#the meatloaf tries to eat people instead
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Replenish
Homecoming - Chapter 4 (Previous Chapters)
Replenish
Rated: T
Chapter Summary: During a late night dinner, Zack reveals more of what him and Cloud have been through these past five years, Aerith mediates on how to help Zack heal and Elmyra begins to understand.
......
Aerith tried to be a mediator as best she could.
These were the two people she loved most in this entire world and while she understood her mother's worries about Zack and his ex-Shrinra status and the fact they were now on the run from the most powerful company in the world and staying at their house - Zack was back.
Nothing else mattered to her than that…
Not able to take her eyes away from him for long, Aerith gazed over at the dark haired ex-SOLDIER, who had barely touched the food he'd been given even if she could tell he hadn't eaten a decent meal in a very long time. And recalling the voracious appetite he had during the two years they dated, it was strange seeing him not eating all of it immediately and asking for seconds. The man in question was too preoccupied by gently coercing his blonde friend (who was actually sitting up quite well by himself) in the chair next to him to eat instead.
Heart pattering happily, Aerith listened to Zack's gentle voice as he encouraged Cloud to take another bite and she swore if she could only listen to Zack speaking for the rest of eternity, she would be happy. His voice was like a soothing balm on her weary soul…one of the many things she missed so desperately about him these past five years.
The flower girl spared a glance to her mother and the obvious sympathy on her face surprised her; she knew her mother's walls were cracking fast. Zack just had that charm and energy about him making it nearly impossible not to like him and the fact he was taking such good care of his sick friend only made it more apparent.
"C'mon, Cloud! Alright you leave me no choice than to do the thing you hate the most… " Zack's face grew uncharacteristically serious before he continued in a higher-pitched voice, "Open up the tunnel, here comes the train! Choo-choo!" Zack sing-songed, gently pressing the blob of creamy mashed potatoes against Cloud's lips but the blonde refused to open. His vacant eyes were staring at Zack and for some reason, it looked as if they were communicating in a way Aerith couldn't even begin to understand.
She desperately ignored the sudden pang of jealousy that invaded her heart at their obvious bond.
"Buddy, I promise I will eat too, I just want you to eat first so I can lay you down to sleep right after so you have time to digest and don't get a tummy ache from having actual food in your stomach for once - is that okay?" Zack waved the spoon and Aerith couldn't help but bite her lip to hold back the huge smile when she swore the blonde outright pouted at Zack before obediently (albeit it reluctantly) opening his mouth.
"Yes! Thanks, Cloudy Skies! You're the best!" Zack exclaimed, gently pressing the smooth potatoes into his mouth before brushing a quick hand through blonde chocobo-like spikes. Cloud let out of an unintelligable soft mutter of protest as Zack gathered another spoonful to continue feeding his friend.
"...You've been doing that for awhile, haven't you?" Elmyra asked suddenly and Aerith's shoulders tensed.
Zack didn't seem effected at all by the sudden questioning.
The SOLDIER merely glanced at her and gave a quick seldom nod and sad smile, "I have… lemme see, uh, the last, I dunno, 10 months to a year since we've escaped Nibelheim, he's been like this. He's actually a hel-h-heckuva lot better than he was before. He wasn't much more than a limp doll for a long time…" Zack bit his lip while spooning some more potatoes with tiny bits of chopped up meatloaf to his friend's mouth before continuing to feed him.
Zack continued, "...it was… hard to say the least. I - I had to do everything for him and I was so certain it was a losing battle those first few months with the Mako withdrawal being so bad. I really thought he wouldn't make it -" Zack's eyes suddenly teared up and Aerith wanted nothing more than to reach over and touch him but he was sitting too far away.
Zack swallowed thickly, "…but he's better now. We survived and we're gonna continue to do so. After what we've already lived though, feeding him is no problem at all! At least he can somewhat chew and swallow on his own now." Zack laughed softly trying to lighten the bleak situation like always. Casually wiping his face free of a few tears that slipped down his face before feeding Cloud his next spoonful with nothing but a sweet smile gracing his lips.
Elmyra looked chastised even if Zack did nothing to condemn her questioning.
"Zack?" Aerith asked and her heart skipped a beat when he glanced from Cloud's face and those incredible eyes locked onto hers.
He flashed her a soft shy smile, "Yeah?"
"Will he let me feed him? Your food is going to get cold."
"I-It's okay, Aerith. He's almost done, I got it. And heck, what I wouldn't have given for cold meatloaf and mashed potatoes when we were on the run - it's gonna be incredible regardless. Thanks for offering though." he added with a blinding white smile and wow, if her heart wasn't already lost to him before…
Ten minutes later, Cloud was finished eating and staring blankly at the single yellow lily Aerith gave him that she'd placed into a small vase on the table.
Even obviously starving, Zack ate slowly. Chewing his food thoroughly before swallowing as if savoring the sensation of having actual food in his mouth. He even was making small talk and making sure Cloud felt included in any discussion that came up. After only a single (heaping) plate full, Zack gently pushed the plate away when it was cleaned of the rest of the gravy with a roll of bread.
"Oh! There's more food in the kitchen! You want another serving? There's plenty…" Aerith halfway stood to her feet but Zack just shook his head and smiled.
"Nah. I'm full. It's probably best I take it easy for now. Don't wanna overdue it and make myself sick," Zack chuckled softly before turning to address her mother, "Ms. Gainsborough, it was absolutely delicious. Thank you…" Zack bit his lip, his eyes tracing the surface of the table for a moment before meeting her eyes and then her mother's with the most heart-wrenching look clouding them, "I - I really can't thank you enough - for everything. I - I promise I'll pay you back for all of this once Cloud recovers enough so I can get a job. Just make a list, I'll be sure to pay you back for all the food, lodging, clothes - "
"Nonsense!" to Aerith's shock, it was her mother who interrupted, "You don't owe us anything, Zackary. While I'm still concerned over what Shinra is going to do as well as you are, but you have my word that you and your friend are welcome here as long as you need to stay." Elmyra flashed the SOLDIER a coy smirk and continued, "And I think Aerith would have a few words to say if you even think of leaving anytime soon."
Aerith felt her own eyes welling when she watched Zack's lower lip tremble before his face fell, a tear slipped down his cheek as he uttered a heartfelt, "Thank you so much…"
"You're welcome, young man. Now, go get you and your friend situated upstairs and get some sleep. No offense, but you look dead on your feet."
Aerith shuddered at the phrasing but said nothing and bit her lip when she noticed Cloud suddenly flinch at that statement.
Zack merely chuckled, "I pretty much am; it's been a really long time since I slept through the night."
While that was alarming and Aerith wanted to say something, she remained silent as Zack rose to his feet. His eyes locked on her mother, Zack bowed to her slightly when he stood before gently pulling the barely lucid Cloud to his feet.
"I-I could go put Cloud to bed and come back and help with dishes? Please? I'd love to help any way I can," he offered.
Elmyra was already shaking her head before he finished speaking, "Don't be silly, Zackary. Go get some sleep."
"...You sure?"
"Positive," Elmyra smiled gently at him.
"Okay…Um, thanks again. You both have a good night," Zack said over his shoulder as he gently guided Cloud up the stairs and all remained quiet until the door to the guest room closed with a soft click.
Elmyra's shoulder's dropped and she opened her mouth as if to speak but closed it a second later. Instead, her stepmom let out a soft sigh before standing to gather the empty plates on the table and heading to the kitchen to clean up.
Aerith followed to help even as her eyes strayed to the staircase where she watched Zack disappear.
#zerith#fanfiction#zack fair#aerith gainsborough#cloud strife#ff7#final fantasy VII#ff7 rebirth fanfiction#ff7 remake fanfiction#AU#alternate universe#Zack lives#zack lives au
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so my white co-worker was complaining about her (community college) field trip last weekend:
for lunch, her school had catered from a Thai restaurant. usually, if a university/school/workplace was covering pack lunches, they'd do sandwiches from Panera, or pasta from Olive Garden, or maaaybe burritos from Chipotle.
Her: I didn't even know the difference between the offered options. I ended up grabbing this weird, peanut-buttery, spicy noodle dish.
this was the most foreign she'd ever ventured with her food. i pointed out that her lunch didn't sound weird to me in the least, and she responded;
Her: So you'd intentionally serve foreign food to a bunch of people, not knowing if they'd like it or not, and it'd be their fault if they happened to find it weird or gross?
me, who grew up eating my homeland's food at home, and then American 'foreign food' every day at school? me, who mostly made friends with other Asian kids, so their parents fed me Vietnamese/Laotian/Burmese/Chinese/Sakha/Turkish food whenever i played over? me, who grew up in an international graduate student housing complex, so potlucks and gifts and Halloween and birthdays were a toss-up between Indian, Trinidadian, Ivorian, Russian, Ashkenazi Jewish, Norwegian, etc and so forth?
i told her that the majority of Americans are very much used to eating food from multiple cultures, especially us younger generations. we grew up eating from multiple cultures every single day, staring blankly every time someone told us that mac-and-cheese is a 'universally loved dish'.
it's fine to have food preferences. like, i personally hate asparagus and pineapple, and i prefer dry thin rice over the wetter, short-grain ones.
but never have i considered any deviation from my cultural cuisine be a huge undertaking. so what that a catered lunch was pad thai instead of turkey sandwiches? so what you came over to someone's house and they dare serve you pig ears instead of meatloaf? so what it's Japanese buckwheat noodles instead of spaghetti? so what you're handed a bowl of rice instead of a slice of bread?
and it's fine if that'd be a huge culinary leap for you. but don't try to convince me that it's humanity's "normal" to expect only (these) cuisines and not (those) at any given time.
(and don't get me started on how many times i'd recommend the mango-dragonfruit refresher to customers, only to be given an awkward smile and a "no thanks, i've never tried mango or dragonfruit".)
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Little blurb from my brain about the origin of villain!Jack- instead of being a ghostly spiderhero, he was actually a college intern crushed by the collider. The impact killed him but fused him with one of his alternates, so he's got ghost powers and is technically dead. And two of the same person.
---------------------------------------------------
"Hey, buddy," Karin called softly at the door. "I uh, I made pasta. Again. You want me to bring it in?"
A muffled, pathetic sounding refusal barely made it past the threshold. She twisted the knob regardless, for once thankful that their cheap dorm buildings didn't have locks on the internal doors. The room was pitch black and eerily silent, clothes and books strewn about as usual, but the glasses of water and plates of food left untouched for days was concerning. Karin sighed as she set down the umpteenth plate, trying to clear space for food she knew her roommate wasn't going to touch.
"I know... I know what you went through wasn't pretty, Jackie, but you gotta eat something. We're all getting worried about you." She sniffled.
Another dismissive noise came from the heap of blankets piled onto the twin sized mattress. She grabbed a few plates of moldy food, grimacing as the smell hit her nostrils. She glanced around again, noting that the mirror on the back of his door had been covered by a jacket, and the doorway leading to the bathroom showed another covered mirror, this one with a sheet. His curtains had been drawn as well, and any other reflective surface covered or gone. Her heart ached for what he was going through.
"Do you maybe wanna come eat with us? We're just gonna watch a movie and stay in tonight. Do some homework maybe? I got yours from your classes."
The form burrowed deeper into the bed before croaking out a barely audible "No."
Karin shook her head, giving up and heading toward the door. "I just... we miss you man. And honestly we're worried sick. It was a scary collapse, I know. But you're okay, and that's what matters-"
"I'm not okay." A growl from the dark. "Don't ever tell me I'm fucking okay."
She stood back, shocked at the change in tone. "Okay, fine... we'll be here when you want to emerge from your nest. Or whatever. Sorry. Just, eat something for once." She left, the door shutting softly.
Jack whined, curling in even tighter on himself as he heard his best friend and roommate leave, the smell of pasta hitting his nose and making his stomach turn. Food had all but lost its appeal despite the audible hunger of his body. Ever since the day the collider collapsed he'd barely been able to function, let alone eat. And it was hard, in this... different body of his. No one had seen him since the incident; Alchemax had terminated his internship and his boss, mentor, and one sided crush Dr. Johnathon Ohnn had gone missing- presumed dead- and his whole world felt like it was ripped out from under him. But if he didn't at least take a couple bites, he knew he'd regret it later.
Jack sat up slowly and gingerly, his joints aching as his bones popped from days laying in bed, hiding from everyone. He hated doing this to the people who loved him, but he felt he had no choice. Until he could find a way to get his most valuable possessions and leave without being noticed, he was stuck. He walked over to the plate of spaghetti and almost laughed. If the meatloaf the other day had been impossible, this was going to be a circus. But still, he tried to take a bite, the smell almost too acidic for his new, more sensitive nose.
And failed, the noodles just sliding from the left side of his lips to the right, caught by... nothing. They hit the floor and he groaned in frustration. Another gummy protein bar for dinner didn't sound very good, but nothing did anymore. What he did manage to eat all tasted the same, like soggy, gritty cardboard. His tongue was completely smooth, devoid of any tastebuds, and his high powered nose made it ten times worse, picking up on all the worst notes of everything.
Jack gave up and set the fork down, instead walking to the bathroom and flicking on the light. He hissed at the sudden brightness, shaking his head and squinting his eyes, feeling his vision almost tunnel. Removing his jacket and shirt, deciding instead a hot shower might do some good. It wouldn't clear the chaos in his head but it might quiet it, if only for a moment. He reached a shaky, pale hand up to the mirror, and pulled down the sheet.
Looking back at him was a monster. At least, he thought so. Palid, blotchy skin, a mottled mix of his normal tan, peachy tone and some off-putting grayish white, split down the center like some kind of chimera. Looking at his eyes, they were a heterochrome nightmare; one jet black, the iris and pupil both gone. The other his old, gentle forest green, though miles more bloodshot. Whether it was the lack of sleep or his new normal, he couldn't tell.
What made everything worse though, and what scared a poor couple half to death as he struggled to make it home that night, was his mouth. When the collider exploded, pieces of it flew every which way, and one of those ways was directly into his unsuspecting face, crushing his cheek and jaw and almost killing him, almost instantly. So now he had a gaping hole from mouth to ear, leaving all of his teeth, his tongue, the entire inside of his mouth visible from that side. The irony of it was he had been forcibly meshed into another version of himself, a more alive version, and he'd healed too quickly together. Now he walked, literally half dead and half alive.
#atsv#across the spiderverse#itsv#into the spiderverse#villain oc#spidersona#johnathon ohnn#the spot#ideas#i still dont know what his villain name would be#my poor little meow meow#jumping jack
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curry opinions and favourite curry?
I'm not sure I have any, but if you want me to say something then "curry is a good thing" and "chicken curry with coconut milk (and maybe ginger) is very good." If there are people out there who don't think so, they should eat more Indian food.
(A friend of mine once said he didn't like curries because the vegetables were too strong -- which strikes me as basically saying that one wants chicken soup without actual chicken in it? I guess the idea was that the vegetable ingredients overwhelm everything else?)
The only other time I can remember thinking about this sort of question was when I first discovered the existence of korma. To my American ears at least, "korma" sounded suspiciously close to "corn mah," i.e. corn meatloaf, which seemed like an unfortunate name for a dish even before I knew what korma was.
Then again, my parents used to make "pork fried rice" all the time, until I finally asked them why they never made plain "fried rice". My mom just looked confused, while my father said:
"You know, 'fried rice.' Fried rice. Like from McDonalds or Panda Express."
"No... no! We actually cook our own rice!"
to use instead of microwaving stuff from those places."
"Oh! Well we do that sometimes too."
"Well, how do you get rid of all the pork smell?"
"What?? It doesn't smell like anything; it tastes fine!"
[...]
[My mother] started explaining that she had grown up on Japanese food, where meat almost always has some kind of sauce on top, which covers its distinctive flavor. [...] So she thought having meat on the side would be easier than making several different dishes, each with its own specific sauces. She also said, "We could eat Italian sometimes, since it doesn't taste fishy either." [Our family doesn't really have a tradition around eating fish.]
[...] I tried to explain that in Western cuisine, pork tends to have a very unique, salty taste, especially when well-cooked, and that this makes it hard to mix it into many recipes. But it's difficult to convey these ideas in words alone.
Yet another example of how our worldviews differ depending on whether we grow up eating certain things or not.
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OH no. We're about to have the Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice problem.
Because we're talkin' rakugo.
And particularly bad rakugo, at that. (Although not gonna lie, theatres are great places to sleep...) This older guy doesn't have any apprentices left because all of them, mostly his star pupil Iwashi, quit and started restaurants instead. And the theatre troop is just on the edge of closing dow-
Oh no.
And it has awards. This guy is getting punched.
Then again, this guy is looking pretty punchable. This is Iwashi. He's had the place open for about 10 days and none of his old celebrity buddies have answered his invites to the new place... except his rakugo master, who he treats. His old nobody coworker has to pay for his though.
Oop, it's not KitKat that's making the first swing, it's old rakugo guy!
But it's not like Iwashi was always a fame-obsessed little bitch. KitKat remembers when he came by 5 years ago, asking for a special treat for his old master.
Y'know it's not like French food is all cheese and butter, but hey, what do I know...
KitKat splits the difference and makes Japanese food in French style, which makes the guy happy.
KitKat is left befuddled! Why is Iwashi, the kind young man who wanted to do something nice for his master, acting like such an asshole? Wait, first he has to talk shit about some other customers that Iwashi is treating like A-listers.
And there's the kicker: Iwashi is defrosting pre-made burgers for customers and only hand-making the food for famous clientele.
So KitKat does some digging. Iwashi got famous, and you know that being famous makes you a... bad chef. Or something.
KitKat's willing to train him to be better, on the master's request. Meanwhile Iwashi's food starts going uneaten at the restaurant; the crew he hired isn't cooking the food the whole way through. Probably because he's out of the shop advertising and schmoozing with other TV celebs.
Aaaand he's about to get himself canceled.
So his crew walks out on him. KitKat comes in and for once doesn't yell at the guy. Just tells him he has to, like, try to make his food taste good and people will eat it. He's gotta remember how to treat people right.
So now it's time for the TRAINING!
... specifically...
You know, if they were bots, I'd be into that kinda job, but it's not lookin' great for Iwashi. It's no wonder he gets a callback from a job offer and tries to bail the first day. Who wouldn't wanna be the host on a travel show instead of a burger chef, right?
The sumos are unhappy.
Monkey D. Luffy-ass lookin' legs. But they tell him not to give up! He's never gonna finish anything if he keeps jumping around- from rakugo to TV star to chef to TV star again- actually no he turns that job down and gets back to massagin'. After ten days, they treat him to dinner.
(Turns out, Iwashi also means "sardine".)
NOW, the training is over! Now that Iwashi the guy has gotten good at handling handfuls of big, hot, raw, hard MEAT-
Okay for reals though he's gotta make him some burgers.
Well, "burgers." Like Japan CALLS it "hamburg steak", but look at the ingredients.
It's meatloaf. This ENTIRE ARC has been about Iwashi turning down a job in broadcast TV going on world tours and eating food to run a meatloaf shop. And all his training was to get him used to handling big amounts of meat.
Which he couldn't have done, obviously, by lifting weights or, like, making lots of bread or anything. NO, it had to be big naked sumo wrestlers who happen to belong to a stable the KitKat is buddies with. Absolutely nothing ulterior going on there.
(Man, I used to do that for my botfriends all the time because it was FUN, not because it'd make me good at meatloaf-) anyway....
And KitKat, remember, is STILL charging people for this. In fact, Iwashi the guy tells him point-blank that he can't keep the shop open because he paid KitKat the last of his cash.
Seemingly out of guilt, KitKat goes and buys him more groceries.
MOUNTAINS OF FISH. FISH MEATLOAF BURGERS.
This is a weird fuckin' manga.
So they make a fish burger! And Iwashi the guy is like "dude there's no way this's gonna sell" and KitKat's like "no trust me dude it's gonna sell" and KitKat hands out some flyers that are like "FISH BURGERS. THEY HEALTHY. COME EAT" and it fuckin' WORKS.
And not only does it work, his old rakugo coworkers, even the ones he treated like shit, come to help out! And the opening is a a big success. KitKat wishes him well and tells him to start prepping the sardines for tomo-
Iwashi: ... okay but THIS one's not my fault.
KitKat: It really isn't.
So they ride out to the truck to go pick up all the fish and guess what?!
The guys didn't even put on SHOES and they're out there pickin' up the fish!
I RAN OUT OF PICTURES!!!
So wrappin' up real quick, everybody works together to open the place. Iwashi the guy becomes a good chef and his master is proud of him, the end.
Arc length: 9 issues. No wonder I ran out of pictures!
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Experience Tonga Toast at Disney World's Kona Cafe
I didn’t mean to do two breakfast recipes this week… And I didn’t mean to do yet another recipe from Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort… Yet, here we are. I can’t help it. I love that resort and I adore their food options. What other place has more classic dining experiences under one roof than Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort?
Dole Whips, chicken wings, welcome bread… It’s all amazing! But what food-related profile of Disney’ Polynesian Village Resort would be complete without mentioning possibly the most famous, the most sought after, the most coveted breakfast of all?
More Delicious Recipes You Will Love:
- Tie-dye Cheesecake – Disney’s Pop Century Resort
- Tostadas De Tinga – San Angel Inn
- Wolfgang Puck Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf – Wolfgang Puck Express
That’s right… Tonga toast.
Oh, Tonga toast… Let’s talk about the fanatical, devoted fanbase that people have for Tonga pineapple pancakes and Tonga toast. You wake up to that smell every morning? You just have to have it. You can’t blame them for being practically obsessed with it.
And the people not at the Polynesian? Let’s just say I’ve seen some insane daily plans from people, plans that involve getting up super early, taking multiple buses, or walking a mile just so they can get to the Polynesian to have their slice of Tonga toast. It’s no joke people…
Tonga toast is a big thing.toast. The Run Disney runners are obsessed with it because it’s a bounty of perfect race foods… Bananas, carb-loaded toast, heaping piles of sugar. I think Kona Cafe becomes on par with Be Our Guest during race weekends in terms of how hard it is to get a reservation. Runners want their Tonga toast. Guests at Disney’s Polynesian Village resort are equally as obsessed with the stuff. How can they not be? Every morning the only smell that hits you in the lobby is
I didn’t get the magic of the Tonga toast until I stayed at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort for the second time. On our last day, my mom had ordered it at Kona and I tried a bite. That one bite left me hooked.
It was sweet banana heaven on a plate (my mom didn’t like it… She’s not a fan of French toast… I know, she’s crazy). I very nearly regretted ordering the pineapple pancakes instead. Nearly… I’m obsessed with pineapple.
Anyway, this is like an eggless banana-stuffed french toast meets sweet Monte Cristo sandwich. Banana is stuffed in bread, deep fried until golden, drenched with sugar and cinnamon and served warm, sometimes with syrup, sometimes without. Occasionally people get a strawberry puree drizzle on top and I’ve seen one strange soul claim that ketchup (?!) on it is the bomb.
This recipe made my mouth and my tummy so happy (then immediately made it sad again because I’m on a diet for the Wine and Dine Half Marathon and sugar coated toast isn’t part of the training plan). This tastes exactly, to the smallest detail, exactly like what they serve at Kona Cafe.
Sweet, warm, banana so warm it’s gooey, crunchy, and just plain good. It smells like heaven, it tastes like heaven. Put a blindfold on me and turn on some tropical music and I’d tell you I was sitting in a gorgeous tropical-themed lobby of one of my favorite resorts getting ready to grab a monoral for a day at EPCOT.
The morning before the half marathon in November, I have a breakfast scheduled at Kona for 7:30. I’m going to go, load up my plate, and eat this like I’m about to run 13.1 miles and not regret a bite of it. I can’t remember a recipe that’s made me this antsy to get back to Walt Disney World as this one has.
In addition to the delicious food and recipes, Disney World is also known for its unique dining experiences, such as character dining and themed restaurants. Whether you want to have breakfast with Mickey Mouse, dine in a replica of a sci-fi drive-in theater at Hollywood Studios, or enjoy a meal with an ocean view at the Coral Reef Restaurant in Epcot, there's something for everyone. And with the help of Recipes Today and the How to Make category, you can even recreate some of these magical dining experiences in your own home. So why not start planning your next Disney-inspired meal or dining experience today?
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Alright, this is the last one I’m doing tonight before I knock out to sleep. The KakuHida version:
Who’s most likely to confess first?
I’m not sure that either would, at least not directly. Like they’d probably end up getting drunk and eventually go to bed together and waking up together the next morning and Hidan asking if this was a thing now and Kakuzu being confused and going I thought this already WAS a thing, that was just platonic until last night. And they just take their relationship from there.
Who most likely has the worst temper?
Both. Their fights are catastrophic. (un)Ironically their biggest blow-outs are always about money; Hidan hates how “obsessed” Kakuzu is with it, and Kakauzu hates how Hidan is so flippant/wasteful with it.
Who is likely the more affectionate partner?
I feel like Hidan can get very touchy/feely, but mainly when he’s in the mood for sex. Kakuzu isn’t much one for loving gestures but he’ll occasionally want to put his arms around his young lover and just sit and enjoy the skin on skin contact with another human being. Hidan will complain that he’s “smothering” him but secretly loves it and wishes Kakuzu did it more often.
Who is more likely to get jealous?
Surprisingly, Kakuzu. I feel like he’s already super-sensitive about his and Hidan’s age difference, and when he thinks someone else is coming on to Hidan, he feels rage. Hot, murderous rage. But he won’t show it, like Hidan would. Instead he’ll track down that person later and murder them. A bit extreme, maybe, but he’s very serious in his desire to keep Hidan with him.
Who is most likely to give the best advice?
Depends on the topic. Obviously Kakuzu would give the best advice about anything to do with finances. But Hidan, I feel he would give more “human”-like advice. Like, if Kakuzu came to him and told him he was depressed, Hidan would be able to tell him useful things to help him feel better. With other people Hidan is crass and constantly cursing and rude but with Kakuzu he’s more honest and sensitive.
Who is most likely to win a drinking contest?
Well, I think Kakuzu has a pretty high tolerance … BUT Hidan is immortal. So he can keep on drinking right past the “holy crap he’s gonna die from blood poisoning” level. And Kakuzu abhors hangovers so he’d stop drinking away before Hidan regardless.
Who is most likely to get an extreme body piercing or tattoo?
Definitely Hidan. Pain means nothing to him and he’s always looking for ways to express his love for his religion. I feel like he’d get the Jashin symbol tatted on him, and probably a tongue ring.
Who is most likely the bigger eater?
Hidan. He really loves meat (beef is his favorite) but he despises any form of vegetables. Kakuzu tries to get him to eat more of them by hiding them in meat dishes, like chili or meatloafs, but Hidan always catches on and curses Kakuzu out for trying to “torment” him.
Who’s more likely to sleep nude?
Kakuzu. Hidan runs around near-nude all day long but when it comes time for bed he has to wear pajamas or else he feels unsettled. Kakuzu on the other hand always gets super hot when he sleeps ends up kicking off most of his covers, and eventually his shirt and pants. But Hidan loves the warmth he gives off, and will snuggle against him all night. Which makes Kakuzu feel even hotter. But good luck “kicking off” Hidan.
Who is more likely to propose marriage?
I think Kakuzu would be. Both because he genuinely loves Hidan, and because he knows that married couples get some nice tax breaks. And his proposing to Hidan, and with a GORGEOUS ring to boot, is the only time in their relationship that Hidan will A)Cry and B)Go temporarily speechless.
Who is most likely to cry during a sad movie?
I’m not sure I can properly picture either of them crying, because I have a hard time believing either of them finding anything to be “sad”. Kakuzu’s lived forever and he’s seen a lot of sh*t; there’s very little to feel sad over anymore. Hidan is all about toughness and bravado so one would be hard-pressed to get tears out of him, either.
Who is more likely to want children?
Hidan would want them but Kakuzu wouldn’t. Not necessarily because he doesn’t want kids, or even because kids cost money. It’s because Kakuzu is already much older, and he doesn’t think he’d have the energy or stamina to keep up with a young child. And he doesn’t want to place a burden on Hidan to be the “main” parent for any offspring they might have.
Who’s more likely to apologize first after a fight?
Kakuzu. Because Hidan would rather die than apologize and Kakuzu knows that sometimes you’ve just got to swallow your pride and admit that you’re “wrong” in order to restore peace and quiet.
Who’s most likely to be the better cook?
Kakuzu for savory dishes, but Hidan has a hidden talent for baking and dessert-making. Which is surprising considering he and Kakuzu both aren’t really fond of sweets.
Who is most likely to drive on long trips?
Hidan. But Kakuzu is his “co-pilot” and the one reading him directions and “navigating” their journey.
Who is most likely to do the grocery shopping?
They both go together, but Kakuzu, being the holder of the purse strings, has final say in everything purchased. Grocery trips usually takes several hours, and trips to multiple stores go get the best prices on different things and to utilize coupons and special discounts. One time Kakuzu was sick and he sent Hidan out to do the shopping with a list and an envelope of coupons. He nearly had a heart attack when Hidan came back and said he lost both the coupons and the list so he just bought what looked good. After that, he never let Hidan go alone again.
Who is most likely to fall asleep on the couch?
Kakuzu, while reading. Hidan will find him and cover him with a blanket, and sometimes snuggle up with him and take a nap.
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Have you ever read the rivetra fic "in all of the lives we are" on fanfiction net? Because I did and parts of it are canon in my head. What I really want to ask is :can you too please bless us with a canonverse reincarnation fic?
I haven't read it but I bookmarked it to read later! Thank you for the rec, anon! I have a canonverse reincarnation fic that I scrapped when I first got back into writing. I plan on writing one in the future with a lot more depth, but I'll share this draft since I don't plan on going back to this fic in particular. Warning, meh writing ahead 😅
“And then my soul saw you and it kind of went, "Oh, there you are. I've been looking for you.”
— Iain Thomas, I Wrote This For You
Childhood; where threads begin, or were they there all along?
The world is a cruel place, is the mantra Levi murmured to himself over and over again.
Kenny left him when he was 10 and after giving the police the run around, he found himself in a group home for children with disturbed conduct, also known as, the leftovers in the system. The leftovers that even foster care didn’t want to look twice at because everyone in this shitty place was just as fucked up as the last kid.
Mom, why did you have to die and leave me with Uncle Kenny? Did you know he was a gang leader? Or maybe you knew being part of a gang was better than this hellhole.
He wasn’t stupid, he knew his mother was a whore, and if the feds ever found out he was living in a brothel they would’ve taken him in an instant. So maybe it was luck that he had the amount of time with her that he did.
He still remembered how she desperately tried to shield him from her work, locking him in the closet when he was small, and when he got bigger, hiding underneath the bed and saying very sternly Levi, my love, you can’t make a sound or else mommy is going to get in trouble. Remember to cover your ears, just like we practiced.
And then when she died, it didn’t come suddenly. It was coughing in the middle of the night, him begging her to please let him find a doctor and he didn’t care about the consequences, he just wanted them to be together, but his mother shook her head and insisted she would be fine.
She wasn’t, of course, and Kenny both saved and damned him. He learned how to fend for himself, beat men twice his size, and take their wallet while they were recovering from his blows. He learned how to use a knife threaten people, and while his size threw people off, he used that to his advantage.
Even though he didn’t have his knives here, he knew how to fight hand to hand, and he was itching to land a blow to the next kid who tried to steal his dinner. It was his third month into the group home, and he was on his “last warning” as the head said, and next stop was juvie. He didn’t care, his life was at the end of the line and he was only 11.
“Hey, dip shit. Gimme your cookie.” Levi glanced at the boy who suddenly appeared, some new comer who clearly didn’t know his reputation. The boy was older and bigger than him, he guessed around 13 or 14, but he didn’t care. He ignored him and took a stab at the stale meatloaf.
“Did you fucking hear me? I said give me the goddamn cookie.” Levi sighed at the idiocy of this place, he knew what it was like to starve and despite the shit he gave this place, he couldn’t complain about the three (shitty) meals they got a day and the roof over his head. The company was much to be desired and that’s what usually got him into trouble.
“Tch. Go bother someone else, I’m not interested,” he said cooly, and the boy’s face grew red. Levi balled his left fist under the table, ready to throw a punch the minute he got too close to him.
“You little fucker—“ The boy began, but before Levi could take a swing at him, his shirt collar was pulled back by a smirking brown haired boy.
“Hey, hey, Matty, you don’t want to pick on him. Didn’t you hear that he landed Sam in the hospital last month?” Immediately the boy called Matty paled and backed off instantly.
“This little guy did that? Respect, Sam was a piece of shit anyway,” he muttered the last sentence and waved Levi away.
Levi shrugged and returned to his dinner, not paying the newcomer any mind but the boy took it upon himself to sit across from him, grinning. “You’re welcome,” he said, biting into his apple. “The name’s Furlan. You’re Levi, right?”
“Didn’t ask for your help,” Levi quipped, looking up at the eerily jolly boy, narrowing his eyes. “Since you know my reputation, you might not want to stick around.”
Furlan laughed, and Levi a twinge of irritation as he continued talking instead of walking away like everyone else did. “I don’t think you’re that scary, Levi. From what I heard, you don’t start fights, right? I think the guys think you’re an easy target since you’re…Well, don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re really short. Even though everyone’s afraid of you, I think, if they’re like me, they’re really just impressed that someone around here isn’t afraid to fight the bullies.”
Levi didn’t say anything to that, he was just trying to survive into the next fucking day, and didn’t think of himself as some sort of savior. But, if Farlan believed in him, maybe he wasn’t so fucked up as he thought.
He sighed, giving the boy a once over as he knew the step he was about to take. To be vulnerable. To give a shit about someone else for the first time in forever.
“So, what brought you here?” He said, as if he said those words before, the words rolling naturally off of his tongue not from an 11 year old, but someone who’s carried the weight of a lifetime.
And just like that, the threads intertwined again.
ii. Adolescence; where threads cross over but never touch
“First day of senior year, Eld! I have a good feeling about this—we’re going to ace our SATs, get into the same college, and we’re going to see the world!” Petra exclaimed, swinging her backpack as they walked to school. Eld chuckled, and flicked Petra’s forehead.
“See the world, huh? With what money? I don’t remember you applying to jobs with me and Gunther over the summer, and now you’re broke.”
Petra huffed and took a playful swipe at Eld’s shoulder. “You know I was helping my dad with his business over the summer. Oruo can vouch for me, he stopped by a couple times to help us—for free, no less!” Petra smiled, thinking about the laborious, but fruitful summer that her family had thanks to everyone’s hard work. Her dad’s hardware business was small compared to the big box stores, but their customers appreciated the charm and personalized customer care that the Ral’s offered. “He’s really grown up, hasn’t he? In grade school he wouldn’t be caught doing something without recognition, and I don’t even know if he mentioned to you two that he was helping out Fridays and Saturdays.”
“Hmm, yeah I guess you could say that,” Eld mused, shaking his head internally at Petra’s obliviousness. She, along with him, were usually the perceptive ones in their little friend group, but he supposed being childhood friends blinded her to certain things, like Oluo’s long time crush on her. Sure, he flirted with her, but he flirted with everyone, and it wasn’t until their sophomore year of high school that he started wanting to seriously date only Petra, but she took his advances as one of a matured best friend and less as a guy in love with his best friend. Eld wondered how involved he should get, maybe doing Oluo a favor and dropping a few hints to Petra that Oluo was a great guy despite his arrogance, and he has come along way since their freshman year.
But, the blond knew that Petra’s feelings for Oluo would remain as best friends, and after her most recent breakup with some guy who seemed like a short stint for junior prom and as a member of the girl’s soccer team, she couldn’t very well go alone…well, it wasn’t a surprise they parted ways shortly after prom.
She confided in Eld that she wanted to start college fresh and with new opportunities, and she would be damned if she let a guy decide her future. It wasn’t like she was going to turn down a date from a cute guy, but she wanted to be very clear that it wouldn’t be more than a few casual dates. Besides, she said to Eld and Gunther, one hazy summer evening when they were eating ice cream at the county fair, who needs a significant other when they all had each other? They then raucously toasted with their popsicles in the air to their future, wherever it took them, and love be damned!
#my fics#rivetra fanfiction#shitty WIP but maybe it'll motivate me to make a proper draft of a canon reincarnation
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Not Your Danny – Ch 6. Obsessions
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Word count: 3109
Eventually, Dani has to go back to Fenton Works. She stays with Sam and Tucker at the mall for a few hours, enjoying their company; but, as the afternoon wanes and evening draws near, their hangout time comes to an end.
"I can't believe my parents are making me stick to a curfew. I'm eighteen. I didn't have a curfew a month ago," Sam says when she notices the time.
"A month ago, they didn't know you part-time as a ghost hunter. I can't believe they made your curfew eight," Tucker says.
They manage to hit a couple more stores before Sam has to go, and even swing by the food court again to grab some food-to-go. By the time Dani goes home, she has four bags of new clothes plus a box of pizza all to herself.
"Here." Tucker leans across the passenger seat and holds something out to Dani.
When she takes it, shuffling the shopping bags around her arms so she has a free hand, she notices that it's a cellphone. Basic, with a touch screen.
"It's pre-paid. I have a bunch, so don't worry about it. Mine and Sam's numbers are on there, so you can text us if you want to hang out again."
Dani clutches the phone to her chest. "Thank you."
"No problem."
Dani waits until Tucker has pulled away before turning toward the house. It's hard to tell with the curtains drawn, and the harsh glow of the Fenton Works sign splashed across the building, but it looks as if the lights are off inside. A quick scan of the street shows that Jazz's car is gone, although she could have parked around back, or by the garage instead. Dani heads up to the front door and tries the knob. It doesn't budge.
Rather than trying the doorbell or knocking, she goes intangible and walks right through the door. Inside, the lights are off, just as she suspected. She doesn’t bother turning them on. With her enhanced vision, she can see perfectly well in the dark, albeit in dark, muted shades.
In the kitchen, she finds a note from Jazz: Mom and Dad out testing weapons. I will be at Spike's. There's food in the fridge. Dani doesn't know who Spike is.
When she peeks in the fridge, she finds a tin-foiled plate of meatloaf waiting for her, as promised. She doesn't bother with it, though, taking her pizza up to Danny's room instead. The house without the Fentons there feels... pretty much the same. Without the ambient noise of Jazz's typing or Jack's distant footsteps, the house is far quieter than Dani has ever heard it. Even at night, Maddie's chainsaw snores—which surprises Dani more than it annoys her—keep the house from falling completely silent.
Now, there's nothing but Dani's soft breathing.
It's quiet, and yet, the house feels no less empty than it always does.
She deposits the shopping bags at the foot of Danny's bed and takes her pizza to his desk. Since arriving, she has cleared away enough clutter that the box can fit, although it's a tight squeeze. One side of the box rests on top of the keyboard. She looks between the greasy cardboard and the keys, wondering if it might wreck them. There shouldn't be enough grease that it will leak through, but she decides not to risk it.
Dani lifts the box and shoves the keyboard aside. It smacks into the base of the Challenger's display case, sending it toppling over the edge of the desk.
"No!" Dani throws herself out of the chair, reaching for the model. Her fingers skim the glass but miss. Blind panic fills her and something in her chest bursts. A bright glow launches from her palms and surrounds the case.
The model jerks to a stop a mere inch from the floor.
Dani's heart hammers in her chest. The horrible realization of what would have happened if she missed drains the blood from her face. Careful not to make any sudden moves, she pushes herself onto her knees, arms still outstretched. A thin thread connects the light surrounding her palm and the display case. It tugs on her, like a sixth finger, each movement sending an unfamiliar ripple up her arm.
Telekinesis is not a rare ability among ghosts. A common power, like intangibility, invisibility, and flight, more than half of all spectral entities have some form of it. But unlike those first powers, telekinesis can rely heavily on a ghost's power level and general skill. Where one ghost may struggle to move a toothpick, another can uproot a whole tree with nothing more than a thought.
Dani, until this moment, could not use it at all.
When she flexes her fingers, the model drifts toward her. The moment she has it in hand, the light disappears, and the model's weight hits her. Heavier than expected, enough that her arms bow under its sudden presence. She holds the model in a tight embrace as she rises to her feet. With her elbow, she pushes the keyboard out of the way to clear space and returns the display case to the desk.
After a moment's consideration, Dani nudges the model closer to the middle of the desk. Even if it makes things tighter, she doesn't want that to happen again
She returns to the chair, but rather than eating her pizza, her focus stays on the model. It looks undamaged inside the case, still fixed to its wooden base. At a glance, it seems sturdy enough that it could hold up to a bit of knocking around. A hard smash to the floor would probably do it in, though. The thought makes her stomach twist.
With most of Danny's things, their importance still eludes her. Now that she has her own clothes, and a phone, it's starting to dawn on her why people like things. It's nice, to speak frankly. Being able to have something, to keep it somewhere and return to it, is a nice feeling. But then there are feelings attached to the items, too.
Jack said this model was Danny's favourite. Dani has no way of knowing if she is right about why it was his favourite. It was only a guess based on what she knew of her cousin, what he thought of his parents. Danny didn't smile a lot when it came to them, at least not as far as Dani saw. Maddie and Jack rarely came up during cousin bonding time unless they came after Dani and Danny while they were hanging out. But, sometimes, Danny would smile so bright at the mention of his parents.
If he had done well on a test and they congratulated him. If they took him to the planetarium. If they went stargazing recently. None of these things happened often, but when they did, and Danny told her about them, his smile would be so bright Dani found it hard to look at.
Thinking about her new clothes, Dani wonders if the smile she can feel on her face is just as bright as Danny's had been.
"I'm sorry I lost the music player you got me," she says to the Challenger. "I didn't realize how important it could have been." She shrugged it off at the time. Even now, what little guilt she feels over it stems from losing something that could have been dear to her rather than something that wasdear.
How many things has she lost that could have been important? She already knows the answer: far too many.
—
Jazz was distracted during the funeral. She tried to hide it, but Jack knew his daughter all too well. As she gave her final goodbyes to Danny, she kept wiping her eyes and looking over the crowd, her gaze searching. Jack looked over his own shoulder a few times, trying to see what Jazz was searching for. He couldn’t find it, obviously.
There weren't many people in the crowd. Immediate family; Sam and Tucker, plus their parents; Valerie came, as well, along with Casper High's vice-principal. Jack had no other family to speak of besides his wife and children—now child. And the only relative still in contact with Maddie, her sister, could not make it in time. Jack understood although it hurt.
Over the past few months, Danny had grown closer with his aunt. Jack wasn't sure when it happened, and it took him a while to catch on. Maddie and Alicia spoke on the phone at least twice a month since Alicia didn't have a cellphone or internet. It was standard practice for Maddie to drag one of the kids into the conversation to say hi. Jazz always went willingly. Danny usually complained.
However, at some point, his complaints stopped. If Danny caught Maddie on the phone, he would eagerly jump into the conversation. He even started shooing out whoever was in the room. Jack blamed it on teenage antics. It wasn't until Jack caught the tail end of one of their conversations that he realized something had changed.
Danny sat at the kitchen table, phone to his ear. When Jack entered, he sat up straighter.
"I'll try and bring it up next time I see her. Not sure when that will be, but her birthday's coming up." Danny paused as the person on the other end replied, then nodded. "Cool. Bye Auntie Alicia, love you."
"Alicia? Don't you think your mother would have liked to say goodbye before you hung up?" Jack asked.
Danny set the phone down on the table. "That'd be weird since Mom didn't call her. Is she even home right now?"
Now that Jack thought about it, no, she wasn't. Maddie went to the store nearly an hour ago to buy cookie fixings. "Good point!" Now that Jack was paying attention, he saw the phone on the table was Danny's cell and not the house phone. "Was she leaving you a message for Maddie?"
"No, I called her."
"Plans for your mom's birthday next month?"
"Nope." Danny stood up and pocketed his phone. "I'm going to Sam's. See you later."
Jack paid more attention after that. There were other phone calls, always the same, where Danny would find somewhere private to talk. Sometimes he clammed up when Jack walked in and quickly ended the conversation. Once, Jack thought he caught Danny crying. It was late. Jack himself had only gotten home a little while ago thanks to a particularly nasty ghost attack that day. For nearly twenty minutes, he and Maddie had chased the ghost boy, trying to catch him while he was down. Phantom was a damn good flyer, though, even when injured.
The first thing Jack did when he got home was check on the kids, and that's how he found Danny curled up beside his bed, his phone cradled against his ear. Every blanket in the room was pulled tight around him.
"I don't know if I can do it anymore," Danny had said. "It keeps getting harder, and today I just–" his voice cracked.
The moment that followed was quiet. Not a single sob escaped Danny, but his shoulders shook. Jack was about to step inside when Alicia's voice, strong and steady, so loud in the silence, came from the phone.
"You're gonna be okay, kiddo."
Jack didn't go inside. Maybe he should have. Danny asked several times when they would be visiting Alicia next after the phone call. Every time he asked was like a punch to the got, but Jack never spoke up. If Danny wanted to come to him, then he could. If he was more comfortable talking to Alicia about this mystery problem, that was fine too.
He'll come to me when he needs to. Jack kept telling himself that until the day Danny died.
—
Jazz hoped she might see Dani in the crowd. A small part of her whispered that maybe she had missed Dani, glanced away right as she appeared. But, considering how few people were in attendance, that seemed unlikely. Beyond that, if a halfa did not want to get seen, they would not be seen.
Which brought Jazz to another guest she expected, although did not welcome: Vlad. Her worrying proved pointless, though, when he never showed up. As the lingering crowd thinned, Danny's friends and loved ones saying their final goodbyes, Jazz searched the heads once more. No red beanie or glowing white hair, and no pompous ponytail.
At the first opportunity, Jazz pulled Sam and Tucker aside. "Have either of you seen Dani?"
"Uh... is this some kind of joke?" Tucker asked. He glanced none too subtly toward the freshly filled grave. Sam at least had more tact and waited for Jazz to elaborate.
"Dani-with-an-i."
"Oh." Tucker shook his head. "No. We've been trying to contact her, but there isn't a great way to reach her. Left some messages with some ghosts, but that doesn't help if she's not in the Ghost Zone right now."
"She isn't." Jazz checked on the whereabouts of her parents. They were nearer the grave, speaking solemnly with Angela and Maurice Foley. Most importantly, they were well out of earshot. "I saw her at Fenton Works last night, but she ran away."
"Damn." Sam lifted the black veil hanging from her hat, revealing red eyes and smudged makeup. "I hope she's okay. Did she say anything before she left?"
Jazz hesitated. Although the whole exchange only lasted a few seconds, it had yet to leave her mind, for reasons she was ashamed to admit. And yet, no matter how guilty she felt about her initial reaction to Dani, she could not forget about it.
"No," she said. "Dani saw me and bolted. She might have thought I was my mom since it was so dark."
"We'll have to keep an eye out for her. I don't if she would stay without Danny here, but it's not like she has anywhere else to go, either," Sam said.
"I will, too. I thought she might show up here, but..."
"Sammykins!" Pamela Manson called from the cemetery gate. She tapped her wrist, although she wore no watch. "There's a crowd forming, dear."
Jazz grimaced at the sight beyond the funeral gates. A small gathering of Danny Phantom fans stood on the sidewalk, some bearing signs, all dressed for mourning. It was the most inappropriate display she had ever seen. None of them had breached the cemetery, but Jazz suspected that was because of the hired security standing at the gate and not the onlooker's own sense of morality.
She dreaded what the crowd might do as soon as she and her family left.
Sam scowled. "I can't believe them. I get if they want to mourn the local hero, but this is such gross behaviour." She looked remarkably like her mother as she hissed those words, her lip curling in disgust as she glared at the onlookers.
Jazz agreed wholeheartedly.
"I'll text you as soon as my mom takes me off house arrest," Sam told Tucker. "Jazz, let us know if you see Dani again. I'll sleep a little easier knowing she's alright."
Jazz nodded and gave her guarantee.
—
Vlad has lost obsessions before. Most well-balanced ghosts have. Any experienced ghost knows to have a few central obsessions and a handful of smaller ones. Latch on to a passing interest hard enough and all it takes is a little dedication to turn that into a full-blown obsession. Then, once it becomes tedious, let it go and move on to something else.
There have been some obsessions that he lost against his will. He once had a bonsai tree, a nice juniper, that he loved dearly. It went up in flames with his Wisconsin mansion the first time Danny destroyed his home. Vlad felt the loss like a bitter sting. At the same time, his determination to capture Danny for himself only grew, overwhelming painful prickle. Every slight against him only fuelled his desire more. Never had he fought so hard for something without immediate success. It made the game that much more fun.
And it was a game. Danny learned fast, but there was so much he didn't know, couldn't do. It was so easy to toy with him, egg him on, guide him to new abilities. The potential within him was limitless. Vlad could have overwhelmed Danny in seconds but there's no fun in that.
Perhaps that's why it was so easy for his other obsessions to slip away without him noticing.
He drifts through the halls of his mansion, familiar yet alien at the same time. On the landing, he drags his hand along the bannister, dust gathering against his fingers. His limb flickers, wispy blue, jumping sporadically in and out of intangibility. He designed the balustrades himself, inspired by the first twisted haunts he discovered within the Ghost Zone.
The wood cracks and splinters as his fingers solidify while passing through.
Before him, the front hall looms. Vast, open, a point of pride in every mansion he has owned. Better to impress the guests with a grand display upon entry. Now he finds it suffocating. All his hours of work, his obsessions wasted. Where simply looking upon his walls once filled him with pride, now they sicken him.
There is nothing for him here.
He went to such desperate lengths. Threats, bribery, manipulation, cloning. Nothing ever worked. Each new failure cut him deeper, made him more desperate, more eager. No. No, that wasn't right. He was subtle, clever, controlling an oblivious pawn in a cruel game. The winner, the mastermind. The cloak, not the dagger. The cat, not the mouse. But still always losing. Surely something he had to work this hard for, harder than anything in his life, had to be worth it.
And then, in an instant, in the span of an ectoblast, his obsession died.
"Maddie." Vlad moans, voice breaking. "Maddie. Maddie. Maddie." His please reach no one who cares. All his attempts to reach out, reforge that connection they once had, have been rebuffed.
"Maddie." Once, not so long ago, the sound of her name alone was enough to light his core ablaze.
But when, when, when, how, somewhere along the way that warmth died.
"Madeline, I need you." Please, please. Don't leave me to this. Don't go.
The cold wind whips against him, not unusual for an October day, but it startles him, nonetheless. He hunches halfway down the drive, the empty halls of his mansion long behind. He could return home, but... no. Home won't help him now.
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#phic phight#phic phight 2021#notyourdanny#phanfic#phicc#dp fanfiction#danny phantom#dani phantom#danielle phantom#danny phantom fanfiction#trans danny#trans danny fenton#nyd chapter six
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Meeting and Dating Jack Goodman
(Not my gif)(Requested by anonymous)
(Most of these can probably go for both normal jack and ghost jack but the hcs center around him being amongst the undead. I wouldn’t mind writing some hcs specifically for human Jack though)
- You first met Jack in highschool. Initially, you were friends with David who was in a few of your classes, but soon enough David introduced you to Jack and the three of you became a trio.
- Jack fell for you the moment he saw you, or at least couldn’t help but find you incredibly attractive. You probably thought he was just nervous when you first met with the way he was stumbling over his words and acting so awkward. Gosh, David had a field day with him after you left.
- To Jack, you’re completely out of his league and there is no chance that you would be interested in him. But he has to try. Too bad his “trying” isn’t nearly as obvious as he would like it to be.
- The two of you gradually spend more time together, going from only hanging out once in a while; and only with David, to hanging out for hours on your own. Every time you’re together he tries to psychically project his feelings into your mind.
- Its nearly a year later that he actually tries to put the moves on you but at that point you’re such good friends that you don't even notice what he’s trying to do. Every proposition of a date is just him asking to hang out. Every romantic compliment or pickup line results in you laughing and telling him to stop messing around. He doesn’t know how much more of it he can take.
- When the three of you graduated highschool, you’d decided that you’d take a year off and vacation in Italy. The boys wanted to go backpacking so they agreed to meet you there. Of course, they never really did, did they?
- You were beside yourself when you heard about what happened. Here you were, in the middle of a foreign country supposed to be having the time of your life and instead, you find out that one of your best friends is killed by an animal and that the other is recovering in a London hospital. Jack was dead, it was like the idea wouldn’t register in your mind. Jack was dead and you’d never see him again.
“Y/n came to my funeral. Gosh, she really looked torn up,” Jack smiled at David almost sheepishly. “Do you think now would be a bad time to tell her how I feel?”
- It was a few days after his funeral that you first saw him again. You though that you were going crazy, that your grief had gotten the better of you and you were having a serious lapse in your sanity. But it all seemed far too real, too detailed to be a hallucination.
- After hearing about what happened, you’d cancelled the rest of your trip and went back home. You’d holed yourself up in your room for a week before you finally forced yourself to go outside, though it was only to attend Jacks funeral.
- You were curled up on your bed, still dressed in your funeral attire and feeling utterly miserable as you fumbled with a book you’d borrowed from the boy for your plane ride to Italy. The room was quiet, save for you sniffling, ...up until a sudden voice rang out.
“You never did get the chance to give me that back.”
- Your eyes widened as you clumsily sat up and turned around. There he was, standing in the doorway to your bedroom; torn and bloodied but there. You watched as he walked inside the room, smiling at you as he took a seat on the edge of your bed. Feeling the mattress sink under his weight was what fully convinced you that you weren’t just going mad.
- Your mouth went completely dry as you looked at him. You couldn’t think of anything to say even as you tried your hardest. All you could manage to get out was a “how” and a clumsy sounding “what”.
“How ya doin y/n/n? Wonderful service wasn’t it. I was glad to see you there. I think my parents were too, they always liked you,” he said sweetly though the words held a bitter air. “You know, I was thinking about sticking around here a bit. You said I was always welcome and, well, being around the dead all the time is really starting to bum me out. I much prefer your company.
- You inched closer to him, placing a tentative hand on his cleaner shoulder before moving it to touch his undamaged cheek. His skin was cold but you could touch it as though he were really there. Letting out a sob, you lunged forward, smushing you’re lips against his cheek and pressing your forehead to the side of his head.
“Well don't get all mushy on me now.”
- True to his word, he did stay, albeit in intervals. Every now and again, he’d disappear for a while but he always came back and was seemingly content and relieved to be around you.
- Its not very long after he comes back into your life that he finally confesses his feelings. He figures that, hey, he’s dead, what else has he got to lose? So one night, just as you’re drifting off to sleep, he enters your room and kneels beside your bed, delicately shaking you awake.
“Y/n/n? I know its late but I’ve been sitting up and thinking. Thinking about my life, all the things that happened, everything I should have done. I realized that I didn’t do much at all. I mean; I should have met more people, went out more, slept around more.” he chuckled softly though it sounded more like a scoff than anything else.
“But you see, I can live with all of that, or, well... nevermind! The point is, that there was one thing that I should have done that I never did, something that I can’t just let go of. …I should have kissed you Y/n. I should have kissed you and never stopped. I was an idiot, I was an idiot because I never told you how I felt when I had the chance. Well now I’m a lousy mess of ghostly meat but I’m going to finally tell you.” He paused, taking a deep breath and trying to calm his nerves. Even in death, he was a coward.
“Y/n. I love you. I’ve loved you since the moment I saw you and never once has that love gone away; …not even in death. I know this isn’t very orthodox and that I’m not a very nice looking corpse either. …And maybe this whole thing is insane and I never should have said anything at all!” He spoke as though he finally realized how bizarre the situation was, an nervous edge in his voice. He paused and collected himself before speaking again. “…but I did say it, so now we’re just gonna have to move on from here.”
- None of his dreams could have ever prepared him for the sheer shock and joy that he felt when you told him that you liked him too.
“So you’re saying we could have been together all of this time?” You couldn’t help but laugh at the look on his face. With a tired smile, you beckoned him into your bed and laid back once again to go to sleep, this time with him by your side.
- You had your first date in your house, cuddled up on your couch and watching movies. It was just like any other day yet different at the same time. It felt right.
- The two of you shared your first kiss that same day when you were saying goodnight to each other. You were going to go to bed and he wanted to stay up a bit longer so he walked you to your bedroom. You both paused at the door before he leant down and kissed you gently, saying goodnight with a smile as you retreated into the room.
- And so, the dead joined the living... in her small studio apartment.
- Jack is sort of an indoor boyfriend so to speak. He’s a ghost; and a mangled one at that, so you can’t exactly be seen with him out in public.
- He’s a bit clingy. He’s pretty much always alone when you’re not around so he hates when you have to leave him.
- I hope you don't mind gore because his isn’t going away anytime soon.
- Please let him kiss you. Please. He is literally begging you to makeout with him.
“I know the face is a bit messy but my lips are still perfectly intact.”
- Humor is sort of a defense mechanism for him. Whenever he’s nervous or doesn’t know what to say; or how to say what he wants to say, he’ll just keep cracking jokes and trying to make you laugh in an effort to ease the tension.
- Getting surprise visits. He’ll most definitely scare you with the way he just pops up wherever you are, though its hard to stay mad at him when he says that he missed you.
- Sudden butt pinches and grabs. He puts his hands behind his back whenever you turn to look at him, glancing away and whistling before looking at you with a little devilish smile.
- Jaw kisses. He loves them and he loves giving them though he uses his for evil.
- Cuddling? He loves it though it may be a bit difficult with his …injuries. You'll usually lay side by side and hold hands while you sleep or you’ll clutch his hand to your chest and snuggle into that.
- You can’t exactly go on dates so you’ll have to find things to do at home, unless you want to go somewhere very secluded.
- Picnics in the woods.
- Late night walks. You’re pretty much only able to go out with him when it’s dark, otherwise you’ll have to pretend he’s not there which certainly puts a damper on things.
- Curling up on the couch together with some hot chocolate and a corny sitcom.
- Giving him some goddamn toast. There's not much to eat in the spirit world and god does he miss your cooking. Would you mind making him something?
- Talking to a corpse is boring. To him, you’re a much better conversationalist, even if you think you're a bad one.
- He has a bad habit of speaking when he shouldn't or saying the wrong thing. Nowadays, there’s not too many instances where that's a problem though it’s certainly earned him a few glares from you.
- Lovingly calling him meatloaf and chopped liver. He …tolerates it; only because you look at him so sweetly when you do so.
- Is he legally obligated to say your name; at least, twice during every conversation of yours? At this point, you’re honestly pretty sure he is. He doesn’t use nicknames though he doesn’t have anything against them, he just prefers saying your real name.
- He has kind eyes, doesn’t he? It seems like whenever you turn to him, he’s always gazing down at you with this sincere look of absolute adoration. It makes your heart skip a beat every time.
- Jack is a bit naive when it comes to girls or, rather, girls he’s in love with. He always believes what you say and falls for your devilish little tricks.
- David definitely teased him relentlessly for his crush on you and was betting on the two of you getting together. The circumstances aren’t the best but at least it happened, right?
- He’s a fan of old literature and makes references to it whenever he can. If he finds out you haven't read his favorite novel, he will literally sit you down and force you to.
- Teasing compliments. They aren’t the most romantic but hey, they still make you smile.
“Baby there is nothing mediocre about your body.”
- He likes sitting in your bathroom while you take a shower so that the two of you can talk. He also likes doing it so he can watch you shower but you like to focus on his interest in what you have to say, it’s much sweeter.
- He’s a horny boy, even in death. Are ghost boners a thing? Well he’s certainly gonna find out.
- Being welcomed home by a smooth jazz record and him patiently awaiting your arrival with a somewhat suggestive grin.
- Every time you say something all lovey dovey to him, he swears his heart nearly starts beating again. He never knows what to say back, he usually just turns red and laughs all shyly.
- He makes a big deal out of your birthdays, he doesn’t let you just forget about them or treat them like any other day. You’re alive! You’re another whole year older! …Fuck! …You’re aging and you’re going to keep aging.... He’ll try not to think about that part.
- Getting to hear little bits of gossip. No one can see him so he’s certainly witnessed some interesting things, interesting things he likes to tell you about.
- Nosy ghosty. He snoops around your stuff constantly. He’s practically memorized your entire house down to a T.
- Having to accept that there’s a lot of supernatural things in the world. Werewolves, ghosts, and who knows what else; they’re all real and your life has just been completely normal up until now.
- Getting to have all of your questions about death answered though some of the more painful things, he’ll keep a secret just because he doesn’t want to make you upset.
- I feel as though his looks can depend on his mood and also the type of spiritual day it is. You know how some days are considered more spiritual than others? Well on those days, he’s normal, looking very chipper and with a lot of energy. On bad days, he’s practically a skeleton with a few flaps of dried up skin.
- He usually hides away during his bad days, not wanting you to see him like that and be scared away. You reassure him that you’ll love him no matter what but a part of you is sort of thankful. You don’t know if you want to see him all horribly decomposed.
- He does get jealous. I mean, he’s a ghost, you're human. Plus, he was a loser in life, why wouldn’t you pick the attractive living guy whose hitting on you over him.
- He uses humor to pretend like he isn't bothered by the guys actions but will call him an asshole or something otherwise insulting later when you're alone together. Like out of nowhere, he’ll make some offhanded comment about the guy and you’ll realize he’s still mad about it. You just agree with him and give him a kiss.
- A part of him; a selfish, disgusting part of him wishes that you were dead. That something would happen to you, something quick and painless but something. On one hand, he wants you to live the life that he couldn't. But he also can’t help but want you with him, encased in eternity as beautiful as always and just how he remembers you.
- He used to be more of a coward but now that he’s dead, he really has nothing to fear, does he? The only thing he’s worried about is your wellbeing.
- You’re very good at changing his mind and convincing him to do things. He defends himself by saying its because he likes you so much and that you should consider yourself lucky that he does.
- He’s not stupid, maybe a bit cowardly at times but not stupid, if something doesn't feel right he’s getting the hell out of there and making sure he takes you right along with him. As much as he’d love an equally undead girlfriend, he knows you aren’t ready to go and shouldn’t be going.
- He’s quite protective of you. He hates even thinking about you being hurt in any way. He literally can’t even hear about it in hypothetical situations.
- He cant stand seeing you cry. He never knows what to say or do. He always yearns to comfort you but god, how does he do that? He’ll usually just rub your back and let you cry into his shoulder, trying his best to crack some carefully selected jokes in an attempt to make you feel better.
- He can be annoyingly persistent when he wants something. He wont let up so unless you’ve got real thick skin and the patience of a saint. You’ll wind up doing what he asks just to get him off your case. If you don’t do it for him, he’ll wind up doing it for himself anyways so don’t sweat it too much.
- There's constant short lived bickering between the two of you. It’s just how he is. He’s a smartass, especially when something bothering him and highly argumentative when something doesn’t sit right with him. You don’t have all that many real fights though.
- He apologizes when he’s in the wrong or when he feels that he could have handled things better, shyly and jokingly pleading with you to not try and exorcise him while pressing little kisses across your face.
- He doesn't say he loves you very often. He deems it a very serious thing to say and saying it makes him nervous so he keeps it reserved for special moments.
- Well, he’s not going anywhere anytime soon so I hope you’re ready for a long relationship.
#an american werewolf in london#an american werewolf in london headcanons#an american werewolf in london headcanon#an american werewolf in london imagine#an american werewolf in london imagines#80s movie imagine#80s movie imagines#80s movie headcanons#80s movie headcanon#jack goodman imagine#jack goodman headcanons#jack goodman headcanon
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yesterday I tried to find a documentary on Jim Steinman and his whole universe (bonnie tyler, meatloaf, the wierd vampyre musical) on youtube expecting that some musical theatre nerd would definitely have me covered. instead nothing except long interviews and well, this right here
a decent amount of views & comments and I’m ok with unscripted, seems like a chill “wine and dollies” style musing, her vibe is a little off but I put that down to cultural differences (self confidence and tone)... She starts out saying how Meatloaf music was background to her life because her dad liked it but her mum was a little prudish and wanted to turn the sex songs off in the car or something and the dad was saying “it’s about baseball” she’d say “no clearly it’s about sex” “nah it’s baseball” then she just drops “my mom died of cancer, maybe if she’d let loose a little, she’d not” and I’m like: @.@ LADY that is an awful lot to unpack right there hoo boy. She segues into a factoid about Meatloaf and I figure we’re actually going to start bio talk proper but instead there’s a bunch of statements that are spoken with authority but also sort of thrown around vaguely like you’re supposed to put them together which is a speaking style that I really dislike. So here’s the ride:
*Meatloaf’s dad was an abusive alcoholic OK. *children of alcholics often end up with the beginnings of schizophrenia WHAT. *alcohol in the womb is bad OK not more than a unit a day but meatloaf’s dad is the alcoholic here.*can’t smoke weed in the six months before you start to try to have a baby because they’ll have problems and be underweight WHAT NO. *babies feel their mother’s sadness and hear abusive households in the womb NO NO. *Meatloaf was called meat because he was fat OK. *overeating is an eating disorder OK *something something about comfort eating HOLD UP: if meatloaf hasn’t said anything about it, there’s half a dozen other reasons why he may have been overweight. *Meatloaf had his named changed from marvin OK. *by the way I work with people who are children of alcoholics OH NO LORD HAVE MERCY ON YOUR CLIENTS
I clicked the description to see if this was part of a series, any sources that might be more on topic and instead it’s her socials including gab 🤮 so i click her twitter and it’s all “praise 45 isn’t he wonderful” *shudder*.
So anyway the youtube algorithm is borked, this is no essay by a hobbyist like the ones i’ve been consuming all week and i’m getting flashbacks to benevolently-evil social workers and carers. I tapped out at around 10 minutes in but I can only imagine that it’s a trashfire from there on out if that’s your jam.
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At night I’d sort my dreams
X-23 x Male Reader
Request- Can I request a X-23 x Male Reader? Have the R be the son of Jean Grey and Scott Summers and that Logan becomes the R guardian after Jean and Scott die. The R does not like Logan due to knowing the thing between him, Jean, and Scott but nonetheless Logan watches over the R throughout the years and also sees a lot of resemblance of Jean & Scott in the R like having Scott/Jean personality and abilities and R having Scott’s visors and having the Phoenix emblem on his suit
You are standing in front of your parent's tombstone. You have been crying all day and you hope it's a bad dream. You are nine years old and you felt the pain of losing your parents. Logan stands behind you, he doesn't say anything or ruins your moment. Everyone knew your parents, Jean Grey and Scott Summers. You have their powers and Scott’s shades. You don't like Logan, you know the history that he had with your parents.
Logan is your guardian until you're older enough to live on your own. He lits his cigar and it's only you two around.
”Let’s go kid. They are about the close the cemetery” Logan said.
You don't say anything but you walk towards his truck. He starts to follow you and you wait for him to unlock the door. The drive home is silent and you only look out the window.
”Y/N, I know you don't like me and I can sense that. I promised them I will take care of you and I will. Ever need to talk I'm here for you” Logan said.
You don't say anything and he doesn't say anything else.
Finally arrived at Logan’s house. It's small but cozy and he showed you, your new bedroom. It's simple just a bed and a tv, you sit on the bed.
”Dinner will be ready soon. Make yourself at home” Logan said.
He went towards the kitchen and tries to figure out what to cook. An hour later, you eat dinner with Logan and he tried to make something healthy and decent, but instead just ordered pizza.
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Anything that Logan does you get annoyed by him. He isn't much of a cook but he tries his best to feed you a decent meal.
”Y/N, we have to train,” Logan said.
”What for, old man,” You said.
”You want to be an X-Men, you have to train hard. It won't be easy if you want to save people” Logan said.
”I don't want you to train not with you, old man,” You said.
”I’m not that old. You are just like your father Scott. The same attitude” Logan said.
”Whatever” You said.
All-day, you have been giving Logan a hard time. He did get annoyed by you calling him, old man.
”What is this?” You asked.
Logan tried to cook meatloaf but it's kinda burnt.
”Meatloaf, eat up,” Logan said.
”What did you use a blow torch?” You asked.
”Just eat it” Logan demand.
You mimic him and he rolled his eyes at you.
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Throughout the years, you are still living with Logan. He can see that you resemblance like your parents when it comes to your personality. He does make you train every day and you still don't like him. There were you and Logan would argue on a lot of things. You have better control when it comes to your powers, thanks to him. You always call him old man and he calls you kid.
It's your birthday on your bed there is a gift. You open the card and it says, happy birthday kid. You open the gift and it's a suit an x-men suit and it has Phoenix emblem. You sigh and you touch the symbol. You look at the photo that's on your nightstand.
”I miss you, mom and dad” Your voice cracked.
Logan yelled from the living room.
”Kid!” Logan yelled again.
You go to the living room and see a girl standing next to him.
”Who the hell is this?” You asked.
”She is my daughter and her name is Laura and goes by the name X-23,” Logan said.
”X-23 is a stupid name,” You said.
Her claws come out.
”I will show you how stupid you will look when I'm done kicking your ass!” Laura spat out.
Your eyes start to glow red.
”I’m ready to fight” You growled at her.
Logan stands in the middle.
”No one will fight under my roof. You two knock it off it now!” Logan yelled.
Your eyes aren't glowing red and Laura put her claws away. She glares at you and Logan is remained of the type of relationship he had with Scott.
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
You and Laura are still frenemies. There were times you two got along, but brush it off as if it didn't happen. Logan is training you and Laura to be the Next Generation of the X-Men.
”Is that all you got?” Laura asked.
You and Laura trained on hitting fast targets and she did better than you.
”Shut up,” You said.
”What happened to all that crap you were talking about, how you will beat me?” Laura teased.
”I said shut up!” You yelled.
You went back to the house and you hear Logan calling your name.
”We are not done training, get back out there now” Logan yelled.
”Leave me alone!” You yelled at him.
Your anger took over and you hit him with your optic force blasts. Logan didn't want to hurt you badly, so he punched you and you passed out.
”Dad, why is he angry all the time?” Laura asked.
”Today is his parents’ anniversary since they passed away. He never liked living with me but we did have good moments. You and Y/N, do remind me when Scott and I were at each other throats all the time” Logan said.
”He will be okay?” Laura asked.
”Yeah,” Logan said.
Later you did wake up and your lip hurts. Laura brings you an ice pack and you put it on your lip.
”How are you feeling?” Laura asked.
”Like crap. Thanks for the ice. Where is the old man?” You said.
”Smoking his cigar. He told me about your parents” Laura said.
”I miss them,” You said.
She sits next to you and you still have the ice pack on your lip. Laura listened to you talk about your parents and living with Logan.
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
You and Laura are now adults. You and Laura sometimes get along but mostly act like frenemies. Logan sent you two on a mission, a first real mission. It's getting late, you and Laura set up camp and fire. Laura sits close to you and it's getting cold, you and Laura start to eat the food.
”I like you,” You said.
You stuffed your mouth with food.
”What?” Laura asked.
”I like you a lot Laura a lot. I always liked you but I just didn't want to show it” You said.
Laura placed her hand on your cheek and she kissed you. After the kiss, you smiled at her and she smiles at you.
”I like you too, Y/N,” You said.
”For a minute I thought you were going to reject me,” You said.
”Because we are frenemies? Y/N, I like you too a lot if I didn't I wouldn't have kissed you” Laura said.
”I’m glad you kissed me,” You said.
She let you kiss her.
”Are we going to tell my dad?” Laura asked.
”Not yet. Just hope, your old man won't kill me” You said.
”Why, you call him old man?” Laura asked.
”I just did and he never once told me to stop calling him that. It just stuck” You said.
”If anyone else called him old man, he would have kicked their ass,” Laura said.
You nod because you agree with her.
~Next Day~
You and Laura wake up at dawn went to the facility where they keep the mutants. They are being trafficked to somewhere else, you and Laura will stop them before it's too late.
”Are you ready?” You asked.
”Yeah, let's show them how we do it,” Laura said.
You and Laura went gun blazing. The guards start to run towards you and her.
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Logan has been sick for a while now it's even worse. He is on his death bed, you and Laura are by his side.
”Laura, I know didn't say this often but I always been proud of you. I'm proud of the women you have become” Logan said.
Laura is holding his hand.
”Dad, thank you for everything. I just wish you had more time with us” Laura said and her voice cracked.
”You are strong don't ever forget that. Y/N and Laura take care of each other” Logan said.
You did start to cry and you wipe your tears away.
”I promise, I will take off her old man,” You said.
”I hate it when you call me that,” Logan said.
”No, you don't. You would have told me to stop calling you that a long time ago” You said.
”I know in the past, even tho we may not have always been buddies, I was glad to watch over you. And watch you grow and become the men that your parents would be proud of” Logan said.
”I’m grateful for everything you did. Thank you, old man” You said.
You cried more and Laura starts to rub your back. Logan passed away, you and Laura cried more.
”He will always be a legend,” You said.
You hold her and rubbed her back.
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
~Time Skip~
You and Laura got married now you two have a daughter together. She has optic blast, telepathic and adamantium. You and Laura teach her how to get used to her powers.
”Do I have to were it?” She asked about the shades.
”Yes, you have to wear it” You said.
You picked up your five-year-old daughter. She points at the picture of you and Laura as kids and in the middle is Logan.
”Is that grandpa?” She asked.
”That is my father and he is your grandpa. That’s Y/N and me when we were kids. He would train us to be X-Men, so we can save people from bad guys” Laura said.
”Grandpa, has claw-like me?” She asked.
”He does, just like you and me. And your blasts you get it from your father” Laura said.
”When you're older enough you can be an X-Men” You said.
”Yay!” She cheers.
You and Laura play in the backyard with your daughter, moments like that you and Laura enjoy the most. You and Laura start to chase her around and she is just giggling and trying to get away from you and Laura.
#x 23 imagine#x 23 x male reader#x men imagine#xmen imagine#marvel imagine#x male reader#male!reader
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TFLN prompt -- (603): my downstairs neighbor came by to say he’s having a huge loud party tomorrow, handed me a toblerone bar, and said thank you in advance for your understanding
So this was a thank you for @strangelock221b, who wanted Steve & Bucky friendship (and I couldn’t resist a little serving of Shield Shock on the side).
Looking Back To The Past, Living In The Present, Looking Forward To The Future - When Bucky ends up having to stay over at Steve's and invites Darcy to join them for an old familiar dinner, it's a night of good food and good memories between the three of them.
READ @ AO3 | BUY ME A COFFEE?
I need to crash with you tomorrow.
Steve looked at the text he’d received, bleary-eyed from lack of sleep. He lived in the Avengers Tower with most of the Avengers; Bucky did not. Bucky was still trying to get used to who he was without all the brainwashing so he’d decided to get a small walk-up in Brooklyn that had cost an arm and a leg. But it was better than the tenements, he thought, and bigger than the place Bucky had had with his family when they’d been growing up.
And, knowing Bucky as he was now, there was weaponry hidden all over the place and at least three secret exits. It was easy for him to do that since the government, after clearing him of charges due to HYDRA’s influence, had given him back pay that resulted in the millions. Bucky had bought the whole building, and even let the deli on the first floor stay rent-free. He rented out the various other apartments at a low cost to vets and homeless people trying to get off the streets, but the top floor was all his.
And just why do you need to do that? I have a date with Darcy, Steve texted back.
My downstairs neighbor came by to say he’s having a huge loud party tomorrow, handed me a Toblerone bar, and said thank you in advance for your understanding. Buddy got back from Iraq, found out he’s got twins instead of just a kid. They’re celebrating.
Don’t you have soundproofing in all the apartments? Steve texted back.
Not mine. Don’t like not being able to hear things.
Yeah, that made sense, Steve thought to himself. The Winter Soldier had a lot more enemies than Bucky Barnes did. Soundproofing the apartment would keep him from hearing if someone tried something. Okay. I’ll reschedule with Darcy, and we can hang out.
There was a pause in the conversation. She can have the Toblerone bar, I’ll cook for both of you. Your ma’s meatloaf.
It’s a deal.
–
“Now, the only difference between this and his ma’s recipe is this is Kosher. I used Kosher turkey and other Kosher ingredients.”
“A man talking my language,” Darcy said with a grin, digging in. Steve took a bite and he realized there really wasn’t much difference between using turkey and using pork or beef. He’d had beef meatloaf a lot since waking up again, but his mom’s had been based on the scrapple of their German-American neighbors, and she had used pork. “I want the recipe.”
“I can share it if Steve says I can share it. It's like I said, it’s basically his ma’s, updated, with turkey,” Bucky said, looking satisfied as Steve took another bite.
“You can share. Darcy, you should make him millionaire bars later.”
“For this recipe? I’ll make him those and better than sex brownies. My mom is on me to eat more Kosher, anyway.” She had another bite and then pointed her fork at Bucky. “I would never have pegged you as a man who likes to cook.”
“Well, keep in mind I was learning to cook in the 30s,” Bucky said before eating some of the food. “My ma had her hands full with me and my sisters, and I obviously was the protective big brother who also got into trouble on the side. Usually saving his ass,” he said, using his own fork to point at Steve.
“He doesn’t tell me many stories from back then,” Darcy said.
“I will talk your ear off on the adventures of sickly Steve,” he said, his tone a little quieter. “War stories you have to get from him.”
“No war stories tonight,” Steve said, his own tone soft. He should have realized that would be a touchy subject and warned Darcy, but she navigated well enough. “We’ll have some wine with this and talk all night, as long as you stay awake, Darce.”
“Deal,” she said, she got up and went to the refrigerator, pulling out a bottle of white wine. “I know this is like water to the two of you, but I got a nice one when I was shopping and I think I’ll enjoy it, at least.”
“I can enjoy the taste, just not the buzz,” Bucky said. “Of course, I also don’t get the headache and stomachache from drinking too much wine.”
“So I’ll drink in moderation.” She pulled down three wineglasses after she set the bottle of wine on the counter and poured out three servings. She handed one to Bucky, who was closest, and then took Steve his and sat back down, holding up her glass for a toast. “To a night of stories and I hope a lot of laughs, more so than tears.”
“L'chayim,” Bucky said. It was good hearing the words from his old friend again, Steve thought as he chorused it with Darcy. It had been a long time since he’d used any Hebrew around him, but the toast to life meant more as they were going to talk about the past and look forward to the future. Maybe this whole evening wasn’t such a bad idea after all, even if it wasn’t what he had originally planned.
#mcu#shieldshock#steve rogers#bucky barnes#darcy lewis#marvel cinematic universe#steve x darcy#fanfic#fanfiction#my au: in so few words#answering asks!#strangelock221b
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Really, Marcia?
PART THRTY-FIVE OF THE DO YOU SEE HER FACE? SERIES
Pairing: Jess Mariano x Original Character (Ella Stevens)
Warnings: mentions of parent death, mentions of anxiety, plentiful pop culture references, lack of dialogue because this is exposition and foreshadowing for the next chapter just hang in there with me friends
Word Count: 4.6K
Summary: Jess and Ella return to Stars Hollow once again during graduation season.
Dropping the bags again in the apartment above Luke’s almost made Ella want to laugh out loud. Maybe she shouldn’t have made such a big deal of leaving the diner to move to Philadelphia; she felt like she almost couldn’t escape Connecticut. The trip, this time, was planned in advance, however. Both Adam and Rory were graduating, and Jess’s new sister had been born only a week earlier. Much was to be done, many people to visit. It made Ella feel slightly overwhelmed, the prescribed familial nonsense. Going back to Stars Hollow was easier when she could just casually pop into Luke’s or her home, and then drive away in the Station Wagon with Jess in the passenger seat and Liz Phair on the radio whenever she felt compelled. But the graduation had a scheduled time, Rory’s graduation party had a scheduled time. There was no getting out of it.
For a moment, she had thought about staying back in her old room in the little blue house. She felt as though they were taking advantage of Luke staying over at his place as often as they did. But then it occurred to her that she had no real idea what her room looked like anymore. The few times she’d been over in recent years, she hadn’t even ventured past the threshold of the small hallway, her door the second on the right. She felt maybe it was better to leave the room the way it had been in her memory. She was not in the business of reopening old wounds for no reason other than curiosity.
There was also the issue of her father. Fiona had been cagey at best about Jake on the phone. Would he even show up to the graduation? Surely he would. Even Noah had traveled back home, for the first time in years, though without his fiancé. She was a nurse, and hadn’t been able to get away from the midnight shifts. He was a paralegal, though, and had been able to swing a Saturday afternoon graduation. But, still, there was a gnawing feeling in her stomach. A fear he would simply not show. He had been at her high school graduation, with his robotic hugs and teary eyes and the usual detached way about him. It hadn’t been warm and fuzzy, but he had been there for her. He had clapped as she crossed the stage. And, as far as Ella was concerned, Adam deserved more than she ever got from Jake. Adam called often, and seemed to get along rather well with Fiona, but remained flighty about their father. She could count on him changing the subject every time Jake was brought up.
“Hey! Eleanor,” Jess said, breaking her from her reverie.
She blinked harshly and jumped at the sound of his voice. Slowly, she turned her gaze away from the view of the window above Luke’s kitchen sink. Town square was decorated with florals, and the troubadour stood playing an upbeat, folksy tune on one of the corners. And, as she thought about her family, it had all struck her as a bit plastic. It seemed impossible for so much heartache to happen to her while living in a place like Stars Hollow, but it had. In spite of the sunshiney smiles and the constant offerings for help. Probably why she got along with Jess so well, who understood more than anyone she had ever met what it was to feel a pain she could truly recognize. Luke, too. She wondered at how many people milling down on the sidewalk were concealing all of their hurt for the sake of maintaining a positive, cheerful facade. The farther away the years took her from her upbringing, the more reasons she felt she was better off somewhere other than her hometown. She had never quite been able to polish her outward mold, could never keep it all under wraps. Instead, she ended up cursing out kids who tried to steal random shit from the diner or punishing herself through constant schoolwork and lack of sleep, all to keep her problems from making it from her mind to her mouth. And, most of the time, she had slipped up eventually. Once more, her father came to her mind. He hadn’t been able to wear a convincing mask, either.
“...yeah?” she asked, then looked down to realize the glass she had been filling with cold water from the tap was overflowing onto her hand.
Quickly, she shut off the sink and sipped carefully at the drink, until it was back down to a manageable level. She switched it to the other hand and shook off the wetness, though it hadn’t felt unwelcome after having just come in from the May heat. Jess smirked quizzically at her, from where he stood at the fridge. They were meant to have a late lunch and then go over to Liz’s house and meet the baby, Doula. Despite how much Luke was making fun of it, Ella couldn’t say she hated the name.
“Jeez, Stevens. Where’d you go?” Jess’s voice was lilted and smug as he pulled some leftover sandwiches from the fridge. Luke had instructed them to finish off whatever diner cast-offs they could find. It reminded Jess of his teen years, tense dinners with Luke at the small kitchen table, eating stale food which had been prepped but never actually ordered. And he felt an odd, surprising jolt of nostalgia. But his face didn’t show it.
She shook her head at herself, placing her glass down on the table and grabbing the cutlery as Jess put the leftovers out on the table buffet-style. It reminded her of the way he arranged a meal on her kitchen table the night they’d watched the prom scene of Carrie together, when he’d brought her a care package because she had a migraine and then refused to admit to it later. And, for the most fleeting of moments, she was in the past and they were the people they had once been. A fond smirk tugged at her lips as she sat down, plates and forks in hand.
“Nowhere,” she replied finally, her voice a sigh. Before Jess could ask anything further, she gave him a pointed glance as she piled some cold mashed potatoes onto her plate and continued. “You sure you’re okay going to Liz’s house today? We could always wait until tomorrow morning, then we could have an excuse to leave and go get ready for the graduation.”
He seemed to consider the idea of a moment as he took his first bite of meatloaf, then shook his head. “No. Let’s just rip the bandaid off.”
“That’s the spirit when you’re going to see a new baby,” she quipped.
“I can guarantee the baby will be easier to handle than Liz and TJ, no matter how much she cries,” Jess grumbled, looking down at his food.
Ella bit the inside of her cheek and leveled him with her eyes. Each time they returned to Stars Hollow, he seemed to get more anxious about it. At first, it was because the entire town had hated him as a teen. But it got much worse when Liz moved there. She thought it strange how much everyone seemed to discount how Jess felt about this, how much Luke complained about her. How much they expected Jess to get over what he was feeling and play dutiful son. It reminded her of the way she felt she needed to treat her own father after her mother died. Though the sexist bullshit about her being the ‘woman of the house’ had also played a part. She knew how Luke felt about family, how he would always show up for family regardless of circumstance. Maybe Jess was the same way, loyal to a fault. But maybe it was only for his chosen family. Maybe the rest of it was more because of all the outward pressure he faced.
She reached over and ran a hand through his hand, smoothing it out. For a moment, she thought of saying something, but decided it wasn’t the right time to start a conversation about Jess’s childhood, or the lingering effects he still wouldn’t acknowledge. Not right before seeing his mother. She was trying hard lately to be patient, despite the way his eyes became guarded at the mention of his new sister or his mother, or the increased frequency of his nightmares. It was getting worse before her eyes and she didn’t know why. But Jess was Jess. And he wasn’t going to see it until he was ready to. It almost physically pained her, the effort of swallowing down the words, but she bit her tongue nonetheless.
He offered her a lazy, lopsided smile in return.
. . .
His grip on her hand was tight as they made their way into Liz and TJ’s house, just as gaudy and eclectic as Ella remembered from the baby shower. She might’ve even found it charming if it weren’t for the screaming color of the decor. The place smelled of burnt toast and sour milk, and Ella was instantly glad she and Jess had chosen to eat beforehand, just in case Liz asked them to stay for dinner. The scent was overpowered only by the strong perfume Liz was wearing, which Ella couldn’t ignore as Liz pulled her in for a big hug of greeting.
“Come in, come in,” Liz said in her high, sing-song voice as she led them down the front hall and into the living room. “She’s just waking up from nap!”
The room was littered with toys, empty bottles, blankets, story books Doula wouldn’t be able to read for years. But it was sweet. Ella could see how much they’d been preparing, planning. For a second, she was relieved about it, but then the feeling mixed with a distasteful sadness. Jess had never specifically addressed his bedtime routine as a child, but Ella was fairly positive Liz had never read him Goodnight Moon. She gave his hand a final squeeze before disentangling their fingers and sitting down on the paisley patterned couch. Liz lifted Doula up from the bassinet in the corner by the rocking chair. Ella could barely see the baby beneath the patchwork quilt she was swaddled in. Doula fussed for a moment, and Liz smiled at the two of them apologetically.
“She needs a change. I’ll be right back!” she said, retreating back into the bedroom. “Make yourselves comfortable!”
“Okay. Thanks,” Ella replied cordially. She looked back at Jess as his mother exited the room. “You okay?”
He shrugged, his eyes surveying the clutter. “I guess so. It’s just weird still. All of this.”
Ella hummed, nodding.
“And I’m not really used to the whole baby thing yet. I’ve never even held one before,” Jess said, slightly sheepish and slightly curious. He crossed his arms over the Metallica logo on his worn t-shirt. He’d taken a half day working at Truncheon before they left for Connecticut, and was always happy to change into less professional attire after his shifts.
“I know, but it’ll be easy. Unless TJ pops out and sings that song the frog does in Looney Tunes. Then is the only instance when you’d be even slightly at risk of dropping her,” Ella assured him, leaning back into the overstuffed couch.
She’d gleaned from their conversation the night before that his inexperience with children was also not helping his nerves. The only time she’d ever recalled Jess interacting with kids for any real length of time was the one Thanksgiving she’d brought him to meet her family. But even then, she’d been surprised how easily he’d wowed Erin with his card tricks, and played along with her jokes. Not something she’d exactly expected from the boy who wore a battered leather jacket and a constant scowl and a scarred heart on his sleeve.
“Why do you always worry he’s gonna do that?” Jess asked, cracking a smile for the first time since they’d walked in.
“I told you! He sang it to me one time when I was working and he was hanging out at the diner. He was trying to figure out what song to serenade your mom with,” she explained, eyes wide and utterly serious. “I was just wiping down the counter, minding my own business, and he just appeared, like, right over my shoulder.”
Jess rolled his eyes at the story, remembering when Ella had first told him about it over one of their phone calls, back when they were hundreds of miles apart. “Well, it doesn’t seem like he’s here right now.”
“I didn’t think he was in the diner when it happened,” Ella countered, her voice jokingly grave.
Jess chuckled but didn’t have a chance to respond as Liz reentered the room. A large smile stood out on her face, the baby dressed in a soft punk onesie in her arms. Doula squirmed around a little and cooed, but didn’t seem altogether unhappy.
“Ready to meet your little sister, Jess?” Liz asked, coming over and preparing to put Doula in Jess’s arms before he even had a chance to answer.
“Guess so,” he muttered hastily, eyes widening.
“Just be careful with her head,” Ella offered, watching as Liz hovered over her son, placing her daughter’s head in the crook of his arm.
Jess was surprised at how naturally his other arm moved to cradle her. She felt so light, it was as though he was holding nothing at all. Her skin was slightly flushed from the warmth of the quilt she’d been napping in, and he could feel the heat against his arms and his chest, through his t-shirt. His heart fluttered around anxiously in his chest, and he couldn’t help the slight trembling in his hands, but he was pretty sure he had a good grip on her. Liz straightened up again, looking down at the two of them. Jess almost couldn’t take his eyes off the baby, embarrassed at how awestruck he was. Ella’s nieces were the youngest kids he had ever been in contact with. He had never met someone when they were only a week old before.
“Isn’t she something?” Liz said, hands on her hips. “She looked a lot like Danny Devito when she first came out, but I think she’s finally getting past that early ugly baby phase.”
Jess hummed in absent acknowledgement, but said nothing. Doula had thin wisps of blonde hair, and pudgy, rosy cheeks. Her fingers were curled into small fists, her legs scrunched up. He wondered vaguely if she was going to fall back asleep, since it seemed she couldn’t keep her eyes open for very long. She smelled like rash cream, but he couldn’t bring himself to be annoyed at it.
“Yeah, she’s beautiful, Liz,” Ella answered, though her gaze went back and forth between the baby and Jess. She couldn’t think of a time when she’d seen his eyes so clear and full of wonder before. She’d been too young to hold a newborn when Adam arrived, but she remembered the feeling of holding Erin as a baby, in the hospital just hours after Julie had given birth to her. It was certainly a unique feeling, and she felt her heart swell at the thought of Jess getting to experience it.
Glancing back at the kitchen for a moment, Liz once again gained a frantic tone in her voice. But, after having known her for so long, Ella knew it wasn’t unusual. Liz was the kind of person who put her coffee cup on the top of her car while unlocking the door, and then drove away without remembering it, the mug shattering and coffee splattering on the road behind her.
“Damn, I was just makin’ a bottle when you guys got here. TJ usually does that stuff, but dinner got a little burned. He had to go get some Plan B takeout. Let me finish with the formula,” Liz said, making her way back towards the opening into the kitchen. “You guys okay with her for a second?”
“Yeah. Fine,” Jess answered, surprising Ella.
Just as Liz left again, Doula opened her eyes once more. But instead of letting them shut, she kept them open. She stared up at Jess, her large brown eyes meeting his and doing their best to focus on his face.
“She’s got a withering stare,” he murmured.
“Isn’t so hard, is it?” Ella shifted a little closer to him, leaning over his shoulder to see Doula. “You didn’t have to be nervous.”
“Yeah, maybe not,” Jess said quietly, a small smile on his face as he glanced over at Ella.
. . .
Back when she graduated high school, there had been rain. The day before, they’d had to move the ceremony preparation into the small auditorium. People were squished inside, standing up in the aisles once the seats ran out. Ella’s valedictorian speech had been a bit more than daunting with a bunch of irritated family and friends facing her, those who had traveled miles to Stars Hollow only to be packed into the smelly room like sardines. She supposed having graduation outside in the gazebo was better. The class size was small at Stars Hollow High, but it was best when everyone still had personal space. The one downside was the heat. Connecticut was not usually up near ninety degrees in late May, but a pocket of dry air was currently sitting atop the state, moving at a glacial pace.
Ella and Jess had sat sweating on some lawn chairs. While Julie and her husband Michael, who still lived in the same small house in New Britain, were on Ella’s other side, trying to get their girls to sit through the ceremony to moderate success. Annie’s wild curls were blowing in the scorching wind as she sat on her father’s lap, reading the small storybook she’d brought with her. Erin, on the other hand, just about to cross over into adolescence and middle school, had folded her arms sullenly over her chest and rolled her eyes at nearly every name called up to receive a diploma. Ella didn’t imagine she would’ve reacted much better at that age, being forced to sit out in the heat for hours only to watch Adam be handed a piece of paper. Noah had been on the far side of their row of seats, in his plain clothes, looking stoic as usual. He would be leaving just after the fanfare ended. He’d stayed at a motel the night before, with perhaps even less desire to stay in the little blue house than Ella had.
The valedictorian speeches were actually pretty good, but long. Adam would’ve been giving one if he hadn’t stopped trying in every one of his classes except for those involving science during his senior year. Ella respected the decision though. She had never found any application for calculus in adult life, no matter how hard she had worked at it in high school.
Fiona and Jake had shown up, together for some reason, ten minutes late. No seats were left near Ella, or anyone else in the family. Instead, they were relegated to the far back row. Her brows furrowed at their entrance, but they didn’t get close enough to Ella for her to say anything. Jess had brought her arm around her shoulder as she watched them pass her without so much as a look, and took to whispering jokes about their old principal in her ear. It didn’t work as well to distract her as he had hoped, but it had still earned him a laugh or two, which was far from nothing.
As they all stood around afterwards, under the shade of some trees behind the old gazebo, congratulating Adam, Ella couldn’t shake the thoughts of her parents from her mind. She wondered how different the day would be if her mother had lived. Would her parents still be together? Probably. Despite the problems they hid, the ones Ella had become more aware of the older she got, they did love each other. No matter how much her mother laid down and took Jake’s outbursts and his alcoholism, and no matter how much her father ignored Sophia’s distracted nature and inability to decide on anything in life, they loved each other. And, the thought struck her suddenly, that maybe everything would have been easier to swallow if they hadn’t loved each other so much. It would have been easier to accept how quickly everything fell apart, and how quickly her father had found someone new to fill the hole in his heart.
“You okay?” Jess asked, close to her ear as they lingered amongst the group, pictures having been taken and pleasantries having been exchanged.
“Just peachy,” she replied, unable to hide the bitterness in her voice.
“Yeah, I can see that,” he said, pressing a kiss to the crown on her head and giving her hand another squeeze. It hadn’t taken him long to gather how angry seeing her father again had made Ella. He wondered when the last time had been.
“I could do without the Brady Bunch performance,” she whispered back to him, gesturing to the members of her family as they continued with fabricated niceties.
“Really, Marcia? But you’re the oldest sister! That means you would’ve been prom queen!” Jess teased.
She rolled her eyes and snorted a laugh. “Whatever, Wally Logan.”
Approaching the two of them with narrowed eyes, Erin still had her arms crossed over her frilly dress. She had more than one bandaid on each knee, and she had already pulled the french braid out of her red hair. Speaking mostly to Ella, she sized Jess up.
“I remember him,” Erin said suspiciously.
A confused, bemused grin crossed Ella’s face. “Yeah. At Thanksgiving. You were like five. You remember that?”
“I have a really good memory,” Erin said, shrugging, confident and casual.
Ella chuckled at the flippant ten-year-old.
“Photographic, huh?” Jess asked, eyebrows raised.
“Pretty close,” Erin replied, then focused her eyes back on Ella. “Did you ever figure out his middle name?”
“Sure did,” Ella answered, smirk growing. “You wanna hear it?”
“Of course,” Erin said. “I know for a fact it’s not Santa Claus.”
Jess rolled his eyes.
Ella leaned down and whispered in Erin’s ear. Straightening up again, Ella watched Erin’s gaze roam over to Jess doubtfully.
“What kind of a name is Cosmo?” Erin asked.
“Listen, my mom’s into crystals and-” Jess began, but Michael called Erin over for something.
“Gotta go,” Erin said, and skipped off towards her father without another word.
“C’mon, Elle,” Jess groaned, a blush creeping up his neck and warming the tips of his ears.
She chuckled, nudging him with her shoulder. “Sorry, Cosmo.”
Before Jess was able to retort, Fiona and Jake approached them. Considering they were split up, the peculiarity of the two of them arriving together wasn’t lost on anyone, not that it would ever be mentioned. At a closer proximity, Ella was surprised to see how different Jake looked. His hair was greyer, he was skinnier, there were dark circles under his eyes. Whatever has been going on in Maryland didn’t seem to be conducive to health. She had to bite back her sigh at the sight of him. Fiona was more or less the same, though Ella had visited her more or less recently. She couldn’t remember the last time she had laid eyes on her father. The shadow of the man he had been when she was a child was almost completely gone. Her heart twisted painfully in her chest.
“Hey, kids,” Fiona said, giving Ella a quick hug.
“Oh, hi,” Ella chirped, surprised at her instant warmth.
She also hugged Jess, shocking everyone involved.
“So good to see you guys! How are things in Philly? Adam tells me you just got a new apartment?” Fiona asked, buzzing and bubbly. Her black hair was cropped close to her head. Ella remembered how she used to let apprentices at the beauty salon experiment on her locks during breaks.
“Yeah, we’ve been there about a month,” Ella said. “It’s only a few blocks over from school. I can walk there.”
“How nice,” Fiona smiled.
“It is,” Jess agreed.
Shifting uncomfortably from foot-to-foot, Jake finally interjected. “Hi, Ellie.”
“Hey, dad,” she said, biting the inside of her cheek.
“Young man,” Jake greeted Jess coldly, nodding.
Jess gave a curt nod and a thin-lipped smile in response.
There was a long pause before anyone spoke again, filled with distant, amiable chatter of other families and shrieks of congratulations. Out of the corner of her eye, Ella could see Adam was already off with his friends. Soon, they would be headed to dinner and Project Graduation. Part of Ella was glad Adam didn’t want a big day of family celebration. No one would’ve survived any extended period of false positivity.
“I see you’ve got tattoos now, Ellie,” Jake said, looking down at the tulip on her arm, exposed in her spaghetti strap dress. “Your mother would’ve called that sinful, you know.”
The corners of Ella’s lips tugged up into a resentful smile, the words dripping with venom as they left her mouth before she could stop them. “Well, it’s a good thing she’s dead then, isn’t it?”
Both Fiona and Jake’s jaws dropped and it seemed all the oxygen had been sucked out of the air around them. Ella’s stomach dropped and she brought her hand over her mouth just after she said it. Her hazel eyes grew to the size of saucers. Immediately, Jess took her by the shoulders and began leading her in the direction of the diner, blurting out excuses.
“Hey, nice to see you folks, but we have to get to Rory’s graduation party tonight and it’d be pretty rude if we were late so…” he trailed off, stopping once they were far enough away, leaving Fiona and Jake flabbergasted and speechless.
“Oh my god,” Ella muttered, chewing at her thumbnail for the first time in what felt like forever. “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. I was gonna try to be nice if he came, because...at least he showed up, right? Fuck. Oh my god. Jess. Oh my god.”
“It’s okay, Daria. Just try to relax,” Jess breathed, steering her towards the diner as she instantly began melting down.
“I can’t relax, Jess! Don’t fucking tell me to relax! Did you hear that?! Did you hear what I just said?!” she muttered hastily. “Fuck me! Fuck! Every time I see him, my fucking mouth-”
“Hey, language!” Luke scolded her as they entered the diner, the bell jingling jovially above the door. There were only a few customers scattered around, the mid-afternoon lull.
“God, Luke, I thought age was supposed to negatively affect your hearing!” Ella snapped as Jess directed her to a stool and sat her down, hopping up on the seat next to her.
“Joe Pesci here is having a bad day,” Jess explained shortly as Luke shot Ella a bewildered stare.
“What happened?” Luke asked, arching a brow.
Ella heaved a great sigh and placed her head in her hands, elbows on the counter. “Bigmouth has struck again. And apparently she has even less of a filter now than she did in high school!”
“Right,” Luke said, increasingly confused.
Running a hand up and down over Ella’s back as she continued fuming, Jess gave Luke a dejected glance. “Green tea?”
A shadow of realization passed over Luke’s face. “Comin’ right up.”
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Experience Tonga Toast at Disney World's Kona Cafe
I didn’t mean to do two breakfast recipes this week… And I didn’t mean to do yet another recipe from Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort… Yet, here we are. I can’t help it. I love that resort and I adore their food options. What other place has more classic dining experiences under one roof than Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort?
Dole Whips, chicken wings, welcome bread… It’s all amazing! But what food-related profile of Disney’ Polynesian Village Resort would be complete without mentioning possibly the most famous, the most sought after, the most coveted breakfast of all?
More Delicious Recipes You Will Love:
- Tie-dye Cheesecake – Disney’s Pop Century Resort
- Tostadas De Tinga – San Angel Inn
- Wolfgang Puck Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf – Wolfgang Puck Express
That’s right… Tonga toast.
Oh, Tonga toast… Let’s talk about the fanatical, devoted fanbase that people have for Tonga pineapple pancakes and Tonga toast. You wake up to that smell every morning? You just have to have it. You can’t blame them for being practically obsessed with it.
And the people not at the Polynesian? Let’s just say I’ve seen some insane daily plans from people, plans that involve getting up super early, taking multiple buses, or walking a mile just so they can get to the Polynesian to have their slice of Tonga toast. It’s no joke people…
Tonga toast is a big thing.toast. The Run Disney runners are obsessed with it because it’s a bounty of perfect race foods… Bananas, carb-loaded toast, heaping piles of sugar. I think Kona Cafe becomes on par with Be Our Guest during race weekends in terms of how hard it is to get a reservation. Runners want their Tonga toast. Guests at Disney’s Polynesian Village resort are equally as obsessed with the stuff. How can they not be? Every morning the only smell that hits you in the lobby is
I didn’t get the magic of the Tonga toast until I stayed at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort for the second time. On our last day, my mom had ordered it at Kona and I tried a bite. That one bite left me hooked.
It was sweet banana heaven on a plate (my mom didn’t like it… She’s not a fan of French toast… I know, she’s crazy). I very nearly regretted ordering the pineapple pancakes instead. Nearly… I’m obsessed with pineapple.
Anyway, this is like an eggless banana-stuffed french toast meets sweet Monte Cristo sandwich. Banana is stuffed in bread, deep fried until golden, drenched with sugar and cinnamon and served warm, sometimes with syrup, sometimes without. Occasionally people get a strawberry puree drizzle on top and I’ve seen one strange soul claim that ketchup (?!) on it is the bomb.
This recipe made my mouth and my tummy so happy (then immediately made it sad again because I’m on a diet for the Wine and Dine Half Marathon and sugar coated toast isn’t part of the training plan). This tastes exactly, to the smallest detail, exactly like what they serve at Kona Cafe.
Sweet, warm, banana so warm it’s gooey, crunchy, and just plain good. It smells like heaven, it tastes like heaven. Put a blindfold on me and turn on some tropical music and I’d tell you I was sitting in a gorgeous tropical-themed lobby of one of my favorite resorts getting ready to grab a monoral for a day at EPCOT.
The morning before the half marathon in November, I have a breakfast scheduled at Kona for 7:30. I’m going to go, load up my plate, and eat this like I’m about to run 13.1 miles and not regret a bite of it. I can’t remember a recipe that’s made me this antsy to get back to Walt Disney World as this one has.
In addition to the delicious food and recipes, Disney World is also known for its unique dining experiences, such as character dining and themed restaurants. Whether you want to have breakfast with Mickey Mouse, dine in a replica of a sci-fi drive-in theater at Hollywood Studios, or enjoy a meal with an ocean view at the Coral Reef Restaurant in Epcot, there's something for everyone. And with the help of Recipes Today and the How to Make category, you can even recreate some of these magical dining experiences in your own home. So why not start planning your next Disney-inspired meal or dining experience today?
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Lessons in Love (Bucky x Reader) - Part 14
Synopsis: A much needed moment of happiness occurs during finals stress.
Words: 1568
Warnings: mentions of smut
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Part 11
Part 12
Part 13
Your notes were spread out over the floor of the living room. You were sitting with your back against the armrest of the sofa, your eyes closed, your lips moving as you worked through a page of handwritten notes. You could hear Bucky in the background, his noise mingling with the noises from the street drifting through the open window. You sighed and opened your eyes.
“Do you have to be so loud?” you called over your shoulder.
“I’m cooking for you,” he called back.
“I can literally feel it in my brain when you bang those pans together,” you replied.
“Would you rather I bang you?”
You turned, looking at him as he lent over the couch towards you. You laughed, pushing his face away before it could come close to you. You did not have the time to be distracted by his hot kisses and hard body. Even if the thought was enough to make you squirm.
You bent over the paper again, reading your notes, whispering them under your breath. It was hard to ignore Bucky when you were in the same space as him but he’d refused to let you stay at home since all the shit with Adam had gone down. What had started as a week had turned much longer. You’d made sure Mel was okay, calling her every single day. Adam had shown up for a while but seemed to have given up for the time being. Bucky was being overprotective, and although at times infuriating, you had to admit it was rather sweet.
A steaming plate full of food was slid in front of you. You looked up at Bucky, giving him a soft smile. He sat across from you, his own plate of food in his lap. You put your notes aside, willing to take a quick break for food.
“What is this?” you asked, poking at the lump with your fork.
“Meatloaf, my mom’s recipe,” he replied
“I didn’t know you have a mom,” you said, shoving food into your mouth.
“Of course I have a mom,” he said.
“What about a dad?” you asked.
“I have one of those too,” he replied.
“Is that all I’m going to know?” you asked.
“Noting much else to tell,” he replied, “I haven’t seen them in years.”
“Why?” you asked.
“Life.” He shrugged, “I stopped having time.”
“But where are they?” you asked.
“Brooklyn,” he replied.
You stared at him. His parents were practically down the street and he hadn’t bothered to go see them. It blew your mind. You couldn’t imagine not seeing your parents for years. Despite your differences, you loved your parents.
“You and I are very different people,” you said, pulling your notes back into your lap.
“Are we?” he asked.
“Different enough,” you replied, absently shovelling more food into your mouth.
You heard him scoff but he didn’t try to argue. He left you to it, eating his own food while you tried to cram more information into your brain. You ignored him, even when he got up and took your empty plate into the kitchen.
The sound of him washing up was comforting in its domesticity. It surprised you how much you enjoyed listening to him living his life adjacent to yours. It brought you back to happier times, when the only thing you had to worry about was what you would be making for dinner.
You shook your head, trying to get the thoughts out of your head. This was nothing like being married to Adam. The two weren’t even comparable. You wouldn’t put Bucky and Adam in the same thought. You refused to think about them being anything alike.
You tried to concentrate on your notes, but Bucky was humming under his breath and it was hard to not focus on it. You watched him, the way the sunlight was playing across the skin of his bare back, the way he seemed so at ease. You’d never seen him this relaxed.
“Do you ever wonder what decision led to your life becoming what it is?” you asked.
You stood up, making your way over to him. He glanced over his shoulder at you, smiling when he saw you advancing on him. You wrapped your arms around his waist, pressing your face between his shoulder blades. His skin was warm and soft, like velvet against your cheek.
“I’d say it was when I agreed to be friends with the skinny little kid from next door,” he said
“Was that Steve?” you asked.
“He was the runt of the litter,” he said, “I could pin his with one arm tied behind my back.”
“Did you do that often?” you asked.
“Only once. He threatened to fight me after he caught me stealing a loaf of bread from his mother,” he said, “from that day on we were best friends.”
“Boys are weird.”
He barked out a laugh. You smiled too, enjoying the sound of him laughing. It always surprised, which in itself was sad. But you had to enjoy it where you could, because you couldn’t guess when you’d next hear it. You pressed a kiss to his skin.
“I miss the days of friendships being that easy, when it was as simple as just asking” you said, drawing away from him, “I remember walking up to someone on the first day of school and telling them I wanted to be their friend. We were inseparable for years.”
“What happened?” he asked, turning to look at you.
“Their family moved away and I never heard from them again. It was truely a tragedy for the ages, like Shakespeare. But I picked myself up and I continued on, even if life has never been quite the same.”
He crossed his arms over his chest but he was still smiling. You smiled back, pulling his arms from his chest. He wrapped them around your waist instead, pulling you against his chest. You slung your arms around his neck, tangling your fingers in the hair at the nape of his neck.
“Would you be my friend Bucky Barnes?” you asked.
He didn’t answer but pressed his lips to yours. You chuckled, but let him swing you around. He hefted you up onto the bench, his hands pulling your hips towards him. You wrapped your legs around him, keeping him pinned against you.
He trialed his lips to the underside of your jaw, his teeth scraping against the vulnerable skin. You arched your neck, tugging on his hair. He growled, his tongue soothing over the pain of teeth. You mewled, pulling his hair hard enough to earn a hiss of displeasure. He pulled away from you, his eyes stormy, his fingers digging into your skin.
“I won’t be if you keep doing that,” he said.
“I thought you liked it rough.” You batted your eyelashes at him.
He chuckled but let you go, going back to the half finished dishes. You continued to sit there, watching him. He threw a tea towel at you, vaguely damp and unpleasant.
“If you’re going to sit there, at least be helpful,” he said.
“I am being helpful,” you said with a pout, “I’m adding to the beauty of the room.”
He didn’t argue with you but you took the plates he handed you anyway, drying them as best you could with such a terrible towel. You placed each on carefully in the dish rack, hoping he wouldn’t tell you that you were doing it wrong. It wouldn’t be the first time that had happened to you.
“I think I got here because I shared my lunch with a kid who had sold all of his to save up for a trip to Disneyland,” you said.
“You’re husband?”
You hummed in agreement, not wanting to look at him. You kept your eyes trained on the plate you were holding, running the towel over it again and again and again.
“He always made me feel sorry for him, always. And I always wanted to help,” you said, “it’s strange looking back. It all seemed so normal and it didn’t matter that I was always the one giving, because I knew he loved me. If I took away the love it was just one person taking advantage of another person’s kindness. I didn’t realise that until I knew there was never any love.”
“There isn’t anything wrong with being nice,” he said.
“You’re not nice,” you pointed out.
“For your information I’m very nice,” he said.
You looked up, a smile playing at the corners of your lips. He was smiling lopsidedly at you. He flicked you with the water on his hands. You laughed, jumping off the bench and putting the plate in the rack.
“Prove it.”
You sauntered away from him and settled yourself on the sofa again. He followed, taking his seat on the floor in front of you.
“Let me help you,” he said.
“You could help me by telling me what’s going to be on the exam,” you replied.
“That would be cheating,” he replied, “I could lose my job over that.”
“There’s plenty of things you could lose your job over.”
He laughed again, but shook his head. He held out his hands for your notes. You handed them over, settling yourself more comfortably on the sofa. He grinned at you from over the top of the paper.
Tags: @libellule2001 @sebs-daybreak @grim-adventures58
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