#and is not corrected until surprise!! they're both her parents

[wileys-russo]

blurb request:: meeting alessia’s family for the first time, and surprising them all that you can speak italian. you get into a conversation with mario in italian about which teams better, ac milan or inter milan ultimately you both agree (which ever team you prefer out of those) are the best. Alessia gets hot and bothered at ur italian but you make her wait all night and throughout dinner and movies with her family until you both go to her bedroom to let her get her neeeedy kiss. and pls that girl will be needy for you all night, hands on your body somehow, always trying to kiss you even infront of her parents, always wanna be near you.

mambo italiano II a.russo

"what if they don't like me?" you drummed your fingers nervously against your bouncing knee, your heart rate accelerating the closer and closer you got to your final destination.

"what's there not to like?" your girlfriend grinned, reaching over and placing her hand on your knee as it stilled and you exhaled deeply. "alessia i'm serious!" you frowned at her jokes, your stomach in your throat at this point from the nerves.

"okay my love please try to breathe. i'm only joking around because really i'm more than confident they're going to love you." alessia assured calmly, squeezing your knee before retracting her hand and turning into the driveway.

"i think i'm gonna be sick." you mumbled to yourself, head thumping gently against the headrest as alessia quickly parked behind her brothers car and shut off the engine. "hey, baby look at me." the blonde grabbed your hands in hers as your head lulled to the side to meet her soft gaze.

"i adore you. they know that and they're very excited to meet you i promise. they've been pestering me about bringing you home from the very moment they found out i was seeing someone. i didn't even need to tell my mum she said she could just see a change in me, a positive change, genuine happiness. and they want to meet the girl whose responsible for it!" alessia smiled sincerely, poking teasingly at your cheeks as your own lips curled upwards and the blonde lent in, peppering a few sweet kisses across your face before you cracked a smile and lightly pushed her away.

"i'll be by your side the entire time principessa, i promise."

~

and true to her word alessia had stuck by that, right up until her mum had called for her help in the kitchen to finish the last of dinner, a stern look shutting down any sort of protest.

before she left your girlfriend wordlessly checked in with you, sending a look as you returned a small smile and a nod, assuring you were okay as you sat conversing with her dad and brothers.

who of course already adored you just as alessia knew they would, having watched on with amusement as her brothers battled one another for your attention, determined to get to know you.

they'd already gone out of their way to embarrass her as she feared they would, sharing all sorts of stories, nicknames and memories from her childhood with you, ignoring their sisters murderous warning glares and bright red cheeks as they did.

she'd breathed a sigh of relief seeing her dad sweep you away for a one on one, her mum ordering her brothers around to set the table for dinner.

though it was during your little one on one with the older man that alessia learned something that would change the course of your relationship for the entire foreseeable future.

at first she wasn't sure she heard correctly, pausing what she was doing as her focus zoned back toward you. ignoring her mum calling for her as she watched your lips intensely, shaking her head as all seemed normal again.

she must have been simply imagining it.

though as alessia heard her dads boomingly familiar laughter and he wrapped an arm over your shoulders and pulled you into a side hug, she heard it again.

and this time she definitely hadn't imagined it.

the strikers head shot up and her eyes narrowed, jaw slackening once the realization dawned on her that she had been correct the first time.

you were speaking italian, fluent and effortless in your diction with her dad who looked on in marvel as the two of you exchanged conversation back and forth. listening a little more carefully she realized the reason for the mans grin, you were discussing football.

or more specifically italian football, her dads childish grin due to the fact you'd professed your own love for his favorite thing beside his children, his beloved ac milan.

"you didn't tell us she spoke italian lessi." her mum had also noticed the exchange with a surprised smile of delight at the new information. "i wasn't aware that she did." alessia laughed in somewhat disbelief you'd not shared this with her before.

"can i help with anything carol?" you suddenly appeared, her dad breaking away to try and wrangle her brothers who'd started to bicker over who was sitting where making the blonde roll her eyes.

"no nothing darling, lessi's on top of it." her mum smiled with a wink making you grin at the way your girlfriend rolled her eyes and the older woman stepped out for a moment as her phone rang.

"you." alessia pointed to you accusingly with narrowed eyes. "me?" you echoed back with an innocent smile. "why didn't you ever tell me you spoke italian?" your girlfriend huffed crossing her arms over her chest with an annoyed frown. "non hai mai chiesto amore." (you never asked love) you quipped with a smile, retreating to the table as mario called you back over, patting the seat beside him with a grin.

feeling her cheeks heat up alessia cleared her throat, feeling an all too familiar feeling coil in her stomach as the foreign language dropped oh so casually from your lips.

lust, want, desire, need.

alessia had never associated her families home tongue with any of those feelings, though hearing you speak it drove the striker absolutely mad.

to the point where she couldn't help but let her thoughts drift to how pretty you'd sound begging and whining in italian in an entirely different situation.

it also went without saying that you didn't need her to tell you for you to have caught on quickly how much this had affected her. the blonde throughout the entire night making sure to show you exactly how she was feeling without needing to utter a single word.

like the way her hand slowly crept up your thigh at dinner meaning you continued to move it away and send her a subtle glare until eventually you'd had enough and stamped on her foot as a much more firm warning.

or the way she'd snatched possessively at your arm once you'd all finally moved away from the dinner table, tugging you around the corner and out of sight from her family before attempting to quite literally shove her tongue down your throat.

"lessi!" you'd laughed in shock, ducking out of the way and pushing her off. "your family is right there." you smacked at her chest playfully as the blonde groaned and her head thumped against your shoulder.

"you speaking italian is killing me baby. killing me!" alessia emphasized, again leaning in and trying to pull you into a kiss as you turned your head and her lips met your cheek instead. "keep it in your pants russo." you shook your head with a teasing smile.

"e poi forse potrai entrare nel mio più tardi." (and then maybe you can get in mine later)

that left alessias jaw almost on the floor as you pecked her lips and strode back away into the kitchen to help her mum clean up, chattering away to her dad and brothers in italian, sending her a knowing smile every time you'd catch her eye.

alessia's mood only worsened when her mum offered for the two of you to stay and watch a movie, right as the striker was mentally preparing her goodbyes, internally groaning as you eagerly agreed.

"you don't want to head off amore? you've got work tomorrow." alessia had sweetly smiled through gritted teeth as you waved her off.

"not until midday tesoro it's fine." you'd assured her, kissing her cheek in thanks as her brothers pulled you both away for their goodbyes, headed back to their own homes as alessia so desperately wished the two of you were as well.

her neediness only escalated during the movie, the two of you pressed side by side under a blanket on the lounge you once more found yourself wrestling to wrangle her hands which slipped and snuck beneath the material of your clothes.

"stop it." you warned quietly in her ear, shooting her a glare which she only returned with a charming smile, stretching her arm over the back of your shoulders and tangling a hand in your hair instead.

"oh have you shown y/n your old room lessi? it's still the exact same way you left it." carol smiled affectionately as the movie finished, alessia perking up at the opportunity as she shook her head, grabbing your hand and practically yanking you up with her.

"i'll go give her a proper tour and we'll be back down in a bit to say bye before we head home." the striker smiled sweetly though you saw right through it as she pulled you upstairs, recognizing the real intention clouded beneath her ocean blue eyes.

and sure enough the very moment the two of you passed the threshold of her childhood bedroom, the door clicking shut behind you, hardly giving you a chance to look around before her body crashed into yours.

"alessia!" you laughed as your girlfriend tackled you down onto her bed with a cheeky grin, balling your top in her hands and feverishly connecting your lips.

you withheld the urge to moan as her tongue traced your bottom lip, taking it between her teeth and nipping teasingly as your head spun and your hands came to rest on her shoulders, pushing her away as your chest heaved.

"baby your parents are literally right downstairs and we only just met and-" you were cut off as once more her lips smashed into yours silencing you, her hand resting on your cheek deepened it further before she was now the one to pull away.

"say that again in italian and maybe i'll listen."

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Could I request a reader who has an espathra. Espathra is from Reader's grandma who used to be a model and singer. Espathra is walks like a diva but is an absolute sweetheart. Reader joined the academy as a student and told the trio (Arven, Nemona and Penny) the reason why I joined the academy was because I never liked those private schools as I was always bored and hated dealing with the others as the students tend to annoy reader or be mean.

Arven

Tbh when he first saw your Espathra strutting down the streets of Mesagoza, he rolled his eyes.

He's well aware of how sassy and aggressive wild ones can be, but he assumes that even those tamed by trainers aren't any different (and sometimes a Pokémon's personality can rub off on them, too).

Once he gets to really know you both, though, he quickly realizes how friendly your Espathra is around people--even Mabosstiff.

Ofc they're still sassy, although they don't have a single mean bone in their body and don't try to reach across the table to steal his sandwich ingredients.

During lunch, you share how they once belonged to your grandma--who used to be a famous model and singer until she retired, deciding to leave her treasured partner in your care.

Arven never watched much TV growing up, so he never saw her performances. He just shrugs and says "that's kinda cool, little buddy."

But he grows concerned when a random kid intrudes on your picnic, asking about your grandma and wanting to pet the Espathra.

Suddenly the psychic type makes them shut up by immobilizing them on the spot....as he sits there wondering why tf you allowed them to do that.

You explain that's exactly why you transferred schools--specifically from a private one in another region to the Academy here in Paldea.

The students there kept bugging you, asking for your grandma's autograph and getting angry when you refused to take something they wanted her to sign or deliver fan mail as though you're some messenger Noctowl.

In short, they only ever talked to you if they wanted to contact her...and that made you feel quite bored and lonely, never gaining any real friends.

Luckily, Arven was already your friend long before he knew any of this.

He can definitely empathize with people constantly bothering him because of his connection to his "famous" parents.

Nemona

Not only has she obsessively watched the gym leaders' battles on TV, she also followed each of their social media accounts for years.

And on Tulip's page, she discovers that both her and your grandma did a collab for a new makeup brand inspired by their Espathras.

At the time, she didn't know you at all, but after hearing your last name and seeing your main partner Pokémon--she pulls you aside after class, eyes sparkling.

"So [y/n]..you're related to THE-?"

"Yes." You brush her hand off your shoulder, already knowing where this was going. "If you want an autograph, go to her retirement home and ask for her. I'm not your messenger."

You storm off, your Espathra giving Nemona a soft apologetic look, before they follow you, hair swishing gracefully.

However being the stubborn girl that she is....she eventually catches up to you, huffing and puffing and apologizing endlessly.

All she wanted was a simple battle with your Espathra (she almost called it your grandma's Espathra but quickly corrected herself--something you appreciated her doing).

It takes you by surprise, but you listen to her wishes and end up defeating her final Pokémon with a brilliant Lumina Crash that lit up the night sky.

After the battle's won, you explain that her attitude when you first met reminded you of the kids who bothered you back at your old school--which became the reason you transferred to Paldea to begin with.

You found her annoying.

Now? She was slightly less annoying since she genuinely wanted to befriend you, and not because you're related to a retired celebrity.

Penny

Team Star's had their fair share of feisty Flittles invading their outposts, always having to chase them out or risk being attacked just for gathering berries for their Pokémon.

Arceus forbid an outbreak of Flittle ever happened...

Because of that, Penny's always been skeptical around that evolution line, convinced that most Espathras are hostile.

The ones down in Area Zero's caverns especially made her nervous.

However, yours is a special case as they showed no aggression towards her, Arven, or Nemona.

You really owe it all to your grandma, mentioning how your Espathra used to be her partner in concerts and modeling for magazines.

They enjoyed being by her side and were content with retiring to Paldea after she ended her career on a high note.

She always talked about how they've adored singing since they were a little Flittle, and that they inspired her to keep going whenever she felt overwhelmed by the paparazzi and self-doubt.

How you wish you had her confidence at the private school you used to attend...but it became too much to handle after so many kids annoyed you simply because you're related to her.

You begged to be transferred out of there--for your sanity and for Espathra's, too.

After telling Penny all these stories, she definitely sees a different side to the Flittle line now, realizing that maybe not all of them are aggressive sassy berry thieves.

But when a grunt comes over (only overhearing that you're related to somebody they used to watch on TV all the time), Espathra just immobilizes them on the spot.

It frightens Penny, but the ostrich just smiles calmly at her.

You laugh and pet their beak, reassuring her it's nothing to be scared of--that kid simply won't remember ever asking you for your grandma's autograph.

From there on, she sends a message to all of Team Star not to make the same mistake that grunt did.

[hoarah-babylon]

I had to make a BIG post going over everything that's got my brain whirring after watching the story trailer - it's all my speculation and personal opinion so don't take it as fact yada yada IT'S FUN SPECULATION TIME

(I'll put it under the cut bc this is gonna be a LONG one)

“Miquella the kind spoke of the beginning. The seduction. And the betrayal. An affair from which Gold arose. And so too was Shadow born."

My interpretation of this scene is that we are seeing the creation of the Golden Order by Marika. She plucks grace from something dead and fleshy, and holds it up to the Greater Will, beckoning in her new age. It would make sense to me, considering the voiceover, that this is a dead god that has been betrayed by Marika so she can pursue her Order and claim power. It does like quite reminiscent of Kos from Bloodborne to me. The fleshiness of the corpse also reminds me of the godskins/snakeskin. However, I don't believe this is the Gloam Eyed Queen. From my understanding of the timeline (mainly thanks to @eldenringslut) the GEQ didn't come about until later on during Marika's reign - if we are seeing the creation of the GO, and my understanding of the timeline is correct, I don't think it would make sense for this to be the GEQ. I can't deny different aspects of this do allude to things related to her though - the dusky sky, the godskin-like flesh. But I almost think that would be too 'perfect' for it to fit together like that, especially with how much people want to know more about the GEQ, I think fromsoft would want to keep us in the dark and surprise us. Whatever we are seeing here, Gold and Shadow seemingly came about at the same time.

We get our first look at what appears to be Messmer's army. They appear to all wield spears which ties into Messmer's whole Impaler thing, along with the shot of the person(?) impaled on the steps. I wonder who these people were, if they had to stay in the Shadow Realm after the battle was done (if it is?). I find the design on the helmet interesting - at first glance I thought it could be a tree or roots, but actually doesn't it kind of remind you of the black tendrils that shoot out of Messmer's flame? I think it could be either, or both, or maybe it's a chicken and egg situation and they're related somehow... my first thought when the initial gameplay trailer came out was that the dark tendrils in Messmer's flame could be deathroot or something similar to that. Maybe I wasn't far off?

We get our first shot of Messmer here. His pose pretty much solidifies to me that this is his army - this is the pose of a character commanding an army. It's so classic fantasy, the composition and everything, I love it. Messmer is awesome. I'm obsessed with the snake-like flames flying above the carnage.

"What followed was a war unseen. One that could never be put to song. A purge without Grace, or honour. The tyranny of Messmer's flame."

My take on this is that once Marika had won her battle/betrayed the God we see her pluck Grace from, she had her opponents banished and/or wiped out at the hands of Messmer. I have to say, it does surprise me that it seems Messmer was around and fully grown at the creation of Marika's Order. The implications there leave me with so many questions. Who is his other parent? Marika is Numen, and they seldom give birth. This is not an insignificant thing for her to have a child, especially if the theory of births being governed by the Erdtree/Golden Order is to be believed, and this must have came about before then. It would also go against the idea that Messmer is the full brother/secret triplet of Miquella and Malenia, considering that Miq + Mal were not born until Marika had left Godfrey for Radagon. I find that detail so intriguing... especially because I was so on board with the butterfly theories.

No idea who this is, but they're cool and that definitely looks like the kind of weapon we'd be able to pick up. It just looks like a PVP weapon, know what I mean? Very reminiscent of Vyke as well imo, similar pose to the box art of him along with the billowing cape. This reminds me, I'm noticing an emphasis on hair in this trailer too - I never took much note of Marika's hair before but in this trailer there was a lot of emphasis put on how long it is, how similar it is to threads of Grace, and Miquella's hair too. It's making me think of the bible story of Samson but let me not go too off the rails

Here we have some of the coolest shots in the trailer imo. This posits the Lion/Omens as enemies of Messmer to me - which to me supports the view that Messmer is aligned with Marika. The Lion/Omens always came off to me as if they were making a mockery of the GO - positioning themselves as enemies to Marika/the GO. We get another good look at his Flame, with the tendrils. They almost remind me of thorns actually. That final shot looks like a victory scene to me. It also really hammers home the Impaler thing. The man knows his brand!

Then we pan up to see what hangs above this burned city - this 'shadow tree'. THIS IS MARIKA'S RUNE.

I think we are seeing the origins of her rune as part of the modern Elden Ring here - Grace/blessings dripping from the bough of this tree. I have to say given the imagery relating to motherhood on the run up to the DLC, the rune does look vaguely yonic, especially on the seals. I think references to motherhood are in this trailer too - Marika taking something from a fleshy orifice with a voiceover talking about seduction, I can't imagine that wasn't intentional. So far the main character we have seen is her child, after all. The whole story of Elden Ring revolves around Marika's children. I have a feeling Marika's relation to motherhood and childbearing is going to be a big theme in the DLC.

I remember when the first gameplay trailer dropped, people theorised that this was Ranni's rune, and I was happy to believe that because of the similarities to Rennala's rune. But now I believe it's Miquella's rune, for several reasons, one being it reminds me of Malenia's rune, and they are twins after all. Although Rennala and Malenia's runes are oddly similar, it just makes more sense to me that it would be Miquella's, considering we are following in his footsteps. I think these rune spikes are going to be our DLC equivalents of sites of grace.

"And so kindly Miquella would abandon everything. His golden flesh, his blinding strength..."

Abandoning his flesh is very reminiscent of Ranni... but why would he need to abandon his flesh? Perhaps after Mohg stole him away? Though I have to say, I'm warming up the idea that Mohg never actually had Miquella, he just thought he did. That might not make sense considering that body in Mohg's palace is how we get to the Shadow Lands, but I don't know, something about it doesn't sit quite right with me for some reason. The line 'his blinding strength' is a bit odd. I can't take credit for this next idea, I saw it on twitter, but someone suggested that this is referencing him potentially abandoning Malenia - his strength, his blade. For Miquella to abandon Malenia though, it doesn't exactly align with what we know of his character. This is the person that turned his back on the GO because it could do nothing for Malenia's sickness. He'd need a really good reason to do that to her. Maybe it was his only option? I'm so intrigued about why Miquella is even in the Shadow Lands to begin with. What are his motivations? Perhaps it's something to do with his proclivity to want to welcome all, especially those outside of Grace, I suppose those in the shadow lands fall under that mantle.

"Even his fate."

Now THIS is super interesting - our first look at St. Trina! In her usual purple - associated with sleep. It does also look like she's sleeping here, sinking... What on earth does it mean to say that Miquella abandoned his fate as we are shown an image of St. Trina? Was he meant to eventually become Trina fully? We don't know much about her, but we do know Trina is an aspect/alter-ego of some sort of Miquella. Considering his parents were one in the same body, it's not a stretch to assume this could be the same case here. But in Marika/Radagon's case, it doesn't seem completely intentional - with the Ring shattering, I always got the impression they each fought to be in control of their singular body. Perhaps Miquella/Trina worked together rather than against each other? The queer part of me can't help but think of some kind of allegory to transition and Miquella having to walk away from it for whatever reason... but I really don't know enough to figure anything out from this.

I saw someone point out that this shot of Trina looks like Trina's lilies too, which is super cool (sorry I don't remember who that was).

"But we are not deterred. We choose to follow. Will you walk with us?"

I'm honestly surprised to see all these characters that we saw in the previous trailer just hanging out, I assumed they'd all be enemies of different factions. But here they look like allies, and from the voiceover they sound like it too, asking if we will join them. I think the voiceover is one of these NPCs. Seeing the fighting guy second on the left has got me super excited, what if he teaches us the hands-on combat we saw him do in the first trailer? I also think the crouching character on the right is the one we saw sleeping in the purple area (Trina?) from the last trailer:

Anyway, these are my thoughts, I hope they resonate in one way or another. I can't wait to come back in a couple months and see how wrong I was <3 yayyy

[silverynight]

Mitsuki and Inko introduce their little kids to each other for the first time and the moment Katsuki sees the other boy, half hiding behind his mother's skirt because he's a little bit shy (only at first) with wild green curls and big eyes, he thinks he's the cutest thing he's ever seen, but he doesn't know how to handle all those feelings in his chest so he starts scowling at him.

"Katsuki, this is Izuku," Inko says, gently pushing her son towards the other boy. Fortunately, Izuku seems immune to Katsuki's aggressive expression and beams at him.

"Nice to meet you, Kacchan!"

"My name is not Kacchan, Deku!"

"Be nice, Katsuki!"

"Tch!"

However, the two boys get along immediately, Katsuki takes Izuku's hand to show him around the children's play area and tries to impress him, which works like a charm because in less than a second Izuku starts looking at him with star eyes and constantly praises him.

"It's time to go, Katsuki!"

Much to Mitsuki's confusion, Katsuki goes back to her with zero complaints and Izuku's hand in his, looking like he doesn't want to let go.

"You'll like our home, Deku."

Before Mitsuki can correct her son and tell him Izuku is not going to sleep over, little Katsuki turns around, looking very serious and determined before bowing in front of a confused, but amused Inko.

"Thanks. This wasn't a shitty gift at all," the blond kid says, pointing at Izuku. "This is maybe even a cool gift. I like him and I'll keep him."

Trying not to laugh, Inko covers her mouth as Mitsuki pinches her son's cheek.

"He's not a toy! You can't own a person! Let him go!"

Katsuki refuses to do that and starts arguing with Mitsuki until Izuku sobs and tells him he wants to be with his own mom and Katsuki has to (reluctantly) let him go.

"But we can see each other another day, Kacchan!" Izuku promises after calming himself down.

"Tch! Whatever! Not that I care!"

He angry cries when he gets home and makes his parents promise not to tell ANYONE especially "shitty Deku" Masaru kindly asks what happened, but Katsuki stomps back to his room without saying anything else.

Then Mitsuki grins and whispers to her husband: "The kid has a crush. His first crush."

Then later a very grumpy Katsuki plants himself in front of his parents while they're trying to watch television.

"What is it, boy?"

"Do you need anything, my son?"

"What do I have to do to live with Deku?" He asks, narrowing his eyes, cheeks completely red.

"You can be his roommate, but when you two are older," Masaru suggests.

"Do... roommates cuddle?"

"Yes, if they want to."

Mitsuki hasn't said a word because she's trying to hold back a smirk.

"Do roommates... kiss?"

"See? I told you, Masaru!" Mitsuki chuckles. "No, boy. Better ask him to marry you instead."

"But only after you two are of age," Masaru kindly adds. "And you have to be sure that's what he wants as well."

"Why wouldn't he want to marry me?"

"You have to make him fall in love with you first, Kats."

"HA!" Katsuki looks back at his mother with so much confidence and determination it surprises both his parents. "I'll make Deku love me in no time! And I'll make him my wife so we can live together and kiss and cuddle!"

***

Much to Katsuki's embarrassment, exactly 21 years later, that's the story his mother shares with everyone on his wedding day with Izuku.

Izuku didn't remember that moment very well so when his mother-in-law finishes the story he gets all excited and happy and starts tearing up before jumping into Katsuki's arms and kissing him all over the face, just for that, Katsuki decides to forgive his mother just this once.

***

Patreon

[weepingfromacedartree]

Surviving the AO3 Drought

Hi friends!

We're coming up on almost an entire day of AO3 being down. Since I'm sure most of you are like me and going insaneee with the blackout, I wanted to share this incredibly ROUGH draft of chap 1 of my current Polin WIP for anyone desperate for content.

A few warnings:

This fic is nowhere NEAR being done (emphasis on this being a ROUGH draft). It will most likely be a few months until I start posting the finished chapters.

This chapter (and the fic in general) deals with issues like grief and neglectful parenting, so TW for anyone who might not want to read about that.

Most of this chapter depicts Penelope and Colin as children. It was annoying to write. Might be annoying to read. I promise, they're teens/adults in all future chapters.

I do not condone children taking in stray cats and keeping them as pets. This fic is not meant to be a tutorial of any sort.

Ok if I didn't scare you off... please enjoy!!

Chapter 1: First Pet

Today: April 29th, 2023

Relationship Status: Dating (Semi-Secretly)

꙳

“Gregory just texted to ask if we’re dating. I didn’t think he had my number.” 

“That little arsehole probably sent it to himself when he stole my phone.”

It’s Saturday. Penelope and Colin are sitting on the floor of his flat, a few containers of chinese food littered between them. It’s not a particularly unusual setting to find either one of them on a Saturday night. However, some things are different now. 

Two weeks ago, they would not have been playing footsie. Not this shamelessly, at least. 

“I assumed that Eloise’s ‘vow of secrecy’ would involve her immediately telling Benedict… And that Benedict would tell Anthony… And that Anthony would tell Kate… But I don’t know how the rumour managed to spread to Cambridge in…” She glances down to her phone again. “Six hours flat.” 

“‘Rumour?’” he echos, a smirk on his face. “Surely, you’re not trying to keep this sordid love affair hidden from me as well.”

“‘Sordid?’ God, Colin. You make us sound so dirty.” She kicks his foot away, turning her attention back to the shrimp fried rice. “And I’m not trying to keep it from anyone. We both knew what would happen the second I told El.” 

“Frankly, I’m surprised Greg didn’t text you sooner.”

Colin tries fixing his attention on the kung pao chicken in hand, but it unsurprisingly wanders. 

“So… What are you gonna tell him?” 

Penelope quirks an eyebrow, a look of uncertainty making a quick appearance on her face. 

“Well… I was going to hold him in suspense a little while longer. Maybe take the ‘no comment’ approach at first. Then — I don’t know — the truth?”

“Which is?”

Colin watches as uncertainty turns to downright confusion. 

“Yes?”

Internally, Penelope wonders if Colin is teasing, or if there has been a miscommunication of monumental proportions between them. The look on his face confounds her, though. Neither option seems to be the correct one. 

“‘Dating’ is a bit too casual a word for us, I think.” 

Penelope’s confusion fades away as a familiar tingling sensation lights up her stomach. 

“It’s only been a week. What do you suggest we call —”

“We should get married.” 

“What!?”

He’s teasing. He’s teasing. He’s —

“I said we should get married.” 

Penelope waits for him to expand on this insane notion, but all she gets is that smug little smirk. 

“Okay. Why?”

“Why does anyone get married?” Colin says matter-of-factly. “I love you. I wish to continue loving you forever and ever. Ergo, marriage.” 

“This isn’t funny.” 

“It wasn’t a joke.”

“It —”

“It was a proposal.”

“Colin.” She uses the sternest voice she can manage to muster up, which happens to be quite shrill at the moment. 

“Pen.” At least he has the decency to drop that stupid smirk. He also drops his kung pao chicken, leaning forward to place a hand on her knee. 

“Just, think about it for a moment. We didn’t meet a week ago, we just finally said the thing we should have told each other a decade ago — at least. I’ve been in love with you forever. ‘Dating’ you just feels like an unnecessary step to the rest of forever.” 

Penelope feels at war with herself. At her core, she is sensible. Logical. Reasonable. She knows — objectively — that skipping straight from friendship to marriage is illogical and senseless. 

But is it truly reasonless?

At her core, Penelope is also a romantic. A willing fool. An idealist against her better judgement. And in her heart, she holds twenty years worth of love for Colin. Would it really be so crazy —

Shaking her head ever so slightly, Penelope tentatively — regretfully — brushes his hand off her knee. At the loss of her touch, Colin’s lip juts out in a pout. 

“People date for a reason. It’s an institution — it has a purpose. It’s like a test run for marriage. Different than friendship. Teaches you different things about a person — things that set you up for a successful lifetime together.” 

“Friendship is not so different than dating. At least, not the way we did it.” 

“Colin —”

“You’re right, Pen. Dating is like a trial period where you decide whether or not the person you love is suitable enough to spend the next lifetime beside. You —”

“Do I really sound that unromantic?” she interrupts. Something about hearing her words on his lips makes them sound so clear. 

Colin laughs. “I think pragmatic is the word you’re looking for. But seriously, can you name a single thing you don’t know or feel unsure about me as a partner, after twenty years of friendship? What’s holding you back, Pen?”

Nothing. That’s the truth. There’s not a single thing about Colin that she feels unsure of. Not anymore.

But still… Even if there love has lasted decades, that sense of assuredness has only existed between them for a week. She’s spent more time wrestling on whether or not to cut bangs (and the answer always ends up being not). 

Still…

“Let’s consult the experts.” His words break her from the daze Penelope hadn’t realised she fell into. In those few measly seconds, Colin’s eyes broke away from hers and has rested on the phone gripped in both of his hands. 

“What are you doing?” she asks him. Her voice sounds far away. 

Colin taps something on his phone, out of view from Penelope’s curious eyes. Then he clears his throat. 

“Ten milestones every couple should celebrate before walking down the aisle,” he reads aloud. “Number One: Your First —”

“What are you doing?” Penelope asks again. This time, a laugh escapes her lips as she does so. Something about the seriousness on Colin’s face reminds her of the absolute absurdity of this situation. That it is a joke, even if it was intended as such. 

“I know you think this is all very funny, but I’m being serious. I know you better than anyone else in the world — you know me better than I know myself! I have loved you more than half my life and spent so much time delaying the inevitable. Why waste any more of our time by ‘dating’ one another? It just seems silly.” 

Colin stops ranting briefly, as if to allow Penelope to get her rebuttal in before he has the chance to make his point. When she stays silent, she can’t help but notice a hint of a smile crawl back up his otherwise serious face. 

“And while I know the romantic in you is buzzing to say yes and run down to city hall right now, I know the realist in you needs some convincing.” He briefly holds up his phone to display the article he pulled up. “So we will go through this list, which details everything you need to accomplish during the dating stage of a relationship. If, at the end, we realise that we checked off every single to-do item while we were still just friends, we will make the reasonable decision to get married.” 

If there’s one thing Charming Colin Bridgerton can do, it’s make a convincing argument. The realistic and romantic on each of Penelope’s shoulders suddenly go quiet.

“And where exactly did you find this scholarly article you are basing such a life-altering decision on?” 

He looks down. 

“TheMarriageExpert.blogspot.com” 

“Colin!” 

“They’re an expert, Pen!” 

After her giggles finally let up, Penelope sighs. He has convinced her to play more tedious games before…

“Fine. You have yourself a deal, Bridgerton. What’s first on that list of yours?” 

Finally, that serious expression on his face drops completely. He grins at her in that way that always makes Penelope’s heart skip a beat. 

“Number One: Your First Pet As a Couple,” he reads aloud. “During the course of your marriage, you and your partner will come to share many things together. Finances, homes, memories, and a million other things you cannot even begin to fathom now. A pet will help you prepare for those shared responsibilities. It will teach you both about the importance of…”

As Colin continues reading, a frown pulls at the tips of Penelope’s lips. When he finishes, she attempts to cover her disappointment with a shallow laugh. 

“Game over, I guess.” 

His eyebrow arches. “Pardon?” 

“We’ve never shared a pet, so…”

Colin’s mouth falls open. He pulls his free hand to his chest, underscoring the aghast look on his face. 

“Pen… Did Mr. Whiskers mean nothing to you?”

-------------------------------------------------------

Twenty Years Earlier: July 21st, 2003

Relationship Status: Sister’s Best Friend // Best Friend’s Brother

꙳

How did I get here again?

It’s Monday. The first real day of summer holiday. For most kids, that means the start of freedom. Six weeks of fun, followed by real life crashing down on them when the fall term begins. But for Penelope, it means the loss of structure. For six weeks, it is up to her to determine how — and more importantly, where — she spends her time. 

She didn’t want to spend it at home. Not this morning, at least. So she went to Grosvenor Square. 

At just eight years old, there aren’t many places Penelope can run off to unaccompanied. Even the Square, just two blocks away from her home, is hard to get away with. Her mum only allowed it because she was under the impression that Eloise would be joining her — that between Penelope’s sense and Eloise’s toughness, the two girls would be safe in the nearby park. But when Penelope ran across the street, she learned from Anthony that Eloise was not available for a morning stroll in the square. 

She could have just gone back home, but she really, really didn’t want to. So she went to Grosvenor Square. Alone. 

She was walking around the park, careful not to step on any cracks in the concrete. She moved to the grass when she realised that everyone was walking around her (even for an eight-year-old, her legs are rather short); she did not want to pull too much attention to herself and have someone question where her parents are. 

She was listening. To the birds chirping. To the nearby traffic. Mostly, to the people. 

Two teenagers were fighting. She was mad, he was sorry. She said something about him cheating, but after that, their shouts turned to whispers and Penelope couldn’t make out the rest. She wondered what type of exam he could have cheated on.

A little white dog barked at her. His owner looked apologetic. 

A neighbour of hers walked past her, pushing a stroller. Penelope thought about hiding behind the nearest tree, certain that Mrs. Abernathy would notice her and say something. Thankfully though, the baby started crying and distracted her. 

Just as Penelope was about to turn the corner and listen into the couple’s fight again, she had heard something different. 

“Meow.”

She thought her mind was playing tricks on her, but when she walked over to the nearest bush to investigate, a two giant blue eyes stared back at her. 

Oh, right. 

Penelope looks down at the kitten currently sleeping in her arms. 

He had white fur with little patches of black around his ears and nose. His whiskers were long — so long that they didn’t look like they were placed on the right cat. He was so small and scrawny — Penelope couldn’t tell if he was actually a kitten, or just a cat who spent too much time with too little food in his stomach. 

Without a collar or any family in sight (she had spent over an hour looking for them), Penelope decided to take him home. She spent 20 minutes taking the 10-minute walk home. She slowed her steps. She took unnecessary turns and waited too long before crossing crosswalks. She held the kitten tightly to her chest, shielded slightly by the nest she made out of her yellow cardigan. She practised what she would say to her mum. 

“Penelope. Anne. Featherington. Get that rodent out of my house!” 

It had not gone well. Although, even before she landed back on the front steps of her home, Penelope had suspected that there was nothing she could say that could convince her mum to let them keep him. 

She followed her mother’s instructions, fleeing from her house with the kitten in hand. Penelope didn’t have much of a plan once she hit the pavement outside, but like they so often do, she found her feet walking in the direction of the home across the street. But they stopped before they could reach it. 

Ever since Mr. Bridgerton died last summer, Penelope’s mum had warned her about showing up at their house unannounced. There are eight fatherless children in that house now — the youngest of which never even got to meet her father. They have enough going on as it is. 

They have enough going on as it is, she repeats again and again. 

That’s how she got here. Sitting on the edge of the pavement outside the Bridgerton household, a cat sleeping soundly in her lap. 

“It’s gonna be okay, buddy,” she tells him. She wonders if the kitten can sense the hesitance in her voice. 

Silently, Penelope wonders what the right thing to do is. Where the right place to go is. The first place she thinks of is an animal shelter. Surely, that is the most logical place to bring a lost kitten to. They would know how to take care of him, how to find him a home with people who want him. The only problem is that Penelope does not know of any actual animal shelters in Mayfair.

The second place she thinks of is the fire station down the street. Firefighters save cats, don’t they? Or was that —

“Pen?” 

Colin, her mind registers before she even has the chance to turn around. When she finally does, she attempts to smile, while also shielding the contraband from his view. Colin, in turn, throws her his usual smile — bright and true. The one that always manages to make Penelope’s stomach flip over inside herself. It does so now, even with the fresh sting of disappointment still welling up inside her. 

“Oh, hi. Sorry, I didn’t mean to —” 

“What’s that?” he asks, nodding to the kitten she clearly failed at hiding away from him. Before she has the chance to answer, he sits down beside her on the curb.

“I found him in Grosvenor Square. He was all alone and I didn’t know where else to go…” Her voice trails off, once again contemplating what a responsible person would do next in this situation. 

“You gonna keep him?”

“No.” Disappointment is evident in her voice. “Mum won’t let me. She hates cats.” 

Penelope takes her eyes off the kitten to look up at Colin. While only two years older that her, he stands nearly a head above her (he’s tall for his age — she’s short for her’s). Even sitting, she has to tilt her head up just to look him in the eyes. As usual, his brown mop of a haircut hangs so low that it covers his eyes somewhat, but Penelope can still see the blue-green colour peaking through. She’s always quite liked that colour. 

Colin tilts towards her a few inches, then raises his hand to gently pet the kitten’s head. “I’d take him, but mum and Daph are both allergic.” 

Penelope can feel her eyes go wide. Mr. Bridgerton was allergic to hornets…

“Not that kind of allergic,” he reassures her, seemingly reading her mind. “They won’t, like, die or anything. Their skin will just get all red and scratchy if he gets anywhere near them.” 

“Oh — sorry. I should just go.” Pulling the kitten out of Colin’s grasp, Penelope stands. She starts to turn away from him, but is once again reminded that she has no idea where she is supposed to go. 

“Wait — no. Where are you gonna take him?”

“I don’t know,” she admits. “Where are you supposed to take stray cats?” 

He shrugs. “I dunno.” 

“Okay. I —”

“But I have an idea.” 

꙳ ꙳ ꙳

The Bridgertons live on a gold mine. Metaphorically. Literally, they live on nearly an acre of land in the middle of Mayfair. Their back garden is massive compared to the neighbours that surround them, a feat that is only possible due to the home being passed down from one Bridgerton to the next for so many generations. That’s the same reason Penelope’s family is still able to reside in the house across the street, but their garden is not nearly as sprawling. 

“Where are we going?” 

She and Colin hadn’t gone through his house, rather, they went around it. Now, he leads her towards the very back of the estate, a few steps ahead, one hand on the wall to their left. His index finger traces the cracks between the stones. 

“Have some patience, Pen.” 

“I — I do.” And she does. Usually. Usually, Penelope is a remarkably patient girl. Well-mannered. Quiet. She usually wears those attributes on her shoulders like a uniform. But for some reason, they tend to slip away from her whenever Colin is near. 

Penelope’s eyes flick right, towards Colin’s family home. It seems purposeful, that they’re walking along the shadows of this wall. 

“Is Eloise home yet?” she asks, for no other reason than to fill the silence between them. Usually, Penelope prefers such silence. But not right now. 

“Uh, no. Ben took her into the city for her, uh… Her doctor appointment. They usually don’t get back until supper time.” 

Out of Colin’s view, she nods. For the past year — ever since Mr. Bridgerton died — Eloise has been seeing a doctor in the city pretty regularly. Penelope’s mum told her to never ask any follow up questions about these visits… but silently, she’s always questioned what type of doctor is able to fix an ailment like heartbreak. 

“Are you doing anything for the summer holiday?” she asks, another attempt to just fill the silence. She already knows the answer. They always travel up to Aubrey Hall for at least a week, this time of year. Always. 

“Nah. Just staying here, I guess.” 

“Oh.” Dread appears suddenly and sits heavily in Penelope’s stomach. Mr. Bridgerton died at Aubrey Hall last August. Of course they’re not eager to return.  “Us too.” 

“Cool. I’ll see you around then.”

She feels her cheeks instantly flush. “Yeah. Cool,” she says, hoping her voice does not expose the growing warmth on her skin. 

Without a word, Colin breaks away from the stone wall beside them and walks towards a particularly dense cluster of trees. When Penelope follows, she finds Colin standing next to something she’s never seen before, despite the many years she’s spent playing with Eloise in this yard. It’s a wooden shed of sorts. It’s wide and just about as tall as Penelope. 

“What is that?” 

“Some old shed. I dunno… I think they used to store firewood in here, back in the olden days.” He kicks open the latch with his foot. “Empty now, though. I don’t think anyone else remembers it’s here.” 

“So…” 

“So, your cat could live here.” 

Penelope looks down. At some point in the last few minutes, she had somehow forgotten the kitten held tightly against her chest. She had forgotten her whole point in being here. 

“Oh! Right. That’s, um…” 

She steals another glance at the shed. It certainly does look like it was last used during the “olden times.” 

“That’s really kind. But how would he — how would that work?” 

“We get him a bed, milk, food… Everything a cat needs to survive.”

Penelope’s brow furrows. “Those things cost money…”

Colin shrugs. “I’ll steal a $20 out of Anthony’s wallet.” A smile erupts on his face when he sees shock overtake Penelope’s. He didn’t know a child could open their mouth that wide. “Kidding — I’ll just tell him I’m sad. He’ll probably hand me a $20 and tell me to go fix my feelings with ice cream.” 

“Oh — okay. But…” Her mind stalls, searching for another flaw in his logic to voice aloud. There are just so many to choose from. “Mum always says we can’t get a pet cause they’re too much responsibility. You have to take care of them, feed them, make sure —” 

“Hey — we’re both very responsible people. I help keep Greg alive, and that kid thinks licking an electrical socket is a fun pastime. If I can do that, keeping a cat alive will be nothing.” 

“So we would, um…” She steals another glance at the shed before them. She can’t help but look at it and see a cage. “We would just lock him in there all day?”

“No!” He says quickly, a bit nervously. “We’ll keep the door open — or I could even cut a cat-sized hole in the side. You know, so he can come and go as he pleases.” 

“But if he’s able to leave that easily… Won’t he get lost again?” 

“No. If I know anything about cats, it’s that if you feed them, they’ll always find their way back to you. And since you found him hanging out in Grosvenor Square, clearly he’s an outside cat, not an inside cat.”

Penelope looks down at the kitten again. His attention has turned away from her; his round eyes dart back and forth wildly as he takes in all the space around them.

“I thought only strays went outside.” 

“No. A cat can have a home and not want to stay cooped up in at all day long.” Colin takes another step towards her. He raises his hand and scratches behind the kitten’s ear, who immediately starts purring. “Clearly, this little badass wants to roam free.” 

Yet again, Penelope can feel her cheeks burn pink. She’s lived in London her entire life, she’s heard words far worse than “badass” a million times before — but never from Colin’s lips. In fact, the two of them had never really been alone like this before. He was her best friend’s brother — a friend of sorts, but tangentially so. He was only ever in Penelope’s company through her friendship with Eloise. She isn’t used to having this much of his attention on her. 

“Here.” After what feels like hours, she pulls the kitten away from her chest and nearly shoves him into Colin’s. “He seems to really like you.” 

“Oh — okay.” Unsurprisingly — and annoyingly quickly — the kitten settles into his arms. Clearly, Colin’s natural charm works on animals just as well as it does on people. 

Colin finally takes his eyes off of hers, turning around to show the kitten what could be his new home. With his gaze finally off her, Penelope’s mind flushes with panic. With words she had brushed off just moments before. Colin offering to spend his own money. To cut a hole in the shed. To take care of the cat, himself. 

He has enough going on as it is. 

Penelope looks up to see Colin setting the tiny creature down in the shed. Then, without much thought, she steps forward and takes the kitten in her arms again. 

“I’m sorry, Colin. I didn’t mean to get you wrapped up in this.” She turns away, pulling the kitten closer into her chest.  “I’ll drop him off that the fire —”

“Pen, stop.” His hand falls on her shoulder, then squeezes it once, gently. Although she is not very experienced in receiving such small physical gestures, Penelope can tell that he meant it to be reassuring. “He’ll be fine here, I promise.” 

She turns slowly. His hand drops. By the time they face each other again, her blush has almost abandoned her cheeks. Almost. 

“Are you sure it’s not too much?” 

He laughs. Genuinely. Kindly. Just as he always does. 

“No.” Gently, Colin pulls the kitten out of her arms again. “How could this little guy ever be ‘too much?’” 

Pushing away all thoughts that scream that this is a bad idea, Penelope pushes her shoulders back. She stands tall (metaphorically, of course). 

“I’ll do half the work — at least. I can check on his bowl every morning. Make sure he has water and food and whatever else he needs. Maybe you can do the same at night. And if you ever can’t, just let me know and I’ll help. And if it ever does become too much, I can find him somewhere else to live.” 

When she finally closes her mouth, Colin’s smile returns. Then, he extends his hand towards her. “You got a deal, Featherington.” 

Tentatively, Penelope raises her hand to seal said deal. But before she can make contact, Colin’s hand moves, as if to signal her to “stop.” 

“Once last thing. We should just keep this whole thing between us, or ya know… Anthony will send both me and the cat to the nearest shelter.” 

“Colin! I —” 

“Kidding!” He laughs again, which has a surprisingly good effect on Penelope’s nerves. “But really… It’s simpler if we don’t tell anyone else. Not even Eloise — she can’t keep a secret for her life.” 

She tilts her head again, stealing a not-so-quick glance at his eyes (through the mop of hair still obscuring that blue-green colour). Since as long as she can remember, Penelope has always wanted more of Colin — in some ways that she will not be able to define with words until she is much older. But even at just eight years old, Penelope knows she wants to be around him. She wants his attention. She wants to share a secret with him. Even if she knows it’s a bad idea. 

“Deal.” With that, Penelope shakes Colin’s hand and seals their fate forever. 

꙳ ꙳ ꙳

August 5th, 2003

꙳

It turned out to be a rather easy secret to keep. 

Penelope was good at staying unseen — at blending into the shadows. Every morning at approximately 7 AM, she snuck into the Bridgerton back garden. And every morning at approximately 7:10 AM, she snuck out without being noticed by anyone other than Colin. Not that has mum or siblings would bat an eye if they happened to find Penelope back there. Before Edmund died and her own mum warned her to keep herself scarce, there were times that Penelope spent more time at the Bridgertons’ home than her own house. And despite Portia’s warnings, they would gladly invite her inside, any day. 

Colin was also quite good at escaping his family’s notice on his own daily task. Every night around dusk, he would sneak into the kitchen or bathroom, fill an 8-ounce bottle with tap water, then hide it in the front pocket of whatever hoodie he happened to be wearing that day. They kept the cat food in the shed, in a locked container Colin bought at the pet store down the street (with money he had stolen from Anthony’s wallet — although he never admitted that he followed through on the theft “joke” to Penelope). The longer time went on, the less effort he put into sneaking out of the house everyday. The longer time went on, the more obvious it became how easy it is to disappear from a house with nine people. Especially when the one person everyone searches for is no longer around. 

The only conspirator that ever put them at risk of being found out was Mr. Whiskers (a name Colin had thought of, after Penelope complained that they couldn’t just keep calling him “little guy.”). Three times in two weeks, Whiskers had loitered around the Bridgerton’s back steps, meowing for attention. Colin had caught him the first time and shooed him off. Daphne caught him the second time and screamed bloody murder. Anthony caught him the third and nearly called animal control, but thankfully, Benedict had stepped in to tell their older brother to “chill out.” Thankfully, Whiskers seemed wary of coming close to the Bridgerton household after that last encounter. 

A routine formed. Penelope would sneak into the garden in the morning. Colin would sneak out of his home at night. Mr. Whiskers would come and go as he pleased between meals. Their paths rarely cross. Until tonight, when Colin spots someone running towards the back of the garden in the moonlight from his bedroom window. 

Someone quite short. 

Less than five minutes later, Colin runs along the same path — far less cautious than he usually is at dusk. He prays his mum or siblings are not watching out their windows like he was his. That they’re asleep — not pacing circles in their rooms in the middle of the night. He knows the risks are there, but the further his feet carry him, the more faraway they feel.

He hears crying in the distance. Quiet, but persistent.

He sees her before she sees him — sitting criss crossed on the entry of the shed, Mr. Whiskers climbing into her lap tentatively. She does not notice him until he is standing but a few feet away. 

Colin had felt distinctly uneasy since the very moment he spotted her in the back garden. But a wave of fear strikes him cold when their eyes meet. Hers go so wide that he swears he can see the moonlight reflect off of them. She does not immediately speak; even her crying goes silent when she realises she is not alone. 

“Pen, what’s wrong? How can I help?” 

“Noth — nothing.” She sounds scared. At least the fearful look in her eye is somewhat obstructed by nightfall. Her words cut clean through the darkness. 

He steps forward, now standing only inches away from her. Instinctively, his hand raises and gently grips her shoulder. He feels her flinch beneath his touch, but not enough to remove herself from it. 

“Pen, whatever it is, you can tell me. I can help.” 

She averts his gaze, focusing intently on the cat still sitting in her lap.

“It’s nothing, really. I — I just wanted to see Mr. Whiskers for a little bit.” 

Colin doesn’t say anything, too busy internally trying to make sense of the words she spills and the worry in her voice. They do not fit together. 

“I’m sorry,” she continues. She uses the back of her hand to wipe at her nose. “I shouldn’t have — I’ll just go.” 

“Don’t go.” Before Penelope can move, Colin squeezes her shoulder again. His mum does the same thing when he gets so upset and that he needs help calming down. 

Slowly, under Colin’s grasp, Penelope’s shoulders stop heaving. Her breath evens out. She meets his eye again.

“What happened?”

“Honestly, nothing.”

“Pen —”

“Nothing that isn’t, like, normal, I mean.” He does not know what she means. He can’t imagine a single normal thing that would cause someone to run away crying from their home in the middle of the night. Especially someone as small and defenceless as Penelope. 

“Mum and dad were just fighting,” she confesses after realising that Colin’s look of concern will not fade unless she tells him the truth. “A bit louder than usual, I guess. But it’s not like I haven’t heard them fight a million times before.” 

“That’s —” Not normal. But he doesn’t say that. He can’t say that. He’s suddenly — alarmingly — struck by the fact that what he deems “normal” might not be the same for Penelope. That there are “normal” things in his life — all of which came about in the past year — that other people would scoff at and tell him are unimaginable for a kid to deal with at his age. 

That’s not right, would be more accurate. But he doesn’t say that either. Instead, he simply asks: “Do you want to come inside? El is probably asleep, but I could wake her —” 

“No — thank you, but no. I should actually get going.” With that, Penelope slips out of his hold. “Mum will kill me if she realises I slipped out.” She places Mr. Whiskers back in the shed before turning to leave. She takes four steps before Colin finds his voice again.

“You don’t have to do deal with this all by yourself, Pen. I’m here. I want to help.” 

At his words, Penelope goes completely still. Deer-in-deadlights type stillness. Then, before he knows it, she’s walking towards him. 

Her arms wrap around his torso. Her hands land firmly on his spine. Her forehead falls on his shoulder. Without a single thought, his body reacts. His arms wrap around her and his jaw settles on the crown of her head. For a moment, it feels like its just the two of them in the world. Until Colin feels something furry cross his ankle. 

“I guess Whiskers was feeling left out,” he says. Penelope laughs and Colin feels a bit lighter. That lightness is quickly followed by something hollow when Penelope pulls herself out of the hug to pick up the kitten meowing at her feet. 

“He keeps trying to follow me home after breakfast.” She giggles softly. “Clearly, he doesn’t remember meeting my mum, or else he would stay away forever. I think she thought he was a rat that day I found him.” 

Colin chuckles, and it’s only somewhat forced. “Yeah, he tried sneaking into my house a few times. He met Anthony last time, though, and I don’t think he’s ever gonna forget that.”

She giggles again. “Was he mad?” 

“His face was red — literally! Although, I’m starting to think that’s just how is face normally is and that it takes great effort for him to appear like us normal people, if that’s how he reacts to a cute little kitten hanging around our back door.” 

Penelope scratches Whiskers behind his ears. Eyes not leaving the cat, she whispers: “I don’t know how people can see something so sweet and get so mad.” 

Colin’s eyes don’t leave Penelope when he responds, suddenly a bit deflated: “Me neither.” 

Slowly, she lowers Mr. Whiskers back to the ground. The cat does not appear to be very keen on leaving her side just yet, but Penelope still insists: “I should really head back now. Before anyone notices I left.” 

Colin spares a glance over his shoulder, towards the family home he had nearly forgotten about. It’s likely past midnight already, but there are still a few lights on upstairs. 

“Yeah,” he grumbles. “Me too.” 

Penelope nods. She looks like she’s about to turn and leave when Colin blurts out: “You wanna meet here again in the morning? When you feed Whiskers, I mean.” 

She doesn’t immediately respond with words, but rather with a very confused expression lit by the moonlight. “I thought —”

“Our system’s like efficient and all,” he cuts in, “but we haven’t exactly seen each other much since we started taking care of him. I dunno, I guess I just thought that we would hang out more.” 

“Oh!” Her voice registers barely below a squeak. “Yeah. I know what you mean. I…” She pauses so long that Colin wonders if it is his turn to speak again. But right before he can blurt out something again, Penelope says: “I’d like that.” 

For the first time in days, a smile creeps up on Colin’s lips. 

“Cool. See you tomorrow.” 

꙳ ꙳ ꙳

August 14th, 2003

꙳

“I’m not sure I understand the rules of this game.”

“It’s our game. The rules can be whatever we want them to be.” 

Penelope stands with the tips of her toes and the palms of her hands pressed neatly against Colin’s matching sets. There’s a piece of cat biscuit placed between her right palm and Colin’s left. There’s a tiny kitten peering up at them from where their shoes connect. He looks just as confused on the parameters of this game as Penelope feels. 

The rules, they eventually settle on, are these: 

Before getting into the aforementioned position, one person briefly presents the biscuit to Mr. Whiskers (taking turns to avoid leading the cat towards favouritism of one player over another).

On the count of three, one person takes the biscuit into their hands, both turn around and run in opposite directions. 

Mr. Whiskers follows whoever he believes holds his treat. 

Penelope ends up with the biscuit three times. Colin ends up with it five times. It falls to the ground between them eleven times. Each time, without fail, Whiskers immediately takes off after Penelope. 

“This isn’t fair!” Colin calls out from behind a tree on their twentieth attempt at this so-called ‘game.’ “It’s not my fault you bonded with him first.” He points a finger at the cat currently pawing at her ankles. “I feed you just as much as she does — traitor!”

“Shhh, Colin!” Penelope whisper-yells. “Someone might hear you.” 

“Oh, who cares?” he says nonchalantly, retreating back towards the shed. 

I care, Penelope thinks. She doesn’t want any one of Colin’s many siblings to stumble upon them back here. She’s not ready to give up this secret. She’s not willing to end this game. Not yet, anyway. 

“Mr. Whiskers cares. I doubt he wants to be evicted from his home just because you’re a sore loser.” She picks the kitten up and plops him down on Colin’s lap, now sitting criss-cross in the shed’s doorway. 

“Well, he should have thought about that before picking sides.” He sticks his tongue out at Mr. Whiskers, who continues to appear unphased by his surroundings. 

Like she has come accustomed to doing over the past two weeks, Penelope sits down on the other end of the shed’s opening. His body is turned towards her, but she keeps her positioned outwards, as if to keep watch. Her legs cross in front of her at the ankles, her nails scratch into the grain beneath her, and, sitting upright, the crown of her head brushes the wood frame. Colin is — obviously — slouched in his spot beside her. 

After a moment of quiet, Colin clears his throat. 

“You know, you can come over for dinner tonight, if you want.” 

“Oh, no. That’s okay,” Penelope says quickly. Dismissively. “Mum will expect me home soon. I think we’re having stew.” 

“Yeah, but what about tomor—” It’s a pretty uncommon occurrence for Penelope to see a blush pass by Colin’s typically unblemished face, but right now, it hits his cheeks in an instant. He turns away. “Well, not tomorrow. Obviously. But another day.”

The mention of tomorrow brings a feverish feeling to Penelope’s chest. Much different than the warm feeling she usually feels in that same spot when she’s around Colin.

“I can’t. I — I don’t want to impose.”

“You wouldn’t.” He finally looks her in the eye again. “You wouldn’t, I promise. When you have eight kids, one more mouth to feed hardly makes a difference.” His eyes travel to the side again. They point towards his house, partially obstructed by the scattering of trees they’ve found themselves in. “El would be happy if you stopped in. Mum too.” 

Penelope tries to push out her mother’s voice from her head when she says: “Yeah. Another day. Soon.” 

“Good.” 

After another moment of quiet, she pushes herself forward and lands with two feet on the grass. 

“I really should head back now, though.” 

“Okay, I’ll —”

“But, Colin?” She interrupts — a truly rare occurrence for Penelope Featherington. 

“Yeah?”

“I was just thinking… Maybe I could feed Mr. Whiskers breakfast and dinner tomorrow. I know we have our system, but… I just — I don’t want you to have to deal with taking care of him on top of any… family stuff.”

Colin, now holding rather tightly onto Mr. Whiskers in his arms, considers her offer for a moment. His brows furrow. His eyes glance downward. He starts forming a word on his lips and Penelope expects to hear the word “no” escape from them shortly after. But instead, he nods and says: “That’s kind of you to offer. Thanks, Pen.”

Kindness isn’t something that Penelope has ever been thanked for before. She had been rewarded for it in other ways, but not like this. Kindness had always been something that was expected, not appreciated. Now, she feels hesitant to accept thanks for something as small as offering up a few minutes of her time for someone who has gone through more grief than she can even imagine. So instead of accepting it outright, she simply nods and says: “Goodnight, Colin.” 

 ꙳ ꙳ ꙳

August 25th, 2003

꙳

When Penelope walks towards the shed at approximately 6:55 AM this Monday morning, the door is shut. This is strange. The door is always open. Penelope had convinced Colin not to cut a little cat door on the side of the shed (he had wanted to use a saw from their garage), so the door always has to be open for Whiskers to come and go. Always. 

The closer she gets, the harder it is for her to take another step. Her head is already filled with the image of an empty cavern on the other side of that door. It couldn’t have close on its own; the latch is locked. Someone closed it. 

Just as her hand grazes that metal latch, Penelope hears footsteps. Quick and increasingly loud footsteps. She jumps (literally) around — heart pounding, eyes wide — and sees…

“Colin! Where’s Mr. Whiskers?!

“In there.” He points to the shed behind her, still shut tight. Once he gets close enough, he reaches over he shoulder and finally undoes the latch. Just as promised, the cat is there, curiously looking up at them.

“He keeps trying to follow me back into the house after I feed him. Last night, he was scratching at the back door. Thank God I got to him before Anthony.” 

“So he was just locked in there all night?” 

She spares another sideways glance at the shed’s interior. It’s not nearly as bare as it had been that first day she looked inside. There’s two containers. Two bowls. Two electric lanterns. A blanket. A few cat toys. And a few human toys she assumes once belonged to Colin. To an animal as tiny as Mr. Whiskers, it might seem huge, but to Penelope, it all feels very claustrophobic. 

“Yeah, but… Sometimes it’s just safer to stay put for a little while. Even outdoor cats need to be reigned in some nights.” 

Penelope doesn’t know whether to agree or disagree with his words, so she tries her best to ignore them. She climbs into the shed, gives Whiskers an affectionate bop on the head, then fills his bowl with breakfast. 

“I wanted to wake up early and let him out, but… I guess I slept in.” Colin’s out of her view, still standing just outside the shed, but she can guess there’s a guilty look creeping up on his face. 

“You’re not wrong,” she finally settles on. When Whiskers finishes his meal, she finally looks back to Colin. Just as expected, guilt is evident on his face. “But maybe Mr. Whiskers isn’t an outside cat after all. Maybe that’s why he keeps trying to follow us back to our own homes.” 

“I thought that was just because he loves us.” Leave it to Colin Bridgerton to transform guilt into charm in under 30 seconds. 

“Well…” Penelope turns back to Mr. Whiskers again. As usual, he’s peering up at them with a transfixed — maybe even loving — stare. “Maybe you have a point.” 

“I usually do —” 

“But still — do you really think this is what’s best for him?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“I mean…”

She bites her tongue — literally. All of this started because of her own selfish wants. To keep the cat. To occupy Colin’s attention. To have a reason to get out of her house every morning. But the more time has gone on, the harder it has become to see past the potential consequences of her selfishness.

“Summer’s almost over. We have to go back to school and can’t look out for him all day. It’s gonna get cold soon…” Colin’s face looks serious now. More serious than she’s used to seeing it. She looks away. “What if he gets sick? Or needs a vet? I just don’t know if this is really his best option.”

Penelope points both hands towards the shed. Towards the small wooden structure that completely transformed her summer. Towards the only home Mr. Whiskers has ever known — dim and claustrophobic as it may be. She expects Colin’s eyes to follow her lead, but they don’t. For a moment, it feels as though her presence completely slips from his view. His eyes are fixated on something in the distance — something in the opposite direction. Then —

“Shite!” 

His arms hastily wrap around Penelope’s waist. It takes everything in her not to shriek in surprise as he practically throws her into the shed. Thankfully, Mr. Whiskers jumps from the doorway to the back of the shed in an instant, or else she surely would have crushed him on impact. 

“Colin! What —”

“Shh!” Colin climbs in and shuts the door behind him. Thank God those electric lamps are still (just barely) holding onto life and dimly illuminating the space, or else Penelope would not have been able to discern him mouth: “Anthony.” 

The tips of their toes touch in the limited space. Penelope wonders if he can feel her shaking through the plastic tips of her yellow converse. The concerned look he throws her way tells her that he must.

“You okay?” he mouths. 

She thinks about nodding. She briefly wonders if a nod can count as a lie, or if lies can only be spoken aloud. But she doesn’t do anything, except stay frozen in her spot. 

Everything is quiet. For a brief moment, Penelope thinks they may have actually gone unnoticed. Then, she remembers that the latch — the flimsy piece of metal that keeps these doors shut — is on the other side. When Mr. Whiskers paws at the wood beams, the door swings open. The morning light nearly blinds her, but not enough to miss Anthony Bridgerton’s very mad — very red — face. 

“Colin — what the hell?!” 

Just as Colin had thrown her into of the shed mere moments ago, Anthony now pulls Penelope out of it by the shoulders. Just like Whiskers, she somehow manages to land on her feet. 

“I knew it! I knew you were irresponsible, but this —” He bends down and grabs Whiskers by the scruff of his neck. “This is insane. Even for you.” 

Anthony turns to Penelope, as if he has only just now discovered her presence beside Colin. In mere seconds, she watches his face turn from anger to shock to annoyance. He turns to his little brother again. 

“I will be the responsible adult and make sure this — thing — finds an actual home and doesn’t continue living on the streets.” With a near-growl caught in his throat, Anthony tells Colin: “We will discuss this later.” 

He turns to leave, but stops. “And Colin, do not mention this to mum. Or anyone else.” 

He starts then stops again. “And Penelope, please do not let my brother’s bad influence rub off on you. A nice girl like you has enough trouble as it is being friends with Eloise.” 

It isn’t until Anthony has properly stomped away, Mr. Whiskers securely tucked in his arms, that Penelope seems to regain control of her body and mind. Slowly, she turns towards Colin. She uses every second between then and the moment she looks him in the eye to begin preparing an apology. For getting him in trouble with his brother. For getting him caught up in this mess to start with. For being a bad friend. But the moment that their eyes meet… Colin does not look like he is expecting an apology of any sort. 

He laughs. 

“Did you see the look on his face?!” 

“Uhh. I don’t —” 

 “He looked like a tomato! I swear one day he’s gonna burst and —”

“Colin,” she says, concern in her voice, too low to break through the noise of his continued laughter.

“— marina sauce is gonna go flying —”

“Colin!” she says again, a bit louder this time. Thankfully, it seems to get his attention. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have —”

“Oh god, Pen. Don’t be sorry.” 

“But —” 

“But your — your brother —”

“I should be apologising for Ant— even if you and him were both right about Whiskers needing somewhere else to live.”

“Yeah…” As much as she will miss her tiny, furry friend, this is for the best. For Whiskers, at least. “But Anthony was so mad at you. And I —”

“He’ll get over it. That’s the great thing about having seven siblings — wait five minutes and someone will do something even stupider than you. Daph and El are probably inside getting into a fist fight as we speak.” 

The mention of her best friend temporarily draws Penelope’s thoughts away from her internal pity party. She saw Eloise plenty of times over the past few weeks, but not nearly as much as she did during previous summer breaks. Before last August. 

“You wanna come over for dinner tonight?” Colin asks, breaking her from her thought spiral.

“Hmm?”

“I said,” he smirks, “do you want to come over for dinner tonight?” 

“I don’t know… Anthony seemed —”

“Don’t worry about Anthony. He’ll get over it — and you heard him, he’s not even going to rat us out to my mum.” He takes a step forward, then places his hand on Penelope’s shoulder. He squeezes it once. “It’ll be fun. Everyone will be excited to see you.” 

Not for the first time — and certainly not the last — Penelope feels at a loss for words. All she can manage is a tiny nod. A nearly imperceptible movement. 

Colin smiles. 

“Good. Just so you know, the door is always open. Always.” 

Finally, little Penelope Featherington finds her voice again. 

“I know.” 

-------------------------------------------------------

Penelope tries to hide the smile on her lips by shoving another fork full of shrimp fried rice into her mouth. Colin — of course — sees right through her attempt. 

“So…” 

“Anthony was right. We were awfully irresponsible that summer. He was better off after Danbury took him in and he became Lord Whiskers.”

“Hey — give us a little credit! How many 8 or 10-year-olds do you know who could keep a cat alive for a summer all by themselves?” 

“The only impressive thing we did that summer was keeping our little secret hidden from the rest of your family.” 

“What are you talking about?!” Colin says, unable to keep his ever-charming laugh from escaping his throat as he speaks. “Do not downplay our role in raising that cat. You rescued him from the mean streets of London. I —”

“I found him hiding out in a bush in Grosvenor Square!”

“Exactly! And I —” 

“Colin!”

“I built him a home,” he barely manages to get out through his laughter.

“That’s a bit over-dra—”

“We fed and took care of him for over a month. We were just kids — that’s pretty impressive. That means something.”

In her heart, Penelope knows that — obviously — it means something. But does it mean what Colin wants it to mean? That they should get married? Even with the rules he set forth, it seems like an insane connection to even consider.

“I don’t know…” 

“For five weeks, he was ours. That means a lot.”

For a moment, Penelope does consider it. She thinks about who Colin was to her before she found Mr. Whiskers. A friend — of sorts. Her best friend’s brother. A neighbour. A crush. Someone she looked at and longed for. After, she thinks of who Colin was to her on that morning Anthony found them hiding out in that tiny wooden shed. A friend. A fellow kid. A conspirator. Someone who saw her cowering in the dark and asked if she was okay. 

So what, if their hypothetical marriage hinges on a technicality? People have married on flimsier grounds before. 

“Fine,” she relents. “It counts.” 

A moment ago, she wouldn’t have thought it possible, but Colin’s grin grows even wider. 

“Of course it does.” As Penelope attempts to cover her own grin with a scoff, Colin picks up his phone again.

“Let’s see…”

[septimus-heap]

Marcia/cerys childhood friends au....

They meet on Wizard Way when they're both abt 8 and literally walk into each other. Cerys was just out for a walk and Marcia was at the bookshop bc she'd managed to save up just enough for one new magyk book and cerys knocks it out of her hands into a puddle :(

Cerys buys her a new one as an apology and they end up talking abt some of the books in the shop

Marcias surprised bc normally she's the only one who's read any of these books but cerys has had private tutors her whole life and is way ahead of other kids their age bc of it

They end up hanging out for the rest of the day and promise to meet up again tomorrow and then the next day and the next and sometimes cerys complains abt her parents or marcia rambles abt magyk and sometimes they play games up and down Wizard Way and get under everyone's feet

Marcia finds it kind of weird that no adults ever seem to tell Cerys off for anything ever but she doesn't think too much of it. Maybe they forgive her easier because she's more polite than Marcia is

Almost a year after they first met is when Cerys finally tells Marcia that she's the princess

Marcia doesn't believe her at first but Cerys insists, and says she'll arrange a meeting with her parents to prove it

(continues under the cut)

The next day, marcia finds herself in one of the Palace's many sitting rooms, having tea with the Queen and her husband. And also Cerys who is definitely the princess which is terrifying

Cerys was rlly worried abt telling her bc she thought that Marcia wouldn't want to be her friend after she found out but Marcia's mostly just worried that the queen won't like her

(because each of the very few times she's managed to make friends, their parents haven't liked her and have told their children to stop being friends with her. She doesn't think Cerys would actually listen if that happened and she'd be fine with being friends in secret but getting on the bad side of the actual queen sounds like a very bad idea)

It turns out the queen likes her and thinks her honestly and bluntness are good traits to have as the friend of the princess

She spends a lot of time at the palace after that

Cerys tells her all about being a princess and the etiquette classes she takes (cerys loves learning about etiquette, it turns out. She loves dancing and horseriding and rules and debate and politics too. She's the perfect Queen-To-Be)

Marcia tells Cerys about school - how the teachers find her irritating for her constant interruptions and corrections, and how the other children think she's a know-it-all.

Cerys lights up and says that the queen would definitely let marcia join her lessons instead of going to school, if she wanted to, but marcia refuses, because then she might have to explain this whole thing to her mother, and she really doesn't want to. She doesn't think her mother would approve, considering their family's past experiences with royalty

Marcia meets the ExtraOrdinary Wizard for the first time when she is nine and three quarters. He greets Cerys first, of course, and then Marcia, and when he asks her name she squeaks and panics and stutters and Cerys has to answer for her. Marcia is so embarrassed she avoids the Extraordinary Wizard for the next year

Marcia is twelve when her mother finds out where she goes on weekends and after school, and the ensuing argument ends with her being locked in her room without dinner. Her mother tells her that it's for her own good, that she needs to decide whether she wants to keep her mother or her friend. That she won't be let out until she decides

She leaves through the window with a single bag of things that are irreplaceable - her sketchbook, her hand-drawn labyrinth patterns, her most loved magyk books, a picture of her and her parents, from when they were all together and happy. The guards at the palace entrance recognise her, and notice her tears, and one of them leaves his post to walk her to Cerys's room

Cerys is furious when she hears what happened. Marcia has seen her angry before but never quite like this. She finds herself thinking that Cerys is very pretty when she's angry and rapidly shoves that thought down where she can't reach it

When morning comes, marcia is officially given a room in the palace. She is asked, again, if she would like to join Cerys's lessons, but again she refuses - this time in favour of becoming a Hopeful at the wizard tower

She gets drunk for the first time when she's sixteen. There was a party in the ramblings, but she slipped away with Cerys and they're sat together in one of the many rooftop gardens when Cerys looks at her, flushed and smiling and asks if she can kiss her. Marcia, also smiling, doesn't have words to respond with, but she nods and they kiss and then are chased down from the garden by the old lady who owns it, laughing all the way

The queen is not surprised at all when they tell her, nor are any of the other people they tell. They've been making eyes at each other for years, after all

When marcia is seventeen, the Extraordinary Wizard comes to find her. He tells her that Silas is thinking of quitting, and she is his first choice for a new apprentice, if she wants to be. She's already been taught some things by him, because both alther and the queen thought it would be good for the princess's partner to be able to protect her if need be, but she was very much not an apprentice

When Cerys ends up pregnant, they of course have to talk about it. Marcia doesn't want to look after a child. She can't be a parent. Cerys does, and can, but they agree not to talk about it until the child is born

They never get a chance

Marcia doesn't mistake the assassin for a messenger, having lived in the palace for most of her life, but she doesn't immediately register them as a threat. She gets a shield up just quickly enough to send the bullet skittering into Cerys's stomach instead of her heart but she still collapses and she still drops her baby and Marcia rushes forward to catch them both

Alther was not inside her shield and the assassin's next bullet catches him in the leg

Alther tells Marcia to go and get help, and to get the baby princess to safety. He also gives her the amulet, because even though they're all fairly sure Cerys and him will survive as things are right now, they don't know if there are other assassins

Marcia leaves and Alther kills the assassin and turns his attention to helping Cerys

Marcia leaves the baby princess at the Wizard Tower and rushes back, along with two wizards from the sick bay

Alther is mostly fine, but Cerys barely survives, and they decide to keep it a secret that Cerys is alive until they can figure out what happened and so she moves in with Marcia and Alther

They still give the baby princess to the heaps, because that way even if Cerys is found out, the princess will still be safe

Alther has Marcia hold onto the amulet until the bullet wound heals and he can walk again

Okay ngl I'm tired of writing this now,, the rest will go in a reblog or smth later <33

[galaxythixf]

@fatexbound said: "What if they kissed?" (Giving you either Akimitsu or YukiChie) Send "What if they kissed" for a hypothetical scenario with no strings attached || Accepting

They shouldn't be doing this.

That's the thought that echoes throughout her mind the more the suggestion seems to sit between the two of them as if it weren't completely obvious by the way they looked at one another. The snow outside is what ushered them inside in the first place and as the chill of the evening settled in the cure hadn't ever looked so obvious before. Whatever feeling she felt now was something that's been dying to claw its way to the surface for so long now it almost felt painful to repress it any longer whenever she looked at her. Best friend started to feel like a lie when the truth felt so much heavier within the confines of her chest. Her name sat so heavenly at the center of it that friend didn't feel like enough.

Yukiko.

What was she thinking? Nothing good, she knows and part of what's kept her from voicing it is what she knows to be a learned reaction. Learned rejection that's a result of Yukiko's own circumstances and Chie was content with keeping quiet about it until the possibility felt … attainable. She's spent so much time at the Inn it's hardly a surprise that she's here for the night again after a nasty storm kept her from making it any further than a few steps outside. Usually not a big deal after a quick phone call to her parents but now it felt like such a gamble when the space between them is so small and Chie's will to resist is growing so thin. Brown eyes fall on Yukiko's lips with a stare that lingers before she corrects it, snapping back to the other girl's eyes in an instant and fumbling to find the words she meant to ask.

"A-Are you still cold?" Chie knows she's the one that felt the effects of the storm the most but her priorities were always Yukiko before herself, a habit. She can't remember what brought her so close to begin with but she doesn't move and under dim lighting she can hardly make out Yukiko's expression but she knows the other isn't stopping her from getting any closer. She should stop, what if someone walks in? It's enough to make Chie glance toward the door but nothing more, pleased with the risk when both time and the weather happened to be on their side. There were still guests downstairs being tended to and on a school night, it was usually safe to assume Yukiko would be left alone after a certain time. There were exceptions, but all Chie could do was hope tonight wasn't one of them.

She shouldn't, but she wants to so badly.

The arms that draw around her shoulders speak for themselves and Chie could feel the heat of her cheeks responding to the action in kind as they draw her in. They're shaking and ordinarily she would have blamed it on the weather but she knows better. She knows Yukiko better than anyone to know they must share the same urgency, the same desire that's left them with the choice to risk it when offered such a fragile sense of privacy and she knew she'd feel stupid for never taking it but worse if their moment led to humiliation from ignorant passersby's. It's a risk they're both willing to take, evidently and with one more shaky breath Chie gives in to take it. The chill of bitter winter melts to the flame Yukiko's lips kindle within her and it burns bright enough to make her whole body tingle with the need to keep her here, keep her close, keep her lips on hers. The moment they meet she feels like they were always meant to be entwined in each other's space like this. They were never meant to be apart, not when they felt so perfectly together.

Her heart's beating so fast she can hardly hear herself think anymore. The world fades to the background when all she craves is a little more of Yukiko, the main motivation for the shaky hands on the other girl's waist gently guiding her closer. This was so nice she could hardly believe she avoided it for so long and Chie felt so elated with the feeling she nearly forgot about the fear that previously bound her.

Footsteps

Eyes snap open when she hears them and in an instant they're apart, the Chariot quickly turning her back to the door when the knock inevitably comes to hide her blushing face that she would have no excuse for. That was close. Too close.

… But she wanted more of it.

[redwayfarers]

continuously denying others who think they are together - for intellis <3

ooh, an ask! tysm for dropping by! a nice surprise. also, intellis have been on my mind recently so :> also, huge thanks to @melusinedreams for giving me the idea for this a while back. it finally got written down.

-- Dareia, somewhere on the Rhesainian ocean

Marya has always been told Wayfarers on a ship bring bad luck. Her parents were rather insistent on it. She had no way of testing these claims, of course, as in all her years of sailing, there haven't been any Wayfarers on board until now. Two elf-shaped magical voids roaming along the deck.

She has to admit she's curious. Who wouldn't be? She prays every night the ship doesn't suddenly sink of course, but the skies have been clear, seas calm and after two weeks, she gets used to seeing them around. Her anxieties soothed, she can now observe from a busy distance.

She hears them before she sees them. One of them, the taller one, always seems to be involved in some kind of conversation. Not that he really needs announcing that way; it's hard to miss him even when he's quiet, even when he covers that red hair of his under scarfs. Between the freckles and the height, it's difficult to not see him from the corner of your eye. He sings often, not caring for the quality, he laughs even more so, expressive, mocking, contagious.

She asked for his name, once. The question seemed to surprise him.

"Cassander Inteus," he said, a bit more softly than usual. When she went back to her work, she swore she saw him look back with prying, careful eyes.

One of Marya's friends corrected his singing, once. Cassander shook his head. "I'm Vestran, you know," he replied. "We don't sing it like that in Vestra, where we obviously sing it better. Take notes." Captain had to shoo them back to work with residue laughter on their lips.

More often than not, however, he spends time with his Wayfarer friend. They have their little spot safely out of the way yet still beneath the sun's merciless shine, though Marya's always wondered how they fit there when they're both so tall. Somehow, she doesn't think they mind the closeness.

The evening slowly descends on the Dareia. Day's work has long since given way to tiredness made worse by the scorching heat of the sun. Conversations are quiet and the sea joins in on them, waves splashing rhythmically against dark wood. She likes it. It's peaceful in a way so few things are.

Even the Wayfarers don't want to ruin it. Cuddled in their little corner, they seem to have exhausted most of their conversation topics for the day and are now content to just enjoy each other's presence. Cassander reaches out behind his friend's back, hand hovering over the dark, creased shirt.

"Can I?" he asks, far gentler than she's ever heard him speak before. It'd almost look like a different man, if it wasn't for the long, thick braid that trails down his back.

"Do you even have to ask, Songweaver?" His friend replies, equally softly. Songweaver. What a fitting nickname.

"I don't know, Aeran. Seems.. Appropriate to ask. Maybe you're not feeling touchy. Maybe you and your personal space are making out right now and don't need a third. I don't know."

Aeran chortles. "If I was making out with my personal space, I'd have left you here and gone to the cabin. And besides-" he leans in, whispering something in Cassander's ear. The redhaired elf pulls him close with a laugh and kisses his head.

"Beat me to it, Kellis, beat me to it," he says fondly. Marya smiles to herself. Young love's always brought a smile to her face.

When she sees Cassander emerge from the cabin next morning, she says with all the fervor of Erenvor's court gossip: "You and your boyfriend really defy the bad luck you Wayfarers bring to a ship, you know?"

Cassander stares. "My what?"

"Boyfriend. Are you married? Husband, then. Lover?"

"I... I have none of those things," he says slowly. "Aeran's my friend. My partner - not in that sense - and a very good friend." He huffs. "Got an issue with friends hugging each other?"

Marya bursts out laughing. He has no idea. "Nashira take me, of course not. But you weren't behaving like friends."

"Stars and hellfire, woman, what's wrong with you? We're friends. Friends!" He crosses his arms. "Back to work, you. Husband, she says. Do I look like the type to have a husband, of all things? Pfft."

Marya's always been told Wayfarers on a ship bring bad luck, but sometimes, they bring a little entertainment too.

[izzy-b-hands]

Day Three: Amends or Shore Leave

My brain and the prompts for this day were not cooperating, absolutely refused to be written, so I did my best with my fourth version here for Amends. Fairly short as a result, but, written!

Izzy is sentimental and regretful, and Stede misses Arthur. Enter a n opportunity to do something nice for Stede, to try and say an additional 'sorry.'

Ed's just enjoying his boyfriends being sweet to and on each other. Also, he finally gets to meet Arthur, as does anyone else who wants to!

---

"I told him it's water under the bridge," Stede gasps, exasperated. "What has he done?"

"Nothing ridiculous."

"He's the one who suggested more fireworks for fuckeries, so you'll forgive me if I don't believe you."

Ed shrugs. "Then don't believe me. But you'll like it, and it helps him feel like he's making amends more."

"But he doesn't need to!"

"I tried telling him as much. He's stubborn."

There's hide nor hair of Izzy until nearly the end of the day, when they pull into port-

"Not here," Stede strides down the deck, calling after Ed. "Ed, everyone here thinks I'm dead-"

"This is a little side dock, privately owned," Ed says soothingly. "No one knows we're here except them."

"And who is them, exactly? And why are we trusting them?"

"They're Doug's parents. From what you've told us of Doug, they seemed trustworthy enough."

Stede pauses mid-step. "Oh. I didn't know they had any property like this."

"A recent acquisition, a gift from Mary," Ed smiles. "Or so the letter from her and Doug said."

"What on earth have you and Izzy done to involve all of them?"

"You know how you keep bringing up Arthur?"

Stede nods. "Silly, but he was dear to me."

"Thought he was a horse?"

It takes a moment. "Ed."

"Sorry, I'm supposed to be stalling for time," Ed chuckles. "But I think we have your surprise ready!"

On the shore, tied to an impromptu post, stands Arthur.

"Izzy really did most of it. Reached out to Mary and Doug, to Doug's parents after that, and then paid to have him transported out this way," Ed continues. "But we both wrote the letters together, and I tossed in some coin as well."

"All so I could see him again?" Stede asks softly.

"He's getting older, and Iz thought you might like a last chance to see him. Just in case we don't make it back this way before-"

Stede nods. "Right. Where is he? I should thank him."

"You know he's still not quite so confident in the more...sentimental moments, like this," Ed says. "Think he's afraid the crew will take the piss constantly if he cries, or shows any-"

"They might for a day, but it's not meant in any ill will," Stede interrupts. "Is he in his room?"

"Has been since we got within eyeshot of shore. But go see Arthur first. Izzy would prefer it, and our time is slightly limited for your safety. No one should know we're here, and I'm fairly confident in that, but..."

"Why take risks if we don't need to. This is something of a risk, stopping here at all. And he really did, for me-"

"Go see your horse," Ed pats his back. "And you can see Iz after."

The time passes quickly. Doug's parents are lovely, Arthur is slower but still kind and sweet, and seemingly happy to see him again.

They finally sail off after the sun has set, and everyone else has gotten a chance to meet Arthur if they wanted.

And Izzy hasn't left his room once.

"Izzy?" Stede knocks on the door to his room. He keeps it only for these moments of being overwhelmed or uncertain, where he tells them he fears burdening them with whatever he has on his mind.

He says it's easier to be alone then, but Stede can't help but always want to knock right away to check on him.

"Yeah?" is the scraggly reply. He's been crying, and it's audible enough to have been going on for awhile.

"Can I come in? Or would you come back to our usual room?"

The door opens, and Izzy drops back onto his bed as Stede walks in. "All went well, Ed says."

"Ed is correct," Stede sits beside him. "Thank you. I hadn't thought of how Arthur getting on in years, and if you hadn't done this...probably wouldn't have gotten a chance to say goodbye, even if he lives a decent bit of time after this. I'm grateful for that."

"Fang didn't really get to say goodbye," Izzy wipes a tear away. "To his dog, and it's always bothered me. It wouldn't have been done at the time, with the way-"

"Things were, at the time."

"Right. But it still should have been. You know, my mum had me put down any animals that had outlived their use to her. Silly, but it always killed me that I was the last one to say goodbye to them, only to be the one to make the killing blow."

"I don't think that's silly," Stede tentatively wraps an arm around him, holding tighter when Izzy melts against him. "It would bother me too. Shame you didn't get to meet Arthur now, actually."

"I did," Izzy smiles weakly. "A few weeks back, when you sent myself and some of the others out to scout around-"

"You were really going all the way back here to finish arranging things," Stede interjects. "I shouldn't be surprised."

"I asked to see him off," Izzy continues. "Arthur, that is. He's older, figured he might not want to travel or be up to it. I'm something of an old nag myself; who knows how much longer I'll be able to sail and-"

"You are not that old."

"I'm old enough," Izzy sighs, but not unhappily. "He does have kind eyes."

"He does! Mary never got it, but he does!" Stede says. "The crew enjoyed meeting him too. Even got a bit weepy, some of them. I think more of us have left behind pets than we know."

"Frenchie won't go for a ship cat."

"What if it was a Main Coon? They're as close to a dog as a cat can get, or so I'm told."

"You have to convince him, not me," Izzy smiles. "Shall we head into bed?"

"Ed's in there waiting for us. Said we can't complain if he's taking up all the bed, because we weren't in there to stop him."

"He's absolutely right."

"He is."

[tricksheart]

Send “⚔” and I will list some tropes from TVTropes.org that describe our muses relationship.

( accepting )

@gloryseized said: ⚔ ( for Link )

Adoption Angst: Link was raised by a family of talking persona users after Akira's parents found Link as a baby. Though he loves his adoptive parents, Maya and Katsuya, Link also angsts over not knowing where he came from or who his birth parents are, all the more punctuated by the fact that he's never met any blondes like him until he meets Zelda later on.

Angst? What Angst?: Invoked. Unfortunately, this doesn't mean that Link is able to face the trauma of everything that a seasoned veteran hero has faced, especially at his age. Joker: You just went through some outrageous beeswax with losing your favorite arm and etcetera. You can't just expect to bounce back to normal. Link (genuinely surprised): I can't?

Big Brother Instinct: He is fiercely protective over Joker, despite being the younger brother. In "Evicted", Ganon kind of killed Joker for a minute. Link's reaction was… not pretty. In "To Cut a Woman's Hair", the witch merely uses Joker as a piece of furniture (albeit in the context of Links requiring someone to be in "danger" in order to help her), and Link charges.

Colorblind Confusion: In "Red Starved", Link's shown to be red-green colorblind after he mistakes a green emerald for a red ruby. Strangely, Joker (a persona user) CAN tell the difference, and is the one to correct him.

The Conscience: Good grief yes. Link's heroic nature counterbalances his closest's friends amoral tendencies. While it tends to be played for laughs with Joker, it's played more seriously (and more subtlety) with Ganon and Princess Zelda.

Death Seeker: Downplayed as he's not exactly trying to get himself killed, but after Joker passed away, Link admits that part of him is waiting for his own death just so he can reunite with Joker again.

Evil Laugh: Non-evil example; in "What is Life?", Link mischievously does this, while thinking to prank Joker after he pranked Link himself, as a type of revenge.

For Happiness: When he and Joker aren't busy fighting evil, they're just trying to have a good time.

Idiot Hero: Why is Link missing so many teeth? The nintendos' answer: He bites trees and rocks and stuff. He's stupid. Which makes it that much more interesting when his brain works perfectly, like in "Morituri te Salutamus". As shown in "The New Frontier", Link occasionally forgets how the sun works, and is seemingly floored when Joker re-explains it to him. In "The Real You", Link himself says that he's "full of stupid." This is more of an early season character trait as he becomes more intelligent as the series goes on, especially emotionally.

Morality Chain: Link may be the protagonist, but it becomes increasingly clear that he's also the Morality Chain to… damn near everyone else. He consciously takes on the role of turning Midna good, but it's also strongly implied that without him Joker would still be a thief and conman, Princess Zelda might be much more of a not great ruler, Ganon would be the psychopathic troll he likes to see himself as.

Samaritan Syndrome: In "Memories of Boom-Boom Mountain", Link reveals his underlying drive to help everyone and everything with their problems because when he was a baby, he once sat on a leaf and got stuck to it, and went unaided for hours until Joker's parents found him (and eventually adopted him). Link helps people because someone helped him once.

Singing Voice Dissonance: Throughout the series, Link sings with an auto-tuned voice that supposedly comes from a tiny computer he swallowed at some earlier point. Subverted in 'What Was Missing', where he sings a heartfelt song to (and about) his True Companions Joker, Zelda and Midna. The Auto-tune singing returns in the Season 6 finale, though it appears to be a mix of this and his normal singing.

True Companions: With Joker, emphasized by both family bonds and loyalty, and with Zelda to a slightly lesser extent. As characterization has developed, he may possibly also have this with Midna, given how highly she regards friendship. All of them take some steps towards becoming True Companions in "What Was Missing", though with Joker being the Wild Card, and Midna and Zelda not getting along very well, it takes some considerable effort on Link's part.

[willel]

I thought Hopper and Bob were stated to be old friends from high school even though they didn't exactly cross paths. Maybe like you said, they knew each other but did not exactly talk while Bob was secretly crushing on Joyce. Hmm... I wonder how they're gonna portray that then? Because from what we know, Joyce did not exactly have a connection to Bob until later on. Are they gonna just kinda change that? If that's not the case it would mean that we're just gonna most likely see Joyce and Hopper together instead, with a little bit of Bob, also I am not sure how correct it is but the wiki says that Bob was classmates with Joyce and Hopper, which is ig interesting. I do not think Bob would be 2-3 years old younger than Hopper or Joyce though because it is said that Hopper and Bob knew each other and were friends to an extent, I think they must have been in the same year for them to meet, but I am not sure. I just wonder how they're gonna connect their dynamic together since Joyce is said to be unaware of Bob's existence whereas Hopper seems to have a more connection to Bob when they were in highschool.

I'm imagining a situation where Hopper is the kid that kinda talks to everyone but isn't exactly super close friends with anyone? The one that's always chill but doesn't get too close.

So it'd make sense if he was friends or friendly with both Bob and Joyce but Joyce and Bob never actually crossed paths/met face to face.

One hour he's skipping class smoking cigarettes with Joyce under the stairs. The next hour he's with Bob in the library as Bob is trying to help him write a paper.

Next hour, I guess he's screwing a girl in the back of his dad old car as he claim he did in season 1.

If I had to guess what they're going to do with Bob, he's going to be connected to Hopper, who is connected to Joyce. Maybe it's possible out of all the kids, Bob is the one that interacted with Henry once or twice. He created and looked over the middle school AV club after all and that seems like something Henry would be interested in.

Then again, I don't think Henry was THAT into it because Will was able to use morse code to get by the Mind Flayer's mental block on him. If Henry knew Will was using morse code, surely he would've stopped him from doing that too. Then again, he was only there for a month, so it's not like Henry could've memorized morse code that quick. It could fit actually.

Bob really cared a lot about the whole outcast thing and being bullied. And how he never stood up to his bullies and admired that Joyce did. I dunno. I can see that coming into play.

Imagine a repeat of season 2. Bob telling Henry,

Bob: If my parents treated me that way. I would stand up to them once and for all. You get me? Don't be afraid to talk to your parents.

Henry: Oh ok. -goes home later that night and tries to murder everyone-

Bob seeing the news: Oh... his parents really were terrible. His dad ended up murdering him. :C

Pfff. Random thought don't take it too seriously. But anyway.

As for the same year thing, that's not necessarily true. Take Robin for example. I think she's a year behind Steve but shared at least 1 class with him. Depending on the high school, the subject, and the student, it's not odd for there to be younger and older students together in the same class. I wouldn't be surprised if Bob was super smart and was put into some higher level classes. Not sure if the concept of "AP class" existed back then but maybe it did.

So it'd be like:

Bob - direct interactions with Henry encouraging him to defend himself, much like he did for Will

Hopper - No interactions with Henry but has interactions with Bob, Joyce, and his parents. We got a lot of Hopper exposition in the show already to be honest so I don't think we need too much more

Joyce - No interactions with Henry or Bob but interacts with Hopper . Will probably learn about her family dynamics and how she came to know Lonnie. May have very indirect connections to the Creel tragedy.

Henry - Might barely appear to be honest, might be more focused on Virginia Creel and an occasional scene with Bob or something

At the very least could make for some fun fanfiction one shots!

[homemediatimemachine]

Was "The Best of Dr. Seuss" Really His Best Works?

Butter battles, daisies growing on heads and elephants hatching eggs galore, 2000's "The Best of Dr. Seuss" compilation program has the formulaic balance of entertainment that I'm sure that a child would love, right? Of course, we can see Dr. Seuss' beloved character The Cat in the Hat all over the packaging and your kid must think "Hey, it's that cat from the book I just read!". And you'd be correct. This is the 2003 DVD version I'll be covering here on this blog.

The first thing you'll notice right away when you pop in the disc is the menu design which pulls off some creative work the home video team at Warner Bros. had ever put out.

As you can see, the menus themselves are drawn in Dr. Seuss' trademark art style with some detailed backgrounds. The Cat on both these and the packaging looked like he was traced from the book he originated from. However, you are not going to be ready for what he looks like in one of these stories.

Although all of these menus are presented in 16:9 widescreen if you play them on a computer like I do, the contents are actually in 4:3 aspect ratio. So, let's go through all three stories one at a time and see if they're a good fit on this DVD.

First, we have "Daisy-Head Mayzie", a TV special completed in 1994 -- given the copyright disclaimer, but never aired on TV until February 5, 1995. This would be one of Seuss' final works before he passed away. The special was previously released individually on VHS a few months after its original broadcast, and was also the final voice credit for Henry Gibson; already recognizable as the voice of Wilbur the pig from Hanna-Barbera's "Charlotte's Web" adaptation. A real coincidence, given that both Gibson and H-B worked on this, too.

Fran Smith, the voice of Helga in Nickelodeon's "Hey Arnold!" would make her voice acting debut in this special as the titular Mayzie McGrew. Now this is a year before that show would even premiere on TV, so I'm not surprised.

Yeah, this would be forgettable without the addition of The Cat in the Hat, which in this special looked A LOT more off-model than he does in the DePatie-Freleng specials. It almost makes it feel like a bootleg version of Seuss' popular character compared to what the packaging and menus gave us. Oh well, at least they tried.

One reason I like to know why they made him that way in the first place was this is a co-production between two unlikely companies that never even made any Dr. Seuss adaptations beforehand.

As you may have just read from the credits, a British animation studio named Tony Collingwood Productions (now known as "Collingwood & Co.") was largely responsible for the production of this special.

So, you may get some Britishness in the way it was produced. Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, an otherwise American studio that got rebranded in 2001 as "Cartoon Network Studios",

I've never actually seen Hanna-Barbera work on a Dr. Seuss special before (rival studio DePatie-Freleng did most of their Seuss specials prior to this), so it is kinda interesting to see a British-American joint venture.

The special itself was.... eh, it was okay. I kinda prefer Seuss' original illustrations made before they were changed (the daisy being the only character to teach Mayzie a valuable lesson instead of The Cat), but I think this would be something interesting if you're a parent looking for entertainment for your youngest child.

As for the quality? For a previously-separate TV special, it sure looked better on DVD than it ever does, due to it being remastered from the original material (at least for 2003 standards). While not Seuss' greatest work overall, it's so nice to see this being presented in clear pristine quality.

Another previously-separate TV special is adult film director Ralph Bakshi's version of "The Butter Battle Book", and is surprisingly better than I thought. It's accurate to the original source material and has rarely even been talked about due to its themes of war.

The original book had even gotten as far as having been banned in some Canadian libraries due to its close ties with the Cold War, which was still ongoing at the time of its publication.

Now prove me wrong, I have never actually seen any of Bakshi's works, but this is something. I love how Bakshi and his team are able to keep the ending from the book, which ends the story on a cliffhanger. This was also released on VHS, but unlike "Daisy-Head Mayzie", there's actually TWO different releases of the same special released a few years from each other.

Although a much better special than "Daisy-Head Mayzie", the picture quality has the same level of squeaky clean quality as that special, so I'll forgo the explanation.

And to wrap up the compilation came not a TV special, but a cartoon short film created by Warner Bros. themselves! You heard me right. The boys at Termite Terrace made a 9-minute adaptation of Dr. Seuss' earlier book "Horton Hatches the Egg".

Directed by Bob Clampett, this is an unexpected surprise to anyone who grew up with any of Dr. Seuss' works (like me). What makes this especially perfect is the vocal performances of Kent Rogers, Sara Berner and Mel Blanc. Now, why did they make Horton's skin pink? Either it's a creative choice made by Clampett's unit or they felt that grey was too common for an elephant's color.

There IS a distinction between this and the other two Dr. Seuss stories I've covered so far and that as this is a Looney Tunes cartoon, it has actually had some home video releases in the 90s by both MGM/UA and Warner Bros.

Also, the picture quality on this cartoon has the same level of excellence as the Golden Collection. So much so that it got re-released on DVD as part of the sixth volume of the Looney Tunes: Golden Collection series (which I'll get to when I'll do an entire blog on this series by itself).

Time to move onto the bonus features this DVD has.

So... all there is as extras are three trailers (or "Family Favorites" as the menus call them). Each of these trailers are for a collection of Tom & Jerry DVDs, the annoying little brat Caillou's Christmas-themed movie and a German animated film called "The Little Polar Bear" ("Der Kleine Eisbär").

You do have language options for the program itself, though they're for subtitles only. A real disappointment for those of you who are expecting dubs. I will admit, watching these in a subtitled language can be pretty fun, no matter if you're Hispanic or French-Canadian.

Overall, if you are able to watch these three Dr. Seuss cartoons, I highly recommend picking up the 2008 Deluxe Edition "Horton Hears a Who" DVD. And in case you haven't read the copyright disclaimer on the cover, my copy is a 2010 reprint.

And by reprint, I mean the Warner Bros. home video department updated the packaging, but nothing else. This is something I'll see a lot more of when I look at a few other Warner DVD releases on this blog. So, keep an eye out!

By the way, both "Daisy-Head Mayzie" and "The Butter Battle Book" are free to watch on YouTube despite being under copyright. "Horton Hatches the Egg", however, is another story and is usually blocked worldwide on YouTube (I learned the hard way on how copyright works on there, so good luck watching it on Dailymotion if you can!)

[ghoulfr13nd]

i took my sweet time listening to ur oc playlists, and i've been taking notes during! so my thoughts are kind of chaotic fgsgdfj

hmmmm Ves seems/want to seem like the type that is reserved and very badboy/girl-ish outside to someone that doesn't know them well but has a burning fire inside, is rebelious and seems devoted/attached to someone to a fault? maybe Ves is someone that'd love to cut people off from their life, to isolate, but emotionally can't?? they're a little self-destructive and are not very comfortable with themselves? they're someone stuck in the past maybe? maaaybe they had a rough break-up? they have terrible relationship with their parents and troubling past?

Mac seems to have very strong personality, is dominant and overwhelming, unbashed and confident, not open to genuine connection often, a life of the party. they're lived through a bad/abusive reletionship and that's partly why they can be so flippant to their partner(s), because they don't know how to take good ones? ("Good Ones" and "bury a friend" seems to be especially suggesting this in my eyes fdgj) they also seem very sensual, vindictive, they seem dangerous to people around + themselves? but maybe that's the persona they're projecting, hiding their hurt and softer side under? all this solemn classical and instrumental in the middle of mostly pop songs gives me such vibes? maybe they think they're broken and beyond repair? lost all trust, changes lovers like gloves (hey that kinda rhymes!), overachiever, they know what they want and they will get it no matter what. maybe adrenaline junkie? attention seeker?

mac and ves both seem to not be doing too well 😔 bpd feels in both these playlists are strong to me ;v; (hope it's not weird to say? fsdhkf)

also both playlists start with Until It Doesn't Hurt hmmmm! and both have all the good girls go to hell HMMMM

LINSEY WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM NO 10-12 YEAR OLD'S PLAYLIST SHOULD BE LIKE THAT chough let's just say after seeing their age and then listening to their playlist i got whiplash ;v; i got a lot of melancholy in this one! what happened to their parents! im scared!

(if something seems like a conclusion from a left field pls don't worry my brain just sometimes makes the weirdest connections fgsdj)

anyway! was able to nail at least one thing??? (im curious to hear about these ocs btw listening to their playlists made me attached xd)

music anon 🎶

YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO IM FUCKING SHOOK DUDE YOU?? ARE SO CORRECT??? ABOUT ALL OF IT????

uhhh i’m unsure if you meant borderline personality disorder or bipolar disorder but i’ve recently been diagnosed with the latter and i’ve had these guys for a while so i wouldnt be surprised if some of that slipped in ;-;

i’ve been really critical of my playlists and sort of unsure if they convey the right vibes and this has confirmed for me that they absolutely do 🥹 i’m so happy you are so so right

Ves is a half demon and on a physiological level, she has a lot more demon qualities than human. Her dad was human and just doesn’t live as long as demons do, and so he died from old age when she was still pretty young by demon standards. Her mom remarried to THE big bad demon King Of Hell himself, and I haven’t decided yet if I think he’s a good stepdad or not, but it doesn’t really matter. neither of her parental figures can relate to her because her heart is so very human. shes pretty lonely and my concept for her is that she runs away from Hell and starts spending time on Earth, driving her dad’s old car around. she slips in and out of clubs and is generally pretty closed off, she doesn’t have a very clear self-image.

she also likes to dress up and make Linsey dress up so they can go to church and steal from the collection plate to go buy snacks from the gas station fjsjdjdj

Mac is an angel! Specifically, she is the angel sent to smite people. Except, what actually determines whether someone is to be smited? Is this right? Is this holy? It must be. It is her job to do it. And she does it so, so well. She refuses to think too hard about these questions. She has been ordered to hurt someone she cared about and she did it and has been struggling with the internal conflict of it ever since (read: hundreds of years). she blocks most of that out and takes on this dominant, in your face, larger than life personality. when she’s not on a job, she definitely likes to live on the edge. she’s immortal, but she can still get hurt, and that thrills her. when she finds out there’s a demon from Hell crawling around, she’s given an order to take her out. But that turns out to be a lot harder than she expects. (they are GAY they are IN LOVE)

somewhere along the way, they meet Linsey. its been a while since i’ve thought about her lore, but she’s my baby and I love her. something does happen to her parents (i havent decided if its her or not lol). Ves finds her at some point wandering on the side of the road and Linsey stabs her. Ves is like. damn nice try kid. I’m immortal though lol. and takes her to get wendy’s. Linsey hasn’t had a very good childhood, and like Ves, doesn’t have a very strong sense of self.

the story I would like to have for them is about these twenty-somethings trying to find themselves and what they want, while clumsily trying to take care of this kid, and all of them learning about what it means to be alive.

I don’t have any art of Mac but here’s two (2) Ves’s and a Linsey and another character I do not have a playlist for and haven’t done much with in a while. (These are both older pieces and the first Ves is from when I initially created her when I was much younger and imagined her under 21 — shes aged with me fhskdj)

These are both done by my wonderful and dear friend @/kitochi @/kitochiart who is a fantastic artist that mainly posts about their starwars ocs fjskfjdj.

I do have some personal (not very good) doodles of them as well (and some lovely physical art my friends have sent me in the mail!!!) but I’d have to go dig em up. let me know if you’re interested though and i will!

i hope you like them i totally get they’re not for everybody…. i’ve never posted them before bc i’m worried people wont like them. they’re meant to be sort of problematic and so. yknow. shrug.

anyway. yeah. idk how to end this. i feel shy. sorry again for not responding sooner i straight up didnt know i had asks:((( yours are not the only ones i’ve found sitting in my inbox fkskdjdksk

i hope you’re doing well!!! thank you SO SO MUCH for listening to my playlists and telling me what you think. it means the world to me and it makes me so happy that you do and that you’ve shared your thoughts with me. thank you.

[littleapocalypsekitten]

Are you ever just browsing random Internet and you find just... the worst take in a surprising place? So, Youtube suggested someone's video about the jokes and perils of Generation X, probably because I've clicked on some kind of Gen X jokes thing before. Yeah, I'm old. I'm a late Gen X-er, a "Xennial" as it were, as in if I was born just a year later, I would have been a Millennial. Still, the Gen X stereotypes apply to me bigtime. I clicked this video about the "Commandments that Gen X Kids Lived By" and got nostalgic, because, why yes, I wore a key around my neck when I went to school because most days both of my parents were working and getting into the house after school required me to be keyed. And, yes, parents really did just let us play outside unsupervised at almost all hours ("Until the street lamps come on" but I lived in the country, so for me it was sunset). I made the mistake of clicking on one of this guy's other videos "Gen X is not to blame" expecting a little rant about being mistaken for Boomers or something when we were / are the first generation to really suffer under the "Boomer economy." (see my little latchkey "Thanks," Regan) above. Instead, I got the guy ranting about Gen Z being a bunch of soft little whiners and talk about how a number of Boomers had Gen Z children, not just Gen X and how certain chains of political correctness were started. He has this ANNOYING brag about how "Gen X has been through as much shit as combat veterans." - Okay, buddy... (Just because you were apparently a hard partier who lost a lot of friends doesn't mean we all were) - I am IN this generation and I don't like such brags. And all about how our generation is "tough, not whiny, can take it." - Um, I was a whiny-ass kid and am in therapy now (probably because of people like the guy... he gave me a lot of vibes that reminded me of my also Gen X abusive older brother as well as my childhood and teen years bullies). And then he talked about how his Gen Z daughter is smart and doesn't give in to all of the Gen Z crap and launched into a transphobic rant about how "All the people at her school are saying they're nonbinary or trans and no one is just gay, this leads me to the conclusion that trans people are homophobes because they can't accept that they're just gay and in denial of what they really are / not letting people be just gay anymore." Ugh...how common is this, trans community? (I'm cis, I'm just wondering how common this accusation of Spiderman-point - No UR the homophobes!" is). Just... bad takes all around. He got into an anti-environmentalist rant, an anti-vegetarian rant of all things (personally I agree that I like meat, it was just weird...) and was speaking for Gen X? And I'm here, a Gen X-er rolling my eyes and clicking back to continue watching the video after initially clicking off of it because I just wanted to see how bad the trainwreck got. I was going to respond to him, but A. Youtube comments are meaningless and B. I would have wasted my time. Please, other generations, don't think all Gen X people are a bunch of bitter oldsters who are turning in stereotypical Boomers! While I can tell you that we had some of the upbringing stereotypes in kind, not all of us turned out the same way.

[miistical]

week eight - latin american p. 1

I think this is the first time in any of my writing classes that we focused on Latin American literature at all, let alone for two weeks in a row. While I'm not going to say I enjoyed all the readings this week, I did find all them interesting. This has more to do with genre than writing, however, and all of these are very well written.

This week's had: Carlos Fuentes' "The Doll Queen" Juan Rulfo's "Talpa" Gabriel García Márquez's "The Very Old Man with Enormous Wings"

A bit of a disclaimer here: this week is focused on the treatment of the disabled, chronically ill, and physically deformed. While none of the stories portray these actions as correct, each does heavily involve the abuse of these people. If you want something lighter, wait until next week: we're killing abusers there!

Carlos Fuentes' "The Doll Queen" is great story telling, as expected of such a celebrated novelist (and friend/peer to Salman Rushdie from week four!). The story only gets more compelling as it gets further and further into the plot. There's so much built around Amilamia, who she was and who she is. When Carlos, our narrator, walks through the house and reveals that he knew Amilamia to her parents, there's a very real sense of unease. From the decaying fruit to the comic books to the tracks on the ground that brings up images of a child's bike, it's easy to follow Carlos' idea that she had died not long after they had parted. It all makes the reveal hurt even more. The disabled, whether mentally or physically or both, have seemingly been mistreated and abused since the beginning of time. Instead of caring for Amilamia through her disability (she's in a wheelchair and is implied to be mentally impaired though she recognizes Carlos immediately), her parents fragrantly and openly physically, verbally, and emotionally abuse her. Instead of loving their daughter, they built a shrine to her child-self, with a life sized doll in her likeness, as if they were truly in perpetual mourning of their dead child. They would rather have abled and dead than alive and disabled.

"Talpa" by Juan Rulfo just gets worse, sadly. Written by a man who was beloved by every other Hispanic writer on this week and next week's list, it's not surprising that Rulfo's work is so heavy-hitting. The narrator and his brother's wife actively work to kill his sick brother—not that they're murderers, no, but they knew his illness would kill him if they pushed him on their journey. Their journey itself was based on how the narrator, his brother Tanilo, and Tanilo's wife Natalia thought praying for a miracle healing was better than learning how to properly take care of him throughout his chronic illness. The entire journey is marred by dread, with dust clouds and caravans of similarly ill people making the pilgrimage to pray for good health. Tanilo only gets worse and worse, but the people who are suppose to care for him most - his family - push him along further and further, knowing and accepting that he would die. They would rather be rid of him just a bit faster than let him die peacefully; in the end, Tanilo was a burden, not a person.

Lastly there is Gabriel García Márquez's "The Very Old Man with Enormous Wings". There really is no one better than the author of One Hundred Years of Solitude to write about religious themes, Colombian culture, and the innate nature of people. When confronted with a man who might be an angel, what should one do? Why, lock him up in a coop, charge people to see him, and liken him to a freak, animal, the homeless, or just a literal demon! Because why not at that point? Like with the other stories this week "The Old Man with Enormous Wings" is about how we treat the disabled. Instead of taking care of a poor man who fell from the sky, everyone in the town (including the local priest) was perfectly fine with treating him like an abomination just because he had wings. He was physically different and didn't act nor speak as the priest thought an angel should (as if humans would actually know what an angel sounded, looked, or acted like). Not ascribing to the expected social norm - for humans or angels - the old man is left to be gawked at like a zoo animal. Any disabled person who is visibly physically handicapped or someone who is nuerodivergent could see themselves as the old man, with wings protruding from their back that they cannot hide and cannot understand why others care so much that they have them at all.

Even today, there's a lot of hate and disdain for the disabled—from family, loved ones, strangers, and even their own doctors. I'd like to believe that there was some karma after the end of each story. That Carlos was able to rescue Amilamia from her home, that Tanilo's wife and brother eventually drifted through the rest of their life knowing they killed an innocent man, and that all the wealth the family/town made off the suffering of that odd angel disappears into the gale of a storm much like the one that brought him there in the first place. Just because someone is different from the "norm" (honestly whatever that means) doesn't give anyone the right to hurt them, and I hope anyone who has gets what they deserve.

[candlecoo]

I had a dream, so I'm turning it into an AU for you.

Izuku and Aizawa are connected through dreams, ever since Izuku was 6 he'd meet a dark haired man in his dreams and over they years they grew really close, like brothers.

Izu tells aizawa Everything, including the OfA stuff. But during training, Izuku takes a detour home and gets lost, then attacked in an alleyway. Eraserhead is the one to intervene, and immediately izuku is like "shouta??" And Aizawa goes "Izuku??" Qnd they're very surprised to find out that the other is real.

Izuku pretty much drags Aizawa back to his apartment, so the older man can meet his mom, and aizawas like 'yoo I could get free food'

Inko is surprised by the news but happily welcomes Aizawa into the family.

I woke up soon after, but man it was really cute and sweet, and I think you'd enjoy this AU.

Okay I'm gonna take the is a step farther.

- Izuku has a quirk called Dream Walker.

- this quirk allows Izuku access to other people's dreamscapes when he sleeps.

- the requirements in order to connect dreams is that one the other person must be within at least a 50 mile radius of him and two they must be feeling similar feelings to Izuku.

- the other person can reject Izuku out of their dreamscape and Izuku will be unable to return to them untill they open themselves back up to him.

- he can also eject himself out of someone else's dreamscape.

- once a connection is made it is permanently available for Izuku. Like a hallway of doors in his mind, each a different person's dreams, locked or unlocked depending on the other person.

- by age six he had already visited a couple people, most were not repeat experiences, most having locked Izuku out. One boy in particular sharing a feeling of a parent who might not return and the sadness that brought.

- they shared multiple dreams together but he told eventually locked Izuku out.

- then he met a young man with long dark hair and a tired visage.

- the man's name was Shota Aizawa.

- Aizawa did not have a good relationship with sleep. Not since the loss of his friend Oboro and losing touch with Yamada and Nemuri.

- if someone made the assumption that over the past five years that he spent more time working than he did relaxing or sleeping, they'd be correct.

- but he was so tired.

- and then he dreamed of a boy equally as lonely as him, and wasn't that sad.

- the boy(Izuku) explains that what is happening is due to his quirk and that he can kick the boy out if he wanted.

- the idea seemed to make the boy sad but he said he'd understand.

- in the end the both decided that neither of them wanted to be lonely anymore.

- over the years Izuku and Shota become close, like brothers.

- Shota convinces Izuku he can become a hero no matter what his classmates say.

- Izuku convinces Shota to reconnect with his friends.

- Shota talks Izuku into joining a dojo.

- Izuku gives Shota relationship advice.

- they are close but never confident enough to suggest meeting in person.

- Izuku meets All Might and gets Ofa and convinces All Might to let him confide the bare minimum to Shota.

- towards the beginning of his training Izuku is heading home later than normal trying to get a head start on cleaning the beach, when he's pulled into an alley and almost mugged.

- Eraserhead saves Izuku but as soon as they get a good look at each other they simultaneously yell each others names.

- followed by "what are you doing out so late kid???" And "what are you doing out so early???"

- Izuku decides to wait for the police with Shota.

- when the officer questions who Izuku is Aizawa accidentally says "my brother" and is all like fuck internally.

- Izuku decides then and there that he's taking Shota home to meet his mom, no questions asked.

- Inko of course knows about Aizawa, Izuku tells her all about all the people he meets through his quirk. And she welcomes him in with open arms.

- from then on out Aizawa is a permanent figure in the household and helps All Might in training Izuku.