#Sunday school activities for children

[adrond]

Every week I make a Bible activity mini-magazine for the kids in church. You can download the free PDF from my blog. Coloring Pages for Kids by Mr. Adron: Free Printable Bible Activity Mini-Magazing / Bulletin for Kids, Issue 272 (coloringpagesbymradron.blogspot.com)

[queenlucythevaliant]

Not necessarily disagreeing with you either, but I've been thinking about this a lot lately just in my regular life, so hopefully you'll humor me with some further thoughts:

First off-- I'm not really sure I'd call "Christian fiction" a genre. It's either a marketing category, as we've discussed, or it's a worldview within which many genres exist.

Yes, all of those genres can be done poorly or well. However, unlike with other marketing categories, when a Christian sci-fi novel is done well, it's shelved with sci-fi; if it's done poorly, it's "Christian fiction." Ditto lighter fare, for the record: the Sir Peter Wimsey books are considered mystery/thriller at my store, not "Christian fiction." I cannot think of any other category of book where this kind of winnowing takes place.

What's left in the Christian fiction section tends to be vapid and hollow not because it is Christian, or light, or cringey, but because it is fundamentally uninterested in being anything but generically Christian and is thus incapable or appealing to anyone else. Sure, I'll grant that maybe a small handful escape being winnowed out into their secular genres, but I'm not sure that I owe it to the marketing category to go hunt them down in the enormous pile of "inspirational" novels, Amish romances, and weird conspiratorial novels about the end of the age. Being wary of so-called "Christian fiction" is not elitism; it's pragmatism, and unless you're at a specifically Christian bookstore that's not gonna change any time soon.

You guys know "Christian fiction" is not a dirty word, right?

Yes, it's stereotyped as fluffy romances or hit-you-over-the-head allegories, but the genre is growing beyond that. Like any other type of book, it can be done well or done poorly, and I'd say there's a similar ratio of good fiction to dreck as there is in any other genre--Christian fiction just gets a much more critical lens applied to it by people who think any mention of faith is cringe.

There's nothing wrong with writing for an audience that mostly shares your beliefs--it can let you get more specific and realistic about what a life of faith is like and dig deeper into the details for people who are already on-board with the basics.

There's a wide range of what "Christian fiction" can do. Sometimes it tries to preach the Gospel to an audience that's already converted. But sometimes it incorporates Christian themes into a good story. Sometimes it features characters who are practicing Christians and whose faith affects how they approach the world. It can dig in to the questions and complications that come with living out ideals in an imperfect world. Someone looking for "Christian fiction" could be looking for any of those things, might just want to have a conversation with someone who shares their worldview. There's nothing wrong with that.

We shouldn't be afraid of the label. The marketing category that has come to define "Christian fiction" is not the limit of what Christian fiction can do. Don't write it off based on the stereotypes--and don't be afraid to add to the genre!

[g1rlken]

Hi hi! For the prompts can you do 10 and 14 with Christian bales Bruce Wayne?

Prompt: chaotic married life w kids + domestic fluff

Words: 2k

Thank you sm for this req it’s so cute

-

Marriage tends to change people is a superficial analysis of growing together but children sure do change routines. Especially morning routines where chaos is an understatement. Raising a child requires a village but for twins a whole army might just suffice. Vincent and William. A very pleasant blessing of two little boys in the Wayne household. However Bruce and y/n were subjected to consider just how much of peace was the cost of that blessing.

Their twins were such serene babies, toddler phase was a transition to literal devils during grade school. Getting them to do home work, go to school, eat the greens, not unleash hell…such difficult tasks.

Today like every other school morning, the parents had divided to bathe the twins in different bathrooms. When they were much younger and playful as babies bathing them in the giant bathtub where they’d just play with soap bubbles and those Amazon find bath toys was a cute activity. Nowadays, on Sundays sometimes they’d just hose them down in the garden and call it a day. It was so much more convenient for the parents and even the twins who absolutely despised bathing. Y/n bathed the older twin Vincent in the bathroom which was upstairs, Bruce downstairs with William who was a bad influence of his brother to not bathe and Alfred preparing breakfast and lunch boxes.

“Bruce!” Y/n voice shrieked from upstairs followed by a whiny cry from Vincent and he rushed to inquire, finding his wife looking for the sink holding her eyes shut.

“What happened here…?” Bruce asked as stepped inside and was immediately attacked by a plastic bottle Vincent could get his hands on as he moved frantically in the bathtub. Bruce dodged it with dad reflex thankfully.

“There’s shampoo in our eyes” Y/n briefed him and pointed at their son to go help him given she could assist herself with the sink water.

Vincent was just moving frantically in the shallow bath water shaking his head and hands splashing the water “Do something!” The boy demanded with a shrill cry.

“ Vin, calm down” Bruce urged as he bent on his knees to the bath level and held some of the running water in his hands to pour into his shampoo hurting eyes but he’d just squeezed them shut. “Open your eyes”

“I can’t! They hurt!” The boy whined and splashed the water very disruptively it went all over Bruce’s face.

“Breathe, you’re alright just breathe…open your eyes.” Bruce soothed anyways as he helped Vincent soothe the hurt by sprinkling cleaner water again, “why were you shampooing him anyways? We literally have school in an hour”

“I wasn’t but someone keeps on changing the bottles with soap and shampoo again and again” Y/n replied scoffing in obviousness as she air dried her eyes, it was Bruce who colour coded them like that in a different set of bottle at each refill. Washing hair of a seven year old who will fight a literal battle to resist it, will most definitely end up in a painful situation as such.

“It is literally so simple, white for soap and off white for shampoo” Bruce accounted for his way of arrangement as he dabbed his son’s eyes with towel, soothing his cries.

“We don’t have time to go into that discourse I’ll go pack lunch” Y/n said as she hurriedly wiped her own eyes.

“Oh Alfred’s on it…” Bruce informed her casually as Vincent’s eyes were normal again he opened them with a heavy sigh.

“Oh man I’m never using shampoo again.” The boy said dramatically and received a disapproving shake of head from his dad.

“Wait then who’s with Will?” Y/n asked about their younger twin William, whose morning crankiness were much worse.

“Uh” Bruce paused realising he’d not considered that as he’d rushed to his wife’s call for help “He was brushing his teeth”

“Alright he’s most definitely asleep again.” She sighed composing herself, leaving Vincent to get out of bath and dressed for his dad she rushed downstairs. As expected, William was fast asleep on the marble sink leaning against the wall with his legs dangling down the sink, ever since the kids learned to climb places no surface was unreachable. “Willy!” Y/n exclaimed as she carried him down the sink “William wake up come on we’ve to go to school!” She exclaimed and brushed his teeth for him hurriedly as he mumbled something about not wanting to go.

“I don’t want to…” will whined still half asleep not wanting to go because he still wanted to sleep. During vacations it was difficult to put him down to bed just absolute monkey activities all day long jumping here to there and during school days he couldn’t be bothered to brush his teeth even.

William tried to have a one sided debate about why he shouldn’t have to go to school and was eventually fully awake, much to y/n’s demise now she couldn’t manhandle and carry her son to brush his teeth and bath because now he was ready to have full sassy conversations. “You know I’m not getting in that right?” He said to his mum and gave the filling bathtub a disgusting look.

“We literally don’t have time for this please don’t bring-“ his mum started sighing as she foresaw the upcoming torment.

“What?” William said exaggerating his obviousness “I won’t be clean with gutter water”

“It’s not guttter water!” She tried to , despite being on the clock “Don’t believe everything you hear in school” she bent to her knees to match his eye level and try to convince him better “you know no ones want to sit with the kid who hasn’t bathed in 24 hours?”

“But didn’t you say people should like each other for who they are and their kindness and not what they dress and look like” Will responded smugly crossing his arms at his mum, well aware he was winning this debate so far.

Taking a deep breath to subside her annoyance of her own words biting her back, “No, that was for when you wanted to wear your ducky hat and those big kids made fun of you. Not for hygiene.”

“I don’t even know what that word means so…” he trailed off with a pout of correctness.

“Look, we’re going to be really late can you please cooperate.”

“I am awake, I brushed my teeth and I am talking to you that is enough operation on my part” William reasoned with his mom with a shrug.

“It’s cooperation.” She corrected him.

“It’s the same thing” William answered offering her mom a smile of encouragement, as if she did not know the word.

“No it’s not.” Y/n replied before she could continue Bruce’s knock on the open door averted their attention.

“He’s still not ready?” Bruce exclaimed in urgency.

“Vin?” Y/n asked about the status of the other twin as Bruce nodded and briefed her that he was with Alfred. Joint breakfast plus lunch box duties. Bruce stepped inside because clearly with his wife on his son’s eye level trying to convince him to shower seemed like she needed help.

“I literally don’t even have to go to school!” William exclaimed “I know each and every animal and I know that that water comes from sewage!” He said pointing to the bath water.

“For the hundredth time will, it doesn’t come from the sewage!” Bruce interjected with a sigh. “It’s very clean”

“So I can drink it?” William proposed raising brows at his parents.

“No” Y/n replied almost instantly, William was very fast to react she was worried he might actually try something “No you can’t drink it.”

“Why?” William demanded an answer with the hopes of his parents getting trapped in their own initial proponent that the water was not from sewage.

“Look I’m going to count to three if you don’t get in-“ Y/n began, as they were really on the clock she couldn’t reason ever so rationally.

“Hey hey no” Bruce interrupted his wife shaking his head, “We don’t do that, don’t threaten him. We have a civil conversation.”

“I’m not threatening him woah” she replied with a huff at his accusation.

“Count to three and what? Splash him?” Bruce asked somewhat wanting to have stern yet hostile approach to the kid.

“—Of course!”

“But I only have to bath if I have to go to school wight?” William enquired mispronouncing right for wight “what if I don’t? Can’t I just be homeschooled?! Dada was homeschooled.”

“Exactly, dada was homeschooled and he’s now a grown up who has no friends.” Y/n explained it to him rather unapologetically but not in a poking way to Bruce . “Do you want to be like that?”

“No that’s not true I have friends” Bruce jumped to his defence somewhat taken aback how casually his wife threw that one in, despite an apologetic smile she offered him.

“Name your two best friends then.” William investigated as he looked up at his dad with an anticipated look.

Bruce paused for a moment as he thought about it, he looked serious which made y/n wonder if he had any friends she hadn’t known of this entire time. His face seemed like he was trying to pick between his ever so large group of friends but he began, “Y/n and..” he trailed off thinking again but William had gotten his answer.

“Okay I understand now.” William said looking his mom, both of them shared a small laugh which Bruce didn’t exactly get on but at least William agreed to get in the bath.

-

Leaving Bruce to dress the boy y/n rushed outside to help Alfred with breakfast and lunch boxes, “hey hey hey” she rushed over to Alfred, where Vincent was clinging to the old man as piggy back. A very concerning sight given, not that he would fall but Alfred was rather old. “Get down from there!”

“It’s alright Miss Wayne.” Alfred said with a smile as Vincent just laughed getting favoured against his mum’s demand.

“No it’s not.” She shook her head carrying Vincent off of him and placed him on the dinning table chair, “They’re both getting way too heavy to carry.”

“I just can’t refuse them.” Alfred laughed a small laugh as he set the plates for breakfast.

“Well you should” Y/n said hurriedly as she rummaged through the cabinets to get the lunch boxes out, by then Bruce returned with a towel over will’s head. Once he sat him on the chair he rubbed his drenched hair hastily.

“No not my hair!” Vincent flinched with a scowl on his face when Bruce attempted to dry his hair as well.

“We’re late Vin, come on” Bruce refused to give into the whining at this point and dried Vincent’s hair anyways. He walked across the kitchen to help y/n reaching for the lunch box on the top shelf as she prepared one of those.

“Late?” Alfred asked as he registered the sentence “Late for what? It’s Sunday.”

“It’s Sunday today?!” Y/n asked as she turned around and her eyes winded.

“Yes.” Alfred nodded positively as he pointed to the calendar.

The parents just sighed relaxing their shoulders in regret, “wow” y/n chuckled softly as Bruce joined along comprehending his regret with the humour of it as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “I did not just bathe both of them on a Sunday.” She laughed as Bruce brought her into a side hug.

“You?” He raised a brow looking down at her.

“We” she corrected herself with a smile as she gave him with a soft peck on the lips.

[kraviolis]

WHY does no one think camila would be super active in her kids' lives!!!!! that she would just immediately dip from the demon realm and not go back unless necessary!!!!! she's not gonna pull a greg universe and step away from one of the most important parts of her kids' lives just because she's uncomfortable with magic!!!! shes a Noceda!!!!!

she would become good friends with all the adults in luz & vee & hunter's lives. she visits the boiling isles several times a week and hosts big family dinners at her house where she invites all of her kids' friends and parents and teachers. her home is always open to any of her kids' friends or parents, whether they need a shoulder or a friend or a break or a hot meal or even just homework help. she babysits king whenever she can find the time to and he starts calling her "mamila" and no, it doesnt make her choke up every time.

she makes a penstagram account with a cosmic frontier reference for her username to keep in close contact with her new friends and she actually knows how to use it better than hunter does. she's the first person alador goes to when he needs advice about being a parent. she has a permanent offer to stay at the owl house or at alador's home whenever she needs. she meets with gilbert, harvey, perry, steve, and raine for brunch every sunday morning.

she and principal bump meet and he is absolutely honored to meet her and he gives her the opportunity to give extracurricular after school lessons at hexside about the human version of beast-healing. she does a single lesson once a month, but does open up the chance for one or two older kids at a time to shadow her at her vet clinic for a day as a little field trip (viney always gets herself at the top of the list and becomes well known around the clinic) and she is lovingly teased by her co-workers for always picking up "strays".

she is one of the people on scene during the gathering of the guards who had all been murdered by their own creator and left to rot in the dark for decades. she doesn't have the strength in her to be one of the ones collecting the remains of all these men and boys who once had her son's face, but she stands by hunter's side and keeps him from falling to pieces and they help make sure all the golden guards all finally given a chance for peaceful rest.

she helps gus with preparing the curriculum for his classes on the human realm in eda's new school. she is there at all of the emerald entrails' flyer derby matches and wears green face paint to every single one and cheers the loudest. she's the one who takes amity to her meeting with the dean of the university of abominations when alador gets fireflu and is stuck in bed. she is the one who figures out hunter's never had a proper birthday party and quickly remedies that.

she meets the elder clawthornes and absorbs every piece of wisdom they give her as if they were her own grandparents. she learns palisman care from dell clawthorne so she can better take care of stringbean whenever luz leaves her palisman with her mom. she gets roped into learning how to carve wood by hunter during the start of his apprenticeship under dell & the bat queen.

her name ends up in the history books of the boiling isles, and not just for being known as the mother of luz the human. she becomes known for being the reason of the sudden boom in witches who focus in beast-healing and the reinvention of the entire industry on the boiling isles. she is known as one of the first people to rediscover and establish contact and fight for the protection of all the basilisks scattered across the boiling isles, who were previously thought to be extinct.

she would NOT just stand by and watch her children come and go between realms with her house serving as the port but not the embassy. she was once that very child, caught between what felt like different worlds, feeling as if she might be forced to choose one or the other because her parents were too uncomfortable with what felt like half of her soul. she would refuse to let luz, vee, or hunter feel as if they have to angle those halves away from her so they dont have to watch her wince at them.

camila noceda would make an effort to make the demon realm a part of herself, too, so that no matter where her kids settled themselves down in the future, they would still always feel at home with her.

[sosomonimagines]

House's girl, part two — Gregory House x Daughter!Reader

Summary: House finally starts to genuinely care about someone, but they try to take that person away from him.

Warnings: talk of divorce and custody disputes (triggers for children of divorce like me, I imagine)

Author's notes: English is not my native language and I am from South America, so I don't know if my view of the court is authentic to that of the US. I did some research, but you never know!

Part one:

Three months ago, you began living with your father. Somehow, the two of you managed to establish a routine that brought a certain stability to the new arrangement. You would wake up at six-thirty in the morning on weekdays, and House, who got ready faster, always prepared a strawberry Pop-Tart for you. James would give you a ride to school at seven-thirty in the morning.

When you got home, sometimes at four, sometimes at six in the evening depending on your extracurricular activities, you would devote yourself to washing the dishes, aware that it was a task your father preferred to avoid. Your studies went on until eight at night, and often, your father would arrive around that time. He would bring food from the hospital cafeteria for you, usually a salad with meat and a bit of pasta. Over time, he noticed your love for pasta and liked to bring it for you whenever he could.

When your father arrived at that hour, you would take a break from studying to watch medical shows with him. On the occasions he came home later, which was quite common, he would go straight to bed without resorting to sleep aids. Although he used to rely on some substances to aid his sleep, he initially felt it would be inappropriate with you around, and then simply forgot the need for those medications.

On weekends, you dedicated yourself to studying, but also found time to keep your father company, whether by watching television together or quietly reading at the kitchen table. You both enjoyed watching old movies, like A Clockwork Orange and Psycho, as well as other classic Hitchcock thrillers.

While House followed a highly different and self-destructive routine on Saturdays and Sundays, he valued your presence, distancing himself, even if only temporarily, from the drugs and prostitutes that usually filled his days. He vividly recalled how challenging the first day you arrived at the house had been, but within just three days, the presence of another person had become an unexpected comfort. House couldn’t remember ever truly loving someone before; he had always associated love with pain. Yet, with you, it was strangely different. There was a genuine sense of melancholy and truth in paternal love that he had never experienced before.

He was still the same sarcastic and cynical man as before. The biting comments and natural teasing hadn’t disappeared; they remained, unshaken. Yet, something had changed. He knew that you weren’t just another person in his life — you were you.

•••

Saturday, November 5th:

You rummaged through the kitchen cabinets, noting that despite the changes since moving into your father's house, grocery shopping remained a persistent issue. Your father, who loathed going to the market, made his purchases erratically, buying only a few random items at convenience stores.

“There’s no food”, you said, glancing at your father, who was idly flipping through a newspaper.

“Have you considered learning to photosynthesize? We’d save money,” he replied with sarcasm.

“I’m hungry”

He sighed, put down the newspaper, and looked at you.

“Buy some food”

“Have you thought about going to the market yourself? Buying enough groceries for the month, preparing for a possible hurricane or any other natural disaster? Normal people do that.”

“Normal people, not incredible people like me”

“You should get treatment for that megalomania”, you said, shutting the kitchen cabinets with a bit more force than necessary.

“And you should work on your excessive use of big words to sound smarter” he retorted, pulling his wallet from his pants pocket and handing you a card. “Go shopping if that’s what you want. Call a cab to get to the market and another one to bring the groceries back”

“You’re coming with me”, you said firmly.

“Hey, I’m the parent here, I give the orders”, he retorted.

“Come with me”, you repeated. “You’re the responsible adult and need to fulfill your adult responsibilities.”

“Alright, Miss Bossy” he replied with an ironic smile. “When did you become so commanding? Has someone introduced you to my boss?”

•

When you both arrived home from the market, each carrying paper bags full of groceries, the nightmare began. The mailbox displayed a new letter, something that had probably arrived the day before and gone unnoticed by you until that moment — and, as usual, your father didn’t care enough to retrieve it.

You unloaded the groceries onto the kitchen counter and went back to retrieve the letter. It was addressed to your father and came from the New Jersey Court of Justice.

“Hey, dad,” you said, handing him the letter. “I think someone wants to arrest you.”

“You can’t even commit crimes in peace in this country”, he replied with an ironic tone.

As he opened the letter and read in silence, House's world seemed to collapse. It was one of the rare times he felt completely at a loss for words.

“Is everything okay?” you asked, concerned. “Wait, are they really trying to arrest you!?”

“No,” he answered in a low voice. He wasn’t sure which question he was answering, but the "no" seemed to apply to both “I need to go.”

And just like that, he left, clutching the letter, without explaining where he was going or what was happening.

•

Stacy Warner didn’t expect House to show up that Sunday. Since they had decided to part ways, House’s visits had always carried an unwelcome omen. They usually indicated a relapse on his part, an attempt to possess her merely to feed his ego. And with Mark, her current husband, present, the situation became even more uncomfortable and pointless.

“House, what are you doing here?” Stacy asked as she opened the door. The mention of his name drew Mark’s attention, who quickly joined her.

“You know you’re not welcome here, House,” Mark said, with a tone of disdain.

“Shut up, Mark,” House replied, frustration evident on his face.

“House! You can’t come here and talk to my husband like that,” Stacy exclaimed, exasperated

“I need legal help. I need lawyer Stacy, not my ex-wife Stacy,” House clarified, trying to stay focused.

“Are they finally going to revoke your medical license?” Mark asked sarcastically.

“Please, shut up,” House replied, and this time Stacy didn’t interrupt him.

Stacy invited him in and led him to her private office. The space was elegant and well-maintained, with tall dark wooden shelves filled with legal books. On the walls, diplomas and certificates hung, attesting to her experience and competence.

“What happened? Are they really trying to revoke your medical license?” Stacy asked, her tone serious, reflecting the gravity of the situation.

House didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he handed her the letter. Stacy opened it and began to read. In short, warned that your mother was asking for custody back, in addition to requesting a restraining order against his father.

“Y/N is living with you?” Stacy asked, perplexed. She was House’s second wife, and when they were together, you were still a young child. Stacy knew he had always met his legal obligations, paying child support on time, but she also knew he had little desire to take on parental responsibilities.

“For three months,” House replied.

“But why?”

“Because her mother decided to date a jerk who makes my daughter uncomfortable,” House answered angrily. “It was the police’s decision to send her to my house since I’m the closest relative and she wasn’t safe with the guy. The mother wouldn’t believe her.”

“And now she wants custody back?”

“Exactly.”

“You never wanted to take on the role of father to this girl. What 's changed?”

“What’s changed is that I’ve come to enjoy being her father, okay? Now help me. If she’s dating an abusive jerk, how can she possibly revoke custody?”

“I don’t know, House. Things aren’t so simple in the legal system. She might have broken up with the guy and is asking for a review of her current situation. Since she’s always been the one caring for Y/N, there’s a chance the judge might consider that. Plus…”

“Plus what?”

“She’s asking for a restraining order against you. She wants to present you as a danger to Y/N. She might use your drug history for that, which is a convincing argument.”

“I’m clean. I’m not a danger to my daughter; she’s just doing this to me because she hates me.”

“But you haven’t been clean for long, and you’ve never been actively involved in your daughter’s life. I can’t be entirely optimistic about your chances of winning the case.”

“I need you to help me. She’s the only thing that makes sense in my life, please, help me.”

“I’ll try, House.”

•

“Have you lost your mind?” you asked when your father came home. You were eating Ben & Jerry’s straight from the tub and watching old episodes of The Simpsons.

“What are you watching?” he asked, ignoring your judgment. He knew that leaving the house abruptly might have scared you, but at that moment, nothing mattered more than spending time with you.

“The Simpsons.” You paused and then asked, “Want to change the channel? Oh, wait, not being overly nice right?”

“Right,” he said with a small smile, sitting down beside you.

“Want some ice cream?”

“No,” he replied, and you both continued watching the show in silence.

Occasionally, House glanced at you, feeling a pang in his chest. It was the first time he truly cared about someone, truly loved someone, and they were trying to take that away from him. And it was the first time he felt a real need to fight for someone.

[taiyouhimerich]

Childhood best friend!Leon Headcanons

warns&tags: a bit of kids age, going to teenagers; mentions of sexual activity, but not between characters (jus a bit of teenage masturbation under cut), but it’s mainly fluffy and cute, i sweeeeaaaaar!!!! and this is going to be a slowburn!!!

a/n: haven’t written anything for a while, but I feel like i wanna make it in several parts and it’ll look cool, i swear!

MNDI!!!

childhood best friend!Leon, whom you met when you were 5 and he was 6; who was the first child you managed to make friends with after moving with your parents

childhood best friend!Leon, who lived in the house next door, the parents of both of you often went to each other's barbecue, so the children always needed to be together and play

childhood best friend!Leon, who on one of these evenings invites you to look at his tree house, because you are also his best friend

childhood best friend!Leon, who says that you look like a princess in this dress, and you start playing princess and knight, sometimes going downstairs to steal a new plate of cookies from his parents' kitchen

childhood best friend!Leon, who remembers this game every time you go to school together on the school bus, and thinks that he will continue to be your knight to protect you from bullies

now you're both teenagers, you're 14, and he'll be 16 in a few months, but you still remember how your childhood best friend!Leon beat up a boy with his backpack who pushed you into a puddle when you were in elementary school

your windows are facing each other, you see each other every day and if you weren't afraid to fall, you could even try to climb into each other's bedrooms, and you laugh every morning because your childhood best friend!Leon leaves you funny messages on his window because he knows that you will definitely look there.

childhood best friend!Leon, who accompanies you every Sunday to the church that your parents force you to go to, sits on a bench next to the entrance from the outside, and then escorts you back to the house, smiling when you tell him with a radiant smile about what happened at mass

childhood best friend!Leon, with whom you talk heart to heart every night; who is very worried when he tells for the first time that Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy took him from an orphanage, and you hug him back, muttering words of support, and say that this fact will not change anything in your relationship

and this is the moment when he feels that you are not just his best friend... you are like family, and he trusts you a thousand times more than anyone else. and he wants it to always be like this.

childhood best friend!Leon, who is now starting to find excuses not to come with his parents to your family on weekends when you have a pool party, because he is shy... but he cannot decide of what: of his body changing due to puberty or of your... beautiful girlish body in a pink bikini, which literally makes him staring at your breasts and feeling like a pervert

and every time he feels incredible shame and guilt, when after that you see each other in a normal setting, and you ask with an offended face why he didn't come, and he has to lie to you

childhood best friend!Leon, who often dreams of you, and in his dreams you play something like jenga or monopoly, and every time he feels happy and wants to stay in these dreams, thinking how lucky he is to be friends with you....

...until he wakes up with a morning wood after one of these dreams

god, he dreamed of something so simple and usual, like you two hanging out on a swing or building sand castles, and he never thought of you that way... he doesn't know what the reason for this reaction of his body is, and he is gnawed by guilt when he jerks off, hiding under a blanket from shame

it's hard for you not to notice that over time his excuses become more and more monotonous and even not entirely plausible, and then he leaves for the rest of the summer for a sports camp, and this makes you sad

childhood best friend!Leon is becoming more and more detached from you due to the fact that he cannot sort himself out and the mixed feelings circulating in his body, and even when he returns from a trip right before the start of the school year, he feels that it did not help: he is still ashamed to look into your eyes and it gets worse with his realization that he's acting like a coward by avoiding you.

childhood best friend!Leon, who no longer huddles with you in the corridors of the school during recess, he found a company of good guys and even focused on his studies, and you seem to have found a common language with several girls... and maybe with guys too. even with some of the people Kennedy hangs out with now after school: he frowns, clenches his jaw and shuts up every time one of his friends says your name and calls you pretty. at such moments, the word ‘princess’ literally is on the tip of his tongue, painfully stinging....

childhood best friend!Leon, who one day notices a piece of paper on your window with the inscription ‘knock knock who's there? a mud puddle’, and it makes him smile. he doesn't get the joke, but he finds it funny and sweet how you still remember that thing... and feels ashamed of himself again

the next time you really see your childhood best friend!Leon happens almost before Christmas, when he finds you on the stairs at the end of the corridor in the middle of lessons (which is strange, because he is sure that you would never skip lessons), and he first wants to pretend that he is not going this way, because then you will not notice him, but...he can't. you cry, and it breaks his heart

you can barely hear your thoughts while your palm is smearing tears and mascara on your cheeks, when suddenly someone sits down next to you on the step, and strong arms hug you by the shoulders. you sniffle, looking up, and your childhood best friend!Leon looks at you, pursing his lips and waiting for you to say something. are you mad that he left you? it that why you're crying? do you even want him to be here now?

but with trembling lips you mutter a quiet "Leon...." and he breaks down, hugging you tightly and pulling you closer. making you sob louder when you bury your forehead in his shoulder, and he begins to soothingly stroke your hair, noting that you are still using the same shampoo with the baby smell of chewing gum

childhood best friend!Leon, who can't help but kiss your hair in the temple area while he soothingly whispers,

“Shh, come on, sweetheart.... Who did this to you?”

you are silent, and it upsets him. he knows that this is not enough for you, it never happened, so he continues, smiling slightly and muttering,

“I'm sorry.... Do you want me to kick his ass and beat the shit out of him?”

you're still silent for a bit, but then you ask softly, with a stuttering voice,

“With your backpack? Like when I was in first grade?”

he laughs softly in response to your words, smiling as he pulls back slightly to look into your eyes. his fingers stroke your cheeks, wiping away the remnants of tears and responding,

“Yeah, just like that.”

he raises one hand, leaving his little finger sticking out as he speaks, tremulously and tenderly,

“I promise. I'm your knight, right? I can't not protect my princess.”

you nod, gradually ceasing to sob and starting to smile stupidly as you hold out your little finger to him, quietly answering,

“I promise.... I missed you, Leon....”

“I missed you too... I’m sorry....”

he says in response, and you interlace your pinky fingers, like when you were kids, when you swore to be friends forever. You've still got to talk again, really talk, but there's nothing more important to him right now than knowing that you're okay. he repeats to himself in his head that you are the most important person to him, and you are happily thinking that your best friend and beloved knight has returned to you again. although the best friend of childhood!Leon still has to explain to Mrs. Kennedy later how he got the mascara stains on the shoulder of his only white shirt.

[luceafarul-de-dimineata]

Do you have any headcannons for the paradise lost gang? I'm dying for more of my healers.

Paradise Lost is my favorite set of character, of course I have hcs about them. My beloved disfunctional sitcom family that's somehow a hospital <3

Paradise Lost hcs

Everyone in Paradise Lost is on something. There's no way Morax can be so chill without some weed in his system

The only Paradise Lost citizen that graduated high-school was Bathin and he left

Lucifer was born in his 30s, he was born with a doctorate in every major

Becoming a citizen in Paradise Lost is almost impossible. Both Lucifer and Gamigin need to give you a vibe check and you have to learn healing magic.

Since Paradise Lost was founded after Lilith's disapearance, there are no native Paradise Lost citizens, the closest being Gamigin and Jjok

During Sundays where nobody in Paradise Lost works, each of the nobles has to come up with a fun family activity.

Be it board-games, movie marathons, walks through the forest, anything, they have to all do it together during Sunday

Lucifer has a picture of God or Jesus in every room of his castle because he is a true Orthodox Christian

Even though Lucifer has his own room in his own castle, he preferes sleeping in Gamigin's bed with him. He likes cuddling with the young dragon

Marbas is allowed untied whenever he's not dealing with patients, but he sometimes keeps the restraints on even when he's off duty

Lucifer sees everyone else as being beneath him, but he cares for them like they were children or pets

Lucifer never goes to meetings with the other kings because he doesn't like how often they happen and how little is actually done with them.

Morax has a facebook account where he posts low quality edits of him and the other people in Paradise Lost. They always get one like and it's from Lucifer.

Marbas has a brick phone because it's the only one he can't break with his bare hands. He sometimes calls his 'friends' from other regions with it, but he has no phone attiquit. He would call someone and just ask them for stuff with no hello, no small talk, no nothing

Buer is the best with phones in the whole country. He also didn't pass 5th grade tech lessons about how to make a folder on Windows. He has what used to be the latest phone model when he left Tartaros, but he only uses it to call patients.

Gamigin doesn't have a phone and Lucifer prohibited him from touching the internet. But Lucifer does give Gamigin his phone to play on during breaks or stuff

Lucifer has a fancy phone that he only uses to like Morax's posts on facebook and ignore the mail the kings give him

Depending on the type of meeting and the availability of his staff he will either take Gamigin or Morax with him during diplomatic travels.

He takes Gamigin most of the time, but if the subject is mainly about the atrocities of war he brings Morax. Morax is an airhead with no self preservation, he's used to seing people dying left and right in gruesome manners, but Lucifer would prefere to protect Gamigin from the sort of trauma

Everyone in Paradise Lost is devoted to Lucifer, but Gamigin fluctuates between "wow, he's so cool, I need to impress him" and "my king can beat your king in a fist fight"

Gamigin's also the noble that Lucifer spoils the most. He lets Gamigin do basicly what he wants around the country and he even lets him touch his angelic body.

Whenever there's a long ride from Paradise Lost to a different country, Lucifer sits Gamigin on his lap and let's him sleep there. If anyone speaks louder than a whisper, Lucifer will glare them down.

Gamigin is the favorite kid and by a lot

It's bordering on platonic yandere, but we'll keep it light for this post (unless you want some darker stuff, feel free to ask 👀)

I've said this before and I'll say it again: there is no official uniform in Paradise Lost, Marbas just hates Buer in particular (and he wants to rip the clothes off him)

Lucifer has a photo album of all the memories he had with his brothers. There are some photos with Gabriel, Michael and Raphael in there as well

[nerdygaymormon]

Sometimes you mention that you've lived long enough to see changes in the church on LGBTQ topics. What are some of the major changes you've experienced in church?

I feel like I've lived in 3 eras of the LDS Church.

When I was a child, it was an era that now seems very far away. Black people weren't allowed to go to the temple or have the priesthood (which also limited which callings they could have in church). Church met twice on Sundays, once for Sunday School (children attended Jr Sunday School) and I think priesthood quorums met prior to Sunday School, and then we came again later that day for Sacrament meeting. This part is fuzzy to me, but I think youth activities were on Tuesday, and Primary was on Wednesday (and I think Relief Society was also on Wednesday). In addition to paying tithing, my parents were asked to contribute to the local ward budget, and we raised money to build the local church building. I remember my family working on the local church farm (I'm not sure if it was part of the welfare system or was a fundraiser for the local stake/ward budgets, perhaps both). There was a BIG emphasis on food storage. Social life revolved around church as there were many activities such as the annual Gold & Green Ball (dinner and a dance for the married folks, it was a big deal, they'd dress fancy for it). The church members were socially and politically conservative.

My teens and young adult years were spent in a different era. The church had undone the restrictions on Black members. Church was now consolidated to a 3-hour block on Sundays (except for youth activities on Wednesdays). Temples started getting built in big cities outside of Utah but still were a far drive for many members, instead of going on a temple trip once a year, as a youth we could go twice a year when a temple was built a few hours away. There were still a lot of activities, especially for the teenagers, such as big stake/regional dances, sports competitions, road shows, and a big youth trip in the summer. The ward budgets came from the church (from the tithing) and not from individual members of the ward giving more, and we no longer had to contribute (either money or labor) for local church buildings to get constructed. We didn't work on farms anymore, but worked in the cannery (I remember hearing adults talk about operating machines that bottled ketchup). While the membership was still very conservative, a more moderate approach was being taken by top leadership, and President Hinckley made big steps towards being more open with the world.

I'd say that President Nelson has ushered in another era. Two-hour church on Sundays. Wednesday youth programs being less rigorous or programmed. Temples within a relatively short drive of members and encouragement to go often. Teenagers can have their own temple recommends. No home or visiting teachers and instead a conversation and informal friendship counts as ministering. Few church activities outside of those for youth and our regular church meetings. More accommodation for differences in beliefs of what were considered core doctrines & principles (this started before the Nelson era). The internet has caused the church to be more open about its past, including some issues which are hard like racism and polygamy (again, this predates the Nelson era). There's also been steps to undo some of the patriarchy in the church structure (like women can serve as witnesses and changes to the temple ceremony).

I definitely would not want to go back to the era of the 1970's when I was a child. While there are things I miss from the era of Hinckley & Monson, I don't think I'd like to revert back. The one effect I worry about from the recent changes is people have weaker social ties to their church community. I've heard leaders say that church isn't a social club, but for a long time it was and I think the church underestimates the importance of social connections.

—————————————————

As for LGBTQ history in the LDS Church, Nathan Kitchen, the former president of Affirmation, did an excellent job in describing the changes in the church on these topics. I have lived through 5 eras of the church on LGBTQ issues.

The era from when I was a child was brutal. Even saying you're gay was seen as sinful. You were expected to fight with everything you had to completely erase these feelings. Attempts to remove these “tendencies” included electro-shock therapy at BYU. Most families would reject the queer family member.

The death of President Spencer W. Kimball in 1985 led to the next era for LGBTQ members. Rather than insist on complete erasure of homosexual feelings, gay members were to behave like straight people--get married and have kids and DON'T TELL ANYONE. This is the invisible generation who felt isolated and alone, hidden from other members and each other. Every so often we still hear about a former mission president or stake president who finally comes out after decades of living as a straight person. Most of the mixed-orientation marriages failed, the queer person eventually spoke their truth, picked up the pieces of their shattered dreams, and moved on and out of the church.

In 1998, President Gordon B. Hinckley did a widely-viewed interview with Larry King in which he said said we love "so-called gays and lesbians" and put forward the idea that gay thoughts aren’t a problem, but gay actions are. The church's view was that some of us are struggling with unwanted same-sex attractions, much like people who have other addictions. Even as the church led a major effort to defeat marriage equality, queer members no longer had to remain hidden, so they found each other and attended conferences together and encouraged each other. Members would admire queer members for their wrestle against their attractions. Because they were trying to make this path work and were admired for it, these queer members mostly didn’t share their struggles & mental health challenges with their family, friends, or other members. They were visible, but largely were silent. A generation seen but not heard.

Beginning in the early 2010's, a growing number of gay members receive media attention, and groups like Mama Dragons and North Star are formed. By the mid-2010's the church shifts its approach and starts highlighting and celebrating gay and bisexual members who are single & celibate, and also a few who are in mixed-orientation marriages. The church starts softening its former positions as it officially rejects conversion therapy, advocates for no violence and doesn't require members to deny their queer identities. As long as you are single & celibate, you are welcome. This is also when trans members start entering the consciousness of the church as in 2015 Emmett Claren (now Emmett Presciado) starts a YouTube channel where he documents his transition and in 2017 Kris Irvin makes national news for having a bishop threaten to withhold a BYU ecclesiastical endorsement if Kris receives top surgery. LDS families no longer automatically reject their queer children, but tend to leave the church together if their queer child doesn't feel welcome or safe at church. One last effort to pull membership back occurred in 2015 with a policy against gay couples and their children, and it received a LOT of pushback and generated a wave of members leaving the LDS church.

I think we entered a new era in 2019 as the Handbook policy of 2015 is reversed. In 2020 the now-publicly available Church Handbook softens the approach to gay and bi members but puts in more rules and restrictions of trans members. It's the beginning of a dichotomy where we see progress for people who aren't heterosexual and regression for people who aren't cisgender. In 2024, there are now married gay couples quietly attending church and not being excommunicated (which wasn't a thing even just 2 or 3 years ago), and trans members are facing severe restrictions due to more changes in the Handbook. It's hard not to believe more positive changes for gay and bi members will be coming, even as the church ratchets up its fight against trans members.

[afeelgoodblog]

The Best News of Last Week - May 15, 2023

🐕 - Now It's a Paw-ty

1. World's oldest ever dog celebrates 31st birthday

Bobi was born on 11 May 1992, making him 31 years old, in human years. A big birthday party is planned for Bobi today, according to Guinness World Records.

It will take place at his home in the rural Portuguese village of Conqueiros in Leiria, western Portugal, where he has lived his entire life.

2. The FDA has officially changed its policy to allow more gay and bisexual men to donate blood

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that they’ve eased restrictions on blood donations by men who have sex with men in an effort to address blood shortages. The new policy recommends a series of individual risk-based questions that will apply to all donors, regardless of their sexual orientation, sex, or gender. Gay or bisexual men in monogamous relationships will now be permitted to donate blood.

3. Illinois passes bill to ensure community college credits transfer to public universities

The Illinois General Assembly has passed a bill that would help community college students transfer to public universities.

It would ensure that certain classes taken at community colleges could be transferred to any higher education institution in the state. Some schools currently only count community college coursework as elective credits.

4. Brazilian President Lula recognizes 6 new indigenous territories stretching 620,000 hectares, banning mining and restricting farming within them

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has decreed six new indigenous reserves, banning mining and restricting commercial farming there. The lands - including a vast area of Amazon rainforest - cover about 620,000 hectares (1.5m acres).

Indigenous leaders welcomed the move, but said more areas needed protection.

5. More than 1,000 trafficking victims rescued in separate operations in Southeast Asia

More than 1,000 trafficking victims were rescued in separate operations in Southeast Asia over the last week, officials in Indonesia and the Philippines said. 

Indonesian officials said Sunday they freed 20 of their nationals who were trafficked to Myanmar as part of a cyber scam, amid an increase in human trafficking cases in Southeast Asia. Fake recruiters had offered the Indonesians high-paying jobs in Thailand but instead trafficked them to Myawaddy, about 567 kilometers (352 miles) south of Naypyidaw, the capital, to perform cyber scams for crypto websites or apps, said Judha Nugraha, an official in Indonesia's Foreign Affairs Ministry.

6. A peanut allergy patch is making headway in trials

An experimental “peanut patch” is showing some promise for toddlers who are highly allergic to peanuts. The patch, called Viaskin, was tested on children ages one to three for a late-stage trial, and the results show that the patch helped children whose bodies could not tolerate even a small piece of peanuts safely eat a few.

After one year, two-thirds of the children who used the patch and one-third of the placebo group met the trial’s primary endpoint. The participants with a less sensitive peanut allergy could safely tolerate the peanut protein equivalent of eating three or four peanuts.

7. Critically endangered lemur born at Calgary Zoo

The Calgary Zoo has released pictures of its newest addition, a baby lemur. The zoo says its four-year-old female black-and-white ruffed lemur, Eny, gave birth on April 7. The pup’s father is eight-year-old Menabe. The gender of the pup has not been confirmed but the Calgary Zoo says the pup appears bright-eyed and active and is on the move.

The black-and-white ruffed lemur is registered among the 25 most endangered primates in the world, due mostly to habitat loss and hunting.

----

That's it for this week :)

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[poppyfamily]

hello no one asked but i brainrotted a bit over a charashamangela church choir/youth group au bc of That games video. thoughts under cut.

tw: minor religious trauma lol

Chanse and Angela growing up in the church. Each of their parents pushing them to be more active in the church through children's choir. Chanse probably starts earlier, maybe like a month before Angela. Chanse is the type of kid who their choir director had to be told to stop riffing because the purpose of a choir is to sound the same, Chanse. But Angela takes to him immediately and they become best friends.

They are eventually invited to join the church's youth ministry and they get so into it, probably dancing to One Way Jesus very enthusiastically. It's a staple for them to play Joseph and Mary during Christmas plays and are like super chill when facilitating prayer sessions. (They understand that people aren't necessarily there for Jesus or w/e but believe that the spirit of the ministry is to find Christ in one another or some shit).

They stay for a couple of years and manage to drag in Arasha, who goes to the same school as them. She's not Christian and is just there because she was sick of inviting them to do shit on Saturday nights only for them to say no and also for the vibes and free food.

Amanda comes in a little later and is forced by her mom to actually join because she was frequently getting into trouble so she'd rather just know that her daughter is praising the lord (or whatever the fuck goes down in youth ministry) on Saturday nights instead of swimming in people's pools or some shit idk. Becomes besties with Chanse, Arasha, Angela.

Making this about Amangela bc I can't help the way I am: Angela welcoming Amanda to the ministry because it's her job as one of its leaders and Amanda is obsessed with her immediately. Probably constantly inviting her to sit right next to her for Sunday service, surreptitiously holding hands during the Lord's Prayer, going out for ice cream together once Amanda gets her driver's license. Something something horny something something repressed, they end up regularly making out (and more?) in Amanda's car without really talking about the implications but they know they feel SOMETHING. Lots of Catholic guilt - but not being able to stop because it feels nice, because it feels right.

And because I like angst - Something something tension because Amanda starts being deprogrammed from Church rhetoric at some point. She still sees Angela doing the thing to appease all the old church ladies and pastors who give her a sense of self because it's really all she knows and are willing to offer her a scholarship for college so there is Even More Pressure.

But Amanda sees all this and sees just how much she's hiding who she is, feeling like she can't really call her out on it because they are Not. Together. Amanda also sees how this is hurting Angela, but Angela is just so young and so confused and just wants to do right by her family, by God, etc... Amanda starts feeling pain and resentment about it.

In my mind, the older active church members think Angela and Chanse are gonna end up together, get married and all that shit. Chanse and Angela never saw each other that way.

Chanse quits out of nowhere and people speak of him like they're speaking the devil's name, basically erasing all history of his contributions (because he's gay.) Amanda soon quits after, and basically stops speaking to Angela. Amanda and Chanse run into each other months later, make comments about not seeing each other in church anymore, and then they reconnect and become besties.

Arasha doesn't quit, she just stops attending because she becomes busy with college. It's just not the same because Chanse and Amanda aren't there. She doesn't really have an obligation to do so, but she still keeps in touch with Angela.

Arasha and Angela become roommates in college. And because this is the first time Angela experiences independence, she goes on a SIN rampage - secular (lmao) theater, drinking, drugs, sex (lmao). All the things the church loves to police. And she has an identity crisis about it, crying to Arasha about it even.

Arasha, not knowing where the fuck all this Christian guilt is coming from calls Amanda and Chanse for backup and it's the first time they all see each other in a while. They all commiserate in the dorm room and bond and it's beautiful.

Angela wakes up. Amanda, Chanse and Arasha remind her that she's worthy of love no matter what. Once Angela finally internalizes that, she unpacks all the ways she hurt herself and how she's hurt others. Angela and Amanda finally talk about the shit that went down between them. They apologize for hurting each other, and decide to try again with a better understanding of themselves.

And they all live happily ever after. The end.

[guccixstyless]

Hii 💛💛,sound very odd but can you a imagine where the reader & Ryu shi oh have kids, a cute lil family.

A Sunday At Ryu Household

Pairing: Ryu Shio x Reader (married)

Word Count: 885 Words

A/N: Thank you for requesting this one shot, hope you like it!

************************************************************************

The kids: Twin Boys (Kai, Sooho -aged 7 years), One girl (Mirae -aged 5 years) and One boy (Timmy- aged 3 years)

-

The sunlight filtered through the curtains signaling another new day. Y/N stirred awake and felt the space between her to be empty, she was confused, where was her husband?

She reluctantly got up from bed and headed downstairs, the aroma of something delicious filled her nose as she approached the kitchen.

There was Shio, wearing an apron over his last night's pyjamas. The apron was a gift from his kids from father's day. It had "Best Daddy In The World" written in blue color with bold arial font. Shio loved it and wore it whenever he cooked.

"Hello mister," Y/N said leaning on the kitchen door.

"You're awake," Shio smiled over his shoulder looking at you.

Y/N went closer to him and he flipped the pancake before placing it on a plate. It was already stacked with lots of pancakes. He then turned off the stove before turning towards her.

"Good morning love, did you sleep well?" he spoke softly while tucking her hair behind her ears.

"Like a baby!" she smiled.

"Go wake up the kids, I'm making a special breakfast," Shio smiled.

"What's the occasion for this special breakfast?" Y/N wondered.

"Does there need to be one? Every day with you is special." Shio winked.

"So cheesy," Y/N snickered.

"Only for my love," he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead before returning on making omelets.

"Smells so good, I will get the kids," Y/N said.

Shio was done plating and set the table up. He made nutella filled pancakes, cut up some fruits, made omelets, fried sausages and mushrooms, and made freshly squeezed orange juice.

Shio looked at the table proudly before setting the plates.

"Daddy!" Shio heard little voices and the smile on his face grew wider.

"Oh are we having pancakes?" Kai asked excitedly.

"Yes we are!" Shio smiled. Y/N came behind them while holding their youngest son Timmy.

Kai, Sooho and Mirae took a seat in the table beside each other, Y/N put Timmy in the highchair before going to sit beside Shio.

Shio served them all the food items before saying, "Dig in!"

The family sat down and enjoyed a delightful Sunday breakfast. Kai and Mirae shared stories from school. Sooho talked about his friends.

As the day unfolded, the family engaged in various activities. Shio, being the doting father he was, played games with the kids, their peals of laughter echoing through the house. Y/N watched with a heart full of joy as Shio chased the little ones around, their giggles creating a melody of happiness.

Shio helped them build blocks buildings. Kai and Sooho began running, so Shio gently warned them, "Be careful with those blocks, okay?"

The kids were very tired yet happy by lunch time. After a hearty meal, the kids went for a quick nap. Shio and Y/N enjoyed a cup of coffee while enjoying the quiet atmosphere of the house

"Do you remember when I proposed?" Shio reminisced fondly.

"Of course, the way you planned a scavenger hunt, it was truly iconic," Y/N giggled while twirling her wedding band.

"I was so nervous, I yelled at my poor secretary because you were running late," Shio recalled.

"Such a meanie you are, that man adores you though," Y/N smiled.

"Yeah at this point he is family too," Shio chuckled.

-

As the sun began its descent, casting a warm, golden glow over the living room, the family settled down to watch a movie. Shio lounged on the sofa, Y/N nestled against him, their children sprawled across the floor with blankets and pillows. Timmy was on his portable cradle.

"Best part of the day, isn't it?" Shio said softly.

"Absolutely. Sundays are my favorite when we're all together like this." Y/N smiled.

Shio wrapped his arm around Y/N, pulling her closer. The kids, feeling the cozy atmosphere, snuggled against their parents. The movie played on, but the real show was the love and togetherness that enveloped the room.

-

After the movie was finished, the couple took their children and bathed them before tucking them all in bed.

Y/N went to put Mirae in bed while Shio took care of the twins.

Shio tucked them in, placing gentle kisses on their foreheads before turning off the bedside lamp.

Y/N met Shio in the hallway and intertwined their hands before both of them happily walked to their room.

After their nightly skincare routine both of them crawled to bed. Exhaustion from the day finally kicking in. They both lie in bed facing each other.

"Today was perfect, wasn't it?" Shio whispered, as he stroked Y/N's cheek lovingly.

"It really was. Thank you, Shio, for making every day feel like a Sunday." Y/N whispered before placing a small kiss at the palm of Shio's hand.

Their lips met in a sweet, lingering kiss, a silent acknowledgment of the love that had blossomed and flourished over the years. Shio pulled Y/N into a warm embrace, the quiet intimacy of the moment speaking volumes.

"I love you Y/N, so so much," Shio said as they broke from the kiss.

"I love you too," Y/N smiled.

With a smile and contentment in their hearts, the couple drifted to sleep.

Link to another angst Ryu Shio story

[flowerandblood]

Lead me to the light (Oneshot)

[religious • modern!Aemond x female]

[warnings: fingering, mention of masturbation, religious guilt]

[description: He and she are very religious. They are in love, happy and engaged, but it is becoming increasingly difficult for them, to bear the lack of physical intimacy that they both crave. They decide to try something new. Anon Request.]

* English is not my first language. Please, do not repost. Enjoy! *

_____

She met Aemond at the parish school. Once he came with his mother, who was a catechist, to help her carry a few boxes with various things. She helped her in working with children as a volunteer. They organized extracurricular activities and plein-airs in the parish hall, belonging to the nearby church.

She often saw Aemond and his mother at church on Sundays. Alicent always greeted her after they left and had a few words with her, but her son always stood a few steps away, not even looking at them, thoughtful. She noticed, that he always turned, so she couldn't see the scarred part of his face.

One day, the parish priest had the idea, to organize a small picnic for all the faithful in the large parish garden, after the mass. Alicent thought it was a great idea and they ordered the catering together. It was necessary to go for tables, chairs and disposable dishes, so they divided the duties.

“I asked Aemond to drive you to the store. Here's a list of things you need to buy." She said softly, giving her a piece of paper and a bundle of bills, to buy all these things.

She was excited to see him. He intrigued her immensely, and she wondered, if she'd be able to get him to even a brief exchange of words.

Aemond arrived on time. She waited for him on the street and ran to the car, that he parked in the parking lot. She opened the passenger door and sat in the seat, smiling at him.

"Good morning." She said cheerfully and lightly, it was beautiful, summer morning at its best.

"Hi." He said dryly and dispassionately, glancing in the mirror as he reversed the car, making sure it didn't hit anything. She pursed her lips, placing her hands on the small backpack in front of her.

She rolled over and glanced at his player with a smile, hearing, that AC/DC's "Highway to Hell" was playing. She thought it was a funny song choice, given their religious approach to life. All she could see on the playlist, were rock bands, that she knew well. She heard him twist in the seat next to her, confused.

"If you want, I'll play another playlist." He said low. She looked at him as if he had insulted her.

"You must be joking. It's a sin to switch such a piece." She said amused and laughed, turning her face towards the window.

"I was at an AC/DC concert last year." She added after a moment, thinking with satisfaction about this event, that she went to with her dad, a huge fan of the band.

They were silent for a while, as they listened to the song. She heard him clear his throat softly, as if he wanted to say something, but nothing came out of his mouth. She thought he was cute.

After a few minutes, they arrived at the store. Aemond went in with her, for there were many things to buy, and his mother had told him not to make her carry too much.

She headed for the aisle with disposable plates and cups. There were so many and with so many patterns, that she didn't know, what to choose. She showed him a pattern with flowers and a pattern with colorful, large polka dots.

"Which one do you like more?" She asked, and he looked at her, surprised.

"Does it matter? They'll be thrown away anyway." He spoke reluctantly, but stopped immediately, apparently thinking, that he might have offended her. He turned his head, pressing his lips together. She looked at the plates and sighed.

"Maybe you're right. So what, we'll take plain white? They're probably even cheaper." She said taking the third set, examining it. Aemond looked at her in surprise, expecting his remark to frustrate her. He nodded.

"Let's take the cheaper ones and buy more juices." He proposed. She thought it was a good idea and they did exactly that.

She had the impression, that her openness and lightness of conversation made him relax. She discussed freely with him the choice of what to buy and what would be better on such a hot day. They gave up the chocolate cookies, thinking, they would just melt.

Alicent told her, that she could also choose some extra items herself, if she found something interesting in the store. She decided to buy surprise eggs for the children, she knew they loved them.

They left the store with everything they needed to buy, packing the things into the trunk. They got in and headed back to the church, continuing to listen to his rock playlist, without talking to each other.

When they arrived, Aemond helped her fetch her things from the car and lay them on the tables, that were already set out in the parish garden. She rummaged in one of the bags and pulled out two chocolate surprise eggs, placing one in front of him and the other in front of her. He looked at her, surprised.

"Why are you giving me this? I thought, it was supposed to be for kids." He said low, indifferent. She looked at him, eyebrows raised in amusement.

"And we are not someone's children? Come on, you didn't collect these toys when you were little?" She asked, unwrapping her egg from the foil, breaking it into two halves with a light movement, immediately popping one piece of chocolate into her mouth.

He was about to say something, but his mother came over to them, talking to her. It turned out, that she needed help in disassembling everything and putting it in order. She apologized to Aemond and followed her, leaving him alone.

When everything was ready, they went to mass together. She invited her to sit together in one of the first pews, and she agreed. Aemond gave her a surprised look and made room for her, to sit next to him.

She tried to focus on what the priest was saying, but her mind kept returning to his scent. Some nice, fresh, intense masculine perfume, that made her head spin. His thighs were slightly parted, his feet, like hers, resting on the kneeler.

His knee was touching hers, and though she knew it was an accident, that it was just tight around them, she shivered at the thought. She couldn't help, but involuntarily pressed her leg against his a little tighter. She felt him shift uneasily in the seat, his fingers tightening on each other.

After a moment, to her surprise, it was his knee that pressed tighter against hers. She pursed her lips at the feeling. She knew, that church wasn't the best place to flirt, but she couldn't help the heat, that was welling up in her belly. She felt her cheeks flushed, a wide smile on her face.

Aemond stayed at the picnic that day and talked to her pretty much the entire time, sitting on one of the blankets, eating grapes and drinking coffee from a disposable cup. She lay down next to him, her backpack under her head. She looked up at the sky, talking to him, letting him look at her.

He opened up to her that day and even let her give him a little hug as part of his farewell. From then on, he came to help his mother more often, but she knew, he meant something else. He always sat in the classroom next to her desk with a cup of coffee in his hand.

He pretended, that he was waiting for Alicent to drive her home, but she knew, that he had only come to talk to her for fifteen minutes. It took him several months to get his true intentions out, but he was received with great enthusiasm. They have been together as a couple ever since.

Exactly after a year, he proposed to her and told her, that he did not want to wait long to get married. They decided, that they would get married next year, so that everything could be done on time. They were both happy thinking about the prospect of living together. They got along very well, also in matters of faith.

One day Aemond invited her to spend the night at his house. They had never stayed the night together before. He told her, that Helaena was away for the weekend and her room would be free, so she could take her bed. He suggested, that they watch something together and have a good time. She was thrilled and terrified at the same time.

She didn't want him to think badly of her, but he aroused so much desire in her, that she couldn't bear it. Even though, she hadn't done it before she met him, she started touching herself between her thighs, seeking fulfillment and relaxation. The tension she felt after meeting him, was unbearable.

She did not share this area of life with him, fearing, that he would lose his good opinion of her. She figured, that she'd make it to their wedding somehow.

However, spending the night together was a temptation for her, that she feared would defeat her. She was afraid of his rejection. That if she kisses him more passionately or puts her hand under his shirt, he'll look at her like she's dirty and worthless. However, she decided, that she would try to fight and not give herself out.

When she arrived at their home, Alicent immediately embraced her. The three of them had dinner - Aegon and his father were at work. Their whole family worked in the family business - Aemond once in a while because, like her, he was still studying.

Then they said goodbye, she took her things to Helaena's room and went to him. He was sitting on his bed with his laptop on his lap. He was browsing some platform, looking for some interesting movie.

She climbed onto his bed and lay down next to him, wrapping her arm around his, placing her cheek against his shoulder. He immediately kissed the top of her head, continuing to scroll down, letting out a grunt of displeasure.

"I don't see anything interesting. I don't know why I'm paying for this." He hummed low, sighing softly, leaning his head against the bed. After a few minutes, they decided together, that they would start a series, that was recommended to her by one of her friends.

They began to watch, his arm wrapped around her and pulled her to him. She automatically buried her face in his neck, inhaling his scent, closing her eyes. His hand played with the strands of her hair, curling them around his fingers and letting go.

She felt a pleasant shiver at the feeling, she loved it, when he did that. Her hand ran over his chest thoughtfully. She couldn't concentrate on what she was watching. Aemond looked at her, turning his head in her direction.

"You don't like it? We can turn on something else." He murmured, stroking her head steadily and kissing her forehead. A pleasant shiver ran through her. She thought with horror, that she wanted more. They kissed often. She decided, it was okay, if they did it now.

She looked up at him and moved closer to his face, her lips brushing his, warm and full. He hummed low in contentment, parting his mouth, returning her caress gently with a wet click.

They kissed like that for a moment, tender, innocent, his hand tracing her cheek. She heard his soft moan, as her hand tightened around the nape of his neck, her lips digging deeper, more lustfully into his.

She felt as if he froze for a moment, but she continued to caress him, feeling the throbbing between her thighs, wonderful and hot. She wondered, if he felt it too. He broke away from her suddenly and cleared his throat, looking away.

"So? Are we watching on?” He asked, refreshing the page, rewinding the episode a few minutes.

She pursed her lips and nodded. She felt her whole body stiffen, for some reason, tears of helplessness gathered in her eyes. She buried her face in his neck again, his hand still stroking her steadily.

She felt tears streaming from the corners of her eyes, straight onto his skin, her body twitching slightly, but she made no sound. Aemond felt wetness on his neck and propped himself up on one elbow to see, what was happening. When he saw her red, tear-stained face, he immediately stopped the movie, staring at her, horrified.

"What's going on?" He asked anxiously, stroking with his hand her bare shoulder. She couldn't answer him, only began to cry even more, sucking in a ragged breath.

"Hey, baby, what happened? You can tell me." He said soothingly, wiping away her tears, stroking her cheek.

She could see in his gaze, that he was terrified and surprised, she had never cried in front of him before. She shook her head, letting him know, that she couldn't tell him. He pursed his lips, seeing this.

"Really, you can tell me anything. I want to know, what's bothering you." He said calmly, her hand ran over his chest involuntarily. She couldn't look him in the eye.

"You will despise me, when I tell you." She mumbled softly, sniffling, tears flowing from her eyes again, as if the thought of telling him terrified her so much, that all she could do was sob.

She heard him sigh heavily, pressing his forehead against her temple, his long, blond hair lightly tickling her nose.

"I will never despise you. And since I am to be your husband, I want to support you in all your worries.” He whispered softly, his lips lingeringly kissing her scalp once in a while.

She looked at him finally, turning onto her back, their faces millimeters apart. She opened her mouth several times, trying to force it out. She finally made it.

"I desire you." She said in a broken voice. She saw the pain and surprise in his gaze. He swallowed hard, his mouth pressed into a thin line, his body tensed. He didn't answer for a moment, staring at her with wide eye.

"You know… you know, that I desire you too." He whispered softly. She pursed her lips at his words.

"The frustration I feel is unbearable." She said finally, looking away, shaking her head, shielding her eyes with her hand, so he wouldn't see, that she was crying again.

She felt like an empty girl, unable to contain her simplest urges. She heard him exhale loudly, his breath shaky and loud.

"You think it's easy for me? If only I could…” He said and didn't finish, turning his head, looking to the side, his lips pressed together. “…if only I could, I would take you here and now. But we both know, we'd feel guilty afterwards." He added quickly, looking at her uncertainly.

She pursed her lips at his words. She knew, he was right. She wanted to wait until marriage. With this wonderful experience of feeling him deep inside her.

She swallowed softly and nodded her head. They were silent for a moment. She felt, like he wanted to say something, but couldn't.

“I have to relieve myself before each meeting with you. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to resist." He blurted out suddenly softly, his words sending a shiver down her spine. He didn't look at her, embarrassed by his words. She swallowed loudly.

"I… I touch myself too." She said embarrassed, her cheeks burning with tears and emotions.

He looked at her, a silence filled with tension between them. She could feel her muscles clenching with desire, the moisture dripping onto the fabric of her panties. She could see that he was fighting with himself, that something was in the air.

"…can I touch you there?" He asked softly, his voice trembling, unsure. Her eyes widened in shock. She nodded quickly, swallowing hard, her heart pounding like crazy. She was desperate.

"Y-yes. Yes, please, touch me there.” She whispered pleadingly, and he moaned softly at her words, his hand immediately going between her thighs, on the fabric of her panties. She suppressed a moan that escaped her lips and squeezed her eyes shut, her body arching in pleasure.

His fingers pressed lightly against her, starting to massage her through the fabric, moving up and down. A wave of heat ran through her, making her shiver all over. They both started breathing heavily.

"God, your panties are all wet." He whispered softly, delighted and thrilled by what he was doing and seeing. She nodded her head, trembling all over, sweet, soft moans escaped her lips.

Unable to contain himself, he pressed his lips against hers, more passionately and intensely than before. Each time they broke apart and clung to each other, the long, wet click of their saliva accompanied them again.

She moaned into his mouth in surprise, shivering all over, as his fingers slid the material of her panties aside and ran over her throbbing, wet, hot entrance. They both inhaled loudly at the sensation.

"You're so warm." He hummed in delight, his fingers, all sticky with her juices, traveling to her clit, teasing her timidly, seeing how her body would react to it. A sudden, startled groan of pleasure escaped her lips.

"Oh God − yes, touch me like that −" She sobbed helplessly, she felt like she had a fever, her body burning from the inside.

Unwittingly she parted her thighs a bit, allowing him access, and he moaned into her mouth feeling it, his tongue brushing over her upper lip, making them both gasp with excitement.

His fingers sped up, massaging her around her clit with slow, intense strokes, spreading her wetness all over her pussy. He could feel how hot and thirsty she was, how much she needed it, her thighs involuntarily reaching out to meet him. He was so painfully hard that he was dizzy, his cock throbbing in his pants.

He shifted his hand abruptly so that his thumb continued to massage her clit, and his fingers slid over her wet, swollen entrance again. His fingertip teased her, barely slipping in and out, feeling her fleshy walls tighten around him.

"Do you want me to put it in you, baby?" He gasped into her mouth, and she stifled a loud moan, her whole body trembling. She tightened her hand on his hair, burying her nose in his face, her body writhing under his hand.

"Y-yes − please − I need it −" She mumbled, and he closed her mouth with his in an aggressive, sticky kiss, forcing his tongue all the way down her throat.

He slid his finger inside her, stretching her swollen, throbbing muscles, feeling the heat of her body. He thought of how great a delight it would be to enter her, how tight she would clench on his large cock. He began to slip his middle finger in and out of her in a slow, intense rhythm, with the wet click of her juices.

He would never admit it, but he'd read a lot about how to please a woman. He didn't want to hurt her on their wedding night, and he'd thought of her quite often since their engagement.

He wanted to be as prepared as possible, and to be able to touch her so that she would be ready to receive him inside her. He decided that this would be a good training for them, that they would understand and learn what gave them pleasure.

He searched for her sweet spot with his finger, knew that it was somewhere on her upper wall. Suddenly, he felt something like a slight lump under his finger, and she moaned into his mouth in surprise.

He smiled under his breath, massaging this point intensely, rubbing it with a quick, confident motion that made her pant and shiver.

"Feels good, babygirl?" He hummed, a smirk on his face. He felt her walls tightening on him more and more, her hips responding greedily to his every move, seeking fulfillment. He thought it was wonderful what he could do with her body. How sensitive she was to his slightest touch.

"Yes − sweet God − it feels so, so good −" She sobbed, on the brink of despair, all hot and red, she felt hot tension rising up inside her, his thumb and finger touching her two most sensitive places at the same time, driving her crazy. She knew her fulfillment was coming, her head tilted back, her mouth parted, panting heavily.

"− A-Aemond − I'm gonna come − och, God −" She mumbled, and he pressed his lips to hers in a greedy kiss, muffling her loud, helpless moan. He didn't want his mother to hear them and come into his room right now, while his future wife was going through a wonderful, intense orgasm.

He grunted in contentment, feeling her walls tighten on him, refusing to let go, his fingers still massaging her gently, feeling, how sensitive her body was now. He pulled away from her and licked his lips. She was trembling under him, looking at him with a hazy, dreamy look, her mouth slightly parted in pleasure.

"Can I touch you now in return?"

_____

Aemond Taglist:

(bold means I couldn't tag you)

@its-actually-minicika @notnormalthings-blog @nikstrange @zenka69 @bellaisasleep @k-y-r-a-1 @g-cf2020 @melsunshine @opheliaas-stuff @chainsawsangel @iiamthehybrid @tinykryptonitewerewolf @namoreno @malfoytargaryen @qyburnsghost @aemondsdelight @persephonerinyes @fan-goddess @sweethoneyblossom1 @watercolorskyy @astral-blossoms @randomdragonfires @amirawritespoorly @apollonshootafar @padfooteyes @darylandbethfanforever9 @fudge13 @snh96 @diosademuerte

[yellowcry]

School in Encanto!

You all know it's time to headcanon!

The education in Encanto isn't essentially great. As it found by the bunch of refugees without good supplies.

Kids up to one-two years gap in age sometimes can be put in the same class. It mostly depends on how many children were born during this year. If there's just a few, they would be put with another class to save up space and people to educate them. It was especially evident in the early years. As for the first ten years or so childbirth had really low rate until the village had actually set.

In the opposite side, if too many kids were born in one year and class doesn't have enough supplie for them all, the eldest can be sometimes put into the older group, or yongest of generation can be put into younger.

Boys and gurls tend to be put in the opposite sides of the classroom.

The school does learn the basic of Arithmetics, Spanish. For History kids for the more part focused on learning about Latin America and Colombia specifically. Same goes for geography, which is hugely focused on Encanto as well. They do learn about other parts of the world too, but it's often shallow and doesn't get much attention. As living in a closed village with no exiting way out makes information about other climat types and geography relatively useless aside from general development.

For the bigger part, Encanto school is focused on practical skills for everyday use. Sewing, cooking, how to fix broken things or take care of the animals. It doesn't come to the professional level, but is solely enough to survive on their own even if their parents don't teach them anything (which they almost always do) as these are somethings you need to survive.

In general, school isn't obligatory, but is heavily encorauged to get your kids into. If for some reason kid doesn't go at school, they would be visited from time to time. To check their intellectual development. If it turns out they lack some basic knowledge, such as arithmetics, Latin America geography or a proper level of Spanish (and most others) they will be forced to visit classes.

A good shred of Catholic education too. Both at school and after Sunday service. Religion had important role in the time. And even outside from classes focused of in it, most time different aspects of reality are explained with Bible perspective.

Madrigal specifics headcanons

Gifted Madrigals are allowed to skip school when it comes to using their gifts to help the community. They are technically requested to complete tasks later. But most people just let them slide.

Isabela probably wasn't the best student in her time. Not essentially bad, but she was much interested in more stuff. Plus the pressure as the first born grandkid and the pretty Madrigal. Alma took her out of school in the last years to focus Isabela primarly on her future role as the leader of Encanto. Which Isabela was surprisingly good at, as she's a very natural leader. Also, Isabela sucks with deadlines. Hugely because of pressure to he perfect. She spends a tupid amount of time making a perfect cover/beginning and at the night before the dew day realises the has about two million more pages to write.

Dolores is far better than Isabela. More patient and reversed. And Dolores in generally smart. Her hearing also helps her with being observant of what the teacher is saying. However she definitely ruined lections several times. Just because she heard something interesting and couldn't keep her mouth shut about it. When Isabela left, Dolores pretty much stopped visiting most of lections/non-practical classes. However she still listened to them and kept the notes that she showed to her teacher so nobody concinderedered her as dropout. And if Dolores thinks today's topic is extremely interesting, it would be completely normal to see her sneaking in at the middle of lecture like there's nothing wrong with it.

Luisa is coming closer to Isabela. Pretty restless and prefers physical activity. Also you do know who would have the most chores to skip school. No, of course she wasn't absent completely, but it happened more often than with the other kids. But if Luisa locks in then she locks in and you will never pull her off the books. Also as complete opposite of her sister, Luisa is always going her homework exactly the same day. Workaholism doesn't like when she slacks off her responsibilities.

Camilo is extremely outgoing/social. Is definitely the type that comes in school to talk with his friends. And then it depends on who is in today and who is not. Also pretty restless but in more outgoing way than Luisa. Likes chatting a lot and definitely interrupts teacher a lot by accident. Would extremely take his sister/older cousins old assigments and copy them. He's honestly not a big fan of school so well.

Mirabel is considered the most talented student among the grandkids. Which she usually dismisses as not a big achievement, feels that because she never has to miss anything to help the communituy she will be privileged here. She really overdoes it to make up for the lack of gift she has, tends.to perfectionism the same way Isabela was. Only that Mirabel actually spends her time correctly and it's all decent and not rushed everywhere. Plus, Mirabel is very observant and patient, which also makes her get many clues and understand the pattern of the things she learns simular to Dolores. Secretly enjoys when teachers are praising her as it's one of the little amount of attention she gets, especially being noticed by someone outside of her family.

[hanmaitani]

Maybe Sundays Aren't So Bad

PAIRING - Miya Osamu x Reader WC - 1.4K GENRE - fluff A/N - this series is... everything to me. pls don't block me for it <3 CW - light mentions of religion, god and faith ( i do mean only a few lines ), reader and osamu are in their last year of high school in this part

MASTERLIST | NEXT PART

The first time that you really caught his eye was on a Sunday. Around noon to be precise. The first time that he looked at you for longer than a second. The moment that would change his life.

Osamu had been sitting outside of a cafe, nursing a warm coffee - no longer a hot coffee after the time he'd spent ignoring it - and still trying to shake himself out of his half-away haze. The cafe was one he had commonly visited, but never on a Sunday before.

It was busier on a Sunday morning than he'd expected and nearly all of the tables had been taken by the time he had gotten there. He had, however, been lucky enough to snatch a table that was much too big for him to sit at on his own. He felt a small pang of guilt through his chest now, but it was quickly dulled by his intense need to sit and not speak to people.

It was, of course, why he was here after all. Why he'd left his house so early in the morning on his own. He wanted to not be spoken to yet.

He wasn't exactly fond of Sunday mornings, if he was being completely honest. Sundays were meant to rest. Nothing to do on them. The one day he could sleep in. It was a day without the need to be responsible the entire time.

Which is why it was almost noon and he was still trying to wake himself up. Why he was at a cafe instead of at home, avoiding the pestering of his twin brother who wanted to turn the resting day into an active day.

Osamu was observing the people at the cafe, it was why his coffee had gone from hot to only just warm. Watching the couples who held hands across the table and chatted, the families feeding airplanes to their babies, children running between the tables. And now? Watching those who had just recently exited the church across the street from where he sat.

He hadn't quite worked up enough energy to open and read the book he'd brought for himself yet, coffee not yet empty enough for him to pursue that tedious endeavor. So he just watched.

It was then, as the street flooded with more people exited the church service, that for the first time in his life he would be grateful that he was just a bit oblivious at times. Because if he hadn't been oblivious, if he had instead noticed you walking up to his table, he definitely would have left before you reached it.

Osamu, even years later, would swear up and down to the fact that you came into his line of sight like a ray of sunshine bleeding through a dreary day. A cheerful contrast to his dull morning demeanor.

"Do you mind if I sit here? All the tables around are full." Your voice was soft on his ears, trying to make yourself seem as quiet as you could. There was a smile on your face, head tilting to the side as you asked the question.

He never would have said yes. Not to someone invading his Sunday.

Usually that is.

But something about you made him hesitate in saying no. You seemed to beam in front of him. It felt like you were suddenly filling him up with a light feeling, waking him up just a little bit more. Better than caffeine.

"You're not much of a morning person, are you Osamu?" You covered your small smile with a hand and Osamu scrunched his eyebrows together in confusion.

The confusion didn't last long, however, you turned your head to look around the cafe as you grabbed the chair. It quickly crashed down on him who exactly was sitting down in the seat in front of him.

You were the same girl that had sat in front of him in class for the last two years. The same one who sat in front of him in class this year as well. He hadn't recognized you ar first, you looked different today. It wasn't just the lack of school uniform, but something else, your whole demeanor was brighter.

A million thoughts of realization crashed down on him through his brain fog but he settled for a simple answer. "Not a mornin' person on Sundays."

You immediately laughed at his response, a sound that echoed in his ears and made him question if he would be able to make you do it again. And then immediately question why he wanted to so badly.

"Oh but mornings are the best on Sundays." Osamu let out a scoff as he took another sip of his coffee, wincing lightly at the fact that it was getting colder. "They are!" You exclaimed, bringing your own cup to your lips.

"Mornings of faith." Osamu eyed you suspiciously over the rim of his cup, but you seemed unbothered by it as you kept speaking. "I always get up early on Sundays to get ready for church."

That's what it was, he realized finally. It was your hair. It wasn't just that you were out of your uniform, but your hair. Styled up to perfection and not the usual style that you wore to school. He studied you more for a moment before his tired brain caught up with your expectation you had for him to respond in some sort of way.

He hummed to make it seem like he'd been thinking about your words more carefully than he truthfully had been. "I don' 'xactly go t'church. I'm not really sure if I believe in God." The words floated out of his mouth before he thought and he immediately was mentally hitting himself.

Why in the world would he say that to you?

He was expecting you to get upset, but you didn't. Instead, you laughed again, more of a giggle this time. "That's okay." You took another sip from your cup as a pause to your thought. "Sometimes I'm not sure if I do either. But that's okay. Religion doesn't always equal faith. You can have faith in a lot of things."

He looked at you quietly in confusion, you thought it was kinda cute, the tired way his eyebrows cinched and his eyes squinted. You wanted to keep that look of confusion on his face for your own amusement a little longer. You kept talking though, wanted to explain yourself.

"You can have faith in an unknown out there, something to believe in that's bigger than you. Like," you hummed in thought for a moment before exclaiming happily with a clap of your hands, "like soulmates!"

"Y'mean jus' roman'ic love." He felt amusement course through him at the dreamy look that had entered your eyes and as it quickly turned into faux betrayal at his response.

"No. Soulmates." You said it in a 'matter-of-fact' tone that you had trouble pushing out without a smile creeping onto your lips.

He wasn't sure what it was and neither did you, but neither of you could bring yourself to move from the other. So you both sat there, together, in the middle of a busy cafe with quickly cooling cups of coffee, discussing the concept of faith and soulmates and fate until the lunch rush started to calm down.

When time came for you to leave, he tried to say goodbye, mouth opening for the farewell. He didn't even get the first syllable out before you quickly stopped him.

"I hate goodbyes!" You laughed as you held your hands up in protest. "They feel so final. I'll see you in class tomorrow!" You threw him one last smile as you both turned separate ways to leave.

He couldn't help but throw a glance over his shoulder to see you one last time.

You weren't that far yet. Barely even six feet away from him. But as you walked further away it felt like you pulled something in his chest along with you.

He couldn't tear his eyes away from you. It felt like if he looked away, if he even blinked, then he'd realize this had all been a dream.

He realized, as he watched you walk away, that even though his coffee was only half empty, he'd never felt so away this early in the day on a Sunday. He decided then, that maybe Sundays aren't so bad.

TAGLIST - OPEN @tsukiran @awkwardaardvarkforever @ryomance

[suraemoon]

MOTA: Post-war

~ Easter Sunday Headcanons ~

🐣: Easter Sunday lends itself so easily to daydreaming about post-war suburban life. Here are some ideas I thought up yesterday of how some of the boys and their families celebrate Easter. I hope you like some fluff. (Bunnies, eggs, and happiness galore)

💛: @precious-little-scoundrel gave me the idea to post these after I was yelling them to her yesterday. I hope you all aren’t Eastered out just yet.

Being some of the earliest birds to the nationwide baby boom due to a four-week New York getaway, the Crosby’s quickly become professionals at the Easter Sunday routine

After an hour of hiding yawns and dozing off while standing in their pews at Easter Sunday Service, all the neighborhood kids show up at the Crosby house for their famous annual Easter Egg Hunt.

As soon as their car rolls into the driveway, Jean and Harry watch in wonder as their crew of excited kiddos doubles, triples, and soon quadruples in a matter of minutes

Hiding spots are determined days in advance and as the years go on, the amount of eggs that Jean has to buy grows exponentially to account for the adopted little bunnies that come strolling by with baskets the size of their whole torsos

Mrs. Jean Crosby puts out chairs and a group of adoring parents get to gradually watch their children grow up before their loving eyes every April

The same toddlers who first waddled around on the newly mowed grass trying to find their footing all those years ago soon become elementary school kids with minds enthralled by the competition

Soon these toothy grinned kids become teenagers who keep the magic alive for the newest toddlers while also taking the time to show the next-gen elementary kids who are the professional easter egg hunters

The Crosby’s haven’t always had the holiday nailed though

One year after much convincing from his wife throughout the whole month of March, Harry agreed to dress up as the easter bunny

When he suddenly stuck his costumed head out from the top of their white picket fence, a church choir of crying and screaming ensued

Instead of being faced with the excited wonder-filled faces that he expected, Harry was met with wide eyes full of terror and dropped jaws full of shock

Children flailed to the protection of their mamas instead of going to hug the famous mascot of the season

He spent an hour going around to every child with his furry head off and shamefully cradled in his hands

apologizing and ensuring that yes, it was just Mr. Crosby, not a giant rabbit who hopped out of nowhere and scared the communion wafers out of them

In his adult life, John Bucky Egan never really cared for Easter festivities up until his eldest daughter was born

When sunny April came around the year that Little Miss Egan turned two, Bucky was excited to take her to the Easter egg hunt ran by the local Church

While the older kids go haywire in their now dirtied church suits and fancy dresses trying to pick up as many eggs as people they counted in church pews just a half hour before, Baby Egan waddles around gently.

Every egg she picks up is taken slowly and carefully from the soft grass beneath her Mary Jane’s, looked at with soft eyes as if being examined and if found fit, is put into her pink basket

Bucky, being impatient and full of excitement for this newly unlocked family activity, sneaks a few extra eggs into her basket to make it look like she has more

His little princess shouldn’t have to hunt for all her own eggs and risk getting her white lace dress dirty anyways

Egan is the only adult collecting eggs with a bunch of random kids. His excuse is that he and his little one share a basket of course. She needs her daddy to teach her how egg hunts are done in order to be better prepped for next year.

The Egan’s aren’t the only ones with a knack for egg hunts.

The Rosenthal children do not celebrate Easter but it does not stop them from showing up to the park’s “Eggstravaganza Hunt” every year

Being the determined little Rosies that they are, they dominate the competition. These kids will have their baskets full to the brim with eggs in a matter of minutes.

You notice a child with a head full of bouncy brown curls, pink cheeks, and grass stained knees run by you? You better hope that your little Bobby can keep up.

Rosie watches on like a focused parent at their child’s soccer game

His children with their chocolate and sugar covered faces furrow their eyebrows and tilt their heads when a random woman with a crying child tells them “Do y’all really need all that candy? Jesus would want you to share, don’t you think?”

The Mini Rosenthals come back home with sugar rushes that can power the whole neighborhood for a week straight

An upside for Rosie and his wife who have to deal with these energized little roadrunners is that the kids crash an hour earlier than usual

leaving room for extra alone time on a cool Sunday night

One easter, Benny Demarco randomly walks through the foyer of his home with a white floppy eared bunny wearing a perfect little bow tie

Is that the one you wore to our date last weekend? His wife can’t help but shake her head at her husband’s audacity as the children gather around their newest sibling with eyes full of happiness

The kids are excited but Mrs. Demarco has to try to put on a smile because “Who the hell is going to take care of that thing?”

Soon enough, a hutch is built in the backyard and more bunnies are added to the family

Mrs. Demarco falls in love and calls them her “bunny babes”

She’s met with a “I knew it was a good idea” from her husband every time she is seen cradling and baby-talking to one of their beloved pets

I mean…they are both major pet lovers. It’s one of the reasons they work so well together. But is one more responsible of the two? Definitely.

The excited squeals of children and adorable nose twitches of cute little bunnies makes it all worth it

The Demarcos aren’t the only 100th household with their own personal Easter Bunny

When John Egan jokingly told his four year old that leaving a baby carrot under her pillow would lead to a special gift from Mr. Easter Bunny himself, he did not expect her to take it seriously.

At midnight, Bucky wakes up with eyes hardly open and gets out of bed with a mission

This annual mission is to tiptoe into his daughter’s bedroom and carefully exchange the aluminum foil wrapped baby carrot tucked carefully under her soft pillow for a few cents from his wallet

As more children are born, the tradition continues

Even future generations of Egans continue to buy bags of baby carrots as Easter Sunday approaches

Not only to snack on them all of Spring Break but also to place one in a sandwich bag or wrap one in saran wrap to hide underneath each child’s pillow

Not necessarily knowing why they’re the only house that participates in this unusual tradition

Not knowing that it started from the unbreaking belief of a wide-eyed four year old and her father who stopped laughing when he realized that he was stuck playing off-brand Tooth Fairy for the rest of his life

Gale Cleven’s household has a more relaxed Easter Sunday compared to the rest

After Church, some Easter themed activities, and a well-needed nap upon arriving home, the Cleven’s go to their garden to plant new flowers

Fresh tulips, chrysanthemums, and pansies are all beautiful, refreshing signs that spring is here

Why do the Cleven’s have such green thumbs you ask? Maybe their blonde hair resembles the comforting sun, the plants can’t help but feel warmth. Maybe their caring blue eyes are as nurturing as water, the plants can’t help but thrive.

They started growing flowers and vegetables in their garden when the first after they bought their house

It was the Clevens’ first step towards making it a home

The flowers represented new beginnings, fresh starts, and growth. Essentials after everything they have been through.

————————————————————————

Hope you enjoyed! Wishing everyone a happy, happy Spring🌸 My first time writing something and posting it in 4 months…ahhhh. There’s more where this came from, my mind just does not stop.

[collecting-stories]

Not in Chronological Order ch. 5 - Orange Magic

setting: Central Park// Saturday morning

summary: Reader and Sonny are watching his niece's softball game on Saturday morning and he is interrupted by a series of work calls.

A/N: This takes place 13 months into their relationship. Also, I mentioned on the series page that I've taken some creative liberties with Sonny's nieces and nephews, which still stands. I'm giving his sister Teresa three kids, including a daughter named Sofia.

<- Not in Chronological Order Masterlist | Lie Like This ->

...divider by @saradika

“Thought ya weren’t gonna make it,” Sonny called his tone light and teasing. It was still cold for the middle of March and he had his Fordham hoodie on, hands in his front pocket though he took them out as you approached, pulling you into a hug. You were careful of the coffees in your hands as you wrapped your arms around his waist, pressing your face against the collar of his hoodie and kissing the side of his jaw. 

Once you’d extricated yourself from his embrace and handed him one of the coffees you said, “And miss a softball game for six year olds?” You asked, “doesn’t sound like me.”

“Yeah, alright, I don’t appreciate the snark,” he joked. 

Dating Sonny had just been dating Sonny until about three months into the relationship when he decided he’d waited long enough to introduce you to his family. Now, over a year into your relationship, you felt like you were dating the entire Carisi clan. Dates turned into family parties or Sunday night dinner or watching his nieces and nephew play sports early on Saturday mornings and it all felt bizarrely more domestic than any of your previous relationships. Maybe that was simply because the last time you had a serious boyfriend was ten years ago when you were twenty. 

Today you’d gotten yourself out of bed early and taken the subway into Manhattan to see Teresa’s youngest daughter’s softball game. You’d been invited by Teresa before Sonny could even remember the date. She’d texted an entire schedule for each of her three children’s sports and school activities to you at the beginning of their school year when you’d only been dating Sonny for six and a half months. 

“Just FYI,” you mentioned, shifting your coffee to balance between the crook of your arm and your body so you could clap as Sofia came up to bat, “I’m mad at you.”

Sonny’s eyebrows furrowed, looking at you with a mix of concern and confusion, trying to wrack his brain for a reason that you would be upset with him. Between both of your busy schedules you’d managed to keep any dates that you scheduled and he’d been on time to every apartment tour for the last two weeks. 

“What? Why?” He finally asked, unable to think of any particular reason you had for being mad at him. 

You turned your face toward him, that sly smile creeping over your features, causing him to realize that you’d been teasing him. “Because you didn’t tell me about that Italian place on Locust.”

“Near my parent’s house?” He asked, not concerned anymore but twice as confused. The two of you had been over the bridge almost every week for Sunday dinner but he couldn’t think of another reason for you to trek to Staten Island, at least without him. 

“Yeah, I went last night with your mom." 

"You went to dinner with my ma?” Sonny was more than positive that you hadn’t mentioned a Friday date night with his mom at any point during the week. 

“She said she wanted to take me to dinner for my birthday, just the two of us,” you shrugged. 

“Ya went to dinner with my ma?”

“Yes. She texted me like, two weeks ago, and asked if I wanted to have dinner,” you explained, “anyway…the point is, why didn’t you ever take me there? The food is so good!" 

"I can’t believe you went to dinner with my ma and didn’t even tell me about it,” he replied, “I can’t believe she’s texting you.”

“Jealous?” You joked, bumping his hip with yours. “Where’s Teresa anyway?”

“Paul’s got the kids this weekend,” Sonny replied, nodding his head in the direction of the bleachers on the other side of the diamond where his ex-brother-in-law sat with two small children. 

“Oh fun,” you muttered. Teresa had introduced you to Paul only once but that had been more than enough for you to get a measure on him. 

“So, what did you and my ma talk about?” Sonny asked, looking at you over the rim of his disposable cup as he took a sip. 

“Well, she spent a good half of the time asking me when I was planning on making her a grandmother again,” you replied, “although, at least your mom has more of a filter than you do." 

Sonny had ungracefully blurted out, halfway through dinner on your second date, that he wanted to have kids someday and he was looking for a serious relationship. As if two dates in a week was enough to know whether you were going to devote the rest of your life to him. You were planning on it, in fact, though you had avoided saying so two dates in. 

"What’s that supposed to mean?” He asked, looking incredulous at the accusation. 

Before you could answer, his cellphone went off and Sonny stepped away from you to answer it, already falling into ADA mode. You turned your own attention back to the game, scanning the game to see where Sofia was and finding her in the dug out, waiting for her turn to bat again. 

“…I can email it to ya first thing tomorrow morning. I’m not in the office right now,” Sonny said, looking back toward the Little League diamond, his gaze softening as he watched you clap for his niece. “Yeah, yeah…I’ll talk to ya later, alright, bye Liv.”

Sonny made it over to you after hanging up, wrapping his arms around your waist from behind and kissing your cheek. 

“Do you need to go?” You asked, turning your head to meet his eyes. 

“Nah, just some paperwork. Nothing I can’t get in the morning,” he replied. 

“Are you sure?” You knew you sounded surprised as he looked over at you, the beginnings of an apology already forming on his tongue.

“Yeah, ya just got here and we’re supposed to look at that apartment after lunch.”

“I know,” you turned back to the game, “but if you have to-”

“I don’t." 

A year and a month into dating Sonny, you knew that his job was more than important. It was demanding on a good day and soul-draining otherwise. The work he did was necessary and hard and you understood. Yours wasn’t an easy job either, though you had more structured hours than Sonny sometimes got. Both of you had brought up jobs and relationship expectations somewhere around the three month mark but neither of you had really gotten anywhere solid and the discussion had been shelved for later. For further down the road when things were more serious. 

Talking babies with Serafina Carisi and apartment shopping seemed like the time to unshelf that conversation but neither of you really wanted to. 

"So, dinner with my ma?” Sonny asked, trying to get back whatever you’d had before Sonny had answered the phone.

“Oh yeah, we covered all the topics. Jobs, children, future wedding, why you haven’t proposed yet,” you laughed at Sonny’s expression, “her question, not mine.”

“She’s something else,” he muttered, pressing his face into your neck. 

You reached up with one hand to pat the top of his head, running your fingers through the soft, salt and pepper, waves. No work meant no hair gel. “She told me that we should move to Staten Island so when we have kids she can babysit and we don’t have to worry about work or daycare.”

“We just have to worry about commuting back into Manhattan?” Sonny asked, slightly muffled by your sweatshirt. You could feel his mouth against your neck as he spoke, breath warm in the cold morning air. 

“What, you don’t wanna sit in hours of traffic every day?”

“Dream come true,” he hummed. 

Sonny’s phone rang once more and he groaned against your neck, giving you a gentle squeeze before he pulled away. You heard Liv’s name leave his lips as he stepped further away from you and the game. Serafina had referred to the relationship as a test of patience. You wouldn’t put all the blame for busy schedules on Sonny though, there were plenty of dates that you had interrupted with a phone call or times when you’d brought work to his house when you were supposed to be having dinner together. 

“Are you sure you don’t need to go in?” you asked when he made his way over to you again.

“No,” he pocketed his phone, “sorry.”

“No you aren’t,” you laughed, stepping away to throw out your empty coffee. When you came back over he was frowning. “What?”

“I am-”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” you sighed, wrapping your arms around his waist and tucking yourself into his side. He slung an arm around your shoulders instinctively. “I just meant, I’m not mad that you have to work when you’re off the clock. You know I get it, I just…wish you wouldn’t apologize. It gives me false hope that maybe next time you won’t go into the office or answer the phone and I know you won’t.”

“It’s just, the case we’re working on-” Sonny started to explain.

“Dominick,” you huffed, cutting him off, “I literally just gave you an out, you don’t have to explain. I’m not mad.”

“You seem a little mad.”

“Well…” You turned into Sonny more, fiddling with ties on his hoodie for a moment before meeting his eyes, “it’s 10am on a Saturday and I’m watching your niece play softball and thinking that maybe your mom wasn’t so crazy for asking me about kids cause I could totally rock being a ‘soccer mom’ someday and then I just spiral further into my head like…will Sonny answer the phone when our future children with Italian names are running around playing baseball and then I realize I’m being totally irrational because half the time I’m the one on the phone and then-”

“Hey,” Sonny cut you off this time, pulling you closer to hug you, kissing the side of your head, “we both have crazy jobs and we knew that getting into this and I know you are more than understanding about my schedule but that doesn’t mean I’m not sorry that I gotta answer the phone when I’m with you." 

"I know,” you replied, “I just feel like, the interruptions happen whether you make excuses for them or not…I just don’t want us to be those people that like, make the excuses. I don’t wanna lie and say that next time I won’t pick up a second shift and I don’t want you to say that you won’t stay late at the office cause then we’re just lying to each other.”

Sonny looked contemplative as he considered what you had said to him. Finally, he nodded, “I agree…I just feel guilty sometimes hassling you with interruptions when we’re supposed to be off.”

“I don’t think this is a compromise we can figure out over the course of one conversation,” you replied. A Little League baseball game probably wasn’t the best place to be hashing out your feelings as it was but there was certainly no easy end or compromise to the situation at hand. Down the road, you imagined, it would have to evolve into other conversations too, more nuanced, about family instead of just you and Sonny. “But if you do have to go in to the office…”

“Just for like an hour tops, I promise we’ll make the open house." 

"We better,” you tried to sound threatening but it was hard to do when you were smiling, “cause I showed Serafina the places we were looking and it’s the only one she likes.”

“She’s not living in it,” Sonny pointed out.

“Yeah but she said it’s got three bedrooms so that’s at least two grandkids.”

“With Italian names,” he teased.

“Depends,” you replied, detangling yourself from Sonny as his niece ran over to say hello. 

“On what?” He asked, though he was looking at Sofia and waving, a massive smile on his face.

“I’ll tell you when little ears aren’t around,” you joked. 

Sofia made impact with his legs before he could answer you and Sonny lifted her up, settling her against his hip despite her being six and all limbs, happily kicking him as he hugged her. She launched into a recounting of the game, as if neither of you had been there and seen most of it. You couldn’t help thinking that maybe Serafina was right when she told you that a year and a month was not too short a time to already be thinking about kids of your own. Interruptions be damned, you’d spend the rest of your life with Sonny if you were given the opportunity.