#So it's not their actual birthdays we celebrate but their adoption days

[munson-blurbs]

hope you don't mind me asking but could reader adopt harris officially? it'd be a sweet little blurb ☺️

Single Dad!Eddie x Fem!ReaderSeries

Summary: Harris makes a special request on his birthday: for you to adopt him and officially be his mommy.

TW: mention of parental neglect/drug use, pretty much just all fluff and happiness

WC: 2.2k

A/N: Happy Mother's Day to all of the moms out there! Y'all are badasses who deserve to be celebrated. I used this video for the judge's dialogue to ensure accuracy.

February 2001

“So, Har,” Eddie starts through a mouthful of cake, “did you have a good birthday?”

Harris nods emphatically, digging into his own slice. A dollop of vanilla frosting dots the tip of his nose, but he continues eating, unbothered.

Eddie looks at you as you try to contain the inevitable mess that Hendrix will make. His chubby cheeks are already decorated with chocolate cake, and he’s only a few bites in. “Can you believe we have a nine-year-old now?”

You shake your head. The years truly have flown by, and though you haven’t had the privilege of being there for all of them, it feels as though Harris’s fifth birthday was only yesterday. 

“What’s crazy to me is that Harris is the same age you were when I took you in,” Wayne says to Eddie. He glances at his nephew, a wistful look in his old eyes. 

“Oh, yeah!” Harris grins. “I forgot you took care of Daddy.”

Eddie leans back in his seat and smirks. “Did you ever regret adopting me, Old Man?” 

“Every damn day.”

While he may have tuned out his dad and grandfather’s back-and-forth, you can see Harris pause before he continues eating. He’s never been one to stifle his curiosity, the wheels in his head turning as he processes the information. 

His time to ask a question grinds to a halt when Hendrix slams his little palm right into the cake slice, grabs a chunk of it, and smashes it into his face. If any actually got in his mouth, it would be a miracle. 

Harris gets his opportunity later that night. Eddie tucks him into bed, pulling the SpongeBob comforter up to his chin, and kisses his head. 

“Daddy?” Harris asks before Eddie can stand up. 

“Hmm?”

“Why did Grampa adopt you?”

Eddie exhales, chewing on the inside of his cheek. As his eldest son has gotten older, he’s become more honest with him, not constantly shielding him from painful truths. He chooses his words carefully before speaking again. 

“Well, my mom and dad weren’t good parents. They didn’t take care of me, and they made a lot of bad choices,” he says. Memories flash through his mind, ones of eviction notices and strangers constantly in his home. Ones of police officers snapping handcuffs on his parents’ wrists, the two of them too far gone to even register to the severity of the situation. He shakes it off, turning his attention back to Harris. “And so Grampa Wayne took me in and adopted me so I would have a safe, happy home.”

“Like how my mom made bad choices? My real mom?”

Eddie nods, wondering if Harris knows how closely their situations resembled each other. Except you did what your father didn’t–you changed, he reminds himself. 

“Yeah, like that.”

Harris thinks for a moment. “But now Mom is my mom. So does that mean she adopted me?”

“No, she didn’t adopt you.” His heart sinks when he sees the small pout forming on Harris’s lips. “Not yet, anyway.”

“Why not?”

Eddie scratches at his jawline, his nails digging into a particular itchy patch of stubble. “Well, honestly…we wanted to make sure it was what you wanted, Har. Because Mom will love you no matter what,” he makes sure to add. 

Without any hesitation, Harris declares, “It’s what I want.”

“Are you sure? You can sleep on it—” Eddie feels a smile tugging on the corners of his mouth despite his attempt to remain neutral. Yes, his son often acts on impulse, but Eddie can tell this isn’t one of those instances. 

Harris huffs out an impatient sigh, irritated that he even has to explain himself. “Dad, I’m nine now,” he says matter-of-factly. “I’m almost double-digits. And I know I want Mom to adopt me.”

Eddie grins wider, pressing a kiss to his son’s forehead. “All right, bud. You got it.” He stands up with a grunt, something that Harris has already dubbed an ‘old man noise.’ “We’ll talk about this more tomorrow, okay?”

“Mm-hm,” Harris agrees sleepily, cocooning himself in his blankets while Eddie turns out the light. 

Eddie is teeming with excitement when he sees you sitting in the family room, an open bag of sour cream and onion potato chips in your lap. Hendrix was fast asleep in his crib, and it was finally time for you and your husband to relax. 

“So,” Eddie says, sliding onto the couch cushion next to you and plucking a chip from the bag, “it turns out that the birthday boy has one more gift request. A big one, actually.”

You raise your brows. “How big? Like, Hot Wheels track big or space camp big?”

“Neither.” Eddie’s eyes gleam. “He wants you to adopt him.”

You sit up quickly, a smile stretching across your face. “Are you…are you serious?”

“One hundred percent.” Eddie says with a nod. “He insisted on it, actually. I don’t think you could say no even if you wanted to.”

His teasing would normally draw a snarky retort from you, but you’re too overwhelmed to come up with a quip. “Harris wants me to adopt him,” you say slowly, letting each word seep into your tongue. 

Eddie kisses your cheek, his nose brushing your warm skin. “This is everything I ever wanted for him, you know,” he murmurs. Another kiss, then he tilts your chin so he can place his lips on yours. “Thank you for loving him.”

You snuggle in closer, your head resting on his shoulder. “Thank you for letting me.”

September 2002

It’s a special occasion when you can convince Eddie and Wayne Munson to wear a suit and tie, but you didn’t even have to ask today. Both men are dressed with their shirts tucked into their slacks—not jeans. 

You smooth out a pleat in your dress, scoop Hendrix out of his Pack-N-Play, and grin at your family. 

“You guys ready?” You ask, desperate to get everyone into the car before someone spills something on their clothes. While Harris and Hendrix would be the most obvious culprits of a mess, the men are just as capable of causing chaos.

Eddie slings Hendrix’s diaper bag over his shoulder and takes Harris’s hand in his. “Let’s ship out, team.”

“Ship out!” Hendrix echoes–loudly, right in your ear. You wince, but you can’t stay annoyed for too long, considering how happy you are. How happy everyone is; even the baby of the family, who doesn’t know why he’s in a good mood, just that he is.

Everyone piles into the sedan: Eddie in the driver’s seat, you in the passenger seat, and Wayne squished between his grandsons in the back.

“Don’t know how I ended up here,” Wayne grumbles, reaching behind for his seatbelt. 

Eddie grabs your hand as he pulls onto the road, giving it a tender squeeze. This is a huge deal; logically, you know this. To Eddie, he’s officially giving his son the mother he always deserved, and you’ll be able to make all sorts of important decisions for Harris. But to you, there is no piece of paper that can strengthen or weaken your love for your oldest son. Still, this is a promise from you to Harris, one that you will never break.

The courthouse’s silence is promptly broken with the Munsons’ arrival, as your family’s presence tends to do. Hendrix enjoys the way his delighted shrieks reverberate down the empty hallway, and Harris grips a nearby bench to jump out his nervous energy.

“Har?” you call out, waving him over to a private spot. He stops jumping long enough to follow you, shaking his hands excitedly.

You crouch down to his height and dig through your purse until you find what you’re looking for: a shiny silver compass with a quote engraved on the back:

“If you don’t get lost, there’s a chance you may never be found.” 

“Uncle Dusty recommended his favorite compass, and he said you can bring it on your next camping trip” you say with a smile, your lower lip trembling as you hold back tears. “I hope that every time you use it, you remember that I’ll always be here to help you find your way.”

Harris looks from you to the compass and back again. He grins and flings his arms around you, nearly knocking you over in the process.

“This is so cool!” He cheers. “I’m gonna show everyone!”

“What do you say?” Eddie reminds him, a twinkle in his eye.

Harris barely turns around to you to yell, “Thanks, Mom!”

Mom. That title never gets old, and you don’t think it ever will.

“Munson?” You jump slightly when a bailiff announces that it’s your turn to see the judge. He gives a small smile as you enter the courtroom, probably relieved that this is a joyful occasion that won’t likely require his intervention.

This is it, you think. You wish your dress had pockets to hide your trembling hands.

Everyone takes their positions. Harris stands between you and Eddie, and Wayne holds Hendrix at the end, ready to make a quick getaway in case the youngest Munson decides to throw a tantrum.

The judge addresses you directly. Her tone is firm but warm as she says, “Do you understand that if your petition for the adoption of Harris Wayne Munson is granted, you will be legally responsible for him?”

“Yes.” You feel Harris’s palm slide against yours; when you briefly look down, you see that his other hand is holding Eddie’s.

“And do you understand that this support includes food, clothing, shelter, as well as medical and educational support?” She continues.

You nod. “Yes.”

“And do you understand that if your request is granted, that you will be Harris’s parent in all respects, just as if he had been born to you?”

“Yes.” Your heart swells with love. Just as if he had been born to you. Even with the memorable pains and trials brought on by carrying and delivering Hendrix, you considered Harris just as much your son.

“And do you understand you will be undertaking the intellectual, spiritual, and moral guidance of Harris?”

You can almost hear your husband’s thoughts: Better her than me.

“Yes.” 

The judge goes through a few more questions, all regarding your abilities to care for Harris. With each one, you feel Harris’s bouncing get more exuberant; part of you wishes you could join him.

Finally, she declares, “Based upon the reports and recommendations, this court finds that granting this petition is in the best interest of Harris.” She looks directly at Harris as she says, “Congratulations, she’s officially your Mommy.”

A choked sob escapes your throat, and your free hand flies to your mouth. You and Eddie both crouch down to embrace Harris, and you can’t help but notice the tears in your husband’s eyes. Wayne makes his way to you and, as best as he can with Hendrix still in his arms, wraps you in a hug. You think he might be the only adult not crying, but a tell-tale sniffle gives him away.

Hendrix is very confused by the overt display of emotion. The last time Wayne cried was well before the boy was born, back when the Colts won the 1970 Super Bowl against the Cowboys.

“Daddy? Mommy? Grampa?” He asks. “Why you cry?”

“We’re fine, buddy. Just have some big feelings. Happy feelings,” Eddie clarifies, kissing Hendrix on a chubby cheek. He looks at Harris and grins. “How does it feel, Har? Now that Mom adopted you?”

Harris scrunches up his face. “Like the same.”

You laugh and ruffle his hair. It’s not as wild as it was when he was your student, his curls less of a mop. “Good ‘the same’?”

He grins, nodding and hugging you again. “I can’t wait to tell all of my friends, and Uncle Dusty, and Mr. Will…”

Harris continues listing people he’s going to share his news with all the way to the parking lot. Some names you recognize, and others he might as well be making up.

“Wait! I almost forgot!” You reach into your purse and pull out a Ziploc bag containing five Oreos. “Everyone take one, but don’t eat it yet.”

When each person has an Oreo in their hand, you raise your own to eye-level and begin your toast. “To my first son, Harris. Thank you for making me a mommy.”

“To Harris!” Wayne and Eddie chorus, and Hendrix just yells his brother’s name before chowing down on his cookie. 

As you all pile back into the car, Eddie takes your hand in his. Chocolate is still tucked into the crevices of his lips. 

“To you, Sweetheart. Thank you for being the mommy Harris always wanted. Thank you for making us a family again.”

The kiss tastes of vanilla creme, sugary sweet, and you swear you wouldn’t have broken it if Wayne didn’t clear his throat. 

“No need to make a third kid up there,” he mutters under his breath. 

Eddie glares at him, hoping Harris didn’t overhear the comment, but you press on. “Shall we celebrate at the diner?”

“Can we share pancakes?” Harris beams.

You crane your neck and look back at him, once again overwhelmed by the amount of love you hold for him–for your son.

“I’d love to.”

--

[parkerflix]

—bet u wanna

min ho x gn!reader

wc: 2.5k

genre: enemies to lovers(?), reader is Q’s twin not twin ( tangerine & lemon vibes)

synopsis: your back and forth flirting with min ho takes an unexpected turn during chuseok.

warnings: some mentions of self-doubt

a/n: 1st fic from the 1k celebration! I do have a part two in mind, but i’m not sure if people would like that! lmk ur thoughts!

edit: here is part two!

You made your way over to Q’s dorm, knowing that you would have to see him.

Minho was the bane of your existence, and you were never one to enjoy his presence. He had seemed to be in an even worse mood recently with Kitty’s arrival and her meddling with everyone’s life. You loved Kitty, even though she did have her moments where she was a little all over the place. You had actually met her before the rest did, talking to her sometimes when Dae was facetiming her and you were studying with him.

Knocking on the door, you were surprised to see Minho open the door. He stared you down for a second, the air being awkward between you two the only sound being the facial mister in his other hand.

“Are you going to just stand there or are you going to let me in?”

Minho rolled his eyes and moved out of the doorway to let you in.

Waltzing in, you took to knocking on Q’ door, hearing some groaning coming from the other side. You opened the door, seeing Q laying in his bed still half asleep.

Grabbing his blanket, you puled it off of him.

“Morning sleepy head!”

Q groaned and lifted his head up from his pillow.

“Why are you here now? I thought we were meeting up for coffee.”

“My sweet darling brother, I couldnt just come because I miss you?”

He squinted at you, not buying your story.

“Okay I wanted to seeing if someone was here, but it seems that they didn’t stay the night today.” before he could respond, Kitty walked into the room yawning and seemingly in her pjs.

Your eyes widened and so did hers when she realized you were standing there.

“Kitty!”

“Yn!”

“I promise this isn’t what it looks like-”

You backed out of the room, awkwardly shaking your head.

“It’s fine! I’ll just be out here!”

Closing their bedroom door you heard the most obnoxious laughter behind you. You took a deep breath in, and turned your head to see Minho sitting on their couch with a cup of tea in his hands. You went to go sit down next to him, sighing.

“So it looks like you found out.”

“Were none of you planning on telling me?”

“Of course I wasn’t going to tell you, I’m not your handler.”

“Well of course not, you’re my lover.” you said leaning close to his face, batting your eyelashes at him.

You both stared at each other, and he nudged you away, feeling slightly awkward with you so close to his face. He didn’t want you so close, his heartbeat being slightly faster at your proximity.

“Shut up. That’s not even remotely funny.”

“I never said it was a joke.”

You both started bickering about it, not noticing when Kitty and Q came out of their room.

They both stared at you guys arguing with a small smile on each of their faces. It seemed obvious to everyone except the two of you that you guys were into each other, but if they told you guys they knew both of you would start spiraling.

Q liked seeing his sibling so happy, especially with Chuseok around the corner. Both of you weren’t going anywhere since you guys were expats, but seeing everyone go home always made you more homesick than normal. He remembered when his parents decided to adopt you, saying it would be nice for him to have a sibling that was his age. He was worried that you were going not like him, but you both took to each other fast. Being joined at the hip since your adoption, you always joked that you guys were twins, despite not even having the same birthday. But you made sure no one knew that your birthday wasn’t even the same day, making everyone everywhere address you both as twins.

He cleared his throat which made both you and Minho turn your attention to him & Kitty.

“Are you ready for that coffee?”

—

You had spent more and more time in Q’s dorm now that you knew Kitty was also there. It was refreshing having someone else deal with the guys, even if she did have some drama with Dae.

You weren’t the closest with Dae this year, having distanced yourself with all the drama he was swept up in. You pitied him a bit, being able to clearly tell his relationship with Yuri was a facade. Still, with Chuseok being in two days, you knew that it would be hard for him.

Walking into the living room of your brother’s dorm, you sighed and threw yourself ontop of Q. He groaned when you landed on him, your elbow hitting him in the ribs somehow.

You smiled at the noise he let out, seemingly satisfied.

“Have you seen Dae today?”

“No, he went home already. Something I guess came up? I’m not too sure, he seemed a bit stressed out about it.”

You hummed, a bit sad about it. Dae had left KISS early, and you weren’t able to talk to him.

The front door opened, and Minho walked in, letting out a sigh when he saw you there.

“Oh great, you’re here.”

“Aw Minho, did you miss me?”

“Do you think a dog misses it’s fleas?”

You stuck your tongue out at him, and he reciprocated it.

“Do you two ever get tired of arguing?” Q said, looking up from his phone.

You rolled off of him and went over to Minho, wrapping your arms around him.

Minho tried swatting your arms away, but you squeezed him tighter.

“Aww come on Q, you’re telling me that you don’t think we love each other?”

Minho’s mouth dropped wide open when you said that, never wanting to hear the word love come out of your mouth pertaining to him.

“I could never love you, you’re too annoying.” He grumbled wiggling himself free from your grasp.

You pouted and let out a huff,

“Minnie, you’re being too mean.”

The face that he had made left you satisfied and you went back to the couch with Q.

The silence that encased the three of you wasn’t awkward per say but you could’ve done without it.

Minho cleared his throat and both you and Q whipped your heads towards him.

Minho had always thought you guys were sometimes weirdly in sync like that, and it made him second guess if you guys actually were twins.

“So, are you guys going to Kitty’s chuseok dinner?”

You blinked at him, not even knowing that Kitty was hosting a dinner.

Q nudged your arm and you glanced at him with a small frown.

“Yeah, we’re going, are you?”

“No, I have a date with Lulu that day.”

You smiled at the thought of him going on a thought with Lulu, knowing that somehow he would probably mess it up.

“Lulu, huh? Sound’s interesting.”

“We’ve been flirting since her trainee days, it’s going to be amazing.”

“Well it’ll be fun to hear about!”

Q had said something to Minho about it, but you tuned out of the conversation, sending a few texts back and forth with Kitty.

She asked if you were busy, and if you could help her with the grocery shopping for the dinner (you assumed she assumed you were down to go to the dinner).

You told her you could meet her at the entrance of their dorm building and she said she would be over there in a few minutes.

You quickly got up and grabbed you bag, giving Q a quick hug.

“You’re finally leaving?”

“Don’t worry Minnie, I’ll be back soon!” You blew a kiss at him and laughed at his reaction, leaving both boys shocked.

—

Kitty’s chuseok was finally here, and she was running around the dining area, grabbing the last few things for the table.

You had shown up a little earlier than everyone, having promised Kitty you would help set up. You were finishing the table settings, turning around to grab the last of the silverware, when you accidentally ran into someone.

“Sorry! I didn’t see you-”

“Of course not. You tend to not look.”

You made eye contact with Minho, who seemed unamused. You had a slight frown on your face, ignoring his quip.

Sidestepping him you scurried along, finishing your task.

Minho was caught off guard, you never didn’t respond with your own quip, always being a thorn in his side that he seemed to not be able to get rid of.

The rest of the night you ignored his presence, choosing to sit next to Alex and leaving him to sit with Madison. No matter how annoying he thought you were, he did think you were lightyears better than Madison. He felt off somehow, seeing you act so different. Yes you were still laughing and making jokes with everyone else, but he could tell that your smile didn’t fully reach your eyes, and that you seemed to keep your laughter short.

Before he could ask you if anything specific was wrong, his phone buzzed with a text from Lulu. He had been so focused on you ( and also ignoring Madison), that he had forgotten about his date. You had excused yourself from the table before he did, stating that you just weren’t feeling well. Q had given you a worried glance but you shook your head at him and he seemed to get the hint that you wanted to be alone. You had assumed it was the twin telepathy that you both have.

His eyes had followed your retreating figure, and he muttered a goodbye to Kitty who was confused that he was leaving. He mentioned his date with Lulu, and walked towards the exit, hoping he would find you around there before his date.

You sat on the steps of the school, pulling your sweater’s sleeves over your hands, letting the tears flow from your eyes. You were frustrated for feeling so homesick and wanting to act normal like your brother. He seemed to not be as homesick, knowing that sometimes your relatives could be harsh. He also seemed to be doing well this year, having a good group of friends and a loving boyfriend. You knew that even though his friends were also your friends, besides Kitty you sometimes felt that they felt forced to be around you.

Minho had found you sitting on the steps, and he wasn’t really sure what he was supposed to do, or say at this point. He had never expressed any interest in your emotions other than your annoyance, and he also was just horrible at comforting people. Ignoring the vibrating of his phone, he went and sat down next to you, waiting for you to realize he was there.

“Q, I love you but I wanna be alone right now.”

“Well, I’ll pass on the message to him.” you glanced at the owner of the voice you knew so well, not knowing what to say to him.

You sighed and turned your focus on the sky once more.

“Don’t you have a date to be getting ready for?” you had meant for it to come out snarky, but you both could tell it just came out more sad than anything else.

He nodded and hummed.

“Yeah. But you seemed to need someone to talk to. And lucky for you I’m not only incredibly attractive-”

“And humble apparently”

“But I’m also a great listener.”

You turned to meet his gaze, not seeing a hint of a joke in his eyes.

“I’m just homesick.”

He nodded, knowing how that felt. For him he felt homesick with his mother, spending time with her and getting to see her all the time. His father on the other hand– well he had assumed that a normal father-son relationship boiled down to sending presents when he seemed to remember he had a son.

“I know it’s dumb too, but I feel like I’m just annoying to everyone sometimes, and that everyone except for a few people only see me as Q’s sibling. I just feel out of place sometimes. It’s not always a feeling that’s there, but today it is.”

Minho didn’t realize that you had felt this way. As annoying as you could be, he found that you truly cared for your friendships, and always kept within boundaries. He knew that if he were to ask even your classmates you were well liked, keeping to yourself but willing to help those if needed.

“I know I’m probably the last person you wanna hear this from, but you’re not annoying.”

You gave him a skeptical look and he let out a soft laugh.

“Okay, sometimes you’re annoying. But you’re someone that people really enjoy to be around. I know whatever I say may seem hollow, but you really do mean a lot to people. I don’t think people just see you as Q’s sibling, I believe they see you for you. You’re kind, smart, and witty.”

You stared at him, a little shocked at how he saw you. All this time you thought he actually hated you, but perhaps you were wrong?

A small smile crept onto your lips, and he felt something in him swell at your smile.

“Thank you, Minho.” you whispered, fiddling with your sleeves.

He wasn’t sure what it was, but there seemed to be something between the two of you. Neither one of you said anything, the silence palpable . Both of you failed to realize that you were both leaning closer to each other’s faces, close enough to kiss until his phone started ringing.

The ringing snapped both of you out of whatever trace you were in, and he looked to see who was calling him.

You saw his phone screen light up with Lulu’s name and contact picture, and you immediately felt awkward. He had a date tonight, and whatever almost happened between the two of you was most definitely a bad idea.

Minho seemed torn as to what to do, until your voice reached his ears.

“Answer it.”

He hesitated for a moment longer before getting up from the stairs and answering the call.

Lulu was calling to let him know she was running a few minutes late, traffic being bad for no reason. She told him that she’d be there as fast as she could, and that she was happy to see him.

He nodded along to what she was saying, acutely aware that you were behind him, hearing him agree with what she said on the phone.

He quickly hung up and turned back around to apologize to you, noticing that you were gone.

You had left when he got up sprinting to your dorm, heart beating fast and head full of thoughts of what could’ve happened between the two of you if she hadn’t called.

[xoxoavenger]

So Scarlet (It Was Maroon)

pairing: Luke Castellan x Fem!Reader

summary: Y/N likes to romanticize her relationship with Luke, much to the anger of everyone around her. Percy wants to remind her of the rose colored glasses, he just doesn't know how.

word count: 3076

warnings: some angst

part 1 part 3

birthday celebration main masterlist

Y/N may be going crazy.

At least, that's what everyone thinks is going on. But they would never say that to her face. Not because they're scared of her, but they are scared of what Percy will do will if he caught them. For some reason, Percy had adopted her as his older sister and even though Luke had tried to kill him, he felt bad for Y/N. He had watched as Luke brought the sword down on her head, watched Y/N's heart break as she poured herself out to him. He knew she must be in pain, must be hurting. The wound was still fresh, having only taken place a couple weeks ago. 

But she was driving him insane with all her memories, and he was going to explode soon.

She didn't always say it out loud, didn't always reminisce with everyone, but they all knew what was going on. Today she had decided to tell them, since it was just him and two of her siblings in the stables, and Percy has been reminding himself all day that not only is Y/N a woman but also a counselor, so if he punches her he'll just cause more problems. Oh, and she's in pain already, another good reason not to punch her. 

"One time," Y/N starts, and Percy has to clench his teeth to keep the sigh back. He'll punch anyone else who sighs, though. They're in the stables, cleaning up with Silena and her other sister Allegra. "Luke and I snuck out to the stables and spent the night here." She's smiling as she says it, and Percy steals a look over at Silena. She's pursing her mouth and raking, so Percy decides he shouldn't say anything either.

"Don't you have hay fever?" Allegra tries to remind her, but it's like Y/N can't hear her. It's probably for the better, to just let her finish this story and they can all get on with their lives.

"The cleaning harpies don't come in here, so they didn't bug us, and none of the campers wanted to come out here either that late. It was one of those nights when the Northern Lights were visible - that's only happened once in all the time that we've been at camp." Y/N is still working on cleaning, and Percy wants to rake his eyes out.

"Did you freeze your ass off?" He snarks, not able to keep his mouth shut. She turns to him, snapping her head. He feels bad, but he could not stand her talking about Luke any longer.

"It was last September at Camp Half-Blood. The weather was great." She snarks, but she's clearly gotten the memo to shut the fuck up about Luke. Percy freezes, because he thought this was recently.

"Last summer?" He mutters, pausing his work. He and Annabeth were the only two that knew Y/N and Luke weren't actually dating; they weren't sworn to secrecy but they both knew it would be better if no one else found out. But according to Annabeth, they had only been dating a couple months when Percy showed up, so why was she talking about something that happened before they were dating.

"You spent the night with him before this summer?" Silena has also paused her work, but Y/N doesn't look at any of them, just keeps working.

"Spent the night? What are you talking about?" Percy feels so lost and he hates that feeling.

"You didn't hear?" Allegra asks, and now she's not working either. "For the past month, Luke was sneaking into the cabin to sleep with Y/N."

"Yeah, and she hasn't slept since." Y/N throws her rake down, stomping out of the stables, clearly angry. The other three watch as she leaves, her hand coming up to wipe her tears.

"Maybe because she has a head injury from the bottom of Backbiter." Percy snaps, going back to his work.

"Thank God we don't have to worry about Luke sneaking in anymore." Allegra mutters, and Percy tries to take a deep breath because he's not Y/N's sibling and he just made fun of her.

"She's not sleeping, so it's not a great solution anyway." Percy settles on, ignoring Silena's side eye.

~

"What do you think will happen after Camp?" Luke muttered into her hair. They're laying on a blanket on the beach, Luke's arm around her shoulders so she had a nice pillow for her head. She was holding his hand, rubbing her thumb up and down his skin.

"After camp?" She mutters, the setting sun and the warmth from summer making her tired. She ships to lay more against his chest, letting go of his hand as he moves it down to her waist.

"Yeah. We have to leave eventually." Luke tells her, rubbing his fingers up and down her arm. She throws her own over him, lazily rubbing circles around his clothed ribs. This is supposed to be for show, but she's not sure who's looking.

"I don't like thinking about that." Y/N sighs, frowning. She doesn't know what to do without Camp; sure, she's done schoolwork, she knows more than most high schoolers do, all thanks to Chiron's rigorous classes. Because there weren't many people during the school year, they would trade off days of actual teaching and free days of homework. She really didn't want to go to college or get an actual job.

"We have to leave at some point." Luke tells her, and she shutters.

"Can we talk about something else?" She asks, opening her eyes into the sun and looking into him.

"Sure." He can tell it's agitating her, so he shuffles a little and closes his eyes as looks up at the sky. "What's your favorite flower?"

"Lavender roses." She answers quickly. She waits for a second, knowing Luke will ask another question. "You don't remember the rose class I taught you?" She smirks. A couple weeks ago while they had overseen arts and crafts she had been painting roses. Luke hadn't even known there was different colored roses, and being the daughter of Aphrodite she had taught him all about each meaning.

"Red is love," He names off, and she nods against him. "Yellow is friendship. White is innocence." He pauses, and she knows that he has just named off the easy ones that he knows.

"Alright, so purple is different than lavender, remember that? Purple is still pretty, it's passion and infatuation. But lavender is unique love." She's smiling at the thought of someone giving her these roses, of Luke giving her these roses.

"Unique love." Luke repeats, nodding his head. "I'll remember that." He tells her, but she shakes her head.

"You will? Because I already told you once and you didn't remember." She giggles. He shakes her, moving so both his arms around her now. She shifts to be more comfortable, and she's sure she could fall asleep.

"No, I'll remember this time." He kisses her head, and she once again wonders if there's someone around or if he's doing this for her.

She wonders if there will ever be a day when she doesn't have to ask that question.

She wakes up, in the middle of a deep breath. Her heart is racing, and she has to remind herself with a reach of her hand that Luke left. He's gone now, and he's not coming back. He clearly didn't want to take her with him, and if she would have even gone is another question she doesn't know the answer to.

She gets up and puts on a sweatshirt, a camp one that's Luke's but no one will know it's Luke's. She takes a deep breath, trying not to cry over the fact that the sweatshirt is starting to lose his scent. It's the last thing she has of his, not wanting to take anything from his siblings and cause a scene. She's just lucky Annabeth and Percy didn't tell anyone that it was all fake.

Her mother hasn't been back to visit, and she's not sure if it's a good or bad thing. She doesn't want to talk to the goddess, knowing that all the conversation will accomplish was Y/N's embarrassment and making her even more upset than she already was. What was the point of talking to her mom when she knew that something was going on with Luke? She had to know that they lied, had to know that it was fake.

Yeah, it was probably good her mom hadn't come to visit.

She was wearing nice slippers, so she didn't walk to the beach. Instead she walked to the fields where the flowers grew. It was cool, not cold and not as dewy as a normal morning but still wet. She stood in the field a slight breeze making her shiver slightly.

"What are you doing?"

She turned quickly, heart beating fast. Her mother was standing in the field, somehow glowing even though the sun hadn't risen. Y/N didn't know what time it was, but the sky was still dark, so she knew it was early.

"Do not disrespect me right now, Y/N." Her mother snaps, and Y/N's eyes widen. She hasn't even said anything and her mother is already mad at her. "What are you doing out here?"

"I couldn't sleep." She answers. Aphrodite makes a face, and Y/N doesn't know what she said wrong but clearly she said something wrong.

"If this is about the son of Hermes," Her mother turns her head, as if in disgust, and Y/N sighs.

"I thought you liked tragic love stories." She says it without thinking, as if her mom were a normal person. As if her mom weren't a goddess.

"This wasn't a love story at all!" Aphrodite yells, and Y/N shrinks back. She looks away, trying to keep the quick rising tears back.

"It was to me." She whispers. She can't help it; everyone seems to forget that she was in love with Luke, that he broke her heart and she can't just snap back from that. Her mother's words cut deeper than a knife, slicing her heart open.

"What?" Her mom asks, not expecting this much talkback. No one says these things to gods, even if the gods are their parents. Especially to Aphrodite. Her children generally praise her.

"I was in love!" She screams, not caring if she wakes everyone up. Her mother started this, and she will finish it. It's all her mom's fault anyway; if she hadn't had the stupid rule for her children, none of this would have happened. "It was a love story because I was in love. It doesn't matter what it started out as or that it ended with my heart broken instead of his. I'm sorry I let you down. Is that what you want to hear?" She's breathing heavily, staring at her mom. Aphrodite might as well be a statue with how frozen she is, and Y/N thinks her own mother is going to kill her right now.

It might just be worth it to have gotten that off her chest.

"Who do you think you are?" Aphrodite whispers lowly, moving closer to Y/N. She tries not to shrink back, but it's hard. She's not afraid, but for a moment she thinks of Luke. The thought of never seeing him again, not having the chance if she dies right here. She closes her eyes, but everything goes still. After a moment, she opens them to see her mom looking down at her with concern and some unreadable emotion. "Why did you lie to me?" Her mom surprises her with that question.

"I didn't think someone could fall in love with me in four months." She says quietly, looking down at the ground. She pulls the sleeves of Luke's sweatshirt over her hands. "And the thought of breaking some innocent guy's heart? I mean, it's a little outdated, Mom." She tries to joke, but Aphrodite just stares.

"He was in love with you." The goddess says, causing Y/N to shake her head. "Really, you're gonna go against me? Your mother, a goddess?" Y/N gives a small smile.

"He left." She says, voice cracking with emotion. She shakes her head again, wiping her face. She doesn't know when the tears fell, but her face is wet. "I should get back to my cabin. Thanks for," Y/N doesn't know why Aphrodite came to Camp Half-Blood, why she visited in person, and she honestly isn't sure she appreciates it. But she walks past her mom, leaving the goddess behind her in the field.

"Don't give up hope yet." Y/N's not sure what her mom means by that, but she doesn't turn around, knowing her mom is going to turn into her true form to leave. The gold light washes over her, and all she can think about is if her mom meant on Luke or on love.

~

"My mom visited me this morning." Y/N says to Percy as they get their food. Traditionally, campers were supposed to get their meals and eat at specific tables with their cabin members only, but Percy didn't have any and Y/N was lonely, so she had got Mr. D to allow them to eat together. Chiron wasn't thrilled when he found out, being a stickler for the rules, but they all knew he wouldn't police where they ate. They settled for a couple stares across the pavilion every day during meals.

"In person?" Percy asks, grabbing a premade sandwich from the tray. Y/N had told him all about her mother's visits when they had first gotten close, so Percy knew how rare and scary an in person visit was.

"Yeah. I don't know why she came, but I got the feeling I had embarrassed her with Luke." Percy bit back a groan. He hated talking about Luke, but it seemed to be Y/N's favorite thing. He felt bad enough that he couldn't tell her to shut up (yet), but it was getting on his nerves.

"What'd she say?" Percy asks as they head to their table, the only completely empty one beside the Zeus table.

"She told me it wasn't a love story, so I yelled at her. I mean, who does she think she is?" She complains, setting her food down across from him. He feels his heart rate spike as he struggles to reign himself in.

"Do you think maybe she was trying to protect you?" He asks, not even able to take a bite of his food yet. He's not sure why he's trying to get Y/N to see the error in her thinking, when she seems to just get more delusional as time goes on.

"From what?" Y/N scoffs, tensing. Percy can tell this is going to be a fight.

"Luke," He says, as if it's obvious. Y/N squints and shakes her head.

"Why would she need to protect me from Luke?" She asks, leaning back. "I mean, when we were dating, he-"

"It wasn't real!" Percy screams, getting everyone's attention. He didn't want to do this here, but he can't take it anymore. It's like she's somehow convinced herself that their relationship was perfect. She's made Luke into a different person in her mind. Or maybe Percy just thinks he's a villain because he tried to kill him and is trying to overthrow the gods, but that's more solid reasoning in his mind than Y/N's.

"You don't know what you're talking about." Y/N warns lowly, not wanting a scene. Her cheeks are flush, because there's no way no one is going to know after this. Everyone will know.

"I was there, Y/N. He tried to kill me. He tried to kill you!" He argues, and watches as Y/N takes a deep breath. He had watched Luke grab her, watched him hit her with the bottom of his sword and let her fall to the ground. He had stood there in fear as Luke stepped over her lifeless body. That isn't love; it can't be love. He has to get it into her head, but he doesn't think even this will.

"I was there too, Percy. And my mom told me that his heart was broken. I'll believe the feelings more than I believe a couple words from a broken heart." She gets up, leaving her plate untouched, and walks out of the pavilion. Percy watches her, along with every single other camper who has stopped what they're doing to watch the fight ensue. He looks over to Annabeth, who is looking at him with a frown. He hangs his head, knowing he messed up.

Percy takes a deep breath and gets up to go find Y/N and apologize, but Annabeth is suddenly at his side, hand on his shoulder.

"Let her have some time. That was a lot. I'm sure she'd like to be alone." She says it with a smile, but Percy knows it's his fault and he knows Annabeth blames him too.

"I'm sorry." He mutters, putting his head into his hands.

"I know you are." She tells him, sitting on the bench but not removing her hand. "But she needs time. It was a lot to process." And her mom probably didn't help either, Percy thought, but he didn't want to tell Annabeth about it. He couldn't betray Y/N like that.

"Hopefully she'll be okay." Percy sighs, watching Y/N disappear into the woods.

"She will." Annabeth squeezes his shoulder and then moves to her own table, leaving him alone.

He wishes he had more patience, but he was not known for his patience. It would be fine. He'd apologize when Y/N came back, and he'd have a conversation about not bringing Luke up at every moment.

It would be fine.

Meanwhile, Y/N was stomping through the woods. She knew she was annoying, that everyone was tired of her talking about Luke, but she never expected Percy of all people to get angry with her. She definitely didn't expect him to call her out in front of all the campers.

She was deep in her thoughts when she heard a crack in front of her. Her heart dropped, because even in the middle of the day she was still scared. She had been looking down when she was walking, angry and making sure she wasn't going to trip or step on anything.

When she looks up he's there, holding lavender carnations. Everything stops, her stomach dropping and heart in her throat. She doesn't want to believe her eyes, but then he steps forward.

"They didn't have any roses."

//

tags: @avada-kedavra-bitch-187  @one-sweet-gubler (also thanks to the comments from @jadahxx and @commanderfreethatdust who commented on the last fic asking for a part 2 sorry its angst <3)

[accio-victuuri]

Bunny laoshi’s 1005 birthday CPNs Part I 🎂

I am giving it this title cause i’m pretty sure we will have more in the next releases or whatever. So yeah. First, I wanna thank you xiao laoshi for all the shiny presents he gave us for his birthday! we have been so blessed! I mean those photos from XZS? and the biggest CPN of the day which is him featuring the Leica camera we have been screaming about for the past days. Personally, we can skip all of these and that sugar alone is enough. But apparently, there’s more….

I will start with my favorite which is related to the birthday cake he was holding in one of the photos.

The person who designed the cake shared info on their creation. No problem. Anyone would be proud for making a cake for a celebrity like XZ. Yes, it’s camping themed. Which is a recurrent CPN in this fandom since both of them suddenly became camping enthusiasts around the same time.

This time the customer wanted to make a camping model, so I started looking for some pictures from my colleagues. But because Master Fang doesn’t make other store models, He finally decided to use the scene of Xinjiang grassland then add with other camping accessory of ours~

AND THIS CAKE SHOP IS LOCATED IN HANGZHOU. Who is in HZ? Who frequents HZ? Definitely not ZZ. So who had this commissioned??? I’m sorry but as soon as I heard Hangzhou, what came to mind is WYB. I swear. He is that city’s adopted son or something.

Out of all ZZ’s “hobbies” who would decided let’s do camping. I can only think of Bobo. And the delivery fee is 3k. There is really nothing top expensive when it comes to each other.

Next is how photos were with him holding the Leica. Kind of like how the camera was posted in WYB’s photosets in Paris. They are both showing off. Clearly.

When you put the bday messages from their studios side by side — it appears that the theme and pattern is the same. 😂😂😂😂

lament about how time flies >> one year role review >> talk about life >> good wishes

I mean it’s not the most unique format but it’s so cute seeing how similar. even how it’s split in paragraphs.

Tho I have to say wyb’s was very very special. That message made me tear up.

WYB is about to go home, Paris to China and he is wearing Ralph Lauren. Yes, ZZ is endorsing the fragrance but it’s still an interesting choice.

I am cackling tho cause you can see that WYB was online at midnight! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! It got some people nervous. Will he greet XZ? Will he comments on XZ’s bday post? I mean what’s going on???

Turns out, WYB posted about his experience with the Chanel PFW. This is the perfect time cause he is literally leaving Paris. What’s funny tho are the people commenting. It’s BXGs. Because come on, who’s awake? It’s us. We are awake cause it’s GG’s bday. I took a screenshot, just look at the pfps. I think by the time I publish this post, it will be overtaken by so/os cause one fan club asked other so/os to comment. Lol.

Some are saying the first words he used to describe the show are actually for ZZ’s photos but i really don’t buy that. and well, he is gonna see the love of his life soon ^^ I really hope they get to spend sometime 1005 or over the weekend 😌😌😌

and well the repost on ZZ’s birthday post on his own weibo is another story too 😂😂😂

==================

AND SOME LAST WORDS ABOUT ZZ PULLING OFF THIS CAMERA CANDY TODAY. It’s actually a joint effort. Intentional or not, I’m all for it. It goes to show that the way we speculate on things actually make sense and are not too out there. They could easily hide the camera if they want to block all the cpf talk but they didn’t. It was displayed proudly.

It’s one of those things where I think they/their team really listen in on what’s going on in the turtle fandom and they get to decide which ones will be given more fuel or not. Again, their relationship is between them, but imagine them willingly sharing this personal part of their life to us is making me 😭😭😭.

Whether it’s the exact same camera or not. XZS’ posting closed the loop of doubt. It’s not all on WYB’s side, ZZ claimed it too. and that to me is an iron clad cpn. No one can say that “WYB is just trying to feed the cpfs…”. It’s mutual.

It’s a lesson on believing in them. A couple of times this year, I’ve seen people question them. Always throwing tantrums for “lack of candy” and being annoying. Be patient. You will be rewarded if you just wait — appreciate them as people and enjoy the content they put out. It will come to us in time. Trust them. 🤍

-END.

[therealcocoshady]

Request:

Marshall having to miss Lilly’s birthday because he’s on tour

Happy birthday

Author’s Note : Thank you for your request ❤️. I had a blast writing this ! I hope you enjoy it 🙈.

Tags : Fluff

2019

Before leaving for his tour, Marshall had apologized to you about three hundred times. You had just gotten engaged and he had to leave you to plan the wedding on your own, while he was touring Europe for a month and a half. The two of you didn’t want to wait to get married and agreed to do it as soon as he came back. The day before he left for his tour, the two of you almost went to city hall to get married in a haste. You couldn’t wait to finally be married and officially be a family. In truth, neither of you really cared about having a lengthy ceremony, a reception or proper wedding attire. You just wanted to be married. But as you were ready to get in the car and get to city hall before closing time, you were met with doubts, especially Marshall. 

Should we do it ?  Are you sure ? He asked. 

I’m game if you are, you said with a smile. I can’t wait to be your wife. 

I can’t wait to be your husband. Won’t you regret having a proper ceremony, though ? He asked. 

I don’t care, you said. But if you’d rather wait, we can do it too… 

I don’t want to wait, he said. But maybe… Maybe we can call my daughters ? They wouldn’t want to miss it. 

Of course, you said. Maybe we could have one of them FaceTime my parents so that they don’t miss it either ? 

Great. And we should celebrate a little, maybe go to dinner ? He suggested.

Should I dress up, then ? You asked. If we’re going out after, I should at least wear a nice dress. 

I should at least put on a nice shirt, then, he agreed. 

Ok, we get dressed, book dinner, call the girls and my parents and off we go, you said. 

Should we call Paul, Denaun and Tracy ? He asked. They were here when we met, they’re our closest friends, they should be celebrating with us. 

Ok, but then perhaps Royce too ? You asked. And do they bring their significant others ? 

You stopped and stared at each other before bursting out in a fit of laughter. He kissed you lovingly. 

Who are we kidding ? He chuckled. 

Do you… Do we want an actual party ? You asked. 

I think I do, he admitted. I love you, I can’t wait for you to be my wife, but I think I’d regret not celebrating properly. You deserve actual vows, a nice place to get married, a first dance… I want us to do this the right way. And I don’t think your mom would forgive us if she wasn’t there to attend, and possibly have a little figurine of herself on top of the cake. 

You’re right, you giggled. But I don’t want to wait too long, though. Let’s do it when you get back, ok ? 

Ok, he agreed. Right after I get back, I’m marrying the shit out of you and you’re mine forever. 

I’m already yours forever, you said cheekily as you showed him your engagement ring. 

It had been a couple of months since he got on one knee at dinner and proposed with the most beautiful ring you had ever seen. You should have gotten used to the rock sitting on your engagement finger by now, but you were still giddy every time you looked at it. Knowing that he took your daughter with him when he went to pick the ring also made it that much more meaningful. That very night, he also stated his intention of adopting Lily and caring for her. Ever since you’d met, he had always been incredible to her and, even though the adoption wasn’t official yet, he was very much a father figure to her. You knew leaving her for six weeks was just as hard for him as leaving you. By his own admission, he loved your little routine as a family and was going to miss it while on tour. Sadly, he was also going to miss her second birthday. Unfortunately, the tour had been planned before the two of you started dating, so there was no way he could have known. He was gutted, though, and he kept on apologizing to the both of you. 

It’s fine, you said. We’ll celebrate with you when you get back. 

It’s not the same, he shrugged. But I’d like that. 

If anything, you’ll miss the party with all the kids from daycare, so you’re pretty lucky, you giggled. I sort of want to skip it… 

Why did you plan it in the first place, then ? He mused. 

Because apparently, it shows that your kid and family are socially adjusted, you explained. And if I- if we want her to get into the right preschool… 

You’re still set on that fancy preschool, aren’t you ? He asked with a raised eyebrow. 

You still think that’s stupid ? You asked. 

I think preschool is preschool, he chuckled. My kids didn’t go to any fancy preschool or kindergarten. In fact, they went to all public schools and did great. But if you think it’s what’s best for Lily, sure. 

Yeah but now that you’re adopting her, you should have a say- you began. 

Doesn’t matter, he said. I’m not against it. In fact, if you want me to foot the bill, I will, happily. But, just in case she doesn’t get in : you should remember it’s preschool, not Harvard, and that her life won’t be ruined if she goes to a public preschool. I’m pretty sure they use the same crayons anyway. 

True, you giggled. I know it’s stupid, you know ? But Lily is my first and only child. I only want the best. I know you have more experience with your girls. I should probably chill… You know better.

I don’t know if I know better, he chuckled. You’re the best Mom she would ask for. Plus, you know… When I had my daughters, I wasn’t in the same position as now. I wasn’t able to be as present, physically and mentally, too. But Lily… was Lily’s going to get the best version of me. 

We’re pretty lucky to have you, you said lovingly. 

I’m pretty lucky too, he said. I’m really going to miss you. I’m not even gone and I can’t wait to be back, already.

Hopefully, we don’t burn the house down with that wild Project X party for her birthday, you joked. Are you sure you’re ok with me hosting it here ? 

You live here, now, don’t you ? He said with a smile. Besides, the house survived Nathan and the parties he threw when I was on tour and he lived here, so it should be fine with the kids from daycare. 

You were still navigating your new life as Marshall’s fiancée. Before your engagement, you didn’t live together but after he asked for your hand, you ended up moving in with him in his house. You still weren’t too used to the place. Before, you spent most of your time in your house, since all of Lily’s stuff was there. But given his celebrity status, Marshall needed his security nearby and it made more sense for you to move into his house, which was in a gated community, than for him to move into yours. You liked the place and he had made the cutest bedroom and playroom for Lily, who absolutely loved it, but you had yet to claim the place as yours. Though now that you would be left here alone for six weeks, you’d have no choice. 

On the morning he left for his tour, the goodbye was bittersweet. As a collaborator who worked for Shady Records and his biggest supporter, you were excited for him because you knew he loved performing, but as his fiancée, it was hard to let him go. He was standing by the door, bags in his hand, ready to cross the threshold. You were holding Lily, ready to say goodbye. Six weeks would be too long. He let go of his bags to hug you one last time. 

I’m going to miss you, he said. I’ll FaceTime everyday, alright ? Or at least, as much as I can. 

Sure, you said. Say bye to Dad, Lily ? 

Bye, she said in her little voice. 

Bye baby, he said softly. Take care of your Mom, alright ? And don’t become a giant while I’m gone. 

He kissed her little head and she giggled. You tried to get her to say « Bye Dad » but referring to Marshall as her father wasn’t natural for her yet. He wasn’t bothered by it, though, and said that she’d use the word in due time. 

Bye, my love, he said before kissing you tenderly. I love you. 

I love you too, you said. Have a safe flight. And say hi to everyone for me. 

Will do, he said. See you in six weeks. 

You nodded and watched him leave, tears in your eyes. As soon as she saw the car leave the property and the tears in your eyes, Lily understood that Marshall might be gone for longer than usual and started to cry. You knew it was going to be a long few weeks. However, Marshall kept true to his words. He FaceTimed you every night and even read a couple of stories to Lily, who was always happy to see him on the screen. The tour was going great and he was having fun, though he missed you a lot. As for you, you kept working and planning the wedding. At least, this kept you busy. 

Two days before Lily’s birthday, you were looking at your phone and showing her pictures and videos of Marshall on stage and she finally pronounced the magic word. 

Daddy ! She shrieked. 

That’s right my love ! You said happily. That’s Daddy. Oh he’s going to be so happy ! 

You couldn’t wait to tell Marshall Lily had finally referred to him as Daddy. Though you wished he’d been able to hear it for himself. You had two weeks left before finally seeing him and you couldn’t wait for your little family to be reunited. That’s when you decided that enough was enough and, without second-thought, you decided to book plane tickets to join him in Europe. You never thought your daughter would have a father but now she had one and your little ray of sunshine deserved to have her favorite person by her side for her second birthday. And since he couldn’t make it home, home would make it to him. You immediately started packing and called Tracy. 

What’s up beautiful ? She asked. Marshall’s on stage right now. Want me to get him to call you back when the show’s over ? 

Hey ! No need, you giggled. I thought I should give you a heads up… I’m flying to Europe with Lily. We’re packing right now. 

Seriously ?! She asked. It’s going to be great to see you girls. He’s going to be so excited when I tell him ! 

Can you not ? You asked. I thought I’d surprise him ! 

Oooh that’s a good idea, she said with excitement. Do you need me to book your flights ? 

I’m good, thanks, you said. I just wanted to let you know. We’ll be in Sweden tomorrow afternoon. 

I’ll send the details of the hotel so that you can drop off the bags, and tell security to let you in the arena, Tracy offered. And if you need me, I’m one phone call away ! 

You were incredibly thankful for Tracy. She was the first person you befriended when you started working for Shady Records and she had been instrumental in your relationship with Marshall. In fact, she was the very person who told you to go for it, and who opened your eyes to the fact that he was into you. 

As soon as your bags were packed, you got in the car with Lily, heading for the airport and ready to catch the first flight for Sweden. You couldn’t wait to see Marshall. 

It was Lily’s first long flight, going out of the country, and it turned out to be an absolute nightmare. You had only managed to book economy tickets and you had to sit through an entire flight with your daughter in your lap while she was all fussy. You tried playing with her, reading to her, letting her play with her phone (even though you were absolutely against the idea of kids playing with technology) but nothing would do. Your back hurt and you knew you’d have to face the music and deal with jet lag, all while trying to work remotely for the duration of your stay. But regardless, it was worth it : you were determined to spend Lily’s second birthday with Marshall. Before the flight, you also took care of canceling the party, making up excuses and saying that Lily was sick. When you touched down in Stockholm, you were excited, despite the lack of sleep. Lily was starting to be sleepy as well, which made her less  energic. Travelling with a toddler wasn’t too easy and, since you couldn’t pack the stroller with you, you had to carry her, as well as your bag, hers and the diaper back. So much for packing light. You only planned on being gone from home a few days but, even with the bare necessities, it was a lot. Thankfully, you got the help of a very nice taxi driver who took you to the arena. It was 2:00 and you knew that, around that time, Marshall was probably starting soundcheck. You grabbed your phone and let Tracy know you were on your way. It had been on airplane mode for hours and you just realized you had missed calls from Marshall, as well as texts asking if you were alright and if you were mad at him. As soon as you got out of the cab, you found Tracy waiting for you in front of the arena. She hugged both you and Lily and helped you with your bags. 

I made arrangements with the hotel this morning, they’ll have a crib set up in Marshall’s suite for Lily, she said. 

You’re a godsend ! She’s been fussy the whole flight, hasn’t slept one bit… I can’t wait to put her down for a nap, hopefully get some rest, you confessed. 

Someone else’s been fussy, she pointed out. He was gutted that you wouldn’t pick up the phone right before Lily’s birthday… 

I didn’t even think of that, you said earnestly. 

Don’t worry, all will be forgiven as soon as he sees both of you, she said reassuringly. 

You entered the arena and she led you backstage, where you greeted by the whole team. Paul was surprised to see you and you had to say that you had come on impulse and moved your schedule around. He was still your boss and it hadn’t really occurred to you that you should keep him informed. However, as always, he was understanding and you suspected it had something to do with Lily hugging him and cooing « Unc Paul ». Your baby had Marshall’s whole team wrapped around her finger. Seeing all these familiar faces gave her a surge of energy and she was all giddy. You were led to the side of the stage, where you could see Marshall and Denaun doing sound check. They were absorbed and didn’t see either you or Lily. However, your daughter immediately spotted her Dad and favorite Uncle and she started shrieking. 

Daddy ! She said. 

You want to go and see him, baby ? You asked. 

Yes ! Daddy !!! M’ere ! She called. 

However, with the music being so loud, no one could hear her. You put her down and she immediately started running towards Marshall, who had his back turn and had no idea Lily was coming his way. You immediately took out your phone to capture the sweet moment. At some point, Porter spotted her and smiled as he stopped everything. 

Look who’s-

DADDY !!! Your daughter shrieked. 

Marshall turned and, as soon as he spotted Lily, you could see his face light up. He put the mic down and lowered himself for Lily to run in his arms. He engulfed her in a big hug and held her tightly. 

What’s my name ? How did you call me ? He asked with the biggest smile. 

Daddy ! She repeated with pride. 

That’s right, baby ! Daddy missed you so much, he added as he kissed the top of her head. 

He looked around and finally spotted you. You stopped recording and ran to hug him as well. You held each other for a long minute, savoring each other’s presence. 

God I missed you, he said as he buried his face in your neck. 

I missed you too, you said. We missed you. 

I’m so glad you’re here, he said. I was worried when you didn’t pick up the phone last night. 

Sorry, you said. I was on the plane when you called. I wanted Lily to have her favorite person by her side for her second birthday. 

You’re amazing, he praised before kissing you. I’m so happy to see the two of you. Wait, I lost track of time… it’s today, right ? 

It is, you giggled. 

Happy birthday, baby, he told Lily before kissing her. 

I can’t believe our baby is two, you said emotionally. 

I can’t believe you flew all the way here, he replied. I’m so happy. You’re amazing. 

I wouldn’t have been able to sit through this party and celebrate when Lily doesn’t have you by her side, you said. It doesn’t feel right. Birthdays are a family thing. 

How about preschool ? He asked with a raised eyebrow. I know one of the moms at daycare is the director… 

Don’t care, you chuckled. My baby has her Daddy by her side and that’s all that matters. 

You stayed by Marshall’s side during soundcheck and attended his performance. Lily was wearing noise-reducing headphones and she was excited to see her Dad performing, jumping around and interacting with fans. It was a shame she was too young to remember it later, but she seemed to be having a blast. At some point, though, she fell asleep I your arms, absolutely exhausted by the time difference and the whole flight spent without closing her eyes. She had slept a bit during the day but it wasn’t enough. You were rocking her, holding her close to you when Marshall walked off the stage after the show. You could see him melt as he saw her asleep. 

She’s so cute, he commented. 

She was a handful, you replied. I’m glad she’s asleep. 

I can’t wait for her to wake up, though, he chuckled. We haven’t even celebrated her birthday yet ! 

We can just have cake and make her blow on a candle tomorrow, you giggled. She won’t mind that it’s a day late. She won’t remember anyway. But at least, we’re together. That’s all that matters.

I’m so happy to have my girls with me, he said lovingly. Now, how about we hand Lily to Tracy for a second and you help me shower ? 

You giggled and agreed. Tracy had always been a doting aunt figure for Lily and she had absolutely no problem watching her - not that it was too much trouble when Lily was sleeping peacefully. As soon as you were alone in his dressing room, Marshall locked the door and kissed you passionately before pining you against the wall. 

God, I missed you, he said in between kisses. 

Missed you too, you whispered. Missed this. 

He chuckled and removed his tee-shirt. After almost two hours on stage, he was a sweaty mess but you didn’t care one bit. If anything, you liked his scent and were even more attracted to him - which you could probably blame on your compatible pheromones. You playfully ran your hands on his chest, in his back, happy to finally be able to touch him. He reciprocated by helping you out of your clothes and, soon enough, you were in the shower, kissing sloppily while lathering each other in body wash. You enjoyed the warm water pouring over you, relaxing your muscles after a long trip, as well as Marshall’s hands all over your body, teasing your breasts, grabbing your butt… The two of you couldn’t get enough of each other. While you were apart, you sent a great deal of nudes and sexy texts to each other but nothing compared to the real deal. You weren’t sure if you had to blame it on your exhaustion (his from the show, yours from the trip) or simply the euphoria of being reunited, but you swore the both of you never came this quickly before. You simply laughed it off and cuddled for a while on the couch. You were taken out of your little bubble when you heard Tracy knock on the door. 

Hey lovebirds, she giggled. Time to drive to the hotel. 

You quickly got dressed and went to get Lily. You expected her to be sleeping but, instead, you found her wide awake, playing with Denaun. Obviously, the little one was too happy and didn’t care too much about rest and sleep, much to your dismay. Toddlers were a handful and, even though Lily was a rather easy child, you definitely liked it more when she had proper rest. Otherwise, she could get a bit difficult, like any other child her age. Denaun was teaching her how to answer the question : « Who’s the GOAT ? » (apparently, « Nauny » was the only acceptable answer). 

Finally, you two, Denaun grinned. Finally got it out of your system ? 

Shut up, Marshall chuckled. 

Not before the wedding, you said innocently. 

Check it out, guys… Lily, who’s the GOAT ? He asked. 

Naun- DADDY ! She giggled as soon as she saw Marshall pointing at himself. 

Fuck you, man, Denaun sighed. Took me twenty minutes to get her to say it ! 

Language, Marshall scolded as he took Lily in his arms. That’s right babygirl. Daddy’s the GOAT. 

Marshall was still beaming over the fact that he had finally earned the « Daddy » title and proudly carried Lily on his shoulder on the way to the car. Once you were at the hotel, everyone gathered in Marshall’s suite for dinner, which mainly consisted of snacks. You tried to get your daughter away from the sugary snacks and scolded Denaun for sneaking her some, but it was a lost cause. Even Marshall indulged her. 

If she has sugar this late, she won’t sleep as well, you pointed out. 

But she’s so happy, your fiancé pointed out. And it’s her birthday… 

Speaking of which, Tracy said, it’s time to blow candles, don’t you think ? 

You hugged your friend, who had taken the time to order a small cake with candles from room service as soon as she learned you were coming. Everyone sang your baby happy birthday and she was elated to have some of her people with her. When it was time to go to bed, you went to the bathroom to brush your teeth while Marshall put your daughter in her PJs. You walked in on him holding her and gently rocking her as she was yawning. He was so absorbed that he didn’t see you. 

Happy birthday again, my princess, he said with a smile. I’m so happy Mommy brought you here. I missed you so much. I swear to God, and I swear to you, I’ll never be away on your birthday again. 

[thepastisalreadywritten]

Prince Edward has paid tribute to his wife, Sophie, as his ‘absolute rock’ as he discussed his family life with Alan Titchmarsh during an appearance on Love Your Weekend.

The episode, which is set to air on March 10, the Duke of Edinburgh’s 60th birthday, will see the Prince sit down with the presenter and open up about his wife, the Duchess of Edinburgh, and their two children, Lady Louise, 20, and James, Earl of Wessex, 16.

Speaking of how much Sophie means to him, the Duke called his wife ‘critical, absolutely critical.’

He continued:

‘She's been an absolutely brilliant rock and I'm incredibly lucky that I found Sophie and that she found me. Hopefully, we've been a really brilliant partnership.

We're very lucky, we’ve got two, of what we would think are particularly brilliant children, who are forging such different paths for themselves. I think that's also equally fascinating.’

Elsewhere he spoke about the significance of Mothering Sunday and described what the celebration means for his own family.

Prince Edward said, ‘Always and it's doubly so when you've got your own children - your own family is very important.’

‘Those days were [important growing up], and these days are really important to remember some very, very special people in our lives.

There should be several times in the year when we make a special sort of effort and Mothering Sunday was very much one of those where you made a special effort just to say ‘thank you.’

So it goes on and that's the lovely thing about it. That's the lovely thing about families and that's what it should be.’

During the discussion, Prince Edward also revealed the lasting memories his grandchildren have of the late Prince Philip, including teaching his daughter Lady Louise to drive a carriage.

It's a hobby, which was a passion of the late Duke’s, and has since been adopted as one of Lady Louise’s.

He said, ‘It was entirely off her own bat. I mean, you know, just one day, ‘Can I go out with you and go sit on the boxes?’

He was like, ‘Absolutely.’

'He never was going to say no! He took her out with the team and I think it was only the second time, he was driving along and he said, ‘Do you want to have a go?’ and she didn’t have time to even answer the question, he just handed the reins across.’

Elsewhere in the discussion, Prince Edward spoke about how much it meant to him to be bestowed the title of Duke of Edinburgh. He said:

‘It was a huge privilege but also quite a lot of weight of expectation as well. I mean, there's an awful lot of legacy that came with that title and everything that my father had done. Especially when you're not inheriting it, this is a choice… that comes with all the expectations that people have.

It's just the weirdest and strangest feeling. You walk into a room and, particularly still today, there are name places on a card and I still look around going ‘Yes, but where am I sitting?’

Explaining how he would describe his father Prince Philip, The Duke called him an ‘extraordinary mind’, adding:

‘He was the Prince Albert of our age. He had an extraordinary mind. He loved design, he loved innovation, he was brilliant with all sorts of people.

Sometimes it didn't necessarily come across that way, but he was actually brilliant with people. He was always, always encouraging everybody. You sort of needed to get to know him.’

The interview comes after Sophie gave her own touching tribute to Edward during a royal engagement earlier in March.

The Duchess gave a rare, gushing tribute to her husband, calling him ‘the best of fathers and the most loving of husbands.’

Prince Edward looked deeply emotional throughout the speech, putting his hands over his face, as Sophie spoke about their love, saying, ‘I am so proud of the man he is.’

[thatdeadaquarius]

I have recently come to the conclusion that if my Genshin Impact account was self aware, my Bennet would be slightly even more unlucky than a regular Bennet. This is due to my birthday and since its coming up I've been brainrotting for the past few days. Let me explain:

Bennet's birthday is February 29th, aka Leap Year. This means Benny only has a real birthday once every four years, which is bad enough. But according to canonical game lore, when he doesn't have his actual birthday, he celebrates it on the 28th.

My birthday is February 28th.

Now, I'd like to think that in your typical SAGAU the creator's birthday is a BIG DEAL. I'm talking festivals, parades, feasts, gifts exchanged between friends and family as well as gifts offered to the creator! The whole nine yards! An entire world partying from sunrise to moonset.

So with this in mind, Bennet's birthday would either be celebrated the day after the biggest holiday party in Teyvat (meaning everyone who attends would be all partied out) or during my birthday (meaning that everyone would be focused on ME instead of Bennet, which is just unfair! He can't even take pride in being born the same day as the creator b/c he was born the day after!!!!).

Anyway, if I was isekai'd to Genshin and worshipped as a god, I would simply give Bennet his own holiday. Poor kiddo deserves a win and if it takes me telling my acolytes quote, "Everyone will to celebrate Bennet's holiday. No exceptions, no excuses. And if his holiday party doesn't end up a success, I will destroy all of Teyvat and then myself. :3c" then so be it. That last statement is a joke, but watching everyone try their absolute hardest to give my adopted little brother the best birthday possible would be worth the fear of the vague threat of the world's destruction in the eyes of my worshipers me thinks.

If you add to this brainrot, please feel free to ignore that last part if everyone panicking over the possibility of apocalyptic destruction makes you uncomfortable. Likewise, don't rush this out by my birthday if you don't have time. I'm also in college and have multiple assignments due both before and after my birthday so I know this upcoming week will be hellish in terms of academics. So don't push yourself, okay?

So yeah. Thanks for reading! Hope you have a nice day!

JOKES ON YOU IM DOIN THIS FIRST BC ITS NEAR UR BIRTH WHEN I SAW THIS - HAHAHA (also timezones r wack so hope i timed it good enough for u lmao)

HOPE ALL UR ASSIGNMENTS VANISH / R SUPER EASY AND TAKE NO TIME AT ALL TO DO SO U HAVE MORE FREE TIME TO READ MY BIRTHDAY GIFT TO YOU ANON <3

Have a pretty miku hatsune gif <3

YEAH SO U ENTERED UR BDAY INTO GENSHIN U KNOW THAT RIGHT??

WELL SINCE THAT WAS THE BASICS OF THE GAME/AT THE START-

TEYVAT HAS KNOWN YOUR BIRTHDAY AS LONG AS LIFE HAS LIVED ON TEYVET LOL

◇

So if it's your birthday and you have been isekaied to Teyvat in time for it,

or been there for that long bc how does one un-isekai themselves?? anyway

and its like,, pandemonium.

bc idealistically u surprise these bitches around/close to ur birthday, so everyone's gettin in that festival mood and then BAM- itd be like if the spirits/demons showed up irl for Halloween randomly one year, like- ???!!!

so everyone's just

"well we usually have a lot of fun/praise the highest being anyway, hoping they'll hear us thru whatever barrier's between us (coughstupidcomputercough), but now... we've got to go harder than any century before guys, they're actually here, nobody panic, this isn't a drill- somebody fucking grab the champagne- "

◇

So for a second, imagine the sweetest anyone has ever been to you.

now imagine another person does something just as sweet for you, now add another, now add another, now add-

yeah i hope u got a hoddie so u can go to sweatertown when u get too embarassed/shy, bc the compliments??

"I really like your voice btw, this may sound strange but it was always so comforting pulling those all nighter for another akademiya project, and just hearing you joking around or humming, what felt like only for me or to keep me company ;) " - Lisa

"I hope you don't mind me doing this, as I wasn't trying to invade you privacy when I came upon this knowledge, but I thought it would make a useful gift. I know you were frustrated when you came here that there wasn't as much cosmetics so I used alchemy to aid your cause, this is some color changing nail polish-"

-Albedo has gotten u ur exact foundation shade, concealer, a skin clearing serum that works 100x better than any skincare routine u had going/or not lol, and if you dont really wear makeup or do skin care, he has a backup of all ur fav perfumes/colognes that u wish u had in ur old world (he heard u ranting abt wanting those scents/stuff u liked like cherries or sandalwood etc.)

◇

bc even if ur not the type to feel that way when ppl do things like that for u, i promise u will be by the end of your birthday week.

everyone in teyvat wants your first in person birthday to be perfect,

ESPECIALLY the allogenes, or the playable characters

doesn't even matter if your FTP and dont have a single character outside of the beginners,

(they all had access to things like your voice, your actions, your social media, yae miko may or may not have personally printed off enough copies of a book full of any selfies/pics with you in it to reach every corner of teyvat ahem, she means what- nothing at all my beautiful god-)

anyway that is to say, your birthday month is generally really bountiful, both in festivals and teyvat itself, regardless if its dead winter or scorching summer

◇

but for the sake of ANON'S BIRTHDAY-

You have now been forcibly converted into a Pisces - gasp - from this moment on,

ik tragic im an aquarius 😔,

Bc this is anon's Teyvat rn and we're just living in it

(genshincharactersaboutyoubelike-)

◇

You don't know which authority figure to thank first for helping organize your week so you can go to a different city's festival for you every day of your bday week, it must have been hell to make 💀

(rip ningguang alhaitham jean and ayaka/ayato yall will be missed 💧🙏)

U kind of worked ur way backwards actually from game release country's dates, like Sumeru, Inazuma, Liyue, Mondstadt

Bc when they asked if u had a preference u whole heartedly spoke up in front of a room full of arguably the most influential and powerful people on the continent, in the world really- well besides you-

"Mondstadt would be a great festival to have on my actual birthday! After all one of my best boys Bennett, also has his birthday that day too!" :)

...

.....somewhere in the Wolvendom wilds Bennett shivers with a bolt of anxiety,

Razor is confused and asks if he's ok, he gives a shaky thumbs up,

"yeah i just... got the scariest feeling.. like something bad's gonna happen on my birthday this week... haha probably nothing!... probably..."

◇

So everyone's been pretty chill and happy for Benny to be so favored/spoiled by you, esp since ur sharing ur bday (most ppl think ur a saint bc of this)

But for some pretentious assholes, who think traditions should be adhered to, they kinda dont even like the stuff ur changing-

"Oh well, if you don't just celebrate Benett's birthday with mine, and really anyone else who's bday is also mine, I'll just ruin your country ;) "

...

Some ppl get ur joking, like alhaitham would never believe u,

But these poor old fools, coughsagescough,

R just like-

"...an eldritch god is angry with us."

Needless to say u get ur way,

And poor Benny is just like, shaking in the corner, he can't tell if this is more unlucky or the luckiest he's been lol

(He's also one of the allogenes who did not rlly get ur joke lmao,,, also Itto💀)

◇

If your somehow not overhwhlemed by gifts and acts of service on ur birthday,

Benny is.

Benny is for you.

Lol, he's like gonna make himself sick bc he cant just say "No thanks" to all the ppl giving you food, but end up giving him some too by proxy

He cant even count how many candies and baked goods are weighing down his pockets

Oh did i mention you've just like, linked arms with the little guy and dragged him wherever Mond's citizens r dragging you for the birthday festivities :)

◇

While he was mostly just in shock all day, Benny does take the time to tear up and thank you for sharing your birthday*

(*both of your birthdays, u correct him all day)

Jean, Barabra, Diluc, Kaeya, Amber, Traveler, Razor Sucrose Fischl and Klee (and Varka + older adventurers/his dads)

are all super happy to finally see the poor kid get the biggest break ever for his birthday finally

Esp after they saw the last few... yknow... non-existant ones... bc he only has a bday every 4 years lol

◇

Nearly starts sobbing publicly when u give him a present for his bday too :')

And after you all do a big toast for an evening bday dinner, u hug him and he actually cries a little, and he squeezes u back super hard

"I always thought I was too unlucky to get a birthday like this, but I guess if even a god like you hasn't given up on me, I shouldn't give up on me either, thank you for the best birthday I've ever had Your Majesty!"

:')

♡

(Tho Klee did sneakily give u and him some of her best and brightest bombs as a bday gift, so he did get a little singed but he barely noticed lmao)

♡

I hope my ass writing/ideas was a decent bday gift anon! :0

I love Pisces sm, i hope ur bday was/will be incredible anon!! :) <33

Safe Travels,

💀♒️

♡the beloveds♡

@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza / @genshin-impacts-me / @wholesomey-artist

[egret-orchids]

i have this sort of weird 'true timeline' au for an alternate ending to the umbrella academy. feel free to ask about this i am open to yapping.

it's basically just taking the canon ending and this comic by @/twobraincells-art and sort of creating an au in the actual original timeline where everything was okay.

seeing as in the canon ending you see lila's family, claire, and diego and lila's kids, it makes me think that yes, the rest of the hargreeves all exist in this 'correct' timeline, but we don't see them on screen.

the best way i can explain this is with the cliche of 'oh it was all a dream', but in actuality i think it's more 'they woke up in the right timeline and everything was okay again'. they react pretty similarly to lila when she gets back home after spending seven years in the subway with five. just. unexplained sobbing/clinging to family.

luther has sloane again and they live in the academy building, except now it's properly renovated into a family home. they eventually have a daughter. her name is luna.

diego and lila find themselves happy with each other, happy with their children. grace is nearly ten now. the twins (noah and coco) are nearly seven. they're happy in their little family bubble.

allison's back with ray, and they're so in love it's like he never left. claire loves her stepdad as if he were her actual father. the three of them are happy. they desperately want a child together, but allison's hesitant. ray suggests they adopt. that's how they welcome damien into the family.

klaus gets sober. it's not like last time. he didn't need the harrowing experience of realising his mortality to push him to put in the effort. he's got a support system now. and he was so, so proud to get that one day chip. he struggles, obviously. but he's got good people, and he knew now he had a shoulder to cry on whenever he needed it. allison was there for him. claire watched movies with him in his (no longer bubble-wrapped) room, and damien asked a million questions. ray's practically his brother. and through a series of events he'd rather not actively think about, he finds happiness with them. and charlotte. god, he'd give that little girl the world and more.

five manages. he spends some time at viktor's, then luther's, and there's that period of time where he was ben's roommate until his brother moved out with jennifer. he gets by. finds work at a diner, then he works with a guy eerily similar to elliott. it's nice. he can finally relax.

nobody really knows where ben went. he was still with jennifer, but nobody's talked to either of them in years, and maybe that's for the best.

viktor goes back to his bar. he meets rosaline there. she moves in with him at his offering when he finds out she's being evicted. he meets her kid, frances. they're great. viktor propose to rosa on her birthday. she says yes.

they don't see each other much over the four years they've been apart since the cleanse disaster. the next celebration to bring them together is grace's tenth birthday and then christmas. but who knows how that'll go.

[beanghostprincess]

Roger really DOES have mad girldad energy and I am feral.

Welcome to my walls btw, it's hot af in Florida, so lmk if you need a popsicle/hj

Just. Omfg imagine Toki and Buggy bonding SO MUCH and Toki is the one who helps Buggy find Her Style and Her Confidence. Oden also has Big Himbo Dad Emergy too, so I bet he'd just be like ":000 a GIRL! WONDERFUL!!! I shall have TWO daughters!"

Roger ofc takes big offense to that and it becomes a shipwide brawl over who gets to be her dad, and Buggy is just laughing, crying, pickpocketing everyone. Only like. Three fellas even have the driving NEED to call her their daughter, they just love the chaos. Shanks is just left GAPING bc ofc he loves Buggy, he always has, always will, but the way she was smiling, the way she's just beaming at the acceptance, no matter how dramatic it is - by Davy Jones, it steals his breath away.

Whatever you do tho, don't imagine Toki dressing Buggy up in traditional Wano attire. Don't imagine Toki taking on the role of aunt or big sister and sharing this culture with Buggy. Teaching her the ways of warriors from her homeland, the codes and dress and recipes. Don't imagine Toki telling Buggy "family secrets" like recipes, fighting styles, etc. Don't imagine Toki just easily saying that of course Buggy needs to know these things! Blood is but the fluid of life, and love is what makes a family - and Buggy has so much love to give, so much to receive, and Toki calls her a child of Wano in heart and soul, in all the ways that matter should Buggy want that.

And Buggy, who has only ever wanted to BELONG, oh she accepts without hesitation.

Leaving Toki behind was hard, but she gifts Buggy an heirloom of sorts, a hair piece that she keeps either tucked under her beanie or safe in a chest, anchored to the floor of her room ((or hidden carefully with Devil Fruit powers)).

The day Toki manages to make/get a suitably sized kimono for Buggy, maybe for a party on the ship, maybe a birthday celebration ((and here I insert my Wano Culture Headcanons, that there's a birthday where children transition to young adults, and it's similar to a quinceñera but different, partially because it's done at 13, and then a second one at 18, a five year period of growth, life compared to butterflies, and so Toki convinces the crew to do these for the Cabin Kids-))

Buggy comes out, hair done, kimono flawless and bright and bold and so very her, a quiet joy on her face, and the crew is FLABBERGASTED.

Roger is sobbing.

Rayleigh has suddenly aged 20 years because oh shit oh gods she's going to be beautiful as an adult, oh damn it all he's gonna have to beat men off of her-

Shanks is caught between swooning, wanting to tackle her, and remembering just how the heck breathing works.

((Roger, Rayleigh, Crocus and Oden do rock paper scissors to get the first dance with her, and it dissolves into a fist fight somehow. Shanks gets involved and bites them. Toki takes the first dance.))

I have. So many emotions about transfem Buggy, bestie, send help it's all my brain can think about.

It's okay, I miss hot weather because here in Spain I am freezing and I am a spring child. My spiritual flower is a sunflower. I need the SUN. I NEED TO GO INTO THE FLAMES. So I'll stay there happily.

Please, Toki would so adopt Buggy. And Oden would be THRILLED. He'll see them getting along and he'd instantly say they look like mother and daughter. Buggy would be shy about it but Toki would probably laugh and say "Oh! Do we really? What do you think, Bugs?" and it's just,, So sweet,, Oden loves her a lot and he can't wait to see his Hiyori grow up too. Roger would be FURIOUS when he hears that because he "found her first" which, you know, true, but it's a weird way of saying that's his daughter. Anyway- Rayleigh would be so fucking done with everything. They'd fight about it and Buggy would actually have the time of her life because she feels important and flashy for once in a long time, and she'd laugh oh so beautifully at them when talking with Shanks about it in their room. Like she'd just laugh at the situation and Shanks is still not getting used to his very very not platonic feelings for his best friend. But he'd enjoy his time with her. He's just going a bit insane.

I can't stop thinking now about Buggy finally finding a place to belong. She's been lost for so long,, Feeling left out. And now Toki has gifted her with the most precious treasure there is: A home. Belonging. And I am so so emotional right now. Toki would be so proud of her and Buggy would just be so thankful. If Buggy called her 'mom' at some point, she'd feel embarrassed right away, but Toki would probably fight the tears and hug her close. Going crazy, really. All the men in Buggy's life fighting for her first dance,, Rayleigh just knows he'll have to fight all the men that hurt his precious star. And Shanks is starting to think about that too and the thought of Buggy dating somebody else makes him sick, so perhaps he needs to start with a plan to confess finally (he's so asking Toki about it. I'm gonna cry). Roger crying because he wants to enjoy every second he has left with her... It kills me.

I just know that to this day, Buggy still thinks about Toki as her mom. She never mentions it to anybody, but she feels such a strong connection to Wano and she's dying to go there finally someday. She might have not been born there, but her soul belongs there. And it's just so sweet. I am sobbing, thank you. Every time she does her hair, she feels Toki's hands instead of hers and she remembers everything she taught her,,,

Now I have on my mind a very silly Shuggy thought about Shanks trying to flirt with Buggy but failing miserably (because he's a kid and he only knows how to tease her or follow Roger's advice which are, um, not good) and Buggy just being so done and exhausted. She can't stand him! He's so annoying! Sometimes she doesn't know if she wants to punch him or kiss him! And she doesn't even know if Shanks likes her back because he keeps acting stupid. And she goes to Toki for advice and she's like "oh, darling... Men are stupid. Do you know why you felt smarter than them when you were unaware of being a girl? Well, one of the reasons is that Shanks is a kid. He's dumb. But he loves you and cares so much for you... He's just having a hard time trying to make his way to your heart" / "But he-! He's so damn- Ugh. He's such an idiot. He already did, and he just doesn't know because he can't see it and I can't stand him-" / "Well, maybe you should be the one telling him, huh?" / "What?! No! And give him the satisfaction of thinking I fell first?! I'd rather die. No. He has to make the first move". And now Toki is involved (like the rest of the crew because Shuggy is a whole teen drama) in their love story because Buggy keeps complaining about men being stupid and Shanks keeps saying he doesn't get how Buggy can't see he's in love with her.

[x0x0josephinex0x0]

anniversaries | yunho

Happy holidays to anyone who celebrates! I just wanted to write something cute and fluffy and short, so I hope you enjoy. <3 Warnings: I tried to avoid gendered terms but there might be some accidents, there are pet names (love, honey), it's implied reader is kinda shorter than Yunho but no specific size parameters are mentioned.

You are a person who keeps track of dates. You know every birthday in your family, always have a plan for holidays, and make sure your coworkers feel admired and appreciated.

So it was a bit of a shock to see your boyfriend of not-quite-one year standing at your door with a little pink box wrapped up in gold ribbon, his eyes bright and excited and his cheeks flushed with the winter chill.

"Yunho!" you exclaimed, nonplussed, ushering him inside and closing the door against the cold. "What are you doing here?"

"Hi to you too," he teases, putting the cake box on the counter and extricating himself from his jacket. During the winter, Yunho is always wearing a soft, fluffy sweater -- a habit he adopted after learning that you couldn't resist burying your face in his chest when he had one on. Even now, you can't help but wrap your arms around his middle, running your hands up and down the soft fabric. "I have a gift for you. I thought I'd surprise you and drop it off."

"What's the occasion?" you ask him.

He grins. "Why don't we sit down first? I want snuggles."

You roll your eyes good-naturedly, cuddling up beside him on the couch in the living room. "What have you been up to today?" you ask him, putting one of your hands up against his cold cheek to try and warm him.

"Honestly, not that much," he says simply, leaning into your touch. "I was mostly thinking about you all day."

You laugh -- he's not usually this clingy.

Your relationship with Yunho began as a friendship that had gradually become something infinitely more. He could make you smile even on days when it was hard to get out of bed, and you also felt that he drew strength from your honesty and good humor. You could talk to him about anything. He was genuinely your very best friend. And that meant everything to you.

"Was there a reason I was on your mind today?" you ask him as he winds his arms around your waist.

"You're on my mind every day," he insists, "but today is special, yes."

"Why?"

"Because I had a very important conversation with Mingi last year that made me decide to shoot my shot."

"Really?" you ask, surprised. "I've never heard this story."

He chuckles. "Well, Mingi and I were hanging out, and we ended up talking about you like we always did because I was a miserable loser who was scared to ask you out --"

"Okay, but I was just as big of a loser as you," you remind him with a playful shove. "We were both just dancing around having that conversation, which in hindsight, is actually pretty funny --"

"Because it was really easy once we finally did it," Yunho laughs. "Yeah, I remember. But I'm telling you a story now, love."

"Sorry," you giggle, looking up at him with wide eyes and trying not to smile. Yunho thinks his heart might explode, so he continues.

"It's okay. But anyway, Mingi got fed up with me and told me if I didn't ask you out I would never even know what you might have said. The turning point was when he said, 'you either say something and maybe get rejected, or say nothing and never even have a chance.'"

You think back to the "DTR" conversation you'd had with Yunho all that time ago -- how he'd taken your hands in his and asked you if friendship was all you saw in him. You remember how his hands shook, how it was one of the few times that you'd seen him unsmiling, and you'd realized that he was as terrified as you. Somehow, that made it so much easier to confess. "Remind me to thank Mingi later," you murmur, turning toward Yunho and snuggling into him.

"It was very wise of him," Yunho agrees. "But anyway. That conversation happened a year ago today, so I wanted to celebrate." He squeezes you. "Go get the box."

Reluctantly, you untangle yourself from your boyfriend and grab the box from the counter, sitting down beside him. "Do I just open it?" you say, shaking it to see if you can hear anything from the box.

Yunho winces as you shake it. "Uh, my love," he says, his expression pained. "I don't think you should shake that."

"Why?" you ask, suddenly worried. "Was it a kitten or something?"

Yunho laughs. "No," he says. "But it shouldn't be shaken. Just open it and you'll see."

So you open it. Inside is a small cake with very smeared frosting. You can tell what it used to say, though: "Happy Mingi Day." And you're laughing.

"I was thinking we could do something nice for Mingi every year on this day," Yunho muses, taking in the mess you've made inside the box. "Should we take him his favorite snacks?"

"Of course. But we should make a pact never to explain why we're so nice to him this one day out of the year," you muse. "It'll be hilarious if he never knows why."

Yunho beams. "I love you," he says, squishing you in a huge hug with his big sweater.

"I love you more," you say. Then suddenly you realize something.

"So it actually still took you three weeks to talk to me after you had the conversation with Mingi?!"

"Water under the bridge, honey."

[lilapplesheadcannons]

r/AmITheAsshole: u/throwaway478wwx

AITA if I tell my "husband" I love him?

Throw away because my siblings and friends are here. Don't roll your eyes, please. It's very complicated. So I (34M) have been married to my incredible husband Z (34M) for the last 8 years. We went to the same high school but actually ran into different circles. Z, who was a straightA student, didn't like me and my friend circle. Things worsened after I accidentally ruined his science fair project. High school ended with bad blood between us. His older brother, who was a few years senior to us, was my sister's classmate, and he tried to mediate between us, but Z really hated me and would get huffy every time we met.

We met again in Uni. Z seemed more open to the idea of a civil relationship, and things improved tremendously once I gifted him 2 rabbits for his birthday. Z had the cutest crush on our classmate M and would get so flustered when I asked him about M.

In our final year, all of us got very drunk in a party, and I lost the drinking game. As a punishment, I was tasked with safely escorting Z back to our dorm. Just my luck, for such a calm and self-controlled person, Z is an agent of chaos when drunk. We broke into the nearby aquarium to look at the sting-rays, went into a Mcdonald where Z proceeded to buy all the chicken wings as a gift for me and tried to fight a mirror for 'staring at the love of his life'. I somehow managed to calm him down and took him back to the dorm.

Fast forward a year, M suddenly announced her relationship with someone else. I was extremely surprised, but not only Z stoically bore the news, the rest of my friends were very chill about it too. In fact, they seemed more annoyed at me for making a fuss. My angel of a sister, who never spoke a harsh word in her life, told me I was lucky I was so stinking cute.

I tried my best to support Z in this difficult time. We spent most of our free time together. In fact, I invited Z to my sister's wedding to cheer him up. Incidentally, we kinda discovered a big conspiracy to harm Z's brother and his boyfriend, and Z's family was very taken with me. His mom started to joke that she'll steal me to be her own son. Even Z's very stern uncle seemed to soften up.

Finally, M announced her wedding when we were 26. I hastily planned a trip as a means to distract Z. We backpacked and hiked. One night, we got roaring drunk and woke up the next day in bed with each other. Even worse, drunk us thought it was a good idea to apply for a marriage certificate online and make an announcement on Facebook that we were getting married. Our families were blowing up our phones. They asked us how could we do this? How could we exclude them from the happiest day of our life and not give them the chance to celebrate? Before our hungover brains could explain anything, Z's brother was dispatched to retrieve us, and our parents were looking at the wedding venue and cakes.

Our mothers combined are a force to reckon with. I tried to explain things, but mom said she thought she raised me better, and Z's otherwise very kind brother told me he'd feed me into a woodchipper if I backed out of the wedding.

Long story short, we got married that spring. We planned to let things settle a bit, but disaster struck. A friend of ours had a baby cousin whose parents suddenly passed away in an accident. The baby's nearest kin was his grandma, who was very frail and terminal, and my friend didn't have the means to support the baby. Z and I promptly applied to adopt the baby.

Our little radish is almost 9 this year. Z is not only a great dad, but he's an incredibly good husband, too. He's kind, warm, sweet, and patient. He's a wonderful cook. We are compatible in every way, and I mean every possible way. My parents love him. And I think I have fallen in love with him too. But would I be an asshole if I told him that I loved him? We have a good thing going on here. I don't want to rock the boat.

Update 1: Thank you so much for your kind words. I have decided to confess to my husband. Wish me luck.

Update 2: To the person who DMed me calling me "so dumb that light can enter through one ear and exit via another," JC, I know your writing style. Push your luck, and the whole of reddit will know what happened in our third year.

Update 3: So, I told Z that I loved him. He was reading our baby boy's half yearly report. Have I told you guys how handsome he looks with his glasses on? He raised his eyes and said, " And I love 'my name' too. Always have." So I guess that's settled? We have been in love for the last decade? That's good. Thank you for all your support. And I love you too, Jie.

[poisonlove]

Miss Ortega | j.o

part 14

Jenna pov's

The much-awaited day had arrived. Eager to show my love and commitment to t/n, I decided to start her birthday with a special gesture.

I woke up early in the morning. T/n's arm was wrapped around my waist, holding me close, and I gently took her hand to move it aside. Slowly getting out of bed so as not to wake her, I put on some shorts and headed to the kitchen to prepare a surprise.

I took t/n's favorite dessert, a small homemade cake made with lots of love, and adorned it with a lit candle. With a smile on my lips, I climbed the stairs, excited to wish the newly turned adult a happy birthday.

I approached t/n's bed softly, smiling as I watched her sleep. With great care, I leaned in and gave her a light kiss on the lips to wake her gently.

T/n slowly opened her eyes, surprised by my affectionate gesture. A bright smile formed on her face as she realized it was her birthday.

—Happy birthday to me, huh? What a beautiful way to start the day—t/n said as she rubbed her eyes and yawned softly.

—Happy birthday, amore mio! I thought of starting the day with a little dessert— I showed her the small cake in my hands, and t/n looked at me tenderly.

—Thank you, Jen. I couldn't have asked for a better way to start my birthday... you're truly wonderful— t/n said with a smile on her lips as she blew out the candle and took a bite of the cake.

—I'm happy... I'll finally avoid jail— I joked timidly, and t/n chuckled softly, tilting her head forward and quickly pressing our lips together.

After kissing t/n, my girlfriend received a call. I placed my hands on her legs and looked at her curiously.

—It's Enid— t/n said with a smile, sliding a finger over the screen to answer the call.

My eyes gazed at my girlfriend with desire. Despite just waking up, she looked fantastic: disheveled hair, sparkling eyes, and a husky voice. Instinctively, I leaned forward and kissed her throat, making her smile.

—En, before you talk, you're on speakerphone– t/n murmured softly, yawning.

—Happy birthday, you fox!– Enid exclaimed excitedly. —You have to go out and celebrate today. We can't let your birthday go unnoticed.– I raised an eyebrow in confusion and smiled as I saw t/n's surprised eyes.

—Oh... I'm... on... speakerphone— Enid suddenly realized what she had said. —Um... is Professor Ortega there?– she whispered almost fearfully.

—Yes... Sinclair—I muttered as I took the phone from t/n and adopted a serious tone. —I... I... apologize... I...–

Enid started to stammer and burst into hearty laughter.

—Thanks, Enid. I didn't think you'd call so early in the morning— t/n intervened, trying to save the poor blonde. Her t/c colored eyes looked at me sweetly before she covered the microphone with her hands. —Can I go, Jen?— she asked, and I opened my mouth in surprise.

—Love... I'm your girlfriend, not your mother– I affirmed playfully, and t/n raised her eyebrows mischievously. —Well... actually, you're my mommy—I rolled my eyes at her remark and crossed my legs.

—Answer Enid– I tried to ignore her assertion, and t/n obeyed my words. —Yes, I'd like to go out and celebrate with you— t/n said. Her hand reached out and placed it on my leg, almost as a possessive gesture.

—Did you get permission from Jenna?—Enid laughed.

—Get ready quickly, I'll come pick you up in half an hour... send me your location, you perv— Enid ended the call.

T/n laughed and then leaned towards me, our lips meeting. Her hand slid along my leg, stopping at my backside.

—See you later—she whispered weakly, and I nodded, kissing her again. My hand rested against her cheek, and I deepened the kiss almost immediately.

T/n didn't know what awaited her on her birthday, but I had organized a special surprise for her. Knowing t/n's desire to see my family again, I had asked my relatives in California to come for her birthday, and I had also arranged an online meeting with t/n's family since they couldn't see their daughter as they had returned to Italy at the end of April.

—I love you—t/n affirmed before heading out the door.

When night fell, I invited her to an elegant dinner at my house. When t/n arrived, she was extremely surprised to see the presence of my California relatives. Her joy was palpable as she hugged my loved ones whom she hadn't seen in a long time. There were my mother, my father, Isaac, Aliyah, and Mia.

—Happy celebrated birthday!– Mia ran and hugged t/n enthusiastically. —We've missed you so much— Aliyah added, joining the hug.

—I've missed you all too—I saw how t/n enthusiastically reciprocated the hug.

The night continued with a delicious dinner and many stories and laughter shared among the relatives who had gathered from both sides of the ocean. Although at one point t/n's family had to disconnect, I knew my girlfriend felt fortunate and grateful for the love and attention she had received on this special occasion.

After dinner, I took the floor and proposed a toast to t/n, wishing to celebrate to the fullest.

—It's time for cake— my father said excitedly, and I smiled with enthusiasm.— I'll get what's needed... start singing 'Happy Birthday' even without me.—

My eyes turned to my brother, who was behaving quite strangely, looking nervous.

(...)

As everyone sang the "Happy Birthday" song, Isaac took a step forward and decided to kiss me in front of everyone present. It was a surprising and unexpected gesture that left everyone astonished.

I opened my eyes, surprised by his sudden move, and instinctively placed my hands on his chest to push him away. —What are you doing?— I asked, wiping my mouth with my hand and continuing to look at Isaac with wide eyes. —I... I...— Isaac stammered, struggling to find the right words.

An uncomfortable silence filled the room as everyone tried to process what they had just witnessed. With my heart in my throat, I searched for Jenna in the crowd; I needed to explain how things had unfolded.

—t/n...— Jenna's voice cracked slightly, and my heart skipped a beat as I saw tears in her eyes.

After a moment of shock, Jenna, with a broken heart, dropped her utensils on the table and walked away from the party, heading upstairs.

—JENNA!– I shouted, but she had already disappeared from my sight. I took a few steps forward, but a hand around my wrist prevented me from following. —T/n... wait, I...— I turned around and looked at Isaac with narrowed eyes. As if the contact of his hand on my skin burned, I broke the connection between us. —I don't want to hear from you right now— I stated venomously and began to walk through the crowd.

Amid the confusion and guilt, I hurried after Jenna to try to explain my perspective and assure her that there was nothing romantic between Isaac and me.

—Jenna, wait! Can we talk about what happened? I want to explain everything— I quickened my pace as I climbed the stairs.

Jenna, her eyes red from tears, turned towards me and tried to contain her anger. I stood frozen in place, seeing her mood.

—What's there to explain? I saw everything with my own eyes. I can't believe you kissed Isaac, my brother!— Jenna clenched her fists tightly beside her dress and looked at me with fury.

—Jenna, I understand how you feel, but you have to believe me when I say there's nothing romantic between Isaac and me. He kissed me...— My voice softened, and I looked at Jenna, feeling scared of the possibility of losing her. —Please— I said timidly, taking a few steps forward, trying to get closer to Jenna.

Jenna, still taken aback, took a step back, trying to process it all.

—It's just that... I can't wrap my head around how it could happen. I... damn it!—Jenna bit her lower lip nervously, and I wrapped my arms around her.

Jenna leaned her head against my chest.

—I know it seems that way, I'm sorry for the whole situation, and I wish I could go back and avoid it entirely—I admitted while stroking Jenna's head.

Jenna looked up after a moment of silence and met my gaze directly.

—And... damn it, it hurt so much. But on the other hand, this wouldn't have happened if my family knew we were together– Jenna sniffed and tightened the hug even more.

—I love you, Jen– I looked intensely into her eyes, and she blushed under my penetrating gaze. —I love you too— she whispered before breaking the hug and smiling slightly.

—I think our charade has gone to hell–I ran a hand through my hair, somewhat frustrated, and watched Jenna's reaction. —After all, a friend doesn't react like that to a kiss— I continued, and Jenna nodded several times, understanding where I was trying to lead the conversation.

—I think we should tell my family that we're together— Jenna sighed, took my hand, and intertwined our fingers. —Although I think Mia had suspected for a while—she muttered, and I raised an eyebrow.

—And... Isaac?—I asked, nervously swallowing. Jenna clenched her jaw at the mention of her brother's name, her grip on my hand becoming tighter. —Well... I suspect he had a crush on you—Jenna said through gritted teeth, and I winced at the strength with which she squeezed my hand.

In a swift movement, Jenna grabbed my neck and forced me to lean in to be at the same eye level. With panic in my eyes, I watched Jenna analyzing my face; her brown eyes were filled with anger and sadness. —And he'll know that you're damn mine— she emphasized the last part, and I felt my knees slightly weaken.

Damn, she's so sexy when she's jealous.

***

Jenna firmly holds my hand as we descend the stairs into the living room. Multiple eyes gaze at us with confusion, and in Isaac's case, regret. Jenna shoots a fierce look at her older brother and clenches her jaw in annoyance. My cheeks turn red as I meet the gazes of Mia and Aliyah.

—But...— Mia murmurs weakly, looking at our intertwined hands with a smile on her lips.

With my free hand, I wave to the two sisters and offer them a nervous smile.

—Family, there's something I need to tell you. It's something important about my personal life— Jenna begins, breaking the contact between our hands, looking at her family with a mix of excitement and fear.

—What's wrong, dear? You seem worried. Speak up, we're here for you— Natalie smiles at her daughter as she tidies up the table.

—I'm dating someone, t/n. We've fallen in love with each other— Jenna drops the news like a bomb, and an uncomfortable silence fills the room.

—What?— Isaac's question sounds angry, and I can't help but give him an inquisitive look.

—Really? Congratulations!— Mia opens her arms in a gesture of joy and rushes to hug us. —I adore t/n, I knew there was something between you two— she adds after breaking the hug.

—As happy as I am for you girls... I'm worried about my sister's future— Aliyah chimes in, nervously biting her lower lip.

—And... and... that's why I didn't want to tell you earlier— Jenna confesses, glancing at me. —We know how risky it is, but I couldn't ignore my feelings— the brunette sighs loudly and rests her head on my chest.

—Yes... we've been through a lot... but despite all that, we're here—I add, placing a hand on Jenna's shoulder to comfort her.

—Oh, Jenna. So, that explains why you tried to keep your relationship a secret. I understand your concerns, but what truly matters is your happiness— Natalie's affirmation makes me smile, relieved that my mother-in-law approves of our relationship.

—I knew there was something special in the air. T/n is a wonderful girl, and we've noticed her dedication and kindness from the first day we met her— Edward looks at us with melancholic eyes as he nibbles on a piece of cake.

—How... how did you know?—I spontaneously ask, and Edward looks at me with a slight smile. —Dear, every time Isaac hugged you or kissed you on the cheek, my daughter looked at him as if she wanted to make him explode— he chuckles softly and shakes his head amusedly.

—Wow, Marie, I can't believe you and y/n are together - Isaac looks at her sister with venom.

—I've told you a thousand times, call me Jenna— Jenna replies, pulling away from my body.

The brunette walks in the direction of his brother and scans him from top to bottom with indifference.

—I didn't know you were a disgusting... lesbian— Isaac replies, looking at her sister with his jaw clenched. Jenna blinks in surprise but smiles mischievously. —Isaac!—Apologize to your sister—Natalie reproaches his son with a stern look.

—Isaac...— Mia mutters disappointed.

—Leave it—Jenna raises her hand to make them understand that she will solve it on her own—I don't like being labeled... but I can't stand it when you say "lesbian" with hate—Jenna bites her lower lip and looks at Isaac with wide eyes icy.

—You knew I liked y/n— Isaac answers, looking at me through narrowed eyes. —Ever since you came to my house, she's was mine— Jenna says, smirking. I widen my eyes when I see Jenna slap his brother across the cheek.

—Well...I'm not an object so...possess– I mutter and Jenna looks at me with unreadable eyes. —I shut up— I add and she makes a small smile. —Jenna!—Natalie's voice is hard and cold.

Isaac rubs his cheek in pain and looks at the situation angrily.

—Sorry, Mom, but I had to. He kissed my girlfriend—Jenna walks over to me again and laces our fingers together.

—Like you said, he didn't know—Edward interjects raising an eyebrow, a gesture that reminds me incredibly of her daughter.

—My God, you're her teacher!— Isaac states angrily. —You're violating a lot of rules, and besides, she was a minor—Isaac continues, looking at me with sparkling eyes. —And you think i didn't know?Do you know how many nights I spent wondering if I was doing the right thing by ignoring my feelings? Do you know how many times I had to choose to ignore her to avoid complications?—

I look at the ground feeling uncomfortable

—Do you know how I felt when the girl I loved was meeting someone else? Do you know what that means, Isaac?—

Jenna was looking at his brother with tears streaming down her face. With a squeezing heart, I wrap my arms around her waist so that her back rests against my chest. I give her a kiss on the back of the neck, trying to offer her as much comfort as possible.

—Do you know what it means or not? Not being able to walk hand in hand with her at school? Do you know that, Isaac?—Jenna asks in exasperation and I pull her closer to me.

—Calm down, love— I whisper in her ear and the tension in her shoulders disappears. —And don't bring age into this, because you're also older than me and her— she adds quickly, placing a hand on my arm and caressing it.

—No... I don't know...—Isaac clenches his jaw in anger and disappointment. His eyes shift in my direction and gaze at me sadly. —Now... now I just want to go out for some fresh air—He mutters weakly before walking towards the exit of the house.

—And go after your son—Natalie asserts, earning an inquisitive look. Edward sighs and heads towards the door to follow his son.

—Calm down...—I whisper again, and Jenna quickly turns around, resting her head against my chest. My girl's shoulders shake with spasms, and with sadness, I reciprocate the desperate hug.

—Oh, Jen...—Mia approaches and timidly embraces her from behind, looking at me with shiny eyes—You don't have to worry... the night probably didn't end as you expected, but you should know that we have no prejudices about your relationship—Jenna looks at her sister with tear-filled eyes.

—Really?—She asks in a low voice, and Mia slowly nods her head. —Of course, sweetheart—Natalie says, and Jenna moves away from my arms, wiping her eyes with her shirt sleeve.

—We'll always be here for you—Aliyah says, and a shy smile forms on Jenna's lips, revealing her dimple.

—Now... how about watching t/n open the gifts?—Mia suggests with a touch of excitement, and we all agree with her proposal.

—Yes, that would be fantastic—I confirm, and Mia smiles genuinely.

After opening the beautiful gifts given to me by my girlfriend's family, we decided to end the night avoiding any further drama. Isaac and Edward hadn't returned yet, which worried me a bit, and the other girls in the house were in their respective guest rooms.

I was in bed waiting for Jenna, who was in the shower and wanted to go to sleep, when a notification on my phone diverted my attention from my thoughts. Confused, I picked it up from the shelf and wondered who it could be from.

Unknown

Belated happy birthday, party girl!

How about this gift?

My breath caught as I saw the attachment of an image. An unpleasant sensation washed over me as I saw that the photo showed Jenna and me kissing in the infamous science lab.

My breath became erratic, and I looked at the photo in panic, unable to believe what my eyes were seeing.

Damn it, the troubles never seemed to end!

[blacklegsanjiii]

Your ASL x Sanji and your RLS!siblings au's are so good omg-

I've been reading your posts about them and, what if both happened at the universe? Like, Garp brings his grandsons not much time after Zeff opens Baratie, and Sanji is still in grief about his siblings.

Of course, the scar and everything happened some time before and Dragon bring Sabo back to his brothers but promises to let Sabo join the revs when he's older.

(Sanji probaly just tells about his siblings to ASL near his 11 birthday bc, y'know, memories about the storm)

(And in Wano, Law and Robin have to deal with the ASL liking Sanji)

I stopped writing Mihawk/Sora soulmate AU for this. It's great. So not only do we have Zeff/Garp we have ASL all crushing on Sanji in an AU where Sanji lost his siblings who actually loved and cared for him during a storm. Also in RSL, it's SanLu. The ship that sailed is SanLu but they're all dating Sanji and it is PAINFUL for Law.

AMAZING! What a chaotic fucking mess that enraptures our cook so wholly. Fantastic. There is a cut because this is long.

So what essentially happens is Garp finds his not dead boyfriend/husband/lover man and finds out he adopted this kid and decides to bring his grandchildren. It's a chaotic disaster, it's a whole fucking mess. Sanji isn't exactly looking to get close to anyone, and he's still trying to keep Zeff an ocean away practically after what happened to him not too long ago.

Still, ASL wear him down and now he's just doing his best. The days spent with kids his age and not running good. As much as the Baratie moves they still see the same people a lot. No one has connected him to Robin despite his bounty, because he and Law have to have one for traveling with her and them being beginning pirates.

As it draws closer to Sanji's eleventh birthday and the stormy season coming in Garp and ASL are spending the night at Baratie. A dinner for them and the staff only. At some point it comes up because Luffy asks when Sanji's birthday is and Sanji tells them and says he doesn't want to celebrate. Zeff asks why and Sanji answers.

No one was expecting that he lost his family in a storm. His brother and sister and crew. In the North Blue. The storm that made him wind up in the East Blue, alone, and then another stranded him on a rock with Zeff. Garp is studying the kid before nodding and apologizing for his loss. Garp knows those brows from a bounty for a child, not as high as Nico Robin's but getting up there. Zeff tells him they're going to make new memories and that's that. And they do, Sanji cries, tears of loss and happiness. Everything continues, Sabo leaves and is brought back by Dragon with a promise to join the Revolutionaries at seventeen.

Time goes on they all set sail, Sanji goes with Luffy. They're sailing and it's going well. Everything is going well. They pick up Robin post Alabasta and she can see he's dating Luffy but when they're finally alone Sanji explains they don't know about who his siblings are but he's dating Luffy, Ace, and Sabo. Robin cocks her head and smiles and says something about plural marriages being relatively common in the old days and she's glad he found three men to provide for him until he dies. Sanji nods at that given his history and just says he hopes it's not starvation again.

They run into Law and Sabaody but can't talk to him and then when they're teleported away it's a weird situation. Robin meets Sabo and Dragon. Sabo comes back some months later and says Sanji's on Momoiro to her and Dragon asks how it was to see his boyfriend and Sabo is so pleased. Robin politely threatens him with stringing his entrails across the grand line and into the the depths of hell if he hurts her baby brother. Sabo chokes as Dragon starts laughing. She also tells him he shouldn't necessarily be worried about her but their brother who she also doesn't name. Sabo asks why she's so creepy and Dragon hits him for that.

After the time skip Ace joins and is all over Sanji and Robin looks unimpressed at him and Luffy and doesn't explain why. Luffy has not figured out they're siblings. Ace hasn't either. Then on Punk Hazard when Law starts traveling with them Law is looking at the brother's hanging off Sanji and then keeps throwing glances at Robin. Sanji is throwing apologetic looks to them as he pulled between the brothers and trying to calm them down as the anger and annoyance in his siblings is growing. Sanji feels like he's going to be skinned alive.

Obviously after Dressrosa when they're in the cabin after the split and Sabo is there and saying hi to Robin and his brothers and asks Ace if he got a threat from Robin yet. Ace is confused as he tells Sabo he and Luffy have not had any threats from Robin, why would they and Sabo is like 'she threatened me over Sanji, not fair' which makes Ace look at Robin in fright. Sabo repeats what she said to him verbatim and says that their brother would threaten them worse which makes Law nod and say they don't call him the surgeon of death for nothing.

Luffy is so lucky to be sleeping as Sabo quietly leaves and wishes the two of them luck. Law looks at Robin and asks if they'll ever fix his and Sanji's bounties as they were the two helping Robin run when they were younger and Robin says she doesn't know and Ace points out Garp never arrested Sanji whenever they were at Baratie and Law asks why Sanji was at Redleg's restaurant. The sigh of exasperation from Law and the laugh from Robin at finding out Garp dates Zeff makes too much fucking sense that they didn't consider it and that's also how Law and Robin find out about the rock.

Law throws his hands in the air and says that if the cook could stop getting starved that'd be cool and Robin says Law and Sanji's eating habits could be far better than what they were. Zoro is laughing so hard he's wheezing at the affronted look between the two. Usopp is practicing his breathing techniques. He is a brave warrior of the sea. He is a brave warrior of the sea. He is so glad he's not dating Sanji and Kaya is waiting for him because fuck that mess.

Law and Robin find out Sanji has been kidnapped by the Vinsmokes when they get to Zou as Luffy excitedly tells everyone that Law and Robin are Sanji's siblings. Ace asks if Robin and Law know about the Vinsmokes and they admit they do, though not much. Just that Sanji was declared dead at six and in the dungeons until he escaped at eight and found them. They don't mention the helmet. The crews are staring at them wide eyed. Bepo starts crying because he hasn't seen Sanji yet and he's gone back to his birth family. Law and Robin assure him he was taken by force which equals kidnapping. Bepo calms down at that but that does make Shachi and Penguin lose it. Robin laughs as Law groans and pinches the bridge of his nose.

Ace goes with the rescue team and Robin doesn't, she assures Law as they go to Wano it'll be fine. Sanji has two of his boyfriends going to save him. Zoro asks how they all ended up together as the crews are getting ready to depart so they tell the story and Luffy and Ace tell the story of them dating Sanji, Zeff and Garp and all that. Law sighs and Robin shakes her head. Bepo makes Luffy promise to bring Sanji back, Law is standing back and to the side of Bepo with a cocked brow and Luffy is like 'duh of course I will' and Bepo nods and they all leave.

Then a few weeks later in Wano when the rescue team and Jimbei come. It still takes time for the crews to have a minute to all be together and Bepo and Shachi and Penguin are all hanging off Sanji while Ace and Luffy look jealous. But then Sanji has Ace and Luffy with him almost constantly and Law and Robin roll their eyes, Law looks disgusted at some points. Then the raid of Onagashima happens and Ace has a nose bleed at Sanji being in his suit and Law shambles Sanji away from them.

After they leave Wano Sanji calls Law and Robin to the denden of the Sunny and they call Zeff and he introduces his siblings to the man he considers his father. When Zeff hears who his siblings are he is praying in another language and Sanji is laughing as he translates. Law is smiling and Robin is giggling because Zeff is losing it. He is saying this makes too much fucking sense and goes along well with why he dates those three boys. All of it.

[squibwashereat3am]

MHA OC (Void)

So this is a MHA oc if mine! Im going to rant about him now :3

So Aoi Namaka was sold to the League of Villains when he was 6. His parents sold him for money and also because he was quirk-less. He was used as the LoV experiment until he was 14. They wanted to create someone who could make voids in order for them to travel and escape from places faster without being caught by hero's. The LoV sorta adopted Aoi and took him around on missions (not super dangerous ones though). He was mainly brought to meetings with different gangs and villains to discuss fundraising for experimenting on Aoi. Though the LoV was somewhat nice to him, orders from All for One was to “teach him a lesson” if he disobeyed or failed to show sponsors enough of his power. This led to brutal whipping sessions which were conducted by Dabi (not in a sexual way u simps). Because Toga and Twice refused to do it and the others were busy and didn’t have time to interact with Aoi too much. So Dabi was his main caretaker. (Beating Aoi could often break downs for Dabi in relations to his past)

As time grew on, Aoi’s name was changed to Void as they had finally acquired a quirk to him. The quirk was the Manipulation of Space. They originally wanted his quirk to be mainly for voids, but something happened turning the experiment and made him WAY too over powered. One of his main moves was that when he opened his mouth a yell someone’s name, the gravity around them was tightened and the said person would be crushed into a small ball of blood and guts. All for One decided that it was too much to for this kid to have too much power so he order the LoVs to cut out his tongue. The LoV did as they were told and Void was left mute. Though the removal of his tongue caused a chain reaction and his genes and his eyes got corrupted by the quirks they had merged into him. His eyes now possessed the ability to cause anything he looked at to float. So to prevent this from happening, the LoV gave him a see through blue blind fold to cover his eyes. (He still needed to communicate with sponsors though, so Toga thought him sign language.)

In his tween years, Void was basically emotionless and saw him self as an object. He let people do whatever and the only emotion he really had was pained when he was whipped. (Which happened less often) One day, Void happened to ease drop over Toga and Dabi arguing. When listening he found out that All for One wanted to take Voids quirk for his own, but, Void would die durning the transition process because his quirk was so damn powerful. Toga was devising against it while Dabi was basically saying, “what else are we gonna do with him.” Void, not knowing what else to do, used his power to create a small void to escape the base and went on the run.

For about two months he was homeless and starving. Constantly in fear and pain. Until one day he met Ms. Clementine.

Ms. Clementine found Void under a bridge while on a walk, wearing nothing but his blindfold and he was covered in scars and burns. (The scars were the whip markings on his back. And the burns are when he uses his lightening. He cant control it and it tends to shock him.) She took him home and gave him clothes/clean him up and offered him a place to stay. Ms. Clementine is old lady who owns a candy shop and above the shop there is a spare room. She allows him to stay there as long as he helps her around and guards the shop when she goes home. Void agrees and lives there for about a year and a half. During this time, Ms. Clementine helps him with decisions because of his strictly obedient nature. He slowly learns and has emotions again, but he still has trouble with decisions. They celebrate his 14th birthday and he has a few mental breakdowns because of trauma and Ms. Clementine is there for him to lean on. She also finds out about is quirk and the LoV, but she doesn’t say anything to anyone else because Void is actually shy and doesn’t like that much attention. By now he has a bubbly but soft personality and is actually a very kind a caring soul. Though sometimes a switch will flick in his head and he will basically become a cold blooded killer. He struggles with this switch a lot.

One day, Present Mic comes into the candy store cause why not, and sees Aoi (Void). He immediately goes up to him and is like: “Hey there! Whats a boy like u doing this?!” Obviously he’s terrified of Mics loud appearance. Ms. Clementine steps in and tells Mic to politely back off. He does and he asks her some questions. She tells him lightly about Aoi’s situation and Mic offers him to come to UA. Aoi says he doesn't want to but Ms. Clementine takes him away to talk. She tells him that it’s time for him to make his own path and meet his own people. He wants to argue with her but because he still has trouble with his decisions he takes Ms. Clementine request as an order. Ms. Clementine smiles and says if he ever needs her, she’ll be hear at the candy shop. Mic collects him the next day and they head to UA. He is given a dorm and he only has one teacher, Mr. Aizawa. For about two years, Mr. Aizawa trains Aoi in order for him to be able to stabilize his quirk so he can use it around students and for the trail to get into UA. Mr. Aizawa is the only one who can teach him cause if his ability to pause quirks. During his time, UA provides Aoi with a phone so he can chat to Ms. Clementine. He had a few small party's to celebrate holidays and birth parties which Mic and Aizawa were invited too and came. Aoi eventual grows on Aizawa and he accidentally calls him dad alot.

At age 16 he joins class 1-A. And ill rant to u all about that more.

Thanks for coming to my TedTalk 🫡

If u all read all of this i love u 😭😭

also he gae 🏳️‍🌈

[arcane-trail]

Do Pagans Celebrate Christmas?

Christmas is a Christian festival (the hint is in the name), so it is not a festival that you would expect to see celebrated by Pagan communities, old or new.

But Christmas is a Christian adaptation of the Winter Solstice, which, in the northern hemisphere, is the shortest day of the year and usually falls around 21 December. For communities that observe the wheel of the year and the changing of the seasons, this is an incredibly important day.

It was around this time that ancient Pagans no longer had food to feed their cattle, so they would slaughter them and have fresh meat for the solstice. This was also the time when the beer and wine brewed earlier in the year were finally fermented, so there were lots of good things to drink. If that is not a good enough reason for a holiday, the moment when the days start lengthening was also considered by many Pagan communities to represent the sun’s rebirth.

So, if you look at the festival calendars of the Pagan communities of the northern hemisphere, most of them have a major festival around the time of the Winter Solstice. The existence of these festivals is also why Christmas falls on December 25th.

The Invention of Christmas

Christmas was invented by the Roman Catholic Church in the 4th century. Before this, Easter was the main Christian holiday.

The Bible does not mention when Jesus of Nazareth was born, but it does seem unlikely that it was in December. Temperatures drop as low as 40 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius) in winter in the area surrounding Jerusalem and Galilee. Shepherds were unlikely to be tending their flocks, and the Romans probably would have conducted their census in warmer months.

But the Church decided to celebrate the birth of Jesus in December to coincide with the major Roman festival of the Saturnalia. This is a week-long festival that occurred between 17 and 24 December to celebrate the fertility god Saturn. For all the reasons already mentioned, it was a major festival period in the Roman world.

The 25th of December was chosen as the actual birthday of Jesus, rather than another day during the Saturnalia, such as the day of the solstice, because this was the festival day of the god Sol Invictus. His temple was inaugurated in Rome on 25 December 274 by the emperor Aurelianus. It was probably not inaugurated on the solstice because this was already a feast day for Dionysus, Hercules, Adonis, and Mithras.

Sol Invictus was the most important god in the Roman Empire before its conversion to Christianity, so it made sense for the Church to conflate Christ with this deity.

The Christmas festival absorbed many of the customs of the Saturnalia and was exported around the rest of Europe with Christianity.

As Christmas spread, it also adopted other Pagan traditions associated with the Winter Solstice. For example, when King Haakon I of Norway converted his country to Christianity in the 10th century, he changed the date of the traditional Norse Yule celebration to coincide with Christmas. Many Norse Yule traditions were incorporated into Christmas. Similar things happened wherever the Church took its new holidays.

Christmas Traditions with Pagan Roots

So, which of the many Christmas traditions that we practice today have Pagan roots? Let’s take a look at just a few examples.

Gift Exchange

It was traditional to exchange gifts as part of the Saturnalia, but it was very different from modern gift-giving. It was traditional for Romans to give one gift to another person (kind of like a Secret Santa), and the gift was almost always a statuette of a god that could be placed in the household shrine.

This may also have been the origin of the nativity scene. The Romans renovated their household shrines with new divine images, and today families create nativity scenes each year.

Christmas Trees

The Romans would decorate their homes with evergreen trees during Saturnalia as part of rituals to ensure the prosperity of farms and orchards in the following year. This was very likely the origin of the Christmas tree.

Deck the Halls

In the Norse world, the Vikings would gather in their temples and long halls for the Winter Solstice. They believed that at this dark time of year, the veil between the worlds was at its thinnest, and dark spirits could cross over. Staying inside and together was a form of protection.

The Vikings would bring animals to sacrifice. The blood of the animals would be drained, and the meat sent to be cooked for the festival. Meanwhile, the blood of the sacrificial victims was smeared on cult images and the temple walls as part of a ritual of protection. This may be the origin of the idea of decking the halls.

Yule Log

The Yule Log also has Viking roots. The Vikings would select an oak log that would be burnt on the fire throughout Yule. The fire offered protection, and letting the fire go out was a very bad omen.

The log was specially prepared and engraved with protective runes. A small piece of the log from the previous year was kept to be added to the Yule fire the following year.

Santa Claus

The idea of Santa Claus is a Germanic-Norse tradition. They believed that during Yule, Odin, the most important god, led a group of gods in the Wild Hunt. They would rampage through the world, removing everything dead and no longer useful, clearing the way for new growth. One of the reasons that the Vikings stayed indoors at Yule was not to be accidentally caught up in the Wild Hunt.

But while abroad, Odin might also choose to visit household, leaving behind presents and good fortune. In the Volsunga Saga, Odin gives Sigmund a magic sword that helps him complete his quests. In the Saga of Hrolf Kraki, the king refuses gifts of hospitality, armor, and weapons from an old, bearded man missing an eye. This turns out to be Odin, and Hrolf later dies for lack of the weapons that he needs.

Santa’s reindeer also seem to be inspired by Odin’s eight-legged steed Sleipnir, which could carry the god anywhere in the Norse cosmos.

Christmas and Modern Pagans

So, does being a Pagan today mean that you can’t celebrate the festive season with your loved ones? Not at all!

For those who honor the wheel of the year, the Winter Solstice is an incredibly important time. It represents rebirth and renewal. Like the new moon, it is a time to set new intentions that will grow with the years. Some Wiccans celebrate the solstice specifically as the day on which the sun god is reborn.

But the winter festival has always been a season rather than a single day in Pagan communities. It has always been a time for feasting, rejoicing, and spending time with family and friends.

This means that Pagans can embrace the festive season without embracing the Christian religious beliefs associated with Christmas. Gift-giving, hall decking, and eating far too much are all respectable Pagan traditions.

You might find the perfect Pagan gift in our store.

[Read full blog post here]

[ineffablyfallen]

Gentlebeard headcanons (after season 2)

Stede and Ed go feral building their inn together, they're gonna do all those silly things they find cool, like secret passages, antique furniture, flowered patterns everywhere, etc.

If any guest recognizes them from their past pirate life, they'll play dumb and pretend they don't even know about piracy, just for fun, like "Blackbeard? What do you mean? My name is Jeff"

Everyday by the sunset, Ed will sit by Izzy's grave side and talk about his day, he always shared everything with Izzy, he misses talking to his best friend so he promised to himself it wouldn't change

Calypso's birthday became an official holiday to them, every year the Revenge crew come to celebrate with them and they all sing La Vie En Rose and dance together

Even though they hunt to eat, they'll still adopt some animals from the forest and make them their pets (specially the rabbits that Ed still consider wolves)

Ed will fish, or at least he'll try, we all know he sucks with that, but he learned how to enjoy the silence

Stede will learn how to cook, he still remembers a thing or two that he learned from Roach, and he'll actually become really good at it (but only after setting the kitchen on fire a few times)

Stede kills the spiders in the house and never tells Ed about it because he knows Ed will freak out even if they're already dead

They like to sit outside to see the moon and the stars every night before sleep

They still have some sword practicing sometimes (and sometimes someone gets stabbed)