#... one day- i know i've said that time and time before

[cosmosluckycharms]

Bug like angel

Girl Afraid

May 12, XXXX

4:45 AM

"Shit," you think to yourself as you realize you're going to be late for school

Yes, your school usually doesn't start till 7 AM, but you have a field trip today, and the bus leaves at 5:30 AM.

"Ms.Rose is gonna kill me if I'm late again! Where did I put my bag? Where are my earbuds?" you whisper to no one in particular

You had a million thoughts running in your head, but one thing was sure, you were so late.

You still had to grab your phone, eat breakfast, put on your clothes, do your hair and makeup on the bus, and run towards the bus and then maybe you can make it in time.

You rush downstairs to get breakfast and realize you don't have to be as quiet because it's empty in the kitchen.

You quickly eat breakfast and finish your morning routine before making it out the door.

It's 5:43 when you make it onto the bus, Ms. Rose was waiting on you and thankfully didn't you much of a hard time.

"Ms.y/n, please be more considerate of others time next time."You sat down next to your "friends"

You don't fully consider them your friends, they're too full of themselves and you all know none of you guys are friends, just close acquaintances.

After finishing the coffee you brought onto the bus ride, doing your hair and makeup, and taking a quick nap while listening to music, you finally made it.

Alchemax.

You were excited for the trip, even asking Dick, Jason, and Bruce if they wanted to tag along as chaperones.

They said no, which you both understood and were also sad about but, whatever, who cares? Anyways- you're at the coolest place!

It's perfect for someone who wants an internship that would look great on your resume.

Why do you want that resume? You don't know. Maybe it's so you can impress your family? You aren't fully sure.

Before you question yourself further, you get off the bus, along with your schoolmates.

You hear them all chatting about whatever, but it's clear to everyone that you are the most excited to go on this trip.

You, who wouldn't shut up about it despite everyone at school and home telling you to. You, who kept bouncing off walls while talking about it. You, who constantly wrote about it in journals.

Nothing could stop your excitement, and that was clear to others.

While you were there, you were practically the only one participating.

The only one wasnt scared to ask questions.

The one that would ask questions for others who wouldn't.

You were sure that this was the best trip of your life! You were so interested in everything!

It wasn't until later in the day after you got home at 7:56 that you saw everyone in the dining room sitting together eating, like usual, without you.

Every time you saw them together your heart broke a little more.

You tried to not make a scene and just walk away quietly, and it worked!

With everyone but Alfred.

"And where have you been, young miss?" He asked in an authoritary tone.

"I've been on a field trip in Alchemax! I just got back! It was soo fun, why?" you asked, knowing what he was going to ask.

"Wouldn't you like to have dinner with the others?" it's clear he just wanted the others to notice you, he knew you've tried so hard to be with them.

"it's alright, Alfred. I grabbed lunch with my friends earlier, I'm still full!" you said enthusiastically. It wasnt a lie, afterwards you all went to your favorite fast food place, batburger. You're sure theres no better fast food place than batburger.

"Oh, that's quite alright then." as soon as he said that you went upstairs to get unready and unpack for the day. you didnt notice Jasons slight dissapointment on his face when you refused and walked away.

It's good that it was a Friday, you could rest tomorrow.

You didn't notice how you accidentally took Project 111 with you. Mustve sneaken in your bag while you went to the bathroom while at Alchemax.

It took you a while to open your bag due to you getting ready for bed, and you screamed when you saw a spider in your bag and crawling onto your hand.

"FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK STOP CRAWLING ON ME LEAVE ME ALONE WHERE DID YOU COME FROM GO AWAY!" the stupid spider kept crawling on you.

It's honestly suprising no one heard you scream. Either that or they didnt care.You didnt know what to do. You hate spiders.

It took you minute or two of just flailing before actually doing something.You tried to reach for your nearest hairbrush to hit the spider with, only to accidentally hit yourself anywhere but where the spider was. Thats gonna leave a mark.

The spider, project 111, ended up biting you on the wrist. You ended up killing it with your hairspray.

You started panicking on whether you would die or not, you may have cried a little before realizing you were being a tad bit dramatic.

You realized the spider didn't look like the venomous ones you researched online while trying to find common ground with Damian back when he was new

So you decide to keep this to yourself, a nice little secret.

3:37 AM

You woke up sweating, panicking, hot, cold, tired, wide awake, hungry, full, thirsty, not thirsty.

You didn't know what was happening.

You forced yourself to fall back asleep.

it's around 12 PM when you wake up again.

You hope it was just a weird nightmare.

You realize you woke up late to breakfast, which was usually at 9:30 for you, so on your desk was some cold breakfast Alfred left for you.

While eating it, you thought about what happened.

Was it a dream? Was it a sign? Were you high?

You start walking in circles trying to figure out what it could all mean...it took you a while to realize you were literally upside down on your ceiling.

Oops?

Before you processed it, you panicked.Why are you on the ceiling? Why were you walking on walls? How were you walking on walls?

So many questions. No one to answer them.

After a bit of panicking and running around making a mess, you realize you sort of have powers.

You could stick to walls, that was one.You could make webs, thats two. You could be a hero, like the others!

At first, you find it so cool!

..then you realized your father doesn't want metas in Gotham...

You decide to keep this to yourself, for now at least.

oml this is so short oops guys i swear im. tryigg my hardest but also im kind of a bad writiter 🙏

anyways the next one of these i make is most likely gonna be emu reader cause shes so silly

anyways

[wosoloml]

through the lens of love II katie mccabe x interview! reader

summary: Coming out of a heartbreak, Katie never expected to catch feelings for the new girl on Arsenal's media team.

warnings: none just fluff, mentioning of ruesha, maybe she (katie) falls first but reader falls harder, different POV's, kinda slow burn idk

a/n: please leave feedback about the different pov's if you like it or not. ive thought i could do something new maybe

wc: 1,6k

8:00 AM. It’s not my first day at Arsenal’s media team, but I’m still feeling nervous. Moving from Germany to England for a new job two weeks ago was the best decision I’ve ever made.

At first, I worked on a few interviews with Lotte, especially after her goal against City. She’s been a Gunner since day one and is such a ray of sunshine—I love working with her.

“Hey, Y/N! You look amazing today. How are you?”

My smile widens as I recognize her voice from afar.

“Hello, Lotte, my girl! I’m good, what about you?”

She gives the best hugs, no doubt about it

After shooting a few short clips for Arenals Social Media Team Im done with Lotte.

"Do you know whos coming next?" She asked me quiet suspecious

"Lemme Check" i grab my phone "I think its Katie. Ive never worked with her before"

Lottes eyes widened. "Good Luck with her. Since she broke up with her girfriend her moodswings are horrible" Wow she always knows how to make me feel good

-----

I’ve done countless interviews throughout my career—always answering the same questions about leading Ireland, my physical style of play, my streak of yellow cards, and being a fan favorite at Arsenal.

But nothing could have prepared me for this moment.

"Come in," I hear a soft voice from inside the room as I gently push the door open.

I hesitate for a moment, a bit confused. "Oh, I was expecting Tamara to be here. Am I wrong?"

The girl chuckles at my words. "No, it's fine. She's working with the men's team today. I've been here for two weeks now—I'm new."

"Yeah, of course," I reply with a casual shrug. But the moment I look up, a strange feeling stirs in my stomach.

I've never felt anything like this before.

There was something about her—the way her lips curved into a subtle smile, the focused look in her eyes as she watched me. Maybe I held eye contact a little longer than necessary.

"I'm Y/N. Thank you for taking the time today," she said, extending her hand.

"Katie," I managed to reply, the only word I could get out. Her skin was impossibly soft, and her voice carried a professionalism laced with a warmth that caught me off guard.

--

The moment Katie took my hand, I could feel it—she was nervous, holding something back. It surprised me; I never would have pegged Katie McCabe as the shy type, especially around new people. But I had to admit, I liked it.

The slight press of her fingers against mine sent an unexpected wave of comfort through me, a feeling I had never quite experienced before.

As Katie sat down, I grabbed my papers, preparing to start the interview like any other. But from the moment she walked into the room, something about her unsettled me in the best way possible. Maybe it was the effortless confidence in her stride or the way her sharp eyes locked onto mine, holding the gaze just a second longer than necessary.

I asked Katie about Arsenal’s season, her role as a leader, and what playing for Ireland meant to her. She answered effortlessly, naturally slipping in a few jokes along the way.

She made me laugh so easily, and I had to admit that liked it. Before long, we had fallen into an easy rhythm, the conversation flowing as if we had known each other for much longer.

But as the interview went on, something between us shifted. The air felt different, charged with an unspoken tension. And I could only hope I wasn’t the only one noticing it.

--

The more she spoke, the harder it became to ignore the way my pulse quickened whenever she laughed—I loved making her laugh. It was the prettiest sound I had ever heard. And then there was the way her eyes flickered to my lips when I spoke, as if she was just as caught up in whatever was happening between us as I was.

"I'm pretty much done with the basic questions, but I have one more," she said, tilting her head slightly. "What is Katie McCabe like when she’s not on the pitch, being physical with defenders?"

God. The way my name fell from her lips—it needed to be studied. It was so damn sexy.

I smirked, leaning back in my chair, playing it cool.

--

I asked her what Katie McCabe was like when she wasn’t being physical on the pitch. Maybe I asked out of pure curiosity, or maybe it was something more—I just knew I wanted to learn about her beyond the game.

She smirked, her eyes flickering with something unreadable. "Actually, I’m pretty boring. I love going for walks or exploring new coffee shops."

The thought of her strolling through London, coffee in hand, completely at ease—it filled me with a warmth I wasn’t expecting.

"That sounds nice," I replied, smiling softly.

Katie tilted her head, smirking. "Depends on who I’m with, actually."

There it was again—that subtle shift in the air between us. The unspoken tension lingering just beneath the surface. She had to know she was flirting. She had to know what she was doing to me.

For a brief moment, I forgot about the cameras, the blinking recording light, the fact that this was supposed to be just another interview.

It was just the two of us.

And I could only hope I wasn’t the only one feeling it.

---

It was just the two of us. I realized I was flirting with her—something I hadn’t planned, yet it felt entirely natural and effortless.

As she continued with the interview, an undeniable energy, a tension, hung in the air. I wasn’t sure if I was imagining it.

Y/N offered me a polite smile as the interview wrapped up. “Thank you for your time, Katie. This was great,” she said. My heart skipped a beat at her words, hopefully, she hadn’t noticed. I smirked and stretched, replying, “Wasn’t too bad.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” she grinned.

I wanted to say more, but I was lost for words. Instead, I asked if she was coming to this week’s match. “Yeah, I’ll be covering it,” she replied, and a smile spread across my face at her answer.

I knew I had to seize the moment before it slipped away. “Maybe... maybe we can grab a coffee afterwards?” I ventured. There was a pause, and Y/N blinked in surprise.

--

Her words were casual, but the way she said them - like she was teasing me made my heart go crazy. I just smiled at her, playing it cool "Maybe we can"

As she walked away, i released a breath i hadnt realized i was holding.

What the hell just happened here?

I spent the last few weeks telling myself that whatever i felt in that interview was just a moment of weakness - nothing serious. It was just some Starstrucked feeling that would fade once i got to know Katie properly.

I was so wrong.

We had fallen into a rhythm. Coffee Dates after matches, late night phone calls that stretched longer than they should, lingering glances secretly at each other.

Of course this has to happen the second i let myself into Katie Mccabe.

--

At first, I thought it was just friendly—just the two of us getting along, enjoying each other’s company. But deep down, I knew the truth. The way my heart stopped every time I made her laugh, the way I caught myself looking forward to seeing Y/N, the way my eyes instinctively searched for her in every room. none of it was casual.

Even my teammates had started to notice. After our last game, Lotte came up to me with a smirk. “Have you spotted Y/N in the crowd yet? Pretty sure she’s wearing your name on the back of her Arsenal shirt.”

The way my eyes lit up at her words completely betrayed me.

--

One evening, after an Arsenal win, we found ourselves in a quiet café, like we always did.

"You were amazing today," I said, smiling as I absentmindedly stirred my coffee, lost in thought.

Katie smirked, taking a sip from her cup. "Not bad, huh?" There was a slight teasing tone in her voice, and I couldn’t help but grin.

"Are you kidding? You were on fire. It feels like you love football more than anything else in the world."

She studied me for a moment, leaning forward slightly. "You think so?"

I nodded. "The way you light up when you talk about it... It’s really inspiring."

She hesitated for a second before smiling. "There’s a lot to love about it."

My gaze didn’t waver. "Is there anything—or anyone—you love more?"

I felt bold asking the question, teasing her just a little. But as soon as the words left my lips, my pulse spiked. I wasn’t sure I was ready for her answer.

Katie’s expression shifted, her voice quieter than before. "Maybe. Depends on who's asking."

Something in me softened at her words. In that moment, I knew I could be vulnerable with her. I had never trusted anyone the way I trusted Katie.

Slowly, carefully, she reached across the table, her fingers brushing against my hand. The warmth of her touch sent a spark through me, like fire beneath my skin.

I didn’t pull away.

She was the first to break the silence, a small, nervous smile playing on her lips. "Well," she murmured, "guess I’m not just in love with football after all."

For a moment, the world outside blurred, and the space between us disappeared.

“

[starmocha]

I've got this doubt that I can't shake off: if MC's pregnancy, for some reason, is a very tough and risky one (both might die or something), which one of the guys would have the saddest breakdown at some point (just ugly crying into MC's arms after months of keeping it together for her sake) and which would have the angriest (trashing entire offices, taking their anger out on their enemies or both)?

(I had intended to respond earlier, but man…that trailer…) Gosh, you guys know how to prod at that special part of my brain with these asks lately… 🥺 I may or may not have...started writing...little...snippets, really... 😔

Zayne would go into “doctor-mode.” He is going to utilize his medical knowledge and resources to give you the best care possible for both you and the baby, and while it seems you have nothing to worry about, you will feel the emotional-withdrawal from him as everything will feel so methodical and clinical and he forgets completely his role as a husband until you break down crying.

You had tried to keep your emotions in check these last few months, rationalizing that Zayne was never an expressive person, but his feelings and actions were always sincere. He was pacing across the bedroom reviewing with you about your recent prenatal checkup and what it meant for both you and this baby. It had been like this for several months now, and with your weak heart and the risk it posed for both you and the baby, Zayne had been extra attentive about your prenatal care.

As you sat on your bed, heavy with his child and close to your due date, listening to him rattle off different medical terms and speaking to you less as a wife but more as if you were his patient, you could feel your emotions peaking. You couldn’t remember the last time he was affectionate with you or actually asked how you were personally feeling throughout this whole pregnancy. He was by your side more, but you had never felt as lonesome as now, needing him back as your husband and not a doctor. You could feel the tears brimming, but it was getting harder each day to suppress your feelings.

Everything Zayne was saying sounded like muffled gibberish to you. You could barely focus on the present, barely acknowledging even the faint movements of the baby you were carrying, feeling more lost in your loneliness. You finally let your emotions and hormones collide and broke down crying in front of him, startling him immediately. Within seconds, he was on his knees before you, grasping your arms as he asked worriedly, “What’s wrong? Are you hurting somewhere?”

It took you a minute to gather yourself before you felt calm enough to speak, finally revealing to him how you hated who he had become during this time. At first, Zayne looked shocked, not quite comprehending what you had just said to him, but the more he pondered your hurt words, the more he realized there was a lot of truth in what you had said.

He kissed your belly, surprising you. Then, he got up and sat down next to you on the bed, pulling you into his embrace as he kissed your forehead, his apologies immediate and sincere.

“I didn’t mean to,” he said, holding you a little tighter, “I just…don’t want anything to happen to you. Either of you.”

You leaned into his embrace, and sighed softly, “I know…I’m not mad at you. I’m just…”

Zayne looked down, noticing how your words gradually stopped and you were withdrawing again. He lifted your chin, making you look at him as he coaxed you gently, “Just what?”

“I just miss you,” you said, voice breaking again and fresh tears brimmed your eyes. As he brushed your tears away, you cried harder, “And I’m scared…and I can’t stop thinking about all of the things that could go wrong…and then I realize stressing over this is also hurting the baby and…and…”

Zayne looked guilty as he realized that while he was too focused on your physical health, he had neglected your mental and emotional state, realizing how you had been suppressing your feelings for his sake.

He sat back against the headboard and pulled you back to rest against him. He apologized again for his neglect, and for the rest of that night, he listened and comforted you through your anxieties. There was that familiar warmth in his embrace that you missed, and the softness in his eyes returned as he listened to you earnestly. While your anxieties were still there, they seemed more manageable now that you realized the man by your side in this moment was not Doctor Zayne but your Zaynie, your beloved husband.

Rafayel is angry and emotional and will lash out and say things he doesn’t mean, such as he would rather lose the baby than you.

It had been like walking on eggshells these past few months. You had tried to keep your spirits up in spite of the situation, but eventually everything that had been quieted was going to surface, reaching an ugly peak.

You just had never expected him to say such words to you.

“You…don’t want…the baby?” You felt like you were choking as you uttered those words back to Rafayel.

He looked conflicted, his face twisted in pain and frustration. “I…I didn’t mean it,” he finally said, seeming to struggling with not just his words, but also his feelings.

You glared at him with tears in your eyes. “You said it! What could you have possibly meant to say if not that!”

“I don’t want to lose you!” he finally yelled back, frustrated that his words were being used against him by you of all people.

A strained silence filled the space, creating a rift between the two of you as you stared at one another in shock. In the distant, there was the cries of seagulls flying outside the studio, the sound of waves crashing on the shore a peculiar reminder that time was still moving forward even as you two stood frozen, locked in this seemingly unbreakable tension.

After several beats, Rafayel dropped to his knees, his head buried into his hands as he apologized, though it seemed more like he was apologizing for hurting you and not because of what he had said.

You walked closer to him, surprised when his arms wrapped around your waist, and his face pressed against your rounded stomach.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized again. He didn’t look up at you, but his words were heard clear: “I just can’t lose you again.”

You stared down at his head of hair, unsure of what you could say in this moment. He looked so broken and helpless, and while you understood his sentiments, it still did nothing to alleviate the hurt you felt at his earlier words. Shakily, you let your hand rest on the back of his head, as you said softly, “My fishie…I won’t leave you…”

You said that to comfort him, but even you had doubts about whether you could hold true to your words. It was so bright and sunny outside in Linkon today, so why did your future look so gray and uncertain? This was to be a joyous time in both of your lives, but even as you both felt the baby kicked and moved, that cloud of doubt remained.

Xavier is stunned and feels helpless.

It had been an awkward couple of weeks. Xavier was quieter than usual, but he still answered you whenever you spoke. You didn’t think he was upset at you, but you also couldn’t ignore the sudden distance between the two of you.

“Captain Jenna had put me on desk duty for the remainder of my pregnancy,” you told him over dinner one night.

He didn’t answer you, appearing distracted as he was grilling some beef slices on an electric griddle.

“Xavier?”

“Huh?” He looked up, surprised. “Oh, sorry, I had something on my mind. What did you say?”

“I…I said Captain Jenna is putting me on desk duty,” you repeated hesitantly.

“That’s good,” he answered and picked a slice of beef off the griddle to place in your bowl. “You should have some more meat for protein.”

“…thank you,” you said, noticing the way his eyes kept averting with yours. You placed your bowl on the table, upset now. “Xavier, did I do something wrong?”

He looked taken aback by the sudden question. He immediately shook his head. “Wrong? Why would you even think that?”

You frowned. “You’ve barely spoken with me lately,” you said, “It’s been nothing but ‘yeah,’ ‘okay,’ ‘alright’ from you lately.”

“I’m sorry,” he looked at you with remorse etched on his face. He sighed as he turned the griddle off before he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. “I…I just have something on my mind.”

“You keep saying that,” you retorted, mildly irked now, “What could be on your mind that is more important than being here with me?”

“You.”

Your irritation disappeared in that moment, his solemn gaze resting on you. Slowly, you found your voice, your words stuttering a little in confusion, “Wha…what do…you mean?”

“You and the baby,” he clarified. “Ever since the doctor said this was a high-risk pregnancy, I just…can’t stop thinking about…everything that could go wrong.”

“Xavier…”

“I don’t know how to make this easier for you,” he continued, suddenly unable to hide his anxiety any longer, “And even if we do everything right, what if things go wrong at the last minute? What if—no, just…no…”

You gasped when he suddenly came to you, his arms wrapped around you immediately in a tight embrace. He kissed the top of your head and apologized again, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you upset.”

“Xavier…it will be alright,” you reassured him.

He was silent.

“We’ll both be alright,” you continued.

“Right…” he answered, but you noticed he still didn’t want to let you go. You also didn’t want him to part, so you both remained in this moment a while longer.

Sylus has all of the money and connections in the world. He is going to ensure that both you and the baby will be alright throughout the pregnancy until birth. On the surface, he seems calm and confident, but to keener eyes, such as yours, you will pick up on his anxiety through little tics or behavioral changes.

The moment you had told Sylus you were pregnant with his baby, he lavished you with even more luxuries than before. You received the best care possible, especially when it came to light that this pregnancy was not going to be easy for you and there was concern about the health of the baby. Sylus made sure the most qualified doctors were monitoring you and he had ordered the personal chefs to prepare only nutritional dishes for you and the baby.

He was adamant that you received only the best of the best, and to strangers, Sylus appeared to be so level-headed and grounded, not a trace of worry could be seen on his face.

You, however, noticed how he seemed to drum his fingers on hard surfaces more often. He would also pull out his coin to flip at the most peculiar time, and his visits to the boxing ring also seemed to have increased. There were so many odd tics that you couldn’t ignore, but you suspected you knew the reason why.

One evening, you slipped into bed earlier while Sylus was still sleeping. It would almost be time for him to wake up from his slumber, so you waited. When you noticed the fluttering of his eyes, you leaned in closer, smiling as your face was the first thing he saw once he awoken.

“Good morning,” you greeted him with a mischievous smile, leaning down to peck his lips.

“Mm…morning,” he answered back in amusement, still a little groggy and bleary-eyed. He yawned. “What did I do to deserve seeing such a sweet sight first thing after waking up?”

“I wanted to talk.”

His mirth disappeared in that instance upon hearing your stern tone. He shifted in bed, sitting up with his back to the headboard. “Is something the matter?”

“You tell me.”

Sylus shook his head in confusion. “Sweetie, you are going to have to elaborate more,” he responded with a frown. “What are we talking about?”

“Are you…worried?”

“Worry?”

You rested a hand over your belly, his gaze instantly following your movement. “About the pregnancy,” you clarified.

“Of course I worry,” he answered back in that same even tone.

“You…seemed so assured, but lately, I’ve noticed these little…tics,” you explained, elaborating to him more in details as he listened patiently. When you finished, Sylus gently pulled you closer to him, letting your body rest against his. His arm wrapped around you, his hand resting on your belly to rub gentle little circles.

“I will always worry about you,” he said, “but panicking over things will not achieve anything, so I just redirected my worries elsewhere. Is that a problem?”

You shook your head and looked up at him. “No, I was just…wondering if you wanted to talk about them with me.”

He laughed and bent down to peck your lips. “You don’t have to worry about me.”

“What if I want to?”

He smiled in amusement and kissed you again. “Then who am I to argue with my pregnant wife?”

“What would you do?”

“Do what?”

“If…I don’t ma—”

“You will be fine,” he immediately cut you off, his demeanor shifting entirely. “You will both be fine.”

“But—”

He lay back down in bed, pulling you closer to him in a tighter embrace. “Lull me to sleep,” he said instead.

“But isn’t it time for you to wake—” You clammed up when he shot you a pointed look. You could sense his unease, feeling his fingers digging into your flesh a little more. He was upset, deeply troubled, and you hated how he carried that burden alone on his shoulders.

“Alright,” you answered, snuggling into his embrace. You sang a song, a lullaby you had learned recently that you hoped to sing to your baby in a few months. As you sang, Sylus quietly hummed along, and it wasn’t long before you both fell asleep together, your worries left behind as you dreamed of the upcoming months when a new bundle of joy would arrive at Onychinus’ base.

Caleb is nervous, but he pours himself into taking care of you, because that is all he has ever known. He’s never liked seeing you ill or hurt, so he is going to do everything possible to make sure you receive the best care ever. He will do a lot of research and ask as many questions as he could to gain insight on what can be done to minimize the risk so both you and the baby will make through the pregnancy as safely as possible. He does not even want to consider the possibility of losing you.

You didn’t have any autonomy over yourself anymore. Whatever you wanted to do, Caleb did it for you first. Whatever you were craving, he would negate it half the time, citing it was better for you to eat a healthier alternative.

Even though you wanted to be mad at him, you knew he was doing this out of worry after the reveal that there were some concerns about this pregnancy. The moment that you had heard the word “risky,” everything afterwards suddenly sounded muffled as you were frozen in shock, a sudden anxiety creeping in as you stared down at your belly. Meanwhile, Caleb was already proactive, asking what needed to be done, what you both needed to be aware of, and so on and so forth. As if he could sense your worries, his hands immediately rested on your shoulders as he stood behind you while he continued to converse with the doctor.

He was your pillar and your protector. He always was, and he always will be.

Even if sometimes you found him to be overbearing.

You had missed many of his more indulgent dishes ever since he had put you on a clean-diet, and each time, you made a point of letting him know just how upset you were as you sulked when he finished setting the table with steamed fish and green veggies with bamboo shoots.

“It’s only temporary,” he reassured you, smiling to himself as he watched you picked at the fish half-heartedly.

“Most women get to enjoy their cravings while pregnant,” you said sullenly, taking a small bite of the fish.

He nodded in agreement as he sat down opposite of you. “If this was a normal pregnancy, then of course you should be able to indulge on your cravings—”

You looked at him hopefully.

“But your cholesterol level is higher than normal, and we also need to be cautious about the risk of developing gestational diabetes—”

You sulked again. “You are killing my appetite again.”

Caleb laughed softly as he set his chopsticks down. He cocked his head to the side, his chin resting in the palm of his hand as he leaned forward on the table. “What are you craving, pipsqueak?”

“What does it matter? You won’t let me have anything…” You bit into your bamboo shoot, not making eye contact with him.

“Pretend I will,” he answered in the same tone.

You shrugged. “…Pasta.”

“Pasta? Okay,” he answered thoughtfully, “What else?”

“Hmm…pizza…cheesecake…dumplings…”

Caleb covered his mouth to suppress his laughter as he watched you list each food longingly, practically lost in your own world and not even paying attention to him anymore. When it seemed you had finished listing, he questioned you again, “That’s all?”

You sighed and shook your head.

“What else is there? You’ve practically listed all of the food available on takeout menus,” he teased.

“…Braised chicken wings…”

Caleb looked surprised. “What?”

“Your braised chicken wings,” you clarified and looked up to meet his surprised gaze.

“Okay,” he said after a moment, “I’ll make some braised chicken wings tomorrow for dinner.”

You perked up. “R-really?” You eyed him suspiciously. “What about my clean diet?”

“In moderation would be fine,” he answered, smiling, “Besides, having the mother of my child miserable the whole time is also not good for the baby.”

You huffed at him, annoyed. “I’m miserable because of you.”

He blinked, not expecting you to suddenly be mad at him again. “I’m only—”

“I can’t enjoy the food I like, I’m tired all of the time, I can’t even see my feet anymore, my back hurts, my feet are swollen—how am I fat when I’m not even eating anything yummy?!”

“…are you having a mood swing?”

“Yes!” you cried out hysterically, nearly sobbing, “It’s your fault, too, I can’t control my hormones right now!”

Caleb laughed helplessly as he stood from his seat and crossed over to your side. Immediately, you wrapped your arms around his waist, your face buried against his stomach as you continued to cry and list your grievances with him.

“Alright, alright, it is my fault I gotten you pregnant,” he agreed. He peered down at the top of your head, smiling when you sniffled against his shirt while he rubbed the back of your head soothingly.

“…dummy…”

“Yes, yes, I’m a dummy,” he continued in a very pacifying tone.

“…A big dummy…”

“Mmhmm…”

“The biggest…”

“Right, right…”

You looked up, suspicious again when he continued to be very agreeable. You yelped in surprise when he immediately grabbed your face and leaned down to steal your lips with his. It took you a few seconds to register that he was kissing you before you gave in, feeling a warmth in your chest at his sudden display of affections.

“What else?” he asked softly when he pulled back a few centimeters, still close enough that his breath brushed against your trembling lips while his eyes locked with yours. You could feel his thumb brushing away the tears that were still on your cheeks.

“…you…”

“Me?”

“Uh huh…”

“What do you want from me?”

“Just you…”

He laughed and kissed your forehead. “Alright, pipsqueak,” he said, “You have me. I am all yours. Forever.”

You guided his hand down to your pregnant belly, smiling when that same look of surprise crossed his face again when he felt the baby kicked. Your smile widened as you answered him, “You’re ours.”

He knelt down on one knee, his large hand still resting over your belly as he smiled back before his eyes drifted down to your stomach. “Yeah,” he said, sighing almost as if in disbelief by this current life he was living, “Both of yours. Forever.”

[nightplvmes]

*.⊹˚ RAFAYEL | just friends (special valentine's day)

── ◜rafayel x fem!reader — ◜Rafayel spends the day with his best friend for Valentine's Day. Their last day as best friends — specials from the rest of the LIs soon on my profile

The sound of clinking filled the place as she walked through the door of the cafe. It was Valentine's Day, not her favorite day for sure but she didn't have much to complain about. It was perhaps the fourth year in a row that she spent that day with her best friend, it had become a tradition between the two. After all, Valentine's Day was also about spending time with your friends, right?

"Hey!" She sat down in front of Rafayel who quickly looked up from his phone to look at her. A smile formed on his lips but quickly turned into a frown.

"You're late, do you know how long I've been waiting for you?" He tried to sound annoyed. He always did that every time they saw each other.

She rolled her eyes as she set her bag aside. “Rafayel, I saw you enter the cafeteria when I was walking here.” She raised her eyebrows. He hadn’t waited more than two minutes.

"Fine," Rafayel sighed in defeat. "What do you want to do after this?" he asked as he looked at the menu for something to order.

"I was thinking we could go for a walk in the park… or watch a movie." She shrugged as she looked around. They had spent Valentine's Day together in that place the last four years… but something felt different that day.

Rafayel nodded before returning his gaze to the menu… something felt different and although she looked at him for several seconds without saying anything, she didn't know what was different.

The first time it happened was when they were about to pay for what they had consumed at the cafeteria. She was going to take her share but Rafayel stopped her… again.

"Your friend is a famous artist. Let me pay," he had said as he placed the exact amount of money on the table.

She opened her lips, she wanted to say something… she wanted to say something she had never said before but nothing came out. Fear invaded her and she only nodded. She murmured a thank you and looked at her hands, not understanding why she felt that way. What exactly was she going to tell him? She didn't even know.

"I was just grateful to him," was what she had told herself in her mind.

The next time it happened was when they were walking back to their apartment. There were couples in the park holding hands, having a picnic or spending time together. She smiled thinking about how she and Rafayel would look if they were one of those couples… she felt her whole body tense when she realized she had thought that.

"Are you okay?" Rafayel asked, placing a hand on her shoulder forcing her to blink. She felt embarrassed as she nodded and looked away.

As friends. She had thought of her and Rafayel in that situation as friends. Friends had picnics and spent time together.

"I'm sorry… I was thinking about something." She noticed the frown on his face but simply nodded. He didn't want to pressure her into talking about something she clearly wasn't entirely comfortable with yet.

The next time in the day it happened was when they were watching a romantic movie. The movie was supposed to be more of a comedy but there were still those romantic parts. Romantic parts where for a second she imagined it was her and Rafayel… just for a second.

For a moment she looked away to see him, he seemed so calm with his eyes fixed on the screen and occasionally eating popcorn. But there was something different about him, there was something different in the way she saw him, now his face seemed to her the most perfect thing she had ever seen… And that personality that only she knew. She had a side of Rafayel that no one else had, the playful and fun side. The relaxed and even vulnerable side. The real Rafayel.

"Will it be the same next year?" Rafayel asked as he took a chocolate from the box. The movie had ended more than half an hour ago and they were now sharing a box of chocolates.

"Of course, we always spend Valentine's Day together." She nodded and looked back at the box of chocolates. Each chocolate was supposed to be different and she wanted to make a good choice.

"What if you get a boyfriend?" She was grateful to have her gaze fixed on the box of chocolates so that Rafayel wouldn't see her surprised face. She felt the lump in her throat and had to do her best to pretend she was still choosing a chocolate.

She couldn't imagine spending another Valentine's Day with Rafayel like that after how she had felt all day. What if those feelings kept growing? What if he got a girlfriend? That thought made her want to throw up. She wasn't a jealous person but those feelings helped her confirm that her feelings for him had changed.

"Don't say that… If I get a boyfriend next year it'll be me, you and my boyfriend," she joked. She felt like she was out of her body and mind, that was something she would say if she didn't have feelings for her best friend?

"You have chocolate on your face," Rafayel's voice brought her back to reality.

Especially when he leaned down and his cold fingers touched her cheek, his thumb wiping away the chocolate on her face even though if she was honest, she was sure there wasn't any on her cheek. But Rafayel was too close to her.

Too close. Too close. Too close.

His eyes met hers, even in the dimness of the room she could see that different gleam in his eyes and for a moment she wished he would lean closer. Until there was no distance between them.

"Tell me i shouldn't do this," he murmured, he was so close she could feel his breathing and maybe if she stayed silent long enough, she could hear his heart pounding.

She looked into his eyes and at the way they seemed to beg her to respond. She had always liked Rafayel's eyes, they were different and unique… she liked when they looked at her. She liked the way he was looking at her right now, she wanted him to look at her like that forever. She didn't want to wake up tomorrow and just be his best friend.

"Do it," she murmured without thinking. Right now she wasn't thinking about anything else except the way Rafayel looked at her and wondering how his lips would feel on hers.

That was enough for him, that was all he needed. He leaned down to finally press his lips against hers as his fingers caressed her cheek. His hand slid to the back of her neck, pulling her closer to him and deepening the kiss. She let out a gasp and the box of chocolates fell to the floor.

Rafayel's lips were the best thing she had ever tasted, she wanted more, so much more. She didn't even care when she felt her lungs empty. Her hands clung to his shirt, silently begging him don't break the kiss.

And even though he wanted to spend the rest of the night kissing her lips, he pulled away from her. His breathing was labored but he didn't break the distance and his hand caressed her cheek again.

"Next Valentine's Day, you and I won't be your boyfriend," he murmured, kissing her cheek and then leaving a soft peck on her lips.

"No?" she asked confused, her voice still shaky from her labored breathing. Rafayel shook his head, pulling away from her just enough to look into her eyes.

"No… It'll just be you and me." She wanted to look at him and give him that confused look but he kissed her cheek again. She could feel his lips brushing her cheek again and again. "I'll be your boyfriend."

She felt the air escape from her lungs. She turned her face to look at him, she wanted to say something but nothing came out of her lips. Besides, what was she going to say? Was she going to refuse? No. She didn't want to be just his best friend anymore, she wanted more. She wanted Rafayel to kiss her like that all the time, she wanted Rafayel to look at her like that.

She didn't say no. She didn't say anything that was enough for him to bring their lips together again.

[wooyoungbf]

[img id:

screenshot of a tumblr text post, in response to an ask. it reads:

saxifraga-x-urbium said "You can't just casually mention garlic cock man and not tell the story that's against the law"

the reply from stammsternenstaub reads

Are you sure you know what you're asking of me? Are you sure? Well, okay. But don't say I didn't warn you.

This post is long and contains description of genital injury.

So as you'll know, worked three and: a half long, hilarious years at an NHS sexual health and contraception clinic. I loved that job, and packed it in because the Tory cuts to the service meant running it became hideously untenably stressful, but that's a story for another time.

One of my duties at the clinic was to take phone calls. Patients liked me on the phone because I have a nice voice and I'm basically completely unflappable, and they felt happy to tell me things. A vital skill in the wang biz.

One day, a man called. This was not unusual, "Hello," he said. "I need to see one of your nurses about my, er, my chap."

"Righty-oh sir," I said, "are you experiencing any symptoms that you're concerned about? It's just a yes or no kind of question."

"Well," he said, and I instantly felt a dark and terrible energy pulsate down the phone. "Well... sort of. But, uh, it's not symptoms of anything, it's just..."

I would come to regret what I said next. "Is everything all right, sir?"

"Well." There was a pause heard fidgeting. "I got a yeast infection."

Phew, easy peasy. Yeasties are easy to fix. I sounded reassuring and buoyant. "Well that's nothing to worry about, sir - if you don't want to get anything over the counter from the chemist, we can-"

"No, no that's not the problem. Listen -" he sounded serious. "Listen, I'll just tell you what's the matter, and you'll see what I mean."

This is where, whenever I tell this story, I like to ask the listener to play a little game with me. The game is "Where Would You Tap Out?" I'd have already tapped out by going to the chemist and getting some Canestan.

"I didn't want any chemicals on my chap, so I decided to go for a home remedy. Internet said garlic was good for yeast infections, and I've got a lot of garlic, so I figured that'd be all right."

I made sympathetic noises. Home remedies for yeast infections are normal, and garlic is actually quite effective. "Oh good," I said.

"I wasn't sure how much to use, but I figured, I have lot of garlic usually, so I minced a whole bulb."

The dark energy wafting down the phone intensified.

"I packed it all over my, you know, knob, made a poultice. Packed it all over the head, like a hat But, uh, Iwasn't sure how to keep it on.."

I couldn't say anything. I didn't want to scare him off by sounding judgemental.

"..so I just duct taped it all on. Wrapped duct tape all round it."

Still with us? Tapped out yet?

"So er, that worked, kept it on nice and tight, and I left it on over night."

Over night. All night with your cock mummified in garlic paste like some sort of fiendish chicken kiev.

"Caustic,"' I said, before I could stop myself. "Garlic is caustic."

"Yeah! Yeah, it is!" he said, sounding cheerful that l, too, understood the Way of Garlic. "So I unwrapped my dick and, well, it looked kind of like... melted."

I sat, silent, on the phone. Already I'd missed 6 other calls, watching them sail by on the other line while this saga unfolded.

"So I figured," he continued, the terrible juggernaut barrelling unstoppably through this phallic disaster, "I should probably exfoliate it."

"Exfoliate," I echoed weakly.

"Yeah," said this abject human disaster, misinterpreting my echolalic expression of horror as hearty encouragement. "So I had a look around the kitchen -" he was in the kitchen for all this "- for anything I could use and got my brillo pad-"

For anyone not in the UK, that's what we call one of these:

(a picture of a stack of green scouring pads)

I must have betrayed myself and given a gasp of horror at that point, because he quickly reassured me - "No, no, no, it's okay - it was a new one!" before going on to describe scrubbing the affected area to

remove the alkaline chemical burn that he'd inflicted on his poor, blameless cock.

"So you want to come in because of. this?" I said, assuming he would want a new dick by this point.

"Oh no, no " he said, jovial again. "No, it's all fine - it just, my knob's gone all... well, it kind of looks camo print now. I was wondering if you could do anything about it looking camo print."

No, sir. No, neither we nor anyone else can do anything about your camo print garlic cock mistake.

/end id]

okay so I don't know how to look it up but there was this reddit story about a guy who heard you could use garlic as a home remedy for an std and /wrapped his dick/ in garlic cloves and duck taped them on. when he took it off his dick looked all "melted" (because of the fucking CHEMICAL BURNS from that). so he tried to scrub the melted parts off with a brillo pad. he called a doctor's line not because of all that, but because the brillo pad made his dick "camo print".

Well he wasn’t worrying about STDs anymore

OK seriously though I’ve never heard of that guy and I am sad that he didn’t have access to better information.

[peachhcs]

requesting some will samy angst where maybe one of them picks a fight on the phone or on face time while they’re doing long distance and then by the end of the call they realize that they were only doing that because they missed the other?

UGH yes in the end they'd be so 🥺 when they realize they really just miss one another. angst to fluff my fav

au masterlist

"you barely texted me all day," samy immediately said when she finally answered her boyfriend's call at almost 10pm.

"i'm sorry..things were crazy today. i got caught up," will mumbled but for some reason his apology wasn't sitting right in samy's head.

"you could've at least told me you were gonna be busy," she continued with the semi-angry tone. the blonde frowned to himself, struggling to make up for hardly answering her all day.

"i should've. 'm sorry," will really did have a long day. there was media every hour that they weren't practicing and press people wanted to kow..he hardly had time to even sit down and think before someone new came in wanting and interview and/or photos for their blogs.

it was the worser side of the job the blonde didn't really enjoy. he was there to play hockey, not sit in front of ten different cameras answering nonstop questions that were way too personal for his liking.

"what's even been up with you lately? you've felt so..i dunno..distant.." samy wasn't afraid to call it what it was anymore. after things escalated between them last summer, she knew better than to let things slide.

however, will did not take it that way, "what's that supposed to mean?"

"i get you're busy, i am too, but it feels like i've barely heard from you all week. we hardly text. we hardly talk," samy's voice faded like she hesitated saying the last part.

the hockey player's expression hardened even though she couldn't see it, "oh so now you're trying to accuse me of something?"

"no, i was never accusing you of something," the younger hughes immediately shot back.

"then what are you trying to say?"

"what are you trying to say? is there something i should be accusing you of?" now both of their tones turned sour. after a long four months of will proving to samy that he deserved her full trust, she put it all into him. she trusted him completely, but right now it wasn't really feeling that way.

"what the fuck? no? what the fuck would i even be doing that would put me in that position?" now will was just mad because it mostly hurt him how fast samy was to assume that he would turn around and hurt her like that again.

"i don't know, you tell me, will. you're the one that hasn't even been answering my texts," the girl shot back again.

"so you're just gonna assume that i did something then? not that i could just be super busy and i've had a really long day talking to a million different people with a camera in my face and i just couldn't have the time to text you?"

a deafening silence fell between them. will heard a sigh escape samy's lips and he quickly realized how harsh what he just said sounded. the guilt of being rude quickly washed over the hockey player. he knew samy's trust really could break at any moment with him and none of what he just said helped any of that.

"okay, sorry. i..i don't know why i said that. you're right. you're busy," when samy spoke again her voice was small and wavering like she was going to cry.

will instantly felt bad, "wait, fuck, no, no. i'm sorry. i shouldn't have snapped like that. i shouldn't have..i'm sorry."

god, he was so stupid sometimes.

"i'm sorry. i have been busy, but i should have texted you and told you. i'm sorry i didn't. it's just been a crazy long day and i haven't like had a second to breathe with every reporter wanted to shove a camera and mic in my face. i think i answered like a hundred questions about myself and personal life today," will admitted in a softer tone when samy didn't respond right away.

"i didn't mean to snap either. i'm sorry. i guess we both had long days. i just..i really like talking to you and i got worried when i barely heard from you all day," samy nervously thumbed her little braid.

"i really like talking to you too. talking to you is the highlight of my day and i do always look forward to it. i didn't mean to worry you. i'm sorry again. if it's any consolation, i did talk about you quite a lot though," when he heard the girl giggle, he knew it was okay again.

"really?"

"god, they love asking about you, but i love talking about you so it works out. it was just little things about our relationship. i bragged about you when i could," will could picture samy blushing hearing him say that and he was right. her cheeks were bright red.

"i'm flattered. sounds intense," she hummed.

"it was, but luckily we're done with it for now. i promise that i will try to text you more and especially let you know when i'll be more busy. god, i really miss you," the hockey player admitted. there were so many days he wished samy was a half an hour drive away still so he could just lay in her arms when his day was hard.

today especially he missed her like crazy. it was probably why he seemed to talk about her in almost every interview even when he wasn't asked first because she was the only thing on his mind.

"i really miss you, too. feels like it's been forever since i saw you," the brunette sighed.

"i know. i have no idea when i'm free again," probably not until summer will guessed and that was still so long from now.

"yeah, me neither." samy and hannah were going abroad for spring break—a trip they'd been planning since literally last year after hannah saying she really wanted to go to italy, so samy didn't know when the next time she could fly to the west coast would be.

"maybe i can escape to italty with you and hannah," will joked a little.

"you should. the almafi coast is calling our name."

one day will would get there with samy and maybe even then they'd be more than just boyfriend and girlfriend. something more like husband and wife sounded right.

"i love you. i miss you. i'm sorry again," will finally said with a small smile.

"i love you a lot. i'm glad we talked. it was real good hearing from you," samy smiled too.

"i promise i'll text. if i don't just like spam me or something," the girl giggled at his words.

"i love, love, love you," they exchanged their goofy, loving goodbye and the little fight they had was far from their minds.

[lila-went-missing]

Hiii, saw you wanted some requests for Sevika and I've had this idea bubbling up for a while. Imagine Vika with a reader that's normally experienced, yk has fucked one or two people before and it's not a sex god, and they're growing insecure about sevika never starting intimacy even after months of dating, so they think it's because they're not as good as the girl's she's been with before. Idk just thought that'd be good

I'm kind of obsessed with this, ngl. This isn't the first smut that I've written but it is the first smut that I've posted on here so feedback is always appreciated. Y'all will never guess... it's not proofread. Again. Enjoy my lovelies! X

Warnings: Smut (obviously), mild angst but nothing too horrible, mentions of body image issues but readers body type isn't specified or described.

Fem reader, of course, with female genitalia.

At first, you didn't think anything of it. She probably just wanted to take things slow with you. You weren't as experienced as her so she probably wanted to take her time.

That made sense for a while.

But now, after eight months together, you haven't had sex once. More importantly, she hasn't initiated it.

Realistically, you know that it's fine. There's plenty of reasons as to why nothing has happened so far. But that voice in the back of your head is doing a fantastic job of convincing you otherwise.

Sevika was kind of a sex symbol before you two got together.

She'd been with countless women, she was a regular at Babbettes. Her name was uttered on the streets like a sacred prayer.

You, on the other hand, have only been with two people: your ex, and a drunken one night stand that was less than satisfactory. So you did have sexual experience, but not nearly as much as her.

Honestly, it's starting to worry you.

Did she not like you? Was she not physically attracted to you? Was there something wrong with your body? Were you not showing enough skin?

Thoughts plagued your mind night and day. You were stuck in constant turmoil. It was impossible to stop your own brain once it got going.

It was taking everything in you to focus on the stove and not burn dinner.

You flinch at the sound of the door closing. Heavy footsteps sound through the house, approaching the kitchen.

Sevikas thick arms wrap around your midsection, her face making home in the side of your neck. For a long time, she doesn't say anything. The only sounds come from the meat sizzling in your pan. Moments like this make it easier to not think about the painful lack of aw sex life between you two.

Her lips purse, pressing small kisses against your skin. She hums against your neck.

"What are you cooking doll?" Her voice is muffled against your flesh but you understand her all the same.

"Spaghetti." You feel her smile.

"My favorite.." She mumbles. You hum a small "Mhm" before focusing back on the seasoned beef and water you're waiting for to boil. Her arms tighten ever so slightly, one hand slipping under your shirt. Her thumb caresses your bare skin.

It should be sweet but it really just drives the nail into the coffin for you.

Your voice comes out before you can stop it.

"Why won't you have sex with me?" You regret it the moment it leaves your mouth.

"I- woah, what? Doll what do you mean?" She honestly sounds baffled.

"Forget I said anything, please. It doesn't matter."

Her hands gently grab your shoulders, turning you around.

"No way. What are you talking about?"

You shake your head. "It's stupid.."

"It's not stupid if it's bothering you." She reassures you.

"It's just, we've been together for eight months, and we practically live together. But we haven't done anything. I know you don't have an issue having sex because half the undercity talks about how good you are and I just don't understand. Is there something wrong with me? Am I not appealing to yo-" Your rant is cut off by her lips. Her hands are holding you like glass, one on your cheek, one curled around your hip.

"There is nothing wrong with you." Her voice comes out as a soft whisper. "I'm sorry I made you feel like there was. I just knew that you don't have as much experience as I do. I didn't want you to feel rushed, or forced."

"Rushed? No, you could never.. I thought you just didn't want me that way." She immediately shakes her head. She kisses you again, more urgently this time.

Her hands grab anywhere they can, pulling you in. They're on your hips, waist, groping your ass.

"I do want you." Then they're picking you up and lifting you on the counter. "Let me show you how much I want you?" All you can do is nod as her lips trail down your neck. Her touch dances over your body, removing your top.

Her mouth follows soon after, sucking dark bruises into the skin on your neck and chest. She takes a nipple in her mouth and swirls her tongue around it. A low whimper leaves your mouth at the new, but not unpleasant, sensation.

Her right hand copies her tongue's motions on the other, pinching and pulling. Your body trembles against the counter with need.

She moves away from your breasts, kissing and licking down your stomach to your navel. Her hands unbutton your pants. She looks up at you as she lowers herself to her knees, silently asking for permission. You nod your head. You don't trust your voice. Your pants are off in seconds and thrown somewhere in the kitchen that you'll worry about later.

Her hand splays across your stomach and gently pushes you to lay against the tile. It's cold against your bare and burning skin, your back arching off of it but she keeps your hips pinned down.

You gasp as her teeth nip at the skin of your thigh. A breathy laugh leaves her.

"Shut up.." You mutter.

"Didn't say anything."

Your eyes roll in fake annoyance but you don't get the chance to reply as the cold air hits your bare cunt. Her thumbs pull your lips apart, admiring the sight before her.

"Fuck doll, you're so wet. All of this for me?" Her voice is husky between your legs and it stirs something delicious in your belly.

"Yes, all for you Sev.." She chuckles. Her teeth take the hem of your panties and drag them down your legs. She kisses your hips and navel, sucking hickies and marking you as hers.

"Please, Vika. Need you.." You whine. You can't bring yourself to care about how desperate you sound. You're sure that you look even more so from her position.

It seems, though, that your prayers have been answered because as soon as the words leave your mouth hers is back on you. This time it's between your legs.

She licks a long stripe up your pussy before stopping to suck your clit into her mouth. A loud moan reverberates from your chest as you lean your head back into the counter. Her tongue kitten licks at the bud before suckling on it like shes trying to nurse herself.

You've had people eat you out before but never this well. You don't think it could get better than this.

She moves down, opting to fuck you with her tongue instead. You definitely understand the appeal now. You've given yourself plenty of orgasms but this is the fastest one has risen before.

She feels it in the way you clench around her tongue and moves back to your clit. Her fingers fill up the now empty space, fucking into you in a gently but rough way only she could manage.

She's eating you like a woman starved and with the lack of sex the two of you have had she may as well be. If you didn't know better you might think this is her last meal.

Gasps and whimpers leave your mouth in a desperate way you can't stop.

"Fuck Sev.. ngh~ m'gonna cum, please.."

She smirks against you once more, speeding up her ministrations.

"Come on my tongue baby, make a mess on me." Her voice is muffled against you cunt, vibrations travel through your clit with her words.

You last maybe thirty seconds longer, hand tangled in her hair, before releasing over her tongue.

She laps you up, milking you for all that you're worth. She's never tasted anything more delicious. Her mouth doesn't let up until your whimpering from the overstimulation and pushing her head away.

She looks you in the eye as she sucks her fingers clean before kissing back up your body. Her lips lock onto yours and you can still taste yourself on her tongue. It makes your head spin in a way you've never felt before.

When you come back to earth, her hand is running through your hair.

"I'm sorry I made you believe that I didn't want to do that." She mumbles. "But now I may need it to be a daily thing." You giggle at her words.

"It's okay. I wouldn't mind honestly." She helps you sit up, a large hand cupping your cheek. "You didn't get to cum.." You whisper as you lean in closer.

"Don't worry about me, I'll get my fill later." The look on her face tells you that this isn't over. "I'm going to change out of these clothes. You just worry about dinner okay?" She slips your panties back on along with your shirt.

You nod, sliding off the counter. You wince at the mess you made but she's already wiping it up. Her lips meet your temple as she mutters a low, "I love you."

"I love you more." She shakes her head, chuckling before walking back to her room. You feel much better now, and you really can't wait for what she meant by "later".

[gffa]

Anyway, so, the ridiculousness continues, because I got one day of feeling amazingly Not Winded Going Up A Flight Of Stairs when, hey, guess who got whammied with the cold that's been going around my family. I woke up feeling crappy, scratchy throat, like I was a centimeter off in my own skin, etc. I'm doing better now that I've gotten some cold drinks to soothe my throat, and I do still feel better, enough to have a handyman come over and install the light fixtures + tv mount and could actually stand there and help for more than five minutes before I was sweating and needed to sit down. Also this was my third day in a row of getting blood drawn (to make sure I'm heading in the right direction), I am beginning to feel like a bit of a pincushion, but overall good. I have gotten many comments of, holy shit, you look so much better, your color is so much better, and I have to laugh each time because I must have really looked like death warmed over for the last couple of years to get that comment as often as I have! Tonight is day three of taking my anxiety meds, I can't say I've noticed a difference yet (but I'm not expecting to for a couple of weeks), but WISH ME LUCK. I was even social today and talked to people. (Genuinely, the best tip I can give for socially anxious over-thinkers like me is, when they ask, "How are you today?" answer with an honest, "I'm really nervous about all of this, but doing my best to get through it." Then, if you're too quiet or say something odd, they know you're not an asshole, you're just nervous, and it makes you human and every medical personnel I've said this to has been extremely nice about it.) Also, I just cannot get over how much my appetite has decreased, in a good way. I still get hungry, I still eat, but I'm not constantly starving for something something something, usually something "with protein" (ie, some form of red meat). I can eat half as much steak/hamburger/whatever and be satisfied now and, look, I know it makes me look like a dumbass, but my slide into this was so gradual that I just thought, "Oh, that's just how I am. I like steak a lot, many people do!" BUT NOPE. SEVERE ANEMIA WAS PROBABLY SCREAMING, "BITCH, I AM STARVING HERE, DO SOMETHING." 😂 (But, seriously, I'm so baffled at how, HEY, I AM SUPPOSED TO ENJOY THIS TIME OF FEELING BETTER, but no I had to go and get a week long cold. To be fair, after getting the flu shot and COVID booster, it could be that just as much as the cold that's going around.)

[jazzy96scorpio]

The Black Rose and the Star

Chapter 4 * Our Love Story Continues *

Description: Your love journey with Pedro continues, now with two tiny additions, bringing even more love and happiness.

Pairing: You / Pedro Pascal

Warnings ⚠️: adult content, this chapter features babies, bodily fluids, and some sexy-time fun for mom and dad, childbirth, postpartum intimacy, sex, unprotected sex, SMUT.

Word count: 1350

Months flew by in a blur of happiness.  Life in LA was everything you’d dreamed of. You had your own studio, a thriving business, and Pedro… Pedro was incredible.  He was filming his new movie, "Gladiator," a huge production, but he always made time for you.

One weekend morning, he woke you up with a kiss and a mischievous glint in his eyes. 

"I have a surprise for you," he said.

"Would you like to come with me to Malta? Think of it as a mini-vacation."

"Malta?" you said, your eyes widening. "Seriously? That sounds amazing!" You were thrilled.  Any chance to spend time with him was a yes in your book. "When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow," he said, grinning. "I've already packed your bags."

"You're the best," you said, kissing him. "I can't wait."

"Me neither," he murmured. "I want to spend every single minute with you."

In Malta, you got to see him in his element, watching him work on set. He was so talented, so passionate.  It was mesmerizing.  After filming, you’d spend your days exploring the island, swimming with the crew on the beach, wandering through the ancient cities.

One evening, you were having a quiet dinner at a small restaurant overlooking the harbor.  You had some big news, and you were a nervous wreck.  He noticed your unease.

"What's wrong, baby?" he asked, taking your hand. "You seem… anxious."

You took a deep breath.

"Pedro..I'm… I'm pregnant," you blurted out.

His face went blank for a second. He’d mentioned before he was unsure about kids, and that memory made your heart pound. "Shit," he said. "Really? Are you sure?"

"I went to the doctor before we came here," you said, your voice trembling slightly. 

"It's true..I know we didn't planned this."

His initial surprise quickly melted into something else…something that looked a lot like joy.

"Wow," he said, a huge smile spreading across his face. "That's… that's incredible."

"I know you said you weren't sure about kids," you said, still nervous.

"I understand if—"

He cut you off, his eyes shining.

"Of course I want this," he said. "I love you. And… and the idea of having little… yous running around?  It's… it's perfect."

You kissed him, relief washing over you in waves.  He was actually crying a little. 

"I'm so happy," he whispered.

"Me too," you said, tears of your own threatening to fall.

Back home in LA, you went to the doctor together.  He held your hand tightly during the ultrasound. The doctor smiled.

"Well," she said, "I have some more news for you two."

You both froze, a sudden wave of panic washing over you.

"You're having twins," the doctor announced.

"Twins?" you and Pedro said in unison, staring at each other, eyes wide.

"Oh my God," you whispered, then started laughing.

Pedro was laughing too, shaking his head in disbelief. "Twins," he repeated. "Seriously?  Two at once?"

"Guess we're going to be busy," you said, still giggling.

"Busy and very, very happy," he said, kissing you. "This is…this is the best surprise ever."

"Double the trouble," you joked.

"Double the love," he corrected, pulling you close.

The next few months were a whirlwind. Pedro was amazing, so supportive, so patient, so gentle. He was there for every doctor’s appointment, every craving, every mood swing. He was everything you could have asked for, and more.

👶

Your due date was fast approaching. You were in the bedroom, getting ready for bed.  Looking at your reflection in the mirror, you groaned.

"Shit," you said to Pedro, who was engrossed in a book. "I look like an elephant."

He looked up, chuckled, and then his expression softened.

"No, you don't," he said, standing up and coming over to you.

"You are the most beautiful and an amazing woman." He kissed you gently.

"Yeah, but right now," you joked, "I'm a beautiful elephant."

He chuckled again. "I love elephants," he said, wrapping his arms around you. "And I love you."

"My back is killing me," you said, wincing slightly. "I swear, I'm going to need a crane to get out of bed soon."

He rubbed your back soothingly. "Just a little longer," he said. "They'll be here before you know it."

In the middle of the night, a sharp pain jolted you awake. Contractions. They were definitely contractions.  You nudged Pedro, who was dead asleep. "Pedro," you said, wincing with another contraction. "Pedro, wake up."

He stirred groggily. "Hmm?"

"It's started," you said, trying to stay calm.

"We need to go to the hospital."

His eyes snapped open, all traces of sleep gone. "Oh shit," he said, scrambling out of bed. He was suddenly wide awake, a flurry of nervous energy. "Okay, okay, I'm up.  Let's go, let's go." 

He rushed around, pulling on clothes, grabbing the hospital bag you’d packed weeks ago. He helped you get dressed, his hands gentle but hurried.

You were in pain, but you couldn't help but laugh a little as he frantically gathered everything.  "You'd think I was the one having the babies," you said between contractions. "You're more stressed than I am."

"You're in pain and you're still joking," he said, his voice laced with concern. He put his arm around you, helping you walk. "You're amazing."

At the hospital, the hours ticked by slowly.  Pedro was a nervous wreck, pacing the waiting room, checking his watch every two minutes.  Finally, after what felt like an eternity, your babies came to this world.

A boy and a girl.

Pedro was there, by your side, his face a mixture of exhaustion, relief, and pure, unadulterated joy. He was beaming, tears welling up in his eyes.  He kissed you, his voice thick with emotion.

"You were incredible," he said. "So strong. So brave. I'm so proud of you."

"We did it," you whispered, exhausted but happy.

Then he says "No darling, you did it. Thank you..I love you so much."

Later, as you both drifted off to sleep in the hospital room, a nurse brought in the babies. She placed your son in your arms and your daughter in Pedro's.  You watched him, his huge hands cradling your tiny daughter.  His eyes were overflowing with tears as he gazed at her, a look of pure, unconditional love on his face. He gently kissed her forehead, then curled his finger around her tiny hand. "Welcome to the world, my little princess," he whispered.  "Daddy loves you so much."

The first month at home was…chaotic.  Sleep deprivation was a whole new level of torture.  But Pedro was amazing. Even with his busy filming schedule, he was there, helping with feedings, changing diapers, rocking babies, doing whatever needed to be done. He was a natural, and you fell in love with him all over again watching him with your children.

A few weeks later, you had your postpartum check-up. Everything was perfect, the doctor gave you the all-clear. 

Pedro was home with the twins, holding down the fort (or at least trying to). 

When you walked in the door, it was pure chaos. Dario was wailing, Elena was fussing, and Pedro looked like he’d been through a war.

"They know you're not here, honey," he said, his voice strained but amused. 

"They're torturing me right now."

You laughed, scooped up Dario, who was clearly starving, and started breastfeeding him.

Elena, thankfully fall asleep in Pedro’s arms.

He looked at you, a soft smile on his face.  "You're so beautiful," he murmured.

"Eres la mejor mamá del mundo."

"Come here," you said, reaching out to him. He leaned in, and you kissed him, a quick, grateful kiss.

Later that night, after what felt like an eternity, the babies were finally asleep. You and Pedro were in bed, cuddling close.

You kissed him softly. "So," you whispered, a playful glint in your eye. "What do you think? Doctor said everything is good to go. Think we could maybe… try?" You winked.

He grinned, his eyes lighting up. 

"I've been wanting this so badly," he admitted. "But… if you're not ready, we can wait."

"Oh, I'm ready," you said, kissing him again, more insistently this time. "I want you so bad."

He didn't need any more encouragement.  He quickly shed his shirt and boxers, then helped you out of your clothes, his touch gentle and reverent.

He kissed you slowly, lingering on your neck and breasts, then trailed kisses down your tummy, his lips brushing against your still-sensitive skin. His fingers traced the line of your hip, then dipped lower, teasing the edge of your pussy.

"You're so soft," he murmured, his voice husky. "So ready for me."

He licked your clit, swirling and twirling his tongue, sending shivers through you.

You were soaking wet, dripping, practically begging for him.

He entered you slowly, carefully, stretching you, filling you completely. It felt so good, such a pleasure you had almost forgotten.

"Oh, Pedro," you moaned. He looked at you, his eyes filled with desire and concern.

"Does it hurt?" he asked softly. "Tell me if it does."

"No," you breathed. "It feels… amazing."

He moved inch by inch, watching your face, gauging your reaction. 

You gripped his shoulders, moaning softly.  "Fuck," you whispered. "I missed this cock so much."

"You feel so good," he groaned, his voice thick with lust. "So tight, so wet…I've been dreaming about this."

"Me too," you whispered, your fingers digging into his back.  "Move faster."

He obliged, his movements becoming more urgent, more intense. 

"You like that, don't you?" he breathed, his voice rough. "Tell me you like it."

"Yes," you gasped. "I love it. Fuck, Pedro, I love it."

He cupped your face in his hand, his thumb stroking your cheek. "You're driving me crazy," he said, his eyes burning with desire. 

"You're so fucking hot."

You both came together, a powerful, shared orgasm that rocked you to your core. 

"Oh, fuck," he groaned, his body shuddering.  "You're amazing."  He came inside you, a deep, satisfying release, his hot, thick cock pulsing within you.

"Damn, baby," he whispered against your lips. "You're perfect."

He kissed you gently, his eyes filled with love.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too," you replied, your voice soft.

Soon after, a little cry broke the silence.

"I got it," Pedro said, getting out of bed. "You take a shower."

He soothed the babies while you were in the shower.

In the morning, he brought them into bed with you. You watched them sleep, tiny and perfect, nestled between you and their father. 

"We made these," you whispered, a smile spreading across your face.

"We did," he said, wrapping his arms around you.  "They're perfect.  Our little family… it's perfect." 

He kissed you softly. "I love you both more than words can say."

You snuggled closer, feeling an overwhelming sense of love and gratitude.  Your life was full, messy, chaotic, and utterly perfect.  You had everything you’d ever wanted, right there in your arms.

Thank you for the reading 💜

Please like, reblog and comment. Send me your review or any requests. I appreciate it.❣️

Previous chapter

[punkrockmlchael]

How They Are As Boyfriends - Corroded Coffin Version

Masterlist | Corroded Coffin Masterlist

These boys have been on my mind lately so here's how I think they are as boyfriends, all four boys in one spot! Once again thank you to my lovely besties @keeryhours + @the-witty-pen-name for help; I love you both so much, smooches

Modern AU ; Includes: Eddie, Jeff, Gareth and Grant (Freak) - also these are with gender neutral reader!

Warnings: Mentions of Drinking and Smoking (Weed), Some Mentions of Sexual Innuendos but nothing major, this is mostly fluff, though. As I've stated before: These boys deserve more love than they receive and I am here to give it to them and feed you all with the fluff in the process woooo!

Eddie:

(Word Count: 339)

Eddie is very touchy

No, like, so touchy. Touch starved. He always needs to be touching you in some way, shape or form. He has no concept of personal space at all, it's kind of funny

You're literally walking from the front door to his van? He's holding your hand, making sure to give you a nice little squeeze of your hand and a hug before he opens the door for you

He has an entire photo album of you in his camera roll. They include candid pictures he's taken of you, pictures he's taken of you while you're not looking, some, uh, spicy pictures of you

He loves to love you and your body, he'll spend hours kissing you and over your body while cuddling just because he loves you that much

Eddie likes to leave little notes around the house for you to find later. They usually are to tell you how much he loves you and how hot you are. Occasionally though he leaves you notes about how he "forgot" to take the trash out asking if you can

Oh, you and Eddie always get high together and order like two pizzas and breadsticks (the pizza guy knows your names at this point)

And, let's just say all of that food gets eaten each time, also, you also know the pizza guy's name and, Matt is pretty chill. Eddie ha even offered him some weed as a tip once (Matt said yes)

Eddie's kisses have two spectrums: he can be so soft and sweet and lovey and gentle with you but he can also be really passionate and needy when he wants you

Referring back to the first statement, Eddie's love language is physical touch... need I say more? But, he also is a huge gift giver and not necessarily in a "here's this really expensive gift" more of a, "hey I was walking through the park and I saw this rock it was kind of shaped like a heart so I grabbed it for you"

Jeff:

(Word Count: 340)

Jeff is pretty private about his personal life but he loves to show you off

Anytime you go out together for dinner, for drinks, for anything really he is always snapping candid pictures of you for his Social Medias

He'll usually caption it something cheesy and lovey like "dinner with this beauty, love them so much"

Jeff also loves to cook so you when you're not out and about getting dinner, you're usually at home making dinner together. You've told him countless times he needs to make a TikTok account for cooking but, again, he doesn't want to share too much of his personal life

He makes this really good pasta dish that his mom taught him, he made it for you the first time you came over and your swore to yourself that if you didn't marry him, getting that recipe was going to be a must

He is the type of person to tell you that he loves you multiple times a day, sometimes at the weirdest and most random of times. No, like, he'll call to remind you to bring the trash to the road because he forgot and he's ending the call with "thanks, baby, I love you"

He can get kind of handsy from time to time. Usually when kissing, like, there are times when his hands will roam down to your ass just to give it a little squeeze because he loves hearing the noises that'll come out of your mouth

Jeff's kisses are always soft and sweet. Whether it's a quick kiss before starting your day or a kiss to, uh, initiate something, he always makes sure his kisses are so soft and so sweet because he loves you so much

Jeff's love language is quality time. He loves being around you and spending time with you, even when doing different things. He's trying to learn a new riff on the guitar? Cool, you're sitting in bed reading your favorite book while he sits on the edge of it messing with his guitar

Gareth:

(Word Count: 371)

Gareth is an attention whore, point blank period. He loves to be the center of your attention, specifically. Little kisses, littles hugs, hand holding, he is a slut for all of that with you

He also loves to make you laugh and will always crack jokes, even if it's not really the time for a joke

He really loves when you play with his hair, too. If you're sitting on the couch he will come lay his head on your lap and force your hands into his hair, making you comb through the fluffy knots and scratch at his scalp gently until he is purring like a cat and falling asleep in your lap

Gareth will always finish your fries or any part of your meal that you can't, he doesn't even play the boyfriend tax because he knows he'll get some of your food

Gareth can't cook to save his life but somehow he knows how to bake? He claims he used to help his mom bake when he was younger and that's how he learned but you're still suspicious when you come home to freshly baked cookies

He sometimes drums on your ass if you're laying on your stomach in bed or on the couch

He gets kind of upset when you call him Gareth and not baby or babe or, as he says, "super hot and talented drummer who is a sex god"

He tells you he loves you every night before bed and every morning when you wake up

Gareth's kisses are sloppy and needy. And that's not because he's a bad kisser, the opposite, really. He just is always so excited to kiss you that they turn desperate and needy

Gareth's love language is a mixture of physical touch and quality time. He loves spending time together and he understands that sometimes you have separate things to do but he loves knowing you're still there. He's playing Call of Duty? You're laying in his lap playing on your switch making sure your Animal Crossing Villagers are happy. You're in the kitchen making dinner? Yeah, he's behind you with his arms around your waist and his chin on your shoulder. He's kind of clingy as previously stated

Grant (Freak):

(Word Count: 408)

Grant loves to take you out and spoil you. He loves dates and he loves taking you on dates. He even surprises you at least once a month, leaving a note telling you what to wear and when to be ready before he’ll take you to a restaurant you e been eating to try or a restaurant that you’ve been talking about for ages

He also is always thinking of you, not necessarily in a sexual way. No, he just loves making sure you’re happy. When you get coffee together and you’re stuck between two flavors he’ll make you order first so he can get the other one you were thinking of so you can still try it (and if you like his better, he’ll switch coffees with you)

He actually really likes to draw and doodle so from time to time when he’s writing with the boys or chilling while making a dnd campaign he’s usually doodling you little pictures (you keep them all, you have a special folder full of his drawings and doodles)

He always makes sure he’s holding your hand in crowds, and he always make sure you’re in front of him in crowds so he doesn’t lose you

He blushes a bright red when you call him babe or baby, which is funny, because he calls you baby more than your actual name

Grant always has the best snacks. Like roadtrips with him is the best because he thinks of all the snacks you’d want

He gives the best hugs, honestly, look at him. He just loves to wrap you up in a hug and hold you close to him, especially if he knows you’ve had a bad day. He will hold you so close and not let you go

Grant’s kisses are always so passionate. It could be the quickest kiss in the world or a make out session but it doesn’t matter, either way, he is always making sure there is so much love and passion into each and every kiss he gives you

Grant's love language is words of affirmations. He's never really had many people compliment him in his life so anytime you thank him, or compliment him or even just tell him you love him he turns into a complete stuttering mess. No, really, all you have to say is “awe, baby you look so good in that..” and he’s blushing, stuttering and dragging you to the bedroom

corroded coffin tag list: wanna be added? comment + let me know! @keeryhours ; @the-witty-pen-name ; @pupwrites ; @the-unforgivenn

[cookiesandbiscuits]

Hi, there! :D

I saw the new event and it want to participate, If it is not too much trouble, I would like to request:

Type: One Shot Prompt: FRIENDS TO LOVERS: "But [Silver]… we are friends." "…Yes, but–" "But I would very much like to be more than friends." Character: Silver (Twst) x Fem Prefect

Idea: I was thinking of a scenario where Silver and the prefect become increasingly closer by spending time together in the forest behind the campus (where the ancient tree is)

It's just an idea, if my order doesn't convince you, you can discard it, but if not, take your time and don't pressured. Thanks. Bye! <3

Inexplicably Drawn to You

In which your unexpected friendship with the man you met in the forest turns into something more.

Pairing: Silver x Fem!Reader

Prompt: "But [Character Name]... we are friends." "...Yes, but–" "But I would very much like to be more than friends."

A/N: Hello! Thank you for sending your request! Writing stories is one of the main reasons why I made this blog three years ago, so I appreciate every request I receive in my inbox ^^

I apologize for posting this late. The editing part took a while since this became quite long. I hope you enjoy this story!

Other notes: Reader is Yuu/prefect; uses Y/N in place of a name

» 300 Follower Milestone Event

» MASTERLIST

It was purely a coincidence meeting him that day.

You have always been drawn to the forest—its lush canopy and the whispers of its inhabitants always leaving you in awe. So when you discovered the forest behind Night Raven's campus, you were so eager to free your schedule for a visit.

And when the time finally came, it was everything you've ever imagined. The forest was peaceful and quiet; a perfect place to take a break from the usual chaos surrounding you.

You were so busy admiring the place that you didn't notice what was in front of you and you tripped.

Something, or rather, someone, was lying on the ground where you were walking.

You wanted to say something to the stranger who made you trip, but the serene look on his face made you think otherwise.

Looking closely, the man, who was sleeping as you noticed, was quite handsome. Him, adding the tranquil backdrop the forest provided, made for a spectacular sight. Just like—

"Like a prince from a storybook..." you murmured.

Just then, the stranger opened his eyes and met yours, making you jump.

"...Um, hi?" you waved awkwardly as the man continued to stare at you.

He blinked for a few moments before sitting upright.

In a groggy voice, he asked, "What time is it?"

"Time? Well..." you paused for a moment to think. "I've been here for about 30 minutes now, and I came here at around 4 PM, so I'm guessing it's already 4:30 PM."

The man widened his eyes and stood up.

"I slept on for too long. I must hurry, or I'll be late. Thank you for your assistance."

He bowed, and before you could even say anything, he had already left.

You could only blink at how quickly everything had happened.

"What'cha up to, Prefect?"

You flinched when two hands suddenly grabbed you by the shoulders.

"Ace! You almost gave me a heart attack!" you shrilled.

"Haha, you shoulda seen the look on your face— ow! What the hell, dude! What was that for?"

Ace frowned at Deuce, who only sighed at his classmate's behavior.

"You shouldn't scare people like that, Ace." He then turned to look at you. "Anyways, what are you doing, Prefect?"

"Nothing much. I'm just drawing," you smiled, showing your sketchpad to the two.

"Woah, you're pretty damn good at this," Ace marveled as he looked through the pages.

"I didn't know you can draw," said Deuce.

You shrugged. "It's just one of my pastime hobbies."

"Ooh, who's this guy?" Ace pointed the latest illustration in your sketchpad.

It was the sleeping man you met in the forest.

"I don't know," you answered, taking your sketchpad back from Ace's hands.

"What do you mean "you don't know"?"

"I just told you. I don't know." You started to put away your stuff in your bag. "I never asked his name."

Ace raised a brow on your statement. "So you drew a guy you don't know? Like what, you got a crush on him or something?"

"Wha-?! No!" you sputtered. "I just thought he's pretty, okay? And I like drawing pretty things."

"Riiiight..." The ginger-haired teen smirked.

"I told you, that's not it!" you screeched, your cheeks slowly reddening at Ace's teasing.

But the boy only laughed at your reaction. Even Deuce couldn't help but laugh too.

You can only sigh in frustration. "Ugh, you guys are terrible!"

"I swear, those two..." you grumbled as you drew the wild anemone you found.

"Oh, it's you..."

"Huh?"

You whipped your head towards the voice. It was the man your friends were teasing you with earlier.

"Oh, hello..." you greeted.

"What are you doing?" he tilted his head as he asked.

"I'm just— drawing! Yes, just drawing this this flower here," you said, opting not to voice out the reason of your grumbling.

"I see..." the man replied.

The silence that followed was long. You thought the man had already left, but to your surprise, he crouched down beside you.

Unable to take it any longer, you spoke. "So, did you get there on time?"

"Hm? Oh, you mean the last time we met. Yes, I did. And it's all thanks to you."

You waved your hand. "There's no need to thank me. Besides, you've already thanked me before."

"But still... if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have woken up in time for my club activity."

"Ah." You recalled tripping over him the first time you met. "Sorry for tripping over you, by the way."

"It's alright," he replied.

".........."

".........."

Another moment of silence.

"Say," you started. "Do you come here often?"

The man nodded. "I find the forest calming."

You looked down at the wild anemone in front of you. "I see... I hope I'm not causing too much trouble for you."

"Not at all. How about you? Do you visit here often too?"

"When the time allows me to," you responded. "Though I try my best to visit as much as I can."

You turned to look at him.

"Since it's most likely that we'll run into each other a lot here, it's probably best to know each other's names, right?"

Reaching out a hand, you smiled. "I'm Y/N, and you are...?"

"Silver. My name is Silver."

"It's very nice to meet you, Silver."

From that day on, spending your time in the forest with Silver became a common occurrence.

True to his appearance, he was nothing short of a gentleman to you, always making sure you were doing fine during your visits.

You learned that he was a second-year student from Diasomnia and that he was part of the Equestrian Club with Riddle, and along with a first-year named Sebek, he is training to become a retainer for Malleus Draconia, the heir apparent of Briar Valley.

You felt at ease with him, grateful that you found a person aside from your first-year friends to open up to.

And he would always lend an ear to listen to your stories.

You found his presence comforting, just like the forest that has now become a special place for the two of you.

It didn't take long before the feelings of friendship you felt for him had developed into something more.

"Alright, I'm gonna do it."

You announced, clenching your hands with determination.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Ace asked.

"I'm gonna tell him I like him."

"Finally!" the gingerhead cheered. "I was getting sick of hearing you pine for him every day, to be honest— ack! Dude, you've gotta stop hitting me at the back of my head!"

"I'll stop once you stop being so rude," Deuce replied. "I'll be rooting for you, Prefect!"

You smiled. "Thanks, Deuce. I'll be off then!"

Giving them a small wave, you rushed to the second-years' classrooms, your heart pounding with hope and excitement.

However, that feeling will soon be crushed as soon as you reached your destination.

"This is it, right?"

You panted as you read the sign above the doorframe: "2-A"

You were about to knock when you heard people talking inside, making you pause.

"...Are you two dating?"

"...No, we're not."

You blinked, hearing Silver among the voices you heard.

"The Prefect and I are only good friends, nothing more."

Oh.

Your gaze fell on the floor.

Of course, what were you thinking? It's not like he was doing all those things when you were together because he sees you as more than a friend. It was you who gave those gestures a different meaning.

Laughing bitterly to yourself, you made the walk back to Ramshackle.

"So, how did it go?"

Along with Deuce and Grim, Ace greeted you with his signature grin the moment you walked in Ramshackle's common room.

You could only give them a bittersweet smile in return.

"What, don't tell me you got— mmph!"

Covering Grim's mouth with his free hand, Ace threw a bag of chips in your direction. "You know what? Screw that guy. He doesn't even know what he's missing out on."

"Y-yeah, Ace is right," Deuce chimed in. "Don't worry, Prefect. We're here for you."

After a moment, you sighed, feeling an immense gratefulness for your two friends.

"Thanks, you guys."

"Y-yeah, sure..."

"Pwah! Alright, that's enough! Are we gonna eat these snacks or what?" Grim exclaimed, having wriggled out of Ace's grip.

"Oi, Grim! Don't you dare eat all of the snacks this time, you hear me?" Ace turned to look at your furry roommate, who was already stuffing his mouth full.

Letting out a small laugh, you sat beside Deuce who only shook his head as the other two in the room continued bickering.

You really are lucky to have them as friends.

"Oh..."

You softly gasped as you bumped into the person you have been avoiding all week: Silver.

"Ah... hello, Prefect. You must be here for Professor Crewel's class."

"Y-yes, I am..." you replied awkwardly. "And you? What are you doing here in the lab?"

"Oh, you haven't heard yet? The first-years and second-years will be having a joint class today."

"Really...?" You felt your stomach drop. "I see..."

In that moment, Professor Crewel entered the room. "Alright, puppies, take your seats."

"As I have explained yesterday, we will be making Morpheus's Elixir for today's class. However, as this is a fairly complicated potion, I have assigned to your group a second-year who will guide you in making the potion. Failure to make the potion will cause you to take a remedial class, understood?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Then I will assign your guides now. Group 1..."

"For Y/N's group, Silver here will be your guide."

"What?!" you exclaimed.

Professor Crewel narrowed his eyes at your sudden outburst. "Do you have any problem with the assignment, Miss Y/N?"

"Ah— no, sir. I apologize."

After Crewel left your table, you sighed. Just your rotten luck, you thought.

"Are you alright, Prefect?" Silver asked.

"Huh? Oh, yes, I'm fine! Never been better!"

"Are you sure—?"

"Yep! We should probably start making the potion now. Let's see..." you cut him off, changing the topic to your current activity.

"We need one teaspoon of stardust powder, three dried lavender spikes, five drops of midnight blue extract, one moondrop piece, and one cup of milk."

Before you could put the ingredients in the cauldron, someone grabbed your hands to stop you.

"Wait! Don't dump them in the cauldron all at once."

"Huh?"

It was Silver. You immediately moved your hands away from his, as if you'd be burned if you don't.

"Ah, sorry. The instruction said to boil them together," you said sheepishly.

"You're right. But the ingredients won't mix together properly if you just put them together."

Pouring the cup of milk in the cauldron, Silver continued to explain.

"You have to heat up the milk in low heat first. Once it starts to steam, put the stardust and ground moondrop piece gradually."

He then gave the moondrop to your group mate. "Ground this and the lavender, if you please."

"Wow... you're really good at this," you marveled, watching the purplish blue potion sparkle as you gently stirred it.

Silver smiled. "Not really... I just happened to be familiar with this potion since I used to make them whenever my father gets his bouts of nightmares."

"I see..."

After a moment, Silver spoke once again.

"I haven't seen you visit the forest for a while now..."

"Oh..." you paused. "I was just...busy, y'know... between doing the headmage's biddings, schoolwork, and keeping an eye on Grim, I haven't found the time to visit."

That was a lie, of course.

You just simply haven't had the strength to face him yet after overhearing the conversation he had with his classmate.

You wouldn't admit that to him, though.

"Then... will you be visiting today?"

"I'm... not sure."

"Oh..."

"......."

The space between the two of you were filled with thick silence which lasted until the end of the class.

Silver sighed as he put the cauldron away in the cabinet.

For some reason, you've been avoiding him for several days now.

Did he do something to offend you?

Mulling over the possible reasons of your avoidance, he left the lab and found you talking to one of your classmates.

He was about to say goodbye when he heard the boy shout.

"Prefect! I-I... I like you! Please go out with me!"

Silver remained quiet as he saw the scene unfold before him. It made his stomach churn, much to his confusion.

His eyes then shifted to you.

"Oh— um... thank you, but I can't," you replied.

He released a breath he didn't know he was keeping. How odd...

Suddenly, the boy grabbed your arm, making you wince.

"C-can't you give me just one chance? I promise I'll be good to you!"

"Wait, stop—"

"Hey."

Before he could think, Silver found yanking your classmate's hand from your arm, inserting himself between you and him.

"I believe the Prefect had already given her answer."

"Silver..."

"Tch, fine..." the boy said, irritated as he raised his hands in defeat and walked away.

After making sure he was out of sight, Silver turned to you. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah... I was just a little surprised, is all," you replied, rubbing the arm your classmate grabbed earlier.

He frowned. Your classmate must've gripped too hard that it even left a mark.

"Has this been happening to you regularly?"

"No, this is the first time this happened, actually."

He paused, eyeing your arm before speaking again. "Do you have somewhere else to be today?"

"No, I don't. Why?

"Then let me escort you back to Ramshackle Dorm."

"Huh?! You don't need to do that!"

However, he only shook his head. "I can't let you walk alone after that. Please, I insist."

After a few more convincing, Silver finally persuaded you into letting him walk you back home.

He sighed in relief as the two of you managed to reach Ramshackle without incident.

"Thank you for walking me back," you said as you opened the front door.

"Of course."

Suddenly, the familiar gingerhead appeared.

"Hey, Prefect!" Ace greeted. "...And Silver?!"

"Wait, Silver's here?"

Another familiar face appeared. This time, it was Deuce.

"Hey guys."

"Hello."

The two Heartslabyul students exchanged looks before looking at the prefect, who sighed.

"He insisted on walking me back."

"Okay..." Ace narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"Trappola, Spade." Silver turned to the two card soldiers. "Can I speak with you two? Please."

The gingerhead raised a brow before looking at the prefect.

"Do what you want. I'll be going inside and sleep." You waved your hand and went inside.

"Sure..."

"Say what?!"

The two blurted after Silver told them what happened earlier.

"I can't believe he did that..." Ace sighed.

"Yeah, that guy's gonna pay for that... No man should force a woman to do what he wants," Deuce cracked his knuckles as he spoke.

"Please, calm down, there's no need to retaliate. I will speak to the teachers regarding this. I only ask you to keep the Prefect company, in case something like this happens again."

"Say..." Ace suddenly turned to Silver, his eyes serious. "Why are you doing this?"

Silver's brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I'm asking why are you doing all this effort for the Prefect? Don't get me wrong, we're still gonna do what you asked us to, I just don't get why you asked us for help too? Most people in this school would just tell the teachers what happened and go their merry way at best, but you even walked her home to make sure she arrived safely. What does the Prefect truly mean to you?"

He was taken aback at the first-year's question. "The Prefect is a precious friend of mine and—"

Ace scoffed, cutting him off mid-sentence. "Yeah, right."

"Ace! Don't be rude!" Deuce scolded. "I'm so sorry for my dorm mate's actions. He's only worried for our friend. Don't worry, we'll make sure the Prefect is safe."

Silver stared at Ace, who was scowling, for a moment before turning to Deuce.

"Thank you. And Ace?"

"What?"

"I know you're worried for the Prefect, but I promise you, I would never do anything to hurt her."

He then slightly bowed and left.

"Oh, Silver. Welcome back."

"Hello. What are you guys doing?"

Silver eyed his two dorm mates curiously.

"Oh, I'm just helping this guy write a love letter for his crush, the Ramshackle prefect," the first student replied.

"Hey! Don't tell him that!" the second student shrieked.

"...You like the Prefect?" Silver asked.

"Oh, he's absolutely smitten. Wouldn't stop talking about how cute and nice she is. I got sick of it so I told him to write a letter instead."

"I told you, stop! I don't need everybody to know my business!"

"Hey, speaking of which, you're a friend of the Prefect, right?" Student No. 1 smiled. "Mind helping this guy to ask his crush out?"

Ask the Prefect out...?

Silver felt his his chest twinge with unease.

As much as he'd like to help his dorm mates out, the Prefect is his friend. And she just experienced something terrible with love confessions earlier. If he helped them out, that might make her uncomfortable, and—

"O-on second thought..."

Student No. 1's voice broke him out of his stupor.

The man, who was looking paler by the minute, continued. "You must be busy with other things. Please, forget we asked!"

Grabbing his friend's arm, he rushed out of the room, leaving the unfinished love letter on the table.

Silver could only stare at the doorway in confusion.

"My, no wonder those two look like they saw a ghost. Why the frown?"

He turned to look at the new arrival.

"Father..."

Lilia smiled, before noticing the unattended letter on the table.

"What's this? A love letter?"

Silver nodded. "Those two left it behind."

"Young love... How nice." The older fae giggled. "Who's the recipient?"

"...The Ramshackle prefect."

"Oh... You mean your friend whom you met in the woods?"

"Yes."

Silver frowned at the letter in his adoptive father's hand.

"Are you upset that she's receiving a lot of attention from her admirers?"

Lilia waved the paper in his hand. "You've been staring at this like it's your greatest enemy."

"Oh..."

He let out a sigh. "I'm just worried about her."

Lilia raised a brow, urging him to continue.

"One of her admirers physically harassed her earlier. Who knows what might've happened if I wasn't there to intervene."

"Oh my..." Lilia scowled. "How distasteful. Is she alright?"

"Yes. I escorted her home to make sure she's safe."

The bat fae nodded. "That's good."

"And then there's that..."

Silver paused, unsure of what to say next.

"What do you mean?" Lilia asked.

"For some reason, I feel... restless." Silver ran a hand through his hair. "Like I want to hide her away from the others. Especially when I heard that student talk about her like that."

"Hoh..." Lilia hummed, his eyes filled with intrigue. "...Are you sure what you feel for her is only friendship?"

"What?" Silver furrowed his brows. "What is it then if not friendship?"

Lilia only shrugged at his question. "That's for you to find out! It would be less fun if I told you right away."

Grabbing his shoulder, Lilia ushered him to his room. "Now then, it's time for you to think long and hard for the answer, okay?"

"The answer, huh..."

Silver closed his eyes and opened them again, his line of sight never leaving your table in the cafeteria.

A few days had passed since the incident with your classmate happened. The teachers swiftly made an action with his report, sending the culprit into a two-week suspension and transferring him to a different section, making sure that the two of you never crossed paths during classes.

Your two friends from Heartslabyul also kept their promise, making sure you were never alone.

It's also been days since Lilia told him to go find the answer to his own question. Unfortunately, he still hasn't found the right answer to that.

He brought his attention back to your table.

You were laughing at something Ace had said.

Seeing you smile like that, unburdened with the troubles your life here had brought you, made him smile too.

He'd do anything to keep that smile of yours on your face.

And with that, realization slowly found its way to him.

Why he became downhearted when you said you were too busy to visit the forest.

Why he was so upset about the attention from your admirers.

Why he wanted to protect that precious smile of yours.

Ace and Lilia's questions came to Silver's mind.

"What does the Prefect truly mean to you?"

"...Are you sure what you feel for her is only friendship?"

The answer to those is...

"That's what you get for being overzealous," you said, still laughing at Ace's story.

The gingerhead only pouted at your reaction. "It's not funny! Don't you know how hard it is to catch those little guys?"

"At least that'll teach you not to use the school's resources to make a quick cash."

"Yeah, yeah. I get it, so stop laughing!"

"...Prefect."

You tensed as you heard that all too familiar voice. Taking a deep breath, you turned to look at him and smiled.

"Hi, Silver. Can I help you with something?"

"Are you free after class today?"

You eyed him curiously. "Yes. Why do you ask?"

"Then, can we meet in the forest today? I need to tell you something important."

You looked at your two friends and Grim, who gave you worried looks. You gave them a reassuring smile in return.

"Sure, I'll be there."

"I wonder what it is he wanted to talk about?" you said to yourself as you treaded the familiar path of the forest.

This is the first time you've visited this place since... that happened.

You shook your head and continued to walk.

Your feelings are still all over the place, although not as much as before. You've been trying your best to move on, but you are missing the time you've spent with Silver in this forest.

Speak of the devil, you thought, as you spotted the familiar figure lying on the forest floor.

"Seriously, it's a wonder how you can sleep in the cold hard ground so soundly," you chuckled, crouching beside him and brushing off the strands of hair blocking his face.

He must've felt your touch, as he stirred awake from his slumber after brushing off his hair.

"Morning, sleepyhead."

"Mm... Y/N..? Did I make you wait?"

You shook your head. "I just got here. I should be asking you that. Sorry I'm late."

Silver sat up from his sleeping spot. "It's alright."

He patted the space beside him, and you complied, sitting beside him on the ground.

The setting sun painted the sky in an array of colors, making you sigh in awe.

"Y/N."

"Yes?" you replied, taking off your gaze from the sky to him.

"I've been thinking a lot to answer a question I asked myself. And after a few days, I've finally found the answer to that question."

You remained quiet, letting him continue speaking.

"I am ashamed to admit that it took me to realize it after that incident, but I cannot bear to see you be with another man."

Silver looked at you with all seriousness.

You blinked. No way. Is he...?

"Y/N, I am deeply in love with you. And I promise to treasure you every day as long as I live, if you'll have me."

You gasped.

You thought there would be no chance, when you heard him that day. But here he is, laying his feelings out in the open.

Tears began to prickle your eyes.

"But Silver... we are friends."

"...Yes, but–"

"But I would very much like to be more than friends."

You laughed, your tears now flowing freely on your cheeks.

Silver stared at you in disbelief before pulling you in for a hug.

"You have no idea how much I've been wanting you to say that," you said between sobs.

Pressing your foreheads together, he began to wipe your tears with his thumb. "I'm sorry, and thank you."

Once again, you let out a shaky laugh before kissing him.

And as your lips met his, you found yourself grateful to whatever divinity watching you above in this world for letting you meet and love the man who was sleeping on the ground that day.

Tag list: @officialdaydreamer00 @cloudcountry @identity-theft-101 @the-clockwork-fiend @twst-beam @oya-oya-okay @savanaclaw1996 (tell me if you wanna be added/removed from the list!)

[thatpyroblogs]

Once again I find myself discovering some small obscure piece of mythology and going down a rabbit hole of trying to find whatever information I can find. In this case it is the desire to find out more about Angelos, supposedly a daughter of Zeus and Hera.

First, let me just say what an absolute pain it is to find information on a goddess that has a name still in use to this day. Every attempt to try and find research papers on the topic is hindered by the fact that most searches tend to think I'm trying to find papers using the author's name. Attempting to use advanced settings has thus far told me there are zero papers about Angelos. Or at least zero papers accessible to someone without academic access.

Now for what I was able to find. There appears to be only one surviving story on Angelos written by the Greek poet Theocritus. Except that's not entirely true. From what I can understand the surviving story isn't actually the original story, but instead commentary on the original story. This commentary is on Theocritus' poem Idyll II.

Okay so let's look at Idyll II before we get into the commentary. The summary isn't super helpful in my opinion because it says the poem is a monologue by a girl named Simaetha who is laying a fire-spell upon her neglectful lover and that feels like a major simplification of the poem if you read it. Reading the poem yourself you find that Simaetha seems to imply that she slept with this lover after he courted her and, once he got what he wanted, he ghosted her and is pursuing other loves so now she's calling upon Hecate to curse him.

Alright, so now the question is how does this relate to Angelos? Well from what I understand the commentary likely has to do with the mention of Hecate in the Idyll II. Supposedly Angelos might be a proto-verison of Hecate. Of course I can't be 100% certain what the commentary says because the only source for it is the book Scholia in Theocritum Vetera by Carl Wendel. Now good news is you can read this book for free here. Bad news, it is only readable if you can read ancient Greek, which is why a lot of what I've written on the commentary is speculation gleamed from what others have said about it.

This circles back to the one English source I found on Angelos which is Wikipedia. Wikipedia claims the one myth for Angelos involves her stealing Hera's anointments and giving them to one of Zeus' lovers (Europa). Hera does not take kindly to this and Angelos is forced to flee and hide from her mother. She first hides with a woman in labor before hiding among some people are carrying a dead man where Hera finally gives up chasing her. Zeus than orders Angelos to be cleansed by the Cabeiri (another rabbit hole I am pointedly looking away from) in the waters of a lake tied to the Underworld.

The scholia commentary I am unable to read apparently cites this myth when talking about possible origins for Hecate, which seems to imply that after Angelos is cleansed in the Underworld's waters she becomes Hecate. Also if I'm understanding the references on Wikipedia correctly they all seem to imply that the ancient Greek write Sophron is the one who wrote down the Angelos myth the scholia refers to.

Overall Angelos seems like a really interesting character that appears to have become the unfortunate victim of the passage of time and a lack of interest in lesser known Greek deities.

EDIT: I had ignored the 4th source on the Angelos Wikipedia page because it was an old German encyclopedia which I had zero hope of finding. Except apparently the full text that is being referenced is on Wikisource and can therefore be read. I completely forgot that Wikisource exists. This source appears to corroborate that Sophron is the source of all the information we know about Angelos. The notes indicate there may be more information about Angelos in another part of the encyclopedia so I've got more researching to do.

The world if girls would project their mommy issues on Clytemnestra and Electra, Helen and Hermione, Cassiopeia and Andromeda, Hera and Angelos etc. instead of Demeter and Persephone:

[mysecretlittlelibrary]

hey so can I have Kurt x reader where neither has said I love you yet and they’re just spending time together, enjoying each other’s company and s/o actually springs on him “I love you” in german? He never taught s/o that.

~Sweet How The Words Slip~

Pairing: Nightcrawler x Reader

Word Count: 1.4k

Warnings: not a single one this is so cute

Genre: fluff

Summary: As it turns out, you're in love with your boyfriend, and now you have to tell him.

A/N: Thank you for each and every one of your requests <3

***

Jean and Storm are sitting on your bed while you clean your bedroom. You'd asked them to sit with you so you could actually get some stuff done.

"We're happy to be here while you do your chores or whatever but you have to spill." Jean says.

"Spill what?" You ask.

"I think she's talking about you and Wagner." Storm chuckles.

"Of course I am. They spend so much time together I'm surprised he's not hiding in her closet right now. I was starting to think we'd have to surgically remove him to ever get her alone again." Jean says and even though you're not looking at your you can feel her eyes roll.

"Surgically remove him?" You scoff out a laugh as you toss an old dress you never wear hiding in the back of your closet.

"Well yeah he never leaves you alone." She says.

"Alright don't talk about him like a pest he's- welcome. He 'never leaves me alone' because I don't want him to. I enjoy being around him as much as I assume he enjoys being around me." You shrug.

"Ah the honeymoon phase. Everything is sweet and perfect and the world revolves around nothing but your love." Storm teases.

"I didn't say any of that?" You frown.

"Everything isn't sweet and perfect?" She asks flatly.

"Well not perfect! Kurt is incredibly sweet so that's not really relationship specific but we're not perfect!"

"Girl who are you tryna fool?" Storm scoffs.

"It's fine if things are perfect. You're still so fresh I find it hard to believe you're already fighting." Jean says.

"We're not fighting." You shake your head.

"Of course you're not. He's obsessed with you." Storm says.

"Obsessed is a stretch I feel like." You say.

"It's not. He looks at you like you put the stars in the sky." Jean smiles.

"You guys are being ridiculous."

"So you're telling me he's not already planning the rest of your lives together?" Storm asks.

"Don't... get ahead of yourself Storm we've only been partners for a few months now." You say.

"We know it's on the horizon." Storm says.

"Yeah he's already made it clear how head over heels in love with you he is." Jean says.

"Girl what are you talking about?" You shake your head.

"What?" Her eyes widen. Even Storm shifts, sitting up in her surprise.

"What?" You ask

"The guy's been into you almost as long as he's been an X-man and you're telling us he hasn't said 'I love you' yet?" Jean gasps.

"Why are you freaking out? We haven't been seeing each other that long."

"It took him less than 6 weeks to make you his girlfriend after he finally asked you out, he had a crush on you for years before that and you don't think it's I dunno surprising that he's not said 'I love you' already?" Jean asks.

"No, I don't find it surprising. He's probably trying not to freak me out."

"What?" Storm asks.

"I dunno I'm sure he's getting advice from Logan or Scott and they probably told him it'd be unhinged to say I love you in the first 30 days of a relationship and now he's paranoid about saying it too soon. What if I don't say it back?"

"Would you?" Jean asks.

"Would I what?" You ask.

"If Kurt came in here and said 'I love you' would you say it back?" She clarifies.

"Yeah I think I would." You nod.

"You think?" Storm asks.

"Well I've never really vocalized it, but since you've asked and I'm actually considering it saying it back feels right."

"You gonna let him know that?" She chuckles.

"Sure! At some point, but it's not like he doesn't already know I care about him." You shrug.

"But that's not always the same thing." Jean shakes her head.

"What?" You frown.

"It's very squares rectangles. Of course you care about the people you love but you can care about people without loving them too. Especially as a superhero, you care about most people, but you don't love all of them. You love him, and caring about him is nice but he'd be foolish to assume that it implies the other thing here." Storm says.

"You have to tell him how you feel, it's important that he knows how deeply you feel because I'm sure he's probably terrified he likes you more than you like him and that's-"

"Okay Jean stop. I get your point. I'll tell him that I love him just- chill out."

"Chill out?! You just realized you love your boyfriend and you weren't even going to tell him."

"Okay well in my defense if we hadn't had this conversation I probably wouldn't have had that realization today so- there'd be nothing to tell for a while maybe." You say.

"But now there is something to tell!"

"I know, I know! I'm gonna tell him, calm down."

"You better or else."

"I get it, you're invested, no need to threaten me." You scoff.

There's a knock on your door that pulls all of your attention to it.

"Come in!" You say.

"Hello liebling- oh are you busy? I didn't know Storm and Jean were here." Kurt smiles peaking his head through your door.

"Not busy! I was just cleaning and the girls are here to help me stay on task." You smile at him.

"Are we still on for movie night later?" Kurt asks.

"Of course. Did you pick a film yet?"

"I did. I hope you like the choice."

"I will. Anything's great if we're watching it together." You say.

"Agreed. Snacks?"

"I'm on it. See you in a few hours."

"Can't wait." Kurt says and slips back out.

"Wow that was so freaking cute!" Jean gushes.

"Oh man I almost said it just then." You gasp.

"What?" Storm asks.

"Just then, before he left? I wanted to say 'I love you', had to catch myself."

"Awwwww! Ugh I'm so jealous." Jean sighs.

"Wow, you really are just so into each other." Storm muses.

"Yeah, I guess."

"It's cute, don't get all shy now." Storm smiles.

"I will kick y'all out if you don't quit it."

"Fine, fine. We'll stop." Jean throws her hands up in surrender.

"Thank you. Sheesh." You shake your head.

You spend another couple of hours on your chores, talking about any and everything, besides your relationship with Kurt. Eventually though, you do need to meet him for movie night so you shoo your friends out.

Something you've been doing passively and in secret is learning German. When Kurt talks to himself it's always in German and while he's never expressed that he struggles with English, he's clearly more comfortable in the former. You figure you could kill two birds with one stone here, confess your love for him and surprise him with a bit of your new skill.

The movie Kurt picked is one you've seen before, but he seemed so excited to see it that you wouldn't tell him that. Plus you like the movie, so you don't mind watching it again. You're nearing the end of the film and part of you is getting a bit nervous. You told yourself you'd confess tonight because you can't imagine holding onto this information. I mean, you knew for 5 minutes and you almost told him. You are not equipped to keep this a secret from him.

"Wow- that was such a good movie! Did you enjoy it?" Kurt asks looking at you.

"It's a great movie. I really liked it." You nod.

"We should watch another. Do you have one that you'd like to watch? Or rewatch maybe?"

"Kurt?"

"Yes liebling?" Kurt's eyes widen, he's giving you his full attention. You bring a hand up to his face, cupping his cheek as you look at him just as intensely as he's looking at you.

"Ich liebe dich." You say. "You love me?" He whispers. "I do." You nod, smiling at him softly. Kurt jolts back, blinking wildly. "Wait sorry I don't think I heard you correctly. Did you say that in-"

"Ich liebe dich." You repeat. Kurt lets out a soft sound as the disbelief on his face melts into a smile. His eyes are so gentle, so full of emotion that they're glistening, it's almost cartoonish and under different circumstances you might've giggled.

"You- you learned to say it in German?" Kurt sounds so light, just barely above a whisper.

"Ich unterrichte es selbst." You say just as softly back. You're teaching yourself. That's what you told him.

"I had no idea. Why didn't you tell me?" Kurt smiles.

"I wanted to surprise you." You tell him.

"Oh I'm surprised alright." He chuckles.

"I love you." You say grinning.

"I love you too." He says back and you gasp.

"You do?" You were fully prepared to not hear it back tonight.

"Of course, more than anything."

"I'm really happy." You practically sigh.

"As am I." Kurt wraps his arms around you tightly and there's literally nowhere else you'd rather be than here.

***

[keyaho]

ℍ𝕒𝕝𝕗𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞 : 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈𝐭 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐃𝐨𝐰𝐧

summary: Gianna has been best friends with Terry Richmond since they were in primary school. While she pursued higher education by chasing the title of Dr. he became a force on the field. When life smacks her friend in the face, Gianna does what she can to help.

word count: 1k

Fulton County Courthouse - 0845AM - Smith v Richmond

Judge Matthews had taken his seat as Gianna watched as Terry's shoulders straightened. She couldn't see his face, but each time she saw his side profile it was tight lipped and tense. His eyes were hard and she was glad she wasn't on the receiving end of them. 

I don't like my time being wasted. He said, while shuffling papers in front of him. So I thank both pirates for making this straightforward. Sliding on his glasses, the judge lifted the one paper they were all here for. In the case of paternity of two year old Carter Smith, Mr. Terrance Richmond, you are…….NOT the father. 

"NO!" 

The judge pointed a hard look to the plaintiff, Keisha Smith, Terry's ex-girlfriend. A few months ago Terry had discovered Keisha had cheated on him and the little boy he had grown to love and adore was not his. Gianna saw Terry's shoulders slump forward and the defeat in his eyes wasn't missed by her. She knew her best friend. 

"Ms. Smith,' the judge sighed, "the next time you come through the Fulton County court system it had better because the right person is on the other side of this court room. I implore you to think carefully in the future." 

Judge Matthews then turned his head towards Terry. 

"Mr. Richmond,' he states cooly, "I can see that you are attached to the child as expected given the circumstances and it is up to you what your next steps will be, but as I've told Ms. Smith, I implore you as well to think carefully in the future." 

When the gavel slammed down, Gianna jumped. As soon as the judge left, Keisha shot up from her chair, nearly knocking it over, and tried to make her way over to Terry's side. 

"That test is a lie!" She screamed, the life she had become used to was gone, for good now. "He's your son! I don't care what that test says!" 

Terry worked his jaw and stepped around his lawyer. The last thing he wanted to do was face the camera and reporters out front so he had asked her to find another way out. The alley in the back was perfect. Gianna went ahead of him as he spoke with his parents. 

Terry's Penthouse - Noon

Gianna stepped out of her room to a dark house. The curtains were drawn shut and the interior lights were off. After court they had gone for a quick breakfast. He ate and she tried to make sure he knew she was here when he was ready to talk. Instead, he drove them back to the apartment and retreated to his room. She caught herself up on a class assignment then took a nap, setting her alarm so she didn't sleep the day away. 

The large living room was devoid of the warmth that used to be in it. The toys Terry had bought were gone. She didn't have to go check what used to be Carter's room to know Terry had cleaned it out already. Pulling her phone from her hoodie, she placed an order for takeout to be delivered so they had something to eat. 

"Terry,' Gianna called as she walked towards his bedroom. 

Before she could get to his door her phone buzzed multiple times. Most were from his family asking if he was okay because he wasn't picking up the phone. They knew she stayed with him and would go through her to get to him when needed. Gianna knew they just wanted to be there for him, but he wasn't talking. Keisha had called him several times trying to guilt him into caring for Carter. Eventually, she told him it needed to be through a lawyer if he decided to stay in touch with him. She always asked if he wanted that headache, because she wasn't going to make it easy. 

Pushing open the door to his suite, Gianna found Terry awake in bed, watching previous season tapes. It didn't look like he had slept and the used tissue beside the bed let her know he had been crying. 

"I ordered take out from Sharks. It should be here in about thirty minutes." 

Instead of replying, he patted the bed. Maybe he was ready to open up. When she was settled against the pillows he turned down the volume of the TV. 

"Would it be wrong if I walked away from Carter." 

"I can't-'

"Just answer honestly. Would you still,' he says, frustration laced in his voice as he tried not to give into his emotions again. "Be there?"

"It would be hard,' she replied. "Keisha isn't going to make it easy, Terry. If you agree to stay in Carter's life, you're not going to be able to walk away." 

"So you would walk away." He says. 

Gianna sighed. "It's not about what I want in the end. "You had your relationship and son taken from you over the past six months. You're not in the right headspace to make that decision." 

Her eyes flicked to the TV. The new season was about to start and as his best friend she often helped him out during. Pre-season was no joke and he thanked her each time the season went smooth. They were Superbowl bound this year and nothing was going to stop them this time. She was beginning her doctoral program at Clark and had a bit more leeway as she was diving into her thesis research. She wanted to create a profitable thesis and what better thing to study than football? Specifically the various teams and their cultures, however, she framed it through the lens of literature paralleling plays to stage plays. 

"Right,' he sighs. "Leave it to you to be reasonable." 

"One of us has to be." 

Gianna was always the grounded one. The responsible one of the two. He came to her with everything and she felt more like a manager than a friend at times. This time to the season stressed him because it was all eyes on him again. This time there was an expectation he would lead the Falcons to a Superbowl win. That was pressure. 

"Whatever you decided I'm here for you." 

Terry looked at Gianna and took her hand. "Thanks, Gigi." 

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[bestworstcase]

Genuine question, but where did you pick up "the Brother cult is a common religion in modern day Remnant" from? At least, I'm pretty sure you've said this before on here; my memory is pretty bad lol.

I'm just curious since I've been rewatching RWBY lately, and i remembered that, and I thought it was interesting bc I never once saw or picked up on anything that would suggest that in canon (unless it's like, a headcanon on your part, in which case feel free to ignore me, I'm not here to needlessly criticize a fun headcanon if that's the case loll, i have my own fantasy religion headcanons bc I'm unhinged abt worldbuilding).

If you don't mind, I want to explain my reasoning/thoughts on why I don't think the Brothers are worshipped on modern Remnant (feel free to pick them apart):

-> Qrow says that "not many people are super religious these days". Mind you, I don't take much stock at all in what characters say, especially not in RWBY (i frequently side-eye characters who speak on the Oz merge who aren't Ozpin himself, Light, or Jinn), but i feel like this would be an odd thing to say if it wasn't true. This is supported by The Shallow Sea fading into just a 'fanciful creation myth', as well as none of the main or even side characters being religious (though it could be bc it's just not important) nor discussing religion. Churches don't seem to be common (aside from the one in v4), and imagery of what seem to be altars are scattered and infrequent. Religion is also never brought up when discussing the kingdoms' governments either. So, so far, Qrows line holds true.

-> When Qrow talks about the Brothers, RNJR never really shows that they recognize the story, or at least that they don't put weight on it, unlike finding out the Maidens are real. They're just like "...okay so why is that important", unlike how I imagine religious people would react to finding out their God(s) are real. Plus, Qrow has to explain it to them; if it was a well known religious story, I'm sure the writers would have written it more like "So, you know [insert religion name]? Yeah, according to Ozpin, that story is real. In case you aren't familiar, let me explain it for you... [insert convenient lore dump for the audience]". Plus, the way Qrow phrases it gives me the impression that it's an obscure story. Weaker point, though, I'll admit.

-> In any of the times that we see what *might* be evidence of religion (i.e. the candles/altar in the White Fang in v4, the church in Ruby's v4 short), there's no religious iconography depicting the Brothers (at least, nothing that I've caught). In general, there doesn't seem to be any dragon imagery in modern Remnant (again, nothing that I've caught yet).

-> It's depicted as a fairytale. When Ozpin asks for Pyrrha's favorite fairytales, the first thing she says is The Tale of the Two Brothers. It's also in his fairytale book, something i feel would've been a controversial (if extremely funny) decision if it was a popular religious story (like if you put Jesus' crucifixion in a book including rapunzel and Cinderella).

-> Also, there's no common sayings including the Brothers (like how fics like to have the characters say "Oh Brothers" and other variations).

-> And, in general, Oz's inner circle really wasn't at all concerned with the Gods or really even the Divine Mandate. All they knew was that the Gods created Remnant, humanity, the Grimm, and the Relics and promptly abandoned Remnant, and that "If someone were to collect all four [Relics], they'd be able to change the world." And that that's "exactly what the enemy wants." So they only know the absolute basics of the Mandate, and the way it's worded implies (to me, anyways) that Oz worded it in such a way that cautioned against collecting the Relics (which is very interesting to me. This also tracks with how he depicts the Mandate in TTOTTB). So in general not even the inner circle feels like Brother/Light followers to me, just Oz followers (in general i imagine the events of the infinite man made him learn that bringing up judgement day is a Bad Thing, considering before bringing it up the Circle flourished, but after spreading the message, it was immediately destroyed. Instant karma. Poor dude). Though this starts leaning into the territory of my theory that Oz actually gave up on his mission (which like, could be wrong, but I'm holding onto it until I'm proven wrong), and I'm sure you don't wanna hear that one lol.

In general it seems to me like there isn't a Brothers-centric religion so far, even though Remnant still has organized religion (albeit uncommon). But I'm honestly not sure if I missed anything? I'm sure as hell not the type to comb through every background to see if I did lol.

Sorry for the long ass ask. Take your time answering, and have fun picking apart my reasoning. Please be nice abt it tho 👉👈 I just want to know your thoughts and if i missed anything that proves it's a modern day religion :)

-🌙

okay. first, at the risk of being condescending: religious people believe that their gods are real. you know that, right? religion is not a big game of play pretend. people who practice religion do so because they believe in it.

yes, religious people can and do experience doubt. but a religious person whose doubting and questioning leads them to conclude their god(s) aren't real don't continue to practice the religion they don't believe in. i mean, they might make an outward performance of doing so if it's unsafe for them to leave and they're likely to keep cultural practices and even moral frameworks--see: ex-christians who are exactly as dogmatic and puritanical about whatever new belief system they've adopted--but people who don't believe in gods don't practice religion. 

this:

They're just like "...okay so why is that important", unlike how I imagine religious people would react to finding out their God(s) are real.

is a fallacy you're making because (i presume) you aren't religious and have never been so; i suspect you just don't have any frame of reference and consequently you're projecting your own skepticism onto the hypothetical religious people in your imagination. to be clear, i don't mean this as a personal attack on you--this is a very normal thing for people to do when we're trying to conceptualize experiences that are profoundly different from our own.

my background though is evangelical christian. i was raised in a staunchly religious household attending church 2-3 times a week; i attended a christian school until transferring to public school in fifth grade; i've been to bible camps and conferences where they teach you how to evangelize to nonbelievers and that kind of thing. i'm not talking fundie cult here, to be clear--this was a relatively-by-evangelical-standards socially liberal and theologically mainstream nondenominational protestant church--but christianity was the central organizing structure of my life until i left home. i'm agnostic and fundamentally disagree with the moral framework of christianity but i know a lot of very devout christians and i'm very familiar with the religious praxis. 

(including what genuine, good faith evangelical proselytization looks like--not door-to-door like what e.g. mormons do, or street corner chick tract fundie cult behavior, which is what non-christians typically think of as evangelism. but that stuff is a tactic high-control religious groups use to strengthen identification with the in-group through rejection and alienation by the out-group--evangelical churches that aren't culty don't do that, and in fact the idea that door-to-door and street corner preaching is an isolation tactic used by predatory religious groups is something that was first explained to me in sunday school by the people who taught me how to evangelize. put a pin in this for now.)

so: i'm not imagining hypothetical religious people when i say this, i'm imagining a few hundred specific religious people whom i personally know and how they would react in an equivalent situation. 

what qrow does in 'a much needed talk' is he sit the kids down, goes "not many people are super religious these days… there's a lot of (false) gods people have made up throughout history, but y'know, these two are real. here's the truth…" and then tells them a simplified version of the two brothers creation myth. 

he doesn't do anything to prove that these two gods, in particular, are real. he gives zero evidence. he doesn't even demonstrate that magic is real. this isn't "finding out" that the gods are real, this is uncle qrow doing a little impromptu sunday school lesson like that's an explanation for why some lunatic attacked us earlier. this is like if some rando tried to grab you on the street and pull you into an unmarked van and i saved you and me and the van guy clearly had some sort of history because he knew my full name so you asked me "WHO WAS THAT GUY. WHAT THE FUCK" and i said okay sit down, the first thing you need to know is that in the beginning, god created the heavens and the earth…

regardless of your personal religious beliefs or lack thereof, you would probably go "…what. does this have to do. with the van guy who ATTACKED ME" because that's like, truly a bizarre non-sequitur. but it's not like God Himself is descending from the heavens in a flaming whirlwind to demonstrate his existence. it's just me telling you he's real. 

if you're a christian, in this scenario, that is not in any way a revelation to you. that's akin to, like, "the king of england is real." BIG IF TRUE?--you know this. you already know this. if you are a christian then you believe that the christian god exists and is the one true god. in this hypothetical scenario i'm telling you things you already know and believe foundationally to be true. a devout christian would probably respond more in the vein of "amen! god is good!" but one whose practice is casual--the christmas-and-easter christians--and secular christians would absolutely be "okay and…?" in an equivalent situation to 'a much needed talk.' 

hell, come to that, i'd be asking what this has to do with the crazy guy who tried to kidnap me if i were in that situation. who cares that my dead headmaster was a true believer or whatever i want to know about the guy with the knife! you feel me?

the type of person whom i can imagine making a big deal out of qrow's little creation myth are:

reddit atheist types who cry and scream and shit bricks if they have to talk to somebody who believes in a god; you know. the kind of person categorically incapable of talking about religion in any capacity without at least one sneering "sky daddy"?

someone with no previous exposure to this religious tradition or anything remotely like it. imagine if i were to sit you down and earnestly tell you that the only Real Gods were, like, the hero twins who descended into the underworld to challenge the lords of death to a ballgame. you'd probably be like "HUH??" because hunahpú and xbalanqué are not a cultural reference point you're familiar with in the way that you're familiar with the crucifixion of jesus christ.

like, all religions are fucking weird. the christian gospels are not remotely less weird than the popol vuh, or whatever. you're just familiar with the essentials of the gospel story--even if you're not and have never been christian--because christianity is culturally dominant in the west. and the familiarity makes it normal. unremarkable.

invisible, in a way. 

this is something the writers of rwby really get. if something is normal and ordinary in the world of remnant, the characters don't pay attention to it, even if it's bizarre to the audience. to use a non-religious example, civilians don't know what aura is! it's not common knowledge! we know that because jaune's never heard of it, civilians in vale are shocked and confused when penny stops a truck with her bare hands, and oscar (who has dealt with "occasional grimm" before) has no aura training and doesn't know what a semblance is. but to the rest of the characters, aura is a completely mundane aspect of their day to day lives and they're a little taken aback by characters like jaune and oscar who don't know about it. 

with that in mind, i want to really underscore something about the things qrow tells RNJR in 'a much needed talk' and the way the kids react. 

because. first, qrow gives them the same intro level rundown on the maidens that pyrrha got in v3--offscreen because that's shit the audience has already heard and don't need to be rehashed. the kids are like, "that's a lot to take in," and jaune in particular is like "this is all very sketchy, what the fuck is actually going on." 

THEN, apropos nothing, qrow drops "not many people are super religious but These Two gods are actually real btw" and an abbreviated creation story, with NO proof and NO apparent connection to the maniacal cultist who ranted and raved about his body and soul belonging to his goddess-queen who sent him to "retrieve" ruby for her. and none of the kids express the slightest bit of skepticism about this super out of left field sunday school story, no one is like "what the fuck" or "are you drunk"--ren just goes "okay but how. is that relevant." 

whereupon qrow finally tells them about the relics hidden under the schools and salem wanting them and that BAD THINGS will happen if she gets them. and then, jaune the skeptic goes: "alright, so let's say we believe all this--there really is this crazy evil being behind these attacks, not just some thugs trying to become powerful. why doesn't the world know?"

THAT'S the part he finds outrageous and difficult to believe. not that the two brothers are real, but that SALEM exists. salem. these kids literally JUST got attacked by a lunatic cultist who kept babbling about MY GODDESS HER GRACE THE QUEEN and directly stated that he is cinder's associate and referred to the white fang and torchwick as pawns, but the thing that makes them go "wait but this is crazy and makes no sense" is qrow explaining that there's a malevolent entity called salem who orchestrated the attack on beacon and sent that guy to capture ruby. like, objectively, from a purely logical standpoint, that's the least unbelievable thing that qrow tells them. 

but people aren't rational agents. and one thing this scene does very effectively is establish the relative normality of each major chunk of information through the way the kids react:

maidens? "there are four special people who can do magic without dust? and when they die that power passes on to someone new? that's. well that's a lot to process but. sure."

brothers? "and this is relevant how?"

salem? "that's crazy how could someone like that possibly exist without everybody knowing about it? why should we believe any of this!?"

salem is so fucking far out of their previous understanding of how the world works that they all kind of have a kneejerk "that! can't be real!" response even though tyrian shouted from the literal rooftops that he's working for a 'goddess' who was behind the attack on beacon.

but the maidens? they have a frame of reference for magic--magic is what anyone can do with dust, and ruby…petrified a massive grimm with her eyes somehow a few months ago, so like, it's not THAT unbelievable to accept that an old story about four maidens who can do magic without dust is true, apparently. 

whereas the stuff about brothers… nothing. not one of these kids so much as blinks even though. again, from a purely logical standpoint, the creation of remnant by the brothers is the most fantastical part of qrow's explanation. but the kids don't react that way, because it's normal to them. ergo they're either casual practitioners of brother-worship or brother-worship has cultural hegemony in vale and mistral, where RNJR grew up.

now! it's actually a simple matter of text whether the second possibility is true or not and this is the part of the answer where i have to just say: you're factually incorrect actually. 

-> In any of the times that we see what *might* be evidence of religion (i.e. the candles/altar in the White Fang in v4, the church in Ruby's v4 short), there's no religious iconography depicting the Brothers (at least, nothing that I've caught). In general, there doesn't seem to be any dragon imagery in modern Remnant (again, nothing that I've caught yet).

there is a big statue of the dragon brothers smack in the middle of the train station in mistral. one gold, one dark. very unmistakably a depiction of Those Two. this is in v6 so if you're only up to v4 on your rewatch you can't uh, be expected to remember. (<- i am just unhinged enough about fictional religion i can tell you off the top of my head that yang and ruby swear by God in v1 but the ship captain in v4 swears "by the gods" and i think that church in ruby's character short implies maiden-worship on the basis of the statue of the cloaked young woman in front, details of this kind just stick in my memory for nerd reasons.)

[as an aside why would… the white fang… have an altar to mankind's gods… like. there are no faunus in 'the two brothers' and the culturally dominant religion among faunus is worship of the god of animals, as ozpin notes in his commentaries on 'shallow sea' & 'judgment.' the trappings of religion that we see in the white fang's private spaces are… obviously… god of animals-worship. this feels half a step shy of saying "well the altar in salem's war room doesn't have any draconic iconography, so therefore brother-worship isn't a thing." brother-worship is explicitly not the only religion in existence!]

-> Also, there's no common sayings including the Brothers (like how fics like to have the characters say "Oh Brothers" and other variations).

in v7, 'pomp and circumstance' specifically, ironwood says "brothers know you deserve it" in reference to RWBYJNR receiving their huntsman licenses. and a quick round up from the novels:

after the fall: "thank the brothers you found us," said by a bit character.

before the dawn: "thank the brothers," said by octavia; "by the brothers," said by finn asturias when he learns what his kids are planning

roman holiday: "thank the brothers," said once by neo's mother and once by a bit character. 

there are also general exclamations of "my gods" or "by the gods" and general references to "the gods" both in rwby proper and ancillary materials, with "gods" being in far more frequent use than the singular "God"--gods, plural, doesn't necessarily mean the brothers every time, because qrow does make a point of noting that remnant's people, collectively, worship "dozens" of gods. but it is pretty evident that the dominant religion across the four human kingdoms has more than one god, and the coincidence of that with, taking the novels into consideration, characters from literally every kingdom except mistral which has a honking big statue of the brothers in its train station swear by the brothers… yeah the dominant religion globally is brother-worship. probably not in menagerie. but in the four human kingdoms, yeah. 

-> It's depicted as a fairytale. When Ozpin asks for Pyrrha's favorite fairytales, the first thing she says is The Tale of the Two Brothers. It's also in his fairytale book, something i feel would've been a controversial (if extremely funny) decision if it was a popular religious story (like if you put Jesus' crucifixion in a book including rapunzel and Cinderella).

…and the second is 'the shallow sea,' which is also a religious myth. 'the story of the seasons' is alsowhat we'd call a myth, not a fairytale. 'the girl in the tower' is the only story pyrrha names in that scene that is actually a fairytale per se. in general the delineation we make between "fairytale" and "myth" in the real world, as discrete genres of folklore, doesn't seem to exist in remnant--legends and fairytales scattered in time, and all that. the conceit of rwby is about engaging with fairytale-as-myth, so this is a very intentional blurring; like, this is a narrative where maiden-in-tower IS the creation story, fundamentally. rapunzel is orpheus is prometheus and that's how the world was made.

and that's the kind of thing that we as the audience have to just accept as a fact of the fictional reality, because… like… gestures at 'the shallow sea.' 

ozpin included THAT one in his book of fairytales, too, and in his commentary he explicitly describes it as part of a closed(!) oral tradition whose inclusion he deliberated for fear of being disrespectful. he devotes more than half of his commentary to justifying the choice to include it, and the rest to describing the myth's cultural context to his (presumed human) readers. he asks forgiveness for "overstepping himself." 

and it is very obvious, in the way ozpin talks about 'the shallow sea' in particular and the book generally in his forward and afterward, that his concern is not "it is grotesquely horribly disrespectful to place this profoundly meaningful and important creation myth (of a culture that is not my own) in a collection of frivolous fairytales" but rather "this book is meant to be a collection of profoundly meaningful tales drawn from all of remnant's cultures and i believe this one is too important not to include, but i am also acutely aware that it is a closed tradition to which i do not belong." the latter is still out of pocket, but the simple fact is that a character who so obviously knows that publishing a story from a closed tradition without permission is Not Okay and so obviously feels immensely conflicted and guilty about doing so isn't a character who would blithely denigrate a myth like this by publishing it in a book of trivial fairytales. and a character who would denigrate the myth that way wouldn't agonize over whether it was important enough to be worth violating the closed tradition. 

and then you consider that, out of the twelve stories ozpin put in this book, three are explicitly religious creation myths ('the shallow sea,' 'the judgment of faunus,' and 'the two brothers'), two others are myths describing the origin of natural phenomena ('the story of the seasons' and 'the gift of the moon'), and one is a mythical culture hero ('the infinite man')… so fully half the stories in this book aren't actually fairytales. they're myths. 

so the inclusion of 'the two brothers' is less cinderella-and-christ than it is "here is an eclectic collection of folklore from around the world" in terms of what would be equivalent in the real world; and… like, 'the shallow sea,' 'judgment of faunus,' and 'the two brothers,' the plain text of these stories is clearly and unambiguously religious in nature, and ozpin explicitly discusses them as such. 

his commentary on 'the two brothers,' in particular: "there are many versions of our creation story […] but certain elements are always consistent: they arrived from a realm outside of our own and together created the universe from nothing. and then they left us on our own." and "whether or not you believe in the brothers, or in this story in particular […] like the twin gods, we are intricately connected to each other" and, um:

Even if the gods aren’t real, even if they don’t return to judge us for our deeds, we should act each day as though they are arriving tomorrow. In the end, we will be the arbiters of our fates. We will either create a beautiful, peaceful world and live in harmony together or destroy ourselves and our planet, and the gods will judge what we have chosen.

remember how i said i'm intimately familiar with, specifically, evangelical christianity and what actual evangelism entails? not the deliberately off-putting door-to-door shit but proselytization for the purpose of bringing new people into a church that isn't a predatory high-control group?

the way ozpin talks about the brothers here, and the way qrow talks about them in 'a much needed talk,' is christian evangelism 101.

"not many people are super religious, these days." you know who says this type of thing? like, fucking constantly? evangelical christians. never mind that christianity is the majority religion in the US by a significant margin (66%!)--evangelical christians inhabit a constructed alternate reality wherein they're an embattled minority shining candlelight into a sea of darkness. (many of them accomplish this by deciding that most other christians aren't real christians; the classic protestant move of course being "catholics aren't christian" but your average evangelical takes a dim view of like. any denomination that isn't their denomination and when i tell you the nondenominationals are the worst offenders in this regard... lmao. anyways)

"not many people are super religious [christian] nowadays. people believe in all kinds of different gods and creeds, but there is only one true God"--this is literally just how evangelicals talk. both to each other and to non-believers they're hoping to interest in the church, although the tone depends on who's listening. internal discussions of this nature are strategic in nature--how do we reach people and speak to them effectively in these godless times? what is the right balance between presenting ourselves and our faith honestly while still creating a welcoming and accessible space for people who don't know jesus? how do we share what we believe with people who just don't care? and so forth--whereas the framing with nonbelievers is that it's innate in human nature to crave purpose and meaning and that everyone seeks fulfillment but few ever manage to find it because none of us are born knowing where to look, etc. 

meanwhile in his commentary ozpin is doing a fantasy repackaging of the pascal's wager tactic, which like. i have sat through literal educational films on the rhetorical use of pascal's wager in effective evangelism. "well, if i believe in god and i'm wrong, i'll have lived a good, moral life and lost nothing; if you don't believe in god and you're wrong, hell" is one of THEEEE evangelist talking points. ideally, one used to open a conversation with friends and/or people who have indicated interest in talking about your faith in some way, especially if they ask "what if you're wrong?" because then the idea is to demonstrate that you're not rigidly dogmatic in your faith but instead you've given serious thought to the possibility that you might be wrong, and thus show that you understand and empathize with the nonbeliever's skepticism so as to build a genuine rapport. (whether it *works* that way in practice is highly dependent on like. charisma and actual meaningful ability to click with non-christians, which a lot of devout evangelicals… just can't even when they really earnestly do try, but ozpin as a character does have the charisma and the knack for connecting with people that can make this approach effective at getting irreligious people to give "hey, come to this church thing with me?" a shot.)

i cannot emphasize enough that after the obvious one of "directly openly stated religious beliefs," the reason ozpin and qrow specifically read to me as highly religious characters is because they talk exactly like evangelicals in secular company. they talk about and share their beliefs about the brothers the way i was taught in church to talk about christianity. 

you don't go banging on people's doors or harassing them in the streets. nobody fucking likes that and it makes people not want to go to church. you don't go around with a stick up your butt about the non-christian people in your life not being christian. what you do is treat people with kindness and respect and draw firm boundaries for yourself to keep yourself safe (<- unironically growing up in an evangelical christian household is a huge part of the reason i am SO comfortable just fucking saying no to things i don't want to do and i think this is the one thing that evangelicals really have on a LOCK) while being open and honest and unapologetic about your own faith. you save the bitchy judgmental gossip and fire and brimstone garbage and like, talking about the eschaton for when it's just true believers. 

evangelical christianity is an eschatological religion, by the way. in case you didn't know that. evangelicals believe that we are living in or on the cusp of the end times and the political action of evangelical christians in the united states is motivated in large part by a desire to enact the prophesied conditions that will herald the second coming of christ. for example a lot of evangelicals like trump because they think he's a divine implement of the great tribulation. evangelicals are obsessed with and actively trying to enact the apocalypse. and rwby is straight up the only fictional story i've ever encountered that understands how an eschatological cult operates because you can NOT advertise that shit. it FREAKS PEOPLE OUT. you keep the "i want the world to be riven by unprecedented catastrophe and suffering so i can be taken up to heaven in the rapture while the wrath of almighty god crushes what remains as grapes in a winepress" between yourself and the other doomsday cultists. 

it's not like. SECRET. it's in the bible. but very few non-christians bother to actually read the bible and the ones who do are just not going to have the cultural context to know how very deadly serious evangelicals in particular are about the book of revelation or how much of a core pillar the eschatology is to evangelicalism; meanwhile american evangelicals are knowingly deliberately voting for the apocalypse. similarly,

“We must take back our gifts,” the God of Darkness said. “Reclaim our power and wipe this experiment from existence.”

“I disagree,” the God of Light said. “And we promised to share in the fate of our joint creation.” He gave a mighty yawn. “Let us rest, and when the time comes, we will see what Humanity has become in our absence. At that point, we will judge them. If they are worthy, we will take their forms and walk among them as equals. If not, we will take back our gifts and start over elsewhere. What do you say?”

“Who will decide whether they are worthy?” the God of Darkness said.

“Humanity will make it plain. If they come together in unity and find a way to destroy the evil in the world and within themselves, then they are worthy. If not … we will let them burn,” the God of Light said.

“So shall it be.” The two brothers agreed. But even in rest, they needed some distance from each other. Each dragon transformed himself into a new continent at one end of their world.

And there the dragons still sleep, until the day that the gods will waken, rise, and judge.

ozma's mandate is not a secret. the apocalyptic final judgment is clearly and emphatically spelled out in the myth of the two brothers, which he included in an anthology of tales intended for the general public and annotated to the effect of "i believe this one is true and even if you don't you should act like you do. btw. because it's true" YEAH MAN WE GET IT. 

(he also asserts apropos nothing in his commentary on 'the gift of the moon'--a myth that does not mention the brothers at all--that the sun is a "celestial gift from the all-powerful god of light," so either 'the gift of the moon' is brother-cult doctrine or ozpin is pointing at a myth from another tradition and making it about his god.)

the main difference between ozpin and your average evangelical is that ozpin fears the end times because he doesn't believe anyone will be spared. but his behavior is the same. his way of presenting his religiosity in a way that minimizes and obfuscates the eschatological intention at the core is the same, if not more intense because the material reality of his situation, as the accursed chosen one literally commanded by God Himself to immanentize the eschaton, is a lot more terrifying and desperate. 'the infinite man' is quite literally a veiled autobiographical story about how he figured out that he CAN'T… go around just… TELLING EVERYBODY… that he's MAKING READY FOR THE FINAL JUDGMENT.... because people don't fucking like that and will kill him and put his cult to the sword about it.

that emphatically does not mean that he doesn't still believe in it; it means that he has, in the same way that evangelical christians in real life have, figured out how to code-switch. there's the public face for mixed company where you're friendly and humble and make a concerted effort to live by the virtues of your faith while being open and unapologetic about your religious identity while maintaining a posture of respectful invitation toward everyone else and engaging in meaningful ways with people you personally know to gently encourage them to explore your faith…

…and there's the private face for when it's just you and your fellow true believers and you're talking in intricate detail about how current world events line up with this or that prophesy about the end times. ozpin in public is the mixed-company evangelical to a T. and ozpin in private with people who have been informed of the whole situation re: maidens, relics, salem is like "i am the divinely-ordained champion of the gods and we must stop her from getting her hands on the relics that My Schools were built as fortresses to defend."

in 'the lost fable' these kids literally hear the god of light say with his whole chest that mankind will be found irredeemable and destroyed if they are "unchanged," and they do not even blink. 3.75 volumes spanning months later, they STILL haven't really registered that the god of light holds the view that not a single person alive on the planet RIGHT NOW TODAY deserves to live. why?

because they knew that part already. not the precise detail of ozma being the one who's meant to decide when the world is fit for divine judgment and actively invite the brothers back, but the final judgment and the need for humans to be United when the day of judgment comes lest they be burned to ashes? They Knew That. it is invisible to them except inasmuch as salem embodies, to them, the danger that mankind will be condemned, because it's normal. regardless of their personal religious beliefs or degree of religiosity, they're all familiar with this story to the point that hearing God Himself promise to exterminate everybody didn't even mildly startle them. they knew. 

like. fundamentally. the story as-written and the way the characters present in the lost fable do not react whatsoever to the divine ultimatum does not make sense unless every single one of them already knew the story about the dragon-brothers who created the world and then departed and will return to judge humanity's worth, to either reward them with completion or wipe them from existence. and because the kids seem to fall in the zone of irreligious to casually religious the simplest and most likely explanation is that there is a global hegemony of brother-worship, akin to christianity in the west. 

taps the sign. and this sign too.

like. in one sense it's a question of your frame of reference and specifically whether you know what deeply religious people are like and how an eschatological religion actually functions in the real world or if your mental model for what this looks like is drawn from, like, pop culture fundamentalist caricatures. i can tell you that the way qrow segues into and tells the brothers creation myth is something i can imagine almost verbatim coming out of the mouths of elders in my parents' church and that ozpin's commentary on the same myth is a point-for-point translation of christian evangelism into his fictional religion. i can tell you that your presupposition that a religious person "finding out" the god(s) they believe in really do exist would feel any kind of surprise or revelation about it is baldly incorrect in a way that leads me to believe you have zero real personal experience with religion or religious people. i can tell you that your presupposition that the secular democratic institutions of government in the kingdoms means there can't be a religious cultural hegemony of brother-worship (or any other religion) is, again, just factually not correct.

but in another and, in many ways, more important sense: rwby is a story about a religious conflict. there are two gods who destroyed the last world and a promised day of judgment that will be ushered in by four divine relics, each guarded by fortresses that act as the central hub for each plot arc, and the overarching narrative conflict is about a power struggle between two people--the immortal agent of rebellion against the gods and the divinely-appointed chosen one tasked with preparing for the final judgment--fighting for control of these relics. that's the plot. 

why are you reading scenes where the characters intricately involved in this power struggle talk about religious matters like the existence of gods and divine relics and divinely-ordained tasks as evidence that these characters… aren't religious? why are you reading actual myths that are textually presented as religious stories as… not a religion? why are you looking at a character commanded by God Himself to unite mankind, who in the present day speaks incessantly of the importance of unity and existential threat of division, who annotates the aforementioned explicitly religious myth with an exhortation to act each day as if the gods will return to judge you tomorrow, and concluding that he… is not religious and does not fundamentally believe in any of it?

what do you think a religion is?

and in this story, of all stories--when the central narrative conflict is overtly a war over divine relics left behind by the gods for the sole purpose of bringing about the final day of divine judgment--why in the world is it your baseline assumption that religion is not something that matters very much within the world of the story? why do you take qrow saying "not many people are super religious these days" completely at face value to mean "most people are agnostic/atheist and religion has no cultural relevance whatsoever" even though the next thing out of his mouth is "but these two gods are REAL" and even though, a single volume prior, his colleague said "what we're telling you goes against hundreds of years of human history, religion" and insinuate that consequently the truth would cause uproar and panic to justify keeping the maidens a secret?

i think that ozpin and his inner circle are religious because they speak and act like it and the core purpose of their "brotherhood" (as they call it) is to safeguard the divine relics while they publish religious myths about their gods and talk about how those gods are real and nothing is more important than keeping the divine relics safe. if it acts and looks and quacks like a duck and repeatedly turns to the audience to say that it believes in ducks, i believe it's a duck. i am not going to say "well it complained one time that there aren't a lot of ducks left in the world, so i think it's actually a chicken." that's nonsense. 

[blubushie]

Chiming in with my own experiences here for an example:

I was born with ambiguous genitalia but my genitals leant more to the male side (I had a webbed penis with hypospadias and a malformed foreskin [that required removal], but I also had unfused labialscrotal folds, so I had a labia). I have no vaginal opening and no uterus, but it's suspected I have a cryptic, tiny vaginal canal in there somewhere. I also only have one descended ovoteste (the other gonad was an undescended ovary in my abdomen).

For some reason despite the presence of my penis the doctor wrote female on my birth record. The surgeon mentioned me being a "hermaphrodite" (intersex wasn't a word in use in medicine then—hell, it isn't even now, but we're trying to change that) and tried to push my dad into consenting to altering me to female, arguing that it was easier to "make a girl" than "make a boy" (which is weird because my phallus is more or less formed normally when it comes to external size and appearance). My mum was unconscious under general anaesthesia due to me being born by c-section after almost 48hr of unproductive labour, and my dad refused to do agree to anything with my birth record until my mum was conscious and coherent.

Once my mum was awake and normal, she argued with my dad (and the doctor) for a bit about what I actually was. Mum was deadset on me being a boy and just "fixed" to look "normal", whereas my dad wanted a daughter. Doctor said they could go "either way"—I already had a labia so that wouldn't need construction, but I also had a penis so that wouldn't require construction either. Eventually they settled on boy—my dad had two prior children from his previous marriage (all boys) and "had his chance" at getting a girl, and my mum wanted a son (she never got on well with her mother and was afraid of having that kind of relationship with a daughter).

The certificate of birth was filled out with my very unmistakably male legal name and my sex listed as "female". Apparently this caused a row two weeks later when my parents brought me in to have surgery. That surgeon ALSO wanted to make me female—not because it'd be easier this time, but instead just because "it's what the record says". My parents insisted I just be made a "normal male".

That F on my birth certificate has had my body inspected by weirdos at every school I've gone to to make sure I was actually allowed to play sports on the boy's teams. I just always got told it was about school physicals, until I found out when I was in high school that schools don't usually make you take ALL of your clothes off to attend school. Penis inspection day can be a thing in some schools but they usually do you as groups (and it's to check for hernias), not grab you before you even attend and make you strip so they can stare at your naked body for a few seconds and then tell you to put your clothes back on.

I was twelve. And then fourteen, and sixteen, and seventeen.

I didn't learn I even had "corrective" surgery until I was 22 (and only found out I was intersex when I was 12 and started going through female puberty and my parents couldn't keep it a secret anymore). Despite this, my parents never had my birth certificate amended. I didn't even learn there was an F on my birth certificate until I was 16 and saw my passport for the first time. I didn't know that I was assigned female at birth, I just thought that my parents amended my birth certificate when my therapist had me socially reassigned as female when I was 14. (That didn't stick, by the way—I'm 100% a man and a very masculine one at that.)

Sorry for going on a long tangent. Anyway yeah, what sex you're assigned at birth actually doesn't say shit about what parts you have or how society treats you.

If you genuinely believe someone beibg AMAB intersex or AFAB intersex matters on a larger scale (like how people say for NBs..), then you are intersexist. I don't care if you're intersex. AMAB intersex is not "male intersex" and is not a Special type of intersex, and same goes for AFAB intersex. Why are we pitting AFAB and AMAB intersex people up against each other as if there is 0 way they could understand each other's struggles for being intersex.. What level of binary slop brainrot is this?