#bz family verse

[sunriseverse]

soooo about the dmbj sunrise au I read your iron triangle fic about it and the concept has me by the throat I would like to know more about the sunrise verse 👀 anything you feel like sharing

okay, let's see if i can do this in a manner that in any way makes sense, is organised, and is reasonably useful.

for starters, i'll toss over this introductory post, if you want a tl;dr that i made a bit ago (it is very abbreviated, and doesn't cover a majority of the verse beyond the barebones): sunrise at a glance.

i've been attempting to figure out a way to explain sunrise, and i think the best way to do it would probably be chronologically, starting from the effective beginning of history, as it pertains to rosemary and thyme. then i'll go a bit deeper into some world specifics, such as the martial sects, upgrading, and the politics of the zhang sect as it stands prior to the end of the sha hai parallel era. finally, i'll talk about some inspirations, both aesthetically and thematically.

PART ONE: the history

while technically the sunrise canon runs more or less parallel to real-world history up until slightly after the establishment of the mongol empire (565 before zhang reunification, abbreviated henceforth to BZ; real world equivalent somewhat varying depending on when you consider the mongol empire as having conquered china), once it diverges, it diverges rapidly. the yuan dynasty is founded in 448 BZ, and by 458 BZ, the first prototype silk-weaving machine is created, and rapidly thereafter (420 BZ) the first textiles factory is founded in chang'an (modern-day xi'an).

in 425 BZ, a pair of twins named zhang yihai and zhang yishan are born. due to their family's impoverishment, they're left at a daoist nunnery not long afterwards. they were trained in cultivation techniques from a young age, but were not considered remarkable enough to become disciples of any particular local master, and instead became wandering disciples, training sporadically under various independent masters in return for services rendered.

however, while they didn't become remarkable in this period of time, they were educated to a respectable level, both in cultivation techniques and scholarly arts. then, in 400 BZ, while travelling, they discovered a vase that was able to increase the abilities of anyone who held it. realising the potential of this artefact, they rendered it into an ink to create tattoos with, binding its abilities to their own bodies, and shortly after, created the zhang sect, the tattoos becoming the marker of the sect. unbeknownst to either twin, the vase was an artefact that had slipped into their world from a different world, and if they hadn't rendered it into an ink and bound it to themselves, carrying it would have aroused the attention of its original owners, the entity known as the hive. this binding also gave the zhang an innate ability to better resist hive-madness, ie brain damage caused by exposure to a humanly incomprehensible world and

for about five years, the zhang sect slowly rose in prominence, with zhang yihai and zhang yishan acting as co-leaders of the sect, known by a variety of titles (the most character-relevant being zyh's title of 锷女士 [e nvshi, lady of the blade/master above], and zys' title of 馥郁君 [fuyu-jun, lord of fragrant flowers]) . however, as time passed, the two siblings began to differ on what they wanted the role of their sect to be in the world—zhang yihai wanted the sect to be more martially-focused, aiding the people in a more immediate way, while zhang yishan felt the sect should be more scholarly, aiding the people by collecting and preserving knowledge, with the sect splitting roughly in half with which disciples sided with which sibling. In 400 BZ, tensions between the two siblings reached a boiling point, and the two came to blows—a fight which led to zhang yihai killing zhang yishan (partially due to the fact, which she didn't know at the time, that she was qilin-blooded and thus functionally immortal).

after realising what she'd done, zhang yihai took on the title of zhang qiling, as she was the only remaining member of her family, and carried her brother's body and performed his final rites. from that point on, she withdrew into seclusion, excepting for a brief period where she bore a child to continue the family lineage. without firm leadership, the zhang sect stagnated, faltering in its previous rise to prominence, and faded to a mostly unremarkable status, with its members split hereditarily from that point on either into hai or shan subjects, depending on which sibling their ancestors had aligned with.

in 360 BZ, the xie and hong families emerge. in 340 BZ, industrialisation accelerates, and the first steam engines are produced to power factory equipment. in 330 BZ the remaining jiumen families emerge, and align with the zhang sect.

in 300 BZ, wang zanghai compiles research on the zhang, and comes to believe that a hive artefact is responsible for their immortality. he artificially creates a rift in changbaishan in order to steal a hiveside artefact, but is killed in the process, with the artefact becoming lost.

in 200 BZ, the first steam engine train is created to allow for an efficient long-distance means of transporting goods. the first telephone is invented in the same year. in this window of time, the first people to find wang zanghai's notes on the zhang form the wang clan, vowing to bring the hive into the world, as they believe that this will allow immortality to be granted to all who come in contact with it. as the zhang are believed to be the enemy, they begin to infiltrate the jiumen.

in 120 BZ, the first automobile is invented. zhang ruitong, future leader of the zhang sect is born in 100 BZ. in 0 AZ, the ming dynasty is founded, and zhang ruitong succeeds in reuniting the zhang sect, as well as raising its status to that of foremost martial sect. in 85 AZ, xiaoge is born in tibet, and two years later in 87 AZ, hei xiazi is born in the chimkent (şymkent) area, a politically fraught region which will come under the control of the kazakh khanate, founded in 97 AZ.

in 95 AZ, an earthquake disturbs the hiveside artefact that wang zanghai stole, bringing it to the hive's attention, and the changbaishan rift begins to expand. as part of an agreement between the jiumen and the zhang sect, the xie heir is sent to fight the hive behind the rift. when the xie heir fails to return in the winter of 105 AZ, the jiumen renege on their agreement with the zhang, not wanting to lose any further heirs. the wang, embedded within the jiumen, begin to purposely open rifts, beginning the hive incursion. with zhang ruitong's death, xiaoge becoming sect leader, as well as the first zhang to undergo upgrading to become a ranger, and in spring of 105 AZ, the zhang elders form the first board to govern the sect, arguing that xiaoge is too inexperienced and busy with his responsibilities as a ranger to govern properly.

in 109 AZ, the first non-zhang sect, the gongsun sect, hosts a zhang ranger as the ranger programme expands. in 152 AZ, much of the lao jiumen are killed when qiu dekao trades the names of families with histories of grave-robbing to the government, as well as accusing them of wartime profiteering through the black-market sale of artefacts retrieved from hive-tainted areas. those that survive flee to beijing, where the jiumen become the jiumen association.

in 160 AZ, zhang qishan, better known as fo ye, heads the gutongjing research projects, an attempt to try and find a way to give immunity to hive-madness to zhang rangers through the study of a hive-touched species of snake, the heimaoshe. the project fails, but fo ye becomes aware of the wang, and trades zhang sect secrets in return for a reduction of rifts in the vicinity of his family, the somewhat estranged southern zhang. by 165 AZ, the zhang sect's influence is comparable to our world's mid-level nobility. by 170 AZ, the iron triangle have all been born (pangzi in 161 AZ, and wu xie in 169 AZ). the internet is invented in 169 AZ, and in 170 AZ, conscription of all qilin-blooded zhang sect members begins as the number of volunteers had dropped sharply in recent years. the same year, the zhang main board implements the first "kill switches" in upgrading procedures, allowing them to remotely terminate rangers if they are deemed a danger due to rift-madness. in 186 AZ, conscription is expanded again, this time to any zhang sect members of lower status whose positions are deemed non-essential.

in 190 AZ, the iron triangle meet. between 190 AZ and 195 AZ, the events of rosemary and thyme take place, and in 195 AZ, due to the discovery of anchoring as a method to make rangers' jobs no longer a death sentence, the draft is expanded again to include all adult zhang sect members, excluding those who hold high-level positions. in 197 AZ, xiaoge takes wu xie's place behind the rift in changbaishan. over the next ten years, a parallel to dmbj's ten year plan/sha hai takes place. unlike in dmbj canon, the reason wu xie kidnaps li cu is in order to find the lost wang hive artefact, which is drawn to innocence—something that wu xie, by this point, firmly lacks. in 206 AZ, the sha hai plan comes to a head, with the majority of the wang being destroyed. in the spring of 207 AZ, wu xie returns the artefact wang zanghai stole to the changbaishan rift, after which point the remaining rifts begin to naturally close as the hive is satisfied. in august of 207 AZ, xiaoge returns from hiveside, the iron triangle is reunited, and the hive incursion officially ends, ending zhang conscription, and xiaoge disolves the zhang boards, ending the sect's massive sociopolitical reign.

PART TWO: world specifics

part i: the zhang board, and sunrise as a dystopia

in the era of rosemary and thyme, ie the final years of the hive incursion, the zhang sect is not only incredibly powerful martially, but also politically. since the first hive incursion and the creation of the ranger programme, the zhang have been able to gain an unparalleled control over the martial world specifically, and the general populace more broadly. this is largely due to a number of facts: firstly, the zhang, as the only sect who produce rangers, are viewed as, and actively work to reinforce the view of themselves as, protectors of the empire. secondly, as areas become hive-poisoned after a rift is opened, the common people are encouraged to relocate to zhang-affiliated martial sect territories/compounds, as hive-poisoned areas remain dangerous for a long period after the rift is closed. the zhang-affiliated sects, aside from hosting rangers, also host subsets of the main zhang board, known collectively as "the zhang boards", comprised half of zhang, one quarter of the host sect, and one quarter of scientific and medical specialists, who are in charge of the ranger(s) each affiliated sect hosts.

in return for protection, those living in zhang-controlled areas must adhere to a number of zhang sect regulations. this includes the restriction of access to media that is labelled by the zhang main board as "anti-cause", including anything that criticises the zhang sect's power. this has led to the highly-lucrative, but also highly-dangerous, black-market for media such as film and literature, periodicals, the creation of pirate radio, and so forth. depending on the severity of what someone is reported as possessing, they can either be demoted and given restrictions, or they are given a hearing to determine a sentence, or, in extreme cases (such as being found to be actively associated with anti-zhang groups), exiled from the sect compound either for a set period of time or indefinitely.

zhang sect members are under stricter watch than the average zhang-affiliated person. rangers specifically are heavily monitored, especially in their access of non-sect created materials, and they are discouraged and punished for possessing any materials that may be interpreted as criticising the zhang main board, its marriage and reproductive policies, and its treatment of potential and active-duty rangers, especially any materials that may suggest the draft should not exist, or that the rangers and their families should be compensated for what is essentially a suicide job. for more "mid-level" crimes, forced confessions, similar to those of the 60s/70s in our world's china, are used as a way to reify the confessors of their position within the social and legal order, reinforce to others within the collective that they will be discovered and punished if they do not comply with zhang sect regulations, and communicate that noncompliance is harmful to the collective, ie the zhang sect as a whole.

in regards to marriage and reproductive policies, the zhang sect is incredibly strict within the sect. all of-age sect members are paired based on a number of factors, such as qilin blood status, place within the sect hierarchy, and history, both personal and familial, with compliance to the main board's policies. the aim of these pairings is to produce as many children as possible in order to maintain the ranger system, and thus the zhang board's power. while non-heterosexuality is not explicitly penalised, any sect member who shows resistance to marrying and producing offspring will face both social and legal pressure, and, in extreme cases, punishment in an effort to continue the zhang bloodlines. the only reason that xiaoge is allowed to maintain his relationship with the iron triangle is due to the fact that he is the first ranger and, at least in name, the leader of the sect, and the main board would risk losing power if they attempted to treat him in such a way, and, in this specific case, they would prefer for his family line to die out, since he survived the upgrading procedure all those decades ago despite their hopes, leaving them no possible rivals for control of the sect—and, even then, he faces unspoken pressure to minimise the nature of their relationship as much as possible.

part ii: upgrading, and the precarious position of living weapons

upgrading is the colloquial term used to describe the process which the zhang undergo in order to become rangers. during the process, the body is torn apart and replaced with an average of 60% tech, or "mechanics", a number which varies depending on the "generation" of rangers (xiaoge, and the first batch, would have been about 70%, while newer rangers hover around 55% as improvements in tech optimise the mechanics). this is all done without anaesthetic, as anaesthetic runs the risk of causing the body to be unable to integrate the mechanics properly. generally*, the zhang are the only ones with the training necessary to survive upgrading.

however, even the zhang are human, and their minds are not meant to be able to comprehend input from non-organic systems, even with a large portion of modern zhang training going towards trying to equip potential rangers to deal with this input. in an attempt to solve this problem, especially that of a ranger potentially risking not being able to interpret a warning from their mechanics of a failure, interfaces were created. this allows the ranger to pull up a number of systems, such as diagnostics and recommended courses of action, and in newer generations of rangers, interfaces even allow rangers to access predictions of results of a course of action based on damage/injury levels, control nanotech particles to disperse them to mitigate any critical injuries until a fight is completed, and so forth. the interface in a proper upgrade is implanted in the cerebral cortex. included within newer generations of interface implants are hard-coded the ability to receive a specific command from the zhang boards that allow them to remotely "put down" a ranger if they're deemed a threat—usually due to rift madness aggression, but there have been a number of times where the reason was more muddy; more than one ranger in only the early stages of rift madness was "put down" not long after they began to question the zhang board.

part iii: the exception to the rule

while generally only zhang are able to survive upgrading, there is one notable exception: that is, hei xiazi. however, as the only official method of upgrading is through procedures administered by the zhang. hei xiazi, though, realised early on that the money was quickly drying up in grave robbing and instead booming in the trade of hiveside artefacts, and, already cursed due to a previous tomb excursion, opted to undergo a black-market upgrade.

however, due to the fact that it was black-market, it was essentially a one-of-a-kind event, and one that was largely done with an understanding of zhang upgrades obtained through extrapolation of zhang abilities, and a small amount of study of rangers' corpses which had not been recovered by the sect in the early days due to physical distance. as such, hei xiazi's systems are......................unique, to put it lightly. his mechanics are exposed to the elements rather than being hidden beneath synthetic skin, and a lot of the more specialised pieces are often not what they should be, but rather the closest substitute—something that is a persistent issue, as demonstrated in whatever was left. especially of issue is his interface system—half the time it doesn't work, and it often displays errors for minor issues, or mislabels critical issues as minor ones, and generally is an annoyance. while zhang rangers' interfaces are designed to seamlessly integrate with their personal usage style, hei xiazi's interface is akin to a video game tutorial pop-up—bright red, and almost impossible to dismiss. an amusing issue hei xiazi deals with is that while zhang rangers' interfaces run on their own, specialised frequency, his runs on a separate one—one that, in some areas, is also used by niche pirate radio broadcasters, meaning he has to manually disable his interface entirely or suffer listening to whatever is being broadcast directly in his head. also, unlike zhang rangers, his systems whirr audibly—not loud enough to not fade into the background, but noticeable enough if you pay attention. he also tends to run hot.

part iv: zhang ranger duties, and power-plays of the boards

zhang rangers are assigned to specific sects, and the area that falls under that sect's control is what they are responsible for. if a rift opens in their host sect's territory, they are the ones dispatched to fight the hive and seal the rift. in some cases where a rift is larger than usual, rangers from nearby areas may be deployed to help in the effort, in which case they will use sense-sharing to synchronise their attacks. i wrote a more in-depth post on sensesharing, and therefore anchoring, here: a beginner's guide to anchoring. once a rift is closed, a ranger is summoned back to their host sect, where they are hooked up to a system that projects a recording of the fight for the sect's board to review their conduct, which also forces them to relive the memories as if they are happening again. while it's justified as searching for early signs of rift madness, it's also a thinly-veiled means of asserting board control over the rangers, and if the rangers are found in error, they can be disciplined or given restrictions. while ostensibly rangers are highly-respected warriors, honoured for their sacrifices for the people, the boards, and the zhang elders, see them as potential threats to their power.

part v: sha hai, the bronze gate, and wu xie's honed ruthlessness

as noted, wu xie chooses li cu specifically because of his innocence. while earlier in the ten year period, wu xie may have been able to find the wang zanghai artefact, due to the events of 205 BZ, this became an impossibility. in 205 BZ, in order to contain the rift in changbaishan, wu xie created the plans for the bronze gate, and contracted a team to construct it. once it was completed, in order to minimise the possibility of anyone discovering a weakness in the gate, and thus its abilities to contain the changbaishan rift and the hive, therefore creating a possibility for xiaoge to have to go behind the rift once more, wu xie not only destroyed the plans he had created for it, but also killed the entire team.

PART THREE: inspirations, acdemic reading i've done, and other mischellanea and closing remarks

it will come as no surprise that sunrise is inspired by the 2013 film pacific rim (dir. gdt). for a long time, i've wanted to create something that gave me the same amount of passion as that film gave me in 2018-2020, and the idea of drifting, in specific, is one that's always fascinated me. sunrise was intended to be a one-off, pacific rim-inspired, fanfic—and, since then, it's grown into something far larger, as evidenced by the fact that my reply to this ask is over 3k. it is no longer merely daomu biji with pacific rim added as a topping, but its own thing, which i spend a not insignificant amount of time thinking about, speculating on, and adding to not only weekly, but even daily. however, aside from pacific rim, there's a number of other pieces of media that have inspired me when it comes to sunrise—his dark materials by phillip pulman, bad and crazy (2021), and the ascendant trilogy by k arsenault rivera are all works that have, in one way or another, shaped me, both as a child and now, as an adult, and impacted my writing. more generally, science fiction as a genre and explorations of dystopian fiction have heavily informed me in creation and in writing sunrise.

my tagline for the verse on ao3 is simple: the blade that cuts your chains still cuts another’s neck. sunrise is meant to be not just one story, but rather a world in which stories exist—stories which impact both the characters, and the others in the world they live in. things that seem like victories at first turn out to be tragedies for others—anchoring saves xiaoge's life, and the lives of other rangers, but also causes the expansion of the ranger's draft, putting countless other, previously-safe, sect members at risk. wu xie's construction of the bronze gate ensures the hive will remain contained—but it costs the lives of the entire team of builders to ensure that safety. the good of the many does not outweigh the good of the few; sunrise is not a world of black and white, but rather shades of grey.

besides media influences, sunrise has also benefited greatly from my own delving into academic texts. i'm lucky enough to now have access to an almost unmatched library of texts on chinese history, and historical society, culture, and a thousand other things, at least in the united states. while the texts i've read may not have had obvious impacts upon the world of sunrise, they've allowed me to better build the world of sunrise into a living, breathing thing in my mind. of the texts i've read, i've most appreciated food and environment in early and medieval china (e. n. anderson) and sexuality in china: histories of power and pleasure (howard chiang). i'm on break at the moment and also plan on reading the development of chinese martial arts fiction in order to solidify my portrayal of wuxia in sunrise.

sunrise has also allowed me to experiment with narrative in ways i had not done previously—both in terms of linearality, and in terms of perspective. all sunrise instalments so far are told in a non-linear format, and the next instalment i am (very slowly) working on includes both third and second person povs.

there is a large amount of miscellanea included in my lore notes, but it's largely specific to pairings rather than the overall world of sunrise, and so has therefore been committed. hopefully, this has been a decent exploration and explanation of the 'verse. however, i am always open to further questions, so if you have something specific you want to ask, please, feel free! and thank you, once again, @child-of-the-fairy-folk for asking me about sunrise :)

[starchasertonight]

jalil spends an unplanned day with one of his moms at work - adena's studio or scarlet.

This ficlet is a part of my kadena family verse. For other ficlets in this verse, click here 

Note: this is based off the jobs they have as older adults in the family verse instead.

—

“You wanna go high?”

They’re down to the last block before they get to thegallery and pedestrian traffic is always heavier here. She looks down at J,waggles her eyebrows, and he bounces and claps his hands with the enthusiasmonly a three year-old can truly muster.

“Yes!” he squeals,giggling louder as she hoists him off the sidewalk and onto her shoulders. “Youknow the rules though, dude,” she warns, reaching up to hold his knees securely.

“Gotta hold on with both hands,” he answers, small palms alreadytouching the hair at the top of her head.

“Smart man.”

A woman carrying a bag of groceries smiles fondly at theboth of them, at their small display of silliness and joy in the midst of thedrudgery of commuter traffic, and she smiles back, starts walking with her son perchedon her shoulders.

“I’m taller than everybody,”he marvels. She strides through the sea of pedestrians and her shoulders shakewith laughter at his antics. He giggles too, delighted, and sometimes it’s thestupid little things like this that make her day, honestly.

“Sure are. You excited to hang with maman at work?”

“Uh-huh,” she hears, and she can imagine his little headnodding, distracted by all the city sights around him.

She gets to the gallery a few minutes later, sets her pursedown on a chair near the entrance, and her shoulders are starting to ache.

“Hey, Kat.” She turns and Simone is there, smiling at theboth of them. “Hang on, Adena’s in her office, let me go grab her.”  

“Thanks.” Simone walks away and she shifts a little under Jalil’sweight, taps his knee. “You ready to come down, J?”

“Noo! Not yet!”

She rolls her eyes but stays put, lets him stay perched onher shoulders, because she knows he’s waiting for Adena to see them. And sureenough—

“Maman!” Jalil shrieks,and Adena is on the other side of the room, walking towards them, but Kat canalready see the amusement on her face.

“Hey, babe,” she smiles, and her wife leans in to kiss her hello.

“Hi.” Adena’s eyes look tired when she pulls back, but there’sa joy there, at seeing the both of them at work, and her gaze shifts up. Thenher eyes crinkle, nose scrunching at him, and Jalil starts laughing again. “Helloto you too, Jalil.”

“I’m way tallerthan you now,” he says, in lieu of greeting, and Kat can’t see his face, but shecan hear the way he says it and it makes her laugh. Adena narrows her eyes athim, holds in her smile as she purses her lips.

“Mm, not for long. Mommy’s got a meeting to go to.” Adenameets her eyes, a silent exchange, and Kat winks at her.

“Alright baby J, we’re goin’ down,” she warns, reaching upto hold his body more securely as she bends her knees, lifting him off.

He squeals, loud and dramatic for no reason, and if theyweren’t at the gallery she’d tickle him in retaliation for it.

“Shh, it’s quiet voice time now, ok?”

He pouts for a second, but this isn’t the first time he’sbeen with Adena at the gallery for a couple hours and he understands.

This is the trade-off sometimes, of trying to minimize thenumber of days he’s with a nanny. And it works for the most part, somehow. Butoccasionally there are donors and people in suits, people who don’t give a fuckabout her part-time status and her family’s precariously balanced schedule, whodon’t care about scheduling a dinner meeting last minute when her wife is alsopreparing for a new opening.

She reaches up, cups Adena’s face for a moment while Jalilstands between them.

“I love you,” she murmurs. “And I’m sorry this is such apain.”

Adena nods into her touch, says, “it’s okay,” with all of thecare and understanding in the world. “We got a lot done earlier, we won’t betoo much longer here.”

“Ok, well that’s good. See you in a couple hours at home?”Adena nods again. “I’m not letting them keep me there past eight, no matter howmany thousands they’re ready to cough up for a charitable tax break.”

Adena quirks her eyebrow, smiling, because they both knowhow much she hates this schmoozing part of her job. “See you then,” sheassures, pecking her lips again, and then Kat squats down to eye-level with herson.

“Be good for maman,ok? You might be asleep when I get home, but I promise I’ll be there in the morning.”

She holds out her arm for a hug and he leans into her, duckshis head against her collarbone. “I love you,” she says, kissing his curly hairbefore she lets him go.

She doesn’t linger after that, knows that if she stays anylonger she’ll be too tempted to ditch this meeting entirely. But she hearsAdena ask Jalil about his day, and she hears the start of his excited ramblingresponse before the door shuts behind her. There’s still a smile on her facewhen she reaches the crosswalk.

[elaniadventuresinlondon]

Meet the Beckers

Kenny and Grace are kind and hospitable peoples. When I first arrived, folks only saw my quite polite side, since I actually didn’t know anyone that well, not even Collin and Lyndsey who I’m living with. I really felt odd coming to live here, like a guest who wasn’t sure why they were in your house.

But Grace has tried to get to know me from the start, asking me good questions about my family and life back home. Slowly my walls come down. The week that Collin and Lyndsey leave for their 5- year anniversary, I have their place to myself thankfully and I am excited to be alone with God. To worship and pray and just self isolate.

But Grace and Kenny invite me over every morning for breakfast. She makes amazing homemade pancakes and slathers it with dark chocolate and peanut butter. I can’t believe this is ok for breakfast!

God is the best Matchmaker

I heard Kenny and Grace’s supernatural love story. It is incredible! God brought them together from Kansas and Texas. God spoke a name in Kenny’s dream after he only had a brief interaction with her after church one day. 

It was a image with Kenny sitting in front of Grace’s dad, who is the pastor and on the count of 3 they both say the same word “Grace,” and that Kenny asks God “are you trying to tell me Grace is my wife?” Anyhoo long story short they are married 6 months later. I left out a million details but their love story spurred me on to greater faith in God’s ways and how much He loves when two become one and He is a great orchestrater of love. They are 10 years apart and Grace already has 2 kids and is turning 23 in May. They are amazing parents.

Little Abe Big Faith

They have also raised the most amazing little dude, Abe, who became my best friend on this trip so far. He speaks with his own language but after a few weeks I learned how to understand what Abe is saying. He turned 2 while on this trip and we celebrated his birthday with a pizza party!

Abe’s favorite word is “MORE!” And he loves asking for food. He’s not shy at all about it. If you have food, he wants it, even if he just ate for the past 3 hours. He even knows how to pray! When his emotions get worked up, Kenny and Grace tell him “let’s go sit with God.” And together I hear crying and little Abe saying “calm heart... clean mouth.....calm heart... clean mouth.” It has become my favorite little prayer. 

Every morning he grabs my hand and says “nani? cahm bweld haus wi me?” “bill haus with me!” Over the past weeks, we have built a million variations of houses with the same 6 blocks he has and a Jenga set. He never complained that he didn’t have more toys, or that he couldn’t go outside, he always was so happy to build a house with me. I saw so much of the Father’s heart over him and even the Lord saying “It’s your Fathers good pleasure to give you MORE” and “Come, build a house with me.”

How to live by faith

Kenny had a radical encounter with the Lord one day while looking at the stars in the sky from a huge naval ship while filming something. It’s as if God spoke to him and suddenly he was willing to change his life and come back to the Lord. Stop drinking, yes Lord. Stop lying, yes Lord. Stop living in sin, yes Lord. Give your money away and follow me, yes Lord. With a series of small to big yes’s he turned his life away from alcoholism and the life that comes with it to obeying the voice of the Lord.

He gave up his emmy award winning career in journalism and ends up making films for Gospel for Asia and Moving Works, a company in Austin that is 100% donor supported and makes amazing faith inspired stories and testimonies. Here is one that Kenny made while in Japan: https://youtu.be/BZ-5afaHOnM 

I have never met someone who trusts in God so much. Kenny doesn’t get paid by a company for what he does, he prays and asks God to provide for him. He has countless testimonies of ways God provided exactly what he needed. He said, “I feel I have a mandate to work for the Lord because he called me and it is “illegal” for any man to hire me to work for him.”

LOL. He said that because I tried hiring Kenny for a future project and he simply said “I need to pray about it.”

E: “I can tell you more about the project”

K: “I don’t need to know more information, I just need to pray about it.”

For him a job or a project is first and foremost relational and not about money. He asked me to set up a prayer meeting with who we would work for. Again I was amazed. I felt my corporate America mindset begin to slough off. On our call, Kenny asks to hear this man’s heart, not his goals, not his business plans but his heart. This is revolutionary!

Kenny has taught me what it looks like to live by faith. When he needs something, he asks God for it in secret. He brings everything to the Lord. He does nothing apart from Him, not even for a chunk of money, even if he needs it. He would consult the Lord first and foremost. He is excellent in what he does and has won Emmys. He reminds me of the verse “Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank.” And he is a humble man. Always fasting. Always trying to hear the Lord.

On the day that the Beckers we’re leaving, I noticed how much I respect them, trust them and care for this family. They have taught me so much!

To my surprise, Kenny comes over to me and asks me to type in my apple login in his computer. I said “that’s silly why?” And then he said again “hey can you type in your Apple login for you new computer?” And I was like nooooo!!! I can’t take this. Kenny wants to give me his Mac laptop. It’s awkward for a few moments and he insists. They are not a materially rich family. I don’t know what to do, but Kenny is not the type that you try to bargin with. I am blessed by him and his family.

“Make beautiful things.” He says.

And I really don’t know what to do. I just cry. and begin to see the kingdom of God a little more.

[saltwaffle]

For the Writing prompt meme, 76 & 63 or 55 & 49 with any ship ( preferably courtship )

i am doing both because nobody can stop me, both of these are courtship

76.) Did They or Didn’t They?

63.) Everybody Knows/Mistaken for Couple 

this definitely happens in canonverse if they come to earth. to the humans, they’re so similar yet so complimentary and play off each other so well that they have to be sisters, girlfriends, wives, SOMETHING. everyone knows THAT. so nobody bothers to bring it up how compatible they are even though they’re constantly arguing because duh, they’ve started living in the same apartment, they go everywhere with each other, they even try to get court cases against each other. they’re totally doing this on purpose they’re totally fucking

even though like? it’s not even really on purpose. they live together because back on homeworld, all zircons in a facet lived together in the same apartment complex, it’s force of habit. they go everywhere each other because they’re both shit-awful introverts and any introvert worth her salt knows that hanging with someone you can’t stand is better than hanging with someone you don’t know. and why wouldn’t they try to get court cases against each other it’s what they’ve always done

except that one day BZ and YZ are out on one of their “business dinners” in a private suite of a fancy restaurant and someone gossipy like yellow pearl eavesdrops on their conversation expecting to hear mushy romantic shit but instead theyre just???? discussing points of law and insulting each other?? so she maybe-kinda follows them home because curiosity killed the cat you know and expects to hear sex talk through their window but no they just keep arguing about constitutional law until they both go to bed

cue an elaborate scheme to catch them both in the act which draws in more and more curious gems and humans who all want to know, do the gem lawyers fuck or do they not, until the entirety of beach city is in on it and BZ and YZ are just so fuckin confused. they know something’s up but they’re not sure what. so they in turn start poking around and, united against the common enemy of a mystery, both start developing feelings for each other. everything resolves with BZ and YZ having their first kiss and then immediately like 20 gems burst in on them and go “AHA!” and now the zircons are like double confused

55.) Established Relationship

49.) Fake Married

now this is something that happens in the bluebell field verse! 

so after the epilogue of bluebell field, yana and bell date for the rest of high school senior year, but go to different schools — bell goes to pomona college in california, yana travels across the country to georgetown in washington d.c., both incredibly good schools where they both have an amazing time! however their relationship weakens and they break up midway through freshman year, unable to stay long-distance. bell continues to date other women and yana experiments more, even getting engaged to a man at one point before calling it off.

they graduate in 2002 and both return to L.A., both with plans to take a gap year and work before law school. however, later that year, yana is accidentally outed to her homophobic parents and is forced to leave home. she reconciles with bell and bell’s family welcomes her into their home with open arms. after such a long time, it’s kind of awkward for them to begin dating right away, but they slowly begin to rekindle their relationship and are officially dating by the time they both begin 1L at harvard law school. they are quiet about their relationship but not secretive, open to their close friends and people they trust. 

at the end of their first year, massachusetts legalizes gay marriage and they’re both quite happy for that, but since their relationship is still kind of tender, they decide not to make any fast moves. during the summer, they return home to L.A. and yana tells bell and her family about wanting to reconcile with her parents so she doesn’t have to keep taking up space in her home. 

worried for yana, mama zarcero hatches a plan to truly test yana’s parents’ loyalty — when yana goes back, she should introduce bell as her lawfully wedded wife. yana’s parents now cannot play the “we’ll love you again if you stop being gay” manipulation card without violating a lawful marriage, or at least what they THINK is a lawful marriage in the state of massachusetts. if they further refuse to support yana, then nothing has changed and the act can be dropped.

except that something DOES change. when yana introduces bell as her wife, yana’s parents actually relent. they confess that they had wondered if such a thing would happen, and that even though they knew that yana was probably off screwing ladies in cambridge, they missed her anyway. they tell yana that even though their public policies haven’t changed, they will tolerate her choice and would acknowledge bell as their daughter in law.

this sends bell and yana and bell’s parents all up in a tizzy because they actually hadn’t expected that to work??? like what the fuck??????? but now yana’s parents are actually kind of getting into it, they’re curious and they want to know what the wedding was like, what did yana’s dress look like, did bell wear a dress or??? what are lesbian weddings like???? and whether or not they’re buying a house and settling in cambridge or what. and it could all be solved by yana simply confessing “hey we’re not actually married we were just testing you” but she REALLY LIKES having her parents actually be interested in her life, and she doesn’t want to make them mad by confessing that she lied to them. and also because mama and papa zarcero are both having a lot of fun making fake wedding pictures and making yana’s parents uncomfortable with their much-too-loud punk rock music. “we can only do this if they think we’re in-laws!! if we’re just the girlfriend’s parents, we can’t, but now they think they’re stuck with us!”

cue chaos. 

send me two tropes and a ship!

[kiradillinger]

Human Courtship and Bellow Pearl AU. Part 4.

PART  1 is HERE, PART 2 is HERE, PART 3 is HERE, PART 5 is HERE

Nope, the part 4 isn’t the last HAHAHAHA xD

Dating BP, YP realizes that it is very difficult to make BP blush in embarrassment. Yes, she is shy, but talking to someone close, this shyness disappears. YP eventually turns out to be the one who blushes the most. When she asks "Can we hold hands?.." BP just answers "Sure" and stretches out her palm.

BP is very surprised why YP so blushes (it's very cute, but unusual, because YP is usually self-confident and looks as if she knows everything). BP has no idea how all these "couple things" work, and she's just all very curious. Sometimes YP thinks that BP has agreed to date her only to find out what it is, dating, but BP always says that YP is dear to her, and YP does not give up.

BP was the one who asked "can I kiss you", and YP thought she'd die right this second.

Sometimes they go to sleepover to each other's places. BZ tiredly asks them not to make noise, rubbing her eyes under the glasses, and they talk almost in a whisper, comfortably lying under the blanket in the dark. YZ asks them "not to make noise," grinning. BP does not understand the hint, YP blushes hard and asks YZ to shut up.

YZ now has occasions to see BZ, and she takes every chance, without realizing it herself. After another teasing from YP she sighs and finally admits that "Yes, okay, I fell in love like I'm 16 years old, okay." YP slaps her on the shoulder and says that she will help her somehow.

Teens are trying their best to come up with reasons for BZ and YP to meet, but BZ often does not have time, because she writes a new book and devotes all the time to it. The reason was found when BZ needed the help of a lawyer. She is well versed in the law, but she needed an official lawyer, not a "former lawyer," and YZ decided to help. She said she does not need money from BZ, and that "you just owe me a date now".

In fact, it was not even a date. YZ just wanted to spend some time together, BZ wanted to rest after problems, and they just walked around the whole evening chatting and sipping warm tea. BZ was pleased with this chance, although, of course, she considered it a simple walk.

Relations between them began to warm up when a bad events began in the family of BZ and BP. There was not enough money, their favorite dog was sick, BP had problems at school. YP has always been close to BP and supported her, and YZ often came to support BZ. However, when YZ tried to support their family with money, BZ was angry, because she believed that she could earn enough.

What YZ loves in BZ, is her independence and hardworking. She sees BZ trying for her small family, and very, very much wants to help, although she realizes that she can not. But BZ is just grateful for moral support.

Once they just walked along with YP and BP, and the teens went to bring some drinks. YZ asked why BZ will not find someone to avoid being so hard alone, to which BZ replied that she simply will not have time and energy to give her love to someone else, and she does not want to be unfair to the person , who wants to be around. She is afraid that she will not be able to break between work, BP and someone else. YP does not know what to say to this.

Despite this, they become... Friends. So two or three months pass. The situation at BZ and BP home has improved, and BP for the first time asks its guardian what she thinks about YZ. BZ replies that YZ is a good friend, an intelligent and beautiful woman, and BZ does not understand why she is still single. BP wants to tell everything, but does not say anything.

Once YP and YZ come to their home with packages full of food, and YZ says "once you said you'd teach me how to cook." Yes, YZ can not cook, she usually eats in a cafe or orders food home. BZ is happy to help, and they spend quite a nice evening together. BP and YP do not interfere, just watching from afar. After dinner, the girls say they are tired and go to the room, and BZ offers YZ not to go home this night, but to stay the night, it's still a day off. Before going to bed, they decide to watch a movie, but BZ is so tired that she falls asleep on YZ's shoulder. YZ is happy, but she still wakes her up and helps her to reach the bed. Sleepy BZ says "Thanks... For coming over... The evening was so nice and funny..." and immediately falls asleep, and YZ, having returned to the sofa, just can not help but blush, because she suddenly does not feel rejected. YP, who, together with BP, peeked a bit, laughs "Good night, loser" because she would cuddle all night with BP under a warm blanket, and YZ will sleep alone on the couch.

In the morning, BZ remembers what she said before going to bed, and it's like nothing special, but she can not help blushing. Getting up from the bed, she crosses her eyes with YZ, who is still on the couch, but has already woken up and checks something in the phone. She does not look like an "upscale lawyer", but very much... Cute? With disheveled hair, without make-up and slightly embarrassed smile. They look awkwardly at each other before simply saying "good morning".

It seems, that from that morning some feelings awoke in BZ too. Seeing this, BP asks YZ, why should not she just go and confess? "Your niece did so, and, as you can see, nothing bad happened."

After another month or so, and several such warm, lovely evenings, YZ decides to confess. Comes with flowers, looks like a schoolgirl, but still expresses all the feelings that she has over the past year. BZ listens to her attentively, then looks at BP, who nods and smiles at her, and says "I'll be glad to date such a great woman."

[starchasertonight]

a fluffy kadena fic where adena is pregnant? maybe like a date or smthg

This ficlet is a part of my kadena family verse. For other ficlets in this verse, click here

---

Questions during open session at the board meeting take way longer than she’s expecting. It turnsinto tangent after tangent and she fights the impulse to scream. Because allshe wants to do is present the fundraising updates and get through this meetingso that she can get home to her wife.

She knows that Adena is self-sufficient, and rationally sheknows that she’s safe and fine. But her wife is also now six months pregnant,pushing towards seven, and Kat wants to be there for her as much as she can.

She manages to sneak a text to Adena, letting her know sheprobably won’t be home until close to 8, and then sighs and resigns herself tosit through the rest of this meeting.

When she gets home, the lights are on in the living room butAdena isn’t there.

“Babe?”

She steps out of her heels, hangs her coat up on the hookand then heads for the bedroom. The sight that greets her makes her heart stop,because Adena is sitting in bed, back to the headboard, and Adena has tearsstreaming down her cheeks.

“What’s wrong?” she rushes, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Isthe baby—”

“Is okay,” Adena sniffles, wiping her eyes. “We’re fine.Sorry to scare you,” she says, giving her a watery smile.

Kat leans forward, cups Adena’s face with her hand and wipesat her tears.

“Baby, why are you crying?” She can’t shake the feeling thatsomething is wrong, and she searches Adena’s face for answers.

“Is just the hormones,” she says, giving another sniffle andreaching for the tissues on the nightstand. Kat shifts and helps her grab thebox. “They keep making me cry, even when I don’t have a reason to.”

Kat frowns. “Really? I haven’t seen you cry the past fewdays…”

Adena looks down at that, touches at the duvet with a quietshame that betrays her. “I try not to,” she says. “I don’t like to worry you.”

Anger flares up in her chest, on instinct, but she takes aslow breath to quell it. Because she knows the anger is just a mask for thehurt, because she hears what Adena isn’t saying. That her wife has been tryingnot to cry in front of her, has apparently been crying on her own when Kat isn’tthere to see it.

She crawls onto the bed, careful not to jostle Adena whenshe climbs past her and under the covers at her side. Then she reaches her armout, wraps her arm around Adena and pulls her into her side.

“Dena, you’re pregnant.” She holds her closer, protective,and kisses her hair. “I worry about you regardless. If your body needs to cry,then just cry.”

She reaches her other hand over to Adena’s t-shirt clad babybump, rests it there and rubs calming circles.

“But you hate to see me cry,” Adena mumbles into her neck,and Kat sighs.

“Because I love you, and seeing you so sad just does thingsto me,” she says, but Adena makes a sound of protest. Kat is quiet for amoment, processing, and she knows what this is about, so she just admits it. “Andalso because big vulnerable emotions still freak me out sometimes.”

Adena doesn’t say anything, but she hums and holds her tighter,snuggles in even closer, and it’s all the answer she needs. That’s what this isabout.

“I get it,” Kat whispers. “But that’s my own shit, and I’lldeal. This is more important. Please don’t hide things for my sake.”

Adena sighs, releases a long slow breath and fully relaxesinto Kat’s embrace. “Asheghetam.”

It makes her heart flutter and she smiles, content to holdAdena like this for the rest of the night. “I love you too. You and the baby. Ilove you both so much it’s ridiculous.”

She feels Adena smile into her skin, wet from her tears, andthen there’s a nudge against her palm. She thinks she imagines it, hardly evennotices but—

“He’s kicking right now,” Adena says, as she’s gotten in thehabit of sharing with Kat.

“I know, I-I felt it,” she says, voice full of awe, andAdena lifts her head, eyes wide. “Babe, I think I felt it.” She gently tugs atthe seam of Adena’s t-shirt, slides her hand under to rest against bare skin. Acouple seconds later, it happens again. She’s sure of it this time. “Oh my god.”

She feels tears welling up in her own eyes, and Adena isbeaming. “You can finally feel him too?” she searches, as if she can’t quitebelieve it.

Kat nods, keeps her hand in place as she slides down thebed, until her face is at eye level with Adena’s stomach. She thinks Adenamight be crying again, but it doesn’t matter because there’s tears onher cheeks too, and she leans in to kiss at Adena’s stomach, where she felt thekick.

“Hey there, bud. It’s nice to meet you.”

[starchasertonight]

jalil asks kadena for advice on how to ask someone out/propose to his partner

This ficlet is a part of my kadena family verse. For other ficlets in this verse, click here

–

At first she thinks it’s just his teenage moodiness again,which has become frustratingly common lately. She gets it. He’s thirteen and it’sa weird and difficult age to be.

She and Adena have both done their best to adjust toparenting in the teen years, to slowly give J more privacy and autonomy. Or,as her wife would say, to support his own process of becoming.

Sometimes it’s annoying as shit and sometimes it makes hersad, because J is still kind and wonderful but he’s definitely a littlemore closed-off these days.

So when he’s unusually quiet when he gets home from soccerpractice, she’s thinks it’s just more of this new normal and she doesn’t pushit.

But then, after he showers, Jalil sits down at the kitchentable with his homework instead of in his bedroom.

Kat acts nonchalant,just gives him a brief smile and tries not to act too surprised even though she’scurious. She focuses on chopping ingredients for dinner and casts a glance athim every couple of minutes.

He’s looking down ata book, but he doesn’t seem to be turning pages, and—

“Hey, mom?”

He looks up at her, warm brown eyes blinking at her withuncertainty, and he fidgets with his pencil on the table.

Kat smiles, tilts her chin in acknowledgement while shekeeps chopping. “What’s up?”

J is quiet for a few seconds, and she knows that face.She knows when her son has something important on his mind. She sets the knifedown on the cutting board.

“How did you and mamanstart dating?”

It’s not at all what she’s expecting him to say and it makesher smile, scrunch her nose at him.

“What makes you ask?”

He shuts his book and folds his hands together on the table,glancing down to avoid her eyes. “There’s, um, there’s a girl, in my class…”

A slow grin spreads across her face and she arches hereyebrow at him, folds her arms across her chest. “Oh?”

J looks up at her and rolls his eyes, faint blushcoloring his cheeks. “Shut up.”

She holds her hands up in mock defense, still smiling. “I didn’teven say anything.”

He gives her an embarrassed scowl. “You didn’t have to.”

Kat sighs, relaxing, and goes for a gentler approach. “Okay,so…there’s a girl in your class.” Then, “Do you like her, as maybe more than afriend?”

J nods, finally meets her eyes again even though hetucks his chin into his hand. “Yeah. But…I don’t know what to do.”

“What to do about what?” her wife chimes in, catching thelast bit of their conversation as she enters the kitchen.

Adena gives her a brief hug from behind, kisses her cheek,and Kat knows this means Adena is done working from home for the evening, thatshe’s ready to join them and break from editing photos.

She levels Adena with a brief look, rather than trying to explain,and gives her a quick wink out of Jalil’s line of sight.

“Have you thought about just telling her how you feel?” sheasks her son, and Adena’s eyes widen, lips pursing as she pretends to busy herselfwith helping prep dinner.

“In person?” Jasks, like she’s out of her mind. “Uhh, no way.”

Adena laughs, before she catch herself, and Kat shares asmile with her wife.

“He asked about how we started dating.”

Adena’s eyes light up, recalling the memories, and she looksover at Jalil.

“It was very romantic,” Adena starts, and J rolls hiseyes like he’s embarrassed by his moms, even though she knows he’s low-keyintrigued. “Your mom and I, we had a special connection even though we wereboth scared to say something about it. But one night, after a difficult day,your mom showed up outside of my building, and she confessed how she reallyfelt. In person,” she finishes,teasing, and J looks between them curiously.

“Yeah, I was pretty awesome,” Kat nods, acting cool, andAdena gently shoves at her.

“Oh, please. You looked like you were going to throw up, azizam.”

Kat scoffs, turning to J who is now laughing at them.

“I was nervous,okay?” she says, pointing her finger. “What matters is that I said something,”she tells J. “And maman, she totallycould have turned me down and that would’ve been her right. She didn’t owe meanything. But I wouldn’t have known how she felt in return unless I saidsomething.”  

Adena smiles, steps up next to her to wrap her in a side hug.“And it worked out very well for her.”

She leaves out the part where it got complicated, because hedoesn’t need to know the whole story right now.

“Wait, I thought you fell in love at the airport,” Jalilsays, re-calling the story he’s been told ever since he was little. “Or did youmake that up?”

“No, we did, J. That’s real,” Kat assures, and Adena smilesinto her shoulder. “But maman knewhow I felt. That’s why I came to the airport for her. That happened later.”

“So…you think I should tell her.”

“Yep.”

“But what if goes really bad?”

The question makes her heart soar even as it hurts for his fearof rejection, because Jalil is still Jalil even though he’s getting older. He’sstill the same kind-hearted thoughtful kid who trusts his parents enough to beopen.

“Then it goes bad, and it’ll suck and hurt for a littlewhile. But at least then you tried and you’ll know how she feels instead ofwondering.”

Adena lets go of her and walks back around to continuepreparing dinner, while J considers her statement for a few seconds.

“That sounds terrible.”

She hears her wife laugh behind her, and Kat steps forwardto where J is sitting, ruffles his curly hair in a comforting gesture.

“You got this, dude.”  

He groans and hides his face in his arms.

[starchasertonight]

I would love a family fic about Kadena as new parents/ wtf do we do with this tiny creature moments

This ficlet is a part of my kadena family verse. For other ficlets in this verse, click here

—

It’s been two months since they brought Jalilhome from the hospital. And they’re so lucky, because Jalil is healthy and he’ssuch a sweet baby. 

But it’s also an adjustment, and it’s exhausting.

Adena seems to take to everything more easily than she does, whichdoesn’t surprise her. She always knew that her wife had natural parentinginstincts, had seen it whenever the two of them have been around other people’skids.

It doesn’t come as naturally to her. But she adores Jalil, and she’strying. She’s learning.

It’s a little after 1:30 in the morning when J’s cries wake herfrom her sleep, and she knows that Adena must be awake too because she’s a muchlighter sleeper than her. Sure enough, she hears Adena groaning into the pillowbeside her, and Kat frowns in sympathy, eyes tired and bleary as she rubs herwife’s back.

“I’ve got it,” she murmurs, dragging herself out of bed and overto the side of the room where Jalil’s bassinet is.

“Hey there, baby J,” she coos quietly, scooping him up and startingto rock him. “Shh, you’re okay.”

Jalil’s crying persists, even louder, and she takes him out of the bedroomand into the living room so that Adena can rest.

She keeps trying to rock him, to do what she can to soothe him. Butit’s not working. She’s a little sleep delirious, and Jalil won’t stopcrying no matter what she tries to do to comfort him.

She sucks at this. She knows she sucks at this. And in the late-nightdarkness of her sleep deprivation, she feels the emotional frustration wellingup from inside of her.

She hears the bedroom door open a couple minutes later, and sighsbecause she knows her attempts to allow Adena some rest have failed. Adena is calm and gentle as ever though, murmuring, “Here, let me try,”and holding her arms out.

She carefully hands Jalil over to her and then her wife holdstheir son close, starts bouncing and rocking him in the dim light of theirliving room.

Jalil’s crying slowly quiets and Adena continues, doesn’t stopuntil Jalil is calm and drifting off to sleep again.

Kat’s arms are crossed against herself, tears welling in her eyes,when she turns around and re-enters the darkness of their bedroom.

Jalil doesn’t need her, he needs Adena. Which makes sense, becauseAdena is his mom.

As soon as the thought passes through her mind, her heart swellswith guilt and sadness at the same time. She knows it’s fucked up that thethought even crossed her mind. They’re bothhis moms.

It’s just that tonight, and a lot of the time if she’s being honestwith herself, it doesn’t feel that way.

She crawls back into bed,buries herself under the covers and hopes that Adena doesn’t notice anything.

Adena settles back in a minute later, rubs her hip and spoonscloser to her, and she tenses on instinct before she can catch herself.

Her wife pauses, stilling her hand but keeping it there, warm againsther.

“What’s wrong?”

A small sob breaks out of her, against her will, and she turns herface into her pillow, tries to force away everything that she’s feeling rightnow. Because it’s late and she’s just tired, and it’ll be okay if Adena wouldjust drop it and let her fall asleep. But of course, she doesn’t. Because that’snot the woman she married.

“Kat?” Adena gently turns her until she’s on her back and Katreaches up to cover her face, embarrassed. “Talk to me, baby. What’s wrong?”

Her palms are pressed to her eyelids and tears are still leakingout, tracking down her cheeks, and the first thing out of hermouth is a choked—

“He doesn’t like me.”

It’s not quite what she means, doesn’t really name everything that’seating at her right now. But it must be close enough, because she hears the emotionin Adena’s voice when she answers—

“What?” Then, “Kat, honey,he’s a baby.”

She says it with all the gentleness in the world, and she thinksAdena means it to be comforting, self-explanatory. But her words have theopposite effect, heart sinking and making her want to curl in on herself.

She finally pulls her hands away from her eyes, and even though it’spretty dark in their room, there’s enough light that she can see Adena’s face.Which means that Adena can definitely see hers. Her wife’s eyes are brimming withher own tears, concern written all over her face.

“What’s this about?”

She’s staring at the darkness over Adena’s shoulder when sheanswers in a whisper—

“I’m bad at this. We both know I’m bad at this.”

“Bad at what? Helping him to sleep? Kat, he’s—”

She shakes her head, interrupting Adena.

“Being his mom.”

Adena freezes, voice falling silent, and Kat finally looks her inthe eye again, now that she’s admitted it. Then—

“Oh, Kat…”

Adena pulls her into atight embrace, settles back into the pillows with Kat’s head on her chest andher arms wrapped protectively around her. She turns her face into the warm skinof Adena’s neck, drawing a shaky breath.

“You’re not bad at this,” Adena soothes, rubbing her back.

“Don’t lie to me.”

“I’m not,” her wife answers, quiet but fierce. “You love him so much, I can see it every time you’rewith him, or even just when you talk about him. And I know you would doanything for Jalil, for both of us.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about,” she sighs.

“I know it’s not, but iswhat really matters,” Adena answers, voice soft. “The other stuff will comewith time. I have so much faith in you.”

“Glad at least one of us does,” she says, voice muffled againsther wife’s neck, and she feels her body finally relaxing, breath evening out.

Adena runs her fingers through her hair, leans down to kiss herforehead.

“I love you. Always.”

She smiles for the first time since waking up, and kisses Adena’sneck, snuggling in to try to sleep again.

“I love you too.”

“Let’s talk more about this in the morning, okay?” 

“Okay.”

[starchasertonight]

(I know youre on vaycay so dont even look at this until you get back) but can you do a ficlet where Jalil has a nightmare and asks to sleep with his moms 😭

This ficlet is a part of my kadena family verse. For other ficlets in this verse, click here  

---

She’s been a light sleeper for as long as she can remember.Maybe it’s all the years she’s spent travelling, all the nights she’s spent ina bed that wasn’t permanently hers. But it doesn’t take much to wake her.

Kat, however, is whole different story. Kat can sleepthrough sirens on the street below, can nap in a room where people are talking.

So it’s no surprise, really, that a shift in the room, thesound of small feet padding across the carpet and the rustling of the duvet, isenough to wake her but not her wife.

She stirs, disoriented, then hears a whispered, “Maman?”

There’s a small hand touching her arm, over the blanket, andshe blinks her eyes open, adjusts to the dim light spilling in from the hallwayand the sight of her son at the bedside.

“Jalil? What is it, joon?What’s wrong?”

His eyes are wide in the dim light, full of fear, and hegrips at her arm, whispers, “bad dream” intothe quiet.

Adena frowns and reaches her arm out from under the covers,pulls her three-year old son closer.

“Is okay,” she assures, voice soothing, and leans forward tokiss his forehead. He burrows into her immediately, clinging to her sleepshirt, and she pulls him forward, into the comfort and safety of their bed. “Whydon’t you lay here with me for a bit?” she whispers, already tucking them backunder the covers together.

He nods against her chest, still tense, and she rubs at hisback to calm him down.

“Do you want to tell me about your dream?” she murmurs,still rubbing his back in soothing patterns, and she feels his body finallystart to relax against hers. Jalil shakes his head, otherwise silent. “Okay,”she soothes, “maybe in the morning.”

She lays with him in the quiet, can tell when he starts todrift back to sleep a few minutes later. She considers carrying him back to hisroom, but she doesn’t want to risk waking him, to risk frightening him again.So she lets him stay this time, gently pries his hands off of her shirt andtucks him into the space between herself and Kat’s sleeping form.

It takes her a while to settle down again, but she driftsback to sleep eventually, protective hand still resting on Jalil’s back.

She wakes to the sound of giggling, to Kat’s answering groanand her sleepy confused, “Hey, bud.”

Jalil laughs again, and Adena’s rubbing at her eyes when shehears his answering energetic—

“Hi, mommy!”

Kat meets her eyes, barely awake but smiling, and then herwife grabs for Jalil, making him shriek in laughter, squirming into theblankets.

“’Dena there’s a monster in the bed,” she announces withdramatic flair, “but don’t worry, I got him!”

Jalil rolls around in a fit of giggles while Kat holds himdown, curly hair hanging forward in a curtain around their son, and Adenashakes her head, smiling at their antics.

“Mommy! Mommy, stop!” he demands through fits of giggles,and Kat relents, ruffling his hair affectionately before relaxing into thepillows on her side.

“J, how ‘bout we go make some breakfast?” she says, smilingbut calmer in her energy. “Give mamansome quiet time to pray.”

He nods, kicking the blankets away from his legs, andscurries toward the edge of the bed.

“I want orange juice!”

“I think we can manage that,” Kat says to him, winking ather in acknowledgment as she crawls out of bed too.

Jalil races out of the bedroom and Adena smiles, looks toher wife still standing in the bedroom.

Kat leans down, presses a brief kiss to her lips.

“Mm, morning,” she hums. Then, “He have another nightmarelast night?”

“Yes, unfortunately,” she says, leaning into Kat’s touch.

“Second time just this week. You think we should be worried?”

She frowns, contemplates it for a few seconds.

“I’m not sure. Maybe not yet. But, if it keeps getting worse…”she trails off.

“Yeah.” Then, “Hey, I’m sure it’s fine. Maybe he just needsa better nightlight in his room. I’ll ask him what the dream was about, see ifhe remembers.”

“Mommy!”

Jalil’s voice comes from a distance, clearly waiting for herin the kitchen with impatience.

“I’m comin’, J, I’m comin’,” Kat answers loudly, grinning ather.

Then her wife is out of the room, leaving her to her ownquiet time.

As she goes about her routine, settling into the quiet, she picturesKat and Jalil together in the kitchen and she smiles, heart full of loveand gratitude.

[starchasertonight]

Kat and Adena's kid gets in trouble at school for punching a bigot just like his mom

He doesn’t meet her eyes for the entire walk from the adminoffice to the car, just sulks beside her, arms folded across his chest.

She waits until they’re beside the car and then she foldsher own arms, blocks his path to the car door, waits for him to look her in theeyes.

“He was saying mean things, about maman,” is what he finally says, and Kat squats until she’s closerto eye level with her seven year-old.

“So you punched him,” she says, not even framing it as aquestion. They both know what happened.

He scratches at his curly hair, worries his lip between histeeth. “Am I in trouble?”

And it’s hard. It’s sohard, because yeah he’s definitely got the same fire as she does, but his eyesare all Adena’s, staring back at her, and it’s so hard to be mad. He was stickingup for his mom and she’s proud of him. But she also knows she can’t encouragehim to react like this, that it will have worse and more dangerous consequencesas he gets older.

“They suspended you for the day, J.”

“I know. Am I introuble with you?” He stares expectantly,arms still crossed, waits to see what she’ll do.

“A lil bit, yeah,” she nods, purses her lips at him, and hefrowns. “Buuut, for the punch. Notfor sticking up for yourself. You gotta use your words, not your fists, dude.You know this.”

She knows he gets it, even though he’s being stubborn aboutit, and by the time they get home he’s doing alright. He’s helping her putdinner together when they hear Adena enter and his eyes widen in panic.

“Helloo,” Adenasing-songs, loud and warm from the other room, and Kat smiles.

“Hey babe! We’re in here,” she greets from the kitchen, thengives her son a look. “J, why don’t you tell maman what you did today?” she says, not letting her tone giveanything away and loud enough for Adena to hear, and he glares.

Adena steps into the kitchen, tired but smiling, and pressesa brief kiss to her lips, wraps her arm around their son’s shoulders.

“What did you do?” she asks, curious, and then frowns whenhe looks guilty. Adena turns to her and they share a look, before Adena dropsher arm from his small shoulders, turns to face him fully. “Jalil, what did youdo?”

His eyes are wide and looking to her for help when sheshakes her head, says, “You gotta tell her yourself.”

He sighs, quiet for several seconds while her wife stares athim expectantly, and then admits, “I punched someone at school.”

“You what?”

Jalil cowers, explaining, “He was saying mean things aboutyou and he wouldn’t stop and I got so mad.I’m sorry.”

Adena’s head whips around, searching for confirmation in Kat’seyes, and Kat nods, tries not to smile when she sees the knowing look on Adena’sface.

“You really are just like your mother,” she sighs, almostresigned, and Jalil grins. Kat gives him a quick wink, over Adena’s shoulder, thengoes back to chopping the zucchini. “Come on, come sit with me,” Adena motionstoward the kitchen table.

Kat eavesdrops while she continues dinner prep, hears Adenasay, “Tell me what happened,” with as much patience as she can muster after analready long day.

They’ll have their own talk later, once J is asleep. But fornow, she lets them have their moment, gives Adena the space to have the talkshe needs to have with him. Because yeah, it’s about the fact that he punchedsomeone, which is something they both need to address as his parents. But it’salso about why he punched someone, aconversation Kat is all too familiar with.  

Adena is right—

Jalil is far too muchlike her sometimes. But she wouldn’t have it any other way. And she thinksthat, secretly, Adena wouldn’t either.

[starchasertonight]

Jalil and Kat’s saturday morning traditions

This ficlet is a part of my kadena family verse. For other ficlets in this verse, click here   

—

Adena is standing beside her in the kitchen, finishing upher mug of tea and cuddling into her before she has to leave for a long Saturdayat the gallery. Her wife sets the mug down on the counter, turning her face intoKat’s neck, and Kat holds her in a hug.

“I love you. The show’s gonna be great tonight.”

Adena hums, nodding, and Kat kisses her head, lips pressedto the soft cotton of her hijab.

“I love you too.”

Her chin in tucked against the side of Adena’s head whenJalil rounds the corner, still in his pajamas, and points to the large kitchenwindow with a huge grin.

“Mom, d’you see how windy it is today?”

Adena pulls back, still in Kat’s loose grip, and turns tolook at their son with a smile on her face. Kat glances out the window, sees acouple trees swaying in the distance, then nods, wiggling her eyebrows at him.

“You thinkin what I’m thinkin?”

Jalil nods, bouncing on his toes.

“I’ll go get Charlie!” he exclaims, racing back to his room.

“Don’t forget to change into real clothes first, dude!” shecalls after him, hears his sarcastic “duh”from around the corner.

“Charlie?” Adena questions, looking up at her in confusion,and Kat laughs.

“The kite he got for his birthday, he named it Charlie,” Kattells her, and Adena shakes her head, smiling.

“Dare I ask why?”

“It’s short for Charlie Parker.”

Adena tilts her head at her, and she’s about to explain when—

“The jazz musician?”

Her voice is full of confusion, which is understandable, butalso, “You know who Charlie Parker is? ‘Cause I definitely had to ask. He’sbeen spending too much time with Ty.”

Adena laughs and reaches for her purse, knows that she’ll berunning late if she doesn’t leave soon.

“There was an amazing photography exhibit on the HarlemRenaissance, a few years back. That’s how I know the name. But the kite…” shetrails off, trying to make the connection, and Kat smiles.

“Apparently Charlie Parker’s nickname was Bird.”

Adena shakes her head, moving toward the front door. “That’s…”

“Weirdly clever? I know,” Kat finishes, and Adena is stillsmiling when she leans in to give Kat a kiss goodbye.

“Have fun at the park today,” she murmurs, and Kat nods intoher forehead.

“Always.”

“Bye, Jalil! I love you! See you tonight!” Adena calls out,loud enough for him to hear.

There’s a muffled, “Bye, maman!”a couple seconds later, and then Adena kisses her one last time before she’sout the door.

She’s barely made it back to the kitchen to grab a secondcup of coffee when her eight-year old rounds the corner again, fully dressedand holding the large bird kite in his arm.

“You’re not even dressed yet,” he huffs, and Kat leans onthe counter, takes a leisurely sip of her coffee.

“It’s been like…seven seconds. I was talking to maman. Plus, you still need to eatbreakfast.”

She hears him say, “waymore than seven seconds,” under his breath, but he carefully sets Charlieon the ground and then plops down in a chair at the kitchen table with a sigh.

“So good. We gottasign you up for drama club. This is some pure talent, right here,” she grins,and Jalil rolls his eyes at her.

It’s a sunny Spring morning when they make it to the park,chilly wind whipping through the air, and Kat stares up at the blue sky, looksaround at the clearing of grass that they’ve found.

“What do ya think, J? Right here should be good, yeah?”

He holds the kite tight to his body, careful not to let itget swept away from him, and nods back at her.

“Yeah, I think so.”

It takes a couple attempts to get the kite to catch the windproperly and really lift off, but J’s much better at it now than when he firstgot the kite. He hardly needs her help anymore to get it going.

Jalil holds the spool of string with such focus and Katstands a few feet to his left, watching him with fondness. Charlie is high inthe sky now, bright colors trailing in the wind, and a few other scatteredpark-goers glance up at the kite with smiles.

She’s about to ask him about school, about his friends,maybe about what his Uncle Ty’s been teaching him, but then Jalil speaks first,staring up at Charlie when he says—

“Mom, do you think I’m a faggot?”

The question startles her and she nearly drops her thermosof coffee, clutching it between her hands and staring at her son. J glances ather, eyeing her reaction, before he returns his focus to the kite.

“Wh- …J, did someone at school call you that?”

He nods up at the sky instead of at her, steers the stringof the kite when a particularly strong gust of wind hits.

“I know it’s a mean word. For boys who like each other,”Jalil says, and Kat listens intently, trying to figure out where this is going.“But, I don’t think he meant it that way. I think…he called me that becausesome of my friends are girls, and I like hanging out with them too. So,” heturns to her again, holding the kite steady. “Does that mean I’m a faggot?”

“Because you like hanging out with girls too and not just theother boys?” Kat asks, to make sure she understands. She’s trying to quell heranger for Jalil’s sake, but it’s hard and she really wishes Adena were hereright now, to help steady her.

“Yeah.”

Kat takes a slow breath and stares up at the kite flying inthe wind.

“Well, first of all, let’s stop using that word, ok?” Jchews at his lip and nods. “But no, I don’t think you’re… a sissy? Maybe that’sthe right word, for what he meant?” Kat says it like a question, searchingJalil’s face to see if that’s what he’s getting at, and he nods again. “Buteven that’s like…” she pauses, frustrated and trying to find the right words. “Basicallysaying stuff that girls like isn’t good, and that it’s bad for you to like someof those things.”

She breathes in the fresh air, blinks at the clear blue skyand tries to think of how to explain this to him.

“Maman and I, we’veraised you to let you be whoever you want to be, as long as it doesn’t hurtother people,” she says. “To like whatever and whoever you like. But some kidsdon’t have that, boys especially. They think boys are only allowed to likecertain things. But that’s not true.”

“Yeah, that’s really dumb,” J says, tone matter of fact, andKat smiles at him.

“Super dumb,” Kat agrees. “So this kid who called you that…to him it seems like you’re breaking the rules, for what boys are allowed todo. And it makes him uncomfortable…maybe even a little jealous. Does that makesense?”

Jalil looks at her, with those eyes that never fail toremind her of Adena, and gives her a small smile.

“He doesn’t know the rules are fake.”

Kat nudges his shoulder affectionately, reaches out toruffle his curly hair.

“Exactly.”

“I think Uncle Ty knows, that the rules are fake,” Jconsiders, and damn if he’s not the most perceptive kid.

Because he gets it, in his own kid language.

“Totally,” she smiles in agreement. “And look, Aunt Suttonloves him for it.”

She can tell that Jalil is thinking hard, is processingeverything that she’s said to him, and she hopes that it helps, that he’s ableto keep his confidence in what he enjoys.

“Thanks. Can you steer for a minute? I need somewater,” Jalil says, holding out the kite handle to her, and she smiles.

“Sure.”

“Don’t crash him,” he warns, absolutely serious, and Katpresses her lips together to keep from laughing.

“It was one time, J.It won’t happen again, I promise.”

[starchasertonight]

Please do a kadena Halloween fic where they take Jalil trick or treating!

She doesn’t even know why she bothers asking him what hewants to be for Halloween, considering he’s been watching the same old Disneymovie, on repeat, for weeks.

But she still asks, and when Jalil shrieks, “Aladdin!”,bouncing on his feet in excitement, she and Adena share a knowing smile.

Their four year-old is obsessed with Aladdin. Like, truly obsessed.

It could be worse. Atleast he has good taste, even if most of the other kids probably won’t recognizehis costume.

It’s a Saturday morning and they’re relaxing at hometogether. Kat sits on the floor with Jalil, helping him with his dollhouse, whileAdena watches them fondly from her spot on the comfy chair.

He’s distracted now, eyes wide and thinking about hiscostume, when he turns his small body toward Adena.

“Maman, you can beJasmine!”

Adena smiles, ignores the look that Kat is giving her whenshe says, “You think so?”

He grins, races across the carpet over to her. “Yes! It’sperfect!”

Adena scoops him up, holds Jalil in his lap and kisses hishead.

“Did you know I dressed up as Jasmine many years ago, beforeyou were born?” she tells him, and he turns in her lap, looks at her with wideeyes.

“Really? Who wasAladdin?”

Adena looks at her, chin tucked against Jalil’s head, gaze full of love and memories.

“Mommy was.”

He whips his head back around, gives Kat a confused look. “Youdon’t look like Aladdin.”

Adena laughs into his hair and Kat scoffs, folds her armsacross her chest. “Hey now, baby J. I was an awesome Aladdin.” He giggles and tilts his head, like he’s tryingto picture it.  

“It’s my turn though. There can’t be two Aladdins,” he informsher, and Kat smiles, sticks her tongue out at him.

“Who am I gonna be then?”

Jalil holds his chin, ponders it for a few seconds. “TheGenie!”

Adena can’t stop laughing.

—

She finds a fantastic all-blue outfit, does some fun make-upon her face, and Jalil loves it. Her wife, however, cannot look at her with astraight face.

Her gorgeous wife, who found herself a new Jasmine costumeand looks far too good to just be going trick-or-treating.

She’s not even mad that she’s the genie. Because Adena andJalil together, as Jasmine and Aladdin, is the cutest thing she’s ever seen inher life.

Jalil is wearing a thermal before they leave, underneath thepurple vest, because otherwise it’ll be too cold. As it is Adena keeps worryingover him, telling her they need to bring his real coat too, just in case.

But they leave out the thermal for the pictures, let himwear just his vest and his flowy pants and his little fez hat. 

Later that night, after they return home with a full bucketof candy that Adena insists stay stored away in the kitchen, she opens herInstagram to upload two pictures, side by side.

One, of her and Adena, younger and full of heart-eyes foreach other at the Scarlet Halloween Bash. The other, her favorite shot fromtonight, of Adena and Jalil together in the kitchen, smiling at each other insteadof the camera.

She adds a simple caption and posts it before setting herphone down, turning to spoon Adena under the covers. Adena hums, content, andkisses at her hand, weaves their fingers together.

Her phone lights up in the dark with notifications that she ignores,everyone responding to the photos and—

Forever and always my #1 Jasmine

---

This ficlet is a part of my kadena family verse. For other posts in this verse, click here.

[starchasertonight]

an AU where Kat and Adena drop off their son for his first day of school and Kat is an anxious mess but Adena is able to comfort her

I switched this up a bit...

---

They walk him to his kindergartenclass together.

The hallways are bright andcolorful and Kat keeps her arm wrapped loosely around her wife’s waist whilethey walk.

She sees his classroom and theteacher stationed at the entrance, greeting new students and parents, and sheturns, squats down in front of her son so they’re eye level.

“This is you, bud.”

She smiles, reassuring, and heducks his face against Adena’s leg, shy and still holding her hand. It’s sounlike him that she knows he must be nervous.

“You remember what we talked about?”she says, tilts her head until he’s meeting her eyes, and he nods. “What’d wesay?”

A quiet sort of determinationsettles over him and he stares back at her. “Be yourself.”

“That’s right. ‘Cause you’reawesome, and you’re totally gonna make a new friend today, I can feel it.”

She hears Adena sniffle above her,knows that her wife is trying so hard to hold it together right now.

Jalil smiles, the first real smilesince they left the house, and Kat holds her arms out. “Bring it in.” Hegiggles, lets go of Adena’s hand to jump forward and give her a hug.

She burrows her face into hisshoulder, makes a silly noise that makes him laugh harder as his small armscling around her neck. “I love you, J.”

“Love you too.”

She pulls back, ruffles his hairthen whispers, “Go on, give maman ahug.”

Adena kneels down, wipes at her eyewith the palm of her hand and sniffles again.

“Why’re you crying?” Jalil frowns,concerned, and Adena gives him a watery smile.

“Because I am so proud of you,” shesays, voice strong, and Kat’s heart aches.

Jalil accepts her answer at facevalue, says, “Oh, okay,” and Kat laughs.

Adena chuckles too, reaches her arm out, andJalil leans into her. Kat watches him shield his lips with his hand, whisperingsomething into Adena’s ear that makes her close her eyes, squeeze his smallbody tight in a hug. She whispers back, gives him one final squeeze, and thenpulls away, stands straight again.

Jalil walk up to the classroomentrance on his own and they watch as the teacher greets him with a friendlysmile, shows him where his little desk is. He gives them one final wave andthen he’s out of view.

Kat pulls Adena into a hugimmediately, wraps her arms tight around her and presses a kiss to the side ofher head.

“I love you so much.”

Adena sniffles into her neck,murmurs, “I love you too.”

Kat rubs at her back, comforting. “What’dJ say to you?”

Adena breathes deep and then stepsaway, wipes at her eyes and smiles. “He told me he loves me, in Farsi.”

Kat grins, holds Adena’s hand asthey walk toward the exit together.

“He knew you needed it.”

---

This ficlet is a part of my kadena family verse. For other posts in this verse, click here.

[starchasertonight]

What if you did a fix of Jalil being born

This ficlet is a part of my kadena family verse. For other posts in this verse, click here.

—

Adena has been in labor for thirteen hours. And she’s beenfully dilated, pushing, for forty-five minutes. Kat doesn’t think she’s everfelt this bad or worried in her life.

“C’mon baby, you got this,” she encourages again, when thenext contraction hits. Adena is shaking her head and there are tears in hereyes, exhausted and in pain.

“I can’t.”

The doctor looks up at Adena’s face with at least some semblanceof sympathy. “We need you to push, Adena. I know you’re tired, but you can dothis. Just take a deep breath.”

Adena is still gripping Kat’s hand, knuckles pale with theforce of it, and she cries out, tries to push. She lasts for a few secondsbefore she stops, shaking her head.

She’s crying harder now and Kat reaches forward, strokes hercheek and wipes the tears. Then she looks to the medical team, helpless andfrustrated.

“Isn’t there anything you can do?”

The nurse shakes her head, “I’m sorry. She’s so close, wejust need her to push for a little longer.”

Kat gives up on them being helpful, dedicates her fullattention to her wife. She reaches up, holds Adena’s tear-streaked face withboth her hands.

“Adena baby, it’s okay. Hey, shh, look at me. I know ithurts and I know you’re tired. But, you’re the strongest person I know,” Katsmiles, nodding even as Adena shakes her head. “Yes, you are.”

Kat gets an idea then, eyes how far forward Adena is on thebed, in the stirrups. She doesn’t bother to ask the medical staff, just standsfrom her chair and scrunches into the hospital bed behind Adena. She settlesher legs on either side of Adena’s body, knees bent and feet planted on themattress.

Kat rubs her back, then speaks softly, “Here, c’mere.” Adenarelaxes back into her and Kat rests her chin on Adena’s shoulder, kisses herneck. She holds her hands out on either side for Adena to grip and she does,tangling her fingers with Kat’s. “Together, okay?”

Adena nods with newfound resolve and Kat smiles, kisses herneck again. Her next contraction hits a few seconds later and Kat supports herwith her body as she pushes, speaks reassurances into her ear.

“That’s it, baby. Keep going, you got it, you’re doingamazing.”

Adena cries out, trembling against Kat’s frame.

“He’s crowning,” the doctor says. “C’mon, try to give meanother big push.”

“You hear that?” Kat encourages. “You’re almost there. You’realmost there baby, and then we get to meet him. We get to meet our son.���

When he’s finally delivered, Adena sinks back into her,boneless. Then there’s a loud cry. A loud beautiful newborn cry, and Kat hastears in her eyes.

Adena is delirious in her arms when she lifts her head,tries to look over to the medical staff. “Is he okay?”

A kind nurse looks over at the both of them, smiling.

“He’s perfectly fine. Healthy lungs,” she jokes and Katlaughs. “And a full head of hair.”

Kat cries, smiling, and kisses the side of Adena’s forehead.

“Please, I want to see him,” Adena says, not even botheringto wipe her own tears, and Kat holds her.

They finish cleaning him up and then they bring him over,still wailing, and lay him against Adena’s chest. Adena reaches forward, strokesat the soft skin of his cheek, and Kat knows without a doubt that she is nevergoing to forget this moment, ever.

Kat reaches her own hand around, hesitant and almost in awe, and touches his tiny fingers. His hand flexes in response and Kat smiles, wipesat her face with her other hand and presses another kiss to Adena’s temple.Then, through smiling tears, murmurs—

“He’s so beautiful. He has your eyes, I can already tell.”

[starchasertonight]

Jalil introducing his girlfriend to Kat & Adena.

This ficlet is a part of my kadena family verse. For other posts in this verse, click here. 

---

“Do you think J is seeing someone?”

Adena turns from her spot by the vanity where she’sfinishing applying lotion to her face.

“Oh, definitely.”

“I knew it.”

Adena smiles, crawls into bed with her and lays her head inKat’s lap. Kat sets her book aside on the nightstand and rests her hand onAdena’s back, rubbing soothing patterns.

“Let him have his privacy for now.”

“I wonder who it is,” Kat muses, running her fingers throughAdena’s hair. “Do you think it’s that girl he took to homecoming last semester?”

“Chloe? Mm, I don’t think so,” Adena hums.

“I can’t wait to tease him,” Kat says, and her wife laughs.

“Is probably why he hasn’t told us.”

“Um, more like he doesn’t want us making rules.”

“Of course he doesn’t, he’s sixteen.”

“God, don’t remind me,” Kat groans. “Anyway, enough about J’ssecret girlfriend. How was your dinner meeting with that gallery director?”

Adena curls further into her lap and sighs. “He was sopretentious, it was exhausting.”

—

Jalil finally admits it during breakfast, a couple weekslater. “I, uh, I’ve been seeing someone.” Then, “I can introduce you after mygame tonight, if you want?”

Kat narrows her eyes at him, smirking while she crunches on hergranola. “She’s gonna be at your game?”

Jalil blushes and reaches for the carton of orange juice.

“Um, …yeah.”

“So she’s coming to cheer you on,” Kat grins. “Wait, is itone of the cheerleaders?”

Adena rolls her eyes. “Kat, leave him be.” Then, “Thatsounds great, Jalil.”

J is on varsity this year. Of course he is, ‘cause he’s afucking badass at soccer.

The bleachers are crowded, because the team’s been doinggreat this season and it’s a pretty big rivalry game. J kicks a fantastic assistfrom midfield and then his teammate scores the goal, and everyone around them cheers and yells.

“Yes!” Adena jumps, grabbing at her arm and smiling while Katlets out a loud whistle.

“Way to go, J!”

She yells it at the top of her lungs and Jalil briefly wavesat both of them, huge smile on his face.

The game ends four minutes later, a 2-1 win, and they hangout celebrating in the bleachers while J finishes up.

Eventually they wander down to the field, once the crowd hascleared, and Jalil is smiling, talking to one of his teammates when theyapproach him.

Adena skips forward and Jalil catches her in a hug, sweatyand several inches taller than her when he holds her. They trade a few words in Farsi, talkinganimatedly, and then J steps over to give her a hug too.

“Mom, maman, there’suh, there’s someone I want you to meet,” J says, when he pulls away. His demeanorshifts, suddenly shy, and then he holds his arm out, to his teammate standingoff to the side. “This is Adrian. Adrian, these are my parents.”

Kat pauses, mouth hanging open for a few seconds before shemanages to clamp it shut. She stares between her son and the tall curly-hairedboy standing next to him. The muscles of his arm flex beneath his dark skinwhen he reaches forward to shake Adena’s hand.

“It’s nice to meet you,” he says, polite, and Kat blinks.Then she clears her throat, regaining her composure, and shakes his hand too.

Adena is relaxed, smiling, when she says, “Nice to meet youtoo, Adrian. And congratulations on your goal. That was very impressive.”

Adrian smiles, looks at J like he put the stars in the sky. “Thanks.It was a great assist.”

Jalil smiles back at him and then turns to face her andAdena. “I should probably mention that I’m bi,” he smiles, a little nervous, andKat is incredulous when she turns to her wife.

“Did you know?”

Adena bites her lip, laughs a little. “I had my suspicions.”

“Unbelievable. How could you not tell me?” Kat questions,indignant, and Adena smiles at Jalil. Then, “You know what? No, not important right now. C’mere, J.”

She pulls him in for another hug, right there on thesidelines of the almost empty field, and he wraps his arms around her. 

It’s arare hug, the kind she doesn’t get that often now that he’s a teenager. But heholds her tight, and Kat’s chin is pressed into his shoulder when she says, “Ilove you. And I’m sorry I’m oblivious, apparently.”

He smiles against her ear. “It’s okay, mom. I love you too.”

Then she reaches her hand up, shielding her mouth when shewhispers, “Um, well done on Adrian.”

J laughs, voice quiet near her ear. “Right? He’s sohot.”

Kat laughs harder and then they both relax their embrace,stepping back.

“Go on,” Kat winks, still smiling, and tilts her head towardAdrian.

J walks over to him and Kat hears him explain that they’regoing out for dessert, if he wants to join them.

Adena is giving her a knowing smile when Kat steps forward,wraps her arms around her.  

“Talk later?” Kat murmurs, and Adena hums, presses a briefkiss to her lips.

“Talk later.”

[starchasertonight]

anyway, this is pretty much what I imagine Jalil looks like. (don't ask who this really is I have no idea I found him on google images but he's perfect)