#and it was like every post is parroting back my life story to me

[chiksey]

.

[lokischocolatefountain]

Monster

Fandom: The Last of Us

Characters: young!Joel Miller & tiny!Sarah Miller

Rating: tooth rotting fluff, diabetics DNI

Note: I saw this post and it single-handedly broke my writers block so here you go. Dividers by @saradika-graphics

“That’s not a thing, babygirl.”

“No! Julie told me it’s real. Her daddy checks every night,” Sarah said with too much vigor for someone the size of a pillow.

“Oh well since Julie said so…” he rolled his eyes but caved, walking back into her bedroom and lying on his back under the bed.

“Let’s see these monsters your wise little buddy told you about,” he said, shining the flashlight she brought before dragging him for the monster inspection.

“Monster?” He sang, playing along even though she couldn’t see his face. “I can’t see anything but I’ll look harder.”

“Is it there?” She asked after only a couple of seconds.

“Stay right there, honey. I think I see something.”

“What do you see?” She squeaked out.

“Shhh, don’t alert the monster,” he said waiting a moment to talk to the definitely real monster he definitely saw.

“Hey Mister Monster. I’m Joel. How are you doing?”

He held his hand over his mouth, a laugh threatening to escape at his own plot to entertain himself at his kid’s expense.

“Oh? I didn’t know. I’m so sorry about her Mister Monster. I’ll tell her. Yeah. Yeah. You have a good night, Sir.”

He straightened his smile and emerged from underneath the bed. She suckled on her thumb, a remnant from an earlier stage that crept in when she was afraid or sad. Big beady eyes stared at him anxious to know about this monster.

“So, you were right.” She looooved being right. “There is a monster but he’s not going to hurt you.”

“Did you talk to him?”

He settled down next to her on the little bed and picked her up, seating her on his lap.

“I did. And he said he’s just a little monster who won’t hurt anyone. But he said there’s a bigger monster in this room.”

Her eyes bulged out comically and her little hands grabbed onto his t-shirt for dear life. “He said it’s not under the bed. It’s on the bed.”

She gasped, her little mouth open like a goldfish, plump little cheeks on either side. “He said it wears sparkly purple shoes and it’s tiny and causes so much trouble.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It throws toys all over the house and doesn’t get dressed on time for daycare. And it jumps on the bed really hard so the poor monster under the bed is very very afraid.”

Her face scrunched up and her eyes narrowed at him. Someone was catching on…

“I met the monster’s dad and he said the little monster always asks him to check above the bed for the jumpy monster.”

“You’re talking about me!” She squealed, making him laugh.

“Am I? Nah! The monster said that jumpy monster has two little buns on her hair. You don’t have that,” he said, rubbing the purple bonnet on her head. It was always purple with his girl.

“Daddyyy!” She whined in protest, pulling the bonnet off her head to reveal the little buns on either side of her head. “You’re talking about me!”

He mock gasped, placing a hand on his chest. “Babygirl, you’ve been scaring the monsters under the bed.”

“I’m not a monster!”

“You are. Daddy’s the tickle monster, remember? So you’re my little monster,” he said, covering her face in kisses. She giggled, all the fear draining from her features as she kicked her legs about. He stopped when she told him yet picked her up from her bed.

A little tickle wouldn’t be enough. Even if it was, he didn’t want to risk her lying awake and alone worrying about monsters under her bed.

“You should let the monsters sleep peacefully under the bed. Just tonight. Wanna sleep in the big bed with me?”

“Yeah,” she said, her buns bouncing on her head as she nodded enthusiastically.

“Bye bye, monsters,” he said as he switched the lights off.

“Bye bye, monsters,” she parroted, waving towards her bed.

“Daddy, can you read me a story?”

“I already read to you tonight, remember?”

“It doesn’t count. Because I’m not sleeping in my bed. New bed, new story.”

“The tickle monster is not going to be happy about that,” he said showering her with more kisses. Her giggles filled the hallway and his room. He pretended to bite her cheek, claiming the tickle monster had to eat. And when he tired her out with the jokes, she fell asleep on his chest, his heart heavy from the realization that one day she wouldn’t be tiny enough to do this.

[chimivx]

ghosting ↠ txt

now playing ↠ light my love • greta van fleet

He left you with letters. Envelopes that took you five years to finally read, acknowledge. They take you back through your past, forcing you to make moves not only for yourself, but for your family, for your children… His children.

part three of six ~ masterlist

word count ↠ 2264 warnings ↠ (same for all parts) 18+. mentions of drugs, alcohol, smoking. swearing. explicit sexual content. these people have kids, there’s family talk, pregnancy talk. absent dad, messy family ties. stepsib shit, stepcest. infidelity. if any of these things bother you, please keep scrolling . if i missed anything PLEASE let me know!! a/n ↠ if you are new to this story, don't start here! please go to the masterlist! major thank you to everyone who's read this story. <3 xo posted ↠ 6/12/24 ~ midnight est.

~ september 2020 ~

Four tiny feet pitter pattered on the beige tiled floor behind you as you rounded the corner of the hall into the kitchen. Both in little blue tee’s and diapers, your twins clung to your tail, never letting you have a moment in peace. Now that they were completely mobile, always running instead of teetering everywhere, they were experts in hunting you down. The two were almost two, their birthday only a couple weeks away.

“Mama!” Chan shouted when you paused at the counter, the doors and drawers of the kitchen all made of a rosy toned wood with warm grey tops. “Mama, help!” His words were spoken half correctly.

“Help, help!” Sunoo watched his brother, his pudgy hands gripping the hem of his shirt. He looked up at you with his big brown eyes that had potential to melt you into the floor.

Peeking over your shoulder, giving them a sly smile, your fingers worked at the plastic bag you had slapped to the countertop. Both boys giggled, Chan gripping his cheeks as Sunoo tossed his hands in the air.

As they grew older, as they came into their own, it got easier to tell them apart. Identical in nearly every way, you and Soobin fought through some hard times within their first year of life. Sleepless nights of accidentally swapping them in their cribs, leading into exhausting days of putting the wrong onesie with the wrong name on the collar of the wrong kid… The day they turned eight months old the two of you had had enough and painted Chans middle finger red. 

Now that they were about to turn two, there wasn’t any nail polish needed. The twins took after you in many ways, but it was evident that Chan took after his father the older he grew. His features were softer, rounder. His chin came into the same perfect point, his cheeks and lips fuller than his brothers.

It wasn’t something you dwelled on, unless it was past midnight and you and Soobin were curled in the center of your bed beneath the warmth of the blankets where you’ve shed many tears. As much as they got from you, they got from him, and though Chan seemed to swipe his entire face, you’d have to one day deal with looking him in the eyes, everyday, for the rest of your life. 

That face looked up at you now, and though you were conditioned to yearn at this point, you were on an exciting mission, one your boys were going to help you with.

“You both get one, okay?” Pulling out two hamburger buns from the plastic bag, you handed one to each twin while they giggled and danced on their toes. They stared at the bun in awe, like they were awarded pure gold instead of just simply helping their mother, holding bread. “What are they?”

Sunoo glanced at you and held it up. “Bread!” His tiny shout couldn’t pronounce the R sound.

Chan eyed his brother, then laughed aloud. “Bread!” His shout was the same.

“It’s a bun,” you said with a smile, taking one out of the package for yourself. Two steps away was the oven, and sure enough the twins waddled behind you, watching everything you did laser focused. “Mama’s gonna put hers in here.” 

“Why?” Sunoo asked, pointing at the grey oven. “Mama, why?”

“Why?” Chan parroted, holding his hands out to the side in question. “Why, why?”

Sitting down on the floor, crossing your legs beneath you, the boys squatted next to you. “Because, we’re gonna surprise Daddy, okay?”

“Okay,” they both said, Chan staring at the bread.

“Bun,” he babbled quietly. “Bun, bun, bun.”

“Yes!” Half shouting, both boys jumped. “Oh, I’m sorry,” you laughed, pulling them both into your lap. Sunoo giggled, Chan tried to wriggle away. “Mama’s happy.” 

“Happy?” Sunoo’s little voice mumbled, relaxing back in your hold. His twin froze, then did the same, looking up at you in question. “Mama, happy.”

“Happy,” Chan said, neither twin able to pronounce the first letter yet.

Kissing them over their fuzzy hair that was barely long enough to do anything with, you sighed. “Mama’s so happy,” you said, then blinked a couple times. The unease in your gut, that was most likely simply nausea, rolled through you. This time was already much different than the last. “And nervous.”

“Why?” Chan asked, mumbling the word a few more times, turning the bread around in his fingers, inspecting it. The twins were barely two but had an excellent idea of how to keep conversation already, even if it wasn’t on purpose and just what they were used to hearing from their parents. Sunoo watched you, a calmness within him inspiring your own.

“I think because this time it’s…” You cut yourself short, not wanting to finish any thought that came to your mind. Looking down at your boys, at the two who changed your life forever, who have already taught you so much in their two short years of life, you didn’t mean anything you could say at the end of that thought. 

This time it was real? The babies sitting on your lap, gazing up at you like you’re their whole world were very much real. This time it’s because you’re doing it with a husband and not doing it alone? Soobin’s been around since the start, this time wouldn’t be any different. No thought made sense. There was no reason to be upset, no reason to feel lost. 

Beneath this roof, with these boys, all three of them, you were safe, you were loved, you were taken care of. Adding another little one to mix would be nothing short of incredible.

Amidst your inner turmoil and the boys sitting patiently on your lap, the front door popped open, sending the twins to their feet. Shouting different variations of the word Dada, or Daddy, their little feet took them flying around the corner and down the hall, leaving you behind with nerves shooting through every vein.

Soobin greeted the boys, his light hearted tone warming your heart. “What are you holding? Are you eating those?”

“Bun!” Chan shouted, and you giggled quietly, unmoving from the floor. Tucking your knees into your chest, you bit your bottom lip and waited.

“Yes, bun, good job,” Soobin said, then groaned as the boys laughed. Knowing he scooped them up in his arms, he’d definitely be headed this way. “Why do we have them, is Mama cooking?”

“Mama, hide,” Sunoo told him matter-of-factly. “Mama, bun, hide.”

Soobin made a sweet sound, encouraging them both to keep talking. “Mama has a bun, too? Did she hide it?” Their voices came closer, eventually turning the corner where Soobin spotted you on the floor, failing to hold back a smile. A smirk grew on his lips. “What’s going on?” All you could do was shrug. Chan whined, wiggling around, so Soobin set them both on the floor, stepping a bit closer to you. “Are you okay?” He dropped his chin a bit, a serious glimmer shooting across his expression.

“Yes,” you answered fast, nodding. Soobin nodded back, slowly, then lifted his eyes to the counter and the package of hamburger buns there. “Do you want one?” When he looked back at you, he laughed, utterly confused.

“What?” He reached down toward the boys who were waving their buns at him. “Buns, yes!” Crouching down to be the same height as the rest of his family, Soobin took the buns the boys offered him, then laughed. “What the heck is going on?”

Chan and Sunoo, stepping backward, both proud that Soobin had taken their offerings, had folded their hands over their chests, then looked at you. “Mama, bun, hide,” Sunoo said again, pointing at you.

“Is this a new kitchen game, or something?” Soobin asked, furrowing his brows. 

Shaking your head, you pressed your lips together. “Not a game.”

“Mama, bun, hiiide!” Sunoo drug out the words, bouncing on his knees.

Soobin shot him a wild look, and decided to finally play along. “Oh no! Where is it?” Chan laughed maniacally, then skipped toward the oven. Sunoo watched him, then followed, running to his brother's side, throwing his arms around his back. “Show me!”

Looking at you for approval, you bobbed your head. “Show Daddy, go ahead.”

“I swear, if this is some prank to scare me,” Soobin muttered, glancing at you.

A grin erupted over your face. If you had to pick your favorite thing you’ve learned about him over the years, it was how easily scareable he was. “I promise, it’s not.” You hoped. 

This had the potential to really scare him. 

Chan gently pushed his brother off of him, then pressed his face against the window on the front of the oven, his nose squishing against the glass. Sunoo copied him, taking up the space next to him. Soobin let out a soft laugh at their faces, then shook his head.

“Where is it at?” He sat on the floor and scooted closer to the boys, moving behind them. Taking them both by the waist, he pulled them onto his lap and side eyed you. The twins covered their cheeks and laughed, the sound echoing off the walls. Folding your hands together, the skin clammy, you squeezed your own fingers and gulped. “This game is… easy!” Soobin tickled the boys, one hand on each belly, and they giggled incessantly. “I’m going to win!”

“Daddy, win! Win!” Chan shouted, his high pitched voice making you laugh.

Soobin, shifting Sunoo into the middle of his lap, reached up for the handle on the oven and pulled it open, revealing the hamburger bun on the center grate. Gasping aloud, twins shouting with excitement, Soobins eyes squeezed shut with laughter. After a moment of the boys losing their minds, he gave you a look.

Heart rate skyrocketing, electricity buzzing beneath your skin, you couldn’t ease your smile. “What?” You asked in the quietest voice.

Soobin looked at the bun, then back at you. “What do I win?” The twins sat up in his arms, babbling nonsense to each other while watching their parents converse. “I found the bun.”

Your jaw dropped open. Taking a look at your masterpiece, an idea you stole from the internet, you huffed a laugh. “What is that?”

Soobin did a once over of the dormant oven. He shrugged. “A hamburger roll in the oven?”

“Bun!” Sunoo shouted before grabbing Chan's ankles, the two attempting to wrestle on their giant of a fathers lap. 

Soobin widened his eyes and smiled. “Bun, right, a hamburger bun in the oven, thank you, Sun.” Meeting your gaze, your half disappointed, half amused gaze, Soobin adjusted his posture, sitting up straight. “What?” He sighed, seemingly defeated. “A hamburger bun, that’s in the oven.”

Moving closer to him, you whispered, “Just a bun.” Sliding a hand over his thigh, dragging it over his pants and then around his back and up the back of his shirt, you smiled at his sudden flusteredness. “It’s just a bun, Soobin. Where is it?” His brows nestled in the center of his forehead, his eyes darting to your lips for a second. “In the oven,” he said, tone lower than ever before.

“Who’s oven?”

Hesitating, his booksmart brain doing the math, he whispered, “Our… oven.” The room grew quiet, the twins having resorted to chewing on their fingers or inspecting their little toes. Soobin blinked twice, thought to himself, then, all at once, the puzzle clicked. “Your’s, holy crap,” he whispered in a rush, spinning on his bottom to face you, the twins laughing as they moved with him. “Your oven, there’s a bun in… Oh my god?”

Leaning into him, over the twins, caging them beneath the two of you, you smiled. “We’re having a baby.” Tipping his head backward, eyes squeezing shut, he sighed. After a few moments of the boys patting him, asking him what was wrong, he took their hands to soothe them, then gazed at you with teary eyes. 

He couldn’t say much, you knew if he tried he’d cry. Wrapping your arms around his shoulders, you pressed a kiss to his lips, a long one that triggered some tears anyway. Pulling away, touching your forehead to his, you drug your thumbs over his cheeks and whispered, “You’re gonna be a dad.”

Soobin’s face lit up for a moment, then pulled into a sure as ever smile as he cradled the twins. “I already am.”

10/7/2021

…At least that’s what Taehyun told me! That you love your new sister so much. Hard to believe you weren’t even three yet before she was here. I’m excited for you, to have a sister. I only grew up with a big brother. Now you guys are the big brothers! It’s your responsibility to protect her. She’s got a great dad, and we already know she’s got the best mom. That makes you guys the best big brothers. You’re getting older now, you’re becoming your own people, that’s… that’s so cool. I hope you guys are the coolest kids around. But, I also hope you guys are the happiest kids. When I see you, you’re laughing, and it’s the most amazing sound I’ve ever heard in my life. Still baffles me that you’re here, that you’re mine. I think about you everyday. I’m gonna get it straight at some point, I promise. I’m gonna do it for you. It’s gonna be okay, we’ll be okay. Hug her, love her, she deserves it…

☼ AO3 | wattpad | support | share with me ☼

thank you so much for reading. <3

[tiny-minecraft-rabbit]

Untitled Soulmate Goose

Or, Joel and his terrible, horrible, no good, very bad misadventure for his soulmate.

My very first multi-chaptered fic I'm posting fully on tumblr, yippee! This is a gift for @holymolyguacomole for @mcyt-yaoi-exchange and it was so much fun!!!

Read on AO3 - Next Chapter

Joel grumbled as he hopped out of his room with one sandal on, tail thrashing behind him. Today was supposed to be his and Grian’s day to hang out, but of course Scar had to come over with a brand new spell book (something he found at the top of some mountain in a wizard’s tower, and Joel only half believed his story) and draw Grian’s attention away from him. Now he had to leave their shared space to find something else to do with his time and not bother the two of them while they explored the new magic spells. 

“Hey, G–” 

“Joel, wait!” 

Too late. Joel had hopped himself into the living room, looking for his other sandal, and right into mage circle that had not been there fifteen minutes ago. 

When he looked up fully at Grian the avian was looking at him with this sort of constipated look; Scar was next to him, looking an equal amount amused and worried for him. 

“Please, tell me this isn’t going to teleport me somewhere,” Joel whined as the runes began to grow.

“It’s not going to teleport you,” Grian repeated, not moving and clearly waiting for something to happen. 

“Transform me? I’m already a shapeshifter,” Joel asked.

“Nope.” 

“It’s a summoning ring!” Scar helpfully supplied, shifting his gaze to the spell book in his lap, “If I’m reading this book right, and I’m probably not, the spirit is currently “attaching to your soul”.” 

“Attaching!?” Joel yipped.

“Attuning! The spirit is attuning to your soul,” Grian hastily corrected, hands out like he was keeping a wild animal at bay and bright parrot wings puffed out behind him– Which, a bit warranted, Joel did feel like tackling him. 

““Attuning” isn’t any better, Grain,” he hissed. 

Grian chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck, “It… shouldn’t be a nefarious spirit. It’s for finding your soulmate! It’s some animal guide– probably a dove or a cat…”

“Why on earth do you need a blooming soulmate guide?” Joel snapped, gesturing wildly at Scar, “Aren’t you two already soulmates?” 

“Thank you!” Scar exclaimed, elbowing Grian, “I’m telling you, Grian, we’re soulmates!” 

“We’re soulbound,” Grian said, like it was somehow different, “We’re cosmically destined to find each other in every life and fall in love, sure, but I’m betting that my actual soulmate is Mumbo.” 

Scar chuckled, “I’m pretty sure he just wanted to see if he could put another tracking spell on Mumbo. Apparently Mumbo found out about the last one and removed it.” 

“I should be allowed to know where he is at all times!” Grian insisted, pouting. Scar patted his shoulder reassuringly.

A ball of energy started to grow and take shape in front of Joel’s chest before floating down to the floor. As it grew it was definitely bigger than a dove or a cat. It was three feet tall by the time it was done, thin too. Joel was hoping for an eagle or maybe a swan, something menacing or regal. 

Instead, the creature that appeared before them was a goose.

The three of them blinked at the animal, expecting, in some way, for it to disappear or change into something a little more impressive. It did not. It was very much, still a goose, standing in their living room. A Canada goose, with dusty brown feathers and pitch black neck and head and white chin. It was just standing there– and staring right at him. 

“You’ve got to be blooming kidding me,” Joel hissed, waving his hands in the direction of the goose, “Grian! What is this?” 

“Pretty sure that’s a goose,” Scar helpfully supplied.

“It’s your soulmate guide,” Grian added.

“My soulmate guide can not be a blooming Canada goose– Why is it a Canada goose?” Joel exclaimed. 

The goose honked at him.

[random-vore-blog]

Are your requests open ?

If so, can I ask for protective Hawks vore ? :D

Yes, requests are open! And sorry for the long wait!

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

Being unable to use normal human voices was so troublesome for them. Out of all the cons their quirk had on them, it just HAD to take away their ability to talk normally in order for the damn quirk to work. It made life difficult, making them a target for many robbers and villains even!

" Awoop!"

Y/n said, mimicking what they remembered or heard last. That was their quirk. To be able to parrot anything that had happened in the last two hours. It was very frustrating.

" Quirky! Love it! Chirrup!"

Yeah... they had bird wings to show that they had a bird-based quirk. But luckily, they had a certain Pro Hero that didn't push them away like everyone else.

They heard a familiar voice call out their name, and they immediately turned around and took off into the air.

They flew towards the one that hadn't pushed them away. It was none other than Hawks himself

You flew into his arms, and nuzzled him like a cat.

" Woah! Excited to see me? You really are my biggest fan!"

He joked, hugging them as he chuckled. He had known them for a few months now. He was happy to see another bird quirk.

Even though they had a parrot quirk. He didn't mind if they repeated every word from 2 hours ago. They couldn't help it.

It also helped the heroes a lot, actually. They repeat what they had last heard two hours ago. Whether it was a villian or robber.

The moment didn't last, however. Villains attacked and a blast of energy hit your back. You squawked, and began shrinking drastically.

" Holy- Little bird? Are you alright?!"

They nodded, and squawked again. Hawks didn't know why he wanted to store them. It had NEVER crossed his mind to do so.

Without thinking, he opened his mouth and stuffed them inside. He swallowed thickly before getting ready to fight.

He could feel them squirm in his crop. Poor person didn't know that they were safe. Maybe he has gotten protective? He didn't know.

All he knew was that he had the need to protect them. And protect them he would. Even if it was in a bizarre way.

Sorry for posting this so late! I was busy with a story on my main blog! I hope you enjoyed though! And sorry it is short! I didn't have an idea for where it should go!

[utilitycaster]

also like, the cast approves the official art right? the official artist does not just make changes however they please

so i understand it not being up to your taste or whatever but this is how the cast wanted it to be, so being rude to the official artist accomplishes absolutely nothing

So here’s the thing: it’s totally fine to not like the cast's decisions! I think a lot of the weirdness I feel exists and talk about frequently is that there’s this unevenness and inconsistency in who you can criticize and the content of that criticism. Like, the main reason why ship discourse is so fucking fraught is because no one ever says “I wanted these two characters to kiss and then they didn’t and I’m sad.” It has to be “This guy’s story was clearly building up to a roaring rampage of revenge and this player was clearly avoiding their backstory and was obviously burnt out on the character and this character was clearly being infantilized in the ship I didn’t like and convenient, isn’t it how almost all of this is in the passive voice and I’m not actually coming out and saying I personally simply wasn’t happy with the choices the cast made?”

What’s also super telling is that I keep seeing the exact term “yassified” with regards to Fearne (and to a lesser extent Imogen). First off, whenever I see a very specific turn of phrase repeatedly it’s always a bit of a sign of like…does the person posting this actually feel this way in their individual thoughts or are they just parroting others. But what’s far more interesting is that Friederichs has outright said she fell somewhat short of Ashley’s intentions with regards to Fearne in the initial art, and was able to better grasp the uncanny and too-bright nature of the character now that she's seen the character in action for much longer.

It’s not really about what the cast wants. It’s literally as basic as “they changed it and I don’t like change.” And to be clear that’s very human and understandable. Before going back for my grad degree I worked in a tech role that bridged the gap between developers and end users, and people will lose their shit over minor cosmetic changes in software, let me tell you - but it’s also not rational, and it doesn’t need to be justified. A big part of life is realizing that brains are to an extent wired to be sensitive to changes in their environment, but if it’s a harmless change, it’s often beneficial to take a deep breath and let it sit for a while before knee-jerk deciding you hate it.

But I think my biggest gripe is that like, we’ve just seen the immensely swollen heads unofficial fan artists get about their work. We’ve seen people come up with truly bananacrackers faux social justice reasons to defend every hack who thinks they’re making a ~*statement*~ by drawing Imogen wearing the same exact style of glasses as twenty other people. We’ve even seen unofficial fan artists claim that their ability to make work that people will pay for is in fact evidence of their validity and contributions compared to others in the fandom. And then the second a fan artist actually gets paid by the production because they liked her art enough to hire her, it’s open season, apparently.

Personally? I strongly suspect the reason why the art of female characters in the cast gets the most criticism is because the weird refusal of many fans to be normal and say ‘hey I don’t love their choice in roleplay here’ means there’s just gallons of simmering toxic resentment about the women in the cast and their characters and choices below the surface, and somehow the official artists (who have also all been women) are considered an acceptable target for this bile.

There are also people I respect who aren’t loving the art! I think that’s a completely reasonable response. But they’re not making up a zillion reasons why actually they are correct, or yapping about it in highly visible places! It's fine to dislike it - just admit this is a personal preference with nothing deep behind it and keep it out of the tags! Like, part of why I’m so fucking wild about this relatively minor thing is when I (and others) have made untagged “I’m not a fan of this choice” posts I’ve gotten a barrage of anons thinking it’s time to change my mind and how dare you the cast likes it but for the official art it’s suddenly totally cool to be a huge fucking asshole in public.

[trixree]

Heyyyy, I'm new here can I ask about the Fledgling fic? oWo

Per my last post, I'm catching up on old Asks, AO3 comments, and messages received during my hiatus! (Psst, go do my Fanfic Poll) I started writing Fledgling because I craved more One Piece kid fic but was struggling to find ones that scratched the itch. I also have had parrots my whole life, so doing something with some sort of bird devil fruit made intuitive sense to me. My birds are my kiddos, so birds = babies. I'll admit that I did lose steam on it after awhile (especially cause it's one of my lowest engagement fics, which is a given because of the genre I guess) but a complete outline DOES indeed exist somewhere in the depths of my Google Drive and I can see myself returning to it someday. I planned to end the story with the crew's reunion on Saobody.

Here's a bit of the existing draft for chapter 6:

Tori is slow to calm. It takes nearly twenty minutes between the two of them to wind her down so that those awful, aching sobs transform into tiny little hiccups. This, too, is familiar to Sanji—the patience that a slow-to-calm child requires. Hell, even now, Sanji is talented at winding himself back up just when he’s started to mellow out again, just by getting stuck on the wrong thought at the wrong time. So, he holds her while Zoro pays painstaking attention to every single feather in her wings, gathering the oil that lives near the base of each pin and working the bristles with just the right pressure. 

And Tori hiccups. And she cries. And she begs them not to give her up. Asks them both, again and again, if she can stay if she’s good enough, and each time, the two of them reply with unwavering conviction. 

“You’re nakama.” 

“You’re not going anywhere without us.” 

“We won’t give you up.” 

And eventually, she tires herself out. 

“Let me take her,” Zoro whispers after the quiet sound of her (finally) steady breathing lasts for more than five minutes. 

“It’s okay, I—”

“Cook, you’re exhausted,” Zoro says. For once, it doesn’t feel like an insult or a jab. He is exhausted. Has been since the whole mess with the admiral. He was exhausted through dinner, exhausted while cleaning up afterwards, and exhausted when Tori rushed in, needing them both so desperately. 

Sanji sighs. “Yeah, alright.” Carefully, he transfers her over into Zoro’s waiting arms. 

By necessity, they go slowly, careful to jostle her as little as possible, and Sanji—well, he’s not sure he’s ever been this close to Zoro for this long, before. They’re standing close enough that Sanji can discern every individual eyelash on the other’s startlingly handsome face—and it really is startling.

Peripherally, Sanji is always aware of Zoro’s attractiveness. He’d have to be blind not to be. (Or so he tells himself. Because it isn’t wrong to have eyes, is it? The wrongness is in the wanting, and Sanji does not want. He just has an aesthetic appreciation for the masculine, that’s all. And Zoro certainly is masculine, if nothing else.) 

But to be so close—to be able to study all the little silvery scars that adorn his cheeks, the sharpness of his jaw, the slight bump to his otherwise perfectly sharp nose that betrays a past break, the color and shape of his lips—and to confront all that without the background noise of a meal to prepare, an enemy to defeat, a country to save… is startling. 

His arms were meant for this, Sanji realizes suddenly, watching him cradle Tori’s sleeping form close to that broad, rock-solid chest. 

“You need to sleep,” Zoro suddenly says, breaking whatever strange trance had fallen over Sanji instantly. 

Blushing furiously, Sanji scrubs both hands roughly across his face. “Yeah, sure. I’ve got a—” he gestures vaguely to the storage closet where he keeps an extra futon for late nights just like this, “—so I’ll just…” 

Zoro nods, never once looking up from Tori’s sleeping, tear-blotched face. 

“She’ll be alright,” tumbles out of his mouth. Zoro blinks at him, considering, and Sanji winces at his presumption. “I just—she’s resilient. It’s like Usopp said. Kids carry things differently. She’ll wake up tomorrow and… and be just fine,” he finishes, lamely. 

“I know.” And oh. This is not a voice that Sanji has heard before. Zoro’s baritone is nothing but a deep rumble in his chest in the still quiet of the night. (A knee-jerk reaction, Sanji wonders what it must feel like to Tori, to be pressed against that chest, feeling the vibration of those words and—)

“Right,” Sanji finishes, lamely. He turns his attention to Tori once more, brushing some stray tight curls out of her face and pressing a small kiss against her forehead, pointedly refusing to catch Zoro’s eyes as he pulls away. “Goodnight,” he offers lastly, with a tired smile. 

“Yeah. Goodnight, Sanji.” 

It is only when he’s on the cusp of sleep that Sanji realizes: Zoro had said his name.

[kafus]

oh hey ive been meaning to ask is there an easy or preferred way to get into kamitsubaki lore esp for vwp. ive tried to skim the website like 3 separate times & only picked up the very very basics

ok so the problem with kamitsubaki lore is that literally like Most of it that is direct and not just implied thru music videos/twitter posts happened in a fuckign ARG that is... kind of lost media kind of not. the kamitsubaki city ARG took place on a website where players were given new... riddles and tasks called Qs every day for the month of october in 2021 and that website is now inaccessible but people i know archived and translated all the content they could so it's still viewable in some fashion. a couple of my friends practically singlehandedly edit the kamitsubaki fandom wiki and you can find all the "story fragments" (cutscenes from the ARG with direct story) translated here (oh and there's also lost media from before the ARG from kaf's old fanbox page that is now inactive/lost media... i have all of the images from that but they aren't all typeset yet so i'd have to get back to you on that one. it's dubious whether all that stuff is still canon anyways, a lot of it seemed conceptual before kamicity was properly outlined. one day i'll compile all this shit somewhere for everyone to have easy access since the wiki is kinda eh for it)

when you said "skim the website" i assume you're talking about the website for the narrative TTRPG stuff? perhaps? sorry kamitsubaki has websites all over the place it's kind of a disaster. i can't give too much information on this one honestly, my japanese isn't good enough and i'm a little bit behind, but afaik other than the tutorial after you sign up which walks you through a scenario with one of the girls as TTRPG practice, the rest is just... TTRPG stuff. like you making up stories with other players within the setting and whatnot. you'd have to browse through it. (eventually there's going to be some sort of small video game related to all of this. exciting. who knows when that'll happen)

there is also some stuff to do with the cr/ypto project that's loosely correlated with kamitsubaki city i guess but not really you can ignore that. and i would ignore it. i do

otherwise it's kind of like vocaloid song series where the VWP music videos contain hints to lore/metaphorically show what's happening. occasionally art is posted to the hashtag # STORY_VWP on twitter too which contains art correlated with the actual story of kamicity.

if you want my basic breakdown and understanding, tldr the girls r summoned from elsewhere by a mysterious organization called the Restoration Foundation to use magic singing powers to restore life to a city, but the city is doomed to end in apocalypse from fishlike creatures called Tessaracters every single time and they're like. in a time loop with varying amounts of memory retrieval trying to save kamitsubaki city and go home. there seems to be a lot of significance with what clothes the girls are wearing in different media and etc etc

Sorry i'm sleepy and this is probably too long and also a mess. the reason it's a mess though is because VWP lore is a mess and that's part of the fun for me. if you have more specific questions about specific parts i probably can help with an answer though! i'm not as into it as some other people but the lore is still fun to theorize on and i like seeing symbolism in the music videos.

this isn't even touching on like. how there's the kaf membership manga canon which is just an official comic where vwp is in high school together. or otogibanashi which was a series of... spoken skits? that kaf put on at her concerts for a while and has yet to be concluded and is a completely different universe from the rest of the vwp lore. Truly an enigma

by the way look at this video of one of my fandom friends posting a shitpost gif we made into the japanese kamicity ARG discord chat during a livestream. we made kaf laugh. the joke is that parrot was so annoying you don't want to know. i am so proud of this communityjsfdksdf

[kaijuworldorder]

Gadzooki + Konky Donk: The Empire Magazine review

Oh shit I was supposed to post this weeks ago and forgot, oops. Anyway, having seen Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire a second time and solidified my opinion of it, yeah it's pretty good! Major glow-up from the previous entry. It's not perfect and is no less stupid than its predecessor, but it's the kind of dumb movie that I like, one that doesn't go out of its way to insult my intelligence or annoy me. The things that worked about Godzilla vs. Kong are here only way more, and the things that sucked are mostly not here. There's just enough substance that my adult self is happy, and all the mindless wild spectacle that makes kWo Junior cheer and want to bash action figures together. Adam Wingard said in an interview that his aim was to make a modern-day Toho Champion Festival movie, and I think he succeeded. I'm no longer nearly as worried about the future of the MonsterVerse as I was. I thought this picture was going to suck ass, but I sure ate my words. 4 stars, check it out if you haven't yet.

There's the short version. Under the cut, I'll get into specifics of what I liked and what I didn't. If you're still wanting to see GxK and somehow haven't yet, I recommend doing so before reading on, because I spoil a lot of the movie here.

WHAT I LIKED

Big-time Inhumanoids vibes. The tone, the “journey into a subterranean world to stop evil monsters from taking over Earth” plot, Skar King being kinda like Metlar personality-wise and living in a horrible lava hell, the wacky pseudoscience and power armor (well, just a gauntlet but you get the picture), the gruesome violence…I half-expected the end credits to sound like this. GxK is the closest I think we will ever get to a big-budget theatrical Inhumanoids motion picture, unless a miracle happens and Hasbro decides to give a shit again and buys back the rights. For those who aren't familiar with Inhumanoids: get familiar with it, you’ll thank me later.

Rebecca Hall's new hairstyle. Yeah.

Bernie no longer sucks. Way less grating and unfunny, doesn't parrot fascist talking points every goddamned second, and the sense of wonder he shows upon seeing the Hollow Earth for the first time really won me over.

Jia. One of the previous movie’s strongest aspects in my opinion, particularly her dynamic with Kong, and that holds true in this picture as well. She gets a good deal more to do, shows off more range, and her whole emotional arc in this hits just right for me. Feeling alone even though you’re not, feeling like you don’t fit in anywhere, thinking there must be something wrong with you but you can’t put it into words…these are things I can relate to all too well. And I won’t lie, I choked up when she chose to stay with Andrews at the end.

Unfridging the Iwi. The previous film’s most egregious, unforgivable misstep has been walked back, and I couldn’t be happier. It’s also good to see the Iwi having a more active role in the story, instead of basically being window dressing like in Kong: Skull Island, which as much as I love that movie was kind of a problem. It helps that the Hollow Earth Iwi are just extremely cool. Love the crystal spears, the gravity pyramid and all their other Sufficiently Advanced tech. They’re like if Seatopia weren’t horrible assholes, or if the Nilai Kanai were in a better movie. I like 'em!

Dentist! A thing I love about the MonsterVerse is how it comes up with creative stuff involving kaiju that no other movie has ever really thought to do (e.g. Godzilla flashing Chellen-kov LIGHT from his spines as a threat display). I also like that it shows how the world has changed in response to the emergence of Godzilla and the others—how culture, the economy, politics, and general day-to-day life have shaped themselves around these creatures. Trapper exemplifies both of these things really well. I doubt I would ever have come up with the idea of a kaiju veterinarian, let alone written a scene showing how a dental procedure on a 300-foot ape would work, but I'm so grateful for that level of worldbuilding. He’s also just a goofy weird guy and I like him.

Golden Earring "Twilight Zone" needle drop. One of my favorite songs of all time is in this movie and I know it's kinda stupid to pop for things like that, but goddammit I loved it.

Kong’s arc. There’s just something really satisfying about finally seeing a King Kong who isn’t the last of his kind. Plus he gets a Trendmasters accessory robo-glove gimmick, which is just stupid enough that I'm into it.

Monster rasslin'. I do wish the fight scenes had more weight and scale to them, but goddamn, they're just so much fun and visually engaging. I can't dislike a movie where Godzilla does a vertical suplex.

Sucko. I love this horrible little ugly-cute weirdo/giant ape version of Rock Howard, and not just because “hehe funni mokney” or the bit where Kong uses him as a blunt object to clobber those other assholes. I got genuinely invested in him and Kong bonding, as he realizes that barely anyone in the Skar King’s domain ever showed him genuine kindness before. He is good and can stay.

The Skar King. Fantastic love-to-hate-him scumbag villain, chock-full of personality. You really want to see Kong and Godzilla kick this guy’s ass, and his cruelty and tyranny getting paid back in full at the end is so satisfying. The only thing that really sucks about him is his uncreative name. Like come on, “Hanuman” was RIGHT THERE, especially since the Whipslash can totally stand in for a tail.

Skar King’s soldiers. I love these Lost City of Zinj-ass motherfuckers. They're nasty and fun and I want action figures of them yesterday, so hey uh, Playmates, maybe get on that? Not like you'd have to spend a ton of money either, just reuse the Ferocious Kong and Skar King body molds and make a couple new heads, splash some red paint on em and voila, instant gorilla warfare. That one balding ape with the fucked-up eye who Sucko kicks off the pyramid to his death might require some new tooling, but nothing major.

Shimo. It's nice to have an antagonist monster who isn't evil, and is still alive at the end of the picture. We don't often get reptilian monsters not named Godzilla that are babyfaces, and ice powers are rare in Toho kaiju circles. She's just a breath of fresh air, with a simple but effective design and a genuine emotional hook; I really felt bad for her when the Skar King was bossing her around and basically torturing her, and the joy she feels at her freedom from his control transcends onto me, the viewer.

Mothra is so fucking back. She makes her presence felt, she doesn't die this time, and she gets a little more to do here than in King of the Monsters, which I appreciate. I still say she ought to have a solo spinoff movie; she's Strong and Cool™ enough to stand on her own, and there's so much more you can do with her than just being Godzilla's conscience and bestest pal.

Tiamat. It was nice to see her in motion finally instead of just being relegated to tie-in comics that the movies ignore 99.9% of the time. Shame we’re never gonna see her again.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE

Junkie XL's score. Soulless and unmemorable hackery, just like his work on Godzilla vs. Kong. The Skar King motif sounds like he started to compose something and then just gave up. He also has a Jimmy Hart version of "Mothra's Song" to accompany the previous movie's Jimmy Hart Godzilla theme, and it's just as lame. Bring back McCreary or Desplat, please and thank ya.

AVP-wi. As much as I like the Hollow Earth Iwi, I’m a little annoyed that the Iwi are now apparently the only ancient monster-worshiping culture there has ever been. It feels dumbed down, and limits what future stories in this setting will be able to do.

Godzilla Evolved. Boy oh boy do I have a lot to say about this, none of it good. Godzilla's new look is way too busy and overdesigned with all these spiky greebles all over him that make him look more like a Monster Hunter boss than the King of the Monsters, and his proportions physically hurt me to look at. Where did all the internal organs in his torso go to make his waist that slim? What the fuck is up with his arms? Why are there dorsal spines growing out of his elbows and forearms? It just doesn't look right. I get that they're trying to evoke the Godzilla 2000 design with the giant pink spines and slimmer body proportions and the spikier and slightly greener skin (it's even got the same feet) but it just isn't done that well, and besides, if I wanted to see that design, I'd watch that movie. It’s just fucking up the cohesion of the Legendary Godzilla design and eroding its visual identity even more, dragging it further and further in directions it wasn’t meant to go in a cynical capitalistic move to sell new toys. I said it in 2019 and I'll say it again: if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Moreover, it's 100% cosmetic and doesn't actually affect the movie at all in any meaningful way, it's just Dragon Ball-style "new color = stronger" power creep. We keep being told how much more powerful Godzilla is now, but we're not shown any evidence that there's a significant difference. It doesn't feel like there's anything Evolved Godzilla does that regular Godzilla couldn't or hasn't before. He doesn't act any different or display new abilities. His new thagomizer and Batmanesque arm spines? Never uses 'em, they're just more surface greebles to clutter up the design. Why make changes like that if you're not gonna do anything with them? Hell, the only new trick Godzilla shows off in this, the classic blue Nuclear Pulse, is something he uses before he evolves! And then he never does it again after that! Even the atomic breath color change is meaningless. We're told it's stronger than before, but again, we never actually see that; it doesn’t seem to do any more damage to monsters or buildings than the old one did. Sure, it burns away Shimo's ice storm at the end, but Godziller burned a tunnel all the way through the fucking Earth with the regular blue breath in the last movie, so it doesn't really feel like something he needed a new form to be able to do. I don't believe for one second that Godzilla Evolved was necessary; there's not enough real difference between it and Original Flavor Godzilla to justify its existence. I realize that's probably unfair of me to say since I don't know if or how much anything that would've helped illustrate the difference better may have been part of the movie before but got cut for time, but to me at least, the effect on the finished film is that Most Powered-Up New Godzilla® just feels like a palette swap in a video game, and that's not great. Maybe instead, oh I dunno, you could have Godzilla have a rough time and just barely win against Scylla in Rome instead of wasting her in seconds, Final Wars-style? Maybe have a little flashback to the ancient war of Godzilla vs. Hanuman & 700 Big Gorilla, like show him barely surviving that, so we get an idea of what he's up against? Then when he powers up, we can buy that he's stronger now, like a sense of progression or something. Instead, what we get is basically a Hong Kong martial arts flick if it showed the hero doing a training montage and then beating all the bad guys, but didn't show any of why he needed to train in the first place, e.g. the bad guys kicking his ass. It's a payoff with no setup. I assume this is probably a side effect of Godzilla in New Empire being what immature people with bad opinions claim he was in Godzilla (2014)—a guest star in his own movie—so there might not have been a way to avoid this problem without significantly altering the pacing, but like…could they have at least fucking tried?

[mochiwrites]

How do you plan your stories & arcs+ overarching plots/arcs

I love your stories. The solar/lunar ones got me so sad, and i still like it

ueueue ty!!! 🥺

these are !!!! my favorite kinds of questions to get, okay okay. this is gonna be a long post, so I'm gonna put this under a read more!! :D

so, I'm gonna split this into two sections: overarching plotline and individual arcs.

starting with overarching plotlines:

a lot of my planning for a storyline comes from throwing multiple ideas at the wall until something sticks, really fjghjdhdfjgh. I try to figure out what kind of tone I want to go with (i.e. a dark story, a light hearted story) before I put any sort of plot together. and depending on what tone I want to go for, I start thinking of my villain and what their motivations are, etc etc.

what I typically do when building say, an au like good crimes, songbird, or parrot coven, is I'll build the world up itself and figure out how each main character fits into the world. in each au I just listed I had grian, mumbo, and scar's basic backstories all figured out before a plotline came together. figuring out what my main characters roles are in the story makes it a lot easier to think of a plotline

that isn't always the case though. take my solar eclipse au for example -- that plotline came before I had any details of the world figured out. sometimes it just happens in reverse order :D

after I've got the foundation of my plot going I'll either open up a google doc and write out notes or I'll write stuff down on my ipad with my little notes app

as for how I get the overarching plotline going, it's mostly about the situations I'm putting the characters into! some situations will be more related to the plot than others, but sometimes I drop things in the unrelated situations to circle back to the main plot later :3 it's all about connecting things back to the plot

as for individual story arcs:

I don't typically use arcs for every story I write. my last life au and the double life au I co-write with @/hitheeprithee don't work in arcs. however songbird does have arcs! I'd also argue that crime au has arcs as well, but those are lot less complicated with an astounding 2 (two) arcs. but songbird has more than 3 arcs at the moment

the thing with story arcs is you have to think about what you want to accomplish in that arc. for example, we're currently in the middle of arc 2 in songbird right now. the first arc of songbird served as an introductory arc, introducing grian, mumbo, and scar, and the basics of the songbird world. this second arc we're in right now (and I have to be vague into order to avoid giving spoilers) is an important arc to scar's character mostly, and arc three will continue to expand on what arc two has started

when I do my story arcs, I focus on a few different things: how the plot is advanced in this arc, and how the characters grow within the arc. and depending on what I focus on is how I'll divide the story up into arcs :D

[2n2n]

idle thinking on the shape of love, endurance, persistence, and unconditional commitment in this manga.

rapidfur

!!!!! This is amazing! It's a little funny, but I always kind of disliked Akane, but... I feel like you have a knack for really looking deeper into the work and finding connections, and bringing out a complete story! It's a little funny, I think recent western fandom developments have made analysis for this series hard, since everyone is so quick to point out themes of abuse and such... which isn't necessarily bad, but when has real life ever been so simple. D:

HEY THANKS this is probably my... favorite of the posts I’ve made, I!!! even wish it was a little more coherent/organized lol.... but, I’m glad the messaging is there and interesting and got through!! I really-- feel most strongly, about this through line between all arcs!!! My jaw was.... on the floor, as Akane/Aoi happened, I couldn’t imagine their r’ship would also thread all of these themes into it. I also thought the manga would be a little messier, have a few more loose ends, some ‘randos’ if you will. I honestly thought Akane and Aoi would always remain boring to me, and I can’t believe the manga essentially popped me in the jaw about all my assumptions. The ‘twist’ of their personalities doesn’t even feel cheap, either .... I suddenly felt legitimately guilty for writing off Aoi as ‘just some normal girl, friend of Nene, nothing significant’..... I had to deal with Akane going from “god, some goober SIMP out here...” in my mind to “hhihihieeeek... why is he allowed to do hot things omg”

I’ve definitely seen some write-ups try to assert the theme is ‘abuse’, and responses to/conditions of abuse, but by god, if that were true, it sure would be gosche how often this manga uses punches and brutality as either a punchline (what is Akane + Teru in this lol?), or a spicey picante to an ultimately romantic scene

It would be so out of tune for a Manga About Abuse to sooooocapriciously depict the very ropes that symbolize isolation and ownership/control/influence of others as sexually alluring. Boy all the contexts of these, ropes... all these situations....

... but if isolation/ownership/control was at times allowed to be an aspect of some sort of, ultimate love, hmmmmm... hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....

hmmmm...love....

hmmm... control

hmmmm... influence..... 

hmmmm... HMMM 

Not to be TOO cheeky, lol, but gosh.... devotional love bleeds through every inch of symbolism in the manga. Hanako himself compares being ‘bound’ to ‘like being in a relationship’ (I can’t... believe you say that....)

Hanako relates a curse to love..... 

can’t believe we come all the way back around to this concept, so many chapters later.

ohhhhhh famous bound-boy Hanako-kun can just say being ‘bound’ and ‘being in a couple’ are synonymous by certain definitions? you who are bound? to someone? GEEZ. I honestly hate this manga sometimes. It’s TOO linear. It’s almost blindingly direct.

Which is to say, there's a lot more to appreciate to a character than only thinking theyre worthless because they're annoying... ♡ devotion! I was starting to think AidaIro was writing a really confusing all-over-the-place story, but these analyses are really making me rethink my way of media analysis. Sometimes it's very easy to just parrot what other people say as fact, and not think about things deeper... anyways! Just offering my appreciation again. ☆ミ

thanks again!!! It’s.... rrrgh I’m just one person with one interpretation, in a sea of equally proposed ones, I’m just happy if anything I say feels like it ‘clicks’ or rings true to what you’ve read yourself, personally. If it goes down smoother than other things you’ve tried to perceive in the text. 

Its always a struggle for me a bit-- I love DOING analysis-- but I also dislike the way modern fandom tends to convene on analysis and defer to analysis, rather than engaging the manga themselves directly (and trying to interpret it for their own). On one hand I resent the pipeline of some reddit take becoming the penultimate western narrative (usurping the very manga itself), but also I kindof have no choice but to try to assert my own take, too, and influence other’s perceptions (for better or worse, as I’m just some shmuck).

I feel that modern-day fandom is sortof odd, I think social media winds up dominating and creating a singular discussion/interpretation of media  .... I saw it so much I did want to at least, prove that someone out there has a different take, that very different interpretations can exist....?

...but anyway, I do think. Love is this manga’s greater unifying factor than anything else. Sincerely!!! Really!!!

[brokenmusicboxwolfe]

Woo-hoo! I got through Good Omens 2 without any major spoilers!

Okay, I did catch on that some folks found the ending upsetting, but nothing else. Considering the heavy posting about the show, that’s pretty lucky!

What strikes me as funny is that I sort of twigged where it was heading pretty fast, but enjoyed it anyway. I don’t mean I guess the amnesiac and (name redacted) had that particular relationship or that (name redacted) would get that offer at the end, BUT both fit perfectly with the way the story was going.

I always enjoy character stuff, and this was pretty much entirely about our main couple. Everything, every couple mirroring them, every flashback adventure, it was all about Crowley and Azzy’s relationship. In particular it was all about Azzy’s heaven blinkered perception of that relationship. Crowley may have long ago adjusted to shades of grey and pragmatism, by Azzy still thinks in terms of purity. Naturally this had to lead to a crisis eventually…just a few millennia later than most couples would.

Weirdly enough, all this reminded me of my parents. Mom was from a very religious, rather conservative southern baptist family. Pop was an agnostic (borderline atheist) born near Boston to a very liberal family. I’ve read their letters and diaries, charting them going from best friends to their marriage. In those papers you can really see a struggle not unlike this season.

There is no question my parents were in love, long before they ever admitted it to themselves. Gotta say that first. But it’s tricky when you’ve been raised to think that the world is set in rigid form, and the person you love most, doesn’t fit.

Mom had a difficult time wrapping her head around the differences, coming from a very binary world view. She would try to rationalize and excuse those differences, like Pop couldn’t really be a non-believer down deep because he was such a good person. And when the reality settled in for how different his world view was from her family, it became a real issue for her.

Pop, however, was insistent they weren’t that different at heart. Yes, she had her religion, but he was talking their natures. Who they were, not where they came from. Clearly they were both smart, curious, hard working, and deeply caring people. Yet she was parroting back what she was supposed to**. Pop would plead with her to think for herself, to be true to herself.

While there is no parallel to the rift at the end of the show, it could easily have happened. It very nearly did. Her aunt offered to pay Mom’s college as a method of trying to sabotage her relationship with the “sinful” love of her life. After a lot of angst Mom chose to reject the pressures of her family, culture, and finances. She saw Pop was right. They were alike in the ways that mattered.

I hadn’t been aware of Mom’s struggle. While Mom had been a christian and Pop a non-believer, they had always, always seemed bound in spirit, or soul, or whatever you call it. Mom took the journey of shedding her rigid binary framework for the world, coming to terms not just with loving an outsider but that she herself was one.

Anyway, if it’s any comfort for those worried for the Crowley/Azzy relationship (ignoring Neil Gaiman’s own reassurance) my parents not only found a way to work things out, they became an “Us” that lasted for more than 50yrs. And if you ask Mom, Pop’s death hasn’t changed that “Us” one bit. Maybe they just made me a hopeless romantic, but I have no doubt the relationship between our angel and demon will work out too.***

Eventually.

** Fun fact: Grandma, Mom’s mom, had an amusing need to say she was things she had been taught to be even when it was utterly absurd. She was a peculiar person it would take an essay to write about, but I’ll say her lack of self awareness and innate goodness made it cute when she would try to claim unpleasant traits she thought she was supposed to have.

*** Ever see that box I painted based on an angel and devil romance? (It’s on here somewhere) Maybe it’s proof I’m just a sucker for this kind if thing! LOL

[larrysland]

This month’s post has two parts   First is this wood burning and staining of an eagle.  As I was creating the mountains I had images of the Grand Tetons in Wyoming that I have seen.  This is not an exact copy of them, just an image inspired by a memory.   

Besides being the national symbol of the U.S. eagles have inspired many thoughts.  Here are two that I like.

You need eagles wings to get over things that make no sense in this world.    Tom Petty

Don’t be a parrot in life, be an eagle.  A parrot talks way to much and can’t fly high.  but an eagle is silent and has the willpower to touch the sky.  Unknown 

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

The second part of this month’s post is based on the fact that tomorrow is Groundhog’s Day!  Attached below is a short story I wrote about it that might explain how it really came to be Groundhog’s Day instead of some other animal.  Hope you enjoy. 

GROUNDHOG DAY

A bear, a bat, and a groundhog walked into a bar on the December Solstice one week before Christmas, 1937 near the Pennsylvania town of Punxsutawney.

After an hour of drinking at a corner table Joe Bear brought up the real reason they came here and that they had been avoiding talking about.  “Okay guys.  No putting it off we gotta decide which one of us is going to interrupt our hibernation on Candlemas Day, a little over 7 weeks away, so that the humans can determine how much longer winter will last.”    

“It obviously ain’t gonna be me,” said Slinky the Bat. “When I did that back a hundred years or so ago the humans freaked out and started stories about me being a vampire and drinking blood.  Me and all my relatives nearly got kilt a hundred times over.”

“Yeah, that was bad - ”

“BAD Phil?  Bad - that’s all you can say!?  They nearly murdered me!  Scared the wife and kids horribly!  I’m out of this rotation.  One of you guys will have to do it.  I’ll support you though and every year when we get together like this I’ll buy your drinks for the night.  I’ll buy enough booze for you to sleep real solid for 7 weeks till you got to get up.”

“Okay, okay Slinky, calm down.  Phil didn’t mean nothing bad,” said Joe.  

“Yeah buddy.  Ease down,” said Phil.  Now, Phil was keeping pace with Joe with the number of drinks he was having.  And since a groundhog is smaller than a bear the whiskey was really getting him buzzed.  

“Tell you what guys,” said Phil, “this deciding every year is getting old.  I read The Hobbit a week back.  You remember the riddle game that Bilbo had with Gollum?  Joe, why don’t you and I play riddles and the loser has to do the Candlemas wake-up for the next 200 years and then we will play it again.”

“Dude - you’re on, Let’s do it!  We’ll ask each other questions.  We each get the same number of questions so if we each get one wrong in the same round we have to keep going.  Slinky will be the judge if our answers are different than the one we were thinking of but are still good.  Deal?”

“Deal,” said Phil and they shook paws.

“Here’s your first riddle” said Joe:   A man was driving a black truck. His lights were not on. The moon was not out. A lady was crossing the street. How did the man see her?”

“Easy,” cackled Phil, “It was a bright sunny day - just like it’s gonna be when you have to wake up for Candlemas Day on February 2nd.”

“Shut up mouth.  Give me my riddle,” said Joe.

“Okay Joe, what asks but never answers?” said Phil.

“Hmm…oh, an owl! Yeah, an owl! Cuz it only says ‘who.”

“Okay, now I’m going to answer first in this round” said Joe, “Ask me your riddle Phil.” 

“Here is your riddle:  Take off my skin - I won’t cry, but you will.  What am I?” 

Thinking for over a minute about what made him cry in life Joe finally said, “An onion!  It made me cry when I was making dinner last week.”

“Rats, yeah, that’s it. Now you ask me” said Phil. 

As Joe was drinking and thinking the bar door opened and Dave Squirrel came in, sauntered up to the bar and started talking with the bartender and flirting with the waitress.  Joe saw him and muttered under his breath - “That guy - such a jerk.  I was hoping he wasn’t showing up tonight but I guess he is just late.  I hate how he shows off and tries to impress the girls.  I know how he can do it but it still makes me ask, how can a squirrel jump and move so far, so fast, so high, and at such angles?”

Not completely paying attention due to the booze and all, Phil only heard the last part, only the question.  “Wait - what!  That’s not a fair riddle!” snarled Phil. “No fair, no fair, ask me something else.”

Realizing that he had accidentally stumped Phil ,Joe said, “Yes it is a fair question.  Slinky do you think it is a fair question? Yes or no?”

Slinky felt really bad and uncomfortable at what was happening.  But thinking about it he decided that it was a fair question.  Phil had to answer it.  He also said that Phil could have three guesses instead of one since it was an unusual, but legal, question.  After five minutes of horrible wrenching and wrong guesses Joe was declared the winner but only if he gave them the correct answer as judged by Slinky.

“Squirrels are double jointed in the back legs and that gives them their mobility and strength,” said Joe.  “I win!  C’mon Phil.  It’s not all that bad.  You’re a light sleeper any way and now you’ll get free drinks from Slinky here when we do our Winter Solstice get-together.  I’ll even bring you vegetables and berries sprinkled with vanilla extract cuz I know you like that.

“Besides you do this regularly for a few years and you’ll be famous.  People will call you Punxsutawney Phil which sounds a lot better than Punxsutawney Joe.”

“Yeah, well, okay,” admitted Phil beginning to lighten up when he thought of the free drinks, the free food, and the fame.  Maybe he could even impress that waitress over there.  

But still not wanting to completely give in he glanced over his shoulder again at Dave, shook his head, turned back and muttered to his friends, “I was doing so good, and then there was this squirrel.” 

[remcycl333]

Void/LOA success by 💇‍♀️anon

This post is gonna be a bit lengthy , blunt and unbelievable 😭 also very sloppily written cause i’m havijh so much fun. i really have got out of my comfort zone and I’m so happy i did. No you do not have to follow every step I did! This is simply for motives and inspo.

So, yeah it's obvious i was one who struggled with void and loa blah blah blah for a LONG TIME! I was a hardcore druggie, physical and mentally abused all my life, had a very rare illness and so much more. But who gaf ab the old story. ☠️

So after a day of sending that cringe ass message to u i ended up prioritizing myself. It’s clear I was idolizing void and I’ve been doubting in LOA too like ??? So in the 3D i moved in with my one and only friend, got a job at a fastfood place (pls this is sorta embarrassing), and decided homeschool was much better for me. Also between that time I learned how to correctly manifest and shiz by you and @theandreiaeffect<3. And girlllll literally less than the next week I manifested perfect mental and physical health, my dream job, desired appearance, and 7,000,000$ with a 15,000,000$ home me and my bestie now live in. I was already so happy how it was. Yet after that crazy ass week passed by i woke up in the fucking void. I have no clue how but i did.

Now for what I manifested in void.

- ‘i heard a rumor’ power - a power of this girl from a netflix show. basically you say ‘i heard a rumor ____’ and it happens. its like a brainwash power? its simple to explain but idk. (If u watch that show my fav character is klaus whats urs?)

- Time travel(?) - so when i got in void it was prolly like september 11th 2022. i just said in the void ‘it is August 30th’ and when i woke up it was august 30th as you can tell so now I’m just relapsing my days but in a goodway.

- changed family - my bestie is like family and i changed her appearance to her desired appearance, more cousins, siblings, aunts etc. my dad being a famous nfl star.

- Revenge - basically just fucking with my abusers life the same way they fucked with mine. I have no regrets so🤷‍♀️

- Name and age revision - I always hated my full name so i changed it. I was 17 and just revised that i’m 21. yeah it was a big gap but idc it was worth it for me honestly. i also manifested i’m not gonna die till like 90 and age like wine so.

- a bf- oh let me tell u. i’ve always had a crush on ralph macchio. and now i have a boyfriend who is his twin but even more attractive. his personality and the way he showers me with love is mwah.

- Removing phobias - i’ve always been scared of animals🤦‍♀️ not anymore tho now i have 2 cute lil puppies and a parrot:)

- Vegan restaurants and shops opening up close to me - I’ve been vegan since the beginning of the year due to animal cruelty and just not enjoying meat.

- Immune from getting preggo til 25 - its self explanatory what i be doing but i’m not ready for a baby yet so🤫

- Being protected and safe 24/7 - anyone around me also is aswell its like a invisible barrier to danger

Now those are just a handful of what I manifested. I literally manifested sooooo many other priv things. Just get ur shit together. I have nothing else to tell u. Honestly idk how LOA coaches don’t get fed up with y’all constantly crying ab how u dont got ur shit when u are the reason why. U have a cheatcode to life. Not many people are spiritually awoken. Do you know how fortunate you are to have discover LOA???? Keep this in mind and maybe ya know manifest ur dream life. To Rem, I thought I’d be on tumblr way longer as your anon, but I’d rather go live my life to the fullest for a while. I hope my story leaves an imprint on the LOA community. Andreia, you have also really inspired me. I’m so fucking happy I made a whole 180 with my life. Rem and Andreia, i will NEVER forget what you have done for me. Thank you so much really. I love u guys so much🥲🥲

yesss im so proud of u!!! when u said u traveled back in time from september i got the chills! and baby go live your life and enjoy it, you deserve it!!! come back whenever u want and update us <3

[angryschnauzer]

Blackwater Lake - Chapter 1

Summary: There’s a little town high in the mountains where everyone has a secret, and every family has something that makes them unique. In Blackwater Lake those that are outcast by nature come together. 

Characters: Werewolf!Captain Syverson, Werewolf!Female Reader, Vampire!Walter Marshall.

Warnings (for this chapter, all small mentions but warning just in case): Breastfeeding, Accidental Cutting Injury/Blood loss, blood transfusions. This chapter contains no sex scenes or scenes of a sexual nature.

A continuation of previous Werewolf!Sy stories Moonlight on the Sand and Castle Under The Stars. This will be a series of stand alone stories/2 parters, which will revolve around the residents of the town, with some recurring characters.

I do not run a tag list, but please follow @angryschnauzerwrites​ and put that blog onto notifications. You’ll then get an alert every time i post something new.

Blackwater Lake - Chapter 1

The late spring day brought pleasant scents and mouth watering flavours, Blackwater Lake’s town May day parade in full flow as you held two month old Luna in her carrier to your chest, turning to smile at your husband Sy as he balanced Mikey on his shoulders so your son could watch the floats whilst they slowly cruised past. You knew he would be most excited about the Fire Department bringing their trucks past. At the first whoop of the siren Mikey squealed with joy, the ice cream cone in his hand tipping slightly and setting a blob of blue bubblegum flavour gelato into Sy’s cheek;

“Hey, no wriggles! Its raining ice cream down here”

Pausing the consumption of your own cone you handed it to Sy as you reached into your bag and found a baby wipe, moving to wipe his cheek before stretching to wipe your son’s face. Finding a trash can to toss the wipe into, you smiled as you watched your two boys as they waved to the Fire Trucks, the crew making sure to honk their horns when they saw Sy.

Everyone in town loved Sy. You’d moved there together when you’d found out you were pregnant with Mikey, your army days behind you and wanting to seek somewhere quiet where you could live in the woods to allow for full moon runs whilst being close enough to civilisation to raise a family. The aging receptionist at the realtor had pulled you aside the second you’d arrived in their office when you’d visited the town, recognising one of her own as her nostrils had flared and she’d explained that there were ‘all sorts’ in the town. That was your first meeting with Edith, and you’d gone on to move in just up the mountain from her. Once Sy had finished in the Army and baby number two was on the way, he’d started working alongside retired detective Walter at his construction company where they specialised in commercial buildings. They were always on call for when businesses had emergencies, so had come to the aid of half the town after storms and accidents.

As the parade dragged on Luna woke, grumbling for a change and a feed. The two boys were transfixed with the parade and you’d lost your ice cream cone to Sy who was now mindlessly munching away on it. Tugging on his sleeve you caught his attention;

“Luna’s woken up, i’m gonna take her into Sue’s Coffee Shop to change her and give her a feed”

“Sure thing Darlin, we’ll come find you in a bit”

-

The coffee shop was quiet, its doors opened onto the sidewalk and as the radio played soft rock music, just one or two tables taken outside but the inside empty. Sue - the owner - smiled at you as you walked in;

“Hey Sue!”

“Hey there! What can I get'cha?”

“Can i get a decaf iced latte? I just need to change Luna if that’s ok?”

“Of course, no need to ask, the restroom is empty”

A couple of minutes later your little girl had a clean butt but was still grizzling, now hungry for your milk. Sue had set your drink onto a table in the corner, a soft window seat she knew you liked to sit at to feed. Settling in you pulled your cami top down and unhooked the strap of your nursing bra, helping Luna to latch on as she cried before a blissful quiet descended over you as she happily suckled on your breast. In the quiet of the coffee shop you reached for your drink and sipped on it, smiling down at your beautiful daughter as she gazed up at you;

“Hey there my little Luna, better now? Is that the good stuff? Yeah? Well that’s what your Daddy says it is…” you said with a whisper and a smirk.

“Hey”

The sudden greeting made you jump, looking up to see Walter standing near your table;

“Oh, Hi Walter”

“Sorry…” he glanced away, averting his eyes from where you were feeding; “I just asked if you wanted anything?”

“Oh no, i’m fine, i’ve got a coffee… but you’re welcome to join me if you like? Sy and Mikey will be along once the Parade’s over”

Nodding once the quiet man went to order before returning with what looked like a quad espresso but faltering when it came to taking a seat;

“Where did you want me to sit?”

“Oh anywhere you like” you shifted Luna as she had finished on one breast, hooking that side up before shifting and moving her to the other breast. You’d mastered the art of switching breasts without revealing anything, the baby's head blocking any view of a nipple, and you were a vehement supporter of breast feeding - in fact any feeding - and had been known to get into loud shouting matches with anyone that told you to cover up something that was completely natural.

“I mean, i don’t want Sy to think i’m here oggling his wife’s tits”

Laughing, you kicked out a soft chair with your foot;

“This is fairly low, take this one and here…” you moved the upright menu on the table in front of Luna’s head, knowing that she would now be shielded from view and with your breast, and saving Walter’s embarrassment.

Just as Walter sat down Sue brough over his sandwich, the scent of it hitting your nostrils and making your stomach audibly growl;

“Oh wow, what is that?”

“A steak wrap with chimichurri sauce” he lifted one half and offered it to you, but you shook your head.

“Thanks, but that’s just a little too rare for me… looks like a good veterinarian could bring it back to life”

Walter laughed as you called out to Sue, ordering one of the same.

“You want yours still mooing too?”

“Medium, please” you laughed as she nodded and walked away.

As she cooked your meal you turned back to Walter. You’d had a few conversations with him over the 11 months he and Sy had worked together, but knew very little about him apart from his reputation of being quiet and surly, generally sleep deprived and a little pale most of the time. He’d been medically retired from the Police Department after an accident where he’d lost a lot of blood and had never fully recovered.

As Luna happily fed and Walter devoured his sandwich you sipped on your drink, watching with curiosity as the man ate in silence, savouring each bloody bite. When he finally crumpled the napkin onto the plate and sat back he caught you watching him;

“What? Do i have something on my face?”

“No” you laughed softly; “Just watching how quickly you devoured that sandwich. Rachel not feeding you at home?”

Walter’s face dropped;

“She left”

“Oh fuck. I’m sorry Walter, i wouldn’t have said anything if i’d known”

“S’ok. She got fed up with the way i lived my life, but i can’t change who i am”

“True”

Just then Sy and Mikey came running into the coffee shop;

“Hi Darlin! Hi Sue! Hi Walt… be right back, Jnr has a bathroom emergency!”

The two Syverson boys disappeared into the restroom, and you could clearly hear Sy’s voice;

“Point! POINT IT AT THE TOILET! That’s it, stand on your tippy toes… there we go! Got here in time!”

You suppressed a laugh, Walter raising his eyebrows;

“Potty training?”

“Uh-huh… it's been a challenging few weeks to say the least, but Mikey wanted to give it a go”

The sound of the dryer could be heard as Sy and Mikey reappeared, Sy giving you double thumbs up from behind his son who ran to you;

“A perfect aim Darlin, no leaks. Think this deserves a cookie!”

As Mikey squealed with joy you groaned;

“Sy… not more sugar! He’ll be up all night. Mikey, honey, how about some fries?”

“And Eggies?” Mikey asked

“Sure thing honey, get Daddy to ask Sue”

As the afternoon wore on and the boys chatted, you listened as Sy and Walter discussed work stuff, Luna sleeping peacefully in your arms as you ate with Mikey. Finally glancing at your watch you motioned to Sy the time;

“Hun, i’ve gotta go collect our meat order from Walkers Meats”

“Oh yeah, sure. Here…” He opened his wallet and peeled off a bunch of $20’s as he turned to Walter; “She makes the best Steak Tartare… it's unbelievable”

“You make that?” Walter asked

Angling Luna into her carrier sling you adjusted the straps and nodded;

“Sure do! Hey, did you want to join us for dinner?”

“Yeah, join us!” Sy parroted; “And before you say anything, you wouldn’t be intruding”

With a weak smile Walter nodded;

“Sure, that’ll be nice. I gotta go to the lumber yard before though… pick out the stuff for next week's job”

You noticed that Mikey had finished his meal and was looking sleepy, holding your hand out to him he slid off the chair and stood next to you;

“How about I take the kids home, Sy you catch a ride with Walter?”

With everyone happy with the arrangements you made your way along main street to where Sy had parked his enormous truck, helping Mikey into his seat before unlatching Luna and settling her into her carrier. They were both fast asleep by the time you got to the drivers seat. 

You managed to park directly outside the door to Walkers Meats, and Freya the weekend girl helpfully brought everything out to you when you called inside that the kids were asleep in the car and you didn’t want to leave them.

-

Dinner had been fun. The two kids were peacefully sleeping as the three adults chatted after the meal, before you finally stood to load the dishwasher and start hand washing the items that couldn’t go in there. Just as you were about to start you heard a cry from the kids, Sy standing;

“It’s Mikey, i’ll go”

As you started to handwash the various knives and delicate glasses, Walter stood at your side to dry items, the two of you talking casually before you let out a cry and pulled your hand from the soapy bowl of water. The dark crimson of your blood flowed from your finger, the knife you’d forgotten you’d put in the sink the cause;

“Fuck… hand me a towel…” you asked Walter, but were surprised when he sucked in a sharp intake of breath and turned, hunching over. Clutching your hand to your chest, you were surprised by his reaction, before he suddenly turned and you let out a shriek.

Sy appeared at the doorway in a panic before rushing to you, wrapping a napkin around your hand before he finally turned to look at Walter;

“What the fuck…”

Walter was pale, paler than usual, but that wasn’t what shocked the pair of you. No, it was the fact his eyes were pure white except for dark pools for his pupils, and as he opened his mouth to speak you saw his fangs;

“It’s… it’s the blood…” he gasped out; “It drives me…”

Sy wrapped his arm around your shoulders, but looked at his friend as he slumped onto the floor, shaking and sobbing;

“Think we need a chat Walt”

-

The three of you sat around the kitchen table, a hefty glass of scotch in front of each of you as Walter spoke;

“So umm yeah… this is why i left the Department. Went into a supposedly abandoned building, but it wasn’t empty. Two what we thought were junkies in there, looked like they were frail and would snap in a keen wind, but they had this strength and speed… They overpowered me, latched onto my neck. Drained my blood, and when the last drop was about to pass their lips one of my officers finally found me and shot them. They bled into me. The EMT’s took me to New Mercy and gave me a massive blood transfusion, and treated me for severe anemia… well guess what, the fangs and fucked up eyes were a surprise a few weeks after i was discharged”

You sat wide eyed and mouth agape, not touching your drink;

“I have so many questions...”

“Okay”

“Garlic. Crosses. Being invited in. Sunlight…”

Walter chuckled;

“Most a load of complete bollocks. Garlic? Well you put some in your steak tartare didn’t you? In fact it helps with the anemia. Crosses? No issue. Being invited in, again that’s just rubbish. Sunlight however… why do you think i’m so pale, huh? Have to wear factor 50 all the damn time otherwise i end up looking like a Maine Lobster at a cookout”

Both you and Sy were transfixed, Walter chatting away but his eyes hadn’t returned to normal and his fangs occasionally caught on his lip as he spoke.

“What ‘bout blood then?” Sy asked

Walter cleared his throat;

“Well, i’ve been making do with cows blood since Rachel left”

“You used to suck her blood?” you asked in a high pitched voice

Again Walter cleared his throat, this time just the faintest hint of a blush crept over his cheeks above his beard;

“Err yeah, about once a month… but she had enough in the end and left”

“I got another question” Sy interjected; “Why are your fangs still out?”

Although he answered Sy, Walter looked directly at you;

“Because she’s bleeding”

You looked down at your hand, puzzled as the wound had now sealed, before it hit you;

“Oh… I should go and sort that out”

Sy caught up quickly, glancing at the back of your dress;

“You’re fine Darlin, Walt caught it in time”

When you returned to the kitchen the two men had knocked back their drinks, Sy pouring another hefty glass for the pair of them. Pouring your drink into Sy’s you smiled at him;

“Luna won’t appreciate it”

Making yourself a herb tea you sat down next to Sy, leaning on his shoulder as you sipped your tea. Walter cleared this throat;

“You two have taken this a lot better than i envisioned anyone would… better than Rachel did…”

You looked up at Sy and smiled, his own grin crossing over his face before he nodded and you both turned to Walter as Sy spoke;

“Oh… we have a bit of understanding of this kinda thing”

With the full moon starting tomorrow night you knew that you could both force your eyes to turn orange, the bright ring of fire in your irises flaming like a pyre, shocking Walter so much he slipped back on his chair and fell to the floor. Greeted by both of you giggling, he pulled himself back up using the table as he righted his chair, knocking back the rest of his glass;

“What… the… FUCK?”

[bebepac]

Ri-Liamo de Bergerac (Happy birthday Zoehanji )

Happy birthday @zoehanji​ !!!!!

Original Post date: 04/27/21 at 9:52PM EST  (4/28 where you are celebrating your birthday!!!) 

I have no idea when we started talking but we did, somewhere in the beginning of my writing journey on this site.  Even though I still consider myself to be a beginner here. Thank you for being my friend and being a fellow long distance cousin, as our relative in common would be Drama Whore!  Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha   🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I hope you enjoy this.  I know that Fast Forward has always been one of your favorites.  

The Book:  TRH and Beyond

Pairing: Liam x Riley  /  Maxwell x Taylor  (Maxwell x F!OC)

Warnings:  Sexual Innuendo  and fluff. 

Word Count:  1889

Summary:  Maxwell and Taylor go on their first date.  Both are nervous and ask Liam and Riley for an assist.  

A/N:  This is a little similar version of Cyrano de Bergerac, not in the take that someone has a big nose, no one does, but the aspect of someone getting help in a conversation by using someone else’s words.  I did ask around to see if anyone had done something similar to this.  No one recalled of a similar story, so any similarities to anything currently on the fandom is completely unintentional.  

I also used @theworldofprompts  prompt: "All my life I've been searching for an answer as to where I belong. Then I met you and everything changed. You treated me like I deserved to be treated and you made me feel like I had a home. I don't want to lose that. I don't want to lose you." which will appear in bold.  

Song inspiration for this.  I heard this song while i was desperately needing to calm down while i was listening to the calm station on my pandora and I came across this song and enjoyed it so, so here it is for you all to enjoy too. I feel like it has a little sweet nervous energy, but then the music builds like you’re getting used to being with someone. it’s truly a beautiful piece.  

First Love by Yiruma 

I don’t own rights to the music. But i’m quickly becoming a Yiruma fan.  Every song was amazing that i heard today and it had such a unique feel.  I could pick them when they started playing on pandora.  

Riley raised her eyebrow at Maxwell. She saw him pacing nervously as he kept glancing in Taylor's direction. Taylor was completely oblivious as she had her nose buried in a book she'd gotten from the estate library.

Finally Maxwell had psyched himself up. He walked over to Taylor sitting in the lawn chair next to her.

"Hey Softie."

Taylor put down her book, as did Ellie as she was sharing the oversized lounge chair in the sun with Taylor. Both lifted their sunglasses to their hair.  

"Lord Playlist?"

"So I was wondering if you want to have dinner tonight."

"Silly Uncle Maxwell, we eat dinner every night."  Ellie confirmed matter of factly.

"What Riley Jr. said."  Both Taylor and Ellie picked up their books again, sliding their glasses back to cover their eyes.

Riley laughed to herself.  Oh my God Taylor she thought. She is absolutely adorably clueless. 

Liam laughed softly.  He gently rubbed Riley's stomach.

"Aren't you glad we're married? We don't  have to do that."

"You were never like that."

Liam blushed.  "I felt like that when I talked to you the first time. I don't even remember what I said on the street to you. I was so dumbfounded by your beauty."

"You don't remember me being so awkward, Liam?"  

Liam shook his head. "You… were perfect, is all I remember, My Love."

A light blush hit Max's cheeks.  

"What I meant Softie, was you and me alone, away from the estate."

Taylor slowly lowered the book again, her eyes slowly meeting Maxwell’s.

"So like a date?"

"I mean date is a strong word, but it could be an accurate one. Two people dressed nicely eating food together at the same table. I mean I'm not opposed to the idea if you are."

"Auntie Taylor likes food, and to dress nicely. You should see Auntie Taylor's dress for the ball. I picked it!!!!!"

"Excuse me Miss Crown Princess read your book."

"So… whaddya say Softie? Dinner tonight?"

"Sure. Riley Jr. nailed it pretty much."  

"Great! I'll meet you out front at seven."

Great."

"I swear this baby likes to just sit in there and poke my bladder for fun." Riley tried to roll out of the lounge chair she was on. “A little help Liam?”

Liam immediately jumped up to assist Riley to her feet.  

"You just went thirty minutes ago."

"You tell your daughter that."

Liam affectionately rubbed her stomach, kneeling to plant a soft kiss on it.

"Little One be nice to Mommy. She has kept you safe all this time and we still have a few weeks to go. Let Mommy relax.."

Riley had stepped out of the lavatory only a few steps when Taylor descended on her like a ninja.

"Jesus Christ! Taylor you almost scared the crap out of me, and the way this baby has my bodily functions out of whack it could have legit happened!!!"

“Ew. Riley. Gross.  Another reason I won’t procreate.  Did you see, Maxwell asked me out!!!! On a date!!!!"

Riley laughed.  "Because he likes you, and you like him."

"What are we going to talk about alone?!?!"

"You guys talk, and you are texting back and forth all the time."

"We talk in a group Riley. All Me and Maxwell do via text is meme war each other."

“Huh?”

"Our whole texting conversation… nothing but memes!!!"

She swiped on Maxwell's conversation in her phone it was nothing but pictures.

"It's okay, I'll get an ear piece set  from Nico, and help you.”

“You’d do that for me?”  

“Of course I would.  Can’t have your first date with the guy you like nothing but uncomfortable dead air.”  

“Thanks Ri.  Can you keep this between us?”

“Sure! Do you need help picking an outfit for tonight?"

"Nope, with the outfit, you kind of already did when you gave me my new wardrobe. If I can’t pick from there, I’m truly an idiot."

Little did Riley and Taylor know Maxwell and Liam were having a similar conversation.

“Liam I didn’t think she would really say yes!!!  She said yes!!!! She said yes…..” 

Then it looked like the gravity of the situation crashed into him.  Maxwell looked like he was about to hyperventilate.  

“Calm down Maxwell.  Taylor likes you.  It’s easy to tell from the trained eye.  She lets down her guard around you.”  

“What are we going to talk about?  I can’t talk about peacocks all night.  Or Memes. She’ll think I'm a complete buffoon.   I don’t even have reservations anywhere.  I asked her on a nice date and I don’t even have reservations ANYWHERE!!!! What am i going to do?!?!?!

Liam grabbed Maxwell by the shoulders.  “Get a hold of yourself man!!!!  And take a breath, your face is turning blue.”  

Maxwell took a few cleansing breaths.  

“Don’t worry about the reservations, I can handle that.  It’s good you are friends with the King and Queen.  And for conversation I can got it.  I’ll get an earpiece from Bastien, and you’ll be fine.”

“Don’t tell Riley.  She still hasn’t let go about the fact of my baby hippo tattoo.”

“Nor will I thank you for reminding me of it.”  Liam laughed loudly.  

Maxwell and Taylor left on their date.   Both Liam and Riley made excuses to not be in the other’s company for the evening.  

Both Liam and Riley were pleasantly surprised being a whisper in someone’s ear how well the night was going.  Both couldn’t stop thinking about how natural the moments between the two of them felt, and how perfect they were for each other.  

“I can’t tell you enough Taylor how beautiful you look to me tonight.  And I know you’ve had trouble seeing yourself that way when it comes to that word. But you are Taylor.”  

She heard her sister softly gasp.   Tears filled Riley’s eyes.    

Tell him Thank you, and that you wanted to look nice…. For him.”

Taylor parroted her words.

Taylor starred at the menu. None of it was in English and she had no idea what any of it meant.

I wish I had your eyes right now Riley. Taylor thought.  

The conversation was sweet and romantic. It was the perfect date.   Maxwell reached across the table taking Taylor’s hand.  

“Would you like to dance?”

“Yes.”    

As they danced,  Taylor started relaxing in Maxwell’s arms.  

“You know I have a hard time sharing my emotions sometimes. All the time..”  

“I know. And that’s okay.  We can take this slow.  There’s no rush Softie.”  

This felt familiar to Liam..  Too familiar.  He knew those words…..her words.

Riley felt the same way but she couldn’t be sure.  

Both had gotten up from their desks to investigate to see what the other was up to.  

Taylor had never felt like a moment was so perfect and what Riley said, she really felt in her heart.

"All my life I've been searching for an answer as to where I belong. Then I met you and everything changed. You treated me like I deserved to be treated and you made me feel like I had a home. I don't want to lose that. I don't want to lose you."

“Riley?”  But she had the feeling, it wasn’t Maxwell’s question.

Taylor pulled away from Maxwell.

“Liam?”  

Liam and Riley stared at each other in the hallway.  

He touched her ear feeling her ear piece and she touched his, feeling the same. 

“I knew it was you.” They both said in unison.

“I could feel your heart Riley, through the words even though it wasn’t you saying them.”  

“I could feel you too.”  

From the earpieces they could hear Liam and Riley kissing and the sounds of commotion.

“Bedroom, now?”  Liam's voice deep, rumbling with desire and need.

“YES LIAM!" Riley cried out.

"OH GOD!" Taylor shrieked.

Both Maxwell and Taylor ripped out their earpieces.  

“Well that escalated quickly.”  Max cleared his throat looking at their earpieces that were laying on the table.  “Won’t be using those for the rest of the evening.” 

“Why did you think you needed help on the date Maxwell?”

“Because I’m awkward, when I’m around you.”  

“No you’re not.  You’re funny, and really nice.  I’m the awkward one. I don’t know how to do this normally.  I’ve never had a healthy romantic relationship before.”  

“That’s okay.  I haven’t been in many relationships before either.  We can learn together.”  

“So can I be honest with you?  I have no clue what the hell I ordered.  This place is nice but it’s too much for me.  I’m guessing it was Liam’s idea?  Can we go somewhere else?”

“I know just the place.”  

Maxwell and Taylor left that restaurant, and when they got to the second place, Taylor’s smile widened.  

“Now stop me Softie if you’ve ever heard this one,  a dashing noble wearing a squid tie with an affinity for peacocks, and a Queen of Cordonia lookalike walk into a bar…….”

Date one for Maxwell and Taylor part two was them dressed up like they were going to the ball, eating burgers and drinking cheap Cordonian Beer, playing pool.  And it was perfect.. For them.

No. Dead. Air.  Conversation flowed easily between the pair.

“Wow.  I can’t believe the earpiece stayed in.”  

“You don’t think they heard anything did they?”  

“I’m sure they probably took them out.”  

"Can I ask you something?"

He could hear the slight sadness in Riley's voice. "Sure, you can ask me anything."

"Do you think I'm cool?"

Liam laughed out loud but abruptly stopped when he saw the look on Riley's face.

"Of course you are Riley."

"Then why is Ellie my sister's shadow right now?  Why do I feel like she wants nothing to do with me?"

"Riley… it's not that. This pregnancy has been rough on you.  You know how active our children are, and how active you were with them. Even while you were pregnant.  Well….Taylor fills that spot  for what you aren't physically able to do right now. Before it was me. I think you notice it more now because it is her.. But yes, it is clear Ellie adores Taylor. They have bonded and really love each other. “

"It was just so hard when I came back from California  Liam. She hated me."

"She didn't. She loved you, and it was my doing that put a wedge between you and her. She was hurting Riley. I did that to her. Not you. I’m sorry for that."

“It’s okay Liam.”  

*^*^*^*^*^*  Breakfast next day *^*^*^*^*^*^*

“How was dinner last night Taylor?”  Riley asked.

“It was great.  We went for Burgers and beers.”  

“That’s nice.”  

Liam lightly cleared his throat.

“So……..”

“We didn’t hear anything.  We both ripped our ear pieces out when we heard where things were heading.”  

“Riley you’re about to pop, how is that even aerodynamically possible right now?!?!?!”  

“Oh it’s possible!”  Liam chuckled.  “God yes it’s possible.”

“Taylor it’s like when the amusement park is about to close and you want to get on your favorite ride one last time.  Even if you’ve had too much food and you’re full and you might throw up.  You got to get on that ride one more time.”

“You went to a carnival Mommy?”  

“No, she just went on a royal scepter ride. God did I say that out loud?”  Taylor slapped her hand over her mouth.

“Oh my God!!! Can we change the subject now please?”  Liam inquired, beads of sweat were forming on his face.    

“Yes please because this conversation went incredibly awkward!”

Riley laughed looking around the table.  The adults looked like they wanted to climb out of their skins and her children looked either confused or unaware of what was happening.

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