#a lot of the older ones still use jr

[lady-ace]

Mitosis

(set in an AU where Mary and Freddy are both small in their champion form, and Billy doesn't work for Whiz yet.)

Almost everyone knew the marvels. The magical sunny trio, who always seemed joined at the hip. Where one went, the other two were never too far behind.

Of course, with Captain Marvel being the oldest and looking very similar to the other two (Black hair, blue eyes, you get the idea) everyone thought the same thing; “Cap is the father of Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr. Come on, it's even in the name!”

No one, from the public or the superhero community ever brought it up with them, because 'Well, it's obvious!'

..And then the Captain told them they were completely wrong.

/ / /

Superman, while in a casual conversation with the other leaguers, refers to Marvel Jr. As Captain Marvel's son.

Cap, who happened to overhear: “Son? Jr is my older brother.”

[Shocked pause]

GA, gobsmacked: “Why is he called Jr then?”

Cap, a little taken aback by the apparent shock this was to the others: “Well, to be honest, when Jr was coming up with a name, i suggested Jr, because he was smaller than me, and the name stuck.”

GA, still blue screening the fact that Jr was not Cap's son: “Wow.”

GL, waving his hands frantically to accentuate his point: “Are we just gonna pass over the fact Cap just said Jr was older than him?”

Plastic man, jokingly: “Next he's gonna tell us Mary Marvel isn't his daughter either.”

[Cap shoots Plas a look, and before he can speak up, Plastic man continues, his joking tone nowhere to be seen, now in it's place, an almost disbelieving one.]

Plastic man, incredulous: “Oh my God, you are.”

Cap, nodding in agreement: “She's my twin.

[Que various noises of surprise all around the table.]

/ / /

After a few days of Marvel trying to clear up the misunderstanding, it was quite clear a lot of the leaguers simply didn't believe him. Either chalking it up to magic shenanigans or just really doubting he could be younger than Freddy, even though it was so apparent he 'wasn't.'

So, they decided to pull a prank.

With the help of a spell, he aged his Champion form down to the age of his siblings, and dressed up as Mary.

They couldn't wait to see their faces when they saw not one, but two 'Mary Marvels' flying around the watchtower.

After all, they were twins. And what better way to prove it than the classic twin switch-up?

/ / /

Flash, rubbing his eyes before looking again: “I'm not seeing things, am i? Please tell me i've not gone crazy.”

WW, shaking her head: “No. You are seeing things correctly. There's two of our friend present.”

Flash, now a bit worried: “Has Mary been cloned, or is being followed by a doppelganger?”

WW, tilting her head a bit, trying to remember something: “Not that i recall. Maybe you could ask her about it? She doesn't seem concerned about the 'clone'.”

Flash, slapping his forehead in a 'why didn't i do that earlier?' way: “Good idea.”

[Flash goes over to the two Marys (Maries?). When he arrives, one of them beams.]

Billy: “Hi, Flash! How are you doing?”

Flash: “Good! Well, i've been meaning to ask you.. uh, something.”

Mary, grinning: “Well, go ahead.”

Flash, a bit too bluntly: “Why are there two of you?”

Billy, with the most cheerful voice ever: “Mitosis!”

Flash: “Mitosis?!”

Mary, saying this as if it was the most obvious thing: “Why do you think there's only one big Marvel, and the rest of us are small? We separated from the captain recently.”

Billy, holding in a laugh: “But keep it secret, okay? Me and the others trust you to never tell anyone our secret.”

Flash, who is like 'WTF did i just hear': “Uhh.. sure. I won't tell anyone.”

[The two proceed to tell everyone the supposed 'Secret.' Only years later the League would find out it was a prank, when Billy and Mary showed them their civillian forms. They still use the 'Mitosis' as a inside joke when a new member joins the League.]

[cheriladycl01]

Could you do fic for Fernando Alonso with wife reader where she visit him at the paddock with their children? (He's at Aston Martin) Just something fluff and cute. Thanks!!

Well if it isn't the best Alonso! Fernando Alonso x GreekWife! Reader + Kids

Plot: You come to the paddock for a day, as everyone’s fav Alonso Family Member!

“Well If it isn’t the best Alonso” Lance says as you walk into the paddock. You smile at the younger Canadian and pull him into a hug.

“Oh wait, no no no these are the better Alonso’s he grins as he sees your three angels trailing behind you. You had Fernando Jr, who was currently 10. He had of course taken after his father and your husband had taken him karting on his 4th birthday.

Of course they both came back ecstatic, your husband claiming that your son was a prodigy and took all the talent for racing from him. You were happy as he’d explained to you when you first got pregnant that he would be so happy if your kids turned out to like racing and cars as much as he did.

Then there was your daughter, who was currently looking around the garage trying to find the one person she really wanted to see, her name was Iris, taking from your Greek heritage. She was a bundle of joy especially when she came to the paddock. Even at 7 years old she spoke maturely to all the drivers she interacted with, asking them questions about the cars and their lives.

Iris, despite her name was a total Daddy’s girl and would cry when her dad left for races you couldn’t bring them too, and would be elated when he came home. She was glued to his side all the time when he was there with her, which often made her older brother jealous but also got her into karting.

Fernando couldn’t believe his luck when Iris had practically begged him to take her carting with Fernando Jr. He loved watching them race against each other when her brother wasn’t racing in a competition.

Where Iris drove against her older brother she caught up very quickly being a lot better than the kids her age. She wasn’t only a good driver but she was a quick thinker too, something her brother was still learning. They had some heated, yet childish arguments but it wasn’t anything ice cream couldn’t fix.

3 years after you had Iris, you had another child, another girl who Fernando wanted to call Isabella. Bella was now 4 and was shyer than her older siblings and was a total mummy’s girl. She liked princesses and dolls and liked dressing up with her mum watching.

You loved your first two children obviously, but you would never want to take away from the bond they had with their dad. Of course you had your own special bond with them, and they adored you but they clearly had an affiliation with their father because of their love for karting.

So when Isabella started to show signs of loving your hobby or fashion and shopping you were more than excited. You used her a model for your fashion boutique/line that you owned, you were actually a pretty big name in the fashion industry.

You were know as the up and coming Donnatella.

Isabella loved playing with you, and she enjoyed watching her dad… normally form afar. She didn’t like the loud noises that came from the cars when they went 200mph round the tracks.

Fernando was happy you finally had a mini you that you could dress up in all your outfits and style her hair with cute bows unlike Iris who liked her hair accessory free unless it was a hair tie.

You were currently pregnant with yours and your husbands final children which of course happened to be twins.

As you were both getting older, there were more risks with pregnancy and birthing for you. So you agreed that the two little lives growing inside your right now would be your last.

Everyone loved when Fernandos family came to the paddock. You all would what’s bring the best energy with you. Everyone in Aston Martin waited for you to grace them with your baked good that would put the catering staff in all the paddocks hospitality units to shame.

“Hello Lance, how are you!” You exclaim, as you release him from the hug, Bella tugs at the end of your dress looking up at you. You grin and lift the young girl up. You were about 3 months pregnant right now, so still holding your daughter was no issues

“Mum, can we go look for dad please. We want to see his car” Fernando Jr asks, looking at you with his puppy dog eyes. You look away, trying to find someone trust worthy amount the busy mechanics. You spot one of your favourites calling out to him.

“Sorry to be a pain, I know your busy but would you mind taking these too to the garage to find Nando?” You ask and he nods immediately and both your children thank you with big grins before following the mechanic talking his ear off while they do.

“Sorry Lance, that was so rude of me. How are you?” You ask feeling your daughter rest her head on your shoulder, already tired with all the walking and people.

“No it’s no problem. And I’m good, how are you. Fernando told me you were glowing and he was so right” he grins looking at you and then your small little bump that was showing of from the dress you were wearing.

“Stopppppp thank you Lance, me and Fernando actually had a question for you” you grin.

“Go on, I’m scared now!” He says, eyes widening slightly.

“Well, we want you to be the god father to the twins!” You grin smiling. He stands there in shock, not to sure what to say. This was such a big thing.

“Obviously you can say no, but we thought it was fitting where Felipe is Fernando Jr’s god father because he was born in 2013 when he was racing for Ferrari, and then Jenson is Iris God Father as she was born in 2016. And then Bella was born when he had a break because I was struggling a little so my friends were prioritised for Bella. But now that he’s back racing and he has a teammate like you we were wondering if you’d, you know take us up on the offer”

“Oh my god. Of course I will I can’t believe you guys thought of me” Lance says pulling you into another hug.

“You were the first person he suggested” you say, your accent coming out a little more as your voice cracks, you could curse those pregnancy emotions right now.

“Im going to take a walk to the garage. See if Iris has already escaped to go see Jenson and crash one of his interviews again. I swear he doesn’t care that, that kid threatens his job sometimes” you chuckle remember the time she threw a tantrum when Fernando tried to take her away from an interview he was doing with Carlos Sainz and so they let her sit on his lap for the whole interview.

“Okay, ooo wait. Can I have a brownie please?” He asks rubbing his hands together hoping you have your delicious chocolate creations.

“Oh I almost forgot!” You smile handing him two that he happily took, before wondering to go and find Sebastian Vettel to tell him the amazing news.

You walk through the Aston Martin hospitality handing out your treats to anyone who comes up to you with a pleading look on their face before they taste test and pure foodgasms come every time. Bella had slightly perked up and was now more interested that people were talking to her and complimenting her outfit.

You eventually find Fernando and your two other children are already with him. Iris is sat in the car while one for the mechanics is helping your son hold the heavy wheel gun up to the wheel while admin takes lots of pictures.

“Hello hello” you breeze into the room. Your husband comes over to you lifting you up and twirling you going before pulling you into a bruising kiss.

“I missed you” he mumbles looking over you, a hand rubbing over your stomach almost as if to make sure everything is okay with you and the babies.

“I missed you to mi amor” you say in your husbands language.

“I love you αστέρι μου (my star)” he says in Greek. It was a little thing you guys did, to show appreciation for the other.

“Oh and I missed you too, my little Princess” your husband grins looking at your daughter who was jumping at the ball of her feet to get some attention from her father. He lifts her up and spins her around making a melody of giggles sound through the garage.

“Im glad you all came, mi familia” Fernando sighs opening his arms for all the rest of you to join as he pulls you into the hug from his left arm.

“Anything for you” you say, kissing his cheek. He turns to look at you, placing a soft kiss in your lips.

“So is daddy going to win today? Max has been tough this season!” Your daughter admits, crossing her arms, she was obsessed with watching her dads glory days, and coming in to see a Lewis and Max domination was hard. No matter she always cheered on and supported her dad.

“Im going to try my very hardest” Fernando smiles kissing her forehead and all of your heads snap up as your heart the click of a camera.

“Sorry, but you all look so cute” the social media guy said with an awkward blush.

“Oh please please send that to me. I just know your grandmother with love this. She’s been missing you guys, we haven’t seen her since we went her in Greece in the summer break” you say looking down at the kids.

“Can we go back to both Spain and Greece in the summer holiday! Englands getting boring” Fernando Jr jokes, he was the only one born in Spain, after you guys had Iris in Greece and then you moved to the UK so your husband could be closer to the Aston Martin HQ.

“Yes baby, we’ll time it around dads break and your school break. You guys are lucky it’s half term” you nod a them. As serious as they were about karting you also wanted them to have a decent level of education behind them.

“Yes!” The oldest too cheer, before they spot different people they want to go see that send them running off out the garage.

“I could get used to this” Fernando smiles looking down at his daughter in his arms, and placing his other arm to wrap around your waist.

“You know I won’t be able to travel soon, and it’s gonna put a stain on us” you sniffle those silly emotions coming back.

“I know. But I’ve already got a plan, I’ll be coming home more when I can, and I’ll be free when you give birth if not they are happy for me to have a reserve for that weekend” he reassured you.

“What did I ever do to deserve you” you smile, as he wipes away the tears that had started to come down you face. And kisses your cheeks, before laying his head into the crook of your neck.

“I love you”

Taglist:

@littlesatanicassholebitch @hockey-racing-fubol @laura-naruto-fan1998 @22yuki @simxican @sinofwriting @lewisroscoelove @cmleitora @stupidandunnecessary @clayra-g @daemyratwst @honey-belden @moonypixel @lauralarsen @vader-is-hot @ironcowboycopnickel @itsjustkhaos @the-untamed-soul @beebo86 @happylittlereader @ziejustme @lou-larcher5 @thewulf @purplephantomwolf @chasing-liberosis @chillyleclerc @chanthereader @annoyingmoonballoon @summissss @evieepepi08 @havaneseoger08 @celesteblack08 @gulphulp @fandom1ruined2me @celebstories @starfusionsworld @jspitwall @sierruhh @georgeparisole @dakotatankbig @youcannotcancelquidditch @zzonsbeek @tallbrownhairsarcastic @mellowarcadefun @ourteenagetragedy @otako5811 @countingstacksandpanicattacks @peachiicherries @formulas-bitch @cherry-piee @hopexcroc @mirrorball-6 @spilled-coffee-cup @mehrmonga @bigsimperika @blueberry64857959 @eiraethh @lilypadlover @curseofhecate @alliwantisadonut @the-fem1n1ne-urge @21stcenturytaegi @dark-night-sky-99 @spideybv28 @i-wish-this-was-me @tallrock35 @butterfly-lover @barnestatic @landossainz @darleneslane @barcelonaloverf1life @r0nnsblog @ilove-tswizzle @kapsylia @laneyspaulding19 @lazybot @malynn @cassielikereading @viennakarma @teamnovalak @landosgirlxoxo @marie0v @jlb20416 @yourbane

[hypewinter]

So I've seen a lot of posts that use Danny Todd or Respawn in reincarnation ideas. Couple that with a severe lack of sleep and a desperation to not do any or the various assignments I have and I got a gloriously stupid idea. What if Danny were constantly reincarnating?

We begin with Thomas Wayne Jr. Older brother to Bruce Wayne and brain damaged serial killer turned acrobat? (Boy the 70s were wild) anyhow after Thomas Jr. heroically takes a bullet for his brother, the higher powers that be decide he was given a rotten hand in life and decide to let him reincarnate.

Enter Danny Todd who has yet another tragic life. He tries to shield his brother from the terrors of the world and give him a good life. He even joins a gang and dirties his hands so Jason doesn't have to. The unfortunately ends with Danny Todd losing his life with the fire escape he's on collapses. The powers that be cough awkwardly as they realize this new life was just as terrible as the first. Therefore they try again.

Bam! Daniel Fenton comes bursting onto the scene and his life is actually pretty good. Sure his parents are a little obsessed with their research but by no means are they neglectful. Plus Danny is smart, talented, and driven. What a great life, nothing could possibly go wrong with this one! Until Danny turns 14 and promptly gets zapped. Now this right here opens up a whole new can of worms as Danny's newfound half ghost status gives him access to his past lives. Nothing too grand. Just little memories or feelings here and there but these glimpses seem to be getting clearer as time goes on. Too bad there's no time to focus on that though with all of these new ghost baddies stream in. Speaking of ghost baddies, during the events of TUE, Danny ends up sacrificing his life to save his family and erase Dan from the time stream.

So.... he's dead. Again. Geez what is with this kid dying younger and younger? Why can't you just live a long happy and fulfilling life!? *Sigh* That's it. Maybe what your soul really needs is some peaceful eternal rest. Wait where did he go? What do you mean he fell into a reincarnation pool? Who did he reincarnate as?!?

Respawn, son of Slade Wilson and Talia Al Ghul, opens his eyes. He has four sets of memories competing for dominance in his mind. Which leads him to be very confused and given his parentage/training, very angry. The only times things ever seemed to calm were when he was stalking Damian around his new family. Is that what he needs? The Waynes? But they already have Damian. Respawn would just be the spare if he joined them. He didn't like that. Replacement however - though still mildly annoying - he could get behind it.

[smogfromkortalmombat1]

MK1 Lin Kuei headcannons (Cute childhood edition)

Bi-Han

As a child, he was a big fiction reader. Sci-fi, mystery, there was nothing he didn't read. Non-fiction he saved purely for his studies- it bored him completely any other time.

He wasn't one for animal companionship, but he did have an exception as a child - the Lin Kuei temples had quite a few stray cats. He got quite attached to them, feeding and caring for them frequently. In return, he got lots of impromptu snuggles from them during meditation sessions.

A favourite past-time hobby of his was carving from wood. He could spend hours at his desk working away on a project. Statues of dragons and mythical creatures from the books he read all sit on a shelf in his room, handmade by him. He treasures them all dearly.

Though not a favourite hobby of his, he did take up knitting at one point, after watching his mother. He was never good at it, but he did enjoy it. He kept stacks of random wool in his room because of this.

Speaking of his mother, Bi-Han was a complete mama's boy as a child. His mother was his go-to for all things advice. He loved her dearly.

Kuai Liang

He loved cooking as a kid- mostly the eating part, but he enjoyed the satisfaction of making his own dish, just how he wanted it. He was, and still is, a massive fan of spicy food. If he can still feel his tongue, it isn't spicy enough.

He had a fascination with wildlife growing up- especially inverts like scorpions and tarantulas. He kept many in his room as a hobby over the years. As a child, he could spew fact upon fact about each creature like a crazy man, going on for literal hours if you let him.

His favourite animal he ever kept was an Emperor scorpion. He let Tomas name him, which resulted in the abomination that is Sprinkles Jr. Despite her awful name, Kuai loved and cared for her well.

Had very little patience for a lot of things as a kid compared to his adult self. He always had to be on the move, doing something he deemed fun or exciting, rather than things that were demanded of him- for example, studying or meditating. He tried, of course, but he struggled with it for the longest time until eventually he cooled down with age.

Total daddy's boy. Absolutely adored his father growing up, and strongly idolised him. He still does as an adult.

Tomas

His native tongue is Czech, but as a child he knew bits of Russian and German. He also knew bits and pieces of English, though not nearly as well. He joined the family not knowing Chinese at all, and had to be taught. Luckily, he picked it up fairly quickly.

His favourite animal as a child were foxes. He also adored big, goofy dogs- the fluffier the better.

Most of his childhood clothes (before his grey clothing choice was finalised) were hand-me-downs from his older brothers. This meant, for a long while, Tomas wandered around in a weird dual mix of old, faded blues and yellows.

The first trick he ever learnt with his smoke magic was how to levitate, though it was an accident and out of his control, for the most part. He used to freak both Kuai Liang and Bi-Han out by randomly floating upwards sometimes, or, even worse, randomly falling out of the sky, leading to one of them having to run and catch him.

He was a mama's boy as a kid, with both his blood mother and adoptive mother. He loves them both dearly.

Thank you for reading have a gif:

[dianagj-art]

Is there Oneion facts we can know about?

THIS HAS BEEN ON MY DRAFTS FOR SO LONG OMG IM SO SORRY, HERE'S SOME FACTS ABOUT THE BABY BOY

(the baby boy in question is ten years older than me)

I'm gonna go canon stuff first, then some fun crossover stuff:

The version that I'm using is 35-ish years old (a few years before the movie events), he's been the leader of the resistance for around a decade

He still has all his brothers and loves them very much, would kill and die for them

Way more chill than One is right now, still a beast on combat

One can manipulate vines only using the seeds Draxum makes, Oneion can summon them at will from the ground with little issue

In the story he mostly goes by Leo now, very few people call him One (but lets keep calling him Oneion to avoid confusion)

The protesis he uses is an old one from Raph, but he outgrew it and gave it to Oneion when he lost his arm. It was a bit ridiculously big for him at the time, it's still a *little* too big for Oneion, but by the time he's 40-something (movie events) its gonna fit right in

The scarf he has is not the same One has, but as One's it was a gift from Draxum, he has carry the same scarf the whole apocalypse

Still has a lot of gold accents on his clothes

He's still the best fighter out of the four turtles

He loves being around kids but doesn't, he's afraid of hurting them. He knows he didn't had a normal childhood but is not 100% aware of what part was normal and ok and what part is not, and he rathers not take a chance and do something wrong.

He ends up enjoying teaching martial arts, tho he doesn't like being called sensei, and he wont spar with anyone bellow his level (again, being afraid of hurting them)

Casey Jr becomes the exception to these

Crossover stuff!

he can and will beat the shit out of One, he knows how much One can take so he's not really worried about that

when the apocalypse started he basically lost contact with the multiverse, so no fun crossovers for him. Until by the power of "@intotheelliwoods started doing fanart of Oneion before I even had finished his design" he had access to the multiverse again!

First of his "old frieds" he saw was Poptart and Sprout (2al huggy leos) and first thing he did was to hug Sprout<3 (well, he first kinda yelled at him but I'll draw that some day)

I don't think he has met again with the rest of the separated council? I don't remember if I've stick him in any crossover situations

he loves hugging Poptart, he's teddy bear size<3 and he'll never get tired of calling him his friend and loving him "the way he deserves" because he still hasn't forgive himself for the shitty way he treated Poptart (dont worry about it)

he fucking destroyed the attempt of a slau/2al crossover time line

he says he's fine by it but he keeps bringing up the "jawbreaker" incident, I dont think he got over it, actually

he hangs out with Sprout a lot

something something, being with Sprout makes him feel like a kid again, and it makes Sprout feel like a kid again because Oneion reminds him of Big Leo

Sprout and Oneion have a spa day, they deserve it<3 they also go shopping together. Also, they are not exactly good at cooking but they try and they love working together on the kitchen

Oneion got the "Oneion" nickname by Sprout and Poptart

he stronk. he can lift Sprout with no problem, and even Toast

if you wanna have a good time scroll down the besties tag on ell's blog or mine (2)

[blossom-works]

Home for My Heart: At His Happiest

Almost a whole year of Kylian getting to experience one of the happiest times of his life with the woman he loves the most. 

Warnings: Mentions of miscarriage, descriptions of vaginal birth, vomiting

---

With a big smile, you watch your husband do a celebratory dance. He still has your pregnancy test in hand, and Kylian’s dimples are on full display. With two big steps, he goes back to the white box and silently squeals at the crochet cleats and ball. While you cannot entirely see his face, only the side of it, you know that Kylian is thinking about the child that will one day be here. He places one of the cleats into the palm of his hand, and you watch as Kylian marvels at its size. It barely fills the length of his palm. Kylian puts everything back in the box and magically appears in front of you. His hands cup your cheeks and he plants one of the biggest kisses he can on your lips. Kylian’s passionate kiss is a bit too passionate for your liking. He is starting to hurt your cheeks with how hard he is pushing against them. 

You pull his hands off your face and your face away from his. “I’ll take it that you’re happy.” 

“Chérie, c'est la meilleure nouvelle que j'ai jamais entendue ! Nous allons être parents ! Nous devons le dire à nos familles !“ You have to flinch at how loud Kylian has gotten. Honey, that's the best news I've ever heard! We are going to be parents! We need to tell our families!

Now it is your turn to cup his cheeks. “I know you’re excited, but I want us to hold off on telling people.”

“Huh? But why?” Just what in the world is holding you back? This is probably the best thing that has happened to you two. Why not celebrate it with your friends and families? 

Putting on your serious face, you say “Look, I’m just as excited as you are, but the first trimester is the most crucial. I don’t want to freak you out or make you worried, but about eighty percent of miscarriages happen during the first trimester. I don’t want to get everyone excited only to-” you say the last part in a whisper. “Lose the baby.”

Your talk of reality brings Kylian down from his high. Hearing what you have to say, Kylian nods his head and kisses your forehead. Hugging you, Kylian tells you that you two have nothing to worry about and that he cannot wait to tell everyone that you will be parents. The box of goodies sits on the table while you and Kylian fantasize about life as parents. 

“What do you think it’ll be?”

“I would have to say boy since your family has a lot of boys.”

“But your family has a lot of girls.”

“Yeah, but you’re the one who gives the last chromosome. X or Y.”

Kylian shrugs his shoulders to your truth. His hand has not left your stomach. If anything, that one spot is getting a bit sweaty. You tried to move his hand, but Kylian swiped your hand away. 

“What about names?” You ask. 

“Mmmm...Kylian Jr.?”

You lift your head at him and raise a brow. “I refuse to let my child be named Jr.”

“What? Why not? Kylian is a great name.”

“No, you’re just fueling your own ego. Besides, I will refuse to have sex with you if your child has the same name as you.”

Kylian looks at you like you just grew two heads, but the more he thinks about it, the more your outrageous statement makes sense. He grimaces at the thought and agrees that Kylian Jr. is off the table.

“What about football? Would you want our kids to pursue a career in it? Especially if we have a son.”

Your husband hums. “I would like them to at least love the sport, but if they have a passion for it like I did, then I would want them to go after their passion.”

“And what if they don’t like football?”

“It would break my heart.” He tells honestly. “But I can’t force it on them. Especially when they get older.”

You and Kylian talk more and more about your future with kids. Going over all the “what ifs” your heads can think of. The more you guys talk about the baby forming in your womb, the more excited Kylian is. He has always been good with children and has always wanted kids of his own, but he chose to focus on his career. When Kylian got older, the urge to settle down and have kids grew. He is lucky that you wanted kids just as bad as he did because if he had to wait any longer, Kylian may just end up going crazy. When you were just dating, Kylian saw how you treated your nieces and nephews. You loved and doted on them as much as you could, but you would also scold them if they got into trouble. Kylian just knew you would make a great mother, and he only hopes that he can be a greater father. 

A Couple Weeks Later: 

(Bold dialogue in quotations in this section means that someone is speaking in Spanish)

You let out a loud sigh as you close the lid of your water bottle. When you made the appointment to visit the clinic, the woman on the phone told you that you have to drink at least thirty-two ounces of water an hour before you get to your appointment. You thought that it would be easy since your water bottle is thirty-two ounces but drinking it in a limited time is a lot to ask. Especially when you cannot use the bathroom until after the appointment ends. You hear your husband laugh at how annoyed you are. 

“Vous vous amusez la bas?“ You glare at how much fun Kylian is having at your expense. Having fun there?

“Shut up. I can feel my bladder expanding with water alone.” You say as you fix your posture to make yourself as comfortable as you can. “If I pee on myself, I’m gonna send the the bill from the cleaners to the clinic.”

“Ha ha ha! We’re almost there. I’m sure your bladder can wait a couple more moments.”

The more you grovel in your water misery, the slower Kylian is driving. After wishing and wishing for traffic to move faster, your wish is granted. Kylian reverse parks the Mercedes. Thanks to his reputation, the owner of the clinic agreed to do all of your appointments before they open to the public. Of course, it came with a higher bill, but it was worth it in Kylian’s eyes. He does not want the media to get a hold of your pregnancy just yet. Since front window tinting is illegal in the country of Spain, Kylian has to be extra careful on the road to avoid unwanted attention. He calls the front desk to tell them that you guys are here, and when the receptionist sees his Mercedes, she hurriedly unlocks the door. 

“Welcome! Let me show you to the room. Your OB should be there shortly.”

A fact that you forgot in your agony of water, is that the OB clinic you are at is part of the hospital you work at. It is at a different location, but under the same board or management. It is the reason why you and Kylian were able to make this request so easily. You also know how the entire establishment works so trust is a big player.

Kylian thanks the woman as she leads you down a hallway. She stops at the third door on the right and motions for you two to enter. She tells you to sit at the exam table and reminds you both that the OB will be here shortly. 

“Did you finish drinking you thirty-two ounces of water?”

“Mmm-hmm.”

“Alright. I’m just going to take down some basic information and I’ll get out of your hair.”

Once the lady finished jotting down said information, she closes the door to leave you and Kylian alone. Being the nosy person you are, you get down from the exam table and snoop around the cabinets and drawers. 

“What are you doing?” Kylian asks you in disbelief. If you remember correctly, this is the first time Kylian has been in a clinic room with you, so he does not know that you like to prowl the room before the doctor comes in. 

“I’m a curious person.” You shrug like it is no big deal. Most if not all the clinics you have been to have the same materials in it, but there may be that one time where something weird is discovered. Kylians shakes his head at your antics, but lets you continue. A knock on the thick door interrupts your snooping and you hurriedly sit back down on the exam table. Sending Kylian into a laughing fit. 

“Come in.”

The OB closes the door around her and greets Kylian and you. 

“Hello! I’m Alejandra Sanchez and I’ll be your OB for the rest of your pregnancy. Now before I start the exam, have you had any symptoms? Pregnancy related or not?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“And you have no known allergies, correct?”

“Uh-huh.”

Once the OB has everything she needs, Alejandra asks you to lay down on the table and to lift your shirt to your chest. The clinic had asked you to wear loose fitting clothes so the water-based gel does not ruin your clothing. She also asked you to wear a sports bra in case the underwire interferes with the sonogram. Alejandra uses a clean towel to roll down the waist band of your pants enough to expose your entire torso. The waistband is now where your pubic bone is. 

Alejandra warns you that the gel is cold before applying it. Kylian scoots his chair so he can sit right next to you, but out of the OB’s way. She places the transducer on the gelled area and starts searching for the peanut of a baby. You see Kylian pulling out his phone to record the upcoming moment. Alejandra starts pointing out the different organs the machine is picking up. She puts a bit more pressure where your uterus is. She moves the transducer left, right, up, and down and there it is. Your baby. 

“Here we go.” Alejandra says as she points to the white shaped peanut. With her free hand she explains that the black bubble your baby is in is the placenta. She then uses her free hand to check the baby’s growth, and that is when she plays the most beautiful sound a person can play. 

The rhythmic beat of such a small heart is truly a blessing to hear. Unknowingly, you and Kylian’s grip on the other’s hand has loosened. Too in awe at the sight and sound of your child. Your first child. Kylian’s camera perfectly captures the screen, but it does not do the scan justice. 

“Your baby is growing just fine, and their heartbeat is regular. It looks like your baby is about six weeks old. Meaning-” Alejandra does some quick math. “Your baby should be due sometime in August of next year. Would you like me to send a recording of the heartbeat to your email?”

Kylian immediately agrees and gives her the appropriate information. Alejandra thanks your husband and leaves you two to enjoy the moment with each other. Neither of you say anything. Not that anything needs to be said. You two could look at the scan for ages and never get bored of it. The sight may be insignificant for some, but that is just because they do not understand the wonders of it. Knowing that this baby is to grow inside of you makes you selfish. A big part of you does not want to give birth to this child and have them all to yourself. 

Neither of you realize that about ten minutes have gone by just staring and listening. Alejandra’s knocking brings you both back to reality. 

“Excuse me, I’ve sent the recording to your email Mr. Mbappe. We also have about twenty minutes before we open to the public.”

Alejandra then wipes the gel off your stomach and hands you a copy of today’s scans. She tells you when your next appointment is and that they will open their doors a little earlier for you. Your OB thanks you and Kylian for your time and congratulates you. She informs you that the lady who lets you in (her name is Fernanda), will be the one to check you out. 

Once you get yourself ready to leave, Kylian turns you around by your waist and hugs you to his chest. When you look up to him, he has a gentle smile on his lips, but eyes are the window to the soul. Through Kylian’s eyes you can see how happy he is. Happier than when he wins the World Cup, happier than when he scores a goal, and happier than when he married you. You can see how much he is looking forward to holding his child in his arms for the first time. You can see how much he is imagining his life as a father. You know that he cannot wait for the near future. 

Two and a Half Months Later (Approximately 15 Weeks Pregnant):

Moaning in agony you flush the toilet a third time in a row today. It was the beginning of the month when you started to feel the hormonal changes happening within your body. You started feeling nauseous around certain foods and you catch yourself going into emotional fits (after they are done). Most importantly, your body is rejecting almost everything you put in it. You have been heavily reliant on the prenatal vitamins you have, but those can only do so much. The only foods you can keep down are rice, cucumbers, and eggs (that have to be cooked a certain way or else you throw up). 

There was an instance where Kylian was cooking lunch for you two and you threw up due to the smell. It was not even appalling to the normal human nose, but your hormonal body said “no”. So anything Kylian wants to cook something for himself, you have to lock yourself in the bedroom and wait for the main floor to be aired out. This part of your pregnancy, not being able to have a meal with your husband, sucks the most. To try and normalize your change of behavior, you have opted to FaceTime whenever Kylian eats his meals. 

“Chérie, j'ai laissé ta bouteille d'eau sur ta table de chevet. Je vais préparer un dîner. Voulez-vous votre habitude?” Kylian calls out, semi-worried. He has sort of adjusted to your pregnancy symptoms, but he still worries about your overall health. Especially when you can only eat three types of foods. He just hopes that your symptoms will die down soon. Honey, I left your water bottle on your nightstand. I'm going to cook dinner. Want your usual?

You groan out a yes before you hurl into the toilet bowl for the nth time today. Who knew that a baby, who is the size of an apple as of right now, can make you barf your guts out so much. After one more round, you feel as if your body has nothing left for you to throw up. Ripping some toilet paper off its roll, you wipe your mouth and flush it down the toilet with the contents of your stomach. You spit into the sink before vigorously brushing your teeth. For good measure, you use extra-minty mouthwash. Satisfied with your clean and minty mouth, you gulp down some water, wincing when the water intensifies your fresh mouth. Knocking on the door, Kylian comes in with your meal in hand. He hands it to you while littering your forehead with kisses. 

“Comment vous sentez-vous?“ Kylian asks as he sets the bowl of food on a nearby surface to pull you in a hug. Since you have been sick, you have been losing some weight and that worries Kylian. He asked your OBGYN if they can do anything about your nausea, but they told Kylian that he will just have to wait for it to pass. The prenatal prescribed to you should help alleviate the sickness, but every pregnancy is different. If the clinic upped your prenatal dosages, it may end up causing harm to the baby and you. How do you feel?

Exasperatedly you say, “Like a demon wants to crawl out of me.” 

Kylian laughs and plants a kiss on the top of your head before kneeling down to your stomach. 

“You’re not even born yet and you’re already causing your mom trouble.” Your husband lightly flicks a random spot on your abdomen. Punishing his child for their wrongdoings. “I’m gonna eat and clean up, okay?”

Not a beat later are you rushing back to the bathroom for another round of hurling. 

Three Months Later (Approximately 29 Weeks Pregnant):

You and Kylian knew that you pregnancy can be hidden for so long. Especially when you are shopping for your baby’s arrival. Online shopping is wonderful but when it comes to the big supplies like cribs, strollers, bouncers, and highchairs to name a few, it is best to shop in person. So, Kylian pulled out his celebrity card and called a few shops a week before to ask if they could close their store for a certain time frame. He also hired a bigger than usual security team for the day. 

When you and Kylian arrived at the local mall, you were greeted by a group of journalists, photographers, and fans (word gets out quick). To keep face, Kylian smiles at his fans and waves at the reporters. All of which you sort of ignore as your husband told you to do. It takes you two about ten minutes to get to the first store. Not because it is deep inside the mall, but because you had to fight through the crowd. As soon as you entered the store with three security guards, the rest stood in front of the store entrance. 

“Regarde ça! Seuls deux de mes doigts peuvent rentrer dedans! Allons s'en approprier!“ Kylian calls out to you while showing you his amazement. Look at this! Only two of my fingers can fit in! Let’s get it!

You take the adorably tiny shoes and look at the tag. “Kylian, these are meant for newborns to four months old. The baby won’t even be able to walk, let alone crawl at that age.”

“Mais bébé ~” Kylian whines. Sternly, you tell your husband “no” and drag him over before he can sneak it to one of the employees. But babe ~

“You still have the list of what we need to buy, right?”

Kylian hums as he pulls out his phone and clicks on the “notes” app. Out of the corner of your eyes you spot something that you just absolutely need to buy. Your pregnant self pushes your husband out of your way as you run towards the item. 

“Babe! Look what I found!”

You pull the item off the shelf and proudly show it to your husband (and everyone who is watching from the display windows) with a big grin. 

“Oh, come on.” Kylian laughs. 

In your hands is a fluffy rug in the shape of a sea turtle. The head is stuffed while the rest of its body is nothing but soft fabric. “It matches the theme of the nursery! We have to get it!”

“But don’t we already have a rug in the nursery?”

“So? The rug can have a rug. You can never have too many rugs.”

“You’re just saying that cause you put rugs in every room you build in the Sims.”

“Yeah so?”

Kylian touches the rug and holds it up in front of him. “It is a cute rug.”

With doe eyes you say, “I know! And we can always use it in the living room for tummy time. It’s multi-purposeful!”

“Tummy time?” Kylian asks confused. He is still learning about baby terminology so something like “tummy time” is still foreign to him. 

“Yes. You know, when you put the baby on their stomach for a while.”

“Oh ouais. Pourquoi les gens font-ils ça de toute façon ?” Oh, yeah. Why do people do that anyway? 

“It’s to help the baby build their neck muscles. Et si un bébé reste trop longtemps sur le dos, sa tête prendra une forme irrégulière.” You show Kylian a comparitive picture of a baby’s head. One side is a baby that was allowed to have tummy time, and the other shows a baby that was always on their back. And if a baby stays on their back too long, their head will take on an irregular shape.

After Kylian hands the rug to an employee, together you look for a suitable playpen and a portable crib with an attachable changing table. The more you look at the different options for a pen, the more you two agree that you will wait to get one. It will be a while before the baby even starts to crawl. On top of that, where will you put the playpen, and how much will you have to buy?

“We’ll just change them on the ground or the couch. We should get a bouncer instead and have a corner or something for baby supplies.”

The two of you spend a total of four hours at the mall. All of the bigger items that Kylian bought he asked the employees to send them to your home. Smaller items like clothes (and the shoes Kylian dearly wanted) were in the shopping bags in his hand. When you two get home, there is a package on your doorstep. Since your home is privately gated, anytime someone needs to make a delivery, the driver must call either you or Kylian to get the gate open. Happily, you take the box and barge into your own home and run to the dining room table. 

Squealing, you take out the cushioning and throw it onto the floor to reveal the handcrafted item. When you hold it up by the top look, you look at the craft in awe. On Etsy you ordered a sea turtle themed mobile. Your heart clenches at the thought of it one day, being the first thing your child sees when they wake up. 

“Look Kyky! It’s adorable!” 

Your husband smiles as he puts the shopping bags on the table. Kylian stands behind you and holds you close by your waist. Slowly, he starts to say your bodies. 

“It’s perfect babe. You did a good job picking it out.”

The mobile has three turtles per your request. Two big sea turtles and one baby right in the middle. The baby turtle is on its back while the parents surround their child. Different shades of blue, felt balls are attached to the top of the strings to make it look like the family of turtles are swimming in the open sea. Kelp and coral hangs from the bottom from various heights. If you look closely, one of the turtles has lashes on it. The mommy turtle: you.

“Le bébé va adorer.” Kylian says. He gently turns your head to the side and softly kisses your lips. Peck after peck he kisses you. Each lasting a second longer than the last. Kylian does not know what was going through your head during today’s shopping trip, but in his, the reality that he is going to be a father is getting closer. Waking up in the random hours of the night is horrible, but getting to hear his baby’s laugh outweighs the con. Becoming the world’s best football player has always been Kylian’s goal in life, but being a father came close. Now, both goals in life are about to come true. The baby will love it.

One Month Later (Approximately 34 Weeks Pregnant):

Humming, you have a finger on your chin thinking about where objects should go. Everything has to be perfect or else you will not be able to sleep. Meanwhile, as you are taking your marry time, your poor husband is standing next to the crib. Awaiting your orders. Kylian is shaking his right leg while he tries to regulate his breathing. He knows how meticulous you are with objects and their assigned places, but damn. Can you please make up your mind? First you wanted the dresser next to the crib but then it seemed cramped. Then you did not want the crib directly in front of any windows cause you are scared the sun might blind your baby. Then Kylian had to keep scootching the rocking chair a little bit further from the corner so when you rock, the back does not hit the wall. 

“I think it’ll be easier to put the crib there and the dresser across it. The cubbies can go over here. What do you think Kyky?”

“I think this’ll be the last time I’m moving anything.” Kylian grumbles as he swipes the sweat off his forehead with his shirt. 

Feeling bad, you cup his cheeks and kiss him. Giving him a couple of pecks in hopes that it will completely erase his annoyance. “I’m sorry. I just want everything to be perfect when the baby comes.” 

Kylian sighs and this time, kisses you. His bigger and slightly sweaty hands caress your belly from under your (his) shirt. Your baby has been an active one and definitely takes after their father. Every time the baby kicks your uterus, you want to slap Kylian each time for passing on his genes. The first time Kylian felt the baby’s kick, he would not stop touching your belly in hopes of feeling the baby kick again. Unfortunately for you, whenever the baby kicks, it feels like you have to pee. First you spent all your time in the bathroom throwing up, and now you spend all your time to pee, and sometimes you do not even pee! 

“Je sais bébé, mais peux-tu s'il te plait finaliser là où tu veux tout ? Tu me tues ici.” Your husband begs. You happily nod and tell him where to put the furniture, promising him that this is the last time. Taking your word for it, Kylian puts the dresser on the opposite wall of the dresser and the cubbies underneath the window. He makes sure that the rug is nice and centered. You hand him a leveler, and everything is nice and even. Kylian insisted on putting the furniture himself and not hiring people to do it for him. You were a bit iffy since Kylian is not the best with tools, but you did chaperone him. Your dad taught you all about tools when you were growing up, so you are more than experienced in this department. You have to hand it to Kylian, he did a good job once he knew what tool was what. You do have to dock some points because Kylian refused to read the manuals and even wanted to open every pack of screws and bolts at the same time. I know baby, but can you please finalize where you want it all? You are killing me here.

Happily, you thank Kylian with a big kiss on his lips and tell him that you will get him some water. He thanks you and watches you waddle into the hallway to go downstairs. Finally having the time to relax, Kylian sits down on the rocking chair and leans back into it. The more he sits in silence, the more real this room feels. This room is for his baby. His baby that is currently growing in your womb. During the first few months the baby will be sleeping in your shared room, but after that, they will be getting their own room. This room. The one that Kylian had to rearrange four times. He looks at the cart where most of the baby essentials and your breast pump are at. Just two weeks ago you two traveled to America and had your baby shower. 

Baby showers are not as popular in Europe as they are in America, and it would be easier for your family if you had the party there. It was a joyous time and with how high strong your hormones were, you did cry a couple of times. While your baby has yet to be born, they are surrounded by love throughout the world (and the internet. Kylian’s fans have been guessing what the name and sex of the baby is). Feeling reality hit him, Kylian wipes his hand over his face as he looks at the crib he struggled to build. His baby will one day sleep there and he or you will have to make your way into this room in the middle of the night for feedings and diaper changes. The dresser will double as a changing table and the cubbies are for the books you were gifted at the baby shower, and for the different knickknacks you two bought. 

“You okay?” Your voice and the way you caress his shoulder knocks Kylian out of his daydream. He takes the water and chugs it down before telling you he is fine, kissing the hand on his shoulder. 

“Je vais bien. J'ai juste hâte que le bébé arrive.” I'm doing well. I just can't wait for the baby to come.

“Me too.” You whisper. “Now help me get these pictures up, and we’ve gotta set the mobile up. Oh, and help me fold the baby’s clothes. They just finished drying.” You list more to-do’s after another in what Kylian believes is a never ending list.

...Shit...

One Month Later (Approximately 38 Weeks Pregnant):

About a month ago you started your maternity leave. It was great in the beginning since you got to sleep in and do whatever you want, but it got boring soon after since you would be home alone. That only lasted a week though. When you two found out your due date, Kylian had a long meeting with the club’s management department about taking leave for a few months towards the end of your pregnancy. Luckily, they ended up agreeing but it would mean that Kylian’s contract would be extended for a few months to make up for his absence since your baby will arrive during the season. 

Kylian bought the large property not just for its privacy, but the yard space it offered. When you two were in a long-distance relationship and things were getting serious, you frequently talked about wanting a large backyard space for your future kids to run around in, and maybe a dog or two. When you two were house hunting, Kylian kept that wish in mind. He even requested the retail agent to only show them houses with a large yard. You two had fun viewing multiple houses and had even more fun re-designing your home. European fridges are small and while you got used to them, you wanted your big, American fridge back. While you mainly focused on the inside of the home, Kylian focused on the outside. The yard space was big enough to have a fully sized football field installed, a pool and a patio with a built-in grill, a bon-fire pit, and more than enough empty space for little kids to run around in. This is truly where Kylian and you will raise your family. If you had to one day move, Kylian may have a hard time selling this place. 

While doing the dishes you felt a bit more uncomfortable than usual but brushed it off and focused on getting this pain in the ass food off this plate. Honestly, you feel like SpongeBob that one time he could not get that gunk off the plate at the Krusty Krab. Where could you find a laser and tank without alarming the feds? After you successfully cleaned the plate, you took off the silicone gloves and cleaned off the counter and sink. You then took it upon yourself to sweep the floors and vacuum the rugs and wipe down any dirty surface. You then went into one of the storage closets to get your cleaning bucket to clean the bathrooms. This house has about seven full bathrooms with two half sized bathrooms. Now, you do not plan on cleaning all of them, just the ones that are frequently occupied and inspecting the ones that are not. 

When you are satisfied with your handiwork, you check on the laundry that you put in the dryer before you started cleaning. You fold yours and Kylian’s clothes and put them where they belong and go to the bathroom to collect your skincare, shampoo, and conditioner. You place the products in a small bag before mentally checking to see if you need to do anything else before leaving. Your double and even triple check but nothing comes into mind. Bag in hand you go downstairs where Kylian is playing on his PS5 with Hakimi. 

“Honey!”

Kylian’s eyes are focused on the screen in front of him while his fingers are busy pressing different buttons in a sequence. “Huh?” he yells out.

“We gotta go.”

Confused, Kylian tells his friend to hold on and takes off his headset. “Go? Where are we going?”

“The hospital, I’m in labor.”

From your perspective, it looks like Kylian’s mind is buffering. Like you can physically see the wheel spinning. The Frenchman quickly throws his headset off and rushes past you to get the car keys. 

“C’mon cherie!”

Instead of walking out the open door, you sit on the couch where Kylian was occupied not long ago and put the headset on. 

“Hakimi? Hey, it’s nice to talk to you too. Listen, Kylian will have to leave the game because he has to go. The hospital. No, everything’s fine, I’m just in labor. Yeah, it is exciting. I’m a little scared. Thank you! Yeah, I’ll tell him to Facetime you when the baby comes. See ya soon!”

You exit the game and turn the gaming station off and put the controllers and headset away. Getting off the couch was a bit of a struggle since your center of gravity is off, but you managed to do so. 

“What are you doing? We need to get to the hospital!” Kylian is absolutely confused at why you have not left the house yet. You are about to have his baby for crying out loud!

“Hold on, Ky. I gotta put the dishes up.” 

“What!” Kylian chases after you and tries to coax you to get into the car. “Why are you drying dishes?”

“I can’t come back to a dirty home. What will the baby think?” You justify it like it is the most obvious thing in this world. 

“The baby won’t even be able to see!”

“Alright, well I still don’t wanna come back to a dirty home.” You say as you grab a clean rag and dry off the semi-wet dishes while putting them into the cabinets and drawers of the kitchen. “Some women put on their makeup before going to the hospital. This is my equivalent. Now if you want, you can help me out so we can get to the hospital sooner.”

Completely dumbfounded, Kylian shoves the keys into his pocket and grabs a rag. He takes dish after dish off the rack faster than Speedy Gonzales and tosses them wherever they belong. 

“Careful! I don’t wanna have to sweep the floor again.” 

Huffing, Kylian is a tad bit careful when putting the dishes away while still maintaining his speed. Thanks to his help, the dishes are dried and put away. Kylian tosses the rag on the counter and pulls the keys out of his pants.

“Can we - What are you doing now?”

“Relax hysteria. I’m just putting the rags away so they can dry properly.” As soon as you put the wet rags on the oven handle, Kylian drags you out of the kitchen and towards the car. “Wait! I need to check to make sure nothing else needs to be done!”

Kylian unlocks the door and practically shoves you into the passenger seat and snatches the bag of bathroom products out of your hand and chucks it into the backseat. “Chérie, je me fiche que la maison brûle. Vous êtes en travail. Je t'emmène à l'hôpital.” Honey, I don't care if the house is burning. You are in labor. I'm taking you to the hospital.

You pout while putting your seatbelt on while Kylian does the same. “I don’t get why not. I entered labor while doing the dishes.” You mumble.

“Quoi!“ Kylian shouts. 

“Yeah, I felt some contractions while doing the dishes.”

“You finished the dishes like two hours ago!” Kylian swears that his brain is about to explode from how nonchalant you are acting. You mean to tell him that you have been in labor for two hours and did not tell him!

“I know.” You shrug. “I was just following the 411 rule. I had to make sure that the contractions were about four minutes apart, last for a minute, and for the duration for an hour.”

Kylian cannot believe what he is hearing. An “error” sign might as well pop out from behind him. Instead of continuing this argument, Kylian ignites the engine and drives off. 

“Wait!” You yell at him. Kylian stomps on the breaks and asks what is wrong, panicking, thinking that the baby is already trying to come out of you right now. 

“Did you lock the door?”

Dear God, you are lucky that Kylian loves you or else you would be walking to the hospital. 

At the Hospital:

When you two were admitted to the hospital, you were given a private room and a hospital gown to change into. After you got hooked up to different machines and stuck with needles, Kylian left the room to get the duffle bag and the skincare you packed from the car. A couple of days ago you packed one of Kylian’s duffle bags with clothes for you, him, and the baby along with some essentials. When Kylian got to the car, he made sure the car seat was stable before going back to your room. Since you got to the hospital, your contractions got a bit more uncomfortable but not painful. You described it as having to take a solid poop. Your words, not his. 

Six Hours Since Arrival:

You ended up getting an epidural when the contractions got worse. Originally, you wanted an as natural birth as possible, but the pain was just too unbearable. You even cried from how bad the pain was. Kylian has never felt worse than he did. He could not do much but just watch and let the nurses do their job. Kylian tried to put on some smoothing music to help you relax but it just annoyed you. All you wanted to do was lay on the hospital in silence. You did not even want to be touched by anyone. When you got the epidural and slept for about half an hour, you felt a lot better and apologized to Kylian. 

“It’s fine, babe. You’re about to give birth to our baby. You can practically get away with anything.”

“Then~ Does that mean I can slap you and blame it on labor?” You joke. 

Kylian laughs and shakes his head. “I don’t know about that. Besides, you’re numb from your waist below so you can’t blame the labor pains.” He kisses you on the lips. 

You ask him if he has eaten anything, and he said that he ordered some food from a local restaurant. He ordered it under a pseudonym and asked the staff to watch out for it. Kylian did not want the media to get a whiff of what was happening. The nurse understood and asked her co-worker who is at the front desk to call her when the food arrives. You are a little jealous that your husband gets to eat but you are stuck with crappy jello cups. The doctors said that the clear foods and drinks should minimize complications but all you heard was that bread and rice is off the table. 

Echoing in the room is a heartbeat, your baby’s. Your baby is doing fine but you were warned that it will take at least twelve hours for the baby to arrive. Since this is your first birth, it is going to take your body a while to get the hang of things. Currently, you are only four centimeters dilated. 

Kylian lays his head on your chest, just at the top of your stomach and caresses the engorged abdomen. Heartstrings tugged; you caress Kylian’s head as you two listens to the beat of your child’s heart. A sound so soothing that both of you fall asleep to it. 

Sixteen Hours Since Arrival:

Your legs are propped on stirrups and people are crowded around you. Kylian is by your side to offer his support. Your anesthetic dosage was lessened so you know when to push. You are supposed to push during contractions since it will be easier for the baby to travel down the birth canal. You can only know when to push if you can feel your vagina being ripped in half. When it comes to actually pushing the baby out, you were told to use your core. A popular misconception is that when giving birth, you push like you would when pooping. The truth is that you use the same muscles when giving birth, but the right way to push is by tightening the muscles in your abdomen. 

“Está haciendo un gran trabajo, Sra. Mabppe. Puedo ver la cabeza de tu bebé.” You're doing a great job, Mrs. Mabppe. I can see your baby's head.

During your baby shower, your sisters told you to refuse the opportunity to be medically induced. With their experience and the words of their friends, it only makes birthing harder since the body is not naturally ready to deliver the baby. And it should take fewer pushes to deliver the baby. 

The doctor wiggles his hands between your vaginal walls and the baby’s head, lightly pulling the baby out. You tighten your core again and the baby’s bloody head is slowly coming out. The doctor encourages you to keep pushing and keeps gently pulling on the baby. 

“Tu vas bien, mon amour. Encore quelques essais et nous aurons notre bébé.” Kylian whispers to you as he squeezes your hand. The feeling of excitement and anxiety while playing during the final game of the the World Cup does not compare to the excitement and anxiety Kylian is feeling in this very hospital room. He does not realize it, but his entire body is shaking, and his eyes are dilated from how focused he is on you. You are doing well my love. A few more tries and we'll have our baby.

With his gloved hands, the doctor reaches further inside to turn the baby, so their shoulders are parallel to your vaginal opening. With a good grip and a last push from you, the doctor catches the slippery baby. The doctor turns the baby on their stomach to smack their back to get rid of any remaining amniotic fluids. With a couple of hits, the baby shows the room just how powerful their lungs are. 

“¡Él está aquí! ¡Diste a luz a un niño sano!“ The doctor congratulates you as hands your baby to one of the nurses to be cleaned off and examined after Kylian cuts the umbilical cord. A wave of relief washes over you and Kylian when you hear your baby’s cries. This is it. You two are parents. Your baby is born. You take deep breaths as two pairs of eyes are looking at the corner of the room. He is here! You gave birth to a healthy child!

“Aún no hemos terminado.” We’re not done yet. 

“¿Eh?“

One Hour Since Birth:

Your baby boy has been laying on your bare chest for about an hour now. An hour full of bliss as you get to finally hold your son after nine long months of waiting. One thing you have learned so far is that your son is a wiggler. He cannot stop moving his body until he deems himself comfortable. He loves to attempt to lift his head, but since he has not built up the necessary muscles, his head falls back onto your chest. It took him a while to stop crying when the nurse laid him down on you. Looking down at his head of black hair, you fall deeper in love with him. 

Matthew Mbappe Lottin. Born August XX, XXXX at 6:42 am. A weight of 3.7 kilograms at birth and forty-three centimeters long (about eight pounds and 16-17 inches long). 

When you and Kylian were deciding on what to name your son, you agreed to give him an English first name. Matthew has a Spanish and French version of it: Mateo and Mathieu. When your son gets older and is able to absorb more complex concepts, you and Kylian will teach Matthew his alternate names and how to spell them. 

Kylian has non-stop been taking pictures and videos of you and Matthew. For some unknown reason, you two have been whispering. The nurses and doctor told you that it would be better to talk in your full voice so the baby can get used to your voices, but you just cannot help yourself. Matthew is just so small and delicate that whispering is a go-to. Kylian sent a picture of Matthew to your families and close friends, letting them know of the joyous day. Ethan was the first to respond since he is usually up around this time. He has been spamming the group chat, demanding Kylian to Facetime him so he can meet his nephew. Your family lives on the east coast so it would be around midnight for them. It will be a while until they start demanding you to Facetime them. 

Being the big brother he is, Kylian completely ignores his younger brother’s request and puts his phone on “Do Not Disturb”. Your OBGYN told you that you can give Matthew to Kylian after the first feed. Every ten minutes or so she will pop in to see if your baby is ready to eat. A cue that most babies do when hungry is when they purse their lips. 

With your index finger, you repeat the same coos you have been telling your son while caressing his fuzzy and chubby cheeks. “Hey there little fellow. You like to sleep a lot, huh? Just like your dad.” You rub his slightly wrinkly back under the blanket that was placed on you two. One of Kylian’s hand is cupping the back of Matthew’s head while his thumb rubs it. 

“He’s so small.”

You jokingly scoff. “You try saying that after pushing him out of your vagina. I felt like I just birth a freaking watermelon.” Kylian laughs at your joke (you were not really joking though. Seriously, your cervix had to open wide enough to birth a damn watermelon). 

“Thank God I don’t have a vagina then.” He jokes back.

The nurse peeks her head back in to check on you and the baby. During the birthing process, you lost more blood than the doctor would have liked so they have been keeping an extra eye on you. She peeks over your shoulder and her eyes light up. 

“Parece que están listos para alimentarse.” She takes Matthew and asks you to sit up, Kylian aiding you. When you get situated, Matthew is placed in your arms as the nurse starts to massage your breast to stimulate it, preparing it for lactation. She tells you that after this feed, she will show you how to use a breast pump. Bottle-feeding Matthew will show how much he is actually eating. It seems that they are ready to feed. It seems that they are ready to feed.

After feeding and burping Matthew, you asked Kylian if he is ready to hold his son for the first time. Excited, he quickly takes off his shirt and holds his arms out. Laughing, you show him how to hold Matthew, making sure Kylian holds his tiny head up. Kylian awes as he shifts his arms in a more comfortable position. Your husband sits on the edge of the bed, keeping his eyes on his newborn son. This time, you are the one who is taking pictures and videos of Kylian and Matthew.  

Kylian holds Matthew close, the baby’s chubby cheek being squished against his father’s chest. You hand the new father a swaddle blanket so Matthew will not get cold. Like second nature, Kylian shifts Matthew, so he is laying vertically on his chest and then drapes the blanket over. In Kylian’s mind, no World Cup is a better prize than holding his child. 

Three Months Since Birth:

It has been an absolute blessing to witness Kylian being a father. From the poop explosions to spit ups, Kylian has been there for all of them. He only has a week left before he starts being an active athlete again. So, Kylian is savoring the time he has with you and Matthew. Speaking of Matthew:

“Awe~ You’re just having the best time of your life, huh?” You coo while recording your son. 

Contrary to your words, Matthew is not having the time of his life. In fact, he hates this. Tummy time absolutely sucks to him. He wants to be held by his momma and pappa, not laid on his stomach on some green and gray surface. It does feel nice on Matthew’s supple skin though but come on! He wants to be held! Matthew cries and yells while pumping his limbs in the air like a starfish, begging for you to pick him up. You record Matthew for a little longer, before you put your phone away and give the boy what he wants. 

You hold him up by his armpits and stand him up on your lap. Happy that he is being held, Matthew bends his legs in an attempt to jump or hop. He shoves his little fingers in his mouth and sucks the life out of them. While singing some nursery rhyme, you lift your son up in the air while making him dance a little. 

When Matthew first came home, Kylian took a picture of his little toes and posted it on his Instagram. So many fans and Kylian’s friends congratulated you two on becoming a family. Many of Kylian’s fans have been begging him for more baby content, and sometimes Kylian will indulge them. To keep your family’s privacy, Kylian has not and will not post a picture of Matthew’s face nor will he release the name of his son for a while longer. When Kylian introduced Matthew to the world, he wrote how happy he is to be a father and how well you did and are doing. Kylian never fails to brag about how awesome of a mother and a wife you are. 

You yell out to Kylian and ask if he can hand you a burping cloth so you can wipe away Matthew’s drool. Honestly, this kid drools more than a hungry mastiff. Instead of handing you the rag, Kylian picks up Matthew. 

“Babeas demasiado, ¿sabes? ¡Mancharás toda tu ropa y no te quedará nada!“ Your husband jokes. Matthew takes his hand out of his mouth and starts to shake them in the air, flicking his drool onto Kylian. You two laugh and while Kylian is cleaning your son up, you get a swaddle blanket ready. It is almost Matthew’s naptime, and he needs to eat beforehand. Kylian loves putting Matthew to sleep. He can see his little boy drift off to dreamland, safe in his arms. The only thing is that Kylian sucks at swaddling Matthew. He swears that it is easier to do a hat-trick than wrapping his baby in a blanket. You drool too much, you know? You will stain all your clothes and you will have nothing left!

You warm up the bottle and when you hand it to Kylian, Matthew immediately reaches for it. He loves holding his bottle, but Matthew does not have the fine motor skills to keep it upright, so you and Kylian have to assist him. As Kylian focuses on feeding Matthew, you focus on watching Kylian. At the beginning of your pregnancy, Kylian wondered if he would be a good father. With his busy schedule and all. You kept reassuring him that he will be a wonderful father to your child, and that he is worrying over nothing. You told him that while it might be hard for Kylian to balance work and family life, you know Kylian will do his best to be the father your child needs him to be. Besides, Kylian has you with him. You will fill in for when Kylian falls short just like how Kylian will fill in for you when you fall short. 

In a soft voice you can hear Kylian telling Matthew how much he will miss his son when he goes back to training. Sure, he will only be gone for only a few hours a day, but for those few hours Kylian will be away from his little family. Kylian tells Matthew that during games, he will dedicate two goals to Matthew. Each of the two people Matthew has brought great love to. The rocking motion puts Matthew to sleep. A habit of his that both you and Kylian love is that whenever Matthew sleeps, he likes to pout his lips. Lifting his son up, Kylian gently kisses his son’s pouted lips before putting him down in the bassinet set up in the living room. 

Relaxing in the quietness of your home, you and Kylian cuddle on the couch. A good thumb of rule is to try to nap whenever your baby naps. Peck after peck two pairs of lips lightly smack together. After a final kiss from Kylian’s lips, you both try to fall asleep. Like Matthew, you go to sleep knowing that you are safe in Kylian’s arms. Matthew may look like an example of CTRL-C, but you both share the love of feeling protected in Kylian’s embrace. 

[arrietty-rune]

Hello there ! Updated my AU The Steam Tales of Elmore and redesigned some characters since the first drawings were a bit meh

The story happens in a steampunk version of Elmore so news features and locations in the city, outside this, the citizens are (almost) the same as the show.

The story follow mainly the kids, being older here, having the routine as always. But strange things happens everywhere in the town and are called anomalies. They are recognizable by glitches and have different forms, like objects, weird crack on wall, floor and even... entities.

As they're shown to be dangerous to citizens, they have to be destroyed. A group of teens are working to fix or eliminate them as quickly as possible, but finding them could take a while. Nobody know where they are coming from and why they attack people.

You can like/rb this post without reading what's next!! For some being interested by more (including a small description of each character), here we go ♡

These characters are the common/main ones, idk about a main protagonist ngl !! Here's a small description of each of them !

Gumball Watterson (15 years old): An optimistic kid who always tries to be the hero but mostly fails due to unknown knowledge from the enemy… Alco because he acts before he thinks, despite being smart sometimes.

Darwin Watterson (13 years old): Gumball's little brother who is very nice and seems to be very innocent and like to comfort the others. He was a family pet before he grew lungs and gain the ability of speaking, but unlike in The Origins, he never grew legs. His mechanic ones were gifted thanks to charity.

Penny Fitzgerald (15 years old): A friendly and helpful girl. Though she like to give help and support, she's a bit reserved. Her family wears shells in tradition but broke hers when she was a toddler. The mask she wears are the remains of it.

Rob Needlemeyer (16 years old): A smart and tall kid who think and do planning before acting. He lost his arm 3 years ago after being in contact with a glitchy crack and is replaced by a mechanic one. As being able to be extended, he uses it commonly in routine, especially to help with one of his dads' works. (nb: Rob was never sent to the Void and isn't aware of its existence.)

Tobias Candella (15 years old): An energetic kid that, like Gumball, act before thinking. He used to be a selfish kid and a troublemaker in the past and tries now to be nice, despite being impulsive. As a playful boy who was addicted to video games once, he like to put references from it. He loves Dnd with passion and is very good as being the Dungeon Master.

Rachel Candella (18 years old): Tobias' big sister. She is smart and careful toward her loved ones but act reserved most of time. She usually works alone and is able to know easily the locations of entities compared to others. (nb: Tobias and Rachel have their mom's family name here since she and Harold are divorced)

Clare Cooper (18 years): A quiet girl that prefers to act or analyse the situation before sharing anything to everyone. She can be rude and is sometimes annoyed of stupid people.

Julius Oppenheimmer Jr. (16 years): A kid used to be a troublemaker. Being nicer today, he still can lost his temper when someone annoys him. As having good fighting skills, he can lead the other kids at fighting anomalies in a easier way.

And voilà ! I hope this give you some interest !! Feel free to ask about this, I'm planning to work on it a lot ♥

[juleswrites223]

10 Things desi!girlfriend has said ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

☆ Carlos Sainz jr x desi!reader ☆

1. Agar mei haar gayi toh mei kalesh kar dungi, dekh lena (if I lose then I’ll create a fight, just you watch)- This was when she was playing uno with Carlos and his friends

2. Give them money and still we have to cook ourselves anyway, could've stayed at home

Carlos: ay cariño 😂😂

- Them at a korean hotpot restaurant

3. Mumma said you look Indian and your handsome so she has no problem with our rishta (relationship)

4. Yaar ek ghanta ho gaya (it has been one hour); when will we reach? ;I’m feeling a little nauseous baby; no no i can't sit behind I get nauseous (typical aunty behaviour); just sleeping - during a road trip (based on the fact that my mom does this😭)

5. She does not talk a lot in hindi when with carlos mainly because he can't understand her but whenever she does, she refers to him by inko or aap. (for my non-desi girlies, in Hindi, “aap” is a formal way of addressing someone, similar to using “you” in English. It is a sign of respect and can also be used to show affection towards someone; mainly bc Carlos is older than her so aap makes more sense. Inko is also like that by its more like him or her yk depending on the context)

some snippets:

Desi!girlfriend: mei inko pooch ke batati hu (I'll ask him and let you know)

Desi!girlfriend: aap bade sweet ho (you're very sweet) *Booping him on nose while Carlos tucks her in after she decided to get drunk outta her mind*

6. A talk show host: 3 terms of endearment you call your boyfriend?

Desi!girlfriend: Baby, jaanu and EY!

(this is based off of what vicky kaushal said when karan johar asked him what nicknames his wife calls him; 0:23)

7. Desi!girlfriend: yaar look there i left it right there

Carlos: How many times I told you to leave it where I put it; now get ready soon or we'll be late.

Desi!girlfriend: *still talking with mom*

Carlos: *frustrated carlos noises*

-side kalesh going on while on phone with her mom (sign of true love? yes)

8. I told you one wrong turn and suddenly I lose my navigator privileges and my phone *she was also forced to sit in the back due to this incident*

9. Desi!girlfriend: smile karo na, everytime we take a picture it looks like im forcing you to smile.

literally carlos:

10. Desi!girlfriend: I would rather die than run another marathon ever again *out of breath after running a 5K*

Desi!girlfriend: I would rather die then give up chocolate

Desi!girlfriend: I would rather di-

Worried!Carlos: ENOUGH WITH THE DYING METAPHOR.

author's note: fun fact my mom did actually say he looks indian then proceeded to ask me if his parents are indians. Anyways babes I hope y'all enjoyed this bc i loved writing this.

[spritesitrus]

Do you have any headcanons for dad Mario au? (Just out of curiosity) 👀

YES THANK U FOR ASKING

-In my AU, there's a lot of work around to get to this point first of all. Clearly, the Koopalings used to hate Mario then when they were kids but I feel like they secretly had some respect for him because after all they're just following Bowser's orders and don't have anything really personal against Mario and he was something like another "parental figure" they looked up to in their lives. Then when he does eventually save their family, is when their relationship actually becomes better though afterwards they still keep up the enemies charade since it's funner that way and they're little shits. But overall, they really do respect him for all the the things he's done for them.

-So when news came out, the one who had taken it the hardest was Jr. Considering hating Mario was the status quo for all his life and now finding out his dad was not only in a relationship but getting married to him was kind of worldchanging. He was the one who took the longest to warm up with Mario since he was so conflicted. Though eventually the two of them are able to get along and even become the closest to each other.

-Mario is much more physically affectionate and usually is a person who gives out hugs and head pats. It usually makes the older one's brains short circuit. Bowser's tried to step it up too for the Koops but it usually makes the them think something's happening to Bowser like along the lines of "Oh my god, are you dying?" That's the last time he'll do something nice for them (lying ofc)

-Also sometimes when they have an argument, things get real crazy like this level of escalation

-So whenever someone out of the loop comes back to find this level of wreckage, they freak out thinking somethings happened but turns out it was just a dumb argument

Lemmy: Oh my god! What happened to the kingdom?! Did we get invaded?! Is everyone okay?!

Morton: Dads are fighting over curtain colors.

Lemmy: What.

[gabessquishytum]

CEO Dream is a camboy, he wears a mask and does it for stress release; merger company CEO Hob is one of Dream's best clients.

For a number of reasons, CEO Dream Endless needs to relax. He's been running the family business since he got out of school. It's not the original path he wanted to take (even doing his art doesn’t really relax him anymore), but he's good at it and the business is doing well.

When he was in school, Dream might have relaxed by being a camboy. He developed a strong following and a number of high-spending clients. He was always masked and at best people who watched his feed saw his raven tattoo (but since CEOs aren't naked in board rooms, no one sees the tattoo anymore). But he was free to follow directions and show off and get off for his internet "friends". He had one regular, RG, who gave the best "instructions".

When he agreed to take over running the family business, he shuttered his website and just stopped responding to chats and emails. There are times he misses it and RG. But it's been years.

Still, Dream is so stressed right now. The company is merging with the Gadling organization. The merger is a good thing, but he wants to change the organizational structure and continue working with Gadling Org CEO Robert Gadling, Jr, Hob. It is nerve-wracking. Dream has never had to share governing responsibilities, but Hob has good ideas for where to take the company that shouldn't be lost. Hob is so smart and fun. But Dream's getting so much push back from the family.

He just needs to RELAX.

Again, it's been years, but Dream just can't not - he'll reopens his cam site,,,,just for him; just this once. There is no way that any of his regulars (RG) would still be around. Besides he's older now, not the same twink he was when he first did it.

When the notification popped up that Raven was livestreaming. Hob couldn't believe it. That beautiful boy dropped of the face of the earth a few years ago. Hob was devastated when it happened. One minute Hob was spending every bit of money and free time he had glued to his computer watching a sex demon angel perform his every wish, the next nothing.

Hob kept up his "RG" moniker and subscription notification for the site active on the hoped chance that his beauty came back. So the notification was a welcome surprise, but it's been years.

What could the reactivation from the site even mean.........

Oh, god! Raven was older, but still so beautiful. Hob was again in so much trouble.

Oh, so SPICY.

For a while, everything is normal for Dream and Hob. The merger is running smoothly, they're working well together and troubleshooting the issues that crop up quite easily. And for Raven and RG, things are going well too. Raven keeps streaming intermittently and he's THRILLED to see RG pop up and message him every time. No one seems to mind that Raven isn't quite so skinny and wide eyed as he used to be. In fact he gets more compliments that ever.

And perhaps the two words would never have collided. But then, Hob and Dream find themselves together, working very late. There's a big deadline for a project coming up and a few complications have come up, so they've decided to work into the early hours and just get the issues solved.

Until Dream upends a pot of cold coffee down the front of his shirt. Sleep deprivation be like that. He has no choice but to take the shirt off, and it's soaked into his undershirt too so that has to go... and he doesn't notice that Hob is staring until its too late. The raven tattoo on the left side of his ribcage is fully on show.

Hob clearly recognises it. His eyes are so wide it's almost comical. Dream feels his face during deep, deep crimson and he starts sweating hard. He never, ever imagined that this would happen.

"If it makes it any better, I'm very much a long term fan." Hob whispers. "You probably wouldn't recognise it but my screen name is RG."

Oddly enough, that makes it a lot better. Suddenly Dream isn't thinking of jumping out of the window into the street below. All he can think about is everything he's ever done for RG - all the time he's edged himself and begged for relief, all the times he's fucked himself on dildos and watched RG say the prettiest little thing I've ever seen, such a sweetheart, aren't you a good boy for me? In the chat.

Hmm. Maybe the project can wait until a more reasonable hour of the day. Because the truth is, Dream can see the bulge in the front of Hob’s nice work slacks, and he's not going to think about anything else until it's inside him.

Get ready for a Raven x RG collab, coming soon...

[aurorialwolf]

Y’all ever heard of epigenetics?

Okay, mildly (though some not) angsty parent!Darlin and parent!Sam headcanons for what their kid would be like (focusing on ages 15-19)

So; for starters, the name I chose for my lil guy, the son of Sam and Darlin, is Samuel Jr. Sylvester Collins-Barrera (Barrera being the last name I hc for my Darlin)

Also, my hc for Darlin is that they’re half or fully Mexican and can speak Spanish fluently

Gonna start off with average character stuff

- Everyone his age calls him Samuel, some of the older pack call him Junior, to differentiate from his father

- He’s fluent in Spanish, lies about it though to take a Spanish class to breeze through a couple credits for high school

- Now, this one depends on what mood I’m in, but he’s either a Freelancer or a Shifter before he gets turned (more on that later), orrr if I’m feeling real funky and wanna ignore some canon lore I make him a bit of a hybrid, able to shift but quite adept at freelancer magics

- Him and Darlin’ spar, so his combat ability is honed to the point of them being evenly matched by the time he’s 19, but he can never quite defeat them in a match

- When he gains access to his magic at 13, Sam teaches him some small magic, and starts teaching him healing, which he picks up quickly

- Eventually specializes in healing, with a minor in illusions and dabbles in elemental magic at D.A.M.N. (This is in the further future though so this isn’t in a timeline order or anything)

- He shifts accidentally for the first time at home with Sam, 3 days after the solstice, not a very fun experience :(, and Darlin isn’t home, so Sam kinda freaks out cuz he doesn’t know what to do

- Not going to discuss the other pack kid headcanons here much (different post perhaps?) but basically, David has a son, and Samuel (the kid I’m talking about in this post) has a crush on him (him being the son of David)

- Vivienne, Vincent’s daughter, and him are very close, both being kids of clan-less vampire parents, so they can relate to each other the most

- He’s just as much of a vigilante as Darlin was, which makes his parents very worried, but he can heal himself, and use magic, helping him be better off in fights

Okay, now for the angst!! Yay :D

- He and David argue a lot about his reckless actions, leading him to distance himself from David and act similarly to how Darlin did, albeit relying on the general pack much more

- This one requires a small explanation; in my headcanon of how kids of vampires work (since they kinda can’t reproduce in canon etc idk it’s weird), they still inherit the current blood of their vampire parent, as well as their parents original blood (I did take a bio class so ik it would prob be only their old blood bc of genes and gametes but it’s cooler this way lol), and if their parent’s blood is from a very strong old-blood, it can affect the child adversely when they reach the age of unlocking their magic

- Sooooo because Samuel Jr. has Solaire blood, he’s turned by his own blood trying to take over the rest of his body when he’s 15, and basically dies!! Coming back as a vampire ofc

- And this is massively depressing for Sam, like majorly,, because as his son dies in his arms he tries his best to heal him and fails, not to mention he’s now the reason his son has lost the same freedoms Sam did many years ago :(

- In my headcanon of how this works with being turned early and stuff I think Samuel Jr. continues to age until he’s physically about 19 ish

- Ofc Samuel is bitter asf and says some super vitriolic stuff to Sam, temporarily severely harming their relationship, though they make up afterwards

- While in bloodlust, Sam and Darlin try bringing him to pack stuff still, but he’s a danger to non-vampires, making things difficult

- David eventually starts to get protective of the pack, seeing him as a possible threat (does it get dehumanizing? Yeah a little bit) but David’s son doesn’t care, and hangs around Samuel even though it’s dangerous, letting him drink his blood

- At one pack event David can’t find Samuel or his son and gets a bit panicky, even though he tries to hide it, and gets Sam, eventually they find them both, David’s son (who is the same age as Samuel, my guy ain’t feeding on a child dw 🥲) sitting on a bed playing a game on his phone, with Samuel calmly drinking from his wrist

- David is confused and a little frustrated, but his son explains that Samuel still has enough control, and that just because he’s been turned doesn’t mean he should be outcasted even during bloodlust (though he’s a little bit wrong because Samuel really is a danger but yk,, it’s ok Samuel is trying really hard to be careful around him bc he still has the crush from when they were kids)

- David cares about Samuel I promise 🥲 but he’s very concerned for the general well-being of the pack

- Samuel, being a stubborn guy just like both his parents, refuses to accept that he’s a vampire and is unable to enter sunlight and does some.. very reckless experiments, essentially running into sunlight at pack gatherings when no one’s looking and having to be dragged back by one of the nearby shifters

- Eventually he finds a weird way to alter his own core with a lot of magic, but he’s not really altering it, it’s more like his core never fully changed because he only had >49% Solaire blood so it didn’t have full effect (that does mean Vincent’s daughter got fully turned though 😔) so he can oddly change between forms, still having many disadvantages ofc (mary sue? Nooooooooo why would I do that :3 I just like multi-faceted powerful folks yeeeup) like sensitivity to sunlight, and a hard limit on how long he can retain his humanity (he can seem totally human / a shifter / a freelancer for about 2 hours until his hold on the magic keeping his core the right way slips)

- So once he’s around 17 he’s got a good hold on his magic, having reaccessed it after his experiments when he was 16 ish

- ..this does mean he’s a pretty crazy fighter now after a while of practice

Nowwwww who remembers me mentioning epigenetics way at the beginning of this lol (I promise I’m almost done but he’s my favourite redacted oc 😞)

- Fair warning this may imply that Darlin has the ability to birth so erm if that isn’t your cup of tea that’s totally okay and you can ignore this bit

- Basically Darlin’s epigenetics are passed onto him, and he has some major mental baggage because of it, being far more prone to mental health problems :(

TW: ALCOHOLISM

- He also copes very unhealthily with his problems by drinking, so much so that he swears off alcohol and stays sober when he’s only 20 and still can’t drink legally (in the US at least) :((

tw over it’s ok to read now

Okay okay that’s it for now I know I blabbered so much just now immm sorrryyyyy 😞

I will be posting more because there is a lot more to this little canon divergent thingy of mine !! Been having this in my brain for almost two years now but felt it was too.. idk.. self indulgent? Cuz I made him a littleeee too powerful and cool 😔 but I give him disadvantages so it’s ok ✅!!

[ryuichirou]

Replies

Some replies, starting with the ones related to the dragon!Malleus drawing from yesterday.

Anonymous asked:

*claps hands and rubs them together*

Hehehehehe dragonussy ✨ (recent Malleus drawing)

Yes! Finally!! 🤤😏 After all this time…!

Anonymous asked:

Mal only tops in dragon form

Look at him, Anon.

Look at him closely.

He is a bottom bitch with a dragon pussy so big that no dick could possibly satisfy it, so he is to stay forever hungry, underfucked and cranky until the chosen one (or a donkey idk) shows himself and fucks him to the ground.

 (In all seriousness, please don’t try this with us. We don’t like switching and we mention it every single day.)

Anonymous asked:

J-Jamil, do you know what it’s like being someone looking at a man that looks the way you do? 🥵

I think he knows, Anon… he knows it well enough to abuse this power that he holds 😔 So cruel and so beautiful!

Anonymous asked:

Have you seen Jamil’s B-Day groovy? He braids his hair and puts all the pretty hair accessories in with magic! Also, his sprites have him with these headbands that he just SLAYS in. It’s not fair for him to be so pretty ♥️♥️

Yes! I really wanted to compliment Jamil for having dedication to do his braids every single day, but then the groovy dropped lol The cat is out of the bag. I guess that makes perfect sense, who would want to spend so much time on that if you can do it with magic… good for him.

The headband looks cute on him as well; this guy is way too pretty for his own good.

Anonymous asked:

Who knew Lilia discovered the theory of relativity, turned down Henry VIII, was the first person (fae?) on the moon, and escaped the Facebook lizard!

(related to an ask from yesterday)

Yes! Especially the last thing!

The fact that no one other than the rest of Diasomnia boys would believe him… younglings are so cynical these days :(

Anonymous asked:

I feel like “Wait for It” by Leslie Odom Jr. really matches Jamil especially his feelings toward Kalim near the end of the song.

I really like this song, Anon. Maybe this is because it’s kind of difficult for me to separate it from its story and Burr and Hamilton specifically…

I agree that Jamil resonates with the feeling of unfairness when some other person just keeps doing whatever he wants and winning, while he has to sit back and wait, but Jamil’s situation still feels very different.

Then again, Jamil got his “what are you waiting for though?” moment, so 🤔 You’re onto something.

Anonymous asked:

You know, when I first read that thing you wrote on Vil being taken advantage of by older men in the industry, all I could think about was "All You Wanna Do" from the Six musical. Like, listen to it while picturing Vil and you'll understand what I mean.

You ask was driving me insane for this entire week, Anon, because I was trying to find one reply where we already talked about Vil in relation to this song, but plottwist: it doesn’t exist lol But we did get an ask about it in relation to Alois! Which is funny because somehow we keep walking back to their similarities from time to time.

To answer your question though: yeah I get it. It’s like the perfect level of uncomfortable coping with the idea of “I am not being taken advantage of, I am just that good compared to others”. Vil probably had his breaking moment when he stopped lying to himself about this whole thing.

Anonymous asked:

Do you watch k dramas? If so, you should really check out Glory. It’s a super intense one

K-dramas aren’t really our thing, but I checked the synopsis of Glory, and honestly it sounds super cool! And has this vibe of a lot of k-movies that we love, interestingly.

Thank you for your recommendation!

[childofsardior]

What's everybody's (main) love language?

That's an interesting question!

I had to wonder about it and do some research before replying, and I am still not 100% sure abt my answer yet since this is the first time I actively think about it.

Since I saw some articles claiming that Love Language was the one you speak to others and other articles claming that it is he one you want others to speak to you (how you show affection vs how you like to receive it basically), I decided to cover both possibilities to be sure!

The Adults first!

King Bowser:

Love Language(s) he speaks: Gift-giving (mostly with his younger kids or when he tries to impress the Princess of Mushrooms in a kind way) and Words of Affirmation (mostly towards his older kids and, very rarely, to Kamek or even to his... "enemies-but-sort-of-friends" during truces)

Type(s) of affection he likes to receive most: Quality Time (not having so much free time for himself and to spend with his family, he treasure it quite a lot when he can spend a day with Junior playing together or with any of the others talking, chilling of even fight-training)

Kamek:

Love Language(s) he speaks: Act of Service (in a loyal servant of the Royal Family way, but also in a parenting way)

Type(s) of affection he likes to receive most: Acts of Service (being used to be the one doing doing chores and helping others, if you surprise him with some unexpected help he'll be extremely grateful) and Gift-Giving (especially from the kids; he collects every little drawing or silly thingamajic the dragon-turtle hatchlings gifted him during the years).

The Royal Kids

Bowser Jr:

Love Language(s) he speaks: Gift-giving (he will cover you with cool drawings if he really likes you) and Physical Touch (he likes to *hug* his siblings and his father, especially when he notices them being under the weather or when he is really happy or grateful for something).

Type(s) of affection he likes to receive most: Words of Affirmation (mostly from his father) and Quality Time (both with his dad or his favorite siblings). He also enjoys gifts and acts of services too, but he's so used to them that he barely notice them; he will only accept hugs when in the right mood.

Larry:

Love Language(s) he speaks: Quality Time (if he likes you, he will gladly show you all the cool things he can do and all the cool stuff and games he owns. He will also spend the day playing games with you, as he does mostly with Junior, Morton and Iggy.)

Type(s) of affection he likes to receive most: Words of Affirmation (he will crave them from his older siblings, especially if he just did something *cool* and is waiting for some compliments, and from Bowser after a mission) and Acts of Service (he hates doing chores, and if someone does them for him, Larry will be extremely thankful to the person for the whole day).

Morton:

Love Language(s) he speaks: Acts of Service (especially towards his younger brothers, generally packing stuff for them such as snacks or useful tools they could forget about, and watching over them when needed) and Quality Time (he will play with Junior and Larry, listen to Wendy or Ludwig complaining, training with Roy and letting Lemmy ride his shell to feel tall when traveling together. Most of all, he will spend a lot of time with Iggy when he's doing his researches)

Type(s) of affection he likes to receive most: Physical Touch (mostly friendly hugs; his siblings say Morton is very hug-shaped for this very reason) and Words of Affirmation (he doesn't care about insults and such, but he do likes compliments and encouragements a lot).

Wendy:

Love Language(s) she speaks: Acts of Service (she's the one that likes the most to plan trips, SPA days, shopping sessions for herself and others, too. She can spend hours choosing which city or monument or even big mall they are going to visit next during a vacantion, and she'll do it with pleasure) and Quality Time (often related to the shared time she planned in advance for her whole family or just for the siblings she likes to hang out more with. She can share her time with her occasional boyfriend(s), her friends or even with her favorite soldiers from her own division).

Type(s) of affection she likes to receive most: Gift-Giving (but she will only accept perfectly chosen gifts, from her favorite brands and collections) and Quality Time (you can be sure Wendy considers you a trusted person when she starts freely complaining about wathever minor inconvenience ruined her morning in your presence).

Iggy:

Love Language(s) he speaks: Gift-Giving and Acts of Servce (both often related to his habit of spending days with blueprints and projects working on various useful or cool gadgets thinking about someone he cares about; he will lately give them to the person, even if his inventions are not always... well received).

Type(s) of affection he likes to receive most: Quality Time (especially spending hours together talking about science, mechanic or even weird plants and animals, collecting and classyfing stuff from the wilderness and searching for the weirdest bug or funny-shaped flower to add to his collection; he also appreciates when Lemmy or Morton make him company while he's working on some new gear, even if nobody speaks during that time). On the other hand, Physical Touch is a big no-no for Iggy most of the times (except made for Lemmy, that can hug him at any time).

Roy:

Love Language(s) he speaks: Physical Touch (but not in the typical hug/cuddle way. Roy usually pats his siblings on the shoulders, shells, even heads; he likes to ruffle their hair when he's proud of them, and even grabbing them like cats if they are small enough. In Roy's POV, even a friendly wrestling match is a way to show affections to his family or his best soldiers).

Type(s) of affection he likes to receive most: He's not the most affectionate Koopa in the family and claims he doesn't need people being nice to him, but he secretely appreciate Gift-Giving (especially cool accessories from Wendy or some useful gadget from Morton or Iggy) and Quality Time (he will ask his siblings to fight him and train together just to have fun, but he also likes to spend time with his friends while roaming the Dark Lands, talking about sensitive or emotional stuff he is too embarassed to bring out at home).

Lemmy:

Love Language(s) he speaks: Lemmy is quite sensitive to other people's emotions and needs and always tries his best to give each person the type of affection they prefere or need. Physical Touch (mostly hugs, especially if he sees his sibling really upset or feeling blue) and Quality Time (from playing pranks and going to amusement parks together to just make you company while chilling) are is main ways to show affection.

Type(s) of affection he likes to receive most: He will likely accept and go on with any kind of love language you speak, if sincere. He especially loves receiving Words of Affirmation (most people just look at him as a weird funny clown little guy, but if any of his siblings or superiors actually compliments him or encourage him about his passions or something he did, Lemmy's heart will warm up a little).

Ludwig:

Love Language(s) he speaks: Within his family, Ludwig mostly show how much he cares with Acts of Service towards his superiors (coordinating at his best the Koopalings during missions or following the Kings orders at his best to make Bowser proud), while he mostly encourages his siblings with Words of Affirmation (being used to compliments himself so often, he is quite good complimenting other people too, if they deserve it. He also loves to cover his GF with pompous compliments when they are playing music together).

Type(s) of affection he likes to receive the most: He mostly enjoys when his loved ones want to spend some Quality Time with him (especially if they share a passion together, such as peforming music - like with Wendy or his GF - or spray painting with Iggy, Morton, Larry and Junior, but also spending a day visiting nice places and eating out is something he really likes). He recently discovered that Physical Touch is something he is able to enjoy, too, but only if we talk about cuddles with his girlfriend.

[pbjelly90]

I haven’t really gotten into the swing of blogging here and I probably have like 2 followers who aren’t bots 😆 but I’m rewatching BBC Sherlock and feeling an inkling to reread the original stories and it just has me thinking and wanting to ramble about Sherlock media and put it somewhere. What I’ve really grown to appreciate all these 20ish years of being a Sherlock fan is seeing every new adaptation put their own spin on Sherlock and all the characters in the canon. Some I’ve loved, some I’ve been displeased with, but it’s always fun to analyze and revisit and see what parts delight and what disappoints or leaves me wanting more. More thoughts below because apparently I had a lot to ramble about on this topic lol.

BBC Sherlock probably has one of my favorite Watsons, and he gets more focus here then a lot of other adaptations, and feels truer to the character to me than many others. Old adaptations like Basil Rathbone with Nigel Bruce used to have him be a bumbling fool type and I’m glad that’s in the past now. I also enjoy Lestrade in the BBC version and tend to prefer adaptations that get him along this vein, a trusted person on the force, exasperated with Sherlock and his methods a lot of the time, but also one of the most willing to put faith in him and believe in his abilities (and his integrity when it matters.)

Irene Adler adaptations like the BBC show or Robert Downey Jr movies are usually hit or miss for me, and generally I find they put too much emphasis on making her have romantic feelings for Sherlock for my liking. I applaud how they want to make her a more prominent character than one who only appears on page in one story, but romantic tension/interest feels so limiting as the way they choose to do it. There’s some merit to showing how she has to weaponize her beauty/sexuality in that time period at times, but they rarely dig deeper than that or give her more of her own storyline.

I’ve also found most Moriarty adaptations pretty lacking. BBC Sherlock’s became very popular, and Andrew Scott is a wonderful actor, but he always came off as far too gleefully chaotic and evil for evil’s sake to be that interesting to me as Sherlock’s foil. I feel like they went with a Batman versus Joker sort of dynamic there, emphasizing shock value, and I much preferred the mystery of him throughout the early seasons versus the reality post reveal.

Moriarty in the original canon only gets hinted at very late when Conan Doyle is setting up what he believed to be the end of the stories (before public demand and personal debts changed those plans), and therefore he’s always been more a mystery figure than an actual developed character in the original stories. But the building blocks are there for adaptations to take and mold and I hope we get to see more creativity here. Robert Downey Jr faces off against a version of Moriarty in the movies that I’d call Moriarty classic. Serviceable, but nothing new there really. Math teacher, formidable, crime lord, older, genius, check, more or less straight from the books.

BBC Sherlock was also missing Moran who I’d been highly anticipating, and fans kept speculating some unnamed sniper was him, but we never got confirmation. To me that was such a huge missed opportunity, for an adaptation that really highlighted the bond between Sherlock and Watson, how could you ignore the bond between Moriarty and his own “dark” version of Watson?

So cue Moriarty the Patriot, which felt like a series made just for me to fangirl over. It nails Sherlock and John, even if they’re not as much the main focus here as other series, and that’s just clearing the bar for me, my first criteria for any Sherlock media being “do they get John right?” They introduce a younger version of Miss Hudson, whom I also loved in BBC Sherlock, but this brings a fun new dynamic where she feels more like a loving sister to our boys rather than a favorite aunt like in the classic take. Still long-suffering, still the heart who keeps them in check and cares for them, and until John comes along, the only person really in Sherlock’s confidence. I hope we see more of her backstory in MtP (BBC nails this quickly with the mention of Sherlock helping to put her shitty husband in prison.)

Then there’s the MtP version of Irene, who’s the most creative take on the character I’ve ever seen. Is there some potential romantic tension with Sherlock still? Sure if you’d like to ship it, but thats far from her main storyline, she has so much MORE going on. Her own wants, her own goals, her own mistakes, her own plans, that whole first plot of hers is still one of my favorite arcs in the manga and a time when it truly differentiated itself for me from any other adaptation. And that’s not even getting into the Bond material yet, which as a Bond movie and book fangirl as well, was this series actually custom made for me?!?? Ya’ll really were deep into my brain for this one, combining M with Albert, bringing in Moneypenny, all of it. The manga blew me away with all of this and how it was handled. Moran, you better never betray Bond as agent 006 Alex Trevelyan a la Goldeneye. 😆

Before the meat of this, I want to take an aside to also say I love MtP’s take on Mycroft. BBC gives us our first more active Mycroft on-screen that I can recall, not just lounging in the Diogenes Club per canon, orchestrating everything at a remove, but more involved in looking after his brother and meddling when he feels necessary. He’s a huge drama queen in the first episode and I’m looking forward to rewatching the seasons again and seeing the brothers’ dynamic grow. But MtP takes this and instead of having our first encounter with Mycroft be with John alone, more removed from his brother still, we see the two fighting and squabbling and I just love them, your honor. I would like to see someone handle their parents better than the BBC version did, and idk if we’ll ever see them in MtP, but I do enjoy the tidbits we’ve gotten like Sherlock’s working class accent. They already used the name Sherringford/Sherrinford for their ancestor, so curious where they’d go with this. But Mycroft in general, his parallels with Albert, his guilt over their ancestor and role in the government? His relationship with his brother? Nailed it, more please.

Brief shoutout to Enola Holmes, she’s a bit Mary Sue/wish fulfillmenty, but I enjoyed her and her dynamics with her brothers vastly more than the sibling they shoehorned into the last season of BBC Sherlock. If you’re going to give the boys a sibling, that was a fun way to do it. Henry Cavill looks NOTHING like Sherlock is usually described, but he was fun and quite nice to look at lol.

Now onto the main thing I want to ramble about: MtP has the single best adaptation of James Moriarty that I have ever seen in writing or on screen. It’s no coincidence that this is the first adaptation I’ve seen try to dive into his backstory, figure out what’s the deal with his brother(s), which was a genius move taking that inconsistency with Doyle’s descriptions to make there be three James Moriartys total, and to give us a compelling reason as to WHY he does the whole lord of crime thing. Like fine if it’s just for money, control or power, and I can read/watch that story if well done, but this is the first time I’ve really seen a series take the building blocks Doyle laid out and really turn them into something more, to create something original and compelling. William and his brothers 100% deserve their main focus in the series, and its all the better for that perspective flip, as much as I love Sherlock and John. Sherlock and John are fleshed out already, most modern adaptations can get them right, but the Moriartys? That was brand new.

Not to mention, they gave William James Moriarty his Sebastian Moran, and nailed that dynamic as well. Normally I’d think if we finally got Moran he’d be my main ship for Moriarty, just as John was always my main ship for Sherlock, but somehow MtP gets me shipping them, but also William x Sherlock, Mycroft x Albert, Moneypenny x Moran, Irene x Hudson aaand I could digress for way too long here so I’ll leave it at that. Note to anyone writing future adaptations, GIVE MORIARTY HIS MORAN.

All of these MtP versions of the characters are so good that now they’ve ruined me for other Sherlock related media, I’ve found. I watched Ron Kamanohashi and loved it, but as soon as elements of Sherlock and Moriarty were introduced, I found myself badly wanting MtP to be the original canon they were drawing from and see those storylines reflected in the modern day setting of Ron’s story. That is now 1000000% my headcanon. Can we somehow get future Sherlock media to adapt some of the new ideas MtP introduced moving forward, and keep expanding on those concepts? Be inspired by them to keep exploring more of the characters once you’ve gotten the mains right? Maybe not, but a girl can dream. It’s a fun time to be a fan of Sherlock related media.

With all that rambling said, has anyone got any recommendations for other Sherlock books, shows, manga, etc? I remember The Seven-Per-Cent Solution was a very influential AU book back in the day for Sherlock fans and is supposed to present an alternate telling of the Holmes and Moriarty dynamic, so I may read that. Sometimes I branch off into Lupin media and I’ve read some of Arsene Lupin vs Herlock Sholmes as well. 😆 I enjoy silly Herlock in The Great Ace Attorney games although he definitely feels like a goofy AU version.

—

TLDR: If anyone has skimmed this giant post and has any other Sherlock media suggestions, let me know! Looking for some more unique takes on the characters and story.

[onebizarrekai]

I just read DS Ink's backstory and I am curious about how DS acted(and looked) before being snatched up by the military? If he had not been snatched up by the military at a very young age and turned into a human weapon. Would he still be a douchebag or just nicer?

about that. I'm not entirely sure. back when I was working on the story, I never thought much about it. (also the funny thing about ink being called a douchebag back in the day is that it seems super weird to call ink that, haha. he's just very blunt and always says what he's thinking even if it's not kind or thought-through. plus some other odd thought processes of his regarding his work. don't worry about it.)

I think there are some parts of ink's personality that are consistent, like the no-filter thing, since his/her personality is very similar in fatal flaws and there's no military backstory there. in any case, in ds, he was taken when he was little, so his personality wasn't particularly strong at the time. he was probably just a misbehaved kind of kid and would've grown into a misfit teen. one of those kids who gets told "you're talented so why don't you try harder :(" all the time and keeps getting his parents called into the office.

this is a tangent, but to be honest, ink's whole military backstory isn't very fleshed out. it was one of the last things to be added to ds before I stopped working on it and a lot of the ideas relating to it, and the details never really grew on me. a lot of stuff regarding his difficulty with feelings were not very articulate or thoughtful. I think now the whole thing about him being brainwashed by the military, the thing about the electroshocks and the codewords, was pretty contrived (did I ever even explain those?). it was basically just 'look, he's like an edgy winter soldier version of ink sans, he has a big band thing' and now I'm just like. wow, that sure doesn't work. even if I tried to make it a dark comedy thing, it doesn't really fit that well to me.

I think I prefer the idea that he got taken in by his country's military, barely remembers his family who willingly gave him up, and that's about it. and because he was raised that way, he thought there wasn't anything else to his life. and so, he's used to being ordered around, and that's why he went on to work for jr so quickly. there's just no point in his entire will being compromised by a military when all they have to do is tell him from a young age that he's being a hero, even if he stops believing it when he's older.

so, anyway, sorry about turning this into a rant, I've just been thinking about it recently. ink was just a normal kid. who like, apparently had weird inexplicable superpowers. ds's lore sure is a thing. and yeah, the problem is, if you take away his brainwashing, there aren't any other explanations for his amnesia unless he has trauma-induced memory gaps, but uh. I sort of forgot he had amnesia until right now. that's what happens when you make a character out of order.

[kwanzaa-wakanda]

Why you don't know anyone who celebrates Kwanzaa

"Because no one cares"

"Because it's a sham holiday made by a con artist"

"Because it's dumb"

"Because no True African would ever celebrate Kwanzaa."

These are all bad faith arguments. They aren't meant to actually explain why, and do more to devalue the holiday as well as people who celebrate it or at least respect it.

So, why don't you know people who celebrate Kwanzaa? After all, you have so many Black friends, or maybe even you are Black yourself, shouldn't Kwanzaa be everywhere?

This post is a bit long, and some points are explored more deeper than others, but I think this will provide an explanation that's actually pretty fair and common sense. The short version:

Kwanzaa is a newer, anti-consumerist holiday that does not appeal to every single Black person. And that's okay!

1. Kwanzaa is a newer holiday.

Kwanzaa is only about 60 years old. It's not going to be as popular as Christmas. Other holidays, say Veteran's Day, Memorial Day, or Martin Luther King Jr. Day are about as old or even younger than Kwanzaa, so why are they celebrated more widely? Well, it helps that they're all federal holidays with a state structure to back them up. Individual people can celebrate those holidays, but they don't have to, institutions celebrate them for us by giving us time off work and making a public statement (maybe a donation or two). Other than that, those holidays are largely upheld by community events, just like Kwanzaa (more on this later).

The types of family traditions we associate with Christmas take generations to build. Even other older holidays like Mother's Day don't have any real traditions inherently associated with them--we all give our moms a gift but beyond that, everyone engages with it differently.

New holidays need time to catch on. Institutional structures help speed that process along, but Kwanzaa doesn't really have that. So it's going to be slower than others in terms of attracting people.

2. Kwanzaa is anti-consumerist inherently.

In America, consumerism makes up a very large part of how people engage in holidays. Note that I'm not saying "people only celebrate other holidays for consumerist reasons", I am saying that a lot of the driving forces that 'remind' us to take holidays seriously in the US are market forces. We're inundated with advertisements, sales, and decorations that help create a 'feeling' of the holiday (be it Christmas, Valentine's Day, Halloween, etc) which also make it easier to engage with the holiday. We can get the supplies we need at the store. If we don't have plans then there's probably a business throwing a party around that time to keep us entertained. Gift-giving and feast preparation is expressed through buying products en masse so we prepare financially. Holiday specific media sculpts our collective understanding of the holiday's themes even if we don't engage directly.

Kwanzaa, as an explicitlyanti-consumerist holiday, doesn't lend itself to that level of cultural zeitgeist in the US. People exchange gifts and decorate places for Kwanzaa, but commerce during Kwanzaa is typically kept within Black communities through dealing directly with (small) Black Owned businesses. Given that most corporations in the US are white owned, there's very little reason for the market structure to incentive our continued engagement in Kwanzaa. The passive acknowledgement that it's a holiday that exists is the most we can really hope for.

Imagine Halloween without candy sales, Spirit Halloween stores, Halloween parties or costume nights at our favorite restaurants and bars. Imagine no horror movies coming out in October! In a world like that, I and many other people would still celebrate Halloween, but it wouldn't be as easy, and a lot of people probably wouldn't acknowledge it at all, because it isn't as easy.

Kwanzaa explicitly resists the market forces that help holidays stay in our daily lives. We all value our holidays beyond those forces, but we can't deny the very heavy role they play. We can argue that such market forces are morally neutral or even good, but not in this post--whatever your view of holiday consumerism, it's critical to understand that Kwanzaa was organized specifically for people who don't appreciate such consumerism.

3. Kwanzaa does not appeal to all Black people equally.

I think this is one of the hardest points for people both within and outside the community to grasp. The holiday is for Black people, and is meant to appeal to as broad a sampling of Black people as possible. That doesn't mean it will appeal to everyone, though.

The target audience for Kwanzaa is Black people, regardless of nationality, who believe in a shared political unity, heritage, and cultural engagement of all Black people regardless of nationality.

Thing is, not all Black people believe in or value those things. Not all Black people are Pan-Africanist, Afrocentrist, or Black Nationalist, or any other Negritude philosophy. These philosophies are widespread in politics and scholarship, but outside of those dimensions of life engagement with them gets complicated.

You may have heard that "no Africans celebrate Kwanzaa" this is largely true because Africans live in families and communities where their African heritage is already affirmed through other means, including other holidays. Kwanzaa therefore doesn't appeal to them, even if they do believe in all it's themes. Such people may go to Kwanzaa events if invited, but they likely wouldn't hold them for themselves.

Many in the African Diaspora understand their identity most immediately by the region they settled in, and only have a distant sense of African identity. They don't deny being African or having African heritage, but they see being Caribbean, or Brazilian, or American as more relevant. Kwanzaa therefore doesn't appeal to them as it's not specific enough.

Kwanzaa is not closed to any Black demographic and actively encourages all of us to celebrate it. But not all of us will find it appealing.

I would compare Kwanzaa to a holiday like Easter--its a Christian holiday meant to appeal to all Christians equally. But if you aren't church-going and have no children in the family, you probably don't celebrate Easter to any meaningful extent, or your engagement is so personal that it isn't considered very mainstream or traditional.

The point I'm trying to make is: holidays aren't guaranteed to appeal to everyone in their target demographic. Though the reasons why diverge, not every Christian celebrates Easter, not every Black person celebrates Kwanzaa.

4. Communal Kwanzaa celebration is more popular than in-home, but that also carries some drawbacks to it.

Whenever people interested in celebrating Kwanzaa ask me how to get started, I often tell them to look into community celebrations. They're usually put on by churches (perhaps even mosques), community centers, cultural activity groups, or political groups. And therein lies the problem--if you don't live in close proximity to that type of Black community, or the community is invisiblized, then even if there are communal Kwanzaa celebrations to check out you probably won't know about them.

You can't just ask a random Black person about a Kwanzaa event, typically. My advice is to tell people to check out a Black bookstore (and, if available, an African cultural store or an Afro spiritual store). The types of people organizing Kwanzaa events are usually those deeply enmeshed in cultural and political Black discourses, particularly those that affirm an African heritage. But such people aren't found everywhere. In my experience, you can find such people and spaces in most major cities, and so a Kwanzaa celebration probably isn't too far away either. Everywhere else, though...

The only other option to find Kwanzaa celebrations, in my experience, are through Black student clubs in colleges. Not all of them do Kwanzaa activities due to many factors (cost, timing, interest, etc), but my undergrad college did and I know that others throughout the country do. However, such activities may not be open to the public (again, for varying reasons -- cost, timing, interest, college policy...).

When people ask about personal celebration, they usually ask about in-home celebration, treating community celebrations or celebrations in schools as less serious or legitimate. Kwanzaa in general is itself rare, but the idyllic in-home celebration is even rarer -- I myself was raised engaging in Kwanzaa almost entirely through community rather than in-home celebrations (though I started doing in-home for myself in recent years).

---

How, then, should we treat people who celebrate Kwanzaa, or even the non-Black people who don't celebrate it but acknowledge it as a valid holiday?

Honestly, I don't get why that has to be a question. Sure, it's a very marginal holiday, but it's also harmless to treat it respectfully and try and make room in your life in case you ever come across someone who does celebrate it.

I made this post because I often see this idea that people were "tricked" about Kwanzaa. I fail to see what harm has transpired. I don't get why people use their lack of awareness of Kwanzaa or Black communities that celebrate it as a "gotcha" that proves Kwanzaa is a scheme. When I do try to understand the logic underlying this, I come back to this idea that holidays and cultures have to earn respect and validation, that being included in our American idea of "Holiday Time" requires that holidays have a certain number of people we already respect, whom would be offended otherwise.

But that isn't a perspective that I share. I can't say how many people need to celebrate a holiday in America before I stop thinking it an insult or a lie that said holiday be included next to Christmas in a holiday greeting; the number doesn't exist because I don't hold Christmas or Hannukah in so high esteem. I value Christmas in as much as I recognize other people value it, the same is true of Hannukah and Yule (and even the pagan witches I've known didn't celebrate Yule). To me, the only thing one needs to be worthy of consideration as one of The Holidays is to simply be celebrated by people around this time of year.