#my mom got a new thing to pester me about

[koko2unite]

[lainloves]

BABY FEVER?!

Pairing; TRAFALGAR LAW X FEM! READER

;; FLUFF FLUFF FLUFFFF!

Synopsis; headcanons with law and a pregnant s/o. And a few with his baby.

;; AFTER ONE year of posting a single fanfic, I am back. Writers block killed me so bad :`(

➜ when he found out you were pregnant, it was like he got hit with a thousand bullets. He just stood there while you tinkered with your hair as he looked at you with wide eyes and his jaw hanging open as he dropped his book.

➜ SUPPERRR affectionate, he likes to look out for you everyday especially since you're pregnant he does his best to protect you from enemies and potential threats that want to hurt you.

➜ Being the doctor of the heart pirates, he gives you proper check-ups and checks on you daily to see how you are.

➜ everytime he's alone with you he always hugs your belly or when you're sleeping he talks to your pregnant tummy.

"Be good to your mom okay?" Law said while he laid down next to you, sleeping peacefully as he looked down at the large protruding belly as his tattooed fingers wrapped around your stomach, he was smitten with his unborn child. He'll give anything to make his baby happy once they popped out their mother. "Stop kicking her so much," he hummed. When you silently observed the conversation with closed eyes, it's almost sweet that he does this every night. "I'm still awake, law." You softly said when law's ears turned into a darker shade of red when he huffed. "I think it's cute, Y'know?" You smiled, putting your palm over his.

➜ Loves spoiling you, even when he acts all snobby..In the end when you ask for him to give you a massage on the shoulders he'll give them.

➜ Always pesters you if you ate breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

➜ he gets super mad when you carry something heavy or do any workload, he's completely put you off any chores to do since you had a special case growing inside you, cleaning duty was now in shachi’s hands. Even if he didn't wanna— but he couldn't complain since law might just extend it further.

➜ Whenever you two shop for baby items, he picks out one that was super cute, and if not he sews the heart pirates’ jolly roger on his baby's onesies and beanie's. It was the cutest thing ever.

➜ during labor, law was the one to perform the delivery and as he holds his baby he felt like all his problems washed away.

➜ he's definitely a girl dad.

➜ He's willing to survive the midnight cries, and the diaper changes.

➜ Sometimes law is afraid because he's got a big bounty on his head, he gets really nervous thinking about it. What if his baby or you were used against him? He can't bear to experience that.

➜ ALWAYYSSS is so protective of his baby, whenever someone tries to look at his child he will give them the stink eye.

"aw your baby is so cute!" A lady said when law was walking down the busy streets of the new island they docked in to restock on supplies. "How old is she?" The lady asked. "4 months." Law said, when the lady tried to pinch his daughter he immediately backed away. "Um, yeah.." law said, "oh— I'm sorry. Am I not allowed?" She asked. Law just shakes his head indicating he doesn't wanna, since her hands were dirty and didn't want them to get in his precious baby's cheek.

➜ He will do everything in his power to give his daughter the world, he doesn't want his baby, his precious little girl or boy to go through what he went through as a kid.

I have unfinished stories in my drafts, I might post more :3

[allthingsfangirl101]

Home For Christmas – Glen Powell

I walked through the beautifully decorated stores for Christmas, but I didn't feel it. Usually, I love this time of year. This year was different. About six months ago, Glen and I decided to move in together. Glen had to go to Australia just after Halloween to film a new Netflix movie. He wasn't able to come home for Thanksgiving, but he had promised me that they would be done before Christmas.

He called me three days ago saying that they were behind filming and now he wasn't even sure they'd be done by New Year's. Ever since the phone call, this season has been miserable.

I got a few last-minute things for my friends and Glen's parents. After shopping, I went home and started wrapping. I put them under the tree and sat on the couch.

I numbly grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. My heart sank when a cute Hallmark Christmas lovey-dovey movie came on. I used to love these. Christmas was different when the man you loved wasn't around to celebrate it with you.

I gave my parents a Caribbean Cruise for Christmas and they left yesterday. Today was the first day this season that I was truly alone. I jumped out of my pity party when my phone started to ring. My heart jumped out of my stomach and into my throat when I looked at the caller ID on my phone.

"Glen?"

"Hey, baby," he chuckled.

"Hi," I said, my voice breaking.

"Everything okay?" He asked gently.

"Yeah," I said, not at all convincingly. "I miss you."

"I miss you too, gorgeous," he sighed. "You have Angela's party tomorrow night, right?"

"Yeah, I guess," I shrugged, leaning back into the cushions. "I don't really want to but it's better than sitting at home on Christmas Eve, all by myself."

"I'm glad you're going," Glen said, sounding strange. "I feel bad that I'm not going with you."

"I wish you were," I mumbled.

"We will celebrate when I get home," he said. "I promise, baby. We will have our first Christmas together."

"I know," I sighed. I cleared my throat before deciding to change the subject. "How's filming?"

Glen and I spent almost two hours on the phone talking. After saying a long goodbye filled with lots of promises of making it up to me, I got ready for bed and went to sleep alone.

* * * * * *

"You're coming tonight, right?"

I held my breath as I debated. To be honest, I didn't want to go to a party with all my friends and spend the night acting like I wasn't miserable.

"I don't know," I stuttered.

"Sweetie," she sighed. "I know it sucks that Glen is stuck in Australia, but he wouldn't want you moping around at home. Have you gone out and done anything Christmassy?"

"I bought his mom an adorable sweater and his dad a new electric drill," I shrugged. I heard her let out a deep sigh.

"Please come tonight," she practically begged. "It'll be a good distraction from Glen being at work. Please? We'll get super drunk and you can send him pictures that will put you on the Naughty List."

After a lot of pestering from Angela and loving pushing from Glen's mom, I decided to go tonight. I changed into my Christmas dress and took time doing my makeup and curling my hair. I walked into Angela's house, instantly hit with Christmas music, voices, and the smell of fresh gingerbread.

"You're here!" She squealed as she ran over to me. I laughed as she wrapped her arms around me. "I am so happy you're here!"

"I can tell considering the fact that I can't breathe."

"Sorry," she giggled as she let me go. "I just. . . I wasn't sure you'd come since Glen is in Australia."

"I'm fine," I brushed off. "Sure, I miss him like crazy. And I can barely sleep. And I rarely feel like eating. And I don't even feel like celebrating without him."

"Which is why you're here," she said, grabbing my hand. "And which is why we are getting you a drink. Lots of drinks."

I rolled my eyes as she dragged me into the kitchen. As hard as I tried to enjoy myself, I couldn't. I just kept picturing my empty apartment and Glen halfway across the world.

Everywhere I looked, I saw couples dancing, laughing, or kissing under the mistletoe. When the pain got too much, I left. I walked into our apartment, not bothering to turn on the lights. I hung up my keys, kicked off my shoes, and started to take off my jacket.

"If you're gonna start undressing, at least let me catch up."

I gasped when the lights flicked on to reveal Glen standing by the Christmas tree.

"Glen!"

He laughed as I ran over to him. He instantly caught me when I jumped into his arms. I grabbed his face and pressed my lips to his. Our lips moved in sync as he held me tightly. As we slowly broke the kiss, Glen gently put me down.

"You're home," I said, my voice breaking as I looked at him through happy tears. "I can't believe you're home."

"I hoped on a plane as early as I could," he explained as he pulled me into his chest. "I couldn't stand the idea of you being all alone on Christmas."

"I love you, Glen."

"I love you, too, Y/N."

He was about to say something else, but I grabbed his face again and pulled him toward me. Glen chuckled as he kissed me back. Our lips moved roughly in sync as we collapsed onto the couch. Once we were sitting, I moved so I was straddling his hips.

"I missed you so much," I moaned between kisses.

"I missed you too, baby."

I broke the kiss, both of us breathing heavily. "Show me," I whispered, leaning my forehead against his. I started to get off his lap, but he grabbed my waist, pulling me back.

"Before we do that," he said, his voice dropping. "There's something I want to give you."

"Christmas is tomorrow," I giggled as I slid my hands up his chest and wrapped my arms around his neck. "The only thing I want right now is you."

"And I want you," he smirked. "But, believe me, you're not going to want to wait for this present."

He stood up with me in his arms. He walked over to the Christmas tree and gently put me down. He paused as he took a step back. My breath got caught in my throat as he knelt down on one knee. "Y/N, you are the love of my life. Nothing I do has meaning if you're not there with me. So, will you be with me for the rest of my career and my life? Y/N, will you marry me?"

"Yes," I said, my voice breaking. Glen smiled up at me as he slipped the ring on my finger. He tossed the ring box onto the couch before standing up and pulling me into his chest. He leaned down and pressed a passionate kiss to my lips.

"Merry Christmas, baby," he whispered.

"Merry Christmas, Glen."

[parachutingkitten]

Just so everyone is aware, ayathefly, the account who claims to be a temp voice actress for Dragons Rising, is almost certainly my cyber stalker from last month.

She has almost the exact same story as one of the stalker accounts used to try and befriend me. Back then she was a 23yo temp voice actress named Maya who had a comedically whimsical story about her not knowing information about the ducktales reboot she was hired for. This time she's a 23yo temp voice actress named Aya who has a comedically whimsical story about not knowing information about the Ninjago reboot she was hired for. Both the accounts used generic profile pics from classic cartoons, reblogged posts of mine shortly after creating their account, and had this manner of speaking in their posts which immediately set off alarm bells in my head.

In case you are not privy to the saga, this person made a bunch of false accusations about me on one account while defending me on another in order to, I guess, try and win my favor. This after harassing, threatening, and otherwise pestering me on a number of spam accounts. This includes the full range of pretending to be a fan with a tragic story about a dead brother, to weird sex foot fetish fantasies. Since then I have received emails claiming to be showrunners interested in my feedback which I'm also certain are her.

I have also linked them back to the zanenindroid account, and the parachutingkitfanpage, both abandoned at this point, presumably because they didn't get traction.

I need you to understand I was on the fence about sharing this information. Even if they're making my life annoying, this person has at times claimed to be 16 in messages to me in the past (I figure it's possible that the 23yo thing might just be her pretending to be my same age) and I don't want to be the guy who calls out a kid who lied on the internet to try and get friends- even if what they're doing is ABSOLUTELY inexcusable, it's only really affecting me. I know how to use the block button. Turning off non-follow messaging and anon asks is annoying, but not that huge a deal if it means cutting off avenues for them to contact me.

But recently my MOTHER informed me that she got some strange messages from someone claiming to be a 23yo voice actress, and tried gaslighting her into believing she knew her mom from a writing group like 10 years ago (which is not possible btw), and should TOTALY introduce her to me, because we're the same age, and both interested in animation.

I can't not talk about this anymore. When you bring my family into this, you lose any attempt at mercy from me.

Especially given we have quite a few minors in the fandom, I feel obligated to say something. I would not feel comfortable with anyone I know or care about interacting with this person, regardless of how harmless this person thinks their intentions are. They have proved themselves to be a manipulative, lying, unhinged, and obsessive personality willing to put someone they presumably like through some of the scariest scenarios you can find yourself in on the internet- and then drag your family into it. I would ask that you do not interact, do not give them the time of day, do not try to reason with them, and try your best not to be fooled by new accounts that pop up a week from now with suspiciously similar behavior, because I'm almost certain that will happen if Aya goes silent.

Maybe you think I'm paranoid, and over blowing things, and that's your call to make, but I would not be making this post if I did not feel strongly about this.

Even if somehow this is not the same person, and I am falsely linking these two nearly identical identities, at the very least Aya is not who she proports to be. She claims to have provided temp voices for season 3 just this month (temp voices being temporary voice work done before the actual actors are able to record their lines), but Devon Mack (voice actor for Arin) has confirmed that he was in the middle of recording the official dialogue for season 3 back in January of this year. The idea that the production team would only just now be recording TEMP dialogue for animation that's going to release in just a few months is an absolutely WILD claim. I can not convey to you what an insanely truncated timeline that would be. I don't even think that Dragons Rising is a the kind of show to use temp dialogue, none the less have the budget and time to hire out if they did need temp voices, rather than just using production members like most temp work.

Please, be careful out there everyone.

I'm praying I never have to address this again.

[kooksvspogues]

You’ve grown up…

Part 1

RafeCameron x ThorntonStep-sis

—

“Mom, I’m here!” I yell pulling all of my luggage into the entry room, hearing footsteps coming down the stairs quickly.

“Honey, it’s so good to see you!” She said pulling me into a hug as I wrap my arms tightly around her.

“Yeah, it’s been a while” I smile up at her

“How’s college? How’s your dad?” She asks

“College is going good and dad is great, how have you been?” I ask looking around.

“I’ve been good, even better now that you’re here” she smiles, “Topper! Come get Makayla’s bags and take them to her room please!” She yells towards the kitchen

Topper quickly comes around the corner, coming to a stop when we make eye contact. “What the hell happened to you?” He asked wide eyed

“What do you mean??” I ask looking down at my clothes

“You grew up, big time, wasn’t expecting it” he clarifies, “you’re still the same height though” he laughs as I roll my eyes

“Well you kinda grow up when you’re not stuck on this island for the past 7 years” I smile pushing my bags into his hand and walking past him, following mom.

8 years ago, my mom wanted a divorce from my dad, only for a few months to pass, for us to find out she was with Topper’s dad. A year later, they got married. 7 years ago, me and dad wanted an escape, so we followed his job to Kentucky and made a fresh new start for us. The last time I stepped foot in the outer banks was at their wedding. Now, I’m here because dad felt like I needed to come spend a summer here and actually spend time with mom since he was gonna be gone pretty much all summer for work.

“Here’s you a water babe,” mom smiles at me, “how was your flight?” She asked

“Long but good” I smile

“Is there anything you’ve thought about that you wanted to do while you’re here?” She asks me

“Not really sure, I know I want to be at the beach a lot, but I did think about getting a summer job while I’m here” I explain

“Yeah, I’ve missed watching you surf, and you know you don’t have to get a job, if there’s something you wanna do, I can give you the money” She offers

“I’ll keep that in mind but I really have earning and having my own money” I explain

“Well I know that the country club is wanting some extra hands over the summer, I think being a caddy girl, lifeguard, waitress, just whatever they need that day” she gives an idea

“Yeah, I guess I could do that, might as well run into all the kooks at once and get it over with” I sarcastically say as she gives me a pointed look

“I’m sure they’ll love you” she smiles as I chuckle, “I’ll call the manager, she’s a good friend, and I’ll see why I can do” she smiles

“Thank you” I say taking a sip of water, “I think I’m gonna go upstairs and get some things unpacked” I tell her, excusing myself as she’s pulling out the number to the country club.

I walk upstairs, heading to the same room I stayed in when I was here for the wedding and opened the door, seeing just how much effort mom put into the room for me. She even has a picture of me and dad on the nightstand for me. It kinda makes me wish I didn’t take this long to come back here. I smile picking up the picture, thinking back on the memory of when dad was teaching me how to surf when I was around 3 years old, and that was only because I kept pestering him about it. He didn’t want me starting till I was atleast 6 because he ‘don’t need me getting hurt so young.’ But, I finally sweet talked him enough into teaching me.

I walk over to my suitcase, throwing it on the bench in front of the bed, unzipping it and pulling all my clothes out, making my way of getting everything on hangers or in a drawer.

“Hey hun, Lexi said that if you could come up Wednesday, that would be great. Do you have any tennis skirts or anything?” She asks coming to inspect my clothes, which mainly consisted on blue jeans shorts, oversized tees, and tank tops.

“Not really..” I say

“That’s fine, we can run to town tomorrow and get you fixed up” she smiles as I nod

~~~~~~~ Monday ~~~~~~~

We ended up going to the mainland and mom dragged me into Lululemon to look for country club outfits.

“Mom, these prices are insane” I say

“Don’t even look at the prices, just look, try on, if you like it, get it, you’ll need a few pairs of everything, this is on me, don’t worry about anything” she tells me handing me some tennis skirts, tops, and a jacket and pushing me to the dressing room.

Everything fit great and looked even better but I couldn’t help but feel like I’m taking advantage of her, but she just about wouldn’t let me put anything down, once she figured out exactly what size I needed in everything, she was grabbing everything she could in those sizes it felt like. Eventually, we finally get out of that store with several bags and already too much money spent.

“I also want to get you some cute summer dresses for any events we may have to go to” she tells me, taking the lead and going into another store that was filled with gorgeous clothes that I haven’t even thought about wearing since I was living here. “You see anything you like?” She asks me as I shrug

“I haven’t really looked at anything like this in years” I admit as she looks down

“I’m sorry” she says and I immediately grab her hand

“I promise it’s okay, when me and dad moved away, everything was much more laid back and I just kinda backed away from the ‘kook life’” I explain pulling her into a hug

“I just hate that y’all moved but I get it too” she says wiping her eye quickly

“I’m sorry it took me long to come back here” I tell her

“What matters is that you’re here now, now, enough of this before I start crying,” she laughs “does anything catch your eye?” She asks me

“I’m looking, but if you see something you like, just hand it to me and I’ll try it out” I smile at her making her smile really big

“Just like old times” she cupped my cheek before turning to look around

~~~~~~~ Wednesday ~~~~~~~

I pulled up to the country club, grabbing my keys, phone, and sunglasses before heading towards the entrance, immediately looking for Lexi. I spotted a middle aged blonde lady with 50 pounds of makeup and a clipboard in her hand, so I approached her, “Hey, are you Lexi?” I ask as she shoots me a smile

“Yes, you must be Makayla?” She asks reaching out her hand for me to shake

“That’s me” I smile, shaking her hand.

“So good to finally meet you and I absolutely love your outfit” she smiles leading us down a hallway

“Thank you” I smile looking down at the white skirt and gray shirt I had chose.

“Let’s get on a cart and I’m gonna show you around and what to do” she smiles as she holds the door open for me.

We slide into the seat of a golf cart, both of us slipping our sunglasses on and we rode down the path, she explained how all the holes were set up and what was expected of me when I was out here. Then, we pulled up to a group of older men

“Hey guys, I’m showing our new hire, Makayla around and giving her run down, do y’all need anything while I’m here?”

“Yeah, we could take some beers” he smiles and shoots me a head nod, “nice to meet you” he says reaching over to shake my hand.

I follow Lexi to the back of the cart to see how everything is set up, I grab each of the men a beer and hand them out as Lexi takes their money. “Here’s you a good luck tip” the older guy said, handing me a $50 dollar bill

“Oh wow, thank you” I say shooting him a huge smile before going to the back of the golf cart where Lexi was still, so she could show me how the handheld works. But then we hear another cart come up on us to the side.

“Hey Lex, could you hand me a few beers too” a buzzed cut younger man with a big grin asks her

“Yeah, will you grab those for him?” She asks me and I nod

“How many?” I ask

“Ummm, go ahead and make it 6” he said and I nodded grabbing them and walking them over to where he was now standing at his ice chest.

“You new?” He asks

“Yeah, something like that” I smile

“Well keep the smiling up, a smile that bright will get ya plenty of tips” he shoots a playful wink at me, before handing me a hundred dollar bill.

“Let me get your change” I say going to walk over to Lexi

“No, that’s your tip”

“Are you sure about that?” I ask him furrowing my eyebrows

“Absolutely, just put these on my tab, I’ll pay it after we get done” the man says

“Well okay, um, what’s the last name?” I ask picking up the clipboard to take a note since Lexi was now on the phone

“Cameron” he said giving me a smile as I immediately felt my heart start pounding. When I go down the tab list, my eyes land on Cameron, Rafe.

“Oh my God” I whisper to myself

“What’d you say?” He asks

“Just that I got you down, have a good day” I give him a smile, so thankful that I brought my darker shaded sunglasses with me.

“You tooo—-?” He starts making a face as if waiting to hear my name

“Oh um.. you can just call me Kk” I say as I slide into the passenger side of the golf cart

“Well you have a good day too, Kk” he says giving me a huge smile before driving away.

Oh my God… I want to leave.. NOW! I thought he would be far away from this town by now. I can’t believe he’s here.. so many memories from school or filling my mind and none of them are good. But, maybe I can pull this off, he didn’t even recognize me. Hell, I didn’t recognize him… Wait.. holy crap… my old bully just flirted with me.. I need to throw up.. what the fuck…

—————————————————————————

A/N: I hope you guys like the start of this story, it’s one of many I have been working on. Any feedback is always appreciated and if you want to be added to a tag list for this specific story, let me know. Xoxo

[luna-andra]

Domesticated!König Headcanons: Meeting the future In-Laws ✨

Image: @Skavod29 on Twitter (Source)

I was floored by how much attention my first headcanon post got. Y'all had me fucking emotional and I am so happy it's something people actually like. It keeps me coming back to post more of my silly little ideas. Forever grateful for your support! ❤️

I also need to reiterate that my blog/posts are 18+ so MDNI, this one has some NSFW bonus HCS 💋

If you missed the first one, here :) StepDad!Konig is here!

I got other stuff! Masterlist pinned on my blog

When you decided it was time for your parents and König to meet, you were tempted to slip a Xanax into his morning coffee. It is not like he hasn’t said a polite hello and a few words over the phone or when you facetime them, but now he was finally meeting them in person. You’ve seen him more calm talking to two- and three-star generals than this, the kinds of things that rattled your nerves.

You swore he changed attire more times than you did. The sight of him re-rolling his sleeves on his button up shirt made you intervene before he undid them all over again. He paused when your hands held his, then flicked his azure eyes up to you. “They’re gonna love you, my king.” Your gentle smile and comforting words got through to him.

They welcomed you and the mystery man with open arms at their front door. Mom never knew how to keep her thoughts to herself, but she really did mean well. Of course, the first thing they all notice is how König has to duck under their doorway to come inside. “You weren’t lying when you said he was tall,” mom said. You gave her a warning look followed up with an apologetic smile to König. He managed to chuckle it off, it was nothing new for him. It did make him curious about what else you’ve said to your mom about the two of you.

You gave König a tour of your childhood home, nearly having to pry him from the wall of photos of you and your family. He had the biggest shit-eating grin on his face of the little timeline displayed in pretty frames; your first elementary school photo, a photo of you in a boy/girl scouts uniform, another of you during extra-curricular activities (band/orchestra, JROTC, sports, theater, robotics team, etc.), a prom photo with you and old friends, and lastly your high school graduation picture. König wanted a copy of one of them to keep in his wallet, mom promised to get him one behind your back.

König's field day got better when you showed him your childhood bedroom. Depending on how you last had it decorated, you were either low key bashful or regretting even showing him. It was like traveling back in time for him, giving him a glimpse of the kid and teen, you used to be. A chance to fall in love with every facet of you.

He was getting more comfortable when he found out your dad wasn’t out to get him as much as he thought. They ended up sitting in the living room, talking about a topic after your dad played twenty questions to figure him out. Something either about guns, hunting, hiking, fishing, blue-collar work, and if your dad is a veteran, they got along faster than you could imagine. You and mom caught up in the kitchen as you helped her finish up with cooking and setting the table.

If you have siblings, they showed up in the nick of time before dinner, to share embarrassing stories of you when you were a kid, or the stories you all waited to tell when you all were adults to avoid from getting in trouble. König watched and listened as you got more animated with laughter. Loving every second of this. He had a handful of memories he could count on his hand that were of happier times, but your memories became his favorite ones.

Everyone pestered the two of you for the story of how you met. And since you’ve been doing most of the talking, you looked to König to tell the tale. Your eyes never left him as he started the story from his point of view, recollecting the moment he saw you and how he was trying to come up with an excuse to try and talk to you. It donned on you that this was the first time you were hearing the way he saw you. “And now we’re here,” he concluded, looking over to you with a grin and a touch to your hand underneath the table.

NSFW Bonus:

König couldn’t stop thinking about taking you in your childhood room, nearly fantasizing what it would’ve been like if the two of you met as teens/younger adults. Indulging in the idea of sneaking into your bedroom window or standing outside with a boombox in 80s/90s style fashion.

Of course, your parents offered you to stay with them, not wanting you to have to rent a hotel room or travel back (depending on how far away you lived from them), so the later the night got, the more distracted König became with fulfilling his dirty thoughts.

It was just like the old days, having you home and hearing the music coming from your speakers when someone passed by the doorway. You were just showing König your CD collection, right?

It definitely wasn’t because you were trying to muffle your moans and screams as he pounded you into that fucking mattress. Making you a drooling and brainless mess under his rutting hips. He kept praising you for taking him so well and for being so quiet like the good little fuck thing you were, making it harder not to cum so fast. Secretly, this was your fantasy too, and you wanted it to last a little longer than the 10 minutes of foreplay and fucking you had already endured.

Likes & reblogs are always appreciated! Stay tuned for more to this unexpected series! Asks are opened for requests & ideas for others.

[thehistoriccemetery]

hiii ... idk if you do requests exactly but if u wanted id love to hear about the companions w/ a werewolf reader ? maybe its a full moon and reader has kept it a secret until now . but instead of being in a mindless violent rampage they are just kinda ... dog brained

thank u in advance ... take ur time or dont bother if u dont wanna :)

BG3 Ladies x Werewolf!Reader

I finally got a day off yesterday and I used it to write for like 8 hours so enjoy your second day of content in a row.

A lot of people have asked for companions react to Bhaal smiting the dark urge and I’m working on it, but unfortunately I’m only on act 2 of my durge run. So that one will be a while.

In better news my Minthara folks can expect a very spicy piece at some point this week!

Shadowheart

As soon as Shadowheart sees you in your wolf form, she is terrified and runs away from you as fast as she can.

It’s only when you cautiously approach camp that her mother actually points out you’re a lycanthrope. She picks up on it pretty easily given her husband shares the same affliction.

“They don’t seem to be aggressive, though” she observes, slightly confused. She tentatively taps her legs, beckoning you to come.

When you happily pad over to her, she scratches you behind the ears and you give a satisfied smile.

She sits down on the ground and continues to pet your head.

Shadowheart is still curled up on the bed, unwilling to take part in any of this.

“Oh come on Shads, you must admit, it’s kinda cute.” Her mom says as your tongue lulls from your mouth.

The closest she gets to comfortable with you that first night is a brief game of fetch. She’ll throw the ball as long as she doesn’t have to wrestle it from your maw.

The game is over though when the ball gets too slimy for her liking.

It’ll take a little while, but perhaps it’ll grow on her eventually.

Lae’zel

Lae’zel doesn’t really know much about wolves or dogs, but she’s not particularly fond of the one that’s following her around camp.

She tries to pawn you off to Karlach, but you want her so she has very little luck with that.

When it starts to get really late, she starts to worry. Where have you gone? You’ve never been out this late.

She eventually puts two and two together and realizes you are the dog that keeps pestering her.

Once she figures it out, she just tries to treat you like your normal self, which is immensely confusing to your little dog brain.

Lae’zel gets very frustrated very quickly. It takes Halsin to calm her down and teach her how to interact with you appropriately.

Every time you do something new she looks at Halsin to tell her how to react.

You flip onto your back. “Can I just keep petting them here?” Halsin nods.

In the morning, she requires quite a hefty apology and explanation as to why you wouldn’t tell her about this.

Karlach

Karlach is almost too welcoming to stray wolf that wants to wander into camp. But it’s certainly not the oddest thing that’s come into camp.

She treats you like a normal dog at first, but after persistent whining and leading her to your bed multiple times, she finally catches on.

“You didn’t tell me you were a werewolf! That’s so cool!” She exclaims, but then her faces starts to grow concerned. “Wait, you’re not gonna flip out on anyone tonight, are you? Do I need to lock you in a cage or something?”

You whine and lay down on the floor.

“Aww, you’re not gonna hurt nobody are you, sweet puppy?” She sits on the floor next to you and rubs your shoulders.

She spends the rest of the night playing with you like she would any other dog, chasing you around camp, wrestling, and petting you.

That night she snuggles up next to you, cuddling you in her arms as you lay on your side.

You wake up just as you do any other morning, in her arms, fully humanoid again.

Minthara

Minthara is unsure what to do with this dog that keeps following her around.

You do your best to actually follow her commands to keep from pissing her off, but you’re really trying to get her to understand it’s you.

You wind up going to your tent and picking up something of yours. One of your shoes should work.

When you approach Minthara with the shoe hanging from your mouth, she grows increasingly agitated with you. “Put that down! That’s not yours!”

You whine and set the shoe down, putting your paw in the shoe to indicate it’s yours.

“Are you… a werewolf?” She asked, confused. You bark in affirmation.

She spends the night allowing you to follow her around, and, as long as you follow instructions, she’s actually quite fond of your dog form.

Most of the night she spends reading a book while occasionally throwing a ball for you to go fetch.

She doesn’t see the point of the game, but you seem to enjoying yourself and it’s only mildly inconveniencing her.

At the end of the night, you move to climb up onto her bed, but she stops you with an “absolutely not” and motions for you to lay on the floor beside her.

Jaheira

As a Druid, Jaheira can speak with you even in dog form.

Once you explain the situation to her, she rolls her eyes but smiles. She should’ve known you were a werewolf.

She doesn’t worry too much about you going fully into beast mode, as you show no signs of aggression or agitation.

But you do stink. And she tells you as much. She’s gonna give you a bath.

Your dog mind causes you to protest. You don’t want a bath. There’s no way she’s getting you in a tub.

It takes a little deception and some meat from the camp supplies to get you in the bath in under 5 minutes.

She cleans you off despite your constant whining and by the end you’re actually surprised you feel better. Less itchy.

She dries you off with a towel and you give yourself a couple good shakes.

Once you’re all clean and dried, she wild shapes into a wolf so you two can spend the night curled up around each other.

[f1bordeaux]

An Verstappen one with “Did you ever really care about me?” and “Please stay.” Thank you

If You Cared (Part 1) | mv1

It's been years since you've indulged in a vacation. What better time is there than summer? Your family, the beach house in Italy-it seems perfect. But, for things to be just like good old times, your family needs to invite his. So of course you are having mixed feelings as the boy who broke your heart re-enters your life like nothing happened. Warnings: None Pairing: Max Verstappen x Reader Word count: 2.1k Poetry style | Story style A/n: Hello! This story came to me as soon as I saw this request. I got so many ideas and I'm actually super excited to keep writing this. There will be more parts to follow, so keep a look out. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy! Part One|Part Two|Part Three|Part Four|Part Five

You always longed for the familiarity of summer.

It was by far your favorite season. Something about the warmth, the life, the atmosphere, the memories-something about it all brought you comfort. You were head over heels in love with summer. Or perhaps it was just more exciting this year knowing that you would go on a real vacation for the first time in a long while. “Let’s visit the beach house this year,” your mom had suggested. “Sure there is probably some dust in the corners, but it’s nothing we can't sweep off.”

When thinking of summer memories, the beach house in Elba, Italy, was the primary setting for all of them. From the time you were born until the time you moved out, your family would spend a handful of weeks there, drinking up the sun and inviting friends to visit. You learnt to swim in the pool behind the summer house. You learnt to cook in the kitchen of the summer house. You had your first kiss in the living room of the summer house. Right, that. Something you preferred not to think or talk about.

“Mom!” you wrapped her in a hug the second you could. After moving away from home to pursue work, you rarely saw her in person. You rarely had time to cook yourself dinner let alone come home. It would be nice to get away for a month-just you, your mom, your dad, your brother and sister and the Italian shores of Elba.

“How was your flight, my baby?” She asked, pulling your backpack from off your shoulders.

“Which one? The one from New York to Florence or the one from Florence to Elba?” As a child you always made a fuss about how secluded Elba was. It’s a small, mountainous island off the west coast. A small airport, no larger than the biggest grocery store in town, was all they had to offer. They didn’t take commercial flights from New York. Nope, you had to get on a small, ten person airplane with five other people and fly over that way. It was nostalgic, truly.

Your mom rolled her eyes. “Still dramatic as ever.”

You shrugged, a smile stamped on your face. “What can I say?”

“Let's go, your dad is at home making dinner. It should be ready when we arrive.”

Your heart felt so full, so satisfied. You felt like a child again, like a little girl viewing the world from innocent eyes. Your mom was carrying your backpack, your dad was making dinner. You wondered if they’d offer to tuck you in at night. This is what you needed the most, and you didn’t even realize it until you were in the passenger seat of your mom’s rental car, watching the coast of the island roll by in the dimming sun. New York was busy. It was loud and dirty. Elba was quiet. It was beautiful and clean.

This summer, you told yourself. I’m not going to have a single worry, not a single care in the world.

“The Verstappen’s are coming by next week.”

You almost choked on your food. “What did he just say?” Dinner on the patio was already off to a ravishing start.

You don't notice it-too busy dabbing the corner of your mouth with a napkin-but your mother swatted at your brother who held a smirk on his lips. He knew it would bother you and he also knew that mom hadn’t told you yet. He loved being the bearer of bad news. He loved pestering his older sister.

“You know, Max’s family?” He pushed on. “The boy who left you for cars-”

“Luca.” Your mom cut him off. “Enough.”

Silence hung over the table like it was a light fixture. Your dad and sister said nothing and you knew it was because those two were in favor of the Verstappen’s coming to stay. Hell, your dad was probably the one to extend the invitation. You knew your sister would back him up because she loved Victoria-the younger sibling of the two Verstappen children. Your brother obviously didn’t care. He idolized Max and his racing. It seemed like your mother was the only one on your side.

“Was nobody going to tell me until Max knocked on our front door one day?” You asked, cutting at the food on your plate.

“Max probably won't even be able to make it,” your mother tries to reassure you. “The only ones who have confirmed it are Sophie and Victoria. Ooh-Victoria is bringing the babies so that should be fun-”

“Are you just trying to calm me down, mom?” Again, the silence made itself known. You spoke first, shaking your head with an upside down smile. “You know what? I don’t care. Max or not, I’m here to have a good summer. No childhood crush or-”

“Childhood boyfriend who broke your heart.” Your brother corrected you. You kicked him from under the table, exerting an ouch from him.

“No childhood drama is going to interfere.” You finished.

“She's gone crazy.” Your sister whispered to your dad. You kicked her too.

“I’m going to have a good summer. Nobody will ruin that for me.”

And in the beginning, you did have a good summer. You spent your first full day in Elba catching up on jet lag. When you finally decided to roll out of bed at two pm, you went to the beach with your sister. The two of you had a chance to catch up, sitting on the sand with a small array of fruits to eat while you spoke. The weather was perfect, the ocean was calming, and you were reminded of how much you loved your younger sister.

“What did you do for the big twenty-two?” You asked, referencing her birthday that had preceded about three weeks prior.

She shook her hand, the grapes in her palm shifting. She picked out a bruised one, adding it to a small pile of other undesirable fruits. “Went out with some friends. I had an exam due that day though, so most of it was spent in my room working on that.”

College. Something you tried your hardest to avoid. All was futile, though. After only a few weeks in New York you realized you’d need it. “Sounds fun. Were you mad you had to leave all your friends for the summer?”

“No,” She popped a grape in her mouth. “I was excited to come back to the beach house.”

“Me too.”

“Can I start a conversation without you getting mad at me, y/n?”

You sighed. “If you start by saying that, then no.”

“How are you going to react if Max really does show up on Monday?”

It was your turn to search through the handful of strawberries you had. One strawberry had a large hole. The rest looked fine, you thought. Max. Right, that's where the conversation was. Max Verstappen. Your first crush, your first kiss, your first-boyfriend? Was it ever that? Really, you didn’t know what it was and what it wasn’t. He was Max, and you were y/n. That was all the facts you knew surrounding the two of you.

“I’ll be nice. I have no reason not to be.” You finally responded.

Your sister peeled her sunglasses off her face. She looked at you amusingly through her brow. “No reason? Really?”

A shrug lifted your shoulders. “What? Max and I were never dating.”

“Sixteen-year-old you would say otherwise.”

“Sixteen year old me was delusional.” You looked at the ocean in front of you. You were just a delusional child, right? Max was your first kiss. Max was your biggest crush. Max did break your heart. It’s pretty damn hard to break someone's heart when you’re not together, no? “I don’t care about Max anymore. If he comes, he comes. If he doesn’t? Then so be it. I really don't care, Mia.”

“Alright,” She said dismissively. “I guess we’ll find out.”

The two of you wouldn’t find out for another five days. During your time-waiting for the possible arrival of Max and his mom and sister-you explored the city, you occupied the beaches, you read some books, you went out on the boat with your brother and dad. Life was calm. There were no obligations you had to fill, no tasks at hand, no work to be done. It was you, the Italian sun, the ocean and the breeze. You seriously considered moving there. Mom would let you have the beach house, right? How could she say no to the oldest?

All was good. All was calm.

“Max is here, y/n!” Luca swung open the patio door, yelling at you with a smirk. You were lying on a lounge chair next to your sister-the both of you only wearing swimsuits as you tried to tan. “He’s a fine specimen.”

You picked up your hat from the ground and threw it at your teenage brother. “Fuck off, Luca.”

“I’m serious! Max, Victoria and Sophie are here.”

You looked over at your sister. “Go inspect.” You instructed her.

She groaned, standing up from her chair and wandering inside, not before slapping Luca on the back of the head, however. The two of them shut the door, a waft of cold air swiping across your body before disappearing. There was soft music playing from a speaker near the pool. If a car pulled up, you wouldn’t have been able to hear it. Maybe they were here, but was Max seriously with them? Did you want him here? Would it actually be easier without him here or did you want some fun this summer? Did drama entertain you? Maybe you just wanted something nice to look at while you were here.

The back door slid open. You were lying face down, the sun warming your back. You didn’t bother looking up, assuming it was Mia coming to deliver the news to you. It would be better if she didn’t see your face while telling you. Maybe you would be disappointed at the answer-whatever it may be. “Well? Is he here?” You asked, voice muffled by the lounge chair.

“Is this your hat?”

You looked up so quickly that you pulled a muscle in your neck. “Fuck.” You whispered to yourself, rubbing your fingers over the pain. Did you curse to yourself because Max was standing right infront of you, your ball cap balancing off his index finger, or because of the pain? Both, you decided. It was for both reasons.

“I’ll leave it,” He set it on the table next to you. “Here.”

“Thanks.” You readjusted yourself, sitting up on the edge of the chair. He definitely got a much better view of you than he was hoping for. You were older now, almost by ten years. Sixteen year old you and twenty five year old you looked a lot different. He figured that out pretty quick.

“Good to see you, y/n.” He smiled before turning on his heel to go back inside. His back was broad, his shoulders looked stiff. He had some stubble, but it suited him. He looked-good? No. Stop thinking like that. He probably had a girlfriend or something. He was a rich, famous, Formula One driver. No way he was single walking around looking like that.

“Right.” Nobody was around to hear you say it. So, nobody was around to hear you follow it up with, “What the fuck.”

Hesitantly, you picked up your ball cap, slipping your ponytail through the back. You walked inside, scanning the room before making any more steps forward. Mia and Victoria were in the living room. Sure enough, Victoria had brought her two children and husband. Mia was emitting plenty of ‘aww’s’ and ‘that is so cute’s’. Max was bringing luggage in through the front door. Great, they're planning on staying. Your brother shot you a smirk from where he sat at the kitchen bar. Told ya’ so.

“Max, how’d you manage time off from F1?” Your mother asked.

“It’s summer break,” He said matter-of-factly. “I don’t race again until late August.”

“So you’ll be here for the three weeks you mother and sister will be?”

Please say no, please say no, please say- “I plan to, yes.”

The sliding door snaps behind you as you let go of it. Everyone turns to look at your bikini clad figure. Victoria exchanges a concerning glance with your sister. Victoria’s husband looks at her, confused as to why there is such a thick tension in the air.

“Y/n, go shower and get dressed, we’re all going to dinner in a bit.” Your mother said, her lips pressing into a thin smile.

“Right.” You said, weaving past all the bodies. “I’ll go do that.”

Oh what a summer this was playing out to be.

[thethreeeyed-raven]

Pookie u said u wanted Zoro reqs and I’m here to help

So maybe Buggy’s sis?? Like apart of his lil clown posse thing and her and Zoro meet and yeah idk im dumb u can do whatever w this 🤷‍♀️

-🦈

thank you, goodnight

navigation | a/n : i changed it a bit and made the reader someone who was imprisoned by buggy instead, i haven’t written x reader in a while so this is a bit rusty, i’ve been working on something atla related which wont be coming out any time soon with the pace i’m going at😭, tysm to my bestie who helped me with this i was struggling😭 | warnings : minor injuries, weapons, implied feelings, sanji smirks a lot | tags : @lost-in-fiction-like-ur-mom , @knight-of-flowerss

music :

(it gives me zoro vibes)

You had joined the Straw Hats after their scuffle with your captor Buggy the clown.

Buggy decided that you were going to be apart of his circus when he 'conquered' your village, Until the Straw Hats freed you and your people.

Their Captain, Monkey D. Luffy, must have saw some potential in you as he offered you a place in the crew.

You just couldn't say no and so now you were apart of their crew.

You and Zoro were like two peas in a pod. Wherever he went, you followed, wherever you went, he followed. You couldn't stay away from one another.

You assumed he was impressed with your skills with a whip and your fists as you were with his swordsmanship. (You also fancied him a bit.)

For weeks and weeks you had pestered Zoro to teach you his admirable techniques but he refused every time.

Catching his eye from across the deck, you skipped your way over to his slouching form, slinging your arm over his broad shoulder.

"So, about those sword lessons..." You pretended to inspect your nails. You could practically hear his eye roll.

"No." He replied just as a smirking Sanji walked past.

"Sword lessons?" The cook asked with a hint of amusement, okay, maybe a lot. The both of you gave him a deadpan look. Sanji raised his hands as if to surrender. "Okay, okay."

Once Sanji left, you turned to look back at Zoro, putting on your best 'puppy dog' eyes.

Finally, Zoro turned to you. He zoned out for a moment before coming back to himself. "Fine. But only if you show me how to work that whip."

You cheered and clapped victoriously. "We'll start tonight."

The both of you got to work once everyone was settled and the stars twinkled in the night sky. Zoro decided you would be training with his swords first, a whip seemed hard to control.

"You need to hold it like this." Zoro placed his hand on top of yours where you held the handle of the sword. "Relax your hold, you're holding it too tight you will restrict movement."

You nodded in silent concentration, the moss head couldn't help but steal a glance at your overly focused face.

"Don't watch the sword, I'll let you off for now since this is only practise." Zoro let go of your hand and stood back to observe your stance. He put a foot in between your legs and shifted one of them wider. "With these types of swords you don't need two hands to hold them."

You nodded again. "Okay."

Hours had passed since your lessons began and it was almost the start of a new day. Many injuries were acquired. You fetched the first aid kit that Sanji kept from the kitchen.

Zoro had a tiny cut on his cheek and various other little wounds from your sharp whip. The injuries didn't bother him of course, but Sanji would kill you if they got infected.

"There." You placed a tiny band aid on the cut. "It's a good job you didn't seriously hurt, Luffy would have my head." The both of you chuckled.

Zoro shook his head, still chuckling a bit. "Luffy's too nice, he'd probably cry at you instead."

You stifled another laugh, but couldn't deny you still felt a little bad for the wounds inflicted on Zoro by your weapon.

"You okay?" Zoro commented, noticing your moment of silence.

"Oh, yeah don't worry." You lifted a hand as if to physically brush off the man's worry. He gave you a pointed look before thanking you and standing.

Just as Zoro was about to return to his cabin to get cleaned up, your words halted his steps.

"I never thanked you."

He looked over his shoulder at you, brow furrowed in confusion. "For what?"

Whenever you thought of that day, your eyes would glass over and the overwhelming feeling of relief would wash over you. "For taking me away that day, it was the kindest thing anyone has ever done for me in my life."

"All of that was Luffy." Zoro denied.

Yet, you shook your head. "It was a group decision. Thank you anyway."

You stood and walked towards Zoro, cupping his cheek, then leaned in to gently press a kiss to the other.

"Goodnight."

The next morning, Zoro was greeted with the smirking face of Sanji.

"Fuck off."

[pumpkin-belly]

Anxiety is weird. i've had it under control for years.

But times have been rough lately, and going into a second Trump administration without my old furball has been tough.

I was planning on holding out adopting a new cat until I got the kitchen remodeled. I don't want to stress a cat, plus strange people going in and out and possibly letting a cat out give me nightmares. (I can wall off a cat upstairs, but the noise and strange smells will still disturb it.)

But I haven't gotten the remodel done yet. I made the mistake of looking online and found a maine coon/tabby mix with big paws and a wise, calm face in need of a home. I told myself no, wait, get the kitchen done first.

But this furry face has been pestering me ever since I saw him on Petfinder. He has Pumpkin's Feline Philosopher expression.

And Santorini just happens to be my favorite place in the world. I know it's a coincidence — the shelter must've taken him in when Santorini was on the news in February because of that earthquake swarm — but, well.

I'm going to meet him and the other shelter cats Friday. We'll see. The cats always tell you if it's time.

There's a couple other Maine Coon mixes that need homes too — they were rescued from a house with 18 cats. The woman running the shelter asked me if i'd be willing to take a bonded pair. Yes, although this guy is calling me. But I know not to judge by one photo. You have to meet them, see what they're like.

The weird thing is that after sending the application and getting the call, I had a panic attack. For hours.

The same thing happened when it came time to adopt Pumpkin. I hadn't met him yet, but I'd agreed to take him when his owner, my then-neighbor's mom, passed away.

I said yes, of course! I'd already started thinking about getting another cat. But when the time came, I felt cornered. Saying goodbye the last time had been so, so hard. I'd been living catless for a year or so... was I ready and able to commit to a cat again? Could I go through that heartbreak again?

I overcame my jitters. That cat was Pumpkin. I loved him so much I was crying today while filling out my application. I'm crying again now. But I am so, so grateful to have had him in my life.

I'm a little calmer, but I was having the same apprehension earlier today that I did back in... oh goodness, was it only 9 years ago? before taking the plunge with my wonderful big-hearted boy.

I'm a childless cat lady with no cat right now, and I am not gonna outlast Mango Mussolini without one.

All right, I admit it: it's like pre-wedding jitters.

Cats aren't people. But they can still fill a very big place in one's heart.

[heygerald]

Falling Without A Harness - Chapter 3

AU where Tom Ryder is still an asshole, just not a psychotic asshole. After their moment at the wrap party, Tom shows up at Parker's bookstore. How is it possible someone can be such an asshole when asking for a favor?

read the story here: prev / next

Two weeks later finds the weather outside shifting with the first hint of autumn; cooler temperatures in the morning greet Parker when she walks to work, and the coffee shop next door has started advertising their new fall drinks of pumpkin spice and cinnamon tea. She's seen her brother every day since the wrap party—partly because he always makes a point of taking some down time after finishing a movie to recover from his stunts, and partly because her and Jody have become fast friends—but she hasn't seen Tom since their moment in the bathroom.

She suspects that's for the best. The internet is flooded with paparazzi photos of him flouncing around town with models every other day, and she's still trying to forget how natural it felt to laugh with him.

But despite her brother's newly open schedule, and Jody's constant pestering to go spend a day at the beach, Parker finds her bookstore just as empty as always.

There are a few stragglers here and there throughout the day. Sometimes she gets lucky when a tour bus stops for gas and snacks, allowing an ensemble of tacky dressed tourists to flood her street for twenty minutes. On unlucky days, Mr. Chamberlain will stop in to peruse her historical section; but he doesn't have any sort of schedule or income, and those visits consist entirely of him describing last night's CSI episode to Parker before trying to set her up with his grandson. Once he bought a book from her dollar bin. He attempted to return it three days later.

On days like today, Parker is visited by a sixteen-year-old named Melissa who hangs out every so often while her mom attends overpriced Pilates in the studio down the block.

"...and then Peter was all 'no, sorry Mandy, I'm not interested". Like, hello! My name is Melissa and we've lived in the same neighborhood since we were four," said teenager was droning on from her spot atop the upcycled reading chair in the corner. She never failed to impress Parker with how much she could talk—the stories quite literally never stopped coming—while at the same time she managed to read about four books a week. Parker suspected that Melissa's brain represented something like the Rainbow Road in Mario Kart, when the music got a little too fast and the turns were a little too hard to keep up with. "Now, I have no idea what I'm going to do. There's no one else for me to ask since it's three weeks away."

Parker, only half-listening to the story, hummed from her spot two rows back. She had won several boxes of books at a local auction about a month ago and had done a pretty good job at pretending they didn't exist.

Ignoring the problem only lasted so long, however, and this morning she had ended up spilling coffee all over herself when her sneaker caught the edge of the box. Pride—and knees—damaged, she decided to tackle the issue first thing in the morning.

It was now four in the afternoon, and the books were mocking her.

"Can't you just go alone?" she asked.

"Go alone? Are you crazy! That's, like, really sad, Park," Melissa explained. She couldn't see her, but Parker could feel the judgmental look the teen girl was giving her. "Only losers go alone to dances."

"Baby did it."

"Who?"

"Baby. You know? You don't put Baby in a corner? That one."

A tut. "You should really update your references."

"Jesus. Since when did Dirty Dancing become an outdated reference?" she muttered while inspecting the spine of a mystery novel from the 70s. It had definitely seen better days, and when she shifted it, three pages fell out. Parker tossed it into the TRASH box with a sigh. "Is going to a dance with your friends considered outdated too?"

"That's the same thing as going alone," Melissa groaned.

"How? You're literally not alone."

"Because if I go with my friends, that means that I couldn't get anyone that wasn't a friend to agree to go with me. I don't need the whole school thinking that I'm a total loser."

"I went with my friends and had a blast. And I'm not a loser."

There was no response other than silence, and after a few moments Parker realized that if Melissa had nothing to say about the subject, she likely had nothing nice to say.

She cleared her throat before moving onto the next, and final, box hoping that there would be better books in it. So far, her KEEP pile was looking pathetically small compared to what was about to be binned. With a forced change of conversation, she asked, "hey, you grew up here, right?"

"Sure."

"Did you know the Sawyers?"

"Like, Miss Sawyer? Down on Oakcrest?"

"The fancy old house with the bushes shaped like dogs. I bought a bunch of books at her estate sale, and so far, they all suck. I thought she was supposed to be a big collector or something."

The sound of Melissa humming echoed throughout the empty store, and Parker peeked around the bookshelves to spot the girl lying upside down on the chair; Doc Martens stuck up in the air, long ponytail hanging to the ground as she played on her phone.

Parker rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, totally. But she collected those kid's books. Original copies or whatever. Mom said she paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for some rabbit book."

"...Peter Rabbit?"

"I guess," Melissa shrugged. There was a loud smack of gum popping before her voice rang out, "she did a bunch of donations to local art musuems and galleries and stuff. A phila-something—"

"Philanthropist?"

"—and there was some big deal about her donating everything to some charity. Mom was talking about it. Which, like, good for them or whatever but I don't understand how donating an old book is helping solve world hunger."

Parker let her head drop against the beat-up cardboard box in front of her, something despondent and miserable sitting on her chest at the realization that she had wasted time and money on nothing but crap. "Well, I wish I knew that before I went into a bidding war over this garbage. Are the Hardy Boys still cool or is that dated too?"

A judgmental laugh floated back. "Um, their name is pronounced Hemsworth, Park."

"I meant—" she started, before realizing that this was a battle she was never going to win, and even if she wanted to try the musty smell resonating from these boxes of crap had burned through her daily allowance of braincells. Something Melissa didn't seem to worry about as she puffed from her vape pen. "Forget it."

Not so shockingly, Melissa did not, in fact, forget it. Instead, she spent the next ten minutes describing in scary detail each Hemsworth brother, their looks on a scale of one to ten, their best movies, and why Chris was the dreamiest of them all. His hair and eyes were a big selling point, apparently, and as Parker listened to the teenager drone on, she couldn't help but wonder if Chris Hemsworth used box dye too.

So wrapped up in her own world of book sorting, Parker didn't notice when the front door opened with a tinkle of the bell until the shop went eerily quiet. Melissa, it seemed, had finally found a reason to shut up.

"I never liked Chris all that much," Parker said as she slowly gathered the KEEP bin and hefted it off the floor. Her lower back ached at the strain. Jesus, maybe I am old. Moving towards the front counter, she continued musing, "There's something about him in the first Thor movie, when his eyebrows were all bleached, that kind of turned me off. I think there's a word for that, right? The ew or something...."

She spots Melissa first.

The girl is sitting upright in the chair now, face flushed a deep scarlet red with a book held tightly in her lap as she pretends to read through it. Her phone and vape are nowhere to be seen, and she doesn't so much as glance up when Parker strides by.

"What happened to you?" she asks with an amused quirk of the brow. Melissa doesn't respond, and Parker turns to set the heavy box of books on the front counter when she spots the other person in the room. "Oh, sorry. I was in the back. Can I help—?"

It shouldn't surprise her as much as it does, but Parker blinks to find Tom Ryder standing on the other side of the counter staring at her with raised brows.

Tom fucking Ryder.

He looks better than the last time she ran into him. He has a nice tan going underneath a funky pair of yellow sunglasses that are, in her opinion, too big for his face. They look a little absurd with the whitewashed denim jacket he's wearing, but the yellow matches the bedazzled t-shirt he has on underneath, so she suspects it's some sort of fashion statement. Paired with an expensive pair of well-polished boots, it all looks quite absurd standing in the middle of her dilapidated bookstore.

Even more so when Parker realizes she's wearing nothing but a pair of cheap cargo shorts and an oversized Twilight sweatshirt that was covering the coffee-stained shirt underneath. (Team Jacob, always).

"Tom. Um... are you looking for Colt or something?"

In typical Ryder fashion, he ignores her question entirely to do a slow spin; blue eyes tinted by his glasses trailing over everything in sight. She can feel the judgement from across the counter, and when he finally fixes his sights back on her, his smirk is rage inducing. "This is your store. Seriously?"

Parker promptly plants her hands onto her hips with a scathing glare.

"Ok, what do you want?"

"Jesus, no wonder this place is empty," he drawls, a pointed smile tossed towards Melissa's prone form as he leans an elbow onto the counter. At being noticed, the teenager ducks her head behind the spine of her book as if she had just been caught doing something she wasn't supposed to. "Do you talk to all your customers like that?"

"Just the assholes," she retorts. Over Tom's shoulder she catches Melissa's book dropping down two inches, and the girl's face is completely aghast.

What are you doing! she mouths, that's Tom Ryder!

Parker rolls her eyes. As if she didn't know who the blinged-out asshole standing in her store was. Speaking of—he's still standing there smirking at her. "That's you, if I wasn't clear. Don't let the door hit you on the way out."

Tom snorts. "I think I got that after the fifth time you said it."

"And yet..." she gestures vaguely to him, then to her store.

Because he's never behaved like a normal person, however, Tom doesn't seem to mind the insult or the offhand comment that she didn't want to deal with him. Instead, he smiles while his gaze drifts from judging the bookstore to judging Parker. He gives her a glance over—up, down, lingering on her oversized sweatshirt, before going back up—and finishes with a snort. "If the door hits me, I'm suing for damages, and I doubt you could afford the lawsuit. Let alone a lawyer."

God! What. a. fucking. asshole!

Parker bites back the insult knowing that it won't do any good. They've played this game before, and clearly being called an asshole seemed to have lost some of its bite over the weeks. So instead, she forcefully returns her attention to the cardboard box and slowly starts sorting the books into categories. "Fine. Can you just tell me what you want so I can get back to my life?"

He shifts against the counter and over the mustiness she catches a waft of his cologne when he grabs a book at random from her pile. "Why else do people come to a bookstore? I want a book."

Parker snorts. "Yeah, sure. Whatever. Seriously, what do you want?"

There's a moment of silence. She glances up to find him pointedly ignoring her as he flips through the book at random.

"You're... serious?"

He shrugs. "You said you have a bunch of sci-fi books."

"I'm surprised you even remember that given the whole," she sticks a finger into her mouth and mimes throwing up. He doesn't find it funny or cute and responds with a disgusted glare. Parker rolls her eyes with a shake of the head. "It was a—never mind. Why not order off of Amazon? I thought you said you've never even been to a bookstore before?"

This time, it's his turn to roll his eyes. He drops the book with a thwack before turning his attention to the overstuffed bookshelves at her left. At random, he starts ambling towards one. "You should be flattered that I picked your little store to start. Most people would kill to say that you know. Tom Ryder explores rundown bookstore in the shitty side of LA. If you had a picture, the paps would run it in every paper by tomorrow morning," he huffs.

"Yeah, I'll be sure to document this monumental occasion forever," she snarks, but follows after him anyway. His pattern is half-hearted; poking books here and there, glancing for hardly a second, before moving on. "And my store isn't rundown. It just has some... character."

He snorts over his shoulder. "That's what a Mom says when her daughter is ugly."

"Don't you go through PR training or something?" she scoffs as he diverts to a different aisle. "I can't imagine Gail would like to hear that particular opinion if I sold it to TMZ."

"Gail would sue you for everything you own," he laughed while flipping through an old copy of Gone with the Wind. Parker crosses her arms at him with a glare, and in response Tom flashes a too-white smile at her. "She freaked out about the mink rug, by the way. Was screaming and everything. It was hilarious."

Parker's heart stopped in her chest, but when there was no continuation of the joke—haha I can't wait to see you served with papers!—she furrowed her brows at him. "You didn't tell her it was my fault?"

A shrug as he shoved the book against her chest.

She huffed, turning the book over to check for damages, but when he turned his back... well, a part of her did wonder why he would keep that a secret if it was such a big deal. Was it to be nice? Or so he could hold it over her head indefinitely? Then again, if this was his attempt at blackmail, letting it go for two weeks seemed like the wrong way to go about it.

Deciding not to linger on unsolvable riddles, Parker returned the book to the end cap he had found it on and asked, "so, does this mean you've decided to audition for that sci-fi part after all?"

Her question went unanswered as Tom paused in front of the SEX & SEXUALITY section. He pulled a wrinkled copy of Fifty Shades of Grey off the shelf and waggled his brows at her pointedly. "Keeping the good stuff for yourself, huh?"

Parker responded by snagging the book out of his hand and stuffing it back into place. "You break it, you buy it applies here too, Ryder."

"Half this place is broken," he said with a pointed glance at the flickering overhead light. "I still can't believe you own this shithole."

"I happen to love this bookstore—"

"Oh, trust me, I can believe that you would own a bookstore," he said, and while there was nothing insulting about owning a bookstore on its own, the way that Tom spoke made it clear that owning a bookstore was not something he held in high regard. Then again, he spent all his time reading shitty scripts, so what would he know? "I just can't believe that you would own this bookstore. Like, you actually paid money for this place?"

"If you have to know, I used to be friends with the owner, and got a good deal on the property," she started to explain. He raised his brows at her while slowly perusing the RELIGION section, and Parker shook herself. She didn't need to explain anything to him of all people. The reminder helped her find some confidence, and she fluttered her hands at him irritably. "You know what—I don't need to explain myself to you. You've never even been to a bookstore before. What would you know about making sacrifices for something you believed in?"

Tom paused in his search. She saw his jaw clench, and eyes droop towards the creaky wooden floor beneath his shiny boots, and his comment from the other day drifted back to mind.

"You can be a real asshole sometimes, too, he had said.

And while guilt did block her throat up a bit—fucking asshole couldn't even let her defend herself without feeling bad about it—this time he didn't make any such reprimands. Instead, he just shrugged, before diving deeper into the store.

He cleared his throat. "I just expected it be nicer coming from you."

"Does something about me secretly scream rich girl to you?"

Tom harrumphed. "Trust me, no one is mistaking you for rich. Uptight, however..."

"Oh, ha, hilarious, Tom. God! You're such an asshole," she laughed, but it was a mean sound, paired with a mean insult. It failed to have the desired effect, however. In fact, Tom seemed to have shifted from hating the insult to owning it and looked far too amused for her liking. Frustrated, Parker decided the best plan of extermination was a straightforward shot. Through gritted teeth, she asked, "...what kind of sci-fi book do you want?"

The rhinestones on his shoulders sparkled as he shrugged. "I don't know. I need to understand what gets nerds so fucking excited about this shit. Not too nerdy, though. Alright? I'm not trying to be a Trekkie or whatever."

There were so many things wrong with that statement that Parker wasn't sure what to pick first. So, she pinched the bridge of her nose to point out, "I have a feeling the so-called nerds making up your potential fanbase aren't going to appreciate being talked about like that."

"Who's gonna tell them—you?" he asked with a derisive glance over.

It was definitely true what they said about Tom Ryder; his effect on women was instantaneous. Parker just doubted the tabloids were talking about migraines.

"The sci-fi section is on the right," she sighed while pushing past him. It was one of the larger sections she had; it hadn't been a lie to say the books weren't selling all that well despite being her favorite. "What have you read before?"

The blank look he gave her was response enough.

"Ah, right, maybe... Altered Carbon?"

"Isn't that a tv show?"

"Well, yeah, but it was a book first."

He glanced at the book in her hand, but clearly wasn't impressed. Leaning on the shelf, he said, "why the hell would I read that if I could just watch it?"

"Sound logic," she tutted with a narrow eyed look. Parker returned the book with an eyeroll. "Fahrenheit 451?"

"Read it in high school. Not impressed."

She trailed the shelf while muttering, listing books in her head before subconsciously crossing them off the list of something he was likely to read and enjoy. "I guess that means you wouldn't like The Illustrated Man or The Martian Chronicles," she said to herself.

His arm brushed her aside to pluck out a familiar novel. "Nerds love this," he said while already flipping through the pages. She was surprised the size didn't scare him off immediately.

"Nu-uh. No way," she shook her head.

"What?"

"Dune is not a starter book."

He furrowed his brows crossly. "You don't think I'm smart enough to read this shit or something?"

You shouldn't ask questions you don't want the answers to, her mother's voice echoed in the back of her head.

"Reading Dune as your first sci-fi book is like jumping straight into the deep end," she told him in a much more diplomatic approach. "If a sixteen year old wants to start drinking, you don't give him scotch, you give him a fruity cocktail."

Tom huffed; first through his nose and then through his mouth but stuffed the book back onto the shelf anyway. To which Parker then had to put it back on the correct shelf with a huff of her own.

"Don't be a baby and just trust me that Dune isn't a starter book. Okay?"

"Well—what is? You're supposed to be the expert here."

"If you weren't so picky it would be a lot easier..." she deadpanned but returned to her search anyway. Tom didn't seem to like waiting, and scowled at her as she shifted past him. She ignored him as best she could while squatting down to the lower shelves. "Arthur C. Clarke is one of the best sci-fi writers. He established a lot of rules that still exist in writing today. And films."

Parker pulled one of his novels, before moving towards Asimov, and then finally to Sagan. They were all slimmer novels than Dune, but no less complicated.

"Contact is my favorite," she said, shoving the books into Tom's arms. His denim was rough on her hands, and she tried not to think about how feverishly warm his skin had been the last time she had been this close to him. Swallowing, Parker remained on task. "But any of these should be good starter books for you to get into sci-fi with."

He glanced at the choices warily. "My audition is next week."

"Then I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to finish these if you're really serious about wanting to get that role," she chirped.

Together, they wound back towards the front counter. The TRASH boxes sat in the middle of the aisle, and she carefully toed them to the side before trailing past. While she was pretty sure he had been joking about suing her, a workplace hazard was the last thing she needed.

"How do you remember all of this?"

"Where stuff is? I spend almost all of my time arranging books. I'm uptight, remember?"

She felt more than saw his eyeroll. "These books, the authors. You, like, know everything about them."

Parker paused. It definitely wasn't a compliment, but it definitely felt like it could have been. Then again, this was Tom Ryder. When she glanced up from the counter, she found that he already has his nose back in his phone, and the conundrum of compliment versus not was thrown out the window. Parker shot him an unimpressed look to say, "please tell me that you're not on SparkNotes right now."

It was his turn to pause. "I'm just... reading the descriptions."

"Maybe that's why you can't understand why nerds like these books," she argued, hands planted firmly on her hips now. "Why would I go to watch one of your movies if I already looked the plot up on Wikipedia?"

He ignored her point entirely to smirk. "So, you do see my movies?"

"Goodbye, Tom."

"Relax. I'm not going to spoil them, alright? What's the fun in that when I could read them instead, and then leave you a bad review when the books end up being awful?"

"You mean have your assistants leave me a bad review."

He didn't seem impressed at the jab but didn't defend himself either. Most likely because they both knew she was right. Parker shot him a smug smile that he promptly rolled his eyes at. "Hilarious. Just tell me how much the books cost so I can leave before stepping on a rusty nail or something."

"Didn't you see the sign out front? Can't come in without a tetanus shot due to liability reasons."

There was a noise that sounded suspiciously like a laugh, but when she glanced up at him, Tom was wiping a hand down his face. "How much for the books, smartass?"

Parker was pretty sure she could upsell him. There was no way that he knew those three books, decades old with ripped pages, were only worth fifteen bucks together. And with all the Gucci name brand bullshit that he wore, she was pretty sure she could get away with telling him the price was a hundred dollars and he wouldn't even blink an eye.

But he was also a customer, a somewhat work acquaintance, and someone she really didn't want to hang around any longer than necessary. Not to mention her brother's pseudo boss, and someone that knew she was guilty of wrecking a far more expensive rug than she could ever pay to fix.

"Just consider them a loan," she said before she could second guess herself. When Tom raised his eyebrows so high they disappeared into his hairline, she waved a hand at him while half-heartedly returning to her job of book sorting. "If you're that put-off by it you can always pay me an agent's fee if you get the part."

He stared at her for a long moment, not necessarily computing, definitely hearing static, before Tom spared her an over-the-top eyeroll that surely had to have hurt to perform.

From his pocket he pulled out a couple of crumpled bills and slapped them onto the counter. He didn't even look at how much money it was. Just shook his head at her, glasses bobbing on his nose, before he was on his way out the door.

"Hey! Don't you want your change—?"

The door shut with a ting.

On the counter sat seventy-three dollars. Parker wasn't sure if she should be offended or complimented.

From outside there was the sound of an obnoxiously loud car engine revving, alongside the thrum of music, before it tore off down the street.

"What a fucking asshole," she grumbled with the shake of her head.

But it wasn't exactly an asshole thing to do, when she thought about it. And she would know; every exchange they had since being introduced had Tom acting like an asshole to her.

Or, well, not every exchange. Not when he had been, almost, nice to her at Gail's party, if only for a few moments when no one else was around.

"OH. MY. GOD!" a shrill voice shrieked across the store, bouncing off of bookshelves, as two boots went crashing towards the window. Parker was reminded in no gentle terms that they had not, in fact, been alone when Melissa smudged her face against the glass to peer out onto the street. "Holy shit! That was Tom Ryder! Tom Ryder! Are you kidding me right now? TOM. RYDER."

"Yeah, Jesus, I know who that was," she winced, pinching her ear when she thought the girl's high pitch yelp may have burst an eardrum. There was definitely a ringing as Melissa tromped around.

"You—he—I can't believe after all of this time you never once mentioned that you're friends with Tom freaking Ryder!" she squeaked.

"Well, hang on, we're not—"

"How long have you known him? How do you know him? Do you have his phone number? Ohmygod everyone is going to flip when I tell them that you know him. Tom Ryder!" Melissa shouted, phone already in hand as she started typing. "My friend, my dear friend and favorite bookstore owner, is best friends with Tom Ryder! Did you see his latest movie, Good Cop, Bad Dog? Ugh! He's so hot!"

"We're not friends," she said immediately, not even bothering to dispute the fact that Good Cop, Bad Dog was a puff piece in an attempt to market him for younger fans. "He's actually kind of an asshole."

The teenager shot Parker a scandalized look, mouth popped open into an O as her brows lifted to her hairline. "What? Are you kidding me right now? He just drove all the way out here to ask for your recommendation for a sci-fi book! His house is, like, fifty minutes from here with traffic. Don't call him that when you just became so cool."

Parker frowned. "How do you know where he lives?" she asked, before adding with much more intensity, "hang on a second, am I not cool?"

But Melissa was already moving on, the sound of facetime dialing on her phone as she darted back outside in hopes of catching another glimpse of the celebrity. Parker, in response, caught her head between her hands with a low groan.

And yet, she couldn't help but think about what Melissa said.

Tom Ryder was a total, grade-A asshole... right?

She cast a despondant glance towards the crumpled bills on the counter, then the box of books at her side, before fishing her phone out of her back pocket, and pressing the second number on speed dial.

"Hey," she said, "do you want to get, like, really drunk tonight?"

Colt didn't bother to ask why before he was checking what ingredients he had in his fridge and offering to invite Jody and Dan over for dinner. Sometimes, she really loved her brother.

[the1975attheirverybest]

Queen of hearts

Acknowledgements and Disclaimers: this one goes out to all the moms out there. New moms. Experienced moms. Mom-to be. Yall are heroes man. All the love.

Shout out to the mutual who helped answer my pregnancy questions. Thanks for letting me pester you. You know who you are. Any mischaracterizations of pregnancy, labor, or postpartum are completely my own.

Warnings: brief depictions of labor. Mentions of depression. Also not proof read.

***

9 months had flown by like a dream. The whole thing had felt like a movie. And Matty, having made a career out of making life feel like a movie, was wary of the whole thing. Of course they’d had their ups and downs. Worrying over what constitutes a good parent and whether they were going to fuck this child up before it even had a chance to grow up and make its own mistakes. The occasional shock over how powerful and real hormone fluctuations can be. The Braxton Hicks scare. The late night cravings and the crying (some of which was done by him, if he’s being honest). Arguing over baby names, if the kid should be allowed to play football before a certain age lest they get injured. If, being the child of artists meant that the child would be sign up for music and art lessons, or if they would wait and see what the kid naturally gravitates towards. If gender-neutral clothing was inherently boring and lifeless, or, if it was ‘too woke’ to have a baby girl in a car onesie or a baby boy is a butterfly onesie. It was, after all, a pregnancy, not a walk in the park. But he’d loved and welcomed every bit of it. And so had Jo. He’d swelled with joy watching her nest and acquire baby clothes, paint the nursery, and start a vintage stuffie collection. He’d helped her curate a little library of children’s books for kids of all ages, to make sure their baby would be guaranteed a great start, no matter how advanced they turned out to be (Jo and Matty, were, of course, convinced that their child would be a genius). Looking back, even the labor and delivery process seemed perfect.

Jo had screamed at him the whole day.

“We can’t actually go to the hospital just yet. I called. The front desk woman told me to stay put and put on some yoga music.”

Jo had unleashed a string of obscenities upon him that he has chosen to omit from memory ( he remembers them perfectly. She had asked him if he was a demented fucker or if he would like this baby to come out or a teeny tiny hole in his penis instead). He had laughed, told her that she was funny and that he was falling in love with her all over again. She’d thrown the tv remote at his head, missing narrowly.

His gravest mistake, however, was trying to document everything. He’d brought a film camera into the delivery room, which the nurses had balked at. But Matty has been used to being called eccentric so he didn’t care. He wanted to remember every single moment of this day forever. And, when Jo had failed to convince him by making the same arguments that he often proposed at his own shows, for his own fans to put the camera away and just be in the moment, she’d decided to teach him an lesson by choosing not to warn him about the messiness of childbirth. The next thing she heard him say was “oh. So much blood.” Before he’d dropped the godforsaken camera to the floor, smashing it to bits. And ridding everyone of its evils forever.

“Oh my god, she’s here, Jo! I can see her head!” He’d rushed over to her, with tears in his eyes, squeezing her hand. “C’mon, Jo. You’ve got this! One more push.”

“I can’t, I can’t, I can’t. It’s too much. I just- she’s gonna have to stay in there forever.”

“‘fraid we can’t do that, Josephine” the doctor shook her head. “She’s almost out which means it’s tight on her now, if you don’t push, you’re hurting her.”

Jo instantly burst into tears.

“No, no, no! Baby don’t cry!” Matty cooed, then turned towards the doctor. “Why the fuck would you say something like that to her? Right now, as well! are you TRYING to upset my wife right in the middle of the birth of my child?” He hovered over Jo protectively, wiping her sweaty forehead with one of the rags that the nurses had brought in, and kissing her. “You’re okay, Jo. Our baby is going to be okay. Deep breaths, yeah?”

“You promise?” She whispered, too embarrassed for the nurses and doctor to hear.

Matty swears, this, was the moment that he became a dad. Knowing that his wife and child needed him to be the sane and steady one for the first time completely changed him as a person.

Though he had no business making these promises, he’d never felt more certain of anything in his life. “I promise, my love. I’ve got you. And you’ve got our baby. She really needs you right now. So….lets do this, yeah?”

Jo nodded, watching the nurse approach and take her hand to pull her back into position.

“C’mon,love. One more push?” The matronly lady encouraged.

Jo screamed as she gave it her all, Matty’s hand in hers.

“Great! You’re doing great, Josephine! Give me one more push!” The doctor smiled.

“You said that last time! Every single time you say this is gonna be the last push! You’re fuckin lying.”

With tears in her eyes, Jo screamed and cussed out everyone in the room, pushing with all her might, until finally, the baby was out. She heard cheering and congratulations erupt around the room which was her cue to lay back and finally relax.

“Dad, Would you like to do the honors? cut the umbilical cord?” The nurse had asked.

“Oh? I- erm I …should. But I don’t wanna leave you? But also I don’t wanna leave…her- I….” Years later, Matty would realize that it was, in fact, this moment, that had made him into a dad. The moment that he felt conflict between choosing to stay by Jo’s side and hold her hand through what she had just accomplished , or let go of her hand to go meet his daughter instead.

“Go, Matty, go.” Jo had encouraged him, her voice weak from screaming. She nodded as he hesitantly loosened his hold on her hand.

“Let’s fuckin do this!” His shaky hands took the surgical scissors from the doctor and made the cut. “Oh my fuckin god, hiiii” matty cried as he met his daughter for the first time. He almost reached out to take her into his arms but, then, realized that it should be Jo who gets to hold her first.

“Would you like to-“

“Yes, oh god, yes, please?” Jo sat up straight.

Matty, with fresh tears still running down his cheeks, leapt into action adjusting her pillows to support her back as she leaned forward to receive her child.

“Oh god, Matty, look. She’s so….”

“Perfect.”

Everything, about Sophia, from conception to birth, had been perfect. So, it was a complete shock to Matty (and to Jo) when things changed postpartum.

It all started with Jo sleeping in a bit more than usual. At first, Matty had written it off as her body recovering from labor. After all, she’d literally housed, sheltered, and built a human being from scratch for 9 months. She was entitled to a little bit of extra sleep if that’s what she needed. Besides, he saw this as his opportunity to step in. While Jo was pregnant, Matty felt limited in how much help he could be. He flew back and forth in between tour dates to be at doctors appointments, and to help purchase the crib and pick out the nursery colors. He drove across the country to make it to specialty bakeries and shops to fulfill the strange flavor combinations of pregnancy cravings. But none of it was comparable to literally being pregnant. So, it was only fair that he take on some of the work now that the child was born, and let Jo get her rest.

He wanted to be the best dad he possibly could. So, he dove in head first. And he missed the signs. It wasn’t until he was holding Sophia in his arms, looking at Jo, as she laid in bed, saying “it’s a baby, Matty. All it does is cry and sleep. What does it want from me?” That he realized something was deeply wrong. By then, it was too late.

Matty walked around the messy house, eyes blood shot and sore. Whether it was the crying or the lack of sleep, he wasn’t sure. He went into the kitchen, pulling out a massive trash bag and hauling in all the empty takeout containers that had been sitting there all week, shoving them all into the trash bag. He needed to step up his housekeeping game. At this rate, they’ll be living in squalor by the next few days.

He pulled the only clean mug left out of the cupboard and reached for the coffee machine that had been on since this morning, pouring himself a cup.

“Fuckin hell.” He whispered at nothing in particular. What time was it? What day of week or month even was it? He tapped his phone screen for answers. It was a Wednesday in the middle of the month. Just shy of noon. He knew that the best thing he could possibly do for his family right now would be to admit that he’s in over his head. And ask for help.

***

“Where is she now?” Adam asked, stirring the sugar into Matty’s tea before placing the mug in front of him.

“home. Erm….the cleaning service is working on the house. Her mom is there, too, to watch Sophia while she showers and stuff, so….”

Adam nodded, at a loss for words. He squeezed Matty’s shoulder gently.

“What do I do? How do I fix this?” Matty’s eyes darted between Adam and Carly, who wizzed around the kitchen, preparing dinner, with her son at her feet.

“You can’t fix it, mate.” Adam shrugged. Sheepishly.

“I know; I know. But- what do I do?”

Adam simply rubbed his friends back, searching his brain for any words of solace or wisdom.

“Matty, have you eaten anything today?” Carly asked, with her back to him, standing at the stove and stirring something that Matty couldn’t quite see.

He was offended by the question. He’d come to her with the biggest problem he’s ever had to face and her response was to ask if he was hungry? Speechless and indignant, he shook his head. “I have not. No.” He gritted, anger palpable in his voice.

Carly knew better than to take it personally.

***

Carly and Adam exchanged a look. Adam nodded, rising to his feet and taking his child from between his mother’s legs. “C’mon, little man. It’s time for bed. Let’s get into the bath. Give mummy and uncle Matty a bit of time to chat.”

Carly walked over to Matty at the dining table, setting down two huge containers in front of him. “This one’s soup. This one’s chicken and veg. Take them home. Freeze the leftovers and defrost as needed.”

“Carly, I-“

“Comfort food is good. For both of you.” She smiled brightly. “She won’t have an appetite but keep offering it to her anyway.”

“Right.”

“I’m gonna send you a list. Maybe pop into the shops on your way home and buy some of it. Baby cream, nipple pads, stuff like that.”

Matty nodded, dutifully.

“I’ll speak to Patricia and Charli and everybody. We’ll start a rotation. Check in on her and- maybe even send you off to the store a few times. There are just some girl things that she might not have on. Just some bits and bobs to make her life easier.”

“Hmm. Yeah. I suppose.”

“Matty, darling, you know who you need to speak to here. Who she needs to speak to. And it isn’t me, and it isn’t Adam, or George, or Ross, or even a doctor who will rattle off some statistics at her. Why haven’t you done it yet?”

***

Carly was right. Matty knew the person for the job. The reason that he hadn’t called his mom yet was because he was ashamed. Ashamed to admit, in front of her, that he had failed. He’d failed his wife. Failed his kid. Failed to do what he claimed his mother’s struggle had taught him. Failed to be patient, failed to be empathetic. He expected too much from her and he resented her when she wouldn’t rise to it. And he hated that about himself.

But his mom was always there. All he needed to do was call her and say “mum, I need you.”

Denise rushed over.

“Oh, matty, it’s okay.” She placed her hand over his. “It’s different when it’s your partner, isn’t it?”

“Why, though? It shouldn’t be! It’s not like she’s any more or less of a person, a woman, or a mother than you were when you had me!”

Denise rolled her eyes. They both knew Matty was smarter than this. “Yeah, but that doesn’t matter, does it? You were 17 when I told you about my depression. It had been 17 years. You’d seen me differently. And you knew I loved you because you’d felt it your whole life. You were only finding out about that stuff after the fact. This is not the same. Besides, the way that you feel about your partner is not supposed to be like the way that you feel about your mother, or if it is then I haven’t done my job raising you right.”

Matty frowned and licked his lips, searching his brain for a clever comeback.

“You feel like you’ve been abandoned. Like she’s left all the parenting on you and you’re trying your best but she’s not giving you much to work with.” Denise simply stated.

Matty laughed in disbelief. “That’s absurd. She hasn’t abandoned me.”

“Course, she hasn’t. She’s got an illness, she’s not a bad mother. But that’s what it feels like. And that’s okay. You’re allowed to be scared. You’re a new father too. You’ve got no idea what you’re doing and you want to be able to do turn to her but you can’t.”

“I- “ matty turned tongue-tied. Unsure how to respond. It made him uncomfortable to have his unspoken thoughts said out loud for him. “did dad ever…?”

“I don’t know. You’d have to ask him. I didn’t really speak much to him at the time. Sort of….blamed him for it, actually. A part of me felt like, somehow, he had done this to me or something.”

Matty listened, wondering if Jo felt that way about him.

“In fact, why don’t you go do that right now. Call him round. I’ll get upstairs and check on Jo.”

***

Tim left Matty flipping through old photo albums and went to answer the door, smiling wide and proud when he was met with Louis at his brothers doorstep. “You’re joining the crew?”

“You didn’t think you’d have a party without me and I wouldn’t find out about it, did ya?” Louis winked. “Nah, mum called. Said to come to Matty’s instantly.”

“Get in there!” Denise appeared behind them. “And don’t call it a party that’s insensitive.”

She shut the door, beckoning both men to huddle in the corner with her.

“We’re all here for one thing and one thing only.” Denise spoke with the command of a military officer issuing orders . “To watch the baby for the next two days. We work in shifts. Louis, you’re young and still have your back. You’ll take the overnight shift. Tim you start now. I’ll step in between you two.”

The two men exchanged a smile, nodding.

“And if you want to be here off the clock, you are not a houseguest. You don’t just sit sound and expect to be catered to. Consider yourself a contributing member of the household. Roll up your sleeves and see what needs doing around here. Let’s give them some time and room to figure out what Jo needs.”

***

Matty felt his heart shatter into a million pieces inside his chest when he walked into their bedroom and saw Jo, hugging the duvet, with tears in her eyes.

He rushed over to her, but as he reached for her hand, he recalled all the times that he’d tried to initiate any form of physical intimacy over the last few weeks —a hug, a cuddle, a kiss, sex— only for her to turn him down. He pulled away, hesitant, and not wanting to pressure her into anything. He wasn’t sure if these attempts were his way of trying to comfort her or if it was himself who needed the comforting. He would never think that he could possibly understand what she was going through, but, he couldn’t deny that he needed her, too. So much so that he was certain a simple touch from her would bring him to his knees.

“Jo, Darling,” he whispered, “fuck. You have no idea how much I wish I could kiss you right now.“

Jo blushed as if it were the first time that he had ever looked at her that way.

“Your mom- Denise, she…well, she and I talked. I don’t think I’m okay, Matty.”

He sat on the bed, looking at her. She was a shell of the person that he’d fallen in love with. “It’s alright, baby-“

“How can it be alright? I’m a mother! I- I’m a danger to my own child. When I should be her first and fiercest protector!” Jo yelled, sobbing into her own hands.

The sound of her crying was worse than a knife to Matty’s chest.

“Well, it’s a good thing she’s got me, then, isn’t it?” Matty pulled her into his lap, laying her head against him.

“I love her…” Jo tried to convince herself of her own words “ I want to love her.”

“Course, you do, Jo. You’re just not able to feel much of anything right now. Because of what you’re going through. But, we’ll fix it. I promise. We will.” He planted a kiss to her head “I’m sorry, honey. I’m really sorry I let it get this bad.”

“Matty, it’s not your fault-“

“No, it is. I- I thought that I was being a good dad by prioritizing Sophia over you. I thought it was what I was supposed to do. I thought it was what was best for us all.” She felt Matty’s tears dripping down onto her hair. “But it’s you, Jo. You’re what’s best for all three of us. Sophia and I need you. We’re nothing without you.”

Jo wished she had the will or capacity to comfort him, to want to hold her daughter in her arms. She knew it must be difficult on him, and she hated being a source of his pain.

“I’m sorry, Matty-“

“No!” She felt him stiffen. “Don’t. Don’t apologize. You’ve got nothing to be sorry for, you hear me? You’re not alone. Neither are Sophia and I. Look how many people it took to get us to talk” he giggled at the thought. “Look how many people love you and want to support you.”

He saw the beginnings of a smile on her face. “Carly has practically started a catering business trying to feed us. You should see our kitchen. It’s never been this stocked up even when we’re both at home.”

Jo let out a small chuckle, the first since Sophia was born.

To Matty, that small sound was like finding water in the middle of wandering the desert.

***

Matty walked up and down room at the pace that he had discovered was most comfortable for baby Sophia to nap. He rocked her gently in his arms whispering, “you’re gonna be a sweet quiet girl yeah? Look at mommy. She’s so pretty when she’s asleep next to your crib, don’t you think, Soph? You take after her, that’s for certain. Let’s go get mommy a blanket, yeah? Shall we? Look at you! Taking care of mommy already. Bestest baby in the world, you are.”

[brightdarkness-2013]

Chapter 33: But Wait! There's More!

Summary: Jazz gets a call from his parents.

It was a couple of days later that I got a call from my parents. Of course it was during the work day. I figured that they would do something like that just to cause me problems. And they said I was the childish one. I took said call by the merger as I watched Prowl peek out of his own nest at the new sound. Normally I kept my phone off during the day, but this was one call I couldn’t miss. The sight of Prowl showing some signs of curiosity rather than fear and unease brought a brief smile to my lips. I took a second to brace myself before I answered.

“Hello?”

“Jazz, we have what you desire.”

“Alright. I’ll be over at around five.”

Then the call ended. Brief and cryptic as always. I spent a second glaring at my phone. I really didn’t want to go back to the mansion so soon. I hated my parents, but at least they were careful. The curious sound brought my smile back as I turned to face Prowl.

“I’m fine, Prowl. We’re gonna get this thing sorted out soon. I’m gonna get rid of that guy that keeps pestering ya if it kills me.”

44444444444444444 The Fours Are Making Convincing Speeches!4444444444444444444444444

I was met by Nancy at the door. She looked just as concerned as Liza had the last time I came here. She sighed before stepping aside.

“Your parents are expecting you. Go right up.”

“Thanks, Nancy. And don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

“I really hope that’s the truth.”

Up the stairs I went with Nancy watching me with all the concern of a mother whose child was getting in with the wrong crowd. It was really sad that our two maids were more like parents to us than our real ones. They came to our school plays and graduations while our parents were out doing who knew what. Even more so that said maids felt they needed to protect us from our own parents. I knocked on the polished door and entered before taking a seat in the chair of death. I was reluctant to make the first move.

“What do you have for me?”

“We can give you his complete history including where he’s been and done out of state, how much he’s paid, who he works for, where he works, and if you really want to get into his personal life, hobbies, what he does in his free time, birthday, where he lives, who his family is, love interests, and who he’s related to about six generations back and more.”

“Great. So I assume that this is where you decide what my Payment is for this?”

“You assume correctly.”

And there was the feeling of dread again. “What do you want?”

“You’ll be coming to the party this weekend to help promote our cause. It will be much more effective should the entire family attend.” My mother smiled. “The appearance of a perfect family does wonders.”

This was going to be a disaster. Whatever it was I was going to end up regretting it. There was no doubt about it when she had that look in her eyes.

“What exactly Are you promoting this time? What is the cause?”

“Oh it’s nothing that you need to concern yourself with at this moment. You just need to show up and act appropriate.”

“One mistake and you can say goodbye to the information you need. We don’t trust you not to keep your end of the bargain if we give it to you now. It’s as simple as that. Now I expect you to be here at six pm sharp. We’ll have a suit ready for you and we will all leave together at six thirty. Now go.”

And this was why I always back talked my father.

“Yes of course. Have a wonderful evening.”

My ride back to the apartment was filled with curses and scolding myself. One of these days I was really going to hit my father. He was probably going to sue me or do something else to ruin me and make my life hell, but I was starting to debate if seeing the look on his face when I send him to the floor would be worth it or not. What would mom do? Would Nat laugh? Of course she would laugh. Nat was Nat.

“I have returned from the devil's den!” I announced as I opened the door to our apartment.

“Good for you. Do you have it? What’s it say on the bastard?”

“I don’t have it.”

“What? Why not?”

“My own parents don’t trust me. Can you believe it? I am So hurt right now. They think I won’t keep up my end if they give it to me.” I placed a hand on my heart as I fell over the back of the couch onto the cushions. “I have Never been so hurt in my entire life. I’m gonna cry a river.”

“Uh, I think you’re screwed. Who’s to say they won’t give it to you ever?”

“No one. But I’ll steal it or bribe Nat or something if push comes to shove. Of course I’ll have to do it before they leave again so they don’t take it out of state.”

“What do they want you to do for it?”

“Come to some stuck up party this weekend and promote whatever they’re selling. Their oh so wondrous cause needs to be spread, Blaster. I mean it’s so obvious! How can ya not know?!”

“What is it exactly?”

“I don’t fucking know. So did they ever catch the killer or did he get away again?”

“He got away. Gotta wait another year for the next season.”

“Oh come on. They had him cornered. Are they really that stupid?”

“The answer is yes. The guy wouldn’t bloody shoot. Just kept yelling at him to put his gun down. One of those situations.”

“Uh. This is why I hate the TV series’ now days.”

“Wanna start another one?”

“Fuck yeah.”

Next

First

Masterpost

[readingtoinfinity]

Secret Level: Part 1

Note: not "extra level". I kept searching for that and not the actual title like a mom who doesn't know who Sanic or Dankey Kang are.

I love anthologies. Even if none of the episodes are good there's something interesting to talk about. Love, Death and Robots had some interesting stuff even in the second season. So when I heard the news about Secret Level I was hyped, especially because Tim Miller was working on it as well.

I had forgotten it came out yesterday whoops. Anyway, let me give my thoughts to each episode so far. There will be seven more after this, which I will review at a later time.

Dungeons and Dragons: The Queen's Cradle

It was mostly just fine. The characters were pretty flat, and the action was just okay. It did effectively encapsulate the themes of D&D being friendship and teamwork, which I liked, but beyond that it wasn't much of anything. And the animation style focused a little too hard or not hard enough on realism, resulting in character models that were uncanny at times, especially for Tally.

Sifu: It Takes a Life

This put me back where I wanted to be! The animation is wonderful and stylized, the choreography is tight and brutal, and it adapts the core mechanics of the game to tell its story of the price of revenge. I loved this one quite a bit!

New World: The Once And Future King

Wow I wonder why Amazon has a game series represented here over any others it's truly a mystery. I am annoyed by most of Amazon's creative endeavors, as even when they turn out good they market themselves extensively and pester me with ads. I tried not to judge this episode but it was in the back of my mind.

It, unfortunately, was very funny, and weirdly emotional at the end. I'm a little disappointed we didn't get to see more of the resurrection mechanic, but the core story about someone who's never had to try and learns to work at something was inviting, and even fun.

But Anrold Schwarzenegger is a weird choice for this role. He sounded stiff and not quite comfortable with the role, and it never matched the character. Whether or not this is a result of the animation or the acting, I'm not sure. All I know is, it sounds better when his voice is muffled.

Unreal Tournament: Xan

The introduction is extremely effective in its storytelling, from Xan's rebellion to the worldbuilding of this hyper-corporate death match tournament. I feel like I'm missing context when I watch this one, and I found out through le google that Xan is an established character in Unreal Tournament.

Whatever the case may be, this one was a lot of fun. It felt like watching a matchup in-game but with emotional stakes built in, a kind of sports movie meets dystopian novel. The designs of the mining robots are delightful, interlocking and bending in ways humans can't to surprising use. And the finale is truly wonderful, brutal and heroic and captivating all at once.

Warhammer 40,000: And They Shall Know No Fear

I am a tangential fan of WH40K, more from the lore than any particular story (I've tried reading Eisenhorn and couldn't get into it, I've got Ciaphas Cain on my list) but the animations have proved the most fun. The Astartes Project was an especially-excellent introduction to the universe and the near-silent Space Marines.

One thing this universe is good for in any medium is the visuals. From the candles burning around the computer to the lineup of the four giants to the luminescent blood during the pitch-black cave fight, every frame could be a screensaver.

I didn't know Titus was gonna be in this video, as I only know him from the playthrough by Overly Sarcastic Productions and wasn't thinking of him. There's not a great deal of characterization here for him, at least none verbally; the story relies heavily on little non-verbal moments to let us know trust is assured or respect is growing. I thought it quite impressive that there were words for only the beginning and the end, and this short lost no effectiveness. And especially the final boss, the writing really made the marines come across like they were effective but outclassed at the end.

PAC-MAN: Circle

I don't know what went into making this choice. How did they convince the board members to reinterpret their cash cow franchise in this manner? If I had a nickel for every time Pac-Man was re-imagined as a horror franchise, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird it happened twice, the other being the TerminalMontage's excellent Something About Pac-Man (Loud Sound and Light Sensitivity Warning)👨‍🚀👻. But where that one made the ghosts scarier, this one takes the opposite tack.

I liked the animation style quite a bit. Not photo-realistic in the slightest, but a nice texturing on the shadows using multiple dark lines instead of a simple darkening of whatever is being shaded. But it's also capable of being quick and visceral when it needs to be, a very effective choice for a short about devouring. There's also a twist at the end that's pretty-well telegraphed but no less effective.

I don't know how they made this decision, but however it happened I'm glad it did. This was an unnerving short horror story that shows you can use the source material mostly as inspiration, make something completely different and still have a great final product.

Crossfire: Good Conflict

I suspect this will be nobody's favorite. Barring something terrible happening with Concord.

It's a bog-standard military action film, mercenaries vs agents, fighting over a briefcase. There's a theme about who the bad guys are (both sides say "We're not the bad guys" within a few minutes) which is potentially interesting. We see anger and vengeance from both sides after losing a comrade, and a loss scarcely feels better than a victory.

It does falter a bit in this gray-and-grey morality, however; whatever is in the briefcase is viewed as important enough to start a few wars by the agents, and the mercenaries are only in this for the money. It feels weird to try to portray them as moral equals; if it were up to me I would've made whatever they were fighting over more ambiguous, making you unsure if the the "good guys" won or lost.

There was probably something else you could've done with it better than that, but as it is it's basically fine. I probably won't remember it tomorrow.

Armored Core: Asset Management

It's... good. Mostly bolstered by an excellent ending, this short deals with a Core pilot (played by Keanu Reeves himself) as he struggles to connect with his peers and then gets a job to get his high. For the most part, what you'd expect from this kind of short: an easy plot and characterization just to get to the action. The pilot even seems to announce his importance to the audience, saying "There's nobody like me" with a certain level of resignation, signalling him as the God's Specialist Lone Wolf™ to the audience.

But the final ending is a twist on the formula I didn't expect, and it made me see the pilot in a different light by the end. I willn't spoil the twist that comes nor the recoil from the twist, but it makes for a chilling final impression on what otherwise would've been pretty weak.

And that's that! I will wait for part 2 to really blow my mind before I make my final judgement on the series as a whole, but I'm really enjoying myself so far, through the mediocre and the good.

[maaskuline]

today has been crazy lol so i decided to write out a list of Johnny's dynamics with other JB characters 👀 mostly just rambling abt concepts i have for my own story ideas for Johnny and such ..

Tumblr would only let me upload so many photos so maybe i'll do more posts like this with other characters in the future too hehe 😌

BUNNY BRAVO — If you're familiar enough with Johnny's character by now, then you're probably already familiar with his "Mama's Boy" nature. He loves his mama! In my story, Bunny sadly has a pretty bittersweet character arc—in which she learns she has a terminal illness, initially tries to keep it a secret from Johnny, and has to grapple with the fact that she has limited time with him. And throw in a whirlwind romance with Dr. Raul Montoya into the mix, bringing in a 'step-father' figure into Johnny's life, you can imagine Johnny is going to have a very rough time adjusting to all of that.

CARL CHRYNISZZSWICS — Best friends to lovers trope my BELOVED. If there ever was a "canon" or "endgame" ship for Johnny on this blog, it'd be Carl. By the end of the story I've got for them, they even get MARRIIIEEED! And if you're wondering, Carl's the one who proposes lol. They actually do break up while they're dating at one point, go a few years very distanced from each other, become friends again later, and THEN eventually decide to give it another shot, and then later get married! Doomed toxic yaoi, except they do actually work it out and come out of it as a healthier couple. Also lots of gayass nerd/jock ship tropes with them <3

RAUL MONTOYA — As mentioned before, Raul enters Johnny's life as a sort of "father figure" character due to his relationship with Bunny! And despite Johnny's resistance to having a new step-father, Raul absolutely adores both Johnny & Bunny, and comes to consider both of them family by every sense of the word—even after Bunny sadly passes, Raul regards Johnny as his son, whether he wants to be or not. He also happens to have two adult children of his own, named Sonny & Leo, and a granddaughter named Toni. Particularly after Bunny passes, Johnny gradually becomes more integrated into the Montoya family, particularly during one chapter in particular where he has nowhere to stay and ends up living with Raul for a time!

SUZY BAKER — Johnny's little neighbor, Suzy! She's always coming over to pester him, much to Johnny's annoyance. In my story, Johnny dates her mom, Sandy, which basically sets Johnny up to be a sort of "father figure" coded character to her! Even as Johnny & Sandy's relationship doesn't last, Suzy still looks up to him greatly, following him around and looking to his guidance on things. Also in my story, she has a fascination with mystery novels, and often plays games of "detective" in which she goes out all over the city to solve various crimes. Which is actually sort of a problem because she's, like, 6 - 8 years old, and definitely shouldn't be roaming an entire city on her own, but somehow she keeps managing to find ways to do it anyway without getting caught!

SANDY BAKER — In my story, Sandy is little Suzy's mother, and Johnny's off-and-on girlfriend! They've even known each other since high school, so they've got a lot of history between them that allows Johnny to connect with her a bit more beyond just flirting and romance. In a way, Sandy is essentially like a personification of many of the women Johnny is seen to flirt with in the show, even having the signature red hair! Their relationship is far from healthy, however, leading the both of them to gradually drift apart and become bitter exes... which is awkward for them, since they also happen to be neighbors! After Johnny later figures out that he's gay, Sandy begrudgingly gives him lots of tips on what to do when dating men. She's got lots of experience with men herself, many of which were not so great, and so she tends to worry about Johnny's safety when it comes to his new dating life—for instance, inviting herself along with him to the gay bar because, "Don't you know? You're NEVER supposed to go to a bar all alone, you should always have a friend with you!"

[spongebobcockroach]

my mom's impression of DDBA episode 1 & 2

so my mom really likes iron man and marvel stuff, watching marvel stuff is our bonding moment

so i got her into daredevil as well a couple years ago

so here are her impressions of the episodes (that i remember, bc we do drink together while watching stuff)

"no, that's just bullshit now. that's a joke. how is it possible that he's [dex] still alive?" "...fisk was shot in the eye by echo and he's still walking around, mom. what do you mean 'how's it possible'? it's a hero series. there's no logic!" (a real exchange where i tried and failed not to laugh)

"I'm feeling a weight on my chest now, a bad sensation :(" 20 minutes after foggy's death she was still sad

and she bought it up again after the two episodes. mom was saddened, she's not over it.

also she definitely still thinks fisk hired dex, she's fighting me on this

"he should have broken his spine!" "...he did, though. last season." "no, but he should've broken it now." "i mean, it's been fixed with metal an' all" "but what about his heart? his lungs?" unfortunately, for her displeasure, i don't have all the answers

"is he [dex] coming back? you watched this already, haven't you?" she is the anti-spoiler-woman. bc she knows i do a first watch in english, she pesters me FOR SPOILERS. and i have to keep them in.

"how is it possible, uh? that people elected a thing like this?" "...i mean, trump's in office now, idk." "he [matt] really did say it. 'new york will have the mayor it deserves', huh?" and then disgruntling nodded to herself. me: '-'

hearing hector ayala's name and repeating it in a mutter to herself a couple of times. i think she either liked how it sounded or was very pleased by the presence of a latino name.👍

"they're not getting along anymore?[fisk & vanessa on the roof] throw her off." i was ?????? ma'am?

"so this is muse. he's going to be a minor villain now. he kills people and paints with their blood." "christ! (very yucked) but does he kill bad people or...? (not yucked anymore, just interested)" "...just people, people." "but why?" "...what do you mean 'why'? he's a villain." "he's [fisk] going to hire him."

for her, fisk's hiring everyone eventually

also she's been spoiled by the punisher, not everyone's good like that, mom

the comissioner fighting fisk in the graveyard. my mom: "he's going to die."

bb asks about vanessa. my mom: "she's going to die."

heather signing something "did she sell matt out?" "...mom, it's an NDA, probably. (my ass is not even trying not to laugh anymore)" "what for?" "he's the mayor??"

the apartment confrontation "did he kill them? (appalled)" "i'm gonna be honest, idk (i get the glare from when she wants spoilers) i really don't, there's only these two episodes out!" "he's going to kill again, now that he already killed once." (meanwhile dex very much alive)

credits of episode 2. a long silence. "no, i didn't like it. i feel bad. they killed foggy." she's still thinking about it. the only information she fully processed from 2 episodes.

1&2, 3&4, to be continued