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atinylittlepain · 9 months ago

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Atlantic City

college!steve harrington x f!oc

part of the girl boy universe

wordcount | 3.2K

content info | 18+ smut, WASPy parental trauma, misogynistic father boooooo, little angst, New Jersey, mostly fluff though

a/n | special thanks to orange anon who isn't anon anymore - apologies this one took a while :')

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He can’t sleep. He’s in the plaid room again, close and quiet and suddenly he’s small, young, swallowed up by the thin pall of the past. And if he’s being honest, he’s not sure if this was such a good idea, but Andy’s not even here for him to tell her that. Down the hall in the guestroom because his mother hadn’t even given them the chance to protest that no, both adults, no, same room is fine. She had already dropped Andy’s bag in the guest room and his bag in the plaid room and given him a pointed look about the whole thing that meant silence, he knows it well.

And he’s considering it, he is, padding down the hallway and slipping in under the covers with her, breathing her in and breathing the detergent his mother has used since he was little out. But something is stopping him, keeping him tangled and curled up in the plaid room, that smalling, that suddenly twelve again thing.

They had flipped a coin before spring break. Which set of parents would be met first, and nobody was winning, really, in this situation. Andy took it in stride when it became clear they’d be paying a visit to Chip and Diane Harrington, shrugging, dramatic warbling of that John Mellencamp song, a little ditty about Chip and Diane, two American kids causing parental trauma in the Heartland. He had laughed at the time. He’s not really laughing now.

Dinner had been as tense and tight as a closed fist. At first, his parents had behaved like Andy wasn’t even there, directing all their questions, all their scrutiny onto him, the usual rundown of yes, decent grades, and yes, how great, the post-grad job he has lined up, yes, mom, yes, dad. And when their attention turned to Andy, never one to back down, ever, the conversation had curdled from a question about her thesis to her asking Diane about her multiple admissions to the state hospital for “exhaustion,” air quotes necessary to connote the dose of skepticism Andy parceled around the word while Chip glared at her and Diane grew skittish, smiling nervous and talking in that high, airy voice of hers.

Steve had managed to steer far enough away from that with a tact that can only be found in the children of parents like Chip and Diane, always on the defense in that way. But when they had gone up to bed, his father had stopped him, hand curled, clawed, on his shoulder and I’m not sure about this one, champ. Not sure about this one, right, and got a mouth, doesn’t she? Something else was said about a firm hand and a tight leash while his stomach started to swirl and sicken. He didn’t say anything, just nodded, the smallest okay, dad, goodnight, dad, and he hates himself for that, tossing and turning in his twin bed because he hates that he didn’t, what? Defend her? Snap and snarl back against the closing hand, closing jaw of his dad? Not that Andy needs anyone to defend her, not that it matters what Chip thinks, not really, but still, but still.

He’s not sure how long he’s been lying there when his door cracks open, the muffled sound of footsteps, a hand curling on his hip, skating up to his ribs and he doesn’t even look over his shoulder, just inches to the very edge of his bed to make as much room as he can for her to slip in behind him, her palm coming to rest splayed over the center of his chest, her lips pressed to the nape of his neck as she settles around him.

“I’m sorry, I think I was a dick to your mom.”

“It’s okay, she’s so heavily medicated I don’t think she’ll remember it in the morning.” She hums, her legs tangling up close with his, perfectly curled into and around each other and barely fitting on this stupid twin bed, but it’s the greatest relief to have her here with him, like the walls aren’t closing in, like his ribs aren’t pinching and pulling taut, her palm over his heart reminding him to pump blood like this, breathe like this. And when she presses a kiss to the shell of his ear, for whatever reason, that’s the thing that finally breaks the thick heat swelling and stuck behind his eyes, water starting to pool and spill, turning his vision into stained glass.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He tries to speak, but a strange sound breaks in his throat instead, a little like a sob, but softer, her hands holding him through the shake.

“I always forget how much I hate being here.” And that is but isn’t all of it. Yes, he forgets how much he hates being here, but he also forgets how small he feels being here, how young. He forgets the fights, and the silence that was somehow worse. He forgets the seemingly constant alternation in those last few years of sleeping in Eddie’s or Robin’s bed simply because he didn’t like being small and alone in this big house. And it’s a good thing, he thinks, that he can forget about these things in the new life he has. But it’s difficult to remember that the plaid room and the silence isn’t his life any more when he’s back in it like he is now.

“Am I making it better or worse being here right now?”

“Better, please stay.” She holds him a little tighter, little closer, her other hand brushing his hair back from his face and of course, baby, of course I’ll stay, and he can’t even feel all that foolish for crying in front of her because she’s not like that about these things, and it plainly feels too good to be held by her for him to think about much else than her hands and the warmth of her body against his.

“Do you want to leave?”

“Right now?”

“Well, I was thinking in the morning. Don’t want those two thinking I kidnapped you and like, ritually sacrificed you to Courtney Love or something. But I’m also not opposed to leaving now if you really want to.” He turns over just enough that he can look at her, the soft curve of her smile, nothing but care, no judgment, no recoil when she sees his bleary eyes, the pull of his frown. She cups his face in her hand, thumb stroking at stray salt beneath his eye, and he knows that she would do it, if he said he wanted to leave right now, she would do it, pack both of their bags and toss them in the car and get them the hell out of here before his parents even woke up. How lovely, how devastating, to be loved like this, to be loved by her.

“My mom said she wanted to take you shopping tomorrow.”

“Steve, to be frank, I don’t really give a fuck about what your mom wants right now.”

“Where would we go, back to your place?”

“We could, but Robin and her girlfriend are watching Sylvia until the end of the week so really, we could go wherever we want to. Anywhere else you want to go?”

“Anywhere?”

“Yeah, I’m paying for gas, dream big, we’ve got a whole week to kill.” And by some strange unfurling in his mind, the first place he thinks of is Cape May, New Jersey, an errant memory of a family vacation, a good memory, young memory, warm and rare memory. Small town and candy-coated storefronts and the beach, of course, the beach. He remembers spending most of that week blowing his allowance on ice pops and roaming the pier alone, sticky hands and sugar-sour stomach, threading through throngs of too tall and too tan legs. He remembers pure, unfettered joy. And if Andy has any qualms about New Jersey she does a good job of hiding it, smiling and alright, baby, we ride at dawn. They don’t really sleep, just curl up close and plot out their grand escape until the light is starting to turn pale and thin, and the plaid room becomes something other than a cage.

She takes care of it in the morning, takes no prisoners and leaves no room for questions, breezes into the kitchen on a long sigh and Robin called, something’s wrong with Sylvia, and he does his best not to laugh as he oh no, should we go back? and Andy’s gosh, I feel terrible, but yeah, we probably should, a veritable production right under the rims of Chip and Diane’s coffee mugs. They get their bags into the trunk of his car in record time while Andy coddles and coos oooh, I’m really sorry, Chip, Diane, but it was lovely to meet you, Chip, Diane, oooh in June? Hmm, I think we’ll both be a little too busy, but thank you, Chip, Diane, let’s not and say we didn’t. That last part, muttered under a quick breath as she ducks down into the passenger seat. He makes a mental note to thank Robin for calling his parents’ house, after he called her and asked her to do exactly that earlier in the morning.

They don’t look at each other until they’re back on the highway heading east, grins splitting into laughter, Andy leaning over the console to press a smacking kiss to his cheek.

“To Jersey, baby.”

“You’re amazing, you know that?”

“Well, I try. Let’s switch off when we reach Cincinnati, alright?”

And, well, the truth is they didn’t think this through, at least not as well as they thought they had. They stop more times than they should, don’t even make it to Cincinnati before breakfast beckons. A crueler for him, coffee with cream, and a maple bar for her, her coffee black, perfect shards of sugar sifting and snowing over the dash of his car, a little sick and a little giddy kick in their stomachs. A handful of stops in Ohio too, gas stations and rest stops and an admitted music shop because they’ve run out of fresh cassettes by the time they pass through Akron. And Pennsylvania, forget it. A delirious afternoon haze, a strange conversation about the Amish, the lingering smell of pickles from the burgers they shared for a late lunch. But after their third or fourth driver seat switch, Andy starting to nod off on the passenger’s side, he realizes a bit idly that he hasn’t really stopped smiling since they left Indiana.

For the record, they never make it to Cape May. The sun has already set, leaving a vivid wash of orange bruising into blue by the time they’re driving through Atlantic City, and they both seem to have the same thought at the same time. Yeah, like the Springsteen song. So they scrap Cape May and car crawl down to the beach, and it’s cold, March, wind bitten and bitter, and dark, and they cling to each other, hands tucked in close against ribs and chin tucked toward chin as they flirt closer to the water. And because it’s cold, and because it’s dark, they’re the only ones out here on this gray-blue stretch of beach, the slow thrum of the water breathing in and out. Andy grins at him and he feels young in a new way, and when she wordlessly starts shrugging out of her shoes and popping the button of her jeans, of course, he follows suit.

It’s cold, bracingly so, all the air shuttering up still in his lungs, up to his shins, then his thighs, then his hips, Andy holding his hand and it doesn’t count if you don’t get your hair wet before she’s dipping under the dark ink of water, resurfacing with a burst and break of laughter, her hair slicked back and the pooling water on her skin shimmering and shining in the distant light of the city. He does it too, with a yelp, a yawp, coming back up for air to the sound of her laugh and then they’re sprinting out just as fast as they dared and daunted in, teeth chattering as they pull their clothes on over damp skin.

“We’re probably gonna catch some kind of flesh-eating disease from that water.” Shivering words that are almost drowned out by the wheezing roar of the heat turned all the way up in his car, he has to laugh, a little bleary eyed while she winds and weaves through the city streets, eyes peeled for a hotel.

“At least we’ll go out together.”

“Knew you were gonna say something like that. So romantic, we can put ointment on each other’s matching rashes.”

“Well when you put it that way.” Matching grins, turned giddy and bold, and they smell like the sea, and that’s less lovely than it sounds. They smell like brine, like snapping cold, his nose burning a little with it, eyes red-rimmed and weary, but still smiling, her hand in his over the console.

They end up getting a room at a motel with so many lights burned out in its vacant rooms sign that all that’s left is the red neon glow of CAN. It’ll do. A shower for both of them, because when she starts pressing kisses to the soft hook of his jaw, she laughs, you’re salty, Jesus Christ. And she wasn’t wrong, boyish and a little brash when he licks a stripe up the side of her neck, smacking his lips in a barely contained grin while she squawks and squirms. So, a shower, skin tacky and warm, and he feels like something perfect, something preening, is unfurling in his chest as he watches her lay out on the coarse sheets of the bed, bare, the soft spread of her hips, shadows bending and breaking in warm lamplight. She smiles at him, her chin tucked down and shoulder hiked, chipped purple nail polish trailing a line of want from her navel up and up between her breasts, along her clavicle. It becomes more clear to him every time he sees her like this that yes, he’s a goner.

“Hi.”

“Hi, baby, you feeling good?”

“Yeah, you?” She hums, mmhmm, rolling her lips back to hide the stretch of her smile, palms splaying along his ribs when he settles between her thighs, breathing in the close heat of each other. And there are words he would like to say, though they fail him, this feeling too big and buoyant to wrap language around. Good love, giddy love, turning to fizz and foam, and he thanks her, thank you for today, with his mouth pressed into her sternum, nose grazing up along line and ligament, the catch of breath in her throat, her smile.

They move with a patience that’s new to them both. In the early days, the beginning, when they were both still skirting around the edges of this being something serious, there was also a tinge of something a little frantic, a little fear and frenzy laced into their fingertips because, no, never sure if that time, or that time, or that time, would be the last. But neither of them are worried about that any more, whispered promises and easy comforts, staying, and certain in it. For the long haul, for it all. So now, now, they can take their time.

And this is different too, at least for him. He had gotten used to, and good at, the performance of things like this, the putting on of things like this, move like this, moan like this, bodies fitted with bodies for particular outcomes. Andy had seen right through that early on, turning the tables, quick spin and her hands on his chest and an easy grin, and he was no longer thinking about the aesthetics of it, of what should follow what, wrapped up in the sense and sate, and now he blushes when she tells him he makes the prettiest sounds for her, pretty, pretty, pretty, my pretty boy.

Her palms soothe presence into his spine, here, like this, be here, like this, and there’s a beat every time his hips settle against hers, a hiccup, a breath, how nice it feels to be with her, to be feeling this with her, both of them sighing, little keening cries that flicker into breathless laughter because how absurd, how obscene for them to have something as good as this. And he knows that they are the same in this way, two people convinced that no, never anything good like this, not for them, and now getting away with something good like this, good for them, and only them, and only theirs.

The soft inside of her knee pressed against his hip makes easy movement out of turning them in the sheets, languid limbs and him on his back and her draped over him, the curve of her spine and the taut line of her neck when her head tips back, pooling light like flecks of gold and he puts his hand there, there, curled close at the front of her throat, not taking anything, but in fact asking, and accepting. Her hips roll, liquid and lovely, dark hair curled damp between her thighs, and it’s something better than art, he thinks. She sighs his name when his hand slips heavy down to cup the weight of her breast, just because he can, pleasure because he can. Like that, like that, they unravel for each other in the close stillness of the night, and stitch back together in the hazy aftermath, her cheek pressed over the battering ache of his heart, all hers.

“Can I ask you something about your parents?” Her chin propped on her forearm, voice barely above a whisper. He nods, his palm stopping its circuit in the dip of her spine.

“How did they meet?”

“High school, I’m pretty sure.”

“I didn’t think that actually happened.”

“I don’t think it does any more, it probably shouldn’t have between those two.”

“Hmm, made a good kid, at least. Though I think that has more to do with you than it does with them.” And then, an afterthought, agonizingly sweet, her knuckles brushing along his cheek, you made it out, you know, and he does, presses a kiss to the pads of her fingers, making that knowing real.

“What about yours?” Roll of her eyes and sigh, the same, but different.

“Two big Boston families, one marriage of sensibility. Add in a little catholic guilt and you end up with five kids and no hope of divorce any time soon.” She says it with half of a smile, a weak laugh that sounds like something else, something tired and trying. He doesn’t push though, doesn’t ask any more. She’ll tell him when she’s ready, he knows. Instead he nods and says a few simple words that sound a lot like what she told him. Getting out, both of them, making something new for themselves, together.

“You think they’ll like me?”

“I don’t know, I don’t care. I’m not even gonna ask if you think yours liked me.”

“It doesn’t matter.” His words crackle and curl with his smile, relief in those words, in believing them. She smiles and something warm splits open in his chest, her palm pressed there like she knows.

“No, baby, it doesn’t.”

#steve harrington #steve harrington smut #steve harrington angst #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington au #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington series #steve harrington fic #steve harrington fanfiction

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jacenotjason · 1 year ago

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*slowly appears from the void*

Would it be alright, if I requested some Fun Facts about Ma? I am so very curious and I wanna hear all the things about the characters-

Hey how did you do that? Ma facts? Oh sure >:D *throws goldfish into the void*

Funfacts n notso funfacts round with Ma!

(HERES THE AU!)

Fun Facts

She’d pierce more of her if she could, but.. ya can’t really pierce a bird? If i drew her in a human au she’d have WAY MORE piercings!

SHE CAN FLY! She just doesnt like to lol

Her hair isn’t naturally that neon rainbow, its black underneath! She regularly bleaches and dyes, usually in the company of others bc its always funner, and you need someone to check the back!

Ma is a mix of birds, but she’s mostly eagle!! Thats where she gets her big ol talons!

Her talons are really sharp! She always tells ppl to mind them when they’re close. (Aa i can imagine her saying that actually “I’m so happy you decided to-, watch the talons, sugar- come over today”)

She has a leather bag with spikes that says “PUNK MOM” in bright green, its her ma bag >:D she carry’s snacks, first aid utensils, and medication! Mostly anxiety medicine or pain meds.

She is the tallest neighbor, beating Barnaby by about half a foot

She went to Mother Mary’s School for Problematic Boys, after she came out. She was sent at 17

She met Barnaby there ^ she was astonished by how brainwashed Barnaby was, since he was sent there so young he was so accustomed to all the teachings. Poppy decided she wouldn’t just escape, she’d take Barnaby with her!

In the school, everyone went by their last names. (Adults called the kids “Son ____” and kids called the adults “Mother ____” and “Father ____”, kids call each other “Brother ____”. They thought they were a big family, basically. Its a very stereotypical cult.) which explains why Barnaby doesn’t know her deadname! He called her “Brother Partridge”, when they escaped they traded their real names, and ofc ma said to call her Poppy

Poppy calls her parents every year or so, (“just makin’ sure they’re still bigoted. Aha, just kiddin’, I don’t have to check.”)

I like to think Ma has a southern accent. I don’t actually know where she would’ve developed it, but it fits with the mom vibe ok?

She’s horrible at baking, but AWESOME AT COOKING. Like go to her house every thanksgiving. Not even, go for dinner she’ll happily cook you some heaven sent meal im serious.

Poppy was originally going to be completely greyscale, no neon whatsoever. I changed it bc it looked way too gloomy and.. bad.

Poppy would happily say yes to a “Hey Mister*” (*teens standing outside a store and asking adults to buy them alcohol/cigarettes. This literally never works, but Ma would get u some as long as u promised to be safe, and might even make u party at her house)

Not-So Fun Facts

Ok some context for this one: Barnaby was going to be killed by the cult. Before a sacrifice or killing someone that stepped out of line (thats what Barnaby did) they down a cup of wine to cleanse themselves before taking a life. Poppy knew they’d kill Barnaby and poisoned the wine. She pretended to drink it as everyone else did, and bit her tongue as she waited for it to work. If it took even just a few more seconds to kick in, Barnaby would’ve been killed

The poison wasn’t lethal, in Poppy’s words, “they’ll shit weird for a week and vomit more then a tween with bulimia, but they’ll live.”

If it wasn’t obvious her parents are transphobic

I don’t have a lot of notso funfacts for Ma.. shes doin ok <3

#welcome home #welcome home opposite au #welcome home au #thanks for the serotonin!#thanks for reading!#poppy partridge welcome home #poppy partridge #poppy ‘ma’ partridge #i love ma too but shes a pain in the ass to draw tbh #cmon ma :(#funfacts n not-so funfacts

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atmilliways · 2 years ago

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Dreams In Which I’m Dying (9)

part 9 of 16 | 871 words | Teen +

Summary:

Now that the weapons are ready Robin is further afield getting a shooting lesson from Nancy, but Steve is here, with him. He’s trying not to read too much into that.

9 - Reflects

Eddie Munson reflects, as the Party prepares for the big showdown, how much of his life he's spent thinking of Hawkins as hell. Same old worn-out places, same people he’s seen every day since moving in with Wayne for lack of anywhere else to land. Hawkins has always been his absolute last resort.

“So it’s weird that I’m trying to help save it, I guess,” he explains to Steve. Now that the weapons are ready Robin is further afield getting a shooting lesson from Nancy, but Steve is here, with him.

He’s trying not to read too much into that.

Steve looks thoughtful, crosses his arms like he’s trying to hold something in. “You don’t have to, you know. All this, you kinda got thrown in with no warning—which I guess we all did, but, uh. If you wanted to get out, you could. Just get out of dodge, you know? Get somewhere safe.”

Eddie quirks a skeptical eyebrow. “What exactly is the minimum safe distance for something like this?”

The crossed arms loosen a tiny bit and Steve shrugs.

And Eddie gets it. Steve is the protector, the Paladin with a nailbat. He’d seen it in the Upside Down when the guy had swerved his bike between them and the diving bats. For a second, Eddie had even seen it coming: a nothing reaching out from Steve’s chest that he followed like a train on a track, like a snail trail in reverse. Something inevitable, as though there wasn’t a world anymore in which Steve Harrington would simply let other people get hurt.

So Eddie shrugs back and says, “I run from it now, one way or another it’s going to keep chasing me.” He pauses, buckling briefly under the weighty truth of that, and almost regrets saying it out loud. “Um. Plus, these kids need all the help they can get, because they’re clearly never going to back down.”

Steve lets out a genuine laugh, his gaze flashing over towards where Max and Erica are doing a weird blend of pole fighting and jousting with the makeshift spears. Lucas stands back with both hands on his head like he’s just waiting for it to end in bloodshed. “Got that right. Remember how I told you Erica can take care of herself? She’s still only eleven, but point that out and she’ll go straight for the jugular.”

Eddie grins, remembering his initial confrontation with the kid. She had gotten his friends to laugh at his expense, which just went to show her talent at coming up with a good burn at a moment’s notice.

Not that it would help her against monsters, but. That kind of spark deserves protection. Erica has it, Dustin has it. . . . Lucas has been avoiding the Hellfire lunch table lately, but championship bullshit aside he had put in the work to play both games all year. And there’s no question about Max, who on her own just about qualifies as a wildfire.

He wonders if Mike is alright, unreachable out in California for so long it seemed ominous as hell, considering everything else going on.

It occurs to Eddie that he thinks of Nancy, Robin, and Steve—young adults but still young—last. They’re the so-called responsible ones taking care of the kids.

Although Steve looks out for Robin and Nancy, Eddie doesn’t really see anyone looking out for him because, you know. It’s Steve. Big strong guy, several concussions already under his belt, proven track record of handling himself. . . . That seems to be how he likes it.

“How’re you holding up?” Eddie asks, after a moment of rolling the question around on his tongue. It comes out in a cheeky imitation of Steve but, still, he’s asking.

Steve blinks. “That’s my line.”

“I’m older than you, so I’m pulling rank. Seriously man, your turn to answer the question.”

Looking away, still blinking, Steve doesn’t even seem like he knows how. Eddie gets that; he knows from some of the skeletons in his own closet, the things that are hardest to tell get that way because they’re the hardest to take.

“I’m, uh. . . . I’m fine,” Steve says finally, rubbing the back of his neck and glancing over at Eddie out of the corner of his eye. “The bites don’t hurt as much anymore. I’ve . . . been meaning to thank you, man. For patching me up.”

Feeling brave, Eddie bumps their shoulders together. “You’d’ve done the same for me.”

They stare at each other for a second. Then Steve’s hand encircles his wrist, tugging him unexpectedly into the RV. It’s not until they’re inside with the door closed that Steve says, “Yeah, I would’ve,” and pulls him into a kiss.

It’s a good kiss. And brief, because a moment later Lucas sticks his head in asking for bandaids for Max and Erica. But that single moment suffuses every molecule in Eddie’s body with an enthusiastic yes. Even when Steve mouths ‘Later’ at him and he catches the word because he’s too busy staring at those plush, perfect lips and absently licking his own.He hears the flap of fleshy wings and a whisper of wake up in his ear, but the sky is clear when he peers out the windows.

#stranger music anthology #donnie darko steddie au #steddie fic #steddie #eddie munson #steve harrington #my fanfic

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deepseamuse · 2 years ago

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I have three OCs that are immortal, but each of them works very differently:

H technically isn’t, really. She’s more like a phoenix; she can die, but her old body is then destroyed and then replaced with a new one. That said, how long it takes and how much she remembers varies. For the most part, it’s a quick process and she still has most, if not all, of her memories. Furthermore, it’s even faster if she dies in battle or was otherwise attacked. But if she dies willingly, which usually only happens when she reaches the end of a mortal lifespan, it can take years for her to be reborn and she usually loses most of her memories. She might even start out in a childlike state, even though she’s usually reborn as a young adult. (This is the most complicated one, mostly because she actually can die and I needed to work out the specifics.)

M is more along the lines of a traditional immortal. Never aging, unable to die; she’ll keep getting up, no matter what you do to her. She’s stubborn like that. Most notably, though, her wounds are healed in seconds. Limbs cut off? They just reform again, in a burst of light. (You know how the clothes will turn into like. Rainbow light as they change during a magical girl transformation? It’s like that.) Considering she’s dedicated her existence to protecting humanity, this is pretty useful. Obviously she’s rarely ever seen bleeding, since her wounds instantly heal, but her blood is the same rainbow light that reforms her body parts when they’re cut off.

T is… well, T isn’t even remotely human. He’s pretty much the void coalesced inside of a human shaped shell, there’s no way to even get close to killing him. The most you can do is destroy that shell, but it’s not really him and he can always remake it, so there’s no point. And honestly, it’d be a fucking terrible idea to even try. What lies behind that pretty face will drive even the greatest mortals mad, and he doesn’t take too kindly to would-be killers.

#original character #tw death mention #tw body horror #Not really but when you think about it M and T are weird enough to put this just in case #Had a bunch more tags that talked a bit about T but they can be their own post #There’s also a bunch of nature spirit OCs but everything in that story’s the embodiment of natural phenomenon so it arguably doesn’t count #T // Takeo #M // Mathilda #H // Hana

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hollymbryan · 2 years ago

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Blog Tour: Top 5 Reasons to Read THE BLACK QUEEN by Jumata Emill!

Hello, and welcome to Book-Keeping! I’m excited today to be part of the TBR & Beyond Tours blog tour for The Black Queen by Jumata Emill!

About the Book

title: The Black Queen author: Jumata Emill publisher: Delacorte Press release date: 31 January 2023

Nova Albright was going to be the first Black homecoming queen at Lovett High—but now she’s dead. Murdered on coronation night. Fans of One of Us Is Lying and The Other Black Girl will love this unputdownable thriller.

Nova Albright, the first Black homecoming queen at Lovett High, is dead. Murdered the night of her coronation, her body found the next morning in the old slave cemetery she spent her weekends rehabilitating.

Tinsley McArthur was supposed to be queen. Not only is she beautiful, wealthy, and white, it’s her legacy—her grandmother, her mother, and even her sister wore the crown before her. Everyone in Lovett knows Tinsley would do anything to carry on the McArthur tradition.

No one is more certain of that than Duchess Simmons, Nova’s best friend. Duchess’s father is the first Black police captain in Lovett. For Duchess, Nova’s crown was more than just a win for Nova. It was a win for all the Black kids. Now her best friend is dead, and her father won’t fact the fact that the main suspect is right in front of him. Duchess is convinced that Tinsley killed Nova—and that Tinsley is privileged enough to think she can get away with it. But Duchess’s father seems to be doing what he always does: fall behind the blue line. Which means that the white girl is going to walk.

Duchess is determined to prove Tinsley’s guilt. And to do that, she’ll have to get close to her.

But Tinsley has an agenda, too.

Everyone loved Nova. And sometimes, love is exactly what gets you killed.

Add to Goodreads: The Black Queen Purchase the Book: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | Indigo | Indiebound

About the Author

Jumata is a journalist who has covered crime and local politics in Mississippi and parts of Louisiana. He earned his B.A. in mass communications from Southern University and A&M College. He’s a Pitch Wars alum and member of the Crime Writers of Color. When he’s not writing about murderous teens, he’s watching and obsessively tweeting about every franchise of the Real Housewives. Jumata lives in Baton Rouge, La.

Connect with Jumata: Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Facebook

Top 5 Reasons to Read The Black Queen

1. Small-town secrets and lies, and examination of how they reverberate through generations

“Hate does something to you if you hold onto it for too long. It can turn you into the very thing you’ve been taught to loathe. ... All of it poisoned me. ... That night in my mother’s car changed everything. Made me realize how we’ve both suffered and been affected by the sins and expectations of our parents.” (p. 384-385)

2. Exploration of racism in the Deep South

“Separate but equal is still as Southern as iced tea.” (p. 15)

3. Exploration of grief, what it means to lose someone as a teenager/young adult

“Nothing sounds good enough to say in front of who knows how many people at tonight’s game. Nothing I’ve scribbled down so far feels like me. Or her, for that matter.

“This is why teenagers shouldn’t have to eulogize our friends. We’re supposed to have more time to get this right.” (p. 284)

4. Real talk about how white people respond to accusations of racism, whether systemic or individual, overt or unintentional

“Why is it that every time a white person gets called out about their mistreatment of us, they flip the script by accusing *us* of ruining *their* lives by having the nerve to not sit back and take it?” (p. 250)

5. Discussion (geared towards the white reader) of what it means to be actively anti-racist

“Learn. Listen. Don’t make your guilt the emotional baggage of others to deal with. It’s not their job to hold our hands and make us feel better.”

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I’ve been looking forward to reading The Black Queen since it was announced, so I was thrilled to jump in on this tour. Thanks so much to the publisher, author, and tour company for having me!

Check out the Instagram tour too! My post can be found here, and the full schedule is here.

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globrights · 6 years ago

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i act like sunny doesn’t influence the way i play the sims but then I have kids and I name them shit like glenn rob dee charlie etc.... it’s so telling

#personal #i feel like the way i play the sims is kinda strange #i accidentally married alex moyer into my household n #apparently she never ages #so im essentially using her as a vampire matriach #and making sure her descendents reproduce #so she has like a Long Line but she’ll always be a young adult

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ieatsuffering · 3 years ago

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How Li’s handle a large age gap

So I have my own personal headcannons about the characters ages ranging from (45-28) and I’m personally 23 and have a thing for age gaps as long as everyone is a consenting adult.

Asra

They’re definitely an age is just a number person

You’re death from the plague was so much more tragic

Can’t help but be protective and big brother you sometimes

They love getting watching you grow and mature

You’re just so adorable and fun

If you ever accidentally call him dad, he’ll just laugh it off, finds it sweet that you look up to him like that

Is down with being called daddy tho

Nadia

Isn’t really concerned about the age gap.

You’ve proven to her that your deserving of her respect regardless of your young age

At the same time she appreciates your fresh young perspective.

She also loves how you look up to her

She’s always careful not to patronize you or mother you

Though if you do ever accidentally call her mom she can’t help but feel touched and tease you about it

Call her mommy in bed tho

Julian

Has the most hang ups about it

Sure he knows you’re a consenting adult but you’re younger than his baby sister

Oh no does this make him a creep. He must be a pervert manipulating such a sweet young thing

He loves you so much and respects and admires you but you’re so young.

You’ll have to reassure him that you’re mature enough to make you’re own choices and you choose to be with him

On the other hand he adores your energy!

You’re bright young out look is invigorating

But he just can’t help but think that you were a baby when he was a teenager

Will have an existential crisis if you ever accidentally call him dad

Muriel

Is sometimes worried he’s too old for you but ultimately doesn’t mind

Very protective of you since your young age makes you more reckless and naive

You’re advances towards him are so much more jarring

Shocked that this little squirt is calling him cute like have they seen them selves

Feels responsible for you, even if you’re an adult he’s still the older adult

When you accidentally call him dad. Muriel.exe has stopped working

Portia

Doesn’t really notice the age difference

But still teases the shit out of you.

Goofy nicknames like squirt, baby, youngster, kiddo

“Back in my day”

She’ll point to a child out in public and be like “you”

She isn’t sensitive about her age so feel free to return her energy

If you ever accidentally call her mom you’ll never hear the end of it

Lucio

Since he’s so young at heart (immature) he never really even noticed the age difference

That it’s until it’s pointed out to him

Then he’ll have a full blown crisis

Personality and maturity wise you’re both about equal but he’ll stress every physical sign of age

His fine lines, grey hair, back pain, fuck he’s getting old

Do not point out his age, he’s so sensitive about it

Laments not being you same age and getting to grow old with you.

Regardless he still adores you and you help him feel young.

You probably won’t accidentally call him dad since he doesn’t really act his age, which is good cause he’s never mentally recover.

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imaeraser · 3 years ago

Note

can I request headcanons of the strawhats having a teenage member of the crew who has the angel devil fruit and is really powerful but lazy and never fights.

Sure!

(Platonic Straw hats Headcannons)

Luffy

He thinks your devil fruit is cool

Will ask you to show him your wings

He automatically assumed you were kinda weak

Seeing that you were strong, made his jaw drop, and sparkles appear in his eyes

“Ehhh, why didn’t you tell me you could do that earlier?”

Will not stop asking you to show off your cool moves

But when you don’t (since you’re lazy) he starts acting like a whiny baby

You might entertain him for a bit, but sleep triumphs, all right?

Whenever you unfurl your wings= automatic sparkly eye

Kinda annoying

Zoro

Doesn’t care for your devil fruit

Although he can get entranced sometimes— but that’s just the wings

Also assumed that you were weak, since a) you’re lazy, and b) you’re young

That means he automatically feels the need to protect you

I mean a kid can’t fend for themselves… right?

Wrong, at least for you it is

He was 100% shocked

I mean he could sense that you’re strong, but with the frequent conjoined naps he brushed the feeling off

He will have a new respect for you, but will still treat you like a kid

Nami

Thinks that your wings are really pretty

I think she would also get you to manipulate people (for deals) using your angelic like presence

But she would feel bad afterward

She does hate the fact that you’re so lazy though. She delegates the tasks on the ship, so when you don't do them… let’s just say there is a lot of yelling

She would also have the automatic need to protect you

Who let a teen sail on the grand line… oh yeah, Luffy

When you guys get into a dire situation, and you show how powerful you are…

She is grateful and scared

She Will still try to protect you, but when she realizes she can do much less for you compared to what you can do yourself, she gets kinda sad

Usopp

think’s your devil fruit is cool, but isn’t too amazed by it

He doesn't care that you’re lazy either

And he will try to act like a brave older brother (and he won’t cower behind you when a threat is coming)

But when you finally fight, his jaw drops and he goes pale

When did you get so powerful?

Will never talk down to you again (even in a joking way)

Respect went up, as well as terror

He’ll still mess around with you

But he will now cower behind you when he’s scared (be prepared for that)

Sanji

Likes your devil fruit

I think he likes the idea of angels

And since you have angel wings, and are still young, he thinks of you as a doll

He is super sweet to you, and always talks with a baby voice

Doesn't mind that your lazy, again you’re still young

And he will at all costs protect you (unless there is a really attractive lady that needs saving, and then he needs to re-evaluate his morals)

But when he realizes you are strong, the idea of you being cute and innocent just shatters

When you go back to being lazy he is just so confused

Does not know how to act, does he treat you like a kid or as an adult now? I don’t think he’ll ever know what to do

Chopper

Your devil fruit is similar to his in a way?

And by that I mean it affects your body and makes it develop “irregularities”

He is very fascinated because he’ll have to study your wings to find ways to treat them if they ever get hurt

He will also try to act like a big, cool older brother

He Will try to do anything in his power to protect you too

Also didn’t think bringing you onboard was a good idea… but Luffy’s gonna do Luffy

He doesn’t like the fact that you are lazy since it makes Nami mad = the whole ship is in chaos

When he realizes that you’re strong he will be amazed

It Falls under the sparkly eyes category

Will strive to be as strong as you

Robin

She thinks your devil fruit is interesting

Especially your angelic pres sense and how it can be used to manipulate others (she come from a dark background, okay)

Is the ultimate mom

Does not mind the fact that you are lazy because she doesn't think you should be doing any of this anyways

I think she would give you books to read, and she’ll chuckle when you fall asleep trying to read it

Will also try to protect you (she tries to protect everyone)

She’s often worried, due to your age, and she also sees you as harmless due to your angelic aura

Let’s just say her image of you was shattered as well when you pummeled the enemy

The equivalent of Franky saying bad things in Chopper’s body

Franky

Isn’t very interested in your devil fruit

But he thinks the wings are fun

He assumes the big brother position— the actual cool one

Frequent head pats

If you find a blanket that was placed on you during a nap, that was him (or Jinbei, or Robin)

Will hand you a bottle of Cola and mess up your hair with his tiny set of hands

Gets kinda annoyed when you don’t do chores, but he feels bad when Nami chews you out

Also feels the need to protect you

When he realizes you're strong, he also gets kinda sad. You aren’t the innocent angel he thought you were

Brook

Like Franky, not very interested. In your devil fruit, but he thinks it's cool

He feels at peace near you, so he likes to play you a song as you drift away to nap

He thinks it's kinda funny when Nami yells at you

But he isn’t annoyed at your lazy tendencies

He thinks that you should be treated like a kid, so he often picks up your slack and does your chores for you

He likes to tell you stories of the world long before you were born

Also feels the need to protect you

When he realized you were strong, he was pleasantly surprised

Proud dad moment

Jinbei

Kinda sees your devil fruit as normal (Fishman all look different, so it would only make sense if humans did too… kinda)

Kinda acts like your dad

He will scold you for being lazy

But he does feel bad since he feels like you’re too young to be on a ship— then again Luffy is only 19 (still technically a teen)

He tries to teach you how to sail the ship, but when you show no motivation he doesn't push it

He’ll also try to teach you other things, but none of them work out

Will protect you

But when he realizes you are strong, his mouth is just left gaping

Can’t decide if he’s proud or sad (since you are not just a little angel anymore 😭)

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let-me-take-your-soul · 2 years ago

Note

How would the Soul Eater Cast reaction to witch baby cursing like a sailor? It's Kid's fault.

Lmaoooo, I love this

Soul Eater Cast reacts to Witch Baby cursing:

Maka: Maka would be shocked the first time she hears them curse. At first she thinks it’s just a mispronunciation- Raven is still very young, so they still mess up on words a lot. After a small incident where Raven falls and scrapes their knee at the park though, that’s when Maka realizes that the cursing isn’t a mistake.

“God fucking dammit that hurt like a bitch!”

Maka could feel her soul leave her body as she quickly collects Raven, avoiding the horrified gazes of everyone else at the park. Once they were gone, Maka would tend to Raven’s wound and try to talk to them about it.

“Raven, you know you used some pretty adult words back there. Where did you learn to speak like that?”

“Big brother Kid talks like that all the time!”

“Oh is that right? Well big brother Kiddo isn’t supposed to be speaking like that in front of you! You’re still a little young to be speaking like that, so let’s not use those words, okay?”

Maka will give Kid a very stern talking to the next time she sees him.

Soul: Soul finds it hysterical. The second Barbatos let’s out a tiny “Fuck!” Soul is in hysterics.

“Where’d you learn that word?” he’d ask.

“Big brother, Kid!”

“Oh that’s real funny. Okay, just remember, you can’t use that word around everyone, alright? Just me and Kid. Probably Black*Star and Patty too, but don’t go around saying it to everyone, okay?”

He’s super chill about it, but every time he hears them swear, he has to hold back laughter.

Black*Star: Black*Star doesn’t actually notice when Bahamut is swearing. He forgets that children using curse words is typically frowned upon, but once Soul points it out, Black*Star finds it super funny that not only has he not noticed that Bahamut has been cursing up a storm around him constantly, but he finds it especially funny that Kid is the reason this baby is swearing. He’d point it out to Kid and give him a high five for it honestly.

Tsubaki: Similar to Maka, she’s also surprised to hear this little baby say something as intense as “‘Baki, I gotta shit!”

After she collects herself from the surprise and gets Castra taken care of, she’ll be very mom-like and say something along the lines of,

“Castra, can I talk to you about something you said?”

She’ll have a conversation about what is and isn’t appropriate to say, and once Castra tells her that they learned the word from Kid, Tsubaki would be disappointed in her friend for not watching his mouth around kids. She’d send out a slightly passive aggressive group message saying:

“Hey guys! Castra just casually said the word “shit”! Please make sure when you are working with the witch babies that you watch what you say! Their little ears pick up everything :)”

Death the Kid: Kid doesn’t realize his mistake until Salem starts rattling off every word in the book.

“Salem, who taught you to speak that way?” he’d ask.

“You always say those words! I wanted to talk like you too!”

When Kid hears that, he mentally punches himself. Normally he wouldn’t care, but they were at a function for the academy and hearing a small child listing expletives isn’t an amazing look for them.

“You’re right, I do say those words a lot, don’t I? However, those words aren’t the nicest to use, so for now don’t use them, okay? I’ll have a conversation with you later about when it’s okay to use those kinds of words.

Kid won’t force Salem to stop swearing, he just teaches them to not cuss around strangers during important events. Outside of that, Kid finds their use of explicit language hysterical.

Liz: Liz is going to be the most casual about her reaction. She’s known Kid for a long time, so when Phoenix starts swearing, she immediately recognizes the phrasing as the way Kid speaks.

“Hey, Phoenix. I know big bro Kid talks like that, but you can’t, okay? Those are big kid words and you aren’t quite there yet.”

She’d talk to Kid later and tell him he’s gotta stop swearing around the youngins.

Patty: Patty is in hysterics when she hears Willow swear. Unfortunately for everyone around them, Patty will be teaching Willow even more curse words because she finds it incredibly funny. Her friends would have to step in and start teaching Willow that swearing isn’t always appropriate, because there’s no way in hell Patty is gonna do that! She’s having way too much fun with this.

Crona: Crona thinks that Ragnarok must have told Cricket about swear words, but after he admits to “only teaching them the word ‘ass’” Crona calls up Maka to ask her how to deal with a kid who’s now swearing relentlessly.

Maka has to step in and teach Cricket about curse words, and that’s when they find out Kid has been swearing non-stop around them. Crona isn’t sure how to go about this situation, so they go with Maka to talk to Kid and ask him to stop swearing so much around kids!

#soul eater #soul eater imagine #soul eater imagines #soul eater fanfiction #death the kid #maka albarn #crona gorgon #blackstar #soul eater evans #liz thompson #tsubaki nakatsukasa #patty thompson

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scarlettriot · 3 years ago

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Mina Ashido Headcanons!

@jewel116 requested some headcanons of our Alien Queen and I am here to deliver!

Some of these also could be considered BakuSquad HCs, hope that's alright.

I also went ahead and included some Adult Mina and 18+ Mina Headcanons too. Both are below the cut and clearly stated. Warnings are posted at each header mark.

If anyone has any other requests, lemme know!

Basic Mina Headcanons

Warnings: It's as fluffy as her dang hair! (Swearing)

. Most definitely has ADHD! In class, she is constantly tapping her foot on bouncing her leg as a means of trying her best to keep focused.

. Has a collection of shirts that she has designated for sleep and loungewear because she's burned acid holes in them by accident. Sometimes she'll wear them to concerts and shows if the design is cool enough.

. Loves piggyback rides! Frequently will run and jump on the backs of the guys in the BakuSquad. Even Katsuki himself puts up with it after a while.

. While Katsuki is the 'mom' of the squad, Mina is the one everyone goes to when they need comfort. Denki will curl up in her lap after a long day, Eijiro frequently goes to her when his insecurities creep back in, Hanta shows up late at night and they talk in her room about nothing just because he doesn't want to be alone, and Katsuki, well, he shows up to her room, slams the door and complains for a solid half-hour after reading a particularly heartbreaking scene in a manga while she listens to every word and validates his feelings.

. Mina worries far more than people believe she does. Her bubbly, loud, personality usually masks it but she knows when people are lying to her about what's going on in their heads.

. Sitting properly in a chair physically bothers her. She'd much rather be hanging upside down off it.

. She lowkey likes that the boys get protective over her.

. Mina is the type of person who gets A LOT of random thoughts that pop up in her head and one of the few people who actually will engage with the sheer randomness of the ideas is Shoto. Not only does he engage, he comes up with his own! The two can talk for hours.

. Loves hosting 'spa parties' in the common area of the dorms, everyone is welcome to join.

. When road trips happen, she's making the playlists (technically, she and Kyoka switch off).

. Tries teaching Tenya, Izuku, and Shoto how to flirt. After a very embarrassing first hour, Shoto didn't learn a single thing, Izuku was only good at it when paired with Shoto and Tenya... Tenya had her SHOOK! Man has game and she made sure everyone knew!

. Has weekly meetings with Yuga where they drink tea and spill the tea.

. She is so damn ticklish. Hanta was teasing her one day, she warned him to stop, he received an elbow to the face for not listening.

. Tried to grow her hair out once but it didn't grow down... it grew OUT. Mina thought she rocked it, and she totally did but ended up having it cut back down so poor Tsyu could see in class.

. Wakes up early three days a week to practice her hand-to-hand combat with Eijiro. Mina wants to improve her technique and Eijiro needed to work on his mobility, it benefits them both.

. Just Dance is her favorite game, she dominates.

. Easily forms new interests.

. Won't admit it but she gets jealous super easily.

. Will be the first to attempt to throw hands for a friend! I HC she was picked on as a child for looking so different but it never really phased her too badly, she likes looking different but understands that not everyone thinks like she does. So, if someone were to say something about Mezo's facemask, she's stepping in to defend the guy without hesitation.

. Knows every TikTok dance EVER. If a new one comes out, she's mastered it by end of the day and her account is always up to date.

. (Popular idea but important to reinforce) Mina and Eijiro co-founded a club, Horn Buddies, specifically to make Eri feel more welcome. They take her on trips and group outings. The only horned person who's not allowed to join is Pony because she was rude as heck to Mezo.

. Mina gets extra competitive over board games.

. She can ice skate and roller skate like a champ.

. Mina is resilient, dedicated, and passionate. She has goals and the girl will achieve them.

Pro Hero - Adult Mina Headcanons

Warnings - Mentions of alcohol use and swearing

. Gets several tattoos and piercings.

. Starts a roller derby club with most of the girls from 1A.

. Loves going out to the hottest dance clubs just as much as she enjoys staying in and munching on take-out food with friends.

. The Horn Buddies club she formed with Eijiro has now expanded into regular society and both young heroes couldn't be more proud. Together they've formed a foundation that strives to help those with non-flashy, unconventional, or misunderstood quirks feel welcomed and loved.

. Does her best to shop small whenever she can. Mina wants to help her community in as many different ways as possible.

. Becomes a fashion icon for many small, just starting out, alternative clothing lines. They love her look and the standard she sets.

. Goes to fashion and runway shows with Momo on the regular. While Momo prefers buying right off the rack, Mina goes to thrift stores and buys items that are coming back into style.

. Does her best to stay in touch with her classmates. She really cherished the friendships she made and goes the extra mile to make sure everyone stays connected.

. Has told off Shoto's father. Sent the man an anonymous bag of flaming dog shit as well for making his son so damn stressed. Sorry, not sorry.

. As long as she isn't in the middle of a fight, Mina will always stop to take a photo with a fan or sign an autograph. In or out of costume, she doesn't care.

. In high school, Mina's room was always decked out for the holidays. She goes decoration crazy and it is always done well. But, now that she's an adult with that pro hero money and her own place, she's the best house on the block decorated for each and every holiday! Inside and out! Also throws holiday-themed parties.

. Got absolutely trashed with the BakuSquad one night and taught them all how to twerk. By the end of the lesson, she deemed Katsuki was the best of her students.

. Loves to drink. Is a lightweight. Katsuki and Eijiro have carried her home more times than they can count.

NSFW 18+ Mina HC Below - Minors DNI

Warnings: Drinking, rough sex, mentions of orgies, handcuffs, impact play, and praise kinks. Subtle sexual relations with BakuSquad, Jiro, Todoroki, and Ochaco.

. The Queen of stripteases and lap dances.

. If any of her friends are at a party or some event and they need a fake date, Mina is their go-to person. She's handsy. She's flirty. And has no problem with platonic make-outs.

. Always encourages kissing-themed games at parties. Seven Minutes in Heaven, Spin the Bottle, those sorts of games. Mina also loves to play cupid and has rigged a game or two to get people together.

. Has made out with every member of the BakuSquad at least once as well as Kyoka, Shoto, and Ochaco simply because she was curious.

. Has attempted to start an orgy with the BakuSquad before when intoxicated. Still mentions it in passing just in case they change their minds.

. Has gone further with Katsuki and Eijiro though. Maybe both at the same time once or twice or several times...

. Wonderfully filthy dirty talk. Can even make Katsuki blush.

. (A personal favorite of mine that was in a previous post) When they were first years, Eijiro asked innocently enough, to touch her horns. He was gentle but that didn't matter. Our poor girl was so damn flustered! Her face turned red bright, she felt hot, and she had to go take a very cold shower!

. Ei felt terrible about it. It took them both maturing for her to explain exactly why she reacted that way... and then asked him to do it again.

. Is likely to send NSFW texts and photos while people are indeed at work. She is a Pro Hero though so only certain people are allowed to have those photos. A scandal is the last thing she wants.

. Very good at communication and is not afraid to speak her mind about what she wants and needs out of a relationship and her sex life.

. Loud, very loud, very needy.

. Fuzzy handcuffs in every color she can think of and adores impact play.

. Let her know she's doing a good job, Mina responds well to praise.

. Big cuddler after sex. Wants to snuggle into you and more than likely take a nap.

#mha headcanons #bnha headcanons #mha #mina ashido #mina ashido headcanons #mina ashido fluff #bakusquad #bakusquad headcanons #mina ashido smut #katsuki bakugo smut #eijiro kirishima smut #kirishima #bakugo #denki kaminari #hanta sero #shoto todoroki #bakukirimina

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phoenixyfriend · 3 years ago

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Auntie Soka and Little Leia (and Rex) : Chapter 3

Read on AO3

In which we run into some old friends, who may or may not know they are in fact friends.

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Showing up in a seedy bar on a no-name planet is much less stressful in the company of a known, dangerous quantity like Jango Fett. Sure, there’s still a risk someone will try to take her charges—though they’d both object strenuously to being called that—but Jango’s implicit involvement in their safety does enough that she can relax.

The drinks for the younger two are just water. Adults in mind they may be, but their livers certainly aren’t. Fett gets a club soda, and Sokari is more amused than she should be that he refuses to drink on the job. The three of them certainly haven’t been a calming presence in his life.

“Torrent? Getting anything?” Fett prompts.

“She old enough to drink?” the bartender asks.

“Yes,” Fett says, an edge to his words that Soka isn’t entirely sure she likes. “Hey, what do you want?”

What does she— “Caff. Nerf milk, two sugars.”

What she really wants is tea, but she’s long since learned that trying tea in a back alley shithole will only make her wistful and miserable as she thinks about how much better Obi-Wan’s had been.

At least she’s used to caff being shitty, and covering up the taste with something else. The only times she’s ever had good caff were as a guest in a rich person’s home, which has mostly just meant grabbing a drink when she broke into Bail’s office once a year.

(He always got so tired when she told him about the holes in his security, but it had been a game. His annoyance was a farce. His fatigue was real, but the parts relating to her weren’t.)

(She’ll have to talk to Leia about her grief.)

(At some point.)

Fett grabs them a booth. It’s weird and she’s not a fan, but it’s… not terrible. If she tries, she can almost pretend the man across from her is just another middle-aged clone trooper. Rex’s complicated mix of emotions over the situation sure isn’t helpful, but he’s long since learned how to shut away distracting or distressing emotions behind mental shields so she can work.

Or just. Sit there. With caff. Trying not to have a breakdown.

Then you will d--

Nope. Not thinking about that.

“Your contact is late,” Leia mutters.

Fett makes a small noise. “It happens in this line of work.”

Leia scoffs. Sokari knocks an ankle to hers, but Leia just looks away. Rex isn’t going to be helpful, either.

Sokari really wishes they could have just stayed behind on the ship while Fett did his thing, but he doesn’t trust them that far. He doesn’t really trust them at all, and certainly not enough to leave them behind with his ship.

“The hell did you have a kid, Jango?”

The tension flees, mostly. There is a third—fifth, technically—party to take the weight of the conversation now.

“Hello, Silas,” Fett says. “Take a seat.”

The Mandalorian looks between Rex and Fett a few times, and then pulls his own helmet off and gestures. “What the frip?”

“Does he look young enough to be mine?”

The Mando’s face twitches. “I mean… wild oats do happen. Sometimes. You did get drunk a lot after Jaster died…”

Fett rolls his eyes. “Sit down, man.”

Silas sits down. He eyes Rex first, for obvious reasons, and then Leia—too small to register as a threat to a grown, fully-trained commando, so mostly just strange—and landing on Sokari.

“Slicer?” he guesses. “Or sniper.”

She raises a brow. “You think he hired me?”

“You’re old enough for the kinds of jobs he runs,” the Mando says. He glances at Fett. “Unless you finally picked up a droid that could do the kind of slicing you need…”

“Shut up,” Fett says. It’s oddly mild. “Torrent’s with the kids. I’m giving them a ride.”

The Mando’s brow furrows. “But that one…”

“Jango Fett,” Rex spits, “is not my father.”

Fett’s face does something complicated and ugly, and Ahsok—Sokari, it’s Sokari now—can’t help but pity him a little. Sure, he’s already done a whole lot of horrible things, but none of the ones that Rex is angry at him for. Soka’s done plenty of shitty things herself, in the pursuit of a higher goal.

“He’s blood,” Fett says, after a few moments of awkward silence where nobody quite knows what to do. “Beyond that… it’s complicated. His first loyalty is to her—” he gestures at Sokari, “—and she needs to get the little one to Coruscant. I’m… helping.”

“Without payment?” the Mandalorian prompts.

Fett glares. “He’s blood. I’m not—you know what happened to Arla, Silas. I’m not turning my back on that.”

Rex mutters something too low for human ears to pick up. Sokari, of course, hears it perfectly.

“Didn’t stop you from dropping the lot of us like bantha poodoo.”

Silas—she should probably call him by name, if only in her own head—looks like he’s trying very hard to ignore the web of complicated familial bullshit going on and only mostly succeeding. “Okay. So… business?”

Fett sighs. “Originally, I wanted to see if you’d gotten any information on a bounty I was looking into, but priorities have changed.”

Silas raises a brow. “Yeah? We taking back Mandalore?”

Fett slams a fist down on the table. “Would you quit it with that?”

Well, that escalated quickly.

“We need a Mand’alor—”

“Kryze is doing fine!” Fett snaps. “I may not like her, but she’s older than I was, and actually trained for the bureaucratic bullshit. She’s got popular support and knows the whole… agricultural, economic, education stuff. Kriff it, she wants the seat? Fine. She probably won’t kick off a fight that gets all her people killed because she panicked and started shooting.”

“You’d just come out of being tortured—”

“And,” Fett hisses, “I do not have the resources to do ‘take back’ Mandalore. I do not have an army. I do not have money. I barely have my ship and the armor on my back.”

“The clans would support you.”

“I don’t want their support,” Fett says. “Drop it.”

“But Mand’a—”

“I said drop it, Silas,” Fett grinds out. “I don’t have a plan. She does. If things start going downhill, then maybe I’ll give it another shot, but she’s barely been there a month, and she’s already fixing up the infrastructure Kyr’tsad took out. The Duke trained her for this.”

Silas doesn’t back down. “Every Duke and Duchess in our history has done better with a Mand’alor at their side. You know that.”

“Kryze doesn’t want one,” Fett says. “For fuck’s sake, Silas, I’m still recovering. Just let it go.”

Sokari tilts her head. Recovering? From what?

“Fine. For now,” Silas says. “Does it at least have to do with Mandalore?”

Fett doesn’t meet his eyes.

“That’s a yes, then,” Silas decides. “Please tell me you don’t want me to work for the Evaar’ade. I don’t have it in me to put up with the priss and pomp.” [1]

“Too bad,” Fett mocks. He rubs a hand over his face. “Kyr’tsad is still around.” “She’s having all the warriors deported to Concordia,” Silas grouses. “They have someone to keep an eye on the situation. Even those with leanings are going to be under watch unless they leave the systems like we did, and you know they won’t be coming home if they were that dedicated to the lifestyle.”

------

[1] Evaar’ade – lit. ‘new (noun) children’, short for Evaar’la Mando’ade, which would be ‘new (adj) Mandalorians’

(Continue on AO3)

#Ahsoka Tano #Jango Fett #Captain Rex #Leia Organa #Silas the Mandalorian #phoenix files #star wars #the clone wars #sw rebels #sw legends #time travel #Depa Billaba

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lillywillow · 3 years ago

Text

Birthday Wishes

Summary: Bucky wants to plan the best party ever for his young daughter

Word Count: 2430

Square Filled: Free Space

Pairings: Singledad!Bucky x Female Reader/ Steve x Peggy

Warnings: None really

Written for @star-spangled-bingo

Ever since the mother to Bucky’s daughter passed away when she was a baby, he had been totally devoted to her and every year on her birthday, he went all out trying to make it the best one ever.

About a month ago, Tony’s daughter Morgan had a mermaid themed party; complete with a woman dressed as a mermaid. Bucky’s daughter Rebecca had totally raved about it and with her own birthday coming up, he made a note to take one of the business cards with him.

...

The moment Bucky walked into the building, he was in awe. The front of the store was full of costumes, dolls, plushies, pirate treasure chests, fairy wings and wands... every kind of fantasy item a child could possibly want and a lot of it looked handmade. Out the back, he could hear squealing and laughter. A party in progress, perhaps?

“Good afternoon, welcome to Childhood Dreams. How may I help you?” the receptionist asked.

“Hi. I’m looking to book a party? It’s for my daughter...”

“I see. Well, before booking a party, you’ll need to make an appointment with Y/N. She likes to customise her parties to the client. She’s currently doing a performance but if you’re happy to wait, she’ll be done soon...”

“I can wait...”

“Great. Follow me please...”

Bucky followed the receptionist into the back. There was a pirate party taking place with all the children dressed up as pirates. There were props and decorations keeping in tone with the theme and an incredible cake. On the stage up the front was the same woman who had played the part of the mermaid at Morgan’s party, this time she was a pirate, enacting a mighty swordfight with another actor. She really put her all into the performance.

Bucky watched her for a moment before the receptionist pulled him along and guided him to an office along the side. The inside of the office was just as cheerful and childlike as the rest of the place. The desk was lined with small trinkets. Along the walls were various photographs of the woman in different costumes. A princess, a fairy, a friendly witch... there was a costume for every occasion. Bucky was in the middle of admiring them when the door opened and the subject from the photos stepped in.

“You must be the gentleman wanting a party,” she smiled, taking off her hat and eye patch before sitting at her desk and encouraging him to take a seat. “I’m Y/N.”

“Yes, that’s right. My name is Bucky and I’m looking to do a birthday party for my daughter Rebecca,” he said, getting his phone out to show her a picture.

Y/N smiled at the photo of the little girl who was dressed as a princess.

“Tell me about Rebecca. I take it she’s a princess fan?”

Bucky’s face lit up as he spoke about his little girl. Everything that she loved about princesses and fairytales, down to her favourite colours, animals and mythical creatures.

“I’m probably rambling now...”

“No, no, I think it’s sweet to see a father so dedicated to his daughter. Let me show you a few of our packages,” she smiled.

Y/N logged into her tablet to show him a few of the princess themed parties they offered. Bucky looked through the options before deciding on a fantasy type one with princesses, wizards and all things in that vein.

“Will you be having the party here or elsewhere?”

“I think home would be best... unless... here would be better? I don’t know...”

“Some children feel more comfortable on home base and some like going out. It’s really up to you. My job is to give your child the best possible experience...”

Bucky nodded slowly and thought.

“She might like a party in her own backyard...”

“That’s totally fine. I’ll need to visit ahead of time just so I can work on a setup. Now, will you be providing your own cake? If not, I can recommend an excellent bakery.”

“A family friend agreed to make the cake,” Bucky replied.

Y/N nodded and jotted down a few notes.

“What about food?”

“Yes, we’ll be making our own food too.”

Y/N nodded again and wrote down a few more notes. After agreeing on a price, a date and time to meet, his address and the date of the party, Bucky started heading out the door.

“One more thing...”

Bucky turned to look at her.

“I like to ask our clients how they found out about our business...”

“A while ago, you threw a mermaid party for a friend of mine’s daughter. Rebecca couldn’t stop talking about it for days after that...”

Y/N smiled fondly.

“I see... well, I guess I’ll see you when I come to do my inspection. Goodbye, Bucky.”

“Bye.”

As Bucky left the office, he could feel his heart fluttering like it hadn’t done in a long time. Ever since his wife’s passing, Bucky hadn’t even looked at another woman. Well, he had looked but he had always been so busy taking care of Rebecca, he didn’t really have time to be pursuing women. Sure on occasion, he would go on a blind date now and then and Steve would babysit but that would be the extent of it. Bucky thought for sure his dating life was over but talking to Y/N just now... it gave him a lot of hope.

...

Time went by and eventually the day arrived when you went to meet Bucky at his place. Bucky greeted you at the door with a smile and ushered you inside. Smiling, you looked around the place. Pictures of Bucky’s life lined the walls and shelves. Photos of him with friends but most of them were of his little girl. One thing you noticed was the lack of pictures of the girl’s mother. There were a few of her before having the child but not many after.

“So, um... what do you need to see?”

“You mentioned a backyard?” you said, referring back to the interview you had a few days ago.

Bucky nodded and showed you the way. First, you scoped out the best place to conduct your performance then took out your measuring tape to size up the props you might need. As you worked, Bucky could see the gears turning in your head.

“Do you go out to different locations a lot?” Bucky asked, trying to strike up a conversation.

“Not a lot but it’s always fun when we do.”

“How long have you been in business?”

“It’s taken me about ten years to get it off the ground. It’s only been gaining popularity in the last year or so...”

“Wait, so you own Childhood Dreams?”

“Sure do. You see, I always believed childhood should be about fun and games before going onto the drudgery of adulthood. And I help out local business in the process. Most of the items available for purchase were made by local artists. I’m always willing to lend a hand when they need it. That’s why I ask about food. There’s a small bakery a few blocks from the building we’re located who does the most beautiful cakes...”

You suddenly were interrupted by something brushing up against your leg. Looking down, you saw the most adorable white cat.

“Why, hello there. Aren’t you a cutie?” you cooed, bending down to pat the snowy feline.

“This is Alpine. Rebecca is just crazy about her. She’s been a really big help ever since...” Bucky paused, feeling a lump in his throat and tears well up in his eyes.

Alpine trotted over to him and purred as he picked her up.

“Sorry. It’s just... ever since my wife passed when Rebecca was a baby; I’ve wanted to give her the best life possible. I try to give equal amounts of time between her so she can look up to me and work so she has the best things in life...”

You went over and gave him a hug.

“You’re a good man, Bucky. I’ve been in this business long enough to tell the devoted parents from the off-standers. Just by spending a few minutes with you, I already know that you love your daughter and think the world of her. Just make sure you spend a few moments taking care of yourself, okay? It doesn’t have to be much, just enough so you feel good too.”

Bucky gave you a soft smile, knowing that you were right. Everyone had told him as such but sometimes, it’s harder to take advice from the people closest to you.

“Can I get you anything to drink?” he offered.

“Actually, I should get going. I’ve got a children’s charity event I need to get ready for. It’s been really nice seeing you again, Bucky. I guess the next time I see you will be for your daughter’s party.”

“See you then,” Bucky smiled.

He couldn’t wait for the party.

...

Finally, the day of Rebecca’s birthday arrived. Bucky had spent the night before busily transforming his humble home into a castle fit for a princess. He wanted everything to be perfect for his little girl’s special day, buying the most glittery, ruffled princess dress for her to wear, complete with a sparkly tiara. Bucky himself hired a prince costume and even managed to obtain a kitty sized dragon costume for Alpine.

Bucky spent the morning cooking, starting with a plate of pancakes for breakfast before moving onto the finishing touches on the food for the party. He had most of it prepared already but some of it needed heating.

The first to arrive was Wanda with her twin boys who were both in costume. The boys instantly ran over to play with Rebecca while Wanda was left holding the cake she had made along with her purse and the present she had bought. Bucky rushed over to help her with the items and after exchanging greetings and pleasantries, she showed his the cake.

It was everything Bucky could have ever hoped for and more. The cake was purple with ice cream cones decorated like castle turrets, topped with little princess and unicorn figurines and the words ‘Happy Birthday, Rebecca’ written in icing along with the age she was turning. Little pink flowers were piped along the sides.

“Thank you so much, Wanda. Becca’s just going to love it.”

“You’re welcome,” she smiled, giving him a hug.

Soon after Wanda’s arrival was Steve and Peggy with their child followed by Tony, Pepper and Morgan, Sam with his kid and it wasn’t long before all the party guests had arrived. The adults all mingled while the children played together happily. Right on time, Y/N arrived with her scene partner in full costume. She was wearing a knight costume while her partner (whom she introduced as Phil) was dressed as an ‘evil’ wizard. Bucky settled the kids in front of the makeshift stage and let the performance begin.

Y/N started by introducing herself as a knight dedicated to Princess Rebecca.

“That’s me!” Rebecca squealed in delight, jumping to her feet and clapping.

Y/N knelt down to be level with her, crossing her right arm over her chest in a salute.

“I vow to protect you from the evils of the kingdom.”

Suddenly, Phil jumped out of his hiding place.

“Mwa-ha-ha! I am an evil wizard and I am here to change all the cakes into broccoli!”

Bucky thought he was laying it on a little thick but there was a wave of horrified gasps from the kids.

“Not so fast, evil wizard! We will defeat you! Kids, if I’m going to beat him, I’m going to need your help...”

Y/N and Phil made an amazing pair. While Y/N encouraged the children and even a few of the parents to join in, Phil played off their reactions until he was ‘defeated’.

“You win! I will change my evil ways and use my powers for good!” he dramatically cried.

The children all cheered and clapped. The two actors took a bow and started to pack up as Bucky announced it was time for cake. The kids all raced over to where the cake was being brought out.

“Would you two like to stay for cake?” Bucky offered.

Phil looked at Y/N for permission, a hopeful glint in his eye.

“Sure. We have some time before our next appointment,” she smiled. Phil gave a big, childlike grin.

Once everyone had sung Happy Birthday to Rebecca and she had blown out the candles, the cake was served out. Steve approached Bucky.

“Hey, man. How are you doing?”

“A bit tired but seeing the smile on that little girl’s face makes it all worth it,” he softly sighed.

Steve followed Bucky’s gaze to where Rebecca was talking animatedly to Y/N. He could tell the smile on her face was genuine and not just for show. This was a person who loved their job and loved children.

“Is that the same Y/N you’ve been going on about all week?”

“I haven’t been talking about her that much...”

Steve gave him an incredulous look.

“You know, it’s okay to like her. Why don’t you ask her out?”

“What about Rebecca?”

“Peggy and I can look after her while you go out on date. You deserve to be happy too...”

Bucky thought about it for a while and headed over to Y/N and Rebecca.

“Daddy, daddy! Y/N was the mermaid at Morgan’s party! She’s magical...” Rebecca was absolutely smitten with the woman.

“I see... Can I talk Y/N alone for a minute? Then you can open presents,” he smiled.

Rebecca giggled and hugged his leg before running off to play with her friends.

“She’s a darling,” Y/N warmly smiled.

“She is... Listen, Y/N... I was wondering... if you’re not busy tomorrow night... if maybe you’d like to have dinner with me...”

“Like a date?”

Bucky’s face flushed.

“I mean, if you want it to be...”

Y/N kissed his cheek.

“I’d like that. How about 7:00 at the restaurant around the from the Childhood Dreams building. They do an amazing meal...”

“Sounds perfect,” he smiled.

This was one the best days of Bucky’s life. Not only did he pull off the perfect party for his daughter but he took a step back into the dating world with an incredible woman who somehow stole his heart.

#ssb2021 #Free Space #Birthday Wishes #Bucky Barnes #bucky barnes x reader #single dad!bucky #Rebecca #Children's birthday party #Acting #phil coulson #Steve Rogers #Friends #Fluff #Alpine

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lampmanliveblogs · 2 years ago

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Them's the Breaks, Kid Addendum

So here it is, the long-awaited follow-up post to episode fifteen that I promised you oh so long ago. A whole two days ago. Time sure flies, huh?

To be honest though, I don’t have a whole lot to say here. The only thing of note that I caught while rewatching the episode that I didn’t catch the first time through were Gilbert and Harvey’s first appearances. Harvey can be seen in the establishing shot of the IFWOT and Gilbert can be seen standing in line to get his badge.

There is more stuff I noticed and that I’m going to talk about, but a lot of that was brought up in several asks that I got sent, so I’ll bring those things up there. For now, I’ll talk a bit about my thoughts on the episode overall.

I was quite surprised that we actually got an origin for how Eda and Raine met. I figured they probably met at school, got along, and then things developed from there. Which I would have been fine with it if that was the case, but it was a pleasant surprise to see the Raeda origins (I think that’s the ship name?). I of course enjoy the love story between Eda and Raine and seeing how it all started was nice.

Like I said in the proper liveblog, seeing just how well Eda and Raine clicked with each other really helped cement just how deep that bond of friendship and love was… as well as add to the tragedy of their breakup and the sweetness of their reunion… and then the tragedy of Raine having to keep Eda away because they don’t want to risk her getting hurt.

We also got to see a bit of Hieronymus Bump and what he was like as the vice-principal of Hexside. Even back then he was trying to help his student flourish like some kind of responsible adult or something.

We go to see young Terra and turns out she was always Like That. Way too enthusiastic at the prospect of murder. She’s also held the position of Head Witch of the Plant Coven for over thirty years now, which is pretty impressive.

We got to see a few new glyph combos Luz has learned… including two in particular that should remind her of a certain tyrant she’s met. And although she’ll definitely refuse to use the petrification combo and probably the hellish hand thing combo, the wind and water fountain combos seem useful. A whirlwind has several uses in battle and while the water fountain might not have many applications in combat, I pointed out that it can be used to supply clean drinkable water if need be. That’s enormously useful. You know, if you’re in a desert or on a hike or something.

Oh, and let’s not forget that we in this episode finally got to that scene my sister has been talking about for so long! The reveal of the traitors! Raine has been using their whistling to cast subtle bard spells to alter Terra’s terrible tea. And they’re working with Darius on a plan to stop the Day of Unity.

Now, during the reveal, I said that I wasn’t sure about Eberwolf if he(?) was in on it. But when I talked to my sister she implied that he is, so I’ll be working under that assumption from now on.

Like I said I would, I went back and rewatched Eda’s Requiem and part of Follies at the Coven Day Parade. Let’s start with Follies.

With the new context of Raine actually not being under mind control, some of their actions and the things they say take on a slightly new meaning. The seeming inconsistencies in their memories that I was confused about for example. Raine telling Eda to leave and maybe travel for a bit also makes a lot of sense; the entire point of all this was to keep her safe. I will say this though, Raine is a really good actor cause they didn’t break character even once, only coming close to it once Eda had left when they teared up a little.

As for Eda’s Requiem… I wanted to see if I could find any hints towards Darius and Eberwolf being the traitors and aside from one little detail I’m going to talk about in the answer to an ask, I found… not much else.

Assuming that I’m right in my suspicion that Eberwolf is in on the whole ”overthrow the Emperor” thing, then it doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense for the two of them to go after Raine to capture them. They’d want to recruit them for the cause. There are a few possibilities.

One possibility is that Belos knew or figured out Raine was a traitor. Thus, they had to make it look like Raine was under mind control in order to get them close to Belos and be of use to their plans again. A bit of a risky gambit, but hey, it worked (hopefully… you never know with these evil Emperor types, this might all be part of his masterplan).

Another possibility is that they were being watched (and knew it) by Kikimora, who did show up soon after they captured Raine. Thus they couldn’t afford to let them escape or the like, lest they draw suspicion upon themselves.

Whatever the case, I’ll probably find out in time. The end of the season is drawing ever nearer. The Day of Unity comes and your world is already lost and all that.

Whatever the case, I’ll probably find out in time. The end of the season is drawing nearer and the Day of Unity fast approaches. Let’s hope our heroes can figure out a plan in time…

Wow, this actually ended up being a bit longer than I thought. Still, like I’ve said multiple times throughout, there are more things to be said and I will say those things in response to some asks and comments I’ve gotten. Which I will get to… tomorrow.

(i should also get around to updating the masterlist and adding all the links and stuff… meh, I’ll do it tomorrow too)

So until next time, take care of the planet Earth and remember that anything can happen in space!

<--Previous Episode: Reaching Out

Masterlist

Next Episode: Hollow Mind-->

#the owl house #liveblog #the owl house liveblog #toh s2e15 #them's the breaks kid

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itsallyscorner · 4 years ago

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Hello. Could I request a Chris Evans x reader, where they have a little girl and she finds out that peple kiss under the mistletoe. So she's always running around the house with it playing matchmaker (obviously everyone is taller than her) and she's like: "Now you have to kiss."

This is the cutest request!! Omg🥺❤️ Thank you, hun! I hope you enjoy it🎄❤️

💌.

Under The Mistletoe

Major dad!Chris

(Gif from @cevanscentral )

Ever since Chris had hung the mistletoe up in the living room’s doorway, it had always caught the curious eyes of your sweet Audrey. Your daughter, like her father, was always full of wonder and anticipated to learn new things. She was always curious about her surroundings and had a never ending amount of questions.

Lately, the mistletoe had been the subject of her thoughts. She would wonder what the purpose of the mistletoe was and why it was hung in the living room doorway instead of the tree. Sometimes the little girl would find herself standing underneath the mistletoe, staring up at it as she tried to come up with some kind of reason as to why it were there.

One day, Chris had found his daughter standing underneath the mistletoe, her big blue eyes sparkling from the lights of the Christmas tree a few feet away from her. A classic Christmas cartoon played on the tv, though it was long forgotten by Audrey.

“Hey jellybean, watcha up to?” He crouched beside his daughter as he followed her line of sight.

“It’s a mistletoe, bean. It comes out during the holidays and whoever is underneath the mistletoe gets a kiss.” He explained to her as he gathered her into his arms. He stood up, resting Audrey on his hip so she could touch the festive plant.

“Do they really need to be kissed?” She continued to quiz her dad.

“Of course they need to be kissed! It would be a crime if someone doesn’t get kissed underneath the mistletoe!” Chris claimed causing the eyes of his daughter to widen. Suddenly, Audrey cups her dad’s face and presses a giant kiss onto his cheek.

“I can’t go to jail, dada! I’m too young!” His daughter says, a hint of fear in her voice. Chris lets out a heartfelt laugh at his daughter’s reaction. His other hand comes to land on his left pec as he continued to laugh.

You walk out of the laundry room, having just finished throwing in the wet clothes into the dryer.

“Mama!” You heard Audrey whine. You rush to where her voice came from, which was the living room. You enter the room to see Chris red in the face as he tried to stifle his laughs.

“What did you do?” You eyed the two loves of your life. A pout is on Audrey’s lips, her brows softly furrowed together.

“Mama, dada keeps laughing at me!” She wiggles her way out of her dad’s arms and crashes into your legs. Her face was tucked into your thigh in embarrassment.

“And why’s that, babe?” You ask her, running you hands in soothing circles on her back.

“Dada said that if you don’t give kisses under the mistletoe, you go to jail! So I kissed dada’s cheek and he laughed!” An adorable little pout was set on her lips, her arms crossed. You give a look towards Chris, who was now silently laughing in the corner.

“Babe, why’d you laugh at her?” You asked your husband, finding the situation slightly amusing. Knowing your husband, he had probably teased your little girl to the point where she grew upset at him.

“She literally said, ‘I can’t go to jail, I’m too young!’ And proceeds to just press kisses onto my face.” Chris explains through his laughter. A hint of a smile is on your lips, shaking your head at your husband. Crouching down to your daughter’s height you told her, “Don’t listen to half the things your dad tells you, he’s messing with you, bean. You’re not going to go to jail if you don’t kiss anyone under the mistletoe.”

Chris had calmed down and sat beside you on the floor. You daughter glares at him causing him to snort. You roll your eyes before nudging your husband’s shoulder.

“C’mon, babe. It’s funny, our daughter’s a comedian.” Chris sees the smile hinting at your lips, trying to get you to crack.

“Shut up.” You whisper to him through gritted teeth. “Now apologize, you dork.”

Chris tries to recollect himself before looking at Audrey seriously, “Jellybean, I am so sorry for laughing at you and tricking you. It hurt your feelings and I’m sorry.”

Audrey sighs before pressing a light peck on her dad’s forehead, “I forgive you.” Chris wraps his giant arms around your daughter and pulls her into a hug.

Over her shoulder, the goofy look comes back onto his face as he mouths, “So gullible.”

You quietly chuckle as your daughter pulls away from the hug. She turns back to you and a smile is on her face.

“Mama, can I have my own mistletoe?” She asks you, looking at you with those puppy eyes.

“What’s the harm?” You thought to yourself. It was just a plant and she would probably use it on her dolls or stuffed animals. She’ll probably forget about it in a few days.

“Course you can, I’m sure daddy has some leftover decorations in the garage. He might have another mistletoe.” You shrugged as she happily jumped around.

Boy were you wrong.

The mistletoe had become a hit with your daughter. To her, it was her most prized possession. She held onto the mistletoe everywhere she went and used it to her advantage. When she wanted kisses, she would ask one of you to carry her and she would hold the mistletoe to the best of her abilities above your heads. She even taught Dodger that when the mistletoe was above him, it meant a kiss on the cheek for Audrey. Or a lick to the face in Dodger’s eyes. You and Chris enjoyed the fact that something so simple could bring your daughter so much joy. Compared to the dolls and stuffed animals she had, nothing compared to the mistletoe.

Audrey had pride in her mistletoe and showed it off to everyone who entered the house. She made it her own mission to spread more love in the house by making everyone kiss each other with the mistletoe.

This year, Christmas Eve was being held at your household. Chris had suggested it since your shared home was bigger than the other’s houses. Because there were many additional rooms, his siblings and their kids would be able to stay the night for Christmas Day.

The house was full of chatter and Christmas energy. All the kids were running around from room to room as the adults yelled after them to be careful. Dodger was hanging out under the dining room table, taking a break from the energetic kids. The dining room table was full of food, Lisa had arrived at the house earlier in the day to get a headstart on the cooking. Together, the two of you had filled the table with multiple dishes and an assortment of sweets.

You were sat on the couch talking with Carly and Shanna, catching up with each other’s lives. Scott was with Chris, along with his new boyfriend, who was celebrating Christmas with the family this year.

You and Carly were talking about your kids. You had just mentioned the little mistletoe incident that happened a week ago with Audrey and Chris. “Is that why she’s been carrying that mistletoe around?” Carly asked as she motioned to your little girl. She was running around with her cousins, her styled hair now messy, dress sleeves falling past her shoulders, and the mistletoe still enveloped in her hand.

“Honestly, I didn’t know she would grow such an attachment to it. I thought she was going to get over it in a few days and jump on some new craze.” You laughed sipping on your wine.

“I think it’s cute!” Shanna chimed from beside you. The boys had moved into the living room after standing in the dining room. Chris shot you a wink from across the room as he talked to Carly’s husband.

Scott and his boyfriend approached the three of you, a toothy grin on both their faces.

“What are you girls gossipin’ about?” Scott presses a kiss to your cheek and pulls you into a tight hug.

“Oh yeah! This is Steve!” Scott motions to the man beside him who shyly waves at you. “Steve this is (y/n), my sister in law. (Y/n) this is Steve, my boyfriend!”

Instead of going in for a shake, you pulled Steve into a hug, “It’s nice to meet you! We’re glad to have you over for Christmas!” The Evans were really rubbing off on you.

“Likewise, thank you for having me!” Steve hugs you back. The two men sit on the rug as you all fall into a conversation. A half hour in and Audrey comes running into the living room. Her bright eyes spot her uncle Scott, as excitement bubbles in her stomach.

“Uncle Scott!” She runs up to him and wraps her short arms around his neck. Scott chuckles as he hugs his niece back.

“Uncle Scotty, look what I have!” Audrey holds the mistletoe up in pride. Scott’s mouth gaps as he sees the plant.

“Is that a mistletoe!” He moves the plant closer so that he’s getting a better look. What Scott doesn’t notice is that he’s moved the mistletoe directly above him and Steve.

“Yeah and look uncle Scott! You guys are under it!” She excitedly cheers. You see Scott and Steve both blush, you’re about to protest when Chris calls for his brother across the room.

“Scott, you know what that means!” Chris teases his younger brother from across the room.

With the encouragement from her father, Audrey says, “Now you have to kiss!”

Scott turns to Steve with a smile, “It’s a mistletoe, I don’t make the rules.” Steve agrees and the two share a peck on the lips. Everyone at the house cheers when they pull away. Satisfied, Audrey giggles at her work.

“Okay, little miss matchmaker. Back to your cousins, the adults are talking.” Scott teases Audrey as he nudges her back to the other kids.

“That’s my girl! Doin’ god’s work!” Chris cheers in pride as his daughter skips out the room. The holidays were about family and seeing his brother so happy made him happy. Without the help of your little girl, Scott probably would’ve never made the first move on Steve. It was a holiday miracle, thanks to that mistletoe.

#marvel #mcu #avengers #chris evans #steve rogers #chris evans x reader #cevans #chris evans imagines #christopher robert evans #steve rogers x reader #Chris Evans fluff #chris evans oneshot #chris evans drabble #chris evans headcanon #ally’s requests #dad!chris evans

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goggles-mcgee · 4 years ago

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Too Late: Alya & Nino (commission for miner249er)

Fourth chapter of @miner249er ‘s commission

Chapter Summary: The truth is harsh. Teens are harsher.

Previous Work

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Truth.

As an aspiring journalist it was something Alya strived for. It was the most important thing she could give the people who followed her so diligently. She thought she had been giving them that. She had been so good about giving them the truth, her truth, and Ladybug’s truth in the past, she foolheartedly believed she was continuing to do so despite taking shortcuts later on in the road. Why didn’t she fact check herself? Why did she throw that very thing in Marinette’s face? What kind of reporter was she? What kind of friend was she? The answers were all around her and yet she still wasn’t ready to face them head on. There was still that voice in her head that was telling her that this was all Lila Rossi’s fault.

But is it? Alya thought as her and Nino ate together at her house, the TV on in the background. At first it had been on the news but Alya was done with the news for a long while, all it had been was coverage of The Protector and Nino had immediately taken the remote and changed it to cartoons. This was hitting him hard, harder than Alya had expected if she was being honest. When they found out Ladybug and Chat Noir had, in fact, not defeated The Protector and instead the akuma, that Marinette had gone missing, it hit the class hard. Hard because they learned the truth about Lila in that time and that had been rough to work through. Then they had to come to the realization that they believed Lila over Marinette, the sweet, kind, selfless girl that had all at one point been friends with.

Then the lies got to them. It poisoned them. That’s what Alya had written on her blog anyways. They were victims of a silver-tongue and they had paid the price, one they had not been prepared to pay for. Their friend was missing, had been missing and they couldn’t do anything. Alya had been searching through as many local papers and news around the world for any clues if Marinette had possibly gone to those places. Everything was coming up empty. She had even made a separate website along with Max all about Marinette and what had happened, she left ways to reach her and her classmates in case anyone had any info. Nino said they should have added Tom and Sabine’s information as well but Alya was too scared to ask them if they would be okay with it, last time they had all been at the bakery the tension had been palpable.

They weren’t banned like Nathaniel had worried they would be but every time they went in with their families, because that was the only time they went in there, it was always awkward. Tom and Sabine were much too nice to ban them even if they felt like they deserved it. How did everything go so wrong? Even school wasn’t as fun as it had been. Walking into their classroom was like taking a walk of shame, people from other classes, even teachers just stared at them. Some even glared. Then there were the whispers, Dieu the whispers, they followed them everywhere not just school, but they were the most prominent there. Her, Nino, and their classmates would find notes in their lockers, none were really threatening but they tore at her heart all the same. Things like, ‘You’re the reason she’s gone,’ or, ‘Are you guys proud of yourselves now?’ ‘Were the lies worth it?’ ‘You traded in a gem for fool’s gold.’ ‘What a reporter you turned out to be.’

All the notes hurt. That was the truth. That last one? She had found it in her locker this morning and it burned. Alya had been bullied before, she never liked to think about it, who would? But she was and she had to acknowledge it because she had told herself she would never allow herself to be bullied again, and most importantly, she would never turn into a bully. Wrong. She was wrong, and it wasn’t the first time she had been made aware of this since everything happened. Since everything changed. It was a blessing that Nino and her were still together, he never partook in the “tough love” the class had been giving Marinette before she...before she had been akumatized. Sure he didn’t stop them, and that was bad, but he didn’t go out of his way to not invite her to things until she stopped being “jealous” and started acting like the bigger person. Nino wasn’t the one who ignored her text messages, which now that Alya read them, were pretty telling that her friend had been hurting and she had only made that worse.

“What are you thinking about babe?”

Alya looked up from her half eaten bowl of soup to see Nino gazing at her in concern. “Marinette.”

“Oh…” He breathed out as he put his spoon down and looked down at the table before placing one of his hands on hers and giving her a small smile. “Everything will be okay Alya. Someone will find her and then she’ll be back home.”

Empty words. Empty words fed to him too much from adults who didn’t have any updates on anything. “You don’t believe that. And even if she did...who's to say she would even want to talk to us!? What’s to say that anything would be better? We would still be seen as the bad guys! We will still all have to eat lunch at our houses or the park just to avoid the stares and the whispers and the tossed trash our way and the “accidentally” spilled drinks!”

Alya had never understood just how much their class had been living in its own little world. Not to say they were completely unattached to the rest of the school, Alix, Nathaniel, Rose, Chloe, and Sabrina were in the art club (the art teacher and the rest of the club had made a mural of Marinette without notifying them or asking for their help. Everyone is encouraged to leave notes about Marinette on the mural. The art room even has a chair decorated in honor of Marinette that no one else can use. That was announced very pointedly Alix later shared.), Rose was in the scrapbooking club (no one asked to use her materials anymore like they used to), and Max was in the gaming club which Marinette had helped him set up (people weren’t showing up lately.) They weren’t kicked out, but they were reminded of Marinette all the time,it was like everyone’s way of punishing them. It had never occurred to any of them how popular Marinette was.

So popular that the whole school seemed to hate them. Even Mlle Mendeleiev seemed to be harsher than normal and that was really saying something, it would seem like she had a soft spot for Marinette. In their class everyone avoided Marinette’s seats in class, Alya had to step up as class representative but the silver lining was that Nino had stepped up to be her deputy. Though another negative was the fact Nino had stopped making his music and taking DJ gigs. At first he hadn’t said anything to her or their friends, Alya found out because of Chris actually, but then her and Adrien confronted him and he broke down. He cried and he didn’t stop for a long time, but when he had calmed enough to talk he pulled out old pictures of him and Marinette, told them stories about how they had grown up together. It had made the pit in Alya’s stomach grow, she had just been thinking about her and how much she blamed herself and how much she missed her best friend, she hadn’t even thought how this was affecting Nino.

“I...I need to believe it Alya. I need to. Because if I don’t I will break apart. Mari...Marinette and I were best friends in l'école primaire. I never thought she would ever not be a part of my life. Then the whole Lila thing happened and I turned into a coward again, like I had with Chloe! No, worse than a coward! I don’t even know what I would call myself but I know I can’t call myself her friend.” His voice rose the more he spoke and near the end it cracked.

“Nino…”

“No. I know that’s the truth! And I know, I know that things at school have been rough. Hell, they’ve been awful, everyone sees us as these villains in some trashy young teen novel when all we’ve done is make a mistake! Yes. It was a big mistake but it was a mistake nonetheless but we’re...we’re kids dammit. We’re just kids.” Alya felt tears race down her cheeks as she saw her boyfriend break yet again, his cheeks wet with his tears, his voice choked with his guilt.

“I know. I just...I just want her back. I want everything back. I don’t know how many times we have to apologize to the school, but they’re not even the ones that need to hear the apologies! The one we need to have hear us isn’t here and…” Alya could feel herself breaking but she tried to hold on. Nino needed her to be strong. Her class needed her to be strong. Her family needed her to be strong.

“I can’t take the stares! Or, or hear Rose’s cries that she tries to hide from us. Mylene hasn’t been eating and I know she thinks we don’t notice and Adrien, god Adrien. I’m trying to hold it together because my bro is falling apart at the seams! First Marinette gets...gets fucking akumatized, then his dad and Nathalie get taken to the hospital from some supposedly random attack but it’s pretty obvious it was Mar-the akuma’s doing, his mom freaking pops out of nowhere but of course that can’t just be a good thing because everyone has to talk about how his dad and Nathalie were probably Hawkmoth and Mayura! And I’m over here trying not to think too much about all that because it makes actually too much sense, but then we find out that Marinette was most likely Ladybug! LADYBUG!” He lamented, not bothering to hide the fact he was crying, more like sobbing. It just made Alya cry more.

“I...I wanted the truth for so long, but not like this. Not like this. I...I know this makes me sound like the worst person on the planet but I kind of wish stupid Gabriel Agreste wasn’t Hawkmoth because then I could be akumatized and maybe I could be some kind of time-travelling akuma and we could go back and fix everything and school wouldn’t be hell and the twins wouldn’t act like they had to walk on eggshells around me all the time and my dad wouldn’t look like he’s always so disappointed in me and my mom wouldn’t look at my with only pity in her eyes and Nora would talk to me and Marinette would be back!” Alya sobbed out. At this point her and Nino had moved from their seats to the kitchen floor and were huddled together hugging each other for comfort.

The two just sat there soaking up whatever comfort they could and dreaded the time that passed. For each minute that passed, was a minute that brought them closer to having to go back to school. Alya didn’t know if she had the strength to go back and deal with everything, she didn’t know if Nino could handle it either, but she knew her mother would be by any minute to give them a lift back to school. If there was a way she could just finish school online, Alya was willing to do it, but her father wouldn’t ever allow it. He had put his foot down, Otis Césaire was mad, then he was disappointed and he thought it only fair that Alya face her peers and continue on at Françoise Dupont. It didn’t feel fair, it didn’t feel fair at all, it felt like punishment. Hadn’t she been punished enough? Even in sleep she wasn’t safe, all she dreamed of was Lila and her making her act like a puppet. She would see puppet her do all these things to Marinette and she would wake up in sweat and tears.

“Okay I’m here, I hope you two are ready to head ba-” Alya looked up to see her mom standing there staring at her and Nino, her mouth agape. “Oh Alya...Nino...How about I call the school and tell them you’re not feeling good? And I’ll call your parents Nino.”

Alya was going to respond, she really was, but when she opened her mouth nothing came out but a choked off cry and nod. Nino nodded as well as he took in a shaky breath. “Th-Thanks, Mme C.”

“Nino, you know I told you to call me Marlena. Now you two go rest in Alya’s room while I make those calls. Then maybe I can get the rest of the day off and-”

“No manman. Things...things are already bad enough, don’t make it worse by not going back to work. I don’t...I don’t want to be the reason why you get fired.” Alya mumbled as she and Nino got up off the floor.

“Oh...Oh my little one, that won’t happen. And if it did, not because of you. Never. Don’t you think that.” Alya’s mother breathed out as she pulled her daughter into a hug before taking her daughter’s face in her hands and doing her best to wipe her tears.

“Papa and Nora would! Nora still won’t talk to me and Papa only looks at me like he’s disappointed he ever had me!” Alya cried out before she could stop the words from coming out. Her mind completely forgot that Nino was standing right beside her until she felt him hold her hand and give it a squeeze.

“Your Papa is just being stubborn, but you listen to me, he could never ever be disappointed in having you. You are our daughter. You made a mistake yes, but I know you know you made a mistake and that you are sorry. Your Papa will realize that. He just needs time. And Nora...she just needs time too. I just think she doesn’t know how to handle everything and that she’s mad that she couldn’t protect you sweetie. She’s always been the protective older sister, and this was something she couldn’t protect you from herself. They’ll come around. I’m sure.”

“If you’re sure manman…”

“I am. Now you kids go relax. I’m going to take the rest of the day off and go to the store for dinner ingredients, I’ll be back soon. I know things are hard my little Melusine but they won’t always be like this.” With a kiss to her forehead and a swift hug to Nino, Alya’s mom left the two teens in the family apartment.

At first they just stood there in silence and sniffles, but Nino made the move to put their plates in the sink and rinse them out while Alya gathered their schoolwork back into their bookbags. Then they made their way to Alya’s room and kicked off their shoes before sitting on the bed. Nino nudged Alya who looked at him in confusion until she saw him give her a crooked smile and open his arms which she fell easily into. She took off her glasses and placed them on her bedside table while she felt more than saw Nino take off his cap. For a while they just sat there in the quiet of the moment and Alya was content to do just that, to just have a moment of peace, but she slowly pushed away and reached for her remote to turn on the TV and quickly pulled up Netflix. Her mom wanted them to relax so why not fry their brains with some television.

“Anything in particular you want to watch?” She asked as she settled back against Nino.

“As long as it has nothing to do with school or superheroes...I’m good.” Nino responded with a hollow chuckle.

“I’m glad we don’t have to go back too…” She murmured, “Should we...tell the others?”

“Probably. But if I’m being honest I don’t really feel like talking to them and them asking how we are and if we’re okay when they know we’re not. I just. I don’t think I could handle that. Not today.”

“I get it. Sometimes I feel like everyone else even blames me for what happened. Like... Like it was my responsibility to not fall for the lies and to warn them. Like my word would have made a difference! Mari...Marinette’s didn’t so why would mine?” Alya huffed as she scrolled through all the movie and show choices and tried her best not to cry again.

“If they blame you then they need to blame me too and blame the people in the mirror. We all fell for the lies. Sure you’re the budding reporter, but the blame could just as easily be pushed onto Max who is so smart he created a living AI. But we have no one to be mad at but ourselves and we can only do that for so long.” Nino sighed as he held her closer and kissed her temple. Alya relished in the warmth of it all.

“When did you get so wise?” Alya teased softly.

“When I decided to rewatch Star Wars. But no seriously. If anyone in class bothers you please tell me because we should be sticking together not at each other’s throats.” Nino stuck out one hand and Alya slid her hand into his.

“Cross my heart and hope to die. I will. And you’re right, we do need each other, especially now, especially at that school.”

“Especially at that school, yeah.” He laughed out. “We’re going to get through this. I don’t know how, but, we are and we’re going to do it together.”

Alya smiled wryly before she looked up at Nino and it slipped into a real small smile. “Together.” She agreed softly.

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l'école primaire - elementaryschool

manman - Haitian Creole for Mother

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous tales of ladybug and chat noir #ml salt #ml salt fic #alya cesaire #marlena cesaire #etta and ella cesaire #nora cesaire #otis cesaire #nino lahiffe #djwifi #ml class salt #lila rossi salt #akuma class #revolt of the akuma #they are kids and they made a mistake #others need to recognize that as well #goggles commission

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