#when I was on a trip with my family I saw a bunch of kids goofing around at the beach

[mewkwota]

are you called mewkwota because you have a mewing quota

It may come as a surprise but I have been in this world longer than The Mewing Phenomena (so that would be a no). ^^;

The funny thing is the username I have wasn't originally intended as "Mew", but I adjusted the capitalization because the big M and K made it look nicer.

[amethystarachnid]

So I saw a post on Pinterest and I thought it would be a good idea for a fanfic?im just gonna type it out and explain it after

Peter: im back from my trip i got you another magnet mr.white wolf

Bucky:cool stick it on

-

Tony: is that peters shopping list on your arm?

Bucky: yea

Tony: what the

-

Tony: Peter you need to stop using buckys arm as a fridge

Peter: Mr. White wolf said it helps him associate the arm with something other than murder

Tony: crying

So basically I was wondering if you could do this well not this interaction but like reader and Bucky are friends and reader is Peter? If that makes any sense?

STICKERS

⤷ JAMES B. “BUCKY” BARNES

ᯓ★ Pairing: James B. “Bucky” Barnes x teen!gn!reader

ᯓ★ Genre: platonic, fluff

ᯓ★ Word count: 2.5k (I'm so sorry if it's too short, hope you like it anyway)

ᯓ★ Summary: Bucky always lets you stick stickers to his vibranium arm but had never told you why...until now.

ᯓ★ I hope I understood the request well, and I tried to make the reader gender neutral since it wasn't specified in the ask, hope you like it <3

ᯓ★ Songs & Superheroes tales - The Game (to make a request, follow the rules on the link!)

ᯓ★ MARVEL Bingo (requests open)

ᯓ★ Masterlist

ᯓ★ If you are a Charles Xavier fan click on this link!

ᯓ★ English isn’t my first language and this isn’t proof read

The hum of the compound is familiar by now. Machines whir softly in the background, the faint scent of coffee lingers in the air, and somewhere in the distance, you can hear Sam and Tony bickering over something that probably doesn’t matter. This is home—at least, as close as it gets. It wasn’t always, but things changed. The world changed, and you had to change with it.

Being here is better than being out there. You know that much. The compound is safer. It’s structured. Sure, it’s a little weird living with a bunch of Avengers, but it beats the alternative. When SHIELD fell apart, a lot of things got messy, including your life. No family, no place to go, just a kid caught in the middle of something bigger than them. Steve found you first, said they’d figure something out, and now, somehow, you’ve ended up here. Officially, you’re under the Avengers’ protection. Unofficially, you’re the compound’s resident stray.

“Alright, what is it this time?”

Bucky’s voice pulls you out of your thoughts, and you glance up from where you’ve been hunched over the kitchen counter, fidgeting with a fresh roll of stickers. He’s standing in the doorway, arms crossed, looking at you with an exasperated sort of fondness.

You grin. “You make it sound like I’ve done something bad.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Haven’t you?”

“Depends on your definition of ‘bad,’” you say, tearing off a small sticker shaped like a cat. Without hesitation, you reach out and press it to the cool vibranium of his forearm. It sticks perfectly, just like you knew it would.

Bucky sighs like a man who has known deep suffering. “Why do you keep doing this?”

“Because you let me,” you answer simply, peeling off another sticker—this one shaped like a tiny watermelon slice—and placing it beside the first.

It’s true. You started doing this months ago, fully expecting him to shut it down after the first few times. He never did. The first time, it had been a dumb impulse, something to break the tension. You’d been talking, and without really thinking about it, you’d stuck a star-shaped sticker onto his arm. He’d given you a long, unreadable look but hadn’t peeled it off. That was all the encouragement you needed.

Now, it’s a habit. Every time you see him, you add a new one. Sometimes, he’ll pretend not to notice. Other times, he’ll act put-upon, like he’s carrying some great burden. You know better, though. If he really hated it, he wouldn’t still be standing here, letting you decorate his arm like it’s an elementary school art project.

“I let you do a lot of things,” he mutters, watching as you place a little frog next to the watermelon.

“And that’s why you’re my favorite,” you say, grinning.

“Steve’s gonna be hurt,” he points out.

“Steve’s got enough fans,” you reply, reaching for another sticker. This one’s a smiley face with sunglasses. You stick it on his wrist.

Bucky glances down at his arm, then back at you. His expression softens—just a little. “Y’know, people used to be scared of me.”

“Yeah, well,” you say, adding a rainbow to his forearm, “they clearly weren’t looking hard enough. You’re a giant teddy bear.”

He scoffs, but there’s no real heat behind it. “A ‘teddy bear’ with a metal arm and a kill count.”

“Even teddy bears have claws,” you say, shrugging. “Besides, you let a teenager put stickers on you. That automatically lowers your intimidation factor.”

Bucky huffs but doesn’t argue. You know he won’t take them off. He never does, at least not right away. Sometimes, hours later, you’ll spot him across the compound, still wearing them.

That’s enough for you.

It doesn’t take long for the others to notice.

The first one to point it out is Sam.

You’re both sitting in the common room, Bucky on the couch, you curled up on the opposite end, sorting through a new pack of stickers you got from a store Tony let you raid on a supply run. They’re good ones, too—holographic, shimmery, some even glow in the dark. You’re in the process of carefully placing a tiny raccoon on Bucky’s wrist when Sam strolls in, eyes scanning the room before landing on the two of you.

His brows pull together. “Uh, what the hell is that?”

Bucky, who has clearly mastered the art of selective ignorance, doesn’t look up from his book. You, however, grin and wave. “What’s what?”

“That,” Sam says, pointing at Bucky’s arm like it personally offended him.

Bucky finally sighs, lowering his book just enough to glare over the top of it. “You’re gonna have to be more specific, man.”

Sam narrows his eyes and gestures again. “That. The stickers. What am I looking at?”

You lean back, admiring your work. By now, Bucky’s metal arm is covered in a vibrant mess of stickers—cartoon animals, little hearts, a glittery UFO, and even a miniature Avengers logo you’d snuck in just for fun.

You beam. “Art.”

Sam blinks. He looks at Bucky, then back at you, then back at Bucky. “And you’re just…letting them do this?”

Bucky shrugs. “Yeah.”

Silence. Sam stares, mouth opening and closing like he wants to say something but can’t find the words. Eventually, he just lets out a short, disbelieving laugh. “Man, you really are getting soft.”

Bucky flips him off without looking up.

You take that as permission to add another sticker—a rainbow-colored star, right on his shoulder.

Sam shakes his head, muttering something under his breath before grabbing his drink from the fridge and heading out, still looking vaguely disturbed by what he just witnessed.

Of course, Sam being Sam, the moment he’s out of the room, you know he’s going to tell the others.

The next one to comment on it is Natasha.

You’re sitting at the kitchen counter, helping yourself to a bowl of cereal, when she walks in. She nods at you in greeting before grabbing a protein bar from the cabinet. It’s a normal morning, nothing out of the ordinary—until she glances at Bucky and does a double-take.

She tilts her head slightly. “Did you get in a fight with a Lisa Frank notebook?”

You nearly choke on your cereal.

Bucky, who is now used to this reaction, doesn’t even blink. “No.”

Natasha takes a bite of her protein bar, studying him. “Then why does your arm look like a kindergarten art project?”

Bucky doesn’t answer, so you take it upon yourself. “Because I put them there.”

Natasha arches an eyebrow. “And he let you?”

“Obviously,” you say, popping another spoonful of cereal into your mouth.

She’s quiet for a moment, her sharp gaze flicking from you to Bucky. You half-expect her to make a snarky comment or tease him, but instead, she just hums and says, “Huh.”

And then she reaches into her pocket, pulls out a tiny cat magnet, and sticks it to his forearm before walking away like nothing happened.

Bucky stares after her, brow furrowed. He lifts his arm slightly, looking at the magnet now clinging to the vibranium.

You snort. “You’re officially a walking fridge.”

He groans.

It only gets worse from there.

A few days later, Steve notices.

You’re in the gym, watching Bucky and Steve spar while pretending to be invested in a book. In reality, you’re mostly waiting for them to finish so you can rope Bucky into watching a movie with you.

Steve circles Bucky, eyes narrowed in concentration. He throws a punch, which Bucky easily dodges. There’s a beat of silence before Steve suddenly drops his stance, frowning.

“…Are those stickers?”

Bucky sighs. “Jesus Christ.”

Steve squints, stepping back to get a better look. “They are.” His frown deepens. “And…are those magnets?”

You bite back a laugh.

Bucky glares at you like this is somehow your fault (which, to be fair, it is).

Steve crosses his arms. “You’ve been walking around like this?”

“Yes.”

“And you just…let them do it?”

“Yes.”

Steve blinks, clearly struggling to process this information. You can practically see the gears turning in his head, trying to reconcile the image of his best friend, ex-Winter Soldier, walking around covered in colorful stickers and fridge magnets.

Eventually, he just sighs. “You’re impossible.”

Bucky smirks. “Took you this long to figure that out?”

Steve shakes his head, clearly exasperated, but doesn’t push the subject further.

You take that as a win.

Tony’s reaction is arguably the best.

You’re in the lab with Bucky, keeping him company while Tony messes around with something that looks vaguely explosive. He’s in the middle of rambling about some new upgrade for Bucky’s arm when he abruptly stops mid-sentence.

His eyes narrow. “Hold on.”

Bucky tenses. “What?”

Tony steps closer, squinting at his arm. He lifts a finger and flicks one of the magnets, watching as it wobbles slightly before settling back into place.

“…Are you kidding me?”

Bucky groans. “Not you too.”

Tony bursts out laughing. “Oh, this is rich. You—you’ve been walking around like this? Just letting them stick things to you?”

“Yes,” Bucky says flatly.

Tony looks at you, still grinning. “You did this?”

You nod proudly. “Yep.”

He lets out an impressed whistle. “Wow. I gotta say, Barnes, I didn’t think you had it in you.”

Bucky rolls his eyes. “Are you done?”

Tony pretends to consider. “Nope.”

Bucky mutters something under his breath and turns to leave, but before he can make his escape, Tony suddenly grabs a Stark Industries magnet from his workbench and slaps it onto Bucky’s bicep with a satisfied smirk.

Bucky glares at him. “I hate you.”

Tony winks. “No, you don’t.”

You snicker as Bucky stomps out of the lab, now sporting a Stark-branded magnet.

Despite the teasing, Bucky never takes them off right away.

Sometimes, you’ll catch him absentmindedly running his fingers over a sticker while he’s reading or training. Other times, you’ll see him glance down at his arm, something soft and unreadable in his expression before he quickly schools his face back into neutrality.

You don’t push. You don’t have to.

He lets you do this because he knows it makes you happy. Because he knows it makes you feel safe.

And, maybe—just maybe—because he doesn’t mind it as much as he pretends to.

The stickers—and now magnets—become a daily ritual.

At this point, everyone in the compound has noticed. Clint, predictably, laughs himself half to death when he first sees Bucky with a sparkly unicorn sticker on his wrist. Thor, on the other hand, is completely unbothered. He takes one look, nods approvingly, and later gifts you a set of Asgardian insignia stickers that you immediately slap onto Bucky’s arm. Even Bruce, who usually keeps to himself, quietly asks if he can contribute and hands you a little atom-shaped magnet one afternoon.

Bucky grumbles about it, of course. He sighs dramatically when you press another sticker onto his arm, acts like it’s the greatest inconvenience in the world, but he never actually stops you. He never pulls away. He never tells you no.

And he never takes them off until he’s alone.

You start paying attention, watching him when he thinks no one else is looking. He’ll be in the middle of a conversation, his fingers absentmindedly brushing over the stickers on his forearm, tracing the edges. You notice that he doesn’t cover his arm as much anymore—not as often as he used to. Before, he wore long sleeves even in the middle of summer, like he couldn’t stand the sight of it. Now, he just lets it be.

That realization sits in the back of your mind for a long time.

Then, one day, you ask.

It’s late.

Most of the compound has already turned in for the night. The common room is quiet, dimly lit by the glow of the television, where some old black-and-white movie plays with the volume low. You’re curled up on the couch next to Bucky, a fresh pack of stickers in your lap.

You press a new one onto his arm—a tiny golden retriever wearing sunglasses—before hesitating.

“Hey, Buck?”

He glances down at you. “Yeah?”

You fidget slightly, turning the next sticker over in your hands. “…Why do you let me do this?”

Bucky blinks, like he wasn’t expecting that question. “Huh?”

You gesture vaguely to his arm, now covered in an assortment of colorful stickers and small magnets. “This. Why do you let me put them on you? You could’ve told me to stop. But you didn’t.”

For a moment, he’s quiet. His expression shifts—just a little—but you catch it. A flicker of something uncertain, something careful, like he’s picking his words before speaking.

Then, finally, he exhales.

“…Because it helps.”

You tilt your head. “Helps with what?”

Bucky glances down at his arm, his fingers skimming over the stickers.

“You know what this arm used to be,” he says, his voice quieter than before. “What it used to do.”

You don’t say anything. You don’t need to.

He swallows, his jaw tight. “For a long time, it felt like it didn’t belong to me. Like it was just…a weapon. A part of me that wasn’t really mine.” His fingers brush over the little cartoon raccoon you stuck near his wrist. “But then you started doing this. And…I don’t know. It’s stupid.”

“It’s not,” you say immediately.

He lets out a short, humorless laugh. “Maybe not. But it’s…different, now. When I look at it.” He pauses, then shakes his head. “When I see the stickers, I don’t think about the things I’ve done. I think about you. About Sam rolling his eyes, Nat sneaking magnets onto me, Steve acting like he doesn’t get it even though he does.” His voice softens. “I think about now. Not then.”

You don’t know when your eyes started burning, but suddenly, it’s hard to see. You swallow thickly, trying to blink away the sting.

“Oh,” you say, and it comes out smaller than you meant it to.

Bucky glances at you, eyes sharp. “Hey. Don’t cry on me, kid.”

“I’m not,” you lie, furiously rubbing at your eyes. “It’s just—you just said something really nice, and my dumb emotions weren’t prepared for it.”

Bucky huffs a quiet laugh. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Says the guy covered in stickers,” you sniff, but you’re smiling now, even if your throat is still tight.

Bucky shakes his head, rolling his eyes, but there’s something softer in his expression when he looks at you.

“…Thanks, kid.”

You look up at him. “For what?”

He gestures vaguely at his arm. “This. The stickers. Everything.”

You don’t know what to say to that, so you just grab another sticker and carefully press it onto the back of his hand.

Bucky glances down at it. It’s a tiny heart.

He smiles.

I'm so sorry if this it's too short I didnt know what else to add :(

[writing-mlm]

saw you do familial reqs? damian with an older brother figure reader would be so awesome.. bonus points if he’s also some moody bat and just kinda sees himself in damian. he used to be a sort of outcast himself, so he can empathize with damian when dame feels like he’s sort of ostracized from the other robins or bat fam members.

Annual New Robin Trip

Summary: Damian’s been Robin long enough that it’s his turn to go on the Robin Trip Pairing: Damian Wayne & Brother!reader Wc: 4.5k tags/warnings: sibling bond, both were child assassins, Bruce is bad at parenting

Dick was the bubbly, bumbling Robin. People used to say he was truly a circus kid; flipping from chandeliers and being a little terror. Although everyone is pretty sure he was definitely out for blood whenever he had the chance. He would tell the most awful puns while fighting and Bruce wouldn’t even scold him. 

Jason was just happy to be there, he had everything he could ever ask for and he was taken in by Batman! Oh, boy- oh, boy! He would hide under the cape and yell boo to all the petty criminals Bruce let him fight. Until he couldn’t anymore. 

Tim had the easiest life prior to donning the R on his chest. After that, he was the worst Robin. Not because he was bad; Tim was arguably the best Robin during his career but because he never got to experience the things Dick or Jason had. He was left picking up the pieces after Jason’s death, holding Bruce together to the best of his abilities. He went out on patrols alone, with no cape to hide under or any grumpy adult to hold in a chuckle. 

Stephanie wanted to prove a point, she pushed Bruce in ways Tim didn’t. But in the end, she was pushed to the side. No one even remembers her time as Robin. The girl Robin, the blonde one. It was only what… seventy-five days? Why would anyone remember her? Forgotten in the murky waters of Batman’s timeline. Erased. 

Damian wasn’t as fortunate. He didn’t come from Gotham or a traveling circus hiding a cult. He came from the Ra’s Al-Ghul, he came from the demon head. Born a killer, bathed in the pit— his life was cursed from the beginning. Sorrow and rot; that’s what his life was even after he put on the Robin suit. Despite being the only Robin connected to Batman by blood, he was the biggest outside in the bunch. 

He couldn’t do anything right. He kept messing up— his father was constantly disappointed by him and he couldn’t figure out what he was doing wrong. He’s doing what he was taught— the blade. He hadn’t meant to take another life— he was trying to be better. But he doesn’t realize when he’s going too far because, for him, the limit didn’t exist until less than a year ago.

You could relate to that… all too well. 

“What do you want?” Damian grits when he spots you on his desk, messing with one of his countless knives. He hides his face, not wanting to show a weakness— his weakness. “I thought father threw you out.” Some time ago, maybe two months ago, you and Bruce had gotten into an explosive argument that ended with a frozen pork chop on your eye and a frozen bag of peas on his chin before he told you never to come back.

“He did,” You hum, unfurling yourself from the desk and standing tall. “I know the security system— and Pennyworth let me back inside.” You smile. 

“Pennyworth shows little loyalty to father,” He spits, sitting on the bed. 

“He shows plenty, Damian. He knows something that Bruce doesn’t, at the moment.” You tilt your head as you add the last part. Bruce will find out sooner than later anyway, might as well tell him.

“And what’s that?” He asks arms crossed as he glares at you. You look away and huff, rolling your head onto your shoulder. 

“I need his opinion on something, something important.” 

“And you’re in my room?”

“I also wanted to speak to you,” You admit. “You’ve been here long enough for us to continue the tradition.” He pauses, hand settling on the dagger he keeps in his pocket. 

“What sort of tradition?” The only traditions he’s used to are fights or death; neither of which is he in the mood for. 

“Nothing like the League, I can assure you. I.. I take all the Robins on a… bonding trip after they’ve settled in.” You explain, now sitting on a chair. “I took Jason to the arcade and a library in Prague, Tim to my family’s annual barbecue and fishing, and Stephanie to this spa retreat for the weekend. It’s your turn.”

“Why would I care for this… bonding trip?” He asks, setting the dagger down. “I’m not like the others— I’m better. I don’t need some stupid trip with a rejected hero,” Shrugging, you look at the mirror on his wardrobe. You see Damian, sitting while glaring at you. You see yourself, staring at the signs of age and tiredness on your, admittedly, not old body. 

“Talk to the others about it, just not Richie. He never got one.” Leaving, Damian thinks for a second before he follows after you. As quiet as a mouse, he slips into the cave after you, clinging to the darkness as he’s been trained to do. 

“Is it that time already?” Dick asks when you enter with your hands in your pockets. He’d been talking with Bruce about something, but he was too far to hear. Bruce spins around, looking you up and down with a watchful gaze. 

“I have news,” You roll your eyes when Dick pulls you into a hug. “About my assignment.”

“No one assigned you to it,” Bruce reminds you, guilt flashing over his eyes. You shrug and lean against your older brother, your head resting on his shoulder. He squeezes your arm, happy to see you again. He’s always been happy to see his first baby brother safe and sound; at home. 

“I found their base; took them down, too.” You tell them, fighting the urge to tuck into yourself. “They were hiding out in Australia.”

“Did you kill them?” Bruce asks. Damian pressed against a rock, his small figure hidden perfectly as he watched the three of you. You don’t answer, but your eyes drift to the ground when Bruce sighs through his nose. “I have one rule.”

“I know,” You stress, pulling away from Dick. “I know! But I didn’t mean to! But they wouldn’t give me any other choice; do you think I wanted to kill them? I tried to save them,”

“Clearly not hard enough,” Bruce blinks and Damian falters in the same way you did. Bruce had said the same thing to him not even three hours ago. “You should’ve contacted me. I could’ve saved them.”

“I tried,” You stress. “I called and I sent letters. I- I— You never answered me! I didn’t want to kill them!” 

“B,” Dick puts a hand on your shoulder as you sniff and look away. “You know that they wouldn’t go; he had to.” 

“We could’ve—“

“God! You’d think after raising one child assassin he'd be better at this.” You spit and wipe your nose. “You’re still shit at helping us.”

“(Y/n),” Bruce sighs. “You know I love you and I love Damian, you’re my sons.” He holds your shoulder and you falter, biting the inside of your cheek. 

“Hell of a way of showing it.” He doesn’t apologize, Bruce doesn’t know the word sorry but he hugs you. You don’t hug back, just pat his shoulder until he pulls away.

“I’m glad you’re home safe.” He whispers before he finally pulls away. “It’s a shame you had to kill them.” Nodding, you look at Dick. 

“I had to kill my parents,” You admit, trying to keep yourself composed when he frowns and immediately hugs you. “They kept calling me and calling me, begging me to join them again. I couldn’t… I’m tired of killing. I see them when I sleep, their faces. Their blood was so warm.”

Damian looks away, flashes of the people he’s killed plays through his mind and he leaves the cave. He needs to be alone. His eyes are stinging and he’s sure if he breathes any harder he’s going to be spotted.

“Aside from that,” You clear your throat and fix your clothes. “Damian’s been Robin for… some time now. It’s nearing the time where I take the new Robin out for a trip.” 

“If he agrees,” Bruce nods. 

“I still haven’t been taken out for a trip,” Dick dramatically sighs. 

“You’re older than me. You’re supposed to take me.” 

“Can I?” He gleams and you shake your head with a smile before walking away. “Please!”

“No, Dickie. You suck at planning,”

—

You don’t spend the night at the manor; it hasn’t felt like home in years. You hate your old room, you hate how Bruce hasn’t touched it since you’ve gone; everything besides that stupid broken picture frame. It’s been swept up, and replaced with a different frame. 

And somehow, the picture that was inside sits on your kitchen island. 

Your current place is temporary, rented out on a monthly basis with some shady landlord you don’t truly care about. The lease is hardly a day old, so for someone to have known where you lived they must’ve been recently following you. For them to have access to the picture they’ve been in the manor. Because that’s the same picture, you know because there’s an inky, smudged fingerprint on the back. 

“You were close to my father?” Damian asks as you enter the living room, still holding the picture in your loose grip. 

“Thick as thieves,” You grin, although there’s no happiness or warmth behind it. Setting the table on the side table, you sit next to Damian. 

“You mentioned your family's barbecue earlier but they’re assassins. Assassins don’t do family barbecues,” He should know. 

“Different family,” You breathe in, staring down at him while he looks around the dingy apartment. “I… My blood family are assassins and yeah; no family barbecues. But eh… I’m sort of married,” You laugh and his head snaps to you. “Yup, I got married at twenty. Love of my life, they’re wonderful. I consider their family my own,” He tuts at the idea of love and you remember yourself doing the same thing when you were his age. 

“I assume they know?”

“My spouse does, yes. Their family… do not. It’s not exactly something they’d want to hear about their son-in-law.”

“Does father know you’re married?” 

“No— maybe,” You shrug. “If he does he’s never mentioned it. I don’t hide it but I never bring them around him.” He tuts and stands up. You watch with a careful eye as he struts into your kitchen and steps up to the counter, climbing to reach the cabinet and then standing to reach the top shelf to grab a cup. He rinses it out before opening the fridge. 

His nose turns up at the options and you hold back a laugh, watching as he picks out the water jug before pouring himself a glass. He sniffs the water, eyeing you wearily before holding the cup to you. 

God, you’d done the same exact thing to Bruce when you first arrived. 

Taking a sip, he seems content when you don’t have a reaction other than pouring yourself a cup and slowly sipping his drink.

“I assume you’re from the Shadows?” He’s strutting back to the couch while you lean against the counter, holding the cup by the rim with the ends of your fingers. 

“Shadow adjacent. Subsection created about fifty years back,” 

“So you were born into it?” He sets the now empty cup on the table and picks up the picture, carefully examining it, and then checks the date on the back. “For twelve years before you met Father.”

“I was,” You nod. “Joined Bruce and Dickie.”

“Before you gave up.” He adds. You laugh, shaking your head before finishing your water in one big gulp. 

“Damian, I didn’t give up. I was… I couldn’t live up to Bruce’s expectations. It’s hard not killing but I tried. I tried for years. But every time I went out someone died. So, I learned to use computers, I stayed in the cave and watched over everyone. I was the Oracle before Oracle was a thing.” 

“You were a coward,” He corrects with a tight voice. “You gave up and hid inside of the cave when you could’ve helped people!” 

“Damian. It’s not cowardly to stop trying. Because I did eventually go back, but it was under my rules. I stopped listening to Bruce’s voice, his rules, his insane expectations. Dick mentioned you like Veil?”

“I do,” He gives one curt nod. “They’re effective and father gives them high praise.”

“That’s me, Damian.” You grin and for a moment, his jaw goes slack but he quickly composes himself. “You can call Bruce. I have the suit in my closet… help yourself, I guess,” Watching as he rushes into your bedroom, he shuffles through clothes before he pulls out your suit. 

“I suppose you’re not a coward.” He settles in when he neatly puts the suit back in its spot. 

—

“Yes, Bruce?” You sigh, phone placed between your ear and shoulder as you’re sorting through laundry. “What do you want from me? My soul? My last piece of self-worth?”

“(Y/n),” He sighs that old man sigh he’s started doing after Jason came back and he realized he had to deal with two homicidal sons. Three now. “Damian has requested you at the manor.”

“Tell him I want to experience the Robin Trip.” You hear Damian say and you smile. “Father, tell him!” He demands and you think you can hear him stomping his foot. 

“He wants you to take him on the Robin Trip,” Bruce relays. 

“I’ll be there in an hour. Pack enough clothes for about five days. Nothing fancy, either.”

You arrive in your trusty mom van. It’s a lovely seven-seater with plenty of trunk space and a rack on the top. Of course, Alfred wouldn’t let you just stay in the driveway. No, it was late so of course, you had to stay for dinner and you’ll leave in the morning. Pinky promise. 

“Reject is back,” Jason grins, giving you a tight hug. You hug him back, swaying him from side to side. You’d missed him when you came over the week prior; something Dick says he simply will not stop complaining about. 

“Oh, hey,” Tim looks up from his dinner plate and offers a nod. You never did get too close to him; he never wanted an older brother. He wanted Bruce and you simply weren’t him. You nod back, running your fingers along Jason’s head before he shoves your hand away; chiding that he’s not a kid anymore. 

“Hmph!” Damian stands between you and Jason, arms crossed as he looks between the two of you. You smile and ruffle his hair despite his protests and threats. 

“Staying for dinner?” Bruce asks from the head of the table, reading the daily newspaper. Even though it’s well into the afternoon, almost night. 

“At Pennyworth's insistence,” You nod, detaching yourself from Jason and Damian. “Unless there’s an issue with that.” You add. 

“No,” He shakes his head while setting the paper down. “None at all, please, stay. There’s always a room open for you.”

“Aside from the times he kicks us out,” Jason pretends to whisper while Dick barrels down the stairs. You think he did trip at some point but he caught himself. 

“I missed you!” He squeezes you just as tightly as you’d squeezed Jason and you cringe, patting his back. Jason snickers while Damian tuts and heads to his seat at the table.

“You saw me last week, Dickie.” You’re put back on your feet and Dick sighs, leaning away from the hug but holds you still. 

“After not seeing you for months!” He adds, the smile dropping as he checks you over. This time in proper lighting. “God, leaving me here alone with Bruce. I’ve had to smile every single day with him waiting for you.” He mutters just loud enough that you can hear. 

“Not like I had a choice,” You grit, eyes flickering to the table. “Dinner?” You sigh. 

“Yes, do take a seat.” Alfred smiles. “I’ve prepared your favorite, Master (Y/n).”

“You shouldn’t have,” You smile at him. 

“You really shouldn’t have,” Jason sighs and turns to Damian. “He has the worst taste in food.” 

“Jason, not everyone likes burgers dipped in cheese and barbecue sauce.”

“Exactly,” He nods as if you’ve proved his point.

Surprisingly, dinner goes off without a hitch. There were not more than ten snarky remarks, not once did someone awkwardly fake cough to move the conversation along, and everyone’s food remained on their plates. 

“Where will we be going?” Damian asks after insisting he walks you to your bedroom. 

“You’ll see,” You grin. “I think you’ll like it.” 

“I do not like none-answers,” He huffs, crossing his arms. “You could be leading me into a trap.”

“Bruce approved,” Is all you’re willing to give him. It satiates him for now and he stands at your door, waiting for you to go inside. “Be ready by five, we should leave early.”

“Alright,” He nods and walks away before stopping midstep. “Sleep well, (Y/n).”

“Goodnight, Damian.” He nods and continues into his room. 

—

At five on the dot, Damian knocks on your door. You open it, already dressed and packed. He’s the same, with a large bag slung over his shoulders and an almost happy expression on his face. 

“Head downstairs, I need a couple of things.” He hums and turns on his heel while you look around your room. Grabbing one of the first books you’d fallen in love with, you slip it into your bag and then your first-ever sketchbook. 

Once you’re downstairs, Alfred hands you a metal mug with your favorite breakfast drink, then a neatly wrapped breakfast sandwich, and then a light lunch. He knows you won’t stay for breakfast and wishes you farewell. You thank him and load up the minivan, Damian sits in the passenger seat and you have to question if he should be in the back. And in a booster seat. 

For some reason, you don’t think he’d take to sitting in a booster seat. 

Driving off, you play calm music and sip your drink. He’s quietly eating next to you, careful to not get crumbs in the car. He falls asleep halfway into the drive, his head hanging in an awkward position so you maneuver to lower the seat for him. He stirs awake, grabbing your wrist as you’re moving away but he drops it once he realizes it’s you and slowly falls back asleep. 

Eventually, you reach your farm. A lovely place in a lovely town that has flea markets every Friday and everyone keeps their doors unlocked. 

Your land is sectioned off by a lovely oak fence, spreading across the eight acres, a dull red mailbox with the hand up greets you and you check the box. There’s a small package and two letters that you toss onto the dashboard. 

Damian wakes up as you’re driving up, his eyes finding the cows and chickens you keep lazily chewing on the grass. He sees a wild fox, chasing a wild rabbit through the lawn, scaring a group of pigs inside of their pen in front of a horse stable.

He sniffs the air, confused. It doesn’t smell like livestock and he knows how livestock farms smell. 

“Where are we?” He asks, craning his neck to look behind him. There’s nothing but open fields for miles but he can see a house in the distance. 

“My house,” He turns back to you. “I have a homestead— it’s just a fancy word for living on a farm, really.” 

“You do believe in botulism, correct?” He sneers, stepping out of the van. You bark a laugh and nod. 

“I’m not crazy about it— I just raise my animals and tend to my crops when I’m not out being Veil.”

“Why would you decide to live here?” He asks and you notice his tone isn’t as harsh as it once was. His eyes scan over your fields with a look almost similar to contentment. He looks at the cow with a fondness you can share while you collect your bags. “You’re an assassin, not a farmer.”

“I can be many things,” You shrug. “I’m a farmer, a vigilante, a painter, a former assassin. I’m not bound by one thing. Don’t you have hobbies?”

“I have no time for such trivial matters,” He turns his nose up as he pushes inside the house. 

“Ra’s is a doctor on the side. Dick is a detective. Jason takes care of the orphaned kids. Tim runs a company. I’ve seen his skateboard collection. I’ve seen Dick teach gymnastics at the local gyms. Bruce has his charities and all of his foundations. Jason has an enormous collection of books.”

“I only read informative books, anything else is a waste of my time.”

“Maybe,” You shrug. “Let me show you to your room, you’ll settle down and then meet me in the kitchen. Take as much time as you need, there’s no rush.” He nods and you show him to the guest room. It’s incredibly plain but nice. You shut the door behind you and text Bruce that you’ve arrived without any hiccups. He doesn’t reply but you see that he’s read the text and you go about your day. 

You have a pair of old working boots from your spouse's nephew visiting; they should fit Damian just fine. Setting them on the bench, you slip yours on and wait for him. He doesn’t take long, walking down with careful eyes until he sees you. 

“I assume I’m to wear these?” You nod and he tuts, slipping them on. “What type of training is this?” 

“You’re going to learn patience and to enjoy life.” You smile, ruffling his hair before tossing him an egg basket. 

“That’s ridiculous.” 

—

Dick reacts with hearts as you're sending him pictures of Damian collecting duck and chicken eggs. Videos of him milking cows and cleaning out the pig pens. He’s glad that Damian is having fun, each picture and video seems to have Damian in a better mood. You send him pictures of his drawings and he remarks that he’s already talented with a pencil. You don’t tell him that he’s gotten into reading, too. But you do tell Jason, swearing him to secrecy. 

You look up at Damian as he sits on your porch, an easel and canvas in front of him as he paints your backyard. It’s only been three days but you’d like to think you’ve made an impression on him. He’s woken up earlier than you to feed the animals, he enjoys talking to them and tells you that your defenses are subpar. So you took him into town to grab items to make your fence stronger. 

He hated when the townsfolk would coo at him, remark that he’s such a strong boy for carrying the wood and bags while you carried the metal and other bags. You wonder how he’s going to like the flea market. You hope it won’t be overwhelming for him; you know it was for you the first time you went. 

“What happens when they die?” He suddenly asks, still painting one of your cows. Looking up from your phone, you stare at the back of his head and then the painting. 

“You know how I’m a metahuman, right?” He nods. “I can… see how much longer anything living has. And I can communicate with animals, so, I tell them. I tell them that they don’t have much longer. Sometimes they ask to be left in peace. To die naturally. Other times they tell me to get it over with; they’re ready. If they ask that, I’ll… take them to the butcher. They agree, of course.”

“So the meat we’ve eaten these past days…”

“That was from my chicken Mile and my cow Dan-Loop.”

“Why? How could you?” You notice that his grip on the paintbrush is tightening and you inch closer to him. 

“Because it’s what they wanted. They know they’re farm animals, they know that humans eat their meat. They know. And some of them don’t care. They live happily here. And I give them the option of what they want to do. One time, one of my pigs was dying and SeaSaw told them that he wanted to be released. Travel as far as he could before he returned to the Earth. I watched that pig run and run for a while before he turned and looked at me. He thanked me and went up that hill and stared at the sunset.”

“Isn’t it hard?” He asks. “Raising all these animals knowing you’re going to outlive them.”

“It is. But I also know that I’m giving them an amazing life. It’s better than them being stuck in cruel mills. They’re seen and heard. And trust me, if those ducks and chickens were angry, your hand would be picked at for trying to take their eggs.” Damian nods, looking down at you. You’re looking at your animals, taking in the setting sun. 

“Do you think father would let me start a farm?”

“Maybe. Ask him on a good day. If he does, you can take Jerry. He likes you,” Damian beams, knowing exactly which animal you’re talking about. 

“Okay, thank you.”

—

“Why did you leave and come here?” Damian asks as you’re driving to the flea market. “You mentioned you couldn’t stand being around father.” The question makes you think about your years with Bruce, all the things he’d taught, and the things you spent years unlearning. Things weren’t all bad with Bruce, though. You still cherish your fond memories like the first time he’d taken you to the ice cream parlor or when he’d taken you to the Monterey Bay Aquarium after he saw you watching Nemo too many times in a row for it to be a simple obsession. 

“Bruce and I have a complicated history. And sometimes, to love someone, you need to stay away. I can’t see your father too often; it’s too painful. I care about him; I’m sure he cares about me but it’s too much. We’re too different. And coming here was like…” You purse your lips. “I was finally free from what I'd become. I could live a separate life from my place in the family. I had no obligations here; I made it my own.”

“What’s your place?” He asks, sparing you a glance. 

“I wasn’t the best at what I did. I was angry, a lot. I don’t know if you’ve met yet, but Mr. Fox would say I was moodier than Bruce. I was violent; I wasn’t sure of my place in any of this. I kept trying to prove myself to Bruce but I kept failing. I felt like a mistake for a long while.” He looks down at his lap, messing with his jeans before he speaks up again. 

“What made that feeling go away?”

“Getting hobbies.” You admit. “I drew a lot. I made friends. I got closer to Dick and Jason. I removed Bruce from that pedestal and saw him for the man he is. Not as the man I wanted him to be.” 

“What man is he?”

“He’s like us. He’s flawed and he makes mistakes. He’s not perfect and neither are we. We’re all trying. Now, come on. Your father gave you five thousand so you can buy whatever you want.”

He smiles and grabs the bag from the dashboard, leaving you in the dust while he admires the homemade objects people are selling.

[cherryrikis]

SUMMER ISNT OVER

PAIRING s2l park sunghoon x fem reader

WARNINGS eric makes a kinda offensive joke

GENRE strangers to lovers, romance/drama, summer love

SYNOPSIS driving to anaheim with your cousins was meant to be a fun trip away from the rest of the family. but when you knocked on the door of the wrong hotel room, the whole course of your trip would change.. and you’d find yourself missing a certain someone when its time to go home.

authors note - definitely longer than my standard fics (bc @hannicorpse wrote this with me !! ) but it’s only 4k ish😊

growing up in a big family meant your aunties and uncles had kids generally close to you in age. but more than anyone else, you always stuck with the same 3 of your cousins. danielle, eric, and karina. so now, you’d be stuck together for the next week as you drove through la.

“i don’t get why the drive is sooo long. like, it’s barely 40 miles from here.” eric complained as he saw the route on google maps. it was nearly 2 hours from his house in pasadena to the hotel in anaheim.

“how do you think we feel? we pretty much drove the same distance in the opposite direction just to pick you up!” danielle scoffed.

“maybe if you didn’t pop a tire and just slept at auntie’s house like we did, we could’ve been in anaheim by now.” karina. snickered.

“it wasn’t my fault! who just leaves a bunch of broken glass in MY driveway? and besides. i am not driving to long beach in this traffic.”

“you’re the one who decided to move up and out when we all stayed.” karina commented yet again.

“not my fault i didn’t wanna stay coastal. or in the hills.” “kinda is.”

with all the back and forth arguing coming from your cousins, it was getting harder and harder for you to focus on the road. you tried to ignore it, until you couldn’t anymore.

“can you guys just stop bickering? i can barely hear myself think, i literally just missed that last exit to the freeway. if anything, eric should be driving since he’s the second oldest, he’s the only boy, and he made us go out of the way to get him!” you announced in frustration.

hesitantly, eric reached out to tap your shoulder. “what now?” you sighed. “can you go to that gas station over there? i forgot to use the bathroom..” “eric sohn!” you groaned in annoyance, before reluctantly doing so.

despite taking an unusual amount of time to use the bathroom, eric did make up for his incompetence by driving the rest of the way like you suggested early on.

one minute, you’re closing your eyes to take a nap. and before you knew it, you were in anaheim, arriving at the marriott hotel.

the amount of luggage between you three girls was ungodly, especially since you’d be here for so long. yet somehow, eric probably packed more than then the three of you combined.

after finally checking in and hauling all the bags into the hotel elevator (since karina refused to get a luggage cart because she didn’t want to have to put it back), you were able to enter your rooms and relax.

you got two connected rooms instead of one big one, because it had a better deal. eric and karina shared the first room, 2343, while you and danielle shared the second room, 2345.

the singular hotel rooms alone weren’t really big, but it would still suffice. not a full kitchen, or a ‘real’ living room. on the other hand, both bedrooms were roomy and the bathroom was nice. so that was a plus.

during those first few hours after you had arrived, it was mainly spent going around grocery markets to get food and snacks to stock up the room.

but you all were starting to get hungry, craving some korean barbecue or hotpot. so, you were sat in some korean barbecue restaurant in buena park, cooking the meat before karina began to talk.

“you know, the pool is pretty nice and big. we should go check it out later.” she suggested, slightly looking up from the grill. you and danielle hummed in response.

when you got back to the hotel, turns out there were no towels at the pool. you had to ask for them at the front desk. so being the youngest, (and also being the one who accidentally burnt half of the brisket), you were forced to go and retrieve the towels.

“how many?” the receptionist asked. “uhh.. 5 pool towels please. actually.. sorry, i meant 4.” “sure thing, just let me go grab them from the storage room.”

you silently thanked the employee as she handed you the towels, before taking the elevator back up.

as the lights flashed floor 23, you walked to your room, smiling at any stranger who walked past you.

realizing you forgot the room key, you knocked loudly on the door as you waited for danielle to open up.

but when the door opened, it was in fact, not danielle. yet a handsome boy, around your age, with a charming accent. australian, maybe?

you slightly froze as the australian boy, along with three others behind him, stared at you.

“i- i am so sorry. i thought this was 2345.” you apologized, your cheeks flushing pink in embarrassment.

“ah yeah. this is 2347. i guess your room is next door. but uh, no worries. im jake, by the way.” he smiled at your shy figure. “so, what are you doing with all those towels? gonna go swim?” “oh, yeah. me and the people i’m with are gonna go see the pool later tonight.”

you awkwardly rubbed the back of your neck, scanning his room through the door frame. it was bigger than yours, but similar for the most part. two bedrooms, a full kitchen and living room. clearly, they paid for the suite. you noticed a pale boy sitting on the couch, staring at you. he was pretty cute. maybe even gorgeous. few moles, nice hair. practically porcelain skin.

you zoned out onto his face, pausing for a moment before returning your gaze back to the aussie who you now knew as jake.

“oh, you can come in if you want? you seem a little out of it.. uhh..” he stopped, waiting for you to say your name.

his words immediately brought you back to reality. “huh? oh. it’s uh, y/n. it’s okay i’ll just go back to my room. sorry again.” you mumble another apology, before leaving to go back to the correct room.

jake closed the door just as you left, letting out a laugh he didn’t was holding back. “she was so funny. she looked so scared.”

“who was that?” sunghoon asked. “some girl next door. her name was y/n or something.” jake answered.

“she’s kinda hot.” jay chuckled, nudging sunghoon with his elbow. jake and heeseung agreed, quickly discussing you and wondering if you had any friends with you. sunghoon quietly nodded in agreement. but, he couldn’t get you out of his mind. the thoughts in his head were practically louder than the voices around him. and he just hoped he didn’t accidentally mention it out loud.

however, the one thing he did say out loud, was suggesting to go to the pool. (in hopes of seeing you).

when you got to your room, you distributed the pool towels to each of them, then keeping one for yourself. you talked about how you went to the wrong room and laughed it off, but you left out the fact that all you could think about when jake spoke to you, was his cute friend with those moles.

eric scolded you for ‘disturbing the neighbors and their peace’ but honestly, you couldn’t care less. karina defended you anyway. it was kinda her and eric’s thing to just always bicker. they were more like brother and sister than your other cousins who were actually siblings.

later that night, you made your way to the pool. around 7:30pm. much to your surprise, jake and his friends were already there. “hey beautiful.” he teased, coming up to you from the pool, while his friends remained in the water.

“oh hey, i know you. were you waiting for me? didn’t take you for the flirtatious type.” you joked. “who’re your friends?” asked eric, not noticing the way heeseung had his eyes set on karina.

“right,” jake nodded. “oh, boyfriend?” he paused and asked you, interrupting himself. “older cousin..” eric grimaced.

“oohh.. um. sorry.. anyway, the one with the dark red hair is heeseung. the one with the dark blue trunks is jay. and the one with the moles is sunghoon.”

“do heeseung and sunghoon speak english?” eric halfheartedly joked.

“dude.” karina scoffed, slapping his bare chest.

“yeah..? we were all born here, in la.” jake raised an eyebrow. “so i assume you’re all cousins then?” he continued awkwardly.

“yeah.” you nodded. “that’s eric. the one next to me is karina, and the one next to her is danielle.” karina and danielle waved at jake after the introductions, but eric refused.

“don’t get any ideas.” eric crossed his arms, finally noticing how karina and heeseung were pretty much fawning over one another.

the atmosphere felt thick, and it was silent for a long while, before jake had broken the barrier.

“uh.. anyway. you’re welcome to hang out with us..” he shrugged, gesturing to their chairs before hopping back into the water.

taking up on his offer, you placed your belongings next to jake and his friends’ seats. you sat down for a moment, barely listening to how karina told eric can’t he just ask questions like that.

soon after, you moved to sit on the very edge of the pool, sticking your feet into the 10ft deep water.

you looked at sunghoon, watching as he had a contest with jay to see who could hold their breath the longest.

you noticed his habit of licking his fangs. you noticed how he’d often touch his eyebrows. you also noticed how he looked at you every so often, before hesitantly swimming up to you where you still sat.

“why aren’t you getting in?” he asked as he held onto the edge of the pool, his hands on either side of you.

“i will in a bit.” you paused. “so, sunghoon, right? one of jake’s friends?” “yeah.” he smiled, flashing his canines. “and you’re y/n, the girl who came knocking on the wrong door?” “yeah.” you grinned, mirroring him.

sunghoon hoisted himself up out the water, moving to sit next to you on the deck. luckily, he covered you in time as karina and danielle jumped in with a big splash.

“when did you guys get here?” he asked, finally looking into your eyes up close.

“just this afternoon. but we leave by the end of the week.” “yeah. us too.”

“so where are you from?” you question.

“west hollywood.”

“don’t tell me you’re one of those trashy hollywood kids.” you joke.

sunghoon playfully pouts, before breaking his act and laughing. “not even. i think i was raised pretty well.” he smiled. “but what about you? where are you from?”

“i live in long beach. but i was born and raised in beverly hills.”

“ew! don’t tell me you’re one of those trashy country club kids.” he jokes, clutching his chest.

you gasp, kicking water at him. he paused for a moment, before splashing you.

you and sunghoon were so immersed in each other and your conversations. you almost didn’t hear your cousins and his friends say they were going back up, after two hours of being in the pool.

the two of you stayed until closing time at 11pm, and even a little beyond that. you couldn’t think of a time you had that much fun with a guy.

“i had so much fun today.” sunghoon smiled with a genuine look of adoration, as he helped you up.

“i did too.” you blush before going to grab your tote bag. “we should hang out more often.”

“yeah, definitely. uhm, do ya think- do you think that i could like, you know. get your number? i mean, it’s okay if not. because like, if you’re not interested i totally get it. or if you just wanna be like friends that’s okay too. but like-”

you cut him off, pressing a finger to his lips. “of course you can.” you smiled brightly, taking his phone to dial in your number, pressing the call so you could also have his number saved on your phone.

“now we could call or text each other anytime.”

he smiled. and that was enough for you.

you walked back to your rooms together, but sunghoon paused before going in. “see you tomorrow?” “yeah, of course.”

“goodnight sunghoon.”

“goodnight y/n.”

you did in fact see each other tomorrow. while both of your groups went out, you two stayed behind to spend some time together. with so much spare time (and no car), you settled to just watch a movie in sunghoon’s room.

“what movie is this?” you asked.

“the notebook.” “oh. i never watched it.” and his jaw immediately dropped in shock. “there is no way you never watched this cinematic masterpiece. now you have to watch it! pay attention.” sunghoon exclaimed, pulling you closer to him by your waist.

by the end of the movie, you were barely awake. it was good, you could definitely agree. but, in the same sense, it was so comforting, it quickly put you to sleep.

you leaned closer into sunghoon, placing your head on his shoulder. almost in the crook of his neck.

his heart swelled when he looked down at you, watching how you struggled to stay awake. why do i feel this way? i mean sure, she is really pretty. but i barely met her yesterday.. he thought.

it really put things into perspective for you both.

despite this fact, he couldn’t stop himself from leaning down to press a soft kiss on your lower cheek, a centimeter or two away from your lips.

“kissing me on the first date?” you mumbled tiredly. “hey, we’re hardly here for 6 more days. let’s make it count.”

and you did exactly that, you were making every last moment count.

the next day, you went to the glendale galleria together. “i haven’t been here in so long.” you sighed, forgetting just how big the shopping center was. “it’s almost like this mall i visited up in san jose.”

you gasped as you saw a beautiful necklace. it had a dainty gold chain and a stunning pendant. “sunghoon? don’t you think this would look gorgeous with my white sweetheart top?” “i don’t know much about women’s clothing, but i know you’ll look good in anything.” he replied smugly.

“aw thank you! but- oh. nevermind it’s way too expensive.” you shrugged, going to put it back. but sunghoon stopped you.

“i’ll buy it for you.” “it’s okay, really. it’s too much.” “for that necklace? $150 is not a lot.” “but to me it is.”

he ignored you, swiping his card anyway.

sunghoon nearly bought everything you slightly stared at, despite all your protests. that night, you came home with bags of clothes, snacks, makeup, and just random items you didn’t even really need.

you felt so guilty, thinking it was a waste of his money. you wanted to pay him back but surely, there was no way you could afford it. yet sunghoon didn’t care. he wanted to see you happy.

you settled for buying him a slice of pizza from the food court or generally just any food he wanted. and that was enough for him.

on the next day, you even went to disney california adventures together. because you and your cousins just so happened to go the same day as sunghoon and his friends.

most of your time at the theme park was spent with him, often making your groups uneven. or, one of your cousins had to be with one of his friends.

you loved going into random gift shops with sunghoon, taking pictures while trying on mickey ears and random headbands. he even bought you two matching ones.

the radiator springs ride in cars land was jay and sunghoon’s favorite. sunghoon loved how he felt butterflies in his stomach. not only from how steep the slope was, but also from how you tightly squeezed his hand in fear.

the drop tower was a memorable moment to everyone. the picture that was displayed at the exit of the ride, revealed eric was actually clinging onto jake and karina the entire time.

“do not save that. if you guys actually buy this souvenir picture i’ll literally run away from home.” he grumbled in embarrassment.

“it’s okay dude. stop stressing, because you’re gonna end up grabbing onto me again when we go on the incredicoaster.” jake joked.

you all laughed at eric’s humiliation but quickly bribed him with a pretzel from the pym test kitchen (even though it was insanely dry).

you couldn’t forget about your last ride of the day, the classic, the ferris wheel. karina, danielle, heeseung, and jay, decided to go in a rocking cart. you and sunghoon, along with eric and jake, decided to stay in a normal carriage. but eric refused to ride with jake, settling for going by himself.

eric was one of the only boys in your family, so being around sunghoon and his friends seemed to make him feel a little unwanted. but you understood.

you laughed as you heard danielle and karina’s screams while their carriage practically turned upside down.

at the very peak of the ferris wheel, was where you and sunghoon had your first real kiss while the sun set in the background. “this is so pinterest worthy.” you whisper. “don’t ruin this beautiful moment for me.” he mumbled, turning to watch the view after you pulled away from him.

by the end of it, you were giggling like a bunch of high school kids.

when you walked out the park, passing one last gift shop before the exit, sunghoon quickly ran inside. and he came out with two matching stuffed animals. a baby stitch plush, and a baby angel plush.

of course, you were angel, and he was stitch.

the beach day was one of your personal favorites.

you had picked up food from a local restaurant along with some snacks to bring to the beach, like a picnic. after you had finished eating, you all went for a swim.

you and the girls were the first to get out of the ocean, watching how the boys attempted to drown each other. you murmured a few sentences between one another that evening. however, it was clear nobody was listening to each other. “no way..” you whispered to yourself as you looked beside you.

heeseung and karina were practically making heart eyes at each other, not caring about the people around them. danielle’s cheeks puffed up as she held in her laughter.

but, you couldn’t say much either. the whole time, your eyes only ever remained on park sunghoon. the man who had caught your attention from the start.

the tension between the pair was obvious. so, you and sunghoon came up with the ultimate plan.

sunghoon would complain about how he was sore from wrestling in the water, so he asked if karina could hold his bags. but, he knew heeseung would quickly come to take it from her.

after getting everything and everyone into the car, you set course back to the hotel. sunghoon drove single handed, with his right arm resting in your grasp as you played with his rings.

you gave each other a knowing look before turning around to see almost everyone else had completely fallen asleep.

there sat heeseung, with karina’s head buried in his neck. jake remained isolated next to them, his headphones on full blast, as danielle, jay, and eric rested peacefully in the row behind him.

you smiled at sunghoon, even if he couldn’t see it. but you both knew your mission was accomplished.

by day 6, you were back in sunghoon’s room again. just lying down in his bed, speaking out gently and peacefully as you held each other.

“if you stayed in beverly hills earlier on, maybe we’d have known each other earlier.” said sunghoon.

“probably. my uncle, dani’s dad, is a realtor, and he always sold houses in your neighborhood. maybe i really would have known you sooner.”

“this whole trip has gone by way too fast.” he sighed, his face buried in your hair. “at least we still have tomorrow.” you mutter.

“will we keep in touch?” “if this whole time really mattered to you, you’ll know. but, we’ll worry about it tomorrow.”

as your words slowly began to die down, sunghoon figured you had fallen asleep.

he held you tighter, bringing you closer to him. sunghoon pressed a kiss onto your lips softly, before he too fell into a wakeless dream.

technically, sunghoon’s room was really jake’s room too since they always had to share a bed. but, seeing you two together and understanding the situation, he decided to take one for the team and sleep on the couch (only after heeseung did him a favor and brought him a blanket).

and before you knew it, it was your last day together. you were sitting by the pool where you met. your feet and lower legs dipped into the cold water as you felt the warm anaheim breeze. same position, same spot.

"it's been a good week. best week i ever had. this whole trip feels like a long dream and i haven't waken up yet. like, im still in long beach, tanning in my aunties backyard." you say.

the moment felt still, everything was paused, before sunghoon spoke. "you'll visit me up in the hills won't you?"

"of course i will. you trashy hollywood kid. and you'll visit me down in long beach?" "course i will." and he pressed his lips onto yours.

a part of you wished you met sooner, and that you had more time.

when sunghoon pulled away, you didn’t want to let go. you brought yourself up to kiss him again, holding him as if you’d never see him again. because who knows when you really will?

you almost sob when it's time to go home, you think you really have fallen in love this time around.

sunghoon refused to let you go, as if you’d vanish into thin air if you’re not within his grasp. and you felt the exact same way. despite not being together for long, now you really don’t know how you’ll go on without him.

because now, the summer was over.

you two were inseparable in the moment, jake and jay literally had to pry and rip sunghoon off of you.

they were gone before you could cry, but not before he could kiss you for the last time.

“make sure to call me!” he exclaimed from the car, after jay forced him inside. “i love you y/n!” sunghoon shouted out loud, as they started to drive off.

“i’ll call you every night! i love you too sunghoon!” you called back. “more than you know..” but the last part barely came out above a whisper, as his car was gone into the horizon.

and after that, was when you finally let it all out. all the longing, and the heartbreak.

the downside of summer love, never knowing if you’ll meet again.

you sobbed quietly in the backseat alone, refusing to let your cousins see you like this. you couldn’t handle being around them right now.

for you, the amount of time you knew each other didn’t matter. it was the way you understood each other, made each other feel. the way you cared for each other, some might even say it was in the way you loved each other.

but now, it was time to return to your normal lives, go on with your jobs or school. your endless summer has reached its finale. but how could it end like this?

one minute you’re bawling your eyes out in the back of karina’s jeep. your eyes swelled up as you clutched your chest with a heavy heart. the next minute, you wake up in your driveway, watching as your cousins hauled your luggage out to your doorstep for you.

before you knew it, now you were in despair as you hugged your pillow tightly. your silk pillowcase was almost as soft as his milky skin. it was unfair. you had no idea if you’d truly keep contact, or even ever see him again. maybe this whole summer fling thing was stupid.

one good moment wouldn’t make up for all the bad that followed after. you began to think, maybe it didn’t mean as much to him as it did to you. he’s handsome. he probably gets around. i’m not the only girl.

you lay awake that night, torn between the feeling of his lips on yours, and if whether or not it’s something you’ll ever get to experience again.

but by the next morning, someone was frantically knocking, pounding, on your front door. it was much to your surprise when you saw who it was. park sunghoon.

“holy shit, you scared me! what are you doing here..?” you gasped out, still processing the moment.

“you’re fucking crazy if you think i’ll just leave you like that, angel.” he muttered, before pulling you in by the waist to reunite your lips in a desperate kiss.

you suppose whatever you were thinking of last night can be disposed of. he did come back for you, and you do get to experience his lips on yours again.

last night, you were crying to the point there was no water left in your body. only dried tear stains and your red eyes remained as evidence. but now? by the following morning, your lover boy was already at your door.

and when he finally moved in to kiss you again, you smiled, reaching up to softly stroke his warm cheek.

you realized, all doubts you had about him were insecurities. false scenarios your mind made up to keep you questioning.

because sunghoon knew he would never leave you. he’d say it a thousand times over again to let you know just how much he loves you.

the summer wasn’t over yet. not until the two of you were through. because everyday with sunghoon felt like summer.

[russellsppttemplates]

I want it all with you (Mick Schumacher)

A series of the moments that lead Mick and Y/N to decide that it was time they added to their bunch

Note: english is not my first language. I'm a sucker for dad!driver, and I must admit dad!Mick always gets me 🥹

Thank you so much to everyone who likes and reblogs, your feedback is appreciated 🤍 and I'm taking requests so if you have any ideas or concepts you want to share, feel free to do so as I'll try to get to them the best I can!

my masterlist

Tw: mentions dog sickness, starting a family, pregnancy

Tag list: @myloverjk-blog

The first time you felt what your friends called baby fever was when you saw Mick holding the youngest Vettel in his arms. When Hanna and Sebastian felt comfortable enough to have visitors, they sent texts to their friends and family letting them know that, only asking that they would tell them in advance so they didn't have everyone at the same time in the house.

"I already have the casserole packed and ready to go, and the small bag with the gift we got is also in the car", you went over the list on your head, seeing Mick grab the coats and your bag, "alright then, let's go!".

The trip to the Vettel household was fine, not a lot of traffic, allowing you and Mick to talk about what you had been up to that week and general catching up, sharing some gossip from your workplaces.

"I'll help you, one second", Mick called for you, fixing your coat's sleeve so you could walk comfortably to the door. Your boyfriend knocked on it, seeing Sebastian open the door soon after, "Hi, guys! I'm glad you could make it!", he greeted cheerfully.

"I have this one here, I spoke to Hanna on the phone yesterday, she said that this recipe was good for everyone", you smiled, setting the bag on the kitchen counter, "if you want it for tonight's dinner, you can just heat it up. If not, it's good to freeze, too".

"We don't have any dinner plans and the moment Mathilda and Emilie heard 'pasta bake from Y/N' they haven't talked about much else", he smiled, guiding you to the living room.

"I have some visitors, but you have to keep it on the quiet side, okay? Baby just got back to sleep and we'd appreciate that the situation stays that way", Sebastian said as you and Mick walked in with me, the girls coming up to hug you as quietly as they could, "Hi, Y/N! Hey, Mick!", they said, smiling up at you.

"Hi, girls! How are the best big sisters ever?", you asked, kneeling down, "we're good, come look at her!", Mathilda held your hand, pulling you to sit next to Hanna, who was sitting on the sofa, and look at the small basket, taking a peek of the sleeping baby girl, "Oh, look at those cheeks, she's so gorgeous, congratulations!", you beamed, looking at Sebastian and Hanna, "I helped mama pick her outfit today!", Emilie said, "well, she looks so pretty in it, you did such a good job!".

While Sebastian, Hanna and Mick exchanged conversation after Hanna whispered, "this is the only grown up conversation I've had since she was born that wasn't with my husband", she admitted, seeing you happily play with her oldest girls, you sat on the floor, giving the girls some attention. Raising three kids this little was no joke, and while Sebastian and Hanna seemed to be doing just fine, you figured you could catch up later and instead use your time to play with cars in a toy matt and with some of their dolls, even having time for some crafty activities.

"Do you think Mick will like this, too, Y/N??", Mathilda asked, helping Emilie press one of the stickers on the paper, "I bet he will love it, I'm sure it deserves a place on our fridge!", you complimented, "let's to and show him then!", Emilie suggested.

Going down the stairs and back to the living room, you stopped in your tracks when Emily said, "Oh, he's holding her, we'll come back later", finding her way to the kitchen after Hanna said something about snack time.

On the sofa, Hanna sat beside Mick as he held the youngest Vettel in his arms, gently caressing her cheek with his pinkie as he gave her her bottle, the little girl suckling on it in a peaceful yet attentive expression, looking mesmerised at your boyfriend, "you're hungry aren't you? All of that growing and sleeping is tough work!", he cooed, tapping the bottle a few times so the remainder of the milk would go into her mouth before setting the empty bottle on the table.

"Can you burp her? I'm going to see if Sebastian isn't secretly sleeping in the kitchen", she smirked, seeing him nod as he changed her position. Occupying her spot on the sofa, you grabbed a muslin cloth and placed it on Mick's shoulder, "here, in case she spits some out", you whispered, seeing her curious eyes look at you.

"Hi, baby girl, don't you look so cute", you cooed, smoothing her hairs, "she's is, isn't she?", Mick said as he patted her back. "I didn't know you were so skilled with babies", you noted, seeing his gentleness with her, "I don't have many little cousins now that I'm a grown up, but I visit Sebastian a lot and I have known the girls since they were little, so there are some basic things I know", he blushed. His hand looked massive as he rubbed her back soothingly, and that was the first time where you thought that he was going to be the father of your children.

.

For Mick, however, he didn't need to see you with a baby, at least a human one, and rather with his own four paw, furry one.

When you arrived home, Angie wasn't at the door with her usual cheek licking greeting, "Angie, where are you?", you called, figuring she was probably asleep and hadn't heard you properly the first time.

Walking to the living room, you saw her laying on the floor, "Oh, are you not feeling better, Angie?", you wondered sitting down next to her as she moved her head to rest on your thighs, "and you haven't been eating much either, have you?", you petted her fur. For the past few days, Angie had been feeling rough, not eating much, preferring to stay quiet and inside and, overall, not her usual self. Her vet ended up coming to the house the previous afternoon and give her a check-up, taking some fluids so she could do some other tests back at the clinic, "it's probably a bug like we humans also have, and she'll be good as new in a few days, but we'll let you know the results in the morning", she smiled reassuringly. The results came back normal, calming both you and Mick, as well as the fact that, when you left the house, Angie looked like she was getting better. But now, she looked like she was feeling sorry for herself.

"Well, how about we have a big cuddle on the sofa while we wait for papa, hm? I can give you as many belly rubs as you want", you added, helping the dog up on the sofa and essentially into your lap despite her size, "are you comfy? Yes, you are".

When Mick got home, the sight of you two in the sofa melted him. The way you cared about Angie was mesmerising and he appreciated it more than any words could express.

Approaching you, he tapped your arm, fluttery eyes finding his as you blinked before fully seeing him, "Hi, handsome", you yawned, "this little lady was feeling a bit sorry for herself, so we are having a good cuddle. She ate a good bit of dry food from my hand, and she played with me, but we fell asleep a little while ago, it seems", you said, looking at your watch.

"And you stayed like this? Isn't she hurting you? She isn't the lightest dog", Mick furrowed his brows, "it's fine, she needs the cuddles to feel better, and I'm fine like this if she is, which looks like it", you smiled, petting her snout, "I'll get started on dinner then, you two stay there, okay? Call if you need anything", your boyfriend said before he kissed your forehead and walked to the kitchen.

After dinner, Angie was already walking along the house, seemingly feeling better. Still, you worried, doting on her any time she approached you and checking if she remained the same, "her eyes are clear now", you commented, "she's just tired, I think, aren't you, Angie?", Mick rubbed her tummy before she got up and sat next to you, "yes, it's not easy being sick, but you're coming out of it, aren't you?".

It was a silly thought maybe, Mick figured, but you had been the most attentive to Angie, always checking on her, playing with her and cleaning any mishaps, and he couldn't help himself when he thought about what you would be like with a human baby instead of your furry baby. If how you cared for the Australian Shepherd was any indicator, Mick couldn't wait for you to have your own.

.

You didn't know that when you agreed to look after your little cousin for the weekend that it would make you think all of these thoughts.

After dinner, while Mick offered to tidy the rest of the kitchen, you went upstairs to change into pyjamas with Mila, sensing that the sleepy girl would fall asleep as soon as her head hit something soft enough and wanting to be prepared ahead so she could sleep comfortably, "is it good, Mila? Do you want this cardigan for some warmth?", you inquired, showing her a cardigan made out of the same material as her pyjamas, figuring that it must complete the set, "it's fine, I don't need it. I only use that one when it is really really cold", she noted, sitting on the bed and then placing her feet on the floor so you could join Mick downstairs again.

"Mick, Mick, Mick!", Mila yelled as she ran to the living room, "Look!", she pointed to herself once she was in front of him, "my pyjamas have Minnie and Mickey on them!", she said, pointing to you once you reached them, sitting next to your boyfriend, "you can be Mickey, because your name is the same, and Y/N can be Minnie!", she said before she climbed up the sofa, sitting next to Mick.

"Oh, now I feel like I should have a matching pyjama, too!", your boyfriend smiled, "for our next sleepover, then. You promise, Mick?", Mila held out her pinky for them to lace them into a real promise, "I promise, Mila".

The little girl moved around, ending up sitting on both of yours and Mick's thighs, claiming she was taller that way and could see the TV better. "We're going to watch a movie?", she asked, recognising the frames on the TV, "yes. Do you like any of these?", Mick asked her as he flipped through them, "Oh, that one, it looked like my Alfred!", she pointed to the 101 Dalmatians frame. She claimed it was for Angie to get to know her friend Alfred until they could meet in real life, but soon after, the little girl fell asleep holding onto Mick like a little koala, arms around his arm with her head snuggled on your chest, "the day must've tired her out, hm?", Mick said in a low voice, not wanting to wake her up, "I'll going to take her upstairs to the room, I already put up the side barriers so she can move all she wants", he said, effortlessly getting up while holding her.

When he laced her down on the bed, your heart fluttered: your boyfriend carefully combed her curly hair, making sure it wasnt tangled and pushing it away from her face, "Sweet dreams, Mila. Tomorrow we are going to have another day full with surprises".

.

Gina's son had the Schumacher genes and it showed, quite literally. The distinct light coloured eyes, the chubby cheeks and the ever so expressive brows made her little boy a sight to behold, "do you want to go to auntie Y/N for a bit so mama can go and change?", Gina cooed as she transfered him to your lap, "I'll be back quickly", she winked.

You and Mick had taken some time from your holidays to spend with his sister and her family, never missing out on spending time with the youngest family member, and while Mick and Gina's husband prepared some snacks for you, you kept the little boy entertained, watching him walk everywhere around the living room as he pointed out toys. He didn't say many words yet, but you decided to go along with him, pretending almost like you were in a play.

"Are you sure about that? That was not what I heard from my neighbour", you expressed, pretending to be very intrigued by his babbles, "Oh, well, if you look at it like that, maybe there is some truth to it", you said, exaggerating your expression so you could get your nephew to giggle loudly, giggling with him as you carried on.

By the door, Mick was resting there on his side, admiring you and his nephew. You were incredible with kids, wether they were little or already toddlers, you always managed to make them feel safe and happy, and you looked happy, too, when you spent tike in their company. Was it too soon? Your relationship was good, your routines and lifestyles more settled and predictable, and while he loved having you all to himself, Mick couldn't help but think that he will gladly share you with someone who is half you and half him.

Sitting down next to you after cleaning up, his sister and brother in law already upstairs getting ready for bed after putting their little one to sleep, Mick placed his hand on your thigh, "I've been thinking about something, liebling", he began, "and I want your opinion on it, because it matters to me the most, yes?".

Nodding, you urged him to continue, placing your hand on top of his, "I've been thinking a lot about having our own little one", he gulped, not entirely catching you by surprise if you were honest, "we have stability, we have the means, and seeing you with our nephew today just solidified the idea I have that you are going to be an amazing mother to our child, or children if we want them and are lucky enough to be able to have them, I want it all with you", he finished, looking nervously up at you.

"I've been thinking about it, too", you calmed him, "every time I see you with little kids, my ovaries do all these jumps and it took me a bit to figure out that I wanted to be the one to carry your children", you blushed, "okay, that sounded dirtier than I meant it to, but it's true! I want to start a family with you, too", you smiled, kissing his lips.

"Well, I think starting here would be a bit off, but when we get home, maybe? I'd love to start practicing", you said, moving to straddle him, kissing your husband's lips again as he carried you up to the bedroom, Angie following behind, not knowing that her parents were planning to add to the family.

[gejo333]

Unexpected Match VII

DILF/DBF Miguel O’Hara x Female Reader

Pt. 1 Pt.8

18+ Warning!!

Summary: You and the O’Hara’s go away on a small family vacation upstate.

We’re back!!!

Happy to have another chapter out! Next one is going to have a lot of drama! I apologize for any grammar mistakes, I haven’t fully looked this over yet. But I hope you enjoy!

Wc: 5.2k

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The fall crisp air was becoming a winter chill as you gaze at the golden leaves falling from the trees. You turn your head towards the left as you smile softly at the curly brunette man. Miguel's phone buzzed, a photo of you carrying Gabi as you both smiled at the camera from one of the many days you had gone to the park. A small smile crept on to your face as you hadn't noticed he changed his Home Screen from the photo he's kept of baby Gabi on his phone since you first met him.

You turned your head and smiled at the adorable sight of a sleeping Gabi, as her head rested against her car seat. Suddenly, the thought of another car seat next to Gabi crossed your mind. Sudden realization of your thoughts made your cheeks red. You smiled as giving a few siblings for Gabi after your career is steady would be nice.

Miguel drove the car into the entrance of the family campsite. Two weeks ago Gabi had brought up that every year they leave the city to do a weekend camping trip at a family camp, where Gabi explained that there's a bunch of fun activities to do at the kid center. You were really happy when both Miguel and Gabi wanted you to come with them. You knew you lived with them for a few months now and felt like a family, the impending conversation with your parents has created some stupid insecurities to pop in your mind. But every time the thoughts pop up your happily reminded of Gabi's joyous laughter and Miguel's loving words, that you wouldn't change anything for this in the world.

"We're here." Miguel parked the car as you both got out. You went around the car and opened it up to Gabi's side. You unbuckled her from her car seat.

"Hey, baby bug. It's time to wake up. We're here." You said softly as you gently brushed some of the hair sticking out of her pony tail behind her ear. Your heart melted at the sight of her yawning and rubbing her eyes of any sleep before you saw her bright brown eyes. You helped her out of her seat as she was still trying to wake up. As soon as she got a look of her surroundings she perked up instantly.

"Yay! We're here!" Gabi ran on to the grass next to the parking lot.

"Please stay close Gabi, while your papa and I unload the car." You say smiling at her happy attitude as you watch her play around in the grass.

"Will do!" She said looking at you with one of the iconic O'Hara smiles.

You heart almost stopped as an arm wrapped around your waist and whisked you behind the car to the open trunk before being slightly dipped and kissed. You happily returned the kiss as your arms wrap around his neck to deepen it. The kiss ended with another quick kiss or two, as he stood you up straight but still wrapped in each others arms.

"Loved that. But what was it for?" You chuckle as you brush strands of his hair back in his iconic hair style.

"I'm just really happy. Ever since I saw you again, I just never felt this happy before. Of course I was really happy when it was just Gabi and I, but I just feel complete now that I have the two most important girls in my life."

"I've never been more happy being with you and Gabi. The perfect small family bubble." You press one more kiss to his lips before you untangle from each other and begin to unpack.

"Maybe our family bubble can grow bigger one day." Said Miguel as he took a cooler and set in on the ground. Your eyes widen from his comment.

"Doesn't sound like a bad idea. But maybe after putting a ring on this finger." You chuckle as you tease him.

"Sounds like a good idea. I'll keep it in mind."

"Wait...are you saying you might propose one day?" You paused when you heard his response.

"Yes." He smiled as he took something else from the trunk out. Your heart briefly stopped from his response. You smiled as you went on your toes to kiss his cheek.

"Sounds like a good idea." You say as you grab the last thing from the trunk and set it down before Miguel closes it and locks the car.

"Princesa, we're heading to the cabin." Said Miguel as he picked up majority of the things with out breaking a sweat as you helped carry the last two bags.

"Okay!" Gabi ran over to you both as she skipped slightly ahead, stopping and turning to make sure you and Miguel were still following her.

A few minutes later you made it to the cabin.

You were stunned when you saw it. It wasn't just a simple cabin, but a large two floor cabin with a double door entrance. You realized this family camping site wasn't your run of the mill place. It must have cost a lot to stay here.

When Miguel opened the door and the three of you entered you were even more amazed by the interior design. It was as if the wood cabin was made for the heavens.

"Papa! Can we go to the kid center?" Gabi said from the stairs.

"I'm sorry princesa. We arrived pretty late. Everyone's probably back with their families having dinner. But I promise we'll take you first thing tomorrow." Miguel said as he set down everything in the entryway next to the things you brought in.

"Ok, papa." You saw the disappointment in her eyes despite her trying to hide it, which stung you heart.

"Hey Gabi. Have you ever made a fairy house before?" You say as you begin to unpack things like Miguel and put them in the right places.

"No, what's that." Gabi's interest peaked from your words, districting her from her sadness.

"Well, when I was little and use to go camping, my grandmother told me that fairies lived in the forests all around and that not all of them have homes. So with my brothers and grandmother we would find sticks, leaves, and acorn caps and build tiny houses for the fairies to live in."

"Really! Can we build one?" Gabi's eyes sparkled from your small story as she ran towards you from the stairs.

"Of course! We can build one right outside the cabin. But let's help finish unpacking with Papa and then we can build it."

Miguel smiled as he watched you and Gabi from the window building a tiny fairy house on the side of the giant tree a few feet from the cabin. His heart swelled every time you glanced over and smiled at him. Everytime he saw you it felt like he was falling for you all over again.

20 minutes later Gabi ran back into the cabin calling for Miguel to come outside to see the fairy house. "Alright mija, I'm coming." Miguel chuckled as he was led outside by his overly excited daughter. Stoping right in front Gabi, crouched on her knees as you stood up and Miguel wrapped an arm around your waist pulling you to his side as he kiss the top of you head.

"Look what me and Y/n built! This is where the fairies can get their mail from their friends. Look! Y/n made a roof that can be removed, so we can check on the fairies. here is the bedroom. There are two beds so that the fairy can have a sleep over with her friends. This is the dinning room where they eat. And here is a tiny toilet too!" Gabi giggled from her last sentence which melted both of your hearts. "How will we know they came?" Added Gabi as she looked up at you.

"When you see fairy dust scattered around the house, that means they were here."You words made Gabi's eyes light up as she got up and gave you and Miguel a hug together. With ease Miguel picked up Gabi with on arm as he directed you both back into the cabin for dinner.

After dinner and more chatter about the fairies, a yawning Gabi indicated that it was time to go to bed. Miguel picked her up as you turned off all the lights downstairs before all three of you made it up stairs where you entered the first bedroom. Already in her pjs you and Miguel tucked her into bed before saying good night. "Y/n?"

"Yes my baby bug?"

"Can we check the fairy house tomorrow morning?"

"Of course we can. Good night sweetheart. Have sweet dreams." You and Miguel both leave, closing her door before heading down the hall and around the corner to the master bedroom.

As you entered the room you gasped when you felt arms lift you up in a bridal position as Miguel carried you to the bed, laying you down on it.

"Miguel we have to get out of our clothes." You giggle as he wouldn't let you out of his hold. You turn to face him, already meet his gaze on you.

"Te amo, hermosa." Miguel brushed some strands of your hair behind your ear before leaning down to capture your lips, which you melted into. The kiss continued into a loving make out session. Lips on lips or on skin.

In a slight daze you somehow straddled his lap as you continue the semi-heated session. You give him on last kiss on the lips before siting up, still on top of him. You felt a starting erection poke your thigh as you straddle, his hand on your waist as he lightly moved your hips on him.

A mischievous thought popped up in your head. You were curious how much and how long you could tease him before you got in trouble. Last time you made him sexually frustrated you didn't get a wink of sleep all night and sore the for the rest of the week.

You moved your hips a little bit more, earning a small groan from his lips as you felt his erection grow, making you slip out a small moan. You continue like this for a little more before you unstraddle him and get off the bed.

"Cariño, come back here." Miguel huffed as he gave you a light glare for getting off him in the middle.

"Mhmm nope." You try to hid your smile as you begin to undress.

"Y/n, I'm warning you. Come back over here." Miguel's gaze scanned up  your body as you were only left in a matching pair of white lace underwear.

"Please, mi amor." You smiled when you saw his slight bothered state as you turned around to walk into the master bathroom to remove your makeup. Even before you could get your makeup remover you heard footsteps came your way before you could turn around you were thrown over Miguel's bare shoulder "Miguel." You chuckled as he carried you back to the bed where he gently threw you on on to your stomach. Miguel got behind you, before leaning over to whisper in to your ear.

"You know better than to test me, hermosa."

You wake up the next morning, feeling sore between your legs. You sit up, still groggy as you look outside the window to the beautiful view. You feel arms wrap tighter around your waist. Turning to look the the man next to you, you smile down at him as he places kisses up your side to your neck as he sat up next to you.

"Good morning."

"Good morning, mi amor. How did you sleep?" He smirked as you gave him an slightly annoyed look, before wiping it away with a kiss to your lips.

"I slept well. Luckily you were tired from driving up here. Or I think I wouldn't be able to walk today."

"Well, I would have gone easier if you didn't tease me like that." Miguel moved your legs to lay over his lap, lifting you to sit on his lap as he

leaned back on the bed frame. You wrapped your arms around his neck as you placed a kiss on his lips again. "I was thinking, after dropping Gabi off at the kid center that we go on a hike." Miguel said.

"Sounds perfect."

"Good. Make sure to wear a bathing suit."

"Ooo, ok. I can't wait." After relaxing in comfortable silence, being in each others arms more than enough you both take a shower, Miguel needing to carrying you as your legs were too sore to walk.

After getting dressed you both go downstairs where you both made breakfast together you noticed that little O'Hara was still upstairs asleep. Miguel went up to go wake her up and a couple minutes later he carried her down the stairs towards the kitchen.

"Good morning baby bug. How did you sleep?" You say as you place a kiss to the top of her head and placing a plate of scrambled eggs, sausage, and fruit in front of her.

"Good! Can we check the fairy house?" Pleaded Gabi.

"How about you eat your breakfast and then we can go check." Said Miguel as he passed you a cup of coffee, which you happily took.

"Ok!" Gabi began to eat her food fast.

"Gabi, don't rush eating. You can choke. Please eat slower." You worried.

"But what if the fairies are gone by the time I'm done?"

"Fairies wake up super early to go to work, so we won't see them sadly. But, I'm very sure they were there." You added.

After Gabi properly ate her food you helped her put on her shoes before the three of you walked outside into the fresh morning air. Gabi ran to the fairy house and took off the roof, a gasp leaving her before she jumped up and down with a wide smile on her face.

"They were here! They were here! Look! There's fairy dust! And the bed was used. And look! They left some food on the table!" Gabi pointed out with a big smile on her face.

"Wow, that's so cool." Miguel brought you close and kissed the side of your head, before whispering a thank you.

"Alright Princesa. Let's gets you ready so we can take you to the kid center." Said Miguel, which Gabi happily ran back into the house.

You helped put on Gabi's shoes as the two of you waited for Miguel. However, he came down the stairs on the phone, and annoyed look on his face. You give him a worried look for seeing him stressed. He walked over to you saying, "Peter, you know that I'm with my family upstate. What's happening?" His brows furrowed as he pinched the bridge of his nose with his hand, clearly frustrated by whatever was being said to him. You placed your hand in his empty one, giving him a gently squeeze to get his attention.

"One moment Peter. Are you ok, hermosa?" His looked quickly became soft and loving when his attention was on you.

"Gabi's getting a bit impatient to go to the kid center. I was offering to walk her over and get her settled there." You smile up at him.

"That would be great, thank you." Miguel placed a quick kiss to your lips and then a kiss to the top of Gabi's head before he went back on the call.

You and Gabi walked out of the Cabin, and following the signs walking over to the kid center.

"Y/n? Why isn't Papa coming with us?"

"He had to take an quick emergency call with work."

"Oh. That happens sometimes. Papa sometimes can't stop work from taking up all his time. But ever since you moved in he's been a lot better, which makes me really happy because I get to spend even more time with Papa." Gabi smiled up at you as she continued to hold your hand, walking to the kid center.

"That makes me happy that I was able to help."

"Papa loves you a lot. Like a lot. But I win, cause I love you most!"

"I love you the most too Gabi." You stop as you kneel down and pull her into a hug, which she happily accepts.

A few minutes passed by and you and Gabi made it to the kid center. As you entered the building you walked up to the front where a camp counselor of sorts greeted you with a warm smile.

"Good morning! Welcome to the kid center. Are you here to go on super cool adventures?" The camp counselor said as she looked at Gabi.

"Yeah!" Gabi smiled.

"Perfect! And what's your first and last name?"

"Gabi O'Hara."

"Welcome Ms. O'Hara. Let me talk to your mom and have her fill out a few forms for you and then you can join the rest of the kids." Your eyes widen slightly when you were mentioned as Gabi's mom. You didn't want to correct the women as Gabi didn't seem bothered by the mistake. And in  truth, you were bothered by it either. You did love Gabi as your daughter, even though you knew you aren't her biological mother. You hoped maybe she saw you at a mother figure.

After reading over the permission slip forms and signing them you handed them back to the woman.

"Perfect. Ok, Gabi, you can follow me."

You kneel down as Gabi gives you a hug.

"Papa and I will pick you up in a few hours. Have fun." You give her one last hug before she waves goodbye and walks with the camp counselor to the main area.

As you walked back towards the Cabin you felt like something was off. You felt the hair on your neck stand up. As if someone was watching you. Just to satisfy your nerves your turn back to see no one. You shrug if off, obviously you needed more coffee. You picked up the pace as the feeling wouldn't go away, as you sped walked all the way back to the Cabin, where you quickly unlocked the door and closed it behind you before locking it again. You look out the window to see a woman walk by. You didn't recall her walking behind you. Maybe it was just a coincidence. Your stomach dropped when you felt arms wrap around you, making you jump.

"Lo siento, cariño. I didn't mean to scare you. Y/n? Is everything ok?" Miguel asked, concern etched in his voice as he gave you a worried look.

"I'm fine. I just felt a bit off on my walk back. For some reason I thought someone was following me on my way back. But I think it was just my mind playing tricks on me." Your words didn't reassure your boyfriend as he opened the door to scan the area. He closed the door as he kept you in his arms to help calm your nerves.

"Would you like to stay in the cabin? We can watch a movie in the bedroom or living room."

Miguel offered.

"no, let's go on our hike. It'll be nice to enjoy nature. Plus, my big strong boyfriend can help protect me." You dramatically bat your eyelashes as you wrap your arms around one of his biceps, to which he chuckled as he took your chin and kissed you. "I'll make sure to protect you, mi amor."

You both changed into clothes to go on a nice walk as you both walked outside and begin your walk. You took Miguel's hand in yours to which he smiled leaned down and kissed you lovingly before you started your walk.

Ten minutes into the hike, was comfortable silence until Miguel decided to speak. "I've taken this hike once before. And I found something, which will be a surprise until we get there." Miguel grinned as he saw the pout on your face before you replaced it with a smile. "Well I can't wait to see what it is."

"I think I'm going to tell my parents at the Christmas party." You add which Miguel gave you a soft and warm smile. "I'll be there for you. Let's hope they take it well."

"I'm hoping so. But since it's a week away, I know it might be a lot, but I think we should have a plan in case it goes south."

"Like what?" Miguel's breath held waiting to your your words.

"Well, if they don't take it well they'll probably get upset and say things they'll regret. Maybe you take Gabi back home. I don't her having to experience anything bad, especially around Christmas."

"Y/n, I really want to be right with you. It's about us. I'm not going to leave you if it goes south." Miguel gives you a serious look, you sigh knowing he wouldn't let you do it by your self.

"I don't want Gabi to witness anything bad."

"And she won't. If it goes south we'll just leave. And to not be bothered, we'll spend Christmas in the city."

"The city? Where?"

"At my apartment. The one Gabi and I moved from to here. We left almost everything besides essentials. I'll have a Christmas tree delivered and set up."

"Well, that sounds like a plan. I hope it goes well. But honestly, I don't care what they think. I'll just be relieved to finally be able to show my love for you anywhere." You stopped, Miguel following right after as he smiled and brought you close to him as you both looked at each other in perfect silence.

"I can't wait to tell the world how much I love you."

You walk hand in hand in a comfortable silence, only talking when either of you point out something beautiful or interesting. Enjoying the walk, you didn't realize how far you walked until Miguel stopped.

"Close your eyes. Your surprise awaits." Miguel grinned. You smiled as you closed your eyes, before Miguel placed an arm around your waist and pulled you close so you he could guide you. After a minute you heard the thunderous sound of rushing water. Miguel stopped as leaned down lips against your ear as he said, "you can open your eyes now."

When you open your eyes, they widened, amazed by the gorgeous waterfall and swimming hole. The water was a beautiful crystal blue, something you though you would never see so up north.

"It's so beautiful. Thank you for showing this place to me." You turn to face Miguel as you give him a hug and kiss to the lips, thanking him for the surprise.

"I'm glad you love it, hermosa. Would you like to take a swim?" Miguel grinned after he saw you nod and smile.

"One little problem though."

"And what's that?"

"I forgot to wear a bikini. Guess I only have my birthday suit to wear." You giggle as you see lust cloud Miguel's eyes. You step away from him as you begin to shed your clothing. Only left in your panties you slipped them off before tossing them into the pile. You then walk into the water, relieved that it was warm, going in until your chest deep. You turn to face Miguel who was still on the shoreline, now removing his boxers, as his erect cock bounced out, relieved to be free from its restraints.

He walks into the water before making it right in front of you. You knew there was a stark height difference between you both, but standing at the same level of water, where your chest deep and his was still above made you even more self aware of it. Holding your waist and pulling you against him you feel his erection against your stomach, making your cheeks slightly red. Miguel leans down capturing your lips wis his. Not long were the kisses becoming more intense, as he moved his lips from you chin to your neck where he found that sweet spot. A moan escapes your lips as Miguel's hand move from your waist down to your thighs, lifting you up and wrapping your legs around his waist and arms around his neck for stability. A moan by you and a groan from Miguel came when he sunk you down onto his cock. Although you were plenty wet from the water, the lack of prep made you tighten around him, earning another groan from him.

"Hermosa, you have to loosen up a bit or I won't last much longer."

You moaned out loud as you tried to adjust to his size. As soon as he felt you were relaxed, he began to ram his hips up into you, You were in slight pain, but it didn't bother you as you were overcome with pleasure. As one of his hands held your hips in place, the other began to play with one of your breasts as he used his fingers to play with your nipple, making you gasp.

You lower your hand to your clit to help relieve some of your arousal. However, as soon as your fingers touched your sensitive area, Miguel snatched your wrist and moved it to your side as you groaned in frustration.

"Miguel." You whine as you lay your head back against his shoulder.

"Sorry, cariño. Not going happen yet. You just have to sit here and take my cock in this pretty little pussy of yours." Miguel whispered in your ear before kissing and marking up along your neck.

Your lips connect into a heated kiss. The water splashes around from the movement of both your bodies.

"This take me back to the time we first met. In that private pool back in Miami."

"At least now I know your mine and that this won't end tomorrow." Miguel said as he smiled against your lips before kissing you again.

"Please touch me Miggy."

"What was that hermosa?" Miguel chuckled as your rolled your eyes.

"Please Miguel."

" As you wish." Miguel lowered his hand as he began to rub your clit. A moan escapes you as you arch your chest against his.

"Cum for me." He whispered as your eyes rolled back from the overwhelming pleasure coursing through your body as you came from your high.

Miguel groaned as he felt your walls tighten around his cock. "You always feel so good, mi amor, I never want to leave." Miguel bucked his hips into you one last time before you felt him spill deep inside you. Miguel rode out his high before he removed himself from you, capturing your lips one last time.

Miguel found a place in the water to rest against as you both relaxed in the warm water basking in the beauty of your surroundings. After some time you both decided you needed to head back to take a shower and get changed before picking up Gabi at the kid center.

Getting dressed you walked hand in hand back to the cabin, where your both got in the shower to save time, and to maybe have another quick session before washing off and getting ready.

You both head and walk towards the kid center as you wrap yours arms around Miguel's bicep, to which he places a kiss to your cheek saying, “ I love you.” As you look up to him with a loving smile replying, “I love you more.”

When you arrive to the kid center you see other parents picking up their kids, walking in you see Gabi talking with a few other girls before spotting you and Miguel. She waved goodbye before running into your arms, as you pick her up.

“How was your day?”

“It was amazing! We played games in the grassy field, and we made s’mores. I ate two. And I told my friends that we built a fairy house, and that a fairy stayed there over night. They thought that was really cool.”

“Two smores! Are you going to be able to have one tonight?” Miguel said making Gabi’s eyes widen.

“Yes! I can still have more! I’m not full.”

“Ok princesa. I’ll trust you on this one. Let’s go sign you out.” As you carry Gabi you and Miguel walk to the camp counselor you talked to this morning.

“Hi Mr. And Mrs. O’Hara. Gabi had a really fun day. She told us about how she built a fairy house with her mom. Everyone loved it they were all built them too. And might make it a fun activity to do at the kid center.” Your eyes widen, when she mentioned you again being Gabi’s mom. It melted your heart to think that Gabi called you her mom to other kids. You wondered if she was too shy to call you mom. Maybe because you only have been living with them for almost 4 months. You glanced at Miguel when the counselor made the mistake, but you noticed his smile only widened by the comment.

After signing Gabi out, you set her down and she wanted to hold both your and Miguel’s hand as you walked back to the cabin, where Miguel decided to start making dinner while you helped Gabi wash up and change her clothes.

After dinner Miguel received a call and took it in the living room when you took all the dishes and began to wash them in the kitchen. You heard him end the call before turning on the cartoons on the tv for Gabi to watch before you heard his footsteps walk into the kitchen.

“Do you need any help with the dishes?”

“Nope, just have this last plate. Then I’m done.”

“The person I was on the phone with was real estate agent. I bought this cabin.” He said.

Your eyes widened turning to him. “That’s amazing. I thought this place was a campsite?”

“It is. But you can buy the properties and some of the land around it so we can expand it. It’s just been an amazing time up here this time around, and I want to make it an official tradition to come up here. Like a family place away from the hustle and bustle of Nueva York and the prying eyes of our neighborhood.”

“I think that a great idea. It’s so beautiful up here. It definitely is a nice place to go to get away from everything and everybody.”

“I think we should tell Gabi on Christmas. It’ll be one of her gifts. A gift for all of us.” Miguel smiles.

After you finish cleaning up the kitchen you spend the rest of the night watching a family movie, as you cozy up with Miguel on the couch with Gabi on his other side.

The next morning you all woke up early to pack and put everything in the car before driving back home. While packing things into the car with Miguel you felt that familiar off feeling, like someone was watching you. You decided not to bring it up to Miguel this time, not wanting to worry him as you thought it might have been your imagination.

As everyone got in the car and drove away, unnoticed by either you nor Miguel were brown eyes in another car nearby watching from afar.

————————————————————————

Hope you enjoyed it!💕

Tag List

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[fairytaleendingss]

Marauders Christmas Shopping Headcanons

So this is low-key inspired by my friend and I Christmas shopping the other day. We always joke that we're very James and Remus coded haha. Let me know any other ideas you have for this! Also if you'd like me to make more headcanons.

--

I feel like James is quite a chaotic person in general and I imagine Christmas shopping would be no exception.

One of James' main love languages is gifts and he loves buying things for people so this is his favourite Christmas tradition.

He rocks up to the shopping center with absolutely no plan, just vibes.

He's the kind of person to just follow his heart when it comes to presents and somehow he never misses. He just looks around until he finds something he thinks the person will like and makes an impulse purchase.

He probably gets distracted looking at something he wants for himself in the process.

Makes his friends wait while he tries on a bunch of clothes.

"James, you don't need to by that. It's literally about to be Christmas." "But Remus it's so cool!"

He's the kind of person who would think he found the perfect gift for someone but then see something else he thinks they'll like and just have to buy that for them as well.

Ends up buying like 4 presents for each person.

Thank god he has money.

Remus I feel is the polar opposite of that.

He's extremely thoughtful and probably plans out what he wants to get everyone in advance.

I feel like he'd probably even make notes throughout the year of things his friends and family mention they like/want so he can reference it later.

He's very methodical about his shopping. He knows exactly what shops he wants to visit and what he's going going to purchase.

He probably has a well-thought out budget as well as to what he's willing to spend on each gift.

He's a quick and efficient sort of guy and ends up getting all of his gifts in the first hour of the trip.

He then spends the rest of the time being dragged around by his friends (particularly James).

Unfortunately I don't think Sirius would be particularly into Christmas.

Because of everything with his family, it's never been a very nice time of year for him (until he went to live with James, that is.)

It wasn't until then that Sirius actually started enjoying the holidays.

So he's very new to the whole happy, wholesome Christmas thing.

He pretends to be annoyed about having to buy things for people but secretly he enjoys it.

He's a complete show off with presents. He always buys ridiculously expensive gifts for people and pretends it's nothing.

"Do you think she'd like that?" *points to a 24k gold, diamond necklace*

He'd get really bored after a couple of hours and start to complain, like how little kids do when their Mum drags them along for shopping.

He has absolutely no patience whatsoever.

He'd probably need to go on several trips before all his shopping is done.

He would just end up flirting with all the retail workers by the end of it.

He and James would probably do something stupid like knocking over a display or something and end up getting kicked out of the mall.

(Additionally, I feel like when Harry is born, he'd always spoil him on Christmas and Birthdays with insanely expensive presents from "Uncle Padfoot" that James and Lily would scold him for.)

Peter is an overthinker to his core.

I think Christmas shopping would stress him out.

He wants to get everyone the perfect present but he can't make up his mind about what he should by.

Probably makes the group go back to the same shops multiple times because he can't decide if he should buy that item he saw in there or not.

(Something all the boys would moan about)

Stares at an item for like 20 minutes umming and ahing over whether or not to get it for someone.

Remus and James try to help him decide but give him completely opposing advice which just confuses him more.

Remus: Do you remember them mentioning that they'd like something like that? Did you get them to write you a Christmas list?

James: None of that matters. Just go with your gut. When you see the right thing, you'll know.

Peter: aaaaaahhhh.

Finally buys something but then changes his mind 10 minutes later and returns it.

He'd end up leaving the trip with nothing and would have to come back and try again another day.

Lily, I imagine would be a very practical gift giver.

She and James would balance each other out because while James buys a lot of really fun, thoughtful gifts for people, Lily would buy them stuff they actually need.

She has go-to shops she visits every year.

She's been known to buy people things like household appliances, dishware, pieces of clothing or new sporting equipment (particularly for James.)

Everything she buys is really really good quality.

Although it's slightly less exciting than some might think, it's always very personalized and thoughtful.

I feel like Mary loves making people homemade presents.

That or she does something really personal like framing a picture of their friend group or making a scrapbook.

She's very sentimental and her gifts are as well.

I feel like she probably crochets things for people for some reason.

Marlene without fail, buys every single one of her friends a joke present.

She also probably cracks up laughing at their expression when they open it.

James always loves it.

One year she bought him an apron that said "May I suggest the sausage?" and he unironically wore it every time he was in the kitchen (much to Lily's dismay).

[luciathcv]

Niki reacting to YN wearing traditional Japanese wear? You're a great writer 🫶🫶🫶

kamakura, japan - nmr

summary: you visit kamakura for the first time with your japanese boyfriend and dress up in a kimono || warnings: none || genre: fluff || word count: approximately 600 || a/n: thank you so much for the request and the compliment!! I made this in the perspective of someone who isn't from japan so i hope that's okay with you & i hope you enjoy, pls send more requests!!

I was currently in Japan, exploring and enjoying the country with my boyfriend, Riki who had grown up here. Even before I had come with him to Japan, I could tell he was really excited about all of this, concocting ideas with his family about where he should take me and making a very long list of places to go with me.

Eventually, we had arrived in Japan and immediately he made sure our days were filled with exciting things, bringing me to some more tourist-popular areas and then some more local-popular areas.

On the second night of us being in Japan, he had suggested we go to Kamakura, Japan; an ancient capital in Japan where you could really explore and learn more about Japanese culture and explore the beauty of the country.

Of course, I was excited about the suggestion and instantly agreed to the idea. I mean, why wouldn't I want to learn more about the country's culture, especially since my boyfriend was from here.

The next day, we took the train to Kamakura. During the train ride, me and Riki had fallen asleep, getting in a quick nap as to fully enjoy the little day trip. When we arrived, we got off of the train and headed to one of the shrines. At the shrine, there was a place to rent a Kimono for the day. Riki had encouraged me to do so and though I felt a little shy about it, I did want to do it. I always found Kimonos beautiful and just so elegant looking.

He ended up convincing me, telling me that he'd get in one to so that I wasn't alone- although really I wouldn't be alone since there were a bunch of other people in Kimonos as well.

I got into the Kimono, got my hair done, my makeup done, and got taught the correct way to wear the clothing by the worker who had spoken to me in a mixture of English and Japanese which was very helpful.

I thanked the worker before leaving- having had paid beforehand for the rental. I walked out of the shop to see Riki, standing outside waiting for me. He was wearing a Kimono as well and it looked so good on him. It was beautiful, really.

When he looked up, he and I had made eye contact as he watched me walk over to him, "What do you think?" I shyly asked, hoping he'd think I'd looked pretty.

"You look beautiful." He said, practically looking down at me with heart eyes.

"You think so?" I asked, smiling up at him.

"I know so." He reassured me, looking me up and down but not in a lustful way, more in a way full of love and admiration.

"I'm really excited to see the shrine. I saw pictures online and it looks beautiful." I tell Riki as we started to walk towards the shrine.

"You're really going to like it. I've been here before when I was a kid." He tells me and I nod, listening to him as he explained what he remembered about it to me.

We spent the rest of the day exploring the area along with the beautiful culture of Japan. We then got on the train again and got ready for another long train ride back to his family's home. While in the train, at least before I ended up falling asleep, I already was thinking about how excited I was to explore more of the country tomorrow. I realized, though, that right now, I should enjoy the present moment and the day I had just had.

ᥫ᭡ link to my masterlist

[hils79]

Hils Watches Matz Travel Vlog - Part 1

It's been a very weird weekend.

I went to Manchester to visit my sister and it's the first time I've been back since I saw Ateez there a couple of weeks ago. Post-concert bues is definitely a thing, but I wasn't prepared for how hard being back would hit me emotionally. As soon as I got off the train the arena was right there. But there were no Atinys giving away freebies and no general buzz of anticipation and excitement.

I hopped on a tram and saw that the lunar new year lanterns that Wooyoung posed with were still up. Then I went past a bunch of the shops and restaurants we visited while we were there and I legit started tearing up.

I'm sure at least part of it was because shark week and general tiredness but I wasn't expecting to get so emotional over the whole experience.

And then while I was away, going back to the topic of this post, the Matz travel vlog dropped but I couldn't watch it because it's over an hour long and I was visiting family.

But I'm home now and ready to watch it. And because I need somewhere to scream about all my feelings I've decided to make this your problem and liveblog it.

I haven't been fussed about avoiding spoilers so I've seen a few screenshots and gifs but nothing major.

So lets accompany Hongjoong and Seonghwa on a trip to the Star Wars wedding location in Italy. I'm sure this won't be romantic and ridiculous at all.

FFS even the opening credits look like an old married couple's honeymoon home video

Hongjoong making sure we all know Seonghwa isn't late for their date

This is just reminding me of when @storkmuffin was doing commentary on the lego live and said Hongjoong kept praising himself. Yes, baby, you are very good at toast.

Seonghwa hasn't even sat down yet and Hongjoong is making sure he gets his coffee

Sweetie, you look like you were carved out of marble by Michaelangelo himself

You can tell from Hongjoong's amused smile that he is used to this nonsense

Orders coffee for Seonghwa without prompting. I'm fine.

I'm not going to dwell too much on their relationship with food because it honestly just makes me sad.

Aww Hongjoong saying he prefers to be around other people and he gets sad when he has to work in his studio alone. I remember him saying something similar on Fromm a few months back. I think they were flying somewhere as a group after some time off during which Hongjoong had done a bunch of solo projects. He was saying it was nice to be at the airport with the others instead of just by himself.

Oh, good. I thought Seonghwa was going to skip breakfast after saying he ate a lot the night before.

Haha! Seonghwa accidentally put sugar on his eggs.

Hongjoong admitting he did some research on where they could go for the day. We all knew!

This is the opposite of the Lego live where Hongjoong was like 'I didn't wear my glasses because I thought you'd wear yours'

Hongjoong really isn't a morning person. And it's not even that early. He said they'd arranged to meet at 10am

Oh we have noticed!

Hongjoong be like 'I'm happy to just watch you do your thing'

JFC Seonghwa

Apparently you're not allowed to say YouTube on a YouTube video

God, are they like this all the time? Just kidding I know they are.

Poor Hongjoong is stressed already and they haven't even got to the train station yet

This is honestly so fascinating. I imagine most of the time their staff arranges everything they want to do for them so they don't have to worry about things like standing on a train for an hour because there's no seats.

Just like me when I'm travelling, especially in a country where English isn't the main language.

It's funny because when we did our Ateez trip we had one extrovert who was always 'I'll just ask someone' and two introverts who were like 'we can look it up on our phones/figure it out without speaking to someone'

And yet you still look great

Aww! Seonghwa being able to relax because Hongjoong has planned everything. I can relate. Usually I'm the one doing the planning and organising so when I don't have to it's great.

Oops apparently I'm at the image limit already and I've only watched 20 mins of this. Oh well, see you in a bit for part 2!

Part 2

[tojisbbygworl]

Open House - Toji Fushiguro x Black!Reader - FFL Series

Summary: Toji was never one to go to open houses; he found them useless and a waste of time, money, and energy. Unfortunately for him, his lovely new wife was adamant on attending. Toji - 29, You - 26, Megumi - 9

Characters: Toji, Megumi, Yuuji

Words: 3,894

Tags: Family/Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Suggestive Content (bcs Toji can’t help himself), Toji’s a Good Dad

Disclaimer: This work is part of a Black!Reader x Toji series I started called Fushiguro Family Life. It's basically a slice of life series with you, Toji and Megumi. None of them are in order and can be read on their own unless stated otherwise.

AO3 Version

My AO3

Series Masterlist

Main Masterlist

authors note: Heyyyyyyy everybody! Very happy that I finally finished this. I love how it ended up and I hope y'all will like it as well! I hope Toji isn't unlikeable here, part of the reason it took so long. Where they live is not specified, but it is heavily based on American culture, so the way Megumi's school is set up is based off of American elementary schools. Okay, I think that's all. Enjoy!

“I can’t wait for my mom to see my project. Ms. Ieiri said I had the best one.”

“She only said that because she didn’t want you to cry like you always do, Miwa.”

Megumi snickered at Yuuji’s jab. They were on the bus finally going back home after a long school day. Him and Yuuji sat together, Yuuji doing most of the talking to the other students like usual.

“I can’t wait for the butterflies to hatch,” Yuuji said excitedly. “My dad’s gonna love them.”

“Butterflies don’t hatch, stupid.” Miwa threw a balled up piece of paper at him. “They sprout.”

“Nuh-uh!”

“Yeah-huh!”

“Hey, Megumi,” The boy looked up at the seat in front of him. Yuta Okkotsu peered down at him over the top. “Is your dad coming to see the butterflies?”

He was referring to the class project. All of 4th grade was learning about the process of metamorphosis and the school had a raffle to see which class won the opportunity to care for a bunch of caterpillars and get to see them as butterflies. Their class won and their teacher decided to showcase the butterflies at the school’s quarterly open houses.

Megumi gingerly shook his head. “Dad never comes to open houses.”

“But you were the one who watched their temperature everyday! So like, you basically made them.” Yuuji stops his argument with Miwa to interject.

All Megumi could do was shrug before the bus finally reached his stop. They all waved goodbye to him as he hopped off with a few other kids. Walking down the street to his house, the smile that was on his face began to drop. While he loves his dad, he wishes he would be more involved in his schooling. On field trips he saw his friends’ parents be volunteer chaperones and whenever the school had events, like the semester kick off, their whole families would be there. His dad didn’t seem to care about those things. He only ever asked him if he did his homework, only emailed the teacher about grades, and only went to parent-teacher conferences which he despised.

His new mom, you, wasn’t really involved either. Megumi doesn’t blame you though. He’s sure you just don’t want to overstep any boundaries or make anyone uncomfortable despite his bio mom not really caring. Actually, his mom didn’t care about anything he did either. Not even his grades or behavior in school. Huh. Maybe that’s why dad divorced her.

Megumi’s got to see those butterflies no matter what it takes. He should talk to you about it. Maybe he can convince you. Because Mom and Dad aren’t going to be moved.

He sees you sitting in your car in the driveway. You usually do get home whenever Megumi does. This would be the perfect time to talk to you without his love sick dad interfering and trying to get your attention. You seemed to be eating something, so you weren’t paying attention to your surroundings. He taps on the door and you look up, frantically trying to hide your food.

When you realize it’s Megumi, you relax. You unlock your door and he opens it up. “Hey, baby,” you tell him endearingly.

He smiles widely at you. “Hey, Y/N.” He looks down at your lap to see a Chipotle bowl sitting in your lap. You were almost done with it. “You got Chipotle?”

“I had it for my lunch but I didn’t finish it,” you explain, taking another bite. “I want to eat it before your dad sees it so he doesn’t try and get any.” Megumi giggles. His dad does have a bad reputation of stealing his and your food. “You can have some, though.”

Megumi hops in the car and closes the door, taking the bowl from your hands. He eats a few bites and hands it back to you. The both of you continue to exchange the bowl, finishing it quickly. It’s when you two are at the last few bites that you speak up. “So, how was school today?”

“Really good! We got our projects back today.”

“The one where you draw the metamorphosis cycle?”

Megumi nods and swallows the food in his mouth. “Uhm, I actually wanted to talk to you about something.” You get a worried look on your face and he quickly dismisses it. “No, it’s nothing bad. I just…uhm…here.” He reaches into his book bag and pulls out a folder. In the folder, he pulls out a sheet of paper and hands it to you. Looking at it, you gasp in excitement. It was an RSVP slip for the coming open house.

“You want me to go to your open house?” You ask him happily. Megumi blushes and nods.

“Only if you want to,” he quickly says.

“Of course I do, honey!” You pulled out a pen from your purse and quickly wrote your name. And then you wrote Toji’s. Megumi’s smile dropped and he gulped. You looked over at him. “What’s wrong? Do you not want your dad to come?”

“I…I do. It’s just…dad…doesn’t want to come.”

You raised a brow. “Oh?”

Megumi scratched his head. “He thinks they’re a waste of time. He only goes to conferences and stuff.”

You get a look of realization on your face. “Oh. Is that why I never hear anything about school?” Megumi nods. You become deep in thought and your brows start to furrow. “Hmph. He won’t think that for long, Megumi. I promise.” You hand the paper back to him and he puts it in his folder, just slightly anxious about what the future may hold. But, you were very excited too. You also hand him the bowl to finish and excitedly, he takes it.

Just before his last bite, there’s a slam on his window. You and Megumi look up at the giant hand belonging to Toji. You still looked irritated.

Megumi rolls down the window. “What do you want, old man?”

“Hey, I’m still in my 20s,” he answers.

“Barely!”

“What the hell are you two doing in here, huh?” He asks. He looks down at his son’s hands. He jerks his head to the side and stares at you incredulously. “So you got Chipotle for the both of you and didn’t want to bring me any?”

You gave him a hard blink, still annoyed by what Megumi just told you. “You don’t deserve a bowl.” You say, half jokingly.

“What did I do?” He asks. You don’t answer, instead you goad Megumi to finish it and exit the car. Toji watches his son eat the last bite and smile at him, rolling the window back up and opening the door. Megumi hands Toji the trash and walks inside with his stepmother leaving his butt hurt dad in the driveway.

-

It’s past 9 when you enter Megumi’s room to check on him. You knock a few times to make sure he hears it just in case he has any headphones in. He does and you hear some shuffling before he finally shouts, “Come in!”

You open the door to the dark room with only his bed being lit up by his night light which you have sworn to secrecy to never tell his friends that he still needs it. You smile at him snuggled up in his sheets. “Did I wake you?” You ask him, already knowing the answer. Megumi shakes his head.

“Okay. Good night then.” You tell him, blowing him a kiss.

“Goodnight, Y/N,” he tells you, ready to whip out his switch that was hiding under his pillow when the door closes. “Oh, wait, Y/N?”

You enter back into the doorway. “Yes?”

Megumi hesitates to ask you, but he gathers up his courage. “Is dad really going to come to the open house this time?” he asks.

He relaxes when you give him your sweet smile. “I promise he will,” you tell him.

With that Megumi nods and turns over leaving you to close his door and head to your own room, already knowing Toji’s going to have a time trying to wake him up tomorrow. He really thinks he’s slick pretending that he doesn’t play on his switch when he should be asleep, but you can always tell when he wakes up the next day, groggy as all hell, looking like he could drop any minute.

When you finally enter your room, your darling husband is there to await you. His large body is spread across the bed, waiting for you to get in with him. He grins at you with his hands behind his head shifting his lower body down. “Hey, beautiful,” he winks at you stupidly.

Whereas any other day you would fall for his charm, you were not amused by him. You ‘hmph’ and walk to the other side of the bed where you use all your strength to throw the rest of his big body ass on the opposite side and fall into the mattress. Toji, who was finally fed up with the animosity you’ve been having towards him all day, sits up and looks at you.

“Okay, what’s the problem?” he asks. “You’ve been mad at me since we got home. You even let Megumi eat the ice cream you said I could have.” He sounded so whiny, you couldn’t help but giggle at his ridiculousness. “So you’re just being a brat for no reason?”

“No,” you finally answer. You shift your body around to face him and he wraps his arm around your torso to kiss you. “I am upset with you.”

“But why? What did I do?” he asks.

You sigh and sit yourself up on your elbow. “Megumi told me something interesting.”

Toji began to think the worst. He thought the kid had let one of his deep dark secrets slip, like when you still lived on your own and Toji would hang onto his phone like an addict just waiting on a text from you. “Oh, yeah?” He played it off.

You nodded. “He told me you don’t like coming to fun events for school. Like field trips and parties. And open houses…” you trailed off.

Toji narrowed his eyes. “Open houses are not fun. Did he bother you about that shit today?”

You slap his chest. “He did not bother me, he asked me sweetly and I said yes.”

Toji scoffs. “Well, you have fun with that-“

“And you’re coming too.”

Toji’s jaw hangs open as he looks at you in disbelief. “What do you mean I’m coming too?”

“I signed your name up on his little RSVP paper, and-“

“Babe,” he says exasperated. You glare at him, not appreciating how much of a baby he was being. Honestly, if he was any more dramatic it would give you the ick for days. “Come on,”

“Wha-, you come on!” You say disappointed. “What is wrong with you? It’s just an open house.”

Not wanting to argue with you anymore, Toji sighs and gives up. He knows there’s nothing he could say to keep him from going, and he would hate to disappoint you any more than you already are. He kisses your forehead and holds your cheek. “Okay, baby. I’m sorry. I’ll go.”

You still weren’t satisfied. You knew he was only saying that because he didn’t want to upset you anymore, not because he had a change of heart. But, you got what you wanted, there’s no point in stretching things out. So you kissed his lips and smiled at him. “Thank you, baby.”

You were ready to sleep, but of course, he took that as an invitation. He smirked at you and leaned in for another kiss which you happily gave him. Then, he took more and more from you, squeezing you closer to him. He moved his hands down your body pushing your torso into his and sticking his tongue in your mouth. You squeal and pull away giggling at him. “Babe-,”

“Shh, come here.” He whispers, attacking your neck immediately afterwards. You stifle your moan by biting your lip. You knew you were getting worn out tonight. Good thing you don’t work tomorrow morning.

-

It’s the night of the open house and the school is bustling with parents, students, and staff alike. There’s a general welcome area with information about upcoming school events, and any questions that parents may have along with snack tables. You were walking right behind Megumi who was excited. Even though he was perfectly calm and walking leisurely, you could see from the small smile on his face that he was happy.

Toji could see it too. He was walking behind the both of you, not too far away. He’d never seen Megumi more relaxed or ready to leave the house before. It was weird.

Megumi led his parents to the 4th grade corridor where he pointed out various class projects that littered the walls in front of each classroom. “Mr. Geto’s class made this really cool honeycomb project. They were all given a hexagon and drew their own bees on it.” He explained to you. You oohed and aahed at everything he pointed out. He seemed to want to tell you about all the projects his friends made as well.

Before you all got to his class at the end of the hall, you looked around for your giant of a husband and found him practically dragging his feet towards you. You glared at him which made him roll his eyes and pick up the pace. Quickly you looked at Megumi sighing in relief that he didn’t notice.

“Oh, sweetie,” you say to him when you all reach Ms. Ieiri’s room. “Did you guys not have a class project? What about the metamorphosis thing?”

Megumi grins at you. “That’s on the wall inside. Our project was really cool and special. You’ll see.”

With that, you all walked inside and took your seats. Megumi sat you all around his desk, with him getting up to talk to his friends when they arrived too. Yuuji was the most excited to see him. “Megumi!” He shouted running over to him. Megumibarely had time to get up before he was practically tackled. “You’re here!”

The pink haired boy got off of him and smiled at you while holding his arms out. “Hi, Mrs. L/N.”

Miwa rears her head out of nowhere taking the hug you were going to give Yuuji. She sticks her tongue out at him. “It’s Mrs. Fushiguro now, dummy.”

“Don’t call him dummy!” Nobara, who also just walked in, scolds.

“You should hear how she talks to me on the bus,” Yuuji interjects. Megumi, quiet as ever, is just happy to be here.

So are you. The kids are hilarious and make you giggle. But you shouldn’t be getting entertained by a bunch of children, you should be speaking with your husband. You turn to talk to him, only to see him knee deep in his phone, leaning against the chair like no one’s business.

You scoff. “You could pretend to be interested,” you lean over and whisper to him.

“Hasn’t even started yet,” he responds, not taking his eyes off the screen. You roll yours. You guess he’s right, but it’s the principle of it all.

At 8:00 on the dot, Shoko claps her hands to get everyone’s attention. “Okay everyone, we’ll be starting now so please take your seats.” You give Toji a sharp glare. He glances up at you, rolls his eyes again, and puts his phone away.

Shoko starts off with a welcome and a thank you. From then she wastes no time eager to talk about the assignments and fun projects that the kids have done. She seems like she’s rushing, and you don’t really understand why until you remember the ‘special project.’

“The children cut out, pasted, and colored in the cycle of metamorphosis which they all absolutely killed,” she starts another round of applause which everyone joined in for. Everyone except Toji.

If he looked as though he didn’t want to be there, that would be correct. He did not want to be there at all. He was looking around lazily at all the projects and Megumi’s own caught his eye every time. It was cute…but that’s all it was to him.

He really didn’t need to be here. At all. But you felt as though he did. Why? Why couldn’t it have just been you? Megumi has amazing grades, outstanding behavior, and perfect attendance. He has good friends and doesn’t get bullied, what else is there to talk about? At least, that’s how he sees it.

He’s so busy sulking that he failed to see his wife giving him a death stare. You were over his piss poor attitude and was ready to stick your foot in his ass. When Toji finally looked towards the front of the class, he saw the steam leave your ears and nostrils and gulped. You turned around and whispered into Megumi’s ear. Then, without bringing too much attention to yourself, you hit Toji’s shoulder and walk out the classroom, with him following suit.

The both of you walked a good distance from the class into the hallways where it was mostly empty. You stop to look at him and he leans against a wall. “What’s going on?” You ask him.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean why have you been so…I don’t know…disconnected tonight?” You raise your arms in frustration. “What was the point of us coming here if you’re not going to pay any attention?”

He lifts himself off the wall. “You know, that is a good question.” You fold your arms. “What is the point of bringing me here? In fact, I’m still not sure what the point of being here is either.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m saying that I hate coming to these things because they never talk about anything important.” He finally says. “Just things that they do for fun in class. I don’t need to know about that.”

You shake your head at him. “Why are you so disinterested in Megumi’s schooling?”

“Now you’re putting words in my mouth.” He holds his finger up at you. He thought he was making himself clear, but he’d be damned if you were going to accuse him of being a dead beat. “I care about Megumi’s education, but this other shit, cute projects and festivals, those aren’t important.”

As you try to piece together your thoughts, he finalized his opinion. “Megumi is a good student. That’s all that matters.”

Finally, you let out a sigh. “You know what, you’re right,” you start, shocking your husband. “The stuff on the side isn’t important in the grand scheme of things. But…it is important to Megumi.”

Toji opens his mouth, but quickly realizes he doesn’t have a response. “Have you looked at him at all tonight?” You ask. “Have you ever seen him so energized? He’s happy.”

Have you ever wondered why he thinks you’re so boring?” Toji jerks his head back. Where did that come from? “It’s because you’re only into the boring shit. Grades and behavior marks are boring, babe. Drawing, arts and crafts, games, music, candy, the zoo; those are all fun. And Megumi loves that, so we have to love it too.”

“I-“

“He was so excited that you were coming tonight. They have something special going on that he really didn’t want to miss. Megumi wants you here, baby. And, I bet he’ll be an angel now.”

Toji looks at the ground and thinks about what you said. You were right, Megumi was very happy tonight. And he starts to realize something; he’s only ever seen Megumi’s homework and test grades. He hadn’t seen an arts and crafts project or a drawing he made since preschool where that was all they did. Megumi thinks that- no. He knows that his father doesn’t care about that. And that thought…hurts.

He didn’t care, but he’ll start now.

“You’re right,” he tells you, even though you definitely already know. “I guess…I never liked this kind of shit when I was a kid. I didn’t really have great friends and my family never cared either.” He looks up at you. “I tried really hard to make sure Megumi didn’t grow up like I did, I think I overlooked a few things.”

“But, you’re an amazing father, baby. Megumi loves you, even though you are boring,” you jest. Toji laughs warmly and approaches you. He kisses your lips and pulls you in for an embrace.

He loves you; so much. You’re so caring and mindful of his son. He knew you would be a great stepmother. He couldn’t wait to officially give you that title when you finally said your vows only last year.

“Let’s go back before we miss the surprise.”

You gasped when Shoko finally talked about the butterfly project. They were gorgeous with orange wings and yellow tips, native to the region. They were currently inside a blue tent with the keeper. Since Megumi had the most important job as the temperature keeper, a fact that got a pat and a head rub from his father, your family, along with the Itadori’s, got to go in first.

Megumi and Yuuji couldn’t contain their excitement for a second and had to be scolded to sit down by their parents. You sat next to Toji, a butterfly landing in your locs that were currently Toji’s favorite color, Cajun Spice. One lands on Megumi’s and Yuuji’s noses, making you squeal from how cute it was and leading you to pull out your phone to take a picture. Toji pulls out his as well, snapping one of you before the butterfly has a chance to fly away. Luckily, many of them had the same idea and your hair was covered in them. You were so beautiful, they could pass for actual hair accessories. Toji took a picture of you smiling.

You all laughed when they started landing on him, the entire tent cackling when he was covered with them. His miffed face added to the atmosphere, and you took as many pictures as you could.

When it was all said and done, you all began walking back to the car. You ran to the bathroom, telling the boys not to wait up. So, it was Toji’s and Megumi walking into the parking lot.

It was quiet for a second, Toji thinking about all the ways he could make it up to his son and looking at the upcoming events flier to see one that may interest him. Suddenly, he feels a smaller body on his legs and torso. It was Megumi giving him a hug.

“Thanks for coming, dad,” he says quickly, the sound almost completely muffled by Toji’s shirt. He gets off of him just as quickly, thankful that it was too dark to see his red face. Toji thought the same.

“You’re welcome.” He says back, the both of them hopping into the car and staying quiet pretending the other doesn’t exist.

After a few minutes of silence, Megumi speaks up. “Can this please not be the only time ?” He asks his father.

Toji smiles to himself. “I promise it won’t.” With that, you finally enter the car, the 3 of you driving off happy as can be.

ending a/n: I hope you all enjoyed that! I really wanted to make it clear that Toji isn't a bad father, he does care and he cares in his own way that isn't detrimental to Megumi's being either. And, I wanted to give insight to what yours and Megumi's relationship looks like and how Toji feels about it. The next story should not take as long to come out I promise. Y'all don't understand this one was MONTHS in the making I started this series in March LMAOO! Also, I've went ahead and made a form to sign up for the taglist. It'll be open probably indefinitely as I don't see myself officially stopping the series anytime soon. If there's ever a hiatus, it'll be because I need to think of more ideas.

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[abbysimsfun]

Sims In Bloom: Generation 2 Pt. 44 (A Nephew and a Wedding!)

Making the most of a rainy autumn, Heather travelled to Henford to meet River and Cassandra's son, Michael, before he was even a week old.

She marvelled at her tiny nephew while he slept. "It's incredible, Riv! That's your kid!"

"He's pretty amazing, isn't he? I can't believe he's finally here."

Heather had arrived with first-time grandmother, Bella Goth, who always looked incredible. Even now that her jet black hair had faded to grey, she dressed like she could stop traffic everywhere she went.

"He has my brother's chin," she said, glancing wistfully upon her grandson as he woke from his nap. Baby Michael had been named for Bella's brother, who died in a motorcycle crash at the age of 32.

Bella was delighted to meet her grandson, but memories of her older brother still made her sad. He’d been gone for over twenty years, but he was her big brother - the only person she regretted leaving behind in Sunset Valley when she and Mortimer got married.

Cass cradled her new son. "I know how much you miss him. I wanted to honour his memory, and when he was born, we thought he looked like a Michael. Are you upset?"

Bella pushed forth a smile. "No, my goodness. My brother would have been thrilled to know his name lives on." Cass carefully studied her mother's face. "I know Michael's death triggered the depression that led to my disappearance, but I'm a stronger person now. I want to see my grandson grow up, and I have plenty to keep my mind busy. Diego keeps talking about taking a trip, and your brother's wedding is next month."

"Maybe Alexander and Lydia will give you more grandkids soon," Heather suggested sweetly as she cuddled Michael in her arms.

"You know she doesn't even want a wedding?" Bella smiled. "I told Lydia there was no chance my son would elope at Brindleton Town Hall, but she doesn't want seating, because she doesn't want an audience. She doesn't want a wedding dress, and doesn't want Alexander in a tux. The guests will be more dressed up than they are!"

"If it's what she wants, won't it still be beautiful?" Cass saw the world in such a romantic way.

"She wants an altar made of palm leaves! In our mansion! The aesthetic has me gasping! But she says the only part of the wedding she's actually looking forward to is her honeymoon in Sulani. All she cares about is marrying Alexander, not showing off for a bunch of guests she doesn't know."

"I think that's sweet," said Cassandra.

"A part of me was mortified! But a bigger part of me wishes I'd had the guts to stand up to Mortimer's parents when I was thrown into the deep end of the society scene as his photogenic new bride all those years ago. I really like her."

Heather and her siblings were all invited to the big day – a simple and phoned in ceremony (by the Watcher!) at the Goth family mansion in Brindleton Bay.

(I just wanted to make sure they didn't break up or something so I rushed it, quick and dirty. They're a side-side household at the moment even though I've tentatively plotted some of their future in my notes, but sometimes I just want to play and not do all this set up. And I'll shamelessly try to excuse it with storytelling every time.)

Surprisingly, no one complained about sitting on the floor for the ceremony. And even though it was raining, Heather chatted with Holly outside in their boho-style dresses.

"That colour looks great on you," Holly said, eyeing the purple dress Heather had chosen from the shop with almost no thought.

"Thanks, but I don't know where I might have a chance to wear something like this again." (The game picked it at random but I like how the colour nods to Gen 3)

"Maybe you should wear it with Conrad somewhere."

"We're not really a dressy couple," she said. "All my clothes get covered in whatever Ash gets his hands in then wipes on my shirt. If he wasn't at his dad's this weekend, I'm sure the dress would already have at least three stains."

Holly laughed, shaking her head. "You're so unflirty, sis. I don't know how you have the hottest man on the planet practically begging to move in with you."

"I'm taking him home to Henford soon. I really want him to meet everyone, but I'm so worried it won't go well."

"Why wouldn't it go well? Didn't you say he wanted to come with you today but couldn't get away from work?"

"I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop, that's all."

"What, like he's secretly working for the Landgraabs in some elaborate scheme to steal your code for your next mobile app?" She laughed at the thought, but Heather would be lying if she said the possibility had never crossed her mind, even once, in the months since she'd known him.

"I think it's more that if it doesn't go well, it would hurt too much."

"Then don't overthink it. You know no matter what, you'll always have us."

As hard as it was to take Holly's advice, Heather spent the next few weeks focused on her clinic to keep her mind off her relationship fears. ->

<- Previous Chapter | Gen 2 Start | Gen 1 Summary | Gen 1 Start

NOTE: Lydia Kim-Lewis (now Goth!) is the youngest of three daughters of Eric and Alice. She's also Hazel Nesbitt's best friend since childhood, which is why the family-focused wedding had so many Nesbitts, too. For those who like updates on townies and premades, eldest Olivia married Imran Watson and they have three kids, and Spencer of course married Everett (and they have Greyson and Jett). Spencer and Lydia were both born in-game.

[zenkor123]

WIP

But Tong and Leeg have been listening to everything  “Bullshit,  Finnick injured himself rather than be seperated, you mean nothing to catpiss, she  only pisses for herself” 

“I hope that is true, having a  lover mutt sounds like hell on earth.”

“Did she ever visit you before you became a citizen”

“Not really,  except for after Finnick's wedding, she didn't see me that often, I mean when they had me train here for propos, she was glaring and stewing, complaining to Plutarch,  I just ignored her.   I also ate with her in the cafeteria, when she saw me it looked like she would spit out her drink, im not kidding. Dells also told me that she watched my rants  before her trip to the nut, she told me that my insane screeching “ripped her heart out” her words. Let's just say it hasn't gone well, today is the first day we've been civil to each other since my rescue. I don't know why she even visited me after Finnick's wedding or even bothered with Haymitch's updates. Did I answer your question?”

“Yes, she's a piece of work, we all know that” Tong says 

“I've said pretty horrible stuff to her, when she for some reason visited me I blasted her for the things she had to do to survive, which was pretty cruel of me to say. I've just been petty, and she seemed pretty devastated by the things I said to her. 

 

 

“Shallow teenage relationships aren't the same thing as real love, lovers don't abandon each other  in their time of need”

“yeah I know that's what Coin said”

“And Coin's right”

“I've thought about it alot, and went over all my interactions with her, I’m not  Katniss but she could just as well be grieving me, and it would look no different from not caring at all” 

“What does that mean?” leeg asks standing next to Tong

“Katniss is so young, I think she's 17,and she's already been in the games twice, being the Mockingjay must be a huge burden on her. If she had a mutt lover, the very person who once loved you would no longer know who you are. He now  tries to kill you and is set off by your name, the mutation has no cure. If we were lovers I would know all her insecurities, so I would know  what buttons to set her off. I'm not saying we were ever lovers, good thing it's just a scenario.”  Peeta brushes the air with his hand. 

Leeg is agitated “what a bunch of crap! Here in 13 we call people like Katniss adults, the Crappingjay already hunted for food back in 12 and treats Prim like a daughter”

Tong puts his arm around Leeg “yeah she's one cold bitch, when you had no use for her she discarded you like garbage. I think Gale is just her fuckboy, you have no idea if she's ever had a lover or not, but the anti social deviant sure has benefited from all the men in her life”

Peeta laughs “Did you get this from my Jackered rants by any chance?”

“No”

“Well ok, a place like 12 is marked by desperation, everything is transactional there. After her father died she had to provide for her family, trust me I know a natural manipulator when I see one and Katniss is no manipulator. She just wanted to survive and save her loved ones.” 

“That's very different from 13 we aren't transactional here,  I would never abandon Leeg, Finnick didn't abandon Annie after she was hijacked. Before you go on about poor poor catpiss I want to compare her to you”

“To me?”

“Yeah you” Leeg says, sucking Tong's thumb.  “she abandoned you because she was always immature, if she was hijacked she would have just died, it takes strength of character to recovery to the extent you have” 

Peeta flushes “thanks” 

Leeg begins talking  “No one can name anything you two have done without performing with a gun to your heads? Acting in love is only the same to the Capitol, so your relationship wasn't real anyway. Katniss was never willing to put a drop of effort into you, not even when you were making progress and your rants stopped. Why would she? And what she said to Coin was fucked up, its just not something a grieving person would say.  I can't wait for her to leave the bathroom so we can point our training lasers at her.” 

Tong says “Yeah I love   roasting catpiss. Defender of the helpless my ass, If someone was hurt  I have no doubt you would run to the persons aid” 

Peeta says “Don't do that, I'm fine, it’s my recovery not hers, I don't need her, the Star Crossed Lovers was a fake, she was backed into a corner and made to perform for sponsor food. If it was real I would have trouble figuring out if my emotions were real or it was all an act but anyway, our scenario. “

“Yeah our scenario” Leeg says

“So unlike the Star Crossed Lovers Katniss does not need Gale, it's a relationship of equals, I think she and Gale are the real star crossed lovers and I wouldn't be surprised if me and Haymitch were simply feeding her lines.”

Leeg shakes her head her long hair gets  into Tongs face “It's very transactional, they were business partners, he cares about him more than you she rushed to assist him in the propo “broken threads”  where he talked about his flogging but I must say I must say, in your second games, the Mockingjay really had us fooled during the beach"

Peeta says “Yeah that woman can't act, she did say she wanted to die in that arena for me, but I still don't see it. Maybe she had other reasons I don't know” 

“It must be very confusing” Leeg says “to you” 

“Yeah, there's lots of lies in the games, if I was able to ask Katniss which are lies and truth, she probably doesn't even know, she didn't give me a clear answer she said “That's what everyone says” I think based on her using that line today she's just uncomfortable talking about such things, but her answer seems pretty honest.”  

Tong says “Really Peeta? My 2 credits:  it's called the hunger Games, for a reason though only she knows  ”

Peeta sighs “ I first was  mad, then I felt a longing at times for it to be real,  but I was still mad, I went back and forth between the two,now I feel disgusted when I rewatch the lovey dovey games. So much lies, I'm glad I don't have to touch it anymore”

 Leeg says "your compassion is why she never will deserve you, we're all talking about her moral backbone which she has none"

Peeta laughs “You think too highly of me” he says before swallowing.

“You know she does not have to do anything, it's not her responsibility to care for me. When I think of this scenario everything about my mutation now becomes personal.”

“Huh” Leeg says

Peeta explains “If it was real, then I didn't simply strangle a target, she fell into  a trap laid by a lover mutt, who then  torments her psychologically at every turn. But she doesn't have to do shit, I'm Peeta the  mutt, not Peeta Mellark,  she knows this, why would she want to help me?” 

“If Katniss was hijacked, and attacked you how would you be treating her?” Leeg shouts indignantly 

Your not letting up on this are you”

“Nope”

“Ok,so I think I would stay with her for longer as she screams about how I lied to her, she would accuse me of destroying district 12, I would try to reach her for weeks but she would keep ranting obscenities at me. Then during Finnick's wedding or I don't know if she would request my presence she would mention how I was a bastard or a runt, as those are called in D12 and how she would be better off if I was aborted and how I kept her down. No I think she would yell at me for forcing her into the Star Crossed Lovers, I was half baiting her and half questioning but she would know I was a drain on my family and as someone into family responsibility that would bother her. She would yell at me for how I got her into trouble by holding the berries out. Katniss isn't naturally a liar so she would hate me for being one and be conditioned to see me as a fake. I imagine after her capitol fun times her fiery side would hate that I was a Cray baby, their was a smallpox outbreak so drastic measures were taken to increase the population leading to me. My buffness would be scary to her.   I would then avoid her.” 

Katniss sure would be an interesting hijacking victim" Tong says

"I don't think Katniss has it in her to kill someone the way the capitol wants,  with her bare hands, fast before security comes during the target's moment of weakness.  Sure she's a creature of instinct, but she needs to be mentally present to kill with a bow, maybe they would just  sharpen her teeth like Enobaria, and make her nails really long and sharp."

Wouldn't that ruin the disguise? The idea is who would expect someone from the capitol dungeons to be strong enough to do anything? Leeg says

" Maybe they would Snow her nails,  with a lethal dose, so the scratch is fatal, Jacker venom would  already be in her bloodstream, so they could use that. If she resists the  small dosages  the capitol would  equip her with modified antibodies."

"Then she would handle our Tracker Jacker problem!" Leeg says.

So anyway, how's the  den in military sector going?"

Have I told you I really love your morphling bottles, the ones you made for the warrior den" Leeg said to Peeta

"Thanks!" Peeta says smiling

Leeg says "Never forget that your supposed lover and wife left you to fend for yourself. That's why children in 13 call her catpiss. Why the fuck does she deserve to be the Mockingjay?"”

Replying to Leeg Tong snorts, "It's not you, I think she'll get over whatever is bothering her" Tong replies .Tong and Leeg leave to refill their canteens.

[teaberrii]

Chapter 18: Interrupted

After ending a five-year relationship, you pour all your energy into work. Your latest assignment? Staying at a popular bed-and-breakfast to gather information. It should be a piece of cake... If only the owner isn't the man you scolded on the street.

Jing Yuan/You

Notes:

Cross-posted on Ao3

Female reader

Chapter index at the end of chapter one

This changes everything. Now, there are questions you have to ask. Does she know what happened to Caelus and Stelle? Have they ever met? Has she ever met the other woman? How did she find out about the pregnancy?

"...I hate that family," she says, breaking your thoughts. "But, I also hate my brother. I warned him about getting involved with anyone from that messed up family. He wouldn't listen, and look what came out of it? He trusted him way too much and wouldn't keep his goddamn mouth shut…" The more she rambles, the more heated she gets. "...He should've cheated after we got married." She scoffs. "At least I'd be entitled to some of his money."

“Did anyone ever threaten you to keep quiet about the affair?”

She scoffs. “I had to threaten him.”

No matter how much she reread the message, it wouldn’t change. She knew that. But she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the flirty exchange.

“...What are you doing?”

She turned around and saw the man who had proposed to her a few months ago. She stood from the bed and held out his phone.

“Who is this?”

She sensed it, felt it in her bones. He was no longer the man who she thought he was. That nonchalant look at the phone was something she'd never seen before. Who was he? What did he do with the man who adored and spoiled her? As he walked to the table and lit a cigarette, it  took every nerve in her body not to throw his phone at his face. Her mind was screaming; her face was probably red as a tomato. She was slightly shaking as she glared at him.

“You’ll be ruined," she seethed. "Once this gets out, your fucking reputation will be in the dumps.”

“She’s just a friend. You don’t need to get so worked up over nothing." He took a drag. "It’d be in your best interests.”

"...I thought I had the upper hand, but I later discovered that the messages were gone," she says. "I should've listened to my gut months ago that something was going on."

"Had he been asking you for financial support on the hotel?"

"...He did, and I was stupid enough to send money to him. It wasn't a lot, not enough to suddenly have an increase in quality and staff at least. It was strange that there was all this extra funding, but I shrugged it off because—hey—business was great. When I found out who the other woman was, it fucking made sense."

“Let me guess… He was using her like an ATM.”

“Gosh, how did you know? Anyway, I’d rather not talk about her.” Then, quietly, “It takes just one person to ruin a bunch of people’s lives.”

“...When did you find out about Caelus and Stelle?”

She hated being here, but it was just for one year. All she had to do was to make it through this one year. She didn't want to go when she was asked to relocate to a hospital in Xianzhou. Why would she after the terrible memories? But she didn't want to say no when her boss told her they would increase her salary and give her residency while she was there. Besides, those terrible memories were almost ten years ago.

She was working the day it happened: a bus carrying children had gotten into an accident. Some were in critical condition, while others had escaped with minor injuries. She and a doctor had finished operating on a young girl.

“She might be here for a while,” one of the other nurses said. “Her father is out on a business trip.”

“Then, who’s that in the room with her?”

“Their nanny and her brother.”

"I didn't know who their father was that time," she says.

"As someone as horrible as he is, it's hard to believe he hired a nanny to look after the kids that came out of the affair."

"Oh, trust me, you aren't the only one. But I knew he had to have a reason, knowing the kind of person he is."

"...Perhaps it was because of the relationship with his brother," you say, thinking out loud. "He'd have children to pass his inheritance down to rather than giving it to his brother, I suppose." A pause. "How did you find out?"

“...Dad!”

She was taking Stelle's blood pressure when she saw a man walk in, and her face immediately fell. It took the man a minute, but his expression soon mimicked hers.

“Your daughter’s been recovering well.”

Silence.

Stelle looked from her father to the nurse. “She’s been keeping me company.”

He stiffened. “Has she?”

After finishing her tasks, she walked out, not expecting him to follow her into the hallway. She stopped a short distance away from Stelle’s room.

She turned and frowned. “What do you want?”

“What are you… What are you doing here?”

"...Crazy how small the world is," you mutter.

"I knew what he really wanted to ask… Did I know he had a daughter, and did I do anything to her?" A pause. "If it was you, would you have done something? It's not like anyone would know."

"Children are innocent," you say. "I firmly believe that karma will always get you one way or another."

“I guess you’re right. Look where he and his children ended up.”

“I’m sure you told your brother about all of this. And… He still wanted to work with the brother of the man who hurt you so badly?”

“My brother kept telling me it’s not the same person, and everyone is different.”

The statement almost makes you shake your head in disappointment.

"I ended up just not caring," she continues. "It's not until later that they ran into problems that my brother told me what happened. I thought it was pointless for me to get involved since the man that I hated was gone anyway. What was the point? But"–she sighs—"I wanted some revenge, at least. I just wasn't expecting my brother to have something to hide."

“...So, you and your brother took back the lawsuit.”

"I just don't want to get involved with anyone from that family ever again."

“Did Caelus’s uncle ever reach out to you? He must’ve known that you and his brother were engaged.”

“He knew. But, reaching out wouldn’t help his case. What reason would he have?”

You hear a knock at the door and quickly look at the clock. It must be Jing Yuan.

"I just have one more question," you say, opening the door. Jing Yuan's standing on the porch. "What exactly caused the conflict between him and your brother?"

"Are you expecting me to go into specifics?"

"Whatever you're willing to tell me. During this time, Caelus was still alive. Whatever conflict that happened might have something to do with why Caelus killed himself.”

“...It was a recording.”

“...A recording?” Jing Yuan looks at you curiously. “Of a conversation?”

"It was a private conversation between him and my brother. He was obviously upset about it and scared that there was more without his knowledge."

You wouldn’t be surprised if it was used for blackmail. Perhaps whatever secrets her brother hid were recorded, meaning Caelus’s uncle knew about the skeletons in the closet. But what purpose was it for? And why?

After ending the call, Jing Yuan takes your hand. From the look on your face, he knows you’re onto something. “I take it you called that woman.”

“I got something out of it, but…”

“Raises more questions than answers?”

“Oh, goodness, how did you know?”

Jing Yuan pulls you close. “Call it a hunch.” After a quick kiss on the lips, he asks, “What is this about a recording?”

“Apparently, Caelus’s uncle recorded a private conversation between him and her brother. Her brother found out, and that was how their conflict started.”

“How interesting…”

“It was probably used as blackmail, but it doesn't look like it has anything to do with what happened to Caelus.”

You and Jing Yuan are walking out the door as he says, “I dug into the personal background of that director at Star Rails, and during that time, he just got promoted. It got me thinking if they had already known each other.”

“...Well, Caelus was still alive then,” you say, reaching Jing Yuan’s car. It quietly beeps once, and you walk to the passenger seat. As you get into the passenger seat, a thought hits you. “We theorized that Caelus’s uncle was the one who told him about the children that came out of the affair.”

Jing Yuan looks at you before starting the car. “We don’t know what was on the recording, but…”

You turn to him. “...It might’ve been recorded and used as evidence to the director that children came out of the affair. It wouldn’t be a stretch considering the woman is our missing fiancée.”

“Missing fiancée?”

“She was dating Caelus’s father when he cheated.” The brief surprise on his face makes you say, "Yeah, I know. It took me a moment, too.”

“This is getting crazier by the day,” he mutters.

◆◆◆

Jingliu had closed her gym for the day and instead called for a staff meeting to brainstorm ideas on increasing revenue. 

“Why don’t we just rely on Jing Yuan?” someone asks.

Jingliu almost sighs as she looks around the room.

"Yeah. He runs a successful bed and breakfast, doesn't he? Why don't we have a partnership with him? Staying at his resort can get you 50% off here or something."

“Oh! What about an app?"

“We’re trying to save money not use more of it,” someone says flatly.

“...Say, didn’t some business people drop by before?” Everyone looks at Jingliu. “What was that about?”

Looking at the curious faces around the table, she figures there's no use hiding it. "...They were people interested in buying the gym."

“I guess you turned them down.”

"I did, which is why we're having this conversation right now. If I were to sell it, they'd get rid of all of you and all the hard work in building it to where it is now… We'll just be another cog in the wheel. The individuality… branding… the creativity… It'd be changed to suit their business model and needs.

"Some of you have been with me for years." Jingliu looks at the few faces around the room. "And some of you"—she looks at the younger staff—"are quite new. My point is that everyone has contributed to the gym's growth in the past. It wasn't through my efforts alone, but I want to keep this place running for as long as possible."

“...Is the situation that bad?”

“I’m getting a report of our latest financial results in just a few weeks,” she says. “Everything will be transparent.”

A young man scratches his head. "...Honestly, I never thought we'd run into problems with this place."

“Yeah… Everyone loves you, Jingliu.”

“Love isn’t enough to pay the bills, unfortunately,” she says. “We gotta improve.”

"Sounds like it would make a pretty good story if we did. Maybe we'll make front-page news or something."

When her phone buzzes, she pulls it out of her pocket. “...Excuse me,” she says. “I need to take this.” She steps out of the small conference room and answers the call from her father. “Dad, is something wrong?”

“I was at the bank today, and I saw a familiar face."

Oh, no.

She's hoping it's anyone but the person she's thinking about. Jingliu knows that her father and Caelus's uncle are acquaintances as her father had been in and out of Xianzhou until he finally retired and moved in with her since her mother had passed away.

“He’s back in town?” Her father asked at breakfast one day.

“...And under investigation,” Jingliu muttered, sitting across from her father with a plate full of food.

“Investigation?”

“Not an official one, but…”

Then, she told him about the suspicions about Caelus's uncle involving the death of his nephew.

“...Well, this is… I… this is unexpected.”

“I don’t know what they’re going to find… but if he did have something to do with it, people should know.” She glanced at him. “I think him being the person behind the offer is a good enough reason for me to reject it.”

Her father put his arms on the table. "...I hope you know I'm not here to tell you what to do." She slowly looked up. "Your decisions are often better than mine. Getting money for the surgery is one thing, but I also don't want you to mentally stay in a place that you've outgrown."

“I’m going to make this work,” she said firmly. “If I can’t, at least I’ll have no regrets.”

“He told me about the new offer he wants to make to you."

“Don’t tell me you were convinced,” she deadpans.

"I called to tell you that I won't allow it. I won't allow you to take any offers from him."

Jingliu laughs. “What happened to not telling me what to do?”

"He offered me money." Jingliu's smile instantly fades. "If I could convince you, he said he'll give me money."

“Their equipment is out-of-date. Their marketing and business practices are too traditional. Plus, by utilizing new technology—”

“I’m sorry,” Jingliu’s father said, frowning, “Did I ask for your opinion?”

“I’m only trying to help. As a father, I’m sure it’s not easy seeing your daughter’s business suffer, especially since you also have a stake in it, don’t you?”

"It doesn't sound like you have a plan."

“We’d work with her to iron out the details. I’m simply saying to face reality. Money is what can improve things.”

Jingliu’s father had a lot to say. But before giving this man a piece of his mind, he still needed an answer to this one question:

“Why are you so interested in her business?”

“It’s not her business as much as her we’re interested in. We’ll allow her a seat on the management team if she agrees to our deal.”

Allow?

“She’ll have access to so many more resources. The team is really interested in working with her. So, if you could help me convince her, I can compensate you.”

“Well, let me give you my wholehearted response…” Jingliu’s father walked up to him. “You can take your money, and get the hell out of my face.”

“Well said. Good job, Dad.”

“I called to let you know in case he tries to tell you differently,” her father says.

"Who knows?" she mutters. "I never saw him again, nor did he contact me after Dan Heng and I saw him at the restaurant."

“...You still need to tell me about that.”

“About what?”

“What’s going on between you and Dan Heng? Have you… Have you always been interested in younger men?”

Jingliu’s face turns warm, and she calmly says, “We’re…”

“Take it easy. No need to rush.” She could see the smile on his face. “But, I still want a proper introduction.”

◆◆◆

You aren’t sure what to think when Jing Yuan tells you to close your eyes. You're at his place, and he'd gone in first. He's blocking your path as you look at him skeptically.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going kill you.”

“That never crossed my mind,” you say. “But since you mentioned it, I’m even more suspicious.”

He puts his hands on your shoulders and leans forward. “...Just trust me.”

You hold his stare for a few seconds before finally closing your eyes. Then, you feel him take your hand and slowly lead you into the living room.

“Can I open my eyes now?”

“Not yet.”

His hands are on your shoulders, and he gently pushes you down until you’re sitting on the sofa.

“Okay. Now.”

A mini, two-tiered, pink-shaded, ombre cake sits on a small, elevated gold stand. What surprises you is that it's perfectly smooth. Large, round white sprinkles are spread evenly around, and fresh roses are used as a topper that spirals downwards.

“...What do you think?”

"Wow! Genuinely impressed. How long did this take you?"

"A while. I've baked before, but it was my first time doing shading like this."

You pick up a small fork off of one of the plates. “Well, let the judging begin.”

You don't know, but Jing Yuan's anxiously awaiting your reaction after seeing you take that first bite. While he's usually confident with his cooking, his heart races out of nervousness. You put the fork back on the plate.

“Not too sweet and not too bland.” You go for another bite. “I love it!”

Jing Yuan kisses your head. “I’m glad.”

You hand him a fork. “I don’t want to be the only one eating.”

Jing Yuan tilts your head towards him and steals a kiss. “...I’m in the mood for something other than cake.”

Your heart races, and you almost drop the fork. But then, you quickly turn to the cake and ask, “Did you always have a talent for cooking?"

Pom ran into a small kitchen, his face pale and eyes wide. "Is there a fire? Oh, my God!"

"Everything's"—Jing Yuan coughs—"Everything's okay, Pom." Then, Jing Yuan quickly reached up and turned off the blaring fire alarm that went off because of the smoke.

Pom shook his head. “You may have the looks and the brains, Boss, but you have no gift for cooking. Who sets off a fire alarm while cooking fried dumplings?”

"Keep talking, Pom, and it's not just the fried dumplings going up in flames."

“Eep! I’m sorry!"

"Laugh all you want," Jing Yuan says, taking a bite of his cake and looking at you who's biting back a smile. "I’m over it now.”

Instead, you take a small breath. “Well, you came a long way. But, how was that transition? You were at a desk job, and suddenly you're cooking, cleaning, planning, and doing all sorts of things."

“It was tough, but I had to learn. It wasn't all just for the business."

“I guess it was also because of Yanqing.”

Jing Yuan nods. “When you’re doing something for someone you love, even if you don’t like it, it makes it easier.”

“...And you’ll do it seriously.”

“That’s right.” Jing Yuan puts his fork down. “...What are you going to do after this whole situation with Star Rails?”

“Where is this coming from?”

Jing Yuan takes your hand. “It’s a conversation we’ll have to have sooner or later. I’m just curious.”

“...If all of our speculations are true, I don’t want to go back. I’d want to expose everything they’ve done, and…” Jing Yuan waits for you to continue. “...Maybe try something new.”

“It sounds like you have something in mind.”

“It’s really crazy.”

"Could it be crazier than setting off a fire alarm by cooking fried dumplings?"

“Xianzhou doesn’t have an established news station, right? Well… What if… A big what if… What if I start an independent publication?” You sigh. “Or maybe that’s too ambitious.”

“Really? After all the digging you’ve done on Caelus and his uncle, you don’t call yourself ambitious?”

You lean back. “Yeah, but this is kinda different.”

“Do you know why the last news station didn’t work out?”

“You said it was because they were too much like a tabloid.”

"Exactly. Of course, there will always be an audience for that. But, no one bothered with proper reporting, something I think you'd do really well. By doing things properly and diligently, I think that's the best way to win an audience. There's always a reward for hard work." You lean your head on his shoulder. "...I would also love it if you could stay here." You look up and see him looking down at you. "But whatever you choose, I'll support you."

He leans closer… closer… but you’re the one who closes the gap.

His hand goes behind your head, drawing you closer while deepening the kiss, and he savours every taste. He brushes your hair behind your ear, and the sofa slightly creaks when you move onto his lap. He draws a soft moan as he kisses you faster, harder, as if knowing he has limited time. His light touches move up and down your back, fueling your desire that knows no bounds. You want him. You need him. And just as you slowly roll your hips forward, a phone goes off.

Your face is flushed. His face is flushed. You're staring at each other, coming down from the high your lips took each other on. Your hands are close to the buttons of his shirt.

So close yet so far.

“...Are you going to get that?” you ask, glancing at his phone on the table.

His lips find your neck, and his light, butterfly kisses leave a hot trail to your collarbone.

“...I probably should.”

You almost pin him against the sofa but think otherwise. You're about to get off his lap, but his arm snakes around you, holding you in place. He reaches over and picks up his phone. With a little mischievous look in your direction, he answers it. You almost gasp when you feel his hand slide up and down your back and underneath your shirt. You quickly turn to him, and he’s holding back a chuckle.

You’re about to get revenge when you suddenly hear, “Dad!”

Jing Yuan stops. “Yanqing?” He looks at his watch as you move onto the sofa. “There’s still an hour before I have to pick you up.”

You're finishing the rest of your cake as Jing Yuan talks with his son on the phone. But as soon as he ends it, another call comes in. You recognize Pom's voice on the other line despite not making out what he's saying.

“Is everything okay?” you ask once Jing Yuan is off the line.

“Everything’s fine.” He kisses your head. “There’s a complaint I have to resolve.”

“What about Yanqing? Is he okay?”

"He said they're taking a group photo, and some parents are there. He wanted to see if I could drop by."

"I can go. Maybe you can drop me off on the way to your big boy job."

“I’ll head over as soon as I can.” You walk past him with the empty plates, but he stops you by putting his hand on yours, tilts your head towards him, and kisses you. By the time he breaks apart, the plates are in his hands. “...Don’t think you’re off the hook.”

“Me? What did I do?” You lightly jab his chest. “I should be saying that, Mister. You were being way too bold.”

“Was I?” He chuckles. “Well, let me tone it down a bit next time.” With a small pout, you look off to the side. “Unless someone doesn’t want me to.” You dare to look back, and it’s that little teasing smile that makes you want to hit him.

◆◆◆

You’re standing on a porch and a woman who looks about the same age as you opens the door. Her short white dress with blue and gold details stands out against her gray eyes and long gray hair. She looks confused—at first—until it hits her.

“Yanqing’s mother,” she says. “Jing Yuan’s woman.”

You don't expect to be addressed like that, but you say, "Yeah, that's one way of putting it." Then, you introduce yourself.

The gray-haired woman extends a hand to you. “Nice to meet you. I’m Bronya, Clara’s mother.”

“Then… You must be Seele’s woman.”

She chuckles. “Pretty much.”

She lets you into the house and leads you to the living room, where you hear laughter, screams, and muffled conversations from the backyard.

“Oh, hello!” Seele is carrying a food plate when she greets you. “We heard from Yanqing that you’d be dropping by.”

“Anything I can do to help?” you ask, looking outside at the lively atmosphere. “Looks like you got your hands full.”

“Nah. Appreciate it, though. All we need is your presence. Hoping Jing Yuan can also make it."

You follow Bronya and Seele to the backyard, and as soon as Yanqing sees you, he jumps off the bouncy castle and runs to you.

“Mom!”

Clara follows him and says, "Hi again."

"Happy birthday, Clara," you say, hugging her.

"Thank you!"

You see some of the kids looking at you curiously. One of them walks up to you. “Is she your mom, Yanqing?”

"Yeah!"

“My, does this mean Jing Yuan is getting married again?” a woman asks.

It’s then you realize that all the parents here are women.

"He was quite the bachelor," another one says.

“Say… Do you know what happened between him and his ex?”

You're taken aback at the question, but before you can say anything, Bronya claps her hands. "Let's get ready for that photo everyone wants, shall we?"

"Aw… I was hoping to see Jing Yuan or Blade," you hear someone mutter, though it doesn't sit well with you, knowing it came from one of the moms.

After posing for the photo, you're about to grab a snack with Yanqing when your phone goes off. At first, you think it's from Jing Yuan, so you quickly pull it out of your pocket. But when it's an unknown number, you almost slip it back into your pocket until you step to the side to take it out of curiosity.

“Hello?”

“Hello.” You recognize the voice. And when the man says your name, your heart drops to the pit of your stomach. Maybe you should’ve seen it coming. But you aren’t prepared. Not yet, at least. Because…

What in the world does Caelus’s uncle want with you?

Chapter 19

Tag list: @suoshiii @lordbugs @lxry-chxn @seirenspinel @immahuman @queencybow @grimreapersscythe @nqctre @winterpein @asakenajustexistshere

[popculturebuffet]

Top 12 Films of 2024

Hello all you happy people! This is something i've wanted to do for YEARS, and finally had the space for, a look at my faviorite films each year. I love making lists and since joining Letterboxd a few years ago it's thorughly endulged that love. But it also got me to fall in love with film and made my journey through horror that started with IT and is still ongoing a blast.

2024 was a neat year in film, and one where a lot of the big tentpole franchises were absent and while we got a bunch of sequels, it's a weird mix of ones that were ineveitble like Deadpool and Wolverine, Maxxine, a new alien, sonic 3, and weird suprises: I mean this year gave us an omen prequel, a soft reboot of planet of the apes, the return of twister and beetlejuice, and the grand return of Wallace and Gromit. For every sequel that was fortold in the scrolls, there was one that while announced long ago still felt like a suprise.

And that's the best way to describe this year: a nice suprise. While ther'es films I expected tobe great and were like Monkey Man or Dune part 2, there's a lot of nice little suprises: I didn't expect Transformers One to be a gorgeous epic, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice ot be so damn fun, or Wicked to be every bit as good as a John M Chu film deserves to be. And I don't think anyone who wasn't already aware of it expected hundreds of beavers, but damn if I didn't enjoy it.

Speaking of enjoying, I got to enjoy more films than ever. In years past I had to rely on having someone to go with me, usually my mom, the rest of my family on a whole family outing or my best friend cory. But having moved to a place close to a movie theater last year, there were plenty I could just go walk up to and enjoy. There are a few also rans like Imaginary, the worst film of the year I saw (I havne't put myself through the sony spider-man films from this year yet), or the disapointing ministry of ungentlemanly warefare, but I also got to see the gloriously gay Love Lies Bleeding when it was there for the week, the moody and atmosphereic the watchers, the also pretty dang gay the bikedriders, the wonderfully greasy Maxxine, the tense as hell Alien Romulus, the even more disturbing now we know it was a documentary about P.Diddy Blink Twice, the glorious and once again gloriously gay Transformers One, the thriller that was better than it had any right to be speak no evil, the Hugh Grantastic Heretic, and of course Sonic 3: 2 Many Jim Carries.

It was a hell of a year and while you can see what I choose you can find out who made it where on the list , honorable mentions, and other reasons to hurl things at me if you ever meet me under the cut!

12. Will and Harper (Directed by Josh Greenbaum)

Will and Harper is a film that thrives off vibes, friendships, and genuine warmth. It follows Will Ferrel who you may know from such films as Anchorman, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues and Anchorman 3: We Both Know He's Going to Do This At Some Point and his best friend Harper Steele. Harper was a writer for him on SNL a hard drinking party person.. and a closted Trans woman, something they finally came to terms with and came out as recently and something the documentary dives into.

Will's first response is what anyone's first response should be: That's great! Good for you. But while Will is entirely supportive he's also lost in both how to be a good ally and and how to tackle their friendship so he has a wonderful suggestion: a road trip. Harper loved doing those but now has to navigate the relaity of going to roadside dives and other places where she may not feel safe and jumps at the idea, packing tons of cheep beer and pringles.

The trip is a fun one as it dosen't overplay it.. it just.. humanizes and goes into the reality of Harper's life: how free she feels, how her kids feels, and just treats her like a person. It dosen't ignore the reality of being a trans person in a company on the cusp for voting a transphobic facist back into office, Harper goes into a bar herself knowing she might be in danger but wanting to see if she can (And having her emotinal support will ferrel on standbye) and even HAVING will there or a camera crew dosen't protect her: a visit to a texas steak house goes horribly wrong with Will assering her gender.. leading ot everyone turning on him, tons of horrible online comments and the implicit guarnatee the cameras , while protecting them, were barely doing that for a change and WIll feeling guilty.

Harper Steele isn't a purse dog. She's not Will Ferrel's trans friend to say she has one. She's a human being and despite being not as famous as her best friend, the film treats them on equal footing and shows why they are: they rib each other, make jokes, have weird runners (including Will really wanting to go to Dunkin in a way that feels less like product placement and more like Will Ferrel just loves duncan donuts). Harper is a no nonsense woman happy to live her life and to see she can still do the things she loves, while Will is the good natured goofus you'd expect from a man whose spent a scene every movie or two running around in his undies. Harper is both not who will knew and exactly every bit the person he knew, simply a happier fuller version of herself. It's simply two friends hanging out and in doing so shows to people who may of rejected Harper out of hands what most of you reading this already knows: Trans people are just.. people. Nothing less and treating them like anyone else isn't that hard. Nor is it hard to support someone as they transition. You just have to be willing to learn and willing to see them as who they really are. I did it for my sister, and Will Ferrel did it for his best friend.

11. Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (Directed by Merlin Crossingham and Nick Park, W by Mark Burton)

I reviewed this one just a few days ago so I won't take long here: Vengance Most Fowl is a fun long awaited return of everyone's faviorite duo packed with a masterfull thought out plot, tons of call backs that feel nicely seeded in for more than just nostalgia, and some really damn fine jokes. Check it out if you haven't. In a year this bad it was the cup of tea we all needed.

10. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (Directed by Wes Ball, Written by Josh Friedman) This is one of those trailers i got in front of damn near everything, similar to Speak No Evil for the rest of the year. And like Speak No Evil despite trailer fatigue this film fucking slapped. Kingdom is a breathtaking adventure mostly content to just show off it's world: generations after the previous trilogy, itself a high bar that this flim clears, Apes rule over the earth, Ceaser is but a legend and one young ape finds his entire villiage kidnapped and takes off on horseback to go find him. Along the way he finds a human friend, tales of the past, and the hard truth that the past rarely stays buried and conflict is sadly cyclical. I won't spoil much more for this one if you haven't seen it. It's a gorgeous little odessy that just warms my heart every time I think of it with vial lessons on history and how it can be twisted by both those with good intentions and those with the worst and how some will always think something belongs only to them. It's a fantastic film and a fantastic new direction for a franchise I wasn't sure should keep going but damn if Wes Ball proved me wrong.

9. Wicked (DR: John M Chu, W: Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox) Wicked was the loudest suprise of the year. I knew it was coming and as it approached barely any films didn't have the trailer, the marketing was everywhere but I wasn't expecting much. I HOPED it'd be good as director John M Chu had previously directed one of my faviorite films, In the Heights.. which I just realized I haven't revisited since it came out AND need to review sometime.

But thanks to WBD's bungling was criminally underappreciated at release. Thankfully Chu's success here means not only will more people likely check it out but the man can do whatever he wants. Whatever he wants apparently includes Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat for some reason but I mean... if anyone can get me to watch that it's him.

I liked him. I like Ariana Grande (Least as a performer), Michelle Yeoh and i'll watch anything with Jeff Goldblum. But the idea of sitting through a nearly three hour musical based on a musical I had no attachment to beyond defying gravity and a love of it's initial leads (Who get a truly god tier cameo I won't spoil), and a property I really never vibed with in general aside from thinking The Great and Powerful Oz was kinda okay. It seemed like it'd be FINE, but it didn't seem like the successor I really wanted after enjoying his direction for Crazy Rich Asians and ADORING In the Heights.

Yeah Wicked is fucking phenominal. A lot of it is in it's not so secret weapon, Cynthia Ervio. While I hadn't heard of her she was already well seasoned having done tons of stage work, and been nominated for an oscar for playing Harriet Tubman. It shows as she sinks into Elphelba beautifully, portraying someone both not giving a fuck what everyone thinks.. but also underneath deeply bothered by how her green skin ostracises her from the world. Ervio is a fucking revelation and i'm shocked it took this long for her to break out but better late than never as she owns this film.

Ariana Grande dosen't do too shabby either, making it clear no one else in this day and age could play Glinda with the right mix of alpha bitch, bubble headeness and big heart hidden underneath both. Everyone in this film brings it but these two are it's anchor: it's their story after all and everything rotates around them. Still special kudos to Peter Dinklage who like Jeff Goldblum could get me to watch anything and Dinklage has been in a LOT of garbage.. that i'd still watch. He may only voice professor dillamond but he brings dignity and majesty to the goat and makes the plight of the animals all too painful and real.. and given the times we're in a group being slowly shoved out to slowly elimated them because of one man's prejudice is all too painfully relevant.

I hadn't heard of Jonathan Bailey but damn if he dosen't ooze charm, sex and hidden depths. You can tell from early on his playboy facade is a bit of a put on, something to protect him from the world.. and something slowly slipping as he finds someone who rather than let him dance through life, has him think.

There's a LOT to say about this film I might one day. For now it's just fucking brilliant. It's a film that justfies the split into two films, something that would hurt a lot of musicals and why most have to be compressed into one film, but here works. Not just because of a time skip I hear comes in act 2, but to build out this gorgeous world. The musical numbers aren't super spread out so you don't forget i'ts a musical but the extra time is used to give everything some depth and color. And also even more gay than the apparent truckload already there. This film is gay as fuck and comes off as a love triangle between three people all in love with each other and also Bok's there but doesn't really count. It's a film that's queer, timely and lovely and if you somehow haven't tried it, it's well worth the time investment. If a film that's very sapphic and has peter dinklage as a wise sad goat isn't for you I dont' know how you ended up here.

8. Saturday Night (DR: Jason Reitman W: Reitman and Gil Kenan)

It's the 50th anniversary of SNL this year and the celebration started early with a powerhouse season that includes the greatest song about karening ever

It also contained this film. And while some haven't enjoyed it (Including one of my idols and snl expert Nathan Rabin), I couldn't help but love this film. Is Saturday Night historically innacurate as fuck? Probably. It squeezes in every antecdote about the show's history it can into the 90 minutes before it went live, adds shit for drama and definitely mythologizes the show. The only thing I can say for certain is Chevy Chase was defintely an asshole and that's not exactly something hard to get conformation on.

As a film though.. it's straight fire. It's a pressurey 90 minutes as John Baptistes perfect soundtrack really sells the pressure: our hero Lorne Micheals, a truly once in a lifetime sentence, has to cobble the show together clashing with his own overwrought vision, tension with his creative partner and wife in name only Rosie (played by an awesome Rachel Senoit whose films I'm long overdue to watch) and the various shenanigans of his casts and writers from Micheal Odonghue being that asshole, to Chevy Chase's massive ego, to John Belshi beliving he's too good for this, there's lot of egos, cocaine and chaos to go around. It's a tight 90 minute film: not a minute is wasted. Even squeezing Milton Burle in to play off his infamous hosting gig feels right.. mainly because it's JK Simmons. JK Simmons can do no wrong.

The film does do some. While the historicla innacuracy dosen't bother me how it brushes off their treatment of Jim Henson at times is. I've covered the Land of Gorch Sketches and sadly reports Jim would be a punchine were accurate as the cast mistreating him, refusing to write for him and being dicks to him is just kinda played off when them having to write for him was not Jim's fault. It's not fun watching a bunch of dickheads bully or brush off your own personal jesus who just wants to make people happy. Thankfully he does get a really nice monologue in an elevator with a blood soaked lorne micheals so it evens out a little.

The film is just fun with Lemone Morris getting a nice bit as Garret Morris , and tons of nice little moments among the chaos. It also has Willam Defoe whose a tad wasted as "grumpy exec man they convince their right to", but I feel less bad about it by this point as thankfully someone else knew how to use their Willam Defoe better. It'd be really neat if that was the next entry but instead have...

7. Hundreds of Beavers (DR: Mike Chesik W: Chesik and Ryland Brickson Cole Tews)

Hundreds of Beavers was a nice suprise.. and a film i'm shocked no one told about me sooner. It's essentially a looney tunes sketch mixed with a lets play and a silent movie, a genre the film made me genuinely curious about. My love of looney tunes and impatient wait for a new film (which we'll be getting next year), made this an easy sell: I love good old slapstick and an ambitious indie film that was screened in 2022 but properly came out this year so i'm countin it for this one suck it letterboxd, it was catnip for me.

And it's damn good. Also free on Tubi. It's a simple story: a hapless applejack bootleger in pioneer times looses his booze to some beavers and has to survive in the wilderness and learn to hunt. That's the film. Just one dumbass trying to survive against a whole wilderness of creatures smarter than him and slowly ranking up as he gets more tools either from a local furrier who hates him (his daughter's sweet on our hero at least), a native who gladly trades with him or a wise mentor whose dogs play poker. The film is packed with great sight gags, runners and just plane invention. Ther'es truly nothing like it and had the castle bit not dragged a little, it'd be way higher. And that's the faintest critcism I can give. Hundreds of Beavers is fucking awesome and makes a dumbass fighting a bunch of animals represneted by furries into the greatest thing ever. It's the best comedy in years and proof the medium just needs more of a push.

6. Nosferatu (D and W: Robbert Eggers)

I hadn't seen any of Robbert Eggers films before this, but I love me a good vampire story. I also liked this year's Abbigail and need to watch more vampy goodness in general, but damn if Nosferatu didn't end this year on a high and finally push me to stop procastinating on the Lighthouse. I mean I still haven't got to it but i'm a slow ass motherfucker sometimes.

I waited to see if this flim made the list, as while I missed many a great film in 2024 I need to catch up on (Longlegs, I Saw the TV Glow, The Substance), this thankfully wasn't one of them. Nosferatu is a gothic horror film in every since, a slow build that's worth it. Having watched the kill count on the original (and now badly wanting to watch the original) it follows it closely plot wise, adding a few pivots like adding in it's own van helsing equivlent.

Nosferatu is a moody, horny film, where a dark monster stalks a woman he claimed years ago when she was a teen and dosen't get how fucking vile that is. There's some fucking, a lot of gyration and a lot of morphine for said gyration because this is the turn of the century and women having orgasms was dark and scary to the menfolk. Except Willam Defoe who eats the entire set as the aformentiond Van Helsing Equilvent who is unabashed about beliving a demon did this and gets to dance in flame towards the climax. I won't ruin the context, but I belivie anyone who wouldn't be at least midlly curious about William Defoe cackling madly while surrounded by flames just plain dosen't exist.

Defoe though is a good side dish: the main stars are Lily Rose Depp, who spends the first half comotose, being stalked by Nosferatu (aka count orlock but nosferatu is funner to type), giving out sleep orgasms or being possesed by the count, but gets to stand up for herself in the second half brilliantly and thorughly owns the screen.

The other is horror legend Bill Skaarsgard of IT fame who manages to rack up another iconic horror role. Nosferatu here isn't a man despite an impressive mustache, but pure evil itself, a type of character that's hard to pull off. I prefer a complex villian.. but if you can make one that's just pure pants wetting terror and pull if off you have my repspect and Nosferatu is the most terrifying villian i've encountered in horror. A deep rich voice that commands you to look even when you'd rather look away, a hypnotic horrifying voice. He's often in shadow but when seen he's often a corpse, a THING with the ears and silloutte, something that APPEARS human but instead jsut preys on us. He only cares about getting what he claims is his and will murder , spread plauge and kill anyone who says otherwise.

Thankfullyt he film avoids being anti immigrant propogranda; the supserstious townsfolk seen as goofy little guys in most films are absolutely right and while terrifed of Orlok the only ones who can combat him, while Willem Defoe's character is also an immigrant and the only one of the men who dosne't infantalize lead lady elizabeth. Nosferatu isn't pure evil because he's a corpse man but because he himself as man, as a vampire is a bastard, a true monster and pure terror. Every time he was on screen I was uncomfortable and needed to leave the theater after at least twice. Skaarsgard is just that fucking chilling.

Nosferatu is a film that's both deeply gorgeous, with tons of snow dappled vistas and god tier shots, and not afraid to be hammy with our reinfeld equilvent being a world class ham and Defoe .. well I mentioned the shouting while surrounded by flames didn't I? This film is still in theaters at the time of this review and well worth the 15 bucks.

5. Dune Part Two (DR: Dennis Villenueve W: Villenueve and John Spaihts)

I was amped for Dune Part Two and it did not disapoint. I had some reservations as while I liked the scope and grandeure of part one with fantastic visuals and a deft peformance by Timothee Chalamet. But while I liked it both watching it at home day and date and the reptitive desert visuals in the second half detracted from it's strong world that even if it didn't explain it, felt lived in and intresting enough for me to come back.

And i'm glad I did as Part 2 is fucking triumpuhant, easily earning Villeneuve his third movie and hopefully his second oscar nomination. Part 2 takes the excellent setup from the first time around and gets off running turning what could easily be both a chosen one narrative and a whtie savior narrative into a deconstruction of both: this skinny white teenager coming in and being their messiah isn't a good thing for him or them. It's a roll he dosen't want as Paul has seen it ends in an interstellar genocide, a Jihad with no end that brings peace through tyranny.

And that dread is what drives the film: Paul badly wants to avoid being a mass murderer. As you do. But outside of his girlfriend Chani, played excellently by Zendaya who gets to do way more this go round and plays the sole voice of reason, everyone from his mother to his new best friend to even his mentor are begging him to escalate the war: to end the Harkkonens and the Empire. It's a pile of motherly protectivness, cultish religious fevor and pure uncut vengance that pushes Paul closer and closer to his dark fate. It's what happens when the chosen ones path isn't saving the world or being a bright hero.. but being death destroyer of worlds.

The rest isn't too shabby. Florence Pugh gets a lot of neat stuff to do as Irulan while Austin Butler won my enternal respect as the bestial, horrifying and nightmarish Fade Rathua, with the arena scene being peak film for me. Part 2 is a masterful work that manages to make what would be hopeful in any othe rfilm, our hero ascending and getting ready to fight his enemies, into a true nightmare as he fully succumbs to a bloody genocide and Chalamee makes it a truly chilling finale that will no doubt lead to a perfect conclusion to this trilogy.

4. The Fall Guy (D: David Leitch, W: Drew Pierce)

The Fall Guy's failure at the box office is the biggest box office tragedy for me since In the Heights... it wouldn't be the last one for me this year either. For whatever reason, Audiences just didn't go see this one despite a dynamite cast and David Leitch's excellent track record. It's failure still baffles me as the Fall Guy is a perfectly made action comedy.

The Fall Guy is at once a romantic comedy about a loveable himbo who after a massive tragedy ghosts the love of his life and now has to win her back after his agent tricks him into working on her directoral debut. Add in Hannah Waddingham as said manipulative agent Bryan Tyree henry as his best friend, stunt cordinator and for part of the film sidekick, a good boy he finds along the way and adopts, and Aaron Taylor Johnson as the arrogant star of the film he has to find to save it and you have a true comedy classic that also kicks loads of ass. The stunts are all excellent, owning to Leitch's own stunt background while also being reverent to the sheer work it takes to make a blockbluster. It's a blockbuster about the craft and a love letter to all the people we rarely think about who make our faviorite films. It's funny, action packed and has Ryan Gosling in another amazing performance after Ken. It dosen't top Ken, there's no grand musical number for unless you count sobbing out taylor swift in his car, but it's a tremendous film that i'll defintely watch again. It may of not won the box office's hearts but it certainly won mine.

3. The Wild Robot (D and W: Chris Sanders)

Now for a film that got the box office it deserved and more. The Wild Robot was a film I was worried about once I realized "Wait the animals talk".. and then realized I was stupid for that as not only are talking animals rad, but the film ended up being a gorgeous fable about an autistic coded Robot's journey to find herself while raising a duckling she orphaned with her common law husband whose also a fox but is also Pedro Pascal so he defintely fucks.

The Wild Robot is a simple story told gorgeously, with painted cgi that really adds to that storyboook vibe, giving the film a look that just takes hold of you. Full disclosure: I missed a chunk of the early part of the film because I stupidly didn't get my concesions durin gthe previews, and I still loved this film and will happily rewatch it when it streams this week. It's a gentle, amazing tale about accepting our diffrences, finding yourself and letting go of your child so they can find themselves. There are so many layers to this thing and it more than deserves a full review at some point. Lupita Nyongo gives a career best performance, and the ending sets us up for a sequel that we're thankfully getting. It was a gamble.. but it paid off and in any other year it might've been the best animated film of the year, certainly the best film starring robots... however

2. Transformers ONE (DR: by Josh Cooley, W by Eric Pearson, Andrew Berrar and Gabriel Ferrari)

This one's going to hopefully be brief as I wrote a LENGTHY review of this masterpiece when it came out. I went into ONE with mildly positive expectations and came out of it utterly floored. One is an epic tale of love, loss, fighting against a society that uses you, finding yourself (I Know, again), and two friends and probably lovers divdied by their nature and the truth of their world. It's a fucking masterpiece and i've said that before on this list i'm sure but this is true. It's a shame even more than Fall Guy this one flopped as it wasn't it's fault: unlike Rise of the Beasts and the long string of live action failures (bumblbeee excluded) , this film is everything transformers can and should be and while it didn't succeed the way it shoudl've, it'll forever hold as a classic, a shining sci fi epic in the old style but with modern writing. It's a gorgeous masterwork that begs to be watched again and again and uses familiar frameworks to tell a film that made me feel like a kid again. It's what the star wars prequels felt like as a kid instead of what they are. It's so dang good.

So before we get to the one film that could topple something this perfect the honorable mentions

Honorable Mentions:

Maxxine: Plotwise i'ts a bit of a mess but this film thrives on vibes and still closes out the trilogy on a high note. Goth once again delivers an astounding perfomrance. Plus it has Kevin Bacon as a sleazy detective really loving his villian era.

Heretic: Speaking of Villian eras Hugh Grant plays the emobidment of intellectual superiorist assholes to a hilt, being both creepy and intemidating but also letting cracks show in his intellegence and era of menace and superiority like imitating jar jar binks, being that guy whose mad someone dosen't get his refrence and freestyling to Radiohead's creep.

Speak No Evil: Look i'ts James Macavoy, my macaboy, as an uhinged serial killer trapping people with politness who also loudly belts Gloria. I'm not made of stone

Big City Greens; Spacecation: Another one I reviewe d in full and one that was very close to actually making the list a few times. A cult classic in the making. Check it out even if you haven't seen the show.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga; Beautifully shot with an all time performance from both Taylor-Joy and Hemsworth. A true odessy.

Inside Out 2: how it was made was throughly shitty and Disney needs to stop treating Pixar like shit, and trans people. And queer people in general. And just people. A good film despite Disney sucking hard

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice: Is this film a bunch of plots loosely connected by a paperclip and a piece of string? Yes. Does it have Willam Defoe as a cheesy 80's actor whose now a cop for real but still acts like a cheesy character actor? Fuck yes. It's got a stacked cast, great jokes and a great way out of using a pedophile's likeness. It's a messy good time.

Abigail: A bit slow to start but damn does it land. radio silence really cannot make a bad film.

The First Omen: Good intense gripping stuff. Far surpasses the original.

LOTR: War of the Rohirrim: Look there should be more films where , Brian Cox punches a lot of people to death with his bare hands.

Wicked Little Letters: Lower on my list but damn did this one become a sneaky good time.

Alien Romulus: Got me into the alien franchise again. nuff said

So onto our grand winner...

1... Monkey Man ( DR: Dev Patel, W: Patel, Paul Angunawela and John Colee)

This film has held a grip on me since I watched it and is one I badly need to rewatch again. Monkey Man is a film that holds you the whole time even when you take a break, an intense film that never lets you leave our hero or his situation: The Kid is a downtrodden young waiter and fighter who can take a thousand hits and get back up and wants vengance on the elite motherfuckers who burned down his villiage, killed his mom. It's a simple motivation but you can feel that flame the whole time as he works his way up, how he carefully plots his revenge.. only for it to go sideways. Yet it's what drives him at first. It's only by finding fellow outcasts in a group of Hiraja, indian trans and intergender (and according to wikipedia eunchs), who gladly let him train... mostly because he looks damn good with a shirt off but also because their kind and he returns that kindness to save their temple before resuming the rampage.

The plot is simple.. thredbear.. but it works on pure emotion. You follow the kid thorugh every step, every beat as he punches, gets punched and stabbed, trains and then goes back for the grand finale with an army of new friends showing up to back his ass up. It's a film with a lot to say, teaching me a lot about indias inequality and issues and showing sometimes when gradual change won't work, one person can make that change by any means necessary. It's a film with a lot to say, while also being a visual treat. This is Patel's first time directing but youc annot tell with frantic perfect cuts, dripping neon atmosphere and tons of fantastic set pieces. Monkey Man dosen't stop burning till the last frame and won't stop burning in my heart. It's a film taking queues from many , some I'v eseen some I haven't, but all it's own. It's a tale of social justice wrapped in two savage fists and I'm all here for it. More please mr patel.

Thanks for reading, and remember, i'm pullin for ya we're all in this together.

[choco-cherry-chunk]

“#20 - being totally taken by surprise by early labour” for Monk x Stottlemeyer

Love this, all the more because I specifically love the idea of Monk being firm in his belief that he will predict when his child is born. Like, the doctor gives them an approximate due date and Leland initially thinks that Adrian will be too “locked in” on that possibility. But instead, Monk does a bunch of research on potentials and comes up with his own belief about when the child will be born - based on data from his and Stottlemeyer’s family histories, general conception information, and a number of other factors that went way over Leland’s head. He lets Monk hold onto the belief that their kid will be born a week or two after the supplied due date, figuring it would keep the man from fretting about the possibility of waiting more. But instead, it’s barely an hour after they’ve woken up on their “assigned day” and Adrian mentions feeling certain pains.

Leland: “Pains? Like cramps?”

Adrian: “I suppose.”

L: *stops eating* “Like… real ones? Like labor?”

A: *continues on his breakfast as if nothing is wrong* No way. They aren’t due for nine more days.

L: “Yeah, but didn’t the doc say—“

A: “And I said they would be born in nine days. You saw my research—“ And he has to freeze completely still, expression frozen, in an effort to keep from reacting to the pain. All the while, Stottlemeyer is getting up, putting his plate in the sink.

L: “Okay, we’re going on a trip.”

A: “We aren’t. We have to meet Randy at the fire station—“

L: “Randy can meet us at the hospital.”

It takes a lot of time and effort to drag Monk out of the house, but ultimately, it is his water breaking that gets Stottlemeyer to at least get him in the car (after he promises to call someone from a hazmat clean up crew to handle the mess, of course).

[steviestits]

WIP Wednesday - Fic Naming

So, this was supposed to be posted last Wednesday, but well, you guys saw the anon. Anyway, I know it's usually you give me a title and I make up a story to go with it, but I suck at thinking up cool titles, so I thought I'd do a reverse of that game. I'll describe my fics, and you guys send in a title that you think will fit it. Or you can just send words of encouragement if you're as stumped as me.

All of these are ones that have their first chapters finished or are close to being finished. I thought I'd maybe attempt to post a bunch after my birthday. I think I might be slightly less busy then? Though, i feel like I'm jinxing myself by saying that.

And before I forget, WARNING! Dark shit is listed below! Expand the post only if you're into that sort of thing!

Addams Family Values AU - Everything that happened in the Addams Family Values movie happened exactly the same way except that Debbie/Steve lives and it's set in the omegaverse. Argyle is Eddie's adoptive brother and is married to Jonathan. El and Will are Wednesday and Pugsley. The Party are a combination of Joel. While Hopper and Joyce are Lurch and Granny. Eddie is a bit worried that his relationship with his mate will go stale if Steve keeps up these passionate murder attempts, so Argyle helps him think of a way to get him to settle down, which is to get Steve pregnant.

Canon Real DnD - Basically, anything that Eddie makes happen in his campaign happens in real life. It takes place pre-s4 then moves on through s4, but instead of Vecna, Eddie is using his author stand-in as the main villain and in turn grows more powerful. He, of course, abuses this power to make Steve into a blushing virgin who wants Eddie to fuck him and at one point, Eddie proceeds to feminize Steve. I want Steve to get pregnant at some point because of the campaign, I think, but right now, it's just something that's in the planning stages of the later chapters.

Cyberpunk Bitching Drugs - This one is one of the fantasy prompts that I'm expanding on. The cyber network in it isn't science-based and instead runs on magitech (my favorite kind of tech). In this, Eddie runs a pharmaceutical company that produces drugs/potions to help with omega and alpha medical problems. Eddie tricks his intern Dustin into giving Steve something that is supposed to help with his worsening ruts but in reality bitches Steve then Eddie gets him pregnant. There's also some light brainwashing as Eddie uses subliminal messages to manipulate Steve into thinking that he needs help with his ruts in the first place. Going try to get this to go through Steve's pregnancy, so it won't be a one-shot like System Hacked was.

Dark God Cult AU - When he was a kid, Steve was kidnapped and brought up in a cult where he was to be with Eddie (the reincarnation of a dark forest god) before the cops found him and brought him back to this parents. Years later, Steve goes on a camping trip with a couple of friends near where the cult compound used to be and one by one those on the camping trip start being ritualistically murdered. While the murders are happening, Steve begins having visions of himself as a pregnant goddess who makes love with an eldritch abomination aka Eddie. Heavily inspired by the Blair Witch Project, though there are some other horror movies in the mix, too. This one will definitely have a murder husbands vibe by the end of it.

Lost Boys Mermaid AU - The movie Lost Boys, except with mermaids. Steve is brought with his parents when they go out of town for business then they promptly ignore him and go to do their work. As he's wandering around, Steve comes across a supposed metal band, Corroded Coffin, and their lead singer, Eddie, becomes particularly enthralled with Steve, so much so that he begins turning Steve into a mer and his mate. Though, it does branch off from the movie in that, unlike David, Eddie succeeds in making Steve his mermaid bride and bringing him into his murderous pod.

Mummy (1999) AU - Based on the movie The Mummy (obviously) and has Steve as a former archeologist, who tanked his career after returning scarred from the horrors he saw when he was drafted into the Great War (WWI) and now more focuses on drowning himself to forget while attempting to help boost Robin's, his adoptive sister's, career. Nicknamed "King Steve" by some of the bars he frequently visits. Eddie is a Medjai warrior, who let a French Foreign Legion soldier go, not expecting her to survive the harsh desert. Nancy defied his expectations, and now Eddie must fix his mistake before the mummy that his people have guarded for centuries is released. There's also a small soulmates au plotline buried in it between Eddie and Steve due to me working the events of the Mummy Returns into the plot.

Omega Transmigration - Loosely, and I mean LOOSELY based on the show Outlander (which I've never seen). Omega Steve gets sent back through time and space to a medieval world where magic is real and elves are rebelling against their human oppressors. After helping an Elven boy with his modern day medical techniques, due to him being an EMT, Steve is brought directly into the stronghold of the elves. The leader there, Wayne, doesn't believe that Steve's intentions were altruistic and wants to have Steve hanged as a spy regardless. Eddie steps in and claims Steve is his true mate. Steve then goes through a process that turns him into a beautiful Elven omega and directly ties his fate to that of the Elven clan's. This one probably won't be that dark and will more follow Steve's struggle to fit in with the clan along with the war with the humans itself.

Omega Rehab - Uses a Victorian Clockwork Punk setting where Steve's parents are traditionalists. After getting into a few fights with alpha and running out of etiquette schools, Steve's parents convince him to try one last place before they leave him alone for the rest of his life, which is the Munson Omega Rehabilitation Center. Steve goes, believing that it will be more of the same, but the Munson Center has a different, more "scientific" way of rehabilitating the omegas that are sent to them. Eddie, of course, personally takes charge of Steve's training to turn him into the perfect little omega, who will happily carry the pups of his alpha without complaint. This one includes Steve training with mechanical sex dolls like in HoLN.

Pet Succubus AU - Steve comes from a family of witches who used demons to power their way of life. The higher up demons finally caught onto their schemes and slaughtered most of the family. Eddie took Steve as a pet, transforming him to have a woman's body before training him by way of fucking machine to become a sex addict. Once Steve is trained, Eddie turns Steve into a succubus and shows off his pretty little pet every chance he gets, keeping the new demoness stuffed full and satisfied. There isn't a lot of plot to this one, just more of an excuse to write extended scenes of Steve being trained by a machine as Eddie watches.

Royal Hypnotism AU - Someone called me a sick fuck over the original prompt, so I decided to make this one worthy of the name-calling. Set in a futuristic magitech society, King Eddie comes across Steve's small village and falls for him. He secretly buys Steve from his family and takes him with him to the summit where he's meeting his friends and fellow kings to discuss what's going on in their kingdoms. In Gareth's kingdom, where they're meeting, there's been some small rebellions, but Gareth stopped them by kidnapping the leaders and putting them through a feminization facility/factory and hypnotizing them in order to rewrite their memories. He proposes to send Steve through with the next batch and turn him into Grant's sister. Eddie agrees, and Steve is turned into a princess.

Time Travel AU - Redoing this one slightly, but I'm going to put it on the list anyway. What's different from when I first posted the snippet is that Steve is going to be feminized due to the portal that sends him back to the 80's. One, to make it more understandable why Steve doesn't recognize himself before he goes to the past. Then two, so that Eddie can get him pregnant, because I like getting Steve pregnant. Plot is the same though, Dustin sends Steve back in time to be the big sibling he always wanted and Eddie seduces Steve so that he marries him and stays in the past as a woman to become his wife and the mother of his children. Eddie might go a little darker than simply seducing Steve, but we'll see how it goes as I get through more chapters of the story.

Upside Down Transformation - In this one, everything that happened in s4 happened, only difference is that Eddie survived and Vecna is perma dead. They all return to their normal lives when Eddie notices that he's slowly changing, getting taller and stronger. His dick is getting bigger and thicker, too. He notices, also, that Steve is changing, too, but doesn't realize that it's to a different extent. Steve is humiliated to find out that he's going through the opposite kind of transformation, becoming more feminized. He tries to isolate himself, but Eddie barges in on him and catches Steve masturbating with his new pussy. The two fuck. They're basically the equivalent of alphas and omegas because of their bat bites and are the only ones in the world. I kind of plan to make it just a porny one-shot, but then because it's set in canon, my brain wants the government to capture them and experiment on them. So, it'll probably be a series, maybe, if this one receives positive feedback once it's posted.