#anyways why am i complaining this is enrichment

[kebriones]

Socrates is literally a disgusting pervert who gets off on small boys like Lysis but uses intellectual manipulation to perpetuate unequal power relations; Alcibiades calls him out for it unironically in the Symposium (warning Agathon) and you keep romanticizing this despite both Plato and Solon explicitly making laws that condemn the exploitation of young boys through pederasty.

τι τραβαω χρονιαρες μέρες...

1. Plato didn't make any laws. But even if he did, laws from 2k years ago do not affect what I'm allowed to do now, i think. Also have you actually read the Lysis?

2. I haven't studied in depth the laws of solon neither could i find anything with a cursory google search about any of his laws pertaining to the practice of pederasty. If you have a source for that I'd love to have it for future reference.

3. Agathon in the symposium is 30 years old I don't think he fits in this discussion.

4. I am not a historian or archaeologist or a scientist that studies these things. There are many people more qualified than me to talk about this matter and you can find them online if you actually care about this topic. However, from the few things i understand and have read, here's what i think: when discussing pederasty in ancient greece, we need to understand that several things were vastly different from what we now know and understand. Girls would be getting married at like 15, so boys would also be having lovers at that age. Many many older societies didn't have the knowledge we have about the detriment these things, like getting married at that age to an older man, can have on a person and yes, this is one huge problem that has existed in patriarchal societies since forever and still does exist in the world.

5. In classical athens specifically, the younger partner had a level of control over the relationship, although of course that didn't erase the power imbalance. Especially teens from rich families who were most likely to enter such relationships (because their primary function was to initiate future citizens into the adult life and politics, via a mentorship that for one reason or another included an erotic aspect) would always be accompanied by attendants to protect them from unwanted attention. There were rules for schools and gymnasiums to protect boys from getting harassed. It was up to the teenager to accept a lover who he thought would benefit him. Of course now we know more about maturity and power dynamics and so on, but these were different times. I don't know how much more to stress that we're talking about entirely different societies from 25 hundred years ago. Other societies around the world also had questionable initiation rituals and cultural practices that nowadays we know are terribly harmful.

6. If you actually read the symposium, Socrates specifically refuses Alcibiades' sexual advances when Alcibiades was in his late teens, and part of the reason why is that Alcibiades was too young.

7. I am always drawing Alcibiades as an adult, so what I'm "romanticizing" is love between two grown adults. Do I think that their relationship as described in plato had toxic elements? Sure. Do I agree that Socrates was manipulative in general? Sure. That's part of what makes their dynamic interesting to me. Alcibiades was also a powerful manipulative individual who did horrible things. He'd had lovers other than Socrates who probably did manipulate him in his teens for sex much more than Socrates is ever shown to do. This is also why I like their relationship, because Socrates loves Alcibiades as a person first and foremost, unlike literally everyone else around him who wants him because he's physically attractive.

8. Please just block me or something if I'm bothering you. This is the last anon ask of this kind I will be answering. Please READ stuff before forming opinions and going up to random people to complain about their art, so you can have better arguments. Have a nice day.

[drdemonprince]

Autistic friend anon here — thank you so much for your answer and the substack post. I was kind of stuck in the “rejection” feeling of “wait but if being autistic isn’t a bad thing then why are you so upset at the idea that YOU might be autistic”. I took it really personally and wasn’t really thinking about how much it sucks when someone acts like they know you better than you do. I’ll have to keep working through that.

I also often get stuck in the idea that “well if someone had just TOLD ME I was queer/trans/autistic then I could have figured it out sooner and life would be better” or whatever. But after many years of being out as queer/trans, I think that isn’t actually true and even if it is, I don’t interact with other possibly queer/trans people by “diagnosing” them with queerness/transness any more. In my head it seemed like autism was different for some reason, but of course it is not.

Anyway, your answer was really thoughtful and diplomatic, while also being very clear about what is bad behavior on my part. It is genuinely going to be a big benefit in my life.

Hey, nice to hear from you again!

I totally feel you. When I told a friend years ago that I thought she might be a BPDer, I was incensed that she ended up not taking that comment well. I meant it in an affirming, pro-Mad-Pride kinda way! I was a BPDer too! if she thought it was bad to be BPD, what did that mean she thought about me?

But I was looking at it the wrong way. I had just hurled a still very stigmatized label in her direction as a response to her complaining about real relational struggles in her life, which felt diminishing and presumptive. Telling various people in my life that I'm pretty sure they're Autistic can have a similar effect, even if they're on board Autism acceptance as an idea.

I used to fixate on the time I lost not realizing I was trans or queer or whatever the fuck I am yet. I had a vision of an older me materializing before me at age 16, specifically on the corn-lined roads I used to bike up and down furiously, and imagined telling myself the Truth of who I was and what I had to do to be happy. I believed that if i had known I was trans younger I would have avoided a lot of upsetting relationships, eating disordered periods, and general angst.

Now. I am pretty damn sure that is not true. It turns out that being trans was not a solution to all my problems, it was just another problem that I had. In the sense that it's a challenge to navigate on this bitch of an earth. if i hadn't chosen to be trans i would have chosen some other shit to do that also would have been a major pain in the ass i'm sure. that too would have been an interesting back story.

I dont think I was ever going to be outgoing and unneurotic and breezily well adjusted. That's not my lot in life. Feeling a little uncomfortable in my body and around other people is as definitional a part of me as my wit or my weird laugh. I can kinda love that about myself now, or at least accept it. nothing and nobody actually could have saved me. its just not that simple. but it's been a pretty interesting life.

i think we tend to impose our self-narratives onto other people when we are not happy or we are harboring deep regrets about having gotten something wrong or missed something in the past. but we cant spare our friends those journeys. they should get to have them. it's interesting and enriching to get things wrong, be in denial, cope in elaborate stupid ways, soul search, change our minds, miss something, find something, never know what's true.

[rageprufrock]

Sneak Peak: MLC Fanfic

I have so many chores to do so instead I am on tumblr posting this little snippet instead because adulthood is a SCAM.

Anyway, please have some in-progress modern AU where Jiao Liqiao hits Di Feisheng with a car.

The whole thing starts when Jiao Liqiao hits Di Feisheng with an orange Hummer outside of the Alliance Security headquarters while he's on the phone with Li Lianhua.

***

Six hours later, Li Lianhua is sitting around in Di Feisheng's hospital room dressed like someone's dad's dirty uncle best friend: beat up pajama pants, a shirt he'd grabbed at random hearing the shriek of tires through the phone line, and a pair of Fang Duobing's fucking sky blue Adidas slides he'd stolen as he'd bolted out the door.

"It's not that I want to criticize you, lao-Di," Li Lianhua says, critically, "but I told you to run that woman out of town as soon as humanly possible at least five times."

Di Feisheng, who's been provided pain medication and is angry about it, busies himself with glaring at the ceiling. 

"Now look at you," Li Lianhua goes on, like a bastard, "you've got a hairline fracture in your foot, you've got a broken leg, three cracked ribs, a low grade concussion, and also you're the top four trending tags on Weibo." 

That these are factual statements does not make Li Lianhua's continued, unwanted presence in Di Feisheng's hospital room any less insufferable. 

"Alliance Security CEO accident," Li Lianhua reads off his phone. "Alliance CEO car crash. Alliance CEO crazy girlfriend. Alliance CEO handsome." 

Di Feisheng's head lolls around so he can center a wild-eyed glare at Li Lianhua.

"Why are you here?" he asks through gritted teeth.

Li Lianhua squints at him. "Can you be considered human?" he demands. "There I was, enjoying my Saturday morning like a normal person—"

"You were calling me to complain that our CDN felt 'kind of slow,' like an asshole," Di Feisheng corrects.

"—and then I hear you yelling and the sounds of vehicular violence," Li Lianhua goes on. "Any person with a heart would be concerned."

"Fang Duobing made you come," Di Feisheng says.

"Fang Duobing made me come," Li Lianhua agrees.

"Well I'm not dead, so you can leave now," Di Feisheng mutters.

"'As someone who has also wanted to hit their boss with a car, but never truly had the courage, I respectfully acknowledge Jiao Liqiao as my master and will endeavor to serve her as a faithful student in all things,'" Li Lianhua reads, going back to scrolling through Weibo. "'I never want to know the truth or any details about why she did it. Just that she hit this beautiful mean-faced millionaire with a car is enough. I would die for her.'"  

Di Feisheng goes back to staring at the ceiling and begins to systematically reflect on the wrongs that have led to specific terrible moment. This begins with lingering resentment over college scheduling that had put him in a 9:30 programming basics class with Li Xiangyi and concludes with admitting that perhaps Fang Duobing had been right when he'd said, two years ago, "A'Fei, you can't just tell a woman it's fine if she's in love with you and that you guys can keep working together but that it's none of your business." But at that point, Fang Duobing was still the infant Li Xiangyi was fucking as some kind of weird post mental breakdown enrichment activity, and seemed like a poor source of professional counseling. In the years since, Di Feisheng can admit that while Fang Duobing continues to be an infant Li Xiangyi is fucking as a weird post mental breakdown enrichment activity, he has a sharp and nuanced emotional intelligence—as long as it has nothing to do with his profoundly repulsive attachment to Li Xiangyi. 

"Miss Jiao is going to get some truly staggering letters in jail," Li Lianhua observes with audible admiration in his voice. For not the first and likely not the last time, Di Feisheng swears never to answer another phone call or text message from this bastard again.  

"If you like her so much, you should hire her once she's served her time," he mutters through gritted teeth. The sharp edge of pain is starting to break through the drugs, but he feels clearer, sharper, less like he's trying to hear shouting through the rush of a flowing river. "Is there a reason you're still hanging around here?" 

Li Lianhua slants him a look, beaming with charity. "Now don't get shy, A'Fei—"

"Stop calling me A'Fei," Di Feisheng snaps.

"—I came in a DiDi, so Xiaobao is coming to pick me up," Li Lianhua finishes. "You'll be back to your peace and blessed quiet soon." 

Which is of course the precise moment that little treasure of Li Lianhua's pokes his abominably sunny little face into the doorway of the sickroom and declares, all smiles:

"Okay! I just finished with the nursing jiejies! They’re wrapping up your discharge paperwork and we should be able to take you home with us this afternoon.” 

“What,” Di Feisheng and Li Lianhua say.

[anika-ann]

"7 minutes in..." - sneak peek

...this is probably only a temporary title. Yeah, I can't believe I signed up for this, but here we are 😂

Pairing: Steve Rogers x reader WC: 290 Warnings: none so far, not in this peek anyway 🤭 ...mention of claustrophobia?

“Hm… I think we should play,” Natasha said, earning at least five shocked stares, including yours.

“What?!”

“We should definitely not,” Steve protested, leaning forward with a very displeased frown, his eyes as if burning as he glared murderously at Natasha for entertaining the trickster’s whim.

“I mean… why not, after all? Two people in a closet, in cramped space? What is not to enjoy?” Bucky added, clearly changing his mind about going to bed. He was next at the receiving end of Steve’s disapproval.

“Ask a claustrophobic, I’m sure they’d come up with a reason or two,” you hummed, earning a sardonic ha ha from the dark-haired supersoldier.

“I mean… who knows. Could be magical,” Tony wiggles eyebrows.

“Are we back to 13 going to 30?”

Wanda, Pepper, Maria and Sam said NO with impressive coordination.

“I must say I am intrigued as I cannot quite see the appeal. It would be an enriching experience for me to understand. What is the worst that can happen?” Vision questioned.

“You did not just ask that,” Sam complained.

“Please tell me it’s just a closet and not some sort of a portal to Narnia?” Pepper chimed in again, Loki’s smile surprisingly pleasant as he turned to her.

“It is simply a closet, my dear Lady Potts.”

“I don’t know you guys, it still sounds like a pretty bad idea,” you chuckled nervously as you felt the air shift towards agreement to participate in this ridiculous game.

“Seconded,” Steve grunted by your side.

“Too bad, I’m getting an empty bottle,” Tony blurted out as he jumped to his feet and reached for the nearest bottle indeed.

It was the perfect opportunity to walk away; it was the last chance to get out.

You didn’t.

-.🎃.-

And I'm glad she didn't 😏😏 now with moodboard 💕

[minileena]

Zookeeper - part 4

prev - next

On that first tour of the little section of the zoo that I was responsible for, I had been excited about my job until Jasper told me that the parvinnet was going to take all my enthusiasm away.

I chuckled to myself at that. Funny how the complete opposite became true.

All my other responsibilities were just chores now. I spent all day thinking about her. Layna. It was… a weird topic to think about. She was just an animal, obviously. We had a gorilla exhibit elsewhere in the zoo, and while none of them knew sign language, I knew that there were gorillas who had been taught to communicate like that. It spoke to a degree of intelligence, but not to the extent that it felt weird to have gorillas in cages at a zoo.

Well. At least no more than it felt weird to cage ANY animal and show them off to strangers at ten bucks for entry. Zoos are kinda fucked up when you think about them too much.

Still, thinking about Layna felt… different. I couldn’t quite put my finger on why. Maybe it was just my brain playing tricks on me because her anatomy was so humanoid. Aside from her eyes and larger, mostly featureless ears, she looked pretty much like a normal human woman. To the extent that I started feeling uncomfortable with the fact that she, uh… didn’t have any clothes.

But, like… she’s not a person. I heard of an octopus in an aquarium that memorized the guard’s schedules and used off-time to sneak into a neighbouring tank to eat extra fish. That was cool and showed off the octopus’s intelligence, but… it’s not a person.

Layna had sounded so depressed and defeated yesterday…

Instead of thinking about the philosophy of personhood and sapience, I tried to reconcile my conflicting emotions by buying a bunch of cool shit for Layna’s tank. I remembered her complaining about not having anything intellectually stimulating, idly tearing at cotton just for something to do. My mind immediately went to toys—anything with moving parts to provide some enrichment for her. But the thought felt… wrong. She wasn’t a bored cat who needed a ball of yarn to bat around.

I came up with a different solution.

“Hey, Layna!” I called as I walked into her room at the end of my rounds.

I was greeted with a grunt. Layna wasn’t in her bed—she was on the opposite side of the tank, fidgeting and fiddling with one of the plastic plants.

“Messing around with the fake foliage?” I prompted as I grabbed her water bowl and cleaned it out.

“What the fuck else am I supposed to do in here?” She huffed.

I smirked. “Funny you should ask that… I brought you a little somethin’-somethin’.”

Layna’s brows furrowed and her attention shifted over to me. And to what I held in my hands.

After thinking about it for a while, I had eventually decided to buy her a little sketchbook. It was about as tall as she was—there wasn’t anything smaller I could find at Michael’s—and while nobody sold drawing utensils that she could use at her size, I tried to find a solution in a broken-off piece of mechanical pencil lead that could act as a drawing utensil of sorts.

Layna stared for a while, so I just set the sketchbook down next to her bed with a smile and returned to her water bowl.

“So… ignoring Jasper’s advice, then?” Layna prompted as she started making her way over to my side of the tank. “What’s that saying again? ‘Give a man an inch, he’ll take a mile?’ You’re, uh… offering me quite a few inches.”

I paused for a moment.

“I… know that,” I conceded. “But… it would feel wrong to not give you a few inches. I don’t quite get why, but… I dunno. It felt, like, correct to come here with this for you.” I set her clean water bowl back down in the cage and gave her a smile. “Anyways, I dunno if you’re an artist at all, but… I guess anything’s better than cotton and plastic foliage?”

Layna had finally made her way over to my side of the tank, looking at the sketchbook I had gotten her. She wore that expression again, the one I always have trouble placing… contemplative, maybe?

“You’re being nice to me because I’ve been cooperative,” Layna concluded. “These are, like, rewards?”

I pursed my lips at that. “I… am not quite sure why, but phrasing it like that feels weird.”

“Maybe because it’s basically pavlovian classical conditioning and that’s kinda fucked up,” Layna muttered as she lifted the sketchbook and brought it over to the glass tank, leaning it against the wall.

My eyes widened a bit. “How… do you know what that is?”

Layna huffed and moved to grab the pencil lead I had left for her. “I’m twenty-two years old. I’ve only been in this tank for three of those. I’m starting to suspect that you kinda just… never consider the fact that I existed outside of the context of these last three years. I had a life before this.”

Layna… is older than me.

I definitely internalized all her words and vowed to think on them more later, but for now that was what my mind was focused on. I was twenty-one. Why was it weird that she was older than me?

“Well, thanks for the reward incentive for my ‘good behaviour’ then, I guess,” Layna said as she started sketching at a level of proficiency that I had NOT been expecting. “You should finish your rounds. The sugar gliders are probably gonna get jealous that I’m taking all of your attention today.”

I nodded with furrowed brows and left to finish up the rest of my work in the room.

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

I realized that I had started to consider Evelyn my friend.

It was fair of me to do, I supposed. I was slowly going insane in this cage, after all. Perhaps I had been so deprived of any positive social interaction that the moment she offered me even a hint of kindness I latched onto it like a starving leech, desperate for something, anything to eat.

I would disabuse myself of this notion.

Evelyn was not my friend. She was my warden. These gifts and acts of kindness were intentional moves to try and make me more cooperative. I knew that for a fact. I could prove it.

I had to prove it. Because if she wasn’t my warden, then… she was an opportunity.

I needed to test this.

Once I misbehave, the rewards stop coming. That was the hypothesis.

And I had come up with the perfect experiment to prove it.

I tore out a sheet of paper from the sketchbook and started folding my path out of this cage.

Prev - next

[theoneforwriting]

I’m a cat! I’m a kitty cat!

AO3

Summary: The Midnight Burger crew wants to get a cat. Except Caspar. Cherry happens to work at an animal shelter and own a moped.

  It had been a slow day so far. As slow as a day at a shelter full of rambunctious animals could be anyways. Cherry was given front desk duty, which was the opposite reason why they had chosen to get their volunteer hours at an animal shelter. They wanted to spend time walking the dogs and petting the rabbits. They did not want to be sitting at a desk shuffling around the same papers wishing they had brought their holo-pad with them. 

   “I am bored out of my mind,” they gestured to the desk’s holo-screen. “Also, I am literally not needed.” They complained to Terry who had just walked in. Terry was an alright guy, probably spent too much time at the shelter. But that would be hypocritical of Cherry considering they spend all their time at the shelter and are only a volunteer, while Terry got his salary from being there. 

   “Don’t be silly, people love to see a real face and not just a screen.” 

   “Uh huh.” 

   “Well if you’re going to have that attitude-”

   “Terrance!” Someone else called out interrupting him. Terry gave a ”we’ll finish this later” look and disappeared into the back. The back, where literally anything enriching happens. 

   “Ugh.” Cherry slumped back into their seat, they couldn’t even see over the top of the stupid desk. It was like being trapped in a lame version of the Colosseum. No matter how high they put the ancient office chair, the desk obscured their vision. So when a voice came out of nowhere Cherry startled and fell, hitting their head on the chair on the way down. 

   “Are you okay?” What sounded like a concerned woman asked. 

   “Yep, never better.” They grunted. Cherry stood all the way up, their platform boots thankfully making it so their head was past the desk. 

   “How can I help you?” Cherry asked, people weren’t exactly their strong suit but they’d take anything to break the monotony right now. 

   “I am looking to adopt a cat!” She said gleefully. 

   “Uh yeah sure just scan your ID.” Cherry pointed towards the holo-screen at the front of the desk. 

   “Oh uh…” The women looked slightly panicked. Cherry raised an eyebrow. 

   “Yes an, um, my ID! Which I totally have!” She smiled with all teeth and no eyes before rummaging around in her tote bag. 

   “There it is!” She said, slapping it onto the desk counter. 

   “That’s a drivers license.” Cherry said while picking it up and looking at it. 

   “Which is an ID?”

   “It says it expires in 2027.” 

   “So..?”

   “Lady not to be rude but you do know it’s the year 3069, right?” Cherry asked, suddenly very much missing shuffling the same papers over and over again. There was an awkward silence. 

   “Oh, hello miss, how may we help you?” It was Terry coming back to finish their talk, but now his button up shirt looked like it went through a battle, dirt streaked all over with little paw prints. 

  “She wants to adopt a cat.” 

   “Oh how wonderful, how about you show her the kitties Cherry?”

   “Ter-”

   “What, I thought you were bored out of your mind?” He asked while fruitlessly wiping his shirt with a tissue from the desk. 

    “Fine.” 

   “Righty-o.” Terry said and started to walk away. “I hope someone will find their furr-ever home.”

   “Boooooo!” Cherry yelled at him. The crazy lady, because of course she did, actually laughed at it. 

“Follow me.” Cherry said emerging from behind the desk, hoping that she wasn’t about to be murdered. 

   While some cats were still in crates they did have a room where the ones that were allowed to mingle could do exactly that. It was a place for the cats to get entertainment (Unlike the front desk Cherry bemused) and interact. It also served as a place where patrons could come in and chill with the cats and see if they connected with one. 

   “Oh precious!” The woman exclaimed, her voice already rising several octaves. It was like this for a bit. The lady would ask about a cat and Cherry would answer, the routine let them let their guard down. Feeling less and less likely to end up in a casket. The presence of the cats also might have helped a bit with that. They were both sitting on the floor, a gray tabby named Hercules sprawled across Cherry’s legs. The lady sat crisscrossed with a ginger cat on her.

   “So what’s your name?” 

   “That one is Pickles.” 

    “Ah no I meant,” the lady turned to face them. “I meant your name.” 

   “Cherry.”

   “Ah I see I thought the guy said Larry and you just don’t give me Larry vibes.”

   “Is it the hair?” Cherry joked pointing at their dreads that are dyed a bright red.

   “Nah, it’s your eyes, they’re the window to the soul.”

   “Cool.” Cherry said, petting Hercules. 

   “I’m Gloria by the way.” She said before cooing at a cat who made its way over to them.    “Thanks, now I can call you something other than a crazy lady in my head.” Cherry said, making Gloria snort. 

   “I just wanted to say thanks for not calling me out back there.” Gloria said, leaning back against the wall and unfolding her legs. 

   “It’s hard to sneak out and get a cat especially when you're not born in this century.”

   “Oh c’mon you’re not that old.” Cherry said.

   “Hah, thanks.”

    Cherry, deciding to ignore the century comment, asked “You had to sneak out?” 

   “Oh yeah, one of my friends, his name is Caspar, is determined not to get a cat, he says it’ll hate him.” Gloria chuckled. 

   “He’s a dog person then?” 

   “More like a pet rock person.” Cherry laughed so hard that it spooked the cats away. Except the ginger one who stayed curled up in Gloria’s lap.

   After perusing the cats in cages Gloria started to look a little anxious. 

   “Hey, if you're worrying about making a choice we can put one on hold for you.” Cherry offered. 

   “That’s sweet of you but I am afraid I have to,” Gloria pulled out a pocket watch and squinted at it, “make a decision in four hours.”

   “Um, okay.” Cherry said too bewildered by the pocket watch Gloria had pulled out to check on the time limit she apparently had. 

   “My friend though, uh Leif, he’s the one I told you helped me sneak out, he’s going to be here soon and he’ll help me choose.” True to Gloria’s word, five minutes of looking at rabbits later a guy wearing an apron showed up looking disheveled. 

   “Caspar is onto our bullshit so hard we have to act fast.” 

    “Well let me tell you who I’ve found!” Gloria said already tugging Leif away toward the cats before Cherry could even unlock the door for them. Cherry sort of hovered around the two once they started talking. It was like watching professional ping pong as they talked through Gloria’s line up of felines. 

   “But this guy?” Gloria said with a fondness in her voice that caught Cherry’s attention. She picked up a ginger cat who didn’t even bat an eye at being lifted into the air. 

   “Is Pickles, it says he used to be an outdoor cat so I think that would also help him handle the diner.” 

   “Diner?” Cherry asked at the same time Leif exclaimed “Seriously?!”

    “Hey,” Gloria said offensively, pulling Pickles closer to her chest “we could change the name, no need to be so harsh on the gatito.”

   “Gloria, that’s not a cat,” Leif looked at Cherry, “how did it even get in here?” Cherry startled a little, realizing Leif was asking them. 

    “We got him, like, last week, some lady dropped him off, said it was a gift because we gave her a map of the city, she was nice but weird.” 

   “Oh my God.” Gloria said. 

    “What are the fucking odds?” Leif asked. 

   “What’s happening?” 

   “Uh, nothing at all, it’s just a small world is all, I think we know her.” Leif hurriedly explained. While Cherry could tell it wasn’t a lie, they could also tell there was a lot more hiding behind those words. 

   “Should I be worried?” 

    “No!”

    “Eh.”

Cherry looked over the two of them critically. 

   “…Okay then, I guess you’re getting the Not-a-cat cat?”

   “Oh absolutely.” 

   “Definitely.” 

   Back at the desk Cherry was tip toeing in their boots to lean over the desk and point at what Gloria was supposed to click. Cherry didn’t blame her, the legal jargon also got to them too. 

   “I’ll need that ID again to scan.” Cherry said. The dread filled Gloria’s eyes again like the first time. 

   “I got ya covered.” Leif said and then loudly slammed an ID onto the desk. Cherry took it and sure enough it was a proper Saleieinsport City ID. 

   “Huh.” Both Cherry and Gloria said at the same time. The rest of the process went smoothly. Cherry being thankful they were finally eighteen so they didn’t have to get “a legal adult” to sign off on everything. Now that they actually thought about it…

   “Hey, Gloria, you're my first adoption.”

   “Awe, really?”

   “Well, officially anyways, it just felt like something to say.” Cherry said leaning on the back of their heels. 

   “Of course you should say it, that’s awesome!” Gloria exclaimed. 

   “Yeah, congrats!” Leif agreed. Cherry could feel their cheeks blushing. 

   “Let’s go get your Not-a-cat cat already.” Cherry said, ducking their head down to hide their face. 

   Not-a-cat cat eagerly got into the travel crate when they set it down which made Cherry do a double take. 

   “Did you guys open the crate?”

    “No?”

    “No, I told you that thing is not normal.”

     “Leif don’t call gatito a thing!” 

    “No, I’m sorry Gloria but I agree with Leif here.” Cherry said while pointing their thumb at him. Gloria huffed and picked up the carrier, which the door to was also somehow closed. The walk to the parking lot felt forlorn to Cherry. 

   “Well it was nice meeting you guys.”

   “Same to you Cherry.” Gloria beamed. Not-a-cat cat meowed. 

   “Oh no, Gloria!”

   “What is it, Leif?” They both turned to look at Leif who was glaring at the hover-bus schedule. 

   “It says the next bus doesn’t come for three hours!”

   “Three hours?!” Gloria’s face sagged. “We don’t have that kind of time!” 

   “Do you guys want a ride?” Both heads whipped towards Cherry. 

   “You’d do that?” Leif asked. 

   “I mean sure, my time ends in five minutes anyways.”  Cherry fiddled with the hem of their violet sweater, “and you guys have been pretty nice.” 

   “Alright then let’s hitchhike!” Gloria exclaimed. 

   “I think it’s carpooling.” Cherry chuckled.

   “Nah, hitchhiking sounds cooler anyways,” she brought the carrier up to her face “Isn't that right Pickles?” 

    “Oh we’re definitely changing the name.” Leif said. Gloria scoffed.

   “I think it’s cute!” 

   “Where's your ride?” Leif asked, rolling his eyes at Gloria. 

   “It’s that one.”

   “Oh.”

   Gloria hung onto Leif for dear life. 

   “Isn’t this illegal?!” Gloria yelled.

   “What?!” Leif yelled back. Cherry couldn’t even hear Gloria from the back of the hover-moped.

   “We don’t have helmets!” She tried to explain. But the wind and the hum of the magnets that made traffic airborne was louder than Gloria. That’s not even mentioning the honking that was happening as Cherry swerved around other cars.                     

   The Not-a-cat’s carrier was secured safely in the side cart. Which left the three adults to have to squeeze onto a single seat. 

   Leif took the middle so he could guide Cherry to Midnight Burger. It was interesting trying to explain to Cherry why their Star Trek looking GPS wouldn’t work, but their urgency to get back before “closing” seemed to push aside any questions. At some point on the ride Gloria squeezed her eyes shut, so once they were safely parked in front of Midnight Burger she didn’t even realize it. 

 “We’re here!” Leif said, prying Gloria’s hands off of him. “That’s going to bruise.” 

 “Oh thank God!” A voice yelled from the door. “Do you know how hard it is to keep him distracted? I had to lock him inside the pantry! Get your asses in here!” 

 “We’re coming, just hold on!” Gloria exclaimed, tumbling off the bike. Leif grabbed Pickles and booked it towards the diner, the diner that Cherry was looking at in fascination. 

   “How long has this been here?” They asked Gloria. 

   “This morning.” She repsonded sheepishly. 

   “What-”

   “Thank you for all the help Cherry.” Cherry was about to repsond when someone else interrupted. 

   “Gloria!” The woman from earlier yelled. Gloria turned and cupped her face. 

   “Geez hold on Ava!” She looked back at Cherry with a big smile, her smile lines visible. Not fake like the one had been back at the animal shelter. 

   “You’re a lifesaver.” She gave Cherry a bone crushing hug. Gloria let go and then started mad dashing for the diner, slamming against the door as she slid inside. Cherry simply stared, their chest feeling warm. When was the last time someone hugged them like that? They however didn’t get to ruminate on it for long. A loud warping sound started to fill the air. A bubbly fizz seeped into Cherry’s blood. The wind rustled. The negative space yawned like a cat. Then the diner was gone. Everything snapped back into place in less than a second. The sounds of the road magnets and a park nearby suddenly coming back into existence, they hadn’t even realized those sounds had left. Cherry dropped their helmet. 

   “What the fuck.”

[fantastic-nonsense]

@panacea420 : Porto Rico doesn't want statehood. Why. The people would lose their free money. Yes, they get money they won't vote for statehood . Second Trump trying to clean out Washington is a good thing. Think. A more efficient government. More money to keep in your pocket. Third my biggest hope will be flat rate taxes. Think. If we're supposed to be equal then we should pay a flat tax no deductions. Every person bissness. No give backs. Think. About it billionaires can't use tax breaks. If you make a buck pay a dime. No one gets a break. Were equal under the law. Plus a simple 5% national sales tax. Another way to make corporations pay their fair share. (After they try to say we didn't make a profit or pay their ceos too much. ) think about it?? Also stock options still you have to pay taxes on them as income. Then if the make money on them they pay again. Unlike the current policy. Of only when they cash out . Flat taxes are the only fair taxes I am a liberaltarian. Not a republican. And a registered independent. Why?? Think about this. If a political party thinks you'll vote for them no matter what. Then they will. Not care what you want??? Make each party work for your vote. Just think about that . Used to live in Indiana they didn't have a independent group why?? Again think about it. If both party's are in. Bed with each other?? Dick Chaney was the most hated person by the democrats now he was working with the democrats to keep Trump from winning???? Again think about this please

Sir this is a Wendy's and I have no idea why you put these replies on my post. Anyway, let's get a few things straight:

"Porto Rico doesn't want statehood. Why. The people would lose their free money" Puerto Rico has affirmatively voted for statehood four times over the past decade: in 2012, 2017, 2020, and a week ago, on November 5th, 2024. Yes, the exact significance of various individual referendum results is heavily debated due to a variety of local politics (including referendum boycotts, leadership infighting, and differing status choices), but the point stands: Puerto Rico has voted for statehood several times in the past decade, including a 52.52%–47.48% win in 2020, when Biden won. Hence, why I noted that the Democratic trifecta should have done the correct thing and admitted both PR and DC as states immediately upon taking their seats.

Second Trump trying to clean out Washington is a good thing. Think. A more efficient government. More money to keep in your pocket.

One, this is not what's going to happen. By any objective standards, Trump ran an insanely corrupt, incompetent, and inefficient government during his first term in office. He's a six-time failed businessman and convicted felon who cozied up to corrupt dictators around the world and attempted to run the government like he was Vito Corleone. He was literally impeached for corruption and attempted intimidation of another world leader. He's not interested in "cleaning out" anything, and you're frankly stupid for thinking he is. Why on earth do you trust a corrupt businessman who partied with Jeffery Epstein for years to "clean house"? He is part of the problem you're complaining about.

Two, it's hilarious you think anything Trump does will "put more money in your pocket." He has no interest in helping you. He does not care about you. He will not put money in your pocket. He will not lower your rent or put more groceries in your shopping cart. He's a conman who only cares about himself and enriching his own family and billionaire friends. Or did you forget about how US billionaires got over $1 trillion richer during the four years of Trump's presidency, or how Trump personally reported that his businesses made over $1.6 billion dollars in the same timeframe (largely due to the aforementioned corruption and attempts to curry favor)?

What happened to you in that same time period? Did your wages go up? Did your healthcare get better? Were you finally able to buy a house? No. Because Trump doesn't care about you and your "normal working class person" problems, and never has.

Third my biggest hope will be flat rate taxes. Think. If we're supposed to be equal then we should pay a flat tax no deductions. Every person bissness. No give backs. Think. About it billionaires can't use tax breaks. If you make a buck pay a dime. No one gets a break. Were equal under the law. Plus a simple 5% national sales tax. Another way to make corporations pay their fair share. (After they try to say we didn't make a profit or pay their ceos too much. ) think about it?? Also stock options still you have to pay taxes on them as income. Then if the make money on them they pay again. Unlike the current policy. Of only when they cash out . Flat taxes are the only fair taxes

Flat taxes are regressive. People whose incomes are lower end up paying a larger portion of their income than rich people under that model! They do not create "equality." If you're actually concerned about making sure rich people and corporations "pay their fair share," I am begging you to understand that flat taxes do not accomplish that goal. Rich people WANT you to advocate for flat taxes because it means they end up paying less money. Please go sit in on a Political Economy 101 class, I am begging.

But since I'm nice, I'll give you the short tl;dr on why flat taxes are bullshit and make rich people richer, straight from the IRS:

Take a look at Chart A and Chart C. Look at the actual amount of money that Family A is left with vs. Family C in those two scenarios after you take out taxes. Now compare those numbers to Chart B. You taken a good look at those numbers? Do you understand why flat taxes would be useless at "making billionaires pay their fair share" now, when Family C ends up with $98,000 in Chart A and $80,000 in Chart C vs. the $70,000 they end up with in Chart B (the correct way to tax rich people)?

Finally:

I am a liberaltarian. Not a republican. And a registered independent. Why?? Think about this. If a political party thinks you'll vote for them no matter what. Then they will. Not care what you want??? Make each party work for your vote. Just think about that . Used to live in Indiana they didn't have a independent group why?? Again think about it. If both party's are in. Bed with each other?? Dick Chaney was the most hated person by the democrats now he was working with the democrats to keep Trump from winning???? Again think about this please

I have no idea what you're trying to say here with your rambly little rant except "I hate the system as it stands." Which like. fine. Whatever. so do a lot of us. But this has absolutely nothing to do with anything I actually said and no, actually I don't have to "think about it." I would actually very much like you to shut up and stop rambling incoherently in my replies about something that is wholly irrelevant to the content of my post.

Anyway, this is all to day...sir, this is a Wendys and I am uninterested in you. Go back to high school civics class and come back only when you can actually explain to me, a political staffer, how any level of government (federal, state, or local) actually works on a basic, operational level.

Ok it's been 24 hours and my official post-mortem is literally just "Elizabeth Warren was right: Democrats should have appointed an Attorney General who was committed to prosecuting Trump and everyone who enabled him, cleaned house of Trump's appointees, nuked the filibuster to pass DC and Puerto Rico statehood, and prioritized dealing with corruption"

[onehundredstatesofme]

And I want to play hide-and-seek and give you my clothes and tell you I like your shoes and sit on the steps while you take a bath and massage your neck and kiss your feet and hold your hand an go for a meal and not mind when you eat my food and meet you at Rudy's and talk about the day and type up your letters and carry your boxes and laugh at your paranoia and give you tapes you don't listen to and watch great films and watch terrible films and complain about the radio and take pictures of you when you're sleeping and get up to fetch you coffee at midnight and have you steal my cigarettes and never be able to find a match and tell you about the tv programme I saw the night before and take you to the eye hospital and not laugh at your jokes and want you in the morning but let you sleep for a while and kiss your back and stroke your skin and tell you how much I love your hair our eyes your lips your neck your breasts your arse your and sit on the steps smoking till your neighbour comes home and sit on the steps smoking till you come home and worry when you're late and be amazed when you're early and give you sunflowers and go to your party and dance till I'm black and be sorry when I'm wrong and happy when you forgive me and look at your photos and wish I'd known you forever and hear your voice in my ear and feel your skin on my skin and get scared when you're angry and your eye has gone red and the other eye blue and your hair to the left and your face oriental and tell you you're gorgeous and hug you when you're anxious and hold you when you hurt and want you when I smell you and offend you when I touch you and whimper when I'm next to you and whimper when I'm not and dribble on your breast and smother you in the night and get cold when you take the blanket and hot when you don't and melt when you smile and dissolve when you laugh and not understand why you think I'm rejecting you when I'm not rejecting you and wonder how you could think I'd ever reject you and wonder who you are but accept you anyway and tell you about the tree angel enchanted forest boy who flew across the ocean because he loved you and write poems for you and wonder why you don't believe me and have a feeling so deep I can't find words for it and want to buy you a kitten I'd get jealous of because it would get more attention than me and keep you in bed when you have to go and cry like a baby when you finally do and get rid of the roaches and buy you presents you don't want and take them away again and ask you to marry me and you say no again but keep on asking because though you think I don't mean it I do always have from the first time I asked you and wander the city thinking it's empty without you and want what you want and think I'm loosing myself but know I'm safe with you and tell you the worst of me and try to give you the best of me because you don't deserve any less and answer your questions when I'd rather not and tell you the truth when I really don't want to and try to be honest because I know you prefer it and think it's all over but hang on in for just ten more minutes before you throw me out of your life and forget who I am and try toget closer to you because it's beautiful learning to know you and well worth the effort and speak German to you badly and Hebrew to you worse and make love with you at three in the morning and somehow somehow somehow communicate some of the/overwhelming undying overpowering unconditional all-encompassing heart-enriching mind-expanding on-going never-ending love I have for you.

[imperiusv]

Whoops , missed it - 8/10

I was travelling and then I had loads of work , so i forgot to post this.

Damn this year went by so fast, I've been working here like a slaving mule, from the crack of dawn , i bring the bacon home and when i get done at night, all the stars are big and bright!

Oh boy , was i complaining how stale last year was, and did i wish for change last year , cuz change is what we got all year long! Literally all the things i wanted happened - i got a new job, i moved to a different country, i got a sweet new place ,a bunch of cool ass plants , new stuff , squeezed all i could from Ireland , made bank and i got a new young piece of ass, what more can a guy ask for? But then again its not 10/10 , but 8/10 , AGAIN you never appreciate anything, nothing truly makes you happy and i can not understand why? Am I messed up in the head like Bo - with his distorted ideals of reality, perfection and appreciation, how things "should" be and the failure to achieve these ideas makes you miserable and feeling unaccomplished. Does truly nothing ever makes me happy?

I find that hard to believe, what kind of sick fuck do i have to be , not to feel happiness at all. I do feel happy , happier than ever i suppose - but I can't lie to myself , something is missing and i don't know what - its not money , sex , work or kinship , but its definitely not her fault and i will not let this poison me , her , us or anyone else I care about for that matter. I won't let it happen , not this time, not ever again. I will never bring ruin upon myself like that again. I will look for that missing part of me in the years to come and my only hope is to find it soon enough. Maybe its a little baby or two lol. I hope her babygirl makes that dumb bitch happy, more than her fat loser husband anyway.

The only thing that sucked this year is i didn't get to travel so much , they screwed me with my holidays , or i screwed myself tbh, by believing and giving to people that do not deserve my very presence . That nice vacation in Sicily was good, but not nearly enough and what good is all this money , when you don't spend it , so I've made some hefty travel plans this year, i hope they pan out, adventure awaits !

I think this year I've read/listen to more books and visited more museums than i have in the last 5 years, i feel so much more culturally enriched than before , slowly but surely I'm becoming the person i aspire to be, my bullshit tolerance has gone down to almost zero , you would be so proud of me lol. I thought of you less and less and less, the occasional vision or dream would mess things a little, but it's just a faint whisper in the dead of night , rather than a loud ominous presence at the back of my head during every passing moment .

Overall it was a great year, my biggest issues were the lack of lactose free skyr in Amsterdam and making the fucking Dutch sounds. I feel like i need more toil and strife in my life, I'm getting soft. If only the world wasn't going to shit, this would've been a great start of a beautiful decade in my life , sadly i think it will all come crashing down soon and we are gonna be left with a big bag o dicks.

P.S. I am old now lol

[eyebrowgel]

“And I want to play hide-and-seek and give you my clothes and tell you I like your shoes and sit on the steps while you take a bath and massage your neck and kiss your feet and hold your hand and go for a meal and not mind when you eat my food and meet you at Rudy's and talk about the day and type up your letters and carry your boxes and laugh at your paranoia and give you tapes you don't listen to and watch great films and watch terrible films and complain about the radio and take pictures of you when you're sleeping and get up to fetch you coffee and bagels and Danish and go to Florent and drink coffee at midnight and have you steal my cigarettes and never be able to find a match and tell you about the tv programme I saw the night before and take you to the eye hospital and not laugh at your jokes and want you in the morning but let you sleep for a while and kiss your back and stroke your skin and tell you how much I love your hair your eyes your lips your neck your breasts your arse your and sit on the steps smoking till your neighbour comes home and sit on the steps smoking till you come home and worry when you're late and be amazed when you're early and give you sunflowers and go to your party and dance till I'm black and be sorry when I'm wrong and happy when you forgive me and look at your photos and wish I'd known you forever and hear your voice in my ear and feel your skin on my skin and get scared when you're angry and your eye has gone red and the other eye blue and your hair to the left and your face oriental and tell you you're gorgeous and hug you when you're anxious and hold you when you hurt and want you when I smell you and offend you when I touch you and whimper when I'm next to you and whimper when I'm not and dribble on your breast and smother you in the night and get cold when you take the blanket and hot when you don't and melt when you smile and dissolve when you laugh and not understand why you think I'm rejecting you when I'm not rejecting you and wonder how you could think I'd ever reject you and wonder who you are but accept you anyway and tell you about the tree angel enchanted forest boy who flew across the ocean because he loved you and write poems for you and wonder why you don't believe me and have a feeling so deep I can't find words for it and want to buy you a kitten I'd get jealous of because it would get more attention than me and keep you in bed when you have to go and cry like a baby when you finally do and get rid of the roaches and buy you presents you don't want and take them away again and ask you to marry me and you say no again but keep on asking because though you think I don't mean it I do always have from the first time I asked you and wander the city thinking it's empty without you and want what you want and think I'm losing myself but know I'm safe with you and tell you the worst of me and try to give you the best of me because you don't deserve any less and answer your questions when I'd rather not and tell you the truth when I really don't want to and try to be honest because I know you prefer it and think it's all over but hang on in for just ten more minutes before you throw me out of your life and forget who I am and try to get closer to you because it's beautiful learning to know you and well worth the effort and speak German to you badly and Hebrew to you worse and make love with you at three in the morning and somehow somehow somehow communicate some of the overwhelming undying overpowering unconditional all-encompassing heart-enriching mind-expanding on-going never-ending love I have for you.”

Sarah Kane, Crave

[wolf-eagle]

And I want to play hide-and-seek and give you my clothes and tell you I like your shoes and sit on the steps while you take a bath and massage your neck and kiss your feet and hold your hand and go for a meal and not mind when you eat my food and meet you at Rudy’s and talk about the day and type your letters and carry your boxes and laugh at your paranoia and give you tapes you don’t listen to and watch great films and watch terrible films and complain about the radio and take pictures of you when you’re sleeping and get up to fetch you coffee and bagels and Danish and go to Florent and drink coffee at midnight and have you steal my cigarettes and never be able to find a match and tell you about the the programme I saw the night before and take you to the eye hospital and not laugh at your jokes and want you in the morning but let you sleep for a while and kiss your back and stroke your skin and tell you how much I love your hair your eyes your lips your neck your breasts your arse your and sit on the steps smoking till your neighbour comes home and sit on the steps smoking till you come home and worry when you’re late and be amazed when you’re early and give you sunflowers and go to your party and dance till I’m black and be sorry when I’m wrong and happy when you forgive me and look at your photos and wish I’d known you forever and hear your voice in my ear and feel your skin on my skin and get scared when you’re angry and your eye has gone red and the other eye blue and your hair to the left and your face oriental and tell you you’re gorgeous and hug you when you’re anxious and hold you when you hurt and want you when I smell you and offend you when I touch you and whimper when I’m next to you and whimper when I’m not and dribble on your breast and smother you in the night and get cold when you take the blanket and hot when you don’t and melt when you smile and dissolve when you laugh and not understand why you think I’m rejecting you when I’m not rejecting you and wonder how you could think I’d ever reject you and wonder who you are but accept you anyway and tell you about the tree angel enchanted forest boy who flew across the ocean because he loved you and write poems for you and wonder why you don’t believe me and have a feeling so deep I can’t find words for it and want to buy you a kitten I’d get jealous of because it would get more attention than me and keep you in bed when you have to go and cry like a baby when you finally do and get rid of the roaches and buy you presents you don’t want and take them away again and ask you to marry me and you say no again but keep on asking because though you think I don’t mean it I do always have from the first time I asked you and wander the city thinking it’s empty without you and want what you want and think I’m losing myself but know I’m safe with you and tell you the worst of me and try to give you the best of me because you don’t deserve any less and answer your questions when I’d rather not and tell you the truth when I really don’t want to and try to be honest because I know you prefer it and think it’s all over but hang on in for just ten more minutes before you throw me out of your life and forget who I am and try to get closer to you because it’s a beautiful learning to know you and well worth the effort and speak German to you badly and Hebrew to you worse and make love with you at three in the morning and somehow somehow somehow communicate some of the overwhelming undying overpowering unconditional all-encompassing heart-enriching mind-expanding on-going never-ending love I have for you.

― Sarah Kane || monologue from ‘Crave’  

[ace-in-a-shopping-cart]

Day 7

Prompt:  There is a string tied around your pinky the end of which leads to your soulmate.

Word Count: 2,647

Main Taglist: (Send an ask to be added or removed!) @starlocked01,​​​ @spoopy-turtle,​​​ @lizluvscupcakes,​​ @more-fandon-than-friends​, @i-cant-find-a-good-username, @vindicatedvirgil, @star-crossed-shipper, @justaqueercactus, @gayboopnoodle, @sanderssidesweirdo, @the-sympathetic-villain, @8-writes Soulmate taglist:(Send an ask to be added or removed!) @elizabutgayer, @melodiread, @tsshipmonth2020, @mikalya12, @8-writes

Note: I modified the prompt a bit. In this world, everyone can see the string tied around the finger. When the string is intact, it’s red like normal. If the string has been cut, it will turn gray and both soulmates will be seen as ‘lesser people’ for denying their destiny. If a soulmate dies, the string will turn black. Another thing to note is that Logan is asexual. It’s briefly alluded to in the beginning but not brought up again.

Virgil wandered the campus, shoulders hunched in a clear indication that he didn’t want to be seen. He was glad to be able to be here at all after what happened in high school. Even so, he made sure to wear the gloves and stay out of people’s ways. The first semester was hell as he still wasn’t sure how to do anything but still tried. It seemed all his teachers had it out for him on day one as soon as they caught sight of those gloves.

It wasn’t until his second semester that he met someone who wore gloves just like him. He was sitting by himself during the time he’d scheduled for lunch, reading a fanfiction off his phone and trying to block out the world. Someone sat beside him and started watching a nature documentary while eating. He glanced over and frowned in confusion. Before he could gather his things to move to a different seat, the person spoke.

“I see you’re just like me.”

Virgil’s frown deepened. “How is that?”

They held up a gloved hand. “How did yours happen?”

Virgil relaxed into his seat. “I don’t know. I was in the middle of math class in high school.”

They winced, nodding. “That’s tough.”

“You?” Virgil didn’t know why, but he felt a burning need to know their story, to know he wasn’t alone in his struggles.

Their wince turned sour, a look one step away from a glare entering their eyes. “I cut it myself. She wasn’t willing to treat me right, didn’t accept my pronouns and sexuality, so I cut it. I know my worth and she didn’t deserve me. As far as I care, she still doesn’t.”

Virgil nodded, almost in awe of them. “I never met mine but they’ve stayed with me for a while now. I’ve always wondered if I was ever going to be good enough for someone or if I was simply too damaged.” He had no idea why he was telling a random stranger his life’s story but it felt too right to stop.

The stranger shook their head. “They cut it, you didn’t. It’s their fault but you’ve had to live with it. That shouldn't have been the case.” They turned to look at him, a fierce expression in their eyes. “If they didn’t want you, they didn’t deserve you, simple as that. You never got to know them or be known by them, thus it is their fault for cutting it. Never blame yourself for the actions of others.”

With that, they put their headphones back in and played their documentary. Virgil felt his phone buzz and looked down to find that he had ten minutes to get to class. He hastily ripped out a paper from his notebook, scrawled his number on it, shoved it over to the stranger, and ran off to get to class.

He didn’t see the stranger again for a few days but got a text from them that night. They chatted late into the night, talking about classes and life outside of soulmates. They commiserated over their lack of soulmates and the shunning it causes. Virgil was able to complain about his gloves and how much he hated them and have someone agree and understand, something he’d never had before. He was able to understand when the stranger, Logan, complained about the stares they got while washing their hands, how they hated everyone looking at the gray string that hung limply from their finger.

Virgil soon found not only a soulmateless companion, but a companion in academic pursuits as well. They seemed to be intellectual peers so Virgil understood most of Logan’s science babble. Logan seemed to have taken a biologist major as they spoke of creatures found in rainforests constantly. Virgil, on the other hand, was in an arts major, focusing mainly on building models of commissioned structures.

Slowly, brick by brick, Logan rebuilt Virgil’s self confidence. They helped him regain his self love, told him how strong he was for surviving the most grueling years of his life. Logan would never let Virgil apologize for the simple things like running late or using the wrong pronouns for them. They always made sure to let him know that they were not upset and were proud of his progress. Virgil’s sense of self worth grew stronger and larger, finally allowing him to see what Logan had known from the start: Virgil’s soulmate didn’t deserve him.

Over the semester, they grew closer, their bond growing strong. Virgil’s panic attacks lessened, he could stand to hear the word ‘soulmates’ without wanting to curl into a ball and cry, he didn’t jump at the sight of a math textbook, didn’t feel the need to hide his high school passions. He grew enough that he could look at the gloves he had to wear with something other than disdain.

Soon, they had decided to room together the next semester. Luckily, their requests were easily approved as it seemed the faculty were more than happy to have the two students without soulmates room together.

They finished their degrees and managed to graduate without dying, which Virgil counted as a plus. Logan simply said Virgil was being overdramatic. Once they graduated, they found an aquarium with a rainforest section that allowed Logan to work with the animals they loved and gave Virgil a lot of opportunities to make or upgrade different terrariums and enclosures. He was also able to design more enrichment activities for certain animals. They saw each other in the back rooms and in the halls. Most times, they ended up sitting with each other to eat lunch as not many people wanted to interact with them.They still lived together in a small apartment as they didn’t feel the need to move.

Over time, Virgil got to know Logan better and knew he was falling for them. One night, he’d accidentally had too much to drink. He leaned against Logan, who’s arm around his waist was the only thing keeping him upright and relatively stable. Logan deposited him on the couch. “Stay here, I’ll go grab you some water to sober you up.”

Virgil whined, reaching out for them. Once he took hold of their hand, he pulled his roommate close. “No! Don’t go!”

Logan sighed but sat down on the couch anyways. Virgil leaned heavily to the side but before Logan could catch him, his head landed in the other’s lap. Virgil wiggled a bit before he managed to throw his legs over the arm of the couch, fully laying down now. He giggled, looking up at Logan. “You’re really handsome.” He muttered.

Logan smiled fondly, a hand reaching out to stroke through Virgil’s hair. “That’s nice, Virge. How about you try to sleep now?”

Virgil shook his head. “No, no sleep. You’re too nice to me.”

Logan’s smile turned into a frown. “How am I too nice to you?”

“You’re very patient with me, never getting angry at me for jumping at small noises, or randomly leaving a room. You take such good care of me when I’m sick. You’ve treated me with more basic human kindness than most people did during college.” Tears started to slide down his temples but Logan brushed them away. “I love you, L.” Virgil curled up, his face pressed against Logan’s stomach.

Logan stayed still the rest of the night, eventually falling asleep. When they woke, Virgil was moving around in the kitchen. “Sorry, did I wake you?” He asked genuinely.

Logan groaned but shook their head as they stood. “No, but I think we need to talk about last night.”

Virgil nodded, turning the burner off so he didn’t burn the scrambled eggs. “Is this about my drinking? I promise that was a one time thing.”

“No, I trust you on that. I’m talking about what you said to me before you fell asleep.”

Virgil nodded again, shakier this time. He put the dish towel he was holding down. “Oh, that.”

Logan nodded. “I only really have one question for you.”

Virgil looked at the counter, pretending to wipe at the already clean surface. “Sure, shoot.”

Logan put a hand on his arm, staying his movement. “Did you mean it?”

Virgil’s head shot up so fast he was sure he popped something. “Of course!”

Logan smiled, leaning over to kiss Virgil’s cheek. “Good, because I love you too.”

Virgil stood there, dazed, for a few minutes while Logan walked away to shower and get ready for the day. When they came back out, they had a discussion of what their relationship was and decided that they were datemates.

As time went on, they stopped sleeping in separate rooms for one reason or another. Sometimes, one of them couldn’t handle the pressure of the world anymore and ended up crying themselves to sleep on the other’s bed, sometimes they were cuddling and talking before falling asleep. Eventually, they simply decided to share a room. With their combined savings, they toured apartments and found one they liked, with a bedroom they could both make theirs.

A few more years went by and they were happy. When around Logan, Virgil could almost forget about the grey string tied to his finger, the string that decreed he was unlovable, unable to marry, unable to adopt. The string and all implications that came with it ceased to exist the moment he caught sight of Logan.

It was in one of those moments that he knew: he wanted to marry this beautiful human beside him, the one holding him close, the one who makes him forget the world, the one who loves him just as much as he loves them. He also knew that the gray strings hidden under their gloves denied their marriage. Only soulmates bound by a red string could get married, adopt, love.

Virgil raised his head from it’s position on Logan’s chest, looking them in the eye. “Marry me.”

Logan chuckled, a hand running through Virgil’s hair. “I’d love to but you know we can’t.”

Virgil shook his head. “If our marriage would never be legal, why should we use legal means?”

Logan’s smile slid into a frown. “I don’t follow.”

“How does a wedding go, babe?”

Logan’s smile returned at the pet name. “It usually involves the soulmates saying vows and swapping their soul strings, which proceeds to glow golden around the base of the finger while the rest of the string stays red.”

Virgil nodded, his smile growing. “So, let’s do that! We don’t need any witnesses if we’re not able to make it legal anyways. What do you say?”

Logan had gotten a look in their eye while Virgil was talking that he knew all too well. His datemate was plotting something. “Well,” he said finally, “if we’re doing this, I’d want to do it as best as we can.”

Virgil nodded, moving to sit up so he could see Logan better. “Like what?”

“You mentioned vows?”

Virgil smiled, feeling excitement and just a bit of anxiety growing. “That’s doable.”

“I could pick up cupcakes instead of a wedding cake?”

Virgil nodded, grinning. “Would it be too much if I were to wear a suit?”

Logan smiled, leaning in to kiss his cheek. “Not if I wore a dress.”

They continued to plan their ‘wedding’ over the course of a few days, both preparing vows in their free time. Virgil was once asked about what he was doing by a coworker but said he was giving a speech at a relative’s wedding, not wanting to give away that what he was doing was technically illegal.

The day they’d set arrived. It was a joint day off so neither had to go into work. Virgil woke up before Logan did, depositing a kiss to their forehead before slipping out of bed. He ate breakfast, making one for Logan to find when they woke up, before heading to the spare bedroom to prepare.

A few hours later, he walked out to the living room they’d decorated the night before. He stood at the arch of paper links, his gloves discarded and suit on. He fidgeted with the edges, wanting everything to be perfect for Logan.

When they walked out, it felt like his breath was sucked out of him. His eyes swept over Logan’s frame, their dress accentuating their features. Logan’s smile could have sent birds singing when Virgil’s eyes finally made their way back up. He held out his hand for them to take as they arrived. “You look gorgeous.” He murmured in awe.

Logan chuckled, dropping their bouquet gently onto the couch. “Thank you. You look amazing as well.”

Virgil gripped Logan’s hands tightly, knowing he was first. He looked directly into their eyes while he spoke. “I’ve chosen you. To be no other than yourself, loving what I know of you and trusting who you will become. In a world that is based on who you were destined to love at birth, I’ve chosen to love you. It is free will but that does not mean it is false love. I will gladly share your name and care for you, in sickness and in health, in fair weather and storms, in every battle life throws at us. I will stand by your side and fight with you. We shall always be equals in this marriage and I would never wish it any other way. I love you and take you, Logan Croft, to be my unlawfully wedded spouse.”

Logan smiled, squeezing Virgil’s hands before beginning. “All I have in this world, I freely give to you. I promise to love you every second of every day, not just for a moment, nor for an hour, nor for a day, nor for a year, I will love you until eternity ends. Until the mountains crumble into the sea, and the oceans rise to consume the land, I will love you with everything I have. I will put you back together when you are falling apart, I will laugh with you, grieve with you. Our love is unique and something I will cherish beyond anything. I found you without the aid of a string, without anything tying our souls together, and our love is stronger for it. We have fought to love, fought to live in a world that does not want us, and we have grown and clung to each other through it all. I cannot tell where I end and you begin and I would have it no other way. I love you with all my soul and take you, Virgil Storm, to be my unlawfully wedded husband.”

They both carefully untied the gray strings around their pinkies, Virgil tying his around Logan’s left ring finger before Logan tied theirs around Virgil’s. Once they did that, they shared a kiss. Logan was the first to pull back, their eyes going down to look at the soul string tied around their finger.

The part tied at the base was now a glowing silver instead of a muted gray. Following the ends, one ended as normal while the other had grown and now connected to one of Virgil’s ends. His own string was also glowing a bright silver while the connecting string was a soft pink.

Virgil stared in shock before locking eyes with Logan. “Do you know what this means?”

“That people who have cut strings can choose their next soulmate? Or that the prejudice against those with grey and black strings is no longer justified? That we could probably go register at a courthouse and be lawfully wedded now? That-”

Virgil surged forward and captured their lips with a kiss. “It means that no one can tell us we are broken. No one can rip us apart.” He whispered before Logan tilted their head up for more kisses.

[intopermanence]

And I want to play hide-and-seek and give you my clothes and tell you I like your shoes and sit on the steps while you take a bath and massage your neck and kiss your feet and hold your hand an go for a meal and not mind when you eat my food and meet you at Rudy’s and talk about the day and type up your letters and carry your boxes and laugh at your paranoia and give you tapes you don’t listen to and watch great films and watch terrible films and complain about the radio and take pictures of you when you’re sleeping and get up to fetch you coffee at midnight and have you steal my cigarettes and never be able to find a match and tell you about the tv programme I saw the night before and take you to the eye hospital and not laugh at your jokes and want you in the morning but let you sleep for a while and kiss your back and stroke your skin and tell you how much I love your hair our eyes your lips your neck your breasts your arse your and sit on the steps smoking till your neighbour comes home and sit on the steps smoking till you come home and worry when you’re late and be amazed when you’re early and give you sunflowers and go to your party and dance till I’m black and be sorry when I’m wrong and happy when you forgive me and look at your photos and wish I’d known you forever and hear your voice in my ear and feel your skin on my skin and get scared when you’re angry and your eye has gone red and the other eye blue and your hair to the left and your face oriental and tell you you’re gorgeous and hug you when you’re anxious and hold you when you hurt and want you when I smell you and offend you when I touch you and whimper when I’m next to you and whimper when I’m not and dribble on your breast and smother you in the night and get cold when you take the blanket and hot when you don’t and melt when you smile and dissolve when you laugh and not understand why you think I’m rejecting you when I’m not rejecting you and wonder how you could think I’d ever reject you and wonder who you are but accept you anyway and tell you about the tree angel enchanted forest boy who flew across the ocean because he loved you and write poems for you and wonder why you don’t believe me and have a feeling so deep I can’t find words for it and want to buy you a kitten I’d get jealous of because it would get more attention than me and keep you in bed when you have to go and cry like a baby when you finally do and get rid of the roaches and buy you presents you don’t want and take them away again and ask you to marry me and you say no again but keep on asking because though you think I don’t mean it I do always have from the first time I asked you and wander the city thinking it’s empty without you and want what you want and think I’m loosing myself but know I’m safe with you and tell you the worst of me and try to give you the best of me because you don’t deserve any less and answer your questions when I’d rather not and tell you the truth when I really don’t want to and try to be honest because I know you prefer it and think it’s all over but hang on in for just ten more minutes before you throw me out of your life and forget who I am and try to get closer to you because it’s beautiful learning to know you and well worth the effort and speak German to you badly and Hebrew to you worse and make love with you at three in the morning and somehow somehow somehow communicate some of the/ overwhelming undying overpowering unconditional all-encompassing heart-enriching mind-expanding on-going never-ending love I have for you.

Sarah Kane, from The Complete Plays: “Crave”

[carpe-diiem]

And I want to play hide-and-seek and give you my clothes and tell you I like your shoes and sit on the steps while you take a bath and massage your neck and kiss your feet and hold your hand and go for a meal and not mind when you eat my food and meet you at Rudy's and talk about the day and type up your letters and carry your boxes and laugh at your paranoia and give you tapes you don't listen to and watch great films and watch terrible films and complain about the radio and take pictures of you when you're sleeping and get up to fetch you coffee and bagels and Danish and go to Florent and drink coffee at midnight and have you steal my cigarettes and never be able to find a match and tell you about the tv programme I saw the night before and take you to the eye hospital and not laugh at your jokes and want you in the morning but let you sleep for a while and kiss your back and stroke your skin and tell you how much I love your hair your eyes your lips your neck your breasts your arse and sit on the steps smoking till your neighbour comes home and sit on the steps smoking till youcome home and worry when you're late and be amazed when you're early and give you sunflowers and go to your party and dance till I'm black and be sorry when I'm wrong and happy when you forgive me and look at your photos and wish I'd known you forever and hear your voice in my ear and feel your skin on my skin and get scared when you're angry and your eye has gone red and the other eye blue and your hair to the left and your face oriental and tell you you're gorgeous and hug you when you're anxious and hold you when you hurt and want you when I smell you and offend you when I touch you and whimper when I'm next to you and whimper when I'm not and dribble on your breast and smother you in the night and get cold when you take the blanket and hot when you don't and melt when you smile and dissolve when you laugh and not understand why you think I'm rejecting you when I'm not rejecting you and wonder how you could think I'd ever reject you and wonder who you are but accept you anyway and tell you about the tree angel enchanted forest boy who flew across the ocean because he loved you and write poems for you and wonder why you don't believe me and have a feeling so deep I can't find words for it and want to buy you a kitten I'd get jealous of because it would get more attention than me and keep you in bed when you have to go and cry like a baby when you finally do and get rid of the roaches and buy you presents you don't want and take them away again and ask you to marry me and you say no again but keep on asking because though you think I don't mean it I do always have from the first time I asked you and wander the city thinking it's empty without you and want what you want and think I'm losing myself but know I'm safe with you and tell you the worst of me and try to give you the best of me because you don't deserve any less and answer your questions when I'd rather not and tell you the truth when I really don't want to and try to be honest because I know you prefer it and think it's all over but hang on in for just ten more minutes before you throw me out of your life and forget who I am and try to get closer to you because it's beautiful learning to know you and well worth the effort and speak German to you badly and Hebrew to you worse and make love with you at three in the morning and somehow somehow somehow communicate some of the overwhelming undying overpowering unconditional all-encompassing heart-enriching mind-expanding on-going never-ending love I have for you.

Crave by Sarah Kane

[su-au-fallout]

Peridot’s Logs 2

       Earth Date 07/08/2020 0600 hours, I have just finished the sleeping. The Steven insists we all get exactly eight hours of sleep; I think this is preposterous as my superior gem physiology sustains me without this “Sleep”. However not doing anything is kind of nice. I still have no memory from the day before I will playback the logs maybe that will help. The Morp exceeded parameters according to the radiation gauges built into the device, I guess I tested it then. The radiation zone apparently was much larger than initially expected, I included less enriched Uranium in the next micro explosion nodule. Perhaps this time…

      Earth Date 07/08/2020 0630 Lapis is Awake now, I suppose all of them are, the explosion was heard from the bunker. The radiation zone, however, was within acceptable parameters, with a much lower radiation signature on the surroundings. Additionally, the morp to be named a micro explosion nodule velocity infuser appears to be tracking slightly to the left when launched, which should quiet the tall one and her “save the earth” attitude. I need to check on Lapis to see if she remembers anything, the logs from yesterday make it hard for me to tell what happened

      Earth Date 07/08/2020 0700 Lapis is awake and in functional condition, she seems… less than amused to see me. Perhaps whatever happened hurt her yesterday, she said something about needing time to think. -sigh- she gets like that sometimes. I don’t know if I should find go find her or not. Maybe I will go speak to The Steven. The Tall one was, in fact, angry and stormed off toward my recent test sight, the clod always complaining about my morps, like she doesn’t use them…

      Earth Date 07/08/2020 0800 State your name Bzzzttt “Peridot? What is…?” Bzzzttt NO NO NO, My name is Peridot, your name is The Steven, Bzzzttt “Uh Okay, um Steven?” Bzzzttt , was that so hard, Anyways I am here with the Steven, he is making me watch a strange video, apparently, the animal on this planet named the Dogcopter, is capable of flight using rotor blades that emerge from its body. Bzzzttt “Peridot it's just a tv show it's not…” Bzzzttt SHHHH CLOSE YOUR NOISE FLAPS, I AM TRYING TO SEE HOW IT WORKS. NOTE: This warrants future research.

       Earth Date 07/09/2020 0030 I spent the day watching the Dogcopter, I have yet to locate a living version. More importantly, Lapis is still missing, the runt amethyst is also starting to worry. Normally Lapis is not gone this long. And just after we brought her back. The Steven told me to tell the box my feelings, I still don’t know why I should but… I guess it couldn’t hurt. I miss Lapis, I uh, she is a good lab partner and is good at figuring out the morps, and cutting the steel, and well… I guess… Nevermind, BLASTED BOX, WHY ARE YOU SUCH A CLOD. WHY AM I EVEN TALKING TO YOU… DON’T JUDGE ME…

        Earth Date 07/09/2020 0100 Looks like she still isn’t back, I would sleep, but doing nothing is hard when I can’t stop worrying, I guess I could work on the photon focusers that the tall one likes so much for her “solo” missions, we all know she is crazy, only a matter of time before the sickness gets her too. I hope Lapis comes back soon… NOT THAT I MISS THE CLOD, I JUST NEED SPARE PARTS AND DON’T WISH TO BE ALONE. Peridot Out… … … Okay, I think the blasted contraption is off. -sigh- where are you, you clod… I miss you… WAIT IS THIS THING STILL ON… BLASTED, HOW DO I DELETE THIS… Wait, I think I got it… CLICK…

-Written by Teros42 (Discord Submission)

Log 1- XXX

[hashoterhatov]

No place like home | אין מקום כמו הבית

You're engaged to Eitan, and thus Yona will teach you her ways in the kitchen, because after all, you're going to be a Konfino.

*

Eitan Konfino X Female Reader

A huff of laughter left your lips as Eitan threw a peanut in the air and rather ungracefully caught it in his mouth, several crumbs of peanut shells scattered all over his shirt. You sat snuggled against his side, legs pulled up onto the sofa, your father-in-law sitting a little away, his feet put up on the coffee table.

“You better clean that up.” Yizhar grumpily complained to his youngest son, grabbing the handheld vacuum cleaner from the floor and proceeding to clean up the crumbs on his own chest before handing it to Eti.

“Of course, dad.” he replied with a nearly unnoticeable roll of his eyes, but he didn’t start cleaning himself of the residue left by your midday snacks before feeding you another one - you didn’t particularly like peanuts, but you ate them anyway.

“(Y/n)?” Yona called from the kitchen, causing you to look up.

“Yes?” you quizzed, but there was no answer.

“Go look what she wants.” Eitan said to you before pressing a soft kiss to your forehead. You arose and stretched your arms before heading to the kitchen. Eti’s hand reached out to playfully slap your ass, but a raised eyebrow from his father halted him in his tracks, causing him to recoil and crack open another nut.

You entered the kitchen and found Yona with an apron around her waist, another one held out for you to take. The table and counter were filled with fresh produce, ready to be handled.

“What can I do for you?” you asked her, stepping a bit further into the kitchen. She wiggled the apron from left to right, smiling a little as a few brown curls fell in front of her eyes. “Take it.”

You did as she asked, curious about what she was up to. After tying it around your waist, she gestured to the sink. “Wash your hands.”

“Okay.” you said with an amused hum, heading to the tap to run your hands under lukewarm water before drying them on a tea towel.

“Since you and Eti are going to get married soon,” she began, “It is time that you learn how to cook Shakshu-Konfino!”

Your heart jumped in your chest. “Really?” you asked in slight disbelief, “You are willing to share your secret recipe with me?” Tears appeared in the corners of your eyes at the idea - Yona’s Shakshuka was heavenly.

“Of course, (Y/n)!” your future mother-in-law told you, “After all, it’s important that it stays in the family.”

She winked at you and it made your body warm with the knowledge that she really saw you as her own daughter, the one she never had, and she soon handed you a knife to start working on the tomatoes.

“Tomatoes, a whole bunch of them.” she told you. “Don’t be afraid to do it off the cuff. One tomato more or less never made a difference. Well, it does, but the more, the better. However, it’s the spices you need to be careful with! Too many will spoil it, too little will make it bland.”

Yona went to dice two onions and tossed them into a large bowl. As soon as you had finished chopping a whole bunch of the red, unskinned fruits, you put them in as well.

“Really good. Now, yellow bell peppers, four cloves of garlic, two hot chili peppers, and the spices. Why don’t you chop the peppers while I go prepare the garlic.” You took two hot chili peppers and looked at Yona from the corner of your eye for a second before grabbing a third one. A smirk tugged at the corner of her lips. “See, you are going to be a Konfino after all.” she praised softly.

Cooking together made it light work, and soon, Yona was already heating up the pan with a dash of olive oil, spreading it around to cover it evenly. She placed it back upon the stove so you could take it, and she threw in half of the vegetable mix of what you had chopped up alongside half of the garlic.

Within mere seconds, the kitchen was filled with the delicious scent of grilling veggies, enriched by the many flavours mixed in. You shuffled a spatula around the frying pan to keep the food from burning, and after a while, Yona tossed in the rest of the garlic as well as a can of chopped tomatoes in sauce.

Stirring it through, you watched as she took a bunch of herbs, sprinkling them into the pan with generous amounts. “Cumin,” she said, “Salt, pepper, some sweet paprika.”

“Got it.” you said, “And what else?”

Yona smiled at you before reaching into one of the kitchen cabinets. “The secret ingredient is… A dash of this .”

She showed you a tiny glass jar on which was scribbled the date on which it had been made.

“My homemade baharat . I should teach you to make it someday. It will change your Shakshuka game for the rest of your life!”

You nodded, smiling. “I’d love to learn from you.”

“Good.” she replied, tapping a small amount of the mixture into the pan. “Now stir thoroughly.”

Yona was a good teacher - not that you were a terrible student - in just twenty minutes, a steaming pan of shakshuka was nearly ready to be served.

“Now for the eggs. Make a small hole into the Shakshuka with the spatula and I will drop them in.”

She cracked twelve eggs into the sauce. “Now we just let them poach for a bit and it will be perfect.”

“(Y/n)...” you suddenly heard Eitan’s voice from the threshold and you turned around to find him smiling with a twinkle in his eye reserved only for you. “You’re making Shakshu-Konfino.” he softly mused.

“I am.” you replied, approaching him, your hands starting to undo your apron. “After all, I’m going to be a Konfino.”

His smile grew and he reached for your cheek to tuck some hair behind your ear “At least one of my boys is settling down.” Yizhar said with feigned exaggeration, hoisting himself out of his chair before walking to the kitchen.

“Meyron is married.” Eti commented, but Yizhar let out a scoff.

“Yes, with some woman from America who we have never met, even after all these years. We never would’ve known it either if it weren’t for Danny and you telling us.”

“Well,” Yona breathed with a smile, “At least we will have grandchildren living close to home this time!”

“And I will be able to make them Shakshu-Konfino.” you said with a wide grin, and Eti opened his mouth to reply when the front door opened and Danny announced his arrival.

“I’m home!” the cop exclaimed, “What is that wonderful smell?”

He placed his hands on his hips as he joined the little gathering on the kitchen’s threshold.

“Hey there Danny!” Yona greeted happily, pushing herself through the small gap in between you and Eitan to kiss her middle child on the cheeks.

“How was work today?” “Busy as always, mom.” he started to explain, and you retreated into the kitchen to see how the eggs were doing, Eitan following you suit.

“That smells really good.” Eitan told you, wrapping his arms around you from behind before kissing the top of your head lovingly. “And the Shakshuka, too.”

A blush spread over your cheeks and you let out a light laugh. “Oh, stop that.”

“I keep wondering why I’ve ever deserved you. I’m so lucky to have you.”

Your heart climbed into your throat and you smiled, tearing your eyes away from the eggs in order to look at him.

“Well,” you began, “I think I’m the lucky one to have you. ”

“(Y/n), don’t-” “No, Eti, really.” He showed you a boyish smile and you cherished it, for it wasn’t every day that you made him blush like a teenager with his head in the clouds. Still, whenever he was with you, he certainly felt light-headed and all the worries in the world seemed to fade away.

“I can’t wait to marry you.” he murmured. “Me neither.” was your response before standing on your tip-toes to press your lips to his. He cradled his fingers around your face and tilted up your head, and you allowed his mouth to claim yours, his tongue just slipping over your bottom lip, requesting entrance.

“Is that Shakshuka?” Danny announced his approach and Eitan pulled back right away, giving you an apologetic look. You shrugged - it wasn’t like he could help it.

“ Shalom Eti, Shalom (Y/n).”

“Good to see you, Danny.” you greeted him, kissing his cheeks before he turned to your fiancé in order to give him a hug.

“Been a while.” he commented. “Too long,” Eti added, ruffling his older brother’s hair, which made for a funny scene - after all, Eitan stood several heads above Danny.

A head of brown curls popped around the corner. “Boys, why don’t you lay the table?”

Yona ushered her sons out of the kitchen and walked towards you to look upon the eggs. “Perfect.”

Within a minute, the table was laid and it was time to start eating. Carefully, you carried the frying pan to the dinner table.

“That looks delicious, (Y/n)!” Yizhar praised, shifting in his seat.

You placed it in the middle and sat down next to Eitan, his hand immediately resting on your thigh, lovingly so, with a tinge of possessiveness. He had every right to do so, and it warmed your skin through your trousers.

“Thank you,” you told Yizhar, “I learned from the best.” Yona gleamed with joy. “Let’s see if it tastes as good as we know it.” Danny jested, reaching over to the pan to dip some bread into the mixture. The poached eggs were perfectly runny and pride filled your chest.

In pleasant silence, you all ate from the dish for a while before Yizhar spoke up. “(Y/n),” he began, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “For many years, Yona has made me the most delicious Shakshuka in all of Israel. And I’ve made it for her in return, which she always loves…”

“ Almost always, Yizhar.” she corrected, and for a second, a rare smile spread over his lips.

“Which she almost always loves,” he resumed, “And I still believe that there is no Shakshuka better than Shakshu-Konfino in this world… This… ”

He pointed at the food on his plate, nodding. “ This is Shakshu-Konfino. You are a true Konfino, (Y/n), and I can taste it in every bite.”

“Look at that, (Y/n).” Danny spoke, amusement lingering in his voice “Our father is becoming sappy because of you. His age is making him soft!”

“Oh, shut up Danny!” Yizhar exclaimed over the laugh the rest of you let out.

Eitan leaned down, pressing a kiss onto your temple. “I’m proud of you, baby.” You smiled contently, leaning into his touch.

Looking out over the table, you looked with fond eyes upon the people you could call family in all ways but by law - and you soon would be able to do so.

You wouldn’t change it for the world.

Never before had you felt more at home than in that very moment.