#but like my sibling has been on this since they were like ten and they're fine so sue me i thought id be ok

[thisaliennerd]

me last month: wow! im really excited to have a real hyperfixation for the first time in a while! im looking forward to making a lot of art and stuff! hope nothing suddenly gets in the way of that!!!

*new medication making me sleep 18hrs a day, randomly super anxious, and stops my birth control from working which caused a pmdd episode and MORE headaches (what it was supposed to help with)*

me now: great cool, thank you sm

[mintmatcha]

tw: implied abuse, no curses au

"Can I ask a question?" Yuuji digs his heel into the wood chips as he swings, digging a growing trench behind him. "You don't have to answer."

Ash falls from the end of Choso's cigarette. He leans against the anchor of the swing set, cheek against cold metal, and sighs. Twilight has passed and the streetlights have turned on, giving the playground a hazy, barely lit glow. Yuuji's guardian will start calling soon, but Choso decides the extra time together is worth the future ire.

"I already told you that I'm not giving you a tattoo."

"Aw, damn-" Yuuji clicks his tongue against his teeth. Ever since they met, he's been dying for a tattoo of his own, throwing out wild new ideas almost every day. One day, when he's eighteen and likes an idea for more than a month, Choso will bring him to his studio and comply.

But, not yet.

"That wasn't my question though," Yuuji says.

"Then go for it."

The younger boy takes a deep breath, then lets it out even slower, pulling the tension longer and longer until it snaps.

"Why weren't you... around? Like, when I was a kid and stuff."

Choso takes his own breath.

"Your mom-- our mom." The taste of that sits bitter on his tongue. He never called her mom, even back then. "She was different for me."

And for our other brothers, he adds silently. Yuuji doesn't need to carry that weight yet, the knowledge that he was the exception to it all.

"Why?" Yuuji pumps his legs a little softer, the back and forth motion of the swing slowly dying out.

"I dunno." Choso wishes he had the answer to that. "She was sixteen, did bad things. Don't worry about it."

Finding out about Yuuji wasn't a shock, somehow. Years after Ken had surrendered her children to the state, Choso had received noticed that she had died. The news felt overdue. No tears were shed, no love lost; the group chat of siblings had all agreed not to go to any service, but the day of, Choso had changed his mind.

He had put on his nicest outfit -some thrift store pants that didn't fit and a shirt he stole from foster dad three- and went expecting to be the only one there, the only one willing to say goodbye.

Choso hadn't known about her new family. They hadn't known about him either. It was typical of Ken to leave a mess in her wake.

Turns out, through a series of lucky breaks, the woman had clawed her way out of poverty and into the arms of a rich, but nice man. Her life was easy and sweet, filled with luxuries and love, including a son ten years younger than her eldest.

No one knows why Yuuji was different than the others, why she decided to be good to him and no one else. Mental illness is strange like that, picking and choosing how it pleases.

Yuuji huffs, gripping the metal chains tighter. "But-"

"Yuuji." Choso drops his cigarette and crushes it under his boot. Then, he thinks about the child that will play there tomorrow, shoveling wood chips into their mouths like idiots, and decides to pick it up. He jams it into his pocket. "You have good memories of her. Don't ruin that."

He used to resent how much Yuuji loved her. He was eight when she died, the same age Choso was when he first had to dial 911 for her. That anger had long faded, replaced with a strange amount of pity.

"But I want to know. What she did and stuff." Yuuji's voice jumps high with emotion. "I'm basically an adult, I can handle it."

"You're sixteen."

"Well, mom was doing this stuff at sixteen, so-" Yuuji is seething suddenly, brow furrowed and teeth grit.

"So?"

"So, she was old enough to be doing bad things and I'm not old enough to know about it?" He stands and the swing clatters behind him. He's stocky, yet tall, bunched with muscles that he's built from baseball. On one side of his cheek, there's a bit of chocolate stuck there, a remnant from the ice cream Choso bought him. Below it, there's a rosy hickey on his neck, a remnant of the boyfriend he hasn't told Nanami about yet. He thinks they're having sex, maybe, but doesn't know how to broach the topic without scaring his brother into never talking about it again.

"And you had tattoos at my age, by the way!"

Choso lets him stew in it, huffing and puffing. The blown out edges of first tattoo peek from under his sleeve, the image barely legible now. An older woman gave it to him at fifteen, in the basement of her house. It became so insanely infected that he ended up in the ER a couple days later.

"I'm not a kid. I can handle it." Yuuji states, calm and clear. "I'm not a kid."

A car passes, it's headlights stretching and pulling the shadows across the park. In the changes, Choso can see his mother in his brother, those soft eyes and thin lips and the same slightly crooked nose that Choso has himself. He thinks, maybe, if time was kinder and his father was better, they'd look more alike each other, but then the moment is gone and they no longer even look like siblings.

"Okay."

Yuuji untenses a bit. "Okay?"

"Okay."

"Like, okay, this conversation is done, or okay, I'll tell you?"

"I'll tell you," Choso says, jamming his hands in his pocket. The cigarette butt is there, mushed and still warm against his knuckles. "But not tonight."

"What?!"

"Next time, I promise."

Choso doesn't understand why Yuuji insists on rushing away from innocence, but he knows that he can't stop him. Yuuji will find out about the abuse, the neglect, the other brothers, and the other horrors in some way or another and then things will never be the same.

"Stay a kid just a little longer." Choso resists the urge to ruffle his hair. "For me?"

"Yeah, sure," Yuuji sighs. "One more day."

[theeoriginals]

a Klaus fic with this gem from Ozark “look, I know I kissed you last night but I thought I was gonna fucking die”. Change to fit however you want 😘

the last thing i'd do | klaus mikaelson

author's note; whoever sent this im so sorry it's been in my inbox for seven months

warnings; hybrid!reader, mentions of violence, violence against reader, themes of death, klaus gets crazy :), then there's fluff, a bit of angst still sprinkled in, but there's a happy ending

It's a blood bath, is the thing.

She can't tell what blood is hers anymore, and the ache in her body has done nothing but grow steadily over the past ten minutes. It feels like it's been hours since it all started.

She doesn't remember who threw the first punch, just knows that someone had come at her and she had no choice but to fight back, fight for her life.

There's blood under her nails, and she thinks maybe some in her eyes because they're burning, but it might be the tears shining in them.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. Klaus had, for once, been hoping for peace. He was always braced for a fight, but he'd truly been hoping for a painless, quick negotiation.

Of course, it's turned into the worst fight they've had in a while.

She's always been on Klaus's side of things; fights, family, life. She's always had her place here, carved out by none other than the Original Hybrid himself. She's never understood just what he saw in her that earned her this place, but she wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Some– most– call her loyalty a form of naivety. Perhaps the sire bond still lingering, despite the fact that she'd broken it years ago. His siblings call it blindness, or ignorance, in their harsher moments. Her friends, the few that happen to be immortal, too, think she's reckless and just asking for him to kill her. Klaus Mikaelson turns on everybody, eventually, they say. The paranoid, hybrid king trusts nothing and no one. He killed his parents, multiple times, and he's kept his siblings in and out of coffins for most of their immortal lives. Why would he ever enjoy the company of one of his sires?

She's never thought he was perfect. That's something people always get wrong. They think she sees no flaws in him, when really she sees them all for what they are, she sees him for who he really is. She still loves him.

Some days she thinks he knows how she feels for him. Sometimes she can't keep it out of her eyes, and he'll catch her looking at him and his eyes will narrow slightly, like he's warning her to contain it.

Other days, she thinks there's no way he knows, because if he knew the capacity of her adoration, he'd surely have to say something. Tell her to move on. Compel the feelings away, possibly. If he were that cruel to her.

She doesn't think he would be. Since that first day he found her in the woods with what was left of her pack, they'd all watched him in fear. Some confused. Angry. But she was mystified. Enraptured by him and the power that radiated off of him.

She spent a long time feeling weak when she was younger. Even after she triggered the curse. But when Klaus told her she could become immortal, be strong, be at his side, she was the first to accept. The only one in her pack to ask him to turn her.

He'd set his eyes on her, something unidentifiably dark gleaming in his blue eyes, and when she latched onto his wrist to drink his blood, he hadn't looked away from her.

When he cupped her cheeks, he'd brushed his thumbs along the curve of her cheekbones and told her he'd make it quick and painless for her, and when she opened her eyes, he'd be there.

He'd kept his word, then. And he'd kept it ever since.

This, though. He'd given her his word, knowing her hesitance to fight, knowing that unless it was life or death, she'd rather avoid conflict. He promised her there would be no bloodshed here today.

It's not his fault, this time. She needs to tell him that. She needs to be at his side to make sure they're still fighting together, like they have for so long, yet so little time.

She throws a vampire off of her, with nothing but his heart in her palm and she quickly drops it to the ground at her feet. Turning, she pushes through the chaos, trying to cross the room to where she last saw him.

"Klaus!"

Her voice echoes over the mess and she sees him turn in the direction of it, and the fire in his blue eyes has her stopping.

He has blood smeared around his mouth and chin and she knows he's torn out more throats than he can count. The numbers are dwindling on both sides, barely anyone left standing, and she goes to close the space between them when a blinding pain stops her in her tracks.

Her choked off grunt is nearly silent amidst the yelling, but to Klaus it's like a gunshot.

He watches the point of the stake stab through her chest and feels his breath stall in his chest, fingers going numb all the way to the tips.

Her hand comes up, trembling as she skims her fingers over the blood blooming on her shirt around the stake. When she looks back up at Klaus, she tries to say his name but it's suffocated by the blood bubbling up in her throat.

Her knees give out from under her and she hears his hoarse voice yell her name as she goes down.

She can't see it, but she feels the pain that refreshes when he rips the stake from her back and throws it into the heart of the vampire that had attacked her.

She can't see it through the blur of her tears, but the sounds of retreat echo in her ears around the waves crashing.

When Klaus speaks again, his voice is closer and she blinks blearily, finding him hovering above her with wide eyes, looking uncharacteristically scared.

Her brows furrow when she sees the look on his face and when his fingers brush hers, she's quick to intertwine them with hers.

He whispers her name, the sound broken with emotion, and she squeezes his hand unconsciously.

"You're alright," He tries, valiantly ignoring the graying color of her skin despite the fact that he got the stake out of her. "You're alright, love. The pain will go away in a minute,"

She frowns, shaking her head against where he has it cupped with the hand that she's not holding. "Doesn't hurt," She whispers, swallowing roughly around the copper in her mouth.

"What?"

She repeats herself. "Doesn't hurt. Can't feel anything,"

Klaus makes a noise that she thinks might be grief. "No, no, it's alright. Here," He rips his hand from hers and his fangs tear into his skin, and he shoves his wrist against her mouth, letting as much blood drip into her mouth as he can before he heals.

She swallows it dutifully, but that numbness doesn't quite go away, and she wonders why he's so worried about it.

"Sit up," He commands her, though his voice is nowhere near as firm as it can get. "Sit up, and I'll help you the rest of the way. We'll go home, and you can rest."

"Klaus," She says his name, smiling around the syllables. "Come here."

He leans down at her request, eyes fluttering shut on a shaky breath when she lifts a blood-smeared hand up to his cheek. He whispers her name and her smile gives way to bloody teeth.

She uses what strength she can to lean up and kiss him, the pads of her fingers pressing into his pale cheek when he inhales sharply but presses back instantly, deepening the kiss.

She lingers as long as she can until she has to pull away, gasping for a full breath that she can't quite reach.

Still, a smile sits on her lips and when she meets Klaus's worried gaze, she doesn't falter. "Thank you,"

Confusion flutters on his face for a moment, but he jostles her when she starts to go limp in his arms, hand falling from his face. "No," He pulls her weight up, lifting her against his chest as her eyes flutter shut. "No. Wake up. Wake up!"

Silence follows his demands, his pleas, and through the blood on her cheek, a single tear falls from his eye, cleaning as it slides down her skin and falls into nothing.

Despite the silence surrounding him, he feels deafened.

────── 

When she opens her eyes again, she can feel her body again in a way she couldn't before. Luckily, she can't feel any pain.

Her eyes go down to her chest where she knows a gaping wound had been, but there's nothing left, not even a scar its wake and she takes a deep breath, relieved that it's not followed by a throttle of blood coming up her throat.

"You're awake,"

The voice startles her, but she isn't scared when she turns her head against the pillow to look at Klaus. A frown sprouts on her face when she sees him sitting in a chair at her side, looking like he hasn't slept in days. It's not always necessary, but they have to take breaks sometimes, and she hasn't seen Klaus look this tired in a long time.

"I am," She says, swallowing a mouthful of spit in an attempt to wet her throat. "I don't think I should be, though."

"I owe many people a great deal of things, so you'd better stay that way."

His voice is dark and she can hear the anger in it, but she's not used to it being focused on her. "You didn't–"

"Do not," He cuts her off, his words nearly a growl that has her eyes widening. "Do not tell me that I shouldn't have saved you."

He leans forward, grabbing her hand in his, and she shrinks with embarrassment when she remembers how she'd touched his cheek and kissed him.

"Klaus," She squeezes her eyes shut, huffing her humiliation out. "I am– so sorry that I–"

"Don't," He cuts her off again, hand pressing pointedly against hers. "Don't apologize if you don't mean it."

She falls silent for a moment, lost as she looks at him. "I just... I thought I was going to die. And I just– I had to have it at least once."

He visibly swallows and she watches that pretty shine light up his eyes again. "You thought you were dying, and the last thing you wanted to do was kiss me?"

She nods despite the toe-curling embarrassment coursing through her.

He cuts a sharp breath out of his nose, shaking his head.

Before she realizes it, he's hovering above her, cupping her cheeks gently. "Silly little thing," He quietly scolds her, not giving her time to argue before he kisses her, ever so softly, softer than she ever thought he could be. Like she'll break beneath his touch if he doesn't treat her like glass.

When he pulls away and she forces her eyes open, she finds herself fighting off a tingling sensation from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. "What'd you do that for?"

He smiles, small and fond. "The next time you kiss me, you don't have to be dying to do it."

"Oh,"

"Don't ever do that to me again," His voice has a warning in it, but she's already smiling too hard to pay attention to it. "You know how I feel about people disobeying my orders."

Her grin is audible when she responds. "Yeah, I do."

[infinizero]

Ok so

There is this trope about ghosts not reaching maturity until they've been ghosts for several centuries

There is ALSO the trope that ghosts fight as a sort of way to communicate

With the power of these two tropes combined-- I give you this strange headcanon:

Ghosts become mature adult ghosts after 500 years.

Danny and his usual troublemakers are all in the same "daycare".

He's just the youngest + most unique ghost so they like playing around with him the most. In other words, it's the ghost version of older siblings ordering their younger siblings around

As far as ghosts go,

There are blobs, ghost animals, shades (those are ghosts as we know it) and ghosts (aka Infinite Realms Beings) etc etc

The blobs and etc are, well, blobs and etc

But ghosts need a while to fully grow up and be considered adult

And so, if these ghosts are children, they need guardians or caretakers at the daycare right?

Correct

Baby ghosts are under the care of the nearest authority (Ancient or Leader or etc etc)

Except baby ghosts usually stay near where they were born and Danny and Co just so happen to be near Pariah Dark

Pariah Dark is asleep

But Fright Knight is there!

Except Fright Knight is also sealed

And it's one thing to wake up the ultra powerful megalomaniac tyrant kinda parent figure but not really you're supposed to have and another to drag your oldest adult sibling out of their room to touch grass

In other words, the surrounding authorities just went eh the babies can contact fright Knight if anything happens

But then Danny defeats Pariah and inherits his authority

So he technically becomes the caretaker of baby ghosts in the area while being the youngest baby ghost himself

Hence the other ancients visiting and *playing* with him to see if it's ok to leave the babies with this other baby

And since they're ghosts who don't have human guidelines or morals, decide that since he's that strong it should be fine to leave it alone

Besides he has Fright Knight! Good 'ol Frighty will definitely help out this new baby kid ghost with doing everything!

Meanwhile, Fright Knight waiting for Danny to come claim the crown and ring: ...

Cue Danny's rogues coming up to him to show him shit they accomplished

Youngblood : Phantom look at this cool baking soda volcano that spews out real lava!!

Danny: It does WHAT

Youngblood: Look!

Danny: NO

Ember: Hey Babybop wanna listen to the new song I wrote? It compels humans to start cults based on my name!

Danny: Ember, no

Ember: I think you mean Ember YES

Skulker: Ghost boy I have skinned an alien and brought you a pelt turned into a coat

Danny: ...you did WHAt

Skulker: It is nearing winter time and one must always be ready for winter time

Danny, having an existential meltdown after seeing his parents and Vlad get it on together: Desiree what the actual fuck??? Did you do????

Desiree: I merely fulfilled a wish

Johnny: Hey Phantom look we got matching tattoos to celebrate our anniversary!

Kitty: Wait what did you just say?

Johnny: uh, we got tattoos for our anniversary?

Kitty: ...our anniversary is in TWO MONTHS. THAT was for my DEATHDAY.

Johnny: ...oh shit

Danny, about to soup them both: Man, get good

Lunch Lady: Phantom have you eaten your proteins today?!

Danny: uh... Yeah?

Lunch Lady, already throwing meat at him: EAT MORE

Danny:

Box ghost: WITNESS! THE GREAT BOX MECHA!

Danny: oh come on seriously

And on the other hand,

Walker, dumping ten piles of paper in Danny's room: Phantom, here are the latest forms that need revisions

Spectra: What do you MEAN you're not allowing me to open a beauty salon in order to dig into other girls' insecurities and maintain my own beauty?! That's why it's called a beauty salon!!

Cujo and Wulf who are both the best boys and favorites, with smug faces:

Fright Knight still waiting for Danny to accept the ring and crown:

Plasmius: What the heck is this weird feeling my ghost side keeps making me feel??

Plasmius: is it... Is there perhaps a ghostly way I can adopt the little badger??

[thecowinblack]

Hi! Can you write a Luke Castellan x female reader, where they’re dating, Luke has a 4 year old little sister (daughter of Hermes) who is inseparable from him and the 3 of them act like a cute little family? I also had a thought of him calling them ‘his girls’. Maybe even a little angst at the end about him betraying the camp and seeing the two of them through an iris message comforting each other before sleep, bc his sister can’t sleep without him.

Thank you so much for sending this request, it was a lot of fun to write and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! 💕

His girls

Pairing: Luke x Reader

Word count: 972

Warnings⚠️: Fluff, against, blood and injurys

..................................................................................

Your table was completely empty since all of your siblings were away, they'd give home over christmas. Seeing everyone laught and have fun with their siblings made you feel so left out. Suddenly you felt two arms wrap around you, Millie. The 4-year old was probably the cutest human being in the entire universe and she always managed to paint a smile on your face.

“Luke is back! He's in the Apollo cabin, their checking a wound.” She told you excitedly. Luke had been gone for almost a month now and you'd missed him so much. Rushing up from the bench you ran to find him, Millie short after.

When you arrived at the Apollo cabin you told Millie to wait outside, if Luke was bleeding a lot then she shouldn’t see it. The first thing you saw was Will treating Luke as he sat in one of their hospital chairs.

“Luke!” You said, happily.

“Y/N!” He coughed. You resched his bed and saw a ginormous wound in his stomach. Fear filled you, what if he wouldn't make it? You couldn't lose him! Millie couldn't lose him. As if saw the fear taking over your eyes Luke mumbled:

“I'm going to be alright sweetheart, when they are done patching me up wouldn't you mind getting Millie?” You answered: “She's waiting outside, I didn't want her to get scared if there was lots of blood.” Luke har you a week smile and you took his hand sitting down in a chair that stood next to his bed.

After about like thirty minutes Will was done and Luke fell asleep. You called Millie and she came and sat in a chair next to you. You reached out for her hand and explained that he was fine, Luke would recovered fully in a couple days and then he could go back to practice. While you were calming her Luke woke up.

“Hi my sweet girls, won't you give me a hug?” Millie basically jumped on him and it was only when you said: “Careful!” She calmly hugged him. Both of them now looked at you and with a sight you hugged him to, you just couldn't say no to these two. Laying your head at Lukes chest he sweetly combed your hair with his fingers, you looked up and kissed him gently, afraid that it somehow would hurt him. He giggled like a child and kissed you harder, like a boy who'd been away from the girl he loved for far to long. Behind you Millie clapped her hands excitedly and a small laugh escaped you.

__________________________________

__________________________________

“Millie are you coming? Luke is waiting for us by the water!” You shouted, waiting for Luke's little sister. The two of you were supposed to meet with Luke by the lake ten minutes ago. Millie hadn't left her cabin yet. You decided to check on her in the almost empty Hermes cabin that you'd been waiting outside of. Walking in you saw Millie crying in the middle of the floor. “Oh gods what's wrong sweetie?” you said lifting her up and hugging her.

“I can't find the bracelets that I was going to give to you and Luke. I made the pearl's and they were so pretty, then yesterday I put them on my nightstand but now they're gone!” She cried. “Alright I'll help you look!” You said walking over to her nightstand.

A few minutes later the bracelets were recovered and you and Millie where walking down to the lake. The bracelet she'd given you was adorable; they were colorful and had your initials on. Luke had a matching one with his initials. As you finally arrived at the lake, Millie riding piggyback on you, Luke waited a bit from the water.

“Lukeeee!” Millie shouted.

“You’re finally here! What took you so long?” He asked rushing forward to take Millie from your back and placing his hand in hers and Millie quickly took your hand in her free one.

“Well Millie lost something, but we found it!” You said handing over his bracelet, which you had in your bag, filled with towels and bathing suits.

“Oh Millie it's beautiful, thank you!” He told her as Millie giggled. When you got to the beach you all changed into bathing suits and jumped into the water. Millie decided that the three of you were going to watch Percy trying to impress Annabeth with his water manipulation, it wasn't going so very well. As you stood there Luke threw his arm around your shoulder watching Millie play with the small water horses that Percy had created. Your little girl was giggling and laughing as they ran on the surface around her.

Luke thought that he'd never meet anyone even half as perfect as you. And as you stood there, watching Millie, he wondered how he'd ended up with these perfect girls, his girls.

____________________________________________________________________

You'd just finished reading Millie a bedtime story when she'd fallen asleep in your arms, no one in your cabin had a problem with her sleeping here after Luke's betrayal. Millie had just cried and cried in the Hermes cabin, not being able to fall asleep without her brother so you'd taken her here. Your bed was more than big enough. Listening to her snores you fell asleep, falling into the world of dreams.

Luke had meant to speak to you, he expected you to be awake when he Iris messaged you, as you'd always had trouble falling asleep. What he didn't expect was his girls curled up in your large bed. A book was sitting at your night stand and he could see your face. You were calm, happy with her. But something seemed to be missing in the large bed, a space that looked like they were saving, saving for him.

[fanfictionstuff]

Curiosity Niko x Reader

Another request from my friend who is obsessed with Niko. It's part one of two. Mind you, reader and Niko are of legal age. However, there is no smut.

You lean close to your best friend, sitting on his bed, and whisper, “Are you sure you're okay with this?” He stares at a poster on the wall. “I should be the one asking you that. But yes, I am okay with it.” You're the one who suggested it, but you can't help worrying about him. Concerned about how okay he actually is, you grasp his face, forcing him to face you. Gently, you brush his hair away from his eyes. “Really Ikki?” He nods in response, leaning into your touch. “Yes.”

You’ve been best friends since kindergarten, and because of your friendship, your parents don’t worry about things other parents might. You’ve been having sleepovers since you first met, and they have never stopped. Over ten years, neither your parents nor his bat an eye at it. You’ve overheard your mother brushing it off to her friends. You just don’t know them. She’d say whenever a friend raises concerns about the sleepovers, she always dismisses it. You’re being ridiculous. I trust them, he’s like a son to me. And his parents are the same way, brushing off any worries from their own friends.

“Would you let _____ spend the night with Michi?”

One of your mother’s friends has asked regarding another friend of yours.

“Of course not! That’s inappropriate.”

“But she’s known him since middle school.”

“It’s different; Ikki is like a son to me.”

As you and Ikki grew older and became teenagers in high school, more and more people began to question your parents. However, they always brush off their concerns. Once with your father laughing at a coworker who found it strange that he let a boy sleepover in your room, let alone share your bed. "You're reading too much into it; they're like siblings." 

A week-long romantic trip for couples. Strangely enough, your mother won it in a raffle at the corner grocery store. The prize is for two couples, of course your mom insisted on bringing Ikki’s parents along as well. 

The two men were not enthusiastic about the idea. They kept brainstorming and making excuses to avoid it. Your father claimed they couldn’t miss that much work, while Ikki’s father argued they did not have appropriate clothes for the trip. There are so many different excuses not to go. For most parents, their top reason would be the ones sitting on the sofa. They can’t leave you and Ikki alone together for a week. But it doesn’t cross any of the adults’ minds. It never occurred to them that perhaps they shouldn’t leave two hormone-fueled teenagers alone for a week. They know you’ll be staying together, in the same room, in the same bed. Maybe it’s because they believe you view each other as siblings. It's clear that none of them have siblings themselves; if they did, they would know that siblings are not typically this close in high school. Siblings fight, argue, and get annoyed with each other easily. And they certainly do not share a bed in their teenage years.

You don’t view each other as siblings. You view each other as best friends.

All those who advised your parents against leaving two hormonal teenagers alone were correct. 

Most teenagers get curious. It’s common knowledge, but it’s not something they openly discuss with their siblings of the opposite gender. After all, you don’t want your siblings to know everything about you. So, when your parents leave for a week-long trip, they don’t think twice about it.

You’re not sure where they got the idea that you and Ikki view each other as siblings. Neither of you has ever mentioned it. You’re not siblings; you’re best friends, and you’re curious teenagers.

[sissytobitch10seconds]

I think it's kind of interesting that Viktor is overshadowed by his siblings both in the canon and fanon.

In season one I could understand it. Despite Viktor being the main character that literally drives the entire plot, everyone focuses on the other characters. People make fun of Luther for talking about the moon all the time. Everyone is almost creepily obsessed with Klaus and the Vietnam fling that he had. No one really talks about Allison, but her story is primarily linked with Viktor's since she's trying to heal their relationship (fandom misogyny too). I think that there's a decent amount of talk around Five since he's such a fascinating character. There's quite a lot of talking about Diego too, since he loses Eudora and spends a lot of time trying to take care of Klaus. But no one really talks about Viktor and the amount of shit that he goes through in s1. All the siblings other than Allison completely abandon him too, and Allison only wants the idea of a 'sister' that she's built up in her head since she lost her husband and daughter.

In season two, it makes even less sense to not talk about what Viktor has done. He has a queer love story with Sissy and we get to see way more development and chemistry for, Klaus and Dave had a montage and some sad lines from Klaus as opposed to an entire arc through ten episodes, but no one really does anything with it. Allison gets basically no attention for the same fandom misogyny issues as before. Five gets some attention because of the fact that he's exhausted and still dealing with the Commission (his fight scenes are amazing). Diego gets the same treatment as Luther did but a little more deserving because the plan to save JFK was stupid. Luther gets totally sidelined and ignored too, but people really hated him in S1 so I'm not surprised. Klaus gets all the attention again even though his plot outside of Ben possessing him is honestly really boring and makes me so uncomfortable.

Season three is where Viktor should have gotten the most attention. If we're considering the fact that the TUA fandom has a very queer audience, then they should be super excited and celebrating the fact that Viktor is trans. Not only that, but he's also working his ass off so that he can fix things for Allison and get her back to a timeline where her daughter exists or back to the sixties. I think a lot of people ignore that, giving Five more credit than he deserves for trying to fix the world when Viktor was doing that until Harlan showed up and he wanted to handle that first. A lot of attention during the debut went again to Klaus, which was actually warranted this time since he was plot relevant by showing us things about Reggie and discovering his powers. Diego got more attention since he was parenting Stan and fighting with Lila, which was nice. Five got some meme attention but nothing serious and Luther got a little bit of genuine love. But mostly people just posted the conversation where Viktor comes out to his family and continued to ignore him.

Now Season four is out and no one cares about Viktor. He stands up to Reginald and says all of the things that he needs to say, he fights like Hell to try and save Ben from the Durango and get him someplace stable, he owns a bar and got fucking KIDNAPPED. No one is talking about him, all people are doing is complaining about fivela and the ending.

Viktor moved to Nova Scotia probably to get better trans healthcare, but also because none of his siblings care about him. My man is a tiny trans man that got kidnapped and ransomed off the street and they couldn't care less about him when they show up, Five is taking notes about the room they're in instead of checking to make sure that his childhood best friend is okay. Luther may have made him best man at his wedding, but it was just because Viktor had only just come out and all the other siblings were non options (never been close with Five, butted heads with Diego who didn't even want the wedding to happen, not their Ben, and Klaus was officiating) which was the same reason Lila was Sloane's maid of honor. Diego and Viktor barely spare two words at each other despite their closeness in the comics. Lila and Allison say something briefly to him before they also fuck off further into the plot.

Viktor isn't liked by his family despite them trying to include him in it when it's convenient for them, and he's also disliked by the fandom. I went into the TUA tag and about half of the top twenty posts were about someone else with him tacked on as an afterthought.

[writingsofwesteros]

Random lil thought but here are little things Criston did for each of the Targtower siblings when they were kids, because Viserys was a shitty dad-

Aegon: "You alright, kid?" Criston asked as he found Aegon sulking down by the pool. "Dad said he couldn't make it to my hockey game," Aegon grumbled, the ten year old trying to play it tough even though he was clearly disappointed. "I asked Mom why and she said...it's because Jace has a little league game that same day. Dad promised Rhaenyra he'd go." Criston grimaced. "Well, your mom's coming," Criston said. "And she's bringing your brother and sisters, too." Aegon nodded, then asked timidly, "You...you coming too?" "You want me to?" Criston asked, and Aegon shrugged. "I actually am," Criston said, and Aegon smiled. "And after we drop your mom and baby Daella back home, I'll take you, Aemond, Helaena and Nora out for ice-cream, okay?" Aegon's smile grew as he nodded.

Aemond: "He's not coming, is he?" young Aemond asked at the awards day at St. Baelor's Private Middle school.

"Sorry kid- he has a meeting." Criston told him. "But hey, you got the prize for history? That's really good." "And Math," Aemond told him. "And High Valyrian." "That's my boy," Criston smiled. "You did really good, kiddo. I'm proud of you." Aemond's cheeks flushed and he looked up at Criston. "Really?" The older man nodded. "Of course I am- and I'll be sitting right out there with your mom and siblings, okay?" Aemond nodded, as Criston felt a warmth when he saw little Aemond smile again.

Helaena: "Helaena?" Criston walked the entire estate looking for her. "What're you doing out here all alone?" He asked when he found her a far distance from the house with a jar. "Mother and Father are fighting again," She said quietly, a ladybug in her hand. "Indeed," He sighed. "How abut you come with me to go pick Aegon and Aemond up from their polo lessons? And Nora from ballet?" She looked up at him and nodded, as he knelt down to her level. "Do we really have to go? To Driftmark?" Hel asked softly. "I just...I have a bad feeling about it." He sighed. "Yea kiddo, you do. But listen- if anything happens, I'll be right there, okay?" She nodded, as he held her jar so she could put the ladybug in it.

Nora: Little Nora had been downcast all day since she found out Viserys wasn't coming to her ballet recital next month. Criston found her by the pool, and he set the bag down next to her. "Thought you'd like these for your recital," He told her. He smiled as she opened the box to see a brand new pair of ballet shoes. "Criston they're so pretty! I love them!" She smiled, springing off the chair to hug him. Criston smiled and picked her up. "You'll come, won't you?" She asked him. "I told Mother to put your name down on the guest list." He smiled, and said, "I wouldn't rather be anywhere else."

THE FATHER THAT STEPPED UP!!!!

He is precious and loved by them all; he really was there for all the times and he cared for them !

[stargazer-sims]

Heart and Home

CONTENT WARNING - mention of violence

____________________

"You ever regret becoming a parent?"

Victor Okamoto-Nelson wishes he was anywhere but here, doing anything but participating in this uncomfortable exchange.

He folds both hands around his half finished bottle of red Gatorade and tries to ignore the fact that there are a dozen other members of hospital staff and at least as many people in street clothes in here, potentially witnessing this. Maybe it's a touch of paranoia, but he feels as if every pair of eyes and ears in the large room is on him and Ellie, and he has to resist the urge to fidget under the perceived scrutiny.

The hard plastic chair he's sitting in isn't doing much to lessen his need to move around, nor is the uneasy sensation in his stomach. Riding down in the elevator from the paediatric unit, he’d thought he was hungry, but the smell of overcooked vegetable soup in the hospital cafeteria is putting his appetite off, and Ellie's terrible question is contributing too. He feels queasy and he wants to leave.

He gazes at his fellow nurse across the cafeteria table. By coincidence, they're both on day shift this week, and when she saw him in the hospital parking lot this morning, she asked him if he'd mind meeting up for a few minutes after work. Normally, he doesn't like to hang around the hospital after his shift, but Ellie said she needed to talk to him about something and her tone seemed to imply it was important, so he reluctantly acquiesced.

So far, however, he hasn't figured out what Ellie wants. For the past ten minutes, all she's done is complain, trapping him in what has felt like a never ending cycle of nods and non-word responses of "Mm-hmm," and "Uh-huh."

Technically, Ellie is Victor's step-sister — they were both in their mid-20s when her dad married his mom — but he hasn't thought of her as a sibling of any variety in a very long time. These days, he's not even sure 'friend' is the right way to describe their relationship. They've known each other since they were babies and they'd been practically inseparable growing up, but careers, marriage, children, changing attitudes and differing perspectives on navigating life have pushed them apart. Sometimes, he feels like he doesn't even recognize her any more.

One thing he does know, though, is precisely how to answer Ellie's question about parenthood. His sweet Caroline has given him joy since the moment they first met, even before she became his and Yuri's legal child. Adopting a kid with albinism came with a set of challenges they hadn't been entirely prepared for, and they've had to learn a lot along the way, but he can say with honestly that he's never had a single hint of regret. He loves Caroline as if she were his own flesh and blood, and the idea of not having her is painful. Caroline has added so much to his and Yuri's lives, he can't imagine what their existence would look like now if they hadn't adopted her.

"Never," he says emphatically. “It was like some part of me was missing, and I didn't even realize it until Caroline came along and filled up that empty space."

"Lucky you," Ellie says.

"We are lucky," he agrees. "I wake up every day thankful that I've got Yuri and Caroline."

"Must be nice. Generally, I wake up asking myself what kind of disaster I'm going to have to face that day. Nora and Elliot are pushing my last button, and Leo's no help. He thinks the solution is to take Elliot and move into his parents' basement."

Victor studies his step-sister. She's exactly four months younger than him, but her appearance is that of someone ten years older. Her wavy brown hair is streaked with grey, and he's sure the dark smudges beneath her eyes are permanent. She looks exhausted in a way that a few solid nights' sleep wouldn't be enough to fix.

"Have you talked to Mom and Julian about any of this?" he asks.

She makes a dismissive huffing sound. "Dad and Grace are no help either. Grace says it's none of her business. Typical of her, honestly. And Dad won't do anything. He says he's supportive, but then he goes and tells me that Leo and I have to work our family problems out between ourselves."

"Well, he's not wrong about that second part," Victor says. "Yuri's mom told me and Yuri a long time ago that the way to have a strong marriage is to have good communication and to not hide anything from each other. We had to figure out how to do that together. It wasn't easy, but I can tell you it was worth putting in the work."

"I was kind of hoping for better advice than 'fix your own shit'."

"Believe it or not, that is the best advice," Victor says. "Even when things were at their worst, nobody stepped in and sorted out mine and Yuri's problems for us. Mom and Julian helped us a lot with advice and stuff, and so did Rei and Kenji, but Yuri and I really did have to fix our problems on our own, and I think we're stronger now because of that."

"Having a charmed life like yours must be nice," Ellie comments.

"I'm gonna pretend that wasn't sarcasm."

"Got any other pearls of wisdom other than telling me to solve my own problems?"

"I get that you're looking for something specific, but—"

"I'm looking for a miracle," Ellie cuts across him.

"I can't do those,” he says.

"God, I wish I could wind back the universe," she says. "I never would've agreed to marry Leo. Or maybe I would have, but I would've said no fucking way when it came to having kids."

"But... why?" he asks.

"This is probably going to be hard for you to understand since your kid is so perfect, but parenthood sucks for the rest of us."

"I don't think it sucks for most people."

"For me it does," Ellie says. "When I had Nora, I realized I gave up a whole chunk of myself that I'd never get back. Then we had Elliot, and... yeah. I gave up my freedom for those kids. I gave up my happiness, my independence and my whole fucking identity as a person for them. I lost my ability to enjoy my life just to make sure they could enjoy theirs, and those ungrateful little shits don't even care."

Victor is momentarily stunned. He has never met anyone who harboured such resentment toward their own children, and he's shocked and horrified to learn that his step-sister feels this way.

As for himself, he wouldn't say that he and Yuri gave up much of anything when they adopted Caroline. They haven’t lost their happiness or their individual identities, and they certainly haven’t given up their freedom.

Sure, Yuri had a less than smooth transition into parenthood, but he’d eventually found his footing, and Caroline's presence hadn't stopped him from doing everything he wanted to do. Yuri has grown his business, written three children's books, volunteered in the community and enjoyed his hobbies while parenting, and Victor has worked, volunteered and played as much as he's wanted to while raising Caroline as well. The three of them have travelled all over the world together, and they've had countless adventures and made the best memories. Far from being stifled after becoming fathers, having Caroline around has enriched them and expanded the scope of their experience.

"I'm sorry," he says, because he has no idea how else he's supposed to respond.

"No, you're not," says Ellie.

"I don't know what you're expecting from me," he tells her. "I just had to sit here and listen to you go on a huge rant about Elliot and Nora, and now you're telling me you never wanted them in the first place? I don't know how you want me to react to that, but i really am sorry. For you and Leo and your kids."

"I'm expecting you to help me."

"By doing what? Do you want me to tell Leo not to file for divorce, or not to move into Aunt Millie and Uncle Stephen's basement? Do you want me to tell Nora to come back from wherever she is and... I don't know. Be more like Caroline?"

"I want you to support me, and maybe have a little empathy," she says.

"I do have empathy for you, and I'm willing to support you, but that's kinda not what I'm hearing," he says. "It really sounds like you want me to agree with you and take your side, but you know I can't do that."

"You're my brother. You're supposed to take my side."

Victor shakes his head. "We're not siblings, Ellie. I think you know that as well as I do. I love you and I want to help if I can, but I'm not gonna let you manipulate me by trying to use the sibling card, okay? I know how you really feel about Julian being married to my mom, so you claiming to be my sister when it's convenient for you isn't the best way to go."

It's Ellie's turn to stare at him. A few seconds pass and then she asks, "Literally who are you? The Victor I used to know would've stuck up for me, no matter what."

"Maybe I'm not the Victor you used to know," he replies quietly. "We've all changed."

"Apparently," she says.

"Look, I don't know what's going on inside your head right now, and I'm not gonna claim I understand, ‘cause I don’t. All I know is, this shouldn't even be about taking sides. It's not you against Leo or you against your kids."

"How can you say that?" she demands. "It very much is me against Leo. He doesn't give a shit about me or Nora. He just wants to take Elliot and get away from me."

Based on what Victor knows, this is a fair assessment of the situation, aside from the part about Leo not caring about Nora. From conversations with Leo, Victor knows that he cares very much about his daughter and is worried about her to the point of losing sleep. He's worried about his son too, which is part of the reason he wants to take Elliot and move in with his parents.

Of course, Victor can't say any of this aloud, even though some mean little voice in his brain wants him to say, Can you blame Leo for wanting to get away from you?

He pulls in a long breath, holds it for five seconds and then lets it out slowly. "Tell me something. If you could wave a magic wand and have the ideal family right now, what would that look like?"

"You're kidding, right?" Ellie scoffs. "Why would I answer a dumb question like that?"

"Just humour me."

"Okay, fine. My ideal family would be just me and my dog. But, if I'm stuck with the family I've got, I'd want a husband who listened to me, a son who didn't have special needs, and a daughter who wasn't a disrespectful, spiteful little whore."

It takes willpower for Victor not to comment on Ellie's description of Nora. He says, "Okay. At least part of that is achievable."

"What?"

"You want me to help, don't you?"

"Yeah."

"This is me helping," he says. "You can't do anything about Elliot's disability, obviously, but you can at least make an effort with Leo and Nora."

"Right. Neither one of them is going to change. Leo has pretty much mentally checked out of our marriage, and I could scream at Nora till I'm red in the face and it wouldn't achieve anything."

"That's one thing you can work on," Victor suggests. "You know how many times I've yelled at Caroline?"

"How should I know?"

"Zero. Exactly zero times."

"Because Caroline's so angelic, you never get angry at her?"

"No," he says. "Because Caroline is a thinking, feeling person who deserves to be treated with compassion and respect. I do get mad, and I get tired and frustrated, and I've had to raise my voice to be heard plenty of times, but I've never yelled at her in anger because my anger isn't her problem."

"How is it not her problem? If my kids piss me off, I sure as hell make it their problem."

"You blame your kids for your own reaction." It's less a question than an observation.

"They were the ones who caused it," Ellie says.

"No," Victor counters. "They do something that makes you feel angry, and then you choose to overreact and blame them for it. You know you can be angry and not take it out on your kids, right?"

"Maybe you can."

"I think most people can, if they make an effort," Victor says. "I mean, I don't look at Caroline and think 'I'm mad and it's all her fault'. It's more like I'm angry or annoyed about the result of some choice she made."

"But she made the bad choice," Ellie points out.

"Yeah, but the person who decides how I'm gonna communicate my emotions about that is me, not her. Plus, I still want her to know I love her even when she does something stupid, and I want the chance to teach her to make better choices next time. How much do you think she'd learn if I screamed and freaked out every time she did something I didn't like?"

Ellie's response is laced with scorn, "If I'd known the secret to having a perfect child was just to not yell at them, I would've stopped yelling years ago."

Victor sighs. "If you're not going to take this seriously—"

"You're not exactly offering anything helpful, are you?"

"I am, if you'd listen," he says, exasperated. "I’m gonna be brutally honest here. Before you start trying to fix your kids, maybe you can work on yourself, and you could do something about your marriage. Get some couples' counselling, and maybe take an anger management class."

"Leo's not going to go to counselling."

"Have you asked him?"

"No, but I already know he won't."

"Okay. Then I guess I'm out of ideas." Victor pushes his chair back and stands up.

"Wait," Ellie says. "You're leaving? Just like that?"

"Yes, because this conversation is going nowhere," he says. "I'm tired and I want to go home."

More than anything, he wants to cleanse his mind, not only from this awful encounter but from the entire stressful day he's had today. He wants a long hot shower and something more sustaining in his belly than Gatorade and a dried out blueberry pastry. But, most of all he wants Yuri to hold him. Yuri may be tiny and frail, but Victor has never known anyone with as much inner strength as Yuri has, and no one else can comfort him and make him feel as safe as Yuri can.

He imagines Yuri's little arms wrapped tightly around him as he starts to walk away. It's only a ten-minute drive between the hospital and their new house. Only ten minutes, and he'll be in Yuri's arms for real.

"Victor, wait," Ellie calls out from behind him. He doesn't stop. Not until he hears her blurt out, "Nora's pregnant."

That causes him to halt and look over his shoulder at his step-sister. "What?"

"Nora is pregnant," she repeats.

He tells himself he shouldn't go back, that it's a bad idea, but something compels him to disregard his own better judgment. He reverses his trajectory and returns to his seat at the table. "How do you know that? I thought she moved out and you didn't have any contact with her."

"I saw her at the supermarket," Ellie reveals. "She was with some boy, and he couldn't keep his hands off her belly."

"That doesn't necessarily mean anything," Victor says.

"Oh, it means something."

Victor thinks about standing in line with Yuri at their favourite café, hugging him from behind and giving him what Yuri likes to call 'secret belly rubs' despite there being absolutely nothing secret about it. Plenty of couples cuddle that way in public. He's seen people doing that exact thing in the checkout line at the pharmacy and supermarket loads of times, and he's never once assumed any of the recipients were pregnant.

"How do you know?" he asks again.

"She's popping out exactly the same way I did when I was pregnant," Ellie says. "Remember how big I already was at twelve weeks with Elliot? I don't think she's very far along, but it was noticeable to me."

"So... is this what you really needed my help with?"

"Yeah, it's connected to it," Ellie says. "I'm sorry, okay? I should've led with that.”

“Yeah.”

“I'm so done with everything right now,” she says. “I can't handle another crisis, and I don't want Nora bringing her problems back home. It was bad enough the last time she was under our roof, with the drinking and inappropriate videos and running off at all hours of the day and night."

"What are you saying?" Victor does not like where he suspects this might be heading. "I hope you're not about to ask if she can move in with us when she gets tired of being on her own."

"God, no," Ellie says. "I might be done with her, but I wouldn't push her over to you. She's made it pretty clear that she hates Caroline, and God alone knows what might happen if they were under the same roof. I wouldn't put your kid at risk like that."

"That's... something, I guess," Victor stammers.

"But I'm not about to put Elliot at risk either," Ellie continues. "I don't trust her to be around him, and I need to do something about it."

"Like what?" Victor asks, regardless that he doesn't really want to hear the answer.

"You know a lawyer, right?"

"Uh...yeah. Uncle Stephen," he says. "Otherwise known as your father-in-law."

"No, not Stephen," says Ellie. "Not Matthew or his son, what's-his-name, either."

"Arthur," Victor supplies. "Everybody calls him Artie."

"Whatever," Ellie says. "I mean Yuri's lawyer. The one for his business. She knows what she's doing, doesn't she?"

"Her name's Kadijah, and I don't think Yuri and James would keep hiring her to do stuff for the firm if she didn't know what she was doing. But, why do you need a lawyer?"

"Because Nora is turning eighteen at the beginning of November, and Leo and I won't have any control over her any more at that point. There'll be nothing to stop her from coming to the house if she feels like it, and I want a restraining order."

"You... you want what?"

"I don't want her being around her brother with booze and drugs and porn and God knows what else. He'll either end up getting hurt or he'll turn out just like her, only he won't be smart enough to keep from getting caught. I'm not having that."

"And you think getting a court order to keep your pregnant daughter away from your house is the answer?"

"I have to protect my other kid. What choice do I have?"

"I can think of a few," Victor says. "Like getting over whatever grudge you're holding and talking to her, for one. Maybe get her into a residential rehab program if you think she's actually using drugs. Set her up with either prenatal care or a termination if she's really pregnant. Anything except locking the doors and telling her she's not wanted."

"Nobody talks to Nora," Ellie says. "Leo and I gave up on that. We got tired of her screaming in our faces and putting her fists through walls whenever we said something she didn't agree with. You know she gave Elliot a black eye for telling us about the adult videos she was making."

"Before, you said he hurt himself falling in the kitchen."

"He did fall in the kitchen after his sister punched him. Leo heard him crying and ran in from the yard, and he had to pull Nora off him." Ellie elaborates. "She's out of control, and I'm done."

"You can't be done. She's your kid and she needs help."

"She needs help, but not from me. I don't want anything more to do with her, and I absolutely do not want her back in my house."

"Then, I guess you're on your own."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm not helping you shut your own child out of your life," Victor informs her. "You don't have to be her best friend and you don't even have to let her live at home, but you can't give her the message that she's not loved or wanted. That'll guarantee you'll lose her for good."

"I think I could live with that," Ellie says.

Victor wonders if he's somehow slipped into a parallel dimension, because that's what it feels like. Although he's seen Ellie change over time, he struggles to reconcile the woman in front of him with the vibrant, cheerful and compassionate person he'd grown up with. When had she turned into this colder, harder version of herself? How had she transformed from the girl who had it all together and enjoyed helping others deal with their problems into somebody who seems as though she doesn't care enough to work on her own?

"You say that now, but I think you'd end up regretting it if you really did lose her." Victor says.

"No, I wouldn't," Ellie asserts. "You don't know what it's like to have a kid who hates you and does everything to spite you."

"No, and I'm glad I never will." This time, when Victor gets up from his seat, he has no intention of resuming it for any reason. "I'm sorry things are going bad, but please don't ask me for any more advice."

He barely notices anything on the short drive home. His sole focus is on getting there. When he pulls into the driveway, he's thankful to see the garage door open and Yuri's sporty little car inside.

Yuri is in the kitchen when Victor makes his way through the front door. Yuri's suit jacket is draped over the back of one of the stools at the kitchen island, and his work bag is on the island itself. He's in the process of loosening his necktie, but pauses at the sound of the door closing.

"Victor!" he exclaims. "What happened?"

Victor is flooded with relief at not having to explain that he's upset, or why. Right now, it's difficult to describe what he's feeling. It's more than one emotion. It's like anger, disgust and shock all tangled up with sadness, empathy and a crushing sense of helplessness. He's certain there isn't a single word for that, so instead of saying anything, he just holds out his arms.

Yuri comes to him immediately and slips his own arms around him. He leans into him and rests his head against his chest. Victor drops his arms around Yuri's shoulders and buries his face in his husband's hair.

"It's okay," Yuri murmurs. "You don't have to tell me now."

Yuri knows him so well, it's almost as if he's able to read his thoughts. The overwhelming gratitude he has for Yuri knowing exactly what he needs makes him want to cry, and he swallows painfully around the lump in his throat.

"I love you," he says against the top of Yuri's head. "I'll never stop loving you, and I'd never give up on you or Caroline for any reason, no matter what. I need you to know that, okay?"

"I know," Yuri says softly. "When you promised me forever, I know you meant it. I hope you know I meant it too."

"I know," he whispers.

"Whatever's going on, we're in it together just like always. You don't have to do anything on your own." Yuri tightens his hold, whether reflexively or on purpose Victor can't determine. "When you're ready, we'll talk about it, all right?"

He's fully aware there's no solution this time, nothing he and Yuri can realistically do to make it better for Ellie and Leo and their kids, but he'll tell Yuri about it anyway, if only so he doesn't have to carry the burden of his feelings alone. Perhaps Yuri can help him understand why this is affecting him so much, why it feels like a wound to his heart even though, in actuality, the situation has nothing to do with him.

He nods. "Okay."

"I love you," Yuri says.

All of a sudden, Victor can no longer fight his tears, but it’s okay if he surrenders. There's no judgment here. Yuri will shield him. Inside Yuri's embrace is the safest place he knows, and Yuri's quiet, steady presence is the perfect counterbalance to his flaw of being too sensitive and allowing his emotions to reside too close to the surface.

He tries and fails to take a deep, calming breath, only succeeding to produce a ragged gasp. Yuri strokes his back and soothes him with gentle sounds that might not even be real words in any language.

Yuri's voice is like an anchor grounding him, and his second attempt to settle himself goes better.

He wishes there were a bigger, weightier phrase to convey his gratitude for his soulmate and all he's done for him and for their amazing life together, but even if he doesn't have one, he's certain Yuri will understand.

After a few more deep breaths, he finds his voice and says, "Thank you."

[dreamcatcheratdawn]

Hii, do u write for Chris Prince? If yes can u write some hcs for crhis x reader in a platonic way? Like they act like siblings, ty! Ily <3/p

Okay, I liked this idea because it's a bit of a departure from the romance we're used to seeing in fanfics here, it was a bold request. As I don't know Chris Prince as well as I'd like to, I did some in-depth research on him and found some nice things. (And sorry for doing this so late, my little vacation had arrived and I decided to give myself a break before going back to college, so I didn't get involved with anything on social media)

"I'll protect you, always."

Chris Prince x gn!reader Warning: Very fluffy, slight mentions of narcissism, nothing too heavy.

Chris has been your friend since you were both in your mothers' wombs.

Your mothers were best friends, so there was nothing to stop them doing the same with their children. In other words, you and him. Your friendship was so natural that many people mistook you two for brothers.

Not that Chris didn't act like one.

Man, while it was nice to share your moments with him, it was a pain to have Chris Prince all over you, showing off how beautiful and perfect he was. Seriously. He had no shortage of compliments for himself. He complimented you too, but not with the same intensity as he complimented himself.

Oh, there was also that thing about doing things perfectly. When he focused on doing something, he wouldn't let go until he'd successfully completed it. This implied that he lacked interest in his studies, no matter how much you and his parents argued with him to make an effort, but he wouldn't even listen. He also bragged about the things he did perfectly well, like playing chess and ball. He would make fun of you about why you seemed so weak at it. And for the idiot that he was, he didn't realize that this hurt you, until the point that you exploded one day and ran off the soccer pitch.

He was startled by the sudden explosion. Like any child, he got desperate and came after you, and you duly explained your point. It wasn't easy, because making amends was something Prince didn't do, even more often. But for you, he did, even if only in the slightest.

Hearing Chris's apology made you smile, and then you were back to your normal selves.

When you received your first confession letter, Chris felt an extreme need to protect you. He found out about the boy who gave you the letter, and asked you a barrage of questions as if it were an interrogation, asking things like: what are your intentions with her, what made him fall in love with you, and so on.

When you found out what he'd done, Chris thought you were going to give him a scolding, but you just laughed it off, teasing him that he was being too protective, even insinuating that he was jealous of your suitor.

He blushed, starting to freak out, justifying himself by saying that it was only to protect you from bad guys, but you didn't listen.

There was also the day he had to go to Japan, and that day was heartbreaking. You said goodbye, tears rolling down your face as he huffed and puffed, wiping away his tears.

"Don't cry like that, you look like those cats that get ugly when they're wet." He said, laughing. You punched him in the arm, not even having an effect. He said goodbye to his parents and his parents made a point of being present.

After that day, you stayed connected by cell phone, talking every day, without exception. It was like a ritual.

When he grew muscles, you asked God to have mercy on you because this boy was showing off ten times more than before. There were so many photos of his muscles in your gallery that your friends really thought he was your boyfriend, even though you strictly said that you saw him as a brother, and he did the same.

And what a gossip Chris Prince was. He would tell you about every atrocity that happened during his stay in Japan that you wouldn't believe if he didn't have proof. And he would also share with you in messages about his rivalry with Noel Noa. You had the impression that you knew Noel Noa more than you knew yourself, because Chris talked about him so often.

You made a point of following his matches, whether on television, on your cell phone, wherever you went. You were his number one fan, so you would support him in whatever he decided for his future, extolling how incredible he was, even though he was already doing that for himself.

It was about ten years ago that Chris showed up at your college door in a sports car. THE GUY LITERALLY SHOWED UP WITH A FERRARI LA FERRARI ON THE DOORSTEP OF A COLLEGE LIKE IT WAS NOTHING. Clearly your classmates were shocked that you went up to him.

"When did you get here?" You asked, circling the car and getting into the passenger side, staring at the luxury car compartment, totally absorbed.

"Yesterday, at 3:17 in the morning. I didn't tell you because I wanted to surprise you." He smiled mischievously, lifting his sunglasses and showing those captivating blue eyes that always calmed you down.

"And what a surprise." You said, smiling at him and giving him a hug, which he reciprocated by pressing your body to his.

"Come on, I'll take you for a snack. Put your seatbelt on." He said, starting the car. You obeyed him, smiling at your best friend, at your brother you hadn't seen for years, and finally you were together again, ready to live every shared adventure. You would take his friendship to the grave, and he would do the same, with all the certainty in the world.

I don't know what to think about this, I think it's a bit blergh, but okay.

[myreygn]

kny modern au - characters: hashira

includes: gyomei, tengen, giyuu, sanemi, obanai, kanae, kyojuro, mitsuri, shinobu, muichiro

HUGE thanks and shout out to @giggly-squiggily and @trans-ace-lee for their contributions to this au and indulging my brainrots ♡

inspiration was taken from the german school system because that's what i grew up and am most familiar with:

ages 2-6 (flexible, not mandatory): kindergarten

ages 6-10 (grades 1-4): elementary school

ages 10/11-16/17 (grades 5-10): "secondary school", the diploma qualifies you for an education outside of university (craft sector, social sector etc)

ages 16/17-18/19 (grades 11-12): "upper school", the diploma qualifies you for university

¸¸♬·¯·♩¸¸♪·¯·♫¸¸¸¸♫·¯·♪¸¸♩·¯·♬¸¸

Himejima Gyomei (27, theology major)

grew up in a buddhist orphanage after his parents gave him up because they were ableist idiots who didn't want to raise a blind child

had a very happy childhood, has never been adopted and isn't upset about it in the slightest

went on a spiritual journey for five years after school and wrote a bestseller book about it

started going to university at age 23, helps out at the orphanage whenever he can

has a seeing-eye dog named Curry (a four year old black labrador and the only being on earth he would kill for, he got her when he returned from his journey)

can afford his own flat and lives right next to the orphanage with Curry

advocate for a more inclusive university life and very active in groups fighting for disability rights, both on and off campus

Uzui Tengen (23, music major)

was somewhat of a public figure from a very young age because the Uzui clan is one the richest, most powerful families in the country and everyone in town knows who they are

always hated his parents and moved out at 18, got a small fortune (that's rich people slang for a ton of money, source: trust me) from a cool uncle and used it to open a night club which is very popular with the locals

has no contact to his siblings (even tho he'd like to) and avoids all of his dad's properties like the plague

started going to university at age 20 because he wanted to do something with his passion

plays a bunch of instruments (piano, harp, guitar, violin, shamizen, koto and like ten different types of flute)

lives with his girlfriends in an almost-a-mansion and throws the best partys anyone has ever been to

Tomioka Giyuu (21, philosophy major)

his parents died when he was three years old and him and his sister went through foster care until she came off age and became his legal guardian, they're super close

has been studying several martial arts at Urokodaki's dojo since he was in elementary school

picked philosophy as a major because he had no idea what else to do but it's actually fun??

he mostly just sits in the back and draws stick figures but once a week he'll say something that makes everyone rethink their entire life (no one really understands what's happening inside his head but his professors are convinced he's a genius)

teaches little kids in the dojo because Urokodaki thinks it'd be good for him, he's slowly warming up to it

the type of peanut allergy where his throat closes up at the sight of them, when they were in fifth grade Sanemi almost killed him because he didn't know about it and it delayed their friendship by roughly two years

Shinazugawa Sanemi (21, physics major)

abusive pos dad got stabbed when he was ten, helped his mom raise his younger siblings and is super close with all of them

moved out at 20 when his mom encouraged him to spend more time at university, roommates with Obanai, Giyuu and Sabito

colorblind from birth and dysgraphic when it comes to handwriting, uses recording devices and laptops in class

used to get into a lot of fights in school and still works on not doing that™, most people think he's scary and a delinquent (and also a murderer because it's kinda sus that none of the family members showed up at their dad's funeral)

biker, the motorcycle has wind art on it and he mostly uses it to pick up the tons of children that somehow snuck into his friend circle and take Kanae on drives, loves bringing his guitar to play her something in the moonlight

suffered through school for the most part, a new teacher (Kagaya) in tenth grade inspired him to finish "upper school" and study physics

loves Gyomei's dog like a daughter

Kocho Kanae (21, biology major)

lives with her family and has no plans of moving out until she finishes university, helps a ton in the household

the best big sister ever, drives all of her sisters and their friends around and picks them up at 3am when they're stranded somewhere (also doesn't pretend to hate it, unlike certain other older siblings with their own vehicles)

has always been into gardening and is really getting into permaculture, puts plants wherever she can and loves flowers

most of her cooking ingredients are from her own garden, vegetarian (everything she cooks or bakes will be the best thing you ever ate)

has the voice of an angel, Sumi, Kiyo and Naho refuse to go to bed without her singing them a lullaby

christmas is her favorite time of the year, she goes all out with planning the festivities and getting everyone gifts and needs three whole days to recharge afterwards

has to wear a biteguard when she's stressed because she'll start clenching her teeth in her sleep and works really hard to keep it a secret from everyone

Iguro Obanai (21, philosophy major)

somewhat of a local legend, not by his own doing but by people just making shit up about him

grew up in a cult of which all the members were killed in a fire with him being the only survivor and a huge news story all across the country at age 12

moved to another city as soon as he was old enough to start anew but the rumors follow him everywhere (and it doesn't help that he talks to his snake)

mostly annoyed by the rumors but also likes to use them to scare people of who are being super pushy or harassing his friends (that's the first time in his life he found friends, he can and will commit atrocious crimes on their behalf)

originally enrolled in zoology, then switched majors when the professors wanted to use Kaburamaru as a test subject

spends his time in philosophy class taking a stance against whatever Giyuu says and has an entire folder filled with essays criticizing his statements

always carries headphones with him, listens to lofi because he likes it, mcr because he feels it in his soul and doom metal solely to fuck with tengen ("Screaming is not music!")

Rengoku Kyojuro (20, history major)

still lives at home with his dad and brother because he didn't want to leave Senjuro behind, spends most of his time out of the house tho and is looking for a flat right now

works parttime at a restaurant that's called Umainia and his friends have yet to figure out whether he says "Umai" all the time because he likes his food or to advertise his work place

slightly hearing impaired, has hearing aids prescribed that he just forgets to put in at all times

doesn't have a driver's license, goes by bike everywhere no matter the weather

gets close to people easily, is well beloved amongst Senjuro's friends and also makes an effort to get to know them so he can be sure Senjuro's in good hands

regularly forgets people's names but never their birthdays

collects old books and learned a bunch of old languages just to be able to read them

Kanroji Mitsuri (19, art major)

still lives at home because she wants to stay with her family and help take care of her siblings, also claims that she had invested too much time in her room to just leave it behind (her room looks like every cool fluffy fairy core room you have ever seen on pinterest, it's the coziest place on earth)

if there's a sanrio themed version of stuff she needs, she's getting it, no questions asked.

slightly allergic to dogs, she doesn't care though and cuddles with Curry all the time, she calls it confrontation therapy (it works)

animal lover in general, she even built a little terrarium in her room so Kaburamaru has a comfy spot for his naps when Obanai stays over

has kept every drawing she ever made and sometimes looks through them for inspiration, also likes to track her progress that way

there's a coffee shop across the street from her house where she has been customer of the month every month consistently for four years as well as an honorary mention ever since she was six

Kocho Shinobu (18, student)

in her last year of school and likely about to graduate with a perfect score

founder and president of the first aid club, also head of the student council and an active member on every committee the school has to offer

recently got her driver's license but keeps it a secret so she doesn't have to play chauffeur for her sisters

effectively avoids getting asked out for dates by being very scary™ (and taking jiu jitsu classes since elementary school), she's also your go to person when creepy weirdos won't leave you alone

loves cooking with her sisters and often shares her own recipes with Kanao, she also has her own little corner in Kanae's garden where she plants stuff that she uses to make her own medicine

has a lot on her plate with school and her clubs and some volunteer stuff she does here and there, so she goes to the local animal shelter once a week to cuddle and play with the cats and dogs there, it's her little safe zone to unwind and she doesn't tell anyone about it

the biggest fan of psychological thrillers you will ever meet

Tokito Muichiro (14, student)

in eighth grade and no one knows how he did it but everyone suspects that his brother took at least some of his exams in his place

he's not bad at school per se but he just can't memorize stuff, you're lucky if he knows your name after sitting next to each other for six months

is a member of the cooking club tho and absolutely thriving there, he never goes by recipe and creates the most delicious things but he won't tell anyone his secret ingredients because he can't remember them either

absolutely loves visiting his friends' houses, he's so happy seeing how their rooms reflect them

followed Yuichiro everywhere all throughout elementary school, then made his first friend in fifth grade (Tanjiro of course) and has been getting more and more independent ever since

constantly misses bus stops or takes trains in the wrong direction and is always late because of it, however he has also acquired an extensive knowledge of the town and can give you directions to pretty much everywhere

tries his very best to remember his friends' birthdays but forgets his own every year because it just kinda slips his mind that he has the same birthday as Yuichiro

[thewickerking]

hey. what?

well. For context everyone im assuming this ask is referring to this post and my tags below

im assuming because of the. The.

Many. Prev tags on it lmao but anyways here's more context. ill try to keep specific elements vague cause i don't want to doxx my grandma and by extension myself. But yeah let's go

my grandma (maternal) ran away from home in her teens (not sure the exact year/age but 70s ish) to join the circus and worked there for an amount of time doing ticket sales and miscellaneous jobs that aren't performance based

she met a guy also working there and they dated. this guy joined a satanic cult after joining the circus (? I think. Mightve been the other way around) and performed ritualistic sacrifice within the cult/with his murder victims. he was not in charge of the cult but was an active member and serial killer across around 4 states, maybe more (evidence was found for about 4 states iirc)

anyways he got caught for evidence of multiple murders but confessed to upwards of 20 (they couldn't find evidence of this so its unclear if he was exaggerating or if there simply wasn't enough irrefutable evidence) and went to prison while my grandma was pregnant and she was also arrested as an accomplice and had her kid in prison. She was 18 at the time. Idk how long she spent in prison but it was long enough to have her son taken away

her son (first of her four children, was my oldest uncle on my moms side) has adopted parents who changed his first and last name and didn't let him know about his biological parents (and were also extremely abusive) and so my mother and her siblings and her mom did unsuccessful research to find him over the years and he found our family a few years before he turned 30 (my moms ten years younger than him btw) and we've been in contact since and he was my personal favorite of my moms siblings

Oh also the serial killer got sentenced to life without parole and is currently on death row. My uncle died last year from unrelated circumstance (I posted about it some last year if anyone remembers) and my mom adopted 2 of 3 of his kids (3rd was a legal adult already) and then they got kidnapped and their kidnappers won the custody battle against my mom so. Yeah

Oh also worth noting my mom is the youngest of the four. my grandma had four kids with different men so im not related to the serial killer but he is in my family tree? Anyways yeah different fathers. My grandma remembers the serial killer and my moms father (my abuelito ♡ love him) but doesn't remember the fathers of the middle children (my aunt and uncle). So they're my moms half siblings technically and nobody knows if the middle children have other half siblings on their dads' sides 🤷‍♂️ but my mom has a half sister on her dad's side! She's 2 years younger than me bc my abuelito got married to his ex wife later in life but they're not together anymore (?) Not sure. They broke up idk if they legally divorced but they live in different countries and don't talk to each other. So.

Id love to meet her someday! But I don't know if thats feasible. She lives in Mexico and only speaks spanish so it would certainly be difficult. But I want to.... she almost immigrated to the United States like. 6 years ago?? My mom paid for documents to be legally translated and stuff but stuff happened and it didn't go through.she also tried to kill her mom once. But she's doing better. That's all a long story. We have a picture of her in our house from when she was little!

Ok thats very tangent-y. I have a lot of family stories. But also if anyone was curious this post below was also about my maternal grandmother

shes a white woman who likes to weaponise having "friends" in nepal when people are mean to her. She's a character. if ppl are curious abt any of this i will answer btw i love talking abt my family they're deranged

[teaberrii]

Chapter Ten: Surprise, Surprise

Alhaitham has the looks and the smarts. He will also be the stand-in CEO for his grandfather's company for a year.

But, he's been mysteriously cursed to turn into a cat every night since his eighteenth birthday… until he meets you, an employee at his grandfather's company, who rescues him as a cat and changes him back with one kiss.

Alhaitham/You

Notes:

Cross-posted on AO3

Female reader

Chapter index at the end of chapter one

“I was only gone for a few minutes!” Kaveh says as Alhaitham calmly gets off of you. “Y’all just couldn’t wait, could you?”

You sit up, your heart still racing from what had happened. Should you be thankful or disappointed that Kaveh showed up? You almost pulled Alhaitham closer, imagining what his lips would feel like against yours. But maybe you should be thankful… because there would be no going back.

You and Kaveh leave Alhaitham’s room as the man gets dressed. You’re keeping Kaveh company in the kitchen as he gets the takeout food ready.

“Haitham told me a bit about you.”

“Good things, I hope,” you joke.

Kaveh turns to you and puts a hand on the kitchen counter. “I’ve never heard him talk so fondly about someone before.” Then, he looks past you. “Why don’t you tell her, Haitham?”

Alhaitham walks up beside you, fully dressed. You meet his gaze, but you’re the first to look away.

“Doing so would only be for your enjoyment,” Alhaitham says flatly to his ex-roommate.

Kaveh laughs. “Fine. You got me there, Kittyman.”

As the evening goes on, you learn a lot about Kaveh and Alhaitham. Some include that they don't have siblings. Their parents are also still overseas. That's when Kaveh decides to ask you about your family.

“Haitham said you have two younger siblings,” Kaveh says.

“Aether and Lumine," you say. "They're twins."

“Raising three kids….” Kaveh sucks in a small breath as he pours you and Alhaitham more tea. “I can’t imagine how much work that would be.”

“I couldn’t either,” you say. “...Which was why I was so surprised when my mom wanted to adopt. I thought I was enough work already.”

Kaveh and Alhaitham glance at each other at this new piece of information. “Aether and Lumine are adopted?” Alhaitham asks.

You nod. “They were around ten years old when we adopted them. They’ve been through a lot of different families before then.”

“...Must’ve been hard on them,” Kaveh says.

“Yeah. They didn’t want to be separated. That made it hard… some families just wanted one child.”

“What made your mother want to adopt?” Alhaitham asks.

You chuckle softly. “That’s… a long story, Catman.”

“Well, we got the time,” Kaveh says. “I’m curious too, honestly.”

"My mother loves kids, so she always wanted a big family. But… not long after they had me, my father got into an accident."

“...Oh, geez,” Kaveh says quietly.

"He was left bedridden for many years," you continue softly. "...My mother took care of him until she decided to take him off life support at his request."

You feel someone’s fingers brush against yours. It’s Alhaitham’s.

“Did your mother ever remarry?” Kaveh asks.

"No." Then, you sigh. "It was only her and me for a while." When Alhaitham sees you hesitating, he gently puts his hand on yours. You give him a slight smile. "Even though she was a single mother, she wanted more kids. It wasn't until after things settled down that she looked into adopting since she was at an age where it was risky to get pregnant again."

“...And that’s how she found Aether and Lumine.”

“Yes,” you say to Alhaitham. “Maybe it was fate.”

“I guess that’s something you believe in,” Kaveh says, looking at you.

“I never thought you’d ask such a thought-provoking question.”

“These things are usually left to Haitham, right?” Kaveh shrugs. “I bet he’s curious about your thoughts, too.”

You glance at Alhaitham, who's looking at you intently. "...Well, the accident was out of my mother's control. But, if we continued to dwell on the past, nothing would change. My mother wouldn't have thought to adopt, and we wouldn't have met Lumine and Aether. So… I think everyone has more than one fate, but it's our actions that determine which path we take."

Kaveh smiles knowingly but keeps quiet about his thoughts.

“...I’m sorry about what happened to your father,” Alhaitham says. “You must’ve been young when that happened.”

Your bottom lip curls inwards as you nod. There’s more to the story, but it’s something you don’t want to share. Not at this time, at least, as it deals with your… troubled past. Perhaps Alhaitham picks up your hesitation as he doesn’t pursue the matter further.

“You know..." you say, "You could probably pass as their brother, Kaveh.”

“Me?”

You show him a photo of Lumine and Aether just as Alhaitham says, “I can see it.”

Kaveh leans closer to your phone. “Whoa… we do look a little alike, huh?” Then, he swings his arm around you. “Should I call you Sis from now on?”

"Are you the long lost brother?" you joke.

“What do you think, Haitham?”

Alhaitham subtly smiles. “Sounds like a plot to a story.”

You laugh. "Should I give you royalty fees if I use it?"

“Hey, hey, don’t forget about me!”

“We already have,” Alhaitham says.

Kaveh rolls his eyes. “Yeesh, why does it feel like I’m interrupting something?” Then, he leans back. “Oh, wait. I already did, didn’t I?”

“That—”

Kaveh waves his hand dismissively. “Just close the door next time, would you?” He smiles at Alhaitham. “Still, did you find out anything interesting about your curse so far?”

“She has to be the one to initiate it,” Alhaitham says. “It doesn’t work if I kiss her.”

“Kitty kisses are out of the question, huh?” Kaveh turns to you. “Careful, Sis. He’ll probably suffocate you with them in a fight to get on your good side.”

You glance at Alhaitham with an amused smile. “Nah. He’ll probably leave scratch marks.”

“Oh, it sounds like you speak from experience already. How far have you two gone?!” Kaveh looks down, “On second thought, don’t answer that.”

You shake your head with a small smile.

◆◆◆

It’s the day before the Awards Night, and you’re sitting at home reading Heart’s Desire when you hear a knock at the door. You already know who it is as it’s the day you’re meeting Alhaitham’s grandfather.

When you open the door, Alhaitham is dressed in a black dress shirt that's tucked neatly into his dark grey pants with a black belt. It’s something that you’ve noticed; he always dresses in dark colours, and he almost always leaves the first two buttons of his dress shirts unbuttoned. You get a whiff of his cologne along with his shampoo.

"You make me feel underdressed," you say.

Nonsense. Your casual, high-waisted plaid skirt and white turtleneck look great on you. Alhaitham doesn't know what it is, but the black pantyhose adds a nice touch to the outfit.

"How?" he asks. Then, he smiles slightly. "This outfit suits you."

Alhaitham is driving toward the hospital with you in the passenger seat when you ask about the kind of person his grandfather is. It's not like you're unfamiliar with him, but you've only seen the professional side. You're curious about what he's like without the corporate mask.

“...It seems like you want to make a good impression,” Alhaitham asks with an amused smile.

"W-Well, wouldn't you if you're meeting your boss? I know I'm meeting him as… your friend, but he's still the CEO. So I don't want him to think I'm unprofessional."

Ah. So, you’re treating this more like a professional meeting. Makes sense. But…

"Would your attitude and stance change if you met him as my girlfriend?"

You quickly turn to him. “What kind of question is that?”

“A genuine one.”

“I… suppose it wouldn’t be too different. That’s a different kind of pressure, though.”

Does this mean you wouldn't want to date him? Because of the pressure?

“Has your mother asked you about us?”

"Not a lot, surprisingly," you answer. "She hasn't mentioned matchmaking parties since that day, though." You sigh. "I guess she's waiting for those pictures and an update after our date." When you see him smiling, you raise a brow. "Um, what's with that smile?"

"Well, it's not like we'll stay at the hospital all day. So if you don't have any plans tonight, can I take you out?"

“Tonight?”

Alhaitham glances at you. “You sound surprised.”

“It’s just so sudden.”

“We’re already out.” When the car slowly pulls to a stop in front of a red spotlight, he turns to you. “...And you’re dressed so nicely today. It would be a waste."

“You’re full of surprises, aren’t you?” you say with a small smile.

“Can I take that as a yes?”

You chuckle. “Well, Catman, I have high expectations.”

“That only makes me want to exceed them.”

You hold his stare but ultimately look away with a short laugh. “Let’s see what you got.”

Alhaitham pulls up to the hospital a short while later. As he parks the car and shifts the gears, he asks, "Did you tell Aether you'd be coming today?"

“I didn’t, actually,” you say, unbuckling your seatbelt. “I thought I’d surprise him.”

You didn’t know it’d be the other way around.

When you and Alhaitham arrive on your brother’s floor, you’re surprised to see him standing in front of a scared-looking Ayaka and glaring at two bigger boys.

“Aether?” you ask, quickly walking over.

Your brother turns to you, his eyes wide. “Sis? What are you doing here?”

One of the boys scoffs loudly. “Sis? That old woman is your sister?”

“Fuck off,” Aether spat.

The other boy grabs Aether by the collar, and you immediately glare at him. “Let him go.”

The boy looks at you. “And if I don’t?”

“This is a hospital,” you say sternly.

“So? Besides, your brother’s at fault. He messed with us first.”

“You were harassing her!” Aether says loudly.

Alhaitham is keeping a close eye on the situation when he sees Ayato out of the corner of his eye. The actor notices Alhaitham but quickly turns his attention to the scene in front of him.

“Ayaka?”

"We weren't harassing her," the boy says. He pushes Aether, but Alhaitham and Ayato steady him before he hits the ground.

The boy approaches Ayaka, but you step in front of her. "She clearly doesn't want your company," you say sternly. "Leave her alone."

“What’s an old woman like you gonna do?”

The boy raises a hand, but Alhaitham grabs his wrist. The boy turns around and desperately tries to move his arm, but the iron grip Alhaitham has on him renders him useless.

"You're causing a ruckus," Alhaitham says. A few patients have opened their doors, wondering what the noise is about. One of them is Alhaitham's grandfather. "Everyone here is a witness to your harassment."

The boys look at each other. Then, Alhaitham forcefully lets the boy go. He stumbles but gains his footing before glaring at Alhaitham and leaving with his friend.

“Kids these days…” Alhaitham’s grandfather narrows his eyes at the rowdy teens. “You’d think they have a shred of respect for each other.”

“Are you two okay?” Ayato asks. He puts his hand on Ayaka's shoulder.

"...I'm fine," she says. 

“What happened?” you ask Aether.

Aether looks away and puts a hand in his pocket. “We were supposed to go for a walk… and these two guys started bugging her.”

“They were just talking to me at first,” Ayaka adds quietly. “But, when I said I didn’t want their company, they started getting pushy.”

“So, I stepped in,” Aether mutters. "I told them to fuck off."

"...You're injured, Aether," you say.

Aether glares at you. “Did you want me to call a doctor or a nurse then? There wasn’t time!”

“I’m not blaming you."

“Well, it sounds like you are! What was I supposed to do? Just let them harass her?”

You're standing in front of your brother. "No, that's not what I'm saying at all." You look at his leg that's still in a cast. "You also could've gotten hurt."

“Aether…” Ayaka says quietly.

“I know,” your brother mutters. “I know, okay? I don’t need you telling me what I already know.”

You watch your brother grab his clutches from Ayato and storm off.

“...Is he going to be okay?”

Aether’s behaviour doesn’t surprise you. You’re used to it. He always gets moody when you “nag.” But, this time, he seems especially moody. Perhaps it’s because it’s in front of Ayaka.

“Haitham.” Alhaitham’s grandfather walks up to him. “Are these your friends?”

This is far from the introduction you’re hoping for.

“Yes,” Alhaitham answers. First, he gestures to you and says your name. “She’s my friend who you’ve heard about.” Then, he looks at Ayato. “Ayato is an actor who’s working on a project in one of our departments. Finally, he gestures to Ayaka. “This is his sister.”

"And that hot-headed young man back there…."

“That was my brother,” you say. "...I apologize for his behaviour."

You aren’t sure what his nod means, but you decide not to ask.

“This is my grandfather,” Alhaitham says, breaking the silence. “The CEO of Sumeru Entertainment.”

“C-CEO?” Ayaka gasps.

Alhaitham’s grandfather laughs. “Is it that big of a surprise, young lady?" Then, he turns to you. “You are the one who wrote Love in the Spotlight, yes?”

“Yes.”

He smiles. “It’s a very respectable work. I must say that I’m looking forward to what you come up with next.”

“T-thank you, sir.”

“Should we talk more inside?”

Alhaitham notices your hesitation. You must want to look for your brother. “Why don’t the three of you head inside? I’ll look for Aether.”

“Are you sure?” you ask.

Alhaitham nods. “...I’ll take care of him.”

Perhaps it is for the best. You're probably the last person Aether wants to see right now, next to Ayaka.

“Um, but what about me?”

“I think you know the answer to that, Ayaka,” Ayato says kindly. “We’ve all been there… wanting to look cool in front of a girl. He wouldn’t be comfortable if you consoled him.”

"I'm sure that young man will listen to reason," Alhaitham's grandfather says. "If he has the courage to protect a young lady, he has the potential to be a promising man."

You never imagined the meeting to take place without Alhaitham. Isn't that the reason you came here? Well, here's to another one of life's curveballs.

◆◆◆

When Alhaitham finds Aether, your brother is sitting on a bench alone. He’s looking at something on his phone, and when he senses someone approaching him, he looks to the side and awkwardly puts his phone away.

"...Did Sis ask you to come to look for me?" Aether asks.

“No.” Alhaitham glances at the empty space beside Aether. “Is this spot taken?”

“...Go ahead.”

So, Alhaitham takes it, and a short silence settles in until…

“What would you have done?” Aether asks, and Alhaitham looks at him. “...If my sister was in trouble like that, would you have done something?”

“I’d do anything to protect her.”

“...Then, I didn’t do anything wrong, right?”

“...Protecting someone isn’t just about protecting that person, however.”

Aether slightly tilts his head. “What do you mean?”

"Simply put, there are different ways to handle a situation."

Aether sighs. “...I know what you’re trying to say. I shouldn’t have charged head-first like that, right? I should’ve considered all of my options.”

“When something unexpected happens, we sometimes act on impulse, especially if it’s something we’ve never experienced before.” Alhaitham gives him a small smile. “No one is born knowing what to do in every situation. We learn through our experiences. So, you shouldn’t dwell on this. Rather, take it as experience.”

"That's sure is a positive way of looking at it," Aether says quietly. He hunches over. "...This isn't the first time something like this happened. A few years ago, I cussed at and punched a guy who was bugging Lumine. Sis had to come to the police station because mom was recovering from surgery."

Then, a quiet sigh. "I still remember how tired she looked," he continues. "She was already busy with work. I felt like I was just burdening her, but I couldn't control myself. But... in the end, I just caused more trouble for both of them." Aether groans. "I couldn't exactly protect Lumine. This time, I couldn't protect Ayaka." He sighs loudly. "She must think I'm pathetic."

“Are you sure?”

“...You sound certain that she doesn’t.”

“If your sister tried to protect you while she was injured, what would you think of her?”

Aether is silent for a short moment. Then, he says, “...I’d think she was stupid. Stupid… but kinda cool.”

“Would that not be what Ayaka thinks of you?”

“Yeah… but she thinks I’m stupid.”

Alhaitham chuckles. “Haven’t we all been there?”

Aether narrows his eyes. "You're telling me that girls have thought you were stupid? That's incredibly hard to believe. I mean… look at you! You're like…." He relies on his hands and body language to help him find the right word. But, eventually, settles with, "...Like if the word cool was a person!"

“But I wasn’t always the person I am now.”

“Um… what kind of person were you like before?”

"That's a secret. But I wasn't proud of him. I knew I had to make changes."

“How long did that take… to, um”—Aether awkwardly scratches the back of his head—“to become the person you are now?”

"...Let's just say it took a lot of experience."

Aether sighs again. “I guess I still have a lot to learn.”

“Knowing and acknowledging that means you’re already improving.”

Aether smiles. “So, I just upped my charm, right?”

“I would say so," Alhaitham says, returning his smile.

Then, Aether's face turns serious. "...I want to protect Ayaka, but I also want to protect my sisters. They're always worried about me… and I don't want to burden them anymore." He hops off the bench. "It's finally time for Aether 2.0!"

"Aether?" Aether and Alhaitham recognize the voice immediately. Lumine walks toward them and smiles at Alhaitham. "Mr. Neighbour! What are you doing here?"

“He was giving me experience points.”

Lumine raises a brow. “Experience points? What are you talking about, Aether?”

“You wouldn’t understand.” Aether waves his hand dismissively. “Did you come to visit?”

"No, Aether. I go to the hospital in my free time."

Aether returns his sister's deadpan look with one of his own.

“We were just heading back,” Alhaitham says, standing.

“Oh, if you’re here… does that mean Sis is here, too?” Lumine asks as the three of you walk back into the hospital.

"Why is everyone keeping hospital visits a secret now?" Aether asks. He looks at Lumine. "Even you didn't tell me you were coming!"

"It's called a surprise, Aether." Then, to Alhaitham, she asks, "Why'd you and Sis keep it a secret?"

“We’re here to visit my grandfather.”

Lumine gasps. “Wait… are you two that serious already?”

Alhaitham doesn’t want to admit that the two of you haven’t even started yet.

When Alhaitham opens the door to his grandfather's room, he hears a hearty laugh from him. Alhaitham guesses that he's in good company.

“Oh, Haitham, you’re back! And with… two young people this time.”

“Lumine,” you say, surprised.

Your sister smiles at you before turning to Alhaitham’s grandfather. “H-hello! My name is Lumine.” She points to you. "She's my sister, and"—she slightly frowns at Aether—"he's my brother."

After his grandfather greets her, he says, “It seems like we have quite a group here, don’t we?”

Aether walks up to you, and you stare at him calmly. “...Sorry for lashing out at you like that earlier. I didn’t mean to.”

“I shouldn’t have chided you like that,” you say with a small smile.

Lumine looks from you to Aether and back to you. “...Did something happen? What am I missing?”

“I still have to thank you for protecting Ayaka the way you did, Aether,” Ayato says. “I’ve already thanked your sister.”

Aether smiles at him and then turns to Ayaka. “...I promise I’ll protect you next time.”

"Um... why are we getting all sappy?" Lumine asks upon seeing Ayaka's shy smile.

You turn to Alhaitham, who catches you looking at him. Then, you quietly mouth, “What did you say to him?”

Alhaitham subtly smiles and gives a little shrug.

◆◆◆

“My, would you look at the time! It really flies when you’re having fun.”

It's true. It was shortly after lunch when you and Alhaitham arrived, and now it's almost dinner time.

“Should we go out for dinner together?” Ayato asks.

No, Alhaitham wants to say. He only wants to take you out to dinner. No siblings. No friends. Just you and him.

“Actually, we have plans.”

Everyone turns to Alhaitham, who looks unfazed.

“We?” Ayaka asks.

“Ooh, I get it,” Lumine says. “You’re taking Sis out to dinner, aren’t you?”

“Just the two of you?” his grandfather asks, raising a brow. “Aren't you two just friends?”

Aether and Lumine gasp simultaneously. “What!”

Oh no. You do not want to deal with the explanations right now, but it seems like it’s getting messier.

Before your siblings can bombard you with questions, Alhaitham says, “We’re a work in progress.”

You freeze when he takes your hand. Ayaka gasps quietly. Ayato’s kind smile doesn’t change. Lumine and Aether still look like they have questions.

“...A boss and employee relationship,” Ayato chuckles. “It sounds like the plot of a romance novel.”

“Boss and employee… relationship?” Lumine turns to Alhaitham. “Do you work with Sis? I thought you were a scholar at Akademiya.”

“Didn’t you know, Lumine?” Ayato asks. “Alhaitham is the stand-in CEO for Sumeru Entertainment.”

Lumine’s jaw drops, and she immediately turns to you. “You’re dating a CEO?!”

You feel like you’re sweating bullets now.

Aether slowly claps. “If mom knew, she would freak.”

You want to tell them not to tell your mother. Not yet, at least. But the Awards Night pops into your mind, and you figure Alhaitham’s identity will be revealed to everyone.

"We thought it would be best to keep our relationship a secret," you say. You know Alhaitham is looking at you, which makes you even more nervous. You can't have him doing all the work. It won't be fair. You turn to Lumine. "I didn't lie to you and mom. But we didn't want to mention that he's currently my CEO because we weren't official yet."

It surprises you how smoothly you said it.

Alhaitham's grandfather puts a hand over his heart. Everyone almost gets scared until he says, "Haitham… you have a lot of explaining to do. My heart can't take these kinds of surprises."

“I’m sorry I kept this from you,” Alhaitham says. “I—”

“But first, don’t you have a date to go on?”

You and Alhaitham glance at each other. But it’s Ayato who says, “Unless you’d like some company.”

“No.”

Alhaitham’s quick, flat response almost draws a soft laugh from everyone else.

“Well, get going then,” his grandfather says.

Before you and Alhaitham walk out the door, Lumine adds,” We want to see pictures!”

You look over your shoulder, and this time it’s you who flatly says, “No.”

◆◆◆

As soon as you and Alhaitham are in the car, you sigh. “...I thought I was going to get a heart attack.”

“Does this mean we’re official now?”

You glance at him and see that he's looking at you. "I don't know, Catman. Are we?"

He shifts the gears. “...You’re going to drive me crazy, you know."

“It’s only fair,” you say quietly.

Wait. Does that mean what he thinks it means?

“So”—you look straight ahead—“Where are you taking me?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“Well, if I learned anything about you since the day we met, you’re full of surprises, Catman.”

Alhaitham eventually pulls up to the lakeside, where there's a long path for people to jog, walk, or bike. On the other side, there's a great view of the cityscape.

“An evening walk by the lake?” you ask with a small smile. “Simple yet… intimate, I would say.” You unbuckle your seatbelt. "And here I thought we were going to have dinner."

"Who says that isn't on the agenda?"

You smile. "Well, if you don't have a place in mind, can I pick the place?"

Alhaitham does. One of the most expensive—if not the most expensive—restaurants in the heart of the business district. The top floor has a gorgeous city view. He's been there before but never with someone special. Would it be childish to tell you he's always imagined sharing the nighttime city view with that special someone?

However, he'll let you choose. Just because he wants to do a little more if he does take you there.

"Of course," he answers.

You and Alhaitham walk side-by-side, enjoying the evening breeze that carries the sounds of laughter and quiet conversations.

“What did you say to Aether, by the way?”

"Nothing, really," Alhaitham says as a person jogs by. "He's a smart kid."

“I don’t doubt that, but I know my brother.” You look at him. “You must’ve worked some kind of magic on him.”

Before the biker behind you even gets a chance to ring the bell, Alhaitham has his arm around you and effortlessly sweeps you to his side. Your hands are on his shoulders. His arm is still around you, and your face is close to his.

“...Magic, huh?”

Your gaze falls to his lips. "...Or, is it top secret?"

“Secret or not,” he says quietly, slowly leaning closer, “I’d rather work my magic on you.”

Just before his lips brush against yours, you suddenly hear someone call your name. Startled, you pull back, and Alhaitham is just as surprised. Then, your name comes again, and you recognize the voice. This time, you turn around.

“Mom,” you say. “What a surprise.”

Chapter Eleven

Tag list: @suoshiii @lxry-chxn @seirenspinel @lordbugs @sakiimeo @ashtree-and-the-cats @ceylestia @forsh4dow @deathkat657 @kalpie @elernity @sentieence @chichibleeps @sunsethw4 @hjjks @tanspostsblog @nqctre @just-simping-over-genshin @uchihaeirin @vynbin @ayanokomu @dksfl920 @alatus2716 @itztaki @thetwinkims

[ginhaku125-offical]

Maybe more ideas in next weeks, I'm out of ideas right now... So instead about ideas, can you tell me some facts about Audrey?

Oh GLADLY!

★ They're five years younger than Arven (which means they're 10 in my universe but that can differ in other people's universes. Yes I know they don't look like a ten year old I've gotten that so many times already)

★ They were practically raised by Arven. Since Sada and Turo were busy with work and later moved to Area Zero, Arven had to look after both himself and his little sibling at a young age. Even after Arven enrolled himself in Manzana (I assume Arven enrolled himself into the Academy because the Profs were clearly too busy for that) he continued to live at the lighthouse to look after Audrey until he was confident they'd be fine at the academy.

★ In fact, Audrey has only been enrolled in the academy for about 8 or so months

★ Arven helped Audrey catch their first Pokémon - a Fidough - a couple of years before they were enrolled into Manzana. However, they were given a Quaxly when they joined the academy (based on a headcanon I saw from someone where even if someone has a Pokémon when they enroll into the academy, they're offered a starter and can choose to turn them down, idk where I saw that tho :c)

★ Acts a bit like Arven, just in a more childish way.

★ Very brash, very reckless, usually has no care for others' feelings (or just doesn't really realise when they upset someone), Arven constantly has to apologise for their behaviour

★ They do have a nicer side, they're just not exactly good at showing it

★ Constantly boasts about being the profs' child, they think it makes other students respect them, but it usually makes people avoid them because of how pushy they are about it. They don't really have friends outside of their Pokémon

★ Knows some basic cooking from Arven, but mostly just orders takeout or instant noodles

★ They love steak tho, they just don't know how to cook it

★ Extremely attached to Arven. He's trying to help them get used to not having him around.

★ This leads to Audrey believing the player is "Keeping Arven from them" when they find out the two are looking for Herba Mystica (I don't think they understand the concept of having a friend- 😭)

★ Arven lies to Audrey about Mabosstiff being injured and doesn't tell Audrey the truth about Turo and Sada after The Way Home. He doesn't want to see his sibling upset.

★ Audrey found the pendant around their neck in the Lighthouse lab a little while ago and wears it because "It's pretty freaking cool", has no idea about Terapagos

★ They're still trying to figure out what they want to do when they leave Manzana

Oh, and here's a drawing I did of them a few months ago! Might redraw it actually

[bigskydreaming]

Jason, randomly, out of nowhere, without warning: Hah, I'm taller than you now. LMAO. Loser.

Dick, who knows perfectly well that height has absolutely nothing to do with self worth and also that he's supposed to be above being blatantly baited by his little brother, who is obviously the REAL loser, and needs to be reminded of that fact which so doesn't count as actually being baited: Please. You're only that tall now because you got revived in a magical pit of green ooze that optimized your growth when bringing you back from the dead which is CHEATING, and thus doesn't count. Loser.

Jason: Really? Me dying and being dunked in a magical pit of green ooze to undo the physical trauma of my MURDER and also the years of malnutrition that led to my growth previously NOT being optimized is 'cheating?'

Dick: I regretted it as soon as I said it but I can not afford to set the precedent that I made a misstep in the minefield that is our fraught sibling relationship. I have no choice but to double down. The only way this ends well is if you choose to let it slide and gracefully accept a subject change. I'll even let you pick. As long as its understood that me letting you pick is not an admission of wrongdoing on my part, its just me being Awesome and you're welcome.

Jason: First off, I have never let anything slide gracefully a day in my life and I'm damn sure not about to start NOW, when you were being an ASS....

Dick: Oh biiiiig surprise, little brother can talk a big talk about being the bigger man, but god forbid someone give him the opportunity to back it up.....

Jason: Not my fault if you're feeling particularly SMALL at the moment, pun absolutely intended. Since its not like you have a monopoly on those no matter HOW much you've tried to act like you do over the years....

Dick: Hey, I've never claimed to have a monopoly on puns. I just said I find it INTERESTING that you were totally cool with using the name, costume and SIGNATURE BRAND OF HUMOR I DELIBERATELY SPENT YEARS CULTIVATING AS A LITERAL SIGNATURE BRAND all while insisting that noooooo, no need to CREDIT your older brother who quite literally paved the way with all of that and gave you his express PERMISSION to adopt it all as your own, hahaha, who actually gives credit where credit's due, that would be so weird right....

Jason: Tell you what, since you're sooooo sore about not being properly credited for your work why don't you go ahead and figure out a royalty rate for all the times I used YOUR intellectual vigilante property or what the fuck ever, and I will PAY you to never bring it up again.....

Dick: I would LOVE that, actually. I think it would be a great way to acknowledge MY trailblazing hard work, but I think we both know you'd literally just make a show of stealing the money from Bruce to make some kind of statement about how beneath you all this is which KINDA DEFEATS THE POINT of acknowledging or crediting someone's work as WORTH something, so -

Their siblings, who have been standing right there the whole time, and who are all Very Tired, and literally just wanted to know if their older brothers wanted to go to Bat-Burger with them and are now regretting everything, why does this always happen and why don't any of them know better by now: Is it done? Is it over? Can you stop? Ever?

Dick and Jason, simultaneously swiveling in instant older sibling solidarity: Wow. So impatient. So entitled. So demanding. Why, in OUR day, we'd be LUCKY to be granted even ten minutes between patrol and bedtime, to scarf down an Alfred-Approved Healthy Snack, but its not enough that Bruce lets you run around Gotham stuffing your faces with fast food at any hour of the night, noooooooo, its gotta happen RIGHT NOW, like THIS INSTANT, how dare anyone make you wait five whole minutes to get whatever you want.....

Tim: I honestly can't tell if I hate it more when they're just being obnoxious at each other & we're stuck bearing witness or when they combine their powers of obnoxious and aim it at us.

Cass, gravely: There are no winners here.

Damian: And Father doesn't get why I wish I was an only child.

Duke, wistfully: I took being an only child for granted.

Stephanie, with popcorn: None of you appreciate good theater.

Bruce, from somewhere offscreen, even miles away: My parents died because of the theater, STEPHANIE.

[lbova]

My Rodney x Cappy Headcanons

Hi y'all! It's been a little while. I just wanted to thank you all for reading my last two Rodney x Cappy fanfics. I didn't think anyone would care lol. Since you guys loved my fanfics, I decided to share my Headcanons with you guys, so hope you enjoy!

Rodney Headcanons:

He is pansexual and transgender

His birthday is March 31 (His birthday is based off of Ewan McGregor's birthday)

His favorite color is sky blue

His cousins Jeffery and Veronica are twins and are about ten years older than him

His parents almost considered having another child, but Rodney didn't want any siblings

He has watched the ENTIRE Bigweld Show and it's reruns at least 7 times in his childhood

He wore Veronica's pink chest piece all throughout his four years of high school

He had never dated anyone in school. Cappy is the first robot he has ever been in a relationship with

After he became CEO of Bigweld Industries, he upgraded himself just a little bit. He didn't change too much, he only replaced his "springy" legs and torso with more athletic looking components

He often visits Aunt Fanny's house to hangout with Fender and the rusties when he wasn't working

He sleeps for at least 4 hours a day, if he's lucky

He might not look like it, but he's very ticklish, even if you were to slightly tap his shoulders

His favorite rock bands are System Of A Down and Judas Priest

He loves watching Stars Wars (I think you can guess why lmao)

He doesn't like to admit, but he loves musicals

Cappy Headcanons

She is bisexual

Her birthday is September 17

Her favorite color is jade green

She is one year younger than Rodney

Her father is a vacuum cleaner with arms and her mother has a radio for a head

She did ballet in elementary and middle school

She was in a computer club in highschool

She and Loretta went to the same high school

She has been in 4 relationships before Rodney

She almost had a high school sweetheart in her 4th relationship, but he ghosted her a few weeks before graduation

As soon as she graduated, she moved out of her parents house and found a decent apartment to live in

She started working at Bigweld Industries a few weeks before Ratchet took control

Her favorite singer is Selena Gomez

She loves watching The Lord of the Rings

Rodney X Cappy Headcanons

Rodney was the first to confess his feelings for Cappy

They started dating a week after the events of the movie

Rodney loves to play with Cappy's hair whenever he got the chance

Cappy loves physical attention. She hugs Rodney at least 5 times or more a day

Rodney loves holding hands with Cappy. It's one of his comforting feelings

Cappy would sometimes force Rodney to watch horror movies with her. Rodney does NOT like horror movies

They like going out on afternoon walks if they both had the day off

Well that about does it. Remember, they're just MY Headcanons. You don't have to like them. I just really love these two silly bots! New Rodney x Cappy fanfic coming soon! 😉