#i wrote about this way back in advent but it's time to bring it back and expand on it

[skyheld]

ameridan obviously was going to die of old age but someone stopped it and now here we are. there are three ways it ends.

he can lead the disctration team on tearstone island. he's an old commander with decades of experience fighting darkspawn and has a god of war on his side, so he's a very natural choice. hakkon will climb out of that pit, but ameridan won't.

hakkon reflects the world and people around him. if he's treated with fairness and trusted more than he deserves, and if he sees those around him treat others with it, he'll earn that trust and leave peacefully once the gods are defeated, leaving time for final goodbyes.

if he's treated with mistrust, or if he sees those around him act dishonourably, maybe he won't. we just don't know :)

however it happens, ameridan wants a quiet funeral with no mention of gods or afterlife, but apart from that he'll leave it up to his loved ones to decide what happens.

after that, he has plans. while he wanted the din'an hanin for himself and telana, its not that well hidden and he doesn’t want to give scavengers another reason to disturb its peace, nor to take his wife’s remains so far from orinna���s. she was buried beneath a tree in the frostback basin, close to where orinna and haron are likely buried, in a location only known to ameridan, svarah sun-hair, and gyda myrdotten, and that will be his resting place too. the keeper of the clan he stays with before hakkon, so either clan ghilain or lavellan, is entrusted with the information that the basin is where they’ll need to send him, and they’ll make sure the proper rites are followed. he'll be burnt. there will be nothing left for future historians and treasure-hunters to find. there will be no marker.

the inquisitor may be told about all or some of this, but it depends on their relationship. it’s not only a matter of trust but also who needs to be burdened with this secret. if he lives with their clan they'll likely know most of it; dhavi and asharen will definitely know. and of course if he's in a relationship, they'll know and also have some say in what happens. they get some keepsakes to remember him by before the rest burns.

[aetherdecember]

Look, I love BBC Merlin and how they told the lore, but I’m a sucker for the relationship between Arthur and Mordred in the mythology. Specifically, I love how Mary Stewart (author of The Arthurian Saga**) and Nancy Springer (author of I Am Mordred**) wrote about the father/son relationship between them. So naturally, my brain has been conjuring up how I can include that in my Flipping the Coin au.

Since the main premise is Merlin died/Arthur lives, and now Arthur is the one waiting for Merlin to come back, things would stay consistent with canon up to the last episode (when Merlin flips the coin of their destiny and sacrifices himself so Arthur can live and thus stop Camlann from happening altogether). Which is where this idea will start:

Gwen is barren. She and Arthur never have kids. Eventually, everyone Arthur knows and loves dies. He can’t rule Camelot forever, and after Gwen’s death, he no longer wants to, so he fakes his death and wanders off figure out why he’s still here. He never gets an answer for that. Arthur spends the next millennium waiting. He keeps living. He meets people, experiences things he’d never experienced before, and learns things he’d never dreamed of learning. He can’t stay anywhere long, or else suspicions will rise, but he gets to see the world change, how technology advances, and witness humans continuing to be humans. When war breaks out, he joins the battle. It’s familiar. The rush of adrenaline is the same whether he’s wielding a sword or a gun. Only, he can’t see the enemy’s face anymore.

Peace comes again. At some point, he sleeps with a woman, and she happens to become pregnant. Bisexual disaster that he is, he’s had all sorts of partners from both sexes, but has never had this happen, even before the advent of reliable birth control. Later, he’ll learn her name is Morgause. She doesn’t look like the Morgause he knew before, nor does she act like her, but her name haunts him. After the baby is born, she gives him to Arthur, says she has no intentions of being a mother, and leaves. The last thing she had said to him was the baby’s name.

Mordred.

That night, Arthur holds Mordred and weeps.

There is irony in his son being named Mordred. First, in that the legends surrounding him, Merlin, Camelot, the Knights of the Round Table, and all of it, had long ago decided Mordred was his son. And two, in a retelling of that legend, it had aptly phrased what he sensed was happening now. Granted, he isn’t a sorcerer, he doesn’t have magic, so he can’t support his feeling with anything other than he’d been around a long time and knew to his very core that it was true. Mordred’s birth is a signal of the beginning of the end.

Fatherhood brings him a new sense of purpose. Gone are the days of loneliness and drudgery. Every day with Mordred brings a new light into his life. Each smile is a miracle. Seeing Mordred experience things for the first time brings a new appreciation. Being there to watch him grow makes time fly like it never has before. But Arthur is afraid. He doesn’t want to be his father. He doesn’t know how to be a father, or what the right way to do it is. In all the years he’s been on the Earth, he’s never known a man who could concretely say, “This is the way to raise a son,” and actually reap the fruits of their efforts. Too frequently, he’d seen sons grow outside of the visions their fathers molded for them and receive only disappointment and disdain in return. So he was afraid, because he too had been that son.

*cue a series of fluffy father/son one shots of Arthur raising Mordred until Merlin comes back, takes one look, and is is like WTF????? No, I won’t have Mordred for a step son >:(*

**Mary Stewart and Nancy Springer have several other works, not just the stories I mentioned. The ones mentioned are the ones I’m pulling inspiration from ^^

Additional notes below the break:

Guinevere’s barrenness is not a headcanon I typically subscribe to for BBC Merlin. My headcanon is that after Arthur’s death, Gwen gives birth, and their child eventually succeeds her as ruler.

I’ve always seen Mordred’s appearance as the harbinger of Arthur’s downfall. Thus, the reason for the plot bunnies in my brain going crazy with this idea of how I could bring him in, still remain mostly canon compliant with BBC Merlin, and build off some of my favorite parts of the lore. (Mandatory disclaimer: for BBC Merlin, I don’t headcanon Mordred as Arthur’s son. But for the mythology, I do wholeheartedly support that canon.)

Arthur’s choice to participate and live once Camelot is gone is a decision to contrast my headcanon of how Merlin handled it. I don’t think Merlin thrived. I think he stayed busy, and tried to remain hopeful, but I think he was anxiously consumed with the anticipation of wondering when Arthur would come back. In this au, Arthur may or may not know that Merlin is supposed to come back (I’m still working on that detail), but he’s always been around others. I think he would seek camaraderie, and companionship, and that he would connect with others but only to a superficial level. I don’t think he’d exist in a void of loneliness. Plus, he doesn’t have the guilt of knowing he failed because the pressure from the prophecy is very one sided *coughcough*causemerlinnevertoldhim*coughcough*

Anyways, that’s enough rambling from me about this. I’ll probably share some snippets of writing next because there are some fantastic scenes coming together in the draft so stay tuned! ;D

[neyswxrld]

afternoon tickles

Gregor x reader (gn)

summary: Making a blanket fort with Gregor! ...or something like that.

warnings: reader gets pinned down, reader pins down, hand is put on readers mouth in a way to keep them from speaking (playfully), tickles

word count: ~910

advent calendar masterlist

a/n: this is the twentieth fic for my advent calendar! i had nostalgic feelings when i wrote this and i decided that i should make a blanket fort again, sometime.

"You're doing it all wrong," Gregor says, shaking his head.

"What? No, I'm not. It fits just fine," you shake your head too.

"No, if you would do it like I said, you wouldn't need to use the pillows, and we could have them for inside," he says, shoving your hand away playfully.

"But then we won't be able to just relax in there, because the ceiling would crash down on us every two seconds," you disagree.

"No, because the sofa will hold the blanket. There isn't anything crashing down on us," he says, throwing said thing over the back of the couch.

You look at it with raised eyebrows, waiting for the new made ceiling to fall down - but nothing happens.

"See?" Gregor asks, chuckling lightly and pushing the now free pillows in the small cave.

"That was the first step, now we can make it bigger and cozier," he says, as if you've never built a blanked fort before, but you just play along.

He seems to have built his caves in another way than you've had, so in a way, it's the first time for you making one after another plan.

You don't even know how all of this started. One moment, you were laying on the couch together, then suddenly you found yourselves setting up blankets above some of your furniture.

You don't mind when other people would think you're too old for that. It brings up nostalgic feelings, you have fun and... well, no one else is here, so nobody would mind either way. You haven't built a pillow fort in what feels like ages, and doing it now, with Gregor, makes some warm feelings bubble in your stomach.

After a few rounds around the house, you come back to him, with a few other fluffy pillows and blankets stacked on your arms.

Gregor immediately comes to your help, takes some of them and positions them around the small cave.

After some minutes, he finally finishes his work and pulls you beneath the blankets with him.

Laughing and giggling, you snuggle up in the small space, moving all the different things around a little bit to get even more comfortable, and finally laying down together. 

Just as you're about to praise him for his good work, the blanket-ceiling snaps and falls down on you.

For a few seconds, no one says a word. Neither you nor Gregor moves, waiting for the other to break the silence.

"Well-" you start, but Gregor puts a hand above your mouth.

"Don't say it," he says, and you feel some rapid movements as he shakes his head.

"Sdob, Gr'gor," you say, starting to laugh, wanting to push his hand away from your face. He holds on relentlessly, even your wet tongue licking the palm of his hand didn't do anything.

"I don't want to hear that you knew better!" he giggles lightly, ignoring the way your tongue presses against his hand again.

You try to muffle something again, but with his hand you and the chuckles that break through, all you say is unintelligible.

"I wouldn't lick that, Cyare. Don't know where my hand was in the last few hours," he says playfully.

Immediately, your tongue snaps back. Instead of trying to get his hand off, you reach for a pillow, throwing it at his head.

"Hey!" he protests, trying to hold your hands down, but due to his already occupied hand, you're faster and able to hit him again and again.

Suddenly, he lets go of you, grabbing for another pillow, also starting to hit you with it. With that, a war breaks out.

"Ah! Gregor!" you laugh, dodging another hit, but swinging your pillow again.

You start to wrangle and roll around the floor, pulling all the blankets with you.

At one point, you suddenly stop and try to keep him pinned beneath you.

You sit on his tights and hold his hands above his head, panting heavily. You know that he is much stronger that you and you're just in this position because he wants to.

"I didn't want to tell you, that I knew better," you giggle, looking in his eyes that had a happy glint in them.

"Is that so?" he asks, a wide grin on his lips.

"Yes," you assure him, "actually, I wanted to point out how well you build that thing."

You start to grin at his now confused face. "Well, at least until it broke down, and I realized that I indeed was right," you start to laugh.

You don't expect him to flip you both around so suddenly, letting out a small surprised yell before starting to giggle uncontrollably again.

"Told you, I don't wanna hear it," Gregor says as he digs his fingers into your sides, starting to tickle you.

Laughing and squirming, you try to escape, but he is so much stronger than you- you can't even move an inch.

You know exactly what he wants to hear -that his cave was perfectly fine- but you're not willing enough to give him that win, so instead you put your fingers on his waist, starting a game of tickles and teasing, that drags over quite some time.

Only after both of you are exhausted and tired, you make it stop.

Laying next to each other, both of you try to catch your breath, still amused by that spontaneous afternoon full of giggles.

TAGLIST:

@isthereanechoinhere96 @trixie2023 @freesia-writes

[xxcatzladyxx]

Demon Slayer Advent Calendar | Day 16 | Shinjuro x Reader | The Christmas letter

Written by me

~~~

Dear Shinjuro-sama,

I don't really know how to begin these lines. I would just like to tell you something. We didn't get off to the best start. This tense relationship between us is really eating me up. All I want is for there to finally be peace between us and for us to be able to treat each other like a real family. That's all I'm asking for. I understand that the death of your wife has taken its toll on you. But despite everything, you are not alone. You have two wonderful sons who worry about you day in, day out. It also breaks my heart to see you on the bottle every day. I don't want to offend you either. But I'm afraid that's the wrong way to deal with your grief. Kyojuro and Senjuro are grieving for their mother in the same way. And a sorrow shared is a sorrow halved. Why don't you take a step towards us. At least towards the boys. They don't let on, but they are suffering a lot from the strained relationship. They get the feeling that they've not only lost their mother, but also their father. I don't want to start any stress, especially not just before Christmas. I just want us to finally be able to act like a real family. Maybe not today, not tomorrow. But maybe one day soon. Nevertheless, I wish you a Merry Christmas!

With love

(y/n)

You put the pen down next to the sheet of paper and stretched out your tired arms. You would never have thought it possible that you would spend almost a whole day on one letter. The countless crumpled papers in the corner of the room spoke for themselves. You started writing these lines again a thousand times. You were never satisfied with them. You could make friends with the letter that was right in front of you. It was far from perfect, but you found it acceptable.

You fold the letter neatly and place it in a beautiful Christmas envelope. You wrote the name of the head of the Rengoku family on the front in italics. You quietly placed the letter in front of Shinjuro's door. Then you got ready for bed and turned in.

~*~

The next morning, you stumbled across a package lying outside your door. You carefully took it in your hands and looked at it from all sides. The wrapping paper was neatly folded and taped. A large bow was emblazoned in the middle. There was a tag with your name on it. You tried to decipher the writing. It was neither Kyojuro's nor Senjuro's. You concluded that it must be Shinjuro who had left the package on your doorstep. You went back to your room and opened the parcel out of sheer curiosity. The paper fell to shreds on the floor in front of you. You were holding a kimono in your hands that looked very similar to Kyojuro's haori. You hugged the kimono to you and silently thanked God for it.

You never thought that your letter would make a difference. However, day by day Shinjuro thawed out more and his grumpy behavior slowly subsided. Slow as a snail is fast. But at least something changed. He wasn't like he used to be, but he now had his aggression under control. He was also gradually giving up alcohol. So the power of Christmas was strong enough to bring families closer together again.

[jessicanjpa]

Twilight Advent Calendar 2023 Event

🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲

Dec. 18 - What are some things the Cullens do every time they move? Does anyone have any rituals re: leaving a location or starting at a new one?

It's kind of a bittersweet time, even when the move has been scheduled and has nothing to do with someone having an accident. It's always a bit jarring to bring their cover stories to a sudden stop after 4-6 years of pretending to be completely human, growing up, etc. Those personas are essentially "dying," and dying young.

They gradually retreat from human society beforehand; they really are busy but they also do their best to fade from public view like that instead of just disappearing overnight. Sometimes they talk about the move (to a fake destination), sometimes they don't. Some random thoughts:

-Carlisle and Esme take some quiet time alone together. They find a favorite lookout point or other special spot (sometimes even a public place like a cafe). And they just talk about everything that's happened, new things they're hoping for, their worries and ideas about the kiddos, etc. And then they just sit quietly and silently say goodbye in their own ways. It's sort of a spiritual moment they share, just one without words.

-The moves are the hardest on Rosalie, especially if they're just starting over right away without any break or vacation. It's a bit easier for her if there's something to look forward to, so between Emmett and Esme (and Rosalie herself) this is often the case.

-I wrote Rosalie and Emmett burying a time capsule full of keepsakes when they left the Olympic Peninsula in 1940, and I'm toying with the idea that they do this every time—not sure yet.

-Like Carlisle and Esme, everyone tries to visit their favorite local spots one more time. For Edward it's usually his meadow or cave or whatever was his Brooding Place. For Rosalie/Emmett it's usually a human venue like a dance club.

-Like @miss-morgans-lover said, Jasper is very busy in the weeks before a move. He actually sort of likes the nitty-gritty of managing everyone's identities, erasing paper and electronic trails, deleting pictures from databases, being the liaison to Jenks, etc. He likes to contribute in a concrete way that helps keep everyone safe, and for the most part he's enjoying the challenge here in the digital age. He takes his responsibility for putting the fear of God into liabilities like Jenks very seriously. Bella, why on earth would you take this away from him??? Back off.

-Carlisle still has a lot to do, even though Jasper has taken on a good share of the load he used to bear re: identity management. He generally keeps a handful of identities active at once so he can store valuables, keep in touch with old colleagues (he loves "aging" himself in those letters/emails), and keep his investments going with as little fuss as possible. He also has to pay his dues: preparing his CV, going on interviews, being the new guy at work again, etc. It's always hard for him to be the new guy; he likes the challenge of starting younger every time, but he always has to hold back and re-earn the respect he's become accustomed to.

-Emmett always introduces/tweaks a new vampire-level sport for everyone to try at the new location. It's his way of cheering everyone up and giving a bit of meaning to whatever the new place is. Whenever possible, he finds a way to match the sport to the location.

You can find all of the #twilightadvent23 prompts here!

🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲

[fateinthestars]

Star-Crossed Myth FanFiction, Fanart & Reviews Masterlist

(Dates to the left are the date the post linked was posted, in Day/Month/Year format)

GOD x MC FICS

Oneshots Series' (Multiple Pairings)

24/12/2023 Star Crossed Myth Advent Calendar 2023 20,507 words total (Rating: T. 2 flash fictions for each God with MC, written for December 2023)

25/05/2024 Fluffy Days with The Gods 26,038 words total (26 fluffy ficlets for each God with MC written for the Fluffbruary2024 event, T rated)

25/05/2024 Fluffy Days with The Gods - Mature Edition 2,920 words total (3 fluffy ficlets written for the Fluffbruary2024 event, M rated (MC/Aigonorus, MC/Huedhaut, MC/Partheno))

25/12/2024 Star Crossed Myth Advent Calendar 2024 38,723 words total (Rating: T. 2 oneshots for each God with MC, plus a special surprise for day 25. Written for December 2024)

Huedhaut x MC

20/10/2023 In Sickness and In Health (1,321 words) Huedhaut has a vision and suggests MC takes some time off work. (Rating: T, Genre: Comfort) (This was just a very self-indulgent thing I wrote for myself I decided to share)

02/03/2024 Love Eternal (8,665 words) When the strain put on Huedhaut's body due to only having stars in one of his eyes finally becomes too much, the other Zodiac Gods realise that there is a way to save him - but that way is for MC to be a Goddess. Can they find a way to make sure she can ascend as herself, even if it means doing so without the help of the King? (Rating: T, Genre: Angst, Angst with A Happy Ending. Sequel to Hue's Promise of Infinity story. Also contains Leon/Karno)

Past Karno x MC / Potential Future Huedhaut x MC

15/01/2024 Peace come at a Cost (Four Chapters totalling 35,046 words) Karno knew that his body had been pushed too far. In his dying moments after defeating the Dark King, he voices a wish. Huedhaut is there to support MC in her time of grief, for after all no one is better placed than him to know how she feels. But can this new chapter help resolve the complicated web of a past that MC knows nothing about and bring them closer together, or will it draw them further apart? Especially when the king has spotted the potential for a new game. (Rating: T, Genre: Angst, Grief, Moving on, Lifechanging decisions, Angst with a hopeful ending. Also contains Aigonorus/Tauxolouve. Warnings: Major Character Death)

Karno x MC

Series: Heavenly Thoughts

26/11/2023 Hard Work (10,525 words) When MC loses her job at the Planetarium and doesn't want the others interfering because she believes it to be the right decision, Karno ends up stuck between his want to only grant things that she wants him to do and the possibility of losing her: The under realm is active once more. (Rating: T, Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Angst with Hopeful Ending)

28/01/2024 Heavens on His Mind (11,646 words) Now that MC is a Goddess and Karno is recovered from the recent attack from the Under-Realm, they find themselves thrown into a situation of the King's making: Karno's powers aren't working and MC finds herself working for the Wishes department. But is Karno's lack of powers to do with recent events or caused by something else? And if he has no powers, was staying in the Heavens the right call after all? (Sequel to Hard Work, Rating: T, Genre: Angst)

Tauxolouve x MC

26/10/2023 Arrow Through the Heart (4,175) What if MC had only handed Tauxolouve his ankle bracelet back? (Rating: M, Genre: Heavy Angst. Warnings: Hit & Run) (Request)

Tauxolouve x MC x Huedhaut

Series: Arrows of Fate

18/10/2023 Future Reflected (13,491 words) Tauxolouve feels a lot more settled after recent events, but when an incident results in him kissing Huedhaut he finds that his closest friend has a death. Is there a way to prevent this fate? And just what does it have to do with his and MC's relationship?(Rating: T, Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending)

13/11/2023 Dungeons & Demigods (27,978 words) When a rebel group of Gods attack the Departments, Tauxolouve finds himself taken hostage and in a lot of trouble. Can the Zodiac Gods fix the situation? And how will Huedhaut and MC deal with their beloved being in peril? Especially when the other had made this sacrifice for Huedhaut's sake? (Sequel to Future Reflected, Rating: M, Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Injury Recovery, Angst with a happy ending. Warnings: Hostage/Kidnapping situation, Graphically described violence, some sexual themes)

Zyglavis x MC

05/10/2023 Pranks & Problems (18,395 words) Ichthys appears to be having a usual fun morning, but when he takes a turn is his mortality catching up with him or is it something more sinister? And if the latter: Was it even meant for him? (Rating: M, Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort. Warnings: Partheno being a creep, some described violence.)

25/09/2023 (backdated) Shadows (9,944 words) When Zyglavis’ Wife’s name appears on the Punishments list things once again become dangerous for the Gods. And just what does this have to do with Zyglavis shadow? (Also contains Hue/Clotho, Rating: M, Genre: Angst and Feels) (Note: First fic I wrote for this fandom ^^;;)

11/01/2024 Brush With Disaster (3,041 words) When MC comes home to find her apartment has been robbed, a specific missing item means she asks for Ichthys' help to get it back, but have they stumbled into something far more dangerous than it first appeared? (Rating: T, Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort. Warnings: Robbery, Off-Screen murder mention, Implied Attempted Murder)

GOD x READER FICS

Huedhaut x Reader

29/03/2024 Sarcastic Smiles (2,961 words) You wake up one morning to find you are in a bedroom you thought only existed in your favourite otome game, only to find you are now inhibiting the character you have been controlling in said game. How will Huedhaut react to his Main Character no longer being the human he fell in love with, but still with knowledge of their relationship? (Rating: T, Genre: Isekai (reader from our world suddenly in MC's body)) (request)

Tauxolouve x Goddess!Reader

Series: The Party Planner Goddess

16/11/2023 Three Weeks (4,694 words) You are a Goddess in the Heavens working as a party planner. One day you literally run into Tauxolouve and things seem to blossom from there. But are Teorus and Shinobu actually right? Will it all end in tears? (Rating T, Genre: Angst, Hurt no Comfort, Angst with an Unhappy Ending. Also contains Teorus/MC (Shinobu)) (Request)

07/01/2024 Three Months (7,966 words) Three months have passed since the emergency Wishes were dealing with led to you meeting Tauxolouve in the market place. Since breaking up with him two months ago, Tauxolouve's abilities have diminished severely and Huedhaut has had enough. He pleads with you to at least check in on the other.(Rating: T, Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Mending Relationships, Getting back Together. Happy Ending Sequel to Three Weeks. Also contains Teorus/MC (Shinobu)) (Request)

23/03/2024 Three Dates (6,510 words) Snippets of three dates that you and Tauxolouve take in the months following the events of Three Months. (Rating: T, Genre: Romance, Fluff. Sequel to Three Months) (Request)

30/07/2024 Three Gifts (1,860 words) Whilst Gods do not need sleep, it is still possible to feel rather drained from work. Luckily Tauxolouve is there to make sure you are taken care of. (Ratng: T, Genre: Romance, Fluff. Sequel to Three Dates) (Request)

----------------------------------------

Series: Prince Tauxolouve

07/04/2024 The Reborn Prince and the Ascended Goldfish (16,832 words) The King of the Heavens refused to give Tauxolouve a home in the Heavens, but on the night of Tauxolouve's death he realises he had made a mistake and intervenes to raise his soul to that of a full God and raise him as his son. Thousands of years later, you are a human whose business has failed due to issues beyond your control and when the King of the Heavens offers to raise you to a Goddess to start a new life, you take it. The King offers you a place in Punishments, but Tauxolouve (who is Minister of Wishes) reveals that both departments are actually a God short right now. However, The King immediately warns you away from Tauxolouve, and you soon find yourself wrapped up in secrecy in order to avoid the King's disapproval. All on top of discovering your divine powers and getting used to your powers and the other Zodiac Gods. (Rating: T, Genre: Alternate Timeline, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending) (Request)

20/06/2024 Rifts (28,522 words) Five years have passed since you became a Goddess and formed a relationship with Prince Tauxolouve. Along the way you both had to overcome many trials - not least when six of your colleagues were exiled with a mark of sin - but it turns out your biggest trial is just around the corner. As Heaven’s Rift descends and the prospect of your partner eventually being King becoming a reality, there would have been a lot on your mind regardless, even without the revelation about Tauxolouve’s mother. However, it is not just the rules of the Heavens and where you would go from here you have to contend with, but the threat of the under-realm gathering strength once more. Will your love see you safely through this latest event? Will the heavens give you their blessing? And even if you can stay together - can you save the Heavens before it crumbles at the hands of the Dark King? A new era is about to begin, but what that future holds lays squarely on yours and (soon to be) King Tauxolouve’s shoulders. (Rating: T, Genre: Alternate Timeline, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending) (Request)

-----------------------------------------

06/05/2024 Protective Flames and Lurking Shadows (5,136 words) You are the younger sister of Zyglavis and Krioff - two members of the Department of Punishments in the Heavens. After growing close to Tauxolouve, the other asks you out. Due to your love of your family you decide to seek their permission first - so what happens when Zyglavis says no?(Rating: T, Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Forbidden Love, Family Drama, Family Feels) (Request)

Fae King!Tauxolouve x Fairy!Reader

03/11/2024 Will Fairy Magic Thrive or Turn to Dust? (Six Chapters totalling 55,364 words) You were just a normal fairy from a small hamlet, but on the evening of your twenty-first birthday everything was about to change: Unbeknownst to you, your family had arranged for you to be the current Fae King's Fiancée. Whisked away to a tower over the mountains and through a dangerous forest, can you come to terms with your destiny of being King Tauxolouve's Fae Queen? Is there some way you can find happiness from this arrangement you never even wanted? And did he even want it to work himself? (Rating: T, Genre: Alternate Universe, Strangers to Lovers, Slow Burn, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Chronic Illness, Injury Recovery, Arranged Marriage)(Request)

Human!Tauxolouve x Goddess!Reader

04/03/2024 Wish of Fate (8,224 words) You are the Goddess of Sagittarius, heading to work to grant wishes as per usual, but with a feeling that something is about to happen. Tauxolouve is a receptionist at an Orphanage and his wishes to help the kids often reach the Heavens. When he finally wishes for himself - he asks to know what happened to his own parents. Who would have thought one innocent wish would cause such chaos? But then again, who would have foreseen that you would go to such lengths to see it granted? (Rating: T, Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Alternate Timeline. Also contains past Huedhaut/Clotho) (Request)

Sorcerer!Tauxolouve x Goddess!Reader

29/08/2024 Two Kinds of Magic (8,891 words) You are the Goddess of Sagittarius and part of the Department of Wishes. When an attack from rebel gods in the heavens gets to a dangerous climax, you use the last of your strength to teleport yourself to Earth. There you meet a sorcerer, and your whole world changes. But with the heads of department having information about your saviour from the king, can you and Tauxolouve overcome adversity from both the heavens who do not think he should exist, and the humans that had pushed him into living alone in the forest? (Rating: T, Genre: Alternate Timeline, Hurt/Comfort, Forbidden Romance, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending. Mentioned past Huedhaut/Clotho) (Request)

Tauxolouve x Reader

07/09/2024 Romantic Melody (1,784) You are a singer who has a small but loyal following and are happy performing in local cafes, pubs, and clubs when the opportunity arises. However, your stutter sometimes gets in your way when talking to people afterwards. Tauxolouve, your boyfriend for the past year, always seems to be there in order to keep you together, but you begin to wonder whether that is just because he feels bad that you can't always speak your mind as easily as you would like. (Rating: T, Genre: Comfort)(Request)

Zyglavis x Reader

28/07/2024 Forgotten Past (32,696 words) You thought you were just a normal human woman going about your normal life, who just unfortunately did not remember anything before your mid to late twenties. However, when you become a target of an attack from the underrealm, you find yourself thrown into a world you never knew existed, with a brother you never knew you had, and the start of a rather fraught journey with your saviour, the head of the Department of Punishments: But has he promised to protect you out of an obligation to the heavens, or is there something more between you? (Rating: M, Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Injury Recovery, Found Family, Amnesia Recovery. Also contains background Tauxolouve/MC/Huedhaut with a little foreground Tauxolouve/Huedhaut. Warnings: At least implied graphically described violence, some sexual themes)

GOD x GOD FICS

Ichthys x Dui

13/08/2024 Prank Punishment (3,856 words) When Dui accidentally sets a prank of Ichthys' off, both feel they are better off staying out of each others' way for a while for vastly different reasons. (Rating: T, Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Getting Together).

Ichthys x Huedhaut

Series: Logic and Emotion

17/04/2024 Wish to Ransom (6,889 words) The Revelry Fest is fast approaching and Huedhaut is once more in charge of screening the Wishes. This month would be tiring enough for him but as it turns out a rebel faction want to use the ceremony to plunge the Heavens into chaos, and they know the best way to threaten the departments is to take the one who would be in the most danger... (Rating: M, Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Injury Recovery, Angst with a happy ending, Getting Together, Also contains brief mention of Scorpio/MC. Warnings: Hostage/Kidnapping situation, some graphically described violence.)

01/05/2024 Fishy Future (18,023 words) Over a month after Huedhaut and Ichthys started seeing each other, the others finally work out something they had been up to and why. However, the fun is interrupted when Riki escapes and takes it upon himself to pay them back for ruining the rebel group's plans... Can the others stop Riki and stop Huedhaut from dying? With the powers of the under-realm on Riki's side, things may not be that simple. Plus: Riki was initially reported by Nasir, can Tauxolouve make sure nothing happens to his family or will by going to his aid actually put them, himself, and maybe the whole of the Heavens in danger? (Sequel to Wish to Ransom. Rating: M, Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Injury Recovery, Angst with a happy ending. Warnings: Attempted murder and mind control.)

Karno x Huedhaut

05/09/24 Chains (10,970 words) Years after being kidnapped, Huedhaut finally has some hope that maybe not all is lost after all, but have the departments found him too late? Meanwhile, during the time that has passed, Karno has grown to realise there is something he really must tell the other. And that something means that he must help the God of Aquarius no matter the cost to himself. (Rating: M, Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Sickfic, Getting Together, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending. Warnings: Some violence, kidnapping.)

Leon x Karno

18/03/2024 Pride for Two (2,292 words) When Huedhaut has a troubling vision regarding Karno, can Leon get through to the other and help his Vice Minister? (Rating: M, Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Getting Together. WARNING: Suicidal thoughts and issues of self-loathing and self-worth)

07/07/2024 Rhythmic Realisations (2,757 words) When Leon sees Zyglavis and Karno dancing together at an official ball in the heavens, he starts to feel things internally that he cannot place. However, there is one thing to bear in mind: Karno was summoned by the King the previous week. Still, why does seeing his Vice Minister so close to the Minister of Punishments physically hurt? (Rating: T, Genre: Angst, Realisation of Feelings, Angst with a Happy Ending, Getting Together)

Scorpio x Zyglavis

10/05/2024 False Negatives (1,845 words) When Scorpio accidentally reads Zyglavis' mind and finds that the other stops himself from even thinking what he was going to about his Vice Minister, he begins to worry that he's somehow disappointed the other. (Rating: T, Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy ending, Love Confessions, Getting Together)

FANART

Ichthys and Huedhaut

Tauxolouve wearing the 8th Doctor's (Doctor Who) costume

Aigonorus

Zyglavis

Ichthys (custom outfit)

Huedhaut (custom outfit - Halloween costume)

Tauxolouve (custom outfit - Christmas)

Star-Crossed Myth Custom Content for The Sims 3 & The Sims 4

The Zodiac Gods' Mansion for the Sims 3

The Zodiac Gods' Mansion for the Sims 4

Star-Crosssed Myth Reviews/Character Rambling Stuff

Warning: Spoilers.

All 12 Main Stories

All 12 Sequel Stories

All 7 Musings on Love Stories

All 12 Promise of Infinity Stories

To the Victor goes the Spoils: Huedhaut vs Teorus & Zyglavis vs Ichthys

To the Victor goes the Spoils: Aigonorus vs Dui

To the Victor goes the Spoils: Leon vs Karno & Scorpio vs Krioff

Heavenly Pleasures: Wishes & Heavenly Pleasures: Punishments (Warning: Mature post)

A Divine Autumn with the Gods: Wishes & A Divine Autumn with the Gods: Punishments (Warning: Mature post)

Decadent Kisses on a Devilish Night: Wishes & Decadent Kisses on a Devilish Night: Punishments

Sweet & Spicy: Private Lessons from the Gods

An Autumn of Longing: Wishes & An Autumn of Longing: Punishments

Your First Anniversary: The Gift of Love

Your First Anniversary: A Special Day for Two

Signs of Love on a Holy Night: Wishes & Signs of Love on a Holy Night: Punishments

12 Loves Light up a Holy Night: Wishes & 12 Loves Light up a Holy Night: Punishments

Captivated by 12 Temptations on a Holy Night

His Divine Succor

Whispers of Love from the Stars

Cupid's Lovestruck Valentine (Leon, Scorpio, Dui, Huedhaut Ichthys) + A Sweet Mission With You: Teorus

Secret Blessings from the Gods: Punishments & Secret Blessings from the Gods: Wishes

White Day Treats for a Crimson Lipped Goddess

The Gods' Secret Fantasies: Sweet/Sexy/Bitter/Dramatic (Warning: Mature post)

Pressuring the Gods: His True Feelings

A Divine Trip for Two: Wishes & A Divine Trip for Two: Punishments

[the-jam-to-the-unicorn]

Adding to what I wrote under that anon ...

And some honest talk.

I was gone for a long time which lots of things happening or not happening (writing).

My original plan was to write all the missing chapters and give them to you but we talk about a double digit number of chapters (Showman + advent calendar) + the NYE fic. I also want to edit all the already existing fics because to either erase mistakes or to make the Showman story better. I started to write it in March 2022. Not only has a lot of things happened but we also now know much more than we did back than. And edit is necessary.

And as much as I want to do all that at the same time, that's not achievable.

I still want to run this blog, do other things besides writing and have a life outside of the internet. Plus, I don't want to risk a writing burnout and having to go on a break again. Furthermore, I realized I put so much pressure on myself that I blocked myself. Several times I sat crying at home because everything was a bit too much and I didn't know how to fit everything into 24 hours of the day.

This weekend was the first time where I blocked the whole weekend for writing. I ended with not writing the whole time and also doing other stuff - watching the PC, starting to upload all the missing posts, ... . Ironically so, when I wrote, I was able to write. Because I took the pressure out. I wrote almost 4 chapter drafts this weekend after barely writing two in the last few weeks (and I hate these two).

Realizing I will not achieve my goal hurt a lot but it's to no one's use if I hold on to it and block myself even more.

So I decided to find my way back to relaxed writing. I'll write what I can do but I will take breaks. Writing should be fun. Writing should be exciting. Writing should bring me joy. Because if I enjoy writing and love what I write, this will influence the quality of my writing for the better.

Which brings me back to this blog: There are still a ton of posts missing, I have A TON of messages still sitting in my message box, I have chats and people I haven't written to in ages which I am very sorry about. There are also the Shuster reviews.

But I am also going to take the pressure out. I can't do everything at once. So I will do all these things. But with time and no pressure.

I can understand that some people may be angry or frustrated about this post. I can understand people wanting all the missing chapters and an answer to their messages and content and ... . And these feelings are valid. I want to make everyone happy but I can't make everyone happy. That's simply not possible. And I am sorry about that and I can understand if this makes people leave or be disappointed and no longer following. That's fine. I don't take it personal.

But life happened. And if I had a say in it, my family member would still be alive, my health would be better and my back would not be awful since months. But it is what it is and now I have to adapt to it. I can only hope for understanding and ask for patience and to stay with me.

In the end, I wanted to make what's going on right now transparent, because I was always honest with you, everyone, and that's something I don't want to stop with.

[the-single-element]

Good morning.

We've reached the Fourth Sunday of Advent. Christmas is less than a week away.

I imagine that there are some of us who are on-the-ball enough that they've got all their preparations done. They can set aside the anxiousness of "getting ready" for the holiday, and can just bask in the season. For them, Christmas has come early.

I imagine that there's a few people on this world who've done that for the other "coming of Jesus" we await in Advent, too. Folks who are already so thoroughly living in the Kingdom that it might as well already have come.

But for the rest of us… we probably don't feel the joy of "Christmas is almost here" quite as much as we feel the anxiety of "there's still so much to be done". It's no wonder that we've switched back to purple – to a season of anxious longing – for this last stretch of Advent.

So today's readings are for us. For that anxiety, that feeling like we'll never be ready in time.

They're for us, and they're to encourage us, because their message is: we're not the only ones preparing.

We start today by hearing from Micah, one of the earliest Old Testament prophets. He wrote before Jeremiah, before the prophets had even begun to talk about the Messianic age. He was speaking to a Jewish people who had never known exile; the doom he predicted was not the doom of Jerusalem falling to Babylon, but rather, a doom the Judeans averted by a changed way of life.

And yet even back then, in an age when nobody had any inkling of the future troubles, the cycles of exile and return, that would necessitate such a thing as a Messiah… even back then, he was laying the groundwork for Jesus's coming – speaking of Bethlehem bringing forth a new kind of ruler who'd be a shepherd for the children of Abraham (a people who, even in his time, had begun to fracture, Jew against Samaritan).

And we continue with the Hebrews essayist, commenting on an excerpt from a popular Greek translation of the Jewish Psalms. The obscure line there references even earlier prophecies ("as is written of me in the scroll, I come to do your will"). The Law and the Prophets, built up as they were year by year, century by century, seem to all be orbiting around a plan God has made to save humanity, one that redefines the terms and rewrites the assumptions.

Nowhere is this clearer today than in the good news we hear from Luke. The last two weeks, we've been hearing about John the Baptist's early preaching, and how he was sent to "prepare the way of the Lord". He was setting up the dominos to create a headstart for Jesus's own ministry – to get people expecting the Messianic age, to hint at the change of heart that would be required, to point out Jesus when he arrives, and to get at least a few people prepared enough that they might actually understand what Jesus would be telling them.

But today, we see John as a baby. No, not just as a baby, but as an unborn baby, albeit in the third trimester and old enough to kick in the womb. And when the other part of this plan arrives in the room – that is, Mary (and God only knows how much effort was necessary to make her "immaculate conception" a possibility) – there's already a part of his mind that's primed to do what he came into the world to do. Primed to notice the unfolding of the Messianic age, primed to feel the excitement of "oh! Something important is happening here!"

Imagine how Mary must have felt, to see her cousin Elizabeth already "read into" the situation. To see that the strange path Gabriel had told her she'd walk has already been paved for her.

We see only the edges of all this preparation. In order to get things in place for Jesus's life on Earth, God must have done so much more that we – who don't have time machines, who have to accept that some history is lost – will never even know about.

And if God did all this for Jesus's first coming – if God has put all this effort to make it succeed – then don't you think he's putting in a similar amount of effort for the second coming?

Indeed, Jesus himself admits that we'll need God's help, that we won't get to the Kingdom on our own.

But we shouldn't take this as a criticism, or as pessimism. On the contrary, I think we should take it as the ultimate encouragement – it means we don't have to be perfect. We don't have to approach the journey towards the Kingdom as though, if we don't get there by nightfall, we're lost. Jesus is journeying towards us too, to meet us in the middle. God is making the road straight, so that we might travel faster tomorrow than we do today.

To paraphrase the Jewish scholars of yore, "we are not free to abandon the work, but neither are we obligated to complete it".

So whether we're talking about our mortal Christmas celebrations, or the wedding feast that lies in the mists beyond it… let's not abandon the work, but let's also not stress too much about whether we have time to get every last detail in place.

If we do what we can, we can trust that God will do the rest, and "all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well".

[thedaveandkimmershow]

Since our last report, I thought about Peace a bunch.

Why?

'Cause in my experience, Peace is the x-factor that separates a lovely holiday season from a really crappy one. 

So yeah. Peace.

In the meantime, while I was thinking about all the ways Peace impacts our holiday season, we marched on with our Christmas movies, continuing the yuletide vibe with My Dad's Christmas Date, a very sweet, very touching film starring Jeremy Piven and Olivia-Mai Barrett.

After that, a pair of "Holiday" movies as in The Holiday, starring Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, and Jack Black... and Last Holiday starring Queen Latifah, LL Cool J, Timothy Hutton, Gérard Depardieu, Alicia Witt, and Giancarlo Esposito.

Between all that holiday TV feasting, I managed to work my way through 98% of this year's Christmas Letter, basically a one-pager (two-pager, really, because it's front and back) about what we did in 2024. My first draft of the letter in any given year gets me 90% done. Then I pick away at it for a few days, reading and making tweaks, reading and making tweaks until 97%, 98%, 99%...

100.

Once I cleared 90 this year, though, I crafted a version for my family in Holland beginning with a variation of what I already wrote in English but with mostly declarative sentences so that I don't have to sweat nuance in the translation from English to Dutch.

The translation, by the way, is a two-step process in which I feed, one paragraph at a time, my English version into the DeepL online translator then copy the translation into Google Translate for the return trip to English so that I can measure (as best I can) whether I'm communicating through the Dutch translation what I think I'm communicating. Fortunately, I can also recognize certain Dutch words and phrases so that sometimes when the English translation doesn't look right I can check the Dutch translation to see if it works anyway.

I've already got a full translation in Dutch that I'm happy with. When I get my original English version across the 100% finish line, I'll revisit it to see if there are any changes I wanna carry across.

I'm close, though. ☺️

In other news, I started Christmas shopping. 😁

In other, other news, we watched the all-star cast film, Love Actually, a story that brilliantly and clearly demonstrates the many ways in which love can actually be seen. 🤔

We also started in on the audio book version of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" as read by Tim Curry. We're into Stave I, the first chapter of the story that begins,

"Marley was dead: to begin with."

We're definitely through the part with his nephew, just barely into Scrooge's conversation with the two men collecting money for the poor.

We also, also started in on that old holiday classic movie, Gremlins. We're past the part where Billy's mom kills that one gremlin in the blender and that other gremlin in the microwave oven.

You definitely can't unsee those scenes once you've seen 'um.

I don't know if I mentioned this before but we were about a week behind on our Advent calendar. Got caught up, though, in a couple days and were on track by the 10th.

It was cool, though, when we could do more than one day at a time. 😉

Last thing so far this report: meeting up with a friend of mine who took the opportunity to get two other friends together for a bit of Show 'n Tell. 

Show 'n Tell?

Well, we're all dads, so... kids. You know? How old they are. What they're doing.

Wives, too. But only about what they're doing.

We all got our starts in the industry at the same production company from which our career paths have serpentined ever outward.

Our time was a chunk of history, a 'lil bit of what technology's bringing to our futures, and a lot of what's going on right now. Past, future, and present.

A lot of shop talk, of course.

A lot of Show 'n Tell for which I'm grateful that the season made some room and motivation for the four of us to come together.

Two of us already had a table by the time I got there at ten, by the way. The last showed up around ten thirty (I think) and left along with another of us between 1130 and noon. The last two of us... there 'til 2.

In general, what I'm sure of is arriving at ten, leaving at two. It's surprising since I had no sense of that kind of time passing. I happened to look at my phone and there it was... four hours later.

Time doesn't get away from me that often, by the way. When it does, though, I've been totally gone. In this case, literally lost in conversation which, if you're gonna be lost... yeah. That's a pretty good way to do it because I enjoyed every moment of that time from beginning to end.

We're even making plans for a studio Show 'n Tell without having to wait a whole other year to do it.

Which is itself another sweet gift.

Outside of what's happened so far, there's also what's on the schedule. As in, the company holiday party previously scheduled for the 18th has been moved to next month. Literally plucked from the midst of our holiday calendars and placed gently out of the way into January 2025. Next month. Next year.

That works for me, by the way. December is sort of an overabundance... and swapping out an event from the midst of that overabundance into the midst of nothing in particular going on...

Is a treat.

One to which I look forward.

And one I appreciate like a bonus. 😁

A similar thing happened with our former Youth Pastor who goes waaaaaaaaaay back into the earliest reaches of our histories both personal and as a couple. The man officiated our wedding, for crying out loud. At some point it was our tradition to spend Christmas Eve with his family. And then at some later point we would spend an afternoon with him before Christmas, taking the time to catch up.

This year, we're doing that again only after Christmas but before New Year's Day. It'll be Sunday, the 29th.

So yeah. Another treat to which I look forward.

Lastly, we've got a coupla small gatherings on the schedule: a Favorite People Over For Dinner on Saturday the 21st followed by Christmas Day afternoon and evening for family and friends on the 25th.

There it is, then. We're managing the season pretty well. It's not suffocating. No one's banging their head against the wall. And the times that we're intentionally enjoying feature peace and friendship and are worthy of the holidays.

I'm lovin' this.

☺️

[theladyoflore]

A small little book recs for these trying times:

Cleo Wade, Where to begin:

Where to Begin is a collection of the ideas, mantras, and poems I turn to when I feel like I am losing it. I wrote this so that I could put them all in one place when I felt overwhelmed by worry, fear, anxiety, or helplessness.

The words in this book are what stop me from walking away from the problems of the world during tough times. They also help me stay connected to hope during difficult moments and remind me that even on the days that feel the most daunting, I still have the power to show up and do something, somewhere, in some way.

Change-making comes in all sizes. It doesn’t always have to be one big gesture or nothing. As my friend Jenna often says, “The big stuff is the small stuff.” Your big life is made up of a collection of all of your small moments. Our big world is a made up of a collection of all of our small actions. This book is about where to begin.

Rutger Bregman, Humankind A hopeful history:

From the author of Utopia For Realists, a revolutionary argument that the innate goodness and cooperation of human beings has been the greatest factor in our success

If one basic principle has served as the bedrock of bestselling author Rutger Bregman's thinking, it is that every progressive idea -- whether it was the abolition of slavery, the advent of democracy, women's suffrage, or the ratification of marriage equality -- was once considered radical and dangerous by the mainstream opinion of its time. With Humankind, he brings that mentality to bear against one of our most entrenched ideas: namely, that human beings are by nature selfish and self-interested.

By providing a new historical perspective of the last 200,000 years of human history, Bregman sets out to prove that we are in fact evolutionarily wired for cooperation rather than competition, and that our instinct to trust each other has a firm evolutionary basis going back to the beginning of Homo sapiens. Bregman systematically debunks our understanding of the Milgram electrical-shock experiment, the Zimbardo prison experiment, and the Kitty Genovese "bystander effect."

In place of these, he offers little-known true stories: the tale of twin brothers on opposing sides of apartheid in South Africa who came together with Nelson Mandela to create peace; a group of six shipwrecked children who survived for a year and a half on a deserted island by working together; a study done after World War II that found that as few as 15% of American soldiers were actually capable of firing at the enemy.

The ultimate goal of Humankind is to demonstrate that while neither capitalism nor communism has on its own been proven to be a workable social system, there is a third option: giving "citizens and professionals the means (left) to make their own choices (right)." Reorienting our thinking toward positive and high expectations of our fellow man, Bregman argues, will reap lasting success. Bregman presents this idea with his signature wit and frankness, once again making history, social science and economic theory accessible and enjoyable for lay readers.

~~

I've recently read these two books and they both uplifted my spirits. So, I hope that if you give them the chance, they will uplift yours too.

[john3vanmba]

New Purchase?

Thinking back of our topic about marketing strategies and how companies go out of their way to promote their products, it made me realize that I frequently fall victim into these tactics. It is still my fault though since I voluntarily buy these products on my own. But I think it’s not only me; plenty of people worldwide do too, with the advent of the internet age and you can buy almost everything online now!

I always share this, but my primary hobby is painting scale models. When I am not painting these robots, I upgrade my personal computer with new parts and a lot of times, those are a tad expensive. In our marketing lesson in Lasallian Business Leadership, Ethics, and CSR, I thought of my previously made 25 – year life plan. I wrote there that I should be financially responsible. I mean it is essential that you have hobbies to destress when you’re having a hard time at work or gets overwhelmed by school requirements, it does not mean that you have to splurge on your hobby expenses irresponsibly. Month by month, I purchase new two (2) or more model kits as well as paints and hobby tools. Every now and then, I also buy high end computer parts to upgrade my PC’s performance.

Here's my current scale model backlog and there’s still a lot in the platform above my PC and under my bed:

The algorithms in my phone and web browsers all bring me to shops showing me new things that activates my impulse buying. When Miss Pia taught us about the modern marketing strategies, I realized that advertisements are getting smarter day by day, even infiltrating our personal search histories and posts that interests us the most. That was the turning point where I decided that I won’t be buying new kits unless my finish what I have at home, and to be honest, there’s still a lot of untouched, unbuilt and unpainted scale models that I purchased years ago! It’s now piling up. My PC is also already powerful enough to accommodate my gaming ang school needs that I don’t need to upgrade in a few years. The 25 – years life plan made me realize that to achieve my financial targets, I need to be smart with my earnings to reach those. Reflecting that it is not too late to change and manage my personal habits, I promised myself that I will finish first my scale model backlogs before buying anything new; I would still be preoccupied with those for about two (2) years without buying. I will also stop upgrading my computer for now unless one major part broke, I think that would be manageable. I guess that would be the start of creating a responsible habit for my own personal growth.

We were so fortunate that Miss Pia taught us new things that would generally improve our work ethics, personal values and sense of responsibility. Her topics in leadership and business ethics are interconnected and can be applied directly in our everyday personal lives, although that should be automatic since we should all be kind and responsible sons and daughters of our Lord. I am also very thankful in De La Salle University for giving me this opportunity to see this new light in my own personal growth. It accentuated my thinking of there is always room for improvement and every day, there is a chance that we can learn something new. Tomorrow yet again, I will be a better version of what is me today.

[littlestartopaz]

I wrote this for the Advent WWT! It uses the prompt "fireplace."

Read on AO3!

The Wayne Christmas Gala was one of the biggest annual charity events and all of Bruce’s kids found excuses to leave early this year. They had shown up together- except Dick who was tied up in Bludhaven- as expected of the most well known family in Gotham, but one by one all of the younger Wayne brood and friends had left. Even Tim had left early and, unless the boy was sleep deprived, Bruce could usually count on him for commiseration if nothing else. And yet, a little over halfway through the gala, Bruce found himself alone, with no backup against the likes of Vlad Masters.

“I simply do not know what to do with him. You have a small army of orphans, Bruce, how do you deal with their grief?” Vlad had been prattling on about his godson, how his parents had tragically died and the kid, Daniel, had come into his care. Daniel was heartbroken and despondent, and Vlad was asking him for help. Bruce thought he should be the last person to be asked that question; he dealt with his grief and his children’s grief by dressing up in costume armor and punching bad guys.

“You find something to do with them,” Bruce eventually said. “Showing them that someone is there can make all the difference.”

Vlad hummed in thought. Bruce set down his drink on a passing tray and excused himself. There was something about the way Vlad had talked about Daniel, like a prize to be won, that set Bruce on edge. People, but especially children, were not possessions or things to be claimed.

Bruce made his way to one of the side sitting rooms. Galas were draining, and they didn't get better as he got older. If he could sit for a little, he could finish the gala without making more of a fool of himself than necessary. 

His favorite sitting room had a cozy fireplace, a small bookshelf, and cozy couches. This time, there was also a black haired teen wedged into one of the couches, half buried in pillows. Empty blue eyes drifted towards Bruce as he approached. The boy looked through him, not truly recognizing Bruce as more than just an adult in the room. 

Bruce hid the way he startled; he knew this teen. He was Dick's rooftop case, the boy he had asked them all to keep an eye on when Dick had to go back to Blud. 

Danny, Dick said his name was Danny.

“Mind if I sit here?” Bruce asked. Danny just blinked slowly, then turned his eyes back towards the fire. He did tuck his feet closer to his body, so Bruce took it as permission and sat. However, Bruce hadn’t thought much farther ahead than that. He could see what Dick had been talking about; despair lay heavy under a veneer of apathy. According to Dick, Danny had lost not just his parents, but also his closest, if not only, friends in one tragic accident. Grief clung to Danny in a way that Bruce was intimately familiar with, both from himself and many of his children.

“I heard your parents died from Vlad,” Danny flinched inwards. Bruce wished he was better at bringing these things up. Unfortunately, years of comforting his kids had not helped. “I know what that’s like. I… I watched my parents die when I was young. They were shot, right in front of me. And most of my kids lost their parents in difficult ways. So, if you want to talk about them, I’ll listen.”

Danny didn’t react, he just continued to stare into the fire. Bruce watched and waited for any sort of response. Anything to indicate that Danny had heard him, but there was nothing, not even eye movement. Just their steady breathing and the crackling of wood in the fireplace. The silence stretched on and on, moments into minutes. Bruce would have to go back to the gala soon, but he still hoped Danny would say something, anything.

Eventually, Bruce stood up. “I do need to get back to the gala, but I was serious. If you want, you can call me.” Bruce doubted he would, but he gently placed a business card down in front of Danny. Surprisingly, Danny tracked the movement and stared at the card instead of the fire.

“I know that right now it feels like nothing will ever be right again. But it does get better. You find something that will honor them, or someone to live for. It will never be the same, but the grief does get easier to bear.” Batman wouldn’t shuffle his feet, but Brucie Wayne would. “I hope your night is bearable.”

With that, Bruce slowly made his way out of the sitting room. Right before he left, he turned back to look at Danny one last time. He watched as Danny slowly took the card, stared at it, and just as slowly, pocket it.

It wasn’t perfect, and Bruce had definitely fumbled more than anything, but maybe Danny would reach out. Bruce hoped he would. Either way, he would have to update Dick.

❄️ Haunting Heroes DPxDC Winter Advent 2023 ❄️

The Haunting Heroes DPxDC Discord Server is happy to announce its first official event: Haunting Heroes Winter Advent 2023.

❄️ ABOUT THE EVENT ❄️

🔹 What is Winter Advent? A DPxDC (Danny Phantom and DC Comics crossover) winter event to celebrate the winter holidays and the end of the year. Each day has two prompts you can choose from, along with a total of 6 free days where you can create anything you want!

🔹 When? December 10th to December 31st (2023)

🔹 Where?

Tumblr: If you post on Tumblr, feel free to tag this blog @haunting-heroes-creative-games and use the tag #hauntingheroesadvent23 so we can find and reblog your submissions

AO3: You can submit to our AO3 collection. We'll close the collection on January 31st, so you have plenty of time to catch up.

Discord: You can share your work on our Haunting Heroes DPxDC (safe for work 18+) Discord server. To join, just send us an ask

🔹 What kind of submissions can we send?

We welcome all kinds of creations for this event: art, sketches, drabbles, one-shots, multi-chapter mania, you name it! You are free to combine or skip any days of your choosing. You don’t need to post every day in order to join! The most important thing is you have fun and enjoy these last few weeks of 2023.

We are so excited for this upcoming event, and we hope you can join us as we wrap up the end of the year and look forward to a thriving fandom in the next.

Thanks @disillusioneddanny for the calendar!! 🩵

[Full prompt list under the cut]

December 10: Free Day

December 11: Mistletoe // Snowman

December 12: Holiday Songs // Fireplace

December 13: Free Day

December 14: Candles // Winter Holiday

December 15: Stories // Hot Cocoa

December 16: Past/Present/Future // Sledding

December 17: Free Day

December 18: Stars // Gift Exchange

December 19: Workplace Holiday Party // Blankets

December 20: Free Day

December 21: The Grinch // Snowball Fight

December 22: Baking // Movie Night

December 23: Lights // Gingerbread House/Men

December 24: Free Day

December 25: Holiday Market // Cuddles

December 26: Family Time // Decorations

December 27: Free Day

December 28: Sleigh Rides // Love

December 29: Ice Skating // Money

December 30: Resolution // New Year’s Party

December 31: Year in Review

[callsign-phoenix]

I wrote this as a part of my advent calendar fics, I hope you like it!

It is a Natasha ‘Phoenix’ Trace x gn!reader imagine.

Thank you @footprintsinthesxnd for the advice on animals and @marvelandotherfandomimagines for proofreading!

Day 21: getting a puppy

Warnings: please be aware that getting a dog or any kind of pet is a very big responsibility

Your girlfriend had a tight schedule, but she also had passions and wishes she wanted to follow.

One of those dreams was adopting a puppy.

On the one hand getting a puppy meant getting to cuddle a ball of fur anytime you wanted to but on the other it also meant sharing responsibilities over a living thing, which was a new step in your relationship, and one you were definitely ready for.

When Nat had time you found her on her laptop, checking out different animal shelters to find the right dogs that needed adopting.

When Christmas came around you decided to tell her that you too wanted a dog, and that Christmas time would be the perfect opportunity to make your wish come true.

It took her a while until she decided on a place, one that was far away so you had to drive there a while.

You made it into a road trip when she had a day off, taking her car and snacks and making your way down the coast.

Nat was nervous, you could see that clearly in her eyes but first and foremost she was excited, you had rarely seen her smile as much.

You were very happy to see her this way and you encouraged her by holding her hand and telling her you were excited too.

You listened to a lot of your favorite songs and sang along with them, taking short breaks to enjoy the landscape or just each other’s company while drinking soft drinks you had brought along.

You were a little nervous too when you pulled up at the shelter, Nat immediately grasping your hand when you exited the car.

You were prepared knowing that the little ones had been treated poorly and needed loving homes, and you were ready to love each and every one of them.

When you entered the building a lovely woman welcomed you and took you along, asking what kind of animal you wanted and making sure you knew how much of a responsibility it was.

The two of you were serious though and the woman immediately realized you weren’t kidding around, bringing you to the back to the kennels with dogs and puppies of all ages.

You grasped Nat’s hand tighter and she sent you a reassuring smile as you made your way through the room.

The dogs all looked well taken care of but most of them were overly excited to see you, wagging their tails and jumping along the bars to get your attention, but a few others were far less enthusiastic.

With all the many dogs you were a little overwhelmed but Nat pulled you with her carefully, until you came to one of the kennels at the very back.

Natasha stopped walking when she reached a small tri-colored dog that seemed a little more laid back but just as excited as the rest.

“Oh that’s Doug,” the woman who worked at the shelter said softly as she saw who you were standing by.

“He’s our resident oldie. A beagle, he’s been here for three years and he’s estimated to be around nine,” she added and sent you a reassuring smile.

“You said you wanted a puppy, but maybe if you don’t have much experience with dogs you should live with one before you decide to get a puppy,” she added, her eyes falling back onto Doug.

“He’s a lovely guy, very unproblematic but also slightly slow at times,” she added.

When there was a general silence your eyes went to Nat’s and you saw her staring at Doug, who watched her just as intently.

“I love him,” she whispered under her breath, and you chuckled at that.

Nat was serious about her love for him and you got him out of the kennel to see if he was as happy to see you as you were him.

After a few seconds of skepticism, he made his way towards you and jumped at the chance to bury his head in Nat’s lap, making all of you laugh as he established his new favorite spot.

The papers were taken care of, and you took Doug home after one of the people from the shelter came to inspect your house.

You were able to take him home a week after meeting him, with him sitting in the back seat while you drove, careful not to upset him.

The moment he entered the door you knew you had made the right decision, by the way Nat’s face was bright with joy.

You set up the water and food bowl and a small bed he was used to already before just sitting down to watch him, making sure to have everything well for him to settle in.

Doug once again found his favorite place in Nat’s lap and you chuckled as you watched him get comfortable, the giant grin on your girlfriend’s face only showing you further that you were happy with the decision you had made.

“Thank you for this,” Nat smiled as she ran her ringed hand down Doug’s spine, who only breathed heavier in response, to show that he liked it.

You shook your head and smiled back, reaching your hand out to intertwine your fingers on the stubbly fur.

“I love you, and I want to share my life with you,” you said softly, and her eyes grew wide in honest admiration.

“This is only the beginning, if you want it too,” you added, and Nat leaned over her new roommate to give you a gentle but passionate kiss.

tagging: @wildbornsiren @mayhem24-7forever @green-socks @hederasgarden @letsfvckingdance @shadeds-library @a-reader-and-a-writer @yespolkadotkitty @whateverbagman @neptunes-curse @sweetheartlizzie07 @top-gun-rooster @iloveprettyboysblog @ateliefloresdaprimavera @imjess-themess @littlebadariell @angstyjellybean @marchingicenotes7 @midget713 @supernaturaldawning @gspenc @adorephina @gigisimsonmars @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy @bespinnn @softromantist @malindacath @oliviah-25 @kwanimations @18crazybutcutealsopsycho @natasharomanoffisbaebby @simping4wanda @tamix44 @ycarlii @katesmadness @eggscrambler84 @d0ingitwithpassi0n @mavericksicybabe @kendra-rose @desert-fern @mavrellover91 @allivingstone01 @rhettabbotts @withakindheartx @trikigirl271 @cherrycola27 @bonitanightmxres

(please tell me if you want to be added to the taglist, or use this link)

[sonickedtrowel]

binary solar system

Another one-shot chapter!  the prompt here is.... is I wrote pregnant River and young babies/kids with these guys when I had absolutely no idea what I was talking about and I'm sure if I went back and read it after having 2 babies my soul would cringe out of my body. So instead let me just present you with this, a scene from Darillium which hopefully resonates more with those of you out there who have reproduced. 12/River ao3 link

“What the hell even is a round ligament?” River asked, unceremoniously flinging a pamphlet from the obstetrician’s office over the arm of the sofa and onto the floor.

“Er,” the Doctor carefully began, “I think it’s—”

“I know what it is,” she snapped, which, honestly, he should have seen coming.  “I know because it simulates me being stabbed in the abdomen eighty three fucking thousand times a day.  Round ligament.  Fucking bastard traitor.”

There were a lot of things about humanoid pregnancy that were significantly improved upon by living in a sufficiently advanced society with decent modern medicine.  Safe, well-tested anti-nausea medications.  Effective preventive treatments for life-threatening complications like pre-eclampsia.  The highest quality of monitoring and interventions available for any foetal developmental concerns.  Advanced surgical techniques and augmented healing technologies that made the dangerous and unpredictable old-fashioned mode of childbirth a thing of the past— evolution truly had dropped the ball on that one.  

But there were some things that remained, as River succinctly pronounced, “total shit.”

“Why don’t you lie down for a bit, dear?” the Doctor suggested.  “I’ll start dinner, you get some rest.  Doc—”

“I swear to god,” she interrupted, “if you say ‘Doctor’s orders,’ you can kiss this face goodbye, because I will shoot you in it.  And if the next one’s hot I won’t even feel bad.”

“Fair enough,” he replied, valiantly struggling to choke down a laugh, because he felt fairly sure that would not go over well at the moment.  

“Anyway,” River lamented, “resting is the problem.  Obviously I need all the rest I can get, but I can’t get any because when I lie down there’s a, a bowling ball, just— rolling all around in there, bouncing off my round ligament whenever I try to move a half an inch— oh, but if I don’t keep flipping sides like I’m being cooked on a spit I’ll throw out a hip!  And the stupid app said they’re only the size of a, a— what is it this week?”

“Rhodocrosian dwarf leek,” the Doctor supplied helpfully.

“Which is fucking meaningless, by the way, because the proportions are not even remotely comparable— but the point is,” she stressed, stopping mid-pantomime, “whichever way you measure a spring onion, or whatever, it should not be big enough to be smashing my ligaments!”

“I think it’s supposed to get better soon,” said the Doctor, crouching in front of the sofa and laying his hand ever-so-carefully over the upper curve of the tiny swell in River’s belly, avoiding the bastard traitor.  “Remember Dr. Kiril said something about touching the abdominal wall?  Not as much rolling around once the bowling ball’s out of room.”

“To be replaced with something even more dreadful, no doubt.”

“I’m sorry, dear.  You’ve definitely got the worse end of this deal.”

“And to think, we spent all that time trying to make this happen,” she sighed.  “I’ve been so spoilt, always being a bit superhuman.  Healing quickly, never having to feel my age or the little inconveniences and indignities it normally brings.  Making a baby sounds so magical and romantic in the abstract but it’s all been so… biological.  All the scans, all the hormone testing— do you know how long I’ve been pissing in little plastic cups?  Three years, Doctor.  Every month: ovulation tests, pregnancy tests, then start all over again.  So much hope tied up in such an unappealing ritual.  Like making a little advent calendar of urine.”  He failed to suppress his laugh at that, but River smiled, wearily.  “At least I only have to do it at appointments now.  There’s not a shred of dignity left to me in this entire business.  And what a way to spend what’s meant to be our longest honeymoon.  It’s all terribly unsexy.”

“Well, there were quite a few sexy parts, as I recall.”

“If you don’t mind being on a very strict schedule.”

“I didn’t mind.”

“Doctor,” River said solemnly, and he took her hand, as he knew well now when she was bravely preparing to say something important, against many decades of instinct to bury it instead.  “Have we just… thrown the biggest spanner you could possibly imagine into everything?”

“Well… yeah, maybe, a bit,” he replied— there was, of course, no use pretending otherwise.  “But in a good way.”

“But, it’s— it is completely mad, isn’t it?  We’re so happy in our life, let’s blow it up on purpose.  I couldn’t fathom loving another person like I love you, but instead of just enjoying that incredible, rare, precious thing, we’ll make a new person from scratch!  Who are we to make a person?  Why does anyone ever do something so obviously insane?”

The Doctor laughed softly, stood, and settled carefully down beside River on the sofa, giving her room to gingerly rearrange herself against him.  

“It’s just so hard to imagine what it will really be like,” she mumbled into his shoulder.  “It’s— it’s like moving the stars.  Adding a second sun to a solar system.  Everything’s going to change, and it can’t all be for the better.  When there’s more light, some things will burn.”

“Well, you’re not wrong about any of that,” he said, carefully draping his arm around her and threading his fingers through hers.  “But we do have a pretty extensive record of doing completely mad things.  It’s our speciality, really.  And, you know… it is very normal to have doubts about such a huge change.”  He pressed a kiss to her temple and she curled a little more into his side, her breath hitching as she winced with the movement.  “It’s a leap of faith with a very long way to the landing.  You’ve got to get through a lot of wild thoughts on the way down.  And thank you.  For telling me how you’re feeling.”

“Well, I appreciate you not pointing out that I sound like I’ve completely lost my mind.  I have actually noticed.”

“Nah,” he scoffed.  “You just sound like you’re… growing a new sun.  You’re handling it magnificently.”

“How are you so bloody calm about it, by the way?” she grumbled.

“Oh, don’t worry, dear, I’m an absolute mess.  This is what we call triage.  You just carry on and I won’t have to pay any attention to me— doing me a favour, really.”

“Mm.  Sounds healthy.”

“I think, in this specific case, it’s sort of the natural order of things.”

“And you know, of course I’m worried but… I don’t actually have any doubts.  I don’t even know this person yet, and they’re making my life an enormous pain in ways I’d never imagined, and I don’t regret it one bit.  Isn’t that strange?”

“Well, not so strange.  Love is like that.  No one ever said it made sense.”

“What, no ‘biological imperative’ talk?  No human hormones hijacking my brain?  Suddenly when it’s our little foetus it’s all mushy stuff?”

“River Song, let me tell you something very important right now.  It was a hard lesson to learn, but ever since you came into my life, it’s all been mushy stuff.”  She laughed, and turned her head to kiss him, the tension tangibly melting out of her shoulders as her lips lingered against his.

“Oh,” she moaned, “I would really, really love you to take me to bed, if I could move at all without the stabbing.”

“How about I do take you to bed, get you all set up with your pillows and wedges and noodles and whatnot, and we can see how the bastard traitor is feeling later.”

“Okay,” she sighed.  “Oh!  Oh, there it goes— put your hand right here!”  She grabbed his hand and pressed it very firmly to her stomach, which was alarming considering how she seemed not to be able to do anything without incurring the round ligament’s wrath, but then—

“Oh!”  The Doctor could feel the sort of grin taking over his face that River teased would make him look like the Grinch, if he weren’t so pretty.  (He wasn’t so sure about ‘pretty’ as an appropriate adjective for this face, but had decided not to object.)  “Hello, there,” he said softly.

“You really felt it this time?” she asked, beaming back at him as she pressed her hand down over his.

“Yeah, just a teeny tiny little… poke.  A little hand?  Little foot?”

“My bet’s on little elbow,” she said, cradling the tiny curve of her belly.  “I’m sure a half-developed leek with pointy elbows and no body fat would look fairly ghastly, but… they certainly are sweet from this angle, aren’t they?”

“Yeah,” the Doctor agreed, though it came out with a gravelly waver to it.  “The sweetest.  Well, easy for me to say; I’m not getting poked.”

“I think that’s my favourite part, actually.  Like they’re saying hello.  Then it’s not some big unimaginable unknown we’re waiting for, it’s… just this little one right here.  Already keeping me company.”

“So maybe there is a little magic left in the process?”

“I guess so.”  River smiled with the sort of Christmas-morning delight he’d hoped would fill every moment of their night on Darillium, and the Doctor thought having two suns in his life seemed like the perfect number.

[yoomiii123]

Twilight Advent - Day 11

Twilight Advent Calendar, Day 11: What did Alice look forward to about joining the Cullens?

There were a lot of things she looked forward to, but the main thing was that joining the Cullens meant she would finally be a part of something. No longer an outsider looking in, waiting. Finally being an active member of things that were to come.

To make up for the day-late post, I wrote a small ficlet (~1'200 words) about Jasper observing a change in Alice because of this below :-)

The moment has come

I was sitting on the couch in the living room, a stack of newspapers to my left. Carlisle had graciously offered them to me when he learned that Alice and I had been more or less 'off grid' for the last two years. Neither of us had pointed out that the gap in my knowledge of current events was much wider than just those last 17 months. It was better this way.

My hands were going through the pages, flipping them one by one, unfolding, and re-folding new issues at a reasonable speed but my eyes were monitoring Alice. She was with Esme in the dining room, perusing family albums. I had determined that the caramel-haired vampire was no threat to her days ago, and yet I still couldn't stop watching them. Something had changed in her. And I couldn't quite figure out what it was.

The fact that I wasn’t able to openly explore her new flavour of emotions or just ask her upfront, hadn't helped. But now Edward was gone, finally. He and Carlisle had left to hunt 19 minutes ago. Originally, it was supposed to be Edward and Emmett, however, when I declined their invitation to join them, that plan had quickly changed. Now Carlisle had gone with, and Emmett was on the other side of the living room, supposedly doing homework with Rosalie but more likely watching me.

I had been surprised by the fact that although Edward was clearly Carlisle's second-in-command when it came to leading this coven, they relied a lot on Emmett for protection. He was not an unreasonable choice, but with his sunny disposition and — as far as I could tell — a rather straightforward way of thinking, he didn't seem like the best choice. Not to watch someone like me, who was more than used to being outmatched in terms of strength.

I wasn't willing to dismiss his chances against me yet, however. While Alice and I had been very sparing with the details about my past and I had been impressed myself with how much I'd been able to control my thoughts around Edward, I doubted that a well-travelled man like Carlisle didn't put the scars and the mention of Texas together. He and Edward must have had a reason to pick Emmett.

Maybe I should take him up on his offer.

“I’d love to fight you,” had been the first words he had directed at me, after Carlisle had jumped in and defused the situation that ensued upon Emmett and Edward’s return on the afternoon, we met the Cullens. Back then, his tone had been earnest, and the words were undoubtedly meant to intimidate – the action of a man who aimed to assess the threat to his family. But he had re-iterated the sentiment several times since, in a much more playful and jovial tune. By now, I was certain that his offer to spar was solely meant as a bit of good fun. Still, I hadn’t taken him up on it.

Yet.

It was tempting. The certainty that observing him fight would bring could be an invaluable advantage, if, at some point, we weren’t welcome her anymore. However, the risks were considerable. I had to admit that I’d been wound tightly over the last few days, keeping my gift hidden and safeguarding my thoughts from Edward while watching Alice, who had abandoned all prudence after a mere hour (to be honest, I was proud of her that she kept my warning in mind that long), had taken a toll. There was a good chance that, when put in the familiar situation of a fight, my instincts would kick in. And if that happened, me exposing my gift was the least worrisome of consequences that could ensue. I could seriously injure Emmett, ensure that Alice’s dream of a family would forever be lost. Or worst, I could end up killing one of them.

Even if Alice had no reservations, our chances against their coven of five were dim. With the way things currently were, they were borderline zero. I couldn’t risk a fight like that.

A jolt of energy flashed up my arm and pulled me from my thoughts. I instinctively pulled my hand back. An unnecessary motion, her fingers had long left my skin again and she’d taken a seat next to me on the sofa.

Her eyes said ‘Sorry’, but she was wise enough to not speak the apology aloud. Instead, she motioned to the newspaper in my hands. “That article must be very interesting.”

I looked down at the page as well. I hadn’t turned in minutes. What a rookie’s mistake; I should have known better. I should have better control over my mind and body by now. But then, Edward’s absence was the first chance I’d gotten to do some real reflection.

“You don’t have to watch me. No one here is going to hurt me,” Alice continued in a lower voice. Not quite low enough though.

My eyes quickly flashed to Emmett. He didn’t look up from his textbook. Rosalie’s pen continued scratching on the paper as well. Either they weren’t eavesdropping, or they were very good at hiding it.

“It’s not that,” I returned, resisting the urge to whisper so that the other’s couldn’t listen in. I didn’t want them to become suspicious. “You’ve changed.”

Alice pulled her legs closer and directed her full attention to me now, away from the newspapers. “How so?”

I searched for words to make her understand while simultaneously not exposing my gift. “You seem happier. I’ve never seen you like this.”

“Of course, I’m happy! We’re finally here with our family,” she returned, smiling as she looked over at Emmett and Rosalie.

“It’s not just that…” Again, I was searching for the right way to put what I was trying to say. How I’d have loved to just take her and get away from this place for a few hours, talk things through openly. But I wasn’t sure that it would be wise to get up and leave for a few hours after they’d just observed us ‘conspire’.

“You’re calmer… Perfectly at ease.” You’re also not looking out for visions much anymore, I added in my head but decided to keep that to myself. “It wasn’t like this before.” When it was just the two of us.

Alice’s eyes widened. I hoped it meant she understood. “Oh Jazz,” she smiled and put her hand on mine again. This time, her bliss came as a gentle wave. It filled the cells on the back of my hand, ran warm shivers up my arm and spread a calm I hadn’t been able to find for days in my entire body.

I let myself enjoy it for a few seconds, before pulling my hand back again. There were still three vampires in this house, likely watching us. I couldn’t afford to let my guard down.

Disappointment flashed in Alice for a second, but she didn’t let it get to her. “I was perfectly happy before, as well,” she explained. “But I was still waiting. My whole life, I’ve been waiting for something. Always watching in, always on the outside wishing for the moment I could finally be a part of things. Us being here means that this moment has come.”

[zimithrus]

Tag 9 people you want to get to know better!

I always get nervous about tagging people cause I always feel like I’ll bother them, but if I had to pick some people I’ll go ahead and tag @secluded-delusions @up-sideand-down @thatrandomartistyoufound and @kazeshxni​ I know it’s not 9 but still 😅 And no pressure to participate guys! Also thank you for the tags @prismaticpichu and @aerislei !!

Three Ships:

Cloud/Zack - FFVII: I remember when I first started shipping this about 10 or so odd years ago, even still have the first art I ever drew of the ship lol! But I’ve loved it for such a long time, there was just something about two best friends through thick and thin, with their cute little x arm handshake thing, Zack inviting Cloud to lunch (even though Cloud is currently suffering from motion sickness lmao bad timing there Zack XD) and that he cared for Cloud for like 4 fucking years in his comatose state, he never left him behind, literally died for him when he could have just abandoned him, but he didn’t. And of course in Advent Children when Zack shows up and asks if he needs a hand with Sephiroth, reminds him what he is. I love it so much 💚 It will always be my favorite ship of all time 💗

Zagreus/Thanatos - Hades: I love their dynamic. Like, they used to be close before Zagreus started his attempts to leave the underworld, but then when he started, a distance grew between them. And the first time you encounter him in the game you can tell there’s some animosity between them ‘no escaping from death?’ ‘I left when I had to’ ‘If you won’t say it then I will - goodbye Zagreus’ and then the more you encounter him and gift him ambrosia the closer you become again, mending that once broken trust and friendship, eventually ending up together. ‘I’m right here, aren’t I?’ I love it 🥰

Galo/Lio - Promare: Literally Happy goofy sunshine boy meets grumpy grump boy. Their relationship begins so rocky, as enemies; firefighter against burnish. And the more that time passes, Galo realizes the Burnish don’t burn for no reason, that they are humans just like them, and how could he not realize the truth of what’s happening. Eventually needing to work together to save the earth they call their home. Galo even bringing Lio back to life when he’s about to crumble to ash. I loved their dynamic a ton and how their personalities clashed before they found a way to get along and work together. It’s very good!

First Ship: Inuyasha and Kagome - Inuyasha. I started shipping these 2 when I was 11 after my brother get me into the series, starting with the Castle in the Looking Glass movie. Then I went and watched all the anime and read a ton of the manga books. It’s the earliest ship I can remember, and one of the first fanfics I ever wrote 😆

Last Song: Everglow by Starset (I really really love this band and I’ve been on a Starset kick for months now)

Last Movie: uhhh... shit I’m trying to remember the last movie I watched 😂 I think it was Free Guy

Currently Reading: I have not been reading much actually, aside from some fanfics which the last one I read was one of mine before bed 😂

Currently watching: Sonic Prime. Just started watching it last night and it has a very interesting premise! I love how Tails has 9 tails and goes by 9, I thought that was really cool ngl 😊

Currently consuming: Does Vicks Cough and Congestion medicine count? That’s the last thing I downed 😆 (Yeah, still sick as hell 👍)

Currently craving: Nothing in terms of food, I have 0 appetite 😭 I am craving no longer being sick and playing Crisis Core again! 😆 I’ve been ill since Wednesday like plzzz XD