#national kick butts day

[murderousink23]

10/14/2024 is World Standards Day 🌎, Teachers' Day 🇵🇱, Be Bald and Be Free Day 👨‍🦲🇺🇸, National Dessert Day 🍨🇺🇸, National Kick Butts Day 🇺🇸, National Native American Day 🇺🇸, National Online Bank Day 🇺🇸, Indigenous Peoples' Day 🇺🇸, UK Coffee Week ☕️ 🇬🇧

[leahswife]

where do we stand

summary: you're tired of aitana's mixed signals and someone on the spanish team loves to get you all flustered. aitana is definitely not jealous.

spoiler alert: that someone is none other than jenni hermoso.

a/n: more like fulfilling two fantasies in one

prequel, part one, part two, part three

this national break had come in handy for you and lucy. england was set to play a few matches in spain, so you were able to sneak in a break between trainings to go see your club teammates and you managed to check in the same hotel as them for the time being. 

you were both getting antsy as the game was approaching its end and spain was in the lead by one goal. 

when the referee blows the final whistle, you exhale in relief and lucy stands up, cheering, quickly pulling you up to celebrate with her. 

it takes some time for the stadium to start clearing up, with both teams doing their laps around the pitch to thank the fans, but once it was empty enough you and lucy walked down to the field to congratulate your teammates.

you ran up to ona, the girl grabbing your waist so she could lift you up and down with excitement, "ayyy oni!!" you laughed at being manhandled, when you noticed aitana.

her smile was radiant as she was cheering with salma and mariona. you didn't know if you should approach her or not, your situation a bit complicated as of now. explaining it was no easy task either. 

you were shy around everyone when you first transferred to barça, although over time they managed to crack your walls and gain your trust. especially aitana, the girl getting closer and closer to you each day. you eventually became best friends, until one night aitana drunkenly confesses she wants to kiss you. so then, your friendship changes into a… situationship? the next day you talk about it, aitana doesn't know what she wants but doesn't want to lose you either. you go back to normal as if nothing happened. but something does happen. during movie night at mapi and ingrid's for team bonding, you and aitana are in the corner of the couch whispering to each other, in the dark, when the catalan tentatively kisses the corner of your mouth. when you drop her off at home later that same night, you kiss her. she brings you inside, which turns one kiss into multiple. what could be defined as innocent kisses in each other's houses eventually become not so innocent make out sessions behind closed closet doors at training. but you're not dating. aitana whispers into your secret kisses that she can't date, she doesn't have time, she needs to focus. so you wait, and wait, and wait. until she's pulling away again and national break comes and she barely messages you, apart from the friendly "good luck" message.

so now here you were, in close distance to her again. you were friends, right? so friends congratulate friends. that's what she wants, so that's what you'll give her.

you turn your attention back to ona and squeeze her shoulders, "best defender in the making! just you wait until you have to face our lessi russo." you tease her by patting her cheek. ona rolls her eyes with a smile, "voy a estar preparada, tonta. what did you think of the game?" she now asks both you and lucy, as the latter approached, having been talking to alexia. "ehh, más o menos." lucy answers, banter present in her voice. ona mocks her and you chuckle, leaving them to it as you walk over to aitana.

"nice goal, bonmatí." you lightly kicked her butt with your foot to get her attention. she turns to you and immediately launches herself into your arms with an infectious smile. it must have been the adrenaline of the win, you think, a bit surprised. nonetheless, you hold her in your arms. "i saw you in the stands." she affirms once she let go of the hug to look at you tenderly. "hm, i might have been your lucky charm then." you shrugged nonchalantly and whipped your hair over your shoulder. "sí, obvio." aitana went along with your joke, nodding with a fake serious expression. 

suddenly a body slammed into you both, one tattooed arm being wrapped around your shoulder and the other around aitana's. "entonces, chicas, vamos a celebrar la noche entera?" you look up to see jenni hermoso flashing you a dazzling grin.

you had met jenni a few times before, with her visiting alexia every now and then, but you were never brave enough to start a conversation with the tall woman. truth was, she was extremely intimidating to you, probably because she was also extremely hot. however, you had to admit that, as an opponent, she was in addition, extremely annoying. you'd had some interactions in the field whenever england had to play against spain and jenni knew exactly how you worked. it's like she would previously study your every move so she knew how to push your buttons. if you were trying to get the ball, she wouldn't leave your side, if you were getting ready to receive a corner kick with your teammates, she would stand behind you and place her hands on your waist, if she tackled you she would offer her hand with a smug smirk.

you were terrifically infuriated with how easily she could mess with your head on the field and outside the field after a game, often leaving a dm on your instagram saying she couldn't wait to play with you again, followed by a winky face emoji.

right now, her strong arm around you and the way she was grinning at you only managed to redden your cheeks as aitana took the lead in answering her question with a laugh, "pues claro!" jenni ruffled her hair in approval and turned to you, "can i count with you as well?" she asked with challenge in her eyes. "aren't you a bit old to be partying all night?" you challenged back, forcing yourself to keep a straight face and not smile with amusement. that only prompted her grin to grow even wider and her hand to relocate from your shoulder to the side of your neck, playing with your hair. your breath hitched and suddenly you weren't playful anymore, far too aware of jenni's touch and her gaze. "so you do have a mouth." jenni remarked, the stupid smirk never leaving her face. 

aitana caught notice of this flirty interaction between you two and felt something boil in her chest, an ugly feeling she couldn't quite tell what it was but didn't like at all.

–

the club was already full when you got in with lucy and ona later that night, music blaring and people filling the dance floor. you noticed aitana dancing with some of the girls, a little too close for your liking. but she didn't want you like you wanted her, that's what you needed to remind yourself of. therefore, you might as well find a way to have fun tonight without her. you three reached the tables where most of the girls were gathered to greet everyone. 

you swiftly made your way to the bar, ready to start your fun. you were waiting for the bartender when you felt a breath on your ear, "you know, standing behind you outside of a football field can be even more exhilarating than i thought." you recognized jenni's voice right away and a smile slowly formed on your face. this, whatever it was, could be part of your fun, right?

you turned around and ignored your instinct to take a step back out of surprise, given how close jenni was to you. your eyes naturally scanned her body before your brain could even scold you for it and force you to put on a nonchalant mask. they finally looked up at her face, blush already visible on yours. the always present and annoying smirk she had on when talking to you turned to the bartender to order you two a drink.

"you know, i always wondered when you were going to finally talk to me, princesa."

"why would it matter to you?"

she cocked her head to the side, eyeing you curiously.

"i like corrupting pretty innocent girls who look like they could rip my head off in the field but then avoid me like the plague." she bit her lip, trying to hold off an amused smile when you roll your eyes.

"why have you never done so before, then?"

"alexia doesn't let me get too close to her players – and it seems she's not the only one." she points her head towards aitana, who's been watching you two interact from the dance floor with a frown on her face. 

you turn back to the bar to grab your drink and begin gulping it down, trying to keep your mind off of the catalan that up to that point had you wrapped around her little finger. "maybe you just have a bad reputation." you bite on the piece of lemon it was given to you and lick the bitter taste off of your lips. you noticed that had caught jenni's attention and asked, now with a small smirk, "should i be wary of that?"

her eyes never left your face as her strong hand carefully moved up your neck to your jaw, pulling you closer. you could feel her breath on your lips when she goes "i want to do bad things to you but i think it's something you should test yourself." 

your heart starts beating faster, blood rushing to your cheeks and your thighs pressing together involuntarily. just one move and your lips would be touching hers.

all of a sudden, your body is jerked away abruptly from the bar and jenni by a hand grabbing your arm and leading you in the direction of the club's exit. you look up to see aitana and let yourself be dragged outside where you pull back your arm, making her face you. "what exactly do you think you're doing, aitana?!" the rush and amount of emotions you had felt in the span of a minute made you question her with annoyance in your voice.

"that's what i should ask you. que haces con jenni?" aitana looked at you incredulously, an angry scowl visible on her face. you had only seen her angry on the pitch, and even then those moments were rare. but now she was pissed at you? for what? that only aggravated you further.

"what do you mean 'what am i doing with jenni'? you and i are nothing. you made it clear yourself multiple times. you can't have me whenever you want me and expect me to wait when you don't feel like it anymore. so do not tell me who i should or should not hang out with."

"but it's not just hanging out, is it?" she puffs air out of her nose, the frown never leaving her face.

"do you actually care or are you just jealous someone other than you is getting my attention?" you bite back.

"i'm not jealous. i'm just curious." she mumbled, crossing her arms and looking away, doing everything now to avoid your furious gaze.

"oh, so you're just curious. that's why you dragged me away from her like that." you say, sarcasm on the tip of your tongue.

she finally looks at you with an exasperated sigh, "and i'm worried. of course i care about you! and i know jenni isn't looking for anything other than–" she cuts herself off for a moment, knowing what she would say next would make her sound like a hypocrite.

"well, then that makes two of you, doesn't it?" the anger in your voice subsides but your tone is still bitter. aitana furrows her eyebrows together, a sad frown taking shape in her face at your words.

"the difference, aitana, is that if you tell me, right here, right now, that you want something with me, that you're not going to rush into my arms one minute and act like nothing happened the next, i'll stay. i won't go back in there to jenni or anyone."

"i–" aitana stutters, you can see her eyes begging you not to go back but her voice can't say the same. "i--i'm sorry. tú sabes que no puedo hacerlo." she whispers, almost as if she's ashamed to say it. 

you nod, fighting back your tears. silence looms between you both before you finally answer back, "that settles it then." you clear your throat before your voice can betray you any further for showing so much vulnerability in that moment. you turn around and start walking away, picking up your phone to call an uber when you see a message.

"28A 3rd floor. i expect to see you there ;) - jenni"

you seriously couldn't understand how this woman was capable of exuding cockiness even through text.

–

you managed to stay in your hotel room for about 30 minutes before temptation and frustration got a hold of you and you marched your way to jenni's.

you take a deep breath and knock on the door.

immediately you can't resist the urge to roll your eyes when jenni opens the door with a smug smirk on her face, crossing her arms and leaning against the door frame.

"took you long enough."

"shut up." you pushed at her chest and made your way inside.

[owlobservation]

Itoshi Sae Profile from Egoist Bible Vol.2 (2024)

"Only the idiots who can keep up will get to see what comes next."

Team: Japan U-20 National Team

Position: Offensive Midfielder (OMF)

Weapons: World class kicking accuracy, world class technique, world class tactical vision, and world class physical ability.

Birthdate: October 10th.

Age: 18 (Third year high school)

Zodiac sign: Libra.

Birthplace: Kanagawa Prefecture (Kamakura City)

Family structure: Father, mother, himself, younger brother.

Height: 180 cm.

Foot size: 26.5 cm.

Blood type: A.

Previous team before he returned to Japan: Re Ale Youth FC.

Dominant foot: Left.

Favorite Soccer Player: Álvaro Recoba. "The left-footed player who creates a rainbow on the pitch."*

Age started playing soccer: 1 years old. "Before I knew it, I was already playing soccer."

Nickname: Treasure of Japan.

Strengths: Being able to see things objectively. "I'm often told that I'm a dry person but who cares."

Weaknesses: I don't know anything except about soccer. "Don't live like this, you guys."

Favorite food: Salted kombucha. "Because I can return back to zero."**

Disliked food: French fries. "It's so delicious that I could die, but it's also so unhealthy that I could die."

Best rice accompaniment: Salted kelp. "They don't have it in Spain so I got it sent from my parents' home."

Hobby: Analyzing data of soccer players and teams. "It's nice to see things visualized as numbers."

Favorite season: The end of summer. "I feel like the whole world has become lonely."

Favorite show: Chibi Maruko-chan. "It reminds me of my parents' home."

Favorite music: Suisei by Tofubeats feat. Seira Kariya. "I listen it to cool down."

Favorite movie: Taxi Driver. "This De Niro guy is the coolest."

Favorite manga: Gegege no Kitaro.

Character color: Azuki Red.

Favorite animal: Seagull. "I like migratory birds that don't stay in one place."

Favorite brands: All the brands that sponsor me. "They have good eyes for betting on me."

Best subjects: No idea because I didn't really pay attention in class and only focused on soccer. "I've never seen my report card."

Fetish: Butt. "You can tell an athlete's ability by the shape of their butt."

What makes you happy: A play beyond my imagination.

What makes you sad: Being forced to carry the weight of Japanese soccer on my shoulders. "Yes, I'm talking about you guys."

The first time someone confessed to you: I don't even remember which one was the first time, dumbass.

Last year's valentine day chocolates: Around 2.000. "My manager told me."

Sleep time: 8 hours. (7 hours+1 hour nap)

Where do you wash first in the bath?: Bangs' hairline.

Mushroom or Bamboo shoots?: Depending on the mood.

What made you cry recently?: Why would I tell you, idiot.

At what age did you stop receiving presents from Santa?: 10 years old.***

What did you ask for a Christmas present from Santa?: My undiscovered talent.

What would you do on your last day on earth?: Give the world's best striker the world's best pass.

What would you do if you received 100 million yen?: I'm not interested. It's just a small change.

What do you do on your days off?: Gazing at the sea.

What would you be doing if you hadn’t discovered soccer?: Living a normal, happy life. Maybe my personality wouldn't have turned out like this.

Who is your favorite historical figure?: Copernicus. He was the man who overturned the world’s common knowledge.

If you could only bring one thing to a deserted island, what would it be?: No need. I’d live the way I wanted without any rules.

Where would you go if you had a time machine, to the past or the future?: Not interested in either. I have no pointless expectations or regrets for my future or my past. Just live in the moment. You guys are so tepid. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

World-class Offensive Midfielder With Boundless Parameters

Aiming to become the best midfielder in the world, Sae is a super player with the complete package of mind, technique, and physique. Isagi’s best play which he pulled off with “reflex” was stopped with just a light tackle. He killed The Direct Shot flawlessly, showing the big difference between the two.****

He’s Only Interested In Blue Lock! The One He Chose Was Shidou?

Sae was only interested in Blue Lock and paid no attention to his younger brother Rin or the U-20 Japan National Team. The world he sees and the place he aims for are clearly different from those of the U-20 National Team. Sae chose Shidou from Blue Lock as his teammate. With a series of super plays, they managed to corner Blue Lock.

The reason for Sae's sudden change... What on earth happened in Spain!?

Sae went to Spain and promised his younger brother Rin that he’d become “The Best Striker In The World”. However, when he returned home four years later, his attitude had changed completely . He declared that he would become “The Best Midfielder In The World” instead and pushed Rin away, calling him "tepid".*****

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sae's Ranking on "Best 3 of Everything: Players seriously voted each!"

1. Ranked #1 The Best at Crossing (Centering)

Hiori’s commentary: "Well, all of Itoshi Sae’s kicks are perfectly designed. I admire him."

2. Ranked #2 The Most Likely To Succeed As Coach

3. Ranked #1 Who Doesn't Cry Easily

Aryu’s commentary: "If Itoshi Sae were to cry, it would be when he became the world’s best. That would be the moment of ultimate styl."******

4. Ranked #1 The Least Family-oriented person

Isagi’s commentary: "If you look at those two, you would assume so. But if they really hate each other… It means that they also think about each other."

5. Ranked #2 The Most Likely To Thrive In The Sengoku Period

6. Ranked #2 The Most Leader-like (or has the qualities of a leader)

7. Ranked #3 Longest Eyelashes

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Notes:

*Álvaro Recoba (El Chino) is a midfielder from Uruguay known for his "rainbow-like" curved kicks.

**Return back to zero=being refreshed.

***In early 2021 twitter Q&A, he said he stopped getting Christmas presents when Rin stopped believing in Santa. His answer is revised in Egoist Bible to just "10 years old."

****The original sentence is “...a super player who possesses everything– mind, technique and physique (心技体)”. 心技体 or Shingitai refers to the three qualities an athlete must have: 心 is heart/mind, 技 is technique/skill, 体 is body/physique/strength. It is said that an athlete needs 3 of them to succeed. If they only have the right mind and skills but not the body to support them… well you’ll know what will happen!�� So from our understanding Shingitai is an ‘inseparable set’. We translated it as a “complete package” to let you know that those 3 qualities are inseparable!

*****Here the word used is 突き放す (tsukihanasu). Tsukihanasu is 'to push away', to push someone (or something) away and make them leave. It can also refer to an attitude of  treating someone without love, sympathy, or emotions. Please check my notes on Rin’s profile page, because there is a connection!

******What Aryu originally said isファ イナ���ーオシャ final osha. "The moment where Itoshi Sae finally cried would be the moment of ultimate/final styl.” is most likely what he meant! We personally think ‘ultimate styl’ had more feel than ‘final styl’ (?), that’s why we went with ultimate osha!

Check Sae's profile from the first volume of Egoist Bible here!

[sunnysidevans]

One Summer In San Diego

Summary: After being left at the altar by who you thought was the love of your life, your father talks you into coming back home with him to San Diego. All it takes is one summer to change the face of your future.

Pairing: Jake "Hangman" Seresin x Kazansky!Reader

warnings: 18+, swearing & some violence but mostly fluff nation.

authors note: I obviously can never write something short and sweet so please enjoy this novel of a fic.

The chapel was quiet. The once full pews just a few hours ago are now empty. You sniffle, surrounded by white, the bouquet of flowers sat in your hands. You really couldn't believe this had happened, you had your suspisions but never thought you'd be left at the altar on your wedding day. The doors open as you look up, mascara running down your cheeks.

There stood your father, a sad smile on his face as he took off his cap, making his way down the aisle. “I know baby” you sob, looking up at him as the tears flow freely. “What am I gonna do dad?” you whisper as he shakes his head, crouching down in front of you. He reaches forward, cupping your cheek and wiping the smudged mascara.

“Why don’t you come home with me?” he whispers with a sad smile.

Something about California was different. The sun was hotter and the people were in abundance. You sigh, standing on the sidewalk looking up at the house. How embarrassing was it having to fly back home as an adult and move in with your parents?

Rolling your suitcase up the walkway, the front door flies open. “You get your butt in here!” your mom yells from the top of the steps. “Honey!” she yells back to your dad as you pull the suitcase up the steps with a shy smile. Your father makes his way down the steps, smiling wide. “My little girl” he whispers, wrapping you in his arms as you sigh, falling into his chest.

He wraps you in his arms, watching as your mom shuts the door behind you. “Hi Admiral” you mumble into his chest, snuggling deeper into his cardigan. “Hi baby” he kissed the top of your head as you tried so hard to hold back your tears. “You are gonna find someone so much better than him” he mumbles against your hairline as you sigh.

“Thanks dad” you pull away with a smile as he nods, cupping your cheeks. “You are gonna thrive here I promise” he holds his pinky to you, wrapping your own around his, “thanks dad”. 

The childhood bedroom hadn’t changed from when you first moved to San Diego at 17. You stand in the doorway, looking at the posters that littered the walls. Pulling the suitcase in and kicking the door closed after you, falling into the bed with a heavy sigh.

“(Y/N)!” you groan into the pillow as your mom’s voice travels up the stairs. “We are having company over, come say hi!” you lift a hand and give a thumbs up even though you knew she couldn’t see you.

The opening of the front door and the muffled voices flow up the steps. Climbing out of bed,the smell of your fathers famous ribs seem to meet you at the end of the steps, you can't help but smile.

You take a deep breath and make your way to the kitchen. Maverick looks up from his drink with a grin, “(y/n)?”. You smile at your uncle with a sad smile, “hi uncle mav” he stands from his bar stool and walks around the counter, wrapping you in a hug.

“Good to see you kid” he mumbles, giving your shoulder a squeeze.

“Who’s this?” A female voice asks, making her way in with your mother. “Oh, Penny, this is (y/n)” Maverick moves to the side, smiling at Penny who smiles at you. “My oldest daughter” your dad speaks up from the patio doors. “Hi Penny, nice to meet you” the two of you shake hands as she smiles. 

Sitting on the back patio of your parents home, the thoughts are running wildly in your head. “Hey” you look over, Maverick stands beside you. “Hi uncle mav” you whisper, pulling your knees back to your chest. “What’s goin on?” he asks, sitting on the edge of your chair, arm around your shoulders. “Talk to Uncle Mav” you laugh, leaning into his side as you sigh.

“I’m surprised dad didn’t tell you” looking up at him, his face couldn’t hide his lie, “nope”. The two of you chuckle as you shrug, “Luke cheated on me, so much for a wedding as he left me there” you whisper, the engagement ring still sitting on your left hand.

“Sweetheart, if you want the truth” he says, sitting the beer bottle on his knee as he looks down at you. “Luke did not deserve your kindness and didn’t deserve the title of your husband” you chuckle softly, “your father and I both felt that way from the moment we met him” you nod. “I know, it just hurts a bit”. He nods, motioning to your hand, “I say you pawn that or even yet, I’ll take you to the beach and throw it in the ocean” you laugh, nodding.

“You think?” he nods, kissing the top of your head. “I think it’s a good idea, let me know” he smiles, standing and making his way to the doors.

“Don’t think I missed the band on your left hand either Mav” he grins, “Penny has put up with me a long time kid, you’ll find your person”.

Friday nights in Fightertown were big. Everyone made their way to the bars surrounding the base, including yourself. Penny invited you to the hard deck to get a feel for it as she then offered you the bartending job on the weekends until you found your feet.

The jukebox was soft as it flowed through the bar, it was still early in the evening. Pushing through the door, you hold the purse strap closer to your shoulder and make your way through the grabby hands and prying eyes. “You made it!” Penny yells with a smile, you nod, walking to the bar with a shy smile. “I did!” she grins, motioning you back as she takes your purse and places it under the bar.

“Penny!” you turn at the sound of the voice, a smile breaking out on your face as Bradley Bradshaw stands with a confused look on his face.

“Bradley Bradshaw?” you whisper, hand on your hip as his brows furrow. He tilts his head as the smile of realization makes its way to his face, “(y/n) Kazansky?”. You move around the bar, hugging him tightly. He laughs, hugging your body to his chest. “Last I knew you lived in Nashville?” he questions as you shake your head, “uh” you shove your hands into the back pocket of the jean shorts with a shrug. “I did'' you trail off as he raises his brow, "My fiance left me at the alter so dad packed me up and brought me home" he gasps with a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry to hear that Kaz '' you smile with a shrug, “As mav has told me, my person is out there” he nods, giving you a squeeze as his eyes fall to the pool tables. “My team is here, join us if you’d like! If I can steal her?” he questions, looking at the woman who was practically his step-mom.

“Go ahead” she grins, setting two beers in front of the two of you. You take the beers by their neck, following behind Rooster. “Rooster!” Phoenix is the first to acknowledge his presence, a smile on her lips. You follow behind with a shy smile, “hey guys!” He greets them, taking his beer.

“This is (y/n), an old friend” he introduces you to the squad. With a wave, you shake the hands of everyone.

“Oh, Married?” Phoenix questions, the bar was now brought to life, it had been hours of conversations with people you now can call friends. She notices the band on your left hand. “Oh uh” you look down at the engagement ring, “I was supposed to be..” you chuckle, looking up at her as you sip from the beer bottle, “I was actually supposed to be on my honeymoon right now, not back home with my parents”.

Her eyes widen, you stop her as her lips part, “do not be sorry, I should’ve expected it with the ring” you slip it off your finger slowly. She nods, “I am sorry, you seem great!” she encourages as you smirk, noticing the end of her drink. “Want another?” you ask as she nods eagerly “If you are buying” she smirks as you laugh, standing from the chair with a shake of your head.

“Obviously!” moving through the crowded bar, you make your way to the edge with a smile to penny. She smiles, giving you a one minute with her finger as you shrug. “What’s a beautiful thing like you doin up here by herself?” you cringe at the voice, looking over at the man who leans beside you. He was tall, dark hair with warm eyes.

“I’m not alone don’t worry” you mumble, smiling again at Penny.

She watches closely, “can I at least buy you a drink?” you sigh, taking a deep breath. “C’mon” he moves closer brushing his fingertips along your bare shoulders.

“Hey sweetheart” you jump at the warm arm making its way around your waist and the southern accent attached. Looking up at the man to the opposite side of you, he smiles down at you with his green eyes. “Hey babe” you grin, leaning into his body slightly, looking at the man beside you.

“This guy bothering you?” he asks, you chuckle as the man now shrinks in on himself, looking the two of you up and down. “No” he mumbles, walking away from the both of you. You turn to face the blonde, looking at him ready to tear into him.

He smiles, holding his hands up in surrender. “I come in peace, Trace sent me” you look over his shoulder, Phoenix  waves. “Are you in the squad?” he nods, holding his hand out with a smirk, “hangman, at your service madam or you can call me Jake” he brings your connected hands to his lips, kissing your knuckles. “Thank you for saving me.. Hangman” you smile at the grin that breaks out on his lips. “Of course, I love saving a damsel in distress"

The Hard Deck was always peaceful in the hours leading up to opening. You pick up the case of beer to set onto the shelves. “So” You look over at Penny's voice with a raised brow, smiling. “I noticed you got rescued last night” you chuckle, turning to face her. “I did by Jake?” you question as she smirks. “Hangman” she nods, following you out the swinging doors to the bar.

“I saw the smile on your face” she comments as you giggle, looking at her. “I was grateful that he helped me out” she nods, eyes falling out the window. “I know Hangman, he is a true southern gentleman” you nod, chuckling as the bar door opens. “Pen!” Rooster’s voice can be heard from the bar deck as his face is peaking around the door.

“Hey Kaz” you smile, looking over at him, waving. “Yes, Rooster?” Penny asks, pushing off the bar to walk towards him, “can we have some beers out here? We would come in but we’re covered in sand” he smiles sheepishly as she has her hands on her hips.

She chuckles, ‘yes darlin” the grin breaks out on his face as he turns and shuts the door. “Would you like to take some beers out to them?” she asks as you smile, nodding.

You pull out seven beers and pop the tops off all of them, carrying them by the necks as you pass a smirking penny. Pushing the door open, you stop short at the group of Aviators sitting on the back deck of the hard deck, panting and covered in sweat. You think you’d be used to it growing up around the Navy but they take you all by surprise. 

“Kaz” Rooster’s voice pulls you from the daze you were in, smiling wide at the group. “Sorry” you chuckle, walking to them and setting the beers down at the table. “Hey gorgeous” Phoenix pipes up from her seat, reaching out to give you a squeeze. “Hi” you chuckle, giving her a side hug.

“What did I miss?” you turn at the voice, the words on the tip of your tongue are gone.

Jake stands at the edge of the table, shorts low on his hips and aviators perched on his nose. “Hey” he nods to you with a grin, you smile back at him slightly.

You hadn’t felt the flutter in the pit of your stomach in years, a feeling you didn’t expect.

“If you guys uh- uh need anything let me know, i’m inside” you quickly move from Phoenix’s side and make your way inside. Penny is standing at the bar with a smirk on her face, she can see the flush of your cheeks from where she stands. “Penny!” you scold moving over to her at the bar, she holds her hands up in defense. “I know a crush when I see one” she whispers, as you look up at her through your lashes.

“He’s very handsome that’s all” you grin, turning around to walk back towards the coolers. “Whatever you say young lady!” she yells back, smirking as she looks out the window, Jake’s eyes following your movements behind his aviators.

“Tread lightly” Rooster says beside him, Jake turns to him with a raised brow. “Why’s that?” he asks as Rooster grins, “let's just say… hurt her, your military career is over” Jake nods slowly, looking back into the bar as you stand beside Penny.

The back door opens again and you turn to face a smiling Jake. Taking the glasses off his face his eyes land on your own. “Hi” you smile, looking at him as he makes his way in front of you. “Hi again” he grins, leaning on the bar with his aviators in hand. “Can I get you another beer?” he moves closer then and that's when you get the fresh smell of beer and you couldn’t pick up what his cologne smells like but it was almost intoxicating.

“Actually,” he grins “I was thinking maybe a date” you raise a brow, setting the rag down on the counter with a grin matching his own. “A date huh?” he nods, “if you want to, that is” he adds with a raised brow. “I think” you pull the quarter out of your back pocket with a grin. “That's a deal but on one condition” he eyes the quarter and nods slowly watching the smile grow on your lips again.

“Heads or tails?” you ask and he chuckles, watching the look of seriousness on your face. “I mean it, heads or tails” he thinks slowly and nods, “tails”.

You flip the quarter off your pointer finger and grin as it lands on the back of your hand. “Heads' ' you show him as he nods slowly, “means I get to pick our date” you smirk grabbing a napkin from beside you and scribbling on it delicately to not rip it.

“Here” you hand it to him as he smiles at the small heart attached to the 10 digits. “Text me yeah?” you grab the rag and make your way into the back office with penny. Stopping in the doorway of her office, she grins and looks up from her paper. “What?” she asks as you are standing there wide eyed, “am I crazy or did I just agree to a date?” she laughs, setting her pen down.

“With Hangman?” you nod as she grins. “Oh I can’t wait to tell Pete” she sits back in the chair with a grin. 

The closing shift was never bad at the hard deck, usually quiet with the soft stroll of the jukebox. You locked the door behind you, not alarmed to see the truck still parked, assuming someone took a cab home after having one too many.

Until the engine roars to life and you can hear the gravel under someone's boots. “Woah woah” The southern drawl is almost comforting as you face Jake at the bottom of the steps. “You scared the shit out of me” you whisper-yell as he grins. “I’m sorry beautiful, I just thought maybe you’d need a ride home” you smile, adjusting the bag on your shoulder as you look him up and down.

He stood in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt that practically was stretched to its limits over his arms, “I uh, I do actually” you whisper, looking at him through your lashes. “But, I was actually thinking” you mess with the jacket in your arms as you walk down the steps to meet him at the end. “Wanna take a walk with me on the beach?” you raise a brow as he grins, holding his arm out to you, “lead the way”.

Linking your arm around his, you smile and slide the sandals off your feet and walk through the trail leading to the beach beside the Hard Deck.

The silence was comforting with Jake, he held you close as your arm stayed linked with his own, his other arm now carrying the sweatshirt you had brought with you. “What brought you to San Diego?” he looks down at you and immediately notices the shift in your shoulders. “It’s a long story” you admit, looking over to see his green eyes. “I have time” he grins as you stop in the sand, looking up at him, “then we may want to sit down”.

He sits beside you, leaning back on his hands as you sit tucked into his side, “I was supposed to get married two weeks ago”. Jake’s shoulder tense as he looks from the ocean over to you. “Luke, my ex-fiance, '' he nods in understanding, watching the way the moon lit up your features. “He cheated on me with a woman in his squad, left me at the altar. My dad found me and offered me to come home, so I packed up my life and moved back home with him” Jake grunts with a shake of his head.

“I can’t believe he did that, can I ask, is he Navy?” he asks as you shake your head with a laugh. “Weirdly enough, he’s Air Force” Jake scoffs with a smirk, “I should’ve known, those are the ones you gotta watch out for '' you giggle, head falling to his shoulder.

“I should’ve listened to my dad and Mav, they told me and I just thought” you trail off, looking out at the water, “thought maybe they were wrong but they weren't and that hurt more” he nods, resting his head on top of your own. “I understand. I can’t say I’m not happy this happened, then you would’ve never met me” he smirks with a confident smile as you laugh, nodding. “That is totally true” you smile, thinking back on it.

Just in the week you’ve been in Fightertown, you have met old friends and made new ones so maybe Luke’s mistake was your gain.

“This was a perfect first date” you say, looking over at Jake in the driver's seat. He smirks, “does this mean I get to pick the next?” he asks as you nod slowly. “I think so” you lean over, kissing his cheek and climbing out of the Chevy.

“Thank you for the ride” you say, leaning against the door frame as he grins, “anything for a pretty lady, that's what us Navy men do” he smirks as you giggle and look away from him, under the early hours the blush creeps up your cheeks. “Let me know when you have the time and we’ll” you shrug with a smile, “go on another” he grins as you wave and shut the door behind you.

Jogging up the steps of your parent’s home, turning back as the Chevy sat on the curb. You shut the door behind you and push the curtain aside and watch as Jake’s truck pulls away.

“You are home late” you jump at your fathers voice, turning to face him as his face remains stone. “Dad, I’m an adult” you add, moving to the end of the steps as his face breaks out into a grin, “I know, just like to give you a hard time” he holds an arm out towards you as you make your way up the steps. “Who brought you home?” he asks as you link your arm with his outstretched one, “uh” you hesitate as he smirks. “You can tell me” he adds, looking down at you with a raised brow. “Jake?” you question as he nods, face almost stone.

“Hangman..” you add, looking up at him through your lashes. “Jake Seresin?” he adds as you bite your lip and close your eyes. “I don’t like that you know his whole name, makes me think he is bad news” he shakes his head stopping outside your bedroom door, cupping your cheeks.

“He is an exceptional pilot. I think that’s nice” you nod, reaching up to hug him tightly. “Makes me feel better my dad might like this one” you whisper as he laughs, giving you a squeeze. “Go to bed” he laughs, nudging you to the bedroom. Laying back on your childhood bed,the phone buzzed beside you. You felt like you were in highschool again, smiling at the bright screen.

unknown : I had a nice time tonight, but don’t you worry I am sweeping you off your feet for the next one ;) 

You giggle, saving his number quickly to your contacts. Maybe coming home to San Diego wouldn’t be so bad.

+

Jake knew your second date had to be perfect. He had planned everything down to the minute. He took a deep breath and made his way up the steps of your home, knocking on the front door. Stood in a pair of jeans and a black button up, the bouquet of wildflowers in his hand as the door swings open, his mouth goes dry.

“Lieutenant'' He looked like a deer in the headlights as your father grinned from the front door.

Admiral Kazansky was your father.

Rooster's words finally made sense, “Admiral Kazansky '' he breathed. Iceman was a well respected man in the Naval Academy, Jake even looked up to him when he first enlisted. “Call me Tom '' he grins, motioning him in the house.

Jake nods slowly, walking into the foyer as he looks around the home. He couldn’t believe he missed all the clues of who you were or more of who your father was. “Honey!” Iceman yells up the steps as he turns to Jake. “Now” he crosses his arms over his chest and Jake can feel the fatherly chat coming. “I’m just looking out for my little girl okay?” Jake nods eagerly looking at your father. “I completely understand, sir" Jake is smiling at him, which takes your father by surprise.

“I know what she’s gone through and why she's here in San Diego. I also know how hard it was for her to agree to this date” Iceman nods as Jake continues. “I just want to show her how a real man is supposed to treat a lady, sir” he coughs slightly looking up at him.

You smile at the top of the steps, Jake proved himself so far almost perfectly, prove to dad. Taking a deep breath, you make your way down the steps, signaling both men to end their conversation. Jake makes his way to meet you at the end of the steps, holding a hand out to you. Taking his awaiting hand, you smile at him “hi” he grins, as he holds the flowers out to you.

“These are for you” smiling, you take the bouquet looking over at your parents as your mom now stands beside your father. “I’ll take those, I have a vase, '' she smiles,taking it from your outstretched hand.

You turn to Jake with a furrowed brow as he looks you over, “Jake?” he blinks, smiling. “Sorry, you look.. So beautiful” he whispers as you blush. “Let’s go” you smile, opening the door and leading him outside.

The sun was setting over the ocean, leaving soft pink hues in the sky. Sitting beside Jake on the small blanket as the breeze was slowly picking up. The restaurant he picked for dinner faced the ocean as the sand seemed so inviting.

Jake proved to you that it didn’t take much to make you happy, a simple meal and listening. “What’s goin on up there?” he asks as you look up at him with a raised brow. “You seem awfully quiet” he notes as you smile nodding. “I didn’t expect this. Not in a bad way but dates with Luke were… I paid for dinner and I made the plans” you lean into his shoulder, head falling into that space between his shoulder and jaw.

He scoffs, moving his arm to wrap around you. “I can’t get over this man. The more you tell me the more i hate him” you giggle with a shrug. You wanted to tell him he didn’t compare to him, in the few weeks you’d known Jake he didn’t ever compare to Luke. “Thank you” you look up at him, sitting up. “You’re welcome gorgeous" you blush, looking back out to the ocean as you stand. “I don’t want to talk about him anymore Jake” he nods with an understanding smile.

“What do you wanna do?” he asks as you back up towards the shore line. “Skinny dip” you admit with a grin, pulling the shoulders of your dress down as you soon let it pool into the sand.

Your back is to him, you don’t see him make his way up behind you, a smirk on his lips as he grabs you by the waist running to the water. You squeal, holding onto his arms tightly. Gripping his shoulders, you push his now wet hair out of his face. “Jake?” you whisper, legs wrapping around his waist as his arms link under your thighs. “What’s on your mind?” he asks as you smile, “you are the handsomest man I think I’ve seen in a long time” you admit as his smirk grows. “You are the most gorgeous woman I have seen in forever” he grins, nudging your nose gently. 

The sun was now set, cupping his cheek you can’t help the smile that matches his own. “You’re proving to me how a man should treat a lady” you whisper, his eyes widening “you heard that?” he looks away from your face, a slight blush on his cheeks. “Are you blushing?” you gasp as he shakes his head, “no I am not!” he laughs. “Oh my god Jake Seresin is blushing!” you squeal as he pulls you closer to his body, leaning in slowly. “Fine” he whispers against your lips, eyes looking from your lips to your face. “I was, you bring out the best in a man I suppose” you giggle, leaning down to connect your lips. 

The sun was peeking through the curtains as you groaned. The bed was comfier and the comforter seemed softer than the one in your childhood bedroom.

The weight of the arm across your waist brought you to the night you spent with him. Jake groans, rolling over onto his back. “For a man who wakes at a moment's notice for the Navy, you can’t for me?” you grin at the smile on his lips, kissing his jaw gently. “For you, anything” his voice was deep and full of southern drawl. You knew at that moment you wanted to hear it forever.

“Sleep okay?” you ask, head resting on his shoulder as he grins, “I did, how did you sleep?” he turns his head, lips resting on your hairline, hand seeking your own. “For the first time in a few months, almost perfectly” he grins against your skin.

The room fell silent in a comforting way as you snuggled closer to his body. “I can’t believe you got me in bed on our second date” you mumble with a smirk as he laughs. “I’m just that smooth gorgeous” he can’t help but to laugh as you giggle.

After your morning with Jake, you knew you were making the right choice. Standing at the shoreline behind the hard deck, you twirl the engagement ring around your finger slowly.

“Hey sweetheart” you jump, looking behind you as Maverick makes his way down the sand, “don't be mad” he says as you smile at him. “Why would I be mad?” he smiles “penny sent me down here with you” he admits as you shake your head. “I actually am glad she did, I-I need your help” he moves beside you. “Uncle Mav, I went out with Jake” you look over at him as he smiles, nodding slowly.

“How’d it go?” he asks, standing beside you as you turn back out to the water, “perfect”. He smiles, nodding slowly “so why do you need my help?” he asks. “Am I making a bad decision?” he bites his lip, “do you want the truth?” he asks as you nod eagerly.

“Complete truth” he nods, “Hangman is similar to your father. He’s cocky and a bit arrogant and I can say this about him, your father because he’s my best friend” he points out as you giggle, nodding. “But he’s also kind and gentle and takes care of the one he loves, when your father met your mother I saw a shift in him and I have seen a shift in Hangman”  you smile, moving closer to the other pilot as you take a deep breath.

“Okay” you smile, walking closer to the sand and taking a deep breath. “You got it!” maverick yells as the metal slips from your fingers and makes a small plop in the ocean.

“Luke is your past, I see Hangman as your future” Maverick smiles at the smile on your face.

+

It had been months since you landed  in San Diego.

Jake made it his mission to continue winning you and your father over. Jake always made his presence known at the Hard Deck so you knew he was always watching. “Gorgeous" You smile at the sound of his voice, looking over your shoulder as he stands in his service khakis. “Handsome” you grin, grabbing him two beers, one for him and one for Rooster.

He grins as you set them in front of him, “on me” you grin as he leans over the bar, kissing your forehead gently, “thanks beautiful”.

Turning back to the bar you lost track of the time, a usual occurance with a Friday night in the bar.

In seconds the atmosphere can change in a bar and within a millisecond, it did. The door opened and your eyes locked on his, Luke stood at the door with a few members of his squad.

Jake’s shoulders tense as he looks up from the pool table, he notices the tension in the bar as his eyes then fall to you. “(Y/N)?” Penny questions as you look at her with wide eyes. “Its really bold to be an Air Force pilot and walk into a Navy bar” you mumble as her eyes widen. “You okay?” she asks as you nod slowly, taking a deep breath. “He’s always been kind of an idiot, '' you mumble, turning to the customer in front of you.

“What’s goin on?” Rooster asks, standing beside Jake as he huffs slightly. ``I'm guessing, and this could be a long shot. I’m pretty sure that’s Luke'' Jake puts a hand on his hip as his green eyes follow the pilots. “That’s kinda stupid  to come into a Navy bar…” Rooster notes as Jake nods slowly. “Yeah, well it’s really stupid to cheat on your beautiful fiance but yet he did ''.

You don’t notice the brunette at your side, the woman who held a grin on her lips as the squad surrounded her. “Excuse me” she asks and your head snaps to her, her face falls at your face. “(Y/N)..” she breathes as you smile, watching the face of every other pilot around her. “Hi Katie” you smile, “what can I get you?”. Penny tries to hide her laugh as you put on the most bull-shit smile ever.

“Oh uh- Titos and soda please” you nod, turning to grab a glass. The whispers weren’t subtle as the rest of the squad realized who you were by the time Luke made it beside his now girlfriend. “Your tito’s, opening a tab?” you avoid his brown eyes as she nods slowly, handing a card over. “Perfect” you set it beside the register with her name, walking to penny.

“I need some air” you whisper, tossing the towel aside and making your way past Jake and the Dagger Squad, ignoring the voice of both men. “(Y/N)” you could throw up at the sound of his voice. It was almost as deafening as nails on a chalkboard. “What do you want?” you turn to face him, your face almost as stone. “What are you even doing here? Don’t you know this is a Navy bar?!” you seeth, as he holds his hands up in defense.

“I heard great things.. I thought i’d check it out” he looks over your shoulder as Jake makes his way out the door, beer in his hand as he stands behind you. Luke chuckles, “need a guard dog?” you follow his gaze, looking at Jake with a small smile as he watches your face almost shift.

“I don’t need a guard dog no, but it’s good to have someone who cares about my well being, someone to protect me” you mumble, head snapping back to Luke.

“You don’t need protecting from me (Y/n)” he says as you almost seeth at his words. “Oh? I don’t? I don’t need protection from the man who left me at the altar for another woman?” you question as his gaze falls. “I know you slept with Katie almost every single mission you flew, every deployment” you spit.

He raises his eyes as he smirks, “but yet it didn’t take you long to crawl into someone else’s bed” he eyes Jake who stands taller behind you. Moving closer to him, you let out a deep breath. “It didn’t. He fucks me better than you ever could, Katie can have you all to herself” you smirk at the raise of his eyebrows. “I suggest you leave” you chuckle as Luke shrugs, “why? What are you and the sea boy back there gonna do?” before you could think your hand connected with his jaw.

The doors fly open then, Rooster is moving in front of you as the rest of Luke’s squad makes their way outside. “I suggest you leave, now” your voice is almost deadly, dripping with venom. He looks at you, holding his cheek as you grin. “I always knew you were twisted. '' Laughing, you move from behind Rooster. “Don’t you know you never fuck with an admirals daughter! Cold as ice, Bitch” you spit as Katie is pulling him back.

“Go running back to your bitch” you walk back to Jake, who can’t help but grin behind his beer bottle, waving to the rest of the squad as they are helping Luke down the steps. 

“That was stupid” Jake looks up at you in sympathy as he applies the bag of ice onto your knuckles. “It gave me so much closure though” you smile, looking up at him as he stands between your thighs. “It was hot” he admits with a grin as you giggle. “I hope I didn’t upset you” he furrows his brows as he pulls the ice off your knuckles to look over the busted skin.

“Upset me?” you shrug, looking down now at your knuckles. “Saying I didn’t need you to protect me..” he shakes his head, “you’ve had to protect yourself for a while, I understand'' he admits as you nod, “You have your very own Doberman who will always protect you. If or when you need him” he winks as you laugh.

“I hope you know, I will always protect you. I vowed that the moment I met you” he admits, kissing your hairline gently as your eyes fall closed. “I will always protect you my love” you whisper back, looking up at him with a grin. “My love huh?” he smirks as you laugh,slapping his chest gently. “I like that one” he admits, leaning down closer to your lips with a smirk.

“Get over here” you smirk, pulling him into you by the collar, kissing him as if he’d slip away. “Let’s get you home my big bad lioness” he smirks, picking you up and over his shoulder.

+

Three years later.

The church was perfect. You stood outside on the sidewalk as you heard the motorcycle pull up. Looking over your shoulder, mav is dismounting the bike and pulling the helmet off his head. “There’s my girl” he grins as the tears well up in your eyes. “Uncle Mav” your lip quivers as he’s wrapping you in his arms. “Dad’s on his way, needs a moment to compose himself” Mav says with a laugh as you smile. “I know, he’s a big ol softy” he grins as the escalade pulls up to the curb and your father steps out.

“Are you waiting out here for me?” you smile, holding a hand out to him with a nod. “I need my dad to walk me down the aisle don’t i?” you ask as he grins, taking your hand. Walking inside, the two of you stand by the two double doors.

“It’s different this time,” you whisper, looking up at him. “It is, you are marrying a good man” he smiles, kissing your head as the doors open and music begins. “And i can’t be more proud of you” he smiles, facing the end of the aisle where Jake stands.

Jake’s lip is quivering, looking down to avoid more tears but his eyes fall back to you just as quickly. “Dude” Coyote whispers to him as he looks over at his best man, “You can cry '' Coyote adds as Jake nods, a sob falling from his lips. By the time he looks back down the aisle you are almost in front of him.

He looks over at your mom, who sits proudly waiting for the two of you. “Hangman” Iceman grins as he is handing you over to the pilot, who smiles at him in a nod of thanks. The ceremony was beautiful, the soft hues of orange sat along the venu.

Everyone made their way to the reception as you sat down on the end of the aisle. This time, Jake stands at the end at the double doors with a smile on his face. “What is my beautiful bride doing in here?” he asks, hands in his pockets as you smile, looking up at him.

“Thinking” you admit, standing to meet him halfway down the aisle. He smiles, making his way down to you and wrapping you in his arms. “Thinkin about what?” he asks as you smile, running your hands along his arms. “How I saw myself here three years ago except, it wasn’t this beautiful, wasn’t this perfect” you smile up at him as he grins. “Three years ago you were expected to marry a boy,” he says as you giggle.

“Yet, I married a man who showed me the right way to love a woman” he grins, leaning down to kiss your forehead as your eyes fall closed. “I am just a man who wanted to give the beautiful woman the world” you smile as his forehead falls against your own.

The day your father picked you up from the altar floor played in your mind. His kind words and his encouragement to come back home with him to San Diego would've never had you end here, in the arms of someone who made you his world.

You couldn’t be more thankful for that summer in San Diego.

--

Hi there! ! If you enjoyed this fic, you can find all my other work in The Library.

[namazunomegami]

emperor!sukuna x imperial concubine!reader

a/n: part 2 of my self-indulging mess. I had a lot of fun writing him and his drabble got finished way before I developed the whole plotline for Geto lol. I'll try to complete Gojo today or tomorrow and Toji is in the works yaaay!!

Also, I'm so surprised my Geto drabble got so many notes in such a short time!! I wouldn't expected people to be remotely interested in my writing but now I'm getting confident.

And finally, I can guarantee that this reader is gender neutral.

Likes and reblogs are appreciated <33

wc: 674, I know, I know, Geto got the princess treatment from me but sometimes less is more <333

cw: historical AU, scheming, mentions of pregnancy, mentions of sudden infant death syndrome, betrayal, accusations of abortion, execution, nudity, mentions of poisoning, suggestive

credits: i used a colored manga panel instead of a fanart but I have no idea who did the coloring so feel free to help me credit their work. And again, my precious @notveryrussian did the proofread, luv ya mwah <33

MDNI PLEASE! I'm gonna find you and kick you in the butt if you do. If you’re not comfortable with dark content or anything mentioned in the warnings just scroll, there's nothing wrong with that.

His mandate of heaven is very different from Gojo and Geto. Sukuna is a ruthless tyrant, he enjoys crushing any nation he deems either threatening or undeserving to even exist next to his borders. His palace is a snake pit, full of betrayal and backstabbing. Executions are frequent and he needs no valid reason to sentence someone to death, he enjoys the bloodshed and the sight of lifeless bodies. You can’t survive that place acting kind and humble. Sukuna specifically torments his concubines physically and mentally for the sheer enjoyment of it.

His court is probably the most competitive. You need to be as ruthless as he is, you need to become a schemer. One of his high-ranking consorts takes you under her wing. She lets you spend leisure time with her, and somehow, she ends up telling you way more sensitive information than she should. She once managed to give him a child, but the infant sadly died days after they were born. She complained about how hard that pregnancy was and that she’s afraid of going through it again, even though she’s attached to him. And not long after this conversation, she fell ill. Retching out everything she ate, her stomach burned and ached. She was so weak her cycle was two weeks late. She trusted you enough to have you fetch her a specific herbal tea to ease her pain and grant her some dreamless sleep.

And that’s the moment you decide you’ll use everything you know about her to cast her down and take her place.

You accuse her that she’s pregnant but wants to abort her baby. Your story is so intricately constructed from all the details you knew that his officials are on your side without hesitation. She watches you horrified, desperately telling him that nothing could be so far from the truth. Sukuna decides to believe in your words and orders for the consort to be executed. Finding pure joy in how she wails and begs for forgiveness. At the execution, he studies your face, every little detail and reaction and you were aware of that. It’s time to impress him. Your face is still, you don’t even flinch when her head is severed by the neck. The eunuchs come for you at night.

He loves and loathes this tradition at the same time. The servants want to protect him, so they deliver you stark naked to ensure you won’t carry any weapons. Fools, as if a weak and trembling creature like you could ever hurt him with a mere dagger or a sharpened hairpin. Yet it makes you look like an offering. A sacrificial lamb. Maybe because you are.

Some primal instinct tells you to balance your inner strength and innate fear of him. Pull back your shoulders, straighten your back, don’t even think to conceal your private parts. Let your fingers quiver and the sheer dread in your eyes seep through. He mocks you. Almost laughs at you while sitting comfortably on the intricately carved shelf bed, wearing a loose bright yellow robe, leaving almost nothing to the imagination. There’s no reason for him to not do this though, he’s a god, the son of heaven, therefore, everything about him is perfect.

The first thing he asks you is if you’re satisfied with your pathetic attempt to improve your position. You don’t dare to tell him that you feel the guilt rotting your insides. He confesses that he was poisoning her meals, he wanted to watch her wither away slowly and enjoy her suffering, but you ruined his plans. He might spare you, you’re a stupid little thing, you couldn’t have known. He warns you that you need to do so much more if you want to be on his good side. You need to be absolutely despicable to earn his praise. Though you feel content having reached your goal and getting to spend a night with him, somewhere deep down you hope you can leave his chamber in one piece or, at least, alive.

[riddledeep]

Dale's Full Character Profile

🍋 Chronically stressed owner of Dimmadome Global, Dimmazon, Dimm-'N-Out Burgers, and the Dome Zone Indoor Amusement Park (Coming soon)

🍋 Son of real estate tycoon Doug Dimmadome (Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome)

🍋 Husband of energetic slice-of-life travel vlogger Hadley Harrington... and father of Dev, I guess

🍋 Billionaire non-philanthropist

🍋 Late Daddy's not-pride and not-joy (It's fine; he's fine)

Notable Riddleverse ‘fic spoilers. Your mileage may vary.

Two AUs

Dale's profile aligns with both Cloudlands AU and City Lights AU. While the AUs are not canon-compliant with each other, in 2018 I set my OC Hadley up to marry Dale... a character I never expected to see in official media again :'D

As of September 2024, Dale's fate in Cloudlands AU has been tweaked to better mimic his A New Wish Season 1 lore. The original plan was for the couple to be betrothed - and married - young without romantic feelings for one another, but they'd grow closer as they raised their son (Dave) and took him around the world on adventures. And, well... Close enough! I'll take it.

As far as Cloudlands and City Lights canons are concerned, Hadley is Dale's wife and Dev's mom, and Dave's been replaced with Dev. My initial personality for adult Dale (Self-conscious and avoidant) still lurks under the surface, but he comes across as the same ol' confident jerk we know and love. The info below reads correct for both AUs!

OVERVIEW

Full Name: Daedalus Dallas Peddler "Dale" Dimmadome

Preferred Form of Address: Dale Dimmadome, Owner of Dimmadome Global Alternate Forms of Address: Doug's Son / Twerp / Mr. Dimmadome / Maverick / Dad His dad called him Daedalus or Peddler in his youth, but that phased out as he got older. Nowadays, only his wife calls him Daedalus (only when she REALLY needs to get through to him) Aspiration: Maintain his wealthy lifestyle and create his own legacy... in a hopeless attempt to "win his late dad's love."

Born: Spring of the Echoing Peaks

Zodiac: Soil Birthday: May 5th, 1986 Hometown: Dimmsdale -> Dimmadelphia, California; USA Age During Frozen Timestream: 16 - Turned this in both 2002 and every year for the 50 years retroactively condensed into 2003. Turned 17 in 2004. Age When Married: 24 Age at Dev's Birth: 26 (Nearly 27) Age During A New Wish Season 1: 36 (37 in May)

Species: Human

Ethnicity: Mostly English through the Dimm line with some Scottish, German, and Italian mixed in. Pretty familiar with his family history- He could kick your butt at Dimmadome trivia any day. Nationality: American (Texas proud!) (This is untrue)

Mindset: Extremely hardworking and devoted to a fault... to the things he chooses to put his time and care in. Not accurately described as "nervous and jumpy" so much as "paranoid and defensive."

Complex PTSD: Many layers of severe trauma related to his 7-year streak of abuse at Vicky's hands (on top of his parents not being... great). As an adult, Dale can push through a lot of things, but there's a lot of flickering between what he was able to handle as a kid (when he was used to being around such things) and stuff that's more triggering now that he's an adult who's kept his distance.

Notable triggers include lemon scent, loud voices, small spaces, the dark, hunger, rodents, toothaches, stomach pains, going too long without proper hygiene, and being barefoot (among other things). Some days he can handle his triggers fine, other days he can't... Just depends how haunted and jumpy he is.

Ex: Some days he mixes drinks and eats limes, some days limes are not distinct enough and touching the rinds upsets him. Sometimes he can touch dirt, other times he'll avoid it. If he made the decision to gulp down lemonade, he could do so - He grew up with it and is familiar with the smell and texture - but on a day he's not in the mood, it's very upsetting for him. Some days he's fine seeing citrus designs on clothing, other times he leaves the room to be annoyed in private. Notably, few people know about Dale's trauma as his dad was very insistent on keeping it quiet. Dale doesn't trust that information to others lightly.

Struggles with survivor's guilt and other complicated feelings about his trauma (often blaming himself for not being a good friend to Vicky and therefore pushing her to become rough with him). Struggles to connect with people and tends to keep his walls up. Lots of trust issues.

He sleeps with a nightlight and/or phone light on. Avoids things that remind him of cellars and trapdoors... Escape rooms and submarines would really affect him, but he does okay in helicopters. Mostly. I don't know why I'm saying this; he sends them crashing to the ground instead of landing properly.

If you ever tell Dale you sent your kid to bed without food, he will remember that and chalk you up as an unsafe person. What if you take his food? He will not come to your house, follow you, or be alone with you. You're scary.

Hypervigilance: Tendency to spiral, follow extreme trains of thought, and believe things that aren't true (Ex: "Hazel is going to ruin me, she wants to see me fail, she's part of a larger scheme, who does she work for, she wants to tear Dimmazon to the ground, she wants me to lose everything, she wants me on the streets, she and whoever she's working for are scheming to rob and hurt me).

Although not always obvious to Dev, Dale gets very anxious around mealtimes- Dev has hypoglycemia and Dale's the one who insisted to the school that the au pairs are medical devices to help monitor that. When Dev started school, Dale was absolutely the nervous parent who called multiple time to ask if he ate. He's grown more lax over the years due to his faith in the au pairs, but if he had his way, Dev would never be more than 10 feet from an au pair, ever. Too many bad things could happen. Terrifying.

Dissociation: During his stressed-out spirals, Dale sometimes loses his sense of being grounded to reality. Everything feels ambiguous and like it's trickling through his fingers. Sometimes he might still feel like he can function, but feels like his body's on auto-pilot and he's floating outside it. He might jolt "back to reality," check a clock, and realize an hour passed and he has no memory of it.

- Very common experience when studying falling stock charts, lying awake at night, thinking too much about his dad, riding in a vehicle, typing up data, fixing robots, cleaning things, in long meetings, showering, or during flirty bedroom moments. - Dale and Chloe are two sides of the same coin: Children struggling under grand expectations who go into anxiety attacks and dissociative episodes when criticized. - Adult Dale uses this as a shield for justifying his neglectful parenting ("You don't understand what I've been through / I can't be better than this because I have X and Y"). But if he ever said that to Chloe, her mouth would drop open for 5 seconds before she socked him in the jaw. Say good-bye to that last tooth, bud.

The boots, au pairs, beeping wristwatches, phone alarms, and physical touch from his wife or son help... a little.

OCD: Prefers routine- Hates going to bed without knowing what the plan is for the next day (or week, or month, or quarter... The list goes on). Doesn't love when things don't go as planned (and definitely doesn't like someone inviting him to go somewhere if he hasn't been warned in advance).

You will not get him to close his eyes and follow you for "a surprise." Repeatedly checks to ensure he left the doors unlocked so he doesn't get stuck inside (See also, open entrance to his tent in "Lost and Founder's Day").

Constantly checking his schedule out of paranoia he'll forget a meeting (Ex: Struggles to get through dinner without being plagued by thoughts that he was supposed to be doing something else). Tries to eat at a consistent time- Gets frustrated when Dev has other plans.

Lots of unwanted thoughts and impulses, especially in regards to pleasing his parents or Vicky. Sometimes lies awake wondering if his wife or business partners are manipulating him and he just can't see it yet (He's not great with criticism- See also, switching off the au pair that asked why he was hurting people).

Does not do well with his wife's hoarding OCD- Lots of boxes remind him of crates full of lemons and cramped conditions. Puts up with it because he has to, but he and Hadley have separate bathrooms, and he and the au pairs do their utmost to maintain Dale's bedroom spacious, clean, and uncrowded by her stuff. Hadley has her own bedroom, but it's so full of stuff that she seeks out his bed anyway.

Tends to scratch and pick at skin (in addition to pulling out hair). Mutters repetitive phrases sometimes.

Likes things laid out around him, easy to see, especially in a consistent color theme. Doesn't like when things don't match (Ex: If given the choice, he'd rather build an entire fleet of Version 2.0 au pairs rather than 1 or 2 new models alongside old versions... He'd just throw them all out). Has very specific layouts he prefers for buttons, switches, and knobs.

Often prefers symmetry (Ex: hedges and string lights on both sides), but he also likes alternating up-and-down patterns (Ex: Likes the levers in his control room to be up-down-up patterns. Tends to set them like that without thinking through the consequences of flipping things). Horrendous habit of walking into someone else's space and flipping THEIR levers without asking what they do.

Contamination OCD, especially regarding water (He does not like dirt in it) or food given to him by others (What if it's drugged or poisoned? This stuff could make him sick. Actually, we will sit here at the fancy dinner table not eating until everyone else does, and sometimes not even then. It's fine.) If you hand him a box of food, the first thing he'll do is check the expiration date. If it's too close, he'll throw it out.

Feels much safer with the au pairs cooking for him than a hired human chef. That's how people get murdered, Sally. "But what if his robots glitch-" Did I stutter. This man has never heard of "Too many cooks in the kitchen" and he always has several au pairs on the same meal at once. If the day comes where there is a glitch he can't fix, he will cook for himself instead of hiring someone. Do not touch his plate unless you're his wife or son, and even then... he might not eat it. But he also hates going without food, so you can imagine the internal conflict. Thankfully, he is actually married to someone who grew up cooking and who taught Dev to cook for videos. Unfortunately, Hadley is a hoarder and will keep food past its expiration date or when it's moldy. She is not allowed in the kitchen without Dale, Dev, and/or an au pair. Dale loses his mind if she goes in there unsupervised. You do not mess with his food anxiety. It's the thing they argue about most, mostly because Dale knows Hadley will just eat moldy things (or offer them to Dev) rather than throw them out. Thank goodness for au pairs that can cook and discard expired food; they are holding this family together. If you gave Dale the choice between eating something Hadley made or Dev made, he'd choose Dev's every time. He honestly likes his wife's cooking because she's dang good at it, but the picky eater is way more likely to throw things out if they're bad. -> Dale often compares his son to a machine, but in this case, it's a compliment. Dale would stake his life on Dev's ability to put his foot down to Hadley about expired food. He actually has had to do this when ingredients are separated from their labels; it's a huge relief that Dev also thinks her food hoarding habits are unsafe, because Dale finally has someone who Lives In This House and Gets It...

Misophonia: - Hypersensitive to sound; gets very snappy very fast when a sound upsets him. Often unclear what sets him off vs. what doesn't, but screams, squelches, splashes, and rodent squeaks are fairly consistent "Hell no"s. Less bothered by chewing food, but doesn't like whistling or random mouth noises for the sake of noise.

Likes beeps and boops, but prefers when he's in control of them (or they're in musical patterns)- Presumably, he likes when keys he presses make noise, as it draws him in and helps him block out sounds he doesn't like. Easily annoyed by random background sounds.

Very sensitive to the noises his au pairs make. Can instantly tell if one nearby is flying in the wrong direction, which tends to stress him out (What if his security's been compromised? What if someone snuck in? Must check immediately.)

Inattentive ADHD: Does much better with a to-do list or schedule in his hand than he does without (and does better when his list is typed on his phone or tablet instead of a piece of paper he's at risk of putting down).

Easily distracted when things don't snag his attention. Loses interest in meetings that stray from the topic of money and electronics. Although his wife's an influencer and puts out frequent videos, he doesn't watch them (unless something with robots or piles of money catches his eye). Mind glazes over when Dev shows him memes.

When something snags his thoughts, he has a difficult time shifting away from it (See also, unable to focus on the festival or his business in general while plagued by thoughts of Project H, which devolved into "all he talked about" for months). Doesn't switch gears easily when he's in the zone. Hates interruptions and has a hard time switching back if someone - mainly Dev - breaks his concentration.

See also, "only his wife calls him Daedalus and only when she really needs to get through to him." Dale snaps to attention when he hears his full name, but gets quite anxious as he assumes the worst.

Dale's not the best at organizing his thoughts in a coherent to-do list, but he's really good at sticking to a schedule once it's in hand. Maybe too good (and inflexible). He's picked up some of Hadley's list-making tactics over the years (and learned a lot from job shadowing his dad). He's getting better at prioritizing (and learning how to say No to pushy people), but the au pairs are a big help.

Sometimes gets sidetracked and changes course - see also, pursuing Danky in "Stanky Danky"; did Dev go home by himself? - and gets very sucked into what he's doing (Leading to rapid turnaround of his Danky Days marketing). Dale does have humans working in his company - and can turn to the au pairs for assistance - but he'll often do things himself since he feels he can do the work better and faster. He has a vision...

He talks a lot, tends to fidget, and interrupts people. Not very patient with those struggling to get their words out (his wife included). Still has outbursts and doesn't often apologize for cutting people off.

When his wife is stuck on a word, he'll usually fill it in for her and sometimes continue the sentence with his assumption of what she meant- often followed by the classic cartoon vibe of "Excellent idea! I'm glad I thought of it."

In the early years after his Vicky trauma, he was fairly quiet (Lots of racing thoughts inside his head), but even more fidgety than he is now. These days he might just bounce his leg, shift in his chair, or rub his thumb on the table while trying not to make noise that offends his misophonia. As a teen, he'd avoid eye contact, play with his sleeves, pick at stitches in his clothes, bite his nails, scratch his skin, and so on. Skin picking or pulling his hair is definitely one of his go-to behaviors since it's quiet.

Dale is less fidgety during meetings when eyes are on him, but he moves a lot when he's alone (See also, walking in the park while on the phone during "Lost and Founder's Day," taking work calls on Signal Hill more than once, and dancing in his control room).

Stats:

Power:  Average Endurance:  Above Average Wisdom:  Below Average Adaptability:  Below Average Charisma: Average Openness:  Below Average Conscientiousness:  Below Average Neuroticism:  Above Average

Residence: 1 Silver Spoon Hill, Dimmsdale -> 1 Dimmadome Way, Dimmadelphia

Occupation: Inventor (Robotics), owner of multiple businesses (Listed in first bullet point at top), Hadley's partner / assistant in her business affairs.

Heading Dimmadome Funds: 2014 - Present day Heir: Dev Dimmadome Previous Employment: Intern / assistant of Doug Dimmadome. We don't talk about the lemonade stand

BACKGROUND

Self-Perception: Went through hell for a best friend who didn't deserve his love and loyalty, but got up and made something of himself- Something his dad is sure to be proud of. No one in his family will ever be scrabbling for food again... and he's a lot more careful with his trust now than he was back then.

Alignment: Neutral Evil MBTI: ISTJ (Turbulent) Deadly Sin: Greed Heavenly Virtue: Diligence Love Language: Words of Affirmation Reinforcers: Security; making money; well-deserved vacation days

History: Born and raised in Dimmsdale, California- Specifically, in his father's precariously perched cliffside estate (S3's "Engine Blocked").

This extremely questionable environment to raise a child left him overly cautious of where he put his feet and whether people were walking towards him. He learned pretty fast that toys that go over the edge aren't coming back... at least, unless you pull up your big boy pants and take the long walk down to retrieve them from the beach.

See Dimmsdale Map - Dale grew up in the northwest (Through the woods, down a long and windy road, up on a cliff).

Dale didn't have many kids over to play during his youth - or throughout his teen years at that - as watching more than one kid would've really split his parents' attention. -> Adult Dale let Dev wander Dimmadelphia from a young age in part due to this warped idea he has of a child's ability to recognize danger (But mostly because he trusts the au pairs to grab him if he runs into the street).

You wouldn't know it looking at him now, but Dale was a very playful and curious child. He didn't have siblings and his parents' attention towards him was hit-or-miss. He kept himself entertained by exploring the beaches and cliffs around his home (along with any other location Doug brought him, such as Dimmsdale Farms and Dimmadelphia).

He poked through a lot of driftwood and garbage washing up on shore, taught himself to fix broken toys that went over the edge (like toy cars that popped their wheels out of place, or inflatable things that needed a patch).

Despite his mother (Pearl) living the stay-at-home-mom life, Dale preferred spending time with his father. Pearl came from generational wealth (as opposed to Doug's self-made wealth accrued from striking gold and using it wisely as he built up a larger fortune)- It was very important to her that Dale would grow up to be her vision of elegant and proper-mannered.

Pearl had very high expectations, especially in regards to what Dale ate. She struggled with an eating disorder in her teens and never quite let go of it, even though she recovered a lot. She cooked healthy meals and hated if Dale dragged his feet about it. Junk food was banned in the house, and if they attended an event with desserts, Dale was forbidden from eating them (She'd smack his hands if he tried). She commented frequently on his weight, as Doug's family is heavier than hers (especially since anxiety and eating disorders sprinkle her ancestry).

- When they were kids, Vicky snuck Dale sweets and snacks. What a good friend! - If you'd asked young Dale, he'd politely tell you he loves his mother, but as an adult, the question would be met with a pause. He has a lot of conflicting feelings about her... and we've only scratched the surface.

Doug went along with a lot of what Pearl said (Very "Doug is in charge of businesses and Pearl is in charge of the home life" vibes), so he never complained about the fresh-made meals even when Dale struggled with them.

Dale has some good memories with his mom - like playing Dimmanopoly and other board games - but he preferred the company of his relaxed father. Doug may have been too relaxed in some areas, leading to inconsistent parenting (with Pearl trying to set a standard that Doug ignored when she wasn't around and encouraged Dale to flaunt too with a wink and smile).

Dale loves his dad very much, having grown up with Doug as the epicenter of positive things in his life: Dad let him goof off, didn't control what he ate, took him to events (especially those hosted at the Dimmadome), and could do everything. He's so smart and fun!

Dale spent a lot of time following his dad around, being his very curious and eager-to-learn self. He happily volunteered for farm chores and found a system for cleaning and organizing; he'd get a head pat and words of affirmation from his dad, and has been neat and tidy ever since. Even as a very young child, Dale spent many afternoons happily scrubbing his dad's office desk, windows, or floor while Doug talked on the phone.

Dale's preschool, kindergarten, and 1st grade years were marked with people who seemingly only took an interest in him because he came from wealth... or alternatively, kids who were children of wealthy families themselves. Dale attended many fancy social events growing up and became familiar with the rich kids his age range. Still, he reached the point where he began introducing himself outside the wealthy social circle as Dale Donovan... which is the name Vicky committed to memory (and never questioned).

Dale wasn't a kid who threw money around (See Remy Buxaplenty doing things like renting out an entire theater just for him and bags of money). He also wasn't "popular" per se- Not like Trixie, Tad, and Chad are in Timmy's era. In fact, Dale had no real money of his own and was pretty get-your-hands-dirty, down-to-earth. He was definitely provided for, but wasn't spoiled to the degree that Dev is. Dale was pretty content as a kid and didn't ask for much- He kept himself entertained, he liked exploring, and he liked cleaning. He lost some toys and balls over the edge of the cliff, but he learned to retrieve and repair them rather than throwing a fit and demanding a new one. Very "It's much faster if I do this myself" energy. - He'd ask for comic books (and maybe a few toys), but he received enough attention and friendship that he was simply happy with his life. It's possible he would've become more restless and spoiled if he hadn't befriended Vicky, or if the Lemonade Drama hadn't happened. -> All of this plays into Dale seeing himself as someone who worked for what he has. Yes, he inherited some generational wealth, but he doesn't consider himself a child who grew up with lots of liquid cash. He sees himself as a child who was grateful, worked hard, and achieved success. -> Dale gets frustrated with Dev and sees his outbursts as evidence he's a spoiled brat, hence Dev's bed being labeled S.S. Spoiled [in French]. Dale doesn't get why Dev "can't just be grateful he has a nice life." -> That said, he's also not the kind of dad who would tell Dev to stop hanging out with Hazel, even though Dale was frustrated with her during his Project H arc. Dale had a friend growing up- He figures Dev has several friends too (and is fine with Dev exploring the city... If only that dang kid would digitally mark when he's eaten!!)

Dale saw Vicky as "his only friend who cares about me for me, not my dad's money" and latched onto her. While he was still polite to other kids, Vicky knew him better than anyone (and he probably knew her better than most people, too... Arguably, he still knows her really well, which is uncomfortable for both of them).

See also, "50 Words of Dale and Vicky" (Age 6 to 9).

Dale always saw Vicky as clever, fun, and a good leader. He trusted her deeply and clung to threads even when she turned cruel towards him. Dale is very aware that "bad things happened" and "he felt hurt and scared for a long time," but he's uncomfortable when he thinks about Vicky as a person.

In his mind, the change was so extreme that he had thoughts like "This can't be who Vicky is- She's definitely under extreme distress. Something else is causing her to be lash out. I'm her best friend and I love her. She doesn't hate me; she's just upset. I forgive her, because that's what friends do. This is probably my fault; I'm not a good friend. I'm upsetting her. If I was better, she wouldn't yell at me."

He had a VERY difficult adjustment period after leaving Vicky. It was not easy for him to unlearn his attachment to her and it is consistently ambiguous to everyone (including himself) how he feels about her. He definitely hung out with her during his recovery period more than he should have.

Dale spent several years working through trauma- He reunited with his family, got doted on, was held to certain expectations, attended social events, played some basketball, played a lot of Sims, learned some languages, and gradually returned to school. Reunited with his mom - Lots of tension there - and was pretty clingy towards his dad.

See the Recovery & Time Freeze section of Dale's education details below.

When Dale was 19, his dad and Ed Leadly arranged a betrothal to Leadly's middle daughter. Since Hadley was someone Dale actually knew from rich people social gatherings, Dale was relieved for the chance to marry someone he knew rather than a stranger from out of state or something (and curious about getting set up with someone his dad liked).

Not much changed for them early on, but they made more of an effort to talk to each other at social events. They went on some walks, ate some treats, and got to know each other. Dale was still in recovery, Hadley more interested in school and friends, and that was expected. They didn't go out of their way to meet each other outside fancy social events.

With the betrothal in play, Dale continued his gap years and personal study; this set his university years up to overlap Hadley's. They lived apart for the first 2.5 years, gradually moving from "vaguely betrothed couple" to "pair who go on actual dates." Dale spent this time working up the courage to hold hands and touch another person (i.e. putting arm behind Hadley while watching a movie).

They married the January Hadley was 21 (and Dale 24), moved in together, and continued their schooling. Doug grew increasingly ill during this time. Despite his wife's excitement for kids, Dale was reluctant to go through with that part of maintaining the Dimmadome family line. Nonetheless, he is nothing if not everything his father wanted him to be; Hadley conceived Dev the summer she was 22 (~1.5 years after the wedding).

Doug passed just before Dev was born. Dale still beats himself up over "not just gritting his teeth and having the kid sooner so Dad could've seen him."

Since Hadley had graduated, she kept herself entertained by filming vlogs of her pregnancy and Dev's early years while Dale continued university studies (and working on the au pairs when he could find time). Dale wasn't often left the primary caretaker of Dev, but he sometimes was when Hadley wasn't available. Dev's hypoglycemia stressed him out very early, and Dale was relieved when the au pairs could monitor Dev's blood sugar levels.

When Dev was 6 and the au pairs were functional enough to handle some basic care (Like holding Dev back from playing in traffic), Hadley took to traveling the world. Ever since, Dale and the au pairs have split Dev's caretaking (with Hadley returning now and then before taking off on her next adventure).

Father-Son Relationships Note: Dale received plentiful physical affection from his father growing up, but as he grew older and more bitter, he resented his dad for giving him "just pats" without expressing his thoughts through words and engagement. He's since twisted his past into believing that Doug's care for him boils down to "needed an heir," that Doug has never been proud of him, and that his dad barely paid attention to him.

As an adult, Dale doesn't recognize how meaningful physical touch was to him. Because he always had it - and even got hugs from Vicky as a kid - he didn't know its absence and fails to process how desperate Dev is for physical affection.

Clarification: Dale lacked physical affection in the lemon pit, but had a lot of other things going on that made "not getting hugs" low priority.

Despite Dale's love for boots (and his fixation on the past, his trauma, and his dad) taking priority in his thoughts, he actually is a decent* parent when he's not working. Dale struggles to take breaks largely because he feels he doesn't deserve to (and/or believes he had to sacrifice work-life balance for success), but there are some situations that let him justify relaxing the reins.

Dale relaxes more during holidays. Yes, there's a lot of business-related things he can still be doing, but let's take Christmas as an example: It's a federal holiday... and it's a day where people open packages they received as gifts, which were possibly ordered through Dimmazon. He helped people find good gifts and have a happy Christmas. Thus, he deserves to relax... It's a holiday! Christmas and similar days Dale has decided are worthy of breaks are the moments Dev waits all year for: the time when his dad addresses him happily, keeps away from his phone and office, picks him up, plays games... or just crashes for a nap.

* "Decent Parent" Notes: Dale IS an inattentive parent and that should not be overlooked, but he brings Dev to city events, lets him hang out in his command tent, and responds to Dev's business-related questions in "Lost and Founder's Day." He greets him - even asking how he's doing this afternoon - when Dev returns home for lunch in "A New Dev-elopment." The au pairs were designed with the ability to cook and recognize when Dev wants a hug. Dale's not always there emotionally, but he sure can keep that kid alive. Dale's relationship with Dev is much more "job shadow me because this will be you soon" while the Buxaplenty's plan for Remy is that they will simply not die until they're very old. Who's Liam and why does it matter if he has enough skills to survive when they're gone? ... Remy. I meant Remy.

⭐ Dale is just "good dad" enough that Dev clings to that, believing "If Dad didn't have to work so much, he'd give me love and attention." Also, Hadley tends to see Dale either in his middle or positive states of being a dad and misses a lot of Dale's questionable moments... The "downs" are more likely to happen when Dale is the sole parent.

The only thing worse than a cluelessly neglectful parent is a try-hard who keeps leading you on. Come on, Dev- He's your father! When he's there, you have everything you've ever wanted... Don't you know how hard things are for him? He's doing his best; he had an abusive childhood and he works so hard. Of course he loves you. He'll come back around if you're patient; just keep on trucking. Smile wide. Work hard. Be a good boy. Give him another chance......

These breaks spent with family are the ones Dale internalizes as "This is who I am as a person; I've given my son everything and here he is. I made him. My kid's a brat, but I can't even blame him- I'm just glad he's safe. And honestly, no DNA test necessary- I get it, buddy. He's mine. I have a wife. I have a kid. I enjoy my family and life."

Despite the way Dale brushes Dev off a lot when he's in business mode, he's a good person. Why wouldn't he be? He's a real man's man- He makes the big bucks and provides for his wife and son! What more can you want? You're asking a lot. Geez... Dale was abused as a kid, you know. Cut him some slack :/

See also, the note on Dale's relationship with fundamental attribution error (Emoji star after the Personality section).

Personality: Dale's always been curious, but his bright mind and love for exploring new things is overshadowed by the trauma of his youth, which pushed him to fight for survival. In fact, he'll fistfight you if you push him into it- or even wrestle you to the ground. He craves security- His dad, boots, money, and straightforward instructions embody that for him. So does Vicky, but we don't have to go there.

Dale's a hard worker, very clever, and willing to fight for what he wants. He gets sucked into projects for weeks or months at a time, but he gets results. Fear, rage, and jealousy boil beneath the surface, but he's better at holding his temper than you'd think. Doesn't often snap at people- More likely to gripe and mutter. Not afraid to get his hands dirty- Always the first to leap into action when he needs something done. No one's as fast or committed as him- Why rely on other people when you can do everything yourself? Day after day after day...

Trust no one. Pay for nothing you don't trust. Make it yourself.

Beneath his "pulled myself up by the bootstraps" persona, Dale is anxious, awkward, and aware of it... The quiet and fidgety kid he was still lurks beneath the louder and more pompous exterior. He looked to Doug and Vicky for so long, he still struggles to be the prime decision-maker (apart from his impulsive adventures).

Dale exhausts himself with his day job, where he's a CEO of multiple companies and juggling tasks (A recent notable one being "overseeing the construction of an indoor amusement park"). In his personal life, he'd rather do low-brainpower things like take a nap- He has little energy for Dev after work. However, he'd find food for both of them if the au pairs glitched out. Their core purposes is to keep Dev from going into a seizure, passing out, or dying, and that's not an "I'll fix it later" problem. If we eat cupcakes in the Wall-2-Wall Mart parking lot at 2 AM, so be it.

After work hours, Dale wants to do the least-brainpower things he can, so he'll crash and sleep... or look to Hadley for instruction (when she's around). Sometimes Dev shows him videos while Dale is sprawled on the couch, but his dad does not understand what he's looking at 90% of the time.

Unless he's in a very stubborn mood, Dale tends to do what people tell him to do. He won't if it's in direct conflict with his money-making goals, but if you ask him to be an extra pair of hands while bringing in party decorations from your car, he'll do it. Beyond his egotistical attitude and hatred for recycling, he's a surprisingly good neighbor & husband (which is probably why people don't realize how neglectful he is to Dev). If you find him in the supermarket and ask if he knows where the spaghetti sauce is, he'll point you towards it. His default response is to be friendly... It's just something that was heavily beaten out of him by Vicky's cruelty, his dad's "Don't talk about your trauma" attitude, and the cutthroat business world. See also, ignoring Hazel's name when he saw her in "A New Dev-elopment," but still greeting her and Dev and asking how their afternoon was in the first place.

Dale is curious, likes learning, and will follow the lead of anyone he deems interesting, relevant, and knowledgeable:

From this post about Dale and Kevin Crocker going out to dinner

Somewhere underneath his poor parenting, Dale wants to be a decent family man... After all, he can't disappoint Daddy there either. But he didn't have good role models for that and putting in the work is hard. Someday... someday when he's not so busy...

⭐ Dale is a textbook case for "guy who doesn't fall into fundamental attribution error easily." In other words, Dale takes circumstances into account when judging people's actions (not just attributing things to personality)... Perhaps to a critically unhealthy degree.

- Dad loves him very much. He's just really busy... Dale already has his father's love; what he needs is something he unquestionably deserves because he worked for it: Daddy's pride in him. - Vicky can't be a horrifically cruel person because no one is actually like that. Vicky is just stressed and scared. She's doing her best and doesn't understand the effect she has on people. - Conversely, Dale has a very hard time recognizing the effects of his neglect on Dev. Of course he cares about Dev- Would he provide for him or spend time with him if he didn't? -> Dale doesn't see himself as "a bad person" or "a terrible dad" or "someone who would hurt a child." He sees himself as "a guy trying to grow and make money in ways that some people look down on or consider amoral, but everyone defines morals in their own way and you can't please everyone, so he's going to chase success regardless of what others think."

At his core, Dale is haunted not just by the abuse Vicky inflicted on him, but by the lack of praise and support he received from his dad growing up. But it's okay. Dad was just busy. He's over it. It's fine.

Education: Dale was a very enthusiastic student. He loved learning and would raise his hand for almost every question. He consistently landed top scores, was deemed "the smart kid," a suck-up, and a little too "goody-two-shoes perfect" for his own good.

Although restless and a little forgetful - ADHD be like that - Doug and Pearl kept him on track, and he did a mostly good job at turning in his homework.

Dale was very much the type to stand up to bullies. He got into several fights growing up, even as a 1st grader (Even with Vicky, who forgave his stupid acts, because she is a good person).

Elementary School: Dale attended preschool and kindergarten at a private school, but asked to be put in the same class as Vicky for 1st grade. Doug shrugged and did so, glad his son had a friend. Thus, Dale moved to Dimmsdale Elementary (with his dad's personal assistant dropping him off, as he was outside the school bus range... See also, lived beyond the woods up on a cliff).

Dale disappeared at the end of his 3rd grade year. He missed several years of school, including his entire middle school period.

- Despite several kids aware of Dale's family name, Vicky believed his surname was Donovan. Why would he lie about that? - If you asked Vicky directly, she'd say something like "Well, I found out his real last name at some point, but he always told me it was Donovan, so I kept calling him that. I thought he came from a family of successful farmers." Whether any of that is true is anyone's guess.

Recovery & Time Freeze: After leaving Vicky's lemonade factory, Dale spent some time "crashing"... mostly curled up in bed, struggling through a lot of feelings, and remembering how to live in a house (Preparing food, adjusting to bright lights, people coming and going, getting dressed every day, and so on).

Generally, Dale got pushed into things (like social interaction and independence) by his dad before he was ready. This may have been beneficial in the long term (seeing as Dale wanted to lay in bed for weeks or months, or maybe on the couch if he was daring), but he wasn't happy about it at the time.

Dale played a lot of PC games (Mostly Sims) and slowly caught up on his schooling... or at least the parts Doug cared about.

Notably, this is how Dale spent the 50 years time was frozen. He also picked up new skills like languages (for fun because he found them interesting), but like everyone else, he was under "It's uncommon to advance through school years because of time manipulation" rules, so... he looped through recovery, personal study, and a small amount of academia- Not a full year of schooling like other kids his age.

Dale also looped through job shadows with his dad. He became very knowledgeable about meticulous business workings and the stock market, farm-related expertise, and social events.

He also became incredibly good at card games (like Blackjack and Texas Hold'em), which surprised everyone including himself. He could consistently clean out his dad's gambling buddies after several loops at age 16, which they found adorable. They were very excited to take him to Vegas when he turned 21.

"Is that legal even if it happened in their own home?" -> We don't have to talk about that. Unrelated, but the Dimmadomes sure own a lot of business fronts and buy weird art pieces, huh?

Since businesses, product releases, and tech advancements continued changing as the years went by, Dale was exposed to many new things and was arguably more prepared for adulthood thanks to the time freeze than any other noteworthy character in the Cloudlands or City Lights AUs (except perhaps A.J.)

Like everyone else, he thinks he gained all his knowledge during 2003- Not during repeated 2002 years.

High School: Dale enrolled in a private school, his learning supplemented with private tutors - namely Denzel Crocker - but that didn't stop him from loitering around Dimmsdale High in search of Vicky. He had several run-ins with her, Justin Jake Ashton (Mark Chang), and other kids their age.

From this post about Dale (and Happy Peppy Gary) spying on Vicky & Justin

Further Education: Took several gap years before attending Archimedes University in Dimmadelphia. He took his courses slowly, just a few credits at a time, and his schooling was stretched out over a long period. He studied robotics and business (and later got a master's).

During this time, Doug passed on, Dev was born, and Dale inherited the Dimmadome fortune.

Favorite School Subject: Science -> Physics -> Robotics. He also enjoyed math, art, and marketing.

Least Favorite Subject: Biology

Clubs: Robotics, of course! (Nerd)

Friend Group: Jeremy and Watson- Upper class folks such as Remy, Trixie, Tad, Chad, Veronica, and Hadley. Also Mikey Munroe (Security expert like his parents), but who's asking?

Notable Likes:

- Boots - Robotics - Naps - Getting into a flow state without distractions (Especially noise) - Boots again - Drawing (Especially with colored pens or markers) - Dancing - Rodeos (plus state fairs, farms, cows, and horses) - Big buildings - Sims games and any card or board game that lets him accrue many pieces and cards. Worst Uno player you've ever met. - Snappy turnaround on his projects- He lives by an "It's faster if I do it myself" attitude - Feeling like he deserves rest (Like that ever happens) - When his wife is away and he gets the bed to himself - When his wife is home so the hypervigilance doesn't hit as hard - His wife :( - Following lists and meticulously organizing things - Cleaning products that don't smell like citrus - Puffy jackets with chunky zippers - People commenting he's gained weight - Sunlight (but no, he won't open the bedroom windows) - Rain and snow - Paloma cocktails - Boat rides - Gambling - Basketball - Animal print - Hunting - His wife in THOSE boots

Had Fairy Godparent: ... This page seems kinda smudged.

Favorite Wish: Hm. I don't think the archives ever wrote that down...

Goals:

- Build generational wealth to pass to his descendants - Stop overthinking things at night; go to bed satisfied - Accrue a lot of knowledge and learn many skills - Teach Dev things about business so he'll be more prepared to take over the Dimmadome fortune than Dale was - Reduce the number of prototypes it takes to land a great robot - Unwind... Rest... Take more guilt-free naps - Be a good family man (??)

Beliefs:

- Hard work will be rewarded - Security and stability are everything - Good branding doesn't guarantee success, but it sure makes things easier - Don't separate a traumatized person from their comforts. Or most people from those things. But Dev shouldn't have screen time too close to bed- Taking his tablet is good for him. - No one is truly evil; everyone is a good person with reasons for what they do. Knowing why people act the way they do is the key to negotiation and communication - Anything can be learned. Anything - and any person - can be improved with hard work, time, and dedication - Robots are helpful and improve quality of life... Good robots that people who know what they're doing built, at least. - Being left unsupervised as a child probably messed him up. Thank goodness Dev has au pair guardians - The ends justify the means

Fears:

- Disappointing his dad - Being abandoned by everyone (Vicky, his dad, his wife...) - Losing everything he's built up - He and/or his family getting kidnapped (and tormented) - Ed Leadly (Father-in-law) - Waking up in the lemonade factory (It was all a dream...) - Vicky Incorrect. Vicky is his friend. She would never hurt him.

Upsets:

- Losing money - Faulty au pairs - Random background noises - Animals (especially furry ones; very unhygienic) - Dev talking back to him, fidgeting during social events, or refusing to eat at a nice restaurant - Lemonade - Hadley dragging her trash into his space (or gifting him things that don't fit his organization system... but she's forgiven) - Loose seashells or stones lying around - Being separated from his boots - Unlabeled items that might contain lactose or mold - Dev not marking on his digital checklist that he's eaten around mealtimes. Boy, don't play these games... - People sneaking near his house

Comforts:

- His lucky boots - The Dimmsdale Dimmadome - Clothes that ease body dysphoria (Like puffy jackets that don't cling to his thin frame) - Things neatly put away (and his stuff still in the same place he left it), especially in his closet, office, bedroom, car, and bathroom - Having enough light to see - Clean water, abundant food, plenty of cash... The basics - Words of affirmation - Decorations and branding that remind him of his dad (Even if he's not a big fan of his dad's hats personally)

Indulgences: Cartoons from his childhood... but he doesn't watch often. When he does, it's probably with headphones on (and the sound low) with the door extra locked.

Sometimes he splurges on Crimson Chin comics since they can go for a high price (and he can afford it). Splurging often sucks him in, leading to binge scrolling and bulk memorabilia purchases.

Some of this stuff ends up in Dev's hands or Hadley's hoard. Dale will hold things in his own room briefly (i.e. while actively using them), but if he doesn't have a consistent storage space, he'll give them to a family member, sell them, or throw them out when he's done.

I am lying. You don't throw things out in Hadley's household!

EXTERNAL

Verbal Notes: Loves to talk; gets big and loud about it. Likes adjectives. Comes across as quite cheery (Was scolded post-lemonade factory for being quiet and fidgety, which was "weak and shameful"- He learned to "shape up" and mask a lot of what he felt).

Loves talking about himself, his businesses, and his dad's accomplishments.

Picked up old slang terms from his dad (and Dad's gambling buddies... who were also Dale's gambling buddies). "Tough titties, kitties" is one of his go-tos, though he censors it as "tough tittles" around Dev.

Other favorites are "Nifty!" (Cool), "Swanky" (Looks great; elegant), "Ah, applesauce!" (Dang it!), "Get a wiggle on" (Let's go; get moving), "Dry up" (Shut up and get lost), and "Bank's closed" (No making out tonight). I wish I was making that last one up. Dev finds these embarrassing and rolls his eyes, but at least he has something to throw back at his dad if Dale ever grumbles about Dev's preferred slang. Also, Dale would rather say "folks" than "everyone" or "guys." He sees people as customers, clients, or walking wallets, but will correct himself to more socially acceptable words (like "lovely people," "other students," "persons," or "kids your age").

Not afraid to share his thought process even if it's a little amoral (See also, "tends to assume others experience emotions the way he does"). When he sets rules and expectations, he'll explain why (Ex: "You can't go out alone; the au pairs are on the fritz" or "Finish your homework before dinner; we're going out tonight"). Dale likes knowing what to expect, so that's how he talks to other people.

Example from canon: "Devin, turn down that game. I can hear the incessant beeping and booping and tapping all the way in my office. I have an important project I'm working on for Founder's Day." -> As opposed to "Turn that off; it's loud." Dev picked this up from him- It's in the way he tells Hazel he's no longer interested in the treasure hunt because "It's silly to jump through hoops." Then he IS interested and explains why he snapped at her. He expresses frustration with Hazel's lack of frustration when he cheated in Rock, Paper, Scissors, etc. Say one thing about those Dimmadomes... They're not always on the same page, but they sure explain what they're thinking. I guess you don't get to be a great business negotiator without communication skills.

Dale's instinct isn't to be complimentary. During business meetings, he'll grit his teeth and fake enthusiasm, but he's definitely had moments where he wants to insult everything around him. He's sweeter with his wife than with most people, but focuses on topics like financial success and elegance.

Ex: "Way to rake it in, Hadley! The stocks are up this month" & "Now that's a classy look" as opposed to "You're such a hard worker" or "You look beautiful tonight". It's just his brain's go-to.

Since he didn't care for Doug's physical affection like pats and hugs but craved praise, Dale mirrors that towards Dev. He expresses pride (i.e. "Keep up the good work and you'll be running with your old man in no time") when he feels Dev "achieved success"... which usually means Hadley's Dev-themed videos are doing well, Dev won money from a tournament, or Dev scored all A's at the end of the year.

Big "Great; that's what I expect. You're a sharp kid; a real chip off the old block- you just need to apply yourself more" vibes.

He tends to overlook or diminish Dev's accomplishments. Are all A's that impressive if you weren't the best in class? Dev gets praised, but it feels hollow... He is never good enough.

In other words, Dale's compliments sound backhanded despite them not technically being rude... He just focuses on "things that help our success and status" more than the people he's addressing.

Dale uses tag questions like "Innit?", "Wouldya?", or "Do I?" Many sentences end with upward inflection. [ Think ~, ?, !, or :) ]

He has a great memory for names. Or rather, the importance of knowing names was drilled into him early on. He'll address people by name if the situation calls for it (even if they're a trash monster). And don't you dare insult the trash monster. That's his friend now. Very good at greeting people that he cares about when he sees them, especially in business situations.

Almost always calls his son Devin. Occasionally calls him Dev or a special nickname like "Kiddo," "Bud," "Son," or "Junior." Dev's full forename is Development, but that's reserved for special moments... Like pride, but never in scolding. Dev doesn't jump in alarm at the sound of his full name the way Dale does- Dale calls "Devin!" if he's mad. For all his emotional distance and dehumanization tendencies, Dale genuinely views Dev as his son. He refers to him as such and doesn't cut ties for the sake of professionalism... which is more than I can say for some people...

Language: Speaks fluent English; can pull off business talks in Mandarin and Japanese.

Better at Japanese since his wife's a big fan and has been learning the language since she was a kid, but Hadley speaks it with "an anime accent" and Dale speaks it with a more professional one.

Languages were one of the things Dale kept himself entertained with during his mental recovery years... Played a lot of video games with different language settings, listened to a lot of audiobooks. He knows all the Simlish words that actually are consistent words.

Physical Notes: Very expressive with his body language, but if you compare him with other people, you'll detect a certain stiffness or reservation in some movements (Ex: Tries to stop himself from flinching. If he does, he'll snap upright and square up... General sense that he doesn't let himself feel certain emotions. Compare with Mikey Munroe, who bends his entire body backwards and curls up when startled).

Tends to lean, often cocking one hand on his hip. Usually has a device in his other hand. Often walks while scrolling through his phone or tablet, or while talking on the phone. Prone to fidgeting (Ex: bouncing his leg) or dancing, especially when he's in the zone. He's dramatic even in his office- kicking himself across the room on his swivel chair or acting out mental images. Walks around a lot while listening to music, pretending he's in a dramatic scene.

Doesn't pocket his hands as much as Dev does and is more likely to pocket one than both. Blinks infrequently. Stares a lot (especially at screens). Often avoids eye contact.

Not afraid to pump his arms, throw his hands in the air, dance, stomp, hop, finger gun, flash peace signs, or whatever it takes to get people's eyes on him while he's trying to sell stuff.

In his teen years, Dale slouched a lot, fidgeted - especially by rubbing his cheeks since his mouth hurt - and struggled to look at people. His dad really pushed him to stand straight, shake hands, and talk more.

Does not often touch people - combo of OCD and trust issues - but he'll lean on them if he's in the zone and talking big (Ex: thumping his elbow on top of Danky while baby-talking him).

Has an easier time touching people with a clothed arm than making skin to skin contact.

Doesn't reach for people absentmindedly. Way more likely to hold his hands close to his chest than take his wife's hand. But sometimes he does, especially in front of cameras (You can't be the Dimmadome power couple if you don't convince everyone you're a couple). He'll clap a hand to Dev's shoulder when talking to or bragging about him.

He does this a lot at bustling social events because if he takes his hand off that child, he will probably lose him within 10 seconds.

Break Dale's trust forever by grabbing his extended hand and yanking him forward (or squeezing way too tight). Like an elephant, he will never forget and will keep an extra step away from you at all times. Do not grab or push him. He will go on guard around you.

Handedness: Right Body Language: Often stiff with a tendency to stare, though he does a lot of leaning. Becomes expressive when he's talking up a storm. Doesn't blink much. Usually holding a phone or tablet. Hair: Thin, often splitting at the ends, and comes out in clumps. Has some pomp and fluff to it, but he's pulled out a lot of that over the years. His front loop is a natural curl that will spring out again even if he clips that bit off. Specifically, it grew in as he got older and his front puff reduced in size. I don't always, but I like to draw the two stray hairs in the back like lowercase Ds (hanging on from their bottoms). Teeth: Had his missing teeth replaced with gold. Back when they were missing, Dale avoided smiling or talking much. Mouth hurt a lot for years. Scars: Physically, not as many as you'd think. But emotionally? Imagine the toil. Tattoos: None... to his wife's disappointment. Hadley would love for him to get a little cherry blossom with a cute branch wrapped around his ring finger to compensate for the sensory issues his wedding ring gives him, but being stabbed repeatedly with a sharp object does not factor into his life goals. When he goes out of town for business meetings, Hadley will often video call and ask to see the ring and/or ask him to write her name on his chest or stomach. She is THAT paranoid... but y'know, we can make small allowances for her. She's his friend wife!

Style: Has a funky, modern, sleek, and not necessarily professional style (See also, chunky zippers and sequin pants). Gives off huge "new money" vibes that make people in his social circle glance at him funny, but no one says anything because he's a billionaire.

Wears his puffer jacket even in the California summer because it makes him look less scrawny. It's a recent addition to his wardrobe, but it tremendously improved his confidence and self-perceived attractiveness. He loves it and is very proud that he found it himself. This man is also a tech geek who does not really understand fashion. He dresses how he wants.

Notably, Dale is very neat and doesn't like items that don't fit his closet organization. He'll humor his wife when she brings him new clothes, but they both know he'll discard it if it's inconsistent with what he already has and likes.

Dev owns a lot of oversized shirts because they were passed down from Dale; Dev wears them to bed sometimes.

Regular Clothing: Big puffer jacket and sequin pants, really leaning into that funky modern geek vibe. Casual Clothing: Anything baggy that doesn't cling to his scrawny figure, but it has to be something with a tight enough collar that it won't hang off his shoulders. Besides white and gold, he also likes purple... It's safe... Nightwear: Animal print boxer shorts. Sometimes leopard, sometimes zebra, sometimes cow... You never know! Hadley gives him pajamas for her holiday videos, so he'll wear those until he doesn't want to. He tends to like his things, but he also likes new and fun things. Formal Clothing: White suits with black and gold accents, as Dimmadomes are wont to do. Other: Cannot emphasize enough how much this man likes animal print. He will wear anything you give him, but cow patterns are a favorite (Probably because he grew up around them). Being barefoot is a huge trigger for lemonade pit memories (specifically, having dirt and grime underfoot). Dale has a stockpile of identical boots because they bring back memories of a safe childhood, his dad's affection, and his recovery process... but he'll still cling to one pair until it's absolutely falling apart. -> Mostly, he only takes the boots off only when getting dressed (They won't fit, but he'll leave them on if he's putting on something with wide leg holes) or in the shower (He cares a lot about scrubbing his feet to get off grime since that's the point of wearing them). -> If he gets separated from his boots, he'll keep his feet off the ground and call for someone... but everyone in his household knows not to touch them, so he's rarely without. Yes, the boots stay on in the bedroom. All the time. Not a big fan of hats... Specifically, his dad's style of hat. He would never, ever tell his father that.

Height: 6′4″

Hygiene: High risk of neglecting hygiene due to hyperfixating on his projects. The au pairs give him reminders, but it's not unusual for him to brush those off. He tries to take care of his remaining tooth.

Dale takes long showers due to mild contamination OCD (especially regarding his feet)- the shower is the only place he likes taking off his boots, and he cares a lot about scrubbing his feet. The feel of dirt or crumbs on his feet is a big trigger, and he wears the boots to take the edge off that.

Sometimes he dissociates, so he ends up in the bathroom longer than he needs to. He might jump on a phone call with Hadley to keep grounded, but strictly no one else- No business talks, no extended family. Wife only.

This is Dale's personal self-care-slash-check-in-with-wife time and he gets snappy if Dev interrupts him. Keep conversation to dinner, kid. If you want to talk to your mother, hop on call in the other room.

Morning Schedule: Brief morning shower (super quick rinse), hair care, check Dev marked himself as "Ate breakfast" on his digital daily checklist, start work.

Typical Day Schedule: Work- Lots of reviewing reports, contacting people, giving presentations, and sitting in meetings. Juggling multiple businesses. Check Dev ate lunch.

If he didn't mark it, stress out. Call school nurse; get assured he's fine. Pace around stressing over Dev until he finally gets the indication he's eaten. Stare blankly at screens, trying to get back in the zone. The usual.

Evening Schedule: Shower. Dinner with Dev (sometimes with fancy people). Stress out if Dev is late.

Dinner is when Dale and Dev talk the most. It's at that time that Dev will talk about his day at school (Ex: If he scored well on a test). Dale doesn't have much to say to Dev because the au pairs and/or Dev's daily checklist keep him on track with chores, homework, hygiene, and "No screen time an hour before bedtime" reminders. That said, if Dale makes plans that involve Dev, he'll tell him (Ex: "Tomorrow we're going out for dinner, so be ready to go by 5:30" or "I need you to pass Dimmlets out to your class." Not great at expressing interest for Dev's life, but he sure tells you his plans. Also, general father-son conversations like Dev getting permission to host a sleepover ("The Wellsington Hotellsington").

After dinner, Dale handles personal life money-related things, like bills, checking stocks, or donating money to Dev's school ("28 Puddings Later"). He'll handle communications with friends and family during this time if applicable (Ex: If his in-laws text to ask about family reunions).

Also does repairs or upgrades to the au pairs (and focused on Project H for a while). He's often on the phone with his wife while doing this since she gets lonely when she doesn't hear from him. Sometimes he's on the phone with other people, including for business reasons (Thus cutting down Dev's ability to engage with him).

Dale can easily get sucked into his projects, but the au pairs will get him when it's bedtime and that helps. He'll tidy up, do some night hygiene things, and try to sleep.

Dale is pretty repetitive with his schedule; he likes it to run smoothly. Very frustrating when things unexpectedly go awry (Ex: Dev was late getting home for dinner). That's a sure way to land him in a bad mood and he's more likely to be snappy about things that annoy him (See also, misophonia).

Dev does his best to appease his dad, but he feels awful if he slips up and his dad gets very grumpy about it. He will absolutely get home on time (and will probably be sitting at the table early) if he wants to ask permission for something. And if he was late, he'll be as quiet and non-needy as possible.

Hadley's often away from home, and Dale's often exhausted by the time he heads to bed. Maybe some light flirting, but sleepy cuddles are much more likely than sex. Their fantasies are a little elaborate... Tired owners of multiple businesses gotta sleep sometime.

Weekend Schedule

Slower to get dressed and up on weekends. It's not uncommon to work from bed, checking up on things and sending emails (Maybe with au pairs bringing him breakfast). Hadley sleeps late, but thrashes less in the early morning hours than she does in the night, so there's that.

Weekends are really their only option for married life intimacy, and only if Hadley's home. Despite Dale's general performance anxiety, he enjoys the cosplay and roleplay aspects, which can get pretty fancy. Work hard during the week, play hard on your half-day off.

He's not always into the things his wife's into, but he likes being told what to do, so take that as you will.

Don't worry- he's very good at pushing his own wants too.

There's plenty of general house stuff to do too, like fixing au pairs and making sure everything's running with the bills and garden.

Dale is mildly more attentive to Dev's personal life on weekends (especially Sundays and/or when Hadley isn't there), offering the hope of a relationship that keeps Dev going between holidays. Still, Dev doesn't see his dad as much as he wants to. It's fine.

Sleep Schedule: Does not sleep well. Even when his wife isn't thrashing around in bed, he's a light sleeper and tends to jolt awake. Very sensitive to sounds; struggles to feel safe at night. Often crashes into naps.

That said, having Hadley around does have its perks, like reducing anxiety that someone will sneak in and kidnap him.

Dale and the au pairs have made multiple attempts to clean Hadley's room so she'll sleep in hers instead of his, but it never works. She'll cuddle up to him despite Dale's annoyance with her thrashing around in her sleep. He tolerates it because... Let's be honest- He's aware he's A Lot, so he can put up with the fact that he's a married man and it's common for couples to share a bed. And while they're both awake, the cuddles aren't bad, so there's that.

Often struggles to drift off and then jerks awake, hypervigilance kicking in (and flooding him with adrenalin). He'll slip out of bed and make the rounds (Checking on Dev himself rather than sending flashy, beeping au pairs... It's easier to find the source of strange sounds when you're not trying to listen over the sound of whirring fan blades).

Sometimes gets up to work in the middle of the night to get a head start on projects. Often looks for food. Sometimes Dev comes down in the early morning to find his dad on the kitchen floor surrounded by boxes, often with a huge pile of opened things that are now "at risk foods" that clearly need to be thrown out. Food anxiety is rough.

Dale actually does like cuddling... Hadley's just not good at staying still. He likes holding Dev more than you'd think- After all, "Someone might kidnap my son" or "My son might die if he doesn't eat" are thoughts that keep him up at night, so it's easier to fall asleep when Dev's on the couch with him (or at least in the room).

Dev might seek him on occasion (i.e. holiday naptime, Mom's away and Dev's spooked by something, or camping), but Dale never asks for this (because... he's not going to ask his son to sleep in bed with him). He does request Dev or the au pairs to knock on his door if he came home late, but that's it. And Dale gets frustrated when Dev's not home for dinner, so sometimes he'll grump and grill him on what kept him out so long and if the reasons help him network. Dev usually avoids approaching his dad, not wanting to upset him (especially if he's ill or feels dumb for being spooked by loud noises). It's a balancing act, but whatcha gonna do?

PERSONAL

Dale's Family Tree: HERE

Disclaimer: If future New Wish seasons give us relatives for Dale, this family tree (and Dale's history section) may change. It also might not. We'll see!

Relationship Status: Married to Hadley Harrington (Ed Leadly's middle daughter). Dale loves her dearly, as far as he has love for a fellow person. Don't quote me on that; it's possibly untrue.

Wedding Anniversary: January 21st, 2012 - A few months before he turned 25

Dale reunited with Hadley at age 15 (after escaping Vicky) as she was part of the social circle he was re-introduced to after many years away. Since he's 3 years older, she was quite young when he went off the radar, but he's technically known her all her life.

Hadley's older sister (Harper) is Dale's age. For a while, he knew her better- He used to play with her as a kid. Harper's the one he (presumably) would've been betrothed to if she didn't fight her dad on the idea of betrothals in general. Hadley didn't mind marrying a man she might not love, so the offer fell to her. Dale still considers Harper a friend and enjoys seeing her at family reunions, but Harper and Hadley don't get along well. Not that Dale notices.

Since he's known her for years, Dale grew familiar with Hadley; she's easily the person he's closest with. He trusts her with his life in almost all situations... but he will still ritually check the expiration dates on every ingredient she cooks with (and will sometimes make a loop to check on things that make him nervous even if she already did it). And yes, he still loves his boots and will say so. See? You don't need to hoard to be happy! Just hyperfixate for life!!

It's almost hilarious that Dale has extreme trust in Hadley while she's paranoid he'll cheat on or divorce her. Hadley asks a lot of questions about where he's been and who he's with, but when she returns from a trip, he'll smile and adopt an attitude of "Hey! You're back!"

Exception being if she interrupts him to tell him she's home. He doesn't love when something breaks his concentration and will be snappy and fussy for the rest of the evening... but if he wraps up his work and then leaves his room to find she's home, he'll throw his arms in the air with a smile and acknowledge she's back. Wife :)

He will not be there emotionally, but he definitely knows when there's someone in his house.

Hadley has an outside entrance to her storage rooms so she can unpack while he works on late-night projects... They realized pretty fast that Dale doesn't handle unexpected door squeaks and footsteps very well.

Dale finds it very attractive that Hadley's always been friendly to him, including when he was fresh out of the lemonade pit, emotionally raw, and didn't look or act appealing. They bicker on occasion, but she's never threatened to hit him. In fact, she's pretty patient when he takes his time working up to things. Hadley came from a very wealthy family (thus cutting down the risk of her being a gold digger), yet is also a hard worker very devoted to her self-made career: making videos and selling a wide variety of products (especially things that don't fit his expertise, such as travel supplies and workout gear). Dale places a lot of value in work and independence, so he's very fond and supportive of his wife. She's a good, safe person. He genuinely doesn't mind when she's away traveling... She's there just enough to be comforting without being around so often that she's super annoying. Dev would benefit from having more parental attention, but Dale does just fine, so clearly his son is fine too.

Despite the conflicts that crop up in their marriage (such as Hadley being a hoarder while Dale is neat and tidy), Dale has a lot of positive feelings towards Hadley. If a positive thought about her comes to mind while she's in the room, he'll just say it. Surprisingly, that's gotten him far in life.

If you get him started, he can gush on about how much he likes his wife, who is very cool and hot...... He'd just also be able to walk away from this relationship without being too bothered that it ended. They might be a little TOO independent...

The vibe here is definitely "Enjoy what you have while you have it." Neither of these people likes letting go of things, so they continue enjoying what they have.

Dale has an interesting quirk of referring to Hadley by name rather than labels like "my wife" due to her extreme determination to make a name for herself; she'll jump in to say her name if she's around when he does use a label like that. Sometimes he'll say "your mother" to Dev (in the same vein he told Dev to "listen to his business partner" in canon), but he's broken most of the "my wife" habit.

Dale is significantly more touchy-feely with Hadley in front of crowds or cameras than he is when they're at home. That is, he'll sit with her at a dining table, hold her hand, or even frog-jump right over her to chase something that caught his eye.

He isn't the most complimentary, he's not great at sharing the spotlight, and he doesn't always sing her due praises despite listing off the many businesses he owns, but he'll smile at, finger gun, throw his arm around, or openly flirt with her.

... If you can call it flirting.

Dale is not big on being lovey-dovey, but he'll play up the flirting when people are watching (Ex: Bragging during a press conference, pulling her right up against him at a party while telling someone she's cool, leaning on her, handing her the microphone with no warning, and dropping comments like "Aw, ain't she a doll?") I mean... that's what people on TV do, right? He also texts her photos of him scoring business deals and/or covering himself in money. Sometimes he just stares at her from afar. Wow... wife...

He tends to talk over Hadley in public- She often stutters and isn't as loud and dramatic as he is, so he'll swoop into her conversations (Sometimes throwing his elbow on her head or shoulder, leaning a lot of his weight on her). He has an equally bad habit of getting distracted and wandering away during events, leaving her to wrap up what she was doing and then look around in confusion for him.

They are sickeningly cute in matching pajamas, which is most likely to happen when Hadley's pulled the family together for a game night, video, or vacation. Dale will probably be on the couch scrolling through his phone, but he lets Hadley sit near him. Maybe even lay her head on him. Even Dev can wriggle up to him when he's in vacation mode... Dale is definitely more at ease when Hadley's taking charge and telling him what to say and do.

Again, Dale is chronically unable to convince himself he deserves rest. When Hadley's in charge and "makes him rest" as a family bonding activity, he's actually okay with that. He'll let Dev climb in his lap and snuggle. Dale's not incredibly affectionate even during holidays, but when you're Dev, you take what you can get.

Dale is prone to both hyperfixations and dissociation; sometimes he feels like seconds or minutes passed when really, it was hours. The au pairs keep him grounded enough to eat, but if he's left alone without them, Dale will completely zone out and neglect all his needs (from hunger to bathroom to hygiene... not to mention Dev in general).

Criticize him for Dev's impersonal, drone-related upbringing all you want, but the cursed alternative is "Dale fails to feed his hypoglycemic little boy, who has a seizure and no one's there." The au pairs are holding this family together... Lost chargers, power outages, and long road trips without electricity cause genuine anxiety in the Dimmadome household. A family of 3 who all have ADHD/OCD comorbidity can get by together, but the worst part about the au pairs is how reliant you end up on them...

Dale considers himself to be an attentive parent "when not working" and fails to recognize the impact his devotion to business-y things has on Dev's daily life.

Cross-reference with H.P., who avoids admitting family relations, actively pushes his offspring away when they touch him, will stay awake until everyone else in the room is asleep, and is always micromanaging. H.P. has a "Not ever; that's unprofessional" approach to touch and family attitudes while Dale's energy is along the lines of "Not now; I'm busy" and "I loved my dad, so Devin loves me" and /takes his son's arm and points at him- "I made this."

Dale wants to be a good dad... he just has skewed memories of what his own dad was like, he's bad at talking to children, and doesn't care if he secures money (i.e. safety) in immoral ways. There's a lot going on inside his head, and frankly... He's not going to listen to your critique. You don't know what he's dealing with. He's raising this kid his way. Money is safety. Safety is everything. Dev is doing fine.

Dale and Hadley are also that couple who, if you put them in a room with a bunch of other people to play games, will always team up. They didn't come here to make new friends... They don't trust like that. Partner with someone else?? You're asking a lot.

Dimmadelphia's ruthless power couple, everyone.

Often takes off his wedding ring for sensory reasons and forgets where he put it (Don't tell his wife) (Oh no, she's onto him).

Due to the triple combo of Dale not wearing his ring, walking around separately at events, and not calling her "my wife" in conversation, there are a lot of people who don't know he's married... Including every teacher Dev's ever had until they get the jumpscare of Hadley showing up for parent-teacher conferences. Many people consider Hadley Dale's personal assistant and don't connect the dots that she's Dev's mom. Yes, they're uncomfortable if Dale hints he's slept with her. Every now and then, Dale attends a social event where some widower or divorcee asks if he'd be interested in joining a singles support group (to his bafflement, and he always turns them down because they're clearly trying to scam him out of money). He's been asked out multiple times... and since he's not great at reading signals, he's inadvertently gone on many dates he thought were business meetings. Sometimes he brings Dev with him "so the kid can get some business experience." Dev can instantly clock when the vibes are flirty and will try to subtly get his dad's attention or cut in with a comment about his mom, but he's often ignored. Comedy of errors...

Betrothed to Hadley at age 19. They'd run in the same social circle all their life, so they were certainly aware of each other despite not being romantic. Well, Dale missed 7 years, but other than that...

Specifically, their dads worked this out as an option in their youth, pitched it to them individually, and they both accepted. Dale was relieved to marry someone from Dimmsdale. Doug definitely had some options from elsewhere in the country and Dale was nervous to meet new people and explain all his trauma. Hadley actually saw him during recovery, so he never had to get into detail, and she's pretty accommodating. They get along great.

Clarifying note: They weren't married until they were older, but the betrothal was locked in at that time since by age 19, it was time for Dale and Doug to nail down a plan. Since the Leadlys are multimillionaires rich enough for Leadly to drop 17 million on a spontaneous purchase ("Dog Gone"), one of his daughters was the ideal place to start asking.

Simple courtship. Mostly, Dale and Hadley continued seeing each other at the usual social gatherings, but slowly moved towards deeper talks about their future. Lots of showy gifts exchanged in the way you'd expect upper class kids to privately flirt.

Dale definitely took his time working up to, y'know... talking to people. Neither Dale nor Hadley trusts easily, both having come from families that raised them to be wary of someone taking advantage of them for wealth. However, their shared backgrounds and planned betrothal helped grow their trust in each other, leading to them both feeling very safe in the other's presence.

Ideal Relationship: Back in the day, Dale would've had a hard time putting into words what he wanted- He was just glad to have his life back. Hadley fits snugly in his life and is a lot of things he never would've thought to ask for.

Besides the obvious - i.e. non-abusive - she's pretty lax, likes to schedule, openly communicates, enjoys her personal space, and has done her utmost to make a name for herself without relying on her dad or husband. She has the right amount of "Likes things done her way" energy to parallel Dale's "After work, I don't want to think, so just tell me what to do" energy. Hadley's been to Texas many times (since Pencil Nexus has a branch there). She also loves hunting, which Dale (child of Doug he is) enjoys too. They share a lot of interests. She also indulges his boot-related fantasies, which he likes. Wouldn't trade her for anyone. He might leave her to live alone, but he wouldn't trade her.

The areas they clash most are Hadley's hoarding OCD - very frustrating for him since her stuff gets everywhere - her paranoia that Dale will cheat on her, and Dale not being emotionally there when Hadley wants a vacation.

Although Dale was a curious child who likes exploring, he lost a lot of that during his trauma. Hadley is much more adventurous than Dale is (both in terms of travel and their bedroom life). Dale does not budge easily from his comfort zone and he wouldn't mind if she slackened the reins.

Hadley would've loved to have more kids. On some level, Dale does equate more kids to being more successful and would enjoy having more of them in that regard (especially since he, his dad, his mom, and his grandparents were all only children- Dale has no cousins, uncles, or aunts and doesn't know how to talk to such people).

That said, Dale doesn't feel a specific desire for more kids. He's very hesitant to stray outside his safe zone, especially while his life is currently in balance. He'd definitely be the type to assume more kids will "fix things."

- He would've preferred waiting until he was older to have a kid if it weren't for the crushing weight of Daddy's Expectations looming in the background... Doug always found it weird that Hadley wanted to do business things (like run her own company) and not exclusively be a stay-at-home mom like his wife was. - Dale still tosses and turns over the fact that Doug never got to meet Dev... Daddy never got to see him "succeed at continuing the Dimmadome line"... He will never know if he's proud. It's fine. He's fine. He's actually over it, haha.

Sexuality: Unclear and generally unimportant- 7 years of trauma did a number on his ability to identify emotions or trust other people, and now he's married, so who cares? Not the best at reading the room. Or himself, for that matter.

Grew up in the '90s and 2000s, missed a bunch of school (health class included), wasn't raised in a home that discussed many options beyond growing up to marry a nice woman so he could continue the Dimmadome line... and frankly, if he thought about it and realized there's a chance he may not have ended up with a woman and had a kid, he'd probably have an anxiety attack. We Do Not Disappoint Daddy In This Household.

All this said, Dale is aware of some Pride symbols - mostly rainbows - due to the Pride rodeos held at the Dimmsdale Dimmadome every year he was growing up (They were quite popular in Los Angeles Dimmsdale throughout the 90s). He attended several in the early 2000s, including the 50 years of frozen time. -> Dale has very positive memories of attending rodeos and similar events with his dad, and was none too pleased when they were banned from Los Angeles Dimmsdale in December 2023. See also, "Dirty Roads and Sterile Hearts." Dale also played a lot of Sims games... Up to Sims 9 or 10, in fact, given how products kept coming out during the 50 years of frozen time. He's not oblivious to sexualities, but it's not something he likes thinking about in relation to himself. He'll sell rainbow things for money and be done with it. He's definitely in the camp of assuming everyone experiences attraction (and most emotions for that matter) the way he does... which is to say, very little on the attraction front. Romance plots in media are baffling to him. He's glimpsed some anime and manga through his wife and son, but he's not invested in Kennueth's romance arc (despite Dev thinking it's heart-wrenching and fun).

Dale tends to ask people to lunch or dinner if he finds them intriguing - maybe at a nice restaurant, maybe at his house... maybe at Dimm-'N-Out Burgers - but if you asked him if he was attracted to any of these people, he would say "Of course not- I'm married" or "That would be unprofessional."

The more he wants to impress and befriend you, the more anxious he feels. He definitely has a squish on Kevin Crocker. Dale doesn't care about most people, but when you have a mouth full of implants and you've built your own line of robots, the dentist-slash-fellow robotics expert from Archimedes U is high on the Cool People list.

From this post about Dale and Kevin going out to dinner

It's very possible that Kevin (who's happily married and monogamous with Chloe) is Dale's type, but who knows if Dale's that self-aware.

If he did, it probably wouldn't change how badly he wants to talk to Kevin about robots. Even in a universe where they did date (and subsequently break-up), Dale would follow him around asking robotics questions. Given his struggles of letting go of Vicky, you can bet he'd be equally fascinated by Kevin. Geek to geek communication; romance optional.

No one ever knows how Dale feels about people or where he hopes things will go... Not even Dale.

Intimate History: Sexually intimate with only one partner (His wife, Hadley).

Cherry lemon ship masterpost

Didn't date anyone while in post-trauma recovery, and by the time he was ready to think about his intimate future, his dad already had betrothal options in mind. Dale accepted, never dated anyone, and never looked back.

Despite his unintended not-business dates, some odd workplace conversations, a few awkward doorstep encounters, aggressively flirtatious Amanda Killman, and people who are genuinely trying to seduce him just for money, he is completely faithful to his wife. Why wouldn't he be? He distrusts everyone equally and was probably backing away even before he realized they were flirting.

If you think this man is going to follow someone he doesn't trust with his life to a private location, think again... You have no choice but to flirt with him in front of his employees, weird drones who could probably fling you into the distance, his wife, or his son. You're dang right the office door is staying open.

No, you're not sharing the bed on this business trip. You can have it and he'll find another hotel. He will pry you off with a crowbar or drag you to the front desk before he ends up in a room with you alone. Don't test the man.

Turn-Ons: Prefers knowing what to expect- Giving him a schedule or explanation note in advance is practically a must. If you try to surprise him with spontaneity, he'll be fidgety and anxious the whole time. Feels most comfortable being told exactly what to do.

Dale: We should have a 24/7 total power exchange dynamic. Hadley: We're not doing that. Dale: Welp, not arguing with a bossy lady. Whatever you say...

Loves animal print and ranch-themed cosplay... It's really hot when his wife shoots a gun while wearing denim, cowgirl fringes, and rhinestone-coated boots tbh. Actually, can we keep the boots in the room? You... you can just put them on top of him. Please do that. Hadley, come back-

Very into recording videos of himself and/or Hadley covered in money, but has absolutely stopped Dev from browsing that au pair's collection in the nick of time. Dale is bad at many things, but his uncanny ability to cross paths with Dev .4 seconds before disaster is unparalleled.

Children: Dev Dimmadome

Dev gets most of his looks from Dale, though he has some of Hadley's tufts and curls (plus her body type).

... Sorry? Did you say someone on the family tree seems to be missing? That doesn't sound familiar.

Notable Grandchildren: I've heard Dale's obsessed with finding "the lost Dimmadome heir," whatever that means... I think Dev's profile might have more info for you there.

Father: Doug Dimmadome

Grandfather: Duncan "Development" Dimm Grandmother: Griselda "Penny" Dimm (née Huber) Notable Ancestors: Dale Dimm, Francis Macdome Dimm, Dimmalonius

Mother: Pearl Dimmadome (née Doe)

Pearl disappeared around the same time Dale went missing, leading many (including Doug) to wonder if she'd taken her young son and run off.

Grandfather: Cassias "Cash" Doe Grandmother: Aurelia "Goldie" Doe (née Astor) NOTE - No relation to John and Jane Doe from A New Wish at this time (Hazel's landlord & landlady; parents of the twins). The surname Doe is a play on "dough" being a word for money, which fits the name scheme of old money families we know. If we don't get a Season 2, I'll likely connect them (since John's hair gives me Buxaplenty vibes anyway and I think it would be interesting to play with that), but there's a chance they're aliens or something. No known relation, but this could change (and possibly land Dale with cousins) in a future update to this profile.

Fairy Godfather: [REDACTED]

Hmm... I think he was green?

Pixie Godfather: Fergus Whimsifinado (H.P.)

Met at some point. Memories are fuzzy...

Wife: Hadley Harrington (née Leadly)

- Met in early childhood. Grew up in the same social circle and saw each other at fancy parties. - Hadley used the surname Leadly in her early years, only taking her mother's name after the divorce

Celebrity Crushes: Why would he crush on someone when he's richer and better than all of them?

Current Love Interest: ........ Still Hadley? Unclear.

Other Important Relationships: 

Vicky Aingeal - Dale's childhood best friend since he was 6. They spent a few years playing together (and doing school projects) before The Incident that spiraled into a cover-up... and the lemon drama.

Related Works: "50 Words of Dale and Vicky," Lemonade and Papercuts, "You Deserve It."

Despite years of abuse beneath Vicky's hand, Dale had a very hard time adjusting to life without her. During recovery, he met up with her a few times in a desperate attempt to convince himself she felt bad for what she did and didn't mean to hurt her best friend. Because... she did. She... can't NOT regret what she put him through...

Dale cared deeply for Vicky and doesn't think of himself as someone who would betray his BFF... An emotion that's side by side with the desire to scream and hurt her just to give her a taste of what she put him through. His trauma haunted him for years (and still haunts him as an adult) as he's very broken up about what happened to him. -> He often blames himself. Ex: "She cares about me. She was only mean because I put her in a bad situation. If I'd been a better friend, she wouldn't have gotten upset with me." As he's gotten older, Dale's stopped clinging to those rose-colored glasses as much as he used to. He still feels awful and conflicted about what happened (and is quicker to find fault with his actions than Vicky's). Since his father's dead and Dale still feels like he never lived up to Daddy's expectations, there's a part of Dale that desperately wants Vicky to apologize and rekindle their friendship... She was his friend. He's supposed to hate her. He'd be reluctant to trust, but would probably hear her out if she asked him too. An apology would likely bring him to his knees, spitting and sobbing and screaming at the overwhelming emotions slamming over him... That's rough, buddy. -> See also, this comic I drew of City Lights Dale and Vicky hanging out at a party after A New Wish Season 1.

Ed Leadly - His father-in-law! ... Dale is overly showy and trips-over-his-feet-attentive to Hadley when her dad is around. Do you have any idea how many trees that man cuts down for pencils? Dimmsdale's [presumably magical] forest is literally kept in check because of Pencil Nexus ("The Boss of Me").

Yeah, we don't pick fights with the CEO of axe-wielding. Leadly is not afraid to hunt, chop wood, hunt, gut animals, or otherwise get his hands dirty and Dale is very afraid of him.

Remy Buxaplenty - A frequent contact. They do a lot of shipping-related business together (Remy with trains, Dale with drones).

Remy's also a long-time friend of Hadley's, so he's one of Dale's most common associates in personal life as well.

Timmy Turner - Not close in Timmy's youth, but once Timmy turned 18 (and forgot the magic parts of his childhood), he got into hunting with Sparky. Dale and Hadley were also hunters and let him join their trips several times. They consider each other buddies.

Dale doesn't hold Timmy up on a pedestal- As far as he's concerned, he got himself out of the lemon pit- Timmy's just the guy who let him eat and wash up while waiting for his dad to drive over. But they do know each other and crossed paths on occasion. Timmy knows Dale better due to Timmy living a double life as the mysterious benefactor who throws Septimberfest every year ("Momnipresent").

Amanda Killman (Sigh) - Another wealthy individual in the tech field. Amanda blatantly finds Dale attractive and has no shame in admitting it (or coming onto him). Dale thinks she's a creep and avoids her whenever possible. Hadley distrusts her and is paranoid her husband will cheat on a business trip someday.

Mikey Munroe (& Bunsen) - Met him a few times while his parents were installing security systems; Mikey followed in his parents' footsteps with Bunsen right behind him. Dale does not like either of them, but that doesn't stop Mikey from talking his ear off or trying to "fix" everything in his house. He does think Mikey's parents' drones are neat, though.

Dale can't deliver products to Beast World directly because there are no Beast portals in California, but Mikey orders things on their behalf and sends them through Muckledunk's portals.

Mikey and Bunsen have been trying to hang out with Dale for ages. They bounce around him when they visit (usually to install security or show him broken robots) and have a long history of sending Waffle House coupons in the mail. Every week. For 22 years. There are no Waffle Houses in California. Where do they even get these? Say one thing for Dale, though- He's better than many big companies at acknowledging the existence of the Beasts living both under and aboveground. Beast World is still a largely untapped market and he incorporates them into his campaign plans (and presumably, that's what he thought Danky was). Fun timeline note: Mikey didn't know Bunsen during the 50 years of repeating time, as Bunsen only met him after meeting Cosmo at Creature Con. Beasts were driven underground during the 2nd Creature War (See The Fae Wars) and have only been allowed aboveground for ~21 years as of A New Wish. Many places still don't trust or cater to them, but Dale will chase whatever makes him money. His old money friends are horrified, but he's pretty pleased with himself. Every now and then, someone tells Dale to "go to Hell" to which he responds "I'm already there and I'm making a killing."

TRIVIA

- Dale's MBTI is ISTJ while Hadley's is ESTJ. They're very similar people, though Hadley's definitely the more outgoing.

- I'm not yet consistent with my Dale design, but my vision is that the younger he is, the more front hair puffs he has (i.e. losing them slowly over time, not all at once). He pulls his hair a lot, but it grows back.

- I based his signature off an image I found of Steve Jobs' signature, which was all lowercase letters with a big dot on the j.

- Read his fair share of Crash Nebula and Crimson Chin comics as a kid. His collection was mostly tossed during his lemonade factory absence.

- Grew up around cows, horses, pigs, sheep, goats, and cattle dogs; went to the state fair with his dad every year growing up. The Dimmsdale Dimmadome hosted many rodeos over the decades.

- Walks on tiptoe more than you might think. It's a habit from his old days of exploring and trying not to get too dirty.

- No cousins. Has distant extended family he may refer to as uncle, aunt, or cousin colloquially, but they're not close.

- Dale will eat just about anything (Preferably lactose-free, though he's been desperate enough to eat that too), but he especially likes charcuterie boards, chips and salsa, carrots and ranch... Really, anything he can dip to feel "luxurious." Big fan of chocolate fountains- He gets really into carefully coating things. Dev has a lot of good memories of chocolate-coated marshmallows with Dad.

- Greatly enjoys beef and steak. Ate a lot of it thanks to Dimmadome Farms... In fact, he might like hamburgers a little too much (and even founded his own burger chain).

- He's lactose intolerant (and passed the gene to Dev).

- Often eats with his hands when alone (Ex: Spaghetti)- a leftover habit from not having silverware underground.

- Doesn't like the color green (Vicky's shirt). It's not a trigger- He just thinks the color's unpleasant.

- He's a card counter. It's a skill he picked up very fast, and the real trick is slipping under the radar. ADHD/OCD comorbidity + aggressive business instinct + 50 years of frozen time go brrrr...

- Has a weird relationship with holidays. Dislikes Halloween and April Fools Day - Neither is great for relaxing - but he does enjoy Christmas and Valentine's Day. While he's not the best at being emotionally present, he can follow the script for getting gifts. He's a lot more likely to be with family around Christmas, lured in by his wife's holiday video requests and the socially acceptable time of year to take a break.

Valentine's Day is a breeze- He has few qualms about spending money on expensive chocolates and big flower displays and they don't even need to be tailored to Hadley's personality. She both enjoys it personally and makes videos about his gifts. Black Friday weekend (Up through Cyber Monday) is a very busy time of year. Founder's Day also hits that time of year, so there's a lot to think about. Fortunately, no Dimmadomes have birthdays or anniversaries around then.

- Makes schedules he's bad at sticking to. Tends to go off-script, but at least the act of making them gives comfort in the moment.

- Constantly berating himself for not being "clever enough" or "productive enough" to be "more successful."

- Has a bad habit of running out in rain or snow without dressing for cold weather. He went without for so long...

- Scary in a fight. Although his build is thin, he's tall, broad-shouldered, and isn't afraid to listen to his survival instinct. He'll slam his elbows on you, bite, twist your arms, go for your face... Whatever it takes. Not a sleeping bear you want to poke.

- Tends to bite his nails, scratch or pick his skin, and pull out his hair. Tends to nibble on his hair, but gelling it back really helps.

- Has mild claustrophobia, though not as bad as it once was. He does fine in elevators, but tunnels and the underground make him uneasy. He sleeps with a nightlight, but doesn't mind dim light as long as he can see. However, he hates sleeping near windows.

- Contrary to everyone's belief, he actually does know his son's birthday and all his dietary needs. In fact, Dale is VERY paranoid that Dev will go into a seizure or die due to his hypoglycemia (and that was a big reason to build the au pairs in the first place).

- Owns a pair of similar-looking boots without spurs for safety in crowds, but good luck getting him to wear them.

- Simultaneously loves and loathes hunting... Misophonia be like that, but he wasn't gonna tell his dad it's hard for him.

- Has his anniversary date engraved on the inside of his ring.

- Running gag of Dale being a better parent when he's multitasking: Reaching over to seatbelt Dev while talking on the phone, catching Dev by the back of the collar before he can run into the street, covering Dev's eyes whenever they walk past a scantily clad advertisement even if his eyes were downcast the whole scene, picking him up to carry him across a dangerous or sopping wet part of the hiking trail even if he's checking stocks, or sensing Dev's about to eat something with lactose before Dev does. Parental instinct finds a way...

- If he's not on a call, he plays music to block out noises that trigger his misophonia. If he's in a bad enough mood, he'll be upset those songs bother him too.

- Dale and Hadley both like wearing cowboy hats and boots, especially when they visit Texas. A lot of their promotional images (as well as digital wallpapers) depict them in such clothes.

While Dale doesn't have a family photo as his phone background, he does have one on a laptop he only uses for family-related things (e.g. Scheduling vacations, checking on Hadley's businesses, making donations to Dev's school). It's... everyone sitting on a bench in boots, and the boots are the centered part. Close enough.

APPEARANCES

Main Blog Tag: #Dale Dimmadome owner of Dimmadome Global

Sideblog Tag: #RD Dale

AO3 Tag - #Dale Dimmadome

Dale makes most of his appearances in City Lights AU, with minor appearances in Cloudlands AU's Along the Cherry Lane and 130 Reasons Why I'm Fairy Trash.

His most notable appearance in the latter series is "You Deserve It," where he's the POV character, talks with Timmy, reunites with family, and attends his first fancy social gathering after escaping Vicky.

He's the protagonist of Lemonade and Papercuts and the antagonist of Dev's life... just in general.

Sideblog Masterpost

[thlayli-ra]

Ficlet~

I'm so nervous leading into Bad Blood, as much as I'm so here for Punkintyre, I could use some fluff

Drew/Sheamus ....(wouldn't say no to Wade being around either)

Treat: Remembering the littlest of things — activities they like and dislike, favourite brands of stationery, go-to ice cream flavour, choice of popcorn

I'm sorry I didn't get this one out to you in time for Bad Blood but hopefully it can help with the healing process (Also, apologies, I went really self-indulgent with this one 😅)

Treat - 'Remembering the Littlest of Things'

Characters - Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, Wade Barett

Rating - Teen and up

Warnings - Typical sports banter

An Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman walked into a bar.

That... sounds like the start of a joke, but honestly, it isn't. Wade Barrett, Sheamus and Drew McIntyre were heading out to their usual joint, one of those tacky ye olde English pubs that could sometimes be found if you dared to venture into the more touristy parts of the city. It didn't quite hit the same as the pubs back home in the UK and Ireland, but the owner, Big Jim*, was an ex-pat so the place had some genuine charm about it that came close enough.

Also, it was the only place in the entire US that showed the Six Nations every year so it was either there or stay at home, and at least at the pub there would be some form of atmosphere. Also Big Jim really liked his unusual patrons. 'There's never any trouble when you three are about,' he'd said once, and they had to agree, mainly because whenever any trouble did brew, they were the first ones to leap into action and put a stop to it.

It was week three of the rugby tournament, and a tense clash was looming (particularly for the throuple.) Scotland V Ireland! Normally Drew and Sheamus were as sweet and loving as can be, but when it came time for their home nations to butt heads, things could get a little... well, competitive. Ireland, as per usual, were on a winning streak and had their eyes set on a grand slam, while Scotland, by some miracle, had not fluffed up their chances in the first two weeks and were aiming for the same, or at the very least, the Triple Crown.

(England was playing Italy the next day so nobody particularly cared about that. Sorry, Wade. And sorry, Italy!)

Things were running smoothly up to the point the players came out of the tunnel and onto the pitch. The drinks were lined up on the table (Wade, the neutral, got the first round) and the national anthems began to play. Ireland, being the visitors, went first and Sheamus got up onto his chair, hand on his heart to belt out the rallying tune of 'Ireland's Call'. Drew, not to be outdone, stood up to sing along with 'Flower of Scotland', encouraging the rest of the bar's patrons to join in the added chants during the chorus;

'And stood against them ('GAINST WHO?)

Proud Edward's Army (WANKERS!)'

(Again, sorry Wade!)

But then the whistle blew, the game was kicked-off and soon the nastiness began to creep in.

'There's no way that was a knock-on!'

'Penalty! Penalty!'

'HAHA! We're slaughtering yer boys up front, fella!'

'Pass it! Pass it to him, ye dobber!'

'Forward! Hah!'

'HE GOT IT DOWN, REF! ARE YE BLIND!'

'It was held up!'

'NO IT WISNAE!'

And just as the pressure erupted on the pitch with a brawl between an Irish prop and a Scottish second row, Drew and Sheamus got up and squared up to one another too.

'Woah there,' Wade jumped in between them to separate them both. 'Come on chaps, we're all mates here, right?'

Well, the last thing anybody needed at that point in time was an Englishman of all things stepping in and the pair immediately directed their wrath at Wade who cringed away with his palms raised. Sheamus snorted at Drew who glared in return before turning their backs on each other and stomping off to opposite ends of the pub. Wade sighed and sat back down at the now empty table.

But as the half-time whistle blowed and the pundits began to dissect the first forty minutes of the game, the two men began to calm down and regret their rash actions. Sport had a way of raising the blood pressure like few other things could, especially when there was something on the line, but they had let their emotions get out of hand.

So they each began to plan and scheme, Wade watching both of his boyfriends warily as they scuttled about the place, sometimes heading to the bar to speak to Big Jim, until finally they both sheepishly approached the table with their hands behind their backs.

Drew, the softest of the three, apologised first. 'I'm sorry for getting all riled up Sheamo,' he dipped his head with shame. 'I just get... very jittery whenever Scotland play, but that's not an excuse, so here...' and he brought out a platter from behind his back. Immediately Sheamus' eyes grew to the size of dinnerplates. 'I know how much ye love those pickled onions on the bar, and I mind you telling us how yer maw used to put them on a cocktail stick with pineapple and cheese so I asked Big Jim to cut up some cheese and find some cocktail sticks for ye. He didn't have any pineapple but he asked Debs to nip out and buy a tin and, well... here you go.' He placed the lovingly crafted platter on the table in front of the Irishman who eyed it in wonder.

'T'ank ye,' he hushed out. 'I can't believe ye even remember that story about my ma.' He took in a breath to compose himself then straightened up. 'I got you something too.' He placed a bowl of hot french fries in front of him, topped with a type of dark brown sauce. This time, it was Drew's turn to looked stunned. 'Ye know how you said you once went on a night out in Edinburgh and tried chippie chips with salt n' sauce and loved it so much ye converted to it for life and everybody in Glasgow called you a traitor for not liking salt and vinegar? Well, Big Jim and I tried to concoct something similar with brown sauce and vinegar. It took a few attempts to get it right - Debs was our taste-tester and she said the fifth one was the closest so...'

'Wow...' Drew scratched the back of his neck, a little blush forming on his cheeks. 'That's... really kind of you.'

They both locked eyes, somehow understanding the other and slowly turned to face the final member of their throuple. 'Uh, Wade...'

'Oh no, what?' The Englishman looked nervous.

'I also asked Big Jim to make you this,' Sheamus said, placing down yet another plate. 'Fruit scone with jam and cream. They didn't have quite enough cream so Debs made some more. I insisted they put the jam first then the cream second, just how you like it.'

'It's not just how I like it, that's just how it should be,' Wade argued, playfully. 'Anyone who has cream first is just plain wrong!'

'And I asked them to make you this,' Drew put down another plate. 'Cornish pasty, with the crust doing down the side, not on the top.'

'Well, yes, of course or else it's not a Cornish pasty!' Wade lightly protested, making Drew chuckle.

'I know, I know. Big Jim had Debs check them in the freezer beforehand to make sure.'

'You two are the sweetest,' Wade chuckled. 'And here,' he pushed two glasses forward,' I got the next round. 'Guinness for Sheamo (and yes, I made Big Jim wait for the head to form properly) and an alcohol free ginger beer for Drew with no ice.'

'Awww, you shouldn't have!' They sat down and accepted their drinks gladly.

'So...' Drew drummed his large fingers on the table, looking at each of their specially prepared plates in turn, 'are we all forgiven?'

Wade and Sheamus hummed, making a silly display of thinking hard but eventually smiled widely. The throuple wrapped their arms around one another in a huge bear hug, their petty difference put aside just in time to watch the final moments of the second half.

'I don't even know what the score is anymore,' Drew noted, tucking into his fries.

'What does it matter?' Sheamus shrugged, spiking a pickled onion with a cocktail stick.

'Poor Debs,' Wade sighed. 'All that hard work she put in. We need to leave her a huge tip.'

'Yeah, and Big Jim,' Drew agreed. 'After all he did cook up some pasties for me, and even made a platter that wasn't on the menu.'

'And he helped me invent a new sauce recipe,' Sheamus added. 'And even made a fresh scone when he got the jam/cream sequence wrong the first time round.'

'Um... lads.' They looked over to Wade who seemed a bit unsettled. 'Did Big Jim really go to all that effort just for the three of us?' All three pairs of hands froze inches from their mouths and all three pairs of eyes glanced across to the bar where the older man smiled broadly and threw a thumbs up at them all.

'Oh...' Drew whispered. 'That's a bit...'

'Creepy,' Wade finished off for him.

'He must really like having us as regulars,' Sheamus said.

'Maybe it's time we look for another pub,' Drew leant in and whispered.

'Except we have two more weeks of the Six Nations and no other place in town is showing it,' Sheamus pointed out.

'Ok, ok, fine!' Wade chimed in. 'We come back here for the last two weeks then never again. Agreed.'

'Agreed.'

'And we're never going to fall out over something as stupid as sports again? Right?'

'Right!'

'And hey, look,' Drew said, pointing to the screen. 'Now, we can all enjoy watching Wales getting gubbed by France!'

'YAAAAASSSSSSSS!'

And all three stood up, arm-in-arm to belt out 'La Marseillaise'. (Sorry, Wales!)

*Big Jim is a nod to Jim Hamilton, a favourite ex-rugby player of mine (yes, he's tall with dark hair, a beard and tattoos - I am aware I have a type!HAHA!)

(Also the home-made brown sauce was disgusting but Drew ate it all anyway ❤️)

[talkinfanfic]

Episode 307 - Interview with HeyJulien, Football RPF and Carraville writer

🎧 Episode available on any podcast app, Spotify, or stream here!

Like a bicycle kick goal at minute 95, Sara finally completes editing on a much overdue interview with fellow Carraville author @heyyjulien ! 

Sara and Julien talk about the world of football RPF (as in soccer, for all you Yankees); specifically the delightfully odd-couple rivals-to-lovers ship of English football pundits Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher. Other talking points scattered across the pitch include: football as war, derby days and football rivalry; the joys of local non-league football, the Bundesliga and fußballkultur; to switch POV, or not to switch POV; the annoying beauty of David Beckham; and of course, we discuss the tragically under-utilized in fic friendship of Paul Scholes and Gary Neville (or, Scholesy as the Kermit to Gary Neville’s Miss Piggy). 

Join us, if you like!

Correction - at 03:27:40 we incorrectly refer to our wonderful fellow Carraville author as ‘player1604’-- their handle is @player1064, which is a reference to Gary Neville’s England legacy number. Gary was the 1,064th player to play for England’s National Team. More notes, references, and time caps below the cut.

Contact and Credits:

Intro Theme: Kyle Laurin "Oasis Supersonic Theme" (Twitter: @cobrakylemusic)

Tumblr: talkinfanfic.tumblr.com 

Instagram: @talkinfanfic

Email: talkinfanfic@gmail.com 

Time caps:

00:10:39 - Chelsea v Liverpool result in the Carabao Cup Final AND “Football and Butts”

00:13:17 minutes - Picking an English team as an outside fan, local rivalry in sport, and the mechanisms of tribalism

00:21:10 - Football pride as a substitute for national pride in Germany

00:22:57 - League structure in european football, the purity of the local club, financial doping, and German “fußballkultur”

00:32:57 - A late introduction to HeyJulien ! Julien’s earliest reading and writing memories.

00:36:36 - First encounter with fanfiction and Youtuber RPF

00:42:11 - Path into Sports RPF

00:45:28 - The specific allure of Hockey RPF

00:53:54 - Getting into Football RPF and Carraville

01:11:07 - Carraville fic, start of “Zombies” discussion, and Julien’s real-life plot inspiration

01:20:04 - Excerpt 1, from “Zombies” 

01:39:12 - Strategy and instinct of switching POV’s 

01:59:50 - “The Victorian Era” 

02:06:13 - Excerpt 2, from “The Victorian Era” (apologies from Sara for the botched English accents)

02:23:17 - Cat cameo by Daniel Pickles - and the theme of power in “The Victorian Era”, Gary and Victoria’s friendship, and writing moments that “show” instead of “tell”. 

02:32:27 - The fun of writing about “bad people”, and recurring themes popping up in our works; AND the specific joys of fanfiction enriching “real life”

02:40:36 - “Tasting Syrup On My Tongue”

02:50:45 - The joy of Stevie G and Scholsey in Carraville fics

03:00:46 - Sara’s childhood soccer experience

03:02:49- Rapid Fire Questions!!! 

03:17:21 - Michael Owen Quotes

03:31:00 - Coffee Shop Scenario

03:37:32 - Julien’s fic recs

03:43:11 - Final question- “What do you think it is about sport that lends itself to fiction and fanfiction?”

Episode References

FIC - ‘These zombies in the park, they're looking for my heart’ by HeyJulien 

FIC - 'The Victorian Era' by HeyJulien 

FIC - ‘Tasting Syrup On My Tongue’ by HeyJulien

https://www.fanfiktion.de/ - Julien’s first fanfic site!

CBS Champions League Today "Best Of" - Youtube video, example of CBS crew compilation, ft. Jamie Carragher, Micah Richards, Thierry Henry, and Kate Abdo

"Gary Neville & Jamie Carragher's BEST moments! 👀🍿"   - Youtube video that Julien sent Sara to kick off the Carraville spiral

Gary Neville’s interview with Jamie Carragher on The Overlap - Youtube

"Neville and Carra - the perfect TV double act make their Monday Night Football debut" - Daily Mail article from August 2013, describing Jamie’s MNF debut alongside Gary. 

And another 2013 article, this one from Stretty News on the Carraville punditry duo, described as “a dream pair”. 

‘Tasting Syrup’ reference - Footage of John Terry head injury  in the 2007 League Cup Final, Chelsea v Arsenal - Youtube

‘Tasting Syrup’ reference - Footage of Jamie Carragher head injury in a match against Arsenal in April 2011 - tumblr link

Fanart - Man United v Liverpool lineup as envisioned by the genius k-ky - tumblr link

Article - "Bastian Schweinsteiger dragged the modern Germany to ultimate glory with blood, sweat and tears" - on Schweinsteiger’s heroic and gritty performance in the 2014 World Cup Final (October 2019)  

Some more brilliant Michael Owen quotes (unverified but highly entertaining)

Julien rec - Sara's fic, [the gap between crack and thunder] WIP! 

Julien rec - Quell the Tide by Imnotreallyhereatall - the hockey RPF julien mentions loving (Ao3, locked)

Julien rec - Take a Chance on Me by @zevons, @jjjat3am (Ao3, locked)

Julien rec - keep your silver, give me that gold by @thesecretdetectivecollection (Ao3)

Julien rec - Gary Neville is Still a Red, Just a Different Shade by @fanficburner (Ao3) 

[imaredshirt]

When Stan and Ford were 11, a storm hit Glass Shard Beach with winds that were two miles too slow to classify as a hurricane. So it converged over the New Jersey shoreline as a furious tropical storm, turning the sky grey and pulling and pushing the ocean over the beach in high, crashing waves.

The state had strongly recommended evacuating to safety. It was such a fierce storm that the governor even briefly considered making it a mandatory thing. But only briefly. 

And because he didn’t, nobody in Glass Shard Beach left the little beach side town. Nobody wanted to. Or saw the need to. This was especially true for business owners, who scoffed at the thought of leaving their storefronts and tourist traps abandoned for any amount of time, even for a little bit of rain and wind. 

The Pines family was no different. They locked the front door of their store, boarded up all the windows, and hunkered down in the main bedroom to wait out the storm. 

Pops was asleep in bed, snoring loud enough to put the wind to shame, and Ma was next to him, reading through her Psychics National Weekly, snorting at all the news from the Hush, Much? New Gossip! column that she claimed she’d already seen with her psychic powers three days ago.

The twins had taken their favorite quilted blanket and draped it over the back of Ma’s armchair and one corner of the bed, creating a fort that made waiting out the storm a little more bearable. It didn’t do much to muffle the howling winds or the rain pelting the boarded windows or Pops snoring louder than his car could rumble, but there was something about forts that was always comforting to the 12-year-olds. 

They’d set Pops’ metal flashlight in the middle of the fort, shining a bright light up into the quilted canopy. Stan lay on his back and stretched one arm up to wiggle his fingers in the light and throw shadows against the triangular patches of red and orange fabric overhead, eyes wide as he listened to Ford read from his favorite collection of maritime fiction.

“Suddenly,” Ford read aloud, eyes glued to the open book in his lap. “The ship was launched out of the water! A massive tentacle curled around it, and the three sailors saw the monstrous head of the Kraken emerge from the waves! It peered at them with one bulbous, angry yellow eye. Lightning flashed as it opened its sharp, grisly beak to devour them whole.

“‘Oh no!’ Cried the Captain. ‘I’ve steered us right into the beast’s dastardly grip! I’ve doomed us all!’

“‘No,’ said his First Mate. ‘We are not doomed yet, Captain. We’ll get through this. We always do!’”

“Do they?” Stan asked before Ford could continue. He sat up and tried to peek at the book. “Do they make it out alive? Do they get eaten? What happens?”

“Hey!” Ford laughed and tilted the book so Stan could only see the front cover. “Let me finish reading and you’ll see if they live. Only,” he paused and flipped through the book. “Only 19 and a half more pages to go.”

“Aw, Sixer, come on,” Stan groaned. He flopped back onto the floor and threw an arm dramatically over his eyes. “Just tell me! What if the storm pulls me out through the window and throws me into space and you never see me again? Then I’ll never know the ending!”

“First of all,” Ford said, “That’s impossible. Second of all, we need to study these stories as closely as we can, even if they are fictional. It could help prepare us for our adventures across the sea! What if we run across a hungry Kraken, you know?”

“We’d kick its slimy butt,” Stan said. He balled his fists and aimed two uppercuts at an imaginary ocean behemoth. “No dumb octopus is gonna take the Stan o’ War down with us on board!”

“Yeah!” Ford cheered, then he bit his lip and continued in a more subdued voice. “Hey, Stanley?”

Stan stuck his tongue between his teeth as he aimed another bruising punch into the imaginary Kraken above him. “Yeah?”

“Would you be mad at me if I accidentally steered us into dangerous waters?”

Stan went quiet for a moment, flailing fists falling to his sides. He sat up and  watched his brother fiddle nervously with the corner of one page. Then, with a laugh, he elbowed Ford and said, “Are you kidding me? Dangerous water is where all the fun is! What’s the point of sailing if you’re just gonna stick to boring places? Pirates hide all the good stuff where the monsters hang out! Besides,” he added with a smile, “I trust you with my life, Sixer. Wherever you steer us has gotta be the right way.”

Ford smiled bashfully at the book. “Aw, you’re just saying that.”

“Nah, I’m serious! You’re the smartest kid I know, probably the smartest kid anybody knows. You’re gonna steer us towards all the coolest stuff out there using the stars and maps and math and whatever it is sailors use, I don’t even know! And me? I’m gonna protect us from everything.”

Ford flipped to the next page in the book. “Everything?”

“Yeah,” Stan said. “Everything! Giant squids and undead pirates and--and--and undead giant squid pirates!”

“Undead giant squid pirates?” Ford laughed and flopped onto the floor next to his brother. “That’s crazy! I gotta draw it.”

“Don’t forget to draw ‘em in giant pirate hats,” Stan said. “That’s how you know they’re pirates.  And draw some of their tentacles falling off! That’s how you know they’re undead.” “Noted,” Ford said, tapping his temple to signal that he was making a mental checklist for later. Then he nudged Stan with his elbow. “I trust you with my life, too.”

Stan nudged him back and laughed to hide his own bashfulness. “C’mon, tell me the rest of the story before the storm quits on us. Cause then it’s back to boring ol’ school. Yuck!”

With a grin, Ford held the book above their heads so they could both see the text and the intricate woodcut illustrations. He cleared his throat and began in the most dramatic voice an eleven year old could muster, “Before the Captain could respond, the ship tilted, and the three sailors fell towards the open maw of the Kraken!”

Stan listened in rapt fascination as Ford read on. Next to them, the flashlight threw their shadows against the blanket, making them seem larger than their eleven year old selves, as if they were old enough to set sail for adventure the very next day. 

But they were just kids, with many years ahead of them before they would ever be ready to take to the sea.

The storm raged outside. In their fort, the boys nearly forgot about it, lost in tales of daring adventurers and monsters lurking beneath the waves.

[On ao3]

[babyhatesreality]

Not sure if this has already been asked, but how would Stevie and Bucky be with a day of playing outside with their little? 🥺

Oh man. Best Day Ever.

You loved playing outside. The smell of the dirt grass, the feel of the dirt flowers, the insatiable call of the dirt sunshine.

They tried to make sure that you all went on walks or at the very least to the rooftop playground that Tony had created for all the littles up there as often as possible.

They would plan a whole outing outside whenever they could.

They would never tell you in advance- too many things could interfere and they hated disappointing you.

But at least once a month, they got a whole day off, and if there was no rain that morning, oh- it was ON.

Bucky had a special outdoors backpack for you, complete with bug spray, sunblock, sunglasses, hair ties, pail and shovel, ball, sidewalk chalk, wipes, and of course, a mini first aid kit.

Steve was in charge of snacks and meals, and he could pack a picnic lunch that was better than any of the fancy restaurants you'd ever been to.

They would begin dropping subtle hints at breakfast..."Wow, sure is nice outside today." "I don't think there's a single cloud in the sky this morning." "Sure would be nice to feel some sun, wouldn't it Baby?"

At first you didn't get it, but after a time, you started to clue in, and your little butt would start wiggling with excitement in your chair.

They always had to wait until you'd eaten all your breakfast before breaking the news, because the second you realized you were all going on a day trip outside it was impossible to get you to sit back down.

They would dress you carefully in your favorite cotton teeshirts and denim shorts that could take a dirty day and still come out clean after washing.

Bucky would plait your hair into the two braids that you loved so much and let you pick out which hair bobbles you wanted on the ends.

Steve would carefully tie your favorite sneakers with the light up features (just in case), then swing you up into the air and kiss your nose for being so good and still while he was tying them.

You loved the bustle of Central Park, you loved the privacy of the little playground outside the city, you loved the big national parks that you all drove to, you loved playing in a patch of grass. In short, it didn't matter where you were, so long as you were outside with the people that you loved.

If there was a swingset- forget it. The day was planned.

Steve and Bucky loved playing the game of who could swing you higher, partially out of a playful competitive nature between them, and partially because you were so damn happy, reaping the rewards of their competition.

Jungle gyms- oh man, those were awesome. You could pretend like you were Petey (without making Daddy grumpy) and scale up the rope nets and climbing walls and monkey bars. You took great delight in the day you managed to climb up the slide backwards. One of your greatest achievements.

If it was a big field or an open meadow, you and your daddies would kick around the bright pink ball from your backpack, not really following any rules or sport- just kicking it back and forth to each other, causing you to run around screaming with joy at your nonsense game.

They would find a shady spot for lunch, and you were usually pretty tuckered out from your activities as well as hungry, so it never was too much trouble to get you to stop playing and come eat. Besides, the day wasn't done.

After eating your delicious picnic lunch, you'd be a little more mellow (definitely NOT SLEEPY BECAUSE NO NAPS but you were totally sleepy). You'd play on the swings gently, or go down the slide over and over again, or pick all the prettiest wildflowers you could find.

Sometimes, you'd lay on your back snuggled in between your daddies and you'd all point out the different shapes in the clouds.

Eventually, you would tire yourself out to the point where they'd pick you up, lay your head on their shoulders, and you'd fall asleep instantly.

They'd quickly and quietly pack up and take you home, letting you snooze in your car seat. They'd lay you down on the couch on a blanket when you got home, since you'd gotten all sweaty.

When you woke up, it was straight into the bath. You'd chatter endlessly about all the activities, recounting them with giggles while Papa or Daddy washed all the dirt and grass away.

The three of you would make dinner, you still chattering away nonstop, making them both grin.

Since you'd already had your bath, it was a full on movie night with lots of blankets and cuddles on their bed.

And just like earlier in the day, you'd eventually just drop off to sleep, dreaming sweet dreams of beautiful meadows and fluffy clouds and colorful butterflies.

[paint-pot-pete]

So, I meant to take tons of TFN pics this year; there were SO many amazing cosplayers, artists and traders.

But I was too busy living in the moment like a fucking nerd so I forgot 🤣 I’ll be posting my art haul over the next… whenever but I wanted to share the couple of pics I do have - check out the TF Nation page for more and better photos 🤣

Thank you to the fantastic organisers and my fellow volunteers for putting on a blinder of a convention, the artists and forgers who came and shared their peerless talent with us all, the vendors who made sure everyone had some fun new toys, Toy-Fu for being their usual butt-kicking selves and raising over £35,000 for Mary’s Meals, our guests for being fun, engaging and delightful to chat with & spend three days being silly about robots with us and FINALLY, to all attendees; you came with love, passion and cosplay and made it a convention to remember 😁 Till All Are One 💜

[murderousink23]

10/09/2023 is Leif Erikson Day 🇺🇲, National Moldy Cheese Day 🧀🇺🇲, National Kick Butts Day 🇺🇲, Native American Day 🇺🇲, National Online Bank Day 🏦🇺🇲, Indigenous People's Day 🇺🇲, World Post Day 📮🇺🇳

[opencommunion]

"A Palestinian paramedic based in Gaza has shared horrific details of his detention and torture including threats of rape at the hands of Israeli forces.

Walid Khalili, 36, was arrested after being dispatched to the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City on November 10 to rescue four wounded men, according to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report on Monday. But when his ambulance reached the location, 20 meters from the Labor Ministry building, he saw the men surrounded by Israeli forces.

'I saw the four men being executed in cold blood,' Khalili said. 'I saw it with my own eyes, I was three meters away. When they were shot, I hid under the ambulance, and next to it there was a building, so then I ran inside the building. The Israeli forces raided the building and started yelling at me to raise my hands.' Soldiers kicked and beat him with their rifle butts, breaking his ribs.

HRW said Khalili’s subsequent ordeal – including deportation from Gaza to detention facilities in Israel, torture, and denial of medical care �� was consistent with the abuses in Israeli detention described by seven other healthcare workers who were interviewed. His account is also consistent with reports by other rights groups, the United Nations human rights office, and journalists, the report said.

Khalili said the soldiers forced him to strip naked in public, zip-tied his hands behind his back, blindfolded him, and took him to another location. 'They kept telling me, ‘Say you're Hamas,’' he said.

The father of three recalled the bitter November cold, the report said, when soldiers placed him in an open-back military vehicle, hit him, and drove him to an open area, where he was forced to lie face-down on sandy ground. Soldiers repeatedly shoved his face into the sand with their boots and threatened to kill him, Khalili said.

He was even doused with gasoline, as a soldier threatened to set him on fire, and others drove a military vehicle quickly toward him as if to run him over apparently to terrify him into confessing to being a member of Hamas, said the report. This was a tactic that another former former detainee separately described to HRW.

At the notorious Sde Teiman detention facility, about 30km from Gaza, in southern Israel, Khalili described being held in a large building 'like a warehouse' with chains hanging from the ceiling. He said Israeli soldiers dragged him on the ground, removed the cuffs on his ankles, dressed him in adult diapers, and removed his blindfold.

Dozens of detainees, also in diapers, were suspended from the ceiling, with the chains attached to their square metal handcuffs. Khalili said he was hung up, dressed in a garment and a headband that were attached to wires, and shocked him with electricity.

'The world was spinning around, and I fainted. They hit me with batons. I kept fainting and hallucinating. He kept asking me about the hostages, and moving Hamas hostages, and where I was on October 7. With every question I was electro-shocked to wake me up. He told me confess and we will stop torturing you,' he told HRW.

Khalili said he was given electric shocks every second day in addition to being suspended in stress positions and having cold water thrown on him. At three-day intervals, he was taken from the 'warehouse' for interrogation and before each ordeal, a soldier administered an unknown drug to him in pill form. 'The pill made me feel weird, it was the first time I have felt like this, as if my inner mind was speaking what was in my heart, not me. I felt like I’m flying. I saw hallucinations.'

An Israeli official who spoke fluent Arabic 'told me how many children I have, all their names, my address,' and threatened they would be killed if he did not confess. Khalili shared the abuse and torture of other detainees as well, saying one 'had his leg amputated' apparently as a result of prolonged shackling and exposure to cold.

He saw a detainee in the 'warehouse' experience what he believes was cardiac arrest; a soldier brought in an Israeli medical worker who confirmed the detainee was dead. Israeli forces brought the dead body of another detainee into the warehouse, Khalili said.

After 20 days, he was transferred, in a wheelchair and unable to stand, from Sde Teiman to a detention facility he called 'al-Naqab' prison. He was cuffed and blindfolded and said soldiers threatened him with rape while he was being transported.

The other detainees at al-Naqab were also sick and wounded, he said, and a man who was visibly 'bleeding from his bottom' was brought in and placed next to Khalili. The man told Khalili that before he was placed in detention, 'three soldiers took turns raping him with an M16 (assault rifle). No one else knew, but he told me as a paramedic. He was terrified. His mental health was awful, he started talking to himself.'

After more than 30 days at al-Naqab, Khalili said, he signed release papers at the prosecutors’ office and was given back his Palestinian ID document, but not his phone or cash (the equivalent of US$1,250) taken from him during his arrest in Gaza. Four days later, in late December 2023, he was released without charge at the Kerem Shalom (Karam Abu Salem) crossing. He had weighed 80 kilograms when arrested, and now weighed 60, he said.

The World Health Organization arranged for permission for him to be transferred for care to Egypt in May, but Israeli forces closed the Rafah border crossing on May 7. HRW said Khalili was sheltering in the al-Mawasi area near Khan Yunis, and still awaiting possible transfer to Egypt for medical care, separated from his family who are in northern Gaza.

'I cry every day without my family,' he said. 'I’m alone in the south, I have no one. I swear I don’t need anything but to be with my family.' He has not yet met his youngest son, who was born in Gaza while he was in detention.

HRW said he still loses consciousness and feels 'something in my head like microwaves, a loud sound,' and his hands cramp up. The pain from his broken ribs makes it difficult for him to sleep, and when he sleeps, he has nightmares, the report said."

28 August 24

[kricketbee]

Character Introduction

I'm not sure why but I've always struggled to summarize my characters or stories into bite sized descriptions. It's something I've been thinking about lately because it would be a lot easier for people to get to know my little brain babies without having to read 72k words first.

So I'm using the Creator's Clubs "meet the character Monday" (by @bardic-tales) to finally kick myself in the butt and write up a character profile.

Introducing: Princess Dai Yu, my main Atla OC from my fic Black Jade.

(While a big point of her story is about growing up, I'm writing most of this with her 16yr version in mind. Since thats where she is when the canon timeline starts.)

Hobbies: playing pipa, writing songs, sewing, studying history and reading.

Likes: music, dancing, singing, festivals, plays, babies, cute animals, sweets, makeup, fashion, romance novels and erotic art prints. 

Dislikes: sand, spicy food, combat and training, bugs, and reptile

The daughter and only child of King Janyu of the Earth Kingdom province of Nanfang and Zara, a fire nation woman from the colony of Yu Dao. Despite the fact that no one on her mother’s side is a bender, and many on her father’s side can earthbend, Dai Yu turns out to be a firebender.

At twelve years old she agrees to marry Prince Zuko, believing that it will bring her country peace. She gets along well with Zuko and is more upset about leaving her home and family than the idea of being bound to him.

Dai Yu loved her father probably more than anyone else in the world, and is particularly sensitive to other people bad mouthing him. She struggles to acknowledge his faults even to herself as she grows and her outlook on her situation changes. He was the one who taught her how to play pipa, starting a lifelong love of music they shared.

Not having had the opportunity to learn before moving, she isn't a skilled bender at the start of her story and starts training mainly out of nessesity to control her bending and defend herself. She's competent enough by the time Sozin's comet comes around, but never manages to come anywhere near the ability of most of her bending contemporaries, which she is just fine with.

[bumblebeehug]

I wish you good health 🗣️🗣️🗣️ hope the runny nose and the fever heal up asappy

wooo thank youuuu 🥳 the fever was gone the same day (took a trillion medical pills of all sorts and slept for a couple of hours and boom, no longer dizzy) and the runny nose is manageable 🤧 but headaches and scratchy throats are kicking my butt so gonna rest the entire day tomorrow so I can terrorise tumblr nation

[qedmirage]

Episode 10! This one took me a while. I got distracted by all sorts of things. The stage mechanic is a pain in the butt!! Even having had pre-prep with it from CC events, it is depressingly common for the artillery to switch targeting at the last minute because you missed one enemy in the pile of guys coming at you.

This little scrimblo is the face of evil. Cause of many leaks. If you're kind of sleepy or out of it or tired after a long day of work the Second Defense Artillery mechanic turns into a slot machine that sometimes just kills your clear for no apparent reason (you forgot that this character had 1 higher block than this other one) Story thoughts and unmarked spoilers after the cut!

I'm slow to get to Act 2 of the Arknights story. Over the time I've seen people in various fan communities talk about how they don't like it, how it feels slow to them, or how they think all the Sarkaz are irredeemable bastards. Well now with episode 10 I'm into it proper and while I see the complaints I like the story! I like reading academic works about military history and the history of genocides now and again, so, I'm definitely not the 'normal' audience. But the Kazdel Military Comission is very familiar and 'realistic'.

Theresis and his bros. There's not many...

First off it doesn't have the support of all, or even necessarily most Sarkaz. There's the Confessarius, a small secretive organization that's hung around the crown like ivy; the Sanguinarch of Vampires and the Nachzehrer king, two absolute freak monsters; the Damazti Cluster, who's just One Slime. Certainly Theresis has a lot of soldiers; but of the political leaders that make up Sarkaz politics, he essentially has the trust only of the most violently extreme half of things. Theresis's plan seems to be to simultaneously wage war on the nations of Terra, to restore Sarkaz glory or at least give teeth to their anger at constantly being persecuted. And man I don't think that's gonna work out very well for you! But the nature of the KMC and its job brutally occupying Londinium will drive away any moderates on its own. The KMC is radicalizing itself, from an attempt at governing Kazdel to what is functionally a murder cult, focused on just killing the highest number of non-sarkaz possible. It's not a happy story! And not one that, I think, is going to be 'fixed' by Amiya doing some cool sword magic. Victoria is on a fast track to becoming a failed state, and that's not going to be good for anyone around. Character thoughts! Blunted by having taken months and months to finish this. -Misery, it's cool to see another RI elite and this one's kinda, shifty? Behavior, is fun. Not a pillar of gung-ho courage, but he Gets The Job Done. -Mandragora, poor little meowmew. I do wonder if she'll turn out to have survived, I do feel some sympathy for her after the chapter was her getting kicked in the face repeatedly as everything goes wrong and her one friend dies -Manfred, this is the kinda guy who goes on trial at the Hague, but he's actually trying to like, run a country, so he ends up being one of the more reasonable KMC people. Yikes! -Damazti was very fun, their curiosity in meeting the Eartha crew is neat. Look forward to seeing more of the tricky slime. Closure is a great addition to this chapter, because you have the KMC and all the problems Sarkaz are causing and then RI sends in their Sarkaz and she looks like this:

How could anyone hate that face. Rita is another favorite from this chapter because she is just Not Having A Good Time, and it seems to only be getting worse. Is she coping healthily? Not really!

I think the Glasgow gang wasn't much of a draw. They're dancing around it, but it doesn't really seem like Vina wants to go kickstart the Victorian monarchy again, nor does the game seem to think that would fix things. So they end up kind of spinning their wheels, as the lion gets poked and prodded towards a thing she doesn't want to do.