#Poppy is called Willow....

[jazzzzzzhands]

Skating into the Groovy AU, Here Comes Julie!! Also known as WildFlower!! Oh she has skates, so she is so much more chaotic! She has boundless energy and loves dragging all of her friends onto the rollerblading rink for a very fun game!! (and the most wild of dancing!) Catch her and Groovy doing a lil hip bump as they pass eachother! Ty to my partner in crime for helping me to develop her design!! @sketchy-tour <3333 I would not have had such a vision without their help!

Ty ty for making me learn how to draw a braid because i am falling in love with drawing hair so muchhh OHH OHHH!! the only reason Julie is not in a dress, is because ! i already crossed her legs and i struggle to convey that under a dress ahahahaha! BUT Julie ABSOLUTELY goes into dress mode!!! She also has these

Oh she has such a wardrobe, I am sure of it!!

[wherekizzialives]

The Small Things Spreading Joy: May 2024

[amirasainz]

Ooooh can you please do reader is Lewis daughter and she’s a big daddy’s girl and she has everyone wrapped around her finger, including the stoic Toto?

AHH! I had so much fun writing this. I love the idea of Lewis being a girl dad. I hope y'all enjoy reading this and send me some requests!

-XoXo

Daddy's little love

“Who is your favourite Disney Princess, Baby?” asked Anthony, Lewis’ dad, to his 4-year-old granddaughter. Cassie, who was busy getting her beautiful, long, curly hair done by her grandmother Linda, turned to Anthony with the biggest grin on her face.

“Tiana,” she proudly stated. “TIANA? Why’s that, hm?” he asked her, now sporting the same huge grin as the girl in the living room. “Because she is the prettiest of them all. And her prince is better than the other ones. OH, and their friends are so cool, because Ray is a firefly and his wife is a star. And their other friend, the crocodile, Louis, can play the trumpet. Oh, and Mama Odie makes the best gumbo in the whole wide world,” she answered, running towards Anthony.

The older Hamilton immediately picked her up, sitting little Cassie in front of him on the kitchen counter. “Ohh, is that so, young lady?” he jokingly asked her. “UHU,” she answered with a duh-tone. “Really?” “Uhu.” “Really.” Now the game between Cassie and her Poppy started.

Linda, who knew that this little game of theirs could go on for hours, called towards the young girl. “Cassie, honey, we still need to do your hair.” “But I don’t wanna, Loveyyyyy,” whined the 4-year-old. “Nuhu, don’t even look at me with those puppy eyes of yours,” she told her. However, Cassie tried to find a way out of the situation. “But why can’t Daddy do it for me?” she whined again. “You know why, Baby. Daddy can’t make those braids that you like,” Anthony answered, sensing the beginning of a little tantrum.

Both Anthony and Linda knew that Cassie hated getting her hair done. If the young Hamilton could, she would always have it open. However, with the hot weather and her playing the whole time with her cousins in the garden, everyone knew it was better to braid it back.

Before anyone could say anything else, a figure appeared in the doorway. “What’s that I’m hearing about Daddy?” asked Lewis, who was finally back home after the Mexican GP. He looked tired but happy. “DADDY!” squealed the young girl, immediately running towards her father with outstretched arms. Lewis, who knew his daughter better than himself, picked her up in his arms and held her close, releasing a sigh of relief now that he finally had his baby back in his arms. Her laughter was like music to his ears, and he couldn’t help but smile as she giggled like crazy while he kissed her cheeks repeatedly.

After a moment, he stopped and greeted her with the biggest smile ever. “Hello, my little love,” he said, his voice filled with warmth and affection. He could feel the stress of the race melting away as he held her.

Remembering the conversation he walked into, he carefully petted her hair and told her, “Go on, love. Let Lovey finish your hair, then we can go outside swimming.” Cassie pouted, her lower lip jutting out adorably. “But Daddy—” she began, her eyes wide with pleading. “Nuh-uh, Honey. Don’t even try it with me,” Lewis said, his tone gentle but firm. Cassie released the biggest sigh on earth before stomping towards her grandmother, her tiny feet making exaggerated thuds on the floor.

Thankfully, her older cousin Willow was also now in the living room, so the two cousins could play a game while Linda finished the two Dutch braids. Willow, always the patient one, smiled and pulled out a board game, setting it up on the coffee table. “Come on, Cassie, let’s play while Grandma finishes your hair,” she said, her voice soothing.

Lewis, who was watching the whole situation with an amused smile, turned towards his father and hugged him. “It’s good to have you back, boy,” Anthony whispered in his ear, his voice thick with emotion. “It’s good to be back, Dad,” Lewis answered while releasing the hug. He felt a wave of gratitude for his family, who always supported him no matter what.

After a moment, Lewis’s face turned serious, and he looked at his dad. “Hey, can we talk for a minute?” he asked. Anthony, sensing the gravity of the situation, turned his full attention to his son. With an encouraging nod, Lewis began.

“Dad, you know how important the Brazil Grand Prix is for me, right? This year, I was thinking of taking Cassie with me. This race isn’t just significant for me, but also for Mercedes. Plus, it’s my last year with the team,” he explained, his voice tinged with emotion.

Anthony took a deep breath, gathering his thoughts before responding. “Lewis, I understand how crucial this race is for you, but why do you feel the need to take Cassie with you?” he asked, his brow furrowed in concern.

“Well, Dad, it’s going to be such a meaningful race for me, and I want my favorite person there with me. Besides, the team and the other drivers are always asking about her. And Gloria, you know, Cassie’s babysitter, will also be there. She can watch over her while I’m racing,” Lewis replied, his eyes pleading for understanding.

Anthony paused for a moment, considering his son’s words. “Okay, I think that’s a really sweet idea. And we both know how much Cassie loves traveling with her daddy,” he said with a warm smile.

“Thanks, Dad. I guess I just needed to hear from someone that my idea isn’t completely insane,” Lewis said, relief washing over his face.

“No, don’t worry about it. Now go tell the little princess the good news,” Anthony encouraged, giving his son a reassuring pat on the back.

After an uneventful flight and a good nights rest, the little trio entered the paddock the next morning. Cassie clutched her father’s hand tightly as they walked into the bustling paddock. The young girl, with her curly hair bouncing in the warm breeze, wore a bright purple cap that read "Daddy's little Champion". It was a sea of activity, with mechanics, engineers, and media personnel buzzing around. This was Cassie’s first time attending a race outside of Silverstone, and her wide eyes took in every detail with a mix of awe and excitement.

Lewis,, was a seasoned pro in this environment, but today he felt a bit different. He was not just a world-class driver; he was an overprotective dad. He kept a close eye on Cassie, making sure she stayed close and safe amidst the chaos. The media quickly noticed the duo, and cameras started flashing, capturing the tender moments between father and daughter.

Lewis’s smile was tight as he waved politely to the cameras, but inside, he was less than thrilled about the attention. He had always been protective of Cassie, and the thought of her being in the spotlight made him uneasy. He bent down to her level, his voice gentle but firm. “Stay close to me, okay, Cassie? There’s a lot going on here.”

Cassie nodded, her curly hair bouncing with the movement. “Okay, Daddy.”

Beside them, Gloria, the babysitter, walked with a calm demeanor. At around 50 years old, she had a reassuring presence that both Lewis and Cassie appreciated. Gloria had been with the family for a while and knew how to keep Cassie entertained and safe. She smiled at Cassie, holding out a small toy car. “Look, Cassie, it’s just like Daddy’s car!”

Cassie’s face lit up as she took the toy, momentarily distracted from the overwhelming environment. Lewis gave Gloria a grateful nod. “Thanks, Gloria. I don’t know what we’d do without you.”

Gloria chuckled softly. “Just doing my job, Lewis. You focus on the race; I’ll keep an eye on our little racer here.”

As they made their way through the paddock, more media attention followed. Lewis did his best to shield Cassie from the cameras, but it was clear that their presence was a big deal. He sighed inwardly, wishing for a bit more privacy for his daughter. But seeing Cassie’s excitement and knowing Gloria was there to help made it all worthwhile.

“Alright, Cassie,” Lewis said, lifting her up so she could see over the crowd. “Let’s go find a good spot to watch the race. It’s going to be an exciting day.”

Cassie giggled, her nervousness melting away as she felt the familiar comfort of her father’s arms. With Gloria by their side, they were ready to face the day, media attention and all.

As they walked to the Garage, Cassie's wide eyes took in the sight of the famous cars, the hustle of the crew and the vibrant colours of the team uniforms. Other drivers like Lando, Charles, George and Daniel, couldn't help but stop and admire the adorable little girl.

"Hey there, little champ!" Lando said, waving at her. "Are you going to cheer for your dad today?"

Cassie giggled and nodded. "He's the fastes!" she declared proudly, causing the drivers to melt at her sweetness. They all exchanged smiles, and for a moment, the competitive spirit of Formula 1 seemed to fade into the background, replaced by the warmth of Cassie's innocent joy.

As Lewis, Cassie and Gloria approached the Mercedes garage, Lewis introduced Cassie to his team principal. Toto, the usually angry Austrian, was particularly taken with her. "Well, if it isn't the youngest member of our team!" he said, picking her up and placing her on his lap. "How would you like to be the team principal for the day?"

Cassie's eyes widened in amazement. "Really? I can be in charge?" she squealed, bouncing slightly in excitement. Lewis, who was busy talking to Bono, turned towards his daughter and reminded her again : "Cassie, inside voice, ok?" "Sorry Daddy" she apologised cutely, warming Lewis heart at the sight of her.

Toto brought her attention back to their conversation. “Absolutely! You can help make all the important decisions,” Toto replied, grinning. He handed her a small headset, and Cassie put it on, feeling like a true boss.

“Okay, Cassie,” Toto continued, “let’s make sure the drivers are ready. We need to keep an eye on them!”

Cassie nodded seriously, trying her best to mimic the serious expressions of the adults around her. As she sat on Toto’s lap, she observed the team preparing for the race, her little fingers tapping away on the radio as if she were giving commands.

“Driver 44, are you ready?” she said into the headset, mimicking what she had heard the engineers say. The team chuckled at her adorable seriousness, and Lewis turned to give her a thumbs-up from across the garage.

As the pre-race festivities continued, Cassie found herself surrounded by the other drivers, who were all charmed by her presence. Daniel knelt down in front of her. “So, what’s your strategy for today?” he asked playfully.

“I think Daddy should go really fast and win!” she replied, her face lighting up with confidence. The drivers laughed, and Daniel gave her a mock salute. “A solid plan, Commander Cassie!”

Soon, it was time for the drivers to head to the grid. Toto carefully lifted Cassie off his lap and placed her back on the ground. “Are you ready to watch your dad race?” he asked her.

“Yay! Go, Daddy!” she cheered, waving her arms enthusiastically. Lewis leaned down to give her a kiss on the forehead before heading out to the grid. "I love you, my little love" he called back to her. "I love you more" she yelled. Turning towards his daughter, he said : "Impossible" before continuing his way. Their interaction gained laugher throughout the garage.

As the race began, Cassie was glued to the edge of her seat in the team hospitality area, her small hands gripping the railing as she watched the cars zoom past. With each lap, her excitement grew. “Go, Daddy! You can do it!” she shouted, her voice ringing out amidst the cheers of the crowd.

The race unfolded with thrilling intensity. Lewis battled fiercely against his competitors, maneuvering through tight corners and executing perfect overtakes. Cassie’s eyes were wide with awe as she watched her father, the adrenaline coursing through her tiny body with each lap.

During a particularly tense moment, where Lewis found himself in a tight spot battling for position, Cassie gasped and clutched the railing. “Come on, Daddy! You got this!” she yelled, her voice carrying over the noise of the engines.

Her encouragement seemed to resonate, as Lewis managed to pull off an incredible move, taking the lead. The crowd erupted in cheers, and Cassie jumped up and down, her laughter mingling with the roars of the fans.

“Look, Cassie! Your daddy’s in front!” Gloria said, smiling at her enthusiasm. She was having the time of her life, completely unaware of the high stakes of the race, so focused on her father’s performance.

As the race neared its conclusion, the tension was palpable. Lewis was vying for the victory, and Cassie could feel the excitement in the air. She leaned over the railing, her heart racing as the final laps approached. “You can do it, Daddy! Just go faster!” she shouted, her little fists clenched in determination.

When Lewis crossed the finish line, victorious once again, the roar of the crowd was deafening. Cassie squealed with delight, jumping up and down in sheer joy. “He did it! He won!” she exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

After the race, Lewis hurried to the team area, where Cassie was waiting, her face glowing with pride. He scooped her up in his arms, spinning her around. “Did you see that, Cassie? We did it!” he exclaimed, his heart swelling with happiness.

“You were the best, Daddy! I knew you could win!” she said, her eyes shining with admiration.

As the celebrations continued, Cassie found herself the center of attention. The drivers gathered around her, congratulating Lewis and showering her with affection. “You’re an amazing little team principal, Cassie,” Charles said, ruffling her hair.

Cassie beamed, soaking in all the praise. “I told him to go fast!” she said proudly, and the drivers laughed, each one charmed by her innocence and enthusiasm.

As the sun began to set over Brazil, casting a warm glow over the paddock, Lewis took Cassie aside. “You know, today was special not just because we won, but because I got to share it with you,” he said softly.

“I had the best day, Daddy! Can we come to every race together?” she asked, her eyes wide with hope.

“Of course, sweet pea. Every race, if you want. You’ll always be my lucky charm,” Lewis replied, giving her a warm hug.

The day ended with fireworks illuminating the sky, and Cassie watched in awe, her heart full. She had stepped into a world of speed and excitement, and in doing so, had forged an unforgettable bond with her father. As they headed back to their hotel, Cassie rested her head on Lewis’s shoulder, dreaming of race tracks and fast cars, knowing that this was just the beginning of their adventures tog

[cupidssorbet]

"What a cowboy.”

Cowboy/Vaquero Miguel x Ranch-Hand? Reader.(Beautiful art above is by Katromz on tiktok and insta!)

Summary: Miguel ends up trying to befriend his longtime friend and employers niece however maybe befriend isn't quite the word.

Includes: AFAB reader but no specified pronouns/race/looks nothing, flirting/teasing, Nicerish AU Miguel, caught masturbating, Oral M & F, recieving praise, mentions of the word 'cunt/pussy', P in V, as well as not much use of name more nicknames.

P.S Vaquero and Cowboy are the same words for those who don't know, a friend requested this so I delivered! Please pardon any terribly translated Spanish I am still learning and had only few help from a friend of mine! This was a request so thank you to my friend!

Word count: 7766.(it's a long one babes.)

By cupid.

Begin.

You’d been sent out for the summer to help your uncle at his ranch, you didn’t mind too much it’d be giving you more to do than usual. He was happy to have you since most his ranch-hands called out or would be busy trying to fill in the empty spots left by others. So when he heard his favorite niece would be dropping in to help out he was more than delighted.

It was a long, long car ride to his ranch and by the time you had arrived the sun was high in the sky and it was sweltering. You hopped out of your dad’s truck with a smile on your face, your cousin’s Poppy & Nana coming to greet you with enthusiasm, quickly taking your bags. “Look at you two, it feels like it’s been forever since we’ve hung out together!” You say as you nudge Nana’s arm, she laughs a bit as the three of you trudge up the dirt driveway up to the main house.

Poppy opens the door for you as soon as you head inside you hear a squeal from your Aunt Maria, who immediately runs over to scoop you up into a hug. “Sweetheart it has been too long!” She says excitedly as she practically squeezes the air outta you. “I missed ya too aunty but please..please let me go I can’t breathe-!” You manage out as she lets you go, “Oh my! Sorry ‘bout that sugar! It’s just been so long!” She says pinching your cheek a little. “Now, Girls go show her to her room alright? Get all cozy, Jack said he wasn’t gonna have you start work till tomorrow when he can give you the lowdown of everythin’ new.” She said shooing you three up the stairs.

You followed the girls up the stairs as they talked away, you weren’t really invested in the conversation as you looked at all the old pictures that were hung up on the walls. All those old memories made you smile, you were out of it until Poppy pulled you back into reality with a tug on the arm, albeit a hard tug, “You alright there?” She asked, raising a brow at you as nana opened the door to the room, you blinked and flashed her a smile. “Yeah just got a little out of it, this heat whew it is-” “Why don’t we head to the lake!” Nana says with a bright smile as she sets your bags on your bed, cutting you off.

“Oh I don’t know what if your dad needs me here or help with anything I’m not just here to leisure about.” You say as they both sigh dramatically, “C’mon you heard mama, papa’s not gonna need you till tomorrow!” Poppy says crossing her arms, eventually you sigh giving into them and their antics. Excitedly they leave you to get ready telling you to meet them downstairs when done. Once you are ready to go with a little bag that has sunscreen and such inside you hurry downstairs the two girls waiting for you.

You can’t help but grin with their contagious smiles, “Ma! We’re heading to the lake!” Nana calls out to her, “Be safe girls! Be back by sundown too ya hear?” She calls from the kitchen and you all respond with unanimous ‘Yes ma’am!’ before hurrying out the door giggling like a bunch of school girls as you anticipate the cool water of the lake.

It was a bit of a trek until you reached it, shoving branches aside and walking through bushes hoping none of them were poison ivy or poison at all. Once nana pushed a thick willow branch aside you sighed happily, the blue water shining under the high sun. The three of you quickly hurried to the shore finding a nice spot to lay your things.

As you and nana carefully laid things out poppy quickly ditched her shorts she wore over her swimsuit bottoms and ran into the cool water with a loud cheer. She then decided to splash the two of you, causing you to get a cheeky grin. “Oh that’s how it’s gonna be huh?” You asked playfully as you ditched your own shoes and bottoms before running into the water yourself.

The cool embrace of the lake on your warm skin made you feel completely relaxed, until you remembered your motive to run in here in the first place. The time at the lake started with games and running off the rock ledge that overlooked the lake to jump in. Splashing one another or Watching as someone did something dumb for what felt like the 100th time in those hours.

By the time the sun started to settle down in the sky you were resting on your towel as the girls continued to play in the waters. Drifting off into your own daydreams, sunglasses shielding your eyes from the fleeting rays, until you were startled awake by squeal. You assumed something had happened, so you quickly sat up pushing your sunglasses to sit on your head. “What? What happened?” you asked worried, until you saw them giggling over something or more rather..someone.

You let a slight huff at the fact they had you all worried for nothing, you however curiously followed their eyes. Wondering what could’ve caused them to squeal to begin with. Down a good way from your spots on the bank was a man, a rather handsome man you had to admit. Poppy however caught your staring and with a cheeky smile sat beside you, “Ooo! Do I sense a crush perhaps?” She said with a shit eating grin.

Waving her off you stopped staring at the mystery man, “Oh please, You think everything is a crush or love related.” you said, trying to dismiss her packing your stuff away as the sun started to set. Nana was quick to hurry outta the water spotting you and your packing, quickly just tossing her stuff in her bag as you & poppy shook your heads at her mess of a bag now.

All of you hurried back dodging branches and plants until you were on an open stretch the house coming into view, “So..” you started, earning their attention again. “Who was that guy?” you asked, keeping your gaze ahead. You heard the stifled giggles and such from them before nana caught up to you, “He is papa’s right hand man, quite the looker isn’t he?” she teased with a smile. “I suppose,” you said as you walked up the porch steps hearing their squeals and giggles. “But don’t go tellin’ anyone, I barely know that man.” you said sternly pointing at the two of them and they quickly stopped their giggling nodding as you headed inside.

Heading inside your aunt had prepared some dinner for when everyone got back, and as hungry as you were you decided to go and get a shower. Not before your uncle was quick to scoop you up in a hug much to your protest before you fake made a disgusted face before he ruffled up your hair as you headed up the stairs getting a warm shower and some dryer clothes.

After dinner and what not you were sitting upstairs with Poppy & Nana and one or two of the herding dogs, flicking through movies trying to find something to watch. Seeing as none of you could agree on anything it eventually came down to just getting some sleep, the hours at the lake tiring you out and your aunt & uncle calling out a goodnight to you three had reminded you that you’d be out helping in the morning so sleep was a good option.

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

The birds started chirping and the sun began to peek through the blinds, once it hit your eyes you groaned and began to open your eyes with a squint bringing a hand up to block the bright rays from practically blinding you. Sitting up blinking the sleep from your eyes you took note that it was just you and nana in the room, nana being fast asleep still.

You decided it’d be a good time to wake up and get ready so you could start helping your uncle out, you quickly brushed your hair to look less like you just got up and then you grabbed an outfit from your suitcase that would best suit the chores you’d be doing and the hot summer heat. You quickly made your way downstairs some of the dogs following you, “Mornin’ Sugar!” Aunt Maria called to her as she flipped some pancakes. “Morning Aunt Maria, Where’d poppy run off to?” you asked, snatching up a piece of bacon from the plate on the counter sharing some with the dogs.

“Oh she ran into town to fetch some more seeds for the garden, Jack told me we had extras but I know we didn’t, speakin’ of which since your most likely heading out that way mind giving those breakfast burritos on the counter the boys.” She asked using her spatula to motion to the cloth covered basket. You nodded, finishing the bacon off and grabbing the basket heading out the back door and off the porch to the main farm area and barn.

It wasn’t a long walk by any means, just one that felt long with how the sun sat so high and beating down on you, you spotted your uncle's truck out front of the barn. All the workers either sitting in the bed of the truck or leaning against it, you hurried over with a smile on your face as your uncle spotted you tipping his hat back slightly, a smile coming to his face.

“Hey there sweetheart, whatcha got?” he asked as he got up off the side of the truck walking over. “Aunty asked me to bring these breakfast burritos for you boys.” you said and they all hooted and hollered hurrying off the truck to grab one for themselves making you just laugh and shake your head. “Thank you for that darlin’ , right you all know my niece don’t you?” He asked, raising a brow as a few murmured yes’s and no’s were heard.

“Well you do now,” he said as he motioned to you, moving aside as you gave them all a wave of ‘hello’ then you spotted him, the man from the lake the other day. You didn’t realize you were staring until he made eye contact with you. A rather cheeky smile gracing his lips.

Once they were all done with their burritos the real work began. “Alright, Think you can work on feedin’ all the animals first then we can start on herdin’ the pasture ones back alright?” Your uncle asked and you nodded, “I’m on it!” you said with a smile. “How bout I send someone with ya, we’ve got a few new ones that might need some introduction, How about..Miguel!” your uncle said, clapping his hands together.

You were picking up one of the feed bags off the truck bed when a rather tall and muscular man walked up with a slight smile on his face, “Looks like I’m helpin’ you today sweetheart.” Miguel said, and oh god Miguel was the man from the lake. This realization almost had you dropping the feed bag before you quickly readjusted your hold on the bag. He only chuckled, slightly tilting his head and the brim of his hat up, giving you an even better look at his face, “Come on don’t go fallin’ for me already.' ' he teased at you.

Huffing you adjusted your grip on the bag turning on your heel with a little scoff, “You wish, I would never I barely know you.” You said as you began walking, utter bullshit, you couldn’t lie that his face, his eyes, his damn voice had you enthralled. He only let out a hearty chuckle following you carrying a bag or two of his own, “Then why not get to know me?” He suggested, shaking his head as you sped up your walking speed.

When you finally reached the animals you breathed a sigh of relief, quickly hurrying over to say ‘hello’ to all of them forgetting about Miguel following after you, he stood off to the side as he opened some of the bags watching as you excitedly said ‘hello’ to the ones you knew, all calling them by name then excitedly gasping at the ones you didn't know.

He had to admit he found it amusing, cute even at the way you greeted them all. He had to, he just had to, he cleared his throat which brought you back to your little situation causing you to huff almost and it only made him chuckle as he pushed a feed bag, ready and open your way. You grabbed the bag, opened the pen door and made your way inside without him, starting to fill up all the feeding spots walking about.

Miguel thought this would be a good time to start a conversation, “So, Why do ya keep ignoring me?” he asked and you just hummed in response, “I’m not.” You denied, “Ah-Ah just now you almost did.” He said looking at you, that stupid look on his face had you smiling slightly and rolling your eyes. Trying to look away before he caught it, but oh he caught it. “Hey! I saw that, I made a breakthrough!” He says motioning around to a nonexistent crowd almost proud of himself causing you to shake your head with a slight smile.

You two finished up the feeding chores with relative ease, the tension simply melting away as you two actually got to talking with one another actually getting to know more like he suggested, then you started saddling up some of the horses so they could head out to check for any lost or still loose cattle or sheep. You finished tightening one of the straps, patting the nose of the horse, a smile on your face when it responded with a big sloppy lick to your hand. “Alright, Are we ready to get a move on?” he asked as he took the reins from your hand. “Yep, All saddled up.” you said with a little salute.

“Thank you sugar, how bout you go feed the calves while we’re gone if you're up for it?” your uncle asked, hoping on the horse. “I can’t say no to feeding the calves,” you said with a smile. With a few waves and goodbyes you went off in search of the bottles that had the formula for the calves that were rescued and didn’t exactly take to any cow the ranch had. You grabbed the bucket of bottles and took a seat in the stable stall with one of the babies. Taking the bottle out, the little thing came running and it made you laugh.

You held the bottle up for it and at first it went well until it didn’t somehow, something had gotten on the shirt underneath your overalls and that was not sitting well on your skin with heat in the air. So you thought, hey they wouldn’t be back for maybe an hour or two at most so you unclipped the clips of your overalls and took the shirt off letting it rest on the table that had all the tools and such then you clipped your overalls back up and when right back to taking care of the calves.

To you only 30 maybe 40 minutes had gone by so you still weren’t too worried about putting that shirt back on or heading back to the house as you happily wandered the stable saying ‘hello’ to the horses that stayed behind. Blissfully unaware that Miguel had headed back to grab the hat he had forgotten, quickly making his way inside of the stable. Stopping his tracks quietly when he spotted you petting one of the horses and it seemed innocent enough until his eyes seemed to wander lower..to the point where he noticed you were not wearing a shirt under your overalls. And not wanting to make you uncomfortable or wanting to make anything else happen he just gave up grabbing his hat and left as quietly as possible.

When you had assumed they’d be coming back you went and got the shirt off the workbench and put it back on quickly as the cowboys came into view. You put on a smile and looked ahead as they made their way over and started hopping their horses all saying their ‘hellos’ and such but Miguel just completely ignored you, was he not going on about you ignoring despite barely knowing him earlier? What a hypocrite.

You just shrugged it off, what would it matter really, you said a quick ‘hello’ to your uncle as you checked the time, you had promised you’d spend the last few hours before the sun actually set at the lake with the girls and you had to depart to get ready. Simply brushing off Miguel ignoring you, you went back to the main house to change and once you were done you headed off however little did you know you’d spend your time alone at the lake..well for a little bit at least.

You relaxed on the bank for a little bit taking in the sun's rays after applying sunscreen of course, waiting thinking maybe they’d got busy or something. So you went from enjoying the water to resting on the shore to reading the book you brought until you exhaled a bit annoyed. You got up, gathered your things, slipped your shorts back on and made your way back to the main house in a slight huff.

When you opened the door your aunt seemed to pick up on your bad mood, “What’s the matter pumpkin?” she asked as she dried her hands with the towel. “The girls told me to meet them at the lake and then they just didn’t come!” you said with arm motions. She seemed to shake her head and sigh, “Well if your looking to pick a bone with them they might’ve gone down to the guest house to deliver the fruit like I asked, the one where the cowboys are stayin’.” She said, giving you a little nod. You thanked her begrudgingly before starting your way to the guest house, saying hello to the cowboys you saw as you headed by whether they were lugging hay or simply just passing by.

You got to the guest house and opened the front door, it was rather empty, and you didn’t hear any giggling, not even a hint of your cousin’s voices, you raised your brow carefully making your way down the hallway. You continued until you saw a door slightly creaked open, you neared it hoping maybe your cousin’s were just fooling around here and that you could drag them back. But that idea quickly evaporated as you neared closer you heard..grunts? At first you thought it was one of pain but when you got a view of what was behind the just barely opened door you quickly realized it was not one of pain rather of pleasure.

There Miguel laid on presumably his bed, legs spread slightly, cowboy hat resting lazily over his head, pants just barely down his thighs as his head moved up his hard erection..precum leaking from the red angry tip. You couldn’t help but stare, biting back the gasps with a hand over your mouth. His teeth sucking his bottom lip back slightly exposing his sharp canines that had you feeling some kind of way, but oh boy it just got better as soon as you mindlessly dropped your hand from your mouth he muttered out your name, “Dios... Ni siquiera sé cómo me hiciste esto..(God... I don't even know how you did this to me.)” He murmured out in Spanish as he hissed when he glided his thumb over the leaking slit.

Miguel was lost in his own thoughts, his mind flitting back to when he saw you in the stable in nothing but your shoes and overalls. He groaned out as he moved his hand up, he knew it was wrong and dirty not just for the fact that he was just getting to know you but the fact he wished it was your hands and not his then he was snapped back to reality by a noise..

You gasped and your gasp got his attention causing you to quickly hide behind the wall before he could spot you, when you heard him moving off the bed you were quick to run as quietly down the hallway. Your feet carried you quickly as you hurried out of the guest house not wanting to get caught in the slightest.

Your heart felt like it was in your ears, your cheeks felt hot, hell your whole body felt hot. You hurried quick and fast to the main house, your feet just carrying you inside as you gave a quick ‘hello’ to your Aunt before going to your room flopping onto your bed. Burying your head into your pillow and just screaming muffling it.

God..he was thinking about YOU? That had your heart feeling like it was going to burst out of your chest, you rolled onto your back as you stared at the ceiling that moment replaying in your head causing you to subconsciously rub your thighs together before you brought your hands up to smack your cheeks, mentally cursing yourself for feeling this way.

Huffing you sat up on the bed grabbing your journal you brought with you, “God..Was he really thinking about me? But why,” you murmured as you flipped out the journal trying to write it out of your mind at least so you could push it off and act as if normal. By the time you finished you were called down for dinner and you just inhaled and exhaled pushing it to the back of your mind shoving the Journal under your pillow and heading down.

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

By the time dinner was done you and poppy were helping with the dishes as a few of the cowboys stopped by to drop off some stuff and there he was again, you quickly looked away as he spotted you offering you a sweet smile and tilt of his hat. You only just ignored him continuing your conversation with poppy and working on the dishes.

When you finished you quickly dried your hands not wanting to stick around for very long you couldn’t even fathom why seeing him again got you so much more worked up than it should. “I’m headin’ to bed really tired, Night everyone!” you called quickly as you hurried up the stairs to your bedroom causing Miguel and a few others to raise a brow before just brushing it off to turn to their own things.

You inhaled sharply and exhaled laying onto your bed, your hands traveling gingerly down your stomach to the hem of your pj shorts. Your fingers slipping past the hem of the shorts to your panty clad cunt, exhaling slightly as your fingers brushed over your cunt that slight pressure you added caused your body to melt slightly into your pillows. Your mind clouding with thoughts of him, before the sound of someone coming upstairs snapped you back to reality.

You quickly pulled away from your shorts and grabbed a random book from the nightstand to act as if you were reading. Poppy and Nana came bursting in with a movie for the three of you to watch and you all but sighed happily as it was something to completely take your mind off it.

The movie was put in and the lights were turned off getting all cozy in your beds and watching the movie until you all but fell asleep..

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

For the next few days you did your best to keep your distance from Miguel but your hard-headedness to stay away from him only had him more intrigued and always earned a laugh from him because you always denied his questions whenever he asked one and you denied his help just to make it easier, but it seemed to fail every now and again considering your help to your uncle’s work and with him always having the cowboys with him you only ever saw him everyday..

The next morning came and you decided you’d just avoid Miguel completely and only interact if you just HAD to interact with him thinking that it would be best especially because of the way you made him feel and with the way he had you feeling even if you were just getting to know him better.

Today you dawned a nice summer dress as you were going to help your Aunt in the garden to keep a distance between you and him. You put on a sun hat and followed your Aunt out to the garden to work on the precious marigolds she had planted that were getting swallowed by the pesky weeds.

Dropping down onto your knees and getting to work right away you heard a clatter of tools causing your head to whip around to where it came from, and god fucking dammit you swore nothing was on your side this week, it was miguel, tool belt beside him and a few fence posts as he shot you an apologetic smile. “Sorry bout’ that didn’t mean to startle you act like I’m not here.” you only hummed in response, turning your attention back to the flowers.

Digging into the dirt yanking weed after weed out as the sun began to rise high into the sky above, causing you to start to sweat under the hot rays. You huffed sitting back on your heels as you dusted your hands off of dirt with the exception of some stuck under your nails. Miguel heard your little huff and his eyes happened to wander your way, gazing unapologetically up your figure, your flushed face and slightly pouted lips catching his attention.

He cleared his throat slightly, turning his attention back to the fence, “You doin’ alright Miss?” he asked, tipping his hat back slightly. You just hummed in response earning a small frown from him, “What?” you asked, raising a brow. “How come you keep ignorin’ me, I thought we were making progress?” he said as he looked at you.

“Well, You started it when you came back from the stable that day and completely ignored me.” you shot back as you crossed your arms, “I did not I was just busy,” he said more matter of factly. The way he seemed so hurt by your antics had you feeling bad almost, you eventually sighed dropping your arms to your side. “Alright fine I have been but I ain’t telling you why, BUT I will make a better effort to stop ignoring you I suppose.” You said and you watched as his face brightened slightly.

“Well I think I’d be the happiest cowboy around,” He said with that stupid smile, “You're so weird.” You stated, shaking your head and turning your attention back to the weeds. He only laughed and went right back to his job, that’s what sparked the two of you talking again, you knew deep down you weren’t gonna be able to ignore him even if you tried because that really only made things awkward so you decided it would be best to try and be his friend.

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

That is how you spent some of your days, getting to know him and then spilling your feelings to your little diary and then going right back at being friendly, well one fateful day you made the mistake of leaving your diary not entirely under your pillow.

You were helping Miguel lug some hay to the truck and you exhaled, noticing the way your skin was getting a little red, “Damn, Hey Miguel could you go to my room and grab my sunscreen for me? I’ll finish loading up the hay if you do.” You said giving him a little smile and he sighed with a laugh. “Alright alright I’ll go fetch it, Where would I find it?” He asked stopping in his tracks.

“On the nightstand!” You called back as you grabbed another bale, he nodded giving you a little salute before setting off. He headed inside offering a polite ‘hello’ to your aunt before going upstairs finding your room and heading inside. Originally he was just here to grab the sunscreen and go but a little book peeking out from behind your pillow had him curious.

He stopped for a moment before he eventually caved and carefully picked it up in his hands, just a peek, it wouldn’t hurt really. Just a peek turned into reading some pages and skipping others, that was until he stumbled upon some of the more..explicit pages and they seemed to be about him. God he felt his pride swell, the way you thought about him and looked at him.

“Well damn little lady..” Miguel murmured with a slight smile on his face before he shut the journal, having now learned about your developing crush on him and the way you thought about him. He grabbed the sunscreen and headed back down and out with a curt tip of his hat.

You noticed when he was walking back he had a little beat to his steps causing you to smile and raise a brow as you took the sunscreen from him. “What’s got you so happy go lucky?” you asked as you applied some on your face and arms and he just hummed in response. “Eh no particular thing, can’t a man just be happy hm?” He teased you and you playfully swatted at his arm. Once you were all good with the sunscreen you two got back to work, all the moving and feeding and more moving of stuff had you both out till the sun was settling near the mountain tops.

“Hm, Looks like we should start headin’ back Miguel.” You said looking at the way the sun was settling, “Ah right, can’t believe the day slipped away from us that damn quick.” He said as he adjusted his hat to sit back on his head slightly, you couldn’t help but admire his features slightly before snapping yourself out of it. “Miguel, I was wondering if you, I mean if you and any of the cowboys would like to come down to the main house for a lunch of sorts,” Miguel smiled coyly at your little invitation, “Oh? You're inviting little ol’ me huh?” he said his smile went from coy to smug and you rolled your eyes playfully.

“You wish, I’m doing it as a request from my aunt.” You said lying through your teeth, no you were wholeheartedly inviting Miguel, using your aunt as an excuse so he didn’t see right through you. However that was long gone really, he already saw right through you, you and your dirty little thoughts with the way you looked at him and what he learned from your diary. He dramatically put a hand over his heart, “I am truly honored sugar,” he joked causing you to roll your eyes again starting your way back to the main house.

His smile never leaving his face,”See ya tomorrow sweetheart,” he laughed as you turned away from him quickly heading back to the main house to wash up for dinner, he knew damn well what he was going to do tomorrow to get you alone and he couldn’t wait.

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

He spent his day counting down the minutes till he could meet you for lunch well you and your family really, when he saw how the time neared closer he had gone back to the guest house to freshen up opting for a nicely pressed shirt, one of his nice belts, and some jeans that he knew you thought looked damn good on him. Grabbing his hat swiftly and the sunflowers he got just for today.

Making sure he didn’t look too eager he toned down his steps and his excitement, knocking on the front door adjusting his grip on the flowers. He heard you call out ‘I got it!’ before your footsteps followed, opening the door you were the picture of summer. Wearing a nice little sundress, hair more loose and free, and a smile creeping its way onto your face. “Howdy little miss.” He said his southern drawl coming out more has he held the flowers out to you.

You accepted them gratefully, “Miguel you really didn’t have to-” “I wanted to sugar, there’s a difference.” He hummed as he walked inside with you greeting your aunt and uncle with his usual polite demeanor and then greeting your cousins with that smile of his. You couldn’t help but grin, going and finding a vase for the flowers. “He’s a real nice boy ain’t he?” your aunt asked, having noticed your grin.

Still subconsciously smiling as you filled the vase with water you shrugged, “Yeah I suppose he is.” She just laughed a bit as she brought the food and drinks to the table with you following behind her setting the beautiful sunflowers as the centerpiece. Calling everyone to the table for lunch, you settled into your seat, Miguel sitting in the seat beside you which was across from your uncle so they could continue whatever conversation they were having.

You all served yourselves and then conversations began, it felt like most lunches with the addition of Miguel, little did you know what he was planning. He knew how the herding dogs were so when your aunt went to grab the pitcher of juice he sneakily tossed a piece of food underneath the table causing all of them to make a run for the food bumping your aunt’s chair, the pitcher of juice ended up splashing all over your sundress causing you to squeal and jump up.

You quickly excused yourself to hurry up stairs to remove the splotches of color that had begun to seep into the fabric more and more. Miguel excused himself as well, saying he had a call to take and it was rather important. Your family thought nothing of it, just hoping you’d be alright. He headed up the stairs with ease as he heard the sink start to run. Inside you had grabbed a cloth and began to rub at the stains without much thought.

Then a knock sounded and you sighed thinking it was your Aunt or cousins you opened it, it was Miguel. “Ah- I’m sorry I’m tryin’ to-” Miguel cut you off, “Don’t worry sweetheart, I know how to get pesky stains out especially ones that ruin such a nice dress.” You blinked the nickname felt less innocent for some reason especially with the way he was looking at you.

You cleared your throat allowing him to come in and shut the door as he kneeled down digging through the cabinets, “Ah here we are,” He said holding some bleach, “This oughta help somewhat.” He hummed as he dabbed a cloth with some leaning forward looking at you for your permission. You nodded slowly and he brought the cloth to one of the stains, wiping gently. His touch so gentle and soft had your stomach erupting in butterflies.

You felt your arousal grow slightly from his little touches and ministrations and the way he always looked to you with those eyes as a way of asking. You couldn’t help but stare at him, analyzing his features and then a chuckle erupted from his chest causing you to snap back to the situation. “Darlin’ If you keep staring at me that way I might just have to do what your little diary says.” the mention of your diary as your cheeks flushing red and your heart speeding up more than it was before. “I beg your pardon?” was all you could manage out.

He chuckled, setting the cloth aside and moving closer, “I didn’t wanna tell you this sugar but I’ve read your little journal and all the thoughts you think bout me.” He whispered softly against your ear causing you to shudder slightly. “Miguel I can explain-” You started, “Shh, Shh no need sweetheart, I know exactly what you need.” He said softly as he leaned closer, his lips hovering just away from yours. “Question is, do you really want this?” He asked wanting to really make sure this wasn’t some wet dream or that it wasn’t you who felt this way. You swallowed hard as you exhaled shakily, nodding, “Words sugar.” He said softly against your lips. “Yes Miguel, Please.” You pleaded slightly and he chuckled, shaking his head. “Goodness little miss your going to be the death of me.” He teased before your lips met.

It started out soft and sweet then grew into something more passionate and rough as his hands rested on your hips, his thumbs tracing patterns on the cloth that covered them. You pulled away for air, your breathing coming out in small pants and huffs. “Look at you..Kiss bitten lips all needy for me.” Miguel said with a slight smug smirk, “I’m not needy.” You shot back at him with a small huff.

His hand went from your hips to your thigh working up to your panty covered clit, a gasp eliciting from your throat. “Not so needy huh?” he teases as he rubs a thumb over your covered clit groaning at the way your arousal has made your panties wet. “Not-Not needy at all,” You managed out as a whine followed your words when his hand moved away.

“Then maybe I shouldn’t,” He started before you sighed, “Please Miguel..” You murmured, earning a smile from him, “Please what?” he said, pushing you on. “I need you.” you whined out earning a satisfactory chuckle, his hands found your waist and he hoisted you up to sit on the counters of the bathroom. His lips immediately find your inner thigh, sucking marks into the soft skin.

His hands wander as you let out small gasps and cries trying to be quiet, as you beg for him, as you beg TO him. God he never really thought his little idea would work but here he was buried in between your thighs, what a dream. His lips inched closer and closer to where you wanted him, he gently pulled your panties down and off. Then he licked a slow stripe up your folds eliciting a moan from you causing you to cover your mouth.

You could practically feel the smile he had on his face, he began eating you out like you were the last meal he’d ever eat. His tongue working your leaking hole then focusing directly on your clit. Humming gently when his lips wrapped around the sensitive bud causing a guttural noise to slip past your hand. His pace is unforgivable with the way he’s eating you.

He acts like he's a starved man eating the most delicious food alive and he just can’t stop, one hand keeping your thighs apart and the other massaging the soft supple skin. The way he alternates between tongue fucking you then sucking at your clit has your head in the cloud feeling like your on cloud nine.

Without warning he shoves two fingers in causing you to gasp at the surprise feeling, his fingers working slowly but surely in a soft pace to give you time until you're practically begging for more and he gives you more. His fingers curl in the right spots as he pumps his fingers in and out of you sloppily kissing and licking at your clit.

All the stimulation has your head reeling as a knot forms in your stomach, he doesn’t stop, he makes direct eye contact with you with that smug smile on his face as the knot snaps. Your velvety walls spasming around his fingers as you orgasm, your eyes shut tight as he laps up all of it slowly letting you down from your high as you exhale sharply when he removes his fingers.

His hands come to make quick work of his belt and jeans bringing his boxers and jeans just low enough for his painfully hard cock to spring out. You can’t help but stare as he works it slightly, your mouth practically hanging open at the sight of it, precum beading at the tip as he works it slightly lining his head up with your entrance.

He looks to you for another affirmation and you nod looking up at him with those pleading eyes again and he can’t say no to you. He nudges his head in before plunging in full force eliciting a loud moan from your lips and groans from his with how tight you are around him. “God..So tight, such a good girl I swear.” he murmurs as he begins thrusting into your cunt, the praise causing your pussy to flutter around him. He acknowledged this with a little smirk.

“You like that huh? You like being my good girl,” He huffs out earning a whine from you, he lands a small slap to your ass causing a yelp to fall from your lips. “I asked you a question.” He said gruffly his change in attitude had your stomach feeling butterflies. “Yes, Yes s’good Miguel!” You cried out as his pace became relentless. His smirk remained at the way you reacted to all of this. His hands have a grip on your hips that’ll most definitely bruise without a doubt.

His face finds itself in the crevice of your neck placing soft kisses and words of praise into your ear, your mind practically melts from all of this as he fucks you with such a pace, the sound of skin slapping and your muffled whines and cries becoming evident as he continues on. Your legs come to wrap around his back slightly as he pulls his face away to watch where you two connect. “Tan condenadamente apretada, tan buena para mí.(So damn tight, so good for me.)” He managed out as your walls fluttered around him, having a vice on his cock.

“That feel good? Hm?” he asked knowing damn well your practically fucked dumb at this point, nodding your eyes fluttering open as he comes to rhythmic pace that’s hitting all the right spots for you. He continues to praise you and kiss up your neck leaving marks occasionally just because he can. With the way your walls clench around him he can tell your close, his free hand comes down to rub circles on your clit making you gasp and your head loll back onto the mirror behind you.”So damn needy for me..Taking all you can get.” he chuckled out.

“I’m not needy,” you managed out best you could as you took his hat from him, He shook his head at your hard-headedness “Eres tan terco…(You are so stubborn..)” He huffed out with a chuckle, quickly taking his hat back from you as you shot him a mischievous smile even in your mind melted state. Rolling your hips eliciting a groan from the cowboy who tossed his head back, his hat covering his face.

He hums slightly, leaning down to plant kisses on your collarbone and shoulder, “That’s how you wanna play huh?” he murmurs into your skin, his pace picking up almost knocking the air out of you, the lewd noises that spill from your lips spur him on, and that familiar knot tightens in your stomach, then the coil snaps and your cunts warm walls restrict around him and he can’t help but groan before he quickly pulls out before he can cum. Causing a small whine from you at the loss of feeling full.

“You wanna play games then we can play games sugar.” He says as he brings you off the counter onto your knees, you swallow thickly as you gently kitten lick the tip of his cock, soft and slowly. Teasing him with it, earning low groans and even slight whines from him. You don’t get very far with your tricky endeavors before he bucks his hips slightly causing you to gag around it. “Sorry bout that darlin’ just can’t help myself.” he says with a slight smile.

You start a steady pace, your hands resting on his thighs as you bob your head back and forth, your nose touching the tip of his pelvis before you pull off of him just to tease him again. He groans out before laughing slightly, his hand coming to find itself behind your head. “God you are just a little tease ain’tcha.” he says before thrusting into your mouth, causing you to gag slightly and pat his thighs. Tears welling in your eyes.

“Shh shh, it’s alright just relax.” He says softly and you try to, finding a steady breathing pace through your nose and relaxing your throat slightly. He begins face fucking your practically, drool coming to spill from the side of your mouth and nose tickling his pelvis as the hums you produced in response to his praises elicited groans and huffs from him.

His pace was rhythmic until it became erratic, his breathing becoming more uneven, “Don’t think I’m gonna last any longer.” Miguel huffs out as his pace becomes more needy. You hum around him and he groans, begging you to do that again and you oblige, humming around his length gagging slightly. The sensations send him over the edge after a few more thrusts his cum spurts down your throat causing you to swallow out of reflex, he slowly pulls out a string of spit connecting him to your kiss bitten drool covered lips. God the sight of alone could have had him going again he leaned forward wiping a thumb over your lip to wipe the drool away as you swallowed.

He planted a small kiss on your temple, “You're just perfect darlin’.” He praises making you smile slightly as he helped you stand up, a hand resting on your hips. “Maybe we should head back down, Wouldn’t want your family to worry too much.” you hummed in response, “I’m gonna change first, you go on down.” you said softly planting a kiss to his cheek as you carefully exited the bathroom to go back to the room.

Could this be the start of something real with this cowboy?

Fin.

[trolllsss]

I've been trying to articulate this idea for a while and I think I finally got it.

So there's a troll sickness that only affects Grey trolls, or trolls that had been Grey before. When they lose their pigment they also lose something that fights off this illness in brightly colored trolls.

Modern day trolls don't know about it, thank goodness some of the kingdoms kept good records, they just think Grey trolls die young. That's part of why most kept their distance. They wouldn't be able to camouflage and be eaten, or they'd get sick and have no one to take care of them because they pushed everyone away, or one day they'd just, disappear. Three to five years is the longest most trolls have heard of a Grey troll living. There was one country troll that made it nine. A stubborn, crotchety old troll named Willow who became a grey troll the same day she became a widow.

The sickness only takes about twenty percent of Grey trolls.

Others are too scared to leave their homes so they starve to death. Too numb to do anything but sleep so they die of thirst. Too despondent to see that they aren't a burden so they walk themselves into the beast filled forests and never come back. That's why colorful trolls almost instinctively avoid them. Because they'll just end up dying and knowing them will make that hurt and what living thing doesn't try to avoid pain when it can?

Sickness only takes two out of every ten.

That wasn't so bad before every troll in the world went grey. Thanks Barb.

Trolls started getting sick, then they started dying. The mortality rate is at about seventy percent. Funk found their old records and luckily, a potential cure. I'm calling it Grey Away because I think I'm hilarious. It's a bit of a drive to get but Branch immediately volunteers. He doesn't tell anyone that it's because trolls who were grey for longer are more susceptible to the sickness and he wants to get away from the masses.

Naturally Poppy joins too. The brothers, who were visiting to make sure Branch was okay, all decided to join too. They'd get there faster in Rhonda anyway.

Cue road trip of reconciliation! Proper time for the bros to come to terms with everything that happened and how rough it was for Branch especially. They get good at brothering too. Teasing in a way that's funny (usually about Poppy), making food and then stealing bites of said food, playing games and taking them way too seriously, and flipping the table when they catch someone cheating.(It was John Dory, he was feeding Rhonda cards. It was not subtle.) (No one ever catches Floyd who'd been cheating since the game started.)

The first symptom is losing your voice. It takes a day to realize Branch has stopped talking.

The next day he's grey again, another symptom. Poppy mentions that it's a little weird seeing him like that again. She was just getting used to his other colors.

Bros have to put in more effort to understand their youngest who was pretending he wasn't such because he was worried if he got to be too much work they'd leave him again.

Cue healing. And. You know. Saving troll kind. Again.

[llondonfog]

diasomnia month // prompt 08 — spring

death had been kinder as of late.

forget-me-nots carpet graves almost as soon as the marker has been set in place, a dreamy cushion of blue to ease the aching grief of gathered loved ones. the soldiers fallen in the fields glimpse one final sight of their ravaged bodies cradled by poppies, effervescent and sweet, before they depart for the afterlife— a strange sense of peace to comfort their violent souls. and for the animals, the gentle creatures who nestle in the arms of the earth to return home, a bower of weeping willows with a green-pearled curtain to shelter them in their final hours.

as the heir to their immortal kingdom, such unusual blessings did not go unnoticed from malleus' keen supervision.

he has known the god of the dead for far beyond the mortal realm's ability to comprehend, and lilia has persisted for millennia beyond even malleus' incredible existence. it is not an existence that he is particularly boastful about, though many gods would be— malleus knows of private conversations that he was not meant to hear, of lilia's despair at the endurance of his belief, when malleus' own mother was cast down into the terror of obscurity by the ever-changing whims of humanity. as such, he knows that lilia regards the humans they are meant to shepherd with a sense of bitter apathy; it is not hard to understand, even share his beliefs, when humanity continues to devour itself with senseless wars, the lives of themselves and gods in the invisible balance.

so it is more than peculiar, strange even, that lilia should be taking such an active interest in the weeping and wailing of the very people he despises. and such abnormality calls for a visit— an unprompted one, by the prince of all gods, who prided himself on his ability to prepare for even the worst of circumstances.

(could it be? had lilia finally left for whatever great unknown that awaited gods, had the absence carved into his immortal soul by the loss of malleus' mother and father finally poisoned him so, his duties now carried on by some new and unfamiliar cult figure?)

all of this, malleus was prepared to accept.

malleus was not, however, prepared to find the god of the dead, the lord of the very underworld himself, frolicking in a field of wildflowers with a child laughing and bouncing gleefully on his hip, with baby fat fingers fisted into locks of shadow-slick hair and a smile bright enough to rival the sun.

a child, bearing the blessing of lilia's godly might— a child, malleus realizes with awe and an eerie sense of impending doom, whose very blood sings with lilia's own ichor.

a demi-god.

[odditiesnoctobermidnightroad]

Words from Fluffy: “ Hi there. Hello. So if you like plants -growing them, drawing them, eating them- I’m YOUR bun! Kind of. I mean- I know all about different kinds of plants. Also fungi too, which are not plants. But they are in the ground and can be creepy too, so I let them in --this is a prompt-tober for ‘artists’.

Acorns and falling leaves. (note: are dangerous to horses)

Cordyceps Fungi. They zombify bugs. 

Fly agaric mushroom. Don’t touch

Wolfsbane flowers. Don’t touch. 

Eye of Newt. It’s mustard. 

Toe of frog. It’s buttercups

Wool of bat. It’s holly leaves. 

Tongue of dog. It’s Houndstongue. Don’t touch. 

Deadly Nightshade(s). So many. Don’t touch.

A lush-green lawn- wait for it; in a place where it has no place being well kept. 

Corpse Flowers. They’re big and that’s really what their name is!

The good-old venus flytrap. Treat them well. They’re friends for life. 

Tomatoes. They’re on the attack. 

A house plant. Like the lawn, imagine one being in a place it really should be. 

Cactuses. Work best in desserts, obviously!

Pomegranates. And their seeds. 

Dracula Orchid. Yes, these are real. They’re all black too. 

Roses. With thorns. The best way to show someone you’ll do anything for love. 

Foxgloves. Because I think foxgloves are neat!

Bleeding Tooth Fungus. 

Droseras! Also called sundews. They’re my favorite! 

Willows. The greatest tree of them all -no take-backs.

Rafflesia flowers. So disgusting. 

Giant Water Lilies; in case the water wasn’t scary enough. 

Wolf apple bushes. They grow in South America. 

Poppies! They’re also poisonous. 

Pitcher Plants. Be it trumpet or toilet. 

A still life of fruit. (note: fruit rots)

Calla Lilies. You see them at funerals all the time!

Pumpkins, Gourds and Beets. You can carve them out. 

Marigolds. Also known as Calendula flowers, the flower of October. 

Draw each fungi/plant listed for every day of October and see what grows out of these nifty ideas. Please.” - Fluffy.

[valdiis]

FFXIV Site Write #28: Deleterious

"B-but sir! The deleterious effects of over-usi-"

"You're going to feel the deleterious effects of my fist to your groin in a moment, if you don't give me something for pain!" Onaerion shouted at the chirurgeon. Yet another chirurgeon. Yet another talentless quack. They all seemed to think that suffering built character or some such chocobo shite. All suffering did for you was - surprise - make you suffer. Rion was tired of suffering. He hurt and he was absolutely done with it.

He glowered up at the white-robed and bespectacled Elezen man. It was damned hard to be intimidating from a chair, but he gave it his all.

"Y-yes, well, a little milk of the poppy should-"

"I want relief from pain," Rion growled, "not life. Willow bark tea will be fine."

The chirurgeon adjusted his spectacles. "Very well then." He opened his satchel and rooted through the many jars and parcels and packets within, eventually producing a dark brown glass jar full of bark shavings. Without further fuss, he held it out to Rion - who took it with a quickness that nearly could give lie to his infirmity.

"Now then, you shouldn't drink this more than three times a day. Space it out with meals. It can still be addictive if you..." The chirurgeon droned on about the habit-forming qualities of pain-killers, but Rion was already not listening. Of course he had a reliance on willow bark tea for pain. It was a chronic pain, therefore a chronic need for relief. At one time, he could pinpoint it and say things like "my middle back aches" or "my shoulders hurt." Nowadays, he was just a mass of soreness and pain from the bottom of his skull down to the vestigial feeling he had in his arse. He'd considered stepping up the medicine to milk of the poppy, but he already knew that he had a propensity for addiction. Why tempt it? The willow bark took the edges off it, at least.

When the chirurgeon stopped talking long enough to draw breath, Rion waved him off dismissively and tucked the jar next to himself in his chair. Then he put his hands to the wheels and wheeled himself right out of the drawing room. The chirurgeon could show himself out. Rion was headed for the edge of the kitchen. His chair wouldn't fit through the door and - since he didn't cook - it wasn't one of the ones he'd had widened, so he had to stop there. "Egrianne," he called out, "can you make me some of my special tea, please?"

[toastydoll]

Sooo irl im a barista (toasty lore!) and inspired off this post I decided to make a bunch of custom rh drinks!! I’m gonna start w the original 8 but I have a bunch of favorites so I’ll definitely do more in the future :3

Obligatory barista disclaimer: please don’t order these lmao. Or order them only when it’s super slow or you have the worlds most patient barista.

Ruby Anderson

She’s going big and she’s not going home. My girl gets a graffitied 32oz stanley cup filled with eight shots of espresso. She calls it a double quad when she orders it and it makes kia wince every. single. time

She’s getting a spicy mocha ofc. Kia keeps a bottle of cayenne powder next to the sauces and syrups just for her

A mocha is a little too one note, even w the spice, so she gets a lil cherry and dragonfruit syrup in there too

She’s probably just getting whole milk base, and kia refuses to make a hot version (only iced) so ruby doesn’t drink it too fast

Poppy Rowan

She gets a pretty big drink, but smth more like 16-20oz than rubys mega drink lmao. Three shots of espresso max, otherwise she gets jittery and a little too tunnel vision hyperfocused on things

She usually uses a chai base with a bit of orange syrup. Spice is more her jam than sweet chai but she’s down for either.

My girl gets almond milk foamed into a super frothy cappuccino, with a big head thick enough to support a generous amount of cinnamon sugar.

Sunny Madison

Her drinks are always barely caffeinated otherwise she’s bouncing off the walls lmao. She’s a 16oz drink MAXIMUM, and usually goes for a 12oz drink instead. Either way she only gets a single shot of espresso.

Her drink is so sweet that it completely masks the espresso. She gets a white chocolate caramel mocha with extra white chocolate, caramel drizzle around the cup, and a pump of vanilla syrup. Half the cup is just. Syrup.

All that sugar gets blended with ice and cream until it’s a thick frappuccino, which is then topped with whipped cream, more caramel drizzle, and rainbow sprinkles. Somewhere in there is a shot of espresso.

If kia has some on hand, sunny will absolutely get this made with butterscotch and vanilla ice cream.

Jade Hunter

Nine times out of ten she’s just getting black coffee. Maaaaybe she’ll ask kia to add a pump of vanilla, but it’s usually just plain ol coffee.

When she’s feeling festive she’ll get a doppio and drink it so fast she burns the tip of her tongue

Seriously tho, jade is the kind of girl who gets coffee “black as my soul.” When she needs more caffeine she just adds shots to her coffee for increasingly strong red eyes.

Skyler Bradshaw

Skyler LOVES a cold brew, the smoother the better. Nitro cold brews are her favorites but she understands when kia can’t do that for her lol.

Her coffee is usually unsweetened and topped with cold foamed oat milk

Her favorite way to experiment with flavors is through infusion. She and kia love to play around with chicory and earl grey tea, and her current obsession is infused with Darjeeling.

The first twelve times she went to the rainbow union she just got whatever kia recommended and was too shy to ask for anything special, but ever since they started collaborating her infusions are becoming increasingly popular

Violet Willow

Oh my god she has the most annoying drink in the world. Kia loves her and STILL groans when she comes in. Baristas everywhere fear violet willow.

It’s an iced 16oz latte with half coconut half soy milk, to start, cold foamed for velvety smoothness with light ice. She has her own purple sparkly cup with a rhinestone V on the front.

She gets four shots of espresso and is VERY particular about how they’re pulled. If her espresso is too sour/bitter she won’t hesitate to have the drink remade.

Her base flavor is white chocolate and lavender, with a half pump of blackberry, a half pump of almond, and a half pump of vanilla. Not too much syrup that it’s aggressively sweet, but all five flavors need to be there or she WILL complain.

Her reusable cup has a dome lid so she can see the whipped cream with “just enough stevia sprinkle to make it sparkle!” Kia definitely keeps pearl non pareils just for violet (that violet bought btw)

Kia has this drink down to a science at this point. When violet crosses the threshold of the rainbow union kia is already weighing out syrups and sauces. Their dynamic is tenuous at best.

Bella Parker

Bella needs a lot of caffeine, now. She’s getting a triple shot cortado with half and half, extra creamy

She gets a pump of rose syrup steamed with her breve to add a little subtle complex sweetness. It makes the whole cafe smell delicately perfumed while Kia’s making it

Kia sometimes adds one of violets pearl sprinkles on top of the foam and it delights bella every single time

Amaya Raine

She needs something she can drink super fast that’ll get her brain to focus but she’s amaya so of COURSE it’s gonna be cute

She gets an espresso con panna with rainbow sprinkles! Simple (two shots with whipped cream), fast, and sugary sweet

Kia always adds a pump of vanilla to the espresso to complement the vanilla in her house made whipped cream

[charlie-pippin-faraday]

About Jerome’s mum yeah the way Poppy and Jerome talk about her isn’t great and they explicitly state that she wants nothing to with helping their dad even though it clearly means a lot to her kids and that Jerome went to Poppy’s recitals when their mum couldn’t be assed so she’s definitely not the nicest.

[warning: this kind of turned into a long post]

Yeah none of the things anyone ever says about her or the context clues they give about her paint her in a good light. I'm trying to think of anything good Poppy or Jerome ever said about their mother and I'm drawing a blank.

Tbh I'd go as far as to say that she's probably the WORST parent of all the parents ever seen or mentioned. Or at least has the worst relationship with her kid(s). And that's saying something, given what some of these parents are like and some of the things they've done

Let's assess these parents, shall we? I'm gonna go from best to worst (in my opinion, at least)

We never hear any kind of mention of Fabian's or Willow's parents. Amber never once mentions a mother, and Nina's and KT's parents are all deceased, so we're not gonna include them, I'm only touching on the ones I know for sure exist.

Eddie's mom - A lot of this is just me drawing my own conclusions, but there's no way Eddie doesn't have a good relationship with his mother. He never mentions a step-parent, so I'm left to believe that she raised him by herself and it was just the two of them in their house. He got into trouble a lot in school in America but he never implied that caused any issues between him and his mom. He calls her boring at one point during his first date with Patricia but tbh I think that's just him lying to look cool. I think she has the best relationship of any of the parents with their kids, and I have two pieces of evidence for it: 1) Eddie brought his girlfriend across the ocean to meet his mom, who seemingly loved her, and 2) She actively helped Eddie plan a date and even called him (repeatedly) to see how it was going. A teenage boy consulted with his mom on girl problems, and one of two things happened. Either he asked her to help him plan a date/tell him what he should do to woo Patricia and she did, or she offered the date idea unprompted and he took it. That boy loves his mama and she clearly loves him right back. Absolutely none of the other kids are calling their parents and willingly letting them get THAT involved in their love lives like that.

Mara's parents (Francis & Mrs. Jaffray) - We never see them, but we hear about them a number of times, and Mara never says anything bad about them. She appears to be on very good terms with her parents. Despite not sharing their interests/passions/career choices, Mara in my estimation probably looks up to them a lot. They're both professional, gold medal-winning athletes, and I'll bet that's where Mara gets her competitiveness and her drive to be the best at everything. She probably feels a lot of pressure to achieve the same success as they did, and she does mention them being pushy, but it's probably more Mara pressuring herself internally than them pressuring her. Mara says more about her dad than her mom, describing him as normal and a little silly (he apparently dances like SpongeBob lol). Never a bad word about either of them, leading me to believe she has a very good relationship with her parents, though not on the same level as Eddie and his mother.

Alfie's parents (Philip & Marsha Lewis) - We see Alfie's parents once, when they visit the house after the play. And like, they obviously have a pretty good relationship, otherwise they wouldn't even bother visiting. Alfie's mom clearly adores him. And yes, Alfie's dad is very strict and has high expectations, but he never gave any indication that he didn't care. A lot of that comes from his desire to see his son succeed. And Alfie clearly wants his father to be proud of him and tries hard to impress him. I think Alfie's mother probably spoils him, but his dad is very hard on him, and that might have the potential to cause them conflict later in life when Alfie expresses that he doesn't want to go into the family business or even work in that field at all. Alfie describes them as strict and control freaks (his dad being strict in the "I am a businessman and in charge" type of way, and his mom in the "oh that's my baby I won't let anything happen to my baby!!!" type of way imo), but they clearly care a lot, and despite all the pressure Alfie feels from his parents they are definitely on the top end of Anubis parents. (Though tbh it's more Alfie's mom than dad that gets them this high on the list.) And since we know nothing about Fabian's dad, I think I can officially declare that Alfie has the best relationship with his dad out of all the boys in Anubis House, despite how strict he is and the potential conflict they could have.

Mick's and Joy's moms - I'm lumping these two here together because both of them are mentioned maybe once in passing and nothing is ever said about either of them. I know that they exist, and that's it. I know nothing about them or their relationships with their respective kids. So I have to assume that as moms they are just Fine, otherwise Joy and Mick would have talked about them more. And tbh I have nothing else to say about them, so moving on.

Amber's dad - Amber's dad feels like the classic "I don't know what to do with my child or how to connect with them so I'll just buy them everything" type of rich parent. Do they have a strong relationship? I wouldn't say particularly so, probably. But it's not a bad one. The main knock on him is that he doesn't have a lot of faith in her to achieve things in her life and probably doesn't think she's very smart. Does he know his daughter? No, it doesn't look that way. Does he love his daughter? Yes, he never gives any indication that he doesn't. The main thing putting him this high on the list is that Amber seems to adore her dad. She is definitely daddy's little girl. He absolutely spoils her. And she seems to revere him almost, and she believes he has the power to solve almost any kind of problem, which is probably how it went during a good portion of her childhood. He was very worried when he didn't see Amber for awhile while she was trapped in the tank room, and I'm pretty sure part of the reason he let her go to fashion school was concern over her well-being. While they have their tension and certainly their distance, this is definitely a good relationship, for the most part.

Mick's dad (Rory Campbell) - This is the point where we get into the more complex relationships. Mick's still got a good relationship with his dad, but it feels a lot more strained compared to the relationships above just because of the vibes I got while watching. Like Alfie's dad, Mick's dad is very hard on him. They're both rich and important and expect a lot. I think the main difference is that Alfie's dad was more like "I want you to take advantage of your potential so that you can succeed" but he's less particular about what success looks like. I don't believe he ever explicitly stated that he wanted Alfie to follow in his footsteps or take a particular path, it felt more vague and he would likely be more flexible with Alfie's future. Mick's dad, on the other hand, had a VERY particular plan in place that he expected Mick not to veer from, and seemed disappointed when Mick expressed that he wanted to do something else. And tbh one of the bigger transgressions in my mind is that he doesn't listen to Mick, and he doesn't take him seriously. It takes Mara's convincing to get him on board with the exact same things Mick was trying to tell him, and tbh that doesn't sit right with me. He doesn't seem to have a lot of belief in his son, and there also seems to be a fundamental misunderstanding of his son if he doesn't know that he's very talented at sports and not skilled at math and science and is pushing so hard for him to be a doctor specifically and not veer from the "plan" they probably made when he was like eight. Mick expresses a lot of frustration with his dad, both during this incident and when they're taking him out of school to Australia. Another difference between Alfie and Mick: Alfie is actively trying to impress his dad. Mick feels that he's already disappointed his. I imagine the frustration decreased a lot when his dad finally accepted his son's ambitions. So overall I'd say this is a mostly good relationship, and his dad definitely cares about him, but there is tension here that I can FEEL.

Jerome's dad (John Clarke) - I'm gonna have to do the cliffsnotes version of this one, since we got basically a whole season touching on this particular relationship. They didn't make it super clear when exactly he went to prison, but there was definitely a good amount of time where he was at home with the family. Poppy said she barely remembers him, so it couldn't have been THAT long, but it was long enough for Jerome to collect a substantial amount of memories, and none of them were good. Before he went to prison, it feels like John was a pretty crappy father. And not only did his parents put Jerome in boarding school at age 5, essentially abandoning him, but it seems like being at home was awful too. So Jerome had to deal with his dad being a terrible father during probably about the first five years of his life, but he also had to deal with the trauma of his dad leaving them and disappearing. Jerome held onto that resentment for a very long time, as is warranted. And yes, John was a bad dad and disappeared on his kids, but when season 2 rolled around he truly did have a change of heart and wanted to make amends, which is the only thing keeping him from being lower on this list. You can't erase the years of bad treatment and subsequent abandonment, but he looks to have recognized that he did wrong and wants to fix them and be better moving forward, which is more than can be said for some of the parents on this list.

Patricia's parents - First of all, regardless of whether or not they are good or bad parents, it feels very clear to me that Patricia HATES her parents. And since this list is about 75% relationship with their kids and 25% how good of a parent they are, that jettisoned Patricia's parents almost all the way to the end. I'd be willing to bet that they are almost always at odds with Patricia, and that, since she's a handful, they just don't know what to do with her. And they either don't believe her, downplay her concerns, or are convinced she's always making things up for attention (probably a combination of all), because they essentially brush off Patricia's concerns when she calls them after Joy's disappearance, thinking she's talking crazy. Patricia never says her parents were BAD to her, necessarily, but I don't ever remember her saying anything good about them. Just about everything she says in reference to her parents is a negative light. Probably the biggest knock on her parents is their very obvious favoritism of Piper, whom it sounds like they raised as the golden child. They gave her all the attention, put a lot of their time and energy into her music career, and left Patricia feeling very much like the least-favorite daughter. And you know that just has to hurt like hell and also make her so very mad. She obviously still has a relationship with them, since she threatens to call their father on Piper when she ditches music school, but it's clearly not a good relationship, and she definitely doesn't LIKE them or feel respected by them. So I wouldn't say they're bad parents, but they give their daughters unequal treatment and an unequal amount of love, and tbh that's a pretty shitty thing to do. Atrocious relationship with Patricia.

Mr. Sweet - Being the right hand man of the immortality cult was already bad. And then we learned this man abandoned his son on the other side of the ocean for 16 years. My personal hatred of Mr. Sweet might bleed into this a little, but tbh I don't care. It's never made clear when exactly Mr. Sweet left Eddie and his mother, whether he left before Eddie was born or stuck around for a little bit after. If he did, he didn't stick around long, because Eddie didn't know him and he didn’t know Eddie. (Which is arguably better than Jerome where he had bad memories of his father instead of none at all?) It's also unclear what his relationship with Eddie's mother was like, whether they were married (possible but doubtful, given her different last name), or planning to build a life together, if he left without warning or had some kind of excuse for going back, if they were on good terms when he did, and also what his relationship with her is like now. (Also we don't know what he was doing in America, or when and why he decided to reach back out to Eddie and how exactly that all happened, but that's for a different post.) Either way, Eddie grew up without any kind of a father, and depending on what his mother told him, he could've hated the guy, ached to meet him, resented him, and probably every single emotion you can think of. And it undoubtedly led to a lack of trust and feeling unwanted. Not to mention that once Eddie DOES come into his life he has no clue how to be a father, and he's a pretty crap one, especially at first. On repeated occasions he acts like he hates Eddie, says he's disappointed in him (ex. the conversation in Eddie's room that Patricia overhears), and doesn't approve of him or his actions, which is not the best way to connect with your son or help him feel good (and he wonders why Eddie doesn't want to call him dad). Oh, and there's the whole "constantly putting his friends in danger" thing. And being on team evil. The ONLY saving grace here is that by the end Sweet is ACTIVELY trying to build a relationship and be a dad (I'd argue he never really succeeds at the whole being a dad part), and he seems to care and never purposefully tries to put Eddie in danger. But the two of them do not have a good relationship, I would say. And tbh I don't think Eddie should ever forgive him, after all he's done, but that's just my personal opinion.

Joy's dad (Frederick Mercer) - I feel like we sometimes forget just how awful Joy's dad was. Not only was he in the evil immortality club, he willingly used his OWN DAUGHTER for cult activities and ceremonies. Like, he essentially gave her up and said she's cult property now, intending to use her as a pawn. And he kept her locked up and isolated from the world and from her friends for MONTHS. MONTHS!!!!! And for lack of better words he was making her help them kill their friends. Like sir you have traumatized your daughter for LIFE. And it is YOUR FAULT. I have no idea what their relationship was like before all that went down; Patricia seemed to indicate that he was a pleasant guy, and even while she was locked up Joy was convinced that her dad was doing this because the others were "making him," bless her heart. Before all that, they probably had an okay, normal relationship. But tbh, none of that matters anymore. I imagine that absolutely shattered Joy's relationship with her dad. I can only imagine the heartbreak and hurt and betrayal she must've felt, especially if indeed they'd had a good relationship before, and now she probably won't ever trust him again. At one point Joy says she's trying to work on her relationship with her father, which is more than he deserves tbh. This relationship is absolutely not a good one anymore, and it may even be irreparable. The literal only thing saving him is that he at least ACTED like he cared. He repeatedly calls her darling and princess during his appearances onscreen, and he tries to assure her it'll be okay. At the very least, he cares, even if he cares in the wrong way.

And now, last and certainly least, we come to Jerome's mom. "But Liz," you say, "you're rating her worse than the two parents who were literally in the immortality club?!" Yes, and here's why.

We don't see her at ALL, but what we do hear about her paints an ugly, ugly picture. And what makes her the worst is that she does not care and does not even ATTEMPT to care. Alfie's and Mick's dads have high expectations and are hard on their kids, but they both show that they care. Amber's dad doubts her but loves her and protects her. Patricia's parents certainly have the ability to care, even if they need to reallocate their resources to BOTH daughters. Eddie's dad and Jerome's own dad, throughout all their transgressions, expressed interest in mending and building relationships with their kids. Even Joy's dad seemed to care.

Joan Clarke does not care. You said so yourself up there, anon: she refuses to help her kids with their dad in prison and never attended any of Poppy's recitals. And she sent Jerome off to boarding school at age five and left him there to rot, in Jerome's words. Throughout the entire show, I can't recall Jerome ever once saying one good thing about his mother. And he implied that his home life is bad and doesn't go home a lot, which would all be her fault, since she's the only parent there. Based on Jerome's comments and context clues, she just sounds like an unpleasant woman all around. I said this in the tags of the post that inspired this ask, and I'll say it here: I'm pretty sure Alfie has met Jerome's mom, based on clues (and if he hasn't met her, he's met her in my headcanons). In the episode with Alfie's parents, he says to Jerome "yours are WAY worse" when discussing parents, implying that he's met them. But as John Clarke is in prison and Alfie doesn't know anything about him, and also because he's definitely been gone since before Jerome and Alfie met, there's no way Alfie's met his dad. Which means he's only met Jerome's mom, and the comment was just about his mom. And if Alfie's saying it like that, you know she cannot be a pleasant lady. I'm trying to think of any redeeming things Jerome ever says about his mom, but it's difficult. Alfie makes a joke in s1 while they're "contacting Joy's spirit" that Jerome once stole Mrs. Andrews' scarf and snuggled in bed with it because he was missing his mom, but that's about it. Yes, she was technically there for her kids (unlike some of the dads on this list), but it sounds like she wasn't really there mentally. She made it clear to her kids that she doesn't care and doesn't seem to be making any effort. So if I'm Jerome, I'm going home almost never so I have to see her as little as possible [I have a headcanon that Jerome never goes home for Christmas and in fact starts going to Alfie's house for Christmas]. Because not only does he have a bad relationship with her, he has practically no relationship at all.

So, in conclusion it may be a controversial opinion, but I truly believe Jerome's mom is the worst of the parents. In their relationships with their kids, at least.

[sleepingswift85]

Another round of follow Friday but calling it Follow Sunday cause I always get this done on that day…. Usual thing, follow the folks and spread the love ❤️

@glgz

@chiara-swiftiedreamer13

@caseopencaseshut

@pickahomeholidayhouse

@animallover4000

@paleghxsts

@chloethemachine

@glassdandelion

@sadgirlnace

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@paqerings

@a-pessimistic-swiftie

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@octoberconstellation

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@rep-meow-tay-tion

@likesnowatthebeach

@heartandflowerball

@weeping-in-the-willows

@indeliblescarspivotalmarks

@fantasticcollectorkitten

@corneliaboulevard

@paradiselostsstuff

@stvrlighhttt

@folkloregurl

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@youronlymagnolia

@spellsoutpainsstuff

@emmsylou13

@allthegirls13

@trolliworms

@getting-hit-by-a-tour-bus

@swiftieannah

Follow away :)

[lostfracturess]

Hi! I'm a s&c reader and I really like the way you write! Your fanfic is very good and addictive, not only because of the events, but also because of the quality of the writing.

I was wondering if you have any writing advice?

Bye~

thank you so much!! of course, i've giving a few writing tips here before. here are more i can think of rn:

read yourself: by reading yourself (fanficiton or not) you become a better writer. immersing yourself in different styles and genres really broadens your understanding of writing and also let you explore what you enjoy and what not.

write regularly: practice makes a huge difference. don't get stuck on perfectionism in your early drafts (which i'm terrible at). just getting words on the page is the first step.

find your voice: your unique way of putting words together is what makes your writing stand out. don't be afraid to experiment with tone and language. you don't have to have everything set from the start, you can explore and have fun with language as you go!

i've been experimenting a bit the last few chapter with s&c with my writing myself and make it more "visceral" or how you would call it, like really gripping and "ugly" in the way you describe feelings.

i think r. f. kuang (poppy war trilogy) does this so excellently and i really like her writing style. she was always a big inspiration for me.

plotting: some writers like detailed outlines, while others prefer to discover their story as they write. when i get stuck with writing i often plot more. than i think it's easier to write but also i'm so impatient and just want to write instead of plotting... so you'll have to experiment to see what works best for you.

reverse plotting:  if you're stuck with plotting, start with the ending you want and brainstorm how your characters might arrive at that point.

specificity over generalities: instead of "big tree," can it be a "towering oak" or a "gnarled willow"? instead of "nice day," describe the "crisp air" and "bright sunshine." this makes the scene more vivid for the readers.

add sensory details: don't just tell the reader what's happening, describe what it smells, tastes, sounds, and feels like.

don't be afraid of using the word "said": maybe it's just me but some authors shy away from that, which i get because it reads so repetitive but i rather read "said" a few times in a scene with a lot of people, instead of loosing sight of who said what.

notes on your phone: often i get random thoughts and i then have to immediately write them down in my notes app because otherwise they would slip again out of my brain. so whenever you have a good scene in mind or see something (in a movie or what) you like, just write it down and come back to it later.

vary sentence length: mix of long sentences and short, impactful sentences creates a rhythm in your writing. a lot of long sentences in a row can feel slightly boring otherwise. try to break it up with some short ones in between.

ask yourself questions: does this scene help the plot? or is it just for fun? what should the reader know after this scene? or with what feeling should the reader be left? is this character's motivation clear? this will help you identify potential weaknesses in your writing.

lastly but most importantly! don't compare yourself to others: it's so hard to not compare yourself with other, i know that myself all too well, but writing is a journey and for most of us a hobby. focus on writing what you really like and celebrating your successes, no matter how small!! ♡

hope these will help you a bit! sending you love ♡

[psychic-refugee]

For @mermaid886

Theme: Practical Magic/Bloodline Curse

The Frump women were known to be powerful witches and utterly beautiful. Morticia Frump was no different.

She found love with Gomez Addams, and while she took his name and gave it to her children, the Frump bloodline would always win out and any child born of a Frump was considered a Frump to the small eastern seaside village of Jericho, Vermont.

She may call herself Morticia Addams, but the Frump women’s curse followed her still.

She loved Gomez deeply and passionately for ten years. He gave her two beautiful children, Wednesday and Pugsly. Both had the spark of magic and Morticia worried for them because despite three hundred years passing since the first Frump woman, Mortina Frump, the town still seemed fearful of anyone of Frump blood.

The curse came for Gomez one fateful night as he drove down a particularly treacherous and slick road.

Despite knowing of the curse and doing everything in her power to fight it, another man who knew a Frump woman’s love had succumb.

Morticia died of a broken heart.

Young Wednesday stood over their graves, her tears falling until they ran out. She promised herself,

“I will never fall in love. I will never have a family…the Frump women’s curse ends with me.”

Grandmama Frump and Pugsly were sad to hear such a thing from Wednesday, but neither could give comfort to the grieving girl.

As they got older, their powers emerged, proving their Frump blood. One night, Pugsly was unable to sleep and found his sister with a wooden bowl in the greenhouse.

She went from herb to herb and flower to flower, a plethora of flora they grew for their spells and cooking alike. She whispered her spell as she plucked a petal or leaf and placed it in her bowl.

She took the petal of a camellia flower and the bud off a willow branch:

He shall tower over me like a Willow His eyes will be as green as a rose leaf

She grabbed the entire head of a spider lily, and a black feather:

He will not fear the dark or things that crawl He will know the Raven’s Song by heart

She tore a petal of a katniss, and pinched the pollen of a dahlia:

He will be able to shoot an arrow backwards He will be able to draw my face even if he’s never seen me

She squeezed the seedpod of a poppy, and took the head of a black pansy:

He will whisper my name in his dreams and when he smiles, his dimples will melt my cold black heart

“I thought you never wanted to fall in love?” he questioned why his sister would invoke Amas Veritas, the most potent true love spell in their grimoire.

“I do not. This boy…this boy does not exist,” she had made sure to describe her perfect love, for the spell wouldn’t work if she wasn’t sincere. She had high, impossible standards and knew nothing would be able to thaw the coldness that had wrapped itself around her heart since their parents died. “If he does not exist, then I cannot fall in love. If I do not fall in love, then I will not have a family and I will not leave children to mourn me and their father…the curse ends with me.”

Pugsly fiercely missed their mother and father, he had seen the devastation that tore through their mother at the loss of their father. He didn’t think any of it fair, but there was nothing he could say.

Wednesday was right, the Frump women of their line were cursed, and it didn’t seem to go through the male line. The men also couldn’t pass on the magic, either.

He mourned for his sister, he mourned that the magic that endured for hundreds of years would end with them. A lone tear escaped his eyes as he saw his sister lift the bowl to be bathed in the light of the moon.

With her magic, the wind swept the petals and spell away on the cool spring air, swirling through Jericho until it was out of sight.

Wednesday didn’t know what happened to her spell, she assumed since the boy she described didn’t exist, it would simply be swept out to sea, to drown and take the future of their magic with it.

Unbeknownst to either sibling, the breeze carried the spell to the roof of a penthouse in New York City.

Little Xavier should have been asleep in his bed, but his father had missed his archery tournament, again. His father missed every important event in his life, even his birthday a few months ago.

He was too quiet, his eyes too intense, his smile too wide, he was a bit of too everything to make any friends at his school. He was lonely and desperate for a friend.

He even allowed the spider that made its home on the rooftop crawl upon his hand, and he had let it down on a drawing of a girl with pigtails with a raven on her shoulder.

“At least tomorrow is Wednesday,” he told himself. It was his favorite day of the week, he had no idea why, but he always looked forward to Wednesdays.

A nanny had one told him if she wished upon the first star he saw at night, it would come true.

So, the first star he saw when he looked up and whispered,

“I wish I had a friend, someone just for me.”

He was confused when he found himself showered with flower petals, and a raven feather had softly drifted down and landed in his hand.

He kept that feather for years, even when his father had courted a scandal so bad that they had to move to a seaside nowhere town in Vermont to lay low for his senior year.

The town was so small, that the only thing worth gossiping about were the Frump siblings,

“Wednesday’s a witch, so watch out,” Ajax, the boy assigned to show him around told him. “She’s actually really quiet and doesn’t bother most. I don’t even think she means to curse people. They just get on her nerves and her irritation is so great, they find themselves dropping dead for no reason.”

Xavier had no idea what to say to that, but he did wonder where the hell his father had moved them to.

It wasn’t until he met a girl who he thought only existed in his dreams, that he thought perhaps she did have magic as she certainly bewitched him with her dark eyes and berry bitten lips.

He couldn’t help the smile that graced his face when she looked him up and down, most were unused to seeing someone as tall as he at their age, and he grew concerned when she looked absolutely baffled and speechless at the sight of his dimples.

[lavendaers]

alright, officially time for a brand new mass starter call for all my muses. feel free to request as many as you want, i'll also be posting a randomized starter call so i can do some randomized pairings as well.

alison dilaurentis    \    (0/3)

anakin solo    \    (0/3)

blitzo    \    (0/3)

carlos reyes    \    (0/3)

chloe charming    \    (0/3)

elide lochan    \    (0/3)

francesca bridgerton    \    (0/3)

gu mang    \    (0/3)

hayley marshall    \    (0/3)

hua xiangyi    \    (0/3)

jackie taylor    \    (0/3)

jing qi/jing beiyuan    \    (0/3)

jurian    \    (0/3)

kai azer    \    (0/3)

kate bishop    \    (0/3)

liam mairi    \    (0/3)

louis de pointe du lac    \    (0/3)

lydia martin    \    (0/3)

maik wen    \    (0/3)

margaery tyrell    \    (0/3)

nesta archeron    \    (0/3)

noa olivar    \    (0/3)

phoebe halliwell    \    (0/3)

poppy balfour    \    (0/3)

quan yizhen    \    (0/3)

rowan whitethorn    \    (0/3)

ruhn danaan    \    (0/3)

ryu sunjae    \    (0/3)

sarah cameron    \    (0/3)

sathia flynn    \    (0/3)

sophie beckett    \    (0/3)

tairn    \    (0/3)

vex'ahlia de rolo    \    (0/3)

willow rosenberg    \    (0/3)

xue yang    \    (0/3)

yan wushi    \    (0/3)

yushi huang    \    (0/3)

[climbthemountain2020]

Hope of Spring - Chapter 25

Friends, we have reached the end!

This was my very first fic that I've written and published, and I can't tell you how much it means to me that you all came along for the ride with me. To those of you who made a habit of following all my updates and regularly commenting, you have no idea how much your comments lit up my day (even when I made you mad lol).

I was so nervous to go out on a limb and share my writing, but this has made me so glad I did. I hope you'll keep an eye out for me--I've got some other good stuff coming :)

And, more than anything, I hope you've enjoyed the story as much as I enjoyed writing it. <3

Now enjoy this tooth-achingly sweet, self-indulgent epilogue! Also on Ao3! Find Ch. 24 here

The sun was setting over the hills of Spring, and the hot day was giving way to a balmy evening of twinkling stars. The fireflies were dancing around the edges of the garden, and mourning doves and crickets could be heard calling out in the twilight. A shriek pierced the evening, as two figures shot from the garden maze, a dead sprint towards the stairs of the house.

“DAD!”

Tamlin was sitting on the stairs, whittling a small horse into an old piece of willow wood, when the two forms burst forward, hurtling toward him. The first figure dove, attempting to reach him in time, but the second figure was too fast, lunging on to the first with a grunt. The first, a boy, bellowed as the second, a girl, smeared a handful of mud down the side of his face.

“Kalliope, stop!” He slapped at her arms and face as she held him town, Tamlin looking over at the two teenagers brawling a few feet away from him.

“I told you it wasn’t going to go over well if she found out that you ate the last tart, Kyron.” The boy rolled then, pushing the girl’s muddy hands back into her own face as she wrinkled her nose and kicked. The twins rolled down the slight hill next to the manor as Tamlin sighed amusedly.

“Where’s Silas?” He called out after the two, still tumbling and now heaving great handfuls of mulch at each other.

“The fish pond.” Kyron gritted out as he slung the two of them into a nearby puddle, Kalliope gasping with rage. Tamlin sighed again, setting his whittling knife and the small figurine down and pushing himself off the steps to go drag his younger son out of the fish pond. Just as he made toward the gardens, a small boy, bright eyed and carrying a bucket, toddled out from the maze. He had sticks and leaves scattered through his light brown hair, a proud look on his face, and was soaked entirely through.

“Dada!” He pointed animatedly to the heavy bucket. “Fiss!” Tamlin peered into the bucket of, indeed, fish, who looked irritated at having been removed from their home. He laughed and ruffled the boy’s hair, trying to brush some of the nature out of it.

“Good job, buddy.”

“Fiss.” He confirmed, then stomped proudly back towards the pond.

Penny walked out on the porch just in time to see Silas walk back among the flowers, Tamlin watching him go and scratching the back of his neck. She hauled the baby she was carrying higher on her hip, then sent a little breeze to him and she began to walk closer. He turned immediately, love in his eyes as he found her.

“Baths tonight?” She asked, lightly.

“Baths tonight,” he confirmed with a laugh, gesturing over his shoulder to the twins, finally done sparring and attempting to brush themselves off. “How’s my Poppy today?” He came and kissed the cheeks of the baby in her arms.

“Your Poppy refuses to take a nap unless someone is holding her.” Penny cooed at the baby in her arms, who giggled and smacked chubby baby hands on Penny’s arms in response.

“Cass and Nes are coming tomorrow and bringing Irina and Osiris. “Kyron perked up at the mention of Irina, then immediately tried to play it off as Kalliope punched him in the side and snickered. He’d had a thing for Cassian and Nesta’s daughter, Irina, for years now. The twins were seventeen, along with Irina and Kit, the second daughter of Lucien and Elain, and the twins had spent almost every other weekend with the two since then. While the four were thick as thieves, Kyron was hung up on Irina in a much more romantic way.

“Maybe you won’t fuck it up and look like a total idiot in front of her this weekend, Kyron.” She smirked.

“Shut up, Kalliope.” He punched his sister in the shoulder as Tamlin sent them both a look.

“They get that mouth from you, you know.” Penny grinned at him and nodded enthusiastically as Silas waddled back out of the maze again, this time with mud adorning his cheeks and a very empty bucket trailing forlornly at his side.

“Fiss went home.” He shrugged sadly, as Tamlin came to scoop him up.

“It’s alright, sweet boy. We can go see the fish again with Osiris tomorrow, hm?” Osiris, the hulking, four-year old, sweet-as-a-button carbon copy of Cassian, was Silas’ very best friend. The little boy's eyes lit up.

“Siris!”

“Yeah, buddy. He’ll be here tomorrow.”

The group had all grown up together, their parents staying close after the war. Nyx, Nova, Sirene, and Kieran, the four oldest, had been the ones who’d taught Penny and Tamlin all about children–and also encouraged them to wait for a decade or so before trying for their own. The little winged Night Court heirs were all wild will and energy. Their cousin Sirene and her cousin Kieran were wild bursts of fire everywhere they went. The oldest four were off most of the time now, Nyx and Nova training in the Illyrian Steppes much of the time, Sirene shadowing her grandparents in Day, and Kieran learning how to help run Autumn as the heir.

When Tamlin and Penny finally had their fill of quiet and sleeping and decided to try for children of their own, they’d immediately been blessed with twins. Around the same time, Nesta and Cassian had Irina, and Lucien and Elain had Kit, and thus the second group of kids were born. Now, the group of teenagers was always fighting–with each other and everyone else. If you saw dust clouds kicking up or a tavern about to erupt into a brawl, it was certain you’d find the four of them there.

A third wave had hit all the friends another few years past that, which provided them with Osiris, Silas, and Azriel and Gwyn’s daughter, Catrin. The three were a wobbly mess of toddler antics, always sticky, muddy, or otherwise.

Finally, Lucien and Elain had just been graced with a third, their first boy, while earlier in the year Poppy and Nira, Feyre and Rhys’ third and final child, had been born the same month.

More often than Penny would admit, she would think back to that first time in the Night Court, where she’d sat under the stars with Feyre and Nova, shushing the sweet babe to sleep and allowing herself to wonder for the first time if any of this could be possible for her. She had shared her dreams with Feyre, even though she’d never been tempted to tell anyone before, and Feyre had pushed her. Told her it was possible for her to have that here.

Sometimes, she couldn’t believe how much time had passed. They all looked the same except the children–time meant almost nothing to her anymore. Since the war, they’d lived in a period of peace in Prythian, which made being High Lady of Spring a relatively easy job. After the dust had settled, they’d set up a series of town halls in the village, allowing the people to speak about what bothered them. At first, the people were hesitant, but Penny set up an anonymous system of reporting. Once they realized that the things they suggested were being taken to heart and no one was getting singled out, they became more comfortable with sharing and speaking openly about changes they wished to see.

Over the years, the town halls gave way to a council that helped with ruling over Spring. Ideas were shared willingly and enthusiastically, and votes were often held between the different provinces. As had been the plan, the tithe was done away with, and the people flourished for it. The celebrations were resurrected across the holidays in Spring, and Penny and Tamlin had had their fair share of Calanmais together, too–one of which was almost certainly responsible for Poppy. Spring was a place like it had never been before, and trust had been restored in its rulers.

In the summers, the children would spend the majority of their time in the Night Court. When they were young, they would help Elain in the kitchen or the gardens, or paint with Feyre in her studio on the Rainbow. As they grew older, some chose to train with the Valkyries or Azriel and Cassian, though they’d had to break up and separate Kalliope, Kyron, Kit, and Irina on a number of occasions.

In the deep winter, when Velaris was so cold that training was miserable, they’d all travel to Spring and return the favor, spending long warm days outside identifying plants, learning archery, horseback riding, and about all the creatures that lurked in the woods. It was a great exchange, and it allowed all the friends and their children to stay close. As the children grew and Lucien and Elain moved to Day, the warm summers were spent in the sun, running through the towns of white marble and down to the gentle slopes of the sea. It had been a wonderful few decades of peace and memory-making.

Tamlin pressed his lips to Penny’s temple. “It’s the last day of the month, yes?” She perked up.

“Yes! I went into town for it the other day. I’ll run get it and have Tally start the baths up. Stay here.” she handed him Poppy, and raced into the house. She ran into her old bedroom, now mostly storage for items they weren’t currently using and grabbed for the cloak on the bed. She’d purchased one at the seamstress in town this week, as she did the last week of every month. She grabbed it off the bed, wrapped it up gently in tissue paper, and went back to Tamlin so that they could go put it out in the woods by the birch trees.

On her way out, she ran into Tally.

“Baths?” Tally asked, amusedly.

“Baths.” Penny nodded, with a laugh.

Before she made it to the doors, she paused, taking a few steps out of her way to run her hands across the cracks that remained in the walls and floor by the eastern corner of the foyer. Out of the window, she could see Tamlin, baby pulled to his chest, chasing Kyron and Kalliope around the yard, now also covered in mud courtesy of the twins. Silas trampled behind them, roaring and tossing mud around a few steps away, all of them laughing uproariously.

She let her fingers trail along the cracks once more, a smile on her face, and she held the cloak close and walked out into the evening sky of Spring.

[mypurpleriver]

Households total: 21 Sims total: 74 Pets: 25 (Dina, Poppy, Mocca, Toffee, Flora, Fox, Cookie, Chilli, Smoothie, Tinky, Papaya, Rufus, Goldi, Cupcake, Muffin, Coconut, Caramel, Oreo, Bubble, Twinkle, Joker, Stella new: Dusty, Cappuccino and Cooper)

Births: 7 (Femie Applegate, Geralt Deer, Hilda Plum, Irene Space, Jelka Vital, Keanu Vital, Lyna Mint) Deaths: 4 (Jack Greene, Oren Jone, Stevan Mint + Mango, Daisy)

Engagements: 4 (Willow & Jessie, Henry & Nora, Wynce & Ryan, Levi & Aureen) Weddings: 3 (Willow & Jessie Deer, Henry & Nora Deer, Wynce & Ryan Nova-Moore) Divorces/Break-Ups: Quna and Shane

Communitylots total: 31 New Communitylots: 1 - Purpleccino

Next round: » We'll have more households in the next round. Abby and Cleo have moved into the apartment next to Kyan and Ben. » Pixie is pregnant by Buck, and they seem very much in love, I think I'll let them move into their own place together :3 » I'm not sure what to do with Quorra, maybe she'll move out on her own or with her sister? » Vania and Veena are becoming adults too. And Jessie is pregnant with Willow. So space is needed for the new baby. Or maybe Jessie and Willow will move into their own place? I'm not sure. » Wynce and Ryan also have to move out as the house is already too small for them » Mila is also pregnant from a booty call. 😂 » Ivo and Jovan are grown up now too and can move on, but I'm not sure if they should move out or not! » So there will be more noobos and new households! 😅 » I'm also curious to know what happens next between Levi and Aureen? And what about Ben and his affair with Edgar?

So a lot happened in the last round, and we'll see how it develops in the next one. Stay tuned! 😁