#wishing waffle iron

[thatsbelievable]

[ambiguouslady42]

That would be so awsome! Can I get waffles with berries and cream?

-🩷👱🏼‍♀️Anya

Oh, that does sound wonderful! Now you're making me want waffles too! Maybe with eggs on the side?

[moonlitcelestial]

Chapter 17

Beyond the Lens - Logbook Videographer!Reader x OT8 Ateez

W/C 14,207

🎥 Series Masterlist 🎥

☽ Masterlist ☾ 

Inspiration Pictures

Pinterest Board Masterlist

Previous Chapter (Chapter 16)

Disclaimer: This story is purely a work of fiction. It is not meant to assume or mock anything about Ateez, Atiny, or anything relating to what I do not know about being a videographer.

Contains she/her pronouns.

The logo in the center is mine. Please do not reuse or copy.

I strongly recommend looking at the inspiration pictures and the Pinterest boards (which will be updating as the story goes on).

General Warnings: slow burn, cussing, conflict, angst, fluff, and obliviousness. 

CHAPTER WARNINGS - Cuteness, mentions of cooking knives

Author's Notes - Lots of links in this one (they are not necessary to read this but I wanted to add them for the ambiance). Also I couldn't help myself with some of the references. I highly recommend checking out the Inspiration Pictures to be able to see the layout clearly. Let me know what you think and if you want to be added to the taglist! <3 Moonie

☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

The morning sunlight was filtering through the curtains. You took in your surroundings and smiled at the two you were cuddled up with. Looking around further you noticed Toothless lying stretched out on Seonghwa’s legs. You stretched yourself away from the two boys and peeked out the window above your head. The light of day was just barely shining over the trees in your backyard. You rolled and got out of bed not so gracefully and grabbed your glasses and phone. Determination set into your bones with a mission to cook your boyfriends a large breakfast. Slipping your slippers on you made your way out of the room and you smiled at the sleeping forms in the other bedrooms. They were dead to the world. Mocha had taken up residence in the bend of Yeosang’s legs. Beans was curled up on San’s chest and you chuckled at her, an attention whore at its finest. 

After the short trip to the kitchen you grabbed several ingredients out of the fridge. You set the ingredients on the counter and grabbed your Beats to turn on some music. Generally you would have had it blasting on the speakers scattered throughout your house but the boys were sleeping and you knew they needed it. You shuffled your playlist that mostly consisted of Ateez, Xikers, some Stray Kids, and some other rock artists from the states. As the music flowed through your ears you turned on the coffee maker and brewed a full pot for everyone to partake if they wished. Remembering that some of the boys had been fairly gone last night you grabbed your spare bottle of pain meds and set it on the higher part of your island.

You knew it would be nice out today so you moved to open some of the windows. As soon as the giants heard the clicks of you unlocking the windows they all came running down the stairs, leaping across the pedestals along the wall to get to their favorite spots. You opened the window next to the island and you cracked open the window you could reach behind the large cat treehouse. Mocha and Beans were already on their favorite perches on the treehouse. Toothless was sitting in his hammock on the window in the kitchen taking in the fresh air. Moving back into the main portion of the kitchen you made your way toward the pantry where you grabbed the dry ingredients for waffles and pancakes as well as the waffle iron. Setting everything down you moved to the sink and washed your hands. 

You moved with a fluid grace around the kitchen, which came with years of helping your mom. The boiled eggs were already done and resting and you had already made several pancakes and waffles for the boys. Now you move onto cutting up some fresh fruit between batches of the sweets. You were so into your music that you hadn't realized Yeosang came down the stairs. He appeared in front of you at the island and you almost cut yourself with the knife you startled so hard. You set the knife down and pushed the button on your headphones. Taking them away from your ears and setting them onto the island counter you smiled at him with a sheepish smile. 

“Good morning Sangie, did you sleep okay?” You briefly looked up at him and returned to cutting your strawberries. 

“Surprisingly well, although I have a mild headache.” You laughed lightly at his answer.

“Parties at my house tend to have that aftereffect. Thankfully for you I have a good hangover cure. There is some coffee over in the pot if you want some, if you want sugar it is right next to the coffee maker and creamer is in the fridge on the door. If you don't want coffee you are welcome to my tea collection above the coffee maker, if you choose tea all you have to do is push the button for the size you want and dunk the tea bag in. There are also some fruit drinks in the fridge, and pain meds set out on the counter. Make yourself at home.” You motioned to everything while you spoke.  

You paused your cutting when the small alarm went off for you to take out the waffle. Making your way over you opened the small waffle maker and grabbed the chopsticks to take it out and set it on the plate. You stuck the plate into the smaller part of your oven so it would keep warm. The stack of pancakes was fairly tall already so you had momentarily stopped cooking them so you could focus on cutting the fruit. As you moved around the kitchen you watched Yeosang out of the corner of your eye. He was leaning against the counter closest to the coffee maker holding one of your mugs in both hands, a tea bag handing over the side. He looked so content just standing there watching. 

Smiling at the small idea that just popped into your brain you approached Yeosang. His eyes widened at you comically as you put your hands over his and moved his hands to sit the cup on the countertop. You stood there smiling at him. He was looking over you curiously, his head tilted to the side and you could see the cute birthmark right next to his eye. His hands had dropped to his side as he froze while the gears were turning in his head. You took a step closer to him slowly and lifted your hands to cup his cheeks, you gently turned his head to the side so you could place a kiss to the birthmark. As you pulled away you looked at him. His eyes were practically bugging out of his head and he was trying so hard to suppress a small smile. His face was almost as red as his birthmark. He reached up to touch the spot you just kissed and then tried to hide from you. 

“I have always wanted to do that, and now that you are one of my eight boyfriends I can do it all I want.” He peeked out from between his fingers to look at you. He dropped his hands to the side and moved just a little closer to you to see if he heard you right. 

“What?” He blinked at you owlishly. You giggled at his response. He seemed like he was still completely processing the words that just came out of your mouth. 

“One of my boyfriends doesn't seem to process very well in the morning, it's a good thing he is a pretty doberman.” The responding smile that lit up his face was blinding as he took in the words the second time. He grabbed you and pulled you to him. Your arms immediately went around his middle while your heart started beating just a little quicker. You let out a breathless giggle as he squeezed you, resting your head on his shoulder he squeezed you tighter almost enough that you couldn’t breath. You heard a set of steps coming down the stairs. No matter how much you wanted to look to see which one of your boyfriends it was Yeosang didn't release you. 

“Good morning my moon and Sangie,” just from the one sentence you knew exactly who it was. His footsteps approached the two of you and you felt him plant a kiss on the back of your head. Yeosang seemed to have recovered from his bout of cuteness aggression and released you. You took a step back and turned to look at Seonghwa. His hair was a little messy, you reached up and fixed it gently. He smiled at you and pressed a quick peck to your lips. You let your face split into a grin as he stepped past you and gave Yeosang the same treatment. 

“Hwa, there is some ice in the freezer and a special setting for iced coffee if you want some.” He smiled fully at you, you pointed above your head to the cupboard full of cups and mugs. He grabbed the Star Wars one and moved to the fridge for the ice. Once you helped him figure it out you herded the two of them to sit at the island while you prepared the breakfast. 

The three of you chatted idly as you moved around the kitchen. You had finished cutting up the fruit and arranged it on one of the large wooden charcuterie boards you had. Once you were finished arranging the fruits you wrapped it up in cling wrap and stored it in the fridge. Throughout the process of setting it up you caught Seonghwa on more than one occasion snagging some of your cut strawberries. You left him some out and he immediately started snacking, feeding a couple to Yeosang as he went.

Once you were satisfied by the amount of both waffles and pancakes you started on the more savory side of things. You grabbed the bacon, steak, pork, and chicken out of the fridge. Seonghwa’s eyes got wide at the amount of food you just pulled out. Yeosang’s eyes got wide when you pulled out the chicken. You laughed at them as you started preparing everything, you sliced the steak first, threw it into one of your pans, and moved onto arranging the bacon to cook. This time the three of you turned to look to see who was coming down the stairs as soon as the first step creaked. Wooyoung came around the corner releasing a loud yawn. You waved to him with the chopsticks in your hands and started prodding the bacon around as it cooked. What you missed was his wide eyes at the smell of food and possibly because of you.  

You gave him your coffee and tea spiel without even looking up at him to see his reaction. He made his way past you and evaded you as you took a step to the side to set down your chopsticks and toss around the steak. You heard him hum as the first sip of coffee slipped past his lips. A smile broke out onto your face as you looked at him. He returned your smile with a cute sleepy one. 

“Do you need some help with anything, Noona?” He set his cup of coffee to the side and looked at you curiously. 

“If you could grab one of the other packages of meat and cut it up for me that would be great, this batch is almost done and I have a lot of mouths to feed.” He slipped past you and made his way to the station you had previously set up. 

“There should be clean cutting boards for each kind of meat in the cupboard below you.” He nodded and diligently started cutting the other various meats. When you turned around next he had all of it separated and waiting for you. A large grin split across your face as he looked at you with a small smile while leaning against the counter with his cup of coffee. You turned back and started plating the meats on the large platter you set out. The steak and bacon were looking great, you stepped back to open the larger portion of your oven. Wooyoung was already there and he opened it for you. You set the meat on the middle of the rack and turned to him with a smile. 

Glancing over to the other two at the bar to see them leaning together and basking in a quiet moment, Yeosang had peered up at you through his lashes and raised his eyebrow at you. You winked at him. You kind of wanted to destroy the quiet moment, your inner Wooyoung tendencies were trying to shine through; courtesy of your close proximity to him. Turning back to Wooyoung who was looking at you already, you smirked and stepped closer. His smile widened but it stopped growing when he noticed how close you were. You quickly grabbed his face and placed a quick kiss on his lips. You stepped back and his eyes were so wide you worried they might fall out of his head. You put a hand over your mouth to stifle the huge smile that was attempting to worm its way onto your face.

“Yah?!” He paused looking between you and the other two at the island; he was trying very hard to process what just happened. The other two were looking at him like he was crazy after he startled them. 

“Yah!!” He shouted again, his brain must have crashed and required a yelling restart. He looked back at you and pointed between him, the other two, then to himself again, and finally to you. 

“Wait, aahh!! I'm going to get in so much trouble, Joongie said not to do anything until he talks to you!!” He ran a couple of steps away from you toward the nook and hid himself behind his hands as he crouched down. You snorted at his panicked reaction, he wasn't thinking the situation completely through. The other two were stifling their reactions and you could have sworn Yeosang was recording the entire thing. 

“Shhhhh, our other boyfriends are sleeping.” You were trying to keep a straight face as you held your finger up to your lips. You felt your face twitch from the amount of effort you had to use to keep your face neutral. He peeked out from between his fingers and you knew that he had picked up that habit from Yeosang. “Surprise?” you shrugged finally letting the smile split across your face. 

He immediately straightened and marched over to you getting close like you had earlier. He grabbed your face and quickly brought his lips to yours. Your eyes fluttered closed as you smiled into the burning kiss. His lips were slightly chapped and he tasted faintly of the coffee he was sipping earlier. You settled your hands on his waist and you gave him a light squeeze. He tilted his head and you could feel his smirk as his mouth worked against yours. He was entirely in control of the kiss as he tilted your head back just barely. You pulled him closer by the waist and you heard a noise of surprise. The both of you broke apart slightly panting and looked at the person who was standing behind Seonghwa and Yeosang. Of course leave it to San to walk into you and Wooyoung’s antics. His eyes were comically wide.

“I need coffee to even process this,” he muttered. You laughed and stepped away from Wooyoung to grab him a cute mug. You missed Wooyoung’s celebratory motion behind you, the only indication something happened was the twin snorts that came out of Yeosang and Seonghwa. Grabbing the pot of coffee you poured him a cup and set it down in front of him at the island. You grabbed the sugar tin and made your way over to get creamer. After you had secured the goods you returned to him and set them in front of him. He looked up at you with a small smile. You returned the gesture and stepped to the other side of the island to grab the remaining meat and another pan. If he needed time to wake up and process you would let him have it. Wooyoung walked over to stand beside you at the large stove.

“You are a minx, I cannot believe that you just did that to me.” You felt his arm snake around your waist and gently squeeze your hip. 

“I took a page out of your menace book, I figured it was about time you got a taste of your own medicine.” He pinched your side and you let out a small yelp. He was lucky you were not holding a spatula or spoon otherwise he would have gotten smacked. Instead you opted for snapping your chopsticks at him. He grabbed the other pair you set aside for the pork and did the same. You turned to look at him with your head tilted, a silent challenge. 

You stepped away from the stove and took up an almost fencing-like stance. You raised your other hand and waved at him to see if he would join you in a battle of the chopsticks. He mirrored your posture and you lunged at him snapping your chopsticks right close to his face. He evaded you by leaning back and he counterattacked by snapping his close to your sides. You let out a laugh and leapt back and taunted him to see if he would do it again. He tried again and you leapt around him narrowly avoiding the countertop. He turned toward you and before he could react you started a flurry of attacks alternating sides effectively backing him up to the edge of the kitchen close to the open window with Toothless. You booped his nose and turned on your heel to walk back over to the stove. A loud laugh erupted from somewhere near the stairs. Yunho was standing at the base of the stairs laughing at the two of you. 

“How in the world do you two have this much energy?” He asked, stepping past the rest of the boys and into the kitchen toward the coffee pot. You shrugged at him and tossed around the chicken. 

“Woo, you need to flip the pork otherwise it is going to burn.” He came over to your side and wrapped his arm around you as he did so. He skillfully tossed the pork with the pan and set it back down. You smiled at him and he kissed your cheek. Instead of reacting like you usually did, which was to playfully push him away, you just smiled at him.  

Yunho looked to the three other boys to see if they saw what happened, each of them gave him some noncommittal answer or a shrug of their shoulders. They knew at this point you would be telling each of them in your own special way, even though San may have spoiled that for himself. The two of you were standing in front of the stove and listening to the other four chatter while keeping an eye on the meat. Wooyoung seemed to just be content with holding you close. Stepping back you moved to grab one of your oven mitts and grab the tray you had put into the main portion of the oven. Wooyoung had clocked your intention and immediately moved to open and close it for you. You drained the grease out into a small jar you had set aside and put the chicken onto the platter. Wooyoung had cut it up into the perfect strips. You rearranged them with your chopsticks to make sure you had enough room for the pork which was still cooking. Picking up a piece of chicken, you held your hand under it and approached Yeosang. 

He looked at you with wide eyes and you opened your mouth to show him your intention. He hesitantly opened his mouth and you gave him the piece of chicken, he covered his mouth as he chewed. You heard him let out a hum of approval and you did a mental celebration that he likes your cooking. You turned around and went back to the platter carefully stepping around Wooyoung who was finishing up the pork. You grabbed a piece of steak and did the same thing with Seonghwa. He was smiling at you the entire time you approached. When you got close enough he opened his mouth for you and you gave him the bite of steak. He threw his head back and groaned, you were two for two at this point. You approached San with a piece of pork Wooyoung had just sat down and offered it to him. He still seemed like he wasn't quite awake yet. He gently took it from you and hummed with a nod. Next was Yunho, you grabbed a piece of chicken and offered it to him. He crouched down to your height and took it from your chopsticks. As he chewed his face split into a grin. 

“You did wonderfully Y/n-nie, this tastes really good.” He said, covering his mouth.

“Thank you,” you paused considering the words you were about to say. “Also I'd prefer if you called me yours or your girlfriend,” You smiled up at him and watched as his face went from smiling to shock. Before you could blink he had picked you up and spun with you. You let out a loud giggle and snuggled your head against the crook of his neck. Once he was done celebrating he set you back down on your feet. His smile was contagious. You squeezed his arm and moved away from him to go back to the stove. You still had to make the eggs. You grabbed them off the counter and started cracking them into a bowl to make scrambled eggs. Once you had put at least fifteen in you grabbed the milk back out of the fridge and poured a little in the eggs. Seasoning it with salt and pepper and a couple of other things you started mixing it. Once you were satisfied that the mixture was thoroughly combined you poured it into a pan. 

“Could one of you loves set the table outside pretty please? The silverware and chopsticks are in the drawer closest to the dishwasher and the plates are in the cabinet closest to the pantry, the cups are above the coffee maker.” You kept your eye on the mixture and heard a couple of chairs scrape against the wood floor. A couple of people gently maneuvered themselves around you and someone pressed a kiss to the side of your head. You looked down just slightly at the affection. This was something that was going to take some getting used to. The other three boys had made their way out of the kitchen. You waved San over to you so you could keep an eye on the eggs. He got up and slowly made his way over to you. When he got close enough you set down your chopsticks and grabbed his hand. 

“Hi Sannie, I'm sorry if I have overwhelmed you. I know walking down the stairs to see one of your boyfriends kissing another person must have been a little weird.” You looked down a little in embarrassment, you really hoped that you didn't screw this up on your first official day of being with them.  He squeezed your hand. 

“Y/n-nie, can I be completely honest with you?” You nodded at him and squeezed his hand back.  

He took a deep breath, “I was the first one to develop feelings for you. My first thought when I saw you walk into the waiting room of your studio was that you were gorgeous and magnificent, I couldn't believe you were real. After a little bit of getting to know you I expressed my growing feelings for you to the boys and was so worried that I would mess things up with them if I had feelings for you. When Joongie asked us a couple of days later about adding you to our relationship I was so excited. Coming down the stairs to see you kissing Wooyoung made my heart soar because I would finally get to do this without repercussions.” He gently grabbed your face and pressed his lips to yours. His kiss was the opposite of Wooyoung’s, he was gentle but sure. He moved his hands to your hips while you melted into the kiss. You let your eyes flutter shut while you brought your arms to rest on his broad shoulders. His hands slid around to the center of your back pulling you impossibly closer. You could taste the faint notes of coffee on his soft lips, he sighed through his nose as you moved your hands to play with the hair at the nape of his neck. He pulled away from you and rested his forehead on yours. He was grinning like he just won the lottery, his dimples on full display. Your eyes flicked over to the eggs and you grabbed the chopsticks and absentmindedly shuffled them around. 

You heard Toothless meowing, moving to look around San, you saw him sitting at the back door looking pitifully at the three men that were sitting outside basking in the morning light. You tried to step away from San but he pulled you into a hug. 

“I am so glad we have you Jagi,” (sweetie) He muttered against the skin of your neck. He placed a gentle kiss there before letting you go. You stepped toward Toothless and smiled as he meowed up at you. You opened the door and let him out, you may as well leave the door open at this point. He rushed outside and started rubbing on Seonghwa and Wooyoung. He was definitely going to love having the boys around more. You turned back to head to the kitchen and watched as San was taking care of the eggs. Approaching him you slid your hand around his tiny waist and bent to press a kiss to his bare shoulder; bless this man’s obsession with tank tops. He turned to look at you with a smile. 

“They should be done, could you grab a pot holder and take it outside to our other boyfriends while I grab the rest of the things.” He nodded and grabbed the pot holder that was laying on the counter not too far from him. You made your way to the fridge and pulled out the fresh fruit tray. Unwrapping it you threw away the cling wrap and brought it out to your boys. The three who hadn't been awake when you were preparing it exclaimed at the artful way everything was displayed. 

“There is plenty more where this came from. If you find that you want more of a particular fruit let me know and I'll grab it.” You went back into the kitchen and grabbed all of the toppings you could think of setting them on the counter. You grabbed everything and set it on another carrying tray. Bringing it out you smiled at the boys who almost snatched the whipped cream can from you before you even sat the tray down. You shook your heads at them and went back in to grab the pancakes and waffles, once you made it back you balanced both large plates that were stacked high with the sweets and made your way outside. The boys cheered for you as you set the plates down. You went back in for drinks and the large meat tray, you felt eyes on you and you turned to see Jongho standing there rubbing his eyes. 

“Hi Aegiya (baby), breakfast is being served outside if you would like to go take a seat.” As soon as you spoke he looked at you with the large tray balanced in your hands and the several juice drink cartons under your arms. He wordlessly grabbed the large tray from you and walked outside to set it on the table. Smiling at him you readjusted your drinks, moved to grab the boiled eggs instead and made your way back out. You set all of the drinks and eggs down and placed your hands on Yeosang’s shoulders, he leaned himself into you as best he could with the back of the chair in the way. The only thing that was missing was two of your boyfriends. 

“I am going to wake the other two up. You go ahead and start eating, if you need anything while I am gone you are welcome to snoop around until you find it.” You smiled at each of them and walked back into the house. Making your way toward the stairs you looked up and saw Mingi heading down. He smiled warmly at you as he made it to the last step. 

“Good morning, breakfast is outside with the rest of the boys, go start eating. I will be back, I am going to wake Joongie up.” He nodded at you and placed a kiss on your hairline before walking away. He was such a giant sweet princess, and he didn't even know you were dating yet. You walked up the stairs and made your way to your room. There was a lump under the covers at the center of your bed, on top of said lump was Mocha. She must have lost interest in everything downstairs and retreated to the quiet of your room; Hongjoong being a heat source was just a bonus for her. You approached cautiously and crawled up onto the bed. The only thing you could see was Hongjoong’s face amidst the blankets. You gently shifted Mocha to get off him as you got closer. 

You started placing gentle kisses all over his face, he let out a small groan and scooted away from your assault. You chuckled and started running your fingers through his hair to partially tame it. “Joongie, breakfast is ready for you downstairs.” He murmured and reached out blindly to you. You let him grab ahold of you and he tugged you down. You were now situated on your back as he crawled his way on top of you. You let out a laugh at him. 

“Joongie, I made you breakfast.” He stirred a little more and nuzzled himself against your neck. 

“Don't wanna move.”

“How about five minutes of cuddles and then we head down.” He nodded against you, you shook your head with a smile and started combing your fingers through his hair again. He hummed at the motion and you could feel his cute little smile against your neck. Looking over to the clock on your shelf you realized that it was already almost 11 a.m. You moved your hand from his hair to his shoulders and started rubbing the length of them. He whined at you and you stopped, you pushed your head back and looked at him curiously; his eyes were just barely opened. He grabbed the hand he could reach and put it on his head. You let out a giggle at how cute this man was when he was half asleep. You resumed your ministrations and placed your cheek on the crown of his head. 

Not even a minute later Wooyoung came bounding into the room and jumped on your bed. “Yah! Joongie hyung stop hogging our girl.” He started to pull the covers away from Hongjoong; who almost growled at him. You kept your laughter at bay as Wooyoung kept trying to get him up off of you. You looked at Wooyoung who was smiling like a madman, you held up your hand to stop whatever he was about to do. He pouted at you and sat back on his haunches waiting for you to get Hongjoong up. 

“Come on songbird, let's go eat.” His head perked up from where it was resting against you. His dark hair was scattered and his eyes were half closed. “I've got coffee and a large breakfast out there waiting for you if the other boys haven’t devoured it yet.” You ran your hand through his hair again attempting to smooth it out; it wasn't really working.

“It's the biggest and best spread of food I’ve seen in a while Hyung” Wooyoung chirped from beside the two of you. 

He grumbled and sat up from his place. Wooyoung had almost immediately grabbed you and him and dragged you out of your room. You followed behind Wooyoung to the porch and you saw two full plates set aside for you and Hongjoong. You smiled as you separated yourself from the two of them and make your way back into the kitchen to prepare Hongjoong his coffee. You had to brew a little more so as you waited you started collecting the things to bring outside. You grabbed your little ice bucket and scooped some crushed ice into it before bringing it outside to set in the middle of the table. Once you heard the coffee pot stop brewing you grabbed it and also brought it out to the boys. As well as a music note coffee mug for Hongjoong.

As soon as you got back outside you stopped a second to take in the scene. The boys were all smiling and laughing with each other. Their plates were full of the various foods you made, but even though you told them to start eating they hadn’t; they waited for you. You felt a small smile creep onto your face. Mocha, Beans and Toothless were all making their rounds to see if they could trick one of the boys into giving them something; if they hadn’t already. You felt a peace settle over you. 

You felt someone’s eyes on you and you looked around the table to see Mingi looking at you with his head tilted. You smiled wider at him and started to make your way around the table offering coffee refills. Once you were sure the boys were finally taken care of you sat between Hongjoong and the empty seat, which was quickly filled by Beans. You reached over and scratched her head before starting to eat. Once they noticed you took your first bite they started eating. 

A couple minutes into eating you felt Hongjoong rest his hand on your knee, you looked over to see him engaged in a conversation with Jongho across the table. You brought your hand down and rested it over his, almost immediately he turned his hand over and intertwined his fingers with yours. You all ate in relative silence and when most of your food was gone you sat back and watched some of the boys grab for some more food. 

“Y/n-nie,” you looked up and around Hongjoong and Seonghwa to San, “Can we go swimming later?” Each pair of eyes fell to yours, some of the boys were leaning toward you in anticipation of your answer.  

“You are grown adults, you don't have to ask for permission Sannie.” you chuckled. “Although I might have a little bit of heart trouble seeing eight handsome men swimming or meandering about in my backyard.” 

“Don’t worry Noona, I know CPR.” Your head moved over immediately to look at Wooyoung, his chest was puffed out in a proud manner; which earned him a smack from Mingi. 

“Yah! Am I not allowed to flirt with our girlfriend?” He rubbed the back of his neck where Mingi smacked him and where Yunho was about to smack him for being a yapper. Both Mingi and Jongho’s gaze shot to you. Mingi burst out of his chair and scared the daylights out of San who was sitting next to him eating his strawberry and whipped cream covered waffle peacefully. Hongjoong squeezed your hand under the table as you looked at him; he was trying to hold back a smile.

“I should have told you last blabbermouth,” you muttered, sinking into your chair in embarrassment. You met Jongho’s intense gaze and you could see the small smile on his face. He didn’t keep eye contact with you for very long; opting to take a sip of his drink to break eye contact. You looked over to Mingi who was beaming at you. 

“You accepted?” Mingi was still standing and now leaning on his hands which were situated on the end of the table. 

“Does this answer your question?” You raised the hand that was intertwined with Hongjoong’s from under the table. If his smile could have gotten wider it would have. You could barely see his beautiful eyes because they were hidden by his cheeks. He burst up from his leaning position and marched his way over to you. Hongjoong let go of your hand as you were immediately brought out of your chair by Mingi. He grabbed your shoulders and brought you to him in a hug. You laughed and wrapped your arms around his waist. 

“Hi Mingles,” you said between huffs of laughter. His hold on you tightened before he released you, his hands were still sitting on your shoulders. They moved up your neck to cradle your face. He was still beaming at you and you were sure you had the same look on your face. He pulled you closer to him and ducked down to place his plush lips on yours. As soon as he did you melted into his gentle hold, closing your eyes. You heard a few hoots from the boys behind you as you stepped closer to him leaving no space between the two of you. One of his hands traveled from your face to the back of your neck as he tilted your head back so he could stand at his full height. Your hands felt the heat from his back seeping into them, this was real. You felt something hit you square on the back of he head. Peeling yourself away from Mingi you turned around to look and see who did it. Your eyes met Wooyoung’s and immediately you knew. 

“Jung Wooyoung!” You separated yourself from Mingi and flew around the table to get to where he was seated. His eyes got wide as he saw you coming and he leapt out of his chair knocking it over and taking off toward the french doors that separated the porch from your backyard. You sprinted after him, he was quick you knew that much from watching the clips of him. You were just as quick but you knew this place like the back of your hand so you knew all of the possible escape routes he could take. You chased him down the pathway lined with firefly lights out toward the pool. An absolutely mischievous idea came to mind. Just as he skidded to a stop in front of the curved part of the pool you shoved him into it. He waved his arms to try to steady himself but you had knocked him just hard enough that it wouldn’t work, he let out a strangled shriek before hitting the water. 

Most of the boys had followed you out into the backyard and some of them fell over with how hard they were laughing. He came back up for air and glared at you; it was half hearted at best. You were grinning at him and he tried to grab your ankle to pull you into the water but you were just out of reach.

“Looks like one of us gets to swim a little earlier than the rest of us, hopefully the cat likes water.” You blew him a kiss, flipped your hair and walked back up to the rest of the boys. Yunho and Mingi both gave you a high five as you walked past. Yeosang was covering the bottom half of his face while he laughed. Jongho was grinning ear to ear as you passed him to go back onto the porch. Seonghwa and Hongjoong were both attempting and failing to contain their grins. San was just smiling proudly at you as he made his way over to help Wooyoung. 

After grabbing a spare towel from one of the stashes you had out here and setting it into his chair you settled yourself back into your seat and started munching on a few strawberries. The boys filtered back in and you smirked at Wooyoung who was absolutely soaked. Just as everyone made their way back onto the porch, Toothless hopped into the chair next to you. You reached out and petted him scratching under his chin. ”Yous is the best black cat around, aren't you bud” San let out a laugh and you heard Woo huff.

After finishing up breakfast and cleaning up the table Seonghwa was sweet enough to help you clean up in the kitchen. He was rinsing off the dishes and handing them to you to put into the dishwasher; the perfect system. The boys had disappeared all over the house while you two just cleaned in a comfortable silence. He handed you another dish and you heard someone clear their throat. You both looked up to see San, Wooyoung, Mingi and Yunho shirtless in their swimsuits. Your eyes ran over each of their toned bodies, their beautiful honey colored skin was absolutely gorgeous, you felt your brain and heart lock up. 

Fuck. 

Heat rushed to your face and you almost dropped the plate you were holding. You immediately covered your face using the plate in your hands. Someone clicked their tongue at you. 

“Remember what happened last time princess, don’t cover your face.” Yunho’s voice was a lot closer than you thought he was. You peeked over the plate to see him leaning over the island close to you. You squeaked and backed up a step from his intense gaze. When you stepped back you saw how red Seonghwa’s face was as well. You set the plate into the dishwasher and as soon as you straightened from closing it you saw the rest of your boyfriends appear around the corner from the stairs.

The heat that had rushed to your face started traveling down your neck and to your chest. You could physically feel how much of it was radiating off your body. Your heart was hammering in your chest at the beautiful sight in front of you. You opened your mouth to say something but you couldn’t even form a coherent thought let alone a sentence. 

“We are going to go swim, you both are welcome to join us whenever you want,” Hongjoong was smiling like Cheshire the cat at the two of you standing behind the island. These damned assholes knew exactly what they were doing to the both of you. You nodded quickly and looked to Seonghwa, who wasn’t much better than you. He muttered some version of okay and the others seemed to be satisfied with the answers as they walked off through the back door. 

“Holy fuck,” you whispered. You sank down to sit on the floor to ground yourself from the immediate clusterfuck that was your mind after that show. Seonghwa looked down at you and decided to join you. 

“Those are our boyfriends, sometimes I still can’t even believe it and I have been with them for years.” 

“I’ve not even been with you guys for a day and I still feel like I am daydreaming. Holy shit this is real.” He rested his head on yours. 

“It’s real my moon.” Your responding smile sent shivers down his spine. 

“Y’know, I really like that nickname.” you scooted closer to him. 

“Really?” He grabbed your hand and started running his thumb over the back of it after he intertwined your fingers. You looked at your intertwined hands and smiled, the simple affection doing wonders for your poor heart. 

“Yeah, for as long as I can remember I have always loved the moon. It holds a special place in my heart. I also really like it because it reminds me of my Granny.” He hummed letting you know he was still listening. 

“She used to call me her moon amongst the stars, saying that no matter what phase we were in in our lives we would always be there for each other. It is also one of the several reasons I got the waves with the moon in the center.” You held out your left arm looking at it. 

“I know I told you guys that it was for my love of the ocean but that was only partially true. It was because of her, we both loved the ocean, she would always tell me it was her first love before meeting her last; my Papa. She always snuck me away to the ocean when I was having a hard time. When I moved here I didn’t get to have that anymore so I got it tattooed. No matter where I am I get to carry a piece of her with me.” 

“That’s beautiful. She sounds like a special lady.”

“She really was.” Both of your heads turned as soon as you heard yelling in the background. The boys were playing a match of chicken in the pool. You watched as Yeosang and Yunho took on Mingi and Hongjoong. Yeosang reached over to knock the captain off Mingi’s shoulders but Mingi got to Yunho first and knocked him off kilter which sent the both of them into the pool. Wooyoung’s laughter rang through the backyard and you snickered with him. You briefly caught sight of Wooyoung getting out of the pool to go down the slide. 

“Want to go join our boys?” You looked at Seonghwa who was already looking at you with a cute smile. What you didn't know was he was watching you the entire time you were watching them, just appreciating you. 

“Yeah, let's go.” He got up and offered you a hand to help. You followed him up the stairs and to your room where his go bag was. 

“You can change in here or in the bathroom, I’m going to change in the closet.” He hummed as he dug through his bag. You stepped into the closet, closing the door. Making your way over to the drawers you opened it to grab your swimsuit. You held up the two options you had, and decided on the one that showed your moth tattoo. Slipping out of your sleepwear you pulled the bathing suit up and adjusted yourself so it fit properly, making sure to accentuate your curves just a little. It had a cutout just under your chest and it came up a little higher on your hip so the entirety of both of your hip tattoos were visible. You checked yourself out in the mirror and smiled, if they were going to be assholes about showing skin, so were you even if it made you a little self conscious. Setting down your glasses you grabbed your contacts and made quick work of getting them into your eyes. 

You knocked on the door and heard Seonghwa tell you that you were clear. You stepped out of the closet and looked at him, his back was to you while he petted Mocha, you admired the view. He straightened back up and turned to you, his jaw immediately dropped and you felt a bashful smile creep up onto your face. 

“You are absolutely stunning.” He walked up to you and put his hands on your hips. You wrapped your arms around his neck and smiled up at him fully. He leaned in pulling you closer by the hips and captured your lips. You leaned into the kiss closing your eyes and smiled once his hands started roaming around your back and up your spine. The heat of his hands sent a shiver throughout your body. Your hands made their way into his dark hair which you gave a light tug to before moving one to his cheek. You felt his sigh as he tilted his head to make the kiss just a little deeper. His hands pulled you closer by your lower back and you arched into his touch. The both of you were absorbed in the feeling of each other. He was the one strong enough to pull away when you heard general commotion from outside. You both looked at each other panting slightly, his ears were tinged red and you let out a small giggle at him. He rested his forehead against yours and took a couple of deep breaths. 

“I could do that all day, but I don’t think the others would like me hogging you” he whispered, nuzzling his nose against yours. Your responding giggle made him smile even wider. 

“I don’t think they would either,” you gave him a quick kiss on his cheek and made your way out of the room and to the linen closet right outside your door. You grabbed as many towels as you could before looking back at Seonghwa. He looked almost dazed, like he was deep in thought. 

“You okay my star?” He turned to look at you, you could see the thoughts churning behind his eyes like storm clouds. You made your way back to him and set the towels on your bed. “What’s going on Hwa?” He hesitated and opened his mouth and closed it again. You patiently waited for him to win the battle in his head. 

“I love you, I know it is really early, but I feel it in my heart and soul that you are meant to be with us.” he shuffled his feet on the plush rug he was standing on. His hands were wringing together in front of him. You grabbed his wrist and made him let go of his other hand. You pressed a kiss to the inside of his arm before pulling his arms over your shoulders into a hug. 

“I love you too,” you whispered. He sagged in relief and rested on you. You both stood there for a minute before you felt something rub against your calf. The both of you separated and looked down to see Mocha. 

“Hi sweet girl,” you crouched down and held out your hand to her. She rubbed her face on it and then rubbed on Seonghwa. He lightly laughed at the ticklish sensation before squatting down with you to pet her. You heard Wooyoung screech and then a large splash followed by the loud laughter of Mingi and Yunho. Both of you looked at each other and realized that you had completely forgotten they were outside in the pool. Standing up you walked to the bed for the mountain of towels. Seonghwa grabbed a few from you and you both made your way down the stairs and out to the backyard.

When you appeared you set down the towels on the small circular daybed and turned to look at the hooligans in the water. Hongjoong was wearing a beautiful smile that held a little bit of menace behind it. Wooyoung had a shit eating grin on his face, San who stood next to him was smiling a wide dimpled smile. Yunho and Mingi were both looking at you in shock. Jongho was slightly interested but he seemed more bashful than anything. Yeosang was trying to hide his full smile up at you from close to the edge of the pool, he was close enough that you could see the small amount of red on his face. 

“My eyes are up here boys.” All of them straightened. You rolled your eyes at them and made your way to the edge of the pool. You sat down on the concrete and put your feet into the water, the first one to get to you was Yeosang. He was looking up at you with a sweet smile. 

“Hi,” you tucked some of his hair back and let your hand linger on the birthmark close to his eye. He flushed a deeper red and just briefly looked away from you. 

“Hi, want some help getting into the pool?” You couldn’t hold back the smile that wormed its way onto your face. What a sweetheart.

“Sure Sangie.” Before you even finished your word his hands grabbed your waist and he lifted you off the concrete and into the pool. The chill of the water sent a shiver up your spine and goosebumps broke out across your skin. You held onto his biceps and squeezed slightly before muttering for only him to hear “So strong” You looked up to his eyes and they were wide and his face was beet red. He brought his hands up and tried to cover his face. 

“Nuh uh, if I can’t hide my face neither can you.” You pulled his wrists away and you knew he let you because there was no way he would have moved if he tried to stop you. His smile was bashful and he was trying to look down. Before anything else could happen you both felt a wave of water wash over you. You shrieked and peeked behind Yeosang and saw Mingi and Jongho grinning like fools. This was war. You launched yourself from your mostly protected position from behind Yeosang and attached yourself to Mingi and he let out a noise of surprise, his hands moving to your back to support you. 

“Hi Mingles," you said sweetly, kissing his cheek before letting go and dropping to the floor of the pool. Before either of them could make a move you splashed the both of them as hard as you could and dived away. Thankfully it was a saltwater pool so you could open your eyes as you moved. You spotted Wooyoung and San standing there and decided it would be great fun to scare the shit out of San. You popped your head up above the water before diving again, you moved quickly through the pool and popped up out of the water right beside him whispering “Boo” His responding shout quickly turned into a whine as he realized who scared him. Wooyoung was laughing his ass off. The brief millisecond he looked behind you gave you the clue you needed to duck under the water. Yunho soared over you and almost into Wooyoung. You popped back up and smirked. 

“Next time don’t let Wooyo give you away, you almost had me.” He turned around and pouted at you while Wooyoung launched himself at you. He must have had enough of your teasing today. He latched on you like a koala and bit your shoulder. You let out a noise of protest, smirked at him over your shoulder and jumped up, dunking the both of you into the water. In the haze he had let you go. You pushed away from him and to the two closest to the edge of the pool. Hongjoong and Seonghwa. You appeared behind Hongjoong and Seonghwa smirked at you. Before Hongjoong could react you jumped on his back.

“Hi Joongie, whatcha doin?” He looked over his shoulder at your beaming face, and then to the chaos behind you. He shook his head and smiled.

“Oh y'know, trying to keep all eight of my partners from being too crazy, same old same old.” You let out a laugh and bit him on the juncture between his shoulder and neck. He let out a loud noise that sounded similar to no before turning to glare at you over his shoulder. “You are just as bad as Woo,” he muttered while turning back to Seonghwa. 

“I am so much worse, just you wait,” you said right next to his ear. His whole body shuddered and you felt goosebumps ripple across his skin. You laughed at him and let go of his back then moved around him and grabbed Seonghwa’s arm and put it over your shoulder. He looked down at you and smiled. You were just hoping that they wouldn’t attack you while you were with these two. Yeosang approached the three of you, you grinned at him. You didn't even have time to process anything before he grabbed you around the waist and stole you out from under Seonghwa’s arm. He threw you over his shoulder in one swift movement and dragged you to the middle of the pool. 

“You traitor,” you yelled as he took you away. You looked at Hongjoong and Seonghwa as he carried you away; they were both laughing. As soon as he stopped moving he flung you over his shoulder and into the pool. You heard the laughter of everyone as you broke the surface of the water. 

“I think you forget who you are messing with,” you threatened half heartedly as they all snickered at you. Wooyoung was the first one to move toward you but as soon as he got close enough you grabbed his arm and knocked his feet out from under him which dunked him into the water. Just as you knocked him under the water you felt another pair of hands grab you around the waist, this time though they brought themselves back and flung you over their head similar to a WWE slam. You held your breath and immediately kicked off and away from Mingi. You tried to race away but someone was quicker, looking back you saw Yeosang who had grabbed your ankle. With a quick tug you were back where you started. 

“We just want to play a game with you noona, there's no need to get spicy.” Wooyoung sassed as he was shaking his hair out like a dog. 

“Fuck off Woo, Mingi and Jongho started the war I am just finishing it.” You glared lightly at the two in question and they both were snickering at you. You felt a hand on the small of your back and you turned to look at Hongjoong. Maybe he would save you from these childish hooligans.

“Use nice words, our treasure.” You turned to look over your shoulder at him with a glare, you heard a small snicker from Seonghwa. 

“Trying to parent me like these children, really Joongie? You forget I'm older than you. Therefore I have rank, captain.” You poked his chest and his face flushed at the thought, or maybe for other reasons, who the hell knows. You separated yourself from him just enough so you could knock him into the water. As soon as you did chaos erupted. Mingi and Jongho were teaming up against Wooyoung, San was laughing as he tried to get Yeosang who was swiftly evading him. Yunho and Seonghwa were using everything they had to splash each other which you were caught in the middle of. You joined in the giant splashing match with Yunho and Seonghwa with loud laughter. Hongjoong popped back up and immediately got splashed in the face by Seonghwa who was trying to get Yunho. Seonghwa immediately slapped a hand over his mouth to stifle the laugh bubbling up his throat. You could see the crinkles at the corners of his eyes while he hid his large smile. Yunho was slowly retreating backwards with you. Everyone went dead still and the only noise was the rippling of the still settling water. 

“Scatter!” You yelled as you dove away from everyone. Each of the boys went in different directions and you ended up under the small waterfall that held the slide. There was a small ledge that you were standing on which kept you mostly hidden in the corner. You watched in the shade as Hongjoong went after Seonghwa first. As soon as he got close enough he jumped on his back. Seonghwa let out loud laughter and they both struggled for a minute before Hwa and fell backwards putting Hongjoong back into the water. As soon as the two of them popped back up from the water they both made their way to Jongho, San, and Wooyoung who all had tried to hide behind the small fire pit space; hint it didn't work very well. You heard San’s yell, Jongho’s laughter, and Wooyoung was almost screaming as the two older men started another splashing war. Mingi and Yunho joined in from their hiding spot in the actual firepit space, the two of them had leapt over the group of men and started splashing everyone. There was a shout from Wooyoung “COME AND GET ME FIX ON MOTHER FUCKER” (This is a reference to one of my favorite writers @mimikittysblog in this fic you should check it out) You let out a laugh and it was about that time that you saw someone moving toward you under the water. Yeosang popped up in front of you with a small smile. 

“Hi, having fun?” You whispered so you wouldn't be giving your position away. He nodded and moved toward you stepping up onto the small ledge. He settled his arms on your shoulders and you wrapped yours around his waist. He slightly pulled you toward him almost like he was going to give you a hug, but he didn't; he just lingered close.

“I wanted to tell you something because I didn't get the chance earlier,” you nodded letting him know you were listening. His eyes were beautiful in the outside light. You could see the small flecks of different browns in his eyes. 

“You look absolutely gorgeous,” You immediately flushed at his words, your stomach burst into butterflies and you could feel your heart stutter. While you expected him to be more reserved it didn't really surprise you that he would be more apt to speak about his feelings when it was just the people he loved. 

“You think I’m gorgeous. You want to kiss me. You want to hug me. You want to love me. You want to smooch me.” You did a small dance in his arms while quoting one of your favorite movies; Miss Congeniality. He shook his head at you with a small bashful smile and avoided your eyes. His hands tightened around you for just a second before he looked back to you with a confident look in his beautiful eyes.

“I have so much more up my sleeve just like you do, Kkulbeol.” He gently moved his arms from your shoulders and cupped your face with both of his hands and brought you into a sweet kiss. His lips were soft against yours and tasted slightly like the pool water. You melted into his hold letting your eyes close. He was sweet and gentle while he held your face in his hands. His hands moved from your face down your shoulders and arms to settle on your sides, giving them a light squeeze. His touch was reverent and light which sent a shiver through your body. You moved your hands to play with the still damp strands of his hair and tug at them just a little. A small noise left him and you smiled into the kiss with him as your lips moved in sync. He pulled you closer and gave one final push into the kiss before separating himself from you. The smile on his face was absolutely radiant.

“What does Kkulebeol mean Sangie?” you asked curiously while pushing a strand of his hair away from his eyes. Your noses were almost touching and you could feel his breath ghosting across your face.

“It means honeybee. If I remember correctly you call me sweets and I thought it would match well, if that’s okay.” He looked at the pool water and you felt his fingers start to trace small shapes into your hips. The bashful Yeosang was back and you wanted to squish him. 

“I didnt even think you would remember that you were very tipsy and very sleepy when I called you that” you giggled, “but I don't mind the name in the slightest.” The butterflies in your stomach were just going in circles at this point, he was so endearing. He met your eyes again and leaned to rest his forehead on yours. The two of you were just basking in each other's quiet presence.  

“Y/n-nie? Sangie?” You heard some of the boys yelling for the two of you. You snickered at them staying as quiet as you could. Yeosang had turned away from you to look behind him toward the voices. The two of you crouched down closer to the surface of the water and watched as the other seven men looked around for you. 

“How long do you think they will take before they find us?” you whispered.

“Knowing how observant they are probably never” he snarked with a small smile over his shoulder at you. You slapped a hand over your mouth to keep the giggle at his monotone response. The loud yelling for the two of you continued until Jongho made his way toward your hiding spot. He spotted the two of you peeking out of the water like alligators and laughed. 

His laughter drew the attention of the others and soon you were blocked into the small space under the waterfall. You and Yeosang looked at each other and smiled, a silent understanding passing between the two of you before you moved into action. The first one you went for was Wooyoung, as quickly as you could you brought your hands back and splashed him as hard as you could. His responding yell was something that made your ears ring. Yeosang went for Yunho and by extension got Mingi in the process. The three of them immediately retaliated and started splashing you both. Somewhere along the line Hongjoong, Seonghwa and San joined your side and Jongho was just going for anyone at this point. After a few more minutes of absolute warfare under the waterfall you all retreated and started floating around the pool. Wooyoung ended up just floating around with you hand in hand. 

“Do we want to play a game?” You moved your head up from your floating position to look who was asking. Yunho was the only one that was up and out of the relaxed floating position, which meant it was probably him.

“We could play chicken or we could play sharks and minnows” Yunho suggested after a minute of no one saying anything. 

“I'm always down for a game of chicken,” you moved your body up to be more vertical. He turned to look at you and started approaching you with a smile. All of the other boys that were scattered around the pool popped up one by one and made their way toward you and Wooyoung, who hadn't let go of your hand. “We do have an odd number of players so someone will have to be the ref or an instigator.”

“An instigator?” You turned to look at Jongho who was the first to get to you after Yunho. 

“Yeah, when I was younger and playing with some of my cousins, before they became assholes, if there was an odd number you could be the ref or the instigator. The instigator generally would go around stirring trouble making people move closer to others or knocking someone over, but we always limited it to one knockover so they wouldn't have too much power.” Most of the boys hummed at the answer. You looked over at everyone and they seemed to be debating something telepathically. Before too long they had come to some unknown agreement and Yunho swiftly picked you up out of the water and put you on his shoulders. A noise of surprise came out of you. You grabbed a hold of his hands that were sitting on your thighs, you locked your legs around his arms and made sure you were secure. Jongho was going to be the instigator and you were fairly sure that you wouldn't be knocked over. 

Mingi had Yeosang on his shoulders, Hongjoong was on Seonghwa’s shoulders, and Woo was on Sannie’s shoulders. Jongho called start and immediately Yunho went over to who he deemed his biggest opponent. Mingi and Yeosang. You had an idea for this one but he would have to get you close enough to be able to execute it. As soon as he got close enough to those two you put your hands on Yeosang’s biceps, he looked at you and flexed slightly to show off. You rolled your eyes at him and gave him a gentle push to see how stable he was. Mingi was doing well but you knew if you knocked just hard enough into Yeosang he would be out. You let go of him and cocked your head to the side, you could use some aegyo to your advantage here, you knew he didn't really like it and it could go one of two ways. He would like yours and then use his cuteness aggression on you or it would annoy him and you would have the chance to knock him into the water. You put your hands on your cheeks

“You wouldn't dunk your girlfriend would you?” He squinted at you and rolled his eyes. The quick distraction was just enough that you quickly reached out and shoved him back as hard as you could. He lost his balance and fell back enough that he took Mingi with him. You looked down at Yunho who was looking up at you with a large smile which you reciprocated. You gave him a small pat on his head as he turned around to see Wooyoung and Hongjoong battling it out. The both of them were taking turns smacking each other’s hands trying to knock the other off kilter just enough. A pathetic game of chicken if you had anything to say about it. 

“Want to go see if we can get both of them in one shot?” Mingi and Yeosang had come to stand on either side of you and Yunho.

“After the aegyo mind game you just pulled on me I think you could do anything. We could go and distract everyone if you want.” You looked at Yeosang who was standing there staring at the other five with his arms crossed. He looked up at you with a cute smile. 

“As long as princess wins I don't care.” Taking in Mingi on your other side you could see the small smile on his face. 

“Sharing your princess title Mingles?” He looked up at you and his small smile morphed into a larger one.

“Only with you.” You felt your heart stutter if you could have you would have reached down to squish his cheeks. 

“Let's go get them before they knock each other over.” Mingi and Yeosang started that way first and you watched as they began their distraction by shit talking. You heard the shouts of the other members trying to protest but they just kept egging them on. Yunho made his way over as quietly as he could. Jongho was the only one who spotted the both of you. He smirked and moved to the side so you had a clear shot of knocking the both of them over without hitting him. 

“Hey Joongie, get fucked” You muttered as soon as you got close enough and shoved into Hongjoong’s back. He went careening forward and into Wooyoung. Seonghwa and San couldn't keep their balance and all four of them toppled into the water. You let out a loud whoop of celebration while throwing your arms into the air. Jongho was grinning at you with a proud look on his face. As soon as they resurfaced Yunho gently let you down with the help of Jongho. 

Hongjoong was glaring at you, you could tell it was one of those glares that didn't mean anything other than mild annoyance; especially because of the smile on his face. You turned to Yunho and smiled up at him, he was already smiling at you. The moment was cut short when Wooyoung screeched and started moving toward something in the water. You quickly turned to see what was going on; Toothless in all his glory was getting into the pool. You smiled at Toothless before making your way over to him.

“He’s okay Woo,” you set your hand on his shoulder as you passed. As soon as you got close enough you picked him up and held him like a baby over your shoulder. He headbutted you as you turned to look at the rest of the boys who were wearing shocked expressions.

“Remember the first day we met and I told you that they like water? He makes a point of coming out here to join me sooner or later any time I am out here. The other two just generally get in the water enough to hang out on one of the lounge chairs.” You looked to the giant that was resting comfortably on your shoulder “But he also knows that if he gets in he is going to have to be subjected to his cute shark floaty. Could one of you go and grab it out of the small chest near the slide? It should be right on the top.” San immediately started moving toward the side of the pool. Seonghwa approached the two of you and started to pet Toothless who immediately started purring. 

You made your way over to one of the shallow parts of the pool where the girls’ lounge chairs were before setting Toothless down. San made his way over to you and handed you the floaty. You made quick work of getting it on him and giving him chin scratches. Just as soon as you got it on him you stepped away and watched as he started following you like always. 

“Waa so cute!” You turned to look at the rest of the boys who were just watching Toothless. He was swimming around and had made his way over to Seonghwa who immediately cooed at him. Hongjoong was right behind him and absolutely enamored by how calm Toothless was in the water.

You swam over to the small chest close to the water that the floaty came out of and reached inside for some of the pool toys you knew he loved. When you turned around you launched the toys out across the water and accidentally hit Mingi with one. You snickered and acted like nothing happened while Yeosang and Jongho laughed. When Toothless caught sight of one he immediately started swimming toward it to smack it around. San approached and grabbed the end of the small rope toy and started dragging it around the pool with a large smile. You laughed at the two of them just having fun. You knew you could trust them with Toothless so you made your way over to one of the lounge chairs to just lay in the sun, the war had tuckered you out. Mocha and Beans were both stretched out on the one closest to you. Reaching over you ran a hand over both of them and settled back to your previous spot. 

A few minutes later you heard someone approaching, you didn't even open your eyes to see who it was before they laid between your legs and on top of your stomach. The drips of water were refreshing but also a little cold for your warm skin. Peeking your eyes open you saw Mingi looking up at you with his chin on your stomach. You moved your arms from above your head and started running your fingers through his hair. He hummed and wrapped his arms around your waist the best he could. Neither of you spoke, just rested there in the sun.

After playing with Toothless in the water everyone went inside to dry off and change so they could lounge around the house. As soon as you took out your contacts and got changed into a black maxi dress that fell just below your knees you stepped out and made your way downstairs. Everyone else was still changing in the rooms they had taken over, some of them opted to take showers. Seonghwa and Hongjoong were currently doing so in your bathroom. You knew you would have a little bit until they reappeared so you made your way to the piano room. You were slowly starting to yearn to play like you used to. 

As soon as you made it down you made small work of dusting some of the things off. You had neglected this room, locking it away ever since her death. Making sure everything was still in its rightful place you made your way over to your piano on the right. You flourished as you sat and started thinking of songs to play. A small smile made its way to your face at the possibility of the rest of the boys discovering that you play by letting them hear one of their songs. You could only imagine what sort of chaos Wooyoung, San, Mingi, and Hongjoong would create. You started playing and smiled at the notes you hadn't played in a long time. 

★☆☽ O ☾☆★

Walking downstairs there was a beautiful song coming from the basement. He stopped to listen and immediately recognized one of the songs he helped produce, but why would she be playing a piano cover on her speakers? Curiosity getting the better of him he quickly made his way down the rest of the stairs with Seonghwa shortly behind him. The elder of the two was smiling as he followed at his own pace. The closer Hongjoong got the more he realized that it wasn’t over the speakers, it was an actual piano. Following the music he made his way into the large dining room in the basement, a door he hadn't even noticed before was cracked open and the music was flowing out of it. 

He approached the door and pushed it open a little further to see you sitting on the seat at a matte black piano with silver embellishments which was across from an older wooden piano with beautiful black detailing. Your hair was moving around you as you swayed with the tune of Halazia. He froze, it was like all of the things in the room vanished as he focused on you; the woman he was falling more and more in love with as each day passed.

His mind wandered to the conversation you had yesterday. He couldn't believe that you had been treated so terribly in the past. You could have become a rotten human just as they were but you hadn't; but it did make you horrible on yourself. He didn't understand why you believed them, you were beautiful, amazing, kind, and so unbelievably strong. You were one of a kind and so loved, and if it took him every day for the rest of his life he would show you that. 

Your hands were drifting across the keys perfectly and he held his breath as you got to the chorus of the song. You executed it perfectly, capturing the haunting feeling of the song. As soon as you finished the song you turned to look at him with a large smile, one that could make anyone swoon; especially him. 

★☆☽ O ☾☆★

“Hi Joongie! Hi Hwa!” They were already smiling at you as they approached the bench you were sitting on. You scooted over and let him sit on either side of you. Hongjoong wrapped his arm around your waist and just sat there with you for a minute before speaking.

“You Nae Sarang (My Love), are full of surprises, he gently shoved you with his shoulder and you laughed as you rebounded from Seonghwa. 

“I told you so,” you jested with a small bashful blush. He rolled his eyes at you and gently grabbed your hand that was sitting on your lap to press a kiss to the back of it. Immediately you felt the tips of your ears get warm. 

“How many of our songs do you know for the piano?” 

“Several actually,” You brushed an imaginary chip off your shoulder. They both laughed at you, the sound made your heart melt into a puddle in your chest. 

“Play me one?” Hongjoong asked sweetly. You nodded and thought about which song you wanted to play. Your mind traveled all over the place trying to see which one you could play.

“Alright, I've got one but I'll need you to both to scoot your cute butts so I can properly play.” They chuckled at you and Seonghwa got up to go grab the small stool that was sitting by your Granny’s piano. Gently he set it down for Hongjoong who sat down and Seonghwa took a seat on the floor in front of him. They were both intently watching you. You smiled down at them before beginning to play. Hongjoong couldn't contain his smile, he loved knowing that his music inspired people. Seonghwa was just happy to watch you willingly share this part of you. 

★☆☽ O ☾☆★

Someone was playing the piano somewhere. The two of them looked at each other before grabbing each other's hands and following the sound. Rushing down the steps to the basement they could hear the piano more clearly. Making their way over to the corner of the large dining room they peeked in to see you, Hongjoong, and Seonghwa smiling at each other. Hongjoong was lightly singing his part while you played the piano for him and Seonghwa. Your smile was absolutely radiant as your hands glided over the keys playing one of their songs. They both saw the look Hongjoong only reserved for them and immediately knew that you wouldn't be going anywhere any time soon if they had anything to say about it. For the second time in what only felt like seconds they looked at each other. Seonghwa had caught them standing in the doorway and motioned for them to come closer. They walked in and looked you both over, you were smiling down at the keys as you played Deja Vu and Hongjoong was wearing one of the most sincere looks of awe while he watched you. 

★☆☽ O ☾☆★

“Yah, why didn't you tell us you played the piano?!” You felt someone’s hands on your shoulders and jumped to look over your shoulder at Wooyoung. His smile was so bright you couldn't help but to mirror it. San was standing next to him with a very similar look on his face and you wanted to reach up and poke his dimples. 

“I actually haven't played for a long time until the last couple of days.” You rubbed the back of your neck. Hongjoong took that as a sign to grab your other hand. 

“You don't have to tell us if you don't want to, we have all the time in the world, you tell us at your own pace.” You nodded and snuck a glance at the pictures scattered across the wall. Your heart swelled with a little bit of sadness but mostly happiness while you looked over the pictures.

“Maybe another time then, I don't want this to be a sap fest,” you chuckled looking down at his hand holding yours. 

“Any other songs of ours you have?” Hongjoong asked, in all honesty he just wanted to listen and watch you play, and possibly distract you. 

“I have a few more.”

“Play one for us! Please Noona?” Wooyoung was practically bouncing and looking at you with a large smile, San was just staring at him with a lovestruck look. You nodded and turned back to the piano. This time it would be something that you knew would get them to dance. You started the beginning notes and just like you predicted as soon as they recognized it they all started cheering and dancing around the room. 

★☆☽ O ☾☆★

“Is that Bouncy? Am I hearing that right?” The other three looked at Mingi like he was crazy. “Listen, it's Bouncy” He took off down the steps, almost tripping over one of the giants, following the music that was floating around in the basement. The remaining three shared a knowing look before following the clumsy man. As soon as he burst in the door he saw you with your head back laughing while playing the piano. San, Wooyoung, Hongjoong, and Seonghwa were all parading around the room dancing to the music. He stopped dead and watched the absolute joy enveloping the room. The only thing that was missing was the rest of them. Mingi felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to look at Jongho who was trying to get into the room. He stepped aside and let him and the rest of the boys in. All of them started singing and as soon as it got to his part he joined in belting out the lyrics with the rest of his boyfriends.

★☆☽ O ☾☆★

You immediately heard when the rest of the boys joined you in the piano room. They were all parading around the room dancing and singing while you played. This was the joy that propelled you to play after so long; being able to bring such happiness to people was one of your favorite things. Your head was thrown back laughing at the glimpses of the boys who were having so much fun together. You focused back in on the notes and as soon as the song came to a close you turned around and looked at them. Every one of them was beaming at you and clapping animatedly. You stood up and took a small mocking bow. Yunho made his way over to you and grabbed your hand raising it to perform another bow; just like your Granny used to. It was in this moment that you realized these men were your home; just like she had been. 

☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Next Chapter (Chapter 18)

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Taglist:

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[copperbadge]

I've had to introduce a moment in the latest novel where Eddie is having a minor crisis, and I wanted Simon to recognize it because he's cooking a specific dish he always cooks when he's dealing with anxiety or stress. But it took me for damn ever to figure out what that dish should be -- I don't cook as a coping mechanism for anxiety so I was no help to me. And I'm all for self care but if you Google "stress cooking" you mostly get "simple meals to cook when you're depressed" which is not what I was going for.

I did finally come up with something (see below) but it occurred to me this could be a fun discussion. If you cook to cope, even if it's coping with something other than stress like anger or sadness, what do you cook?

As an example, you can read about Eddie's stress cooking behind the cut...

(context: Simon is enjoying an evening chat with his brother Hugo and Hugo's wife Gwen when he sees Eddie post to Photogram.)

"What's he up to, anyway?" Gwen asked, as Simon studied the post.

"Process photos for a dish," he said, mildly concerned, because it looked like -- "He's making waffles. American waffles."

"Is that bad?" Gwen asked.

"It's not...good," Simon said.

"It's what he makes when he's stressed, and trying not to think about something," Hugo, who had witnessed the stress waffles before, explained.

"Because you can't see the waffles while they're cooking, and if you check too soon, you'll pull them in half," Simon added.

"How does that relieve stress?"

"It doesn't," Simon and Hugo chorused. Gwen looked amused.

"It just means you have to stand next to the waffle iron the entire time and watch it, and all the anxiety goes into that, instead of whatever you were worrying about," Simon continued. "So he explained it, in any case. His parents taught him that when steam stops rising the waffle is done, so you have to watch for the steam. As a wedding gift they gave him the waffle iron they cooked on when he was a child, so it's..."

"Comforting," Gwen suggested. "That's kind of sweet."

"Yes, but not entirely a good thing," Simon mused. "I do wish he'd let go of the idea he's not a baker. He's entirely adequate at most baked goods I've seen him make, and it would do him a world of good to really get into sourdough," he said to Hugo, who nodded knowingly. "I feel sourdough waffles would be a balm to the soul, and also taste better than the quick-rise kind."

"The heart wants what the heart wants," Gwen said.

"I suppose so," Simon agreed. "I'll speak to him tomorrow. Many confessions happen in a kitchen."

[itwasntimethatdidit40]

Waffles for breakfast

Pairing/AU: Joel Miller x afab!reader, no outbreak so flour is safe in this one lol

Words counts: 1141

Rating: +16? (just a little tiny smut 👀)

Tags: pov second person, no use of y/n, reader is described having breasts and vagina, no other description is given, established relationship, a huge amount of fluff, mutual masturbation, unprotected p in v (do better irl!), joel cooks (i feel like this needs its own tag 😂)

A/N: another thing I wrote a year ago, revised and corrected. I hope there are no mistakes but if there are please, forgive me.

Enjoy the Sunday fluff my lovely friends, hope you’ll like it and you’ll have a really nice day♥️

Tagging: @baronessvonglitter , @aurorawritestoescape, @milla-frenchy and @bean-is-reading just to say thanks for your encouragement, kindness and support, you all are great and deserve the world 😭♥️

Thanks to anyone who reads this!

Archive tags: @pedrostories ♥️

“Joel”

“What”

“Leave it alone, there's no need for you to do it”

“I’m doing great!”

“Okay”

You are observing a batter that is too liquid and full of lumps.

Joel got into his head to prepare breakfast this morning, perhaps because last night you ironically commented on his total inability to cook something vaguely edible.

“Let me finish, you'll see you'll like them”

He got into his head to make you waffles.

Him.

The one who burns everything he tries to cook, the one who holds a neat pile of takeaway flyers near the phone.

His idea of fine cuisine is fried chicken wings or pepperoni pizza with olives.  

You tried to make him forget that he promised you, you tried very hard.

This morning you woke up first, slipped over to his side of the bed and hugged him, clinging to his back and encircling his waist with one arm.

You intertwined your legs with his to get as close as possible and slid your hand under his shirt caressing his tummy, leaving little kisses on his wide back through the shirt. 

Your hand made its way into his boxers to reach his sex and you gently stroked it until you felt it get hard.

He made a grunt as he woke up and put his big hand on yours, continuing to massage. 

You surrounded the base with your fingers, slowly going up to the tip, stroking his cock.

Slowly.

He made a deep, hoarse moan. 

He turned to look at you and held you close, lowered a hand on your sex and massaged you in turn.

You took back his shaft in your hand and you both continued like this, caressing each other, looking at each other smiling, until everything became too hot and blurry.

You undressed in an instant, throwing everything on the floor.

You rode him the way he likes it, your hands resting on his broad chest while he held you firmly by your hips. He always says he loves seeing you like this and he loves your tits bounce before his eyes.

You lay on him exhausted, totally satisfied, he hugged you tightly.

“God baby, you're amazing”

He kept you like this for what seemed like an endless time and anyway you wish it never ended.

He kissed your forehead and nose and whispered “well, good morning I guess”.

You giggled then kissed that little patch in his beard that you adore “Good morning, Joel”.

You thought he'd forget by then and never get up.

Joel, however, is a man who keeps his promises.

He is a stubborn man, above all, when he gets something in his head, nothing stops him. Whether it's small or big doesn't matter.

And he would do anything when he cares about a person.

He got up and you saw him disappear in the bathroom.

 You wanted to follow to continue distracting him but you knew that it would be useless anyway so you decided to enjoy the warmth of the bed for a while longer, wrapped in his scent on the sheets and pillow.

You heard the shower water flowing and after a few minutes he came out with a towel around his waist, a few drops of water still on his skin, chest, shoulders, wet hair pulled back.

A breathtaking view.

You would have liked to drag him back to bed but he headed to the closet, pulled out a clean t-shirt, boxer briefs and a pair of sweatpants.

He got dressed and said, “stay in bed, babe, I'll make you breakfast” with a smile so sweet and enthusiastic that it melted your heart.

 You didn't have the courage to say no to him, and now you're here, watching him energetically turn a spoon into the bowl and try to remove the lumps from a too liquid blob. You wonder how he was able to make it liquid but at the same time lumpy.

You smile, looking at how he's trying.

“Joel, please. There are frozen pancakes in the freezer.”

“Absolutely not, it's Sunday, I won't let you eat frozen stuff”

And you laugh thinking that he would like to give you that thing that he is furiously stirring instead.

It looks like glue.

You stop protesting, because you see how tenderly he looks at you, you see how convinced he is as he pulls out the waffle iron and lets it warm up.

In the meantime, the batter has thickened a bit but it remains full of lumps.

You offer to set the table, but he doesn't want you to do that either.

“Today you have to relax, I'll take care of you”

You stay on your stool, with your elbows leaning against the island counter looking at him and remaining silent, enjoying the sight of his arms delightfully embraced by his t-shirt.

He puts two placemats on the counter, two plates, cutlery and glasses. 

He takes the orange juice out of the fridge.

Pour a little batter on the iron, close and wait with a satisfied smile.

What he puts on your plate it’s the ugliest waffle you've ever seen but you don't have the heart to tell him.

Not when he seems so proud and convinced of his work.

After all, what does it cost you to taste?

You hope you won't need to call 911.

You chew slowly, tasting a strange flavor, but you don't say anything.

He looks at you in expectation.

“So, how is it?”

“Good” you try to say, but you don't know how to swallow the bite.

It's weird, gummy, incredibly salty.

You keep chewing while he takes a bite too.

He chews for a few seconds and then roll his eyes and bend over the sink spitting.

“My God it’s horrible! Don't eat it!”

At his surrender, you can no longer resist and you also spit in the sink and then turn on the garbage disposal hoping that that horrible thing will disappear forever.

 You laugh, you laugh so much that tears come to your eyes while he looks so sorry.

“I think I put salt instead of sugar in it” he murmurs.

You keep laughing, as you approach to hug him “how much did you put in, a whole jar?”

“Fuck” he rolls his eyes, looking frustrated.

“Babe, it doesn't matter, really”

You squeeze him as much as you can, he put his chin on your shoulder “I’m sorry, I wanted to do something nice”

“Don't worry, you tried” you stroke the back of his neck trying to comfort him “I appreciate it anyway”

His strong arms surround your waist and you wouldn't want to change him with anything in the world.

You look him in the eyes “I love you”

“Damn I guess that's true, considering the crap I just made”

And he laughs too, finally relaxed.

“I love you too”

And he kisses you.

After all, breakfast is not that important.

[notti-stellate]

Good Morning

JJ Maybank x fem!reader

Summary: A somewhat perfect morning with JJ.

Word count: 0.6k

Proofread: Kinda

Warnings: Smoke, mention of drinking, PDA, major fluff

You sighed softly as you woke up, feeling an odd weight in your chest. Looking down you saw your boyfriend’s fluffy blonde hair as he laid sprawled over you. He reminded you of a blanket, the thought making you laugh quietly. Feeling your chest move, JJ slowly opened one eye, tightening his arms around your torso.

“Morning princess,” he mumbled, a small smile adorning his lips.

“Hi J” you whispered, running your fingers along his bare back, scratching softly. His hum of appreciation made you wish you could stay in this moment forever, frozen in time with the person you love most.

JJ’s phone ringing broke you out of your thoughts. He sighed, sliding his finger over the screen and placing the phone on his ear.

“What?” He grumbled to who you assumed was Pope or Mr.Heyward asking where he was. Realizing your moment was over, you slid out of his arms, much to his dismay. Throwing on JJ’s old shirt you walked out of your room, heading towards the kitchen. You could hear JJ sigh and follow you out of your room, padding down the hallway.

After JJ hung up, he came over to where you were standing, wrapping his arms around your hips and burying his face in the crook of your neck. 

“What time do you need to go in?” You asked, pouring waffle mix into the iron.

“An hour ago,” JJ chuckled, swaying softly in place. You just shook your head laughing, that boy was alway late. 

Turning around in his arms, you pressed your lips together softly, only pulling away when you heard the waffle iron beep. Spinning you to face him again, JJ kissed you with much more passion than before, your lips moving in sync as though they were puzzle pieces, meant to fit together. You were so deeply focused on him that you didn’t hear the waffles beep.

Smelling smoke you pulled away, your eyes widening when you realized what had happened. You flung around, grabbing the burnt waffle and tossing it out the front door. JJ loved the fact that you could get so lost in each other, even if it didn’t always have the best outcome. Laughing, you turned back to face him, seeing him laughing as well.

Placing the finished pancakes on two plates, one for you and the other for JJ, you set them on the table. Turning around when you heard a beer can opening, you shook your head at him nodding your head towards the full coffee pot and sitting down.

“Mr.Heyward’s gonna freak if he finds out you were drinking before work.” You muttered, taking a sip of coffee. Sitting across from you, JJ smiled taking a bite of his breakfast. These mornings were your favorite parts of the day, having a little bit of peace before you both had to leave for work or school. To be completely honest, you were still in disbelief at times that JJ was actually yours, not just some small crush you had like before. No matter how long you were together you were still convinced that one day you would wake up and all of your perfect days with JJ would be a distant fantasy. Not that he would ever admit it but he had the same thoughts.

After breakfast you smiled as JJ kissed you goodbye muttering a soft “I love you” before walking out the door. Even though you had just seen him you were already missing the warm feeling of his arms around you, it was obvious you were, without a doubt, completely infatuated with the young Maybank

[corroded-hellfire]

Well, since it's this weekend… what about Ryan and Luke giving their favorite baby-sitter something for Mother's Day? Either after Eddie officially gets the girl, or before… I bet Brittany would loooove to find out that her kids made something for Mother's Day in school, and gave it to the baby-sitter instead of her. 😏

I love, love, love this. @munson-blurbs and I came up with a little sweet and spicy tale. Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there except Brittany 😘

Warnings: smut, p in v, unprotected (wrap it up), oral f!receiving, mild choking, Eddie’s breeding kink is loud and proud

Words: 4k

[As You Wish masterlist]

“Okay, next we need a cup of water.” Eddie hands the glass measuring cup to Ryan, nodding towards the sink. “Fill ‘er up and then—carefully—dump it in the bowl.” Ryan does as he’s instructed, and Eddie proceeds with the recipe. “Now, Luke, you’re going to gently mix it all together.” 

Luke takes the directions a bit too seriously, circling the spoon around the bowl at a painstakingly slow pace. “Like that?” he asks proudly. 

“Liiiiittle faster, bud,” Eddie says, holding his thumb and forefinger apart slightly to emphasize his point. “I’d like to get these made before Father’s Day.”

Once the waffle batter is completely combined—Eddie had to help out before the milk curdled—he ladles it into the waffle iron, inhaling the cozy scent of homemade waffles. It’s what he’s always wanted: family dinners where he and his boys cook. Getting to spoil his girl with love and breakfast food. 

His girl. He still can’t believe that you’re his girl. 

“Did you guys make anything for Mom at school today?” Teachers usually have the kids do some sort of Mother’s Day craft, and Eddie wants to make sure that it gets to Brittany before she can accuse him of withholding her gifts. 

Ryan and Luke share a look that Eddie is unable to decipher. “Um, nothing?” Ryan says meekly, though it comes out as more of a question. 

Eddie frowns. “No art project this year? Not even a macaroni necklace?” He sets the timer and leans back on the counter, crossing his arms over his chest. “Neither of you?”

“No, we did,” Ryan admits, “but we were talking, and…we don’t wanna give them to Mom.”

“Yeah,” Luke chimes in, an unmistakable smirk spreading across his face, “we wanna give them to your giiiiiiirlfriend!” 

“Luke!” Ryan scolds, but his eyes tell Eddie that he had the same idea. “Is that okay?” he asks his dad. 

Eddie nods. “Of course. I think she’ll love that.” He starts to wipe down the counter before turning back to his boys. “You still need to give Mom the gifts that we bought her, yeah?” Not that she deserves them, he thinks bitterly, but she’ll have my head on a platter if they come over empty-handed. 

“Okay,” Ryan says as he puts the milk back in the refrigerator. “And the cards we bought, too.”

“Oh! And we made cards to go with our gifts tonight!” Luke adds. 

“Did you now?” Eddie asks, raising his eyebrows at his youngest son. “You got a future working for Hallmark?”

“Daddy, you know I’m going to be a monster truck driver.”

“Right, how could I forget?”

A key turns in the lock of the front door and an instant smile appears on Eddie’s face. Ever since he’d given you the key to his apartment, he’s been locking the door more just because the sound of you unlocking it when you come over makes him happy. Both boys scurry in that direction and Eddie follows behind at a leisurely pace. 

You’re barely able to put your keys back in your bag before being enveloped in two sets of small arms.

“Oof!” You toss your bag over on the closest chair and wrap your arms around the boys. “This is a nice welcome. Ooh, and what smells so good in here?”

“Happy Mother’s Day!” both boys cheer. 

It takes you a moment to realize that they’re saying those words to you. They are wishing you a happy Mother’s Day. 

“W-What?” you ask, slightly stunned. 

“We won’t see you on Sunday, so we wanted to have Mother’s Day with you now!” Luke says as he takes one of your hands in both of his. 

“Yeah!” Ryan agrees. “And we made your favorite breakfast for dinner. Waffles! Daddy helped.”

“Helped?” Eddie mumbles under his breath, but it goes unnoticed by both kids. 

“This is so sweet,” you say, the wide array of emotions hurtling through you. Dropping to your knees, you tug the Munson children against your body so that you can give them a proper hug. “I love you boys so much.”

“We love you, too,” Ryan says. 

“Let’s go get the presents,” Luke says to his brother.

“Ah-ah, not until after we eat,” Eddie pipes up.

Luke sighs and lolls his head in the direction of his father. “We can’t just go get them?”

“Fine, go ahead. There’s about to be some kissing anyway, and I don’t think you wanna see that,” Eddie teases. It works. The boys head down the hall to their rooms and as soon as you get back up on your feet, Eddie pulls you into his embrace. “Hey there, gorgeous.”

“Hi, handsome,” you say as you loop your arms around his neck. Tilting your head up, your mouth catches against your boyfriend’s and you sink into the kiss. A loud rattling noise and a shout of I’m okay has the two of you breaking apart. “Was this your idea?”

“Nope,” Eddie says, popping the “p.” He rubs his hands up and down your back as he gives you a smile that’s full of pride in his sons. “They asked me just yesterday if we could do this—have the waffles for dinner. And I didn’t know about the gifts until about two minutes before you walked in.”

“I’m getting spoiled tonight,” you muse, pressing a kiss to his stubbled cheek. You start to walk towards the table, but he pulls you back to him. 

“Oh, you have no idea,” he murmurs in your ear, squeezing your ass. “As soon as they leave, I’m going to—”

“Is dinner almost ready?” Luke whines as he thunders into the room. “I’m starving!”

Eddie races to him, crouching down and placing one hand on either of Luke’s shoulders. “Do you think you’ll make it?! Hang on, Luke! Don’t go into the light!” He ruffles his son’s curly hair. “Yeah, it’s ready. Go sit down at the table.”

Luke giggles as he takes his seat, and Ryan trails behind him. 

“How was school?” you ask them, putting waffles on plates and setting them at their places. “Learn anything new?”

Luke nods enthusiastically. “My friend Todd bounced a hot dog on the ground at lunch, and it almost touched the ceiling!”

Eddie shrugs. “I guess that’s science, kind of? What about you, Ry? Conduct any food experiments?”

“No, but we started learning about fractions today,” Ryan says, taking a bite of his dinner. “It was tricky at first, but then I got it.”

“That’s my boy!” Eddie high-fives him. “Munsons don’t give up when things get tough.”

“Is that why you took senior year three times?” you tease him, and his jaw drops in mock offense. 

“Hey, Daddy?” Luke interrupts, grabbing the syrup bottle and positioning it over the waffle and drenching it in the sticky-sweet sauce. “Can we do presents now?”

“When dinner’s over,” Eddie reminds him, taking the bottle before Luke can empty it. “And, no, that’s not permission to shove the entire waffle in your mouth at once.”

“Fine,” he concedes, turning his attention to you. “So, who’s your favorite: me or Ryan?”

You shake your head, cutting your waffle into neat little squares. “I can’t answer that. I love you both equally.” You glance at your boyfriend for confirmation, but of course, he’s no help. 

“That means you must fight for her love and affection!” he roars, deepening his voice to a raspy growl. “Men, grab your armor!”

You roll your eyes at his antics, but there’s a smile on your face the whole time. 

Unsurprisingly, Luke is the first one finished with his food. He sits in his chair, fingers beating a rapid rhythm against the tabletop. The patience of a five-year-old can only go so far, though. Eddie tries to hold in a chuckle because it looks like his youngest is near wetting himself. 

“Okay,” Eddie caves with a sigh. “Get your presents ready.” 

“Yes!” Luke cheers as he grabs his gift and the homemade card made of red construction paper. Eddie stands and clears away the plates while both boys take a seat on either side of you with their respective presents. “Mine first!” Luke slides his towards you. 

First, you pick up the card and grin at the flower smiling back at you on the cover. On the inside, Luke has written in his adorable boyish handwriting: “Happy Mother’s Day! I 🖤 you! Love, Luke.” You ruffle Luke’s curls and press a kiss to his forehead. 

“Here’s the gift I made.” Luke points at it. Picking it up, you see it’s a Shrinky Dink that Luke has written his name on and someone—presumably the teacher, put it on a key ring. 

“This is perfect!” you exclaim as you look over your new keychain. “I use my keys every time I drive or have to get into my house, so I’ll always see your name and think of you.”

Luke grins and throws his arms around your neck. You chuckle and maneuver him into your lap so he’s not hugging you from an uncomfortable angle. 

“Thank you, Luke.”

“Now me!” Ryan hands you his card, designed on purple construction paper. It says: “I am happy that your with Daddy now because that means I see you more and I like seeing you. Happy Mother’s Day! I love you! Ryan.”

“That is very sweet, Ryan.” 

“Thanks! This is what I made you,” he says. A heavy lump of what you can only assume is clay is placed in your hands. Tilting it to inspect the blue ceramic piece, you realize it’s the shape of a hand. Ryan’s hand, to be more specific. His handprint has been molded into a small ceramic dish. “It’s for jewelry! To hold it.”

“Oh, that’s perfect! I’m going to put it right next to my bed for when I take my jewelry off at night.”

“It’s like I’ll be holding it,” Ryan says with a giggle. 

“I know it’s in safe hands then,” you say, reaching over to boop his nose. “Thank you both for the thoughtful cards and gifts. I’m very lucky and grateful for you two.”

“Ahem,” Eddie cuts in with a dramatic throat clear. “No love for me? I’ll have you know that I’m the only one here who knows how to use the waffle iron, thank you very much.”

“You’re right,” you sigh, but when he leans in for a kiss, you just boop his nose as well. “Here, let me get the dishes.” You stand up to start towards the sink, but he playfully tugs you back down.

“Not a chance,” he says with a wink. “The Munson men are on it! Boys, I’ll need all hands on deck.”

Luke and Ryan begrudgingly follow their dad, dragging their feet as they walk to where Eddie’s flicking on the faucet and rinsing the dirty dishes. “Can we at least listen to music?” Luke grumbles, grabbing the sponge.

“Can you ask that without whining?” Eddie nudges him, but his tone is serious. “Try again.”

Luke plasters a giant fake smile on his face. “Can we please listen to music?” he asks.

“Of course, my wonderful, perfect second-born.” Eddie goads, clicking the dial to his usual rock station. 

And when she knows what

She wants from her time

Your head perks up and your eyes widen at the familiar Billy Joel song. Eddie throws you a grin over his shoulder before stepping back from the sink and wiping his hands off on a towel.

“Our song, baby,” he says, holding out his hand as he approaches where you’re sitting. “Boys, take over. Ryan wash, Luke dry.”

“I thought this was a Munson man chore,” Luke grumbles, which Ryan nudges his brother’s shoulder for.

“Shut up,” Ryan hisses under his breath.

Luke huffs and snatches the towel up from where Eddie tossed it on the counter. “What does that mean?” he asks his older brother. “That it’s ‘their song.’”

Ryan chuckles as he grabs a plate and holds it under the water. He looks over at the two of you and watches as Eddie practically yanks you out of the dining chair until your chest is pressed up against his. 

“It’s the song they smoochy-smooch to,” Ryan says.

Luke spins around to look at the pair of you as well, making kissy noises as he awaits a plate to dry.

“I’d start washing those dishes unless you want to see us start smoochy-smooching,” Eddie calls, never taking his eyes off of you. You giggle and wrap your arms around his neck, hugging him even closer.

“Maybe I wanna smooch now,” you say, batting your eyelashes at him. Eddie doesn’t hesitate to fill your request. He leans in and just as his lips are about to brush up against yours, there’s a jarring knock on the front door. 

“I’ll get it!” Luke shouts, taking any opportunity he can to get away from the dishes.

“Good,” Eddie mumbles before stealing a kiss from you anyway. Just as you tilt your head up to continue the kiss, an irritating ahem sounds from behind you. 

Turning your head, you have to fight to keep the sneer off your face when you see who’s standing there.

“Mom’s here,” Luke calls to Ryan as he jogs back into the kitchen.

“Hello, Brittany,” you say, sidling up next to Eddie. You go to grab his hand in yours and he’s quick to give it a reassuring squeeze. Play nice for the sake of the boys, you tell yourself. Those seem to be the only semi-pleasant words that ever go through your head when she’s around. 

“Hi,” Brittany says, the words somehow sounding like a scoff. 

“Boys,” Eddie says, forgoing greeting his ex-wife altogether. “Go get your backpacks and the gifts you bought for Mom.”

The mention of gifts has a slight smirk appearing on the bitchy blonde’s face, and you can hardly say you’re surprised. As materialistic as she is, she’s probably more interested in seeing what she’s getting than seeing her own children. Eddie had already told you what the boys had picked out at the store and all you could hope was that Brittany was able to fake enough enthusiasm so as not to hurt the boys. 

Luke emerges from his room first. He puts his bag down on the table and picks up the keychain and jewelry holder that you had gotten from them. “Mom, look what we made!”

“Good job. Thank you.” She couldn’t sound less excited if she tried. But you don’t care because you know Luke is about to correct her.

“Oh. No, your gift is in my backpack. These aren’t for you.”

Brittany’s face hardens into steel, the forced smile looking more like a disfigured grimace than anything. Come on, look up at me, you think to yourself with a gleeful smile on your lips. Eddie tugs on your hand and you glance over to see him wearing a matching grin of satisfaction. 

Ryan comes in as Luke puts your gifts back on the table, and Brittany’s head finally lifts. You swear you can literally see her face turning red as she locks eyes with you. You raise an eyebrow slightly, as if saying, yeah, that’s right. Those are for me.

“Whatever,” she spits, ushering the boys out of the apartment. “Pick them up Tuesday night. Don’t be late.” 

Before she can slam the door behind her, Ryan and Luke call out to you, “Happy Mother’s Day!” You can see her entire body clench with anger.

As soon as she’s gone, Eddie lets out a huge exhale.

“You okay?” you ask, pressing your chest against his and resuming your position. You can feel his heart beating, and it’s immediately soothing.

Eddie nods slowly. “Yeah, she doesn’t really bother me anymore. ‘S just…” he pauses, searching for the right words, “...I hate not being with them, y’know? And I hate having to send them to their mom’s when they’re happier here. But what am I gonna do, tell her that she can’t have them on Mother’s Day?”

“You’re doing the right thing,” you murmur, rubbing his bicep comfortingly. “And once custody is figured out, I know you’ll be able to see them more. Those boys absolutely adore you.”

He tilts your chin upwards and kisses you, softly and gently. “They adore you, too,” he says with a small chuckle. “I had to convince them to buy stuff for Brittany and not you.”

Your jaw drops, making him laugh harder. “No way. You’re kidding, right?”

“‘M dead serious,” Eddie promises, making an X over his heart. “And speaking of gifts…I have one for you, and it’s in the bedroom.” He waggles his eyebrows, and you hook your finger into his belt loop as he leads the way.

You lay down on the bed as he climbs on top of you, trailing kisses down your body. “This–kiss–is for–kiss–being the absolute–kiss–fuckin’--kiss–best.” He sits up suddenly, taking in the gorgeous view before him. “I love you so damn much.”

“I love you, too,” you whisper against the soft plush of his lips.

“You know,” Eddie mumbles against your mouth, “I was thinking.”

“Uh oh,” you tease. In retaliation, Eddie lightly nips at your collarbone, making you giggle.

“Mhm. About your ass.” He gives it a little squeeze as you laugh harder. “Well, that, and how goddamn gorgeous you’d look having my baby.”

“You mean ‘our’ baby?” you ask, arching an eyebrow. 

“Of course,” Eddie says. He starts to move down your body with kisses again. “Round belly making a home for them.” He pushes your shirt up to the underwire of your bra and places soft kisses around your belly button. 

“Not to mention my bigger boobs.”

“Oh don’t worry, I hadn’t forgot about those,” Eddie says, looking up at you with a smirk. “Shit, I can picture it so well.” His fingers fumble with the button on your jeans as his lips press gently against your skin. “But before that all happens, there’s something I’ve gotta do.”

“And what’s that?” you ask, your eyes never leaving his hands as you watch them work.

Eddie presses one last kiss just above the waistline of your jeans before looking up at you through his enviably long eyelashes. “Fuck a baby into you.”

A whimper leaves your lips, both at his words and at the urgency in which Eddie is pulling your pants off with. Your panties aren’t far behind, but you reach up and tug on his shirt before he has time to undress you any further. Your hands begin to work on his belt, and Eddie lays one hand on your shoulder to keep himself balanced, and the other hand trails along your jaw. Slowly, he swipes his thumb over your bottom lip.

“You want me to make you a mommy, sweetheart? Want to spend next Mother’s Day with the little baby we made?” 

“Uh-huh,” you nod breathlessly, moaning when two of his thick fingers slide into your pussy. “M-Making me regret taking my pill this morning.”

Eddie laughs, pumping his fingers in and out of you as he speaks. “S’okay, babe. We can just practice tonight, hm?”

You nod, unable to speak as you watch Eddie lower his head and attach his lips to your clit. With a breathy whine, your head drops back on the pillow as he gives a harsh suck to the sensitive nub.

“Fuck,” Eddie says once he finally releases it. “Never get used to how good your pussy tastes.” He gives you no time to respond before he dips down and licks at your leaking hole. One of your hands fists the sheets, while the other reaches down and grabs onto your boyfriend’s curls. “Feel good?” Eddie mumbles against your folds.

“So good, Eddie,” you moan. “Fucking love your mouth. B-But I want your cock.” 

“All you had to do was ask, my love.” He looks back down at your pussy and gives it a quick kiss. “I’ll be back for you later.”

You don’t have time to process the fact that he’s talking to your genitals before he’s pushing inside of you with a delicious stretch. “Fuuuuuck, Eddie,” you whine, adjusting to the fullness. “Feels s’good. Always feels s’good.” Your words slur together, already drunk on his cock. 

“Only the best for this tight, perfect pussy,” he growls. He brings his thumb back to your clit, making deliberate circles. “Can’t wait to fill you up with my cum. Gonna fuck it into you s’deep. Gonna knock up my princess, make her a mommy, holy shit!” He cries out when you move his hand from your swollen bud up to your neck, placing it around your throat. “Y’want me to choke you, baby?”

“Yes, please,” you manage, body trembling with pleasure as you feel the pressure from his grip. He’s rocking into you at an immeasurable pace, the ridge where the tip meets the shaft hitting all the right angles. “Keep g-going. ‘M gonna cum.”

Eddie throws his head back. “Good girl, good fucking girl. Cum on my cock, fuck, fuckin’ cream it. Make a mess on me, my good girl.”

One hand still gripping the green sheets below you, the other wraps around Eddie’s arm where he braces himself up against the mattress. Little moans and whimpers are slipping past your lips as Eddie brings you up to the brink. 

“I’m—fuck—I’m coming,” you say, hand tightening around Eddie’s arm as your pussy tightens around his cock. You hit your peak just as he does, an expression of ecstasy on his face. 

“Take it, fuckin’ take it, take all my cum. Want it dripping out of you.” You feel the hot, thick ropes coat your walls as he finishes inside you, leaving you both panting and speechless. 

The two of you lie there with each other for a few moments, letting your bodies relax and come down from their highs. Begrudgingly, Eddie pulls out and you both hiss at the loss. He’s quick to grab a warm washcloth from the bathroom and clean the both of you off. As soon as he tosses it in the hamper, he’s climbing back into bed and pulling you up against him beneath the covers. You eagerly snuggle up against him and rest your head in the crook of his neck.

“So, how was that for a Mother’s Day present?” Eddie asks, his fingers gently tracing patterns on the bare skin of your back. 

“Perfect,” you respond with a lazy smile. “You Munson men spoil me.” 

“Cause we love you so damn much,” Eddie says as he presses a kiss into your hair. When you stay silent, Eddie’s brow furrows in confusion. When he feels your body start to tremble in his hold, he pulls back to look at you. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

Shaking your head, you wipe the fallen tears from your cheeks. “Nothing’s wrong. I just…I wasn’t expecting any of this.”

“Is it too much?” Eddie asks, worry creeping into his voice. “Because I can talk to the—” 

“No,” you say kindly but firmly. “It’s just overwhelming. The food, the presents. Them wishing me a h-happy Mother’s Day. Eddie, I…” You’re unable to keep the tears from falling even as a joyful smile spreads across your lips. “I’ve never felt so loved before.” 

Eddie gazes at you with an adoring expression on his face. He gently tucks a piece of your hair behind your ear and presses a kiss to your forehead. 

“Well, get used to it, baby,” Eddie says. “Because you have the hearts of all three Munson men and we’re all suckers for showing affection.”

Shifting yourself so your head rests next to Eddie’s on his pillow, you still can’t wipe the smile off your face. 

“They think of me as a mother figure.”

“Sweetheart, you’ve been there for them when their own mother hasn’t. Many, many times. Of course that’s how they see you. You’re everything a good mom should be, and they see that. They needed that in their lives. And then you come along; perfect, wonderful you. Who we all were missing, we just didn’t know it yet. But now that we have you, you’re stuck with us.”

You giggle as Eddie nuzzles his nose against yours. “I needed you guys, too. I always will.”

“I love you, my beautiful girl.”

“I love you, my handsome man.”

“Happy Mother’s Day, baby.”

[estrellami-1]

If I Should Stay

Part 1 | . . . | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53

“You wish,” Steve teases, then looks wide-eyed at Robin. “What about all the pictures we have?”

“We’ll take new ones,” she assures him, then grins. “And hey, maybe Starcourt will be built, without the Russian base underneath.”

Steve hums. “Maybe then I could avoid one of the concussions from Billy.”

Robin freezes suddenly. “Steve,” she says, “is it a good idea for the party to meet Max? Because of the first concussion from Billy? That wasn’t Upside Down related, was it?”

Steve grimaces. “He’d been Flayed at that point, yeah. Even if he is a racist asshole, I can’t imagine him coming after us like that again.”

Robin hums. “But if he does-”

“Tell me,” Eddie says suddenly, “does he like Mary Jane? Because I can make sure he never sees her again if he goes after Steve.”

Robin blinks at him, then begins to grin. “Sorry, Stevie, Eddie’s my new favorite.”

Eddie laughs and fist-bumps her. “Likewise, Birdie.”

“Hey!” Steve says, faux-affronted. It’s ruined by the grin he can’t hide.

El pokes gently at Steve’s arm, then the waffle iron when he looks at her. “It’s done.”

“Ah,” he says, opening it. “Thank you, Ellie. Mind getting me a plate?” He grins at her. “Without grabbing it?”

El grins. Without moving, she opens a cabinet, floats a plate out to Steve, then shuts the cabinet again. She wipes underneath her nose, then grins at Steve. “No blood!”

“That’s great!” He celebrates with her, offering her a high-five. “You think you’re ready?”

“I’m still scared,” she tells him. “But yes. I do.”

“Y’know something else?” Steve asks. “Vecna needed four more years to be strong enough to do what he did. You needed two more days. I think you’re much stronger than he is right now.”

“Speaking of the big bad,” Eddie interjects, nibbling on a corner of his waffle, “shouldn’t we go over the plan?”

Steve sighs. “Probably,” he agrees.

“I think we should wait for everyone,” Alli says. “Let’s just have as normal a morning as we can for right now.”

Steve smiles at his sister. “Sure, Al,” he says, then rolls his eyes when she pulls him into a hug and ruffles his hair.

“Love you, Bubba,” she murmurs into his ear, and he can’t help but to melt into her hug.

“Love you too, Al,” he murmurs back, then grins at her. “How about grilled cheese when we all make it outta this intact?”

“I think that sounds like an excellent idea,” she nods, then steps away. “I’m gonna call Cass. Come and get me when everyone’s here?”

“Will do,” he nods, and she smiles in response as she walks off.

Eddie pulls his feet up onto the counter he’s sitting on, looping his arms around his knees. “So, Cassidy is Alli’s-?”

“Girlfriend,” Steve nods. He takes another waffle out of the iron and scrapes the last of the batter into it. “It makes me wonder how I would’ve ended up, if I had her the entire time, y’know? Cause I know I was an asshole. And I’m trying not to be anymore.”

“You’re succeeding,” both Robin and Eddie say at the same time, then excitedly point at each other.

Steve laughs and shakes his head. “Thanks. But I wonder, if I’d had her the entire time, would I have ever gotten as bad as I did? Would I have ever worked at Scoops or Family Video and met you, Robin? Would any of his have ever happened in the first place?”

He only notices his hand is shaking when Robin gently takes his fork and puts it down, then grabs both his hands in hers. “Squeeze,” she requests, and he does, letting out a harsh breath and resting their foreheads together.

“Sorry,” he mutters.

“Shuddup,” Robin says. He laughs.

After a few seconds, he pulls away to look at her. “Am I being crazy?”

“I think you’re being exactly as sane as taking this mission in the first place makes either of us, Dingus, I don’t think either of us were all there in the first place.”

Steve giggles. “I think you may be right.”

“Maybe you would’ve been different,” Eddie says. He’s taking the last waffle out of the iron. “Maybe you wouldn’t have. Maybe all of this would’ve happened, and maybe it wouldn’t have. Maybes aren’t gonna change anything that’s currently happening. All we can do is our best to get through it.”

El slips between Steve and Robin and wraps her arms around Steve’s waist. “I can do things you can’t,” she says quietly. “But I can’t see the future. I don’t know what could’ve happened. But I know I’m glad that you’re here now.”

Steve sighs contentedly and wraps her in his arms. “Me too.”

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[sunatsubu]

White Lotus theories!

Having a blast watching White Lotus season 3, especially as this is the first time I'm able to watch without knowing the ending. The first 2 seasons I was spoiled on pretty much everything before watching, so it's been fun having the chance to get to form my own theories this time. Here's just a few I'll ramble about, as I excitedly wait for today's new ep. Would love to hear others' thoughts/theories! Obviously spoiler warning for season 3.

This might just be wishful thinking, but I don't think the body is Belinda. Strongest evidence is that Zion's immediate reaction is to run away from it. With how determined he was to get to his mother, even going towards the gunshots instead of away from them, if it was her he'd instinctively want to check if she might still be alive. Also this is more speculative because of how out of focus the body is, but it kind of looks like a short-haired man in a white dress shirt.

Going off this first assumption that Belinda lives, I think Greg will get his comeuppance. If he survived, there's no way he'd let Belinda live since its clear he knows she knows who he is. I think he'll either die, or be exposed for his role in Tanya's death and arrested. I know White Lotus tends to not give justice to those who deserve it, but I do think it could make sense this time. Saxon however, being the douchiest douche and the one character I hate the most, I expect to survive, both physically and ego still fully intact. He'll be season 3's Shane.

Addressing the popular theory that the shooter might be Mook: Definitely not a fan of this theory, I don't think it's her. So far I haven't seen any actual evidence of her having any motive, and the main foundation for this theory seems to be, 'character seems super innocent, surely it must be a misdirect' which isn't much to go on. Especially since I feel like Mike White's been good about laying foundations for his plot twists, and never has them just for the sake of shock value.

It's going to be an interesting, possibly ironic fate for Piper if her dad ends up needing to stay in Thailand to avoid getting arrested, and his family stays with him, maybe because they might be implicated by association if they return to the US. This might seem like a silver lining for Piper since she wanted to stay anyway for her religious studies, but it would totally be in line with the irony of White Lotus themes that she ends up missing her privileged life, now that she doesn't have the option to go back to it. Almost the opposite of Quin from season 1 where we got to see the rich white kid have a happy ending staying with the locals, but the implication off screen is that he has the luxury to return to his privileged life once he'd done with his little paradise adventure.

More on the Ratliff kids - um. VERY incest-y vibes going on there lmao.

I think something huge is going to happen with Lochlan. He's going to have to make a choice that will have major consequences - if only because so far, we are shown constantly about his waffling between who to please. Switching between his brother and sister, being pressured to choose which parent's alma mater for college. We're even told straight up that he's a people pleaser during his posture correction session. I've seen the theory that the kids represent the 'see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil' monkeys, and this definitely seems to line up. Lochlan will witness or even be an active participant in some really crazy, evil act and have to make the choice whether to speak up about it or not. And he'll choose not to. I think because we've been shown so far how relatively harmless and innocent he is, that's going to change dramatically, and he's going to make that choice that will make the audience judge him. Based on his current trend of following Saxon's influence more, maybe he'll witness or be pressured into taking part in some pretty sketchy stuff with his brother. Knowing Saxon, it'll probably involve a woman getting hurt or killed, and Saxon will ask Lochlan to help cover it up.

I don't think the dad is the shooter, only because it's too obvious. The fact that we see him steal the gun at only the halfway point in the season right after that phone call about prison is too straightforward a motive too soon, which wouldn't follow the previous seasons' patterns at all.

The friend trio are probably the most interesting dynamic to me, and the most unpredictable. Probably because they are constantly switching 'alliances,' the power dynamic always seems to be shifting. I honestly have the least idea of what their ending is going to be like, though I don't think any of them will die. I think they will have some huge explosively dramatic event/confrontation like Ethan/Cameron (maybe not a physical fight, but at least a screaming match), but they will all survive the trip to have to deal with the social consequences post-series, knowing their friendship is forever changed with true feelings having been laid out into the open.

Some more minor observations: There's been a recurring thing in previous seasons with dissatisfied hotel managers, and them losing something because of it. Armond feuding with Shane, spurred on by his growing distaste in being expected to cater to guests' every whim. He ends up losing his life. Valentina is super repressed, then has her whirlwind night with Mia. But then kinda gets her heart broken a bit, thinking there might've been something more between them, only for Mia to imply it was just a fling. So in keeping with that trend, if Fabian gets a chance to perform I expect he's going to end up losing something soon after.

Probably an obvious thing, but pretty sure Valentin and his friends are the jewelry robbers. Absolutely felt intentional that he stopped under the gate so Gaitok couldn't close it. Even before that scene I thought there definitely seemed something off about him, tho I'm not sure why? Maybe I'm reading into it too much but his friendly demeanor and almost vacant-like stare felt like even more of a mask than the other hotel workers. Was also weird that he sent the friend trio to the retiree pool. I have a feeling maybe he and his friends plan to rob them. One of his friends even says 'let's make fun', which iirc season 2's Lucia had a very similar line. So that made me think they are the equivalent to Lucia and Mia, in that they are locals intending to scam the rich white tourists.

It stood out to me on my first rewatch, the contrasting reactions during Zion and Amrita's session, when they first hear the gunshots. The therapist is almost willfully oblivious to acknowledging there might be danger, trying to include Zion in it by telling him to ignore all outside sounds. But he's much more situationally aware of his surroundings, which he doesn't turn off even during a meditation session, despite the therapist urging him to ignore the outside world. He's the one who has to pull the therapist back to reality. And when that reality hits - gunshots shattering the window - she panics and flees whereas Zion keeps his cool. I dunno what exactly I mean to say with all this, but it just reminded me of some recent issues I've had with my last therapist. I'd express certain concerns, and her advice on how I deal with them felt really out of touch with reality, amounting to stuff like, just 'meditate it away' or something, as if real life problems can just be willed away so easily.

Chloe and Rick are...unexpectedly sweet. I hope nothing bad happens to them 🥲

[supremest-sorcerer]

*a news reporter runs through the wall leaving a comically human shaped hole*

“EXCUSE ME. SIR. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FOOD SIR.”

Well that's an unfortunate question. I can't really eat much anymore, at least not in the way of appetizing meals. I've used enough magic at this point that I need to eat foods rich in it, the same way one would replenish their iron or protein. My body can't actually handle anything that's not particularly magical anymore. It just comes right back up. So, to answer your question, there's a dish that Wong makes that's a bit like ramen, if ramen were made with interdimensional tubeworms instead of noodles, and a broth made of something that I haven't got the guts to ask about. It's grown on me... sometimes literally. As for what I wish I could eat, I think I miss belgian waffles the most. Fresh, hot belgian waffles with strawberries, whipped cream, and powdered sugar. I'd probably eat a whole plate of them right now if I were physically capable of digesting it.

[glaciertea]

Masterlist here~

Tales the Songs Weave

Ch.2<< >>Ch.4

Summary: Miguel O'Hara is a leader. A leader who doesn't let anyone or anything distract him from the tasks at hand.

He's focused, unwavering, and ruthless.

But what happens when he abruptly pulls away from his territory and wanders into an unknown playing field he hasn't faced in forever?

Many say love holds no bounds, but how much will he be willing to break for you?

Chapter 3: That This Problem Lies in Me

Word count: 1.3K

Miguel awoke to an unpleasant thump in his brain. It wasn't intrusive, just inconvenient.

His eyes flickered, pupils constricted as a streak of gold marginally reached under his eyelids, rapidly removing his vision from catching any sort of light. Browsing his surroundings, he immediately recognized a major dilemma.

He had zero idea where the hell he was.

He struggled to recap the events from the previous night, but his memories were foggy.

He haphazardly slung his body upwards, a bunch of half-dried towels flying off his body onto a bedspread that he certainly knew didn't belong to him, the wooden floor, and a fluffy rug.

The room was abundantly cozy, yet relatively cramped due to its size. A bookshelf, computer desk, and dresser drawer were covered in knickknacks. There was enough space for one person.

But Miguel wasn't that person.

His head spun when he heard airy footsteps and something being opened and closed right outside the door that was separating him from whatever was out there.

Shifting his body until his feet were on the floor, he cautiously stood up, creeping towards the wooden object and placing his ear on it.

Silence until more slight footsteps crossed the ground, echoes of seemingly drawers or cabinets carefully shut. Whatever or whoever was out there clearly doesn't wish to be caught.

Miguel grasped the doorknob, calmly twisting it before hastily hurling it open.

You leapt, alarmed at the sudden, violent entrance. There he stood, exhibiting his full height, deadpan. You gulped harshly as you both remained glued to your respective spots.

Just like the park.

“Uh, good morning. How are, um, how are you this morning?”

Miguel skimmed over you and the surrounding area. Just like the bedroom, it resembled that snug yet cramped atmosphere.

“Where am I?” He crossed his arms over his chest, his watchful eye refraining to drop from you.

You dumped waffle mix and other ingredients in a silver bowl, biting your inner cheek.

“You're in my apartment. You nearly passed out in an alleyway until I basically dragged you here. You are one heavy guy, but I'm sure you’re highly aware of that.”

You chuckled, but promptly ceased when his stony aura lingered in the stagnant air. Sounds of butter sizzled on the waffle iron as you poured some now-beaten batter into it.

You didn't know how to exactly spark a casual chat with a stranger who happened to spend the night in your bed after indulging in whatever was affecting him.

Miguel's brain whirled with an abundance of questions. Why was he brought here? Why were you so mellow in this situation? Well, as mellow as you strained to maintain. What exactly did happen? Were you earnestly not anxious about his presence domineering over you?

Why did you help him?

“Do you like cinnamon? I was planning on adding some to the next mix, but if you don't, these are plain.”

You tried to wrangle any conversation from him to avert any more awkwardness as you scratched the back of your leg with your foot.

From head to toe, you were stiff.

“That's fine.” His voice was harsh, but he endeavored to get a handle on it.

You beamed as you mixed the spice with brown sugar. “I'm glad you're willing to eat. Last night, you gave me a huge fright, but I believe I squashed a good chunk of what was in you. Oh, do you need any pain medication? I don't know if that'll help, but it shou-”

“Why?” Miguel cut you off.

“Why what?”

“Why did you... why are you not afraid?”

You tore away from the waffle iron, your eyebrows furrowed in pure confusion.

“Afraid? What is there for me to be scared of?”

Miguel gestured to his sharpened claws, his eyes, and his fangs. Him in general.

You blink a few times before plating the rest of the cooked, fluffy, sweet bread. “Not proving your case.” You giggled and made a serving for him.

“You saw what I'm capable of. The brick wall, when I bit and injected my venom into that woman, tha-”

“That you used to protect me.”

“That you thought I killed her with.”

Sitting the syrup-covered breakfast on your round dining table, beckoning him to relax as he dubiously sits across from you.

“Yes, and I'm sorry for assuming that. Then you told me it was temporary and non-lethal. You didn't intend on fully hurting her, just enough to stop her in her tracks to prevent actual permanent and lethal damage.”

You munch on a giant part of one of your waffles.

“So once again, not proving your point.” A sincere smile formed on your face.

Miguel perched over, stunned. You didn't appear intimidated or turned away by his presence. It disoriented him in a way. Why didn't you view him in a negative light after all that concurred last night?

“Yes, but I still tried to just dump the body at the police station and walk. And then I attempted to frighten you away. What type of hero does that?”

“You were frazzled. You had unwanted drugs taking over from what you mumbled last night, and I didn't mind telling the police what happened.”

You took another bite, but a smaller piece this time.

“And I figured out what you were attempting, but I'm not allowing anyone to suffer by themselves, especially if they helped me. You were in pain and agony. And even if you didn't do anything for me, I would still help in any sort of capacity. And on top of that, it was on my own accord.”

You casually spoke, shrugging your shoulders, and planted your elbows on the table. Miguel once again hunched over in silence.

“So yes, you are still a hero. You made a few wrong calls, but it happens. We have our flaws; I certainly know I do; it's just how we go about them. We're humans; we make mistakes, but the intention is what shows. And guess what? Your good intentions are there. And from what I've witnessed, they surely do shine.”

You gave him another kind smile and stood up, offering him some juice. Miguel was muddled. He's expected to be a constant excelling leader, not just from the society and the citizens themselves, but from him as well.

Mistakes are made. They can be created, and when they are, they need to be attained and fixed. He's not allowed to have any slip-ups.

They can be easily created… but can they truly be mended? His purpose behind what he does is for the best. Yet hearing that it's fine for him to make mistakes spoken out loud…

Miguel shook his head, refusing to have his judgments and objectives sink into some provoking abyss.

If you weren't panicked by his appearance, then he can linger for a while longer and then return to his life as if you two never crossed paths.

“I'll take you on that offer for pain pills and coffee.”

You gradually shut the fridge as a nervous titter escaped.

“Righhht… coffee.” You pulled your phone out and pressed it a few times.

‘Do you not have any?” Miguel raised a brow, taking a few pieces from his perfectly cut waffles.

“I haven't been able to buy any for the past week. But I'll order you one, so you're gonna be trapped here until it gets here.” You teasingly stuck your tongue out, gaining a playful eye roll from him.

“That'll be fine by me. I'm getting a free drink from it.”

“Perfect! So how do you like yours?” You gleefully rush back over and place the phone near him, leaning in, interested in his choice. 

A one-and-done ordeal. Neither one is truly obligated to advance any further. He'll thank you for your help, express his extensive gratitude, and go from there. 

That's it. The lone, flickering candle he's retaining will remain that way.

Blunders happen. From the insignificant to the monstrous. It's a part of nature. 

Until it takes effect. 

They didn't deliberately aim to burn the candle flame any brighter. It was a mere accident.

[townsenddecades]

Recap 1320 – 1329

And that’s another decade done! It was certainly an interesting one. There was no deadly famine this time, but with the number of sims to manage increasing, the individual days have started taking longer to play through. Which explains why completing this decade has taken me almost four months.

Historically speaking, the 1320s were an…interesting time in English politics, to say the least. I touched on it in some posts, but the tensions between King Edward II, his nobility and Queen Isabella came to a head, first in the Despenser War, and finally in Isabella’s coup against her husband to oust him from power and instead place their son, Edward III, on the throne. In addition to these domestic troubles, there was also continuous war with the Scots (culminating in Edward III recognizing Scottish independence in 1328) and trouble with the English fiefdoms in France, a prelude to the Hundred Years War that will begin in the coming decade, and which ironically enough gave Queen Isabella the springboard from which to launch her coup.

Another prelude to the Hundred Years War was the death of King Charles IV of France, after which Queen Isabella put Edward III forward as a candidate for the throne. Unsurprisingly, the French weren’t too keen on having an English King, but we all know that that wasn’t the end of the matter.

When I started this challenge, I actually intended to incorporate the Scottish wars into my story, but in playing I shied away from the research I would have needed to put in to think up rolls for that. Maybe with the next one, because we also all know that this wasn’t the end of the border clashes between England and Scotland.

Because of this, my sims may have had a lot of heartache because of marital troubles and dead children this decade, but at least in terms of big historical events, they’ve had it rather easy. Which doesn’t mean I was bored, far from it!

Which is a perfect cue to stop waffling and finally get into the recap for the individual households. Of which there are far more than a decade ago. This will be a long post (hence the read more), but I hope the division into individual entries helps to read it if you need multiple sessions.

I have also decided to write posts with more in-depth descriptions of the deaths and weddings of this decade, and to intersperse some polls between posting these.

The Townsend Family (Tovar, Main Household)

Current members: 7

In 1320, the Tovar branch of the Townsend family consists of Benedict Townsend, his oldest son Benjamin and youngest son Gregory, Benjamin’s wife Malika and Benjamin and Malika’s two surviving sets of twins: Malcolm and Amye, who are seven, and Frank and Adeline, who are only infants.

Like most people of their community, the Townsends begin the decade by trying to rebuild after the devastating famine of the last few years, which means working on the field and buying new animals for the farm, among them a kitten named Mouser whose task will be, as the name suggests, keeping out mice. Amye, who loves animals, is especially happy about this. Sadly, even now that their fields aren’t waterlogged anymore, their crops are growing badly, so the harvest they bring in in early 1321 is small.

In that year, Gregory, who wishes to be a painter, asks his sister Anna, whose family moves in more well-heeled circles in Praaven, for help in securing an apprenticeship. He has always had an artistic bend, but it isn’t unlikely that the hardships of being a peasant have added fuel to the fire of wanting to escape life on a farm. Through some effort, Anna does manage to secure an apprenticeship with a painter in Praaven for him, although it doesn’t come for free. Before he leaves, Gregory travels to the Abbey of St. Wright to propose marriage to his childhood friend Agnes, who promises to wait for him.

Also in 1321, the younger set of twins ages up into toddlers. And to add to the joyous news, at the end of the year, Malika discovers that she is with child again.

In 1322, Malika gives birth to a son named Edwin. This year, the harvest is adequate, although they delay harvesting some plants that still haven’t grown as well as they would like. Fuelled by this, Malika starts thinking about ways to secure her family economically. Farming obviously comes with too many risks, and losing children, friends and family has left its marks on her. Independent of her thoughts, Benjamin has already started putting more emphasis on cultivating grapes for nectar, to be used by the local Guild of Nectar Makers. She proposes making nectar themselves, but Benjamin dismisses this as too risky.

Later in the year, Benjamin takes his older children to meet Sir Robert Chevalier, his recently married half-brother whom he hasn’t seen in years and whose new home is nearby. Malcolm is very impressed by having a knight for an uncle. Meeting Robert and seeing his spacious – by peasant standards - home gives him his first idea of wanting more in life than farmwork.

While this visit is happening, Clement Dudley, brother to the local earl, visits the Townsend's farm looking for party of riders. Instead of his quarry, he finds Malika, whom he had a brief flirtation with before her marriage. As she is still a beautiful woman, he is very interested but meets with rejection when he tries to charm her. Naturally, he is offended by this reaction and leaves in a huff.

Not to be deterred by a pesky thing like this he returns a few months later, in 1323. Malika, who has been considering gaining his support to push her idea of becoming nectar makers, reciprocates his advances this time and allows him to kiss her. They are nearly caught by Benjamin in this compromising position but manage to play it off. It is only after Dudley leaves that Malika confesses her plan to him, much to his horror and disgust. A few months later, he gives his reluctant consent and Malika and Clement become lovers, but Malika’s and Benjamin’s relationship suffers noticeably under this. Undeterred, Malika makes a first attempt to talk to Clement about the ways he could support her family, but he is clearly uninterested. For him, their relationship is a pleasant diversion, nothing more.

Ever the determinator, Malika keeps trying, which in 1324 begins to put Clement off. Only then does she admit to herself that he likely won’t help her. After he stops visiting her, she starts feeling ill, which is soon revealed to be the first signs of another pregnancy. This discovery (and the fact that neither can tell who the father of the child is) strains her relationship with Benjamin further, especially when she reveals that her plan failed.

In 1325, while heavily pregnant, Malika has a talk with Amye about marriage and childbearing. Amye is nearly a young woman now, which means that these matters, and the danger associated with childbirth, are starting to become more pressing for her. Despite her mother’s reassurances that many women survive multiple births without issues, Amye isn’t convinced. Later in the year, Malika gives birth to a daughter, Cecily, who strongly takes after her, which makes it impossible to tell who her father might be. During the birth, Benjamin realizes how much he still loves his wife by how scared he is to lose her. After this, their relationship very slowly begins to mend.

Some months after the birth Malika is visited by one of the earl’s men-at-arms. Sir Robert, informed about what has been going on via village gossip, has asked the earl to intercede, but as Clement’s paternity can’t be proven, nothing comes of it.

At the end of the year Amye and Malcolm age up into teens, Frank and Adeline age up into children and Benedict ages up into an elder.

In 1326, the four older children begin take on new duties. For Amye, this mostly means helping in the household, like caring for her little siblings Edwin and Cecily and taking over some of the cooking, cleaning and whatever else needs to be done. She likes the work, but still doesn’t think she wants to do this for a husband. Then, tragedy strikes: baby Cecily dies of a fever. Despite his uncertainty about the child and his feelings on the entire affair, Benjamin comforts his wife, who feels that Cecily's death may be divine punishment.

In 1327, Benjamin stuns his wife by announcing that he intends to apply to the Guild of Nectar Makers, as he has had all winter to ponder the merits of her idea and decided that they are worth the risk. He does just that, and after the requisite entrance fee is paid, they buy the necessary equipment, build a shed to house it and dig a cellar to store and age the nectar they produce. Their first attempt at mead-making fails, but Benjamin is undeterred, and later attempts to make cider and wine are graced with more success.

Amye turns out not to be the only Townsend child to ponder her future. Malika and Benjamin notice that Malcolm doesn’t seem to be quite sure what he wants out of life – which is a luxury problem for a peasant, truth be told – but reassure themselves by saying that he is still young and will find his footing sooner or later.

That same year, the Townsend children sans toddler Edwin attend the Mahlsberg Spring Fair, where Amye meets a young man named Alexandre de Bellefaye (grandson of the local baron) and Adeline meets a boy named Bertrand Pelham (also related to the baron, but more distantly).

In 1328, while making a delivery to his uncle Sir Robert, Malcolm meets the Chevaliers' new maid, the pretty and spirited Hawise Barton, whom he instantly takes a shine to. He also meets his newest cousin, little Jehanne, but because Malcolm isn’t overly fond of children, that part of the visit is far less pleasant for him. Hawise, though initially wary because she is home alone with the children and doesn’t know Malcolm, seems equally interested in him.

In the same year, Edwin ages up into a child.

Continuing their growing pains, the older twins are still thinking about the future. The years have helped Amye realize that she truly is content with living with her family, and glad that her parents don’t pressure her to find a husband. At around the same time, Malcolm has a talk with his mother about the future – he knows that she has ambitions for their family, and she admits that she would wish to see them rise in the world, but tells him that ultimately, it is his decision. That doesn’t really help Malcolm decide what he wants to do with his life and where his attraction to Hawise fits into his reluctance to settle down with a family like his own father has done.

Later in the year, Hawise visits the farm to carry over a message regarding Annette Crawley’s marriage and makes the acquaintance of Malika. On his mother’s prompting, Malcolm walks her home, and the two admit that they like each other, and share their first kiss.

1329 begins with the news that the family has to pay a tallage of nearly 13,000 simoleons. That is more money than they have at the time, but through hard work and a successful wheat harvest, they succeed in paying it off on time.

Since their kiss in the previous year, Malcolm and Hawise have been meeting often, which has deepened their attachment. After the harvest, Malcolm makes Hawise very bumbling, accidental proposal of marriage, which she accepts gleefully. His parents are equally content with his choice, and as the Chevaliers raise no objection either, the marriage is loosely planned for the following year, before winter sets in.

Everything seems to be going swimmingly for the Townsends – they have a budding nectar making business, at least one of their children is ready to start his own life, their farm is going well and they are content. So of course, tragedy has to strike them again. And so, the decade comes to a sorrowful conclusion as Edwin falls ill with some kind of stomach disease, which, through malnutrition and dehydration, claims his life. He is laid to rest near his grandmother and aunts in the Tovar churchyard, which means that the Townsends end the decade with the same number of children as they had at the start.

The Townsend Family (Lüghaven)

Current members: 5

Simon Townsend begins the decade as an apprentice to the witch Elea Ellesmere, which he has been for some years. Besides his teacher, he shares his home deep in Lüghaven woods with Elea’s daughter Mariora, who, unlike him and her mother, does not possess the gift of magic. 

Right at the beginning of the decade, in 1320, Elea gives birth to twin girls, both witches. Mariora, saddened by what she views as her mother now having the gifted children she always wanted instead of an ordinary daughter like her, feels superfluous and wishes to use this chance to to escape her isolation and start a new life. What holds her back is Simon confessing his love for her, feelings which she reciprocates despite herself. They agree to move a little closer to civilization into the half-destroyed village of Lüghaven, where they will live as husband and wife, even without a proper ceremony.

They make a home there, with her continuing her study of alchemy and him growing some plants and doing odd jobs in the nearby villages, which leaves them reasonably happy and comfortable. In 1321, they are already expecting a first child, which is born at the end of the year. They name the little boy Irving.  Sadly, he dies of a lung defect early in 1322, for which they both blame themselves.

In 1323, Mariora gives birth to a second son, Nicolas. They don’t see Mariora’s mother much, which Mariora views as confirmation of her fears that her mother doesn’t need either of them anymore – Simon was only ever a stopgap for her because she never had any gifted children to pass her arcane knowledge onto, and maybe as a means to have gifted grandchildren, should he and Mariora fall in love, as she thought likely. Surprisingly, Mariora doesn’t feel saddened by this. She feels free.

In 1324, Nicolas ages up into a toddler while Mariora is already pregnant with her third child, which turns out to be her and Simon’s first daughter. They name her Misty.

1326 brings with it both tragedy and joy. Mariora gives birth to another healthy son, Christopher, but they lose Misty due to illness a few months after his birth.  

Luckily, Christopher doesn’t follow his sister’s fate, and ages up into a toddler in 1327. Around the same time, Mariora starts musing about finally leaving Lüghaven woods, because their only link to the outside world is Simon venturing out to do his odd jobs and sell some of Mariora’s elixirs at market. She isn’t unhappy with her life – in fact, she is happier than she could have imagined when she accepted Simon’s offer of marriage – but she doesn’t want to spend her whole life hiding.

In 1328, Mariora gives birth to her fifth child, a boy named Joseph.

In 1329, Nicolas ages up into a child. The peaceful birthday party turns heart-pounding when a fire breaks out due to Christopher’s magic becoming uncontrollable in his frustration at being ignored, but thankfully, no one is harmed. The experience leaves a sour taste in Nicolas’ mouth, however.

Later in the year, Joseph ages up into a toddler (without a birthday cake, this time) while Mariora is pregnant with yet another child. Their year ends with troubling news: while at market, Simon was beseeched by a terrified father to help his daughter, who was dying of an infected wound. As a father himself, Simon couldn’t look away and helped the girl heal. While noble, both he and Mariora know that publicly using his magic like that could have dire consequences if his deeds reach the ears of the wrong people.

The Townsend Family (Praaven)

Current members: 3

The Praaven branch of the Townsend family (not to be confused with the Tovar branch and the Lüghaven branch) is established in 1321, when Gregory Townsend moves to town to undergo an apprenticeship to become a painter with a member of the painters’ guild named Jeremiah Browne. Because his father and brother had to pay a fee to give him this chance and his ability to marry his childhood love, Agnes, depends on his success, he is determined not to squander it.

And he doesn’t. Over the next few years, he acquits himself well, so that in 1325, he is made a partner by Master Browne. Browne also encourages him to marry Agnes and have her move in with them to keep house.

Following that encouragement, Gregory and Agnes are married in a joyous celebration with all of Gregory’s extensive family and many friends in attendance in 1326. While Agnes is a little intimated to be marrying into such a large clan, she is welcomed with open arms by most of them.

In the following year, 1327, Agnes gives birth to their first son, Colbert. Sadly, the boy seems to be born with some sort of birth defect that prevents him from gaining strength, despite his mother’s efforts to nurse and care for him. He dies only a few weeks old.

Luckily, in 1329, Agnes gives birth to a second son, Wymark, who doesn’t face the same issues. By the end of the year, she is already expecting her and Gregory’s third child.

The Crawley Family

Current members: 3

At the beginning of the decade, the Crawley family consists of George and Anna Crawley and their two daughters, Annette and Theodora. Of these two, only Annette is their biological child; Theodora is the bastard of George’s younger sister Caroline, which they are playing off as Anna’s child by George. Their attempts to conceive another child – ideally a male heir to the Crawley name – have so far been unsuccessful.

In 1321, Theodora ages up into a child.

Excitement is raised in the Crawley household when Anna finally falls pregnant again. Sadly, the child she gives birth to in 1322 is not only a girl, but also stillborn.

To compound Anna’s misery, in Illness marches through the Crawley household in 1324 and almost claims her and George’s lives, while the girls, Mary and Matthew recover comparatively quickly. Luckily, both of them pull through, although it seems like a small miracle to most.

In 1325, Annette ages up into a teenager, which makes it imperative to find a good marriage for her. While Anna and George may yet have a son – they are only in their early thirties – the current lack of one makes Annette and Theodora eligible heiresses, and thus prizes on the marriage market which the Crawley elders, especially Mary, intend to see well settled. While Anna, George and Matthew would be content with her marrying a wealthy merchant or gentleman, Mary aims higher and intends to snare the young Baron Elbenhawke, her aunt Caroline’s stepson, for her. Annette is initially repulsed by being decided over like this, but her Crawley ambition asserts itself enough for her to go along with the plan.

She uses a family visit to Elbenhawke Hall in 1327 try to charm the baron, with questionable success. But regardless of the young lord’s own feelings, his guardians settle on another marriage for him, which puts and end to the Crawleys’ plans in that direction.

A year later, in 1328, Theodora ages up into a teenager. By then, George, Anna and George’s parents have identified a new potential husband for Annette: Alexandre de Bellefaye, the baron’s cousin and scion of a minor branch of an aristocratic French family. After meeting him and thinking through the possibilities such a marriage could mean for her, Annette – or rather, her father, who nonetheless consults her – agrees to it. 

The marriage takes place in 1329, after which Annette leaves her home. This means that only Theodora remains to be married of – but while her parents and grandparents are already looking for an equally profitable match for her, Theodora has her own ideas about where to seek love.

The de Bellefaye Family

Current members: 2

The most recently established household of the sprawling Townsend bloodline, it comes into being in 1329, right at the end of the decade, when Monsieur Alexandre de Bellefaye, youngest of the three sons of Henri and Joan (née Pelham) de Bellefaye marries Annette Crawley. The wedding is held in great state in Praaven Cathedral. It is all the more joyous for them because while they expected a marriage of convenience – with her gaining status and him gaining her sizable dowry – they become quite fond of each other over the course of their engagement and are looking forward to their married life. With the wealth Annette brings into the marriage and Alexandre’s connections as nephew of the countess and cousin of the baron, they are certainly a couple to take note of.

 By the end of the year, Annette starts feeling nauseous, which she hopes is the first sign of pregnancy.

The Watmore Family

Current members: 1

Even at the beginning of the decade, the family isn’t big, consisting only of orphaned serf siblings Elsie and Wilfred Watmore. Because children that young can’t live on their own, they are being raised by their paternal uncles, Alaric and Noah. Neither of these men is pleased at having to take care of them, and are sometimes rather harsh with their niece and nephew.

In 1322, Wilfred ages up into a child. Sadly for him, that only means that he is old enough to take over duties on the fields.

In the following years, but especially 1325, the Watmore family gets into repeated arguments with a neighbouring serf family, the Bransons, about whose parcel of land ends where, which eventually leads to a brawl between Alaric and Freddy Branson. Because Sibyl Branson, Freddy’s mother, is tired of the constant conflict, she goes to the earl with her complaints, and the Watmores are threatened with a fine. This overshadows even the joyous occasion of Elsie aging up into a teenager.

Because the Watmores don’t have the money to pay the fine and to resolve the legal quarrel, the earl decrees in 1326 that Elsie is to marry Freddy Branson, with the disputed piece of land as her dowry. Her uncles are not pleased with this arrangement but have no leverage to refuse.

Accordingly, Elsie leaves the household after her marriage in 1328, at the age of fifteen.

In the following year, 1329, Wilfred ages up into a teenager. This means that he needs to soon start thinking about his own marriage prospects, but he isn’t too fond of the idea of settling down with a wife, especially after watching his sister’s none-too-happy marriage. Time will tell whether an intrepid young woman can win his heart and make him change that stance.

The Branson Family

Current members: 3

This household is established in 1328 upon the marriage of Elsie Watmore to Frederick “Freddy” Branson, the son of Sibyl Branson (formerly Crawley, the sister of Elsie’s aunt’s mother-in-law Mary) and Sibyl’s late husband Tom.

While the marriage itself was prearranged, Elsie has grown up socializing with the Branson children. Before her parents’ deaths, she had sometimes played with them, and since returning to the village after the famine, she has met them at church and during many gatherings at the village green. Despite the animosity over the piece of land, Elsie has always gotten along well with Freddy and while not overjoyed about the marriage, she has been able to bear it with equanimity. Until the moment that Freddy forces her to hasten it by consummating it early against her wishes. This breach of trust not only cools her relationship with her new husband, but also leaves her feeling unprepared for being a wife. Her only consolation is that his family, especially his mother, is very kind to her.

Other than Freddy and Sibyl, the family consists of Sibyl’s new husband, their son Michael, and Freddy’s older sister Corinne, who is pregnant out of wedlock, but refuses to name the father.

Soon after her marriage, Elsie does indeed soon find out that she is pregnant, which at least gives her the comfort of having acted wisely. Her grandfather Benedict visits her during her pregnancy and is worried at her tired look, but can only tell her to keep her chin up and make the best out of her situation.

In 1329, Elsie gives birth to her and Freddy’s first son, Elton. Despite having lived with the Bransons for more than half a year, she is still struggling with finding her footing in the family and to acclimate to motherhood. Sibyl remains to be her biggest supporter and does what she can to comfort her.

The Chevalier Family

Current members: 4

At the beginning of the decade, Robert is still Robert Townsend, a squire to his half-brother, the earl of Petersmarch, and betrothed to Mademoiselle Elisaria de Bellefaye, to be married once he receives his knighthood. Even before then, he and Elisaria are close to Lord and Lady Petersmarch, a status they will continue to enjoy.

Robert is finally knighted in 1322 and weds Elisaria only months later. They change their surname to ‘Chevalier’, as a nod to her heritage and his profession, and are given the use of a small estate outside of Praaven by the earl as a wedding gift. Robert is still thinking about Katheryn, whom he shared a romance with in the previous decade, but determined to treat his wife well. This sense of duty soon blossoms into real love.

They have their first son in the following year, 1323, but sadly, the boy is stillborn. They name him Roman anyway and lay him to rest nearby.

In 1324, Elisaria gives birth to their second child, a healthy daughter named Marguerite. Unfortunately, their third child (and second son), Elijah, is born early in a tavern while they are en route home from a visit to another noble in 1325. The boy dies of a fever after they arrive home, much to their distress.

Some good news comes in 1326, when Marguerite ages up into a toddler. They celebrate this milestone in Praaven, since the earl and countess have invited them to put their daughter in the castle nursery, but Elisaria, who suffers from depression after the death of her second son, finds it hard to find joy in it.

Her spirits brighten a little when she gives birth to another healthy daughter, Jehanne, in 1327.

Around that time, they notice that their maid, Hawise, has started to develop an attachment to Robert’s nephew, Malcolm, who becomes a regular visitor in the Chevalier home. So, in 1328, Jehanne not only ages up into a toddler, but Robert and Elisaria also reveal to Hawise that they are in favour of her interest in Malcolm, provided he conducts himself properly.

In 1329, Elisaria gives birth to her third son (and fifth child), Landon, who actually survives his birth. Relieved by this, she and Robert begin to plan their girl’s education, now that they finally have a son and heir. But their joy doesn’t last long; they find Landon dead in his cradle a few months after his birth, which utterly devastates them and launches Elisaria into a crisis of faith, because she can’t understand why the Watcher would take all of her sons away from her.

The Dudley Family

Current members: 8 (Dudley branches), 4 (Penrith branch)

At the beginning of the decade, the aristocratic Dudley family consists of Ralph and Mary Dudley, the Earl and Countess of Petersmarch, their daughter and heiress Lady Maud, Lord Petersmarch’s sister Lady Gwendolen, brother Clement and Clement’s wife Lady Katheryn, as well as the siblings’ mother, the Dowager Countess Elizabeth.

For the Dudleys, 1320 begins with a joyous event: Lady Gwendolen marries Arnulf Penrith, the earl of Windermere, thus becoming a countess, as arranged for her by her brother. They hold the marriage in great state, before she leaves to live with her husband at his seat, which is only a few days’ travel away. The other joyous occasion of the year is Lady Maud aging up into a toddler.

Over the following years, the new Lady Windermere (Gwendolen) gives birth to several children: a son and heir, Vincent, in 1321, and a daughter, Lady Viviane, in 1322. In that same year, Vincent ages up into a toddler.

But there is some trouble in that year as well. Near the end of it, Lady Katheryn discovers that she is expecting her second child and tries to flee to her father’s estate. Her marriage with Clement has never been easy, and she especially doesn’t want his influence on any child of hers, least of all on a son. She makes a halt at Amrhein Hall, where the Dowager Countess resides and where Lady Windermere happens to be a guest, and tells them about what has happened. The Dowager Countess disapproves but promises not to detain her. Unfortunately for her, this promise becomes meaningless when her husband catches up to her before she can continue her travels, and forces her to return to Praaven with him. This worsens their already contentious marriage further.

Regardless of this, in the following year, 1323, she gives birth to her child, a son named Ralph III after Clement's late father. Lady Windermere gives birth to another daughter, Lady Margaret. Sadly, the girl doesn’t survive birth long, but as if to make up for that, Lady Viviane successfully ages up into a toddler.

Much to Clement’s chagrin, the countess falls pregnant again and gives birth to another son in 1324, hopefully averting the looming succession crisis. Her and the earl have had several sons before, but all of them died young during the famine of the previous decade. They name this new son and heir Robin. In the same year, Lady Maud ages up into a child.

In 1325, Ralph III, Clement and Katheryn’s son, ages up into a toddler, followed by his younger cousin Robin in 1326. Both of them continue to be in good health. This is followed by Lord and Lady Windermere’s surviving children, Vincent and Viviane, aging up into children in 1327 and 1328 respectively. The last birthday of the decade is Ralph III aging up into a child in 1329.

The Pelham Family

Current members: 5

At the beginning of the decade, the Pelham family consists of Peter Pelham (the aging Baron Elbenhawke), his widowed daughter-in-law Caroline, née Crawley, his grandson and heir Richard and Caroline’s young children, David and Josephine. And while for the Dudleys, the year begins with a wedding, for the Pelhams, it begins with sorrow.

Because in 1320, Baron Elbenhawke, who has been such a support for Caorline after the death of her husband has left her position uncertain, dies in his sleep, thus making his grandson Richard the new Lord Elbenhawke at only six years old. The running of the estate is swiftly taken over by regents, who will care for the land until young Richard is old enough to manage them himself. Luckily, Caroline is allowed to stay, to order the household and care for the children.

After that, life goes on. In 1322, David ages up into a child, followed by his sister Josephine in 1323. Already regular guests for feasts at the Hall, Anna and her daughters travel out from Praaven to attend the birthday celebration. And as always, Caroline is wistful that she can’t tell Theodora that she is really her mother.

Some peaceful years pass, and in 1326, Richard, the young Lord Elbenhawke, ages up into a teen, ready to take over the running of his lands and to look for a bride of his own, to ensure the continuation of the family line. If he notices that his Crawley relations would like for Annette to fill the role as his baroness, he never breathes a word of this knowledge to them or his stepmother.

In 1327, Caroline causes furore in Anna Crawley’s life once again by admitting to her that she has fallen pregnant out of wedlock with the child of a lover; apparently, she has been “seeing” her steward for a while now, a rare glimpse of happiness in her otherwise rather melancholy life. While happy for her friend, Anna can only really shake her head at her. Luckily, this time around, the father-to-be knows of the child and has rectified the situation by offering her marriage, which Caorline accepts.

In the same year, Richard is betrothed to a young noblewoman named Lady Lettice Adair.

In 1328, Caroline gives birth to a daughter, Isabel, attended by Anna. The birth almost claims her life, but the Grim Reaper decides to spare her.

And finally, in 1329, David ages up into a teen, which means that he, too, will soon need to go on the hunt for a suitable bride.

And that is it, at least for this decade. That was quite a lot to get through (and took a while to put together), but I hope some of you find this helpful. If anyone has actually read this far, that is, in which case: thank you!

I’m actually very much looking forward to what comes next for my sims. Not so much because of big historical events, although there is the Hundred Years War coming in the next decade, but mostly because of the stories I have planned. I am really excited to see what becomes of the Townsends’ nectar business, how Malcolm’s and Hawise’s relationship will develop once it becomes clear that he has no interest in spending time with their kids, where Amye’s path might lead her, and how the story I have planned for one of the side households pans out…

Which doesn’t mean that the social upheavals that will follow in the next few decades aren't interesting. That will be fun, too. The beginning years of the Hundred Years war aren’t too exciting, to be honest, but…well…

The clock’s ticking down to the Black Death in 18 years. Let’s enjoy the last decade without that hanging over our sims’ heads.

See you first to a few other posts and polls and then in 1330!

Previous: 1329 Statistic | 1310 - 1319 Recap <--> Next: 1320 - 1329 Deaths | 1330 - 1339 Recap

[exvangelical-christian-nerd]

Some thoughts on "Hell is Forever"

TW religion, conservative Christianity

Hell is Forever is a bop. Musically I enjoy it a lot. And It's definitley one I'll go listen to separatelyfrom the others on occasion.

But

It is also probably the song that bothers me the most. And it does not bother me in a way I like. I've talked about before, how I like things that poke at my beliefs and make me ask questions. This one doesn't do that. This song is like a buzzing fly to my inner-theologian, and I think I figured out why (Ironically it might also be one of the reasons I enjoy it)

So I've been working on some of my series type content lately, including my devos. I'm trying to make a series based on the Hazbin songs (if that is something you're interested in let me know in the comments and I will try to tag you when I start posting them). Naturally this includes Hell is Forever.

The thing about Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss is that by their very nature they include some theology, but a good portion of it is hellaverse-ified. Some of it is theology and some Christian lore. It's part of the draw. Here's the diffrence between Hell is Forever, and most of the rest of it: Hell is Forever addresses real Theology, more or less directly. I'd say more than, possibly, any other part of either show so far.

Now before I go any farther let's make sure we all have the same definitions so my meaning doesn't get mixed up.

Real Theology= Theology actually believed by a fair portion of people.

Good Theology= Theology that is grounded and has biblical backing.

Bad Theology= Opposite of Good Theology

So yes, Hell is Forever has Real Theology. Here's the thing that gets me though: I wouldn't consider most of it Good Theology. In fact I would consider most of it Bad Theology.

Now the thing with Theology is that our interpretation of it is flawed. We don't know a lot and we don't agree on a lot. That's why there are tens of thousands of denominations. But the particular brand we get in this song is what I'm going to call "Bible Thumper Theology." Not all Bible Thumper Theology is necessarily Bad Theology, but plenty of it is. But honestly I have three major issues with Bible Thumper Theology. First is that it's weaponized. Whether your Theology is good or bad, using it as a weapon is risky business. Second, it's often pretty weak. Even if the theological concept is solid, their understanding of it is usually surface level at best. And third, so much of it is just cherry picking.

So here are the main theological points I identified in Hell is Forever. I'm not going to go deep into them now, because that would make this already long post way to long, and because I'm already planning on making posts specifically on them.

Hell is forever (Obviously)

Eye for an eye Theology (I don't know what else to call it)

Justification by the law (or works)

Justified k1ll1ng (which is obviously super yikes)

Now there are few others in there too, but I'd say these are the main ones. As I said I'm plannin to address these more later, though the first one, I'm still waffling on whether I want to tackle that or not. The primary reason being that I do believe eternal damnation is eternal (as much as I wish I didn't), however I am not going to join the fire and brimstone brigade. There are too many of them all ready. If I do tackle it, it will probably be about why I take issue with the fire and brimstone brigade.

But yes all that to say, Hell is Forever bothers me because it's essentially just Bible Thumper Theology, and Bible Thumper Theology annoys me because it's what makes the church as a whole look bad, and usually it is pretty Bad Theology.

Honestly most of the time someone starts spewing this kind of stuff at me, I can't help but think "Have you read your Bible, or do you just believe what your pastor tells you?" Is my theology flawless? Not a chance (If anyone ever says their's is, approach with extreme caution, or better yet don't approach at all). I am seeking and trying to sort out what I believe. And I'm growing.

Ironically, I think part of the thing I like about Hell is Forever is that the people spewing the bullshit are the villains. I have too often seen them up on a pedestal.

[pikaglove]

Now that I have beaten Baulder's Gate 3, here is a list of headcanons I made up about my character and her life (also includes some in game canon events)

Sylvia

• Half wood elf

• Druid (circle of the lands)

• Folk hero

• Cis female

• Bisexual

• Early-mid 30s

• Lover: Gale (married)

• Adopted two kids after the events of bg3 (arabella and Yenna)

• Absolute freak in the sheets

• Has demon fetish

• Canonically forgets her quests (people have died because of this)

• Lived in Baulder's Gate when she was a young girl and was going to be married off to a noble drow but got in a fight that made her "unfit for marriage" and had to be shipped away due to being an embarrassment to the family.

• Lived as a hippie in her young adulthood with other druids.

• Went around saving small towns from bandits.

• Normally peaceful but gets really hotheaded when she sees injustice

• Has gone days without eating much (Gale has had to make her eat a proper meal instead of just a few berries)

• Had a fling with Lae'zel, thought it was mid.

• Did have a pixie friend when she traveled with the other druids

• Not good friends with Astarion because she wishes he would be a better person (she was really proud when he didn't ascend)

• Shadowheart is her bff

• Loves cats

• Prefers cooler weather

• Will fight Mystra at a waffle house

• Loves raunchy ballads about herself

• Has Heterochromia (left: blue. Right: green)

• Got a flower tattoo on her neck once she left Baulder's Gate

• Got facial scars from charging up too much lightning to take down a group of harpies. (She won of course)

• Down with Bukake (Gale gets her so well)

• Half illithid (cured)

• Has blanked out when Gale goes on tangents but she's happy to let him ramble

• Canonically told Gortash to fuck off

• Disappointment to parents (canon by auntie ethiel)

• Astarion, Jaheira, and Karlach judged her for fucking the emperor

• Canonically sacrificed herself to save everyone in the iron throne along with Astarion (character growth for astarion)

• Halsin is her father figure now after he found out her dad is shit

• Canonically cucked Gale 3 times (The emperor, the drow twins, and Haarlep)

• Whenever Haarlep is using her body and she is in puplic, she and Gale absolutely go off somewhere to fuck.

• Date nights with Gale include star gazing

• Is the reason why Gale learned more ice spells (He wanted to impress her)

• Taught Gale animal handling.

• Steals books for Gale while on adventures

• Canonically goes on adventures with Gale

• Uses vines to bind Gale's wrists so she can give him the sloppy toppy without him returning the favor. (All consentual)

• Taught Arabella druid magic

• Yenna and Gale cook while in waterdeep

• Tara and Sylvia have helped Grub come out of his shell more.

• Has a good relationship with Mrs. Dekarios

• Won the heart of Tara after growing her some catnip.

• Has gotten into cheese arguments with Gale, whenever Elminster comes to visit.

• People sometimes think Yenna is her biological daughter due to similar hair and eye color.

• Father is human, mother is a wood elf

• Has a younger brother

• Her bi awakening was when she was a teen and had a crush on a tiefling classmate

• Let's Shadowheart stay at their tower when she visits waterdeep to be at the Selunite temple.

• Once got attacked by Shaarans when Shadowheart was visiting.

• Has nightmares of turning into a mind flayer due to taking that parasite

• Years after all events and our heros have passed, the wizard tower of waterdeep becomes overgrown with vines.

[mysimsloveaffair]

The scent of waffles and bacon guides me to the kitchen when I wake up the following day. Downstairs, I find Maia there, standing next to the waffle iron.

Wade: How are you feeling?

Maia: Okay, but I’d feel much better once this nausea disappears.

I wish there was something I could do to help. But I can only offer a ‘feel better’ kiss on the cheek. Luckily, the nausea subsides long enough for her to enjoy her breakfast.

(Full post available to read on my website)

[pixelglam]

I’m SO excited for the upcoming stuff and expansion packs! I love the little waffle iron we’re getting, I have one just like it 🥹

Also for the ep I’m really wishing for an urban world with townhouses and apartments. Maybe even a more realistic real estate system (that won’t be too buggy). It seems very possible judging by the key in the ‘teaser’.