#i don't know where i was going with some of us

[wileys-russo]

lipstick stains II f.rolfö

another (sort of) lil christmas fic lipstick stains II f.rolfö

"frido!" you huffed with a scowl as her legs collected yours after you'd already passed the ball to caro, sending you to the ground in a crumpled heap right as the whistles sounded to call training to a finish.

"sorry!" the blonde looked down at you with a grin that showed she really was anything but, offering you a hand up as you brushed the dirt from your knees and smacked your palm into hers allowing her to tug you up and to your feet.

"don't you look before you slide?" you grumbled, still flicking off excess grass as everyone started to head in for the afternoon. "someone get grumpy a hot chocolate before her sugar levels drop!" vicky teased, sprinting away as your eyes narrowed.

"diabetes is a serious issue!" you yelled after her as she only laughed, almost tackling jana to the ground as she jumped on her back demanding a ride inside.

"what? it is!" you defended to your friends who all seemed more amused than concerned, waving your hand at them and muttering under your breath nobody took it seriously enough.

"we know. you only remind us hmm five times a day?" ingrid mused as you laughed bitterly and shot her a dirty look, sandwiched between her and frido as kika, ewa and mapi chattered away just a few steps behind.

"no no, maybe six times a day?" the swede beside you chimed in as you shoved the pair of them and stomped off ahead, ingrid dropping back as the tall blonde widened her strides to catch up with you.

"fridolina!" you hissed quietly feeling her hand collide with your ass once she fell into step with you again. "what? i was just brushing off some dirt!" the girl defended with a wink, holding her hands up as your eyes rolled.

"mm i'm sure rolfö." you hummed skeptically, ghost of a smile on your lips as your cleats echoed against the hard floor of the training center, everyone making a beeline for the change rooms, arguments of who was showering first already heard to be breaking out.

"i'm gonna go to recovery, get a massage. coming?" the girl grabbed your hand before you could step through the doors, tugging you out of the way as mapi honked your nose and raced away before you could get a hand on her.

"is it your knee?" you asked, eyebrows furrowing together with concern and allowing yourself to be lead further down the hall toward the physio wing.

though you weren't given an answer, a squeal silenced by her hand over your mouth as you were sharply tugged into the equipment room, the defender peering out cautiously and checking no one had seen before shutting and locking the door after you.

"this does not look like recovery." you crossed your arms, raising an eyebrow accusingly to the taller girl who gasped sarcastically.

"is it not? shoot i thought it was this room!" she snapped her fingers together with a sigh and shake of her head, your attempts to fight off your smile failing miserably.

"ah! there it is." the girl beamed as you immediately pursed your lips back into a straight line feigning a lack of amusement. "this is actually recovery for you." the defender nodded matter of factually, moving a little closer as you hummed.

"oh is it?" "yes. i noticed you seemed a little...tightly strung today?" "oh have you now?" "yes i have. so, tell me where you need some work." the girls lips curled into a smirk as you shook your head, corner of your mouth twitching as she wiggled her eyebrows goofily and you cracked.

"you are so annoying this time of year!" you let out a small laugh, shoving her shoulder as the blonde shrugged. "well you never minded before!" she pointed out, wagging a finger at you which you batted away.

the two of you had been seeing one another a mere five months now, though you'd be lying if you said you hadn't harbored some more than friendly feelings you'd both been in denial of for much much longer.

but never both single you both scolded yourselves for them, jumping in and out of relationships with others and never considering the latter.

until finally you had both been without someone for long enough that these bottled up feelings just had to burst to the surface and simply couldn't be ignored any longer.

"that was before you started knocking me on my ass for no reason, pulling me into closets and leaving me high and dry before training." you warned, eyes narrowing as the defender smiled cheekily.

"oh did i?" she gasped feigning innocence as you narrowed your eyes. "yes you did. oh sötsaker we can't, we will be late. did you not want to drive separately again?" you mocked her pulling a face.

"well it was your idea not to keep showing up together, we do not live close enough to be a convenient excuse for carpooling! remember?" "correct. but did you have to remind me of that after you put your hand down my pants?" you hissed smacking her a few times as she shielded her face.

"i told you it has a mind of its own älskling, it slipped!" she laughed, shielding herself again as you hit her a few more times for good measure.

"oh it slipped?" you pouted sarcastically, trying to move around her but hands fell to your hips, pushing you backward till your back hit a wall.

"also. i would say we pulled each other out of the closet, no?" "frido!" "what?" "you are so unroman-." "look! mistletoe."

your eyes flickered upward at the interruption, some sort of plastic leaf held between her fingers and above your heads. "that is not mistletoe." you bit down on your bottom lip to stop from smiling at her efforts.

"it is! it is spanish mistletoe." she nodded seriously, one hand still moving up to your waist, slipping beneath the soft material of your training shirt, thumb tracing your bare skin fondly.

"spanish mistletoe?" "yes! grown exclusively in barcelona, very rare." the girl oohed as you couldn't help but snicker, reaching up and plucking it from between her fingers, tossing it over your shoulder as your hand settled to the back of her neck pulling her mouth toward yours.

"shut up and kiss me dåre."

~

"-then after the copa i will fly home see my family for the holidays, i have been waiting to spend proper time in sweden." you sighed happily, you and esmee discussing your plans for the impending break, the entire team and some staff out for an end of year dinner before everyone flew to tenerife tomorrow.

"yeah! the first week i will be with my family for christmas in my home town, and then for new years i will see my girl-" you caught the tail end of her sentence and subtly stomped down on the blonde besides you foot as she winced but caught the hint.

"your what?" aitana asked slowly, eyebrows furrowed with confusion. "my...girl gang!" frido smiled painfully as even you gave her an odd side eye for the attempted cover up. "what is this, girl gang?" aitana whispered to keira beside her who grinned wolfishly.

"i don't know! frido, what is a girl gang?" the english woman smirked as your fellow swede stumbled over her words trying to explain, uncharacteristically flourished until attention was averted elsewhere.

"oh! you will get to meet your sisters baby finally, yes?" ingrid realised with a small gasp from across the table as you grinned. "send photos of the niña!" mapi warned, mouth half full of bread as her girlfriend made a face of disgust and pinched her hand in warning.

everyone was interrupted by the waiters arriving to take orders, thankfully starting down the other end as you hadn't even glanced at the menu yet, a few others also hastily scanning it to make a decision.

"do you want to get the tuna crudo, the scallops and the prawn hot pot then split it like last time?" frido murmured beside you, finger tapping at the menu as you nodded happily, the pair of you having had dinner at this japanese restaurant a few times now.

"have you been here before?" esmee asked with a slight frown of confusion, your mouth opening and closing as you exchanged a glance with the blonde who oh so conveniently decided she needed to use the bathroom.

"no! we just cannot decide, it all looks so good so we will share." you covered quickly, esmee frowning further but before she could question it again she was thankfully pulled into conversation with pina sat on her other side.

feeling your phone vibrate in the pocket of your blazer you pulled it out, eyes scanning the message with a slight roll of your eyes and once you'd ordered yours and frido's food you excused yourself to the bathroom.

"that was close!" the blonde exhaled as you shot her a dirty look as she closed the bathroom door after you. "your girl gang?" you snickered, the defenders cheeks heating up a little as she grumbled it was all she could come up with.

"fridolina no i am not sitting in the stall of a restaurant making out with you. wait till we get home!" you warned seriously as the taller girl attempted to take your hand and pull you into a stall.

"home hm?" the blonde grinned, the two of you already planning to stay at her place tonight having driven to dinner together. "i like that. home, our home." she tutted with a sigh as you gave a small smile and pushed her shoulder.

"unless you would like to pay out the next four months of my lease solsken, keep dreaming." you teased, turning to leave but tugged back into her arms. "did you really come running here to not kiss me?" your girlfriend gasped quietly, lips curled in amusement.

"well your text said; come here please." you reminded her with a chuckle, but craning your neck up as your lips pressed to hers, exhaling slightly at the intoxicating taste of her kiss.

"no! no we can't." you warned but it came out much weaker than intended as her lips moved from your mouth down to your neck, sucking at your pulse point as your protests sounded more like a half moan.

"no, we can. we just should not!" the girl smiled against your skin, your back pressed into the counter as she continued her assault on your neck and your mumbled protests were slowly silenced into shaky exhales.

however all of that came to an end as the door banged open and you sprang away from one another, you spinning around to pretend washing your hands and your girlfriend hurrying off into a stall.

though thankfully the woman who clearly had a clear objective in mind paid neither one of you any attention, the stall locking loudly as you breathed a sigh of relief and strode off toward the door.

though you barely made it back to the table, arriving and just about to take your seat again when ingrid shot out of hers, grabbing your wrist and dragging you back away again.

"ing! what? i just went to the bathroom and-" you tried to pull your arm free but the norwegian had a surprisingly strong grip, pulling you out of sight toward the kitchen.

"what are you-" your confusion grew as she pushed you into the accessibility toilet, flicking the lock and blocking the door. "so. how long?" the raven haired defender questioned, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes.

"how long what-" your words fell short as ingrid gestured to her neck, nodding for you to look behind you as you spun around, eyes widening as you took yourself in the mirror.

"jag ska döda henne!" you gasped, your neck covered in easily a dozen faint but still noticeable lipstick marks whom you knew exactly to blame for, your own lipstick a little smeared around your mouth as you winced.

"how long?" ingrid asked again taking a few steps closer and rummaging around in her bag, though this time she spoke with a tiny smile as you groaned, accepting her offer of a makeup wipe and beginning to rid yourself of the evidence.

"since august, we just were not ready to tell anyone yet ingrid." you spoke with a tone of apology, the norweigans face softening as she reached out to squeeze your shoulder. "hey i am not mad, i promise." she assured as your hand fell over hers in appreciation.

"i just wish you had told me so i had someone else to drag to those handball games your girlfriend is so insistent maría and i come to!" she groaned jokingly making you laugh as you checked your neck, the marks now thankfully gone.

"who do you think suggested the two of you should accompany her? i love her but i hate handball." you grinned, ingrids face lighting up as she handed you a new lipstick to redo your now bare lips.

"you love her huh?" the girl sang out teasingly as your cheeks blushed pink. "i do, we are meeting one anothers families for the holidays." you smiled softly.

"well, meeting one another families as now dating and not just friends." you corrected, having met one anothers parents and siblings countless times considering you'd played together for club and country for years.

"well this is nice, i am very very happy for both of you." ingrid pulled you into a tight hug once your makeup was fixed up, the two of you quickly making your way back to the table afterwards, starters already arriving as you sat back down.

"guess what!" aitana grinned from across the table, accented english thick as you smiled curiously. "i learn what a girl gang is." the brunette nodded as you hummed, waiting for her answer as you sipped on your drink.

"you and frido! girl gang." aitana sat back with a happy smile, keira covering her laugh with her hand as you choked on your water, esmee patting your back as frido quickly handed you a napkin to wipe your chin with an apologetically pained look.

question after question fired at you and your girlfriend who'd sank down in her chair with an embarrassed look on her face, your eyes meeting ingrids across the table who scrunched her nose up in a half smile.

"well, it was not just me who noticed the lipstick stains before i pulled you away jente."

[woso-dreamzzz]

Second Time's The Charm: Christmas

Alexia Putellas x Reader

Summary: Christmas in the STTC Universe

"Alexia!" Mapi shrieks," Alexia! Stop ignoring me! Alexia!"

Alexia hums to herself, hunched over her phone as she scrolls through another website.

Mapi, however, forces her way through mountains and mountains of stacked boxes to get to the other side of the room.

The locker room is covered in boxes from top to bottom with some even crammed into areas that they really shouldn't be able to be forced into.

"Ale! Alexia!"

Alexia looks up in shock. "Oh! Mapi! When did you get here?"

"About ten minutes ago! Which you would know if you didn't have this place stocked up like the back room of a shoe shop!"

Alexia frowns. "What do you mean? There's only five boxes of shoes here."

"I wasn't being literal!" Mapi snaps before massaging her temples with her hands. "What is all this stuff?! And why is it here?!"

"They're presents," Alexia says it like Mapi's dumb," For Christmas."

"Obviously but why are they here?"

"Well, I couldn't leave them at home. Maya's in that exploring stage so she'd get curious and try to look through them. And Elena's learning to crawl and this stuff would just get in way."

"So you thought that you would put all the presents for your whole family in here? With us?"

"No," Alexia scoffs," Don't be silly, Mapi."

"This is only temporary then? Thank god because I-"

"This is only Maya's gifts. Elena's are in one of the meeting rooms and y/n's are hidden at Alba's...Mapi? Are you okay? Your face is turning an odd colour."

Mapi's dramatic walk off is hindered somewhat by smacking her nose straight into a pile of boxes and nearly falling back into another one but, eventually, she manages to storm out and straight upstairs to your office.

You're sitting in your desk chair, looking through player health files or something when the door is slammed open.

"Your wife is crazy!"

"And hello to you too, Mapi. Come on in!"

"Crazy!" Mapi repeats, pacing in short, aggravated circles," She's crazy! The locker room is covered! Covered! In Christmas presents for your daughter! You have to get her to stop!"

You don't have a time to reply because the door swings open again and Alexia bursts in.

"Amor!" She cries," I found the cutest little booties for Elena! Look! Look!"

"No..." Mapi says softly," No...This-This can't be happening..."

"They're so cute!" You tell Alexia with equal enthusiasm," She'll love them so much! Order them! Order them!"

Alexia types in the delivery address and her card details and orders it happily before looking up.

"Where did Mapi go?"

It's a question that neither of you really dwell on that much as you show Alexia your own present ideas.

Wrapping the presents the night before isn't an easy task and you get the feeling that you and Alexia might have gone just a bit overboard. It's only a fleeting thought as you and Alexia wrap the boxes and tie them off with bows, writing sweet messages to your daughters on them even though neither of them can read just yet.

"We're all sleeping together tonight, right?" Alexia asks as she finishes off her last present, placing it in Elena's sizable pile.

"Us and the girls, definitely," You agree," I'm not sure if you'll get all the dogs and Mr Stinky in bed with us."

Mr Stinky looks up from his spot on the special pillow that's reserved just for him on the sofa. The tumours on his body have gotten much bigger now and he's getting weaker and weaker by the day.

He's got one more scan to come back to see if anything can be done but this could be his very last Christmas.

"Mr Stinky won't mind," Alexia assures you," He loves cuddling in our bed."

"And Lady?"

"Lady loves cuddling too!"

"And Sinky and his sisters?"

Alexia purses her lips. The puppies are still a bit wild and excitable at times, none of them ever content to just stay in one place even though the bed is more than big enough for everyone to fit into it.

"We'll leave the bedroom door open," Alexia says sagely, nodding her head like she's just cracked the secrets of the universe," So they can come in if they want."

"Alright," You say, standing up and stretching your back," I'm going to bring Mr Stinky up and then grab Elena. You'll let the dogs out one last time and get Maya?"

Alexia nods, drawing you back for a moment by your waist to press a kiss to your lips.

"I will, amor."

"Good," You say," And hurry up."

Alexia nods along with a smile, already heading to open the back door for the dogs.

Your footsteps approaching again makes Alexia turn and you speak directly in her ear.

"And I've got a very special present for you tomorrow when the girls have gone to sleep."

"Oh?"

You giggle right in her ear, low and sultry. "You're going to have a lot of fun unwrapping me for Christmas."

[cliosunshine]

𝐑𝐞𝐝 𝐇𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐯𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐭 🐾

or how the first time your boyfriend meets your cat doesn't go as planned (he survives don't worry)

Jason Todd x gn!reader

Warnings: none, reader is a doctor and Norbert is a chunky boi

After successfully taking down another trafficking ring, Jason was ready to head back home.

As he helped the last person out of their restraints, shots got fired from behind him, causing him to promptly duck by the nearest car. He went to take his guns into his hands, but quickly realized he must've threw them earlier when approaching the little girls kept in the warehouse, trying to appear as little intimitanding as possible.

"Shit," he muttered, searching for a way out. Without thinking, he grabbed the body of one of the men he had shot and used it as his shield until he got to the other side of the street, where he could see one of the men's rifles.

Quickly discarding of the corpse, he took the weapon into his hands, muscle memory kicking in as he fired at the sniper perched by the window of an abandoned building.

Retrieving his guns, he managed to run a few blocks towards his bike before more shots were being fired at him, certainly from Black Mask's goons.

As he fired back, one of the bullets from the aggressors pierced throught his left thigh, making him grunt in pain.

The adrenaline in his body was too high for him to fully comprehend the situation. Ultimately he managed to kill some of the goons before storming off on his bike.

While skimming trought the desolated streets of Gotham, Jason knew he needed medical attention asap, but his apartment was too far away and in no way in hell was he going to the manor, so he opted for the only other option he had.

Your place.

Now, you and him had been dating for quite some time, but he had never been to your apartment before. It was mainly to keep you out of harm's way, were someone to see a vigilante coming every night to your window and associating you with him.

The other reason was your cat, Norbert.

He had seen pictures and videos of him, but had been warned by every single one of your friends and apparently Dick as well, that he despised men.

Dick had learned it the hard way when he was passing throught your neighbourhood and saw you desperately trying to coax Norbert back into you apartment, since he somehow got himself on the fire escape and had no intention of budging.

Imagine your horror upon seeing Nighwing picking up your cat and trying to pet him and coo at him.

"Aw, what a cutie, what's his name-"

"Nighwing, no!-"

But it was too late: your cat had already scratched the man's cheek. Dick screamed as he let the cat go and almost tumbled over the fire escape. Now everytime somebody brought Norbert up in conversation, you could alway hear him cussing out your cat under his breath.

But Jason's mind was too far gone to fully underatnd what was happening, all he was thinking of was to get to shelter, to find a way not to bleed to death in the middle of the road, so up your building's fire escape he went.

He had made it to your window and knocked on it lighlty, knowing you'd be up reading a book before going to bed.

As if on cue, you arrived jogging with a toothbrush in your mouth, hastily sliding up your window upon seeing your boyfriend's doubled over figure.

"Oh my God, love, are you okay?" You hadn't spotted the gunshot yet, too preoccupied to bring his massive frame into your home.

"Hey, sweetheart," He said, taking his helmet off. Sweat made his hair cling to his forehead, a groan leaving his lips as he tried his best not to put his weight on the injured leg, "Sorry if this is the way I visit your place for the first time."

You gave him a worried look as you assessed the wound before running to the bathroom, getting rid of your toothbrush and pulling out the first aid kit. You thanked every entity in this universe for making you choose to go to medical school as you quickly returned to the living room, where you found Jason slumped against your coffee table.

You quickly began working on his leg, giving him a gauze to bite into.

"Tahnh yuh babh"

You tried to suppress a chuckle as you finished wrapping up his leg and gave him a glass of water and osme painkillers. You kissed his cheek, "No problem, love, I'm literally doing my job"

Jason gave you a lopsided grin both from pure exhaustion and sleepiness, and he felt his eyes begin to droop.

You shook him lightly, afraid to injure him further but definitely not wanting him to worsen his conditions.

"Hey, baby, you need to stay awake for me for a bit, yeah?"

"Mh-I knoww...I just-"

"Meow."

You stared at your boyfriedn with an horrified expression, eyes wide as your fingers grazed his bandages.

Jason seemed to have lost every single ounce of sleep in his body, matching your expression.

"Meow."

Uh oh.

"Don't move," you pleaded with him, taking his hands in yours, "I'll bring him here, just- holy cow!"

Just as you begun to turn, you spotted Norbert, your cat, in all his chunky orange glory, staring the two of you down - or better, zeroing in his amber eye on Jason, who for the first time that night, felt true fear.

"What do I do?" he whispered to you as he held eye contact with your cat, both of his hands tensing up under your grip.

You sighed, standing up, "Just stay there," then you went over Norbert and picked him up.

The feline instantly melted in your hold, purring slightly and nuzzling into you, but you could tell he wasn't fully calming down. He was still looking at Jason and his tail was swaying from side to side.

You just hoped you wouldn't have to stich Jason up again tonight.

You made your way over, taking small steps towards your boyfriend, who was still laying on the ground with a cautious look on his face.

"I made him smell some of your clothes the last few months," you started to explain, "and he even cuddled up to me in bed while i was wearing your hoodie, you know, the black Metallica one..." you took a few more steps, now directly in front of him.

You kneeled down, your arms tightening slightly around Norbert, "I really hope that did the trick,"

The cat sensed your nervousness and thinking it was due to Jason presence, hissed at him, swatting a clawed paw in his direction.

You closed your eyes, taking a big breath and trying to calm your nerves. This was a big deal for you and you cared bout both of them just as deeply, so you really hoped Norbert learned to accept Jason.

"Outstretch one of you hands towards him," you instructed Jason, "let him sniff you."

You loosened your grip on your cat and he jumped out of your arms, cautiosly making his way to Jason's hand. He let a low grumble as a warning, but upon sniffing his hand, he took a few momwnts to assess the situation. Nornert looked at you and you muttered a good boy to him, stroking his back in praise. He meowed and turned back to Jason, looking at him and then, and only then, he softly bumped his head on his hand, his fluffy tail up as Jason run his hand over his back. You both let out a relieved breath in unison, your shoulders visibly relaxing.

You watched the scene in awe, you eyes starting to well up with tears.

Jason sensed the mood switch and turned his head towards you. He was still smiling for not being smacked or bitten by your cat yet, so he scooted over, daring to do the impossible: hugging you in front of Norbert.

He had heard the stories: your guy friends and most importantly your ex boyfriend had tried to do so and had eneded up being chased around the house by a raging murderous orange ball of fur. They lived to tell the tale, but had since refused to step foot into your home ever again.

He hoped it would go differently for him.

Taking a leap of faith, he swung his arm around your shoulders, you thighs barely touching as his other hand cradled your chin.

"Hey," he looked into your eyes with worry, "you okay?"

You nodded with wide eyes, your left hand cupping his cheek with a relieved smile.

"Yeah, I'm happy he didn't attack you, it's all," you said but then your expression faltered as you heard another meow and saw Norbert staring menacingly at Jason's hand on your chin, then at Jason and then at the hand again.

He quickly dropped his hand and chuckled in apology, but you decided to see just how far you could push your luck and decided to pick Norbert up and place him onto your lap so he'd be between you two.

He unsurprisingly loafed up on you immediately and rested his chin on your right knree, staring up at the two of you.

"Try again, love," you said to Jason, who didn't need to be told twice as he eagerly tilted you chin up and leaned down for a searing kiss, his lips moulding against your own. You melted at the way his slightly chapped lips seemed to slot perfectly against yours, sighing in contemptment as your fingers twiddled witht the damp strands of hair that were stuck to his nape. You slightly tugged them and that earned you a mewl from Jason, the sound vibrating in your own mouth and making you smile in satisfaction.

Eventually pulling away to catch your breath, Jason chased your lips again but you playfully swatted his chest chuckling, "Don't push your luck, Jay. Norbert's patience runs out very quickly," you whispered as you looked down, petting the cat on your lap, "Aren't you a good boy, uh? Letting me kiss my boyfriend without drawing blood,"

Jason let out a whine, glaring at the cat and then making puppy eyes at you, "Wasn't I your good boy?"

"Jason, oh my god-"

[captain-huggy-bear]

To Fight a Ten Year Old

Pairing: Quinn Hughes x Fem!Reader

Warnings: N/A

Summary: In which Quinn is prepared to time travel to whoop some ten year old butt because you tell him a story from your childhood and he takes it personally.

Notes: Alas, I did in fact experience this as a child, but I can laugh about it now :) Also writing soccer instead of football actually hurt me.

Very silly + short idea to be honest but hope it brings a smile to some faces!

Totally happy to take requests/ideas/prompts at the moment in my ask box :)

Writing Masterlist

It's a stupid little back and forth the two of you have going as you get ready for bed, silly little questions like 'tell me about your first broken bone' and 'why is your favourite animal your favourite?'. It's something Quinn and you have been doing since you first started dating. It started as a way to get to know each other better and ended up a habit, a ritual of sorts.

Each year the questions get harder to think of as your lives become more intertwined, most of your stories featuring the other, but it still raises interesting moments from your childhoods and silly little stories that explain a lot about you or him. Things you probably wouldn't find out about each other unless you asked these random questions or a family member brought it up at Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Today is no different. You're going through your night routine, taking off your make up and moisturising your skin, while Quinn brushes his teeth in the adjoining bathroom, door open so you can talk.

"Okay..." He's thinking hard, even as he talks around his toothbrush leaning his head out of the bathroom to watch you as you wipe away your eyeliner, "How about first heartbreak?" His voice is muffled around the toothbrush and almost sounds like he's underwater, despite this he never seems to want to wait until he's done.

"Like first heartbreak? Or first proper heartbreak?" You're running a cloth over the rest of your face as you ask, wiping away concealer and blush, an array of colours smearing the fabric. Your skin being revealed bit by bit.

"What's the difference?" He briefly disappears back into the bathroom to spit out his toothpaste and put his toothbrush away, but you know he's still listening as you explain.

"Well, first heartbreak is that time as a little kid that you thought you were in love and got hurt by it but it wasn't serious. You were probably over it by the next week, and first proper heartbreak is when you're older and it actually is heartbreak and you can't get over it for at least 3 months."

He hums as he comes back to lean against the doorframe, shoulders looking delicious without a shirt on, "First heartbreak, probably less depressing for a Monday night."

You take a moment, reaching for your moisturiser as you think back. There are many moments you could think of where you thought you were in love as a litte kid and had your heart broken as a result, but one stands out the most.

"Okay, um...When I was 10 years old I really liked like this boy in class called Cameron but Cameron really liked Emily, a girl 2 years older than us." You can still remember it now, the way he used to sit with her whenever he had the chance, how she clearly did not want a kid 2 years younger than her hanging around, how lovesick he was...how lovesick you were.

"Okay, so Cameron likes a cougar?" You glare over at him as you rub moisturiser into your skin, disapproving as he grins at you, straight teeth peeking out from behind his lips.

"2 years apart at the age of 10 and 12 does not make someone a cougar, Quinn!"

"I don't know, baby, seems pretty cougar-ish to me." You roll your eyes at him as he strolls closer to you, taking your comb in hand and tilting your head forward gently. He's careful as he starts to detangle your hair, careful not to pull too harshly on your scalp, much kinder than your mother used to be when you were a child. Quinn's always careful not to hurt you, apologetic if a tangle pulls too roughly.

"You're ridiculous. Anyway, where was I?" You reach for the detangler handing it back to him as he works, closing your eyes gently.

"You liked a spotty kid called Cameron." There's a hint of dislike riding his voice, even as his fingers are careful as they pull strands of your hair apart, teasing out knots.

Your eyes flash open and meet his in the vanity mirror, lips pursed at the way he insults a ten year old he's never met, "I liked a tall, cute kid called Cameron who was into soccer."

"Yeah, like I said, spotty." The dislike turns to a jealous sort of mumble, matched only by the sour look on his face that has you huffing out a laugh.

"Are you jealous of a ten year old?"

"He's not ten anymore..."

"Do I need to remind you this is a story of heartbreak?"

"Still, should've been me." His hands slide from your hair, comb having been put back on the side, and down to the base of your neck. Long fingers working at the tension there, you lean back into his fingers even as you call him out for his ridiculousness.

"We didn't even know each other! You're absurd, anyway, so I was certain Cameron was my future husband and I decided to be very brave one Valentine's day and get him a card and a gift." You lean a little to the right as Quinn hits a knot on the left side of your shoulder, you sway back into him.

"I'm proud of little you, that's gutsy." He can almost imagine it, little you bravely handing over a glittery red and pink monstrosity, little bows in your hair and chubby cheeks.

"I know, braver than I am now." You're not sure you'd have been brave enough to do something like that now, it had been Quinn after all who'd made the first move, Quinn who'd set the pace of your relationship at the start, "So I get him some chocolates, those stupid cheap heart shaped ones, and I make a stupid card covered in glitter and all sorts. I take my time and I write a heartfelt confession inside and then decided to give it to him in front of the entire class."

"No..." His voice drops, horror filling it as he looks at you through the mirror, mouth slightly open, eyes wide. You nod at him, confirming his worst fears, he knows how this is about to go down.

"Yeah, rookie move. I do it though, I hand it over and then he proceeds to not even read the card and um, rip it up in front of me and the entire class while telling me that he was going to marry Emily."

His fingers still in their massage. In fact, Quinn completely stills, his entire body rigid as he frowns at you through the mirror, there's a silence, long and heavy before he speaks.

"Where does Cameron live?"

"Quinn." You turn in your seat to look up at him, lips pursed together.

"I'm serious where does he live I'm going to go have some words with him," He crosses his arms and there's a brief moment where you're distracted by the strength and definition in his forearms before you really process that he's considering having words with a guy who broke your heart when you were ten.

"About his choices when he was ten?"

"Yeah! Who does that to someone, not only did he reject you, which is an insane decision by the way, he embarrasses my baby in front of the entire class!" Quinn reaches for your hands as he rants, pulling you to your feet, as his fingers twist and twine with yours. You'd think he's just joking but his tone is completely serious and it makes your heart warm, no matter how silly he's being. He's genuinely personally offended on your behalf about something that happened when you were a child, before you knew each other. It's sweet. Silly and absurd, but sweet.

"You can't fight a guy who broke my heart at the age of ten."

"Sure, I can or I can get Millsy to do it." He cracks a smile at that, even though he's serious about wanting words with this Cameron, he's also aware he's being absurd. He tugs you closer by the hands even as you glare up at him like a disappointed parent.

"You are not setting Miller on my childhood crush!"

"Why not?"

"Because it's ridiculous! It was over a decade ago!" Even as you protest you're smiling, arms reaching up to rest over his shoulders and around the back of his neck. Fingers twisting the strands of brunet hair that rest there.

"And, he broke your heart and that's not acceptable, baby, i'm sorry, I have to defend your honour." Quinn palms rest on each of your hips, pulling you in as his fingers curl into your pajama bottoms.

"But, it was a good thing."

"How is that a good thing?"

"Because if he hadn't done that, I might have married him and been stuck in a loveless marriage and then never met you or met you but not been able to be with you." You look at him with a little smirk like you've beat him at his own game, like you've outplayed him in a game of chess.

"So you're saying that I actually should be thanking that spotty kid for breaking your heart?"

"Yes."

There's a moment of silence as he draws you ever closer, leaning down to brush his nose against yours, all soft lidded eyes and warmth. Pliant like a docile house cat.

"I'm not thanking him, I will, however, not get Millsy to fight him." It's mumbled so close to your lips that they're brushing his, an almost kiss that speaks volumes about where his mind is now.

"Good, because I'm not breaking you or Miller out of prison."

"You don't love me enough?" He doesn't even have the decency to pretend to be offended or care as his eyes are heavy, focus on your lips, not your eyes and certainly not on the ten year old he was threatening to set Miller on 5 seconds ago.

"Oh, I love you enough, but I do not have that skill set, honey."

"I don't know, think you could probably charm the officers into letting me out, baby." Quinn brushes the tip of his nose purposefully with yours and you know he's seconds from breaking and just kissing you, he has his tells, his little gestures that have consistently given him away.

"You suggesting I seduce the police now?" You pull back just enough to get his attention, to force a pout from him at the distance, his fingers scrambling at your back to pull you back in.

"...Nawwh, only me."

"You're an idiot." He pulls in you in with enough force that your chests bump with a soft smack, rubbing his cheek against yours just because he knows the stratch of his beard will get a giggle from you as you shy away from the sensation.

"I'm your idiot though."

"Mmm, my idiot." You mumble it against his lips as he finally breaks, self control being ditched in favour of the way you sigh against his mouth. He tastes like spearmint toothpaste, minty and sweet as his lips part beneath yours with a hum.

Maybe heartbreak at ten sucked, but you can't help but be thankful for it when you ended up winning the jackpot when you scored Quinn. So much better than spotty ten year old Cameron.

[zaim8778]

Fenton Crime Family

-Wayne Manor, Gotham-

Stephanie: So no one is gonna ask why Cass has been out so much lately? Alone too.

Duke: Didn't she say she is going out to meet a friend?

Stephanie: Yeah, but no one knows where she goes. We don't know who she goes out with nor do we know where she goes.

Tim: Just say that you are jealous that Cass is going out without you. No will make fun of you.

Jason & Duke: That's a lie.

Tim: Yeah, that's a lie. I would totally make fun of you.

Stephanie: Shut up nerd. Don't pretend you are not jealous when Bernard or Conner says that they are hanging out with someone else.

Tim: Woah there. Jason is the nerd one. If you want to insult me, at least use the correct one.

Jason: I want to be mad but you're not wrong.

Damian: Tt, why should we bother who Cain goes out with? It is her choice who she wishes to be her companion.

Stephanie: But aren't you curious even a little bit? Who is the person? Where do they go? Are they friends or something more? There are so many questions and yet so little answer.

Bruce: We should give Cass some room for herself. Letting her form a relationship outside of this household is also good.

Everyone: *Stares at Bruce*

Jason: I think the old man is being mind controlled. Let me punch him to wake him up.

Dick: Are you sick, B? Do you want to go to Dr. Leslie? I can take over your patrol tonight if you are not feeling well.

Damian: I also agree with Todd. Father might be compromised right now. Let's take him down.

Tim: Wait wait. Do you have anything to say before we jump you Bruce?

Bruce: *Grunts* I went to meet the therapist that Jason recommended to me. Dr. Fenton says that I should give my children room to grow independently so that I can take the first step in treating my paranoia.

Jason: *Gasp* You actually went to meet the therapist. Fuck.

Stephanie: He he he, where is my 50 bucks? I told you he would go if you recommend it.

Jason: *Grumble while handing out 50 bucks*

Duke: So that's where you are going. I thought you were going on a date.

Bruce: I am too old for dating anymore.

Dick: Yeah, right. Tell that to me when you go meet Selina later tonight.

Bruce: *Grunts*

Alfred: *Walks in* I am here to inform that Miss Cassandra has returned.

Dick: She's not gonna eat lunch?

Alfred: Miss Cassandra has informed me that she has eaten outside with her friend.

Jason: Did you see who her friend is? Is it a boy or a girl? Please tell me it's a boy.

Alfred: I'm afraid I cannot tell you anything as per my agreement with Miss Cassandra. What I can tell you though is that she is very happy to meet her friend. I suggest all of you don't disturb her happiness.

Stephanie: What? Boooo. I want answers. Timothy I choose you. Go find the answer using your stalker skills.

Tim: I would rather not anger her after what she did last time. All of my coffee mugs are still stuck on the table.

Duke: *Scoffs* You would probably go behind her back to find this friend anyway. You're just saying it in case Cass heard us.

Tim: I shall not confirm nor deny the accusation.

-Upstairs-

Cass lays on her bed after changing her clothes. It's been so long since she saw Danny. If not for the coincidental encounter at the stores, she wouldn't have known that Danny is in Gotham. After the first encounter, they exchanged phone numbers and talks and even met up often. Today is their first official date as a girlfriend/boyfriend.

Cass takes her phone to text Danny that she has reached home safely when she suddenly remembers something. She opens her gallery and puts the photos of her and Danny in a secure secret folder so that no one can find it.

While doing that, a text comes through.

Danny 💕💓💕

Danny: Hey Cass, are you home yet?

Cass: Yes. I just got home.

Danny: Thanks for the date today

Cass: 💖💖

Cass: Are you home yet?

Danny: Almost

Danny: Sorry gotta go. My sister is calling.

Cass: Get home fast. Love you 😘

Danny: I love you too 💖

Cass puts the phone on the bed and closes her eyes. Soon, she falls asleep and dreams of living in a large house with a lot of children running around.

-The Bowery, Gotham-

A young skinny man with black hair and blue eyes is walking down the quite alley slowly. He looks around him as the people of the Bowery look almost respectful but certainly fearful to him.

He sighs and leaves the sprawled bodies on the ground. They wouldn't die. He makes sure of that. A huge man comes within his proximity when suddenly the man bows down to him.

????: We are sorry, sir. These people are a new gang in the rise from the east. We get the news too late to send people to dispose of them.

Danny: Chill out, Jeff. Just take them to Dani and let her handle it. Also, tell her to return before dinner or else Jazz will come for her.

Jeff: Yes, sir.

The man along with a few of his henchmen pick the bodies and move them to somewhere else. To be honest, Jazz and Danny still don't know how to feel that their little sister is officially a crime lord.

All of them moved last month since Jazz gets her job at Arkham Asylum and Danny gets his internship at Wayne Enterprise. Dani tags along since she has explored all the places she wants to visit and she doesn't know what else to do.

Well that also didn't last long, as the first day they arrived at Gotham, Dani goes to beat up all the gang and goons in The Bowery and round them up into one single group. It's certainly easier that all the rouges are in Arkham right now.

One time the Falcon crime family tried to threaten Dani by taking Danny and Jazz hostage. In the end, Falcon and other crime families agree to stay out of The Bowery after Danny freezes all of their building and Dani strikes them with lightning multiple times.

Danny arrives home and sits on the couch. He scrolls Twitter while waiting for his sisters to return when the news catches his eyes.

Breakout at Arkham Asylum

All the people of Gotham are suggested to stay inside tonight.

Danny looks at the news with concern. Usually a breakout at Arkham happens a lot later in the day. He stands up, picks a leather jacket and a mask and then transforms into Phantom. He wears the mask and the jacket and flies towards Arkham Asylum to check out what happened. Today is Saturday so Jazz isn't working so he doesn't worry that much about Jazz.

On his way to Arkham, he encounters some rouge like The Riddler and Scarecrow. He knocks them out and hangs them on a poll and continues flying towards it. He's not a hero anymore but if the rogues are to enter and cause havoc in The Bowery, neither him, Jazz nor Ellie will be happy.

Suddenly, he sees a clown car speeding through the road at a very fast speed. Danny looks at it and sees the Joker along with his few goons are making a getaway while being chased down by a few cop cars. Danny flies down towards the clown car, and slowly unscrews the tyres of the car.

Danny flies back a little bit to the back and the clown car starts to wiggle and waggle and suddenly all of the tyres come off the car. Danny can hear the clown cursing heavily until finally they crash into a poll.He flies back down and just to make sure he is permanently down or at least down for some time, snap his back bone to incapacitate him.

Danny, still invisible, flies back up and continues on his way to Arkham. He meets a few more escapees like Mr. Freeze, Firefly and Killer Croc. Except for Killer Croc, all the other rouges are beaten up and sent back to Arkham. Killer Croc or Waylon is not thinking of causing trouble. He just wants to return to the sewer cause it is his home. Danny plans to maybe offer Waylon employment in their gang if he feels like Waylon is stable enough to work. Meanwhile, he will go around the city and beat up rogues that he is pretty sure is not going out to have a tea party.

When Danny lands on the roof, he opens his phone to see Cass is warning him to stay at home and not go outside. He smiles wryly since he is already outside and is beating up the rouges. Danny replies with a thumbs up and is about to continue flying when a shadow jumps out from behind him.

Danny: Uh, hello? How are you?

???: *Stares*

Danny: I'm no trouble. Just on the lookout just in case there is a rouge nearby. I see some guy beat up Scarecrow and The Riddler on my way here. They are not so scary when they don't have anything to use you know.

???: Where?

Danny: Errr, I think it is right over there. I was coming from that direction so you would probably see them if you go this way.

???: Thank you.

The shadow then vanishes and Danny is left standing there. The shadow really reminded him of Cass for some reason. Looking up online, apparently that one is called Black Bat.

Danny: Huh, they are out early today then. I guess they can work during the day.

Danny then turns invisible and returns back to the Bowery because most of the notorious rogues have been captured and Danny isn't worried about the rest.

[just-sg]

If the community doesn't welcome "cis men", then it excludes transmascs who pass or at bare minimum sends a message that the goal they worked so hard to achieve has made them less welcome in spaces that once supported them, actively punishing them for transitioning. It forces transfems to out themselves, which can be especially dangerous. It forces nonbinary amabs who can't or don't want to change their presentation to out themselves and sends a message that nonbinary people owe you androgyny or visual non-conformity. And if you think you can gauge any of these things by looking at someone, you're not doing the community any favors.

If the community doesn't welcome cis men, it excludes gay men. If men are welcome only when in a relationship with another man/person who reads enough like "a man", it excludes bi/pan/etc men and sends a message that what relationship they're in Right Now determines whether or not they're Queer Enough, you know, one of the core tenets of biphobia and erasure.

If the community doesn't welcome cis men, it excludes men all over the ace and aro spectrums. :) And yes actually, the heterosexual aromantic straw-man does deserve to be here just as much as anyone else. IF he's treating his partners like shit, then we judge him for that behavior, but queer people can be douchebags with shit views and we don't get to say they're not still queer. And if the het-aro dude is instead communicating honestly and being respectful-- a thing I promise is fully possible for humans to do-- then guess what, assuming he couldn't possibly be a decent person is just arophobia and maybe a side of puratinism.

Anyone questioning their identity, anyone who isn't actively questioning yet but later will, guys about to experience bi panic, transfem eggs who haven't clocked anything about themselves yet. Their early exposure to queer spaces being a hostile one is not going to help anyone, and can easily actively discourage people. We also need to be welcoming of supportive partners, siblings, parents, friends, etc, especially in cases where a queer person is disabled or otherwise has trouble going places on their own, or for helping ease anxiety in virtual spaces, etc.

Listen.

The nature of Being A Man is not and has never been the problem. And as much as some of you don't want to hear it, and as much as it fucking sucks and is objectively unfair when it does involve men who are participating in and benefiting from oppression, trying to turn the tables is never going to be an effective strategy. It's "not fair" that it's more dangerous for women to walk alone at night either but you hopefully wouldn't advocate against carrying mace on the basis no one "should" need it. Whether something is fair and whether it's true are not the same thing.

You cannot Get Revenge against a whole huge portion of the human population, and when you actively threaten or ostracize people, (a) you're mirroring the very thing you fight against, but (b) it makes people defensive!!! Some allocishet dudes would get defensive anyway at the idea of not being on top of the ladder anymore, but giving them more fuel won't change that. Dudes who'd have that kneejerk reaction but could be reasoned with won't be if no one bothers to try, or oftentimes even if someone bothers but it's immensely overshadowed with hostility. And people who were already allies can actively be pushed out and turned against the cause. (Not to mention perpetuating in-fighting.)

You catch more flies with honey, I'm sorry. And yes, we do need allies. Perpetuating the "us vs them" mentality helps no one, patriarchy does not target men in the same or as many ways as women but it is also harmful to many, and we will always have a better chance of fixing any system when we have people working for the cause inside and out. People using their positions of privilege to help provide extra leverage and voice to those with less privilege is always going to be desirable overall.

Even mainstream media writers throwing in crumbs of badly handled representation isn't without some merit, if only for proving it's not illegal and won't destroy sales to have Anything At All, which couldn't be said mere decades ago; if only for normalizing that queer people exist even the tiniest bit more. But just, normal people going about their normal lives. Just every random man who will frown at their coworker's homophobic joke and give a simple "not cool dude". Those little things adding up are important. When people hate you, it's easy to ignore you standing up for yourself, and harder to ignore people they like also standing up for you.

Cis queer men are not your enemy. Amabs who "read" cis to you and don't want to out themselves are not your enemy. Bi men who happen to be in relationships with women are not your enemy. Straight male partners of queer women are not your enemy! Allo cishet dudes married to allo cishet women with no queer kids or siblings or anything are not your enemy, not if they're behaving like friends.

People operating on ignorance, especially to a point of willful ignorance because they don't 'have' to deal with it, can be enemies-- inaction in the face of oppression is taking the side of oppressors, and all-- but even they're like... minion enemies if that makes sense. (That goes for men, women, questioning folks or folks who are definitively queer but don't feel like Part Of The Community, etc, to be clear.) It's not your personal job to educate every person, but when you can afford to, taking no shit but remaining civil will leave someone else a better chance of getting through to them. Picking a nasty drawn-out fight with that jackass on Twitter won't fix homophobia but may well increase his devotion to the enemy cause.

Prioritizing defense isn't always an option and I'm not saying it is. Sometimes you need whole riots to make a point, but even that involves group effort, and often times lashing out in your personal daily life can do more harm than good. THIS SUCKS. OF COURSE IT SUCKS. But it's a matter of the big picture. It's not about letting people "get away with" anything, it's about expressing disapproval in a calmer and more casual manner while trying to minimize anything they could twist into an excuse to be worse.

And that's with people who ARE actively shitty, the ones more casual and micro-aggressive about it but still ultimately against us. Lashing out pre-emptively on the assumption that people would be shitty does a lot more harm and no longterm good.

People joke about The Gay Agenda but honestly, yeah. The Agenda is ultimately for the queer community as a whole to be accepted, have the same rights and protections as anyone else, to end oppression, etc, right? Sometimes that's gonna mean dealing with being uncomfortable or uncertain or even biting your tongue in the name of forwarding the Agenda. Especially when it's literally about acceptance within our own communities. How can we reasonably expect everyone else to accept us if we're struggling to accept each other?

i don't care how uncomfortable you are around cis men, queer cis men still need places to go, and sometimes, those spaces will be shared with yours. disabled and neurodivergent queer men and queer men of color especially need a place to go. the queer community isn't the "fuck cis men" community. that is the rad fem community. if you think cis men and people who read as cis men are inherently "too scary" or shouldn't be allowed in queer spaces, you joined the wrong community.

[warblogs17282]

Now that helluva boss season 2 has hit it's finale, let's discuss everything we know about season 3 at this point in time!

aka, a comprehensive list of everything about season 3 that we've been told about so far. (Please tell me if I've missed anything, thanks!)

I do not think that any of this information necessitates a spoiler tag on this post, but if you want to go into season 3 completely blind, click off this post now.

Bluesky Stuff:

What we learned from this bluesky thread posted shortly before Sinsmas was released is as follows:

The wait until Season 3 starts will be quite long.

The team decided that helluva boss having closer releases of episodes was the best decision (heard this meant a month in-between episodes but I forgot where I saw that), so thee team wants to commit to a more traditional release going forward.

Confirmed once again that season 3 has a total of 15 episodes.

We will also be getting shorts in-between the wait until season 3 starts, and I assume this means monthly shorts as well, based on the fact we had monthly shorts last time as well.

Vivziepop has also described season 3 as a 'queer roller coaster.', so we gotta be prepared to get back on that ride again.

At some panel it was confirmed that in season 3 we will be getting an episode that contains some more Millie backstory.

Tweet link here:

In some other panel, alongside confirming Vassago's appearance in the Mastermind episode, they also confirmed that we will be seeing 'much more' of Vassago in season 3, the post in the picture above contains the clip of this moment in the panel as well.

In what appears to be a recording for the second half of season 3, they're doing recording work for a Stolas song titled 'Dirty Bird', and yes, it is going to be super horny. There is a video of this Instagram post on the post below, plus one extra screenshot.

In the Los Angeles Comic Con 2024, quite a few things were revealed to us, with those being as follows:

As said before, this traditional release schedule does mean that the episodes will hopefully be a month apart from each other, and that Vivziepop saw the show was moving towards a more narrative direction, with this also being where the heart of the show is, and as a result, the direction the team is going in.

Lastly, we probably won't see all 72 Goetias, but we will see a lot more of them in season 3.

Post referenced in above screenshot contains a youtube link to said Comic Con.

According to the reblogs under this post, it appears that Erica (Loona's VA), was asked what her favorite song/episode was, and she responded with 'the song that Loona has in season three', confirming that Loona does have a song during season 3.

Video can be found within this post:

At 1:06:19 of this video, Vivziepop does state that the show will eventually get to Stella's perspective, which I have to imagine the show will get to in season 3, and that Vivziepop hearkens Stella's character to the character of BoJack Horseman's mother (Beatrice Horseman) because they are very similar in that regard.

Finally, Vivziepop posted these screenshots of her doing some audio editing to her Instagram over a year ago, we don't know what episode this is from but based on the long name in line 7 that doesn't appear to match any character we know at the moment, this appears to likely be a picture of some season 3 audio.

The main things we can gather from these screenshots appear to be Millie talking with Stolas a bit, and the absolute explosion of voices following something that Blitz said.

Post where I found these screenshots from can be found here, some additional discussion regarding is also in the reblogs:

This YouTube video covers a few instagram videos covering recording footage that Vivziepop uploaded to her account, with them being from the first half of season 3.

What we learn from these instagram videos is that Wally Wackford returns in season 3 with some new lines, and there's also a courtroom scene as well involving Blitz and Stolas, with it also looking like Stolas will be acting as defense for Blitz regarding something we don't know at the moment.

To wrap things off, I believe the next significant reveal or such regarding season 3 will be found in the 2025 LVL UP EXPO, as there are quite a lot of VAs involved with Helluva Boss there, plus Sam Haft and Vivziepop.

Especially considering that in the 2024 LVL UP EXPO, the first helluva boss short was shown, we got the song featured in s2 e8, 'When I See Him' and the season 2 trailer.

[windvexer]

I actually do think that doing magic takes a lot of work and is kinda hard and there aren't very many good shortcuts, and many modern shortcuts actually just amount to leaving out steps, which means you either have to be powerful enough to brute-force it or it fizzles.

Look, I know some people are just much better at magic and witchcraft; anything they do works with little effort, and the lengths some of us have to go to accomplish magic seems bizarre to them. Those people are cool and I wish I was like them but I'm not.

But I also think some of the truth of how to work effective sorcery gets paved over by these "witchcraft has no rules, do anything you want" support posts.

Because A) that is not true, I believe that witchcraft has lots and lots of rules (it's just that nobody else can tell you what they are), and B) I think do anything you want is taken to mean anything you do should work, which is also not true.

I feel like I always see advice given that you don't need to do things (like use physical tools, or cast circles, or whatever). But I never see anyone explaining the techniques and paths of power that are supposed to replace them.

Let's just imagine for a moment that clear quartz really is a universal substitute. Discordians would say that it totally is. So does that mean all you have to do to sub out clear quartz is to just put it on the altar and do the ritual as if it's something else?

Or do you have to do something more?

Do you have to consecrate the stone as being something other than what it is? Do you have to ritually birth it into a new life and baptize it like a baby? Do you have to spend weeks or months honing your technique of focus and beliefs so that you can mentally shift from consensus reality to a personal reality where there is literally no difference between clear quartz and sodalite?

Do you have to raise energies of sodalite and imprint them into the quartz crystal, perhaps working over it for an extended period of time? Do you have to use energy work to tie the clear quartz into Ideal Sodalite so that it becomes like an avatar?

No, you don't have to use physical tools if you don't want to. But that shouldn't be taken to imply that tools are useless or can be replaced in a way that matters by just visualizing that you have them.

A witch spends six months propitiating a tree, ingratiating themselves with the land, offerings and acts of fealty to the tree, a week-long branch harvesting ritual, blood offerings at midnight on a holy day, then another year curing the wood and crafting a wand. Big effort, right?

And you don't need to do that. But if you want that power, what are you going to do instead?

Same with circle-casting. Same with magic on the full moon. No, you don't have to wait until the full moon. You don't have to wait until the moon is in Libra. But there's a really good reason people do those things. So if you want those effects, what actions can replace those effects?

You literally could not do the spell while the full moon is in Libra. That's fine. But then what will bridge the gap? Will you have to raise more energy somewhere else? Include a new aspect? Modify the spell for the moon you can work with?

"You don't have to follow the moon phase for magic" doesn't mean the moon phase is irrelevant and some witches just like to inconvenience themselves for no reason. But it does mean that you can probably adapt your working to overcome the moon being in the inopportune phase.

Every time I talk about how much time, energy, and effort magic can be I feel like someone always replies, "well, it's just not that hard for me! I do what I want with what I have when I need it and it always just works, with very little effort."

Which I think is very great for them, but I also don't think that most people can get results with such low effort.

So anyway my entire point is that I think sometimes the reason people struggle with getting witchcraft to work is because they are operating off of out-of-context soundbites that make it sound like you can just completely cut out some of these foundational concepts of witchcraft.

Maybe you don't have to accomplish those steps in traditional ways. Maybe you don't need all of those steps for every spell you're doing.

But if you've just cut out swaths of steps only because you heard someone say you don't need them (not because of your own experiments working with magic and determining what works best for you), then is there enough left to constitute a functional system of magic?

[calliopesdiary]

MANIAC

the one where you don't go back to the boys.

part two of the conan gray series

“i wish i were heather” out now!

synopsis: after getting cheated on by your previously expected soulmates, a change in perspective occurs and you find yourself falling for a different set of three.

warnings: foul language, slander on the marauders, sexual innuendos, mentions of smoking, a small taylor

"PEOPLE LIKE YOU ALWAYS WANT BACK WHAT THEY CAN'T HAVE."

Leaving Hogwarts early for Christmas this year was not something anyone could've forshadowed.

You, the girl who spent most of her time studying for her upcoming OWLS in November, had disappeared without a trace.

Of course most of your close friends knew where you were, and some not so close friends did aswell.

"She can't just run away from her problems." Said Sirius, his leg bouncing anxiously from the news Regulus had just sprung onto them.

"Sirius, It'll be fine, okay? When they get back to school, we can formally apologize and move on, right?" Remus attempted to reassure Sirius, but he in reality he felt quite crestfallen.

Lily sat quietly, already regretting her decision to do this with them.

In her head, she knew they had every intention to not cheat and solve things the right way— but she hadn’t helped.

It all started one night at a loud and ear-shattering Gryffindor victory party after a successful win for their Quidditch team.

She got drunk, and they were completely wasted.

And you weren’t there.

So their drunken minds believed it would be a missed opportunity if they didn’t take their chance with Gryffindors golden girl.

Lily knew she should’ve said no, she should’ve gone back to her dorm and hid from them for the rest of eternity.

But fate clearly had other plans.

And after secrets, longing stares, and lingering touches that the truth finally came to light.

and it was all at your expense.

“So— When will our Reggie be joining us, Meadowes?” Evan slurred, his voice carrying a heavily intoxicated tone.

“Soon enough, he’s got one more OWL to complete and then he’s on his way.” Dorcas mused as she gently pet the head of her tipsy sleepy Gryffindor girlfriends head as she babbled on about Quidditch.

Evan nodded drunkenly— before taking another swig.

Dorcas seemed so peaceful with Marlene— who had surprisingly accepted her invitation to spend Christmas with the Slytherins, though Marlene truly wasn’t prejudice against them like others were.

They seemed so… in love.

You had love once.

Remember?

They’re gone.

Remember?

They’re gone.

“I— I had love… once—“ You hiccuped sadly, beginning to sob for the umpteenth time this evening.

You were extremely drunk, who could really blame you?

“Aww… Treasure…” Barty (who surprisingly was very sober) cooed, encapsulating you in a bear hug as you cried into his chest.

“How many more times is she going to do that?” Asked Peter, who— by the way: lied to his friends and said he was going home for Christmas.

He was only visiting for the night, as he was currently visiting his girlfriend— Sybil Trelawney who lived in town.

“Who knows, Pete. Who knows..” Evan slung his arm around him.

“This should be the last time before she realizes that she doesn’t need them, that’s what the sprites are telling me.” Pandora smiled, petting your hair gently in comfort.

“Pettigrew, you should turn back to your rat-pack and tell them they’re trash.”

You spat, in broken sighs.

Obviously, Peter felt a bit of offense to the rat slander but alas— they weren’t aware of his rat-secret.

Quite a shame.

“Sure thing, L/N.”

'FEELS LIKE WE HAD MATCHING WOUNDS BUT MINES STILL BLACK AND BRUISED.'

on December 19th, Regulus had finally arrived at Barty's flat he'd rented for the holidays.

Marlene, Dorcas, and Peter had their departure just the day before, leaving just you, Pandora, Evan, Barty, and Regulus.

Pandora had just wished you all goodnights and dream blessings before nodding off to your shared room for your stay.

"So, anyone up for some firewhiskey?" Offered Evan, who held a giant bottle of the substance.

"Just a small bit, Rosie." Barty accepted his offer graciously.

"Need anything, amour?" Regulus mused in your ear, by far he was the most comforting one. As the other two just distracted you with their own twisted ways of thinking and chaos.

"I'm alright, Reggie. Thank you." You nodded politely, you had felt incredibly off this break.

Though they all weren't stupid, they knew why you were acting strange.

Every year since third year; You and the boys would leave Hogwarts and spend Christmas with the Potters.

Snowball fights, roaring fires, Effie's hot cocoa, the memories echoed through your brain like they were music blasting from your headphones.

Every time you closed your eyes to sleep, you would see endless slideshows of everything you had ever done with them.

The nights of passion, the hugs, the pre and post-quidditch game good luck and good job kisses, the play fights, the happiness.

Your life was black and white before you met them, they brought the color.

But they showed you colors they knew you couldn't see with anyone else.

Well, besides your 'best' friends.

Were you really just that? Just friends?

You were a year younger than the Marauders, same year as Regulus.

and Sirius would be so pissed off if he found out that you were sleeping with his brother-

...

Wait.

Who gives a fuck about Sirius?

Who cares what intelligent insult will come out of Remus' mouth?

And James, he liked Regulus once.

They'd hate you.

But,

Maybe you wanted them too.

So, you ended up taking a few shots of firewhiskey.

Okay,

More than a few.

"Um- actually, Reggie. I- I do need something." You slurred, holding onto your sober ex-boyfriends brother best friends nimble shoulders like he was your lifeline.

"Yes, amour?"

"I want a kiss."

Evan spat out his drink back into his cup, and Regulus' face heated up significantly.

"I'll give you a kiss..." Barty clambered over his boyfriends as his cold, veiny hands meet your waist.

His hands skim your body up and down, before pecking your lips softly, as if he was asking for acceptance.

"Can I kiss you?" Barty spoke so softly, he may have been chaotic and insane- but he was extremely cautious and respectable with things like this.

"I-I wanna taste you so bad.." Evan cooed at Barty's sweet words, as he held an extremely flustered Regulus in his arms, watching the scene in front of him unfold.

"Barty- please, kiss me." You mewled, barely finishing your sentence as he dived into your lips.

His lips surprisingly tasted like cherry chapstick, even though he had just been chugging firewhiskey.

After feeling like an eternity, Barty broke your kiss.

"I've wanted to do that since fourth year." He mumbled drunkenly, gazing up stupidly and lovingly at your blush-kissed face.

His kisses were heavenly, and so were Evan's, and Regulus'.

And needless to say, you didn't return back to Pandora that night.

'YOU'RE POINTING AT THE STARS IN THE SKY THAT ALREADY DIED.'

The return to Hogwarts was an awkward one at that.

But returning back to Hogwarts feeling happier than ever with your boyfriends? That was the best return you could make.

Hand in hand with Barty, you strutted into the Great Hall.

Evan and Regulus trailed behind, as you rambled on and on to Barty about something.

James stared your direction, and you unfortunately met his gaze.

He wasn't dense, he could see how your bright smile seemed to dim.

He smiled, softly.

James knew that they'd never get you back the way they had you.

He should've realized that you were the light of their lives.

Everyone should've woken up to see you.

They hurt you.

And this was their price.

They had to watch you thrive, with three other men.

Who would treat you like a goddess, something they never sought time for.

OPTIONAL FORIGIVNESS ENDING (my fragile angel heart can't take no happy ending)

PEOPLE WATCHING (coming soon...)

taglist; @hisparentsgallerryy @cultish-corner @asexualbuthorny @prettylittlewrites @champomiel @hellothere7 @anakinsluvrr @lady-balem @awkwardalie @nosteponduck @eeviee4 @dreamygirli3 @navs-bhat @angemyrtille @mrssslangdon @siillly @makanirock05 @hcqwxrtss123 @wolfyychan @nislame @lalalandincraz @rorywright @ih3artpjo @st4r-girl-official @pain-in-the-ashe

[multipleoccupancy]

"Every night," Theo smiled back at her, knowing he had shown he was unconvinced but he was glad of the change of topic, there were more pressing worried than Violet for now. "You can look after yourself, I just don't like the idea of bait." It was all they had though and he and Sloane could make sure nothing happened to her, Violet too from her vantage point. He could see she was worried and in some way it helped, it meant she would be careful out there.

Oh yeah, the bears. Theo looked at her worriedly for a moment, is seemed like she was constantly in danger if she was here and then when she went home she had to deal with bears! Of course in his mind the situation was much worse than it actually was and he imagined her having to deal with bears on a daily occurrence. "You should use it if you have to you know. You're right it's better off with you." He agreed, at least in New York there were just the stray pets, rats and occasional parrot. "You can, you know, have it if you want?" He'd relinquish it if it meant she could be spared from the bears at home too!

"I am not sure I have a favourite," Sloane mused as they walked though he was clearly thinking hard about it. "I have used so many but I suppose the best one might have been the pilot." He concluded, inadvertently revealing that he and thus other Sloanes could get into the cockpits of planes if they deemed it necessary.

Ah! It sounded like the HR role was no walk in the park, he supposed not every cell was like theirs and well, Samantha could really put her foot down if she decided to. "It probably is," he at least admitted for it being a harder role but he was even more pleased that Killian and Samantha were in touch too and he assumed that he was much the same as them.

"Astrid," he acknowledged with a smile and a nod before gently but encouragingly patting her on the shoulder. "You'll do great, let's go." He instructed and then opened the door to the office. Beyond it there was an empty reception area and then a small plastic screen where a young man was sat typing away on a computer, pausing to look at them both as the door opened. "Good evening," Sloane greeted as he fumbled around a little as if trying to find his wallet, sounding a little more exasperated than he had just done and as if he was a frazzled single dad in a 'pickle', "Come on in to talk to the nice man, Astrid." He smiled at her encouragingly, so very much as if he was indeed her father.

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

Samantha could tell that her words had not really appeased Killian's worries. She knew him far too well not to notice. But she wasn't sure that anything she could say would comfort him when it came to Violet's presence here, and all it could entail for them. So, she just offered him a warm smile and dropped the subject. "Just tonight?" she teased, trying to hide her own worries behind a joke.

"That's true, I can't," she admitted patiently, "but I can hide the crossbow in the trunk of my car. My dad never uses it anyway. And if he does somehow find it, I'll tell him I bought it to fend off bears. People in my town have all sorts of guns to protect themselves against bears, a crossbow won't be too unusual." A little bit unusual, sure. But she wouldn't be grounded for it. She glanced at Killian, hoping the mention of bears would convince him.

"What's your favorite disguise?" asked Violet. She did chuckle when he mentioned how well he decorated his house for Halloween, though there was a sadness in her eyes. Her heart broke just a little bit at the thought that all of this, his house, his family, the little traditions they had... would one day go up in flames. Literally and figuratively.

Unaware that she had relieved Sloane of a great worry, she nodded at his question. "My dad says it's probably more scary than being on the field," she joked, though she didn't know just how unhinged Delta Green agents could be.

She stopped next to Sloane. "Oh- Astrid, my name is Astrid," she whispered, in case anyone could hear them on the other side of the door. The prospect of calling him "Dad" was daunting. Her mouth was suddenly very dry, she felt like she had swallowed a handful of sawdust. "Yes, I remember."

[scoriarose]

There's something important I've been wanting to share with fellow snake caretakers, and it's that if you have been sweet to your snake and love them, they have probably told you hundreds of times they love you- but because we speak different languages most won't understand. It makes me a little sad thinking how hard they try to tell us, and some folks just don't recognize that and they hope their serpentine friends love them but never know for sure- or even believe the lie snakes aren't even capable of love at all. They are, they have brain structures similar to birds and not only are physically capable of feeling love, they also regularly display traits associated with love including empathy and self sacrifice to protect others they care about both in captivity and the wild.

Snakes express love through touch. Through cuddling, and vibing (being near someone not touching just happy to be in their company). There's another outdated lie that snakes cannot and will never enjoy being pet - likely this comes from someone seeing cats and dogs lick their young and enjoying being pet because it feels similar to what is natural to them but since snakes do not lick their young it was believed they could not enjoy this sensation outside of their nature.

But that's wrong. It IS their nature! They just don't use their tongue, they use their whole body! Thing is, a lot of people who see them slither over another snake don't realize it's more than just them going somewhere, and they think they're carelessly going over another snake. Sometimes that may be the case, but touch is also how they bond. I read an article detailing how a mother snake was tolerant of her babies climbing all over her. Tolerant? It's like if a toddler hugged their mommy and said they loved her- tolerant would be such a strange word to use. They are telling their mommy they love her through their very limited means of communication.

Isn't it incredibly sweet that a creature who is so so limited in communication made sure to have a way to say, "I love you." I think that's just the best news ever.

If you doubt what I'm saying well, a number of snake keepers can vouch for me they've also accidentally discovered that touch can also be romantic if you touch the wrong place where most wouldn't expect it to be.

But the point I'm trying to make is, I bet there's tons of people with pet snakes who are telling them over and over they love them, hoping their human understands. If your snake doesn't do this action it doesn't need they don't love you- it would come from them not having figured it out. They learn not just from instinct, but from each other. Not having a parent snake to teach them (like some species including rattlesnakes) they have to figure out everything on their own for the most part.

Many figure out how to express, "I love you" through touch. Most snake caretakers I imagine don't recognize the attempt to communicate as anything more than the animal slithering around- but if you look for it you might see your pet telling you! If they are on you and start slithering around but not going anywhere in particular (sometimes back and forth) ESPECIALLY if you pet your snake and they relax/enjoy it- they are probably trying to pet you. And in doing so, show they care about you too, that they love you.

Scoria pets me with her chin, and I've never heard of anyone else's snake do this. She has, however, taught this to her sister who now pets me both ways.

It would be neat to hear if anyone sees their snake doing this and realizing what it really means. (Your snake might have even learned another way if you don't pet them and show them love another way- sometimes they learn by copying us too.)

Hope this helps someone- please share if your snake has a way they show they love you, I see very little on this from other caretakers and would be so happy to hear if others have similar experiences.

[enwoso]

A MERRY JOY — alessia russo x australian!reader

twelve days of christmas | day 11

based on this request

"i wish you were going to be here for christmas" alessia pouted with a sad look on her face as you hummed mirroring her pout over facetime.

"me too baby, but i'll be back just after new years" you promised as alessia nodded, she understood that you wanted to spent christmas with your family in your home country of australia but that still didn't make her wish any less that you could be by her side for the magical day.

"i know, i just miss you" alessia sighed as you had to hide the grin from appearing on your face. "and i miss you so dearly too"

"love, i’m gonna have to go. mum's wanting some help, i'll call you when i'm going to sleep — have a good day" you quickly rambled out as she nodded, "i love you" sending you a kiss through the phone as you caught it holding it close to you, sending her one in return.

"i love you too lessi"

pressing the red button after sending each other a few more kisses through the phone, you glanced around the airport as what alessia didn't know is that her christmas wish would actually come true and you would in fact be with her for christmas.

pulling a few strings and with the help of your girlfriend's older brothers you had managed to get yourself on a flight that would get you to your girlfriends childhood home for christmas morning.

so as you spoke to your girlfriend you weren't at home and your mum definitely wasn't wanting any help as she was in actual australia while you were sat in a lounge in dubai.

but luckily you had managed to find excuses and tried your best to call alessia when you had time but also when it wasn't a suspicious time in australia so alessia as far as you knew didn't suspect a thing.

boarding your last flight which would be sending you straight to london, you sent a quick message to luca, alessia's brother, to let him know you were boarding.

him quickly replying saying he would see you on the other side but also telling you were your lift would be waiting for you once you were through.

-

after a gruelling six hour flight you had finally landed in london and it was taking everything in you not to message or call alessia and tell her you were here but you were so close to pulling off your surprise you couldn't ruin it now.

especially not after a full day of travelling from one end of the world to the other which you were definitely starting to feel the effects of as you waiting in the line for your passport to be stamped.

your eyes feeling heavy as the man behind a screen checked your passport, "have a lovely day ma'am and merry christmas" the man spoke with such joy even with such an intimidating look as you smiled wishing him the same.

you waited for your luggage as you caught luca up and told him you should be arriving in the next hour or two depending on traffic — him just telling you about your blonde girlfriend who wasn't even awake and to be honest you don't blame her.

you wouldn't want to be awake at half seven on christmas day either.

watching out the window of the cold air that hit london as you got into the car where a driver had been waiting to take you to your girlfriend like the ending of a fairytale.

the roads winding and before you know it your on the last little stretch which takes you to her childhood home, remembering the roads from the very first time she took you home to meet her parents.

sending a quick message to luca telling him you were only a few minutes, you started to get a weird feeling in your tummy. your head wondering how she would react and how much you could wait to be back with her.

it may only have been a few weeks but those weeks had felt like years especially when your used to living together and seeing and being with each other 24/7.

getting out the cab, thanking the driver and now it was time for you plan.

place your luggage at the side of her childhood home where it couldn’t be seen from the front door.

then place the flowers which had photos of the two of you that you’d printed and placed in the bunch while in the cab. putting a card addressed to her next to it on the door mat.

hide around the side of the house, which was close enough from the front door you’d still be able to hear everything said.

ring the door bell, wait for the code word from luca. ‘maybe’

"less it's for you!" luca called back as you gave him a small thumbs up, placing the flowers you had bought from the only shop you could find open on christmas day on the doorstep.

hearing the complaints from your girlfriend as she walked to the door, luca disappearing but not too far as you had asked him to video it.

"luca there's nothing there?" alessia complained as she looked around clearly not looking down at the floor where the flowers were, "oh...awh"

"who they off?" luca asked as if it wasn't obvious with the big red roses that were in them.

"who do you think?" alessia deadpanned, holding up the note which was attached to them. "how on earth has she managed to get someone to deliver them on christmas day?" alessia asked more thinking out loud as her brother just shrugged knowing exactly how you had got them there.

"maybe you should ask her" luca shrugged his head pointing to the door where you were now stood as alessia had her back to the outside as she stood in the doorway of her front door.

"well she'll be-" alessia trailed off as she caught a glimpse of movement as she was about to move and shut the front door but instead a gasp came from her.

"oh my god-" alessia screamed seeing you as she dropped the flowers, as you stood with your arms open waiting for her to jump into them and that she basically did.

"hi lessi baby" you mumbled in her ear as she gripped you tight, you doing the same back having missed her dearly even if you had been away for only two weeks — in your two books that was a long time.

"i- how?" alessia as much as she didn't want to incase you disappeared pulled away from the hug, her hands still resting on your hips as you kept a smug smile on your face.

"well i must admit i had some help-" you paused as alessia's brow deepened before she clicked who you were looking at, "you knew!"

"well duh who do you think managed to get her here?"

alessia was still in shock as she looked at you, yous told with the biggest smile on your face which was no leaving any time soon.

“should we go inside?” you asked as you tucked a strange of her hair behind her ear noticing the goosebumps which were appearing on her arms from the cold air.

alessia nodding as she let one of her hands fall from your waist as you moved towards getting your suitcase which you’d hidden round the side where you were waiting, “i’ll get it!” alessia called out as she quickly walked in front of you to get it pushing it into her childhood home.

“luca? who was at the door?” you heard carol, alessia’s mum, call out from the kitchen as it could be heard that the front door was finally shut.

“just y/n” luca called back so casually as he made his way into the living room, leaving you and alessia to have some time for it to actually settle in that you were here.

“what- she’s in- oh y/n!” carol smiled as you walked over hugging her mum as her dad also joined in to see what the whole noise was about. you also getting a welcome hug from her dad.

“thank goodness your here, alessia’s never stopped moping about” her mum whispered in your ear as you hugged her, a small chuckle coming from you as you hummed. “so i’ve heard”

“mum, dad i love you both but can i have my girlfriend back.” alessia asked with a sweet smile as you shook your head at her clinginess. her mum and dad letting out a laugh as they passed you back assuring that you would catch them up on all things australia and what their other son, giorgio was up to while he was in your home town in australia.

“you don’t want any-“ you began to offer as alessia was beginning to drag you up the stairs, you forcing your heels in but it not exactly working from the sheer strength your girlfriend had compared to you.

“oh don’t be silly y/n, you go and spend some time with moody pants” carol chuckled as she waved off your offer before spinning on her heels to go back to help her husband prepare the christmas dinner.

“oi i heard that!” alessia pouted as you were now half way up the stairs, you reassuring the blonde with a sweet kiss as alessia kicked her door open with her foot.

your lips still on hers, a feeling you had been imaging on the plane after not seeing her for a few weeks. alessia strategically moving you around her room as the kiss grew more deeper and sloppier.

“i’ve missed you so much, my love” alessia breathed out before planting her lips back into yours, this time slipping her tongue in as your hands reached to find the back of her head drawing her in even closer — if that was even humanly possible.

the rest of the day was spent with alessia by your side, sharing kisses which you’d been longing for while you were back home. but most importantly you were just happy being in her warmth and surrounded by her family — it made christmas away from home that little bit more merry and joyful.

even if you were snuggled up fast asleep against alessia in the living room after your christmas dinner by 3pm because of jet lag, alessia fingers drawing shapes on your arms as you slept.

[russellbby]

Jealously doesn’t look good on you🙄

parings: f1 grid x fem!mercedes f1 driver!reader

in which: the young driver seems to get on very well with the younger drivers and jealousy starts to get to the rest of the grid..

requested: yes, by anonymous: Heyy, can I request something where the reader is the youngest f1 driver and is very closed off and don't talk much to any of the drivers, however when the younger drivers are around (kimi, ollie etc) she doesn't stop talking to them and the grid can't help but get jealous of her relationship with the younger drivers. thank uuu :))

a/n: I’m back guys!! This request has been sitting in my inbox for I don’t know how long. Hope you like it and start sending me in more requests! :)

//

Y/n, a young talent, record breaker, the youngest on the grid and the paddock princess. However, despite how much the grid loves and cares for her, they don’t know a single thing about her.

The young mercedes driver was entering the paddock, smiling and waving at the cameras before making her way over to fans to sign things and take photos before she made her way into the garage.

“The fans know more about her than us,” Lando mumbled as he had watched her interaction with the fans.

“Y/n has always been like this especially in formula 2, she would only talk on the radio and interviews” Oscar added.

“She’s just shy, don’t like talking and prefer to be alone. I learnt that the hard way when she became my teammate” George said.

“I just wish she would open up to us, it’s like her whole life is a mystery to us” Charles added.

//

Later, a few of the drivers had gathered in the lounge before the start of a busy weekend. During these times, Y/n is normally on her own with her headphones with a book in hand or on her phone.

This time around, she had her knees up with her book on her lap with headphones on with no care in the whole and having no intentions of joining any conversations or banter amongst the drivers.

However, her plan didn’t stay very long as she felt her headphones being taken off her head which made her look up at the certain aussie driver.

“Danny!” Y/n exclaimed as she got up and tried to get her headphones back, only for Daniel to lift them in the air, Y/n soon realised there was no point in trying.

“C’mon, you were being anti-social!” Daniel said.

“How do you even like reading?” Lando added which earned him a glare from the young driver.

“I mean he has a point, how do you find it entertaining?” Max asked.

“This shows you lot barely finished school or dropped out” Y/n told them.

“We just want to talk to you! We know nothing about your life!” Charles added.

“There’s nothing too exciting that happened, just a normal childhood!” Y/n said before she got ahold of her headphones and went back to the same position before the drivers interrupted her.

“One day, we will get something out of her” Pierre said.

//

The morning passed, Y/n was just talking to her engineers as FP1 had just finished and were gathering information in preparation for FP2.

Y/n knew that F2 was going on this weekend, she was hoping to be able to see some of her closest friends and her wishes were fulfilled when she looked outside her garage.

She saw Ollie, Kimi and Paul chatting outside, this made her face light up with a smile, which was rare for her and she knew her team were watching her, but she didn’t care.

"Guys!!" she called out, jogging over to them.

"Y/n!" Kimi opened his arms as the young girl launched into a hug. The pair laughed as they pulled apart, before Y/n hugged Ollie and Paul.

The four started talking continuously about anything and everything and laughing, which caught the attention of the grid.

“It’s like she’s two different people,” Lando said as he nudged Oscar pointing over to the scene.

“That’s Y/n for you” Oscar replied.

//

“Y/n!” Daniel called as he made his way over to where she was sitting down on a table outside the mercedes hospitality. Soon enough, Daniel wasn’t the only drivers who joined her.

“What’s this? A gathering?” Y/n asked.

“You with Ollie, Kimi & Paul?!” Charles said.

“What about it? We are best friends, we are all practically family” Y/n replied confused.

“So they know everything about you?!” Pierre added.

“Well, duh!” Y/n told them.

“You are like a completely different person when you’re with them compared to us!” Max added.

“Didn’t realise that there was a drivers meeting outside the Mercedes hospitality” Kimi joked as he walked over with Ollie and Paul.

“They are saying I’m different person with you lot compared to them” Y/n mumbled.

“Well, they ain’t wrong!” Paul said.

“I’m going to tell your mum you still haven’t opened up to anyone but us,” Kimi joked.

“Don’t blame me if you don’t get invited over to our annual barbecue!” Y/n replied.

“Your parents love me too much to not invite me over, I’m their favourite!” Kimi added.

“We will be stealing Y/n until FP2! See you all later!” Ollie told them as he an Paul became a barrier for Y/n and Kimi.

“What the f*ck just happened?” Lando said.

“That’s one way of putting it..” Daniel replied.

“Maybe we should of just accepted it at the beginning..” Charles mumbled.

//

Throughout the rest of the day and weekend, the drivers stared down the 3 young drivers who made Y/n smile and laugh continuously.

And from that day on, the grid accepted that they were never going to find out anything about Y/n. Despite it all, they still continue to try and get stuff out of her, which leads to nothing.

They were really jealous of Ollie, Kimi and Paul.

However, they learnt the hard way that jealously doesn’t look good on them..

[sugurus-thoughts]

❅ pairing — soldier!nanami kento x nurse! reader

❅ summary — I'm dreamin' of a white Christmas. Just like the ones I used to know May your days be merry and bright. And may all your Christmases be white.

❅ w/c — 8,23k

❅ warnings — WW2, mentions of death,pain, heartbreak, takes during 1940's WW2, nsfw, angst,mentions of memory loss (amnesia), fluff, smut, MDNI.

❅ a/n — honestly I don't even know where to start, this is actually such a sad sorry I thought of I was inspired by the movies called The English Patient. I immediately thought of Nanami and how the story would fit him,i cried so much writting this but I hope you enjoy it, thank you for reading and please do tell me what you think!!! Merry Christmas to everyone out there!! 🎄🤍

❅ taglist — @getobitchs, @coffee-and-geto 🍰

15 December 1954

You were his everything. You still are. Yet here you sit in a stark white hospital, holding his hand, hoping that some flicker of recognition will spark in his eyes.

But his eyes. Just the weight of his gaze empty and unfamiliar, and the cruel reality that he does not remember you, not even your name.

The man you loved once looked at you as of the sun had risen in your smile. Now he looks at you as if you are a stranger. And still you remain here : wiping his brow, cleaning his burning wounds, reading him stories, trying to remind him of the life you once shared. Because if you let him forget, it would mean letting him go forever.

During

World War II - 1946

The slow rustling of doctors, nurses rushing as if a life was at stake,but you are— you stand there as your trembling figure tries to hold every little ounce of yourself together. Never have you thought the war would take such a toll on him. His body covered with bruises and burned marks, his scarring figure in pain—for you cannot bear to see him like this. Every bit of memory you have shared was not lost “My dear Kento”, as tears threatened to spill, like a snowflake falling to the ground and slowly disappearing… as if there was no trace.

“Y/N”, Mei gave you a small nudge as the tears pricked down at the corner of your eyes.

“Go sit down, we will take care of this”, your colleague helped you regain the little bit of strength you had left and set you in one of the chairs.

Never have you thought, your life would change, just by the snap of a finger.

16 December 1954

Slowly nightfall approaches as all the nurses and doctors that took care of him have been sent home, only for you to stay behind. It was your duty as nurse, to take care of him and your other patients.

“Y/N…”your friend Shoko and her husband Haibara appeared next to you. She was a doctor, and Haibara was a veteran just like Nanami. You smile softly at the two, for some reason they looked so perfect next to one another —something you wish you had in that moment.

“I'm… sorry, Y/N, if there is anything the two of us can do for you know that we are here”

Haibara pointed out and looked at his friend's lying body,as Shoko approached your frail figure in a hug.

The two of them, giving you an empathic smile as they left the hospital's doors. You stood there in your worn out uniform,as a few tears left your eyes.

❅❅❅❅❅❅❅❅❅

Today was the day he returned to the hospital, just as he had every year for the past nine years. And yet, despite all the time that had passed, he still hadn’t regained any memory of you—not even your name.

Heartache crept into your chest like a familiar intruder, but you pushed it aside as you always did, wiping the tears from your cheeks. Memories of the life you once shared threatened to spill over, but there was no room for such thoughts now. Not when others needed you. You moved through the hallways like a ghost, checking on each patient, ensuring they were tucked in, safe, and resting peacefully.

Finally, your feet brought you to his bed, as if by instinct. His familiar form lay still beneath the dim light, and your breath caught when you found his eyes wide open, staring into yours.

“Thirsty,” he rasped, his voice hoarse but steady enough to make you spring into action.

You hurried to his side, lifting him gently as you pressed the glass of water to his lips. Despite his weakened state, his eyes never left yours. They held a quiet intensity that made your heart ache.

The silence between you was heavy, broken only by the sound of him sipping the water. You wished, desperately, that he could say something more, something that would spark a memory—a fragment of who you were to him. But his gaze, though warm, held no recognition.

“You’ve been crying,” he said softly, his voice rough but unmistakably tender.

You froze, caught off guard by the observation.

“I’m sorry,” you replied, brushing quickly at your eyes. “Nurses aren’t supposed to show emotion. I got carried away.”

But the truth was far deeper than that. Inside, your heart burned with the need to reach for him, to take his hand and beg him to remember. You longed to hear him say that it was all going to be okay, that his memories would return, that he would return to you. But the fear of his blank stare, of the emptiness where love once was, kept you silent.

“Could you read to me?” His voice broke through your thoughts, hoarse but so gentle it tugged at something deep within you.

Your smile faltered but didn’t fade entirely. “Of course. I always do.”

You reached for the worn copy of "Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman" , the same book you had read to him countless times before, both in the past and now. The edges were frayed, the pages soft with wear, but it was a comfort to you. It was the last thread tying you to the man he used to be.

As you read, your voice steady despite the tears threatening to spill, your heart ached. Every word, every line, felt like a plea to a man who had forgotten you. Was there any hope left after nearly a decade?

Suddenly, a hand brushed against yours.

You froze, your breath hitching as his fingers curled slightly around yours. His gaze met yours, and though his smile was faint, it was there. It wasn’t a memory—not yet—but it was something. A flicker of connection, subconscious and fragile.

So you kept reading, your hand still in his, holding onto that flicker as tightly as you dared.

17 December 1954

The next day, the hospital was unusually quiet. As the sun dipped below the horizon, you stepped outside for a moment to catch your breath. The cold December air bit at your cheeks, but it was refreshing after the suffocating warmth of the wards.

That’s when you saw them: the Lanterns.

Hung along the hospital’s stone walls, their golden glow flickered like tiny stars against the encroaching night. The sight stole the breath from your lungs, not because of their beauty, but because of what they reminded you of.

Lanterns. The lanterns.

Your knees felt weak as the memory came flooding back.

Before the World War II

14 February 1944

Borgo Fiorito is a small, picturesque town nestled in the rolling hills of Tuscany. Known for its cobblestone streets, vibrant flower boxes, olive groves, and a quiet town square with a stone fountain. It was quite small but nothing compared to its wonders it had to offer during summer and winters.

Not far from the small village—a historic hospital called Santa Maria della in Florence, an hour from Borgo Fiorito. It’s housed in a grand, aging building with high ceilings, wide windows overlooking the Arno River, and the faint smell of lavender from the surrounding gardens. The hospital rooms were simple, with a large window framing the rooftops and a hit of lavender which covered each window with its beautiful colour.

It was the little things that made this hospital bloom but during the cold midst or air that is when you clung to your cross, on— your knees begging to the heavens.

War.

War.

It poisoned everything it touched.

Every corner you turned, it was there—etched into the broken faces of soldiers, painted in the dark crimson stains on your uniform, and carved into your soul with every life you couldn’t save. The halls of the hospital were a cacophony of suffering: groans of agony, the scrape of gurney wheels against blood-streaked floors, and the faint murmur of words spoken by men too weak to cry out.

Why must there be war?

The question haunted you, an ache that throbbed with every heartbeat. You asked it as you worked, stitching wounds and holding hands, as though the answer might somehow reveal itself in the lifeless eyes of those you couldn’t save. But there was no answer. Only the unrelenting march of chaos and death.

War turned men into shadows of themselves. It robbed them of their laughter, their dreams, their limbs, and often their lives. You hated it for its cruelty, its unrelenting appetite for destruction. The sight of blood had once made you queasy; now it was as common as water, soaking into your skin, your clothes, and the deepest corners of your mind.

The hospital was no stranger to the foreign men who stumbled in, limping, shattered, and pleading. They came from different places, spoke in fractured sentences, and carried photographs of families who would never see them whole again. And you—what could you do but try? Try to patch them together, to offer comfort, to shield yourself from the unbearable truth that it would never be enough.

You wanted to scream at the futility of it all. For every man you saved, there were ten you couldn’t reach in time. For every life you mended, there were countless others torn apart. War didn’t care about your efforts; it didn’t care about anyone. It swallowed everything in its path, leaving behind nothing but ruins.

And yet, you kept going. Not because you believed it would change anything—not because you believed it would ever end—but because stopping wasn’t an option. Because in the face of something so monstrous, all you had was your hands, your skill, and your humanity.

As you walked the halls, you tried not to think about what lay beyond the hospital walls: the battlefields littered with bodies, the towns reduced to ash, the lives that would never be the same. You tried not to think about how war had taken everything from you too.

But it had.

And still, you fought back in the only way you knew how.

Despite these inner conversations and confusion of the dark side of this world there was always a way to overcome these challenges and for you that was— family, friends and your faith. Although you have lost so much, you have also gained plenty more.

Like Him, during those times

Lanterns.

It was a warm summer evening in Borgo Fiorito, and the air was alive with the hum of laughter, distant music, and the faint scent of lavender carried on the breeze. The annual lantern festival was a cherished tradition, illuminating the cobblestone streets with golden light and bringing the small Italian town together under a blanket of stars.

You stood on a rickety wooden ladder, your arms stretched high as you tied a delicate paper lantern to a post. The lantern swayed slightly, catching the soft glow of twilight, and you bit your lip in concentration.

“Careful up there,” a deep voice called from below.

Startled, you looked down to see a young man standing with his hands in his pockets, his honey-brown eyes warm with amusement. He was tall, broad-shouldered, blonde hair, and unmistakably out of place in this little town. His neatly pressed shirt and polished boots stood in stark contrast to the casual attire of the locals.

“I’ve got it,” you replied curtly, adjusting the knot on the lantern.

His smile widened, revealing a hint of mischief. “Are you sure? Looks like you’re one strong gust of wind away from disaster.”

You rolled your eyes but couldn’t help the corner of your lips twitching upward. “I’m fine. Just hold the ladder steady if you’re so worried.”

He stepped closer, his hands grasping the sides of the ladder with steady confidence. “Consider it done.”

As you finished securing the lantern, you glanced down, catching his gaze for the first time. There was something about the way he looked at you—equal parts curious and captivated—that made your heart skip a beat.

“Thank you,” you muttered as you climbed down, brushing your hands against your skirt.

“Happy to help,” he replied, releasing the ladder and stepping back. “I’m Nanami Kento , by the way. And you are?”

You hesitated, the words caught in your throat. “Busy,” you finally said, a teasing smile playing on your lips as you walked past him.

He chuckled, falling into step beside you. “Busy, huh? Well, Miss Busy, do you at least have time to show me around? I just got stationed here, and I’d hate to miss out on the best parts of this beautiful town.”

You raised an eyebrow, glancing at him out of the corner of your eye. “Stationed? You’re a soldier?”

He nodded, his expression softening. “For now, yes. But tonight, I’m just a man enjoying the lanterns.”

Something in his tone made your heart ache, but you didn’t press further. Instead, you gestured toward the square, where the festivities were in full swing. “If you’re not afraid of getting your boots dusty, follow me.”

Present

The soft glow of the lanterns outside the hospital cast long shadows across the snow-dusted courtyard. They swayed gently in the cold December breeze, their golden light reminiscent of the festival you hadn’t thought about in years.

You stood frozen, staring at them as the memory flooded your senses. For a moment, you were no longer in the hospital. You were back in Borgo Fiorito, laughing with him beneath the lanterns, your heart light and full of hope.

“Why are there so many lights?”

His voice pulled you back to the present like a tether,and you turned to find him standing in the doorway. His frail frame leaned against the doorframe for support,but his eyes—those honey - brown eyes were fixed on the lanterns.

“They’re lanterns,” you said softly, stepping closer. “They’re meant to bring light to the darkness.”

He nodded slowly, his gaze distant. “I’ve seen them before… haven’t I?”

Your breath hitched slightly, hope began to flare in your chest but yet you feared so much.

“I believe you have, yes”

His brows furrowed, in frustration flickering across his face as he rubbed his temple. “It's… familiar. But I…. can't”

“It's okay” your voice steady even though there was a storm within you.

“Don't push yourself. Just…. take your time”

He looked at you then, his eyes searching yours as if trying to grasp something just out of reach.“Were you there?”

Your heart clenched, and you forced a smile. “Yes. I was there.”

You wanted to tell him everything but you know that his recovery was frail and if you said anything it could ruin him just like that. Besides the storm that ruffles within you, you weren't going to shatter him.

“Let’s get you back inside,” you said gently, moving to his side. “It’s too cold out here, and we still have to wash you up”

He didn't protest as you guided him back to his bed, but as you helped him settle, he grabbed your hand, his grip surprisingly firm.

“The lanterns,” he murmured, his voice thick with exhaustion. “They mean something, don’t they?”

You swallowed hard, blinking back tears. “Yes. They mean hope.”

He nodded faintly, as you started to take off his badges. For a moment you felt hopeful again and the lanterns were the one thing that gave you that.

19 December 1954

The morning light filtered softly through the hospital windows, casting a pale golden hue across the quiet ward. In your hands, you carried a simple vase of fresh flowers—white camellias and sprigs of rosemary. Their scent, earthy and sweet, filled the air as you stepped into his room.

You placed the vase on the table beside his bed, arranging the blooms carefully. The flowers were a small act of devotion, a way to bring life and beauty into a place so often filled with sorrow.

The scent lingered as you worked, subtle but insistent, and suddenly, it hit you. You froze, your hands trembling slightly as the smell transported you back.

Before the World War II

23 June 1944

The olive trees stretched endlessly, their twisted branches heavy with silvery leaves. The world felt suspended in a timeless moment as you walked beside him, your steps crunching softly against the earth. The air smelled of ripening fruit and wild rosemary, a fragrance so intoxicating you could almost forget the war that loomed beyond the horizon.

He had asked you to meet him outside the village, promising a surprise. You had gone, curiosity outweighing your hesitation, and found him waiting beneath the shade of an ancient olive tree.

“This” he murmured and he inhaled the air, “is my favorite place in the word” as he gestured towards the tall grass of the field.

The rows of olive trees surround your figure out like an ocean green sea. The scent of wildflowers and sun-warmed earth hung filled your nose as you couldn’t help but smile at the smell,the faint chirping of birds could be heard in the background.

“It's beautiful” you whispered softly as if the words were only meant for you, turning to look at him.

But he wasn't looking at the grove. He was looking at you.

“Yeah”, he said softly yet so tenderly he whispered. “It is”.

The colour crimson dashed against your skin and he only smiled at your shyness.

He held out his hand,and you hesitated for a moment before taking it. Together you walked through the grove, hands swaying and you walked. The sunlight filtering through the leaves painting patterns on the ground.

“Why did you bring me here?” you asked tenderly.

He stopped, turning to face you fully. His expression was serious, but there was a softness in his eyes that made your heart flutter.

“Because this place is special to me,” he said, his fingers brushing lightly against yours. “And so are you.”

Your breath caught, the weight of his words sinking in. He didn’t wait for a response, instead pulling you gently toward a clearing where a single white camellia bush bloomed, its flowers bright against the green.

“They only grow here,” he said, plucking one and tucking it behind your ear. “Just like you. One of a kind

You giggled softly, the sounds didn't go unnoticed by his ears. “Now you're just making things up, stop”

“And if I say no?” he asked you teasingly. You couldn’t answer,not once as his lips quietly pressed against yours. Your hands slowly wrapped around his neck as his gliding their way to you hips pulling you flush against him

And in that moment surrounded by olives trees, wildflowers and camellia, you knew.

Present

The camellias in the vase seemed to glow in the soft morning light, their white petals pristine against the sterile backdrop of the hospital room. The scent of rosemary mingled with their delicate fragrance, weaving through the air like a ghost of the past.

You stood there for a moment, your fingers lingering on the edge of the vase as the memories washed over you. The olive groves, the sunlight, the way he had looked at you as if you were the only thing that mattered in the world.

A soft rustle behind you broke your reverie, and you turned to see him awake, his honey-brown eyes watching you from the bed.

“They’re beautiful,” he said, his voice hoarse but steady. “The flowers.”

“They reminded me of you,” you replied before you could stop yourself.

His brow furrowed, his gaze flickering to the vase. “The scent… it’s familiar.”

Your heart leapt, but you kept your expression calm, your voice even. “They grow in olive groves. There were camellias like these back in Borgo Fiorito.”

“Borgo Fiorito,” he repeated slowly, as if tasting the name. His eyes narrowed slightly, his hand twitching against the blanket. “I know that name.”

You took a step closer, your breath caught in your throat. “You do?”

He nodded faintly, his gaze distant. “It’s… it’s on the edge of my mind. The smell, the name… I’ve been there before.”

A flicker of hope ignited in your chest, but you forced yourself to remain steady. “Yes,” you said softly. “You have.”

His eyes met yours, and for a moment, they were filled with something you hadn’t seen in years: recognition, or perhaps the shadow of it.

“Were you there too?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Your heart ached, but you smiled, keeping your voice steady. “Yes,” you said simply. “I was.”

He didn’t say anything more, his gaze drifting back to the flowers. But as he reached out and brushed his fingers against one of the petals, you saw something in his expression—a spark, a glimmer of the man he had been.

And as you stood there, watching him, you let yourself hope. Maybe, just maybe, the flowers would lead him back to you.

❅❅❅❅❅❅❅❅❅

The night had settled in, cloaked in a shroud of stormy gray, the faint patter of rain echoing through the halls of the hospital. The cold crept in like an uninvited guest, seeping through every crack and corner, chilling you to your bones. You weren’t beside him this time. Duty had pulled you away, leaving him alone in the quiet of his room.

You moved through the dimly lit ward, tending to the others who needed you—feeding those too weak to lift a spoon, bathing those unable to move. Your hands worked tirelessly, but your mind kept drifting back to him. Was he sleeping? Did he call out in the night?

Finally, as your tasks come to an end, you let yourself breathe. Retreating down the corridor, you nearly stumbled into Shoko. Her presence was a welcome relief, a familiar face in the ever-turning wheel of your routine.

Her tired eyes softened when she saw you, a faint smile tugging at her lips. “You look like you’ve been through the wringer,” she said lightly, though there was an unmistakable note of concern in her voice.

You tried to smile, but it wavered. “I’m fine,” you murmured, brushing past her, but Shoko wasn’t convinced.

“Wait,” she called after you, her voice gentle but firm. “Come with me.”

You followed her, your legs moving automatically as she led you down the stairs to the small chapel nestled beneath the hospital. The tiny room was quiet, the storm outside reduced to a faint hum. The soft glow of candlelight flickered against the walls, the silence pressing down on you like a weight.

Shoko turned to you, her brows knitting together. “How are you really doing?”

For a moment, you opened your mouth to give the same rehearsed response, but the words wouldn’t come. Instead, your chest tightened, and your carefully constructed walls began to crumble.

“I can’t do this anymore,” you whispered, your voice breaking. “I—I can’t keep hoping, keep waiting. It’s been ten years, Shoko. Ten years, and he doesn’t even remember my name.”

The tears came then, spilling over like a flood you could no longer contain. Your body sagged under the weight of it all, and before you could collapse, Shoko was there.

Her arms wrapped around you tightly, pulling you into her warm embrace. “Let it out,” she murmured, her voice soothing. “You’ve carried this alone for so long. Let it out.”

You clung to her, the sobs wracking your frame as the storm within you broke free. Shoko held you without judgment, her hand rubbing slow circles on your back.

“I know it hurts,” she said softly, her tone laced with empathy. “I see it every day. But you’ve been so strong, stronger than anyone I know. And if anyone can hold onto hope, it’s you.”

You pulled back slightly, wiping at your tear-streaked face. “What if… what if it’s all for nothing? What if he never remembers me?”

Shoko cupped your face in her hands, forcing you to meet her steady gaze. “Then you’ll have loved him enough for the both of you. But don’t give up, not yet. He’s still here, and as long as he’s here, there’s a chance.”

Her words settled over you like a balm, soothing the raw ache in your chest. You nodded, swallowing back the lump in your throat. “Thank you, Shoko.”

“Always,” she said with a small smile, squeezing your hand. “Now, go to him. He needs you, even if he doesn’t know it.”

You took a deep breath, steeling yourself as you left the chapel and made your way back to his room. The storm had quieted, the halls now silent save for the soft hum of machinery.

When you opened the door, you found him awake, his honey-brown eyes meeting yours the moment you stepped inside.

“You’re back,” he said, his voice hoarse but steady.

“I am,” you replied, moving to his bedside. “Did you need anything?”

He shook his head faintly, his gaze drifting to the book on the small table beside him. “Will you read to me?”

Your heart clenched, but you managed a small smile. “Of course.”

You settled into the chair beside him, picking up Leaves of Grass. The words flowed from your lips, familiar and comforting, filling the quiet room. As you read, his gaze remained on you, and for a fleeting moment, you allowed yourself to believe that maybe, just maybe, there was still hope.

Finally he was asleep, you sigh with relief. Setting the book neck to you,as you open your bag to look for your dairy.

Usually, you would write in it but it's been longer than three months now. Opening the book you smiled reminiscing as you discovered little to do lists you wrote down for yourself. As you flip through, a pressed wisteria flower falls to your feet.

Your breath hitched, at the sudden sight.

The memories, of that day

15 August 1945

The village of Borgo Fiorito was in full bloom, its cobblestone streets lined with bright bursts of flowers and the scent of fresh citrus carried by the warm breeze. The war seemed like a distant shadow that day, as if the world had conspired to offer a brief reprieve from its relentless cruelty.

He had asked you to meet him in the lemon grove just outside the village. You found him there, standing beneath the canopy of trees laden with ripe, golden fruit. The sunlight dappled his face, catching the edges of his smile as he turned to you.

“You’re late,” he teased, though his tone was light.

“I’m not late,” you countered, your lips curving into a smile. “You’re just impatient.”

He laughed, the sound so rare and genuine it made your heart ache. He stepped closer, his hands slipping into his pockets, his expression suddenly serious.

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to say,” he began, his voice steady but tinged with nervousness.

Your stomach flipped, the playful air between you replaced by something heavier, more profound. “What is it?”

He reached out then, taking your hands in his. His palms were rough, calloused from months of war, but his touch was gentle, grounding you in the moment.

“I don’t know what the future holds,” he said, his voice low. “The war, the uncertainty… It terrifies me. But the one thing I’m sure of, the one thing I’ll always be sure of, is you.”

Your breath caught, tears pricking at the corners of your eyes.

“I love you,” he continued, his gaze locked on yours. “And I want to spend whatever time I have left by your side. Will you marry me?”

For a moment, the world seemed to stop. The war, the fear, the chaos—all of it faded away, leaving only the two of you beneath the lemon trees.

“Yes,” you whispered, your voice thick with emotion. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

He smiled then, a smile so full of relief and joy it left you breathless. He pulled you into his arms, holding you tightly as if afraid you might disappear.

The scent of lemons and wildflowers filled the air, the trees swaying gently in the breeze. It was a perfect moment,

But the moment wasn’t over yet. When he pulled back, his gaze softened, deepened, filled with an unspoken longing that made your breath hitch.

“Do you trust me?” the question came out vaguely as he held out his hand. You tilt your head to the side as if to ask him —I literally just said yes to marry you, how can I not? —he chuckled, when you put your hand in his.

After his proposal, the two of you had walked to the little cottage at the edge of the olive grove, your hands intertwined like they were meant to fit together. You could still feel the faint weight of the ring on your finger, its presence grounding you in the surreal beauty of it all.

Inside, the room was simple yet inviting—rough wooden beams overhead, the scent of lavender from a spring tucked into the windowsill, and the faint flicker of candlelight casting shadows on the walls. You had been nervous, but so had he. It was written in the way his hands hovered just above your shoulders, unsure of where to land, in the way his breath caught as you stepped closer.

“I…as you know I-I…” his stuttering got the best out of him as always. You smiled, as you kissed him. Your hands wrapped around his neck as he found comfort around your waist.

The kiss was slow, much more tender than usual almost as if he was being careful not to overstep any boundaries but you both knew tonight, there were no boundaries. You acted on your own as you jumped and wrapped your legs around his waist, a small giggled escaped your childish actions when he laughed while carrying you to the bed slowly.

He carried you to the bed with a tenderness that made your chest ache.

“I'm sure Kento,I've always been sure about you” you said as he looked you deep in the eyes, almost looking for a sign, any sign of hesitation.

You smile. And that was all it took for him. His lips found yours soft at first, tentative, as if he were afraid this moment would shatter. But then he deepened, the kiss and everything else melted away. You forgot the world outside—the war, the uncertainty, the shadows of tomorrow. In that moment, it was just the two of you, and it was enough.

The kiss grew so much his lips started making its way down to your collarbone. Kissing the skin softly, he kissed a certain part which made your hands find home in his hair and the sound that escaped from your lips was beautiful to him—it's as if he could hear an angel. His eyes never left your features as he sucked on that certain part—the simple sounds only rushed to his pants now becoming tighter by the second.

“Kento” a hoarse moan escaped your lips while his calloused hands, traveling down to the skirt of your dress. For a moment you looked him in the eyes, almost like a silent reassurance. His hands reached the corners of your silk underwear, “May I?” his voice laced with uncertainty but yet deprived from like a man's natural hunger.

You nodded softly as you felt the air hit your bare core.

Honestly you were very shy, he was the first man to see you like this,and he will be the last. With your dress still covering you,and for a moment before you could prepare he finally kissed you.

The spot where you needed him so desperately, your hands flung to the bedsheet as you gripped them hard so your knuckles turned white. Your breathing hitched as he licked you for a second.

“Kento,my love” he gave you a little hum, to acknowledge your calling upon him. You knew that at this moment he had lost himself within your waters. One of his hands found you intertwining your fingers with his, as he prepared you for his next coming mission.

Like a starving predator, he was devouring you as if you were his last meal. You back arching slightly as his name rolled off your tongue.

Never in your life have you felt this amount of pleasure. Yes you have sneaked off many times with your past lovers:kissing, caressing and canoodling but never like this.

This was your first time, your first time making love to a man you've loved so much.

Your moans grew louder by the minute, and your grip on Kento tightened.

“Kento, oh my…. my-my” a shiver ran down your back and you heard him mutter “ you taste so sweet” his lips came into contact with your clit, and he slowly sucked on it.

You could feel it.

The feeling of erotic bliss creeping into your. You were so until you felt him enter a finger. A low gasp escaped your lips

“Forgive me my love”, the apology sounded so sincere, while he penetrated through your walls.

Slowly that feeling started to build up again. Your hands flung to his hair, begging to find a solution to this feeling.

“Relax, for me sweetheart” he whispered against your wet womanhood.

The fresh scent of lavender surrounds your state,as the wind gushes through the window.

“Oh my god, you smell amazing” the sudden compliment threw you off guard. Your walls tighten around his finger, back arched fingers between the loose strands of his hair.

You whine, as you start to move your hips against the rhythm of his tongue and fingers. You were so close—that feeling was starting to dwell within you again.

Like a bliss you felt a release, your thighs shaking as you were coming down from the pleasure. Nanami held your hips in place and he kept lapping up your waters. You squirm, at the sensations you were feeling.

“So sweet, like lavender I swear”, he whispered against your thighs kissing his way up to you,only to find your foreman against your eyes.

“My love…” he murmured softly. Trying to remove your arms and what he saw could not compare to anything in this world.

Your beauty, it was your beautiful eyes that he so adored. It was the way your lips curved into a sudden smile even though droplets of tears seem to form at the corners.

He cupped your cheeks and whispered softly “You are so beautiful”

You shy away from his gaze,but he kisses you again. It's as if you can feel the love even through every little action.

His hands wander down, to your chest. The feeling of his rough calloused hands squeezed your fully clothed breast.

“Kento… my-my god” you moans against his lips. His lips traveled down to your chest, slowly unraveling the button. His eyes never left yours, just to be sure that you were okay with this.

Your dress discarded on the floor, you fully naked in front of him was something he always imagined but never thought he could have. His eyes darted down your figure, taking in every single detail, every scar, every single birthmark. You were beautiful— laying there lips parted, half lidded eyes, nipples erected just for him. Only now he realized that you finally belong to him, and that he is finally yours.

“Kento, you know it's rude to make your fiance wait” a teasing smile spreads across your lips

How could you just lay there and look so beautiful. He smiled and took off his briefs, your eyes ranking over this masculine figure l, your eyes widened slightly at the sight of his manhood. You swallow, loudly enough for him to hear,only for him to smirk at your reaction.

Finally reaching you, he leans down framing your head with his forearms. You gasped, feeling his torso against yours,the feeling of it against your thigh was enough to make you wonder if it would even fit.

The pad of his fingertips traces patterns against your cheek , his eyes searching for any concerns.

“Kento… ” your tone is so soft and low, wondering if you'll ever get the chance to say the words. “make love to me” as you looked into his eyes.

The confession itself made it clear that you wanted just as much as he wanted you.

“I promise I'll go slow”

The weight of his words lingered in the air, and finally he kissed you. The kiss wasn't as tender as it used to be. Instead there was passion, desperation and a pleasant force of love. Your hands flung around his neck as his hands slowly ran down the silhouette of your body, settling against your hips.

You could feel his member lining towards your entrance. One push was all he needed and that's what you felt, him finally stretching you out slowly. For the first time you felt it, and it was painful, yet so pleasurable.

His eyes found yours, with such concern. He mumbled “Are you okay?” you could only nod and smile. He kisses your temple before he withdraws slowly, but then pushes again the pattern following thoroughly—but steady.

At first it was as if you were dying from pain but now as the rhythm of his slow and gentleness suppresses you could only feel pleasure seeping through and that wasn't enough.

“Sweetheart I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to move a bit faster” his half lidded eyes ranking your features.

He kisses you again as the rhythm of his strokes begins to increase.

“Kento….ahhh oh my god” you moaned loudly.

“You feel so good, god Y/N” it's as if his hips were snapping with pleasure. You could feel every bit of him so deep within you.

Your breath hitched, quickening with every movement, as he angled his firm length to press against a spot that left you trembling.

“I know, I know sweetheart” he says as he kisses your now wet skin slowly making his way to your breasts,sucking the soft flesh as he continues his ministries.

“Kento I can't - can't” you moaned loudly, the stinging sensation was there. Your hands searching for anything to grip on,he kissed you so suddenly the pleasure overwhelmed you.

Your eyes met for a brief moment as he whispered sweet nothings in your ear. You feel the rhythm of his hips, while his heavy member keeps pushing into you.

The feeling of his groin rubbing against your clit ws enough to send you into the stars.

“I'm so close,sweetheart” you heard him whisper “tell me you're close, oh just tell me you're almost there” he continued.

And you were, “Kento…. I…I think I'm gonna-” you couldn’t finish your sentence as you felt him thrust against that one spot. Just like that you came, your thighs shaking to the core. Your toes curl and your hands find their way to his hair gripping onto him for dear life, not even soon after you feel long strings of ribbons follow after you,with the sounds of Kento’s groans stringing along with your name.

Moments pass, moments of silence where you both could hear the sound of birds singing. It wasn't morning but it's as if they were singing for you—after your wonderful bliss.

Afterward, you lay tangled together under the thin linen sheets, his arms wrapped protectively around you. The cicadas sang their nighttime song, and the moonlight painted silver streaks across the floor. He traced lazy circles on your back, his voice a soft murmur in the darkness.

“Mia Stella” he whispered to you.

You tilted your head to look at him,you frowned and he laughed at your confusion.

“You’re my guiding light in all this darkness, my star.” he whispered to you as he brushed a strand of hair behind your ear.

“Kento…” you couldn’t help but be emotional, tears started to build up again.

“You really are the light of my life, Y/N” he said again and in those final moments, you knew that you were his and he was yours.

Present

The hospital room was quiet save for the faint ticking of the clock on the wall. You sat by his bedside, your fingers brushing against his as he slept, your mind still lost in the memory of the lemon grove—the day he proposed, the night you gave yourself to him completely. It lingered in your chest, both sweet and devastating, knowing that he didn’t remember it.

You reached for his hand again, searching for the man you once knew in the warmth of his skin. But as you turned his wrist slightly, your eyes caught the faintest mark—a thin, pale scar wrapping around the back of his neck.

You froze.

It was the scar left by the chain of the locket you’d given him all those years ago.

Your breath hitched as your heart clenched, and in that instant, you were no longer in the sterile, somber hospital room.

1 Day

Before the World War II

13 September 1945

The train station buzzed with the chaotic energy of departure. Soldiers in uniforms stood in lines, their faces hard with resolve or softened with barely hidden tears. Families clung to one another, desperate to stretch seconds into minutes, minutes into hours.

But for you, the world had gone still. All you could see was him—Kento, standing there in his olive-green uniform, his jaw tight as he avoided meeting your eyes. His hand gripped the strap of his pack, his knuckles white from the effort.

“Do you have to go?” you whispered, your voice trembling with the weight of everything unsaid.

He finally looked at you, his amber eyes softer now, filled with sorrow and love. “You know I do.”

The tears you had fought so hard to hold back began to spill as you clutched the small locket in your hand. You’d chosen it for him the day he received his orders, a tiny token to keep him grounded, to remind him of home. Of you.

“Then promise me,” you said, your voice cracking as you fumbled with the chain. “Promise me you’ll come back.”

He reached out, his rough hands gentle as they closed over yours, helping you fasten the locket around his neck. The silver pendant rested just below his collarbone, glinting in the weak sunlight.

“I promise,” he said, his voice steady even as his eyes betrayed the fear and uncertainty he couldn’t voice.

You threw your arms around him, burying your face in his chest as sobs wracked your body. “Don’t let it take you,” you begged. “The war… don’t let it take you from me.”

His arms came around you, holding you tightly, as though he could shield you from the cruelty of the world. “Nothing could ever take me from you,” he murmured into your hair. “Not really.”

But as the train’s whistle pierced the air, cutting through the haze of desperation, you felt the lie in his words. The world could take him from you—just as it was about to.

When he pulled back, his hands lingered on your face, his thumb brushing away the tears that refused to stop falling. “Stay strong,” he said. “For me.”

You nodded, though your chest ached so fiercely you thought it might shatter.

The final whistle blew, and with one last lingering look, he turned and climbed aboard the train.

You stood there on the platform, clutching yourself against the cold as the train pulled away, its wheels screeching against the tracks. He leaned out of the window, his locket catching the light as he waved to you.

And then he was gone.

Present

19 December 1954

Your breath came in shallow gasps as you blinked back into the present, your hand trembling as it hovered over the faint scar on his neck.

That locket. You remembered how he’d sworn to return with it, to bring it back to you when the war was over. But he never did.

Tears welled in your eyes as you swallowed hard, the ache of that day at the train station crashing into you like a tidal wave.

“Kento…” you whispered, your voice cracking. “Do you still feel it? Somewhere, do you still feel me?”

He stirred slightly, his lips parting as he murmured something too soft for you to hear. The faint motion pulled you back, grounding you, though the pain in your chest lingered.

Wiping your tears, you leaned back in the chair and opened Leaves of Grass again. Your voice wavered as you began to read, the words trembling with the weight of love, memory, and hope.

You didn’t stop. You wouldn’t stop.

Because you still believed—somewhere deep in your heart—that the man you loved was still in there, waiting to find his way back to you.

25 December 1954

The morning sun filtered through the frosted hospital windows, its weak rays casting a golden glow on the endless white expanse outside. Snowflakes drifted lazily from the heavens, blanketing the earth in a serene stillness. The halls of the hospital buzzed with quiet activity, nurses exchanging soft smiles as they wished each other a Merry Christmas. You, too, wandered through the corridors, stopping at each room to offer gentle holiday greetings to the patients.

But your heart felt heavy.

It had been days since the flood of memories had overwhelmed you, each one more vivid than the last—his smile under the lemon trees, the sound of his laughter, the warmth of his embrace. You carried them like fragile glass in your chest, terrified that holding them too tightly might shatter you completely.

Today was Christmas, a day of hope and miracles, but for you, it was just another day to face the ache of loving someone who didn’t remember you.

With trembling hands, you approached his room, your heart thudding in your chest. The small, wrapped gift in your hand felt heavier than it should have. It wasn’t much—just a token, a gesture—but you’d hoped it might bring a flicker of light to his eyes, even if he couldn’t recall why it mattered.

Pushing the door open quietly, you stepped inside. He was sitting up, his body still frail but his presence strong. His amber eyes turned toward you, and for a fleeting moment, you thought you saw something there—something familiar, something real.

“Merry Christmas,” you said softly, forcing a smile as you approached his bedside.

He nodded, his lips curving into a faint smile. “Merry Christmas.”

You placed the gift on the small table beside him, your fingers lingering on the ribbon as you tried to steady your breath. “It’s not much, but I thought… I thought you might like it.”

He tilted his head, studying you with an intensity that made your chest tighten. “You’ve been crying again,” he said, his voice hoarse but gentle.

Your eyes widened, caught off guard by his observation. “I’m fine,” you whispered, shaking your head. “It’s just… the season. It brings back memories, that’s all.”

His gaze lingered on you, and for a moment, the silence between you was suffocating. Then, he reached out, his fingers brushing yours as they rested on the edge of the bed. “Tell me,” he said.

“Tell you what?”

“About the memories,” he said, his voice quieter now. “About… us.”

Your breath hitched, tears welling in your eyes as you struggled to find the words. “Kento, you—”

But before you could finish, his hand tightened slightly around yours. “Mia Stella,” he whispered.

The world stopped.

You froze, your eyes snapping to his as your heart began to race. “What… what did you say?”

“Mia Stella,” he repeated, his voice stronger this time. His eyes, once clouded with confusion, now shone with a clarity you hadn’t seen in years. “That’s what I called you. My star. You were my light, even in the darkest times.”

The tears you’d been holding back broke free, streaming down your face as a sob escaped your lips. “Kento…”

“I remember,” he said, his voice cracking as his own tears began to fall. “I remember everything. The lemon grove. The nights under the stars. The way you always smiled, even when I was too stubborn to. And I remember… how much I love you.”

You collapsed onto the edge of the bed, your hands clutching his as you wept. “I waited for you,” you choked out. “For ten years, I waited. I never gave up, even when it hurt, even when I thought you were gone forever.”

He reached up, his hand trembling as it brushed against your cheek. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “For all the pain I caused you. For making you wait. But I’m here now. I’m here.”

You leaned into his touch, your tears falling freely as you nodded. “You’re here,” you echoed, your voice breaking. “That’s all that matters.”

He pulled you closer, his arms weak but steady as they wrapped around you. “Mia Stella,” he murmured again, his lips brushing against your temple. “You’re my everything. You always have been.”

For the first time in a decade, you felt the weight of your heart lift. The man you loved had returned to you—not just in body, but in spirit.

And as the snow continued to fall outside, blanketing the world in white, you held onto him, knowing that this Christmas was a miracle you would never forget.

It was the White Christmas he had always promised you.

©suguru's-thoughts 2024, do not copy or translate my work. Art work does not belong to me and my deviders are from the lovely @adornedwithlight 🍰🤍

a/n — I will not lie the dates got me mixed up but I hope you enjoyed this story it was so nice to write but yet so emotional. Feel free to comment your thoughts one this :')✨

wanna be on my taglist, comment 🍰🤍✨

[anndramarama]

I can speak to this as a teacher who tries to train my middle school students to write to us semi-professionally. We try to prepare them to write to strangers, prospective employers, admin at different schools, or even just send semi-polite messages to each other, and it is not easy to do!

They don't like to capitalize, not even the first and last letters of their own names, and then trying to get to an understanding of how/why we should be polite when writing to strangers is another hurdle, but most of them get there in the end and are able to use the simple format above -- greeting, body, closing, signature -- with a little practice.

I'm a stickler about capitalization and I explain it like this: capitalization, especially in names, shows respect to the recipient, and using capitals in your own name shows that you respect yourself and take the interaction seriously.

That response above about a full paragraph in the subject line is something I see every year without fail, by the way, and it's frustrating. I tell them that the subject line shouldn't be blank, and to think of the subject as the title of their message. It should be short and sweet, 3-4 words maximum.

My students are young kids who just don't have experience with email even if they text or use snapchat or other social media, and I find that providing as must context as possible, along with multiple examples of how an email should look and what they should avoid, does help, but it's important for them to be able to practice this skill before they have to do it for real and inevitably fail in a setting where there are negative consequences for failure.

Very much agree that saying "just do it, it's not hard" is not going to help anyone regardless of age if they don't have experience sending professional email, or if email isn't accessible to them without modifications.

Keeping in mind that we use gmail, here are some things that help my students:

Exemplars as above

Speech-to-text as an option, especially for longer messages

Text-to-speech to listen to a message before sending

Practice using sentence frames for message body *and* subject line

Set up a signature (kids like this part)

Set up message templates (same function as sentence frames)

Use additional in-browser assistive tech like Read&Write (not free but many organizations, including schools, either subscribe to it or will pay for it if you ask)

For teachers: have your students send you a correctly formatted email as an exit ticket occasionally. The first few times I do this, and I don't do it too often, I make it easier by sending the class a message and their reply has to answer a question (single complete sentence with correct spelling and punctuation) *and* their reply must be formatted as a professional email. Later they have to compose a message/exit ticket and I reply. I've had them write to their elementary school teachers with me cc'd and that's a fun activity too, and they can observe how we (the teachers) reply to each other as part of a thread, which provides more and varied examples of correct formatting in context.

I try to make it fun for kids because they're bored by this stuff, and sometimes I lose them if they know they have to write a single sentence, but it always gets better with practice. It's also important to note that following some formatting rules makes our communication more accessible too.

not to sound like a boomer, but I need some people to learn how to write emails in a semi-professional (at the very least) format so you're not cold emailing a business/potential employer/any other stranger about formal matters in the exact same way you'd DM a close friend on instagram

the formality/language can loosen up in the email chain once you've established a rapport and you match the other person if they're being less formal, but please don't have the very first email you send a stranger be written in all lowercase ultra-casual sms slang with no greeting or signature and a billion emojis

[myceliacrochet]

URGENT: 4yo Little Girl and Her Family Malnutritioned and Freezing!! (Sham and Moneer al-Anqar -- Skills Series: "Easy Piece First")

Reblog if u answer pls tysm!🩷

There's no shame in that! In this series, I'll be sharing some tips to help us keep going strong, carrying these families throughout this brutal winter of extermination. With each post I'll be highlighting a family in desperate need.

Easy Piece First

Whether we're working at a job, making commissions, working on posts, or doing other tasks, mutual aid for genocide relief can be overwhelming. The stakes are through the roof, and sometimes the people who most want to help are the people least able to. Often I freeze in place, overwhelmed with emotion, unsure of where to start. Depression, anxiety, and AuDHD don't help!

So I hope this skill is of use to you. I call it "Easy Piece First" because that's what helps me remember it, but it's definitely not a new idea.

I started this post with the easiest small step accessible. For me, that was writing down Moneer's current blog tag (@sham-moner) in a new post. This was the easiest for me because it required no decision-making and could be done in a few seconds. Then I filled in the other parts that don't take much thought -- the GoFundMe link, the vetting, and some tags.

For other posts, sometimes I'll be making art that is unrelated and then I'll think of a post to go with it.

Lazy and Heartless, or Focused and Strategic?

Everyone is different, but trying to force yourself to start with the hardest part first (what some people call the "Eat That Frog" approach) can actually make things take longer for some people. Using "Easy Piece First," I was able to get more done with my time, and with less trouble. This makes my efforts more sustainable long-term.

On a related note, I actually take a lot of measures to not walk around with my chest constantly hurting for Palestinians anymore (though there's nothing wrong with doing so). My chest was aching at all times for months until I converted some of my worry into action and some of it into self-care -- so I could actually get more done for Palestinians, who do not need my tears but my labor.

This winter is a marathon, and we gotta see it through to the end.

Take care of yourself so you can get more done and keep helping people long-term.

Do not give yourself a heart condition.

Give Palestinians labor.

That's how I'm keeping myself out of the hospital and maximizing what I can do for people, but we all have our own strategies.

But that's enough about us -- let's talk about these two amazing kids.

Moneer and Sham

Palestinians are just regular people. That's the horrible reality. It's the exact same as if people from your own background, even your own family were getting tortured and killed.

Like, Moneer is a 19yo who had recently started university when the genocide began. Sham is 4, Mohammed is 16, Rana is 21, and Rasha is 22.

What were you going through when you were 4? How would you have felt if you saw people getting blown up at that age? What if your house was blown up and all your toys and friends were lost, and you had to live outside in the winter, scrounging for moldy bread and polluted water?

What if you lived with the smell of rotting bodies when you were 4? Did you know what that smelled like as a little kid? I still don't know what that smells like. I didn't really know what death was at that age. She does.

This small child is in critical need of food and water!!

She is starving!!

Sham will die this winter without more donations!!

This is a call to action for an extremely urgent campaign!!!

It's been 2 days, and it was 2 days before that! This is far too long!!

Moneer is still recovering from major surgery. He is in a lot of pain and is also malnutritioned and in need of clean water and warmth.

Moneer is very close to his family and dearly loves his mom, Amani (39). Amani is in a lot of danger because she has asthma in a dusty massacre zone without treatment. It's killing Moneer to watch his mom go through this.

Drink some water, take a rest, and keep putting one foot in front of the other, using whatever tools work for you.

We are not letting these kids and their family die this winter!! We can do this!!

Vetting: GazaVetters #8

@opencommunion @beserkerjewel @deepspaceboytoy @rhubarbspring @eryuditely @lesbianmaxevans @malcriada @turian @sxpph0 @rebel-girl-queen-of-my-world @neptunerings @dykesbat @halalgirlmeg @userpeggycarter @minosbull @hamstertross @magnus-rhymes-with-swagness-blog @definitelynotafox @kaleschmidt @jaylung101 @captainsaltymuyfancy2 @timetravellingkitty @sun-and-moon-side @kahin @greenmossyrock @northgazaupdates2 @irhabiya @theparanoid @steep1253o @victoriawhimsey @dirhwangdaseul @cruzwalters @ladycelebrianofimladris @tamamita @50seagullsinatrenchcoat @deathlonging @nconiku @briarhips @kaislittlecorner @mahoushojoe @sar-soor @rhubarbspring @pcktknife @sawasawako @feluka @anneemay-blog @ralfocups

P.S.: I have several people waiting on me for posts. I am so sorry -- I will get them finished and published as soon as possible.

@soft-sunbird Thank you dear friend🥰🩷 I love you. You're doing so great

Check out the comments for many ways to help!