#the way even a stranger could tell he was a dad™

[lovebugism]

Could you pleaseeee do more single dad!Eddie 🥺

✶ ┄ MAYDAY ! [ stand by me ]

summary: after totally embarrassing yourself at eddie's kid's birthday party, the metalhead single dad from the trailer park shows you his (perhaps equally embarrassing) favorite movie. (2.9k)

pairing: dad!eddie munson / f!reader

tags: eddie and maeve universe, strangers to lovers (eventually), slow burn, mutual pining, idiots in love, girl dad eddie munson™, fluff, ugly crying at movies

You never did crack open that bottle.

The one you accidentally brought to Eddie’s kid’s birthday party? Yeah, that one. The glass container sits unopened on the coffee table in front of you, casting amber reflections on the old wood beneath the lamplight. It’s just a silly conversation starter now. You’ve got no real reason to drink it, anyway.

There’s nothing more intoxicating than Eddie Munson’s presence.

Sunrays spill from your mouth when you tip your head back to laugh. You turn to look at the boy on the other end of the couch, and your warm cheek squishes against the cushion. “Stand By Me is not your favorite movie!” you argue, giggling softly with disbelief.

Eddie has no idea how big he’s smiling. He’s too busy staring at you to notice the beam on his face. 

He shrugs his shoulders, now free from the confines of his leather jacket. He wears a faded Peanuts shirt now. A hand-me-down, you figure. “I mean… Land Before Time is a really close second,” he answers in a teasing lilt.

“Oh, yeah. Only the saddest movie ever made.”

“Maeve used to love it. And, like, not in a normal way— She used to make me play it for her until the tape spun out,” Eddie tells you, chuckling softly to himself. “It grew on me eventually, but… Then she grew out of it.”

You watch him get all forlorn at the thought. You meet his subtle pout with a scrunched nose. “Well, she’s only four, right? Surely, she hasn’t had time to grow out of much.”

Eddie scoffs and slouches further on the couch until his thighs spread. “You’d be surprised. Every time I think I— you know— start to understand her a little bit or whatever, she just… She changes, you know? Like, overnight.”

He doesn’t mean to get so suddenly sentimental about the whole thing. Especially not in front of a pretty girl he only met eight hours ago. He’ll blame it on the late night and the existential dread that always comes with birthdays. He conceals his brooding behind a dumb joke.

“I mean, just this morning, Maeve’s favorite animal was a Hefflelump… Now it’s a blobfish.”

You try to hold back your laughter. You fail. The sunshine-coated giggle sputters from your mouth despite your attempts to keep it hidden. Eddie only laughs because you are.

“I should’ve said turtle or something,” you humor with a roll of your eyes, tucking your knees to your chest. “Or, like, a badger. Maybe then I wouldn’t have gotten made fun of all day.”

“Those aren’t any less normal,” Eddie chuckles with a lopsided grin, dark chocolate eyes twinkling ‘cause he never really liked normal anyway.

You shrug. “Agree to disagree.”

“You wanna know something?” he blurts after a long beat of silent smiles. “When I tucked her in, she made me promise to take her to the aquarium tomorrow. Said she wanted to see ‘if the blobfish were just as gross in real life.’

You smile so wide your eyes squint at the edges. “Do they have blobfish at the aquarium?” you laugh.

Eddie shrugs. “Probably not. But she’ll get to pet a stingray or somethin’. Then she’ll forget all about it.”

“Sounds fun…” you murmur, picking at pills of cotton on the old couch with a suddenly anxious hand. 

“Yeah. Parenting always is,” Eddie hums with a distant smile. “Even when it isn’t.”

“Should I— Should I, like, go?” you stammer.

The boy seems shocked by your question. His fluffy brows pinch as he hums. “Huh?”

You squirm, less than comfortable in your own skin. “Well, I mean, it’s… It’s getting kinda late and everything, and… If you guys are going into the city in the morning, I don’t wanna, like, keep you or whatever—”

Suddenly anxious, Eddie sits up a little straighter. “No! No, it’s okay. I don’t mind,” he responds, then quickly follows with wide eyes. “Unless— Unless you want to leave—”

“I don’t!” you answer, equally flustered.

Eddie forces an awkward chuckle. “I don’t want you to think I’m, like, keeping you hostage here or something—”

“I just don’t wanna overstay my welcome—”

“You couldn’t,” he insists.

You nod, and in a mousy voice, you reply, “Well, you couldn’t keep me hostage, so…”

Eddie grins. “Good.”

“Good,” you echo.

“So… Wanna watch a movie or something?” he offers with a fluttering heart and fidgeting hands. 

He feels like a teenage boy all over again — only he never actually got the opportunity to ask a pretty girl out when he was a teenager. People weren’t exactly fighting to spend time with the local freak back then. Or now, really.

Except you.

“Whaddaya got?”

“Well, let’s see…” he says, grunting as he rises from the couch. 

Eddie walks the short distance to the box television across the room — which Maeve has carefully decorated with a collection of sparkly stickers. He sorts through the VHS tapes stacked in less-than-organized piles with a ringed hand, realizing must’ve left all the good stuff at Wayne’s.

“Oh, you know… All the Maeve Munson favorites…” he singsongs with a sigh.

“Surprise me,” you call from the couch.

Eddie rises then, with two bulky VHSs clutched within ringed fingers. He holds them on either side of his face and grins between them. “Stand By Me or Land Before Time?”

“Stand By Me,” you answer with a firm nod. “Unless, you know, you wanna see me ugly cry.”

“That’s second date territory,” he quips with a wink, suddenly and very uncharacteristically cool. “Stand By Me it is.”

—————

You’re crying on a stranger’s couch about ninety minutes later. 

The credits roll in static colors on the tiny television across from you. The low bass of a nostalgic song floats quietly through the living room — If the sky, that we look upon, should tumble and fall… Or the mountains, should crumble to the sea…

Eddie looks on with a sympathetic beam as you hide your teary face behind your palms. He can’t tell if you’re shaking from sobs or from laughter. Maybe a healthy mixture of both. “I thought you weren’t gonna cry!” he chuckles.

You peek at him through your fingers. Your eyes are glassy with tears and squinting at the edges with a smile. “I forgot how sad it was!” you sniffle, then laugh at yourself.

I won’t cry, I won’t cry… No, I won’t shed a tear…

“You’re crying, too!” you observe as the boy beside you wipes at his eyes with his fingertips. You reach over to shove him with a playful hand. “You big softy!”

Eddie scoffs and swipes his nose with the back of his wrist. “I’m not crying! I’m just… I had something in my eye.”

“Tears?” you tease with a scrunched nose.

He nods, and with a sheepish look in his eyes, he says, “Yeah…”

Your quiet laughter entwines, filling the dim living room with something sparkly and golden. The sound of violins swells in a similar way. Eddie’s eyes flutter shut as he begins singing the lyrics to himself, not really trying but sounding pretty anyway.

“Just as long, as you stand, stand by me…” he croons quietly. You beam and sing softly along with him, audibly less serious about the whole thing. “And darlin’! Darlin’! Stand by me… Oh, stand by me—”

Both of you quieten when a door squeaks about open down the hall. The distant screech is followed by the patter of tiny footsteps. Eddie huffs and sits up a little straighter. “Ah, shit…”

Your face floods with horror. “Was I too loud?” you whisper.

“No. It’s just midnight,” he answers, shaking his wild head. “She always wakes up at midnight. Like my personal little Gremlin.”

Maeve appears in the dark hallway then, drowning in one of her dad’s old t-shirts. Corroded Coffin, the front of it reads, in what seems to be hand-made lettering. The thing fits her like a gown. 

Her curls sit in an untamed halo around her head from the intensity of her slumber. She rubs at her swollen eyes with chubby fists. Eddie can’t help but grin at the sight of her. 

“Hey, Mayday,” he coos. “What happened? You can’t sleep?”

The girl shuffles to her father like it’s muscle memory to her. Still half-asleep, she grips his shirt with graceless fingers and climbs onto his lap with her eyes still shut. She cuddles into his torso, fitting perfectly there, while you sit frozen on the other side of the couch. Like maybe if you’re real still, she won’t notice you’re there.

“We gonna go see da blobfish now?” she wonders in tiny slurs against his chest.

Eddie’s cheek squishes against her head when he smiles. The expression gets lost in her wild chestnut locks. “Not yet, May. It’s too late— All the fishies are sleeping now. Like you should be.”

She shifts on his lap like she’s trying to get more comfortable there. Her cheek, indented with lines of sleep, rubs against his shirt when she turns to look up at him. “Need you to tuck me in,” she tells him, tiny chin bobbing against his chest.

Eddie juts back to see her better. “Again?” he humors with his brows raised behind his curly bangs.

“Mhmm,” she nods, slow and sleepy.

“Okay,” he hums, scoffing a tired chuckle. “I’ll tuck you in again, bug.”

You don’t mean to laugh. It just crawls up your throat and out of your mouth before you can stop it. You try to hide it behind your palm, but Maeve still notices. 

Her fluffy brows scrunch together when she turns to you. She swipes at the hair sticking to her cheek with a fumbling hand to see you better. She doesn’t say anything, though. She just kinda blinks at you, with a brown-eyed, emotionless gaze.

You muster a wavering smile at the girl, lifting your hand in an unsure wave.

“Wanna go see the blobfish with us tomorrow?” Maeve blurts. Though, in her less than awake state, it sounds more like wanna go see da bobfish wiv us tommowow? It’s like you can feel your heart melting.

“The aquarium,” Eddie clarifies.

You squirm in your seat. “Oh, I… I can’t,” you sigh, then follow quickly when she pouts. “I wish I could! It sounds super fun, but I’m… I’m busy…”

You aren’t, really. ‘Cause tomorrow’s Saturday — the only thing you really have to do is try to wake up before noon. You just don’t know how else to turn her down.

“Maybe next time?” Eddie offers hopefully, mostly for Maeve’s sake.

You nod rapidly, just for Maeve. “Yeah. Next time. Definitely.”

“See? It’s okay,” Eddie lilts, squeezing gently at the girl’s sides until she’s smiling again. “We can have fun just you and me, right?”

Maeve pouts in response, a sort of snarled face that’s obviously playful.

Eddie laughs loud and boyishly in return. “Hey! Don’t make that face at me!” he exclaims, feigning offense. Maeve loses her poker face almost instantly as she giggles. “Go get in bed, you weirdo. I’ll tuck you in in a second.”

“And read me another book?” she presses hopefully.

He nods, knowing it’s a fight he’s bound to lose. “And read you another book.”

“Two of them?”

The girl holds her pointer and middle finger in front of her face. Eddie chuckles and guides the latter back down with a gentle hand. “One,” he corrects.

“Two.”

“One.”

“Two!”

A brief stare-off ensues, one in which you’ve got a front-row seat. Maeve’s dark chocolate gaze resembles her father’s — button-eyed and swimming with something honeyed and stubborn. She tilts her chin to her chest and glares unwavering at the man in front of her.

Eddie inevitably caves. He sighs so deeply his chest deflates. “Fine… Two. But only if you run real fast.”

Maeves slides down his denim-clad legs until her bare feet hit the carpet. She scurries down the hall without another word, quiet giggles fading with her footsteps. Eddie slumps against the couch with a small, contented sigh. 

You realize you haven’t stopped smiling for several minutes now. “She’s really sweet,” you compliment to fill the silence.

Eddie scoffs a gentle laugh. “Yeah. When she wants to be.”

The quiet returns. You run out of things to say. The notion of the late-late night settles more heavily upon you. You swallow hard and fight for a way out that doesn’t make it sound like Eddie hasn’t just given you one of the best nights of your life. 

“I think I’m gonna—”

“Well, I should—”

The boy starts speaking at the same time as you. You cut each other off without trying, then laugh quietly at yourselves.

“You first,” you tell him.

“I should go tuck Maeve in before she goes all Mayday mode and starts screaming at me,” Eddie says, only partly joking. 

His sweet little Maeve is only Mayday when she’s throwing a too-passionate tantrum. Or when it’s past midnight, and she’s acting like a total gremlin. He doesn’t particularly want you to witness either. ‘Cause kids tend to be pretty gnarly sometimes — especially when you aren’t the one raising them.

“Yeah, I should probably start heading home, anyway,” you reply. “It’s late.”

Eddie rises with a small huff. You follow behind him towards the front door, both of you moving with slow and heavy strides — neither particularly wanting the other to go. 

“Thanks for keeping me company,” he says beneath the sound of the screeching screen door. “And for helping Maeve have a good day and everything… Most people don’t really consider hanging out with a four-year-old and her dad a good time, so…”

“Well, most people are weirdos,” you scoff and slide past him through the doorway. “You and Maeve are, like, the coolest people in Hawkins.”

You stand ahead of him on the front steps of the trailer, glowing beneath the silver moon and the buzzing amber porchlight. Eddie lingers in the entryway and holds the door open with his shoulder, so he can hear Maeve when she inevitably starts shouting for him.

“Yeah, I don’t know about that,” he wavers with a scrunched nose. “Maeve’s pretty cool and all, but… She definitely didn’t get that from me.”

“Your favorite movies are Land Before Time and Stand By Me,” you deadpan with a flat face. A smile inevitably pulls at your lips when you look at him too long, pretty as he is. “You’re cool, Eddie. Whether you wanna be or not.”

“Agree to disagree,” he grins, totally sheepish as he shrugs off the compliment. “Thanks for hangin’ around. Again.”

He feels like he’s said that too many times now, but he’s too full of gratitude to stop. It’s been just him and Maeve for so long. And, yeah, sure, Steve and Robin come around when they can, but they’ve got their own lives outside of this one. It isn’t every day someone appears at his trailer with a bottle of booze and the wherewithal to acclimate to his chaotic life.

Eddie feels like he should never stop thanking you, really.

You shrug. “Thanks for keeping me around. Again.”

“See you soon?” he wonders with a hopeful glint in his dark eyes, made a much lighter amber in the moonlight.

You nod firmly once. “‘Course.”

And even though that’s as good a dismissal as any, you both linger in the doorway still. Like your feet are glued in place. 

How are you supposed to walk away from him? The man with wild rockstar curls, rings on each finger, and a beaded bracelet with his daughter’s initial in the very center. The man who loves cartoons more than his toddler and cries with you at sad movies?

You figure you’ll spend forever chasing this foreign feeling he’s so effortlessly given you.

“Daddy!” Maeve shouts. Her high-pitched voice rings through the tiny trailer. It makes you wince a little. You didn’t think something so tiny could be so loud.

“And there’s Mayday…” Eddie lilts quietly, unflinching ‘cause he’s used to this by now.

“I’ll go,” you laugh, walking backward towards your car. “I’ll— I’ll see you around.”

“G’night,” he calls to you as he watches you go.

His chest stings when he realizes he never asked for your number. It feels much too awkward to do it now, and he’s only got a few minutes more before Maeve goes crazy on him. He should’ve asked you ages ago, really. But he didn’t. ‘Cause he’s an idiot.

You notice it, too, but you flash him a sheepish smile over your shoulder anyway. Even if you never hear from him again after you’re gone, you figure there’s always next year. 

Maeve will be another year older. Steve will bring you along to her party if you beg. Eddie will be in desperate need of a pick-me-up, and you’ll bring a bottle of booze just to make him smile. The alcohol will go untouched, though, as the two of you get lost in conversation and Stand By Me.

Even if all this was only destined to happen once every year — even if it was only supposed to happen once and never again — you’ll spend the rest of your life grateful that it happened at all.

With a cold hand trembling with longing, you wrench your car door open. Though your heart’s heavy with a distant worry that you may never be back here again, you grin at him through the grief and the small distance between you.

“Good night, Eddie.”

#published by bug #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson x you #stranger things x reader #eddie munson #stranger things #eddie munson imagine #stranger things imagine #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson fic #stranger things fic #stranger things fanfic #stranger things fanfiction #st drabbles #eddie spaghetti drabble #eddie and maeve

[sherifftillman]

busy streets and busy lives • ralph penbury x reader

A strange day at work gets even stranger when you meet a man who claims he's from 1926. With no certainty as to when he can get back, you decide to take him in until that time arrives.

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Tags: Timewasters (series), modern!au, slow burn, mutual pining, idiots in love™, fluff, some angst, swearing and mentions of adult themes throughout, eventual adult content, alcohol content, penbury is a fanon surname

Word count: 4.2k

A/N: Aaaaaand THIS is where the real good stuff starts! Sorry for all the other posts, just had to start getting the ball rolling. I am aware that since this is taking place in modern London, there may well be slang used that people don't necessarily recognise. If you'd like me to make a glossary of some kind, hit me up!! I hope you enjoy Ralph In The Future as much as I do <3

"Bet it feels strange being behind here again, doesn't it?" the customer asks you. It's an older woman, you don't particularly recognise her, but she certainly seems to know you well enough to know you've been promoted since you first started working here.

You force a smile, "Not really! Sometimes the floor just needs an extra pair of hands, and it helps me know what's working and what isn't for my staff and my customers, so," you shrug.

"Yeah, I don't envy you, still working at a time when nobody wants to work," she shakes her head.

You press your lips together tightly. There are so many arguments you could make right now, but already trying to juggle two roles is taxing enough. Instead you simply tell the woman her total and ring her through. Once again adorning your best customer service smile, you thank her for her custom and send her on her way.

"D'you think she's ever worked a customer service job in her life?" Your shop floor assistant asks as they re-fold their display shirts.

You shake your head, "I think… Cushty little secretary job at her dad's business, at first. Never had to pay rent, got married to the first guy at that job to pay her attention, got a council house nice and early and spawned a couple of kids just to stop him from walking."

They let out a wide-eyed, long-drawn breath, "Daaamn, someone woke up on the salty side of the bed this morning!"

You chuckle humourlessly, "That doesn't even make sense. And yeah, sorry, it just… Really sucks that I've got major shit to do this week, but I can't just let you do all the work out here on your own, not with Karens like that around."

"Can't you get your friend to come down and cover? Or to do your manager shit on their next shift?" 

"Nah, it's gotta be me. And they can't come in today because of their other job, so I'm gonna do it as overtime," you explain dejectedly.

"You're doing great, champ!" they sidle up to you to gently punch you in the shoulder encouragingly.

"Hey now, kiddo, I'm the manager here, I need to be motivating you!"

"Nah, you're sales right now. You're just as good as the rest of us common muck," they tease, and you stick your tongue out at them.

The day drags, and the quality of customers certainly doesn’t improve. A man who thinks he can return an item without a receipt. A woman who insists on ordering an item that’s no longer available because she saw a friend wearing it just last week. Children. 

And sure, maybe now, at 5:40pm, the customer of your dreams could walk in through the front door. But you and your coworker are exhausted, and this is the kind of shit you always wanted to become a manager to do. Taking one last look up and down the almost empty high street, save for the ones who are heading to the Wetherspoons on the corner, you decide to start the closing process early.

You manage to finish a little after 6pm, and you consider just getting all of your admin stuff done while you’re here, but also, you really can’t stand the sight of these four walls much longer. You figure you’ll just go to the coffee shop nearby, get yourself an iced latte for the walk home and think about what kind of takeaway you’ll be craving once you get back to your flat. No cooking. Not tonight.

You’re well into a mental debate about whether you’d rather have a chow mein or a biryani when something else piques your interest. There’s a man in front of you in some kind of costume. It’s either really old-school military, or… Safari explorer. Maybe he’s one of those live re-enactors. Maybe he works at the zoo. Maybe he’s just one of those quirked-up little guys. You get your phone out to text your friends, ready to ask them if they’ve seen anyone dressed similarly before, but as you continue walking you collide with something.

Someone. Your flimsy plastic cup gets crushed immediately upon the impact, pouring ice cold coffee down the strangely-dressed man’s back. Your first instinct is to shout, “Watch it!”

The man jumps out of his skin, either at your words or the ice cubes soaking his back. He spins around to look at you like a deer in headlights. Eyes like giant chocolate buttons stare you down. If he’s supposed to be dressed as an Army boy, he does not have the face to convince me, you think. Unless the message they’re sending is that literally anyone could get drafted.

“You alright?” you ask, eyes narrowing and head cocking as you study him.

“Ah - um - oh, I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! This was absolutely my fault, I’m just - I’m so lost, and I was trying to find a man and now he’s gone and - oh, blast, stupid Ralph, you’ve really gone and done it now!” the man flusters, looking in every direction except at you.

You whistle and click your fingers at his eye level. “Hey, Bambi! Focus. It’s okay.”

He moves his head back to scrunch his face at you in confusion. “Bambi?”

You smirk, “Yeah, you’re like a baby deer right now. You said you’re lost? Where’re you trying to get to?”

“Uh, well, I suppose I should try and find my home, um… Penbury House?” he asks tentatively.

You kiss your teeth a few times as you think of where you’ve heard that name before. “Oh!” You look at him, puzzled. “You sure that’s your house?”

“Well, my name is Ralph Penbury, so…” he wiggles his shoulders from side to side before shrugging. You appreciate the extra flair.

“Right, but Penbury House is the name of the place they turned into a Waterstone’s,” you explain. He looks lost again, so you explain, “Waterstone’s is a bookstore.”

Ralph scoffs, “Oh, pish-posh, my home has not become a bookstore! That would be quite preposterous!”

So far your entire interaction with this strange man has been a tennis match of bewilderment, just exchanging expressions back and forth. “Are you, like… On something, mate? Do you need me to get you somewhere safe?”

“I want to go home, please! And not a… Bookstore, my real, actual home!” He’s starting to sound quite overwhelmed now, so you take a step back.

“Okay, okay. It’s okay. We can calm down. You mentioned looking for a man? Do you know this man?”

“Well, not personally, but I travelled here with him. About yea tall,” he holds his hand just in line with his eyebrows, “very old. Silent man. Hair just past his ears. Looks, um. Unwashed.”

Your eyebrows raise in realisation. “Ah, Homeless Pete!” Makes sense that Pete and his crew would be involved somehow. “Shall we go and find him?”

“Do you know where he is?!” Ralph asks, his expression lighting up. He may be dressed like an absolute twat, but you can’t deny his adorable little puppy-dog face.

“I know where he hangs out, we can go see if he’s there?” you ask, and Ralph nods. “C’mon,” you jerk your head in the direction towards where you know Homeless Pete tends to hang out when he’s not walking the streets. You wonder what ol’ H.P. (as your friends call him) could have given his poor boy to make him trip like this. “So, uh, quick question. Sorry, I completely forgot. What’s the full date today?”

“Well, the last I checked, it was September the 7th, 1926,” he replies simply. You stop in your tracks, and he looks back at you with a frown. “What’s the matter?”

“N-nothing, nothing,” you shake your head and carry on walking. This poor boy must be on something pretty damn strong. “Let’s get you to H.P, yeah?” Just to find out what he’s taken. Then it’s straight to the hospital.

Ralph inhales so loudly that a guttural sound forms in his throat. “Oh my goodness! Do you think - am I in - the future?” He grips your arm tightly. “Was the lift a time machine, perhaps?”

“Maybe,” you tap his hand lightly with your own as you keep walking with him, "considering that it's September the 7th, 2022." Normally, you would be throwing any stranger that hugged your arm like Ralph now is to the ground, but there’s just something about him. Either he plays the innocent human puppy role far better than any indie boy that’s ever tried to hit on you on a night out, or he really is just going through it.

You eventually reach the underpass where a large part of the local homeless population gather, and sure enough, there is Pete himself, sat between two shopping trolleys. He spots the two of you and immediately bursts into laughter. “What the fuck, H.P?!” you yell. “You’re usually chill, what have you done to this poor boy?!”

“‘M not a boy, I’m a grown man, thank you,” Ralph mutters into your shoulder.

“‘Course you are, babe,” you murmur sarcastically as you nod at him, before once again turning to Pete. “Well?! You’ve got him talking about - about time machines, and the 1920s, I mean, just look at how the poor sod’s dressed!” Pete’s eyes widen as he waggles his finger at you, as though you’re both in a game of charades and you’re on the right track. You turn to one of the people Pete lives amongst, “What’s he been on today?”

The other person shakes their head. “Nothing, swear down! Besides, he’s a proper tight-arse, he wouldn’t go ‘round drugging any fucker going. ‘Specially not a toff like that,” they snort with laughter as they point to Ralph.

You look back to Homeless Pete. “So, you’re telling me. Time travel is fucking real.” Pete nods. “And you were in 1926, and you dragged this sad sack of shit out here with you, with no context.”

“You know I can hear you,” Ralph points out indignantly, but still quietly and still from the safety of behind your shoulder. His arms are still wrapped around yours, too.

“Yeah, but look at you, mate. You’re not exactly getting us answers as to how to get you back to… Wherever we get you back to,” you explain before once again turning to Pete. “Where is this… Time machine? Ralph said something about a lift.” Pete snarls as he gestures over to a block of flats you vaguely recognise. “So we go there, get him back in the lift, and then what? Is there a button, or a combination, or -?” Pete moves his hand from side to side. “And what does that mean, is it a random button each time?” Again, it feels like you’re in a game of charades as he silently tells you you’re on the right track. “Is the random part right?” Nod. “So, it’s not about the button, but… The floor you get on?” A shake of the head. “Is it just at random times?” Nod. “So, how do you know when to go back to it?” He shrugs, then points to his temple. “What, you get some kind of vibe, some Spidey sense?” He nods with an upside down smile. You sigh. “So we don’t know when Ralph here can get back.” A shake of the head.

“Do I have to stay here with him, then?” Ralph asks you sadly.

You sigh again. “No, c’mon. I guess you won’t want Chinese or Indian, we’ll just get a chippy dinner on the way home.” You start walking in the other direction, and Ralph quickly paces to catch up with you.

“A chippy dinner?” he asks, baffled.

“Yeah! Like fish and chips? They had that in the 20s, surely?” you reply.

“Well, yes, I suppose, but we only ever had it at the seaside,” he cocks his head as though reminiscing fondly. It only accentuates the cuteness of his whole face.

“Think you can be a big boy again now, or do you still wanna hold on?” you ask, outstretching your arm. He doesn’t appear to blush in the conventional sense, but his ears do flush a bright pink. Even more adorable. Fuck. Remember, he’s technically like a hundred years older than you. He slinks one arm around yours and you pull him in tightly by pressing your own arms towards your torso. “There we go. Now I can make sure I’m guiding you so that hopefully you don’t get bumped into anymore.”

“I think I’ve certainly learned my lesson in not standing still in front of people!” Ralph jokes, making you genuinely laugh for the first time all day. It feels strange, you can feel every muscle in your face move with it. But you also feel the weight on your chest lifting, too. You’d been at boiling point all day at work, and discovering a time-traveller wasn’t exactly helping you to simmer down. But you can make this work. He’s just an… Eccentric, extremely sheltered family friend who’s staying with you for a short while. That’s what you’ll tell anyone who asks.

“Yeah, you’ve learned that if you do, some dickhead’ll throw their iced coffee all over your back!” you laugh.

Ralph frowns, “You’re not a - a one of those, at all! You’re very nice to take me in like this. Most people seemed to think I belonged in a jungle.”

“Yeah, the old school military uniform kinda looks more… Safari explorer, these days,” you explain.

Ralph’s eyes light up. “Someone finally recognises the Army uniform for what it is!”

“Yeah, I thought I recognised it from when we went to the War Museum for school once. That was the kind of get-up they used to wear in the First World War.” You trip over your own feet a little as Ralph once again halts to anchor you to him, despite what he’s just said. He looks… Distraught. “Alright, mate?”

“Why did you say… First World War?" He asks with fear in his voice. "We won the Great War to restore the - the balance of power, how long did that last?!” He looks at you, dumbfounded.

You hiss air through your teeth. “Oh, boy. Yeah, there’s a lot that’s happened in the last century. I don’t know if it’s such a good idea telling you all of it, since once you get back, it’ll be your future, so…” You contemplate. “We’ll just keep all the questions you have to stuff you’ll need to get by in the here and now, alright? Anything you learn about history, just try and let it go over your head,” you pull him forwards gently and he falls back into step with you.

“One question I have about the here and now,” Ralph starts, and you look over at him. He makes eye contact with you to ask, “What exactly is your name?”

Laughing again, you tell him. “Sorry, I really should have led with that, shouldn’t I! It’s been a long day."

“I’ll say. About a hundred-odd years long!” A giggle bubbles out from Ralph’s lips and it makes you snicker, too.

“You’re a funny one, Penbury. For an old sod, at least,” you push your shoulder into his before leading him into the chip shop. “So, are you a fish guy, sausage, fishcake, pie?”

Ralph looks at all the options in the serving counter with an upturned nose. “What’s that one?” he asks, pressing his finger against the glass.

You look over and answer, “Battered sausage. Sausage, but in the batter they cook the fish in. Bloody lovely,” you smile wistfully. 

“I might just stick to the classic cod and chips, thank you,” Ralph mutters under his breath as he stares around the small room in fascination. You order on behalf of the pair of you and take the bag from the server with a grateful smile. Ralph notices and plasters one on as well, though his definitely comes off as more fake. He basically attaches himself to your arm again the second you’re out of the door, as though you’re bound together magnetically, and you guide him to the tower block that contains your pokey little flat.

After spending several minutes convincing Ralph that the lift isn’t going to suck him into another time period, and that he’s more than welcome to traipse up all the stairs that lead to the ninth floor, he relents and stands in the lift with you, though he stands so close that you’d think his goal was for you to wear him. Brushing against his chest feels nice, though. Shut up, you’re just touch-starved. This is not your ticket out of your dry spell. This is a fever dream.

Once you’re in your flat, you quickly dig out whatever men's clothes you have laying around - some sweatpants and a white T-shirt, and you throw them at him. "Just to get out of your dirty clothes while I plate up, eat before this gets cold, then you can go shower. I'm sure there's some boxers in my pyjama drawer you could use, too, I'll find those for you in a bit." You point to your bathroom and he quietly complies.

You could've just eaten the meals straight from their wrapper, the way you always do. But you figured Ralph has had enough culture shocks as it is, you'll give him the decency of eating from a plate. Besides, spending your night with a man dressed in 1920s army gear who's eating fish and chips out of some paper on his lap might just be enough of a sight to tell you to get yourself checked into the psych ward at the earliest convenience. At least you can try and create some kind of normalcy in this moment.

A quick Google search tells you television wasn't around in 1926, so you don't want to expose him to that tonight, too. Give it a day, maybe. You could play some old-time-y music on your Echo but you're not sure what he'd want to listen to. Instead, once you're both sat on the sofa together, you make conversation with him about his past as you eat. He tells you about how the Penburys were known socialites, how he and his sister had pretty much the same group of friends, how they had recently found friends in a rather special group of people, one of which he'd fallen head over heels for, just for her to reject him, and his heartbreak caused him to join the Army, which he hated.

"It's rather funny, you know," Ralph adds. "People here talk very similarly to Lauren and the others. I wonder if they exist in this time, too."

You start piecing things together. "Lauren… Plays jazz… She the drummer in this little quartet?" Ralph nods, his eyes wide. "Kinda short, has a brother called Nick?"

"Nicholas, yes! He's tall and he wears thick glasses! You know them?!" Ralph asks excitedly.

"Yeah, Nick was in my class all through high school! Always used to fancy him," you reminisce happily before stifling a laugh. "Wait, wait. So you mean to tell me that this Lauren you're besotted with is - is Little Lauren? Oh, you poor, sweet boy."

He looks offended. "Why would you think that that’s such a bad thing?!"

"Mate, I've known you five minutes and even I know Lauren would chew you up and spit you out," you look at him sympathetically. "And you're not gonna be able to change her on that. Unless you're into all that kinda stuff," your nose turns up a little as you joke, just to get a reaction from him.

Sure enough, there go the illusive colour-changing ears. He sputters, "W- I - I don’- I’m no- That is no appropriate discussion topic over dinner!” and you collapse into a fit of giggles, falling into him a little.

“Oh, lighten up, Ralph. Things are far less proper round here, that was nothing,” you explain, to his horror.

Once you’re both finished eating, you grab a clean pair of boxers from your pyjama drawer and toss them into the bathroom, gesturing to Ralph with your head that that’s where he ought to go. “Sorry you’re gonna have to use your finger as a toothbrush tonight, I’ve not got any extras of those, but -”

“Oh, all of this is already above and beyond! Even taking me in, I - I hope you understand how truly grateful I am, and with your patience acclimating me to… All this,” Ralph gestures around with his hands.

You nod with a soft smile. “Uh, give the shower a few minutes to run, though. Goes from freezing to scalding and then you’ve just sort of gotta… Keep fiddling with it. You’ll figure it out, I’m sure.”

The various screeches you hear from behind the closed door suggest that he is not as successful in figuring out the shower as you’d hoped. While he showers, you do a little more digging. Thankful that your mum’s weird obsession with your family tree may finally come in handy, you ask for the login to her online ancestry account. Tapping through to the census search, you type the name ralph penbury and set the dates between around 1890 and 1930 to look for any documentations of birth - or death. Sure enough, an entry pops up: 

Ralph Penbury - Date of birth: 01/02/1901 - Parents: William and Delilah Penbury - Occupation: Private in the Armed Forces - Death: Announced 19/09/1926 - MIA, presumed dead

You frown at the result. Was Ralph always doomed to go missing in action, you wonder? Is he only presumed as such because he’s travelled through time? His existence hasn’t been completely erased by the trip, obviously, but how much of this was affected by it? It hurts your head to try and think about. But at least you know when his birthday is. It’s still a few months away by all accounts, you may not even get to celebrate it with him. You still make a note of it in your phone.

Ralph soon emerges from the bathroom, and the sight causes your breath to catch in the back of your throat. He already had a certain cuteness about him, but as he rubs his hair dry with the towel, his damp natural curls stick out in all directions. Some facial hair and a neck chain or two, and he’d be exactly the kind of guy you’d let break your heart in a smoking area. He studies your face carefully as you’re staring at him. “Is there something wrong?”

“No!” you snap yourself out of your trance quickly. “No, not at all. Um, you can - you can take the bed. If you want. Get a good night’s sleep.”

Ralph gasps in horror, “I could never! I am simply a guest, I must insis-”

“And I must insist that you’ve literally travelled almost a hundred years to be here. Who knows when you’re gonna be here until, so… I don’t mind. I can sleep on the sofa for now, I promise,” you smile. “Just let me get in there real quick to get changed myself too, yeah?” Despite still standing in the bathroom doorway, and therefore not in the way of your bedroom, Ralph still steps aside and gestures towards it for you.

You change into a tank top and trousers combo, grab a blanket and some cushions out from your wardrobe, and head back into the living area. “Are you decent?” Ralph asks, his eyes squeezed.

You laugh, “Down, boy, I wasn’t exactly going to come out in my birthday suit, was I?! Yes, I am, you can look.”

He opens his eyes, takes one look at you, and yelps before covering his face with his hands. “You said you were decent!”

You look down at yourself, confused. Sure, the top is well-fitting, but you don’t think it’s indecent at all. You walk over to him and pull his wrists down. His eyes are once again shut tightly. “Ralph. It’s okay. I promise. Again, this is absolutely fine and modest in these times. Unless you want to stick out like a sore thumb, you’ll have to get used to it,” you shrug, letting go of him. He opens his eyes slowly and his breath shudders as he quickly jolts away.

“Okay, very well. I’ll try my hardest,” he nods, though he seems to be making the effort to keep his jaw up to maintain a high eyeline. “Are you sure you’ll be okay sleeping out here?”

You sigh, repeating once again, “Yes, Ralph, I’ll be fine. Go get some rest. You’ve had a big day.”

“Yes, very well. Erm,” he ducks his head down and to the side for a split second, as though to kiss your cheek, before stopping himself and once again raising his head high, his eyes wide and his ears pink. He clears his throat. “Thank you, again. Good night.”

“G’night, mate. Sleep well,” you pat his arm and start setting up the sofa for the night as he enters your bedroom and closes the door behind him.

You stick the TV on, not really caring what’s playing as it only really serves as background noise, and turn your lights off. The glows of the television screen and your phone screen illuminate the room as you search for any other evidence of time travel. Nothing that matched Ralph’s story comes up. You’re somewhere deep into a conspiracy theory about someone with a mobile phone being spotted at a Charlie Chaplin premiere when you finally drift off to sleep.

next chapter

#ralph timewasters #ralph timewasters x reader #ralph timewasters x you #ralph timewasters fanfic #ralph timewasters imagine #ralph penbury #ralph penbury x reader #ralph penbury x you #ralph penbury fanfic #ralph penbury imagine #ralph timewasters fluff #ralph penbury fluff #bsbl #fic: bsbl #*myfics

[alwaysspeakshermind]

When do you think Katniss and Peeta developing real romantic feeling toward each other?

Thank you 😊

@everlarkshipper

Well!

(gif originally saved from tenor, not mine)

In my personal opinion, I think Peeta begins falling for Katniss pretty much exactly when he says he does in the cave (aka, the first day of school when she sang, aka, "from that moment on, I was a goner"). He's not afraid of feelings/doesn't think of them as a weakness the way Katniss is/does, and while they don't officially meet until the day of the Reaping, they're not quite total strangers, either. It's sort of a running joke about small towns that "everybody knows everybody," so even when you aren't close to someone, you still kind of know things about them because you simply can't avoid crossing paths throughout your life.

[For instance: when I was in college, there was this one semester where I'd pass this same guy on my way to class every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for three+ months. To this day, I don't know his name, I don't know his major, I don't know whether he was coming from a dorm or a class or the library, but I know he had to catch the 11:55 bus, that he liked vanilla protein drinks more than chocolate protein drinks, that he would rather trip over someone than elbow his way past them, that he really liked wearing gray, and that he could jump a bike rack if he wanted to, because I observed all those pieces of information just casually walking past him for that short amount of time even though I had no interest in him. Peeta, by comparison, was interested in Katniss from the get-go and saw her at least five days a week for about a decade, so I think it's safe to assume a lot of the knowledge he surprises her by airing during their discussion with Haymitch (the hunting skills, the good aim, etc.) are things he's picked up on because he's (as he says) "paying attention." ]

Because his dad points Katniss out and tells a story about her mother (and her father, and the baker, which in and of itself is kind of interesting as it can sort of be taken as foreshadowing since it involves two kids from one side of town who grow up together but don't end up together because one of the kids falls in love with a person from the opposite side of town which, ya know, sounds a little G/K/P but I digress), Peeta notices her. But that first notice isn't The Moment™ for him; instead, it's her volunteering (!!!) to get up in front of the class and sing the Valley song that does him in.

And to be honest, while I do understand where people who discount that first day of school thing because "they were just kids" are coming from, I personally think it has to be counted because, as Peeta himself points out, he "noticed just about every girl," but the only one who makes "a lasting impression" is Katniss meaning, in essence, that he sort of tested/examined his feelings for Katniss and realized way before the Games that they were, in fact, strong enough to make him want to try and keep her alive at his own expense in the arena. For him, the romantic feelings are already in place by the time we the readers meet him, and finally getting to know her only strengthens how he feels because a lot of the things he most admires about her (her strength, her bravery, her skill, her stubbornness, her love for her sister, etc.) are all on full display. (Also: he thinks she's funny even if no one else does, and like he tells her in Catching Fire when she's mad at him for laughing after the Johanna-Elevator incident, he basically loves the fact that she's intimidating on the outside and awkward as anything [aka, "pure"] on the inside.)

To me, it's kind of significant that for Peeta, it's emphasized at the end of THG how he's "already there" when it comes to being in love, and that he "[wants] it to be real" in CF when they're parading their fake but-maybe-not-so-fake relationship around, and I firmly believe that the main reason his MJ storyline hurts so much beyond the usual watching-a-favorite-character-be-damaged-by-the-narrative is because his inability to tell the difference between what's real and what isn't is such a perversion of his previously rock-solid love for Katniss. Up until that moment in the series, we the readers and Katniss, and basically all the rest of Panem know that Peeta's feelings for her are real; after what the Capitol does to him, his biggest point of confusion centers on what he feels for Katniss, but even when he doubts what he's seeing/hearing/thinking/feeling, reason still tells him that you don't start off risking a beating for burning bread and go back into a government-sponsored death match for someone you don't love a whole lot.

In Katniss' case I think it's more difficult to pinpoint one exact moment of origin, because she doesn't like to deal with feelings to begin with and is also too practical to take time to sit down and sort out how she feels when there are so many other things to do (and also, a lot of what causes her to fall for Peeta are the smaller, everyday parts of his personality rather than any single grand gesture or one particular moment they share together).

That being said, Katniss is one of the closest approximations to myself that I've ever come across in fiction in terms of how we think/operate, so I personally see a lot of giveaways regarding how/what she thinks of Peeta and how that shifts over time. And to me, the closest thing to an official Romantic Feels Are Sparking moment is the moment in the cave when she starts to wonder if he's a really, really, really good actor, or if what he's telling her is maybe based in truth.

One of the things I've noticed over time during HG discussions is that a lot of people seem to either not fully understand or to gloss over Katniss' practicality, which is a huge part of who she is and how she makes her decisions (including romantic ones). Like she says herself several times throughout the series, Katniss is focused predominantly on survival for most of her life. That's it. She doesn't go for things like music, ribbons, pets, etc., because they're not useful, and to her, romantic relationships also fall in that category because they carry an inherent risk with them in a world where children born outside the wealthy Capitol are in danger of starving to death or getting sent to the Games, and loving and losing someone has the potential to make you fall apart. Due to everything she's gone through in life (losing her father, being essentially forced to take his place, etc.) , she's become self-sufficient and distrustful, and also extremely good at compartmentalizing her feelings (with the sometimes exception of anger). From the second she volunteers for Prim, her focus is on how to maximize her chances of survival; while she knows her odds aren't good, she's too much of a fighter to go down without swinging, and when she sees ways in which she can improve her chances, she goes after them to the best of her ability.

Enter: Peeta, the boy she feels indebted to but has never interacted with even once, who she is now competing with for survival.

Also enter: complicated feelings Katniss very much does not want to deal with because they are a distraction from her current goal of survival.

While it's definitely tempting to make headcanons about how Katniss also maybe had feelings for Peeta prior to the Games because she "[keeps] track of the boy with the bread," I think the important takeaway is: no romantic feelings exist on Katniss' side, but the potential for feelings might...it's just complicated by the Games, because Katniss is so focused on staying alive that she's constantly on guard and keeps misinterpreting his actions as some sneaky, crafty plan when he's actually just being kind. So, even when he catches her off guard and makes her laugh/she finds herself not totally hating hanging out with him, she has to immediately nip all that in the bud because she knows that her survival will ultimately come at the cost of his death, and it's an ugly reality that's much easier to face if she doesn't like him, or at least doesn't know him, than it will be if they become friends and she has to kill him/watch him die/mourn his loss (basically, the whole insidiousness principle of the Games: it forces you into dehumanizing your competitors to save yourself, which will ultimately take a horrible toll on you no matter what).

Although Katniss is inclined to like him, she is also massively confused by him because he keeps behaving in ways that are contradictory to all sense and reason ("He's very hard to predict, which might be interesting under different circumstances, but at the moment only provides another obstacle"), so she's constantly sifting through information until basically, only three explanations for what he's doing remain:

He's trying to survive and jumping at anything that will heighten his chance of that no matter how ruthless (aka pretending to be nice so he can eliminate her later, joining the careers, etc.)

He's genuinely kind but also genuinely trying to survive and is just acting for sponsors

He's telling the truth and really does like her

The trouble is, if you run all those reasons through the logic filter, the answer that seems the most likely is #2, because in Katniss' mind, it doesn't make sense that he'd help her as much as he does if he were just trying to kill her, but it also doesn't make sense that he'd do everything he does because he loves her since she doesn't even understand why anyone outside of her mother and sister would like her. So in essence, every time Peeta sort of tips his hand about how he really feels, Katniss notices it, but is able to find a logical explanation for it/dismiss it as strategy until that one moment in the cave when she realizes he's telling her some things that have a basis in reality, which would imply that everything he's been saying about liking her but her not knowing he was alive is true. And that time when they kiss, she feels something that A) gets the blood pumping in her cut enough to make Peeta stop it all, and B) sticks in her mind enough that she mentions it again in connection with the beach kiss(es) in CF.

Anyways. This is super-duper wordy, so for purposes of succinctness, I have also provided a quick photo summary of my arguments regarding when Katniss first began having real romantic feelings toward Peeta:

Everything is then (of course) further complicated by Snow and the Capitol, plus Peeta learning that Katniss was under the impression that the Star-Crossed Lovers story was a survival strategy, but the important thing to remember in my opinion is that Katniss explicitly states at both the end of THG and the beginning of CF that she is not sure how much of what she does in the 74th Games is an act, because those little moments in the cave feel real (coughcough), while most of the rest can be written off as planned pageantry.

Thanks for the ask, and sorry for the longwinded response! 😘

#ask: thg #ask: answered #thg meta #everlark #my opinion #user: everlarkshipper

[kinzavskpop]

what to expect when you’re expecting || c.yj.

alternatively known as: the one where youngjae gets a significant other because coco got knocked up pairing: youngjae x dog owner!reader genres/AUs: fluff, humour, crack, strangers to (brief) enemies to friends to lovers (so basically all the tropes ldkfjsk) warnings: animal pregnancy and consequently animal labour a/n: do I know what this is?? no. am I subjecting the internet to this anyway?? yes. enjoy!! also this was heavily inspired by @gtsvnbys bc her au’s have the cutest titles + plots

ok so first things first, we all know youngjae would literally die for coco

like the man literally dedicated a youtube channel to making her food and bath bombs

a 13/10 devoted father to his princess

and you happen to know youngjae!! 

not bc he’s ‘choi youngjae, vocalist of got7′, but because he’s miss coco’s dad

and because you always ended up at the dog park at the same time as them

your new menace pup, bagel, was coco’s resident bff!! that also managed to get her pregnant oops use protection kids

this probably wouldn’t have happened if youngjae hadn’t smiled so brightly you thought he was the sun and got drawn in

and it definitely wouldn’t have happened it your laugh didn’t literally sound like a whole symphony to him

and it 100% could have been stopped if you guys weren’t basically flirting so hard the rest of the dog owners were placing bets on when you two would get together

so it’s definitely a shared blame but like,, for good reason

n e ways

ur chillin at home doin whatever it is u do and then youngjae texts you the randomest thing??? 

“u owe me CHILD SUPPORT”

so obviously you call him because what the heck does that even MEAN

and he is P I S S E D. like you thought he was sunshine?? get this man angry and he will give you a goddamn sunburn

turns out,, when owners are distracted,,,,,,, ur dogs can get up to some Interesting Things(tm)

so any chances of wooing youngjae?? are gone

“who doesn’t get there dog neutered?! you can’t just do what you want, life has consequences!!” “me???? you’re the one who brought your FERTILE DOG to a dog park in the middle of her heat!!” “well at least my dog is a LADY and knows how to keep it in her pants unlike some heathens” “JOKES ON YOU HE DOESN’T EVEN WEAR PANTS”

and okay youngjae in protective dad mode is really hot bUT he also just called your baby a heathen so FRIENDSHIP OVER >:(

“He thinks he’s so high and mighty because he treats his dog like a prissy princess like who does he think he is??” - you, ranting to bagel as you watch soap opera reruns at night

“I can’t believe they would be irresponsible and not neuter their dog, this is exactly why I tell you that you deserve more than anyone can give you” - youngjae, holding coco up to his eye level and ranting about bagel

This feud goes on for a while

Dogs are only pregnant for two and a half months and you two have spent the last month throwing snarky comments about anything and everything

And I do mean EVERYTHING

“Oh look, it’s the impregnation prince” “hey bagel, how would you feel if I decked your baby mama’s dad hm?” “That’s setting a GREAT example for the kids” “maybe coco will learn some self defence skills since your only experience comes from naruto” “HEY”

And this doesn't just happen with words

You end up finding out you two shop at the same stores

Youngjae, looking straight at you while grabbing the last box of your favourite cereal: whoops.

In retaliation you put a 3kg box of cucumbers in his cart when he’s not paying attention

Both of you arguing over the last bottle of soy sauce and the poor store worker is like “I don’t get paid enough for this shit”

The only reason you even stopped is because,,,,,,you miss him

You miss the way he would smile at all the puppies in the park and how he would get excited with you about fake dog drama

“can you BELIEVE that pepito cheated on kimchi with sagwa?? The AUDACITY smh”

And youngjae wants to hear your laugh again after he makes dumb jokes to break the ice

“What do you call a dog magician? A labracadabrador!”

So the next time you see him as you’re walking bagel, you tell him that you want to call a truce

“I will admit that it’s partially my fault for not keeping a closer eye on him but I’m tired of fighting all the time. Look at how happy they are together!”

And you finally see his smile and it feels like the sun is shining again and all is right in the world

But Youngjae still believes you owe him child support!!

So for the next month and a half, you end up really getting to know not only coco but Youngjae too

You guys go to coco’s doctor’s appointments, spend time at his apartment looking through puppy names, and you guys even make home made doggy treats!!

“this looks like coco’s poop” “oh my god ew you’re right”

“coco-yah, give appa a kiss!!” “she just wants the sweet potato” “sssshhhh”

It’s a ton of fun, and then in walks.........mark tuan. also known as coco’s absentee dad

Youngjae invites Mark to one of your park outings and he brings Milo who is so energetic and cute!!

And mark introduces himself to you like “hi, I’m mark! You must be youngjae’s s/o, he talks about you all the time” while youngjae and you just break out into denial

“omg mark ur so funny hahahahahsleepwithoneeyeopentonighthahahah” 

Mark: “you guys literally go on dog park dates” youngjae: “it’s called being a responsible parent, you wouldn’t know that though” mark: looks into the camera like he’s on the office

Honestly you think nothing of it, youngjae is just your friend whose dog happens to be the mother of your grandchildren :^)

And yes, ok, MAYBE youngjae had talked about you bUT it was mostly about coco and bagel mark’s just hyperfixating no he’s not youngjae has a PHAT crush

But one night you’re over at his, letting bagel and coco have some bonding time while you watch Hotel for Dogs, and it starts raining

The dogs are asleep, the light of the TV is hitting Youngjae’s face as he tries not to cry at the scene in front of you and the only thing you’re thinking is “I’m so glad my dog got your dog pregnant, because I don’t think I’d want to do this with anyone else”

But what you also don't notice is that when you're falling asleep on Youngjae's shoulder at the end of the movie he's thinking the exact same thing

Well not exactly

He's more thinking "I'm so glad I get to be here with you, even if your dog did get my princess pregnant" while staring at you with the softest smile on his face

anyway one night it’s like 3AM or something and you’re asleep, as one would expect

but your phone keeps buzzing and ur like ‘dear whatever higher power exists please let this insanity stop’

and it does!!

until someone starts caLLING

and at this point ur just fed up so you answer the phone and ur like “idc WHO THIS IS it is thREE IN THE DAMN MORNING so you BETTER have a good fuckin reason for calling” until u realize it’s youngjae practically SCREECHING in panic mode on the other end

“whERE ARE YOU COCO IS HAVING THE BABIES RIGHT N O W”

the moment u hear this ur like “OK DON’T MOVE I’LL BE THERE ASAP” and running out the door in ur pjs with like mismatching shoes and scooping up bagel like “don’t freak out but ur about to be a dad” but all he does is lick ur nose and smile and u curse urself for owning a cutie patootie pup

with your phone in one hand and bagel’s leash in the other you’re trying to get youngjae to stop panicking and then you hear someone in the background yell “dude tell your s/o to hurry up” and your only thought is EXCUSE ME?? S/O?????

but this mf doesn’t even DENY it, he just yells back “SHUT UP THEY’RE ALREADY ON THEIR WAY” and you’re just like slkdjfljs????? Coco is having babies we will deal with this Later(tm) while telling Youngjae to hurry up and let you into his apartment

He lets you in and as you get to the door, Youngjae opens it and it is.........a hot mess

Coco’s in a cardboard box, there’s some sort of clear liquid in a puddle on the floor, you can hear a dryer going on in the background, and Youngjae is wearing an old anime tshirt with bright pink pjs and has like floofy bed head with his glasses sliding down his nose bridge but STILL manages to look like a goddamn snack??? 

but again, you have next to no time because bagel basically jumps out of your arms and pulls you to coco and Youngjae is talking your ear off

“there’s water in her bowl, I’ve got blankets in the dryer, the internet said to have dental floss in case we need to tie an umbilical cord, oh shit we need to call the vet oh my god how could I for-"

The only way to cut him off is to literally grab him by the shoulders and shake him

But you also very lightly push his glasses back up on his nose and fix his hair while teasing him

"You have to be presentable when you meet your grandchildren for the first time ^.^"

When I tell you this man's heart BURSTS!!!!!

But he can't do anything about it right now because "hey dude I've got the vet on the phone, when did coco start going into labour?"

So you do the only thing you know how to do: you make sure your babies are okay

Youngjae is monitoring coco like his life depends on it and you are making sure bagel isn't destroying anything he shouldn't be near and youngjae's brother is in the background like should I go back to bed now orrrrrr

You're too focused on trying to get youngjae to keep calm that you don't even notice the fact that you two are A: holding hands and B: youngjae has been low key sniffing your hair to keep him grounded because he likes the scent of your shampoo

You're literally this man's rock right now because he is dying of panic and the next 15 minutes are truly life changing

As it turns out, coco isn't a princess. she's a QUEEN.

She gives birth to three adorable little babies with no complications, who are named coffee (because coffee and bagel), puff (because coco puffs), and donut (because it's like a coco flavoured bagel)!!

After all is said and done, the pups are nursing and bagel and coco look so happy together

You're wondering what's next for you two, especially because you're still holding hands but now it's because neither of you want to let go oops

"I've had like three hours of sleep in the past week because I couldn't stop thinking about this happening so allow me a moment to be absolutely insane" he rushes out as you look at him

You nod slowly because you can kind of see where he's going but also it's still 5:30 in the morning and you guys just helped deliver 3 puppies so your mind is still kind of frazzled

And when youngjae presses his lips to yours,,,,,, your heart and your brain go ASFHKLJHKLK

And you pull away because h u h but also youngjae looks absolutely terrified but neither of you can stop giggling because wow I can't believe we just did that

"I'm sorry I wasn't think-" "youngjae?” “I know I should have asked but-” “less apologizing more kissing please" "I can do that"

Am I saying you spend the next few hours kissing and watching over your dogs instead of sleeping?? yes. Do you end up crashing at like noon and missing coco’s emergency post-partum appointment and get woken up by his brother paparazzi-ing you two for blackmail purposes?? also yes.

#got7 au #got7 x reader #choi youngjae x reader #youngjae x reader #youngjae scenarios #got7 scenarios #got7 imagines #got7 fanfic #fluff #youngjae fluff #kpop writing #kpop fanfic #kpop au #kinza writes

[fonulyn]

Hello! I really enjoy your page and your metas/thoughts about resident evil. I see that Leon is your favorite character (he’s mine too :D) and you may have said this before but I was wondering what you love most about him and what about his character really stands out and calls to you??

hey there! ah I'm happy to hear that you're enjoying my random ramblings :D i know my responses and thoughts are always more just flow-of-mind ramblings than anything very well constructed, but it's so nice to hear that you've gotten something out of them :)

ahh and yes, Leon is my absolute favorite, has been ever since I played RE4 over fifteen years ago haha. it's really hard to put into words everything I love about him, but I will try.

what first drew me to him was the dumb jokes, I admit, and I still love them so damn much. it's a coping mechanism for him for sure, but he's such a Dad™ and every time he fires off a dumb joke it just makes me so very happy. "Where's everyone going? Bingo?" is like the best opening sequence line ever anywhere :'D and "Your right hand comes off?" ahh classics. I could quote like two dozen things, easily.

but obviously it goes way, way beyond jokes. the main thing I love about him must be how he cares, so much. he would literally put his life on the line for anyone, up to and including people he's barely jus met, and it's a quality that not a lot of people have. of course we can also talk about how being too self-sacrificing is an actual issue, i'm not trying to belittle the downsides to it. but I adore how he has such a good heart, how he genuinely wants to do good in the world and keep as many people safe as he can. he literally signed off his life to save a little girl he barely knew!

and like it's a small moment but can we talk about how outraged he was when he found out that Saddler was only using Krauser? he was legit angry on Krauser's behalf! and that was after Krauser had tried very hard to kill him, after Krauser had betrayed his trust and turned sides. and he still found it in himself to care about him! even all shipping-goggles aside I think that tells a lot about his character.

or like, Helena? an absolute stranger? he follows her anyway, he helps her out anyway, he goes through literal hell only because she asks him to come with him. (and yes it's a little more nuanced than that but let me just simplify so i won't write a damn novel here :'D) and how he reassures her, multiple times, during the course of the happenings. there's legit no reason for him to be that nice but he is, anyway.

Leon is so determined to do the right thing, and he has such a strong moral compass, and like. the moment in RE2 remake when he says he joined the force to help people, after they've met Kendo outside the gun shop? that always gets me all teary-eyed. he's so full of conviction, so full of fire to make things right and help people! or how he insists on trying to save Marvin? another tearjerker :'D

or in RE4? the way he looks out for Ashley? of course it is his job to save her. but there's no obligation to be so nice to her. from the first moment when they meet he's patient and kind with her, and even when she lashes out at him he never wavers in it. or Luis? they legit meet only a handful of times and when Luis dies, Leon is heartbroken. he cares so much, and he lets people in so damn fast.

or, hell, in Damnation the little fistbump he shares with JD is legit one of my favorite moments ever. there too he gets attached to the people so fast. and like, Buddy tries to kill him and he still helps him, because he thinks that everyone is worth saving. or Shen May in ID? she tries to kill him too, and he helps her anyway, saves her anyway.

it could also be counted as a big problem how he gets attached to people so damn fast, sure :'D and it certainly creates him troubles and makes things unnecessarily hard for him sometimes, but it also shows how big his heart is and I just. love that. i do think that letting someone in properly would be a lot harder for him but he just cares for people so freely. someone should take care of him in return, goddamnit.

and I love how he's such a quick thinker? I've always had a soft spot for smart characters and damn, this boy is smart. if you don't want to take it from me, then trust Ada, she says Leon is "practically a genius" :'D but honestly there are so many little moments when he notices small clues, or moments when he acts in a split second after something unexpected happens, and I just love how fast his mind works.

idk this is getting way too long and every time I think I've said everything something else pops into my mind :'D I just love him very, very much. and this isn't to say he's perfect and has no flaws lmao obviously not but...

he is just legit such a good guy.

#re answers #anonymous #ask and i shall answer #i'm at work #supposed to... you know #do work :'D #but instead here i am crying over Leon #time well spent methinks #leon s kennedy #long post

[hyunsonsae]

Jackson Storm Headcanons (part 2)

part 2 of jackson headcanons + quarantine edition

At the start of the whole pandemic, he didn’t believe in the whole "there is a highly contagious disease going around" because he didn’t trust the internet at all

So when the airborne illness really starts making its mark, you can just imagine Jackson’s reaction

Unfortunately, races have been cancelled and practice rounds have been limited until further notice so this leaves Jackson open to anything that might entertain him, anything

While in quarantine, he does his best to distract himself, learning new things about his home he didn’t know before

Cue very dangerous stunts and questionable decisions revolving around his penthouse

His addiction to his phone increased by tenfold, if it already wasn’t high enough

When he read the tweets and posts about wanting to ditch online classes, he takes it upon himself to raid zoom meetings

It ends with a very firm reprimand from Gale when the teachers catch on and he gets his console confiscated for a week

Jackson swears, upon the fourth day into his unjust robbery that had him slowly spiralling into insanity, to never ever mess with anything that might set Gale off

But he isn't sorry for interrupting online classes

Fashion sense out of the window

Sporting Broke College Student™ aesthetic unintentionally because he honestly doesn’t care anymore

I mean, who was he gonna look good for, covid?

A surprise came one day when his phone rings and Jackson picks up to see an unknown caller

He’s skeptical at first, this was his personal number, for close friends and acquaintances, but still answers the call

He stops mid-way, recognizing the voice immediately as his mother

He's slowly getting back in touch with his parents after that call and taking the liberty to call them every day, especially his mom

Reconnecting is...awkward and a little hard, to say the least

No, scratch that, it was a lot hard

Jackson would rather lick a toilet seat than to admit that they had drifted apart so much that he feels like he is talking to strangers

But things are slowly getting back to normal, and Jackson is...okay with the new developments

He is okay with the words like “dad” and “mom” coming out of his mouth occasionally, softly

After this whole situation, he thinks that it is time for his character development

AKA his Redemption Arc™

After the crap he pulled during the Piston Cup, he was adamant on never speaking to Mc-gloriously-treacherous-Queen and Cruz ever again

Believe him, he feels indignation, guilt and regret whenever he thinks back to the Piston Cup

So, he rather not contact them at all and they probably wouldn’t want to do anything with him anyway

Well, that was the gist till the pandemic

Holy God- he was so bored, he was this close to calling McQueen over for dinner or something

The years they had been each others nemesis had made them close, albeit little mean jabs here and there

Can you just imagine him calling Lightning over just so they could play Smash Bros together I-

Jackson also takes the liberty to bring groceries to his elderly neighbours since he takes drive around the city

He is even surprised with himself when he blurts out to an old woman who is equally shocked by a rebellious, almost teenager looking adult asking if she wants a lift to the shop

‘Odd Sense of Accomplishment’ Achievement Unlocked!

Speaking of groceries, the chronicles of Jackson trying to make himself some home food is ridiculous and honestly, a little pitiful (don’t tell him I said that)

When he set his pasta fire for the 3rd time, he decides then and there sitting on his kitchen floor with a burnt pan that he could live off on ramen for the rest of his life.

He did it before and he could definitely do it again

But of course, Gale, in her ever eternal wisdom and as a self-appointed guardian of Jackson’s well-being, takes the initiative to teach him a few stuff about housekeeping

Now he cooks, by some miracle

In an attempt to stir himself away from the impending doom of boredom, he discovers *drum roll please* Tik Tok

It’s an oh no from the start

And Tik Tok decides that his fyp should be filled with thirsttok-

It’s safe to say that he has discovered very interesting things that he shall not speak of and he quickly deleted the app before he is pulled to the rabbit hole

I don’t think he recovered from that experience yet

Okay, moving on before we are eventually yanked into the deep dark abyss of the unformidable force of the-

To quench some of his boredom, and Jackson is very cautious on the things he try cuz the last one was just AAA-

Jackson subscribes to Netflix and finds himself stumbling upon a show called ‘Avatar’ and something airbender

Since Jackson was into anime when he was a child, he decides to give this show a go. You know, it actually might be fun-

He finishes it in two days

...

Where to even begin-

Jackson doesn’t remember the last time he displayed such a range of emotions in such a small amount of time

He went in with a non-existent expectation and ended with tears and snot

He contemplates whether or not he wants to share this revelation with Cruz, I mean, it would simply be a waste to not enjoy this show with others but who would even want to watch it with him-

He ends up watching it with Cruz, later joined by McQueen

The poor child is vibrating with excitement as they finish Avatar

The second wave of tears during the episode of The Tales of Ba Sing Se

He tries so hard to control the tears but it bursts out like a dam when Uncle Iroh started singing on the hill

Cruz and McQueen were both surprised and a little sympathetic when he says for the 9th time he isn't crying as he furiously glares at the screen with sunglasses even if there are evidently tear stains on the said glasses

He just loves Avatar so much

Cruz is very generous to point out the fact that Jackson reminds her of Zuko

Which infamously leads him to be named “Angry Fireman”

Most days are spent with Jackson in his balcony, mellow music in the background as he looks out from his terrace, lying on his floor and contemplating about life while watching the city flourish, as much as the quarantine allows it

He does a lot of soul-searching

And he makes a lot of self-discovery

Things are a little sad and confusing at the beginning but it is getting better

And he will continue to work on himself and vibe alone for a while.

Oh, by the way-

Are we ready for the conversation that Jackson is very much subscribed to he/they pronouns?

#cars #cars fandom #cars headcanon #cars 3 #jackson storm #headcanon #sad boi vibes #but he is definitely making improvements #nON-BINARY JACKSON #you cant convince me otherwise