#(I have been REALLY busy lately finishing up a HUGE project that I've been working on for literally years)

[enchantedflameandflower]

Billy Butcher x you oneshot!

Billy knows how to really take care of you when you need it most…

18+ only smut, piv, cock warming, creampie

Merry Christmas! 😘

~*~*~

It was getting late. Butcher was watching a movie on the couch, but you were sitting at the table, finishing up some work.

When you were finally done, you gave a huge sigh of relief and checked your email one last time.

"Fuck," you groaned as you opened the 5th message from your boss that night asking you for a report on one of your projects. Frustration and tension and anxiety surged inside of you like the tide, and for a moment all you could do was sit there and stare at the screen.

Butcher had paused halfway through his movie as he got up to get a drink and seemed to sense what was happening. Honestly, you were stressed a lot these days. Most of the time he wouldn't notice, or at least would just let you be but right now you felt like you were at your tipping point.

"C'mere doll," he said from behind you.

You glanced over your shoulder to tell him you were busy, but the fierce look in his eyes told you he was not going to take no for an answer.

You sighed when you stood up and went over to him but all you were thinking was 'he noticed.'

Butcher slid his hands around your waist, tugging you against him. "You've been workin' too hard."

All of the breath in your lungs seemed to escape in one big whoosh. "It's just how it is this time of year.

I just have one more report to work on. And I need to do my laundry. And it's Thursday."

Butcher leaned back, lifting his eyebrow at you.

"Dusting day," you explained meekly.

Billy gave you a look. "I'll do yer laundry with mine and dustin' can wait. What can I do tonight to make ya sit still for a while and let yerself go?"

You leaned forward wrapping your arms around his waist and pressing your cheek against his broad chest. He was right, you felt like you were about to collapse but there was still so much to do...

"Maybe just hold me," you said softly.

"I'd be chuffed, love, but yer mind would still be whirlin' wouldn't it. Need somethin' to distract that pretty head o' yours too."

He rubbed your back for a moment as he thought and a soft, but tired, little sound escaped your throat. He knew you, and he knew it had to be something different to truly get your mind off of your worries right now.

He glanced at the tv where the movie was paused, then back to you. "Up for a little playin', love? I've got an idea."

The look in his eye told you it was something interesting and you couldn't help immediately being intrigued. "Maybe...what would I have to do?"

"Nothin' love. Go and change inta somethin' comfy. Just a shirt, nothin' else, then come back out and sit with me."

"Ok." You gave him a kiss before you retreated into your shared bedroom.

When you came back out he was sitting on the couch and he groaned as soon as he saw you.

"Fuck me," he muttered.

You grinned at him, pleased. You'd changed into one of his shirts, and you'd left it unbuttoned, though it was pulled around you at the moment. It was soft and it barely came to the tops of your thighs.

"Well c'mon," he husked, patting his lap and letting his heated gaze roam over you.

You climbed into his lap kneeling over him and sitting back on his thighs. "If your idea is to fuck me..." you deadpanned.

He smirked wickedly, his hands sliding to your hips. "Nah it ain't that. You know you'd be comin' in minutes, love, then you'd be right back to your troubles again wouldn't ya? Need somethin' to relax yer brain fer a lot longer than that. Besides I need t'finish me film."

Well...he wasn't wrong.

For a moment you met his eyes, gleaming with mischief, and you could feel his cock swelling beneath you...and then you realized what he wanted to do. A surprising pulse of lust surged through your veins and you knew you were immediately wet for him. It wasn't something you'd ever thought of before but now that you did...now that you did you were more than eager to try. That might actually work.

His hazel eyes glinted with desire even as they darkened. "Be a good girl and get me cock out, yeah?"

You swallowed, nodding your head and sliding back off his lap. He gave you a look and you obeyed instantly, working his belt free and opening his jeans. He shifted his hips so you could tug them down just enough to free his cock, already hard and ready for you.

"How do you want me?" you whispered.

"Facin' the telly, yeah? Wouldn't want you to miss the rest o' the film."

You hadn't really seen the first half as you'd been working at the same time, but you had a feeling that didn't matter. And maybe it would help to have something to watch to help distract you from his...distracting.

You stood up and turned around as he slid one big hand around the base of his cock to steady it, and gripped your hip with the other.

"Ready, doll," he murmured low, and you moved to sit on him slowly, his hand positioning you with a tight grip.

When you felt the head of his cock at your entrance, a little moan left your lips but he kept guiding you down without pause.

"Fuck..." you breathed. Without much preparation, the fit was tight and he stretched you almost uncomfortably but you knew your body would adjust.

"Fuckin' hell, love, your gushin'," he groaned. "Must've liked this idea more than I realized."

You wanted to argue but a broken moan was all that left your lips. You took a breath as you took him all way, you ass quickly pressing flush against his thighs. "Oh my god..." you whimpered. Syrupy pleasure flooded through your body, making your clit throb and your cunt flutter around his length as you thought about staying like this.

Billy gripped your hips hard with both hands and you felt another gush of wetness around his cock. "Easy now. Take a deep breath fer me, love. Yer gonna have to calm down if you yer gonna be a good girl and let me keep ya on me cock till I'm done watchin'."

"Oh fuck," you moaned breathily, closing your eyes and biting your lip hard. Breathe.

His hands rubbed soothingly over your hips and outer thighs and you took a slow deep breath and licked your lips, focusing on the tv in front of you. You caught sight of the time bar and you almost groaned at the amount of time that was left, just a little less than an hour. Breathe.

He felt so thick inside of you, the size of him alone lighting up every nerve ending you had. But you had a long way to go so you took another deep breath, and finally your body let go of some of the tension, just a little.

That's my girl," Billy murmured low from behind you. He slid one arm around you and urged you to lean back against his chest. "Just rest here for a bit, filled up with me cock, not thinkin' 'bout nothin' else."

Your only answer was another whimper and he gave a low chuckle.

Starting the movie again, he moved a pillow to your side, and another on his shoulder so you could rest your head against it and still watch the movie. Your bare legs were draped over his jean clad thighs and you had to be careful not to let his open zipper scrape across your inner thighs or worse. Incentive not to move, you supposed.

You swallowed again, trying hard not to clench around him, but you couldn't help the little flutters of your cunt anytime his cock twitched or he shifted even the tiniest bit.

How he was keeping his own control so easily, you had no idea. Probably had a wank in the shower earlier, you sighed to yourself.

His chest was warm against your back and his big hand was rubbing your thigh. You really tried to watch the movie, but fuck, he was so deep like this. His cock was fiery hot inside of you and you swore you could feel the veins that ran the length of it. You felt every inch af him.

Minutes ticked by slowly, and you did your best for almost 15 of them, but as pleasure continued to pool in your center, and your body adjusted to his size, relaxing and taking him deeper, all you could think about was getting relief. You were dripping and you were sure he could feel it, but still he seemed as relaxed as ever, lazily stroking your thigh as he watched the tv.

Then before you could try to stop yourself, your hips rocked on top of his lap and a soft little cry escaped as bliss erupted inside you, making your whole body tense and buzz, making your fingertips tingle.

Billy rumbled and caught your hips with both hands, gripping hard, holding you still. "No movin', doll."

Your clit throbbed helplessly, completely neglected and you had to bite your lip to keep from whining pathetically, clenching your hands on your thighs.

"Breathe," he murmured, his beard tickling the curve of your neck as he leaned forward. You took a gulp of air, and then another, not even realizing you'd stopped.

Breathe.

Finally, you caught your breath and your lust lowered back to a simmer.

"That's a good girl fer me," Billy said, kneading your hips in reward but all you could do was groan at his praise and it made your cunt flutter around him again.

"Don't say that," you whimpered.

He gave a quiet laugh and patted your leg. "We'll have to keep practicin' this," he said low against the shell of your ear, then went back to watching the movie.

You slumped back against his broad chest again and his arm came around you. Instead of thinking about the way his cock was filling you, you tried to focus on letting your palm play over the little hairs on his forearm. After another 15 minutes, a hazy-sweet fog started to drift over your mind, some combination of dazed and still wildly turned on.

Anytime he moved it sent a jolt of pleasure through you but you were starting to get used to it, learning to let it soften into your body, banking it for later. After a while you couldn't even tell where he ended and you began, he was just a part of you.

At some point you must have completely spaced out, because you suddenly realized the tv was off. Billy was smoothing his hands slowly over your stomach and your thighs and your hips, still thick and big inside of you.

"Did I do it?" you murmured languidly.

Billy leaned closer, kissing the side of your neck, his mustache and his beard scratching sensitive skin spectacularly. "You did it. Such a good girl. My girl..."

You made a lilting, blissful sound and wrapped your fingers around his forearms, desperately needing to hold on to something.

"Think you can come for me now, pet?" His voice was gravelly and rough in your ear.

"Mmmm...mmhmm..." You gripped his arm tighter, unable to get your mind to even form another word. Every single worry was completely gone and you couldn't care less about anything except this right here.

Billy shifted underneath you, pushing his jeans further down his thighs and the movement made him thrust up into you.

You cried out, trembling with need, and he made a low sound to soothe you. "I've got ya, love. I'll take care now..."

It was too much to hold yourself up so you fell back against him and he rumbled approvingly. The vibration in his chest only added to your pleasure.

He pulled the edges of his shirt that you were wearing apart so you were totally exposed and tugged it down so your shoulders were bare but didn't bother taking it all the way off. Then he wrapped his hands around your bare waist and began to thrust up into you. "Fuck," he groaned. "Wasn't gonna last much longer either, love."

One of his big hands slid up to engulf your breast, kneading the weight of it in his palm then pinching your tight nipple between his thumb and forefinger. Your heart stuttered as you gasped for breath, every nerve lighting up. Billy knew how to make your body sing.

Lifting one arm, you curled it around him to thread your fingers through his hair and let your eyes flutter closed, just feeling him.

Every single thrust hit the right spot and made you whimper or moan or cry. Pleasure seemed to only crest higher and higher inside you, no limit in sight.

Within moments, as he had predicted earlier, you were on the brink of orgasm, but you wanted more, needed it. Grabbing at his hand on your waist, you pushed it down, guiding his fingers to where you were joined.

Billy moaned, his lips brushing the nape of your neck. "Mmmm, needy little thing, ain't ya..." he teased, but he deftly nestled two fingertips right over your swollen clit.

The second he started to circle over the throbbing nub your bliss heightened ten-fold...it had been left ignored for too long.

Your cries now were so much that you vaguely wondered if the neighbors would be concerned but there was nothing you could do, and Billy didn't seem to care at all.

His fingers slowed when he sensed you were almost there and he used his free hand to move your knees to the outside of his so he could push your legs farther apart with his own, wide open for him, and stuffed full.

Then his fingertips returned to their fast, slick circles with haste.

The eruption of your climax happened immediately. Your entire body tensed in pleasure, wave after wave crashed through you in relentless pulses as he continued to stroke your clit.

The growl Billy let loose against your shoulder in response was earth-shaking. You had never felt an orgasm this intense before and you could tell your thighs and his fingers and his cock were drenched.

"Fuckin' "ell," he groaned. He moved to grip your hips with both hands one last time, the fingers on one hand still slick with you, and he bucked up into you, rough and erratic as his own orgasm began.

Burying his face against the curve of your neck, he bit down, moaning, low and gruff.

Broken whimpers and unintelligible words fell from your lips as every sensation continued to bounce and ping through your body like a pinball machine.

You could feel his come, hot and thick, spurting deep inside you. It felt just as good as everything else this night.

By the end of it you were completely expended, weak in his lap. You wouldn't be able to move even if the apartment caught on fire.

Billy was slumped into the couch now too, but his arms were around you and he was still inside you.

You had no idea how long the two of you lazed there, but eventually Billy regained his strength.

You whimpered as he finally slid out of you then gathered you up in his arms.

Your own strength was long gone and it was not coming back. He carried you into the bathroom and you were too fucked out to even care he stayed. After he cleaned both of you up, he scooped you up again and set you on the bed. He found your favorite, softest long t-shirt to sleep in and tucked you in. In the next minute he was sliding under the blankets too and he hauled you against his chest.

"Alright love?" he murmured.

"Mmmmmm. Mmmhmmmm." You were nestled in his arms, his skin warm beneath you and your face pressed to his shoulder. You wanted to say thank you but you were pretty sure only a mumble of half-formed words came out. His hand rubbed soothingly over your back and you felt him nuzzle the top of your head only seconds before you were out.

You couldn't go to work the next day, much to Butcher's smug amusement.

~*~*~

thank you for reading 🥹 thank you for all the inspiration to write this ❤️

(post tags are not working for this so doing my best to figure out what the issue is, and tagged people instead, I’m so sorry bleh tumblr)

@chocolategiverzombie @kus-babygirl @jynx15 @cassiopeia-grimm @karlurbanism

@weallhaveadestiny @violent-darkness @norman-b @fenyxhawthorn @smallsadjellyfish

@butchersboobs @shirley-girly @bobabilbil @galaxyshifting @angelically-yours

@burntsaltsblog @multifandomqueen199032 @waerwena @rebelled-angel @spikycritter

karl urban masterlist

[risunsky]

2023 review

So, was it a good year ?

I think so, I've enjoyed challenging myself, I've tried Beksinski for a second time, Klimt twice, I've done a crossover hellraiser which I'm quite happy with… I made cement for the first time and it was great!

At the 2022 review I said I wanted to do more horror, so I went for gore with all my emaciated skeletons and I'm very happy with that.

September is my favorite of all.

Outside of my fanart world, my biggest freelance achievement has been completing a big comic commission on time and now that the book is out and I've had good feedback from both commissioners and readers I'm relieved and quite proud. It's been a stressful time so it's nice to see that it hasn't all been for nothing. So, even though I'll never stop considering myself as a learner and experimenting with new things, I think that this year I've finally managed to settle on a style, or a range of styles, that I like and that I think I'll stick with for a long time. I've been drawing for a very long time but this is the first year I've felt so strongly that I've found MY style. As for my universe, it seems that somewhere in the horror area of dark fantasy it is my home.

What's planned for 2024?

In terms of priorities, the gift commissions, yeah.... I'm soooo late. I've finished one, but two are still on hold, and have been for at least a year now. I'm terribly sorry about that, because I haven't been overwhelmed like that for a long time, and I intend to sort it out as soon as possible.

It should also be the year I finish the Goya remake. Ideally, I'd like to finish in February because that's my birthday month, or March because that's the anniversary of my discovery of Ghost.

For the rest, don't take it as a promise, because I tend to let myself be carried along by my desires and they are constantly changing. For example, I was planning great things with Nunussy but the poor thing was left on the side of the road. My interest in it just died. it seems that shipping characters and writing an alternative universe for them is not my thing. I have at least 3 shorts comics ideas, more or less ghost related but always mixed with something else. I really really want to work on it but it's a lot of work and this year I need money, like more than usual so I don't know... I also want to do Bloodborne fanart.

The fails

I haven't kept to my plan to draw the other characters in the Ghost lore, oopsy. I still haven't had the time to open any commissions, but last year was really special, working on a big contract that kept me busy for months and that was something new, it was stressful enough. 2024 should be different. I had to show a bit more of my traditional technique, let's say I do it with the Goya project, it's a semi-failure.

Not really a failure: I still haven't come up with a design for an official t-shirt. I think that's because I'm more of an illustrator than a designer and for a good design I need to find a special thing. It's not a big deal for me, just, if it happens it's cool, if not, well, not the end of the world.

To finish

I'd like to thank all those who follow me and who like and share my drawings, including those who remain silent in the shadows - I'm myself a lurker so I understand! Of course, a huge thank you to those who have supported me on ko-fi, it's the first time I've tried this system and I'm happy to have had some support pretty quickly!

my apologies if there are any English mistakes in this text, which is still too long

Have a great festive season!

[mrmcwigglyman]

A letter to ENdless

For E-Sekai's first anniversary, I wrote an open letter to all 5 members talking about how they brought me out of hard times and how much they all mean to me. So I'm doing the same today for the second Idol EN generation, ENdless.

Endless was the first full generation of Idol that I was able to watch the debuts of live. It was one day before I left for a family vacation, so I was sitting in my room with my stuff all packed and ready to go, watching the debuts on my phone and the watchalongs on my laptop. And for the past year, I was able to watch all of these wonderful talents go on to do amazing things.

Roca: When you began your debut with an opera song I was already impressed, but the transition into "Highway to Hell" had me absolutely floored. I normally don't watch karaoke streams, but your singing is too good to pass up on, and I love how you do encores like a true rock star. Your voice is as addictive as your personality, and I always have so much fun whenever I catch your streams, even when your screams nearly blow out my phone speaker. The huge amount of music you listen to inspires me to check out more bands that I either haven't listened to in a while, or haven't heard of before. Thank you for being as smart, funny, talented, and just downright amazing as you are. Rock on!

Poko: You are such a silly little guy and I love it. I love when you do your late-night marathons, especially the Minecraft ones, since they would keep me company as I was working on my own Minecraft projects. You were actually the one who gave me the idea of working night-shift jobs, since I realized that I'm an overnight kind of person. I always love tuning into your streams and hearing you talk, and you're also really good with talking to other people-- you fit right into every collab you're a part of. You even got to go to Japan for an off-collab which is amazing to think about! I hope you know how awesome you are, and I look forward to seeing what you get up to in the future.

Kai: I've never seen a community quite like yours. Despite how much we like to tease you, you inspire us to do so many things to show how much you mean to us. Your content is so inspiring, and you always try and include the Kamisitos in the creative streams you do. You always encourage us to do so many creative things, and I've seen so many Kai-inspired works that are unlike anything else I've seen a VTuber's community create. I've written my first fanfiction-- and my first completed short story since high school-- because of you. I even sort of owe the creation of "Golden Age vGH" to you, because I never would have finished it and released it as a present for Rin's birthday if I hadn't made a short birthday song and video for you first. I love the energy you have, your ability to banter with the Kamisitos, and all the goofy stuff you do. I mentioned before that I don't normally watch karaoke streams, but the way you inject Kai energy into yours is so captivating, and the way you sing "Creep" is just... well... godly. Your community is where I feel the most comfortable blurting out some of my dumbest quips whenever something silly happens. And you are probably the hardest worker of your gen. You work so hard on stuff, like your diss track, the Trolls model, and of course, Idol Alert, which always brightens my week. I have so much more to say, but I'll leave it at this: You are the best Kami Broshi I could ever ask for.

Momo: While it is a shame that things have been so busy for you since even before the half-year anniversary, I'm always glad to join into your streams, and I know you've been working hard on things. I think it's really cool that you're studying biology, and you seem really knowledgeable about it. I was always glad to join your short late-night streams before I went to sleep, and you really gel well with all of the other members. I hope to see more from you soon, especially as the school season is winding down. Keep working hard on both Idol- and non-Idol-related things!

Coni: You are the most genuine of the group to me, and I really love just talking about stuff with you and the Carnies. You stream so frequently, and you usually start your streams 5 to 10 minutes early, which I love. You are really curious about many things, and you find some really interesting stuff to share with us. I love how you can have a grounded, down-to-earth conversation and then immediately start talking about something batshit insane. One thing about you that sticks out to me is your taste in music. Music, especially sharing music with others, is really important to me, and honestly, you seem like the kind of person that I could show songs of the deepest, most esoteric songs I know, and you'd enjoy them. You're so energetic, yet so chill at the same time. Your sense of humor is so sincere, yet so surreal. You are really one-of-a-kind, and I'm glad we Carnies could get to know you throughout this past year. I look forward to the future!

I had a lot more to say this time around wow. Being there for the debuts was amazing, as was watching everyone's first few streams in my hotel room while on vacation. Happy one year to ENDLESS! I hope this coming year is even better!

Before I close out this letter, I also want to write something for Yuko and Pochi.

Pochi: While it's sad it had to happen in the first place, I'm glad she and the company were able to resolve the misunderstanding somewhat amicably. It feels weird to wish her well on her future endeavors since I'm still watching her, but I will anyway, especially because of the big things happening in the future. Thank you Pochi, for introducing me and all the other fans to you.

Yuko: This one still hits me really hard. At first, I was really glad to see her streaming again, but then when I realized, it was really difficult for me. I wanted to be there during those last 5 days, but I just couldn't bring myself to watch. I have a feeling it was a near-impossible decision for her to make, and it's sad to see her go. I won't dwell on the reason too much, but I just wanted to say how excited I was to see all the things she'd get up to after the change of content. One thing that I didn't mention in "A Letter to E-Sekai" is how Yuko was the one who reintroduced me to Sayu. I of course had known about her since the beginning of the year, but if she hadn't collabed with Yuko on one of the first few days of her subathon, I never would have returned to one of the nicest communities of the VTubing sphere. So I really want to thank Yuko for honestly changing my life once again. I hope to cross paths with you again, Yuko.

Since I don't have any other social media accounts, I don't expect any of them to see this post, but still, everyone at Idol means so much to me, and I'm glad to have been with them since the very first Spongtember.

[dinahblackdamncanary]

I did it! One chapter of my cleuce fanfiction! I already have 3 different stories actually, but i had difficulties and only translade one of them! I hope you all like , The fic takes place in the movie universe, specifically during the MH2

HISSETTE

"Cleo, are you sure? We can do this tomorrow!" Lagoona said as she walked with her best friend through the halls of Monster High. 

"Goona, it's okay, I'm really busy. I've been leaving my homework late because I've had a lot of work helping Clawdeen's campaign, plus...my dad said he couldn't make it, so..." De Nile speaks to her friend.

"Still, birthdays should be celebrated. Your father is traveling but, there's me and Ghoulia and Abbey! We have become very close since last year and well, Clawdeen, Draculaura and Frankie are our friends too...and you could call Deuce and..."

Lagoona interrupts her speech when she notices that Cleo has stopped following her around, the little sea monster knew that her friend still liked the snake boy, even after they broke up during the vacations last year.

"Lagoona. Deuce and I are not friends, exactly." 

"That's not true, you guys..."

"No, it is. We have friends in common. That's the only reason he can stand me, and don't get me wrong, I don't care, I don't like him, he's into Clawdeen. It's all right. I really don't want to celebrate my birthday, okay? If I can't have the biggest party in this school, then I'd rather not do anything."

Both monsters stared at each other, Lagoona knew the mummy well enough to know when the mummy was lying and for that reason knew her well enough also to know when she was not well.

"Okayyyyyy! But we're still taking a day after your birthday for a creeporver party, don't think you'll get away with it!"

"Never!"

Cleo and Lagoona continued on their way laughing and making plans for the creepover, totally oblivious to the "snake boy" near one of the school pillars.

Days passed and Cleo found herself saying goodbye to her three clingy friends.

"That's horrible!" Said Abby with her arms around Cleo, with Ghoulia and Lagoona on her lap in a hug at 4 uncomfortable for the creature being overwhelmed by three hugs.

"Ghouls, it's no big deal." Said Cleo still being smothered.

"Yes it is, Lagoona has been called in for swim practice, I have to help with the crazy science club project, and Abbey needs to go to the creepy math club group study. You can't be alone, Cleo!" Finished Ghoulia finally releasing Cleo from her embrace.

"Very sweet, ghouls, but it's not like I'm going to be alone all the time. We've all spent the morning together, you have things to do now, it's okay." Cleo said smiling slightly at her ghoulfriends.

"Yeah, but by the time we're free, you'll be sleeping, because even if we manage to finish early, Coach and the teachers are going to hold us in some really boring meeting about teamwork, like last time!" Lagoona said upset, not wanting to leave her friend alone just on her birthday.

"Cleo, seriously, we can make up some excuse and stay here with you. Ghoulia said taking Cleo's hands so she could watch the face of the little monster who in less than a year has become someone so special in her non-life.

"I know, but I'm just going to finish my homework and go to sleep. Tell you what, tomorrow after we help Clawdeen's campaign we'll organize our creepover party, okay? Let's take the opportunity to invite Frankie and the girls and the boys too, okay?" Cleo said and looked with an arched eyebrow at Abbey who she knew very well was having a huge crush on the match head.

The friends laughed and hugged each other one last time before Ghoulia, Lagoona and Abbey left the room. Cleo was still surprised to learn that after being afraid for so long of letting other creatures into her (un)life, she had left her heart open to Ghoulia and Abbey, and that would be a decision she would bet all her beauty and wealth she would never regret.

Cleo walked to her desk, sat down, grabbed her icoffin and opened her music app setting a random playlist to play, when the music started, she began one of the school activities she needed to finish. 

The minutes passed quickly for Cleo, the next thing she knew, an hour had passed and someone was knocking on her bedroom door. The mummy opened the door and was surprised to find Deuce standing in front of her.

"Hi, did something happen?" Cleo asked.

"Where are your friends?" Deuce asks without answering the ghoul.

"Not that it's any of your business, but they had an appointment this afternoon, why?" Cleo asks again, suspicious at the sudden appearance of the snake boy.

"Okay, come with me." Deuce says taking Cleo's hand and pulling her lightly out of the room.

"No! Deuce, what's gotten into you?" Cleo tried to disengage her hand from the boy's hand, but he just held her hand tighter without hurting her.

"Please, Cleo. Trust me." Deuce said, Cleo watched the boy's green eyes hidden by the lenses of his glasses, Cleo wished the words spoken to Lagoona days ago were true. 

With a sigh, Cleo allowed herself to be taken by the Gorgon. The boy's hand did not leave hers for a moment as they walked through the almost empty halls of the school.

Deuce finally stopped in front of the monster cooking room, the mummy watches the little monster take a deep breath and look shy like never before, the boy takes another deep breath and opens the door of the room to reveal a table with a gold and blue birthday cake with hieroglyphic decorations.

Cleo felt her eyes fill with tears, she watched Deuce intently for the first time since he appeared in her room and saw that his clothes were soiled with wheat and golden glaze.

"Oh,...Deuce, did you do that?" 

"Yes, happy birthday, Cleo." Deuce says smiling at her. 

"I don't know what to say..." The mummy says.

"You don't have to say anything." Deuce says and still holding the girl's hand leads her to the cake. 

Deuce placed a candle on top of the cake and lit it, he and Cleo sang Happy Birthday together and she blew out the candle making a silent request. Deuce cut, serving Cleo and himself and they sat down to eat while chatting about various nothingness.

"Thank you for that, Deuce. I really didn't expect it." 

"You don't have to thank me, in fact, I'd rather you didn't."

"Why not?"

"Why, De Niles don't thank you and I did why, the royalty's birthday should be celebrated."

"Yeah, sure...but having so much work..."

"You are worth all the effort, Cleo. Hmmm, I have one more thing for you." Deuce stood up and walked over to a table near the wall of the room, picked up a small box and approached handing it to the mummy.

"Open it and don't shake the box." Said Deuce, Cleo looked at him for a second before biting her lips and opening the box.

"Awww, hello!" Cleo said smiling watching the little blue snake inside the box. The snake was adorable, its scales were blue and shiny with beautiful green eyes, a beautiful baby copper just over 10 cm long.

"Did you like it?" Deuce asked watching Cleo pet the baby snake with her finger.

"Yes, she is the most devilishly beautiful little thing in the world." Cleo replied smiling.

"Well, she's special too, see." Deuce moved the little snake in Cleo's hand so that it was wrapped like a bracelet around her wrist.

"Close your eyes, Cleo." He said, Cleo did as he said. When she opened her eyes, the snake had turned into a gold bracelet and her eyes had turned into emeralds.

"Oh, that...how? Is she okay?" Cleo asked Gorgon between delighted and worried.

"Yes, she's just sleeping. When she depetrifies she'll be healthy as ever, it will only last a few minutes because I really put in the effort,...and now you have a snake and an accessory." Deuce speaks and sees Cleo watching him in silence and continues, "It's my mother's hair,...the snake, it's her first white hair, I thought you would like it." Deuce says and is surprised when Cleo throws her arms around his shoulders and hugs him. For a second he puts on the brakes, but as soon as he smells roses coming off the girl he hugs her back.

Deuce and Cleo slowly pull away from the embrace, faces still close, Deuce slowly begins to bring his lips closer to the girl's lips when one of the snakes in his head comes out from under his burrow and kisses Cleo's forehead. The Gorgon quickly pulls away in shame as the mummy laughs.

"You know I'm going to come after you several times from now on whenever I want my snake to turn into a different accessory, right?" Cleo says smiling diverting her eyes from the embarrassed little monster to her snake bracelet/baby.

"Yeah, I'm counting on it." Deuce replies and watches Cleo watching him curiously. Both are interrupted with the notification sound of the boy's icoffin.

"OH MY GHOULS! HAS ANYONE SEEN CLEO?!" Said Lagoona's message in the little monsters' chat. Deuce showed the message to Cleo who just laughed.

"You can go, I'll pack everything up here, I had Heath put the snake nursery in your room and I made him promise not to set anything on fire." Gorgon says with a light smile.

"Okay, but I have to say,...I have no idea how to take care of a snake." Cleo says.

"But I know, I'll be more than happy to teach you everything you need to know and answer all your questions, but I'm a bad teacher, so we'll have to meet every day so I can help you,..." Deuce says nervously, Cleo just smiles and moves closer giving the Greek a kiss on the cheek.

"Ok, Deucy." Cleo says as she walks away going to the door and giving a slight goodbye to the little monster who remained standing in the same place with one hand touching the spot where he was kissed.

As she walked back to her room, the snake on her wrist returned to its original form, the snake was the sweetest gift anyone had ever given her and would still give her the opportunity to maybe make her birthday wish come true.

"Oh, back already?you really are so cute, I hope you like me as much as I already like you" Cleo said to the snake who hissed happily in response rubbing a small head on one of Cleo's fingers in search of affection. Oh, I guess that's a yes, but you need a name,...how about Hiss...Hissette?"

[sheepibum]

edit: finally finished The Thing I Was Busy With and updates are currently ongoing!!

hello!

sorry about the lack of updates, i'm working on a irl project that i need to finish before my poor laptop crumbles to dust, so right now everything i've written lately is, you know, handwritten crumbs of drafts that i'm going to cry about when it's finally time to clean them up

but! i am almost, almost, done with said project, and since i failed horribly my new year's resolution of uploading one (1) thing per month (ambitious, i know), i decided i would simply upload/update 12 whichever-things before the year's end

this of course means that most of it is going to be bad, as in quality, and also quantity of words bc i need to tap my vast reserves of wips and that's a lot of minifics and orphan scribbles with no plot or a proper ending, sorry o(￣┰￣*)ゞ

still, twelve things! at least that's the plan; and since i've abandoned you for pretty much this whole year, below are some snippets

first, let's start with some stuff i do actually care about so there will be some effort here:

1) a constellation of blood drops IT'S HERE!

Gaelio has already played the zealot before Rustal Elion, it should hardly be a difficult thing to play such role again. If the object of his zealotry has shifted just enough to align with Elion's own interest, no doubt twisted by the very real flaws of the organization he was, oh, so willing to worship before, and how it had only proven to fall short of his expectations after his, oh, so harrowing experiences while undercover—well, people are always willing to see what they want to see. Gaelio won't be even lying, really.

it makes me happy whenever i see someone like or reblog this thing bc it's just one of my favorite self-indulgent whims

2) Start, From Minus

Emilia took it upon herself to arrange their little detour to Margrave Mathers’ Mansion; but really, she needn’t have bothered. Cecilius had little to no problem waltzing right past the security of any place regardless of invitation, and the only thing currently preventing him from doing that was Subaru. Exhibit A: if Subaru hadn’t crash-landed into his life, there was a very good chance that at some point he would have crossed the border between the Empire and the Kingdom to demand a rematch from Reinhard, and he probably would have succeeded out of sheer stubbornness, the crazy bastard.

yes, finally! (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧

3) with all the pieces of the broken-hearted ON AO3!

The whole situation is absolute crap because Subaru is not, and has not been for quite some time, some dissatisfied, edgy teen craving fame and attention and maybe a harem in some other world more interesting than regular, boring Planet Earth. He’s very much been there, done that, gotten over it, so this whole thing is at least ten years too late and happening at the very worst moment possible. Maybe second-worst, but only just.

i don't like the sloth if for many reasons, but it gave me the canon hilarity of subaru having dilf potential and i am choosing to make this everyone's problem

4) just a little bit of blood in your hands ON AO3!

His door has seven bolts, huge and heavy and all on the outside. The only safety his room offers is that no one would dare to cross the one who owns the keys to those locks. Subaru is a treasured possession, but a possession nonetheless.

new re:zero thing!

things that are going to be rushed or just make me go 'whatever, i just don't want to look at this wip anymore':

5) these brilliant-hued hibiscus ON AO3!

Atsushi mows through everything the festival has to offer in terms of food. Tanizaki feeds him hot takoyaki, dripping with sauce, a chocobanana with sprinkles, sweet-bean taiyakis for good luck, sticks of yakitori, sticky and pastel pink cotton candy, shaved ice and even candy apples, shining under the festival lights. Between him and Ranpo, he’s sure they’ll make all the food-stalls generate at least some profit.

this is another super indulgent minific collection to the surprise of no one

8) (we’ve gone) to the dogs

His life ends with a bullet between his eyes, no hope for Yosano to do anything at all. Just a bang and then darkness; a shimmering instant of relief before he opens his eyes again in a place and time that hadn’t been his for years. And that’s where it all begins (again).

i am cheating a little bit here, bc i posted a snippet here back in the day that i decided could be part of yet another minific-oneshot collection, which is my jam

7) A Superscription ON AO3!

Ren’s mouth twists to the side, a facsimile of a smile so empty it’s like being back in the interrogation room all over again.

I have a bunch of P5 minifics written, but I'm happy with none of them, so I'll probably wait until november or something so I have an excuse to chuck them in bulk at you and this is one

some indeterminate stuff I will have to scramble to put together:

8) remember me (but forget my fate) ON AO3!

Something for Lout of the Count's family to celebrate the official translation! It's probably going to be either crack or a fairy tale retelling, I'm afraid

Ok, so it's not crack (exactly), and it's definitely not a fairy tale either (although now I do have WIPs for both of those things), but at least it's something and it's UP!!

9) The Souls of Starfishes

They’ve gotten better at not flinching whenever they hear the name, but they’ve never quite managed to stomp out the hope that inevitably rises in them whenever they do. ‘Hajime’, it echoes with the beat of their hearts, discordant as they may be.

Normal Me and Abnormal Friends is one of my favorite android visual novels ever, and I really, really want to finally upload something for it

and lastly, things that are mostly finished, but never got around seeing the light of day bc i forgot or lost interest or cringe whenever i think about them (sorry):

10) To Have and To Hoard ON AO3!

What Subaru knew: Subaru had died around the same time in the last five or six loops. What had happened: The time when Subaru was supposed to die had come and gone and Subaru was, against all odds, still alive. Conclusion: Subaru had screwed something up, pun somewhat intended.

the very first reinhard/subaru plot i came up with and the worst one, too. i just don't want to have its ghost haunting me anymore :/

11) brittle branches ON AO3!!

What could Victor hope to do faced with the depth of such love? A love that Yuuri had chosen to hold on to, to fight for, to cherish and protect and all things Victor wished to do for him, before either of them were even aware of the other’s existence. Sometimes life is just not fair. Victor never even had a chance.

also cheating a little bit with this one, bc it's done and i posted here in tumblr a lifetime ago, but i guess i'll finally post it on ao3 with the little added coda i never got around writing before the movie got canned o(TヘTo)

12) our wishes are the right lure ON AO3!!

You wake up in a subway car. This isn’t super strange. Except you don’t remember getting on a subway, or falling asleep. And this interior, for all you have rode on the subway before, is very unfamiliar. It is for starters, absurdly clean. Suspicious.

ugh. alright. look, a couple of years ago, when i was in my all time PLA high playing pokemon masters ex, i said 'if i get this character in the gacha i will write a reader-insert', and i did get the character, and i did write the reader-inser, but it's just so silly. i am going to have to write another reader-insert at some point just so this is not the one associated with me, probably ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

so yeah, so far this is the plan. i'm also working on second chances (derogatory), but i've mostly finished the latter chapters, bc those were fun, and i decided to put it on hold until i get my hands on P3 Reload, sorry. there's also a minific AU collection but i don't have a lot yet, just concepts, AND my attempt at a New Game+ fic that's also on hold until i play Reload, sorry.

[kinetic-elaboration]

October 19: Writing Plans for the Rest of the Year

I had a very nice autumnal hour sitting outside the new Starbucks with a pumpkin spice latte and pumpkin bread after work. The Starbucks is in such a weird location: it itself is pretty adorable but it's literally right on the road and there's a fair amount of traffic, which is kind of disorienting. I realize that sounds very normal but my other coffee shops are in pedestrian only and partially closed off streets so I'm really not used to cars so close.

Anyway, I did some thinking about where I am writing wise. I can see a clear path ahead for about a month, then it gets murkier.

Here's where I am/the plan coming up.

Troped Horror Exchange: I've written about a third of this, probably a bit less. That's not great but I'm planning/hoping to get a big chunk done this weekend. Overall I'm not really worried about not finishing, I'm worried about not having time to do anything ELSE. I won't love if this is my sole contribution this Halloween but still the most important thing is honoring my commitments so it will remain prio #1 until it's finished. No matter what, this will be done by the time November rolls around.

Halloween Ficlets: I really, really wanted to write ficlets this year and I still do. I'm going to try. 'Hauntings' won my little poll, so I've been following that idea, brainstorming, and planning some things out. As I said, I think there's a possibility I'll need to go all the way to Halloween with Troped. Even if I don't, I'd still be writing these last minute, so most likely optimistic scenario is they all post on Halloween or over the 30th/31st. I've basically decided that if I start the series I'll let myself go into the beginning of November to finish it. I did that in 2019; it's unideal but fine. But if I haven't even started or if it's going really poorly, I'll scrap the whole thing. Again, in one way or another, this will be off my to-do list as of the beginning of November.

Make a Lot of Money and Feel Dead Inside: The plan was always to get back to this after I finish the Halloween stuff, make it my first priority, and finish it "as soon as possible." I've firmed that up a little bit. I want to use this project for CalmWriMo and set myself the completely reasonable and attainable goal of finishing it by the end of the month. I only have 10 scenes left to write. There's a lot of editing still, but the writing is, I think, not too bad. I think it might even be possible that I finish with time to spare (will I regret typing that? lol). But basically, this is my November project.

...And now it's late November/early December. Here's the thing about this part of the year. First off, I have a huge Thanksgiving break, so potentially a lot of writing time there. And I'm going to see my family for Christmas as usual, so there is free time there as well. But on the other hand, it's dark, it's cold, it's busy.... I don't know. It's hard to predict how much writing energy I'll have.

And the second thing: it's a heavy 'event time.' Last year I had literally zero events for the first time in years and I anticipate 2023 will be the same. I still become very tempted to do, like, personal holiday events like a ficmas or an end of year thing but LBR fluff is not my strong suit as a writer. I can do it, I'm not being disparaging about myself, but I don't really care to churn out happy, sappy, romantic, conflict-less narratives. So, objectively, it would be better to just go back to the WIPs at this point.

But I like events, I like the holidays, I like special things. I don't know. I'll probably mull that over more starting in November, if I want to do SOMETHING, maybe a look to next year's projects or like some small fics or something, I don't know, or if I just want to go back to some other project to get a head start on 2024.

I like having a plan ahead of time because I really get stuck with the tyranny of choice. Like, I can't double think anything in my life. I have to just do things without thinking or I'll cease to want to do them. Writing included. So I don't want to finish Money and go like ??? what now? But I also don't want to plan too far ahead and tell myself I have to do or should do such-and-such a project and then I'm not remotely in that mood when the end of November rolls around. So.

But it will be nice to kind of have a blank slate again? Like a blank slate of my 50-ish ideas? I don't know. Money came out of nowhere and hit me in the face and I love it and am proud of it but it also just completely took over my life for about 9 weeks? And now I'm frantically trying to make horror season work. So really the last time I thought about the WIPs was mid-July. It has...been a while.

[mouthfulloftoothpasterry]

I'm a little late but I'm good, back in school so that's kept me busy, too working on that tapestry. At night that's what I've been doing so I've made really great progress, it's just ending up huge bc I couldn't figure out how to change the size, when I tried that's when I'd run into problems. But based on the amount of work I've been able to get done at night, I should finish it about Wednesday or Thursday so a week before Gary's birthday which is good

But anywho, what have you been up to? Any new crochet projects??

- 🍓

Hiii! I’m excited for you to finish your tapestry! You gotta let me know if it ends up how you wanted it to! And I’m happy you figured it all out!

But I have been up to a lot of reading, almost on my 20th book of the year! I wouldn’t been on my 25th or higher if I didn’t have a 2 month long reading slump 😒

Anywho! I’ve taken a break from crochet bc I notice my wrist started hurting really bad, but I’m about to finish my jack o lantern bag, I’ll post a photo so you can see it once it’s done!

[mostlynaturalhistorians]

I haven't forgotten what you did, Anton. I'm coming for you.

“O-Oh, well, would you look at that! It seems Dr. Norrington and I need leave the country on, err…. urgent archaeological business! Immediately!”

“What?! You can’t be serious!”

“(Look, think of it as a vacation! You keep saying that I need one!)”

“(Ugh… Fine….)”

“See you in a couple of months, everyone!”

[emcandon]

Writing Diary 7/22/22

Ye gods, writing books hard.

I'm working through this in public in the hopes that it does something for someone else in their own creative life.

I've been a bit worried that I'm burned out. I sold my first book in late 2020 with an agreement that we'd be doing intensive revisions and a month later got hired to write a Star War (an AU!!), so 2021 was a hellfire no-breaks ride through drafting a brand-new novel, then diving back into aforementioned intensive revisions. Simultaneously, day job ramped up as a huge project landed on our laps with editorial work on the MXTX books, which involved a whole new level of exhaustive collaboration with translators on high-stakes manuscripts.

Come 2022, Ronin is long gone, revisions on Archive are finished (mostly, as I am doing line edits this month and am getting called out on a lot of little things I thought I could get away with, BOOOO -- editor carl is right though :c), I'm an old hand at the danmei work (though it remains intense), and now I am trying to write the Archive sequel.

It is not going well.

Or like, it's not going fast? It's not quite pulling teeth, but it's hard in a way Ronin simply wasn't, because with Ronin I had the guardrails of a starting scenario that could not change, a canon to iterate on, and some long-standing opinions about the canon to dig through. With the Archive sequel I have a canon to iterate on but it's so fundamentally malleable (because it's MINE so it will DO WHATEVER I WANT/need) that I don't always know what I'm trying to yell about/at. I do have a premise that I love because it sucks for everyone involved (but they're doing it anyway!! some of them for TERRIBLE REASONS!! DELICIOUS...), but the characters...damn.

I'm a little ruthless with characters. I'll reshape them down to their very bones the second they're not quite working in some way, and the narrator of the Archive sequel has required reshaping multiple times as I try to sort out who exactly they need to be for this drama to play out in the ways I'd like it to. I've tried them sweet and neurotic, then repressed and a little mean, and I'm about to experiment with performative and crafty (and repressed and neurotic and probably a little mean; maybe sweet, we'll see; I think they're afraid that compassion is all farce because they're incapable of seeing themself as kind because they don't think themself genuine).

...See? I'm getting there. But ugh it's been so rough that I've really worried I'm just out of language.

But when I trip over something that gets me excited, that gets the little gremlin in my heart wail-cackling with glee, the words flow unabated.

So I think a lot of it really does come down to making the connection between your ambitions and the gremlin. Make it your business to find out what your gremlin feeds on (mine involves shitty systems, existential dread, possession, grief, upsetting power dynamics, well-founded guilt, handsome women, beautiful men, charismatic enbies with questionable agendas, cool action sequences and consequences thereof, the grimy process of making do in a broken world, the daunting power of being nice to someone every once in a while.)

Then feed it. FEED THE GREMLIN. The gremlin is the thing that makes everything else go vroom. The engineer. The magician. The words simply do not occur without its awful little hands on the wheel.

[downwiththemutantnjnjaturtles]

We Met Within This Screen (chapt. 2)

[Donnie x fem reader]

Sfw, part 1 here

Intellectually, Donnie was the best matchup for their leader as today was sparring day. He'd gone against his oldest brother many times, sometimes even coming out the victor himself, but today was just not his day.

He held his staff with that iron grip of his and waited for Leo to come at him. Donnie was more on the defensive than any of his brothers; he had to be. Out of all he was weakest physically but superior in calculations, but he was missing range in this matchup. Leo had a hard time disarming him as his katana could sometimes get lodged in the solid wood staff, giving Donnie leverage to perform the finisher in the short time it took him to dislodge his sword. He thought this time would be how that would happen.

"You're slow today, Donnie," Leo said as he lunged at his brother with a swing of his katana, forcing Donnie to step back. He was too focused on blocking Leo's rapid succession of attacks to respond.

Leo reeled back to swing his blade again but Donnie parried and struck his arm with his staff, shoving it aside. For a split second, Leo actually thought he was fixing to go down by this move if Donnie could hit him again quick enough. But his brother hesitated in thought, and without any reluctance himself, he used his other katana to put him in a compromising position. The match was over and Donnie was forced to stand down.

"Why did you hesitate?" Leo questioned him, lowering his blade. Raph watched from the sidelines with Mikey as they prepared to go up next. Since Leo was the winner, it was Raph's turn next to spar in his younger brother's place.

Donnie huffed and dropped his stance, putting his staff away. "It's just an off day," he replied. Splinter wasn't there to dictate today's training session and tournament, so Donnie was already on his way out to go to his lab by the time Raph stepped up to spar. But Leo sheathed his sword and put a hand on Donnie's shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.

"You've been pretty eager to run back to your lab lately," Leo said matter-of-factly. He was wondering what was going on, why Donnie seemed weirdly distant the last couple of weeks. He had gone through a very withdrawn phase in earlier times upon entering his teenage years, but now, he was legitimately making everyone guess. He didn't snap at his brothers, and he wasn't any more impatient than usual. But something was different. He'd been spending a lot more time holed up in his lab, which everyone began to notice. Leo wanted to know what was wrong.

Donnie shifted and shrugged, "Like I said, I've been busy with some projects. Also, it's not like I have much to do out here beside training and patrol."

Leo opened his mouth to speak, but Mikey jumped on between them. "You missed game night last week! You never miss it," he butted in. Both Donnie and Leo gave him a look as if to say really? and he added in, "Well, uh...not usually."

Gently moving Mikey aside, Leo wanted to continue, but he saw Donnie staring at him expecting a follow-up when he didn't really have one. Whatever this was, Leo knew that coming at Donnie with questions was not the way to go about it. So he stepped back and gave his brother some space.

"We all have off days," Leo said finally after an awkward moment of silence. "Just work on your speed, Don."

"Got it."

With that, Donnie turned to leave, and Raph entered the ring to go against Leo in the last match of the night.

Once Donnie was gone, Leo got ready to spar with Raph. As they got into position, he contemplated bringing this recent development up with the other two, but decided against it in the end. He didn't want to incriminate Donnie, especially with Raph's assertive approach to handling things. Donnie could be somewhat flighty at times when it came to resolving matters of emotion, at times a little too introspective, but Leo couldn't fault him—he had his own struggles with that very thing, too.

Done, finally, Donnie thought as he skirted into his lab and started up the game. He was late to the party quite literally; training lasted longer than he'd thought, and he was disappointed to see that his newest friend was online, but not responding to his invite. Did everyone get together and play without him? After a few minutes, he almost decided on giving up. The instance made him contemplate whether he even wanted to continue this. Perhaps he'd been too eager.

He sighed. And then the menu pinged, and he was there reading the message in an instant.

Hey, sorry I partied up without you, I just didn't know if you were gonna be on or not :/

Without even thinking, he licked his lips typed back, repeatedly deleting and retyping his message to make sure it was casual but not too casual, apologetic but not desperate—

It's okay, don't worry about it

Likewise sorry it took me so long to get here.

That would do. He'd be lying to say he wasn't feeling that flutter in his stomach; the excitement of something new got to him in a way that only a discovery in his research did, or how he felt when he mastered a new technique in his training.

Let's get started then :)

They started the game, and this time he kept the mic on, as she did. They talked back and forth as they fought creatures and enemies and looted things, eventually coming to learn that she herself was in New York City. He was surprised; suddenly, the world felt a lot smaller, and he couldn't concentrate on just playing after that. The time they spent became more of an opportunity to converse than to play a mundane game for hours on end.

At some point, she switched the topic to his whereabouts. Donnie's breath hitched.

"I'm...not anywhere near. So it doesn't really matter," he told her, cringing. If the guys found out—if Splinter found out—he would be in such trouble.

"Oh," she paused for a moment, trying to find something to say. "That's alright, I don't want you to feel like you have to tell me, you know?"

He'd muted his mic to release a deep breath. He got lost in thought thinking about how in that moment, he wanted to be human. If he weren't a giant mutant turtle, he could actually form a connection with someone. It was a very "Mikey" thing to think, he reckoned, but at times he wanted friends just like his brother did.

"Yeah, sorry, I just…"

"It's really no problem, dude."

He felt as though he could hear the smile in her voice. What did she look like, he wondered. He wanted to see her, but he couldn't ask for that when he could never do the same. If he could get her name, he'd be in the clear to do some preliminary lookups on this person, but so far, she'd been dodgy about sharing info about herself as well. He couldn't blame her. They were two strangers online, one with a huge secret and the other completely in the dark about who he truly was. For all she knew, he could have been a creep, looking to stalk her online and perhaps do even worse. The thought made him feel almost nauseous, how she could be considering that about him as a possibility as they spoke. But she seemed comfortable enough. Unlike him, who was still slightly skeptical of the entire thing, because after spending his whole life in practical isolation, he was at a loss as to what to say or do after a certain point. The conversation died off and both of them thought simultaneously about how weird the sudden silence between them felt.

She hummed, as if searching for something to bring up. When she spoke, he was taken aback—"Hey, I'm gonna be honest, I really like talking to you but this game is getting boring. Do you wanna chat somewhere else?"

"Uh…" he trailed off, mind shooting blanks. Oh, was it just a horrible idea. He couldn't keep the jig up forever; the truth was bound to get revealed somewhere down the line. He was fixing to reject the proposition, tell her that he didn't want to take it that far. She could be anyone. The likelihood of it being a clever ruse on account of the Foot Clan was slim, but the paranoia still worked ambiently in the background noise of his mind. But his other doubt stopped him—when would he ever have a chance at this again? He wanted to have the strength to say no and leave it at that. The loneliness that crept up on him from time to time had something else to say.

"Yeah," he answered after a terribly long pause of mumbling, fighting with himself all the way as she told him where to add her. He could have kicked himself had it not been for the fact that he knew how to encrypt data, and that as long as he didn't leak a word about his inner circle or life, it would be okay. It didn't feel okay, though.

"Nice! I'll text you, see you later, Bo. I had a lot of fun tonight," she chirped.

Before he could respond, she was gone from the party, and the mic went silent. It happened so fast. He was barely caught up with the fact that he was now receiving messages and prompts to talk, but he couldn't bring himself to answer right away. He had to refocus his logic; how could this be used by the enemy as a way to get to them? Could they have somehow anticipated he'd download this game and find this random on there? The more the thought about it, the more glaringly obvious it was that it was not the case. It was just too improbable.

"The probability of the Foot being able to simulate such a specific scenario in order to get intel on us is so slim, it is practically non-existent," he told himself as he finally pulled up the messages. He read through them. "Approximately a zero-point-zero-zero-zero..."

My name is (Y/N), by the way :)

Well, that was easier than expected. He figured that somehow, the name suited you—a fitting name for such a personality. But it also gave him a glimmer of hope. It made him want to ask why you appeared to trust him, as he could be anyone on the Earth over the screen, not his benevolent self. Which she had no way of proving, technically. But he soon came to realize the screen painted him in a whole new light that it casted on him. It hit then that he could be anyone. He didn't have to be himself; not necessarily. She'd never have to know, as he could wear a human mask and she'd be none the wiser. Problem was, the lying made him feel guilty, and slowly would develop to be the thorn in his side.

Donnie thoughtfully stared at the screen. Now that he was here, some of his anxiety began to fade. He found himself actually able to talk, someone to listen to his tangents and even build upon them. They spent hours texting back and forth about anything and everything until it was almost time for him to put the phone down to leave for patrol. He felt giddy, like a kid, all over again.

________________________________________

Had you ever been able to talk to someone this easily?

You asked yourself that question as you exchanged with the faceless and nameless stranger over your screen, chatting from afternoon to night. Time flew by in an instant, with him, and you loved every minute. He was someone intellectual, but funny and so easy to talk to that it was as though the conversation carried itself. After some time he came out about his age after you revealed yours. Oftentimes, he'd just present to you a random question when the subject tapered off and run with it, like now:

What do you think of reptiles?

Puzzled, you took a second to reply. Odd question.

Why do you ask? Do you have one?

I was just curious

What do you think of them?

The chat indicator flip-flopped between "typing" and "idle" a few times before a message finally popped up, and you smiled. You'd learned over this short time that he was a dork in a cute way.

Well...I think they're pretty cool.

They've got natural armor and you would be surprised to know just how fast a turtle can be

You laughed a little to yourself. It was such a random thing to bring up, yet you were endeared. Deciding you'd go along with it, you asked him what else he knew about turtles.

Well...

__________________________________________________

Donnie was wondering what he was talking about just as much as she probably was. Stupid, he thought, facepalming. His first time really speaking with a human as an equal and he starts talking about turtles. Of course he knew a lot about them, he was one himself—but for some reason he found himself wanting to dispel myths and misunderstandings about turtles as if they reflected on him, when as far as she knew, he was just a human guy like herself.

He groaned lightly and typed, thinking up a fact that wasn't too conspicuous.

Red eared sliders are semi-aquatic.

As he typed the next part, he caught himself writing "we" instead of "they", to his dismay. He quickly fixed the error and continued, feeling weirdly exposed as it was almost as though in sharing this information, he was putting himself under a microscope for her to inspect.

They can hold their breath for up to thirty minutes, usually

Holding his breath was something he'd tested numerous times before. He and his brothers had actually made a game out of it on a few occasions, with Leo leading at thirty-three minutes, Donnie in second at thirty-one. Raph broke at twenty-nine minutes and Mikey followed behind in last at just twenty-seven. The ability could be trained, nonetheless.

That's interesting, I wonder what it's like to be able to go underwater so long?

It's kind of cool, you should try sometime

For THIRTY MINUTES?

Shit. He promptly replied:

No—not like I can hold my breath that long, I just mean you should try to see sometime I guess

I tested it just for the fun of it.

Looking up how long humans could hold their breath on average (between thirty seconds and two minutes), he bumped the number up a little bit and added:

Personally, I'm at two minutes and forty-five seconds

He was embarrassed, partially covering his face as he waited for a response. Such a foolish slip-up; he couldn't afford to say anything cryptic. But he still was fairly sure that he had recovered that alright. He couldn't help but think about how awkward or weird he seemed to her. Who talked about this?

I don't think I could hold my breath for more than a minute, kudos to you haha

Anyway, sorry to switch gears all of a sudden but if you don't mind me asking, what's up with your family? You have any siblings?

He told her no. He would not bring his brothers into this, lest it be the slim chance of a ploy, after all. He said his family situation was unconventional and left it at that.

With that, he said to her goodnight and put his phone away, getting up to go get geared for patrol. It was only then he noticed the figure leaning against the doorway.

Chapter 3

[oneboxofmatches]

Hi!!! May I request a HP romantic and friendship matchup on both eras? (Preferably male), thanks in advance! 💞

𝗕𝗔𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗦 + 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘

19, Libra, Neutral Good, enneagram is 4w5, Ravenclaw, and my patronus spirit is swan. Bi Pan Genderfluid girl using pronouns of She/Her or He/Him. A friend of mine told me that I (kinda) look like Marinette from 𝗠𝗶𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗟𝗮𝗱𝘆𝗯𝘂𝗴, Musa from 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝘅 𝗖𝗹𝘂𝗯, and Alexandra Trese from 𝗧𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲 (a Netflix animated series), but the exception is I'm short (5'1.2") plus sized Southeast Asian woman with Spanish descent that has messy/wavy brunette medium hair, chocolate brown eyes, oriental skin and a small beauty mark on the forehead. My sense of fashion is in between emo and boyish plus korean glam.

𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗬

Distant and shy at first cause' I dunno how to initiate a conversation, but a total opposite if I open up---friendly, ambivert, witty, laughing loudly on a daily basis, talkative, awkward, daydreamer (I got embarrassed from knocking at the door even I'm inside the classroom 😂), EXTREMELY clumsy, secretly likes affection, easily overwhelmed, prone to melt over any wholesomeness, flusters on compliments, lightly blushes on cheesy banters, sarcastic person with a lowkey crackhead energy citing meme references, and talented girl who can be your no. 1 supporter and unashamed to be true to myself. In terms of leadership, I only educate and guide than being a prefect (I might take the role seriously), and will lift my group when there's lacking/incompleteness. About doing projects in school, I become too extra and prepared for efforts, but I'll forget the process in the end.

People thought I'm a demure self-effacing woman that looks "idealistic" or "one of a kind," (due to my protective parents, a reason why I've never been in a relationship) but the truth is, I'm eloquent, warm-hearted, willig to help, kind, intelligent, supportive, nice, creative, enthusiastic, determined, tough, competitive, and feisty outside, but a real softie that can be childish and dramatic crybaby filled with doubts, frustrations, and insecurities with fear of failure that pushes off the limits to to please everyone, yet I still managed to be stronger than ever, even it's a slow burn process. I can be intimidating, sassy, and a douchebag if I receive ends. Immature, headstrong, perfectionist, demanding, hesitant, jumpy, very indecisive, overthinker, quick-tempered, sensitive, and anxious (no joke, my nervousness makes me think worse scenario will arrive or I might break a belonging due to my carelessness). Though can be procrastinator and arrogant, I raised as a religious 𝖺𝗇𝖽 diplomatic person, willing to fight what I believe (including my dreams) 𝖺𝗇𝖽 what is right. In addition, I have a habit of staying up late and doing sign of the cross to ease nervousness.

Blunt but the loudest idiotic feeling-brokenhearted and bitter friend in the group who fangirl a lot, swears like sailor, will act like a silent backstabber on people that we loathe, will crack up over your stupid antics before helping, and bring gossips, but a hopeless romantic who tends to banter with sarcasms or pick up lines as an endearment (but gets grumpy if I received sappy or offensive one), still generous and concerned in a subtle way.

𝗛𝗢𝗕𝗕𝗜𝗘𝗦

My hobbies are singing, drawing, roleplaying, listening to music, chatting/browsing on social media, conceptualizing, writing, and reading some stuffs. 𝖨'𝗅𝗅 𝗂𝗇𝖼𝗅𝗎𝖽𝖾 making corniest jokes/puns, 𝗌𝗅𝖾𝖾𝗉𝗂𝗇𝗀, and dancing when nobody's around or walking like a model if I feel so bold (even I'm terrible at both xD).

𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘𝗦

Loves kittens, eating a lot, cartoons, watching YouTube videos (mostly pageants, ASMR, edit audios, and mukbangs), also enjoys playing games on my sister's PSP. Sucker for arts, choir, night sky, makeup, fun/deep/dumb conversations, Christianity, documentaries (about saints, real crime stories, and inspirational people), reading interesting stuffs, talking about social issues, and writings, chilling both indoors and outdoors. Beside that, my music taste are like late 90s-2000s songs (mostly rock, pop, and country) sometimes kpop and ppop, chocoholic, and a sweetooth as well.

𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘𝗦

Things that I hate are stereotyping, HUGE creepy crawlies (spiders, toads, snakes, and cockroaches), firecracker sounds, being left out, loneliness, heart break, blackout, and judgemental people. One random fact about me is, I 𝗐𝗂𝗅𝗅 vent out EVERYTHING I despise in my entire existence---from bad soap operas to toxicity and worse scenarios in real life, because it's a big deal for me, and I consider forcing me to do what I'm not into and manipulating me as my major pet peeves.

𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗚𝗘𝗥𝗦

In terms of triggers...I only have two which are ta𝖨king about divorce/annullment/separation because I came from a generational broken family and religion/beliefs discrimination, cause' there are reasonings that doesn't makes sense because some are too hypocritical.

𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗩𝗜𝗔

My best assets are smile, eyes, personality, singing voice, artistic skills, writings, intelligence, and oratorical skills...so I can consider myself as a singer, artist, orator, and a top student who's a former active campus ministry member with three roles (choir leader, psalm singer, and reader). Currently an incoming college freshman, learning how to cook and have so many interests, to the point I don't know what I'm into because of my dreams to become a popular Filipino YouTuber, a novelist, and being part of a successful chorale competing internationally...I also consider joining pageants at school too once the pandemic ends, but maybe.

Thank you so, so much for requesting! I had a lot of fun with this one (as you can tell by some of the really long answers lol) and I hope you enjoy!!

In the Golden Trio era, I romantically pair you with…

CEDRIC DIGGORY

One of the most beautiful things about Cedric is that although he may show some introverted tendencies, he still manages to have a natural gift for connecting to others and allowing them to feel comfortable enough to open up. Really, your initial distance and shyness don't last nearly as long towards Cedric as they would with most other people.

Hearing your laughter brings the widest, cheesiest grin to Cedric’s face. Not only does he adore seeing you happy, but he also recognizes that your anxiety, insecurities, and strong emotions can sometimes cloud up your demeanor. Therefore, it brings him comfort knowing that (for the moment) you’re finding joy. He thrives when you thrive!

However, as much as he loves seeing your more energetic and happier self, it goes without saying that he’s the best comfort for when you’re not having the best day.

Cedric is an excellent listener, so he’ll most likely let you talk without interruption for as long as you need before even saying a word. He wants to make sure he truly understands your current state before acting. He may take a few seconds to process everything after you finish speaking, but then he’ll help you tackle whatever problems you’re facing. He’s especially talented at giving words of affirmation.

Cedric’s listening also comes in handy whenever you talk about your interests! He genuinely loves hearing about the things you’re interested in solely for the fact that you’re interested in them. Side note: you can count on him to be at any music performances, pageants, etc. you may have -- this guy is truly your #1 supporter.

Cedric’s a very good student (though I suspect he’s somewhat of a procrastinator himself), so I can also see you two supporting each other through schoolwork and celebrating each other’s successes.

Like you, Cedric has a strong urge to do the right thing. Talking to him about social issues stirs up a need to help, and I could see you two doing volunteer work together in your spare time.

I like to believe one of Cedric’s biggest love languages is quality time. Don’t get me wrong, this guy loves staying involved and busy. But taking a couple hours to be with you in small ways (even if that means just being in the same room while you scroll through social media) gives him a nice balance.

Overall, this kind boy will be there unwaveringly through the bad times and will laugh just as loud as you through the good!

As a friend, I think you’d best be matched with…

LUNA LOVEGOOD

You wanna talk about the best conversations, relentless support, and overall the most wholesome friendship you could ask for? Luna’s your girl.

Being unashamed to be true to yourself is one of the biggest reasons why Luna is so drawn to you. While she’s very friendly and insightful towards everyone she meets, it can get a bit repetitive for her to constantly interact with people who try to shelter their unique characteristics from the world. In her mind, these unique characteristics are what make people so fascinating! Why should anyone hide who they are?

Luna’s creativity is endless, and I can see it blending well with yours. Collaborating on a personal project outside of school (ex: novel, blog, etc.) together is definitely something I could see you two doing.

Speaking of creativity, finding creative solutions to everyday problems (both in school and in life) is your specialty as friends.

Admittedly, Luna isn’t usually drawn to louder individuals. However, the complexity behind your personality makes it easier for her to know you are much more than what meets the eye.

Speaking of, Luna has a difficult time standing up for herself -- whether it’s because she doesn’t feel a need to or she just doesn’t recognize the meaning behind certain phrases. She NEEDS a friend like you to stand up for her sometimes, and I know you wouldn’t hesitate!

Ranting to Luna is therapeutic to say the least. While her aloofness at times may make it seem as if she isn’t fully paying attention, that couldn’t be further from the truth. She’s actually catching every word, and once you’re done she’ll leave you with a philosophical solution that may seem borderline insane/irrelevant when you first hear it, but it strangely makes sense.

Overall, the lack of judgment from either of you is what draws you together. As a result, you build a unique bond that couldn’t be broken even if either of you wanted it to.

In the Marauders era, I romantically pair you with…

REMUS LUPIN

Let’s be honest, it would take you two so long to ask each other out. You were probably already really close friends, but the insecurities and “what if?” questions from both of you delayed an actual relationship.

When you finally started dating, you were both so relieved. You still share a laugh at how almost nothing changed in the way you interacted with each other.

While with mutual friends, Remus sometimes likes to sit back and just watch you, especially when you get really talkative because this is when you become the most expressive. He has the softest smile when you’re actively cracking jokes, discussing something you’re passionate about, or even calling someone out. Sometimes you may be too distracted to notice, but other times you’ll catch him.

“What?”

“Oh, nothing.” (While that same soft smile never leaves his face.)

You both hold really high standards for yourself in terms of school, so expect late-night study/work sessions to be your best bet for quality time.

Though the occasional instance of walking through/lying on the grounds becomes a favorite for both of you.

Remus listens when you’re particularly struggling through anxiety or strong emotions, but he has to consciously stop himself from interrupting because he can’t stand how he feels knowing you’re going through a tough time.

All he wants to do is soothe you during these moments. If you’re comfortable, he’ll hold you while speaking to you in a soft voice. Remus, the intellectual that he is, is also your best chance at finding a reasonable solution. So if you're not in the mood for calming words, he's also a great person to turn to for answers.

As for your ambitions, no matter what you choose to pursue, you already know Remus is going to be your biggest source of support every step of the way. He’s more than happy to help in any way he can!

Overall, Remus appreciates you, and he’s always going to make sure you know it.

As a friend, I think you’d best be matched with…

LILY EVANS

Lily especially connects to you because you manage to be determined, competitive, and intelligent without sacrificing your kindness, which is something she can relate to.

You and Lily are the C.E.O.s of doing the right thing. Neither of you hesitates to back the other up when it comes to confronting someone because you know it’s justified.

As perceptive as Lily is, you never need to tell her when something is bothering you. All it takes is a quick glance before she puts whatever she’s doing on hold to check in with you.

The reverse works as well. Typically, Lily really doesn’t internally struggle too much, and when she does she tries to hide it. You’re one of the only people who can see right through whatever she tries to pull.

The constant banter between you two is unmatched, but you both know it's because you really care about each other.

Overall, you and Lily have each other’s backs through anything, even when the other isn’t actively asking for help.

[lavaffair]

A secret santa fic for my secret santa @ideasthatbuildcities​! Pregnant Kagome and inugang on Christmas! @inusecretsanta​ @iyfss​

I hope you like it! I had so much fun writing this. Happy Holidays :)

Read it on AO3! https://archiveofourown.org/works/28332135

or read below!

***

Thursday, December 24. Christmas Eve. 2:00 PM

“Hello.” sang the soft and comforting voice behind the phone.

“Mama!” Kagome greeted excitedly, “I finished it.” She placed her phone between her shoulder and ear, cranking her neck to the side just to look at her creation.

“Just in time too! Was it easier to finish after I helped?” Her mother asked curiously. Kagome smiled, beaming at the bundle of fabric in her hands happily.

“It definitely was mama. Who knew sewing a little fire rat robe would be so difficult?” She placed the red robe back onto the table and held her phone to her ear again. Noticing the slight soreness coming from her neck she rubbed it with her hand. While working on the robe she would absentmindedly tilt her neck to the right and keep it in that position for a long time.

“Hmm. Although it may not be made by the same materials as Inuyasha’s I believe the difficulty to make both versions is the same.” Her mother laughed lightly, “But I’m sure it came out great! You need to send me a picture before you bag it, dear.” Kagome could hear her mother fumbling in the kitchen with what she could only assume was tea. It was past time for breakfast, and still too early for lunch. She knew both her mother and grandfather would be drinking some tea around this time like they did every day.

“It’s almost identical! I am glad he keeps it in our closet. Easier for me to borrow it and to put it back where it was.” Kagome placed her mother on speaker and opened her camera app. Her mother was preoccupied with handing her grandfather his cup of tea, which allowed her to snap a few photos of the mini fire rat robe.

Happy with the way her photos looked, Kagome bunched them all in one message and sent them to her mother. A wispy chime came from her mother's phone echoed into her ear and she heard a loud gasp.

"Kagome! He's going to love it!" The crack in her mother’s voice could not be hidden which caused tears to prick into Kagome's eyes. "I can't believe you made me a grandmother, although I knew it would happen one day. Now for Inuyasha... he isn't going to believe he's going to be a father." Kagome wiped the stray tears falling from her eyes and was eternally grateful that Inuyasha was out with Miroku at the moment. He never likes it when she cries, and he always tries to get to the bottom of the situation so he can mend it. Whether he caused her to cry or it was an outside source, Inuyasha would do his best to comfort his wife.

"He won’t believe it but he's going to be the best father ever." Kagome sniffled as she continued to catch her tears. "He's been on his feet the last week checking up on me because I've been so emotional." It was particularly difficult to hide her excitement on learning she was going to be a mom. Inuyasha's nose is sensitive thanks to his demon blood, and he has been concerned for his wife. For the last month Kagome's been moodier as she has caught herself getting upset at things that never bothered her before. As the days went on, she started feeling sick in the mornings and had to take off running towards her bathroom with her husband right behind her.

At the time, Kagome was beginning to have her suspicions, but she was not ready to fully think about it yet. Her thoughts would linger on the possibility of her being pregnant, and in turn her anxiety would flare up. Inuyasha caught every mood swing come off her and he was starting to get frustrated on how useless he felt when he tried to help his wife. When Kagome had brought up her plans to go visit her mother at the shrine for the weekend, Inuyasha perked up immediately and supported her idea all the way. If he could not figure out how to help Kagome, maybe her mother will. Moms knew how to fix almost anything, and Kagome's mom was well known for her skills in parenting. While Kagome went back home for the weekend, Inuyasha stayed home and continued as usual with work and did not suspect anything more. He knew she was going to be in good hands.

"I still can't believe we found out on Saturday." Kagome said in disbelief. A little smile formed at her lips at the memory.

"I still can't believe you were in denial." Her mother teased in good spirits.

The young woman laughed, shaking her head in reply. "I believe it was more fear of the unknown than denial, mama." Her fingers lightly smoothed out the fabric in front of her, "I didn't know what to think." Now finished with her project, Kagome began to put the red thread and needles into the small tin bucket of sewing supplies.

"Meanwhile I knew immediately the minute you showed up." On the other side the phone call, her mother sat down at the table and sipped her tea. Smiling fondly at the memory of the moment they both found out the news. Unbeknownst to her, her daughter was doing the same thing as she cleaned up her work area.

When Kagome had arrived at the shrine that Friday she was weary of how she felt and how to tell her mother. Luckily for her, her mother was as observant as ever and picked up on her daughter immediately. The lack in appetite and the anxiety coming off of her made it easier for her mother to come to her conclusion. It was not until the next morning when she found her daughter heaving into the toilet that her suspicions turned real. Her mother sat her down in her old bedroom and looked at her knowingly.

"Kagome... are you pregnant?" She remembered her mother asking. Their hands were tightly held within each other’s and Kagome knew her mother could feel her shaking.

"I- I don't know? I think I am but... I'm nervous to find out." Kagome admitted. Her voice began to waver from the nerves, and her stomach was flipping into knots. Could she really be pregnant?

Why don't we take a test? Would you like to?" Her mother asked in a soft and reassuring tone. Although Kagome was nervous beyond belief, her mother was helping her feel comfort in the mess of anxiety she was feeling. Hesitantly, she agreed, and they quickly left to the pharmacy to buy the pregnancy tests. They decided to buy four tests, just to be sure there were no duds when she took the tests and they made their way back to the shrine.

Everyone was home when they arrived back, and that only made Kagome more nervous. Her mother squeezed her hand tightly before letting her daughter lock herself in the safety of the bathroom. It was a shaky and uneven experience but Kagome was able to get all four tests done. She opened the door to let her mother in as they patiently waited for the results to show up. Kagome hugged her mother to find comfort, and her mother hugged her and rubbed her back.

As they waited, the nervousness Kagome felt was starting to be replaced with excitement at the thought of the tests being positive. She has always wanted to be a mom and once she met Inuyasha the need only grew more. She knew the two of them would make great parents to their hypothetical children, but she had not expected it to happen around this time. They had been married for almost two years, and they are careful when they have sex but there are days when they both get very carried away. As unexpected as this was for Kagome, she is a little surprised this did not happen sooner.

One minute felt like eternity as two lines began appearing on all four of the tests and Kagome's breath hitched in her throat. She squeezed her mother harder in reaction to the scene in front of her, a huge smile decorating her lips. Both women began laughing from happiness and shock while tears fell freely down both of their faces. They made so much noise that Kagome's brother Sota, and their grandfather came running towards the bathroom in alarm.

"What has happened here!?" Her grandfather asked in alarm. Sota looking confused as well, he peeked into the bathroom and stared in amazement at the four white tests sitting on the bathroom sink.

"No way! Sota exclaimed, his eyes almost bulging from their sockets. Kagome no way! Her brother hopped excitedly.

"What is it Sota?" Asked his grandfather who still did not understand.

"Gramps, you're going to be a great gramps now!" Sota practically yelled in the older mans ear, his mother and sister too busy crying to give either of them a good explanation. Grandpa Higurashi watched as his daughter in law wiped his granddaughter’s cheeks free from tears as his own began to fall.

"Oh, Kagome! He wept with a big smile on his face. "You have made me the happiest grandparent on earth, to be blessed with a grandchild while I am still here with you all!" The older man hugged his crying granddaughter as tightly as he could and happily wept at her shoulder. He had always wanted to be a great grandparent but he had not expected it to happen yet. He knew with his oldest granddaughter there would be a possibility, but he was getting older and weaker as he clung onto his wish.

"Of course you would have a great grandchild, grandpa! You will not be leaving us yet." Kagome sniffled as she hugged her grandfather back, the only other remaining male member of her family. The only other man who resembled her late father so closely, along with her younger brother Sota.

"You excited to be an uncle?" Kagome beamed towards her brother who was now coming in to give her a hug.

He laughed loudly, a hint of nervousness still lingering within him, "My niece or nephew are going to have the best uncle they could ever ask for." He sniffled, "Be ready to raise soccer stars."

Kagome laughed at the fresh memory of her unexpected announcement and felt so lucky to have such a wonderful family by her side. As she placed the tin can back into her supply closet, she went to grab the green holiday bag that would hold the small fire rat robe. "I can't wait to tell him." She squealed with her mother still on the line. She heard her mother laugh and could practically see her beaming with a cup of tea in her hand.

"Tell us about it tomorrow at dinner. I need to know how he and everyone else finds out." Her mother reminded her. "I want to know it all!"

"I promise mama. Inuyasha and I will be there around five tomorrow. I can't wait for dinner either." Kagome folded the red bundle neatly and placed it at the bottom of the bag, just above the single pregnancy test wrapped in tissue paper. She covered the red robe with more tissue paper and hid the little bag underneath her side of their bed. "I'll see you tomorrow mama. Love you."

"I love you too, dear." The call ended, and Kagome was left alone in her bedroom again. Inuaysha would be home soon, and she needed to clear up the scent of her tears so he would not worry when he came home. Some time to air out the house with the windows open should do the trick.

December 25. Christmas Day. 6:00 AM

Kagome and Inuyasha had awoken to a light snowfall in the early morning of Christmas. It was a cold morning and Kagome did not want to get out of her warm bed, much to Inuyasha's complaints. Out of the two of them, Kagome was always the one to sleep in while Inuyasha was the early bird. There were mornings where she could easily convince her husband to sleep in longer with her and cuddle the morning away, while other mornings he would stay in bed with her after a long night of rendezvous. Either way, she loved when he pulled her closer to him to breathe in his scent and feel his natural warmth, something she was desperately missing on this winter day.

The half demon poked his sleeping wife's cheek gently, with just enough pressure to get her attention on him. "Wake up, Kagome!" He loudly whispered, "Everyone's gonna be here in two hours. You hafta get up!" He urged her by continuing to poke her soft and squishy cheek.

His sleeping wife groaned, "Get back in bed… they can wait for us..." She groggily replied. She could feel the pad of his finger poking at her face, the longer he did it the more alert she became. She growled in annoyance at her husbands successful attempts to wake her and she wished her growls could be as terrifying as her husbands were. She freed one hand from the warm confines of their fluffy blanket and slapped his hand away. This only led to further failures as Inuyasha's poking stayed in place since he was much stronger than his sleepy wife.

"Inu..sha... noooooo." His sleeping beauty complained, "Stop ittttt." Her attempts to sound mad were failing, as she could hear herself sound more like a muffled child than an angry woman. She slapped at his hand again but instead was pinned down by her very annoying husband, who had decided to lay his entire body on top of hers.

Kagome opened her eyes and glared at his amber ones who were filled with mischief. "Why." She sounded fully awake now!

Inuyasha laughed at her, "Since ya wanta stay in bed all day when we got people comin', I guess I'll get into bed too and humor ya." He snuggled into her, his arms incasing her head between them as he laid his head into the crook of her neck.

"I can't breathe you know." She laughed, "You wouldn't want to squish your wife would you?" She decided to poke his cheek in retaliation to his earlier actions. She felt him growl at her playfully, his body making hers vibrate along with the sound.

"'Course I don't. I'd rather she get her lazy ass up instead." He teased. He licked her ear in another attempt to try to get her up and he felt her body jolt as his tongue flicked her earlobe a second time. The dainty hand that was poking his cheek now pushing at his chest to get him off of her.

"Okay! Inuyasha, stop!" She giggled, "You know that tickles! No!" She shrieked, making his ear flatten onto his head as he started tickling her sides.

"Do ya promise!" He boomed, laughing at her expense. He knew his girl well, and if gentle pokes did not get her up then torturing her with tickling will. He could feel and see her squirm in protest as she tried to push him off of her, laughing and gasping for air. Her uncontrollable laughter was contagious as he too laughed along with her, grinning wickedly because he knew she was trying to give him an answer.

"Yes!" She gasped, "I swear!" Her laughter growing louder, "Please stop!"

Inuyasha's grin only widened, "That's not what ya tell me when I'm on top of you in other ways!" He was mesmerized the way her eyes scrunched up as she laughed, and at the way her lips looked while she laughed. Whether she was laughing by force or laughing in reaction or something, Inuyasha knew he was one lucky bastard.

She gasped at his reply, "This is different! You know I hate tickles!" She giggled cutely, "Inuyasha!" Tears fell from her eyes now and they made her pillow wet. God, she hated getting tickled!

"Awright!" She heard her husband yell, and then his tickling fingers stopped. Kagome opened her eyes and gasped for air, her husband looking as smug as ever. "Good morning sleepy head." He kissed her on the forehead, on her nose, and then left a lingering kiss to her lips. "Merry Christmas."

Annoyance quickly subsiding, Kagome kissed him back. "Merry Christmas. Now get off of me." She requested, even though it sounded more of a demand. Inuyasha quickly got off of her and pulled her up with him. Watching as his beautiful wife rubbed at her eyes and yawned like a kitten. She stared at him sleepily before getting up to stretch. She could feel his eyes on her, burning her and lighting her up on fire which only woke her up faster.

"Man.. if the gang wasn't comin' over so early I'd take you here an' now." He eyed her hungrily. Kagome blushed, loving the way he still could give her that reaction after being together for so long. She walked up to him and kissed him once more, soft and lingering and filled with love.

"Maybe after dinner you can get some desert." She winked up at him. His white, fluffy ears focused just on her and standing up on command. "Inu," she kissed his lips again, "Could you make me some hot chocolate?"

He pulled her closer in and kissed her again, never getting tired of her sweet taste. "Comin' right at cha." She gave him the smile that made him fall in love with her, the smile only made for him before turning around to head to the bathroom. Immediately walking to the kitchen to make her favorite drink, he added some extra mini marshmallows in the mug because they were her favorite. Sango, Miroku, and Shippo would be here within the next hour and a half and they had a long day ahead of them. He could hear Kagome humming from their bedroom, the water running while she took her shower and hoped she did not take as long as she normally does.

Inuyasha stirred the hot contents inside the mug, careful to not spill any marshmallows before setting her cup aside. He went to pour in some hot coffee into his own mug and stirred in some sugar. He heard the familiar squeak of the shower knobs turn and was left surprised at how quickly Kagome finished up, his silent wish being granted. While he waited for her to get dressed he sat down on the kitchen island and drank his coffee, his only entertainment being their twinkling Christmas tree and the steam coming off of Kagome's hot chocolate.

After a few minutes he heard little footsteps coming from his bedroom and the scent of vanilla and strawberries that followed it. From around the corner Kagome walked out already dressed and holding a little green bag. Inuyasha quickly picked up on her nervousness and got up to meet her halfway. "Kagome? You okay?"

Kagome looked into her husbands amber eyes, concern etched within them and her anxiety subsided a little. She can admit she was nervous about how he would react. She knew he'd be excited, and very happy about the news but she also knew that he never thought he would be a father. Inuyasha has been alive for over 650 years, and when he had first told her she was a little in shock but quickly put it aside as he was part demon and all. His older brother being a lot older than him, and still alive. Demons and humans had lived together peacefully for a very long time, and Kagome found herself falling in love with one.

Inuyasha had had a very hard and unfair life, especially in the earlier times of it. With him being half demon, he was victim to prejudice and thousands of attempts of people and demons trying to kill him. He survived it all and survived to see the attitudes towards demons change from humans. He still gets mistreated by individuals from both sides due to being born half human and half demon, but he has met many more who accept him for who he is. He has found a family within friends who accept him, a loving and beautiful wife he does not deserve, her amazing family, and he has also mended his relationship with his full demon brother.

"Hey, I wanted to give you your first gift in private." Kagome started, her voice giving away how nervous she was. "It's your biggest gift of the bunch." She smiled. Kagome handed him the little paper bag and watched as he worriedly and excitedly placed the bag on the island and began opening it. He kept looking at her to make sure she was okay, as he could still sense her anxiety.

"Is this why you've been so nervous this week?" He asked her. He carefully took the tissue paper off of the bag and heard her breath hitch and slow down, her reaction answering his question.

Inuyasha looked at her one more time before he dug into the bag and felt fabric at the bottom. Confused on as to why clothes would make his wife so damn nervous, he pulled the bundle out of the bag and was met with a small red shirt. "What?", he quietly asked himself. Careful with his claws, he unfolded the red shirt and was surprised to see that it was not a shirt at all. It was a smaller version of his fire rat robe. He eyed the item carefully, knowing that the only way this could be made was by Kagome herself.

"I-" He started, "Kagome..." Inuyasha's eyes widened as realization hit him like a truck. This small fire rat robe was small enough to fit on an infant, and why would Kagome make something so small if there was no infant? As his amber his met her brown ones, a smile formed onto his face. Before saying anything more he investigated the bag once more to see if he missed anything. There wrapped in red tissue paper was a plastic pregnancy test, with two blue lines bold and clear on the results screen. The half demon immediately pulled his anxious wife into his arms and held her tightly.

"No way! Babe, we're pregnant?!" Inuyasha excitedly yelled. He took her face into his hands and left kisses all over it, making sure he kissed away the tears that were falling from her eyes. Her hands cupped his cheeks and she looked into his wide, excited eyes.

"Yes Inu, we are pregnant." She laughed as more tears formed, "You're going to be a dad Inu."

"Yes!" He boomed loudly, his voice echoed in the kitchen as his picked up his crying wife and spun her around. "I'm gonna be a dad!" He kissed her, "You're gonna be a mom! My kids gonna have such a great mom!" He took her lips once again into his and kissed her with so much love and desire. Out of all the time he was alive, he never thought he would ever become a father to a child. When he met Kagome, he knew he had his shot because he finally found a woman who loved every part of him. He had found someone who would love him unconditionally, and therefore would love their child with even more.

Not letting go of her, he reached for the little red robe and stared at it. "When our kids born I'll haveta take it out and wear my old robe with theirs." He wiped another tear from Kagome's eyes, "Kagome. My wife, the mother of our child. God, I love you." He pulled her into his chest and felt her arms wrap around his neck in an embrace.

"This is the best gift you have ever given me, and you have given me so much. No one else has ever loved me the way you do. Has given me a chance to live happily, to make friends, to trust others more." He kissed her forehead, tears spilling out of his own eyes now. "I feel like I was born just for you, and all the bullshit I had to go through my life has led me to you and only you."

"I love you, Inuyasha." Kagome said muffled, her lips hidden within her husbands warm embrace. She lifted her head up tp stare back at him, the smile made just for him on her face. "I will love you and our baby forever, unconditionally, and with all the love I can give you both."

December 25. Christmas Day. 8:30 AM

After some quick freshening up and some makeup both Inuyasha and Kagome did not seem to look like they cried at all. Once dressed and prepared the couple quickly got started on preparing breakfast for themselves and their friends. Every year the group opens gifts in the mornings and share breakfast together, each year the location changes and this time it was hosted at the Taisho's.

As soon as the pair were finishing up with preparing breakfast, their friends had arrived all together with boxes wrapped in festive paper and bags full of goodies. Inuyasha helped Miroku place all of their gifts below the tree while Sango and Shippo helped Kagome bring the plates to the table. The house smelled amazing, and the morning chill outside had no match to the warm and cozy atmosphere inside of their home. After finishing up with the tea everything was ready to eat. The group of friends gathered at the table and enjoyed the delicious homemade meal. After Shippo and Inuyasha fought for seconds and Miroku brewed some more tea it was time to open presents.

Once everyone sat around the Christmas tree the volume in the room intensified with everyone speaking over one another. A lot of "Pick me to go first!" and "Where did you put my gifts?" were being thrown around the room back and forth. Kagome was growing impatient and irritated with how no one seemed to listen to her and clapped her hands loudly. "Alright, alright!" She noticed Inuyasha's ears flick at her loud clapping and she blushed, "Sorry Inu," she apologized.

Kagome stood up and tossed some pillows at everyone in the living room, "We will go one at a time and exchange gifts in order. We still start from the person closest to the Christmas tree. Which would be Shippo." She sent the fox demon a friendly smile before sitting back down next to her husband, who was playfully whining about going deaf from his wife's thunder like clapping. She lightly swatted his arm in reply, "I'll give you something to whine about."

She swore she heard him say "That a threat or a promise?" but chose to ignore it.

Shippo grinned cheekily and grabbed four little boxes from under the tree. "Open them all at the same time, wait for my signal" he practically jumped like a rabbit as he handed each person a box.

He sat back down on his cushion and opened his arms as his signal. He watched excitedly as his friends revealed the frames of pictures they had all taken together throughout the years, reveling in the gasps and praise they made. Shippo was the youngest looking of his friends at 20 years old, although he was very close in his demon age with Inuyasha. He had lost his family when he was only a kit and lived the majority of his life alone until he met Inuyasha. There were many moments where they would butt heads and argue over small things but as they grew the arguing faded and their relationship as brothers progressed. Due to his lifelong friendship with Inuyasha, he met Miroku, Sango, and Kagome and they have all become his family.

"Oh Shippo!" Kagome and Sango cooed, "This is so thoughtful of you!" Kagome finished.

Miroku agreed, "Shippo this very kind of you to make."

"Oi, Shippo..." Inuyasha asked grudgingly, "What's the meanin' of this eh?" The half demon pointed at another frame of Inuyasha and Shippo together where it was clear that Shippo had drawn him with clown hair, make up, and a nose.

"I had to make our picture together a little more accurate." The fox demon grinned at him. He quickly ducked down at the molded paper ball Inuyasha threw at his head.

"If it were accurate ya should have drawn yourself with diapers and a pacifier!"

"Boys, boys please. If you want to kill each other do it outside." Sango chimed in. The demon boys grumbled and said nothing more, "I guess it's my turn!" she sang.

Sango revealed three boxes and handed them to Inuyasha, Kagome, and Shippo which caused the three recipients looked at Miroku in confusion. "Sango, you're not going to give Miroku his?"

Miroku laughed, although it sounded more like a cough while Sango blushed deeply and looked away, "Sango uh... gave me my gift already." Miroku explained.

"Ohhhhhhh!" The curious couple yelled in unison, while Shippo could be seen shaking his head with a sly grin on his face.

"No wonder you've been so under control, Miroku!" The fox demon teased. Miroku cleared his throat and chose to stay silent while Sango's face rivaled that of a tomato.

"Oh just open your gifts already!" The blushing woman squeaked before taking her spot back next to her fiancé. The three teasing friends all laughed but it was quickly drowned out by the sound of ripping paper. Many ooo's and aaa's were heard echoed around the living room as the boxes were opened. Each box was filled with different items for each individual person, each carefully picked out by Sango. Kagome's box was very pink and glittery. The box was made up of cute and subtly scented bath supplies since Kagome loved to take baths and some of her favorite candy. For Inuyasha, his box was filled with instant ramen, Chapstick, and socks.

"Ya really got me socks huh?" he asked with a huff.

Sango nodded with a huge grin on her face, "Well until you stop walking barefoot everywhere and conform to slippers, I think socks are a good middle ground for you."

Inuyasha heard Kagome giggle which caused him to roll his eyes in return, "Thanks for the extra ramen."

Shippo gave no time for anyone to reply because of his loud, excited gasp. "It's a box full of food!"

Miroku laughed, "Babe you're such an enabler."

"Well," she pointed towards Inuyasha, "I did give him a shit ton of ramen, and Kagome more bath time amo... but they're addicted." She shrugged.

"It can't be helped Miroku!" Kagome followed, "We're lost causes. Just give us what we need to survive and keep moving."

"There's lollipops and honey butter potato chips" the fox beamed, "Sango thank you, thank you, thank you!" He hopped in his seat like an excited puppy.

The group laughed in unison and as the wrapping paper was tossed together in a pile, Miroku handed everyone their small gift bags. Miroku was very simple when it came to gift giving, he always had been. Miroku was a pretty simply guy; the only thing he really cares for is Sango, sex, and success. He likes to call it the "The Three S's".

Sango, Shippo, Inuyasha, and Kagome opened the little boxes where a bracelet with three purple beads lay inside. "They are protection bracelets," Miroku started. "We all know I come from a line of monks, and as unholy as I am in some cases I can still stake some claim. If you wear them, you will always have protection. Master Mushin and I made our prayers for a few days on each of them."

Overcome with emotion. Sango leaned towards her soon to be husband and gave him a chaste kiss. "Now I see why you wanted me to open this one here." She leaned her head on his shoulder, "Thank you my love."

"How the hell did two lechers make somethin' so holy and sacred? Mushin's got half of what you have when it comes to bein' holy!" Scoffed Inuyasha.

Miroku laughed, "You know as they say, two halves make a whole." Everyone groaned in unison, and the raven haired man received some eyerolls from almost everybody in the room.

"Right! Well, Inuyasha and I are last!" Kagome beamed happily. She shot up from her seat to go fetch their gifts when a clawed hand gently brought her back down. She stared at Inuyasha, confusion painted onto her face. She watched him stand in her place instead with a huge smile on his face. "Inuyasha?" She soft asked.

"Before we give you guys the gifts under the tree, I wanna show you what Kagome got me." His smile grew wider, "Its gonna blow your minds." He walked into their bedroom as fast as a bullet and left everyone but his wife in confusion and curiosity. The anxiety was coming back into her, but it was quickly being drowned out by her excitement of their announcement. She and Inuyasha both knew their friends would be supportive and as excited as they are.

As quickly as he came Inuyasha appeared by Kagome's side with the little green bag. "Kagome made me somethin' really cool," he began to dig into the bag. "She worked all week on it and I wanted to show ya before I put it on." Lifting out the little red robe, he dropped the bag near Kagome and used both hands to fully show off the small clothing. He watched proudly as everyone's eyes widened in pure shock. Besides him, Kagome stood up in a fit of uncontrollable giggles, "Surprise!" She shouted. "We're pregnant!" In her hand laid the positive white pregnancy test.

Sango got to them first, and successfully almost tackled her best friend down if it were not for Inuyasha's hand on her back. "You're pregnant!" She shouted, "You're going to be a mom! I'm going to be an aunt!" Together the girls began to jump up and down as they became overcome with emotion. Tears were spilling down both of their faces as they celebrated within their own little bubble.

Inuyasha stared at Sango with an arched brow, "What about me?" Suddenly he was pulled into the hug by both women with an expression that held instant regret. "Yeah I shouldnt'a asked."

"My friend!" Miroku spoke next, "You are one of the luckiest men alive. Marrying Kagome, and now expecting a child." He stood up and patted his long time friend on the back. "We are both very lucky men."

The half demon let out a pained grunt from being crushed by his wife and his best friends fiancé. "I don't feel too lucky at the moment, monk!" He was able to push himself free from their grasps as they continued their insane bear hug. Shippo was next to walk up to him with a grin and a twinkle in his eyes. He took the red fire rat robe from Inuyasha's grasp and held it up.

"You know if I had this back when we first met we would have looked like a dynamic duo." Shippo started, "But then I'd look too much like you." He handed the little robe to Miroku so he could see the hard work that Kagome put in it.

"Who's the one who ran away every time I fought a demon?" Inuyasha sent him a shit eating grin, "Cause it wasn't me."

Shippo was going to counter back, but the squealing behind the men stopped and two watery eyes women appeared before them. Sango grabbed the little red robe from Miroku and admired it fondly. The rest of the gift exchange was completely forgotten by the turn in events. The room was filled with love and excitement at the announcement of their friends incoming member of the family.

"Merry Christmas?" Kagome cheered with a stuffy nose.

"I'll be a little corny here but this is definitely the best gift of the night." Miroku stated matter of factly. "We will have a new member of our family soon."

Shippo laughed, "I can't wait for that! We'll be the best uncles ever!"

Kagome pulled Sango into a one-armed hug, "And they will have the best aunt ever."

The group continued giving their last set of gifts from the exchange. The final round from the married couple were just as amazing, but the best gift of the day was still voted as the pregnancy announcement. As their morning continued, and the gifts were all opened and set aside they decided to watch The Grinch as they do every year. After this Christmas, things would never be the same again. Next time the holidays come around, there will be a new family member to spoil with love and presents. Hopefully with some little white ears to match.

[savrenim]

hi hi hi. so I just got into the Hamilton fandom, I swear I am four years late where did everybody go, and, well. I am apparently a hamburr shipper. bcs that is my life now. anyway I saw your fic ifmlam and I swear it is my favourite of all the fics I've ever read (and trust me I've read literally thousands). I love it so so much, how do you write fics like that??? I cried about four times during the whole thing, I stayed up till 4am reading it even when I had to wake up at 7 because it is just. that. good. I could not stop thinking about it for days afterwards and ifmlam has just ruined me. I can't think of listen to Hamilton without thinking of ifmlam anymore.

on to my qursttion: is it abandoned? of course it's perfectly FINE if it is. don't let anyone tell u differently, your fic is YOURS and u are amazing.

but pls I really need closure from ur fic, it has been haunting me if its abandoned or ongoing and I've read ur other fics and they are just chefskiss and thank you so much for writing them all. thank you thank you thank you, I will never be able to thank you enough for writing this fic and for everything it's done for me. I am probably thousands of miles away but I am sending you virtual jugs through a co.puter screen right now.

(don't feel pressured to reply to this or update it flam, I know how overwhelming it can get with so many messages and after a while u get desensitized to it. u can literally reply "thx. itfmlam is abandoned" and I would still be amazingly star struck. anyway has gotten way too long and I need to sleep and I'm sorry u probably won't see this so I'm just talking to myself right now but bye!!)

and thank you so so much for writing itfmlam.

aaaah hello anon!

thank you so so much???? I am so??? honored??? that ifmlam rates so highly to you, and also that you've read my other fics??????

the answer to the "is ifmlam abandoned" question is probably the worst possible one, which is pretty much "I do want to finish it, both for the folks that still want closure as well as it bothers to me have abandoned projects that are in the public eye/ already partially published, but also, it is last on my current writing projects list"

my current actually active writing projects list, kind of in order of priority, is

I'm literally three chapters away from being Actually Fully Done with the not-quite-first-not-quite-second let's call it 1.5th draft of an actual?? full?? original?? novel?? Opus which of course then goes out to beta readers and then gets who-knows-how-much edited and then maybe beta readers again if a lot does change and then a copyeditor my mom, my copyeditor is my mom, and maybe my little brother he's one of the betas but is very good at catching typos and then I!!! get to publish it!!!! which is the single thing I am most excited for!!!!!!!!! this should be closed up in the next week or two, and then take a while for people to actually read the draft and get back to me.

I really desperately want to finish my open-but-like-90%-written fic, which means we raise it up, the final chapter of to the bottom of the river bc I realized that it was kind of incomplete, and the second chapter of a buried and a burning flame because any more work there will need to wait until the author publishes the next book in the series. this should be closed up in the next month or two.

Speedwrite the draft of the second book of the Opus series so that hopefully by the time book 1 edits are happening, I have an almost complete draft of the second book. this is mostly me side-eyeing myself about taking nearly four years to write the first book, but that is solidly in part because I had so many other open projects which point 2 is about clearing that docket. this should be done in the next year.

And then just have my major projects be, at least until books 1-5 are written and published, books 1-5 of that because that is arguably the first major 'plot arc' of the series, so if I'm looking for a pause point on writing, that's probably where to stop.

There are two or three other short side projects (a weird fun second person short story tentatively titled witch-queen, a collection of four short stories Memoirs about a not-so-evil necromancer and the shenanigans he gets up to trying to rule a kingdom, working title Perfectly Normal Recipe Blog which is a collaborative project about a perfectly normal recipe blog that definitely doesn't include anything out of the normal) that will happen when they happen

There are other projects that are on the backburner -- The Numanok Files, a series of probably 12-15 short novellas about a mercenary/ bounty hunter esque person in space whose specialty is dealing with hauntings, but, like, 80% of their jobs is actually "you are effectively a space home inspector pointing out faulty wiring reacting to solar flares/ there's a weird alien fungus/ it's carbon monoxide okay change your atmosphere filters" and 20% of it is punching ghosts; there's a post-post apocalypse novel that I want to write that I know characters and general pacing and half the setting but need to work out the other half and figure out how much aesthetic I want to commit to; there's Strangeside7 aka spacerace book that is my reaction to how much I love how Redline the anime movie commits itself to "no we are about a race, like 60% of the screentime is just fully going to be an utterly ridiculous sci fi space race"; there's even a ridiculous YA trilogy that I would have to completely transplant the setting but might end up writing because the interplay between angel-physics and physics-physics was one of my favorite things in the world. and I guess the weird ridiculous technically a sequel series to ifmlam that was going to be published as original books that was basically me having fun with 'okay I fucking love star wars prequels old rotting space bureaucracy galactic republic style' except with seers and that also still might happen because it does have some of the coolest sci fi concepts and honestly I thiiiink that's all?

but the tl;dr of that timeline is I'm trying to finish a punch of projects Right Now, so that I can write books 2-5 of Opus, and then when I'm done that (which honestly, my average fiction-writing output is close to 100k a year. if I'm concentrating purely on one project, and writing books that are about 100k, we are talking four years. although my job situation is super up in the air in that period and writing might get put solidly on the backburner as I try to make it in academia, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯) I will re-evaluate which projects go next, and that's when ifmlam is likely to come up for review.

I do not have any expectations that I will make it as an original author. I'm planning on posting all of my stuff online for free, but, like. it is incredibly difficult to convince people to try out even a piece of free and easily accessibly original work even if one has a huge following, I am a very small fanfiction author, and from what I can tell the majority of the people who are interested in my work are mostly interested in me finishing ifmlam. writing is a hobby for me, and while I'm writing mostly for me--and hence the for me bit at least for the next five years is pretty solidly going to be this series that I am deeply excited about and have sunk my heart and soul into every single aspect of--I'm human, and I don't really like shouting into the void, and I expect if I spend five years publishing to absolutely no response I will either stop writing for a while and do other things gods know my life is busy enough, return to fandom in general to write some other fanfic about whatever I get deeply into, or return to a work that I actually get response to. so ifmlam will probably start getting worked on a bit at that point one way or another. unless, of course, we are in the incredibly rare timeline in which I do make it as an original author, there are people who are deeply hyped for my original works and an actual demand for them, in which case as you may have noticed there are enough ideas there to keep me busy for a decade or two, and they will just get my full attention instead of fanfiction*. in this timeline, I will do what I was considering doing a few years ago, which is officially declare ifmlam otherwise abandoned and make one more giant chapter update which is a full and cleaned up outline of what I was going to write, interspersed with the scenes already written, and have ifmlam be given at least that closure.

*I want to make it clear that I very much love fanfiction and am proud to have been a fanfiction author and in my heart of hearts would keep writing it forever, I just also have a lot of ideas for characters and settings and magic systems and Aesthetics and I have been biting at the bit to write something that is //mine// and all mine and only mine for a while, I don't see original work as superior so much as there are a dozen fandoms that I am currently in and bursting to make content about except oops these fandoms currently only exist in my head, and I want to correct that

of course given how much as writing is my vent activity and I write what I'm in the mood for, there's a chance I'll feel ifmlam cravings before then, just... expect it to take a couple of years for an update, but also for there to be an update one way of another in a couple of years? but as for right now, I'm turning to original writing, because that is what brings me joy.

but I am really deeply honored that it brought you so much joy!!! and while I will never publish spoilers in a public place, if you message me off anon I am perfectly happy to give a run-down of my current plans for the ending, bc I know "wait a couple years and see" is not the most satisfactory of answers! and hey maybe you'll be like me and once you've given Opus a try you'll decide you like it better too, it does have Seers although they are deeply different Seers than in ifmlam but imo it's very gay and fun and at least politics on one side

[supraveng]

Cocktail Hour

Summary: you work for Stark in his lab and get to know the Avengers, you also moonlight as a bartender

Characters: Sam Wilson, Bucky Barnes, Tony Stark, Natasha Romanof, Reader

Warnings: SMUT and story and a bit of fluff, alcohol consumption, 

Word Count: 4312

“What do you want, Wilson?” you asked without looking up from the project you were working on.   “Is that anyway to treat your favorite Avenger?” he responds with a smirk.  “Oh, I didn’t realize you brought Bucky with you” you smirk as you look up a bit shocked to see Bucky standing behind Sam and with a shit eating grin. 

“Wow, really Y/N?  I thought we were friends'' he responds in a huff.  “Wilson, you only come visit when you want something from me, it’s never friendly chatting.  I’m busy, what do you want?” you deadpan knowing the more you agitate him the longer this is going to take, but you don’t care.  Getting Sam all riled up is one of your favorite past times, and one that you and Bucky have been bonding over.  

“Fine, I’ll make it short and sweet.  I need you to put in a good word for me with your girl, Savannah'' he states as he wiggles his eyebrows.  You freeze and slowly look at Sam, with a slight squint.  

“WHAT?” you respond exasperated that he’s interrupting your project that seems to be never ending.  "Please?  She's cute and we really hit it off, but I'll be coming back to the bar this week to get her number and you can make sure she knows I'm more than worth her time" he tells you with a smug look on his face.  

"First of all, since when does the, and I quote, great Sam Wilson need help getting numbers? Second, her name is Sienna not Savannah. And last but not least, you aren't her type" you respond with a smirk, knowing just how much your points are getting under my skin.  

"Alright now, I don't need your help getting numbers, women love me. I just wanted you to be a supportive friend" he grumbles at you.  You just raise an eyebrow waiting for him to continue. 

"Second, she said Savanna like the city in Georgia." "Its Siena, like the city IN ITALY!" you interrupted.  

"And third, how could this not be her type?" he said as he gestured from his head to his toes, flashing that ridiculous smile and beginning to flex his biceps.  You let out a heavy sigh and you can tell he thinks he's got you stumped.  

"While all that" you waive your hand towards him "might interest some women, you just don't have what she wants" you state while slightly shaking your head sadly. He's about to start up with another dispute and any other time you would love to spend hours tormenting him like this, but you were still working and had a few hours left to finish the reconfiguration of your latest project, so you step closer. 

Putting your hands on his shoulders and looking up at him with an apologetic smile "Sam, you don't have a vagina. I'm sorry, but she's not interested unless you do."  

Bucky couldn't hold it in any longer and was doubled over in laughter. "Now, if you boys didn't bring me coffee, get out of my lab" you say as sweetly as possible.  "But she was so flirty, are you sure?  Maybe she's bi?" he asks trying to understand what he missed. 

 "She's a waitress Sam, flirting gets you bigger tips.  I mean did you give your usual amount or did she earn a bit extra?" you ask only trying to get him to see the reality of their interactions.  

"Damn it!" he huffs as he turns around to leave.  Bucky straightens up trying to calm himself down when he looks up at you "I'll be right back with your coffee" 

A few minutes later, Tony walks in with a quizzical look on his face "what did you do to birdman and gramps?"  He moves past you toward the back of the lab.  

"Why would you think I did anything to those two?" you ask as innocently as possible.  He arches an eyebrow and you concede "ugh, why does that always work? Ok, it's no big deal, Sam was asking about my coworker Siena, and I told him he had no chance since she's into women. But apparently when a waitress flirts its interest and not just trying to get a bigger tip, he learned a lot today" you sigh as you continue working.  

"What do you mean "coworker Siena''? He asks using air quotes.  "I've never seen her in my lab, who is she?"  " She's a waitress at the bar" you mumble realizing Tony didn't know about your other job. You have been an intern for him, working on your doctorate in Biomedical engineering, for the last year and he didn't know you had another job. This isn't going to end well you thought to yourself.  

"How is it possible you have another job? You are here all the time, how do you have time to work at a bar, write your dissertation, find time to sleep and have a social life?" he asks, seeming like he's been swindled or something.  

"And why do you have another job?  This internship pays above average for engineers, I'm not even sure what's going on around here anymore."  

"Ok, Tony, first of all, I thought you knew, I cleared it with legal before I accepted the internship.  I've been working at The Rum House since my freshman year and they are flexible with my hours. Two, the work I'm doing here is my dissertation,  three who are you to question my sleep habits?  And four, I like staying busy, I don't have a social life per say and I'm ok with that" you state with a shrug just as Bucky comes walking in with a huge cup of coffee.

"One venti flat white with hazelnut, sorry am I interrupting?" he questions as he hands you the coffee.  You immediately bring it to your face and take a deep breath closing your eyes to enjoy your favorite beverage and miss the small smirk on Bucky's face, feeling a bit of joy that he could make you happy with something as simple as a cup of coffee.  

Taking a sip you moan and open your eyes to see Tony and Bucky starring at you. With a smile you look at Bucky "thank you, this is exactly what I needed and no you didn't interrupt a thing, we're done,"  

"We are so far from done, did you know she had another job? Hmm? Am i the last to find out everything around here?” Tony mumbles to himself as he goes back to his work station.  Bucky smiles and waves as he leaves and you watch him longer than you should but damn the way he wears jeans just does something  to you.  

"And what was that?  You have a crush on the centurion now too?" he asks.  "What? You are ridiculous!  I'm just appreciating the coffee and wondering why you never bring me coffee.  I mean, I thought you took your title of "World's greatest boss" seriously but I guess that's not the case" you respond as seriously as possible as you sit back down and get back to your project.   

You've been working non stop most of the day and don't realize how late it is until your phone chimes and you notice it’s after midnight. .

You are probably already in bed but I wanted to say goodnight 

I'm actually still working. I guess I lost track of time.  I should head home and get some sleep

It's late, you could stay with me  ;) 

That's so tempting but your roommates are very nosey, not sure how to sneak out in the morning without getting caught 

You're right, as always.  Can I walk you home?

I would love that, meet me at the corner  in 15?

I'll be there in 10 

"Even tired you still look beautiful, how is that possible? " he states as you wrap your arms around his torso for a long overdue hug.  "And you are always the charmer, how did I get so lucky?" you mumble into his chest as you inhale deeply.  

His scent always felt calming and safe. "I'm the lucky one" he says as he kisses the top of your head.  Beginning to walk arm in arm down the street,  "now let's get you to bed, you work too much"  

"In my defense it will all be over once I complete my dissertation, then when I find a real job, I'll be a normal person working 60-80 hours a week" you smile at him and peck his cheek.  

"That's more than normal people, and the part time job at the bar? Are you going to give that up?" he questioned with a smirk.  

"I like the bar and I thought you liked the tiny uniform" you wink as you turn the corner towards your apartment.  

"You can wear that for me any time and I would love it, not just at work, or better yet, nothing at all" he responds in a low growl. You chuckle and swat his chest, "then we would never leave the apartment" "and I don't see that as a problem at all!" he spins you towards him and kisses you passionately, then releases your arm. 

"Aren't  you coming up?" you ask a bit disappointed. "I definitely want to, but you need sleep and if I go up to your place, I will not let you get any." he states slowly backing away.  

"I have tomorrow off, do you think you can break away from your roommates and we can have lunch?" you ask. "If you have the whole day off, you call me when you wake up and I'll take you to breakfast, lunch and dinner, and I will make sure we work up an appetite in between'' he responds with the wiggle of his eyebrows.  

"That sounds perfect! I'll call you in the morning" you smile as you make your way into the building.  Flopping on your bed exhausted, you have a smile on your face for the plans you have for tomorrow. 

Waking up you look at your clock and gasping, 10:33, you hadn't slept that late in ages. 

Hey handsome, you probably don't believe me, but i just woke up!  I'm gonna hope in the shower or should I wait for you to join me ;)

Oooo, I am on my way, do not start without me! 

😘

The knock at your door was barely 10 minutes later, and you opened it laughing at the look on his face. "Did you run the whole way here? Your place is a 20 minute walk away."  

"I needed to work up a sweat for the shower, been thinking about you naked since last night, which makes it very HARD to sleep" he responds while following you into the apartment.  

"Well, you are overdressed so maybe I can help you out of those clothes" you respond in almost a whisper. You bat your lashes as you start to unbuckle his belt, looking up at him biting your lip "it's been such a long week, I feel like I hardly get to see you."  

"I know, but today will make up for it, I promise" he mumbles into your neck.  You are walking backwards into the bathroom when he is finally in just his boxers, you turn on the shower before dropping your robe to the floor.  

He drinks you in from head to toe with a low moan "Damn beautiful, I've missed you" he practically purrs as he grabs your hips to pull you closer.   The long shower was a much needed tension relief for both of you and lasted until the water ran cold.  

“So what would you like for breakfast, beautiful?” he asks as he’s kissing your neck and wrapping his arms around you.  “Actually, I was thinking maybe we order in, that way we don’t need to bother getting dressed at all.” you respond biting your lip and enjoying his lips traveling down your neck to your collarbone.  He practically growls in response before picking you up and carrying you out of the bathroom, “you are brilliant, you know that?” before throwing you on the couch and poncing on top of you.  

Several slices of pizza and orgasms later, the two of you are cuddling on the couch when his phone dings, “they can’t leave you alone for a day can they?” you quip knowing it’s his roommates checking to make sure he’s still alive.  

He kisses your forehead before grabbing his phone “they are a bunch of smothering assholes, that’s what they are!” he responds before reading the message with a large sigh.  Looking at him you know exactly what that means “what time do you have to leave?” you ask as casually as possible.  

“I’m sorry, it’s a last minute “important” meeting, I can shower here and leave at 8ish to be on time” he responds apologetically.  

“Which means you are supposed to be there before 8, but I will take every minute I can get!” you state as you straddle his lap and kiss his jaw. 

 “Trust me, I would much rather be here with you, kissing every inch of your body.  Maybe I can fake that I’m sick” he mumbles against your neck.  

You are about to respond when your phone starts ringing, you snarl as you look up ‘who the hell is calling me on a Saturday afternoon?” you whine as you reach for your phone.  You toss it on the coffee table almost as quickly as you picked it up.  

“You can answer that, I don’t mind, I can be a very good boy when I want to” he says as he winks at you.  “That is the bar, and it’s my day off…...and you are never a good boy, one of the many traits I love about you” you hum as he begins to assault your chest with his sinful mouth and tongue.  

Before he can continue, your phone starts ringing again and you whine as he stops “noooo, don’t stop!”   He hands you your phone as he gets up and heads into the kitchen.  

“This better be important” you practically yell as you answer the call.  “Uh, hey Y/N! It’s Gary, and I know it’s your day off but we got a last minute backroom booking and I need the best bartender in NYC.  Can you be here by 9?”  You don’t respond, only sighing into the phone  “I’ll pay you double!  And you can have tomorrow night off”  he throws in trying to change your mind.  

“It’s not about the money Gary, I haven’t had an entire day off in 4 months.   My body and brain need to do nothing but eat take out and catch up on bad reality tv” you argue, knowing it will do nothing to deter him from getting you into the bar tonight.   

You look up to see a beer being handed to you and smirk on his face “I can go down there and scare him if you want” he whispers, only making you giggle in response.  

“Ok, I’ll pay you for not working tomorrow night, please I really need you!”  “Fine, quit begging, but I’m only agreeing because I lost my evenings entertainment. See you at 9!” you say before hanging up without letting him respond.   

“Looks like my evening just got filled and I’ll be slinging booze rather than recuperating from today’s activities” you pout as you sip your beer.  “Well it’s almost 6, so let's order some Chinese food and go for round 5 before we have to return to the real world” he responds sitting next to you with his arm around your shoulders.  

“Yes, but food first, I just hope I’ll be able to walk tonight.  You have one hell of a libido!” you yell as he attacks your neck again.  “Only for you, beautiful”

The time passes by faster than you like and you both shower before dressing.  You are dressed and starting on your makeup when he walks into your room for a final kiss goodbye.  “Damn, it is hard to leave when you look that good with clothes on” he eyes you up and down causing you to blush.   

“Hey, why don’t you come by the bar after your meeting and we can continue what you started, handsome!” leaning back into his strong chest.  “That sounds perfect, I’ll text you on my way!” and before you can respond he is running out the door, you just shake your head and laugh knowing he’s gonna be late and doesn’t even care.  

Heading out of your apartment  you decide to stop for coffee before hopping on the subway.  It’s been a long and tiring day, in the best way possible, but you are expecting it to be a long night too since it’s a private event and there are always stragglers that have no intention of leaving when someone else is footing the bill.  

Walking into the bar, you begin to wonder who books a last minute party on the weekend but decide it doesn’t really matter.   You had an amazing day with your amazing man and were getting paid double, so it was definitely a win/win, even if your thighs were more sore than you realized before you left your apartment. 

Note to self, uber the next time you have an all day sexcapade.  You start to giggle at the thought when you make your way to the back room and start rearranging the bar to your preference.  .

”Finally!  I was beginning to worry you were going to stand me up!” Gary yells as he makes his way over to you.   “Are you kidding? You offered me a lot of money to be here, and I have student loans out the wazoo!  This is the second best thing that's happened to me today.” you state, not bothering to look up as you are wiping down the bottles.   

“And by the look of that stupid grin on your face, I’m going to assume a certain someone is the first?” he questions, but you just shake your head and smirk.  

“When is the party supposed to arrive?  Any special requests I need to know about?” you ask in an attempt to change the topic as quickly as possible. 

“They will be here any minute now and you are the only one back here tonight, but it’s only 10-12 guests so you should be fine.  But let me know if you need a cocktail server or bar back, I can’t spare both but I’ll pop in and help when I can” he smiles and turns back to the bar area of the bar.   

You are digging for the better rocks glasses when you hear people enter the room and turn to smile at the arriving guests, only for your  face to immediately fall.  

“Are you kidding me Stark?!” you grit out.  “I can’t get away from you for a damn day?” you ask.  

“Oh, is this the bar you work at, behind my back? I had no idea” he states dripping in sarcasm.  “HA!” you fake a laugh “so this is my payback for not telling you?”  “No, actually, Birdman told me about the uniform and I had to see  for myself” he says, eyeing you up and down. 

“I have to say, you look different than I anticipated and a little hurt that we don’t get to see this side of you in the lab.”  You shake your head and laugh at yourself, this wasn’t how you expected your night to go, but at least you knew your clients weren’t just a bunch of assholes.   

These people were your friends, practically family since you started working for Stark.  “So Tones, what can I get you?  I don’t think we’ve ever drank together, so I honestly don’t know if you are a Scotch neat or martini kind of man”  

“Well, a little birdie told me that this bar has cocktails named after me and my friends, so that’s why I’m here, I wanted to check them out!” he smiles and you realize he’s either testing your bar-tending skills to prove to you that you don’t need this other job or his curiosity is going to be boosting his ego, either way, tonight will be fun.   

“We do have a few, here is the Avenger cocktail list.” you say handing him the list with a smirk, knowing you will be making all of these drinks by the end of the night.  

“Well, since you’ve worked here so long, what do you recommend?” he replies while looking over the various drinks “and why am I not listed at the top?  If it’s not in alphabetical order, it should at least be listed by best Avenger at the top”  

“Well, it’s listed by most popular drink, so if you want something sweet, I would go for The Cap America, if you need something more of a punch try the Black Widow, if you want to get revved up but not remember much of your night you should go for the Hulk.  The Iron Man is an acquired taste, but it’s definitely worth a try, but most people don’t order a second one” just describing the drinks to him, you wonder if he thinks you are commenting on the drinks or the people behind them.  

“Thor is pretty good if you want something simple, Hawkeye is both strong and sweet, Scarlet Witch is one of my personal favorites, along with the Bucky.” you stare at him with your hands resting on the bar top.  

“Wait a damn minute!  I am in this bar all the time and there’s no Falcon cocktail?  What the hell Y/N?” Sam yells from behind Tony.  

“I’m sorry, I don’t get to  decide what goes on the menu, but I am working on creating your drink” you respond as sweetly as possible.  “I’m just stuck on how to make a drink that people will enjoy, but is also a pain in the ass" you smirk as Sam realizes what you just said. 

"I didn't know it was pick on Sam day, but I've had enough! Can I have a beer and tequila shots? I came here to have a good time and I feel attacked right now."  

"Of course, whatever you want Sam" you say as you grab a mug and start to pour his favorite beer.  Handing it to him with a smile, he leans in and pecks you on the cheek, “you’re lucky I love you enough to put up with your shit” he grumbles as he walks towards the tables.  

After fixing all of the specialty drinks for everyone to try the signature cocktail you are certain that the night has just begun.  You are wiping down the bar top when you look up to see Bucky grinning at you, turning you realize Natasha is at the bar for another round.  

“Same drink or would you like something else, Nat?”  “Do you have any decent vodka or am I just wasting your time?” she asks with a laugh.  “We actually carry Jewel of Russia, but that’s about as good as it gets, I’m sorry Tony dragged you out tonight just to torment me.” you mention while grabbing the bottle from the fridge and a handful of shot glasses.  

“I was wondering what this last minute outing was all about, I figured it was Barnes trying to let you see him in a more relaxed state” she quips while trying to gauge your reaction.  

“Bucky?  Him and Sam are in here all the time, and I’m not sure why you think he would want me to see him relaxed…..” you reply while setting up a tray for the shots.  Natasha grabs two before you can even fill more.  “Well, I’ve never seen him gawk at a bartender, like he is tonight”

“I think you are reading into something that isn’t there, but why don’t I take this tray over and test your theory?” you say while grabbing the tray of shots and placing the bottle of vodka in an ice bucket.  

Noticing that Bucky was watching most of your conversation you make sure to sway your hips a bit extra and set the tray down in front of the team. 

“Alright gang, let me get some of these empties out of here and grab a couple more rounds for you.  Any special requests?” you smile around the group seated in the overstuffed chairs and couches.  

“Hey Buck, anything you want to ask Y/N for?” Natasha says with a sweet tone.  “Like a date maybe?” she adds just as Bucky was about to ask for a drink.  You chuckle slightly look over at Bucky who seems to be a bit in shock.  

“Uh, nah, I don’t think I’m Y/N’s type” Bucky says attempting to brush off Nat’s comment and not draw more attention to the conversation.  With the glasses gathered in your hands, you start to head back to the bar before responding ‘yea, tall, dark and handsome isn’t my type” you smirk as you walk away.  

Immediately the entire crew is carrying on like a bunch of teenagers and egging Bucky on to follow you to the bar.  You are starting to pour a few pints when Bucky clears his throat to gain your attention.  

“So you think I’m tall, dark and handsome, huh?” he almost whispers.  “Well, that’s the PG version of what I think about you, didn’t want to get you into any trouble with your roommates.  Are you coming back over when this little party is over?” you ask with a smirk.  

“Oh, you know I am, I owe you a couple more orgasms today.   As long as I get to help you out of that sexy uniform.”

[stardust--and--magic]

Tag Game!

tagged by: @therealstartraveller776 :)

rules: tag some people you want to get to know better/catch up with and then answer these questions

last song: 00:00 (Zero O'Clock) by BTS because I've been feeling a bit down lately. I absolutely have no shame and will gladly admit I'm a total Noona/Ajhumma BTS fan, but their music makes me feel better.

last movie: The last movie I saw in theaters was probably SW: TROS (I can't remember going to see anything after that). But the other day, SO decided to introduce our son to The Coneheads and I had completely forgotten how much I thought it was ridiculous but also how much I loved it.

currently reading: Other than my Psych book I need to read for class, I've just been reading fics. Lately (no judgment y'all), whatever Yugi-oh! fics I can find that are Anzu/Tea Gardner x Yami Yugi/Atem. There is a huge lack of fics for them and it makes me rather sad ☹☹☹

currently watching: I just finished watching the 2nd season of Doom Patrol and I am just... I really hate COVID because the season was cut short. But, if you're a DC fan and want something funny and different, I highly recommend watching Doom Patrol.

currently craving: A big, warm slice of apple pie with a heaping scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on top. This diet I'm on will be the death of me 😭

working on anything right now?: HAHAHA.... I'd love to working on more stuff right now. But my schedule has been so slammed lately that I've only managed a very tiny bit of drawing for my little Lokane Merman AU recently. I will get it done eventually, damn it! Since I also just bought a home and finished moving, most of my days without any work or homework have either been for house organization/projects, catch-up appointments, and/or catch-up sleep (cause I'm literally running on fumes all the time) 😑

currently playing: I’m currently running through Mass Effect 2 like 10-30 minutes at a time every week or so on nights when I just can't sleep and need something to busy my hands that doesn't require much thought. Plus, it fuels my love for FemShep x Garrus.

tagging: Anyone who wants to do this, please feel free! Please tag me so I can read as well 🙂

[elejah-verse]

Love is A Heartbreak Away/1

Fanfiction

Part 1

Elijah Mikaelson x Elena Gilbert

Kol Mikaelson

AU TVD/TO story

Summary: Elena returns from London, England, to New Orleans after seven years.

As a teenager she had a huge crush on Kol Mikaelson, and dreams of seeing him again. But there is this older, stern, always busy, older brother, she didn’t care about at all. 

a/n: this was inspired by the movie ‘Sabrina’ with Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart, cuz I love vintage stuff. I also loved the newer 80s remake with Harrison Ford and Ms Ormond.

Game of Love is nearing its end, and I thought I will give a glimpse into the new story. I hope you like it. xoxo

tags

@rissyrapp20 @dendrite-lover @cassienoble2000 @captainshurley @captainshurley @goddessofthunder112 @elejahforever @hides2000

_____

Esther Mikaelson waited for the family driver to open the door of the Bentley for her as she finished talking on the phone. As the man obliged and gave him instructions as to where to take her, she said-

"Is Elena arriving today?"

"Yes, Ma'm"- John Gilbert answered.

"Ah, wonderful"- Esther said-"how long has it been now?"

"Six years"- John answered.

"You must be so very proud of her,"- Esther continued-"what is it that she majored in."

"Industrial design"- John answered-"but she has been already working as a free lance photographer for a year now."

"It will be so nice to see her."- Esther said and as her phone rang she answered it.

"Yes, Elijah. I will be meeting the Claires for lunch today. Fine. I will not be coming to the office today. I will return as someone has to be on top of things here for tomorrow's party."- she said to her son.

Esther, a widow. had two sons, Elijah, 34, and Kol, 25. Of, which one, namely Elijah, was running the vast Mikaelson company, taking over after his late father Mikael, who together with their other brother Klaus got killed in a boating accident. His brother Kol spent most of his his time boat racing and acting more like a spoiled playboy, spending his time partying and avoiding the office as much as he could, even though he had a college degree in business. His mother had hopelessly tried to get him to take some of the load off of Elijah, and get him away from the races. But it was mission impossible.

As John brought her to the restaurant, she told him that he was free for the afternoon and go get Elena from the airport.

"Are you sure?"- John said-"Elena is not due to till four o'clock this afternoon."

"Yes. I will take the taxi back to the Plantation. Thank you, John"- Esther said and walked into the restaurant.

💖

In New York, Elena, who was waiting for her connecting flight to New Orleans, now rang her uncle.

"Hi uncle John- Yeah, the flight from London was great. Oh, can't wait to get back- You will meet me? Ah, thanks. I will see you soon. Bye"

The 22 year- old was excited to finally go back to the place, she had called home since the death of her parents when she was 13 years old. After the funeral, she was sent from Mystic Falls down to New Orleans, to her uncle as he was the only living relative she had left.

The three years that she had spent in New Orleans were happy ones.

Esther's sister Dahlia, who lived in London came to visit her sister after Mikael's tragic accident. The woman, seeing a tremendous talent in Elena, who showed her drawings, suggested she get further schooling in England, that she was willing to finance.

It being a tremendous stepping stone for the girl, her uncle agreed to send her there. And when Elena finished the Grammar school, she stayed on for college, as well.

Although she had made friends, and had her share of boyfriends, she had always dreamt of New Orleans, and the Mikaelson Plantation house. When she talked about it, she had always painted it as this charming place, like something out of a fairy-tale book.

And then, one day, like out of the blue, she just decided, it was time to go and pay the place a visit. Two weeks holidays. Go down the memory lane, see her uncle and soak in the magic of New Orleans.

Now, she smiled excited that she would see her childhood place again. Finishing the conversation, she put her phone down, and went to departure gate.

💖

At the same time, Kol, who returned from practice, received a message from his girlfriend Davina that she will be late returning from her trip in Florida. And so, he went up to his room for a shower. The family's butler catching up with him on the stairs, relayed to the young Mikaelson a message from his mother to stay home till she got back as she wanted to speak to him.

Kol acknowledged it and went unto his room.

In the bathroom, stepping into the shower, he huffed a bit as he knew he would get a lecture about his playboyish life style. Nothing knew, though. He would listen for maybe two minutes, and get into a project, which he would abandon, saying that someone else needed a job more than him.

And so it was with the Mikaelson family.

Two sisters, Esther and Dahlia, who inherited from their father the vast business and fortune. Dahlia, who has always been the rogue one, left to travel when she was young, staying in Europe, married and divorced several times. As she never had children, when she had met Elena and heard of her story, she enclosed her in her heart, treating her always like an adoptive daughter.

Elena found the woman and her artwork fascinating. She was different from all the women she had known before. Elena's world changed immensely when she arrived in London. From a shy girl, she turned into a wordly young woman, sophisticated, but still very compassionate and dear.

Landing a few hours later at Louis Armstrong Airport,  Elena greeted her uncle warmly.

"Look at you"- John said-"all grown up and-"- he didn't have words to express the change in his niece.

"And so very tired, and so hungry"- Elena said joking a bit.

"I see there is not much changed there after all"- John took her cases and put them in the car.

"I know it's been only six years, but it feels like an eternity"- Elena said as they got into the car-"and I've been really bad with keeping in touch."

"It is fine. The extensive letters at Christmas were enough. I am so very glad you did great kid, and that Dahlia - Ms Peterson took good care of you."

"Yeah, she was good. Really good."- Elena said.

"Good. I was worried a bit. I mean, she is - different."- he didn't know what to call the excentric artist-" Not like Mrs Mikaelson."

"I can't believe they are actually sisters"- Elena said.

"Same goes for Elijah and Kol. It's like Kol is Dahlia's son"- John said.

"How is Kol?"- Elena now asked.

John now told her about the younger Mikaelson, whom Elena would timidly greet  when they used to meet in the kitchen back when she lived there, watch him from the distance get in and out with his friends. He was then a High School senior, and, same as now, had a very busy social life.

John had also told her a bit about Elijah. She had never met him, as he went to Mexico taking over the management of their Plantation there, after his father's death.

"So, he returned?"- Elena said.

"Yes. A month after you left."- John said-"I very rarely see him. He is constantly in the office or lives in the town house. He still travels down to Mexico. But, he is a very responsible and kind person"

"You mean - boring"- Elena said.

"I don't know. As I said, I rarely see him. Anyway, tomorrow is a big party. It's Mrs Mikaelson's 60th birthday celebration. I forgot to tell you. And you are invited."

"Oh, thanks."

"She wants to see you later"- John informed Elena.

As they arrived to the Plantation outside New Orleans, Elena stood a moment in front of the beautiful house feeling like she slipped back into the moment she had first arrived. This house was like a palace and she was a girl, very sad and lost, and she wondered about how her life would be living in it.

Another car pulled in and a man got out of it.

Elena turned around to see who it was.

The man greeted John, who got Elena's suitcases out.

"Good evening Mr Mikaelson"- John said.

Elena looked at Elijah, who was looking back at her. 

"This is my niece, Elena."- John introduced the woman.

Elijah, same as Elena now snapped out of the momentary enchantment - she putting her hand out as he did - shaking their hands, the man said-

"Elijah- nice to meet you."

"Elena"- she said just nodding.

Elijah nodded a little, too, and excusing himself went to the house.

Elena stood a second longer looking at him enter the house, before her uncle told her to follow him.

Elena went in as well.

________