#little did she know this whole production was happening lol

[beta-adjacent]

Playlist Makes Brain Go Brrrrr

First off, the playlist in question here was created by the amazing @softomegaposting. They did and excellent job I'd highly recommend listening to it first, especially if you weren't familiar with the songs like me!

Vibe Assessment

I was really struggling to describe the tone of this playlist. To solve that, I....may or may not have roped in some of my irl music-loving friends.

I challenged myself to describe this playlist without mentioning omegaverse. These are the phrases I came up with: "utopian domesticity and All its vile implications", "calming your lover down like they're a feral animal", "you've been reduced to your body and pray you will transcend physicality", "bawling your eyes out as the credits of an indie romcom roll", and "healing a debutante of her tuberculosis despite knowing her illness is prized".

After many listen-throughs, I still stand by these descriptions, except for the tuberculosis one (though it has great potential to be for another dynamic).

I think it's interesting how you found songs that have shockingly great parallels to omegas. "Froot", "Calm Me Down", and "One Day Robots Will Cry" FLOORED me when I first heard them because of this. I thought the religious aspect to some of the songs was interesting; not only were they good portrayals of that nuanced worship, but it also fit into the late 20th century domesticity theme?? I don't know, it's just *chef's kiss*

Song Reccs

Dicslaimer

What this is: Chai trying their best at using their and their friends' knowledge to find songs that Chai would include if this were their playlist. Chai is heavily biased by their musical background, and tries their best to explain the issues they have with each recc What this is NOT: Chai stating that these songs should actually be added, that these are the perfect/most-fitting songs for the playlist, or that these songs were chosen purely through an objective pattern-seeking lens

Friend's picks:

"Video Games" by Lana del Rey, "Abandoned" by Alexander Ryback,

Putting this category first because it's the shortest and also incomplete since I'm still waiting on another friend's reccs. To be fair, my friends had way more suggestions than this, but these were the only two I felt really fit the themes described? But they're, naturally, missing the canine edge

My picks:

"Sweet Nothing" by Taylor Swift, "Grenadine" by Dreadlight, "Impostor Syndrome" by Sidney Gish, "Los Angeles" by Sugarcult,

"Sweet Nothing" hurts the most if it's played directly after "Hey Good Lookin", which is what took it out of the Honorable Mentions category tbh. It is the only song I believe actively captures one of the listed descriptors

"Grenadine" feels like it has the most on-the-nose for feral animal energy, but I also feel like it doesn't nail the theme 100%? It has more of a 'man-eater' vibe than anything

"Impostor Syndrome" is just a personal favorite of mine, omegaverse aside. Content-wise, a song about feeling disturbingly different/lesser than others feels very omega-coded, at least by many verses' standards. Lines like "these sweet instincts/ruin my life" and "for canine/grossly overqualified" are just icing on the cake

LISTEN!!! “Los Angeles” is THE typical omegean heat story. This is the hardest song to place in the descriptors, since it's describing a common trope instead of the psyche of an omega, but I've thought about this song for too long to not mention it. There's something very omega in struggling between intimacy and just getting through the day, especially as you try to fight against the "heat".

Honorable mentions:

"Summertime" by Dutch Criminal Records, "Sirens" by Elefant, "Sanctuary" by Utada, "The Detail" by Delta Sleep, "Self Defense" by Paul Westerberg, "The Garden" by the Crane Wives

Out of all of these, I think "The Garden" is the strongest, but I couldn't sit down and explain why to you if I tried :')

"Sanctuary" is here because I listened to FOB's "Church" and heard the singular word 'santcuary'. And then I read the lyrics and debated for 20 minutes on if this was a good addition, so I compromised and put it here

"Self Defense" first entered the scene for the 'cheekbones and hormones' line, and remained because it felt on-theme in its somberness

"Summertime", "Sirens", and "the Detail" were just ones that stood out when I was pilfering through Spotify, and fit the musical themes enough for me to say "fuck it, someone could reasonably interpolate this probably"

A few other artists I listened to on the quest for suitable reccs: Owl City, The Smith's, Crystal Castles, The Pierces, Melanie Martinez, the Front Bottoms, and the Barbie album (haven't seen the movie yet either oops). I wish I could've gone through so much more, but life really caught up to me

#fun fact: day 3 into my research I rb'd the original post and cass said I didn't have to do any reccs #little did she know this whole production was happening lol #I think overall this took me... 5(?) days?? #I don't quite know Why my brain decided this was the penultimate project for me to take on this week but it is what it is #omegaverse playist #omegaverse #a/b/o #Spotify

[mayakern]

hiiii it's me! devin! ur favorite!

maya is still banned from doing big business things on social media while she takes time to rest and detoxify from the poison that is running social media full time for ten years. everybody clap! yay!

i'm here to share some info on our button-up shirt and dress preorders!

as many of you already know, i lost my anti-preorder campaign due to the high minimum per design. there's been some confusion and uncertainty. carsyn's doing her best but preorders are overwhelming and i have some time today

SO TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS:

how close are you to hitting the minimum goal for the button-up shirts and dresses?

not close lol. as of 4/26 we're at about 8% funded. i refuse to panic until after may 3rd

why the funeral design?

the funeral design won our design poll

initially we were going to run preorders for two designs: funeral as well as astronauts. when we got news that the minimum would be 400 garments per design (we're able to spread that across the button-up shirts and dresses) we decided to cut back to one design. we're really not big enough to expect 800 orders on an $80-90 item

why not another design?

another design did not win the design poll

what would have been chosen other than funeral or astronaut?

deadly florals, hiss from a rose, microorganisms, and hands were all the top placers in the design poll after funeral

can you do solid color?

yes

why didn't you do solid color?

you can buy a solid color button-up shirt or dress from anywhere. the plan has always been to introduce these garments in solid color after their initial introduction

...so can you do solid color?

we will consider doing solid color preorders if these preorders bomb

how much would solid color cost?

probably the same. it's not much cheaper. it's faster to make tho

how much would the ecovero viscose cost instead of cotton?

maybe like $10 cheaper

it's really soft tbh but it's a different weave from the viscose for the skirts. it's my number one fabric for the button-ups but alas the cotton fandom won for now

what happens if preorders bomb?

we cancel and refund all preorders.

maybe we'll try again with a different design or with fewer features after we have some time to decompress from the nightmare that is running preorders (can you tell i hate preorders). if they bomb bad enough we may completely nix patterned button-up shirts and dresses. we don't know yet!

does that affect the picnic top?

the picnic top is completely separate. since it's made out of a different fabric it has its own minimum, so it will not be affected by button-up shirt and dress preorders

and like, to be totally honest, it's way cheaper to produce. we can eat some of the cost and just make them. they're small enough to store easily and they're at a lower price point so we can expect to sell them after we receive them, like the wrap tops

btw, we have other ready-to-ship things already in production. we've been working on a whole secret project. surprise!

why did you launch preorders for the button-up shirt/dress at the same time as the picnic top?

the picnic top sample came in with the button-up dress sample and it needed very little alteration. also maya liked it. also we may be developing an entire line inspired by the picnic top so keep an eye out for that next spring

why is the new button-up shirt more expensive than the old button-up shirt?

it's more expensive to make

why is it more expensive to make?

this is a different factory from the one we used before. it's more expensive because they pay their staff a higher wage and likely have other costs

this is a different fabric from the one we used before. it's a stretch cotton with a GOTS certification

this is imported from a different country from the one we used before. turkey has much higher import fees to the US

what is a GOTS certification?

the short version is the fabric itself is more environmentally friendly and produced with more fair labor practices than standard cotton

you can read the long version here here

can you do fulfillment from somewhere other than the US?

we're working on it. it probably won't lower prices tho, since fulfillment centers also cost money

anyway...

none of this is to shame someone for not preordering. groceries are expensive and things are tight, plus it kinda sucks to spend on a tight budget and not get what you ordered for a few months

(can you tell i hate preorders)

i think there's a lot of surprise since we've never done preorders on a single design before, and that's fair! we debated on doing a kickstarter but a) i hate doing kickstarters b) kickstarter takes a percentage of sales and our profit margin on these is already lower than we'd like it to be

i'm tired and i can't remember anything else i wanted to say. i may answer any additional questions from my own tumblr (@punchyemblem and now i'm gonna get a notification that i'm gonna be jumpscared by) but carsyn will be handling most questions

also don't worry, when you say nice things we still show maya. also she's fine, she's just in her (forced and highly necessary and possibly permanent) limited social media era

#devin time #store stuff

[loveroftoomanyfandoms]

Cooking Up Love, Chapter 14

Pairing: Chef!Matt Murdock x F!Journalist!Reader

Rating: T

Story Summary: Here 

Warnings/Tags: Hallmark levels of fluffy, cheesy goodness (and speed that their relationship develops, lol), no use of Y/N, Matt is not a vigilante, idiots in love, revenge is sweet 😉

Word Count: ~3800

A/N: A heartfelt thanks to everyone who has read, liked, reblogged, and/or commented on this not-so-little self-indulgent Chef AU of mine -- like Chef Matt, I appreciate each and every one of you.

I would be remiss if I didn't give a special shout-out to the OG members of the Traumatized Irish Catholic Boys Discord server for the encouragement and cheerleading while I was writing this story -- @souliebird, @theradioactivespidergwen, @mattmurdocksscars, & @bellaxgiornata -- y'all are the reason Chef Matt even exists and for that I can't thank you enough.

While this may be the end of the main story, like every good (and some not-so-good, tbh) cheesy Hallmark rom-com, there's lots more to this tale! Chef Matt and Reader don't want to let me go, so I have more planned for them. Whether it winds up being several smaller one-shots or another multi-chapter thing remains to be seen, however, so stay tuned!

As always, thanks to @theradioactivespidergwen for the divider!

Tag List: @yarrystyleeza @hailey-murdock @mattkinsella @bellaxgiornata @danzer8705 @chezagnes @shouldbestudying41 @thepunisherfrankcastle @mattmurdocks6thscaleapartment @roseslovedreams

"Girl, you should have seen her," Skyler said as she filled you in over the phone on everything that had happened that morning at the Bulletin . "When she first walked into the office and saw all your stuff missing from your desk she got this smug-ass look on her face -- she was so sure you had either quit in embarrassment or had gotten fired over that article. God , was it satisfying to watch karma bite her in the ass."

You huffed out a laugh. "So then what happened?"

"Ellison had asked me to let him know when Kelsie had made it in, so I texted him and he immediately called her to his office,” Skyler continued. “She thought for sure that she was getting reassigned to Features so she made a big production of having 'no idea' as to what Ellison wanted then took her sweet time going to his office. Little did she know what was actually in store." 

She chuckled. "She was fuming by the time she came marching out of there. First she tried denying the whole thing, then once Ellison showed her the proof we had gathered she accused you of trying to frame her, then she accused me of trying to frame her, then by the time she had packed her desk and was being escorted out of the building by security she had accused Ellison of trying to frame her and was threatening to sue the Bulletin for wrongful termination. I'm so glad you waited until after she had left for the weekend to move your stuff over to your new desk because the moment she realized that her little scheme hadn't worked and you had just moved to a bigger, better desk was priceless."

You sighed and shook your head. "Well, at least it's over and I can just move on with my life."

Skyler was quiet for a moment. "Still haven't heard from Matt?"

Your heart squeezed. You were still hurt and angry that he would believe that you would stoop so low as to pretend to get close to him in order to write a tell-all article full of false information simply to further your career as an investigative journalist, yet at the same time, you missed him. You missed the way he had waited with bated breath as you tried one of his culinary creations, as if your opinion was the only one that mattered to him. You missed the way his eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled at you. You missed the way his hands had felt on yours when he had taught you how to identify fresh fruit and vegetables, the soft caress of his fingers as he had traced your face so he could draw a mental picture of what you looked like, and the way his breath had fanned over your lips as he had leaned in to kiss you.

You sighed and shook your head. You had spent the past 3 days crying over him, so the best thing to do now was to give up and move on. "No, he hasn't tried contacting me. He probably deleted the follow-up email I sent him trying to explain everything the second he got it and blocked my email address."

Skyler hummed. "Mmm, I wouldn't be so sure about that."

Your brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Just that I don't want you to pass up the opportunity to be happy either."

Suddenly there was a knock on your door. "Oh, hold on, Sky, there's someone here."

"I'll let you go so you can get that."

You nodded. "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow then." 

"By the way, you're welcome."

"I'm welcome? For what?" 

"Nothing, talk to you later, byeeeeee!"

Before you could say goodbye, Skyler hung up.

You shook your head with a fond smile as you went to answer the door. You were lucky to have a friend like her.

You opened it and sucked in a shocked breath at the sight of Matt standing outside of your apartment. “Matt?”

Matt smiled nervously at you. “Hi.”

You stood blinking at him for a few seconds. Finally you asked, “How do you know where I live?”

Matt bit his lip. “Oh, I um, I went by the Bulletin but you weren't there, so Skyler gave me your address. I know I probably should have called before just showing up at your home, but I really needed to speak to you and didn't think you'd answer my call, so may I, uh, may I come in?”

You hesitated a moment, then stepped out of the doorway. "Okay."

Matt walked in, then turned to face you as you closed the door behind him. "Thank you.” 

You debated on whether or not to offer him a seat, but ultimately decided against it. Instead, you wrapped your arms protectively across your chest. “What do you want, Matt?"

Matt fidgeted with the container you had belatedly noticed he was carrying. "I owe you an apology for my actions on Friday. I should have known that something was off with that article and given you the benefit of the doubt instead of automatically assuming the worst and accusing you of using me in order to further your career. Not that I'm trying to make excuses for my behavior, but it wouldn't have been the first time that it had happened."

Your brow furrowed and you uncrossed your arms. "What do you mean?"

Matt took a deep breath. "A couple of years ago I met this woman named Elektra, who was a restaurant reviewer for a small online magazine. We started dating and she eventually asked me if I would be okay with sitting down for an interview with her. Naturally I said yes, but when the interview was published it turned out to be a scathing review of both my restaurant and me as a person. Elektra had taken my words and twisted them to make it seem like all I cared about was becoming famous and that I was using my visual impairment to try to get a network deal -- and not only that, but she also strongly insinuated that I hadn't actually earned the Michelin stars that Nelson and Murdock had received and that the food at my restaurant was subpar." 

He shook his head. "The whole time we had been dating Elektra had been trying to get a job with a national publication and figured that an exposé on me would be her ticket in. Needless to say, we broke up after that but the damage had already been done. Her article had been picked up by The Hand , which absolutely tanked our reputation as a gourmet restaurant, forcing us to close Nelson and Murdock and nearly destroying my & Foggy's friendship.”

While you didn't know much about the culinary industry, you did know that The Hand was the premiere magazine for restaurant goers and their reviews were treated like gospel. “So that's why you don't trust journalists.”

Matt nodded. “After I found out that Elektra had used me I decided that I would never get involved with a journalist or do another interview again, but business has been struggling at Daredevil ever since we opened a few months ago so Foggy took it upon himself to schedule me for an interview with the Bulletin during Restaurant Week to try to drum up some business.”

He paused. “I was originally told that it would be with the writer for the food and restaurant section, so I hope you understand my… hesitancy at first.”

You huffed out a breath. “Yeah, it was supposed to have been Kelsie but she was actually out sick with food poisoning at the time, so it was reassigned to me. Oh, and by the way, it turns out that she wrote the exposé I accidentally sent you. She lured me away from my desk while I was in the middle of sending you my real article and swapped the attachment out in an attempt to sabotage me.”

Matt shook his head. "By the way, I did wind up reading your real article and I really appreciate all of the kind and wonderful things you said about me."

You shrugged. "I just wrote what I felt was the truth at the time."

"'At the time'?" Matt bit his lip. "Does that mean you don't still feel that it's the truth?"

You sighed. While you were still a bit hurt and upset that Matt could have thought so little of you, you could now understand the reasoning behind his thoughts.

You shook your head. “No, I do. I still believe everything I wrote.”

Matt huffed out a relieved breath. "Thank you. I um, I wanted to give you this.”

He held the container out towards you. “I promise it's not poisoned.”

You huffed out a laugh as you took it. “I believe you.”

“I also wanted to let you know that the butternut squash risotto, pesto pasta, cremé bruleé, and tiramisu will all be going on the menu at Daredevil next week.” Matt bit his lip. “I hope you'd still want to come by to get some.”

You nodded. “Yeah, I’d love to.”

Matt smiled. “I'm glad. And actually, how about --”

"Foggy, Foggy, Foggy, Foggy…"

Matt groaned as his phone started ringing. "I'm sorry, I should get this. It might be an emergency with the restaurant."

You shook your head and went to put the container of what you assumed was tiramisu in the refrigerator. “It's fine. Go ahead.”

Matt tapped at his screen. "Yeah, Foggy. Wait, wait, slow down… What? They are? How? You're kidding… Wow, okay, yeah, thanks for letting me know. I gotta go though… Yeah, I am. Okay, I'll talk to you later. Thanks. Bye."

"Big news?" you asked as Matt hung up the phone. 

Matt nodded. "Kingpin lost its license this morning due to multiple health code violations and has been permanently shut down, effective immediately."

You bit back a smile. "Really? Wow."

"Yeah, they failed a surprise inspection and --" Matt's brow furrowed. "Wait, you already knew. Did you have something to do with it?"

"Not directly." You grinned. "Skyler may have called the health department a couple of days ago and anonymously reported a case of food poisoning that originated there last week." You shrugged casually. "After all, Kelsie was dating the sous-chef and ate there right before she got sick. But how did Foggy find out so fast?"

"He and I have a friend at the health department -- Brett Mahoney. He keeps us apprised of goings-on -- not when we're going to be inspected, of course, but of shutdowns and such." Matt shook his head. "So wait, the food writer for the Bulletin is dating Wesley?"

You nodded. "Yeah, they've been together for a while, although I didn't know anything at all about ‘James’ except for his first name until Friday when Skyler did a deep dive into Kelsie's social media and found his profile.”

Matt shook his head. “I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out that he and Fisk were also somehow involved in her plans. I have a sneaking suspicion that they had been driving potential customers away from Daredevil.”

“You're probably right. They had to have known that Kelsie had been planning on covering Kingpin for the Restaurant Week kickoff, but then she got sick right as Foggy contacted my boss with the offer of an exclusive interview with you and by the time she had recovered enough to come back to work, it was way too late to try to convince Ellison to switch the story back over to Kingpin.” You shook your head. “At first Kelsie tried to fill my head with doubt about you, saying that you would do anything to try to salvage your reputation and that you were pretending to be interested in me while I was writing my article and would ditch me the second it was published.”

Matt shook his head, a slight smirk spreading across his lips. “Oh I can assure you, sweetheart, my interest in you is very sincere. Apologies if I didn't make that clear before.”

Your breath hitched at the term of endearment. The whole time Matt really had been flirting with you.

“I've never felt so comfortable with someone so quickly before,” Matt continued, “and have genuinely enjoyed getting to know and spending time with you this past week -- going to the farmer's market together and being able to make breakfast for you at the restaurant, having you come with me to the soup kitchen and Fogwell's then over to my place for dinner, getting your honest reactions during the blind tasting, finally knowing that you were just as beautiful as I had thought…”

A small smile crossed his face. “I'd really like to keep getting to know you, if you're interested.”

Your heart fluttered. “Yeah… yeah, I'm definitely interested.”

Matt grinned. “Then how about dinner tonight? My place, 7 o’clock?”

You nodded. “Yeah, I'd like that.”

“Great then. It's a date.”

You smiled. “It's a date.” 

Matt shook his head. “You know, now that I'm thinking about it, Kelsie must've been the person I spoke to when I went by the Bulletin on Tuesday.”

Your brows raised in surprise. “You went by the Bulletin?”

Matt nodded. “Yeah, I had wanted to talk to you about the blind tasting Monday night -- well, actually, what happened after -- but you weren't there and the woman I spoke to said that you were out on assignment and working on a big scoop, and she also said something else about you being one of ‘those investigative types’ who were always looking for a good exposé even if you had to make it up.”

You shook your head. No wonder he thought I had written that article. “Yeah, that was Kelsie, all right. I actually had gone home early that day -- I didn't sleep well Monday night because I thought for sure you were mad at me for rushing out of Daredevil on you.”

Matt shook his head. “Actually it was the opposite. I thought my advances had been unwanted and that I had made you uncomfortable, so I went by to check on you and apologize.”

“No, your advances were definitely wanted, I just…” You sighed. “When Foggy walked in and interrupted us I panicked and began overthinking everything.”

You shook your head. “I guess when Kelsie wasn't sure if planting seeds of doubt between us was working fast enough she decided that straight-up sabotage was the best way to go and wrote that fake exposé since it would hurt both me and you professionally rather than just personally. Luckily I caught it before it went to press and was able to swap it out with my real article, so now that I think about it, it's probably actually a good thing that you went off on me because otherwise I probably wouldn't have known until it was too late."

Matt winced and shook his head. "No, I should've realized that you probably hadn't written that article and calmly asked you about it instead of being an asshole to you, I --"

You shook your head. "It's okay. I forgive you -- this time. But don't think you can just make apology tiramisu for me every time you screw up, no matter how delicious it is."

"Of course not." Matt bit back a grin. "There's also apology cremé bruleé, and apology crepes, and apology --"

You swatted at his chest playfully. " Matt --"

You let out a soft gasp as Matt caught your wrist and pulled you to him, your heart thumping erratically in your chest.

Matt reached up and caressed your jawline with his thumb. "You know, I don't know if I can wait until our date tonight to be able to finally kiss you.”

You shook your head. "I don't think I can wait until tonight either."

A bright grin bloomed on Matt's face. “Well then, I guess there's only one thing to do.”

You melted into him as his warm lips pressed against yours.

You'd had no idea what you'd been in for when you'd first gotten your assignment, but you'd definitely hadn't known just how much it was going to change your life for the better. 

One Year Later

“Matt, honey? You in here?”

Matt turned towards your voice as you walked into the kitchen at Daredevil. “Hi, sweetheart.”

You huffed out a light laugh. “I should've known. You're supposed to be out in the dining area celebrating, Matthew, not at work in the kitchen decorating pies.”

Matt set the piping bag he had been holding down, feeling slightly guilty despite your playful tone. "I just needed to pipe the whipped cream onto these before they went out."

You walked up to him and took his hand. "The kitchen staff has it handled, love. Come on, everyone's waiting."

Matt followed you out to the dining area.

"Hey, there they are!" Foggy said, handing Matt and you each a glass of champagne. "The couple of the hour!"

Matt shook his head. "This is just as much of a celebration for you as it is for me, my friend."

"Ah, yeah, but you have a bit more to celebrate than I do, don't you, buddy?"

Matt grinned. "It has been quite the week, hasn't it?"

Foggy huffed out a laugh. "That's an understatement. I think we need a speech!"

"Yeah, speech!" Karen added. "Everyone, may I have your attention? Matt would like to say a few words."

You gave Matt's hand a gentle squeeze. "You've got this, sweetheart."

Matt nodded and cleared his throat. "First off, I would like to thank everyone for being here tonight. To our vendors -- thank you all for your patience with us as we got things up and running. I know I can also speak for Foggy when I say that you're not just our vendors -- you're our friends as well."

He turned to Foggy and Karen. "Foggy, you are the best sous chef and the best friend I could ever ask for. We wouldn't be here celebrating our first Michelin star for Daredevil nor our James Beard nominations if it hadn't been for you sticking by my side. Karen, same goes for you. Foggy and I are happy to welcome you as an official partner."

Next, he turned to you and took your left hand. "Next, I'd like to extend my heartfelt appreciation to my beautiful fianceé."

He paused for a moment, his thumb caressing the diamond ring he had placed on your finger during a surprise dinner date the night before. "I am so grateful that you wound up being assigned to interview me for the Bulletin."

"You're welcome!" Ellison called out from the crowd.

Laughter rang out from throughout the room.

Matt turned towards Ellison's voice. "Yes, extra thanks to you, Mitch."

A framed copy of your article hung proudly in the lobby next to a photo of Matt, Foggy, and Karen outside of Daredevil the day they had opened. After it had run, business had picked up almost immediately, with the restaurant being constantly packed and reservations being booked months in advance. He, Foggy, and Karen had had to hire both extra servers and kitchen staff to help keep up with demand and had recently signed a contract to expand the restaurant into the empty business space next door.

Matt smiled and gave your hand a gentle squeeze as he turned back towards you. "I'm also grateful that you were willing to give me a second chance after I was an asshole to you during our initial meeting, and a third chance once I had screwed up yet again.”

He nodded towards Skyler, who stood next to Foggy. “And Skyler, thanks for your help with that. ”

Skyler chuckled warmly. “You're welcome.”

Matt had been cautiously optimistic when he had gone to the Bulletin to apologize for (wrongfully) accusing you of writing the fake exposé that you had unintentionally sent him, only to find that you weren't even there.

“Where is she?” Matt asked Skyler, recognizing her voice as the person he had initially spoken to the first time he had gone to the Bulletin to apologize to you. “Will she be back in today?”

He could feel her studying him. “No, she took a personal day,” she replied. “She needed it after everything that's happened over the past few days. You really hurt her, you know that?”

Matt‘s shoulders slumped dejectedly. He nodded. “I know. I was hoping to be able to apologize in person and explain myself.”

Skyler was quiet for a moment, then gave him an address. “Hers is apartment 3-B.”

A broad smile spread across Matt's face. If Skyler was willing to give him your home address there was at least a chance that you'd forgive him. “Thank you so much… Skyler, right?”

“Mmhmm. You’re welcome. Just don't make me regret it.”

Matt shook his head. “I won't, I promise.”

He had hurried to your apartment, where luckily for him, you had not only accepted his apology and forgiven him, but had also told him that you reciprocated his feelings  and agreed to a date, and then the two of you had kissed for the first (but certainly not the last) time.

He cleared his throat and focused his attention back on you. “I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you, sweetheart. And congratulations once again on becoming the newest Assistant Editor of the New York Bulletin -- I'm so proud of you.”

He turned back towards the crowd. “And finally, to everyone here tonight -- Each and every one of you have contributed to Daredevil’s success and we can't thank you enough. I'd like you to know just how much each and every one of you are appreciated.”

He raised his glass of champagne. “So eat, drink, and enjoy. Cheers!”

“Cheers!” rang out throughout the room.

Matt pressed a kiss to your forehead as everyone toasted to the restaurant's success. “Love you.”

You hummed happily. “Love you too.”

As Matt continued to celebrate with Foggy, Karen, and you and the rest of their guests, he couldn't help but be filled with a sense of rightness. Daredevil was thriving beyond his wildest dreams, he was engaged to the woman he loved, and as an extra dose of karma, Fisk had recently been indicted on charges of tax fraud, racketeering, and money laundering uncovered as a result of the surprise health inspection closure.

Had you told him a year and a half ago that this would be his life, he'd have never believed it.

Now, however…

Well, he couldn't wait to see what life cooked up for him next.

#lotmf writes #Cooking Up Love Masterlist #Chef!Matt Murdock x Reader #matt murdock x female reader #matt murdock x reader #matt murdock x you #matt murdock x fem!reader

[thisismeracing]

bono-schumi kiddo thots - godparents edition

once mick and bon’s f1 family find out they are expecting these people are pulling out their credit cards and buying every possible baby item they can set their hands on

kids mini mercedes car? delivered to their house

cute plush they saw at the store? in hand on the way to the register and holding onto it until they see one of them at the next race

the mercedes amg branded stroller and carseat? toto has shown up to their house in the middle of the night to hand deliver it (babe these are real products i just want you to know)

a shit ton of baby tommy hilfiger clothes that are unreleased? lew is folding them and putting it in the new wardrobe he bought for the nursery, before they even woke up (how did he get in?????? [he has a key])

a handmade crib that seb put hours of love into making? he’s setting it up while lew is folding the clothes

a collection of gina’s cowboy hats from her childhood? making space for them in the closet while lew and seb are doing their thing

and it isnt all monetary (even though they get enough items to fully furnish the nursery and have enough toys and clothes for at least another kid and didnt even have to worry about any of the other baby things because their village got it for them already) [seriously they didnt have to buy a damn thing]

like how susie has come over to either cook for them or drop off a dish she’s made

or how the kimi, nando, jensen, seb, lew, etc. come over one day to paint the nursery the color bon and mick have picked out but just haven’t gotten around to painting because of their busy schedules

or how while most of the guys who came over to help paint (how many of these fuckers actually need to be here in order to paint a single room one color?) val has made bon a cup of tea, and a cup of coffee for him to keep her company while mick supervises the painting session

or how lance and esteban will bring over fresh pastry around brunch time, to help in feeding the growing family

and it’s all a bit too much, but they don’t have the heart to tell them to stop so mick and bon just let their family shower their love on them

and bon is a little bit stressed about the whole “who do we put on paper so if anything happens to us they will be taken care of?” situation, but mick reassures her while they are cuddling in bed that there is no wrong answer and he will support whoever she wants to be godparents to their children, while kissing her gently and while sun fills the room they’re occupying

and they eventually land on a consensus

ellie’s godparents are susie and lew

because for one, little miss eloise is named after susie and lew is just so close to bon and she wants him in her daughter's life as much as he has been for her growing up

toto can be an unofficial godparent and i don't feel bad about that because he absolutely just slots himself into the role of grandpa right next to bono. [adding onto this nando absolutely gets called grandpa/abuelo because bon gets a good laugh each time nando reacts to hearing him being referred to as a grandpa.]

mikey’s godparents are gina a seb

seb because again this kid is named after him, but also because we cant leave seb out of being godparent. mick and bon would not let that slide. and then gina cause they also wont let gina not be godparent, and the fact she is mick's sister and bon's sister in law.

yeah people like lance and esteban are close to them, but these four they hold just a smidge closer. but not all is lost because they are very enthusiastically filling the roles of uncles for eloise and mikey. alongside people like val, kimi, jense, etc.

[okay i think im done, hope this made sense and you liked it <3]

☕️

I literally googled "mercedes amg branded stroller" bc I've never seen it before lol kinda cute, toto would def get them one of those

seb building a crib for baby bon is something I can totally see happening and it's such a dear thought to me*teary eyes emoji*

one hundred percent agree and love the godparents choice

#☕️ anon #millies inbox #ms47 #mick schumacher #bonnington!reader #thots

[smittenskitten]

Trying to decipher Step by Step timeline

and failing.

This is just my takeaway from what we have seen so far. Lot of the timeframe I am assuming here are from their office work and Ae's pregnancy

episode 1: we learn Pat is a fresh recruit. It's only been a month since he joined Jian group so he is still in probationary period.

He has another 8 months till becomes a regular employee. Most company will keep their recruits in probationary period from anywhere between 2 months to a year. So in Jian Pat's probationary period is 9 months....like Ae's pregnancy

Side note: I never put this together but Pat did his internship at Ae and Beam's company.

Episode 2: A lot has happened. Pat is not having the best time with new Manager Jeng and at the very end when he is preparing to resign he gets a notification to do a peer review on Jeng. Usually peer review frequency varies from company to company but most perform theirs at the end of the quarter. Some mncs will perform peer reviews twice in one quarter, one being at the beginning and another one at the end. So that being said Jeng has to have been the manager for a few months for Pat to give such scathing review.

Ok, so it's Q1. Which would mean this somewhere between January-March

episode 3: The peer review is sent and Pat is stresses so by the end of this episode he has prepared his resignation letter. I don't know how to read Thai but google translator tells me this is dated February 2023.

episode 4: no specific date for me to follow but Forge project is in it's presentation stage + finalizing production company for ads.

episode 5: Jeng's dad's ultimatum, so Jeng has till the end of 23 to show progress for his department or his Dad is shutting it down

We also find out Ae is pregnant.

episode 6: nothing specific on the time. Put asks for a second chance

episode 7: lmao! I wish! But yes some companies do be giving maternity leave from 3 months to a year. But there is also the issue of paid, non-paid maternity leave which is a whole other thing.

From the looks of it Ae is not that far into her pregnancy???? So she might be waiting to take that leave later.

episode 8: Pat and Put have broken up. Ae's bump isn't that visible sitting in the middle but it's there.

episode 9: now we have some specific time again. Both of Pat's parents are visiting him to celebrate his birthday. Which is October 31st

We don't know exactly how far along Ae is. But it's the end of October and she found out she was pregnant in episode 5 so maybe in March/April!!!

Pat has his birthday and with that we are entering November. One last peer review perhaps? lol. Jeng has to show his dad significant change in the department but he is leaving Jian and looking for his replacement.

Yes please.

Ae is more that 30 weeks pregnant when she has her baby. Lets just assume they are well into December by now for my sanity and everyone else.

and this is late birthday gift from Jeng

in conclusion: it's been somewhere around a little over a year up till episode 9. Pat is likely a regular employee now.

edit: more timeline explanation on notes

#step by step the series #step by step text #step by step meta #step by step

[mrhowells]

Smallville 4x16

*this episode put me through it, also the character building for Lois is perfection (also, if you see any typos just close your eyes, it was late and I was emotional)*

Clark looks so suspicious😭😭 Jonathan too, the way he's eyeing that food lmaooooo

Please😭

"I'm willing to sleep in the barn." "No that's okay, Lois can sleep in the barn." LOL Clark

sass levels through the roof today for him

Look at how proud Lois is listing all of Lucy's achievements😭 She's the best wtf I love her

"Wow, that's impressive. What happened to Lois?"

He has the time of his life dragging her PLS

"You're gonna find that Clark's charm is an acquired taste, much like his sense of fashion." he had that coming

Lois said TRY ME BISH

pls even Lucy is noticing the tension😭

she wasn't playing with that shoulder punch💀

Yeah, Jason is not letting those stones go💀

I really feel for Lana, I feel like she just lives in constant fear bc there's always some weird shit happening around her

Lucy flirting with Clark, just pls no💀

"Lois I don't want you to get the wrong idea, but ever since Lucy came to town you've been grumpier than normal."

I love this whole conversation between them🥹

Also Clark making it so obvious he's an only child from a loving family, bless him

"You might be a little rough around the edges but as far as sisters go, Lucy could do a lot worse." EXACTLY

anyone who has Lois in their life won the lottery, not even an exaggeration she's the absolute best🤷🏻‍♀️

"I guess there was just a part of me that was always jealous she got out and I didn't."

LOIS BBY LET ME HUG YOU LET ME LOVE YOU

the way she's like 'oh fuck I was vulnerable, gotta blast🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️', same Lois, same

Clark looks so worried too😭

this is so wholesome🥹

I think those electric shocks left him with some permanent damage because Jason seems obsessed now👀

Okay let me rephrase, he doesn't just seem obsessed, he's completely unhinged. They fried his brain🤡

Clark is in disappointed dad mode again, he's so natural at it too😭

"You're not mom alright, so stop trying to be." That hurt me personally, goddamn

LMAOOOOO

also, is this the first episode where we see Lex and Lois in the same frame?👀

Lucy you snake

LOIS DON'T YOU EVER SAY OR THINK THAT

To everyone who contributed to her feeling this way, I just want to have a talk

This is breaking my heart, the world doesn't deserve her😭😭

Their dad really failed at parenting HARD

no because this hurts fr, I want to hug her so bad

she deserves to know that she's wanted and loved, SOMEBODY TELL HER

I can't get over the fact that she thinks that her life is less important than that of her sister

Clark defending Lois is something that can be so personal😭 (She deserves a good support system and friends who have her back idc)

I'm getting very emotional about this excuse me

You know I love a character when I need everyone else to love them too. Like I need every other character on this show to appreciate how amazing Lois is.

"I'm a product of my father's breeding. He needed an heir. But your parents chose you out of love."

No because that's so important and I think it explains why both Lex and Lois are so (for the lack of a better word) fascinated with the Kents.

(ok I paused the episode and wrote like 4 paragraphs of character analysis prompted by that quote but idk what to do with them and if they make any sense, maybe I'll make a separate post🤡)

I need you guys to understand how much it means to me that he really cares about Lois😭

Not even in any sort of romantic context, just that someone genuinely cares if she's okay or not because she's obviously never really had someone take care of her😭😭😭

I mean listen, good for Lionel that he's not an absolute monster anymore but he really needs to stay out of Lex's business💀💀

WAIT A MINUTE HOLD ON.

HOLD ONNNNNN

Did Lana vandalize her own apartment? Or did she just hide the stone and whoever searched for it didn't find it? In any case she's learning how to play the game, good for her😌😌

Okay, first of all: More reasons to love Lois, she's self-aware and she can admit when she's wrong about something. Seriously I love her.

Second: Again, they way she's ready to be kicked out of the farm for something that wasn't even her fault??? MR. SAM LANE, SAMMY, GENERAL LANE, I'D LIKE TO HAVE SOME WORDS WITH YOU. Seriously though, this speaks volumes about how she grew up and it breaks my heart.

Third: The way she tries to be so casual and 'Lois' when she says it, I have very similar defense mechanisms and again, it hurts my heart.

"Yeah... actually I came here to tell you we have food in the oven if you're hungry."

Lois learning what unconditional love looks like through the Kent family is the only thing that matters to me, actually

"You know, all these years I thought I had my sister pegged but... in reality? She's a complete stranger to me." "Even if that were true, I think that if she called you tomorrow you'd be there in a second to help her."

I CAN'T DO THIS RIGHT NOW, HE DOES KNOW HER😭

SHE KNOWS HIM TOO😭😭

"I guess that explains why we're friends." "Oh, we're friends now?" "Well, I mean, I won't tell anyone if you don't."

Yes you are and I'm so glad bc you're the most amazing people to ever exist😭

Clark deserves someone like Lois in his life and Lois deserves someone like Clark in her life, yes I'm on the verge of tears AND WHAT ABOUT IT

CHEMISTRYYYYY

shoulder punch my beloved🥹

CHEMISTRYYYYYY

do you think these people knew they just created perfection?😭

🎶now it all begins🎶

written in the stars and all that, I love my OTP

More importantly though, I love Lois Lane she's everything and she deserves all the love in the world.

#ellie's smallville thoughts #smallville #4x16 #lois lane #clark kent #clois #lex luthor #lana lang #lucy lane

[lok-repository]

The Avatar Wiki newsletter has published the final portion of their earlier Q & A last year with Janet Varney, Korra's VA .

Questions after the cut.

What is your favorite Korra battle scene and the change that it brought to the world? Oh you know I can never pick just one favorite! But if I have to pick one for now, I think for sheer intensity, I might have to pick the big Zaheer scene, which I’m not even really thinking about the world impact more than even just the impact on Korra and where it takes us all… the journey afterwards… the PTS… Toph… clarifying her feelings for Asami…

If you weren't Korra’s VA, which character(s) in the show would you want to voice instead? It’s funny, it’s like even though we all know you aren’t asking me to take someone else’s job, the knee-jerk response is to be like “Nooooo! I couldn’t replace anyone! I love everyone too much!” But in a multiverse where we’re all just… maybe swapping roles? I might grab Bolin or Varrick!

Who would you pick as Korra’s VA if it wasn’t you? Thank goodness this would never be up to me in real life- I could never choose between all of the phenomenal VAs out there! That said, I’m kind of obsessed with all the ladies on one of my all-time favorite shows, “Reservation Dogs…”

What is something you have come to appreciate more about the original series while rewatching it for the podcast? Great question! Just when you thought you couldn’t appreciate something more… you watch it one more time, and every “one more time” you love it even more. I think an easy answer would be how much Dante and I appreciate “The Great Divide.” Especially after a recent conversation we had with a certain author about a certain history in that episode that may have influenced a certain book or two…

How are you feeling about talking about Korra on Braving the Elements? Does it feel different than talking about ATLA? Honestly? So far, it doesn’t feel like it will be that different, because anytime I watch Korra, I get so immersed in the story, I basically forget I was in it. But how much Dante might get to tease me about little things like I tease him about Zuko? Now THAT could change things. LOL!

What is the process of planning and recording episodes like? It’s pretty involved, tbh! For a recap ep, I rewatch the episode in question at least three times. You know I like to see what Avatar Wiki has to say! I consult the art book and all the dvd commentary (luckily Nickelodeon made all the commentary/bts stuff available to me, which is great!). I think about the themes of the episode and what kind of guest would be really fun and why. And writing the outline really cements the episode for me in new and interesting ways. And then Dante and our guests STILL manage to blow my mind with their own insights!

Did you know about the spiritual arc that Korra was going to have in Season 4, or when and how did you learn about her bisexuality during production? I knew some broad strokes, but Bryke/the whole amazing team did a good job of keeping us in the moment, episode-by-episode. I can’t remember exactly when Bryke told Seychelle and me about Korrasami, but it was definitely one of the things we knew before it actually happened. And we were both so, so happy!

How do you think Korra grew from her relationship with Mako and the lessons she learned that contributed to a healthy relationship with Asami? Good old Mako. This was a relationship I recognized so well from my own teenage years, and my friends.’ So combine that it was in some ways a very classic teenage relationship with the Avatar circumstances on top of that, and it’s kind of hard to see how it would succeed. But at the same time— who’s to say what “succeeding” or “success” means? What if that relationship was a complete success in that it lasted exactly as long as it was supposed to, and helped Korra and Mako both see what they would really be looking for in a relationship going forward? Plus, it was a success in that she and Mako were ultimately able to love and support each other as dear friends, and that’s a beautiful outcome.

Do you miss and enjoy voicing Korra for as long as you have? Here’s the thing- I don’t know what my answer would be if I *didn’t* get to keep talking about both series (and all the other media in the Avatarverse!) at conventions with fellow fans and with Dante and everyone on the podcast. But because I get to live in the Avatarverse through those things, I honestly haven’t thought about “missing” doing the actual show. Please, everyone, just let me keep nerding out on Avatar forever, and I’ll be happy! ;)

#interview #lok #legend of korra #tlok #the legend of korra

[raziraphale]

I've learned not to trust my memory, so I wanted to make a note for myself of some things I enjoyed from the Neptune production of RAGAD before it all leaks out my ears. It's mostly for me but thought I'd post it here in case it's interesting to anyone else.

Note for people that aren't me: this is the only production of RAGAD I've seen live. I've seen the movie and the 2017 NTL recording as of writing this, for reference. So, forgive me if I gush about elements/choices that are common to RAGAD productions and not unique to this one lol. Also I was an English major but not a theatre guy outside some Shakespeare, so also bear with me if I'm lacking some specific terms.

Performances:

I feel like this almost goes without saying but Boyd and Monaghan are excellent as Guildenstern and Rosencrantz. Their chemistry is great. There was an excellent rhythm to their dialogue together that was really fast-paced without feeling artificial (imo there is a certain point where performers talk so fast it can only feel fake. They were all believable enthusiam).

I particularly liked Monaghan's Rosencrantz! like there was just something so earnest about him. He had this character tic of chewing on his finger most of the time out of anxiety or inattention and that stuck out for me for some reason. It was endearing. Also the line "I wanted to make you happy" made the whole theatre let out a wounded animal noise.

Also Boyd's Guildenstern really did a good job of projecting an aura of "person trying really hard to appear in control but may also snap any moment". Control freak recognizing control freak o7

The Player (Michael Blake) was amazing. He had such huge stage presence that you really believed the character was a seasoned performer. I fully believe this man could successfully sell me snake oil with the power of his presence alone.

Personal note but I was jazzed to see Drew Douris-O'Hara as Alfred. I'm not a regular Neptune patron so I don't know how often he appears in their productions, but I have seen many a Shakespeare By The Sea show in my time so he's a very familiar face. Always a really fun presence.

I also feel like I have to mention Ophelia (Helen Belay) even though she obviously doesn't get much to do here. The actress really sold every small appearance though like my heart broke a little every time I saw her in anticipation for her off-stage fate. Less important but have you ever seen a woman so beautiful you started crying?

Costumes:

I really liked Ros and Guil's tattered suits. They looked like they were dragged behind a horse. These are the clothes of two guys that have been trapped in a play for like 50 years, truly.

They also had an inverted colour scheme (Ros had a blue suit with a green waistcoat, Guil had a green suit with blue waistcoat) that really emphasized the two-sides-of-the-same-coin/ yin & yang vibe. Also the colours weren't really shared by the rest of the cast much (they tended to be a bit more muted) so it made them stand out as separate from the rest of what was happening.

Also personal note but I was enchanted by Monaghan's slightly stupid-looking grown-out fauxhawk. He basically had a lesbian mullet haircut. That combined with his single dangly earring was a Look.

The Player's coat was gorgeous. It felt grand but also appropriately dated/worn. It wasn't fully a feather jacket, but it had a smattering of large feathers that got more dense as it went down. It kind of reminded me of a vulture, honestly, which I think is fitting, with him being an opportunist that loves some corpses.

Script:

Misc. Stage Stuff:

Unless I'm really mistaken, I think they cut/modified the few lines with some outdated racial terms (I have two specifically in mind, referring to Chinese and Inuit people). So unless I just somehow missed hearing those, that's nice.

Just a note to say that the line about who the English King is will depend on when they get to England got a huge laugh. Thank you to King Charles' cancer for making everything funnier

The lighting !!! It really did a lot to separate the scenes from Hamlet from the rest of it. The stage was dark for most of it, with cool lighting (like a blue darkness). For the Hamlet portions, though, the lights were suddenly bright and warm yellow. That combined with the differences in the performances gave a strong impression that the curtain had just suddenly risen on a more traditional production of Hamlet right in the middle of Ros and Guil just doing whatever.

I really liked how they used the two risers on wheels they had (not sure if that's the right word -- they were those three-tiered platforms I remember from doing choir in school. Kind of like bleachers). They looked like they belonged on an empty stage and also gave the actors something interesting to climb on. They were able to reposition them pretty easily with the wheels, which really worked for the portions on the boat tbh. They just pushed them together so that the lower tiers touched to create a half-pipe-shaped skeletal "boat". They could climb "above deck", or even go below while still being fully visible from whatever angle. The whole thing was spun around a lot during the pirate attack, which was fun.

The risers also separated the stage really well in the first two acts. For most of it, there was one on the left side facing the audience, for characters to sit on, and one on the right facing backwards and partially obscured by the curtain they had covering that side of the stage. The curtain was backlit, so you could see the silhouettes of anything behind it. At some points, you could actually see shadows of events in Hamlet happening in the background while Ros and Guil were doing their thing in the foreground. Unfortunately I didn't get the best look at them, bc I was sitting at far right of my row, so the far right of the stage was partially out of my sight line. Still a really cool effect!

They did turn the risers fully around to face the back during the players' performance of The Murder of Gonzago, with the curtain pulled across. You saw the shadow of the king standing up and storming out.

For the final scene, they did the expected thing, where Ros and Guil are alone in the dark, illuminated by a single narrow spotlight each. The spotlight goes out when each of them die and they disappear from view. The detail that made me insane though is that each time a spotlight went out, they played the sound of a flipped coin hitting the stage and the audience was so quiet it felt like a gunshot both times.

After all the deaths they had Rosencrantz and Guildenstern start from the opening scene again tossing coins for a bit before the final curtain. They did not escape the narrative 😔

Will add more if anything else comes to mind?

#this felt good to write out #cementing the details in my brain #since alas I cannot follow the show to toronto #and it doesn't look like it's going to get filmed #which is a travesty #beyond lucky to be able to see it at all #things like this never come out my way it's nice lol #reilly.txt #rosencrantz and guildenstern are dead

[el-moscorrofio-y-el-mercachifle]

Reading your last post about the finale I agree with the rushed ending I wish we had more time both to explore armetty relationship and to have a proper goodbye to the rest of the cast (Marcela and Patricia were so wasted) the only end I liked was Mario.

I was wondering if you had any hcs about how that talk post reconciliation would go? Or the reconciliation itself and how you would have liked to see the side characters tie their storylines.

As always it is great to read your opinions and insights about this amazing novela!! I also liked the parallelisms and all the callbacks the finale has a shame it was, again, so rushed.

Hiiii! Thanks for the question!

Totally agree with Mario's ending, I loved it!

I had a similar answer to this question in another post, I will look for it and link it down below! I basically said that I would have loved for Betty and Armando to discuss everything privatedly. For it to be a moment of sicnerity, vulnerability, and a real discussion of what happened. Of Betty saying why she's forgiving him and willing to give him a chance but also her asking questions that we know she needs to hear the answer to from Armando himself (like "how much did you tell Calderón?" And things like those). I would also love for Armando to say what he wanted to say, fully. Armando spent the last few episodes chasing after her just telling her to listen to him and never actually got the chance to say anything. So I would have loved to see her actually listen to him with an open heart and the knowledge that what he's aaying is true!

I hate that the reconciliation looks like a middle school spectacle, so I would have liked it better if Betty went to Production, asked to talk with Armando in private, and they went to her office. The Cuartel, Freddy and likely Wilson coild have been hearing through the closed door and be the comedic relief AFTER the private talk is over. Just something much more emotional!

Regarding other characters' endings, I would have loved to see

A much more emotional leave for Marcela. Not just a random flashaback of an emotionless "I have nothing else to do here." A real goodbye. Marcela seeing her late dad's living dream for a final time, perhaps with some memories or a little speech to herself, and then leaving.

Efraín and Sofía having a cordial relationship. Him becoming more responsible. That's what the Jail scene seemed to point towards, but Efraín and Sofía quickle fell back to old patterns of behavior as if there hadn't been a whole scene where we finally see some real understandin, empathy and melancholy for a lovely past now lost. Just Efraín paying his part and Sofía being polite to him would have shown an incredible amount of growth

An actual party for Betty ans Armando's wedding! Not especially required, but I would have loved it so much. To see everyone (or mostly everyone) happy. Perhaps Nicolás meeting someone there!

Nicolás actually changing behaviors. All we needed was to eliminate that scene when he's being annoying and not letting that blonde model pass. That's it. We didn't even need to see an actual change, just NOT seeinf that scene would have been great! Could have let it open to the viewers' imagination if he learned or not, instead of straight up saying "yeah, he didn't learn shit" lol

I think that's it for now lol my main issue is the recpnciliation, but I'll link the post s9mewhere here when I find it!

Thank you for the ask🥰🥰

#ysblf #yo soy betty la fea #betty la fea #armando mendoza #beatriz pinzon solano #beatriz pinzón solano #marcela valencia #armando ysblf #betty ysblf #nicolas mora

[idk-my-aesthetic]

Spy x Family Chapter 76 spoilers ahhh

Personally I like to think Twilight took the car from Franky bc he needed a car quick and now Franky walks to work in the rain everyday. Bc Franky is just a poor little meow meow and it’s funny in my head

We see more of TwiLoid’s reaction to the bus arc! I think it’s very in character for him to just be mentally spiraling about it a little bit lol. (So basically my fanfic was right even though my version was more angsty lol). Also Anya immediately taking advantage of him is A++

And I actually really appreciate that we see twilight specifically concerned about her mental health. Usually “Anya is surely traumatized” is kinda played for a joke but the joke isn’t that she’s not traumatized it’s usually that her behavior in that exact moment isn’t a product of trauma. So the little shout outs about mental health feel like something that is eventually going to be addressed and they’re almost saying “don’t worry we didn’t forget, we will address the mental health side when the time is right”

Anya is obviously traumatized and I love fanfic that focuses on all the little bad stuff that happens, but it makes sense from a narrative perspective that they literally Cannot focus on every single thing that happens to her. But it does look like we’ll be getting specific focus on the bus arc and I’m excited for what’s to come!

Also, something absolutely ironically heartbreaking about Yor and Loid scolding Anya for being reckless. They have no clue how often she purposely puts herself in very real danger to protect the people she cares about. Including them!! (Cont underneath)

Like from their perspective they’re probably like “Anya said some dumb shit bc she didn’t understand the situation and put herself in danger, that’s really scary bc she might say dumb shit again and get hurt. But at least she didn’t know how much danger she was in so she wasn’t scared”

But in REALITY anya DID know how much very real danger they were in, more than literally ANYONE else. She made a choice to talk to the villians to save herself but more importantly save the rest of the kids on the bus and her Papa.

She literally had the chance to get off the bus and refused to go to safety until literally everyone else was safe.

And Anya does this sort of thing all the freaking time. I think the only time she’s gotten into danger by being a dumb kid was the initial kidnapping. Basically every other time was not her fault or her willingly putting herself in danger to protect others, usually one of her parents, and usually Loid on top of that

There’s just something so heartbreaking to me about the fact that Anya puts herself into danger for her parents so often, which they obviously do not want her to do, but they usually don’t understand how much danger she is in or that they were in danger to begin with or that she put herself into danger to protect them. Like they have no clue she really single handedly saved the whole bus and Loid!! And they even scolded her for it bc they don’t know the truth!!!

Which like, as necessary as it is at times “put myself into danger to save everyone else” is not a healthy habit for Anya to be developing and the fact that it keeps working out makes me think she’s going to keep leaning into it to a dangerous degree

It’s also so so hard to be mad at her for putting herself in danger because she’s not being carelessly reckless like people think she’s making calculated decisions to protect the ppl she cares about. It creates this weird mix of like pride and frustration towards her as a character. Like stop playing with explosives small child holy shit!! But how can you be mad when she’s only playing with them bc no one else knows to turn them off :(

Basically I have alot of feelings about Anya Forger I think she deserves lots and lots of cake

On a slightly lighter note, when Anya is trying to seem cool she screws herself so much. She could’ve said “I was just trying to convince him to let everyone go” and everyone would’ve been enamored with her

Like. If she thought about it she could even say something about seeing the guy mumbling to himself about blowing up the secret police or something. She literally probably could’ve told basically the truth and won the day

Instead she gets in a petty fight with Damian. Which I 100% support, much more in character and fun lol, hopefully they didn’t get demerits for being late

One last note, Becky is an absolutely wonderful freind to Anya and deserves more credit

That’s it ty for reading have a nice night

#sxf anya #anya forger #spy x family #sxf spoilers #spy x family 76 #twilight sxf #loid forger

[bleachbleachbleach]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thank you to @recurring-polynya my beloved for the tag!

I tag everyone who writes fanfic who hasn't done it yet! because I love reading these kinds of things

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

203, 11 under bleachbleachbleach.

2) What's your total AO3 word count?

827,868

3) What fandoms do you write for?

I currently write for Bleach!

4) Top 5 fics by kudos?

I use a site skin that hides kudos/comment count/bookmark/hit data on all of the fics on AO3, because they make me feel bad about myself.

5) Do you respond to comments?

Yes! I post my fanfic on the Internet because I want to talk to people about these characters and these stories. Of course I’m going to take the opportunity. If someone comments on a fic of mine, chances are I’ve probably re-read the whole fic before replying, because, again, I’m going to TAKE that opportunity.

6) What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

All my fics are fairly dour the entire time, but I don’t think they tend to end badly. I’m most interested in the afterwards of something having ended badly (and/or something that is probably going to end badly, but hasn’t yet and maybe it won’t).

7) What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

All my fics are fairly dour the entire time (she says, again), but happiest overall and happiest ending is probably Some Things, because nothing hard is obviously about to happen right after it ends (e.g. Aizen, the Winter War, the rest of TYBW, etc.).

8) Do you get hate on fics?

Hate, not usually. Passive-aggressive dismissiveness or unsolicited critique, yes.

9) Do you write smut?

I’ve written sexual content, but idk if it’s technically smut? In that the point of it is often not arousal. Like, I’m not expecting anyone to want to read it because it promises to be sexually satisfying and scorching hot. Usually the characters are Going Through It and either the sex is incidental or it makes everything worse. I love either an inconsequential bathroom fuck or sex that exists somewhere on the spectrum of Weird. All of which can be kink in itself, yes! But I’ve never written anything and thought, "yeah, THIS, this is gonna make someone nut."

10) Do you write crossovers?

No, but if I did it would be about Iba being great friends with King from Run with the Wind. This is THE crossover canon of all time, mark me.

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not as far as I know. 

12) Have you ever had a fic translated?

I’m not sure? I’ve had people offer, usually never to be heard from again, but I think it may have happened once, a long time ago.

13) Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes, but I didn’t really enjoy the process. Or didn’t *get* it? I guess I don’t really understand how it works? I barely understand how RP could work, lol. 

Obviously we run this blog in tandem, and have co-written posts. I regularly hop into docs with multiple authors for things like abstracts, copy, organizational statements, etc. But fanfic is, to me, a completely different creature. That’s between you and the characters.

14) What's your all-time favorite ship?

I don’t think I’ve ever thought about a ship in this way. This is not about fandom or fanfic, but I will say I’ve reliably cried about David/Patrick’s wedding (and entire courtship) EVERY time I’ve watched Schitt’s Creek. S-tier.

15) What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

I used to be someone of many fics and many WIPs, but in Bleach I am someone with one WIP and a selection of other posted fics, all of which have been pinched off of my one WIP, like little spider plants.

16) What are your writing strengths?

My strength is that I enjoy the process of writing fanfic. Like, obviously it’s frustrating when something isn’t coming together, or is just bad (though sometimes it’s still enjoyable even when I know the product itself is bad). Sure, it’s often DISTINCTLY UN-FUN if this is happening while the fic is on deadline, but overall I like writing fanfic, and I find I don’t relate to most "writers avoiding writing" memes I see. (Well, with work writing, I find them highly relatable. I’ve heard there are people in my profession who enjoy work writing. COULDN’T BE ME.) By god, I did not wrest away this time to write fanfic, only to NOT enjoy it!!

Product-wise, my strength is that I know my taste, at least, so I usually like the things I post, even if I don’t think they did everything well. Craft-wise, my personal favorite trait of my own writing is the rhythm and repetition, and the layering of metaphor that results.

17) What are your writing weaknesses?

How badly I want to hear from people after I have shared something. My father once told me (not about fanfic lol) that "not everything requires a response" but man, if I’m going to put my heart on the line, my heart requires one, regardless of whether the greater balance of the universe does. 

Craft-wise, I think my weakness is sometimes leaving too much to implication (and the opposite, overwriting or overmechanizing, executed out of fear of leaving too much to implication).

18) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language?

For Bleach, I consider all dialogue as already in-translation, even though the only language these fics exist in is English. Depending no how important I think the dialogue is or how well-versed I am in how the character speaks in Japanese, I will sometimes spend a lot of time thinking about how the scene would go in Japanese, and what the best translation would be for that in English. I’m nowhere near fluent in Japanese; I just really like translation theory. In practice, the way this works is like, I’ll have a certain grammatical construction in mind, or an order of phrases in mind, and then I spend a lot of time deciding if what I want for the scene is a "Nabokov does Onegin" translation (literal, "pure," estranging), or a "Pushkin does Shakespeare" translation (in the artistic idiom of the target language). This kind of playground is one of the things I love most about Bleach, and one of the reasons I started writing for Bleach in the first place. I really enjoy it!

I am not fluent enough in any language other than English to want to write dialogue in it. I think all of you who write fanfic outside of your primary language(s) are phenomenal.

19) First fandom you wrote for?

Online and disseminated to others? Inuyasha, back when you had to also build the website to host it. (We discovered FFN later, lol.)

20) Favorite fic you've ever written?

I really like most of the fic I’ve written, to be honest. I think that’s probably less true of things pre-2009, but probably some of that stuff, too. Some are more take or leave, but of everything I’ve written in the last five years, there’s only one where I looked at the title just now and thought 'ehhhh.'

On this blog, I try to avoid talking in the specific about things I’ve made that aren’t for Bleach, but How Many Thousands is my top favorite. It was written for one of my best friends in the world, before we were actually friends. I consider it my love letter to her.

For Bleach, it’s probably my East Rukongai Soul Train fanfic, which I have  read more times than the entire rest of the planet combined. I have read it many times. Thank you to those of you who also read to the end, because you are one of the highlights of my entire 2023!

#writing #meme

[nancydrewwouldnever]

I'm very sorry for everything you and your family have been enduring lately, life is really tough

Now I'm gonna be the stupid bitch i really am and ask you a dumb question about Chris... Has he ever really lived with a woman for extended periods of time?? I really thought he'd lived w jessica but you kinda made it clear he didn't. What about the rest?? And bonus annoying question, do you really think he's living in ATL with voldemort?? Some blogs are really pushing that narrative, but i don't see a man so set in his ways change that much in a matter of months... thanks for being here

I really don't know if he and Jess "lived together" in the way most of us think of "living together," ie: true cohabitation. First, both were working alot while they were together, in very different locations. If you look at his career between 2001-2006 while they were together, he spent a lot of it in Vancouver. Over that time he filmed Perfect Score, Fierce People, Fantastic Four 1 & 2 up there. Then he spent basically five months living in the UK in 2005 to film Sunshine. It's interesting to me that they broke up after the one time they worked together in an L.A. based production (Cellular). So it seems like being around one another for that extra time became a stressor. But, you know, who knows what the whole situation was there.

He and Minka did not live together between 2012-2013. She'd basically come over for a few nights, then go back to her own house in WEHO. (LOL, there were pap photos.) It was basically just regular dating from the way everything looked. Serious, but not living together serious, that level.

Jenny baited a lot to make people think she was living with him. She wasn't. Not in L.A., not in MA, not in ATL. But yet people do continue to incorrectly say they did live together. Once again, it was like Minka; she'd stay for a few nights, but then had to leave. And what made all that interesting was the fact that she was basically "homeless" after she left her husband. She'd crash with her parents and her friends, her sister in NYC, production provided housing while filming, and then she'd have a couple of nights here and there with him in either MA or L.A. But she never got to just stay with him for extended periods. It honestly doesn't look like that's ever happened, from what little can be pieced together (NOTE: this is high supposition on my part, and fandom's part).

So, no I don't think Little Miss Dirty Grout has been living with him long-term in ATL or MA. Because he doesn't seem to want that from any woman in his life.

Good luck to his future spouse! They're going to have to buy a different house with two different wings so that they can act like they live two different places.

#ask

[ranger-kellyn]

def not pacing this rewatch like i did with atla since i just finished the first season lol

i ended up remembering just about all of the episodes as they happened. not sure why i was so convinced i had missed some?? i'm guessing it's because korra is a lot more fast-paced than atla was since the season is ~8 eps shorter than atla's season 1.

overall, i am enjoying myself. i'm excited to keep watching, and it's been fun getting to think about all the extended universe stuff and how it all weaves into korra's story.

any complaint i have about korra i know mostly goes back to how yanked around during production they were. at least, that's what i was always told?? tbh, it's been so long, i don't know if i ever read like. official. sources dkfjhk that might just have been tumblr posts claiming korra was getting unfair production treatment, getting told something like halfway through that they needed to wrap things up bc they weren't getting a second season?? but with no sort of citation. it's not like that's too hard for me to believe given my specific grips with the storyline all stem from how rushed everything feels. (and at this point, the show is already over and done with it's not deep enough for me to care about doing any actual digging about what did or didn't happen behind the scenes)

even as open of a mind as i went into this with, i still don't think korra/mako was built up like....at all???? like i guess that brief moment of them leaning against each other under the tree was??? it?????? but in all fairness, i now firmly disagree with my younger self that bolin was "better" for korra. i think bolin has just as much growing up to do as mako. to me, his feelings could best be described as puppy love. yes, he's a sweetheart. yes, he's my angel. yes he's my babyboy, and i love him more than anything-- but he's Just A Boy.

idk, all i know is i was going along fine with it all right up to episode 5, the spirit of competition, that started with the little recap that was like "love is in the air!" up until that moment, i didn't really??? think any of the romance was all that believable? i feel like that recap did a lot of heavy lifting there, bc all of a sudden the love triangle bullshit was just. full throttle, in your face.

and when i say the love triangle stuff just bogs this down....like there is such limited time in this show to get things done and we're really doing this... flkdjglnkj

really, i just feel bad for asami lmao she didn't do a fucking thing wrong. that whole situation sucked for her.

other primary complaint is that the whole amon storyline just. doesn't feel satisfying. that ending was absolutely rushed, and killing him off they way they did was convenient, and nothing more.

the final conflict between him and korra isn't satisfying. having her hiding from him under a table just and then in a hallway??? that's the setting they went with? and i understand waiting for her airbending at that critical moment, but it wasn't satisfying. nothing about that moment connected me at all with the nature of airbending, and i just...idk just saying amon was using some perverse version of bloodbending to take away bending??? like. i guess that's an answer????

and honestly??? again, this is probably just a "we ran out of time" thing, but by the end of things??? i wouldn't say the benders have done literally anything about what lead up to amon gaining such a serious following. that kind of resentment doesn't build up overnight, and if we take the comics into consideration, that's been building in that area for decades.

i also don't think amon's motivations are...clear?? like, at best we get a guess from tarlok of something like "he thinks bending is the source of all evil in the world" bc their father was a blood thirsty bloodbender???? (a guy whose motivations are even less clear??? like yeah i guess some people just want to watch the world burn but like. ok...*john oliver voice* cool.)

idk i just don't think the benders did anything to help with the "non-benders are feeling threatened/oppressed by benders" they built up.

ANYWAY.

main stand outs are:

the air kids - forgot how funny these goobers are, and it's going to be a lot of fun watching them grow up over the seasons.

mako - walked away from this, like i had hoped, liking him more than i did in the past. he's just an older brother, your honor. he's doing his best. his best isn't great, but neither is mine most of the time, and i don't even have the excuse that my parents were killed in front of me as a child.

asami - girl literally did nothing wrong and honestly i don't even know why she sticks around team avatar. by all accounts, she has every right to hate these goobers just as much as anyone else dvhldkfj. babe, they do not deserve you dlakfhl i think she would be a fun character study to try to write from her perspective of the season. like. she had her whole world kind of turned upside down. again. clearly she never expected her father to harbor such extremist attitudes. (smh hiroshi dont u know u have to indoctrinate ur kids early?? before they can think and form opinions for themselves????)

regardless of anything, like i said, i'm having a good time. i do find it fun to be able to ask, "why didn't this work?" and i'm looking forward to continuing on. a quick scroll of the images for the next season reminds me that, once more, A Lot happens in this season dslksfjn

#kellyn watches #review tag #i guesS

[trippin-chippin]

So, can you please explain whiskey and moonshine’s relation? You said they were half sisters, do they have the same mom or same dad?

Idk I just want their backstory, tell as much as you’d like!

No problem! 😆 this is prolly gonna be a lot more than what you asked for tho😅

A little bit of background info: whiskey is two years older than moonshine.

Alright so, whiskey and moonshine are half sisters and they have the same mom (Jackey) and to different dads.

Moonshine’s dad is (Mr Bailey). I always joke about moonshine being the product of a one night stand and well… she did come from one😂

Whiskey’s dad (Daniel). He was married to Jackey and was loyal to her. He also knew about her pregnancy from the one night stand, but he decided to give her another chance because he didn’t want his kid (Whiskey) and the one on the way (moonshine) to live without a mother and a father figure.. lol that backfired. And Jackey wasn’t in the best mental state at the time so he also wanted to be there for her as well.

Now there was a third sister that was whiskey’s twin. Her name was going to be (Rie) but unfortunately she died shortly after birth. So there was actually supposed to be 3 girls, but one didn’t make it.

Alright I’m gonna talk about the incident of 1999 so below this point

(You don’t have to read this part)

TW: gun, deaths, traumatic scenes, suicide, etc…. Some messed up shat

Alright so fast forward to 1999, whiskey was nine years old along with moonshine being six year old. Now like I said, Jackey wasn’t in the best mental state and so that made her have suicidal thoughts… and well, she tried to act upon those thoughts; however, Daniel would try to stop her each time. He’d also get the kids away so if something did happen, they wouldn’t see it. Throughout the past he had managed to stop her and calm her down, but the day in 1999 he was unsuccessful.

That day was quiet and Jackey wasn’t really saying much and she went outside to the backyard with a gun. (Whiskey and moonshine were in the house so they weren’t aware of what was going on). Well Daniel seen her walk out back so he followed her to once again talk to her and calm her down. As he got outside he saw that she had it pointing to her chest, so he ran out to her to stop her. Little did he know, the gun was loaded and was ready to go off, so when he was trying to get the gun away from her it went off, into her chest.

After that whiskey and moonshine heard this, and so being the two curious kids they were they went outside to unfortunately see their mother laying on the ground.

Alright this parts a bit funky so bare with me….. The gun that was used was a revolver, so there was many rounds in it. When the gun kicked back after going off, Daniel caught it, in which he dropped it after he just realized what happened. He didn’t know whiskey and moonshine was outside running to them and the only thing he thought of was that his wife just died. Now like I said here’s the funky part: when he dropped the revolver the “rotating part” shifted (and in some cases when a loaded gun hits something, it can fire) which is what happened. Whiskey was running up to them and when the gun hit the ground it fired again and got whiskey. Moonshine was further away and was out of the way so basically she just was just there and watched the whole thing.

Daniel didn’t know that the girls were outside till he looked over and seen whiskey on the ground with moonshine standing over her (somehow whiskey didn’t die, idk she’s like a cockroach or something). He seen whiskey and Jackey on the ground and he was so caught up in what happened because at that point he thought that he just lost his wife AND his daughter, so he grabbed the gun and committed suicide out of guilt even though he didn’t so anything wrong.

Moonshine just was there and finally help came and stuff like that and Daniel, Jackey, whiskey, and moonshine was taken to the hospital, but Jackey and Daniel was pronounced dead.

ANYWAYS that’s why one of whiskey eyes is messed up and looks like a x cause that is where she was shot. Now since it was in her head her growth was stunted you could say and basic she’s the same height she was when she was nine. Also that’s why moonshine is so up tight about everything.

#cuphead #cuphead oc #cuphead au #the crownroyals #dani answers #moonshine bailey #whiskey crownroyal #jackey crownroyal #daniel crownroyal #mr bailey #before the incident of 1999 #oc backstory #HOLY MOLY THAT WAS A LOT #the incident of 1999

[buttercuparry]

Bruh you gave a reply and blocked me before I could even read 😭🤣🤣 how wonky is this accomplishment then??

And here you go don't come at me with this nonsense after adding the nonsensical reblog. You not being here when the show was airing doesn't take away from the fact that this bullshit is so old to us old jonrya shippers that this frankly is a bit boring. We were "allowed" to exist as long as we kept "our filth" to our own tags and not abuse Jon's tag. We couldn't abandon restraint because the moment we did we would have someone making a tongue in cheek post about nasty people shipping incestuous ship. Lol. You probably didn't understand when I said "been there, done that." This whole thing has happened before though in a different flavour. I was informing you darling not boohooing my frustrations at your doorstep. And lol look at me dismantling your little reblog point wise. Look at me asking you how exactly is it wrong for me to quote the book in reference to longclaw whatever's post to establish how factually stupid it was to say that Jon died for the watch. How is us talking about this particular thing taking away from Jon's arc, since I believe the point of that post was to establish how Jonryas are wearing shipping goggles and making everything Jon has done for the NW about Arya?

Right Jonryas say that because Jon is a misogynist Jon can love only Arya huh...hmm. So we throw tantrums over Jon/Ygritte? We dismiss Val? And I guess we dismiss Dany too then huh. Point to be noted I once remember you saying how you said that you only trust Jonerys shippers now. You know apart from million parallels and of course foreshadowings of a possible Jonerys union, one of the fondest thing their shippers say is that, Dany fits in with Jon's taste when it comes to romantic partners because Dany and Arya are so similar- it's of course said very platonically referring to Jon's childhood days spent with Arya. But here comes the point of Jon being misogynistic. Val was lonely, lovely and lethal to Jon. And he made it a point to add that Val wasn't some maiden sitting in her tower brushing her hair. This is what we mean by Jon's bias ( natural given what he had to put up with at Winterfell). His remark about Cersei's pride just because she chose to display her house colours is what we mean when we say that even Jon has certain ideas when it comes to decorum. It's similar to Arya when she in her desperation tried to order Harwin around, even when the narrative was showing her the cost of war in the feudal society. There are certain things that these kids have inadvertently done because they are a product of their time. What is so wrong about saying so? Does that negate every other good thing that Jon or Arya has done? The fact that you would say the bogus thing about us....US!!! saying that Jon will look only to Arya and not at any other women. Wtf!

I know you are pissed about one thing. I know it. Even though I wasn't there I know what you are truly pissed about and I am sorry that someone said that about one of your faves ( I am not talking about Jon). Yes you are right when you say that we appropriated the blue rose. Perhaps we did. But my god you are now making straw men and accusing us of things while we in our little corner are just...idk existing only occasionally talking of Jonrya. You can go fuck yourself.

P.S. adding this: Jon having a type isn't misogynistic. But the way he talks of a willowy creature in a tower is a bit. It's acknowledged that this bias is based on his loathing of highborn femininity, because of how the society and how in his own childhood, he was treated by Catelyn and Sansa

[watchtowerindistress]

we are not our demons (5/24) - bruce wayne x batmom

Author’s note: The whole Batfamily is back, baby! God, I love Tim. Not to mention, Damian, my sweet little murder child.

I don't know any American junk food, so I just picked some that I found on an online shop, lol. Oh man, it’s Jason Todd’s birthday.

Beta-read by Axolotyl Alot and Heidi.

Words: 2.1k

Please reblog/leave a comment.

Series Masterlist | Want to be tagged? | Read on AO3

And it’s easy done

Our little remedy

And the reason comes on the common tongue of your loving me

-Moment’s Silence (Common Tongue) by Hozier-

Okay, easy. Deep breaths.

It probably won’t be so bad.

Jeez, please, Bruce, be crime fighting.

With these thoughts running in her head, Ellie sucked in a deep breath before ringing the doorbell to Wayne Manor.

Her body felt like it was crawling through molasses when she lowered her arm against her hip.

The heavy wooden doors didn’t hold back Barbara’s yell, “Hold on, Alfred, I got it!”

Muted chuckles erupted from Ellie’s chest, right before the door was wrenched open. Barbara’s blazing red hair fluttered in the air at the light draft.

Ellie raised her eyebrows, seeing Barbara try to appear unruffled by her appearance.

“Oh hey, you,” Barbara said, leaning against the doorjamb after a few awkward attempts to find the right position.

Ellie sent her a grin in return, eyes narrowing. “Hey yourself. I brought food.” Plastic bags rustled in her arms when she raised them in the air. She tilted her head, correcting herself just as quickly, “Well, candy.”

Barbara snorted, inspecting the various products of Sour Patch Kids, Twizzlers and Doritos. “That’s the best food for a movie night. Come on in.” She waved her inside.

Ellie looked around, seeing everything still in place since she left. The brunette smiled in appreciation when she saw Alfred standing in the kitchen, making drinks.

“Miss Ellie,” the gray-haired butler said with a small smile on his face, his white apron still fastened around his neck. The words “Your opinion was not in my recipe” were displayed on the cloth. “It is wonderful to see you grace us with your presence.”

It felt like she never left.

Ellie’s mouth quirked into a lop-sided smirk. “I hope that wasn’t sarcasm.”

Alfred shared a small smile with her. “I have used that phrase before but with you, it is not meant ironically.”

A herd of feet ran down the stairs. “Trust me, Alfred here used that sentence on Damian and me before, and you would notice a difference.”

Ellie turned as soon as the voice of Dick reached her ears. She sent him a grateful smile. “Hello, Richard.”

“Hey.” The dark-haired young man stepped closer to wrap her in a short but tight hug, enveloping her in his warmth. “Nice to see you again.” Ellie felt instantly at home again when his familiar blue eyes twinkled with delight.

“You too.” She momentarily stroked his side affectionately.

Ellie felt someone’s eyes on her and slowly distanced herself from Dick to find the rest of the Batfamily gathered around the living room.

Wait, what did she just call them in her head?

Damian was standing a few feet away from her while Tim—sweet Tim—was standing by the couch, unsure how to react around her.

“It seems you do remember us.”

Ellie sighed and closed her eyes in defeat upon hearing Damian’s biting words of condescension. It appeared as if all the progress they had made together, all the hardships they went through, was for nothing.

However, Ellie knew of the one thing they both shared: stubbornness for days.

She didn’t consider the Wayne heir as unimportant. Before everything went crazy, Ellie wanted to get to know this anger-fueled kid and help him.

Unfortunately, it was her pride that got in the way when she abandoned all of them. After some time to contemplate what happened, maybe time was all she needed to move on. Not only for herself, but for the sake of these boys.

Ellie bent down, putting herself at eye-level with the youngest Wayne. Damian’s black hair had grown longer at the front, and he was clenching his jaw.

“How could you ever think I would forget you? I would never,” Ellie whispered fervently.

Damian inhaled a deep breath, crossing his arms over his chest while staring head-on at her. “Yes, I’ll believe that when I see it.”

Ellie shook her head with deep regret. “I’m … sorry, Damian. I didn’t mean to hurt any of you. If you thought that I stayed away–”

“Oh, please.” The raven-haired boy rolled his eyes, which were shining with hell-bent determination, refusing to believe anything from her. “Don’t pretend to care for any of us.”

“Damian,” Dick admonished his little brother.

“No, it’s …” Ellie bit her lip and waved a hand, mulling over her next words. Her gaze remained on his eyes. “You have no idea how truly sorry I am that I hurt you, but I’m willing to … come over more often. Make an effort. Whatever it takes to rebuild our trust again.”

Just as long as Bruce gave his okay. She was so not looking forward to having that conversation. A very much needed one, but still.

Ellie shrugged, sending the young boy a soft smile. “Trust me, I got all the time in the world, Damian.”

His big brown eyes were staring back at her, analyzing her facial expressions to determine if she was being deceitful. Finally, he only shrugged, giving her the only answer she would get out of him.

A snort freed from Ellie’s lips before she straightened again. Her gaze landed on the second-youngest child in the household. Ellie’s smile turned bittersweet while watching the boy twist on the balls of his feet, swaying nervously by the furniture.

“Tim, do you want to say ‘hi’ to Ellie?” Barbara’s voice inquired softly next to her, who leaned forward with her hands on her knees.

Tim remained silent as his wide eyes were gazing back at Ellie with heavy uncertainty.

“I’ve missed you, Tim,” Ellie breathed with a breaking voice, sending him a small smile. She watched with bated breath as Tim slowly moved towards her, like he was testing the waters. Ellie was afraid to move even a single muscle, trying not to scare him away. Before she could process what was happening, his arms wrapped tightly around her middle, seeking comfort.

Tears pooled in her eyes as she knelt to the ground, hugging his body in return.

“Missed you too,” Tim whispered into her neck.

Both of them tried to ignore the soft-eyed gazes lingering on their touching moment.

Ellie cleared her throat, venturing a look around. “So, uh, Babs…?”

“Yep?” All of them were gathered on the couch and its armchairs when the first movie of the evening started. Alfred’s drinks were spread out on the coffee table while they were munching on their snacks. Ellie thanked God that she had taken into account the huge stomachs of the boys to be filled, especially Dick’s.

“So … where is Bruce?” Ellie whispered quietly. Her head was leaning down while facing the TV screen.

Barbara sent her a brief glimpse before saying, “Well, the usual, you know? Crime fighting and stuff.”

Ellie quietly exhaled a breath of relief and tried to quench that rising feeling in her belly that felt like disappointment. Barbara studied her facial expression when she opened her mouth to say something.

The elevator made a dinging sound down the hallway.

Betrayal was shining in her eyes when she slowly turned her head at Babs who only raised her arms in surrender, like she truly didn’t know. Ellie felt her heartbeat thumping rapidly in her chest when she turned her head at the sudden noise. Her eyes widened comically in shock.

Heavy footsteps echoed against the walls. Ellie was slowly looking up—and hoping to evade this situation as long as possible—to discover Bruce in his comfy clothes he tended to only wear at home.

He was wearing his dark-brown sweatpants and a gray Henley with the sleeves rolled up, Bruce’s well-toned arms on full display, popping veins included. Tension was reinforced through his whole body with the way he was standing ramrod straight in front of her.

Oh.

They must have painted a funny picture.

Ellie’s expression resembling a character from a horror flick while Bruce stopped in his tracks, rendered speechless and motionless. Barbara bit her lip in anticipation, and Ellie was sure that Alfred was literally eating his popcorn and enjoying the show that was unfolding before his eyes.

“Bruce,” Ellie breathed unevenly and instantly felt like an intruder.

Bruce still looked the same and yet so differently. He still had that stubble which was driving her absolutely crazy, and his thick hair was framing his face. Dark circles weren’t present when they were still together.

“Ellie,” Bruce murmured quietly, “I did not know you would be here tonight.”

The brunette cleared her throat, putting her bowl of chips back on the table before standing up. “Yes, it was … kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing.” Nervously, Ellie twisted her fingers and felt the epitome of unease all of a sudden. “Can we talk?”

For a few suspenseful seconds, Bruce was gazing at her with blinking eyes before finally answering, “Sure.”

They wandered into the hallway, just around the corner, in hopes of maintaining some privacy. Yet she could definitely hear the volume of the TV being lower than before.

Ellie chewed on her lower lip at the same time her hand brushed through her hair. She fixed her eyes on his hazel-colored ones and tried to ignore how her racing heart only emphasized her emotional turmoil. “I’m sorry, Bruce. I should have let you know that I was going to be here.”

He furrowed his eyebrows and cleared his throat. “No, uh, it’s fine. The boys have missed you.” Bruce seemed to bite back his words and shook his head. Instead, he rolled his eyes when he remembered something else. “And probably Barbara too since she misses the female company around here.” His hands were hidden in the pockets of his sweatpants, Bruce rocking on the back of his feet.

With the way he was standing so close to her, it was hard not to get swept in his musky scent. Oh God, he still smells so good. His bulging arms only coiled her stomach in tight knots.

Ellie snorted. She could only guess how hard it must have been for the woman to grow up more or less with no female companionship around. Only full-blown testosterone, 24/7.

“And…” Bruce was trying to wrench something from between his teeth. “I have missed you as well.”

Ellie stared up at him. Her affliction was a dry throat after swallowing thickly. Her throat felt raspy with her next words. “I have missed you too. I mean, all of you guys. The boys were on my mind all the time.”

Bruce turned his head away briefly, composing himself. “Okay, sure.” He revealed a tense smile.

“Look, do you think we can stay civil with each other? If it is okay with you, of course. Trust me, I don’t want to make things weird between us.”

Bruce nodded, hiding his hands in his pockets. “Of course, I’ll be out of your hair then.”

“No,” Ellie exclaimed and shook her head vehemently. Almost like a reflex, her hand touched his arm. Both of their gazes met Ellie’s stroking hand, right before she wrenched it away like his skin set her body on fire. “You should stay with us.” She smiled softly at Bruce. “Come on, the boys would really love this.” Ellie rolled her eyes in humor. “And Babs. It would really mean a lot to them. Please.”

Their gazes brushed when Bruce probably understood the deeper meaning to her unsaid request. That this would mean the world to her as well.

Bruce blinked, and his face softened at this newly found revelation. “Lead the way.”

As soon as they walked together back into the living room, the rustling sounds of pillows reached their ears. Once they finally entered everyone tried to appear nonchalant.

Weren’t these guys, with some exceptions, supposed to be vigilantes operating at night?

During the rest of the movie Ellie felt her cheeks redden with embarrassment when quick and conspicuous glances were thrown their way.

Real smooth, guys.

Once movie night ended, Ellie found herself so tired that she did not even make a fuss when Bruce followed her to the door. But she was lucid enough to draw the line at accepting his offer to stay in one of the guest rooms of his house.

“You know, it’s really late, so I was wondering—” Uncertainty coursed through her on how to phrase her words and if Bruce would even accept what she was asking from him. “—if we could talk tomorrow.” Her next words sounded like a stutter. “At my place. If you want. I mean, we probably did just now … a bit, but still–”

The corners of Bruce’s mouth twitched. “I’ll be there.”

And just like that, Ellie could finally release the breath she had been holding the whole evening. It was hard for her not to let pessimism and worst-case scenarios run rampant through her head.

“Okay, cool.” She nodded. “That’s great.” Before she could talk herself out of it or him, Ellie ventured down the stairs and stepped into her car to drive off.

Tagging: @mellowstatesmanhandsempath​​ @ravenmoore14​ @alwayshave-faith​ @ikranfuad​ @daydreaming-gemini​ @bluegalaxyprime​ @liadamerondjarin​​ @steph21369 @andrewswifes-blog​​​

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