#fatherhood

[delsincloud]

[bridferchglyn]

“Yuna Hollander POV” this, “Imagine you’re Yuna Hollander” that… Valid, valid. But let’s shine a glorious light on DAVID Hollander for a minute.

Imagine you’ve spent most of your son’s teen and adult life supporting the hell out of him and your wife as they jointly steer his career into the astral plane of international hockey stardom. You’re so proud of him, but you also worry that the focus of his life may be too narrow. You gently encourage him to smell the roses - go down Youtube rabbit holes (whatever those are), take a holiday to London, maybe even date? After years of only surface-level relationships, he develops a true friend in Hayden Pike, and you breathe a sigh of relief. He shows an interest in real estate and design, and you’re delighted to encourage him.

You’re thrilled when he gets a girlfriend after so many years alone. When they seem to break up but remain on good terms, this fuels your growing suspicion that he might be gay. Then Scott Hunter kisses his boyfriend on the ice. Shane immediately takes a call and comes back with a giddy smile on his face. That’s really all the confirmation you need.

You gently break this to Yuna (I love how the show changes that “we know you pretty well, Shane” line from her to him, because it matches characterisation they’ve added to David as an insightful father and husband). Yuna immediately wants to talk to Shane about it & make contingency plans for how it might affect his life & career if true, because she loves her kid & wants to cover all bases ASAP, but you talk her down. “Let him come to us,” you say.

Shane tells you he’s doing a silent retreat for his time off this year, but you need to charge your phone, and it’ll be good to check in on him (you always worry about him being too isolated, too lonely). So you head over only to be… well, astonished to see him kissing his arch-rival with an easy familiarity. Shit, shit, you should NOT be here. You panic & leave - let him come to you (Shane’s flight response is also inherited).

Just as you and Yuna are discussing whether you should go back to the cottage, he does come over. With Rozanov. You’re a bit shellshocked, and the whole thing is awkward as hell at first, but also… Rozanov looks at your son like he hung the moon, talks him down from a panic attack, and it turns out they’ve been doing this for almost ten years. The same ten years that you spent encouraging Shane to pursue happiness and live a full life. Of course it breaks your heart that he felt like he had to do it in secret, but he still did it.

That’s your boy.

[animentality]

[feral-ballad]

Donika Kelly, from Bestiary: Poems; “Archaeology”

[afriblaq]

In the 1970s, actress Esther Rolle—best known as Florida Evans on Good Times—took a bold stand against stereotypes in television. At a time when Black families were often depicted without fathers, she insisted that the show include a strong Black father figure. Her push led to the casting of John Amos as James Evans, breaking ground for authentic representation of Black family life on screen. Rolle risked her career by challenging executives, but her determination reshaped television history. She believed that showing a complete Black family was essential for dignity, truth, and cultural progress. Decades later, her fight remains a powerful reminder of how representation matters.”

[funnykidmemes]

[kindlykeery]

life & it’s serendipity

“ let life surprise you. ”

pairing: dad!steve harrington x fem!mom reader

summary: after a usual long, chaotic day, you and steve wind the girls down for bed when you find out news you definitely hadn’t quite foreseen in your future.

the girls: josephine (6), lindy (4), & eloise harrington (18 months)

warnings: vomiting, mostly heartwarming stuff!!

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The door clicks carefully, Steve slipping inside his warm and cluttered house, shoulders drooping slightly with fatigue from the day. Taking in the evidence of his three beautiful little girls scattering the floor and walls. Crayon marks, tiny handprints, scuffs in the paint; all things that make his seemingly imperfect home, perfect.

“Hiiiiii daddy!” Josephine pedals toward the door, abandoning her crayons, and softly grasping Steve by his legs; followed closely by Lindy, mirroring her actions yet, much more aggressively.

Steve immediately reaches down, bunching both girls into his arms, lifting them up, and squeezing them tightly. “Hello my sweet girls,” he says with a huge grin, “I missed you two today.”

“I missed you daddy! I was cwayze today! Fun!” Lindy squirms in his arms and stares at his face with her huge, excited eyes.

Steve chuckles while placing both girls back on the floor, “mhm… is that so?”

“Yes, Yes! I play outside and I color all my color book…” Lindy animates her story for him, bouncing up and down on the wood floor, landing on his feet with every jump.

“Sounds like a lot of fun honey, I’m glad you had a good day.” Steve smiles while pushing Lindy’s wild, curly hair out of her face, before gently turning his attention to Josephine. “What were you up to today, love?”

“I colored a lot daddy, and I started reading a new book but I couldn’t do the words and-and… I-” Josephine looks down at the floor, twiddling with her fingers and swaying back and fourth. She’d always been more doubtful and reserved in herself.

“Hey… Josie, look at me.” Steve slowly kneels down to her level looking in her eyes with pure admiration and love. “You’re awesome honey… and you’re so so so so so smart,” he reaches out to lightly shake her by her arms. “We can work on the words together before bedtime, okay? How does that sound?”

A soft smile creeps on her face as she nods at the idea. Lindy has completely abandoned them by now, back in the kitchen, drawing away with her crayons over her old drawings turning each paper into a blissful sheet of extreme color.

“Mommy! I’m hungry!!” Lindy’s voice booms from the kitchen, loud enough to wake the entire neighborhood.

Steve follows suit of grabbing Josephine’s hand and pulling her with him to the kitchen, “Oh you’re hungry huh?” He questions her with an eyebrow cocked and a teasing grin.

“You’re not mommy! I want mommy’s dinner. Your dinner is gross and bad. Icky.” Lindy crosses her arms over her chest staring into Steve’s eyes with her stubborn, yet adorable, hazel puppy dog eyes and a slight pout.

Steve starts, “Well honey, I’m sure mommy is busy right now and she-”

“Lindy, do you remember what we said about our words?” You walk in the room, holding a slight stern expression, Eloise bouncing on your hip.

“You said…” she stares at the floor, swaying side-to-side, “you said… be nice.”

“Mhm. I did say that, and… was that very nice to say to daddy?” You ask, swaying Eloise back and forth to keep her from fussing.

“No. It not.” Lindy’s outgoing personality has now dissipated to sheepishness, avoiding eye contact at all costs. As if the only way she could possibly get in trouble is if she were to look up from the floor. “I’m sorry daddy…” she says between shallow breaths, eyes welling with tears. “I didn’t me-mean to da-daddy i-”

“Shhhh… honey. No need for tears, okay? I’m not mad at you, mommy’s not mad at you, no one is mad baby.” Steve scoops Lindy off the counter into his arms, resting her head on his shoulder, rubbing her back gently.

“Yes baby, you’re not in trouble. We just need to think about what we say to others, right? Being kind, hmm?” You add in, stepping closer and wiping a stray tear from her nose. Lindy nods tiredly against Steve’s shoulder. Looking at you with drooping, glassy eyes.

“She didn’t nap today,” you whisper to Steve, “tried for an hour but no luck.” You place a light kiss on her forehead. “You tired baby?” She just shakes her head in response, already practically asleep in Steve’s arms.

“Well that definitely checks out.” He speaks softly back to you, mostly just glad that she’s already starting to wind down for the night. Sometimes, she made bedtime impossible. “Did she eat dinner yet?”

“Steve, it’s 6:30…” You cock an eyebrow at him, more confused than anything on if he’s trying to punk you or not. “She had a big lunch, and a few snacks, so she’ll be okay for the night I’m sure. Don’t wanna keep her up if it’s not necessary.”

“Makes sense. I can take Eloise if you wanna take Linds to bed. I can start making dinner for us and the girls… that are left.” He chuckles, rubbing Lindy’s back softly and gently.

“Sounds good honey,” you reach out and switch the two children with each other. Eloise giggling when Steve tickles her belly on the transfer. “I’ll be back. Love you.”

“Love you more… hey honey, you look exhausted though-“ he calls out right before you can exit the kitchen.

“Hmm? I’m fine honey. Just been a busy day, be right back.” you say before slipping down the hallway cutting off his chance to put more word in.

At the end of the hallway, you meet Lindy’s room. Light pink wallpaper lining one wall, the others painted a pale yellow. Toys scattered all over the floor. Books discarded where she last sat. The perfect kind of messy that encapsulated Lindy’s personality, the same personality you and Steve loved so much.

Walking over to her bed, she stirs slightly in your arms, face still pink from her recent emotions. She’s heavier now than you remember her being even a week ago. I guess it’s just how fast kids grow up these days. Harder to follow around and keep up with. As you lay her down, a small sound escapes her lips, like one last word of the day.

You stand there for a while, looking at her. Thinking about how much you love your life. How you’re living the life you’ve always dreamed of. The life you promised yourself, with the love of your life. You can’t help but smile, relish in it even. These moments, even the tears and the long days, they are all you could’ve ever dreamed of.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Steve gets to work. Placing Eloise in her high chair and maneuvering himself all about the space to create the perfect tomato soup and grilled cheeses. He’s melting cheese like never before, stirring soup like it’s nobody’s business, and toasting each piece of bread to perfection. He’s always been quite attentive in the kitchen and tends to get carried away while cooking. It’s only when he hears a soft sniffle from the dining room table that he looks up.

Josephine is softly mewling over one of her books in the dining room.

“Josie? Honey?” Steve shuts off the stove and rushes to the table beside her. “Hey, look at me.”

Josephine looks up, eyes glassy and lip quivering. She points at her book, specifically at the word beginning.

Steve’s heart melts. Josephine was his shy girl. She loved to sit and observe. And while she was quiet, her heart was loud and beautiful. Steve loved all his girls, that was definite, but Josephine? Josephine was his first, his quietest, and the one that reminded him most of himself when he was young. He always had an extra soft spot just for her.

“It’s alright…” he lightly rubs her back for reassurance, “we can sound out the word together, okay?” Josephine nods in response, wiping her eyes with her fists. “It’s okay to get frustrated. You’re so smart but sometimes words are hard, everyone has to learn the first time. Here,” he points at the word, “what’s this letter?”

“It-it’s a B…” Josephine replies sheepishly with a slight sniffle.

“Very good! You’re already off to a perfect start!” He continues guiding her through the whole word; letter by letter, sound by sound.

“B - E - G - I -N - N - I - N - G. Beginning.” Josephine finally pulls it all together, grinning softly at her dad. He’s her lifeline. Her everything. She loved both of her parents, they’re her world, but she’d always been a daddy’s girl. From her first word, to her favorite park date, it was always him.

“See sweetie?! You are brilliant. Everyone has to learn the first time.” He leaves a soft kiss against her hair, getting up from his knee by her chair. “You ready to eat?” She nods.

You’d caught the end of the conversation from the kitchen opening, leaning your shoulder against the doorframe. Looking at the two of them, you couldn’t help observe quietly, not wanting to disrupt their moment. You saw exactly who you married. The Steve who wanted to be a father and a husband, not just have a wife and kids. It was wonderful.

As the pair of them turn around, walking back towards the kitchen counter, Steve catches you staring. “Mmm you’re back,” he head your way, placing a kiss on your forehead, “she go down okay?”

“Mhm… Just the price of no one napping today. Thank you for making dinner, you’re too good to us.” You say, sitting down next to Josephine at the kitchen counter.

“The least I could do for my favorite girls.” He walks over to the soup and sandwiches he’d cooked up a few minutes prior. “Grilled cheeses and some fresh, just out the can, tomato soup!” Steve chuckles as he hands Josephine her bowl and plate.

As he hands you two bowls of soup for both you and Eloise, the smell is nauseating. You can’t help but gag at a food that usually wouldn’t bother you. You’re pale and biting your tongue to stop your lunch from coming back up. As calmly as you can, you leave both bowls on the table and quickly dash down the hallway to the bathroom, closing the door and kneeling over the toilet. You can’t help the feeling that follows. You end up vomiting and loosing your appetite all together.

After about 5 minutes, you hear a soft knock at the door. “Honey? You in there?” Steve speaks softly through the wood, opening the door. As it cracks you see Steve standing with worry plastered all over his feature, Eloise resting on his hip, Josephine grasping his other hand tightly.

“I’m okay guys, everything’s alright.” You say reassuring them with a weak smile. “Just not feeling the best tonight.”

“Here, honey I-” Steve stammers, moving toward you before you can cut him off.

“I’m okay. Really. Just ate a bad lunch. Nothing’s wrong.” The nausea is now gone, only leaving confusion as to why you got so nauseous in the first place. “How about you go lay Josie down and I can get Eloise’s bottle ready for bed?”

“Honey… I-” Steve starts but you shoot him your ‘just do it look,' so he drops it. “Okay. Come on Josie, tell mommy goodnight.”

“Goodnight mommy. I love you. I hope you feel better mommy!” Josephine grabs your legs in a tight hug as she speaks. You gently rub her head before placing a soft kiss on it.

“I love you too, Josie. Sweet dreams baby.” You whisper to her as they head out of the bathroom. Steve stares at you with a ‘this conversation isn’t over yet’ look before finally turning out of the doorway and taking the girls to Josephine’s room.

The worst part was, you knew you weren’t sick. The feeling of being ‘sick’ was much different than this. This feeling was only the feeling you got when… oh god.

Instead of going back to the kitchen, you shut the door again and open the bottom bathroom drawer. The one that held nothing, well almost nothing. The one that only held a small white box of pregnancy tests.

You take one out of the box, unwrapping it, hands trembling slightly. You can’t be pregnant. Eloise was only 18 months old. You and Steve hadn’t talked about having another yet. The house perfectly fit your family now. Four bedrooms, one for each of the girls. You didn’t know what to do, all you knew was that you needed to take that test.

Waiting for it to develop, the minutes felt like hours. It wasn’t until a sudden, soft knock came from behind the door that you came back to your senses.

“Honey?” Steve tries to turn the door handle but it’s locked. “Hey, open the door. Josie’s asleep. Just let me in.” You can sense Steve’s worry in his tone. He’s not pushing or upset, just concerned and patiently waiting for you.

You immediately turn the handle of the door, revealing him standing there, Eloise practically asleep on his hip. His eyes fly to the counter where he sees the test. He nods, now understanding everything, while he looks into your eyes, “Okay… okay… so we’re doing this. Do- do you know yet?”

You shake your head, looking down at the floor. “I-I’m too scared to look. I just- I don’t know I-” The words get caught in your throat and you can’t speak clearly anymore.

“Shhhhh. I know. I know.” Steve pulls you into him with his free arm, holding you tight and kissing your forehead. “Whatever it is… we do it together. Like always.” A moment passes. “Do you want me to look?”

You nod into his neck before he releases his grip on you, reaching for the white strip on the counter. You see it the same time he does. Two, dark pink lines with a white background. You couldn’t have missed it from a mile away. Steve blinks at the test then whips his head back to you. You’re crying softly. But not because you’re scared. Overwhelmed maybe, but definitely not scared.

He doesn’t speak. He doesn’t need to. Steve knows you like the back of his hand; he knows exactly what you’re thinking without a word. He just pulls you back into his arms, cautious of the sleeping baby, and holds you.

A moment passes, then another. It’s comfortable silence. Steve is waiting for you to begin, letting you process.

“Okay.” That’s it. That’s all you say to break the silence.

“Okay?” He pulls back slightly, looking into your eyes, scanning your face for any emotion he can catch.

“O-okay.” You take a shaky breath. “We-we’ve done this before. Three… three times and we… we can be okay…”

“We will be okay. We always are.” He corrects you.

“This just- it just wasn’t the plan and- and we… we don’t even have the space and- the time or- we just didn’t talk about this and-” You’re suddenly choking out your words, swallowing back another breakdown, when he cuts you off.

“Hey… Hey. Deep breaths… You’re right. This-this wasn’t the plan and we didn’t talk about this. It’s okay to feel overwhelmed right now. Hell, that’s pretty much the only valid reaction. But look at us. We have three beautiful girls. Each one so special in their own way. I’m here with the most beautiful girl that I have ever seen, and I get to call her my wife. We have one hell of a support system of friends and family to fall back on. We’re in a house that we could’ve only ever dreamed of having. And we, we’re doing a hell of a good job with it all. And you, you’re the best mother that I’ve ever seen. The way you are with our girls, and eventually this little one, i-i’m just in awe of you. You’re amazing. This is our life, hectic, but beautiful. And this? This is just the serendipity of it all, yea? I love you so so very much. And I love whatever will come next for us. I’m here. Every step of the way.” He said it all staring into your eyes with pure honesty, trying not to get emotional himself.

Your lip quivers as you stare at him. He wipes one of the last stray tears from your cheek with his thumb, giving you a soft kiss on the lips. As you pull back, you smile, something you definitely didn’t picture yourself doing even five minutes ago.

“You-you always have such a way with words…” You softly giggle out with a sniffle. “Thank you. I love you so so very much too.”

“Mmm, I know you do. So you’re okay? We don’t need all the answers right now, but you’re okay?” He double checks one last time.

“Yea. I’m okay. Even if I wasn’t, I’d have someone pretty perfect to get me through it.”

“Wait, who?” He feigns innocence in his question.

“You. But we both know that you said that just because you wanted to hear me say it…”

“Maybe… But is that such a crime?” He kisses your forehead softly. You shake your head. “Can I get you anything honey? Like are you physically feeling better?”

“Well I am starting to get a bit hungry again…” you shrug.

“Then to the kitchen we go.” He grabs your hand and drags you out of the bathroom, back to the kitchen. “I’ll make whatever you want, long as it’s not that tomato soup again…” He smiles softly in the dim lighting.

You couldn’t help but smile at his personality. And he was right. While you didn’t have all of the answers or know the future, you knew you’d be okay. You two always seemed to be just fine together.

I guess that’s just life… and it’s serendipity.

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writer’s note: hi all! i hope you all enjoyed it. since it’s my first post and i haven’t written anything for a while, i’m so sorry it’s a tad rushed and messy. i not in love with it, but it helped me get back into my creative swing! please let me know your thoughts and thank you for reading! (didn’t proofread majority of it)

[johnwinchesterofficial]

taking dean fishing so he can learn the importance of bait