#with work kicking my butt it's hard to remember it's not just the end of a business year

[777lando]

fans are assholes | r. dias

summary: fans compare your pregnancy to fellow wags, leaving you to feel not so good.

notes: as requested! i don’t think i specified that it was twins but it still works. dad!ruben has to be my fav genre 🤪 i hope you all enjoy, some very cute at moments 💘 let me know what you all think! <3

IT WAS MATCH DAY, and although you were feeling rough like you had done the last 7 months, you had promised your fiancé you would make it to today’s knockout game rather than watching from home. he wanted you to support from the stadium, but he also wanted to get you out of the house too.

you were 32 weeks along and feeling very heavily pregnant.

yeah, it’s all fun and games when dating a tall man until you have to grow his unnecessarily large children.

all you wanted to do was lie down and moan this entire trimester, having nothing but a hard time with this one you were growing. you’d had every bad symptom imaginable, from the nonstop sickness and heartburn, to back and hip pain, difficulty sleeping and sore boobs, and now in the final stages you were experiencing braxton hicks, so yeah - all you did want was to lie down and whine. more than ever, you just wanted to stay in the comfort of your own home and nest.

“—you’re not even nesting though! you’re sitting here watching tv all day! get up and get ready!” rúben had said to you just yesterday morning after you’d told him you were too busy nesting to grab a coffee with him before training.

“mama, i think you should go tomorrrow . .” another sweet voice said from the sofa, glancing sympathetically in your direction.

your sweet boy, elias, didn’t want to offend you and make you feel like a slob, but he really wanted you both to go to his papa’s games. with school, you didn’t allow him to go to any late night matches which were always the majority, but tomorrow’s kickoff was 3:30pm and when he pitched the idea, you felt awful for feeling like you’d deprived him of some fun memories.

you really didn’t want to go, but your baby boy deserved it. he’d been working so hard in the last weeks of school and rúben would agree that you needed to take him - he wanted you both there just as much but he also knew not to tell a pregnant woman what to do - he wasn’t the one carrying an 8lb baby around in all summer.

“you nearly ready, baby?!” you called from your room, trying your best to look acceptable for today’s outing. you couldn’t remember the last time you’d done your makeup and styled your hair so neatly, baby dias was really kicking your butt that you hardly had any energy after a shower, let alone doing your makeup and hair.

you really needed them out so you could go back to your old self.

you didn’t remember pregnancy being this hard with eli. with him, you were able to get through the rest of school with him growing in your belly! taking notes and listening in class. sure, you had sickness and a sore back but that was really only at the start and at the end. given, you were younger and full of energy.

eli came along in the last of your teen years but you wouldn’t change anything for the world, same with rúben. he blamed that baby boy for being the reason he pushed himself so hard to get where he was today. he was such an easy pregnancy, and an easy kid.

being honest, you felt more unprepared for this new baby as a grown adult than you did as a teenager back in 2016.

with a few thuds across the landing and a solid jump at your bedroom door, you turned to see your 8-year-old all ready holding two thumbs up. with a man city kit on and trainers, he looked like rúben more than ever. seriously, if you got a photo of rúben back then, it was like looking at eli with a slightly different haircut. it scared you so much. “ready!”

traffic was always bad no matter what time you left, but you got there in one piece and already left eli with one of your closest friends and bernardo’s wife, ines, while you had to run to the bathroom even after such a short journey. jeans were longgg out of the equation so you’d gone with some loose, white trousers to go with the blue football shirt, hoping they didn’t wrinkle too much but still looked good with the outfit. “you are glowing!”

“no, it’s probably just my highlighter,” you pointed to your cheekbone as ines laughed cheerfully.

“no! you look amazing, what are you talking about?! i have missed you!” she couldn’t help but hug you again. “you’re ready to pop!”

she felt your bump and you huffed a sigh, pulling your sunglasses down, “i know, it feels like it.”

you didn’t really like being out this far along, not because you were afraid, but you were at that stage were you were starting to feel gross. like, you looked like a whale no matter what you wore or styled yourself to look like. realistically – you were one of the most beautiful pregnant women the internet had saw. truly, you may have felt like an elephant, but you were still posted on WAG accounts, getting shared by millions of women who begged they could only look as good as you when pregnant or better - envied you for still looking so hot while suffering the struggles of pregnancy.

how?! 😭❤️

life’s not fair!!!! 😫

what’s her secret?!!! 😍😭🙏🏼

but you could have gotten a thousand comments like that . . but all it took was the one bad one.

fucking hell, keep her inside 😂🫣

who is that??

🤣🤣🤣🤮🤮

a lot of the time you didn’t care because you knew how the internet worked, and you know the majority were sad-little-pathetic-football-fan men. they barely impacted you.

when it was women on the other hand . . .

“i just can’t believe one woman would say that to another woman,” you tilted your phone to show ines the replies. “what happened to the whole ‘girls help girls?’” you had to put your phone down before you ended up on a gossip page for arguing with people in your comment section.

“it’s always down to jealousy, babe. they hate you ‘cause they ain’t you,” she pointed, the same thing you had told her when she got her first negative comment, and you smiled at her attempt of making you feel better. she was such a good friend.

the internet was a weird place. your life was a weird place, you didn’t think there’d be a day people hated you for simply being with a person. you found it weird paparazzi followed you around when rúben was the famous one. you found it weird there were accounts dedicated to you when you didn’t do anything. it caught you off seeing people notice every little thing about you or knew things you forgot you’d explained. it did add a little bit of pressure knowing you were being watched and most likely compared to other beautiful WAGS. you’d be lying if you didn’t say you’d put on makeup in fear you’d be posted all over those news articles and WAG accounts.

you forgot how stressed matches made you until kickoff, two minutes in and already overthinking how this would go down. rúben had your heart fluttering nontheless with how he ran up and down the pitch, giving orders all sweaty and even repping the captain band for a bit. it made you feel real good about your baby daddy.

“come on, pa!” your son would shout when a bit of a ruffle would occur, his father speaking passionately to the ref with frustrating hand movements.

the halftime whistle blew and you let out a breath, fanning yourself as your body relaxed for a small moment. 0-0. “ma, i need to go to the bathroom.”

“me too, let’s go!”

perks of dating a footballer? renting out their own box for friends and family - including the private bathroom. no queues around hereee.

walking through the rows and steps, you couldn’t help but feel eyes pinned to you. ines would tell you because you’re a WAG of a player (you regret ever educating her on that term) but really you felt like it was because you looked like a whale making her way through the stands.

eli convinced you to do a lap of the stadium just once to ‘stretch your legs’ when really it was something he always liked to do as he believed it ‘made halftime pass quicker’. so hobbling around with few staff members recognising the kid (or rather seeing the clear evidence he was a mini rúben) , you strolled around the packed building, trying to squeeze past football fans, getting stopped once for a picture.

“thank you so much!”

“no worries at all,” you waved to the two girls, shooting them your kindest smile. they were so lovely, and even complimented you for ‘pulling off pregnancy so well’.

“you’re sLayiNg” eli mocked them, taking your hand.

“shut up,” you tutted. you appreciated being told you were still slaying.

“matt!”

the 8-year-old suddenly bolted to a familair security guard in a neon vest who was delighted to see the boy. “my man!”

you didn’t bother rushing over, you were out of breath as it was and decided to just lean on the wall while elias got his quick catch up, waving at matt instead. halftime was almost over. you should be heading back now.

“—not the best one though.”

“—no, sasha is definitely the best wag.”

i swear, the word ‘wag’ triggers you like nothing else.

you tried not to look around, but to your left, you could make out two bodies mingling with each other. both wearing light blue tops with stylish jeans and trainers, the two girls waiting outside the bathroom, trying to talk quietly between then in a mumbled manner.

you were a mum - you had mastered your hearing to hear the grass grow.

“–but sasha’s not pregnant?”

“–but if she was, she’d have a cute bump, not . . ”

their silence had you believe they’d glance in your direction, and it took every bone in your body not to stare dead on at them with a smile to let them know you heard every word - but you didn’t. you played oblivious and stayed watching eli, a forced sweet smile on your lips.

“–foden’s girl always has a cute little bump too!”

“–oh my god, yes. she’s stunning.”

“–he’s stunning too, to be fair.”

“eli, come on son!” you wanted to bang your head on the wall not wanting to endure the conversation anymore. now you’d tune in, you couldn’t tune out.

“–ok. bye matt! see you later,” he didn’t waste a second to return to you. “see you soon, buddy!”

you waved at matt and led him through the crowds, not meaning to hold his hand so tight until he pointed it out. “ow, ma, you’re hurting me.”

“sorry baby.” you didn’t sound sorry but you felt utterly hot and bothered. and not in the good way.

for some unreasonable reason, a small line of carts drove through the halls, and you stood against the wall as they passed by, holding your son by his shoulders. you could hear a small utter of whispers from your side but refused to turn your head. you really needed to fucking sit down.

“—dias’ girl! look at the size of her!”

“–rob that’s so mean! she’s pregnant!”

“WOW!” eli stole your attention as he almost stepped out in front of a last minute one zooming by. you smiled, and quickly manoeuvred him on your way.

“keep going, keep going,” you shuffled behind him in the stands, but stopped amidst a waiting line as someone caused hassle. your foot kicked something. “oh i’m so sorry!”

you accidentally tapped your foot to a lady’s handbag, but she smiled and waved you off. “you’re alright, don’t worry!” shortly adding, “i’m not surprised!” glancing to your belly.

it wasn’t malicious, but it was about to be the last straw of some floodgates. “ha! i know . . I’m like a whale.”

“how far along are you?” her friend asked.

“about 7-8 months,” you smiled sweetly, ignoring the fact they didn’t assure you that you didn’t look like a whale. thanks.

“oh wow!”

“i know,” you fake laughed. why wasn’t this line moving?

“is it twins or just the one?”

you tried to stop your eye twitching. who in the right kind said that?! was that . . a backhanded compliment?! what that even a compliment?! or was she genuinely asking in a stupid and nosey manner? “no, but it feels like it,” you fake laughed, and they did too. twats.

“oh my! you’re so big!”

“he or she will be a big boy or girl,” the other corrected with her pint in hand, knowing her friend’s words had just flown out of her mouth.

“yeah . .” you were done with this conversation but you didn’t dare be rude. thankfully, the line moved, and they waved goodbye. “congratulations!”

“thank you!” you replied, turning back around, mouthing absolute knobheads.

“mum, i don’t think you’re a whale,” eli’s hand patted your own that rested on his shoulder, bringing you back down to earth.

your heart thumped and although he didn’t look at you, your heart melted to a puddle as you squeezed his shoulders and ruffled his hair, knowing you’d embarrass him with a kiss. “thank you baby. you’re always to sweet to me.”

and he was. you actually . . wanted to cry. shock.

“hey!” ines greeted. “where’d you guys go?”

you only shook your head and nodded to you son who was standing again, ready and recharged for more yelling. you felt ines squeeze your hand and you looked at her, “are you ok? you look . .”

“yeah, i’m fine,” you dabbed your eyes and put your sunglasses back on. “just . . stupid stuff, and then e said something really sweet and i just,” you held your heart which made her laugh and reassure her for the time being. “ok, but . . you can tell me, y’know?”

“just being emotional,” you said the obvious, making her laugh as you leaned into her for support.

you would tell her later, but right now, you were going to use the rest of the game as your excuse to start screaming.

-

the game ended on a win. you saw rúben briefly when the players walked around and applauded, and eli mirrored his excitement and happiness, waving and calling to him as he spotted you guys. he was ecstatic you could make it.

it was after 6 by the time you got home and settled. you were about to order food when you second guess your options, today’s events replaying in your mind:

look at the size of her!

sasha would have a cute bump.

you’re so big!

you knew you were pregnant but there were far nicer things to say to a pregnant lady. what a bunch of assholes.

instead, you cooked some carbs up for eli and made yourself a seperate dinner, feeling the need to watch what you were eating now - you’d be giving birth soon and all those pregnancy cravings didn’t just leave when the baby came. you weren’t silly - you weren’t going to deprive yourself of food, but maybe they had a point - why wasn’t your bump considered cute? was it hard to tell you were pregnant? what were you doing differently?

you were on the verge of calling sasha and asking her what she put in her green smoothies when the door opened.

“meu amor?”

“in here champ,”

something rúben didn’t expect to see what you lying on the couch with a salad balanced on your bump, and you munching away like it was a 5-star dish. “what’s this about . . ?” he smiled sceptically, dropping his bag to the floor.

“what’s what?”

“that.” he nodded to your plate.

you shrugged. “took a notion for it.”

“for . . a salad?” he clarified, looking down at you, entertained in some sense.

your craving for the last 5 months had been anything with chocolate frosting on it. rúben had watched you talk yourself out of buying a tub of it on its own because you knew if was weird and would have to bake go use it.

“yeah.”

to be fair, the salad was tasty, and you were enjoying it but . . at 7 months pregnant? rúben tilted his head. “where’s eli?”

“is his room.”

“he had salad too?”

“he had pasta and garlic bread.”

now he knew something was up. you? not eating garlic bread? italian in general?

someone had said something to you.

he looked at you concerningly, but he was too afraid to ruin the peaceful moment. you seemed calm. he had won a game and you were in a good mood today. baby boy or girl mustn’t be giving you too much trouble so that was a win in itself. so he just leaned down and kissed you lovingly. “hi.”

“hi,” you smiled, pecking him three more times before he rose again. “well done today.”

“thank you,” his hand touched your belly for about two seconds before you swept it off smoothly with your own, squeezing it instead. you smiled up at him again, “love you.”

he kissed you again trying to hide his confusion – but something was up. you were being odd. “love you too.”

and he left and headed for eli’s room, leaving you to let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding before slouching again and continuing with your dinner.

-

the rest of that evening, rúben was correct. you weren’t yourself.

your mind was somewhere else, and your head wasn’t out of your phone. constantly scrolling, you had overanalysed every picture captured of you today and tried not to nitpick. reading comments. comparing yourself. he wondered what you were doing.

but everyone else did have small bumps. everyone’s looked so cute. they didn’t use pregnancy as an excuse to eat whatever they wanted or slack with self-care. they still wore tight clothing. they still looked gorgeous. you began to compare yourself to all these other wives and girlfriends on the page, wondering how on earth they looked that good.

ummmm, ‘cause maybe they’re 12 weeks along and you’re triple that?

the next morning, rúben kissed you in the kitchen before leaving. “what’s that?”

“what?”

“that,” he nodded to the drink in your hand.

“a smoothie?”

“for breakfast?”

“well yeah,” you furrowed your brows, and he immediately shook his head, pulling that judgemental, disapproving look you sometimes wanted to punch. “no, no, come on, don’t be silly, now,” he almost laughed, “you need to eat something proper.”

“it’s a smoothie, it has everything i need in it?”

“y/n, make something to eat. you’re almost 8 months pregnant for crying out loud,” he looked at you seriously. he didn’t want to sound like he was scolding you or making you feel stupid but you knew he was worried about the lack.

overprotective rúben had always been a constant in your relationship but when you were pregnant — phew, “you got my baby in there.”

“–and he or she is looked after, it’s a healthy drink—”

he took it from your hand and kissed your cheek in the process, taking it with him to training with a smirk, “stop being lazy and cook.”

you were furious. you were actually annoyed that he had taken the drink himself and didn’t find it funny. he kissed eli’s head and the door closed, and you were left highly irritated.

you couldn’t see eli shrink, but he did, looking wide-eyed at the table as he considered his dad a brave brave man in that moment to do that to you - considering the look of your face.

and as a pregnant woman with her emotional struggling to stay in check - you lost it as they all blended together once eli was dropped off at school, sitting in a car park of a café you regretted going too now that you sat with your decaf latte and triple-choc muffin. the frustration quickly turned to tears as you had a moment, eyes in your hands, thinking over everything the last couple days.

yes you were pregnant, but was there a need to be that big? were you even that big compared to others? were you really that bad to look at? that unflattering? did it even looking like you were pregnant? the loose clothing probably didn’t help, but who wanted to wear tight clothing? pregnancy was hard - it was hard to glamourise it all the time!

you’d never cried over looking bad the first time you were pregnant, maybe once or twice when a pair of jeans didn’t fit or you couldn’t reach your shoelaces, but never over the way you felt about yourself. you actually were starting to feel disgusting, and it was embarrassing because you let randomers make you feel this way!

. . and then the pathetic-ness turned into anger because why were people such assholes?! how can they not keep an opinion to themselves?! making you feel bad about your baby!

. . and then the anger turned to guilt because your sweet little baby was just trying to grow and be healthy and you were upset over it. tears again.

you didn’t know how to fix it. the damage was already done, you had a month left, there was no going back now with salads and smoothies, you yanked your paper bag with your muffin off the floor, eating your money’s worth. rúben subconsciously popped into your head as he was probably eating some fruit salad or nutritious sandwich at this time.

oh rúben. you wished he was here but you also knew you wouldn’t want him near you at the minute, not when you weren’t feeling yourself and you had people in your comments telling you he was on his way of replacing you.

he would call you stupid, but rúben just wouldn’t understand. he wouldn’t get being on the other side, the built in competition that automatically comes with being a woman, more than ever with this lifestyle he had given you. one where you’re compared left right and centre with a certain standard to achieve.

you bet every handbag you owned, he’d screw his face up and go ‘are you serious’ if you told him your issue. he knew you were above anyone commenting stupid things on your posts and found it immature of you in a way if you did take those things to heart - i mean they were nobodies! jealous nobodies! but that’s easy for him to say, his comments are flooded with never ending support, guys praising him for his talent, physique and hard work and most girls telling him to hurry up and leave you. spamming with flame and tongue emojis, thirsting over your man just the way you did, only boosting his ego more which rúben did not need.

so you just felt silly, and picked at your muffin, accepting your were going to be a whale wag.

you felt like a slob when you got back home, staying on the couch after cleaning, and then crying except you were watching a movie to blame it on that.

you still couldn’t get comments out of your head, i mean what was an ‘expired wag?!’ or a ‘busted oven?!’ what did that mean? and why always the skull emojis?!

scrolling once again through photos of comparison, you scrolled onto a beautiful pic of your beautiful bestie, ines, and straight away phoned her. “hey.”

“hey! what’s up! what’s going on? why do you sound you out of breath?”

“why do you think?” you laughed.

“girl are you crying again?!”

and you started talking. you had to get things off your chest and you needed ines to make you feel better, to assure you and let you rant, and she happily did, after all, you’d always been there when she was having a moment.

“–what did rúben say?”

“nothing, i haven’t told him anything. he’ll just tell me i’m being ridiculous.”

“he won’t!”

“ines, he would, he’s not like bernardo. rúben’s harsh!”

“so are you! which is why i can’t believe you’re still crying over this!”

he was harsh in the good way, in the same way you were. you were both practical. real. realistic. you picked each other up and told each off when you were being ridiculous. pulled each other out their asses. brought you back down to earth.

but you just needed comforted at this current moment by your girl.

as you continued to chat and laugh more than you thought, the front door opened without your acknowledgment and rubes stepped through. freshly showered after a long morning of training, he instantly heard your voice rambling over the phone. he took notice of the tissue also crumpled on the floor by the door (you’d been carelessly tossing them for dramatic effect) and paused after he thought he’d heard a sad sniffle. he closed the door quietly and crept near the living room.

“i can’t help it, i do just feel . . blegh,” you felt like you were being ridiculous but you couldn’t help it. “like, why does everyone keep making a big fuss about it? am i really that massively huge or am i just not liked?”

he heard another woman’s laughter on your phone and recognised her as soon as she began talking to you, “y/n, i promise no one is making a fuss of it, it probably just seems in your face all the time because you keep going back to check. i promise the world is not broadcasting you,” ines chuckled sweetly, which followed your sad laugh also.

“well the wag world does!”

“y/n!” she laughed, “you’re overthinking it. i promise you have nothing to worry about. the only person who’s opinion should matter to you is rúben’s and everybody knows he has you on a pedestal!” rúben found himself smiling. he’d always been a fan of ines. “he’s called you his wife since you came to manchester! he’s always been proud to show you off, you look good - you look amazing! people are just saying that stuff about you to make themselves feel better.”

“mm, i guess,” you sniffed, holding your forehead. “i don’t know, it’s just been getting to me . . and i’m not saying to rúben because he’ll tell me i’m being stupid. i wouldn’t be surprised if he was leaving an hour earlier in the mornings to get away from me. it’s not like my looks can make up for my psycho-ness anymore,” you joked.

“y/n!” she tried not to laugh. “though, pregnancy psycho-ness is definitely real.”

it is, rúben mentally agreed also, though his heart still sank further as he heard you talk about yourself in such ways. he didn’t want to call you ridiculous but come on, you were pregnant! didn’t they all count as compliments to a pregnant lady?!

“it is,” you let out a sigh, “i wouldn’t want to be around me either, just this big angry rhino walking around the house,” you laughed together, “he goes to a paris event on friday anyway, he’ll get a break and have plenty of french models to—”

a clear of a throat had you whipping your head to the door, seeing rúben’s hard stare. your mouth went dry. “uhhh, ines i’ll call you back.”

you felt bad hanging up as she was speaking back, too shocked you’d been heard rambling for the last couple minutes. or probably longer! how long had he been standing there?!

“listen—”

“french models?! french models, y/n.”

“rúben, it’s not in context—”

“oh i heard the context, i heard everything,” he came in the room, not one spot of happiness found on his face. he was fuming. you could tell, and disappointed too, you felt like eli getting told off by him, throwing yourself back into the couch as he stood with that gruff, intimidating look, hands shoved in his pockets.

“you don’t get it—” you could already feel the tears welling in your eyes, though a pit of frustration was brewing in your chest hot and fast. this was going one of two ways.

“what don’t i get? you don’t tell me what’s wrong when i ask you!”

“‘cause you wouldn’t understand!”

“ok but what i do understand is my wife accusing me of what? getting to pick which ‘french model’ i want to take home next week?”

now your face fell flat, realising how ridiculous and cruel that sounded. you shouldn’t accuse him of that kind of stuff.

“rubes, i just—” your mouth felt dry again. tears brimming again, you could feel how hot they were. the words were on the tip of your tongue but you didn’t know how they were gonna come out.

“what is it? tell me,” he pushed, eager for you to actually get out what you wanted to say so he could help sort it. “i’m here to listen.”

and you did, you unleashed it all. “people are assholes. your fans are assholes. i’m sorry but i cannot believe the stuff people have no issue saying to other people - pregnant people at that! as if the 9 months aren’t hard enough, i have this mob of men and women on my back, judging and critiquing my every outting. i can’t do it anymore, it’s actually ruining whatever self-confidence i have left!” the tears were streaming as you began your rant, choking down sobs as you moved your hands, a fury behind all the sadness.

rúben crouched down, wanting to be nearer as you let it all out. “every day, every hour, i have someone online, reminding me off how big i am, how unflattering my paparazzi pic is, how whale-like i am! how hard it’s gonna be to shift this baby weight! i’m getting put in competition with every other pregnant wife and girlfriend of your teammate and showed how much better they pull it off! how gorgeous they look all the time! how their bumps are ‘cute’ and small and ‘suits them.’ i heard it myself at your game the other day! it’s like they’ve never seen an un-photoshopped pregnant woman before!” you met his eyes, realising you were probably being silly and that there were bigger problems in the world. “i just feel disgusting, rúben. i never felt like this with eli, i was in this perfect little bubble but this time so different. i don’t want to leave the house when i know a monstrosity of photos are getting taken of me, pointing out every flaw. i don’t have a cute, small bump! i do look like a whale! i can’t dress sexy! and i get what people are saying when they say it’ll be a bit before you can look at me again ‘cause god knows—”

“shh,” he quickly silenced you, placing a finger to your lips. his brows were furrowed as yours did, fed up of hearing you ramble about all the bad things about yourself. he felt pain in a way. he just couldn’t believe you actually thought these things about yourself. “wha— . . . are you being serious?”

“OH MY GOD!” you threw your arms up. see!

“i’m sorry, i’m sorry, meu amor,” his big hands softly caressed your legs in front of him, along your smooth thighs to stop you from exploding again, “i’m sorry. it’s just . . i . . it annoys me that you let these things get to you, these random, strange people that you don’t even know. you take their opinion over mine. so mine doesn’t matter, it doesn’t count?” he looked you deeply in the eye, “how does that make sense? explain that to me.”

your head hit the cushion as you groaned but rúben held your hands comfortingly. he didn’t want to make you feel stupid, but he wanted to hear your thought process. “to me, it’s like . . you have the choice of walking into a room full of all these people who hate you, and you know the hate you, after being in one full of people you love . . and you go into the hateful one and are surprised that all these people are saying all these bad things about you when you could have just left it alone and focused on the lovely ones - from people who matter to you! who are actually in your life! do you understand?”

you nodded along, entranced by his eyes and how they were able to ground you alone. “you know that i think you’re the best thing in the world. you know i would love you if—” he thought off the top of his head, “you had 10 extra toes. a third eye. if you had a cow nose. elf ears!” your hair slipped silkily through his fingers, “you know i think you’re the most beautiful woman ever even dressed in a trash bag. i would still love you if you did wear trash bags. if you had a cow nose. if you weighed the same as a cow. if you weighed the same as a baby cow,” you broke a chuckle at that. “i’ve loved you through our ugly teen years, when i shaved my hair and your eyebrows were stick thin,” you laughed more as he let out a breath of relief, “i loved you when with vomit down your shirt and your hair dyed that weird colour—”

“rúbennn . .”

“what? and i loved you when you had eli in your stomach, and he was big baby,” his hand touched your belly, moving it in the same motion he always did because that’s when he got to feel the small kicks of this baby dias. “i loved you even more even when i saw how he came out,” he shot you a wildered look.

you facepalmed, dragging your hand down dreadfully at the thought of having to relive that moment all over again in over a months time.

his features turned as his thoughts turned sour, “why are you letting stupid fucking people affect you?”

“i don’t know . . i guess ‘cause so many people are saying it i . . it must be true to some extent—”

“y/n—”

“seriously, rúben. i don’t have a cute, small bump. ines and rebecca are always such sweet—”

“Y/N! have you SEEN the size of bernardo and phil next to me! is it any wonder they’re small! their child comes out the same size as them!” his hand shot out with passion.

now your head was in your hand with muffled laughter, caught off guard by his statement. “seriously! seriously, now you’re supposed to be the smart one,” he tried to look at you, that loving smile shining your way as his heart sang at the sound of you laughter. “you’re shocked that me, that we, have big babies . . that ines has a much smaller bump than you . . are you serious? that rebecca has a smaller bump than you? rebecca, phil and elway stacked on top of each other wouldn’t even reach the height of me!”

“rúben,” you laughed, feeling an actual blush of embarrassment coat your face at how stupid he’d made you feel, but in a good way.

he was so right. what were you thinking?

“i’m like, the biggest guy on the team! sorry i didn’t realise that was gonna be a problem for you,” you lightly hit his shoulder to wrap up the sarcasm, still giggling. he looked at you from the floor, his hands still on you, on your leg on bump — the bump that he did make look small next to his hand. “and please remember you’re a month away from giving birth, you’re supposed to be a healthy size. and i been going to training an hour earlier ‘cause i know when this one comes along, i’ll not want to go as much and i’ll want to stay with you both. i’ll start working on my dad bod . .” he felt the small, subtle movement happening inside, but he could feel them if he kept still enough.

“you’d look good with both.” you rolled your eyes.

“and you’d still look better. y/n, you’re not a whale. please stop saying that,” he finally crept to his feet, climbing on the couch on top of you, leaning his arm behind your head. “you are the most beautiful-est woman to me and no-one, NO-ONE can convince me otherwise. you’re my standard of perfect, of gorgeous and sexy and all the rest of it. i’ve found you sexy before this baby, during this baby, and after this baby — i still get comments of people telling me how ugly i look when you’re next to me! you bring my value down!”

his arm wrapped around your neck while the other threw itself over your bump, shifting and snuggling into the sofa more comfortingly, you relaxed alongside him, the tears no trickling down but with good reason behind them as you were shocked to find your love growing even more for rúben when you thought it was impossible. “i don’t know what comments you’re seeing because all i see are the ones calling you a milf, and it takes too much time to try and report them all.”

you held his hand at your shoulder, his lips kissing your cheek repeatedly, over and over again. you knew how much he loved you. “yeah, you’re right. fans are just . . assholes.”

“fans are assholes,” he agreed, stroking your cheekbone, ��. . don’t listen to them. you think i listen to everything they say about me?” he perked a brow.

sometimes! you wanted to say but knew better. it was rhetorical question, and you knew his sweet intentions.

“alright? i don’t so why should you? you’re hot stuff babe,” he looked at the side of your face, inspecting every little freckle and faint scar, he just wanted to never stop kissing you. “i love you the way you are. eli loves you for the way you are, and this baby,” he rubbed circles on your belly, “he or she is going to be so unbelievably lucky when they see who they have as their mam. i know it’s not the smallest bump but i think it’s the cutest i’ve ever saw, with my baby girl or boy in there,” he kissed the size of your stomach. he grew more and more excited each day as he got a day closer to meeting who was inside. he couldn’t wait. “. . who they get their good looks from and skill and personality - well, i mean i would like to take some credit for the both of those ‘cause i mean their daddy is pretty c—”

you playfully jabbed his side, making him laugh. “yeah, he’s the hottest one on the field,” you glanced at him, kissing his cheek.

one thing about him, he’d always blessed you with beautiful children.

“yeah, and their mum is coolest one at the school pick up,” his lips trailed along your cheek to your jaw, the slight scruff of his beard tickling you. “you’re the biggest milf to walk the planet–”

“rúbennn,” you chuckled, blushing at his words whilst trying to push him away.

“i’m serious,” he proceeded, peppering kissed down your neck, “and she’s coming to paris with me for the weekend so she can outshine me like she does at every event she comes to.”

you laughed at that, smiling dreamily as he proceeding to love on you.

“and eli?”

“elias gets to stay with his favourite uncle who owes a favour,” he winked.

“hmm. ok.”

“and i’ll give her a reason to cry if she starts thinking like that again,” he whispered in your ear.

your heart slipped a beat. “oh yeah?”

“ohh yeahhh,” he nodded, standing to his feet, not before a loud ‘smack’ echoed the room as he mimicked what your poor backside would get if you kept up that kind of behaviour. “see you upstairs, mama.”

you blew your hair from your face, heart thumping, your hands slowly crept up to your adorable little bump where you caressed it gently as he headed for upstairs, whispering softly, “you are soo lucky he’s your papai.”

your heart raced as he peeled his hoodie off, back muscles staring right at you as he headed for your room, you felt your insides begin to sizzle.

— but you were even luckier he was your husband.

[aliaology]

OBSESSED

SUMMARY: you and jack had been dating for around nine months now, and recently his ex has been coming back around. this causes you to go on a social media stalking rampage, and soon you become a little obsessed with her.

PAIRINGS: jack hughes x fem!reader

WARNINGS: social media stalking, shit talking exes, use of jenna and nicole (nicole is a real person tho!!! bratters gf), use of (y/n)

if i told you how much i think about her, you’d think i was in love. and if you knew how much i looked at her pictures, you would we’re best friends.

It wasn’t hard to figure out who jack’s ex was. The way he seemed to barely look her way when one of his teammates brought up the fact she was at the game. Instead of sporting a devils jersey, like she used to, she was wearing a rangers jersey, and holding a sign for a rangers player.

it also wasn’t hard to immediately become jealous of her when jack’s teammates talked about how she used to always show up to games. it almost made you feel.. belittled. especially because you had a job, you couldn’t always make jacks games, but he understood that.

by the time the game ended and you sat on a bench, waiting for jack, you’d already find yourself scrolling through her instagram. you looked at every picture, how she was such a pretty blonde. short, tan, blonde, the stereotypical puck bunny. but she knew puck.

for the next fifteen minutes— she stayed on your mind.

‘cause i know her star sign, i know her blood type, i’ve seen every movie she’s been in and god she’s beautiful. i know you loved her, and i know i’m butt hurt— but i can’t help it, no i cant help it.

of course as soon as you and jack got home, you began to search her up online. so invested in your research, when you and jack ‘went to bed,’ you carefully snuck out of the man’s arms and back to your laptop.

she was an actress, of course she was an actress. she starred in a few movies, she was amazing. you bit your nail before quickly exiting the tabs as you heard your boyfriend’s footsteps.

“baby what are you doing up? it’s 12:44, come back to bed.” he spoke, hand rubbing his eyes.

you stood up from the stool and walked over to him, your body pressing against his as your arms wrapped around his torso.

“sorry love, i was just finishing up work.” you lied.

jack just hummed and the two of you went back to your bedroom. your mind began to cloud with thoughts, thoughts of her and jack. did jack treat her the exact same way he treated you? was anything special or was it shared? you know he loved her at one point, but now he loved you, so why stay butt hurt?

i’m so obsessed with your ex, uh huh. i know she’s been asleep on my side of your bed, and i can feel it. i’m staring at her, like i wanna get hurt. and i remember every detail you have ever told me, so be careful baby. IM SO OBSESSED WITH YOUR EX!

it was the second game against the rangers, this time and away game. the blonde was sat in the regular stands while you were in the WAGs suite. you could see her from where you sat, and your eyes burned holes in the back of her head.

thats the woman who had jacks heart before you, the woman who slept on your side of the bed, the woman who cheated on him twice. oh you knew a lot— especially from what jack told you.

“she cheated on me with some guy on the rangers— a real work of art, both of them.” jack told you.

you didn’t realize you were zoning out until nicole, one of the other WAGs, placed a hand on your shoulder.

“you alright there lovie? you seem to be staring at something down there a little too hard.” she asked.

your eyes flickered to her. “yeah im fine— just zoned out. when i get too excited it happens.”

nicole smiled. “well— hopefully our boys can kick the rangers ass. im tired of jenna constantly texting me to rub it in my face that we lost. im not even her friend.”

jenna was jacks ex. that was her name, jenna. she was still texting some of the devils girls? even after everything? you almost laughed, but instead you out on a confused look.

“jenna?” you pretended not to know her.

“oh shes jacks ex— we can’t stand her, especially after what she did to the boy.” nicole told you.

good to know.

she’s got those lips, she’s got those hips, the life of every fuckin’ party. she’s talented, she’s good with kids, she even speaks kindly about me..

the devils won, which called for a celebration in some random club. even though you were still in new york, people congratulated the team on the win. maybe they hated the rangers too, or they were islander fans. you didn’t really expect some of the rangers to show up though, and especially not jenna.

her lips popped with the bright red lip stick she adorned. her hips swayed with every step she took in that mini silver dress. in that moment, she became the life of the party. in that moment, you felt your hands wrap around your body.

that didn’t last for long though, especially not when jack was there. his body pressed against yours as you both danced to the music. his hands gripping your waist, your arms slung around his neck. the sloppy kisses he pressed to your jaw. you had this, she didn’t.

but she had to ruin it. “wow you are so pretty!” her voice rang out. this caused jack to slowly, irritatedly pull away. your hands fell down to his arms as the smile on your face slowly turned fake.

“oh thank you.. uh do i know you?” jacks hand squeezed your waist.

jenna gave a look to jack, which you caught, before looking back at you. “one of jacks exes. you are?” she spoke.

“his girlfriend.”

and i know you love me, and i know it’s crazy.. but every time you call my name, i think you mistake me for her. you both have moved on, you don’t even talk. but i can’t help it, i got issues, i can’t help it baby.

“(y/n), baby?” jacks voice rang through the apartment. your body tensed slightly as his voice, scared that maybe he said the wrong name and that maybe you were just another jenna.

“(y/n)? have you seen my shirt?” he spoke loudly.

you sighed through your nose, “which one?”

jacks footsteps padded on the floor. you hid a smile as you sat at the kitchen island. you expected him to speak, but instead his arms wrapped around you from behind, causing you to let out a laugh.

“well it seems to be right here, isn’t that right?” he pinched at the fabric that draped over your body.

you feigned a look of innocence. “oh, you meant this one?” you smiled.

“when did you put this one on, pretty girl?” he asked you.

“it was the first shirt i found this morning. i dont find it to be too endearing walking around naked.”

jacks lips met the side of your neck, as his hands ran up and under his shirt that you wore. “mm, i dont know, i think that would be pretty nice.”

you let out a laugh as your hand reached back to play with his hair. “and let some random people see me? no thank you.”

“i guess you’re right, wouldn’t want anyone to see whats for my eyes only.” he spoke.

you hummed, feeling his kisses move to your jaw and become sloppier. “lets take this shirt off you, shall we?”

your thoughts disappeared as he dragged you to your room. there was no way he didn’t love you, not after the way he just worshipped you. oh no, he was yours, but his ex was still someone who made you worry.

is she friends with your friends? is she good in bed? do you think about her? no, im fine, it doesn’t matter tell me, is she easy-going? never controlling? well-traveled? well read? oh god, she makes me so upset! im so obsessed with your ex!

as jack left for practice, you couldn’t help but wonder about his ex. the last few questions that ran through your mind. she wasn’t friends with nicole or any of the girls, but what about his friends? her and trevor followed each other, same with her and cole.

does jack think about her often? last night at the club she seemed to piss him off by coming up to you both, maybe thats all? maybe he thinks about how much he hates her? or maybe he misses her— oh god was she good in bed?

was she easy-going? you were easy-going. so who cared. never controlling? you werent that controlling, the only thing you didnt want jack doing was liking random models pictures, and that was a set boundary because he said the same thing about random male models or hockey players (besides friends of course— for the both of you).

god jenna barely did anything to you and she made you so upset. pissed— frustrated, made you wanna pull your hair out.

you were obsessed.

im unable to tag everyone!

TAGS: @slaythehousebootsdown13 , @lxnceclercs , @honethatty12 , @outrunangelss , @absolutelyhugh3s , @hockeyboysarehot , @lovinbarzal , @shadowsndaisies , @um-mads , @bqbylon , @whoreforthehughesbrothers , @Robloxlover2007 , @p3nislawd , @alexx-stancati , @queenmendes , @-eedwardss , @if-my-heart-bleeds , @love-like-woaah , @freds-slut , @sleepybesson , @love4lando , @equallyshaw , @bellstwd , @ivy-34 , @slafgoalskybaby , @hischierxx , @dancerbailey3 , @jackhughesily , @cstads-blog , @ru-kru , @sbrn0905 , @love4ldr , @loveforaugust

[twistedwonderlandshenanigans]

Valentine's Day...Gifts They Give You?? I Think. IDK.

HAH SCHOOL CAN KICK MY BUTT BUT BY GOD AND THE DEVIL WILL I SHARE A LITTLE BIT OF LOVE!! (I'm suffering Jesus fucking CHRIST this course is gonna eat my fried up brain for breakfast lunch and dinner) This is done assuming they're pining for Yuu, save for Ortho he's Idia's little wingman. GN reader as always bbssssssssss if anything seems canon divergent, check out my HCs lmao

Heartslaybul Ace: He thought about making it super romantic, like he spent the week leading up to Valentine's day brainstorming ideas on napkins and doodling on scrap paper, trying to come up with a way to ask to hang out that would make it feel different than normal, but not so obvious that he...you know, likes you. He ends up showing up at Ramshackle before class with a box of chocolates he bought the day before and a bit of a blushing mess. "I just got these because who knows how much Sam will have by the end of today, you owe me half, ok?"

Deuce: He absolutely called his mom to ask for some advice, and asked his dorm mom (Trey), to proofread the hand written note he had meticulously written and supervise while he tries to make a heartshaped quiche. Why quiche? Well he knows you guys have...Memories about eggs, and he remembers it fondly, and he knows that quiche freezes well, so if he makes a big batch, you can eat what you want and have a readily available breakfast to just pop back in the oven whenever you want it - hopefully you'll remember him each time you do, and you'll ask for more when you finish it! He ends up at Ramshackle a little disheveled and out of breath, trying to make the quiche early enough in the day that he could make it there before breakfast so maybe you could share a meal before class. "It's still warm??" "Yeah, I ran here as fast as I could once it was cool enough to handle." "You didn't have to..." "I wanted to! You're more than worth the effort it took to be here on time." Trey: Mans has a major advantage in that he is great in the kitchen, but he can't just make your favourite dessert. He can do that any day. No, for weeks ahead of time, he plans, makes, tests, and revises a new recipe, something that is unique and meant to be for you. It's more effort than he normally puts into his work, but it's so worth it when he shows up at Ramshackle in the evening to deliver his gift and a small note, though he gets shy. He leaves it on the front door step, knocks once, and moves to hide by the side of the house, relying on Grim's nose to bring you to the door if you didn't hear him knock. Seeing the way your face go from confusion to joy and excitement as you read the note is worth every moment he spent crouching. He knows tomorrow you'll want to talk to him in person, but for now, that's more than enough for him.

Cater: Consumerism Capital lmao. He has a really sweet, genuine gift to give to you, but the time he's spent with his sisters makes him second guess whether or not something is "good enough". So, yes, he will have spent 72 hours painting a fucking masterpiece on a phone case for you, or a pair of shoes you said you wanted, or a skateboard so you guys can skateboard together, or something you mentioned you wanted offhandedly months ago, but he's not sure if it's enough, so to "make up" for his "shitty handmade gift", he buys a shit ton of Valentine's day merchandise! He shows up with the giant teddy bear, the bouquet of flowers, the chocolates, the sappy movies, a trending perfume and some sort of specialty drink he picked up at a cafe. Depending on your reaction to all that stuff, he might actually give you the gift he worked on, otherwise you'll see it by accident or something and he gets embarrassed and a little flustered because What If You Don't Like It, Isn't Everything Else Better Than That Thing I Worked On Specifically For You. Treat him gently please. That's a personal request slkdjfhlskdjf

Riddle: He's new to this. So of course he researched long and hard on how to best express his interest in you without trying to push anything on you. Cater tried to show him cute stuff on social media, but it all seemed so scripted, disingenuous, or so over the top he couldn't see himself doing it that way. Or on the other end - they were couples, well into their relationships and living together- that wasn't where he was with you, at least....not yet. He ends up watching, reading and listening to tutorials on how to put together the perfect bouquet - his beloved rose garden would have more than an aesthetic use now, and with a little magic, a beautiful gradient came easily to the bunch of roses he arranged beautifully. Before you, this holiday just seemed ridiculous. Maybe it still was, but he would indulge if it meant it brought a smile to your face.

Savannaclaw

Jack: He can't be direct for the life of him, not in terms like this. The night before Valentine's day, he's still stumped on what to do for you that won't be...inherently romantic and obvious, but show that he cares about you!! His eyes end up settling on his little cactus and he ends up finally getting an idea. Somehow after class, but before you got home, he managed to gift you your own tiny cactus. He left it sitting in a box, a small knitted coaster of sorts sitting underneath the flower pot - he put it in the box just so that the yarn wouldn't snag on the uneven wood outside of Ramshackle- and a tiny cowboy hat sitting on top of your cactus. It had been from one of his little siblings dolls that ended up in his bag from the last time he'd gone home, but either they didn't even notice it was gone, or he could get them a replacement later.

Ruggie: "Do you have plans for Valentine's day?" "Yep. Wait for it to be over." He doesn't really care for Valentine's day, but the sale that starts on the 15th? Goddamn, yeah, he's gonna capitalize on that....and he might even like you enough to share a little bit of it...maybe while watching a movie....and snuggling up under the same blanket at Ramshackle...that he may or may not have snagged from Leona's pile of Really Nice blankets....all it takes is for you to say you want some chocolate or treats too.

Leona: He really doesn't care for Valentine's day and all the shit that comes with it, but his sister in law asked him to at least try to make the best of the day. Initially, he was going to...at least try to contest it, but ultimately decided there was a simple way to do it. He ends up firing you a quick text to meet him in the greenhouse. While the way he pulls you into his little nest for napping is rather unceremonious, once you've settled he tucks a pink camellia behind your ear before abruptly telling you he's going to sleep and you're welcome to join him or you can get out of there if you want. He hopes, that just maybe, you'll be able to identify the flower he gave you and find out what it means.

Octavinelle

Floyd: Azul is making him work overtime for Valentine's day, he doesn't get up early enough to do anything Before classes, and by the end of his shift he's EXHAUSTED and MAD. He likely has the wherewithall to bring you a serving from the special menu in a takeout container before flopping down on the couch next to you, then onto you, just looking for a little bit of physical affection. The next day he does feel a little bad for not making you feel as special as he could have, so he'll wake you up with breakfast in bed. Jade: Again, he's been working overtime but he was more ready for Valentine's day than Floyd. While he can't take you anywhere on the day of, he has an easy hike and picnic planned for the weekend if you'll join him. Despite being in the wild outdoors, he's determined to make you a dish that would be worthy of serving at the lounge. He will not handle being asked to stay home very well, but ultimately will if you want that more....but it's going to be in your backyard.

Azul: He had so much on his plate leading up to Valentine's day with marketing, organizing shifts and maximizing profit. But, some of that profit was already planned to be set aside specifically for you. It was about time that you got a bit of a leg up, right? I mean working for Crowley can only pay so much, and he's the head of the dorm that represents generosity anyways. So on the day after Valentine's day, he shows up in the evening with a laptop, and envelope with cash, and a grin, ready to show you the wonders of ✨investing✨. He may have forgotten you still...want to go home. He'll backtrack a bit and offer to help you find contractors that will renovate a part of Ramshackle for you.

Scarabia

Jamil: He didn't even bother trying to plan something for himself with you. How could he? It was a holiday, as ridiculous as it was, it meant that Kalim would inevitably want to celebrate it on the dorm level, and Jamil, of course, would have to plan and organize and arrange everything in order to make it work out. However, that didn't mean he wouldn't make sure to invite you. It didn't mean that he wouldn't make the time to ensure your favourite dish was served. Or that your favourite song would come on during the dance party portion of the celebration. Or that he wouldn't check on you just as, if not more frequently than he did on Kalim to make sure you're enjoying yourself. And if you're not, if it's all too much, he accounted for that already and will show you where you can stay until you feel okay again. Of course, if you show up an hour or two early and demand (you can't ask, he'll say no) to be given a task to lighten his burden, he might just admire you a little bit more (even if he still says no).

Kalim: Valentine's Day means partayyyyy time!! There's gonna be food, and dancing, and games, and lots of people, and live music because he, Cater, and Lilia are gonna perform, won't you come see him?? He needs you there so he can perform the best he ever has!! Come on Yuu, please??? They did actually practice, because they had to change a few lyrics so that it could be a better cover for Valentine's day and he was thinking of you when they modified it, so can you pleeeeeeeease come?

Pomefiore

Epel: He isn't sure whether he wants to continue a tradition he had from home or not, where he would show up at school with handmade lollipops and give them out to people....but his class at primary school was soooo much smaller, it wouldn't make sense to do it here for everyone. Not to mention, he usually had his grandma help him make them, he's never done it on his own. He likely does it for all the first years in his little friend group because he doesn't want to be obvious to anyone person that maybe...he likes them a little more...however your lollipop is the only one that seems to have no imperfections. Funny how that worked out.

Rook: Screw your alarm clock, he knows when you wake up anyways and will be outside your window, serenading you until you wake up. Even if you end up rolling out of bed lookin like a sewer rat and peaking out the window, once he knows you're awake he'll start reading poetry to you. He kinda just lingers until you're done getting ready enough to come great him outside, where he gives you a single rose and a few sheets of paper that he's written his poems about you on. He'll kiss the back of your hand and offer to escort you to class. ** I just want to say, for as much as I gripe about Rook in other posts, I genuinely believe that if he knew or found out you had no Valentine, no plans, and nobody treated you, he would, by the end of the day, at least have left a rose and handwritten note on in front of your door apologizing for not having asked to be your Valentine earlier and going through and complimenting you, though the note is completely anonymous. Rook is a bleeding heart (hehe Snow White ref) and regardless of his feelings for you/your feelings for him, he wants to make sure Valentine's day is positive for you.

Vil: Ugh, Valentine's day. It's a tacky, meaningless holiday that corporations push for the sake of profit. He agrees to model stuff still, sure, he has to in order to try and keep up with Neige, but he hates it. He gets his nails done so that they are jet black. Part of him wants to go goth for the day, but really that would be an overreaction to something so minor. He rejects any Valentine's day gifts, and likely won't want to do anything special, so if anything, you get to see a slightly out of character Vil as he either facetimes you to make sure you've been drinking water today and rant about the industry and how it's ruined Valentine's day, or. You send him a really cheesy gif wishing him a happy Valentines day and he very reluctantly replies, but tells you to never do that again (and it segues into Above).

Ignihyde

Idia (+ wingman/little shit Ortho): Ortho didn't really intend to snoop, but his big brother just left his phone out in the open...well he threw it onto his bed and mumbled something about being a loser. According to Ortho's analysis of Idia's phone, he hadn't been on a mobile game, so what got him so worked up? He sifted through until he found the culprit- the draft of a really sweet...and yeah, kinda cringey message he had written out addressed to the prefect of Ramshackle. Eugh he didn't need to read that...but...but Yuu should. He sends the message for Idia right before his brother comes back into the room, mumbling about how he needs to delete something. His eyes go wide as saucers as he sees not only has the message been sent, but the prefect has read it and is replying in that very moment. Idia reprimands Ortho immediately, but gently until the Prefects response comes through and Ortho confirms the tone is positive. Diasomnia lord help me it's one in the morning

Sebek: Wasn't going to do anything until Lilia mentioned...."exaggerated"...just how important Valentine's Day can be to humans. His decision to try and come up with a last minute gift only amplifies if he sees someone else give Yuu a gift, and ultimately decides with a certain degree of defeat just to buy something from Sam's shop. He decides something practical is best, but gets a little distracted around the candles. Surely in Ramshackle you would appreciate something small, aromatic and it even offers a small bit of heat! He decides to go through with it, but it's only noon, surely he can customize it a bit more before the end of the day. Lilia ends up walking into Sebek's room at around 10:30, only to see him struggling to stay awake as he wipes off paint from the lid. Based on the discarded tissues around, he hasn't been satisfied with any customizations he's tried to make. Lilia gently encourages him just to write a quick note, and he'll deliver it to the prefects doorstep for him so he can get to sleep. Sebek insists it's not perfect, but is forced to accept defeat as Lilia ushers him to bed, reassuring him that the prefect will still appreciate it.

Silver: He knows that he struggles to stay awake, so he starts on his project long before Valentine's day so that he can work on it whenever he has the wherewithall to do so. Come Valentine's day, he has the gift with him during class, and ends up sitting outside of Ramshackle, passed out next to the door waiting for you to show up so he can hand you his gift, which turns out to be a dagger. No, he didn't make it, but he wanted to research the best option for someone of your size and stature, the quality, where to purchase it reliably, to make a small write up on how to care for it properly, what it can and should be used for, and activities it's not suggested to use it for, but you technically "can". It also gives him an excuse to come see you more often to teach you how to use it- often teaching someone is a great way to learn and will add another layer to his training. Lilia: He's been around for so many Valentine's Days, he probably knew the fucking saint it was named after. That being said, he loves to make the most of life, and that doesn't stop here! Get ready for a home cooked meal, you don't have to worry about dinner tonight sweetheart, Lilia's got it covered. Or he'll pay for take out. Or both, to make up for the mess in your kitchen.

Malleus: He's been aware of the holiday for years, but has never really had a reason to celebrate it. But now there's someone who isn't scared of him. Someone who, perhaps if he asked, you would allow him to spend time with you. He ends up daydreaming about the activities the two of you could do together, from making gargoyles to learning to make ice cream together, he ends up spending the entire day like that. Though he's a bit frustrated at his loss of time, he writes out a heartfelt letter to invite you to join him in those activities at a later date. He'll either wait for you outside, or if its too late in the night, simply slide the letter under your door.

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

I was gonna do Che'nya and Neige and even Rollo but its. its way too late, I'm hungry and I have a STATS class tomorrow RIP me.

[relativelydimensional]

bestie what are some of your merthur fic recs

Omg who me? stooppp <3

Okay so I used to read a LOT of merthur fics back around 2011-2013 and have only recently hopped back on the bandwagon so this will be a mix of some oldies i've revisited and some newer fics that have made me insane :))))

0. this one goes without saying but The Student Prince is seriously one of the best fics in any fandom i've ever read to this day. I relisten to the podfic every single year and it SLAPS every time. If you haven't listened/read recently this is obviously my #1 rec hahahha

Okay onto some actual recs

1. Tired by spqr

King Arthur gets enchanted and keeps having dreams about his court sorcerer merlin :))))) He obviously doesn't say this to Merlin, but Merlin notices he's not been sleeping and Arthur comes clean about having 'nightmares.' When Merlin tries to figure out a counterspell, he accidentally casts it on himself and ohh nooo they're both having sexy dreams about each other but also have to act normal in real life ITS SO YUM. This fic was surprisingly soft, like yes they are having some full on dreams but also the bits that made me extra insane were just the little soft moments between non-dream merthur 🥺

This was a school holidays read and i remember reading this in the staff room of the elementary school i was working at trying so hard not to SCREAM. At one point i had to go on a spirited walk around the building just to get my energy out because it was JUICY.

If you like: canon era fics, court sorcerer merlin, the intimacy of domesticity, arthur with a beard and merthur being so in love but also fucking clueless about it this the fic for you <3

2. But It's a Good Refrain by lady_ragnell

Merlin runs a relationship advice/matchmaking service radio show and Arthur's ex calls in and rips into him on air. Arthur calls in to defend himself and he and Merlin butt heads. An oldie but such a goodie. I love this one because the characterisation feels very natural. Plus i loooove arthur POV fics. Merthur are so sweet in this one and i love love love the dynamic of their respective friendship groups merging. It also features the fandom favourite m/f crack ship that is elena and gwaine which im always here for.

If you like: silly modern AU friend group nonsense, Arthur POV fics, snarky Morgana, and a fic writer who understands the sheer power merlin emrys' 🥺 face would have over not only Arthur but literally ANYONE who looks at him, this is the fic for you.

3. Second Chances by DragonDucks

This is a canondivergence/fix-it fic set immediately after Arthur dies in 5x13. In this version Arthur tells Merlin he loves him with his dying breath and Merlin's magic sort of implodes sending him back in time to 1x1. So it's like sad s5 Merlin getting a second chance to save Arthur in the body of tiny baby s1 merlin.

I'm gonna be honest i'm still reading this one but it has me kicking and screaming!!!! Most of the dialogue is repurposed from the show which makes it extra juicy to me and its just delicious i love it so much. The POV switches between S5 mourning merlin and S1 gay panic arthur and its soooooo good i'm loving it so far. Some of the side characterisation is a little weird but Merthur are PERFECT. It NAILS that yummy introverted Arthur and fond Merlin characterisation.

If you like: canon era fix it fics, time travel, Arthur pendragon falling in love with merlin bit by bit and actually having space and time to grow as a person, and merlin emrys being like no everyone shut up about my destiny i just wanna have a good time with my boyfriend, this is the fic for you.

4. All is Semblative by Whitefox

I just fucking love crossdressing fics okay 😇. This is cinderella meets Merthur. Uther is throwing a ball to find Arthur a bride and servants aren't allowed. Out of spite (and, lets be real, also jealousy) Merlin tries to disguise himself to sneak in and ends up accidentally turning himself into a princess. Arthur hits it off with a weird but beautiful mystery princess who turns out to be his manservant he's been in love with this whole time. Simples.

If you like: Prince Arthur knowing about merlin's magic and being cool with it, fairytale AUs, accidental genderbending (but still canonically mlm merthur), and arthur pendragon singlehandedly embodying demisexual panic this is the fic for you.

5/6. As Long As We Have We AND No Matter How Far Away You Roam by lady_ragnell

Lady Ragnell again because I looove the way they do modern day Arthur. and i've been going through their stuff. These are both super cute christmas fics (I know its a little early but I couldn't help myself). In the first one, Uther has just died (rip uther you will not be missed) and Arthur accidentally collects lonely friends to spend christmas with him in the empty house. At the same time he befriends Merlin, the owner of his local bookstore, and merlin brings his own group of strays to Arthur's christmas...and obviously everyone gets along super well and merthur fall in love. The second one is a fake dating. T get his parents off his back, Arthur lies to Uther and Igraine that he and merlin have been together for years and Merlin (plus his mum and his sister Freya) has to play along one christmas..and obviously everyone gets along....and obviously everyone gets along super well and merthur fall in love.

If you like: found family, cute christmas fics and fluffy merthur these fics are the ones for you!

Also pls if anyone has any canon era secret dating merthur fics i beg of you please send them my way 🥺

[krizariel]

Oh don't tell me... you are f*cking my ex?!

(crack, not-fic, jaytim with past timsteph) Talking with friends about how a friend - who was into jaytim and was a tim fan before he was even registered in my radar - unintentionally got me into jaytim; but then he moved on pretty much as I came in and now he has to put up with me and my never-ending duck giggling butt emojis. Or how he eloquently put it: "I'm literally like a tragic dramatic irony mythical Greek MC, just a plaything of fate" Anyway, I remembered this vague idea and then this took shape:

No-capes AU in which Tim was never adopted by Bruce, but the rest (including Steph and Jason) were. Jason is very protective of his family, especially his sisters. And yes, Steph is a gremlin and gets in trouble more often than not, but damn it no one messes with his sister.

Tim and Steph started dating during mid-school; Tim tends to be asked out more often than not and he has trouble saying no. Often times he does not feel truly attracted to anyone; but he does not want to be seen as uptight or impolite or worse... questioned. He often accepts his dates until eventually they get bored of him. Steph was a change of pace of him and at some point he genuinely was feeling attraction to her; but maybe not to the extent she deserved. She asked him out and was always the one initiating anything, and he'd often go along with it. She was amazing, full of life, funny and so pretty; Tim didn't know what exactly she saw in him. However, she'd quickly notice his lack of enthusiasm/interest and often they'd fight. Why say yes when you aren't truly into it? They were on and off for a year until they broke things off for real. Jason of course hated Tim's guts; be that way whatever, but making his sister cry and mistreating her was a different story. After breaking up, Tim tried to reach out to Steph later, to try and explain himself better and be honest with her. She deserved that much. Except Jason found him before Tim could reach his sister; punched him hard enough to send him off-balance, grabbed him and pushed him against the wall to make it very clear he should not get near his sister again or else... (and Tim was scared to shit because danger danger but also creepily turned on when Jason grabbed him and raised him off the floor so easily. He needs to consult a therapist as to why Jason threatening turned him on and somehow that started his bi awakening) Eventually Steph and Tim moved on with their lives, continue dating other people, and given that they still have friends they reconnect, reminiscence of the past and talk it out. They also eventually come out and bond over both being bi. Fast forward years later, neither Tim or Jason had seen each other again; but Tim stays in touch with Steph. Tim is a well known editor at a big publisher and Jay is an aspiring book writer. Steph had given Tim her brother's original novel draft and he actually loved it. Steph: So, remember my brother Jason? Tim: Your hot brother who kicked my ass in front of half the school hates my guts? how could I forget. Steph: Yeah! He is the one who wrote this fabulous piece. Think you can help him? Tim *internally trying not to scream because what are the odds*: ...Sure. If he agrees to meet, I have time tomorrow. But you better be there, in case he remembers he told me not to get near you. I fear for my life. Steph: Don't be dramatic, he probably doesn't even remember you.

---- Steph: Sooo... I have a friend who is an editor at X publisher. He read your work and loved it. He actually thinks it has high chances to be published. Jason: Really? Steph: Yeah! Told him we could meet with him tomorrow for coffee and go over the details. Jason: Wait who is this friend? Do I know him? Steph: Well... remember this boyfriend I had back in mid-school... Jason, as he stops what he is doing, turns to Steph and glares: The one I hit and pushed against the wall and told to never get near you ever again? That one? Steph: Yes! Jason: Wait, he got actually near you again? *starts cracking knuckles* Steph: Yes, but not that way! I wouldn't take that human disaster for a ride and I'd pity anyone who'd date him. Plus I'm perfect with Cass, thank you very much. But we made peace long time ago and we've been good friends since. I'm sure he doesn't hold grudges, after all he knows the work is yours and had no trouble! It's been years, we have all grown up and moved on.

Jason: Fine. ---- The meeting was awkward at the beginning (especially due to Jason's perpetual scowl) but Tim is clearly very professional and jumps right into business. They exchange contact information. It's clear Tim genuinely likes Jason's work. He puts a lot of effort in navigating Jason through the process, giving detailed comments/notes and Jason is happy to see someone catching on the little details and talk excitedly about them. May not be much but internally he is preening. They start meeting often for coffee, at first they'd talk more about work rather than chitchat and then their meetings started evolving into less work and more random talk, getting to know each other. Sometimes they don't finish talking about the book because they got too distracted. Tim opens up about his teen years, how he was (and still is) too dumb for relationships. He didn't know better but as he matured he learned to accept himself. Jason realizes Tim wasn't that bad of a guy as he thought; just someone making mistakes, learning and growing.

Tim finds he hasn't enjoyed someone's company in a while. He has dated guys before and has matured enough to be better and accept what he wants. But as years went by he poured himself into work and has been so busy, he doesn't exactly have lasting relationships so he stopped altogether. This time around, he feels like he genuinely is giving his all. He decides that he will see that Jason's book becomes a reality because Jason is talented, he is amazing and deserves this. And then, he will gather the courage and ask him out. Jason is also troubled because he is developing a fat crush on his sister's ex and he did NOT see that coming.

The day Jason's book is finally out, they celebrate and Tim asks Jason out on a date. ----

Later: Steph: SMH I can't believe you! Jason: ... it's your fault

[thesupreme316]

Heyyyyy I just came up with this but headcanons with the boys if their so is in college and has a bunch of missing work how and how they would deal with it (not like this is related to me rn totally DONT have have 20+ missing assignments that r do Thursday😮‍💨) if not that’s fine I just needing something to do so I felt like I was being productive cuz I don’t feel like doing work in my week off. Thought I’d submit ideas for writers so I’d be doing smt!

AEW STARS React to: Their S/O In College (and Taking Finals)

Pairings: Nick Wayne x Reader, Darius Martin x Reader, Hook x Reader, Dante Martin x Reader, Christian Cage x Reader, MJF x Reader, Eddie Kingston x Reader, Wheeler Yuta x Reader

Word Count: 1.2K

Supreme Speaks: hey yall, finals kicked my butt, but we back and packed up in here! to this lovely anon, i hope you got everything done and passed with flying colors (ik i struggled). but anyways, please remember that you are loved and appreciated, and also that you are more than a gpa.

Warnings: none i think, grammarly wasn't working so barely proofread, no gifs as tumblr don't wanna work rn

Taglist: @hooks-martin @sheinthatfandom @triscillal @cassie0sstuff @eddie-kingstons-wifey @hookerforhook @batzy-watzy @wwenhlimagines

i totally forgot to add my beautiful besties my bad

Nick Wayne

Hahaha He is the last person you should be going to for help

If anything, Nick believes that you should just leave it alone and just be in candy land with him

But he knows how hard it is for you and how important it is

So he’ll try his best to help you actually do the assignments

Like you two split up how much work you have and he does half the assignment

I think he would find it fun; pulling all nighters in the library and doing work with their S/O until like 4 am

Every night would be a new adventure

Would let you review the work before you submit it

But anything science-related

Don’t ask him shit

I see him as more of a math person

Darius Martin

I see Darius definitely as a liberal arts or literature person

Like he can edit your papers (he’s your personal chat gpt)

I think Darius would help you by creating a schedule

Like when you need to get stuff done by

BUT

He takes it a step further by allocating time limits for each assignment

Like you can only work on assignment 1 for an hour and 30 minutes each day

Something tells me he is particular with schedules

Darius will keep you on track as if he’s getting paid for it

“Y/N, your break ended 3 minutes ago. LETS GO”

Will definitely help you with researching topics cause that takes a while

Don’t ask him shit about math

Dante Martin

Doesn’t particularly understand what you are going through

But nonetheless he hates that he doesn’t see you as much anymore

I can see him just giving you gifts and words of encouragement

Will tutor you if you need help…but realize that this is not high school science

“You mean there is more than Chemistry I? CHEMISTRY VI? ORGANIC-“

He soon gives up

Stays up with you and drags you away from work if needed

IMAGINE DANTE SAYING “COME TO BED BABY” OMG MY HEART

Will help you with assignments like Nick

Will reward you for all your hard work (wink wink)

Tries to distract you and give you moments for fun/relaxation

After the dust is settled, he’s just happy that you are out of the shackles of academia and you two can hang out stress-free

Hook

MANS IS NOT BOTHERED WITH YOUR BULLSHIT

Has the constant “I told you to start on these assignments earlier” look on his face

If anything he will just supply you with food, energy drinks, and emotional support

But if you thing this man will give you any type of physical help

YOU ARE LYIN TO YOURSELF SWEETHEART

Will secretly complain about your lack of self care or wishing he could actually help in Italian

Fancanon: Hook can speak Italian

If he thinks you have been working too much

He will save your work and shut your laptop down

Will make sure you did everything on your checklist before turning the assignments in

If you need him to print stuff off, just ask, he’ll do it

Unless it’s 1 am…then he’s telling you to take your ass to sleep

Wheeler Yuta

Okay, this man can actually help you

WITH HIS CUTE ASS GLASSES

He truly understands what you are going through as he used to be in your shoes

Mans will tutor you until you are smarter than him

Loves helping you with history and shit

“No the War of 1812 didn’t happen in 1937”

Gives you helpful study and test-taking tips

Tries to make you drink healthy caffeinated drinks not Monsters or Red Bulls

Believes they are the devil and will slap them out of your hands

“What did I say? Red Bull gives you horns, not wings…no not horns for being horny”

Will give you little trinkets or treat you out to dinner when you complete your assignments/exams

He just wants you to remain healthy during this stressful time

Christian Cage

I feel like if anything Christian is a professor…with the way he be schooling those-

He’s probably very knowledge in various subjects

He just does them the old-fashioned way

“What the hell is this?…Whatcha mean this is the new way?”

But if anything he’ll adapt to it, just trying to help you

I HAVE A THEORY that he’ll stay up reading the next chapter or the directions for your next assignment and tries to figure out ways to make the process easier

So the next day you walk out to the table and you see the parts of your project laid out and labeled

“I know it’s a lot but we break it up like this, you should be able to complete by tomorrow”

Christian takes pictures of you two so he can look back and bring up times like the Vietnam war

Makes you take breaks, in which he’ll work in your place

When you get your grade back, it’s yalls grade

not yours

MJF

Straight up pays for a tutor/homework helper

But stays in the room and yells at them cause you are still confused and behind

I mean this in the nicest way

Max is no damn help

He is laughing at you while he’s putting on his scarf

“Imagine doing homework to get a little paper for a job! That’s what you get for not being born rich”

Will post you on instagram and claim that homework and exams are to test idiots

But will quickly change his tune when you place a physics worksheet in front of him

“WHY IS THE GREEK ALPHABET HERE?”

Issues you a public apology and vows to never make fun of you again

If anything MJF supplies you with emotional support, letting you know that your feelings are valid

Will buy you new shoes or something massive for surviving and passing everything

Eddie Kingston

Now when I say don’t ask him anything

DON’T ASK HIM ANYTHING! HE’LL JUST SAY

“Doll, imma be real, I have a GED. I dunno shit”

He can only laugh from afar and say “glad I don’t have to do that shit”

But if you ask him anything about English or Shakespeare, he got you

Will recite random Shakespeare quotes to provide entertainment

I think he proofreads your papers to ensure they make sense

I do think he can help with researching and giving you credible websites

Other than that, his designated role is paper weight or waterboy

He believes your every word when you groan about school

That’s all he can do but you don’t complain about it

After he loves you and you love him

[phantom-dc]

Dad Hood - part 16

‘Ok Danny. Let us know if you see anything that looks familiar.’

After the plane had landed, the family set out in a rental car. They had decided to tour the town while it was still light outside. Since they had no leads, Danny was sitting on Jason’s lap and looking to see if he recognized something.

‘Oh! There! That’s the Nasty Burger! Can we go get burgers there? Please daddy? I promise it’s better than Bat-burgers!’

Jason looked at the fast-food place. At least that explained why Danny kept asking for ‘nasty’ burgers. Promising they would go there for lunch, they kept driving around. After a while they came across a large official building.

‘That’s the mayor’s office! Remember the frootloop? He worked there! He became mayor just to spite me and make my life difficult. But he is lost in space now, so it’s all good!’

Jason put down his gun. Looks like he’ll have to ask Green Lantern for a favor later. Too bad. A few minutes later they passed a school.

‘That’s Casper High! I go to school there! The food is gross, but at least it doesn’t come alive! One time the psychiatrist tried to kill my sister. That was Spectra, she’s dead too! But even deader than us, dad! She’s like fully dead!’

Danny then spots something across the street. He phases out of the car, and flies towards it. Jason immediately takes of after him, no way he was losing his kid in a city he didn’t know. He sees Danny nearly tackling a green-haired girl into a hug, who was standing next to a woman with blue hair and a blonde guy with a motorcycle.

‘HI GUYS! I’m back!’

Kitty looked at the little kid that was suddenly in her arms. Despite him being so small, she recognized him immediately.

‘Danny! Where have you been? Everyone has been so worried since Desiree wished you away!’

Johnny 13 ruffled the kids black hair.

‘Dang, little man! You got even smaller! You know that your family has been in a tizzy, right? It’s been weeks!’

Ember pried Danny out of Kitty’s arms and held him up to see.

‘Look at you! Now you’re an actual baby-pop! Almost as small as Youngblood!’

Jason manages to catch up and apologizes for Danny tackling the girl. He notices that the three teens glow, just like Danny does. Are they like Danny? Are they experiments as well? Or is there something about this city that causes it? He then notices that the blonde guy seem to become hostile.

‘Are you the reason that Baby-pop was away for so long?’

A shadow emerges from beneath the blonde’s bike. It is growling at him, making itself look big to intimidate Jason. Before Shadow can attack though, Danny speaks up:

‘No! He’s my daddy! He is really nice and took care of me! He worked reeeaaaally hard to get me back home! Please don’t hurt my dad!’

Calming down, Johnny recalls his Shadow. Kitty smacks him on the head for losing his cool. Wasn’t it obvious that the guy was worried about Danny? Jason, deciding to just accept all this to save himself from a headache, asked if they knew why Danny was so small. From their conversation it seemed they knew him when he was older. Johnny gave him an explanation:

‘Yeah, he was fighting Desiree. She can grant any wish, but messes it up so It’s not what you want. And his idiot of a pop wished him a kid again so he could hang with his dad from what I heard. After that Danny just disappeared. Guess he ended up with you, huh?’

Jason sighed. So that’s how Danny ended up in his appartement. Someone magicked him there to get rid of him. It also explained how he became a 5-year old. All this because of a rogue.

‘Poor baby-pop. Even when he does everything right, someone else messes things up for him. He always gets into trouble like this!’

While Ember laughed, Danny put up a serious face.

’Speaking of trouble, you guys aren’t causing any, right? Even if I’m tiny I can still kick your butt!’

Kitty giggled at the adorable threat:

Oh, no no! Don’t worry, little King! We’ve been good! No one’s causing trouble here!

Jason decides to cut this short. It’s starting to get late, and he needs to find Danny’s parents.

‘Look, we’ve been looking for Danny’s family all day. He has trouble remembering things, so could you tell us where he lives? If it’s a safe place…’

Johnny assures him that the Fentons are loving parents. The times they hunted him was because they didn’t know it was him. Different forms and all that. Plus, now they know that not all ghosts are evil they even let up on the hunt on other ghosts, as long as they don’t cause trouble. He points Jason to a long street, and tells him to follow it until he finds Fentonworks. Jason can’t miss it. Really.

When Jason and Danny get back to the car, the Waynes head into the street. For a moment they are wondering which of these houses was Danny’s. Then the giant UFO appears over the horizon. Hearing Danny’s calling out for home, they head there immediately. Sure enough, Fentonworks is written on the side. Danny is getting impatient, fussing in Jason’s hold. Taking a deep breath, Jason knocks on the door, the other Waynes behind him. An orange wall of a man opens the door, holding what looks like a sci-fi bazooka. Before Jason can react, the man has snatched Danny out of Jason’s arms:

‘DANNY-BOY! GIRLS! DANNY'S HOME!’

As the man starts hugging and doting on Danny, a woman in a blue hazmat-suit nearly jumps down the stairs and joins him.

‘SWEETIE! WE WERE SO WORRIED! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?’

As the parents are over the moon, Jason and the others are standing in the doorway. A girl with orange hair and a 12-year old girl ran into the room as well. Seeing them, Danny gets even more exited.

‘Hi Jazzie! Hi Dani! I’m home! And I brought guests! Is that ok?’

Realizing there are people with Danny, Maddie invites them in. Jack gives Jason a nearly bone-breaking hug in gratitude for bringing his son home. The orange haired girl decides to introduce themselves.

‘Thank you so much for bringing Danny back home. I’m Jazz, his sister. These are our parents, Maddie and Jack. And that is our little sister Dani.’

Looking at Dani, Jason sees that she has picked Danny up, and swinging him back and forth.

‘Jeez Danny! You’re even smaller than me now! I’m a big sister now!’

As Danny laughs, Tim pipes up:

‘Wait, wasn’t Dani a clone?’

This causes Jazz to freeze.

‘You know?’

Jazz had hoped that Danny had managed to keep things a secret. But seeing as Danny was around 5, she realized that was hoping too much. And when she saw that these were the Wayne’s, a very famous family, she was now worried that his identity became public. Bruce assured her that wasn’t the case. They had been very careful to keep Danny hidden from any press. Jazz was relieved. Jack gave Bruce a good-hearted pat on the back that nearly toppled Bruce over. He always thought that Bruce was an airhead, but he guesses he’s not! Danny agrees with that:

‘Of course not! He’s the Batman! The worlds greatest detective!’

The Waynes freeze. Jazz just sighs.

‘Danny, you can’t tell people things like that. What if someone was spying on us?’

‘I’m sorry, Jazzie.’

Jazz just pats Danny’s head. Looking at the Waynes. Now that she took a look at them, they did resemble the bats a bit. It was the right amount of people after all. She assured them they would keep it a secret. After all, they kept Danny’s secret too.

‘So, which one of you is Danny’s dad? I’m assuming it’s you, Bruce?’

Jazz was surprised by the strange looks. Was she wrong? But he was the only one old enough for a 14-year old son? Then Jason stepped forward:

‘Actually, it’s me. Things are very weird, and I’m not sure where to start…’

‘Jazzie! Jason is dead, like me! And my mom is an assassin! And I’m really 6 years old! The assassin mom made me older! Isn’t that cool? I had a superhero origin before I even died!’

Jazz just looked at him. Jason understood that feeling all to well. Utter confusion, mixed with a smidge of horror. He’d become very acquainted with that feeling these past couple of weeks.

‘Yeah, I think we should explain what happened these past couple of weeks.’

Jason told the Fentons everything that happened. From Danny appearing in his appartement, to looking after him and the discovery of Danny’s powers. He told them about Danny’s birth and how he ended up in the orphanage the Fentons adopted him from. He also told them about the misunderstanding with the ‘frootloop’ and the fight he had with Bruce. After that the Fentons told them about their own stories. They explained how they used to hunt ghosts, and Danny’s accident. They explained why they hunted him and they gave more information about Vlad. They explained the Ghost Portal and how Danny saved the world with the help of the other ghosts. They were very proud of their boy. During the talk, Danny started to fidget.

‘Dad, how do I get big again? Desiree’s wishes are permanent after a while, right?’

‘I don’t know ho-’

‘Don’t worry, Dann-’

Jason and Jack looked at each other. Both had tried to answer Danny’s question, responding to being called ‘dad’. Jason suddenly realized that this was Danny’s family. He was a Fenton, not a Todd. As Jack leaves the room to go get something, and Jazz goes to call Sam and Tucker, Maddie puts her hand on Jason’s shoulder.

‘You know you are family now too, right? Just because he is back home doesn’t mean you have to leave his life. I’m sure that Danny would love to have you, whether he’s a child or a teenager.’

Jason smiles at her. He’d like that very much. At this point Jack comes back.

‘Here we go! Danny’s friend Clockwork gave us this. He forbade us for going to look for Danny, something about 'saving the Father' and ‘getting rid of a great evil’ in exchange. This medallion should make him older and fix him up again. Are you ready, Dann-o?’

Dani puts Danny down, and Jack slips the medallion around Danny’s neck. In a flash, Danny was now 14 years old.

Danny looked at himself, getting to know his older, bigger body again. Jason felt odd seeing the kid age up so quick, almost regretful. But even if it meant missing time raising Danny he knew it was for the best. Dick and Bruce were surprised just how much Danny looked like a younger Jason, though less skinny. Noticing Jason, Danny turned to him to thank him:

‘So, uhm… thank you for looking after me? That was… kind of you? Sorry, this feels weird.’

Danny felt a bit sheepish. He now realized he caused Jason a lot of trouble, and it was odd talking to him like this after being a kid for a while. Jason felt odd about it as well.

‘Yeah, no problem… So, this is the real Danny? Older Danny? I guess you won’t need the toys we got for you anymore.’

Danny laughed a bit. He might be keeping some of them.

‘If it’s ok with you, I’d like to keep the Red Hood one. And maybe we could give the rest to Dani instead.’

Jason smiled. It was nice that he was still Danny’s favorite. Seeing his own family hinting franticly behind them, Jason decided to push his luck a bit.

‘If you’d like, you could come over sometimes? Like for a holiday? We’ll get your room updated for a teenager and everything!’

Danny thought about it. He wanted to have Jason in his life.

‘I’d like that. I’d like that a lot!’

As Maddie starts inviting the Waynes for dinner and everyone starts to relax, Danny got a weird look in his eyes, his older mind realizing something important has happened:

‘Wait, did I kill a guy?’

END

First - Previous - AO3

[greypetrel]

25 for Niamh!

It’s half Niamh, half not. I compensate the angst I lacked with the Raina one. I’d like to add that this is full on DAV spoilers, and this is very much an AU.

The more I grow, the more I dislike the "teen sent to battle" trope. Not because it's bad, but because it SELDOM explores the implications. "But Arja, you did it too!". Oh yes, I did, but because the ending if you do certain choices is...

Just Like Falling Asleep

25. Cost/Consequences [ 2710 words | CW: Major character death; DAV ending spoilers. ]

He was my north, my south, my east and west, My working week and Sunday rest, My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song. I thought that love would last forever; I was wrong. The stars are not wanted now; put out every one. Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun. Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood. For nothing now can ever come to any good. - Funeral Blues, W.H. Auden

Niamh rolled around just in time not to be trampled by a humongous scaly paw, with too big, too sharp talons.

The pavement under the paw cracked and collapsed, and Niamh yelped as the slided down. Her butt fell on the debris, and she stopped just when her feet pressed on scales, a jolt of fresh pain exploding on her ankle.

She still had her staff in her hand, and even if said hand was scraped raw to the side it was good. In spite of the burn, she could wave the staff, flopping with her back to the ground and aiming a fireball to the huge eye that lowered to look at her, too big, too blood-streaked, malevolent in a way she wouldn’t have imagined an animal to be.

But that wasn’t an animal, or it wasn’t anymore, no more than the giant wolf at her shoulders, struggling to get back on his four paws in spite of blood trickling down one shoulder.

The fireball was big, but it flickered, and when it hit the muzzle of Lusacan, it all but exploded in a firework of sparkles, as the Archdemon shook his head. Barely annoyed by her spell, as one of the horses back home would just shake his head to shoo off a fly that buzzed too close to its head.

It didn’t work.

It wouldn’t work to use dream magic - Solas had warned her not to, the Blight might spread and corrupt her too, more deeply than it would have just by drinking blighted blood. If elemental magic was equally pointless…

For a moment, the dragon snorted aloud, very annoyed, and hesitated to look at her, up above, the two sets of horns making him look like he had been crowned. Niamh wasn’t her mother, she knew not to read animal much more than just 15 years of living in close proximity to some of them, but she still distinguished a distinct predatory streak.

Confidence’s grasp let go of her, she felt the Spirit slipping away from her conscience, with a last warning that Niamh couldn’t hear. Her heart beat too quick, too loud, the waking world was just too present. The Fade felt far, in spite of the Veil being paper-thin and fragile, and for the first time since she could remember, Niamh felt truly, completely alone.

She was terrorized.

But when the dragon moved, terror made her quick. She ignored the pain in her ankle, and kicked herself up, scrambling out and away from the small crater the giant paw made. She had just the time to evoke a barrier around herself, before jaws full of sharp teeth snapped around her. The barrier crashed, and she was pushed forward by the impact, landing on her front and sliding forward. It hurt, it hurt a lot, her stupid heart wouldn’t stop beating too hard and fast, she felt her teeth weirdly soft from fear, her stomach was knotted, no one whispered encouragements to her anymore. Alone. The pain at least was a good distraction.

She felt weirdly empty. When she tried to reach for the Fade, scrambling on all four and away, tears filling her vision without her really wanting to, she found it void. There was no Confidence there, no Cole filling her with warmth, no Love, no Curiosity, nothing.

All she found was a tall and lanky figure, with pale blond curls as dirty and matted as she felt her own, with limbs too thin, ribs protruding, and spider-like legs gently moving towards her. It smiled at her, stretching a hand.

I’m the only thing you got. Come, child, it’ll be easy enough, I am already here.

Run. Came a second voice, one she knew.

Niamh groaned aloud, squeezing her eyes and averting her attention. Fear was never a good spirit, or one she would trust, even without the Dread Wolf’s warning not to. But as she scrambled back up her feet and ran away, ducking between four oversized canine paws running between her and the dragon, all she could find was Fear. No matter how hard she scraped the Fade.

She let herself fall behind a column, panting hard for exertion and pain, and just those, she forced herself to think.

Maybe mamae was right in saying she shouldn’t be there on the final battle. Maybe mamae had been right all along.

No.

No, absolutely not.

She could help. She could, her friends trusted her as such. She was good, she did help already, she would help again, two Somniari were better than just one, against an Archdemon. She wouldn’t have let everyone down once more.

She owed it to mamae and papa whom she had to show that she could take care for herself, so they could stop worrying, to Lucanis who taught her to move better on a battlefield and wield a dagger and found a way so broccoli wouldn’t taste so foul just for her, to Spite who was her friend, to Neve who had cared for her and brought her snacks and taught her ice magic better, to Emmrich who had promised her he would have accepted her in his class next year, to Bellara that had helped her with the Veil Jumpers and always involved her in experiments around the Lighthouse, to Taash that she was just learning to know better, after her mom’d death brought them closer, to Harding who had gone out of her way to keep her safe and sound and was another aunt.

Most of all, she owed it to Davrin.

Even if the thought still brought tears to her eyes. She owed it to him, who had looked out for her, never treated her like a child, listened to her when she told him of what she thought Assan needed and found a way to let her play with him, let her feel happy and like a child again, who had been the first one she had told about her home and the farm and her family, who had let her nap on his armchair, hugged with the griffon, who had told her about the Dalish and what was a clan like without ever making her feel like she was out of place in asking. Davrin who checked she ate and who praised her every goal, who cheered for her or patiently taught her what she was doing wrong, as she was an adult.

Davrin who had died when she had been left at the Lighthouse.

For Davrin, she rubbed the tears from her cheeks, fixed her grasp on her staff and rose back on her feet, as he would have told her to do.

Limping on her right, she rounded the column.

She would not be afraid of a giant (and quite mangy) wolf fighting with a giant dragon. She couldn’t use dreams against a dragon, but Rook had assigned her there, so she had to do something. She could.

She had no offensive power against a creature so big, but maybe…

“Hey!” She yelled at the top of her lungs, grabbing the bottom of her staff with both hands and swaying it around in a big circle. It gave the spell more momentum and reach, uncle Bull taught her it was the main difference between one and two-handed swords, a lifetime ago when she never had thought it could have turned out useful. But it did: the fireball flew quick in a wide arc, and exploded on the muzzles of the two beasts.

Sorry! She whispered, mentally, to Solas. She wasn’t that sorry, but it was the polite thing to say.

It didn’t serve as Niamh had hoped: sure, it was a distraction, but it was a distraction for both, not just for Lusacan.

The dragon was quicker -less wounded- to recover. He roared and pushed the wolf away, raising on both front paws and pushing on the wolf’s chest.

Wolf that landed back and rolled, wobblying to get back on all four.

The dragon, tho, wasn’t looking at the Dread Wolf.

The dragon was looking at Niamh, the weak link.

The annoying fly that he should have crushed way sooner.

“Come on, come on.” Niamh hissed, directed at Solas, as she turned and ran away.

Lucanis, Harding and Davrin, and Strife and Irelin before them, all had been focused, when training her for a fight, on how she should take advantage of being smaller and leaner and quicker.

Duck, run, gain distance, not tank, never tank.

Niamh remembered, jumping between fallen stones and debris, zig-zagging around, as quick as she could. There was an opening in a palace upfront, which seemed sturdy enough. A door fell from its hinges, leaving the opening wide. If she could reach it-

The dragon roared closer, she heard Solas’ cry in her head for her to run. And a not so nice calling her foolish, but she ignored him. She gave him an opening, after all.

The thuds of the dragon’s paws sounded closer.

But the door was closer, as well.

Adrenaline made her forget the pain in her ankle, her being sore, her breath coming in ragged.

She was almost there-

- sharp pain, all of a sudden, in the middle of her chest.

She didn’t feel shame, for once, as she called for her mamae, her mouth filling with hot liquid.

It lasted but a moment.

A blink of her eyes, and then it was just like falling asleep.

---

Aisling looked at the body and felt more lucid than she had in years.

She observed her face. Her dear face she hadn’t taken a closer look at in more than a year. A face she could never, ever forget. Straight nose, slightly upturned, and hooded eyes, just like her father. They were closed, but she knew they were the same hazel as him. Her upper lip was bigger than the lower, like her. The gentle, adorable taper of her ears, when she delicately moved the wild curls she loved so much behind it. She had grown in the time she was away, and yet she still had pimples.

She would have protested the gesture, complained that she wasn’t a child anymore and that she could fix her hair herself, normally.

Now, she dind’t.

Oh, how she wished for those lips to curl in a smile, when she bent to kiss her cheeks and her nose.

She fixed Niamh’s hands on her belly, fingers crossed together. Her nail polish was chipped, but still there, nails coloured in lilac, turquoise and peach, alternatively. Delicately, delicately, as if any stronger movement could wake her.

Foolish.

She must not wake her.

She wouldn’t wake up.

She should let her rest a while still.

Rest was the only think she would ever do.

She didn’t hear Emmrich talking, at her shoulders. Or well, she did, but his words were meaningless. She didn’t want some minutes to say goodbye, she wanted her daughter back.

“I know what to do.” She announced, with a last caress over soft, cold skin, calmer than anyone would have expected.

“Aisling-”

Cullen tried to stop her, closed his hand on her shoulder. But his voice was broken, so Aisling just placed her hand on his fingers, and gently moved them away. She turned and smiled at him.

“I know what to do. And I’m sorry about it.”

She insisted, as polite and composed as Josephine ingrained in her brain, all those years ago.

She rose, listening to no one, watching without seeing. She knew perfectly well, with the greatest clarity, what she had to do now, and so she did.

Ghilan’nain for guidance.

A couple of tentacles would have been nice, indeed.

She climbed her way up, to where Rook, Morrigan and Radha were trying to talk Solas down. A battered, wounded, finally looking like he was facing down his wrongs Solas.

Once the vision would have made her compassionate.

Now?

You won’t see me again, if you do it.

The Veil was so thin that she heard Cole speaking even in waking.

Aisling wondered if it was always like that, for Niamh.

She wondered so many things, so many ifs, but none of them mattered. Cole didn’t matter, either. Not now, not anymore.

“Goodbye, my friend. I am so grateful I met you and had you by my side.”

She didn’t turn to look and see whether Cole was disappointed. She knew he was. Kin spirits just know about each other, the Augur had taught her.

But if one thing would have changed a person, she wondered, and this thing was the one that mattered, it was the death of a daughter. And Aisling was now, after cleaning the dead body of her daughter and the hole in her chest (right on her heart) that the dragon left, tired of being compassionate.

The next step she took, with the same clarity of before, she felt the snap, and Cole drifted away.

The Veil was so thin, frayed, minutes away from breaking.

But she didn’t need it.

Rook’s hand on the dagger was bleeding.

Good.

Morrigan saw her, and from the expression on her face, Aisling knew the Witch understood. The Witch closed her eyes, in an assent.

Also, good.

A snap, and she saw Rook gasp, a shock ran through their body as Lavellan took control. Aisling forced Rook's fingers to loosen, maneuvering the blood that ran through the veins. Freed the lyrium dagger so she could easily take it for herself.

Radha turned, alarmed, and her eyes grew big.

“You asked me if he really had a heart, once.” She just told her, not breaking her hold on Rook, even if she felt some fight to her grasp. Pointless, since Aisling had magic over her blood. Years since the first and last time she used blood magic, but apparently it was a little like swimming.

Desperation was there, but she wasn’t afraid of it anymore.

She didn’t care anymore.

Solas looked at her and his expression froze, mouth agape.

But a split of a second.

Her sister couldn’t move fast enough.

She rose and downed the lyrium dagger deep, deep in Solas’ chest.

Over his heart, almost where Lusacan had dipped its talon in her daughter’s. Just higher enough that he wouldn't have died from it.

Someone yelled, Solas groaned, black blood trickling out of his mouth.

Aisling didn’t care.

She retracted her hand, dagger easily slipping out of flesh and armour.

“You took my daughter.” She reproached him, what had been her hahren, her friend, the person she spent 18 years convincing everyone he still had some good in himself.

He had all the good he needed to let her do, close his eyes and not protest when she pushed him back to fall into the Fade Rift and, finally, meet his fate.

A shockwave, as the Dread Wolf fell back and entered the prison.

Aisling’s concentration broke, and she had to let go of Rook. All four people left fell to the ground, blinded by the flash of light.

When the elf opened her eyes again, the sky was once more intact, the Veil felt further away from her conscience, but not flickering and shattering anymore. They were just amongst ruins and destruction.

Aisling didn’t feel any better.

But she doubted she would have ever felt any better.

She rose, brushing the front of her armour.

Rook groaned, scrambling back sitting and away from her. Terror marring their features, which felt satisfactory, but very out of character with what Aisling had known.

“You brought her here, on the field.” Aisling told them, not angry, not desperate, but with the same coldness she had had as Inquisitor, judging Erimond and mayor Dedrick. Stating the fact. Niamh wouldn’t have come if Rook hadn’t enabled her, they all knew. “If I ever see you again, you’ll wish I pushed you in that Rift as well.”

And with that, having said all that she had to say, having cleared her stance with all the parts involved, she turned her back, leaving the lyrium dagger there on the ground, and left the battlefield.

To a world saved again, but right there and then, the cost felt way to steep for it.

[sualne]

20 questions for fic writers

@syrupfog tagged me! yeayy <3

1) how many works do you have on ao3?

currently five, but i used to have another account with two more (i think? i deleted it all and it's been a minute)

2) what's your total ao3 word count?

65,930!

3) what are your top five fics by kudos?

1. Worm in a Birdcage 2. The Villa in the Meadow 3. Learning Shame 4. The Opportunity of a Lifetime 5. Hunters & Family

4) what fandoms do you write for?

one piece but i used to write for bnha and [redacted].

5) do you respond to comments? why or why not?

I want to so bad but i don't know what to say, i think i'll just go with a bunch of heart emojis for those ones and try my best for the ones i really want/need to make a proper sentence for.

6) what's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

technically Worm in a Birdcage but it's a pilot for the vamp au so even if it's completed to me it doesn't really count as an ending, i still have yet to finish a fic ○|￣|_

7) what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

again no endings

8) do you get hate on fics?

not currently (though i've been stressed) but when i was in middleschool i kept getting unwanted criticism for a certain someone for years. nothing was ever good and around 14 something broke. i wasn't able to write a single thing (including school work) until my twenties and even then i had to start by writing them sleep deprived and insane and post them as soon as i could before i could delete it all. now i can easily write hundreds of thousands words in a day and i've been having a lot of fun even when i'm struggling with it :] i still have the bad habit of rewriting and deleting it over and over until i go "good enough, whatever, fuck this thing" and post it but i'm working on it.

9) do you write smut?

alas it is necessary for the plot lmao. i think it's fun how there's a little bit of everyone in the world, ppl will write smut and go "arg! there's plot now! they can't do it just yet, noooo!" and then there's me kicking a rock a grumbling "for the plot, it's all for the plot and the characterization, why'd i put the foreshadowing in the butt fuck, hell."

10) do you write crossovers?

nope

11) have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i know of

12) have you ever had a fic translated?

nope

13) have you ever cowritten a fic before?

technically yeah! the fic was never published though, but it was fun working with someone on the same project!

14) what's your all time favorite ship?

i'll have to say lulawlu & kidkiller cause i'm too one piece obsessed to remember about everyone else but they are other ships that own my soul.

15) what's the wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

honestly, all my wips; i want to finish them all, i'm so sad i haven't gotten to finish anything yet! the vamp au was always more vibes and atmosphere than very concrete and planned plot so it's been difficult to write, i think i should've gone multimedia with it (technically i have with the art and comics but i really wanted to make animatics too) i think it would've been best to translate feelings and mood how i wanted rather than hard plot media like writing.

16) what are your writing strengths?

i have no idea 👍

17) what are your writing weaknesses?

getting too worried if it's any good and driving myself mad rewriting it forever and ever

18) thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

i forgot i'm already writing the whole thing in another language so i was going to say "i've been asking ppl about italian & brazilian portuguese and side-eyeing the german i was supposed to learn for the six years i've allegedly studied it for the villa fic because i think it's fun to throw some in. i don't know what language specifically in canon those characters speak but i like throwing in reminders that other languages than english do exist. plus there's an opportunity for puns! it's also a good excuse to learn, i've been wanting to learn italian since it's in my family but i don't have anywhere to use it and any tangible reason to do so except "cause i want to" so it motivates me! there probably won't actually be much of other languages in the fic but even then i'm glad i learned about them!"

19) first fandom you wrote for?

one piece! when i was 11/12, i've come back full circle writing about law again lol

20) favourite fic you've ever written?

the Villa in the Meadow so far has been the most fun to work with! even though the process to get the first chapters out and ready was like a years and a half long difficult digestion.

tagging: whoever wants to? i'll tag @thyandrawrites cause i loved reading your work and i've been meaning to go back to it <3 no pressure tho.

[satancopilotsmytardis]

I can't remember if you've done it but a band AU? I have it all out in my head but really just Dabi as lead Male singer and/or guitar or base player?

I have not done this! I'm not really into bands/live music/concert culture so I don't really know where to start with this, but I'll give it a crack

AFO is a music producer who wants his son to find the next big thing, but Shigaraki really has no idea about that because he would much rather go to college to work on game design. They make a deal that if Shig can bring him some new talent before the enrollment period ends at the university he wants to go to, then AFO will let him go to school for what he wants instead of making him do music.

Shigaraki spends like a month running around looking for someone but doesn't find anything and one day when Spinner comes over to hang out, he mentions that he actually does know of a guy with a little ragtag punk band that has a show coming up. Shigaraki nearly shakes him out of his scales to get him to introduce him.

They go to one of Dabi's shows where he's the vocalist/guitarist, Twice is on drums, and Magne is bass. Compress is their 'manager' aka the only real adult in the room who makes sure they remember to drink water and keep a sleeping schedule that won't make it impossible to show up to their gigs on time, and Toga is their pseudo little sister who comes to all their shows and practices to hang out (and also may be secretly designing and running their merch table but shhh child labor laws and all that)

Shigaraki offers to help them out (while consumed by lust for the hot vocalist) and they butt heads a little, but ultimately Dabi agrees, and Shigaraki finds out that he is a really hard worker trying to make something of himself after he got into trouble as a kid and his cop dad kicked him out of the house. He wants to be able to take care of his younger brother since his other brother and his sister haven't been able to get him out of that situation because Fuyumi's still living at home too and Natsuo's still in college. But Dabi can't do anything unless he has a solid income and can prove his schedule won't be disruptive to Sho's life. (Which won't be hard because Shoto is at a boarding school that he genuinely loves, so Dabi will only have to be around during breaks, and Sho could travel with them then as a little vacation) Shig absolutely falls head over heels for him.

Everything seems to be going really well until they're getting ready to get Dabi signed and he realizes that he's not going to be working with Shigaraki, and not only that, Shig was using his band, he didn't care about the music, about seeing them succeed, about him. He just wanted a way out and they were convenient. There's some tension over that, though Shigaraki does still ultimately convince Dabi to sign with the record company, for Shoto's sake if nothing else. They don't talk for like two months and then Shig blows off an important lecture so that he can go see Dabi when he's playing a show near his campus, and they fuck kiss and make up.

[aimlesspixel]

Isat Scintillation ch 10

This chapter was particularly satisfying and stressful to write. Hopefully I did it some justice. Spoilers for 2 hats general game content below the cut.

Bonnie stops for you all at the edge of town. The smell of salt water washes over you with the wind. It's nostalgic.

It's not too big a town but it's not that small either. The port at least shows plenty of use and the lights make it somewhat difficult to see the stars appear.

Odile - "You! gasp How do you even-" Bonnie - "Pure unbridled excitement." Odile - "I even gasp used slow craft on you. How?!?!" Bonnie striking a pose - "Nothing can stop me!" Isa - "M'dame that's hardly fair of you." Odile glares at Isa - "And who's fault was it that they managed to evade us?" Mira - "Well we made it at least, wait for us next time though Bonnie!" Bonnie - "But I did wait! And I can't wait anymore! Lets go Lets go Lets go!"

Bonnie begins jogging somewhere easily weaving through the area quickly picking back up the pace.

Odile - "Gems alive this child will end me if we don't wait a second." Mira - "I'm sure you're interested too though Madame! Come on!"

Bonnie eventually crashes through the door of a small house equidistant to the forest and waterfront. "NILLE! NILLE!!!!" You hear their shouts as you eventually catch up.

Bonnie has crashed directly into a lady and is crushing them with hugs. After a moment she snaps back to reality hugging Bonnie back and crying.

"I'm so glad you're safe! I'm so glad!" Her voice breaking, hugging visibly tighter.

Bonnie - "Nille! Nille!" Bonnies dam also bursts. "I worked so hard! I ran! Just like you told me to! It was so scary!" Nille - "You did so well! You were so brave!" Bonnie - "Everyone said you'd be moving again! I'm so glad they were right! I'm so glad…"

They relish in each others embrace giving ample time for the rest of the family arrive

You remember Mira and Isa talking about something like this before, back then Bonnie and Odile interrupted and broke their fantasy but… there's no way anyone could interrupt this here and now.

Nille eventually notices you all and moves to release Bonnie, a veritable feat as Bonnie resists for a substanital amount of time eventually leaning towards her face, whispering something, and relenting.

Bonnie still facing her sister - "Sorry for running again, Dile." Odile - "It's alright Boniface, I'd appreciate the concern earlier but I certainly can't blame you either." Nille - "Are you these the people who helped you Bonnie?" Bonnie - "Uh huh sniffle we all went to kick that crabbing kings butt!" Nille - "You went and kicked his butt huh?" Bonnie - "Yea!" Nille looks towards you all, exhaustion clear upon her face - "Thank you all. For saving them. For saving me." Siffrin - "We couldn't let our favorite preteen down." Bonnie - "Frin…" Nille - "You haven't eaten yet have you? I can see what I can make for everyone." Mira - "Oh you don't need to force yourself it's getting late and all-" Nille - "Please I insist I haven't had anything yet either so It won't be any trouble." Bonnie whips out their frying pan - "Yea! I'll help!" Isa - "It's settled then." Odile - "We'll help in the prep if you're still worried about it Mirabelle." Nille - "Oh crab, where are my manners I'm Petronille." Odile - "I'm Odile, that's Siffrin, Isabeau, and Mirabelle." Bonnie - "You stole my job Dile! I was supposed to introduce you all!" Odile - "Consider it payback for today's marathon."

[simslegacy5083]

NSB (Straud Legacy) Gen 9 Ep 104: E-Sports Upset

The evening following graduation Luigi spun into his practice clothes and headed out a little early to meet Beau at the commons. This was their final practice session before the big game, and they needed their team in top form to wow the scouts they knew would be in the audience.

Once the players were started on some drills coach Silva asked his co-captains to join him over in the study corner nearby.

“I have bad news” he told Luigi with a long face. “The athletic office ruled that as a graduate you’re no longer eligible to play tomorrow. I tried to appeal on the grounds that this is the last game of your senior semester but was told there were no exceptions. I’m truly sorry.”

Luigi was stunned, to overwhelmed by emotion in that moment to feel anything other than numb. He hadn’t been officially pulled up to the pros yet and had been counting on this final game to seal the deal.

He resolved to reach out to his recruiter as soon as possible and was relieved when Coach Silva went on to say “I’ve got a few contacts at Rainy Day Entertainment. I promise I’ll give them a call to explain the situation and put in a good word for you.”

A shellshocked Luigi finally remembered he wasn’t in a two-sim conversation and turned to his co-captain. Beau’s heavy course load had him and Luigi on track to graduate at the same time. He hadn’t seen his friend at the ceremony, but he’d assumed Beau had simply decided not to attend.

At his questioning look Beau closed his eyes, admitting “I’m still a student. My dad died right before finals and the university let me defer my exams to attend to the funeral arrangements.” Before Luigi could do more than offer a shocked “I’m so sorry” Beau held up a hand, forestalling him.

“Thank you, but let’s move on, OK?” he gruffly replied. “I really don’t want to talk about it.”

Luigi  rose then, desperate to escape and head home to Noemi. He needed the comfort of her arms more than ever.

“Where do you think you’re going!?” Beau demanded “Sit back down. I have an idea.”

Turning to the professor he said “His highness can hold court at the game, even if he can’t play. If he buys a ticket the university can’t stop him from attending or sitting with you, coach, and issuing royal degrees from the sidelines. Besides…” he continued with a grin “I’ve always been a better player than him anyway. With me at the controls and Luigi providing strategy, we’ll both impress the pro scouts there to watch us kick Britechester’s butt.”

Professor Silva agreed he thought the loophole was sound, and the three sims spent a few more minutes brainstorming before going their separate ways. It wasn’t how Luigi had imagined he’d participate in his final university e-sports match, but it was certainly better than the alternative!

The night of the big game Luigi and Noemi got dressed in their best Foxbury spirit wear and headed off to the arena.

When Luigi had given his fiancée the news, she hadn’t been worried. She was sure he’d land a spot on the pro team eventually, even if it took a little longer than he’d been hoping. In the meantime, he could focus on tournaments and programming to bring in simoleons until she started her own job.

None of the competitors or judges objected when Luigi took a seat next to Coach Silva. Beau slapped him on the back as he joined the rest of the players at their PCs, promising with a smirk “I’ll agree to follow your royal commands, just this once.”

It was a struggle to watch from the sidelines, unable to step in and DO anything directly, but Luigi did his best. He was proud of the calls he made, and could see the positive difference his suggestions had, but in the end the team couldn’t overcome the loss of a key starter on the playing field.

In the last few minutes of the game Britechester surged ahead, leaving Foxbury once again in the losers' circle at the end of the evening.

Two dejected co-captains left the stadium that night. They’d worked so hard only to end up with nothing to show for it.

Luigi had been sure that the loss had been the end for his E-Sports pro career, at least until he could prove himself on the independent circuit. He was therefore shocked to  get a call from his recruiter the very next morning, telling him that the scouts had been impressed with his calls during the game and he was being picked up after all!

That afternoon he and his co-captain were back on campus officially signing with Rainy Day Entertainment as cameras flashed around them.

As they stood to head out Beau joked “well, I guess we’re stuck with each other for a little bit longer” before giving his “new” teammate a high five and inviting him over to celebrate. As soon as Beau graduated and Luigi’s son was born their professional careers would officially be on their way!

View The Full Story of My Not So Berry Challenge Here

[skylarmoon71]

Lex Luthor (Smallville) - Short Story : Chapter 7

Friday afternoons were made for getting all your grading done so you could enjoy a stress free weekend.

You'd planned to go to Central City to visit your uncle, but that idea was sort of in the air because you were still a bit worried about Lex. He told you that he needed a few more days with his project and you were a little worried that he wasn't taking proper breaks or getting rest.

The plan was to stop by his place tomorrow and drag him out of the mansion.

You just needed to get through this.

Also apparently get a lollipop for Clark because he looks like a kid deprived of candy. He's been sulking since he showed up at your place that evening.

"Why are you so mopey?"

"I just feel like you're replacing me. Plus I'll probably end up walking in on you two if I just decided to show up at your place without warning."

Your brows scrunch up as you try to listen, but also concentrate on the answers before you.

"What are you complaining about?"

"Lex's crush on you."

The statement caused you to create a long scratch on the paper.

You cursed when you realized and Clark now looks invested.

"W-What do you mean a crush, are you crazy!! Lex doesn't see me that way!!"

Your denial was a bit suspicious.

Any other person would have brushed it off, but your face was actually getting red.

Clark looked like he was assessing the situation.

"(Y/N) do you..have feelings for Lex?"

You really should have seen it coming.

Clark may be blind, but he's not stupid.

Except when it comes to his own life.

"THAT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!!"

So that was a definite yes.

Clark sighed.

"You should tell Lex."

"Are you mad!"

"Trust me."

"Yeah, cause that has never bitten me in the butt before."

"That was one time and it wasn't my fault!!"

"Sure."

With the current topic, you knew you couldn't even think, much less work on the papers. You dropped the red pen with a frown.

"Because of you I have to give this kid an A+. If I give back this paper they might think I'm out to get them."

You slid it to the bottom of the stack, running a hand through your hair.

"Where the hell did this come from all of a sudden?"

"It's not that sudden. You've been spending all your time with Lex. You were probably planning to hang out with him this weekend."

You bite your lip guilty and Clark sent you an accusatory look.

"I knew it!!"

"Whatever!! When did you become such a clingy puppy?"

His face fell.

'I'm not clingy."

Then he persisted to look like an actual puppy that was just denied a pat on the head.

"He says, looking like a kicked puppy."

There was literally no winning.

You try your best not to think about it. Even when you do stop by Lex's place.

It's hard to pretend that you don't wonder what it would be like. To be with him. To watch him smile, because more often than not he's wearing that blank expression. Almost like he's guarding himself. 

Guarding his feelings.

You don't want to be just another person that he has to wear a mask around.

So you sort of take the coward's way out. In the event that you're wrong and he doesn't see you that way, at least this conversation would be something you can both laugh off.

"Clark thinks you have a thing for me."

Lex's shoulders became tense, and you're sitting there waiting for him to vehemently deny it, but he just looked stunned. Like you'd just found out something you shouldn't have.

He wanted to punch Clark at that moment because he distinctly remembered telling him not to say a word.

Despite yourself, you blushed, clearly caught off guard. This is what you were hoping for, but it's still a shock.

"Listen, this doesn't mean that we..that you have to.."

For the first time Lex was speechless. You were so used to being the one flustered. Yet Lex was the one losing his composure.

He looks away.

"I don't expect anything from you." He finally says.

Although those are his words, you feel the pulse of disappointment that streams from his body. It's become clear that he's been keeping this from you to maintain this newfound friendship.

"I care about you. I didn't want to sacrifice that. I want to have someone that I can trust who knows parts of me that no one else does. I enjoy your company and this friendship. Wanting anymore than that would be selfish. I've ruined too many relationships by being selfish. I wasn't about to lose this one."

Now that seems unavoidable.

"So you..have a crush on me?"

Lex huffs.

"You make it sound like we're high schoolers."

You have to admit that at this moment you feel like one. Your list of suitors is fairly small. You dated one guy back in high school and that was before you discovered your powers. The second you learned what you were capable of you sort of turned yourself off. More as a defense.

Yet...Lex knows everything and he still wants that chance. You know a lot of his indiscretions and you can say for a fact that you do have faith in him as a person. If anything, his past has made you respect what he's trying to become.

Lex's back is still turned, so you know he doesn't truly hear when you approach. You're hesitant. When you reach for him, you do your best to control your powers, because you don't want them to influence anything. You want to see, feel all that Lex is trying to convey naturally. He turns at the touch, clearly a bit startled at the lack of distance. Your eyes search for him, and when you touch his cheek, he's frozen in place. Everything is so easily displayed on his face and you can't help but wonder how you never noticed before. The pulse that releases from his body is so sudden that you gasp. Your hand drops to his shoulder and your knees buckle. Lex is quick to catch you.

"What's wrong!!"

He looks terrified at the prospect of you being hurt, and you can't seem to stop yourself. You lean up and kiss him. Lex is stunned for a moment, but the second your hands wrap around his neck, he pulls you back to your feet and flush to his body. He's holding on so tightly, like he's afraid this will all be a dream. His hand immediately finds purchase in your hair and you grip at his clothing.

This all feels like a fever, and illusion.

When you begin sliding his jacket off his shoulder, Lex pulls back.

"W-Wait we.."

He's breathing heavily.

You're still trying to collect yourself. When you do, he can see the way color rushes to your cheeks. It's frankly the cutest thing he's ever seen.

"L-Lex I'm sorry I don't know what-"

He shakes his head, still holding you close.

"It was my fault. You were reacting to me, weren't you?"

You swallow, licking your lips. Right now you should be focusing on his words, but his lips look so enticing.

He never thought that such a desperate look would have that effect on him.

"Do you really feel the same way or are you just..responding to me?"

Lex looks a bit unsure. Because more than anything he wants these feelings to be real. Looking at him, you understand. So you take a breath to settle your heart rate. To clear your mind. When you feel ready, you smile at him and press your palm over his heart.

"This is how I feel."

There's a distinct pink glow and Lex is the one who gasps, because what he feels in his chest is hard to explain. You've never truly used your abilities on him. Partly because of fear and the other due to uncertainty. He's not the only one who's been hiding his feelings.

It takes a few seconds, and the glow dissipates. You're smiling at him shyly and Lex takes your open palm, still a bit breathless.

There's no words he can use to describe how incredible that just felt. He squeezes your hand just a little, and you bite your lip, right before Lex leans in and claims it. You accept the kiss happily, smiling against his lips.

At this very moment, all you feel is content. 

[spectralgecko]

Kinda random, but do you have any tips on finding motivation to write?

Aka: Even during free time, I often can't bring myself to write, even if I want to.

Hmmmm.... That's a hard one.

In all honesty, I run into the same issue. My writing usually thrives off of a) interest and b) having a limited time to indulge in said interest (amazing how being confronted with a massive school project will generate motivation to do literally anything else include write a novel.) Because I'm in school right now, Sundays are the only guaranteed time I have to write, so it's precious and I almost always have ideas by then. But even then, I don't always write. A lot of my Worldless stuff has thrived off of being asked questions and given stuff to think about.

However, some of my go-tos for motivation are music, reading, and perusing art. Reading what other people have written can jog some ideas loose, and perusing art can give me visuals (especially if I'm struggling to write a particular description).

But music is the big one for me. It gets rid of the background noise and gives my brain fuel to work with. (Also, speaking of fuel, make sure you've had enough to eat and enough protein, and are hydrated, and don't need to use the bathroom. Also try to make sure you're comfortable. It's shocking how much that affects my ability to write).

Aside from that, though, it's very hard to just... gin up motivation. Sometimes you have to brute force it. Which is... the least fun, least helpful answer in existence, and it's very hard to do. But having the mental discipline to say "I'm going to sit down and write" goes a very long way, especially if you can turn it into a daily habit. If you can, pick a set repeated time daily or weekly that becomes writing time, and make yourself write a little bit every time. Your brain will adjust to the idea that "this is creative time, I can be creative and make words."

And remember, the "I'm gonna make myself write" doesn't have to be good. You don't need to like the outcome. You might write three words. You might end up deleting the whole thing later and rewriting it. But no effort is effort wasted, because you've made your brain think, and you've reinforced the mental discipline.

Waiting for motivation is all well and good, but sometimes it doesn't show up, and you have to pick up its slack. And what I often find is that if I can establish "I'm gonna make myself put words on the page" as a practice, the motivation starts to follow. Music is a massive helper. So is whimsy. The writing can be random. Sometimes you need to take a break from a project and write something totally different. Maybe something you've never tried before. Shoot, pick a favorite piece of art and try to retell it. Silly fun little exercises also go along way, and if you can kickstart yourself by doing something small and funny, or just something cathartic, then it can help ideas for the thing you really want to work on start showing up.

Also, sometimes enormity paralysis happens? Which is what I run into often. "There's so much I want to write that I can't even open my computer to start." At which point I go to the "let's divide this into absolutely tiny pieces." I.e. "what color are his eyes," "What's her name," "where does this happen," stuff like that. once you unclog the paralysis, stuff often tumbles out.

Oo, just remembered another thing - podcasts. Writing podcasts, story podcasts, etc. They can make good background noise if words don't distract you, and if you can find writing podcasts they can help generate some willpower. One of my favorites is Writing Excuses.

I haven't listened to this podcast yet, but I've heard my mom talk about it, and I'm 90% sure this addresses a very similar thing to what we're talking about with writing discipline.

That got... long. But I hope this at least sort of helps? Motivation is a rough thing to wrangle. It's sorta like herding cats with a dragon. Or trying to steer energetic horses. Sometimes you've got to pull harder on the reins before they fall in line.

[official-alan-dabiri]

This is just a bunch of bug fixes, and minor balance changes masquerading as bug fixes. A bunch of talents that could sometimes simply fail to work will now work all the time. A bunch of talents that could sometimes work too well will no longer do that. Probably.

But it's been so long since the last patch notes, I don't remember any of my gags. Who was I insisting the best tank was last time? Did I have a running joke about Chromie? How many times have they taken away Samuro's hearth trick now? Did Li Li have this many changes on the notes during her rework? Why did they say so many things about Sylvanas when it all basically comes down to a 2% overall damage nerf?

I honestly don't know how to do this job anymore. The last time we had a patch we were receiving the first operational images from the James Webb space telescope. And that was the "end of life" patch where they just changed the free hero rotation timeline and added the Epic Chaos Lizard Mount. The last time we had a real patch, we were still talking about the chess tournament butt plug thing.

I got sad and wistful for longer than I expected here. Me being a nerd under the cut.

What is there to say? A bunch of talented people poured their hearts and souls into a game. It was - and still is - a fantastic experience. Its production value is very high, it looks good, and it's fun to play. Those people did good work, and in response to that good work a community sprang up around it. And then that good work was squandered. The company neglected it. Forgot about it.

HotS is still a good game. You can still play it! You can still play it casually. You can still play it competitively. You can have deep thoughts about strategy and synergy. You can just point at a big chunk of orange polygons and call him Gary Heckyell. You can click meticulously around the map, making strategic use of creep wave manipulation tactics to win a statistically losing one-on-one lane matchup. You can click on a skin that puts a ridiculous - but beautifully rendered - costume on your favorite blizzard character and immediately blurt out loud "I'm so gay." You can find friends and enemies and mentors and students in the midst of a sincerely penned love letter to Blizzard's IPs. You can point out quite honestly and truthfully that the people who made HotS loved these characters more than anybody in charge of their respective IPs now.

I'm not gonna ask you to pour one out for HotS, and the hard work of the people who made it the best Blizzard game. If you were going to, you did that years ago. I'm not going to ask you to boot up HotS for another reminder of what those talented people gave us. Because if you were going to, you probably already did. If you loved the game like I do, and let it go rather than have it break your heart every week, you don't need me to pick at that scab.

But it's still here. Still kicking.

Except now Blaze's bunker isn't going to get one-shot by the Infernal Shrines Punisher anymore. And I think that's what really matters.

[brightcalamity]

NPC Dialogue for L, my polyamorous builder

I saw people doing this meme in the tags, and decided to try it out. Inspired specifically by @pepperonibread's post.

L:

Intro: “Howdy! Welcome to Sandrock. I'm new, too! Got kind of burnt out at building school, and at first kind of regretted coming here where there's so much work to do. But have you noticed how hot everyone is? Maybe it's the dry desert air making me so thirsty.”

Acquaintance:

Hey! How are you settling in? Make sure you don't go out too far - monsters can get pretty scary the further you get from town.

How's it hanging? You tried sandfishing yet? I used to love regular fishing, so it's kind of wild!

So I looked into it, and apparently there are a lot of policies in the Church of the Light that are determined by chapter. Like, how we can have guns here. I wonder what else is different?

I stayed out too late the other night, and when I passed out, I had a dream about...well, never mind.

Buddy:

Howdy! Caught any fish yet? Any big ones? Sometimes I see them swimming through the sand and wonder if I could do that.

Sometimes I get so tired, I just have to sit down and stare into space, and it always ends up I was staring at someone. Kind of embarrassing, but, oh well! So if I do that to you - sorry?

You know, you should stop by the Blue Moon sometimes and relax. A hot meal, a cold drink, and good conversation - you gotta set down the pickhammer and remember what it's all about.

How did Rian land such a great catch? Maybe I need to take a page out of his book...oh, sorry! Howdy! I'm off in my own world again, huh.

How's it hanging? Remember to let the air flow, my friend, or you'll regret it later.

Good Friend:

Howdy, pal! You ever get jealous? I saw Amirah making some pots the other day, and started wishing I was clay. At people? Nah.

Hey! Don't wear yourself out working too hard. Remember! I busted my butt in school, and now look at me.

Caught any big ones recently? I went out a bit too far to check out a new sandfishing hole, and got my ass kicked by the locals. You should've seen me! Running full tilt away clutching a giant fish to my chest like it was made of solid gold.

Howdy. You speak to Heidi lately? She's been so busy...I get it, really, but...never mind.

Sandstorm: I know it's stressful getting behind on work, but take my advice - there's no better chance to stay home and cuddle. Stay safe!

Rain:  I never knew I could miss this so much. I wonder if the sandfish around here care about rain? Does it awaken some evolutionary memory in them, or are they just oblivious?

Player has a new haircut: I wonder who you're trying to impress. Well, you're impressing me!

Player has panda eyes: I hoped you stayed up doing something fun, at least.

Player cuts a tree in front of L: Hooooboy. If you like getting berated by Burgess, good job, I guess.

Player attacks L with a weapon: Uh, watch out! Let's take it to the ring. I guess. Or, better yet, let's talk it out over dinner.

Day of the Bright Sun: I don't really need more stuff, but I love seeing the kinds of things people give as gifts. I really love days like this. Holidays were one of the brief times I wasn't studying in school. I felt guilty the entire time, but it was still worth it getting out.

Showdown at High Noon:  I guess it's good for everyone to practice fighting. Have you heard that there are places where they have a holiday to celebrate love, too? I wish we had that, to balance things out a bit.

Day of Memories: The games are fun, but I always sort of wished the fun parts and the memorial were separated. I guess that's how life is, though? You can't ever entirely separate feelings.

Tour de Rock: I feel like Unsuur should win this by default. But maybe if I win, he'll think I'm even cooler.

Running of the Yakmel:  This must be a real romantic holiday for Cooper and Mabel. Food and yakmel? I actually have no idea what this holiday's about, sorry.

Winter Solstice: Hey, don't miss out on the bonfire dancing! I'll save a spot next to me if I can!

Loved gifts:

Any kind of King Fish:  Holy! Look at that whopper! Are you seriously giving this to me?

Any of Amirah's pottery, or the character figures: Everyone accuses me of being shallow, but it was the craftsmanship of her work that really made me fall in love with her. Amirah, you're amazing.

Liked gifts:

Storage: Oh, thank the Light! And thank you! Maybe I can finally get organized.

Fishing gear:  Babe. You know me too well. Sorry, did I call you babe? Sorry, sorry. I was actually talking your gift.

Any fish other than King:  Ahaha! Howdy, little guy! You'll make a fine dinner or pet, tonight!

Neutral gifts: Wow, thanks! You don't really need to give me gifts to impress me, but I'll take 'em.

Disliked gifts: Huh. Thanks.

Hated gifts: Did I upset you? Sorry.

Complimenting appearance: Wow, thank you! The hair color's not natural, except in the sense that everything that is possible to exist is natural.

Complimenting appearance 2: I think you're pretty, too.

Complimenting work: Well, thanks! I do try! I know I'm easily distracted by a pretty face, but love just gives me the energy to make all my work feel worth it.

Complimenting personality: You catch more fish if you got the right bait.

Asked about her past:

Oh, well. Studying, work, rinse, repeat. After a while, I couldn't remember why I even wanted to be a builder. I'm starting to remember, I think.

The first time I fell in love, there was this big drama when she wanted to see someone else. I remember pretending that I was so upset, but not getting why I should care that much. I was a lot older when I realized other people aren't playing when they're upset about that stuff.

I always thought me and Nia would get married and ride off into the sunset on our gliders. Of course, life doesn't turn out how you imagine. We both had different dreams. But I missed her so much when we went our separate ways.

I think my Ma worries that she and Pa somehow pushed me into working too hard. I keep telling them that I made my own decisions, and thinking about the two of them was the big thing that pulled me off the edge, when it got real bad. I have to do better. I will do better. Even if I don't work as fast as I used to and people think I'm a flake.

Asked about work:

Most of the time people don't really need stuff as soon as they say. I still try, of course, to get it to them in time. But I've had to learn that if I end up running late, it's not the end of the world, you know?

Asked what she likes to do:

Sometimes I look at old books about fish, and then I look at the fish we've got around here - I think fish were always just really weird!

I hate eating alone, you know? Eating is when people really connect - we all gotta do it! It doesn't have to be a date, even if that's what people think I'm all about. I just want to hear about your day.

The more efficient the tools, the more time I have to keep myself sane without disappointing my commissioners. I love seeing things done quickly, and well.

Romance -

Confession response:

Accepted: Oh! You're quite the catch, so of course I accept!

Rejected: Oh...do you know what that means? Do you really want to be with me? I can't change who I am, you know. Maybe I need to think a little, and maybe you do too.

Regular lines:

Don't forget date night! It's easy to forget when we're busy, but spending time together makes everything else worthwhile!

There are always more fish in the sea, but I'm so glad I caught this one. And you caught me.

Do you see us together in twenty years? Time feels so blurry, one commission blending into the next, but no matter how far I try to look, I see you there with me.