traditions. He was brought up to follow his ancient ancestors’ culture, but grew up ostracized due a skin condition that makes communication difficult and leaves him with difficulty socializing. It also didn’t help that he was more interested in nedal culture, and that the art he wanted to make didn’t follow his cultural norms. So when a pair of nedal ambassadors recognize his artistic prowess, Rutan made the tough decision to move abroad on-planet to study art in a nedal university. With the accommodations he received, he was able to graduate in 3D modeling and animation. He works for a while in animation before going solo.

He acquires the spaceship Appex and decided to pilot it around the solar system traveling to new places. He does this at first on his own, and still does so now with his roommates. Rutan is sociable and energetic, though his lack of close friends throughout most of his life left him prone to being clingy and naive to being taken advantage of. He greatly enjoy the company of close friends, but because it’s a rarity for him, he’s adapted to his favorite hobbies which he mainly does alone, such as urban exploring overlooked infrastructure, surfing ancient websites that are centuries old, and artistically recreating his dreams.

Donelja is a delorix who’s from a moon colony that’s cohabitated by delorix and masakas. The main landmark of the moon colony is an expansive national park that they’ve dreamed of working in since childhood. Biology is a life long passion for Don, but earning an academic certification in it has been a life long struggle. Only being able to graduate in general studies, Don tried various volunteer work in the nature preserve instead, living year to year in various leased board housing, but was never satisfied doing ‘grunt” maintenance when they wanted instead to be a scientist.

It wasn’t until Don met Rutan visiting the moons’ national park, offering more permanent room in his ship, did Don see an opportunity to work more closely with the preserves’ scientists by hauling their bio samples off-moon to the neighboring planets’ laboratories. Don became more satisfied working more directly with the scientists they admired since childhood, though still laments not being to do their work directly. Don has pathological anger issues, and resents their lot in life. It’s been an uplifting opportunity to have a friend like Rutan as support in their career and emotionally. They both bond over journaling, while Rutan journals about cities in their travels, Don journals about the nature they come across.

Vertex spent several months on the run as a hobo before Rutan offered to take him in, something Donelja was never on board with, but ultimately whatever captain Rutan says goes! Ver doesn’t like talking about where they came from, and is emotionally closed off. They’re constantly taking about moving out of spaceship to live on their own while in the middle of six month interplanetary trips, yet can never find a “good enough” place to do so. Their home planet, the only place in the solar system that would easily make room for them, they consider “crummy” and “off limits” for some reason.

Vertex is closed off and uncooperative, which irritates Donelja, and is easily forgiven my Rutan. Ver spends most of their time borrowing Rutan’s tablet, so at least they’re quite and out of the way for the most part.

[icyhottodo]

DAY AND NIGHT ˚₊✩‧₊

summary: you have always been in love with your best friend, but you weren’t sure if he liked you back due to his behavior of flirting with many people, including you. but you finally get your answer when isagi takes you out.

contains: f2l-ish, it's implied to but yeah LOL, gn reader, 1.6k words, pinning from both sides, isagi calls you love, pretty, and babe.

nini’s notes: i quite literally hate this but the idea was cute in my head ok? (๑•́o•̀๑) i wanted this song to feel like day & night by jung seunghwan! you guys should give it a listen. lastly, thank you to ri (@riabriyn) for proofreading <3

people often call teenagers and young adults in the prime of their lives. the reason why? because they are old enough to gain more freedom from their family, they can escape situations more easily.

summer break so far has been quite boring; the weather was too hot for you to go anywhere fun. you were lying carelessly on the floor of your living room, just staring at the ceiling. until isagi bursts into your home, happily walking in. your home is a second home to isagi, so knocking is unnecessary for him.

"y/n! get ready; we’re going somewhere!"  isagi excitedly jumped onto you after he found you. you made an ‘oomph’ noise due to isagi’s sudden weight.

"where are we going?

"that, my love, is a secret." he climbs on top of you and puts his index finger on top of your lips, showing how much isagi wanted to keep it a surprise.

isagi tends to be touchy with you and quite often calls you pet names. this usually causes misunderstandings between your friends because they think that both of you are dating, but isagi would always clarify, saying the relationship was purely platonic. nonetheless, whenever he is close to you or gives you cute nicknames, it always makes your stomach churn, not knowing if that feeling is good or not.

you turn your head to the side to avoid looking at his charming smirk, but you can't help but hide a smile forming on your face. "alright, isagi."

isagi gets off you and sits right next to you, saying, "go get ready and make sure you dress warmly; we’ll stay there at night."

the next thing you know, you’re in isagi’s car, driving through the streets, recognizing the roads until you no longer know where you are. with the soothing music on the radio and isagi’s humming, you start to feel tired. your eyelids slowly close with time until you lose consciousness.

"hey there, sleepyhead." you can feel a hand run through your head, massaging your scalp. the action was so soothing, it almost made you fall asleep once again.

"woah there, don’t go sleeping on me again, love. come on; we’re here." isagi stops massaging your head, making you whine. nonetheless effectively waking you up. sleepily, you look around your surroundings. you quickly concluded that isagi had brought you to a small local fair located in a park. so everything around you was surrounded by grass, children, vendors, and many people.

"come on! i’ll buy you as many snacks as you want. but not those carnival games; they’re a scam." isagi warmly smiles at you, quickly adding to that last sentence about fair booths. isagi holds out his hand to pull out of his car while saying that. damn. there goes your heart again. you hope isagi isn’t able to hear your heart pounding this fast. you take isagi’s hand, not wanting to leave him hanging for too long.

most of the rides were kid-friendly, so you weren’t exactly out of energy. after deciding you two were done with rides, you two went for the carnival games, and you scanned through the prizes for each carnival booth, which mainly consisted of plushies until an award caught your eye. the reward was a plushie of one of your favorite animals, and it was huge.

coincidentally, you and isagi approached the very same booth with the plushie that had caught your eye. isagi looked at the carnival game, and to his surprise, the game was a kick-and-score booth. the way to win is basically in the name; in front of the player is a cardboard wall with a soccer net painted. finally, a circular hole was carved out right in the middle of the soccer goal. all isagi needed to do was kick the soccer ball into that hole.

"one soccer ball, please," isagi said while pulling out the required tokens to play. this made you turn to isagi in confusion. you thought earlier that isagi had said these carnival games were rigged. now he is suddenly playing them? perhaps isagi is playing this game because the game is related to soccer, as you assumed.

and you weren't surprised when isagi’s soccer ball fits right through the carved-out hole, assuming that's why he won through the vigorous training he went through in blue lock. "wow, it's not easy to make that goal, kid." the booth keeper stated in awe. "which prize do you want? you can get anything." the booth keeper showed isagi all of the prizes he could choose from, but without a thought, isagi pointed at the very same plushie you were staring at minutes ago. your face quickly morphs into shock when isagi excitedly turns to you, handing over the plushie he worked so hard to gain.

"here, it's for you," isagi hesitantly said with an evident blush on his face. flustered by his actions, you still gratefully took the stuffed animal with a wide smile.

"thank you, isagi." you held the present up to your chest and held it tightly. you never mentioned anything about the plushie to isagi. but when you two approached the booth, isagi noticed that you were just staring at the prize you wanted. in his mind, he instantly knew he wanted to win that prize to make you happy. he’ll do anything to see you smile. "you two are such a cute couple. reminds me of me and my wife."

immediately, you and isagi turned to each other in confusion before turning back to the carnival booth keeper. right when you were about to deny the allegations of you two being a couple, isagi beat you to it.

"thank you." you blankly stared at isagi, taking a few seconds to comprehend what he just said. but before you could realize what he had said, isagi pulled you away and started to walk away before you could deny anything to the carny.

you didn’t know whether to say anything or not. opting to choose the first option, feigning ignorance about whatever happened earlier. isagi didn’t even approach any other carnival game after the first game.

you two continued to walk around the fair, eating some cotton candy or freshly made popcorn, until the sun started to set. isagi confidently interlocks his hand with yours, and he starts leading you away from the rides and off to the grassier areas. you can see people setting up blankets or even tents on the grass throughout the park. once you two found a clear spot, isagi let go of your hand and said, "hold on, i’ll be right back soon."

you stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do. you waited for a few minutes until isagi ran back to you, holding two thick blankets between his arm and chest; the other was a picnic box. "here... i got these... for you." isagi puffs out from what you can safely assume was because of the running.

you helped isagi lay the blanket on the grass, and the two of you sat on it. isagi places the woven basket right in between the basket and opens it to grab something inside. you soon find out what isagi was looking for when isagi pulls out two white cloths along with two candles.

"we’re making lanterns!" isagi showed the white cloths excitedly. "it's a lantern festival." isagi continued, his hand gesturing to the people around you guys. when you looked you noticed each blanket had at least one shining light on them. you look up at the sky, and you can see the stars shining. you were brought back to reality when isagi jokingly accused you and asked, "babe, are you not going to help me build your lantern?"

you rolled your eyes, feigning annoyance, before scooting over closer to where isagi sat. in the midst of setting them up, isagi says, "we’re supposed to let these lanterns float at..." isagi checks the time on his watch: "eleven p.m., so in five minutes or so."

the time seemed to pass by quickly since you started to see people stand up and let their lanterns start to fly. you two start to get ready to release the lanterns. you hold the bottom of the lantern’s cloth and gently lift the light into the air with the countdown with isagi’s.

"wow." you exclaimed in awe, "the lanterns look so pretty." once the two your eyes sparkled from all the light from the lanterns and the stars.

isagi wished he had taken a photo of you; instead of looking at the lanterns, he was admiring you. his eyes stay on you and nothing else. "yeah, they look extremely pretty."

you noticed that isagi’s tone sounded a bit dreamy, which made you turn to him. who was already looking at you. your eyes widen slightly from seeing isagi turn pink from being caught by you; you were lucky to catch a glimpse of a flustered isagi because of all the lanterns. you laughed nervously. did isagi mean that you’re pretty? "isagi, you’re not even looking at the sky. how can you claim that the sky is pretty?"

"i mean, you are pretty."

[sergeantgoggles]

Maycrowzer Headcanons (SFW)

I'll get back to writing prompts eventually. Been a little under the weather lately with an injury that isn't healing, so I made a self-indulgent list of headcanons for my favorite Bad Batch OT3.

TW: Mentions of PTSD, alcohol abuse, anger issues, body dysmorphia, and eating disorders.

Howzer is jealous of Mayday when they first find and rescue him from Tantiss. He’ll never forget the way Crosshair forgot himself and ran into Mayday’s arms amongst the bodies littering the floor of the base. The only greeting he got was an anxious sneer when Crosshair showed up on Teth.

The threesome was Mayday’s idea. He pitches it to Howzer so casually that Howzer thinks he’s joking at first, but when he sees that Mayday is serious, he figures he has nothing left to lose.

None of them expected the outcome, especially Crosshair. No way was his luck so high that he had reconciled and found love with Howzer AND was able to rescue Mayday and be with him, too.

Moving to Pabu just seemed right. Mayday wasn’t willing t fight anymore, and he was determined to keep Crosshair safe. Howzer took some convincing, but ultimately, being where they were was what he wanted.

They build their house close to the beach. It didn’t matter much to Crosshair where they ended up as long as they were together and his brothers and sister were nearby.

Howzer, having initially been trained to be a marine soldier, loves being near the open water.

Mayday, having spent much of the last couple of years in a cold, frozen planet, like having the warmth of the sun and colors of the sunset filtering through their bedroom window.

He also has a garden in the backyard that he tends to daily. His garden becomes the island’s best source of medicinal herbs and vegetables for harvesting and Mayday is very proud of it.

Also, this man is so into Dad Rock. Sometimes he can get Crosshair to loosen up and rock out with him in the living room, but other times Crosshair comes in from shopping to see Mayday and Omega with Hunter’s old bandana wrapped around her head playing a mean air guitar.

Howzer picks up a job as security detail for the island. It makes him feel like he’s still contributing to the rebellion by keeping his loved ones and Pabu safe from the Empire. He’d heard about Tech’s brainwashing and what he did to Pabu while he was under the Empire’s control, and he vows to never let anything like that happen again.

Crosshair spreads out his time doing odd jobs for the people on the island and picks up a whittling hobby. He’ll sit on the beach with his toes in the water and a knife watching the sun move across the sky and make little trinkets out of wood. He’s rather good at it, and most residents of the island have one of his masterpieces in their houses.

But not everything is perfect in paradise.

They all have nightmares. Some of them are easier to get through than others. Sometimes, they’re bad enough that someone needs to be restrained.

The first time it happens, Crosshair clocks Howzer in the face because he thinks Howzer is a Shadow Clone that’s come for him and his family. Howzer understands, but Crosshair apologizes for weeks after the incident.

Mayday develops a drinking problem, which is to say, he gets violent and angry when he’s had too much to drink and has a habit of taking it out on Crosshair and Howzer. Howzer can handle it, but if Mayday starts in on Crosshair, Howzer makes Crosshair leave to stay with one of his brothers until Mayday calms down and sobers up.

It doesn’t happen often. Many times Mayday can have several drinks and be fine and happy or maybe even horny, but when it does happen, Howzer knows they’re in for a long night.

After two years of living the island life together, they make their relationship a marriage. They don’t wear rings. Rings can get lost or ruined or given back. Instead, they get matching tattoos of three planets, one for how they each met one another: Ryloth, Barton IV, and Coruscant. (Technically, Howzer met Mayday on Tantiss, but they collectively agreed that planet has no place in their lives or on their bodies anymore). The three planets all surround one in the center, Pabu.

Mayday has his on his chest, right over his heart, because he’s a romantic sap.

Crosshair has it on his left hip.

Howzer has his on his right calf.

When they’re a little older and the lush, island lifestyle begins to catch up with them, Howzer develops an eating disorder. His physical appearance is important to him, and he’s worked incredibly hard to maintain his physique and proportions, but age can’t help but make him softer around the edges, and he hates it.

He wakes up one morning after a few months of eating only what he needs to and working out endlessly to see himself in the mirror. He’s pleased with what he sees, unable to tell that he isn’t healthy. He’s too thin and looks frail, but he’s finally happy with what he sees in the mirror.

Mayday looks at him that morning, REALLY looks, and he sees what Howzer can’t, but Howzer is smiling in a way that he hasn’t in a short while, and he’s so proud of himself. It breaks Mayday’s heart.

(An intervention occurs, and Mayday and Crosshair do their best to keep reassuring Howzer that he’s not less for enjoying the life that he worked for).

They have family dinners once a week, usually at Hunter and Tech’s place, but sometimes at Wrecker and Shep’s house. Omega and Lyana love to cook for them (with help from Shep and Wrecker, who takes interest in it when he learns just how much you can do with food).

One of Crosshair’s favorite photos is one that Tech sneakily took during one of the festivals on the island of Howzer dancing with Omega and spinning her around. He gives a copy of the photo to her when she confides in them that she’s joining Hera’s fleet in the resistance.

[us3rnam3-r3dact3d]

we're only like a third of the way there you say? 22 more chapters you say? babe wake up Baz just posted and im shaking. a third seems so big yet so small omg we're not even there yet and I'm already sad about this story ending,, such an amazing story im honored to witness it live

there's something so intense and intimate about 2 people being in the front seats of a car, it's like the energy of a living room, literally anything could happen. it was the perfect setting for this conversation. I felt like I was there

the contrasts in the 3rd paragraph are incredible. going from quinn's violence to his "love", to sam's "violence" to his care. it's like darlin's brain can only jump from one extreme to the next - they can't even begin to comprehend sam's gentleness for them,,,, a little too relatable 🫠 being so lost in this cycle that you, first of all, can't imagine a way out, and second, can't imagine that you even deserve it.........my heart is aching,, and david's defeat, knowing someone you care about is hurting and them being juuust out of reach HEY!!! OUCH!!

YOU WERE 16!!!! YOU WERE 16 IT WAS NEVER YOUR FAULT DAVID KNOWS IT WASNT YOUR FAULT PLEASE DARLIN NOOOOO

and when he got out of the car my stomach was TWISTINGG I thought he was going to THROW UP. I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO THROW UP. I am so so so glad that they told him and that it came from them, cuz like idk, hot take (it's really not) david was lowkey mean during that confrontation video, u just learned that your pack mate experience something incredibly traumatic and ur first instinct was to show up to their home and sass them? hey get out of my apartment by the way im never talking to you again. I'm glad it was a david & darlin vs quinn and not david vs darlin vs quinn.

he knows what it's like to go through something devastating and not being able to speak out or get help and he's not going to hold it against them, guys we're making huge strides right now

AND OF COURSE QUINN IS HERE BECAUSE WHY WOULDNT HE BE. FUCK OFF 🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕

david has picked up angel and darlin under his arms like 2 footballs and he's getting the FUCK outta there. what a man.

I felt like I couldn't read fast enough

I can't wait for what happens next, it's been a rough couple weeks for me but your stories always make me feel better (no matter how angsty), help me forget about life for a while and make me remember what really matters,,,,,hot men,,, god bless

take care of yourself!!!! 🫶

-🦀

I knooowwwww!!! I honestly thought this story would be MUCH shorter tbh?? I had no idea it would even be ten chapters, let alone 30 something. When I was first conceptualizing this story, I had like… six or seven critical scenes in mind and that was IT! I’m glad that the story has become what it is now. I’m truly so excited and happy with how it’s turning out.

Bro some of my best and most heartfelt conversations with my siblings have been in the front seat of a car. I base a lot of David and Darlin’s moments on my relationship with them, so I wanted to incorporate that intimacy and friendship. I’m so glad that the setting translated well!!

Bro the contrast between Quinn and Sam continues to be a mind fuck for Darlin’. They said it themself a few chapters ago, love has always been intimately tied with violence for them. They can’t imagine a world in which the man who loves them doesn’t hurt them. They keep trying to merge the person they understand Sam to be with the way they understand love. Sam won’t hurt them. So Sam can’t love them. For Sam to love them, he has to hurt them.

They’ll get there.

David can see how they’re torturing themself. He wants to just shake them and tell them to STOP but he knows it won’t help. It didn’t help him.

THEY WERE JUST A KID!!!! I was struggling to create the power imbalance of quite old vampire and mortal person, until I was like “Oh. He was for sure a 25 year old who hit on teenagers.” And poor Darlin’ had no support at home. Perfect target for an asshole like Quinn.

David very nearly did throw up. His internal monologue was “I’m gonna kill him im gonna kill him I’m gonna hurl oh my god oh my god I have to sell the house I’m never letting them (both Angel and Darlin’) out of my sight I’m gonna kill him with my bare hands.” He stopped the car because he knew he was going to crash it if he didn’t.

And YEAH!!! I felt like Darlin got very little agency in canon so. They get a lot in this. To mimic canon, they’re going to FEEL like David’s taking this out of their hands, but he’s actually about to give them more tools and community.

Of COURSE QUINN RUINS THIS!!! HE RUINS EVERYTHING!!!

David is about to carry every person he loves out of Dahlia and hide them in a hole somewhere. He needs to PROTECT THEM!!!! EVERYONE!!!

I’m so sorry your past few weeks have been rough buddy!!! I’m glad that my silly little stories can help! I love writing them and I love hearing your thoughts. Your asks are one of my fav parts of posting.

Can’t wait to post more for y’all!!

[seat-safety-switch]

It would be pretty cool to have a matter transporter. You could just jam old broken cars into it, and then have those broken cars instantly teleported to your backyard. Or you could get free shipping on eBay parts by having folks beam those parts into your garage. Or you could go on vacation to exotic foreign countries, buy their shitboxes, and not have to worry about booking room on a roll-on-roll-off cargo ship for the return voyage. Unfortunately, we currently have to obey the laws of physics, which means that we have to still move broken cars the traditional way.

I’m sure the world’s pre-eminent crapcan scientists are working on it, though. They want to be able to order M8x12x1.50 subframe bolts from Japan even when the parts stores here are closed, and be able to whip their junk together just in time to get to work on Monday so they don’t get canned. Their work is hard enough already without having to invent a time machine, or – ugh – go shopping for a new car. That’s a lot of money that could be spent on like 20 or 30 broken old cars, which will bring them more total enjoyment in life.

Until then, everyone who’s really into junk has their own style of getting crap home. They flat-tow it, or fix it on the spot, or they buy an ancient ramp truck and spend all their time fixing that, or they’re in the mafia and know a guy named Tony who has a tow truck and is willing to show up whenever they want and kill as many people as it takes to get the car out of there.

For me, I’m sort of an incremental turtle style. I fix the car there, and then start driving it. Then, of course, it breaks down, sometimes in a new way. So I fix it again, and drive it for another couple of feet. Eventually, I just leave it there and decide to go back another day.

Most of the time this works, but sometimes the parking patrol tow my new car somewhere for me and send me an angry letter about the bill. Since I live pretty close to the city impound lot, this actually works out quite well for me. If they auction it, well, only I am gonna buy it, and it’s unlikely I’ll do it for more than the towing fees that I refuse to pay. It’s this kind of texture that will be lost when those eggheads do figure out how to beam up a 1985 Suzuki Fronte, and it seems likely that I may never drive again, not when I can just teleport onto the lawns of shitty cars and then shove them in the magic portal and all.

[steddio]

steddie vegas au part 7 (and epilogue)

part 1; part 2; part 3; part 4; part 5; part 6; ao3

(ok this is it, the last part! these two middle-aged sweethearts and their issues have occupied all my thoughts for the last few weeks, and I appreciate everyone who joined me on this journey. this part is a bit spicy; if you want to skip, it starts with “So get me wet, sugar.” you can come back at “They sit like that, foreheads touching.”)

--

The calm that settled over them as they took in the view together breaks when Steve finally glances at his watch. “Shit, I lost track of time. Don’t you have a show tonight? I should take you back.”

Eddie presses a kiss to the top of Steve’s head. “Always looking out for me, Steve-o. But no, I have the night off. Jeff is gone, visiting his mom.” 

Steve turns to face him, eyes hopeful. “Is there any chance I could take you… home? With me?”

Eddie’s eyebrows shoot up. “You’d want that?” he can’t help but ask. Steve just leans in to kiss him again, letting his hands trail down Eddie’s arms. He breaks the kiss to whisper in Eddie’s ear, “baby, come home with me. Let me cook you dinner.” 

“Oh, now you’re cooking me dinner?” Eddie tries to play it cool, but it comes out a little broken. He can’t remember the last time someone cooked for him.

Steve just smiles, kisses him once more on the cheek, and takes his hand. The descent is way easier than the ascent, and Eddie feels so light he wants to run. Only his sobering awareness of his own clumsiness keeps him from doing so. That and Steve groaning about how his knees ache when he walks downhill, which means Eddie gets to tease him about being an old man. Their playful banter helps Eddie shrug off the last bit of anxiety; they’re both done running, done hiding.

Steve’s suburban apartment complex is just as brown as the rest of Vegas, but the inside is a riot of color. He must notice Eddie’s look of amazement, because he laughs. “Max and I painted it, and I let her pick out the color for every room,” he shrugs, as if that isn’t the most devastatingly sweet thing Eddie has ever heard. They go into the (bright orange) kitchen and Eddie settles himself at the counter while Steve pours them iced tea. Steve hands Eddie a glass then clinks his own against it. “To second chances,” he says solemnly, but his eyes are smiling.

“To second chances,” Eddie agrees, reaching out to cover Steve’s hand with his own. They sip on their drinks in companionable silence until Steve stretches and then disappears into the bedroom to take a shower, telling Eddie to “be as nosy as you want, sweetheart. No more secrets.” 

Never one to deny a chance to snoop, Eddie pokes around Steve’s (bright yellow) living room with its faded blue couch and well-loved leather armchairs. The bookshelf is full of photos of a little red-haired girl Eddie knows to be Steve’s daughter Max, and the art on the walls, although framed, was clearly drawn by a child. Meandering down the hall, Eddie finds another bedroom painted a soft lavender and covered in band posters. 

Despite its dull exterior, this apartment feels so much more like a home than any of the flashy, beautiful, expensive places Eddie has lived. And even if Steve lives alone it’s clear his family is never far from his heart. Eddie is hit suddenly with a wave of gratitude that Steve brought him here, that he trusted Eddie enough to let him in. 

He hears the shower turn off and makes his way toward Steve’s bedroom. The door is cracked slightly, so Eddie pushes it open, only to be met with the glorious sight of Steve wrapped in a towel, bare chest still dripping slightly with water. Steve smiles when he sees Eddie, so genuine that Eddie’s heart thrills in his chest and he can’t stop himself from approaching, drawn in by this gorgeous man. 

“Eddie, baby, I’ll get you all wet,” Steve laughs in protest as Eddie wraps him up in a hug. 

“So get me wet, sugar,” and Eddie didn’t mean to have that come out so sultry, but Steve’s eyes go dark and his breath catches. Eddie chases that inhale with a kiss, tender at first until it deepens into heavier want, and he’s backing Steve against the bed. He unwraps the towel and thrills at having Steve bare beneath him, looking up through dark eyelashes. Eddie starts to kneel, but Steve pulls him onto the bed so they’re laying side by side. 

They kiss slowly, letting their hands explore, taking their time, and Eddie is aching with want by the time Steve finally kneels above him, pulls his joggers down, and bends to lick a long stripe up his cock. Eddie jolts in surprise, halfheartedly protests that he’s still sweaty from their hike, but Steve just smiles and shakes his head. “I need to taste you, sweetheart,” he tells Eddie. “To make sure you’re really here.” And how can Eddie deny him that? 

Steve goes luxuriously slow, licking and mouthing for what feels like ages until he finally takes Eddie deeper, bobbing his head gently, curling his tongue around the entire length of Eddie’s cock. It’s so messy, and so good, Eddie just melts into the bed, into the wet warmth of Steve’s mouth, content to stay like that forever. Steve seems to feel the same, because he doesn’t stop, just lies between Eddie’s legs. 

Eventually Eddie realizes Steve is grinding against the mattress. “Look at you,” he groans. “So good for me, Stevie, keeping your hands where I can see them. You’re so–shit. You’re so good at this, sugar.” Steve just hums around him and keeps going, and like always, Eddie wants more. Except this time, he feels safe asking, knowing that Steve wants to give it to him.

“Stevie, baby, I want to ride you,” Eddie tells him. This gets Steve’s full attention. “Get me ready, sugar.” Steve groans deep in his chest and then reluctantly lets go of Eddie’s cock, gets up to grab lube and a condom from the bedside table. Eddie just watches him, content to wait and appreciate the vision before him. Steve, flushed, golden, hard cock jutting out proudly. He lets Steve finger him open just as slowly as he’d sucked him off, but the moment he feels ready, he takes the lead, flipping them over so he’s on top. He takes a moment to imprint the visual in his memory forever–dark hair covering lean muscle, plush lips spit-slick and swollen, brown eyes dark with lust and so trusting–before he lowers himself. And wow, Steve is huge, Jesus H Christ, but the stretch is so, so good, and Steve’s moan of “Eddie, baby, fuck” is even better. He gives himself a moment to adjust before he’s grinding down again, trying to find that sweet spot. Steve grabs his waist, both encouraging and taking some of Eddie’s weight. And normally Eddie would perform a little bit, show off for his partner, but Steve is already looking at him with such affection that he just… lets Steve look. At all of him, while he chases his pleasure. 

He feels himself approaching the edge and suddenly the distance between them is too far, and he bends down to kiss Steve, who meets him in the middle so that he’s sitting upright with Eddie on his lap. Eddie doesn’t want to break the kiss, just lets himself come untouched, spilling over Steve’s stomach. Steve moans in delighted surprise, let’s out a whispered “fuck, fuck, that’s so hot” before he’s grinding in even deeper, following Eddie in pleasure. 

They sit like that, foreheads touching, breathing in each other’s air, for a long moment. Eventually, they’ll extract themselves and muster the energy to shower. Eventually, Steve will cook Eddie dinner and they’ll sit at the kitchen counter, wholly domestic. But for now, Eddie is content to stay a little longer in the safety of Steve’s arms.

–

Steve is jolted awake by a pounding knock on his front door. Alarmed, he extracts himself from the tangle of Eddie’s limbs with a whispered “be right back, sweetheart” and tugs on a pair of sweatpants, grabbing the baseball bat he keeps next to the bed “just in case” (Max and Nancy had laughed at him, but you never know!). There’s another loud knock, and he has half a mind to chastise whoever it is for disturbing the neighbors even if they are some sort of intruder, but when he looks through the peephole and sees a disheveled Chrissy, he immediately swings open the door.

“Chrissy, what’s wrong?” he asks, only to be met with a loud and almost-enraged, “Steve!?”

Steve just lifts a hand in an awkward wave and quickly hides the bat in the umbrella stand. “Is Eddie here?” Chrissy pushes past him into the apartment. 

“Yes, he’s in the bedroom, asleep. What the hell is going on?” He’s starting to get annoyed now, and his bitchy side is coming out. 

Chrissy turns to face him, relieved and a little sheepish. “We have one rule, while we’re in Vegas, which is that Eddie has to sleep in the hotel room.” Steve is about to interrupt with one of the million questions racing through his mind, but Chrissy holds up a hand and continues. “I know, it’s infantilizing, but it was our agreement since his relapse. It’s just so I can keep an eye on him and be there for him if he needs. Didn’t you wonder why we shared a suite?”

Steve in fact had wondered this, but just chalked it up to another celebrity quirk. 

“He didn’t text me last night, and I knew he was seeing you and I wasn’t sure if–.”

“If it had gone well?” Steve supplies.

“Well, yeah, exactly. I tracked his location here. You’re sure he’s okay?” 

“Oh, I’m more than okay, Chrissy babe. Steve took good care of me, if you know what I mean.” Both Chrissy and Steve jump and turn to face Eddie, who had somehow snuck out of the bedroom and is standing in the hall, wrapped in the duvet. 

“Ew, gross,” Chrissy admonishes, before running toward him and grabbing him in a fierce hug. Steve gives them some privacy and goes to make coffee. When Chrissy and Eddie join him in the kitchen, they both look like they’ve been crying, but they’re smiling, and Eddie comes and wraps his arms around Steve’s waist. 

“So,” Chrissy starts. “You two, huh.”

Steve just looks down at Eddie, who is smiling into Steve’s chest. “As long as he’ll have me.”

--

Epilogue 

Eddie is probably wearing a hole in Steve’s living room carpet with how long he’s been pacing back and forth. Well, technically it’s his carpet too, seeing as he lives there, so he has every right to destroy it with nervous energy. He’d moved in about a month ago, with no hesitation after Steve had asked him (on Valentine’s Day, of course, the absolute sap). Steve had waffled, wondering whether Eddie might want a nicer place, something more fitting for his lifestyle and career, but Eddie had spent years chasing luxury and now he just wanted a home. And this vibrant apartment in the middle of the desert had become his, thanks to the dorky, delightful, and delicious man he lives with.

Except Eddie is about to face the final judgment on whether he can keep it. Them. Both the home and the man. Because Max is coming to visit for spring break, and Eddie cannot fuck this up; his forever happiness depends on a 15-year-old girl’s approval. No sweat.

Steve had gone to get her from the airport, where she’d flown in with Nancy (who would be spending a kid-free week at the hotel in what she jokingly told Eddie was her annual “mom tax”). Eddie had wanted to come, had been about to get in the car, but Steve had gently reminded him that he’s a world-famous rockstar and would probably attract too much attention at the airport. Which, fair, but now he’s here, alone, waiting and pacing. 

He hears keys jingle in the door and runs to sit down on the couch. Crosses his legs then uncrosses them. Tries to lean back casually. Is so caught up in the awkwardness of his own body that he doesn’t hear Max come into the room until she’s right in front of him.

“So you’re my dad’s new boyfriend.” She’s looking at him with absolutely no expression. Eddie tries to smile reassuringly and then he’s stumbling over his words.

“Yes, hi, Max, it’s great to meet you, I’ve heard so much about you from your dad, and your mom actually, and from Robin, and really everyone and…” he trails off. Max just stares. “Oh, I’m Eddie, by the way,” he sticks one hand out and then cringes, because do teenagers shake hands? 

Max just reaches out and pats his head. “I know.” And then she’s turning over her shoulder and shouting toward the kitchen, “Dad, I’m hungry, did you buy lucky charms?”

Eddie has a brief moment in which he lets himself believe he’s off the hook before Max is giving him a death glare that startles him so badly he nearly jumps back on the couch. “If you hurt him, I will kill you. And I could get away with it too. I know how to hide a body.”

Eddie’s jaw drops. Is he really getting a shovel talk from a 15-year-old girl? He recovers enough to say, “I won’t. I promise.”

Max assesses this answer briefly before she nods. “Cool.” And walks away.

“Okay, cool,” Eddie repeats under his breath. He stays there a long moment, slowing his heart rate, before getting up to join his family in the kitchen. Because damn, lucky charms really do sound good right now.

--

read on ao3.

--

tag list (sorry as always if tumblr eats your tag): @knightofthieves @exhibit-no-restraint @zerokrox-blog @nelotegreitic @samthemissfit @impeachy @mentallyundone @n0-1-important @xxbottlecapx @ameliajwho1993 @abstractnaturaldisaster @hellomynameismoo @epiclazershark @dogswithforks @i-less-than-three-you @aveys6 @anaibis @sofadofax @sunswathe @paperbackribs @questionablequeeries @scarletzgo @mad-h-w @sherrylyn628 @the-redthread @harringrovefansblog @wearelosersyoudumbfuck @throwbackthrowaway @oxidantdreamboat @grtwdsmwhr @jamieweasley13  @bleach-the-kitten @estrellami-1 @lifeisnotsobadonceyoustopcaring @introvert-even-on-the-internet @awkwardgravity1 @mads-clarkson @huskysarelife @beckkthewreck @trikigirl271 @bejeweledbaby @imfinereallyy @messrs-weasley @raisedbylibrarians

[attollogame]

OC Kiss Week 6—Desperate

Dreamwalker—Desperate (1.4k; NSFW will be continued on patreon)

Motel room thingsss

The falling rain adds a murky soundtrack to the gray world that surrounds you as you walk, concealed beneath the arch of an umbrella, along a poorly-tended concrete path. Derelict houses with chain fences surrounding them are the scenery to your left; most of their windows are boarded up, but there are a few that remain open, with shadows moving around inside. They’re hardly habitable—but in the Gutter District, hardly habitable is still somewhere to live. 

You pull your umbrella closer to your side and focus on avoiding the potholes filled with water rather than the unseen audience you may have. Mud sloshes up your pant legs, and you can’t help but grimace at the cold, wet feeling as it seeps through to your skin. You wouldn’t be out here right now if you hadn’t received the message that you did; truthfully, you hadn’t seen Dreamwalker in quite some time, and so the eagerness of encountering him again greatly outweighed your trepidation over the weather. 

Which is why when you turn a corner and spot an old car idling on the side of the road, its brake lights like red eyes watching you within the storm, you pick up your pace despite the mess such a move will make. Dreamwalker himself doesn’t drive, so you close your umbrella—trying to ignore how quickly the rest of you becomes soaked in the rain—and yank open the back door before sliding your way in. 

“Are you alone?” is the first thing you hear as soon as you slam the door shut. There’s a man you don’t recognize sitting in the driver's seat, and one that you do in the passengers, with his dark hair and familiar grim expression. His head is turned just enough to see you as he waits to hear your response. 

“No one saw me but the few people still living on this street.” You tug your seat belt on and glance back at the driver. It isn’t the reunion you were hoping for, but it’s one you’ve come to expect. Dreamwalker nods, and the driver shifts gears to start moving again. The hum of the heat and the faint sound of the radio—a morning talk show, it sounds like—are the only sources of noise in the car. You watch out the window as you move through the Gutter District. 

Although you’re leaving the area affectionately known as The Slums, you seem to be moving deeper into the District itself, until the car finally arrives outside of what looks like a rundown Motel. When the car comes to a full stop and Dreamwalker undoes his seat belt, you realize that this is the place you’re set to speak in. You both get out and you watch as the car pulls away, leaving you standing in a cracked parking lot with no means of getting home and a sense of unease in your heart. 

Dreamwalker is already inside by the time you enter. The lobby looks like it’s from the 1960’s, and it also looks like it hasn’t been cleaned since then, considering the stains you note on the walls as you go to stand by his side. He’s thumbing an old brass key as a woman types away on an ancient computer, boredom evident on her aged face. She squints at the screen and glances over at the two of you, scrutinizing the way you both look, before she turns  away. She mumbles something into a device attached to her shirt, types a few more things, and then the whirring of a receipt machine fills the air. 

“M’kay, you should be good to go,” she finally says, a faint accent in her words as she slides the receipt over. “The room is at the very end if you walk straight. It’s already all prepared for you.”   

“What’s all of this?” you inquire, following after him as he moves down the hall. He doesn’t reply, but he does reach back to take a hold of your wrist, as though the act will provide some sense of reassurance. It doesn’t, and when the two of you finally enter your designated room, he only gives you a response when he closes and locks the door. 

“Accept my apologies for the… location,” he sighs, taking off the sunglasses he’s been wearing and tossing them onto the room’s singular table. He looks tired—as he always does—and when he sits down on the bed, his body slumps. “The Gutter District’s Motel tends to be the one place you can meet and talk without interruption or care. I promise you this room has been cleaned, though.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” you grumble, sitting down next to him. You try to ignore the fact that your clothes are still soaking wet as you press your thigh against his. “You know, considering how long it’s been.” 

He winces at your words, and upon closer inspection, you can see how ruffled and unkempt he really is. In his absence, he’s likely been going through hell—par usual. “I wish I could have contacted sooner, but unfortunately a lot of things happened at once that were unavoidable. Which is why this meeting was unorganized on my part—it was last minute, and I didn’t want to miss the chance.” 

You lean forward to get a good look at his face, which causes him to frown, only further pushing the budding amusement you’re feeling about this situation. With a coy grin, you give him a nudge. “You missed me, didn’t you?”

“Nonsense.” The reply is sharp and immediate, but when he pushes himself to stand back up, you know he doesn’t mean it. He always tries to go when he’s feeling embarrassed about something. You reach out to grasp his wrist and tug him towards you—which he follows with, begrudgingly—until you have him standing between your legs. 

“How long do we have, then?” You ask, reaching up to play with his tie. It’s already loose, probably done because of stress, and he reaches to hold onto your hand in response. 

“A few hours, give or take.” 

A few hours is frustrating to you—you do wish you could monopolize all of his time—but this is what you signed up for when you chose a crime leader as your companion. You pull until his hands rest on either side of you, and you’re close enough to see the faint stubble from a missed-day shave along his jaw. “Pity,” you mumble, leaning in to kiss away his response before he can give it. 

Maybe because it’s been so long, or maybe it’s just your pent up frustrations, but you’re quick to take control of the situation—and for once, he hands it over. This is probably his way of apologizing, but right now you really don’t care. You feel like you’re a part of some illicit affair, to be kissing in the dark rooms of the sparse moments you can both afford, and the thrill of the criminality only seems to heighten the passion forming between you both. 

Your hand quickly comes up to grasp at his slight curls as you angle yourself to deepen the kiss, drinking in every part of him that you can get before he vanishes again. The familiar aroma of sandalwood is intoxicating, and when you tug at those strands—earning a low groan in response—you find yourself driven to a frenzy of desire. He pushes until you fall back on the bed, a huff of laughter escaping from you at the action. He presses a messy kiss on your jaw, your neck, as his hand slides up your shirt. He’s so undone, so unlike how he usually is, and you can’t help but feel a thrill of possessiveness that you’re the only one to see him in this state.

Then he stops, and he withdraws with a frown, breaking the entire illusion. 

“Your clothes are soaked,” he huffs, his hair disarrayed and his tie now entirely unsalvageable. You can’t help but grin up at him as you drink in this state. 

“Help me get out of them, then?” You retort. He stares down at you for a moment, and then an expression that can only be described as wicked appears on his face. His hand comes up to caress your cheek while the other begins to travel down to your waistband. When he chuckles, it’s a low sound that goes right to your core. 

“Gladly.”

[inside-nordic-life]

Hej guys

Welcome to my blog!

I’m Julia, 18 years old, and currently volunteering in Denmark. It feels strange to write those words down. I’m a volunteer. Just a few months ago, I was still in my home country, thinking Denmark was far away. But time flies, doesn’t it? And now I’m already three months into my stay—three months of great experiences, meeting wonderful people, and learning about Danish culture.

Let’s start simple:

Where do I live?

So far, I’m staying with a host family near Aarhus. Christoph and Karen, who have two very adorable daughters, Alma and Ida. I had never been abroad for such a long time before, so staying with a host family was a completely new experience for me. First of all, I didn’t know them until a week before I came to Denmark. That made me nervous about what it would be like. Would we get along? How should I behave around my host family? What would they expect of me? I had a lot of questions! But I’m glad to say it all turned out well in the end. We get along really well, which isn’t hard because they’re very nice people. The children are sweet and are able to communicate with me, even though I can’t speak Danish yet. Living with people I didn’t know before turned out to be surprisingly similar to my family life back home. I join them for dinner, sit in the living room reading, help with cooking, or spend time with the children. Being around them is much easier than I imagined. At first, it felt a bit awkward to sit in the living room or eat their food, but I’m getting used to it. I’m still adjusting to the food part tbh, but I’m lucky to get along with them so well. I imagine it might be harder if your host family is very different from your own, or if you’re not a family-oriented person and need more alone time. But I believe this depends on what kind of person you are—whether you’re more extroverted or introverted.

What do I do?

I work at a forest kindergarten near Aarhus. Every year, three volunteers work there so they are used to having volunteers. I really enjoy my work. From the very beginning, the staff were very welcoming and friendly. I work in the "wolf group," the Ulve, and accompany the children through their daily routine. In the morning, I help the children hang up their backpacks, and then I bring the lunchboxes with fruit and bread from the kitchen for our breakfast together. After breakfast, the children either play in the kindergarten or we go on excursions to the meadow at the hunting lodge or into the forest. Lunch is usually eaten during these outings, unless we stay in the kindergarten, in which case we eat on-site.

After the excursion, some children take a nap, for which we hang up hammocks. Around 12:30, I prepare the next meal: crispbread, smørrebrød, and cold cuts. The children can then choose whether they want cheese, sausage, or leverpostej on their bread.

In the afternoon, it’s time for the children to play again. I spend a lot of time with them, whether in the sandbox, playing tag, or simply listening when they want to show or tell me something. I’m still practicing and trying to learn Danish, but it’s enough for simple conversations, joint activities, or just listening to the children. In the beginning, it was very hard to interact with them. I didn’t know their names yet and couldn’t say anything except my own. Most of the simple phrases I use now are things I learned by listening to the Danish staff. I’m really looking forward to starting language school next Monday. Although I use Duolingo and hear Danish every day, I still need to learn how to express myself. Moreover, working with children can be exhausting. Sometimes, when I get home from work, I wonder why I’m so tired because it doesn’t seem like hard work at first. But it’s the mental load—the exhaustion from social interactions 24/7. On top of that, I’m listening to Danish all day and speak English, which can also tire me out subconsciously. But overall, I’m very happy with my workplace.

For example, I understand more now, but I still can’t reply properly. If I can respond, it’s not always exactly what I want to say because I don’t have the right words. If you asked me whether Danish is hard to understand, I’d say no. But if you asked me whether Danish is hard to read or pronounce, I’d definitely say yes. I feel like they leave out most of the letters in the words when they pronounce them, and the o’s can be really tricky to pronounce. Although I’m German, which is apparently helpful for learning Danish, I still struggle. I hope language school will help me because I really want to learn Danish.

Now, this was my very first entry. I’m going to write more soon, but for now, this is it. I plan to write one blog entry every week. If I have the time or something interesting to write about, I might post more entries per week.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it :)

[daitranscripts]

The Descent Pt. 4

Darkspawn Warrens

The Descent Masterpost First: Storm Coast Fissure Previous: Lieutenant Renn

The party heads down the lift.

Valta: I hope we don’t run into an emissary.

Renn: (Sighs.) Now we definitely will.

PC: I take it emissaries are bad?

Renn: Most darkspawn are mindless killing machines, connected by the blight. But emissaries are intelligent—and use magic.

Sera: Have to take their whole head to wipe the grin off their face. Which, fair enough, right?

They head into the Deep Roads and hear darkspawn shrieking in the distance.

Renn: Shrieks. It had to be shrieks.

PC: I thought you’d be used to all kinds of darkspawn.

Renn: Look, everyone’s got their favorites.

Iron Bull: I’m partial to ogres. Great racks.

They continue.

Valta: This door… There’s something strange about it. Looks like our construction, but… hmm.

PC: It’s missing gears.

Valta: We have to find them. It’s our only way through.

The PC finds a gear nearby.

Valta: That gear will fit the door. Keep an eye out for others.

There’s another gear in the room.

PC: This gear is warm to the touch. Strange.

Valta: I don’t recognize the metal. But we should only need one more.

The PC tries the door again.

Valta: It won’t budge until we replace the gears.

Renn: Dwarven design. Sturdy and stubborn.

PC: I could swear these gears are getting warmer together.

The begin to look for the next gear.

Valta: Renn, I'm sorry about Bernat. You served with him a long time.

Iron Bull: It’s never easy to lose a member of your company.

Renn: (Sighs.) It was quick, and Bernat returned to the Stone with honor. We should all be so lucky.

Valta: It's all right to be upset.

Renn: I'm too old to be upset.

The PC finds the third gear.

Valta: We have enough of these odd gears. Let’s head back to the door.

Renn and Valta continue to chat.

Renn: Did that messenger who came through camp have any news about Orzammar? The food shortage?

Valta: More riots. There's unrest from Dust Town to the Diamond Quarters.

Renn: Can't have the deep lords going hungry.

Valta: I made sure your mother and brother are safe.

Renn: That wasn’t necessary.

Valta: You’re welcome.

The PC opens the door.

Valta: It’s open! Keep any gears we find. We may need more. And if we don’t, I want to study them. Whatever they’re made of wasn’t mined down here.

They continue in.

Valta: That scar on your nose is new.

Renn: Yeah, well… Fell out of bed.

Valta: you sleep on the ground.

Renn: Heh. Surprised me too.

There’s another tremor as they fight darkpawn.

Valta: The rhythm in the tremors. It echoes through the Stone. This way.

They find another gear door.

Valta: Another strange door. Who put these here—and why?

PC: This one uses a different kind of gear from the others.

Valta: We don't have to open it. My stone sense leads the other way. Though I am curious to see the other side…

Renn: You always are.

The party continues, finding some darkspawn as they go.

Renn: You kill darkspawn like you’ve been doing it your whole life, Inquisitor.

Valta: He means that as a compliment.

Renn: You're famous. Even down here. Is it true you killed a dragon?

If the PC has never killed a dragon PC: That particular story is false. Renn: Hrm… huh… always wanted to see a dragon.

If the PC has killed a dragon Dialogue options:

General: They are noble beasts. PC: Magnificent creatures. Bringing one down is always bittersweet. ㅤㅤ ㅤ

General: Yes, and it was glorious. PC: You haven’t lived ‘til you’ve felt their wings pulling you in. ㅤㅤ ㅤ

General: I’ve killed one or two. PC: I have. It was quite the battle.

Renn: I can't even imagine! Tell me about their teeth. I've heard they don't all breathe fire, and their scales have different colors and patterns.

Careful, Renn. I believe you're drooling.

They continue on to fight a horde of darkspawn. When they are defeated, the PC investigates some corpses. Renn kneels near them.

Renn: There’s nothing left of them. Can’t even tell who they were.

Valta: I’m sorry, Renn.

Renn: You join the Legion knowing you’re already dead. You don’t fear the killing blow. We rest in the Stone and pass our strength back to her. That’s our reward. But the darkspawn defiled these soldiers. They can’t return to the Stone. They’d only weaken her.

Dialogue options:

General: There’s nothing to be done? [1]

General: Let’s avenge them. [2]

General: We have no time to mourn. [3]

1 - General: There’s nothing to be done? PC: There must be some way to lay them to rest with honor. Valta: We can burn the remains. Renn: Aye. It’s all we can do.

2 - General: Let’s avenge them. PC: We’ll make the darkspawn pay for what they’ve done. Renn: I’ve killed so many. But every time I stare into their black eyes, I know one day I won’t be quick enough. Valta: Stop it. Renn: It’s the truth, Valta. I’m going to die down here. I can only hope it won’t be like this. Valta: We’ll burn the remains. Honor them with flame.

3 - General: We have no time to mourn. PC: No one should die like this. But if we don’t keep moving, there will only be more dead. Renn: let me burn the remains. I can do that much for them. Valta: I’ll help you.

4 - Scene continues.

The party approaches the ledge.

Valta: Look at that, Renn. Could this be Thaig Heidrun?

Renn: Darkspawn all over it. You can see their torches.

Dorian: Even darkspawn appreciate a little mood lighting.

PC: We’re getting close to something.

Renn: Aye, the fight of our lives.

The continue down the path.

Renn: Keep your mouth closed when fighting darkspawn. Their blood’s poison.

Dialogue options:

General: I appreciate the advice. PC: Thanks for the warning. ㅤㅤ ㅤ

General: Of course it’s poison. PC: Lovely creatures. ㅤㅤ ㅤ

General: Oh, I know. PC: I’ve killed darkspawn.

Renn: There was this Carta boy, Vond, who joined the Legion around the same time I did. Fast with daggers. Could poke fifty holes in a hurlock before the blighter knew what happened. Daggers are messy. Vond swallowed some spatter. Took him three days to die.

Varric: We need to work on your stories, Grisly.

Next: Ruins of Heidrun Thaig

[luvaera]

hi friends ( yes, if you’re reading this, we are friends now ) !! i’m nervous yet suuuuuper excited to be here ! it’s been so long since i’ve been here on tumblr, so do forgive me for any mistakes. oh — i’m ree ( she/they ), by the way !! beating life levels 21 ‘n up & find me casually swimming over here in the east coast ( i would drown, i can’t swim … but it’s raining as i’m typing this so i had to ).

below the cut are some quick tidbits about my pretty, in her own right, it girl sour patch kid — chloé !! ♡

quick links: dossier & kprofile & plots & pinterest ! ( everything is a wip, you'll know more about her below the cut, really )

⸺ welcome to infinite entertainment ! it's KIM AERA ( CHLOÉ ), who is the MAIN DANCER of BRAVEHEART. i’ve heard whispers that the TWENTY-FIVE year old is pretty ECCENTRIC but lowkey UNPREDICTABLE. also, doesn’t she remind you of HUH YUNJIN ?

people either love or hate her — there often isn’t an in-between. well, unless they’re the few who are so envious that they want to be her. aera assumes that comes with being a popular idol, right ?

originally born with a silver spoon in gangnam, south korea ( cheongdam-dong district, to be exact ) to a family of old money chaebols. the middle child.

with parents that were too focused on themselves and their careers ( mother climbing the ladder in the entertainment world and later becoming a cj enm director and shareholder && father becoming the executive director of asan medical center / hospital ), aera was pawned off, akin to the same fashion as her older brother, at the age of two to be raised by her dotty, outgoing uncle in manhattan.

a child that struggled with healthily expressing her emotions, yet had an abundance of energy — so, after multiple failed methods, aera was put into dance lessons. that was how aera learned to release her emotions instead of letting them accumulate. by now, she has learned to use her words. there are times when she struggles !

found her place with contemporary and hip-hop dance. became inspired by popular pop artists such as britney spears, lady gaga, and beyoncé ( to name a few ), as well as early kpop idols such as lee hyori and boa. it was boa that inspired her the most to pursue wanting to be more than a dancer in a dance group after school.

moving back to korea years later felt jarring, but with the "support" of her parents ( enrolling her in more dance lessons, along with vocal lessons ) when they felt settled enough to parent their children, aera once again found her footing.

it is rumored that her parents sponsored her to eventually debut in braveheart, taking the spot of another deserving trainee. neither she nor the label has ever addressed the circulating rumor, causing netizens to form their own opinions.

known for giving people whiplash with her personality and behavior. one minute she's lively, bubbly, full of herself and the next she's speaking without a filter, being rebellious, or randomly getting up to something she shouldn’t be doing. a sour candy.

silently struggles with the insecurity that she doesn't live up to the same level as the other members, but fake it until you make it ... right ?

will say that she's definitely got an ego that started in her high school years and escalated as fame hit the group. which can have her unintentionally coming off as pretentious.

really wants to get a pet of her own, but settles for the tamagotchi on her phone, that she proudly talks about in lives.

doesn’t mind going by aera or chloé !! whichever the person prefers.

a big reader ! leans towards romance, fantasy, thriller, occasional horror. loves webtoons and manga, but doesn't read them as frequently like her books. always has her ipad with her for reading ( and occasional games ).

a fan of anime and movies. enjoys her fair share of dramas too. sometimes has her wanting to try a hand at acting.

if she can't sleep, aera is probably in the practice room learning choreography for other idols or making up her own.

has a soft spot for memories. never far without her camera to capture the moment. or using her phone. shares some moments on her second instagram account.

random aesthetics: late night adventures, early mornings. imposter syndrome. luxury brands. unread text messages. a spring baby with a winter loving heart. vibey facetime calls, phone calls that are hours long. black lace, freshly manicured nails. leaving before the other wakes up. leaving little notes around to make others smile. never taking no for an answer. highlighted passages in a book. dreaming of something bigger and making it happen. the smell of dark cherries, vanilla, and roses. headphones always over ears with music or podcasts playing. sipping lattes. bringing a camera everywhere you go. talking too much, yet not enough. faint strums of a guitar. the wrong key pressed on a piano out of frustration. shoes squeaking against hardwood flooring, mirrored reflection looking back. a sweet disaster. going missing when you take your eyes off her. penned lyrics but never shown. words from privileged lipgloss coated lips. sentimental photo albums. tear stained pillows. might be a sinner might be a saint.

possible connections: best friends. rivals / someone she has beef with. frienemies. ride or die. exes. secret friends. secret lovers / fwb / situationship. platonic soulmate. squad / friend group. summer romance. childhood friends. former best friends. dance partner. role model. drinking or late night adventure buddies. mutual crushes. on and off again something. you know what ? just give me anything and everything ! i want it all !!

[gerec]

AU-gust 2023

6. Domestic Pairing(s): Cherik, Xavierine, Cherigan(?) Warnings: N/A

This is a little snippet from my Charles Xavier's Baby verse, where Charles' secondary mutation and poor life choices nets him a set of twins courtesy of Erik and Logan.

-----

By the time Charles and the girls are discharged, Raven has moved out and Erik and Logan have moved into the apartment. He feels bad about his sister leaving to accommodate his newly extended family, but also relieved that everything was sorted without any drama. They even have enough room to fit everyone somewhat comfortably, with Erik taking Raven’s old room and Logan decamped in the study-now-nursery, and the babies in their bassinets in Charles’ bedroom.

Even with three people it’s far from easy, especially the first few days back as they adjust to a new normal. Charles is still recuperating from his C-section and being confined to bed rest (not by the doctors but by Logan and Erik), while the other two do most of the feeding and changing. Thankfully, his secondary mutation hasn’t given him the ability to produce milk, so it’s doesn’t fall to Charles alone to ensure that the twins are fed every three hours.

Of the two newborns, Lorna is the more challenging one, difficult to settle and too easy to disturb. Laura by contrast sleeps for long stretches, and they have to actually wake her to give her the bottle. Because of that, Laura ends up mostly sleeping soundly by Charles’ bed, while Logan and Erik alternate shifts with Lorna in their arms, pacing the apartment to calm the fussy baby. None of the adults really get all that much sleep, though they figure out a system by the third day, when Charles insists on taking a shift, giving both Logan and Erik the chance to sleep longer than an hour or two at a time.

It helps too that Raven and Edie are both so eager to help, running errands for more supplies (Raven) and ensuring that the fridge is crammed full of ready to eat meals (Edie). They’re especially grateful to have Edie’s calming presence, providing information and giving advice to three bachelors who know next to nothing about babies. And she is over the moon to finally have grandchildren to love, doting on them equally and without reservation, uncaring that only one of the girls is biologically related to her.

Charles counts his blessings every day, that he’s surrounded by people who love the girls as much as he does, which is so much more than he ever thought possible.

Of course, it also means there are more people around to gang up on him, including his best friend Moira, who is kind enough to make house calls so they don’t have to make the trek to her office for checkups. She is happy with the girls’ weight gain and their health in general, and tell them all to keep up the good work. She is less supportive of Charles holing up in the apartment and not venturing outside, and suggests that he go out with Raven for lunch and a breath of fresh air. It’s more order than recommendation, and Charles finds himself bundled out the door by his co-parents with instructions not to return for at least two hours.

(He absolutely does NOT spend those two hours quietly obsessing about the babies, alternately relieved to be ‘Charles’ and not ‘new Dad to twins’ for a little while, and freaking out over the fact that this is the first time he he’s been away from Lorna and Laura since they were born.)

------

“They’re not answering my texts, Raven! Why aren’t they answering my texts!”

“They’ve probably got their hands full taking care of the babies! Now put your phone down and finish your food!”

------

Rationally, he knows the girls are perfectly fine; that they couldn’t be in better hands than they are with Erik and Logan. But he still worries all the rest of the way home, until he opens the door to the apartment and finds all four of them sprawled in the living room fast asleep. Quietly, he takes out his phone to snap a picture – Logan is sleeping on the couch with Lorna on his chest, while Laura is cuddled against a conked-out Erik on the leather recliner – and sends it to Raven, who replies immediately with:

Told you they were fine. Idiot.

He smiles, heart swelling at the perfect picture, realizing how much he loves them all…the girls of course, plus Erik. And Logan.  

Erik and Logan.

“Dammit,” he mutters under his breath, and resolutely puts that particular problem away to deal with another day.

[acefms]

if you’re hearing LOSER by BECK playing, you have to know ACE MILLER (HE/HIM; CIS MALE) is near by! the 31 year old ANIMATOR has been in denver for, like, FIVE YEARS. they’re known to be quite AVOIDANT , but being AMIABLE seems to balance that out. or maybe it’s the fact that they resemble DREW STARKEY. personally, i’d love to know more about them seeing as how they’ve got those LATE NIGHT DRIVES TO NOWHERE, SMUDGED INK AND PAINT SPLATTERS, WEARING SUNGLASSES INSIDE TO HIDE A HANGOVER, NEVER WALKING PAST A DOG WITHOUT SAYING HI vibes. and maybe i’ll get my chance if i hang out around the DOWNTOWN DISTRICT long enough!

NAME: ace miller AGE: thirty-one and oh so dumb ... HOMETOWN: philadelphia, pennsylvania BIRTHDAY: october 19th ZODIAC: libra GENDER: male PRONOUNS: he/him SEXUALITY: bi bi bi ( slight male lean ) RELATIONSHIP STATUS: single OCCUPATION: animator for tv shows/comics/movies — is currently working on his own comic (name tbd)

[ tw: gambling, addiction, abandonment, depression. ]

• Ace grew up in south Philadelphia with his mother and father until the age of seven, when after years of a toxic relationship his father left and never came back. Ace struggled with the abandonment throughout his life, but was lucky enough to have his grandfather who was more of a parent to him than anyone else could ever be. Through his grandfather he discovered his love and talent for art, and began to use it as his form of escapism. It was his saving grace during his turbulent teenage years. He would definitely derailed had it not been for art and the worlds he made in the comfort of his room.

• His mother was loving in her own way during his childhood, but was always driven by materialistic possessions that she couldn’t afford. Her job as bartender just wouldn’t cut it, and she began to gamble. But after a few wins, she found herself hooked on the feeling and soon developed an addiction that grew out of control. Ace had to take on two jobs before he was finished with high school just to help pay off her debts which left him drained to the point that he struggled to keep up. He sank into deep depression and found it hard to get out.

• Despite this, she continued to try and live lavishly behind his back while he was on the verge of a mental breakdown due to how many things he had to juggle at once. By the time he graduated high school, he’d grown to resent her completely and she continued to put her addiction, and boyfriends, above him. They have no relationship at this present time and he has no current desire to ever see her again.

• Leaving for college ( which his grandfather had paid for ), he gained a dual-degree in graphic design and animation and built his way up in the business, taking a good few hits before finally landing his dream job working in film and tv, online content as well as comics. He genuinely loves his job and it’s probably the one aspect of his life he’s completely happy with. He is very creative and has several little worlds inside his head.

• He travelled for years, moving at least every six months before finally settling in Denver in attempt to build some kind of solid life, but so far the only part he’s got right is raising a a crazy pup named charlie and gaining a lifelong best friend in the form of his roommate theodore.

HEADCANNONS

• he never sleeps before 2am and never wakes before 10am. he will literally be acting like it’s the middle of the day in the middle of the night.

• he’s a terrible cook. he can heat things up and make basic stuff, but overall he’s kinda hopeless. someone help him.

• he drinks way too much coffee, and too often occasionally too much whiskey and beer. randomly likes to get high a few times a month if he needs a little help falling asleep. will be seen with sunglasses on constantly to hide who zombie-like/hungover he is.

• before he realized his mothers addiction he would often take trips with her as a young boy to vegas or places alike ( most of, but not all, his time was spent waiting for her in hotel rooms ) so he’s actually really decent at playing poker because she taught him how to play. but ace hates to gamble.

• during his time travelling he’s spent a lot of time sleeping in his car ( when he wasn’t abroad ) and he actually really enjoys the outdoors. likes to hike with his pup. also is likely to end up with a million dogs.

• he has a small ace of spades tattoo on the inside of his middle finger on his left hand -- he got it as a dare when he was drunk at seventeen. he hates it, but he’ll never get rid of it. he also has a fingers crossed tattoo on his right forearm, and a melting smiley face on his right index finger. more tbh he has at least ten. random tattoo supremacy. i'll add more when i can think.

• aside from his cartoons, he also loves to paint, sketch, play around with pottery and just get as creative as possible with anything artistic whatsoever. it's his safe space, his own form of therapy in a way. though he doesn’t let many people see the results as somehow they feel a lot more personal than his cartoon/animation work.

POSSIBLE / WANTED CONNECTIONS

roommate/ best friend -- taken by theodore cohen.

past flings/hook-ups -- ashamed to say there's been many. ace struggles with emotional vulnerability and absolutely runs from things.

childhood friends -- god forbid anyone knew him when he was openly sad, haha. jokes to disguise emotional damage for the win.

people who don't like him -- he's annoying, it's so likely.

party pals -- you're his favourite people.

a cousin ? aunt, uncle -- there will probably be some tension as his family is a mess, but this could be fun to play out.

idk he's an idiot give me everything.