#mara tries island living

[missbluesunflowersstuff]

AU where Talia decided to raise Damian in Metropolis and Jason decided to ignore Batman and go with her

Damian is still trained, but not as intensely (Talia allowed it because she knows very well how many enemies Ra's and Batman have, she wants her son to be ready to defend himself if necessary, but always vigilant so that Damian's training is not exhausting and terrible)

Then when Damian has 8 (or 10), she just looks for her father and says "bye"

Ra's is a good grandfather who loves his grandchildren (Damian and Mara), he is just a weird magic man for them (he is still the demon but not for his people and family)

So the trio move to Metropolis, Talia to get the job with Lex and Bruce almost had a heart attack because JESUS CHRIST IS THAT JASON TODD?! AND WHO IS THAT TINNY SMOL BOY NEXT TO HIM?!

Jason still hates Batman and tries to kill Tim (they'll get along later but not now)

Jason talks shit about Batman all time and Damian believes in him because old brother Jason knows things, and then Damian also dislikes his father

Jason became a crime lord in Gotham to piss Bruce off and annoying Dick and Tim, Talia just asked Jason don't put Damian in this crime thing, Jason and Talia tried to keep Damian a part of this mess crime and hero thing

Damian, like all other children in his age, is curious and impulsive. Then he stole a ninja costume and went to Gotham because he is curious about his father and the others brothers

And then he met Dick

Dick is just tired of Jason messing around but he recognizes a curious kid when he sees one (and he is also curious about Damian - no one knows Damian is Bruce blood son yet)

Dick and Damian become weird friends eventually (as canon their relationship is slowly but strong in the end)

When Jason finds out about Damian's new friend, he tries to hunt Dick down

Too late

Damian now has a cow and Dick has Damian's DNA

All the Batfam goes crazy because THIS BOY IS YOUR SON!!

just thinking about 'Damian, I need to tell you something, you're the son of the Batman' - Dick

'yeah, I know' Damian knew it all along because Talia told him and Jason about Damian's father

Steph and Cass are also curious about this little boy and kidnapped him to a playdate (and also annoying Jason and Bruce)

Damian dislikes Tim Drake because Jason told him to do so and he will listen to his older brother (they'll eventually get along)

Bruce tries to get close to Damian a few times and Jason always stops him. Whenever the two meet it is a terrible fight, both emotional and physical (Jason just gatekeeping Damian rn)

Talia could help Bruce, but she decides whatever Jason is doing is funnier, then she allows Jason to bully his dad for a while

Maybe it's Jason's rude words, the guilt of not being seen with the same admiration for the boy anymore, making Bruce become "softer" and try to get involved in Jason and Damian's lives because he doesn't want to make mistakes like he did in the past

somehow this becomes a mess in the media, after all Talia and Bruce are rich (she is richer than him) and a child custody dispute is always crazy and the favorite dish for reporters

the plan about protecting Damian from media harassment just fell apart (thanks Bruce and his bad decisions)

Talia and Jason were almost planning to send Damian to spend time on an Al Ghul family island when the images began to disappear from the internet almost instantly

This happened because the batkids worked together because 'Jason is our brother and Damian is also our brother'

When Jason goes to confront Dick about this, Dick says it's all Tim's plan (he knows about the assassination attempts and he doesn't want the family fighting)

Tim and Jason get along after this

"but you say he is a bitch' - Damian about Tim

'yeah, but he is a friend now' - Jason

Somehow Dick lures Damian in the mansion to him met Alfred

so while the media is covering the whole spectacle of the custody fight over Damian, Damian, Talia and Jason are having tea with Alfred and ignoring Bruce

And Jason still is a crime lord

Eventually Bruce gets the right to see Damian (I want to bully this man a little after Gotham War)

Damian doesn't go to school, but he still meets Jon and Kathy at a farming event because he wants to show off Batcow

They becomes friends there (Clack and Lois have no idea that this Damian who Jon is talking about is Damian Wayne, but they're super happy because Jon is making more friends)

Damian invites Jon to his birthday party, something that makes all of Kent very happy

Damian's birthday becomes incredibly awkward once Clack encounters Bruce and the Batkids, Talia Al Ghul, Jason Fucking Todd, Ra's Al Ghul, and some other assassins and children of assassins that Talia and Damian trust

Also Maya and Mara are also there

Mara because she and Damian were rising together in the league (they have a brother and sister relationship but they don't know it yet)

and Maya proclaimed herself Damian big sister since her father trained him

#dc comics #batfamily #damian wayne #jason todd #dick grayson #tim drake #bruce wayne #stephanie brown #Alfred pennyworth #talia al ghul #ra's al ghul #just a happy au

[centrally-unplanned]

I feel like making a “Top 5 Media of the Year” post is like extremely redundant if you follow me, its going to be really obvious what is on there. Still, ranking things is fun and is good to reflect on them, in particular why they ‘stuck’ with me and what makes them last as opposed to fun-at-the-time so here goes:

Perfect Tides

Definitely the most well-crafted ‘narrative’ of the year for me. As a game its eh, but you essentially ignore that and its very easy to do so. I been ruminating a lot on temporality this year; the sort of stripping-away of the idea of one having a future that ones grows to as opposed to a sequential present. The idea of ‘growth’ being more of a story we write for ourselves. And additionally I have always had a passion for stories about contingency and specificity, the ways technology, locale and circumstances shape people in not-so-obvious ways. 

Perfect Tides is never settled on one thing but those two themes permeate every part of its narrative. Mara is obsessed with changing herself, getting out of the ‘rut’ of her life, but has almost no agency in that regard. She changes, massively so, but never due to her plans coming to fruition. There are these moments where she introspects, and she is smart so it seems right, but - while never confirmed to be so explicitly - are just wrong on reflection, in the battle between her identity & and her outside reality, reality proves stronger.

And the ways she tries to fight against her circumstances are so adorably 2000′s. Writing on fanfic webforums, ‘dating’ someone via IM (and it falling apart from it being transposed outside of that medium), living on an outskirt suburbia island to the metropole of the rest of your social circle, there is so much in there. In the end the bildungsroman story of a teen growing up is dime a dozen, these stories can’t survive on the universality. Perfect Tides marries the universality to a specificity that changes it enough to make it new.

Bocchi the Rock

I have said a lot about Bocchi and why it works so I won’t repeat myself on that front. Instead to situate its lasting impact on me I think I can instead focus on the kind of anime I have been watching. I have picked up a lot (by no means all) of the older ‘classics’ over the past 5 or so years, and I was absolutely soul-sniped by the 90′s ~mindfuck~ era of anime. I am always secretly hunting for more of that, but you really aren’t going to find any of that in modern shows; Sonny Boy is the closest I have seen and its a forced comparion for sure (still a great show, would recommend). The Evangelion era is so over not even an Evangelion remake could recapture it.

The modern era instead has other strengths that you need to see on its own terms - new themes, new styles, new approaches. Slice of life is one of them, K-On! was the first ‘great’ entry into the genre that utilizes the modern lexicon, and there have been more and more hits along that front over time. Anime - and the people who watch it - has a more comfortable relationship with its otaku identity, replacing existential dilemma with celebratory depiction. 90′s animation experimentalism was immense but also limited by the tools of the day; modern animation technology allows an easy integration of styles and techniques that was out or reach 20 years ago. 

Bocchi for me is the crest of a wave of modern trendlines in anime’s capabilities and thematics. It perfects so much of what slice of life does while shedding its tired tropes; ruthlessly depicts a real-if-exaggerated otaku struggle but through the modern comedic, happy lens; and puts animation-as-a-tool to work communicating those feelings in the most inventive ways posible. Hell, the design process itself is radically accessible! I follow the creative team on twitter who were live-posting production photos, scene reactions, everything you could imagine. The media mix was intense. It is, in a certain sense, the most modern anime I have seen. It crystalized its own ‘genre’ that I want to see more of.

Sing Yesterday For Me

This year was a big year for manga for me, a journey I am hoping to deepen going forward. Sing Yesterday For Me was on my list for a while due to the anime adaptation from 2020, which I...hated? But due to all the really polished balls it kept dropping, I could see the potential, moody characters struggling with love & life in period-piece 2000′s Tokyo, lots of my boxes checked there.

The manga drops many of these same balls (less for sure), this is not a ‘great’ work. Instead why it has stuck with me is that is a showcase in the strengths of aesthetics & realism. Kei Toume’s art is just so absolutely my jam; the way she draws eyes with enhanced roundness and detail; the way the hair is all messy textures and sharp lines; the fact that in the middle of this serious manga will be splash images of little fashion showcases or photobooth printouts or something. She does this in all of her works too, she has types - I have been reading two of her other manga, Rocky Princess and Karakida-ke no Koshogurashi, and her aesthetic archetypes absolutely show up again in both. 

I enjoyed Sing Yesterday for Me’s story but what I remember most are these individual panels that are just Art to me, and its something that manga does on its own terms that I have been growing to appreciate more and more as I read more and more (Chainsaw Man stands out in this regard as well). Its a reason to read manga specifically as its own genre. Maybe the story won’t be amazing, but it can be in service of those panels, a necessary component to making them shine, and its worth it for that.

Astrophyics - Hope Left Me+

Astroyphics is a synthwave/darkwave composer who got their start doing remixes, lots of anime & 80′s stuff, which all rocks and I highly recommend. This is the year they started branching out into their own original compositions in a way that I think succeeded - it was a rougher journey, some of their early works lack life, but the later stuff - Hope Left Me, Cute Tragedies - are some of my favourite of the genre in how they blend being ‘noisescape’ with having melodic elements or motiffs that still stand out.

And they are a media mix pioneer in how much work they put into video elements for the songs, album covers, and other things - Hope Left Me has a visual novel it is attached to! Which you can play as a standalone game (this worked ~fine) or partly experience as a visual album for listening to the music (which is amazing). I love that someone who started out making Serial Experiments Lain covers is working so well in the medium of “music as its permitted to be by the internet”. Its something I want more and more over time, music that exists beyond the notes and instead is in conversation with the rest of the media apparatus it is so inexorably embedded in, and Astrophysics owns that reality. They are 50% of the reason I am a Hatsune Miku stan nowadays (first t-shirt recently acquired!) - the other 50% of the reason being...

Hazel - Why Did We Like Elfen Lied? 

Hazel’s Why Did We Like Elfen Lied? lives rent-free in my mind. Its the perfect question for me, not about ‘anime as anime’ but ‘anime as societal product’, about how watchers viewed it, cared about it, repackaged it, communicated it, the works. “What does this piece of media being loved say about those who love it” is the root question over which every other media discussion I ever have rests, the Unified Field Theorem of media analysis. And Elfen Lied is the *perfect* target for this question - it fucking sucks! It is an awful show, and in Japan no one cared. But in 2004 everyone in the west loved it. It was a show begging for an explanation.

Hazel nails it, and she does so through her subjectivity. She was the patient zero for the Elfen Lied experience as an emo goth edgy teen girl for its release; the way she jumps back and forth between the anime’s actual content, the way what it offered was passed around anime & goth subcultures, and the wider concerns those communities had in 2000′s America, is completely realized due to its combination of analysis and autobiography. And Hazel excels as a filmmaker along this same lens - her editing style is a tower of niche references to iconography, media, and music from the era, she composes her own songs which she uses for key moments, its a “by kids for kids  by scene nerds for scene nerds” approach that epotimizes the strength of YouTube as a medium.

Hazel will not continue to be my favourite YouTuber - I will absolutely still be a fan, but she has her own questions she cares about that don’t align with mine, and the way she is evolving as a creator is not my own path. She has many other good videos and I highly recommend looking through all her works. But Why Did We Like Elfen Lied will last beyond that for me as an influence of the kind of thing I myself want to make (and probably never will, oh well!).

#2022 media retrospective #bocchi the rock! #perfect tides #sing yesterday for me #astrophysics #hazel

[nintendouniverse2023]

Donkey Kong III

Age: 31

Sexuality: Transsexual

- DK the 3rd is the oldest of the quadruplets of son DK Jr and grandson of Donkey Kong Sr AKA Cranky Kong and One of the many star children

- He is the leader of DK Clan and After going along what he has been though to Kongo Bongo and The Mushroom World, He was now crowned the new King of Kongo Bongo Island as its ruler and protector of The Island and The Crystal Cocoanut.

- A Member of The Mushroom League

- DK sees his nephew Diddy and his friend Dixie has a little brother and sister he never had. Donkey Kong did look after Diddy when he was a baby, 10 years later, They Stop the Kremlings for the first time together and After Diddy Kongs Quest, there bound was good then ever then before.

- DK along with Diddy Kong became good friends with Esther Kong and Lexie Kong scene it was like Uncle and Nepew with Aunt and Niece

- The Laidback did love to enjoy not just only Bananas but good ol Banana Cream Pie made by his Girlfriend Candy Pop "Candy Kong"

- DK loves to work out nearly at the Beach, A workout room, His Treehouse and A the Kongo Bongo Gym. His favorite workout were squats.

- DK and Diddy were the first ones to survie and finished Mama Kongs busnisuse by retreving the Yellow Crystal Banana in the secret temple.

- Unlike his grandpa, Donkey Kong was very good friends with Mario Jr "The Son of Crankys old nemesis, Mario Sr/Jumpman" alongside Luigi and Mara everytime they go for adventures, Go Karting, Sports and parties

- Over the years, DK had been protecting his home island from The Kremling Empire, lead by his arch nemesis, King K Rool. Who was always stealing the Crystal Coconut *Mostly*, Bananas, Precocious Objects and even him and his clan. He also fought the Koopa Empire, where he was rivals with Morton Koopa Jr.

- DK was unsure what happened tp the both of them after that fight, this makes Cranky take over his son's place as King. He tries to ask Funky and Swanky but they won't tell him. He watched at the top of Kongo Bongo hoping one day, Scar and His Father will return.

Diddy Kong

Age: 13

Sexuality: Staright

- Diddy is the son of Funky Kong and Uncle of Donkey Kong

- Diddy is dating Dixie Kong and also good pals with Esthers niece, Lexie Kong.

- When Diddy was 8 year olds Dixie meeting for the very first time when Chunky Kong comes over with younger Dix and Tiny. They became insepreal friends everscene rather than hanging out with his uncle for a change. After the events of DKC1 arc, Diddy told Dixie abut his big adventure and was into rapping and decide to have his own music career, alongside Dixie.

- During nearly at The End of the DKC2 arc, He along with Dixie was shocked and terrified who were have to face off his long lost uncle Scar Kong who just betrayed the Kremling Empire and preapers for battle. They were scared for the whole fight befor snaping back to their final battle to Kaptian K Rool.

- Diddy admires his uncle alot but yet suffers from Slight Self Esteem Issues

- Member of the Mushroom League

- Timber the Tiger's parents go on holiday and leave their son in charge of the island they live on, prompting him and his friends to organise a race. Their enjoyment is interrupted when a sinister intergalactic pig-wizard named Wizpig arrives at Timber's Island and attempts to take it over after having conquered his own planet. That is why Diddy along with Timber and the others worked together to defeat Wizpig.

- Before being captured at DK64 arc, Diddy got the insprarations of his dad and invented the Peanut Guns and The Barrel Jetpack were it was very useful for his adventures with his pals.

Dixie Kong

Age: 13

Sexuality: Straight

- Dixie was also 8 when she meet Diddy for the very first time and would become very good friends

- She was a bit younger, she have been learning how to have the ability to make her pony tail how to grab, hover with a spin and use her hair as a helicopter.

- Dixie first adventure was with Diddy when K Rool as Kaptian K Rool captures DK and the both risked their lives to Krocodile Island rescuing him and later DK and Diddy alongside Kiddy Kong. During her time adventuring, she indeed enjoyed the absolot thrill of adventure, making new friends and Achining her dream of being a rock star.

- Dixie has a friendly rivalry with her little sister Tiny. They would ether play pranks on each other or roast each other. Whatever it case, they would enjoy each other with their friends, Diddy and Lexie in the DK Clan and would work together to solve any case. Sometimes with an aid of an allie or 2.

- Dixie and Candy Kong were like a dou of sharing the same journey and adventure together as well playing video games.

- Dixie was taking surfing lessons with Diddys cool dad Funky Kong and was also enjoying the beach.

- Dixie was almost scared and half to defat when DK and Diddy almost died in outer space with Mario and his allies, so she's been focusing on improving her worth for the team. That is why Dixie was recently getting involved with the Koopa Empire.

- Dixie's favorite anime is Yo-Kai Watch alongside Diddy, Tiny and Lexie, Thanks to Mara showing it to her.

Donkey Kong Sr/Cranky Kong

Age: 68

Sexuality: Bisexual

- An old enemey of The Marios Father who suffred trauma when he was captured by the Travling Circus and recaptured by the hands of Mario and was the only one who hasnt moved on.

- Father of DK Jr, Grandfather of DK III, SK, FK and SK and Great Grandfather of Diddy Kong.

- His wife Wrinkly Kong died after DKC3 arc which left him devastated and hurting himself even more.

- Scene his return to Kongo Bongo Island and Jr's dissapearance, Cranky Kong was crown king until he evenly retired, due to getting old. Now a days, he has been finding and celling old junk and Brewing up Potions

- Knowing his Grandson Donkey Kong the third will be next in line for the throne, he was distend to put him into amount of training to make sure he and his Allie’s can be the best Clan they could be until he was ready.

- Usually he doesn’t let anyone one borrow The Crystal Coconut like Gill Koopa for an experiment for its magic unless he could get them to do chores or Watching over it while he goes out.

- Like the old Country Show and The Games, He would love to pull some pranks on the Kongs sometimes but mostly on Halloween to give them kids tricks. The only one who can outsmart him were Tiny Kong very year.

- Cranky mosty likely stayed in his cabin at his rocking chair, brewing up potions and protecting the Crystal Coconaut unless something or he ants to leave.

- Cranky mostly likes his bananas deep fried or have them on a kabbob.

-Cranky had a huge grudge aganst Mario Jr because it sets a reminder about his foe Mario Sr and along with Jr's Brother and Sister. Even though they helpped him out along with other Kongs sometimes but that didn't make a point.

Esther Kong

Age: 20

Sexuality: Pansexual

- When Esther’s father joins The Kong Clan as a guard before she and her siblings are born, she dreams about being apart of The Clan once she is older but life have other plans for her family, Moving out of Kongo Bongo Island when her older brother Buchin Kong and His wife Gallica Kong started to have kids. 10 years later, Her family decided to move back where Esther joins and Befriended The DK Crew.

- 5 years ago after Esther’s youngest nicece was born, She and Gallica would return to Kongo Bongo Island, were they try to retrieve the Crystal Banana. Gallica was killed in front of her at middle of the trail, forcing Esther to retreat, traumatized. She still loves doing what she do but also blaming herself for Her brother’s depression because of his wife’s death.

- Esther Kong was a fun aunt during her new home in a different island and Becomes close Buchin Kongs oldest daughter, Lexie Kong. After the death of Gallica, she started to become over protective and would beat the strudle out of any bad Kongs or The Kremlings that would hurt her 7 nieces and nephews. Plus a uncontrollable breakdown and rage!

- Before meeting Mario and his allies, Esther’s nieces and nephews are started hanging out in the Mushroom Kingdom with DK and his allies, She would become nervous about leaving the island again. She was later captured by The Koopalings alongside Cranky. After being rescued by Mario, DK and their friends along with defeating Bowser, She fell comfortable exploring The Mushroom World and making new friends. Her closest one was my OC, Gill Koopa.

-Her own best friend group is Mara and Amatory.

- Esther crossover friendly rival is Esther Winchester (Cuphead)

- In a relationship with Gill Koopa

Lexie Kong

Age: 10

Sexuality: Dont have one yet

-Lexie’s personality at was being a sweet spider monkey just being cared free but sometimes getting into bad situations with her brothers and sisters and usually ratted them out. Sometimes she does like a little fun.

- Lexie Kong not only immerse Esther but her mother mostly even though her to play the bongos and drums. After Gallica Kong was killed, she ends up in a huge depression as the same time that her dad had gone a depressed catatonic. Sometimes she had dreams about her and crying in bed. She will try to move on eventually.

- Lexie is not the only one who remembered her mother but the only one with orange fur.

- When her family moved to Kongo Bongo Island, Lexie along with The Konglings follows Aunt Esther to Cranky’s Cabian to get a job at the Kong Clan and meets Donkey Kong for the first time. Lexie would eventually meets new friends of DK’s esspally Diddy and Dixie as she fines them a very silly dou when they came to help her take care of her little siblings. It wasn’t long her father started dating again with a male kong.

- When DK and his friends take Lexie and her siblings to Spiral Mountain and the Mushroom Kingdom, Lexie actually enjoy the trying something new. She witnessing Gill Koopa was one of a few Koopas with a brains and kindness. After a while and Esther started dating him, She quickly excepts him as her God Uncle.

- During her first few days in Kongo Bongo Island, Lexie and her siblings first encountered King K Rool when Diddy and Dixie are helping her babysit them, when trying to get the Crystal Coconut. She was definitely afraid of him. She once found away to outsmart him but that didn’t last long.

- Lexie's favorite anime is Poyno

- The Mario Bros found Lexie Kong cute and suprised about when they saw wearing a purple L hat when they first meet.

- Her best friend group is Diddy, Dixie and Tiny

Funky Kong

Age: 31

Sexuality: Bisexuall

- Funky is the second youngest of the quadruplets. He was quite okay of not being King of Kongo Bongo Island because he would rather spend his time in the beach just surfing and would make a business in there as well.

- Funky is the Husband of Roxanne Kong and Father of Diddy Kong.

- After the disappearance of his brother Scar Kong and father, Swanky and he offically agreed to kept it a secret from DK because they know DK was the only one who will take the throne. Eventally Funky was be able to keep things cool and got back to his life for the future.

- Funky is fine with his son going on adventures with DK but sometimes worry him. He been on an adventure with Diddy along with DK, Dixie and Cranky once, when the Snow Vikings attack *Tropical Freeze arc*

- Funky along with his family lived on a beach were he owns a bar selling cold beverages of any type of fruit flavored or coconut shakes

- His favorite actavity to do while is was not at work, He just loves to surf at the beach. He specially loves felling his face of the air rushing on him as the sea carries him.

- He can go to work everywhere where he was needed thanks to his plane that he could deliver some things and help his Kong allies get to places where they needed to be.

- While he was growing up, He learns who to make mechanics where he works at a Mechanic Workshop years later, organizing, fixing, and creating vehicles and owns a Weapon shop were DK and his friends have to get weapons to defeat K Rools strong army. He continues with helping the Kong Clan including his Brother and Son whatever The Kremlings got under their sleeve.

- He was good pals with Gill Koopa and Snide for having sharp minds.

Candy Kong

Age: 29

Sexuality: Pansexual

- Candy was born with adoptive mothers who were a local band to earn a few bucks, which makes her interested into Music. alot of studying and basics the fun of Music even givving out Music Lessions, She then opens up her own Music Shop, selling instruments and giving Young Kong’s music lessons.

- Candy is one of the many top fashion modules of Kongo Bongo Island.

- Candy Kong is also a gamer, when she is not busy with her important routes, she must gets onto the on live stream gaming online multiplayer or just plays online versus mode. He gamer name is "Sweet n Sour queen 1984"

- Candy has a chilled out attitude like DK with no problem at all, unless she loss her cool on losing a game, Kremling are attaching her store or overwheling stuff.

- She has good friendship with Dixie Kong because they have so many in common when their on their foretime like surfing and jamming into music.

- Candy meets DK when she was 6 years old while DK was 8. Thoses 2 were very inspreal has little Kongs playing together. Many years later they started dating as very lovley dubbies. They even helped get Diddy and Dixie together (Triple Date 2) Episode 45 in

S

Literature

Super Mario Rebirth Show Season 2

Plot: “Few weeks after Mara joined her brothers

Kiddy Kong

Age: 6/1,2

Sexuality: Dont have one yet

- His first adventure was the events of "DKC3 arc" were he only met Wrinkly once before she died.

- Kiddy is a real prankster, He loves to pull pranks on his cousin and older brother along with any other Kongs even though he got pranked on himself.

- His favorite comic character is the Trickster.

- Kiddy sometimes can workout like Donkey Kong and Funky Kong, maybe get some tips.

- Dosen't throw temper tantrums anymore but does act like a sore loser at the times.

- Kiddy might be 6 but underestimate him then you wont have a good time by his strength

Tiny Kong

Age: 8

Sexuality: Don't have one yet

- Tiny is a silly little sneak who gose on adventures alone but then comes back safely and sound.

- Dixie has a friendly rivalry with her Big sister Tiny. They would ether play pranks on each other or roast each other. Whatever it case, they would enjoy each other with their friends, Diddy and Lexie in the DK Clan and would work together to solve any case.

- Tiny is the master of trickery when it comes to mostly for Halloween against Cranky *Inspired by @kjsteroids *

- Tiny ends up with PTSD over because of Mad Jack during the events of *DK64 arc*she decide to avoid clowns ever scene.

- Tiny loves the taste of Coconut Shake from Funky's Bar

- Tiny loves fashions designing with her partner in crime, Candy Kong. She wished to be a fashion designer someday.

- Tiny has here secret stash of Purple Bananas and Manga of Kirby and Sailor Moon Manga

Lanky Kong

Age: 18

Sexuality: Pansexual

- No one really knows where he comes from, sayong that when Lanky was a baby, he was left behind by his parents, who were rumored to be the Manky Kong's who left him behind nor just didn't want him due to his clown appearance. A lot would make scene after being forced to be kicked out because of their savage behavior.

- Lanky spent most of his childhood alone until he was brought in by the Kong Clan. They taught him everything he needs to know about the clan, but turns out life have other plans for him as he decides to have other Kong’s laugh at his antics.

- Whatever Lanky sees someone or somekong having a bad day, He just cant help but barge right in and just make kongs smile and brighten up their day.

- His favorite Movies that were anything related to be funny.

- His Close Friend is Eddie the Yeti

- Lanky's favorite game is "Fetial Piñata"

- Lanky loves spending time with his friends and family. Even helping them out defeat The Kremlings were just tricking them.

Chunky Kong

Age: 21

Sexuality: Asexual

- When Chunky was younger, he meets DK for the first time as he was looking for a new sitter while DK goes on a date with Candy, so basically, Chunky is the reason why Diddy and Dixie when they are 8 years old.

- Chunky might be a very strong Kong but has a gentile soul but when it comes to his friends, it comes a time for him to stand up.

- His favorite Shows he loves to watch were My Little Pony, Spongebob Squarepants and Sailor Moon *Kiddy cant stand Sailor Moon*

- Chunky carries little brother a lot but worries that he might get hurt sometimes.

- Sometimes whenever he gets alone and scared, Chunky most likely to play the traiangle to calm his nerves.

- Chunky does workout at the gym and strong enough to lift very heavy dumbbells'.

- Chunky's least Favorite Holiday is Halloween and his Favorite Holliday was Christmas

Swanky Kong

Age: 31

Sexuality: Straght

- Swanky was the youngest of the quadruplets, Unlike Funky, he's actually jealous that DK was chosen to be King of the island. He'll also find ways to get DK in trouble, even if it means getting everyone else in trouble. Once he got older, he decided to move on from his jealousy and focus on what he has for the future.

- Swanky is a married Kong and a Proud Father

- Swanky is very wealthy of the DK Family.

- Swanky owns a million dollar business Factory called "Fruit n Barrels" where they can have a factory filled with fruit. Barrels that have Fruit inside and sell them off for stores. Swanky had an army of employs to do the services well. He sometimes hire Funky to send deliveries with his plane.

- Swanky and his family lives in a Penthouse where his Factory is.

- Swanky is a master gameshow around the globe so he could make a quick bucks good and no cheats.

- Swanky has anger issues which his siblings take him for some kind of idiot. Even has Grandpa issues from Cranky.

- When The DK Crew *Donkey Kong, Diddy, Dixie, Esther, Tiny, Lanky and Chunky * are Doing or Not doing adventure of stopping the Kremlings, They would usually ask for help, but refused unless he have too. The main problem way being teased a lot and would sometimes take his things expensive or without permission and completely wrecked it. It's not just the some members of The Kongs he knows, but The Kremlings did it too as well.

- Swanky eventually get into a rivalry with Bluster Kong due to having a better successful company and have the temper problem.

- His favorite Gameshow was Japanese related and Much Funny ones

- Even though Swanky and Cranky have their differences, Swanky would help him to get out more.

K Lumsy

Age: 46

Sexuality: Asexual

- King K Rool's Younger Brother and A Huge softiy.

- King K Rool usally sends K Lumsy for his brute strength to destroy the Kongs of Kongo Bongo Island, But he refused. So at the start of *DK64 arc* He was then locked up and was told to stay there until he's learned to toughen up. Eventually, The DK Clan rescued him and Joins a part of the Kong clan.

- K Lumsy is born with a growth disorder, it is quite possable to fit in to the Kong Valley sometimes so he staed at the Many Peaceful Lakes of Kongo Bongo

- His Favorite meals were a Giant Fish or Cheep Cheep

Snide

Age: 36

Sexuality:

- Snide once worked for King K Rool, Now worked for The Kong Clan at the Mechanic Services at Kong Valley making oppreations and making new gadgets for The Kongs Missions

- He is a sly and shady super intelligent weasel who is very skilled with mechanics and is a little bit greedy.

- He is currently looking for a date.

- Snide was very good friends with Funky and Gill Koopa

Krunch

Age: 23

Sexuality: Straight

- Once a Narasissitc Jerk who worked for King K Rool before getting fired from

S

Literature

Super Mario Rebirth Show Season 2

Plot: “Few weeks after Mara joined her brothers

- Now on Good terms with Diddy and Dixie and formed a strong friendship with the Kong Clan and becomes their informant and double agent.

#donkey kong country #super mario rebirth show #nintendo #donkey kong country adventures #donkey kong #diddy kong #dixie kong #cranky kong #esther kong #lexie kong #funky kong #candy kong #kiddy kong #tiny kong #lanky kong #chunky kong #swanky kong #klumsy #snide #krunch #headcanon

[externalconceit]

"So are you supposed to look like that or was it some unfortunate mistake?" (Teenaged Mara)

@thefastestaround

The External peers down at--who is that pretty little thing down there? 'The Maximoff line,' she realizes, taking a sip from her enameled teacup. 'That lot'. Really, it's too much power for one family, especially with the volatility of the mother's mutation.

What was her name? The tall one with a gift for yelling? Wolf?

'Wolf. It's been done to death.'

Well, never mind. The child certainly has her father's charm.

Shar's floating high enough that the Maximoff girl looks more like a pale smudge than a child, and she purses her lips. Coils of blonde hair writhe about her head like snakes as she taps one finger against the corner of her mouth with an 'mmm-hm' of thought.

Has she spent enough time connecting with the mutant youth? She's been on immortal time for centuries now. All she has to do is blink and someone has grandchildren. That's the way of things for an External. She's built her unending life around the reality that mortal lives burn bright and hot as a candle flame before--poof! Gone.

At last, she calls down, "I am quite eye catching today, aren't I?" the wide smile on her face indicating she isn't bothered in the least by the jab. If the girl can read her expression so far below at all. "Weighted down by gravitas, you might say!" Her voice carries a strange echo then, as if she's standing at the bottom of a well, calling, calling, calling--

Her voice rings, wrapping around Mara's skull like a vise before loosening its grip.

Oh dear.

She reels it in a bit, patting her hair into a state of stillness before dropping like a stone.

(Hero crouch!)

Shar lands with an utter lack of sound, her skin lit with color as the air around her gives a pulsing shudder. Then, she straightens, waving one hand up at the teacup still hovering in the air.

(Plop! It drops right down into her hand without spilling a drop of tea.)

She takes another sip of the Krakoan herbal blend before bustling toward the Maximoff girl, her impractical heels clonkclonking against the dirt as she gives her a critical once over. "Terribly sorry, dearheart!"

Brisk. Brisk brisk!

"This island has made me a bit--" here, she tilts her head to one side, waggling the fingers of one hand by her temple as she offers Mara that big, oddly shiny smile again. (Cuckoo!)

"What's the word..." The blonde falters, chewing on her bottom lip as her brain tries to catch up, catch up, catch up. "My mutant perspective is--out of whack?" Hm. She half turns her back to Mara, murmuring to herself, "no, no, not the droids you're looking for..."

#:I'm not happy with this but it's what came out!: #:especially the power use but I have to really sit and think about that sometimes and that's not something I can do where I am :( : #thefastestaround

[meekmedea]

the family tree extends

~~~~~~

deleted scene(s) from assassin x family ch 10

Medea references this to Grant in the library

~~~~~

“Tell me, dear child, how is your mother doing?” asks Mother Soul as they wandered the halls of her abode together. “It's been so long.”

Medea was bewildered at the question – when had her great-grandmother met Sheila? But before she could ask, Mara cut in. “My mother isn’t with us.”

`

“Pardon?” She swivelled to look at Damian. “But Talia– did you not call her your mother?”

“Mara and Medea are my cousins,” says Damian. 

“But we’re practically siblings considering our upbringing.”

`

“I see.” Mother Soul nodded in understanding, yet Medea found herself worrying for some reason. “But then…” She mutters under her breath, something about Nyssa before the woman seemed to realize just who Mara and Medea claimed their blood ties from. “You’re his daughter?” The woman recoiled from Mara, horrified. “And you too?” she glanced at Medea with none of the kindness that she had earlier. 

`

Damian and Mara took a step back, worried at the abrupt change in behaviour. 

Her eyes gleamed with a madness that hadn’t been there before.  

`

Before Medea could say –or do –anything, a dagger appeared in Mother Soul’s hands. 

It had a target, one that was much too stunned to move. So Medea didn’t think, she reacted. Her siblings watched in frozen horror as the blade plunged into flesh.

Someone screamed in the background, and Medea wasn’t sure whether it was out of fury or fear.

~~~~~~~

“I see you’ve met your great-grandmother, wonderful woman, isn’t she?” says Dusan glibly, as he bandaged her arm. 

“...yes,” says Medea faintly, still trying to reconcile her father to the whirlwind of destruction earlier. He’s a lot calmer now, even if his eyes glow that ominous red. 

`

Upon finding out she and the gremlins had gone to Lazarus Island, Dusan had immediately commandeered a boat alongside Nyssa to follow. Talia hadn’t understood the fuss, telling Ra’s so, but seeing the way that he had snapped to attention, Talia instantly understood that something was wrong. 

Though arriving a little later than Dusan and Nyssa, her grandfather arrived just on time. Ra’s had been the only one able to snap Dusan out of his rage.

~~~~~~

“She was going to kill my daughter!” snarled Dusan. “Father–” His fury was a sight to behold at Mother Soul’s comment about Medea. “I will kill you from where you stand, hag.”

“If you see me as your father, drop that sword. Now.”

“Why do you continue to protect her? She’s killed me– tried to do the same to Nyssa and now to my children. When will you–”

“Enough!” thunders Ra’s. “Do not speak of things you don’t know of.” He stalked his way to Dusan and instead of striking out at him as Dusan expected, he looked tired beyond his years. 

`

“Father?” he whispers, confused at his behaviour. 

“Go, my son. Tend to your children, I will join you shortly.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Mother, you have gone too far,” he says quietly. 

“Too far?” Mother Soul sneered. “Or am I just doing what you cannot?” He stared at her with an expression akin to pity, she hated it. For she had no reason to be pitied. He did, because her son was foolish and weak. Allowing that abomination to live and create more abominations. 

`

“Each time we meet, I recognize you less,” said Ra’s at long last. “You’ve forced my hand this time.”

“Your hand?” She didn’t like where this was going. Never once had her son dared to– 

“That draught you drank, I think you’d be pleased to know Medea helped me develop it. I suppose it’s only fitting–”

“What have you done?” she demands, heart racing at the possible implication. 

`

He gave her a bland smile. “Science is quite advanced these days.” Ra’s took one last look at the woman he once called his mother. “Farewell.” He turned, blocking out her pleas for him to stay, to save her. 

She had crossed a line. Long before Medea or any of his grandchildren were born. He’d been unable unwilling to cross the same line as her.

He’d kept saying one more chance then. One last chance. Perhaps she could change. But today his eyes had finally opened to the truth. She would never change. And if she succeeded, he’d lose a lot more than a child. 

#assassin x family au #female jason todd #behind the scenes #medea & damian & mara #keeping up with the al ghuls(?) #medea al ghul #mara al ghul #damian al ghul #ra's al ghul #good grandfather ra's #protective dusan #dusan al ghul #nyssa raatko #nyssa al ghul #talia al ghul #mother soul #ruh al ghul #assassin x family

[projectkazari]

Kazari Primer

Kazari the Magicat of Havok is a fan project focused on creating a new She-Ra sequel series. This is not an official release and we are in no way affiliated with Netflix, Dreamworks of ND Stevenson.

SYNOPSIS

Many years have passed since the defeat of Horde Prime. Everyone has settled down and started families. All seems well until Micah takes in the familiar student who shakes up Etheria as old ghosts return from the past. 

Characters

The New Best Friend Squad

Kazari/They-Kho(She/They) (19)

Kazari is a transfer student from Planet Xiseaus, under Micah’s tutelage. Kazari is constantly at odds with Catra and especially Adora. She is a bit of an asshole and has a habit of getting herself and others into trouble. Still, for all this, Kazari is a genuinely good soul with everyone’s best interests at heart.

Finn (They/Them) (18)

Finn is the son the Catra and Adora.(My version of Finn is more masc. presenting, so they wore something like a red neck bandana and a white seth rollins-style vest and black trousers) They had a deal with a lot of bullshit, chiefly Adora’s manic-depressive episodes and PTSD fueled freak outs, as well as clinginess and overbearingness. Still, Finn loves both their mothers very much, but while they try to stay positive, they’ve become quite jaded.

Iyexi (She/Her) (18)

Her name is a pun off the phrase .EXE. Iyexi is the daughter of Hordak and Entrapta. Pretty much an strange goth girl with the

Archer (He/Him) (18)

Archer is the son of Glimmer and Bow. Imagine a lightskinned Lil Nas X but with Glimmer’s hair. He wants to live up to his parents legacy, much to their chagrin, as they want Archer to make his own way in life. 

New Super Pal Trio

Malia(She/Her)(18)

Daughter of Seahawk and Mermista. A mermaid-pirate princess who wants to decide whether to be a pirate or a princess.

Riley(He/Him)(18)

Son of Spinnerella and Netossa. Bit of a nerd. Voice of reason

Rose(She/Her)(19)

Daughter of Scorpia and Perfuma. Rose somehow grew up to be an emo.

Others

Adora (40s)

Everything was supposed to be fine after the war, but things can’t be that simple. Adora was still a child soldier in a war, and the events of the Horde Prime saga had left her with severe PTSD and Manic Depression. Sometimes she is able to control it, but she has suffered some very public freakouts. Still Adora tries to be a good person and she loves her family very much, has even managed to get a handle on her mental health. She has an antagonistic relationship with Kazari, and things get especially complicated when something happens to Catra.

Catra(She/Her)(40s)

Somehow, someway, Catra was mentally able to recover the most from the war, she had even found it within herself to forgive Shadow Weaver after many years. Along with Bow, Catra seems to have her shit together, until she comes down with leukemia and has to leave Etheria to take care of it. 

Queen Glimmer/MoonDust(She/Her)(40s)

The current queen of brightmoon has tried many times to reabjegate to throne back to Angella, but she refused each time. Glimmer has been trying to run to kingdom, and while she’s done reasonably well, the pressures have caused her lingering trauma to manifest as a slightly psychotic alter-ego named MoonDust (Parody of WWEs Stardust character). 

King Bow(He/Him)(40s)

He’s doing his best. While a bit more emotional, he and Catra has the dubious honor of being the only ones with their shit together.

Retro Adora(She/Her)

From the 80s cartoon, Retro Adora is a constant visitor of the main dimension. She is known for relentlessly pursuing her world’s Catra and being functionally Finn’s aunt! There is a running gag that when she says “I am She-Ra!” someone always says “WE CAN PERFECTLY SEE THAT!” to which Retro Adora responds with a snide remark

Mara(She/Her)

Thanks to mysterious magic, Mara, as well as the other She-Ras were resurrected. While most of them found refuge on what used to be Beast Island. Mara is content with staying with Razz and being Finn’s godmother. Mara knows something about about Kazari that nobody else does

#she-ra

[fleeblesim]

Hmmm

#TS4 #sims 4 #mara tries island living #ts4 island living #sims 4 island living #the sims 4 island living #island living #sulani #mermaids #ts4 mermaids #the sims 4 mermaids #sims 4 mermaids #sims 4 gameplay #simblr

[metasquire1]

How I would introduce these 4 Godzilla kaijus into the Monsterverse (Part 1):

(I already uploaded this on a YouTube video, but I wanted to share it here as well)

Almost everyone is saying that the possessed Ren Serizawa is a great way to introduce Destoroyah or Mecha King Ghidorah into the Monsterverse. But for me, this can be a great way to introduce these two kaijus from the Godzilla franchise, those two being: Monster X/Keizer Ghidorah and Kiryu.

Let us start with Monster X. His origin would be different, instead of being another Ghidorah from outer space, he would be King Ghidorah with a new body. Made by Alan Jonah's terrorist group and the possessed Ren Serizawa. Here Ghidorah and Jonah decide to team up because they essentially have the same plan and hatred towards humanity, Ghidorah would be reluctant to team up with him, but he would agree so he can get a new body and finish his plan. It would also be stated that the terrorists tried to create their new titan with what they got from Kevin's head, but were unsuccessful in creating one. But with Ghidorah on their side, they would be able to create a titan that could take down the alphas. They would use Ren's body and the experimented Ghidorah DNA to create Monster X who after some time would turn into Keizer Ghidorah.

With Kiryu it would go like this. Monarch had rebuilt Mechagodzilla, now dubbed Kiryu, so that it can help the titans and protect humanity alongside their second mecha Moguera (This was the mecha that Monarch was working on in Skull Island in this story idea). After making sure that there were no connections to Ghidorah in Kiryu, they would apply the now researched Hollow Earth Energy into Kiryu and Moguera, hoping that this time does not go horribly wrong. It works and both mechas are fully operational, Monarch celebrates this accomplishment. But then they realize that Kiryu is moving on its own, so they immediately shutdown Kiryu. They check to see what happened and they realized that it was not Ghidorah this time, it was all that was left of the real Ren Serizawa. Ren now possesses Kiryu. From here on Ren would get a redemption arc, get use to his new body and new life, he would also have a pilot that is his cousin Akane Serizawa. It would also be interesting to see how he interacts with Godzilla now that he is on his level. Ren of course would not want to help Monarch, especially the titans. But after some character development and a note that his father wrote for him before he sacrificed himself to bring back Godzilla, he decides to heal his wounds by making peace with the demons who created them. So, he helps Godzilla, and the others defeat the new threat.

It sounds like these two characters meet in the same story, but they do not. Kiryu would be introduced first, then Monster X would be introduced in another story. And if you are wondering what is the threat that Ren helps Godzilla and the others defeat, well it is none other than Destoroyah!

I know a lot of people want him to be the final boss of the Monsterverse but this time I wanted to do something different with him, and do not worry, he will still be powerful. The story that he appears in will basically be a team up movie like The Avengers or The Justice League. I know it might be very cheesy to do that with the titans, but let’s be honest, a lot of us would love to see that with the famous kaijus.

And if you are wondering who I would put as the team members are, they would be: Godzilla, Kong (who at this point in time met Lady Kong and had a son), Mothra, Gamera, Zilla, Ultraman, Gomora and Kiryu.

Back with Destoroyah. In the story, he and his fellow infected crustaceans would represent man’s attempts at staying at the top of the food chain and showing how those attempts not only hurt the planet, but also themselves. First, they attack Isla De Mara and some environments filled with animals (basically showing that they are the apex predator of all living creatures) where they would be stopped by our main titans, Monarch, and the military. Then they would attack major cities and the Hollow Earth. Kong, Gamera, Zilla, Ultraman, Gomora and the military would deal with the crustaceans on the surface, while Godzilla, Mothra and Monarch would deal with Destoroyah in the Hollow Earth.

Just as they were about to defeat Destroyah, he ends up reaching his final form. He then leaves Mothra knocked out, Monarch weakened and Godzilla heavily wounded. He was about to kill Godzilla but was interrupted by Godzilla Jr. (Godzilla's adopted son), Leo and Lea (Mothra's asexually reproduced children). Destoroyah taunts them by nearly landing killing blows on them, and just as he is about to kill them in front of Godzilla and Mothra, Ren arrives and stops him from killing them. After a battle between them, Destoroyah gets the upper hand but Ren's plan was not trying to defeat him, his plan was to distract him so that Mothra and Godzilla could heal.

As they recover from their injuries and get their kids to safety, the other members of the team arrive and they all team up to take down Destoroyah. As they all battle him, Destoroyah calls his fellow crustaceans to come and help him, but since they are all dead, he realizes he is all alone and gets defeated by the team.

As team roars in victory and show that they respect each other, Destoroyah awakens and tries to attack them once again, but is immediately attacked by Godzilla's atomic breath and Kiryu's Proton scream leaving him close to death. But he gets back up once again, still trying to be at the top of the food chain. As he limps towards Godzilla, some of the humans and titans start to feel sorry for him. He tries to land a hit on Godzilla, but instead falls face first to the ground gasping for air. Eventually, he takes his last breath, and his bright yellow eyes go out. 

At the end of this story, not only would the government be convinced to stop working on the oxygen destroyer and destroy all blueprints of it, so that no one else can create another Destoroyah and destroy another species. But would also give more hope to the humans and titans that co-existence between them will be more possible. 

In an after-credit scene, we see Alan Jonah and his terrorist group monitoring the newly formed team. In the background, we see Ren's body now being turned into Monster X with some monitors right next to him that are checking on other evil titans that they have captive (which are new kaijus and old kaijus like Gigan and Megalon). Jonah is waiting for his perfect time to strike.

This first part is basically how I would do Phase 2 of the Monsterverse with these three. And in part two, I will explain my story ideas for the last 3 Monsterverse movies in phase 3 and show who the fourth Godzilla kaiju is that I plan to introduce and who will also be the Thanos/Darkseid of this universe.

I know a lot of people will not like the idea of feeling bad for Destoroyah, I understand that. But since we had other stories where they make us feel sorry for the villain, I wanted to try it out with him. And just like with the previous MV titan villains showing the arrogance of man, I wanted Destoroyah to show that as well and teach the humans that while they are no longer at the top of the food chain, they can still help the titans in protecting the planet they all call home. (On a side note, I would love for Destoroyah's death theme to sound like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGoo5-jfzsw)

#Monsterverse #Continue The Monsterverse #Godzilla #Monster X #Keizer Ghidorah #Kiryu #Mechagodzilla #Destoroyah #King Ghidorah #Ghidorah #Kaijus #Ren Serizawa #Kong #King Kong #Mothra #Gamera #Zilla #Ultraman #Gomora #Monarch #Godzilla AU #Ghost Ren Serizawa AU

[prettyboybarzal]

lessons in romance // nate mackinnon x reader

summary: nate mackinnon is really bad at keeping a steady girlfriend. so bad that’s become somewhat of a joke between him and the boys. but you come along and try to set him straight.

word count: 14k+

author’s note: it’s finally here. i’m honestly surprised at how fast i cranked this out... which is actually a LOT longer than most people write on here so mayb i shouldn’t brag lmao! this fic was inspired by THIS gifset. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE give me feedback/reblog!!!!!!

warnings: smut (i jumped out of my comfort zone people. i finally wrote some lmfao) & mentions of a past toxic ex

Weekends were better spent in bed or visiting family, not sitting in a crowded bar with men who reminded you slightly of your ex-boyfriend. You were probably overreacting a little bit because the guys truly meant well, but their overly boy-ish energy was startlingly similar to that of your ex. Maybe a few more drinks would help the cause and you could get passed the sex jokes.

Mel Landeskog was the reason you were there. She wouldn’t take no for an answer, much like her husband, and so you were sitting across the booth from some of the largest men you’d ever seen in your life. Gabe gave you the rundown of their names as they arrived though the only one you could remember was Cale. He was a perpetually blushing 21-year-old named after a vegetable; how could you forget him?

“Do you think Nate’s upset about this one?” Cale asked. The new topic of conversation was their friends’ disastrous date since he texted to tell them he was broken up with and was on his way to them. “They were sort of serious.”

“We’re about to find out,” Gabe announced, nodding towards the entrance of the bar. Nate was on his way to the booth, tired smile on his lips. As he got closer, he started shaking his head and the table erupted in chirps at his expense.

You recognized him from earlier at the Landeskog’s pregame. He was slipping out of the front door as you stepped in. His cologne was the type the good-looking guys always wear, and you weren’t disappointed when you looked up at him. He was handsome with the sleeves of his dress shirt rolled to his elbows and the top three buttons undone, and when he smiled, you all but swallowed your tongue.

He began to greet his teammates. The chain around his neck caught the light of the DJ booth and you found yourself gazing at it. You tore your eyes away from the gold at the sound of Mel’s voice introducing you.

“This is my girlfriend, YN, from my Saturday morning Cycle class,” she said. “And, YN, this is my husband’s boyfriend, Nate MacKinnon.”

He threw his head back in a laugh at Mel’s joke as he extended a hand to you. “Nice to meet you.”

You listened to the quips from his teammates, each one with their own opinion about Nate’s relationship or lack thereof. It seemed like this wasn’t the first time in recent months that he’d been broken up and it had become somewhat of a spectacle to the boys. Mel, who’d seen this song and dance one too many times, wrapped her fingers around your elbow and tugged you with her towards the bar.

“What was that about?”

“Nate can’t hold down a girlfriend,” she explained. “It’s been a joke since he first came here because they almost all have the same issue with him.”

“And what is that?”

“He’s not romantic enough.”

You glanced back over your shoulder and watched the boys laughing amongst each other. It looked like they were celebrating as they lifted their beers in a sad looking toast, and it hit you right where it hurt.

You really saw your ex-boyfriend in the group now and, though you tried not to make assumptions, you found it hard to set the first impression aside. The liquor in your system didn’t help. With each joke about his dating misadventures, you became less of a fan of him and by the end of the night you were bubbling over in annoyance.

Gabe and Mel offered Nate a ride home towards the end of the night and you managed to keep your expression neutral when he accepted. As they headed out to grab the car, you and Nate waited at the curb several feet away from each other.

“I’m sorry about your break up,” you offered after a moment of silence. The statement came out more like a question and Nate’s lips quirked up into a smirk at the inflection of your voice. “Sorry, I just can’t tell if you’re upset or not, so I don’t know if I should even offer my condolences.”

“I’m, uh, I’m not upset,” he began. “I saw it coming.”

“How so?”

“Let’s just say this isn’t the first time a girl’s broken up with me for not being romantic enough,” he said. Thoughts were filling your head faster than you could make sense of them. There was no reason for the situation to annoy you as much as it did. You didn’t know this guy and the odds that you ever saw him again were slim.

“So, if it’s not the first time, why hasn’t anything changed?”

“Excuse me?” he asked. There was a crease between his eyebrows. He hadn’t been expecting you to respond like that. You shouldn’t have. It wasn’t your business

“I mean, you act like a martyr when you probably would be successful in love if you just put in the romantic effort these girls are craving,” you said. Your anger had begun to boil over and words were spilling from your mouth faster than you could stop them. “Guys like you are the worst. You lead girls on and make them think they’re special. Next thing they know, they’ve been wasting time on you and your lack of effort.”

The comment made Nate take a step away from you. His eyebrows drew together in shock and confusion. As you spoke, he turned his body to you and crossed his arms over his chest. The moment you closed your mouth, he interjected. “You don’t even know me.”

“I don’t have to,” you argued, turning to him. You were in a stand-off with a man several inches taller than you, and to any passerby it probably looked a little bit funny, but you weren’t backing down. “I know guys like you. I’ve dated guys like you.”

Before Nate could continue arguing, the Landeskogs pulled up to the curb. Mel hollered out for you two and the topic of conversation was dropped.

---

You regretted everything you said to Nate the moment you woke up the morning after. It wasn’t like you to be so rude, especially not to someone you didn’t know. Your heart stopped every time Mel texted you in the days following. You thought that at any moment she’d confront you about what you said to him, but it never came. As the week carried on, you found yourself forgetting the harsh words spoken outside the bar and the worry stopped.

Until Thursday night.

The knock at your apartment door was unexpected. You met your roommate, Mara’s, narrowed eyes over the dirty dishes you were working on. By the look on both your faces, neither one of you had a guest on the way over. She turned on her heel to check the peephole and the next look she gave you was equally as confusing as the previous one. She still opened the door.

“Does YN live here?”

The voice sent shockwaves through your veins and you stopped your movements, plates held just above your head as you were about to slide them into the cabinet. Nate MacKinnon was at your apartment. Mara nodded at him slowly before stepping back to let him in.

“Hi,” he greeted. His hands were tucked into his sweatshirt pocket, legs clad in compression leggings and a pair of shorts. He looked like he’d just come from a workout and his hair was still wet from the shower he’d taken before coming over. “I hope you don’t mind. Gabe gave me your address.”

“No problem,” you told him through a shaky breath. “Come in. Come sit at the island.”

He removed his shoes and approached slowly, sending Mara one last smile as she crept off down the hall. You silently cursed her for leaving you with your shaking hands as you cleared the clutter from the countertop. You watched him as he settled into the stool across from you, mirroring the kind smile he was sharing with you.

“Can I get you anything? Water? Coffee? I have food, too, if you’re hungry.”

“Don’t worry about me,” he said. His voice was softer now than it had been before. “I wanted to talk to you about the other night. It won’t take long.”

“Oh?” you asked, trying to ignore the way your stomach dropped. You wanted to start apologizing right then. You didn’t have a reason to go and butt into his personal life like you had. You should’ve kept your mouth shut. Guys like him didn’t care about your opinions. “I’m sorry for what I said. When I get drunk, I have the tendency to shoot off at the mouth.”

“Don’t apologize,” he said. Your mouth snapped shut. “No one keeps me in check. All the guys think the fact that I can’t keep a girlfriend is a big joke because I’m so bad at dating. It shouldn’t be a joke. So, I’m sorry and thank you.”

You dropped your hands to the counter and leaned against it. The last thing you expected was for Nate to thank you, so you needed a moment to gather your thoughts. His eyes glistened as he watched you and then the corner of his lip quirked up because you started giggling.

“You should not be thanking me,” you said. With that simple statement, the tension in the air lifted. You turned your back on him, indicating that if the conversation must go on, you were going to be doing the dishes as well. “I was just being bitter the other night.”

“You had every right to be,” he said. “I was gloating.”

“You were kind of gloating,” you mumbled. You hadn’t meant for Nate to hear, and he knew that, but he laughed anyway. You turned to face him with an apologetic smile. “Sorry.”

“Stop apologizing,” he said. He didn’t even know why you were apologizing at that point. It seemed like you’d apologize for taking up space and that made him feel a bit sad. He smiled politely at you anyway, to signal he wasn’t annoyed by the apologies, and it lit up his features in a way you hadn’t noticed the other night. “Anyway, I came here for a reason.”

“Okay.”

“I need you to teach me to be romantic.”

He delivered it tentatively, as though he was afraid of the way you might react. In the split second that followed, your mouth open and closed twice as every possible response came to your mind. He waited patiently.

Finally, “You don’t even know me. How can you be so sure that I’m the right person to teach you this stuff?”

“You’re a girl,” he explained, deadpan. “Girls know romance.” You snorted at how adorably dumb he was. Your hand flew up to cover your mouth in embarrassment and your cheeks burned as he grinned at you, amused by the sound of your laugh. “What do you say?”

---

Mondays were always your least favorite day of the week. Every weekend, your workload piled up and most Mondays you could hardly take a lunch break because you were so busy getting shit done. Whenever you came home from work on Mondays, you were wiped. Mara always made sure to have dinner ready for you when you got in, and the two of you often sat on the couch while eating those nights.

That Monday, you were sure that you’d be in bed before the Bachelor even started. But then Nate showed up unannounced. Mara was in the middle of washing the dishes this time, so you were the one to open the door. He greeted you with a goofy smile and a large electrical wire. Without a word, you stepped to the side and he was kicking off his shoes to enter the living room. Mara caught the roll of your eyes as you followed him.

He was standing beside the television when you entered the room. The wire he’d brought with him was connected to his cellphone while he found a port for the other end. You sat at the corner of sectional and waited, yawns escaping your mouth every minute or so. The day had been long enough already.

Suddenly, the television lit up with his cellphone background on full display. He held it up to show you, a grin present on his face.

“I need your help,” he began. He tapped one of the dating apps on his home screen and immediately you were regretting letting him in. You realized he wasn’t leaving any time soon as he unraveled the cord and plopped down beside you on the couch. Mara entered the room, eyes catching on the beautiful brunette woman on the screen, and then she gave Nate a curious look. “Come on, Mara. Join us.”

An amused smile came to her lips as she sat on the other end of the couch.

“I am not swiping for you,” you grunted, rubbing at your eyes. “I have no interest in judging girls off these apps.”

“Relax, YN,” he said. “I’m not asking you to play matchmaker. Just help me talk to this girl.”

“You need help talking to girls?” Mara asked as she gave him the once over. You laughed out loud while Nate blushed.

“I don’t need help,” he began. He turned his attention back to the television and pulled up the profile of a beautiful brunette woman. “I just don’t want to come on too strong, or douche-y. This girl is perfect and I wanna take her out.”

“Can you two make this quick?” Mara asked. “The Bachelor’s on tonight.”

“And my bed is calling my name.”

Nate peered at you over his shoulder. He smiled at your tired eyes, drooping as you leaned your head on your hand. He leaned back, stopping inches from your face and said, “I’ll make it quick.”

To your surprise, and Mara’s delight, he reached up and ran his hand over your hair before turning back to the television. He gave a rundown about the girl on the television, but his words went in one ear and out the other. Your glazed eyes watched as he typed out messages to her, and you laughed when Mara made fun of the way he was talking. (“Why the fuck are you talking like that? Are you her father?”) Finally, he turned on you.

“Are you gonna help or what, love doctor?”

“Give me the phone,” you said, extending your hand. He plopped it into your palm and watched you type out the message on the television screen. It took you less than a minute to type out a sweet message asking the girl out on a date before you were shoving the phone back into his hand. “You overthink too much.”

“That’s it?”

“Short and sweet,” you noted with a shrug. “I’d say yes.”

Nate’s eyes cut to you and you felt a chill run down your spine at the intensity behind them. Mara cleared her throat as you diverted your attention from him, shaking the feeling you got from his baby blues. She smiled sweetly at the two of you. “Can I detach your phone from our TV now? It’s almost time for Bach.”

You peeled yourself off the couch and headed to the bathroom to wash your face before changing into sweats and a t-shirt. You returned to the living room to find Nate with his feet up on the coffee table. Mara had tuned the television to ABC and the Bachelor recap was playing. He looked up as you entered and frowned.

“Stay out here a little bit longer,” he proposed, bottom lip jutting out in a pout. “We’ll watch some of this and see if she says yes to the date.”

“Nate, I’m exhausted.”

“C’mon.”

You couldn’t say no, not when he was pouting like that. So, you rolled your eyes and walked around the couch to plop down in the spot you’d been before. Before long, your eyes were closing and you couldn’t keep them open any longer.

Nate didn’t realize you fell asleep, but he didn’t mind when you leaned against his arm as a pillow. He stiffened for a moment, unsure of what to do, but a soft snore escaped your lips and he found himself smiling down at your peaceful face. He didn’t move for the rest of the episode because he was too nervous to wake you. When the credits began to roll, he dropped a hand to your knee and shook you lightly.

Your eyes opened, bleary from sleep, and you found that you’d fallen asleep on him. You jerked away, realizing that it was probably too close for comfort, and smiled apologetically. He returned the smile before standing and gathering his things from the coffee table.

“Get some sleep,” he said on his way to the front door. You hummed in response, following him to the door to say a proper goodbye and lock up. He pulled you into a hug before going, shocking you once again by with how gentle he was despite hardly knowing you.

“Did she say yes?” you asked as he pulled away from the hug. “I almost forgot to ask.”

“Yeah, she did.”

---

Lesson #1: The First Date

In the chaos of the week that followed, you’d almost forgotten that you promised Nate your assistance before the date. You weren’t used to being accountable for someone else like you were now, so it wasn’t surprising.

“There is a man at reception asking for you.”

The office receptionist, Debby, was standing in the doorway with a giddy smile on her lips. You knew immediately from the look in her eye that the man at the front desk was going to be the talk of the office for a week.

You stood, following her out the door of your office and down the hall. As you rounded the corner to reception, you saw Nate leaning against the desk. He was sucking on a mint from the bowl in front of him and smiled wide when he saw you.

“What are you doing here?”

“I have my date tonight, remember?” he asked. One glance at your watch told you that you worked a little too late. You cursed under your breath, turning quickly to head back to the office and send one last email. Nate hesitated, but ultimately decided to follow you down the hallway. He eyed the pencil skirt you were wearing, eyes lingering a little too long on your ass. He shook his head from his trance, knowing damn well that he was just asking for trouble.

Nate lingered in the doorway of your office for a moment before his eyes landed on a picture frame across the room that caught his attention. It was a marble frame without a photo like it had been removed and never replaced. He picked the frame up and turned it over in his hands, then turned to you.

“You need a picture.”

“What?” you asked, eyes still trained on the screen. They flickered up to see what he was talking about and then got right back to work. “Used to be a picture of me and my ex. Nobody’s important enough to put in.”

Nate placed the frame down. He felt a pang of sadness for you in that moment, but distracted himself by moving onto the next shelf and playing with some of the desk games on it. He was in the middle of fiddling with your Rubiks cube when you stood from the computer.

“You’re wearing that?” you asked. Nate winced at the question, glancing down at the jeans and t-shirt he was wearing. When he looked back up, you were wearing a shit eating grin. “I’m fucking with you.”

“Jesus, YN.” He clutched his heart and released a deep breath. You rounded the desk and grabbed your jacket from the hook. As you swung it over your shoulders, Nate stepped up to help. You slipped your arms through the arm holes trying to suppress the flair up of butterflies in your stomach.

When you reached the sidewalk outside the building, you led him down the block to a florist. Their window displays were your favorite in the city and you often found yourself going out of the way to peak at them on shitty days. You daydreamed about the day someone bought you a bouquet from there specifically.

The bell above the door rang as you stepped in. The smell of fresh flowers hit your nose and you sniffed it in happily. You grinned back at Nate and he felt a tug at his heart at your excitement.

“Can I help you?”

You bounded over to the woman behind the counter, Nate following behind you a little awkwardly. You gave him an expectant look and then his brain finally caught up with the question. As he leaned forward to look at the flowers in the case in front of you, his hand pressed against the small of your back.

“What would you get?” he asked curiously. You took a sharp intake of breath at the lack of space between you and pulled away to look at the flowers.

“Sunflowers and baby’s breath are my favorites.”

Nate smiled at the woman behind the counter and repeated what you’d just said, adding, “It’s for a first date, so I don’t need it too big or anything.”

You laughed at his explanation, and then the blush that come to his cheeks when he realized how silly he sounded. Neither of you noticed the confused look on the florist’s face. She was about to comment on how cute the two of you were, and in hindsight she was glad she kept her mouth shut. He reached out and squeezed your arm as a warning to stop teasing him. You stepped away completely, still smiling stupidly as he turned to pay.

“I’d’ve put roses in there too,” you told him once you were back on the sidewalk. “But this is only a first date. It might’ve been a little intense.”

“Roses?” he asked. You hummed in response, plucking the flowers out of his hand as you continued in the direction of the restaurant he was meeting his date at. “Good to know, you know, for the future.”

The walk to the date spot was only about ten minutes long and most of it was spent talking about your plans for the weekend as opposed to his date. He was going to be away with the team and you had plans to visit family. You kept thinking to yourself that you needed to stop getting distracted by him and his good looks and his sweet disposition. He was dating someone, and that person was not and would not be you, but he kept surprising you with the way he weaseled himself into your life.

“We’ll have to hang out next week sometime, then,” he said, snatching the flowers back out of your hand playfully. You nodded, but you were taken by surprise. It didn’t make sense that he’d want to hang around you without getting something out of it, whether it was dating advice or something more. Clearly, Nate didn’t care and you were beginning to wonder if maybe you’d get a beautiful friendship out of this nonsense.

“Any last-minute advice?”

“Don’t say anything dumb,” you said to him, emboldened by the realization that you might actually be friends now. Nate laughed out loud. “You think I’m just being funny, but sometimes you say stupid shit.”

“Jeeze,” he muttered. “Way to fuck up my self-esteem right before a date.”

“Oh, please.” You rolled your eyes and came to a stop just before the crosswalk he’d be using. He slowed to a stop as well, the bouquet of flowers falling to his side as he looked down at you. You reached out to right them with an amused smile. “Careful with these.”

“Got it, boss.”

You stalled a moment more, gazing at the flowers. You almost felt jealous of the girl going to dinner with Nate because those flowers would look perfect in a vase on your dining room table. “God, I really hope she appreciates those.”

The tone of your voice took Nate by surprise. It sounded a little sad, and full of yearning, and he felt kind of bad that he’d be walking away with the flowers you’d been admiring the entire walk from the florist. Even so, you said your goodbyes and he watched you turn on your heel to head home. He felt stuck in place, eyes trained on your retreating frame while his feet were cemented to the sidewalk. Before he could second guess himself, and his motives, he called out your name.

“Wait, YN!” When you turned, he was halfway down the sidewalk to you and, once he was within arm’s length, he plucked a sunflower from the bouquet and extended it. “For you.” Your cheeks felt red hot as your fingers curled around the stem. You hoped he couldn’t notice a blush. If he did, he didn’t make it known and left with a simple, “I’ll talk to you later.”

A stupid smile sat on your lips the entire way home. You felt the thumping of your heart long after you’d entered your place and placed the flower in the dining table vase. No matter what you found yourself doing that night, Nate remained at the back of your mind. You swore to yourself that it was because you wondered how his date was going, nothing more. But, when your eyes kept finding their way to the sunflower on the dining room table, you worried that maybe the reason you couldn’t stop thinking about him was something more.

---

You grabbed dinner with Mel the next Tuesday. Because of your trip to visit family, the two of you agreed to take a week off and reschedule some sort of get together for Tuesday. Gabe was home so he’d be with Linnea, and you were just happy that it wasn’t Monday. She was in the middle of a story when your phone lit up beside you; Nate’s name was on full display.

When’s our next lesson?

You snatched the phone off the table and away from Mel’s prying eyes, hoping that it wouldn’t peak her curiosity. The movement itself was enough to stir her, though, and Mel was soon leaning forward to see what was going on. She reached out and pushed the phone down, craning her neck to read the text.

“Next lesson?” she asked, eyebrow quirking. “Who is this?”

“It’s Nate MacKinnon.”

You said it so quickly and so nonchalant that Mel actually continued picking at her brunch before she reacted. Her fork clattered to the plate. “Did you just say Nate MacKinnon?”

“This,” you began gesturing at her wild eyes and wicked smile, “is exactly why I didn’t tell you.”

“Why?” she asked, feigning innocence. “Because I’m totally going to take this and run with it?” You dropped your face in your hands. “You should go for it. He’s a little dumb, but mostly cute. You definitely have the patience to deal with him though.”

“Mel, it’s not like that at all,” you told her. “I’m helping him learn how to be more romantic.” Her eyebrows shot up to her hairline in shock. “I’m serious. You know just as well as I do that he’s bad dating. He asked for my help after we met. I have enough experience with douchebags to tell him what not to do.”

“You sure do,” Mel agreed. You laughed at her response and an easy smile spread across her face. “Maybe teaching him a thing or two about how to be romantic will remind you of what you deserve.”

You sighed, picking up the coffee in front of you to take a sip. Mel knew better than anyone, besides Mara, how shitty the guys in your life had been. She met your ex last year just before your break up and she hated him from the moment you introduced the two. He never deserved you and her heart broke the longer you spent wasting your time on him. When you finally ended it, she was your biggest supporter.

You left the message unanswered, not wanting to give her anymore ammo in what was sure to be her new mission. When she got up to head to the bathroom before the check came, you opened the message from him. The last conversation was from Saturday night and he was letting you know that the girl he’d gone out with was looking forward to their next date.

What do you need help with now?

Do you know how to cook?

---

Lesson #2: A Homemade Meal

“I can’t believe you don’t know how to cook,” you grunted as soon as Nate pulled his apartment door open on Friday night. The grin on his face was anything but apologetic and you pushed past him with two large grocery bags in hand. You brought them to the kitchen and began unpacking them onto the counter.

“I do know how to cook, by the way,” he said, stepping up beside you to help you remove everything from the bags. You eyed him skeptically. “Mostly just the basic meats and vegetables.”

“You can’t cook a date your pregame meal.”

Nate knew that. He wasn’t that stupid, but he did love saying stupid shit around you. You tended to roll your eyes at him, but your lips always gave away how you really felt about his stupidity. The right side always curled up into a smirk, like you were trying to fight the laughter bubbling in your chest. He loved it when you did that.

“Is this, like, a meal your ex used to make?” he asked after grabbing some spices from the cabinet. You were grateful that his back was turned because the easy smile on your lips disappeared at the reminder of him. You busied yourself with the pot of water on the stove and set it to boil.

“No, my ex never actually made dinner for me,” you answered in a poor attempt to keep your voice steady.

Nate stopped prepping the meat and turned to face you. Questions sat on the tip of his tongue, begging for him to ask, but you wouldn’t look at him. He felt a little bit angry at your confession, though he couldn’t quite place why. Admittedly, he had been that boyfriend before – the one that didn’t cook dinner. Now, he was mad at himself for ever being that guy.

When you didn’t turn to look at him, he dropped the subject. You worked in silence, you busy with the pasta and him with the chicken. As you waited for the food to be ready, you hiked yourself up onto the counter. Nate grabbed a bottle of red wine from the end of the counter and poured glasses for the both of you.

He stood across from you with a dish towel over his shoulder and his own glass of wine in his palm. He asked about work and you filled him in on all the hot office gossip. The smile on his face didn’t fall once as he listened to your stories, and he never tried to change the subject or take over the conversation for himself. After a while, you stopped.

“I’ve been talking forever.”

“Yeah, and I’ve been enjoying it,” he told you. You laughed. “I wish I could be a fly on the wall in your office.”

Feeling a bit bolder, you kicked your foot out and nudged his side. “Maybe I can take you to bring your pet to work day.”

Nate’s jaw dropped, a reaction you weren’t expecting, and you began laughing hysterically at his surprise. He placed his wine glass down beside him and took a step closer, wrapping a hand around your ankle to tug you closer to the edge of the counter. You yelped in surprise.

“Pet?” he asked. You wiggled your foot out of his grasp, giggles falling from your lips as he dropped his hand to his side. The oven started beeping, interrupting whatever moment you were having before it could continue. “Saved by the bell.”

“Looks good, Nate,” you praised as he pulled it out of the oven. “My mouth is watering.”

“Go sit down,” he ordered. “You have to evaluate my presentation and make sure I look good.”

Nate entered shortly after you sat down and placed the plates on either side of the table with a smile. He slipped back out and returned with the wine. There was mischievous glint in his eyes as he topped your glass off and added to his.

“How is it?” he asked, leaning back. A look of cockiness flashed over his features and you felt it in your stomach when you looked at the way his arms were crossed and his biceps filled out the sleeves of his t-shirt. You picked up your utensils and cut into the meal, picking up a bit of each piece before putting it in your mouth.

Nate leaned forward eagerly. He watched your eyes light up when the flavor hit your tongue and he let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. You nodded emphatically as you swallowed your first forkful. He cut into his own meal and the moment he took a bite, he moaned. The meal was so good that conversation was sparse and, by the end, it looked like your plates had been licked clean.

You didn’t stop Nate from filling your glasses again, though you figured you should have. The third glass always lowered your inhibitions.

“How pissed off would you be if I asked you about your ex?”

“Not pissed off,” you answered. You took a sip of the wine, then leaned your cheek in your palm as you spoke. “What do you want to know?”

Nate sat up at this, suddenly realizing that he hadn’t prepared himself with a question because he didn’t think you’d give him the go ahead. He let out a tuft of breath, took a sip from his glass, and thought. Finally, he asked, “Why’d you break up?”

“How long do you have?”

“As long as you need,” he answered. His voice was soft, comforting, and you felt yourself relax into the question.

“Honestly, I didn’t want to break up with him,” you began. “And, if I didn’t have friends like Mel and Mara, I might still be with him. Things have changed now, though. I realize what a crap human being he was but, if I stayed with him, I don’t think I would’ve realized how much better I deserved.”

“Did you fight a lot?”

“Do I seem like the fighting type?” you teased. He shook his head. “He did enough fighting for the both of us. He would yell at me for no reason sometimes, just because he felt like it.”

Nate was angry. His features were contorted in distaste as you told him about your ex. Even though you tried to make light of the situation with a few light-hearted jokes, Nate couldn’t find it within in him to react with laughter. You deserved so much better than what you’d been given.

“When I broke up with him, Mara was there. We packed my things and moved it all out. I was going to leave a note, but he came home from work early and caused a scene. He went out the night after and sent me all these videos and pictures of him out with his friends. They were flipping me off, girls were draped all over him, etcetera. I blocked him the next morning and I haven’t seen him since. That was over a year ago.”

“Fuck,” he muttered, dropping his head in his hands. He felt ashamed. “That’s why you yelled at me.”

“Yep,” you answered. “Emotions got the best of me.”

“I don’t blame you.”

Silence filled the room and you felt vulnerable. You didn’t share the story about your tumultuous relationship often, but with Nate it just slipped out. You grabbed your glass from the table and finished it off.

“I’m not staying for another,” you announced. Nate sat back, his face flashing with an offended expression. As you gathered the plates from the table, you tried to ignore the knots in your stomach that were becoming more and more prevalent when he was around. “Nothing good ever happens after the third glass. But, if I was your real date, I would definitely stay for a fourth and you would probably get to kiss me at the end of the night simply for how good that meal was.”

The words fell from your lips so easily that it shocked you and you hoped that the playful tone of your voice wouldn’t scare him off. You gathered yourself before turning back to look at him. He was still sitting at the table, chair pushed back with one arm over the back of it. The way he was looking at you was lethal, eyes drinking you in as you stood in his kitchen. You couldn’t tell if you were imagining the tension or it was real.

“Thank you for dinner,” you said finally. You grabbed your bag from the counter and pulled it over your shoulder as you headed for the door. Nate stood then to walk you out, pulling the door open as you slipped into your sneakers. “It was delicious.”

“Thank you for teaching me how to cook something actually good,” he said. “Poor girl would’ve been eating chicken and vegetables or pasta if you hadn’t come by.”

“Can’t let that happen, can we?” you asked. “Let me know how dinner goes.”

Nate leaned down, wrapping an arm around your waist to tug you into a warm embrace. You melted into his arms as yours came up and around his neck. For a moment, the two of you just stood there in each other’s arms. You wondered if he could feel the beat of your chest again him. It sped up as his hands flattened against your back, crossing over each other to engulf you completely.

“I’m not that kind of guy,” he said. He leaned his cheek on the top of your head and his chest rumbled beneath your own cheek as he spoke. “You know that, right?”

Your blinked away tears before he couldn’t notice then and nodded in response to his question.

When he pulled back, he leaned in to press a kiss to your cheek and his lips caught the corner of your mouth. An electric shock coursed through your bloodstream and you pulled back quick before offering one last smile and tossing a goodbye over your shoulder.

---

Nate called you the next Friday night with plans for Saturday.

“Mel and Gabe invited a bunch of the guys over and she told me I should see what you were doing tomorrow.” he said. “I feel like I haven’t talked to you much since last week. The guys would love to meet you.”

“Meet me?” you asked. “So, it’ll be more than just the ones I know?”

“A few more,” he answered with a laugh. “They’ll love you, okay? I’ll be at your place to get you at 5:30.”

It was the first time you were going to see him since you made dinner together last Friday. You exchanged a few texts throughout the week, but nothing of substance. You knew his dinner date went well, though you didn’t know to what extent. You found yourself wondering if she stayed for that additional glass of wine after dinner, or if she stayed for the night after.

He showed up to your apartment wearing a white dress shirt, sleeves rolled to his elbows. You welcomed him in while you went back to your room to get your heels on. He gaped at the dress you were wearing as soon as you had your back to him. His eyes wandered over your curves as you bent to grab your heels from the floor in your bedroom. When your dress slid up your thighs, he had to force himself to look away.

You tried to get more details about his dinner date out of him on the way to Mel’s, but he kept quiet. She liked dinner, she stayed for an extra glass of wine, and then she went home at the end of the night. An invisible weight lifted from your shoulders upon hearing she didn’t stay the night and you settled back into his passenger seat.

Nate noticed the way you relaxed into the seat and tore his eyes from the road for just a moment to sneak a peek at you. You were watching the world go by from the window, unaware that he was even looking at you. When he turned his attention back to the road, all he could think about was his sweaty palms and accelerated heartrate. Why did he care so much about what you thought?

Everyone was already at the house when you pulled up. The two of you walked up the driveway, his hand against your lower back much like it had been in the florist. Mel opened the door, lunging to sweep you into her arms and whisk you to the kitchen, her husband and your, well, Nate left behind.

“Thanks for having me, Mel.”

She handed you a drink complete with a salted rim and said, “I’m glad Nate asked if you could come.”

“Nate asked?” you repeated. She affirmed with a nod and ushered you to join the others in the living room while she and Gabe finished dinner.

You swore half the team was there, which meant not one seat was open on their couch. As you passed Nate, he grabbed your hand and sat you on the arm of his chair. He pulled your legs over his lap and began introducing you to the boys you didn’t already know.

You caught Cale’s eyes and felt heat rise to your cheeks. Out of everyone in the room, he was the only one making note of the lack of space between you two. Though you weren’t technically sitting in his lap, it still felt a little inappropriate. Nate’s hand was like fire where it rested against your thigh and you had to remind yourself to stop peeking at the placement.

Nate lied about your invitation to dinner, and for what? He could’ve just invited you himself instead of disguising it as a joint decision between him and Mel. What was he so afraid of that he couldn’t man up and admit he wanted you there? Better yet, why didn’t he ask Gianna?

You somehow ended up seated away from Nate at the dinner table. Cale settled in on one side of you and EJ occupied the other. Across from you sat JT and Tyson, bickering as always. You don’t know how you ended up separated from Nate, but you welcomed it because you needed the breathing room.

The meal was delicious, but Nate couldn’t even enjoy it because you were so far away. He was going to get fucking whiplash because of the way he kept looking back to see who you were talking to or hear what you were laughing at. How did he even end up this far down from you?

On the other hand, he couldn’t stop the smile that kept creeping up to his lips when he saw you with his teammates. They loved you, probably almost as much as he did, and he was proud to have you by his side that night. But then came the harsh reality that you weren’t actually his to show off.

When the party relocated, he made sure to slide up next to you on the way to the couch. EJ’s laughter mocked him, but you didn’t catch on to his teammate’s playful ribbing. With Gabe and Mel’s eyes in the room, he didn’t pull you over his lap and opted to lower his arm over the back of the couch instead. There were just inches between your skin and his but, after having you on his lap earlier, it felt like miles.

Drinking games were played, stories were shared, and you all left the house with full bellies and large smiles. Nate was driving, so he eased up on the drinks after dinner. You, on the other hand, were feeling just as free as you did after three glasses of wine at his place last week, and feeling daring enough to ask him the question that’s been on your mind all night.

“Why did you tell me that Mel asked you to invite me?”

“What are you talking about?”

“When you invited me, you said that Mel told you to,” you explained in a slow voice as if you were breaking the situation down to a child. “But she said that you asked if you could invite me.”

“Why does it matter where the invite actually came from?” he asked. A slight panic was rising in his chest because he didn’t have an answer for you. This wasn’t supposed to come back around to you. “Everybody wanted you here anyway.”

“Why didn’t you ask Gianna?” you asked, stepping down to join him on the path to the driveway. He rolled his eyes at this, and you noted it because though you’d done it to him many times, he’d never done it to you. He began walking, so you followed. “Are you going to answer my question?”

“Because I didn’t want to introduce her to everyone yet,” he answered. “You just fit in with us.”

Nate saw your face fall and decided not to push the conversation any farther. He said something wrong, but he didn’t know what. As far as he thought, he was complimenting you. He was complimenting how easy going you were, how his friends got along with you so easily. You were already a part of the group. It was great.

You continued along to the car in silence, not bothering to argue with him over a dumb comment. He wanted friends, so you were giving him friends, but the touches and the invite to team dinner was something more than friends. You needed distance. And he needed to figure his shit out, fast.

---

Lesson #3: Meeting the Friends

Something changed. When Nate dropped you off that night, he left you with a half-assed hug and a quiet goodbye. You couldn’t catch a wink of sleep that night because something changed. But then, Nate texted you tomorrow and tried to carry on as normal. Things weren’t normal.

And you knew that for sure when Nate didn’t invite you to EJ’s house the next weekend. Mel invited you instead and since you could never say no to Mel, you went. The thought of texting Nate to let him know passed briefly through your head, but the sheer fact that he hadn’t even bothered to talk to you about it in the first place was enough to decide against it.

When you entered EJ’s living room, you knew exactly why he hadn’t asked. Gianna was sitting on his lap, fingers curling through his hair as they talked. Anger rose in you no matter how hard you tried to suppress it. Just last week he said he didn’t want to bring her around and now she was here? Now she was here and he couldn’t even talk to you?

There was an uproar as Nate’s teammates noticed you standing in the doorway and Nate’s eyes cut to you in surprise. You lifted your hand in a pathetic wave before Cale was wrapping his arm around your shoulders and leading you to the kitchen.

“Who’s the girl with Nate?”

“His new girlfriend,” you answered, hoping that you didn’t sound bitter. “I don’t even know if that’s the right title for her, but they’ve been on a few dates.”

Cale let out a soft hum, his tone indecipherable, just as Tyson entered the room.

“What’s the deal with Nate’s new girl?” he asked as soon as he saw it was just you and Cale in the room. When you didn’t answer, he nudged you for an answer.

“What do you mean?” you asked.

“Well, she’s no you.”

---

Nate couldn’t help but ask himself, “What the fuck are you doing?”

As you were pulled into his teammates arms, he watched and couldn’t decide whether he wanted to get up and hug you too or if he just wanted to disappear. When Gianna’s fingers gripped his bicep, he decided he wanted the latter.

That’s when you looked at him, of course, and the smile that was on yours lips faded just a bit. At least, that’s what he thought. You lifted your hand in a wave before Cale was looping his arm around your shoulders and directing you towards the kitchen.

“Who was that?” Gianna asked, fingers curling into the hair at the nape of his neck.

He looked up at her with a simple answer. “One of our friends.”

Gianna kissed him and for the first time since he met you, Nate thought about what it would be like to kiss you instead. He brought her to EJ’s in a pathetic attempt to right the way he was feeling about you, but it only made it worse.

---

“Nate was weird last night,” Mel murmured after Cycle the next morning. You were waiting for her to say something. Since all the guys made comments the night before, you knew Mel was next. “Did you guys fight?”

“Fight? Me and Nate?” you repeated, stalling for time. “We didn’t fight.”

“What did you think of his girlfriend?”

“I actually didn’t get to talk to her,” you answered. You shrugged, giving the illusion that you didn’t care all that much even though you were fuming. After all the help you’d given him, he couldn’t be bothered to introduce you to her? And that wasn’t all. He hardly spoke to you all night, only entertaining conversations with you when someone else was around. You ended up spending most of the night with EJ.

“My sitter just bailed for tomorrow.” She’d been tapping away at her phone for a few minutes, no doubt panicking to Gabe. You watched her a moment longer as you wondered what her plans were for the next day. Then, it occurred to you.

“There’s a game tomorrow, right?” you asked. She nodded, still typing out messages to whoever was on the other end of the phone. “I can watch Linnea tomorrow. Don’t worry about finding a sitter.”

“I couldn’t ask you to do that.” She waved you off absentmindedly and continued talking, “Besides, I thought Nate had a ticket for you or something. Didn’t he ask you to go?”

“Tomorrow?” you said incredulously. “No, absolutely not. Isn’t it like a WAG game? It would make no sense for me to be there.”

“Oh,” she murmured. “I just thought that he told Gabe,” she paused and noticed your set jaw. You were clearly not Nate’s biggest fan at the moment, so she decided to tread carefully. “You know what? Nevermind. I would love it if you could watch Linnea.”

---

As expected, Linnea was an angel the next day. You spent the time lounging in their living room with the game on TV while you played together. She took a bottle in the middle of the game and you brought her to her nursery once she’d been burped to rock her to sleep. But, you couldn’t quite peel yourself from the chair to put her in her crib. She was sleeping so peacefully and for the first time in a while you felt calm, so you stayed with her in your arms long after she’d fallen asleep.

You didn’t know what time it was when Gabe and Mel got home, but you heard their car doors close. You waited for them to happen upon you in the nursery, so you were surprised when it was Nate that knocked at the door.

“Hi,” he whispered, stepping into the room. He studied the decorations as he approached the rocking chair you were sitting in. When he stepped up beside you and admired Linnea, you tried not to look up at him. You knew it wouldn’t help the butterflies in your stomach, but you did it anyway. He was smiling down at the peanut in your arms. “Mel and Gabe are in the kitchen. They saw you on the baby monitor and told me to come get you.”

“Okay, I’ll put her down and meet you in there.”

“I can wait for you,” he said, stepping away. You stood, cradling Linnea to the crib and then craning to put her down in the center. Nate was watching you intently from the doorway with an unreadable expression on his face.

He stepped out into the hallway first, but he wasn’t walking towards the kitchen. He stood, waiting for you to stepped out into the hallway and look at him. You gave him a half-assed smile, still feeling a little hurt that things had been so weird between you two, and he asked, “Are we okay?”

“We’re fine,” you answered. He wasn’t convinced, but you reached up and shoved him lightly to get him to move down the hall. He didn’t budge, hand coming up to grasp yours against his chest. The beating of his heart sat right at your fingertips. “How was your game?”

“It was good,” he answered. “I wish you were there.”

“Well, then, you should’ve asked me to come,” you said, quite boldly. His lips parted, but whether it was to speak or not you wouldn’t know because you were continuing down the hallway without him.

You slipped into the kitchen to find Mel, leaving the men on the couch in the living room. The moment you stepped in, she was turning to greet you with a smile. You hissed, “Are you behind this?”

“I mentioned you were babysitting, his eyes lit up, and Gabe was the one to invite him over.”

“Team effort?”

She feigned an apologetic smile before ushering you out to rejoin the boys. Gabe got the fire going and Mel curled in his chest once he settled back on the couch. You sat on the other end, legs extended towards Nate in the corner. You felt his eyes whenever there was a suspended silence. You knew he was thinking about you, and selfishly you relished in the attention.

“YN, did you know that Nate’s parents were visiting next weekend?” Gabe asked during a lull in conversation. Nate glared at him, but the Swede happily ignored his buddy at the center of the couch. His eyes cut to you.

“I didn’t,” you answered. “But that’ll be fun. I know how much you missed them.”

All he could offer was a stupid ‘yeah’ before Mel swooped in to save the entire group from a very awkward moment.

Nate was going to kill Gabe. He was going to kill Gabe, but first he had to make a decision. He knew exactly what he had to do. It felt like you were a thousand miles away, not only physically but emotionally. Gabe should’ve kept his mouth shut. He was going to have you meet his parents, he just hadn’t gotten the chance to ask. Now, he looked like a dick. You couldn’t even look him in the eye.

“I was going to tell you about my parents,” he said, practically chasing you down the driveway after you ducked out while he was in the bathroom. To his surprise, you stopped walking and waited for him to catch up. “Seriously.”

“It’s getting hard to believe that, Nate,” you said. “I don’t know what’s going on in your head.”

Nate felt his heart sink. He began to rack his brain for a way to salvage the conversation, but it was too late by the time you reached your car. You stopped before opening the door to look up at him.

“You’re thinking too much.”

“I just—I know you’re upset with me,” he began. “I want to make it better. We haven’t really talked since EJ’s, and that’s on me.”

“Were you going to invite me today?” you asked. He gave you a curious look. “To the game. Mel mentioned something about it at Cycle. That you told Gabe you were thinking about giving your ticket to me.”

Nate ran his hand over his face. The Landeskogs had really gotten him into some trouble here, and he wasn’t sure it was accidental.

“You’re the one I wanted at the game,” he admitted. “I wanted to invite you, but I knew how bad it would look if I didn’t ask Gianna.”

“So, you invited her,” you concluded.

“No.”

You looked at him in shock, mouth agape, and asked, “You’d rather no one go than give the ticket to her?”

“Well, when you put it that way,” he grumbled. You threw your arms up in surrender, hoping the words would sink in. “I don’t know, YN.”

“Yes, you do,” you argued. He kept his mouth shut at that, knowing you had enough. You sighed heavily, allowing the conversation to roll off your back. “When are your parents going to be here?”

“Saturday morning.”

“What are you planning to do?”

“They’ll be at my game in the afternoon and then I was getting us a reservation for dinner,” he trailed off only momentarily. “I haven’t made it yet because I was going to invite you, but Gabe beat me to the punch in there.”

“What about Gianna?”

“YN, if I didn’t want her at my game, why would I want her to meet my parents?” he asked. He made it sound like you were asking the stupidest question in the world. But, he wasn’t answering the most important one. Was he breaking up with her? You wanted to ask, but part of you didn’t want the disappointment. He worried while you thought.

“I’m around on Saturday,” you answered. He smiled, and you forced one back. You hated the feeling between you two. The air between you had never been so stuffy and you wanted to clear it. “Anything else you wanna tell me before the Landeskogs do? Is Sid actually your long-distance girlfriend?”

Nate laughed loudly as he stepped away. He answered your question cryptically, “No, nothing to tell you right now. Not yet.”

---

Lesson #4: Meeting the Family

You planned to meet Nate at his apartment before dinner since his parents had gone to the hotel upon arrival. On the way, you picked up a box of pastries from your favorite bakery. You were taught to do little things for important people, and anyone who was important to Nate felt important to you. You tried not to think about the implications of having dinner with his parents, but it was hard to shake the nerves.

“What’s this?” he asked as soon as he opened the door. His finger slid over the logo on the top of the pastry box, eyes catching on the word bakery. When he looked up at you, his eyes were shining. “For me?”

“For your family,” you told him. “Don’t get any ideas.”

“I thought maybe you heard about my break up and you were trying to comfort me,” he said like it wasn’t breaking news. “I’ll put these in the kitchen.”

“You broke up?” you asked, following him to the kitchen. You stopped in the doorway as he put the pastries on the counter. He nodded simply as he cleared some clutter from the countertop. You could see his muscles moving beneath his navy polo. Guiltily, you couldn’t stop yourself from admiring the way the sleeves hugged his biceps or the wide expanse of his back and shoulders. “What happened, Nate?”

“We can talk about it later, alright?”

“Are you single or not?” you asked. Nate caught the frustration in your tone and he’d be lying if it didn’t make him want to kiss you right then. You needed to know what was going on with him, and that made him feel good about whatever was going on between you two.

Nate started to exit the kitchen, but stopped in the doorway beside you. You were crowded against his chest as he smiled down at you and answered, “Yeah, I’m single.”

You released a breath once he stepped out of the doorway. He slipped his shoes on while you stood nearly the front door. He caught the look on your face, a little scrunched up as you spaced out. You were thinking too much, worrying about what happened with him and Gianna. When he walked back over to the front door, he took you by the hips and said, “We can talk about it later, if you want. Right now, I just want to be with you and my family.”

---

“I’m nervous,” you admitted as Nate pulled up to valet outside the restaurant. He looked at you in shock. “Don’t make fun of me.”

“I’m not gonna make fun of you,” he promised. He reached over and dropped his hand to your thigh. You pouted at him, and his first instinct was to lean over the center console and kiss it off your lips. He knew better than to risk it all just before dinner, so he grabbed your hand and dropped a kiss to your palm instead. “You’ll be fine. No need to be nervous.”

A heavy sigh left your lips as he stepped out of the car. He rounded the front and opened the passenger door for you, grabbing your hand as you stepped out. After he handed his key to the valet, he laced his hands in yours and led you into the restaurant.

The MacKinnons were already at the table that had been reserved for them. There was uproar of cheers when they saw Nate walk in. You stole a peek at his face and the pure joy on it set your heart aflame. He dropped your hand as you approached the table to hug his parents and sister. They introduced themselves to you as well, sweeping you up in tight embraces like they had with Nate.

“It’s great to finally meet you,” they spoke as they hugged you.

Nate pulled your chair out from across his mother and then situated himself beside you. The menus were passed out and Nate whispered suggestions in your ear while his family members debated their own meals. She took the time to calm her nervous. Parents loved her, so there was no reason to freak out. Eventually the drinks were handed out, orders were taken, and the chaos at the table stopped.

“Now, how’d you two meet again?” his mom asked. You looked at each other, stupidly, both stammering in response until Nate got his shit together.

“We met through friends,” he answered simply. Then, his lips curled up and he said, “She yelled at me.” You dropped your face into your hands, embarrassed by the picture he was painting of you, but they took it in stride, laughing at your expression. “It wasn’t that bad.”

He continued, “As you guys know, I’ve been very unlucky in my personal life.” Sarah snorted at this. Their mother smacked her knee as a scolding. “I literally suck at being romantic and all the guys were joking around about it after I’d just been broken up with. YN called me out, so I asked her to teach me how to be romantic.”

“Well, what’d you learn?”

“How to cook a meal other than my pregame types, and I also have a new favorite florist,” he said. He reached into his back pocket for his wallet and flipped it open to slip out their business card. You didn’t realize he grabbed one. “There are some other things, like her wine rule.”

“Wine rule?”

“Nothing good ever happens after the third glass of wine,” you explained. They laughed at that, though they seemed bewildered by your reasoning.

Nate elaborated, “It just means that if your date stays for a fourth glass, you’ll probably get lucky.”

This earned him a smack on the arm from both his sister and yourself.

Nate’s family was just as kind as he was and it was clear how much they all adored each other. You fit in seamlessly, at least that’s how it felt, and when they asked the waitress to take a picture of them, Nate tugged you into his side to keep you in the frame.

“Take one without me,” you urged him. He just shook his head, gazing down at the picture on his phone. He passed it off to his parents and sister for approval. “Nate.”

“I want you in the picture,” he whispered to you. His hand came up to the back of your neck and he pulled you in to place a chaste kiss to your temple. He pulled away, like kissing you in public and on the forehead was normal now, and asked, “How was your food?”

When you got back to his place after dinner, you presented his mother with the pastries and earned a hug and kiss on the cheek as a thank you. They settled into the kitchen as he made drinks, chatting as a family about the people back home and his life in Denver. You slipped out to go to the bathroom, and give them some alone time.

“I like her,” you overheard his mother say as soon as you slipped out of the kitchen. You slowed your steps on your pursuit to the bathroom even though you knew it would be best to keep walking. You couldn’t help but be a little nosy.

“That’s good to hear,” Nate said. You smiled to yourself. “I like her, too.”

---

Nate’s family only stayed for another hour before you were bidding them farewell from his front door. They squeezed you and thanked you for the pastries, and then began inviting you to visit before Nate had to shut it down. Your heart felt full after spending the night with them, but sitting alone in Nate’s apartment in anticipation of what was to come was scaring the shit out of you.

Your hands were a little shaky and your palms were definitely sweaty. There was change coming, change that was already present, and you were both excited and terrified for it. Nate reentered the apartment not long after. When he saw you sitting on the couch, he released a breath he’d been holding.

“Are you going to stay for another glass?” he asked after locking the door behind him. “That one’s only your second.”

You eyed his smile, heart beat stuttering a bit beneath his gaze, and lifted the glass to your lips to finished what was left. You nodded and followed him into the kitchen. While he filled both your glass and his, you picked yourself up onto the counter like you’d done so many times before.

“I did a bad thing,” he murmured after handing your glass back to you. You raised a brow at him as he reached over to one of the cabinets and opened it to reveal two pastries in a Ziploc bag. “I stole two of them from my mom.”

“Nate!” you exclaimed. He chuckled at your exasperation. “I can bring you to that bakery whenever you want! Your parents don’t live here! It was a gift!”

“And they have the other eleven pastries,” he argued. “They’re not going to miss two.”

Reluctantly, but still with a smile, you took a pastry from his hand. You bit into it at the same time, eyes lighting up at the taste. At the sight of each other’s faces, you were doubled over in laughter before you had the chance to swallow what was in your mouth. You looked away from him to regain composure and only looked back when you were sure you wouldn’t choke.

“Those were fucking good.”

“Only the best for your mom.”

“Thank you,” he spoke. “For the pastries and for hanging out with my family today. I’m sure you had other things to do, but it meant a lot. They’ve been hearing a lot about you.”

“I had a lot of fun with them,” you said. His smile was soft, shy even, and he watched you carefully as you sipped from the glass in your hand. “It was nice to meet the people who made you who you are.”

“Wait until you meet Sid.”

You decided to move from the kitchen to the living room in favor of more comfortable seating. He reached his hand out behind his back, and you linked your fingers with his lazily so he could lead you to the couch. You slowed to a stop as he sat down, legs spread to pull you between them. Your hesitation caused a look of confusion to flash over his features.

“Can you tell me what’s going on inside your head now?” you asked, placing your glass down on the table beside the arm of the couch. He followed suit, then placed his hand delicately at your hip to urge you closer.

“Sure, I can,” he answered. He pulled you into his lap. You looped her arms around his shoulders as he flattened one hand against your back and curled the other around your thigh. “I don’t want to waste those romance rules on someone I don’t really like all that much.”

“You really didn’t like her?” you asked meekly. Of fucking course he didn’t like her, you were thinking. You were in his lap, not her, but you still couldn’t wrap your head around it. “Why?”

“The only reason I looked forward to going on dates with her was because I got to spend time with you before,” he confessed. You felt it all through your body. “I broke up with her the morning after we were at Gabe’s together. After you called me out on my bullshit, I knew I was being stupid.”

“Why me, though?”

“Because you deserve the world and I want to be the one to give it to you.”

It was only natural for you to lean in and capture his lips with yours. After all this time spent waiting and beating around the bush, you didn’t want to wait a second more. It was passionate, and new, and exciting. His hands held you close while your fingers curled into the back of his hair, but he wasn’t close enough.  

You swung your leg over to straddle him, not caring that you were wearing a dress with just panties underneath. His hands flew to your hips as you grinded against him. You gasped against his lips at the friction as he held you tighter, teeth nipping at your bottom lip until you covered his mouth with yours again. He guided your hips to grind against him once more, but you braced your hands against his chest to push away.

“I’m not staying for a fourth glass,” you said breathlessly. He smiled up at you, eyes falling to your lips that were red and plump from kissing him. Kissing him! He leaned in, tongue swiping along his bottom lip, and pulled you down by the back of the neck.

He murmured through his kisses, “You didn’t even finish your third.”

At the challenge in his voice, you reached over for the glass on the side table and finished what was left. He held you close, laughing against the crook of your neck. You giggled along with him until you felt his lips against your skin again and a gasp fell from your lips.

“You gotta leave before I pour number four,” he warned, breath ghosting over your neck. He kissed your neck again, this time sucking lightly enough to earn a strangled moan. You pushed back against his chest and stood, flustered as you adjusted your dress and your hair. Nate couldn’t help but smile as he watched you cross the room for your purse. He grabbed a pillow and held it over his lap to hide his hard-on.

“What are you doing tomorrow?” he asked as you put your heels on the end of the couch. He was admiring your flushed cheeks and your wild hair as you busied yourself. You fastened the strap on each heel before looking back at him. It took everything in you to not go back over there and unbutton the rest of his shirt.

“Nothing,” you answered as you stood. He followed suit, adjusting his dress pants just a bit so he was comfortable and making you giggle in the process. He stepped up beside you and pulled you against him again. He placed one, two, three kisses against your neck then your jaw then your lips.

“Let me make you dinner.”

---

Nate wasn’t going to be able to keep his hands to himself. He knew that the second you walked out of your room in that little black dress, but he was really trying to be on his best behavior. It was technically only your first date and he wanted to impress you. You just weren’t helping very much. As soon as you were in his car, you were grabbing his hand and lacing it with yours to drop them into your lap.

He was a little nervous that he wasn’t going to be able to pull this off. He was sure that he’d fuck up somewhere and you’d go running. And, truthfully, you could tell that he was overthinking every little thing he did. The tension in his shoulders as he moved about the kitchen to prepare everything for dinner was clear.

“What’s wrong with you?” you asked.

He gave you the most pathetic shrug and shake of the head as he tried to wave off your concern with a soft, “Nothing.”

“That’s a lie,” you called him out. “You look stressed.”

“I mean, I am a little stressed,” he admitted, diverting his eyes from yours as he headed over to the fridge. “I don’t want to fuck this up.”

Before he knew it, you were standing between him and the refrigerator. You flattened your hands against his chest and slid them up until your hands were linked behind his neck. A slight tug on him was enough to get him to kiss you. He finally relaxed, arms dropping from the refrigerator door to grip your hips.

“You’re not going to fuck this up.”

“I don’t have a very good track record.”

“You do with me,” you said softly. He looked skeptical, not quite understanding what you meant, so you pressed against him as his arms enveloped you. “You gave me a sunflower the third time we were ever around each other. You’ve cooked me dinner already. Sure, it was under different circumstances, but it counts. Nate, you know exactly what you’re doing. Don’t overthink it.”

“Go sit,” he said, pressing a kiss to the top of your head. You managed to calm his nerves better than anyone he’d ever known in a matter of seconds. “I’ll plate dinner and then I have to grab something for you, okay?”

Nate entered the dining room a minute later, placing both plates down across from each other before disappearing to grab wine glasses and another bottle of wine. Then, he was off down the hall to his bedroom. Your eyes followed him curiously, wondering what else he could possibly have up his sleeve. He’d already impressed you enough by cooking a meal you didn’t teach him.

“Oh, wow,” you breathed out when he appeared in the hallway with a bouquet of flowers. “Nate.”

“For you.”

You stood to take them from his hands and kiss him in thanks. When you pulled away, your fingers danced along the petals of the roses tucked between the sunflowers and baby’s breath Nate had grown to love too.

---

You filled your glass for a fourth time as inconspicuously as possible after your last bite of dinner, but Nate caught your eye over the bottle as you poured and you knew he knew what you were doing. He tried to stifle his smile unsuccessfully, picking up his own glass to cover it. One sip and his third glass was done.

“More?” you asked, extending the bottle in his direction.

“Four glasses?” he teased. “What do you take me for?”

“Okay, more for me then.”

Your voice was low, eyes dark as they settled on him, and suddenly he was lunging forward to grab the bottle and pour another glass for himself. Your giggles filled the room. He wanted them to echo off his walls forever.

“I want to take a picture with you,” he said. You gave him a curious look, though your stomach was doing cartwheels at the suggestion. “I keep thinking about your empty picture frame and I want you to have something to put in it.”

“We can take a selfie,” you suggested. He was quick to shake his head, pushing away from the table to take your hand and lead you to the patio. He pulled the phone from his back pocket and set it up against the couch. He removed the glass from your hand to place it out of view of the camera.

“Now, this is quite the set up,” you murmured as he moved furniture out of the way so there was ample space to take the photo. Denver’s city lights were sure to be the perfect backdrop and having Nate beside you wasn’t too bad either.

“Well, it has to be perfect if it’s going in your office.”

“How do you know I’ll even want to put it in the frame?” you asked. Nate pressed the timer and turned to walk back at you, smirk on his lips. You were teasing him, but you were playing innocent with those doe eyes. He curled around you, arms pulling your back against his chest to pose for the picture.

“After tonight, I’m sure you will,” he murmured in your ear. “Smile.”

The audacity of a man who tells you to smile after igniting your entire body in goosebumps.

The camera went off in a sequence, five pictures for the one timer. You smiled twice before he reached up to turn your face to his for a kiss. The sound of the shutter had you pulling away from his lips with a giggle. He smiled down at you for the next photo as laughter spilled from your lips, and then he was kissing you again.

When you finally pulled away from him, all giggly and handsy, Nate dragged you along with him to his phone. He curled around you as he flipped through the photos, each one cuter than the one before.

“Are you saying you wouldn’t put that in your office?” he asked. His breath tickled the back of your neck. You were just trying to tease him before, but with the lack of space between you and the way he was looking at you in these photos, you just couldn’t tease him anymore. His fingers trailed up your arms, goosebumps rising in their wake once again.

“How’s that fourth glass of wine treating you?” you asked. Nate tucked the phone in his back pocket as you turned to face him. His hands were on you once they were free, curling over the curve of your ass.

“I shouldn’t have let you talk me into it,” he murmured against your lips. “I’m trying to be good, but it’s impossible to keep my hands to myself.”

“What if I don’t want you to keep your hands to yourself?” you against, arching your body to press against him. You could feel him hard against your hip and knew you had him exactly where you wanted him. You pressed your lips to his and, as you pulled away, you took his bottom lip between your teeth and sucked on it.

A growl ripped through his chest as he lifted you into his arms. Your legs came to wrap around his waist as he carried you into the apartment and slammed the patio door shut behind him. He dropped you onto the bed, one hand coming to tug you towards the end by the ankle. His hands spread your legs so he could step between them and they slid up your thigh, pushing your dress up as they went.

“You don’t know how badly I’ve wanted to do this,” he murmured in your ear as his hands reached your hip, dress bunching around his wrists and revealing your lace panties to him. “Stealing touches in a crowded room just doesn’t compare.”

You lifted your arms as he guided the dress over your body and tossed it to the floor. At the sight of your match set, Nate pushed you up the bed and crawled over you. He peppered kisses along your skin from your collarbone to your chest. He worked his way down your stomach until reaching the top of your underwear. In on swift movement, your thong was on the floor and he was spreading your legs.

“So pretty,” he murmured, fingers spreading your folds. You moaned out as he slipped his finger in. “You like my fingers in your pussy, baby?” You could only manage to nod because he’d already slipped a second finger in. He curled them while he pressed a kiss against your inner thigh. “How about my tongue?”

Nate licked a stripe up your center and you gasped, hands flying down to curl into his hair as he continued to eat you out. He sucked on your pussy, continuing to thrust his fingers into and curl. He dragged moans out of you, obscene words dripped from your lips, and the filthy sound of his tongue filled the room.

“You taste so good.”

You tried to grind against face for some more friction, but he held your hips down and continued. You whined, tugging his hair and arching your back as he brought you to orgasm.

“Nate, I’m gonna cu—” you moaned, toes curling at the feet of his lips around you. Suddenly, cool air shocked your core and your orgasm retreated. You sighed as your whole body sank into the bed at the absence of stimulation. Nate crawled up your buddy, licking a stripe up your neck before attaching his lips to yours.

“Sorry, baby,” he said. He nudged your knees apart and situated himself between them, hand falling to his dick as he lined it up with your entrance. “I just need you to cum on my cock.” You moaned as he pushed his head between your folds. “YN, as long as you’re mine, I’ll never make you feel like you don’t deserve all the most romantic things.”

You answered with a moan as he bottomed out inside you. He watched your face as you adjusted to his size and smiled as you whimpered, pulling your teeth between your lips. You felt so good around him and as he began to pull out and thrust in again, your nails dug into his biceps.

You knew he was trying to take his time, but you could hardly take it. As far as you were concerned, Nate would have all the time in the world to take it slow with you. Tonight was not that night.

“Fuck me harder.”

When you sounded like that beneath him, how could he say no? His previously slow and calculated thrusts became sloppy at your request. He relished in the sound of your moaning and the way you called his name like a prayer. You were unraveling beneath him and he wanted to get you there. He adjusted your leg over his shoulder so he could hit a new angle.

“Come on, baby,” he moaned against your lips. “I wanna see you cum for me.”

He reached down and placed his thumb against your clit, rubbing in circles as he pumped into you. You screamed out and your body arched as your orgasm ripped through you. Nate pumped into you a few moments more as he chased his high while listening to your whimpers. He spilled out into his condom as a string of curses left his lips, then collapsed onto of you to catch his breath.

Your fingers immediately found his hair as your breathing evened out together. His body was hot on yours and a sheen of sweat covered both of you. Nate’s fingers curled around your waist and into your skin, squeezing you like he needed to get closer but couldn’t. Finally, he pulled out of you and sat back on his knees.

“You’re so beautiful,” he sighed, hands rubbing up your stomach to cup your breasts. You shivered at his touch. “I never want to leave this bed.”

“Not even for shower sex?”

“Okay, maybe for shower sex,” he murmured. He picked you up, tossing you over his shoulder to carry you to the bathroom.

---

A few hours (and orgasms later), you were clothed in Nate’s sweats and t-shirt and waiting for him beneath the covers in bed. He was cleaning up the glasses you left on the patio and running the dishwasher, though he was quick to finish it up and return to you. You looked so cute propped up against the headboard that he couldn’t stop smiling as he got ready for bed. He pulled on a pair of sweats, but remained topless as he slid under the covers. Instead of pulling you down to rest on his chest, he dropped his head onto your stomach and pulled you tightly to him. Your fingers carded through his hair.

“Thank you for tonight, Nate,” you spoke. “This was the best first date I’ve ever been on.”

“I’m counting this as our fourth date,” he responded. You laughed at him, slapping his bicep lightly at his teasing. “Let’s be honest, I was trying to impress you this entire time anyway.”

“Consider me impressed.”

Nate pulled you down to eye level with him, heads on your respective pillows, and then turned to shut the lamp off beside him. When he turned back, he pulled you against his chest. With your ear to his chest, you listened to his heartbeat and his breathing as it evened out. His fingers scratched your back ever-so-slightly as if soothing you to sleep.

“Are you happy?” he asked. You looked up at him with a curious gaze. Could he not tell how happy you were?

“Of course, I am,” you answered. “Are you?”

“How could I not be?” he asked. “You’re so far out of my league.”

“No, I’m not,” you groaned. You covered your blushing face with your hands at his words, hoping that he couldn’t feel the beat of your heart. Nate was quick to tug them down, holding them against his own chest. He didn’t care if you felt how hard his heart was beating. In fact, he wanted you to know. He wanted you to know the effect you had on him.

“You feel my heart, right?” he asked. You nodded. “You did that. You do that to me every single time I’m around you.” Your eyes began to water and you tried to pull your hand away from his to wipe the water pooling in the corner. Nate grabbed both your hands with one of his and wiped it with his own thumb. “I’ll never let you go to bed thinking I don’t love you. I’m going to shower you with flowers from our favorite florist and buy you pastries from that little shop you like, and I’ll never make you feel like you need to stifle yourself and who you are on account of me.”

“Nate.”

“Just listen to me, alright?” he asked, voice soft. You nodded. “Your ex stuffed you down and he didn’t appreciate you. That’ll never happen with me, and if you feel like it is, you need to tell me, just like you did when we first met.”

You tried to stammer through some type of coherent response, but words failed, so you kissed him. His arms wrapped around your waist to pull you flush against him and your legs intertwined. He was intoxicating, you couldn’t get enough, but he felt just the same. He wondered how anyone had let you go before and simultaneously thanked them for the gift that was you.

That night, Nate vowed he’d never let you go to bed unhappy and he’d never let you feel any less than perfect. He waited forever for a partner like you, honest and kind, and he finally had it in his hands, in his bed. And you promised that you’d never love anyone as much as you loved him. You just knew it.

#nate mackinnon imagine #nate mackinnon fic #nate mackinnon #nhl imagine #hockey imagine #nathan mackinnon imagine #nathan mackinnon fic

[gol-d-en]

I see a lot of people implying that Glimmer was the only one in the wrong in the conflict between her and Adora and while in the end her mistake turned out to have horrible consequences I am not okay with acting like Adora was entirely in the right here, because she wasn’t.

When Adora and Bow bring up the plan of saving Entrapta from the Beast Island, Glimmer tries to talk it out, but Adora and Bow already made up their minds, the way they see it there is no need to talk. And Glimmer, who already feels insecure about how she isn’t being treated seriously as a queen and feeling like she and all her friends are drifting apart, is rightfully frustrated. She wasn’t with them when they saw what happened to Mara. She wasn’t there and they aren’t exactly explaining it well to her, because they already have their own plan and their own mission and the way they see it, their way is the only way.

And yet, Glimmer still tries to talk to them. And show them that their plan isn’t really a plan at all.

And she makes some very good points.

Adora doesn’t have a plan.

She doesn’t really know how to get there and even when they do get to the Beast Island for the most time they are literally making it up as they go and hoping for the best. 

And in the end, they are lucky. 

Their plan works out, yes, but it gets really close to failing and in the end they are impossibly lucky to have She-ra powers on their side and that Adora finds the strength to overcome her weaknesses and continue to fight.

It’s also important to note that Glimmer specifically is the reason why she chooses to fight. She wants to be, in Adora’s own words, the hero Glimmer deserves.

One other argument that I’ve seen flying around is that Glimmer didn’t really give a fuck about Entrapta and while to some extent I can see where it came from, it isn’t exactly true.

Glimmer even admits - when asked directly - that it’s not like she isn’t planning on rescuing Entrapta, but now is not a good time to do it, especially since from her perspective Entrapta did betray them and Glimmer did already try to save her as soon as she discovered that she’s still alive. And for all they know, Entrapta might be already dead. She has her people and the Alliance to worry about and protect she can’t risk it just because there is a chance that they might find Entrapta and she might help them. She is the queen and she has to learn the hard way that this title in many ways limits her more than she could have ever imagined. She has the power, yes, but responsibility it requires makes her feel useless.

And I mean, I love Entrapta with all my heart, but Glimmer is right. They don’t really know Entrapta as well as we, as the audience, do. Also, when she says that, neither Adora nor Bow have a good answer, they both look away, because they know that even though rescuing Entrapta is the right thing to do - they don’t know if she’ll actually help them. 

Also, Glimmer didn’t really intend to use the full potential of the Heart. 

She wanted to use some of it in hope to defeat people who are responsible for the war she’s known her entire life, the same war that took both of her parents away from her. She isn’t being completely unreasonable here, it’s a war and she is the queen, if the universe puts a powerful weapon at your disposal, one that you could use to end the war and save lives, of course you would at least consider the possibility of using it. 

And in the end, Light Hope used her. 

Should she have seen it coming? Well, yes. Probably. But we as the audience have the luxury of seeing the big picture and having access to the perspective of more than just one character. We can see that she’s going to fail, but we know more than she does and we couldn’t possibly imagine the weight of responsibility and sorrow she’s been carrying around ever since Angella died and left her alone to rule the kingdom which is losing to an evil force while slowly and surely losing her only support group. Glimmer was desperate for something, anything, that would help her win this war. She was the one who started a new Princess Aliance. She was the one who had to sneak out, because Angella kept holding her back. She spent her entire childhood living this war and doing her best to both stand up against the enemy on her own and to make people believe in her cause and join her.

Unlike Catra, Glimmer recognizes her mistake and while it happens too late to take it back - she still tries. The moment she recognizes that what she did was wrong she admits it and she owns it, even though at this point there’s nothing that could be done.

But she doesn’t just sit back and watch it happen.

She tries. She fights. Until the very last moment we see her desperately trying to stop the Heart. She doesn’t lose time trying to convince herself it’s too late, she doesn’t hesitate, she doesn’t let go until she passes out. 

We as the audience get to see it happen. And most importantly, Catra - the person who reflects so many of the same mistakes that Glimmer made - sees it happen.

She sees someone who does the exact opposite of what she did. Someone who admits that she was wrong and doesn’t blame the person who told her that. She understands that Adora was right. She understands that what she did was a mistake.

Glimmer isn’t and she never was a bad person.

She never really turned dark, like some people like to imply, because her intentions were always good, all she ever wanted to do was protect her kingdom, save her home and be happy with her friends. Dark Glimmer sounds wrong to me because it’s dangerously close to evil or corrupted, but... It’s not what happened. Even at her darkest moment what motivated her was her love to her kingdom and her friends. I fail to see how it’s dark or wrong. She was dealing with an impossible situation and while she handled things not as well as she probably should have, at no point did this happen because she meant it to go that way.

Until the very last moment she believed she’s doing her best trying to help and as soon as she realized what she’s done - she fought to undo it.

#glimmer #adora #spop #she ra #catra #bow #glimmer spop #spop adora #SheRa and the Princesses of Power #glimmadora #she ra meta #she ra analysis #spop meta #spop analysis #Glimmer did nothing wrong #spop catra #and you can fight me #glimadora #shera #she-ra #analysis #meta

[dvesbackup1]

we found love ✧ joel farabee

@butgilinsky i hope u like this!

word count: 2.6k+

joel farabee x f!reader

warnings: alcohol use, fluff, swearing, yet another friends to lovers trope with beezy (sorry)

*covid doesn’t exist in this story*

3 times joel failed to communicate his feelings, and the one time he finally did.

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆

you were standing at the kitchen island in your shared apartment, turning the pages of a cook book you had yet to put to use. a few feet in front of you, your best friend samara and her boyfriend, nolan, were bundled up on your living room couch. you were happy for her, truly, but you could only take so much of the third-wheeling. you had everything you could possibly need, a roof over your head, a stable friend group, and you were happy. your tried your best not to complain but seeing samara glow in a different way, left you wondering what it was like to be in her position.

one

“nolan said we’re sitting with the other wives and girlfriends tonight.” samara beamed at her phone, as the both of you walked into the arena.

“isn’t it kind of weird for me to sit with them when i’m not dating any of the players?” you played with the hemming of your black sweater, avoiding eye contact with samara because you knew exactly what she was going to say.

“well, you could be, but you and farabee keep beating around the bush.” she stated matter-of-factly, pushing the door open to the private seating area, and greeting the girls already sitting down. this wasn’t necessarily not true, you had feelings for the young player and it wasn’t a secret, at least not to nolan and the wags. but the both of you pretty much made no effort to change that, leaving no room to conclude the obvious feelings that were definitely not one sided.

“mara, i don’t know what to do about that. i’ve tried talking to him and it’s just awkward. maybe we aren’t compatible as people.”

“y/n! that is bullshit, you know it. he’s a blushing mess whenever you’re around. maybe i can get nolan to talk to him?” you rapidly shook your head, envisioning the scenarios of all the what if’s.

before you could protest ryanne interrupted your thought, “there’s a get together this weekend at our house! maybe joel will invite you.”

more girls in the back shared their agreements, and you finally spoke up. “yeah, i mean that’s not an awful idea.”

samara squeezed your hands with excitement, bouncing up and down on her seat. you faked a bright smile, that masked your anxiety, and tried to think out a possible outcome that didn’t end in total failure.

the game flew by quicker than you anticipated, and the flyers took a close victory against the bruins. as all of you made your way down the tunnel, you caught a glimpse of farabee’s exposed chest and sweaty hair. your eyes raked down, watching his chest rise and fall in a more rapid and consistent rate, due to his shift ending not too long before. as your eyes made their way up to his face again, his own brown eyes were level with yours. embarrassment flooded your body, you quickly diverted your eyes over to samara who was no longer where she stood before. “nolan said a lot of people are bringing a plus one to ryanne and claude’s get together.”

“so basically you’re saying you don’t want to take me?” you teased her, a grin spreading across your face.

“no, i am saying joel should take you though.”

“yeah, we’ll see about that.” you stated doubtedly, allowing her to know she shouldn’t get her hopes up.

she rolled her eyes playfully in disagreement, before nudging your arm. “oh! speak of the devil and he shall appear. hey joel!” you flash joel a smile which he reciprocates, and the eye contact lingers for a little longer than it should. sensing the tension, she spoke up again, “well anyways, joel are you bringing anyone to the get together this weekend?”

you look at joel with hopeful eyes, dreading his response. he hesitates before finally responding, “uh no, i’m not going with anyone.” you moved your eyes to samara, with a look of disappointment.

“not going with anyone either.” you finally blurted, definitely not thinking before you spoke. joel opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by kevin pulling him into a celebratory hug.

-

the cold wind of february chilled your body, as you and samara walked out of the arena. you rubbed your arms for warmth, before opening her passenger door. “please don’t lose hope, i think he’s just shy.” she spoke reassuringly, which she was something she was extremely good at. you and samara were opposites in many aspects which led to a great friendship. she was extroverted and you were introverted. she helped break you out of your shell when you really needed it, which was something your parents had been grateful for. you knew she was trying to be helpful, so you tried your best to give it a chance.

you adjusted yourself in the seat, and began turning on the aux, “i won’t.”

two

you ran your fingers along the seam of your dress that hugged your body, twisting around in front of the mirror to see all angles. samara had informed you almost a few minutes before that this was no longer a get together and more of a party. you were originally going to wear jeans, but after seeing samara completely dressed up, you felt the obligation to do the same. taking one last look at the mirror, you messed with your hair, grabbed a sweater, and pulled the dress down to fit correctly.

“woahh, look at you! forget nolan, we might have to stay in tonight.”

“hey! i’m sitting right here.”

“is joel bringing anyone?” you were almost embarrassed to ask, but you couldn’t help yourself.

“no, he’s not bringing anyone.”

“didn’t joel tell you he wasn’t bringing anyone?” samara’s heels clacked on the wooden floor, as she joined in the conversation.

“yes but-“

“nope, i’m tired of the two of you running in circles. he’s not bringing anyone because he likes you!”

nolan hummed in agreement, making you shoot him a glare.

-

the sky had completely turned dark. it was well past nine pm and you rested your head on the back seat window. anxiousness swelled in your belly, and nolan’s playlist could be heard in the background. the ride to the giroux’ was faster than you had wished, you reluctantly helped yourself out of the car. you walked silently behind samara and nolan, listening to your shoes scuff the pavement. as nolan opened the front door, welcoming voices were heard from inside.

“i’m so glad you made it! drinks are in the kitchen.” ryanne pulled you into a tight hug and offered you a smile. as if she read your mind she spoke again, “joel’s not here yet.”

a sigh of relief escaped your lips, that received a chuckle from her as well. you made your way over to tk and kevin, who had clearly gotten to the drinks already.

“don’t mind them, already on their bullshit.” karly rolled her eyes from beside you, filling up her wine glass.

the smile on your face quickly dropped as tk and kevin pointed out joel’s entrance.

“beezer, get over here. we’re playing truth or dare.”

“is that really necessary? kevin, aren’t you 30?” you whisper yelled, even though joel was too far away to hear you.

“hey! i’m 28.” he pretended to be hurt, lightly shoving your shoulder.

their obnoxious game of truth or dare went on for about 15 minutes, from asking couples questions that should’ve remained personal, and embarrassing some of their teammates. you were taking your first sip of your wine, when tk finally spoke up. “hey, joel hasn’t gone yet right?”

“oh it’s fine, i’m not playing.”

“aw no i insist. joel, truth or dare?”

he thought for a minute, “alright fine, dare.”

tk and kevin began whispering to eachother, like children telling secrets. your heart was racing as you scanned the room for samara, who was nowhere to be found. a lump formed in your throat, her absence grew to make you slightly uncomfortable. you almost got up to look for her when kevin and tk finally came up with their dare.

“we dare you, to kiss y/n.” travis and kevin drunkenly giggled. you came to the conclusion they most likely knew about the lingering feelings you had for joel. as you pushed your annoyance aside, you tried to remember that they were intoxicated, they weren’t trying to hurt your feelings. your eyes wandered over to joel, who was leaning up against the cold fridge. a smirk was plastered on his face, and he was shaking his head.

“no, i’m not gonna do that.” his eyes glanced up to you, and the smirk fell as soon as he saw your facial expression.

“excuse me, i’m going to find samara.”

three

here you were, standing in the corner of yet another house party, nursing a glass of rum and coke. the warm, tingly feeling had taken over your body, allowing you to finally relax. considering the events of the last party, you needed it. your eyes made their rounds around the room, samara was snug in nolan’s arm, you could hear her laugh over the noise of the party. tk and kevin were drinking, again, and a group of people were playing beer pong. you spotted joel, who looked like he was doing the same thing as you. back pressed up against the wall, taking slow sips of his beer. you gulped, watching him bring his glass to his lips. he looked good to say the least, he was only wearing a tee shirt and jeans, but the backwards hat was getting to you. especially because you were drunk. you almost laughed to yourself, shaking your head lightly and making your way down the hall. making a wrong turn, you quickly tried to remember your way to the bathroom. as you turned the corner, your body was knocked into someone’s broad chest. a cold liquid splashed onto your top, and the scent of beer filled the air. you recognized joel’s shirt that was decorated with a gold chain, before your eyes trailed up to his.

“shit, i’m so sorry.”

“no worries. i should’ve been watching where i was going.”

“here i’ll help you get cleaned up.” joel led you into the restroom which was two doors behind where you originally stood. dumbass, you thought. you sat down on the edge of the tub, taking the towel from him and slowly attempting to clean yourself up. your hands moved slowly from the alcohol in your system.

“here i gotcha.” he knelt in front of you, gently taking the towel and beginning to dry you himself.

“i’m gonna need a new shirt. i smell like beer.” you sighed.

joel laughed, “i don’t have anything with me besides the shirt i have on.”

“well i certainly wouldn’t mind.” your words came out before you could think, they were slightly slurred but not enough for him to not understand you. you cussed at yourself mentally, scanning his face for some sort of reassurance. joel only laughed again, getting a new towel from the cabinet behind him.

as joel cleaned you up, your thoughts became distracted. his touch was soft enough to send shivers down your spine, and fasten your heartbeat. you had only dreamt about the day your would be so close to him. this is how it should be. your feelings for him over the course of the past few months had quickly intensified. you examined the features on his face. from the stubble on his chin, to the curvature of his eyebrows. “you’re really pretty.” you huffed out, not even caring that the alcohol was talking.

“i think that’s as dry as we’re going to get it.” he stood back up and cleared his throat, obviously avoiding your last statement. you mumbled a ‘yeah’, disappointed in his lack of enthusiasm.

“do you need anything before i-“

“no i’m fine. thank you, joel.” you cut him off, feeling the tears swell around your eyes. they had gotten to the point where they were too watered to just flush away, letting them fall down your cheek as you walked into the hallway.

+ one

valentine’s day was a holiday you didn’t care much for. most likely because none of your significant others ever got you something worth remembering. or even bothered to make the day itself worth remembering, nevermind celebrating. you sat in your bedroom, as kali uchis played on your record player. your head swayed to the music, and you turned the page of your book. a soft knock was heard on your door, and samara’s head popped in.

“happy galentine’s, bestie.” she excitedly pulled a box of chocolates and a small teddy bear from behind her back. a card was taped to the bears hands, and a pink ribbon loosely around its neck.

“you’re so sweet, i love you.” you pulled her into a tight hug, swaying her a little before placing your gifts on your bed. “since you’re probably getting something from nolan, i got you something small.” you handed her a pouch of her favorite candy along with a framed polaroid of the two of you at the beach. a big smile was stretched across you and samara’s cheeks, and your arms were thrown around her securely. the both of you reminisced on the memory before hugging once again.

“i’m probably not coming home tonight.” she said, muffled against your hair.

“no need to rub it in.”

“i left dinner in the fridge. all you have to do is heat it up.”

“you’re the best.” you beamed, before she left your bedroom.

-

you found yourself on the living room couch covered in blankets. a spoonful of ice cream entered your mouth while you rewatched your favorite show. you reached for your phone on the table when a few knocks were heard on the front door to your apartment. your eyebrows furrowed, before opening to door to see joel anxiously standing in front of you with a bouquet of assorted flowers in his hands.

“hey.”

“hi? what are you doing here?” joel was the last person you expected to show up at your door. you hadn’t seen him in a week or so, but after the drunken incident, you definitely didnt expect to hear from him again.

“can i come in?” you ushered him in, and he stood up against the kitchen island. “i just wanted to explain myself.” you didn’t say anything, you raised your eyebrows letting him know to continue. “i’m sorry about the party, both of them. i should’ve just been honest from the start. i’m sorry for not being straight with you. you don’t deserve that.”

you were speechless, thoughts were flowing through your mind but no sentences were forming. you just didn’t know what to make of it. “how did you know i liked roses?” you finally spoke up, taking them from his hands and searching for a vase in the closet.

he sighed in relief and tapped his fingers on the counter, “i asked samara, i figured she would know best.”

“she definitely does.” the both of you stood in silence for a few minutes. exchanging glances here and there. you eyed the flowers that you set in the vase, you couldn’t help but think it was sweet. and the fact he asked samara what kind you liked made you want to throw your arms around him and pepper him in kisses. “thank you for the flowers, they’re beautiful.”

he stood up and made his way over to you. “look i’ve given you every reason to believe otherwise, but i really like you. and if you’d let me, i’d like to take you out today. i promise it’ll be worth it.” you pondered your reply but soon mumbled your approval, too focused on how close his face was to yours. his arm slipped around your lower back, pulling you into him. “if you don’t mind, i’ll make up for that dare.”

“let me think about it.” a smirk grew amongst his lips as he connected them to yours. butterflies invaded your abdomen instantly, and all you could think was this is how it should be.

#joel farabee imagine #joel farabee #nhl imagine #hockey imagine #hockey fic #happy valentine’s day!! #hope u all have a great day #nhl imagines #nhl fic #nhl fanfiction

[nintendouniverse2023]

Bio: Diddy Kong was the Spider Monkey son of Funky Kong and Roxanne Kong in Kongo Bongo Island Diddy and His Uncle Donkeys relationship growled quickly bound when he was 4 and they been going out, eating bananas and exploring. His Parents was pleased by his uncle “Donkey Kong” comes to babysit and became a good influence on Diddy.

When he was 8, DK was unable to babysit Diddy because DK started dating Candy Kong, Funky and Roxanne hired Chunky as a back up babysitter. Diddy find Chunky okay, just not that brave. He has brought 2 of his younger chimpanzees cousins with him, Dixie Kong *Age 8* and Tiny Kong *Age 4*. Dixie and Diddy really liked to support each other and Diddy was offered to learn new things and which loved to hang out with her ever scene. Overtime when Diddy learned about the big news about his uncle next in line for the throne, he became super exited about that and would always proved to DK as a legend to him but sometimes over in his life as a Second Banana.

In Cranky's Cabin, Diddy was taken care of Cranky and took the old apes complains and trying to take care himself. After he takes Cranky to bed, Diddy was being sneaky and watches tv with the volume down, only to revile the news about the reptilian empire called "The Kremlings" were attacking the island. Diddy goes outside the cabian to revile the flying croc. The Kremlings began to get out of the copter the same time the head co leader and the General of the Kremling Milatary "Klump". Diddy began to have his chance to stand up and foughts off the beast. He tries to stop Klump, only to be stopped by the Blue Savage and Bulk Bodied "Krusha". The Kremlings get the apprehend and put Diddy on the Prison Barrel. Their leader revile to be a big kremling, gold belly and crown, a red cape and a damaged right eye, "King K Rool" He clamed that the legends are ture as he steals the Crystal Coconut, making him King of Kongo Bongo Island. Once DK freed Diddy, they go on a quest in the DKC1 arc, To save the island, defeat the Kremlings and Got the Crystal Coconut back, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong have a moment, DK feels a bit more confident about taking on the role as the new island king as Diddy Kong was really looking forward in the future into never give up on the heroic's hopes and dreams.

The Kong Members learned about DK's Capture by King K Rool in his new tactics persona as "Kaptian K Rool" and his evil long lost uncle "Scar Kong" and taken to Crocodile Island. Diddy decied to turn his life around with the help of Dixie to go to Crocodile Island and Save DK. He and Her risked their lives going through Monsters, Kremlings, Deadly wilderness of the Kremling island before going to King K Rool's Castle/Battleship. After defeating Scar who betray the Kremlings, They faced the Kaptian K Rool in the flying croc, leading a few scartched on each other and Saved DK as he emotionally reunited with him but proving he's worthy as a hero.

He was apart of other adventures with the Kongs during the time related to Kremlings or other villains "Bowser, Tiki Tac Tribe and Snow Vikings". Joins DK and Mario events in Racing and Parties. He would take part of a racing in Timber Island were he was close friends with Timber the tiger and Banjo the Bear. He along with Dixie meets Mara the first time, while he was adventuring, Captured by King K Rool and Played some Sports with them both.

Though he was in his Early teens, he might started to develop a crush on Dixie, But he is still going on the Adventures with his friends and Family. Diddy would be a true top banana like his uncle someday.

Voice Actor: Zach Callison

Appearance: Diddy has a bit of long hair on his head a little, A Red sleeveless neck collar shirt with stars on it, Carries around two peanut guns and a jetpack for adventures.

Age: 13

Height: 5.1 incs

Weight: 145 ibs

Personality: Slight Self Esteem Issues, Curious, Clever, Silly, Adventurous, Kind of a Dork, Friendly, Short Temper and A bit of a Comedian

Favorite Foods: Bananas, Peanuts, Wallnuts, Cherries and Banana Pudding

Family: (Great Grandparents) Cranky Kong and Wrinkly Kong *Deceased*, (GrandParents) Donkey Kong Jr *Deceased or Vanished* and Mama Kong, (Parents) Funky Kong and Roxanne Kong (Uncles and Aunt) Donkey Kong *Admires him as a hero/Best Friend*, Scar Kong *Vanished or Deceased*, Goldie Kong and Swanky Kong, (Cousin) Loxie Kong

Allies: Animal Buddies, Candy Kong, Dixie Kong *Crush and Best Friend*, Kiddie Kong, Tiny Kong, Lanky Kong, Chunky Kong, Eddie the Yeti, Bluster Kong *Sometimes for the Both of them*, K.Lumsy, Snide, The Super Mario Bros and Sis, Princess Peach, Daisy, Rosalina, Amatory, Gill Koopa, Mushroom Kingdom Residents, Kong Clan Members, The Jungle Kingdom Residents, Timber Kingdom residents *Members from Diddy Kong racing, including Banjo and Kazioee*

Enemies: King K Rool, Krusha, Klump, Krunch, Kalypso *Sometimes*, Waluigi *Sometimes*, Kudgle, Kip, Kass, Kopter, Kremlings Army *Kritters, Klaptraps, Krochead, Rock Krock, Koin, Kobble, Bazuka, Kopter, Koindozer, Kasplat, Kosha, Knocka, Re-Koil, Krobot and Krash*, Kaptian Skurvy and his Pirate Kremlings *Klobber, Klomp, Klinger, Kaboing, Kruncha, Kutlass, Krook, Klank and Kaboom*, Captian Syrup *Sometimes*, Wario, Bowser and his Koopa Empire, Kamek, The Koopalings, Bowser Jr, King Boo, King Bob-Mom and Wizpig

Likes: Spending Time with DK and Dixie, Having a Father *Funky Kong* time, Jamming Music either with Roxanne Kong or Dixie, Pip Pop Music, Pop Rock Music, Pranks, Going on Adventures, Go to the Beach, Surfing, Racing, Playing the Volleyball with his close Kong friends, Discovering New Things and Video Games

Dislikes: Feeling Lifted Out, Guilt, Losing his loved ones, Being insulted in a most harsh way, Embracing in front of everyone, Letting DK down, Fear of Losing someone close to him and Deadly Ghost

#nintendo #diddy kong #donkey kong country #super mario rebirth show

[fannishcodex]

How does Shadow Weaver factor in your Spacebat Adora AU? Is she still a terrifying influence over Adora and does she control her by using her ability to hurt Adorda's childhood friends over her - to secure her compliance? Or is her influence minor, only as a shadowy scary lady in the background?

I've been brainstorming a third option. :3 @soranis-sunshadow

Thanks for asking! I have been writing up a longish post sharing more of my current brainstormed thoughts about the Spacebat!Adora AU and how it further diverges from canon, but I think I want to share part of it now, the part that concerns Shadow Weaver in the AU (though this is a big AU-specific change so I'll just bring up some other aspects that relate to it).

Shoutout to @revasnaslan for inspiration from her great take on Hordad AU. (Will link below in a comment.)

More under the cut:

Due to Mara's DNA, Adora has a sort of high magical power level that Shadow Weaver can sense. Instead of canon where Hordak (disappointed that the portal wasn't a chance to go home--I more think that deep down Hordak just wanted to go home to Prime and his other brothers [tbh I keep thinking of season 1!Lapis from Steven Universe] and earn Prime's acceptance/love/permission to live and not be sent to the frontlines to die--and with his other issues) at first intends to leave baby Adora in the infirmary and then just lets SW have her when SW essentially volunteers to take her in--instead of that, Hordak keeps Spacebat!Adora along with Imp in the AU. But SW still wants Adora in the AU, she can still sense the potential of great power from her.

So while Spacebat!Adora's still a baby, SW tries to kidnap her, and is willing to try to overthrow Hordak and take over the Etherian Horde for this. SW in the AU is also backed up by the fact that in another divergence (probably part of her plotting to kidnap Spacebat!Adora/overthrow Hordak) she actually manages to find and take the Sword of Protection from the Whispering Words in a lone excursion (on her own, she's able to get into the forest), and then manages to extract power from the Sword/the Sword's runestone like she does with the Black Garnet, increasing her power.

With power from both the Sword of Protection runestone and the Black Garnet, along with her own manipulation/intimidation of a number of Etherian Horde members, private recruiting/manipulation of other dissident Mystacor mages, etc. in her planned coup, SW is actually pretty successful--she seizes control of the Etherian Horde, but fails to kidnap baby Adora. Hordak escapes with baby Adora and Imp, prioritizing his younger clone-hybrid kin before everything else when push comes to shove. Some Etherian Horde members reject SW and escape with Hordak, chief among them Grizzlor, Octavia, and Cobalt, who escape with a very young Scorpia (I have specific thoughts on my fix-it for timeline with her, but that's another post). Huntara also joins them. (I headcanon that in canon, it's actually partly SW manipulation that drives Huntara away from the Horde. But this doesn't happen in the AU because Hordak is sent into exile before that can happen.)

So, an internal civil war splits the Horde apart when Spacebat!Adora's a baby, and it partly started because Hordak wanted to keep Adora along with Imp, SW still wanted her and the power she sensed from her, and SW decided to try kidnapping her and seize control of the Horde:

-The Shadow Horde: The larger part of the Etherian Horde SW now controls. They stayed in the Fright Zone, and possess both the Sword of Protection and the Black Garnet. They continue the major fighting against the royal kingdoms of Etheria and also attack the rival Horde faction that was forced out with Hordak. SW still wants Adora. SW and her Shadow Horde are the ones to launch a major assault on Castle Bright Moon, and sooner. SW's assault is more successful--both Micah and Angella are exiled to Beast Island, SW captures the Moonstone and takes a baby Glimmer. SW raises Glimmer as her own, and later C*tra too. In this AU, it's Glimmer largely in part of canon!Adora's situation, and C*tra fixates on Glimmer instead, especially when Glimmer eventually abandons the Shadow Horde after she gives the Sword to Spacebat!Adora.

-The Renegade Horde: The part that rejected SW and escaped the Fright Zone with Hordak, Imp, and baby Spacebat!Adora. They largely flee to the Crimson Waste (since in canon Huntara was an ex-Horde member that fled there, and it seems like a place where a lot on Etheria escape to; also again draws inspiration from @revasnaslan 's take on Hordad AU, even with SW's role). They fight more with SW's Shadow Horde than Etheria's royal kingdoms. (Tbh got the idea for using "renegade" from some old original '80s She-Ra promo material----it mentioned the "renegade Horde"----I found online somewhere, think still have the link somewhere but I'd have to find it ^^;)

Hordak does a lot of rethinking/revaluating, as does the Renegade Horde in the Crimson Waste. Hordak continues to prioritize the safety of his younger clone siblings, and starts questioning his past life under Horde Prime more and sooner (e.g. how will Prime really react to Adora and Imp?). Hordak's vulnerabilities are more exposed to Grizzlor, Octavia, and Cobalt, and rather than them rejecting him/taking advantage like he feared, they prove truly trustworthy.

Power and command between Hordak, Grizzlor, Octavia, and Cobalt becomes more balanced both in public and in private among the new Renegade Horde. And they really do become friends. (Headcanon that in canon Grizzlor, Octavia, and Cobalt had more power and sway with Hordak, but they actually thought maintaining Hordak as a more singular authority would be better in the long run, and Hordak feared exposure of his physical weakness to them and others/had his giant Prime issues.) Grizzlor, Octavia, and Cobalt advise going back to techniques pre-"things escalated" (going back and forth on my own internal view/fix-it AU of how past events went, like if Hordak was actually there for this part or not)--more effort to negotiate/more efforts at diplomacy to recruit people/get allies.

The Renegade Horde's more focused on surviving in the Crimson Waste, and eventually actually start improving the Crimson Waste overall and uniting the region more as a community. Again, the Renegade Horde end up fighting more with SW's Shadow Horde than Etheria's royal kingdoms. This does eventually lead to some reluctant partnerships with the Etherian Royal Alliance against the Shadow Horde, and it's a relationship gradually changing and in flux for a while.

Spacebat!Adora largely grows up in the Crimson Waste with her brothers Hordak and Imp. In this AU, Adora and Imp are like equivalent to Hordak meeting Entrapta sooner--his Prime-induced views are challenged sooner and he's exposed to something more positive that he ends up prioritizing more. (But Hordak and Entrapta do get to meet sooner when the Renegade Horde has a diplomatic mission in Dryl.) Protecting and caring for Adora and Imp becomes the first priority for Hordak. Adora and Imp are very close as the younger siblings in their clone family; they were playmates since they were very young and have become close companions as the years pass, even if Adora is the only one to visibly age/get taller. (But Imp is happy to point out she can't fly.) Adora and Imp both love Hordak dearly, and he reciprocates with them. Grizzlor, Octavia, and Cobalt are even more uncles and aunt to Imp and Adora. She and Imp make friends with Scorpia, who's largely raised by Grizzlor, Octavia, and Cobalt. Adora hero worships Huntara, and Huntara remains a part of the Renegade Horde. There's no SW or C*tra in her childhood and they're not there for most of her life until she's in her late teens. SW's just a distant danger Adora is warned about; Adora is unaware of C*tra's existence for a long time. Spacebat!Adora largely grows up happier and more free/less restricted.

Spacebat!Adora knows the Crimson Waste well and feels that it's beautiful and a wonderful place to explore--I keep seeing Spacebat!Adora in the changing Crimson Waste with vibes of the games Sable and Journey, even Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (and those vibes are still just felt throughout other parts of the AU still, especially Nausicaä which I need to rewatch/reread).

A devastated Castaspella is wary of anything Horde-related, but over the years becomes a more stable ally with the the Renegade Horde against the Shadow Horde, and grows very fond of Spacebat!Adora and Imp. Castaspella likes sewing toys for Imp and desert clothes for Adora. Castaspella is relieved when she finds Glimmer, and hopes she can become friends with Spacebat!Adora and Imp.

#spacebat adora #spop #shadow weaver #hordak #adora

[tipsycad147]

Sleep Paralysis. Legends, Dangers and Magic

By The Alchemist

Sleep Paralysis sounds pretty modern as a term. However, it’s old as time. Nocturnal Witches, both ancient and modern, are quite familiar with both the term and the state itself. Priests and Priestesses of the Ancient Times, knew all about this pretty frightening state. What did they know back then? Do we know the whole truth? This article will try to shed some witchy light on this dark subject.

Sleep Paralysis and Nocturnal Witchcraft

The Nocturnal Witchcraft is full of surprises, dangers and opportunities. Although it’s not for everyone, the Craft of the Night is enticing and has so much to teach all of us. We’ve learned the Light is Good and Darkness is Bad. This mistaken belief is what tears us apart from the inside. You see, Darkness is as good as the Light. Both give us the balance we need. Don’t be mistaken. Darkness is essential. Do not mess Darkness with Evil. Don’t give in religious propaganda. Light can also be evil and deceiving.

Green Witchcraft II: Balancing Light & Shadow, by Llewellyn Publications, get it from Amazon here

In the Ancient times, priests of the God of Healing, Asclepius, used to initiate a sleep state for their worshippers in order to find the cure of their disease. Darkness was essential to find the cure. Moreover, priests of Hades, God of the underworld, went over a similar procedure in order to contact the Souls of the Dead and learn more. Darkness is equally sacred as the Light.

Sleep Paralysis in Witchcraft and the Old Religion

The first documented account of Sleep Paralysis is written on a Chinese book of Dreams in the 4th century b.C. Since then, ancient Greek and Roman doctors have written about this experience. Sleep paralysis was always linked with supernatural forces and entities from another Realm.

Sleep Paralysis ONLY occurs at Night.

This is quite interesting and it was noticed from the ancient times too. That’s where the word ‘nightmare’ comes from!

What Does ‘Nightmare’ means?

The world ‘nightmare’ which now just means bad dream, is actually a world for Sleep Paralysis. It comes from ‘night’ and the Scandinavian ‘mara‘, which is the female demon, a succubi, who loves to sit on a sleeping person’s chest, suffocating him or her. This creature is also known as ‘the Night Hag‘, ‘Old Mara‘ or ‘the Old Hag‘. It’s difficult not to notice the same word, ‘mara‘ is the sanskrit word to describe the Lord of Evil, similar to ‘Satan‘.

victim of sleep paralysis and astral demons

Astral Demons and Sleep Paralysis

All over the World, the same story goes on and on. In most cases a spirit sits on your chest trying to such your vital energy. Most of the times this is a female entity but in many cases it’s also a male or an animal entity. Due to Witchcraft, these entities might either be:

Astral Demons feasting on someone’s astral energy

Psychic / Astral vampires draining your vitality

Evil Witches attacking their victim causing a ‘psychic attack’, probably engaging in Witch Wars

An Evil Witch’s familiar attacking the witch’s victim causing a ‘psychic attack’, probably engaging in Witch Wars

Who is Old Mara. A Night Demon of misty Scandinavia

According to the Nordic belief, ‘Mara’ is a damned woman who is cursed to travel around at nights and sit on villagers’ chests, causing them nightmares while snuffing their vital energy. Hence, she is a succubus, a female astral demon of vampiric nature.

One of the oldest yet very famous artwork of sleep paralysis, is Henry Fuseli’s 1781 painting ‘The Nightmare’. This painting features probably all the infamous symptoms of sleep paralysis. In this painting we can clearly see a demon – ‘Mara’ – sitting on the chest of sleeping lady. What we can also see are several quite strange and otherworldly creatures sneaking in her bedroom.

The Astral Demon of the Night in Melanesia

Far far away from Norway, in Melanesian islands, sleep paralysis is interpreted as ‘kana tevoro‘ which literally means getting eaten by the demon. Again, this is a damned spirit who is somehow bound in the material plane becoming a hungry ghost to haunt the living relatives who keep grudge with.

According to their customs, this possession might get handy! Hence, people around should say ‘kania, kania‘ which means ‘eat, eat!‘ in an attempt to prolong the possession and have the chance to chat with the soul hence looking for answers in the matter of why he or she has returned.  Here’s when it get’s even creepier. The individual awakening from the experience is asked to pursue the soul of the dead relative. This confrontation is believed to be the only solution. There is actually a 2014 short movie about that story!

The Astral Demon around the Mediterranean Sea

In Greece, it is believed that sleep paralysis occurs when a demonic old lady named Mora (again remember sanskrit Mara, the devil), sits on the victims chest trying to steal it’s breath and energy. A little South from Greece, in Egypt, this spirit is believed to be the spirit of an evil African Queen (probably one who possessed magical powers like Bilqis – Queen of Sheeba ). In Turkish culture, sleep paralysis is often referred to as karabasan (“the dark presser/assailer”).

Nightmare (1800) after Henry Fuseli’s The Nightmare (1781).

Night Witches, Witch Trials and Sleep Paralysis

Sleep paralysis was used as ‘evidence’ during the Witch Craze in Salem. In 1692 accused witch Susan Martin had told Robert Downer that “some She-Devil would shortly fetch him away”. About that night, Robert Downer said that “as he lay in his bed, there came in at the window, the likeness of a cat, which flew upon him, took fast hold of his throat, lay on him a considerable while, and almost killed him.”

According to these accounts, Evil Witches brought demons, who possessed these people causing them sleep paralysis.

What is Sleep Paralysis?

But first things first. Let’s give a definition. Sleep paralysis is the feeling similar to waking up, hence being conscious yet unable to move or speak from a few seconds up to a few minutes. Some people may also feel pressure on their chest, belly or a weird sense of choking. It occurs when a person passes between stages of sleep.

When does it Occur?

Most likely, Sleep paralysis occurs in the Nighttime. It usually happens during the Witching Hour, which makes things even more ‘magically’ complicated.

A Witch’s View on ‘Sleep Paralysis’

Sleep Paralysis is indeed a bewitching time. No matter how hard scientists try to explain what is happening, the stories speak for themselves. Yes it can be traced back to the transitions or REM and NREM sleep states, yet this does not excludes the magical phenomena which co-exist.

These hypnagogic states, were always useful in Witchcraft, as we have managed to isolate our senses, paralyzed our material bodies in order to have full access to our magical potential and astral energy. ‘Sleep Paralysis’ can be caused with Hypnosis as it’s such a powerful state of awareness. In fact, deep meditation tries to imitate this state.

As previously discussed in our article on Astral Projection “…the Truth though is that, Sleep Paralysis is only a step before Astral Projection. While in Sleep Paralysis, your body is totally relaxed but the Astral Body is activated. Thus your magical and psychic powers are on alert identifying entities and creatures around you of the same essence, the astral essence. Of course it comes natural to get scared by a negative entity therefore wake up and remember what you’ve experienced in the state of Sleep Paralysis.”

In other words, sleep paralysis is much more common. You are just more capable of remembering a scary experience rather than a relaxing one.

Conclusions:

YES, these scary creatures you see are real. They are actually astral demons and vampiric entities.  That’s why we have protection rites all over our magazine.

YES, these entities try to suck your energy either you’re sleeping or not.

NO, this is not what causes the paralysis. You are just transiting between sleep conditions. It’s a hypnagogic state EXTREMELY useful.

YES, thanks to your higher awareness due to sleep paralysis, you are able to recognize these creatures.

YES, you are safe! Especially when in sleep paralysis or while astral traveling you are more protected than usual because you are more aware of your spiritual self and you can conjure powers from your Guardian Angel.

Witchy Solution: In order to protect yourself from these entities, one needs to place a silver dime under his/her pillow. Silver is believed to keep vampiric demons away.

In conclusion Sleep Paralysis is safe and the doorway to the Astral Plane.

Have you Ever Experienced Sleep Paralysis?

https://www.magicalrecipesonline.com/2018/05/sleep-paralysis-legends-dangers-and-magic.html

[anjanettexcordonia]

Living Proof

Chapter 1

Book: The Royal Romance/The Royal Heir A/U

Catch Up Here Living Proof A/U

Rating/Triggers: Mature (18+) some language; alcohol consumption; infidelity  

Pairings: Drake x MC; Liam x MC; Drake x OC 

Word count: 1354 (+/-)

A/N: Please excuse any grammatical errors. I apologize for my unexpected hiatus but the holiday season has been BUSY! As I am sure most of you can relate! I will be getting back to my other series as well. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing. 

Summary: The aftermath of the events in New York. How Liam handles the betrayal, it’s not what you expect. Even a King is still a human. 

Disclaimer: Some characters & some scenes belong to Pixelberry. 

Tags: If you would like to be added or removed please let me know. 

PermaTags: @yourmajesty09​ @gkittylove99​ @kingliam2019​ @texaskitten30​ @hopefulmoonobject​ @mom2000aggie​

Series Tags: @tinkie1973​ @cordonianroyalty​ @txemrn​ @marshmallowsaremyfavorite​

We touched down on the private tarmac in Cordonia. “Let’s go, Riley, Mara is waiting for you with the kids.” Liam stated as he grabbed my hand and pulled me from my seat. “Why are the kids here Liam?” I asked, confused. Liam ignored my question as we made our way off the jet. Ellie and William were hand in hand with Lindsay as we disembarked. I could feel the heat rise to my cheeks in embarrassment. I had no idea what Liam had told her or what she knew. “Mommy Daddy!” Our children's small voices exclaimed at our arrival. Together.  They both were the spitting image of their father with their blonde hair and blue eyes. Neither received my hair and caramel eyes. I always felt the stark contrast between my family. 

Liam picked up our four year old daughter and swirled her around in his arms into a tight hug. He knelt down and reached his arm to his namesake, our son William. “Daddy has to go on another trip, but mommy is staying this time.” Liam kissed both of their hands. I felt taken off guard by his revelation. “Liam?” I questioned. “I’m going away for awhile Riley. I need to figure things out.” He whispered making sure to not let the little ears around us catch on. Olivia is coming from Lythikos to help.” Liam turned back towards the jet. “Wait, Liam.” I called after him. Liam stopped in his tracks. He didn’t turn. “It’s for the best Riley.” He boarded the jet and the door closed behind him. 

I felt the tears forming in my eyes and my labor breathing to take over. But my children were watching, I couldn’t let them know their world was crashing down around them. Lindsay helped me load the children into the suv while Mara loaded my bags into the suv. I never spoke a word about Liam's departure, nor anything else. Regret filled me once again, as we watched my husband fly into the dark horizon. I lost a piece of me on that jet with him. He took a piece of me everywhere with him. I tear trickled down my cheek at the realization of my selfishness. 

I watched my wife, who just a few months ago I adored and trusted unconditionally, load our children into the black Escalade. I had no idea whether she would go back to the palace or Valtoria. Probably Valtoria so she could stew in her regret in private. Her face when I said I was leaving, filled with guilt that she attempted to hide. Why she did what she did I didn’t know, and right now I don’t care. We fought to be with her. I almost gave up my country for her. I made her a Queen, I gave her two beautiful children and I tried to show her everyday how much I loved her. But it wasn’t enough. 

I grabbed a bottle of liquor. No glass was needed. I’m headed for the solace of the beach. My island. It was a short flight but intended to be completely inebriated on arrival. I planned to drink my feelings away until I’m able to sort them out. “Sir, we have about forty five minutes until we land on the island.” The flight attendant spoke to me. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and swiped it open. A text from Bastien had come through while my jet was on the ground. 

“On the ground with Walker. He’s meeting Mrs. Walker at the Walker Estate. Leo confirmed he would look after Riley in your absence. Godspeed sir.”

I sighed a breath of relief that Bastien and Leo would be there in my stead as I worked things out. I scrolled to my photo album and pulled the photo of Riley and I from our last anniversary trip a few months ago. Before I found about her infidelity and Drake’s betrayal. I stared at the photo of Riley and I. I don’t know what happened or why. We were so happy. At least I thought we were. I took another large gulp from the bottle in my hand. 

Am I better off without her? Did we grow apart? Did she ever love me? The thoughts consumed me as I consumed the bottle of amber liquid in my hand. 

Drake slithered into my thoughts like a rattlesnake looking for warmth in a frozen desert. I can’t deal with the thoughts of his betrayal with my wife. I’d sooner banish him from Cordonia but Lindsay but didn’t deserve it. I took a few more swigs from the bottle of scotch in front of me to numb the feelings of anger and betrayal I felt towards the most important people in my life. 

We landed on the island Riley and I had spent our honeymoon. My island. I disembarked from the jet to the sounds of the loud thump of music in the distance. “What’s going on Anthony?” I asked as I stumbled down the stairs of the jet. “Cordonia University college students sir. You approved their use of the island for their spring festivities.” My security officer informed me. “Fuck. I forgot about that.” I took another swig of the half empty bottle of scotch in my hand.

 “Might as well join the party, fuck it.” I attempted not to slur my words, failing miserably. 

“Are you sure that’s a good idea, you just flew 13 hours sir.” 

“Yup.” I responded. I was starting to get annoyed by Anthony’s presence. “I’ll be fine. Take my bags to the beach house.” Anthony bowed and headed to the cargo area of the place. 

I made my way to the resort filled with drunk college kids. The thumping of the music grew louder as I neared the large pool and cabana area. 

I went wheels up on a runway 

And that ticket was a one way

I’m somewhere on a beach sippin’ something strong 

Got a new girl she’s got it going on 

Was thumping over the speakers. How fitting I thought. 

All of a sudden screams and cheers erupted drowning out the music. 

“King Liam has arrived” came over the speakers. 

A smile spread across my face as the screams grew louder. I walked to the DJ booth and took the microphone from the extended hand of the disc jockey, no invitation necessary. 

“Cordonian University! Go big Red!” I yelled into the microphone. The screams erupted. The bikini clad girls and shirtless men hooped and hollered as they held their red solo cups of cheap alcohol in the air. I waited for the screams to calm before I continued. “I have a task for you all tonight. We’re going to drink until I can’t remember what I came here to forget!” 

Bottles of champagne popped and sprayed over the crowd. Splashes came from the pool as young legs students jumped in. I made my way into the crowd of dancing bodies.

A few hours of drinking and partying my worries away with a bunch of young college students, I had my friends with a small group that had convinced me to do a keg stand. I handed my phone to a young brunette named Brittany. “Record it.” As I handed her the phone, the Queen rang with a FaceTime call. “Liam” Brittany called, “the QUEEN is calling.” I didn’t hear what she said. I threw my legs in air and sucked on the keg spout as Brittany hit the green button. Riley watched as I chugged cheap beer. The crowd around me chanted “Long Live the King!” as I chugged. “FOR CORDONIA!!” I screamed as I jumped to my feet with my arms in the air.

“Sir it’s the Queen.” Brittany handed my phone to me, her face white as a sheet. “LIAM WERE THE FUCK ARE YOU.” Riley screamed through the phone, her face filled with anger.

“Hey my Queen. I’m somewhere on a beach. I'm way too gone to have you on my mind.” I laughed and hit the end button and threw my phone into the pool. 

#theroyalromance #trr #choices #choicesfanfiction #fanfiction #pixelberry #playchoices #theroyalheir #alternateuniverse #livingproof #heartbreak #triggers

[fictionadventurer]

Top 5 unpublished stories (unfinished, in-progress, etc. yours or others' - things posted on tumblr fit, but not indie or traditional publishing)

To be clear, I’m limiting this to:

Works that have at least a partial scene drafted. If it exists only in outline or in idea form, it’s ineligible. There has to be some writing for me to reread and like.  

Stories that are not current WIPs.

So, in no particular order, here are five favorites that I’m fond of.

(Warning: Very Long Post)

1. Airship Sleeping Beauty.

In this world, parents buy fairy gifts for their children at birth. Most people are limited to two or three. Seraphina Crowne (please call her Sara) was gifted with twelve. Her impoverished parents had friends among fairy kind who were able to bend the rules to give this child enough gifts to survive in their harsh environment. Thus, Sara has everything from enhanced beauty and grace to strength and speed and musical skill, which makes her an unstoppable force of (super)nature. She loves a challenge and decides to support her parents by becoming a sailor on a flying sailing ship, where she rockets up through the ranks.

Our POV character is Jack Sanders, who serves under her as second lieutenant. Jack has spent years struggling through the ranks with only one unsuitable fairy gift. The father who chose his gift was an insomniac, and gave his son the gift of helping people fall asleep. Surrounded by people with more useful skills like strength or navigation, Jack languished as a midshipman for years until he served under a captain who realized the greater uses of his gift. Jack hates Seraphina Crowne, assuming that she’s the daughter of a rich man who has enough money to bend all the fairy gifting rules for his precious princess.

As they travel through a tropical land, they run into many adventures, and Jack starts to respect Sara. He learns that she comes from a much less privileged background than he’d assumed, and they slowly become friends. Then one day, they’re taking a day of shore leave on a flying island when they get into a fight with some local ruffians. Sara falls over the edge and is impaled on one of the metal spikes that serve as a barrier between the island and the open sky. But she doesn’t die. She climbs up with a gaping hole through her torso, and the should-be fatal wound heals within hours.

Sara is forced to tell Jack her greatest secret--she actually has a (highly illegal) thirteenth gift. Her mother’s greatest friend among fairy kind was a fairy who was banished from the guild for giving gifts that were too powerful. This fairy wanted to make absolutely certain that her friend couldn’t possibly lose this child at a young age. Her gift to Sara was that she would die by being pricked on the spindle of a spinning wheel--which means that nothing else can kill her. Not disease, injury, old age--she is invulnerable as long as she stays away from spinning wheels, which is easy to do in this industrialized age when your average person has never seen such a thing.  

Jack promises to keep Sara’s secret and they return to the ship. But Jack isn’t the only one who heard her confession. There’s a local airship pirate who supports his business by adopting infants and getting them the illegal fairy gift of being able to transform into birds. One of these bird-children also heard Sara’s story, and they inform their pirate father, who make plans to attack the ship and take out its most powerful asset.

I never finished the story because the climax falls apart. The pirates were going to attack and stab Sara, but Jack is able to stall her death by putting her to sleep--and I could never figure out a way to save Sara without it feeling cheap and predictable and/or detouring into a completely different plotline that takes us away from the story. But I think of the rest of it as one of the best fairy tale retellings I never wrote.

2. Faraway House

This one is my middle-grade portal fantasy for adults. Mara meets Adrian, a mysterious, magical man whose house sits in a space that connects to three different universes--ours, one that has a more medieval fairy tale vibe, and one that’s more steampunky and involves lots of chimeras and people with animal traits. People in need of help tend to fall into this in-between space, and Adrian lets them stay at Faraway House for as long as they need.

There are tons of characters who drop into this story and provide little subplots, but my favorite part was an overarching plotline involving Adrian and Mara. Adrian, who was originally from the fairy tale world, was the evil magician of every childhood nightmare, a powerful man who did all sorts of horrible things to people. He became obsessed with immortality and eventually got it--at a great price to the rest of the world and to himself. He was caught, stripped of a lot of power, and left to live his long life and see the consequences of his actions. He spent a few centuries wandering the three different worlds and undergoing a ton of character development. As a newly humbled man, he was given charge of Faraway House, since his magical talents would be valuable to keep the area and the portals stable. Now, he’s the nicest, sweetest guy you’d ever want to meet. He rarely tells anyone about his past, and most people wouldn’t believe it if you told them.

Anyhow, after Mara’s been staying at Faraway for a long time, she and Adrian go through a portal that links to Adrian’s home universe. They soon realize that it links to his world several centuries in the past, when Evil Adrian was at the height of his power. And he’s very interested in Mara, because her adventures in Faraway have given her some kind of magic that will help him reach the Well of Immortality (or something like that--it’s a very nebulous, fairy tale idea). Unfortunately, taking this magic will kill Mara, so Older Adrian does all he can to save Mara. He succeeds and gets her back home. But his younger self is still on the lookout for her, and he eventually makes his way to Faraway, where he drains the magic and escapes, leaving Mara dying.

And I know this is the most cliche way to end this, but I like my stories predictable and cheesy, and Older Adrian ends up saving Mara by giving up his immortality, which kills him. It’s all very Disney-moving. The story ends with Mara being made the new caretaker of Faraway. And I give away the ending because I’m never going to write this, but I’m still fonder of this story than it deserves.

3. The Island

Anne of Green Gables meets fairy tales.

The Island is a place full of magic. Amphibious mermaids swim along its shores. A fairy forest fills the heart of the Island. Selkie live on the tiny islands off its shore. Pixies cause trouble in the farmyard’s back garden. It’s amazing to the relatively low-magic areas of the rest of the world, but it’s all part of daily life to the farmers and fishermen who live here.

The Fairy’s Daughters, a retelling of “The Twelve Dancing Princesses”, had the most words written in it, but I think I’m fonder of some of the shorter sketches set a generation earlier that highlight little bits and pieces of the world. I started with the tale of Lizbet, an ordinary orphan girl living with her aunt who befriends Gideon, a half-fairy boy who eventually becomes the town’s magical doctor. Their friends include the widow lighthouse keeper who tries to adopt an orphan boy and is surprised to get Amy, who’s a girl--and a mermaid. There’s Captain Avery, a fierce-looking old sailor with a gentle heart and a surprising amount of experience with magical creatures. There’s Auberon, a fairy prince and eventually king who’s racist against humans, spends some of his younger years traveling in human lands to import human-made products, and becomes even more racist because of it.

I think my favorite thing in this universe are the sylphs. I borrowed Andersen’s idea of the “Daughters of the Air”, and made my sylphs into invisible, benevolent creatures who do good deeds for people, and can accomplish magical feats far beyond what any fairy can do. The sketch I reread most often is a scene where Amy, out for a swim in a storm, is rescued by a sylph who has taken a human (though translucent) form, and gets invited in for tea by Amy’s grateful friends.

It’s a fun universe to play in, but not one that I’m very good at finishing stories in, so I think it needs to stay as a pretty aesthetic and a fun sandbox.

4. Clever Anne

A retelling of “Kate Crackernuts” set in a non-magical Regency-esque setting. Anne is the beautiful, intelligent daughter of a duke. Kate is her bold, daring stepsister. They are deeply devoted to each other, but Kate’s mother hates Anne for being so much more beautiful than her daughter. She gets one of the servants to push Anne into the embers of the fire, leaving her face badly burned. Kate throws a veil over Anne’s face and gets her out of the house, insisting they’ll go off to make their fortune.

Anne was childhood friends with a young man who, through a convoluted succession crisis, unexpectedly finds himself on the throne. They stumble upon him in their travels, and find themselves able to help him by investigating the mysterious behavior of his half-brother, who resents that he was passed over for the throne and may be plotting something sinister. I was never able to figure out a good political-intrigue parallel to the “dancing all night with fairies” portion of the plot, so it never got written. The only really good scene I wrote from this story was the moment where Kate finds out about Anne’s injury and insists on leaving the house. But even in that one scene, their relationship is so strong and so vivid in my mind that I love their story even if I never finish it.

5. The Beast’s Mechanic

This is the one on the list that’s closest to being a WIP. I actually edited some of the beginning in March. It’s a sci-fi take on “Beauty and the Beast” set in a world where two planetary empires are at war. The war destroyed Monique’s father’s shipping business, forcing the whole family to move to a desert planet where they run a small spaceport. Monique is a top-notch mechanic, her sister Gemma is a pilot, Gemma’s twin Joanne stays at home to take care of the house and the two youngest siblings, and Leo is a seventeen-year-old rapscallion who is desperate to join the war as soon as possible.

Their world is upended when, for the first time in years, their mother wants to meet with them. A former starship captain, she and her husband disagreed over the war, and she left the family years ago to join the war effort. But now her starship is in for repairs and she wants to take some time to reconnect with her family. There’s some controversy among the family--do they really want to open these wounds again when they’ve finally moved on?--but Monique the peacemaker insists that, even though it’s impossible for the whole family to make the trip, her father should take the chance. He goes to meet his wife, but on the way there, his spaceship breaks down in the middle of nowhere, and he’s rescued by the Beast, an infamous cyborg outlaw. He also breaks important equipment on the Beast’s ship, and is only able to keep from being thrown out of the airlock by insisting that his daughter can fix it.

Monique nearly does, except that the authorities show up just before she’s done with repairs, forcing the Beast to take off with her in the ship. She comes to learn that the Beast is far from an evil criminal and has been helping people wronged by the government, and she helps him get home to his family (in the enemy empire), but her patriotic starship captain of a mother takes all of these events in very much the wrong light.

I’m very fond of this story for the ways that it avoids some of the usual BatB retelling tropes. There’s much more to this story than the romance, and little focus on the mystery of how the Beast became a Beast, and there’s much more focus on family. The Beast hasn’t even shown up yet, but I’m just incredibly fond of Monique’s family and their everyday working-class life on a desert planet. I hope I can make more progress on it someday.

#answered asks #valiantarcher #adventures in writing #the fairy's daughters #clever anne #i very much loved this ask and i'm sorry for taking so long to get to it #but i'm hoping the extreme length will go some way to explaining why i delayed so long #i've been wanting to do a 'best stories i've never written' feature for quite some time and you gave me the perfect chance to do it #so i waited until i was able to ramble on at length #and i'm extremely grateful for the opportunity