#the crazy thing is that wasn’t the only amazing gift he got someone

[aliceisaperson]

I’ve watched the Jon Matteson Cameo my brother got for me like 3 times and I want to watch it again but I literally feel like it’s so cool that I can’t actually look at the video. I get so nervous when I do I literally can’t believe he did that for me

[toxicrayofsunshine]

Dreams

Pairing: Hasil Farrell x Female OC

Words: 1776

Warnings: Injuries (not fatal), swearing, mention of family loss... lmk if I missed any

Divider by: @saradika-graphics

Summary: Hasil's dreams lead him to a young woman in need of his help. Part 1.

@babykayla288 - this took me longer than I intended and it's only the first part, but I hope you like it.

AN: This is NOT a Sasil fic. Sally-May is an amazing character and I love her and Hasil together, but I wanted to do something different.

He hadn’t been sure what he was supposed to be looking for, but his dream had been quite clear on where he was supposed to go. Off the normal trail was a rockface that climbers often frequented, but the Farrells avoided, which was why Hasil hadn’t told anyone where he was going when he left. He couldn’t explain it, but the dream left him almost frantic about finding whatever he was sure to see there. He wasn’t expecting that ‘thing’ to be a young woman around his age with raven black hair lying beneath the rock face.

At first, he was confused; why on earth would his dream tell him to come find a dead body? Upon closer inspection, he realized it wasn’t… it was telling him to find a LIVE one. He wasn’t sure how she’d survived the fall, but the slight rise and fall of her chest was unmistakable. He had no idea what Lady Ray would say about their visitor, but leaving her here wasn’t an option, not for him. With all the gentleness he possessed, he first looked her over to try to find some kind of wound. Her arms were scratched to hell, telling him she’d tried to catch herself on the way down, and he was sure one of them was broken, but other than that, she looked okay for someone who had just fallen off a cliff. When he went to pick her up, he noticed the strange necklace she had grasped in her right hand. It reminded him of the one he often saw Lady Ray wearing, but he quickly shook off the thought, grabbing the necklace, shoving it in his pocket, and carefully picking her up.

“What the hell?” she groaned, attempting to bring her hand up but wincing at the pain. “Fuck.” Hasil half expected her to start flailing when she realized she was in a stranger’s arms, but she seemed more relieved than anything when she looked at him. “Hi.”

“Hi?”

He was going to hazard a guess that she had a concussion; either that or she was just crazy. He wanted to tell her she’d be ok and that she was safe with him, but she passed out right after the word left his lips. So with a whispered ‘fuckin hell,’ he readjusted his hold on her and walked her to the 4-wheeler he’d left on the main trail. He still had no idea who she was or why his dream had brought him to her, but he didn’t think his family was going to take kindly to him bringing an outsider into their territory. Only one way to find out…

*

Lady Ray had been shocked as hell when she walked into the healer’s tent and saw the young woman. G’win was currently tearing into Hasil, calling him irresponsible and stupid for bringing her to them, but one look at her face and Lady Ray immediately stopped her.

“That’s enough.”

“Lady Ray?”

“Is she gonna be alright?”

“She’s got a broken arm, a concussion, and cuts all up and down her arms.”

“Don’t rightly answer my question.”

She didn’t sound angry, but there was a distinct edge to her tone that told them to tread very carefully. G’win wasn’t sure what the hell Hasil was thinking but now she was even more confused by their Bren’in and her reaction to this woman.

“She’ll be fine.”

“Good. Hasil, come with me.”

Hasil looked from the girl to his Bren’in but didn’t dare argue, nodding once and following her obediently. She quickly dismissed the others from her living room, and once it was just the two of them, Hasil was finally gifted with answers.

“Everythin alright, Bren’in?”

“That girl… did she have anything else on her?”

“Just this.” He pulled the necklace from his pocket and handed it over, watching her closely and catching the moment her eyes seemed to tear up. “Who is she?”

“Mitena… her family once helped our clan in a time of dire need. It was during the time of the big storm; several of our homes were destroyed along with most of our food and clean water. I was prepared t’ do whatever was necessary but they offered us their help freely. Requested nothin in return, but a Farrell doesn’t take charity, so I give ‘em that necklace. Told ‘em if they ever needed help, t’ just bring that back and they’d be welcome with open arms.”

“So her comin here weren’t no coincidence?” she shook her head ‘no’ but left it at that, at least until his next words. “Here I thought my dreams were just leadin me on a wild goose chase.”

“Dreams? What dreams?” Hasil told her about every dream he’d had over the past week. All about finding something important in an unexpected place. He explained that he had no idea it would be a person. “Why didn’t you tell me about this sooner?”

“Like I said, I wasn’t sure if they was just dreams or something more.”

“Still, next time you come directly t’ me. Understand?”

“Of course Bren’in.”

“Good. Now, I’ll want t’ talk t’ her when she wakes, but I’m placin her under your charge.”

“Me?!”

“Don’t sound so surprised.” She scoffed. “You were the ones given the dreams, means your story with her has only just begun.”

“So you’re lettin her stay?”

“I am. I made a promise, and I keep my promises.”

“The rest of our kin may not like this.”

“You let me worry about them. You just worry about her.”

“Yes ma’am.”

*

When Mitena regained consciousness, she silently looked around the unfamiliar room, searching for the man she’d seen in her dreams. However, after everything that had happened, she wasn’t about to let her guard down so easily. Her parents had begged their leader not to let those women stay, but helping those in need was kind of their whole thing… only this time it led to the death of her family. Her mother’s quick thinking was the ONLY reason she’d survived, placing the necklace in her hand and telling her to find the Farrells. She’d heard stories of this clan and the promise that remained between their family and her own, and she was relieved to discover that the man in her dreams was part of that family.  

Hasil walked in a moment later, and his smile at the sight of her awake caused a small flurry of butterflies to flit in her chest. His Aura had a mix of orange, yellow, and green, bringing a natural calm to her spirit… unlike her healer, who she was seriously considering stabbing. She hadn’t heard everything, but G’win had been speaking to herself, and Mitena had heard enough to know she wasn’t happy with her presence. Something that was confirmed by her words to Hasil before realizing Mitena was awake.

“What’d she say?”

“I’m t’ look after her.”

He was speaking to G’win but looking directly at Mitena and his lip curved the tiniest amount when she let out a relieved sight. He hadn’t officially met the woman, but something about her was drawing him in, just as she was being drawn to him.

“Are you serious?! Since when do we take in strays?”

“If you’ve got a problem with it, I suggest you go on and talk t’ our Bren’in.”

“Maybe I will.”

“Maybe you should.” He shrugged, winking at Mitena and smiling outright when he saw her trying to hide a laugh. “I’m just tellin' you what she told me.”

“You sure you’re tellin' me everything?”

He just shrugged again, and G’win let out an angry groan, tossing a rag at him and wondering if everyone in this family had lost their damn minds. “Since she’s your problem, you wrap up her arm. I’m gonna go talk t’ Lady Ray and git t’ the bottom of this.”

“Knock yourself out.” He was so unphased by her outburst that Mitena figured this must be a pretty regular interaction between them. When she was finally gone, he walked over and sat beside her on the bed as though they were old friends rather than new acquaintances. “Don’t mind her. She’s a bit paranoid, but she means well.”

“She sounds like a raging bitch.”

He didn’t bother hiding his laugh, finding her assessment hilarious but not entirely wrong. He cared very much for G’win and thought she would make a decent Bren’in in the future, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t be self-serving and downright mean to outsiders.

“She ain’t all bad.” He shrugged, “Now, I gotta fix up your arm. Can ya sit up for me?”

She did as he asked, wincing but not crying out when he started wrapping her arm. She was more interested in watching his face, looking for micro-expressions that would tip her off before she fell too deep. What she found instead was a deeply caring individual, and in this moment, she knew why her dreams were leading her to him.

“Thank you.”

“Can’t leave ya all banged up.”

“Not just for this.” She whispered, bowing her head so she could compose herself and meeting his eyes when she was sure she wouldn’t cry. “I know bringin me here was a risk.”

“No risk, no reward.” He teased, finding the tint of pink dusting her cheeks to be nothing short of mesmerizing. “What were ya doing all the way out here, anyways?”

“My family… we were targeted by the Kinnah. As far as I know, I’m the only one who survived.”

He’d heard stories of the Kinnah and none of them were good. “I’m so sorry.”

“Not your fault.” She shrugged, happy that this conversation was going well, all things considered. “My mama told me t’ come find your family, said you’d help.”

“She’s right. Lady Ray said you can stay as long as ya want, but she’s gonna wanna talk t’ you… and she’ll wanna know about them Kinnah.” Mitena nodded in understanding, smiling up at him when he took her now bandaged hand in his and gave her a slight squeeze. “You’re safe here. Safe with me.”

“Thank you… I’m Mitena, by the way.”

“Hasil. Pleasure t’ meet you, Mitena.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Hasil.”

It was a small introduction, and while her heart was in tatters after the loss of her family, she was so thankful her dreams had led her to such a man as this. He had such a calming effect on her; it was unlike anything she’d experienced before, and though she didn’t know how this would end up, she was grateful to have him as her guide.

[justminawrites]

None of you understand Amber Bennett: She's just a girl, your honour. A review of the show writers' least favourite love story from Invincible season 1.

Now let me just preface this by saying I have 2 points to make. Just two, very long, super rambly points that does have mild spoilers for Invincible season 2. Read at your own risk.

Point 1: Amber isn't "understanding" enough is utter bullshit.

There’s no indication that civilians outside of the ones associated with the GDA have any idea how brutal fights are for superheroes. Amber quite literally has no idea what the hell Mark is going through, even after the superhero reveal. The only thing she has a smidgeon of understanding of is his dad beating his ass on live TV. And even that is a heavy maybe because we don’t know how much of the fight the cameras could cover and how much was broadcast to the general public. 

Point 2: Amber’s dated Losers before.

This is stated explicitly in canon, she's “been down that road." Furthermore, she’s also the daughter of a single-parent household. She used to hang out a community centre as a kid because her mom did late hours. Daddy Issues anyone? She’s got a lot of her own problems that we never get to unpack or linger on because the writing decided she wasn’t going to end up with Mark. 

What if she’d already dated an absolute bastard before Mark? Someone who seemed sweet and genuine at first, but then he started slacking. He’d be late to dates, stop taking an interest in anything she did, and just never show up for her in any way that mattered. Amber would make up excuses with her friends and family, oh he’s busy, he’s studying; he cares, I swear, he just has a strange way of showing it. 

Her friends and family don’t believe her completely but they humor her because she really seems to like him. And the ex-boyfriend isn’t a douchebag the whole time.. he brings gifts to make up for being late, he plies and pacifies her with honeyed words and promises to be better.

But each time the lies get more and more difficult to believe. Traffic and science projects, traffic and science projects, even when he shows up smelling like weed and alcohol. Her friends and family give her tight-lipped smiles when her ex-boyfriend gives her sloppy kisses and proclaims over and over “She’s too good for me, this one.”

She tries to be empathetic, she tries to be understanding when they’re alone, he can tell her what it is that’s wrong. But every-time she brings up giving them some space, he takes it as an indication of her not believing him and he guilts her with one sob story or another— she knows him, he was so gentle and respectful before they started dating, does she really think he’d do this to her if he didn’t have a good reason? Just a masterclass in gaslighting. So she gives him a second chance, third chance, fourth even. 

But then he begins cheating on her. Whenever she confronts him about it, he plays victim and accuses her of being “crazy” even though the entire school knows otherwise. She catches him one fine day, and dumps him on the spot. For a short while, Amber’s very proud of this but as time passes she starts to feel extremely embarrassed that it took that long for her to catch on. 

No one blames her, of course, but they all say something along the lines of “We never liked him anyway” which makes Amber doubt the perception of him she had. She internalises their support as a failing on her part to be vigilant, she didn’t want to end up making the same mistakes as her mom, after all. 

Amber becomes guarded. She doesn’t entertain male attention (from Todd, for example) but then she finds out resident wimp Mark Grayson takes a beating for her and she feels bad. 

So she gives him a chance. Mark was a nonissue, a nobody with no track record of being amazing or awful, just an in-between, normal guy who was maybe a little soft spoken and needed to stand up for himself more. 

But every time they try to hang out, something comes in between them. The excuses are laughably obvious this time and Amber is caught between trying to understand if Mark Grayson is trying to let her down easy because he’s not interested or if he’s just another douchebag taking her for a ride. 

He leaves her alone during their study date for an hour to do something shady and/or potentially related to Eve (I know she overheard him yelling at Cecil in his bedroom); Mark tells her he’s been to Mount Everest, but can’t tell her How he got there, and leaves on a non-specific trip for two weeks, right after their first date, and can’t even tell her Where he’s going or what he did when he was there?

So she does what she’d wished she’d done in her first relationship, she sets her boundaries. Firmly. She gives Mark multiple chances to come clean when she tells him she’s not riding that wave again. It’s been brought up a few times that Amber has lingering relationship-trauma.

During their study date Amber tells him she’s been in relationships with violent potentially abusive guys (“Met plenty of guys who were willing to throw a punch for me.”); or when he stands her up for the Dinner with her mom she tells him that he needs to make a choice because she’s “Been down this road before, and once was enough.”

But he still keeps at it and she starts getting tired of defending him to her friends and her mom. He’s just busy, he’s just studying; he cares, I swear, he just has a strange way of showing it. And this time they shake their heads and lightly imply that she’s stuck in a pattern. Amber can feel them comparing Mark to her old boyfriend and it all becomes a bit too much. 

Either he’s a no good drug dealing prick or he’s just wasting her time, whatever it is, Amber’s had enough of being left in the dark. 

The soup kitchen is the final straw, but then she finds out that he gets run over by a bus. He actually gets hurt, this is the first time Amber’s seen him hurt, and she feels awful because if she hadn’t pushed him to show up for her again and again maybe he would’ve been more careful. 

He doesn’t let her visit him in the hospital. A hit and run on the wrong side of town was the story this time— he can’t even tell her this, the specifics of his accident! Eve was his first point of contact after his parents?! At this point Amber is convinced that he’s involved in something violent or something to do with Eve, or both and she’s not sure she wants to keep going with this. 

Amber is confused and hurt but she also feels responsible for Mark’s injuries. Maybe she Was too paranoid, maybe she Was projecting all her relationship-trauma on him and he would tell her what happened at his own pace. So she backtracks, gives him another chance.

College is really the best of all worlds, Mark makes her promises that this time will be different, and Amber tentatively agrees to college together. (She’s still stressed out about his injuries and on edge the whole time though and asks if he has a concussion). 

This is really important because Amber ends up at Upstate U later. She decided to go to college with him, basically because of Him. This wasn’t any specific plan she had before, this was her making room in her life for this boy and potentially everything their lives could be together. 

Then the Reanimen Incident happens. And she loses her shit. Mark Grayson is not the flakey but well-intentioned boyfriend she thought he was.. Mark Grayson is not even a good person! He LEFT her and William at the drop of a hat to save his own slimy skin, that bastard! Her intuition was right, she never should’ve given him a chance. 

Amber was no longer going to give Mark Grayson the time of day, much less share a bed with the self-serving jerk; she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of spinning another tall tale. Or seeing her cry. She closes the door to the shower rooms behind her, and overhears Rick leaving to get them all some beer. Dorm room walls are thin, after all.

Then she hears something else.

“You’re Invincible!” William’s voice carries over excitedly, “And you never told me?”

Here goes the "problematic" bit.

I think Amber was lying when she told Mark she knew he was Invincible weeks ago. Amber didn’t even know who Invincible was until a few minutes after the Reanimen attack. She isn’t acting for anyone around her, she’s genuinely confused when the superhero jets off because she’s never seen him in her life. 

I think she overheard William freaking out about it in the dorm room and she pieced together Mark’s absences with his vague excuses and why couldn’t visit him at the hospital. She takes a shower to cool off but sitting and stewing on all of it just makes her angrier and she decides to go to the frat party just to get away from Mark for a while. 

Now why wouldn’t she just tell him she overheard them talking? 

Amber is an assertive independent character with a lot of pride. And that’s not a bad thing. Amber has a lot to be proud of. She has a strong sense of justice, she doesn’t take crap from anyone and she has too much self-worth to put up with liars. 

You can clearly see this in the way she approaches Mark in the beginning. She asks William if he’s dating Eve, and then instead of calling him herself, she gets Todd to give Mark her number so he can call her if he’s interested, despite the fact that she already is. She has too much pride to chase him. It’s one of her fixed flaws, and it’s consistent to her character. 

So finding out that Mark is actually Invincible almost by accident, is kind of embarrassing for Amber. Not only because she yelled at him for disappearing but for all the times he misled her and lied to her only to actually have a good reason for doing it. There’s a lot of mixed emotions there, shame, guilt, concern. Guilt.

Admitting that she overheard he was Invincible would be like admitting she was a stupid, nagging girlfriend who had no right to be a part of his life (the way the fandom perceives her) so she doesn’t. She tries to distract herself with the party, flirts with someone she just met not ten minutes ago, and feels awful because he immediately drops the girlfriend bomb. 

Now she’s forced to confront the fact that she has a boyfriend, and her flakey, well-intentioned superhero boyfriend is sitting and moping in the dorm room because she doesn’t have the guts to tell him she knows. Because telling him she knows would remove the choice he’d need to make when deciding whether or not he was serious about their relationship.

Amber was serious, Amber was going to change her life and potentially open her future to college with him, but was Mark really sure about Them if he couldn’t even tell her of his own accord? 

Telling him would be like giving him another out. And Amber was done giving him an out. 

When he finally confesses he doesn’t see why she’s mad at him, because he doesn’t see her at all. He can’t even begin to imagine what this roller coaster of a weekend has been for her because she’s been serious about him all this time and it took them breaking up completely for Mark to choose her back in the first place and go all in. 

Now it’s true that Mark is entitled to his secrets but Amber is also entitled to being upset that he can’t tell her 1 solid thing about his life. Not one thing does he trust her enough to explain, and at that point why should they even be dating each other? Why should she change the course of her future for a guy who can’t tell her where he was last weekend?

Then Omni-man beats him up on live TV, and now that she knows that he’s Invincible, she finally gets a glimpse into the bloody, gruesome world that is Mark’s. His Dad isn’t a superhero, his Dad is a Monster, and Mark is discovering this the same time as the rest of the world.

So she freaks out because she cares, and she’s so relieved to see him not beat to a bloody pulp like on TV that she kisses him. She likely had no intention of getting back together with him before that, but world-ending fiascos often come with heightened emotions, and they’re just kids at the end of the day. 

She’s not a manipulative, narcissistic villain, she’s just a proud girl, in love with a boy who can’t decided whether or not he loves her back. 

Now do I think Mark is a terrible jerk who doesn’t deserve Amber? No. I watched Invincible the same way it was intended, almost entirely through Mark’s eyes, and it’s hard to assign blame in this case because we see how horrifying and traumatic being a superhero actually is. But that’s the point, we only see one half of the story. 

We see Amber through Mark’s eyes and in his opinion she could afford to be more compassionate to his excuses the moment she finds out he’s a hero, the way Eve can, but that’s not true at all because Amber has no idea what being a hero is like. Eve does, and that’s the difference that Mark is wilfully blind to. 

But Mark also has no idea what Amber’s life is like and it’s easy to get lost in the sea of all the lives lost and villains fought, that he genuinely hasn’t spent any time with his girlfriend as a person beyond his Girlfriend. Amber isn’t a person to him, like William stopped being eventually; they became sort of tethers to Mark’s humanity, a way to distinguish himself from his Dad. A way to ground him. 

Seriously? When was the last time Mark even talked to William, his once Best Friend? They’re not his Mom, they’re concepts to him. They’re civilians, potential victims he could end up losing if he doesn’t police himself and his powers. Mark slowly becomes disillusioned to his own life as a human, the more the leans into the Viltrumite half of his parentage. 

It’s a little tragic but it’s the story we’re seeing. In season 2, when Mark and Amber break up and he gives up his dream for college, these two things are almost explicitly correlated. Mark is coming to terms with the fact that he’s going to outlive everyone he knows, even his new baby brother and that is just the most chaotic example of a slow-burn trauma if I’ve ever seen one. He’s giving up being human, but maybe not giving up his humanity. 

______________________________________________________________

TLDR: None of you understand Amber Bennett because the writers decided that Mark would outlive her before he ever had the chance to see things from her perspective and I am SALTY about it

[sparkles-and-trash]

dabihawks but very Hawks focused, just xmas fluff bc I can’t help myself 🎁🙈💫

Keigo who LOVES getting people christmas presents!

Giving gifts to show care and affection is part of his natural instincts due to his quirk, and a holiday where he can go crazy with it is obviously his favorite.

When he was little, he would only know the seasons based on the weather and temperature of the shed he lived in, but once he saw a christmas commercial on the tv that presented the idea of giving gifts to people you love.

Well, little Keigo did not know much about christmas, or love, really, but he was willing to try!

So he ventured out in the cold and searched and searched, and finally, finally he found it; the perfect rock.

He held it close as he hurried home, and after some rustling around in their makeshift kitchen he found some paper towels to wrap the stone in, just like they had with the shiny paper on the tv.

When he, after a lot of nervous pacing, presented the gift to his mom, she did something Keigo had only seen a handful of times in his short life; she smiled.

Keigo never forgot the fluttering feeling of joy and pride in his chest that moment brought him.

When he started training with the Commission, he had a lot of different handlers, but only one was by his side all trough the years.

His name was Mera, and he had hair much like Keigo’s and looked sleepy a lot, but he was something none of the others ever were; kind.

So, every year, no matter how tired, sore, scared or tired he was, Keigo drew Mera a picture for christmas.

It was always the same theme; the two of them, and every year Keigo got the best response he could dream of; a smile.

Even now, many years after Keigo «graduated» from the Commission, and even after he broke ties with them all together, he always made sure Mera got a little drawing in the mail for christmas.

He truly deserved it after all, helping Keigo get to the files he needed when he was finally ready to show the world what the commission really did.

And now, Keigo has multiple people he can get presents for every christmas, which is beyond amazing to him.

His first addition to the list was Tokoyami, of course.

Keigo had straight up lied to him that first christmas, saying that it was totally normal to buy his colleagues gifts, as if he ever had even had a real conversation with most of his colleagues at that point.

But for his little intern, he could not help himself.

He tried not to go overboard, but when Keigo first cared about someone, it was a lost cause.

Tokoyami had once mentioned his secret fondness for the Sanrio character Badtz Maru, and Keigo loved to show that he paid attention to details like that.

Now, a few years and quite a few christmas and birthdays later, his poor intern had so much Badtz Maru merch he could probably start his own store, but he treasured every single piece as if it were worth millions.

The fact that Keigo had given them to him made them worth even more to him.

With Touya it was a little different.

As soon as Keigo’s brain had decided that Touya was indeed his mate, it got straight to work.

Every shiny thing he got his taloned hands on, anything in Touya’s favorite colors, every sort of candy and sweet that he knew Touya liked, was immeadiatly aqquired and present to Touya at the first possible opportunity.

Watching Touya’s normal stoic face crack into a small smile and a faint blush reach his cheeks every time he accepted one of Keigo’s gifts were the best part of any day, no doubt.

It did however create a bit of a problem when it came to christmas gifts, because because Keigo really wanted to make it special, and Touya really wasn’t much of a materialistic guy.

In the end, it’s always Keigo’s attention to detail that saves him.

A special book Touya had mentioned in an off hand comment was hunted down, preferably as a first edition and maybe even signed.

Touya barley likes touching it, terrified to cause any damage to the previous item.

A precious memory in an otherwise turbulent childhood was recreated to the best of Keigo’s ability, and if Touya had tears in his eyes that entire night, Keigo would never mention it.

In all honesty, getting to go on these deep dives on things his boyfriend loves is one of Keigo’s favorite thing in the while world.

Recently he even started doing good by the fib he told Tokoyami way back when.

Eraserhead got some Neko themed teacher supplies, Mic always made sure to tell Keigo how much he secretly adored it, Mic himself got fun accessories and stuff for his studio, which he always made sure to mention on air.

Mirko got a collection of the best recepies for vegetarian meals Keigo could collect, and Fatgum got a ton of vouchers for meals on Keigo for the two of them whenever Fatgum wanted to be adventurous and try new, fun food.

For Keigo, however, one of the best gifts came in an unexpected way.

For a little while now, Keigo had been aware of his mothers location in a facility where she was getting the help she had so sorely needed all those years ago.

While she had expressed the wish to see her son as soon as he wanted, Keigo had been unsure.

He was honestly terrified of setting her back when she saw him.

But after months of thinking, talking and waiting, he finally felt ready.

Touya was with him, of course, and when they entered the small apartment that was his mothers’, Keigo was just about to pass out from nerves and regret when he saw it;

A small, very familiar, perfectly round grey rock on the center of her mantle.

All these years, all that pain, all those people, all the tears, trauma, time and places, and yet… she had kept it.

The first gift.

That, with the fact that the love of his life was holding his hand at this moment, made it the best gift Keigo could ever wish for.

[foreveranevilregal]

Encantober Day 17: Home

Her whole life, Pepa had never quite felt like she belonged. She’d always been a little…too much for people, standing out from her quiet, more reserved siblings even as a small child. For as long as she could remember, she’d been outgoing, boisterous, full of life. Then the gifts came and sealed her fate.

Her siblings had gotten nice, respectable gifts. Bruno could see the future. Incredible! Julieta could heal people with her food. What could be more useful than that? And what did she get? Her emotions could affect the weather. That was the gift, she, Pepa, the person who had more feelings than she knew what to do with, had gotten. So now, not only would she cry at random times, but she would also make it rain.

She was sooo grateful for her gift.

All the hopes she’d had about going to school and making lots of friends who were like her, who loved to talk and play and be with other people, evaporated. Who would want to be friends with the weather freak who made it rain when she was upset? Or who would strike people down with lightning if she got mad at them?

For the record, she had never actually struck anyone with lightning. She wasn’t even sure how that ridiculous rumor got started. But seeing that she couldn’t fight it, she embraced it. As long as they were afraid of her, they’d think twice about mocking her.

Eventually, the crazy rumors died down. Once people gave Pepa a chance, they discovered she was actually lots of fun to be around and a really great person…who just happened to have her feelings broadcast in the sky. Which left her at a distinct disadvantage when it came to relationships, because people would always know how she felt without returning the favor.

No matter. Pepa had managed to get some control over her gift. Well, no, that wasn’t quite right, but she did figure out that as long as she avoided negative emotions, bad weather wouldn’t happen. So all she had to do was just keep positive, and it would be clear skies from here on out! Easy.

Except…no it wasn’t. After a long day of keeping up appearances, she’d come home and…keep up appearances some more because her mamá didn’t like it when her weather acted up. The only place she was really free to be herself was in her bedroom, where she could let out all the rain and wind and thunder, all by herself.

Obviously, she’d never be able to be that open with someone else.

Having accepted that dismaying prospect, she made lots of friends, had relationships. Everyone wanted to be with the sunshine girl. However then, even then she had to be careful. Turns out, when her sun was too bright, it burned people. Not literally- she wasn’t that powerful. Just…people were uncomfortable with it, like all her other weather. Even her joy was something she had to downplay. It was the only way people would accept her.

Until she met Félix. He moved to their town later in their teenage years. Pepa had never met anyone like him. Félix was full of life, outgoing, energetic…just like her. Pepa found herself being the quieter one in a conversation for once, because Félix loved to talk. She didn’t mind listening; he was very interesting. Like her, he loved music and dancing, and once she found out he could play the tiple (courtesy of a surprise late night serenade), most of their dates involved music in some way, shape, or form. Most other guys would tire out way before Pepa was done dancing, but not Félix. Though he was strong and solidly built, he was surprisingly light on his feet and had some fancy moves. He especially liked to dip Pepa down, swooping her in a way that had her heart swooping long after he’d brought her back up.

What she found most amazing was he didn’t even mind her weather. He was aware of her gift, but she managed to shield him from the worst of it for a long time. Until one day, she was sitting in the meadow, alone, crying. Something had upset her; she couldn’t remember what specifically. There were so many things it could have been. This was her little way of coping- just letting out the rain in a safe place, where no one would see her.

But then Félix wandered up. He looked surprised to see her there, and she noticed his eyes drift up to the cloud hanging above her head.

Her stomach sank. Here it is, she thought miserably. It was nice while it lasted.

He frowned.

Pepa hid her face, not wanting to see him as he walked away.

To her shock, he didn’t. Instead, he joined her, sitting down on the waterlogged earth next to her. It didn’t bother him that she felt upset. Everyone felt bad sometimes, he said. Her bad feelings just happened to be a little more externalized. He joked that her weather made it easier for him to know how she was, that he didn’t have to guess like so many other guys did with their girls.

A stupid joke, but it made her chuckle.

He wiped the tears off her face and held her until she stopped crying.

He stayed.

Pepa couldn’t believe it. He stayed. At that moment, she knew that she wanted him to stay forever.

Amazingly, he did. He stayed through years of turmoil, anxieties, insecurity, no matter how much she insisted he’d be better off without her. Thanks to him, there was also joy, laughter, adventure, love… She never had to dim her sun around him. He could handle her brightness.

He was the only person that could handle all of her, and so she wanted to show him all of her. When he proposed, she had told him as much. He’d laughed, saying the romance novels got to her head, but he seemed flattered, saying it was an honor to be getting all of Pepa Madrigal. And meant it.

They were married on a wonderful day. Although her weather had acted up worse than ever before, Pepa felt safe. Félix hadn’t let go of her for one moment. He was seeing her at her absolute worst, and he still looked at her like she put the sun in the sky (which was only sometimes true).

Despite everything, she knew that after the wedding, she would return to her casita with him. Gone were the days of having to put on a brave face for everyone else. He encouraged her to let everything out, even if it was bad. Her sanctuary of self-expression now included him.

But to be completely honest, it didn’t matter to Pepa where they lived. Anywhere with Félix would feel like home.

Because he was her home.

[vickys-death-note]

Swampcon !!

Swampcon was an interesting experience. I went on Saturday afternoon with my friend, and we stayed there a couple of hours. When we got there, I was extremely surprised by how many were there. This was my first time attending a convention, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. There were a lot of people in really detailed and accurate cosplay of various characters. My favorite one was easily anyone cosplaying as the angel devil from Chainsaw Man (easily best character sorry). Also really loved all of the kurapika cosplayers. There were so many people cosplaying there that I almost felt out of place with my tshirt and shorts. As we talked about during our discussion of Genshiken: they take fiction that it our there and transform it into fiction that is theirs alone. Through this medium of fan culture, people were brought together to share their interests in various types of media.

I wasn’t able to go to the panels that I really wanted to go to since I woke up late. However, I was able to go to “How to get a rizztraining order” and it was something !!! First off, I really enjoyed this panel and how hilarious it was, but it really showcased how many creeps are out there. This panel showed different instances of men leaving gross and inappropriate comments on cosplayer’s pages and messages. Unfortunately, this side of the fandom is the one that gets the most attention from those outsides of this fandom. I know before getting into anime, I was (unfortunately) someone who was predisposed against it just because of weirdos like them, who end up tainting society’s perception of fandom.

This was sadly the only panel I was able to attend, but I still had an amazing time at the vendor corner. I’ll be honest and say I am the craziest shopaholic. I am always buying the most random and unnecessary things online or at target, so I knew it was going to be hard to resist buying stuff at Swampcon. Thankfully, I was there with my friend, and he was my voice of reason, so I ended up only spending $15 on a Cinnamoroll headband and got gifted Kirby earrings :D I loved seeing all of the different prints, charms, stickers, and figures that were on display. TBH I almost caved and bought a $250 Mikasa figurine because she solos. Seeing so many different types of products really made me realize how big consumer culture is. Fandom is an example of unofficial culture capital. We all buy these little fun or cute objects that don’t really translate into any economic benefits. We buy them because they make us happy and we can show these items to others that also enjoy them. These little (but very expensive) items bring us so much joy because it materializes fictional characters that we all enjoy and love. I like to think that I have some self control when it comes to fandom consumer culture, but then again I do have a full drawer full of anime shirts and a whole shelf with manga and small anime figures. :/

Overall, Swampcon was a really interesting and enjoyable event! It was really cool being in a safe and comfortable environment filled with zero judgment. It’s crazy how people come from all over the state, and even from other states to be able to attend this convention. I was able to meet others who share the same interests for even the most obscure and random animes that I have watched. I would love to attend next year and see what new things it will have to offer. Enjoy this picture of me and R2D2 <3 

[ruminate88]

“Time Heals All Wounds”

I use to HATE that saying. I use to think “no, time can’t do much.” I was very wrong though!

So much “time” has went by and yet I’ve learnt so much about the past, myself and life in general. It’s amazing what time can actually do. Some things happen over night and some things take more time. When I was in my 20’s, I thought life was incredibly difficult, hard and taking forever!! Didn’t think I’d ever get to where I am now. I’ve surprised myself!

After my last relationship and the “heartbreak wouldn’t heal”, I knew something wasn’t right. I even met someone new and GOT MARRIED. There was another saying that went, “To get over someone, you have to get under someone new.” Sure. I did that but It didnt just magically fix my life or fix the past. I pushed and pushed to move forward too. I couldn’t get my ex Andrew off my brain. My first thought was, “Oh no. Do I still love him and did I make a mistake breaking up with him??” I googled feverishly: “Why am I not over my ex yet??” 😝 I was losing my mind!!!

I KNEW there was so much confusion surrounding him and my past. I KNEW he hurt me, cheated and lied to me…. How could I “love him” ?? Seems crazy. I tried to ignore my thoughts and feelings but they got worse and I felt so guilty. I was frustrated and felt disconnected from my husband!! My husband says I’ve pushed him away and he accuses me of talking to other guys. Wow. That hurt me!! However, I knew I had been obsessively thinking of Andrew and still felt “heartbroken” like the pain never left and there was still so much fog. I felt Andrew was “haunting me” and I tell my husband I feel haunted by my past… My husband dropped the conversation, didn’t continue asking questions and I cried myself to sleep.

I had been writing soooo many heartbreak songs since dumping Andrew and feeling like I wanna talk about him so much; my brain wanted to explode and I had begged God for answers! I finally saw my first video on TikTok about emotional manipulation and wow 🤯 I was thinking “That is exactly how Andrew made me feel.” I had to process it but didn’t know how. Theeeeen more videos came in until my entire TikTok feed was nothing BUT videos about emotional abuse. I couldn’t escape them and I felt trapped in a loop. The only way I could get out was to put my account on private and log out for awhile. I took a long break which was good but I still couldn’t stop obsessing over Andrew and still wanted to talk about him. 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

So I started this account “Ruminate88” because I was ruminating more so than I felt was normal for someone. I didn’t just ruminate normal stuff and it wasn’t all flash backs either. Some days it was “my brain wondering what would happen if Andrew and I were in therapy together” and my brain obsessed over that idea. THEEEEN it switched to “my bran obsessing the idea that Andrew stalks me from a far off.” Weird shizz like that. 🥴🫣 Eventually as I wrote down my story on this account, I realized how negative the relationship actually was and then I found this chatbot where I could share my post to it and break each post down for interpretations. Wow! My eyes opened up more!!! The chatbot tells me I’m on a “healing journey” and I’m “seeking closure.” But everything I’ve read, it all tells me “healing takes time”…..

Each day has been a rollercoaster of emotions, feelings and thoughts. I’m up and down. I’ve had major discoveries and some frustrating set backs. More importantly, one day I have so much compassion for myself then the next day I beat myself up and feel terrible!! This healing journey feels chaotic at times and so peaceful other times. I never know what each day will bring but I know each day is another day forward. Another day of life. A gift even. 🎁 Healing, learning from mistakes and forgiveness both for myself and my exes IS all a process separately. Time isn’t what necessarily heals you but it does still take time so, buckle up and hold on ❤️‍🩹

[goodvibesandsunglasses]

crowns-and-claws​:

Candice found it very easy to get lost in Jonas when they were making love. Something would happen in their actions and they would develop this secret world of love and ecstasy. There was no sense of place or time. It was just them making each other feel good. She had forgotten that she had been meant to go to work tonight. To leave him in bed and work her graveyard shift. She forgot about the pain of her past when they were like this. Jonas had pulled her through the wreckage and the trauma it caused. It wasn’t through big gestures or expensive gifts. It was the little things that other people would think were insignificant. Calling to make sure she got home safe from dates. Bringing her food at work just because. Holding her through nightmares and confusion about where she was when she woke up in the middle of the night. He never asked a question. He never pushed her. He just simply held her and wouldn’t let go until she told him she was okay. That she was herself again. Those things among many others caused Candice to fall deeply in love with Jonas.

Her moan vibrated against his lips as they kissed and he increased his pace inside her. Their mingled breaths and soft touches were driving her crazy and spurring on her own climax. He treated her and her body so perfectly that she wanted to cry. It wouldn’t be the first time that she had during their time together. Not sad tears, just tears from experiencing something beautiful and comforting. He was home to her. He always would be. She held him tighter as he told her he was close and nodded. “Me too, Love.” she moaned. “Cum with me? Please? Let’s cum together.”

“Together”, he repeated. There were so many things he’d tell her if he weren’t on the verge of spilling inside her, mainly how he thought he’d lucked out when they first met. It had been love at first sight as far as he was concerned and he was glad he’d stuck around and had been patient enough so they could have this today, with so much more to come. Only a few more thrusts were necessary to send him over the edge, hands gripping the sheets on either sides of her while he grunted sweet, unarticulated nothings into her ear.

Face buried in the crook of her neck, he pressed sweet kisses to her soft skin and once more whispered how much he loved her and how hot she was. It was one of the good things he’d learned from his parents’ rather unusual type of education: talking about one’s feelings didn’t come down to showing weakness. For them, it was actually the contrary. Jonas had no idea how long he laid there before rolling over with her in his arms. If there was something he wanted right now, it was to be close to her. Sometimes he found himself thinking how amazing it was that someone like Candice existed and how wonderful to have her like this into his life. “I have to admit”, he teased, referring to their conversation “Sometimes it’s hard to share”.

[rcksmith]

Last night of the world — Five Hargreeves

You can find the 3 request here: anonymous 1, anonymous 2, anonymous 3.

Resume: Luther's wedding was an ironic joke for Five Hargreeves, especially with the apocalypse knocking at the door. But, that night, when Five looked at you and his breath escaped his lungs, he understood his brother. Beause he would marry you too on the last night of the world if he could.

Fluff prompts:

5. ”Don’t smile at me like that. You know it drives me crazy.”

11. “Wow- you look…amazing.” 

15. “Because i love you god damnit!”

16. “I love you. You enormously stubborn pain in the ass..” “I heard that!” “You were supposed to!”

20. “How am i supposed to spoil you when you wont accept my gifts?”

40. “Come cuddle.”

Couple: Five Hargreeves /Fem!Reader.

Warnings: just swearing, little angst, mention of death, VERY FLUFF.

Word count:3k.

A/N: Spoiler from season 3.

Because I have a lot of requests in my box, I compile 3 orders that are similar and put together, but I took care to added all the elements that were asked for individually, and made sure that all ideas were respected and written down. 

We not tolerate any pedophilia here!! I write about Five with their 20s. I write the same about the characters of Harry Potter, MHA and others fandoms.

English is not my first language, so I so sorry if have a mistake.

Requests are OPEN. Love you ❤️

———

He can remember to this day. The taste of heaven on the top of his tongue, his heart suddenly racing into an uncontrollable rhythm, the sensation of an icy shiver coursing through his body and igniting a hot flame deep in his chest. It was like seeing the muse of a Renaissance painting: exciting, destabilizing. And all your splendor made the soul of Five Hargreeves want to kneel for you in eternal devotion.

You were breathtaking. And even after years, he can still remember that moment.

Five is not a man who is easily impressed, nor is he snatched by any woman. He is firm, rational and practical. But meeting you… in all your glory as a God-decorated angel, made him want to admit the existence of the divine and drown himself in your religion.

It only took a few months for Hargreeves to realize that the earth's rotation only made sense when you were by his side, directing smiles towards him that made he feel like he was in the heart of the sun, that awakened the will to…be good. At least the best possible, for you. To have the illusion that he could deserve you.

Maybe if Five Hargreeves tried to be a better man when he was by your side, he could fool the gods, life or fate, that he deserved you. And so no one would take you away from him. Maybe.

The relationship of you two was something inevitable, unstoppable, Five held you like it was a miracle and didn't dare let go anymore. You were one of those once-in-a-lifetime things, and he wasn't going to risk losing you. But, lucky for Five, you loved him just as much as Phyllis loved Demophon.

There was an unspoken promise surrounding the love of the two of you, the unshakable conviction that you would remain side by side, until the end of the world.

"You are so lost in thought." Your voice snapped Five out of his reverie, bringing him back to reality.

A reality many years later. Where the end of the world knocked at the door, once again. Where his dysfunctional family was trapped in that strange and confusing reality. A reality where, in the midst of impending death, Luther was getting married.

When did time go by so fast?

It was at that moment that the blue eyes with ocean hues were in your direction, and just like so many years ago, Five lost his breath, his reason and his understanding of the world. The red silk clung to every curve of your body like an embrace of perfection, your skin was glistening under the lights of the hotel's ballroom, leaving you looking like a fantasy too good to have come true.

Holy fuck.

“Wow-’’  His voice got stuck on the way from brain to mouth, too perplexed how someone like you could be real. “You look…amazing.” 

The sincerity in his voice, charged with a tremor and veneration, made the hairs on your arms stand on end and your heart race like horses in a race. How, after so many years, could he still look at you as if you were the most beautiful deity among the Greek gods? There was a pure love deep in his eyes that always made your soul tremble.

"You look wonderful too." You flashed a big smile, running your hand down his arm. “I love you in a suit.”

Five made a mocking sound, like a half laugh, as he looked away for a second before turning his attention to you.

"You always say that."

"Because it's true"

Your body came close to his without hesitation, being greeted by Five's warm arm around your waist. His touch became firmer as he pulled you a little closer, as if, unconsciously, he firming up territory.

“What were you thinking?” He looked at you in an inquisitive way “When I arrived. What were you thinking?”

"In you." His answer came as firm as his grip, and your heart leapt in chest. “More specifically the first time I saw you.”

There was something about the way Five Hargreeves looked at you. Something mysterious, passionate, hot as the fire of sin and sweet as the gates of paradise. Something that made you feel like you were living a true love story. Emotions curled at the top of your throat, and you knew you would cry if you uttered a single syllable. So you just laid your head on his shoulder, snuggling into the person who was the reason you were still breathing.

“What are the plans for tonight?” Your voice came out when you were sure you wouldn't cry, looking back into his eyes.

“My only plan for tonight is to get fucked up beyond all recognition” Then his mouth got closer to your ear and became wicked when said "And fuck you so fucking hard that I'm going to break the bed"

Hot shivers licked up your spine to the back of your neck, heat in your belly rose to your eyes, and you smiled broadly, full of sinful expectation.

Five's promises were never in vain.

”Don’t smile at me like that. You know it drives me crazy.” he said.

Your cheeks flushed and you smiled even wider, the blood pulsing hard in your veins, following the same rhythm as your passionate heart.

Hargreeves bit his teeth as he tightened his grip on your waist. “You teasing little thing.”

You laughed loud, letting him lead you to one of the tables and you said softly  “I love you. You enormously stubborn pain in the ass...” 

“I heard that!” 

“You were supposed to!”

----

No one knew - or cared - what time it was, the height of dawn was always perfect for rampant alcohol and dubious behavior. Nights were made for choices that weren't made during the day.

At that moment, forever was in that ballroom, with drunk people and loud music. The colored lights pulsed like a car engine, contributing alcohol to cloud and inhibit the rationality of everyone in the room.

The world was ending and each one there found a different poetic meaning for the situation.

Luther found his in his wife, Klaus clung to his father's plans and lived that night not as the last, but as the beginning of something, just like Ben. Viktor found his in the peace that existed in the idea of - finally - putting an end to that drama of apocalypses, which followed him from timeline to timeline.

For Five Hargreeves, his poetic meaning was you.

His eyes were heavy and his mind light, but he would have to be completely blind for not recognize that, whenever he looked in your direction, you were the most breathtaking girl of the universe.

Would he stop venerate you as a goddess? No.

He stood there for a few seconds, next to someone he didn't care who it was, his eyes completely mesmerized on you. Like you was the most dangerous siren at sea, and he was just a sailor totally at your mercy.

Your body, trapped in that fucking maddening red silk gown, was covered in a fine mist of sweat that lit your skin like pirate treasure. Your hair was unruly and coming out of hairstyle, but the strands that fell under the lap of your breasts took his breath away. It should be considered a cardinal sin the way your body was moving, and Five would have dropped to his knees for you if he could spend eternity there, watching you dance.

“I don't think I've ever seen you look like that.” It sounded like Klaus' voice, but Five didn't want to take his eyes off you to check it out.

“I don't have any expression on my face.” He said the first thing that came to his mind, even though he didn't believe his own words.

How could anyone keep a complacent expression when you looked like that? So miraculous that Five questioned his sanity. There was something about you that kept him wrapped around your finger, so fervently in love, whipped with just one look you gave him. Your image was like a renaissance miracle, a glimpse novelists had of paradise.

God sure was a woman…because there was no explanation for you being so divinely beautiful.

“she’s just…wow”

Klaus must have said something, but Five didn't deign to pay attention, his concentration too focused on the way your body moved, the sway of your hips that moved his ocean. Your every move was a tsunami on his sea, every twirl was a rotation on his Earth, you were shaking Five's entire existence and didn't even notice.

You may have fallen in love with him first, but he fell in love hardest.

That's when your eyes met his, in a fatal connection that made Five's soul tingle. Your smile was the second shot at his sanity, and at that moment, at a stupid wedding, Hargreeves wondered why the hell he never made an event like this be a moment of the two of you?

Why did he never ask you to marry him?

And in that second, watching you dance with Viktor, he found no reason not to.

Fuck it.

With each step Five took toward you, charged with purpose, the more the sense of certainty inside him grew, like a thunderous sound.

“I'm going to have to steal the most beautiful woman of the night.'' Five told his brother, who tried to hide his laughter at his drunken, uninhibited state.

A delicious flush crept up your cheeks, coloring your skin to a shy tinge that made Five want to run his tongue at the maddening color.

“All yours” Viktor was still trying not to laugh as he handed you to his night-black-haired brother.

“Come cuddle.” Five's drunk voice teased you as he pulled you as close to him as he could.

“You know that the most beautiful woman of the night is a bride, don't you?” it was your first speech as you settled youself with his warm, masculine, possessive hand on the small of your back.

“Not for me.” His voice brushed your jaw, lowering to your neck as if Five were inhaling the scent of your soul. “Never for me.”

Five was drunk, you knew that, he smelled like expensive whisky and masculine cologne, but there was something about his sincerity abounding in his drunkenness that made your heart pound. Hargreeves could be very good at hiding his feelings on a day-to-day basis, but that fell apart when alcohol drowned out his demons.

Was that what he thought whenever he looked at you? That you were the most beautiful woman, in every single night? Did he look at you with that oblique glow and in his mind he secretly venerate you?

You've never wanted a positive response so much in your life, because that's exactly how you feel about him. Your heart has long had the name 'Five Hargreeves' tattooed in red-hot iron, and the wish you've asked the shooting stars is that yours would also be tattooed on Five's heart too.

it wasn't too much to ask...

“I love the way you smell.” You buried your nose in his neck, letting the male body rock you completely, just not touching you with both hands because he held a bottle of whisky in his left.

Five let out a sound that could be described as disbelieving laughter. "i've been drinking for hours."

“But I can still smell your real scent.” You joked, reaching up to the back of his head whit your hands.

Hargreeves rummaged his shoulders, in a way to draw your attention to his face, pulling your eyes from your favorite hiding place. When you did, there were so many emotions pouring out of the blue Egyptian eyes that made your soul shivered.

“What do I smell like?” A question so innocent, pure, almost childish, but one that was able to quicken your pulse as quickly as a wildfire.

There was no hesitation in your voice as you replied: “Home.”

A hot feeling licked Five from head to toe, shaking his structures and revoking all the foundations of his life. It should be a crime for you to say such things. It should be a crime for you to be so beautiful that it physically hurt. It should be a crime to be that passionate for you. So, whit his chest sinking with overwhelming emotions and feelings, Hargreeves made the only coherent decision: he kissed you.

Kissed you because his ribcage would explode if he didn't. Kissed you because every cell in his body screamed that no longer belonged to him, but to you.

Mine, mine, mine. That's what Five thought as drowned the sins on your heavenly lips.

“I want to marry you.” His voice was still swallowed by your lips, because he refused to pull away.

"But..." one more kiss ''we already...'' one more kiss ''we're married.''

"No." the firmness in his voice shook your heart  “I want a stupid wedding like this stupid event. I want to hear the idiotic speeches of my father and my siblings, and say that I want this hell to end when in fact I'm reveling in the fact that everyone is gathered just to see my wife. Because i love you god damnit! '' his statement left no space for a answer, because Five swallowed your breath with another incendiary kiss “I want to see you in white, and recite silly vows when in fact my love for you is much more than these ready-made words. I want to give you my last name, keep you by my side as the only Mrs. Hargreeves… I want… why the fuck have I never asked you to marry me before?!”

Five couldn't tell if you were crying or smiling, but he was relieved by the tight way you were holding him. Of course it wasn't the best of statements, he was never good with sentimental shit, but something in the way you looked at him shocked said he said something very right.

“I should propose to you in a better way.” His speech was cut off by a hiccup from the alcohol. “fucking hell…'' his gaze wandered slowly across the room and stopped at the stage, where Ben and Klaus were singing some horrible bullshit ''I already know…'' his drunk mind went back to you again ''I'll sing for you.''

Your laughter overcame the tears, and the automatic question left your mouth. “Why,babe?’’

"Because I want to make a decent proposal, give you something more worth telling people about later."

You were going to say a thousand things, but Five cut you off by the look in your eyes "How am I supposed to spoil you when you wont accept my gifts?”

Five Hargreeves didn't give you a chance to argue, didn't give you a second to recover from a breathtaking statement, and you felt like crying in anger at yourself when he was already away from you, on his way to the stage. You wanted to say that you loved him from the first second, that you worshiped him more than the Greeks worship Zeus. You didn't need a proposal, a big wedding, a official celebration, you always knew you were his wife. And you wanted him to know that too, wanted him to understand that, nothing he wasn't ready to do, you would push him to do. His reserved and sour nature wasn't a problem and you were always completely happy with what you had. Because that meant having Five on your side.

You've never considered yourself a big fan of such public displays of affection, you've always found proposal in open spaces and with people around cheesy, but...but the way Five smiled at you on that stage, microphone in hand and bottle of alcohol in another, it made you question all your tastes in life. That scene was worth it

The truth was, Five would hang the moon in the sky for you, and you'd do anything to keep that love and happiness in his eyes whenever he looked your way.

[sevasey51]

Hi this is my first time sending a request, so idk what I am doing. But I love your page, your stuff is really good!

Can you write something with Chris Evans x daughter!reader, where the reader breaks something from Chris (maybe injure themselves, but don’t tell Chris) and they keep saying sorry and maybe start crying. And Chris tells them its alright and he can just buy it again. (and finds out reader is injured)

Just ignore this if you don’t like it :)

“It’s really okay”

—————

Pairing: Chris x adopted! Daughter

—————

Warnings: brief mentions of food issues, mentions of injury, blood, cuts, panic attack and just Chris being the best dad ever 🥹

Hey! Thank you so much for this request and it’s so kind of you to say this! I hope you like it, I loved writing it <3

——————

Being Chris’ daughter was the best thing you could ask for, the day he adopted you was unmistakably the best day of your life.

It was also his.

See he always wanted a daughter who was just amazing, but just as crazy as he was. So it was a perfect match like your social worker had said when you both hit it off when you first met although you were timid which was expected.

But nevertheless you were inseparable.

————

Today, Dad was working early this morning so it was just me and Dodger in the house until about 11am so I woke up and padded my way down the stairs to go find dodger lounging in a sun patch streaming the massive windows through from the garden.

After giving Dodger cuddles lounging on the sofa, I decided Chris probably wouldn’t be very happy if he came home and I hadn’t eaten anything considering it was like almost 9am but hey he knew that I didn’t exactly have the best relationship with food but I was working on it.

That being said I walked into the kitchen dodger in tow expecting a treat which he got, i just made some cereal with choccy milk on the side in a sox mug from Disney that dad got as an exclusive gift for the lightyear movie. He loved that cup so I knew I had to be careful with it because I didn’t want to break it and make him angry.

Unfortunately the cup did break.

It was all a blur all y/n remembers was the cut on her arm, the blood and the shards of the porcelain on the floor splattered with chocolate milk. The main priority was to get dodger out the room so he didn’t get hurt, she didn’t care that she’d cut herself it was let’s just say something she’d experienced a bit more than you should.

She cleaned everything up like nothing happened, the blood, the milk and her cereal were thrown out and cleaned she didn’t want it anymore. Her stomach was in knots over what her dad would say when he found out. Panic swirled in her body, her heart was beating what felt like 200 bpm. All she could do was clean up her cut and cocoon herself in chris’ bed for comfort where she cried herself to sleep.

————

Chris’ pov

I was on set early this morning for a reshoot of ghosted, so I left y/n and dodger alone at home which isn’t the first time but I always made sure that she was really okay with being alone if not Scott would be more than happy to come over just so she had someone in the house with her.

Walking in to the house calling out to both dodger and y/n there was no answer which was strange considering there was stuff in the sink from her eating breakfast, so I walked up the stairs walking to her door knocking on it.

“Bubba it’s me are you in there?” I asked louder than usual just in case she had headphones in.

Opening the door I saw no y/n but her bed wasn’t made so I know she was up but not sure where she was, checking her bathroom, the office, her reading nook.

She was no where.

The only place I couldn’t check was my room, god why didn’t I do that in the first place I thought.

Walking in I saw a cocoon of blankets and my duvet with a head just popping out the top at the many pillows on the bed, walking over sitting on the edge of the bed gently rubbing her back to wake y/n up noticing her tear stained face confused with what was going on all I did was lay with her on my chest and cuddle her trying to get her to tell me what happened.

——————

“Sweetheart, tell me what happened. Why we’re you crying?” I said whispering so she knows I’m calm.

“I- um I’m sorry dad I didn’t mean to. She mumbled panicked for the reason I didn’t know why

“Baby what are you sorry for?” I replied confused by her reaction

“Sorry sorry I’m sorry dad I promise I didn’t mean to” she said crying wincing when I tried to move her arm so she could snuggle in to my chest.

Concerned by why she winced when I moved her arm I said “Sweetheart, what happened?” growing more anxious that she was really badly hurt not wanting to tell me.

Letting her take her time to explain what happened and why she is so panicked.

“Dad I’m so sorry, I was - she sighed, I was making breakfast this morning and i - i wanted chocolate milk and I basically used your sox cup, then I don’t know how I accidentally smashed it and cut my arm and I feel really bad because that’s your special cup from the movie. I’m so so so so sorry dad” y/n replied way too fast with no breaths in between.

“Honey, it’s okay it can be replaced. That doesn’t matter right now what matters is that your okay. Now could I look at your arm please bubba?” I said reassuring y/n it’s really okay.

“Okay I guess you could, I’m still really sorry dad” y/n mumbled tears still ever present on her face, wiping them with the pads of my thumbs we sat there and cuddled.

—————

After the cuddles we had dad checked my arm helped me clean it up and then made dinner and still had been reassuring me that it was okay because accidents happen. So we had a movie night and takeout.

The usual movie being Cars 2 (which I’ve actually just finished watching) and the other usual takeout of chose for me which was nuggets, Mac and cheese and broccoli whilst dad had lasagna and dodger was waiting for someone to give him a bite.

I really knew in this moment being Chris’ daughter although we had a rough start which was to be expected being hoe daughter was the best thing I could ask for.

Because now it’s really okay.

—————

I hope you enjoy guys :)

[imdoingaokay]

Hi! I really like your writing and had a request - Sole is constantly telling these crazy stories about their life before the war and their companions just assume it’s bs because there’s no way sole ACTUALLY did any of that. It makes for good stories on the road, though. But one day they somehow find out that Sole never made up a single one of these stories - their life was just Like That.

I have had this ask in my inbox for over 6 months. Since I got it, I have slowly been chipping away at it. Finally, I have finished it.

Finally, I can rest.

Anon, my sweet dear anon, this one is for you, my sweetie.

“But I was fine by the end of it. Just a few scrapes.” Sole said, earning a chuckle or nod from their companion, who was still skeptical of the validity of Sole’s stories

Cait

Cait didn’t and wouldn’t believe Sole. I mean, they were amazing, yes, that was a given. But saving seven children from a burning building? Setting three different world records in one day because they wanted to? Bullshit.

Cait was finished with work for the day, and it was Codsworth who greeted her once she entered one of the little houses she called home.

“Good afternoon, Ms. Cait!” He said gleefully, to which Cait grunted and fell against the sofa in the “living room” or whatever Sole had called it.

“Goodness, allow me to clean up the mess around you, ma’am.” Codsworth would quickly pick up large, yellowed pieces of paper off the coffee table in front of the exhausted Cait.

“Oi, what is that?” Cait asked, seeing a few of the large, bolded letters.

“Oh, this is from when sir/mum saved those children before the war. They saved the paper of that-” Codsworth began, only to have the paper nearly ripped out of his metallic grasp.

“What the fockin’ hell?” Cait cried out, reading the headline of the paper and seeing the picture of a smiling, pre-war Sole. Okay, so maybe Sole was telling the truth?

Curie

Curie was floored, “Non!” She spoke, leaning into Sole’s words, “Zhat is impossible!” She cried.

“How could you be the creator of zhe Miss Nanny?” She asks. “Oh, no… Curie, I was just the person who came up with the general idea. Like, I was the person who made the first one. I sold my blueprints to General Atomics and they sort of ran with it. That’s how we got Codsworth in the first place, he was a gift for the blueprints.”

Curie sort of stands there in disbelief for a moment, before nodding slowly. Sole was very smart, at least to her. But still, it seemed a tiny bit far-fetched.

Only one person who knew Sole better than… anyone.

“Codsworth?” She asked politely, walking into Sole’s home, greeted by the Mr. Handy robot.

“May I ask you something?” She says before she is ushered to the dirty couch that Codsworth had been attempting to clean.

Curie stays with Codsworth for an hour or two, while Codsworth regales the tale of Sole and their spouse setting him up for the first time, and how he remembers the General Atomics Representative helping the couple. The rep had thanked Sole for the blueprints and offered Codsworth as a loyal companion and robot for free.

“How happy I was when they accepted.” Codsworth sighed happily. To which Curie smiled and nodded.

She wouldn’t know how to respond to Sole about the whole thing, does that mean that Sole is her creator in a very complicated way?

She ponders on that for hours before Sole returns to take her back out on an adventure. That is when she decides that Sole is a lot of things, but a friend they are first.

Danse

Danse has a different outlook than most others. His introduction to Sole was them coming out of nowhere, potentially still in their vault suit, shooting like a crazy person at the feral ghouls that had been attacking him and his team. So the idea of him being someone who had the ability to walk an old lady across the street, then save her life when a car nearly rammed into them? It wasn’t that far-fetched.

He can’t help but smile as Sole casually tells their stories, and often encourages them to tell more. He feels strangely comfortable when they tell him. 

Maybe he thinks that way because he trusts Sole, or he likes how Sole really is cut from a different cloth. The thought that someone could do so much good, just because they are in the right place at the right time, is something else.

He doesn’t get proof. Doesn’t even seek out proof, he just believes Sole. If someone else doesn’t believe Sole, he sort of just sighs before telling stories that he can personally vouch for, like the pair’s first meeting.

He doesn’t realize it, but that’s his favorite story to tell about Sole. About the person who changed his life.

Deacon

“Come on, Sole.” Deacon laughs, “Lying is my thing.” Deacon would grin, feigning offense. Sole would merely shrug and turn away,

“Hey, I said my piece.” They spoke, before getting called away by Drummer Boy.

Deacon sat by the coffin, sipping his Nuka-Cola quietly before eventually getting up, there had to be some proof of this. Right?

About an hour later, Deacon was in the Boston Public Library, some poor synth had been holed up in there for a few days, and Doctor Carrington had sent them a care package. The synth perked up at the sight of the two, immediately clamoring to Sole’s side, gasping and fumbling over their words.

Deacon wasn’t initially surprised, after all, Sole had done their fair share of-

“You’re the one who lifted those cars! The one who saved that pinned girl!” The synth exclaimed, “I read about it in this old newspaper!” The synth raised an old, yellowed paper. Deacon nearly choked on his spit before looking over Sole’s shoulder.

“Read ‘em and weep.” Sole laughed, shoving the papers into Deacon’s hands. On the paper, with the biggest headline of “Hero Passerby Saves Child!” was a picture of a pre-war Sole, looking… like they hadn’t been in the wasteland a day in their life.

Deacon thought to himself, ‘Lying really is my thing, huh?’

Gage

“Bullshit.” He says plainly, “You and I both know you didn’t save some snot-nosed kid from one of the rides here.”

That’s his response. He doesn’t elaborate. And if Sole tries to argue with him, he just starts saying “BULLSHIT” progressively louder and louder.

If Sole is as stubborn as Gage, the two continue for a few minutes, until either Sole gives up or Gage gets so upset he throws a few insults toward Sole before huffing and puffing away.

He ignores Sole for a while, pouting almost like a child when the pair are alone. So when Sole decides to travel without him for a bit, he attempts to find some proof, of Sole’s exploits. Of course, he does, not with the ease of course. The report of a burning attraction was not something that Nuka-World wanted to announce to the world, but it was definitely somewhere in a terminal or two.

He doesn’t bring it up, not when he finds out. A part of him wants to announce how badass their Overboss is, but then he thinks how badly the gangs will take that. How the mean old Overboss did some good samaritan shit. 

He’s still impressed. And hopefully, Sole doesn’t expect any sort of praise.

Hancock

“Wait seriously?” Hancock puts down his beer as he continues to listen.

“Yeah, swear to God. It was insane. I just remember blacking out. I mean, I remember some of the night. I think we actually went to Hotel Rexford on our little spree.” Sole had explained. The pair were settled down in The Third Rail, and Sole had told the story of their first real blackout. How they had traveled all over Boston, causing chaos in their wake.

“They may still have my picture because I remember being banned after what I did at the bar.” Sole laughed before Hancock thought for a moment.

“Finish your drink, I wanna see.” Hancock smiled, “I swear if they have it, I wanna frame  it.” Sole laughed at him.

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

In the next few minutes, the pair, obviously a little tipsy, stumbled to Rexford to beg for some of the old records they had. And lo and behold, a large picture of a very drunk Sole came into the pair’s possession. Along with the picture was a very red, bolded line of text detailing how Sole would never be allowed back to Rexford for the rest of their lives. 

“Jokes on them, I was the least of their worries.” Sole giggled.

“Yeah… now let’s get this shit framed.” Hancock smiled, wrapping an arm around Sole while the pair walked back onto the street and continued their drunken antics.

MacCready

MacCready raised an eyebrow, “Yeah, whatever. And I’m the King of The Commonwealth.”

Sole shrugged, “Hey, it’s just a story… You can keep your panties in a wad if you want.” 

MacCready sat at their table while Sole returned to Charlie, getting the pair another round of drinks.

Eventually, the pair made it back to Sanctuary, and on the way, MacCready hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the bogus story of their life before the bombs. So, he went up to Codsworth. Demanding to know the whole story. And Codsworth did just that… including several newspaper clippings, a holotape recorded interview after the fact, and at least a dozen action shots of Sole doing what they said they were doing.

MacCready’s jaw kinda just hangs open, he knew that Sole was impressive… but… well, he can’t explain it. He just assumed that Sole was a normal person… not a superhero.

Maybe they kinda are, though.

Nick Valentine

“You’re shitting me.” Nick had laughed, slapping the table as Sole finished their story. Nick enjoyed moments like this, sitting with his partner, telling tall tales of their life before the war… or really… Sole’s and the real Nick’s life

Sole put their hands up, defensive, “I shit you not. I took a bullet to the head. Bastard thought he kept me down! He said some badass line right before he pulled the trigger too! Something about luck or some shit. I wish I remembered…” Sole shrugged, Nick got up from his desk at the agency. He had to admit, it was an old story, but he had read something along those lines…

“Wait… was this him?” He lifted a piece of paper, a part of an old case file, not his own, but one he had found years ago and found interesting.

Sole nearly spat out their Nuka-Cola, pointing at the mugshot, “Yes! That plaid-wearing dick!” They laughed.

Nick looked back at the picture while Sole nearly died from a lack of oxygen and looked at the newspaper clipping.

“The victim, whose name shall remain anonymous, made a miraculous recovery thanks to the help of Boston’s finest doctors. They will be completely fine, albeit, with one hell of a story to tell their kids.” Nick quietly read to himself before turning to Sole.

“You… you’re a survivor, aren’t you?” He chuckled softly, holding out the case file for Sole to flip through.

From now on, he’d have to believe Sole more often.

Old Longfellow

Old Longfellow chuckled at Sole every time they brought up the story of catching the biggest Atlantic Bluefin Tuna known to man. Every time Sole would regale him with the story of catching the fish and releasing it after, made him smile. They were a liar, but a good liar.

It wasn’t until later, during a trip to The Last Plank, Longfellow nursed a bottle of whiskey where he let his eyes wander. His eyes fell upon a large, framed photo of a smiling person next to the biggest Tuna fish Longfellow had ever seen. Longfellow stood up, walking over to the photo, why did the person look so-

It was Sole.

Smiling.

Proudly standing.

Hands on their hips.

Smug bastard.

Old Longfellow needed to believe Sole a little more often.

Piper

Piper was someone who would likely believe Sole. But… come on… getting kidnapped by some government goons to stop them from revealing some huge classified secret, only to escape by the skin of their teeth.

Piper would admit that it was a bit far-fetched. So she would just smile at Sole, comment, “maybe I should put that in the paper” and shrug.

“Oh, it’s already been in the paper.” Sole would respond, returning to their power noodles,

Oh, now it’s on.

Once Sole would leave for some settlement, Dogmeat happily barking by their side, Piper would get to work. Immediately, she’d head for the Boston Bugle, happy she and Sole had already rid the place of ghouls a while ago. The few stragglers left behind, or that had recently moved in, were nothing for her. 

After finding a relatively intact terminal, she got to work, typing a few things, looking at the occasional article until…

“Biggest Human Rights Violation Since 1969!”

‘That might be Sole’ Piper thought to herself, reading the article before her jaw dropped.

She owed Sole a few noodle cups now… didn’t she?

Preston

Preston believes Sole. He always does. It’s kinda hard to deny your boss when they saved your ass more than once all by themselves. So the thought of them going into the cockpit of a plane to fly it after the pilot and co-pilot passed out wasn’t all that crazy.

Preston adores the stories Sole tells him, and will often encourage Sole to retell the stories to anyone willing to listen. 

But, when someone has the audacity to call bullshit to Sole’s face, Preston gets upset. So Preston goes up to Codsworth and ends up finding some old photographic proof of Sole’s miraculous feats. Then when someone calls bullshit, he pulls out several pictures from his duster pocket.

X6-88

Father never really spoke about their parent, I mean, who would? Father was a busy man, and not only that, his interactions with his guardian had been brief. 

X6 would never admit it, but he had always wondered what Sole was like before the war. So he never complained when Sole had that wistful look in their eye and told him about some story involving a pre-war Sole. 

X6 was inclined to not believe Sole, it’s hard to imagine them so… compromising, saving an entire school bus from heading over the side of a bridge? Rushing into the heat of battle to save a man down? Sole was exemplary, but they were still human.

However, X6 had come across a pristine copy of a newspaper while in Father’s quarters, having been tasked to fetch something else entirely, a picture of Sole smiling while holding a large medal for their service caught his eye.

X6 never brought it up to Sole, instead of giving the picture a small, rare smile as he continued with his duties. X6 didn’t think it possible, but Sole deserved his respect even more now.

[princessofmarvel]

Meeting For The First Time

Summary |  Being One Of The Only People To Remember Peter Parker After Dr. Strange Cast’s The Spell To Make Everyone Forget Him, And Being Dr. Strange’s Daughter Thing’s Can Get Kind Of Crazy, And Something Happening To Bring Even More Crazy Into Your Life, Might Sound Awful But, This Something Might Just Be Quite Amazing. (I Am Awful At Summaries I Know)

Pairing | Tasm!PeterParker x Fem! Reader)

Genre | Fluff!

Warnings | NO WAY HOME SPOILERS!

Authors Note | Hi!!!!! This Is Going to the be the start of A New Series That I Write! I Hope That You All Enjoy This! And, If There Are Any Mistakes I Am So Sorry! I Read Through It Once, But I Might Have Missed A Few Things. I Also Have Severe OCD So If There Are Random Cap's Where There Normally Would Not Be, I'm So Sorry, And That Is Why , Lol .

Working with your father definitely has its perks, such as getting to meet the likes of the Avengers, or, the protection of having someone such as him always looking out for you, (Which sometimes could also be a con).  But, he Can Also Be Extremely overprotective and over-bearing.  Strange took you in at a young age, you were a brilliantly gifted kid, knowing answers to things by just looking at it.  Strange came by your school one afternoon because there was a kid who would be the next him.  After A Conversation With You, He Come To Learn That You were an orphan who had gotten into the school on a special Scholarship. After some thinking, He went down to the orphanage and started the conversation of adopting you.  You have always thought that the main reason he Adopted you was because he would not really have to raise you, or take care of you, you being able to do pretty much all of that on your own, and it looked good for him to have a kid.  It wasn’t really until 2016 that He Really Started To Act Like A Real Father.  He got his powers, and then something odd started to happen.  You started to develop powers of your own.  Once your father found out, he was always having you practice your powers.

You had a Few Different Abilities, For Starters You can control people's minds and move things with it too.  You got irritated with all of the training sometimes, but it did make you better.  Getting into people's minds was what would hurt the most.  Your father would bring in people, and to see if they were lying or not, He would have you get into their heads and find out.  But, that also means that if someone was capable to, they could invade your mind and emotionally torture you.  This hasn’t happened but after you had a nightmare about it, you talked to your father and found out that it could be a possibility.

You were not around when the events of people coming and trying to find Peter Parker were happening, You were visiting your best friend Wanda when you both felt the shift happen.  When everyone started to forget who Peter Parker in our universe Was, She felt the change but you had a spell of your own put into place already in case these things happened.  You casted A spell making it to were you would not ever forget people that you know,  You Put This Spell In Place When You Found Out About Your Powers, Knowing that you could control people's minds, and get into theirs, You just felt like you needed to make sure that you would not forget anyone that you knew, in fear that someone would try to make you.

Rushing back home to see what was happening you went to find your Father immediately.  Him obviously not knowing what you were talking about, you finally had the chance to give him a lecture about being responsible and having that spell in place like you and wong do.  Seeing that your Father was not being of much help, You went to find Peter Immediately.   Going to his apartment and seeing that No one was there, You Decided To Use Your Powers To Find Him, And When You Finally Found Him, You Found Him In A Crappy Apartment.  Knocking on the door, not knowing exactly what to expect, He opens the door, And looks A little Surprised To See You.

“Uh, Um, Who are you?” He says while scratching the back of his neck nervously.

“You Are A Terrible Actor, Drop The Act Peter.” You said while Pushing Past Him, And Into His New Apartment. “What The Absolute Hell Did You Do, Peter?” You asked, standing in the middle of the small Apartment.

“Y-You know who I am?” He asks, while closing the door and coming closer to you.

“Yes Peter, I Know Who you are, I put in a Spell to make it to where,  I will never forget someone that I Know, Or Know Of, And Wong Has the same spell in place for himself, So I would not be shocked If A Angry Wong Burst Through Your Door Any Second Now.”

Before you could say anything else, You were almost tackled by Peter hugging you, and since you felt your shoulder start to get wet, you knew that he was crying.

“Uh, Peter What’s Wrong?” You Asked Him While Gently Rubbing His Back.

“I-I Lost May Y/n, I-I Lost Everyone, No One Remembers Me, N-Not Even MJ, And Ned.” He says while sobbing into your shoulder. “T-Thank You For Remembering Me.”

“Peter, We may not be that close, but trust me, I will never forget you, And not just because of A Spell.” You Say Running Your Hands Through His Hair to Try and calm Him Down Some.

You two spent the next few hours having Him Explain to you exactly what happened and Trying to figure out how you will fix everything. Starting with going down to the Sactume.

“Y/n, who have you brought here?” Your Father Says While Basically Floating Down The Stairs To The Two Of You.

“Oh, This Is Peter Parker, You know the guy that you made everyone forget, Including yourself since you just never got around to putting the spell in place.” You Look At Your Father And Say While Taking Your Jacket Off, And Sitting It Down On The Table.

“Um, I Did Ask Him to do it, and He Asked Me if I was Sure, And I Said Yes.” Peter Said Awkwardly.

“Ok Peter, Don’t Tell Him That Part.”

“Y/n What Are You wanting me to do? As Far As I know, there is nothing that I can do.” Your Father Says While Taking A Sip Of His Drink.

“There Is Something.” Says Someone Walking through the door.  Wong.  Thank God Wong Was Back.

Walking Up To Your Father, And Smacking Him On The Back Of The Head Before Explaining To Him That He Could Cast A Spell To Make Him Remember Peter, Wong starts to cast the spell on your father, (Much to his dismay), Making Him Remember Peter.       

“Peter, We Saved The World Together, You’re Spider Man.” Strange says while his Memories Of Peter Start To Flood Back Into His Mind.

“Hey Mr. Strange, I’m Here For My Lesson.” Says A Voice Walking Into The Sanctum. Almost Immediately Wong Casts A Spell making the man freeze.  When you turned around, You noticed that it was Ned, Peter's Best Friend.

After having Wong Cast the spell to Make Ned Remember Him, And Then Watching Their Emotional Reunion, It was time to move on to MJ.  She was surprisingly ok with the spell being casted on to her, Since She Trusted Ned.

“M-MJ?” Peter say’s walking up to her, And Before You Know It, MJ is hugging Peter, And Crying, reminding you of how Peter was with you Once you remembered Him.

Once Peter Had The People That He Needed To Really Remember Him, Remember Him, You, Ned, MJ, And Peter were all going to go celebrate when someone burst through the door.

“Ok, We Really Need To Find A Way To Stop People From Just Walking In Here.” You Say To Your Father.

“Who Are You?” Your Father Asks The Mysterious Man In Front Of You All. “Tombstone” Says The Man who then steps Out Of the Darkness and you can now see that the man looks like cement.

“I Just Came By To Tell You All That If You do not hand over the spiderman to me within 72 hours, I will take out my frustrations on the city.”  He Says While looking at everyone with a serious face.

“We don’t have the Spiderman”, Your Father Tells The Man.

“You Do,  I Know You Do, So Just Do As I Ask, And I Won’t Hurt Anyone.”  He Say’s Heading Towards The Door, But Using your Powers You Push Him Out The Door, And Then Shut The Door, And Lock It.

“Alright!  Which Spiderman Does He Belong To And Why Is He Still Here?” You Ask.

“I Have No Idea, But We Need To Find Out” Says your father while looking at Wong.

Within a Few Hours, You All Had Been Able To Contact Both Spidermen, And Bring Them To Your Universe, And Then Come to find out, The Villain Was From Neither Of Their Worlds.

“Uh, Hey, Who’s That?” Asks The Peter Who Look’s To Be In His 20s And Looks Like He Could Be The Middle Brother Between All Three Of Them.

“Uh, That’s Y/n Strange, Why?” Say’s MJ.

“Um, No Reason.” He Says Turning His Face Away From All Of Them.

“Oh, Dude, Don’t Even Try It, She Doesn’t Date Anyone.” Ned Tells That Peter While You Are At A Table Working On Something With The Peter From Your Universe.

“Well, Um, Maybe I Could Change That.” He Says While Looking At You.

“Be Our Guest, But Do Not Say That We Didn’t Warn You.” MJ Tell’s Him While Holding Her Hands Up In Defense.

Walking Over To You, Peter Finally Introduces Himself.

“Hey, Um, I’m Peter '' He Says While Holding His Hand Out To You.

“Yeah, I Kind Of Gathered That.” You Say While Taking His Hand, And Shaking It, Having No Idea, That, That Handshake, That First Touch, Was What Was Going To Be The Beginning Of Something So Much More Amazing.

[to-star-lake]

in the early days when you joined bonten as their new advisor, you spent a lot of time with koko; drawing up business plans, managing the books, overseeing construction on new clubs and buildings.

koko had the nicest office of all of the bonten leaders. it was on the top floor of a highrise in the middle of the shibuya business district. complete with high-end leather and mahogany furniture, and a gorgeous city view.

you'd spent time with each of the bonten executives when you joined and koko was probably your favorite to work with. you found takeomi too serious, kakucho boorish, mochi too macho, the haitani's were exhausting, and sanzu..well..

koko was like you; blunt and efficient with work, a little impatient, maybe a little condescending. you enjoyed your daily work with him in his office. it was always quiet, productive, and his assistants always served the best sencha.

except today.

today when you walked in through the mahogany double doors that led to his office, you were almost decked in the face by a toy rubber basketball.

"he shoots! he scores? no! he misses!" you heard a voice yell, followed by a maniacal cackling.

what...the hell is this? the floor of koko's office, which was normally clean, surgically clean, was littered with teddy bears, squeak toys, board games with their pieces strewn about haphazardly, a jump rope, a putting green, and a trash bin overflowing with crumpled candy wrappers.

the rubber basketball that almost hit your head rolled towards the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves on one end of the room and you saw a kiddie basketball hoop attached to one of the shelves. and below that, sanzu, flopped on his stomach on the floor, a different flavored ring pop on each of his fingers.

"koko..i'm really bad at basketball," he grumbled, picking himself up and walked over to koko's desk, slamming his hands down on the surface, the sudden gust of wind almost blowing the stack of papers in front of koko away.

"oh no, well, why don't you go try the putt putt?" koko sighed, not even looking up from his work, waving his hand in the air like he was shooing away a fly. "ah, y/n! finally, someone sane. please, get over here, i need you to look at something," koko waved you over when he noticed you standing in the doorway.

you made your way across the minefield of toys on the floor and greeted sanzu as he walked past you. "good morning," you smiled cordially.

he sauntered past you, looking down at you through bloodshot, half-shut eyes, his usual sinister smile plastered wide across his face. he'd opened his mouth to say, "good morning, little prin-" but then stepped on a pile of toy soldiers and tripped, tumbling to the floor, his long limbs getting all tangled up in themselves.

"uh... hey, koko?" you took a seat in the armchair beside the desk, setting your laptop down on the tabletop. "what's going on here? where's mikey?"

koko let out an exasperated sigh, rolling his eyes. "sometimes mikey goes off on his own, and when he does, the rest of us have to take turns...babysitting," he nodded at the gangly man with bubblegum colored hair with a plastic toy putter in his hands. "i pulled the short straw today," he sighed, pushing the large binder of documents he was looking at over to you.

"koko!!"

"jesus, what now?" koko looked up, so annoyed you could almost see the steam coming out his ears.

"there's no balls," sanzu pointed at the putting green on the floor.

"well, who decided to ambush people by pelting them with the balls outside the bathroom last time?"

sanzu stared back at koko blankly.

"ugh, nevermind. could you play with something else? y/n and i have work to do." koko scooted his seat closer to you, and began circling a few line items on the page in front of you. "got this today from the guys over at the club in akasaka. these totals look off to you?"

you glanced over the document, and flipped back a few pages and reviewed the itemized lists also included in the binder. "damn," you said, looking up at koko. "these assholes are skimming."

koko opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by a sudden loud popping noise. both of you turned to see sanzu on the floor, pulling the heads off of a pile of barbie and ken dolls.

koko raised his hands to his temples, the frown lines between his eyebrows deepening by the second. "jesus christ, this psychotic clown, if he wasn't the number 2 I swear to god-” he muttered under his breath.

"hey, sanzu?" you called out and sanzu's head jerked up to look at you, his eyes suddenly bright and attentive, like a child amongst the sea of toys on the floor.

"yes, princess?" he called back.

"could you go on a coffee run for us?"

sanzu tilted his head a little, confused. "a coffee...run?"

"yeah...you know, to buy coffee?"

he blinked, still confused.

"to buy...starbucks?"

"ah! you want me to buy you starbucks," he suddenly shot up.

"yes! yes, please, for me and koko, that would be great," you smiled, thinking you were finally getting somewhere with him.

he walked over to the desk. "anything for you, princess. and you can call me haru," he hummed, taking a bright pink ring pop off his finger and sliding it onto your ring finger, and a blue one onto koko's ring finger. "be back in a flash."

he turned to walk out of the office, whistling and not bothering to avoid the toys scattered on the floor, simply stepping on them as he went.

the doors closed behind him and you turned to koko, "now we can get some work done."

"let's hope he takes his time," koko rolled his eyes, sliding the ring pop off his finger, holding onto only the plastic part as gingerly as possible, a disgusted look on his face because he could tell sanzu had definitely licked the candy already.

"is it always like this when mikey's away?"

"sanzu? yeah, pretty much. but mikey tolerates him cus he's been with him longer than any of us, he's his loyal mad dog," koko sighed. "but that bastard's insane. apparently back in the day he got moved back and forth between all of mikey's captains cus nobody could handle him."

"wow. yeah, i guess i can see that," you glanced over at all the toys scattered on the floor. "seems pretty tough for you too."

"oh, i've actually done the best with him," koko scoffed. "last time, he was the haitani brothers' responsibility, they decided to take him to a hostess club. thought it'd be a good distraction for him. crazy maniac decided to pay for all the women there."

"all of them? that's..that's a lot-"

"no, that's not the crazy part. he paid for all the women, and then made them line up against the wall with liquor bottles on top of their heads and he used them for target practice." koko ran a hand through his hair, sighing. "anyway, who knows when he's gonna be back so we should try to get as much done as possible while he's away."

you nodded. the two of you worked dilligently, reviewing the rest of the books collected from bonten's other clubs and businesses in town, making one stack for ones that pass, and one that required additional scrutiny.

after a while, you stretched your arms up over your head, noticing the sun hung high in the sky and glanced at the clock on the wall. it read 12:15.

"i wonder where he is," you said, realizing it'd been almost two and a half hours since he left.

"who knows what that lunatic gets up to," koko sighed, turning the page of the binder he was leafing through.

"i actually could've used some coffee though," you yawned.

"i can have my girls make some sencha-"

just then the doors to his office burst open, and sanzu staggered in, eyes blood red, a blue gift bag in one hand, the other dragging a giant 10-foot teddy bear behind him.

"and suddenly my headache's back," koko muttered and sanzu approached the two of you at the desk.

sanzu dragged the huge teddy bear over and plopped it beside you. "i got this for you, princess."

"hah..um...where'd you get this..giant thing?" you didn't even know where to begin.

"there's a carnival downtown. i got it playing a shooting game," he grinned from ear to ear. koko groaned, knowing sanzu, by 'shooting game' he probably meant he threatened to shoot the person manning the booth if he didn't give him the bear.

"hah..i see, thank you. but why is it missing its eyes?" you asked, looking at the bear's face and noticing the eyeballs had been ripped out, only some tattered threads remained in the sockets.

"they were ugly," sanzu shrugged. "koko, i got you something too," he dropped the gift bag down in front of koko.

"thanks.." koko reached into the bag and pulled out a tiny cross-stitched sweater which could've only been made for an infant. "uh...dude, what is this?"

"it's a sweater for your chihuahua," sanzu explained, yawning and plopping down onto a chair by the desk.

"i don't have a chihuahua?"

"i could've sworn you did," sanzu tilted his head, as though in deep thought. "oh, i guess it's just you that's always yapping. it's amazing y/n puts up with this every day," he laughed, but his tone was filled with hostility.

you saw koko's body tense in your periphery and you quickly spoke up to diffuse the sudden tension. "haru, did you get coffee?"

"coffee? oh! the starbucks. yes, i did."

you stared back at him. "that's great, uh...so where is it?"

"on the corner of harajuku square, by yoyogi station," he smiled.

"what?"

"oh my god," koko groaned, raising his palms to his eyes and rubbing them in circles.

you looked back and forth between koko and sanzu.

koko took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair, turning to look at you. "he bought the starbucks."

[kawaii-harrys]

SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN

WORD COUNT: 1331

WARNING: FORCED STARVATION, BORDERLINE ABUSIVE.

_____________________

Y/N wasn’t a bright student. Y/N wasn’t a flexible ballerina. Y/N wasn’t a bookworm. Y/N didn’t listen to much music. Y/N wasn’t good at singing. Y/N wasn’t good on the field.

Harry was a bright student. Harry was a flexible hip-hop dancer. Harry could name all of the books he had ever read and summarize each one like a jeweled ornament. Harry would spend hours in his room with his guitar. Harry would practice his vocals most times. Harry was the captain of the football team.

Y/N skills could be summarised into one word. None.

Harry’s skills could be summarised into a paragraph.

They were such dynamics, and hence in two completely different worlds. Harry would be the center of discussion, keeping everyone aligned, helping everyone out with whatever he could. It would be a godly occurrence if someone even looked at Y/N.

Y/N’s parents were busy being disappointed in her and being proud of their best friend’s son. She was sure, at one point, her parents considered adopting someone better than her.

They might have and she mustn’t know about it.

But as everyone was huddled around her house, her parents, their friends, she pressed herself into a corner, not wanting to be a part of any humiliating stories. She was sure her mother would come around to it and in a peculiar high tone say, “Aria, Mr. Miller’s daughter topped her exam” or “Ricky, Mr. Wilson’s son won a state-level debate competition.”

But most around, she knew her mother would come around to say, “Harry, Anne’s son, is so godly gifted. He has an amazing voice for singing, an amazing brain for exams, and an amazing set of muscles for the football team”

Y/N wished she was any of that. When she was sure no one is going to ask for her, she decided to walk upstairs, to her room. She wished she had any, some kind of hobby to pass time. Her feed was filled with boring repetitive memes and nothing. Her contact list was sort of empty. None except her parents and sister texted her ever. But her sister was busy somewhere around Arizonia, something about being a school teacher there. Her mother practically cried at the thought of having to leave her daughter in another country. But Y/N thought it was most likely because she would go crazy having to leave with a boring daughter. So they got Chickoo, a labrador.

Y/N stared at the ceiling going through her options when she saw a shadow by her door. She stood up from her bed and saw Harry smile near the doorframe. Her shoulders sagged and she fell back on the bed.

“I heard about the painting competition”, he spoke and Y/N rolled her eyes. “Well that’s the only thing that my parents can talk about now for a decade”, Y/N rolled her eyes. “Congrats on the second prize. It’s better than nothing”, Harry spoke, with a dimpled smile.

“It’s of no use though. I am just an average student who is going to get into an average college, marry an average guy by 30 and have average kids by 40 and die averagely. There’s no point in me doing anything extraordinary”, Y/N shrugged, settling on playing games on her phone.

Harry laughed. “What about memories? Don’t you want to reminisce some on death bed?”, Harry asked. “No”, Y/N shrugged again. “Prom is coming, are you prepared?”, Harry asked again. “Those must be your favorite things, not mine”, Y/N sighed. “I am yet to find a date though”, Harry played with his bottom lip. “You just need to say a yes to the thousands of emails, messages and calls you get. You can have more than one date.”, Y/N placed her phone aside looking at him. His green forest eyes, caught a hold of Y/N’s breath. “What about you?”, Harry asked, his voice dropping an octave lower. “Me? I am not going to the prom. I don’t have a dress, neither a date. I can just nap all day”, Y/N blabbered. Harry smiled. “No, Y/N, I meant, would you go to prom with me?”, it rolled off easily from his lips. “She most certainly will”, her mother’s voice came in and she gushed around. Y/N’s lips fell apart and Harry grinned.

Y/N didn’t want to.

“B-But-”, she was cut off in the middle as Harry was ushered downstairs. “There are no buts, Y/N, admit it, it is the best thing you can get in the world. With your standards, no one of average would even take you on a date, let alone people of Harry’s standards. So just go with the flow”, her mother strictly chirped.

Y/N shut up immediately.

This is why her sister left the house as soon as possible.

The next few days, her mother denied her three meals, rather one. “ You are getting fat, shred some weight”, her mother strictly told her. Her mother forced her salads on that one meal, had her go to gym, and parlours. She even picked out a sultry dress for her.

Y/N looked famished, nothing like the girl Harry had fallen in love with. She looked like a copy.

On the prom night, Harry was dressed in a black suit. He had gelled his hair and had brought flowers for Y/N. Y/N’s mother was enthralled. She helped Y/N put on her make up, ornaments and make her hair.

Harry’s face fell on seeing Y/N.

She looked like she hadn’t eaten anything, her pale skin on her hands said well and the makeup on her face said another story. Her distant eyes, never meeting his, when he assumed, they were good friends.

He took her hand, kissed it and led her to his car.

Halfway, he asked. “What’s happening, love? You look like you could pass out any moment”, Harry commented.

“I thought you were going to stand me up”, Y/N said, without looking at him.

“Why’d you think that?”, Harry asked. “Are you sure, this isn’t a prank? Are you sure you really wanted to take me to a date?”, Y/N asked.

“I am positive, cent percent”

“Good because all these days of torture could’ve gone to waste”

Screech.

The car was stopped in the middle of the road.

“What’d you mean by days of torture?”

“Are you aware how perfect you are and how out of line, I am?”, Y/N asked. The nights she had cried to sleep, creeping in.

“Y/N I don’t understand”

“Compared to you, I’m like pond scum. You’ve got looks, grades, grace, every single thing, I got nothing. I got ugly acnes, a measly C in most my subjects and it’d be a miracle if a day went by when I’m not tripping on my leg. It’s really impossible to think that you’d choose me. That’s where changes need to be made. That’s where I needed to be near-perfect to match your charisma”, Y/N spoke crying to herself.

Harry’s warm hand went to hers. His throat constricted. “I’m sorry, love. If I’d known…”, he trailed off.

“You still don’t know, Harry.”, with that Y/N chanted everything out of her body cells not wanting to keep anything inside.

“I--I’m sorry”, Harry said as he held her close, swallowing tears of his own. “Do you want to skip the prom?”, he proposed. “But prom was the sole reason you asked me out”, Y/N peaked from under his hold. “The sole reason was to spend time with you, wanna go to McDonalds?”, he asked. Y/N grinned. “Sure”, she smiled. “But aren’t we overdressed?”

“Well, after that we can find a common ground between McD and our dresses. Somewhere in between, there must be a line for us to meet.”, harry gave a cheeky smile.

_____

ask here.

[shootingstarwritings]

Hans Off the Computer!

The human mind, when boiled down to its most fundamental building blocks, was simply a system of ON and OFF switches. In that sense, it is functionally identical to that of a computer’s mainframe. When putting both of those thoughts together, the idea that the human brain can be completely digitized and transferred through networks isn’t too far-fetched an idea.

At the very least, that was the thought of Hans Hopper, a freelance software engineer. Currently, he was working at a computer repair shop to get some extra money and to kill time between projects—including his own.

“It could be possible,” he voiced his dreams to his boss, Carl, as they took a look at some guy’s gaming PC. The components were state of the art, some not even out in the market yet. Just the graphic card and motherboard made Hans drool at the sight. Streamers get all the luck, he thought. The owner, some small-name star with a big ego, took poor care of his machine, leading to landing on Carl's shop.

“Y’know, Hopper,” Carl began as he cleaned some dust off of the PC’s parts, “I think if you put that head of yours outta the clouds and into reality with the rest o’ us, you’d really take off. Least you wouldn’t be stuck in this freelancing business and get a real job like some o’ your peers.”

“And be like those corporate suck-ups?” Hans snorted. “As if. I’m not gonna be another cog in the machine. Now being in a machine." He grinned, already fantasizing about the things he'd do if he could ditch his flawed, physical form for a future full of infinite potential inside of a network. "That's what I'm after."

“Least those corporate suck-ups can afford their own places,” Carl sighed. “You’re still living with roommates at, what, 30?”

“...27, actually.”

Grinning, Carl said, “And there’s my point. At your age, Hans, I--” he paused as his phone began to ring with an irritatingly catchy tune. “Aw, shit. Lost track of time.” Before Carl ducked to the back of the store and towards the hall that led to his home, he glanced back and said, “Can you wrap up here and close the store, Hans?”

“You got it, boss," Hans said, waving him off. "Take care." Carl left without an answer, and Hans found himself alone with a PC he could only dream of. "Well well," he said, digging into his pocket and pulling out a flash drive. "Looks like it's just you and me from now on. Let's see if what's under the hood's enough to get my program running."

While Carl had a point that Hans' dream was beyond the capacity of current human technology, the world of sci-fi and fantasy lacked such rules. "Just like that ol' title," he muttered to himself as he inserted the flash drive into a USB drive. "A machine can't act like a human mind, but it can calculate runes with no trouble. Sometimes when we can’t use tech to get somewhere, we gotta use shortcuts.”

This PC was his best chance to experiment on his little program to see if it worked. After checking to make sure the drives were all up to date and the whole thing was running smoothly, Hans executed his program. A few keystrokes later, a magic circle formed on the screen. “Let’s gooo—WOAH!”

Although Hans should have figured that the ritual wouldn’t be painless, having his physical form ripped apart and turned into data was nothing short of excruciating. Reforming himself later wouldn’t be any less unpleasant, but he could never turn down the chance to become data and revolutionize the field of… magic? Science? Magitek?

He witnessed his fingers slowly fade as if turning into dust and flow like a stream of water into the screen. As the entirety of his arms completely disappeared, sprites that resembled arms appeared on the screen. "L-Least it works?" Hans nervously said as more and more of his body faded away.

Eventually, Hans' ability to feel, taste, hear, and see waned as his body fully waxed into the computer. The sensation… was nothing. There were no nerves or sensors to feel with, but he could understand the data that his mind had access to. Overwhelming, yet the sensation felt like precious wine on his lips.

The network… Though small, Hans was amazed at how he could travel through the network of the shop—including Carl’s personal PC.

“No, no,” Hans realized he could hear. He saw Carl through the uncovered camera and heard him through a microphone that remained plugged in. For a tech-savvy guy, Carl was real lenient in terms of privacy. "C'mon, Elise, be reasonable here. We got a meeting with the divorce lawyer tomorrow. Can’t you have your little wine party another day?” Carl rolled his eyes as he pocketed his phone. “Fuckin’ bitch. Can’t give me a break.”

And now, as Carl sat down to work on his computer, Hans realized he could attempt the other upside of the ritual. With his mind now data, he could reach out and override the "data" that was another's consciousness.

“What the hell am I supposed to—MMGPHF!”

It wasn’t the most graceful exit, but Hans couldn’t deny the results. Black tendrils—an unnatural amalgamation of data and flesh flew from the screen and landed on Carl’s face, causing him to fly back a few inches. His body twitched and convulsed, back forming a C,  as Hans’ essence flowed into each of Carl’s orifices. Carl’s feet kicked at the ground, fingers gripping his chair’s armrests, as Hans’ essence attacked and invaded his brain.

“A-Ah, ahhh.” Carl helplessly moaned as Hans override any freedom and control over his body. After a few painful seconds with his back arched and his toes curling as the sensation of being overtaken overwhelmed him, Hans awoke in his boss’ body.

“Well, well,” said Hans, feeling his new arms. “Not exactly my first choice for a body, but not a bad test drive.” He stretched in the comfortable office chair, a gift from another customer. “Man, Carl, for an old guy you don’t feel half-bad.” Now realizing that he was alone, a mischievous thought crossed Hans’ mind. “Well, got some time to keep doing some more research on my little program. Maybe I can find a way to hack into other networks." Grinning to himself, he stood up and slowly stripped out of Carl's clothes. First, the shirt came off as the nipples hardened in the cool air, then the shoes were chucked to the side to allow his feet to breathe. The pants came off next, and finally, the underwear flew across the room as Hans embraced his newfound potential—and his borrowed pole.

“Who knew old farts like you still had crazy stamina like this!” Hans cried out, furiously and desperately thrusting into his grip as he jacked off his boss’ body. “F-Fuck! Fuuuuuck!” Hans let out a roar as he came all over his boss’ keyboard. “W-Woah. Gonna have to clean that up later. Dunno where he keeps his tissues, but...” Hans paused and grinned once more. This wasn’t his body, so what the hell? He bent down and began to lick the keys clean, making sure to savor his boss’ taste with each slurp.

The next day, he sat in his boss' room, giving another client's laptop a check-up. It was a Sunday and so the shop was closed, but Hans' mind was far too wired to relax by simply lying around the place. No, tinkering around and keeping his hands busy was how he would wind down.

Although, Hans remained without any clothes. The feeling of the chair against his naked skin was intoxicating. Never in his life had Hans worked in the nude, but he might have to start doing it more often as he tried on new skins. For now, though, might as well enjoy Carl’s life for a few more hours before trying on someone new.

Hans’ roommates were certainly appealing prospects.

[rinkrats]

🥺 that mike lange story. But also those tags #sid loooves christmas #he loves giving presents #looks good in red #piles on the pounds fast #post hockey career as santa 😂😂👌🏽👌🏽

he loves his mementos and presents and is COMMITTED to them. scrapbooking. matching jackets. little pills with hidden motivational messages~*~ his love language is gifts and neck smooches and stalking geno. relevant right now are some anecdotes i sent a friend earlier this year for dorky sid gifts fic fodder:

1. Crosby's constant thoughtfulness would be impressive from anyone, much less someone of his stature.

"Sid always texts me happy birthday, he's always asking me like, how's Russia?" Evgeni Malkin said. "We talk and message all summer. He asks me how my skates are. He knows, like, everything. He follows my Instagram, I think (laughs)."

In addition to having a handle on those little details, Crosby is constantly providing those around him with memories and mementos. If the team is on the road and goes, say, sightseeing or to a sporting event and takes a group photo, Crosby will later send a framed copy to everyone.

When Ron Hextall and Brian Burke watched their first Penguins game in person, Crosby is the one who approached head equipment manager Dana Heinze and asked for two used game pucks to give to the new GM and president of hockey ops. 

After the Penguins won in 2009, Crosby had jackets made for the three players on the team who had scored a Cup-clinching goal in Game 7: Talbot (Pittsburgh), Ruslan Fedotenko (Tampa Bay) and Mike Rupp (New Jersey).

"They were blue jackets with gold buttons, and each one had a patch on it that said 'GWG Game 7,'" Talbot said. "At one of our first team meals the next season, he presented us with the jackets and did a big ceremony with the music and stuff. We had a private room in the restaurant. I still have the jacket."

-The Consummate Teammate, Captain and Ambassador, Feb 2021

2. Merz: My first interaction with Sid was when we were on the bench, guys were talking about a teammate, and the first thing this 15-year-old says is, “Hey, guys. Let’s keep everything positive. Don’t talk about your teammates that way.”

Salcido: When we were getting ready for nationals, he found these little pills that you could put a hidden message inside. They unscrewed, and inside was a tiny scroll. He gave one to every teammate. … He had everyone fill one out. He didn’t tell anyone what to write, but he made it known that we all knew what the goal was: winning nationals. So we wrote on our scrolls, rolled them up and put them in the pill thing. We kept them with us everywhere we went.

-‘Is this real?’: Stories of Sidney Crosby’s year at a Minnesota prep school, May 2020

3. On “Butterfly Boy” Jonathan Pitre:

Though the Senators are his team, Sidney Crosby has always been Jonny’s favourite player. After the TSN documentary airs, Tina gets a call from the Penguins. Sid needs Jonny’s measurements. He wants to have a suit made for him by his personal tailor, Domenico Vacca.

“It’s the kindest, sweetest gesture,” Tina says. “Sid heard that Jonny went to a lot of games, so he wants him to look like he’s one of the guys.”

“I want him to feel like a pro,” Crosby says. “Here’s a guy who is going through something so painful, and his first thought is always, ‘How can I help others?’ When I was young, I’d watch on TV the players coming to the rink in their suits. That was a cool part of being an NHL player. I want him to feel that, to make it as real as possible for him.”

Tina tries to discreetly measure Jonny while she’s changing his dressings. But he’s way too smart for that.

“Um, Mom, why are you measuring me? Am I going for surgery again?” he asks.

“No, no!” Tina replies, trying to reassure him and come up with a good lie, all in the same breath. “The doctor needs them just to make sure they have proper dressings next time you are in.”

A few weeks later, the sharp navy blue suit shows up at their front door, along with a couple of ties, an autographed stick and a handwritten letter from Sid. 

“His eyes just light up,” Tina says. “Jonny always liked to be well-dressed, and he just loves having his own suit. It fits perfectly. He looks so good in it.”

-Beauties by James Duthie (2020)

4. Pascal Dupuis inspired his Pittsburgh Penguins teammates on their run to the Stanley Cup, and Sidney Crosby found a special way of driving that message home.

Dupuis retired in December with lingering health concerns because of blood clots. Despite his NHL playing days coming to an end, the veteran forward remained an integral part of the Penguins and was in uniform to hoist the Cup after Pittsburgh's six-game win against the San Jose Sharks in the Stanley Cup Final.

On Sunday, Dupuis brought the Cup home one last time as a player to share a special day with his family, friends and hometown fans.

"Yes, it does feel bittersweet a little bit," Dupuis said. "You get the Cup, you want to celebrate. But at the same time I got a gift by the mail [Saturday]. Basically, it's a book of all the pictures of all the good stuff we went through. It came from Nova Scotia, so you guys can figure out who it came from (Crosby), but he couldn't give it to me during the season, he saw me skating a little bit.

"And he sent it [Saturday], before my day with the Cup, so he knew what he was doing to get me right here," Dupuis said, putting his fist over his heart.

-Pascal Dupuis shares Stanley Cup with family, friends, Aug 2016

5. In 2011, Crosby was out of the lineup with a concussion, and the Penguins made their annual visit to Children’s Hospital.

Crosby got along so well with one boy there and was so touched that he later asked Bullano to go back... just the two of them, no cameras, no attention.

When Bullano and Crosby met for the follow-up visit, Crosby appeared clutching a pair of Toys “R” Us bags, filled with a Transformer toy the two had discussed.

“He literally bought every type of this toy they make,” Bullano said. “[Crosby] had never seen it before and thought it was so cool.

“There are no pictures of this. There’s no video. He was laying in the bed with the kid. They were just playing. We were there for over two hours. I got to know the mom really well because we were just sitting there.

“The kid had no idea. Didn’t expect it. They had no idea he was coming. We got there and he said, ‘Hey buddy. hope you don’t mind that I came back.’ The kid couldn’t believe it.

“[Crosby’s] crazy cool about stuff like that.”

What’s crazy is trying to recount the many times stuff like this has happened with Crosby:

• The Little Penguins Learn to Play program has been around for nine seasons, outfitting now 1,200 kids with free head-to-toe hockey equipment. Not only does Crosby serve as the face of the program — which the NHL has now adopted — but he helps fund it, too.

“There’s an awareness of what a person in his position can bring,” Penguins vice president of communications Tom McMillan said. “I think he activates that as much as anybody I’ve seen during his playing career.”

• After a recent practice, Crosby noticed a local family in the Penguins dressing room, approached them, introduced himself, learned their story and wound up giving them a signed stick.

Nobody asked Crosby to do that, and he wanted zero credit when discussing it a couple days later.

“For people who have the opportunity to come in here, people dealing with certain things, if you can brighten their day a bit or spend some time with them, it’s something that’s special for all of us,” Crosby said.

• A few years ago, through a team charity event, Crosby befriended a 4-year-old Amish boy with cancer. Crosby remarked to Bullano how much he loved talking to the boy because of how engaging the boy was and how he wasn’t consumed with technology. Crosby even tried to visit the boy but learned he had passed away.

• He learns the first and last names of the kids who attend his hockey school in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia.

“Two kids came from Japan its first year,” Bullano recalled. “He was so blown away by that. He couldn’t wait to meet them.”

• Earlier this season, the Penguins welcomed Grant Chupinka, 24-year-old cancer patient, into the dressing room. Crosby chatted up Grant and his parents, Steve and Kim.

He spent his usual time — about two or three times the requirement. Gave the tour. Then found out the Chupinkas didn’t have tickets for that night’s game and decided he would pay for them to go.

“I’m sure he could just give them an autographed puck or something, but he takes his time to go out and see them and talk to them and get to know them,” Brian Dumoulin said. “It speaks volumes for him and who he is as a person.”

Spend any length of time with Crosby during his visits with those less fortunate, and a few things become obvious.

One, Crosby is really good at these. Smooth but not in a slimy way. Sweet. You know how when you’re around someone talking and they go out of their way to make eye contact with everyone around? That’s Crosby.

He’s also humble, always introducing himself like those he’s meeting don’t already know. Holding a hand is no issue. And Crosby is the rare 20-something pro athlete without kids who acts every bit like he does.

“It is not an easy situation to talk to someone with terminal cancer,” McMillan said. “A lot of people couldn’t do that. He has an amazing ability to do that and make that person feel good.”

Crosby has welcomed several Make-a-Wish kids and tries, if at all possible, to schedule such events for practice days — to maximize the time he’s able to spend.

He’s developed a special friendship with Patrick McIlvain, a soldier who nearly died when he took a bullet to the head in Afghanistan. McIlvain actually does physical therapy with one of Crosby’s sticks.

A former club hockey player at Cal U, McIlvain comes by every year, and the Penguins don’t even bother to tell Crosby. Either he already knows or immediately stops what he’s doing to come say hello.

“He’s not doing it to leave a legacy,” said Terry Kalna, Penguins vice president of sales and broadcasting. “His numbers leave the legacy. He’s just a down-to-Earth, good guy.”

Before a visit, Crosby has Bullano email him what is essentially a scouting report on who he’s going to meet. He likes to learn about them, their situation and what they’ve been through. As much information as he can ingest. Crosby never just swoops in, shake a hand and leave.

“As much as anyone has ever seen, he accepts the responsibilities of being not just a professional athlete but a star professional athlete,” McMillan said. “He views it as part of the job. Like coming to the morning skate. That’s just what you do.”

Put another way, “he owns those moments,” says Kalna.

Said Bullano, “He’s just a good human being.”

-When it comes to giving, Sidney Crosby does as much as he can, Feb 2017

6. When Crosby received a generous signing bonus on his Reebok deal, he wanted to share it with everyone.

“He gave everyone on the bus gifts,”  says Oceanic radio commentator Michel Germain. “Him sharing his bonus with all the people he’d been travelling with for two years, that impresses me greatly. I think the most important thing about Sidney Crosby is his personality and the kind of human being he is. What he exuded. The inner richness he’d already developed.” 

-Superstitious and generous, Dec 2006

7. also this simply because it makes me ;w;

Even in defeat — no, especially in defeat — Sidney Crosby proved why he wears the "C" for the Penguins.

After the game, with his heart sinking and his season over, the Penguins’ captain bent over, sank to the ice to pick up the puck, took it to linesman Tony Sericolo and then skated to his team’s handshake line.

I immediately thought of a View from Ice Level I’d written on Crosby making sure a retiring official was sent away from PPG Paints Arena properly. I knew picking up the puck wasn’t for the same reason that was, but I also knew, in some way, it was connected to Crosby’s awareness and respect of the game.

“It was for the Islanders,” Crosby told me after the game, his eyes swollen from a first round exit – by way of a sweep to make it worse. He told me how the winning team always wanted the puck, and it was his way of providing it for the Islanders.

Crosby looked me right in the eye as he told me this, just as he did with every other member of the media to come to him after the loss.

I could tell from those swollen eyes and the way he sat at his stall, by himself with his hands folded as he stared blankly, that Sidney Crosby is much more used to being on the receiving end of a puck when a series ends than he is at retrieving it for the winning team.

That scene. His swollen eyes. Staying in the locker room until most had left – talking to anyone who needed him. Most of all, though, picking up the puck that prompted my question in the first place and making sure the right people got their piece of their own history.

It all adds up to one thing: In victory and in defeat, Crosby respects the game above all else – just as he’s always done.

-Even in defeat, Crosby shines, April 2019