#i'm ready for a new crush to completely take over my life lol

[paranorahjones]

you know it's bad when you start journaling about him

#for clarity this is NOT the guy that i've vague-posted about before #the one that most assuredly does not like me #i'm still dealing with that #this is a different fella whom i've somewhat known for a little while and may be getting to know better in the near future #maybe #i don't know he's just really sweet and funny and his smile warms up the room and makes me smile and idk #and he goes to my church #idk idk idk #i'm ready for a new crush to completely take over my life lol #tired of the blue-eyed blond that gives me the WORST mixed signals i've ever experienced #we're moving on to dark eyes and brown hair

[bananasfosterparent]

Efenity Kelmorn's Theme Songs

For my own reference/index, but wanted to share.

Here are all the songs that I would consider main theme songs for my evil Tav, Efenity Kelmorn! If your Tav/Durge is a similar type of person or has similar beliefs/views, perhaps some of these songs you can add to your own Tav/Durge playlists!

ABOUT MY TAV: Efenity Kelmorn is a half high-elf, Storm Sorcerer (lightning/thunder), and criminal (specializes in heists and transport of goods). Neutral Evil, ESTP. She is (happily) paired with Ascended Astarion. More about her here.

There's 10 songs in total here, under the "read more" cut.

I also included some personal notes as to how that song relates to her, if you care lol

~~~~~

🌩️ Do Bad Well (ft Nevve) - KSHMR

Oh, my daddy taught me well There's some devils in heaven and some angels in hell So promise me child, when they pull your card You'll know, you'll know which one you are (Yeah) Ooh, oh ooh Yeah, my daddy taught me well (Hey) Ooh, oh ooh If you can't do good, better do bad well

This song speaks to her criminal father raising her. He sucked as a dad, but he still cared for/about her and did the best he could with who he was. But one thing he certainly taught her was that what's "good" and "bad" are subjective. Things aren't so black and white, and you should look out for yourself, no matter what that means. And you better do it the best you can. From both of their perspectives, everyone (even a "hero") is the villain in someone else's story anyway.

~~~~~

🌩️Glamorous Life - Eden's Crush

She wants to lead the glamorous life She don't need a man's touch She wants to lead the glamorous life Without love it ain't much, it ain't much

This song is about a woman who's goal is to live in the lap of luxury and she will fake it til she makes it on her own. But the one thing missing from her life is true love... and when she meets a guy (who happens to be rich), real love scares her, but she gives in and is able to have what she wants (love and riches). That's... literally Efenity's story...sorta lol Her biggest goal was to complete a huge heist she had planned for a year and buy a big house, take over a criminal ring for herself, use the revenue to continue to pay for the house, throw lavish parties and live alone in peace. But she ended up getting that, and something so much better.

~~~~~

🌩️Only Happy When It Rains - Garbage

I'm only happy when it rains You wanna hear about my new obsession? I'm riding high upon a deep depression I'm only happy when it rains

Pretty straightforward. Efenity's used to living a life of negatives and unfortunate happenings and at this point, she's learned to revel in it and find joy within it.

~~~~~

🌩️ Catch My Breath (Cutmore Remix) - Kelly Clarkson

Catching my breath, letting it go Turning my cheek for the sake of this show Now that you know, this is my life I won't be told what's supposed to be right

Efenity refuses to give into the influence of others for what decisions need to be made. Especially when it comes to Astarion.

~~~~~ 🌩️ Ultraluminary - Phillipa Soo

I'm the light every night in your world, hey You revel in the glory of my beauty You ready to watch me be legendary? 'Cause I'm ultraluminary

This song is kinda random but it feels so Efenity-coded for me lmao Her ego is only rivaled by Astarion's (and maybe Lorroakan's and the Aboslute lmao). But for Efe, her arrogance is also grounded in gaining the confidence she did not have for most of her life. But by end-game she knows the magnitude of her power and influence. She went from sleeping in an abandoned building she made into a home, to sleeping in a triple king-sized bed of a grand palace. So I'd say she ain't doing too bad.

🌩️ Unstable - SVRCINA

I tried to play to every angle Tried to keep up, but I’m just not able Nobody wants to feel like they’re too fragile Turns out that I might just be unstable

Kinda speaks for itself, her struggle for most of her life.

~~~~~

🌩️ Good To Be Bad - CRMNL

I’m a straight up killer And imma eat you for dinner Ice in my veins like winter And I like it like that (like that) It feels so good to be bad

Also self-explanatory lol Efenity is not a nice person. She doesn't try to be. She doesn't care. She is going to do whatever she can to preserve her quality of life and get what she wants.

~~~~~

🌩️Royalty (ft Neoni) - Egzod & Maestro Chives

Best to give me your loyalty 'Cause I'm taking the world you'll see They'll be calling me, calling me They'll be calling me royalty

Never lose sight of your life goals, kids uwu

~~~~~

🌩️ Into Dark - Kate Havnevik

Now or never I can choose Misadventure Turn it loose Be whoever And I'll fade into dark

Efenity actively choosing to be the villain and focus on the needs of herself and Astarion over the needs of anyone else. But for her, from her own perspective, that's a "growth".

~~~~~

🌩️ Either Or - Kata & Philip LeForce

You can choose to win or lose, I give you the choice The world is black or white, either or You either like me or you don't I don't care, no, not at all (Oh, oh, oh) Don't like me now? You never will If you do you'll get a thrill (Oh, oh, oh)

A random song I found years ago, but it felt so relevant to Efenity and her outlook on life and toward the world.

#efenity #Alright my last playlist for a while #until I flesh out Silkina more #ascended astarion #tav x astarion #astarion x tav #bg3 #bg3 tav #character playlist #oc playlist

[bewitchingivy]

Hello

My initials are TFA ♌️

I mainly used tarot

🦄

I chose: what you should know about them, first impression, what they love about you

Your future boyfriend first impression of you

Chaser

-Coming for you

-Determined

-Pursuit

Priority

-Family

-Provider

-Make the effort

Third party

-Confusion

-Soul contract

-Mercury retrograde

Boundaries

-Stop

-Speak up

-Self discipline

Competition

- eyes on another

- Multiple options

Lessons

Self development

Self growth

Karmic partner

Past life ties

Lessons

Change

This has a feeling they already know you or no of you. Their first impression is right off the bat they’re going to know what they want which is you.. they’re going to feel a need to go after you. However, something will hold them back. A potential blockage. They don’t know if you’re still healed or completely moved on from this past partner or if you’re ready to start over just yet.

What you should know about them

- very introverted

- A bit childlike or may be younger than you

- Has had ALOT of bad relationships where they break up and get back together but the communication was terrible

- This has left him very cold to relationships, he may have been just hooking up and doing situationships and not really looking for a soulmate.. than you’re going to enter his life

What they love about you

- they love how when they’re stressed they’re able to rely on you, you’re always there to help them whenever they’re feeling mentally “not okay” — yes they may suffer from anxiety

I’m seeing they have deep rooted family issues and someone’s childhood may be a bit compromised because someone was always missing ( like a parental figure) so they are able to relive their inner child through you.. through this marriage (yes your future partner is the one you’re going to marry)

Y’all are always going to be travelling, INTIMACY WILL BE A HUGE FACTOR, and you’re going to act — or maybe they see you as someone that’s going to guide them in a way.. they’re going to feel so safe

❛ love again ; entry #001

Hello! Thank you so much for joining my game and for following the rules <3 As promised, here's your reading! I hope you'll enjoy it :)  Remember to take what resonates and leave what doesn't!

his first impression of you:

i wanna be your girlfriend by girl in red Oh, gosh. do I even need to say something about this? The song says it all, HAHA. But anyways, just switch girlfriend in the title to boyfriend LMAO. Meeting you for the first time would leave him so awestruck and drawn to you. I get the feeling that he will be very curious about you and would like to get to know you more because you're so intriguing to him. He will literally crush on you the first time you meet him. There's a high possibility that this will start off as a friendship at first because he wants to take his time to get to know you more :)

your first date together:

Silent Night by Taylor Swift Wow. This is so specific. Christmas. Or around December, winter/holiday season. The two of you will start the date early in the day, like around late morning, and it'll end at night. I'm even getting that you will both get home at 12 am, LOL. But I'm certain to say that the two of you will have so much fun that day, and you will just feel so happy. It'll feel like time didn't pass by at all. You might do some holiday shopping together. 

what you should know about him:

closure by Taylor Swift This person has gone through a lot of hardships, particularly in his relationships. But then he's finally learned how to put himself first and say no to what he doesn't deserve. He learned to respect himself by not letting anyone cross his boundaries. If a toxic person is in his life or someone has treated him unfairly, he won't second guess his decision to cut them out of his life.

what he loves about you:

Alligator Sky by Owl City He will love how you are full of surprises to him, it excites him to know new things about you. It's like you're this mystical world he's just entered, and he can't wait to explore everything about the world. He loves how you just make him laugh and be happy like a little kid. 

how would he show his love to you:

Easy On Me by Adele He will be gentle and soothing towards you. He will make sure that you're relaxed and well rested after a long day. I get the feeling that his love languages might be acts of service, physical touch, and/or words of affirmation. Just say the word when you need him, and he will literally be there for you in no time.

signs you see about him:

Cloud 9 by Beach Bunny I saw 11:11 and 333 while doing you're reading! Therefore I'll take it that those are your signs. When you're with him, you feel the most confident. You might notice that it's him since he's a very attentive person towards the people he cares about you; especially you. 

a message from him:

Make You Feel My Love by Adele  [Good golly, we've got two songs by Adele in this reading. Maybe he likes listening to her songs? You should definitely check out this song, it really matches with the things I've said about how he shows his love to you.] "I still have many things I need to heal and let go of. I wanna work on myself first, so that once we've come together, I can be the best version of myself to you. Keep on giving love to yourself and doing the things that bring you joy, I have no doubt that the things we do out of love will lead us together someday. I promise I'll always be here for you."

my feedback:

I have heard a lot of times from other readings that he's childlike, he has old relationships that somehow left him wounded, and damn travel? I skimmed through people's entries in my inbox and I noticed that a couple of you said about travel! Very spot on! :) A lot of things that you said do resonate to my current situation right now. I can't help but notice that I relate to him, and I reckon we must be mirroring each other! Thank you so much for the reading!

Please don't forget to leave a feedback; tell me what resonates and what doesn't, and whatever you want to add! :)

#ivy's games

[natewriteslol]

Hey! Could i request the dorm leaders with an esper MC? Kinda like Mob psycho or Saiki k :) and maybe they don't really use this ability of theirs that much since in their world they're literally a teen who's trying to live a normal life(like Mob basically), so nobody knew about their psychic powers except Grim since the mirror said that he couldnt sense any magic in them(i'm pretty sure that psychic powers don't really count as magic but idk lol).

Feel free to ignore if you don't wanna write it! :)

 A/N: Ooh this was a fun one! I haven't watched Mob Psycho (I know about that fine ass blonde man-) but I have watched Saiki k and I loved it, still need to finish it tho jlafljhdas 

Characters: Kalim Al-Asim, Riddle Rosehearts, Leona Kingscholar, Vil Schoenheit, Azul Ashengrotto, Idia Shroud, Malleus Draconia

P.S: I’m so sorry this is so long omg but I guess this is a strong comeback-

Warnings: none except for language

Riddle:

-You wanted to stay as far away as possible from him

-Riddle was part of the trio of people you wanted to stay away from: Riddle, Vil, and Azul

-Riddle paid so much attention to fine details that if something was up, he'd definitely notice it

-But unfortunately you were best friends with the two goobers of Heartslabyul: Ace and Deuce

-And Riddle had started to pay attention to you and your habits, and something was off with you

-It's almost as though you tried too hard to be normal, like Jamil

-And he could never let something like that happen again, so yes he was watching you

-One day you accidently slipped up and was irresponsible with your powers

-Grim was bothering you since he got into a deal with Azul for tuna and they were standing outside with the twins, since Grim lost

-You told him to fend for himself and teleported, however you didn’t plan where you would go

-And you teleported into the Heartslabyul dorm

-What sucks is that your teleportation power was literally flashy with a bright ass green light every time you popped in somewhere

-Just when you thought you were lucky since the whole dorm was uninhabited...except for Riddle who watched the whole thing

-He was completely shocked, he didn’t know what to say other than “What did you just do?!” 

-You explained to him, and that just pieced everything together

-How you solved overblots with such ease, and that one day you had a “strength potion to test for Azul” was such bs!

-Riddle ends up keeping your secret, since he values your privacy but if you do something major and mess up then he will tell!

-”I understand but please be more careful with your powers. I need to institute discipline and you are no exception, Y/N.”

-He really does care about you and doesn’t want you to be found out 

-Goes the extra mile to cover for you often, and in exchange you help him out with things :)

Leona:

-He didn't really care about you at first but as you started to hang Jack and Ruggie, Leona started to get more suspicious

-Your scent had proven that you had some trace of magic, but Leona just couldn't put his finger on it

-So he sent Ruggie after you for a couple of days

-If you were a threat to Savanaclaw, Leona would crush you

-But Ruggie had only reported back that everything with you was perfectly normal

-"Just give it up Leona, they're just an ordinary human. The scent is probably weird because they're from a completely different world."

-But Leona still had that feeling, so he was keeping an eye on you

-You had made a deal with Crowley to keep your powers secret to solve problems on campus (it did cut repair costs and handymen costs in half so-)

-Your new quest was to rid the forest of the Angolo fungus that was manifesting into living fungus blobs 

-The one thing that gave you away was Grim, as you both had to stop by the Greenhouse to read some info about the fungus

-The cat beast was being far too loud, not understanding why he had to go and mess around with the icky fungus

-You simply replied “It’ll be quick, I’ll just use Hydrokinesis and dry out the fungus since they’re mainly filled with water. They become fertilizer once dried so we can just leave them there.”

-And there Leona was, ears perked up once he heard your voice

-Hydrokinesis? What are you talking about?

-So he set off, following you to the forest

-You started to fly, turning the once green and lively fungus to brown dust while Grim napped against a tree

-Leona for the first time in the while, was left speechless

-Once you noticed him, you realized you had to talk to him

-Confronting him later on, luckily Leona didn’t spill to anyone 

-He promised to never tell anyone about what he saw, and had no clapbacks for what you had to say 

- Leona doesn’t even benefit from this secret...besides mayyybee one day asking for your help if his pride lets him

-By the Great Seven why does everything have to not be in his favor-

Azul:

-Another one who you have got to be careful around, since he’s incredibly observant

-More observant than Riddle

-Azul noticed that you’re an incredibly average person, and were incredibly relaxed even during the most stressful situations

-And almost every single time whenever you were in a tight spot, it works in your favor

-Just how is that possible? Solving overblots left and right? Every single time you disappeared the infestation of magical beasts are gone? 

-One day, you were getting picked on by a three guys, their stature far above yours and incredibly strong. How could you possibly win?

-Just as he was about to scoop in a save you, you slammed one of the men into the concrete, taking on the other two by electrocuting them, the blue lightning buzzing in your palms

-They were completely knocked out, dusting off your palms and picking up your things only to face Azul’s eyes

-After giving an explanation of what that was, he was still speechless

-Azul at first was incredibly shocked and then since Azul is Azul... later on realized this had benefits

-He could just blackmail you to be his new bodyguard!

-Oh how he always manages to bend life to his will-!

-So you could just wipe his memory... or turn him into stone...nvm

-You’re now Azul’s arch nemesis since you end up saving people from his scamming and you’re basically untouchable and there’s nothing he can do about it

-But he does find your great strength admirable (and a lil hot, I mean what can u say seeing someone floating in the air with electricity flowing through them is a nice look okay Nate shut up)

Kalim: 

-Oh Kalim my beloved

-He just thinks that you’re incredibly talented and a little mysterious

-You have your little quirks and he has his! Who is he to judge?

-Until one day you wanted to make the load lighter on Jamil, since the berries that Kalim had requested for were only in season in one country

-You decided to just teleport and then come back with the berries so Kalim wouldn’t be pouty 

-You were outside the door ready to teleport when last minute you felt a hand on your shoulder

- “Oh Y/N you forgot-!”

-And there both you and Kalim were, in a berry field thousands of miles away from the Scarabia dorm

-Kalim screams, falling to the lush green of the field

-What happened?! Where are we?! How did you do that?!

-You quickly gathered all the berries at light speed, making sure that you got back before Jamil realized that you were gone

-Kalim wasn’t scared of you, rather impressed that you were able to keep a secret for that long, he could never!

-You’re already super cool, and on top of this you have otherwordly powers!

- “It must’ve been stressful living your life like this! But don’t worry, I’ll keep your secret!”

-Yes he sometimes asks you to perform some of your powers for him, sorry Y/N-

Vil:

-While you were his friend, he was incredibly suspicious of you

-Even though you wiped everyone’s memory, he still had the faint memory of when he was in overblot mode of you blasting him with a beam of light

-Vil was incredibly upset as one of his assistants had mixed up his items, and left one of his vital skincare items on the set of where they were filming a new commercial

-It was being shipped and would take 3 days to reach NRC

-His mood was horrible and you had to do something about it to give grace to the Pomefiore dorm

-So you went to the second story of the Pomefiore dorm, ready to use Apport (the power to pull anything before you) 

-However, Vil felt incredibly guilty

-He was acting like a child and he shouldn’t have taken it out on the people who he loves and values

- “Y/N, how I was acting was incredibly inappropriate and- is that my moisturizer? How did you get it?”

-Starts freaking out as this was impossible as it was on it’s way from being shipped from another country

-This was the last straw for him ther was no justification for this that wasn't done by some form of magic

-He takes you to his room to make you sit down and give him an explanation for this

-Once you finished, Vil understood but was still freaked out

-He cares alot about keeping your powers a secret and will cover for you

-"So my aport powers need to exchange something of equal value so... I exchanged it with that Scucci purse over there-

-"MY LIMITED EDITION SCUCCI PURSE?!"

-He loves you, but you're dead to him, Y/N dear

Idia:

-Before he knew you, he didn't really notice anything off with you

-A little quiet sure but he minded his own business, he had bigger things to focus on

-Until you hung around Ignihyde more often for a project, fixing a huge generator by yourself for one of your partners for a project

-They took a break only after you told them that they could and apprehensive went to go get food and water

-Anyone with eyes could see that there's an overbearing amount of energy flowing through the fairly large sized cube

-Wait, you were wearing no gloves, you could get electrocuted! Why would have your bare hands on something like that?!

-Just as he was able to yell, it was too late, your whole body was flowing with the bright blue energy... and then you let go

-You were walking completely fine, you went and held a random wire on the ground, placing the electricity inside

-The static from your hair was gone, and you looked completely normal. . .

-Just what the hell are you?

-He did hours of research trying to figure you out, even sending Ortho to monitor you

-Yet there was nothing, you were just a “regular teen” 

-Was ready to get S.T.Y.X.S on your ass- (is that too soon to joke abt my bad overblot boys-)

-Until one day he caught you again bending electricity to your will

-Is incredibly impressed with your power (lowkey wanting to experiment on you)

-After he realizes that you can read minds Idia is so damn frightened

- “O-Okay I promise not to say anything, just don’t tell anyone what I’m thinking a-alright?!”

Malleus:

-You were one of the only people who he trusted

-Malleus had always detected some form of magical aura that was otherworldly from you and it never seemed to fade

-And it wasn’t often, but it was almost like you knew what he was thinking

-Whenever he was deeply upset he felt a twinge of energy from you, and then you would insist and help him out with his problems

-And he flat out says “Are you reading my mind, Y/N?”

-You had never been directly outed like this before, you felt horrible 

-You never read people’s minds unless it was very necessary

-whenever Malleus felt deeply gloomy you felt like it was important to just read his mind and help him with the problem

-You explained it to him and apologized, but he wasn’t upset

-In fact, he was smiling?

- “It seems like we have alot of things that we’re hiding from each other. But... you always had the best intentions whenever you used your abilities”

-He let out a sigh and reluctantly admitted, “And, I know that I’m quite stubborn with revealing my feelings.” 

- “I will keep your secret as long as you keep mine, Child of Man,” the dragon fae said, you both shaking on it

- “I always had a feeling that you were special, but I never thought it would be something of this caliber...” 

#twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #twst x reader #malleus x reader #leona x reader #azul x reader #riddle x reader #malleus draconia x reader #leona kingscholar x reader #azul ashengrotto x reader #riddle rosehearts x reader #malleus draconia #leona kingscholar #azul ashengrotto #riddle rosehearts #kalim x reader #kalim al asim #idia x reader #idia shroud x reader #idia shroud #vil x reader #vil schoenheit x reader #vil schoenheit

[raysofcrosby]

WHATEVER LIFE THROWS AT YOU – m. tkachuk

bonus chapter #4 – FIRST DATE JITTERS

warning(s): ethan's not 8 anymore, so prepare for that 😭 otherwise just a bunch of fluff!

summary: 12 going on 13, home for the summer and surrounded by friends and family– there's a lot that ethan's got lined up for his summer vacation. but there's one important thing on his 12-year-old mind that he's finally old enough to do, and that's go on a date with his childhood best friend, former teammate and first ever crush– melody hastings. and when she says yes, he's on top of the world. until it comes for his first ever date and he realizes that not only is he really nervous, but his parents and baby sister are going to be there the entire time too. what could be worse? ask matt and caroline who have to watch their firstborn take his first step into the world of relationships while trying not to completely embarrass him.

word count: 19,072

an: lowkey forgot what melody's mom's name is, so if i've said it in previous chapters i couldn't find it. so if it's not the same sorry lol. also i'm still working on making summary's really good so cut me slack pls.

July 14th, 2028

“Scar no,” Ethan sighed, walking over to where Scarlett was standing in front of the mini sticks goal that was against one side of the living room wall by the door, the coffee table moved out of their way. “You have to turn around and try not to let me score.”

“Stick!” Scarlett smiled, holding up her mini hockey stick before returning back to hitting the top of the net with it.

“Yeah, it’s a hockey stick,” Ethan replied, putting his hands on her shoulders to turn her around. “And you use the stick to try and stop me from shooting the ball into your goal, okay?”

“Okay,” Scarlett nodded, moving her stick away from the net and letting Ethan turn around.

“Okay,” Ethan echoed, holding his hands out towards her. “Now stay, don’t move. I’m going to get the puck and then we’ll play, okay?”

“Ethie score?” 

“Well, you want to try to not let me score,” Ethan replied, using his stick to move the ball closer to him as he stood midway between their two goals. “But you’re still new to hockey, so I’m probably going to score anyway. Ready?”

“Ready!” Scarlett smiled, waiting for Ethan to move the ball before she ran out towards him. “My ball!”

Ethan waited until she was near the ball to move it, only to wait again for Scarlett to catch up and try to hit the ball with her own stick, giggles emerging from the 18-month-old as she unknowingly basically played keep away with her big brother. A sight that was very endearing to Caroline as she walked down the hallway carrying the freshly dried batch of laundry in the laundry basket.

“I score!” Scarlett said, bending down to pick up the ball.

“No, Scar, you have to use your stick.” Ethan said, grabbing her stick and moving it towards the ball before pointing towards the net at the other end of the living room. “Now hit it towards my net down there, okay?”

Scarlett went to raise her stick above her head, Ethan quickly correcting her to show her the proper way to shoot. “No, no, you shoot like this. Watch me,” he let go of her stick and stood back bending down to show how to bring his stick back. “And then you come forward and– wait no.”

Unamused with his way of trying to teach, the moment Ethan had stood up to demonstrate, Scarlett bent back down and picked up the ball, dropping her own stick before running down to Ethan’s goal. She stopped right in front of it before throwing the ball down and it bounced its way into the net, hitting the back of it.

“Score!” She yelled, throwing her arms into the air as she bounced up and down with a smile on her face. “Daddy, I score!”

“You did?” Matt gasped, coming down from the hallway where the bedrooms were and walking by the lounge chair and over to Scarlett, bending down and picking her up, tossing her into the air and catching her and causing her to giggle before resting her on his left hip. “Are you winning?”

“Yes,” she smiled, resting her head against Matt’s shoulder.

“No she’s not, because we’re not keeping score.” Ethan huffed, walking over and bending down, grabbing the ball from the back of the net before standing up. “Besides, she cheated because she picked up the ball and threw it in. And if we were really keeping score, then I’m winning because I’ve scored like a hundred times already.”

“She’s also not even two, Ethan, relax,” Caroline laughed, walking out from the hallway fully. “BeeBee used to be you when you were her age, and he never complained.”

Ethan sighed, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, but she’s supposed to get it by now, Momma. You said that when she got older, she’d understand better.”

“That was eight months ago, Ethan. When I said older, I meant when she’s around three or four.” Caroline replied, putting the laundry basket down behind the couch. “Just give it a little more time and keep playing with her, I’m sure she’ll grasp it eventually.”

“Until then,” Matt said, giving Scarlett a kiss before putting her back down onto the ground, squatting down her to level. “Why don’t you show Mommy and Daddy your mini sticks skills that Ethie’s taught you?”

“Okay, Daddy,” Scarlett nodded, walking back over to where she’d dropped her stick and picking it up. “Play, Ethie.”

Matt followed Caroline into the kitchen, grabbing his empty water bottle off the counter and unscrewing the lid, refilling it from the fridge. “Was that the last load you took out of the dryer?”

“You wish,” Caroline sighed, grabbing the container of strawberries from the fridge. “There’s one load of Scar’s stuff in the washer and then our last load in the dryer.”

“Then whose clothes are in the hamper?” He asked, putting the lid back onto his water bottle.

“Ethan’s. Decided he wanted to have options for tonight,” She replied, taking a bite of a strawberry. “And I was going to have him fold them, but they’re having fun so I folded it all for him back in the laundry room. He just needs to put it away.”

“Options?” Matt snorted, shaking his head. “Kids 12. What kind of options does he have besides the pairs of jeans that all look alike, hockey jerseys and those fancy shirts he wears on special occasions?”

“Leave him alone, he’s just nervous,” Caroline laughed, holding the container of strawberries out for him to grab one. “Maybe he wants to make a good first impression.”

“Not like they haven’t known each other for eight years,” he replied, putting the water bottle down and reaching for a strawberry. “Besides, it’s his first–”

“Ow!” Ethan yelled, the sound of a hockey stick hitting the floor. “No, Scarlett, we don't do that!”

The first sound of Ethan’s distress had both Caroline and Matt practically running out of the kitchen, and they had just rounded the corner when Scarlett began to cry. Ethan was sitting on the couch, resting his head in his hands as Scarlett stood right by her end of the goal, crying and still clutching her mini stick in her right hand, while her left hand was balled up into a fist and rubbing at her eye.

“What happened?” Matt asked, looking at Ethan as he walked into the living room. “Ethan, look at me.”

“No,” he replied, shaking his head as he kept it down towards his lap.

“D-Dad-Daddy,” Scarlett sobbed, struggling to speak as her face was wet with tears.

Matt looked at Caroline and then back at Ethan, Caroline nodding and waving him off to go to Scarlett while she walked into the living room and sat down on the couch next to Ethan, rubbing at his back. “Ethan?”

“No, I’m not looking at you,” he replied, pressing his head further into his hands as he shook it, his elbows digging into his thighs.

“Okay, that’s fine for right now,” Caroline spoke softly, trying to lean forward and see if she could get a better look. “But what happened?”

“She hit me!” Ethan yelled, lifting his head up and motioning his arm towards Scarlett, who was now resting on Matt’s hip.

“Hey, relax the tone,” Matt warned, as he rubbed Scarlett’s back.

“E-Ethie mean!” Scarlett sniffled, rubbing at her face as she looked at Matt. “H-he yell a-at me.”

Caroline reached out and grabbed Ethan’s chin, turning his head slightly towards her where she could see the forming of a bump just beneath his left eye where his skin was starting to redden just along his cheekbone. “Let me go get you an ice pack–“

“We’ll go get it,” Matt said, as Scarlett was sniffling against his shoulder, hugging onto him. “Give these two some space, I think it might be time for a nap anyway.”

“Thank you,” Caroline replied as Matt walked over, stopping in front of Ethan and putting his hand on top of his head, getting him to tilt it up before nodding.

“Yeah, I’ll grab some peas instead. Might do better for that,” he said, readjusting Scarlett on his hip before ruffling Ethan’s hair and walking out of the living room and into the kitchen.

Ethan was still upset even when Matt took Scarlett out of the room, but he was no longer hiding his face in his hands. “I didn’t yell at her,” he mumbled, leaning back into the couch. “Not really…I just yelled because she hit me in the face and it hurt.”

“She’s little, Ethan. You may not have yelled at her, but she thinks that you did,” Caroline replied, patting his knee. “Why don’t you tell me what happened?”

“We were playing with the ball and after I scored I brought it back and told her I’d set it up for her to shoot.” He motioned towards where the ball was still lying in the middle of the floor, along with both mini sticks. “And I set her up first and then when I went to move the ball she just swung it up and hit me in the eye. Even after I told her that’s not how you swing the stick.”

“Ethan, she’s–“

“I know she’s little,” he huffed, crossing his arms. “But I already told her five times, Momma. Why doesn’t she listen?”

“Because she’s half of your father and half of me. He doesn’t listen and I’m stubborn,” Caroline replied, smiling slightly as she reached up for his hair and brushed it back to bring the barely visible scar that was mostly hidden by his shaggy hair, into view. “Besides, do I need to remind you just how you got that scar right there?”

Still pouting, he looked at her and shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Well, you were three,” she said, turning towards him and leaning against the couch cushion. “And you loved climbing on stuff, no matter how many times we told you not to, you never listened because you were three. You were with Papa Walt and Mimi one day and Papa Walt got up to answer the door and you decided to climb up onto his chair and then onto the table beside it. You went to stand up on it, fell and the table came down right after you and smack,” she brushed her thumb along the white scar. “Corner table right to the head. Kids don’t listen, Ethan, and she’s getting ready to get into that terrible twos era, so she’s about to get really testy. But that’s a part of growing up and raising kids. We’ve just got to keep teaching her right from wrong and making sure she knows and one day she’ll get it, I promise.”

“How do you know?”

“Because you did,” Caroline smiled, brushing his hair back down and sitting up. “Now tell me what’s really bothering you, because you’ve taken feet to the stomach and lower body from her trying to climb up on you, so I know it’s not her hitting you in the eye. Though I think I might have an idea of what it is.”

“I don’t want to have a black eye for my date with Mel,” Ethan sighed heavily, frowning soon after as his shoulders sank. “I mean, I’m still kind of mad at Scar but she’s little so she doesn’t know…but really I just don’t want to look ugly for my date.”

Caroline took a deep breath and exhaled, getting off of the couch and squatting down in front of it. “Sit up, let me get a better look.”

Still frowning, Ethan sat up and sigh, shoulders still dropped. “I already know I’m going to have one.”

“Maybe, maybe not,” she replied, grabbing his chin and turning his head sideways so she had a much better look. The skin was still getting pretty red, but it didn’t look like a bigger bump was going to form. “I can’t say for certain that it won’t bruise a little, but I can guarantee that you won’t be ugly.”

His eyebrows furrowed and upper lip curled. “How can you do that?”

“Because regardless of just how much of your father you are, the one thing I was able to bless you with is my good looks.” She smiled, reaching up and fixing his hair that Matt had ruffled. “Oh, and my manners. You definitely got those from me.”

Ethan smiled, rolling his eyes before taking a deep breath and exhaling. “Are you sure she won’t think it’s ugly? What if Dad showed up with a black eye?”

“It wouldn’t be the first time,” Caroline laughed, bringing her hand down and resting her hands on the couch on either side of him. “He actually has a black eye in our junior prom photo. Mimi tried to cover it up as best as she could, but if you look really closely you can still see it.”

“How many times do I have to apologize for that?” Matt asked, leaning out from around the corner of the kitchen. “Trent threw a water bottle at my head during the water break to give me the bottle. His aim was just shi…uh, bad. Really bad.”

“Plus, I seem to remember you having a black eye on the opposite side of your face on Valentine’s Day back in second grade,” Caroline replied, pushing herself to stand up and sending Matt a look who just rolled his eyes. “And that was a pretty big day for you.”

“Yeah, you got kissed,” Matt teased, smiling as he walked towards them and leaned against the back of the couch. “So maybe Melody will see this black eye and feel bad enough to give you another one.”

“I don’t want a pity kiss,” Ethan whined, looking at Matt. “But what if I go to kiss her and she moves or something?”

“We’ll talk more about it later,” Matt replied, looking down by his side before looking back at Ethan. “But now, you just need to chill out about it. Literally.”

Scarlett’s feet were pattering against the floor as she rounded the corner of the couch holding onto a bag of frozen peas wrapped up in a dish towel with both hands, coming to a stop by Ethan’s right knee. “Here Ethie,” she pouted, holding it out to him. “I sowwy for hitting you. It was an assident.”

“Accident,” Matt quickly corrected her, rubbing his right hand down his face. “It was an accident, not an assident. We don’t say that word.”

“Sowwy daddy,” Scarlett replied, if possible her pout getting more dramatic as she raised her arms up higher for Ethan to grab the makeshift ice pack. “Ice peas, daddy say it help.”

“It’s okay, Scar. I know it was an accident.” Ethan took the frozen bag of peas and re-wrapped it up before pressing it against the left side of his face and looking at Scarlett, sighing. “And I’m sorry for yelling, I promise I wasn’t yelling at you.”

“Hug kiss?” She asked, holding out her arms and puckering up her lips, filling her cheeks up with air.

“Come here,” Ethan put the bag of peas back down onto the ground and opened his arms.

Scarlett smiled as she walked in between his legs and Ethan picked her up, resting her on his lap where she immediately wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug, then leaned back and gave him a kiss where she blew a raspberry like Matt does every time he tucks her into bed. “I love you, Ethie,” Scarlett said, hugging him again and resting her head down against his chest.

“I love you too, Scar,” he replied, hugging her back.

“Daddy say it's naptime,” she said, bringing her left hand to her mouth. “You read my book and we watch ducks, please?”

Ethan looked at both Matt and Caroline to see if they’d oppose before standing up and putting Scarlett back onto the ground, holding her hand. “Okay, come on, we'll go to my room.”

“Groot!” Scarlett gasped, trying to let go of his hand and run off, only to not move at all. “Come on Ethie, nap with Groot!”

“Don’t forget to ice,” Caroline said, picking up the bag of peas and handing them to Ethan. “10 minutes on—“

“10 minutes off, I remember.” Ethan nodded, taking the bag of peas before letting Scarlett lead him out of the living room and down the hall to his room.

Caroline sat down on the couch, sinking back against the cushion and exhaled heavily, closing her eyes. “Is it nap time for us too? That was draining.”

“Mm, I was kind of hoping we could do something else,” he said, sliding right behind her and reaching down for her shoulders, massaging them. “Because I don’t know about you, but that was the cutest thing I have ever seen.”

“Which part?” Caroline asked, opening her eyes and looking up at him. “The two of them yelling or Ethan getting hit in the face and worrying about whether or not he gets a kiss on his date tonight?”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about,” Matt laughed, digging his thumbs into her shoulders. “The part where our extremely adorable, already the master of the pout, daughter not only apologized to her big brother, but then asked for a hug and a kiss. And said big brother pulled her onto his lap and did just that.”

“I suppose that was really cute,” Caroline sighed, smiling slightly. “Did you see how she called the movies ducks? That might be the thing Ethan will be most proud of. Getting his little sister obsessed with the Mighty Ducks movies.”

Matt laughed and moved his hands up her shoulders and to her face, cradling it. “We should have another one.”

“Another one what?” Caroline laughed, widening her eyes. “Because I know for a fact we’re not talking about another kid.”

“Well I guess you’re not Mrs. know it all after all, because that’s exactly what we’re talking about,” he pouted, letting go of her face as she sat up and turned towards him. “I mean, E’s a great big brother, Scar was a pretty easy baby and you saw that cute moment they had. Tell me that didn’t give you baby fever.”

“It was pretty cute,” she replied, turning around and bringing her legs up onto the couch, standing up on her knees as she faced him and wrapped her arms around his waist. “But Scar’s not even two yet.”

“Brady and I are barely two years apart,” he shrugged.

“Yeah, but Ethan drove me crazy throughout the first few months of his terrible twos phase,” she sighed, pouting at him. “How about we talk about it a little more and then once she’s two, we’ll see how everything is?”

“Works for me,” he smiled, leaning down and kissing her before pulling back. “But we can still practice right? Maybe right now?”

“Definitely not right now.”

“Tonight when the kids are asleep?” He replied, kissing her again.

“Mmmm, assuming Scarlett does well in her crib tonight,” she laughed, patting his shoulders and standing up off of the couch. “But for right now, we need to drop off the laundry in Ethan’s room, then check on the clothes in the dryer, maybe switch over the stuff in the washer and then double check with Melody’s parents she can still go and what time to be ready and–“

“You know you should probably breathe a little,” Matt joked, picking up the hamper she’d been carrying earlier. “You go check and I’ll go drop this off with E.”

Caroline nodded as they went separate ways, Matt down the hall and her to the laundry room. The washing machine had stopped, but when she opened the dryer door to check on the clothes in there, they were still a little damp. She closed the door and added more time to the cycle before turning the laundry room light off and walking back out into the hall, where she could see Matt standing in the doorway of Ethan’s room, the laundry hamper on the floor next to him..

“What are you–“

“Sh,” he whispered, looking at her before nodding his head into Ethan’s room, “Look how cute.”

Caroline nudged the hamper away and came up beside him, peeping her head around the corner of the door to see Ethan and Scarlett laying on top of the blankets of his bed. The first Mighty Ducks movie was playing on the tv that they moved from their room to Ethan’s after Matt “couldn’t resist a good sale” and bought a new one for their room, Scarlett’s copy of ‘The Monster at the End of this Book’— which for the moment was her favorite book— was to the right of Ethan and the bag of peas wrapped up in the rag beside it. They were both rolled over onto their left side, Scarlett was hugging onto the stuffed toy much bigger than her, and Ethan had his right arm draped over Scarlett, most likely to make sure she wouldn’t fall or try to leave without him noticing.

“Grab that blanket off the lounge chair?” She whispered, picking up the hamper and walking into Ethan’s room as Matt walked back out to the living room. She put it down by his dresser and walked over to the bed, carefully leaning across them both and grabbing the bag of peas and Scarlett’s book, putting the book down on Ethan’s side table as Matt walked into the room.

He walked over the bed and draped the blanket over the two of them making sure they were tucked in before standing up. “Guess he didn’t really ice the eye did he?” He laughed softly, motioning towards Ethan.

Ethan shifted in his sleep, exhaling heavily as he opened his eyes barely. “What time is it?”

“Don’t worry, go back to sleep,” Caroline said, grabbing the remote from where he’d placed it on his pillow. “We’ll wake you when it’s time for you to get up.”

“Okay,” Ethan nodded and closed his eyes again, moving closer towards Scarlett and laying his head back down on the pillow.

Caroline placed the remote down on his bedside table and then grabbed Matt’s hand. “Come on,” she said, going to walk out of the room.

“Where are we going? He asked, following behind her and out into the hallway.

“To our room,” she smiled, nodding her head down the hall towards their room. “Talk a little more about having another baby. I think Ethan and Scarlett could use a little brother or sister.”

Matt’s eyes widened and he reached back and shut Ethan’s door just barely before resting his hands on her hips and walking them down the hall to their room. He nudged the door open with his foot before bending down and picking her up bridal style, Caroline laughing as he walked them into their room and he shut the door behind him, locking it and walking over to the bed, laying her down on it and crawling over her.

“That’s definitely a conversation I would love to have,” he smiled, closing the gap between them with a kiss, just barely pulling back. “After we practice first.”

“Do you guys really need to be here right now?” Ethan huffed, crossing his arms as the car came to a stop just outside of the Hastings home.

“How else would you pick Melody up?” Caroline asked, putting the car into park and looking at him through the rearview mirror.

Ethan shrugged, unbuckling his seatbelt. “Uber.” 

Matt snorted, shaking his head. “Yeah, over my dead body are you taking an uber at 12. Try 18.” He looked over his shoulder at Ethan. “Now go get your girlfriend, it’s bad manners to be late for your first date.”

“She’s not my–” Ethan huffed again, clearly stressed as he opened his car door, grabbed the bouquet of lilies and got out. “Besides, I won’t need to take an Uber when I’m 18, I’ll have a car.”

“If we even get you one,” Matt replied, looking forward and shrugging. “Don’t think I forgot about you spilling the slurpee on my newly cleaned and detailed back seats after I told you to keep the lid on. Your car will look like a pigsty.”

Ethan shut the door and stomped his way over to Matt’s window, knocking on it until Matt rolled it down. “You won’t need to get me one because I’ll be in the NHL with a contract worth millions of dollars and buy my own car!” He stuck his tongue out and turned around, walking away from the car.

“Nice try, but we share a birthday and you won’t be draft eligible till you’re 19 like I was!” Matt called out the window and laughed as they watched Ethan walk up the Hastings’s driveway. “God, he is so much like you it’s hilarious.”

“Excuse me?” Caroline laughed, motioning towards his window. “He is literally you in every aspect.”

“Yeah, but he gets stressed so easily just like you,” Matt smiled, looking at her. “Kids freaking out his parents are taking him to pick up his girlfriend and chaperoning his first date as if he’s not 12.”

“I here too daddy,” Scarlett said, lifting up her arms from her car seat as she looked at them through the mirror hanging from the middle seat headrest that helped them see her when driving.

“I know princess,” Matt replied, reaching back and tickling one of her hands.

“To be fair, he did say she’s not his girlfriend and you know how he gets when you tease him about it,” Caroline replied, keeping an eye out towards the driveway.

“Please, they may not be official, but they’re totally a thing. We were basically a thing on our first date,” he shrugged, looking back out the window. “And then I asked you to be at the end of the date, so we were official.”

Caroline rolled her eyes, laughing. “Yeah, but we also lived two doors down from each other. I think you’re forgetting the fact that we live in Calgary nine months out of the year.”

“So?” He shrugged, looking back at her.

“They’re 12, Matthew. You’re telling me that they’re going to have a long distance relationship at 12?”

“I don’t see why not,” he shrugged again, turning back towards the window before reaching out and tapping her hand. “Sh, they’re coming this way. Let’s see if he remembers what I told him to do.”

They watched as Ethan and Melody walked side by side towards the end of the Hastings’s driveway. Once they got closer to the car, Ethan walked ahead of her and grabbed the car door on the side he had been sitting on on the drive over, opening it for her. “Thanks,” she smiled, climbing into the car, Ethan closing it once she got inside and walking around the front of the car. “Hi Mrs. Caroline, Hi Mr. Matt.”

“Hi Melody, it’s nice to see you again,” Caroline said, keeping an eye out on the road as Ethan checked to make sure the street was empty before he walked alongside the car.

“Hi Mellie!” Scarlett squealed, waving her left arm out towards Melody. “How you?”

“Hi Scar,” Melody smiled, giving Scarlett a high five. “I’m good, how are you?”

“Good,” Scarlett said, as Ethan opened the door and got into the car opposite of Scarlett. “See my hipotomush?” She asked, holding out the gray stuffed animal that she’d gotten that first summer home in St. Louis after she was born when they took a trip to the zoo.

“It’s hippopotamus, Scar,” Ethan corrected, putting his seatbelt on. “Or hippo.”

“Hipotomush,” Scarlett smiled, holding him up with both hands. “My hipotomush.”

“He’s very cute, Scar,” Melody smiled, grabbing one of the hippo’s arms and shaking it. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. hippopotamus.”

“Ethie no let Groot come,” Scarlett sighed, bringing her hippopotamus down. “Groot’s Ethies best fwend.”

“He is?” Melody smied, raising her eyebrows as she looked over at Ethan. “And here I thought I was his best friend.”

“Groot’s not my best friend, Scarlett,” Ethan said, looking at the toddler. “He’s a stuffed toy like your hippo.”

“My hipotomush not a toy, he my fwend.” Scarlett said, her eyebrows furrowed and her nose and mouth scrunched up. “Mommy, Ethie being mean to my hipotomush.”

“Ethan, apologize to her hippopotamus for calling him fake.”

“I’m sorry Mr. Hippopotamus,” Ethan replied reluctantly.

“Great,” Matt smiled, looking at them through the rearview mirror. “Now go ahead and give him a hug and a kiss like you do for her during nap time.”

“Momm–”

“Matthew, stop it,” Caroline said, giving Matt a look. “Don’t make me turn this car around, I will drop you off at home.”

Matt just rolled his eyes as Ethan relaxed into his seat, Scarlett hummed along to whatever she was thinking about in her head and Melody leaned near Scarlett’s car seat, most likely entertaining the toddler.

“So Melody,” Matt said, breaking the silence as Caroline started to drive towards the roller skating rink. “How’s life in St. Louis? Are you excited for 6th grade? Got any boyfriends?”

“Dad!”

“Matthew!”

Despite the initial choice of subject, the car ride was filled with learning about how school and hockey were going for Melody here in St. Louis, while Ethan also kept her up to date on how his school and hockey were going for him in up Calgary– though Matt teased, once again, that Melody probably already knew all of this since the two of them talked on FaceTime or over texting. Which, of course, Ethan sulked about in the backseat as he tried not to turn red and Caroline gave Matt another warning look.

By the time they got to the roller skating rink, it wasn’t shocking to Caroline that Ethan got out of the car as fast as he could, even urging Melody to do so. The fast departure made Scarlett panic that she was getting left behind, meaning she alternated between crying, calling out for Matt or Caroline or Ethan, and crying some more. At least until Caroline got her out of her car seat, then she realized that she wasn’t getting left behind and calmed down once Matt gave her her hippopotamus stuffed animal.

“Okay bye, we’ll see you later!” Ethan said, waving at Matt and Caroline as Melody walked up beside him.

“What’s this see you later thing?” Matt asked, looking at the two of them as they all started walking towards the entrance of the skating rink. “We’re not just dropping you off and going joyriding, we’re staying.”

Ethan’s eyes widened ignoring Matt’s reply as he turned back around and walked with Melody up to the ticket office line, standing in it as they waited their turn. When they got up to the window, Melody walked up first, ready to ask for and pay for her own ticket until Ethan stepped forward and brought his wallet out from his jeans pocket. “Actually, can you make it two tickets please?”

The man at the ticket counter asked about skate rentals, the two of them choosing yes since they didn’t want to wear their outdoor skates inside the rink and then Ethan pulled out some cash from his allowance he’d, by some miracle, managed to save and handed it over, getting his change, two tickets for their skates back, and a receipt before walking off. Matt paid for two tickets to get inside for him and Caroline, not getting any skates themselves though he heavily considered it and then followed into the skating rink behind Ethan and Melody who were waiting right by the door for them.

“You guys go ahead and get your skates before your sizes are out, we’ll find a place to sit.” Caroline said, nodding at them both to walk ahead.

Melody nodded and went to walk towards the rollerskate and rollerblade rentals, Ethan staying behind and turning around towards them. “You guys are kidding…right?” Ethan spoke quietly, looking every bit stressed and panicked as he was probably feeling. “You’re not actually staying here are you?”

“No, we’re not kidding and yeah, we’re staying here,” Matt replied, putting his wallet into his pocket. “You’re 12, you don’t get solo dates just yet. Wait till you’re 15 like mom and I had to.”

Ethan looked over at Caroline with a pleading frown. “Momma–”

“I’m sorry Ethan, but we’re not leaving two 12-year-olds at a skating rink by themselves, especially since it’s a Friday night and it’s summer, so it’s going to be crowded.” Caroline replied, shaking her head.

“Hurry up or I’ll rent myself a pair of skates and join you guys–”

“No!” Ethan gasped, holding his arms out in front of him and keeping Matt away. “Why don’t you guys just go…sit in the car or something?”

“Because it’s the middle of summer, Ethan. And we’re not killing the battery on A.C. just because you’re embarrassed your parents are in the same building as you,” Matt replied, laughing. “Besides, on our first date, we had our parents literally sitting above us with an eagle eye view and sending pictures, plus Papa Walt on the ice who would intentionally stop by us just to check on us with teammates. So yeah, I’d say you’re pretty lucky right now.”

“We’ll stay out of your guys’ way as best as we can, I promise,” Caroline said, grabbing her wallet from her purse and opening it, handing Ethan a few bills. “This is for food and games, if you need anything, we’ll try to stay over in the jungle gym area.”

“Ethan!” Melody called out, waving her arm in the air. “They need your ticket for the skates!”

“I’ll be right there!” Ethan yelled back, turning back to Caroline and Matt. “You guys promise not to embarrass me?”

“We promise,” Matt replied, picking up Scarlett and sitting her in his lap. “Now go enjoy your date, I promise the ATMs aren’t leaving. Say bye to Ethan, Scarlett.”

“Bye Ethie!” Scarlett yelled over the music, waving her hand as Ethan started walking away. “Where Ethie go, daddy?”

“Ethie’s on a date with Melody,” Matt replied, turning Scarlett around to face him as she stood up on his thighs. “So we’re going to go play over by the jungle gym and try not to embarrass him.”

“I go date too.”

Matt’s eyes widened and Caroline laughed as he shook his head. “Oh no, no date for you. Not until you’re 30.” He leaned in and blew a raspberry against her stomach, getting her to giggle. “Now come on, let’s go find Mommy a table to sit at so you and I can go play. And maybe we’ll get something to eat too.”

Caroline looked over her shoulder as they started to walk off towards the seating area near the jungle gym and saw Melody and Ethan grabbing their skates and going off to find somewhere to sit down to put them on. She pulled her phone out, snapping pictures of the two to send to Melody’s parents, only for Ethan to look up at her with wide eyes of horror. He immediately started mouthing ‘go’ and waving her away and Caroline held her hands up and mouthed sorry before turning to follow after Matt.

“I think I’m turning into our mothers,” Caroline huffed, sitting down in one of the chairs across from Matt and Scarlett.

“That’s not a bad thing, but what happened?” He laughed, putting Scarlett’s diaper bag down into the seat across from Caroline. “

“Oh I know, I love our moms,” she sighed, handing her phone over to him. “But remember any time we went on a date they–”

“Would make us stand there and take a million pictures? Yeah, vividly,” he laughed, looking at the screen. “Tell me you didn’t.”

“I did,” she pouted, taking her phone back and motioning towards it. “But it's not like I asked them to stand there and smile.”

Matt laughed, shaking his head. “Yeah, so you photo stalked instead. Scarlett, can you say creepy?”

“Reepy,” Scarlett said, hugging her hippopotamus to her.

“Matthew,” Caroline glared, locking her phone. “It’s not creepy. It’s his first date, I want pictures so I can embarrass him years down the line.”

“I know, I’m just messing with you,” he said, walking over and kissing the top of her head. “Take all the pictures your little heart desires, but send them to me so I can show the guys and we can all make fun of him too.”

“Daddy, I go slide?” Scarlett asked, pointing at the slide over in the play area.

“We’ll go slide, but you have to give mommy Mr. Hippopotamus first,” Matt said, as Scarlett reached out Mr. Hippopotamus to take before leaning her over. “And now a kiss.”

Scarlett gave Caroline a kiss, and Caroline tickled her leg, smiling. “Have fun, sweetie.”

“Bye mommy, I go slide now.”

Matt readjusted her on his hip and held her closer, turning around towards the play area. “To the slide we go!” He turned back around, pointing at Caroline. “Sneak more photos, please.”

“Got it,” Caroline laughed, giving him a thumbs up as he turned back around and looked out towards the rink to see if Melody and Ethan had made their way onto the floor yet.

Tons of kids were skating on the floor, a majority of them were around Ethan’s age or older and the younger ones that were skating around were either skating close to the edge or with their parents. Caroline did notice that she wasn’t the only parent sitting at a table in the rink by far, which made her feel a little more comfortable with the fact her and Matthew were staying around. Most of the older kids also seemed to be hanging around in the arcade area, and if this was anything like the few times Matt and Caroline would come to the roller skating rink, then the older teens were waiting for when a majority of the kids and tweens to head out for the night before taking the floor themselves– which always happened to be around 9 o’clock.

Right when she was about to turn her focus towards the play area to watch out for Matt and Scarlett, she saw Ethan step out onto the wooden floor and stay close to the edge, holding his hand out for Melody to take. She quickly opened her camera again and snapped a picture as Melody held onto Ethan’s hand and stepped out onto the rink, and then the two of them let go of the other’s hand before starting to skate side by side, Caroline snapping pictures until she saw them getting close. She quickly put her phone down onto her lap and turned sideways, resting her left elbow onto the table and then leaning her head against her fist as she pretended to look off towards the play area, waiting until she saw them skate by her again and then bringing her phone back out and getting another few pictures of them. She sent the photos off to the siblings group chat, along with the parents group chat and then finally opened her message with Melanie, Melody and Nonnie’s mom. Melanie having taken pictures of Ethan and Melody on their front porch when he’d walked up to get her and during the drive over to the rink, having sent her pictures of the two of them from preschool.

Melanie Hastings: I can’t believe they used to be that small! 🙁

Caroline sent the pictures she took, typing up a message.

Caroline Tkachuk: I may have gotten the stink eye for snapping these, but oh well. Matt and I have been ordered to stay out of sight and out of mind until the end 😂

Melanie Hastings: They’re too cute! Craig tried to give Ethan that cliche “have her home by..” speech and Ethan just said “You’ll have to talk to my Mom and Dad, Coach Hastings. They’re the ones driving.” Craig couldn’t keep a straight face and poor Mel was just traumatized.

Caroline Tkachuk: You should’ve seen E’s face when we told him we were staying. You’d think we were dressed in clown costumes there to embarrass him. I’ll try to get some pictures for you guys throughout the night, so don’t worry, we’re keeping a good eye on them.

Melanie Hastings: I know you guys will. Craig and I won’t be home from dinner until 11, but Nonnie should be home from her plans with some friends by 9. Melody knows to text Craig or I when you guys leave and also Nonnie to make sure.

Caroline Tkachuk: Okay, that sounds great. Have a good date night!

Melanie Hastings: Thank you, we will!

Getting ready to put her phone down, she saw a message pop up at the top of her screen.

Ethan 🏒: Tell dad 2 stop taking pics plz 😩

Ethan 🏒: His flash is on 😒

Caroline looked up to see Matt standing against the netted fence of the play area, Scarlett on his shoulders and his phone out in his hand, and sure enough, a quick flash coming from his phone.

Caroline: Don’t worry, I’ll tell him.

Caroline: Now put your phone away, it’s not good date etiquette.

Ethan 🏒: Thank u 👍🏻

Caroline left her messages and went to her favorite contacts, clicking Matt’s name and bringing the phone up to her ear. She watched as he looked at his screen and then brought the camera down, answering her call and bringing his phone to his ear. “Hello?”

“Your flash is on you know,” she said, watching as he looked at his phone and then looked over towards her. “Ethan texted me to tell you to stop taking pictures. Maybe turn the flash off before you try again, hm?”

“Shit, okay thanks,” he replied, looking back over at the rink. “Did you get any more pictures?”

“Tons, and I have the better view, so you can stop being a creeper,” she replied, smiling at him.

“Daddy, go play!” she heard Scarlett whine, also watching her pat the top of Matt’s head.

“Okay, we’ll go,” he said, keeping a hand on her left leg as he looked towards Caroline. “You’ll keep taking pictures?”

“Absolutely. We’ve got two sets of grandparents, aunts and uncles and Melody’s parents requesting pictures for this moment. I’m getting tons.”

“Perfect, we’ll be over in a bit. Scar’s been eyeing this kid's hotdog for the last two minutes.”

“Good thing we brought snacks then,” Caroline laughed, shaking her head. “Love you, let the toddler play and tire her out.”

“Sounds like a plan, love you too.”

She watched as Matt hung up the phone and then brought his phone up towards the rink one more time, this time no flash before putting his phone back into his pocket and then helping Scarlett down off of his shoulders

Another message notification popped up from Matt and she opened it to see a picture of Ethan and Melody on the other side of the rink, still skating side by side and the both of them smiling and looking as if they were in the middle of a conversation.

Matty 💙: How’s this for incognito? 😉

Ethan and Melody had skated for the first hour before they ventured off the floor and over to buy some food, actually having to sit at the table with Caroline, Matt and Scarlett because there were no available tables. Matt and Caroline both tried their best not to ask any questions that would possibly embarrass the two of them or cause Ethan to give them a glare, and Scarlett had offered more than kept the two of them entertained by also trying to steal their slices of pizza despite Matt continuing to try and get her to snack on the puff snacks they’d brought along with them.

Once they finished eating, the two went back off to the arcade for about ten to twenty minutes before making their way back out onto the floor to skate again, and then Matt went off to go buy him and Caroline two slices of pizza and Scarlett some chicken tenders that, every time she noticed whenever Ethan and Melody would skate by, she’d either try to offer it to them or wave it at them. Something Caroline had to consistently get on her for since she almost dropped it onto the rink floor. They were waiting for the yawns to start, especially when they gave her the sippy cup of breastmilk from their freezer stash that they were almost through with until they could fully wean Scarlett onto cows milk. Unfortunately, the milk did not make Scarlett tired like it normally did and they were stuck trying to keep her occupied since the play area was now filled with tweens taking breaks from skating.

So anytime Matt or Caroline had to get up, whether just to walk around, throw trash away– they always took Scarlett with them, holding her hand and letting her walk to try and get rid of some excess energy she had. This included when Caroline told Matt that she’d be right back because she had to go to the bathroom. And the mere mention of the bathroom had Scarlett perking up and saying she wanted to go too. Caroline knew that the chances of Scarlett actually having to go to the bathroom were slim, because at home, Scarlett would follow absolutely anyone into the bathroom if you didn’t close the door in time. The first time she followed Ethan into the bathroom, she was crawling and 10 months old. He was absolutely traumatized and kept trying to get her to leave, but anytime he picked her up and placed her outside of the bathroom door, she cried. So, Ethan let her into the bathroom and then called out for Matt or Caroline to come and get her.

Most recently, since Scarlett found out that Madeline got to wear “princess undies” and asked Matt and Caroline if she could have some too, they’ve spent the better half of the last week and a half trying to potty train her. The first four days were a mess, quite literally. She absolutely refused to use the training potty they’d gotten for her, because she wanted to use the “big kid potty,” but they told her that once she got used to her training potty, then they’d see about letting her use the “big kid potty.” So far they were going on three nights in a row of Scarlett not having a wet diaper in the morning, and always announcing when she needed to use the bathroom by saying “go potty, please” and then they would take her to go use it if they were at one of their parents house or out of the house, but if they were at home, she would walk herself into the bathroom downstairs and use it.

By no means was it easy, and every time she used the potty correctly Caroline or Matt would give her some cut up strawberries which she absolutely loved, and while they wanted to try and stay away from bribery, Matt was the one who started it by bribing Ethan with m&m’s to clean his room when he was younger, and it since carried over to Scarlett’s potty training– though he likes to call it “a reward system” and with that change of perspective, they were both on board– though it would stop since Ethan no longer gets m&m’s for cleaning his room.

Surprisingly though, this time around, Scarlett actually did have to use the restroom, waiting until Caroline was done going before asking for help to unbutton her white bodysuit, already having taken down her leggings and making Caroline laugh at the eagerness to use the toilet. Unfortunately, there were no strawberries in the diaper bag, so she was promised some strawberries in the morning for breakfast, but was nonetheless excited to run out and tell Matt about the feat.

“Daddy guess what!” Scarlett smiled, running the short distance over to where Matt was sitting at the table.

Matt turned in his seat leaning over and resting his elbows on his knees. “What? Did you see Elmo over in the arcade?”

“No,” she giggled, bouncing on her feet before throwing her arms in the air. “I go pee-pee in the big kid potty!”

“What?” Matt gasped, a smile on his face, reaching out and picking her up. “You did?”

“Yeah!” She smiled, clapping her hands together. “Mommy says I get berries for breakfast.”

“I don’t know, we might have to do something better for this monumental occasion,” Matt sighed, shaking his head as he placed her down onto his legs, letting her stand up on him. “Like maybe pancakes with berries.”

“PANCAKES?” Scarlett squealed, turning around and looking at Caroline. “Mommy, I get pancakes please!”

Caroline laughed, sitting down in her chair and nodding. “We’ll make pancakes tomorrow.”

“Yay!” Scarlett cheered, bouncing up and down. “Pancakes, pancakes!”

“Why don’t you tell Ethan your big news, Scar?” Matt said, pointing out at the floor. “See him and Melody coming around? When they get closer you should tell him about the pancakes too.”

Scarlett crawled up onto the table and sat on her knees, leaning back against her shoes and resting her hands on the edge, waiting for Ethan and Melody to come around. “Ethie!” Scarlett yelled, who knows if Ethan could hear her over the music. “Ethie!”

Ethan and Melody stopped just in front of their table, staying close to the edge so no one would run them over. “What’s up? Is something wrong?” Ethan asked, looking at Matt and Caroline.

“Ethie, I go pee-pee in the big kid potty!” Scarlett smiled leaning over the edge to try and give Ethan a hug. “We have berries and pancakes tomorrow, Mommy and Daddy say so!”

Ethan looked at Matt and Care, his face starting to turn red at the fact that his little sister was announcing out loud her potty training, and was desperately trying to tell them to help him out since it was clearly embarrassing.

“That’s awesome Scar!” Melody smiled, holding up her right hand. “Can you give me a high-five?”

“Mhhm,” Scarlett nodded, using her own right hand to hit Melody’s before holding her hand out for Ethan. “Ethie, five too?”

“Yeah, come here,” Ethan sighed, reaching over the edge and picking Scarlett up and giving her a hug. He carefully put her back down and held up his hand for a high-five, Scarlett smiling and hitting it. “We can even watch a movie tonight too–”

“Ducks!” She cheered, throwing her arms in the air. “We watch ducks, please?”

“Okay,” Ethan laughed, nudging her back away from the edge so she wouldn’t fall over. “Ducks it is.”

“Annnnd this is when we let Ethan and Melody keep skating, Scar,” Caroline said, putting her arm in front of Scarlett so she didn’t try to get closer to the edge. “Say bye.”

“Bye!” She waved as Ethan and Melody moved away from the edge and continued to skate around the rink. “We play games daddy?”

“Yes we can,” Matt said, reaching out for Scarlett.

“And now we’re going to go ahead and play the first slow song of the night, meaning clear the floor if you’re solo and go ahead and grab that special someone because now it’s time for couples skate.” The DJ announced, as the previous upbeat song faded out, the different colored disco lights above had changed color patterns and a new slower song started to play.

“Actually,” Matt smiled, grabbing his phone out of his pocket instead. “Let’s stay and watch Ethan and Melody for a bit.”

“Do you think they’ll stay on the floor?” Caroline asked, ducking down slightly as she grabbed her own phone.

“They better, he called it a couples skate and they’re on a date.” Matt replied, slowly trying to raise his phone. “The better question is if he’ll hold her hand.”

Taylor Swift’s Lover remix started to play and they both kept a secret eye out for Ethan and Melody as they skated around the rink and the solo people got off of the floor, the two of them still skating side by side and not holding hands.

“Pst, Scar,” Matt whispered, poking her side. “When Ethie comes by, tell him to hold Melody’s hand,”

Caroline’s jaw dropped as she looked at him. “Matthew–”

“Ethie, hold Mellie hand!” Scarlett yelled, leaning fully against the edge with a pouty face as Ethan and Melody skated by, but thankfully they were gone by the time she had added on “because daddy said so!”

“Okay, you go play in the arcade, stop embarrassing him.” Caroline said, waving Matt off. “I’ll get pictures or a video, but you need to go tire her out.”

“Come on Scar,” Matt sighed, picking her up and propping her up on his hip. “Let’s go see if we can win any cool prizes.”

As Matt walked away, Caroline kept trying to nonchalantly keep an eye out on Melody and Ethan, both who looked to be a little bit embarrassed by Scarlett’s outburst, but at least were still skating together on the floor. As much as Caroline and Matt had wanted Ethan to step out of his comfort zone on his first date, they knew exactly what he was feeling. It was one thing to be on your first date and be unsure of what to do, when to hold their hand or if you were going to kiss or not. But it was another to worry about all of that and then have your parents be in a close vicinity. So while she did tell Matt she’d take pictures, she really was trying to make it seem like she wasn’t paying that much attention to the two tweens– not wanting to add any more pressure from being chaperoned onto the already nervous date.

But the moment that she saw Ethan hold his hand out and motion for Melody to copy him and then saw Melody do the same, only for Ethan to smile and hold Melody’s hand– she knew exactly what he had done and where he’d learned it from. Because it was always how Matt used to get her to hold his hand between that period of being ten years old all the way until they were dating.

“Hey Care?” Matt asked, the two of them sitting on the side of the boat and waiting for fireworks to start over the lake.

“Hm?” She asked, looking up from her newest read of the summer, Tuck Everlasting, and turning off the book light clip she’d bought at the scholastic book fair this year.

“I want to show you something,” he replied, turning towards her, reaching out for her book and dog eared the corner of the page she was reading. “So put the book away.”

“Don’t fold my pages!” She gasped, smacking his hand away and quickly unfolding the page, placing her bookmark in the book upside down, her own method of reminding herself which page she was on. “And if it’s another bug, go show Brady instead.”

“It’s not, just put the book down so I can show you,” he huffed, rolling his eyes.

Caroline rolled her eyes back and placed her book down in her lap before turning to him. “What?”

“Okay, so put your right hand out like this,” he said, holding his left hand out just ahead of him, his palm facing the air.

“Matthew, if you’re going to play a trick on me, I’m not in the mood. I’m burnt–”

“Just do it, Caroline,” he replied, bringing out the full name, a smile on his face as she rolled her eyes again and held out her right hand, copying exactly what he did. “Okay, ready?”

“I swear to God Matthew, if you slap my hand or–” she paused once Matt placed his left hand on top of hers and intertwined their fingers together. “Oh.”

“Ha,” he smiled, his face red with a slight sunburn and his hair still wet from his shower. “I got you to hold my hand, now you have to hold it until the fireworks are over.”

“Okay,” Caroline smiled, shrugging her shoulders as she opened her book with her left hand. “That just means you have to turn the pages for me.”

Still smiling, Matt nodded his head. “Okay.”

Caroline didn’t care if she wasn’t hiding her phone that well as she snapped pictures of the two of them skating hand in hand as they skated by her and around the rink. And she knew for a fact that Ethan had seen her, because as she looked back in one of the pictures, she could see him looking directly at the camera, but miraculously, or maybe because she had already taken the picture before he had the chance to drop it, he was smiling.

“Mommy, look!” Scarlett smiled, Matt sitting her down on the table as she showed Caroline the plastic container with a red lid. “I won prize. Open please!”

Caroline grabbed the plastic container known to mostly come out of the quarter machines with the knobs you turn and looked at Matt. “What? Your prize winning skills are lacking?”

“That’s the only one she wanted to play,” he replied, plopping down in the seat across from her. “We didn’t even get into the arcade or past those machines. I tried to tell her they weren’t real games, but she insisted.”

Caroline opened the plastic ball, taking the lid off to reveal the white piece of squared paper, and when she picked it up and flipped it over, it was a flaming heart with an arrow through it– a temporary tattoo. She looked at Matt, holding it up. “Really Matthew?”

“She’s the one who picked the machine. I told her it was tattoos and not a toy.” He replied, shrugging as he dug through the diaper bag in search of the baggy of cut up celery. “But someone got her mommy’s stubbornness.”

“Yay heart!” Scarlett smiled, reaching for the tattoo and holding it in her left hand, pointing at Caroline. “I be like mommy!”

Matt grabbed Scarlett and turned her to face him. “How about we put your tattoo right here on your arm where everyone can see it instead of where mommy’s is?” Matt asked, placing the paper down in the middle of Scarlett’s forearm.

“No Daddy,” Scarlett frowned, lifting up her light blue striped shirt, only to show her white bodysuit, and pointing right where her heart was. “I wan here like mommy.”

“Sorry princess,” Matt replied, tugging the shirt out of her grasp and pulling it down. “But no tattoos there until you’re 18 and mommy and I can’t tell you no,” he smiled, handing her the tattoo, “So pick a spot on your arm and go ahead and stop pouting, because daddy isn’t changing his mind.”

As Caroline handed him a bottle of water and he got to work on putting Scarlett’s temporary tattoo on her, Lover came to an end and more people were brought onto the rink, yet Ethan and Melody were still holding hands.

“Did you teach E the ‘I want to show you something’ hand holding trick?” She asked, looking away from the rink and towards Matt.

Matt smiled, pouring some water into a small towel they had in the pockets of the diaper bag, nodding his head. “Yeah, he asked me how to get Melody to hold his hand, or something along the lines of how to hold hands on a date. So I told him about how I used to pull that trick on you all the time when we were kids to get you to hold mine. Why?”

“Because I watched him pull that exact trick out on Melody when they were skating,” She smiled, opening the photos and sliding her phone over to Matt. “Don’t worry, I got pictures of the evidence.”

“No kidding?” Matt held the damp towel against Scarlett’s arm and looked down at the phone, smiling as he swiped through the pictures. “Huh, then he’ll probably take my kissing advice too.”

“What kissing advice could you have to give him at 12?” She asked, rolling her eyes. “Stuff your mouth with fifteen mints beforehand so your breath doesn’t smell like dinner?”

“Ha ha, very funny,” Matt replied, rolling his eyes. “But no, it was much simpler than that.” He lifted up the towel and placed it down onto the table, looking at Caroline with a smile. “I told him not to get their braces stuck together, because we’d have to go to the nearest fire station to get them unstuck with wire cutters.”

“Kiss daddy,” Scarlett said, puckering her lips.

Matt laughed, giving her a kiss before carefully peeling off the paper backing of the tattoo to reveal the heart on her arm. After blowing on it a few times, he held it up so Caroline could see. “There you go princess, a tattoo like mommy.”

“Yay!” Scarlett smiled, turning around and showing Caroline. “See mommy? I like you now!”

“Very pretty, princess,” Caroline smiled, holding onto her arm and looking at the tattoo.

“Kiss please,” Scarlett replied, puckering her lips up again.

“Of course,” Caroline laughed and pulled her closer to her side of the table before giving the toddler a kiss. “Why thank you, Scarlett. Now how about you put your jacket on because it’s getting a little cold in here.”

“Okay, mommy,” Scarlett nodded, Matt handed Caroline the jacket from her diaper bag and Caroline put it onto her, zipping it up. “Hood too?”

“And your hood,” Caroline nodded, putting the hood onto her head. “There you go.”

“Cuddle with Ethie now?” Scarlett asked, a frown on her face as she looked out towards the rink for Melody and Ethan.

“Ethie’s busy, princess,” Matt said, turning her around. “But how about some cuddles with daddy and Mr. Hippopotamus? Would that be okay?”

“Okay,” she nodded, letting Matt pick her up and rest her in his lap. Caroline handed over Mr. Hippopotamus and watched as the toddler hugged it to her chest and snuggled down into Matt’s chest, staring out towards the rink.

Matt rested his chin down on top of her head as he held her close to him and looked at Caroline with a smile. “Change your mind on that thing we talked about earlier yet?” He asked, taking a quick glimpse down at Scarlett.

“Mmm, I might be able to be persuaded,” Caroline shrugged, taking one of the celery sticks out of the snack back and biting it.

Scarlett gasped, looking at the bag. “I want one please!” Matt grabbed a celery stick and handed it to Scarlett, who just snuggled back against Matt and just held onto the stick, not even eating it.

Matt kissed the top of her hood as he rubbed her back and looked at Caroline with a smile. “We’ve got the rest of the summer to practice and talk.”

It wasn’t supposed to be different.

Well, yeah, it was supposed to be different from when she first kissed him on Valentines Day when they were eight-years-old, and all of the times they’ve hung out every summer just the two of them– but not this different. Just because they weren’t just “hanging out” and were on a date, doesn’t mean that it was supposed to be different at all.

His parents never told him that it felt different on their first date to the school dance or what they called their “official” first date to Papa Walt’s pre-season games. They always played it off as if it felt like any other time they hung out together, but then they were more than just best friends. Everything was fine when he asked her if she wanted to go on a date, it didn’t feel any different because they were at the rink just having fun and practicing with his Dad, BeeBee and some of their other NHL playing friends. 

“What are you doing this weekend?” He asked, the two of them picking up pucks from the end of the rink that they had to themselves.

“Um, I don’t think anything,” she shrugged, dumping the pucks she’d gathered in her practice jersey, down into the bucket. “My parents are going on a date for their anniversary, so I’ll probably just be home with Nonnie since she’s visiting from Texas for a bit since Andrew’s got a lot of road games this whole week. Why?”

“No reason,” Ethan replied, shaking his head as he ducked down into the net, keeping his back to her as he closed his eyes in frustration.

‘Stop being a scaredy cat, just ask her.’

“Actually, there is a reason,” he replied, standing up just slightly and hitting the top of the net with his head, forgetting it was there and immediately feeling his face and ears heat up in embarrassment.

“Here,” Melody laughed, bringing the bucket over. “At least we’re still small enough to where we don’t lift the entire nets like our dads.”

Ethan nodded, moving out from under the net and dropping the pucks he’d picked up into the bucket. “Papa Walt just says that my dad has a big head.”

Melody looked over her shoulder towards where his dad and everyone else was, tilting her head to the side and then looking back at him with a smile. “I’d say it’s slightly bigger than average.” She carried the bucket with them as they went to the corner boards, putting the bucket down onto the ice. “So what’s the reason? You said there was a reason why you were asking…what is it?”

“Oh uh,” Ethan cleared his throat, bending down and stacking a few pucks in his hands as he stood back up and dropped them into the bucket, shrugging. “Just seeing if maybe…we can hangout.”

“Like we are right now?” She asked, tossing more pucks into the bucket.

“Well, I mean…yeah, but no,” Ethan replied, shaking his head and picking up more pucks. “Like this, but not this…not during the day, maybe at night or something?”

“Eth–”

“Okay so a date!” He huffed, dropping the pucks into the bucket and when he looked at her and saw the shock on her face, his heart dropped and he felt nervous. “Maybe…if that’s okay?”

“So…it won’t be just us hanging out like we are right now?” She asked, furrowing her eyebrows. “But a date? Like a date, date?”

Ethan blinked, unsure of how to reply. He just kind of figured she’d say either yes or no, not that he’d have to explain himself. He’s never even been on a date before, so how was he supposed to know if there was really a difference? “Yeah. Like a date, date.”

Melody smiled, first it was a closed lipped one and then it grew, showing off her turquoise braces. Ethan may have hated his braces and thought that they made him look like a major dork, he’d always thought hers were pretty from the moment she sent him a selfie the day she got them. Not that there was ever a moment when he thought anything about her was ugly, but the braces, like everything else about her, just seemed to fit and make her prettier.

“Yeah, I’d love to,” she nodded, picking the bucket back up. “I’ll have to ask my mom and dad first though, but I doubt they’ll say no.”

“Really?!” He smiled, catching himself in excitement and clearing his throat. “I mean, yeah…me too. Ask my mom and dad, not yours. I don’t think mine will say no either, because they really like you. I mean I like you too, but they–”

“Ethan?” Melody laughed, cutting him off as she looked at him.

“Yeah?” He asked, skating beside her as they brought the full bucket of pucks to center ice.

“I already said yes,” she reached out and rested a hand on his shoulder, still smiling as she shook her head. “So relax, you dork.”

Yeah he was nervous actually asking her, but who wouldn’t be? It was him asking his best friend in the entire world on a date– their first date– so it was still kind of a big deal. But after that, once he asked his mom and dad and they talked to Melody’s parents, the rest of the week felt normal. He talked to Melody, hung out with her and nothing ever felt majorly different. But from the moment they pulled up in front of the Hastings’ he was nervous. It didn’t help that while he didn’t have a total black eye from where Scarlett had whacked him with the toe of her mini-stick, he did have a small amount of red swelling and slight bruising just along his left cheekbone like his mom said he most likely would.

Despite his parents hanging around in the rink with Scarlett and being within eyesight of him and Melody, Ethan was still able to have a pretty fun time. They skated a lot, challenging each other to see who would get around the rink faster or even just catching up on their lives in school of things they hadn’t managed to discuss throughout the school year and keeping up with each other every day. He talked about how different school was in Calgary compared to Shadowlawn and how he got to walk with Adam every day after school over to the high school where their mom’s worked.

Everything was going great, even when they decided to stop for something to eat and realized that they had to sit with his parents and Scarlett. It wasn’t that bad, because Scarlett was like a nice buffer in the switch from skating on the rink to sitting down and talking with his parents and getting entertained by Scarlett trying to tell them about the slide…that and she kept trying to steal the cheese or pepperoni off of their slices, especially his, even if she was holding a punch of puff snacks in one hand that their dad had been trying to feed her instead.

The worst part of the night, and it wasn’t even that bad really, was how when they went to the arcade, he spent the remainder of his allowance that he’d saved up for tonight, trying to win her a stuffed animal from one of the claw games. He tried, she tried, and the cycle continued before he eventually ran out of money and she did too, so they went back onto the floor. Of course not without Scarlett not trying to get them to stop every time that they skated by, even almost dropping a chicken tender on the floor and Ethan could already see that play out in his head where an employee would ask his parents to leave because of the toddler dropping chicken tenders onto the floor where someone ran it over and broke a leg. Then if they left, that meant he and Melody would have to leave because they already said that there was no way they were going to sit in the car while the two of them were in here.

“What’s your next excuse?” Melody laughed, out of breath as they both slowed down and moved towards the inner part of the skating circle. “You tripped on a chicken tender?”

“Ha ha, very funny,” Ethan replied, rolling his eyes as he slowed up beside her. “But no, no more excuses. You’re clearly a better skater than me.”

Melody smiled, bumping her shoulder against his. “I think I might get that in writing so one day when you’re in the NHL and competing in fastest skater, I’ll have it as proof that I’m a better one and you know it.”

“Or you could just train me so that way when I win and they pull me off to the side for an interview and ask, I can give you all the credit,” he smiled, the two of them still standing shoulder to shoulder.

“I’ll be sure to draft up a price chart for your lessons every summer,” she replied, nodding her head, looking ahead of them, then pointing. “I think your parents are waving us over…or at least Scar is.”

He looked over just ahead of them to see Scarlett sitting back against her shoes on the table yelling something, but he couldn’t quite hear her over the music. But it was the fact she was staring right at them that told him Melody was right. They kept the pace, moving themselves closer to the edge as they rounded the corner right by where his parents were sitting at the table, coming to a stop just in front of it.

“What’s up?” He asked, Scarlett staying where she was and not saying anything as he looked at their parents. “Is something wrong?”

“Ethie, I go pee-pee in the big kid potty!” She smiled, scooting herself all the way to the edge and reaching her arms out to try and hug him. “We have berries and pancakes tomorrow, mommy and daddy say so!”

The one person he could rely on not to embarrass him in front of Melody, just turned on him at the worst possible moment and with the worst possible thing. Sure, Scarlett is a cute toddler, but the last thing he wants to talk about on his date is the fact that his little sister just used the adult toilet for the first time. Melody was the youngest sibling, she didn’t have any younger relatives and she’s only ever been around Madeline and Scarlett whenever she was around him– but never once did a potty training conversation ever come up.

“That’s awesome Scar!” Melody smiled, holding her right hand up for Scarlett. “Can you give me a high-five?”

“Mhhm!” Scarlett nodded, using her own right hand to hit Melody’s before holding her hand out for him. “Ethie, five too?”

Ethan blinked in awe that Melody never even cringed at Scarlett’s bathroom announcement. To him the moment the news left Scarlett’s mouth, he wanted to crawl into a hole and hide. He could even feel his ears and face start to heat up with embarrassment…until Melody was the one who broke through the slight awkward silence with excitement. That made everything a little less embarrassing for him, and what really sealed the deal was how Scarlett was looking at him. It was hard enough that she was a cute toddler and had the chubby baby cheeks like he’d had in all his baby pictures, but she had their mom’s eyes and she was pulling off the puppy dog pout the way he’d taught her to and it just made him think of her being sad and then their mom being sad…and he hated thinking of that or even seeing it.

“Yeah, come here,” he sighed, reaching over the edge and picking her up, feeling her squeeze her arms around his neck as he hugged her. When he put her back down onto the table, he held up his left hand for a high-five and Scarlett smiled, hitting his hand. “We can even watch a movie tonight too–”

“Ducks!” She cheered, throwing her arms in the air. “We watch ducks, please?”

He couldn’t help but smile. Not like he hadn’t been training her to watch and enjoy the mighty ducks movies with him since she was a baby, he totally had and it was clearly paying off very well. “Okay,” he carefully nudged her back a little away from the edge,  not wanting her to fall over. “Ducks it is.

“Annnnd this is when we let Ethan and Melody keep skating, Scar,” his mom said, moving her arm in front of Scarlett so she wouldn't try to get closer to the edge. “Say bye.”

“Bye!” Scarlett waved as Ethan and Melody moved away from the edge and continued to skate around the rink.

“She’s cute,” Melody said, nodding behind them. “Makes me wish I had a younger sibling.”

Ethan nodded. “Yeah, she’s a lot of fun when she’s not whacking me in the face with a mini stick or trying to follow me into the bathroom.”

“Oh come on, you love her,” Melody teased, reaching up and poking his cheek. “Admit it. She’s the best thing to ever happen, because I know for a fact that you’ve been dying for a brother or sister since forever.”

“I didn’t say that I didn’t love her. She’s just, a lot sometimes, because she always wants to be around me,” Ethan laughed, shaking his head as he looked at her. “Bathtime? I always have to be there. Before I used to just sit on the toilet while my mom or dad gave her a bath, but now I just put on my swim trunks and get in with her because she wants to play with toys. And when we brush our teeth, she likes to sit on the sink and brush her teeth with me. She won’t let our mom or dad put the toothpaste on her brush, only me.”

“Sounds to me like she really loves her big brother,” Melody said, nudging him again.

“And now we’re going to go ahead and play the first slow song of the night, meaning clear the floor if you’re solo and go ahead and grab that special someone because now it’s time for couples skate.” The DJ announced, as the previous upbeat song faded out, the different colored disco lights above had changed color patterns and a new slower song started to play.

All of a sudden, just when things were starting to feel like they were normal– like it was them being two best friends just on a date– the stupid DJ pulls a stunt like that. Maybe it was because he was too young to ever really pay attention to the fact that there was a couples skate, but now he was well aware and his heart was thumping against his chest as he started to notice that one by one, people who weren’t in a pair were walking off the rink. And those that were? Well, they were holding hands and still skating along.

At least he knew the song– it was one his mom always used to listen to when he was younger. She’s still to this day a big fan of Taylor Swift. But it’s still pretty awkward to skate to a song called lover, on their first date…when technically, they weren’t even a couple. So were they allowed to stay skating around? Oh God, what would his parents think? He could easily hear the teasing from his dad now and at least he knew that his mom would step in to defend him from it, unless she took part in it too and–

“Hello? Ethan?” Melody said, waving her hand in front of his face. “Are you in there?”

“What?” He asked, shaking himself out of his thoughts. “Oh, yeah…sorry, I was just trying to figure out what song it was. My mom listens to her music all the time.”

“Nonnie does too.” Melody nodded, the two still skating side by side as they kept getting passed by couples.

“Ethie, hold Mellie hand!” Scarlett yelled, fully leaning against the edge of the rink, her signature frustrated pout on her face as the two of them skated by.

Unfortunately, this time he was able to hear what she was saying…which meant that Melody could too. And that was only confirmed when he could see her tuck her chin into her chest out of the corner of his eye. And there was no stopping himself from turning red right there. Just when he thought that Scarlett could come through for him…she does this.

He was definitely looking forward to the day where he didn’t need chaperones on his dates.

“So um…sixth grade!” Ethan said, quickly changing the subject. “School dances and stuff… are you excited?”

Melody shrugged her shoulders, chewing on the inside of her cheek. “I guess. Chloe said she thinks Benji might ask me to the winter one because he asked me to be his Valentine this year.”

“Oh,” Ethan frowned, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I thought you liked the stuff I sent you?”

“I did, I did!” She nodded, suddenly looking shocked. “I just— he asked me in front of the entire class and you know how my mom says I’m too nice for my own good…so I only said yes so he didn’t get embarrassed. And I told him that after school, and that you’d asked me first.”

And he did. Another time of saving up as much of his allowance that he could, though he needed a lot of assistance from his mom and dad— because while he’d sent a box filled with her favorite candies, two books and a teddy bear, his parents also helped him pick out an edible arrangement for her to eat as well. They asked him if he wanted to or anything on the card and he said yes and told them not to look while he typed it up and then made sure they didn’t see it when they filled out the payment information.

He’d written— “Mel, Happy Valentine’s Day. Will you be my Valentine for the fourth year in a row? xx E”

She texted him back a yes and funny enough, a few days later, right on Valentine’s day, he’d come home to a box on the front porch from her. Filled up with m&m’s, a pack of hockey trading cards, a cool St. Louis Blues shirt and then even one of her own trading cards from the season…signed of course.

“What about you?” She asked, fidgeting with her fingers. “Are you excited for school dances and stuff?”

“I don’t know if they do them in junior high in Canada…or at least not in Calgary,” he replied, shrugging his shoulders. “My mom and Mrs. Elizabeth chaperoned the formal this year…which I guess is like a prom. But I think that’s the only one they have.”

“That sucks.”

“Not really,” he replied, shaking his head as she looked at him. “Cause if I was going to go to a dance, I’d want to go with you.”

She smiled again and he’s known her long enough to know when she was blushing or flustered. But it was how she tucked some of her curls behind her ear that he knew she was just as nervous as he was. “I’d want to go to a dance with you too. So are you free for prom when we’re seniors in high school?”

They both laughed as Ethan just nodded and moved his head side to side. “I’ll probably be playing for the Knights by then…so I think I can manage that.”

“I like that you’re following in your dad’s footsteps,” she said, their nerves easily fading out. “I think it’s really cool, but I also hope you make it your own, you know?”

“Oh I will,” Ethan replied. “I plan on beating every and any record he made. I only wish my birthday was maybe a day or two later so I could at least beat him for being younger too when I get drafted.”

They continued to skate around the corner and Ethan looked around at all of the strictly couples only who were skating with them. Every– and literally, every single one of them…were holding hands. It was a couple skate and they were on a date. If she didn’t want to hold his hand, the worst she could do was say no. But then a part of her must like him enough to want to hold his hand since she said yes to going on a date with him. He felt himself get nervous on how to initiate it– but then he remembered the advice his dad gave him.

“Hey dad?” Ethan asked, putting the mini sticks nets away in their corner of the living room as his dad was leaning against the back of the couch, double checking that everything was in the diaper bag.

“What’s up, E?” He asked, looking up from the bag and zipping it.

“So when you’re on a date,” he turned around, slowing down his actions as he collected the mini sticks and the ball. “How do you like…hold her hand? I-I mean I know how, but like…how do you get her to?”

His dad smiled, nodding him over. “I’ll show you the trick I always used to get your mom to hold my hand when we were your age and younger before we started dating.”

Ethan placed the sticks and ball on top of the net and walked over to his dad, leaning against the couch arm. “But I don’t want to trick her into holding my hand…I want her to actually want to hold it.”

“If she doesn’t want to then she’ll just let go of your hand dude, relax. Now watch,” he said, taking a deep breath, exhaling and then rolling his shoulders forward before nodding at him. “I want to show you something.”

Ethan furrowed his eyebrows. “I thought you already were?”

“What? No, that’s— this is part of it. You tell Melody ‘I want to show you something’ and when she asks what, you tell her to put her right hand out like this,” his dad laid his hand out in front of him, palm up. “Or whichever hand you’re going to hold. But for right now, put your left hand out…do it.”

Confused, Ethan copied his dad and put his left hand out ahead of him, palm up. “And when she does, you just,” his dad reached for his hand and held it. “And voila, you’re now holding hands.”

“And that actually works?” Ethan asked, as his dad let go of his hand.

“Worked on your mom all the time.” He smiled, nodding his head. “The first time I did that was one summer when we were at the lake. We were 10 and I told her that she had to hold my hand until the fireworks were over. She did.”

Ethan nodded, leaning fully against the arm of the couch and bringing his feet off of the floor, “I kinda have one more question.”

“If you want to ask before your mom walks in, I’d make it quick. She’s the one who can get Scarlett not to put up a fight with what to wear.”

He shrugged, not wanting to look at his dad as he asked and instead focused on the sliding glass door to the backyard. “So if we were to kiss what do I do?”

“Well for one, don’t get your braces stuck together because then we’d have to go to the nearest fire station so they could use their wire cutters to get you both unstuck,” his dad replied with a smile as Ethan looked at him in panic. “But E, you guys have already kissed. I think you know what to do.”

“But we were eight!” He whined, resting his chin on his arms. “It was just a peck that lasted like two seconds.”

His dad raised an eyebrow. “So what? Are you planning on making out with her right then and there in the skating rink?”

Ethan’s face crinkled as he rolled his eyes. “Gross, dad, no. But I don’t want it to be a two second peck on the lips.”

“I gotcha,” his dad laughed, leaning his arms against the back of the couch. “Well, kissing is really just something you pick up along the way the more you do it, E. You read off of each other. So tonight, if you choose to kiss her or her you, just go off of what you feel. If you choose to do it, you can just kiss like you did when you were eight and then pull away after a few seconds and go for a second one. But do you want two pieces of real advice I can give you besides that?”

“That’d be nice since it’s what I asked for originally.”

“Dork,” his dad rolled his eyes, reaching out and nudging his head. “But really Ethan, the four most important things when it comes to kissing are this.” He held up his right thumb finger, “turn your head slightly to the right before you kiss, that one comes from Aunt Clara so thank her for that.”

He held up his index finger, “read off each other, don’t just smash your mouth against hers, okay? You have to be gentle with it.”

He held up his middle finger last and looked at him. “If and this is a big heavy if, you two do decide to make-out, make sure I am nowhere nearby because I will not only chirp you about it until I’m dead, but it will be embarrassing for both of us for many, many years.”

“And lastly, but most importantly,” he held up his ring finger. “When you’re kissing her, make sure you’re touching her also. Whether that’s her face like you see mom and I do, her waist or even just holding her hand. It’s a little more romantic if you’re touching in some way, got it?”

“Got it.”

“Hey Mel?” Ethan asked, taking his hands out of his pockets.

“Yeah?”

“I want to show you something,” he replied, holding his left hand out just like his dad had taught him to. “Put your right hand out like this.”

“Okay?” She replied, looking confused as she did what he asked and looked at him. “Why?”

Ethan smiled and moved his hand over towards hers before flipping it over and intertwining his fingers with hers— officially holding her hand. “Nothing, but it got you to hold my hand. Now you have to hold it until the song is over…or not, I-I mean you can do whatever you want to do because my mom says that nobody can tell you what to do—“

Melody laughed and squeezed his hand, smiling at him. “Okay.”

“And even if you don’t want to kiss her just yet, a kiss on the cheek is good too. I always did that to your mom even after we kissed at the school dance.” His dad smiled, reaching out and nudging his arm. “It’s a nice sentiment to let her know you care.”

Ethan quickly looked over his shoulder to see his mom was looking down at her lap, probably on her phone and he looked back at Melody, quickly leaning over and kissing her cheek before moving back. Melody looked at him, just as surprised as he was that he actually did it. But what he didn’t expect her to do, was skate closer to him to where their shoulders were touching versus having that hand holding distance between them. She leaned in, kissing his cheek before resting her head on his shoulder for just a second before standing close to him still, the two of them continuing to skate to the music.

And even as the seconds ticked on, he swore he could still feel her lips on his cheek and the warmth that had spread across his entire body the moment she did it.

When it started to near 9 o’clock, Caroline broke their promise of making sure they were out of sight and out of mind, flagging Ethan and Melody down and telling them to be ready to leave and be at the car by 9 o’clock, so that way they would leave with the younger crowd and wouldn’t get caught up in the older crowd for the night. Immediately after the warning, the two of them had done one more lap before getting off of the rink, turning in their skates and putting their shoes back on.

“Momma,” Ethan huffed, coming to a stop next to their table. “Can I have $20?”

“Sure, but where’s Melody?” Caroline asked, pulling her wallet out of her purse.

“Waiting by the arcade, I promise I’ll pay you back. I just want to try and win something for her or else I’ll look like a total dweeb.”

“Better make it $40,” Matt said, holding onto the half chewed celery stick Scarlett had started to eat before she opted for the puffs instead. “If his arcade game skills are anything like they were back when he was eight, it’s a lost cause. You were the one who won Groot, Care, remember?”

“Groot?” Scarlett asked, looking up from the puffs lid. “I want Groot!”

“No Groot,” Ethan said, pointing at Scarlett. “Groot doesn’t leave my room.”

“Groot my friend,” Scarlett said, sticking a puff in her mouth. “Mine.”

Caroline shook her head and sighed as she handed him the $20. “You both have your shoes and your belongings with you?” When Ethan nodded his head she waved him off. “9 o’clock Ethan, we’re heading out the door. Got it? That means you’ve got ten minutes.”

“Yes ma’am, thank you!” He said, immediately turning around and running to wherever he’d left Melody standing last.

“No more puffs, Scar,” Matt said, moving the toddler’s hand from trying to dig into the container. “It’s way past your bedtime and you should be sleeping, not snacking.”

“I not tired, daddy,” Scarlett said, crossing her arms and pouting. “You tired, you go sleep.”

Matt huffed, nodding his head. “Yeah, daddy is very tired. Which is why you should be tired.”

“Mr. Hipotomush tired?” Scarlett asked, looking down at her stuffed animal sitting on the table before looking back at Matt, shaking her head. “Mr. Hipotomush no tired, I no tired too.”

Caroline laughed as she packed up the diaper bag, taking the celery stick from Matt. “Scar, I know you’re excited to watch ducks with Ethie, but you might have to do that in the morning,” she said, eating the rest of the celery stick.

“No mommy!” Scarlett pouted, eyes instantly filling with tears. “I wan watch ducks night! Ducks with Ethie!”

“Sorry princess, but it’s past your bedtime and you’re going to fall asleep the moment you and Ethie lay down to watch it. And we need you to sleep in your big girl bed,” she said, tossing their trash in the trash can that was behind them since they had the corner table. “You like your big girl bed, remember?”

It wasn’t much of a real big kid bed, just her crib that was transformed into a toddler bed instead, so she wasn’t constantly trying to climb out of her crib and risk falling down onto the floor. Especially after the incident when she was a year old where Ethan had accidentally dropped her onto the floor while trying to help her out of her crib and she cried to the point where they thought she broke a bone– only to find out that she hadn’t been injured at all. But still, it wasn’t uncommon for Scarlett to find her way out of her bed and room in the early morning hours and crawl into Ethan’s bed.

A habit that Ethan doesn’t really mind, but would also prefer not to be woken up from time to time because Scarlett can’t climb up onto his bed and is demanding for him to pick her up.

“Ducks my room,” she said, grabbing her hippo and cuddling against Matt’s chest, looking away from Caroline and up at Matt. “Ethie sleep in big girl bed too.”

“Ethie’s too big for your big girl bed, princess,” Matt said, looking at her. “Maybe tomorrow during nap time, Ethie will take one with you again in his room.”

Her pouty bottom lip quivered as she shut her eyes and ducked her head down into her chest and then her 24 pound body started to tremble with sobs and hiccups. “N-no b-b-big girl,” she cried, her left fist rubbing at her left eye as her face was turning red from crying and her right arm, which had Mr. Hippopotamus clutched in its hand, reaching out for Caroline. “D-ducks b-bed, m-mom-mommy.”

“And I think this is our cue to leave,” Matt sighed, standing up from his chair and walking over to Caroline and handing a leaning Scarlett over to her. “I’ll grab the diaper bag and go start the car.”

“I’ll find Ethan and tell him to meet us out there.” She nodded, adjusting Scarlett’s hood onto her head as she sniffled into her ear and clung around Caroline’s neck for dear life.

They walked towards the entrance of the skating rink as more teens started to file into the building and towards the skate rental and rink floor. Matt walked ahead of her as Caroline stopped at the arcade and tried to skim through the crowds of people that were in it, spotting Ethan and Melody at a claw machine midway through the arcade. She made her way through the crowd of people, coming up beside them as Ethan went to put in another token.

“Your dad and I are going to the car, Scar’s getting tired so we’re just going to go ahead and get her settled in. I still want you guys out the door at 9 o’clock though, okay? No hanging around.”

“Yes ma’am,” he and Melody said, nodding as they turned their attention back to the claw machine.

She turned back around, rubbing Scarlett’s back since the toddler was no longer crying, still just sniffling quietly, and made her way back through the crowds and then out the exit door of the skating rink and across the parking lot to where Matt had started the car and was waiting at the trunk, leaning against the back of the car.

“Want me to put her in the seat?” Matt asked, standing up straight as Caroline got closer.

“No it’s okay, I’ve got it, you can get in the car,” she said, walking over to the passengers side back door and opening it as Matt walked around to the drivers side. “Okay, Scar you gotta let go of mommy’s neck so she can put you in your car seat okay?”

“No,” Scarlett mumbled, digging her head further into the crook of Caroline’s shoulder.

“How about if mommy sits back here with you?” Caroline asked, trying to get the toddler to look at her. “Will you get in your car seat then? And I’ll sit back here with you until Ethie and Melody get back?”

Scarlett leaned back, nodding her head as Caroline stood her up on the back seat. “Yes please.”

“Okay, climb on in and I’ll sit back here with you.” Caroline smiled, taking Scarlett’s jacket off and then using the sleeves to wipe her cheeks before kissing her cheek and letting her climb into her car seat and sit down. Caroline sat down and closed the door behind her and scooted closer to Scarlett’s car seat, starting to buckle her in as Scarlett hugged onto her hippopotamus.

“Keep an eye out on them, Matt?” Caroline asked, sliding her hand beneath Scarlett’s buckle and softly rubbing her stomach to see if it would get her to fall asleep.

“Were they almost done?” He asked, looking at her through the rearview mirror.

“I don’t know, but I told him 9 o’clock still, so he’s got about,” Caroline peeped at the clock on the touch screen, nodding. “Two minutes to be outside.”

Caroline leaned her head against the headrest of the middle seat as she watched Scarlett slowly start to drift to sleep, only an hour past her bedtime. She kept rubbing her stomach softly, just until she was sure that Scarlett was fast asleep. Scarlett wasn’t a light sleeper by any means, it always took a little extra effort to get her to sleep and to wake her up from a nap, so Caroline knew that if she kept rubbing her stomach for the next two minutes, along with Scarlett having cried so hard, then she would be fast asleep in no time.

“Sh, is that them right there?” Matt asked, whipping his head around and staring through the rear window.

“Matthew, quiet!” Caroline whispered, nodding down at Scarlett. “But what are you talking about?”

“Turn around,” he said, nodding back and Caroline followed his gaze, looking through the back window. “Right there by the exit door, is that them walking out and getting ready to stand by the wall?”

Caroline squinted, trying to figure out in the group of kids walking in and out of the rink, were the two that belonged to them,  until she spotted just who Matt was talking about– and sure enough, it was Ethan and Melody. “Yeah, that’s them. Do you think they forgot where we parked? Hold on let me get out and–”

“No!” Matt said, reaching back and smacking at her hand, shaking his head. “They definitely didn’t forget where the car’s parked. Your car literally has an #7 junior-flames hockey sticker on it.”

“Then why are they just standing there?” She asked, turning back and peering through the window.

“He asked me earlier when you were getting Scar dressed about how to hold her hand and kiss her, so if I’m guessing right, he’s probably going to kiss her.”

“What?” Caroline gasped, looking back at him. “But he’s a baby, he’s only like 8.”

“That’s what you said when he actually was eight and kissed Melody the first time, only you said he was four.” Matt laughed, rolling his eyes. “There, there mama bear. The first little cub is just growing up.”

“I know,” she frowned and sighed, looking down at a still fast asleep Scarlett. “Now I know how our parents feel. It sucks but is also equally awesome to watch them grow.” She looked back over her shoulder to see Ethan and Melody talking, both of them sort of shielded by a car parked nearby. “We should probably give them privacy.”

“Are you kidding?” Matt scoffed, motioning towards the back window. “Besides, this is revenge for all the times he cockblocked me. Not to mention while our parents didn’t see our first kiss, my dad wasn’t afraid to literally tap on the glass during a break on the ice because he saw me kiss you before his shift change. Plus I want to see if he took my advice.”

“Good point,” Caroline replied, turning around in her seat and looking out the window while partially trying to hide behind the headrest. “Do you see a stuffed animal? I hope he was able to win one for her. I know he was–”

“Sh!” Matt gasped, hitting the front passenger headrest. “What’s he doing? You’re closer. Is he holding her hand?”

Caroline rolled her eyes. “I’m barely closer and it’s dark–”

“What’s he doing? Hand, face, or waist?”

“What?” Caroline asked, looking at him over her shoulder. “What the hell are you talking about Matthew?”

Matt sighed and rolled his eyes. “I told him that when he kisses a girl, he should be touching her. Either her face, her waist or holding her hand. So turn back around and tell me if braceface is following my advice.”

Caroline shook her head and tried to lean forward more. “Uh…” she squinted more, tilting her head to the side. “Both? Maybe?”

“Both? Care I gave you three–”

“Fine, fine um…well he’s holding her right hand and–” Caroline’s eyes widened as she gasped, reaching back and reaching for Matt’s hand that was resting on the side of the passenger seat. “He moved a hand to her cheek, Matthew.”

No sooner than she said that, did Ethan lean in closer to Melody and from where she and Matt were sitting in the car, it looked like the two of them were kissing.

Caroline was smacking at Matt’s hand, pointing out the window. “Matthew, he's kissing her, they’re kissing!”

Ethan pulled away, but just a short moment later, Melody leaned back in and kissed him again, causing Matt to swat at Caroline’s hand. “Stop swatting at me and enjoy the fact that our son has major game like his dad.”

Caroline turned towards Matt, raising an eyebrow as she snorted. “Alright, sure we’ll go with that.” When she turned back around, the two were still kissing before finally pulling away and then the both of them started to walk away from where they were standing and back in a more clear view, headed towards the car holding hands.

“Shit, turn back around,” Matt huffed, quickly turning forward and adjusting his position in his seat before turning the radio up just a little bit. “Act natural.”

Caroline carefully turned forward in her seat, but propped the car door open just enough to where whoever got in on this side would know that someone could be back there and then pretended to double check Scarlett’s buckles.

“Oh hi, Mrs. Caroline,” Melody said, opening the door and standing just outside of it. “Did you want to sit back here with Scarlett?”

“Oh no, that’s fine sweetie. She just wanted me to sit back here with her until you both got back,” Caroline said, scooting out of the seat. “But she just fell asleep so just try to be a little quiet when you get in. She shouldn’t wake up, but just in case.”

Melody nodded and let Caroline get out of the car before Caroline switched places with her and then went to close the door once Melody got inside, only for Ethan to close it first. “So you won a claw machine prize after all?” Caroline asked, noting how Melody had been carrying a stuffed Patrick Star plush.

“I tried to get the Scooby Doo one because that was her favorite cartoon when we were little, but his head kept slipping through the claw,” Ethan nodded, shrugging his shoulders. “And somehow I grabbed Patrick on the last try…so I don’t have any change for you, sorry.”

“It’s fine Ethan, I’m just glad you had fun,” she smiled, nudging his back. “Now go ahead and get in the car.”

He nodded and walked around the back of the car to the drivers side and Caroline opened the front passenger door and got in, closing it behind her. “Alright, time to go home. We’ve got a curfew to meet and multiple bedtimes have been delayed. Ethan’s included–”

“Dad!” Ethan groaned, barely done with putting his seatbelt on as he glared at Matt. “I don’t have a bedtime!”

“Ethan Matthew!” Caroline said, turning around and looking at him. “Your sister is sleeping, quiet down.” She turned to Matt, nudging his elbow as he put the car into reverse. “And Matthew, stop teasing him. We get it, it’s past your bedtime.”

“Not all of us can be youthful tweens,” Matt teased, rolling his eyes as he started to pull out of the parking lot. “And some of us need our beauty sleep. Ethan is most definitely one of– ow!” He looked towards Caroline, furrowing his eyebrows as he rolled his right shoulder. “What was that for?”

“Figure it out,” she replied, giving him another look before relaxing into her seat. “Melody, your mom said that you know to text her and Nonnie when we were leaving the rink. Don’t forget to, sweetheart.”

“Yes ma’am, I’m doing it now.” Melody replied, the light coming from her phone screen being the only source of light in the backseat.

They listened to the radio play softly on the car ride home, Melody asking Matt about the last season and about the upcoming season and then Caroline about how she likes teaching at her new school and how her mom misses working with Caroline and that she said Coach Preston was having trouble finding a new teacher to bother. By the time they pulled up to the Hastings’ house, only Nonnie’s car was in the driveway, which allowed Matt to pull up so Ethan and Melody didn’t have far to walk.

“Thank you for driving us tonight, Mrs. Caroline and Mr. Matt,” Melody said, unbuckling her seatbelt and opening her door. “And thanks for letting us go, I had a lot of fun.”

“Of course, Melody. It’s always a pleasure getting to hang out with you,” Caroline replied. “Tell Nonnie we said hi and that I still give her permission to smack Andrew upside the head every once in a while if it’s deserved. She can even say it's from me.”

“Okay, Mrs. Caroline,” Melody laughed, nodding her head. “Goodnight!” They waved goodbye as Melody closed her door and Ethan was already standing there to walk up with her to the front door…which also just so happened to be out of sight.

Matt nudged Caroline, a smile on his face. “How much do you want to bet he’s gonna do a cliche front porch kiss too?”

“Leave him alone, Matthew,” she sighed, shaking her head as she laughed. “Why do you always have to embarrass him?”

“Because it’s fun, out of love and a rightful dad passage.”

“Chew.” A soft sound came from Scarlett’s car seat, the both of them looking back towards her.

“Scar, sweetie are you awake?” Caroline asked, turning around.

“Hold on, I got this,” Matt said, unbuckling his seatbelt and opening the door, getting out of the car and then getting into the back, sitting in Ethan’s seat and sliding over next to Scarlett. “Well good morning princess.”

“Chew,” Scarlett smiled, stretching in her car seat as much as she could.

“Oh bless you,” Matt smiled, leaning down and kissing her forehead. “Hm, must be allergies, because she doesn’t have a fever.”

“No, daddy,” Scarlett giggled softly, pointing up at him. “Matt-chew.”

Matt’s face deadpanned as Caroline’s jaw dropped and then she started to laugh. “No sweetie, I’m not Matthew, I’m daddy. Dah-dee. Daddy.”

“Matt-chew.” She giggled again.

“Why are you doing this? Go back to sleep,” he whined, looking at Caroline. “Did Ethan do this? Is this normal? Why does she hate me?”

“She probably thinks it's funny, Matty,” Caroline sighed, nodding at him. “I mean, look how worked up you got.”

Matt looked back down at Scarlett, pouting. “Scar, you love daddy, right princess?”

“No daddy,” Scarlett said, shaking her head as he yawned and pointing at him again, smiling. “Matt-chew.”

He sighed, hanging his head down as he shook it. “You’ve forced me to take extreme measures princess,” he looked back up at her and pointed at him. “I’m daddy. Dad-dee. Dah-dee. Daddy. Not Matthew or Matt-chew.”

“Matt-chew.”

Matt sighed again, shaking his head. “Okay, no ducks.”

“Matthew!” Caroline gasped, eyes wide. “Don’t torture the poor girl.”

“Ducks, daddy!” Scarlett cried, whining slightly as she held both arms up. “Ducks, daddy please?”

Matt smiled, looking at Caroline with an ‘I told you so’ look before leaning down and kissing Scarlett. “Of course, princess. Daddy was just joking.”

He got out of the car and left the door barely closed before getting back into the driver's seat and closing his door. A few moments later, Ethan came walking down from the front porch and towards the car, walking back around towards the drivers side and getting into the backseat, closing the door. “Nonnie says hi.”

“Hi Ethie,” Scarlett said quietly as Ethan put his seatbelt on. “Ducks?”

“Oh yeah, ducks,” Ethan nodded, sinking into his seat. “Maybe tomorrow, Scar. I’m kinda tired.”

“Chew! Chew!” Scarlett whined, kicking in her carseat. “Ducks, chew!”

“Bless you,” Ethan said, leaning closer towards her car seat as Caroline started laughing. “What?”

“She’s not sneezing, Ethan,” Caroline said, looking at Matt. “It seems she’s discovered dad’s name is in fact, not daddy. But Matthew.”

“Matt-chew! Ethie watch ducks please!” Scarlett called out, holding her hippopotamus in the air.

“Ethan, just tell her yes and put an end to it,” Matt groaned, both hands on the steering wheel as he backed out of the driveway. “We’ll just give her a warm bottle when we get home.”

Ethan nodded, leaning against Scarlett’s car seat. “We’ll watch ducks when we get home, Scar.”

“Yay,” she smiled, snuggling down into her seat. “Ducks quack!”

“That’s right,” Ethan smiled, holding onto one of her hands. “The ducks quack.”

“So, Ethan,” Matt asked, looking at him through the rearview mirror. “How was your first date? Everything you hoped for? Did you score a second date?”

“It was a lot of fun,” he nodded, trying to hide his smile as they drove down the lit neighborhood streets. “Yeah, I asked if she’d want to go on another one before we go back to Calgary and she said yeah, she just has to ask permission and then we have to figure out when and what to do. Thanks for letting us go.”

“Of course, sweetie. We’re glad you had fun,” Caroline smiled, looking over her shoulder. “So I know we’re not supposed to ask because you get all embarrassed, but are you and Melody dating?”

“No, we’re not dating because we’re both not allowed to date until we’re 13,” Ethan replied, shaking his head as he smiled, this time not holding it back. “But she said if I ask her next summer, she'd say yes.”

Matt and Caroline shared a look as Ethan looked down at his phone, most likely replying to a text from Melody. Matt reached across the center console and held his hand out for Caroline to hold. And when she took it, she intertwined their fingers and he brought her hand to his, kissing her knuckles.

“Feeling a sense of deja vu?” He whispered, just for the two of them to hear.

Caroline snuck a look over her shoulder at Ethan, who was still holding onto one of Scarlett’s hands with his right hand, and holding his phone in his left. The light off of his phone screen lit up his face to show him still smiling as he was replying to a text. “Yeah, majorly.” She looked back at Matt, shrugging. “But I think I’m pretty confident in how it’ll end.”

#matthew tkachuk imagine #matthew tkachuk fic #matthew tkachuk one shot #matthew tkachuk writing #matthew tkachuk oneshot #calgary flames writing #calgary flames fic #calgary flames one shot #calgary flames imagine #calgary flames oneshot #nhl imagine #nhl one shot #nhl writing #nhl fic #nhl oneshot #hockey fic #hockey one shot #hockey imagine #hockey writing #hockey oneshot #wltay

[babytaes]

The Kickback

summary: What happens when your long-life crush's secret is discovered? In hopes of not wanting him to find out, what do you do... nothing.

pairing: dk x female reader

genre: fluff, slice of life, crack lol.

warnings: profanity

word count: 3k

a/n: today is my birthday and I wanted to share this one that has been in my drafts for so long. this campus life is stressful but I’m finding time to upload here and there. I hope you enjoy and have a great day/night. Much love from Babytaes! :) Also I really didn’t read this over sooo... if it doesn’t make sense. Take it up with corporation. 

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

“Dear diary, I saw my crush today. I saw him in the living room after my brother invited him over with another friend. It's not as if I'm scared of him. I've spoken with him numerous times. I mean, I'm almost fluent in his language, lol. Seeing him and hearing his boisterous laugh was still entertaining. I'm wondering if he'll be at the kickback this weekend; if so, maybe I'll have the bravery to approach him. Okay, goodbye journal, love y/n.”

Your life consisted of short, insignificant interactions with him; however, when you had a crush, life was exciting and unpredictable. Since you're so near to him on a daily basis, your crush increased exponentially as you couldn't control your intrusive thoughts.

Yes, you did think of him, probably 25/8. It's not like you didn't know him, but you only knew the head version of him. And we all know they could be two different people. So the only thing left to do is keep it secret.

It's impossible for your secret to come out when you're the only one who knows about it. Right? Unfortunately, this isn't a movie, and your secret was revealed, and the perpetrator was none other than your arch-nemesis, Boo Seungkwan.

Okay, not quite that far, but you and him frequently collided because you and him could never agree on anything. He's just Boo, and he has his own behavior category.

He was the second-to-last person you wanted to find out about, after your crush, of course. From this point on, your life was not going as planned.

Your secret would never be revealed to Lee Seokmin, and you would do anything to protect it.

“What are you doing?” You leapt to your feet as you hurriedly closed your diary, terrified of prying eyes.

You rolled your eyes and stuffed your journal into a drawer with random papers, saying, "Shit, why don't you ever knock."

“Well, this is my shared dorm, and you're basically free living here,” he chuckled. You gave him a sidelong glance.

He was right.

“Is that a way you treat your twin? Is it now.”

He strolled away, completely oblivious to your yelling, and into the kitchen.

“Shut up, and get your ass out here we have to go shopping for the kickback. If you’re not out in 10 I’m leaving your ass.”

Great sibling love, what more could you ask for.  As much as you know that this is the way he expresses his love, you still got up and started getting ready for the day despite his warning.

Amidst your constant disagreements with him, you still loved him. The only problem was that you had to keep your love interest hidden from him. You could see it now and the big brother trying to protect and all that annoying shit.

You were old enough to take care of yourself and you didn’t want unruly men to ruin something that you wanted for so long.

“Coming, if you leave me, I'll tell Mom.” And I think we can all agree that I am the favorite twin.” As he slammed the fridge door shut, you could hear his huge scoffs.

You hurriedly grabbed your purse and beanie as you dashed for the door, laughing at his tantrums. He had a habit of leaving you behind.

We will not speak of March 5, 2017.

“Hey, wait up,” you said as you ran to his car and jumped in before him, grabbing the aux before him.

He started the car and sped out of the dorm parking lot on his way to the store, saying, "You're such a pain in the ass."

“Oh, don't act as if you don't love me.”

“Whoever said I did must have lied to you. Mingyu laughed as he accelerated through Seoul's crowded streets.

The jokes, the laughter, and the love were all part of the experience of living with one of the biggest Kpop groups.

You wouldn’t have it any other way!

While listening to your playlist, the song "Come to You" perfectly complemented the mood.

You smiled as you passed many streets and watched the busy lives of many different people. You could say you had an imaginative mind.

We arrived at the store a long way down the road, grabbed one of the carts, and proceeded to a separate aisle of the store.

Buying stuff was always expensive with a party of 13 and more friends on the way. Almost everything had to be doubled, and the meat had to be tripled. When throwing a party, everyone is required to provide a dish.

You didn't seem to mind; after all, you weren't paying, so you just chilled on the cart while you watched Mingyu placed the goods in neatly.

You told Mingyu to grab a specific chip as you walked to the chip aisle, and he furrowed his brow.

“What are those? I've never seen them before.

"Dokyeom likes them," you blurted out without a second thought. As you mentally processed what you had said, you stared at him with wide eyes.

Shit.

“When they're not there, Dokyeom and Soonyoung get upset.” You shook your head and scooted by him, tossing two bags into the overflowing shopping cart.

“Oh-okay I guess you can get them.”

As you pushed the cart toward the cashier, you mentally slapped yourself in the face. You were certain that you would not crack.

The ride home was silent as the only noise was the continuous taps from Mingyu's fingers on the wheel.

Mingyu called wonwoo on his phone as he drove up to the dorm and asked him to help with the groceries.

As you heard Mingyu pout over the phone, he refused, and not even minutes after, wonwoo is strolling down the driveway on his way to the car.

“You shouldn't even have picked up I know I wouldn't"  Wonwoo pushed your shoulder and chuckled at your humor. “I know”

“Heyyy I'm right here,” Mingyu began to sulk as he observed his sister speaking without him.

You and wonwoo both chuckled as you gathered your belongings and began walking away from Mingyu.

---

The days went by slowly as you reached the door. It was time to leave the house. You grabbed a jacket and purse. Today, the boys went to Hybe for a quick practice session before heading out for the weekend.

Because you are such a good friend and thoughtful person, you decided to buy them a few drinks as a gift. It wasn't anything special, you didn't want to see anyone, noo.

It took some time to order everything, especially with the large number of 13 items. Since you've known each other for most of your lives, the drinks on the list haven't changed. Ice Americanos and Frappes were the most popular drinks.

As soon as you arrived at the Hybe building, you swiftly grabbed the bag containing the drinks and proceeded to their floor. You finally made it to their practice room after thanking the employees for their assistance.

Slowly pushing the door open, you drew the attention of almost everyone as they turned to face you. As a number of them raced over to you and took the beverages from you, smiles crept across their faces.

As they sipped their drinks, the room was filled with thank yous and hellos.

The voice of an angel said, "Thanks again, y/n." He gave you a short smile before returning to his practice. Oblivious to people around you, words spilled out.

“Fuck, he's so attractive.”

“Whose good looking?” As you slowly turned around, you heard a voice speaking to you from behind you.

Fuck

It's Boo Seungkwan. He smiled at you as he grabbed a drink from your hand. He cocked his head as he sipped it, and his eyes widened.

“Don’t tell me you said dokyeom is good looking, no fucking way.”

As you coughed to relieve the high tension in the air, you started to mentally sweat.

“That's insane, I said the room was in good condition," you said as you slapped his shoulder and shook your head.

Come on, y/n, that didn't even make sense.

“You know you're not going to fool me, y/n?” Afraid that someone would find out, you dragged him into a back room and locked the door behind him

“Shit..shit..shit. If you tell anyone, I swear I'll -

Laughing, before raising his eyebrows after taking a sip of his americano, he cut you off.

"You're right, this is important information. But you already know that I'll keep my mouth shut about the situation. I don’t even know what we’re talking about right now.”

Seungkwan heard dokyeom announce that practice had resumed as the door opened. Before he left, he smiled at you and waved goodbye.

“Y/n and dokyeom in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. As you were about to leap across the couch to silence him, he jumped up and ran out of the door laughing.

All of a sudden, your mind was filled with confusion and paranoia.

It became increasingly difficult to watch them practice as the session progressed. Your thoughts were not positive, and your attitude was slowly deteriorating.

Imagining the worst-case scenario. You paced in the back room when you heard a knock at the door. As you mentally prepared yourself, it caught you off guard. While walking side by side, Hansol and Seungkwan were whispering.

“Did they know?” You didn’t want anyone to find out so you ran, and didn’t stop running. To avoid society, you hurried out the door after saying a quick goodbye to the boys.

The goodbyes were not even heard as you hurried out of the Hybe parking lot without looking back. In a small group, information spreads quickly. And he was bound to find out.

Flushed and worried, you staggered into the dorm room. You knew your secret was going to get out eventually. In the case where Hansol and Seungkwan knew, Joshua is likely to know.

And since Joshua is close to the older boys, Seungcheol and Jeonghan know. The news would then spread to Hoshi, and then the entire performance team would be in the know.

The only remaining candidates are Mingyu and dk. If Mingyu finds out, it's game over for you at that point.

There was no point of living any more. Having completed a full loop of the house, you had come to your room for the final time. You slowly melted to the ground and fell out.

Dokyeon is more likely to know if Mingyu knows.

"What went wrong?" Unable to control yourself as you rolled around the floor, you erupted into a tantrum.

You sat up and shook your head, "I'll just have to leave the country," you said. "Man, you're so smart. Your plan y/n is fantastic."

You ran to your room, grabbed your suitcase from your closet, and began tossing things into.

No need to pack everything since you were only going to be gone for a year. As soon as your adrenaline slowed down, you began packing.

(A few hours later)

You were relieved when your clothes fit into your luggage when you had finally done packing. You were on your way now, and as long as it wasn't here, everything was good.

“Ah, I figured it out; now let's book it.”

When you approached the door, you unlocked it, and we were greeted with a pleasant surprise.

You walked up to the door and opened it, where you were greeted by Mingyu and his gang. Outside the door, you could see him, hao, dk, and wonwoo. They stared at you as they looked you up and down, perplexed as to why you appeared to be departing.

“Um, what is going on and where are you going?” Mingyu reacted with a rejoinder of his own.

Your throat felt as though it was clogging up, and you began sweating furiously under your armpits. Thank god for hoodies.

“Well, I was simply going to visit a friend's house,” you explained.

You knew he wouldn't believe you; he knew most of your friends, and they didn't live that far away for you to be carrying that much.

“First, that's a lie, and second, I need to speak with you, so your "buddy" will have to wait.” You sighed and closed your eyes.

Your escape had to wait.

Mingyu took your suitcase and slid it near the door, while the other members shuffled awkwardly into the room. While the other lads sat in the living room, Wonwoo went to his room.

“Maybe I could escape now?”

“What did you say y/n?” minghao said as he glanced at you.

You waved your hand in front of them and did a walk of shame to your room as you physically and mentally prepared yourself for whatever Mingyu had to say.

So much for your crush now.

Mingyu sat on the edge of your bed, arms crossed, staring at you.

“Sit down, he patted the bed on your side before lightly coughing.

"Some rumors have been going around, so I wanted to clear the air."

Seeing what he was about to say made your heart race, and you couldn't take it any longer. Does anyone else hear their loud banging, could Mingyu hear it?

You leapt to your feet and shouted at him before apologizing on your knees.

What a sight to see, a grown ass woman on her knees apologizing to her twin brother.

“I apologize; I should have told you first, but I was afraid you'd tell him. That's why I kept it a secret and plus dating a member of seventeen. That's dangerous enough-“.

Mingyu's "WHAT" cut you off.

You came to a halt as he got up, slowly staring up at him.

“Wait, weren't we discussing my crush on Dokyeom or something else?” Worries began to creep in as sweat began to accumulate on your brow.

“What the fuck, you have a crush on do-?” you exclaimed as you jumped to your feet and tackled Mingyu to the ground.

“Don't say it so loudly; he'll hear you.” As Mingyu began to pace around the room, as he pushed you off of him.

You could see his anger as he panicked, and his small rage tantrum was truly uncomfortable because he couldn't communicate his ideas to you because he was afraid of his companions' sensitive ears.

He pointed to the door and said, "Wait, so you do have a crush on him." You sighed, shaking your head.

As he walked away from you, he had another outburst.

Everything is now turning to shit, this was your only chance.

“I have to escape” you said as you dashed out the door and to your suitcase. Mingyu was standing behind you, staring at you in terror.

It wasn't in the plan for you to fall on him, but it was still nice. Focus y/n.

“I’m sorry, dokyeom; it was my fault. I didn't realize you were there. “Are you okay?” As you extended your hand to him, you pushed yourself off of him.

“Yeah, I'm OK, are you okay?” he asked. You've had quite a tumble.”

“Yeah I’m good, I live with a clumsily brother so I’m fine”

“Hey!"

You swiftly let go of each other and placed your hands behind your back as you became embarrassed.

“Hey, Seungcheol texted the group chat and said he wants to go out to eat. He said whoever can come.”

The boys instantly got ready as they wanted to eat, food is a great scapegoat. As you saw them exit the dorm, you took a step back and found your way back to your room.

“Is leaving still an option?” you murmured into your pillows, plopping your exhausted body on your bed and overthinking life.

---

You rolled over and looked at the clock, which reads 9:30 a.m.

You turned over in your bed, unable to yell, and trudged to the bathroom to make yourself presentable.

“What have you gotten yourself into, y/n?” You stripped off your clothing and stepped into the hot water after turning on the shower.

You didn't spend much time in the shower, but today you were engrossed in how your plan had devolved into this ordeal.

Resting your head on the tile as the hot water traced down your back, you contemplated on what the HELL you were going to do.

*BANG BANG*

“Y/n hurry up, we have to prepare.”

Hearing Mingyu's voice drew you back to reality as you turned off the water and got out of the shower, unlocking the door and letting him in.

“Hey, no snarky remark?” he said as he watched you walk to your room with your head down. You ignored him as you closed the door and prepared for the party.

It didn't take long for your calm disposition to be noticed, since you were the outspoken one. Even if you tried to fake it, it didn't work out.

You grinned as you walked through the background of Seungcheol and Jeonghan shared housing, looking at the celebration.

There were groups of people near the pool, at the grill, and even by the chairs, as you could see.

“Hey, bring the food inside; I'll take the meat to cheol,” mingyu said, shaking your head as you picked up the bags and headed to the kitchen, where you recognized some familiar faces.

“Y/nnnnnnnnn, heyyyyy, I’ve missed you.” When you saw her, you put the bags on the counter and hugged her, smiling into her embrace.

“It's great to see you again, yeji; how are you and the rest of the group doing?” Are the others here?” As she led you back outside, she interlaced your hands in hers.

You saw dokyeom and a few other people descend the steps before you left, as he waved and gave you a quick glance.

As you reach for a drink from the cooler, your heart begins to race. Something had to be turned off if you wanted to make it through the night, and this was the only way.

You took a sip and coughed loudly as you followed Yeji to the poolside.

It was going to be a long night for you.

---

As you and a group of individuals began to dance uncontrollably, the effects of the alcohol in your system began to show as you staggered to the grill.

“HeEeeyyYY, Wheeeere d'ya think yeeeeer goin’?” you slurred, jabbing a finger into seungcheol’s back

The other members laughed as they glanced at you, plainly detecting your intoxication.

“I forgot how drunk you can get, so why don't you take a break,” your overprotective brother says, making you scream within.

He always did this.

Gerroff me!” you said. “I’m ash sober ash ’m gonna git. And nuffink I - wait wait wait - nuffink you can do ‘boutit.” As you ambled back to the kitchen without so much as a hiccup in their direction, they laugh.

As you struggled to reach the door, you fell forward and were grabbed by a hand. As he lifted you from your imminent doom, his hold felt warm. With your eyes enlarged, you focused on the individual and stared at his face.

As you grabbed on to him, your words tumbled out of your mouth, “Ohmygoshimsosorry.” He drew you closer to him by taking your hands in his.

Saying your heart was racing was an understatement, it was literally pounding out of your chest. You were hand in hand with your crush, who you believed was exceptionally attractive and talented, and you wished he knew more about your sentiments or could somehow fill them.

But you know no huge idol like him would go for you. Feeling that made you sober up real fast as you felt your arm being pulled upstairs, you had no idea where you were going but it looked like someone's room.

Dokyeom eased open the door as he sat you on the bed and went to get some water from a little fridge. He handed it to you and sat next to you.

“Thanks”

“No problem, also I've been trying to talk to you all night but you appear to be occupied.”

As you took a sip of water, your heart began to beat faster; “waitttt, we donthavetotalk. Let’s dance! As he chuckled at your erratic movements, you began to wander around the room, pulling your hands into yours.

The alcohol was definitely making its way out of your system.

As he spun you around, his body in tune with the music, the bass of the song could still be heard. Even though this felt like a dream you didn’t quite care at the moment. Was it because you'd finally met the boy from your dreams, or was it because he wanted to meet you in person?

Your connection with him got stronger by the second, as did your heartbeat, which began to rise steadily with it. You couldn't keep stalling any longer; you needed to listen to what he was saying.

“I think I'm sober up for now,” you said as you let go of his hand.

Dokyeom chuckled before tossing his head back, “I didn't realize you could move like that” he said as they sat back on the bed, a little closer than before.

“I guess I learnt a few things along the way when you're friends with the best dancers out here.” As you finished your sentence, he peered into your eyes, making no sound as the room fell silent.

“Soo, what did you want to talk about?” you awkwardly state to relieve some tension in the air.

“I don't know how to explain it, but I kind of heard your "secret" as it passed through the practice room, and I simply wanted to be the first one to tell you about it because-

Your heart stopped pounding as your world came crashing down around you. You didn't want to hear it; the rejection; you'd rather live in your fantasy world, where you don't have to worry about anything. It wasn't true if you didn't hear it.

“Wait, if you can't reconcile those feelings, don't say anything; just let me go.” They're probably curious about our whereabouts anyway.” And with that, you stood up and walked towards the door, but you were pulled back by his hand.

He kissed you as swiftly as his hands linked with yours. You were taken aback at first by his passion, but you regained your calm and reminded yourself of what was going on: he was really kissing you, and you were really kissing him, and the rest of the world was inconsequential.

You were chilling on the outside while shouting for joy at the top of your lungs on the inside, as if your inner child had been set free. You had to be sure if this was a dream or if it was happening in real life.

“Ouch”

“Why did you do that?” Dokyeom asked as he gripped your arm in his.

“I had to double-check that I wasn't dreaming; this isn't the first time something like this has happened to me.”

“So you're saying I've been in your dreams?” he laughed as he cocked his head to the side and placed his hand in yours.”

You smacked your forehead and shook your head, realizing you couldn't get out of this one, and now he knew you fantasize about him. You didn't mind because the lad of your dreams was right in front of your eyes.

AND HE WAS HOLDING YOUR MF HAND. It was clear that your diary needed to be updated.

Stopping at the door, you placed your palm on his chest and worriedly stared at him.

“Wait, how did you find out?” 

“Well, a tiny birdie was chattering loudly about it, his name rhymes with coo,” he said as he grabbed your hand in his and opened the door and began the walk downstairs.

“Fucking Boo Seungkwan”

#seventeen #svt #seventeen dokyeom #seventeen dk #seventeen lee seokmin #lee seokmin #seventeen fluff #dk fluff #seventeen crack #seventeen x female reader #seventeen imagines #seventeen scenarios #seventeen reactions #seventeen masterlist #babytaes works #much love from babytaes

[actuallysaiyan]

My Personal Love Story: Jiraiya

Request: "She/ her. I'm an ISTP, born on the Pisces-Aries cusp, my venus sign is Taurus. I'm also an obsessive overthinker and very uncomfortable in my own skin. For my love language I like giving gifts and providing acts of service but in return, I secretly enjoy receiving affection through physical touch, which may be weird since i'm really private and reserved and too shy to initiate anything. I love travelling experiencing other cultures an trying new food. I need to go somewhere new a few times a year, it's one of the joys of my life because it is in my travels that I get to let go for a bit and just enjoy the moment and maybe consider doing something stupid because you can get away with it in a place you may not return to for a while (not too crazy though im a responsible adult haha). For a date, I'd prefer it to be really casual and relaxed coz it can be really uncomfortable for me to be meeting new people. You know, anxiety. lol idk if it helps but I have a dark sense of humor. For the character I'd like it to be a younger Jiraiya (so we'd be closer in age) because having a sense of humor is very important to me. He's just seems friendly and easy going i feel like he'd make me feel at ease. It can have a bit of smut 😅"

Your Song: I Melt With You- Modern English Headcanons:

Jiraiya was so taken aback by you at first. You met when you were both still teenagers, and you thought he was a little too inappropriate and rude. He grew on you over time as he matured(mostly...hahah) and he became a man. The next time you saw him was after the war, and you were the one to be taken aback.

It was a slow romance, Jiraiya wanted to make sure you felt comfortable. He was still recovering from some of his own problems and he had his own hopes and dreams, but he never forgot about you.

One night, he invited you out for dinner. You were surprised at how nervous you were about going on a date with Jiraiya. The whole night, Jiraiya had you laughing and smiling. You were so amazed at how much he had changed. You were starting to develop a crush on him.

Then as you continued to see one another, Jiraiya just made it official with you. He didn’t want to be with anyone else and he was ready to end his bachelor life if it meant he got to spend the rest of his life with you.

You and Jiraiya travel together as he tries to complete his quest. You’re always so blown away at the beauty of all the different cultures in this beautiful world. Jiraiya always picks out one souvenir from each place you go to so that you can bring it home.

When you’re both in Konoha, you live in a small house together. You have some wonderful memories in that house and you and Jiraiya love to make the most of it. He often will spend time writing his books as you relax and edit some of his manuscripts. This is a hobby you both enjoy while you’re both home.

Your sex life has never been better. Jiraiya knows exactly what he’s doing to you and he is very skilled at pleasing you. He is a very attentive lover and he knows all the special spots on your body to caress or bite. He always praises you so much and he very much enjoys making you feel good.

Lots of cuddles. Jiraiya loves having you fall asleep on his chest while you’re both taking a nap. He wraps himself around you, holding you close. He’ll place soft kisses to your forehead as he thanks whatever higher power is out there that let him have you in the first place.

Jiraiya is so proud of you. Anything you do, you know you will have your own personal cheerleader. Jiraiya will do anything to make you so happy, so he is very supportive of all your hobbies. He loves seeing you succeed as he recognizes how talented and wonderful you are.

Jiraiya also loves publicly showing you off. He thinks he’s so lucky to have you as his partner, and you are the sexiest person in his eyes. In public, he’s going to parade you around a little, but just know that it comes from a place of true love. He’s crazy about you.

Your First Kiss/First Time:

He unlocks the door to his apartment and lets you in. You are a little surprised that it’s this clean. You were expecting it to be a bit more like a guy’s place, but Jiraiya is someone who does enjoy having a clean space to be able to live comfortably.

“Thanks for coming with me tonight. I’m really enjoying our time together.” He says as he shuts the door behind him.

“I’m enjoying our time together too, Jiraiya.” You reply as he walks over to you. He slowly guides you towards the wall and you have your back pressed up against it.

His fingers tilt your head forward, as he looks deeply into your eyes. You can see so much emotion from this one look, and you swear you see a look of love and admiration in his eyes. Jiraiya leans in and captures your lips in a very sweet but passionate kiss.

You moan softly as you realize what’s happening. You lean in to kiss him back, your tongue teasings his lips. Jiraiya’s hands run from your shoulders down to your hips. You pull away to breathe, but it doesn’t take long for Jiraiya to kiss you once more.

His hands cup your ass as you feel him pull you up. Your legs wrap around him instinctively, as you feel yourself grow aroused. Your tongues fight for dominance as Jiraiya begins squeezing your ass.

“Jiraiya,” You whine breathlessly. Jiraiya smirks as he studies your plump red lips. You can feel his erection grinding up against you.

“I need you,” His voice is gruff and low as he confesses how he feels. You swallow hard, your heart beating so fast in your chest right now.

“I need you too,” you tell him. He just groans as he realizes what you’ve just said. He pulls you from the wall and carries you to the bedroom. When your back hits the mattress, you squeal in surprise. Jiraiya eyes you up and down.

“I love seeing you on my bed like this, you look so damn amazing.” He’s so aroused right now, he can’t think straight.

“Why don’t you join me?” You ask him in a teasing tone. His eyes light up at this and within seconds he’s next to you on the bed.

His lips connect to your neck, sucking and nipping while his hands make busy work with your shirt. You groan his name as he sucks on your sweet spot, making your pussy clench around nothing.

“You smell so fucking good, baby. I can’t wait to taste you.” Jiraiya says as he tosses your shirt to the ground. When he sees your breasts in that sexy bra of yours, Jiraiya goes absolutely feral.

You were in for a good night.

#actuallysaiyan's 1k followers event #bacon's 1k followers event #1k followers event #jiraiya #jiraiya x you #jiraiya x reader #jiraiya x y/n #jiraiya smut #naruto #naruto shippuden #naruto smut

[all-or-nothing-baby]

For the WIP tag game - I'm so sorry if this has already been asked. I tried to scroll back to see if someone had already sent in these, but I don't think they have? I'll do a couple just in case! I'm really curious about "Thursday, Never Looking Back", "Mercury Rising" and "Something More".

hey new friend! don't think i've introduced myself yet, i'm cassidy :))

okay, so, imma do your first request, thursday never looking back, bc it's the only teen wolf story of the three!

it's canon divergent from the end of s4... derek does leave after Mexico—but then returns to beacon hell not too long after, as he bloody well should have! if i ever finish it, it'll be a fun (as opposed to my usual intense lol) sterek getting together fic. here's a snippet:

.

The creature leapt at him, landing on his back and toppling Stiles over, back down onto the ground again—this time actually face-first into the cool moss and freshly trodden dirt around him. Wishing in vain he had his trusty bat with him, Stiles braced himself to take whatever injury was surely coming, while planning to somehow flip them both over and offer his sleeve up to this thing as sacrifice. Hopefully, it wouldn't bite straight through to his arm and he could maybe manage to gouge out an eyeball or something—oh my God, gross—with his other hand, in an attempt to save what could be his life, oh shit, oh shit. But the beast was fast. It wrestled with Stiles and got the better of him, managing to shove both of his arms out in front of him and crushing the rest of him into the undergrowth. 

Weirdly, the weight on top of Stiles then seemed to change, somehow. To recast into something longer. Heavier. If Stiles had time to think about it, he'd decide it was a particularly peculiar sensation. The breaths on the back of his neck—that had been coming from where the thing's snout had been butting—were now less... wet? There was no more sensation of fur on Stiles' skin; paws no longer felt like paws… and yet. The thing holding him down was still snarling.

A gruff but immediately recognisable voice—even if Stiles hadn't heard it in a while—then spoke and said, "Stiles."

Stiles had been about ready to piss his frickin pants. Now, he was just pissed. 

It wasn't a creature ready to kill at all. It was—well, until just a second ago, at least—an electric blue-eyed fully shifted Werewolf.

Oh my fucking God. Oh my fucking God. Jesus fucking Christ on a motherfucking push bike.

"I'm going to actually kill you, this time. I swear to fucking God, Derek, I'm gonna—FUCK,“ Stiles bleated through his panting, ever the boy who cried wolf.

Then, Stiles realised Derek was laying on top of him. Fully on top and completely naked in the middle of the woods.

Don't get a boner. Don't get a boner.

.

#wip game #sterek #asks #lovely asks #lovely people #aonb answers #lemons #ish

[anarmorofwords]

I kinda wanna write a better version of tlh where Tatiana is still insane but there's no Belial bc that makes zero sense to me

In this version there would be:

Kamanna done correctly with actual genderqueer rep and not toxic relationships

Barbra and Oliver bc fight me she didn't die

Genie and Filomena bc I love them and all the lightwoods are queer

The gracelet doesn't even happen bc I refuse to write that

Grace is pretty much still the same but she breaks off their(hers and james') relationship bc she notices that he loves Cordelia

No bad James. He's not a shitty person to Alastair, and he doesn't treat Cordelia like a sex object

Anna puts a stop to Kellington and Matthew's relationship before it gets serious. She also tries to get him to stop drinking all the time

Alastair apologizes around seeing them again for the first time. The merry thieves are a little reluctant because of some of the things he did but they don't actively try to keep him away from events that they're at

Matthew notices how Alastair looks at Thomas and locks them in the sanctuary with Genie and Cordelia's help

Grace gets badly injured due to a mistake in necromancy and Christopher helps her treat it without letting people know

Lucie meets Jesse, and falls in love ofc, so in order to bring him back successfully she asks Malcolm to train her in using her magic

Matthew opens up to his mom about the incident. She doesn't blame him at all and instead apologizes for often putting her work before him

Matthew finds out about Charles and Alastair because he found Alastairxs break up letter to Charles

Matthew, the mother hen he is, decided to attempt to murder his older brother, only being stopped by James who had been there at the right time

Kamala ends things with Charles and tells Anna that she still loves them and hopes that she will give her another chance

Anna told her that they needed time to think, and that she is worried how Kamala's reputation will be affected if anyone besides their friends and Anna's family finds out

Kamala respects her decision and doesn't contact her until Anna's ready to talk about things

The merry thieves don't ignore Christopher and they actively listen and help him

The merry thieves also aren't terrible to Grace bc they realize she's been isolated alone with Tatiana and 1) she might not understand what's saying/doing is wrong or 2) that sometimes she's trying to push them away so her abilities don't accidentally make them do something

Good tid parents

James and Alastair being respectful to each other despite personal differences

Matthew, Alastair, Kamala, Christopher, and Grace being besties, or as I call them, the neglected squad

No fetishizing mlm/wlw

Domestic cuddles and taking care of the other one when they're sick

Jesse/Lucie/Matthew pairing bc I love them and I refuse to pick between lucie/matthew and lucie/jesse

Christopher teaching Grace the elements(at the time) on the periodic table

Tatiana dies at the end yay

It's very unpolished and I'm open to b hearing any feedback and/or suggestions that anyone may have

The idea came to me and I decided it would be best if I told someone before I forgot

hi, I'm sorry it took so long,but I wanted to properly answer this and I keep having either internet connection issues or little time

DON'T BE SHY, WRITE THIS 👀

In all seriousness tho... THIS IS ABSOLUTE PERFECTION?!? I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO START I AM UTTERLY IN LOVE WITH THIS IDEA, I NEED IT

Look, I've been on the verge of rewriting ChoI, and I keep saying I want someone to write a TLH that will live up to its potential, but I've never actually came up with a proper idea for it, and you?!! YOUR BRAIN DARLING THIS IS GENIUS

ok hold up I'll just react to each and every single one so

yes please?!? I mean it started off so sweet in EEV?! Also actually genderqueer Anna and not dancing around the subject like CC is doing now?! That's what they deserve, and that's what we all deserve too

yesss please. also just,,,, Barbara, the feminine, not-wanting-to-fight-which-doesnt-make-her-less-badass queen that she is, getting the page space and appreciation she deserves

that's actually brilliant?!? it would be so great, just imagine the new girl arrives for her travel year and Genie is completely awestruck. I'm so invested in Joshwood it's difficult to imagine not having them, but this is actually the only valid alternative?!

ok that's fine. I think it could still happen and be done well, but tbh for now... the gracelet doesn't seem to have done anything relevant to the plot itself? I mean yeah it messed up James's life and Jordelia, but what did it give Belial? Tatiana? nothing. It makes no sense atm.

could be! maybe she's still encouraged by Tatiana to befriend/seduce him, but without the gracelet it doesn't work out? or maybe James somehow manages to realize that she's in danger and he actually like,,,, kidnaps her? idk idk

yes. YES. just,,,,z James is a sweet compassionate literature nerd who accidentally makes a good leader and he actually cares about people, and not just judges them from his high horse; he does still have hero syndrome, but he's kind and respectful and overall a good character

ANNA INTERVENES ABOUT KELLINGTON PLZ. PEOPLE ACTUALLY NOTICE MATTHEW'S STRUGGLES. JAMES DOES, TOO, BECAUSE THERE'S NO GRACELET.

ok yes, so what about: basically TMT don't harass Alastair and accept his apology, and realize they were also being stupid and mean at times at the Academy (especially Math). Matthew doesn't want to accept Alastair's apology, because of The Sin, but his behaviour alerts the rest of TMT and they inquire what's wrong and he tells them about the sin and that's how he later tells his parents (because his friends encourage him) and as you say, she just hugs him and reassures him it's not his fault; so after that Matthew slowly begins to heal and accepts it wasn't Alastair's fault, and also since they've kind of adopted/started including Alastair in things, he can't help but notice he's actually changed and he even starts to grow fond of him

then like you said, Matthew notices Thomas likes Alastair PLEASE HE SO WOULD. I'm not sure about the Sanctuary, if it actually happens (I'll get to why later on), but him and Lucie get really invested in the matchmaking schemes, they include Genie/Kamala because these two are friends with Alastair (both? Or at this point only Kamala?) but they also share some Moments during their scheming/talking about love 👀 (yes I'm a Fairdale shipper, I think it's time to expose myself lol)

Which leads me to (sorry I'm going off order rn) YES YES YES LUCIE AND MATH PLEASE. A FELLOW SHIPPER, HELLO, NICE TO MEET YOU. But since we're actually fixing him then we can give Jesse a personality and I'm totally down for poly Math/Lucie/Jesse

Lucie seeking Malcolm's help in secret, morally gray heroine style?!? no, it's probably not legal. but also has there ever been a Shadowhunter like her? If the Law doesn't expect such situations, it can't really forbid them...

Plz Matthew ready to strangle the carrot when he learns about their relationship, YES. sure, maybe he's still not the biggest fan of Alastair, but he's seen how much the boy's been through and starts to develop an attachment to him, and besides, NO ONE DESERVES TO BE GROOMED AND TREATED LIKE THAT. He's SO MAD at Charles, and he confronts him about it - remembering Kellington as he does, and it makes him sick to think his brother would do the same thing to someone. Maybe he gets very emotional over this and later finally tells his friends about Kellington? Maybe they didn't know before, only Anna did? So when they all realize what was happening then they comfort him etc? Or maybe it's just Alastair that learns now, and the others knew before, and they share a bonding moment over that?

Injured Grace seeking Kit's help is a genius idea I didn't know I needed

Kamanna giving each other time and space and deciding they need to question their relationship and figure out if it actually makes sense would be great. Anna realising she's very privileged and Kamala doesn't have those same opportunities, and also in general realising coming out should never be pressured or forced. Just,,,, Anna being self-aware and respectful towards Kamala. Well-written Anna. Plz. Also Kamanna is actually developed and not just "in love" because,,,,, they're attracted to each other? Maybe even remaining friends while Anna makes up their mind?

yeah just TMT being more compassionate and less judgy because they're not written by Judith so her bias isn't projected onto them

It's not a want, it's a need. They adopt Alastair and Grace eventually. Like, maybe not literally - although, Grace? - but you know what I mean.

I think they all should just have various friendship dynamics and switch between them, because people need more than one friend group

no fetishizing, no watching your brother make out with his lover, yessss

yes domestic cuddles, affection, taking care of wounds, all those things. plz.

Gracetopher bonding over science yes

obviously. or maybe she's imprisoned?!

ok, now for some more notes/my ideas etc., if you don't mind:

I actually think Belial could still be featured? After all, I don't think Tatiana could do much on her own, and since she seeks help from demons, it makes sense to include a Greater Demon as well. But Belial would have to be a stronger villain, written better; I'll think more about this

if that was the case, the serial killer plot could still happen, but be done better. and it would allow for a scenario I talked about with @littlx-songbxrd to happen, where it's Alastair who's falsely accused of murder. It creates a great opportunity to explore some things, because we know Alastair is much more likely to be seriously suspected, considering all the prejudices and bad rep his family has and all that

...what do you say to well-written Jordelia? 👀 Cordelia hasn't been obsessively in love with James since childhood, she only had a crush then. And now that they meet again, she's fond of him but not in love, not straight away. They're both grown up, and different people, but as they spend more and more time together, they fall in love. What if Cordelia gets to flirt with some other boys first? What then. What if she ends up choosing James, instead of going for the only boy she's ever had feelings for and idealized since childhood. What if we even make it friends-to-lovers and have James be a little jealous at some point?! but not in a possessive awful way, just "oh damn oh no"

Now I won't know peace until this exists BUT THANK YOU

#ask answered #thank you this is brilliant #alt tlh #save for later #the last hours #tlh #anti cc #yes I'll be adding/thinking more about this I AM OBSESSED

[the-satellite]

Hello friends and welcome to ☆Hateful Nostalgia☆. I was exposed to the mob talker mod WAY too young bc I was an unsupervised child on the internet watching mod showcases and SkyDoesMinecraft. Looking back these sucked, the stories were often bland and the designs were milk toast at best and tits out at worst. So for the sake of procrastinating on working on anything substantial I grabbed the main 6 I remembered and gussied em up. Redesigns, rewrites, better names, all that bullshit. If your interested in better photos, design notes, story details and rambling hit the basement, otherwise here's a line up you should click for better quality.

Also I wrote all this once before already but I deleted it like a dumb bitch. On the night Unus Annus was murdered in front of my eyes no less. Was a rough fuckin night.

The Creeper- Kupa. An explosive pyromaniac with a habit of making empty threats and yelling. She protects what she believes to be her territory with a suicidal passion, but if you manage to get her to cool down and soften up she's pretty sick to hand out with. Hard of hearing, has at least one bout of head trauma at all times, and deathly allergic to cats.

Because the creeper is kinda the og I wanted to reference AT2's design more than the others, but I'm p sure the only thing I actually kept was the red hair and brown gloves. Otherwise I was doing whatever. I really wanted to lean into the explody bit of creepers, so I gave her some bite and dressed her in clothes referenced from Irish railroad workers. This may also be why I keep imaging her with a very heavy Irish or Scottish accent, whichever would be most incomprehensible when angry. Every color but her skin was color picked from one of the references, with some minor alterations for makes my eyes happy reasons.

With Kupa I imagine a story line with her would largely be about her as a character and her development than like an actual adventure narrative like everyone else. She starts off ready to blow up both you and herself in a misguided attempt to defend what she sees as her's and opens up and learns not everyone is out to get her. Lots of time taken to understand her childhood and how she ended up how she is. Very simple, probably the default or tutorial run people would go through.

The Zombie- Bee. The ill husk of a missing explorer suffering from a less than conventional appetite. She wallows in her self imposed loneliness, believing herself to be an irredeemable monster doomed to hurt those around her. What she really needs is a buddy and some clue to who she used to be. Rough voiced, chronically fatigued, and prone to spontaneous combustion in sunlight.

 I definitely consider this one the weakest for design sadly. I imagined Zombies as humans who went into strange caves and caverns and didn't come out for years, only to pop up as completely different people. I just tossed AT2's design. The first thing I did was make her a bit of a genderbent Steve and tinted her green bc Zombies in game are just Steve but green. Tore up her clothes, colored picked the darkest colors I could from the clothes on the in game and boom, Bee. I do vaguely regret not making her eyes pure black but I also still wanted her to be human enough to fit with the other overworld mods.

 Ok so Bee actually has a basic story. When you meet her she's aggressive, but as a warning. She fears the possibility she may hurt somebody so heads for threats immediately. Going back and forth between her cave and village for a while you learn more about the situation with the missing folks who come back and Bee as a person. After a bit you pick her up off her depressed ass and start a nocturnal adventure of refinding your past, adapting to who your becoming, overcoming self destuction, and slow burn babey!!! 

The Skeleton- Ulna. One of the few surviving warriors of a now destroyed kingdom and dead culture. She spends most of her time now traveling alone, hiding in trees and shooting anything see sees as a threat- which is everything- in the face with homemade arrows. Very much suffering from loss of her home and a bad case of lost purpose. A woman of few words, very antisocial, and naturally nocturnal.

 I came in with the Skeleton wanting to make her seem mysterious, so my first thought was immediately a cloak and a mask, but I wanted her face to like be visible so I went with the face paint. I didn't actually know that I wanted to do under there so I went with wraps that are reminiscent of the original outfit but still not tits out bc it's so fucking easy! Gave her a quiver, color picked the cloak and face paint from the in game model and the wraps from AT2'S art. I did like. Subconsciously draw her eyes the way I do Asian characters but I didn't have anything specific in mind so like go nuts with what you think she is.

 Ulna's deal is very much her lack of purpose or home and the entire thing is about finding that again. She's found sitting up in a tree during a storm pointing a bow and arrow into your face. She eventually let's you stick around until the storm is over and theres some bonding into deep night until the rain stops. You ask if she wants to come with on your little travelling sword for hire business, she says sure, sleep schedule shenanigans, backstory angst, and road trip bonding happens and she eventually decides that helping people is her new purpose and you're her new home

The Spider- Park. A young adult experiencing the world for the first time through her tribe's rite of passage. She's really just trying to figure out how to live life outside of the cave she's been stuck in her entire life and aggressively trying to be an independent adult despite not knowing anything about being an independent adult. Its projection. Blind in the daylight, naive and excitable, and taken to refusing help at her own risk.

 Ok so. I don't know who looked at the spider and said "purple haired loli with puffy pants" so I once again yeeted the whole thing, only really keeping the kinda cutesy and childish bits. Spiders are a tribe of humans what live in caves unless they've broken off to live on the surface. Kids are kept inside until they hit a certain milestone, where they come up to explore at night. They're usually small and pale, but are pretty kickass when necessary. Again picked the colors off the in game model, played with the lightest gray for the skin, and bc I couldn't figure out anyway to use the stripes so they're on the patches lol.

 Park's meeting is probably the funniest and most meet cute one here, in that she accidentally drops on top of you from a little cliff drop off. Cue loads of apologies and an explanation about the spider deal and being blind in light. She asks for some help getting around and bam babey friendship and emotional attachment! What follows is kinda a buddy of coming of age story with the obligatory goes home and is miserable scene. Generally it's just about being a scared young adult and having someone to fall back on and why that's important. Also crushes and young people being bad at that.

 The Blaze- Amber. A demonic entity who would let the world burn and the sun die if it meant she'd get her soul back. She's known for being ruthless, taking souls through force instead of making deals like other Blazes. Keeps this forceful nature even once she's become friendly, makes you do dump shit. Territorial, eyes glow and dim with her life, and runs remarkably warm.

 Amber here is the first one I actually did! I was just. Really tired that she was in a bikini. I decided early on I wanted overworld mobs to be human and everyone else was decidedly not, so Blazes are demons who gave up their souls under false pretenses to other Blazes. Because of how little clothes AT2's design wore I had essentially free reign and my thought was immediately to lean on golden knight bc of how Blazes are found protecting fortresses. The gold isn't picked from anything bc I was looser with the colors, but everything else is, and the hair is supposed to represent the smoke. Also the sticks in her hair are blaze rods bc I don't like them just floating around her.

Amber is found in the Nether obviously, protecting a fortress and immediately trying beat your ass and either incinerate you or make you give up your soul. During you prove yourself a p damn good fighter and she makes a deal to show you how Blazes exist and pursade you to give your soul up willingly. Bonding happens and she explains where the souls go and what happened to her. Insert line about how she dug in the sand for her soul until her fingers bleed bc I'm an Arcana freak lol. In general I'd just like her to learn to adapt to who she is now and learning to live life well instead of letting her anger burn her up from the inside out.

 The Enderman- Violet. A confused but sweet young bit of void created by and connected to the Ender Dragon. Her relationship with reality is tenuous at best and abusive at worst, making stable existence rather difficult. She doesn't know a name, age, gender, anything about herself aside from that she likes sweaters. Communicates primarily through psychic connections, docile and sweet, and melts like a witch in water.

 Violet was incredibly easy, so this may be way short. Endermen are decidedly human shaped void from the End with varying sentience. They're direct extensions of the Ender Dragon, and nobody knows how they're made or where they come from, not even they do. Adventurers who escaped The End say they seem scared of it though. Violet in particular is pretty damn new and extraordinary nonconforming, and I tried to show that with her sweater and ponytail. Once again, literally all colors picked. Definitely the simplest but one of my favs.

Violet is the sweetest meet up I think. As your traveling between villages you notice a strange enderman watching you and plant a little flower in front of her. She picks it and you hear a happy little trill come from you and a pretty voice say thank you in your head. Now you have a tall dark teleporting travel buddy! After a little bit of back and forth she tells you in some broken English that the Ender Dragon made her but she doesnt know how, and that it's bad and needs to be killed for the sake of Endermen and that's the new goal. Spoiler they're the corrupted souls of those that died fighting it, with it gone Endermen are free to exist as their own being and do whatever, hurray!

#cosmic entity's art #minecraft #mob talker mod #mc creeper #mc zombie #mc skeleton #mc spider #mc blaze #mc enderman #character design

[mycandylovefanatics]

I'm having one of those "I miss Lysander so fucking much, I need him back" nights :(. (I'll never forgive Beemov for taking him away). So... Can I get some fluffy headcanons for Lys at UL? They can be about whatever you want to💖

I FEEL YOUR PAIN LYSANDER IS AND ALWAYS WILL BE MY BABY

I added some general UL Lys headcanons as well, hope you dont mind~

Fluffy UL Lysander headcanons

So for University!Lys, I’d really like to think that he’d grow his hair out to be a little longer. Not tremendously long but maybe to his shoulders, and he would wear it in a low ponytail, of course his bangs are still in his face. He normally would keep up with cutting it but after a while he just stopped caring, and of course it helped a lot when you expressed that you like his new hair length. Sometimes he’ll cut it back to his normal length again, especially when it gets hot outside. Either way he’s still a beautiful man lololol

In my personal opinion I full heartedly believe Lysander would sell his farm eventually and come back to society. He kept it solely for the emotional ties he had to it because of his parents, the memories, etc. He was sad and didn’t want to let go. But he got to a point where he realized that there was no way in hell he wanted to be a farmer all his life. He sold it to whoever, goes up to visit every now and then but other than that he’s done with the place. He’ll come back and enroll in school, what his major is I’m not sure yet. Something musical or writing involved.

Now onto the relationship aspect of you two <3

One of Lysander’s favorite things to do is walk you to class in the morning. I feel like he would probably live off campus (since he would most likely get annoyed with a roommate and the lack of privacy) so he drives to school extra early so that he can be there to walk you around. It’s cheesy and you always tell him he doesn’t have to do this but he always dismisses what you say, he likes doing it, and it’s also partially him just being protective. Normally campuses are a lot bigger than they are in the game (at least where i live) so he probably even drives you around as well depending on how far the building you have to go to is. He does prefer walking though because it gives you both time to catch up a bit throughout your busy schedules. Just being able to hold your hand and chit chat is one of his favorite parts of the day.

With him living alone he probably invites you over a lot, and depending on how far your relationship goes you’d more than likely move in with him at some point. So it goes from him showing up to walk you to class, to you both getting ready in the morning side by side. Brushing your teeth together, showering together, having your morning coffee. They are simple but intimate things that mean a lot to him. Of course you don’t do this every single morning but the mornings you do he takes in every moment of it. Once you get to campus and have to go your separate ways he never lets you leave without a kiss. Lysander is a private man so of course he’s not fully making out with you, but he still needs his goodbye kiss >:( Whether it’s a kiss on the cheek, forehead, lips, hand. Just a kiss pls.

If you still choose to stay in your dorm, expect lots of random love notes with flowers attached being sent to your dorm on the days he knows he won’t be able to walk you. It’s nothing extravagant because that isn’t his style but that doesn’t make it any less sweet. He’ll write a quick paragraph, maybe saying something like “I’m sorry that I won’t be able to walk you to class this morning, but I’ll be there for sure tomorrow morning. I love you, have a great day my love~ Lys” with your favorite flower attached. Simple, but loving.

He looooves study dates. Even if your subjects are completely unrelated he loves just being around you. Lysander is definitely the type of partner that you don’t need to actively be doing anything with to enjoy spending time with them. You get your homework done in peace, and if you’re struggling with anything he helps as much as he can. Don’t ask him for math help though, just don’t. 

Yes he still loses his notebook around campus, it’s gotten to the point where you’ve attached a tracker to the cover of it. 

During your free time or lunch break at work he always stops by just to check up on you, and he even helps you at the cafe sometimes. He doesn’t care if he isn’t getting paid (and neither does Clemence lololol) he just wants to take the load off your back if it’s too busy. He might stop in with lunch for you two to eat on your break. You might slide him a free drink here and there, which he never asks you for but it’s always appreciated. Even when you say it’s on you though he still tries to pay for it lol. 

He is ALWAYS there to pick you up when you’re done with your shift, especially if it’s dark and you’re closing alone. He shows up a bit early in case you happen to get done faster than normal, but he’s never bothered if closing takes a little more time than usual and will offer to help you clean up so you guys can get home.

Lysander does have a habit of forgetting his homework assignments at home so every night you pack his bag and make sure everything is in there before you guys leave out the door the next morning. You’ve saved his ass on more than one occasion lmao if it weren’t for you he might be failing one or two classes xD

I know Castiel and Nate are kind of the Campus studs around here but I wouldn’t doubt that Lysander would have his own small group of people who have major crushes on him. Of course, he never notices because the only person he cares about in that way is you. He never hesitates to shut a person down when they ask him out, politely of course but still firmly, and he lets them know that he isn’t available.

#mcl lysander #Lysander #lys #MCL #mycandylove #Lysander Headcanons #mclul lysander

[purplerose244]

Thinking journal for season 12 Prime Empire 😎😎😎 (2/2)

Here we go with the next part! I really hope we get some major big plot twist at some point, because it's all really cool but I need something to really change from good to GREAT

For now, let's focus on the next episodes!

It's the 17th of April and here we go!

GENERAL

I feel like there's little time to really pull up something, I don't know. Like, what plot twist could happen now that there just half season left with only Unagami/Dyer's identity and maybe Scott's past as mysteries? There's little space for more plotlines, that's what I think

Overall fighting scenes, character designs and game backgrounds are AWESOME!!

Let's see how it goes, maybe I'll be surprised. Wouldn't be weird for Ninjago to pull a bomb last episode 😅

ONE STEP FORWARD, TWO STEPS BACK

ZANE AND PIXAL FINALLY!!! IT'S DETECTIVE TIME!!! 😎

Okay, so there is a photo, and there is a friend. As I thought, Dyer might not be Unagami at all, I feel like there's a lot of backstory coming along. I wonder if Scott has a part in this... WHERE IS SCOTT 💙

Ah, of course Kai would spend his credits on an avatar, I should've known, my flame babe can be such a dummie sometimes I mean why would you even do such a thing as buying an avat-

NEVER MIND I LOVE IT 😍😍🔥🔥 I thought him being blonde was going to bother me, I actually kinda like the change. Still prefer my baby brunette, but it's really cool as well. The best of this season are definitely the characters designs

Was that "let's fight an ogre mission" a hint for next season? I wouldn't be weird, but it's been a while since I've seen forshadowing for new season in this show

HECK YEAH THE DANCING EPISODE!!! I was waiting for this, Jaya is so cute while they are on the dancefloor 😍 They have chemistry 😘😘😘

I like the implication that Nya was really bad at dancing before Jay, like Kai covering his eyes because he cannot handle her sister not being perfect at something 😛

And Cole being the dance expert, that little tango moment with Kai I bet made many lavashippers super happy 🖤❤🖤❤

THE TRIPLE TIGER SASHAY ALL THE WAY FROM SEASON 1-2 ABSOLUTELY YES YES YES!!! AND HE DIDN'T ROAR, HE STRAIGHT UP SAID "NO ONE PUTS COLE IN A CORNER" I'M DYING!!! With this and Nya's 'catch me', I expect so many Dirty Dancing AUs from this 😂👌

JAYA BEING AWESOME HECK YEAH ❤💙❤💙

JUST LOOK AT THEM!!! Nya better say I love you back soon, like Kai and Skylor are a little behind, Zane and Pixal already said it, Jay can't stop doing it, come on girl it's your turn! 😎😎

RACER SEVEN

SCOTT IS BACK YES!!! 😍😍😍💙💙💙

Okay, I think my theory won't happen 😅 Feels like there are not enough episodes for a good reveal, and it doesn't seem like Scott is that influenced by Jay. My last idea is that perhaps he has spent so much time in the game like Jay said (POOR BABY 😭) that he doesn't remember. Maybe the moment he will come back, we will find out that it is Jay's brother/twin, I mean he still has those dragon and lightnings drawing on his back... yeah I like this theory a lot, gonna hold on to it!

So Scott is indeed a person trapped in a game, at least that's confirmed 👍

Also he's got some major issues, the poor thing, and I think there is some special reason behind him not wanting to race besides having just one life.

HERE IT COMES

OH MY GARMADON 😂😂😂 Okay, okay, it's actually better than I expected really. The scarf is cool, and so are the golden tattoos, the suit and the golden sleeve. It's just the mohawk that will take time to get used to, it's not even bad, just weird 🤷‍♀️

Racer Seven is so cool! Always nice seeing a new female character in this show that is not a love interest. I do love Nya, Pix and Sky to death, but I love variety too 💪

Really, really nice the piece of all Racer Seven's crashes! Impactful and sad, a never ending loop that she wants to break through from. That's the heavy stuff I like!

Okay, ready for the race! And I'm... scared? Like, a lot of they guys have one life?? KAI HAS ONE LIFE?? 😱😱 I hope for the best I guess 😅

THE SPEEDWAY FIVE-BILLION

Might be my favorite episode yet

Seven is SO COOL, it's another reason why I'm sad these episodes are so short! I really would had liked see her more, truly have her bond with the guys

Soooo... I guess since Scott's been in the game for 30 years it's safe to assume he's not Jay's brother/twin. To be fair it's really hard to tell a LEGO person's age😅 At this point I guess he could be either Dyer's friend, even if it sounds unlikely, or... idk, still think he could have a connection with Jay. Maybe he's like... an older brother? Libber had him a long while ago?

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! WHY DID SCOTT HAVE TO DIEEEEEEEE??? 😭😭😭 Just when he was getting more involved, come on! He even said he wanted to try that hero stuff, I love him! WE WILL SAVE YOU MY TECH BABY!!!

Cole getting a ride from Kai, this season has some pretty good lava material ❤🖤❤🖤

I've got some major Ninjaball Run vibes from this, that brings me back 😂 Even the no rules thing is there, come on, there has to be a little bit of inspiration from it!

Still don't know what I think of the rats, kinda seems useless and annoying, gonna be honest. But it's a nice race, exciting with nothing big happenin-

Kai and Cole sacrifice for Jay

I KNOW I THOUGHT ABOUT IT BEFORE BUT I'M NOT OKAY WITH THIS!!! MY FLAME BABE AND MY ROCKY BABY!!! 😭😭😭😭 WHY PEOPLE KEEP DYING IN THIS EPISODE???

I so, so enjoyed how they did it. Like, one look between them to realize that yes, this is it, Jay is the expert and needs to go on. This is the end of our race... AAAHHH!! (Infinite shipping potential too)

Omg Nya screaming her brother's name and Jay his best friend's name, while Lloyd looks so devastated (those masks are actually kinda espressive, I really like them). Wow. This is the angst I needed, finally👌

YES SEVEN WON!!! HECK YEAH GIRL!!! SO HAPPY FOR HER!!! Also Okino in the background being happy, nice touch!

And now they are three... it's gonna end up with only Jay huh. I... I'm not ready actually, my heart 😢 They better all hug when this is all over!!!

STOP, DROP AND SIDE ROLL

I CAN SEE THEY ARE KEEPING THE FEELS FOR LAST APPARENTLY??? 😭

The music of the old school section was actually very nice, reminds me of the past, I kinda hoped The Fold were going to release some game themed songs. Been a while since I have one of those 😍

Lol, explaining the side scroll games was actually pretty cool

YES THEY ACTUALLY ACKNOWLEDGED THE AIRJITSU!! Maybe they will remember they can used it, right Cole? The ladder scene? YOU CAN FLY???

OMG NYA ACTUALLY SAID CICLON-DO JUST HOW CUTE IS THAT!!! All the way from my favorite season Possession, Jay's definition of airjitzu that I actually still kept in one of my fanfictions 😂

Okay the design of the temple of madness is REALLY cool, you can immediately tell it's from an old videogame. Gives me the double vibe the googles for the first 3D movies used to give me 😂

Also look at this

THIS IS ADORABLE!! 💙💚💦 Really old style videogame 😂

And there we go!! Harumi!! Since I saw her in the set I was wondering what she was going to be, maybe an avatar or an NPC of some sort... THIS HURTS WAY MORE!!! And of course pure heart BABY boy Lloyd doesn't feel good fighting her, he had a crush on her! AND HE FREAKING SAW HER DIE!!! It's really sad that he still hopes for her to be good...

The fighting scenes are really, REALLY good! So fluid and active! This fight was really pleasant to watch, not gonna lie 💜

NOOOOOOOOO!!!! NOT MY GREEN BABY BOY!!!! I KNEW IT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN BUT STIIIIIIL!!! 😭😭😭

Okay, down to three members. Remaining Zaptrap and water godess... omg Nya will totally die first and at that point Jay will go completely nuts. I'm both scared and DYING TO HAPPEN!!! ANGST FINALLY!!! THIS IS THE STUFF!!

Got some major Skybound feeling, like when it was only Jay and Nya... will Nya finally say I love you back?? I HOPE SO ❤💙❤💙

With the three keytana now, what will happen? I'm actually curious now, this is the exciting stuff I need! And yes I do realize it's a little weird that for getting hype I need my faves to die 😅

NINJAGO CONFIDENTIAL

OMG THEY ACTUALLY DID A DETECTIVE THEMED EPISODE BLACK AND WHITE I'M DYING 😂😂😂

The Weekend Whip with sax, never thought I needed this in my life 😍

Bet Brent had a blast recording this

Okay this is the third Chima reference I see, they better throw some Nexo Knights hits as well next season! Come on, it's about freaking knights!!!

This is not what I expected when they said there was going to be an episode with only Zane and Pixal but I'm sure as HECK not complaining 👌

Oh, seeing Pixal joining in so normally is so beautiful, I really wish we could have her even more often

Dareth's karaoke bar! From Sons of Garmaron! Also him guessing first try because the ninja really do get post in other dimensions very often 😂 Gotta love them indeed

Pff Zane narrating and getting stopped every time because of it, how I missed this naive little nindroid

So the bartender Tony is the friend? That's it? A little easy really, hoped for more... still calling him Milty is cute 💕

Buddy's Pizza from season 2!!! This season is killing me with references and I LOVE IT SO MUCH 💜💜💜

So, the mechanic is free again (the Kryptarium dudes should really learn how to do their job right 😓), Zane is kidnapped, and Pixal has a fedora that makes her possibly even cuter. I have emotions

AH!! KNEW IT!! UNAGAMI IS NOT DYER!! FREAKING CALLED IT!!... kinda expected really, but still called it 😅

So Unagami was the first name of Prime Empire and is also an AI that got crazy and was shut down, but now is back after programming the game itself and wants to get to the real world?... I'm down with it

So I'm guessing we won't get much of a Scott backstory... Eh, let's see how it goes!

THE PRODIGAL FATHER

I was seriously confused by why those dudes wanted to kidnapped Wu, but it made sense later. Still come on sensei, you're a freaking half god or something, pull yourself together 🤦‍♀️

Very nice that Pixal is the one to bring up the argument about feelings and AI. So very nice to have her in this!!!

I THOUGHT ZANE WAS GOING TO TAKE A BREAK FROM LAST SEASON, WHY ARE THEY MAKING HIM SUFFER AGAIN??? 😭

Oh finally the backstory of Unagami I'm really curious about what happened in the past and what exactly brought the shut down of Prime Emp-

I LITERALLY CARE ABOUT NOTHING ELSE BUT THIS BEAUTIFUL GAMER BOY IN REAL LIFE!!! 😍😍😍😍😍

So Scott was the first beta tester, Milton asked Unagami to make the experience as exciting as possible, and that ended very badly so the game was shut down and THEY LEFT HIM INSIDE FULLY KNOWING HE WAS THERE??? I HATE DYER NOW!!!

Although it is really interesting knowing a tech genius like him, until now we got Dr. Julien and Cyrus Borg that were plenty open about the idea of AI with feelings as meaningful as humans'. While he doesn't get that, they are only machines for him and that's the reason why he doesn't understand how much Unagami is mad and filled with need for revenge.

This is why I want more than 11 minutes, the themes of this season are really, REALLY cool. I would have loved more introspection and development.

I guess Scott being Jay's brother is officially debunked 😅 Although I am curious about the life he left behind, since he was stuck in that game for 30 years. He still has those lightnings on the jacket I don't understand...

DON'T YOU DARE LET ZANE BE DESTROYED AGAIN PLEASE I STILL CRY WATCHING "THE TITANIUM NINJA"!!! 😢😢😢😢😢😢

The portal is open, Zane might get destroyed, Unagami wants revenge, Jay and Nya are the only one left and I'm pretty sure Nya will be killed as well leaving only Bluebell so there's THAT. So yeah, this is actually pretty cool!

Two episodes left. Okay Ninjago season 12 Prime Empire, wow me 😎

THE TEMPLE OF MADNESS

This felt a little simple if I'm gonna be honest. I felt like the last mission before facing Unagami was a little basic, with nothing really exciting. Still liked it, but this is probably my least favorite episode 🤷‍♀️

Of course, put Jay is a sushi restaurant-themed level and he will kill you with puns 😂 I love this prankster

Again, the fighting scenes are dope. Definitely one of my favorite things since they changed the animation. You lose something you win something 😙

Wooo, Jay saying that he had trained for years just for kick his butt was actually cool! Bluebell is unleashing!

"And that's how we roll!". You rock we roll, am I right 😂

AH!!! CALLED IT!!! TOTALLY CALLED IT!!! MY POOR BABY BLUEBELL 😭😭

I wish Nya said that she loves Jay back though! Freaking come on girl, he is your yang!!! ❤💙❤💙

Unagami is not Dyer, he wants to get to the real world, I'm actually kinda curious about the confrontation that is about to happen... ALSO THERE BETTER BE LOTS OF HUGS WHEN THIS IS OVER

I... genuinely forgot about the dragon medallion 😅 Eh, I love dragons so I'm fine with it. Well, let's see how it ends!!!

GAME OVER

Wow, I actually love this ending?? A LOT?? After last episode I didn't have much hope, but after seeing it I gotta say, it was really great 👌👌

Thanks for not dying on us again Zane, much appreciated

Jay taking charge is quite rare and when it happens you know things are about to get crazy 😂 It was really nice seeing how sensible he could be, telling that Unagami wasn't evil after all, that he needed closure and answers

I know I miss the animation peak we reached with SoG and Hunted, but I gotta say the atmosphere of the city with the lightnings and the gray sky was really awesome. Very cool.

Pff, that part with the elevator though, reminds me of the one in season 1 that made me start watch Ninjago ✌ Also it's always Borg's Tower indeed 😂

OKINO KICKING BUTTS HECK YEAH LOOK AT OUR RONIN GO!!!

And wow. WOW. I didn't expect Jay to drop the I'm adopted bomb on us, I think I never heard him talk about it since Skybound (that technically never happened so 😅). It was SO good seeing him sympathize with Unagami because he was also left with no explaination. His desire to know, along with the hope that the past is the past, but they had a good reason for. Also he freaking said he didn't have the chance to ask because Cliff is dead and I 😭😭😭😭

And here I melted, because we finally see the situation for what truly is, the way Jay also sees it: Unagami is a kid, a child that doesn't understand how the world works, that just wants to make his father proud but got rejected instead. The confrontation was actually touching, I really wish we had more time for that. Even a little resistance from Unagami, another fight, and a finally reconcilliation with Dyer.

MY NINJA BABIES ARE BACK I MISSED YOU GUYS SO MUCH!!! ❤💚💙🖤💦💎

Could you seriously be cuter than this?? ❤💙❤💙 I wished for more hugs but I'll settle for this I guess 😍

Okay, very nice to see Seven and Okino out there and deciding to live their lives in Ninjago, nice to see some others like the rats going back to Prime Empire. As Unagami said, he gave them a choice, it's up to them at this point

But I'm sorry, WHY ARE WE NOT GOING TO TALK WITH SCOTT??? That guy's been trapped inside the game the longest, not even a "Hey bud, you're alive, cool cool"? I know I've been overbearing about how much I love Scott, especially since I had all those theories about him (still don't know why he has lightnings on his jacket and hat, is it just a style thing? Idk), but come on! Well I guess if he's happy I am 🤷‍♀️

Is that his girlfriend or something? After 30 years? Or maybe she got trapped with him a while later? Or maybe that's his... mom? Look, we all know determine the age of LEGO characters is hard, give me a break please 😅😅

Overall, very nice ending, it brought everything together quite nicely. I'm satisfied, yes!! 💜💜

FINAL THOUGHTS

As I said, the episodes' lenght I really think gets in the way of making this an excellent season. There is so much that could be explored more, the choice matter, all the amazing characters, and the AI feelings stuff from the latest episodes. There is room for more, I wished we got that

The characters though were really amazing. Between Scott, Okino, Seven and Unagami himself, there were very different personalities with very different dreams and thoughts, that made this ride much more interesting

Fighting animation was 👌👌👌

Comebacks from past seasons were 👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌

Maybe it didn't really focused on Jay as much until the end? Yeah it was about him, but we got to see his sensibility and his past only last episode. He loves Nya, he likes videogames, of course but there's more about him than meets the eye! Wished we saw that, but in general it was nice seeing him first line again 💙

I liked this season. It has flaws, but I enjoyed many parts and at the end I was left satisfied 👍

Just... wasn't Jillian supposed to be in this? Or is it next season? She said a mom was going to come back, I took for granted it was going to be Edna. I'm curious about next season now... FINALLY A COLE SEASON EVERYONE!!! 🖤🖤🖤

Thank you for leaving notes to my last rant, this helps me not jump excitedly every time a new episode comes out 😅 Well then, that's all from me!! Have a nice day everyone!! 💜💜💜

#ninjago #lego ninjago #ninjago season 12 #ninjago prime empire #prime empire #spoilers #ninjago spoilers #jay walker #ninjago jay #kai smith #ninjago kai #kai ninjago #nya smith #ninjago nya #cole brookstone #cole bucket #ninjago cole #zane julien #ninjago zane #lloyd montgomery garmadon #lloyd garmadon #ninjago lloyd #ninjago scott #ninjago unagami #unagami #pixal borg #ninjago pixal #master wu #ninjago wu

[edengarden]

Hiii!!! I'm here for that regular bnha matchup👉🏿👈🏿 I really love the hq one u did omg!! It's *chef's kiss* kekdjdjdkdhd!!!! Here's the info:

Appearance: I'm fem, black, 5'1, slightly athletic & curvy-ish figure (lol), short? (mid-neck) hair, straight, dark brown eyes, size 9 shoe size (I still dk if it's relevant but oh well lmao)

Personality stuff: infp-t, Hufflepuff, Taurus sun, scorpio moon, sanguine, chaotic good, ambivert, a BuzzFeed quiz told me I'm a Pinto bean and a pumpkin spice mocha (do what you will with that info jdskdj)

Positive traits/qualities:

I'm super enthusiastic!! I love hyping people up and being energetic in general! I'm always down to try new things and have fun! If anyone is not feeling appreciated I'm ready to make sure they know that they're a queen/king and they're amazing!!!

I'm optimistic! I like to look at the brighter side of things and I always try my best to find a silver lining in any situation! Positive thinking helps me get through tough spots in my life because there's always hope for something better in the future!!

I'm observant!! I usually like to sit quietly and observe my surroundings. Especially in a new environment. Irl I like to read people's body language to asses their mood so ik how to approach them lol. I also do little things like remembering what they (friends/family) like to order at restaurants or something they pointed out at random that they liked. (Idk if I'm making sense lol)

Negative traits/flaws:

I'm annoying. Sometimes I just like being a little shit and cause mischief (being the youngest child does that to a person) but I think sometimes I'm too enthusiastic/energetic that it can be seen as obnoxious/annoying so I usually try and tone it down so I don't bother people...

I'm argumentative. When I have something to say I have to speak up. I try not to step on any toes but I can't help but argue with someone when our views on something clash. I like hearing different sides of debates though so I always give others a chance to talk. I don't go picking fights but if I feel like my opinion is being disregarded/not heard I will argue until it's known!!

I'm forgetful. Sure I'll remember random stuff like 'what my friend said in that one coffee shop last year' but important things like appointments? Birthdays? Assignment due dates? Idk her 😭 I try my best to write anything important down cause my memory is a selective sieve and it'll keep the most useless/random shit.

Hobbies: I love: Reading, writing, listening to music, learning languages, playing saxophone (I'm still learning tho lol), swimming, watching anime and cooking!

Music taste: any type of rock (punk rock, grunge, j-rock, metal), pop, kpop, RnB, jazz, dubstep, lofi hip hop, rap, bangers from: Elvis, the beach boys, Khalid, Ateez, Kendrick Lamar, p!atd, mcr, fallout boy, Nirvana, BTS, mxmtoon, Marianas trench, twenty one pilots, stray kids, Jay Park, crush, Dreamcatcher, Skrillex, MJ, troye sivan etc

Traits I look for: idk kind, funny/fun, loving/lovable, loyal (idk I ain't picky)

Traits I don't like: (nobody's perfect, just don't be a racist, xenophobic, sexist asshole lol)

More fun facts:

My love language is touch! I live for hand holding, cuddling, hugging, tickle fights and more!! 🥺

I love learning new stuff and rn I'm learning how to draw, paint, play music on sax, a new language and new recipes! :3

I love traveling!! It doesn't even have to be too far, as long as I don't know where I am it's an adventure! I usually end up getting lost whenever I travel (rip) but it's fun finding your way around and makes the trip more exciting!!

My current aesthetic: Sunflowers, striped turtle necks, warm blankets, rainbows that come out after storms, friendship bracelets, watching movies cuddled up w/someone, the joy of being alive. <3

It's mostly the same lol I just added a little something at the end :D Can't wait to see who I'll get! Don't forget to stay healthy & drink lots of water!! Take care 💙✨

I’m matching you up with Tokage! (You didn’t specify your gender preferences I hope this is alright ;-;)

You guys. I can’t even decide where to begin. The ENERGY- oh my god, you’re so enthusiastic, she’s so enthusiastic?? And you also recharge each other’s batteries so it’s a never ending stream of optimism and cheers!! People can’t believe the two of you are together but then again they watch you two go and they wonder how you two COULDN’T be a couple.

And her?? Thinking YOURE annoying? Fucking never. She’s the same as you to an extent and we KNOW she wouldn’t doubt your affection for her, but for the love of god if it does bother you, talk to her. She’ll have you thinking differently in NO TIME. this girl uses her words and she uses them well. And the two of you ARGUE. but it’s mostly fun arguing, Tokage isn’t the type to be so cocky as to not admit when she’s wrong; she’ll fight for her point if she knows it’s valid. Otherwise, if YOUR point becomes the only valid one, she’s giving it to you. She wouldn’t want to lose you over some stupid pride thing.

Oh my god, she’s 100% the type of person who’ll go “hey remember like two years ago when...” and theN MENTION SOMETHING STUPID OR EMBARRASSING YOU DID THAT YOU COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT

Tokage loves physical affection, both giving and receiving. She’s just so proud to call you hers?? Let her hold your hand and watch her always call dibs on you during training (Vlad never lets the class choose their partners anymore because of you two lol). She’ll tone down the PDA if you’re uncomfortable or if others warn her that they don’t like it, but otherwise?? She’s always by your side unless you need some space.

My god the two of you just have SUCH a fun relationship!! It’s never dull or boring, trust me.

Songs!!!

- my boy, Billie Eilish

- Feel It Still, Portugal. The Man

- butterfly addiction, Cö shu Nie

- Let’s Spend the Night Together, David Bowie

#bnha #mha #mha matchup #bnha matchup #setsuna tokage

[shigarakiskitten]

Kuroo x fem. reader

First time writing fan fic and its gonna be awful and I'm sorry. But I wanted to give it a shot lol

(X oikawa too maybe?)

Synopsis: you're in a band who just toured with a more well known band and are back home in Japan. You're playing at a local bar where Oikawa , kuroo and a couple of their uni teammates frequent.

_______________________________________________

Its been six months since you've been back home and man does it feel good. You love touring and getting to travel and all of the experiences that came with it but you were homesick. Tonight you and your band were playing at a local bar, it'd be the last show you have for a bit so you guys can take a break and relax and maybe come up with a new song.

The stage crew was setting things up while you and the guys were finishing getting ready.

______________________

Kuroo had been dragged out to the bar by Bokuto. Usually he wouldn't mind going but he was pretty tired from practice but you can't really say no to Bokuto, and it was more energy to fight him than complying so he went. It looked like the band was going to play soon so Kuroo grabbed a table and ordered some drinks. As he's looking around he notices that shittykawa is here with iwa and not surprisingly a horde of girls. He tries his hardest to blend in so oikawa doesn't see them and come talk to them, he doesn't mind oikawa or iwa but with him comes those girls and that's more than Kuroo can handle right now. Unfortunately for him Oikawa sees Kuroo and Bokuto and starts yelling from the bar and walks over.

" Well look who we have here" oikawa says in a sing-song tone

" Hey hey hey what are you guys doing here!?" Bokuto questions

Iwa states " shittykawa said one of his friends is back from tour and is playing tonight so he wanted to come see her."

Oikawa and Iwa join you and Bokuto at the table as the lights start dimming and the band comes out.

"Well it looks like its time, let's crush it" you say to your band as you guys walk on stage.

No matter how many shows you play you always have a little stage freight at first, but music is your passion and all of that anxiety melts away as soon as you start playing.

"Thank you so much for coming out tonight!! We're really happy to be back home in Japan!! I hope you guys enjoy the show!!"

Your drummer Yuri yells "1 2 3 4!" And then you begin your first song and you can feel all of the anxiety disappear.

As soon as the lead singer walked on stage everyone in the bar shut up. She was pretty as fuck if he was being honest, she had (h/c) and bright (e/c) eyes. She was wearing a black tank with a red plaid skirt and fishnets underneath with big black buckle boots. They started their first song and she had an incredible voice, it was so unique. It was like he was hypnotized by it.

" Alright guys this will be our last song of the night! But we'll be staying to hangout with all of you after the show! This last song is a cover of "Stay the night" I hope you enjoy!!

As you're looking into the crowd you can see your friend Toru with a few other guys. As you're singing the chorus of the song " Are you gonna stay the night?" You give them a wink 😉

Shows always seem to go so fast and before you know it , its over.

"Thank you so much for coming to see us!! We really hope you liked it!!"

Cheering explodes

And with that you and the band move into the bar to talk to everyone.

As soon as you walk off stage you see Toru booking it towards you and you can't help but laugh as he envelops you in a crushing hug.

" (y/n) that was so great! I'm really glad you're home, I've missed you!"

You laugh " thanks and I've missed you too."

As you take a step backwards you see 3 other guys come towards you and oikawa.

Toru turns to them and introduces them "(y/n) this is Iwa, Bokuto and Kuroo they're my volleyball teammates at Tokyo U."

Bokuto the owl like one says " Your show was fucking fire!"

You chuckle as you express your gratitude.

Kuroo feels a tiny pang of jealousy as he sees oikawa pick you up and hug you which baffles him because he doesn't even know you. He sees Iwa and Bokuto stand to join you guys so he follows, he's feeling a little nervous which is irritating because he usually has no problem talking to girls. Oikawa introduces him and the other two and you all start chatting.

Soon Oikawas fanclub surrounds him , Iwa and Bokuto so he's left alone with you at the bar. You smile at him and he's kicking himself internally for blushing like a school boy.

calm down Kuroo she's just a girl, it must be the alcohol he thinks to himself as he regains composure.

But of course Torus fanclub has swarmed him so you're left at the bar sitting with Kuroo, you look over at him and smile and you can see his cheeks are a tinge of pink which causes you to smile more.

" So how did you meet shittykawa?" Kuroo asks

At that nickname you burst out laughing

" shittykawa? Ha ill have to remember that one. And we met 2 years ago, my band and I were playing somewhere and he was there. After the show we always hangout with the people who come so he came up to me and started flirting of course. But somehow we became really good friends. What about you?"

" In high school he was the captain of a rival team and I was the captain of my schools but we'd obviously have matches together and sometimes practice together. Then we ended up going to the same college and now we're on the same team."

Kuroo was having a really good time talking to you. It was really interesting getting to know what life on tour was like. He talked about how volleyball was going.

You were asking him when his next game was when a guy came up behind you and threw his arm over your shoulders. Kuroo felt that little pang of jealously again but ignored it because it was completely irrational. You looked up at who it was and Kuroo could tell you were a bit uncomfortable but smiled nonetheless and said hi. This dude was drunk as hell.

" hey baby you were really great up there, you wanna get out of here? We'd have a really good time."

" Oh thank you I'm glad you liked the show but no I'm okay here thanks."

This guy was persistent though and you were giving kuroo a look that said how uncomfortable you were.

Kuroo finally had enough and removed the guys arm from you " Look man you're obviously hammered and she doesn't want to go home with you, take the fucking hint and leave her alone."

The guy scoffed but probably figured it was too much trouble to keep harassing her as long as he was around.

"Thank you" she said with a small smile but he could tell you were still unnerved about what happened.

"No problem, I'm assuming that happens a lot?"

You look at kuroo and say "yeah unfortunately "

It was getting pretty late and you were beat after the show so it was time for you to go home.

" I had a lot of fun talking to you Kuroo, I hope to see you again soon."

" Yeah me too, we should definitely hangout."

You smile at him and give him a hug, before you leave you grab his hand and write your phone number on him.

"Call or text me" you yell as you start walking away to find Toru to say bye.

Kuroo just looks down at his hand with your number on it and starts smiling like an idiot. Bokuto comes out of nowhere and slaps him on the back as he says " you ready to go?"

You find Toru still surrounded by his fan club so you have to wiggle yourself through until you reach him.

" Hey Toru I'm heading out"

He whines " Awhhh (y/n) you're leaving already? I hardly got to spend time with you!!"

You laugh " who's fault is that? I've been sitting at the bar all night you could've been hanging out with me"

He pouts and you roll your eyes at his dramatics.

He picks you up and hugs you tightly, as he sets you down he whispers in your ear " I've really missed you (y/n)" and its not in that flirty way he usually talks with. You smile at him and say " then hangout with me dork, I'm back for the foreseeable future. You have my number" you wave behind you as you walk away.

I hope this was okay, I had fun writing it and if people like it maybe ill make it a series. (:

#anime #haikyū!! #kuroo tetsurō #kuroo tetsurō x reader #oikawa x reader #oikawa torū #iwaizumi hajime #fanfic

[cutegirlmayra]

Hi I'm really enjoying ready a lot of your prompts. I'm not sure if you have answered something similar before but my question to you is if you could explain why do you think Amy is in love with Sonic and possibly why do you think Sonic 'might' like Amy in return. Thank you so much and I really appreciate it if you could answer these questions.

I would love too! It’s been a long while, so I might as well collect ‘new evidence’ right? :)b Also, thank you so much! I’m sorry everything is on shutdown (except Commissions! Rules link: x Pay link: x ) but I’m always excited to write a prompt when I get around to it! lol

Let’s start with the beginning. According to her creator, Amy was made with many “Fingers in the pot” and one of the main traits he mentioned was that he wanted Amy to be cute and have her focus set on Sonic. Since Sonic is always moving towards the next adventure, not really focused on anything else, he needed someone who would be completely concentrated on him. In Japanese culture, devotion/loyalty is an endearing characteristic, and it’s clear that Amy exhibits a sole fidelity to Sonic. This was intentional but perhaps mistranslated when interrupted by American culture.

Rosy the Rascal was meant to, based on fan speculation, set up the world’s perception of Sonic. He was famous for his heroic deeds, but in Sonic Adventure, we learn that he never considered himself a hero. He tells Shadow he’s just a guy who loves adventure, and according to the Canon Timeline, Amy was the first ‘friend’ Sonic ever had. His first ‘saving the damsel’ act, that defined a hero (especially in those time periods) was set up by him saving Classic Amy Rose.

She, therefore, has a small backstory explaining how she admired his heroism, used Tarot Cards to find out where to meet her ‘destined’ and was soon kidnapped and rescued by him. This only solidified her feelings for him, showing that not only did Sonic have a fan, but now he had a devoted self-proclaimed girlfriend in the process as well.

It was important that Amy was ‘self-proclaimed’ because besides being ‘shy’, Sonic is also not one to demonstrate a lot of emotion. This correlates with the ‘cool’ image that is reflective of Japanese young heroes. So, Amy set up that Sonic was a popularly recognized hero and even had fans, but she also revealed that most found Sonic attractive in his deeds and personality. “He’s so cool!” kind of stereotype. But besides being a rising star, Amy fell in love with him for his good deeds and risking so much to save her.

This is stage 1, let’s move on through the timeline.

As Amy kept reappearing (after Sonic met and befriended Tails and even Knuckles) she asserted herself into his circle to be closer to him. She gained a new strength, the Piko Piko Hammer and drew new expressions out of Sonic that normally wouldn’t have been seen before. Because Sonic doesn’t show many personal emotions, Amy has emotion enough to spare between the both of them. It’s relevant that this behavior, common in Japanese anime stereotypes, is frowned upon in the American fandom, but it’s actually praised and regarded with admiration in the Japanese fandom.

Another Sonic official on Twitter stated that if Sonic didn’t have a boy’s heart(A.K.A, wasn’t a young boy), he would probably choose Amy. I believe that’s because “The one who stays in the race, finishes the race” is true in this regard. Because Amy chases Sonic (A healthy part of any romance) she is constantly there (In sight, in mind.). So it’s safe to say one of the reasons Sonic could be more fond of her than he lets on is because he recognizes that she’s always there. She won’t abandon him nor her feelings for him. This level of devotion is praised in Japanese culture, and I would imagine he reciprocates this.

He rewards her efforts for this loyalty time and time again. Not only by saving her, but by also allowing her to do as she pleases. He never really goes against her. He never fights back with her. In fact, in Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2 battle, directly resulting after the Classic Era, it shows Sonic’s consideration for her feelings.

“Amy…. Take care of yourself.” In the Japanese version, Sonic pauses a considerable amount of time as Amy expresses the horror of his supposed sacrifice to protect her. He gives her one last cool pose, preparing for whatever may come, and reveals that in his heart–he felt it was his job to take care of her.

This correlates with Classic Sonic’s feelings, although not fully expressed in words and mostly done through deeds.

Amy’s feelings only grow stronger after this point, resulting in her being even more forward about wanting to marry Sonic, as it is her way of saying she’ll be his forever, and love him for all eternity. It is stated by SEGA that Amy can never get over Sonic, there will never be a ‘another love interest’, though they have explored Sonic being charming to other girls. Due to his already stated ‘attractiveness’ because of his heroic deeds, many girls have swooned over Sonic, and he’s treated this with patience and a heroic smile. He comforts girls, but he always returns to Amy’s side. Why is this? You may say, “Well, it’s because you just said she’s devoted to him, so he’s returning the gesture.” Well, you’re half-right, but it’s only half the tale.

In later additions, Sonic is shown to also get exasperated with Amy’s overly energetic flirtations with him. It’s actually more an anime stereotype once again, where the boy is embarrassed by the girl’s forwardness. In Japanese culture, the demure girl is praised as the most attractive quality for a woman. Amy is the stereotypical opposite, due to Sonic’s aloof nature, she has to be bold in her declarations of love for him. You can see the ‘demure’ type of girl found in Cosmo, Vanilla, Elise, Shahra, and even some in Blaze. Rouge is the stereotypical ‘older matured woman’ to put it lightly, but Amy is the energetic girl in anime stereotypes, bold and quick to anger or at times bossy.

In a Japanese translated bio online, Amy is stated to ‘cheerfully embarrass men’ which is shown in many incidents in Sonic X and the video games. In this regard, we could deduce that Sonic silently enjoys the praise as well as reciprocates her devotion. She loves him because he won’t hesitate to do what’s right (Heroism) and always follows his heart (cool and willful personality) while Sonic stays relatively close (in spirit) and is always devoted to protecting or being there for her.

These are the biggest traits that define Sonic and Amy’s feelings for each other. Mostly demonstrated in Sonic X, we see Sonic returning home to Amy, their telepathy ability when Amy is thinking hard about Sonic, and revealing that Sonic was thinking solely about rescuing her. We also see it in Sonic saving Amy from drowning, and Amy diving in to save him from the Metarex. There is also stated attraction on Sonic’s end for Amy during the ‘dress’ scene (But Amy is canonally stated to be a ‘pretty girl’, which is subtly expressed in the Video Games as well. Silver stating this world is beautiful, but pausing to blush and look away when Amy tilts her head while the sun highlights her is just an example. Sonic flirting with The Lady of the Lake and having a date with Amy is another example from Sonic’s POV.)

So, to conclude this little essay, I’ll say that the real answer is- “Sonic returns to Amy because she’s his perfect match. Her devotion is of course included in the mix, but it’s also because she expresses her feelings for him so openly, it’s touching how she’ll risk everything for him and he would willingly do the same.” They both care so much in such different ways, and the different ways they express it is perfect for how the other wants to be loved. Sonic doesn’t always like the forward attention, but he appreciates that he never has to question her devotion to him. Amy loves Sonic because although he’s shy, he finds ways to still show he cares deeply about her.

Although these two are still very much children, they have a foundation of mutual fidelity and trust that can’t be broken. (Sonic won’t destroy Omega, Sonic protectively defends Amy against Jet, and Sonic accepts Amy’s bracelet for him, A.K.A shows he accepts her feelings for him.)

Many in the fandom argue that Sonic can be inconsiderate of Amy’s feelings, which is true. He’s still a young boy and makes mistakes, but there is supportive evidence to suggest he does this in the presence of Eggman or others. I also support the theory that he doesn’t want her to get hurt because of him, so he keeps his distance during crowds, but as it is often player choice, he also goes on dates off and on with her from time to time.

In conclusion, these are just some things that result in Amy’s love and Sonic’s crushing. I say ‘crushing’ because Sonic isn’t quite fully there yet. He’s devoted but rarely speaks his honest opinion of her.

Even Omochao states in Sonic and Mario Winter Olympic’s: “No one knows if Amy is or isn’t Sonic’s girlfriend or not.” He never tells. Could this be because of his fear of her getting hurt by his enemies? Or his shyness? Possibly the fact that he never does say how he thinks about Amy?

Ever notice that?

But he constantly thanks Amy, and I think that subtle, “Thanks, Amy. I appreciate it.” Is honest. It may not be “I love you” but it’s something along those lines. Amy’s “Marry me!” Is her way of saying it, but moreover, what she wants to say is– “I don’t want to give you an ultimatum, because how you live your life is wonderful! But at least let me and my love for you be a part of it!” Which I believe he does return in full freedom of allowing her to love him in the way that suits her best.

He may refuse her advances, but he never has refused her heart.

She may not like it when he doesn’t consider her feelings, but she will always believe in him.

This is what I believe Sonamy is today.

There is plenty more, but I believe this is what needs to be stated, and perhaps this is too long already, so that’s how I’ll leave it for now ;) Thanks for the ask!

#cutegirlmayra #sonamy #sonicxamy #sonic x #sonic video game #sonic the hedgehog #amy rose #amyxsonic #cutegirlmayra ask #ask cutegirlmayra #sonamy dynamic #sonamy ask #ask sonamy #sega #sonic japan #sonic america #sonic game #classic sonic #classic amy #rosy the rascal

[btsvt-adventures]

ASDFGHJKL THAT NEW SHIFTER AU IS THE BEST please tell me more senpai!!!!!!!!!!!! jeonghan's sassiness, the way jisoo is so hopeless and jeonghan just revealing hinself like that i'm omg

A/n: Direct continuation of the (Cat)ch Me if You Can hehehehe bc the first chapter was a ridiculous 3,000 words lol lmao :3

Pairing: Jeonghan x Jisoo (Jihan)

Warning(s): Mostly fluff, some flustered Jisoo cos why not hehe

Words: 1,600+

Want more of this AU? Or want your own AU? Ask me here!

Shifter AU: (Cat)ch Me If You Can | Feline Feelings |

The Royal family had an ancestral secret. One that was fiercely protected, closely guarded, and well hidden.

All with royal blood were born with the ability to shapeshift into domesticated animals. All but one.

A hidden prince, born out of an illicit affair between the King and a maid. He alone had the mysterious ability to shift into predators.

Him, and his descendants were offered two options:

Guard the Royal family.

Or die.

“Besides, you sucked at hiding your little crush.”

Oh my god he knew this entire time?!

Jeonghan laughs when Jisoo turns even redder, hands twisting in his cream coloured (and coffee splattered) apron as he flails helplessly.

“What crush there’s no crush!” Jisoo squeaks, forcing out a laugh so fake it makes him cringe internally. “You’re just- I’m- I’m leaving bYE.”

Jeonghan stays in the back room, watching Jisoo be a complete mess trying to get out. He’s holding in his laughter at how flustered Jisoo is, to the point that he’s leaving his own cafe. He waits, knowing the barista will come back in and chase him out.

True enough, Jisoo turns around and points at him, still flustered and adorably huffy.

“This is my shop!!! You leave!!!” he whines, grabbing Jeonghan’s hand and tugging, pouting when Jeonghan doesn’t budge an inch.

“You’re so cute like this,” Jeonghan giggles, pulling Jisoo into his arms with a simple tug. “Come back to the palace with me,” he murmurs, arm tightening around Jisoo’s slim waist, effectively trapping him in.

“I can’t,” he protests weakly, even though he would really love to. “I just opened the cafe, I can’t just close up and leave now.”

Jisoo wants so badly to lean into the prince’s warmth and kiss Jeonghan’s soft, pink lips, but he doesn’t want to overstep his boundaries. Jeonghan sighs, grip still firm around the cafe owner’s waist.

“Oh fine, be all humble and responsible, I’ll just come round to pick you up later,” he grins, leaning in and kissing Jisoo on the lips, grinning when he feels Jisoo stiffen for a second and melt completely into his arms, responding eagerly to Jeonghan.

The kiss seems to last both forever and just for a second. They pull away from each other, cheeks flushed and lips swollen. Jisoo squeaks in surprise and he bolts out of the room, face and ears (and lips) on fire.

Seungcheol and Jihoon watch him stumble out, snickering between themselves when Jisoo jumps in surprise at their sudden appearance.

“You- what are you both doing here?” he sputters, turning away from them to flit uselessly around his coffee machine. He spies Jeonghan shifting back into cat form and strutting out, meowing loudly at Seungcheol and Jihoon to take him home. 

“We’re here to make sure the newly betrothed couple are safe,” Seungcheol answers easily.

Jisoo’s eyes nearly fall out of his head at the word ‘betrothed.’

“I mean, we’re also to make sure you guys aren’t fucking in the back room,” Jihoon deadpans, “It’s so unsanitary,” he mutters, suppressing a laugh when Jisoo wheezes unattractively. 

Cat Jeonghan – Cheonsa – meows unhappily and scratches at Jihoon’s leg vindictively.

“O-Ow your Highness please,” Jihoon grumbles, picking up Cheonsa and begrudgingly letting him settle across his shoulders.

MrOW (That’s for scarring Jisoo)

Jihoon grumbles his apologies, and Jisoo hands both Seungcheol and Jihoon their coffees, wishing them a cheerful (if not slightly breathless) farewell. Seungcheol waves to Jisoo, congratulating the cafe owner again before slipping out of the cafe, behind Jihoon and his Highness.

Seungcheol watches Jihoon and Prince Jeonghan argue quietly the entire way back, absently wondering what would have happened if he hadn’t found Jihoon. 

Death.

Anything to protect the family.

Seungcheol holds back a shudder, eyes drifting to his partner. Somehow he can’t believe no one’s found out yet, but he’s not going to risk telling anyone. Jihoon, regardless of his… situation, is an exceptional guard. He’s quicker and smarter than the rest of the Royal Guard combined (in Seungcheol’s completely unbiased opinion anyway). Besides, having a smaller partner actually works really well; this way Seungcheol doesn’t have to worry about getting stuck in small places, Jihoon will fit into them perfectly. 

Jeonghan glances up from Jihoon’s shoulder, meowing unhappily when he sees  Seungcheol trudging gloomily behind them . He leverages himself on Jihoon’s arm, jumping off gracefully to pad over to his hulking, sulking bodyguard. 

Why the long face Cheollie, Cheonsa purrs, winding his way around Seungcheol’s legs. Seungcheol shrugs, picking up the black cat with a sigh. 

“Nothing your highness, let’s get back so we can announce to the rest of the guards your little game is up, not that everyone didn’t already know who you were going to choose,” he mumbles, and Jeonghan meows loudly. 

(Seungcheol totally deserved that scratch, and he knew it too.)

Jisoo has to physically force himself to focus on his job, and not smile like a complete idiot the entire day. He (desperately) wants to close up and head to Jeonghan, but he also would like to keep earning money, so he endures the entire shift, thanking people who offer their congratulations, and keeping his distance from those who shoot him death looks for “winning” the Prince’s hand in marriage. 

The thought makes him dizzy with nerves and happiness.

I get to be with Jeonghan. 

I have to behave all Royal – oh gOd I’m nOT READY–

Jisoo’s fretting is interrupted when he hears the jingle of the bell, and he forces a polite smile onto his face. 

I can just deal with this later. 

“Hello my beloved,” Jeonghan greets smoothly, grin widening when he sees Jisoo turn bright red. Jihoon and Seungcheol walk in behind him, and can barely hold themselves back from snickering at Jisoo. 

“Your highness pLeaSE,” Jisoo whines, quickly handing a customer their cup of coffee and mumbling a quick greeting, head bowed in an attempt to hide his burning cheeks

The customer laughs, thanking him for the coffee and heading to the door, stopping and turning suddenly. “Oh, before I forget, congratulations on your betrothal to the crown prince,” he grins, bowing slightly as he passes Jeonghan. 

Jisoo closes up early for once, putting a sign on the door that said he would be closed for the rest of the week because of some “unforeseen circumstances” (read: Jeonghan had whined until Jisoo agreed). 

“You can’t keep working here,” Jeonghan protests, and Jisoo rolls his eyes, counting out the money he’d earned today. “You can’t!” Jeonghan continues, pouting when Jisoo barely bats an eyelid. “ Well, not really. You’re my betrothed, you have to learn all the royal duties and etiquette and also be acquainted with the rest of my family,.”

“Jeonghan please,” Jisoo sighs, cupping Jeonghan’s cheek gently. “It’s a means of living, and  I like working here.” 

Jeonghan really wants to provide everything for Jisoo. He wants his pretty barista  his life without worrying about things like money and making coffee for shitty people, but he also sees how genuinely happy Jisoo is in his little cafe, and he feels his resolve disappear. 

“Fine, fine, you win,” he sighs, and Jisoo beams so brightly Jeonghan’s heart aches. “But, you still have to hire someone else for when we have duties together,” he offers, and Jisoo wrinkles his nose but agrees, grumbling under his breath about having to trust his cafe to another person. 

Seungcheol and Jihoon watch them from the corner of the store, and neither can stop the fond smiles growing. They never knew a simple smile from Jeonghan’s chosen other could melt his will. 

“He’s already so whipped,” Jihoon whispers, shaking his head, and Seungcheol’s shoulders shake with silent laughter. 

“You would be too, if you found a blossoming love as pure as theirs,” Seungcheol sighs, glancing at Jihoon almost wistfully, although the other guard doesn’t catch it. 

The second Jisoo finishes closing up, Jeonghan whisks him away to the palace, rambling excitedly about life at the palace, and how Jisoo was gonna love it, and how he’s so excited to introduce his entire family to Jisoo and –

Jisoo kisses him softly, and Jeonghan shuts up, staring blankly at his… boyfriend? Fiancé? Significant other???? Jisoo laughs, nestling his head against the Royal’s shoulder as they settle in the car, the silence blanketing them comfortably on the ride back.

“Will they like me?” Jisoo murmurs suddenly, glancing up at Jeonghan, who was scrolling through his phone. The prince hums, dropping a kiss onto Jisoo’s forehead. 

“They’ll love you” Jeonghan reassures him, just as they pull into the palace. “I promise,” he hums, tugging his barista out of the car, right towards his family (accompanied of course, by the Royal Guards) who are all waiting and standing at attention. 

“Hyung! Is that your chosen other? He’s so pretty!” Seungkwan yells, and Jisoo turns scarlet, shyly waving hello to the terrifyingly large group of people who are waiting to welcome him. Jeonghan winks at Jisoo before shifting into his cat, meowing loudly when all the guards stare in a mix of shock and horror. 

“Y-your highness-!” 

“O hMY GoD PriNCE jEONGHAN!” 

“HYUNG!!!!!” 

He already knows, calm down oh my god, Jeonghan (Cheonsa) purrs, winding himself around Jisoo’s legs. 

“Wait is Jeonghan the only one like that?” Jisoo asks, eyes sparkling with excitement and curiosity, and Jeonghan – Cheonsa – jumps onto his shoulder, nuzzling his cheek affectionately. “Are all of you shifters too? That’s so cool! What are all your animals?” 

“What the fuck?” Mingyu blurts, wincing when Minghao smacks him upside the head, grumpily warning him about language. 

“Why aren’t you panicking? Did you already know? How did you know?” Junhui frowns, taking a protective step in front of his two charges, and Jeonghan shifts back immediately, hand resting calmly on the snow leopard’s shoulder. 

“I showed him. Come on, let’s go inside and get comfortable, don’t overwhelm Jisoo like this,” he orders quietly, voice soft but steely, and everyone scrambles inside. 

“Come on in Jisoo, I promise they’re not usually terrifying,” Jeonghan grins lightly at his newfound love, hand reaching out for Jisoo to take.  

Well, here goes nothing.

-

Please like and reblog!

If you’d like more of this AU, or your own lil thing, of if you just wanna yell at me, you can do so here~

#thekpopnetwork #shifter au #prince jeonghan #cafe owner jisoo #seventeen #svt #jihan #jeonghan #jisoo #joshua #angel #soojinnie's biases #my baby boys #anonnie