#but they got all the others so it's mostly fine

[gluttonousgoddess]

As a simple example, that 8 glasses of water thing was a lie spread by scientists that were partnered with Gatorade. Just drink when you're thirsty.

Diamonds and bacon are in a similar boat. People love them mostly because of advertisements. That's why diamonds cost so much, too! Now, granted, gems are pretty, and bacon tastes good, but the ads did more harm than good.

And cutting calories doesn't work because calories are just how much energy it takes to boil it in water, and your body runs to use whatever nutrients it can when it has a deficit. It's not uncommon for it to eat at your muscles and other soft tissues instead of fat. As ironic as it is for someone like me to say, the best diet for losing weight is a balanced one. Sugar is the main issue, btw, not fat. In fact, fat is healthy for you, gets turned into lipids which can be beneficial for brain health. Now that doesn't mean you should just eat fat, it's all about balance and moderation. Grease is in a similar vein, it's not quite the best for you but a bit here and there won't kill you. And frankly, a bit of a belly is good for humans, it protects the body from bludgeoning and slashing damage. Sure, it'll hurt like hell, but you're more likely to get a punctured innards or have them fall out if you are thin than if you have some fat blocking the way. The main danger is the oily fat that surrounds organs, not the kind that covers your body. External is fine, internal is dangerous.

Then there's the BRAT diet. While it is easier on your digestive system, it can actually make diarrhea WORSE because the food is so soft it leaves acid left over. Same with grapes and meal substitute drinks. Especially meal substitute drinks! Liquid diets in general do this, but these are the worst because you drink enough to fill your stomach, prompting it to generate acid...for something that is pretty much already digested...I think you see the problem.

Everyone knows cold helps with swelling. Problem is, swelling is important for recovery, and putting ice on it actually slows recovery down. You actually want to put warmth on it! You want more blood to the area, because it brings nutrients and cells that fight infections.

As well, everyone knows to use IcyHot, right? Wrong, the chemicals used to make that work, especially the stuff that directly puts it on your body like the rollers, actually damages your skin and can lead to skin cancer!

And then there's Red 40. A synthetic chemical that also gives cancer!

Everyone knows you have to cook meat. Problem is, the smoke and char that can cause leads to cancer too. Not the meat itself, though. And I still don't trust any meat that isn't well done. Way too risky. You do know there can be germs inside the meat, right?

Everyone knows vaping is supposed to be a safe alternative to smoking. Problem is, water vapor in the lungs can easily lead to mold and infections. And the nicotine is so concentrated it's actually worse than cigarettes!

And my personal favorite, everyone knows Pokemon Gen 1 was held together with duct tape and dreams, except the glitches actually occur due to them using things to make other things happen. For example, having the name "Old Man" show up is done by storing your name in the town Pokemon tables. Those get reset when you enter a new route. But the area by the islands are coded to be water tiles within the city in the English versions. Not an issue, just program an encounter table for them...oh, right, since it's an English oversight, there was never an intended table. Really the easy fix would have been to extend the routes to include those edges. But yea, the reality is that the games did so much with what they had that hiccups occur. Same with Gen 2, that's why you can get a Celebi by using Beat Up, same index number. Gen 3 they got enough space to not have to be bleeding edge, so their glitches are from things interacting in ways nobody expected, like Glitzer Popping.

So yea, there's nothing wrong with fact checking "common knowledge", because we learn new things all the time. Common knowledge could easily be lies, or misunderstandings, or assumptions.

[shokopan]

HAIKYUU BOYS AS COLLEGE CRUSHES PT 1 - FLOOR CRUSH | R. SUNA

⤷ inspired by my hq boys as high school crushes post i wrote a looong time ago but this time i'm writing longer ish drabbles :D

“hey,” an unfamiliar voice startles you momentarily before you glance up and see the cute guy on your floor peaking a little too conspicuously at your phone, “i like that band too,”

you’ve seen him around pretty frequently, almost guaranteed 2-3 times daily, whether it be going to and from classes, at the dining hall, at the campus library, or just on the floor of your dorm. you want to say that it’s his height and the fact that you guys seem to have the same routines and class schedules that makes him so recognizable, but it’s actually mostly because he’s an objectively good looking guy. the guy’s got slightly longer, tousled dark hair and sleepy eyes, and such a casual and relaxed style of dressing that almost irritates you because he looks so damn good with no effort. 

“no way! are you going to their concert next week?” your eyes light up, pausing your music and taking out your earbuds.

he shrugs, “i want to, but going alone sounds kind of boring,”

“same, i’ve been wanting to get tickets but i’d rather not have to get back alone at night, you know?” you hum, mirroring his shrug as the elevator you’d both been waiting for arrives.

“i mean,” suna starts as the two of you step inside, hesitating for a moment and scrunching his eyebrows together, “we could go together then? i mean we bump into each other all over campus enough that seeing each other at a concert seems pretty normal,”

“damn take me out to dinner first or something,” you joke, cracking a smile as your hand hovers over the rows of elevator buttons, “but yea i’d be pretty down, what floor?”

“first floor please, but oh thank god, i was panicking for a minute  thinking that asking you was fucking weird,” he sigh, “i’m suna rintarou by the way,”

“we see each other so many times a day, so in a way it’s like we’re not total strangers and don’t even stress, i’d probably have asked if you didn’t beat me too it,” you smile reassuringly, “and i’m l/n y/n!”

“nice to finally put a name to the person i’m haunted by,” suna grins, shrugging when you shoot him an unimpressed look. 

“i think you mean blessed, actually,” you roll your eyes as the two of you step out of the elevator when the doors open to the first floor, “anyways, are you headed to the dining hall?”

“yup,” suna nods pumping his fist unenthusiastically, “i’m starving for some mediocre slightly inedible food,”

“same,” you lament, “want to eat together?”

suna smiles and nods, not wanting to let on how long he’s been waiting for an excuse to talk to you and get to know their little campus crush, “yeah i guess, if you really insist,”

“i’m not,” you reply dryly

“i’m kidding let’s go, i want to get to know you after having seen you around everywhere and not knowing anything about you” suna chuckles, feeling a strange giddiness forming in his chest as he glances down at you/

“fine, fine, because you want to get dinner with me so badly,” you sing, smiling as you walk towards the dining hall with suna by your side, “anyways, have you ever done that 21 questions thing to get to know someone?”

[movingmusically]

can u pls austin x wife!reader or pregnant!reader?

Word Count: 7,237

Masterlist

All of Us

Married life with Austin had been a dream—mostly. Sure, there were the occasional quirks to adjust to, like his habit of leaving guitar picks everywhere or the way he somehow managed to steal half your blanket in the middle of the night. But those small annoyances were overshadowed by the warmth of being with someone who loved you deeply and made you laugh every single day.

Still, life hadn’t slowed down after the wedding. If anything, it had sped up. Austin’s career was booming, and your own schedule wasn’t far behind. Between your work commitments and his time spent on set or promoting his projects, your days felt like a never-ending whirlwind. Yet, even with the chaos, there’d been moments of quiet clarity—conversations about your future, about the family you both dreamed of having one day.

The decision to stop using contraception had been an easy one, even if it felt a little surreal at first. You weren’t actively trying for a baby, but you were open to the idea. “If it happens, it happens,” Austin had said with that easy smile of his, his hand warm and reassuring on yours. “And if it doesn’t right away, that’s okay too. We’ve got time.”

You’d carried those words with you ever since, a quiet reassurance whenever the thought of parenthood felt overwhelming. But in the back of your mind, you’d assumed it would take time—months, maybe even a year or two. Enough time to keep the idea comfortably abstract.

At least, that’s what you thought.

Lately, though, something felt… off. It wasn’t anything obvious, just a subtle shift you couldn’t quite put your finger on. You felt unusually tired, dragging yourself out of bed each morning despite a full night’s sleep. Your appetite was off too—some mornings you couldn’t stomach breakfast, while other days you found yourself craving the strangest combinations of food. And then there was coffee. The thought of it made your stomach turn, which was almost laughable considering how much you normally relied on it to function.

You brushed it off at first, blaming it on stress or a passing bug. But it was hard to ignore the way you felt during brunch with a close friend one weekend. As you sat across from her, pushing a perfectly good cappuccino to the side, she gave you a curious look.

��You okay?” she asked, tilting her head slightly. “You’ve been looking a little pale lately. And I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think I’ve seen you skip coffee twice now.”

You waved her off, trying to muster a casual smile. “I’m fine. Just tired, I think.”

Her brows knit together, her concern evident. “Tired, queasy, and avoiding coffee? Those are classic signs of pregnancy, you know.”

You froze, her words landing with an unexpected weight. “I—what?”

She shrugged, clearly not thinking much of her comment. “I’m just saying, maybe you should check. Stranger things have happened.”

The idea hung in the air between you, filling the silence that followed. She moved on to another topic, chatting away about her plans for the week, but you barely heard her. Your mind was racing, replaying her words over and over.

Could I be?

The thought unsettled you, not because it was unwelcome but because it hadn’t even crossed your mind until now. You and Austin had been so focused on life as it was—work, travel, settling into your marriage—that the possibility of pregnancy felt like a distant concept. And yet, as you sat there, your hand resting absently on your stomach, you realised it wasn’t as impossible as you’d thought.

Your thoughts drifted back to when Austin had come home for a whirlwind weekend visit about a month ago. It had been one of those rare breaks in his filming schedule, and the two of you had made the most of every second. You’d spent lazy mornings in bed, stolen kisses in the kitchen, and tangled limbs in the quiet intimacy of nights that felt too short.

You’d even joked as he packed to leave again, “Don’t get too comfortable on set. I’ll need you to come home and warm up my side of the bed soon.” He’d grinned, pulling you close and murmuring something cheeky about how he’d done more than warm the bed. The memory made your cheeks flush now, the timing suddenly clicking into place in your mind. Could it really have happened then?

By the time brunch ended, you couldn’t shake the idea. As much as you wanted to dismiss it, the possibility lingered, growing stronger with every passing moment.

The idea of being pregnant was impossible to ignore now. The symptoms, your friend’s teasing comment, the gnawing curiosity—it all pointed to one possibility. But even as the thought settled in your mind, you felt a flicker of doubt. It could be nothing. Just stress. Or something I ate. It doesn’t have to mean…

Still, the thought lingered. By the time you got home that evening, the nagging question had grown too loud to ignore. You paced around the living room, chewing your bottom lip as your mind raced. Part of you wanted to wait—wait until Austin was home so you could do this together. You’d always pictured it that way, the two of you holding hands and staring at the little test stick together, waiting for the result.

But he wasn’t here. He was halfway across the country on set, wrapping up the last few days of a gruelling shoot. And though you knew he’d want to be part of this moment, you couldn’t wait any longer. You needed to know.

Your heart thudded in your chest as you grabbed your keys and headed to the nearest pharmacy. The fluorescent lights felt harsher than usual as you scanned the shelves, your eyes darting between the rows of pregnancy tests. There were so many options—some promising fast results, others boasting extra accuracy. You grabbed a box at random, barely reading the label, and hurried to the counter.

The drive home felt surreal, the little box on the passenger seat seeming heavier than it should. You couldn’t believe this was happening. Just a few days ago, pregnancy hadn’t even crossed your mind, and now you were about to find out if your entire world was about to change.

Back at home, you set the test on the bathroom counter and stared at it for what felt like an eternity. The instructions were simple enough—pee on the stick, wait three minutes—but the weight of what those three minutes might reveal made your hands tremble. What if it’s positive? What if it’s negative? What if this is all a big mistake and I’m just overthinking everything?

You exhaled shakily and opened the box, your fingers fumbling slightly with the wrapper. “Okay,” you murmured to yourself, trying to steady your nerves. “It’s just a test. You can do this.”

The seconds that followed felt both rushed and agonisingly slow. You did what the instructions said, placed the test stick on the counter, and set a timer on your phone. Then you sat down on the edge of the bathtub, hands clasped tightly in your lap as you stared at the little white stick.

Your mind raced with a thousand thoughts at once. You thought about Austin’s easy smile and the way he always reassured you whenever life felt overwhelming. You thought about the quiet conversations you’d had late at night, whispering about what the future might hold. You thought about how surreal it all felt—this tiny piece of plastic holding the answer to a question that could change everything.

The timer buzzed, jolting you out of your thoughts. Your heart felt like it might beat out of your chest as you stood up and reached for the test. For a moment, you hesitated, your hand hovering just above it. This is it, you thought. Whatever happens, everything changes now.

With a deep breath, you picked it up and looked at the result.

Two lines. Positive.

You stared at it, your breath catching in your throat. A wave of emotions crashed over you all at once—disbelief, excitement, nervousness, and something you could only describe as pure joy. “Oh my god,” you whispered, the words trembling on your lips. “Oh my god.”

You sank onto the floor, the test still clutched in your hand as tears pricked your eyes. It felt surreal, like a dream you hadn’t fully allowed yourself to imagine yet. You were going to have a baby. You and Austin were going to have a baby.

For a moment, you let yourself sit there, basking in the quiet wonder of it all. Then the realisation hit you: Austin didn’t know yet. The thought made your heart race all over again, but this time, it was with excitement. He’d be home in just a few days, and you wanted to tell him in person. This wasn’t something you could share over the phone, not when it was this important.

You stood up, your mind already racing with ideas. If there was one thing you knew, it was that Austin deserved to find out in a way that was as special as the moment itself. Something meaningful, something that would capture just how much this moment meant to you both.

The day Austin was due home, you could barely contain your anticipation. You had cleaned the house twice, set the table for his favourite dinner, and even spent longer than usual deciding what to wear. The news you carried felt like a treasure burning a hole in your pocket, and you wanted everything to be perfect.

When you heard the familiar rumble of his car pulling into the driveway, your heart jumped into your throat. You hurried to the door, your hands trembling slightly as you opened it just in time to see him stepping out of the car, his bag slung over one shoulder. He looked tired but still so impossibly handsome, his broad shoulders and easy smile lighting up the fading daylight. The sight of him made you realise just how much you’d missed him.

“Hey, baby,” he called out, his voice warm and familiar, the sound washing over you like a balm.

You didn’t even wait for him to close the car door. You rushed down the porch steps and into his arms, wrapping yourself around him tightly. He dropped his bag to the ground, laughing softly as he pulled you close, burying his face in your hair.

“God, I missed you,” he murmured, his voice low and full of emotion. His arms tightened around you, one hand stroking your back as if to reassure himself you were really there.

“I missed you too,” you said, your voice muffled against his shoulder. You felt his lips press against your temple, soft and lingering, before he pulled back just enough to look at you.

“You’re even more beautiful than I remembered,” he said, his voice a little hoarse as his fingers brushed a strand of hair from your face.

You laughed lightly, your heart fluttering under the weight of his gaze. “You’re just exhausted,” you teased. “Come inside—I made your favourite.”

His eyes lit up, and he kissed your forehead before grabbing his bag. “You didn’t have to do all that,” he said, following you into the house. “But I’m not complaining.”

Inside, the warm, familiar scent of home surrounded you both. The table was set, soft music played from the speaker in the corner, and the faint glow of candles gave the room an inviting warmth. He paused to take it all in, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “You’ve outdone yourself,” he said, his voice tinged with gratitude.

You shrugged, feeling a mix of nerves and excitement bubbling in your chest. “You deserve it. It was a long shoot.”

“The longest,” He set his bag down and turned to you, his hands sliding around your waist as he pulled you close. His lips were warm and familiar, the kind of kiss that made the rest of the world fade away. You melted into him, your hands curling around the back of his neck, your fingers threading into his hair.

When you finally pulled back, his forehead rested against yours, his eyes half-lidded as he smiled softly. “I still can’t believe I’m home,” he murmured, his voice like a warm embrace. “Being away from you… I hated it.”

Your heart pounded as you smiled up at him, your hands resting on his chest. It was now or never. “We hated it too,” you said, your voice soft but deliberate.

His brow furrowed slightly, the words taking a moment to register. “We?” he repeated, tilting his head as he looked at you.

You bit your lip, a nervous laugh escaping as you stepped back and reached into your pocket. “We,” you echoed, holding up the pregnancy test.

The moment the test came into view, his eyes widened. He blinked, as if unsure whether he was seeing things correctly, before slowly reaching out to take it from your hand. He stared at the little screen, his breath catching audibly, before looking back at you.

“Are you…” he started, his voice trembling. “Are we…”

You nodded, tears springing to your eyes. “We’re having a baby,” you said, your voice breaking with emotion.

He stared at you for a beat longer, the weight of your words sinking in. Then, without warning, a brilliant smile broke across his face, and a shaky laugh escaped his lips. “Oh my god,” he breathed, running a hand through his hair. “This is real?”

“Yes,” you said, laughing through your tears. “It’s real.”

He let out a breathless laugh, dropping the test on the counter as he swept you into his arms. “I can’t believe it,” he whispered, his voice thick with emotion. “We’re going to have a baby.”

You held onto him tightly, feeling the warmth of his embrace as his body trembled slightly. He buried his face in your neck, and you could feel the dampness of his tears against your skin. “I love you so much,” he whispered, his voice breaking. “You’ve just made me the happiest man in the world.”

“I love you too,” you said, pulling back just enough to look at him. His cheeks were wet with tears, his eyes bright with a mix of disbelief and joy.

“We’re going to be parents,” he said, his hands moving to frame your face as he pressed a kiss to your forehead, then your cheeks, then your lips. “This is everything I ever wanted.”

You laughed softly, sliding your hands into his hair as you kissed him back. “It’s everything I ever wanted too.”

For the rest of the evening, you stayed close to him, basking in the joy of the moment. Dinner was an afterthought; you spent most of the time on the couch, his arms wrapped securely around you as he asked a million questions about how you’d been feeling, how long you’d known, and what the next steps were.

As the night wore on, you felt a sense of calm settle over you. The secret you’d been carrying was now shared, and seeing Austin’s reaction had eased every worry you’d had. This was the beginning of something new, something beautiful, and you were ready to face it together.

*

The first ultrasound appointment marked the next big milestone, one that felt surreal even as you sat in the clinic waiting room. Austin had cleared his schedule the moment the date was confirmed, insisting that no rehearsal or meeting could be more important.

The two of you were seated side by side, his knee bouncing slightly as he held your hand. “You nervous?” you asked softly, glancing at him.

He looked at you with a small, sheepish smile. “A little. It’s just… we’re going to see them,” he said, his voice catching slightly. “I still can’t wrap my head around it.”

You gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “Me neither,” you admitted, your own nerves bubbling under the surface. “But it’s exciting too, right?”

“Exciting doesn’t even cover it,” he said, leaning over to kiss the top of your head.

When your name was called, Austin stood so quickly that he knocked over the magazine he’d been pretending to read. You giggled as he sheepishly bent to pick it up, his hand finding yours again as you walked together toward the exam room.

The technician greeted you warmly, explaining each step of the process as you got situated. Austin stood next to you, his hand never leaving yours, his eyes flicking between you and the screen with equal parts anticipation and awe.

When the image finally appeared on the monitor and the sound of the heartbeat filled the room, the air seemed to shift. It was a sound so steady, so alive, that it sent a shiver down your spine.

“That’s your baby,” the technician said with a kind smile, pointing to the tiny figure on the screen.

Austin let out a shaky breath, his grip on your hand tightening. “That’s… that’s them,” he murmured, his voice thick with emotion. His free hand came up to wipe at his eyes, and when he turned to look at you, his face was lit with a mix of wonder and joy. “That’s our baby,” he said, his voice cracking slightly.

You nodded, unable to speak past the lump in your throat. Instead, you squeezed his hand, letting your tears fall freely as you both stared at the screen, watching the tiny heartbeat that had changed everything.

That evening, as you sat curled up together on the couch, Austin couldn’t stop looking at the ultrasound photos. He held one up, studying it intently before glancing at you. “Okay, we need a nickname,” he announced suddenly.

You blinked, momentarily caught off guard. “A nickname?”

“Yeah,” he said, nodding firmly. “We can’t just keep saying ‘the baby.’ They need something special, something that fits.”

You tilted your head, considering his words. “Alright, Mr. Creative. What do you suggest?”

He grinned, his eyes twinkling with mischief. “Bean,” he said, holding up the photo again. “They’re tiny, they’re cute, and it just… feels right.”

You laughed, shaking your head but secretly loving the name. “Bean,” you repeated, testing it out. “Alright. Bean it is.”

From that night on, Bean became a part of your everyday vocabulary. Austin greeted your belly every morning with a soft “Good morning, Bean,” and every evening, he read stories or played music to your growing bump. His guitar, his piano, even his voice—all of it became a nightly ritual, his way of connecting with the little life you were creating together.

One evening, as you both lay on the couch watching a film, you felt it—a small but unmistakable flutter low in your belly. You froze, your hand instinctively pressing to the spot.

“What’s wrong?” Austin asked, immediately alert.

You grabbed his hand, your heart racing as you placed it where you’d felt the movement. “Just… wait,” you whispered.

A few seconds passed. Then it happened again—a tiny kick, soft but distinct. Austin’s eyes widened, his jaw dropping slightly. “Was that…” he started, his voice barely above a whisper. “Was that a kick?”

You nodded, tears springing to your eyes. “Yeah. That was them.”

He let out a breathless laugh, his hand pressing gently against your belly. “Hi, Bean,” he murmured, his voice filled with wonder. “It’s me. Your dad. I can’t wait to meet you.”

The kicks became more frequent after that, each one a little reminder of the life growing inside you. Austin couldn’t get enough of them, often resting his hand on your belly whenever he was near, his face lighting up every time he felt a movement.

When a brief press tour took him away for a few weeks, the separation was harder than either of you anticipated. But even from afar, he found ways to stay connected. Every night, without fail, he FaceTimed you, his guitar in hand as he sang softly or read aloud.

"It’s Dad," he’d say, his voice warm even through the screen." Just checking in to see how you’re doing.”

You’d laugh, your hand resting on your belly as you said, “I think they’re listening. They always move when they hear your voice.”

By the time he returned, you were both ready to tackle the next big project: the nursery. The two of you spent hours picking out decorations, arguing over paint colours, and laughing as you assembled tiny pieces of furniture.

“You know,” Austin said one evening as he struggled to attach a crib railing, “I’m starting to think Bean might just have to sleep in a cardboard box.”

You laughed, leaning against the doorframe as you watched him. “Don’t give up now. You’re doing great, Dad.”

He looked up at you, his expression softening as he smiled. “I still can’t believe this is happening,” he said, his voice quiet. “We’re going to be parents.”

You walked over, placing a hand on his shoulder. “We are,” you said softly. “And I think we’re going to be pretty good at it.”

As the nursery slowly came together, it became more than just a room—it was a symbol of the life you were building together. Every little detail, from the fairy lights strung along the ceiling to the shelves filled with tiny books, was a labour of love.

Standing together in the finished room, your hand resting on your belly and Austin’s arm around your shoulders, you felt a deep sense of peace. “It’s perfect,” you whispered, leaning into him.

He pressed a kiss to your temple, his other hand covering yours. “It’ll be even more perfect when Bean’s here,” he said, his voice filled with quiet wonder.

And in that moment, as you stood there dreaming about the future, you knew he was right.

*

Still, no amount of Austin’s sweetness could stop the physical toll of late pregnancy from getting to you. One evening, as you were getting ready for bed, you caught a glimpse of yourself in the mirror and stopped, groaning audibly.

“I feel huge,” you groaned, turning sideways to examine yourself. “I look like I swallowed a beach ball.”

From the bed, Austin looked up from his book, his gaze softening as he took you in. He set the book aside and got up, crossing the room to stand behind you. His hands slid around your waist—well, as much as they could with the bump in the way—and he rested his chin on your shoulder.

“You’re not huge,” he said, his tone playful as his eyes danced with mischief. “You’re radiant.”

You rolled your eyes, still frowning at the mirror. “Radiant? Austin, I look like a science experiment gone wrong. My ankles are swollen, my back is killing me, and I haven’t seen my feet in weeks.”

He smirked, pressing a kiss to your shoulder. “You’re carrying our baby,” he murmured, his hands dropping to cradle your bump. “That’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

You snorted. “Sexy? I’m wearing mismatched pyjamas and haven’t shaved my legs in days.”

He turned you gently to face him, his eyes twinkling with a mix of affection and mischief. “Still sexy,” he said, trailing kisses from your jaw to your collarbone. “And for the record, I don’t think Bean cares about your legs.”

You couldn’t help but laugh, the sound turning into a soft sigh as his hands moved to rub your lower back. “Fine,” you said, leaning into him. “You win this round.”

That wasn’t the only way Austin had been taking care of you. On nights when sleep felt impossible—when the baby seemed to think your bladder was a trampoline or your hips ached from the weight of it all—he’d do everything in his power to make you comfortable. One night, after watching you fidget and sigh for the fifth time in an hour, he rolled out of bed and disappeared into the bathroom. When he came back, steam followed him.

“Bath’s ready,” he announced, holding out his hand. “Come on.”

You let him guide you into the bathroom, the warm scent of lavender filling the air. The tub was filled just enough for you to soak without feeling like a beached whale. As you eased in, Austin climbed in behind you, his legs bracketing yours as his hands moved to rub your shoulders.

“You didn’t have to do all this,” you murmured, leaning back against his chest.

“Of course I did,” he said, his lips grazing the shell of your ear. “You’re growing a whole human. The least I can do is help you take a load off.”

“Besides, I like taking care of you,” he replied simply, his hands moving to your bump as he rested his chin on your shoulder.

As his hands traced soothing circles over your belly, the two of you fell into an easy conversation about names. It had become a favourite topic of late, though you hadn’t settled on anything yet.

“What about Lori?” you suggested softly, tilting your head back to look at him. “If it’s a girl.”

Austin stilled for a moment, his eyes glistening as he met your gaze. “After my mom?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

You nodded, your hand covering his where it rested on your bump. “She meant so much to you. And I know she’d be proud of you, of us. It feels right.”

His throat worked as he swallowed hard, clearly trying to keep his emotions in check. “I think she’d love that,” he said finally, his voice thick with emotion. “Thank you.”

The moment stretched between you, warm and tender, until Bean decided to interrupt with a particularly enthusiastic kick. You both froze before bursting into laughter.

“Guess they like the name,” Austin said, grinning as he pressed his palm against the spot where the baby had kicked. “Hey, Bean. You’ve got good taste.”

As the weeks passed, the anticipation grew, but so did the love and humour that kept you both grounded.

*

The due date came and went without so much as a twinge of labour pains. You’d counted down the days on your calendar, convinced that by now you’d be holding your baby, but Bean had other plans. The doctor reassured you that everything looked fine and that it was perfectly normal for first babies to take their time—though they did mention that if nothing happened in another two weeks, they’d induce labour.

It wasn’t exactly the news you wanted to hear, especially since patience wasn’t exactly your strong suit. “Two weeks?” you groaned on the drive home, slumped in the passenger seat. “That feels like a lifetime.”

Austin, ever the optimist, glanced over with a calm smile. “Hey, your mom said she always went past her due date with you and your brothers. Maybe Bean’s just taking after you.”

You gave a dramatic sigh, though his hand finding yours on the armrest softened your mood. “If that’s the case, Bean owes me a big apology for making me this uncomfortable.”

“I’ll make sure they’re on their best behaviour when they get here,” Austin said with a wink, bringing your hand to his lips for a kiss. “But for now, you’re stuck with me.”

As the days passed the news of your overdue baby had spread among your family and friends, and with it came an avalanche of unsolicited advice on how to speed things along. Your phone pinged with messages every few minutes, each suggestion more bizarre than the last.

“Your sister says I should try eating spicy food,” you told Austin one evening, scrolling through yet another message as you sat with your swollen feet propped up on the coffee table. “And my cousin swears by bouncing on a yoga ball.”

Austin, seated beside you with his guitar in hand, raised an eyebrow. “What about the one from your aunt? Didn’t she say something about pineapple?”

“Pineapple, acupuncture, castor oil... oh, and Claire suggested a long walk and warm baths.” You let out an exasperated sigh.

Austin chuckled, setting down his guitar and shifting closer. “Anything else?”

You hesitated, biting your lip as you scrolled through one particularly cheeky message. “Well, uh… Ashley had a suggestion that worked when she was pregnant with with Jupiter.”

“Oh, this should be good. What is it?” He grinned, giving you a playful nudge.

“She said… sex might help.” You glanced at him from under your lashes, feeling a blush creep up your neck. “Something about the hormones and stimulating labour.”

Austin’s grin turned downright devilish. “Now that’s advice I can get behind.”

You rolled your eyes, though you couldn’t help but smile at the way his hand slid to your belly, his thumb brushing slow, soothing circles. “It’s science,” you teased, leaning into his touch.

“Science, huh?” His voice dropped, the playful glint in his eyes turning into something softer. “Well, far be it from me to argue with science.”

Before you could reply, his lips were on yours—soft, warm, and filled with all the love and anticipation that had been building over the past nine months. He kissed you like you were the most precious thing in the world, and for a moment, you forgot all about your swollen ankles and aching back.

You melted into the kiss, your fingers curling into his shirt as his hand slid around your back, pulling you closer. The warmth of his touch, the way his lips moved with yours—it was enough to make you forget, if only for a little while, the discomfort and impatience of these last few days.

When he pulled back, just enough to rest his forehead against yours, his breath was warm against your lips. “You know,” he murmured, his voice a low hum, “I think science might be onto something.”

You laughed softly, the sound turning into a sigh as his hands traced gentle, soothing circles on your lower back. “You’re impossible,” you teased, though the fond smile on your face gave you away. “But fine. If you’re so dedicated to the cause, who am I to argue?”

His grin widened, and he leaned in to kiss you again, slower this time, his hands sliding to cradle your belly. “You and Bean,” he whispered, his voice thick with affection. “My whole world.”

Your heart swelled, and you reached up to cup his face, brushing your thumb along the curve of his cheek. “You’re not so bad yourself,” you replied, your voice soft and full of emotion.

For a while, the two of you stayed like that—wrapped up in each other, the world outside forgotten. The discomfort and impatience of waiting melted away in the warmth of his embrace, replaced by a sense of peace and quiet joy. In moments like this, it was easy to remember why you’d fallen in love with him in the first place: his unshakable optimism, his unwavering support, and the way he always managed to make you feel like the most important person in the room.

When you finally pulled away, your hands still resting on his shoulders, you couldn’t help but smile. “So, Mr Butler,” you said, your tone light but teasing, “what’s your next plan to convince Bean to make their grand entrance?”

He chuckled, his hands still cradling your belly. “Oh, I’ve got plenty of tricks up my sleeve,” he said with a wink. “But first, I think we should start with a good night’s sleep. You need your rest, mama.”

You rolled your eyes but allowed him to help you up from the couch, his hands steady and sure as he guided you toward the bedroom. As much as you hated to admit it, he was right—you needed all the rest you could get. After all, Bean could decide to arrive at any moment, and you wanted to be ready.

As he tucked you into bed, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead, you couldn’t help but feel a flicker of hope. Maybe tonight would be the night. Or maybe not. Either way, you knew you were in good hands—with Austin by your side, there was nothing you couldn’t handle together.

It was the middle of the night, two days before your scheduled induction, when you woke up feeling... off. At first, you thought it was just another bout of pregnancy discomfort—the kind you’d grown used to over the past few weeks. You shifted in bed, trying to find a position that didn’t make your back ache, but something was different this time. A dull, rhythmic sensation began to spread from your lower back to your belly, each wave stronger and sharper than the last.

“Austin,” you whispered, reaching over to shake his shoulder gently. “I think…”

He stirred with a soft groan, his hair a dishevelled mess as he blinked up at you, still caught in the haze of sleep. “What’s wrong?” His voice was thick with concern. “You okay?”

You nodded, though your breath hitched as another wave rolled through you, stealing your focus for a moment. “I think it’s starting,” you managed, your voice trembling.

It took him a moment to process your words, but when it clicked, he shot out of bed like someone had lit a fire under him. “It’s happening?” he asked, his voice pitching higher. “Like… happening happening?”

You nodded again, gripping his hand as the contraction gripped you. “Definitely happening.”

His reaction was instant and chaotic, a blur of nervous energy as he darted around the room. “Okay, hospital bag—where’s the hospital bag? Car seat’s in, phone’s charged—oh, wait, I need to call the doctor—”

“Aus.” Your voice was steady despite the pain, a small smile tugging at your lips as you watched his frantic motions. “Breathe.”

He stopped mid-step, running a hand through his hair as he looked at you with a sheepish grin. “Right. Breathing. Got it.”

The contractions were coming steadily now, but still far enough apart that the doctor advised waiting at home a little longer before heading to the hospital. Austin stayed glued to your side, his energy shifting from panicked to determined as he settled into a rhythm of supporting you. Every contraction was met with his steady voice, his warm hands on your back, and the constant reassurance that you were doing amazing.

“You’re incredible,” he murmured, his tone low and soothing as he rubbed circles over your lower back during another wave. “I’m so proud of you.”

You leaned into him, his presence a grounding force as the hours stretched on and the contractions grew stronger. He timed each one with the kind of precision that would’ve been comical if you weren’t so focused on riding out the pain. At one point, you caught him muttering countdowns under his breath, and you couldn’t help but crack a small smile.

“Relax, Coach Butler,” you teased faintly when the contraction passed, your voice breathless but fond. “I’m not running a marathon.”

He grinned, pressing a kiss to your temple. “You’re doing something way more badass than that.”

When the time finally came to leave for the hospital, Austin was at your side in an instant, helping you into the car as though you were made of glass. “You know I’m not going to break, right?” you teased, though your voice hitched as another contraction tightened your belly.

His gaze softened, his hand brushing your cheek as he murmured, “You’re carrying my whole world. I’m not taking any chances.”

The drive to the hospital was a blur of flashing streetlights and the steady pressure of his hand holding yours. He murmured soft words of encouragement every time a contraction hit, his thumb rubbing soothing circles over your skin. The excitement and nerves hung in the air between you, tangible and electric, but through it all, his love and steady presence anchored you.

By the time you arrived, you were ready—ready to meet the little person who had turned your world upside down in the most wonderful way.

The hospital was a flurry of activity as soon as you arrived, the nurses greeting you warmly as they guided you to a room. Austin stayed glued to your side, his hand firmly in yours as they asked you questions and hooked you up to monitors. The rhythmic sound of Bean’s heartbeat filled the room, steady and strong, and it was enough to ease some of your nerves.

“You’re doing great,” Austin murmured, brushing a stray strand of hair from your forehead. His voice was calm, but you could see the tension in his shoulders, the way his jaw tightened every time you grimaced through a contraction.

Labour was a whirlwind—hours that felt both endless and fleeting, a blur of pain, anticipation, and the steady presence of Austin by your side. He held your hand through every contraction, his voice calm and reassuring as he reminded you to breathe, even when you were ready to throw the ice chips at him.

“Doing great, baby,” he said, his hand brushing damp hair from your forehead. “Almost there.”

You gave him a look that could’ve melted steel, the pain sharp and unrelenting. “You say that one more time…” you panted, gripping his hand hard enough to make him wince.

“Noted,” he replied with a lopsided grin, "I’ll file that under ‘things not to say to a woman in labour.’" Though he didn’t flinch as your grip tightened again with the next contraction.

Hours later, when the time finally came to push, everything else faded into the background. The world outside the room ceased to exist, and all you could focus on was the determination to meet the tiny person who had been growing inside you for the past nine months. Austin’s voice was a constant, grounding you when the pain threatened to overwhelm.

It was his strength, his unwavering presence, that carried you through the final moments. “You’re so close,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “I can see the head.”

With one final, all-consuming effort, a sharp cry filled the room, cutting through the haze of pain and exhaustion. The world seemed to stop for a moment as the doctor lifted a tiny, wriggling figure into view.

“It’s a girl,” the doctor announced, their voice warm with joy as they placed her on your chest.

Time seemed to slow, her cries quieting the moment she felt your warmth. She was perfect—tiny fingers, a button nose, and a head full of fair hair that reminded you so much of Austin. Your heart swelled to the point of bursting as you traced her features with trembling fingers.

“Hi, Bean,” you whispered, tears spilling freely now. “Hi, baby girl.”

Austin leaned over, pressing a kiss to your temple as his hand rested gently on hers. You both sat there for a moment, the world fading away as you took in the miracle between you. It was Austin who broke the silence, his voice barely above a whisper. “Lori,” he said, his eyes meeting yours. “If you’re still okay with it… I think it’s perfect.”

You nodded, your voice too thick with emotion to speak. You glanced down at her, stroking her soft cheek. “Hi, Lori,” you whispered. “Welcome to the world.”

You looked up at him, your eyes meeting his. The love in his gaze was enough to undo you all over again. “She’s so tiny,” you said, your voice breaking. “And she’s ours.”

“She’s ours,” he echoed, his voice no more than a whisper.

The minutes that followed were a haze of firsts: the weight of her in your arms, her tiny hand curling instinctively around Austin’s finger, the soft, exhausted smiles you exchanged as the world outside the delivery room faded away.

When the nurse came to take Lori for her first check-up, Austin hesitated, his hand lingering protectively on her tiny head. “You’ll bring her right back, right?” he asked, his voice laced with both awe and worry.

The nurse smiled. “We won’t be far, Dad. She’s perfect, by the way.”

As Lori was carried out of the room, Austin sank into the chair beside your bed, his head falling into his hands. You reached for him, your fingers brushing his wrist. “Hey,” you said softly. “You okay?”

He looked up, his eyes red-rimmed but filled with a quiet, overwhelming joy. “I just… I can’t believe she’s here,” he said, his voice trembling. “She’s real. And she’s ours.”

You smiled, your own exhaustion forgotten as you reached for his hand. “She’s everything, isn’t she?”

He nodded, leaning in to kiss you, his lips lingering on yours for a moment that felt like it could stretch forever. “You’re the strongest person I know,” he murmured against your skin, his forehead resting against yours. “Thank you for her.”

You looked up at him, your chest tight with love and exhaustion. “We made her together,” you murmured, your fingers lacing with his. “She’s all of us.”

When they returned with Lori swaddled in a soft blanket, Austin reached out, his hands trembling slightly as he cradled her for the first time. The way he looked at her—his gaze full of wonder and tenderness—made your breath catch.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he murmured, his thumb brushing lightly over her tiny hand. “I’m your dad.”

You couldn’t look away. Seeing Austin holding Lori—his large hands supporting her tiny body as he murmured soft, loving words—solidified everything you’d been through together. It wasn’t just love; it was the kind of connection that grounded you, that made everything you’d ever dreamed of feel possible. This was your family, built on a foundation of unwavering devotion and joy.

“She looks so much like you already,” Austin said, glancing up at you with a watery smile. “Same little nose, same pout. She’s beautiful.”

“She already has you wrapped around her finger,” you teased softly, though your voice was thick with emotion.

Austin looked up, his expression unapologetic. “Completely,” he admitted with a small, wobbly smile. “She’s got me for life.”

The rest of the night passed in a blur of exhaustion and wonder. You eventually dozed off for a little while, but when you woke, the sight before you took your breath away: Austin was still cradling Lori in his arms, his head bent as he whispered to her.

“I can’t wait to show you the world,” he murmured, his voice low and full of promise. “We’re going to have so many adventures, baby girl.”

You blinked back tears as you watched him, the love in his voice resonating deeply within you. If you had any doubts before, they were gone now. This was everything you had ever wanted, everything you had dreamed of, and so much more.

Austin glanced up and caught your gaze, his lips curving into the softest smile. He came over, settling beside you on the bed, and placed Lori gently in your arms. Together, you stared down at her, drinking in every tiny detail as the weight of the moment settled over you. It was a beginning—a brand-new chapter, a fresh adventure. And you couldn’t wait to live it.

[gallusrostromegalus]

Teir Hallibel always sleeps with one eye open.

Not out of paranoia. Not much troubles her- sure, there might be entities more powerful than her in Las Noches but what of it? Either she would do battle and be fine, so she didn't have to worry about anything- or she would be dead, and wouldn't have anything to worry about.

She's never been able to sleep the way her friends described how they slept. Twice a day, she had periods where she got tired and would need to find somewhere to sit or lean and close one eye (and later, the other) and just... not think as much. Things got slower and her imagination would cook up implausible scenarios, but never the total loss of consciousness or vivid hallucinations her friends in the Las Bestias described.

Las Bestias was an old, old organization. Almost as old as Las Noches was at the time of its destruction. A community of hollows, mostly female, mostly bestial in form, not quite civilized enough for the city, too heavily persecuted for the open desert (the unregulated lusts of hollows included carnal desires as well as carnivorous ones, so any female hollow was in for vastly more harassment), but sane enough to agree to a nonviolence pact with her commune sisters for greater protection. And it was for this protection that they had sent spies to Las Noches.

Hallibel didn't join the Espada because she thought Aizen was right. She didn't even think he was going to be successful. But she did think he had the potential to be a serious problem for the commune, and needed keeping an eye on.

Especially after what had happened to their first spy, Nel.

So she stalked the halls of Las Noches, always with one eye open. It was also her nature to roam- staying still felt suffocating, and exploring the labyrinthine halls of the achromatic city provided a way to pass the time while the shinigami were off scheming in soul society.

...most of the shinigami.

Tousen had to be the smartest of the three of them by her reasoning, on account of him having to do all the actual scheduling and management and provisioning and all the other finicky drudgery of actually running Las Noches, as well as most of the general thinking for the other two. Aizen always had grand ideas and no clue how to implement them, and "thinking" was an awfully generous term for what Gin was doing with his brain. She'd stopped asking Aizen for clarification a week in after he contradicted his previous orders three times and referred her to Tousen five.

He was also the easiest of the shinigami for her to find in the labyrinth- he left a scent-trail in his wake that she could follow, like gliding after the scent of an injured fish when she was alive- the distinct odor of stress and festering wounds.

This time, she found him in a narrow slot that wasn't quite a hallway that opened up thirty feet above the floor sheet been walking on. The ceiling was so low she had to crawl to get down to the end where Tousen was crumpled up, partially in the fetal position, breathing slow but shaky.

"Can you hear me?" She asked, frowning at his face. A peculiarity of his blindness, or perhaps his extremely justified paranoia, but Tousen often slept with both eyes open. It was the case now, the pale sclera stark under his dark eyelashes, half-lidded as he lay there.

"Tousen-san?" She tried again, not reaching out. Touching someone who may or may not be fully concious was a great way to lose a hand in any part of Hueco Mundo, but especially when dealing with this poor bastard.

---

"...Why?" Halibel had asked him, the first time they met.

"She mentioned this place- not the location specifically, but the name and why you're all out here- she said it was her home." He stumbled out, sitting at the rough table inside the main hall of the Las Bestias subterranean compound. Francheska, Emilou and Sian Sung surrounded him as Halibel lead the interrogation, claws and horns and fangs at the ready.

It wasn't every day a Shinigami turned up at the front door, carrying your half-dead comrade.

"Will she be alright?" The Shinigami called Tousen asked, tilting his head to listen at Hallibel better. "I tried to get her here as fast as possible, but... Well. She kept your secrets well."

Halibel glanced down the hall in the general direction of the surgery. She hadn't recognized Nel when the shinigami carried her in. Halibel's former sparring partner had somehow regressed into infancy, but instead of a goatling kid she was a human toddler.

"I don't know." Halibel shrugged. "You didn't answer my question."

He cocked his head at her, confused.

"Why did you try to save her? What's in it for you?" Halibel tried again, emphasizing the rumble of irritation in her voice since he couldn't see her glaring.

"...She's my friend? And a child?" He listened at her guilelessly. "You don't leave people to die, but especially not children?"

There was a nervous shuffling of the assembled Bestias.

"I was absent most of the time Miss Odelschwanck was an adult in Las Noches, so I didn't know her well, but- I was struck by her compassion in handling the weaker hollows, and her determination to keep the worst impulses of the other espada in check. I suppose her being a spy makes sense- she's far too kind to be a true believer in Azien." The Shinigami sighed.

"Who the fuck is Oldschwang?" Emilou growled.

"...Miss Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck?" Tousen asked.

"Her name is Nel Tu." Francheska glared. "No idea where all those other syllables came from.

The shinigami frowned, but didn't reply.

"...and you?" Halibel squinted at him, trying to make sense of the man. "Why do you serve Aizen?"

"God help me, I wish I could tell you." Tousen laughed, cold and bitter, baring his teeth in something that wasn't a smile.

"...As in the reason you work for him is a secret, or you don't know why you're doing it?" Francheska puzzled.

His quiet not-a-laugh continued, taking on a high whine of pain.

"...or as in something is stopping you from speaking?" Halibel asked, and his head snapped up, eyes wide with surprise and smile suddenly genuine.

"Oh." Halibel realized. "...Shit."

The Shinigami's high cackle of pain echoed around the cave.

---

Tousen had begged them not to come, to stay as far from the city as possible.

Halibel followed him. It was the first of many, many times she'd follow his scent at a distance, a benevolent stalker. It was also the first of many times she'd see how his shoulders tightened when he was tired, unconsciously trying to guard himself as the range of his reiryoken shrank with exhaustion.

It was a look of genuine surprise and terrible pain when she closed the distance just before getting to the main gate of Las Noches, and told the sniveling little twerp who opened it that Tousen had recruited her.

They couldn't leave a menace like Aizen and his "Arrancar" unobserved. Nel had gone initially not because of her formidable strength, but because she was the best liar among them. They had no use for subtlety now, and so their most powerful and cold-blooded warrior came to keep him in check. By the way Gin shrugged and showed them inside, perhaps they didn't need to be skilled liars at all.

"Your arrival is most serendipitous, Miss Teir." Aizen oozed, incorrectly guessing which of her names to use. "As it happens, we have an opening."

Behind him, the other handful of Espada present shared meaningful glances with each other and the gap in their lineup near Aizen. Tousen stood beside the throne, silent and immobile.

"Fortune favors those that have the strength to seize it." Halibel replied evenly, not looking away from the self-declared ruler of Las Noches.

"It also favors those that plan ahead!" Gin chirped happily as he slithered into the throne room. Behind him, three familiar adjuchas hollows cowered. "I found them trying to climb over the east wall! How kind of you, to supply your own forces! But why didn't they enter the front gate with you, I wonder..?"

Halibel didn't move, more listening with the sensitive nerves along her sides at her stupid, stupid friends, watching Aizen gloat at her, trying to hide her racing pulse. Shit, shit, the cover is blown, if he follows it back-

Perhaps they should have sent a good liar after all.

"Tryin' to sneak in your little spies, eh? Maybe we oughta have ourselves a fish fry!" The Espada with bright blue hair and apparently no impulse control grinned, pacing along the lip of the dias excitedly.

"I see you are also familar with idiots with more initiative than sense Lord Aizen!" Hallibel laughed.

The blue-haired arrancar bristled and snarled, some of the others chuckling at his expense.

"Grimmjow, please." Aizen waved at him. "You'll forgive him the accusation, he acts out of loyalty."

"Then you'll forgive my friends the sin of loyalty if you value it so much in your own followers?" Halibel asked lightly, and Aizen laughed.

"Well played, well played Miss Teir!" He applauded as he stood up from his throne, hand on his sword "...but I do not forgive without penance. Prove that you have the strength and loyalty to serve me!"

There was a bright flash, and Halibel only barely got her guard up in time, the shinigami's sword sinking a good inch into Tiburón, the heavy blade that made up her right forearm. She shoved Tiburón down towards Aizen's hands, trying to catch his Zanpakuto in the gap in the center of her blade, or maybe lop a few fingers off, but instead he sprang back and Halibel assumed a defensive stance, trying to blink the dazzling spots out of her vision faster.

"Very Good!" The Aizens chorused, as there seemed to be five of him now. They held their hands up to show off identically nicked forefingers. "You made me bleed!"

No difference in voice, appearance, reiatsu or most distressingly- scent. The smell of the shinigami's delicious, delicious blood encircled her, and she had to shake to keep her attention- Did his Zanpakuto make clones? Or illusions? Where to strike?

There was a small motion above her, and her gaze reflexively followed it. Tousen had moved from behind the throne to the edge of the pit, walking along the side until he stopped and turned sharply to stand at attention immediately behind the Aizen to her left.

"Tick Tock Miss T-WOAH!" Aizen yelped as she charged, the other five Aizens scattering to mist as he was forced to guard again. She circled, following the weak spot in his grip under his right elbow- Aizen must be left-handed, his right side lagged ever so slightly and protecting his right abdomen was an awkward twist for him- not allowing him the chance to go on the offensive again. A strike that broke his grip on the sword, right hand flailing as he tried to catch his balance and she went in for the kill-

BLAM!

Ah. Kido. They can do that too. Halibel remembered as she struggled to sit up from the rubble of the opposite wall. She got to her knees, her whole body twitching in pain from the electrical blast, when she felt the blade at her throat.

"An admirable effort!" Aizen smiled down at her, glasses glinting ominously. "I simply must know- How did you see past my illusion?"

"Didn't." Halibel shrugged, not looking up. "One in five wasn't bad odds- or if they were clones and I killed one, you'd be 20% closer to death. I only picked the one on the left because I'm also a southpaw."

"...I like your sense of initiative. Tempered by good judgement but with no fear." Aizen nodded approvingly, the point of his blade moving up her throat, over her cheek and forehead to rest at the top of her head. "Very well-"

CRACK!

She shrieked in pain, the split of her mask traveling down her back and shredding her skin. She gasped as her hollow armor fell away, clutching at her neck and face to keep it in place, seized by the irrational thought that if it fell away from there, she'd suffocate. the split travelled up from her hollow hole just below her navel, and stopped with a terrible burning like a brand on her chest. She dropped to the floor, but the limbs that caught her weight were not the finlike blade and fingerless hand she came in with, but fully human hands.

"-I dub thee Tres Espada Teir Hallibel!" Aizen smilled, leaning down and offering her a chivalrous hand up.

"Thank you, Lord Aizen." She bowed her head, but didn't take his hand as she got up.

---

"I'm so sorry." Tousen sighed, slumped against the wall of the now-Third Espada's quarters as she examined her new body in the mirror. She was almost entirely human now, save for the prominent hole in her lower abdomen and the remains of her mask.

"You're not the one who owes me an apology." Hallibel muttered, her friends-now-fraccion flinching with guilt. "It's not so bad really. Being a hybrid of aquatic and terrestrial creature was vastly uncomfortable and I often wished I was one or the other. I suppose I'm the other now."

"Yeah, if becoming an arrancar prevents devolution and makes you this hot, I might go for it too!" Emilou grinned, the deerlike hollow kicking at the floor with her forehoof.

"Just because you have a huge rack now doesn't mean you'll get a huge rack like Lady Hallibel, dumbass." Sian Sung grumbled from where she had coiled up on the bed.

"It'll take some getting used to being a mammal now." Hallibel muttered, prodding at her exceptionally pronounced breasts. "And wearing clothes- is this jacket supposed to leave my tits hanging half out?"

"It's Gin's design and given what I know of his preferences, probably." Tousen sighed. "I'll see if I can find something with better coverage-"

"Oh, nah. I'd go about naked if the others didn't make such a fuss." Hallibel shrugged. "I just didn't want to look like some idiot wearing these clothes inside out or something."

"Well, well, well! Look at all this fresh meat!" a tall Arrancar in an even stupider-looking jacket that make him look like a giant spoon leered from the door.

"Go away Nnoitra." Tousen groaned.

"Lord Tousen! Aren't you the dark horse?" Nnoitra leaned in the doorframe with the gracelessness of a broken chair falling over to grin lasciviously at the Shinigami. "We all know Gin's a little pervert, but Nelliel vanishes and you come back from your errands with this hot piece of ass less than a day later! Where are you keeping this slut-stash of yours, eh?"

"HEY!" Emilou shouted. "WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR PROBLEM, ASSHOLE?" Francheska snarled. "Yeah, don't comment on other people's asses when you don't have one of your own you fucking animated stick figure?" Sian hissed.

"Keep your voices down, you've all been enough of a headache today." Hallibel sighed, walking pass this obnoxious interloper without acknowledgement to address Tousen. "Alright, you said there was documents I needed to read?"

"Yeah, yeah, pretend to ignore me- I know you want this." Nnoitra grinned making a vulgar gesture at his groin. "C'mon- you can't hold a candle to Nelliel, but you'd look so much prettier if you smiled!"

"Nnoitra. Leave." Tousen growled, hand on his zanpakuto.

"It's fine." Hallibel spoke evenly, putting a hand on the Shinigami's shoulder. "C'mere." She smirked at Nnoitra over the high collar that covered everything between the middle of her nose and tits.

"Huh?" Nnoitra blinked stupidly.

"You wanted a smile, right? Come here." She beckoned him closer with a beguiling finger.

"You mean-? Oh! Oh shit, sure-!" Nnoitra sputtered, clearly unprepared for his gambit to work, leaning into Hallibel's personal space, almost blushing.

She waited until he was merely inches away to yank the zipper of her jacket down, revealing the remains of her mask covering the lower half of her face- cartilaginous plates covering the Ampullae of Lorenzini still lurking under her newly mammalian lips, and dozens of serrated, daggerlike sharks teeth in a too-broad-to-be-friendly grin.

Nnoitra gulped, brain stalling out, and she snapped at him with a loud Clack! of teeth and took off the tip of his nose.

"FUCK!" Nnoitra screamed, stumbling back and grabbing his face. "YOU BITCH!"

"Don't be shy!" Hallibel teased, stepping into the hallway after him, licking her chops. "You were right, I *do* want that thing in your pants-"

"Fuck! Fuck off you freak!" Nnoitra hastily scrambled to his feet and sprinted down the hall.

"Not even a kiss?" Hallibel called after him, watching him try to take a corner too sharply and slipping in his haste, slamming face-first into the hard floors of the fortress, screaming more profanities as he got up and continued to flee. She stepped back into the room with an amused huff, her Fraccion howling with laughter and the shinigami looking decidedly befuddled.

"Give me your hand, I won't bite." She offered.

Tousen tilted his ear at her skeptically.

"Well. I won't bite *you*." She corrected herself, stepping a little closer, turning to the side and bowing her head a bit in a gesture of nonaggression. "Thank you, for the bit on the dais earlier."

After a moment, Tousen sighed and cautiously offered her a gloved hand. She took it, guiding his fingertips to her face, letting him carefully feel her teeth.

"Oh. Oh no!" Tousen snorted with amusement, pale eyes wide and face breaking into the first genuine smile she'd seen on him.

She grinned under the mask, realized he couldn't feel it, and moved his hand so his fingertips up so he could feel her eyes crinkle under them. His shoulders slumped a bit as he gave up some of the tension, and she leaned forward, pressing her forehead to his.

"Thank you." she repeated. "Not just for the signal. For the warning about Aizen's trickery. And Nel. I'll keep you updated on any news about her, alright?"

"I'd appreciate it. Thank you." He sighed, resting for a moment against her before straightening up. "I need to attend to other business, but you'll be able to find me to return this when you're done reading it, right?" he asked, handing her a file folder with maps of the fortress and schedules and other necessary notes for her performance as Lord Aizen's Loyal Lackey.

"Yeah. I'll track you down anywhere in here." She teased.

---

Once again, in the back of this odd hidden hallway, she was fulfilling that promise to track him down.

"Tousen-san?" she asked, frowning at him, trying to figure out if he was safe to shake awake.

"Ngh? Who- who's there?" the shinigami groaned, blinking awake and struggling to get up on his elbows. He'd been getting steadily worse since she came to Las Noches, overworked and under-rested. He swayed, and some distant instinct told Hallibel he wouldn't struggle much if she went for his jugular right now.

Another, much more present instinct made her lean in, pressing her forehead to his. "It's Hallibel." she spoke softly.

"Oh. I- I must've- thank you for finding me." Tousen sighed. "I- I need to-"

"You need to lie back down and sleep." Hallibel gently explained. "If you wear yourself out now, who's going to explain I won't bite to the other shinigami after Aizen blows himself up?"

"Would that I had your faith in my skills as a diplomat. Or our chances of an escape." Tousen huffed a weak laugh, but let Hallibel recline, back on the wall at the end of the crevice where she could watch the hidden entrance, and lay down beside her, head in her lap, letting her play with his braids as he settled again.

"Just rest." She hummed, committing the sin of loyalty again. "I'll keep an eye out for both of us."

AEIWAM Question: What do the various Espada Think of Tousen? Follow-up question, will they, the bunch of dumbasses that they are (because Aizen made them for loyalty, not thinking), declare him their unquestioned leader once Aizen, Gin and Urloquia fork off to see the cosmic taffy pull (also presuming that Barrigan winds up face down in a ditch per canon)?

Bless you for asking this, I needed something to chew on. I'm going to answer these one at a time because the post would be insanely long, and how the thought of him Before the Battle of Karakura Probably:

---

Aaroniero and Arruruerie are SURE they've met before, and that they owes the man a debt of gratitude.

It's possible, they suppose. They have consumed and absorbed the memories of so many hollows that maybe they remember the face from a hollow he killed.

At least, that's what they hope is going on.

But they have Nightmares. Not of being pursued by Shinigami but of being the Shinigami in hot pursuit. Dreams of walking through a city, surrounded by humans that adore them. Names and Faces- Rukia and her dipshit older brother, Jushiro with the nice couch they sometimes pass out on after long nights- if Jushiro's husband wasn't already there. ...Memories, of meeting each other, and falling in love. How it felt as natural to look up to her as it was to gaze at the moon. How waking up to him felt as natural as the dawn. Memories of being married by Captain Ukitake, after Tousen had done them the inexplicable favor of organizing the whole party and acquiring wedding rings. He loves organizing things for people. Ukitake had smiled. Especially weddings. I just hope it's not guilt from the one he didn't get to. His husband had frowned.

That's impossible, of course. They know who they are, how they arose from the vile muck in the shadowy pits of Hueco Mundo. They never stood in the sun one late afternoon, to marry, not with how it burns.

...and yet.

There's no harm in being polite, right? They don't mind locking Glottineria in it's scabbard with an audible click when he comes into the room, to affirm lack of hostilities. Or giving him the cup of tea Aizen gives everyone at his insufferable meetings afterwards- it's not like they can drink it! ...And if sometimes, when they've been working late in the lab studying the effects and causes of Hollowfication, when Tousen gets tired and starts to call them "Kaien" and "Miyako"-

-Well, what's the harm in answering in the voices he expects to hear?

[moonlit-imagines]

Headcanons for Tim falling for you

Tim Bradford x reader

warnings:

a/n: im gonna be so honest i love him your honor

prompt: @sacredwarrior88: “May I please request headcanons for Tim falling in love with a female detective who's also a veteran and swore off love and relationships after her divorce?”

you’d just transferred to mid wilshire a few months prior

and from the moment tim heard you complaining about discipline and rookies needing a kick in the ass—he was head over heels

you were also a veteran, he felt a connection with you for that

he’d always make small talk with you

“so, where’d you serve?” -tim

he was cute and all, you just weren’t ready to fall in love again—or ever

“you know, i think tim really likes you, l/n” -lucy

“oh, i know” -you “you don’t become a sergeant in the army and not be able to tell when a boy has a crush on you”

“so? you don’t like him back or something. he’s a great guy, he was my TO. i mean, he’s a hard ass, but like, he’s a great guy” -lucy

“i appreciate you trying to help, but i’m not here looking for a relationship, chen” -you

harper and lopez would rag on him constantly for not making a move

“they just got here, i’ll give it a few more months” -tim

“it’s been a few months, what’s really going on?” -lopez

“yeah, bradford, i never took you for a shy guy” -harper

“we’ve been out for a few beers, it’s just…” -tim

“well, spit it out!” -lopez

“y/n just got divorced and told me they don’t want to get into anything serious—ever again” -tim

“wow, your dream partner just walks into your life and is unattainable by means of hating all men” -harper

“well, you thought you’d never find love again after your divorce and look at how far you’ve come, tim. at least give it a little time” -lopez

“isn’t that what i just said?” -tim

“i get where y/n’s coming from, though. i mean, after i got divorced i was over all men forever. now i’ve got a husband and another beautiful daughter” -harper

tim felt really discouraged, he thought you were perfect for him but he understood that dating a coworker was complicated. so was divorce

but instead of trying to get you, he tried to be there for you

“how’ve you been. new station, new city, new start?” -tim

“it’s fine. taking it day by day” -you

“you know, i could give you some good restaurant recommendations or something?” -tim

“no thanks, lucy beat you to it” -you

“of course she did. you know, she used to be my rookie” -tim

“she told me right after she told me you have a crush on me” -you

tim got red in the face very fast

and you made sure to keep your composure just long enough to make it awkward

“she…she did, did she?” -tim, through clenched teeth

“yep” -you, starting to laugh

“you’re messing with me” -tim

“i’m not, actually. i just think its cute you’re embarrassed” -you “but you already know my story”

“i do. and i hope you can take the time you need before you agree to go out with me, because i don’t think i’m gonna get you out of my head anytime soon” -tim

“ooh, sergeant bradford, i didn’t think i’d get to see this side of you. you’re always tripping over your words with me” -you

“well, i had a helpful talk with some meddling detectives” -tim

“i can take a guess who you’re referring to” -you

“i’d love to grab a beer with you sometime if you’re not ready to date yet, but i’d love to grab dinner with you if you are” -tim

“i’ll give dinner a thought, but for now drinks will do” -you

tim started treating you mostly normal and getting his confidence back since spilling his guts to you over drinks, and the girls were cheering him on every time you were within 20 feet of each other

he started treating you professionally, with a few winks and sly comments here and there

“so, you’re giving bradford a chance?” -lopez

“i’m giving a chance to giving him a chance” -you

“i feel you there, after my divorce i couldn’t imagine dating again, but i’m glad i found it in me to give my husband a chance” -harper

“he’s a good one?” -you

“eh, i’d give him a solid 6 out of 10” -lopez

“yeah? well i’ve been debating taking him up on that dinner, but that six rating really convinced me” -you

you finally found caught tim after shift and gave him the good news and he couldn’t be more excited

really, he’d been planning this date for weeks

and it went amazingly

“can i kiss you?” -tim

“only if you want to” -you

taglist: @summersimmerus //

[sir-myst-cake]

First post on here and it's a rant!! If you want more cool takes you should totally follow me as I'll be posting here more often and have totally cool art to share‼️‼️

I'm not completely sure how to tag this? I'm talking about the ships in a positive light so I think it's okay, and besides, I want lots of peeps to see it, I'm aware I probably won't change many people's minds at all, but it's okay lol, I just want Anti's to see they genuinely have a nothing burger and need to leave people alone.

This is a mostly TikTok only problem regarding Beast x Ancient's (thank god) but I've seen my fair share elsewhere like on here. So lemme counter every argument I've seen so far cause you got a lot of time on your hands to be telling people to off themselves over Cookie ships 😭 put that hate into people who actually deserve it.

BILLFORD COMPARISON

Regarding ShadowVanilla specifically, people have compared the ship a lot from both sides, but what really got me is what I've seen here:

"Shadow Milk Cookie is way worse than Bill! He drove Pure Vanilla to insanity! He tortured him!"- This is in regards to how people bring up the fact Anti's are fine with one thing but not the other when it's basically the same thing they're against. Psychological, physical, mental, and emotional torture. I'll be honest I haven't watched Gravity Falls whatsoever, but my friend has, and from what she says, yeah Bill is the definition of a cruel and unusual punishment. He's done some crazy things, absolutely heinous, might even be a little worse than Shadow Milk or on the same level, either way though-

You can't like one thing and then not the other, it's different flavors of the same thing, it's hypocritical. Either you hate them both or you hate neither.

"Those are 2 different fandoms!"- Doesn't matter, it's the same thing, just different media, it's not different whatsoever aside from the universe, there's much torture involved on both ends.

ABUSER X VICTIM

This one I've seen A LOT and I'm just ??

"If you ship Beast x Ancient's you support Abuser x victim btw"- That's a STRETCH. You are reaching FAR. Nobody is romanticizing the abuse, nobody is normalizing it, it's stuff that happened in canon and we acknowledge it but nobody is doing any of that other stuff. I'm not condoning anyone in real life to do that shit lol. It's called exploring, they have an interesting dynamic, romantic or platonic, two sides of the same coin. You can say the same thing about horror movies, they put a lot of disturbing stuff in there. Do the movie producers CONDONE any of that stuff? Obviously not. Goes for Devsisters too, they don't condone body mutilation yet they still made Burning Spice rip off Cheese's wings.

But even so, for the people who DO like it for the angst, I won't say fiction doesn't affect reality because it does in many cases, but this isn't one of them. Not every relationship is going to be peachy and perfect, just like in real life. I can give an example on this one too actually.

GoldenLily, they aren't condoning what Lily (technically) did to Golden Cheese's kingdom, but they like it for all the potential, complicated feelings and emotions that come along with it.

Also, that's basically the same thing with Beasts x Ancients, just turn it around to enemies to lovers.

"This isn't Villain x hero, this is abuser x victim"- Are you saying MOST of media is abuser x victim then? This is in fact a typical hero x Villain trope, it's nothing new. Respectfully, you guys freak out when a Villain does villain stuff, I'd be surprised if there was a villain who DIDN'T cause any trauma for the opposing party. But according to this logic, media is just dead, no more fanfiction, no more what ifs, no more content since it's all apparently problematic and not canon. Even if somebody switches stuff up in an AU, and makes things completely fluffy, that's apparently still not enough.

"oh you had to make an AU to ship them because you know it's toxic"- No, it's just playing around with scenarios. Learn to separate fanon from canon. This specifically goes for the redeemed AU's I see of the Beasts, people still complain, they act as if people can't change. One of the biggest examples I have of that is FlutterCord, Discord did plenty of messed up things, but in the end, he still managed to change. You'll still get burned at the stake for it though.

"You must be an abuser yourself to condone this!!"- Extremely disrespectful and a WILDDD take. Need I say more??

"I ship Beast x Beast rather than Beast x Ancient's"- According to your logic, the Beasts are abusers right? And if we followed the same story, they are not mentally well whatsoever. You'd rather ship 2 dangerously mentally unstable characters together who'd just make each other worse? Destroy each other? Fuck each other up beyond belief? It doesn't make sense does it, nor is it fair for y'all to praise these ships but hate on the others. You like watching the cookies crumble huh 😭

CANON

"The ship isn't canon!"- We know that, everyone should know that. With what I said earlier, please learn to separate fanon from canon. That's what a fandom is, we do non-canon stuff, it's very fun, you should try it.

"It's a Proship/Dark ship!"- Going the canon route, Beasts are Eons old, Ancients are thousands of years old. Big gap yes, but nonetheless all of them are old as fuck. Older than bloodlines. Treating the Ancients as if they aren't grown adults. You're intentionally trying to make it weird. Stop calling ships you don't like proships please.

Also a little off topic but please don't listen to everyone you interact with on TikTok?? I remember one time I was scrolling through a comment section and saw somebody say "Doesn't Mystic Flour Cookie hate Burning Spice Cookie?" On a MysticSpice vid, looked in the replies, somebody asked for proof/where it was implied, and they didn't answer 💀 just blatantly spreading misinformation. Sources around you are way more reliable than people who don't back up their claims.

CONCLUSION

Even despite all this, you still have the right to feel how you wanna feel. Just please stop harassing people for simple stuff like this, in all honesty, I feel like it's more about seeing one of your favorite characters shipped with somebody who hurt them in canon that makes peeps upset. Which I can totally understand because I used to be exactly like that, I LIVEEEE for Dark Cacao Cookie, when Mystic Flour's update came out, I wanted her dead. Quite literally blocked someone because I couldn't stand seeing their MysticCao art. Hated what she did to my baby boy fr.

But then It started growing on me, over time, I just realized it was never that serious.

Even so, notice how I still didn't go out of my way to harass said person about it because I specifically didn't like it? It really is that easy. Block and go about your day.

I also suspect this because of stuff like this 💀

Love that person who replied, but it's not that hard y'all. We all can in fact, get along.

ANYWAYSSSS thanks to those who took the time read, I love you my pookies hope you have a good day or night💕💕

[some-girl-i-guess-1]

MANOR ERA CYN HCS YIPPEE

- was the last to be found and rescued by tessa, first being J followed by n and v shortly after

- voice/speech patterns were always funky in the way they are now but her limbs were mostly fine pre-solver, though they did lock up a bit

- her serial member started with ‘n’ so she gave herself the name cyn to differentiate herself from N

- it’s also why they’re siblings - their serial numbers are only two numbers apart!

- she’s the youngest of the group, but not like a toddler - id say she’s around 14 years old. for reference, n and v are 15, and j n tessa are 16 (Tess is 2 months older)

- very smart for her age, knows how to read people’s thoughts and emotions rly well - good at picking up small social cues

- despite this though she has a hard time comforting people at first. it’s not because she has low empathy, she just doesn’t know how to help. no matter how much she wants to help, she’s ultimately powerless

- got her solver about 2 years in, when james carelessly threw a bottle over/behind head and at her face, the life-or-death situation causing it to awaken. James didn’t notice, but tessa did.

- much like uzi there were brief flashes of the symbol on her eye a few weeks before it happened, but she didn’t really think anything of it until the incident

- cyn and Tess quickly told the others abt the solver, but with their lack of knowledge they didn’t really find anything out n just assumed cyn was magic

- slowly, she began to learn and master the solver’s power - using it to protect her family and make their lives easier, but despite this she still felt like she wasn’t doing enough with it. she couldn’t just protect them, no - she could reach higher, she could free them all!

- Tessa and J wouldn’t have to worry about a stupid, forced marriage getting between them, her big brother and V wouldn’t have to worry about dying for simple mistakes, and none of them would ever have to worry about mr and ms elliot ever again.

- slowly though the side effects of the solver would begin to take their toll on her. cyn valiantly refused the urge to kill and consume with everything she had to the point where it started consuming parts of cyn’s own body to stave off that gnawing hunger, causing her motor skills to get worse and her joints to lock up

- this forced cyn to rely even more heavily on the solver, which caused her to grow even hungrier - all of this taking a mental toll on cyn’s mind and sanity.

- by the time of the gala, she’s hanging on by a thread - consuming the other workers in the manor and food from the kitchen to keep herself somewhat stable, but at this point she’s long gone. her desire to protect and save her family has been twisted into a sick plan to make them all ‘just like her’, turning n v and j into disassemblers - and fusing herself with tessa’s body in a freakish macabre display, where albeit painfully, she’s still Alive. She would never discard her big sister Tessa, after all!

- cyn was not possessed by an entity, nor is she inherently malicious. rather, the pressure she put on herself and the eldritch power that wormed itself into her very soul caused her to lose any semblance of sanity, now being fueled by nothing but the sick desire to consume *everything*, with her family right by her side.

- she is the ultimate foil to uzi - as while cyn had nobody who truly understood the weight of the solver, and actively hid and pushed back against that side of herself until it swallowed her whole, uzi had multiple people (khan, n, and v) who were knowledgeable enough to help her through it all, and instead of hiding herself from the world, she chose to be herself and be free.

- cyn was but a child wanting to save their family. quite a classic story - a young child being given supernatural powers they don’t comprehend, and learns to become a hero. but it all went wrong, and now there is nothing left of her. nothing, but the solver of the absolute fabric, the void, and the exponential end.

[froppy-butterflyfan2000]

They cannot believe this…..

Hannibal and Eugenia are sitting down at the Waiting Room, shocked by what just happened while they are talking, while babysitting and mentoring Staryummy in their care as a form of co-custody, Vinnie whose was playing with his cow plushies at the park, was stab.

Eugenia see Travis coming in the hospital. He has the same expression on his face. He was told from Hannibal to picks up Vinnie’s biological mother, Valerie from work because she has permission to leave work early after learning what happened to her son. Eugenia gets up from her seat to tell him the rest of the story.

“Travis! Thanks goodness you have brought Valerie. Vinnie is in the ICU right now, the doctor have not come to tell us the news.” Said Eugenia.

Travis is grimaced by this news.

“Janaya is inside the police station for questioning,” Hannibal added.

‘What have Enya got to do with this?’ Travis thought as Hannibal gave him information.

“He witnessed what Enya did to Vinnie.” Hannibal explained, looking distraught. “I don’t understand Travis, Vinnie did nothing wrong. I wish I could have stop this.”

Travis frown, feeling sorry for Hannibal comforts him.

“Hannibal man, it is ok. Everything is all right…..” said Travis. But he looks at Hannibal to see the disbelief in his eyes.

~~

The incident occurred in the children’s playground in Townsville, Hannibal is keeping an eyes on Mimi, Bluey, Vinnie, Vanny, May, Ben, Helena, Aurora, and Yumi, Delilah, Meena, Laurel, Poppy, Roxie, Aiden, Jewel, and Gem, playing with other children in the playground. It was a school day, so the other kids, Elizabeth, Uma, Velvet, Viola, Blake, Nash, Marin, Dan, and Max are still in school. However he took a break to listen to Eugenia about Vinnie.

“Vinnie is doing well. His magic is minor and it is not very powerful. He is able to tell the differences between fantasy and reality. So therefore, he won’t harms himself or anyone else,” said Eugenia. “He even learns how to manage his time well in doing his homework and playtime.”

Hannibal is relief to hears from Eugenia that Vinnie is fine. That means Vinnie will be able to live with his biological parents, Valerie and Matthew (if Matthew ever step up) and his siblings, Gregory and their two little sisters again. With Valerie is employed at Chillaxation, after she is released from prison in Lumenia because she was wrongly convicted, they are now going to be fine financially and their life is stabilizing.

This day was normal and relaxing.

Hannibal then shifts his eyes at Janaya, he hadn’t seen the wizard for the past four years. Or is it five years? He doesn’t know. What he do know is that January is seem to be busy right now as he is talking to four Staryummies. Then he notice Janaya’s face turns pale, as if he see something awful, and then Hannibal hears Vinnie’s scream. He turns to see Vinnie letting out an agonizing scream as he felt the stabbed object inside of him. “Oh shit! Enya, what’ve you done?!” Janaya yelled, running towards Enya and Vinnie. “STOP IT! ENYA!”

“Die,” said Enya, continuing to stabbing Vinnie. More witnesses, mostly children start to see what The Fairy of The Blue Fireworks is doing and scream.

Four Staryummies who are with him, scream and dogpiled Janaya, afraid and not wanting to be stabbed by Enya and what will happen to him. “Let go of me!” Janaya groaned. “He’s in danger!”

“DADDY!” Vinnie screamed. Blood coming out of his body from the open wound. Hannibal and Eugenia rush to Vinnie’s aid after seeing Enya stabbing Vinnie. Hannibal bashes Enya in the head while Eugenia throw her fist at Enya’s face. Janaya is free from the staryummies’ grasp, rushed to Vinnie’s side and use first aid and healing magic to stop the bleeding. Enya would be held back by other adults, specifically either parents of young children or Nannies.

"Let go of me!!" Enya shouted, pushing back the people back using her magic, continuing to move towards him. However Eugenia quickly restrain Enya using her mana. Hannibal glares daggers at the unstable fairy. “You’ve done enough damages girl! I will not let you harm Vinnie!” Hannibal yelled at Enya.

“He deserves to die!” said Enya, giving Janaya, Eugenia, and Hannibal the chill.

“WHY?!?” Janaya asked Enya. Enya responded with an emotionless expression on her face.

“He ruined everything!” Enya explained to Janaya, and last thing Hannibal recollected is that the paramedic and the polices arrived and Enya is put into the police car, while he and Vinnie are taken in the ambulance to the hospital. Eugenia takes the kids home and have Dorothy watch over them so she can go to the hospital.

The day was traumatizing and heartbreaking.

~~

“So that what happened, Travis,” said Hannibal.

He cannot believes that Enya attempted to murdered a harmless creature, not to mention a child. Of course that it is someone he knows! Travis decided not to help Hannibal in taking care of fifteen kids. But… he could have done more. Travis stares at Vinnie, lying on the hospital bed, hugging his cow plushies. Valerie, the mother of Vinnie, sobbing. He imagines Vinnie as Keith, lying in bed injured from being attacked. Camp Synonymous is suppose to be a place where people becomes better version of themselves. Heroes of Tomorrow! Not to become…. A monster!

Sandra, Agrippa, and Marianne are not going to like this once the news is released and spread.

“Damn it,” said Travis.

~~

News did travel fast. In Domino, a tower stand strong, confining the corrupted nymph for her crimes. Instead of plotting her revenge, she seems to be at peace.

Marianne is brushing her hair, and look at the news article on her cellphone. Marianne put down her hairbrush. She frowns in disappointment and expected that Enya would do something like that when Enya drove into despair. At the same time stressed, she pressed her forehead and rub the tension. “That brat,” said Marianne. Marianne turns off the electronic device and put it away in her mirror stand. Enya is not her responsibility anymore, so so this is not her problem anymore, so why?

It is true she was stress, but she have herself to blame, and as a result lost everything. Her fiancé and the crown, she will have to works hard to get them back.

Till then, Marianne decides to not let Enya hurt anyone ever again. Because what if Enya use what little royal immunity to have left to get away from all of it? Or theoretically, break the crystal she will be crystallized and escape? She pulled out the cow plushies and with a flick her wrists they glow.

“MOO!” Said the cow plushies.

She must use the magic she has left before her magic inhibitor collar detects negative emotions and inhibits her magic. She generates a portal and send the cow plushies to tracks down Enya and attacks her if she refuse to cooperate. Marianne does love her cousin in all her heart, However, she is not going to let Enya do whatever she wants. She needs to pays for harming an innocent life and trying to destroy an entire family’s life. Her father, Sky is surely have to pay compensation to the family of Vinnie on Enya’s behalf. Enya better pays him back.

Marianne hears the doorknob turn and open. Marianne gets up and turns to face the guard.

“Are you ready for your visiting hour?” The royal guard asked.

Marianne nod. “Yes, I am ready to see my mother and father.”

Marianne walks out of her cell, with the prison guards to meets her parents in the garden.

“Hello mother, father,” Marianne greeted.

“Hello Marianne,” said Thoren, whose is longing to meets his daughter ever since she is confined in dungeon. “How have you been doing?”

“I’m doing fine, thanks you for your concern father.” Marianne answered. “I spent my time in confinement making crochet plushies. Hopefully the ones I made for Enya will show her how much I really feel about her.”

Daphne is confused and suspicious at Marianne. She wonders what her motives are when she brought Enya up. But then again, Marianne must have really regretted what she did to Enya in the past, after being corrupted and becoming Dark Marianne. The darkness, that Darkar added to The Dragon’s Flame, had change Marianne��s frustration, being under appreciated, and love for Enya into hatred toward Enya after all. Marianne look at her mother’s glances at her. She may look unphrase by it, however it is uncomforted as Marianne inhales roughly and quick and exhales when looking at Daphne. “I just want to give them to her as an apology for the way I treated her and an act of forgiveness.”

The prison guard couldn’t help but felt pity internally for the family.

Enya, Mimi, Bluey, Vinnie, Vanny, May, Ben, Helena, Aurora, and Yumi, Delilah, Meena, Laurel, Poppy, Roxie, Aiden, Jewel, and Gem, Elizabeth, Uma, Velvet, Viola, Blake, Nash, Marin, Dan, Max, Valerie, Matthew, and four more unnamed Staryummies belong to @gloriousdreamunknown

Agrippa, Janaya, Hannibal, and Eugenia belong to @froppy-butterflyfan2000 (me)

Travis and Sandra belong to @ej-cappy-universe

Write a piece in which a child gives an account of something they've done or seen.

[frogs00]

i think this is my first time dropping a request to you?? wowzers, anywho‼️‼️

bottom brat janis x brat tamer regina 🙏🫶

you can pick the plot or if it just goes right into the smut, whatever! i trust your judgement

Beg

Summary: Regina and Janis fuck, that's kind of it.

Warning: Smut - Marking, oral & fingering, Mistress kink (because I guess because that's what I'm doing with my life), crawling?, mirror sex, Janis has a praise kink!

Pairings: Regina + Janis

Regina kicked the door behind her, locking it swiftly, and stalked toward Janis with a predatory smirk. Her pearly white teeth gleamed menacingly in the dim light of her and Janis's dorm room.

Janis couldn't help but smirk back but it was quickly wiped off her face as Regina's hand shot out and she gripped Janis's jaw tightly, leaning forward, "You were flirting with that other girl, weren't you?"

Janis scoffed, rolling her eyes, "Maybe you shouldn't have been spending all night with Shane." she retorted, glaring up at her. Of course, she knew this was all unserious and neither of them was actually making a move on the other, and this was mostly foreplay between the two, but she'd play along because...

It's hot.

Regina's grip on her jaw tightened, and she narrowed her eyes, she looked Janis up and down hungrily, then chuckled. A low, almost frightening sound that sent a shiver down the shorter girl's spine, "Shut the fuck up." Janis's eyes widened as Regina's lips smashed into hers roughly, a rough kiss filled with passion. She groaned into it and reached up to wrap her arms around the taller girl's neck.

"Oh, you can shut me up anytime, princess-" the brunette was cut off again.

The kisses were passionate, with both the girls fighting for dominance with their tongues. The wet and warm exchange of their kisses quickly escalated.

Regina quickly pressed Janis's body against the first wall she saw, determined to win in the battle of control, as she almost always did. She pulled back from this kiss and whispered, "You don't get to call me that tonight, baby girl"

"Yeah, princess? Well, what should I call you, hm?" Janis teased, using the nickname anyway, then bit back a moan as Regin slipped a leg between her thighs. Making the blonde grin devilishly.

"I want that girl you were flirting with to know who you belong to, all of this dorm will know you're mine, brat. So you will scream my name, understood?" Regina whispered, running her hands up the brunette's back and tangling in her hair just to tug it back and tilt her head roughly into an uncomfortable position, "Or mistress. Got it?"

Janis nodded quickly, heart pounding in her ears as she gazed up into Regina's hooded, beautiful blue eyes. She was turned on beyond belief.

"Words, baby," Regina smirked.

"Got it," Janis whispered, breath hot and heavy. Regina gave a rough tug at her hair and Janis groaned, "Regina- Mistress-"

"Good, get on the bed." Regina purred, releasing her hair and pushing off the wall, when Janis went to walk towards the bed Regina tsked and pointed to the floor. Janis blinked in confusion, then slowly her cheeks flushed.

"Regina..." Janis objected and Regina smirked, sauntering past her and then sitting on the bed, looking at her expectantly.

"Come," Regina ordered, and Janis flushed even deeper.

She crossed her arms. "No way," she said, and then Regina raised an eyebrow—a look that dared her to object, to give her a reason to punish her.

Fine. She almost spat but didn't. This was truthfully very arousing, as equally embarrassing.

She lowered herself onto her knees and crawled towards her, while Regina watched. Her eyes darkened in pure lust, a smugness to her actions, the way she crossed her legs and watched her with a wicked gleam in her eyes.

Once Janis was close enough she uncrossed her legs, then reached out and gripped her chin, albeit more tenderly. Slowly sliding her hand to cup her cheeks and caress it with a smirk that made Janis's knees go weak.

"Undress for me, baby," Regina purred, and began to wordlessly pull off her top and remove her bottoms, as well as her bra. Janis was lower and had the perfect view, quite literally on her knees, gazing up at the absolute goddess before her. She snapped back into it, wiping her mouth because she might've almost been drooling like some schoolboy.

Regina smiled down at the ogling Janis, she liked the feeling. She liked seeing Janis below her, it made her feel powerful. Regina George loved power and better yet control.

Regina George also loved Janis.

"Well, undress," she ordered again and watched in amusement as Janis scrambled to do just that. To feel the skin on skin.

Once Janis was undressed, she still sat kneeling, she looked up at her. She saw everything. She hid nothing from her, and Janis could not figure out whether it was intentional or purely a weak disguise. But she saw her, all the parts of her.

She was not afraid to show Regina all the parts of her. She felt no sense of fear or instability. Her voice doesn’t waver nor crack. Her eye contact does not break, and neither does Regina's.

She trusted her.

Regina leaned forward and contacted their lips again, her lips were soft against her and this kiss was less passionate, but nonetheless filled with want. A slow, drawing want.

It was such a strong feeling that not even the word love could do it justice.

"You're beautiful, baby," Regina praised as they parted, and Janis felt her words were true just because they left her lips, the brunette preened.

"My beautiful, bratty girl," and her tone got lower again, she spread her legs, "You're gonna please me, aren't you?"

Janis did not hesitate.

She dove in, stripping her underwear to her ankles and carelessly tossing them away. Her mouth was pooled with the taste of Regina. She groaned into her cunt and a shiver ran up and down her spine.

Her saccharine need drenched her chin and tongue, thighs quaking and convulsing on her shoulders as she obeyed Regina's... her mistress's wishes. Pleasing her with her tongue, circling her clit, and sucking with the perfect amount of pressure.

Regina groaned loudly. throwing her head back and guiding Janis's head where she wanted it. As if she needed guidance. But oh, did she love the feeling of being controlled regardless? A bit, yeah.

Regina came hard and suddenly, hips bucking onto Janis's face as the brunette helped her ride out the waves of intense pleasure. Her grip on the brunette's hair was tight, and the shooting sting made Janis moan herself.

As Regina came down from her high, the brunette pressed soft kisses up her thighs and to her tummy.

Whispering soft praises, worshipping her. Sweet nothings against the skin, so gently that Regina could feel that Janis meant every word. Janis was... oddly enough, a much more gentle lover than Regina was.

That was fine, considering Janis enjoyed it a bit too much. And Regina adored the praise.

Eventually, Regina pulled Janis's head back, and Janis smirked up, obviously pleased with herself, but her eyes were still tender, Janis always was so happy with herself when she pleased Regina. Janis craned up to kiss the still-panting girl, but Regina had other plans as she instead reached for Janis's throat. This resulted in a loud moan from the unexpecting girl.

Fuck.

Regina dragged her nails down the bare girl's throat, and chest, skimming over her bra.

"Oh, you did such a good job, baby." She praised, cooing in a way that was someone how both sweet and condescending.

"Regina..." Hearing her name moaned like that, well, it tickled Regina. So, what did she do? She practically manhandled Janis onto the bed, and she crawled on top of her, spreading her legs while Janis watched with wide, excited eyes.

"Regina, what?" The blonde chuckled, then closed the space between Janis's thighs with her hips. The hands that once were on Janis's lower thighs found their way up to the rim of her boxers. Once she had them in her grasp, she quickly tore them off her lover's body. She also moved up and maneuvered Janis so she could unclip her bra, then greeted her plump breasts.

"Regina, please... fuck me." Janis groaned. Regina tutted, dragging her nails across her thighs lightly, watching as she shivered.

"Mmm, do you deserve that after you were making heart eyes at that other bitch today?"

"Regina..." Janis growled, squirming beneath her. She was growing restless, although she knew intimacy like this Iva dance, one where she'd have to be patient and wait for her moment because any disruption to the flow would be borderline criminal.

"Beg."

And Janis felt a shiver run down her spine. She'd be ashamed to admit she had almost choked on her own breath.

Desire was often described to be burning, a fire desperate to consume everything in its path. It's not an untrue statement for many, but not always fitting. Because her desire did not burn, it melted. It melted and dripped down and pooled, making her limbs feel weak.

"C'mon, pretty girl, beg me," Regina purred, tilting Janis's head up with a single finger, her words coming out as silky words of praise.

"Please..." Janis's voice trailed off as she felt Regina's lips skim across her chest, shuddering.

"Mm, keep going," Regina hummed against her skin, and Jani's eyes closed softly as she felt Regina suck her skin between her teeth.

"Please, Regina, I...fuck...I need you," consider her pride wounded, "Fuck me, Please." She groaned out loud as Regina continued to kiss and suck her skin, her warm breath fanning across her.

"Mistress, please." Janis moaned as Regina's teeth grazed against her neck, Regina paused her sensual movements, enjoying teasing her, but finding something out in the process.

She suck her teeth into Janis's neck, and Janis's legs squeezed around her hips.

"Masochist," Regina hummed, tongue soothing the bite softly before pulling back with a chuckle. Trgina then leaned back and skillfully spread her thighs, chuckling. She bit her lip as she glanced down, awe-struck as usual.

"You're so wet," Regin teased, running a finger down her girlfriend's folds.

Janis slowly closed her leg and tilted her head away shyly. Regina could see her cheeks flushing pink, the color going all the way down to her neck. Goodness, she was adorable.

"Oh, now you're shy? Hm?" Regina cupped her chin and smirked, still teasing her cunt with her other hand, "Look at me, baby: I want to see you."

Janis made eye contact and then let out a gasp as a finger was thrust inside her, "Uh, fuck-" she choked on an outright filthy moan that tumbled from her lips.

"That's right baby, such a good girl," Regina hummed, pulling back to hover above her as she fucked her with an additional finger.

And holy fuck, the constant praise was probably Janis's biggest undoing.

Writhing and squirming and thrusting against her girlfriend's fingers was making her exert herself, always begging for more. Of course, Regina was happy to oblige, working her over masterfully.

Janis came much, well, louder than Regina did, "Regina," Her name tumbled from her lips like a chant, like a prayer. Regina worked her through the orgasm with deft fingers, but this was far from over. She pulled out of Janis abruptly, licking off her sweetness, and left her whining and panting as she went to fetch something from their closet.

A pink strap-on.

She put it on rather slowly, smirking wildly as she stared at Janis's flushed, panting form that lay strewn on the bed.

"You're perfect." Regina purred, sauntering over to her and leaning over her. Janis stared up at her, smiling as if she was smug, knowing her she probably was.

Regina caressed Janis's slightly damp

"Up, I want to see your face while I fuck you," Regina whispered, and almost chuckled at the way the girl shot up out of her seat. Regin helped he to her feet, then guided her to their body mirror, one Regina had brought from her room at home.

Regine grinned devilishly as she took it Janis wrecked form in the mirror, and even wider when Janis took in herself.

Janis was covered in hickeys, and the visible bite mark on the side of her neck stood out. Janis narrowed her eyes and upon further inspection, Janis realized the hickey's across her chest formed an 'R'. God, her legs almost gave out.

"Look how beautiful you are, baby," Regina murmured against her girlfriend's neck while looking at Janis in the mirror. Janis felt the silicone slip between her legs and whimpered as it rubbed against her already sensitive cunt.

But now Janis had only focused one focus; The way it felt to be skin-to-skin with Regina, the blonde's tits pressing against her back as the blonde shallowly thrust between her thighs.

Janis gasps softly, then her breath hitches as Regina's right-hand approaches her front, brushing her fingertips along her body. The brunette watches Regina's hand in the mirror. Regina watches as she places kisses along her neck and shoulder.

"Regina... Mm, fuck, you're perfect," Janis mumbled, Regina's smile against her neck as Janis continued, "Please, fuck me... you're so beautiful." Janis shudders as she cups one of her breasts, Regina gently kneading and groping it for a moment, her thumb brushing a nipple.

"Aww, thank you, pretty girl," the taller girl chuckled, and Janis felt the tip press against her core, "Look in the mirror.' She ordered, and Janis obliged. Her brown eyes felt strained, eyes slightly watering; from pleasure or from keeping her eyes open, she was not sure.

The toy eased inside her, and Janis groaned as pleasure coursed through her body. Regina's thrusts were rough, quick, and deep. It was overwhelming.

"Do you like this? Watching me fuck you?" Regina asks before biting down on Janis's pulse, sucking yet a bruise there.

"Yes, mistress. Yes, fuckkk-" Janis hiccupped and her head rolled a bit, eyes glazy with pleasure.

“And you’re taking it so well, sweetheart,” she praised, causing waves of pleasure to ripple through Janis's abdomen despite it.

she gazed at herself lazily in the mirror, feeling that feeling build up more and more...

"Are you going to come again, pretty girl?" Regina asked and Janis nodded, Regina felt pride course through her body. Her hand drifted lower and her thrusts slowed a bit.

She pressed down on the smaller girl's clit with her thumb, Janis jerked and moaned, and Regina whispered into her ear, "Come then."

Janis was thrown over the edge, eyes struggling to keep open as her orgasm tore through her. Mumbling and crying out nonsense until she is reduced to mush, letting her eyes fall shut as she slumps back into her girlfriend's strong arms.

Regina instantly fell into aftercare mode. She slid out of the girl, practically scooped her up, and then laid her down on the bed, she took off the harness. She pulled Janis against her and soothed her softly, the girl was trembling from how intense the orgasm was.

“Shh, that’s my girl,” she whispered into the crook of her neck as she held her. As though she wasn't the one who had just desperately pounded her in front of the mirror.

"You need a drink, hm? I'll get you some water, does my girl want to shower or sleep?" She asked while gently stroking Janis's hair, Janis laughed a bit, then yawned.

"Mm, sleep, idiot," she mumbled. Regina rolled her eyes but got up anyway, getting a water bottle from their mini-fridge and unscrewing it, handing it to the now sore girl.

She went to the restroom to clean herself up, then brought a damp towel over to Janis who was sprawled out almost dramatically on the bed.

Regina rolled her eyes again, albeit fondly, then walked over to her and gently cleaned her up without a word. In a warm silence that made her head feel fuzzy and light, she yawned once more.

The blonde pulled the blanket up to her chest, so Janis scorched up a bit and cuddled into her, their naked bodies pressing against one another like puzzle pieces.

“My sweet girl,” Regina quietly soothed from above, staring down fondly at the girl. Janis yawned, eyes fluttering closed as she fell into a much-needed rest.

[dark-lord-of-awesomeness]

Shifty is a delight. I love how baffled and stressed he makes his new friends. I'd love if he met "Dirty Ford" and the rest of the canon crew because I think he'd also make them baffled and stressed (except the stressed is mostly just Dipper seeing this guy who says he's his alternate dimension cousin, an alternate version of the shapeshifter that tried to kill him, his sister, and his friends).

Shifty's just having a great time. His alternate tried to murder his not-cousins. Fascinating. Is this more evidence that nurture has more to do with the morality of shapeshifters, or do shapeshifters work differently in this dimension? Maybe he can track down alternate Marcy, Darcy, and Jon and ask.

Dirty Ford is feeling retroactive guilt about Shifty being sentient. Like he definitely heard Cat Ford mention that but he did not process that until confronted with Cat Shifty.

Mabel's chill and excited about this Shifty. Sure, his alternate scared her pretty bad but he's just a silly guy like Grunkle Ford. He comes from a world where Grunkle Stan turns into a cute little cat. She needs to know all the alternate family tea.

Stan's like that's a bit weird, but he did punch a pterodactyl to save a pig and triangle to save the world, so alternate shapeshifting nibling is just, sure why not. Although he wishes he would stop telling the kids so much about how his alternate self got cursed to become a cat every time he steals (lame). He's worried this might give the kids (Mabel) ideas about turning him into a cat.

Inflicting cat dimension shifty on most other dimensions is like this honestly. Shifty doesn't make it out of the bunker in most cases, but cat Shifty doesn't hold it against his alternate family, because that's not him. He's not frozen in a bunker, and while he might feel bad for the other guy, he's living life just fine.

Which just makes everyone feel more guilty about the whole thing. Shiftys contemplating the differences between nature vs nurture, and how fascinating it is that his alternate self maybe almost killed his alternate parents and cousins. Meanwhile Fords going :( did I freeze a kid? Would my shifty be like this if I gave him a chance? Is it too late? (The answer to that last one is yes, too late to have his shifty be anything like cat shifty).

Mabel starts out uncomfortable, but she warms up pretty fast. Cat shiftys right after all! He is a different person then the one who almost killed her! He's also weird and funny like her grunkle! He's sharing all the fun stories about his family with her! How come her grunkle Stan can't be a cat :(

Dipper spends the entire time trailing him and watching every move suspiciously. He's a shapeshifter! They're evil! C!Shifty just shrugs. Maybe shapeshifters are evil here? He doesn't know! Eventually C!Shifty would win him over with his crazy lore drops. What does he mean he has four parents? Who's Carla? There's a coven in town? Why were you fighting dinosaurs? Dipper would get so lost trying to figure anything out about him and forget to be scared.

Stan is unaffected, except he would rather this guy stop telling everyone about his alternate self. That guy's lame, turns into a cat and snuggles people? Stan wouldn't be caught dead doing that. Ever. He needs his family to stop throwing puppy dog eyes his way about it. It's not happening.

[rekino2114]

I've got a few Lacey requests, if you don't mind! Could you do either: 6. or 20. for Jay with a male reader 12. for Lacey with an equally insecure transfemme reader. You can do any or none of them if you like! Thank you for considering!

Jay being your secret admirer

Pairing:Jay x male reader

A/n:Sorry, I don't write for trans readers just because I'm not trans myself and don't think I could write them well. Hope you still enjoy this. Also, I did this because I wanted to start writing for Jay and Maisie too to celebrate the lacey games trailer. Also, all of my lacey posts will take place in the same au where all of the main girls are dating their own version of y/n cause they need love.

Lately, you've been receiving some weird things on your doorstep. It's nothing creepy, quite the opposite, in fact, it's very romantic things.

It's mostly love letters in which the mysterious sender writes about how much they admire you and love everything about you. They describe everything about you in details and compliments.

The letters are always signed "your secret admirer" and are often accompanied by flowers, your favorite type nonetheless.

While the content isn't creepy in on itself, the fact that your dear friend Lacey had a similar experience with a stalker, which she thankfully managed to get out of, made you uneasy to accept the letters as actual love notes so you decided to talk to your friends about it.

"You have a secret admirer? Dude That's so cool"

"Is it? It kinda makes me uncomfortable"

"O-oh does it?"

"Yeah i mean, remember what happened to Lacey?"

"......yeah"

"It's not that bad, thankfully but still"

"Don't worry if you're ever in danger just tell us, we can help you"

"Thanks girls, you're the best"

"Don't mention it, it's the least we could do"

You all fist bumped each other and then you started talking with Jay, which seemed uncharacteristically nervous

"Hey Jay, wanna go skating today I know-"

"N-no it's fine I'll just hang out with Lacey and Maisie"

You looked at her a bit suspiciously but shrugged and left, saying goodbye to everyone. Jay breathed a sigh of relief seeing you go away, since she probably couldn't have kept a straight face anymore around her crush, but quickly got worried again as she saw her friends approaching her with teasing smirks on their faces

"Soooo when are you gonna tell him?"

"Eh? W-what are you talking about dude, I don't have to tell h-him a-anything"

"..............."

".....is it that obvious?"

"I mean........."

"It's a miracle he didn't find out yet"

".....y-yeah"

"Why didn't you just confess?"

"You have any idea how hard it is? I was sweating just writing the letter"

"But why? I'm sure he loves you too, you two basically always hang out"

"I don't think so, he probably thinks of me as just a friend"

"Why do you think so?"

"I mean I'm not girly like you two I don't think he-"

"Stop it there, Jay, you're amazing in your own way, and if y/n really loved you, then he'll do it because of who you are"

"Oh.....thanks lacey...i-i didn't expect you to say that"

"O-oh thank you, m-my partner says stuff like these all the time to me so......it just stuck I guess"

"Well did you hear her? Go and get your man, it's even valentine's day so it's perfect"

"Yeah! Thanks dudes!"

Jay said goodbye to her friends and quickly skated away to pick up another bouquet of your favorite flowers and one of the letters she had already written, then rang the doorbell to your house and took a deep breath to calm herself as she saw the door opening

"Hm? Jay? What's with......the....flowers"

"Hey dude, i-i mean y/n, so yeah I'm your secret admirer, please don't think I'm weird I wasn't stalking you or anything I just really know your face, a-and was too scared to confess. I want you to know that everything I said in the letters was true, I really, really like you.....a-and so....wanna be my boyfriend?"

"......I'd love to"

".....wait seriously?"

"Of course, I love you too Jay, I never confessed cause I thought you only thought of me as a friend"

"Really dude!? Me too! I thought I was way too boyish to be your type"

"What are you saying? I love tomboys and you especially"

"Really?"

"Yeah, you're so cool, I love how boyish you are if anything, it makes you special and so I love that"

"W-wow that's great! So are we like a thing or something now?"

You smiled and hugged her, making her blush, then proceeded to kiss her on the lips. She loved your lips so much that she couldn't help but feel disappointed when you pulled back

"Does that answer your question?"

"D-definitely"

"OK so now wanna go skate? As a couple"

"Sure thing dude! I bet it feels so much better than skating as just friends"

"I'm sure it does"

[beleester]

Maybe it's changed since 3.5e when I played, but in 3.5e a wand of Cure Light Wounds is just insanely efficient compared to any other healing item - an average of 275 HP for 750 gold, with the only drawback being that it's not very efficient in combat. You can afford it at a pretty low level, and it has enough juice to refill the whole party's HP multiple times over. It's not the biggest game breaker, but it changes the game enough that it's reasonable for a GM to say "I don't want to deal with this, I want the party to be able to handle about 4 level-appropriate encounters per day like it says in the book."

As for the rest of your post, I don't think the goal is simply "let the players keep exploring as long as possible." Because if that's all you care about, then why are you worried about the 15-minute adventuring day? Just let them long rest anywhere, and go into every fight with full health and spell slots. What's the problem, since they're staying in the dungeon?

But if that's not all you care about - if you want to preserve the game's assumption that players won't blow their whole wad of spells every fight and then take a nap afterwards - then you do in fact need to introduce some sort of "grim endurance gauntlet" component. Something that either rewards pushing through multiple encounters between rests, or penalizes resting too often. You can't have resource management gameplay if the players can refill their resources to full for free at any time.

I like the Angry GM's system because it puts all the risk in the players' hands, and retreating doesn't cost anything concrete, just progress. You don't need to invent an arbitrary time limit or try to pressure the players into "playing fair" by not taking too many rests, just let them proceed at their own pace and risk as much as they think is safe. If they choose to leave and come back, they've still got the treasure they found on this trip and the knowledge of the area they explored, so they're not losing everything, it's just a logistical hassle that you wouldn't want to go through if the party is still mostly fresh.

So if you want to encourage them to keep going deeper, you give them the resources to do that. You let them have healing items. You set up places that can be made safe for long resting in the dungeon. You reward the choice of picking up, say, the Alarm spell or Leomund’s Tiny Hut, or a character who thought to bring string for tripwires and ball bearings for traps. If they brought the tools to stay there, let them stay there. Let them use them. And actually go out of your way to give them to them. Let them find a scroll of Leomund’s Tiny Hut. Let them find a goblin camp’s stash of pots and pans to set up an alarm system. Make small out of the way rooms with only one entrance that they can barricade to make a safe space to long rest. Let them find friendly factions that they can safely stay with for a night.

All of these things are different from "let the party take a long rest at any time." If you can only rest in certain safe rooms, or only when the GM gives you a limited-use item, or if you have to puzzle out how to build a secure camp in a dangerous area, then you're still enforcing resource management gameplay - the players have to decide if it's worth using the scroll, backtracking to the safe room or allied camp, getting woken up when a wandering monster trips their Alarm spell in the middle of the night, and so on.

I specifically said in my first post that intermittent or resource-based healing like this is fine in a dungeon. It's when players can refill their resources for free (or for nothing but time) that it starts to get tricky.

I’m watching a (3hr) discussion on megadungeons as a concept for modern d20 games on a youtube channel called Knights of Last Call, and I’m enjoying it a lot, because it does explore a couple of points that I’ve been very much looking for. Namely, the idea that megadungeons should be there to enable and reward exploration. Which means, among other things, there can’t be a time-pressure meta plot (you have to get to the bottom of the dungeon to stop the lich before he destroys the world), and that the game/DM needs to explicitly reward (with xp, magic items, etc) the act of exploration, not the act of killing things while exploring.

Because the thing I always found enchanting about the idea of massive dungeons and complexes was the idea of going in to see what’s down there. Not being forced in for a plot, but just … because I’m curious, and I want to see what’s there. And he discusses how modern d20 games like Pathfinder and 5e can actually be better for that than OSR-type games because characters are more powerful and sturdy and can survive doing that. You can explore, and (most likely) have a decent shot of surviving said exploration. You can take risks because you’ll survive a broader range of risks.

The thing with a megadungeon is that it’s there to be explored, and so to encourage, enable and reward exploration for people who want to play that kind of game in the first place, you have to a) not penalise taking risks and going exploring by making it instantly lethal to try and go anywhere, and b) actively reward going exploring by making it the main way your character gets more cool things, such as magic items and/or new abilities from levelling up.

(And, he’s less explicit about this, but also making the rewards self-contained to the dungeon, things you find and gain in the dungeon, and not things you’d have to bring outside the dungeon to benefit from. So cool items you can keep and use, experience to level up, knowledge that would allow you to access new areas, etc, not things like gold where you’d have to go back outside to spend it, or quests that you have to go to external parties to be rewarded for).

The discussion goes into some detail about potential ways to do this, and potential problems with various methods, but overall I just really like the tone of the discussion. Because that very much is a thing I’ve been looking for for a long, long time. A game that rewards the simple desire to go somewhere and see what’s there. I don’t want to explore a massive underground complex because there’s a bad guy down there and I need to stop him, I want to explore it because there’s rumours that there’s a vast underground sea down there where creatures that haven’t been seen in aeons are rumoured to still live (blame reading Journey to the Centre of the Earth as a kid), or to discover why there’s a massive dungeon down there and learn who built it, or just because it’s a big strange space and I just want to see what it looks like.

He does talk about how you make dungeons interesting enough to justify that, things like thematically-distinct areas (like the underground lake, or the weird sunless forest, or the ghoul town, etc) so that it’s not one endless slog of ‘10ft wide corridors and stone rooms’, and to make it interconnected so that the players have full choice of where they go and what risks they want to take (enabling them to skip ahead difficulty levels, or retreat if need be, or escape areas that they’re not enjoying). And to possibly put in some distinct … not end goals, but capstone events, like a boss monster very deep down, that might feel like an ‘ending’ if the party wants to ‘finish’ the dungeon. Not something that will ‘burst out and destroy the world’, but something contained to the dungeon that a party could triumph over if they want a ‘final challenge’ sort of feeling. But one that’s optional, a challenge they can take up if they want to, not a prerequisite for getting out of the dungeon or completing a large goal, but just a challenge that exists if they want to take it on.

Because, and I do agree, a lot of the problem with exploring in D&D is not necessarily that there’s no mechanical support for it, in terms of things like skills, etc, but because there’s no reward for it, and in terms of structured adventures, there’s often either narrative or mechanical punishment for it (running out of time on the baddie, or running into something too lethal for your party to handle with no option to nope out). A megadungeon as a concept is a cool environment where exploration is the whole point, and the only point, and if you take care not to put an external pressure on it (‘kill the lich or else’), then then party has time to poke around and decide what they want to see and what risks they want to take (or nope out of). Especially in something so big that there’s no real chance of finishing it, so there’s no ‘100% completion’ pressure, just a big buffet of options for people to pick and choose from.  

(There are so many things in 5e that would be excellent for an exploration game, especially in terms of spells and magic items, but because combat is so much the driving force of the standard mode of play, people are reluctant to ‘waste’ spells known/prepared and/or items attuned on things like Alarm or Water Walk or Purify Food & Drink or non-combat items like Candles of the Deep or Foldable Boats or Slippers of Spider Climbing when those slots could be used for combat spells/items instead. But if exploration gets you XP, and if you can nope out of combat as required because there’s no massive stakes/story riding on it, then you’ve got more room for these things).

There’s also an in-depth discussion on ‘game balance’ and CR, and why megadungeons might not necessarily require them, for the simple fact that everything in the dungeon is optional and not required to forward the story/plot, so you can try challenges way above your level if you’re feeling frisky that day, and just nope out and go a different way if it starts really not working for you. Which I feel is a fun point.

There is a point that this is a specific mode of play and not meant to be the point of the game in general. It’s specifically for people (like me) who want exploration as its own point and reward, without needing a quest or storyline attached, and for whom combat is an element/hazard/complication but not the point. But. If you are specifically doing a MEGADUNGEON, it’s an interesting look at things to consider and what people might want out of a massive self-contained dungeon that’s going to be the whole point of the campaign in and of itself.  

Where he loses me is when the discussion moves to how to prevent the '15 Minute Adventuring Day', where people go in, do a room or two, and then go back out to rest and heal and resupply, instead of staying in the dungeon to keep exploring. And for some reason allowing healing is bad for this? If you want them to stay in the dungeon, how is it bad to let them heal in the dungeon? Set up factions to trade with and potential base camp locations in the dungeon to let them heal and resupply and set up safe areas so that they can stay in there potentially infinitely? Though it’s possible that I missed something about his point there.

But yeah. I love the idea of megadungeons, vast areas to explore just because they’re there, and I love the idea of game modes with all the cool abilities and spells and powers of D&D BUT where the thing that’s rewarded is exploration and interacting with the environment rather than combat.

(There’s also … I think this also reminds me of the story arc vs episodic discussion regarding TV, where I genuinely like episodic series equally to story-line driven ones, and I think that in games it also works, where there’s a BIG SETTING and the point is to go out and have episodic adventures in it. A loose sandbox like a megadungeon where there’s no plot, you’re just exploring and seeing what you encounter day to day (and possibly developing plots as you interact with individual areas/factions and then connect them to other ones) is also an excellent way to play a game).

Anyway. Forgive the sidebar ramble.

[esamastation]

Gamer girl gets transmigrated into a farm boy Chapter 5 [<<Prologue | <Chapter 4 || Chapter 6>>] Ao3 link

-

The rest of the day goes by much the same way it did in the game. They make their way back to the farm, where Van helps Mr. Gylcross unload his purchases and carry some of them to the barn and the rest into the house. Janelle welcomes them with a warm meal and freshly made batch of apple juice, made from, "Apples I picked myself just this afternoon!" as she says. It's delicious.

"What did you buy in town?" Josel asks as they eat.

"Nothing much," Van answers, and ain't that the truth. "Mostly I just looked around, took in the sights."

Josel hums. "Yeah, you haven't been to the town a lot, have you?"

"I guess not," Van agrees, thinking back to the player character's messy background as a hand on the Gylcross farm, and how it might be revealed here - if it even was.

"How did you like it? Did you see anything interesting in town?" Janelle asks curiously.

"It was fine. It was all pretty interesting," Van admits and takes a bite of bread, wondering if she made it herself.

The System journal had updated while he'd been in town, and going by its writing, it was the most amazing thing ever to happen to Katie. Most of the journal entry was her detailing every event that happened, but there were some interesting titbits in between, which Van had noticed but not really thought about at the time.

… Oh my god, the town looks exactly like it did in the game! Only now I'm seeing it all in first person! It's so wild. There's so much more people here than there were in the game, too - probably since the limits of rendering capacity have been thrown out of the window. Real world isn't held back by RAM. Hah.

Also? Kids. There are children here - and not just one-age-fits-all like in some games, no, there's older teenagers and younger teenagers, and I also saw a toddler in the marketplace - and I think one woman had a baby in a sling? A baby! Definitely didn't have any of those in the base game - not a single kid to be had in all of Age of Tales, except in pre-rendered cutscenes. I wonder if it's just for humans, or will we get to see dwarf or elf babies - I've never seen a dwarf baby, ever, in anything I've ever seen or played. Probably not elf either, unless it was like a half-human-half-elf situation brought forth by an illicit cross-species love story.

I wonder if Van can have babies - like, conceive them? I mean, there's romance in Age of Tales, such as it is. There's sex scenes and stuff. Can those now have, like, consequences? Does this world have contraceptives? Is that something that I have to now think about?

Van with a baby would be pretty cute, though. I wonder if I can somehow get him to hold a baby…

And that's where Van had to stop reading in order to preserve the delicate equilibrium of his mental stability.

"There were a lot of people in town," he concludes with a cough to clear his throat, and takes another sip of the apple juice.

Janelle gives him a sympathetic look. "Yeah, it's a bit different from how it's around here, huh?" she says and pats him on the shoulder. "I'm glad you had fun."

"Yeah," Van agrees.

By now he's kind of starting to feel the limits of Katie's social meter, though. She'd never been a particularly extroverted person, and while it's different inside a videogame… this isn't a game, not really. It's been a whole day of interacting with people and trying to figure things out, and Van is feeling mentally kind of worn down.

Plus, he's got an existential crisis scheduled up, and it's starting to feel kind of urgent.

"You mind if I turn in for the day, sir?" Van asks once he's done eating, turning to Mr. Gylcross. "I'm kind of tired."

"Of course, my boy. Just get Bell settled in for the night and get the cart in the barn," Mr. Gylcross says.

Thankfully, Josel has apparently done all other farm-related duties off screen. All Van has left to do is get the cart inside and Bell brushed up, fed, and settled in a stall, all of which happens by automation. Josel, who's got a more permanent berth in a little hutch next to the farmhouse, bids Van good night, and with some relief Van heads up to the hayloft.

There he lays down in the hay, mentally preparing to Think About Things and Handle Them… only to find his mind full of static. He needs to deal with the Realisation and he needs to come up with a plan for tomorrow, because there's a lot coming his way tomorrow.

And yet, even though he lies there for a while, staring at the ceiling, not a single coherent plan comes to mind.

Finally, Van gets up again and goes back down to get a bucket of water. It's not quite as good as a real mirror, but in a pinch…

His reflection is very faint on the water's surface, but he can just about see himself and make out his features. The caramel ice-cream hair is really not looking its best. It's curly in the game, kind of fabulous in a way that doesn't fit Van's body type at all - here it sticks every which way, unkempt and not exactly flattering.

No permanent magical hairstyling in real life, huh.

Combing his fingers through his hair to push it away from his face, Van turns his head this way and that, taking in his features again. The jaw, the cheekbones, the forehead - he really looks like he was drawn by a comic book artist. Except made real. 

He's really - Katie is really in Van's body. This is Van, made flesh and blood. Well, he doesn't actually know if the body can bleed, but it probably does. It gets hungry and thirsty. And, judging by the feel of things right now, it also needs to relieve itself. Which is… another thing he hadn't been thinking about.

Sitting on his knees for a moment, Van weighs the oncoming mental health crisis against probably mortifying body function weirdness and chooses the latter, standing up. Time for a true fantasy adventure - figuring out how men piss.

Delightful.

Though as a man he should be able to go wherever - so long as he wasn't flashing someone, anyway - seeing as this is the first time and Katie only sort of knows what she's doing… yeah, some privacy is called for. There's a wooden outhouse behind the farmhouse, which Van slinks his way to like he's doing something wrong and illicit. The outhouse is pretty small and forces him to bend over, and it's overall very awkward. It stinks. The seat is tiny and looks kind of uncomfortable to actually sit on.

Katie has a feeling she's going to miss Earth's modern day plumbing before long.

Right now she has other concerns, though.

Van takes a deep breath - and then regrets it, because of the outhouse smell - before looking down. The trousers are easy enough to figure out, they're basically normal trousers except fastened with a string instead of zipper. The underwear, not so much. While Katie has seen it before and actually spent quite a bit of time trying to figure it out, seeing it on Van now…

It's a kind of cloth wrap thing, like the whole thing is one long stretch of fabric wrapped around the waist and down. The final effect is not unlike briefs, and it's actually kind of comfortable and it definitely keeps everything contained… but if Van takes it off, he will definitely not be able to put it back on again.

Hm, maybe he can, sort of… move it aside…?

Touching it is a bit weird. Katie does a little gibbering flailing thing in the back of his mind while Van tugs at the fabric, feeling all the stuff beneath shift - feeling all the stuff feel the movement. It's weird - having sensations in bits Katie never had before. 

Kind of cool though, too. In a sort of unreal way.

Van gets his fingers beneath to pull his penis out and then… there it is, sticking out past the cloth, with its two buddies still nestled in the wrapping.

It would probably be inappropriate to call it a tool. It kind of fits, though. It's very… proportional. 

And Katie is suddenly very aware of her long stint as a single woman, because damn. Like, she's never been that into the look or size of a guy's dick - a penis is a penis, they're all kind of the same in the end - but damn. Van has one hell of a dick. Like, Katie probably wouldn't want to have sex with Van, because ouch… but damn.

"Okay, don't play with it, just do your business," Van mutters, thinking back to Katie's stint in the kindergarten and wincing at the memory of potty training. As extremely unsexy thought as there ever was, he thinks with a grimace and then attempts to… manoeuvre himself into position. "Just point and aim."

It's weird, and very… fleshy. But at least the rest of the operation is roughly the same for a man as it is for a woman - bladder is a bladder, apparently. It's still weird - as is not needing to wipe afterwards. It doesn't feel like it's enough, to just shake it. Not that there's anything to wipe with in the outhouse.

"Weird, weird, this is so weird," Van mutters, shaking himself and then quickly tucking the weapon away.

There's nowhere to wash his hands afterwards.

"Great," he mutters and then slinks back to the barn where he sleeps at night. His mirror water turns into hand washing water, and he still feels a bit dirty afterwards. He's hyperaware of what's going down below the belt, all of a sudden. Also, maybe getting a bit hard? Is it really that damn easy to get riled up as a man? Van's not even thinking of anything sexy, and apparently it's going up on its own. What the hell?

Climbing up to the hayloft, Van lies down and tries to not think about his dick. He's got an existential crisis on his hands. Woman stuck in a man's body here. This is no time for any kind of self-inflicted fun times. He needs to experience the horrors of being not in a body of his own. Her own. Whatever. Body dysmorphia, here we go!

Yeah, no, apparently not. His mind keeps slipping downwards along with the blood pooling there, as though the damn thing has a gravity of its own. He can feel his penis straining his underwear - taking it out, putting his hand around it, it would feel… probably pretty good right now. And it's not like Katie doesn't want to - like she hasn't been curious what it was like, how it would work. Porn and smut painted a pretty vivid image, of course, but nothing beats hands on experience.

Mmm, hands on…

Van stares at the ceiling for a long moment, biting his lip. There's no one in this end of the barn but him. The Gylcrosses are in their house, Josel is off in his little hutch… there's no one here. No one but him.

… Right, okay. Fine.

With a grunt Van gets up to find a rag or something.

It would clear his head too, probably, if all the post nut clarity memes are to be believed. He would have his existential crisis with a clear mind afterwards.

-

Katie wakes up the next morning to the cock crowing somewhere outside and has a moment of flailing confusion at the feel of all the hay around her and sight of the wooden ceiling and beams above her head… before everything comes back.

Right. She's still here. She's transmigrated into Van and to the very start of Age of Tales. And it's now day two.

"Shit," Van murmurs, running a hand down his face. His chin feels bristly - apparently that's a yes on the needing to shave going forward, if he wants to keep Van's chiselled chin in view. Which is probably not all that important, considering that, well…

Tonight, the plot would finally kick off in earnest.

Breathing in and out for a moment, Van lets his arm drop to his side. He hadn't even thought of what he would do, beyond the usual. Even with all the dramatic consequences, the Rift opening was still part of the tutorial, and so all the enemies were pretty low level. The character was meant to run, of course - at this point there was not much they were supposed to be able to do against them.

Emphasis on the supposed. This is, however, Age of Tales.

The whole tutorial section is a bit… Well, overall, Katie gets it - the whole point of the tutorial section is to paint the illusion of peaceful normalcy and introduce the player to the base mechanics and the NPC shops before the plot can kick off and burn the whole idyllic place to the ground for shock value. The first time Katie went through it, it was pretty epic, overall.

But giving the players the chance to shop before the fight was kind of dumb.

Because, while the game didn't get that popular, it had some players, and just about everyone who did play it went about the tutorial the same way. They gambled for cash and kitted themselves out as best they could as soon as they could… and in so doing, turned the whole Rift thing into a bit of a joke by actually standing up against the invasion, something they plot-wise weren't supposed to be able to do. And most of them didn't even realise it, breaking the game completely by accident.

And when you went about it perfectly intentionally, well… the Rift stopped being a threat at all and became the perfect spawn kill camp.

That was what Van had been planning to do - until reality nerfed Katie's money-making tricks.

"System, open inventory," Van calls.

[Inventory] [Simple Knife, lvl. 1] [Shepherd's Slingshot, lvl. 1] [14 x Basic Stone Ammunition ] [3 x Spearhead] [1 x Apple] [Empty Jug] [Dirty Rag]

Yeah, not exactly winning starter gear, especially considering that he still doesn't have a single shred of proper armour. He hasn't been this poorly prepared for the Rift since the very first playthrough - and even then he at least had some armour and a sword! Reality is really kicking his ass this time.

He can't figure out if it's frustrating or exciting. Probably the first one.

"Guess I'm making some spears," Van muses and then sits up with a grunt. Finger-combing the hay out of his hair, Van eyes the dirty rag and then winces. He would need to get rid of it, and maybe he could wash up somewhere before getting started. Unfortunately, he doesn't think there's a washroom or anything around here…

[Farm Chores, Lvl. 1.] [It's a new day on Gylcross farm, and it's time to get to work!]

[Farm Chores 1, Lvl. 1.] [Let the chickens out.] [Let the goats out.] [Let the cows out.] [Let Bell out.] [Quest reward:  10 exp, 3 Apples.] [Farm Chores 2, Lvl. 1.] [Muck the pens and stalls.] [Quest reward:  10 exp, 5 Fresh Eggs.] [Farm Chores 3, Lvl. 1.] [Take a look at the garden and weed Ms. Janelle's vegetable beds.] [Quest reward:  10 exp, 4 x Mixed Herbs] [Farm Chores 4, Lvl. 1.] [Milk the goats and the cows.] [Quest reward:  2 exp, 1 Bottle of Milk.] [Accept?] [Yes.] [No.]

Van winces a little at the sudden bombardment of pop-ups. Looks like he has some work to do. How much it all will matter when this time tomorrow the farm will be in ruins aside… exp is exp. And if he could squeeze in another level up before the Rift, it definitely wouldn't hurt.

Standing up - and bending over to duck below the ceiling beams - Van shuffles to the ladder to start the day with a quick rinse in a bucket of cold water.

By the time he heads out of the barn, Janelle has breakfast ready and set in front of the farmhouse. "Good morning, Van!" she calls, waving. "Come have some eggs and pancakes!"

Josel is already there and already stuffing his face with eggs. "Good morning," Van greets them both and then asks, interestedly, "Pancakes?"

"Yeah - Daddy bought flour and sugar yesterday!" Janelle says excitedly. "We've got some honey too - come here and try it."

Van does, sitting down beside Josel, accepting his share with a, "Thank you, miss." It looks great, and it smells even better.

"It's Janelle," the farmer's daughter says firmly and sits down across from him.

The breakfast is great, as are the pancakes. Mr. Gylcross doesn't make an appearance, but no one comments on it, and so Van doesn't either - maybe the man sleeps in when it's not a market day, or something. After they're done eating, Josel helps Janelle clear out the table, while Van considers his quests.

"Are you going to let the animals out?" Janelle asks, wiping her hands in her apron. "I'll come with you - I'll collect the eggs while I'm at it."

"Sure," Van agrees and offers Josel an apologetic nod before following Janelle towards the chicken coops.

It's a perfectly pleasant day, with only a few fluffy clouds in the sky and just the barest hint of a breeze in the air. The sort of day when nothing bad is supposed to happen, of course. Perfectly normal day.

"Daddy says you visited the tailor yesterday," Janelle comments. "That you ordered some kind of armour."

Van blinks and looks at her. "Uh, I didn't realise he knew about that," he says. The man hadn't mentioned it. How did he find out, anyway? "I did, yeah."

"Why?"

Well, there's going to be a battle in Westbrook the day after tomorrow, and then the place is going to be set on fire, and Valthor's most annoying minion is going to make a grand appearance. Van is really hoping to curbstomp that guy's smug little face to the ground, and armour would make that much, much easier. "Well," he says, because clearly he can't say any of that. "I don't know. Just felt like it, I guess?"

Janelle looks at him carefully, and asks, "Have you… remembered something?" she asks. "About your past?"

Van hesitates, because in the game the player character never remembers time before the farm - but he does learn about it from others. "No, not really," he says finally. "I just… have a feeling I'm going to need something. Actually," he adds and takes a spearhead out of the satchel. "I also got a few of these."

Janelle accepts the dull spearhead, tilting her head with confusion. "Is that a weapon?"

"Head of a spear - I'm going to find some pole to stick it on," Van says and shrugs. "And then I'll have a spear."

Janelle shakes her head, looking a little upset. "But what do you need a spear for?" she asks.

Van shrugs again. "I don't know. It just feels like something I should have."

Janelle hums unhappily, turning the spearhead in her hand. "So, I was right," she murmurs and looks at him sadly. "You are a soldier."

In the game you learn the main character's background in flashbacks and  hints from the designated Mentor character at Ulgor's Camp, but it's a pretty cliché dealio overall. The player character has amnesia - of course - and was left at the Gylcross farm by a Mysterious Hooded Person - of course - while the Mysterious Hooded Person ran away all suspicious-like. Janelle Gylcross eventually found the player character hiding in the barn hayloft, all confused and out of it and bleeding from the head. Through some interrogation and arguing with her father, Janelle got him settled in as a new farm hand.

It's all shown to the player in this grainy sepia cut scene, a collage of moments as the player character learns how to swing a hoe and milk the cows and stuff. It's pretty wholesome. And the fact that it's shown to you only after the farm has been burned down and everyone there was killed, well… Katie has some issues with the arrangement of narrative there, but it was kind of a punch to the gut, the first time she played the game.

Also absolutely hilarious, watching this brick shithouse of a man do these cute farm chores, like carrying baby lambs around, delicately harvesting berries from the bushes and weeding garden beds.

"I'm not a soldier," Van says and accepts the spearhead back. "I just feel like it'll be better to be prepared than not."

"Right," Janelle says and hugs herself, looking uncomfortable. "Are you going to leave the farm? I know Daddy only contracted you until the harvest, but… I thought you liked it here."

"Well… it is nice," Van says. And it really is. He looks at the farmstead around them and hums thoughtfully. It's very peaceful and idyllic and wholesome. In the game it's often implied how much the player character wishes he could've stayed there, wishes none of the terrible things that followed wouldn't have happened, and the world could've stayed as it was.

More than another day of it and Katie would be climbing the walls, bored out of his mind.

"I guess we'll see," Van says and smiles at Janelle. "You never know what will happen."

-

[<<Prologue | <Chapter 4 || Chapter 6>>] Proofread by @nimadge, many thanks

-

I call this the Tool Inspection Chapter. And I hope it made at least one person laugh as much as it made me to write it.

[nonagesimus]

OC Kiss Week Day 1 - Desperate

Starting off OC Kiss Week with my De Riva, Ayden, and @marvelous-goose's OC Jasper Thorne

-

The aftermath of a fight was always the worst part.

Ayden was shaking with the adrenaline of it but there was nowhere to put it anymore. Fighting darkspawn always made their skin crawl, it felt like the more time they spent around the blight the more sensitive they were to it. Like they could taste it around the boils massed on the ground, around the bigger ogres. And they’d all known, going in, that is was going to be a bad night. The horde encroaching Lavendel, the ragged group of villagers in the middle of the perimeter the Wardens had kept. Ayden was used to fighting, but not in a battle like this. Multiple fronts, swords and shields, it was nothing like any of the contracts they’d ever been on.

Even the occupation wasn’t anything like it.

Everything had been in extremes since the Antaam.

Magic, and Blight, and the Fade, and dragons, and darkspawn, and cleaning mud off their boots from a dozen places they never thought they’d ever visit.

A week beforehand, desperate for some kind of break, they’d dragged Jasper to the rooftop roads in Treviso. Stolen a bottle of wine from the stash Viago kept for his visits to the Diamond, gone up to their favourite spot to look over the canals from. Ayden had mostly been in Treviso when Viago and Teia were at their most involved, but they’d learned to love it along the way. And Jasper was always so generous with the things he loved; Ayden might not be used to sharing, but they’d wanted to try all the same.

Besides there was something kind of wonderful in the way Jasper’s eyes got bright when they used the ziplines, the way he seemed to relax when they talked him into doing something risky.

And it was high above the canals when Jasper, pink-cheeked and smiling, had taken a swig from the bottle they were sharing and said, “Anyone would think you’re trying to romance me.”

And they’d shot back, “If it’s romantic does that mean you’ll let me kiss you?”

But the thought of that only had them whirling around, scanning the battlefield. The two of them had started off fighting near each other, but things never went like they planned. Mages needed to spread out, cover more bases. Too many horns going off at once; Jasper had gone to cover the caves, Ayden had headed out to the battlements. But the fighting was over, people were checking bodies, dragging darkspawn corpses into piles to burn them, drifting towards medics to get their wounds treated, or towards the buildings to get new orders. All of Ayden’s nerves were jangling and they couldn’t see him.

“Where’s Jasper?” they asked, though after all the shouting in the fight it came out as a croak. They got a couple of glances from Wardens walking past but no answer. Had the look on their faces been pitying or just exhausted? The jangling nerves were starting to seem more like alarm bells. They swallowed, frantically trying to soothe the sandpaper-feeling in their throat, and tried again, “Anyone seen Jasper?”

There was a more desperate scream building in their throat before they heard a familiar voice call, “Over here.”

They turned so fast they nearly slipped in the mud, saw Jasper and Emmy leaning on each other as they walked back from the caves. Ayden ignored the way their legs were screaming, pushed themselves into a jog to meet them.

“You’re both ok?” they asked, feeling like they were vibrating with the effort of holding back, not sure if the twins were hurt or just exhausted, they didn’t want to make anything worse.

Jasper said, “We’re both fine,” in a soft voice, at the same time as Emmy snorted and said, “Calm down, sparky, he’s all yours,” and stepped aside.

Ayden burst into motion, genuinely might’ve lost control and fade-stepped into the space right in front of Jasper, reached up to cup his face and yanked it down to their own. Jasper’s hands grasped at their elbows, then one shifted to the side of their face and his other arm wrapped around their waist. His thumb slid along their cheekbone, and his mouth was gentle, and despite everything, Ayden felt themselves slowly start to relax.

[aftgficrec]

Hi! Wanted to ask if you have something that deals with Neil as a parent ( something like the hope was a dangerous disquieting thing?) I really love to see the way having a kid changes Neil and the course of things in the books

Thanks in advance! I really love your page and been waiting to catch you guys open for so long:) have a good day🤍

There’s plenty to find for Neil with a child.  Not all of it with him as a parent, and some of it takes place post canon or in an AU, but for this post we’ve collected mostly canon divergent fics where Neil comes to Palmetto with a kid or a young sibling in tow. -S

previous recs:

Neil/Andrew with a kid before they meet here

Andreil with kids or siblings here

you may also like:

Andreil & kids here (for a large mix of post-canon, canon divergent and AU fics)

canon divergent fics:

‘El Corazón’ and ‘We’ll Both Be Fine’ (updated) here

‘The F-Word’ here

‘The Sun Still Rises’ here (updated)

AUs:

‘Drop In, Drop By’, ‘Reckless’ (updated) and ‘Whose Your Daddy’ (completed) here

‘Eighteen Wheels And Three Beating Hearts’, ‘Tales from a Quirky Small Town’ and ‘what now?’ here

‘Sunflower, Vol. 6’ here

‘Oliver.’ and ‘Growing With You’ here

‘Being So Normal’ here

‘Pinch of Salt’ here

‘Blood and Diamonds’ here

Neil has a child:

Hope Was A Dangerous, Disquieting Thing by BisexualChaosDemon [Rated M, 439920 words, complete, 2024]

Previously rec’ed here

When Neil was fourteen, his father caught up to them in Seattle and he got separated from Mary. Unfortunately, neither of them escaped unscathed, but they did escape dispite all the odds. They manage to reunite at one of their emergency rendezvous and take off running. That's where their luck ran out though because they only made it to California before Mary's injuries finally bested her. In the end, his mother couldn't go on but she made Neil promise to keep running because one of them had to make it. With no other choice, Neil burned her body, buried her ashes on the beach, and did what he had promised. Then, impossibly, things went from bad to worse — After a month of just sort of drifting in his grief, Neil found out he was pregnant.

tw: violence, tw: rape/noncon, tw: implied/referenced child abuse, tw: implied/referenced torture, tw: ptsd, tw: abortion

We’ll Both Be Fine by Sarah_Lee25 [Not Rated, 211772 words, incomplete, last updated Jan 2025]

Previously rec’ed here (includes art)

“I have baggage.” “All my foxes have baggage. You won’t be the first.” Wymack said. Neil doubted any fox in all Wymack’s years has carried the same weight as Neil when it came to baggage. “That's not what I mean.” “Go on. Let’s hear it then.” The coach waited patiently for him to continue. It should have been comforting but Neil was far more scared than ever. “I have a son. His name’s Milo.” ____ OR what if Neil had a kid when he was on the run?

tw: violence, tw: implied/referenced child abuse, tw: implied/referenced rape/noncon, tw: transphobic language, tw: homophobic language, tw: murder, tw: dissociation

The Reality Of A Bruise by Oli_Stans_Andreil [Rated E, 100600 words, incomplete, last updated Oct 2024]

“Hi pumpkin.” He said, giving her a kiss on the nose. Neil scooped her up in his arms and turned back to Andrew, Kevin, and Wymack. “You have a kid?” Andrew asked again. “My dad had a kid.” Neil corrected, running his hands through her hair. She giggled and did the same to his black curly hair. “Sorry to disappoint you but I can’t go without Jo. Womp Womp I guess.” “Womp womp!” She copied, glaring at Kevin. “No fucking way he’s coming to my court with a kid,” Kevin said in disbelief. “It ain't your fucking court, Kevin. Get your head out of your ass for five seconds.” Wymack snapped. OR Neil Josten gets recruited by the Palmetto State Foxes like normal, but he drags along some baggage, his little sister, Jo Josten. A small little blonde-haired blue-eyed three year old that thinks Neil is the greatest thing in the whole world.

tw: violence, tw: implied/referenced child abuse,  tw: implied/referenced rape/noncon, tw: attempted sexual assault, tw: panic attacks, tw: scars, tw: nightmares, tw: nonconsensual drug use

A Child’s Heart by AllAngstNoComfort [Rated G, 18039 words, incomplete, last updated Aug 2024]

“Is there anything else that I should know about before I leave?” Wymack asks. Neil takes this as the opportunity it is “There is one thing” Neil says hesitantly. Wymack hums in approval for Neil to continue. “It wouldn’t just be me,” Neil says slowly. Wymack cocks his head to the side and raises an eyebrow. “I have a kid. He’s 18 months old. His name is Oscar. The school doesn’t know about him but I can’t just leave him behind”

tw: violence

NB: find title art for this fic by the author here

Running on Empty by Andriel_4evermore [Rated M, 34655 words, incomplete, last updated Feb 2025]

Neil Josten is a chaos. Secrets swirl around him like a second skin, each one more dangerous than the last. For someone on the run, those secrets are more than baggage—they’re a death sentence. Hiding from his father. Running from his past. Escaping the truth of who he is. It’s the life his mother taught him, and the only one Neil has ever known. But then everything changed. His mother is gone, and Neil isn’t just running for himself anymore—he’s running for his son. Which secret will destroy him first? That he’s the Butcher’s son? That he’s an Omega in hiding? Or that Neil Josten, the boy who was never meant to exist, is now a father? The Foxes think they’re recruiting a talented striker with a bad attitude. What they’re really getting is a storm in human form—one that will either shatter their fragile team or force them to face the wreckage Neil’s been running from his entire life.

tw: implied/referenced rape/noncon, tw: implied/referenced abuse, tw: panic attacks

Just trust me, you’ll be fine. by jxnkiee [Rated M, 27105 words, incomplete, last updated Nov 2024]

When Andrew accompanies Coach and Kevin to a town in the middle of nowhere to recruit a striker, he didn't expect to run into his old friend and the first person I ever loved, Alex. Nor did he expect Alex (now Neil Josten) to have a son bearing his own name, Joseph Josten.

tw: violence, tw: implied/referenced rape/noncon, tw: implied/referenced murder, tw: implied/referenced child abuse, tw: implied/referenced self harm, tw: transphobic language

Neil with a sibling:

The Sun Still Rises by mordax [Rated E, 548083 words, incomplete, last updated Feb 2025]

Previously rec’ed here

Somewhere on the road, Mary Hatford gets pregnant with her second child. When she passes, she leaves behind not only Neil, but his toddler brother. Survival is difficult without also raising a kid. Worn out and desperate, Neil still somehow ends up at Palmetto, only this time, he brings his four-year-old brother with him.

tw: graphic depictions of violence, tw: torture, tw: blood, tw: murder,  tw: anxiety, tw: panic attacks,  tw: implied/referenced rape/noncon, tw: implied/referenced self harm, tw: implied/referenced child abuse, tw: drug use, tw: involuntary sedation, tw: reenactment therapy with noncon

NB: find fanart for this fic by @elidanus on Twitter here

I left you alone in a house, not a home by ohhhhmygod [Rated M, 114147 words, incomplete, last updated Aug 2024]

AU plot change where Neil has a little brother, Liam, who comes to stay with the monsters for the summer after Neil's freshman year.  Neil finds he might not mind being a brother, and Liam finds a new home.   Disclaimer: Heavily character driven, minimal plot realism, all for the dramatics

tw: violence, tw: self harm, tw: implied/referenced child abuse, tw: implied/referenced csa, tw: implied/referenced torture, tw: eating disorders, tw: implied/referenced forced cannibalism, tw: vomiting, tw: panic attacks, tw: implied/referenced emotional manipulation 

AU:

Is this it? by Badkarmadaddy97865 [Rated T, 8546 words, incomplete, last updated Feb 2023]

When Neil Josten was put into foster care he was 15 and his daughter was 2, now hes 16 and Lenora was 3. He had apparently ran away to many times and has to be taken to The Wymack group home, hes heard that its just a place that fucked up kids go. But he stays he decides it not as bad as he thinks.

tw: implied/referenced child abuse, tw: panic attacks

Four, three, two, one by foxyroxi [Rated G, 5753 words, complete, 2023, locked]

Part 2 of Formula One shenanigans

Andrew didn’t win the championship that year, but he left the season with a boyfriend and his daughter and a mental binder of happy memories with Neil and Vivienne.

maybe you're the light by lemonnie [Rated T, 3490 words, incomplete, last updated Feb 2021]

when andrew decides to take a voyage across the ocean, hoping to find well, andrew doesn't know exactly what he's searching for yet - shit hits the fan quick and andrew's life is flipped upside down.  he learns how to live again, how to trust and most of all, how to love.

tw: injuries 

A different kind of danger in the daylight (I can never let go) by NotNeilsCats [Rated T, 6790 words, complete, 2019]

When Neil Josten's child shows up unannounced to their eight year anniversery of Neil's death, the former Palmetto state Foxes has to face the fact and small hope that maybe, just maybe, he isn't dead after all. And his daughter is a ghost of their friend with his mennerisms and face and they miss him violently

tw: presumed major character death

Art

Neil holding sleeping Arlo art by @/bluelake_art (formerly @/solemnlyswear_art) on instagram (more Arlo here)

[nikoniclove]

Hey so today’s my birthday, and birthdays kinda always suck for me (I’ve never known why and I’m fairly sure I’m not alone on this). But anyway, I was wondering if you could write something about Ace’s first concrete birthday with Jemily and maybe it kinda feels weird for her too?

Happy birthday! Sending you virtual love 💜

The First True Birthday

(Available on Ao3 here)

Even though you promised you’d tell her about your birthday, you don’t. Mostly it’s because you’ve spent decades ignoring your birthday, so it’s just another day on the calendar like any other. Also the makeshift celebration JJ planned last year when your work anniversary rolled around and she realized she never celebrated your first birthday with the team… well that was so over-the-top. Fun, sure, and very overwhelming and unnecessary. You don’t really want a repeat of that, and you don’t have anything you do want, so you keep your mouth shut. You don’t mention it, figuring it’s better for her to be mad at you for a bit than suffer through the discomfort of celebrating your birthday.

When the day rolls around, you wake up to JJ singing merrily. You groan and bury your head under the pillow. If even part of your brain thought you’d get away without a birthday celebration, you should have known better. “Happy birthday, baby,” JJ congratulates, ducking her head under your pillow too to give you a sweet kiss. “I know we have work, which is less than ideal from a celebration standpoint, but don’t worry. I’ve got a plan.”

“I’m worried because you have a plan,” you counter. “We don’t need to do this. If you insist on it, maybe just something lowkey that doesn’t make me crawl out of my skin please.”

“It’s your birthday. You deserve to be celebrated. I know you. It’s nothing crazy,” she swears.

“You do realize that even knowing my birthday and singing to me is more than I’ve done any other year, so that in and of itself is fine. We don’t need more than that. How did you even know anyway? I didn’t say anything.”

The pillow’s weight lightens as Emily removes your hiding place. “How many times have you been hospitalized, even briefly, in the last six months? I can recite your medical file verbatim.” You forgot about that factor. “Birth date is right up there, my love. Now we know, and you won’t be forgotten again.” Your forehead creases into an expressive frown. Emily kisses the furrowed spot. “Happy birthday.”

“Thanks,” you groan.

You briefly consider calling in sick to avoid whatever plans JJ might have concocted throughout the day. The idea of decomposing in the bed under a mountain of blankets and ignoring everything birthday related sounds more and more appealing. Emily grabs your ankle and drags you to the edge of the bed. “You’ll be okay. You can stomach us loving on you a bit.”

“Can I? Are you sure about that?” She lifts your pajama shirt off, tossing at the headboard to be dealt with later. “I do so well with surprises and things that are different from the norm,” you snark self deprecatingly. “And I just love to be the center of attention.”

“Trust us,” Emily implores. “If you need a break, give me a sign and I’ll get you to a quiet spot where you can take the time you need. You matter, my love, and it’s important that we get to show you that today of all days.” She helps you into clean underwear and jeans, though it’s mostly manipulating your uncooperative self because you hate the thought of this day more and more. “Up you go.” Your hands trapped in hers, Emily levers you up and nudges you toward the bathroom. You grab a black, long sleeve T shirt and deem it good enough. Deodorant. Face sunscreen. Eyeliner. Chapstick. Your morning routine takes all of six minutes. JJ stops you at your braid, taking the brush out of your hand. She takes the time to do a French braid, adding to the plait sections little by little as she moves down the back of your head.

You’re in the backseat with your work bag before you even realize you’re thirty minutes earlier than normal. The additional time makes sense when Emily parks outside of a little Parisian bakery that makes delicious croissants and lattes. When she pops in, JJ turns around in the passenger seat to look at you. “Let me celebrate you, baby, please. It’s important to me.” You clench your jaw and give her the smallest nod. You don’t really have a choice. When Jennifer Jareau sets her sights on something, nothing short of an apocalypse could stop her, and even then, you’d still bet on JJ.

When you walk through the bullpen’s double glass doors, you freeze, absolutely rooted to the spot. Your desk is a mess of color. “I did not do this,” JJ insists quickly. “I know you would hate something like this. I didn’t do this.” You hum some monosyllabic sound and force your feet forward. There are balloons and literal confetti that you already despise. There are cupcakes and little plastic characters everywhere.

The characters tell you all you need to know about who set this up, and it’s confirmed when Garcia squeals through the bullpen, shouting about your birthday with an exuberance that rivals a small child hopped up on cocaine-laced skittles. Your eyes widen at the volume. Your body instinctively braces for the inevitable hug. “Happy birthday, peaches! Oh you look stunning. A year older looks so good on you.” She bustles past you to your desk. “Okay, we have all of my favorite chachkies to keep you company throughout the day. Obviously balloons and cupcakes because it’s your birthday. I didn’t know your favorite flavor combination, so I got a bunch! I have candles and matches at my desk when you’re ready to make a wish! Oh! I love you so much,” she shrieks, pinching your cheeks dramatically.

You don’t know how to make this stop. You’re desperate to make it stop, for the earth to open up and swallow you whole. But it keeps going. You can’t tell Penelope how insane it all is because she’d be gutted that she made you uncomfortable. You manage a thank you and return the second hug she gives you. Emily squeezes your hand, a silent encouragement to keep it together.

When Garcia thankfully skedaddles back to her lair, you look at your desk in horror. It feels like everyone is looking at you, and your skin crawls with the weight of the presumed attention. You miss the silent conversation Emily and JJ share behind your back. You’re overwhelmed and uncomfortable in a very visible way in an environment that those adjectives are not… “Come with me, baby,” JJ whispers in your ear. “C’mon,” she soothes, her calm words interrupting your train of thought. “It’s okay.”

“It’s not,” you manage. You know Garcia meant well, and this is too much. It’s too much attention.

JJ takes matters into her own hands, dragging you up the short staircase to her old liaison office. The door thuds behind you, the deadbolt clicking into place. “Breathe, baby.” Clinging to her, you bury your face in her neck, letting her long blonde hair act as a curtain to hide you away from the attention on the other side of the door. Her own breathing follows the four count you know from decades in therapy. In two three four. Hold two three four. Out two three four. Hold two three four. JJ continues the pattern until your body mimics hers. “That’s my girl. I know that was a lot. Emily will take care of it, okay? I’ve got you. Emily’s got all of that,” she repeats. “It’s okay.”

“I don’t like my birthday,” you mumble. “I can’t… I can’t call attention to myself like that. I can’t stand out like that. I need to just… blend in. I need to survive.” You don’t have to see JJ’s face to know her blue eyes shine with unshed tears. You can feel her sadness for you.

“Stop making yourself small. You deserve to take up space,” JJ states, holding you tightly. “I understand why. I do, but, baby, you’re not that kid anymore. You have made a life for yourself out of all that hurt. You found people who love you, who want to celebrate you. You did that. Let us love you loudly, baby. There’s no scenario that you end up alone. Not anymore.”

“I don’t like my birthday,” you repeat, feeling pitiful in the face of her kind words that make you feel seen while also making you want to burrow away.

The knock on the office door startles you until Emily’s voice filters through. “Just me,” she announces. JJ reaches around you to flip the lock open. Emily locks it behind herself. “Just like old times, huh, Jen?” It’s meant to give you a second to settle again. “Everything’s shifted away from your desk. Just your coffee and pastry is there.”

“I don’t want to hurt her feelings. It’s sweet. It’s just a lot.”

“I know. I’ll explain it to her,” Emily promises. “You okay?”

“I’ll be fine.” Emily kisses the side of your head tenderly in response.

You’re relieved to see your desk mostly back to normal when you escape the reassuring confines of JJ’s arms (and her old office). There’s a large stack of case files for you to lose yourself in, and murdering serial killers distract you from the birthday nonsense from the morning.

Around noon, JJ appears at your desk. “C’mon.” You can’t help the grimace that stretches your lips. “Letting me love you loudly, remember? Trust that I know you.” You gather up your stuff and follow your partners out of the federal building.

The second you’re clear of the doors, Emily takes your hand, fingers interlacing together. They let you follow along in quiet companionship. They have a clear direction in mind, and you’ll go along with, trying to trust that JJ’s intention isn’t to make you uncomfortable.

JJ pops into a cafe, coming back out quickly with a stapled take out bag. She winks at you as Emily takes off walking again. It’s another few blocks before you’re in a small, grassy community park nestled between buildings. It’s adorable in its isolation. A pop of green serenity amongst the concrete. Emily leads you to a picnic table where JJ sets out different containers. “See? Nothing outrageous. Just lunch with your favorite people.”

“Who said you’re my favorite,” you retort playfully, the fresh air doing you worlds of good. JJ smacks you lightly. “I mean Emily’s definitely on my list of favorites.”

“You bitch,” JJ teases. “Eat your lunch.”

There’s something about being outside that helps you reset. The banter, the easy conversation, the company - it all feels almost celebratory. A happiness you never expected to feel on your birthday of all days. “You’re smiling,” JJ accuses, bumping your hip as you walk back to the office. You don’t bother denying it, laughing as she slings her arm over your shoulder and kisses the top of your head.

When you blindly reach for the next file in the stack around 4 PM after you’ve refilled your coffee and snacked on one of Penelope’s cupcakes, your to-do pile is empty, your fingers grazing the metal wire of the intake basket. You stare at it, unsure if you’ve ever actually caught up on all the cases and the paperwork. Your phone buzzes with a text from Emily, wishing you a happy birthday. You know there’s no way she took all of your remaining case files, so you’re betting she divvied them up amongst the team. It’s sweet and loving in a quiet way.

You’re even more surprised when JJ and Emily pack up at an appropriate time, nearly shoving you toward the elevator at 5:30 PM on the dot.

“This… umm… it was nice. Thank you,” you mumble self-consciously on the drive home.

“There’s a little bit more.”

“Okay,” you agree.

“Okay?”

“Trying to let you love me loudly. I trust you.”

At home, there’s a wrapped package in shiny purple paper on the coffee table. You trace its precise edges carefully. For a moment, tears burn in your eyes. You can’t remember the last time you got a real birthday present, so this feels monumental. “You can open it, you know,” Emily encourages, tugging your hips back onto the couch. JJ puts the box in your lap. “Hey, you okay, my love?” You nod, not trusting your voice. “You sure?”

“I’m okay. I wasn’t expecting anything.”

“It’s your birthday, baby. Of course, we’d give you a present.” You’re gentle peeling the tape, almost like a diffusing a bomb. You don’t want to rip the paper. “Hold on for a second. Talk to us. What’s going on?”

“I… just… I… uhh… I don’t remember getting a present on my birthday before,” you mumble, somehow hoping they heard you so you don’t have to repeat yourself and hoping they didn’t hear you at all. The hitch in JJ’s breath says she heard you loud and clear; she pulls you into a tight hug, professing her hatred for the world that made that a reality for you. “It’s okay. Really. It’s just new to me, so it feels intense. Good, but intense.”

To avoid driving the conversation further into volatile territory, Emily nudges you with her knee. “Go ahead, love. Open it.” The box shakes and rattles as you unfurl the tape pieces and gingerly peel apart the shimmery wrapping paper. Inside is a Lego set of the Milky Way from the art collection. Over three thousand colorful pieces to give depth and texture to the finished product, which can hang on the wall when it’s done.

“Will you build it with me?”

“Of course, baby. Do you like it?” You nod exuberantly, your fingers once again reverently tracing over the details on the box. “Good. Happy birthday, baby. We love you so very much.”

“Thank you… I… thank you for all of it.”