#but then a child's dream hit and the story became the only thing i cared about shdndhfkgnfv i did almost no exploring from there on

[mymarifae]

sorry for rambling in your inbox, but i saw both of ur posts on honkai star rail and it is also driving me bonkers on how so many people are just focused on the shipping? like shipping is fine but what about the story?? the platonic interactions?? all the subtle and unsubtle backstory hints?? its not even in just this update like how are there so many things about literally every male character shipped with each other? i need to find more speculation about march 7th i am growing desperate and i have started making my own theories

generally idgaf about shipping like ok go have fun doing whatever you want forever and ever but ... when. a fanbase COMPLETELY ignores the story in favor of shoving the first two men that exist in the same general vicinity together ... and override both of their personalities so they fit better into all those typical Yaoi tropes... and then it becomes impossible to find any other content and discussion within the fandom because of the sheer volume of this uwu yaoi nonsense and no one pays any attention to the WOMEN despite them making up the majority of the cast... i... can't help but get a little annoyed. lol.

like. on one hand yeah that's usually how things roll. but because that's usually how they roll i'm fucking sick of it 🫶🏾

anyway on a more positive note! march 7th!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i'm sooo curious about what happened to her before the astral express found her... and the garden of recollection stuff? i wonder if after things on penacony settle down she'll have some questions for black swan. since she's a memokeeper and all

personally i think it's a little hard to make theories about her... because there's nothing there! literally ANYTHING could have happened to her and there's no way to narrow it down because... there's Nothing . except:

i kiiiiiind of got the impression that it was her decision to have her memories taken away. the garden of recollection are tricky folks, but i don't know if they'd be so cruel as to deny her everything if they weren't respecting her own wishes. as for Why she would have chosen that... i've got nothing lmfao. the special outfit she wore for the festival on jarilo probably foreshadows that she was once royalty or some equivalent to it. hell, maybe she was even an emanator of fuli! or something along those lines. like, i think her connection to the garden of recollection probably runs deeper than them just taking away her memories

idk when we'll get more clues about her... i'm hoping somewhere in the next update? or maybe even in this one, scattered in some of the side quests and collectibles and readable items.. 🤔

[nadas-dirthalen]

I Chose the Wrong Romance in a Game About Regret, and It Made the Game Better

A love letter to BioWare about Dragon Age: the Veilguard.

I don't have the thoughts in me for a formal review of all the aspects of gameplay at this time, nor do I have the brainpower for dissecting my every theory just yet.

But tonight, I want to write to you about the thing that stuck with me the most about Dragon Age: the Veilguard. And that is... I chose the wrong romance for my Rook, and it made the game unforgettable.

Veilguard endgame spoilers below the cut.

(I just liked this tiny screencap, okay. This specific dialogue isn't what I want to talk about.)

For a few days now, I've been trying to think of how to phrase what I want to say. The emotions I felt in the endgame of Veilguard were massive—to the tune I became dehydrated. To convey why that was, I think I have to start at the beginning.

This is the story of Winged Death: the party, the romance, and the headcanons that formed a nightmare combination to break me emotionally.

Meet my Rook: Thenera Sa'renan Aldwir, or Nera for short. A Veil Jumper who lost her mom to blight sickness when she was a teen; who tried to find the Wardens at Skyhold only to learn they'd been exiled; who joined the Veil Jumpers to protect people, but also honor her mother's memory. (Yes, all of this becomes relevant.)

Her name is taken from elven: Thenera from theneras (dream), and Sa'renan from sa (one; one more) and renan (voice). I used the patronymic system outlined in Project Elvhen: Sa'renan was her mother's name. I chose all this in late August, long before I'd really theorized anything substantive about Veilguard.

I did not know how much it would hurt.

All through the game, I got more and more into Nera's head. This was helped out a lot by how much footage I'd seen in September, how I knew Nera would be the "throw a chair while beating up an entire bar" Rook rather than try any attempt at diplomacy. How I knew she'd punch the First Warden without second thought, despite not knowing what the First Warden had done before Weisshaupt. She was always the "hit things with rocks to fix them" Veil Jumper to me, just like Bellara's dialogue references.

It also meant that I felt a lot of her insecurity in the early game: her doubt in her own intellect; her insecurity in her Dalish identity from being kicked out of her clan as a child and living in Wycome as a young adult; her acute awareness of her own trauma and fear around all things blight. To mirror my Inquisitor, who had Dirthamen vallaslin, I gave Nera Falon'Din vallaslin, to signify that she had seen too much death at far too young an age.

I even picked a party for her "default" group: Lucanis and Davrin. Because of Nera's Falon'Din vallaslin, Lucanis' demon wings, and Assan's battlefield presence, I gave my group a name: Winged Death.

And I loved them.

But just like I'd headcanoned a lot of Nera's backstory, I also hypothesized a lot about the Lucanis romance. And, to put it briefly... the game did not match what I expected, and the Lucanis romance was not to my enjoyment, personally. (If you like it, good! I'm glad you do! This post is about Nera, though.)

Right away, Lucanis asked about Nera's favourite drink. When she said tea and he made a disgusted noise and nothing else, I reloaded, choosing the "better" answer of liking the same coffee as him—something that prompted more dialogue. For me, in hindsight, this was the first moment I should have seen that for all Lucanis' charm, he would not fit my gruff, chair-throwing Veil Jumper. But I'd committed, and I was determined to see it through just once.

I didn't want Veilguard to be the story of an elf romancing an elf—for me, that was my Inquisitor's story. I wanted a new flavour.

Only... Lucanis' romance, for Nera, did not pick up much from there. Almost the entirety of act 2 was silent—and that was after saving Treviso. Lucanis seemed to care more for Neve and Minrathous than he did for Rook, in my perception. By then, I'd sunk into Nera's headspace, and I could feel her feeling neglected. I could feel her insecurities rearing their ugly heads: was she too blunt? Not intelligent enough? Somehow too elven, even for a Crow, whose organization is made up of so many elves?

You know who she constantly found acceptance in, though? Whose approval triggered almost every time Nera answered a question honestly, in the stern way that she was predisposed to do?

Davrin. The other half of Winged Death. The one who, now, was bickering with Lucanis almost nonstop in party banter, each constantly jabbing the other about how death would come for them, death would claim all they'd known, their choices would bury them.

Lucanis had precious few opportunities to discuss Nera being an elf; an elf Rook facing down their own gods. But Davrin? Davrin talked about it so much, he would know the horror of being called Da'len by Elgar'nan.

Together, they survived the Cauldron. And where did they shelter? In the ribcage of a slain archdemon. But not just any archdemon.

Zazikel. Who has been confirmed now, in a Veilguard codex, as Falon'Din's archdemon.

And where were the griffons allowed to go, at the end? Arlathan.

I could never have foreseen those parallels, and yet? There they were, piling up too late. I'd already made Nera's choices for her, and I'm not someone who would normally attempt a love triangle.

(She's so pleased with their shenanigans. Just look at that totally carefree and happy face.)

Lucanis' content dried up for Nera, but stayed pretty consistent for Neve—to the point that she had begun to feel sincerely cast aside. I began playing her with that mindset: as if she'd been set adrift, even as she locked in Lucanis' romance.

Around 45 hours into my ~60 hour playthrough, I found myself thinking... maybe I try the Davrinmance next game. Maybe I reroll Nera, even as a Veil Jumper again, to see those griffons in Arlathan. To see two Dalish elves haunted by the same ghosts, and see how they grow. I talked to friends about it. I even headcanoned some more, trying to see how Nera's narrative and personality might slot in with Davrin's questline.

In my head, that looked a little like Nera realizing she felt stronger kinship and connection with Davrin, but denying that to herself. She was, after all, locked in with someone else.

I let myself laugh at this, taking more screenshots of Nera and Davrin than of Nera and Lucanis, right up until the beginning of act 3.

And that's how BioWare got me.

If you're here, you know what comes next. I didn't.

I thought I needed Harding to potentially face down Solas, thanks to her line about wanting to look him in the eye after one of Solas' memories. I thought, maybe, some dialogue would unlock by having Harding in the party during any potential final confrontation.

This was the second time I went against Nera's own character: I chose to keep Harding at Nera's side, rather than Davrin. I did it for my Inquisitor.

And at first, I thought Davrin was surviving my choice.

I even felt happy—proud—that I freed him during the Ghilan'nain fight. I thought if I delayed too long, he might die to the fight's mechanics. But he survived that, too.

Then, the worst played out before my eyes: Lucanis going to take the shot at Ghilan'nain. Being caught. Davrin, racing in to defend. Being impaled. Lucanis hitting Ghilan'nain, only to appear suddenly dead—dead, somehow, how could he be dead, I'd just seen him?—seconds later.

Because of Arlathan, I'd thought this was just another Elgar'nan trick. Solas would come to save us soon. He had to. This was just fake-Solas, conjured by Elgar'nan to make Rook lash out or feel lost. Right?

It didn't hit me until I was in the Fade, and Solas was gone. Until Neve's statues were everywhere, because Nera had chosen Neve to risk that dangerous magic. Neve, who was her very antithesis; who was human enough and sophisticated enough and eloquent enough in ways my spellblade had struggled with reconciling since her teen years.

Saying it was my fault, that my Rook chose this for her—and she had. Her decision was motivated by her favour for Bellara.

I think this is when my Rook stopped denying things to herself. Right here.

This was the person she was closest with in her own party. This was the person who shared her feelings on both her culture and the blight. This was the person who brought joy to her days, with more meaningful dialogues (in Nera's opinion!) than Lucanis had had since act 1.

It is hard to put into words how hard this moment hit me. She had chosen wrong—and I had chosen for her. I was reminded of Taash's line from after Memory #2: "There was stuff he wanted to tell her. But he waited too long. And then she was dead."

And then she was dead.

My Rook knew why Fade Jail held her so well, in that moment. Even before the Varric reveal that had my tear ducts begging for mercy.

The game's mechanics had done that to her. Locked her into a romance with Lucanis (my choice, hellbent on seeing it through), didn't let her leave, didn't allow for her to say anything akin to, 'Hey, Davrin, not in this worldstate... but how about the next one?' (and all of those, for the record, are 100% understandable, and just the nature of video games!)

Lucanis continued to have little in the way of content that fit Nera, and was First Talon, to boot. Nothing in the game could change that; games aren't designed that way. He was destined for a life she was never going to enjoy, locked in to that choice—and she, and I, should've figured it out sooner.

We didn't. Varric was dead. Everything had been a lie. We'd been duped; played. We were never smart enough; together, we were doomed all along.

Every insecurity I'd imagined for Nera came crashing down. And all of them, I'd gleaned from hints in Companions Week. From the footage that released on September 19, showing Rook's backstory choices. From the overall tone of the promotional material we saw, and the strong emphasis on companions, and the declaration of the theme of regret.

And it culminated in me crying harder than I have at any piece of media.

Ever.

Ever.

BioWare gave me every hint I needed to make a fitting Rook, and every single choice they showed me I could make was a weapon. That's why I not only accept, but appreciate the 'spoilers' that we got from Bioware beforehand. That's why I am so far from jaded about the Lucanismance. I could not denounce this experience if I tried, and you know why?

Because through Lucanis' continued flirtatious banter with Neve, the way he stays continually animated so close to her, and the way he gives the same mid-combat praise to Neve as to Rook, my Rook felt like a woman scorned. And it made the game BETTER.

I wouldn't have cried so hard, for so long, if Nera was allowed to be happy. I wouldn't have been shaken to my core as a Solavellan, wondering if there really could be a light at the end of this long, dark tunnel.

The game wouldn't have hit me like it did if Lucanis hadn't come to Rook to declare his feelings only after she had spent time mourning Davrin and Assan. It wouldn't have hurt so good if Lucanis' dialogue afterward never mentioned his worry for exclusively Neve, and not the loss of Davrin—who he'd travelled with all game long.

But Solas had done it: he had molded Nera into a creature of pure regret.

And I, through my determination to try a romance that turned out not to fit my Rook, had let him.

The way it was structured, Lucanis' every sweet word rang hollow after Nera was freed from the Fade, and it made Davrin's, Varric's, and (what I thought was) Neve's deaths hurt that much worse.

There was nothing that could fix the pain in Nera's heart, the pain of her wrong choices not just in failing to romance Davrin, but failing to question Solas, failing to notice peculiarities about "Varric" in the Lighthouse. She felt like she failed, and she had. Undeniably. Because no matter where the conclusion of the game would take us, she'd never end up happy. She'd never want the life of a First Talon's spouse.

Every piece of her character lined up with regret, all at once. It all clicked into place, all in two soul-crushing hours.

Her name is Thenera Sa'renan Aldwir—and she was the victim of a dream of just one voice. She wears Falon'Din vallaslin, and was given a moment to spend time alone with the many, many dead.

Falon'Din: friend of the dead. That was what Nera had become, wasn't it? Because her closest party member—and what might have been her truer love—would not be coming back. Because I could feel that a part of her did not want to leave Fade Jail, and that Emmrich really did have to pull her out.

Winged Death destroyed her.

She rained down fire and lightning all through parts 13 and 14. She became Wrath and Thunder. I let her hit enemies harder than she had to, wasting her mana at every opportunity. Let her vent her every frustration. All I could think of, through the hurt, was this codex.

Elgar'nan, Wrath and Thunder, Give us glory. Give us victory, over the Earth that shakes our cities. Strike the usurpers with your lightning. Burn the ground under your gaze. Bring Winged Death against those who throw down our work.

Nera became all that was left of Winged Death, having let Lucanis fight with the Crows, taking Taash and Harding instead.

Elgar'nan was resistant to all her magic in that final fight. She was weakest at the end, and I didn't want to change her specialization to avoid that fact. She was broken, deep down. Solas' happy ending did not fix what the game had done to Nera's heart.

She, the other half to my Inquisitor, ended up with the opposite fate. Where my Inquisitor's journey on the din'anshiral was ending (or at least, was no longer alone), Nera had thought she had the companionship she wanted, only to wind up on the din'anshiral alone, with no way of recovering Davrin.

Which brings me to her last parallel: Solas' devotion to Mythal. Saying that if he did not tear down the Veil, then "I—she would have died for nothing."

To love someone and say nothing; it twisted them both up inside. Rook and Solas, always intended to be mirrors. One death, enough for each of them to bring the Eldest of the Sun to his knees. To change the elven pantheon forever.

I don't know how I managed to stumble upon this level of pain, but I could not be gladder that I did.

So, at the end of this extremely long post, here is my praise for BioWare. You mad geniuses, if any of you ever, ever see this... you wove regret into this game so well, so deeply, that my own passing thoughts about romance beats and game mechanics wound up stabbing me an additional time in Fade Jail, just as deep as the wound of Varric's death.

So well was this narrative constructed that I found my Rook in every corner of this story, even its tiniest references twining with every headcanon I had made.

Veilguard is so good, so profound, that a romance that did not work for me made the game better. That, to me, is the mark of a kickass narrative: one that fits almost any headcanon while still delivering on a deep, resonant theme.

BioWare couldn't have known that my party would be "Winged Death." Couldn't have known Nera, or her position as a Veil Jumper, or her doubt in her own intellect and her own ability to love. Yet, that is the beauty of Veilguard and of Dragon Age in general: they don't have to know. The writing is brilliant enough that it fits as much as one single story can in terms of possibility, while still hitting home with the same theme for everyone.

So thank you, BioWare. Thank you to every writer, to every animator, to every amazing, talented human whose hands and minds touched this game.

I needed the cry after a hard year, and you all delivered in the best way. I'm doing the Davrinmance now—because I think it's right to try it, and I think Nera deserves it—but this run will always hold the dearest place in my heart. The one where the regret bloomed, in part, because of jokes and headcanons I had made in the middle of a romance I did not enjoy, wishing for a different second playthrough.

The one where it all stabbed me, all at once. You bastards. (affectionate)

[kindheart525]

Awhile back, I entertained the idea that Allan Red perhaps had a dysfunctional upbringing, one filled with messes and a lack of personal space that led him to be the extremely organized and independent critter we know and love today. At the time it was a vague concept, but I found it super intriguing and have decided to finally tackle it for myself. If you know any of my MLP work you know I love making family/backstory headcanons like this, so it was only a matter of time before I started doing it with the smiley guys.

The difficulty of Allan’s life started with the divorce of his parents. His father, Red Red (pronounced Ray-d Red), is much like who his son grows up to be: a financially stable critter who organizes his life in spreadsheets and keeps his home very clean. His favorite drink is water and he’s generally boring and unremarkable. Despite this, he is the most hated man in the city. As a lawyer, Red was tasked with defending a critter who was notorious for being charitable and friendly to the whole town…until a legal misstep got him the death penalty. It later came out that that guy was a serial killer (he was executed over a parking ticket) but the damage was done. When he divorced his wife, everyone sided against him in the custody battle, not over his parenting abilities but because of his “crime” of condemning a beloved icon. But also Red’s busy work schedule is not conducive to parenting and he’s generally not great with kids, treating them like mini adults more than anything. He could have fought harder than he did but his lack of emotion contrasted with his ex wife’s heartfelt pleas turned the favor towards her.

Red’s story is kind of silly lol but his ex wife’s is much less so. Despite getting primary custody of her son, Lucy became kind of a wreck after the divorce. She hopped from job to job despite her ex’s generous child support payments, but she was overall managing alright…until she met Kevin Costner (not to be confused with the actor). He was a gruff man but she saw a warm heart in him, especially since he had a son of his own to care for. But in reality, he’s an alcoholic who’s horrible with money and doesn’t pick up after himself. His son Topher is shaping up to be the same way but perhaps worse, as he seems to break things on purpose and scream constantly just for the hell of it. Allan had the misfortune of sharing a bedroom with him in their parents’ tiny house, and he couldn’t get any peace with him around. Topher stole his things and got up in his space and would not give him an inch to himself. Kevin (or “Bastard Kevin” as Allan calls him) disciplined Allan for standing up for himself much more harshly than he ever corrected his son. Lucy made excuses for the both of them and tried to make them bond as a family, but that wasn’t happening. Even when Allan caught her crying about how she’ll never be able to retire or have a clean house, she insisted, and still insists, that Kevin is the love of her life. She couldn’t be convinced to leave him. Nobody was ever hit but it was still a bad situation. Allan, who initially felt the sting of his father’s supposed “abandonment,” quickly put those feelings aside to focus on surviving each day in the Costner household.

To make matters worse—or better, depending on who you ask—Lucy ended up pregnant with Kevin’s baby. Cassadee (legally Casserole because Kevin was drunk filling out the birth certificate) is the apple of her mommy’s eye. Lucy was thrilled to finally have the daughter of her dreams, a girl to balance out the male energy in the house. But to Allan she was just another source of noise and messes, and he was unlucky to be tasked with much of her care since Kevin and Topher were useless and Lucy was barely holding it together. This time only solidified for Allan that he never wanted to be a father. In fact, he wanted to be as far away from children as possible. He wanted to live alone like his father, who he was finally starting to sympathize with.

Allan eventually struck out on his own. He worked his ass through college, financially supported by his father but trying hard to become completely self-reliant and finally pursue his dreams of becoming an engineer. Once he was an adult he did everything to stay out of Mother and Bastard Kevin’s house, not even joining them in quarantine when the pandemic hit. Now Allan is doing well, living each day with relief that he gets to go through life mostly on his own terms. Even the chaos of work usually rolls off of him because at least it’s not like what he grew up with, although he’s very particular about keeping everything in order and can get rather defensive in personal confrontations. Mother and the other Costners still ask him for money, but he doesn’t feel obligated to give them any because Bastard Kevin is guaranteed to drink or gamble it away. 

None of that is Allan’s responsibility anymore. He’s got his own life to live now.

[luneengene2]

HIS FUTURE EMPRESS (1)

~ Warnings : Contains smut content!

~ Synopsis : When EJ, the crown prince, fell in love with his sister's lady-in-waiting. Is the love story going smoothly?

~ A/N : Has two parts

|| crown prince!euijoo x fem!oc ||

Byun Dynasty, a successful dynasty that survived until the modern era in South Korea. They were able to lead South Korea and save the monarchy, when the South Korean monarchy almost collapsed in 1910. They were able to win over the hearts of the people at that time after the Joseon dynasty was truly on the verge of collapse, as a result they are now the ones leading South Korea.

South Korea was truly prosperous and very advanced in the hands of the Byun dynasty. In fact, their economy is almost evenly distributed. Even their current Emperor, Byun Jiho, is famous for his high level of innovation in development and gender equality. Apart from that, he was very loyal to his wife and never had dozens or even dozens of mistresses like his father and other predecessors.

Jiho and his wife were blessed with a boy and a girl. His first child, a girl, was born in 1999, named Byun Hajoon. Hajoon has the title 'Her Imperial Highness The Princess Hajoon' (Korean : 제후한예 공주 하준). His second and youngest child, a boy, was born in 2002, his name is Byun Euijoo. Euijoo is of course the main heir to his father, because he is a boy. He has the title of Crown Prince and will one day become the next Emperor after his father dies.

When Euijoo started to grow up, South Korean people were very relieved because Euijoo really resembled his father in terms of behavior. He spoke out for gender equality which made women feel very helped for the second time after his father also helped very well before. The innovations that Euijoo often provides never go out of style but do not harm any party.

Status, wealth, and good looks make Euijoo adored by girls in his country. Many of them dream of becoming Euijoo's lover, marrying him. Oh of course, who doesn't want to be Euijoo's life partner?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Euijoo entered the palace at six in the afternoon because he was visiting his grandmother, the queen mother, because his grandmother wanted to meet him before she left for Japan for a charity event.

When he was about to go to the kitchen first, he bumped into a girl who was carrying a lot of books. Making the servants who were working panic because their crown prince fell.

"Hey, be careful when you walk! You hit the crown prince!" The Head Maid cursed at the girl who looked much more in pain than Euijoo, because she was crushed by the thick books she was carrying.

Euijoo, who got up first from his fallen position, immediately approached the girl. "Hey, are you okay, miss?” Euijoo put away the books that fell on that girl. Then he helped the girl to get up, when Euijoo wanted to speak again to ask about the girl's condition (again), Euijoo was stunned. A girl with slightly curly hair, pink lips, light brown eyes, white skin and slender height. She is very beautiful. Not only that, when he held the girl's arm, Euijoo felt a strange feeling gathering in his stomach, something between tense and flowery.

"Aren't you trained well? You almost got the crown prince hurt!" A sharp rebuke from the Head Maid brought Euijoo back to his senses. He was also shocked.

"I-I'm sorry, Highness. I really didn't mean to bump into you, I was in a hurry," The girl looked at Euijoo and the surrounding area with fear. Euijoo just smiled. "No need to apologize, it's my fault. I should be the one apologizing." Euijoo said softly, he didn't want the girl to be afraid of him.

"Oh yeah, what's your name?"

"My name? My name is Lee Eunji, Highness,"

"Eunji, next time you're holding a lot of things, ask someone else for help. Don't bring it yourself, it's dangerous," EJ smiled faintly then stroked Eunji's shoulder. Eunji immediately became more tense because she was stroked by the crown prince before he left in front of her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Euijoo knows that Eunji is his older sister's main lady-in-waiting. She was born from a middle-lower class but has a noble lineage from the Joseon dynasty. That means the dynasty was replaced by the Byun dynasty. Her mother sent her to the selection event held to choose Princess Hajoon's lady-in-waiting. And coincidentally she was elected with three other candidates.

Eunji's mother hopes that when Eunji becomes Princess Hajoon's lady-in-waiting, her family's economy can improve further, especially since the salary at the palace is very high. Eunji could be chosen because of her intelligence even though she had just graduated from high school, because Princess Hajoon really likes intelligent ladies-in-waiting, she wants her ladies-in-waiting to help in all aspects, not only in the household aspect.

His first meeting with Eunji succeeded in making Euijoo unable to sleep at all. For some reason, his brain kept thinking about his sister's beautiful lady-in-waiting.

Until one day, he was determined to approach Eunji, and the sweet Eunji opened a 'path' in her heart for Euijoo. Their closeness succeeded in building a secret relationship. They often met every night, whether it was in the garden behind the palace or Euijoo would sneak Eunji into his room and would take her back to her bedroom at four in the mornin.

In that relationship too, Eunji and Euijoo had sexual relations several times. They both gave up their virginity to each other. I don't know why Eunji dared to give up her virginity to Euijoo, even though Euijoo only gave her peace in the form of his promise to marry her.

By the way, today was an annoying day for Euijoo, his mother introduced him to a noble girl who was said to be very beautiful. The girl's name is Somi, who is Euijoo's distant cousin. Euijoo is not happy of course, especially since Somi is not his type. He sees Somi as a spoiled girl who will be troublesome if they get married. In front of the Emperor and Empress, Somi really looks cute, but when walking alone with Euijoo, that girl's spoiled side is really annoying.

Eunji walked behind Hajoon who also accompanied his brother to accompany his future fiancé. Eunji felt painful seeing Somi holding Euijoo tightly as if they were a newly married couple. Eunji also admitted that Somi was very suitable to be Euijoo's future empress, they had equal dignity. As for her? She was included in Euijoo's class of mistresses, because she had sex with Euijoo outside of marriage.

Euijoo occasionally looked back to see Eunji. Eunji smiled faintly at Euijoo, which actually made Euijoo feel very depressed. Eunji should be the one in Somi's position, Eunji should be the one who will be his fiancee, not the spoiled girl who is now holding him like a stamp.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You will be engaged to her tomorrow," Euijoo immediately looked at his mother, Empress Hwara when he suddenly said that. Eunji, who was serving food to Hajoon, was also shocked when she heard this.

"Mama, it's a rush, I don't know her better yet," Euijoo looked for an excuse, but his mother denied it. "You can get to know each other better after getting engaged, what's wrong with getting engaged?" Hwara raised her eyebrows seeing Euijoo who was not enthusiastic.

"Your mother is right, Euijoo. The sooner the better, people definitely like Somi, she's kind and sweet, right?" Jiho smiled teasingly at Euijoo which made Euijoo shudder because the words 'kind and sweet' were very far from Somi.

"Fuck! I have to save my relationship with Eunji!" Euijoo screamed in his heart, because he only wanted Eunji to be his future empress, not another girl.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Highness stop it!"

"I won't stop it!"

Euijoo thrust his cock with brutal movements into Eunji's wet pussy. The sex this time was really rough, because initially Eunji had refused to have any more sexual relations with Euijoo, and was even about to end their relationship. This resulted in Euijoo going berserk and forcing Eunji to have sex with him. Euijoo didn't want to lose Eunji.

"Highness stop it, you already have a fiancé," Hearing those words made Euijoo kiss Eunji's lips wetly. He wrapped Eunji's neck with his right hand. "She's not my fiancé, you're my fiancé, Eunji!" Euijoo said with a growl that sounded full of lust.

Eunji was speechless as Euijoo strangled her neck, pleasure and guilt uniting inside her. Several times he clenched, which made Euijoo dizzy because he was being squeezed by her pussy.

"Yeah you like that? You're ambitious about make me a daddy, eh?" Euijoo grinned with his girl's pussy action that made his dick in heaven. "Gonna you a mommy, impregnate you so that nothing can separate me from you," Euijoo said with great hunting desire. Eunji's eyes turned white from the pleasure she was experiencing, Euijoo really made her fly even though she felt guilty.

"Juju~"

Eunji whined calling Euijoo's nickname, making Euijoo grin. "Yeah, darling? Do you want something? Use your words,"

"G-g-gonna cum, please. Gonna-" Eunji couldn't continue her words, this time her pussy really clenched around Euijoo's cock.

"Gonna cum, baby? I wanna cum to. Together, yeah?" Euijoo was panting because she also felt himself at the end. In several thrusts, Eunji squirted profusely, but Euijoo did not pull out his cocok, letting Eunji's squirting fluid wet his cock which was also shooting his babies into Eunji's womb.

Eunji and Euijoo were both panting, Euijoo brushed his hair back with his fingers, not yet removing hid dick from Eunji's wet hole. Then he saw Eunji panting beneath him with her chest heaving, Euijoo smiled then gently stroked his beloved girl's hair, then gave a wet kiss to her soft lips.

"You will be in my room until morning really comes, I will not take you to your room again at four in the morning," Euijoo hugged Eunji gently, which he said was a plan.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"EUIJOO!" Eunji immediately woke up from her sleep when she heard Hwara's hysterical screams. Eunji glared when she realized that she had actually woken up in Euijoo's room and was still naked, only covered by Euijoo's blanket.

PART 2

[a30somethingslookatpopculture]

A Nightmare On Elm Street Movies - RANKED!

You’ll find that my list is filled with hot takes, as I find my taste in these films is just different than most peoples. So here goes… 

9️⃣ - A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child

I don't have much to say about this one. It's just absurd amped up to a million. About as over-the-top as the later Freddy films could get! The effects began to get worse as the series went on. I do like the comic/A-Ha part, though. So there's at least something to like about it. The Son of 1000 maniacs asylum scene near the beginning was good...with a quick appearance by Robert Englund himself!. I have a hard time deciding sometimes which film I like the least, this one or Freddy's Dead. But, idk, I think I like more stuff in Freddy's Dead. I barely like any of this film. 

8️⃣ - Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare

This one’s really just Dream Warriors 2.0...but not nearly as good. Actually, it recycles a lot from the series thus far. It’s not great, but I do find things in it to enjoy. The Powerglove scene is by far my favorite. Who knew we needed to see Freddy Krueger playing Nintendo! I enjoy the Wizard Of Oz nod, and the (sort of) Johnny Depp cameo on the tv. And of course, Alice Cooper as Freddy’s father! 

7️⃣ - Wes Craven's New Nightmare

I love the whole meta storyline that sort of ushered in things like Scream later on. I really didn't care much for any of the climax or ending stuff, though. Upon a fresh watch of this, my thoughts changed. I remember really loving it when I first saw it. The ending sours that now. I don't know, it just doesn't work for me somehow. Really the only thing that makes this installment a little more enjoyable for me than the two above entries is the meta aspect. I like seeing Robert, Wes and Heather as themselves and not as their characters or a just name in the credits. 

6️⃣ -  A Nightmare On Elm Street (2010)

This is a hot take…but I don't think this one is treated fairly. It's not perfect by any means but more enjoyable than some of those later sequels, in my opinion. it stuck to Freddy lore and made him scary again...as opposed to the absolute joke he later became. This film didn't try to tell the exact same story. It has some fresh stuff added to it, and I love that! I like having alternative storylines (which is why I love comics). One aspect that I think is both hit and miss is that when they did try to recreate iconic scenes, they often fell flat. Given that these scenes used CGI effects as opposed to the original’s practical effects, it really shows. These were nice homages, but were otherwise pointless. I’m not too fond of them being way more direct about Freddy's pedophiliac past, where the others only hinted at it. But the backstory is kind of a nice addition. Jackie Earle Haley did as well as anyone could have with such shoes to fill. NOBODY ON THIS PLANET will ever fill Robert's shoes. That's a given. But JEH gave a solid performance and I'm tired of everyone pretending he didn't. It's a shame people didn't give this an objective chance, because Freddy can't live on now that Robert's retired from the role. I will say, though, that Freddy’s makeup looks pretty awful in this one. I’ll give you guys that. 

5️⃣ - Freddy Vs. Jason

This is a way more Freddy centric film, so I am including it on this list. Jason is my favorite and Freddy is my brother's, so we were really excited to see this one when it came out. I remember it was the only movie my family ever bought on Pay-Per-View when I was a child. This one went through years of development hell. The end result might not be idyllic, and is a bit silly, but it is so much fun to watch! Freddy uses Jason to fuel the fear on Elm Street and help him come back. There’s plenty of creative Freddy kills and brutal Jason kills. The rave with Jason on fire in the corn field with the machete is chef's kiss! And it really racks up the # of kills! The bed folded in half always stuck with me, too. The stan in me loves seeing Pamela Voorhees return, albeit as one of Freddy’s tricks. And the showdown between Freddy & Jason was easily the best part. It’s what we all came to see. Freddy had the advantage earlier in the dream world fight, but Jason obviously kicks ass in the real world. Jason being afraid of water is a bit wild, considering most of his movies involve him being in it. But whatever. Let's be real, they gave Freddy more credit in the real world fight than he would realistically have. I do so love the ending, where there’s a literal “wink” and no clear winner…though one man sure seems to look a lot more victorious. 

4️⃣ - A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors

Here we see the return of Nancy Thompson (and her dad). And get the introduction to the "Dream Warriors", a group of kids who fight Freddy with their... dream powers? It’s not exactly in-line with the first movie, but then again none of them are. This film is chocked full of iconic (and inventive) Freddy kills and one-liners! The TV kill and “Welcome to prime time, bitch” line stand out the most. We even get a brief scene of stop motion! Kincaid is hilarious! And the dream sequence fight between the Dream Warriors and Freddy is easily among the top scenes in the franchise! Dokken’s “Dream Warriors” song is pretty amazing, too. This is definitely one of the better made movies in the series. I'm just not as partial to it as most people seem to be. 

3️⃣ - A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master

There’s just something about this one that I love more than all of the above entries. Despite how absolutely absurd it is at times. We see the return of the surviving Dream Warriors… for a minute. I particularly love Kristen Parker, now played by Tuesday Knight. Kincaid is, well, Kincaid. Which is always great. And hey, did you catch the name of his dog? (It’s Jason). Debbie’s death is super creative and gross, playing off of her biggest fear. The pizza and waterbed scenes stuck with me my whole life, and I can’t not think of them when I'm around those things. And the soundtrack to this one is superb! 

2️⃣ - A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge 

Now for quite possibly the hottest take of this whole list. Freddy’s Revenge is fun! Jesse’s little dance cracks me up every time, and I don’t mind at all that this film is very, very gay! Watch it for yourself, you’ll see what I mean lol All that aside, I would venture to say that this film has the scariest Freddy. Excluding that silly little pool scene where he’s just running around like a big goof (which I love). With the power to literally possess and take over your body, I don’t know how he could be scarier than that. The “you are all my children now" & "you've got the body, I've got the brain" lines are by far some of my favorites in the whole franchise. My only real complaint about this one is that the ending left me feeling kinda unfulfilled and unsure what to think of it. 

1️⃣ - A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)

There's not much I can say about this one that hasn't been said a million times before. So I won’t repeat it. It's just an absolute master class in horror! It even has one of the best final girls in all of slasher history! Nancy Thompson is as capable and smart as any teenage girl has any right to be! Dare I say she deserves to be up there with the likes of Ellen Ripley or Sarah Connor of female movie badassses? She could probably even teach Kevin Mccalister a thing or two about homemade traps! Robert Englund is at his best as Freddy Krueger in this film, and far more menacing than most of the other entries. This film works just as well on it’s own and really doesn’t even need a sequel. 

[pacinosgf]

🎁 a study of a cultural icon.

🌱 ��� of course, we start with miss americana, this ghost who has been chasing me for all of my life. my biggest problem with it is that it makes me look patriotic, something that i have never been, not even when i was a child. i was born and raised in rural texas, a land that seemed to have been forgotten by god. we didn’t live, we survived, and we had no hopes of a better existence. it got worse after i moved to houston and saw the world. i had no damn reason to be proud of being american.

then you ask: why miss americana? i don’t know. i think it was going to be satiric but it ended up being a silly love song. the american dress of marrying your childhood sweetheart and being a good wife. people loved that, and while it was known that brooke and dash were freely screwing around, every time i asked about men, i said that the only man i cared for was my husband. which was the truth, but not entirely, well, you know the story. anyway, at the top of it, we were southern. a perfect symbol for conservative people.

but i was gorgeous, let’s be honest. i would like to make that pretty girl a symbol too! i wore those housewives frilly dresses everywhere, with cowboy boots and a cowboy hat. brooke loved it, jim loved it, people started sending me customized belts, customized boots. i eas the face of a southern belle. so yes, it was kinda my fault that i didn’t say i wasn’t conservative. then the news were out, the whole country learned u was a dyke, and they left us alone for good. ’

🌱 ‘ then we get to the heartbreak princess. no one called me that, i gotta say the truth. only for jokes, only when the media wanted to take their bite, but i think it explains this phase very well. beforehand, dash and brooke were singing these duets about fucking each other and fighting, while i was there with my bass singing about flings and paper rings. now i got to be who i was, and who i was? sad. thoughtful, maybe thoughtful is a better word! i wrote dreams and convinced dash to let me sing it, and then it became one of our biggest hits. maybe it’s our biggest hit. i wrote rhiannon and sang it. i wrote beautiful people, beautiful problems. i wrote layla for dash to write. a little later i wrote the great war… the heartbreak princess.

i used to be very afraid that anyone would look at me and think i was pretty, actually, hot. not anyone, any man. getting married was a protection, talking about jim was a protection, but by then i felt respected enough that i felt comfortable to wear what i wanted. long flowy dresses, short tight dresses, mini skirts, i didn’t wear a bra, courtesy of brooke’s influence. i wore pants with tiny little tops, sometimes tiny shorts out of the house. complicated times, but also glorious times. i’m glad i enjoyed my youth. ’

🌱 ‘ contemplations. believe it or not, that’s what people know me the most for: the sad woman on the cover of a record that barely made any noise when it was released. there’s no evident difference from the clothes i wore before contemplations, i just got older, more mature, had been through an experience that changed me. long dresses so i could feel safe within my body, that had been so mistreated lately, but inside my house i kept wearing my housewife dresses, my tiny shorts. don’t be fooled: that’s not me, just the last thing the public ever got to see. i’m not bitter, but it’s important to highlight that. ’

@gllianowens

[dajaregambler]

HeliosR - Sing in the darkness - Chapter 2 - Part 4

Translation of Sing in the darkness from ‘Helios Rising Heroes’, a new side arc alongside the current main story arc Like the dawning light.

Sage: ~~~~♪

Sage: (This should do it for storage near the bed. Alright, cleaned it all up♪) 

Sage: (All that’s left is… the bookshelf)

Sage: (Kept it for last because of how I discussed with my roommate that we can both use it, but…)

Bianchi: Seeei-chan♪ Mind if I come in?

Sage: Bianchi-san. Go ahead

Bianchi: Aah, you were cleaning up your room. How’s it going?

Sage: I cleaned up for the most part, but have been leaving the things I can’t decide on my own pile up bit by bit…

Bianchi: I see. Nico-chan’s not often around

Sage: Yeah, it’s what it is… After he’s done with training or patrolling, he literally vanishes into thin air. 

Bianchi: What a useful power. Isn’t teleportation something that crosses everyone's mind once in a while?

Sage: I know right! It really feels like a hero’s power, it’s awesome

Bianchi: Fufu, can’t you say the same for your power though

Bianchi: Manipulating shadows has a bit of a dark feeling to it…. The kind of stuff I’m into♡

Sage: T-thank you…

Sage: (Bianchi-san’s sure is friendly. Still the way he approaches others still throws me off guard sometimes…)

Sage: (Next to living together, I’m extremely thankful for being able to talk to him like this)

Bianchi: Ah, right. I’ve heard all of the deets from Robin himself about your meeting with him that you mentioned the other day♪  

Sage: Eh?

Bianchi: While he did say to ask you…

Bianchi: It’s important to get to know your mentors too, no? That’s why I tried to chat about lots of different things with him.

Bianchi: Turns out that we’re only two years apart. It's nice our mentor is someone we can easily talk with.

Sage: Uwah, what a relief…! Sounds like you and Sensei will hit it off pretty well

Bianchi: Fufu, Sei-chan really loves Robin.

Bianchi: On another note… Sei-chan, you weren’t born in New Million, right?

Sage: Ah yeah, that’s correct. It’s been about three years since I came here--

Bianchi: To be honest, the same goes for me.

Sage: Eh!?

Bianchi: For me it’s a few more years back though. I was 14 at the time. Together with my family, we crossed the ocean and came to this city.

Sage: What a surprise… 

Sage: There’s a lot of people who are fascinated by New Million and move here. I't was the same for me. I'm not any different.

Sage: After all, this is the city with plenty of heroes!

Bianchi: …Right, it’s a place that appears to be shining bright in different kinds of ways. I was also that excited about it at first, come to think of it.

Sage: At first?

Bianchi: My mother’s second marriage led to us coming to New Million.

Bianchi: The city everyone yearns for, live in New Million and any kind of wish will be granted, is what we believed in.

Bianchi: …You see, I wanted to become a designer since I was a child.

Bianchi: However, our mother ended up divorcing again… With my siblings still being very young too, the chance to chase after dreams had disappeared.  

Bianchi: And with that, looking at what's most profitable in this city and where your birthplace and background doesn’t matter, I became a hero. 

Sage: Is, that so…

Bianchi: My bad for putting it this way, but being a hero is the number one profession I could care less about.

Sage: ………

Bianchi: Ah, sorry. It’s not like I dislike it for what it is. Just think that it’s not suitable for someone like me.

Bianchi: I believe for someone like you to get the job they’ve yearned for is absolutely wonderful on the contrary. 

Bianchi: You’re standing here after your wish has come true after all, so the fact that I upset you… I’m really sorry for that, okay?

Sage: No…. It’s, um--

Jude: Bianchi, you here?

[serialdesignationm]

I can’t sleep so wanted to share the lore about how Suzumi became an onryō in the first place, so buckle in folks, this is gonna be a wild ride.

It all started when she was alive, and was about 7-8 years old, and was supposed to be attending a Halloween party her parents were hosting, but at this point was hurt by her dad so much to the point where she was only 1 or 2 hard hits away from death, so she was in bed, resting. But Suzumi had so much adrenaline she couldn’t tell how hurt she was, so she decided to finally run away from this toxic environment while she still could.

So she put on a plain white, loose kimono, and backed a small backpack with some food she had stored under her bed, her Daisuke doll, and Daisuke’s suicide note. Suzumi walked over to her bedroom window and took one more look at the place she felt safest, her bedroom, before gathering all the courage she could and jumping out the window.

Luckily the fall wasn’t high, but it did hurt a bit. But Suzumi didn’t care, she was determined to make it to the forest, where no one would find her. She ran and ran and ran, until she made it to a strange part of the woods she had never seen before. The Hinterlands. Suzumi had heard of the Hinterlands in stories before, but the thought had never crossed her mind that it was real.

As Suzumi was thinking this, the adrenaline started to finally wear off, and suddenly tripped over a stick. She hit the ground, and that was the last straw for her small and weak child body. The last thing she saw before her consciousness left her, was a jack-o-lantern carved into a tree trunk.

Suzumi woke up sitting up against a tree in a dark forest that didn’t look like the forest she last remembered being in. She knew she should be panicking, but felt weirdly calm. She also felt unusually light, like she could jump and start floating. Suzumi got up and started exploring this place for a bit, and eventually came to a small town. As she scanned the town and townspeople, she realized what this strange, dark, spooky place was: Halloween Town, a.k.a. The Between Heaven and Hell, where dead people go if they’re not entirely good or bad.

Before Suzumi had the chance to approach the town, she felt a strong attraction to somewhere in the forest. She decided to follow the attraction and it led her to an abandoned 1 story house, and as soon as she saw it, she knew this is where her grave would be in the realm she was alive in. But the attraction was still there, but stronger now. Suzumi entered the house, following the weird force through until it led her to an empty room in the middle of the house.

And even without any hint or evidence, Suzumi knew this is where her and Daisuke’s graves would be. As she stepped further in, the attraction disappeared. She sat down, took off her backpack and took out her brother’s suicide note and read it to comfort her. She read the part where he said they would meet again someday, and she decided to wait there for him to find her.

Suzumi used a piece of rock she found to make tally marks whenever a year passed. She eventually stopped counting at 88 years. One day, on the 99th year of waiting, she had slept to pass the time and had a dream about her death, and knew it was her dad that had killed her and her brother. Suzumi woke up feeling angrier than she ever had before, and she had been really angry since she had died. She finally let herself leave the house to go into woods and find her way back home. She only had one goal in mind: kill her father.

Suzumi ran as fast as she could through the woods, and she was faster than she remembered. As she ran, her anger grew every time her foot touched the ground. Suddenly she had to stop. Suzumi felt a pain all over her body at a level she had never felt. It felt like she was on fire while being stabbed. She screamed in pain, hoping someone would come help her, hoping the pain would stop, or at least lessen. It never did. She could tell things about her were… changing. Like she was growing more powerful. Then, to her relief, the pain stopped. Suzumi fell to her knees, still clutching her body in shock. Then she fell asleep.

When Suzumi woke up, the pain had subsided. But she had an overwhelming urge to hurt something. To kill something. She was angry. She was scared. She felt so many things at once, and couldn’t tell what to focus on. Her pitch black hair fell in front of her face, but didn’t bother to move it. She stood up fully, understanding at last what was happening.

Suzumi had become an onryō.

[mittens-220]

Hataraku Maou-sama! ES!! Summary (Third Story) Part 7

The holy sword and Evil Repelling Armour dissipated into dream-like scattered purple lights, Emilia only swung her arm empty handed in front of Lucifer in a meaningless fashion.

After the storm spell dissipated, Lucifer suddenly gained freedom, it seemed that he was confused for an instant, but he immediately noticed that something had happened to Emilia.

"Eh? It ended just like this?"

"W, why, why now!"

"I don't know. The only thing I know, is that you don't know your own ability at all."

"Ugh!"

Emilia pulled out the metal sword at her waist in a flustered manner, but,

"No matter what, you should not be using this kind of thing now, yeah."

Lucifer punched with full power, easily shattering the metal sword.

Even though only a little holy magic was injected, that was still a sword made out of metal.

To be shattered with a fist from a demon with a human appearance, Emilia was very shocked, then,

"It's over for you."

Lucifer's fist which shattered a metal sword bare handed, swung towards Emila’s abdomen, at this moment.

"Ah!"

"Hm?!"

A flame bullet flying from another direction suddenly, hit Emilia directly.

An exaggerated explosive sound and smoke instantly surrounded Emilia, Lucifer looked in the direction where the flame bullet came from in surprise.

"That group of idiots!"

What Lucifer saw, was the winged demons who rushed towards the imperial city from various locations in the capital.

Thinking about it careful, with an all out battle using so much demonic and holy magic, and loud explosive sounds like shooting fire, it was natural for them to rush over.

But from Lucifer's point of view, when he was so close to getting rid of his prey, they attacked his prey, even blocking his vision.

"Doing unnecessary things! I will definitely kill them later!"

Lucifer clicked his tongue, and when he was about to deal a last blow to Emilia who was falling from the black smoke,

"Steel Light Restraints!!"

Holy magic light extended from the ground, entwining around Lucifer’s body.

"What the fuck is this now?"

"Heavenly Boots!"

Just when he looked away from the black smoke, a petite figure flew up from the ground, rushing into the black smoke like an arrow.

"You still want to run?!"

Emerada did not answer. She only glanced at Lucifer who was restrained, flying straight to the other side of the sky.

"Bastard! Do you think you can ru……wha?!"

Lucifer wanted to free himself from the restraints as quickly as possible to chase after Emerada, but this thin holy magic could not be thrown off at all.

"W, what is with these chains, what exactly……!"

Lucifer looked towards the ground where the source of the chains were, and saw that it was the knight he dealt with after Anna, holding his hand out to release holy magic restraints towards him.

"Mere small fry, mere small fry like you dares to do thisss!!"

"Even if I am a small fry, I also think that I am a small fry with some capabilities. Steel Light Restraints is one of the few spells I am good at. Even if my opponent is someone high up in the Demon King Army, I will not allow you to escape easily."

"Stop joking! Gu, ohhhhh!"

"Hmgh……hahhhh!"

"Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck! How can I, by this spell from a small fry!!"

"I will not let you go……definitely will not let you catch her……that child is……the world's hope! Hahh!"

"Gu, ah!"

The restraints became even stronger, wrapping around Lucifer's body.

"I……hate this type of spell, the most!! Damn itttt!"

Guies who was close to death, burned the last of his life, practically only using his arm strength to fight against Lucifer's power.

"Wait! Stop! Lord Guies, Lord Guies is!!'

Emilia who was being carried by Emerada was practically unable to move, yet she kept trying to struggle to return to the imperial capital which was rapidly becoming far away.

Guies who was using Steel Light Restraints to restrain Lucifer was also already very far away.

"Don't move! I cannot let you die! What kind of feelings are Lord Guies harbouring when going against Lucifer, don't you understand them, you idiot!!"

Emerada controlled Emilia with all her might, flying towards the western sky at full speed.

"Please, please stop! Stop! I want to, to Lucifer, Lord Guies!"

"......Live on, Emilia……live on, obtain the power you yearn for, which can fulfil everything."

At this instant, the fire bullets shot towards Guies was like pouring rain.

The demons from around the capital had rushed over, Guies' figure disappeared amongst the countless spells.

Lucifer got rid of the Steel Light Restraints, panting heavily as he glared at the other side of the sky.

The other party was Emerada, even Lucifer could not catch up from so far away in the sky.

Even though he know that her final destination was Saint Ignord, after escaping from the capital, there were many forests and mountains to hide in, they could not be seen now.

Lucifer gritted his teeth, landing slowly.

Guies’ corpse was burned to ashes by the spells from the demons, only leaving behind the church knight armour.

The beginning part of the battle caused a lot of shockwaves, perhaps Anna’s corpse was swept away to some other place in the management institute.

“Lord Lucifer, what exactly……”

“Lord Lucifer, my apologies, our reinforcements came late……”

“......”

“Lord Lucifer?”

Lucifer who landed on the ground remained silent for a moment, breathing in slightly, then he roared.

“That damned bastard arghhhhhhhhhh!!”

Lucifer’s angry roar, caused the surrounding demons to shiver in fright.

“Those who dare to look down on me, I will kill them all……gather all the demons who can still fight! Advance towards the west! Take down Saint Ignord!”

“Lord Lucifer, w, wait a moment?!? Lord Demon King has not given any instructions……gyah?!”

The demon who expressed his objections to Lucifer’s orders, he turned into ashes in the literal sense the next moment, dissipating on the spot.

His body was burned completely by the heat rays released by Lucifer.

“Do you not remember Lord Demon King saying before? The invasion strategy of the various continents, will be decided by the respective generals.” 

“B, but Lord Demon King also said, only Saint Aire and Saint Ignord needs to be dealt with more cautiously……”

“Lord Demon King, Lord Demon King, all of you guys are so irritating arghh!”

Lucifer shouted angrily again, turning another demon who advised against it into ash.

“All of you dilly dallying folks don’t know, right. The human here just now just didn’t make sense! No, that person is not a human at all! Is it the nature which is different! If that person is left to roam freely, they will definitely be an obstruction to the Demon King Army! Even Lord Demon King……even Satan will decide to attack in this situation! In the first place, Satan knows, once I am underestimated, I definitely cannot be stopped! Anyone who speaks more about this, I will kill them on the spot! Who else has any objections!”

The gathered demons shut their mouths quickly, even then, Lucifer could not suppress his anger.

“Rwahhhhhh!”

He shouted angrily again, causing the surrounding demons to feel chills.

“E, erhm, Lord Lucifer……”

“...... I said I would kill on the spot, right? What else do you want to say?”

“N, no, it’s just that since Emerada Etuva has escaped, then the remaining people in the Sorcery Management Institute……”

“............oh.”

Lucifer, who almost killed another demon, looked displeased, looking up at the Sorcery Management Institute.

“Even though I want to kill them all, if I stop the spell research on my own, Satan and the other guy will probably be very naggy. As long as they do not resist, there is no need to manage them. If they are allowed to live, perhaps they can be hostages in the future.”

“U, understood.”

“......The commotion today might cause the imperial family and noble families to feel the urge to take action. Give anyone who dares to resist a hard time. Then……it might be not that meaningful, but the ones who caused a commotion here are not just these few people. Moustached holy worker, knight and Lumark escaped. There should be an escape passageway somewhere in the management institute, but it has likely been buried. Go order the humans in the capital, anyone who dares to hide Lumark will be killed. Spread the notice, if anyone with information reports, not only would their life be guaranteed, they will even get a reward.”

“Understood!”

After Lucifer gave the orders, he strutted back to the centre of the imperial city.

There was no human in the throne hall of the imperial city, Lucifer sat on the throne, supporting his cheek with his hand.

“Silver hair, red eyes. To say it’s a coincidence would be too optimistic.

Lucifer looked towards the stained glass next to the throne which pictured the two moons of Ente Isla.

“With things as they are now, even though no one will give me instructions, she should be killed before she causes trouble.”

[dreameasel]

𝖁𝖊𝖗𝖘𝖊: 𝑮𝒓𝒊𝒑 𝑼𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒂𝒏𝒅

𝖃𝖆𝖛𝖎𝖊𝖗 𝖜𝖆𝖘 𝖇𝖔𝖗𝖓 to one of the older families in Sunnyvale , the Thorpes to Vincent , the latest scion of the family and minor celebrity , and Harlow , a Shadysider . It was a 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐞 for numerous reasons but the two were firm in their commitment to each other , brought together by the strong bond built from their supernatural sensitivity and abilities .

However eventually their interpersonal issues tore the couple apart when he was 10 . His father won custody and even with his mother only over in Shadyside he wasn't allowed to see her again . In school Xavier was always 𝑫𝑰𝑭𝑭𝑬𝑹𝑬𝑵𝑻 from the other children , more sensitive and open minded than they were . He was bullied for it and his weight until he hit his growth spurt and ironically started to get attention for his looks . Even as he became more accepted he still felt like an outsider .

Ever since he was a baby he knew something was 𝑾𝑹𝑶𝑵𝑮 . His parents told him the folktale of the witch only once , the same way one would tell a child about safety rules and then tried to never speak about the Shadyside ❝𝖈𝖚𝖗𝖘𝖊❞ around him again . As if talking about it would 𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐓 𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐍 on the family . Even before he knew the story he'd began to dream of things related to it . 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐬 yet to happen forcing him awake in the middle of the night and into their bed .

As he grew older he became more 𝐟𝐢𝐱𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 on the curse and determined to do something about it , convinced that his nightly visions were coming to him for 𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏 . His obsession with Shadyside and all things macabre made him even more of an 𝖔𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖗 in Sunnyvale but he found it hard to care . He had his art and his investigation . He could worry about trying to make friends when his dreams were finally 𝑭𝑹𝑬𝑬 𝑶𝑭 𝑩𝑳𝑶𝑶𝑫 .

Timeframe : 78 or 94 I can't decide / both work.

[fabien-euskadi]

Sunflower and petunia, please :)

Sunflower - name 5 things that make you smile.

Considering the devastating events of the last few days, let’s say that I am really struggling to find a single reason smile (or, at least, not to cry). To be honest, I haven’t found one single thing that could make me pull a big, genuine smile - a smile just like the ones I remember from my late friend.

But I have to reply to this, haven’t I?

So, let’s give it a go, shall we?

Thing number one: When I search for a new place in a new town and, for a split second, I dare to think: “Hey, I can start all over again, and, this time, things can work out”. I know that I have done it many times before, and, for very different reasons, I failed every single time. But, as you said today, “you've got more fortitude than you realize” (yes, I am quoting you). And, somehow, you are absolutely correct. While many people spend all their lives in the exact place where they were born, I am never afraid of the unknown. Because the unknown is a potential bringer of hope, and hope is but the possibility of sheer happiness. What I am most afraid of is what I already know.

Thing number two: Eight hours of sleep - straight, please (with zero dreams, if you don’t mind). Sadly, that’s not what I am getting lately. After a long absence, non-sensical dreams are backand so are the panic attacks. And, even when I don’t need to set an alarm clock to wake me up, the truth is that my sleep is always insufficient, no matter what I do. So, I have learned to appreciate a decent sleep - because I know it is a rare thing to get.

Thing number three: Being able to write a poem and finish it. Actually, I wrote one today - in English. I may have split feelings regarding that poem, but, at least, I am writing again to smooth the pain. All things considered, baby steps are still steps in the right direction, correct?

Thing number four: Having a PhD class that isn’t utter and absolutely horrid - a class that doesn’t make me feel even more depressed and/or with a panic attack. Yes, this demonstrates how low the bar is. “Not absolutely horrid” became a synonym of “thing that makes me smile”. Sadly, even this (a non-absolutely-horrid-class) is not happening lately. Maybe the fact that I will not have any classes this week is a reason to celebrate.

Thing number five: Cloudless full moon nights. As you know, I live in the depths of the Iberian countryside, and the full moon means I shall have enough natural light to walk my dog (it hurts like hell not to be able to write it in the plural anymore) on my farm bymidnight (or later). I know this is a very unassuming reason for satisfaction, but, at least, is far more convincing than the previous one.

But there us a six thing that makes me smile: when I realize I still have a few friends that care. They are not too many, but they exist. And that means the world to me. Especially during these hard times.

Petunia - What is something many don’t know about you?

Oh, there are many things most people don’t know about me. That’s why my hair is so big - it’s full of secrets!

Ok, but here goes a story that few people know.

This happened when I was six or seven. One day (actually, afternoon), I crossed one of the busiest streets of Lisbon (the Castilho Street, I suppose) at rush hour - the light was red, and I didn’t even look at the incoming traffic. Not surprisingly, I was hit by a car (as far as I remember, it was an old BMW 1602 - but I don’t recall if it was white or silver). I remember clearly the impact and struggling to breathe after it. But I was alright - no broken bones, no bruises, zero damage.

My mom had a friend who had a son with roughly the same age as me - also an only child, like Mr. Fabien Euskadi (a.k.a. Miguel). He also crossed a street without looking. He also had the misfortune of being hit by a car. But this kid wasn’t so lucky: he died. If there is a god, he didn’t want me to go (or even to get wounded), but the same cannot be said about that other kid. Why? Considering that, many years later, I would be on my way trying to find the right spot to end my life, there is a sad irony about all this story.

I was given an opportunity to live a life that, years later, I was ready to throw away; meanwhile, someone else could have lived that life instead of me.

(thank you very much, my friend Pops - and may May be graceful with you)

[catigula-cleocatra]

So this has probably been said but.

You’re on Your Own, Kid + Dabi

I know, I know. But just hear me out. I’m aware the first couple verses come across as romantic- sort of like a high school unrequited crush, but I feel like we can also use it in terms of Touya and Endeavor, a child and an estranged parent, instead of a romantic tone. Obviously I’m picking and choosing from the lyrics but, still. I think about a lot of characters from a lot of fandoms when I hear this song and Dabi is definitely one of them. (And shinsou too but that’s another post honestly)

Summer went away Still, the yearning stays I play it cool with the best of them I wait patiently He's gonna notice me It's okay, we're the best of friends Anyway

OkAy so, will I ever get over the fact that touya is perhaps the only one who actually had endeavor’s love and then subsequently lost it? Who actually has memories of when endeavor could have been called a "good dad?" No. Never.

The experiences the todoroki children have are all different but still equally tragic. One’s pain does not lessen the other’s. Fyuumi had been neglected and has eldest daughter syndrome. She had to raise her brothers, practically on her own, and copes by desperately wanting that picture perfect family. Natsuo, also neglected, lost his favorite sibling and had to see the results of training on touya knowing nothing he could do would change it. He has to see it again with Shoto. Shoto was raised as a weapon, a tool, and was isolated. He lost his mother for a while in an excruciatingly painful way. Touya had his fathers love. They were best friends. Touya worshipped his father. The lines, "I wait patiently/he’s gonna notice me/it’s okay we’re the best of friends” hits so hard because he had endeavor's love, his pride, and then, because of his quirk-body incompatabilty, he lost it--he thinks he's lost it to shoto.

I think touya was his dads favorite but that’s not a good or positive thing. I think he’s a favorite in a way that I can’t explain. “You’ve died, you’re not changing, you will always remember me a certain way but I can love on and reframe the story here” kind of way. A “you were my masterpiece and my first born and my best friend and I adored you and then you you weren’t enough so you were a failure” way. A “you became a cross for me to crucify myself on, you made me a martyr” type of way. He was his favorite but that doesn’t mean touya had it easy or that his pains not valid.

(also the fact it can be argued that touya still had his dad's love even after shoto was born, and was his father's favorite--that touya was the one kid endeavor really loved, terribly shown as it was elevates the tragedy here because it does not excuse endeavor's actions--or lack of, in case of fyuumi and natsuo. they were his kids too, and just because he's making amends now does not wash away his role in dabi's spiral)

I didn't choose this town I dream of getting out There's just one who could make me stay

this just pains me because--there were people who couldn't make touya stay. natsuo couldn't. fyuumi couldn't. the "one who could make me stay" was endeavor. he could have, had he just watched touya, had he seen him-but he didn't. maybe he thought it would dissuade touya's goals, but whatever his intentions are, it doesn't matter. touya wanted his dad to see him. and he didn't.

Even worse? maybe they (the rest of the fam) could have been able to make him stay. If they had only listened to and validated him instead of pretending everything was alright.

From sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes I waited ages to see you there I search the party of better bodies Just to learn that you never cared

just--"better bodies" being bodies more suited for their quirks. bodies that won't burn up under the intesity of their own flames because they were made for ice. "just to learn that you never cared"--touya thinking his body, his "failure" has been abandoned in favor of shoto's strong quirk. just to learn you never cared? touya coming back home after waking up from his coma, just to find that nothing has changed.

I see the great escape So long, Daisy May I picked the petals, he loves me not Something different bloomed Writing in my room I play my songs in the parking lot I'll run away

just--touya coming home and then leaving because nothing changed. "something different bloomed" just--he's been out, probably homeless, and then working jobs for giran, for a while now. and then a few years down the line he starts hearing about "false heroes" and stain. he hears about the lov. he sees a means to an end--he's dying, he knows this, he was never meant to live past a few months when he ran away after his coma, ujiko said so himself, but. the only think keeping him alive is spite and the will to avenge himself, to take down endeavor. he's dying, but he'll take endeavor down with him.

From sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes I gave my blood, sweat, and tears for this I hosted parties and starved my body Like I'd be saved by a perfect kiss

literally giving his blood and sweat--and his tears! because he's burned out his tear ducts, he cannot cry anymore, but you can tell. by the brightness of his flames, by his scars, that yes, he's still crying, still screaming, giving everything for this.

The jokes weren't funny, I took the money My friends from home don't know what to say I looked around in a blood-soaked gown And I saw something they can't take away

literally being the number two villain, shiggy's second, doing whatever he can, and then. the video. the reveal. no one knows what to say--a lot of people, they are horrified but not for him, they are horrified of him. endeavor supporters still exist, but he still has done something. he's shaken the public's belief--and maybe it won't be permanent, but he doesn't care. he's killed endeavor. now he just has to kill enji.

You're on your own, kid Yeah, you can face this You're on your own, kid You always have been

just- touya from sekoto peak to the coma of THREE (iirc) YEARS to seeing nothing changed back home to being homeless and doing jobs for giran to the league and caring for them but keeping them at a length in a way because he's not long for this world and he can't get sidetracked--and then losing twice and the league is falling apart and it's him, and endeavor, once more.

[gettingthebestofyou]

So, who am I and what am I doing?

I’m a 40 year old woman living in the northeast US. I’m documenting my journey on a GLP-1 Medication. Feel free to come along for the ride or to ignore entirely. There will be frank discussions on weight loss, body image, and injectables.

I’m keeping this as anonymous as I can make it. I want it to be a diary of sorts.

Here’s my story…

I was always overweight as a kid, but I learned to have a very dysfunctional relationship with food because my mother hated her weight. I can’t remember a time where I wasn’t on a diet or I wasn’t thinking about what foods were good, what was bad, or how much I could have without looking bad in public.

I managed to keep my weight under check as a child, but I was always “chubby.”

In college I went up to 180 lbs. Even with being very active, I had no control over how I was eating and didn’t ACTUALLY understand nutrition.

After college I had a fairly active job, and I tried to keep active with gyms. I went on multiple diets many times. My weight fluctuated a lot.

Part of my job requires me to be in specific kinds of clothes, and to be in front of mirrors often. I see myself all the time. I do not like what I look like.

I did not like dieting and exercise, but I managed to stay just a little overweight for the majority of this time.

I was able to keep my body in check until 2014.

In 2014 I contracted Lyme Disease, but because I did not see a target rash and my test kept coming back negative (falsely) they wouldn’t medicate me. Over the course of 4 months I went to 5 different doctors, including one who wanted to diagnose me with Fibromyalgia and treat me with a course of muscle relaxants to sleep and caffeine to keep awake. The last Doctor finally treated the Lyme, and within 24 hours of being on medication I saw a 50% reduction in symptoms. I gained about 30 lbs in those four months.

In 2014 I also went back to school and my lifestyle changed drastically. From 2014-2019 it was a struggle to have energy, to move, even to sleep sometimes. It was all symptoms I had with the Lyme, but on and off, sometimes better, sometimes worse. Dieting became a struggle for me and the things I had done to lose weight before weren’t working.

During this time, I tried many drastic things to lose weight, which only worked for a time. I started to accept that I wouldn’t never be thin.

No matter what I did, in the end, my weight always went up.

When Covid hit, like so many others, everything stopped. I was unable to move, and keeping my weight in check was a dream at this point.

In 2022 I decided I’d lived with my head in the sand long enough. While I had been well other than my weight for years, I hadn’t seen a primary care doctor since 2015, and mine had retired during the pandemic. I went to a new primary, who found a myriad of issues.

Of note: high cholesterol, high lever enzymes, high A1C and high TSH.

I ended up changing primaries because I didn’t like how she seemed so unconcerned with my high results as I have a myriad of health issues in my family history.

My new PCP is amazing. With his guidance and the help of a nutritionist and a personal trainer, I’ve decreased my overall cholesterol to normal levels, my LDL is only slightly out of range, my liver enzymes (which indicated non-alcoholic fatty liver) are also now normal, and after referring me to an endocrinologist, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis which is now being treated.

Over the last year and a half, I have not been able to get my A1C down, though, no matter what changes I make.

After my last round of blood tests, and with my PCP’s agreement and cooperation, my endocrinologist has put me on Zepbound.

I am engaging on a GLP-1 Journey, like it or not. Some days I like it, some days I don’t.

Here, I’m going to recount it all.

Today is February 3, 2024.

Today I start finding the best parts of me.

[erigold13261]

Oh! Also I had a dream 2 nights ago! And one last night as well that I think was kinda connected.

First dream was me at my aunt's house (it was a 3 story apartment house thing that my nana owned, so it was all family). I was a twin child for some reason and either my parents or just some random caretakers were there.

There were giant wolves walking around even though this is the middle of the city during the day. I saw the wolves and tried to get my twin inside the house along with the caretakers, but no one noticed them or cared until they started running and barking at us.

The caretakers just ran through the door and up the stairs to the apartment while I had to push my twin into the main entryway. They ran up the stairs while I tried to shut the door. I was begging for all of them to come back to help shut and lock the door, but no one did.

I was too weak to close the door and so the two wolves pushed it open and tore me apart, eating and devouring me as I cried out for help to people who didn't give a shit about me.

Then things reset and we were back outside. This time I warned everyone but instead of staying to continue to warn, I just pulled my twin into the entryway and up the stairs to the apartment. I shut and locked the apartment door and made my twin go into one of the only rooms with a door to it in the apartment.

I could hear the door bang as the adults tried to get in screaming to unlock the door. But I was putting a shelf or bookcase in front of the door as I heard the adults run up the second flight of stairs to try and get into the top apartment.

They didn't make it and the wolves ate them as I listened to their screams while grabbing the home phone and then barricading ourselves in the room with a door.

I don't know how I knew the wolves would try to break down the main door but they were trying. My twin and I then tried calling the cops for help, and that is when I woke up.

Second dream that happened last night was me at this motel area I think, like the single floor ones that make a U shape or something.

I was there with people. I don't really know who, but I think one of them was a combined version of two coworkers at my work.

The whole scene kinda turned into like a Saw thing? I don't know what the fuck was going on, but like we were all in one of the motel rooms and having to get out of it somehow.

There were like traps and a guy trying to either kill or kidnap us. I was taking a lot of hits or something, but trying to make sure everyone got out. The only one I really cared for or remembered was the coworker person who I went back in to save.

By the end of the escape scene the coworker kinda turned into a rando person who I didn't care for. So they became irrelevant.

I was in the motel room and saw a second door (like if two motel rooms were connected) and ran to that because for some reason I needed to go deeper into the Saw motel (maybe to stop the whole thing or to fight a monster? I don't know).

All I do know is that the main guy from the first room liked me because of how much I was able to take in pain, and how resourceful I was compared to other victims.

He ended up dancing with me for fun and just letting me go onto the next room. I made it like 2 more rooms in before the boss of the Saw motel thingy found me and just took me to this open garage thing. Like a motor garage where cars are fixed.

I was being forced to join the little group. A customer comes up to me as I am freaking out and tries to get me to do something and I am just backing up shaking my head, thinking I could run through an open door/winder close to me. But one of the other people working there (either the boss or someone else) tells the customer "not me" and goes to take their order.

The guy I danced with walks over to me and tells me not to try and run because he would be forced to hurt me, or he said I would get hurt and he wouldn't be able to help me.

I don't know what happened next, but I was like stuck doing computer work for a villain group that was very much okay with hurting me to get me to work. The only solace there was the guy I danced with because he kept me from getting permanently hurt or disfigured when I messed up stuff.

Yup. Those were my dreams. They were a lot more serious and for some reason they FEEL connected even though they absolutely are not connected at all.

[pamelaabegail]

Of Wishes and Washing Machines

Blog I: Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek

“Sana po magka-snow sa Pilipinas,” little Abby wished as she blew the candle on her birthday cake while smiling from ear to ear. It brought her hope and joy - believing that her silly desire would soon come into reality. 

It became a tradition for little Abby to utter those words whenever her birthday comes. Unfortunately, the universe failed her every year but that didn’t make her falter. She held onto her wish for a long time and as if she was Ned Stark from Game of Thrones, “Winter is coming” became one of her life mottos. 

But then she grew up and life hit her (not with snow, of course) it hit her with reality. Hard. She found out that living in a tropical country means that it is impossible to experience the cold season where the snow can fall freely and the kids can finally play and have a snowball fight. 

Not to be dramatic but it kinda broke her heart just like how little Abby’s dream was torn into pieces, thrown in the void. 

Good thing, grown up Abby didn’t let her little self down. Instead, she made a promise that she’ll keep wishing the same wish on her future birthdays despite its absurdity. She treated it as an inside joke that only she can understand, healing the inner child in her as well. 

On second thought, maybe she should stop wishing for it, because as the other says “Be careful of what you wish for.” Especially after reading the article titled, Snowfall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek by John Branch. To summarize, it was all about a woman, a professional skier, who got buried under the snow due to an avalanche which made Abby reconsider the wishes she sent to the universe. 

While reading the said article, Abby teared up, her heart ache as she felt the woman’s fear that time. It was written in a third person point of view yet it gave her an experience as if she was there when the tragedy happened. 

In this passage, “But snow does not recede. It swallows its victims. It does not spit them out.” The author used words that made the snow or the avalanche itself look alive that doesn’t just tell but also shows how terrifying the disaster was which is a key factor for storytelling. Abby, being a writer herself, knows how important “show don’t tell” is when it comes to influencing the readers’ emotions. 

Rather than writing it as a news article, the writer chose to tell what happened through story narration and for Abby, it felt like she was reading a novel - a unique way to compel people into reading without being bored and distracted. 

Apart from that, Abby was also enthralled not because of what happened to the skier but because of how detailed and descriptive the story was. It also gave her a visual which helped widen her imagination. For other individuals who don’t usually read, this strategy might be a big deal for it aids them to picture the written scenes. 

Going back, Abby thought that maybe she should really stop wishing for winter to come. Snow may look like heaven but too much of it is a death in waiting. 

“It was like being in a washing machine. I didn’t know which way was up. I didn’t know which way was down. I couldn't see anything. There was a time I couldn’t breathe,” the professional skier said.

Abby is already and has been in a washing machine for so long but she hasn't realized it. Yet. However, her precious snow didn’t do it, life did. 

08/16/23

written by: Pamela Abegail

[hana-akari]

“You’ve always had more faith in me than I have of myself.” Sakura softly chuckled, a smile resting on her lips as he kissed her forehead, “I’ll heal your hand, I promise. It… Wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be but was definitely more painful than I expected but when it was all over– It was the best feeling in the world. I felt such a rush of happiness hearing Mio cry for the first time. I don’t know how to explain it– I was just hit with the feeling of knowing I was officially a mother now and it was the best feeling in the world.” She could tear up again just thinking about it. That had to be one of the happiest moments of her life,

“And I feel proud that I was able to carry, and deliver a healthy baby. Proud that I was able to bring another Uchiha into the world. I am so happy to have a family of my own with someone I love so much.” Sakura felt herself getting all emotional again, and tearing up. She had to reach up and wipe the tears from her eyes, feeling a bit silly,

“I’d like to remind you, you allowed me to invade your space and touch you. You even laid in my lap once. You’ve totally, always liked me!” She even remembered how he thanked her for caring about him before he left the village and her behind.

Ino shifted awkwardly against Sakura, clearing her throat a bit, “I was the one that invaded your space, and I’m really sorry about that. I’m so embarrassed of my actions as a kid. I guess I was just jealous of how close Sakura was to you and thought I could bully my way in by throwing myself on you. It was really awful, and I’m sorry about that.” She really did feel bad about it. Thinking back on her childhood, and the things she did, it just made her cringe, “I’m also sorry I let you come between me and Sakura. Though, a lotta good did come from our rivalry. We pushed each other to be our best.” After a while it became less about Sasuke and more about bettering each other.

“We were all embarrassing as kids, including Sasuke. At least we all learned from it.” Sakura softly laughed again, “I do agree that Mio should be taught to not be okay with people invading his space without permission.” All kids should be taught that in her opinion,

“Haha, a story when he’s much older.” Seemed a little too inappropriate to tell a child, “It depends on how upset you’ve made me.~ But you rarely ever do. You’re literally the best husband-to-be ever!” Sakura gushed happily. She really couldn’t have asked for a better partner. Sasuke put up with so much through her pregnancy and never complained. He even stepped up, when he could have just dumped her on the spot when she found out she was pregnant. He was as excited about Mio as she was, and it made her so happy. This all has been a dream come true. She really couldn’t wait to officially marry him and become an Uchiha too.

“I’m aware, I remember everything about you like a good future wife.” Sakura stated proudly, “I can’t eat the WHOLE cake! I’ll get fat! I’ll make Ino eat it with me so she’ll get fat too.”

“Hey! I just worked off all that baby fat you know!” Ino huffed at her.

“No way! No condoms! I enjoy you cumming in me way too much to use condoms. I’ll just get on birth control until we’re ready for another baby.” Birth control was easy enough to stop taking when that time came, “Besides, condoms can break. So birth control seems to be the way to go.”

Ino was blushing over them so bluntly talking about their sex life, and her face only grew more heated at Sasuke’s words, “A-ah, I don’t know about that. There aren’t a lot of guys out there that would hook up with a girl that already has a kid.” She laughed with Sasuke, just not too loud, also not wanting to wake Mio,

“It’s not my fault you made it sound like that! You’re totally the pervert here!”

Sakura was blushing slightly, “I wouldn’t say no… Ino is the reason I like girls too.”

“Sakura!”

“It’s true!”

Now both girls looked flustered but didn’t seem to be against the three of them hooking up. If the situation came up. Sakura needed to recover before any of that could happen, “I’m totally not getting fat for her!” Ino huffed again as she was offered cake, “But I will take a piece. I’ll stay for as long as you need me. I know dealing with a newborn can be difficult at first when you’re figuring things out.” She had to learn all about it by herself. Sakura was lucky. She had both her and Sasuke helping her.

Sakura leaned in and pressed a loving kiss on Sasuke’s cheek, “They sure are… Our cute, little Mio Uchiha.~ A fresh start for the Uchiha clan.”

"Guess I had more faith in you that you did, then." He leant over, placing a soft kiss upon Sakura's forehead. "You did wonderfully, Sakura, fractures aside.

"It's more the invasions of privacy and borderline harassment that I remember." Sasuke said. "Hence why I hope Mio doesn't have to deal with that. If he does, I might have to teach him specifically to not allow people to disrespect his boundaries." He sighed a little, leaning back a bit, rocking Mio gently in his arms.

"Pfft, I'm sure Mio will be very impressed by his father passing out into another woman's breasts right after he was born." He rolled his eyes. "Sounds like the sort of story you might break out when you're upset with me." He teased.

He rolled his eyes as she demanded that she get the biggest slice of cake. "I'm not fond of sweet things, remember? You can have the entire cake if you want, I got it for you in any case."

He gave Sakura's hair a gentle stroke as she talked about the next time. "Guess I'd better stock up on condoms then, huh?" He said, giving a soft chuckle. "Or are you planning on going on birth control yourself?" As far as he was aware, there was no 'male birth control', but if there was, he would be open to taking it.

Well, he did know of one way, but that was intended to be a more permanent solution.

"Oh, Ino, I never say never, I'm sure it'll happen again a some point. I'm sure there is a guy out there just waiting for you to find them." He smiled a little, before almost bursting out in laughter as Ino said it sounded like he was proposing a threesome. The only thing that was stopping him from laughing loudly was Mio in his arms, he managed to hold it back to a few chuckles.

"Oh, I was just following your lead, Ino... I wasn't aware you had your mind in the gutter." Although if Sasuke was being honest, he wouldn't say no either, as long as Sakura was ok with it. "If you stay long enough tomorrow, you will at least get a slice of cake. I'm sure Sakura won't begrudge you it, even if she was planning on eating the entire cake herself." He teased Sakura, giving her a gentle nudge.

"Ah, well, sometimes the best thing in life are surprises, aren't they?" He smiled, looking down at the baby in his arms. "Our little Mio Uchiha..."