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celtic-crossbow · 27 days

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Those Summer Nights, When I Look in Your Eyes

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Fem!Reader

Setting: Commonwealth (No France) Warnings: Sexual Situations; Vague Smut

Summary: Daryl's childhood had lacked so much and at the beginning of the turn, he had never known love beyond Merle's version of it. Now, he had it all and he would never let them wonder how much he cherished them.

A/N: For @louifaith, I hope this is close to what you imagined for our archer. 🩵 - Also, I have Daryl calling reader "pip" because someone suggested him nicknaming her "pipsqueak" in another story and it has just stuck with me. I was as vague as possible about reader’s age but let me be clear - she is above 18. I don’t write for huge age gaps. I don’t judge those that do and I do read them. I just do not write them but I have no control over where your mind takes you. Anyway, the song he hums is attached. ;)

Life was good.

For thirteen years, there had never been a point in time where Daryl had felt like he could say that and genuinely believe it. For an entire year, the Commonwealth had thrived. Not a single threat. The walls held. The governing unit was fair and compassionate. It really was like the old world.

But not for Daryl.

In the old world, he had been a drifter. A useless drifter walking in the shadow of his brother. No job, no friends, no purpose. And he had, at that time, liked it that way.

Not anymore.

Because now he had a job. He had friends. He had a family. He had a purpose. And he had everything he had lacked growing up. He had love, and not just Merle’s variation of it.

Carol had taken over Lance’s position when Ezekiel and Mercer had stepped up to govern. She had pulled Daryl aside and asked him if he wanted to stay in their reformed force, giving him the choice. His decision was to promptly decline. So they put their heads together to come up with something.

Daryl possessed many skills, most of them learned by doing throughout the years. He had one condition that he would not negotiate on, however.

Daryl’s time outside the walls was over.

He agreed to train hunters to take his place and conceded to three weeks on the road with volunteers that he left up to Carol’s choosing. There was more than enough trust between them for him to be comfortable with who she would deem worthy to provide for the community.

Then he was given the job of overseeing construction and structural upkeep, equipment maintenance, and of course, a seat in the governmental advisory council. He was nothing if not adaptable and took to his position quickly, finding that he liked it. He was respected and his suggestions for the good of the community were heard and considered.

If he chose to hunt or ride, it would be for leisure but he’d hardly needed it in the past year. Domestic life had tamed the inner need to hide or escape that had been ingrained throughout the years even before the turn.

Years ago, you had tumbled into his life. A hot mess that he had spent many a day battling the urge to absolutely throttle. You had a stubborn streak a mile wide that made his own nothing more than a small trail. He absolutely couldn’t stand you.

Funny thing, time.

Now you wore his ring and proudly carried his last name. You had wanted the ceremony, even if his proposal was lackluster. He had been seeking you out after the end of the Whisperers.

“Where’s Y/N?” At first no one answered. He barely parted his lips, intent on asking again with a little more well placed ardor when a woman he recognized as a former Hilltop resident spoke up. “I saw your wife! She’s over with the children!” He muttered his thanks and took a single step before you were finding him. “Daryl!” Your body collided with his, knocking the air from his lungs. His heartbeat lowered regardless, feeling you there in his arms, alive and breathing and whole. “I couldn’t see you in the herd. I was about to come find you but Jude, she made me promise to stay.” “M’here. An’ they’re gone” He tightened his arms around you and rested his cheek on the crown of your head. “So I’m your wife now, huh?” He felt the shift of your facial muscles against his chest, knew you were smiling. “What of it?” He grunted. “Ya wanna be?” He felt his heart skip a few beats when you lifted your head to smile at him, beaming and beautiful. “Of course, I do. Might as well be at this point. We sound like an old married couple.” Daryl snorted and then shrugged. “Then I guess we are.” “That simple?” “That simple.” When you grinned, he knew you would never let it be that simple.

You got your wedding, simple and intimate, with only the few remaining people that were closest to the two of you. When Gabriel said the words, you got your ring, too. Oh, the hell and herds Daryl had gone through to get them. Matching bands, camelot black titanium. Crafted to withstand the way the world was.

He was twisting the ring round and round as he walked home, tired from a full day’s work and more than ready for the weekend with his family: you, Jude, RJ, and his little River. His boy was nearly two years old, the spitting image of Daryl with a heaping dose of your attitude.

You were younger than Daryl, still at an age where pregnancy and giving birth was not considered risky beyond the state the world was in and the lack of some resources. It was horrifying yet the best news he’d ever heard in his self-proclaimed useless life.

River Merle came along right in the midst of the unease in the Commonwealth. When they had taken you and River along with Jude and RJ, it had required all the power Carol possessed to stop Daryl from losing his goddamn mind. He was prepared to rip out entrails with his bare hands and use them to strangle each and every trooper that stood between him and his wife and kids. It was not a good time to support Pamela.

It all worked out in the end when, bruised but alive, the people took back the Commonwealth.

And now, here he was. A husband. A father. A boss. A survivor.

Life. Was. Good.

“Ya home, Pip?” The words habitually rolled off his tongue the moment he opened the door and stepped inside. Jude and RJ were watching a movie, the elder looking over with a hey, Uncle Daryl before turning right back to the television. It was the weekend. No reason to bug them about homework.

“Where else would we be?” You called from the kitchen. Daryl unlaced his boots, was in the middle of pulling off the second one when you came out with River on your hip. “Someone’s cranky today.”

“I ain’t cranky.”

“I’m not talking about you but assuming I was says a lot.” You smiled softly, passing off the baby while simultaneously stealing a kiss. “Hi.”

“Hey.” He nearly melted, probably would have if you weren’t situating a small human right against his chest.

“Get a room.” Judith was rolling her eyes when Daryl shot her a harmless look.

River’s little arms went straight around his father’s neck, his little hiccups and sniffles muffled against Dary’s shirt. “S’wrong, lil’ man. Mama houndin’ ya over veggies like she does me an’ RJ?” River pulled back, rubbing his left eye with a chubby fist, looking at Daryl with a scowl that he knew very well adorned his own face more often than not. Even being so content with his life, he couldn’t seem to rid himself of what you called his resting bitch face.

“Daddy.” Was all the boy said before burying his face back into Daryl’s shirt.

“He had a nap?” Daryl was jostling his son as little as possible while ridding himself of his precious vest, tossing it over the back of ‘his’ chair at the dining table. His large hand covered a wide expanse of the small boy’s back when he rubbed soothing little circles, following you into the kitchen. You shook your head and took the lid off the pot on the stove. The scent of meat and herbs wafted toward Daryl and his mouth watered, but first thing was first.

“He wouldn’t go down. I think it’s a daddy day.” You smiled at the sauce but it wasn’t meant for the pasta topping at all. Daddy days were Daryl’s favorite. River wanted absolutely no one but him. The baby would fuss during meals, refuse to nap, and absolutely forget about bath and bedtime unless Daryl was there.

“I got ‘im then. See if I can get ‘im down for a bit.” Daryl was ducking and angling his head to catch River’s attention, finally earning a shy smile when blue met blue and the archer scrunched his nose and stuck out his tongue. Pressing a kiss into the mess of wavy hair, he noticed you standing with your back against the countertop, a certain type of smile on your face.

“What?”

“Nothing. You’re just sexy.”

“Pfft, stop.”

“We are so playing chess tonight.”

Daryl arched a brow. “Yeah?”

You nodded, your smile morphing into something else entirely; something sinful. “Oh, yeah.”

Dinner done, older kids in their rooms after teeth brushing and goodnight hugs, Daryl sat in the nursery with a sleepy River resting his head on his father’s shoulder while the chair gently rocked. The baby’s hair was only the least bit damp but he smelled of the lavender lotion that you always seemed to have near the changing table, instructing Daryl to use it after baths and before bed because it was calming.

Bathed and in a fresh diaper and pajamas, mini-Daryl was beginning to drift off while his father simply rubbed his back or kissed his cheek or even held a little hand just to count the fingers over and over. Soon enough there would be potty training and pre-school—Carol had said that was still a thing in the world now and yes, they had one in the Commonwealth—so for now, Daryl just wanted to soak it all up, take it all in.

River would likely be the only baby the two of you would have, so not a single second was being wasted or taken for granted. You kept a daily journal of simple things that some might find trivial but Daryl knew he’d be reading that journal often enough to wear the ink right off the pages. Sometimes, he missed things because of work, but in the end, that’s what happened when you were a parent, he supposed. His old man didn’t care about milestones or daddy days, and his mama wasn’t around for bath time or boo-boo kisses. River would have it all. And as long as they were his to care for, so would Judith and RJ. In fact, since the baby had Daryl, you were currently reading a story to Rick and Michonne’s son before bed.

Man, if Rick could see Daryl now. Would his brother even recognize him? God, would his brother even recognize him? He let his mind drift for a moment to Rick and Merle, just long enough to keep them close and then he was back to River, pressing a kiss to a chubby cheek.

You would always rock and sing to the little one but he didn’t need that from Daryl. There was just something about their bond that didn’t require words and hardly even movement. It had been that way since the moment you had pushed him into the world. He had cried, red-faced and angry and cold while Tomi leaned to put him onto your chest. You had your time with him, cuddling and nursing, his little sounds still expressing his discontentment with the change from your warm womb to a loud, bright world.

They had Daryl take off his shirt, which he didn’t understand until you explained better than any doctor or nurse could. The moment River was pressed against his skin, the connection was apparent to anyone who saw. The baby went silent, wide eyes mirroring the ones Daryl himself had. He had felt guilty for the longest time that River wanted you to feed him and then he wanted his daddy back immediately. He still had his mommy days and you said that was enough.

You were always supportive, never angry or jealous. You’d share the moments with him while he enjoyed them with you.

It was all what he’d never had, so he’d make sure River, Judith, and RJ never went without it.

His eyes were slow to open, squinting at the traitorous window that dared let the morning rays creep across the bed and to his pillow. It took a few sluggish blinks to remember what day it was and that he was free to go back to sleep until River required either you or him. With a deep breath, he stretched his arms above his head and looked at you, still wrapped around him with your head on his chest. Naked. Still so very, very naked.

He was barely in the bedroom door before you were pushing him against it, almost catching his fingers when he attempted to mute the sound of it closing at his back. You had his shirt unbuttoned and your mouth on his before he could even take a breath. “I told you,” you panted against his lips, “we’re playing chess tonight.” Daryl grabbed the back of your thighs and lifted you easily, spinning you to press you against the door. “Goddamn right, we are.” The first round was a frenzied bout of moaning and skin slapping skin, hands covering mouths to keep the noise down. Your nails had left gouges on Daryl’s ass and back, clawing at him for more. You weren’t unscathed. A bruise was blooming on the curve of your right breast, a perfect black and purple bite he had inflicted at some point. It ended with you lying across Daryl’s torso while he was flat on his back with the pillow halfway over his face. Panting and sweating while the sheet covered neither of you where it mattered. Why it was anywhere near either of you was anyone’s guess. The second time was slower, every second savored. Your fingertips memorizing his face while his hips rolled into you, back arching to push himself deeper. His lips were on your forehead, your eyelids, your cheeks and mouth. His fingers danced down your ribcage and back up to your breasts, gentle caresses while he pressed his lips over the mark he’d left earlier. You didn’t have to try hard to roll him over. He went willingly, his hands going straight for your hips. You let your fingers roam his chest and stomach. His scars were yours to explore, he’d given that power over to you long ago. The marks no longer held him prisoner after you’d shown him how to be free. You were incredibly attracted to the way his body had softened with age and he worshiped each wrinkle and stretch mark that time and pregnancy had gifted you. You loved each other wholly, without condition.

And you laid where you had collapsed, goosebumps on your skin from the cool morning air. Daryl didn’t want to go back to sleep, so he laid there, watching you and just enjoying the silence with the knowledge that his family was safe. That you had survived together and built something so precious.

When River began to fuss, it was Daryl that slipped out of bed and left you to rest a bit longer. He had no qualms with being the one to get up earlier to take care of the baby.

The weekend went by fast, as it often did. Sunday night, he found himself sitting on the couch after the kids were all asleep. He had helped clean up after dinner and was contently watching you pick up toys and fold laundry. He didn’t step in to help because he had no intention of allowing you to continue for long.

“What?” You finally inquired, obviously catching him staring.

“Nothin’.” He smirked, huffing a laugh that came out as an exhale through his nose. You were still regarding him when he stood and beckoned you with a finger. “C’mere.” Your pretty eyes narrowed but you placed the unfolded towel on the top of the pile in the basket and stepped into his space. Daryl wasn’t romantic, truly believed he didn’t have it in him to be anything near it. Still, when he guided your arms to his shoulders and lowered his hands to your hips, he watched you melt.

“There’s no music, Daryl.”

“Don’t need it.” He shrugged, just swaying back and forth with you, pulling you closer until you rested your head against his chest.

“The formidable Daryl Dixon is dancing with me when there’s no music playing. This’ll make the papers. It’ll be the headline.”

“Stop.” He chuckled, pressing a kiss into your hair. He was smiling when you sighed, somehow pressing yourself closer to him. You didn’t react at first when he started to hum, whether you were in shock or just relishing the moment. Maybe both. You let him continue.

It was an old tune, one from a favorite album released more than a decade before the first walker rose from the dead. The tune was slow and deep, his chest vibrating with every drone. Finally, you pulled back just enough to look up at him, the corners of your mouth perked.

“What is that?”

“How dare ya! S’Ozzy, woman.” He feigned offense but was tenderly tucking your hair behind your ears.

“I’ve never heard it.”

Daryl scowled playfully before scrunching his nose. “Remind me why I married ya?” You wrapped yourself around him and with the fondest smile he had ever let cross his face, he held you tighter.

“Because you love me.”

“Yeah.” He breathed. “Yeah, I do.”

#murda writes #daryl dixon #daryl dixon x reader #the walking dead #daryl dixon fanfiction #daryl dixon fanfic #daryl dixon x y/n #daryl dixon x you #daryl dixon x female reader #daryl x female reader #dad!daryl #daryl fluff #domestic!daryl #Spotify

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thenightling · 2 years

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“The Oldest Game”

I was surprised to find someone in my Sandman Facebook group actually complaining about “The Oldest Game” in The Sandman Netflix series (episode 4). They seemed disappointed that it wasn’t a “Real” battle but instead it was “like watching them play Dungeons and Dragons.” Meanwhile the majority of us Sandman fans loved the scene. When I first read that scene that was when I knew I was reading something truly different from the usual DC content. I was reading something truly special. To the person complaining about it, I am afraid The Sandman might not be to your taste. There is very little physical combat and scenes like The Oldest Game / “I am Hope” are what hooked a lot of us.

The Oldest Game is based on something TV Tropes (and The Sword in the Stone) calls a “Wizard’s Duel” or a Wizard Duel. The concept turns up a lot in folklore and mythology. It’s where two magical entities (sometimes sorcerers, sometimes Gods, sometimes shapeshifters) have a duel of wits and creativity using their powers and imagination. There’s a similar trope called the Transformation chase and there is an overlap but the transformation chase usually requires there being a chase. You see a sort of single-person transformation chase in Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among thieves.

In The Sandman this battle was for Morpheus’s helm. If he won he got his helm back. If Morpheus lost he would have been enslaved by Choronzon The Demon.

Here’s how the game usually works. The challenged usually gets to make the first move. They pick a form or a spell and it is usually non-lethal. You’re supposed to start small and build up to bigger / more imposing things. The battle follows TBL (Turn based Logic) like in a tabletop or online text based role playing game. So the Dungeons and Dragons comparison isn’t actually wrong so much as it’s not quite the right role playing game. (Yes, I AM a nerd. Thank you for noticing.)

After the first move is made the opponent may take the hit and then make an offensive move (attack) in return or instead of taking the hit, they can make a defensive counter move to avoid taking the hit but in doing so the person loses the opportunity to make a offensive move. If you’re clever you can sometimes get away with a single move that does both but that is tricky. So the choice is usually take damage and attack or protect from damage and not attack until the next turn. The game is usually about “one upping” the opponent so you go for something slightly bigger and better than what they used.

In some versions of the game you are allowed to defend yourself and then make an attack move during the same turn so you don’t have to make the choice of defense or attack. In both variations, if you’re clever enough you can come up with a combo of attack and defense in one move but that’s rare.

Usually it’s like this. If your opponent throws a magical dart, you can create a shield or shoot a similar projectile but in some variations you can do both if you can pull it off in a single concept (like creating an armored knight holding a sword and shield). If the rival turned into a rat, you can turn into a cat. Hopefully you get the idea. You can’t go too big too fast or the creativity and strategy the game is known for is lost. It’s a game of wits and creativity after all, not really brute force.

Recently I have seen some people try to argue that during the Lucifer and Morpheus version of the duel that Despair can kill Hope and that Lucifer could have won if she was willing to say she is Despair. No, that may have just caused an unhappy stalemate because pretty much everything that can destroy Hope can also be destroyed by Hope. Hope kills Despair as surely as Despair kills Hope. They are two sides of the same coin after all. It would just be an infinite loop at that point. However there is also the argument that Hope springs eternal while Despair is always only temporary, depending on your perspective.

I have provided three pop culture examples of The Wizard’s Duel. The first is the version in Netflix’s The Sandman between Lucifer and Morpheus.

The second is from Disney’s Sword in the Stone between Mim and Merlin.

The third is from the 1963 film The Raven starring Vincent Price and Boris Karloff. I have a bias in favor of this one since I love this movie. It was written by the late Richard Matheson, directed by Roger Corman, and starred Vincent Price. It came out the same year as Disney’s The Sword in the Stone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZOwaeAEIw0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxqhjWcS8zQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2gBhMdJ23Q

youtube

#The Sandman #Sandman #The Oldest Game #Wizard's Duel #Wizard Duel #Morpheus #Dream of The Endless #Lucifer Morningstar #Neil Gaiman

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neonghostlights · 6 months

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What about Halloween costume party and you can’t tell who the guy in the Godzilla (or your choice of monster) costume is, but you flirt with him all night. He refuses to tell you his name because thinks he’s not your type for whatever reason. But when the reveal happens, you are very pleased, and maybe the two of you had history or knew each other in high school.

Or some type of variation that you vibe with 🫠

BETTY!!!! You have no clue how much I love this! I wasn’t sure if I was gonna go with Godzilla BUT I googled inflatable Godzilla costumes and it all made sense. Thank you so much for the request!

Warnings: Reader is dressed up as Barbie (because Barbie is for everyone), just fluffy cuteness, shy!Eddie, bad writing, blah blah blah..

Wordcount: 1.2k

Those Eyes

Godzilla was checking you out from across the room.

You weren’t completely sure at first since he was in a giant suit and it was hard to make out what direction his face was going in with the snout but you had walked back and forth across this room a few times and he was definitely looking at you.

You had to admit it did take you a moment to figure out what the big scaly creature was supposed to be. The wearer of the costume was tall and was wearing a full body of gray scales. Even his hands and feet had been transformed into the giant lizard.

You were currently at your roommate's cousin's costume party. You typically weren’t one to go to things like these but there was a costume contest with a $100 cash prize that made up for you being dragged out here.

Plus you thought your Barbie costume was pretty cute.

You had decided to be the brave one in this weird standoff you were having with the scaly monster and crossed the room towards him.

“Hi,” you said with a sweet smile, looking up at the monster's face.

You could hear him choke on air and start to cough behind his mask, bending over with his fake claws on his knees to get a good breath.

You really weren’t sure what to do so you just let him cough it out until he got a good breath in.

“Hi,” he replied once he could breathe again. His voice was muffled through the mask but you could still hear him pretty well.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. You okay?”

You watched as the mask nodded quickly.

“You, uh, you didn’t scare me,” he mumbled.

“I didn’t? Darn, guess that means I’m not winning the costume contest.”

“I-I mean, you look great. Beautiful. Barbie was a good choice.”

“Thank you,” you said with a smile, bringing the plastic cup up to your lips. There was a glossy pink lip print on the rim from your lipstick.

You noticed him staring at you again but he quickly looked away when you caught him. You wished you could see his face. Even his eyeballs were obscured by the mask.

You thought it was the perfect opportunity then to tell him your name. You stuck out your hand, just for him to shake it with his plastic clawed hand.

“I know,” he mumbled.

“You know? Do I know you?” You asked. You didn’t know anyone here. At all. You hoped he wasn’t someone you had dated in college but he seemed too cool for that. You couldn’t think of any of your exes having this level of dedication to a costume.

“Kind of?” He hesitated.

“Well who are you?” You questioned.

“You’re gonna be disappointed,” he mumbled, you had to strain your ear to hear him over the loud music and chatter.

“Why would I be disappointed?”

You heard him sigh a deep sigh behind the mask.

“I’m not doing a good job. I was gonna walk up to you and say something to you that was cool or something but I…”

“You got shy?” You finished for him.

“Yep.”

“Okay we can try again. I’m gonna go back over there and let you have your moment to shine,” you pointed across the room, not giving him a chance to argue before you strolled to where you had been standing before.

He didn’t follow you at first and it made you wonder if you had been too pushy. He obviously knew you. What if he didn’t like you?

But your worries were for nothing when you watched him take one awkward step at a time, clearly having a hard time walking in the costume.

You covered your mouth to fight your giggle.

When he finally reached you he paused, grabbing onto the wall for support.

“That’s another reason I didn’t come over and say something to you sooner. I would have killed my chances the second I took the first step towards you,” he admitted with a chuckle.

You laughed. “I have to admit the mask kind of does it for me.”

He barked out a loud laugh.

“You gonna tell me who you are now?” You prompted, hoping he would make the big reveal.

He hummed for a moment before peeling the mask off his face. His hair stuck to his sweaty forehead and his cheeks were tinged pink.

“It was really hot in there,” he said as he fanned himself for a moment.

You took the moment he was cooling himself down to appreciate the fact that Eddie Munson was standing before you.

You had a massive crush on him in highschool. And when you say massive you meant doodling his name all over your notebooks when you zoned out in class and spending the whole month of prom hoping he would ask you just to be severely disappointed when he never did. In his defense, you did hear him say multiple times that anyone that did go to prom was dumb so you weren’t sure why you convinced yourself that you could ever change his mind.

You had sat next to each other in English during your senior year. He was charming, making you laugh and earning you dirty looks from the teacher. Your brief friendship never blossomed into anything else. You were devastated when you went off for college and left him behind.

But time moved on, you stopped thinking about your crush on Eddie, you met new boys, and had a few brief romances.

And now Eddie Munson was standing in front of you, making you feel feelings that you hadn’t felt for at least six years.

His wide brown eyes were on you. If only you had seen those eyes sooner. You would have recognized him right away, even through the mask.

You gave him a big smile. You weren’t as nervous as you were in highschool.

It was now or never.

“Hi, Eddie,” you cooed at him.

“Disappointed?” He asked nervously, chewing on his lip.

“Why would I be disappointed?”

“Because I’m me,” he said, gesturing to himself and his costume.

“When did you get so shy?”

“Excuse me?” He asked as he dropped his chin and raised his brow at you.

“The Eddie Munson I knew in highschool used to stand on tables and put whoopie cushions in Mrs. O'Donnell's chair even though she knew it was you every time,” you said with a pointed stare.

“I kinda blew my chance last time I saw you,” he admitted, going to play with his hair but getting the plastic claw stuck in it instead. He winced when he ripped it out and took some hair with it.

“We’re gonna circle back around to that little bit of information but I want you to know I am definitely not disappointed because I thought I blew my chance in highschool too. And if it helps any you’re really not blowing your chance right now.”

“Really?” He asked in disbelief.

“I told you that the mask really does it for me.”

#eddie munson x reader #eddie munson au #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson #eddie munson x you #eddie stranger things #eddie munson request

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aisquaredchoco · 20 days

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I know I said I'm getting a little rest from making cc, but I just can't sit here knowing I reached 900 followers and do nothing about it. Though these were just unreleased projects that were wating to be posted during the time I had a broken internet at home so no worries, I didn't pressure myself to make these as these were made carefully and with love. So here's a token of gratitude for the huge following I continuously receive all throughout. Thank you everyone! 🥰

4to3 Eco Lifestyle "Panel to the Metal" Wall

-- Three channels, cost §3, found in Walls > Paneling

4to3 Eco Lifestyle "Layered Paneling" Floor

-- Two channels, cost §4, found in Floors > Metal

4to3 Cottage Living "All Good Days Daisy Box"

-- Ah yes, this is the plant I showed on the tutorial I shared not a little long ago. One channel with 7 presets for each flower variation, costs §50, found in Decor > Plants. Contains the original catalog description from TS4.

4to3 Seasons "Branching Out"

-- Four channels (yes, even the flowers!), costs §50, found in Decor > Plants. Contains the original catalog description from TS4.

4to3 Spa Day "Wheatless-Wheat Grass"

-- Two variations, one with a single channel and another with two channels. Costs §65, found in Decor > Plants. Contains the original catalog description from TS4.

4to3 For Rent "Indoor Outdoor Plastic Chair"

-- I had my eyes set on this plastic chair when For Rent came out, so I know I have to convert it for my game. And anyone else who wants it can have it too! One channel, costs §30, found in Comfort > dining Chairs, Misc. Contains the original catalog description from TS4.

***UPDATE 12 APR 2024: PLEASE REDOWNLOAD!

***The chair's holes are not shown to be transparent. This is now updated with the corrected transparency. Sorry for the inconvenience!

4to3 Greenhouse Haven Kit "The Plant Platform by Plant-It"

-- Two channels, costs §175, found in Surfaces > Shelves, Misc. Shiftable with 7 slots. Contains the original catalog description from TS4.

Decades "JuxtaPlant" Separated Planter* and Plant

-- Self-explanatory, made the planter and plant as separate objects. The planter has the same two channels and a single slot for the plants to put on, price is reduced to §100. The plant is non recolorable and costs §75. Both are found in Decor > Plants.

Fast Lane "Stack O'Storage" as Planter*

-- Aside from being a garage clutter, this stack of crates from Fast Lane can also be a planter of your choice too, also with a slot for your plants. Priced §75, found in Decor > Plants.

Base Game Ficus and Philodendron as Separate Plants

Same with the JuxtaPlant plant, these were also 'depotted' from their vases and can be freely placed in any emptied planters. Non-recolorable, cost §150 (Ficus) and §50 (Philodendron). Both found in Decor > Plants.

*note: these planters will not work with harvestable plants, as these are made for decorative purposes only. If someone wants to remake them as functional planters, please do so!

Everything is base game compatible!

DOWNLOAD: Simfileshare | Mediafire

#ts3cc #download #dl:buy #sims 3 #ts3 #followers gift #ts4 to ts3 #4to3 #4t3 #s3cc

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catmask · 2 months

Note

your Laila’s comet character quiz was actually so great? I love the way your questions were worded. They were so clear and descriptive that I was never confused as to what I they meant or what answer I should pick. A lot of uquizzes have questions like “pick a song” or “which photo are you”, which I just find confusing; am I supposed to pick based on preference, how well they represent me, or something else? but your questions were clear and I loved that!!! and there weren’t too many, and they all visibly had some sort of meaning that didn’t seem arbitrary in the slightest! goddd and the result section was so well-written too!! I got algernon and now I can’t wait to meet them because I already relate quite a bit. not one-to-one but a lot closer than most quizzes get to accurate!!! there isn’t a point to this I just thought your quiz was, like, remarkably well-made

thank you so much!!! ahghgg yhis sort of thing makes me happy to hear. i have this same problem with quizzes ive taken before too so, i wanted to try to remedy something while also using it as a chance for character study.

obviously you guys cant see it on your end, but theres actually no single answer thats only one character. for example - i saw someone say they thought laika wouldve picked the action figure, but thats not actually true! two characters who werent laika would pick the action figure.

i think part of writing a good character exploration AND quiz is realizing that peoples choices change if slight variations of our lives were to occurr. that someone who might turn left today couldve turned right if something different had happened. or sometimes they might just be interested in exploring another part of themself.

i guess in this way id encourage people to take the quiz more than once, because even a small change in answers will yield a different result. but thats because every laikas character overlaps at the corners, just like real people do. none of us are as different as we think, but we're not all the same either.

#mailbox #oh right - when i took the quiz the first time i got mars. but the second time i got... well. someone else :-)

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fandomnerd9602 · 11 months

Text

Arranged

Princess!Wanda Maximoff x Male Reader

Thanks to @aloneodi for the prompt!

Wanda hated this arrangement. Marriage between her family, House Maximoff and it's closest neighbor House (L/N). It was a disaster in her mind.

Not only would she have to marry a man she just met but what she had heard about the crown prince of the house was even worse. Rumors had circulated that the crown prince was a womanizer, a prince who would chase all the maids and young women of the land.

"I refuse!" she stated before her father King Erik.

"I beg your pardon?" the monarch asked in response.

"I refuse to be married to some man who will not respect me. A man who would only see me as another notch in his bedpost." Wanda stated defiantly. "Mother raised me to be better than that! I refuse to be the prince's wife!"

"Our nation is on the brink of war with House Stark" the king argued, "in case of attack, we need allies and House (L/N) is our only option."

"What about Pietro?"

"He's pledged to take the throne, along with his betrothed Lady Crystal. Will you at least meet your betrothed?"

Wanda huffed, there wasn't much a choice. She simply nodded. Quickly, she went to her room and changed into some civilian attire.

"Please tell me you're not planning on running away" Natasha, her protector, waltzes in.

"I need some fresh air and some new paints. will my guard care to join me?" Wanda asks her oldest friend.

"I'd be beheaded if I said no" Natasha smirks as she quickly takes off her armor and slips on a cloak.

Wanda loved to see her kingdom, but the only way to remain safe was to go in disguise. Her favorite stop was the painter's shop. New colors and variations for her artwork, it was like being able to create new worlds with the stroke of a paintbrush.

She and Natasha stepped into the shop to find a new customer talking with the owner, purchasing a vial of scarlet red paint. Wanda ran to the back of the store to find the same color. But lo and behold, it was gone.

"Thank you so much" the new customer called out.

"Wait!" Wanda called out as she ran back to the front, "I need that color!"

"Scarlet?" the customer looked at her curiously. "you paint?"

"Yes. What is it unusual for a woman to love to paint?"

"Not in my mind." he smiles before handing it to her, "I was going to paint some roses but I think violets are better in bloom this season"

"Thank you" Wanda fishes for some coins, "allow me to pay you what-"

"Think nothing of it" the customer smiles, "I have all I could need. Pleasure meeting you miss-"

"Wanda" she found herself blushing. Natasha raised an eyebrow, finally someone to get straight to her heart.

"I'm Y/N" the customer smiles, "or at least that's what father calls me when he's not angry"

"And what do you do?"

"A-Apprentice mostly" Y/N shyly replied. "Still learning. But I play the lute and write poetry"

"I love to paint and writing song lyrics" Wanda lets out a chuckle. "I hope to see you again, Y/N"

"As I hope to see you as well, miss Wanda" Y/N replies before offering a bow and heading out.

Natasha lets out a little laugh, "you should've seen your face, Wanda. Your corset looked ready to drop"

"Shut your mouth" Wanda blushed as she walked back to the castle.

She walked into the throne room to see her father talking with a cloaked figure. The two were sharing a little laugh.

"I must've misunderstood the letter" King Erik laughs, "so no marriage required"

"Your majesty" a similar voice answers back, "my family is built on the Knight's Code. Despite what my brother's womanizing actions may say. I would rather have friends than a forced marriage"

Wanda approached the two, trying to be as quiet as a mouse. The king turned to her, "darling you must meet Prince Y/N"

"Y/N?" Wanda looked to the hooded figure who pulled down his hood revealing the friendly customer from before. The two young royals found themselves gasping.

Y/N couldn't wipe off the smile forming on his face.

"But-! How?"

"Your majesty" Y/N bows before her, "It appears our next meeting was sooner than we would think."

"Were you tricking me?" Wanda eyed the prince.

"Never ma'am." Y/N explained, 'I like to visit potential allies as a servant, i can get more places as such."

"So you're the one I am to marry?"

"I-If that is your wish" Y/N blushes

"You're not a womanizer"

"That's my older brother" Y/N huffs, "My mom raised me better than that."

"You're not an apprentice" Wanda giggled.

"I am actually. An apprentice monarch" Y/N laughs, "and I am still learning."

"Perhaps you could show me some of your poems," Wanda offered the young prince.

Y/N holds out his elbow to her, "only if you'll show me your paintings."

Wanda found herself blushing again. She looked to her guard who gave her the thumbs up.

The two young royals walked off arm in arm. Maybe there would be a marriage some day, for Wanda and Y/N. But for now, their kingdoms were safe and a blossoming love could take the time to fully bloom.

THE END.

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vashtijoy · 1 year

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Your analyses give me a lot to think about. I finished P5R recently and am trying to spread the Akechi brainrot to someone else by playing it through with them. One thing that I constantly think about, and I guess it's a minor detail, is the the fact the Thieves' Den theme is a more upbeat version of No More What Ifs. It's interesting to me that it isn't other songs (i.e. how they use With The Stars and Us for Persona evolution/important moments as a leitmotif). If they wanted something more generally applicable, they could have used a version of Our Light, another variation of Beneath the Mask (like we don't have 10 billion of those), or some other common theme. It's stated at the beginning of the conversation that it's formed from Joker's/Akira's cognition specifically and represents all of his memories across time (since the Thieves' Den stays the same no matter which playthrough you're on). But the song is uniquely Akechi's, through the lyrics and how it's associated with him both in P5R and in other Persona media. It makes me think, why that song specifically? Why a more upbeat version of it? Another detail (and again might be unrelated) is that the first day the Thieves Den is accessible is the first time he appears (as Pleasant Boy). IDK I'm definitely overthinking it.

No such thing as overthinking on this blog, anon! AND OH SHIT IT'S THIS SONG. I have a feeling they only chose it because it's a nice easy listening piece, but on the other hand, it's definitely Akechi's song, isn't it? Am I, like, a bad fan if I say I never looked up the lyrics before? BECAUSE I AM HAVING A MOMENT:

I do not regret with my choices I'm rather proud ooh I know I won't change anything because I can only be me so

This isn't a line Akechi appears to use in the game, but that "I can only be me" line pops up in Mementos Mission, of course, and I'm going to go into it because I really love these two pages:

"I can only ever be me." Ren knows better, of course—look at his face. Give him a break, Akechi. And look at Akechi's face—he's lying, or he's deflecting. What just happened here?

Shido calls Akechi in, for some dubious reason. Ren asks him why he doesn't quit, knowing full well it's not the investigation team, and Akechi is like "nah bruh". And then he smiles, mask fully in place, and says "I can only ever be me". It's one of his double- or triple-edged statements—the "me" he is, of course, will happily lie and deceive and be any number of different people.

I wouldn't be surprised if this scene was based on the song.

#asks #persona 5 #p5 meta #goro akechi #ren amamiya

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antianakin · 27 days

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I'm starting to see some very funny (and by funny I mean infuriating) takes on what Andor was actually ABOUT and the way it utilized its more adult narrative within the context of Star Wars. Andor as a show followed Lucas's themes BRILLIANTLY even while choosing to look at them a little differently.

One of the primary themes in Star Wars is that there really isn't much of a "middle ground" in life. You are either choosing to be selfless and compassionate, or you aren't. Trying to stay in the middle or run from making this choice inevitably ends up badly for the people who try. And one of the other primary themes of Star Wars is that being selfless and compassionate often requires LETTING GO, most often letting go of the people you love and accepting that change happens in life.

I've seen people argue that Andor is able to be a morally grey story because its characters aren't Jedi or Sith who tend to be more bound by these cosmic themes or good vs evil, but I'd argue that Andor actually represents that theme JUST FINE.

Despite many of its characters living in a "morally ambiguous" area, we still have to see them make the choice to be selfless and compassionate or selfish and greedy. One of the primary themes for the characters is how well they can LET GO or not. Cassian is constantly having to figure out how to let go of his plans for his future, let go of his mother, let go of his dreams of a normal life. Cassian is ruled by fear for much of the first season and it's only once he is pushed into a situation where there's no longer any way to run, he starts finally fighting back and refusing to bow to the oppressive force that wants nothing more than to see him discarded like so much refuse. The people of Ferrix have to let go of their desire to stick their heads in the sand and simply hope the Empire won't notice them.

And on the other end of the spectrum you have Syril Karn and Dedra Meero absolutely fixated on their respective goals to the point that they're willing to kill and betray innocent people to reach them. They've convinced themselves their goals are selfless, but their motivations are in fact actually SELFISH, they serve nobody but their own ambitions. And both of them end up paying for it.

So Andor ABSOLUTELY gets the central theme of Star Wars, it isn't actually trying to change that. What it DOES do is take that theme and just digs slightly deeper, looking at this theme from a slightly different angel even when it ultimately comes to the same conclusion. Andor asks if selflessness and compassion always looks like "I'm Luke Skywalker, I'm here to rescue you!" Or if maybe sometimes making the selfless choice means burning yourself to light a fire to lead someone else to safety. Are all people who make the selfless and compassionate choice considered heroes, or are some of them having to make those choices down in the dirt and destined to be forgotten by history? Andor asks how many variations of selflessness might exist and then explores them in its wide, colorful ensemble.

Andor also is looking at what selflessness might look like in characters who are forced into making a choice between standing back when they see evil happening and dirtying their hands just to make the smallest difference because forces of evil outside of their control are making the purer options impossible.

And that is the EXACT SAME THEME explored with the Prequels Jedi. The Jedi who want so badly to be selfless and compassionate, whose philosophies and ideologies lead them to use violence only as a last resort and love everyone and everything in the galaxy equally. The Jedi who are thrust into a war where there's no way to win because the Sith are running both sides of it and the Jedi can't just NOT FIGHT because that will get innocent people killed and will help no one but themselves, but they have to compromise their morals as a result. The Jedi who see a politician slowly amassing unreasonable amounts of power he's unwilling to let go of and a Senate too controlled by fear and greed to see the danger, so their only option is to commit treason to try to remove the corruption personally.

The Jedi LOOK the hero part a lot more than the characters in Andor do. They're strong, confident, powerful, and wield swords of light. They fight out in the open rather than from the shadows. Cassian, Luthen, Saw, Mon Mothma, Vel, and Cinta all manipulate things and threaten people and lie and cheat their way towards victory. Both Mon Mothma and Luthen fully admit to choosing to act like their enemy in order to defeat them. And it's not that the Jedi's way of fighting is any worse than the way the people of Andor have learned to fight. The people of Andor would LOVE to be able to fight like the Jedi used to do. But they can't. Palpatine has created a world in which being heroes that way is NO LONGER POSSIBLE. He started with the Jedi, by forcing the Jedi into a situation where fighting the way they once did was the wrong choice to make. There were no longer any right choices, just better choices. The only choice.

The Jedi stood as a bulwark between the darkness and the people of the galaxy. For years they chose to dirty their hands in order to fight the battles no one else WANTED to fight because it was the ONLY CHOICE TO MAKE. So what happens when the Jedi are gone?

The rest of the galaxy is now faced with the same choice. Do you stand by and let darkness grow? Or do you dirty your hands a little because it's the only choice you CAN make?

The people in Andor are picking up the torch that fell out of the Jedi's hands when they were murdered and persecuted by the Sith. Only the people who are left don't have magic powers or swords of light, so they use the resources they have at their disposal, which mostly amounts to manipulation and trickery and striking from shadows. The fight looks a little different now, but it's still the same fight the Jedi were fighting for years.

So Andor is taking those bigger cosmic themes from the Jedi/Sith conflicts that permeate the rest of the Skywalker saga and asks what those themes might look like when applied to the little people. What kind of choices might THEY make, what kind of things might they have to let go of in order to make those selfless choices? What kind of consequences might happen when they DON'T make the selfless choice? It's the exact same theme Lucas has ALWAYS had in his stories, just viewed from a different angle or through a different lens.

But the stories we've been getting recently that are trying to argue that being selfish is actually totally fine so long as you're doing it For Love, that the Jedi were in fact the source of everything that went wrong in the galaxy, that the Jedi were DESTINED to be destroyed, those all go completely against Lucas's themes. They're the direct OPPOSITE of his intended message. It is in fact entirely possible to write a more adult story with grittier content that STILL SENDS THE SAME FUCKING MESSAGE AND FOLLOWS THE SAME THEMES and doesn't try to get edgy in its interpretation of the source material.

#star wars #star wars andor #andor #sw andor #cassian andor #luthen rael #mon mothma #jedi #pro jedi #george lucas #star wars prequels #prequels jedi

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misteria247 · 2 years

Text

Y'all wanna know something kinda sad?

Like Rottmnt Leo is such a goofball and a jokester and he can be a little egotistical but he's also pretty laid back and relaxed with everything and he's playful and funny and a huge nerd and it suits him really well. But like the only reason he's able to be like this is because he's not the leader.

Raph's the leader in his universe.

Leo is able to basically be a teenager and relax and have fun because he's not shouldering the responsibilities that come with being a leader. He's not burdened by the fears of possibly getting his brothers hurt or killed and he's not really in charge of making those huge decisions that would put pressure on him if he was the leader. Like sure in the show he does have his moments where he steps up in Raph's place as the leader or supplies his brothers with a plan to save their asses but it's all temporary. As soon as the danger is over he can give the role back to Raph because it's not his responsibility.

However in the other variations of the turtles Leo's the one who handles that responsibility of being the leader. From the 80s to the 90s to the early to late 2000s, it's always been Leo who's the leader. And from those variations we can see how Leo's much more mature than his Rise variation. He's calm and serious and wise and he rarely gets to just relax because even a moment of it could possibly end up with his family being destroyed. He's level headed and the tough choices fall to him and whenever things settle down he can't hand over the leader responsiblity like Rise Leo can. Because he's the leader permanently.

Like we see glimpses of Leo's more teenage side whenever he makes the rare joke or whenever he watches his favorite shows or whenever he's truly certain that things are safe for his family and friends and even then he's still guarded and ready for everything to hit the fan. In a way he's restricted from being a teenager and having fun because the responsibilities of being the oldest and the leader has been weighing down on him for nearly his entire life. He never gets to really do anything normal people his age get to do.

But then Rottmnt comes along and we get to see Leo but without the burdens that have been with him since the very beginning. We see Leo having fun and being a teenager and just enjoying life to the fullest because he's not the responsible sibling for a change. Instead he's the sibling that can finally let loose and have fun in a way that he's never had before. Rise Leo is basically the Leo that we the fans might have had if he wasn't the oldest brother and the beloved leader in blue we all know and love.

Rise Leo is the Leo who's free from the burdens and traumas and consequences of being the leader. Free to be himself completely knowing that someone else has that role that's been his for nearly the entire franchise. In a somewhat terrible, heartbreaking way Leo is more free in the Rottmnt than he's ever been ever.

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maleyanderecafe · 3 months

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Rot with Me (Visual Novel)

Created by: Gothic Ilustrations

Genre: Horror/Romance

Rot with Me is a short game created for #72HourMurderboyMayhem jam, and it does a good job with the horror elements it has for the endings. I like how some of the endings go more into the gothic horror that the game is running with, which is always very fun. You can find more from this creator at @gothic-illustrations.

The story starts with the MC going on a hike and getting lost in the forest. As it starts to rain, they spot a giant mansion and run inside of it for shelter. While feeling guilty for essentially running into someone's house, they meets a strange man who welcomes them. He introduces himself as Fyodor Voronin and they introduce themselves back. The two talk about why Fyodor is living there and that they are the first person to come to his manor for a while. Fyodor shows them around, inviting them to dance. Accepting it will make Fodor very happy and he ends up dragging them into the basement.

The basements is filled with a lot of bodies, blood and various diagrams of the human body, all with the same Y-shaped scar that Fyodor has. Fyodor basically traps the MC into the basement and they look around for information. Upon looking around the MC finds taht Fyodor has an obsession with killing (well, specifically plunging a knife into someone's chest) and as a result attempts to extend his lifespan so he can continue to kill. He finds something called the Crawling Rot, which extends his life, however, still causes his body to rot, thus why he seems to be replacing parts of himself.

The MC can choose to wait for Fyodor, which results in him declaring that he will keep the MC in his manor forever. Whether or not the MC feels alright with this determines a slight variation of the ending, though in the end, they are trapped with Fyodor forever.

If the MC decides to call upon the Crawling Rot, they will perform a ritual on one of the decaying bodies, which summons them. The MC talks about how Fyodor made a deal with them and that he hasn't paid back his end of the bargain. When Fyodor comes back down, the Crawling Rot drags him away into another dimension, with Fyodor begging for the MC's help before disappearing. After this, the Crawling Rot offers to make the MC a proposition to become a debt collector, essentially finding and making people who owe the Crawling Rot pay.

If the MC agrees, they are infected with the Crawling Rot, and become the debt collector for them.

If the MC refuses, the Crawling Rot leaves, and the MC returns back to their normal life.

If throughout the visit, the MC decides to be distant towards Fyodor (giving him a fake name, not dancing with him), he will fall in love, but instead try to take the MC's heart instead. Being captured will result in Fyodor succeeding in cutting out the MC's heart to make their own. If the MC successfully escape, they will attempt to call the police, but will only find the MC's missing items and will be anxious constantly about what they saw.

The story itself feels very gothic horrory, mostly from the characters themselves as well as Fyoder's ties to the Crawling Rot itself. It's kind of neat. The is only one sense of sound within the entire game, which is the sound of the music that plays when the two are dancing (or rather about to dance) which I thought was an interesting choice, but does add to the eeriness of the game itself. Personally, I really like the design of the Crawling Rot, the way their chest opens up and the eyes crying blood really does contrast with the other white tones of a more ethereal being. Fyoder's life of killing and then remaking himself really does encapsulate the kind of gothic horror feel that I think the creator was going for, even in some endings using the MC's own heart to replace his own. It's pretty cool that we can end up being the Crawling Rot's debt collector in the end, with the description of how when it does enter the MC's body, that they described it at something right, that has always been there. In terms of a yandere, Fyoder encapsulates this in two endings- one where he keeps the MC forever against their will (or cooperating) where likely they live with the MC until their deaths, or when the MC tries to escape and fail, taking their heart to keep forever, along with whatever remains of their body. I'm not sure why he doesn't seem to run after the MC after they escape the mansion, possibly some magic that won't allow him to leave, but there are implications that it does haunt the MC afterwards, something that never leaves their mind.

Overall, a pretty cool and short game made for the jam. Though it is a work in progress, I think that it's pretty solid for a short game, as it goes in through some world building about how Fyoder and the Crawling Rot came to be. Might be cool to have a bit more of a romance with Fyoder in the future possibly in another update.

#Rot with Me #male yandere #yandere #yandere boy #recommendations #visual novel #completed

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magicalrocketships · 6 months

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Random fic ask i just made up: What is the nearest book to you right now, or what is the last movie you watched, and what would a fic based on that book/movie look like?

Any ship you want, and drawing however heavily or lightly on the plot of the book/movie as you want 😊

What a marvellous random fic ask you just made up. I'm just going to press pause on what I was actually going to talk about in this post and just circle around to the thing I've actually just been watching, which is ANOTHER detective show where the serious and methodical detective is derailed by being partnered (officially or unofficially) by a extrovert sometime-confidence-trickster who trades in being liked.

All I'm saying is (obvs acab) so let's throw this one BACK IN TIME, say the 1950s, and make Max a PRIVATE DETECTIVE somewhere around Monaco and have Daniel fall into his path as a bit of a playboy with a series of richer friends and girlfriends who kind of pay his way, and nobody really minds that Daniel can't afford to be in their set, because everyone loves him. Daniel's a bit bored, but he's got to keep in with the crowd who pay his way, and then there is a MYSTERIOUS DEATH at a club, and MAX shows up to investigate on behalf of some rich relative of the dead guy, and the whole time he's trying to investigate, there's this handsome vaguely hungover guy who keeps hanging around and asking questions and being annoying and getting in his way, but who actually gets doors open for Max because Max can't be bothered playing nice and he doesn't know the right people.

Daniel, fascinated by this single-minded, sometimes rude Dutch guy who always wears a variation of the exact same off-the-peg suit, and who is sharply focused on getting to the bottom of the death at the club, and Daniel finds himself blowing off his friends and the current divorcee paying his way in order to track possible leads through the back streets, and breaking into a YACHT and spending three hours cramped in a tiny room trying to listen to an illegal card game through the wall, and the whole time Max is pressed up against him, his breath warm against Daniel's throat, and Daniel's hand just settles on the curve of Max's ass, and Max trembles a little beneath his touch but they have to focus on the MYSTERIOUS DEATH and not on the way Daniel's lifelong need to be close to men is suddenly thrown into sharp focus.

And maybe it turns out that it's someone in Daniel's set, and Daniel's faced with the choice between telling the truth to Max or lying and saving his friend, and he chooses his Max and his rich friends exile him from their group. So it's just Daniel, trailing after Max, and Max takes him to this boat moored in a harbour down the coast, and it's small and familiar and private, and it's Max's, and it's where he goes when he's not working a case. And he takes the boat out to sea and makes a very boring lunch of soup and bread, and Daniel's sunbathing in small shorts, and they eat lunch and then Max, impulsively, leans over and presses his mouth to Daniel's. Daniel beams like the sun, and kisses him back.

Also, each subsequent mystery is just focused on someone else on the grid, like the mysterious death of Fernando's extremely rich wife, (Lance in the wings with his alibi and a lot more money than Fernando's wife) or George being framed for the death of the controlling partner in his law firm, eventually exonerated by photographer Alex, or the one with the BEES and the mysterious German guy who owns them. Saving unlucky Charles from always being in the wrong place in the wrong time, except this time he's discovering the body by tripping over it and finding the murder weapon stashed in his apartment. OH GOD maybe Charles is the Prince of Monaco. Anyway, whatever. And each mystery ends with Max and Daniel out on their boat, Daniel in a series of tinier and tinier shorts, Max with his gin and tonic and Daniel with a ridiculous cocktail, Max flushed with the sun and Daniel not regretting any of his choices in leaving his old life behind to solve mysteries with Max.

Please note that at no point in this ask did I refer to the rather lengthy Sweet Home Alabama AU plot I forced Sarah to listen to last week, which got out of hand and got too angsty and where I left it, Daniel was in hospital for the second time and Max was following him half way across the world and nobody was even mentioning divorce, so that went well. Two thumbs up to that.

#fic i wish i was writing #my fic #monaco private detectives reporting for duty

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gabessquishytum · 6 months

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How’s about a bit of a Midsummer Night’s Dream au? With Dream as Titania and Hob as (a more charming) Bottom. I’m torn between two variations;

In the first, Dream and Desire are two of the seven Endless Rulers of the Faeries, and they’re squabbling over something petty as per usual. In order to take their brother down a peg, Desire decides to put him under a love spell, and let him fall in love with the next random creature he sees upon waking. They hope it’s something hideous, but even if it’s someone perfectly reasonable it should still be hilarious to watch Dream humiliate himself with his infatuation. They wait for a moment when Dream is alone and asleep, and uses the love-in-idleness flower to cast the spell. The moment after they leave, the normal human Hob stumbles into the glade and causes Dream to awake and set eyes on him.

In the other variation, King of the Faeries Dream is being unwillingly courted by Fae Lord (or something) Burgess. No matter how many times he is rebuffed, Burgess is determined to take the King for himself, and finally decides to force the issue with a love spell. He waits for a moment when Dream is alone and asleep, and uses the love-in-idleness flower to cast the spell. Before he can wake Dream however, something draws Burgess’ attention away and forces him to leave. He can’t risk the woods becoming loud and rowdy tonight after all, and tempt the protective faeries back to their King too quickly. Before he can return and finish what he started, Hob stumbles into the glade and causes Dream to awake and set eyes on him.

In both cases, Hob is bewildered and dazed at coming across the most beautiful man he’s ever seen, and suddenly becoming the object of his ardent affection. It had not been his intention to wander so deep into the woods, Hob knows all the warnings about being lured in and spirited away by the fae, and this lovely creature is definitely a powerful one, judging by the horde of faeries he calls to serve and entertain Hob. But as Dream drapes himself over him, showers him with kisses and oaths of devotion, gazing at him with clearly besotted eyes, Hob finds himself no longer caring about the potential danger. As Dream pulls him onto a bed of flowers to make love to him, Hob decides that if this is a spell the fae is casting on him, even if for nefarious or malicious reasons, he hopes it never breaks.

In the first version, Desire watches this from the shadows for days in glee, cackling to themself as their snooty older brother fawns over this utterly ordinary mortal. Eventually though they decide it’s time for the final punchline: breaking the spell and watching Dream realize what a complete fool he’d been making of himself. As he sleeps wrapped around his human lover, Desire approaches and administers the antidote, then retreats to eagerly watch the show.

Except when Dream awakens…nothing changes? He’s still enamored with Hob, still doting on him, exactly the same as he’s been for the past several days. Did Desire mess this up? Was that not the antidote? No, it was, they did everything correctly. Is it possible that Dream’s bespelled infatuation at some point had…turned into actual love? And this is just what Dream actually in love looks like? Damnit, it’s not nearly as funny if this is actually how Dream behaves by choice! Pouting, Desire leaves in disgust as Dream and Hob continue in blissful ignorance that there was any magic involved in their coming together.

In the other version, Burgess returns and is infuriated to see Dream in the embrace of some random human. How dare some pathetic mortal think to lay hands on what Burgess meant to claim?? No matter, he’ll just go fetch the antidote. The spell could be recast on another night; he would break it for now. He waits for an opening, quietly seething in the shadows as he watches the King and his human lover be together. Finally they both fall asleep, and Burgess enters the glade to end the spell.

Except he’s not as stealthy as he should be, and Hob suddenly awakens to see a strange creature crouched over him and Dream with a wicked and hateful expression. Hob reacts without thinking and draws his knife, eliminating the threat immediately. Dream also wakes, sees the now-dead Burgess, and distractedly orders his faeries to remove the body, too busy fussing over Hob as well as praising for his diligence and skill.

No one notices the antidote that had fallen to the ground, and Dream and Hob continue on in their eternal honeymoon bliss unknowingly.

(If you like, perhaps no magic in this world is powerful enough to be permanent on the King of the Fairies, and eventually the spell fades. But by that point, Dream’s heart is well and truly lost, and neither he nor Hob notice any perceivable difference in his feelings or behavior, still going on as they had begun)

-🪽anon

YEA I've also been thinking about Bottom!Hob (haha yes in that way too, but you know what I mean this time). I think someone else has pointed out that in the sandman universe its not impossible to imagine that Shakespeare based Bottom on that boastful knight from the white horse tavern...? Anyways. I love both of these variations!

I particularly love the way Dream’s love for Hob doesn't change when the magic wears off. It's like, Dream should realise that his beautiful, gorgeous, incredible lover is actually Just Some Guy, the most average guy anyone has ever seen. The whole time their relationship has been going on, Dream’s friends and servants have been just quietly wondering what the fuck is wrong with him? Why is he going absolutely hogwild about the weird little human guy?? Dream insists that he's the most gorgeous creature ever to walk the earth, but everyone else sees a normal man, pretty scruffy, definitely not as beautiful or ethereal as Dream himself. But even when the magic is removed, Dream simply rolls over in his flowery bed and contentedly pulls Hob closer in his arms.

He loves Hob because he's just a normal, simple creature who has no desire to plot against Dream or hurt him in any way. Hob doesn't even understand Dream’s power, so of course he doesn't crave access to it. He just thinks that Dream is pretty and lovely and extremely sexy. He'd happily build a cabin in the woods and live with Dream forever if Dream wanted that too!

Needless to say, Desire is EXTREMELY miffed that their brother isn't at all humiliated and just seems to having a lovely time frolicking (naked) with his human. Ugh. Dream is so gross and annoying.

#🪽anon #the sandman #dreamling #nsft

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reminiscingtonight · 1 year

Text

All’s Well That Ends Well

Emily Sonnett x Reader

Word Count: 6k

[WOSO Masterlist]

The first time you meet Emily Sonnett, you think she’s the hottest person you’ve ever seen. Granted you don’t know her name or who she really is during that first night, you can’t deny how attractive you find her.

Celebrating the successful launch of your latest business project, you’re out with a few coworkers and friends when you hear the rambunctious laughter break out somewhere behind you. Your head snaps to the side, trying to find the source, quickly zooming in on a table tucked into the corner, a group of women drunkenly playing a game of darts.

The woman you’re drawn to instantly is dressed in a muscle tee, armed with two beer bottles, and giving zero fucks about messing with her friends’ dart shots. She jumps from person to person, nudging them right before they shoot, screaming random phrases, really anything to be a thorn in everyone’s sides. You find yourself lost in her looks for a moment, nearly choking on your breath when she pulls her shirt up to wipe away some sweat on her face. Holy shit, she’s got some abs.

You force yourself to quickly look away before your brain takes you to an extremely inappropriate place. You’re not sure if you want to order yourself another drink or go splash water on your face.

You do your best to feign interest in your suddenly dull conversations with your coworkers. Every couple seconds you hear a loud noise from the corner and you have to fight the urge to look over there.

You think you’re doing a pretty good job at being covert, only stealing glances every now and then, but when the object of your admiration comes sauntering up to you, a confident smirk on her face, you know you’ve been caught.

“Can I buy you a drink?”

You hide your flusteredness with faked bravado. “Does that line actually work for you?”

The blonde’s smirk only deepens. “It does when the woman I’m trying to charm has been stealing multiple looks at me from across the room all night.”

You cough, choking on the sip of beer you’ve unfortunately decided to take at that moment. You know you’ve been caught, but you didn’t think she’d outright call you out for your staring.

“Sonnett.”

You tilt your head in confusion. “Like the poem? Uh, what about it?”

The blonde lets out a bark of laughter, shaking her head. “No, my name. Sonnett, Emily Sonnett. All my friends call me Sonny or Sonnett or some sort of variation of that.”

“Oh are we friends now? I’ve known you for, what, twenty seconds?”

Emily gives you a grin. “Feisty, I like it.”

You roll your eyes at her but there’s a smile playing on your lips.

“This is usually the part where you tell me your name…” she trails off, giving you a look when you don’t offer the piece of information yourself.

It’s your turn to smirk at her, seeing the way she blushes when she asks for your name. “Who’s the eager one now?”

But she doesn’t back down from a challenge. You should’ve known someone like her loves to play dirty.

“What will it take? Do you want me to flex for you?” Emily’s words are accompanied by a demonstration.

You can’t help the way your eyes instantly drop down to her arms. If you thought her muscles looked attractive and drool worthy from the other side of the room, that’s nothing in comparison to seeing them up close and personal.

Noticing the dazed look on your face, Emily smirks. “Or if you’d prefer something else…”

Your hand shoots forward to stop Emily before she can lift her shirt up to show you her abs. The way her eyes sparkle tells you she definitely didn’t miss you staring at them earlier either.

Faced with two choices, tell her your name or suffer a slow strip tease, you know there’s only one way this will all end.

Emily Sonnett’s going to be the death of you.

---

It’s easy being Emily’s friend.

After the first night you run into her and her friends, you’re not embarrassed to say you look her up the second you get home.

You’re surprised when you find out that all of them are professional soccer players (not that it’s that surprising, given their pristine physiques). You’re even more surprised when you spot the message in your DM’s by the Portland defender the morning after.

[Sorry, I hope this isn’t weird. But I totally forgot to get your number last night.]

It’s followed by three equally as adorable texts.

[My friends and I are getting a late brunch later today if you want to come?]

[Oh shit, sorry, I hope you don’t think it’s weird I looked you up.]

[I also probably shouldn’t double text. Or quadruple text now? Sorry. Just ignore me. I won’t be offended.]

You end up joining brunch. It’s not as awkward as you think it might be.

The two of you trade multiple texts back and forth the next couple weeks. Emily sends you countless memes, you send her slightly more coherent comments about your day.

A month passes and you’re not sure how you ever lived a life without knowing the soccer players. You go on weekly coffee dates with Emily, hikes with Lindsey, art museum explorations with Tobin. Their whole crew is lovable and you often find yourself looking forward to the next time you get to see them.

Today you’ve all made plans to go try out this new cafe down the street from Providence Park. This has been their latest venture in trying to convince you to go to one of their games. They’ve all taken to bribing you with all sorts of treats and although you have no qualms with going to a game, you just want to see how far you can drag it out before they catch onto your amusement.

You’re late to show up, having to fix a late minute bug in your project before you left. Most of the girls are already sitting down with their drinks by the time you arrive. Although Ellie slides you your drink with a smile, you can’t help but notice the lack of a certain jokester hanging around.

“Where’s Em?”

Lindsey looks confused for a second, not sure who you’re referring to. The second it clicks, she’s gesturing over her shoulder to where the blonde is still at the counter. “Oh, Sonny’s somewhere over there.”

“Probably in the process of charming the barista’s pants off,” Caitlin smirks into her mug.

Your face instantly falls. You could’ve sworn you and Emily were building something, the flirting between you guys growing more genuine and softer with every day. Trying to act unbothered, you nonchalantly ask, “Oh… she does that a lot?”

Ellie throws her arm around you. “Sonny’s a wild one, that girl. Give her thirty minutes and she’ll have made the whole room fall in love with her.”

You miss the way Lindsey glares at Ellie, whispering harshly into the younger player’s ear after she pulls her off you. You deflate even more at the Australian’s words, staring dejectedly into your coffee.

Your solemn mood only lasts for a couple seconds. Clenching your jaw, you huff out an annoyed breath.

You know what? Screw Emily. If she didn’t see you the way you saw her, that’s her loss. That night in the bar brought you her, but it also brought you these other, cooler people you’ve had the pleasure to get close to.

Lindsey eyes you carefully, not missing the set in your shoulders.

The midfielder is in the middle of telling you about the team’s recent game in New Jersey when Emily makes her first appearance.

“You’re here!” The blonde’s face brightens as she plops into the empty seat beside you. You simply give her a hum before turning your attention back to Lindsey.

Emily shoots her friend a look from behind your back but Lindsey shrugs, also confused by your sudden disinterest in the defender.

You spend the rest of the morning ignoring the defender. You get more than a couple weird looks from everyone, all of them having already spotted the way you’re often found glued to the blonde’s side during days out together. Emily tries getting your attention a couple times, but the petty bitch within you only gives her one word responses.

When the lot of you head out the door, ready to go your separate ways, Emily grabs ahold of your hand. You spin around, feigning a look of annoyance. In reality, your heart’s racing at the thought that Emily cared enough to chase you down.

“Are we okay?”

“Why wouldn’t we be?” You meet her gray green eyes with a steely gaze.

Emily only looks more upset at your detached tone. You have to stop yourself from crumbling right in the spot.

“You’ve just been… are you mad at me? Did I do something?”

A beat passes. You really want to say something else that will hurt her. To make her feel as insecure as she’s made you feel this morning.

But Emily looks like she’s two seconds away from bursting into tears. Like even one wrong word will change the uneasy look on her face into one of despair.

“No, I’m just…” you sigh, knowing you’re going to hate yourself for folding so easily. “I’m sorry, it’s been a long past couple days.”

Emily perks up a bit, looking a bit relieved but also concerned. “Oh, okay. Is there anything I can do?”

You let the soccer player wrap an arm around your waist, rest her head against your shoulder. You want to curse at the way your body instantly melts against her, letting the hands running up and down your back sooth you.

“No, it’s fine, I-- just keep being you.”

---

A couple years pass. You’re there when the people who’ve become your best friends play in one of the biggest tournaments in their lives. When the people who’ve become your best friends go to the World Cup. Win the World Cup.

A couple years pass and your feelings never go away. You still get a flutter in your chest every time Emily looks your way. You still want to kiss her every time Emily gives you a soft smile.

And then Emily tearfully announces her departure to Orlando. You think that’s as much as you can take until you convince yourself that three hours won’t be too bad. She’ll just be on the other side of the country but it won’t be that bad.

But then a couple months later Emily tells you about Sweden and you nearly break down in tears. You’re well aware that’s not a normal reaction from a friend, but you’ve already been missing Emily so much, having never gotten used to the lack of her presence in Portland. Lindsey has grown to have a bigger part in your life, you rarely spending a day without seeing each other, but still, she’s no Emily Sonnett.

The two of you make do with what you have.

Emily wakes up early just so she can catch you before you leave for work. You set an alarm in the middle of your day just to call Emily before she goes to bed. On days she has games, you make sure to watch them, no matter what time they’re at.

Having Emily so far away in Sweden hurts, but it gets slightly better with each passing day. At least that’s what you tell yourself. You tell yourself it’s getting slightly better when you can’t bike down the streets without thinking about the way Emily would poke fun at your lack of biking skills. You tell yourself it’s getting better when you can’t try your hand at latte art without thinking about the way Emily would do a much better job at it than you.

You tell yourself it’s getting slightly better until one day it actually does.

It all starts with Emily telling you about her return to the NWSL. You're instantly clutching your stomach, laughing so hard you can barely stay upright.

“Why are you laughing?” Emily looks a little peeved, but not too annoyed through the screen of your phone.

“I’m not laughing at you, promise. I just… I’m moving to DC too, Em.”

Emily looks stunned for a second. “Wait, you’re not pulling my leg, are you? Because if you are, that’s mean.”

“I’m not joking. I got a promotion but the position is in DC.”

It’s quiet for a second. Emily’s mouth has fallen open, a look of wonder and awe written all over her face.

“We’re going to be in the same city again?” Her voice comes out soft, disbelieving.

Emily’s face breaks out into a smile when you nod.

“Holy shit we’re going to be in the same city again!” Emily’s wiggling so hard that you’re half afraid she’s going to fall out of her seat. “Wait until I tell Linds, she’s going to be so jealous.”

Your life in DC is not too different from the way it was in Portland.

The only difference is now instead of watching Emily through the screen of your phone or laptop, you get the joy of seeing her in person.

You and Emily slip back into life together smoothly. You slot right back together where you left off. Emily brings you to most of her events, you take her to yours. It’s rare to find one of you without the other. The other day you’re pretty sure you heard Kelley call you “Emily’s support person.”

Today the two of you have plans for a lazy cheat day at a pizza joint Emily found by accident weeks ago. You’re just pulling into the parking lot when you get the text message.

[DUDE I HAVE NO CLOTHES HERE]

You can almost hear the panic in Emily’s voice through the phone. A piece of you wants to send back an ‘I told you so,’ the blonde swearing up and down that she had an extra set in her locker when she left this morning. You told her she should grab something extra in case she didn’t, but the blonde waved your concern away.

You’re on your way back on the familiar path to her apartment before Emily has a chance to say otherwise. One of the joys of having the blonde live so close to their practice field is that you’d be in and out before Emily could even trudge out to the parking lot.

You couldn’t have been in the apartment for more than a couple minutes when you hear the door unlock behind you. You’re unable to stop your sigh. Leave it up to Emily to not listen to you. Such a classic Emily move.

“Okay, I know you’re obsessed with your bike and being eco-friendly, but I told you I’d get the clothes for you! You didn’t have to bike after me the second I left.”

When you spin around, however, you come face to face with someone who is definitely not Emily.

Emma Sonnett raises an eyebrow at you.

“Oh, you’re not Emily,” you say rather dumbly.

The blonde crosses her arms. “No, I’m her sister, which explains why I’m here. Why are you here?”

You rack your brain, trying to remember if Emily told you anything about her sister visiting this week. If she had mentioned anything you wouldn’t have used your key so willy-nilly. “Uh, Em forgot her change of clothes for dinner tonight so I’m just… dropping by to get it…”

You trail off when Emma follows you out the door, all the way to where your car’s parked outside. She leans against the driver’s side door, blocking your path nonchalantly.

“Oh cool, where are we going for dinner?”

“Um.” You’re not sure how to leave without accidentally insulting Emma. Plus, she looks so much like Emily and you can never say no to anything Emily wanted you to do so--

Emma happily gets into your car when you unlock it.

You hope Emily’s fine with having an extra person at dinner tonight. If she’s not… well there’s nothing you can do about it now.

When you pull up, Emily’s right where you left her. She looks up with a smile on her face, but it freezes when she catches sight of her sister sitting in the passenger seat of your car.

“Emma, what are you doing here?”

Her twin gives her a devious grin. You’ve seen that look in Emily’s eyes enough times to know Emma’s about to do something that neither you nor Emily’s going to like.

“Emmy, you didn’t tell me your girlfriend’s such a charmer! How in the world did you convince someone this out of your league to settle for you?”

Emily flushes red, from embarrassment or anger, you’re not sure, but you don’t miss a beat. “I think you’re mistaken. Em here is the one who’s out of my league.”

Emma looks pleased with your answer. Emily, on the other hand, looks a mix of flattered and enamored with you. You try not to think about what it means.

Dinner is a blast. Despite her earlier ribbings, Emma is actually quite fun to hang around. The two of you trade Sonnett stories, you telling her about living in Portland and now DC with Emily, Emma telling you about life back in Georgia. Emily spends the entire time sinking in her seat, hiding her reddening face in her hands.

After a particularly funny story about a failed prank Emily tried to pull on Lindsey, Emma keels over in laughter, slapping you in the arm. “The way we haven’t met each other until now!” Emma clicks her tongue in disappointment before turning to glare at Emily. “Emmy, I know you’re a bit possessive but (Y/N)’s a hoot! You should’ve introduced us earlier!”

You send a wink Emily’s way, feeling a bit proud to have won her sister over. You think you’re imagining things when Emily’s eyes fall to your lips, teeth biting her own.

When the night comes to an end, neither of you realize you haven’t told Emma you’re not actually together.

---

When Kelley asks you out for coffee, you don’t think too much of it. All of Emily’s friends have become yours, the two of you only growing closer in the time you’ve been back in the same city. It’s normal for Kelley to ask you to hang out, the two of you having bonded over finding out you’re both Stanford alums. What isn’t normal is the way Kelley jumps at the opportunity to buy your cup of coffee. You sit at the table, waiting for the brunette to return with skeptical eyes.

Kelley drops into her seat with a huff, sliding your mug across the table to you.

“Okay, I’ve got a favor to ask.

You eye the coffee on the table, knowing very well it’s more a bribe than anything. But free coffee is free coffee. You shrug. “Cool, shoot.”

“I need you to hold off on revealing anything until at least the end of the season.”

You blink. Kelley keeps giving you an expectant look as if you have the ability to read her mind. Sadly you haven’t figured out how to activate that power yet. “Reveal what?”

Kelley’s face widens into a grin. “That’s the spirit!”

It’s during times like these that you understand why Kelley and Emily get along so well. You sigh. “Kel, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The defender rolls her eyes. “Nice try. You and Son? You’re not as subtle as you think you are.”

“What exactly do you think we’re hiding from the rest of you?”

“That you’re together, obviously.”

It’s the way Kelley says it so nonchalantly, as if it’s the world’s worst kept secret that has you instantly choking on your coffee. “I’m sorry, what?”

Kelley gives you a wink. “Relax, your secret’s safe with me. The whole team’s got bets going, but I’m obviously not going to say anything that costs me the--”

“Kelley, Emily and I aren’t dating,” you interrupt.

The defender sits up, a confused frown falling upon her face. She opens her mouth but you’re quick to interrupt her again before she can say anything.

“I’m being serious. We’re not dating.”

Kelley looks dumbfounded. “Wait, really? But the two of you are… there’s no way the two of you aren’t dating. Emily’s so enamored with you and you with her--”

“I’ve been flirting with Emily since the day I met her, Kel. Trust me, if she was interested I would know.”

Kelley’s frown returns. “I dunno, I’m pretty sure she likes you. Like 98% sure.”

You roll your eyes at her. “Thanks for trying to make me feel better but she definitely doesn’t see me that way.”

When you steer the conversation to Kelley’s “Beat Everybody” venture a couple seconds later, the defender has no choice but to follow the change in topic. She still doesn’t look convinced about where your relationship with Emily stands, but you don’t pay her skepticism any mind. None of it matters because you know the truth.

Emily Sonnett has never and will never love you the way you love her.

And there’s nothing you can do about that.

----

You don’t realize you and Emily are dating until Lindsey invites the two of you to dinner at her place.

It’s been a while since you last saw the midfielder, so you’re quick to accept the invitation. You and Emily both show up with a bottle of wine in hand.

“You said you were going to get a cheese platter!”

Emily nearly blows a gasket when you remind her she was the one who told you to get wine. She pouts when you pull up your texts to prove it.

Lindsey finds the whole thing amusing, ushering the two of you in before you could convince Emily to go to the nearest store.

The three of you are busy catching up when the topic comes up. It all starts with your overexcited urge to tell Lindsey about the new addition to your family. When Lindsey finishes telling you about Ferguson’s latest adventure with her parents, you take the segway with ease.

“Did Em tell you? We got a puppy.”

Lindsey frowns. “What do you mean ‘we’?”

Emily gives Lindsey a weird look. “‘We’ as in the two of us?”

If anything, Emily’s explanation only makes Lindsey look more confused. “I’m sorry, when did the two of you become a ‘we’? How do you even get a dog together? Like how does that work? Do you trade off weekends or something?”

“Well it all started last week when Em woke up and had the crazy idea to get a dog. Two hours later we had a puppy chilling on our couch, watching the Orlando, Houston game with us. Plus, you know I’ve always wanted a dog and Em has too, and since she already spends most of her time at my place it seemed like the logical next step--” you come to an abrupt stop when Lindsey jerks forward, eyes growing in size with every word until she couldn’t hold herself back anymore.

“Wait! Sorry, hold up. When did this happen?

Emily rolls her eyes, finally exasperated at her best friend. “Were you not listening? We got her last week.”

“No! Not that! This!” Lindsey gestures between the two of you. “When did you guys start dating?”

Blinking, you and Emily look at each other. Your eyes drop to your intertwined hands, the two of them unconsciously finding their way to each other during the course of dinner.

You think about the past couple months. How Emily has spent every second of her freetime with you. How you’ve spent the little time you’ve been apart craving for your next dose of the blonde.

You think about the way you stay up late when Emily’s flying in from an away game just to spend as much time as you can with her, the way you won’t let her return home to an empty apartment, to an even colder bed. You think about the way you love Emily the most right when she wakes up, when she clings to you and tries to convince you to stay in bed longer with her, the way she gets grumpy when you refuse and then cuddly when you promise to let her snuggle if she can make you a stack of waffles before her spot in bed gets cold. You think about the way Emily makes you stupidly happy, the way she can turn your day around by simply just being herself.

Now that you think about it, the two of you have been doing all of the dating things without explicitly saying you’re dating.

“Huh. I guess we are dating, aren’t we?”

It’s Emily’s turn to blush, face pinkening at your declaration. Your hand tightens around hers and Emily gives your hand a squeeze in response.

Miffed by Emily’s silence, Lindsey turns to her best friend. “Son, please don’t tell me-- I cannot believe-- how do you accidentally start dating someone?!”

Emily shrugs, nervously scratching the back of her neck. “I mean it all started when Emma came to visit? She just assumed we were dating, and then our waiter thought the same thing… and then a lot of other people did too? And then we kinda just-- stuck with it, I guess? Honestly, I haven’t really put too much thought into this until… until now, actually.”

Emily gives you a questioning look and you nod, confirming her perspective of your relationship. Lindsey looks at the two of you like you both just sprouted wings and started breathing fire.

“Are you seriously telling me you guys haven’t talked about the fact that you’re dating? Much less how you seemingly unknowingly got there?? How does that even happen?”

You huff, not understanding why Lindsey’s making such a big deal out of all of this. “Well I like Em and it’s pretty clear she likes me too so I don’t see a problem.”

Lindsey blinks.

The corner of her mouth twitches.

Emily stiffens next to you. You’re not doing much better, actively beginning to curl into Emily’s side, as if there’s any hope the defender can protect you from Lindsey’s wrath. Lindsey is a great friend, but you can acknowledge how terrifying you find her on the regular. A pissed off Lindsey is a whole nother beast to deal with.

Lifting her glass to her lips, Lindsey drains her wine in one sip. She reaches for the bottle again, pouring herself another healthy glass. Then, her jaw flexes. “The problem is, the two of you need to have a conversation. Preferably when I’m not around, so,” she fixes you with a stare. “Tell me about the new puppy you’ve adopted.”

You’re a bit taken aback by the sudden change in topic, and if the furrow between Emily’s brows is any indication she is too. But by now you’re a little too scared to not go with the flow of conversation. “So her name is Bagel Bongo.”

If Lindsey grips her glass any harder, you think she might snap it clean in half. Lindsey breathes in, sharp and exasperated. “What even-- what kind of name is that?!”

You frown, instantly defensive. “What kind of name is Sir Ferguson?”

Lindsey’s mouth drops open. “Fergy’s named after the legendary football player--”

You wave your hand, cutting her off. “Eh, don’t care. Bagel Bongo is a much cooler name. She’s also a much cooler dog.”

Lindsey’s gasp of offense is loud.

Emily snorts next to you, drawing Lindsey’s eyes to her. When she finally realizes Lindsey is staring, however, Emily tries to cover up her amusement. She doesn’t do too well of a job.

Lindsey sighs, the beginnings of a smile creeping on the corner of her lips. “Okay, the two of you are actually perfect for each other. I see why you idiots attract each other.”

Lindsey looks convinced and for the first time you finally see what everyone else has seen all this time.

Emily Sonnett has always and will always love you the way you love her.

You owe Kelley an apology and a pack of beer.

---

Three years later the two of you have finally gotten your own place, a real place where the both of you mutually agree to live in as partners.

Just a couple weeks prior Emily had signed with the newly added Atlanta expansion team. You’re quick to follow her back to her home state, not minding the move at all.

The season comes and goes, all of your friends are quick to converge on your new place. It’s only at the insistence of Kelley that the two of you finally host a party here, letting your friends see your house for the first time.

You’re not sure you’ve ever had this much fun. After a couple drinks, Rose is ready to break into karaoke right in your living room. Lindsey and Mal throw heckles at her, while Sam (and you) cheers away.

Emily spends most of the night glued to your side, only ever leaving it once when she gets into what looks like a heated conversation with Lindsey on the other side of the room. You’re two seconds away from making your way over there yourself, but it’s only Kelley pulling you into a conversation about your vacation plans that derails you from doing so. When you next look up, Emily’s returning with two drinks in hand, pressing a quick kiss against your cheek.

When the clock hits three am, most of your friends are conked out in various locations of your house. All it takes is a singular raised eyebrow and Emily is following you out to the balcony with a half finished bottle of wine and two wine glasses.

When the two of you get out there, Emily’s quick to pull you towards her. Emily leans in, pressing a sweet kiss against your lips.

You can’t help but smile into the kiss. “What was that for?”

Emily pulls away with a shrug. “Just because.”

“Just because, huh?” you chuckle, snuggling deeper against your girlfriend.

Emily mirrors your grin. “It’s been a long day. I just wanted to kiss you because I love you.”

Humming, you settle against Emily’s front, basking in the calm presence of your lover. Emily presses a kiss against the side of your head. You stand in silence, content with just watching stars glitter overhead.

It’s a while later when Emily speaks up again. By then, the two of you have finished your glasses of wine, a buzzing haze settling over the two of you.

“What are your thoughts on keeping the Christmas lights up until January?”

You’re sure Emily can feel how hard you roll your eyes at her question. “We both know there’s no reason anyone should be keeping their Christmas lights up that late. Once it’s the 26th, all decorations should be gone.”

When Emily falls silent, arms tightening against your waist, you know she’s pouting at you. Without turning around you can imagine the way she’s giving you her best puppy dog eyes, willing you to do her biddings without saying a word.

You’ve always had to fight your girlfriend to stop her from decking your apartment out in Christmas decorations the second Halloween ended. Emily liked to go all out, the whole nine yards, leaving no inch of your living space untouched. You, on the other hand, preferred not setting up anything at all, begrudgingly putting up a tree and a couple lights only once December rolled around at the insistence of your girlfriend. But things changed the second you moved in together. You had to learn how to compromise. “Compromise” being a loose term.

This year Emily claimed free range in decorating once the spooky season ended. You were too tired and content from all the orgasms she gave you to voice your dissent. By the time you realized what she had done, there were nutcrackers in every cranny, mistletoes in every doorway, and lights and garlands on every wall. Since it was too late to do anything about it, you resolved to stand your ground towards when it all had to go.

You try to stay strong, you really do. But in reality you last less than three seconds.

“You’re lucky I love you,” you grumble.

You expect a joke, Emily to poke fun at how quickly you crumble. Instead, when you hear a slight sniffle and then a wet “I really love you,” you spin around. You’re met with the sight of a teary eyed Emily, trying her best to fight back her tears.

“Em? Baby, what’s wrong?”

Emily’s eyes flutter shut when you take her face into your hands. If anything, she leans into your touch. “I just… I really love you.”

Your heart skips a beat. Even after all of these years, you don’t think you’ll ever get used to hearing that from her. “And I really love you too. Are you okay? Did I say something--”

“Will you marry me?”

Your mouth drops open, stunned to silence. You and Emily have definitely discussed the topic of marriage, so this proposal is no surprise to you. But you definitely did not expect Emily to propose when she was bawling her eyes out just moments prior.

Emily pushes on, unbothered by your silence. “I… I had a whole speech planned. It was supposed to be great and grand and make you cry but I--” Emily sighs, looking down at the ground. Scuffing her feet against the ground, she mumbles out, “I lost the ring. Lindsey was supposed to hold onto it for me and she said she gave it to Rose and Rose said she gave it to Sam and… it’s gone. I can’t find it but I don’t want to wait anymore.”

She turns her gaze towards the sky, hoping the cold air will help dry her tears. It doesn’t work. You frown when you see more tears fall down her face.

“Like I’d get it if you say no, you can’t really do the whole proposing thing without a ring--”

“Emily,” you cut her off, making sure Emily raises her eyes to meet yours before continuing. “Don’t get me wrong, I love jewelry as much as the next girl, but I don’t care about any of it. I’d marry you with paper rings if I had to, Em.”

Emily rubs at her eyes, sniffling again. You gently grab ahold of her wrists, pulling her hands away from her face. You press a kiss against each hand before letting go to brush away Emily’s tears yourself.

“I love you so fucking much, Emily Sonnett. You’re my favorite person in the world and I don’t care whether or not you have a ring. I love you and want you, not some shiny piece of metal.”

Emily’s breath hitches and you can tell she’s close to crying again, so you quickly take a step back, intertwining your hands again.

“Ask me again?” you prompt, giving her a soft smile.

Emily takes a deep breath, relaxing against your hold. You can tell when her confidence comes back, the blonde squaring her shoulders and standing up taller. “Will you marry me?”

“A thousand times yes.”

And when Emily kisses you again, lips a little salty from the tears but heart bursting at the seams, you know you’d wait your whole life just to get a chance at forever with her.

#emily sonnett x reader #uswnt x reader #uswnt imagine #woso x reader #woso imagine #Ace writes

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