#Gift Ideas for Elderly Dads

[noisycowboyglitter]

Autism Love: "I'm a Proud Autism Dad - Showing My Child Unconditional Love"

The "I'm A Proud Autism Dad" shirt is a powerful statement piece that celebrates the unique journey of fathers raising children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This shirt serves multiple purposes, combining personal pride, advocacy, and awareness in one wearable item.

Buy now:19.95$

For the wearer, it's a declaration of love and commitment to their child with autism. It acknowledges the challenges they face while emphasizing the pride and joy they experience as a parent. The shirt becomes a symbol of their dedication to understanding, supporting, and championing their child's needs and abilities.

As an awareness tool, this shirt helps to normalize conversations about autism in everyday settings. It can spark discussions, allowing the wearer to share their experiences and educate others about ASD, promoting understanding and acceptance in their community.

The shirt also serves as a beacon for other autism parents, creating a sense of solidarity and community. Seeing another person wearing this shirt can lead to instant connections and shared experiences.

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Typically, these shirts feature puzzle piece designs, the widely recognized symbol for autism awareness, often in shades of blue. Some versions might include additional text or graphics related to autism awareness.

By wearing this shirt, autism dads contribute to the broader movement of autism acceptance and advocacy. It's a simple yet effective way to increase visibility, challenge stereotypes, and promote a more inclusive society for individuals with autism and their families.

The puzzle piece with heart design is a popular symbol in autism awareness and advocacy. This iconic image combines two powerful elements: the puzzle piece, long associated with autism, and a heart, representing love and compassion.

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The puzzle piece reflects the complexity of autism spectrum disorder and the uniqueness of each individual with autism. It also symbolizes the ongoing search for understanding and solutions.

The heart incorporated into or alongside the puzzle piece signifies the love, acceptance, and support for individuals with autism and their families. It represents the emotional connection and dedication of caregivers, family members, and advocates.

This symbol is often featured on jewelry, clothing, and various awareness products. It serves as a visual reminder of the importance of autism awareness, acceptance, and the loving support needed by the autism community.

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Choosing a gift for an older dad requires thoughtfulness and consideration of his interests and needs. Practical options might include comfortable clothing, ergonomic tools for his hobbies, or health-related items like a fitness tracker. For tech-savvy dads, consider easy-to-use gadgets or digital photo frames preloaded with family pictures.

Experiential gifts, such as tickets to a sporting event or a cooking class, can create lasting memories. Personalized items like custom photo books or engraved items add a sentimental touch. For relaxation, consider a massage chair or a subscription to a streaming service.

Ultimately, the best gift shows appreciation for his life experiences and the special bond you share.

[chuluoyi]

࿐ ࿔ 🕰️ 「 02:33 P.M 」

based on this video. this idea has been rotting in my brain for some while :') dad gojo will always have a soft spot in my heart <3

a part of gojo's love entries

your baby’s first trip to aquarium was such a cute affair you were sure you wouldn’t forget anytime soon.

“waaa~” your baby’s eyes were gleaming with wonder as he gazed at the diverse array of colorful fishes above him, completely captivated by the view.

and your husband...

“aren’t they pretty, hmm?” satoru asked his adorable son with a grin, pecking his cheek and holding him snugly in the baby carrier against his chest, with a backpack of baby essentials strapped on his back.

he was the very vision of a domestic dad, and along with your son, who was dressed in a bear onesie, complete with two little ears, they made a really irresistible pair. even you couldn’t fault the crowd for staring at them.

“fwaa! waa~” your munchkin was squirming with joy, his tiny fingers stretching out towards the sight before him. satoru giggled, moving closer to the glass to give his baby a better view.

“look! that’s clownfish! and those wiggly flowers are anemone! and that is—”

he faltered at a fish passing in his view before deciding, “this— i don’t know, but it’s the clownfish’s friend!”

they are basically the same. your little boy and your husband, both of them clearly shared a brain cell as they happily pointed out different fishes.

“meh! hehe!” your baby babbled away, excited and incredibly happy in his father’s hold, and satoru too seemed to feel the same, as his eyes beyond that sunglasses crinkled.

“damn, my kid is so cute.”

suddenly he dived down and pretended to chew his pumpkin’s chubby cheeks, effectively making him squeal in glee.

and oh lord, the way your heart skipped a beat seeing that. it was so clear how much satoru adored your baby, and it made overwhelming warmth rush to your chest.

“he’s a good man,” an elderly lady beside you suddenly remarked, making you turn to her. “not many men do that for their kids.”

“he is…” you agreed with a shy smile.

“it’s a shame that you only have one baby,” the elderly man beside her—possibly her husband—added. “you’re still young and he is so good with them too.”

your heart swelled and would’ve already burst if it was possible. bashfully, you thanked the elderly pair as they went on their way.

and along the way, you received similar hushed comments and adoring looks—

“oh my! their baby is so cute!”

“how can such family exists?! the dad, mom, baby… all three of them are so good-looking!”

“such a hot dilf! can’t he divorce his wife and marry me instead? i’ll be his kid’s stepmother gladly!”

satoru pretended not to hear, but he clearly held back his laugh. you threw the school girl who carelessly blurted that a pointed look, making her scurry away.

and after the three of you were done walking around the aquarium, you stopped by the gift shop to get your baby his first fish pet.

your son suddenly became fussy, and satoru unclasped him from the carrier. “hmm? do you want mama?” he handed him over to you. “here, here~ mama wants to hold you too~”

as soon as your son was settled in your embrace, he giggled, and you couldn’t help but bounce him and coo. “do you have fun? you do, don’t you?”

it might not visible to others, but now satoru was staring at both of his reasons of being with literal stars in his eyes.

several years ago, he thought his life had stopped when his best friend negated his beliefs entirely, but you were there, holding his hand throughout it all. and then you married him— and then, you gave him a son to dote on.

you keep giving his life a new meaning. and he was thankful for that.

. . . meanwhile, you kept hearing whispers from a gaggle of girls in the next aisle, about how much of a dreamboat your husband in his blue shirt was and it was grating at your nerves so much that you pursed your lips into a total pout.

satoru thought you were the cutest, not even second to his baby, and he decided he wasn’t known for public decency anyway so he dived in and pecked your lips—dispelling any stray thoughts and making you flush in an instant.

“sato—!”

and before you could rebuke him, he whispered in your ear:

“so... baby number two, when?”

[bet-on-me-13]

Dan is (Insert Character)

So, I've recently fallen in love with the idea of Dan being reformed and being a part of various characters Backstories, like This post about Dan being a Farmer Friend of the Kent's

So here are a few more examples of that!

Dan is Thomas Wayne: Dan is reformed and moves to Gotham to start a new life, while there he meets and befriends the elderly Wayne Couple, who never managed to have kids. Eventually the Wayne end up adopting Dan (who changed his name to Thomas), and he becomes Thomas Wayne. He even has a Kid. Unfortunately as a Parole Requirement, he had to lock away his powers, meaning he couldn't save himself or his Wife the day they got murdered in a Mugging. He became a Full Ghost, and in his rage at the death of his wife he relapsed into his old Violent self. Danny, while he understood the feeling, unfortunately did have to arrest him for his rage filled rampage. His Sentence is finally up, and he wants to see how his Son is doing.

Dan is Billy Batsons Dad: A little known fact about Billy Batson is that whenever he transforms into Shazam, he unconsciously makes himself look more like his Father than a future version of himself. So imagine his shock when, in the middle of a fight, one of his enemies takea a closer look at him and suddenly yells out, "Is that DAN!?". Billy now wants to know how these Extra Dimensional Monsters know his Dad's name. And why they seem Terrified of him...

Dan is Alfred's Dad: Alfred is taking one of his famously rare Vacations, and the rest of the Batfam decides to ask where he is going. "Oh, I'm going to visit my Father" "Wait what? Aren't you like 100 years old?! How is your dad still alive?!" "Did you not know? Alfred is a Demigod" "WHAT?!"

Dan is Jonathan Kent: Dan settles down somewhere in Smallville, Kansas. Unfortunately, as a Halfa he isn't physically capable of having kids, but as luck would have it a space pod carrying a small baby crashes into their fields one night. When that baby starts developing powers, Dan is experience enough to help him control them though. Just imagine one day, a Villain discovers Superman's Civilain Identity and tries to attack his Dad, only for his dad to be stronger than him.

Dan is Ra's Al Ghul's Dad: Dan was reformed and decided to get sent back in time to live his life, so he wouldn't interrupted the present Timeline. While there he met a lady and had a Kid. Unfortunately, he was forced to return to the Zone to wait for the Future to happen when his son was barely into adulthood, but he did decide to give him a Birthday Gift. The Lazarus Pits. Once in the Zone, he had to wait for a few centuries to pass before he was allowed to return, but once he was allowed back to the Living Realm he immediately began to search for his Son. The Pits should have kept him alive this long, so hopefully he lived a nice long life. Wait, who are these Cult Guys around his Lazarus Pits? And, where is his son? And why does that lady feel so familiar? Who is that little Demon Brat?

Dan is General Sam Lane: Simple really, Dan is Lois Lanes dad, and she is technically a Quarter Ghost but she had never awakened her powers. If you want to use the Injustice Timeline, then Lois gets resurrected after a few days and finally awakens her Halfa Powers. She is there to stop Superman from fully turning to the Dark Side, and asks her Dad to help Clark keep his emotions in check.

What do you think?

[reallyromealone]

Maybe a part 3 to resilient?

Resilient chapter 3

Eddie Munson x male reader

Stranger things

Warnings: omegaverse, male reader, angst, Omega male reader, implied mpreg, Eddie feels like Dookie

☁️🐟☁️🐟☁️🐟☁️🐟☁️🐟☁️🐟☁️🐟☁️🐟☁️🐟☁️

(sons name) excitedly ate his pancakes, (name) looking fondly at his kid as Hopp drank his coffee while reading the morning paper "so ducky, you are gonna hang out with grandpa today, isn't that fun?" (Name) Gently cleaned the pups face as they moved on to their bacon, extra crispy just like (sons name) liked it.

(Sons name) Looked giddy before glancing at his grandpa "what we doin!?" He asked with an aggressive level of excitement and Hopp chuckled "you gotta see bud" his eyes holding a glimmer of excitement as he finished his coffee "now finish your food"

Eddie stood infront of the apartment door, nerves invading his mind as he hesitated to knock, pulling back when he was about to and pacing slightly in a small circle.

"Stop being a bitch munson... Just knock on the door" he took a deep breath and knocked on the door, waiting anxiously for ten minutes before knocking once more "he's not there" a withered old voice said as Eddie turned to see an elderly woman at the door across the hall "do you know where he went?" Eddie asked anxiously and the woman sighed "moved to his dad's or whatever... Good kid, gonna miss 'em" Eddie thanked the woman and left the building, a shuttered sigh escaping his lips as she toyed with his car keys, thankful that no one really cared about him as he got inside his mustang and just rested his head on the wheel.

"Fuck" he was at Hopps? That was practically a death wish for Eddie... Hopp had zero qualms for shooting people off his property and added bonus of Sheriff... Yeah he wasn't going there.

He drove around town, aimlessly looking for any sign of the Omega as he tried not to let anxiety flood him as well as avoid anyone he may know, especially Robin and Steve... The two were a danger within themselves.

(Name) Was happy as he ended his shift, walking to the local toy store to get his toddler a few gifts as he had a fair more amount to work with now that he didn't pay rent, already having decorations hidden in his closet for the party in just a few weeks.

(Name) Looked at the toys his son would like, large building blocks and paw patrol were big contenders as he looked at his options carefully "I am not getting that... To many parts" parts he and his dad will definitely step on eventually and frankly that's not what they needed.

(Name) Was excited as he left the store with a few bags of toys, giddy he got to splurge on his little sunshine.

He wasn't expecting to lock eyes with Eddie... He always thought of this day... The day he would eventually see him, have something witty to say or maybe be cool and put together and make Eddie regret hurting him like he did...

But all he did was stare, throat tight and body suddenly freezing cold as Eddie looked like a sad puppy "can... Can we talk?" Eddie said softly, (name)s breathing uneven as he felt himself grow dizzy with anxiety... Suddenly he felt like the helpless teen he was almost four years ago.

It was extremely tense as they sat before one another in the back of a small diner, coffees infront of both of them, neither speaking for a solid ten minutes.

"So... You're back" (name) whispered as he fidgeted with his fingers, Eddie wanted so badly to reach out to him but he knew that would be a terrible idea "I am... Wayne showed me the letters... I-I didn't know" (name) just stared at him coldly, anger flooding through him "yet you still did what you did" (name) whispered, voice shaking with anger as he looked Eddie in the eye "never did you think to believe me, to listen to me... But now suddenly I matter? I don't care if you didn't know, I will never forgive you" (name) seethed, a strength rushing through his veins that he didn't know he had and Eddie looked gutted at his words. Good.

"You sent me a cease and desist, I don't understand why you are talking to me since you clearly despsie me" (name) was more confident as he leaned back "after all, I'm just a gold digger and a whore who wants to earn THE Eddie munsons favor again" paraphrasing Eddie and his band mates + parts of the gangs words and Eddie looked like he was killed over and over again "I am so sorry... I'll cancel the cease and desist! I-I just wanted to make amends... Meet my son..."

"You can meet him but know I will never forgive you..." (Name) Said coldly "you can even do a DNA test if you want... Make sure you are actually the father of a whores pup" (name) knew he was the dad, (sons name) was literally a mini Eddie down to his smile but god did he want to rub salt in the wounds.

"I have to go, I have things I need to go do, I'll let you know when he and myself are ready to see you" the Alpha shakily handed (name) his number, he watched as (name) lifted bags up "goodbye, Munson" (name) said coldly and left Eddie in the diner, coffees untouched.

(Name) Rushed to his car, his dad giving him his old truck to drive and drove off, unsure where as he reeled at what just happened, god he was shaking.

He got home, sitting in the driveway as he felt anger and anxiety flow through him, he avoided ANYTHING Eddie related for almost four years and bam! There he was with a shitty apology and god (name) felt like he vindicated his past self for telling off his ex, fuck Eddie Munson frankly.

(Name) Left the toys in the car, unsure if his kid and dad were home, not wanting to risk it as he unlocked the door "YOU HOME!" (sons name) Squealed as he ran towards his dad, (name) smiling as he lifted the pup in his arms "so are you my little firecracker!" (Sons name) Gently bonking his forehead against his dams, having learned cats do it do it was his new favorite thing "how was your day with grandpa?" (Name) Asked as he walked into the kitchen area where he saw cookies and Joyce along with his siblings "what are you two doing here?" He knew Joyce had gone to go see them but... "Mom got us, we can't miss our favorite nephews birth" will said softly and (name) smiled stupidly before looking at his son "they came just to see you!"

When (sons name) went down for his nap, (name) spoke of the meeting with Eddie to his family as he nibbled on a cookie "he apologized to me and all that but god I just wanted to beat him with the mug... How dare he act remorseful when he was so cruel to me" how dare he expect that sympathy and empathy when he denied (name) it all those years ago, (name) crushed the cookie in his hand as he grew more angry, thankfully wearing scent blockers so no one had to smell the death stench of an angry Omega.

"So are you going to let him meet (sons name)?" Joyce would support anything (name) decided as her step son sighed "...I- I will let him meet him but on my terms... I plan on meeting him again and maybe bring Steve when bringing my terms... Everything is about (sons name)s comfort"

(Name) Spent the night putting the terms together, thinking of anything needed.

Then he sent off the text for a meeting to set boundaries with a deep sigh.

He didn't know if he wanted his son to have Eddie in his life but he knew it wasn't fair to his pup... Didn't mean he liked it though.

[superums]

she's everything he's just miles—miles morales x barbie!reader

barbie movie spoilers. fluff mostly. angst in cannon event section. mentions of death. three mentions of "y/n / (name)" in total. you're mostly called spider-barbie. no race mention so anyone can read. spider barbie art (i got inspo from): black ver, braid ver, white ver. 1610 miles! happy national gf day to all who celebrate 🫶🏿💗

color coded text: miles, you/spider-barbie, rio, ken

general headcannons

when miles met you he though you were perfect. covered in pink head to toe—'they're like a doll straight out of the box...' he said breathlessly as he watched your hair seem to perfectly fall back into place despite the pink mask that covered your identity.

'that's because i am one~' you responded and he swore he saw a colorful background of hearts and flowers appear behind you.

you and miles are total opposites, one of you live a a life of imperfection and flaws—from finding out your uncle tried to kill you to be known as the anomaly amongst all the spider people & be called a mistake in-front of his friends just to find out they knew all along—and the other only has perfect days everyday.

his parents love you! at first they were a little iffy, you wore all pink and had a big hair due. "the bigger hair, the more secrets!" rio would say as she tried to persuade him to go after someone else, someone who could speak spanish.

jeff thought you were a gold digger (even though miles had no gold whatsoever), and tried to say you're a bad influence but now he views you like his own daughter (both of them do!).

when it's major holidays (valentines day, christmas, national barbie day ect.) mile likes to get/make you something. last valentines he got you this big spiderman plush that you keep on your bed no matter how much it contrasts with your dream house because he got it for you.

your gifts fall a little flat because none of the kens fashion packs really fit miles and none of your worlds art supplies are actually real so instead you always take him to barbie land for a day just so you two can do fun things together like beach and have a choreographed dance party.

he loves barbie land trust me but he dose get a little jealous. some of the kens there really like you and he feels like he kind of has to try a little more to get your attention because they keep trying to show off.

speaking of ken you have one and he feels a little insecure whenever he's around even though he knows you don't like ken like that. "you're literally made for each other." he says and you can't really debate that because it is true to an extent but you always reassure him that you love only him.

"i may be made for ken but ken isn't made for what i need like you are." you bring both your hands down to his and hold it tight. "please don't think less of yourself because of ken's, they're not who i like, you are."

speaking of jealousy

sometimes he gets jealous of you ngl. he wants to live in a world where you can just float from your roof to your pink cadillac, fight crime and still make time for the mall, the beach and girls night every night.

when he comes to you visibly upset about the things he goes through—his dad, school, his villians, his friends he tells you all about hoe he wishes his world was easy like yours.

you however tell him that his dimension isn't so bad—going to birthday parties, to see children and the elderly smile, watching the smiling faces as spider saves new york again—"your worlds amazing, you just think it's bad because thats all you know." you always tell him as you hug him from behind. miles always seemed to agree as he would quiet down after that "yeah i guess it ain't so bad..."

when you're in his world he practically holds your hand like someone is going to steal him from you. he gets nervous because even though he's spiderman he has no idea what he's gonna do if someone cat calls you or trys to slap your ass. especially in new york like what if they shoot him yk???

when you're with him you always wear things like like this[the green ones]or this [the yellow one] and he always gives you the best compliments, sometimes if you wear a dress he peaks at your butt a little when you walk ahead of him but he tries to be respectful!! his mother would tear him up if she found out he wasn't.

when you found out a way to make that peice of plastic of a phone to actually work you made him open up a instagram for you now u just post pictures and close the not knowing the evil that lurks (misogynists)

his nicknames for you are bonita and carriño (im a miles wouldn't say that (mamas) believer😼) and sometimes he calls you bella but he reserves it for when you take his breath away (when ever u invite him to barbie land galas every other week)

your terms are a little outdated because of the time period you were 'made' in but you call him things like darling, sugar and dear but you've started adding sweetheart, baby and honey to your selection after he joked that you sound like a grandma one time☹️

your cannon event

entering your second/third year of being spider-barbie things got difficult in barbie world. [after the events of the barbie movie] you suddenly got villains—two deranged doctors, and even your own ken. not only did they seem to come back just to get revenge but they also get more and more difficult to defeat.

it started with a glitter shortage and now you've had to fight your ken who's become a venom variant. your ken was jealous that you were spider-barbie while he was just a variant of news reporter ken and he tried to become spiderman himself by infecting himself with some mysterious substance.

now the two of you are fighting in a burning building.

"ken stop this isn't you!" you dodge his heavy punches. it was getting super hot and the building was about to collapse. the both of you are surrounded the flames. "ken please stop this.." you tried to reason with him but a strong inky black hand wrapped around your throat.

your pink lenses were broken—you were feeling light headed now snd the fire was making it worse. "please..." a tear rolled from your face to venoms as you started to see stars surround your vision. you tried to kick your feet to get him to stop it but it only met with the hard, unmoving mass of venom.

one by one the ceiling started to fall in and venom could only laugh as he saw you struggling. venoms long tongue came out of his mouth and his spikey teeth started to retract as he inched closer to your head. he was going to eat you.

by a miracle a burning beam narrowly missed you and fell on him. gasping as you fell on your back narrowly missing the fire you turned to the inky black figure. "ken!?" limping to him you saw your other half struggling under the beam. "(name)....?"

"i'll save you!" you put your webs on the burning beam you tried your best to move it. you were too weak. crying you put your other web on it, struggling to move the object.

"(name), go on without me..." kens voice wavered as he searched for your hidden eyes. the inky black substance of venom seemed to slip off of him like water. "but i need you!" you reached for kens face only as more support beams fell from the ceiling.

hearing footsteps you turned around, there was a cop in the doorway if the wear-house, holding the black pistol to you, you had no choice but to leave, no one knows you're spider-barbie.

you don't know this but your universe and everyone else's is heavily connected through the toy line (like in the movie) so your line of toys was very effected by your cannon event

theres mattel branded action figures when you're crying holding kens picture, theres toys where you're called 'depressed spider-barbie' and they're even selling play-sets where your dream house is in disarray

when miles found out he had to call you but they went unanswered. you've been m.i.a for almost three days, you haven't answered any of the texts messages or calls that your friends sent you and they knew someone had to reach you because the your toy products we're getting sadder by the hour.

crying into the spider-man plush that miles had given you. hugging yourself you didn't notice miles come through the portal—"(name) are you okay?" he put his hand on your waist as he sat on the edge of your bed. he knew you weren't.

you were wearing a shirt took from him and you hair and makeup weren't even done. "miles i.." you looked into his eyes, his brown irises full of worry. he brought his hand to your face as a way to soothe you but he's not good at this like he wants to be.

"it's nothing." you said as you turned your head to wipe the tears off your face. "please don't act like that bonita.." you knew you shouldn't do this to him—but you aren't made for this and neither is he. "i had my event today." was all you could muster before you cried into him. "i know i know..." he said as he rubbed your back.

he tries his best to get you away from barbie land for a bit. gwen, hobie and pavitr handle the crime while you recover.

he brought you to his home and had to beg his parents to lets you sleep in his room, in him bed with him, and at first rio almost hit the back of his head with such a ridiculous question

but then she saw how broken you looked. "jeff this is serious their makeup and hair aren't done.." they caved but he had to keep the door open which he had no problem with.

he distracts you with playing video games, or going out to festivals and carnivals just to clear your head.

it took a week for you to feel better enough to go back to barbie land and when you left your toys changed to something different.

"spider-barbie has a new boyfriend!" news articles were everywhere—imagine miles' surprise when he saw him in his spiderman suit carrying you through barbie land. they named him ken carson and made him dominican but he'll take it.

[tetsunabouquet]

The Mukami Brothers with a Witch S/O

A/N: I made one of these for the KNB fandom recently, and thought to make another witch s/o headcanon this time set in a fandom that's ctually antasy based so I picked the Mukami brothers from Diabolik Lovers. Please enjoy my headcanons!

Kou

-His magical eye actually exposed you and he knew you weren't a regular human girl the moment he laid that eye on you. There was a magical aura clinging to you that it could detect. -Knowing you were a witch, he actually got curious about you and that's how te two of you eventually started dating. -Deciding to be funny, he tried creating songs from spells out of your spellbook, resulting in some interesting performances. -Uses dating you as an excuse to pester Ruki into adopting a cat under the guise of it being a familiar. -Often likes to call you his magical kitten.\

Yuma

-Was a little sceptic about you being a witch until he saw you do actual magic. -Quickly becomes interested in magical plants. -Actually plants some of them in his garden that end up in Ruki's recipes. -After underestimating how powerful you were and getting his ass whooped, he tries to be a more respectful boyfriend. -You offered to help him regain his memories through magic, but he declined. Saying he doesn't cares about who he was, but secretly he really is touched you want to help him with that.

Azusa

-Was amazed when he learnt you are a witch. -Offered himself up as a sacrifice. -Once he got that idea in his head, it became a fixation for him. "Please let me be your sacrifice y/n-chan." -He's confused by you healing his wounds all the time, he doesn't understands why you do that and it breaks your heart every time to be so shocked at someone showing him care and tenderness. -His knife collection surprisingly includes athames too, and he gifted you those after you started dating. Azusa keeps his eye out for any good antique deal for athames too, and honestly you never thought you would have such a fancy stock of them but you keep them anywas because you like how Azusa is trying to be thoughtful.

Ruki

-Accepted the news, as he isn't as foolish to believe he knows all that exists. -Because making potions has a lot of similarities with cooking, he actually shows some interest in learning how to make them. -Like Yuma, he would also show interest in magical plants and the ones he can use for cooking. -Once you gifted him an ancient magical puzzle cube and he told you that he never had received such a thoughtful from a girlfriend before. -The two of you often read together side by side as you engulf yourself in magical tomes and he in the book he kept from his dad. The Mukami brother snicker behind his back that the two of you look like an elderly couple.

[faecaribou]

I absolutely love the idea of your Scout time travel AU!! Please make more lmao

oh boy i really meant to be like "ough im lazy heres this idea someone else make it" and then i started writing like a gajillion words about it and texting my sibling about it. im cooked this idea has taken over frfrfrfr

in order to write about the time travel I have to write about Scout passing away. I'm going to be sick

Here goes:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/63190489

Chapter One: We Know Where We're Goin'

December 4, 1987 is a date that Scout’s been dreading for a very long time.

Oh, he lived his life to the fullest, staying in touch with his fellow mercenaries and having enough money to get by from suing the town of Teufort that he never needed another job (not that he could with his fingerprints gone), and making God happy by being His gift to women and sleeping around. But the moment he held his first child in his arms and fell in love he knew he’d dread this day.

It’s not fair. He has a family that depends on him, in the form of an elderly mother and many older siblings and their wives and children, not to mention his own beautiful children. His sons and his daughters. Tanya, Tabby, Tommy, and Tristan.

He loves his children more than anything else in the world. He loves that he has no job, that he can spend every second possible with them. Whenever he looks at a calendar, anticipatory grief crawls up his throat and he needs to excuse himself to his bedroom and fight back tears.

Every night he closes his eyes and prays. He’s never been a praying man before his kids. But every night after tucking his babies into bed and kissing them goodnight, he squeezes his eyes shut as hard as he can and he begs in his mind for a little more time.

His youngest is Tanya, and she’s only three and a half. She can walk and she can talk (only stumbling over words sometimes) and she’s going to be only ten and a half when Jeremy is set to die.

She’ll have more time than Jeremy had with his own father, he thinks rather cruelly to himself at his lowest points. They’ll have plenty of support; no doubt his mother will take his kids in rather than let them be separated by their mothers, who didn’t want them anyway, and if his mother can’t do it by herself Jeremy’s brothers are many.

They might even have the mercenaries, Scout thinks hopefully. Maybe Soldier could-

He imagines Tanya, his little princess, covered in dirt competing to use the bathroom like the Does, and stops the thought in its tracks.

Perhaps Heavy and Medic- (the baboon.) Or Sniper- (in that camper van?) Or Engineer, Scout called him Dad on accident enough times (No.)

Some selfish, buried part of him thinks Spy should watch over his kids. Spy owes him. Spy is good with his kids. Spy gave Tanya his mask. Spy cares about his kids more than just a friend ought to-

And yet, Scout is afraid of Spy ending up with his kids. He can’t stand the idea of Spy stepping into the role of a father for his kids, his kids who will need a dad. He worries about the possibility, feels ashamed at the worry, feels anger at the shame, and it cycles through until he can admit that none of the mercenaries, and certainly not Spy, will be getting his kids when he dies.

When he dies. Not if. It sends a pang of despair through him.

So one of the other Willis-es will take in his kids. His Ma raised him and his brothers right, his kids won’t get separated. He has plenty of money left over. They’ll be okay.

They’ll be okay, he tells himself as the date creeps closer. They have to be.

He reads them children's books about the concept of death. Books about parents loving their children no matter what. He never, never, wants them to think he doesn’t love them, no matter what they do when he’s gone. There is nothing that could stop him.

He’d like to think that nothing will stop him from coming back, either. When he sees God again, he’s going to beg and plead and drop to his knees, and if that doesn’t work he’ll start shouting and throwing punches. He’ll be stubborn and relentless and every frustrated thing his Ma or Spy ever called him and he won’t stop until God puts him back with his kids.

It’s not fair. He doesn’t have enough time with his kids.

Tanya, his youngest. She’s three and a half. She likes it when he styles his own hair into short pigtails like hers, she likes wearing Spy’s gross mask (Spy let her keep it, and Jeremy washed it because he knew the man never took it off). She wants to be an assassin princess.

Tristan, his loud little swimmer. He’s four years old and five months. His blond hair is the easiest to brush, but he keeps running around without his clothes on. At least he only does it inside the house. He has the most trouble sleeping at bedtime. His favorite animal is the elephant.

Tabitha, his smart little baby. His Tabby. She’s five years and three months. His quietest and his shyest, but her siblings are loud enough for her. She has that Willis pride in her though, and though she wears glasses she has never expressed any self-consciousness about it. She reads so many books she loses track of time, and Jeremy is so proud of her.

Tommy, his eldest. He turned six only a month and a half ago. Jeremy likes to think he looks like Tom Jones, though his boy is nothing like the singer, he's his own person and Jeremy loves him for it. He bounces off the walls in a clumsy way that reminds Scout of when he was younger, and he constantly asks his father when his growth spurt will come. His favorite color is blue, despite all his old team mates encouraging him to switch to red.

His children. He can’t imagine how he ever lived without them. He hasn’t had enough time. It’s not fair.

A year passes. Then another. It’s easy to keep the dread and grief and sorrow to the dead of night, out of his children’s sight. He has time. He still has time. He can’t ruin what little time he has left.

More years pass. His children grow. Tommy enters middle school. He’s eleven now. It’s like watching his clock run out.

Tabitha turns eleven. Tristan turns eleven. He’ll never see Tanya turn eleven.

He struggles to eat sometimes. His kids are young. They don’t notice. Some of his friends worry, but it’s not that big a deal. It’s not going to hurt him. There are no long term effects to worry about. His stress will not cause future heart conditions.

He’s running out of time. Tanya turns ten.

He wants to tell God it’s not fair. But the hours keep ticking on the clock, the days keep counting down, the calendar keeps switching to the next month, and one morning he wakes up and it’s December 3rd, 1987.

His children are excited. He caved in a moment of weakness, and sent letters to his friends and family, asking for an early holiday party. He can’t do Christmas, won’t they stop by sooner? And most of them replied yes, they’ll come.

So he spends the day cleaning up, and giving his children toys and chores to keep them occupied, and when the clock hits noon there’s a knock at his door.

Some of his brothers drop by. His mother arrives, Spy’s arm tucked in hers, and while the thought still makes Scout tense up with unease, he manages a laugh at the way that Spy looks like one of his mother’s purses, standing there only to look pretty and hold her things. Spy hits him when his mother and his kids aren’t looking before the two start cooing over Scout’s kids.

Demo is next, bringing booze, and Jeremy chases Tommy away from it, scolding loudly. He’s only thirteen, and yes Jeremy was drinking by then, but behind his mother’s back and no, Tommy cannot drink. Not even a sip. Go play with your siblings.

Heavy and Medic couldn’t make it, Soldier informs him when he and Zhanna and their kids arrive. Scout lets it go. He didn’t tell them. He didn’t tell them, they don’t know.

Pyro arrives, their dog much older and more tame with age. Jeremy’s children are still fascinated with Pyro’s lighters, but Jeremy lets it be. They’re being watched by Spy and his mother.

Engineer doesn’t come. Sniper arrives late in the evening. His brothers leave for hotels. His mother and Spy take the guest room. Sniper parks his van in the driveway and sleeps there. The rest of the team bids adieu. Spy helps Scout tuck the kids into bed.

Jeremy waits for Spy to leave, then pulls his kids out of bed to crush them into the tightest hug he can.

“Ouch, daddy,” Tabitha laughs. “Too tight!”

“Sorry!” He loosens his grip but he doesn’t let go. The group hug is going on too long, he knows, because Tristan is squirming with pent-up energy.

“I love you so much.” He says. “I love you to the edges of the universe and back. I love you times infinity.”

“Eww,” says Tommy, because he’s almost a teenager now and things like your parents loving you is gross. Jeremy gives him a big forehead kiss. “Dad, stop!”

“Mwah!” Jeremy gives him another kiss before letting go. He gives the rest of his kids big smooches on the tops of their perfect heads. “You are all my babies and I love you more than anything.”

You know that, right? His heart screams. You know that you’re the most important things on this planet to me? He doesn’t dare say it out loud, doesn’t want to them to pick up on his anxieties.

“I love you too, Dad,” Tristan sighs, and Tabitha pipes up, “I love you!”

“I love you!” Tanya adds.

“Love ya,” Tommy mumbles from his bed, and Jeremy’s heart is fit to explode. His chest hurts.

“Good night,” He says. He wants to stay here forever, hugging them and assuring them of his love. But it’s late, he’s dragging them past their bedtime. So he turns off the lights and heads to his bed.

He gets dressed in his pyjamas slowly. He creeps around the dark house, staring at the photos on the walls and at Sniper’s van outside, the lights still on from inside. He looks at Spy’s parked car. He wonders if Spy let his mother drive. He looks at all his Christmas decorations, already set up. He pulls his pre-wrapped presents for his kids from his bedroom closet and set them under the tree. He knows it’s not enough. It will never be enough.

He could have the perfect last day with his kids and he’d still go to bed crying, except there’s a spy in the room down the hall and he’s not sure what he would do if he were confronted about crying in the morning.

If he wakes up at all tomorrow. He checks the clock and sees that it’s now 11:45pm. Fifteen minutes left. If he tries to fall asleep now, maybe he’ll pass away in his sleep. Except every second left is a moment longer with his family, and Jeremy is greedy, so greedy. He’ll take every second he can, even if it means his death isn’t peaceful. Except he doesn’t want to die in front of his kids. Anything but that. So he sighs quietly and goes back to his room.

It takes him a long time to fall asleep.

He wakes up in the morning with crusty eyes from crying. It’s barely light out. He hardly got any sleep at all. He’s so thankful to have a little more time that it isn’t until he’s opened his bedroom door and stared at his sleeping children that he realizes it’s not going to be a peaceful death. Which means he can’t be near his children when it’s time.

He stands in the doorway a little longer. He knows that they’re probably all sick of sharing the same bedroom, and he’s promised them different rooms for themselves soon, but really he held off just for this. So he can look at all of them at once.

He closes the bedroom door silently and creeps out the front door without a peep.

He goes for a morning walk. He walks and he walks and he walks. He’s not sure what he’s looking for, what he’s hoping for, he just wants it not to happen in front of his kids.

He’s so caught up in his worries that he doesn’t see the car.

SCREECH!

BANG!

Pain-

Bright-

Ow-

Jeremy falls off the bed and lands on the floor with a crash. His face meets the dusty tiled floor.

“Agh, my nose!” He croaks out, nasally and high-pitched, and his voice sounds wrong but it must be from smashing his stupid nose into the floor.

Wait. What the fuck?

He sits upright. “God?” He asks, but this isn’t the heaven he remembers. Heaven was bright lights and clouds and foosball tables, not…. Not…

Not plain brick wall, a white wooden door, tiled flooring, and a small window. Not an army cot and a small room with no decoration save for some half opened boxes stuffed with, of all things, his old Team Fortress uniforms.

The room looks unlived in. Weird of God to use this place from his memories, his old room in Teufort, but. Okay. Maybe he thought he could use an old familiar location to tame Jeremy’s rage before he beat God a new one until he agreed to send Jeremy back.

There’s a quiet knock at the door.

“You alright there, son?” A familiar Texan accent asks through the door.

“Yeah, Engie, it’s all good,” Jeremy replies on autopilot, before pausing. Engie wasn’t dead. Why was God using his voice? He lurches to his feet and swings open the door.

Outside is the hallway of the RED base. Engineer is several steps away, likely heading to the dining room. He stops and glances over his shoulder at the sound fo Scout’s door opening.

Jeremy gapes.

Dell looks… young. Well, younger than he has in his recent years.

“Is that why you didn’t come to my early Christmas party? Are you dead too?” He asks, alarmed.

“What?” Dell looks baffled. “What are you talking about, boy?”

“I…” Jeremy can’t find the words. He’s worried. He’s confused. He’s-

“Just a tip of advice for today, don’t get into anymore fights with the team, Scout. I don’t know what Spy has against you being on the team but it won’t do well for team-building if you introduce yourself to everyone by butting heads.”

Jeremy stares at him. Engineer sighs and turns back to leave.

“This whole team’s full of eccentrics,” The Texan mutters to himself.

Jeremy watches him walk all the way down the hall before entering the dining room. He stands there, in the doorway of his old room, feeling distinctly wrong-footed.

“Huh?”

and that's a wrap on chapter one! I cant believe I wrote over 2,000 words personally begging God to let Scout live. At 1 AM. ha. ha. ha............ (shaking)

[professor-walten]

just a seventeen year old forced to save the world, again, you know how it is.

he/him only, don't let the tits fool you ✨

Lee's my real dad lol. If I ever say "dad" I mean Lee.

Owner of Motostoke's one and only Hop Walten Labs. Ireland's Pokémon researcher, rescuer, rehabilitator, and releaser. Giving every Pokémon a chance is my job and passion. I am a Pokémon rights activist and I believe in league abolition. You would know if you read my book. Nobody in Galar really has. Legally classified as a "shiny hunter," but it's just conservation efforts

Callaghan Psychics know all of the known universe. Not other universes, I guess. That's kind of why I'm here? The multiverse kinda needs us atm

DID system. There are ten of us here if that matters to you. If you want to ask questions about it take this guide. Not being specific on ages because like none of us are normal humans lol

🌨️ - Tori, she/her, adult | 🌌 - Janus, thon/thonself (they/them if that's difficult), adult | 🐐 - Tobey, he/they, teen | ⚾ - Marcello, he/him, teen(adult) | 🪙 - Auryn, he/him, adult | 🍀 - Ryan, he/him, adult | 🔥 - Rin, he/she/they, adult | 🐉 - Zabi(maru), she/he, teen(adult) | 👻 - Aoife, she/her, child

And me of course -(🐏)

The fate rests in the balance of a bunch of mentally unstable children. It always has, huh? My work is important to me, and so is understanding the multiverse, so you can always give asks about either. Cool 👍

[ooc under the cut :3]

pfp is a gift from bunnyhasaknife on instagram

disclaimer banner art is commissioned from littlebumblebe9

account banner is just dubwool from the anime

EDIT FOR CLARITY: The start of PULT takes place 3 and 1/2 years after the events of Pokémon Sword and Shield. Everything about the games is history. Leon isn't the champion, Hop is a professor, etc etc. Keep it in mind

EDIT 2: this will generally be lighthearted but the lore for hop in PULT is quite serious to certain topics like drugs miiiight end up being brought up. I'll tag each post with (tw __" so you can block it if you need to

HI, I'M HOP! Yes, my actual name is Hop too. He/him for admin as well. I've been wanting to make one of these for ages but only just now got the balls lolz. A little rotomblr/rotumblr based on my characterization of Hop for my Pokémon AU I've been working really hard to write, Pokémon Unown Legends Tale!! Read about it on my main @irlkisukeurahara I have a tag for it. I don't want to post it officially until the Unova book is done so I can provide weekly updates, so for now I wanted to make a little RP thing for it to kinda get people interested I guess

This blog 100% will spoil some aspects of it but I mean whaddya gonna do. I won't spoil major plot beats.

This is mostly just shitposting and talking about my character lore because I'm really attached to it. Having roleplays with stakes is fine but for the most part this is just silly behavior

Since the multiverse is canon in PULT I love the idea of other Hops/professor Hops/literally anyone interacting here and whatnot!! Who gives a shit about doubles I'm here to be silly

No explicit NSFW, sexual or self sexualizing jokes r fine but propositions or shit like that are obviously not

Hop has a bunch of ships in this universe (polyamory not a gay harem anime) - two OCs + two canons + one of his alters. Feel free to ask about em lol

The ships: Bede, Arven, Miles, Nico, Marcello

Feel free to ask DID questions here in or out of character, I just make Hop like this because I have DID too lol

I might say "fag" once or twice but otherwise no slurs plzplzplz but swearing is obviously fine because I will do it A LOTTT

If this gets any traction I'll make Leon and Arven accounts too

Pokémon teams: (some characters share Pokémon)

✨ = shiny

Hop

Doesn't have a full team because he isn't a trainer but his 3 main Pokémon are

Dubwool ♂️, elderly Pokémon he got from Leon as a birthday gift at 3, can use Electro Ball like a god

Azumarill ♀️, a chipper girl who saved his life

[✨] Saakash/Spoons (Alakazam) ♂️, reincarnated dead 7 year old boy with a major attitude problem, Hop's half brother (yeah.)

Tori

[✨] Kurama (Alolan Ninetales) ♂️

[✨] Toshiro (Glaceon) ♀️

[✨] Ryu (Kommo-o) ♂️

[✨] Ravenmore (Umbreon) ♀️

[✨] Saakash (Spoons) ♂️

[✨] Yukina (Froslass) ♀️

Janus

Cruinne (Cosmalenia) [Fakemon] ♀️

Supernova (Metagross) ♂️

[✨] Saakash (Alakazam) ♂️

[✨] Ravenmore (Umbreon) ♀️

[✨] Cosmo (Espeon) ♀️

Rukia (Clefable) ♀️

Marcello

Bucky (Crobat) ♂️

Doomshell (Cloyster) ♂️

Thunderstrike (Electrode) ♂️

Furyblade (Scizor) ♂️

Kickzilla (Hitmonlee) ♂️

Velvet Vogue (Lopunny) ♂️

Auryn

[✨] Goldbricker (Steelix) ♂️

Crypto (Gholdengo)

Ponzi (Corviknight) ♂️

[nickname incoming] (Alolan Raticate) ♂️

[nickname incoming] (Scrafty) ♂️

[nickname incoming] (Honchcrow) ♂️

Ryan

[✨] Kagome (Clefable) ♀️

Hawkeye (Decidueye) ♂️

Luffy (Infernape) ♂️

Aizen (Malamar) ♂️

[nickname incoming] (Weavile) ♂️

[✨] Kisuke (Mimikyu) ♂️

Rin

Sesshomaru (Houndoom) ♂️

[✨] Shippo (Ninetales) ♂️

Hashira (Blaziken) ♂️

[✨] Val (Delphox) ♀️

[half shiny] Usagi (Cinderace) ♀️

Helios (Volcarona) ♂️

Zabimaru

Hihiou (Vaporeon) ♀️

Nozarashi (Haxorus) ♀️

[✨] Hiei (Hydriegon) ♂️

Kommo-o ♂️

Harley (Garchomp) ♀️

[✨]Shenron (Dragonite) ♂️

Aoife

[✨] Kisuke (Mimikyu) ♂️

[✨] Seanchaí (Spiritomb) ♂️

Fomorian (Golurk)

Shadow (Hisuian Typhlosion) ♂️

Morrigan (Gengar) ♀️

Caelum (Cursola) ♀️

[merrysithmas]

spock & jim factbook part II

-jim is very forthright and honest with his feelings because he was lied to as a child (birthdays, holidays, ceremonies, and special occasions - dad will be there this time, he promises), spock is reserved and aloof because the truth always seemed like a threat (dad will be there. he promises.)

-jim's mother, winona, used to call her youngest son "captain" as in, "okay captain kirk whatever you say," with the fondest wink, as he'd pop off with the most random facts and excitable ideas for adventure, a regular whiz kid, practically bouncing at her side while they walked up and down the fields checking the growth status of the Federation crops that she, an agricultural engineering science officer, worked on when they visited developing colonies -- after she died on Tarsus, blamed for the famine by the colony's defacto leader, jim was never the same. at his father's side, and in his mother's shadow, he turned inward to his books, stiff nods & blurred pages burying a heart aching with injustice. shakespeare fell away to starfleet code, the kid fell away to the cadet.

-spock and amanda have always been close - what spock doesn't know is the amount of medical experimentation she underwent to conceive spock. until his birth, no vulcan-human hybrids had survived & the process was exploratory at best. hormonal injections, uterine implantation, dna samples, invasive procedures, swallowed embarrasment, public scrutiny and scorn, threats daily from radicalized humans and vulcans alike, medical files "leaked" by alleged friends to publications, and an agonizing labor on a foreign planet which she vowed to call home -- surrounded by as many physicians who saw she and her child as odd scientific curiosities, specimen to observe, rather than people.

-thirteen year old jim had been wrapped up in Federation shock blankets, with the other surviving 8 children from the Tarsus massacre, surrounded by doting medical staff in Starfleet blues and whites. lights fading in and out, rescue teams, noise muddled. the ash of the slain colonists covered the ground like soot - and he couldnt tell the difference between their remains and the blotchy pale fungal spores which destroyed the once flourishing fields of Tarsus. he had been thinking - snow, it looks like snow - and still now he hates winter, hates the cold.

-sam hates how jim avoids family functions at the holidays - why? it's fun! snow flurries, the nephews, the gifts, the decorations, the whole shebang. he and aurelan invite jim every year, but jim is always off on a mission. when he does show he's with another one of his "revolving door partners", sometimes Carol once or twice. he's sullen and somber or testy and competitive - typical Jim. always making a headache of everything.

-nine year old spock gets lost once in the wastelands of the Shi'al province - he had chased I-Chaya out of the open veranda of another one of Vulcan's socialite homes. T'ana, the elderly matron of the honored house, had watched as Spock and his pet unknowingly disappeared into the distant thornfields - saying nothing. humans and vulcans? it was not right. everyone knew it. the logical was irrefutable. to dilute the races is to spell the eventual degredation of vulcan society, one that by Surak, they fought for with every cell in their expansive minds. and should they be better for Spock's loss? then so be it. spock is lost for a whole day, nearly dies from dehydration and exposure. when he is rescued by Vulcan wilderness agents who happened across him, he is brought up to the house covered in burns and thorns, enshrouded in cooling cloths. T'ana makes a show of gratefulness, puts a warm palm on his shoulder - ensuring Spock is in safe hands until his mother arrives.

-michael doesn't understand why Spock hates the Thanar Sea. why? it's everything! the whipping winds across the turquoise waters surrounded by towering peaks of red rock. a resevoir, an oasis, much beloved by Vulcan elite and the masses, a small reprieve from the unrelenting glare of their desert homeworld. Spock sits quietly on the beach, shaded by the reflective sails scattered across the sand for comfort. he closes his eyes in the sun and tries not to think about how it burns, Michael shoving his shoulder, a poke like a thorn, lighten up Spock. lighten up Spock.

-jim sits alone in the mess hall, sometimes food makes him sick. he hates watching other people eat. something about it making him nauseous. but he sits there all the same - making a show of it. happy birthday! happy birthday jimmy! all of the sudden it's Gary and Ben, boisterous and offensively loud, beaming grins, setting down a blazing cake in front of him. he laughs - of course. and his friends make a show of standing on the tables, forcing the crowd into song, and the lab technician Carol slides in across from him - a sharp smile even hotter than the burning candles aimed right in his direction. hey birthday boy. Gary slips out a flask of Romulan, makes a big deal of how he had to pull strings to get this stuff, how can Jim sit here with a stack of books on his birthday? they all laugh. eat up, Professor Kirk, it's your birthday. they swallow down the cake, messy drunken frosting laughter, and end up at a dive bar, a pub, another bar. Gary and Ben have to drag themselves down the barrack halls in the small hours and Carol kisses him, unexpectedly, with a razor sharp want before turning away. Jim closes the door behind him. Finds he is leaning against it as if he needs something to hold him up. something not right. he feels sick again, but it isn't in his stomach. he stumbles to the bathroom, shoves a finger down his throat, and vomits up everything he ate, everything he drank, even the taste of that kiss.

-spock whips the electronic stylus across the room and it explodes with a spark as it hits the wall. an unbecoming show of emotion. studying for his Advanced Quantum Superposition Physics final should be easy. it's all easy for spock. but he's tired, tired because of another Ambassador's dinner the other night, putting on the dollhouse show of his perfect Vulcan family next to his mother, father, Michael, T'Pring, and the curtained space where Sybok should be, declared erased. a reminder should spock ever forget. and now the words on his study PADD keep warping, something familiar and simple becoming incomprehensible and foreign. no, not now. not now when he needs to focus the most. he looks at himself in the mirror across his room, and for an instant swears his ears look different too - snubbed and alien. he brings a hand up to touch them, nearly sneers at his reflection but even that would be an admission of guilt. he looks back to the tablets, his migraine, his exhaustion. but he can feel his reflection like another person across the room -- and it occcurs to him that maybe his mind is not playing tricks on him. it is not L'tak Terai. it is him, incomprehensible and foreign, shape-shifting and unreadable. all of it simply an extension of being Spock.

-Jim sits in the observation deck, head filled with memories of his crew on the Farragut before the incident - trying to forget things he remembers. Spock is there too, on the other side of the dark and soundproof room, a straight-backed figment. he is thinking of red angels and a fading voice - trying to remember things he forgets. it's nearly an hour until Jim realizes someone else is there, across the long expanse in the quiet. Spock looks over, as if the same thought occured to him when he picks up on the sounds of Jim's movement. their eyes meet in the silence, and jim, of course jim, nods his head in the slightest questioning manner. an invitation. Spock stares for a moment - the world on pause in the space between them - before he stands, a long shadow under a sea of stars. settling down beside the Commander he exhales, the stiff-backed posture sinking finally. as if he can't keep it up anymore. jim's lips are pressed tight together, a recognition of the feeling, and he falls back against the bench as well. their shoulders barely touch.

the stars are scattered above and around them like gleaming jewels and the room is pitch black. their chins are tipped up and both gaze, motionless, amazed. atoms in nebulae swirling together to create new worlds.

staring out, both are silent and reverant like children at an altar.

jim breathes out, spock breathes in, jim breathes out, spock breathes in.

perhaps another work of atomic magic.

another lucky strike or miracle.

[inyujidraws]

Had this idea since the first Spiderverse movie, but didn't draw it out. This is the last bit of Spidersona I'll be doing for this year, I swear. Basically Inko became a vigilante after the death of her family and getting bitten by a radioactive spider.

This happened maybe afround Izuku's first year in Junior High (middle school), so 2 years before canon. Izuku died during a villain attack. Villain was doing massive damage and a building collapsed. Izuku was helping an elderly man to safety, and then he noticed another civilian about to be crushed. Izuku died pushing that guy out of the way of falling debris. Inko mourned and fell into depression. She also cut off ties with the Bakugous after Katsuki opened his stupid mouth. Mitsuki still checked in on Inko to make sure she was eating or taking care of herself. Inko was really unwell.

Then her husband, Hisashi, urged Inko to come visit him at his work. He was hoping to distract her from the recent death and hoping the visit would persuade her to move to America with him.

I made Hisashi a flawed but okay dad and husband. Yes he did initially freak out after Izuku's diagnosis, but then regretted working abroad. He then got an idea to propose creating and harvesting artificial quirks from insects. The goal in the end was to return home and gift Izuku a quirk...too little too late. It didn't help that the experiment was dangerous, unstable, and nearly resulted in many failures to even extract the quirks. Currently, there was only one specimen.

Inko was enraged when Hisashi explained why he was in America for so long. This kind of reasoning still sends the wrong message of not wanting to return home to his "quirkless kid." That wasn't exactly what he meant, but the man did feel guilty for a long time and felt that the only way to make it up to his son was to create a quirk. Again, not the best dad. He still sent money to his family and called. But it took almost 2 years after leaving for him to realize what a cruddy dad/husband he was.

But disaster struck again. Another villain attack struck the facility that Hisashi worked at. Hisashi died trying to protect Inko. During this chaos, the radioactive spider escaped and ended up biting Inko. Inko returned back to America even more depressed. Not realizing that her body underwent changes for almost a week.

While Inko was going through the motions, she noticed that she was stronger and more perceptive than usual. Then her quirk got supercharaged, and she started seeing visual trajectory webs from her hands and objects. The few times she defended herself against muggers, she was given a warning. Then there were few times she managed to talk down a mugger or a few criminals, only for a hero to rush in destroy any hopes for a criminal rehabilitating.

Not too long she started seeing so many flaws in the hero-obsessed society and how not much was being done. How dependent everyone was on heroes to keep the peace, while everyone stood back and did nothing. When in reality, sometimes the situation required a shoulder to cry on, a listening ear, a helping hand, or simple human decency.

Realizing she had the power to make a difference, she went to Izuku's analysis notebooks for inspiration. She decided to become a hero and uphold her son's dream. Rather than operating in daylight, she would operate where most heroes didn't operate or notice. From stopping muggings, alleyway assaults/murders, and kidnappings. While she does fight, sometimes she'll be willing to talk to the criminals and do her best to help them.

She pseudo adopts Himiko Toga and Jin (Twice). These 2 won't descend into villainy all because Inko herself helped them. Not as Green Widow, but just by being a good samaritan. A few other so-called villains end up being informants while they go about trying to do better with their life. It helps that Inko helps out or directs them to people she knows will help them better.

During the day she volunteers at some homeless centers and works part-time at a cafe. She doesn't need to work due to the settlement and Hisashi's life insurance policy setting her up for almost life. But she has nothing to do than stew in depression. Sometimes she'll intervene if something shady is happening, especially if a woman is being assaulted or harassed. Detective Naomasa is always annoyed since Inko technically didn't use her quirk, yet she is almost involved whenever a purse-snatcher or molester is called in for arrest.

Inko definitely got into training in some form of martial arts, and picking other skills, particularly analysis. Basically she asks herself "what would Izuku do?" Maybe she runs into Hatsume Mei, and that's how she got the grip claws she uses for web slinging. She flings those claws and then draws herself to her destination. Only she can see her "webs." It was a lot of trial and error and close calls to become fully competent. Competent enough that the HPSC considers her a problem later on. Shigaraki and All For One will find her a problem much later on. Especially when Inko accidentally stumbles upon some shady operations leading to them.

[cptn-m]

One Piece chapter 1102 review

This unseasonably cold and wet Christmas morning, Oda gifts us with yet another heartbreaker of a flashback chapter to close out the year, but also a promise of a return to the present, and maybe some clues about what will happen when we get there. It's a more relaxed easing into the present than I'd expected - I've been predicting for weeks there'd be one last secret tragedy as a stinger to close things out, and maybe the self-destruct switch would qualify, but maybe I should just be happy that Kuma isn't being made to suffer more.

We pick up where the last chapter left off with Bonney on her adventure. I have to say, this is the most I've liked her character up to this point. She's never been unlikable, but the spirit of getting out there and adventuring and seeing the world while hunting for her lost dad really comes through now that we have the full story. The childlike quality of her ideas of piracy and ways of compromising them echoes Luffy's own energy. She feels like the main character of her own story here, one with enough substance that it'd be enjoyable even removed from the wider context of One Piece. The vibe of her crew is infectious, and I'm happy to see them living their best lives out in the world. Uh, hope those guys are alright after the encounters with Blackbeard and Sakazuki before the timeskip…

I'm looking forward to paying more attention to Bonney with also info on hand on my next reread.

There was a theory I read a few chapters ago that suggested Bonney's bounty shot up to Supernova levels because of the need to get her back to control Kuma. This chapter instead suggests a misconception that her crew targets children and the elderly because of her power. Which is funny, but far less interesting. I think I would have liked this more if we'd learned is much sooner. Like in her original introduction she's talked up as a ruthless attacker of the vulnerable, and it leads toward the first reveal of her Devil Fruit and the joke lands that way. Maybe an idea for The One Piece, right? That's just going to be my go to for anything that might have worked better with earlier setup now. It's fine though. We can even still assume that control of Kuma remained a factor for the World Government behind the scenes while also satisfying all the bad PR she has for leaving injured children and old people in her wake.

The bits with Luffy, Dragon, Smoker, Ace and Jinbei are partly fanservice, but they do also serve to keep the timeline in check. They're synchronising moments. The translation of Sabo's line in the scans indicated that Dragon was going to Loguetown alone, which would have killed the theory that Sabo had been spotted in the crowd there (pictured below), but the official release makes it ambiguous enough that Sabo might have gone. To be honest I was never big on that theory, even if it would make things more interconnected and foreshadowed. I figure seeing Luffy that close, particularly his apparent execution, would have triggered Sabo's memories returning.

I'm a little disappointed that the return to the Thriller Bark doesn't give us anything new about Kuma's actual intentions should Luffy's allies have failed what now know to obviously have been a test. Seriously, was the plan to zip him off to Dragon, or just let him go and tell him he needs to find better friends, or given the previous scene with Vegapunk, would it just said to Kuma that Luffy didn't really have the Nika qualities he'd thought.

But that brings me to something I do like about the montage of Kuma learning about Luffy's life in the chapter. The rubber power is acknowledged, but only as a footnote. Even having seen a power that matches the myth, Nika can only be assumed to be a myth. Luffy's actions - declaring war on the World Government, earning the loyalty of the Thriller Bark victims, assaulting the unjust rulers of the world to save a single enslaved friend - are what make him stand out to Kuma. And while I'm sure we'll see something specific to Luffy, such as the D, the voice of all things, or yes, the fruit, become important to the plot eventually, but it's good that Oda is laying a foundation now that Luffy acts like Nika just by being himself, regardless of whatever other ways he's been made into the legendary figure by the narrative.

The next scene gives us two possible paths for things playing out in the present. The first is Kuma's self-destruct mechanism. Given that I've already put money down on Kuma's death, my immediate thought about this development is that it will be used to fight Saturn in a tragic heroic sacrifice. How ironic for Saturn to be destroyed by the mechanism he insisted Vegapunk install.

(But why wasn't it activated sooner, like when Kuma was rescued by the Revolutionaries, to keep them from reverse engineering his tech, or when he was rampaging in Marie Geoise? You have to assume there's a limited number of remotes for the thing, since the Celestial Dragons who've been using him can't be trusted with their impulses, and/or a limited range on the activation symbol.)

But the other curious thing is Vegapunk suggsting a personality switch. Which is odd, considering how impossible a reversion was said to be in previous chapters. And if Saturn really could detect it so reliably and keep it from being installed, why mention it in the first place? This feels like Oda giving himself an out - a way to save Kuma at the last moment just by saying 'oh, Vegapunk found a way to conceal it after all.' Which would be lame. The only way I'll accept this thing's use in the present is in tandem with the self-destruct so Kuma can go out as himself, and maybe exchange some words with Saturn on the way out.

And it's especially weird when you put it next to the revelation that viewing Kuma's extracted memories will consume them, taking off the board popular theories that Kuma would be restored by passing the bubble on to him. In one chapter, Kuma is twice doomed, once saved. Anyone's guess which way Oda will take it in the present.

The final sequence is the cherry on top of a fantastic One Piece flashback, one that will certainly be remembered as one of Oda's best. The life affirming message rings true to the broader themes of the series, bringing to mind scenes like Tom and Ace's deaths. Even the lab assistants are moved (oof, didn't Saturn order these guys' escape ship sunk? That's rougher knowing they were all on team Kuma all along), as the montage of Kuma's life and loved ones proves Vegapunk correct in calling Kuma a hero. And even in his final moments Kuma thinks first of his daughter. Beautiful stuff.

This is also very strongly framed like a death scene. It's not hard evidence, but I'm taking it as half a point toward Kuma's mind being unrecoverable and/or his destruction assured in the present.

And the flashback really does seem to be over. Never in the series' past have we cut from black panel gutters at the end of one chapter to the normal white ones in the first page of the next one. There's always a transitional page within the chapter, be it at the start or at the end. (At least for the full, multi-chapter flashbacks, I think one of the small, segmented Zou ones went straight from black to white over a chapter break.) I'm not sure where the fade to grey on the last page here leaves us. It's not quite the present, but with only a day left to cover, I can't imagine there being anything else worth showing. Maybe Bonney's view of the offscreen battle with York? A shorthand version only, though.

Either way, it's been a hell of a year for One Piece, and with Egghead's momentum going into its climax, I think the next one could be even better.

[tidytexans]

My Dad needs help...

This next story hits close to home.My family and I have known Leah for about 20 years. Be it the small town atmosphere or just the way friends seem to feel like family, you get invested in others easily around here. Leah had always stood out to me as a very kind, trustworthy and hard working person. She actually even won a contest I was running for Tidy Texans over a year ago for a free cleaning. Which just adds the “meant to be” to this story.

While recently looking for people to bring into the Tidy Texans family to work with, it didn’t take me long and my mind went directly to Leah.. She definitely had all the qualities of someone I wanted/needed on my team.  I was comfortable reaching out to her and let her know that I had seen all her hard work and dedication and asked if she would ever want to come work and be part of the team. I was delighted to receive a response saying that she was “always down for a challenge”. 

Although Leah was working full time and also working around her kids schedules, she was still interested in educating herself more in the world of professional cleaning. I personally love teaching and have always had a passion for it so this was fantastic! Not only did it make me happy that she was comfortable enough to hit this head on but it was great to know that she was willing to ask questions and continue her knowledge of professional cleaning.

One day Leah approached me to discuss something personal. Something that I could tell meant a lot to her immediately. She started to explain things to me regarding her father and his current living situation. We talked about her Mother’s recent passing and her father’s health decline. That his arthritis had gotten so bad that he could no longer reach down to pick up things. How he had small dogs and a cat that were getting older and making more messes than usual in the home. Leah was embarrassed, like the majority of us get in similar situations, so even discussing this was hard enough. Let alone the personal struggles of seeing her Father’s home this way without the time to help the way she wanted to due to her work and personal obligations. Little did she know how much strength it took to open up about a situation like this. 

On top of it all, reaching out to a professional cleaner, wondering about prices while dealing with the emotional toll as well. It’s so much in an already hard situation. So while she’s telling me this situation, describing the big repairs of fixing the roof, the deck, ripping up carpet to fix the flooring, I knew that I wanted to help. I knew that Leah and her father would benefit greatly from gifted services. I truly wanted to help her and her family. 

After offering this to her, she refused immediately. Which only made me want to help her more. So after a little convincing, we made the arrangement that Tidy Texans could share her story and we’d offer our deep clean services for free. And you may ask yourself, why did she need to share her story? To hopefully reach more people in similar situations that, like her at one point, were too scared to reach out. 

The day of her scheduled cleaning, we had a snow day and needed to reschedule. Leah was still heading out that way for the weekend. Even though we couldn’t physically be there to help, I made a Tidy Texans cleaning caddy up and supplied everything that she would need for an extreme clean. This was the least that I could do at the moment. She sent photos of all her hard work and my heart was so happy. I was so proud of her.

At this point, I still hadn’t seen complete photos of the entire home. So we didn’t entirely know what to expect during our clean. Being familiar with similar situations, I had an idea of what I should expect. As we walked in, we were greeted by two elderly Chihuahuas. Naturally, I had to become best friends with them. Walking around with my new companions, I noticed many cobwebs, extensive thick dust layers, animal droppings and an abundant amount of animal hair. Some of the flooring was damaged with holes and the ceiling had some visible rot.

Everything needed to be moved and completely wiped down. We gathered laundry and proceeded to wash those items. We took up rugs and transferred them outside. We also gifted a new rug for the home. The clean was extensive. I don’t honestly remember how many hours we worked but it seemed to go by so fast as Leah and I talked more and more about her family. She told me that this was the house that she grew up in. Their Christmases were spent here. She told me with such care about her how Mother kept up with all the housekeeping and that her unexpected death, only a few short years earlier, led to her fathers downward spiral. She boasted about her Mother and told me that was an artist and actually painted a mural on the wall. 

She explained how her father was so attached to so many things in the home because they were a part of her Mother. I knew at that moment that I didn’t want to take anything from him but that I wanted to leave him with a new beginning. One that he could be happy and healthy in. One that his family would feel comfortable visiting regularly so that they could make new memories. One that would still allow for him to be close to things that reminded him of his late wife.

With most projects like this, I hoped that I was doing this not only up to my standards but his as well. I was extremely pleased to know that he walked in and was in pure amazement. He was so happy and even motivated to keep the house in better shape from this point forward. 

I’m so honored that Leah felt comfortable talking to me about this situation and her family. That she trusted me enough not only as someone to help her with her family home but as a friend. Leah is a beautiful person who deserves someone to see all the hard work that she’s put in.

Tidy Texans plans to make arrangements with Leah to further care for her  family home and we’re hoping that we can get him in a rotation for regular maintenance.

Thanks Ya'll!

www.TidyTexans.com

[yumitsukiyoru]

The Journey of a Novice Weed Grower: From Seeds to Harvest

Exploring the World of Home Cannabis Cultivation

What if I told you that it’s no longer necessary to suffer from “anxiety” or “migraines.” That you can dispense with finding innocuous emojis to help launder those quarterly $60 Venmo payments to your “friend” from college. That the days of relying on the charity of an elderly in-law undergoing cancer treatment have passed.

While the City of Fredericksburg will hold Earth Day festivities on Saturday, for many of us April 20 has always signified a different — if not wholly unrelated — holiday.

As of July 2021, the Virginia General Assembly passed into law 4.1-1101, making it legal for a person over the age of 21 to cultivate up to four marijuana plants “for personal use.”

A year later, I decided to take our fine legislators at their word.

The Journey Begins

It started with a white envelope, no larger than a business card, with the words “Banana OG” scrawled on the front in red pen. Inside were approximately 20 seeds, generously gifted by a fellow teacher at my wife’s former school.

My dad always likes to proclaim that the internet is “the seat of all knowledge,” and when it came to growing weed, he was absolutely correct. The first stop on my informational journey was r/microgrowery, a subreddit dedicated to the small-scale cultivation of cannabis. Inside the community’s sidebar, you’ll find a “beginner’s guide.”

At this point, I find it necessary to make a few disclosures. I’m not exactly a novice when it comes to growing things.

Each summer, the small strip between my driveway and fence line teems with tomatoes, peppers, and — when the pollination gods gaze favorably upon me — zucchini and other assorted squashes (including an accidental pumpkin patch whose harvest coincided nicely with this past Halloween!). My herb garden stands as a testament to the potency of Fredericksburg’s feral cat colonies as fertilizer (wish I were joking).

I largely understand sunlight, water, airflow and soil as a growing medium.

So, in March 2022, I asked myself: “How different could weed be?” The next six months would hold the answer to my folly.

The Germination Process

Back to the white envelope.

I plunked a few seeds into a mason jar filled with tap water, having first allowed the water to sit undisturbed for a day to allow any chlorine to dissipate. The idea here is to soften the seed’s outer shell to expedite the germination process.

After approximately 48 hours, I saw one of the seeds start to… do something. A taproot had emerged. From there, I followed the advice on r/microgrowery of putting the primed seed in a disposable cup with a small amount of potting soil and placing it under a cheap plant light.

These nascent stages of life took root in my wood-paneled “three-season porch,” a room so thickly layered with tobacco as to resemble the age rings of a tree trunk. It felt like the right place for the seedy task at hand.

If you glean nothing else from this column, remember this: marijuana plants have two stages.

Vegetative stage begins when seeds sprout. Fan leaves develop and the plant, well, grows. It needs at least 18 hours per day of continuous light (up to as many as 24 hours) during this stage.

Each time the plant outgrows its container, you simply transplant it to a larger one.

The second stage is flowering. This can be triggered in one of two ways. If you’re growing indoors (usually in a reflective tent with a dedicated lighting setup), you switch to a 12/12 cycle, with 12 hours of light and 12 hours of total darkness.

By contrast, I didn’t have the space to grow indoors. Actually, I’m lying. As I’m wont to do when acquiring a new hobby, I “invested,” purchasing a cheap grow tent and lighting rig off Amazon.

As I write this, the box has sat unopened for three years.

The Art of Stealth Growing

Virginia’s law states that a home grower must “ensure that no marijuana plant is visible from a public way without the use of aircraft, binoculars, or other optical aids.”

In June I parked my plant, which had grown to occupy a five-gallon planter by this point, on the concrete slab next to the shed in my backyard. The denizens of Stuart Street were none the wiser as to my operation. To be clear, it’s one plant we’re talking about here.

Like Fight Club, the first rule of growing weed is you do not talk about growing weed. Silence is theft prevention at its finest. (Side note: it also aids your cause when every adjacent neighbor is 4/20 friendly, and, in one case, doing their own parallel grow).

Your weed plant needs training to be a good girl. And she must be a girl; at the first detection of male pollen sacs — which are a bit too on the nose as a gender identifier — the plant becomes instant trash. Training can consist of tying branches down or topping, a process that involves cutting off the top of a stalk to split it into two new ones.

I knew none of this during my maiden voyage.

Instead of a sturdy, bushy, plant tailored to maximize yield, I grew a marijuana tree. Seriously, by the time the changing of the seasons triggered flowering, it stood more than three feet tall and required a creative scaffolding of string and tomato cages to prevent it from collapsing under its own weight.

The Harvest

Fast forward a few months. An early November frost has turned my plant’s fan leaves from army green to a pleasing shade of purple. It’s time to chop.

I know this because, for weeks, I’d been using a jeweler’s loupe (basically a pocket magnifying glass) to check the trichomes on my plant’s buds. Trichomes look like dew drops; they’re very pretty. During the flowering stage, they change color from clear to cloudy to amber.

Depending on the desired effect, you chop between cloudy and amber. My harvest was closer to the cloudy end of the spectrum, as I was worried about powdery mildew due to fluctuating humidity levels and figured better-safe-than-shortness-of-breath.

I’d arrayed newspaper broadsheets (and we had no shortage of it due to my employer at the time) on our picnic table and had at the ready a standard-issue pair of Fiskars scissors. A third accessory that came in handy was a pair of gardening gloves — sticky icky is a rather crude but apt description for the not-yet-finished product.

The process as I elected to go about it is referred to as a “wet trim,” since it’s done before the buds are dried. I started with the large fan leaves, placing them in a bowl as I went. If you’re into hemp products, this is the material used to make goods.

The racks of a food dehydrator work nicely for drying the buds, a process that takes anywhere from one to two weeks with a fan running constantly for ventilation. This stage and the subsequent cure took place in my home’s second novelty space, a poorly retrofitted darkroom my wife and I refer to as the “murder room.”

And let me tell you, I killed it on my first try. After curing the dried buds in Mason jars for an additional two weeks (good things come to those who wait), my first harvest came in at a whopping *redacted for legal reasons* grams.

It’s been nearly two years, and the conception and subsequent writing of this column has served to reawaken my holiday spirit.

Who knows, maybe in a damp paper towel somewhere, seeds of future inspiration lie in wait.

Happy 420.

[etc-228]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: 🌼💚 Heating Pad for Neck and Shoulder. Weighted Neck Heating Pad for Neck.

[campmurderparty]

alice & indio.

Alice waved off the idea of writing a book. “Oh no, I'm doomed to teach literature, not contribute to it.” tell that to the collection of short stories and unfinished drafts of many novels living on her laptop! “It would be nice to have the money, though. You’d think being a tenured college professor would land you the big bucks, right? Well, I'm here to put that notion to rest.” though Alice shouldn’t have been struggling financially, a single woman that was mother only to two dogs, she had alimony to ex-husband number two—her fault for marrying a failed architect the second time around.

Indio’s grin had one of her own growing on alice’s face. It was hard not to be in a good mood around him, he seemed to always bring up her mood no matter how shitty her day had been. She thought he was lucky to be born with the gift of charm. Alice felt completely awkward most of the time. What would it be like to be as self-assured as indio seemed to be? “I can only report the facts, my dear bartender.”

Besides, you can’t leave. Alice felt her heart jump a little just hearing it. The idea of indio needing her, or even missing her, tried to resurrect the hope she had to love him and have him love her back. Long ago, she had pushed that hope far down, knowing he’d never feel that way about her. She was too hapless, too mousey. Certainly not good enough for him. “Well, you’re in luck because I never want to deal with a michigan winter ever again. I keep begging my mom and dad to move down south somewhere warm, but they refuse.” she worried about her elderly parents a lot, afraid they’d fall on the ice one day.

Alice softened at the mention of his dog. “Iggy? Our iggy being a menace? Surely you jest.” her own dogs, darcy and elizabeth, were little terrors in their own right sometimes, though neither of them had barks to rival iggy. Hearing that his dog missed her and perked up at the sound of her name made her wonder how often indio was talking about her. Oh god, what if he mocked her the moment they parted, and all his other friends knew just how pathetic she was? It was a paranoid thought, but she had plenty of experience with backstabbing friends in high school. “I miss him and his long, silky ears! Should we set up a little playdate for our pups?” it would give her an excuse to hang out with him outside of the bar again, if nothing else.

“Please, it sounds like you had a great day, iggy’s squirrel madness notwithstanding. You could’ve gone on a disastrous date like me today!.” alice frowned, shaking her head. “Besides, it’s not as if I live such an exciting life. I spend all of yesterday grading essays—most of which i couldn’t understand because more than half of my students keep using terms like no cap and pick-me-girl in their academic papers—and then fell asleep watching steel magnolias on tv.” alice took a sip from her martini to refresh. “I should’ve just stayed in tonight instead of giving another hinge weirdo a chance.”

[theslaveandthegoldbracelet]

The Slave and the Gold Bracelet - Narrative - 23 AD

Claudia yawned and extended her arms erotically. She rested up against the mainstay of the gallery of her delightful estate in Anzio, the rich ocean side hotel liked by the rulers and representatives of Rome.

"Such a wonderful day! I wonder when father will return from Gallia, I sort of miss him after very nearly 5 months done battle." Her velvety white outfit flew tenderly down her thin body, attached in the midsection by a brilliant belt with sam's jewelers Indianapolis. Her hand laid on it and she recollected Flavius, the representative. "Old Flavius, is continuously giving me presents. He wants to purchase my adoration, yet he is excessively old and out of shape, and his voice disturbs me. I want to be pursued by an attractive young fellow all things considered. I don't have the foggiest idea why father believes that me should wed a 30 year elderly person when I just turned 18!". Her servant came and began brushing Claudia's smooth dark hair. She plaited it with a line of pink pearls, the most stylish trend in Rome.

Claudia saw a dust storm not too far off and squinted to see better. "Could that be her dad's soldiers returning?". She ran down the marble steps into the tasty nursery and halted to pick some new sweet-smelling jasmine bloom to fragrance her hair.

General Marcus Regulus had quite recently made his entry with his chariots. He raced to embrace his lone youngster.

Behind him were two outsiders, a major dark one and a tall white man with light hair. They seemed to be slaves. "I presented to you a few shocks from Gallia, my dear!" said Marcus Regulus.

The general opened the storage compartment permitting his girl to dig and eye different fascinating silks, cashmeres and weaved pieces of clothing enthusiastically.

She likewise inspected - discretely - the white slave's blue eyes and his strong body. "He is basically as lovely as a divine being!" thought Julia. She likewise saw he was wearing a wide gold arm band in his lower arm, which appeared to have perplexing plans and gemstones, surprising for a slave.

"Gracious, Claudia, this is Olaf, ruler of the Norse. I caught him on one of my fights with the Vikings."

Olaf grinned at Julia and delicately removed his gold wristband and offered it to her. "This is my gift to you, my woman. With it I give over myself not exclusively to Rome, however to your captivating magnificence for eternity". Julia become flushed. "Much obliged to you Olaf". After the Viking left, the General grinned at his girl. "Along these lines, did you like my shock?" "I adored it!" said Julia, stroking her new arm band. "It is exactly what I generally cared about!"