#THE PRODIGAL SON RETURNS

[nuge]

for our no. 1 oscar klefbom truther @oscarkelfbom

oscar klefbom | DAL @ EDM | 05.29.2024

[berrysquared]

Introducing you to “jimmy solidarity does laundry at 3am, suddenly sees his roommate scar goodtimes enter the house through the window in a superhero costume” more or less

[strawbubbysugar]

Bethroned Rewrite Chapter 27

[hildyj]

The Leftovers, "The Prodigal Son Returns"

[onboardsorasora]

Danny is gonna be on the Late Show with Colbert on Feb 2! This has to be confirmation that he’s gonna be at the Launch!

[aristocraticvision]

Chapter 304: Blood Ties

“Will you be joining us for dinner or not?” Grant asked as his husband, Devon Fellowes-Grey, Duke of Renley, sat working intently.

“Huh?” Devon asked, looking up. “Oh, I’m sorry, my love. I lost track of time.”

He stood and stretched.

“It seems that the more work I do, the more there is to be done,” he said, shaking his head.

“I know, Devon,” Grant said. “I feel the same way. But Matthew is only home for a few days, so we should take advantage of the time while we can.”

“You’re right, of course,” Devon said, standing. “I’ll quit for today. The rest of my correspondence can wait.”

He circled his desk and embraced his husband.

“I promise you and Matthew will be my only priority for the rest of the evening,” he said.

“Good,” Grant said, smiling. “But let’s focus on Matthew for the first part of the evening, so that later, we can focus only on one another.”

Devon smiled, but was cut short as Nanse cleared his throat.

“A letter arrived for you, your grace,” the butler said, brandishing an envelope. “Shall I put it on your desk?”        

Devon sighed, and took the envelope.

“I suppose I should see what it is,” he said, studying the outside. “Thank you, Nanse. That will be all.”

As Nanse left, Devon opened the envelope, his eyes widening.

“What is it?” Grant asked, concerned. “Who’s it from?”

Devon didn’t answer, instead turning to lay the letter carefully on his desk.

“It’s from my brother,” he said, finally. “He’s coming home.”

“So the prodigal son returns, eh?” Grant said. “He didn’t even come home for your mother’s funeral. Why now?”

“Who knows?” Devon said. “Maybe he’s finally run out of money.”

“Perhaps,” Grant replied. “Of course, he might just want to reconnect with his big brother.”

Devon scoffed.

“That’s it,” he joked. “Because we were always so close!”

“What happened between the two of you, anyway?” Grant asked. “I know he and your mother had issues, but I didn’t realize you had fallen out, as well.”

Devon grinned.

“Well, we didn’t exactly fall out,” he said. “David couldn’t stand that I was the older brother, and heir to our father’s fortune. Of course, it didn’t help that I had to put him on an allowance.”

“Ouch,” Grant said. “That probably hurt his pride a bit.”

“Well, he’s an addict, Grant,” Devon said. “He would have gone through his entire inheritance in a year if I hadn’t intervened.”

“Mmm,” Grant acknowledged. “Drugs?”

“Drugs, alcohol, gambling – all of it,” Devon said. “If it was something you could get hooked on, David was all over it. Last I heard he was card sharping in Monte Carlo – doing pretty well at it, too, from what I heard. But with David, all good things eventually come to an end.”

Grant took his husband’s hand.

“Then let’s forget David for tonight,” he said. “Let’s go have dinner with our son and enjoy the evening. There will be plenty of time to worry about your brother later.”

“That’s the problem,” Devon said, shaking his head. “With David, no matter how much you worry, there’s always reason to worry more.”

CHAPTER 1 | BEGINNING OF PART 4 | PREV | NEXT

Continent of Oceana | History of Weston | History of Corwyn | History of Torenth | History of Allycia

[darththrog]

Excuse me while I cry in the corner

"Where is Marco?"

[mischiefmanagedmostly]

disassociate with me

I'll lay blank

Full of nothing

An eternity in seconds

Hours blinked by

I'll focus again

Exhausted of myself

Wasted on time

Finally awake

[kittykatninja321]

You can talk about what you wished had happened, or what you think should’ve happened, but when it comes to what actually happened, Jason is not the prodigal son, Bruce did not slaughter a fatted calf for his return!

[nico-di-genova]

Pato who?

[quickdeaths]

"That might be true," Haruna admitted with a thoughtful nod, "but still, you shouldn't be made to feel like you're causing any trouble by being here." Presumably like being banished away from the rest of her class so as not to invite questions of funding. "I'm aiming not to become one of those people who always talks about how high school was the best time of my life, but, you still only get to experience it once. It's better to have fun with it, and you can't do that as easily if adults are always laying into you for something."

"Oh, she's a motivational speaker, now," Anzu added with a small rolling of her eyes. "Next time we have lunch together, Sonia-san, I'll make sure to show everything off." She felt a bit bad that Sonia was commiserating with her like that. After all, for everything she had going on in her life, and for all the trouble that came with being a girl trying to bring about change in a male-dominated space while also being a top-tier performer, Sonia surely had a lot more of it. Their lives weren't that comparable, even if she wished they were more so so she could really offer up some help to her.

She guessed there wasn't too much point in worrying about it. They were close friends, and she'd kinda picked up on what Sonia liked and didn't like, and that was probably good enough. Even Shinobu had things she could only do by herself, or didn't want Anzu's help with, so it was more important to just be the best friend in the whole wide world, and figure whatever good feelings other people got from that would trickle down to help with whatever she couldn't do anything about.

Honestly, Anzu had zoned out a little as her sister had been yapping about her quote unquote real job, but as soon as Sonia said she wasn't looking for romance, Anzu shivered. Both because, uh, no, there would in fact be romance in Sonia's near future, and it was with Shinobu, obviously, and also because someone saying they weren't so interested in romance was like a sleeper cell activation phrase for her meddling sister. She could only hope that she wouldn't push, or Sonia wouldn't budge, 'cause she was not looking to have to fight off some kind of love rival for Shinobu.

Thankfully, Haruna didn't seem like she was going to push it. "Oh, you're welcome," she said with a small laugh. "It's not a bad gig. I think a lot of people want to fall in love, but most people are better at falling in love than figuring out how to make their love work, so, that's where I come in." She smiled. "I get fanmail sometimes from people who say I saved their marriage, or helped them ask out their crush and now they're engaged, and that's nice to hear." Anzu had to keep from rolling her eyes, or jumping in to add that Haruna had been terminally single for years, and was she really someone to take advice from?

Instead, she just lightly yanked at her sister's sleeve. "Haru-nee, you're talking too much again." She wanted to keep hanging out with Sonia for a while, especially if she wasn't that busy, but Haruna probably would say something stupid if she did. It was better to keep the two of them apart, to curb whatever natural impulses Haruna had. Besides, she'd heard there was food inside the school, and she was pretty hungry. "We've got to get going, Sonia-san, but I'll see you later, okay?" She gave her friend another warm hug before motioning for Haruna to follow her. Her sister, meanwhile, frowned at the idea of leaving the conversation so soon, but gave Sonia a small smile. "Well, do come by, Nevermind-san, if you ever want to talk about anything. My door's open to all students, even if Anzu would prefer that I not talk to her friends." At that, she followed after Anzu.

It was a good thing that Alumni Day was an all-day affair, since he'd come later than intended. It had been a last-minute decision in the first place, and even as Masaru Yaguchi walked up to the front gate, some part of him was screaming to turn back and run away like he was still a frightened teenager, bending and bending and bending until he'd broken under it all. But, he reminded himself, he wasn't that boy anymore. The light spring breeze tousled his hair - black and wavy, flecked with more grey than most people in their mid-20s - and as he gathered it up to tie back, his fingers brushed against his neck and face. The marks that had been there - the cuts, the bruises - were long gone.

After adjusting the prescription sunglasses that sat over his red eyes, Masaru scratched softly at the small mole underneath the corner of his mouth. He'd put it off long enough, hadn't he? There wasn't any reason to wait outside any longer, and so he stepped through the gate, and up towards the campus proper. He hadn't RSVP'd for the day, and so hadn't received any map or instructions, so Masaru knew he'd be on his own. On the bright side, that meant he could duck out at any moment, if too many complicated memories started surfacing.

Or, maybe it wouldn't be entirely alone. There was a student standing out near some of the displays, seemingly not too busy. She must have been some kind of greeter, so asking for some help wouldn't be out of the question. "Good morning," he said with a small wave as he approached the girl, looking breezier than he probably felt. "I'm here for Alumni Day, but I think there was some mistake - I never got any confirmation, or any instructions about how the day would go." That probably sounded a little better than admitting he'd been back-and-forth about coming. "So, I'm not really sure what's on offer," he added, laughing. "Would you mind it if I asked for a little direction?"

Sonia raised her eyebrows in interest towards Anzu and Haruna. Why weren't the two sisters nicer to each other? In Sonia's view, if she had a sister or brother, they could at least lean on one another when their parents screamed and shouted, slamming doors and escaping into all manner of therapy before the next public appearance, gracing the crowds with full smiles that would never reveal otherwise. She had her cousins of course, but the boys were still young and, try as she might, she still wanted to shelter them from the worst of her parents and theirs. Someone closer in age, or even older, might have been more preferable, even if it took her down a step in the line of succession.

"I am not sure it is a waste of talent," She remarked, her smile remaining on. Better to divert the conversation, she thought, than ask about things she couldn't understand as an only child. The amount of times she'd heard "It's different when it's your sibling, they'll drive you crazy!" was already overwhelming and, in her opinion, wasn't a good enough reason in comparison to the loneliness she felt often. Compounding and, at times, with a deafening silence that no amount of well-meaning staff could eradicate.

"I am not even sure if it is mostly about respect, either," She continued with a small chuckle. "But more about potential donations. I doubt it is a good look for the school to ask for alumni support when the likes of the Ultimate Affluent Progeny and the Ultimate Princess attend, much less the Ultimate Yakuza. And as far as Komaeda-san is concerned, well, he is unfortunately off-putting for many people. So it is better if we remain inconspicuous, if only for that."

The reminder of how some people didn't think much of her talent only seemed to exacerbate after meeting Ji-yeon Iida. Sonia wasn't naive, she was aware that plenty of people existed who believed such sentiments. It was just after meeting Ji-yeon that Sonia seemingly saw it more in the world around her, and it unsettled her. Enough to push her to work harder, to prove that she deserved to sit on the Novoselic Throne not because she'd won a genetic lottery but because she was truly the most deserving person for the job.

But there wasn't much time to dwell on it: not while Anzu wanted to edge her sister out of the conversation. Sonia smiled warmly to her, assuring her friend she hadn't been forgotten. Maybe that was why Anzu persisted the way she did: she was younger and determined not to be outshined by her sister, or anyone else for that matter. "I would love to see them, thank you!" She agreed. "It is something I wish to do before I return to Europe permanently, so I suppose graduation next year might be my only opportunity. But I do sympathize with having work to be done, Anzu-san: I feel that at times, it is difficult for us to simply be teenagers, no?"

Maybe it would help bridge the gap between sisters, that both knew what it was to work when others took their leisure time. Either way, even if it was a futile attempt, Sonia would try to help them find some middle ground, though Haruna steered the conversation somewhere a bit less comfortable. "Oh!" She exclaimed, her eyes widening. "That must be a fascinating career as you are always able to help people! I admit that I am not looking for romance at all, but I will keep you in mind for the future. Thank you."

[ignitedminds27]

He's home guys. He's finally home.

[rickybaby]

Daniel on coming back to the Red Bull family: "There is a feeling of loyalty and nostalgia, memory and support. They've been with me since I was 17 - 18 years old. A lot of my career was shaped off being a Red Bull driver. Apart from mom and dad, they gave me this opportunity. You come back, it's like a full-circle thing where you feel a lot of gratitude and appreciation and overall, just happiness and that feeling of belonging. Through that, I've started to feel like myself again and that confidence comes back and I feel I can do some pretty good things on the race track again."

[hildyj]

I want to believe it can all go back to the way it was. I want to believe that I'm not surrounded by the abandoned ruin of a dead civilization. I want to believe it's still possible to get close to someone. But it's easier not to. It's easier because I'm a coward, and I couldn't take the pain. Not again.

The Leftovers, "The Prodigal Son Returns"

[slutforpringles]

via: Lawrence Barretto | ‘The stopwatch doesn’t lie’ – Ricciardo opens up on how he’s fighting for his F1 future

[sisigull]

Feeling generous, feeding the lotfers today 🤯

Sorry to the fellows who don’t follow me for lotf brainrot