#her birth and presence in my life is also the first thing that’s ever made me be like

[cowgurrrl]

It’s my goddaughters fifth birthday today and I’m so emotional about it?? Like this is the little girl who I’ve grown up with from the age of nineteen and now she’s this walking, talking, little person with opinions and she looks like me even though we share no DNA??? She acts like me even though we’re not related?? She likes the things I like and listens to the same music and she’s just the fucking coolest person alive and I’m 4,000+ miles away and can’t celebrate with her but I love her so so much there’s not a day that goes by where I don’t celebrate her existence??

[lylian333]

~Yandere emperor x reader~

warning: read at your own risk, traumatizing, dark historical shits, noncon, force, many misunderstandings,sexual harrest , angst ,age gap, everything here is quite insane, historical au, he's fucking crazy, killing, insults, English is not my first langue(if there's any warning I didn't put, tell me)

words:2180

(this is not my art I found it on Pinterest, and in the comment section it's said that it was made by AI so💀)

~~

Princess (y/n) Laurier has been best friends with Princess Alyssa Everett since you both were just 6 years old. You both have many things in common, such as interests, opinions, and much more.

You both would usually hang out around each other's kingdom; you don't have any issues with her except with her father, Emperor Edward Everett. He was the hottest, most handsome man you have ever met, and you still do now.

You have had a huge crush on him that felt like butterflies inside your stomach since the day you met him, but he always has that emotionless face and rarely smiles unless at his wife, your best friend's mother. You know this from Princess Alyssa; she would complain about how cold and serious he is.

You still ignore those and try getting to know him, but he just looks annoyed or just straight-up ignores you, but you ignore it and still continue liking him. Not only that, you're not the only one; it's obvious that everyone that has met him, females and even males, all drool for him.

You still have some sense in you, and you also have to respect the Everett queen and Princess Alyssa since she is your best friend. You can't just let some love ruin the relationship you both had. You can't. She is like a sister to you. She helps you when you're confused; she protects and defends you when you were getting laughed at; she is there when you needed someone the most. It's not worth losing a relationship like this, and so your liking toward his father slowly dies down.

But things change when you grow up and start having features and curves and in the end, you become a gorgeous woman, many people are jealous of you even Princess Alyssa confesses to you about it and some desperately want you. You reject all of them since none of them are worthy of you, and you're disinterested in them.

Your intense gaze and soft complexion, with your structured face and striking presence, are on par with an iconic beauty, paired with the warmth and softness in your expression, which are very delicate. You would struggle to not look at yourself when there is a mirror.

You still have some feelings toward Emperor Edward, but you manage to hide it and be able to not think about him when talking to him.

The worst thing that could have happened was that the Queen of Everett died from childbirth while trying to give birth to the heir to the throne, but it went to a disaster. It was devastating news to hear from everyone.

The emperor was absolutely devastated and even despised the child. From that moment on he would never talk to anyone unless it was part of a duty, but other than that he would ignore the servant's advisers and even his own kids, which left Princess Alyssa depressed since she had to bear her mother's death, her father's coldness, and the baby boy that her mother lost her life to.

That week she came crying to you when you came to visit her and attended the funeral of the Everett Queen death. You decide to stay at Everett Palace for a few months before going back to Laurier Kingdom.

You promised Princess Alyssa that you'd take care of her and her baby brother, and so you did. After all, back at your kingdom and your family, you have 6 siblings, plus you, and you are the third eldest, which makes you the middle You have experience with babies after the experience of you sibling that you swear are more naughtyer when you take care of them.

In those months of staying, Emperor noticed that you had to take care of the baby boy and Princess Alyass when he found you singing a lullaby for them to fall asleep.

At that moment something in him awoke, something dark, horrible, and disgusting. He knew this was wrong, but who was there to stop him? Not even himself could do that.

From that moment on, he would try getting close to you and getting to know you better; by that, he would call you into his office or into his chamber. When talking, he would get close to you, too close, to the point that he's invading your personal space by burying his face in your hair, breathing in that sweet, gentle scent, or sucking and biting your earlobe.

You knew this was wrong. You both knew this was wrong, but you guys still continued. Your brain keeps telling you to stop and that this is your best friend's father, but your gut tells you to continue. For your best friend Princess Alyssa's sake.

At one of those meetings, you confess to him that you don't want to continue these "meetings" to respect your best friend Alyssa and her baby brother Prince James.

But when he hears that you swear you could feel the air getting tense and his face looks tense as well, and with clenched fists, he looks like he could kill someone that might have been you or others.

He then pushes you onto his office desk and forcefully rips your clothes off. All you can remember that day was just horror, pure fucking horror. It haunts your dreams, memories, and everything that you see that can somehow be related to the day you and he were together.

The cherry on top is Emperor Endward sends an arranged marriage to your kingdom between you both; you pray that your parents would reject this offer, but no. Instead, they accept it and send you a letter telling you the reasons that this could help our kingdom very much and this could give you a better future and more, but all you care about is that you're trapped with him. They also added in that they would be unable to see because of the distance of the two kingdoms and that it is time to set you free.

Oh, how you wish it were true to let you spread your wings and have your own freedom.

You hated everything, mostly yourself. You hated yourself for not being more alert and not telling anyone, not even your own family or close ones; you—you can't even describe the feeling that you're feeling at that point. You quite literally were disgusted by yourself.

You cry all day long to the point where Princess Alyssa hears it and finds you, and you vomit out all the things that happened while still crying. You wish the earth could just eat you whole, make you disappear from the earth, from this world, from this life.

You keep pressuring yourself that this is your fault for days till your hair has a few strands of white hair that you have noticed.

The wedding was within the week, and you both got married and wed. That very day and night of the "honeymoon," he slams you against the bed carelessly and forcibly spears open your legs with his hand while another pins both your head on top of your head.

You whisper near your ear,True to be told, I have actually noticed that since you were just a little girl, you always had a crush on me, so technically you wanted this to happen, so don't cry like last time, dear."

Your eyes go wide when you hear that he actually noticed. He knows that you have no words—absolutely no words.

That night was as horrible and traumatizing as the night you both had together. Princess Alyssa personally tries to help you escape; even after the marriage, she still supports you, even knowing the fact you are technically her stepmother.

But she accepted you, and you were quite stunned at how she handled the situation. Even though it was like hell, she still helped, whether by holding you while you were crying or whatever she was still there. It felt like she was starting to take care of you instead of you taking care of her like how you first promised.

In one of the many attempts of you trying to escape and her helping you with it, you both were caught, and Emperor Edward decided to punish you by isolating you and sentencing Princess Alyssa to be beheaded, his own daughter.

And you were forbidden to give her any visits after the situation. You didn't get the chance to even give her the last hug or talk or anything, not even a goodbye. You even threatened to kill yourself if he didn't allow you to see her, but he just laughs at you and tells the guards to throw you inside a dungeon where there's nothing, not even a window, so you have to rely on the fire outside.

Just like that, she's gone forever. You cry for days and refuse to eat, sleep, or even drink. The king himself has to personally force-feed you so that you don't die. You even scream and beat him as hard as you can in rage whenever you see him, but he just stands there, not unbothered. You might as well think that he doesn't even care or feel anything anymore, no remorse, no nothing, just disgusting lovesick eyes looking at you.

"I just can't get enough of you, love~"

Your life goes on until you have had enough, like enough one more year of this. You seriously don't think you want to be reincarnated into another life. You desperately want to feel things instead of being trapped in the shared chamber all day long, only allowed to go out to the garden for 1 hour to get fresh air with a few ladies in waiting and your own trusted servants near you to keep being aware of you and make sure you're not doing anything harmful to yourself or escaping.

You came up with the stupidest and most shameful idea. You decide to frame yourself for cheating on Emperor Edward and confess to him that you cheated. Making up fake clues for others to notice and gossip about, but the emperor refuses to believe it, so you told him personally.

"I cheated on you, Edward."

"You must be joking, dear. How would you even be able to do that, hm?"

but you just keep repeating the sentence, "I cheated on you."

This makes him overthink and triggers him, and he ends up struggling with you to death in the process. You still keep repeating the sentence, which forces him to grip your neck even harder till you are no longer breathing—not even a single movement, just soulless eyes staring straight.

When he realized that it was too late and there was no turning back, he let go of your neck, and you collapsed onto the ground, dead. He kneeled down next to you; finally, at this moment, he felt guilty for everything. He reflected on the things he had done to you, the amount of damage. Why didn't he think about this earlier? Maybe that could help him.

No, it's your fault for cheating on him. How dare you filthy women cheat on an emperor that has done everything for her sake? To this day he still blames you, but part of him does regret not caring what you felt and thought. He only treated you like a toy, a glass doll that would easily be broken. But he just couldn't help but love you with all his might, even if it meant hurting you.

He tried to keep your body from decomposing and rotting and would soak you in water to slow down the decomposing. He even went mad and brought you to the throne room for events, dressed you properly, stuffed you with cotton to keep you looking more alive, and said to others, "My wife is doing well; look at her, she's such a sleepy head; look at her sleeping, hehe…"

Sadly, eventually, he had no other choice but to finally bury you because your body was decomposing and smelling really bad. At the funeral, he gives a speech on how she was in his life and how he can't believe she died before him from 'sickness' and oh how sad he was and how he saw her glowing up into an elegant woman and more.

Prince James also gave a speech about how you try helping out, that he always sees her as a mother figure, and how (y/n) has always tried her best. He was innocent in all of these; as well, he even balled his eyes out when he found out that you died.

At the very last moment of seeing your face, he cupped your cheek one last time.

"Oh, how much I will miss you oh how I wish that I could go with you as well, but it's fine you don't need to worry love In my will, when I die, I'm going to be buried right next to you." He says that while chuckling while feeling remorse.

~~

omg, there are so many things I want to comment on but erm yeah this is how it is??? it could have been worse

[silencesscreams]

"is there any chance i can fix this?" where james and reader are best friends since birth but he begins to pull away and spend less time with her in favor of the boys, so she just cuts him out of her life and after a while he doesn't know how to deal with it anymore. hiiiii

sad beautiful tragic

james potter x fem reader (angst)

a/n: sorry about any grammar mistakes, english isn’t my first language (also i’m pretty bad at writing angst but i tried my best) also immediately thought of the title because of the taylor swift song, so hope you don’t mind the association. also the first kiss part came to my mind because of a tiktok i saw a few weeks ago but i don’t really remember who’s it was to credit them

warnings: friendship distancing, kissing, fighting, cursing, a bit short (sorry), happy ending

“i’m sorry, okay? i’m so sorry, honey, please. is there any chance i can fix this? just tell me, please”

you knew james potter and he knew you. knowing meaning comprehending each other, meaning that you stood by each others side for as long as you can remember.

he was your first friend. he was your neighbor and you both grew up together, it was expected that you both would know each other better than anyone.

sure, it felt different when you both started hogwarts and suddenly he had new friends, but so did you. you spent the time you could together, always saving a bit of your days for each other.

during the sixth to seventh year summer vacation, he had spent the whole summer with you, you both would hang out all the time.

until he kissed you.

it was the last day of summer and you both had spent the evening in his room. you were talking about a book you had been reading recently and he listened quietly, like it was the most interesting thing he had ever heard of. until you paused for a brief moment and he moved closer to you. you were sat on the floor with him, the carpet tickling your legs as you played with the fluffy yarn under you.

“honey” he said, you looked at him, doe eyed waiting for him to continue. “a phrase. two words, six letters, two vowels. guess.” he said lowly whilst looking at your lips. your mind went blank.

one vowel for each word. you still didn’t get it.

“what are the vowels?” you whisper back, he smiles.

“i and e” he answers, not taking his eyes from off of you for a second. you knew.

“kiss me?” and so he did. his lips met yours abruptly, his hands grabbed your hips and yours went straight to the back of his neck. it completely changed the way you ever saw him, hell, it completely changed your expectations to a kiss. it was better than anything you’d ever experienced and you loved it.

when you got back to school, it seemed like he didn’t do that, actually, it seemed like he didn’t even talk to you the whole summer.

sure, he did casually say hello in the halls and you might’ve shared one or two conversations, but what the hell? he kisses you like that and expects you to just forget about it? that was the most fucked up thing anyone could’ve done. as the semester went on, your mind was absolutely torturing you over that kiss.

it made you overthink every single thing you ever did around him. but maybe he didn't have time, maybe he was really busy with his studies and quidditch, right? that was probably it.

he saw you every once in a while, said an awkward hi or whatever that thing signaling head thing he did was.

the crush you had developed for him didn’t help at all. it made you crave his presence in your life, even now that you hated him more than you ever thought you possibly could. you missed his pet names for you, ‘honey’ and ‘sweetheart’ sounded so amazing coming out of his mouth.

but from the moment he started to ignore you, you decided he was absolutely done. he was never going to see a smile coming from you ever again, he was never going to get another hello, nothing. james potter didn’t deserve a single thing from you.

your friends agreed. they thought he was a piece of shit and said you should’ve cut him off a long time before.

life went on without him, you barely thought about him. your studies were going well, everything was great.

christmas break came up and when you saw james at the train station, you were pissed. you knew he was going to be there for christmas dinner, he was always invited alongside with his family. you didn’t know how he was going to act then, was he going to pretend it never happened?

when you got home, your mother instantly started asking you what you wanted for dinner and you were glad to be home, you just hated that he was in the house next to yours.

a few nights after you both got home, you were invited for a date by steven, who worked at a bookstore near the city park. you said yes, he took you to see a shitty movie and tried to kiss you after dropping you off at your front porch. you dodged it and gave him a good night kiss on the cheek. james saw it all.

once the date left, you heard him yelling from his porch:

“who’s that?” you ignored him and went inside, sure, you weren’t going to see steven again but james didn’t deserve to know that.

on christmas day you went to the potter’s for dinner, your parents insisted for you to go, even though you tried to fake being sick. sirius was there too, you politely greeted all of them and didn’t bother to answer james’ “hey”.

when you sat at the side of the living room table james sat next to you, even though that wasn’t his usual seat. you played with your dress awkwardly and ate less, being there was making you so irritated you lost your appetite.

after taking a bite from your dessert, you thanked euphemia for the food and told your parents you were feeling a bit sick and that you were heading home, telling them to enjoy the rest of their night.

as you were opening the door to head out, you heard footsteps behind you. you knew james was there and you had no interest to talk with him.

“don’t” you simply stated, stepping out and shutting the door lightly on him, he followed you during the small walk between both your houses.

“hey!” he shouted, trying to get your attention. you were about to shut the door to your house on his face, but he held it with his foot, going into your house.

he pulled you by your wrist but you tugged it away from him.

“don’t touch me!” you shouted at him, staring into his eyes for the first time that night.

“now you can talk to me, huh? ‘the fucks up with you?!” he shouts back, brows furrowed. you couldn’t believe him, what a fucking nerve he had.

“whats up with YOU?!” you step closer to him, throwing your keys on the coffee table in the middle of the living room. “you’ve ignored me for the whole semester and now you wanna talk?” he had never seen you like this. you had never been this angry at anyone or anything around him.

“i’m sorry?” he had no reaction, he knew he was wrong, he just couldn’t deal with it. with anything. he didn’t know what to do after he kissed you, he couldn’t handle any of it. he knew that if he spent more time around you he would fall harder, he couldn’t risk it.

“i’m sorry! now that you don’t have anyone else near for you to talk to, i’m worthy of your attention? i’m so lucky, right?!” your eyes started to tear up, but you held it in, he was not getting to see you cry.

“honey, i’m sorry i didn’t talk much with you these past few months, but i tried to speak with you tonight and you didn’t even bother to answer me!” he ran his hand through his hair, looking at you as you sat down on the couch, staring at your hands.

“you didnt even look at me. the entire fucking night. one lousy ‘hey’ is not trying to do anything” he handed you a piece of paper, it was crumpled up in his jeans’ pocket. you knew he was bad with words, but the paper was written front and back. what was he even trying to do? did he think a letter was enough to fix the damage he had done?

“really? you’re a little too late for this, don’t you think?” you said, looking at him angrily.

“fine, don’t read it then. just keep it, okay?” he knew you were about to cry. it was the worst feeling he had ever felt.

“you don’t get to do this to me, james” you hold back tears once you say it.

“i know, honey, i know” he tucked a strand of hair behind your ear, cupping your face as you try to not melt because of his touch. he kisses you, but this time you pull away.

“no. don’t do this to me” you say, a single tear streaming down your face, he wipes it off but more tears just keep coming

“im sorry, im so sorry for everything i did and-“ you interrupt him.

“could you just try to listen?!” you shout, pulling away from his touch again. “what makes you think that i want this? after all you did, better, all that you didn’t do?! you kiss me and expect me to forget about it? expect me to be okay with you ignoring me all the time just because you kissed me again? i can’t be okay with any of this unless you actually explain to me what happened. i really try to understand you, but all of this doesn’t help!”

“i love you” he says “i have loved you all my life and i didn’t know, after i kissed you it all hit me and i couldn’t trust myself around you anymore, i didn’t want to hurt you so i pulled away, i just didn’t know it would hurt you more like that. i’m sorry, but im here now and i want to show you how much I do love you” he pauses and sits next to you on the couch.

“i’m sorry, okay? i’m so sorry, honey, please. is there any chance i can fix this? just tell me, please” he wipes the tears from off your face again. you knew he meant it, you just didn’t know how to trust him again.

“i don’t know” you whisper, looking into his eyes, you had never seen him look this sad. you wanted to trust him, you really did, but how could you? how could you know he wasn’t going to pull something like that again?

you couldn’t be sure of anything, you could only hope for the best and be careful. so you gave it a shot.

“come here” you say lowly, pulling him in for a hug. he buried his face in the crook of your neck and gave you small kisses.

“i’m so sorry, baby” he whispered.

“i know” you whisper back, he looks at you and gives you quick kisses all over your face. you can’t help but smile.

it was going to take a while for you to trust him again, but you knew you could.

[belovedmuichiro]

I saw a post once that entertained the idea of Tsutako being in the background of Sanemi’s hometown in the anime, and it got me thinking about a sanegiyuu childhood meet cute.

…

- When Giyuu was 13, he took a trip with Tsutako to a neighboring city where her fiancé had come from

- Though Giyuu was a much friendlier person as a child, he was still quiet, reserved and nervous. As a result, being in a bigger city was overwhelming and he struggled to keep up with Tsutako as they walked

- Before they could reach her fiancé’s home, Giyuu was separated from her in a crowd

- Without any people skills to speak of or the confidence to ask for help, Giyuu let the crowd swallow him up until he found a small spot he could cower in

- He ended up hiding under the stairs of a shrine where nobody could see him. He cried so quietly, nobody could possibly hear him either, but a boy did miraculously find him

- The boy was strikingly beautiful with stark white hair and piercing eyes. His presence made Giyuu stop crying almost immediately, but only because he was mesmerized.

- When the boy spoke, he was blunt and sort of rude but Giyuu hung onto every word he said as if he was a kind spirit come to save him

- “You cry like my little siblings,” he observed. It was a simple, random sort of thing to say but it perplexed Giyuu so much that he didn’t cry any longer

- Giyuu learned that this particular shrine is where the boy would find one of his brothers hiding, so when he saw Giyuu curled up, he thought something might’ve happened to him

- Giyuu reluctantly explained he was separated from Tsutako while visiting. In truth, he wasn’t sure if he should trust a stranger but they were clearly of a similar age and that put him at ease compared to an adult

- The boy gave Giyuu a small canteen of water before they could continue because the crying had obviously overwhelmed him. He then asked for the fiancé’s name, which he scowled upon hearing, surprisingly knowing the person

- “Is that bad?” Giyuu nervously asked

- “He’s one of the sons of our landlord,” the boy explained, “He’s fine. His family’s a buncha dicks.”

- Profanities aside, Giyuu asked if he could lead him there, and the boy agreed

- “What did his family do?” Giyuu asked on the way

- “Their kid brother said some shit about my family bein’ too big and my brother got into a fight with him about it.”

- “How big is your family?”

- “Nine of us. I have six siblings.”

- Giyuu learned that his mother had just given birth, which prompted the rude comment from their landlord’s son. He also had a father who he didn’t want to talk about on account of him angering some violent people

- Though the boy didn’t seem terribly interested in prying into Giyuu’s life, he still asked, “What about you?”

- “I just have my sister. My parents died when I was young.”

- “Lucky you have a sister.”

- “Yes… I’m Giyuu, by the way.”

- For a moment, the boy looked hesitant to give anymore details about himself, but must’ve decided he doesn’t have much to lose.

- “Sanemi.”

- On the way to the landlord’s home, it began to rain so Sanemi pulled Giyuu aside near a food stall to wait it out.

- Giyuu, as luck would have it, did have a small amount of money on him and suggested they share a meal.

- Sanemi agreed, not letting on that he rarely has enough money to ever eat out. However, Giyuu became curious when Sanemi awkwardly held his food at his side and wouldn’t take a bite.

- He didnt want to admit it, but his plan was to pocket whatever Giyuu bought him to bring home to his family. He wasn’t going to tell Giyuu, but the boy’s earnest, honest face pulled it out of him

- In response, Giyuu bought him another and asked that he feed himself as well

- When Sanemi finally did eat, Giyuu smiled for the first time. It flustered Sanemi, who quickly learned he couldn’t handle a pretty face

- When the rain ended, people came flooding to the streets in overwhelming numbers that scared Giyuu again

- To reassure him, Sanemi grabbed his hand and returned his earlier smile, promising he’ll be okay as long as they stick together

- Giyuu took to Sanemi with awe. The crowd was still scary, but Giyuu grounded himself in the feeling of his companion’s hand and trusted his word.

- Eventually they did find themselves at the landlord’s house. Most of the family was out looking for Giyuu, but luckily Tsutako stayed and was there to greet him.

- This was also a relief to Sanemi, who wasn’t sure he would be able to resist driving his fist into the face of the boy who fought with Genya

- Sanemi intended to leave with no commotion, just an odd empty feeling at the notion of leaving his new acquaintance, but Giyuu stopped him

- “Thank you for helping me,” he said with much more confidence than the first time he spoke. “You’re very kind, Sanemi.”

- Sanemi, flustered, shrugged and promised it was no problem. “Couldn’t just leave ya there…”

- “Maybe we’ll see each other again.”

- When Giyuu said this, he held onto the hope that because Tsutako new husband had close ties to Sanemi’s, they would surely meet again one day

- It was hard to explain but Giyuu felt drawn to Sanemi, like he was a special person he was meant to meet

- Of course, he couldn’t predict the tragedy that would befall both of them

- Years later, long after Tsutako and the Shinazugawa family were murdered, Sanemi was welcomed into the Hashira and finally met Giyuu again

- Only this time, he was quiet and cold. He didn’t give any indication that he remembered Sanemi and didn’t have any of the kindness he was full of as a child. Sanemi decided that he must’ve turned into a conceited ass with no time for the little people, he probably didn’t even remember him.

- But it was impossible for Giyuu to forget who Sanemi was. Even under all the scars and curses, he was still the boy who saved him that day. But Giyuu knew they had fundamentally changed as people, and clearly Sanemi wanted nothing to do with him any longer

- Unfortunately for them, the draw remains there no matter how far apart they try to drift.

[missarchive]

Okay, here's a fun plot! Hannibal x reader who has never travelled in a day of her life. Like all she's ever done is road trips and such. So when he wants to make plans to visit Italy again (I can imagine he likes revisiting his roots for reflection and just enjoying the art), it's a really daunting thing for her. Alternatively, he books the flight without telling her, maybe he knows about her lack of experience, maybe he does not, wink wink. And he can get that ego boost of helping a sweet S/O on her first trip.

Bonus points of the reader is scared of flying AHAHAHHAH

Thanks you!!!

I am also deathly scared of flying 😖 poor poor reader

cw; fear of flying, literally nothing else just fluff, hannibal being a gentleman

You loved Hannibal. You really did. But when he slid the sleek black folder across the breakfast table, his words silky and precise, you felt your stomach plummet as though you were already 30,000 feet in the air.

"I’ve taken the liberty of arranging a short reprieve in Florence for us," he said, his dark eyes locking onto yours with the satisfaction of a man who had just executed a perfect plan.

You blinked down at the itinerary, your pulse quickening as the words “First Class – Florence” stared back at you. First class or not, this was a flight. An international flight. Your palms began to sweat.

“Hannibal…” you started, unsure how to voice the jumble of fear and hesitation swirling in your mind. “I—I’ve never flown before. I’ve never even been out of the country.”

His brow quirked, the faintest sign of surprise in his otherwise serene expression. “Is that so?” His voice was laced with intrigue, but there was no mockery, no condescension.

You nodded, looking down at your lap. “I’ve only ever done road trips. The thought of flying… it’s just…” You trailed off, hoping he’d understand without needing further explanation.

He rose from his chair, moving to your side with a grace that only Hannibal could manage. His hand settled lightly on your shoulder, his touch as reassuring as it was firm. “My dear, it seems I shall have the distinct privilege of introducing you to the skies. Fear is natural, but you needn’t face it alone.”

His words were warm, soothing. But as much as you trusted him, the idea of hurtling through the air in a metal tube still made your chest tighten.

When the day arrived, you were a bundle of nerves. Hannibal, ever the epitome of calm, had everything prepared. He handled the check-in process with ease, and before you knew it, you were settled into the plush first-class seat, the hum of the engines already making your pulse race.

“I’ve taken the liberty of requesting chamomile tea for you,” Hannibal said, handing you a steaming cup. “It’s quite effective in soothing the nerves.”

You took it with a grateful, albeit shaky, smile. He leaned in closer, his voice low and intimate. “Remember, this is merely the beginning of a journey. Allow yourself to savor the experience. Focus on the discovery, not the apprehension.”

You nodded, clutching the tea like a lifeline. But as the engines roared to life and the plane began to ascend, panic bubbled in your chest. Your hand gripped the armrest until Hannibal’s found it, his fingers curling around yours with steady reassurance.

“Breathe,” he murmured, his thumb brushing against your knuckles. “You are safe.”

You focused on his voice, his presence anchoring you as the plane leveled out. Slowly, the tightness in your chest eased, and you dared to look out the window. The sight of clouds stretching endlessly across the sky was oddly calming.

“You’re doing beautifully,” Hannibal said, his tone tinged with pride.

The first glimpse of Florence took your breath away. Hannibal guided you through the city with the ease of someone deeply familiar with its every corner. He pointed out hidden frescoes and whispered stories of the Medici family as you wandered through cobblestone streets.

At the Uffizi Gallery, he lingered beside Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus, his gaze reverent. “Do you see how her form embodies both vulnerability and power?” he asked, his hand lightly brushing your back. "She's much like you."

You nodded, the awe in your chest mirrored in his. For the first time, you understood why he loved this city.

As the days passed, your fear of flying became a distant memory, replaced by the wonder of experiencing a world so different from your own. Hannibal reveled in your transformation, his pride evident in the small smiles he gave when you tried a new dish or eagerly asked him about a piece of art.

On your final evening, you turned to him as the sun set over the Arno River, painting the city in gold. “Thank you,” you said softly. “For everything. For bringing me here. For being patient with me.”

His gaze softened, and he took your hand in his. “It is I who should thank you, my dear. It is a rare gift to guide someone through their first steps into a larger world. And I am honoured to be the one by your side.”

[thewritersaddictions]

Drabbles: Resident Evil 4- Body Talk

How might they react when they find out you don't like something about yourself?

Leon S. Kennedy

Leon is the sunshine, optimist, glass half full in your relationship. He's even like that when you tell him you're pregnant; even if he's gotta be the government work dog, he won't let that stop him from having a family. Your pregnancy goes bad; your baby comes out with all ten fingers and ten toes. The problem is it doesn't go to plan. You had been hoping for an at-home birth, but plans changed. Instead, your baby girl had decided that she didn't want to come out before her due date or even on her due date. She had opted to put you in a whole day's worth of labor, and that's when the doctors had called it. "We need to do a c-section." The plea of shock and unpreparedness was written all over your face, and your husband could see it.

"If that's what's best." He had said, and squeezed your hand. "it will be okay, baby." He had noted into your sweaty forehead. You don't remember much from your emergency c-section. You remember hearing your daughter scream and how beautiful she was when you saw her for the first time. Weeks later, you still think the same thing. It not until you're showering a month later does the reality of how fucked your body looks now hit you like a semi-truck into a brick wall.

You stand there in your panties and supportive bra. You aren't staring at yourself in the mirror. You're just staring at your no longer large belly. The c-section wound is still exposed to the air around, and you hold your hand over your belly. It aches and hurts. Leon comes in with your daughter in his arms. Lola, your whole world alerts you to their presence, and you try to grab your robe quickly. "What's wrong, baby?" Your husband acts like you; he reads people for a living, really, so you aren't surprised that you aren't able to just walk away from it. "Just lookin' at myself is all." You say as you tie the knot of your robe covering your body from him.

"You don't have to hide from me, ya know." Leon's words are soft and calming, but still, you can't imagine him looking at you the same ever again. That's because you don't see yourself the same way anymore. "Where do you keep going? Talk to me, love." Leon says as he takes a seat on the edge of your bed. Lola babbling in her sleep. You swallow hard as the tears you've been trying to keep at bay strike their revenge on you. "My body isn't normal anymore, my tummy won't ever be falt again, and I'll always have this damn scar, Leon." You ramble on, "I hate this feeling. You're doing all the work. I want to help, but I can't." Leon just listens and waits for you to finish. When you huff with frustration he knows you're done. "Baby, will you take a breath for a second." He says, and you do take a breath a deep inhale and exhale.

"Now, will you listen to me when I say what I'm about to say?" You nod, "You are beautiful to me, and I know that's not how you view yourself. I also know that you grew our baby girl here. You literally made a life." You interrupt him, "Hey, you helped too." You say giving your husband credit. Leon rolls his eyes, "Yeah, I did, but I don't want you to worry about trying to help right now. You need to heal, and like I said, you did all the work to get her here in the world. So please worry about healing and taking the time you need. I'm tellin' you right now, though, and I'll still keep lovin' your body no matter what." Leon admits to you. You bite your lower lip to hold the tears back. He gets up from the edge of the bed and walks over to you, kissing your lips. "Day by day, honey." You nod and kiss him back.

Albert Wesker

Albert had a strict dress code for working with him. White button-ups, paired with a black pencil skirt, expect you didn't fit the dress code. The dress code had been there for years before you arrived; you almost laughed in Alberts's face when he hired you as his secretary. Of course, it had grown into something else when he had asked you on a date and then another. Before you knew it, he asked you to move in with him. Still, you worked as his secretary. He liked how you filled out a pair of jeans, so he didn't mind spending your lunch break with him at a fancy restaurant or delivering meals.

The dress code only bothers you once you hear the other women working in the office commenting and talking about you. Their words are hurtful and strike something in your core. "She's such a charity case. That's the only reason he's with her. He feels bad for her." "I know, right? He could do so much better. Hell, she doesn't even follow the damn dress code." "It's because of her weight. You can see how fat she is in her face." You bee-line back to your desk outside of Albert's office. You shake your head as you sit in your chair. They might be right, though all your jeans are worn out between the thighs. Maybe you are just a charity case to Albert.

"Come on, darling, it's time to go home," Albert says as he exits his office. "Okay." You murmur quietly. You're quick to grab your things, and Albert waits for you patiently at the elevator doors. Waiting only causes more panic to settle in your body. "I think we should take the stairs." You say quickly. "why?" Albert asks, almost offended you'd suggest the stairs compared to the elevator. "I just thought it would be good for both of us since we've been cooped up in the office." You say but are distracted by the ding of the elevator doors opening. "Maybe next time, darling." When you arrive home, Albert tells you that he's making dinner. But you aren't listening, opting for listening to the words playing ring around the rosey in your head.

"Darling, dinners done," Albert yells across the large apartment. He has to come find you. You're sitting in your closet. Jeans and clothes surrounding you. "Did you not hear me?" "Huh." "Come to eat dinner with me." He says once more before reaching his hand for you to grab. You don't take it and push yourself up from the ground. Your whole demeanor sets all the alarms off for Albert, but he's trying not to guess the worst thing first. He follows you tot he dinning room, and when you play with your food instead of eating it sets off my alarms.

"Are you feeling alright, darling?" He asks, worried. "I'm alright, just not hungry tonight, is all." You tell him, "Okay." Albert says, even if he doesn't believe you. The next day, when he calls you into his office and offers you lunch, you deny him again, and before he can't a word in edgewise, you're back out at your desk. This morning had also been different. You had worn something less you to work. You had stiffed through all your clothes in search of a pencil skirt and a nice blouse. It's when he ventures out and hears his employyees talking amoungest themselves and hears your name that it clicks.

"Did you see she tried today, at least?" "yeah, but it's not like she looks good." "Mr. Wesker probably wasn't gonna take it much longer, and she is trying to get back in his good graces." "Well, let's be honest, nothing will fit her lookin' as fat as she does." Albert is seething, itching to catch them in the middle of gossiping, but he's far more concerned about where you are. That's when you come popping out of the stairwell. "My office now!" he demands the second he sees you. You scramble to get together and to his office before his door slams. "what's wrong, Albert?" Worry is etched in your voice. "what's wrong? What's wrong? You haven't been eating for the past two days, and what are you wearing?" About way too many questions are hurdled in your direction. "What do you mean? I told you I haven't been hungry, and I'm wearing what's in the dress code for the company." I say.

"That's such bullshit. What happened to your comfy jeans and t-shirts?" You shrugged, not really knowing what to say to him. "I guess I… wanted to change it up." You offer, but Albert shakes his head. "No, I know you; I know that wearing those fucking pencil skirts gives you horrible chub rub between your thighs and that you feel ten times better in your own jeans. So you are going to tell me the truth about why you're suddenly not eating and changing everything about yourself." Albert demands you. You fumble with your hands, "I overheard some girls talking about you and me and how you might think I'm a charity case, along with my weight being an issue. I thought maybe I could get better. Change a few things so you wouldn't wanna leave me."

Your words are raw, and so is the look of utter anger steaming under the sadness of you thinking you are enough for him. "Listen to me and listen real good. I like… no, I love the way your body is, and I like the fact that you don't wear all the preppy shit the others wear. I want your ass in a good pair of jeans and an old college t-shirt. I love you when you're comfortable, and about the leaving part, that's never happening. Because unlike those dimwits out there with their personality shoved up their asses. You've got everything I need."

You smile wide as you walk across his office and hug him. He hugs you back, "I know you wanna go fire thoses people, but you can't." You say into his ear, "No, but I can fuck right here and let you be as loud as you want so everyone you belong to me." Albert offers, you blush hard, "You can fire one of them!" "Nah, they're not worth it anyways."

Completed on: 11/16/23

Posted on: 02/04/24

[notsoattractivearenti]

Surprise x2 (Christian Pulisic x Reader)

Word Count: 1.5K

Warnings: few cursing words; mentions of pregnancy; possibly can cause baby fever lol. nothing else but fluff fluff fluff! 🥰

A/N: This was supposed to be the first fic I posted, but I just finished it after 2 weeks! Heavily inspired by the video above lol (not the gender reveal, but Christian's reaction). Written especially for dad!Puli nation 🥰🫶 Feedbacks would be appreciated!

---

“Shit, it’s 6 fucking AM!” you quietly said to yourself as you just woke up and already feeling extremely nauseous. You got up and rushed to the bathroom because you felt like you were so close on throwing up on the bed. Your husband, Christian woke up to the sound of you throwing up, which was pretty loud. He immediately got off the bed, grabbed some tissues and a glass of water from the bedside table, and went to the bathroom.

You were sitting on the floor, facing down the toilet, and you heard him coming over. You were looking up at his tired-yet-worried face as he said “Y/N love are you okay? Do you want me to get any meds or anything else? I also got you water in case you need it.” You were feeling too weak to say anything so you just nodded, then threw up again. He was there the whole time holding your hair up, caressing your back, and even said “sorry baby” multiple times. You were feeling extremely sick and so worried, so his presence made you felt a lot better. 

“Okay, I’m done,” you said as you wiped your mouth with a tissue, “everything inside my stomach is pretty much gone now, ugh.” He helped you stood up, you flushed the toilet and he asked, “what happened?” 

“I have no idea. Just got nausea out of nowhere.” He then nervously said something that made your heart skipped a beat: “Y/N, I don’t know but um, do you think uh, it’s possible that… You’re pregnant again?” 

You suddenly remembered that you did go through the same thing before finding out you were pregnant with Maxine, your firstborn. You froze for a second then responded, “Fuck. Chris, I need to get a pregnancy test like right now.” 

“I’ll get them for you, come on.” You both went back to your bedroom, then Christian grabbed his jacket and car keys, and kissed your forehead before he left. You had mixed feelings about the possibility of being pregnant again but you started questioning yourself: are you ready for another child? You are a great mom to Max and you love her very much, but going through pregnancy and taking care of a baby were no joke. You felt like you needed more time to do it all over again, but now it seemed like you weren’t given enough time. You and Christian just started talking about trying for baby number 2 — now that Maxine is already 2 years old — but somehow you might have ended up conceiving before you two were even actively trying.

While you waited for Christian, you went to Max’s room to wake her up. You opened the door and saw your beautiful daughter who was still asleep while cuddling her beloved stuffed penguin Christian got her after she was born, which she named Fuzzy Penny. You sat on her bed, and shortly before you woke her up you looked at her and thought how lucky you are to have her in your life. 

Max was a surprise baby, since you and Christian didn’t plan on having a child before you two got married yet you got pregnant with her 3 months after you got engaged. You remembered how scared you were, because you didn’t think you were ready even though you wanted to keep your baby, and Christian convinced you that everything was going to be alright. You’re so glad that he was right, because you couldn’t and don’t want to imagine your life without Max. Even though it’s not always sunshine and rainbows, she without a doubt has made your life so much better than you thought it could ever be. It felt like you just gave birth to her yesterday and now she is probably going to be a big sister.

“Good morning my little angel,” you whispered to her little ear as you gently kissed her head and caressed her arm, “time to rise and shine!” She slowly opened her eyes, looked up to you, then gave you a big, bright smile and softly said “Mommy!” Her little voice has never failed to make you smile. You were filled with worries before and thanks to Max, now you felt at peace. “How was your sleep? Was it good?” Max nodded her head while smiling, then grabbed her shoulder-length wavy hair and said to you “messy hair mommy.” “You have the cutest messy hair honey,” you laughed, then you picked her up “let’s get you out of this bed, and come find Daddy!”

Christian had just come back and as he entered the living room, Max spotted him and shouting “DADDY!!!” His eyes widened when he saw her, “Oh hey look who’s awake! Good morning my princess!”

He bent down to pick her up, wrapping her around his arms. She rested her head on Christian’s shoulder, had her arms around his neck, and Christian gave her kisses on the top of her head – he knows she loves it when he does that, and of course he loves doing it too. 

You couldn’t help but smile, thinking how beautiful that moment was even though you have seen it many, many times. You felt like there were millions of butterflies in your stomach, so in love with the man who is not just the best husband, but also the best father in the whole wide world. 

You were so caught up in the moment you forgot that you needed to take pregnancy test, but then Christian reminded you as he handed the bag over. “Honey, I wasn’t sure how many tests you may need but I got like 4 or 5 in there. I’ve checked all expiration dates so you’re good.” 

“Woah, thank you,” as you took the bag, “I’ll take them all right now.” He smiled, nodded and mouthed “I got you”. 

You went to the bathroom to took all the test. “Okay,” you sighed, “let’s get this over with.” You waited anxiously until you got the results. You heard the timer sound on your phone, meaning 2 minutes had passed. You closed your eyes and took 3 deep breaths, trying to calm yourself down before you saw the results. 

Two red lines. “Pregnant”. You couldn’t believe what you saw. You gasped, and stood still for a minute, trying to process everything. You’d gone through this before, but it still caught you off guard somehow. You were nervous, but now you have positive results, you didn’t feel that way anymore. You’re going to have another child, and you felt good about it. Even though you weren’t sure you were ready, at least you knew you can count on your loving husband for everything, especially much-needed support.

Now that you’d spent some time in the bathroom, you finally felt ready to tell your husband he's going to be a dad for the second time. As you walked to the kitchen, you heard Max and Christian laughing. You then took a peek to see what it was all about, and you saw they were cooking breakfast. He was making Max’s favorite breakfast: pancakes with berries and chocolate sauce – he couldn’t cook before, but the day you two found out you were pregnant with Max he started learning how to cook because he wanted to be able to make homemade meals for his family. You saw they were having so much fun cooking those pancakes. When he was cooking, he held Max on his hip, while flipping the pancakes with his other hand. The kitchen was messy, and they were covered in flour – you could tell they were having a lot of fun while making the batter. He shook the pan for a bit, lifted it, then flipped over the pancake. In awe, Max laughed, clapped her hands in excitement and told him “good job Daddy!”

You didn’t want to interrupt their moment, so you just stood where you are until they noticed you. “Oh hey, there’s Mommy! Come here, we made pancakes!” As you approached them, Christian set up the table with Max’s help – she was still attached to his hip, of course ­– then sat her down on the chair.

“Wow, these pancakes look so good! You two made the best pancakes in the world!” you complimented them. Max gave you a big smile then looked to her dad “Daddy did good.” Christian was blushing, kissed her cheek and said to her “I did good because I have the cutest little helper.” 

Before he sat down, you softly grabbed his arm, and you whispered, “Honey, seems like we got another surprise...” You saw his eyes lit up as you said those words. He looked at you as he responded, “Oh my God, Y/N, you’re really pregnant???” You grinned and nodded. 

He gave you the biggest hug and was smiling ear to ear. He’s always loved being a father, and now he’s going to be a father of two. You could feel his overwhelming joy, which brought you back to the day you found out the first time. Still hugging you, he told you “I love you so much, Y/N! Thank you for giving me two best surprises!” 

Before he released the hug he kissed you on the lips, then came towards Max, hugged her and told her in his excited, high-pitched voice, “Max! You’re gonna be a big sister!”

taglist: @pulisicsgirl @neverinadream @masonspulisic @swimmingismywholelife @chelseagirl98 @bracedes @lovelynikol16 @thoseboysinblue @lizzypotter14

[magpie-come-east]

Melina for the character ask meme!!

favorite thing about them

I'm sorry. This answer is going to be really uninteresting because I do not have any strong opinions about Melina, really. It's not that I dislike her, but she never left that big of an impression on me. That is, until I did the Frenzy Flame ending.

I enjoy her role in that questline. I love that Shabriri puts forth his stupid fucked up trolley problem (burn the world to ash to save one bodiless woman) and Melina outright tells the player over and over that being kindling is what she wants. She has all the trappings of a classic damsel in that storyline, but she- as the lone sacrifice needed to change the world- begs the player not to remove her agency in this choice.

least favorite thing about them

I think my opinion here will echo many others'. But I think Melina was really underutilized. As the Tarnished's companion at the very start of their quest, she should have more of a presence in their journey. Apart from a few lines about Boc or Torrent, she doesn't express much character of her own (outside of the FF quest). She spouts exposition and is the level up mechanic that the player doesn't even interact with all that much.

The scene of Melina's sacrifice has always felt semi-flat in consequence. The tenderness she feels for the player doesn't feel earned. I genuinely didn't understand why she was so fond of my character the first time I got to that point.

Like I don't need her become the SparkNotes of the narrative in her dialogue, but I think her showing curiosity and interest in the world around her more often would endear me so much more. As she is now, she's just the macguffin I largely ignore on nearly all my subsequent playthroughs.

favorite line

"However ruined this world has become, however mired in torment and despair, life endures. Births continue. There is beauty in that, is there not?"

This is the one line from Melina that stuck with me. It's the one that I remember most out of everything. Very few times does Elden Ring look at you through the screen and dictate the story to you obviously. But this is one of those times. Melina sees hope for the world. She's pleading for the player not to destroy the world. And her reasoning feels weak. Life endures? That's all she has? But in a way its the most important consideration.

brOTP/OTP (Combining these because the answer is the same)

I mean, actually, I really like Lord of Frenzied Flame Tarnished x Melina. That friends to enemies angst is magnificent. Melina having to live with the reality that her chosen Tarnished chose to destroy everything for her sake. Brutal. The Tarnished now being hunted by the person they immolated themselves to save. Exquisite.

General Melina x Tarnished is also sweet. Fics of Tarnished befriending Melina are what made me care even a little about her in the first place.

nOTP

Eh, nothing really. I don't seek out content of her enough to know what ships exist beyond Melina x Tarnished.

random headcanon

Melina craves Rowa Raisins so bad. She wishes she had a body just so she could eat them.

unpopular opinion

I am not convinced at all Melina is the Gloam Eyed Queen. It’s a theory I’ve never really found compelling for a variety of reasons I won’t really get into- except for one. I feel like trying to connect every historical figure in the Lands Between to a current character makes the world feel smaller and incestuous. Like the only people ever of import had to come from Marika’s lineage. I thought it was neat enough we got nods to Melina being a Demigod- then practical confirmation in SOTE. But I don’t believe Melina being the GEQ adds anything interesting to either Melina as we know her or the GEQ. 

song i associate with them

Welcome Home by Coheed and Cambria (its got the LOFF vibes to meeeee)

Escape pod by Paris Paloma is a great one too!

[nonuggetshere]

I shared my (and my friend's ocs) that are related to PK SO-

This is A LOT and I'm kinda embarrassed but I'll fucking "cringe culture is dead" through life or so help me GOD

I like imagining backstories for characters and making cool little nonsensical and completely self-indulgent AUs

(Also for the few people subscribed to my patreon there's more stuff after what I've posted there, just scroll a bit down 👍)

F9r the record I also mangled mine and @demonicintegrity 's thoughts and ideas into one post so it's somewhat comprehensible but jsyk they contributed a lot

An AU where Adamas has her last clutch in her small form

As a refresher Amanita is White Lady's name and Ebur is Pale King's name. Adamas is Pale King's mother, though wyrms use dame and sire for their parents so that's what he calls her. I am yet to properly share Quercus but he's WL's father. Flower is my name for the Pure Vessel in this AU, Hallow is their birth name. Amaryllis is an oc, they're Flower's twin. Any other names that appear here are PK's siblings.

Also using they/it for Ebur and the rest of the family bc as wyrms they don't really have genders

Ebur and Amanita meeting while Ebur's family is travelling and Amanita still lives at the edge of her father's territory and her root system is connected with his but she's getting ready to leave hopefully in just one or two years when she's gathered enough strength and the spring's kind and abundant

Adamas' little group settles near her groove since it's brimming with life and there's not many people to get in the way or compete over resources with aside from the occasional traveller or two, and Amanita tolerates their presence for now, they give her something to do since her father is quite busy with his new seedlings now that she's grown and she doesn't have much company or things to do other than to listen to the occasional mortal passing by and watch the nature, so this small group of wyrms that's mostly composed of ones not much younger than her with all the hubris and boldness of young wyrms is the most interesting thing that's happened to her in a while

Some of them would probably push too far before Adamas had to smack them upside the head and reprimand them for ever thinking about taking over this territory, after all they're really on the larger territory of an ancient God, and even though Roots aren't known to be the most attentive of parents she still doesn't want to tempt fate and check if this one is the same by attacking his daughter

Either way, Amanita notices the younger wyrm isn't quite like the others and seems very intrigued by him

Although their first in face meeting wasn't the best, with her attacking him and managing to stab him in the ribs (you bet your ass Adamas chewed out his ass when he returned to their densite all bloody and holding his side), he kept returning to study her

Seems they both found each other intriguing

And eventually they get to talking, Ebur seemed excited to meet the first rootfolk in his life and actually to get to talk to her, he asks so many questions and she's amused with his curiosity, and eventually actually grows curious about the wyrms (and especially him) herself and asks him things in turn

They grow into unlikely friends though there's definitely more to it but neither is willing to acknowledge it yet

He often sneaks away from his family just to talk to her, and eventually they start sneaking into the more private parts of her groove with the excuse that they wouldn't want Ebur's family finding out they're friends, both of them just ignoring their glaringly obvious attraction to each other

One time Ebur brought her a kill he made and she hoped to GOD her blush wasn't noticeable (it was, not that he'd know because he was also avoiding eye contact to try and hide his own)

Ebur and the bad bitch he pulled by being autistic 💜

The group spends enough time around there for the two idiots to stop dancing around the subject and not only admit to their mutual attraction but to start to fall in love

Enough so that Ebur decides to stay when Adamas decides it's time to move on

At first she was about to talk sense into him about staying permanently in this place but he quickly corrected her

"No, no, it's not like that! I don't want to stay here permanently! I just..." He quieted down and looked away

"...You want to leave?"

"...mh..."

"Are you sure about this? Life as a lone wyrm isn't easy out there in the Wastelands, perhaps it'd be better if you stuck around until we find a suitable territory for you to stay at-"

"No, dame, I- I want to leave now. I think it's time. I love you all and I'll miss you, but...I just...I want to see what's out there for myself. Every year, every day, feels the same now; find some place, stay for a bit and hunt, move on. I- I can't live like this, it feels...suffocating."

"...You were always the curious kind, weren't you? I should have known this routine would bore you eventually," She sighed heavily and approached him, "I always knew this day would come, I just never expected it to be my youngest and smallest wyrmling that leaves the nest first..." She pulled him into a tight hug, "...Stay one last night with us, and if you're still sure about this after tomorrow's hunt I'll leave some supplies for you when we move on."

He smiled and hugged her back, "...Thank you..."

"Just promise me you'll be safe, okay?"

"You taught me well. I'll be alright, I promise."

He spends lots of time with his siblings and mother the next day, maybe Melpomene proposed she could come with since they were always the closest but he reassured her he wanted to be alone

The goodbye is very tearful, even Adamas cries and she's not the type to do that often

Ebur feels a little broken seeing them go, it feels weird being completely alone, strangely quiet too - he usually likes the quiet, but not this time. He goes to hunt to keep his mind off it then that evening he gathers his things and moves them to a densite way closer to his root's (his root, saying that makes him so giddy) and goes to share his kill with her

And that night, for the first time in their lives, he goes to sleep curled up around her amongst her roots. It does help him feel much better about having to say goodbye to his family

He spends the rest of the year in her groove with her - from summer to winter - before she's finally ready to move on next spring and he happily follows her to look for a new home for the both of them

Despite the new normal being hard to get used to at first he was still so unbelievably happy with her

And Quercus was considerably easier to hide their relationship from than his own family, considering they're on the outskirts of his territory and Ebur never saw him in person. As far as Quercus is concerned, Amanita just has a mild wyrm problem that she's handling well on her own

A few different  things could happen from then on

Could either go canon compliant or pull out one of my fav moves, a cute domestic AU where they don't found Hallownest or do it later down the line after already having children and just live for a while as a happy family

And also the Drama Flavour where Ebur ends up pregnant despite them not trying to, they say fuck it and have them but he gets very sick and she brings him to her father for help, cue him being appalled that she's partners with a wyrm and her telling him to suck a dick and she'll take care of him herself, then they have the worst luck ever after finding a brand new territory and stumble onto Ebur's family, and Adamas has some very strong opinions about him being mates with a root (she doesn't even realise he's expecting otherwise it would have been. Worse). Fucking Romeo and Juliet up in here

For the last idea, I like the idea of Adamas questioning if that root can even provide for him or any possible clutches he might have in the future and he gets so pissed off he bristles, tells her to drop it and he's done with her attitude and to get the fuck off his territory. She bristles and calls him out on being so cocky as to tell her to get out

"If you're so confident then come on, defend your territory! Kick me out yourself!"

"Stop it-"

"Come on, boy! Show me you can actually protect yourself and yours! If you want me out them force me out!"

"I'm not going to fight you, mother!"

"...Tsk, you even talk like her."

"...Just...Just leave...please."

She circles him, "You should know words won't be enough to protect your territory from intruders, and that young root definitely doesn't have it in her to do it. You promised me you'll stay safe, so show me you can actually take care of yourself!"

Instead she gets violently thrown back by a white root after Amanita returns to check up on her hubby <3

Puts herself between them, ready to snap their necks with her roots if she has to

"He told you to leave, so leave. Or should I make you, you old bag?"

"Amanita-"

Of course, it was 25% him not being willing to fight his own mother and 75% him being sick and not willing to risk the pregnancy, but he's not gonna tell her that when she reacted so negatively about him being mates with a root (and his siblings def teased him before the situation got serious)

He's gonna be SO fucking depressed about this later though

But I also just like the idea of them finding the place that would later become Hallownest and founding the kingdom together

Ebur: Babe do you want me to beat up this old slug for you?

Amanita: Oh how romantic~

Unn:(live slug reaction)

Unn: Just take the damn territory and leave me alone, you brats

I also made an entire AU with Integrity where PK moves on with his family with a promise that he'll be back next spring for her, only to realise he's expecting. And I am obsessed with this version, it's cute and domestic (in a wyrm kind of way) and I am sucker for these things.

Ebur leaves with his family, promising to return to her next spring so they can leave together, but what he DIDN'T account for was him getting pregnant

So now he has to think up an idea to sneak away and keep his pregnancy hidden until he's back with her. Very hard to do with his mother around, an old wyrm with decades worth of clutches she's reared into adulthood by herself, she sussed him out embarrassingly quickly

Ebur, trying to sneak out: 💦💦💦

Adamas, like she’s scolding a teen: where are you going at this hour?

Ebur: …. A walk to clear my head?

Adamas: do you think that excuse worked with your siblings back then?

Ebur: … no

Adamas: do you think it’s gonna work now?

Ebur: ……… no

Ebur, quickly thinking of something else: ......hunting...

Adamas: Hunting?

Ebur: Hunting.

Adamas: At midnight? With your white, glowing ass? After we just ate?

Ebur: .........I'm hungry.

Adamas: Uh-huh

Ebur, bristling: Well! I'm a grown wyrm, I can do what I want!

Adamas: Oh can you now?

Ebur: 💦💦💦

Adamas: You're an adult but I'm still this group's leader, including yours

Ebur: Yes, dame. I'm sorry, dame

He does his best to mask his scent and keep his hormones and instincts under control, tries to sleep a little further from the group, is very careful on hunts and starts eating away from them when food aggression starts kicking his ass

One time Adamas finally approached him at meal time, throwing him her portion

"Here, eat up."

He looks at her, confused, "...I...what?"

"Just eat, kid."

He hesitantly takes it and leaves it near as he continues with his portion, "Don't you need to eat also?"

"Eh, I've eaten enough. Besides, I'm not the one who's eating for more than one right now."

"HRK-"

He looks at her, horrified, and she can't help but laugh

"What? You think I haven't noticed? Come on, you could fool your siblings with your excuses but I've had plenty of clutches of my own," She pats him on the shoulder, "Come on, eat up, kid. You need to put some meat on these bones."

He sighs heavily and goes back to eating, red in the face and a little awkward, unable to look her in the eyes as she's just observing him

"...If you copulated around the time of your first heat last spring-"

"HRNK?!"

"Oh, don't be like that, you're not a child anymore. Anyway, your due date should be in winter...not the ideal time to have a clutch, but we could make this work. You'll need to eat a lot if this kid is to have any chance of survival, though," She looked back st him, "...If you want to keep it, that is."

He goes quiet, his tail curling in close, "...I...y-yeah, I do..."

"...Alright, if that's what you want."

"You seem nervous."

"...How- how could I not be? I mean, all of this, it's...it's my first brood, and if they're due in winter..."

She scoots closer to him and wraps her tail around him, "Hey...you're not alone in this, okay? You have your siblings and I, we'll take care of you and your young. It's going to be alright." And she nuzzles him gently

Obviously they figure out the children are part root, but only some time after they're born

At least now Ebur has an excuse to return to her, saying she'd have valuable input on caring for them

That doesn't stop his siblings from teasing him about possibly wanting to see her again and being in love (they're right, but he's not about to admit it)

Also the moment he accidentally let's her name slip he's not gonna hear the end of it

Adama: So you want to return to the groove?

Ebur: Yes. I mean, she taught me a lot about rootfolk, but-

Io: Uh-huh, I bet she did. Close and perso-

Ebur, slapping him with his tail: ...Anyway. She told me a lot, but still, Amanita would kno-

Adustus: YOU KNOW HER NAME?!

Ossum: OHHH, LITTLE LOVERBOY IS ON FIRST NAME BASIS WITH THE ROOT~?

Ebur: You're killing me

God can you imagine what kind of pains in the ass these cunts were when Adamas and Ebur broke the news to them

Constant teasing and asking who it was

Ebur gets no rest

Adamas takes her little shits on a training hunt again

"Why do we need to train anyway? You've taught us how to hunt seasons ago."

"I did, but not with two members down. You need to practice now before your sibling stops being able to join us on hunts."

"...two...?"

"Yes, two. It'll be safer if somebody stays behind with Ebur when he's further along and carrying for his young, so I need to know we'll be able to provide for this family with two hunters down and more mouths to feed."

"...Can't I join your hunts anyway? You hunted by yourself while pregnant, didn't you?"

"I did, but I was also alone, I had no choice. You shouldn't have to choose between your children's safety and finding food. We live as a family for a reason, what would we be but animals if we don't take care of each other? I'm not letting you or your young live like lone nomads when you have us."

They also hunt more since Ebur needs more food, especially later down the line, and if anybody complains she's gonna cut that shit down SO fast

"I don't want to hear it! Ebur and the brood they're carrying are your kin, so start acting like it and have some damn respect. Do you think Ebur would be here complaining if the roles were reversed? Do you think they wouldn't care for you when you need it? We're a family, we take care of each other, in sickness and in health. Your sibling and his children need you. If that's a problem for you, you're free to leave and live as a nomad, but as long as you follow me and are a part of this family I don't want to hear any complaining, got it?"

"...yes, dame. I'm sorry."

"Instead of apologising to me make yourself useful. And treat your siblings kinder, one day you might be the one who needs their help so you better hope your words don't come back to bite you then."

Adamas is a strict parent but very much loves her family and it's so important to her that they take care of each other <3

She's a good mum, if a little bit hard on them at times

Melponeme, loafing in front of Ebur: ….

Ebur: …. What. Go away

Melp: im not touching you

Ebur: what do you want

Melp, loafing, staring: ……….

Ebur: ………………

Melp: you’re gettin fat

Ebur: no shit it’s almost like a have a litter growing inside me

Melp, reaching over to poke his stomach:

Ebur, batting: stop that!!!

Melp: how many do you think they’re gonna be?

Ebur: I dunno

Melp: probably like. A lot of you keep growing at this rate

(And then it's just two. Absolute menace <3 won't give him a break)

Ebur, growling:

Adamas: Dear, if you keep poking at a predator like that it's gonna strike

Melp: Nahhh, they're harmle-

Ebur, pouncing on her:

Melp: !!!

"Don't be too rough with your sibling, they're expecting."

"Oh come on! They started it! They can't keep holding the pregnancy thing over our head constantly!"

Ebur sitting there like >:3

“Well they’ve got a few more months and then it’s fair game”

"Oh, so you'd beat up a new parent and leave my children orphaned? How cruel"

"I'm not gonna kill you, you maniac?!"

Also once he's much further along he digs himself a separate den and slowly moves in there, it worries his siblings but Adamas assures them it's normal, wyrms prefer to be alone in the first few days before and after giving birth

"Are you sure they're okay? Can't they stay with us?"

"Pff, would you prefer to get growled at and possibly mauled every time you come into your den? They'll be fine, don't worry."

His siblings go out hunting and gathering more often after that and finally give him lots and lots of warm and soft bedding for his new den

"Since you'll sleep alone we thought you and the baby could use some warmer bedding."

And he can't help but smile and wag his tail

Wondering if wyrms would have a word for aunt/uncle and what would it be?? Obviously not auncle, since aunt and uncle aren't wyrm temrs

Currently they don't have any, anybody beyond your parents, siblings and young are just "kin"

Maybe they'd use cousin? (As in. Also use cousin, not a replacement for aunt/uncle. I realised I worded this weird)

Half of this is Ebur's siblings fretting over him and Adamas having to keep them straight and from freaking out KDBDJRB

“GET OUT OF MY DEEENNNN”

“Oh but we worry about our poor lil sibling!!”

“FUCK OOOFFF”

Gonna get hissy and pissy and Adamas will just shake her head and say she warned them

“Can we see the babies now— UAGH”

“-HISSSSS-“

Glaring at them from the entrance of his den before the babies even arrive

"You're so lucky I'm round and slow right now"

“Hehe spherical”

“Shut the fuck up”

Also been thinking about the delivery. This sounds weird,,

TW for childbirth, pregnancy, etc, and mention of near infant death

Anyway, his siblings would notice he stopped eating, only stays in his den, and would bring it up to Adamas

Her ear just twitches and she looks over at his den, "...Seems the little one will arrive any moment, then."

"Huh?"

"How can you tell?"

"I also stopped eating like two to three days before I had you or any of my previous litters. It's normal. Just give them some space, they're going to be especially irritable now."

Then one night one of them wakes up and immediately wakes the others, as Adamas isn't in the den. They peek out to look for her and find her just sitting nearby and staring at Ebur's den

"...Dame? Why aren't you in the nest?"

"Quiet down. Do you smell that?"

They pause to scent the air

"...blood?"

"...It's been a while," She gets up and dusts herself off, "I'll go check up on your sibling, you keep watch for me. Don't come too near, he's probably stressed as is."

She approaches his den and they see her quietly talking before she disappears inside. They keep watch as promised, though all of them are fidgety and uneasy, pacing and shifting around, trying to chat to pass the timd

After what feels like forever though one of them tells them to shut up for a moment and when they do they can hear very faint cries coming from the den

They wait with held breaths and eventually Adamas stalks out of the den holding bloodied bedding (to a group of nervous wyrms looking at her like 👁👁 👁👁 👁👁 👁👁 👁👁, almost makes her laugh)

"...so?"

"So what?"

"Dame, please-"

She snickers, "There's two."

They all seem excited, which makes her smile

"How are they?"

"Ebur is fine. One of the wyrmlings is strong, and the furstborn..." She trails off, swishing her tail, "They'll make it, if they survive this night."

The five visibly deflate at the news

"...Are they gonna...?"

"Only time will tell. Like I said, if they survive this night they should be okay. Don't repeat this to Ebur, though, they've had enough of hardships for one night," She turned to leave, "I'll go burry these sheets. You five, go hunt for your sibling and their young, they're going to need the strength. I'll look after them."

They hurry off, a hunt seems like a good opportunity to blow off some steam

When they return, Adamas shows them how to thinly mince the meat for the the newborns before she delivers the food to Ebur and his kids

That's pretty much the norm for the next few days, Adamas is the only one who he allows into the den so she updates the siblings on the situation and stays with him while they go hunting

The day after, after they made their hunt for the day and Adamas once again disappears into their sibling's den with the food, was probably the most stressful. The five waited for her for what seemed like eternity and immediately pounce on her for info like young wyrmlings the second she's out

"Won't you five calm your tails?! Your sibling and their young are fine."

"And the firstborn?"

"They're doing much better and seem strong. You can stop panicking."

Though they're less intense about this afterwards, everytime Adamas leaves the den she's met with five wyrms staring at her and eagerly awaiting any updates

"Do they have names yet?"

"Ebur said they did pick already, you'll learn them once you meet the younglings"

"UUUUGHHH"

"MAAAAN"

"Stop being dramatic, it's only a few more days"

The five also get an idea to make the twins little clothes so they can stay warm and cosy

They get to gift them to Ebur once they finally meet the little ones

One day, after nearly a week, Adamas leaves the den to see the five wyrms once again waiting on her and she sighs heavily before smiling

"Alright, who wants to meet the babies?"

And they all get SO excited, before she has to remind them to keep calm to not spook their sibling or his kids

They go into the den one by one, which is thankfully big enough for all of them, where Ebur is laying in the corner, curled up around two little sleepy boundless and purring to them

His siblings are just awe struck at the babies and coo to them, showering them and Ebur with so many compliments

"They look a little odd for wyrmlings though, don't they?"

Io proceeds to get very roughly jabbed in the side by Fossor

"Ow, what the hell?!"

"Don't be an ass. Obviously they're not full wyrms, idiot, they're going to look different."

Though none of them is yet to clock that they're half-root

They get the babies thick clothes so they can crawl outside the den (under incredibly strick supervision by all 7 of their family members) once they're big enough

"Ebur, quit grooming them! They won't combust into flames if they have a speck of dirt or snow on them!"

"Mrrrr"

Melpomene: So, how did you name them?

Ebur: The firstborn is Hallow and the second born is Amaryllis

Io: Hm, weird names for wyrms

Ebur: 💦💦💦

Fossor, readying to hit him again:

Hallow, crawling towards Io with intent to Bite:

Io: Ohhhh little lad on a mission, what will they do? Beware the big bad wyrm

Hallow: Grrrr

Io:*casually just rolls away*

Hallow, flopping down and looking at him offended before SCREAMING angrily to voice their displeasure at inability to bite and maim uncle: EEEAAAAAAAAA

Gonna crawl towards him with even more determination

Adustus: Snrk- Stop giving the poor kid a workout and let them bite you

Io: If they wanna bite me they should prove it by getting me the legitimate way

Adamas: that one has a strong set of lungs

Ebur: mhm

Ebur: ...Was I this loud at their age?

Adamas: Absolutely. The loudest

Ebur: .......oh

Adamas: yeah. oh. Little snot

Ebur: hey!

(Mean to him <3)

Just wait till they figure out the connection between Amaryllis and Amanita

Of course loverboy would name the baby after a flower LMAO

".....snrk"

"shut up. shut up. shut the fuck up. I dont wanna hear it. Shut your bitchass up."

Start teasing him that he is SO smitten and in love

None know just how right they are

He's gonna die or commit murder at this rate

Ebur being all "it's not like that, it's not like that" and then when he sees Amanita again they're all lovey dovey and cute

I think Adamas' group was in the groove for like 2 years so they did have time to develop a meaningful relationship, though it's still nothing compared to how they're gonna be in a few years KFBDJFH

Io: not like that my ass—

Ebur: Shut the fuck—

Amanita: :? Not like what my darling?

Adustus: he’s been swearing up and down it isn’t love and he hasn’t totally been courting you

Amanita, amused: aaaww my dear Ebur, so now you’re shy with your affections~?

Ebur, sputtering: Ami, please not in front of my family...

Ossum: AMI

Ebur: I BITE

Ossum: Yeah, I bet ~your Ami~ knows a thing or two about that, huh~?

Ebur: GRRRRR

Amanita, laughing a little: I haven’t heard you growl that loud since we first met my wyrm~!

Ossum: good gods y’all are nauseating

Adamas: Her wyrm, huh?

Ebur: NOT you too

Amanita, not helping as she nuzzles him: My wyrm~

She's having so much fun <3 He can't help but smile though

Ebur: You're...impossible, my darling

Amanita: 🥰

Adamas: So, how long have you been together?

Amanita: Officially? Only one year, but we've been courting for much longer than that~

Adamas: Oh, you're official hm? Ebur, you never told me you've found yourself a mate. Look at you growing up on me, my youngest wyrmling has a mate and children already

Ebur: My dame, please

Amanita: ....children?

Adamas: ... you didn't know?

Ebur: Hey i was suppose to surprise her with that dame!

Ebur: Plus, I only found out after I left, not like I could tell her I was-

Amanita, grabbing him: Darling, what's that about children?

Ebur: .... We have two my darling.

Amanita: We have children!?

Ebur: yes. Our...... time together has resulted in me becoming gravid. We have two healthy children

Amanita, shaking him: Show me!!

Ebur, laughing: Well, stop trying to give me whiplash and I will!

(They're so adorable it makes me sick <- Ebur's siblings probably)

Presents her with the two little guys with a big smile. Tells her their names and she kneels down to hold them both and nuzzle and give kisses and be so so emotionally happy about it

The rest of the family give them some privacy so they can have a proper reunion and Amanita can meet her children

She's so SO happy

Scoops all three of them up and nuzzles him, looks at them as if they're her whole world

"Oh, my darling, they're so beautiful, so perfect...I love them..." She whispers, her breath caught in her throat for a moment, "...I love you."

His heart skips a beat and he nuzzles in close and kisses her cheek, "I love you too..."

And the babies are gonna ruin the moment and squeaking in protest about being held <3

"ooohhh my little sprouts, I need to plant you in my den and watch you grow big and strong youre so precious~"

"wait like. Actually bury them??"

"A little yeah. They should be able to root I think"

"...hm!"

"...Unless they're more wyrm in that regard?"

"Well, they seemed to do just fine on meat, but there's no harm in trying other things. Maybe a combination will be best for them?"

"Oh dear..."

"Don't worry, my love, we'll figure it out together"

Theyre rowdy and like to run around and play

but for sleepy time they get to be buried in the dirt. Makes em giggle and keeps them warm

OH the convo between Adamas and his siblings in the meanwhile

Adustus: ...He's gonna leave, isn't he?

Adamas: Hm?

Adustus: I mean, with our group we can't stay anywhere for too long, especially in a small groove like this, we'd run out of prey. And a root wouldn't be able to keep up for long, they're stationary. And...I doubt he'd leave her, just look at them.

Adamas: ...He seems happy. It'd be good for the little ones to have both parents too.

Amanita, planting the babies for the first time:

Quercus, waking her up at ass o'clock after he sensed two new seedlings near her: 👀 👀 👀

Amanita: huh wh

Quercus: KIDS?? KIDS?? DO I HAVE GRANDKIDS PRINCESS???

Amanita: pfft. yes.

Amanita:

Amanita, internally: wait shit fuck

Quercus: oh hey that wyrm problem came back. Lemme drop by and see how my daughter is doing since im not busy

What a fucking reunion that would be huh

Adamas: I've heard you want to leave? Maybe you should come with us, then, it'd be easier for you

Amanita: Ah, but would you like to leave now? Because it's already almost the end of spring, I don't think it'd be a good idea for me to leave now, I might not survive winter if I'm not rooted down somewhere by autumn. We were planning to leave early next spring, if you'd like to live in my groove until then you're fully welcome to

Adamas: But what of your parent? Wouldn't they notice?

Amanita: It's alright, he didn't came by last time you were here for over two years, I'm sure it's fine now, he won't even notice 😊 (narrator voice he did notice)

"Hey sweetheart how are you.... doing...."

Amanita, with the family of wyrms just hanging out in her den: .......... Daaaadddddddd what a suuurrrppprriiissseee💦

Her just trying to cover up this fairly large family of wyrms

Adamas getting defensive when Quercus is questioning Amanita

Starts growling and pushes to the front of them

Quercus: Stay out of this, wyrm

Adamas: Like hell I am! I'm not letting you step all over my family or my daughter

Amanita: It's really not nece- daughter??? 🥺

Quercus: Daughter?!

Adamas: Yes, daughter, she's my child's partner so as much of a family to me as my own children!

Amanita's just trying so fucking hard not to get emotional and cry over this now

too bad Quercus is bristling at that

Amanita and Quercus are emotional over this but in completely opposite directions

Amanita has to get herself together to step between them before it ends in a fight

GOD. I AM SO EMOTIONAL OVER THIS. AMANITA BEING ACCEPTED INTO HIS WYRM FANILY AFTER THEY SEE HOW MUCH SHE AND EBUR LOVE EACH OTHER 🥺 SO CUTE

She gets to root in and do some wyrm watching with her tubers

Amanita, to the kids: look how silly your father can be. Look, watch

Amanita, wiggling a root:

Ebur: 👁️👁️

His siblings watching him paw at the root

Adustus: ...Dude...

Fossor: Good fates he's domesticated

Adamas: …… oh how the mighty fall

She always knows how to embarrass him in front of his family 🥰

Zooming through her roots to play while Adamas wonders how he inherited such weird quirks

Adamas: I should have judged my mates better, what is this...

Ossum: hey they're the only one Like That

Melp: yeah we’re normal about things

Ebur: Snrk- Yeah, just wait till you find your own mates

Io: I think you're just weird, actually

Ebur: At least I have a mate and children, you lonely ass

Amanita delights in how silly the tubers are. Truly the most delightful thing

Ebur's family think it's funny how the twins have been dubbed the tubers since they came here

But hey, it fits

I bet Amanita sometimes just casually steals her wyrm away

Just picks him up with her roots like "I'll be taking that~"

They're so lovely dovey it's nauseating

Even Adamas teases him about her swooping him off his feet

And he can't keep the smile off his face when he talks about her or hide the blush when they tease him so he really can't hide it

Ebur and the tubers also sleep in her den, keep in her tangle of roots.

The others can set up a den as they please

He at first set up a den near her instead of with her but it was literally abandoned on night one

It's his den in spirit

The second his siblings realise its been abandoned and how fast he's getting teased AGAIN

“Shouldve just saved the time and effort and not done that altogether.”

“I didn’t ask you”

Adamas: No, I bet they tried really hard to use that den but really couldn't help themself be apart from her, didn't you?

Ebur: ...grrrr

Adamas: Snrk, seems I got it right

Amanita: you made a separate den from me???

Adamas: case n point

Ebur: Ooooh, God forbid I want to sleep with my partner! You insufferable twats

Adamas: You’re such a fucking sap

Amanita: Oh but they're my sap~ And I think it's so cute~

Gets a collective "Bleh" out of them

The two looking over their tubers playing with Ebur's siblings

Amanita: Oh, these kids are great, I love them so much

Ebur: Mhm

Amanita: We should have more~

Ebur, sputtering: Amanita!

Io: HEY WE HEARD THAT YOU FUCKING WEIRDOS

Amanita: what? You didn’t think I was going to want just one clutch did you love?

Ebur: w-what—

Amanita, curling around him: I have an urge for my seeds to spread my wyrm~

Io, gagging:

Fossor: What the hell, you two

Ebur: Not- not in front of my family, my love...

Io: literally traumatizing. What is wrong with them both

The rest is pretty much just VERY half assed future stuff and this is long enough as is 😐 So like. Yeah.

[electricbluebutterflies]

stolen moments for jessica and leto?

Choice-era, PG-ish, also on ao3.

He shouldn’t be doing this right now.

Objectively, slipping away to spend a few moments with his partner and their child is not the worst thing Leto could be doing right now, but… it also isn’t on-schedule, and a particular meeting will start late, and-

He is allowed to decide his priorities, he reminds himself. The calm of his domestic life – calm that will not last but is appreciated while it does – is the most important thing in the world. It’ll be fine.

He had asked for everything and received; he asks for so little now, tempted to knock on the door, tempted to give warning in case his presence is unwanted, in case-

Before he can, it opens, and what a perfect sight. His partner, tired as ever but at least upright, their son resting in her arms, this quiet moment of hope manifested and-

“Do you need something?” she breathes.

Every day more reasons to love her, Leto thinks, every day more-

“Just wanted to see you. Both of you.”

She steps back, allowing him into her spaces, this room that wasn’t used for almost a year beforehand but now she nests, now she creates her own world. He is no longer the most important person in her life, not since the birth, but close second is still close and-

“You do have other-“

“Don’t remind me.”

She gives him one of her sharp looks, the kind he’s learned to expect whenever he does decide to prioritize her, and maybe she’d be calmer if that happened more often but-

They both understand the circumstances. He is trying, he would say if he thought she’d hear him out, and it is never quite enough, and she forgives anyways. Something deep in this cold woman wants to be loved, and something in him has found a way through her ice and thorns, and-

“Do you need anything from me?” she asks again.

They had routines, once, and now they do not. There will be no more… it’s only been a month, he hasn’t asked for her since, he’s tried to be respectful of her cocoon and her healing and-

“What might I ask for?” he replies.

“What might you want?”

Impossible woman, skies forbid she ever have actual preferences of her own instead of just-

“May I hold you? Just you, for a moment?”

She steps back and carefully places their child in the cradle before returning to face him, and he knows her stance, her uncertainty mixed with cooperativeness mixed with-

“You may.”

He takes half a step closer and oh he has been so cautious these last few weeks, ever since her fragility was made clear – her stubbornness is what it is, and he loves her for it, and she worries him – and even this seems like it might be too far, even this-

Their bodies still fit perfectly, and perhaps more of her weight rests on him than usual, and she hides her face against his shoulder as she rarely does and-

“Does something worry you, my storm?”

“I will not be difficult,” she breathes. “I will not be…”

“That does not seem like-“

“It is as if my heart has been separated from my body and given its own life, and the fear of it, and-“

“Jess-“

“Do you not feel the same?”

It is different for him, he thinks; there are two manifestations, the other currently clinging to him and pretending she’s alright and-

“Completely. Does my presence not make that clear enough?”

“You could just be avoiding-“

“That too, but-“

She kisses him – the first time she’s done that in a month, since overwhelmed emotions in aftermath – and he has missed her in ways beyond words, the slight softness of her when she wants something and-

“You don’t owe me this,” he murmurs against her lips.

“And I will not offer more, but… it has been strange to sleep without you, my love.”

“If that was not what you wanted-“

“I will never speak badly of your respect for me, but… I do trust you. I have given you how many nights and you have never-“

He kisses the side of her face, aware what this means for her, aware that basic decency works too well on her, and it’s been a while since they’ve had one of these moments and-

“It is strange without you too.”

“I would allow it. You never wake me, and-“

He can’t recall ever being in her spaces for such purpose – she’d all but abandoned this room until she’d found use of it again, some petty justification about his bedroom having a better window or something equally frivolous and easier to admit than her deeper desires – but if that is what pleases her, if-

“You could have asked.”

“That is not who we are.”

He wants to linger, wants to keep this moment forever, wants a great many things and none of them are ideal now and-

“Will you be alright if I-“

“I will. I would not dare to assume I am-“

Even this is not enough, somehow, even this does not make clear-

“You are my heart. Both of you. Never forget that.”

She takes another kiss and then breaks the embrace, two steps back and biting her lip. “Go… whatever…”

“I do miss you knowing my schedule more than I do.”

“And I do appreciate you breaking it for me, but-“

“The door will be unlocked in the quiet of night?”

“I would hope you would come to me earlier, but yes.”

He will do better by them, he thinks, silent promise as he carefully shuts the door behind him and returns to a much less interesting afternoon. Nothing else matters. Nothing else will ever matter more.

[raxistaicho]

Just on the topic that Sothis might magically reconstitute herself and do a bunch of Goddess stuff, including overthrowing Edelgard like her detractors seem to think she will, Fire Emblem Heroes gives some context on what is actually happening with Byleth, courtesy of Seteth.

Fallen Rhea: I believed that if I could resurrect

my mother... I could regain all that had been lost...

Seteth: Your mother? Lady Rhea, you know

full well that such a thing is

forbidden, and yet...

[Alphonse asks what is happening, Seteth explains Rhea's deepest most secreted desire is to bring Sothis back to life.]

Seteth: Day by day, year by year, that desire must have grown, but...it would be the greatest affront of all.

For it was Sothis herself who forbade any and all attempts to return her to life.

Is this the consequence of Lady Rhea’s attempting to break that stricture?

If so, her words can mean only one thing...

1. Seteth says that it was Sothis herself that told the Nabateans not to bring her back to life.

This means she knows it's possible and DOES NOT want it to happen. (I personally have a theory that Sothis was attempting to tell Rhea to become the next "Goddess" to lead Fodlan onwards as their protector and guide when she speak to her in the Holy Tomb before she meets Wilhelm. This would make sense as Rhea says that the name Seiros was given to her in VW, which seems confusing at first until you remember that her birth name is likely "The Immaculate One" or "The White One," in the same way Sothis' is "The Beginning," and Byleth "The Enlightened One." Seiros being a name that references Sirius/The Blue Sea Star and Sothis herself, along with the entanglement of the Crest of Flames and Seiros being the first and last tarot card numbers to actually appear in Three Houses. But I digress.)

2. Not only were the Nabateans told not to bring Sothis back to life, Seteth readily assumes that Rhea is being PUNISHED for attempting to do so. Obviously he's wrong, but it paints a picture of the person Goddess Sothis was and just how taboo this act is.

3. We learn later in this event that Rhea's degeneration is caused by her despair at not being able to resurrect her mother, which obviously matches the in game reasoning. (It also heavily implies that this is THE only thing keeping Rhea from degeneration. She has no other purpose left, which I feel is why she is so so strangely distant, distracted, and unreachable throughout the game. Sothis even criticises her lack of observation that lead to Solon's presence in Garreg Mach. Detachment is clearly not a trait Goddess Sothis would have tolerated in her children. The Nabateans are often hinted at being warriors or at the very least militant by TWSitD and the Shadow Library records, combined with Seteth's intense nature, Rhea's reactions to opposition, Seiros' actions in battle, and the combat oriented nature of Crests. They're all obviously caring, but in the Greek Pantheon/Old Testament kind of way.)

All of this is to say that it's not Byleth or Sothis' heart that "breaks" at the end of Crimson Flower, it's Rhea's.

She's begging and demanding Byleth give her mother's heart back.

We know Sothis is still around. Her essence is in Byleth's soul ever since they merged.

Sothis also says the Crest Stone is nothing but a decoration in every ending of the game, the thing has been empty ever since that point. The only thing keeping it around was Rhea's magic.

There's some heavy implication there that even IF Rhea had been able to retrieve the Crest Stone from Byleth, there wouldn't be a Sothis within it to revive.

Sothis herself didn't just put herself into Byleth, she very likely, and intentionally, made it impossible to revive her from that point onwards.

Now, obviously Rhea can die in SS, but that's also the route where Byleth chooses divinity, that doesn't mean the Crest Stone is still actually doing something when Byleth absolutely should have the Major Crest of Seiros as Jeralt's child. It's literally the X factor Rhea claims to be the difference in Byleth compared to the other vessels. Byleth herself might be keeping the Stone whole, not intentionally, but subconsciously. The same way we all beat our hearts.

Just some thoughts. Rhea is the only one who wanted Sothis back, including Sothis herself. I mean Byleth also wants that, but they get what they want with soul merged Ghosthis.

Also, if Sothis didn't want Edelgard alive, why the hell would she help Byleth wake up? Or bring the rain in CF, or allow Byleth the ability to run through these cycles at all, which her opening dialogue of "It is almost time to begin" and "Drift through the flow of time to find the answers that you seek..."

Considering the Black Eagles is the only route where greater context and knowledge actually enables you to alter the outcome, these quotes show an awareness of that fact. Especially since AM requires the LEAST knowledge of grander events.

Sothis supporting Edelgard and not wanting to be revived is also supported by how "To the End of a Dream" serves as a reference to Rhea's dream to resurrect Sothis, Sothis' constant sleeping, AND Byleth being "The End/Ending" to Sothis' "Beginning."

Sothis canonically, endorses Edelgard through her opinions, actions, foreknowledge/hindsight, and the meta of the game.

It's no mistake that VW and CF titles make allusions to dawn, waking, change and spring, while SS and AM reference night, dreaming, conservation, and winter. The game and Sothis both have a preference.

(Sorry for the essay, I got carried away. I have a lot of thoughts on all four of these ladies.)

Not at all, that was a really interesting bit of analysis! I especially liked point 3 and the point on Sothis acting against Rhea in CF. I broadly knew most of the details from Heroes, but I didn't quite know all the specifics, so I appreciate you sharing them.

[perilegs]

6 & 9 for Rook and Wyll !!

4,11 and 20 for Ati and Zevran !!!

KUUTTI IM SORRY I FORGOT YOU IN MY DRAFTS

thank you!!!! :3cc questions from this post

Rook/Wyll: Do they have any shared interests/hobbies? Do they ever do these hobbies together?

Hmm, Wyll's love for dancing rubs off on Rook and he'll teach them to dance too. :') Otherwise their hobbies tend to be different, but still something they can do in a shared space. Wyll and Rook could spend time enjoying each others presence, Wyll reading and Rook tinkering on something. (Wyll does pick up on some mechanical skills).

I think they like to play different board/card games together too. I have no basis for this it's just what I feel in my heart.

As for interests I can't think of too many that they both would have as they're more bound together by their ideals and values, and their love for adventure and eradicating what they deem evil. But I KNOW both of them are more than interested in hearing the other talk about their interests and get a bit into them too. Rook is such an elevator nerd, and I can see Wyll starting to appreciate their intricacies as time goes on too.

Oh, also! Wyll's tent has a telescope so I like to think he likes stargazing. Rook has spent most his live deep underground so he's never done that before, but it's definitely something they would enjoy too, so I think that's a hobby they'd also do together!

Their hobbies and interests also shift with time as, they're going to the Hells after the events of the game, but they might eventually settle down to live a quieter life.

Rook/Wyll: What is one quality they have in common?

They want to do what is just in quite a, hm, I guess ruthless way? That sounds bad but I mean things like how Wyll is one of the only companions who suggests killing Kagha. Both Wyll and Rook have a strong moral compass and aim to punish those who do wrong.

Ati/Zevran: How would they describe each other if asked? Physically? In personality?

Answered here

Ati/Zevran: Does one act as a narrative foil to the other? How so?

Not sure if this is a Foil Foil but it's definitely a contrast, but. Zevran and Ati are both dead but living.

As in, how Zevran trying to assassinate her was a suicide mission, and he is now living despite never planning on doing so.

And how grey wardes start dying the moment they become wardens, a fate which Ati ended up in only because the other option would have been death, but faster. And after that, she has avoided death many times. Being saved by Flemeth, doing Morrigan's ritual.

Zevran is supposed to be a dead man, living a life he did not intend to see, and Ati got a second chance at life at the expense of a timer looming over.

I'm also using this question as an excuse to compare their mothers as what is a foil but contrast to heighten certain qualities.

Ati and Zevran were both born with no parents, their mothers dying in or shortly after childbirth. They were both raised communally, but in highly different circumstances. Zevran with the women in the brothel and Ati with her clan. They both had a similar circumstance of birth but the people and place they were born to made all the difference. Ati was allowed to grow up, whereas Zevran was forced to.

I find it heartbreaking how Zevran's only memory of her mother is a pair of gloves, and how he refers to her as his first victim. Ati didn't even learn the truth about her mother before she was an adult. Zevran's mother's death was held against him, while Ati's was kept from her.

I wish I could be more eloquent and go in depth about this but I will start crying if I do ha

Ati/Zevran: What is their best memory together?

It's hard for me to answer this question as I can't even imagine having just one memory that shines above the rest with someone I love. Ati and Zevran have a ton of good memories they look fondly upon.

But one I've been thinking about a lot recently is, well, not just a singular memory but a collection of memories from their nights in camp during the blight.

Wynne has dialog where she complains about noise coming from the two, which, is supposed to be understood as Zevran and Ati having loud sex but some years ago I saw a post here that referred to it that boiled down to "what if it was laughter?" And I think Ati and Zevran have had a lot of fun together.

They share stories, both those they've heard and of what they've seen. Zevran teaches Ati how to better use daggers. They share their notes on traps and poisons. The list goes on. Though the Blight is looming over them, a lot of their nights are filled with joy and laughter.

[tweehearted]

Magazine pages from Yasuyuki Okamura’s debut

+ translations

“In 1987: a singer to look out for– Yasuyuki Okamura”

An ideal type of guy: It's safe to let a girl who says she wants a kind and artistic guy to fix her, after experiencing love about a hundred times. The type is a girl who appears cold at first but is actually a good person. It's better to deal with someone like that after becoming more mature. In 1987, a beautiful egotist stirs up the world.

More pages and manuscripts under the cut ~

Appearing larger on stage is an extremely important talent for musicians. Superstars like Mick Jagger, David Bowie, and Bruce Springsteen are all just a little over 170 centimeters, not particularly tall by Western standards. However, on stage, they appear larger than life. When we saw Okamura before us during this photo shoot, he seemed much smaller than the stage image, despite being 178 centimeters tall. Yet, on stage, Okamura appeared like a giant, almost 190 centimeters tall. His debut happened on the massive stage of the Budokan, where he showcased an unusual presence for a newcomer. What will happen when his confidence and popularity as an artist further develop?

Debut Q&A

Q1: what is the origin of your name? I don’t know

Q2: date and place of birth? August 14 1965, Kobe

Q3: height, weight? 178, 58

Q4: Family structure? father, mother, younger brother

Q5: what were you called as a child (nicknames)? Pink Panther or Yacchan

Q6: Hobbies or pastimes? Long phone calls

Q7: Favourite sport? Basketball

Q8: favourite food? Egg

Q9: food you don’t like? Salad that has fruit

Q10: favourite colour? purple and black

Q11: Blood type personality? Type B, cute guy, but narrow-minded

Q12: Average hours of sleep every night? about 4~6 hours

Q13: what do you wear when you sleep? nothing

Q14: average amount of money spent every month? not sure

Q15: what do you spend it on? also not sure

Q16: If you could buy anything, what would you buy? Love

Q17: the thing you want most in the world right now? Love

Q18: the most important thing to you currently? Love

Q19: do you have any weird habits? I don’t know what you mean…

Q20: are you superstitious? nope

Q21: what is attractive in a girl? when she says things like “I like you” I go crazy

Q22: what would an ideal date be? Disneyland

Q23: tell me, how do you pick up girls? I’ve never actually made a pass at a girl before.

Q24: when and where was your first kiss? I'm not going to tell you.

Q25: Were you shocked? maybe.

Q26: what do you say when you get rejected? “if you leave me, the meaning of my life disappears”

Q27: has love ever made you cry? maybe.

Q28: what would you do if you were born a woman? I don’t know

Q29: what do the women you like wear? anything sexy (in my opinion)

Q30: who do you admire? Seiko Matsuda and Jack Nicholson

Q31: who is your rival? Akina Nakamori

Q32: the saddest thing that happened after your debut? nothing!

Q33: the happiest thing? when I went to the record shop and my own song was playing

Q34: what would you be doing if not music? I don’t know

Q35: the first record you ever bought? Beautiful Sunday

Q36: if you could only bring one record to a deserted island, what would you take? My own.

Q37: most watched TV programmes? Sanma no Manma (a chat show)

Q38: a role (in TV or a film) you would like to play? the role of a person in love

Q39: a place you’d like to visit? a girl’s room

Q40: have you experienced a severe injury or illness? no

Q41: memories of childhood pranks? I was a stupid kid, so I never thought of ever doing that.

Q42: Somebody who you can’t forgive? somebody who’s phony.. Well, not really.

Q43: if you could leave only one thing in a time capsule? a video of myself

Q44: what will you be doing in 5 years time? I’d like to perform all around the world

Q45: if there were 3 minutes until the end of the world who would you call? a girl who loves me

Q46: Finally, anything you want to say? Listen to “OUT OF BLUE”

Yasuyuki Okamura’s debut at the Budokan: “I want people to take the title 'YELLOW' in their own way when they hear it”

With his debut between last year and this year, it is safe to say with no exaggeration that Yasuyuki Okamura is one of most promising newcomers in the music industry… The interest in his work was sparked by him providing songs for Misato Watanabe and Koji Kikkawa among others. His first stage appearance was at the Nippon Budokan, shortly after the release of his debut single “OUT OF BLUE” (EPIC Sony). Despite the unusual format of a guest appearance at the public radio event, it was a success from the outset. He acted like a “show-off” but had a kind of “star” glamour.

“A debut show at the Budokan is something you’ll never experience again, and it’s a very special experience. I’m interested in doing more shows, because many people lack showmanship: the spirit is the best sense of the word.”

Okamura’s long-awaited debut album “YELLOW”, released in March, had been in the works for 10 months. Apart from some assistance with lyrics and arrangements, the music is all his own, self produced. In fact, this was apparently the reason for the album’s delay in completion.

“I was originally going to have someone else to write the lyrics: but when I did, the words didn’t really suit me. And so I wrote my own, I worked very hard but I can’t just leave it to someone else. If you don’t sing what you think, or what you think about yourself, you won’t inspire any affection for the song itself.”

His songs are filled with a quiet anger. In the flood of modern information and world affairs it sounds like a cry of “I won’t be fooled.” The problems plaguing the Middle East and famine in Africa are all sung about on an everyday level, transmitted through the brown noise of TV. However, there is a strong sense that the message is not being said out loud, but rather it is internally understood. “I don’t mean to sound like another 60s douche, but I’m not sure what I can even do about it. So naturally I have to be a bystander… There are a hundred different ways to receive the news, if that is the case, then it’s not for me to tell them to do this or that, but rather to leave it to themselves to understand. The title of the LP is “YELLOW”, I want everyone who hears it to take it in any way they want, so that’s why I gave it this title. It’s vague but I think it comes across well, though.” For example, the track ‘Water Bed’ on the LP interpolates The Beatles’ ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ lyrics.

Yasuyuki Okamura will hold a one-man concert at Shibuya Public Hall on 22nd of April.

Images source: https://twitter.com/Limited_Night_/status/1241929114879025152

[silverloreleysfanfics]

A fix-it/post canon one-shot for TTEOTM, slight crossover with LBFAD. It's unrelated to my other idea, which is much bigger and will take a lot of time to be developed.

I wrote this in a single sitting, no edits, no beta, which is very not like me, but I had to get this out of my head so here it is.

Enjoy! Li Susu had started to go the border of the Mohe river when she found out she was pregnant. She didn't know why, it just felt like the only place that gave her some solace.

Or, perhaps, it was because of his words.

Tantai Jin had been afraid he'd be forgotten, that his love would have been forgotten, buried in the stories that would feel more meaningful in the centuries, stories of war and kings and gods, with not enough space for minor loves, no matter how important that love may have been.

How silly of him. As if Susu would be able to forget. As if the world had not been changed by his extreme act of compassion, an all-encompassing love that mutated the All-in-Distress Way into something purer and bright, that became the greatest peace the world had ever seen.

The child had been a surprise. Susu doubted he could have imagined it, how the Bo're life he made for the two of them would have not been fake at all, that it would have had this lingering, tangible, tie.

That the evidence of his love, not for the world, but for Susu and her only, would have been this real.

Susu was grateful, from the very first moment, the instant she discovered that little presence in her belly was a joy she didn't think she would have felt, not after losing him.

And so, Susu had been getting ready, he godly body allowing her to live the slow and long pregnancy with serenity and calm.

Apparently, godly babies took long time to develop and even longer to grow, Susu should have expected it since her diedie had told her how long he had to wait for her egg to hatch.

It gave her time to arrange quite a lot of things before her daughter was born, such as explaining everything that had happened, in truth, to the sects, and put in line Gongye Jiwu, and so forth. She also took the reins of the Demon Realm, which was not the sunken Barren Abyss anymore but a land on its own she could rule as the rightful queen of the deceased king.

All while hoping he'd come back soon. That he didn't lie, that he'd be there, by her side, once again.

But, in the end, when A'mi was born, it was just Susu to greet her.

Yet, that birth felt like a true new beginning. After all the tears and blood shed in their story, for tears and blood to mark the beginning of their daughter's life felt like Susu too was born anew.

Later on, with her newborn daughter in her arms, Susu had gone to the Mohe river, just the two of them.

There would be time, later on, to introduce the little princess to her kingdom, this was just for the three of them. Susu, A'mi, and Tantai Jin. Even if he wasn't there but in spirit, that little remainder of him closed tight in the scale near her heart.

It was dusk when Susu found in herself the will to move from the stone she had been sitting on. She had been unable to say a single word, just basking in the scenery, with all the love of her life tucked close to her chest.

Night fell quickly, and worried the child may feel chilly, she moved to leave, although her melancholic heart would have wished to stay some more.

As if answering to her longing, the night started to lit up, stars in the sky, fireflies from the grass.

Fireflies.

It was the first time Susu saw any near the Mohe river. It felt special. A gift, like the one a young emperor had once given to his wife.

The memory almost brought her to tears. Almost. Susu had promised herself she'd be strong for her child and cherish the memories without falling in despair over them.

She kissed her daughter's forehead and got ready to leave.

It was then that she felt something.

No, someone.

Susu turned towards the direction she felt the presence of. It wasn't hostile, in the slightest. It felt warm and bright, giving off the same sense of fulfillment and peace she had felt when she ascended and met the old gods.

Soon enough, a figure appeared: a woman, round-faced and beautiful, with long silky hair falling down her back and decorated by a complex golden crown of flowers and vines on top of her head, similar to the ones around her shoulders and waist, only decorations of her pristine white flowing dress.

She was smiling, just faintly, as if wanting to soothe her pain with kindness.

"Hello, Li Susu, it's nice to finally meet you"

"Who are you?"

"I'm Xi Yun, Goddess of Xishan"

Susu's eyes went wide. Weren't all the Gods dead? Wasn't she the only one left?

"I understand your confusion, Li Susu" Xi Yun said, apologetic "I'm sorry, I couldn't help you before"

"Why?"

"As long as you were a mortal, your Fate had to reach its completition, or you would have had to start all over again. Now that you're a Goddess, I can finally offer my support"

"I thought all Gods were gone"

"The old ones are" Xi Yun replied "I'm a new one as well, just like you, only a few centuries passed since my awakening, more for you, less for me. Time runs differently where I live"

"I don't understand"

"It's an ancient story. When the old gods perished, the rest of the Immortals left Shangquin Realm and moved up, in the heavens, founding the Immortal Realm of Shuiyuntian, separated from the fates of the mortal world for good. There already resided the Xilan clan, with their Goddess, a humble minor deity, one of the few left, along with Siming, Arbiter of Fate, and the potential to create a new God of War. When the Xilan clan fought and trapped the Evil God Tai Sui, the Goddess of Xishan perished and only her daughter remained. It would be too long to explain you all that followed, just know I am that daughter, I ascended to godhood a few centuries ago"

"I see" Susu nodded in acknowledgment "It's nice to know I'm not as alone as I feared"

Xi Yun's smile became a little sadder "I'm sorry you had to go through that alone, it was a terrible trial. That's why I'm here, I have to tell you something important"

A'mi chose that moment to complain, the cold of the night getting to her. As if moved by instinct, Xi Yun hovered her hand over the child, the baby blanket, plain until then, covered with a design of vines, orchids, and tiny moons.

"It's not much, but now this cloth will always shelter from the cold and ward off illnesses. I'm a deity of healing" she added, like an afterthought.

"Thank you"

Xi Yun shook her head "It's nothing, I'll bring a better gift next time we'll see each other. Today, I'm here to talk"

"I'll listen, then"

"The nature of True Immortals is unique. The old gods were True Immortals, therefore they could pass to the other stage of existence. So are we, you and me, and a few others. Your daughter too, with time, will become one" Xi Yun paused, then looked up "A True Immortal never fully dies. The Devil God was one of us, whether we like it or not, and since Tantai Jin absorbed its essence, he became one as well"

"Are you saying...?"

"If he stored his primordial spirit somewhere, even a small part of it, and didn't move to the next stage, he'll return"

Susu thought of she scale, the one containing his version of the Bo're life, in which there were his memories and wishes. The scale that was always warm, often coated by a shimmering that made it seem alive.

"How can you be certain?" she nevertheless asked, fearing to raise her hopes too soon.

"I saw it happen. My husband did the same, he sacrificed for me to destroy Tai Sui. I had to wait 500 years for him to come back to me, but he did, all thanks to a tiny soul vessel he left behind. Before that, it was the same for me, for I had unknowingly left a part of me in his heart and he was able to bring me back, with care and patience. True Immortals never fully die, Li Susu, this would go for you as well. I daresay it already happened"

"That's why you're here? To give me hope?"

"To help. A lot of energy is required for a True Immortal to come back, accumulate so much cultivation may take centuries, millennia even, in normal conditions. I'm here to offer my home, Xishan, which is rich in power, to help you bring back your husband sooner. It's the least I can do"

"Will there be a price for it?"

"You'll have to leave this world for a very long time. As I said, time runs differently in the Immortal Realm, mere hours there, are years here"

"How long do I have to decide?"

"All the time you want, it's an open offer, Li Susu, I'll never take it back" she gently took Susu's hand and made a little object appear on the palm, a tiny golden orchid "Call for me when you're ready"

And with that, she disappeared, leaving Susu alone with A'mi and her thoughts. There would be things to settle, people to warn, arrangements to make, but Susu didn't have doubts, she would accept Xi Yun's offer. No place in the mortal world had enough energy to bring him back, and the idea of waiting thousands of years just to see him again was unbearable.

She'd have Tantai Jin back sooner than later. She owed it to him and to their daughter, they deserved to know each other and be the family they needed.

§

Xi Yun greeted her with open arms and a kind smile. Her home in Xishan, she explained, was a replica of her shifu's palace, Simingdian, which her husband Dongfang Qingcang had rebuilt for her after her rebirth, a perfect replica, down to the number of flowers in the garden.

They had many similarities, Xi Yun and Li Susu, the stories of their loves filled with common traits.

It made Susu feel less alone, understood in depth. When Xi Yun told her of the moment she had to sacrifice her love for her duty towards the world, Susu finally was able to cry out the bitterness she had held onto until then, the betrayal she had felt when she realized Tantai Jin had lied to her and intended to die alone and for good.

In the end, Xi Yun begged her to call her with her old name, Xiao Lanhua, for her friends and family called her so, and Susu felt the need to ask for her whole story, now that she had the time to hear it. Xiao Lanhua insisted to hear hers too, in exchange, and Susu found out that was something she desperately needed.

They shared memories, exchanged experiences, became friends. Susu never had true friends before, her sect siblings were intimidated by her, as Ye Xiwu she didn't have close connections, just Pian Ran and only for a very short time. Pian Ran, Susu said, was almost a sister, and maybe they would have become sisters for real, since Ye Qingyu had loved her so much, but death had come for both Pian Ran and Ye Xiwu, and they never met again.

Susu had never been able to mourn for Pian Ran until she had been in Xishan, and Xi Yun had helped her with that. The fox demon wouldn't reincarnate, or so they thought, until Xiao Lanhua came back from the original Simingdian, the one in Shuiyuntian, with a bright smile.

"I found her destiny book" she explained "She'd just started her tribulations, her fate is still tied to that of Ye Qingyu"

"How?"

"Fate has its ways" was the enigmatic reply. Xi Yun refused to elaborate, but the knowledge was enough to soothe Susu's heart.

§

The scale that held Tantai Jin's primordial soul shimmered in the daylight and glowed at night, constantly fed with energy coming from Xishan's sacred ground.

A'mi was eternally fascinated by it, trying to reach it with her tiny hands every time Susu went to check on it with her daughter in her arms.

When the first century passed, and A'mi started to talk, she'd blabber endlessly at the scale, as if she knew her father was listening.

Susu never talked to it, instead. She intended to keep her promise and say everything she had to once he'd be back to her.

§

Sometimes, Susu left Xishan and went back to check how things were in the mortal world. Nian Baiyu and Yue Fuya, who had married decades before, took great care of both the Yiyue tribe and the Demon kingdom in her absence. They were always happy to see her, but had learned not to ask about the return of her husband.

Spending time in the mortal realm without A'mi, wasn't a problem, given how differently time ran, A'mi barely realized her mother was gone, even more so when Xiao Lanhua and her friends kept her occupied and cared for.

But soon, it was Susu that wanted to take A'mi with her. The mortal realm and the Demon kingdom were hers, as much as Xishan was pleasant to live in, they'd eventually come back to that, and A'mi was supposed to know her roots. Gongye Jiwu had frowned when he had first met her again, after the war. He had listened, he had even apologized, owning his mistakes and misconceptions. She had never quite forgiven him, but he had matured greatly and, when Susu finally brought A'mi with her to the immortal sect, he had been the most kind and generous uncle there could be.

They had visited the tombs of both her father and uncle, that day, and Susu allowed Jiwu to speak about them to A'mi, who listened with the same rapt attention she did when Susu talked about Tantai Jin.

It was when Susu realized she had been talking about him to A'mi as if he was dead and would never return. When she realized she hadn't given herself permission to truly hope for his return. That she had buried him in the tombstone he had carved for himself and decided not to believe in his lie, even if his lie could become a truth.

That night, when she and A'mi went back to Xishan, Susu went and apologized.

The scale glowed a little warmer, kindly, a nod of forgiveness.

"I'll be waiting. Just come back. Please, just come back to me" she pleaded.

It dimmed again, saddened. Perhaps, he didn't believe in it enough either.

It was fine, she'd believe in it for the both of them.

§

Another century passed. A'mi became a toddler, a mischievious one hard to keep in check, and she always, always, went to see the scale whenever something new or exciting or sad happened to her.

Susu had met everyone in Xiao Lanhua's family, in the meantime, especially the Yuezun, Dongfang Qingchang. He was a silent, almost scary person, who turned into a real softie whenever in his wife's presence. They were nothing but sweet with each other, even their occasional bickering felt affectionate.

Susu almost envied them, if not for the fact they were evidence she could have a future like theirs too.

"The hardest time was the waiting" he told Susu, unexpectedly, one day. They had never talked much, he wasn't a man of many words, so it surprised her.

"I was always worried I would do something wrong, that she would be lost to me forever" he turned to look at Xiao Lanhua playing in the grass with A'mi and the kids Jieli took with her, and smiled "Things fell into place, in the end. They always do, with enough perseverance"

Then he just left, as if he hadn't just tried to give her courage.

Susu appreciated it, nevertheless, and turned to the scale.

"You'd better move, Tantai Jin. I'm getting tired of doing everything on my own, here" she scoffed.

Somehow, she could tell he was grinning.

§

A'mi was much more independent as of late, a real source of trouble, so Susu accepted all the help she was offered to exhaust the little troublemaker until night fell and she could be tucked to sleep. That day, the programme was for her to join Jieli's kids up the mountain for a lesson about birds and other small animals that lived in Xishan.

Obviously, A'mi loved animals, to no one's surprise she could communicate with them with ease, a trait she was very proud to share with her father's tribe.

What Susu didn't expect, was for her daughter to come back from the little trip with a large raven perched on her shoulder and no intention of sending it away, no matter her mother's horror at the idea.

It took the better part of an hour to convince the small girl that ravens weren't supposed to live in houses and they could play everyday even if it lived outside, on the trees near the palace.

"This is your fault, Tantai Jin" Susu pouted in the end "She's more stubborn than you"

The scale glimmered a bit.

"Ah, we will see how you'll control here once you'll be out of there, you hear me? This will be your problem too"

The proud glow around the scale didn't dim for the whole day.

§

It was night, A'mi was sleeping soundly, the raven perched on her windowsill in silent watch.

Susu couldn't sleep. Every time she tried to close her eyes, she had nightmares of their worst moments. The night she whipped him when he didn't deserve it.

The time she accused him of being unable to change when he had just defended himself. The moment she pierced his heart with the Heart-Shattering Nails and he had looked at her with such pain and betrayal, yet love, the same the imbued his despair later in the prison and then again when, five hundred years later, she had rejected him and denied them a future she too wanted.

The day she killed him, his face so serene despite it all.

She got up in tears and went out, grasping for air.

It wasn't the first time it happened, it was a recurring thing, just like she used to have flashbacks of the extermination of her sect brothers and sisters, of her uncle and father, back before her time trip.

Oftentimes, Xiao Lanhua was there, ready to help, but that night she was in Cangyanhai, as it was fair, next to her husband, and Susu ached more than ever, guilt and pain and grief shattering her from the inside and she thought her heart would break all over again, just like that night in the crypt, when she had seen the tombstones.

"I want to believe. I do. But you make it so hard," she chastized, her sadness morphing to anger in a moment "Why did you have to lie? Why couldn't you just tell me you didn't want to come back? Why you must be so cruel?"

She let herself fall to the ground, looking up with tear-filled eyes at that piece of nothing she had left, a mere handful of memories and some lingering warmth that could or could not morph back into a person.

"Are you even trying? Or did you give up on us?" she asked in the end, voice broken.

She didn't give herself the chance to read a reaction that could be only in her imagination - wishful thinking and nothing more - and left.

§

And then, then, it happened.

Just not in the way anyone expected.

The scale simply fell to the ground, not held mid-air by the combined power of Xishan and its own cultivation. Dimmed and empty, it clattered on the wood underneath its centuries-old resting place.

Susu's blood froze at the sight.

It wasn't supposed to happen like this. This wasn't supposed to happen.

Xiao Lanhua had come back as Xi Yun in a flurry of flower petals and light, emerging from the orchid her husband had taken care of.

Dongfang Qingcang had morphed from the Bone Orchid Moon back into existence in a quick flash, an immediate thing, instant and sudden.

Neither their vessels had just emptied like that.

With trembling hands, Susu knelt on the ground and picked the scale. It was cold and unresponsive.

Susu blacked out, her only focus on that shred of hope lost, the tiny bit of a once great dragon that, just like Ming Ye's true body at the bottom of the Mohe river, had dissolved without trace.

For an eternal moment, she couldn't speak or even move, didn't hear or see anything.

Then she heard A'mi's high-pitched squeal and shot up in alert, motherly instinct surpassing even her bone-deep grief.

She ran to the direction of her daughter's voice and then she realized it wasn't in pain or fear: A'mi was laughing, filled with cheer and glee.

Susu's running heart fell at once, and then picked back up, much stronger, at the sight.

For a moment, she thought she had fainted and hallucinating, then A'mi called for her.

A'mi who was in her father's arms, both smiling with such similar expressions that Susu chastized herself for never having noticed. Perhaps because A'mi smiled a lot more than Tantai Jin ever had the chance to.

"I don't think you're going to need that old thing anymore, my wife" he grinned, nodding towards the scale she was still grasping in her hand.

"I really hope so, husband, for your own good" was her reply.

She ran down the stairs and he caught her with his free arm by the waist, then leaned his forehead on hers.

For a long moment, it was only them, head to head, breathing the same air, sharing warmth, and then, only then, Susu allowed herself to believe it was real.

With a pleased squeal, A'mi hugged both their heads, and Susu couldn't but laugh and rise an arm to hug her back, clutching both her most beloved people close to her, as much as she could.

She was never, ever going to let them go, she swore.

§

Xiao Lanhua had been ecstatic to finally meet him, and Tantai Jin thanked her for the hospitality and help.

He had some perception, from inside the scale, so he knew and felt most of what happened outside in its immediate vicinity, it turned out.

Then, Xiao Lanhua had offered to leave the place for the little family to themselves for a few days. She was supposed to attend her duties as Yuezhu, anyway, and she'd come back with everyone to celebrate later on.

"I'm happy for you, Susu" the Goddess of Xishan said "But I'll also be sorry when you'll leave"

"The advantage of being True Immortals is that we have all the time and all the power so see each other again" she replied.

Xiao Lanhua nodded and smiled, then turned to leave.

Like an afterthought, she came back and whispered "If you need me to take A'mi with me at some point, you just have to call me"

Susu's face reddened, but she nodded and both laughed and said goodbye.

§

Putting A'mi to bed that night had been a huge ordeal, she was so excited, had so much curiosity and things to tell to her father and had all the eagerness to hear him reply, reply for real, that it was impossible to calm her down.

Eventually, they caved in and let the child stay in her father's arms until she fell asleep, while all three were sitting in her bed.

"You'll have to put her down, sooner or later" Susu pointed out.

"I have a few centuries to make up for, just let me hold her a bit more"

"Why, do you plan to die again?"

"Depends, do you plan to kill me again?"

They looked at each other and realized it was just too soon to jest about it. He looked away first.

"I had no other choice, and neither did you"

"I know" she slumped by his side and leaned her head on his shoulder and pouted "Still, I'm going to make you pay for doing this to me"

"I look forward to it" he whispered.

"You!" she jumped up, then realized she almost woke her daughter and lowered her voice, although the indignation was still there: "I didn't mean..."

He feigned innocence "What did you mean, then?"

She slapped his arm and both chuckled a bit, then she leaned back again.

"You were right, Li Susu, I took too long"

"You're here now, it's all that matters. Don't do it again"

She could feel his smile in her hair, just before he kissed her forehead.

"Okay"

It felt like a promise, but with him, Susu could never tell. She'd have to be fine with what she had, the few certainties she had.

The three of them, together.

Anything else, they could handle.

[boyoungbe]

hello, nerds! it's just me, ryan (h/h, 25+), here with another shot at a fourth muse. this particular muse is newer to me, but the more he revealed about himself over the last few months, the more fond i grew of him, and i can't wait for you all to meet him today! his name is moon boyoung (20040904, h/h)! he's a student at yonsei university (my first ever muse that's attending a SKY university, i'm so proud...) and a lifelong athlete who, despite going through a lot of shit right now, is working hard in his classes, seeing musicals every chance he gets, and is remaining as optimistic as he can...

1.

(tw, discussions of unnamed health issues, parental death, infidelity, grief)

from birth, boyoung was hailed a miracle child. his mother suffered from a lot of physical health issues, and it made conception extremely difficult for her, but similarly to boyoung, the challenge of it never stopped her from trying. her dream was to be a mother, and after years of praying for a baby, she was gifted the perfect son.

boyoung is a golden child, and he wears the title like a badge of honor. his grades are exceptional, he's heavily involved in extracurricular activities (primarily various sports and the student council), and on top of that, he always made sure to come home in time for dinner, and happily did the dishes/kitchen cleanup after. his parents adored him, overall he was loved and supported, and his upbringing was pretty idyllic... until his second year of high school.

his mother's health grew worse, and added onto his busy schedule was being her caretaker. he sacrificed a social life to ensure that she got the care she needed, and to also ensure that his grades never slipped. somehow, his test scores were high enough to earn him admittance into yonsei university, the school his mother dreamed of him attending, and shortly after receiving an acceptance letter, she succumbed to her illness; confident that her son would be alright.

little did she know that, upon looking through her belongings and stumbling upon old journals, boyoung learned that his father was not the man he thought he was, and his mother had secrets of her own, too. it fractured the view he had of his life and of his parents, and he carries that baggage around with him from class-to-class. he's doing his best to keep his head up, but life's curveballs are teaching him lessons he never learned before. all he can hope is that they make him into a stronger, better person.

2.

boyoung is someone with immense patience. this is largely what makes him so good at so many things. he's one of those people you meet who has a massively long list of learned skills, who is frustratingly good at what seems like everything, who makes himself perfect at things by pouring metric tons of energy and effort into them. he's perfectionistic, and doesn't settle for results that are less than flawless. this, however, makes him rather hard on himself.

boyoung has a strong work ethic. the first ever sport he played was basketball, and he started out as a bench-warming water/towel boy. everyone on the team enjoyed his presence, and after months and months of practice, he earned himself a rightful spot on the court, even going so far as to be co-captain in the future. he applies the same work ethic to all things in his life. school work, the arts, sports, his relationships with his loved ones, etc. it's all at 100%, no less.

the pressure to be so perfect, so golden, is crushing, though. he possesses a rather critical nature, and this is largely because he's so polished. he'll spend hours remaining up at night ruminating over fuck-ups of the past; wondering what he could've done differently. it creates anxiety within him sometimes, but he's a master at faking a smile; remaining cool and composed on the surface, even if he's battling inner turmoil.

he's someone who, if you need a favor and you ask him to do one for you, he'll take it extremely seriously and get it done in a timely manner, and the favor will be completed beautifully. he sometimes has a hard time saying no to things, but he's getting better at being practical about what he can and can't handle. regardless, you can rely on him. he likes feeling needed. it's a blessing and a curse.

despite being rather rock solid and even-tempered, he's a big softie. he'll totally cry watching a sad movie or musical. he loooves musicals. loves them so much. he's essentially troy bolton—golden retriever energy jock with a passion for singing and dancing. he's not ever gotten proper instruction for the arts, but he wants it so bad. he's always been practical and wants to focus on landing a good job, but his dream is to be on stage. he's shy about it, though.

i'm still learning more about him, so i can't wait to see him grow!

3.

gimme all plots! i want them all! i prefer brainstorming, so like this or message me and we can figure something out together!

[aestheticvoyage2024]

Day 69a: Saturday March 9, 2024 - "Vi-Lee's Third Birthday"

This post contributed by Audrie after we went to Jess' house for Vi Lee's Birthday party

Wild to process that three full years have now come to pass between the birth of this child and this day. I remember it all well, as I was watching with learning eyes; my long time best friend journeying through pregnancy, labor and birth and into and through the multitude of layers of motherhood just about 12 weeks ahead of my own expedition. Witnessing the beauty in the birth of a mother through this lens — knowing that what was unfolding for her was on deck for me —helped me beyond measure; it has been a bit like owning a crystal ball, giving glimpses of my own future, albeit hazy and unclear, lighting the way to some generalized knowing’s of what is likely to come. Jess and I had this fantasy idea when we were both tracking our first pregnancies a trimester apart from one another about having  this picturesque new life along side one another with our littles in tow and a thriving friendship with frequent visits and support and face to face camaraderie… our reality after the tiny humans arrived was far from this dream. As visits and play dates and coordination of get togethers were far less frequent and far less bountiful than we imagined. And when we did manage to sync our children’s and personal schedules up, we found face to face visits often rushed, and hectic chasing babies, changing diapers, and being generally exhausted and scatter-brained mamas. But if anyone understood me the most and made my motherhood madness more normalized and feel welcome, it was and still is her. And watching Jess and listening to her about this Journey with Vi Lee —on the development scorecards, on the work/life balance, on the edges of the fray and in the depths of the mixture of gratitude, love, and exhaustion that embodies the life of committed mothers, I’m always in awe and learning from her experiences and actions. 

Vi Lee is a brilliant, beyond articulate, sassy, sweet, silly, sturdy young child now. Her bright mind is equally balanced by her strong physical presence. She is stubborn, she is witty, she is playful, and she is generous with her sweet nature. All a reflection of her well rounded parents and their parenting. It’s glorious watching nature and nurture unfold in these little miracles.

And now, with the birth of this second, I get to peer a bit more into that personal crystal ball of mine — watching with learning and curious eyes how Jess again seems to make seamless the transition into being mother of two. Aiven Lane is just two weeks old now as Vi Lee turns three. There were so many magical moments I’ll take with me in my heart and memory from today; William prancing with the older girls in his green dragon wings, the flutter of my heart when William was examining the baby for the first time so tenderly and sweet, Vi Lee bounding from the bounce house to the cake and kicking off her own birthday song, Parker wider blue eyes than ever and more outgoing but still soft spoken in the shadow of her graceful also pregnant mother.

When Jess and I talk later about the day she will recall a blur of butterfly cake baking and broken conversations between adults and toddlers and presents and birthday candles and songs and tattoos and nursing baby snuggles.

The whole of the day was beautiful, and the quiet time driving across town with Jake and W and I in the car, my husband’s hand on mine and smiles and sunshine and blue bird AZ spring time weather filling me up with all the feels of new life, new possibilities and big things to soon come.

Song: Generation X - Dancing With Myself

Quote: "Because we don’t know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything happens a certain number of times, and a very small number, really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, some afternoon that’s so deeply a part of your being that you can’t even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four or five times more. Perhaps not even. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless." ~Paul Bowles