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wintfleur · 4 months

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just a little stella and rutgar fluff please i miss them ☹️

ꔫ sugar cookies and peppermint chapstick

°. — pairings ( Estella Hughes oc! X Rutger McGroarty )

°. — details ( g; so much fluff! w; kissing, I think that’s all. wc; 1.9k )

˖ ་ 💭 roro’s notes (MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! HOPE YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY! 🎄Thank you so much for requesting this! I genuinely had so much fun writing this, definitely one of my favorite things I’ve ever written! There just so cute! I hope you enjoy it! Please don’t be a silent reader!! )

°. — I KNOW RUT IS IN SWEDEN BUT FOR THE SAKE OF THE FIC JUST PRETENDED HES NOT 🫶🏻

°. — ( feel free to send any requests of things you would like to see in this series, or if you just want to share some thoughts! I would absolutely love that! Please comment if you would like to be added to the tag list! )

au masterlist — you can find asks under #💌stellahughes!

°. — asks about stella and rut are under #⋆ ˚｡⋆୨🩷୧˚ stella & rut!

“How are you so good at that?” Rutger asked his girlfriend as he took a break from stirring the ingredients for some more sugar cookies, letting go of the plastic spatula to stretch his sore fingers from mixing. His eyes were trained on Stella who stood at the island, leaning forward as she carefully piped icing onto the batch of sugar cookies the couple had made earlier.

The couple were alone at her brother's lake house, her brothers, their friends and her parents all out doing last minute Christmas shopping. The house was filled with the wonderful aroma of some Christmas candles Ellen had bought and the smell of the many batches of cookies they had made. If you looked outside the windows, you would see everything was covered with snow. And the faint sound of Christmas music playing from the radio on the counter made the home feel even more lovely.

Stella stood straight and rolled her shoulders to ease them from being hunched over for so long, setting down the white icing bag on the counter and tilting her head to smile at him “Many years of practice, me and Luke were the only ones my mom would trust with helping her” stella scooped up the small drop of icing almost dropping out of the piping bag with her finger, bringing it up to her mouth to suck it off, smiling cheekily at rutger “Quinn and jack always ate all the ingredients.

“You mean they were the ones that would get caught” Rutger laughed as he went back to mixing the dry ingredients, after they added the wet ingredients, he would soon have to use his hands. Stella laughed and moved away from the island, her slippers shuffling against the floorboards of the kitchen as she moved to stand next to him at the counter next to the oven. She leaned against his left side, resting her chin on his shoulder after she placed a soft kiss on his gray short sleeve clad shoulder. Her eyes glanced down at his flexing forearm from mixing before looking up at him with her brown doe eyes “Exactly.”

Rutger looks away from the Christmas themed mixing bowl and to his girlfriend, he gets lost in her enchanting eyes for a few moments before he gives her a small smirk “My sneaky girl” Stella feels her cheeks instantly warm up at the way he uttered his words. He felt his smirk turn to a grin when he noticed the way her cheeks flushed, Stella bumped her hip into his before stepping back from him. She refuses to walk into his trap and decides to go back to working on the cookies, not before landing a nice slap on his ass. Giggling quietly to herself at the sound of surprise leaving his lips.

Rutger turns his head to look back at her, ready to complain how it's not fair that she can slap his ass, but he can't slap hers, she had made it clear before they got to the lake house that they can't be as touchy at the house. Stella already had her back faced to him as she looked down at the island, picking up a tree cookie cutter and a stocking one. “Christmas trees or stockings next?”

“Christmas trees” Rutger picked between the two, knowing that she wants to do Christmas trees next by the way she said it. Stella smiles widely at his choice and sets the tree cookie cutter to the side while she puts the stocking one back in the bag with all the other cookie cutters the family had collected over the years. She cheerfully replies “Great choice” Rutger laughs and starts adding the wet ingredients, making sure to check the laminated piece of paper that had the family sugar cookie recipe. Stella took baking very seriously.

The couple spent the next ten minutes or so singing along to the Christmas music playing, Stella finishing decorating the cookies and Rutger finishing up mixing the last batch of cookies. While rutger washed his hands from the access cookie dough from his hands, Stella started to roll the dough flat on the marble island, struggling to roll out the dough thoroughly. Rutger dry's his hands off with a towel, it of course being Christmas themed. He moves from the sink and stops to stand behind Stella, his chest pressing against her back as he moves his arms around her to take the dowel style rolling pin from her tired hands.

Stella smiles and leans back against her boyfriend, his body heat comforting her, feeling the vibration of him humming along to the song on her back. Stella grinned when she noticed that she didn't have to remind Rutger how thin the dough should be rolled out, he had remembered. She tilts her head to look at his side profile, his eyes focused down as his arms flexed and rolled out the dough. She placed a kiss under his jaw, the action immediately making his cheeks flush.

“What was that for?” Rutger mumbled shyly.

“What do I need a reason to kiss my boyfriend now?” Stella sassily answered him with a question, raising her eyebrow to emphasize her words. Rutger laughs at her sassiness and places a soft kiss on her temple “Never.”

“Oh, I love this song!” Stella excitedly exclaimed, startling her boyfriend for a moment from the loud reaction. Rutger doesn't even have to be asked, he moves one of his arms to let her move out from between him and the island, already knowing what she wants. Stella basically skips over to the radio and turns the volume knob to the right, the song getting louder. The very familiar song “Mistletoe” by Justin Bieber fills up the kitchen.

Rutger tore his eyes from the dough and stopped his hands, a grin on his lips as he watched Stella sway her hips and sing along to the song. She looked so pretty she was wearing green plaid pajama pants that matched with his red ones, she was wearing one of his umich sweaters that looked so big on her, and her hair was in a braid, messy from sleeping in it last night. Her face was bare, and she of course had her grinch slippers on her green sock covered feet. God he was so in love with her.

“I love you” Rutger voiced loudly over the music, Stella stopped her swaying and turned to face a dimpled smile on her face. Stella stepped closer to him, rutger not flinching when her cold hands cupped his face, he was already used to her cold touch. They both closed their eyes when Stella leaned her face closer to his, rutger leaning down a little to capture her soft lips in a kiss. He’s welcomed by the taste of her peppermint ChapStick, and he eagerly continues the kiss, wanting to taste more. Before he could let go of the rolling pan and move his hands to hold her hips, she pulled her lips away. Rutger fluttered his eyes open, his eyes staring into hers as she whispered, her tone filled of love “I love you more.”

“We're just missing the mistletoe” he whispered back, his tone playful as he glanced up at the ceiling above them before back down at her. His heart was racing from the kiss, he would never get used to the feeling he felt from kissing stella. Her eyes sparked and she giggled, her tone playful but serious at the same time “Don't worry, I made Quinn buy some. Trust me we will be utilizing it a lot.”

He kept up his playful tone as he laughed out a response “Oh tons.”

“So, what Christmas movie should we watch this time?” Stella asked as she plopped down on the living room couch, in her hand was the remote as she turned the tv on. Rutger followed her into the living room, being careful not to trip over her slippers by the couch and set the two steaming mugs of hot chocolate that they had just gotten finished making, on the snow globe coasters that were on the coffee table. He plopped down on the couch next her, lifting her legs for them to rest over his lap. His warm hands already absentmindedly tracing shapes on her covered legs.

The couple had just put the last batch of cookies in the oven, well Rutger did since stella’s fear of the oven was still very much real!

“We never did finish the polar express last night” Rutger reminded her, resting his head back against the couch. The couple had started the movie, but they were quick to fall asleep cuddled up in Stella's bed, tired from the long day where they played in the snow with her brothers and their friends. Stella hums in response and goes to her profile on max to resume the movie.

Stella pressed resume on the movie and adjusted her position to move closer to her boyfriend, her legs still draped over his lap, now her head resting on his shoulder and holding onto his arm. Stella’s eyes were trained on the tv as he watched the movie, but Rutger couldn't find himself focusing on the movie, instead his eyes were trained down at her face. Stella was so into the movie that she didn't feel his stare.

Rutgers' heart soured with love as he looked down at his girlfriend, thinking of how wonderful it has been being here with her. It was awkward at first, because of the situation with Luke and Jack but they apologized, and Stella made it all worth it. It felt so domestic to be at her home and baking with her, doing family things, he loved it so much. Seeing her so happy with her family and the Christmas spirit she had. He just found himself falling even more in love with her as the trip goes on.

Rut moved his left hand from her calf and moved to cup her cold cheek, gently tilting her head to look up at him. As soon as they made eye contact, Rutger leaned down to lock her lips in an eager kiss, both of their eyes closing as their lips touched. Their lips moved perfectly against each other as if they had been kissing for years, the taste of her peppermint ChapStick flowing through his senses in the best way. Stella was a little surprised by the sudden kiss, but she was quick to tilt her body more to face him better, letting him lead the kiss.

They didn't know how long they had been kissing for, both of them pulling away a few times from the passionate kiss to catch their breath before quickly jumping back into the kiss. Rutgers hands rubbed her sides while Stella's hands rested on his chest and shoulder as their tongues moved against each other, taking advantage of the empty house to make out on the couch without the fear of getting caught. Just as he moved one of his hands under her sweater, she abruptly pulled away from the kiss at the sound of the alarm going off.

“The cookies are ready!” Stella exclaims, quickly moving her legs from his lap and sliding her feet into her slippers before rushing into the kitchen. Rutger groaned at the interruption, throwing his head back against the couch as he caught his breath from the kiss, his mind exploring the thought of them letting the cookies burn and continue. He heard Stella call his name from the kitchen, knowing that she would need him to get the cookies out. He licks his lips tasting her peppermint ChapStick on his lips before getting up from the couch and making his way to the kitchen.

“Coming pretty girl.”

˖ ་ 💭 roro’s notes ( I literally wrote this in like a hour at 3 am listing to Christmas music in my bed, actually shocked! I loved this so much!! WHY ARE THEY SO PERFECT??? Again!! Please don’t be a silent reader, I love to hear your guys thoughts, reblogs are appreciated! )

°. — taglist ( @privatemythss @bradenschneider @cixrosie @toasttt11 )

#⋆ ˚｡⋆୨👩🏻‍🎨୧˚ stella hughes au!#💌stellahughes!#⋆ ˚｡⋆୨🩷୧˚ stella & rut!#hockey #nhl hockey #nhl imagine #nhl blurb #umich hockey #rutger mcgroarty x reader #rutger mcgroarty imagine #rutger mcgroarty #umich x reader #umich imagine #umich boys #hughes sister #Christmas blurb #luke hughes x reader #quinn hughes x reader #jack hughes x reader

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ships-to-sail · 26 days

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WIP Wednesday 4.3.24

Well, y'all, blink and it's been a week! Seven whole days later and I here I am again with more @firenati0n prompted shenanigans. The rival bakers stay rivaling, but there may or may not be (but most definitely is) sexy dough kneading this round, so. thanks be to the universe for that!

He motions across the street with a wild gesture. “There’s a new bakery?!” “Apparently,” Ellen says, her voice calm even as her brows pinch together by another fraction of an inch. “Since when?!” “Since about two weeks ago, mijo, if you’d actually read any of the signs across the street,” his dad says as he comes out from the small kitchen in the back, wiping the flour on his hands onto the hand towel sitting on his shoulder. A wave of sugar-and-cinnamon smell smacks Alex in the face, and he knows the first pans of conchas are sitting on the racks in the back, waiting for them to flip the sign on the door from CLOSED to OPEN. “Patissier du Renard,” the traces of his father’s Mexican accent turning the French syllables into a different kind of dance. “Who the fuck is Renard?” “It’s French for —” “Language, Alex,” his mother barks at him again, spinning on her heel, the corners of her mouth tucked down. The set of her jaw makes it abundantly clear that it’s not actually his choice of four-letter words that’s bothering her. But Alex, while not always the smartest guy, is also not an idiot, and so decides that this is not the moment he wants to push her on the issue. Holding up two hands, he gives her a sincere, “Sorry, ma,” has he slips behind her, stopping to press a kiss to her cheek before he pushes open the swinging door to the kitchen and grabs his favorite bright yellow apron off the back of the door and flipping the neck band over his head. He ties the strap behind his waist absentmindedly, making his way to the far fridge and grabbing out a 10-gallon tupperware of concha dough, tossing it onto the workstation behind him with a loud bang. His thoughts stay on the new bakery across the street, the crowd of people he couldn’t see through overlaid with the columns and columns of numbers growing increasingly larger, but in vivid, blood-red font. He can’t see past it as he crosses to a different set of fridges, pulling down jars of fillings and jams — mango and strawberry, passionfruit and limón, whatever his hands can reach until his arms are full. He drops them next to the dough with a clatter, and lets his hands work on autopilot as the gears in his brain spin at warpspeed, trying to process through this new piece of information. He uses a pastry cutter to slice off a chunk of the dough, tossing it onto the waiting scale, before adding a smaller piece and then sliding the whole pile off the metal plate and onto the cool metal of the work bench. Reaching beneath him, he grabs a small container of flour and flicks it open, sprinkling some over both his hands and the table. His heels dig into the cold, partially sticky dough as he begins to pull at the edges of the pile, his fingers pushing and his palms pressing, his hands working occasionally together but even more frequently at odds, as he begins to work his family’s award winning concha dough into a batch of slightly-less-popular (but in Alex’s opinion superior) chamucos.

a giant thank you to @suseagull04, @cha-melodius, @wordsofhoneydew and @hgejfmw-hgejhsf for the tags -- I'll leave my tags below the cut, and consider this your hearty invitation to take the open tag, especially if you never have before!

@affectionatelyrs @anchoredarchangel @anincompletelist @clottedcreamfudge @cricketnationrise @cultofsappho @daisymae-12 @everwitch-magiks @getmehighonmagic @happiness-of-the-pursuit @indestructibleheart @indomitable-love @inexplicablymine @leaves-of-laurelin @lizzie-bennetdarcy-afterdark @myheartalivewrites @notspecialbabe @orchidscript @rmd-writes @sparklepocalypse @ssmtskw @stereopticons @tintagel-or-cockleshells @welcometololaland @whimsymanaged @kiwiana-writes

#red white & royal blue #rwrb #wip wednesday #rival bakers

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nicohischierz · 6 months

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the start of something new: tyler duke

tagging: @ivy-34, @francesfarhadi, @hzstry8, @cixrosie, @itsnotgray, @estapa94, @trevs-swiftie, @heartz4hisch

tyler duke was the bane of your existence.

but he was also the only one who could help you even talk to the guy you were interested in.

when the younger duke brother approached you about tutoring him in biology, he had come with the ultimatum of helping you get with his teammate and friend.

“y/n l/n, what is going on between you and tyler duke?” your friend and cutter gauthier girlfriend asked.

you looked at her baffled, your eyebrows raised and head cocked to the side.

at that moment cutter, rutger and tyler walked over to you and sarah.

tyler stood next to you, cutter next to sarah and rutger in between the two couples.

"so y/n/n, now that you and duker are dating are we going to see you at the rink more?" rutger asked.

"rutger, remember i told you we're keeping it on the down low," tyler chastised.

the duke boy gave you a quick look before turning to his friends. rutger smiled and put his hands up in surrender.

you didn't get to say anything else as the bell rang and sarah dragged you to class without the boys.

since the morning you'd only seen tyler twice and never got to talk to him about your arrangement until it was the end of school.

"did you drive?" he asked.

you nodded and he smiled taking your hand in his. you tried staying put but tyler was stronger as he dragged you to the parking lot, gesturing for you to point to your car.

"tyler why the fuck do our friends think we're dating?" you asked immediately.

"jesus women, i don't know. cutter said he saw us on friday and then frank thought we were dating and they didn't take no for an answer," he explained quickly.

you groaned, hitting your head on the headrest.

"oh and my mum might also think we're dating because of the guys," he added.

you didn't say anything and instead continued driving to the duke house. tyler thought about what he could say without meeting his death but decided against anything.

"oh y/n/n, thank you so much for helping tyler," sharon thanked you, giving you a hug.

you hugged the older woman back, embracing her warmth. "of course mrs duke, anything for a friend," you forced the last bit out.

sharon wiggled her eyebrows at the two of you.

"okay mum, y/n and i are going to study," tyler excused the two of you.

not even give minutes later, tyler's mum came into his room with snacks and a question. "sweetie, you and your family are still coming over for thanksgiving right?"

you shrugged, in all honesty, your parents were out of town to celebrate thanksgiving with your sister and her boyfriend leaving you back at home because you had school.

"mum and dad went to see kayla," you answered, not really saying you were coming but also saying not saying you weren't.

sharon nodded. she was about to talk to ellen about making sure you come over seeing as your houses were next door to each other.

tyler knew his mother was going to make you come for lunch but he didn't want to ruin the fun so he stayed quiet, listening to you explain mitosis.

that's how you found yourself sat in between tyler and luke on thanksgiving surrounded by luke's teammates.

"so tyler and y/n/n, what's this i hear you guys are dating?" dylan asks.

you choke on your piece of turkey and luke spits his drink out as tyler tries to help you.

"where are you hearing this bullshit?" you asked.

dylan sealed his lips "i'm not revealing my secrets," he joked.

luke looked between you and tyler, the latter having his arm around your shoulder. the last time he spoke to you, you were cursing the ground tyler walked on. so saying luke was confused was a huge understatement.

"when did this happen?" luke asked, going into older brother mode.

although you were panicking a little as you and tyler never truly discussed the change in your relationship the younger duke brother had everything under control.

"lasy summer. when you guys went out one day, y/n/n and I headed out to get ice cream together. we decided that since it was our senior year we'd put a stop to the whole hating each other thing. after that I asked her out to the arcade," tyler answered.

you stared at him in awe.

'was the trip to the arcade really a date or did tyler make it up?' you thought to yourself

#the long game au #tyler duke imagine #nicohischierz writes

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halobirthdays · 4 months

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Happy birthday to Serina!

Today is her -506th birthday!

Serina was a "smart" AI who was created to replace the previous artificial intelligence on the UNSC Spirit of Fire. She acclimated slowly, but by the Harvest campaign in 2531, she grew accustomed to the crew and enjoyed a good relationship with the ship's captain, James Cutter.

The Spirit of Fire was left stranded in space when it sacrificed its slipspace drive to rig it like a bomb and destroy a Forerunner shield world which housed a fleet of dreadnoughts that were about to fall into Covenant control. Because they had no way of knowing when or if they would be found, the crew entered cryosleep, with Serina left alone to monitor them. While they slept, she busied herself by making upgrades to the ship and its vehicles. She also dispensed small data drops into space, both to create a record of the crew and in the hopes that they could reach someone who could assist them.

By her seventh year, Serina began to experience rampancy. After a small Flood outbreak on the ship, she was forced to wake Dr. Ellen Anders and Spartan Jerome-092 to address it. After experiencing lapses in her logic that endangered the crew, she also revealed her other reason for waking Dr. Anders: to initiate her final dispensation. After the Flood was dealt with, she said her goodbyes to Anders and Jerome, leaving one final message for Captain Cutter before self-terminating.

#she only lived a year before floating alone in space for the rest of her life 🙃 🙃 🙃#serina #halo wars #ai serina

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luke-hughes43 · 27 days

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falling in love | will and dani

the last thing danielle duke expected was to fall in love with the most human form of golden retriever/sunshine she'd ever met in her whole life.

and her best friend is eden hughes.

so when dani finds herself feeling so sad for will after they lost in the beanpot, she was thoroughly surprised. she felt like a kicked puppy seeing will so sad.

that is when she knew that she loved him.

dani has always been a person who loved through actions rather than words so she started trying to express that to will even though they weren't together.

when will asked dani to be his girl, she was so happy. the happiest she had been in a while. and she was happy that she could show will more often how much she loved him.

the more time dani spent with will, the more she fell in love. dani did not realize a person could love someone that much until she fell in love with will smith.

once dani fell in love with will, she was confused why she didn't wanna fall in love with him at first.

it's not like she never had love in her life, she had great relationships with her parents, her siblings, eden, hell even cutter. and she saw how much her parents loved each other, how much Jim and ellen hughes loved each other, how much Dylan was in love with his girlfriend.

she never understood why she was scared to fall in love until she saw Ryan and Isla. they were so similar it was crazy but her and will were polar opposites.

she was afraid that loving will would cause her to lose herself. but it didn't. it made her love herself so much more. and it made her love will so much more for loving her for who she was. she thought that falling in love with the most human golden retriever/sunshine would mean that she would have to be like that too which is not danielle duke.

she didn't know that will would love her for everything she was and everything she wasn't. she didn't know that William Smith was the missing piece in her life that she never knew she was missing.

and know that she knows, she knows that she'll love him for the rest of her natural born life. and she never lets him go a day without knowing that.

#danielle duke #will smith hockey

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fakesurprise · 6 months

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Of Spirits and Unwise Choices

The park was called Remedy, back when it was going to be be of those zero-sum-zero housing developments boasting about being green. But turning a park into condos proved a hard sell, and the only green was the money being thrown at the city and lobbies. The park had been half-torn up before they left and the city somehow had no funds to fix it even if they’d accepted a small fortune to ruin it. Remedy remained the name, the old truth of the park gone: a statement and warning. People stopped going to it. Stories spread.

You could see ghosts there, some people said. The kind that changed you, and weren’t really ghosts. Sometimes people went into it after dark and they never came out quite the same after. It wasn’t everyone, and it was always someone who knew someone rather than Lu-Ellen who you could just meet, but the stories stuck. No one had proof, but no one one disputed that they were true. Until Rexford. No one should name a kid that. But he was on the football team, cruising toward a scholarship at one of those universities that existed just as a sports stadium where academics were just a side hustle.

He went in there with six friends, overnight four months back. Girl Guides had the week before, but they were Girl Guides. You don’t mess with them. One of his friends was hesitant, everyone mentioned the scouts and laughed. Rexford hasn’t played a single game since. His other friends seemed fine, but he was all distant and quiet now. His parents had him on drugs to ‘bring him home’ like some kind of soldier with PTSD, but his other friends said they’d only heard voices and seen shadows and nothing else.

The team had tanked since, and Rexford wasn’t that important, so they were all lying. The city put up a new fence around the park. And tonight, well, tonight Dad and I had that fight again. What I’d do after school, if I had any ambitions, what kind of person I’d be. I don’t want to waste the trust fund from Uncle Ahn on schooling that would lead nowhere. We exchanged shouts, because Mom was away for work and not there to step between us. I slammed the door when I left and just walked.

I didn’t have a costume, despite it being Halloween. When anyone asked, I said my costume had been pretending not to be me for years. Some got it. Most didn’t. I’d left my phone, so I felt more naked than normal, and hadn’t even been aware I was heading to Remedy until I was there. Someone had taken bolt cutters to the fence in a couple of places, but there were two rent-a-thugs circling the park, and a police car a block away with people near it.

I used the distraction of some kids shouting at them and just walked up to the torn fence and into the park without much thought beyond proving something to Dad.

Beyond the fence was overgrown greenery and thin, gnarled trees. The park should have had large trees in the decade since the project ended, but everything looked wrecked. As if the park had decided to remind everyone of what happened to it. It was a silly thought, but I didn’t laugh. I realized, fifteen steps in, that I couldn’t hear the sirens that were close enough to hear.

I turned back, and the fence was there. It wasn’t a horror movie. ‘The world is that,’ is something Zhang would have said if he was here. But his family was on some vacation that let him out of school. They had Plans for him, and he was just going along with it. I couldn’t. I didn’t want to work in a pharmacy like Mom or help run a store like Dad did. The both wanted more for me, and from me, but we couldn’t agree on any of what that was. It was hard to win a fight when you couldn’t articulate what you were fighting for.

So I walked. I’d never been on a sport or team beyond a bit of soccer that didn’t care who I was. Everything else wanted labels like we were pieces of clothing and not people. The park still had a path, mostly overgrown. The benches were mostly broken, not that I was going to sit at them. Not even when I saw a than sitting on one of the benches. I’d never seen one of the spirits grandma talked about, but I could see through it: the spirit looked a little like a person, and somewhat like a flower.

“Hello?” I said.

“You should not be here. This is not a safe night. Not a safe place,” the spirit whispered.

“I can go,” I snapped, turning.

“I am afraid not.”

The path hadn’t changed. I could see the city over the stunted trees, but there was a coldness in the air that held me.

I made a noise.

A boy came down the path from further into the park. He was eleven, and took my fear away. Mostly because he was barefoot, wearing a kilt and blouse along with a formal vest, all of which had was white. He was wearing a white cloak done up to look like a ghost in a cheap movie, but looked very proud of it.

“Hi!” His grin was huge and friendly and somehow knocked the fear out of me.

“You should not be here,” the – not a than, not a spirit, something wholly other – whispered from inside the shadows.

“Oh! I shouldn’t be lots of places but! that’s often why I should be there.” The boy bounded over beside me.

“There is an evil spirit here. It isn’t wrong,” I said. “Run.”

The boy looked like he knew how to run.

Instead he let out a huge, impressive sigh. “Lots of spirits get all kinds of weirdy around Halloween you know!”

“This one has come freely,” the voice said, only it was more than one voice. Soft. Cold. Hungry. A loud pop filled the air, making my ears ring.

“– belongs to us now,” the spirits hissed.

“Wow! I know you’re extra hungry, but Chau isn’t that,” the boy said firmly.

“.... I never said my name.” My voice was funny to my ears.

“I am really jaysome at knowing names,” the boy offered. “Mine is Jay!”

Somehow, the park felt less cold. I could almost see shadows dissolve, fading and folding away like some kind of alien origami.

There was a sound, a hiss, a feeling I had no words for.

“There’s no need to be mean-face,” Jay said, and the boy had my right hand in his left, casual. “Chau made a mistake, because people do that and! sometimes they’re just mistakes that aren’t oopses so we’re going to leave.”

“NO.” It wasn’t a voice, it was something felt instead of heard.

“Man. I promised Honcho I wouldn’t do anything scary at all today and sometimes that’s really hard when you’re not scary but you can scare people,” Jay said.

Somehow, that made sense.

“But I’m not alone because of very good reasons,” Jay added proudly. “I brought Charlie and she’s really good at doing helpings.”

The woman who came from the direction of the hole in the fence I’d come from wasn’t in a hurry. She moved like she was resigned: 20s, also dressed up like a ghost but in her case she just had a black sheet on. Her skin was proper goth-pale and she looked about at the shadows with a careful scowl.

“Hi, Charlie! This is Chau and they kind of got lost and! some spirits are not being jaysome,” Jay said firmly.

“And you haven’t hugged them yet?” Charlie asked.

“They don’t want to be hugged because they like being mad?” And Jay sounded so baffled at that that I had no idea why I thought he was an old as eleven even though I knew he was. That, also, made perfect sense in the moment.

“Mmmm.” Charlie glanced about behind me. “You’re not harming anyone tonight or ever again.”

The words weren’t a request. They weren’t even a demand. It was a casual fact of someone who knew they’d be listened to.

Something hissed in the darkness that wasn’t a spirit at all.

Charlie snorted. “You can’t scare me. Trust me on that. And Jay won’t let you scare Chau. So you’re going to let us leave without issue, or I am going to get cross with you.”

There was a cold, empty silence in response to that.

Charlie shifted slightly one shoe to another. “Don’t.” And she snapped the fingers of her right hand.

Nothing happened, that I could tell, but the sense of danger was gone.

“That wasn’t a proper exorcism: this is a bad night to do those, and I don’t think what is here deserves that treatment. The spirits have earned their anger, so I won’t take that from them. Unless you make me,” Charlie added, raising her voice slightly.

There was no reply at all, and we walked back to the fence without issue. Jay let go of my hand once we were outside it and bounded into Charlie to hug her.

“That was extra jaysome!”

Charlie laughed, ruffling Jay’s hair with one hand. “I do have my moments, and the park will be okay in time. It met you.”

The boy somehow grinned even wider, and then spun back to face me. “Do you want to be a ghost too? I made a lot of sheets into costumes!”

I hesitated.

“Sometimes it’s nice to not be seen, because sometimes we don’t want to be seen by us,” Jay said.

I stared at the boy.

Innocence stared up at me.

I put on a rainbow sheet, and got candy at six houses on the way back home. Charlie didn’t come up to the door. Jay always got extra candy, and talked to everyone like he was friends with them. Mostly he didn’t make sense, except to whoever he talked to.

I let him go to the last house alone and looked at Charlie. “I never told him my name.”

“Jay is good with names. Among many other things,” she said, dry and gentle. “You’ll find his name in your phone: only call if someone really needs help. Jay doesn’t stop helping once he starts.”

“He can do things, like you?”

“Not like me, but yes.”

“In the park, when the air went – odd?”

Charlie’s smile isn’t Jay’s. Nothing human can be that. But she understood, somehow, in ways only human. “Jay wasn’t going to let the spirits of that place misgender you no matter the promise he made to not do certain things. He knows things. And made certain I did to so I didn’t make a mistake myself.”

“Oh.”

“Yo should go home: your family is likely worried, and that park won’t be safe for a long time.”

“Even if you could make it safe?”

“Some places need to be what they are, unsafe or not. It’s not something Jay quite understands, but warning others will be wise. There are spirits there, even if they are not what you would call spirits and have shapes I hope you never know nor feel.” Charlie pulled out a phone from her pocket, checking a text like anyone else would. “Good. Honcho is done helping others who ran into the spirits, so we’ll see what the next town needs soon.”

“Thank you,” I got out.

“I’m just glad we could help,” she said, and walked over to Jay as he bounded back to us. They talked, and Jay waved, and I wasn’t surprised when Jay took her hand and they vanished. It wasn’t even surprising that no one else noticed that happen.

I finished the walk back home, went inside. Dad was in the living room, TV on to the news. He only listened to the news when he was worried.

“Dad?” He turned the tv off at my tone.

I stepped in and hugged him.

“Chau.”

“Thank you,” I said. “It was a good fight.”

“Pardon?”

“I needed a yell, and you let me. I’m good. There was – school stuff. Zhang. Just a lot, and the future is too soon and I’m scared.”

Dad let out a breath. “We all are. We all are.”

And we hugged again, and that was the only treat that mattered.

#writing #prose #magician series #halloween story

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wyrdsistergoldenhair · 4 months

Text

Books Read in 2023

Road of Bones by Christopher Golden (2022)

Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates (1995)

Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones (2020)

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1962)

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin (1978)

Dr. Mütter's Marvel's: A True Tale of Intrigue and Innovation at the Dawn of Modern Medicine by Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz (2014)

Devil House: A Novel by John Darnielle (2022)

The Shadows by Alex North (2020)

Lucky Girl: How I Became A Horror Writer: A Krampus Story by M. Rickert (2022)

The Hunger by Alma Katsu (2018)

Bloodchild and Other Stories by Octavia E. Butler (1995)

The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle (2016)

The Troop by Nick Cutter (2014)

The Deep by Nick Cutter (2015)

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher (2022)*

Audition by Ryū Murakami (2010)

To Have and Have Not by Ernest Hemingway (1937)

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes by Suzanne Collins (2020)

The Hunger Games #1: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (2008)*

The Hunger Games #2: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (2009)*

The Hunger Games #3: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (2010)*

The Mist by Stephen King (1980)*

Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica (2017)

Sour Candy by Kealan Patrick Burke (2015)

The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole (1764)

I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream: Stories by Harlan Ellison (1967)

Sphere: A Novel by Michael Crichton (1987)

Heart, Haunt, Havoc by Freydís Moon (2023)

Nimona by N.D. Stevenson (2015)

All the Blood We Share by Camilla Bruce (2022)

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman*

Skeleton Crew by Stephen King (1985)

Stardust by Neil Gaiman (1997)*

Coraline by Neil Gaiman (2002)*

Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution by R.F. Kuang (2022)

Kill Creek by Scott Thomas (2017)

Simon Snow #1: Carry On by Rainbow Rowell (2015)*

Simon Snow #2: Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell (2019)*

Simon Snow #3: Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell (2021)*

In Deeper Waters by F.T. Lukens (2021)

Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw (2021)*

The Case Against Satan by Ray Russell (1962)

The Victorians: A Very Short Introduction by Martin Hewitt (2023)

Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle (2023)

The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains by Neil Gaiman (2010)

Magic: An Anthology of the Esoteric and Arcane edited by Jonathan Oliver (2012)

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lucidstoriabloggin · 6 months

Text

Fandom List!

This is long winded BUT, just a small list of fandoms that I'm familiar with and/or will post about/ or who I consider insipiration from.

Fandoms under the cut.

DC:

Peacemaker

Vigilante

Harley Quinn

Poison Ivy

Arrow

Edward Blake

Captain Boomerang

TDK

Blackguard

Javelin

─────────

Marvel:

Moonknight/Steven Grant/Marc Spector

Daredevil/Matt Murdoch

Jessica Jones

Loki

Thor

Punisher

Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel

Deadpool/Wade Wilson

Natasha Romamoff

Bucky Barnes

Bruce Banner

Yelena Belova

Peggy Carter

Clint Barton

Captain America

Gamora

─────────

Anime:

Chainsaw Man

One Piece

Sailor Moon

Jujitsu Kaisen

The Way of the Househusband

Ouran Host Club

SpyxFamily

Cowboy Bebop

Hunter x Hunter

Inyuasha

Bleach

Fruits Basket

Neon Genesis Evangelion

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure

Attack On Titan

Black Butler

Hellsing

Howl’s Moving Castle

My Neighbor Totoro

Ghost In The Shell

Spirited Away

Ponyo

Kiki’s Delivery Service

──────────

Supernatural:

Crowley

Castiel

Charlie Bradbury

Gabriel

Rowena

Gadreel

──────────

Law & Order:

Olivia Benson

Elliott Stabler

John Munch

Alexandra Borja

Nina Cassidy

Mike Logan

Conni Rubarosa

Michael Cutter

Cyrus Lupo

──────────────────

Blue Bloods:

Jamie Reagan

Danny Reagan

Eddie Janko

Maria Baez

────────

StarWars:

Han Solo

Cassian Andor

Boba Fett

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Anakin Skywalker

Padmè Amidala

Kylo Ren

Rey

Poe Damaron

Din Djarin

Jyn Erso

Bo-Katan

Ahsoka Tano

────────

Horror: (Characters & Films)

Evil Dead

Chucky/Tiffany

Norman Bates

Ghostface

Stu Macher

Billy Loomis

Carrie White

Laurie Strode

Clarice Starling

Ellen Ripley

Ed Warren

Lorraine Warren

Donnie Darko

Pearl

Stephen King (film catalog)

Halloween

Friday the 13th

Scream

Insidious

─────────

Twilight:

Bella Swan

Edward Cullen

Jacob

Alice Cullen

Jasper Cullen

Benjamin

Carlisle Cullen

─────────

Harry Potter:

Hermione

Regulus Black

Sirius Black

Snape

Ron Weasley

Bellatrix Lestrange

Harry Potter

Remus Lupin

Professor McGonnagall

Albus Dumbledore

Luna Lovegood

Cedric Diggory

Ginny Weasely

Oliver Wood

──────────

Kdramas:

Yumi Cells 2

My Liberation Notes

A Business Proposal

Soundtrack #1

Again my Life

Boys over Flowers

Hotel De Luna

Because this is my First Life

Flower of Evil

When The Weather is Fine

Summer Strike

──────────

What We Do In the Shadows:

Nadja

Lazslo

Nandor

Vladislav

Simon the Devious

Viago

────────

Mystery Science Theater 3000:

Joel

Mike

Tom & Crow

────────

The Walking Dead:

Negan

Daryl Dixon

Rick Grimes

Glen Rhee

Shane Walsh

Carl Grimes (SFW ONLY)

Maggie Greene

Eugene Porter

Leah Shaw

——————

Our Flag Means Death:

Captain Blackbeard

Stede Bonnet

Jim

———

The Last of Us:

Joel

Ellie

Marlene

Tess

Riley Abel

———

Resident Evil:

Ada Wong

Leon S. Kennedy

Claire Redfield

Jill Valentine

Carlos Oliveria

Ethan Winters

Ashley Graham

Lady Dimitrescu

Karl Heisenberg

Luis Sera

Albert Wesker

———

Other Video Games & Characters:

Link (Breath of The Wind & Tears of the Kingdom timelines)

Zelda (Breath of The Wind & Tears of the Kingdom timelines)

Isaac Clarke (Dead Space)

Josh Washington (Until Dawn)

Mike Munroe (Until Dawn)

Sam Giddings (Until Dawn)

Rani (Elden Ring)

Melina (Elden Ring)

Sebastian (Stardew Valley)

Elliott (Stardew Valley)

Abigail (Stardew Valley)

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2

Baldur’s Gate

Fatal Frame

Death Stranding

The Devil in Me

God of War Ragnarok

The Quarry

Half Life Alyx

Man of Medan

Life Is Strange

Callisto Protocol

————————

American Horror Story:

Dr. Ben Harmon

Tate Langdon

Kit Walker

Zoe Benson

Madison Montgomery

James Patrick March

The Countess

Xavier Plympton

(** I can also do the one off’s from the American Horror Stories anthology**)

—————-

Castle:

Kate Beckett

Richard Castle

————-

Adventure Time

Fiona

Finn

Marceline

Marshall Lee

Prince Bubblegum

Princess Bubblegum

————-

XFILES:

Dana Scully

Fox Mulder

———-

Other TV Shows:

The Blacklist

Gilmore Girls

Black Mirror

Dr. Who

Inside Man

The Last Kingdom

Peaky Blinders

The Witcher

Wednesday

Justice League (& Justice League Unlimited)

Derry Girls

Better Call Saul

Westworld

The Good Place

Sabrina The Teenage Witch (SFW ONLY)

Stranger Things

The Umbrella Academy

You

Always Sunny in Philadelphia

The Bear

Buffy The Vampire Slayer

New Girl

Dexter

Yellowjackets

Weeds

Firefly

Miraculous Ladybug & Cat Noir (SFW ONLY)

Angel

Outlander

Bridgerton

Sons of Anarchy

Dawson’s Creek

Scream Queens

Sleepy Hollow

Legion

Castle Rock

Downton Abbey

Killing Eve

Broadchurch

Hannibal

True Blood

——-

Movies:

Trainspotting

Only Lovers Left Alive

Infinity Pool

Crimson Peak

The Craft

Labyrinth

The Breakfast Club

Nightmare Alley

Triple Frontier

Enola Holmes (SFW ONLY unless only playing Sherlock)

Warm Bodies

Pride & Prejudice

Glass Onion

WW84

La La Land

Spider Man// Into the Spiderverse

Interview With a Vampire

Hairspray

Percy Jackson (all installments)

Fantastic Beasts and where to find them

Lord of the rings

The Notebook

PS I Love you

500 Days of Summer

West Side Story

Scott Pilgrim

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Bridget Jones’ Diary

Enchanted (Disney)

Beauty & The Beast

Cinderella

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valenshawke · 1 year

Text

For all TWO (maybe THREE) of you in the Law & Order fandom.

A review of Law & Order, Season 22, episode 22...

This episode left me absolutely frustrated.

We got a manhunt, a red herring, and a chase in the first 20 minutes!

I feel like the assassination of a United States Senator was, again, way too big for the show. You'd think the FBI would be involved? I mean, even Jack and the NYPD Commissioner being on the phone with the US Attorney General would have been NICE, maybe having a bit of an argument about jursidiction would have helped.

I was skeptical about the cop-half being done in 20 minutes and… my skepticism was right.

Things I can appreciate: The increased screentime for Sam Waterston, who was allowed to show his acting chops this particular episode. He did a hell of a job as usual. The pain on Jack's face was palpable at the end.

The casting of Katherine Waterston as his daughter? Also really appreciate.

It's hard saying who this episode was written for becaause, unless you watched the series prior to the revival, and followed Jack's life through the bits of info that were peppered in, the hostility between the McCoys was too implicit? What we know about Jack is: While he certainly wasn't abusive like his own father, he probably wasn't as involved or emotionally available as a parent because he was so career-driven (and let's not forget the three other relationships he had with his assistants that did not lead to marriage). This was probably severely exacerbated when Jack and Ellen got divorced. Could I see Jack absolutely prioritizing a case over his daughter's dance recital or soccer game? Yeah. And let's be real, I'd imagine the types of cases Jack handled probably wore him out emotionally as well.

So, I loved the acting and conflict between the McCoys and the Waterstons did a great job ACTING. But the writing…

First of all, I cannot suspend my disbelief that Rebecca would talk to Jack and ASK Jack for a favor regarding a case where they are on opposite sides. Okay, Jack McCoy was not the paragon of good and ethical behavior, but he's the DA now. Her going through Price? Yeah, I think that's fine. Second, why would she think her dad would cut her any kind of break in this case. A UNITED STATES SENATOR WAS ASSASSINATED?! Her anger at her own father really clouded her legal judgment. I was really kind of hoping for an "Under the Influence" moment where she realizes just how ineffectual she was and ask for a mistrial or something. But nope.

Second of all, Price needs to be fired. That Man 1 Plea would have gotten Jack tossed from office so fast. If your legal judgment is clouded for personal reasons because you witnessed the immediate aftermath of a mass shooting… maybe you shouldn't be prosecuting the case (I miss Cutter).

What's frustrating is this episode had a real chance to be good and the acting was great. It's just the writing, like the entirety of this revival, has rarely ever matched the level of the acting the cast can bring.

I got SO frustrated while watching this episode I started writing snippets of dialogue about how Michael Cutter would've handled this case in Discord DMs with my best friend (we watch the show as it airs).

Jack & Mike talking after arraignment.

Cutter: Has your daughter talked to you about the case? Jack: … Cutter: Jack, I gotta subpoena you. Jack: What the hell are you talking about? Cutter: If she approached you, ex parte for anything, that shows a conflict of interest in this case and it's easier to remove her as a defense attorney than argue for a change of venue.

Now let's say that didn't working and the hearing goes against the state, Mike and Rebecca talking in the court after the judge has ruled.

Rebecca: What the hell are you doing, Cutter? Cutter: Trying to protect your father. Seems to be I'm the only one trying around here. *walks away*

Cutter cross-examining Quinn. Yes, this is badgering but that's like… normal for the show.

Cutter: You weren't in your right mind? Why did you turn to run? Quinn: I don't know. Cutter: Why did you run to the park, then change direction and blend into the city? Quinn: I don't know. Cutter: Why did you wait the night to come back, when no one was around, for your car? *plays video* Quinn: I don't know! Cutter: *Pauses video of him getting into car* Looks to me like you knew exactly what were you to try to evade capture. Quinn: I STILL GOT CAUGHT! Cutter: Only because you're not a pro. But isn't that the point, Mr. Quinn. That these weapons *holds up gun* can make even the most amateur individual an assassin? Isn't this what you fought against? Isn't this why you became a gun control activist? Rebecca: OBJECTION Cutter: Withdrawn! Nothing further.

Cutter's closing argument, partial.

Cutter: Mr. Quinn's anger is justified, yes. His trauma is valid, yes. But that doesn't not give him the right to kill someone in cold blood. At the end of the day, he was an angry man. Angry at the world. Angry at that the society that wronged and failed him. Valid feelings or not… isn't this the basic motivation of every mass shooter the last 30 years. Isn't this what Mr. Quinn's crusade as a gun control activist supposed to stop? I can't think of any bigger perversion of one's crusade than becoming what you fight against. You can have empathy, for Mr. Quinn. You can sympathize for him and regret the pain he feels. You can feel angry at the government, at society, at the NRA. But what about empathy for Senator Chandler's family. His daughter? Who saw her father gunned down… at her own wedding. Are we supposed to ignore the pain of the victims? Mr. Quinn certainly felt people were ignoring his pain, like many mass shooters have… and like many mass shooters, he turned outward and inflicted it on everyone else. And that… is not diminished capacity. That is not mental defect. That is not, "I don't know." This was planned. He had time to think about it. To realize his own anger might make him do something terrible… and still went ahead with it. And tried to hide after he killed a man in front of his own daughter. That's murder, plain and simple.

#Law & Order #Law and Order #TV Series #Val Writes a Review #Hell I write some dialogue of how I think Mike Cutter would have handled this case

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freifraufischer · 2 years

Video

youtube

Why I don’t think it’s possible for us to know who “should” have won medals in 1988 more than 30 years later...

(for @oneflexedfoot)

One of the things people will always tell you about 1980s gymnastics is that it was corrupt and the East Germans were overscored (perhaps combined with a tale of a ‘stolen’ bronze team medal from the 1988 Olympics). This isn’t going to go into the Olympic controversy directly but explain why you shouldn’t try and sit back with a modern eye and think you can figure out who should have won.

As gymnastics fans we all know the code of points changes from quad to quad. In 1988 you could do a Yuchenko Full and a Yurchenko Tuck to win a gold medal at the Olympics. The next year you needed different vaults to do the same thing at the World Championship. In 2008 you could have 5 tumbling lines in your floor routine. The next year you could do no more than 4 across the diagonal. When you are judging past gymnastics you need to be aware of the code of points the routines were operating under so you don’t look at someone from the 1996 repeating a skill and thinking they’re doing something wrong when it was perfectly acceptable under that code of points.

One of the elements of the 1988 Code of Points was that it explicitly encouraged originality and it did this by giving bonus for the introduction of new skills and for performing skills (and connections) from a list of “rare skills” published by the WTC and sent to the national federations. Smart construction in 1988 would not use a cookie cutter routine. You’d never get “the Russian compulsory bars” routine we have now. You’d never get the same-y-ness of elite bars in general among top bars workers of the time because to maximize your routine construction you couldn’t do the same thing as someone else.

And the problem we have now is that these rare skill lists have not survived because they weren’t published in the code of points. They were ephemera paper that has been lost.

So why does this matter particularly to looking at East German routines. Well ... the code of points was written by an East German. This was Ellen Berger’s world and her countrywomen were code hacking it as far as they could.

I want you to start the video at the top of this post at Timestamp 18.28. This is the East German Team Optionals from 1987 Worlds. I’m starting you after the first gymnast who had a fall and whose score was dropped. I want you to look at their mounts, at their releases, at their routine construction. Each routine is using unusual and rare connections and skills. And each is different from each other.

Uneven Bars was what the East Germans were famous for but their beam and floor routines contained the same characteristics. They were squeezing every tenth out of the code of points they could. Meanwhile there are examples from 1988 where American gymnasts routines included some chunks of the compulsory routine. Not enough to cause a deduction but certainly enough not to impress judges who are operating in a code of points that values mastery and originality.

#gymnastics

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whorelander · 2 years

Text

cupid’s chokehold

chapter i. i’m your venus chapter ii. the things she does to please chapter iii. who wants to give it a whirl?

summary: butcher and hughie aren’t immune to your irresistible charm.

chapter iv. i put a spell on you

It’s finally Friday. Supposedly the best day of the week.

For Butcher, it’s already a fuckin’ headache in the making.

Tensions haven’t been the best with his boys. Hughie’s still barely speaking to him, not that Butcher finds too much issue. The kid had his life turned upside down in a matter of weeks and if he needs someone to release that anger on, Butcher doesn’t mind being a punching bag for a few. As long as Hughie stays in line and follows direction of course.

Butcher inhales and can practically taste the delectable smell of freshly baked goods coming from their makeshift kitchen. He takes a peek and spots Frenchie trying to teach Kimiko how to properly roll a croissant. The pair have undeniable chemistry and Butcher can’t recall the last time he’s seen Frenchie so genuinely happy with something as simple as making a damn pastry. Shame that she’s a supe. First Hughie with his superstar (ex?) girlfriend, and now Frenchie. There must be something in the air.

Speaking of the lad… Butcher hears the television turn on and decides to grant the two lovebirds a bit of privacy. Hughie and M.M. are sitting on the couch at a laughable distance apart from one another, full attention on the mini flatscreen in front of them. Butcher raises an eyebrow at the choice of show.

“The Today Show? I’d have chosen Ellen myself,” Butcher says.

M.M. rolls his eyes, but Hughie doesn’t comment. It’s almost like he’s in a trance. Normally Butcher wouldn’t understand. American hosts and TV personalities are all the same–straight down to the plastic smiles and bad wigs. However, he finds himself enraptured by the sight of you on the screen.

You’re sitting across from one of the usual cookie cutter interviewers dressed in your costume with one leg crossed over the other. You have a natural glow around you, and it definitely isn’t coming from the false lighting of The Today Show’s studio.

“Who’s that?” Butcher asks, not taking his eyes off of you.

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” M.M. says.

“Femme Fatale, can I just say how excited we are to be the first people to host you?” the interviewer says and, without fail, there goes that fake happy-go-lucky grin. “I don’t know how much you’re on social media, but you trended number two in America on Twitter! It’s an honor to have you here.”

“Aw, thank you. Not gonna lie, a big reason I’m doing this is because my mom loves watching your show. Do you mind if I shout her out?” you ask. The interview nods, and you turn your head to fully face the camera with a winning smile and a wink. “Hey mom. I promise I’ll get you Hoda’s autograph.”

Hughie snickers at that. Butcher mentally sighs; that kid will never let go of his inner superhero fanboy. Instead of making a typical snarky remark, Butcher keeps his thoughts to himself and stays focused on you.

“I know it’s only been your first week, but how’re you holding up? Taking over Translucent’s spot in The Seven can’t be easy. He left you with some pretty big shoes to fill,” the interviewer says empathetically.

You nod. “Yeah. He was such a good guy, there’s a reason America loved him. I just hope I make as good of an impression as he did. And honestly, everyone’s been so welcoming at Vought. Especially my new teammates.”

“Anyone in particular stand out?” the interviewer asks, leaning forward in her seat.

“The girls are so nice, but I’m sure you knew that already. Black Noir’s a great cook; he made everyone breakfast the other day and it was delicious. And Homelander’s such a sweet guy, they all really make me feel like I belong there. Vought Tower’s already my home away from home,” you say with a smile.

The interviewer smiles back. “That’s amazing to hear! From the magazine we saw, it looks like you guys have been friends for years.” She takes this time to reach down underneath her chair and pull out the newest Cosmopolitan issue, which features you, Maeve, and Starlight front and center. She holds it up towards the camera. “Folks at home, make sure to grab one of these when you get a chance! They’re straight off the printer.”

“Oh yeah, I was told that I’m supposed to promote the magazines on here. Thank you for doing my job for me, saves me a reprimand from Ashley,” you joke.

“Haha, of course! Do you have any specific goals to set yourself up for success in The Seven? Maybe a few charity events, or, if you wanna shoot high–saving the world?” the interviewer teases.

You appear deep in thought for a few moments, then turn towards the camera once more with a genuine bright smile. “I wanna show the world that we’re just like everyone else, you know what I mean? I’m not the fastest person alive, I don’t have super strength, I can’t fly. I lived with my parents till a few weeks ago because I couldn’t afford rent, my first boyfriend broke up with me over text, and I failed my trigonometry regents exam twice. So I guess all in all, my goal is to be an inspiration that anything’s possible. If you wanna be a hero, don’t let anything stop you from trying.” You shift in your seat and clasp your hands in your lap, then glance downwards with a light flush on your cheeks.

Butcher feels an odd tug at his heart after your speech. He hears Hughie’s breath hitch and realizes he’s not the only one affected.

The interviewer seems to melt at your words then grins at the camera. “Aww! Isn’t she amazing? America’s sweetheart, guys! Thank you once again, Femme Fatale–”

M.M. turns the television off. Butcher blinks and feels like he’s just been snapped awake after hypnosis. “Alright lads, what’re we gonna do about that?”

“What do you mean? You really want to hurt her?” Hughie asks. “She doesn’t even–”

“Come off it mate, I didn’t say anything about harming the little lady. She’s clearly Vought’s new PR stunt and I hate to give those slimy cunts any credit, but they did a pretty bang up job with choosing her,” Butcher explains.

M.M. nods in agreement. “She’s pretty, she’s got the script down pact for personality, and we have zero information on what she can do and how dangerous she really is.”

“You guys are acting like they just released a new bioweapon, c’mon,” Hughie dismisses them with a frown. “I mean, she said it herself! Hello! Was I really the only one listening? She’s not powerful like the other supes she’s with.”

Butcher levels him with an unimpressed stare. “What’re you suggesting, that they let a regular ol’ Joe like you or me on The bloody Seven? You’re smarter than that, Hughie.”

“She could also be lying,” M.M. adds in. “Nothing’s stopping them from trying to make their debut seem sweet and innocent only to be the female Homelander.”

Kimiko leaves the kitchen and grabs her notepad and a pen. She draws a big heart, then shows it to Frenchie. He looks at the drawing and smiles at her.

“I like you too, Kimiko,” he says in a soft tone.

Kimiko shakes her head and draws another, bigger heart then uses the pen to point towards the television. M.M. opens his laptop and starts rapidly typing into the search bar. Hughie shifts closer on the couch to watch him work.

Frenchie furrows his brows in confusion and his smile falls slightly. “I don’t understand chérie…”

She rolls her eyes and tosses the notepad down on the table.

“I got a hit,” M.M. says. He tilts the screen back so all five of them can see. He has your Instagram pulled up, and not the verified Femme Fatale one that Vought made for you. The account is locked but you have a decent amount of followers with a pretty equal ratio to following.

“I never understood making an account private when you have more than a thousand followers. Like, that’s a lot of people already seeing what you post,” Hughie muses.

Butcher studies what little is available. Your profile picture is a baby picture of you wearing sunglasses too large for your face, your username is just a nickname with some extra letters, and your bio has your full name along with a graduating class date and a quote that’s nonsensical. Maybe an inside joke with a friend?

“Let’s get ready for a stakeout. M.M., Hughie, you two are with me.” Butcher tosses the truck keys to M.M. who catches them in one hand. He then looks over towards Frenchie and Kimiko and points at the kitchen. “How ‘bout you lot work on making sure we have a lovely dinner ready for when we get back?”

Frenchie crosses his arms over his chest and raises an eyebrow. “Why do we have to sit back and play the housewife role?”

Butcher looks the man up and down, then smirks as he grabs the frills of Frenchie’s white apron. “To be fair, you’re already dressed the part mate.”

Frenchie’s clearly unhappy if his muttered curses are anything to go by, but he doesn’t continue protesting. He and Kimiko head back towards the kitchen again, with the latter significantly less bothered than the former.

Butcher grabs his coat from the back of a chair and walks up the stairs two at a time. He looks over his shoulder and raises an eyebrow at M.M. and Hughie. “Well come on now boys. We haven’t got all day!”

For the past hour of observing from across the street at the Starbucks, Butcher hates to admit that he hasn’t a clue of what your power could be. Whenever you walk out of Vought tower, you’re never alone. The first time they spot you, you’re with Ashley reentering the building. Now you’re with Homelander, and just the sight of that prick has Butcher clenching his fist. He watches the two of you interact with a grimace. Homelander’s hand is on your hip and you laugh at whatever presumably egotistical remark he makes.

M.M. sucks his teeth and shakes his head. “Told you. Chick’s gotta be on something to hang out with him willingly.”

“That doesn’t prove anything. Maybe there’s hired paparazzi on standby, you know how media obsessed Vought is,” Hughie argues. He glances over at the two of you again and then makes a face. Homelander’s intently hanging off of your every word, eyes not moving from your face. “Do you see the way he’s staring at her? It’s so creepy.”

“He’s always been a bit of a creep,” Butcher says. Though weirdly enough, he feels a rush of anger while you and Homelander continue speaking. It comes from out of nowhere and he chalks it up to seeing that wanker in person again.

You say something he can’t quite make out by reading your lips, and Homelander nods. He watches you walk inside Vought Tower, then whoosh! Butcher doesn’t even get the chance to blink before there’s a gust of wind and the blond arsehole’s gone.

M.M. squints up at the sky. “Huh…”

“What is it?” Butcher asks.

M.M. points up. Butcher and Hughie follow his direction and Hughie’s eyes widen at Homelander hovering outside the top of the building.

“What’s he doing up there?” Hughie asks.

“Maybe checking how secure those windows and walls are?” M.M. asks, unsure.

Butcher doesn’t say anything. They watch as Homelander remains unmoving from his spot next to the Tower for almost an hour and a half until he finally zips away. After a minute or two passes, you walk out of the building with Starlight. You seem to be passionately ranting about something as Starlight giggles along.

“Annie…” Hughie murmurs.

“Bingo. Tinkerbell is our ticket in. Again,” Butcher says. He looks at Hughie expectantly and isn’t surprised to be met with resistance.

“I can’t. We haven’t spoken since… everything came out. My face is plastered everywhere–do you want me to just walk up there, pretend everything’s normal and fine, and put her in danger? Them both in danger?” Hughie asks.

“You’re still assuming that America’s newest heartthrob is innocent,” M.M. says.

Hughie frowns at him. “There’s no proof that she isn’t.”

“She was talking to–” Butcher starts.

“We all fell for Homelander’s crap at some point in our lives. Are you really gonna execute her because she praised the guy on television and had one friendly conversation with him?” Hughie asks. “You saw how he kept touching and looking at her, all that fucking weird shit in the air. I don’t want to make her have to realize Homelander’s a bad guy the same way Annie did. He wanted to kill her because of me, Butcher. I’m not doing that again.”

M.M. sighs. “Kid, I told you this isn’t a business for caring too much. It’ll just make everything hurt more.”

“Hughie’s right,” Butcher says.

“He’s what?” M.M. asks.

“Haha, see–wait. I’m what?” Hughie asks in shock.

Butcher leans back in his seat and crosses his arms over his chest. “Putting these ladies in unnecessary danger is gonna do fuck all for us. Doesn’t hurt Homelander or Vought in the slightest. But there’s something strange going on here, and I think we can all feel it.”

Hughie nods, but M.M. looks conflicted.

“You need to contact your bird,” Butcher tells Hughie.

“I told you, we broke up,” Hughie says exasperatedly.

“She’s the only way we’re gonna get in contact with your supposed Virgin Mary over there,” Butcher says, gesturing towards you. You’re taking a picture with Starlight and a group of fans, that stunning smile ever present on your face. Butcher stares at your face for a moment longer before he focuses back on Hughie. “Whether you like it or not, we need to do this.”

Hughie looks down, pressing his lips together. “Fine. But if she doesn’t answer, that's not my fault.”

“Kinda is,” M.M. butts in. When they both look at him, he shrugs. “You played with her heart, you can’t expect her to not be a little bitter. Monique still isn’t talking to me ‘cause of this shit, and I’ve been with her for years.”

“Thanks for that vote of confidence,” Hughie mutters. “If she actually trusts me enough to give me that girl’s number or whatever, where do I go from there?”

“Nowhere,” Butcher answers.

“Uh. What?” Hughie asks.

“You lost me, Butcher,” M.M. agrees.

Butcher grins at both of them, then looks towards you as he speaks. “It’s easy, fellas. You won’t be doing nothin’ because I’ll be the one talking to the little lady.”

#butcher x reader #hughie x reader #homelander x reader #starlight x reader #whorelander writes #meant to post this 2 hrs ago lolz

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