#my brain has officially been fried and there[s no turning back

[marinaimsure]

im so eepy but i cant eep cuz i'll go out in an hour or two aaaand i wanna write but i cant. but i'll try

[2dmenenthusiast]

I can't remember if I sent this to you already but could I request headcanons for aizawa, hizashi and Toshinori finding their s/o that has a chipmunk quirk that makes her fall into hibernation when it's too cold (kinda like tsu) but when the guys find her with her heart rate low and her breathing shallow maybe they freak a little bc she didn't tell them about that part of her quirk yet

omggggg this idea is literally so cute I got so excited when I first read it. Also thank you love for comin through with the requests, I really appreciate it! <3 I also hella struggled cuz like, what can someone with a chipmunk quirk do? Stuff their cheeks? Climb up trees? Also I legit forgot what a chipmunk even looked like I had to look it up lmaoooo im so dumb it hurts

Aizawa is an intimidating fella, okay

So when you first told him about your quirk, you were lowkey embarrassed?

Like, here’s this grown-ass man with a badass quirk who is more than capable of taking down villains and defending himself, and here you are just-

���️

But you know what’s great about this man? He couldn’t give less of a shit about your quirk or anything like that. He strikes me as the type to care more about personality than anything else

concealing your quirk is fairly easy. People probably wouldn’t even know you had one if it wasn’t for the small fluffy ears popping out of the top of your head, and even then you could just cover them with a hat

But that doesn’t mean you don’t experience the effects of your own quirk just because it’s subtle

You have a mutant type quirk, so you experience certain things that actual chipmunks do

Sometimes you won’t even notice that you’re stuffing your cheeks to full capacity with whatever you’re eating before Aizawa has to cut you off and just be like

“y/n. Chew.”

Or when you’re rushing, you’re usually going so fast that Aizawa can barely even see you zooming from room to room

you can also get kinda skittish at times, your ears twitching whenever you hear a noise that sounds weird or out of place, and you’ll just look at Aizawa with wide eyes until he checks out what made a noise that he could barely hear

“y/n, it was just some kids outside.”

“Oh... sorry, Sho.”

he wants to be frustrated, but he knows it’s not your fault. And honestly? He finds you so cute that he can’t really stay mad at you

So he’ll just let out a huff before patting your head lovingly, grazing his fingers over your ears (Which he KNOWS are sensitive, that asshole)

Experiencing long periods of deep sleep is also a thing. You wouldn’t call it hibernation cuz you still have to do normal, everyday things, but there are times during the winter where you’ll sleep for a few days in a row and only get up to go to the bathroom or eat

And since you can’t actually burrow into the floor of your home, you usually make a blanket fort in the corner of your bedroom and stuff all of the pillows and blankets you can in there until it’s nice and warm, ready for you to bury yourself in

and you might’ve left that little part of your quirk out when you moved in together. whoops

So when Shouta comes home and sees the living room couch void of all of its pillows, he’s not expecting to walk into your shared bedroom and see you curled up in a blanket fort

he’s a bit curious at first, just kinda looking at you like “All right, I guess this is normal?”

and he’ll crouch down and kinda examine you for a bit before he eventually wonders if you’re even breathing? You’re burried under blankets, so he can’t really see your chest moving

eventually he’ll check and see that your breathing is abnormally slow and he kinda just... pauses and checks again to make sure he’s not going crazy.

and he wont deny that he kinda freaks out at first, his immediate thought being that he needs to get you out of there, but the second he grabs the blankets to pull them off of you he’s like wait... hold up.

then it all clicks

you’re a mutant with a chipmunk quirk...

c h i p m u n k

safe to say he’s relieved, so he just lets you be and goes about his day. 

When you wake up a few hours later to go to the bathroom, you come out of the bedroom with your clothes practically on backwards, rubbing at your eyes and stumbling past Aizawa like he’s not even there. And when you’re done, it’s right back to sleep you go

“Back to bed?” Aizawa would ask as he watches you with an amused smirk on his face

“Mhm.”

“Okay. Goodnight, y/n”

“Mm’night.

Listen, when he first heard of your quirk, he thought it was the cutest shit ever

“Your quirk is Chipmunk?! That’s SOOOOOOOO CUUUUUUUTE!”

No he’s legit your number one hype man. If you think your quirk is lame, he’s literally shouting at you how cool he thinks you are.

“You can stuff so much food in your mouth, y/n! And that’s pretty dope if you ask me! I’m totally jealous!”

speaking of food, he’ll just randomly ask you to shove as much as you can of one thing in your cheeks until they’re at full capacity.

“Hey y/n, think you can shove this whole pack of jumbo marshmallows in your cheeks?”

“But... I just bought those :(”

“I’ll buy you more, LET’S DO THIS!!!”

also asks you the dumbest questions omg. You don’t know if he’s genuinely curious or if he’s just doing it to piss you off

“So do you just eat nuts all day?”

“You’ve seen me eat, Hizashi. No.”

“Do you prefer to sleep in trees?”

“That would be extremely uncomfortable.”

“Ooh you’d probably be great frieds with Kamui Woods then.”

“Did you not hear what I just said?”

He also REALLY likes your ears. Like an unhealthy amount? Whenever you’re around he literally wont stop touching them and even tugs on them playfully until you’re swatting at his hands and telling him to go away

He can’t help that they’re so cute :(

so on a particuallry cold day in winter when he has to go to work at the school, he leaves your home while you’re sleeping, only to come home hours later to find you... still sleeping?

You haven’t moved an inch the entire time he’s been gone, so needless to say, he’s a litle concerned.

and when he checks to see if you’re still alive only to discover your heart rate is super slow, he’s A LOT concerned

His brain just goes to the most dramatic thing he can think of, which is that you’re in some weird coma and need to wake up

so rather than, i dont know, gently shaking you awake like a normal person, he grabs you buy your shoulders and starts shaking you violently while shouting your name loud as fuck

“Y/NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN”

“JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!”

you literally wake up so violently, you sit right up and shove him off of you before asking what’s wrong with him, pretty sure you’ve officially gone deaf

He then explains that he thought you were in a coma or something cuz your heartbeat was so slow, and at that point you just roll your eyes because of course he would come up with this ridiculous conclusion

“Hizashi, my quirk is chipmunk and it’s a mutation quirk.”

He doesn’t even get what you’re getting at, just tilting his head in confusion as he squints at you.

“What do chipmunks do in the winter, babe?”

Cue more confused squinting

“Oh my god, they hibernate, you headass.”

it finally clicks and the look on his face makes it seem like he just learned the secret of the universe, and afterwards he’s going on about how cool that is while you just roll your eyes and lay back down to try and go back to sleep, bringing the blanket over your head to try and drown him out

He eventually gets the hint and leaves, but after a while, you kinda feel bad for blowing up on him. He was just concerned and didn’t fully understand your quirk

so letting out a huff, you pull the blanket down and call out his name, to which he immediately runs to you at the sound of, asking you what you need

you just wordlessly lift up the blanket to expose the empty side of the bed, and oh boy, the size of the grin he gets on his face is unmatched

immediately throws off his hero costume so that you can both be comfortable and jumps into bed with you, holding you impossibly close

you fall asleep in a matter of minutes while he just looks at you fondly, hand soothingly rubbing your back.

Just like the other two, he finds you incredibly cute. Like mans is in love, okay?

everytime he sees your little ears twitch, he just gets the strongest urge to touch them, but he never does without your consent becuase he knows how sensitive they are.

“Uh... y/n, do you mind if I... touched your ears?” 

Baby probably feels so awkward asking ugh PLEASE REASSURE HIM

“Oh? Yeah, of course, Toshi. Knock yourself out.”

oooh he’s excited. He’ll be super gentle about it, just lightly grazing them with his fingers before gently rubbing them between his thumb and forefinger

and at that point you’re littlerally melting, practically falling into him because him caressing your ears like this feels absolutely amazing

When he sees how it’s affecting you, he immediately becomes a blushing mess and apologizes, but you just hug him and tell him it’s okay and that you liked it

yeah he definitely rubs your ears whenever you’re feeling stressed or anxious because it’s become a quick way to relax you

only when he does it though. If anyone else randomly touches your ears, you get kinda uncomfortable

Just because they don’t look human doesn’t mean they still weren’t a part of you, dammit

Anyways, one day when you’re waiting for Toshi to come back home, you’ve got yourself wrapped up like a burrito in your blanket, sitting on the couch as you watched tv

it had been snowing all day, but luckily Toshinori had turned up the thermostat before he left, remembering how you mentioned that you’re not a huge fan of the cold

unfortunately for you, the harsh weather had no trouble taking out the power, leaving you in the dark and the cold

it didn’t take long for the cold to start seeping in through the cracks in the windows, and you quickly began to grow tired before you inevitibly passed out on the couch, still wrapped tightly in your blanket

When Toshi gets home and sees you on the couch, his first reaction is “aw, how cute.”

but then when he comes up to you and starts calling out your name to try and wake you up and you just won’t, and then he notices how much your breathing has slowed down, he quickly growns concerened.

He’s not in full panic mode yet, but he’s getting there, and he’s quick to crouch down to your level and grab your shoulders to start shaking you to wake you up

which you do, blinking groggily at him like you weren’t just in full hibernation mode

“Oh... Hey, Toshi,” you mumble, and you reach up to wrap your arms around his neck to pull him down so that you can nuzzle yourself into his warm chest

He’s not able to ask you about what happened to you before you’ve already fallen back asleep, and when the power comes back on a few minutes later, he does a quick google search on chipmunks and mutant quirks before putting two and two together

Now he’s thinking of all the ways he could make you something to burrow into during those especially cold winters

[corie-the-writer]

Won’t Let Go - Ch. 4

Tag List : @talicat713 @itsdesiree86 @halsteadsway @itmejado @toomuchtv95 @panaitbeatrice

Chapter 4 

Sophia had a blast at the cabin even though a part of her had missed spending time with Jay, especially since she had left right after they had sex for the first time. She had promised herself to make the most of the girl time with Sylvie, Stella, Emily and Kim in the cabin for the weekend. 

The girls had spent their days in the sun on the lake, even though it was starting to change from summer to fall, the day time the weather was still warm enough to enjoy the water. At night, they had spent their time drinking wine, watching movies and just lounging around. 

Sophia had text Jay the night they had arrived letting him know that they had arrived safely, and they were exhausted from the drive, they had headed to bed early to enjoy the next two days of doing absolutely nothing. The next morning Sophia had woken up to a picture text from Jay, he was giving her a pouty face claiming to smell like her perfume, and expressing that he was tempted to crash their trip to steal her away. Her heart swelled with the declaration, but promising to spend an entire evening with him once she had gotten back. 

During the day, Stella had convinced a group of young men to take them out on a boat, which was a lot of fun. They had learned to water board, each taking turns with one of the guys teaching them. There were a round of photos of each girl, and Sophia had sent a picture to Jay, showing him what she had learned. He had questioned who the man was on the board next to her, and she had decided to tease him a bit, and realized that he was a cute amount of jealous. Jay had sent her a number of photos the first day, one of him laying in bed shirtless, explaining that he had absolutely no plans, and then another photo later that night when he was at Molly's, saying that Kevin and Adam had hauled him out for a guys night since he was moping around. 

The second day Sophia had decided to spend time with just the girls, sending a text to Jay, letting him know that she wasn't ignoring him, but just wanted to stay present on their final day away. 

That day the girls had went to a cook out where the young men from the boat had invited them, since they were quite younger than them, they had introduced the girls to their parents, and some of the family members that were around, along with their friends. Once the cook out was over, they had went back to their cabin to swim around at the lake and lay out in the sun, just enjoying the scenery and peace around them for the better part of the afternoon. Once the sun had went down, they had decided to have a bonfire for a little while, enjoying a nice bottle of wine, and then headed inside to have girl talk. Sophia had been questioned about her relationship with Jay, and not really knowing the title of what they were, she admitted that they had slept together the day she had left for the trip. 

Later that evening once everyone was winding down for bed, Sophia had gotten the idea to call Jay while being a little tipsy. 

"Hey beautiful..." Jay began to answer the phone call but Sophia had cut him off with a frustrated sigh. 

"So what exactly are we?" Sophia questioned, "I've been drinking, the girls started asking what was going on between us and I'm just as confused as them." Sophia admitted, "Like is this just a hook-up?" Sophia started throwing out different labels causing Jay to let out a small laugh. 

"Babe, will you let me talk?" Jay questioned into the cell phone. 

"S..Sorry..." Sophia mumbled. 

"I like you Soph...a lot..." Jay started out and Sophia had let the wine brain take over and immediately thought the worst. 

"Oh god..." Sophia had stopped him, "I shouldn't have called..." Sophia grumbled smacking herself in the forehead, thinking that he was going to tell her that he wasn't interested in anything, "I'll let you go..." Sophia quickly added, she was slightly aware of Jay saying her name, but she had hung up the phone too quickly. 

Sophia tossed her phone onto the bed in the cabin and heard the phone ringing from the mattress. Sophia cringed not thinking clearly with the amount of alcohol she had consumed through that day, well into the evening.  The ringing stopped after a moment and then started back up again causing Sophia to stand up from the bed and looked at the cell phone as if it were going to grow legs and walk to her. Once the ringing had stopped, she was expecting it to start again and she let out a sigh of relief once it remained silent in her small room. 

Deciding to walk around in circles, Sophia had put her hands on her head trying to figure out what to do next, and she jumped and screamed when the door blew open to see Stella Kidd and Kim Burgess standing in the doorway with a cell phone in hand. 

"What the hell was that?!" Jay's voice came through the speaker phone of Kim's phone. 

"That was Sophia being drunk." Stella answered, "Now Sophia you're going to sit on that bed and listen to what Halstead has to say." Stella pointed to the bed with a stern look on her face and Sophia rolled her eyes and practically stomped to the bed. Once she had sat on the bed, Kidd leaned closer to the phone, "Go ahead Halstead." 

"Soph?" Jay's voice was gentle as he spoke over the phone, "I was saying that I really like you, a lot. I wanted to wait until you got back to have this conversation, but I want to make things official between us." Jay explained awkwardly, knowing that Kim and Stella were both listening. 

"Really?" Sophia's mouth dropped for a moment. 

"Yes really." Jay chuckled, "Do you think that you could call me so we can talk privately? No offense to Kidd and Burgess." Jay added. 

Sophia's cheeks were completely flushed in embarrassment but agreed to call him on her phone. Once Stella had confirmed to Jay that they would be back in town at eight thirty in the morning that coming morning, they said their goodbyes. 

Sophia had called Jay and was overly quiet, "I am so embarrassed right now." Sophia had admitted as she laid in the bed with Jay's hoodie on her, "I can't believe I'm wine drunk right now and turned into one of those people I loathe." Jay couldn't help but to laugh, "How much have you drank?" Jay questioned fighting back a yawn, already knowing that he had the next two days off. 

"Well, we've been drinking off and on since noon." Sophia admitted, "I don't think I am going to drink another drop of alcohol as long as I live." 

"That bad huh?" Jay chuckled, "Are you going to remember any of this conversation?" Jay questioned. 

"Oh I'll remember everything, I'll just have one hell of a hang over, and apparently wine makes me lose all common sense." Sophia explained, "So I'm really sorry for just jumping to conclusions. I sort of just panicked." 

"Well it's going on 2 in the morning and you guys are leaving in a couple of hours to head back, so you need to try to get a little bit of rest. So just know this, I want you to be my girlfriend, and I'll be waiting at your apartment for you tomorrow morning bright and early, and we are not leaving that bed for the next two days. Okay?" Jay spoke quietly and confidently, "And tomorrow once you've gotten the liquor out of your system we will talk, alright?" 

Sophia chuckled lightly, "Okay..." 

"Try to get some sleep, I'll see you in the morning." 

"Good night Jay." 

"Good night baby." 

 Sophia had felt the heaviness of her eyes, the smell of Jay's cologne lingering on the hoodie that she was wearing. Not caring in the moment that her skin was sun burnt causing her to be slightly cold as she lulled herself to sleep. 

The three and a half hours of sleep that Sophia had gotten was not enough to sleep off any of the alcohol that she had consumed. She had been grateful that Stella had shoved a large to go cup of coffee into her face as she got settled into the passenger seat of the jeep. Sophia was silently grateful that she wasn't the only one who was massively hung over. 

"So what did Jay say to you last night?" Stella questioned as she stopped off at a McDonalds for them to grab food for the ride back to town. 

"I uh...he said that he wanted me to be his girlfriend, and that he would be waiting at my place for me this morning." Sophia commented, "I'm trying to not get my hopes up because I think I'll be really sad if he's not actually there." Sophia added quietly, sleep filling her voice. 

"I think you'd be surprised." Stella commented as she pulled up to the window to grab the bags of food and drinks, "I've seen the way the guy looks at you since the moment he met you." Stella commented thanking the woman at the drive thru, then slowly pulling off, "I think he thinks you've personally hung the moon."  

"I just...I've never felt this way before. With Noah it was different. That was pure lust, but with Jay, it's lust and emotions, like everything all tied into one." Sophia explained grabbing the french fries she had ordered after taking a drink of her sweet tea, "I mean, everything is just different. When I'm with him, it's just like this huge sense of peace. It scares me because I don't know him all that well." 

"Well think about it like this..." Stella spoke with food in her mouth as she began driving on the high way, "He's a cop, a detective at that, so he has no criminal record which is a huge plus. He's served his country, and he's got a super level head on his shoulders. I mean hell, he punched a dude for grabbing your ass before he even introduced himself to you." Stella pointed out causing Sophia to laugh as she stuffed her mouth with more fries. 

"Okay, you gotta point." Sophia commented, "I think just with everything that happened with Noah, it's sort of made me apprehensive towards anyone." Sophia added. 

"Have you heard from him any?" Stella questioned. 

"No. Thankfully he had gotten mad enough when I left that he said, 'if you walk out that door do not think about coming back to me' like I had planned on it or something." Sophia chuckled fishing into the bag for her other food. 

"So I take it you haven't told Jay about Noah?" 

"What am I suppose to say?" Sophia questioned, "Hey Jay, I met this guy when I was traveling and I fell in love with his dick, and we have such great sex it turned into a toxic relationship, oh and he's a criminal but I'm not quite sure what he does exactly?" Sophia added causing Stella to snort with laughter. 

"Well I don't think I'd go that route, but obviously the relationship with Noah has caused a little bit of problems for you in trusting others, especially men." Stella suggested and Sophia gave a nod. 

"I'm sure I'll figure out what to tell him exactly when the time comes for it to be brought up. I still am not quite sure how to even dive into that entire experience." Sophia took a drink of her tea after finishing her hamburger, "Enough about me, how are you and Severide?" Sophia questioned. 

"We're really good." Stella smiled, "We are thinking about moving in together." Stella added and Sophia squealed with excitement, "We have been talking about it but we haven't quite decided yet what we're looking for in a house, so we sort of just pushed it to the back burner for the time being." 

"I'm so happy for you Stella! I think he's so good for you." Sophia grinned, leaning back into the seat, "Oh god, I can't tell if eating that food made me more intoxicated or more delirious." Sophia groaned, realizing that it was the lack of sleep doing it. 

"Well rest your eyes for a bit, we got about an hour left." Stella suggested looking towards the brunette, "It's fine Soph. You don't need to keep me company. It'll give me some time to annoy Kelly." Kidd commented. 

Sophia gave a nod and reclined the passenger seat just a little and rested her head against the head piece and closed her eyes, and before she knew it she was out cold. 

"Baby..." Sophia started to stir at the familiar voice, "Come on, open those eyes..." His voice was so gentle and quiet, causing Sophia to flutter her eyes open to see Jay Halstead in front of her. 

"You're here..." Sophia had commented lowly. 

"I told you I would be. Come on, let's get you inside and to bed." Jay ran a gentle hand across her cheek, then reached for her hand. Sophia had raised herself gently realizing her back was a little more sore because of the sunburn, and allowed Jay to help her out of the jeep. 

"Oh god..." Sophia groaned, "I need to shower." 

"Girl, I feel you." Stella agreed from the driver's seat, "I'll talk to you later Soph." 

"Bye Stella..." Sophia closed her eyes for a moment trying to focus her vision, "Oh wait my bags..." Sophia added as Stella began to drive off. 

"I already got them and put them upstairs." Jay chuckled wrapping his arm around her lower back, "Come on, I'll carry you." Jay added, "It looks like you're about to drop to the ground." 

"I feel like I'm about to drop to the ground." Sophia chuckled lightly, slightly squealing as Jay moved to lift her bridal style and carried her around the building to the side door that led to her apartment. 

"I wanna shower and then sleep for the next day." Sophia winced as Jay began to tread up the stairs, causing Jay to look at her in concern, "I got sunburnt yesterday, I'm a little sore." Sophia explained and Jay frowned a little as he reached for the door handle. 

"Here." Jay sat Sophia on her feet, "Go take a shower and get changed. I'm gonna go change into sweatpants." Jay commented as Sophia stumbled into the living room and towards the bathroom. 

Sophia had turned the shower on warm water, and stripped out of her clothes and let them fall to the floor. Noticing the tan lines, Sophia knew that this shower was going to suck tremendously, so she had decided to brush her teeth before setting pain to her skin. 

Once she had stepped into the shower and the initial pain had left she had turned the water a little warmer, and shampooed her hair, and then washed her body carefully, and then washed her face. She felt someone normal but was dead tired. After standing in the shower for a moment, she had turned the water off, grabbed a towel for her body and then a towel for her hair. 

Drying herself off carefully, Sophia had emptied her bladder, washed her hands and then headed into her bedroom to get dressed for bed. She had went to her drawers to grab a pair of panties and slipped them on, and then dropped the towel and Jay nearly gasped at how burnt she was. 

"Baby, do you have any aloe?" Jay questioned as he sat up in bed. 

"I'm not sure... the shower took the sting out of it, so it's not nearly as bad." Sophia had towel dried her hair before grabbing Jay's gray police shirt that was on the floor from him taking it off to get into bed, and slipped it on, and then tilted her head to put her damp hair in a bun, so it was out of her face. 

Climbing into the bed after turning on her fan, Sophia had stretched out her body and then curled up against Jay as he reached for the night stand lamp, and then wrapped his arms around her carefully. It didn't take long for the both of them to submit to the sleep they had been craving.

[edgewaterfarmcsa]

CSA WEEK 9

P I C K L I S T

CORN - LETTUCE - PURPLE CABBAGE - BASIL - GARLIC - (softy) BLUEBERRIES - TOMATO - BEETS

LEMON CUKES - SLICING CUKES - ANNISE HYSSOP - PURPLE PEPPER - HOTTY PEP JALAPENO - RED ONION

Lengthy pro-tip section, so not a lot of room for updates but I can tell you this:  My heart is totally bursting from the back to back blueberry-pick-pop-ups.  It just feels so good to be able to welcome you all into the fields again!  And the turn out for both days and the good vibes all around are really and truly what CSA dreams are made of. Well, that and a ½ bushel box full of kimchi making crops (napa cabbage/bok choy/ginger/hot pepper/scallions/etc… who’s with me on this?).

In other news, last week Mother Nature finally started to lighten up on us and now we are getting some proper summer weather.  The cukes and summer and zucchini just started to really kick in. Melons are on the verge of major harvesting and the flavor has been pretty good considering the water and lack of sun. Cherry and grape tomatoes should be coming in to it pretty soon as well. We have made most of our final direct seedings outside with the exception of a few more radishes and a spinach seeding for fall.  FALL!!! EGADS, NOT READY!!  We continue to plant broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower in hopes of some favorable September/October conditions, but goodness gracious at this point it’s all a crapshoot.

PRO TIPS:

SOFTY BLUES… YES! YOUR BLUEBERRIES ARE QUITE SOFT! THIS IS NOT AN ILLUSION… Here is the deal, as blueberry season marches on, the picking conditions are less than ideal.  Literal branches hanging out in standing water.  The field we are currently on is soaked- therefor the berries are super soaked.  Nobody is pumped, HOWEVER, these berries can be combined with your berries from PYO on Saturday and transformed into the most beautiful and flavorful smoothie/pie/jam/sauce etc… OR FREEZE these blues, and in the winter when you are desperate for some summertime flavorflavs, thaw out, combine with yogurt, and soft blueberries will never be more welcome.  

JENNY’S NOTE: THE FOLLOWING IS ENTIRELY FROM THE BON APPETIT WEBSITE, BUT I WHOLE-HEARTEDLY AGREE WITH THE FOOD PROCESSOR SENTIMENT.  IF YOU CAN FIGURE OUT AWAY TO GET ONE (THEY ARE SO EXPENSIVE I KNOW!!!) THEY ARE TOTALLY WORTH THE INVESTMENT. IT’S A SUMMER EATING SEASON MUST… You will need a food processor—if you don’t have one, we highly recommend making this an excuse to get one; it’s a good investment that you’ll use forever and ever and ever—and a handful of ingredients like basil, pine nuts, olive oil, Parmesan, garlic, and salt. The key for this classic pesto is to add the basil at the very end instead of blending everything all at once. That way the herbs will maintain their verdant color without bruising or losing flavor.

Ingredients

MAKES ABOUT 1½ CUPS

½ cup pine nuts

3 oz. Parmesan, grated (about ¾ cup)

2 garlic cloves, finely grated

6 cups basil leaves (about 3 bunches)

¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 tsp. kosher salt

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350°. Toast pine nuts on a rimmed baking sheet (or quarter sheet pan), tossing once halfway through, until golden brown, 5–7 minutes. Transfer to a food processor and let cool. Add cheese and garlic and pulse until finely ground, about 1 minute. Add basil and place the top back on. With the motor running, add oil in a slow and steady stream until pesto is mostly smooth, with just a few flecks of green, about 1 minute. Season with salt.

Do Ahead: Pesto can be made 1 day ahead. Top with ½" oil to prevent browning. Store in a covered container (an extra drizzle of oil on top will help prevent oxidation) and chill.

Step 2

If you want to use this with pasta, cook 12 oz. dried pasta (we prefer long pasta for pesto) in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain, reserving ½ cup pasta cooking liquid.

Step 3

Place pesto and 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pieces, in a large bowl. Add pasta and ¼ cup pasta cooking liquid. Using tongs, toss vigorously, adding more pasta cooking liquid if needed, until pasta is glossy and well coated with sauce. Season with salt.

Step 4

Divide pasta among bowls. Top with finely grated Parmesan.

Anise hyssop:

So fragrant! Bees love it! So beautiful! So productive! So medicinal! So delicious! The list goes on and on.  This herb, with a flavor of licorice-mint, steeps beautifully in hot water for a divine summer tea meant to ward off the expected Summer cold, and soothe the ever racing Summer brain.  

MEDICINAL PROPERTIES:

-alleviates fever and reduce bacterial and viral load in case of illness.  Anti-inflammatory

- soothing cough suppressant

- encourages relaxation

How to use

Teas: Add fresh Anise Hyssop to a jar and cover with boiling water. Eyeball 6-8 tablespoons of fresh herb per quart jar (including flowers!). Cover and let steep until cool enough to drink. Strain and drink, or cool and refrigerate to save for iced tea.

 Other: The leaves and flowers are edible. Add to savory or fruit salads, smoothies, or baking projects. 

 Garlic noodles (FROM THE OFFICIAL COOKBOOK OF SUMMER ‘21): 

BURMA SUPERSTAR: ADDICTIVE RECIPES FROM THE CROSSROADS OF SOUTHEAST ASIA by Desmond Tan and Kate Leahy

 ¼ cup canola oil

4 tblsp. minced garlic

¾ cup sliced red onion soaked in water and drained

2 tblsp. Soy sauce

½ cup sriracha

1 tblsp. Minced ginger

¼ teaspoon sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

2 tblsp. Water

12 ounces fresh wide wonton noodles or dried chinese wheat noodles

1 cucumber thinly sliced

3 green onions thinly sliced (sub in your onion tops!)

 In a small pot, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add 3 tablespoons of the garlic, set the heat to low, and fry, swirling the pot frequently, until the garlic is nearly golden in color, no more than 3 minutes.  (If the garlic starts to darken too quickly, pull the pot off the heat for 30 seconds before returning it to the heat).  Because the garlic can burn quickly, watch the pot the while time while the garlic fries.

 Immediately pour the oil into a heatproof bowl and let it cool.  The garlic will continue to cook and turn golden as it sits.  If the garlic is already golden brown before you take it off the heat and it looks like it might burn if left in the oil, all is not lost.  Pour the oil through a fine mesh strainer into a heatproof bowl to remove the garlic from the oil and stop it from cooking further.  Once the oil has cooled a bit, return the garlic to the oil.  

 Add the onions and soy sauce to the garlic.  

 In a small serving bowl, stir together the sriracha, the remaining 1 tablespoon of garlic, the ginger, sugar, salt, and water.

 Bring a pot of water to a boil.  Add the noodles and cook, stirring often with chopsticks, until nearly soft all the way through, about 4 minutes or until tender but still slightly chewy.  Drain in a colander and rinse briefly under cold water.  Give the colander a shake to remove excess water.  

 Return noodles to the pot. Pour in the garlic-soy sauce mixture and add the cucumbers.  Give the noodles a stir with a pair of tongs, then divide among bowls.  Top with “green onions”.  Serve with srircha

[bexterbex]

A Soul to Mend His Own | Ch. 24

Warning, if it hasn’t been obvious in the movies there is Nazi symbolism within the First Order. I will expand on this much more throughout the story. If this is something that bothers you, please just exit the story. The author does not condone any Nazi ideals, this is just for fictional uses only.

A Kylo Ren x Modern! Reader in a soulmate au with some canon divergence. —————————————SLOWBURN————————————–

He is already the Supreme leader, searching the universe to find you, his Empress. Your name on his wrist has been the only constant in his life, while you have doubts about his existence and his acceptance of you. He isn’t in the database and why did the name Kylo Ren cover Ben Solo?

MASTERLIST

Chapter 24: Think of the Children

“Before we begin, I have been informed by First Order High Command and the Supreme Leader this morning that per our discussion yesterday I have an update on the child restriction policy. Earth will become a two-child planet in 5 years' time. Any child conceived before that deadline will be grandfathered in. There may be exceptions to this case but otherwise, the Supreme Leader’s decision is final,” said Dr. Koroban.

Wait what? Kylo made this decision? In the beginning, it felt like he trusted you, with your own planet. But now you were beginning to see the truth, that the man behind the mask was the same man with the mask. If only he knew what repercussions were going to happen with this policy, he might then change his mind.

“So our discussion yesterday had no meaning. Do any of our discussions have meaning then? Are all of our decisions going to be overruled by the Supreme Leader,” asked the Surgeon General.

“The Supreme Leader has the final word on any decision we make. If he doesn’t like something he will change it. As is his right to do so. Need I remind you that speaking ill of the Supreme Leader is a crime. So beware of your thoughts and actions,” said General Pryde.

The three health officials shifted uncomfortably in their seats. They didn’t like being called out—no one did.

“Gentlemen,” said Dr. Koroban pointedly. “The purpose of this committee is to make decisions on Earth’s health. Our decisions go back to the Supreme Leader. If he likes something he will keep it, but if he doesn’t it is well within his right to change it. He takes all of our recommendations, now are we going to continue this discussion or is this meeting something you would like to end?”

All three of them looked to each other and then quickly to you before speaking quietly among themselves. “We would like to end these meetings as we see that Lady Ren may give the Supreme Leader any insight into what our planet may prefer.” And with that, the health officials threw you under a bus. They were leaving these important decisions for you. Someone who as of a few days ago was happily working in a small marketing firm, now you were making decisions for a whole planet.

“Very well then I suppose you are dismissed,” replied Dr. Koroban. The three health officials all got up and left. You just kept your gaze down on your folded hands in your lap. Secretly you hoped you became invisible.

Once they had left the room and the door was shut once more Dr. Dabrini spoke to you, “Lady Ren, you do not have to make any decisions you are not comfortable with. We can find others who will give us insight into how to best handle healthcare on your planet.”

You did not respond right away, the room was silent. When you did speak up there was hidden confidence in your tone, “But it is my planet. There are things that none of you understand. While I do not know galactic history like you all do, I do know enough of the history of my own planet to know that some of the First Order decisions will not go over well.”

“My lady, the reason the Supreme Leader changed the decision on the child policy is for the betterment of your planet. Your planet as we see now, if it continues growing as it has will be overpopulated very soon. In fact, many areas are. We are just trying to make sure your planet is healthy,” said General Pryde. “In fact much the First Order High Command wanted the child policy to go into effect immediately but the Supreme Leader wanted your planet to get used to First Order rule.”

How kind. Just enough time for everyone to be thoroughly brainwashed before it kicks in. Or just enough time for everyone to be thoroughly afraid to call to any action against First Order rule. You buried those thoughts deep within your mind. Even though Kylo was in Moscow, you didn’t know how his Force mind-reading thing worked and you did not want him getting even angrier with you.

“So shall we still go with the plan that we encourage birth control in women and before the law goes into effect, some encouragement to have fewer children. Other than that no one should object to STD screenings or anything else of the sort. I imagine there will be some people objecting to monogamy but then again they are against the vast majority of this planet anyways. Someone else should assist me with finding things on this in the Library of Congress,” you stated.

“Of course Lady Ren, I believe Petty Officer Ersela Tanau will be able to assist you in that endeavor,” said General Pryde. A young female officer stepped forward and bowed to you.

“I believe there is nothing else needed to be discussed today, but tonight I will come up with a list of anything else we may need to go over and send it out to you all,” said Dr. Koroban.

With that everyone left. You, Lieutenant Mitaka, Petty Officer Ersela Tanau, and General Pryde boarded the shuttle to take you to the library once again. Once there you, the general and petty officer all went your separate ways.

You combed the resources for what seemed like hours. You came up with some simple videos and posters. You knew they would most likely need to be approved by someone on the Supremacy so you were not as worried this time.

Good Eating Habits (1951)

Eating for Health (1954)

Vintage Army Nutrition for U.S. Soldiers

Weight Reduction Through Diet (1951)

"Cheers For Chubby" Overweight & Healthy Diet 1950s PSA

1950's - How To Eat Healthy - Diet & Nutrition

Feeling proud of your digging you turn to the lieutenant and ask if there is anywhere you could go for lunch. To which he just informed you that you could go anywhere and that it would be taken care of.

“Is there anything that you would like lieutenant,” you ask him.

“Ma’am we can go where ever you wish.”

“But I am asking you if there is anything you would like. Are there any earth foods you would like to try?”

The lieutenant paused at this question. If you could peer into his mind you swear you could see cogs turning. Or maybe some little men running around with papers in their hands panicking and running into each other. You could definitely tell this was not a question he knew how to answer.

“Ok. How about we go to an old fashioned American diner? If you are used to what the starships serve than this will be a change.”

“Yes, ma’am. Would you like to go to one now?”

“I think that would be most preferable,” you respond. You looked up a local diner on your phone. It was at this moment that you forgot that General Pryde would have to accompany you, for your ‘safety.’ Loading up into the shuttle was you, Petty Officer Tanau, Lieutenant Mitaka, General Pryde, and your golden guard Commander Pyre and his stormtroopers.

Rolling up to the diner you could tell that the people milling about outside and inside were shocked at what was happening. You had to admit it was probably a sight to see a relatively normal-looking person surrounded by loads of First Order personnel. Overall lunch was pretty uneventful other than the diner basically clearing out after your arrival. All three officers ordered burgers and fries for the first time, while the commander insisted that his ‘troops were ok and would eat at a later time.

You all head back to the shuttle that takes you back up to the Steadfast. The lieutenant informed you that your laptop was back from wherever he had sent it off to. You made it back to your chambers as you still had some time before your daily tutoring session with General Hux.

You received a message from Kylo, ‘I will not be back until tomorrow evening. Lieutenant Mitaka has been ordered to get you whatever you may need.’

You decided you still weren’t in the mood to talk to him after the events of last night and his lack of informing you of his decision this morning. The lieutenant informed you that the general was ready for your next lesson. You made your way down to the conference room once again, where the red-haired man was pacing about. He seemed to also be in a mood today.

“General? May I ask you a question that is slightly unrelated to the topic before we begin?”

“Yes,” he responded with annoyance in his voice.

“General Pryde told me that he was a founding member of the First Order. Why didn’t you mention this?”

“Ah, I see,” you could tell there was something about this that turned on a switch in his brain. “Pryde is just that, prideful. While he was good friends with my father and Rae Sloane one argues why is he still here and they are not. I can answer that simply. He may have been from their time, but he has not helped the First Order as they have. The sacrifices they made. Their achievements. He is, was apart of the Empire before the fall. He holds onto that, he can’t move past that. He is stuck in time with no realism for the future,” said the general with disgust for the subject.

“Is this why you are Allegiant General and he is not,” you ask.

“One of the reasons. The other is that my achievements in my shorter military career outweigh his. That and Supreme Leader Ren and I have a history. Maybe not the best history, but he can generally trust my opinions and work ethic. Also although Ren likes his grandfather he wants to achieve more than him, so comparisons here and there are fine but practically obsessing over their similarities has proven to be too much for the Supreme Leader.”

“His grandfather?”

“Yes the late and triumphant Lord Vader. That is something I believe that the Supreme Leader will discuss with you when he believes you are ready. For now, let us stick to the topics at hand.”

Oh great, you were sure that the discussion of his grandfather might go over as well as the discussion of his parents. But if the general was so sure that Kylo might actually speak of it, then you should trust him. After all, Kylo trusts him more than Pryde, so that has to mean something.

[kirishwima]

Hello hello! I love your headcanons! Can I request the RFA+V(and Vanderwood?) with an MC who is the one to make the first move to give the first kiss? I need more proactive MCs ready to go for it. (I think with Saeran we already do...?)

oh i like this headcanon hehe~ and yeah, i think we pretty much do see MC making the first move with Saeran-although I do think he’d get just as flustered any time MC gets affectionate with him lol

YOOSUNG:

* Honestly...after that kiss at the party, which he was only able to initiate because of adrenaline and excitement, he’d be a flustered m e s s anytime MC would be affectionate with him-even a mere hug would be enough to give this boy a nosebleed lol

* For the sake of this headcanon though, let’s pretend he didn’t smooch his MC at the party-so instead, whilst they officially start dating, they haven’t kissed yet; just holding hands is a huge feat for Yoosung, his poor heart needs time to adjust at the thought of having a boyfriend/girlfriend/SO to hold hands with!!

* Honestly, Zen would nag at him about it constantly. “What do you mean you’ve been dating MC for a month and you haven’t even kissed them yet?!” he’d ask, incredulous. “Just go for it!”

* Well, for Yoosung, it’s not that simple. Does he...want to kiss MC?  Absoloutely all the time always yes. Is he...brave enough to just ask them for it? Nope. Nuh uh. Nein.

* So it’s up to the hero MC to save the day, and steal Yoosung’s first kiss! 

* Honestly, a sneak attack would be the best-he’d be talking about one thing or another with MC, his face bright and beautiful as he spoke, and MC would absentmindedly bring a hand to cusp his jaw, their fingertips tracing his skin as they ask a soft “Can I kiss you?”

* Yoosung gulps, his eyes wide, but nods, and that’s all the invitation MC needs-they lean close and kiss him, takin in his shuddering breath and how he’s awkwardly trying to follow MC’s lead-and failing.

* They lean back and look at his flushed cheeks and half-lidded eyes; and when Yoosung looks to them with puppy-dog eyes and asks ‘can we do that again?’ well, who’s MC to say no?

ZEN:

* You’d think he’d be bold and be the one to kiss MC first-but same as Yoosung, his first kiss with MC was adrenaline-ridden and chaste.

* Zen’s a gentleman-he’d never want to push his beloved MC out of their comfort zone, nor would he want his ‘beast side’ to get the better of him before MC’s ready to greet that side, if ever.

* So he waits...and waits....and waits. MC has been trying to get him to make the first move but he’s a stoic rock, chanting prayers each time he looks at MC’s lips to keep his sanity lol.

* After a succesful opening night for his latest play, he comes to greet MC backstage at his dressing room; he politely ignored his co-worker’s greetings in favor of rushing to his dressing room where he knew MC would be waiting, and there they were-a bouquet of roses in their hands, yet a barely-hidden pout on their lips.

* “My love?” Zen asked, coming to stand across MC, cusping their cheeks in his hands. “What’s with that frown? Is something wrong?”

* MC’s pout intensified, their lips pursed. “In the play-you had a kiss scene.” Zen nodded, brows furrowed. He’d told MC about that scene from when he first read the play, and they were fine with it-did something change?

* MC leaned up to him, bridging the distance as they kissed Zen-something chaste and innocent, but lingering long enough for him to know the implications behind it.

* They licked at their lips as they looked back to Zen with a small victorious smirk. “I don’t like someone else kissing you before I did. I hat to purify what’s mine” they added with a shrug and-oh no MC what have you DONE.

* The BEAST(TM) has been unleashed. Good luck, MC.

JAHEE:

* She’s bold and brave, yes, but when it comes to affection Bahee’s a Hot Mess. She hasn’t even had her first kiss yet...and she loves MC but doesn’t have the slightest clue of how to initiate any contact between them.

* So it’s up to MC to slowly build up Jaehee’s confidence so that she’ll be okay with a kiss-from holding her hand when walking down the street, hugging her close and leaning their head into the crook of Jahee’s neck, little affectionate gestures that have Jaehee melting into the touch yet also clearly show MC’s intentions; that they were never at the level of simple friendship.

* When one night MC leans close to Jaehee as they sit on the couch watching some silly movie; when they trace Jaehee’s cheek with their fingertips, curling their fingers through her hair as they whisper ‘Can I kiss you?’ into her ear;it’s not a surprise. Jaehee’s come to expect this.

* Yet expecting it and actually preparing for it are two entirely different things-while she nods yes to MC, she shuts her eyes tight as she can, her lips slack and her hands trembling as they come to wrap around MC’s back.

* MC stifles a laugh at Jaehee’s tomato-red face, and says they don’t have to kiss if Jaehee doesn’t want to-while yeah, MC would love nothing more than to kiss the heck out of this woman, they’d never want to force her into anything.

* But Jaehee shakes her head furiously, her grip on MC tightening. “I want this!” she insists, her eyes clear, “I want this.” she repeats.

* So MC smiles and kisses her, slow and gentle, letting Jaehee set the pace.

* Slowly, Jaehee would learn to open up more, and would even be the one to initiate physical affection-but that’d take much, much longer lol.

JUMIN:

* Honestly...this thing he has with MC is his first relationship, and he doesn’t know what boundaries should be set-so he lets MC pick the pace their relationship should develop with. If they’re ready to kiss him, then so is he.

* And boy, MC does want to kiss him. They absoloutely do.

* Not even a day into their new and fragile relationship, they catch Jumin being the cutest he can be-he’s sitting on the couch, Elizabeth the 3d in his lap, and he’s cooing at her, talking in that high-pitched silly voice we all use when there’s a cute kitten or puppy in front of us, and Elizabeth seems to love it, turning her head this way and that whenever Jumin speaks.

* “Who’s my princess?” Jumin coos, scratching Elizabeth’s chin gently, “Are you my princess? Yes you are!”

* ((Yes he absoloutely talks this way with Elly when he’s alone, no you can’t change my mind))

* This cutesy behavior sends MC over the edge. They stand there, eyes trained on Jumin as they ask “Can I kiss you like, right the heck now?”

* Jumin blinks owlishly at them before smiling. “You never have to ask my permission for that-never.”

* So they don’t. Instead they replace Elizabeth on the couch, who’s now left the silly couple to their own devices to go stroll around the penthouse, and so MC leans close to Jumin, their lips inches away from him...and they kiss him.

* He’s soft and pliant, letting MC set the pace yet following suit, matching each of MC’s movements like he’d been thinking the same thing. When MC’s hands run through his hair he hums into the kiss, his fingers tightening on their waist. 

* Now that MC has given this man permission to do something like this...hoo boy you can bet he’ll never take his hands off of MC ever again, ever.

SEVEN/LUCIEL/SAEYOUNG:

* Like most of the RFA, he too has never had a relationship-sure, he’s kissed people, sure he’s had sex, but he’s never actually held hands with someone nor had someone he loves to cuddle with. So everything that happens with MC, every little thing’s a first for him.

* Even kissing feels sacrilegous, the mere thought of someone like him laying his hands on someone as bright and pure as MC making him feel the need to go to church and drown himself in holy water-he knows how much MC would tease him for the thoughts he has, but he can’t help it. 

* He’s a flustered mess at the littlest of things-MC merely leaning their head on his shoulder is enough to turn his cheeks redder than his hair, and MC wants to do so much more than that, wants to take this ridiculous man’s ridiculou’s face and smooch his lips until they’re puffier than a jellyfish, yet they fear what that might do to Seven-what if he short-circuits and his brain fries from the affection?!

* Well, all these worries are put to rest one night when MC fell asleep on the couch-they’d been waiting up for Seven to finish with his work so they’d go to sleep together, but ended up falling asleep as he worked.

* Seven kneeled besides MC, bold now that he’s the only one aware of his actions-he trailed his fingers through MC’s hair, to their temples, down the slope of their nose, his fingertips dancing on the corner of MC’s lips. He sighed, ready to pull his hand away when MC shifted and gripped his hand by the wrist.

* They sat up, ignoring the flusterdness visible on Seven’s face-there, in the dark room only illuminated by Seven’s laptop screens, his pupils blown and lips slack-he’s never looked more kissable.

* “I’m going to kiss you now” they said, and that was all the time Seven had to prepare; they leaned in and kissed him, trapping his lips as his surprised gasp was muffled into the kiss. 

* He didn’t take long before his hands were finding their way around MC’s waist, pulling them off the couch and onto his lap as he sat back on the floor, leaning up to angle the kiss better; even if it wasn’t his first kiss, everything felt new, every touch left a spark of electricity, a tingling in his skin he wasn’t aware he was cabaple of feeling.

* Now that this Pandora’s box had been opened, there was no closing it-if he could, Seven would never stop kissing MC.

* And well, MC didn’t mind that one bit.

Mood MC, mood

it’s like 5am and i didnt proof read this woop hope it’s okay!!!!

-send me mysme headcanons for character reactions-

[thesarcasticknightblr]

Heya! I love Jazz and AJ! Do I decided to draw a quick lil doodle of the two staring at one another 'gently'.. well AJ kinda is with a couple of scuff marks after fighting me while I drew her😂. And Jazz just stood aside smirking at her... Nah, I am just teasing ☺️.

P.s. AJ is very strong... Just saying.

__________

A/N: @books-n-harleys​ this is G O R G E O U S. Also it took me like three tries to spell gorgeous b/c my brain is so fried smh. BUT STILL THIS WAS JUST THE CHEERING UP I NEEDED. This week has been a mess. Studying is painful at this point and I destroyed my laptop on accident (as it turns out water and electronics don’t mix🙃🙃🙃). Went through a scare where I thought I lost everything, got locked out of this Tumblr b/c I don’t remember passwords, and then had to buy a new computer lolol. SO AS I WAS SAYING THANK YOU FOR THIS BEAUTIFUL ART YOU BEAUTIFUL PERSON IT HIT THE SPOT ON MY WEARIED, TIRED SOUL.

Also I’m not officially back yet, just wanted to jump on to say hello and post some character introductions! Can’t answer questions yet, don’t got that kind of time, and I probably won’t post more character intros on Sunday b/c it’ll be real close to test time.

[greyias]

This one got… epically long. Like, over 7k words. Based on one of @grumpyhedgehog’s headcanons with her Jedi Lyra and the trash panda extraordinaire. Main pairing is Draike/Lyra (Smuggler/Jedi OC) pre-relationship, secondary pairing of Theron/Knight. I should also warn for a very brief foray into a M rating. For reasons that will become very clear about halfway through.

He didn’t care what anyone else in the Alliance said, Draike Highwind was in the very firm opinion that life on Odessen was boring. The pace around the base had practically slowed to a crawl the past few months, what with them officially laying low and trying to stay off the galactic radar while the rest of the galaxy started to ramp up back into their umpteenth war. Not that Draike liked the constant state of war they all seemed to live in, but at least out there things were happening.

A thin trickle of condensation ran down the side of his glass, and he flicked the droplet across the cantina table, watching it skip along the smooth polished metal surface. It wasn’t the most entertaining diversion — no, he still had a few hours left before that particular game started again — but hey. It was better than watching paint dry. Another trickle worked its way down the side of his glass, and he tried to see if he could get further distance.

“You do realize,” a pleasant voice chimed in, “they make coasters for that.”

Draike lifted his attention from the very interesting and oh-so-important glass of booze to see the familiar form of Lyra Dorn, standing next to his table. As usual, she was looking stereotypically Jedi, decked out in armor and robes even though they were just stuck here in this boring excuse for a base of operations. Her honey blonde locks swept back from her face as she arched a delicate brow at him. He spied a datapad in one hand, and in the other a platter filled to the brim with fried Capellan turg-root, roast gorak, and Ahrisa.

“I’m just livening up the place,” Draike said drolly, by way of greeting.

Lyra almost rolled her eyes, but seemed to catch herself before plopping down in the chair opposite him, delicately setting down the platter in the center as if it were some sort of offering. That was all the invitation he needed, and he snatched up a turg-root.

He was already halfway through chewing with when she let out a half-sigh, half-laugh. “Yes, those are for you.”

He just returned the remark with a crumb-filled grin, as if to say, “I know.”

That got past her internal defenses, and she was unable to suppress her urge to roll her eyes. The twitch at the edge of her lips let him know she found it amusing though, despite whatever airs she liked to project.

Summoning some modicum of manners, Draike finished off his bite and waved a hand at the plate. “You can have one too.”

“Oh, how magnanimous of you,” she said, but there was no sting to her tone, and she politely pinched off a piece of Ahrisa, setting down the datapad as she did so.

He eyed the device, disguising his suspicion with an easy smile as he snagged another turg-root, smothering it in one of the spicy sauces ringing the platter. “What you got there? Some spicy HoloNet fic? Apparently the latest trope everyone’s writing about is the poor betrayed rebellion commander and their traitorous spy lover.”

“How do you know that?”

“There is nothing to do here. I get bored.”

“Those are about your sister!”

“Look, it’s not my fault she professed her undying love to her stupid boyfriend in front of an open broadcast to the entire galaxy!”

“And that’s your brother-in-law now.”

“Don’t remind me,” he grumbled. “Okay, so if you’re not reading fictionalized accounts of my baby sister’s love life, what’s the datapad for?”

She shot him a look, as if to ask him once again why she would ever read trashy romance about a real person in her life, much less a relative of his. “It’s…”

“Yes?”

“For your reports,” she sighed.

“What? My reports?” he sat up a bit straighter. “Why?”

“Someone made me aware that you’ve been having difficulty getting your reports turned in on time,” Lyra said hesitantly, “and so I thought I’d help you out with them.”

Draike managed to summon his most offended face to bear. “So you bring me a giant platter of my favorite food as a ruse to trick me into working?”

“It’s not a ruse,” she was quick to reassure him, “it’s a… peace offering. And fuel for the brain.”

“It’s a bribe is what it is.”

“Oh, and so what if it is?” A little bit of haughtiness was beginning to creep into her tone, accent thickening ever so slightly as his combativeness managed to puncture her friendly demeanor. “You need to get your reports done, and I’m willing to help you write them because I am a good friend. What’s the big deal?”

“The big deal is I don’t need help writing my reports,” Draike said, crossing his arms as he leaned back into his seat.

“What... yes you do! Theron said—”

An almost maniacal grin spread across his face before he even realized it and quickly smothered it. Usually he was better at keeping a good Sabacc face, but for a moment, even that was eclipsed by the momentary and purely malicious glee that stole through him.

“What was that?” Lyra asked.

“What was what?”

“That look.”

“There was no look.”

“Yes, there was. I know that look—Draike.”

One of the most boring parts about living on Odessen was the rules—and the paperwork. On his own, he only had to do the bare minimum of paperwork to get his cargo runs in. Just enough legality to keep people off his back. It was annoying, but he did what he had to. And at some point he just let Risha take care of that sort of thing — he secretly suspected she enjoyed the tedium. Alas, those salad days were behind him. Here they liked to dot all of their i’s and cross all of their t’s. They wanted a flimsi trail and records for runs, but also stupid things like, incident reports. Which unless something really exciting happened was just an absolute snore fest.

So, he’d made a little game out of them.

Because of course the one person who was hounding him the most for all of this pointless paperwork was his new brother-in-law. If there was something Draike liked less than being told what to do — it was being told what to do by a joyless workaholic that was giving it to his baby sister every night.

“Your report was supposed to be handed in this morning. Do you need any help getting it—?”

“Oh no, help isn’t necessary. I’ve already got it done.”

An adorable little frown of confusion creased Lyra’s face. “Then why the delay?”

“No one, and I mean no one gives Draike Highwind orders,” he said proudly. “Shan will get the report when he’s good and ready.”

Bless her heart, Lyra always seemed willing to believe the best in Draike, even more than most people. That belief was getting tested at the moment, as he could see the wheels starting to turn in her head. She hadn’t put the pieces together yet, but she would soon.

“I’ve got, oh,” he made a show of glancing at the chronometer, “about nine hours and fifty four minutes to go before turning it in.”

As if in triumph, he picked up another turg-root and ate it with an almost perverse pleasure. This time he didn’t try to smother the big grin that blossomed in full on his face.

The thing about Shan was that he was way too predictable. Mister Super Secret Agent Man and dedicated workaholic was never too far from a datapad, whether it was in the war room or in his own quarters. If something were to come into his inbox tagged as urgent, his type couldn’t resist taking a look. No matter what they were doing. And hey, what could Draike say if maybe the message was perfectly timed to chime in right at the most, ahem, romantic portion of Shan’s evening? And if the report itself had been a little more exciting than expected, so exciting that it completely distracted Shan from any other plans, well that was just a side benefit. He was just trying to keep everyone entertained. And of course every report had a twist ending, because Draike was really giving like that. The twist being that the giant  cliffhanger he was building up to was all a sham, and that the incident report was really just a boring waste of time all along.

By his reckoning, Draike was pretty sure that he’d successfully prevented any nighttime activities between his sister and brother-in-law for at least a week now. If Shan was sending Lyra to do his dirty work, it meant he was probably getting desperate. Perfect.

Lyra let out a long suffering sigh, still acting as if she was trying to negotiate some all-important intergalactic trade deal instead of just trying to get her best friend to do some pointless paperwork. “Look, if it’s already finished, I could send the report in for you. Theron does need to sleep some time you know.”

He just snorted and shook his head. “I love you, sweetheart, but you don’t mess with a man’s data stream. If Shan has a problem he can come and talk to me—”

Draike’s statement ended in a lurch, his whole body going rigid as he suddenly processed his own words. He slid a look over to Lyra, who blinked back at him. The hints of a smile were starting to form at the corners of her mouth, something she tried to hide by taking a prolonged and yet somehow delicate bite of her Ahrisa as if she hadn’t heard anything at all.

It didn’t really matter how much she pretended though, because he knew what he’d said. It was as if the entire, expansive cantina had somehow managed to shrink in those few seconds, the natural carved stone walls closing in around him. His chest tightened, each breath a little harder to pull in than the last, as all of the blood drained from his face.

Panic could take on many forms — it all depended on the person. Some people go rigid and weren’t able to move. Others hid theirs with anger or lashed out at others. Some didn’t hide theirs at all, going into full on hyperventilation. But Draike Highwind was none of those types of people. And so he scanned the room, desperately searching for salvation, and found it in the tall form of a Wookiee at the bar.

No actual coherent thought was in his mind as he leapt to his feet, Lyra, the datapad, and platter of food seemingly forgotten as he loudly proclaimed for every patron of the cantina to hear. “Hey, Bowdarr!”

The wookiee looked up with an inquisitive growl.

“You know I love you, right? I love all my friends!”

Bowdarr shook his massive furry head, neither confusion nor resignation registering on his face as suddenly the much shorter human had crossed the threshold, practically slinging his arm around the taller being. Without missing a beat, Draike slung his other arm around the Mon Cal that was also at the bar.

“You too, Guss!”

“Oh, Captain! This is so unexpect—”

“Hey, you! Droid!”

C2-N2 had been dutifully sweeping up a mess over in the corner of the cantina, and the protocol droid looked up in confusion, as if not expecting to be pulled into this of all conversations. “Oh, Captain Highwind, as flattered as I am by your affections, I don’t—”

“What? No. I don’t love you.”

“Well I never!”

“You’re taking good care of my sister, right?”

“But of course, Captain Highwind. I am the primary expert on comfort in all of—”

“Yeah, yeah yeah. You know how much I love her right?”

An audible and communal sound of confusion rippled through the entire cantina. Apparently, this was news to everyone on base.

“In fact,” Draike continued, broadcasting at the top of his lungs to drown out the dissenters of his brotherly affection, “you should go let her know that. Right now.”

The protocol droid practically saluted him as he scuttered off to do as he was told. Orders taken, Draike turned to give the next, and possibly most important person in his life, the good news, and proclaimed to the bartender on duty his undying love for the perfect glass of whiskey that he poured every night.

Off in the corner, Lyra sunk further and further into her chair the louder Draike got, eyes raising up to the ceiling. As if somehow, counting all of the flecks up there would somehow, magically, get him to stop.

This was the perfect plan, if Theron did say so himself. Not that he was really saying much at the moment. Just enjoying the slow, slick slide, the enveloping heat, and the low but appreciative noises filling the room. It had been far, far too long. That was, of course, a nice chunk of his good mood—just having some nice quality time with his wife. But it had the added benefit that he’d finally managed to outwit his stupid brother-in-law’s attempts to derail it. There was no way Draike and his late reports could screw this up. All it had taken was rearranging several meetings and some nonessential business to get the afternoon off.

And Theron was putting the time to good use.

His lips wandered their familiar route, starting just under the shell of his wife’s ear, slowly making their way to the hollow of her throat. Just the way she liked it, if the fingernails digging into his back was any indication. That’s right. Just like that. He let out his own sound of appreciation, and just a little more and he’d—

That thought, and the precious rhythm he’d been building up, was completely shattered as the telltale hiss of hydraulics cut through the room as the door to their quarters whooshed open. Both occupants in the bed went completely still, wide eyed and dumbfounded as a little breeze of recirculated air drifted in from the hall.

Before Theron could say anything, or even twist in what was now a very awkward position, a cheerful robotic voice called out from the doorway. “I have wonderful news, Master!”

A frown of confusion stole over Grey’s face, clearly perplexed by whatever was more important than their privacy.

Heedless to this breaching of protocol, C2-N2 continued on obliviously. “Your brother was just telling the whole of Odessen how much he loves you and how much you mean to him. He urged me to make sure I was taking the best possible care of you that I could!”

At this point, any glimmering hope of continuing their previous activities had now been shattered thoroughly. Theron let out an inarticulate growl as he disentangled himself, flipping and turning even as the bed’s coverlet, previously shoved out of the way magically flew up to cover both occupants propriety. Just about at the same time, Theron had grabbed the nearest pillow, and had chucked it as hard as he could towards the doorway.

It was a marvelous throw. One for the ages. Truly, Theron had missed his calling in Huttball. Unfortunately, pillows weren’t nearly as aerodynamic, and it flopped to the floor several feet away from its intended mark.

“Oh my!” Seetoo exclaimed.

“Close the door!” Theron’s snarl echoed across the expanse of the room.

“Oh, quite right!” Seetoo hit the button for the door to close, and it swished shut behind him. That task completed, he turned back to the bed as if awaiting further instructions.

“I meant for you to shut it with you on the other side!”

“Well, you must be more specific in your wishes if you—”

“Get out!”

“How rude.”

Theron flopped back on his pillow, or he would have, if he hadn’t flung it across the room. Instead his head hit the mattress with a slight spring and bounce back. The motion made him nostalgic for thirty seconds ago, when that bounce back had been for different reasons. He glared at the room in general, as if it had betrayed him. After thoroughly expressing his displeasure with his environment, he turned to look at his wife.

“First it was the manipulative Force parasite in your head interrupting us. Now it’s your brother.”

By proxy no less.

“Did you just compare my brother to Valkorion?” Grey asked. He couldn’t tell if she was offended or in agreement with him. At the moment he didn’t particularly care.

“If the evil shoe fits!”

At some point, Draike’s near maniacal effusion of love for every person and object on Odessen had finally run its course. Probably around the time that Bowdaar had practically shoved a bottle of whiskey into his mouth. It had been an effective measure of finally getting the endless stream of affection to stop.

It had been a little while since that point. So much so that Draike had migrated from his laze-a-bout in the cantina over to the Logistics Hangar. He wouldn’t have said that he was consciously avoiding Lyra or anything, but at some point he’d looked back to where he’d abandoned her at the table and realized that he may have made things a little awkward. There was an itchy feeling on the back of his neck as a tiny in voice in his head told him that he needed to apologize to her. That voice sounded a little too much like his mother for his own comfort, so he studiously avoided it.

Besides, a far more logical part of his brain said that he had nothing to be sorry for. He hadn’t done anything wrong.

He looked up from his contemplative perch to see his brother-in-law angrily storming in his direction. Draike took in Theron’s untucked shirt over rumpled pants, the lack of belt and mismatched slippers in place of the normal calf-high boots, bloodshot eyes, twitching brow, and a possibly new undiscovered vein bulging in his forehead. As an expert in the field, Draike recognized the all-too-familiar signs of someone who had dressed very hastily. That same wide, nexu-like grin spread across his face at the sight.

Okay. Maybe he had done one thing that was technically wrong. But why did it feel so right?

The open display of amusement did nothing to quell the spy’s rage, as he finished closing the distance and furiously poked a finger into Draike’s chest. He growled something distinctly unflattering in High Gammorese, and while Draike tried to hold his mirth in—he didn’t really try that hard, because he almost doubled over laughing.

This only egged Theron on, and the next string of curses mixed in several other languages. Who knew the man was a polyglot?

“I will have you know that my mother was a saint,” Draike managed to get in between wheezes, “and you better not let your wife hear you talking about her like that.”

That seemed to break through Theron’s sexually frustrated rage long enough to stem the seemingly endless, nearly incoherent tirade. But the anger was clearly still simmering. If looks could kill, Draike was pretty sure he would have been a puddle of incinerated goo on the floor of the Logistics Hangar. Of course, he’d been on the receiving end of far worse looks. Shan would need to bring his A game if he wanted to attempt to intimidate Draike Highwind.

Theron started again, in Basic this time. “You son of a—”

“Ah ah, a saint,” Draike reminded him, possibly a little too mockingly.

Theron’s mouth shut with an audible click, and breathed out a long whistling breath through his nose.

“You know, Shan, you really should put a little more care into your wardrobe. Tumble bunny slippers? Really?”

The spy wrinkled his nose, the newly discovered vein seeming to bulge again with a freshly ignited rage. “You sent that droid into our quarters on purpose!”

“Who? Me?”

“Yes, you!”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Draike widened his eyes, the complete picture of innocence. How was he supposed to know that Theron was trying to route around his carefully crafted plans and engage in a little afternoon delight? Truly, it had just been a cosmic coincidence that had turned out in the smuggler’s favor.

“Don’t play dumb with me, Highwind! I know what you’re up to!”

“And what is that?” Draike blinked languidly.

“I’m not going to give you the satisfaction of saying it out loud!”

“Oh, no,” he tsked sadly, “is there some trouble in the bedroom with you and the misses?”

“Knock it off!” Theron snarled. “What the hell is your problem?”

That sort of language utterly wounded Draike, and he displayed that the only way he knew how, by dramatically clutching his chest and crying out in the most melodramatic fashion. “I’m just upset that I wasn’t invited to the wedding!”

“What?” Theron asked flatly.

“It was always my dream to walk my baby sister down the aisle — and your elopement ruined that!”

“…no it wasn’t, you goddamn liar!”

“I’m wounded, utterly wounded!”

Theron pivoted on his heel, letting out an inarticulate frustrated cry.

“You know what would cure that bad temper?” Draike couldn’t help himself. “A little good quality time with the little mis—“

The rest of his sentence was drowned out by another particularly vile High Gammorese curse as Theron stormed off. A final “Turn in your goddamn reports!” echoed across the hangar, and Draike couldn’t hold it any longer and broke down in laughter.

There was really only one problem with Draike’s plan to completely avoid any potential awkwardness with his best friend — and that was when you completely avoided someone, it had a tendency to compound the issue of not seeing them. In fact, Draike had been so successful in his efforts, by the time it occurred to him that maybe he’d overreacted a little, and the encounter itself had probably long faded from her mind, Lyra was nowhere to be found.

Which was just rude. People shouldn’t be able to use his own tactics against him. There had to be some sort of rule or code against that.

Naturally, all inquiries made in regards to her whereabouts were completely and utterly casual. As he had carefully cultivated an upstanding reputation of detached aloofness that had served him well. If he appeared too eager for anything, someone might get the bright idea in their head to saddle him with more responsibility — maybe mistake him for the other Highwind on base that seemed to thrive under that sort of thing.

And it wasn’t like Lyra was the most entertaining Jedi or Force user on base to hang around with, she wasn’t even the most entertaining person—because apologies to everyone, Guss would forever and always hold both of those titles. No contest. No contenders. It was just the cold, hard facts of the situation.

But if Draike was being honest… her company was missed some. Bowdarr didn’t laugh at his stupid jokes that he told in an attempt to cheat—er, strategically get the upper hand—at Sabacc. The wookiee just let out a non-amused growl and called him on it. And Guss just kept trying to palm the cards himself. It just wasn’t the same. He would hang out with Gault, but both Hylo and Theron had strictly forbidden it, as if they were convinced the entire base would erupt in flames if the two of them engaged in a battle of wits.

(And there was no way in hell he was ever going to sit at a table with that Rattataki, no matter how many lewd invitations she offered.)

So, Draike had been forced to turn to the very last place that he would ever dare to find answers: the duty roster.

“Who the hell is Houch Plehnt and why is he flying my ship?”

“Last I checked, the Khoonda was registered to Master Dorn, not you.”

Draike looked up to see one smirking and insufferable spy staring at him over the brim of a large mug of caf.

“Shan.” Any joviality in the greeting on Draike’s part was forced. “Nice to see you up and at ‘em. Still suffering from that acute case of prolonged sexual frustration?”

“Well, since you asked so nicely,” a wide, unrepentant grin spread across the other man’s face, “I’ve found that if I wake up early enough, there’s definitely enough time to fit in a quick bit of quality time with the little lady. Sometimes twice.”

“Gross! That’s my sister you’re talking about!”

“A wise man would know better than to ask a question he didn’t want the answer to.”

“Don’t think I won’t camp outside your door and bang pots at random intervals!”

“I think our guard droids might take issue with that.”

“HK-55 loves me and you know it!”

“Where are you going to find the pots?” Theron challenged, taking a long sip off his mug.

“I have friends in the kitchen!” Draike crossed his arms. “They’ll hook me up.”

“Don’t you think you’re going to excessive lengths to ‘protect your sister’s virtue’?”

“She’s a Jedi, I think she’s entirely capable of protecting her own virtue,” Draike sniffed indignantly. “Besides, this has nothing to with her, and everything to do with you.”

“And what did I do now?”

“You let some moon jockey take my ship out!”

“Again, not your ship.”

“Well, it’s the closest thing I’ve got to one until we track down where mine is,” Draike huffed.

“Guess it’s a shame you were off pouting somewhere when Dorn got her mission then,” Theron said a little too casually, taking another long, slow sip from his mug. “She had to go find another pilot since you were incommunicado.”

Draike tried not to look as put out as a he felt. Lyra knew that he was bored out of his skull and she had just left him here? And had gone off with some moon jockey? Who probably couldn’t even take off without scraping the paint? Houch Plehnt — what kind of name what that anyway? Man probably didn’t even know how to handle his blasters! (Pun partially intended.)

“You don’t just hijack someone’s crew, Shan!”

“Oh?” There raised those eyebrows again, another sip and a smirk. “Your crew, eh? I didn’t realize things were so… official.”

“They’re not,” he snapped back, perhaps a little too quickly. “We just have an understanding—she knows how bored I am! And she just leaves me here?”

“What she left you was this message.” Theron paused in his sipping and smirking long enough to produce a datapad. “Not that it’s any of my business.”

“It’s not.”

Theron shrugged, picked his mug back up and began to amble off. Presumably to his next meeting, or a rigorous and boring round of coding, or something equally dull and chaste per the elaborate fantasy that Draike was concocting in his head. 

“You still haven’t sent in your report for the Kathol Rift incident yet.” The spy didn’t turn around or even flinch at the silent, rude gesture sent his way. “Maybe you’ll have some time to finish it now, since you’re so bored and have nothing better to do.”

“You know, Theron, I never pegged you as some flimsi pusher,” Draike called after him, which seemed to break through the smug haze, because he saw the spy’s shoulders stiffen, as if that insult had hit particularly close to home. “I guess we all become the thing we hate, eh?”

“You’re the one with the problem here, Captain, not me,” came the sharp reply, before the spy stalked off.

Draike glared at his retreating back, and when that had finally disappeared off into the bustle of the Odessen crowds, he turned his ire back to the traitorous duty roster that had started this whole thing to begin with. He ignored the datapad in his hand for longer than was probably necessary, before finally flicking the thing on.

Hey you. Got a little job to do in Taris. Couldn’t find you to see if you wanted to tag along. Houch Plehnt volunteered — should be back in a day or two. Wish me luck, he’s… not as quick with his blasters as you are. If you know what I mean. See you later, friend.

He glared at the datapad and the text on it, trying to smother the rising and conflicting emotions welling up in his chest. The walls weren’t closing in like the other day, but that nagging voice was starting to whisper in the back of his mind. In particular he kept staring at the word “friend” over and over, as if trying to parse out if it was some sort of hidden message.

It was stupid, that’s what it was. If she wanted to get herself killed by letting some random person with lesser skill at the helm of her ship, then fine. So be it. See if he helped her steal it back again if the jerk decided to fly off without her. Of course, that might strand her on Taris, which was not exactly friendly territory to have to try and navigate a flight out of.

Whatever. It wasn’t any of his business. He had better things to do. Like go teach Guss how to cheat better at cards.

In between about the thousandth time of trying to demonstrate the proper way to palm a card, and Guss accidentally spraying the entire Sabacc deck across the table, Draike had to admit defeat on his latest venture. The game of 76 Card Pickup was only entertaining about the first three times in a row, and then it just became dull. Like everything else around this place.

While he was amazing at most everything he did, Draike would have to admit that maybe he could have been a more effective tutor if he didn’t keep getting distracted by trying to calculate the average duration of a roundtrip between Wild Space and the Ojoster sector. Granted, a talented pilot could shave off a little time from that route, but he was pretty sure Houch Plehnt was anything but. Did the man even know the front end of his blaster from the back?

Not that Draike was concerned.

Because he wasn’t. He just had to find some way to fill his time, and unfortunately he’d been reduced down to basic algebra problems that most school children learned in their third year. And he wasn’t put out. How could he be? It wasn’t like he and Lyra had any formal arrangement (no matter how much Shan tried to slyly imply) to not go on missions without each other… they just… hadn’t for a long time. It wasn’t an expectation exactly, it was just the way things had been for a while. Help each other on assignments, hang out in the down time. Keep the ever encroaching boredom at bay for a little longer.

He also would not define himself as moping about the Logistics Hangar, with Guss trying to pick up an entire Sabacc deck off the floor where he’d accidentally flung it for the umpteenth time, when the Khoonda made its landing again. The ship’s owner emerged down the boarding ramp, covered in something utterly foul. Draike had almost no warning before a particularly sticky and odious arm was flung around his shoulders, an unidentified muck slurping itself onto his jacket.

“Hi,” Draike said, one hand discreetly covering his nose. “Miss me?”

“Yes,” Lyra enthused as she laid her head on his shoulder, further smearing the gunk of whatever covered her onto his skin.

He valiantly did not cringe at the slimy sensation. “You know that you stink, right?”

“It’s your fault,” she insisted.

“I don’t recall smearing you with the most disgusting substance known to man. That you’ve now smeared all over my best jacket.”

“Good,” she said firmly, “ and it is your fault. You disappeared on me, forcing me to take Houch as a pilot.”

“What kind of name is that anyway?”

“Don’t change the subject,” Lyra wrinkled her nose. “He was so afraid of getting bit by a Rakghoul he refused to step off the ship. So I had to get samples for Lokin myself.”

“Wait, so this stuff is—”

“Yes,” Lyra said lightly, “Rakghoul guts.”

“This was my best jacket!”

“Was being the operative word. Now it’s just a jacket covered in guts. We match!”

Draike sniffed indignantly, which was a mistake because all it gained him was a giant whiff of the odious stench emanating from the Jedi. “Why did you not shower?”

“Because Houch was so afraid of being infected he quarantined me in the cargo hold. Wouldn’t even let me near the refresher.”

“It’s your ship!”

“Trust me,” she muttered dangerously, “I know.”

“He still in the cockpit? I can go give him a hug on your behalf.”

“You’d do that?”

“Bastard stole my ship and by proxy ruined my favorite jacket. He’s got it coming.”

“You do realize it’s technically my ship, don’t you?”

“Why does everyone keep bringing that up?”

“Well, you have fun talking to Houch,” Lyra said breaking away, “I am going to go take a shower and then burn all of these clothes.”

“Looks like I’ll be doing the same,” Draike muttered petulantly.

“And be nice to Houch.”

“No promises!”

The conversation itself was normal. Friendly side-hugs and spirited banter but… as Lyra walked away, Draike couldn’t help but feel something about the encounter was different. The barbs just a little more pointed, and Lyra avoiding catching his eye. She had usually been quick to follow up the banter with some sort of reassurance, but this time she just walked away. It wasn’t like this was the first time he’d been an ass, and she had always let him off the hook before. He wasn’t sure why this time was different, but it was.  

He watched her go, that same matronly voice in his ear starting up in its familiar scolding refrain.

The expletive slipped out on its own accord. His jacket was thoroughly ruined. It was a nice jacket. He’d just finished breaking it in. The sleeves were no longer stiff, and it had breathed so much nicer than the cheap synthleather ones that they kept in stock here on the base. Also, Houch Plehnt really needed a sticky Rakghoul gut hug. But mostly the man just needed to be kicked off and banned from ever re-entering the Khoonda.

Is that all you should really be thinking about right now? — the infuriating voice in the back of his mind asked.

He tried to come up with some excuse, some flim-flam to distract it, but arguing with one’s self was the first sign of insanity. He couldn’t give into it now, not after managing to keep his wits about him being stranded for five years on a backwater planet while the galaxy passed him by. That would just be insult to injury.

Fine. Fine. He’d listen to the stupid voice just this once.

It was much, much later when he found her out in the nerf pens. After a shower, burning his jacket, and covering one asshole Rodian pilot in rakghoul guts — not necessarily all in that order — he walked into one of the dirtiest places on base. It seemed almost pointless for Lyra to scrub herself clean and then go commune with the giant stinky beasts, but this was where she liked to hide out when she was trying to pretend she wasn’t upset. Like that time they had to steal back the Khoonda from the Corellian shipyards. Or the anniversary of dates that she’d never really explained the significance of.

Just like those other times, she was petting the nose of one of the giant, gentle creatures. Leaning in and saying something low. He spied a small smile playing at her lips, even if there was the air of something else about her. Like even with her big animal friends she felt she had to pretend that everything was fine.

Draike cleared his throat, and both Jedi and big nerf head looked up at him. He held up a bag from the mess hall as an offering, and her eyes lit up at the familiar sight. She gave the big beast another affectionate pat on the nose, whispering something before wiping her hands and ambling over. Just like all of the other times, they took a seat on one of the fallen logs that served as a makeshift bench.

They didn’t exchange a word, but he pulled out the to-go containers and utensils. She took his offering, removing the lid and inhaling the spicy scent wafting out. The smile that played at her lips was different from the ones she graced the nerf with, and she arched a brow at him. The noodle dish wasn’t her favorite Dantooinian variant, but it was the closest he could wrangle up. Thankfully, the grumpy cook wasn’t in the kitchen today, so he’d been able to negotiate a special order.

“Smells spicy.”

“I’m surprised you can smell anything over that nerf,” he said.

She shook her head, lips pressing together lightly, but the expression was a familiar mix of exasperated amusement. Not the slightly edged smile she’d greeted him with in the hangar, so that was probably a good sign.

“I don’t recall this being on the menu today,” she remarked lightly.

“I called in a favor.”

“How big of a favor?”

“There’s an extra container of hot sauce in here. You’re liable to lose a few taste buds.”

“Ah, that was quite the favor,” she mused. “The kitchen never wants to make it spicy enough.”

“You just have to know how to ask nicely,” Draike shot back, “and also slip them a few credits when no one’s looking.”

She slurped up a noodle with more gusto and noise than was necessarily proper, but the genuine smile blossoming on her face counterbalanced the breech in manners. For a few minutes, they were content to munch on their food as they watched the giant stinky beasts graze. It was almost tempting to just let the companionable silence stretch on, but he was supposed to be listening to the stupid little voice in his head, so…

He took a little time preparing the noodles for his next bite, seemingly focused on getting the absolute perfect twirl as he spoke. “I turned in the damn report.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her pause in the middle of her chew, shaking her head almost in disappointment. As if that wasn’t the actual issue. He continued to twirl his fork slowly, gathering more and more noodles and sauce. She was the one that left him behind, and yet he had swallowed his pride and given that stupid smug spy the satisfaction of having his precious paperwork turned in on time.

You know that’s not the real issue here, that damnable maternal voice in his head whispered again.

He ignored the voice. It only got one good deed out of him per month. That was the deal.

“You left me here,” he said continuing to twirl the noodles into what was starting to resemble a monstrous bite.

“You disappeared,” Lyra shot back. “What was I supposed to do? Refuse a mission because you were pouting?”

“I was not pouting,” Draike said huffily.

“Then what were you doing?”

He didn’t have an answer for that, so instead of replying he stuffed his now epically sized pasta twirl into his mouth. It was a mistake, as there was hardly any room to chew, and the spicy oil of the sauce set his cheeks on fire. Gamely he looked at her and shook his head, pointing at his full mouth as if in explanation that he couldn’t answer her question with his mouth full. The effect was ruined by the fact that he could feel a bead of sweat start to trickle down his face, his traitorous body betraying the fact that he was not as immune to the level of spice that she enjoyed in her dishes.

Lyra quirked a brow at him, unimpressed by his obvious skirting of the issue, while an oddly satisfied smile threatened to quirk at the corners of her mouth. It made him feel as if he had stepped into some sort of well-planned Dejarik maneuver she had been planning from the beginning of the game. Although Lyra Dorn really wasn’t the evil mastermind type.

“It really stung, you know,” she said after a moment of literally letting him sweat, “that you’d avoid me instead of talking to me about whatever was wrong.”

He could have had a perfect follow-up quip for that to distract and derail the conversation, but his mouth was still both on fire and impossibly stuffed with noodles which prevented him from forming any coherent sound. So he just let out a muffled series of noises in protest.

“Chew your food,” Lyra said, that eyebrow quirking again.

He snorted out an annoyed breath and tried to find a way to safely chew his monstrous, ill-conceived bite. He felt not unlike one of the big, stinky piles of fur chewing their cud. In retrospect, perhaps this maneuver of stuffing his face to avoid questions had backfired, as he was now at the mercy of anything else the Jedi had to say.

“I’d never strong arm you into saying or doing anything you didn’t feel,” she continued. “The fact that you don’t trust that…”

He shook his head at her, still unable to form coherent words.

“No, you don’t trust me?”

He shook his head again.

“No, that’s not what you meant?”

He nodded.

She sighed. “Can we just both agree to not do that again? Neither of us goes incommunicado when something’s wrong and… you never leave me at the mercy of a Houch Plehnt again. Fair?”

Draike couldn’t sigh, could only snort out a very long and aggrieved breath through his nose and shrug in an exaggerated manner — but he nodded. That seemed… fair.

“Good.” Lyra shot him a small, almost mischievous smile. “You know you’re being uncharacteristically silent.”

He tried to say something, but his mouth of noodles prevented more than an impolite, disgruntled sound.

“Chew,” she reminded him again, that little smirk still blossoming further. “So, did you get up to anything fun while I was gone?”

He let out another incoherent noise of frustration, unable to form proper words around the fire on his tongue and the noodles trying to slip out of his mouth.

“It’s impolite to talk with your mouth full, Captain.” Lyra clicked her tongue, and took a delicate, small bite. “You know, these are really good.”

He wrinkled his nose at her and tried to communicate his plight with his eyes.

She just flashed him another wide smirk, leaning over so she could bump his shoulder with hers. “You want some of my extra sauce to help wash those noodles down?”

Her only reply was a disgruntled grunt.

[kingblanketfort]

No Official Title Yet!

So this is my FIRST IT fanfic. My first time writing Papawise and Penny. So if it’s a bit off, forgive me, I’ll get better as I go. As of now the fic doesn’t really have any trigger warnings, as I only have the first two chapters, but I’ll list things when it becomes needed. 

Chapter One: Deer in Deadlights     Everything was swirling with smudged colour, and his head was pounding. Sounds could be heard but not discerned, as it was muffled. Eyes squinting and blinking desperate to focus. That’s when he heard a voice that started to become clearer with each passing second.            

    “Hey, kid, take it easy…” it was a rough voice, of low timbre. “it’s gonna feel like hell, but it’ll wear off soon enough.”  Pennywise finally was able to focus on something as it became clearer and found himself staring at the roof of a yellow tent. He was confused and tried to sit up, but that’s when he heard the voice again and felt a gloved hand on his shoulder, giving a gentle but firm press. “I said take it easy…” Pennywise gave a rumbling growl of confusion and annoyance as his eyes cut over to the source. Into view came a clown. 

White face, red nose and lips, a lot like the guise he took, only his hair was blood red and rimmed around the side and back of his head, bald on top, and his eye make up was more minimal and blue. He looked somewhat older, as if in human terms he’d be in his mid to late 50’s. He was noticeably shorter, and a little more stout with thicker arms.            

    “Who the hell are you?” Pennywise managed to croak out, his voice feeling and sounding like he hadn’t spoken in ages. The older clown pulled back his hand and grunted, pulling a cigarette out of his pocket with an accompanying lighter. The quick click and fizzle of the flame popped and soon the smell of smoke filled Pennywise’s nostrils. He took a long drag before blowing it out, lackadaisically.            

    “Heh, wouldn’t believe me if I told ya, kid, but I’ve been expecting you.” At this point Pennywise’s patience was already razor thin and this geezer was pushing it.            

    “Try me.” He growled out. The older clown seemed un-phased by his change in tone and leaned back into the very worn wooden chair.            

    “The name’s Pennywise----” he put his hands up and wiggled them in a sarcastic motion of fancy, “—The Dancing Clown.” The first Pennywise’s eyes narrowed.            

    “You’re lying.” He attempted to sit up again, now realising he was in a very soft bed. Something he wasn’t quite used to feeling. The older Pennywise gave a gravely chuckle.            

    “Told ya you wouldn’t believe me. But it’s the truth.” He stated, blowing out more smoke, pointing to ginger Pennywise with the two fingers that were expertly holding his cigarette between. “You’re from a different universe of Earth, where you used to hunt, different from mine. I was brought here upon my death.  I’ve been here for 27 years in this hellhole. Looks like you got roped in too.” He paused to take another deep drag and lean forward. “let me guess, a group of raggedly children calling themselves “The Losers Club” found a way to bump you off, hm?” Orange haired Pennywise’s mouth twitched into a snarl.

      “How do you know?” he hissed. Again, un-phased, older Pennywise looked at him with growing impatience.             

    “Because that’s what happened to me too. Don’t you get it? We are creatures from the Universe, and it has plenty of alternate realities and planes. Different versions, different timelines and events. Parallel universes are not a foreign concept to you, are they? That’s what this is. And it’s that fuckin’ turtle’s fault.”    

     “WHAT?!” the younger clown nearly roared. “I’ll kill him! I’ll kill him with my bare hands! I’ll rip him to—!”            

    “Alright, yeah, that’s great, kid. I said that too, but there’s only one way to escape this. It’s atonement. I’ve already gotten the message, I’ve been here for over two decades and still haven’t ‘washed my soul clean’. But first, let’s make this easy---everyone around here calls me Pops or Pappa, so, that’ll work. I’ll call you ‘Penny’ for short. No discussion.” Papawise flicked his ash into a very colourful, yet grimy looking ashtray. Penny’s eyes only flashed angrily.     

    “We have no souls to be washed!” he stated, balling his fists.     

    “Mmhm, you’d think that. I certainly did. We were wrong. So we’re damned.” He then squashed out his cigarette. “right now you just have to rest. I’ve already tried cussing that fucking turtle up and down, but the rage got me nowhere. We don’t have a choice.”             

    “Never! I refuse!” Penny proclaimed and threw the covers off of himself. As he looked down he realised that something….didn’t feel right. He was used to taking a human-esque form before, but…this one felt different somehow. He looked down at his hands and flexed them. Different muscle, different…bone structure sensations under the skin. His head swam again, and he placed a hand to his forehead and instantly knew for sure something was off. His usual forehead which was broader (a feature he purposely chose to warp to give a sense of his otherworldly presence) was gone. It felt like---- “human?!”   

     “Hey, whoa, Pen---” Penny pushed past Papawise and quickly found a small vanity near the far corner, unopened face-paint containers strewn about it. Large hands slamming down on either side of the vanity desk he stared at his reflection for the first time in a long time. He couldn’t believe it! He looked human only he still bore the wild reddish orange hair and facial markings that represented his clown make-up from his persona.            

    “WHAT IS THIS!?” he yelled, turning on Papawise. “Am I … am I a HUMAN!?” he reached up to touch his teeth, his brain trying to will his transformation into his toothy gaping maw, but…it didn’t happen. Just human jawbone with human jaw muscles clenching. He found his childish buck teeth still there, but the rest were just rows of normal teeth. Papawise rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration.            

    “We both are…”he replied. “Mataurin wasn’t fucking around when he set this whole thing up. That’s what I keep tryin’ to tell ya. To think that that world’s Pennywise was this childish---”            

    “Shut your mouth! If what you say is true, he can’t stop us, we are the Eater of Worlds! WE ARE GODS---!”            

    “Not. Anymore. Now. Sit. Down.” Papawise demanded, pointing to the bed. But Penny took a shuddering breath, his eyes downcast seeing the tremble of his chest heaving. His hand slid to his chest, and he felt a heartbeat. A very human one. He could barely see straight he was so angry. “look, it’s a big ol’ bummer---trust me, kid, I know. I had the same reaction when---”            

    “Stop calling me that you name THIEF!”            

    “DON”T YOU GET IT?!” Papawise argued back, finally raising his voice, sick of the impetuous nature of this creature. “We are stuck here, chucklehead, and whether you like it or not, we are being forced to atone for our apparent SIN of just EATING TO SURVIVE. The whole thing smells rotten to me sure, but we have NO CHOICE but to MOVE. ON!” this surprisingly shattering boom of a voice rocked Penny and rooted him to the spot, casting him into utter silence. 

Something about this being, though he bore the same name, was extremely commanding and solid. Deep inside his selfish and egotistical, self serving core told him that this being, this version, or whatever he was---was to be respected and oddly, that he shouldn’t even dare to tangle with him. This made a wave of…something run through him, he just didn’t know what. The silence permeated the tent before Papawise sighed heavily and took a step towards him.      

      “I’ve been here long enough….trust me, this is our penance. We have to work for everything now. We toil as the humans do. Brought to their level.” Penny wanted to argue but instead found himself asking only a simple question.            “What do we do?” for a split second, he felt a heavy weight, like a rock settle into the pit of his…stomach? Yeah, that’s it. Stomach. He unconsciously placed his hand over it. Unable to hold back a smirk, Papawise approached him and placed a thick hand on the younger clown’s back, gently leading him to the tent flap, pulling it back.            

    “What do you think?” he revealed a travelling circus troupe. Carriages on wheels, impromptu cages of animals pacing about, the smell of popcorn, cotton candy and fried goods filled the air. People and various performers were talking amongst each other as a few were working in the distance putting up the Big Top, yanking on ropes and driving in stakes. Others were busy setting up their game booths and food trolleys. “Welcome to the real circus, my boy.”

[sososdelightfullydumbimagines]

Stray kids reaction to sharing a bed with their s/o for the first time

Requested: Yessss Thanks to @ep-ip-ha-ny

Summary: How would the boys react to the first time you two slept in the same bed

Warnings: Mentions of puking and insecurities

Hey babes! I hope you guys enjoy, I'm sorry this took so long I went a little over board with this. Don't forget to request!

-Admin SoSo

Chan:

It had been a long day. For both you and Chan. He sent you a message asking you if you could comme over the dorm. You quickly agreed. You changed your route and headed for the dorm. Once you reached your destination you promptly knocked on the door. Chan opened the door and dragged you inside. You barely had the time to greet the other boys who were hanging out in the living room. Chan hauled you into his room. Once he closed the door behind you, you pulled him back towards you.

"Chan - Chan, what's wrong you haven't said a thing since I got here..."

"Nothing's wrong. I just really need to spend time together..." He looked down, sheepish

"Alright, are we watching a movie?"

"Yeah, yeah..." You both laid down on his bed and Chan pulled his laptop closer. You snuggled closer to him for some warmth. After two or three movies, your eyes started to droop.

You were dozing in and out of conciousness and Cham noticed. He held you tighter until you officially fell asleep.

He felt nervous. Very nervous. Although he felt nervous it felt right. He knew it would only be the first of many. He loved to be in bed with you after a long day.

Woojin: 

You felt cold, cold and scared. Usually your nightmares weren't this bad. But tonight you were scared and you didn't know what to do. No matter what you did you couldn't fall back asleep. You had nothing else to do but to call Woojin, he was the only one who could calm you down when you were like this. You picked up the phone and dialled his number. The phone rang a couple of times before Woojin picked up.

"Hello?" It was clear you woke him up, guilt bloomed in the pit of your stomach

"Hey, umm c-could you come over?"

"Yeah, of course. Is everything alright?"

"No actually, not really..."

"Alright I'm on my way. I'll be there in five" Shuffling was heard in the background. You pulled your knees up to your chest and rested your chin on your legs.

There was a knock on the door and you scampered to the door ripping it open. You dove straight into his arms. You some how shuffled into your bed. He pulled you onto his chest and rubbed your back.

He felt nervous but his protective instinct took over. He just wanted to take care of you. He would do anything for you including scaring away the nightmares.

Minho:

Your breath was shaky. You couldn’t contain your sobs. You were hunched over the toilet puking your guts out. You felt like crap. You were supposed to meet up with Minho soon for a date but you definitely couldn’t make it. You shot him a text briefly explaining the situation. You were too preoccupied with not puking that you didn’t hear the door open and close. Suddenly, a voice called out

“Y/n?!” Your head dropped against the toilet seat.

“In the bathroom!” Soft footsteps made their way to you

“How are you feeling?”

“I’ve been better...”

“How about we get you to bed?” He slowly pulled you up and walked you down the hall. Making sure not to rattle you, he slowly pushed you on the bed and tucked you in.

“Minho, wait! Don’t go... please” He smiled softly and laid down with you.

He loved taking care of you, because he knew you would also take care of him. He loved you in the purest form and would do anything for you.

Changbin:

There were suppose to be six beds. Eight of the boys were going to share four of the beds and then you and the remaining member were going to have one bed. But of course there were only five beds. Meaning you and the other member had to either share a bed or somebody had to sleep on the floor. The left over boy was Changbin. You didn’t want to make him uncomfortable by offering to sleep in the same bed. Looking at him you reviewed your options.

“I could sleep on the floor” you offered

“No, no. How about we both just sleep in the same bed.”

“Alright” You felt grateful he offered it first.

He didn’t want to snuggle too much so that the boys don’t see it and poke fun at him. He’d feel super soft and warm inside. He was certainly grateful for that missing bed.

Hyunjin:

It’s hard being in the lime light all the time. The judgement, paparazzi, tabloids, the stress. He could feel overwhelmed at times. Unfortunately, today was one of those times. He called you asking if he could come over. You waited patiently for him on the couch. 

The door clicked open. you stood up to meet him in the hallway. When you saw him he dove for your chest. He held onto you tightly letting out a chocked sob. You wrapped your arms around him in hopes of comforting him.

“C-Can we go cuddle?” He let out softly

“Yeah, of course...” You both walked to your room and laid down. He put his head on your chest. Hearing your heartbeat comforted him.

Hyunjin didn’t feel nervous at all. You were his safety blanket, his little teddy bear. Nothing could ever touch him when he was with you.

Jisung:

It was your weekly movie night with Jisung. You were cleaning up your place and laying out some snacks for the both of you. Tonight was all about Christmas movies. A knock resonated in the apartment. You headed for the door and let him in,

“Hey”

“Hey” He looked horrible. Exhausted, sweaty and pale. Like he just ran a marathon.

“Are you ok?”

“I’m just a little tired...”

“How about we take a little nap and watch the movies later.” You pulled him closer and ran your fingers through his hair. Heading towards your room you ignored the awaiting living room.

You both dropped onto the mattress and quickly doze off.

Jisung really didn’t over think it at first. The next morning he did get shy but more rested than ever. So expect him to drop by more often for a nap.

Felix:

It was the big finale. You and Felix had been battling it out for the whole day now. Who was the best at Mario Kart. Up to now it was a tie. Understandably it had been a very high energy and intensity. No wonder your eyelids were so heavy. With Felix’s voice droning on and on, the warmth of the blanket strung over your lap and a tummy full of junk food, just made you even sleepier.

“Babe... y/n do you wanna go to bed?” You cracked your eyes open to see him hovering above you. 

“Yes please.” He slipped his arms under your knees and behind your back. He carried you over to his bed and slipped in after you. He drew your back closer to his chest and buried his nose into the crook of your neck.

He felt totally at peace. After such an amazing day with you, it only made sense to finish it with you. You were always high energy with each other it felt nice to spend some calm time together.

Seungmin:

Your stomach was in a knot and your heart was launching itself into your throat. Earlier that day you stood at his door with your bag under your arm. It was the first time you and Seungmin were gonna sleep in the same bed or even the first time you two had a sleepover.

Now you were getting ready for bed. Brushing your teeth while shooting subtle glances at each other through the mirror. 

“Are you ready to get to bed?” asked Seungmin. You spat out the rest of your toothpaste into the sink and slipped your hand into his awaiting one.

You both pulled the covers away and laid down. It was really awkward. Neither of you knew what to do. You both just laid there for a while. Until you took a hold of his hand for the second time that day. He turned his head to look at you and gave you a fond smile. He turned his hold body on his side to face you and so did you. Intertwining your legs and fingers together, you just admired each other.

At first it was awkward, neither of you had done this before and didn’t know what to do. But of course love just knew the way and you both quickly fixed it.

Jeongin: 

You were horrible at math but you excelled in languages. Miraculously, the exact opposite was true for Jeongin. Which is why you always studied together. You needed his help as much as he needed yours.

You were both sitting on your bed reviewing for your exams. You were bored out of your mind. Your brain felt fried and all you wanted to do was sleep. 

“Jeonging, can we take a nap?” you whined.

“Uh.. sure, I-I’ll go...” Scrambling to pick up his stuff, he turned as red as a tomato. You quickly grabbed his hand.

“No. actually. Could you stay?” You looked down, feeling your cheeks heat up.

“Yeah, yeah. Sure”

You both laid down facing each other. Both of you were feeling very bashful.

He was terrified something would go wrong. Yet he knew everything would be alright. As long as you were in each others arms.

[kc-meets-dc]

My Major Predictions For Season 3 At The Moment:

So, over the last few weeks as we’ve been getting more and more information regarding season three of Young Justice, the theory part of my brain has been going into overdrive. However, I haven’t really been sharing many of the theories I’ve come up with, so I thought I might as well do that now that we’re officially T-minus four days until the season’s premiere. If you have any unique or interesting theories of your own regarding Young Justice Outsiders and feel like sharing them, or if you would like to discuss the ones I have listed here, feel free to drop an ask in my box or even private message me! I’d love to hear from you all! And now, without further ado, here is a list of my major predictions for what Young Justice Outsiders may hold for us based on what we know now...

tl;dr: M’gann paralyzes Barbara, La’gaan will sacrifice himself, Wally returns but it may be a trap, Black Lightning’s daughters will also be a major part of the season, and certain characters will be LGBT (But which ones???). See below for specifics

1. M’gann paralyzes Barbara

I’ll start us off with my newest and perhaps darkest theory: Joker is not the one who will paralyze Barbara and turn her into Oracle. Instead, it will be M’gann who does that. I am going to state the biggest part of this theory that I want to get across right away: M’gann does not INTENTIONALLY paralyze Barbara. Rather, what I believe will happen is, in the new comic issues that will be releasing January 2nd and 3rd, Psimon will have set up a trap for M’gann, as evidenced by the cover and preview panels we’ve been shown. The question is: what kind of trap is it? Well, for that we need to look back on what M’gann’s main story arc has been throughout the series: how she uses her psychic powers to both unintentionally and intentionally hurt people in big ways. It started in Failsafe with her accidentally hijacking the psychic training simulation, then continued on throughout season two with how she abused her powers to get information and also fried Kaldur’s brain, and I believe it will come to its culmination here with her using powers to.for the first time do physical harm to people.

The way I believe Psimon will trick M’gann into crippling Barbara is simple: we know that Psimon has been one of the people hurt by M’gann before when she put him in a coma in “Image,” and in that same episode Psimon used his own psychic powers to project images into M’gann’s mind that showed her greatest fears. Psimon likely expects M’gann to try and put him in a coma again, so this time he psychically projects an image of himself onto one of M’gann’s teammates hoping to torture her by having her put one of her own friends in a coma. However, as shown in season two, M’gann already feels guilty about abusing her psychic powers in such a way after what she did to Kaldur. So, what if she doesn’t want to fry Psimon’s brain again? What if she doesn’t want to hurt him psychically this time, but instead hurt him physically? So, when Psimon projects an image of himself onto Barbara, M’gann uses her telekinetic powers to try and snap him in two, thereby paralyzing Barbara in the process. This will more than effectively set the, as before mentioned by the show’s writers, much darker tone for the season right from the start, and, by having her hurt one of her best friends in a much worse and also much more irreversible way than she has previously done, it will also set M’gann up to take on the much colder personality that she supposedly will have if the rumors on Reddit are true, as she will probably want to distance herself from the people she loves after hurting one of them so badly.

2. La’gaan will sacrifice himself

Okay, first of all, I want to state that this is a theory, not a hope. I have actual, legitimate reasons for believing this will happen. And, furthermore, just because La’gaan sacrifices himself in some way does not necessarily mean he will die. In the comics, La’gaan was actually put in a coma at one point after a fight with the children of Trigon. Granted, in another version of the comics, he actually did get murdered by somebody after being interned in a psychiatric hospital. Hopefully, the writers of the show will be taking the coma route and not the psychological trauma followed by grisly death route.

My reasons for believing La’gaan will sacrifice himself in some way come from something that I definitely recommend you all watch: Young Justice Enhanced. In one of the episodes, Greg Weisman, Greg Berlanti, and the voice of Blue Beelte provide commentary on the episode “Happy New Year,” and in said commentary, Weisman and Berlanti mention how they made the character of La’gaan “intentionally jerky and unlikeable.” Why would they do this? Well, why does any good writer make an intentionally unlikeable character? To redeem them, of course. I believe that, with Kaldur becoming the new Aquaman, La’gaan will now become the new Aqualad with the goal of succeeding Kaldur as Aquaman next. Of course, this would likely put a very strong desire to live up to what Kaldur was like as Aqualad in La’gaan’s mind. Kaldur has some pretty big shoes to fill in the sidekick department. I mean, he was the first leader of The Team, he went on a deep cover mission into The Light in season two, it’s all very impressive and hard to live up to. So, when there is a moment that makes it so that not every member of The Team will make it out alive, La’gaan will likely be the first person in line ready to sacrifice himself so that everyone else gets out because it’s what Aqualad would do. Not only would this redeem La’gaan’s jerky personality big time, it might also unfortunately be the only way the writers will be able to get everyone who isn’t already a fan of La’gaan to start to actually like him.

3. Wally returns, but it may be a trap

Now, obviously Wally’s going to return sometime this season. The aftermath of his death has already been stated to be a major part of the plot this season, and he actually did come back to life already in the comics in the DC Rebirth storyline, proving and providing a way it can be done. Now, why might this be a trap, you may ask? I refer you, of course, to perhaps the most prevalent storyline of season one: The Mole Hunt.

There are three possible ways I can see the writers bringing Wally back since it’s been confirmed that the Speed Force is not a part of their universe: either he’ll be resurrected thanks to the powers of the New Gods, The Light will offer a way to resurrect him in exchange for a favor down the road, or they’ll just do what’s already worked for them in the past and create one of their classic Clone Heroes a la Red Arrow. That final plan has already worked for The Light in the past, and, honestly, why fix what ain’t broke? Certain members of The Team would be way too overcome with joy that their friend is back to question it too much, and it would provide The Light with the perfect opportunity to put another inside man on The Team and even possibly in the Justice League. Only this time they won’t make the same mistakes they did with their previous mole, i.e. they’ll make sure he stays under their control even after fulfilling all of his programming. I’m desperately hoping that the way the writers revive Wally will be through the New Gods and not through The Light, but there’s a much bigger chance that Wally’s resurrection will result in major pain for both The Team and by extension all of us.

4. Black Lightning’s daughters will also be a major part of the season

According to the Reddit rumors, Black Lightning is supposed to be the main focus of this season. This is evidenced by the clip of the first few minutes of “Princes All” where Black Lightning accidentally kills a young girl who was a victim of The Light’s metahuman trafficking operations. I believe that this girl’s death is hard on Black Lightning specifically, not just because he’s the one who killed her, but also because he has two girls just like her waiting for him back home.

Now, the way Black Lightning’s daughters will take their roles in the story is yet to be determined. Maybe they want to become superheroes just like their father but he’s too scared they’ll end up just like that girl on Rann, maybe they become victims of The Light’s metahuman trafficking operations too, they might even just serve to show how Black Lightning’s home life makes his superhero life that much more hard on himself. Regardless, I guarantee that they’ll play a major role this season, and I just want to mention that I am once again back on the thought train that says Black Lightning’s eldest daughter, Anissa, will serve as Traci 13′s love interest this season. Now, while we’re on the topic of LGBT relationships in the series, let’s move on to my final theory mentioned above that’s not really so much a theory as it is already confirmed truth...

5. Certain characters will be LGBT (But which ones???)

This is one of the very few things Greg Weisman is willing to confirm for us that we are definitely getting this season: actual LGBT rep. However, he is not being so forthcoming on who exactly will be a part of said rep. I present the following top 10 list of possible characters in descending order of likelihood that they are in fact LGBT (Note: The first five people on this list are in no particular order as they are already LGBT in the comics and, in Queen Bee’s case, on the show)

Batwoman

Wonder Woman

Traci 13

Kaldur

Queen Bee

Bart

Jaime

Raquel

M’gann

Conner

I have reasons for believing all of these characters are LGBT, but I won’t go into them for right now as this post is already long enough as it is. That concludes all of my major theories for what Young Justice Outsiders holds for us. As stated above, please feel free to message me with your own thoughts and theories, and, as always, stay whelmed, feel the aster, get traught, and have yourselves a very happy New Year!

[keanuital]

It was 90 degrees in Beverly Hills, but Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryderwere wearing head-to-toe black—looking as though they had just teleported onto the cream-colored Four Seasons couch from somewhere colder, darker, and significantly less August. Reeves wore a black blazer and his signature shoulder-length tresses. Ryder had layered a tuxedo jacket over a graphic T-shirt—looking less Stranger Things mom than Veronica Sawyer all grown-up. When a publicist led me into the room where they were sitting, afternoon sun beating in from a floor-to-ceiling window, my first inclination was to draw the blinds and shield these beloved goth-ish stars of the 90s from the light.Reeves and Ryder, both a little removed from their teen idol days but still plenty productive, have of late teamed up for an unlikely collaboration—a romantic comedy called Destination Wedding that will open August 31. Though the actors aren’t Hollywood’s usual rom-com types—the contradictory circumstances of their latest film make sense in a space-time continuum-defying sort of way. Reeves and Ryder starred in another kind of destination wedding 26 years ago—when their characters married in Romania during the filming 1992’s Dracula. (Ryder has said that she and Reeves might actually be married because of the ceremony, which was officiated by “a real Romanian priest.”) When Ryder received the script for this Destination Wedding, from writer and director Victor Levin, she knew she wanted Reeves to play her romantic partner again.

“I just love being together with him so much,” Ryder said in that incongruously sunny hotel room. Turning to Reeves, she continued: “My love for you . . .”

“. . . and my love for you,” Reeves returned, looking at Ryder adoringly.

“I’ve had it forever, but now people are finally seeing it. Even though we’re in character,” said Ryder.

When they first met two decades ago, both actors were on the white-hot upswing of their careers. Ryder already had Beetlejuice, Heathers, and Edward Scissorhandsunder her belt, while Reeves had appeared in My Own Private Idaho, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, and Point Break. Ryder fondly remembered an entire month spent rehearsing the Francis Ford Coppola period drama at the filmmaker’s vineyard in Napa. Reeves was quick to point out that Ryder was a principal, playing opposite Gary Oldman’s title character, while he was merely a supporting player.

“You were pretty much in Dracula land,” Reeves said to Ryder. “You and Gary were all doing your thing. I was Jonathan Harker, all in the background . . . I had like one scene.”

“No,” Ryder interrupted, refusing to let Reeves diminish his importance to her Dracula experience. In fact, while moving houses recently, Ryder discovered proofof her co-star’s meaningful contribution all of those years ago.

“I’m one of those people who is bad at moving,” explained Ryder. “My dad is an archivist, and I have that same hoarder-archivist habit. I save everything, but I have these journals, and I just pulled one out recently, and it was from around the time of Dracula.” The text: “angst, angst, angst, angst, thank God for Keanu. Thank God I’m going to see Keanu.”

“I was always just so happy when you were around because there was so much, sort of, trauma,” said Ryder. (Coppola has said that Ryder and Oldman fell out while filming: “One day they [. . .] absolutely didn’t get along. None of us were privy to what had happened.” Ryder has said of Oldman’s Method technique: “Maybe it’s his way of working, but I felt there was a danger [while filming].”)

“You were working hard,” Reeves assured Ryder. “I’m ‘no muss, no fuss.’ I’m just”—here, he embodied the physicality of someone even more at ease than he had been just a moment ago, which was more chill than you could be in eight Dracula lifetimes—“‘It’s great.’”

“It’s like what Katharine Hepburn said about Spencer Tracy,” said Ryder, seemingly referring to Reeves’s laid-back acting approach. “‘There’s no embroidery. He just does it.’ Which is so great. A lot of people embroider a lot.”

“I know, but there’s some beautiful embroidery,” offered Reeves.

Another thing Ryder learned about herself by reading through her diaries recently: “I clearly only [journal] when I’m depressed, because there’s never any, ‘I had a great day’ entries. When you look back, you’re like, ‘God, what was wrong with me when I was that age?’”

“That’s what art is about,” Reeves deadpanned.

Alas, Reeves doesn’t journal. But he does write notes to friends.

“We wrote each other a couple letters, too,” Ryder said, turning to her co-star. “You were one of two people who were still writing letters when e-mail started to happen. You and Daniel Day-Lewis were the only two people whom I get physical letters from. It was so nice. People just don’t do that anymore.”

Reeves and Ryder have at least one mutual friend, and in the decades between Dracula and Destination Wedding, they’d usually see each for dinner every year or two. Their easy chemistry is why Ryder wanted Reeves to play her co-star this time around, especially given the intense nature of their latest project: they are the only two actors who speak in the film, and only had nine days to shoot.

Brain-fried from a day of interviews, Ryder said that she has never been to a destination wedding herself—or “a traditional one,” for that matter.

“Like a church wedding?” asked Reeves, incredulous. “You’ve never been to a wedding in a church?”

“No, I actually haven’t,” laughed Ryder.

“Have they all been weddings in nature—not even ordained by priests, but shamans?” needled Reeves. “And Wicca? What were they doing during the weddings? Were they pagan?”

“Yeah. I mean, wait,” said Ryder, scanning her brain for nuptials she could have forgotten. “I’ve been to some weddings.”

“Synagogue wedding?” wondered Reeves.

“It wasn’t in a synagogue, though, but it had the stepping on the glass. ”

“So it had some tradition, culture,” said Reeves, seemingly relieved by this conclusion.

With this wedding mystery solved, talk turned to Hollywood’s reboot frenzy, which has included new takes on Heathers and Point Break. Ryder said she hasn’t seen the Heathers musical, while Reeves hasn’t seen the remake of Kathryn Bigelow’sclassic action movie. The two didn’t seem bothered by the idea of younger stars remaking some of their biggest hits.

“I think it’s cool that other generations take a story and do it,” said Reeves. “I’m not against it.”

“They’re doing Little Women again,” volunteered Ryder, referencing Greta Gerwig’s upcoming adaptation.

“They’re always doing Little Women again,” cracked Reeves. “You’re like No. 4.” Ryder erupted into laughter.

Considering their abundant fondness for one another, I ask whether Reeves and Ryder will keep working together.

“My hope is to do many more movies with him,” said Ryder.

“You want to do action,” offered Reeves.

“I would like Bonnie and Clyde,” considered Ryder. “But do you remember how bad I was with my physical therapy?”

Reeves did. So he launched into playful casting-director mode, suggesting less physically grueling genres. “We could do horror, a political thriller? Want to do a period film? You could play a 60s culture revolutionary?”

Ryder seemed excited by the idea. So Reeves continued with his impromptu pitch.

“We’re futuristic intellectuals. How about you’re the amazing poet/painter, and I get to be the drunk guy?”

“No.”

“You want to just fight and fuck?” asked Reeves.

“Fight and fuck?!” Ryder cracked up, so Reeves boiled down his idea to a pitch-able tag line: “Think. Fight. Fuck.”

“I like it,” announced Ryder. “Where do I sign?”

[rayfollowsfromhere]

Sapphic September Day 7

Today's word was Cold.

-.-.-

The cemetary was empty when Domi got there. The lights on the street beside it had just flickered to life despite the sun hanging just above the rooflines. Given the lack of lights in the cemetary Domi didn't much mind.

She weaved between the headstones till she came to a half row of empty plots. There was a hole dug, splitting the empty plots from the full.

It was one of the last rows in the cemetery, butting right up against an old oak tree and well-hidden from the park beyond by a tall hedge. In the quiet of the cemetery you could even hear the families playing on the other side - the children laughing and squealing as they ran around.

Domi stopped at the grave on the other side of the hole. She crouched. There was no marker the last time she'd come to visit and she was surprised to see a curly script on her brother's grave.

Beloved Son, Galvin Davies, 1984-2012.

"I'm officially older than you big brother." Her voice cracked and Domi took a stuttering breath. "I graduated ya know. Finished my residency just last year."

There was no response, of course. Domi didn't believe in ghosts or magic or whatever else Eleanora thought she could do. But…she still kinda hoped to hear her brother's voice.

Domi reached a hand out, let her fingers trace the lettering her mother had selected. She pursed her lips, "Sorry I haven't visited." She glanced to her left, to the hole her sister would be lowered into tomorrow. "Sorry it took something -"

Footsteps alerted Domi to someone behind her. Though they stopped a few rows back. She cleared her throat and stood.

When she turned around Domi came face to face with Amity Lawn. Her spine straightened and her eyes narrowed. "What do you want?"

Amity Lawn looked just as she remembered him - square jaw, leather jacket, and scuffed up boots. His face had a few more angles on it now and his eyes were ringed with yellowing bruises from lack of sleep.

"S-sorry…" Amity couldn't- or wouldn't- meet her eyes. He gestured a bit. It drew her eyes to the bouquet of flowers in his hands. "I was just-" he gestured again, this time towards Gavin.

Domi found herself stepping towards him, placing herself between her brother and his would-be murderer. "Go away."

His eyes finally flickered up as his hand, jittery and pale, ran through his hair. "I didn't mean-"

"I said go away!" Domi screamed at him. Her voice echoed, too loud in the quiet cemetary. Amity flinched back. He took three paces before stopping.

His chest and shoulders rose as he took a noticeable breath. She recognized the technique - eight in, eight out. Her fingers curled into fists and her nails dug into her palms.

Amity's chin rose and Domi was struck by the flatness of his eyes. Listless. It was like staring into the earth itself, but far less comforting. Less comforting in that it sent warning bells off in every lobe of her brain, including the cerebellum - which was providing exactly zero help as her feet refused to move.

"The lady said to leave." Eleanora's voice was as flat as Amity's eyes and it sparked a flicker in them. Amity took the bouquet with him when he fled.

Domi had jumped what felt like three feet when Eleanora spoke. When she turned around, again, she found the woman behind her.

"How long have you been here?" Domi groaned as Eleanora smiled at her.

"A while," she shrugged, nodded her head in the direction Amity fled, "I wanted to see if he'd show up."

Domi took a breath, flexed her hands a few times to loosen the fingers. "How did you know-"

"That your brother was the one he attacked?" Eleanora raised a brow. "Despite you not telling me that crucial bit of info?" Her smile stretched wider.

Domi rested her hands on her hips. "I told you about my brother years ago."

"You said he died, due to an accident." Eleanora snorted as she gestured with her thumb behind her, "Dude used a rope. That was no accident."

"Well?" Domi gestured out, "How'd you figure out it was my brother he attacked?"

Eleanora rolled her eyes, long and slow, before giving Domi a pointed look. "This isn't that big of a town. Two men get attacked in roughly the same time period, it isn't hard to piece together, Domi."

"That's..." Domi nodded, sighed, "…fair." Eleanora chuckled. Her laugh was dry and hollow. Gooseflesh spread across Domi's skin at the sound. "You okay, Nora?"

"Been a day," Eleanora's lips trembled, but her smile held. "Been a while since anyone's called me that."

Domi shook her head, grinned, "Been kind of a day for me too." She rolled her shoulders back. With a tilt of her she asked, "Wanna get some food? The bar's just across the street."

"Bar food huh?" Eleanora clapped her on the shoulder as she started walking. Domi followed half a step behind. "It's gotta be a helluva day for a doctor to suggest that."

"The occasional soul food is good for everyone," Domi hip checked Eleanora as the stepped onto the sidewalk. "Occasional being the key word."

Eleanora kept her mouth shut all the way into Patrick's Pub. Once she plopped herself onto a stool she leveled another look at Domi, "I am confused about one thing."

"Just the one?" Domi flagged down the bartender and ordered a scotch. Eleanora ordered water and chili cheese fries. Extra cheese.

"In this town, your ex-stalker is the sheriff and the man who murdered your brother might have been dating your sister." Domi closed her eyes and wished for her scotch to get there sooner as Eleanora spoke. "Why the hell would you move back here?"

The bartender delivered her scotch. Domi downed it and tapped the edge of the glass for a refill. "In my defense, I didn't know Amity was back." She rolled her neck, "And technically, Galvin committed suicide."

Eleanora tutted at her, water still untouched, "Semantics."

"I grew up here. My family was here. Is here." Domi sighed, downed her second scotch, and shoved the glass away. "It's not like I knew Ana was going to get murdered the day before I arrived."

A hand patted her shoulder and Domi glanced at Eleanora to see her looking at the bar top with scrunched up eyebrows.

"You're shit at comfort."

Eleanora shoved her shoulder then, "If you wanted comfort you should have stayed in Nashville where you could drink with Sera."

"Yeah..." Domi folded her arms over the bar and rested her head atop them. "I suppose that would've been better."

"Suppose?" Eleanora snorted befor finally bringing her water to her lips. She shook her head as she glanced around the bar. "And you call me nuts?"

When the psychic has a point, you know you're screwed. Domi groaned and turned her head to bury her face in her arms.

"Only behind your back." Domi mumbled into the wooden bartop.

"Hey!" Eleanora flagged down the bartender, "Double that order of fries or the doc here is going to be drunker than a skunk within half an hour."

Domi turned her head to glower at Eleanora, who sipped at her water with a smile. "I hate you."

"Feelings mutual," Eleanora patted her back a few times. Domi watched her scope out the rest of the bar, eyeing each patron with the aid of the bar's mirror and the shiny jukebox.

Eleanora would know all the juicy secrets by closing time.

"Can I get a bourbon? The cheap stuff." Eleanora nodded her thanks as the bartender set the fries down between them. Domi upped her estimate to midnight as Eleanora dropped from her stool to go mingle.

"At least she left the fries," Domi mumbled to herself before picking up the cheesiest looking fry in the basket.

Cheese makes everything better. Even sitting in a bar with a psychic she didn't like, or believe in, in a town where that psychic was the friendliest face.

[xheartsigh]

yoonkook week day7: visiting studio for the first time

genre: fluff setting: producer yoongi and solo singer jungkook, set in the same universe as prelude (can be read separately but it makes more sense if you read that before) words: 1.8k

Ever since it was decided at the meeting that kpop sensation Jeon Jungkook will have his next album produced by award-winning producer Suga, it made it to every possible news station it existed in South Korea. The music industry has been buzzing in anticipation even though their work has barely even started.

Yoongi would like to think it’s not because of him. He works just as diligently as always, if not harder to find the kind of music that would fit the singer’s voice. However sadly, the young idol’s tracks are usually too autotuned to appreciate his smooth voice and natural talent. The producer has heard him sing live and he knows he’s great but without a good management and production team, his talent will go to waste. That’s why he has asked Jungkook what kind of music he wanted to make but the boy never directly contacted him ever since. He would send music samples with his manager or via the official BigHit e-mail, so Yoongi’s best guess is that he’s still embarrassed of their first encounter despite knowing that the fact he didn’t recognize the elder doesn’t bother the producer at all. So after all that fuss it's a big thing when Jungkook willingly agrees to come to his studio to listen to a few rough drafts.

Genius Lab isn’t the studio he welcomes most of the artists. It’s more private since it’s his safe place. Only a few people know how to get in, so when he asks Hoseok to accompany Jungkook to Genius Lab when he arrives, the assistant looks at him as if his morning pills got flushed down the toilet. The producer isn’t stupid. He knows that this work with Jungkook is very beneficial for both companies and he doesn’t want to mess it up. Also there’s something about Jeon Jungkook, maybe the way he talked when they first met in the elevator shy but determined that he can’t shake his mind off.

Sure Yoongi has met enough trainees and idols to know if he sees real talent, a talent that shines because the owner loves music and that’s Jungkook. Even if he has a shitty company going for too mainstream stuff to maintain his popularity. And the producer set his mind to change that. He wants to give the boy a song – or songs if he wants – that he really likes, that’s made for his voice, for him. He also wants to prove the entertainment that there’s no need for clichés, overused beats, corny lyrics or autotune for his fans to like Jungkook and his beautiful voice.

When the doorbell of his studio rings, he pushes himself away from the computer and standing up he turns the doorknob to let his visitor inside.

“It’s been a while, Jeon Jungkook,” he greets the idol casually, with a slight hint of smirk on his lips. The singer does a better job of hiding his blush than last time. Though, he has the same determination in his eyes like he needs to prove something.

“Hello hyung,” he waves a bit, a boyish smile clear on his face which is endearing but the producer tries not to feel too affected by it.

“All alone? No manager?” Yoongi raises a brow because he’s got used to the company of idols’ bossy managers during studio visits. Not that he’s against being alone with the nation’s favourite boy.

“Ah Jin hyung dropped me off. He will come and get me after we’re done,” Jungkook shrugs still fidgeting by the door frame until Yoongi beckons him closer.

“That might take a while,” he says firmly and there’s no hidden intent behind it. He just takes producing seriously and he isn’t satisfied until the work is close to perfect which of course makes it a time-confusing activity. The singer seems to understand.

“I warned him.”

His bunny smile takes the elder aback for a moment but then he shakes his head dismissively.

“Okay then. Close the door, will you? Or are you that afraid of staying alone with me?” Yoongi teases softly as he steps backwards, falling back into his leather chair. Even though he doesn’t mean anything bad by it, it’s funny to watch the idol’s face taking up different shades of red.

“What? No!” the boy protests quickly and firmly like the possibility of being afraid could make him less of a man. It doesn’t.

Yoongi finds it cute as it reminds him of their first meeting. He gulps and then leans over his computer. They might as well start on it, right? That’s why the idol came over.

“I checked your music evolution to find your voice. The genre and vibe that fits it,” he explains what he has been doing in these weeks since they didn’t meet.

“Yeah?” Jungkook asks shyly as he plops down in the seat next to him, knees touching when he slides closer the his hyung who clicks on a few files searching for his latest works.

“You used to rap on your debut album,” Yoongi says out of the blue but it sounds like s question. The younger looks up and finds those deep, mysterious eyes already on him and understands what the man is asking: why did you stop?

He shrugs again.

“Yeah but the agency decided against it. They wanted a cute boyfriend image,” he winces slightly embarrassed just by talking about it.

“Cute?” the producer snorts, unconvinced since the sight of the idol lifting his shirt during performance that had been fried into his brain since the last MAMA awards screams everything but cute.

“Well it changed when I came of age,” Jungkook admits with a half bashful, half cocky smile. As they stare at each other, a strange feeling settles in the producer’s chest.

They haven’t talked much, not face to face. They know each other’s music but not the person behind them. They are practically strangers, co-workers for a while and yet, Yoongi feels something he rarely has a privilege to feel with ‘practically strangers’: he feels at ease. Like he can freely tease or coo at the younger because the other knows when to take him seriously. He hopes Jungkook doesn’t feel as uncomfortable as he did during their last meeting and he needs these kind of small talks before talking about work to ease up to it, to break the ice. He can already feel it melting.

“And what do you want to do?” he asks which receives a surprised blink.

Jungkook gapes at him, eyes wide, mouth hung open. It’s an unusual question in this industry, the producer knows. There’s no such thing as requests when you are only one of the thousands of trainees that line up each year. Either you get lucky because you are that talented, the agency will form an image for you, but if you’re not then you can go to hell. Yoogi knows it, he lived it. That’s why he started as an individual producer: because he didn’t want to do anything with entertainments that act without taking the artist into consideration.

“I love softer sounds, melodies,” the idol finally says, breathless, like it was a dream waiting to come true. Yoongi hums.

“You like piano?”

“Yeah,” the singer nods slowly, his gaze shifts to the synthesizer in the room, eyes longing and fingers twitching.

“Can you play?” the producer can’t help but be interested. Jeon Jungkook is a phenomenon that intrigues him.

“A little. Not too well.”

“Show me,” he asks and it’s a little bit like plea. He’s curious.

Jungkook doesn’t say anything, just sits close to the instrument and takes a deep breath. He opens and closes his fist before laying his long fingers on the keyboard trying the sound. His eyes flutter closed for a moment and then he starts to play.

It’s a slow melody, an awfully familiar one therefore it’s risky but Yoongi barely notices mistakes in the harmony. It warms his heart and when the song ends, his voice is stained.

“It’s my song,” he says with other question hidden behind the vowels and consonants: why?

The way Jungkook smiles at him as if he’s proud that he made the great Min Yoongi a bit speechless is dangerous. It’s hard to remain unfazed.

“Yeah. I really like it. It’s on my inspiration playlist,” the idol admits and Yoongi has to clear his throat to change the subject.

“So softer sounds it is,” he concludes and goes back to click more on his computer. He invites Jungkook closer and they listen to the snippets, the drafts, check the lyrics he has previously made and talk about the concepts. They talk for hours until their stomachs grumble and they have to order food because neither of them wants to go out. Not yet. The song and even more songs starts to come to life, gaining their forms. Yoongi is on the roll because Jeon Jungkook is a best muse if he’s ever had one.

Sometimes the singer’s gaze lingers on him, a touch is more fleeting than it should be or their thighs press together firmer because they sit so close. It’s all these little things and Yoongi would be a liar to say that he didn’t fall for the nation’s favourite charms like everybody else.

It’s only then when sometime after 11pm Seokjin rings Jungkook quite annoyed after many ignored texts. They are so so close to the finished product but they can’t prolong it any longer. The younger has to go. He has a concert in Taiwan tomorrow evening.

“I– I have to go. I have an early flight,” the singer mutters as if it wasn’t obvious. Yoongi understands, that’s his job after all.

“Okay.”

Jungkook seems unsure to leave, he just fidgets with the too long ends of his sleeve and looks around searching for something, anything. The producer clears his throat to gain his attention. Those doe eyes snap at him immediately. They exchange a soft smile.

“Can… can we continue it after I come back?”

And oh, Min Yoongi is a weak man. How could he say no to that?

“Of course. Just don’t be a stranger, Jeon Jungkook!” he casually leans against the doorframe and he hovers over the singer while he packs, shoving the bag onto his back and catches the glint in his eyes.

“I won’t. Thanks hyung,” he mutters and waves cutely just like when he came but his gaze holds more confidence now. Yoongi sighs as he watches him go, heart aching in a good way. Very good indeed.

[pftones3482]

Cravings

Commission for @yriafehtivan, who is absolutely wonderful and I love writing things for them. Kind of a follow up to the last one I did for them, but you don’t need to read that to understand this. Just know that Annabeth is pregnant. 

Spoiler alert: since I’m following canon, and since the latest TOA book just dropped...there will be minor (and major) spoilers. If you haven’t read it and don’t want to be spoiled, don’t read ahead. 

Under a cut for both length and spoilers. Ft. PJO characters I think even Rick has forgotten about. 

Six Weeks

It was two in the morning, and Annabeth really, really wanted those cookies that they had at the bakery in New Rome. Little dollops of peanut butter cookies with chocolate chips in the middle and maybe just a massive amount of whipped cream slathered on top.  

Yeah. That was it.  

"Hey. Hey Percy."  

She poked his shoulder repeatedly until he groaned and nuzzled his face further into his pillow. "Percy, I want cookies."  

"There are Oreos in the cupboard," he grumbled into the fabric.  

"Noooo," she whined, well aware that she was being irritating. "I want good cookies!"  

"Annabeth it's-" a pause as he squinted at the bedside clock- "two in the morning. Nothing is open."  

"New Rome is."  

"That's on the other side of the country, babe."  

"Just text Hazel. Or Frank. Or Reyna. Pleeeeeaaassssse?"  

"What do you propose they do, send it over through an Iris message?"  

Annabeth frowned, running a hand over her chin. "Is that a thing? That should be a thing."

"It's not, and there's no way you're getting those cookies tonight. I'm sorry, hon."  

Annabeth huffed and flopped back on the pillow, rolling onto her side. Percy inched up behind her, slinging an arm around her hip and letting his fingers drift over her stomach. "They're acting up, huh?"  

She snorted and leaned back into his warmth, letting her eyes shut. "That's an understatement. This baby is going to have a sweet tooth."  

~~

3 Months

"What do you mean, you're not finding out the gender?" Hazel demanded, eyes flashing as she put away the plate she had been holding. She was visiting for the week, running inventory at one of her jewelry stores in the city. "I'd think you and Percy would definitely want to know!"

"Yeah," Leo mumbled from somewhere under the sink, where he was examining their leaky pipes. He popped his head back out, curly hair sprinkled with dust. "You're a hard ass, but you're a mushy hard ass who wants everything to be perfect."  

He squawked as Annabeth threw a sponge at him, thwapping him soundly in the face. She smirked. "There's just...there's been a lot going on lately. A lot has happened in our lives in general," she said, smile slipping as she stared at the floor. "We don't really care, you know? It's not a priority."  

A gentle hand settled on her lower back and she looked up at Hazel, who had somehow gotten taller than her as the years went on. Not by much, but enough that she had to tilt her chin to look her in the eyes. Thank gods she was still taller than Piper. "I'm sure they'll be beautiful."  

Leo popped up next to them and tossed the sponge in the sink, sliding his wrench back into his tool belt. His grin had softened into something warmer. "Totally. You and Percy...man, if y'all were poly-"

Hazel shoved him, but there was a cheeky smile on her face. "Shut up, Leo. Do you guys have names in mind yet?" she asked, eyeing Annabeth's slowly growing belly. The doctor had told her that she wouldn't start showing seriously until almost three and a half months in, but either the placebo effect was kicking in and she was seeing things that weren't there, or the doctor was wrong, because she already had a small bump.  

Annabeth hummed. "A few. People we've lost. Friends."

She lifted her gaze to the ceiling, taking a shaky breath. Hazel and Leo eyed one another, smiles fully gone now, and then Leo settled a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. "Hey. I know."  

She turned into him, loving the fact that he had only grown a tiny bit taller than her since they were teenagers and that meant that she could bury her nose into his shoulder. Percy would be home soon, but she desperately needed a hug in that moment.  

Hazel's hand stroked up and down her back and Leo's fingers twisted through her hair soothingly. He pressed a soft kiss to her temple and Annabeth sniffled, pulling back and swiping at her eyes.  

"Sorry," she mumbled. "I'm just...really emotional."

Leo managed to crack a smile. "No shit."

"And I'm...really craving baked beans, for some reason."  

Hazel burst into giggles, her hand still rubbing Annabeth's back. Leo moved to rummage through his tool belt, smirk alighting on his face as he triumphantly pulled a can of beans out of his belt. His eyes glittered with tears, but the smile on his lips was light. "Lucky for you, this has pretty much become a staple of mine over the years. Too much camping."  

"You, Leo Valdez, are a god."  

"Not yet."

~~

Four and a Half Months

"So this is the first official ultrasound you've done?" Grover asked, his knee jiggling nervously as he sat next to Annabeth in the waiting room. He had offered to come along with her when Percy had been scheduled over her appointment. No matter how nice his boss was, Valentine's day was weirdly one of the busiest days of the year at the aquarium, and he couldn't afford to take off. Luckily, it also meant that the doctor's office was reasonably quiet.

She nodded, shooting him a glare. "Yes, it is. And I swear to Zeus, Grover, if you can somehow smell the gender of the baby, and you slip up, or if you see the gender on the papers and you slip up, I will be making satyr stew."

"Right, right, yes, of course, no telling you the genders of the-"

He snapped his mouth shut, slapping both hands over it, and Annabeth frowned, brain twisting around his words for a moment. "Did...you said genders."  

Grover bleated weakly, earning a few weird looks from other patients, and Annabeth's heart froze. "Genders plural. As in-?"

"Annabeth?"  

She whipped around to stare at Will, who was leaning in the doorway with a manila envelope in his hands and a grin on his face. Her feet moved of their own volition, carrying her through the door and back into his office. "I have good news for you," he declared as she and Grover settled into the chairs.  

"I'm having twins."

Will huffed and shot a look at Grover. "Way to spoil the news, man. Yes. You're having two very healthy babies that I will not be telling you the sexes of for fear that you may maim me with Grover's horns."

"Thank you," Grover grumbled.  

They both glanced at Annabeth, who had pressed her hands to her cheeks. "A?" Will said carefully. "You good?"  

Her fingers drifted to her lips and she let out a shaky sob. Grover bolted to her side, hands falling on her shoulders. "You okay?" he asked, eyes frantically searching her face.  

"Twins," she breathed. She looked up at Will, who had a knowing sparkle in his eyes, and let out a shaky laugh. "I'm having...how the hell am I going to tell Percy?"  

Will's small smile turned into a smirk and he shot her a set of finger-guns like the true bisexual he was. "Leave that to your asshole friends."  

~

"Hon, I'm home! You will not BELIEVE what Nelly Sterling did in the dolphin- what's going on?"  

Percy stood, befuddled in the middle of his dining room, watching as Will slammed an Ace of Hearts onto the deck of cards in the center of the table. "HA! Suck it, losers, I just kicked all your asses!"  

"Fuck you," Nico growled, throwing his cards aimlessly into the pile.  

Piper, Leo, Hazel, and Frank followed suit. Grover didn't, only because he was munching forlornly on his supposedly bad hand, and Rachel just sighed and folded her cards neatly into a deck in front of her. Annabeth studied her cards intently for a moment, like she was trying to somehow prove that she was going to win still, and then sighed and flung her remaining cards in Will's face before looking up at Percy and smiling. "Hi hon. Just playing cards with everyone."  

Percy lifted an eyebrow. "O...kay? You guys came all the way from California to play cards?" he directed at Hazel and Frank.  

They grinned, not answering, and Annabeth took a breath. "Babe, I-"

"Don't tell me the gender. No. Nope."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes, glancing around at their friend group. "As if. You know I didn't want to know the genders."  

"I know, but it sounded like you might have found out and I...why is everyone grinning?"  

"He did fail sixth grade English," Grover noted, still munching on a 2 of Diamonds.  

Percy flipped him off. "I failed math and science too, what's your-?"

He stopped, eyebrows furrowing, and turned his gaze back to Annabeth slowly. She and Will were grinning and slowly the wheels in his head started turning. "You...with an s?"

"With an s."  

"Holy Hera."  

With that, Percy passed out, crumbling to the floor. Will darted to his side instantly, checking his head, while the rest of the table cracked up. Annabeth chuckled. "He okay, Solace?"  

Will looked up with a laugh. "Yeah, he'll be fine. Damn, wasn't expecting that."  

"Clearly he wasn't either," Nico deadpanned.  

~~

Six Months

"Annabeth."

"Mmm?"

"What are you doing?"  

"Eating a burger."

"It's seven in the morning."

"I know, I just wanted one."

Percy hesitated, fingers flexing on the back of the dining room chair as he pondered his next sentence. "Sweetheart?"  

"Yes?"

"Your burger has horseradish all over it."

"Yes."

"And your fries are covered in it."

"What's your point?" Annabeth demanded, shooting her husband a glare.

He wasn't touching that one, nope. Percy held up his hands. "Just...maybe get a napkin?"

"Will do. Have fun at the career day thing!

Percy waved weakly and stepped back into the living room, where Paul was waiting for him with an amused grin. "Weird, huh?" the man said in a low voice, tossing Percy his jacket. "Sometimes your mother still asks me for pickles in mayo just to mess with my head. But Estelle hates both those things."

"Annabeth doesn't even LIKE horseradish!"

~~

Eight Months

They were in the middle of watching Cutthroat Kitchen when Annabeth sat straight up and settled a hand on her stomach. "Percy."

"Mmm?"

"Percy, my water broke."

Percy was off the couch in a flash, flying to the bedroom to grab their go-bag. Piper, who had been staying with them for the last few days while she interviewed in positions around the city, jumped off the floor and ran to the closet, grabbing shoes and keys and hers and Annabeth's purses. She helped Annabeth off the couch as Percy came running back around the corner, cell phone pressed to his ear and duffel bag flung over his shoulder. He was wearing flip flops and cargo shorts, which Annabeth would be sure to tease him about later.  

For now, though, she slipped her own feet into her shoes and leaned on Piper as she led her to the door while Percy bustled around the house, turning off the TV and lights and double checking the stove.  

"Yes, Mom," he was saying into the receiver as they clambered out of the house and towards the car. "Yes I know, they're a month early. We'll meet you at the hospital. Will said he'd be on call like this whole month for us, so- yes. Okay. See you guys there. No, tell Estelle she can come after summer gym tomorrow. I'll send her pictures. Can you call Mr. Chase, too? Thanks."  

He threw his phone into the backseat and tossed the duffle after it, sliding into the driver's seat while Piper helped Annabeth into the back and slid in with her. The moment they were both buckled, he turned the Prius on and zoomed towards the hospital.  

"Babe, you can slow down," Annabeth managed. "I'm not having them this second."  

Percy managed a laugh and he slowed down to at least ten over the speed limit. "With our luck? Not taking any chances."

"He's got a point," Piper muttered.

Annabeth frowned. "Okay...fair."  

He sped up again.  

~

Piper was pacing the corridor when Leo, Rachel, and Nico came barreling into the waiting room. It was almost two am, and they were all in states of half dress. "How is she?" Rachel demanded as she hugged the woman.  

"Doing okay. Will is saying any minute now. He gave her a little bit of ambrosia to help the pain."  

Nico frowned. "Will that effect the babies?"  

"Doubtful, since both their parents are powerful demigods. Sally is already inside, Paul is grabbing everyone coffee. Mr. Chase is on his way, but his plane probably won't land until later today."

Leo grabbed her hand and squeezed. "Hazel, Thalia, and Frank will be here as soon as they can. I called Chiron and let him know, too. He told me to keep the camp posted. I couldn't get a hold of Grover. Probably out in the woods somewhere with no cell service, but with his and Percy's empathy link, he'll probably know."  

Nico was watching her with calculating, sad eyes. "Are you going to be okay?"  

Piper almost scoffed. "Me? I'm not the one giving birth to two babies."  

Leo was giving her the same look now, albeit softer. "No. But it's July 1st."  

"So? It's..."

"Jason's birthday," Nico finished, shooting his gaze to the shut doors that led to Annabeth.  

Piper shook her head, taking a shaky breath. "I'll be fine. We'll all be fine. The babies will be amazing, and here comes Paul with the coffee. Hi Paul."

Paul gave her a small smile and handed her a steaming cup. He had a tray of cups in the other hand, and he pushed that into Nico's grasp. "Wasn't sure what you all drank, so I just got a bunch of sugar and creamer to put in as you please."

He turned back to Piper and nodded at the door. "Any word?"  

"Nothing yet," she said, taking a swig. "Will said-"

A ragged cry shut everyone up and they all turned to the doors.  

~

Jason Charles and Bianca Grace Jackson-Chase were born at 7 pounds, six ounces, and 8 pounds, 4 ounces, respectively. Jason had his mother's stormy gray eyes and the soft tufts of black hair on his head suggested it would match Percy's. Meanwhile, Bianca had the opposite situation, with her father's piercing green irises and blonde hair that was barely visible on the top of her head. Their noses had the same peaks and upturned features, but otherwise they could not look more different.  

Will wrapped Bianca in a tiny golden blanket that had the symbols of each of the cabins woven onto it, and Jason in a silver one with the same emblems, both courtesy of the Athena cabin. Both blankets had been blessed by the Apollo and Hypnos cabin, to provide a soothing sleep to the infants. They took to them immediately. Annabeth was exhausted, so she opted to let Sally cradle Jason while Percy took Bianca, a soft finger already caressing her cheek.  

She would be a daddy's girl, Will could already tell.  

He poked his head out of the room, eyeing all of his friends with a weary smile. "Two at a time. Family first. Paul, that means you. Piper, you too."  

She looked up, wide eyed, and glanced at the others. Frank, Hazel, and Thalia had all arrived in the time since Sally had come out and told them the names of the babies. Thalia had started crying, and Piper wasn't far behind her. Nico had even gone a little teary eyed, his face flushed. Will wanted nothing more than to gather him up, but he had a job to do.  

"Me?" she said in surprise. "If anything, Frank is probably closest related to Percy. Or Thalia or Nico."  

"Yeah, but Annabeth wanted you to come in first. No offense."  

"Nah, we get it," Rachel said sincerely. She patted Piper and pushed her gently towards the room, and the woman stood up and walked in alongside Paul.

Percy looked up at them, smile wide, and nodded his head at his mother. Sally moved around the bed and settled Jason carefully into the crook of Piper's arms while Percy handed Paul Bianca.  

Piper almost started crying again, her throat aching as she traced the features of the baby with her eyes. He was sleeping soundly, and she was almost glad that he looked so much like Percy. If he had had Annabeth's hair...

Percy's hand settled on her upper back, thumb stroking gently. "Love you, Pipes."  

She sniffled and leaned into his shoulder, still cradling the baby to her chest. She glanced up to find Annabeth watching them and gave a small smile. "Proud of you two," she said, voice low so as not to interrupt Sally and Paul, who were cooing over Bianca (who was very much awake and bewildered by the attention, blessed blanket be damned).  

Annabeth beckoned them over and they complied, Piper handing Jason back to Percy and then threading her fingers through Annabeth's. "What's up?"  

"We wanted to ask...and we're going to ask Grover and Thalia, too, but we wanted to ask you first...if you'd want to be their godmother?"  

The tears spilled over again and she whipped around to look at Percy, who was grinning at her and running his thumb absently along Jason's fingers. "You're serious?"  

"Well, you're only supposed to have one godparent," Percy mused. "But seeing as one of them is a Lord of the Wild and the other one is a Lieutenant of Artemis, we thought it best to have a bunch. Of course, everyone in that waiting room and Chiron is going to be an emergency contact, and if they have powers..."

He trailed off, seeming to realize that he had been rambling, and shrugged. "But yes, to answer your question. We're serious."  

"Of course," Piper breathed. "It would...be more than an honor."  

~~

"Are we too late?"  

Percy glanced up from the cradles where Bianca and Jason were sleeping and sucked in a breath at the sight of not only Poseidon but Athena as well standing, human sized, thank gods, in the room. Poseidon was wearing his usual, Bermuda shorts and sandals and a Hawaiian shirt, and Athena was in a t-shirt and jeans, but they gave off a regal air that Percy hadn't felt in a while. He was amazed he didn't combust on the spot.  

"Not at all," he managed, gesturing them over.  

"Odd," Poseidon mused, "that they don't stay with their mother."

"It's to monitor them," Athena and Percy chorused. He flushed at her raised eyebrow and ducked his head. She let him finish. "And so that Annabeth can sleep. That's...what she's doing now. I can go wake her up if-"

"Let her sleep," Athena assured him, leaning over the cradle of Bianca and giving a small smile as the baby yawned. Percy wasn't sure he had ever seen such a soft look on her face. It made her appear almost human.  

"They're powerful, you know," Poseidon warned him.  

Percy winced. "Grover said pretty much the same thing when he got here. Is it because we were in the seven?"  

"Not only that," Athena said, straightening and looking to him. "You were the original prophecy. For Kronos. And then both of you fell to the prophecy of the seven. You bore the curse of Achilles. Annabeth defeated Arachne, no small task. You are two of the most powerful demi-gods I've seen since...perhaps even Hercules. Combined..."

She shook her head and Percy swallowed, suddenly very nervous. Poseidon clapped him on the shoulder. "What she means to say, since she has no delicate filter-"

"Why should I?"

"What she MEANS, is that yes, it is in part because of the prophecies. But you are both capable adults. Smart. Strong, mentally and physically. You have friends everywhere who would give themselves up for you in an instant."

Percy's eyes stung and he looked at the infants, wrapping both arms around himself. "I know."  

"A prophecy, if I could?"  

They looked up to find Rachel leaning in the doorway with Apollo, who had a gentle smile on his face. Percy was almost relieved to see him. Since his bout as a human, he had become much kinder, more down to Earth. "As long as it doesn't involve death, please."  

"No death," the sun god promised. He crossed the room and eyed the children, his grin warm (no pun intended). "Not even really a prophecy. Just a prediction. They will be well loved, but you know this already. Well loved, and protected, and you don't need to worry about them. Except Jason will have a hard time learning how to ride a bike. Work on that."

Percy managed a laugh and he shook his head. "Thank you. All of you, for coming. I appreciate it. I'm sure Annabeth would too, if she was awake."  

"Of course, son," Poseidon said. He squeezed Percy's shoulder. "Expect gifts when you get home."  

He walked out normally, most likely so as not to kill all the babies in the room, and then Athena nodded to him. "From myself as well. Though it may not be what you expect. You and my daughter..." She eyed him for a moment, and then gave him a genuine smile. "You've done well."  

She walked out as well, leaving only Apollo and Rachel, the latter of whom was leaning over the babies and telling them soft stories about Cerberus. Percy looked to Apollo. "You meant all that?"

Apollo smiled, sliding a pair of sunglasses on that Percy found redundant in a few ways. "Of course. You'll do well, Percy. Stop worrying."

"Kind of a habit, at this point."

"Trust me, I know."

~~

"So they're healthy?" Jason asked.  

Nico nodded, tracing his toe along the ground and glancing up at the one-way Iris message showing the babies. It was against the rules, and he'd probably be scalped if his father found him here, but he couldn't not come. "Yeah. They're both doing incredible."  

Beckendorf crossed his arms over his chest, eyes glittering. "How come Grace over here got the first name on the one AND the middle on the other? I only got the middle name."

Jason snorted and smacked Beckendorf on the shoulder playfully. They had gotten close since he had shown up in Elysium, the larger man reminding him a lot of a weird combination of Leo and Piper. Silena was sweet too, more similar to Hazel than anyone. "I'm just cooler, admit it."

Nico grinned and swiped through the message, glancing behind him. "I have to go. I couldn't bribe the guard for more than twenty minutes. I don't know when the next time..."

He trailed off, smile falling, and Jason gave him a sad look, reaching out and settling his hand just over his shoulder. "Hey. It's cool. Tell them congrats from us, okay? That we love them."  

Nico swallowed the lump in his throat. "Yeah. Yeah, I will. Thanks."  

~~

"Clarisse, no," Annabeth said firmly. "Appreciate it, but no way. I'm not giving babies knives as a present."  

Clarisse rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, they wouldn't actually use them! Not until they can hold like, forks and shit, anyway. It's for protection!"

Percy shook his head and looked to Leo, who was helping him set up the bassinets for his and Annabeth's room. "Need help there?"  

"Do you know how to put together a joint Celestial bronze and Imperial gold basket complete with a monster-proof security shield?" Leo asked without even looking up.  

"Uh...no?"

The young mechanic glanced up and grinned. "Then I think I'm good. Thanks, though. Go see if Frank and your mom need help in the kitchen."  

Percy snorted. "And burn the house down? I'll pass."  

He found an empty spot in the garden outback, overflowing with new flowers from the Demeter cabin and Demeter herself. For a moment, Percy let himself breathe.  

"Congratulations."

He jumped a good foot, spinning on the intruder, and froze. "Hestia."  

The goddess smiled, mischief glinting in her fiery eyes, and held out a wrapped parcel. "This is for you. Your family. I appreciate what you have done for me."

"I haven't-"

"My name has been spoken more now, because of you. What you have done. I am more powerful, more present in the universe. The hearth and the home has become much more important to people because you stopped to trust me and my presence. Thank you, Percy Jackson."  

She vanished in a burst of warmth and Percy shut his eyes quickly, opening them only when the cool evening air was the only thing brushing his skin. He turned over the brown package in his hands, wondering, and then pulled off the twine and let the paper fall away.  

Had he not known what Hestia's sense of humor was like, he might have thrown the object across the yard. As it was, he still winced a little, but turned the almost perfect replica of Pandora's jar in his hand, eyeing it.  

The only difference was that at the top, around the rim, danced intricate carvings of owls and tridents, each glowing a different hue of grey and blue. He pulled open the top out of pure curiosity and reached in, pulling out a piece of paper that had been folded up a few times.

Unfolding it, he found the word "Peace" written on it in swirling gold letters. On the next, "Prosperity." Love. Joy. Serenity. Patience.

Pandora's box, but instead of the evils of the world, she had given him a list of the joys he was sure he would need and want in the future. He looked back at the house, through the window at his wife, who was now cradling Bianca and talking to Grover, who was cooing something at Jason. He smiled and turned back to the gift.

At the bottom of the jar, Hestia had left him hope.  

[fcrmata]

💍 dick & peter

send me 💍 + A SHIP and i’ll tell you—

@yoakkemae

where they get married

Somewhere in New York but outside the city, they don't need 'work' to whisk them away on a day that's supposed to be only for them. Nor for any villains to crash their wedding when undoubtedly there will will be more supers/vigilantes at the wedding too.

when they get married ( ie what time of day, what month and season etc. )

Sometime in the spring, when it's warmer outside and the day is beautiful.

what traditions they include

There is a marriage of traditions in between Dick and Peter as Dick is Roma and Peter is Jewish. The bread ceremony takes place as well as getting married under the chuppah, the breaking of the glass and the seven blessing.

what their wedding cake looks like

….who smashes cake into whose face

Considering they're both giant goofs, I imagine they both try to do it to each other. Peter would grab a bite of the cake with the fork and then try to get frosting on Dick's face.

who proposed to who first

Pete, they'd discussed it a few times and once they'd been together for a while Peter started thinking more about it. He makes sure he talks to Mar'i before doing it though, he knows she will always be the most important person in Dick's life and he wants to respect that.

who walks down the aisle and who waits at the altar ( or neither )

They both walk down the aisle and meet each other there

what their wedding dresses / suits / other look like

I'd think they would wear traditional suits, though Peter tried to get a little coy and his cufflinks have Spider-Man on them. And the tie Peter wears is one that used to belong to his Uncle Ben.

what their wedding colour scheme is and what sort of decor they have

Blues, bluish greys and white.

what their vows are ( eg poetry, traditional, improvised etc. )

They would be a mixture of traditional and their own written vows as well.

if anyone’s late to the wedding

In typical Peter fashion, Peter is late to his own wedding. Hopes Mar'i won't kill him for it later.

who’s in the bridal parties / groomsmen / other

Peter: Kaine Parker, Ben Reilly, Johnny Storm, Flash Thompson, Harry Osborn and Mary Jane Watson

Dick: Roy Harper, Donna Troy, Wally West, Lilith Clay, Joey Wilson and Garth

who gives speeches at the reception ( bonus: what do they say? recount a sweet memory or two between them? tell an embarrassing story? )

I feel like Clark definitely gives one, he seems like the feelsy type and probably Roy. Johnny gives one as well and Peter dies of embarrassment and is thiiiis close to webbing his mouth shut.

who catches the bouquet( s )

Mar'i is the only one who was given a bouquet so she gets to keep hers pretty much all night unless she chooses to toss it.

what their wedding photos are like ( are they sweet, with the couple holding hands or kissing or ~gazing into each others eyes~? are they silly, with a snapshot of the ‘cake-smash’ moment? or are they artistic, with one of them facing the sunset or holding their bouquets? )

They have a mixture of silly and sweet pictures. It's the first time Peter is getting married (damn you Memphisto) and he's got a lot of emotions going on. There's cake smashing pictures, first look pictures with Peter doing stupid faces at the camera before either of them turns around. They sneak away during the reception to have a few moments to themselves and there's some beautiful, sappy pictures taken here of the two of them.

what sort of food they have at the reception

Probably something fancy like steak, but there's french fries as a side option as well because Peter has an addiction.

who cries first during the ceremony

Oh man... who doesn't. May cries, Peter cries, Clark definitely gets watery eyes, MJ too, JOSEPH.

how wild their reception gets

Oh man... wild, specially considering that there's a bunch of inebriated superheroes there, much of them who have known each other for years. Johnny is one of the first people to get drunk and he probably ends up making out with at least one person that night. Alfred dances, if you want to consider that wild.

what their rings are like

Plain silver bands, but have inscriptions inside of them.

what sort of favours they have

Probably something cool that won't get left behind like a coffee blend since they both drink too much of it, or a mason jar with desserts or little bottles of champagne

where they go for their honeymoon

Maybe somewhere overseas, a beach would be nice. Go out and explore a bit, somewhere they've never been.

something memorable that happens during the party / ceremony

Mar'i and Garth on the dance floor together

At one point Dick accidentally grabs Kaine thinking he's Peter (cons of being triplets) and Peter is behind Dick just laughing.

Bruce and May dance together uwu

who officiates the ceremony

Dianna Price does, which may or may not be one of the coolest things Peter has lived through.

what song their first dance is to

UUHHHH this one is hard and something I'll have to come back to when my brain isn't fried. Top pics are 'Can't Take My Eyes off You by Frankie Valli' 'As Time Goes By' or something like that but I also have old timey taste

who gives who away as they walk down the aisle

Clark and Bruce walk Dick down

May walks with Peter