#i'll likely also end up adopting hook at some point too

[violetsareblue-selfships]

i'll announce romantics later (and also as i come up with tags) but uhh i'm adopting clara (even the way she apparently calls the female mc big sister?? like it was impossible not to adopt her immediately)

[empressofmankind]

ON THE FIRST DAY OF CHRISTMAS

MY TRUE LOVE SENT TO ME

[Crocodile x F!OC]

Explicit - 5.5k words / 13 pages

(A/N) One large dick refusing to be contained, two bananawani for a picture perfectly framed. Three excellent sets of nightwear, and four shots that caught genuine care. 

Actually, a teenager's absolute worst nightmare.

Nico Robin is a teen in the cruel throes of puberty, peer pressure and that never-ending sense of social shame. For I realised a few days ago that she has a massive gap in her canon from about age 12-ish onward until Crocodile runs into her at 24. So, as her teens match up beautifully with the nuclear disaster that is Crocodile and Shiv's marriage, I decided that what this insane ship really needed was a teenager and zero tools to deal with it. Also, the notion of him having been stuck fake single-parenting Robin after everything went royaly south with Shivs just tickles me, personally.

This story is set around the same time period as ‘Hooked On You’ and ‘The House Always Win’, in Alabaste at Rainbase, mostly in and around Rain Dinners. Because apparently, I am not over these two.

It may be a tad less polished than my usual stuff, because I wrote it at the break of my Christmas morning to deliver it to you all on your Christmas day. Enjoy!

Tag(s): Teenage rage quit. Reprehensible parenting. Several amazing sexy lingerie modelling moments, courtesy of yours truly being horny on main on Christmas morning. We've also got dry humping, hand jobs, some good fingering and dicks breaking containment simply by being that darn large. Graphic sex. Excellent banther. Solid comedy, if I may say so myself. Absolutely filthy language. Shivs too. Girl made him lose his shit. Size difference is still relevant, stretching and edging too. I'd say orgasm denial, though neither was down for that one. At least they got to wreck eachother real good in the end. I'll be over there, helping Robin putting herself back into the system. I'd wanna disappear off the face of the earth, too.

🐊 🐊 🐊 

“You can't do this to me!” Robin all but stamped her feet.

Crocodile glanced away from Shivs to the fuming teenager, smoke escaping him as he caught her angry gaze. “I didn't realise we needed your permission.”

“This is humiliating!” she continued, beside herself with frustration. “I won't be able to show my face in public ever again!”

“You already can't, sweetie,” Shivs said in a tone not even on the same continent as comforting. “What with the World Government looking for you.”

“That’s not the point! You are murdering my social life!” Robin fumed as she glared at her adoptive parents. She'd sooner be an orphan again, she thought angrily. “Like, why are you even doing this? It's not like you need the money!”

Shivs tilted her head, taking the cigarillo from her mouth even. “It's fun?”

Robin switched her angry stare from her to Crocodile, but he was no help. Had the gall to chew that cigar as if he were actually thinking about it. 

“What she said,” he said through a cloud of smoke.

“Hrgh!” Robin balled her fists at them. “I hate you both!”

When neither particularly responded to her outburst aside from blowing out more smoke and perhaps raising an eyebrow, she turned and stormed out, slamming his office door. 

The Sphinxxx nightwear designer smoothed his tailored jacket with a nervous glance. “Will this be a problem, sir?”

“No.”

🐊 🐊 🐊 

When the photographer's assistant dimmed the ambient light of Crocodile's office to a softly flickering orange, Shivs felt the shift in mood. Of the office space, yes. But also her own, and Crocodile’s. The fact that there were nearly a dozen strangers fussing about them didn’t kill it as much as you'd think.

They'd just changed into the lingerie they were meant to model and were undergoing the fussy attention of the two resident make up artists. It was a nice set, though privately Shivs thought, not quite their style.

Shivs wore a just below hip length tube dress of sheer dark fabric that reminded her of stockings. It had a strip of opaque black silk that went around her pubes and breast only. The effect was interesting, she supposed. Crocodile wore matching boxer briefs made of the same sheer material, with thin opaque strips circling around his hips. However, the patch of cloth meant to obscure his business did not quite do its job as intended. And the fact that it had a subtle black zipper down the middle that appeared to go all the way around seemed like a hazard to her. But, Stefano - the Sphinxx designer who had envisioned these - was not one to argue fashion with, they’d already discovered. 

Fortunately, she’d managed to keep Crocodile from blowing the whole thing off at the first confrontation. He sat smoking at his desk now, blowing out smoke and creating personal thunderclouds around his head as one of the make up artists fussed with him. Could be have been far worse. She’d count this a win.

Cussing, Shivs fumbled with the small clap of her necklace behind her neck.

“Turn around, doll,” Crocodile said.

She glanced up to find him beside her, and wondered if he’d used his abilities because the poor make up artist was staring in their direction like a particularly dimwitted calf. Or perhaps he’d simply been rude.

“Thanks,” she said as she turned, bending her neck as she felt his touch against it. It should be illegal that he could unclip those with one hand while she barely managed half the time with two.

“No, no! Absolutely not!” Stefano exclaimed as he came towards them, all hand gestures.

Shivs could tell from the way Crocodile’s touch abruptly stilled that the fashion designer better follow up with a good reason fast.

“Keep the jewellery, it is classy, distinguished,” Stefano said. “This is art.”

Shivs relaxed when she felt the weight of his hand shift against her neck, idly palming the tension from the muslces there. Good save, she thought.

“Ready when you are, Stef,” the photographer said as she tossed her cigarette bud into the nearest ash tray.

Stefano clapped his hands. “Let’s do this.”

An assistant hurried towards them with the ashtray for Crocodile to discard his smoke, but Stefano waved them away. “It adds character, atmosphere.”

And just as well, for it was only half way gone, and it was never a good time to make him stop.

Stefano motioned them towards the desk, though with far more grace this time. “Poses, if you please.”

“C’mon big guy,” Shivs said as she took the curve of his hook and tugged him up from his seat. He rose with due reluctance through a cloud of smoke.

🐊 🐊 🐊 

“They are magnificent!”

Stefano’s breathless exclamation at seeing the dozing bananawani on the rear deck of the casino was especially satisfying. The rest of his crew hung back, exchanging uncertain glances.

“They won’t do anything,” Crocodile rumbled around his cigar. He caught the designer’s gaze. “Unless I tell them to.”

“Haha, noted,” Stefano said with a small laugh soaked in anxiety.

Shivs slid her hand into Crocodile’s as they watched him harry his terrified crew into setting up. “You’re so mean.”

He glanced down at her, then at the busybodies. “Think they'll miss us for six minutes?” he rumbled as he blew out smoke.

“Only six?” she muttered into the skin of his bicep, pressing a kiss against it.

“Hrm.” 

There was a note of amusment under the grumpy noise though, and she was glad his mood had shifted for the better again.

“Oh, that is small,” Shivs chortled when they were shown what they’d be wearing this time. Both were unnecessarily complicated looking contraptions of thin black cord holding in place the most minimal bits of cloth necessary to pretend at decency. She cast a cheeky look up at Crocodile. "Can that even contain you?"

Turned out, it couldn’t.

The elastic had been too weak to keep his junk from doing exactly as it pleased, and she was fairly certain she’d cherish the visual of all of it ignoring the thong’s confines for a good long while. In the end, the poor tailor had to thread iron wire through the main cords. Once that was done, they tried again.

“Over here,” Stefano said as he directed them towards the corner of the deck with an unobstructed view of the oasis around Rain Dinners. From this angle, the rest of Rainbase city wasn’t visible and you could fancy yourself in the middle of the Alabaste desert.

“Would it be possible for one of them to be, well, closer?” he asked, his tone carefully polite.

Crocodile audibly patted his naked thigh and made the clack-clack sound from around his cigar that was usually the only warning some unfortunate soul got. Instantly, one of the massive creatures uncoiled from its nap and lumbered towards them, the deck shaking under its heavy steps.

Shivs rubbed the bananawani’s giant snout. “Hello handsome, you’re gonna be a supermodel too?” she cooed at it as the enormous beast settled down around them.

“P-perfect!” Stefano said, seeming equal measures excited and terrified. “Jace, framing?”

The photographer took aim, motioning them this way and that way before she raised a thumbs up. “Good shot. Got both the desert and the animal framing them.”

Shivs leaned against Crocodile’s thigh, a hand on his broad chest as she looked up at him. He reached around her, resting the curve of his hook against the small of her back.

“Turn a little to the camera, darling, just a little,” Jace said. “Yes, perfect. Hold that position.”

Ever so subtly, Shivs pressed up against his hip, a wave of languid pleasure rolling up her spine as if a quiet beach. The small huff that escaped her drew his attention immediately, his hooded gaze snapping unto hers.

“Let’s have a different one. Glass!" Stefano said as he gestured at one of his assistants, who immediately came over to them with a crystal tumbler. "Something sweet, I think. Hold it up as if you're sharing it."

"What was that, doll?" Crocodile rumbled under his breath as he held the tumbler between them, leaning in as if about to drink from it. His gaze snared hers. Every stealthy push of her pussy against his muscular thigh lit a spark of pleasure that threatened to catch fire in her core. The curve of his hook pressed against her lower back as her quiet pants clouded the glass. "You going to cum on my thigh with all of them watching?"

“Oh, perfect!” Stefano exclaimed, oblivious. “Please hold those expressions!”

“Don’t think he’ll be happy if I climb on your cock instead,” she whispered above the glass. "Though I am dying to."

She heard it as much as she felt it - the twack of snapping fabric and the sudden shift of his balls spilling against her thigh as his cock broke containment, erect for all to see.

“Oh-hoh!” Shivs chortled, leaning back as Crocodile cussed, sloshing the drink. He removed his arm from around her but his hook snagged on one of the uncountable bands of the delicate contraption she wore. It snapped and the whole thing came undone around her with a sigh of fabric that would have been satisfying if it had been intentional.

“Oh, dear!” Stefano, his voice pitching up two octaves as the tailor and his assistants rushed in to fix things. The photographer put away her camera and went for a smoke break.

Shivs struggled not to laugh at the tailor’s awkwardly cautious manner while Crocodile glared down at him. “That is never going to fit back in there.”

Stefano gave her a look more panicked than when Crocodile had threatened shutting all of this down. “What are we going to do?!”

Shivs shifted as the tailor’s assistant helped her into a bathrobe. “Well, Stefano,” she said with a waggle of her eyebrows. “I know what to do about that.”

He stared at her for a long moment.

Then clapped his hands.

“You heard the lady, everyone out! Out!”

“Soooo,” Shivs said when everyone was gone, running her hand up his hard shaft. “What are we going to do about this?”

Crocodile reached for the back of her head and drew her to him for a kiss. She responded greedily and he drank her eagerness in as the gluttonous creature within him stirred from sleep.

“If you put your pretty pussy around it, you're not coming off any time soon,” he rumbled against her lips when they parted.

"Tempting as that sounds, I suppose we can't."

He was rock hard as she fitted her palms around him, just below the head, and pulled down with short, firm tugs that drew rapidly louder grunts from him. Holding on to his hip, she straddled his thigh again and rode against him with a languid roll of her hips that send sparks of pleasure up her spine as she jerked him off.

When he reached down to rub her clit, she almost immediately lost it, so wound up the whole affair had left her.

"Cum. For me. Doll," he grunted near her ear, his breath hot bursts against the side of her neck.

She whined pitifully as a short, intense orgasm cut through her so sharp and clear that it brought tears to her eyes. Trembling against him as she clenched around his thigh, savouring the sweet after pleasure. When she recovered, his large cock throbbed in her grip, precum leaking down his shaft and running between her fingers.

“I need those pretty thighs of yours, sweetheart.”

“I need you inside me,” she complained as he dislodged her from his thigh. She reached for his neck, tried to drag him on top of her as she spread her legs. The reverberating groan that drew from him did things to her.

“No -ngh- honey.” He struggled to turn her around as she squirmed underneath him. He was this close to shoving his cock into her soaking pussy and fuck them both into a stupor.

Instead, he pulled her up unto her knees and then feet. He leaned unto his hand, dragging her up against him. The angle was awkward, but no matter. He hooked her thighs together, his cock straining between their soft, hot skin. He groaned as he pressed along her slick pussy.

She complained, fingers curling into fists on the wooden boards as she bucked back into his thrusts, his breath hot along her back.

“You wanted the damn photoshoot,” he grunted, picking up his pace. 

“I want y-you,” she whined, and he had to force his hook around her waist to keep her from tilting her hips trying to get his cock inside her.

If that happened, he wouldn't be able to stop.

He threw his weight around and leaned on his hook instead, so he could reach his hadn between her thighs.

“I know, doll,” he grunted as he rubbed two fingers roughly against her clit, drinking in the way her whines pitched into moans.

“I will - hrng- fuck you. So good. Later.”

“Oh-ah!” She cried out as a second orgasm rushed through her like an oncoming wave and he pounded himself through it with quick, hard thrusts between her trembling thighs. They squeezed around his shaft as he came with a low, drawn out groan that made the bananawani look up. She felt its timbre against her back as he dumped his load on the boards beneath them with a noise that made her bite her lip as she caught his gaze across her shoulder.

By the time the Sphinxxx crew dared approach, they’d settled beside the snoozing bananawani enjoying that glass of brandy and a smoke. It had hardly been enough, but his dick had gone soft and it took the edge off. That’d have to be enough.

“Shit,” Shivs said when she noticed the incriminatingly bar-shaped bruises streaking her left hip.

“Not to worry,” Stefano said quickly. “We can retouch that away.”

“I like it,” Crocodile rumbled against her ear as his fingertips traced her hip.

Shivs stretched against him, nestling into his hold as she sipped the brandy.

“Bet you do,” she said against the glass.

🐊 🐊 🐊 

“Ohhh, it has a little tail! I love that!” Shivs exclaimed when Crocodile had turned around to go where Stefano pointed them.

The last set of nightwear the Sphinxxx designer had brought for them to model was distinctly seasonal. And though not usually one for these kinds of things, Shivs had to admit she didn’t hate it. Predictably, she was wearing a Mrs Santa ensemble that comprised a very short red velvet skirt edged in genuine white fur that felt sinful soft against her skin. It came paired with an impressively v-necked hooded crop top in the same style. She’d opted for stockings and red heels to go with it, because it felt half-finished without them. Stefano had been thrilled.

However, instead of matching Crocodile with a Santa-inspired outfit, they’d actually gone for a reindeer. A very big, very hunky reindeer. 

The outfit comprised a short sleeved top that barely reached to his midrif and struggled to contain his pects, and boxer briefs with cut outs at the thighs that only just managed to contain him. The whole affair was a seasonal chocolate brown, except for the smudge of white on the chest, thighs and butt. It had taken some convincing to get him to wear it. Nevermind, the antlered headband. But that, and the boxer brief’s little reindeer tail delivered the whole thing to grace.

No, she definitely didn’t hate it.

They had returned inside, to Rain Dinners' primary casino floor, which had already been decorated the previous weekend for the upcoming season. Stefano had been conflicted about where they’d do the shoot - by the oiled wood and polished brass of the Grand Café bar, or at the colonnade with the nightlights of Rainbase through the window wall? Shivs had casually suggested they could do the shoot at her table, and he’d loved that.

“No, no, lay down flat. Pretend it's grass and this is summer - yes,” Stefano said as Shivs laid down on her stomach on the poker table, leaning on her elbows with her hands under her chin and idly kicking up her feet.

“Good, perfect!” His tone was as cheerful as the decor as he handed her the poker cards. “Hold ‘em like you mean it, darling.”

“Devil’s in the details.” Shivs winked as she tossed the third card back to him, then put down the right amount of community cards as well. “That’s a little too much.”

“That’s not what you said last night,” Crocodile rumbled not even pretending to lower his voice as he leaned over her as instructed.

That drew awkward looks from everyone, and a chortle from her that settled pleasantly in the pit of his stomach as he leaned unto his hand and pretended to be interested in the cards instead of the feel of her damp cunt against his cock. The moist spot discolouring her panties under the short skirt hadn’t lied.

“No, not quite,” Stefano rubbed his chin, then snapped his fingers. “Indicate one of the cards.”

“Well, that’s a solid tell,” Shivs said with a snort.

“Art, art! This is art, not an actual game,” Stefano protested. “Go on, please.”

Crocodile shifted his weight unto his hand, indicating one of the two cards Shivs held with the tip of his hook.

“A little nearer - perfect!”

He leaned in closer as the camera clicked, pressing his cock against her firm butt. “You look like a seasonal treat good enough to eat, doll,” he grunted under his breath.

Shivs arched her back with a little noise, spreading her thighs more to accommodate him. She glanced away from the cards to catch his gaze from the corner of her eye. “Don’t tempt me to take you up on that, Blitzen.”

The rumble at the back of his throat as she felt his cock stiffen against her made her smile at the cards.

When they rounded up the last shot, Stefano came towards them positively aglow. “This was wonderful,” he said in a near reverent tone. “Stunning. Perfect.”

Crocodile lit a cigar, letting the praise shower him. Shivs suspected it smoothed his rankled humours from earlier today.

“Let me gift you any one of these,” the Sphinxxx designer added. “It would be my honour.”

“These ones,” Shivs said immediately. It was the little tail, truly.

Crocodile glanced down at her through a cloud of smoke. Amusement tugged his lips around his cigar.

“What she said.”

🐊 🐊 🐊 

“That what you want, doll?” Crocodile said as he ran his hand up her side and under the top’s red velvet to palm her breast.

“Yes. It will turn out to be the best picture,” Shivs said as she laid down on her stomach and leaned on her elbows, hands under her chin. They were in their bedroom, facing the floor length mirrors opposite the curving window wall, wearing the seasonal set that she’d claimed for them. A cheeky glance at him from across her shoulder. “And I want to see it already.”

“You do look good, doll.” He pushed the short skirt up, fingers running through the soft fur edge and against her warm skin. He palmed her firm butt, pulling the cheeks apart. Her crimson panties were soaked, just as they’d been during the photo shoot. 

“My own seasonal treat,” he said as he leaned down to kiss her shoulder, sliding fingers under her panties and between her wet folds. Her little huff when he pushed two into her slick cunt made his cock throb for its tight embrace. “I wanted to rail you every time your pretty pussy pressed against me.”

“Wish you had,” Shivs said as she arched into his touch, pressed her hips into his palm as his fingers drew sparks of pleasure from her core with their every move. She spread her legs further, wanting him against her the way he’d been during the photo shoot. “Wani, please. Need to feel you against me, on top of me. Like that. Again.”

She whined when he withdrew his fingers, and moaned when she felt his hips and weight settle against her instead. Their gazes crossed in the mirror.

“That what you’d do, doll?” he asked as he leaned over her, all but cheek to cheek as he dry humped against her butt, making her feel his erection. “Come to the stable at night and let all the good reindeer stuff your tight, needy hole like a little slut?”

“I only know a bad one,” she replied with half a moan. “But his cock is the best one.”

“Is that so?” he grunted as he pulled the boxer brief’s crotch out of the way and pushed his hard shaft along her clothed cunt and groaned at how wet the thin fabric of her panties felt.

“He always fucks me good and proper,” she said between huffs of need, pressing back against him to feel more. “I love how his thick dick spreads me open, fills me so fucking good.”

“Like this?” He pulled the soaked fabric aside and shoved his hard cock into her in one smooth thrust, the slick noise of her soaking cunt drawing him in incriminatingly loud in the quiet bedroom.

Her moan broke and set fire to the desire that had been smoldering in his loins.

“Oh, yess!” she whined when she felt him bottom out, stretching her so deliciously around him. The tip boldly pushed against her back walls, wanting to go further still. She cramped around him when he stayed put, pushed back against his hips. “F-fuck me.”

He watched her squirm and claw at their bedsheets. Felt her squeeze so tightly around his shaft it made him clench his teeth. He leaned close against her, his breath hot against the back of her neck. “What’s that, doll?”

“F-fuck - ngh- me, damnit,” she cursed as she pushed back against him, desperate for friction, any friction. “Make me f-feel your thick cock. You filthy beast.”

“Beast?” he rumbled with a firm thrust that wrested a groan from him as he blunted against the back wall of her tight hole.

“A-ah! Yes!” she whined half muffled into a fistfull of sheets. “More. Damnit.”

“More?” he grunted into her ear as he locked his hand around her shoulder and his hook behind the far edge of their bed. He wanted, no, needed, to hear her scream for him.

“Ye-ah! Yes!” She’d all but buried her face in their bedsheets, fingers clenching around the pale silk.

“Didn’t my little honey want to see?” he said as he struggled to control himself, hold back from recklessly thrusting into her wet, cramping pussy a moment longer. He pushed her chin up with his index finger as he started pounding his cock into her with thrusts that shook her whole frame. Thrusts whose wet slaps filled their bedroom as the slick noises of her soaking pussy eagerly taking him made him hungry for more. Much more.

“Look up, doll.”

The horny greed in her gaze when they met in the mirror made him groan as his cock throbbed. She was perfect, and his. She fed the ravenous beast within him the way no one else did. No one else could. Not any more. Not ever.

“Scream -ngh - for me, honey,” he grunted as he strained into his pushes, groaning as he forcefully pulled himself up by his hook with long, deep thrusts that damn near made him see stars. She screamed for him then as she watched him wreck her, shattering her cries with his thrusts. And when she started cramping around him, his low cries joined hers as he spilled his load deep in her tight cunt.

Feeling his arm give way under him, he turned to fall on his side into the rumped sheets beside her, drawing her with him as he rode out his orgasm with languid thrusts. She turned her head up and they kissed as he reached under her top again. She made a delightfully hazy noise against his lips when he stroke her hard nipple.

The timid knock at the doorpost drew an irritated grunt from him that made her want to fuck him again.

It was Anthony, his gaze fixed firmly on the ceiling. He was holding something, a magazine by the look of it.

“What.” Crocodile grunted.

“The draft print came in, sir,” Anthony said as he held out the magazine, gaze never straying. “They will hit the shelves tomorrow, I was told. Unless, of course, you object.”

“Oh!” Shivs was up and rising so fast that he groaned when his cock slid from her tight pussy. He rolled unto his back and watched his cum leak down her thighs as she grabbed his dress shirt and shrugged it on while trotting to his secretary. He reached for the night stand without bothering to get up, flipping a cigar from the box laying atop of it.

“Thank you, Tony,” Shivs said as she accepted the magazine from him.

“No problem, ma’am,” Anthony said without meeting her gaze, keeping it diligently up. “If there is nothing else?”

“Absolutely nill,” Crocodile said as he sat up and lit the cigar, and his secretary quickly made himself scarce.

“Look what they put on the cover,” Shivs said, clearly delighted, as she came towards him, proudly showing that seasonal shot she’d loved so well she’d made him wreck her like that not five minutes ago.

“Seems you got your wish,” he huffed through a puff of smoke as he reached out to her with hook and hand. 

She chortled as she took hold of his hook and let him draw her into his lap. “This sensationalist line they added about seasonal fun at the casino makes it sound like we got a whole something here for select guests, haha.”

“No, no other reindeer,” he grumbled, making her laugh.

“Don’t you worry,” she said as she sat up to press a kiss against his lips, hand stroking across his lower stomach. “None could hope to compare.”

The molified noise he made in response made her smile as she curled up against him with the magazine. “It looks so pretty,” she said as she ran her fingers across the full colour pages.

“That’s because you’re in it,” he said as he looked at them from above her shoulder. The article was a little ways into the middle of the fashion magazine. Eleven pages of quality photographs and there wasn’t a single one they didn’t like. It was only when she paged back to the front that they noticed the envelope taped into the inner cover.

There was a note in it emblazoned with the Sphinxx calligraphy, and a stack of photographs.

‘It was a delight and honour to work with the both of you. These did not make the cut, but I dare say I’d be in trouble if I did away with them, wouldn’t I?

Con affetto, Masotti Stefano.'

The delight with which she went through the additional pictures made the creature coil inside him with a purr.

“Oh, but these came out nice too?” Shivs said as she held one up. 

It looked like a candid shot as they walked to their intended spot during the shoot in his office. He’d just taken a draw from his cigar, a fond glance shrouded in smoke as she tugged him along by his hook, glancing over her shoulder with a smile as radiant as the desert sun.

Crocodile plucked it from her fingers. “This one will sit in my office.”

“I want a bigger print of this one,” she said as she shielded another one from view. He tugged at her shoulder with his hook to see. It was one from the second location, outside, with the bananawani. On it, he sat in one of the cast iron deck chairs, the large animal and the sprawling Rainbase oasis behind him. She stood against his inner thigh, leaning into him as she held up a lighter so he could light his cigar. It was a good shot, except for the part where all of his everything was breaching containment from the frightfully complicated thong. 

“I am going to hang it at my table,” she declared as she held it against her chest.

“Absolutely not!” he objected, smoke escaping him as he tried to snatch it from her.

She dodged and laughed, rolling off his lap amid a flock of scattering photographs. Then jumped up, the incriminating picture held high in hand. “Maybe that'll keep 'em piped down!”

He tangled himself out of the blasted sheets, biting down on his cigar as he gave chase. 

“Get back here!”

🐊 🐊 🐊 

Robin basked in the bright, sunny morning as she sauntered down Rainbase’s boulevard with her bestie, Miguella. They’d gotten the largest, fanciest lattes they could find and she had put them on Crocodile’s tab. She’d be lying if she said it didn’t taste better for it.

“We could go to All Stars or Seven Palms tonight?” Miguella said as she stirred her straw through the whipcream of her latte.

“All Stars.” Robin let the latte’s creamy texture take over her thoughts for a moment. “They’ll know to find us in Seven Palms, we go there too often.”

“They’re mad at you?”

“I am mad at them.”

Robin scowled. It was always excessively embarrassing when they did something like this, even when it was just lame old suit brands. She didn’t need to hear from everyone and their dog how good they looked, how amazing they were, and how lucky she was. She hated it here. She’d run away if she actually had anywhere else she could go without being turned in on sight. 

It was strange, though, for they hadn’t even tried to curfew her the past weekend. Perhaps they felt bad and hadn’t gone through with it? That’d be a first.

As they sauntered down the boulevard, not all its souvenir and food stands had opened yet. And the lady at the corner kiosk was just dragging the ‘newly arrived’ stand outside.

And that’s where she saw it.

Rendered in glossy full-colour, proud as could be on the front of Fashion First. Them. How dare? Her on her stomach on one of the casino’s poker tables, wearing the skimpiest sexy-Santa skirt and top you could still put on a front cover without being delegated to the randy back corner of a 24/7 shop. And him, dressed up as a goddamn reindeer, leaning over her back in what couldn’t possibly be an accidental posing. They pretended to be engrossed by the cards she was holding, but Robin knew better. She could fucking tell from their stupid horny glances.

Standing there, in the sunny, quiet boulevard. She thought she might actually scream.

“Hey! Aren’t that your parents?” Miguella said, and had the gall to chortle about it.

“They are NOT my parents, and they are dead to me!” Robin screamed, and stormed off.

🐊 🐊 🐊

Horny hell seat reservations - @tiredemomama @smut-goblin @ruledbyproblematique @momodwriter @littlemountainwolf @fanaticsnail @feral-artistry - have a very merry Christmas with a shot of crocaine on the house.

[lucy-dulap]

Relationship questions for Lucy and Gamigin

(What if their ship name is Gummy? Idk I'll see)

1. Who makes the other blush and who finds it adorable

Gamigin blushes when he laughs too much and since he's constantly giggling when Lucy's around, he blushes the most. Lucy's too dense to notice, though.

2. Who sings in the shower

Gamigin. And he puts his whole pussy into it. He's voice isn't even that great, but the passion on display is adorable. While he was preforming in the bath once he hit Lucy's face and he's still apologising about it to this day.

3. What would their song to eachother be

From Gamigin to Lucy it would be "Romantic Flight" from the HTTYD ost

From Lucy to Gamigin it would be DSaF Dave theme remake. That's their two shared braincells doing a mating dance

4. Who emberasses the other in public with kisses and pet names

Gamigin mostly. He's very touchy-feely and he constantly kisses and hugs Lucy in public. But what really flusters Lucy are the pet names. Being called something painfully sweet makes them emberassed. They start to get used to it at some point and they call him pet names back.

5. Who curses and who repremends the other for doing it

Lucy curses a lot but Gamigin got used to it. If Gamigin even says a small wear word like "damn", Lucy would turn to him and scream "Cum iți permiți, măi, coaie?! Firiai dracu de nenorocit, fututi mortii mati, cine te-a crescut, ma?"

Lucy teaches Gamigin how to say swear words in Romanian though.

6. What small quirks do they love about each other

When Lucy messes up a word they spit and then do it properly and Gamigin finds that adorable.

Gamigin kitten sneezes and Lucy can't hold back the head pats after he does that.

7. Who makes the other laugh more

Whenever they're close to eachother they giggle. All. The. Time. Even during meals they crack jokes. That's why they always are forced to eat seperately, so they don't choke.

I think Lucy makes Gamigin laugh more, but only slightly. The way they say coaie always makes him smile.

8. Who gets jealous easier

Lucy, all the way. You don't get adopted by Leviathan by being a normal member of society. Lucy's very scared that Gamigin will find someone better than them and abandon them just like their parents did. They kind of have to learn to have faith in Gamigin's monogomy.

9. How did they know they were right for the other

Gamigin was hooked the second he saw them hurt and was informed they are human. A human? In hell? In need? He is going to take such good care of them and learn everything he can about humans.

Lucy was first scared of Gamigin's excitability, but they started to loosen up when Gamigin showed genuine interest in them. When they heard he's a dragon he rushed Ppyong to the human world to get the DVD collection. They needed to impress him. And impress him they did.

10. Who brings up the subject of kids first

Lucifer. When Lucifer realised that the two teens in his care get along so well, and since Lucy can ovulate, alerm bells went off in his head. He's not the biggest fan of drugs, but he'll make sure both you and Gamigin take your birth-control regularly. The last thing he needs is an unplanned pregnancy from the least prepared people in Hell.

11. Who's adorable when they're sleepy and who gets grumpy and irritable

When Gamigin is sleepy he can barely hold his eyes opened. He's the cutest little meow meow. He sits himself on Lucy's lap, presses his head to their collarbone and falls asleep.

When Lucy's sleepy they get very fussy. Usually it ends with them crying in frustration and falling asleep from exhaustion.

12. Who's more protective

Both are very protective of the other. Gamigin would call Leviathan 5 different slurs for trying to kill Lucy and Lucy will fist fight Bimet if he complains about 'a lizard' following them in their journey.

13. How do they express their feelings (words, visual arts, a song, etc.)

Infodumping is a love language, I swear. Also, pokémon battling. Lucy loves playing any type of format and they'll introduce Gamigin to pokemon showdown. They probably even have a soulink nuzlock. Gamigin will know how Lucy is feeling depending on what team they use and Lucy can tell how Gamigin is feeling by the jiggles of his staff.

14. Where would they go on a 3AM adventure

Lucifer's private study at first. Lucy is obsessed with Lucifer and they need to see his study. So, while Lucifer is sleeping, they would sneak into the room and mess around.

Lucifer knows this is happening, but he wants to let the two youngsters have fun thinking that he can't hear their crazed giggles. Kind of like a lion pretending to be hurt by its cubs

15. Who has a hobby that only the other knows about

Lucy wants to make a pokemon fangame and they have a lot of ideas around it, but they're too shy to share it with anyone but Gamigin. They both plan it out and both would beg Buer to use his Tartaros knowledge to code it into existence. Little do they know that Buer failed his CopSci and Coding classes.

16. How do they hype eachother up

Both yell like they're at a football match. You know this meme? It's them. They are here to support eachother until the very end as loudly as possible.

17. Who picks flowers for the other

Gamigin brings Lucy berries since he knows its their favorite food. Especially blueberries and raspberries. Neither bring flowers because they don't want to kill the flowers by picking them.

18. Which one wears the "I'm with stupid" t-shirt

Both of them at the same time while laughing about it. The only way they allow to be insulted is if its recicrocle. They'd kiss with this shirt on to make sure everyone knows that they don't mean it as an insult.

19. Who's the better dancer

As I've said here, Gamigin will be the happiest dragon in all of Hell for getting to dance with Lucy, but he won't be good at it.

Lucy isn't a great dancer but they can do a brasoveanca or something very simple like that. Anything harder than macarena and they just stand stiffly in the corner until its over.

20. Who infodumps and who listens with heart eyes

Haha, autism. Both. They both infodump and the other one just stand there like "I can't believe this is my boyfriend. They're so cool." The 'me and the bad bitch I pulled by being autistic' meme but both of them are autistic bad bitches.

[bonefall]

Could Rainstorm be related to Bluestar somehow? He is described as blue-gray and I’m surprised he isn’t listed as part of that lineage.

Same goes with Stonestream. It feels too convenient that a cat with that prefix appears in dawn and not related to that lineage. Especially when he’s later named Stormstream. I might be looking to deep with these two but oh well.

Could Beechfur be Sedgecreek’s kit? Sedgewhisker being named after her grandmother makes me laugh.

Greenflower seems unrelated to anyone. Could her kits live?

Maybe Mosspelt and Emberdawn could be Dawnbright or Mallowtail’s kits.

Rainstorm

Yes, I'm going to follow up on the Swallowtail x Rainwhisker implication. It's come up a lot and works out very well.

Rainstorm is BLUE blue, there's no way he isn't related to Bluestar. He'll inherit the blue gene from his great-grandmother Snowfur. Rainwhisker is going to be dying in the WindClan Rebellion, so his son is going to be named after him posthumously.

It works out well too, because this pregnancy lines up with Leopardstar's planned backslide in Bonefall TNP. Swallowtail being so close to Rainstorm and claiming Queen's Rights is suspicious to the Thistle Law supporters. This will be an incident contributing to Mistyfoot's realization that she needs to do something.

This litter is also going to include Rippletail, because something feels right about these two being brothers.

Lastly, this means they are going to be part of the Po3 Apprentice Generation! Rainpaw and Ripplepaw are going to be The Three's buddies in RiverClan.

Stonestream

That name can't be a coincidence. He would have been born shortly after Stonefur's murder. Someone who loved Stonefur a lot gave their son that name.

I'm going to commit to my thought that Frogleap was the adopted brother of Stonefur and Mistyfoot. TigerClan passed over him for his pure RiverClan blood, and for them, it was a mistake. He was one of the secret TigerClan rebels. I don't think him being Sunfish's brother is going to be missed; especially since I'll be making sure to preserve Sunfish's bloodline through Grasswhisker too.

So, Stonekit was the first birth in the family following Stonefur's death. He's either from the last litter between Frogleap and Mosspelt, or he's the firstborn of Dawnflower. Either way it was a challenge; "Stonefur will always be part of this family."

Either Stonestream or Pebblefoot will become the mate of Graymist, and ergo the father of Sneezecloud and Mallownose. Whichever one ends up being closer in age to Graymist, who still currently has no parents.

Greenflower, Sedgecreek, Beechfur

Greenflower seemed to have been replaced by Mosspelt via retconning; so let's reverse uno card some of these retcons.

The kits she lost in TPB were Woodkit and Robinkit; taken from Frogleap x Mosspelt, and there's one survivor in this litter; Beechfur. The timeline checks out for Beech to be a young warrior in TNP.

And her mate can be Sedgecreek. I am planning for Greenflower to end up supporting Thistle Law, so she can make a point of revealing that their honor sire was Sedgecreek's brother Loudbelly. This causes a rift between them, as Sedgecreek was uncomfortable with her family being turned into 'political examples' by revealing such personal information.

As a side note; Loudbelly and Sedgecreek MIGHT be moved out of the Timberfur x Ottersplash litter. Reason; Reedtail's lineage might end up very prolific once I hook up his and Skyheart's kits past the TNP Missing Generation Fog.

IF that happens; Reedtail's sibling will be the doomed Silverpaw from TPB. The timeline pans out, and also I arbitrarily feel like they look very similar.

Mosspelt, Emberdusk, and their mother

(Emberdawn's name is being changed to Emberdusk to avoid conflict with Silverhawk's wife.)

Seems like an easy fix, yeah. I'll make them the children of Mallowtail because she looks more like them both. They are probably the result of an honor-siring, because you know how big Mosspelt's family tree is going to get.

[bookaddict24-7]

REVIEWS OF THE WEEK!

Books I’ve read so far in 2023!

Friend me on Goodreads here to follow my more up to date reading journey for the year!

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172. The Delicious Death by Kayla Cottingham--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

THIS DELICIOUS DEATH fell more prominently into my TBR list because of a friend who read it and made it look like a really good and bloody time. She wasn't wrong!

I was so surprised by this one (mainly because I took a bite out of it without reading the synopsis first), so I was thoroughly entertained. I didn't know how normalized the horrors of this book were, so that was a unique and fun reveal. I think it was such a good exploration of how the world treats people that don't fit into the "typical" human category. The fear and the exclusionary actions of some of the characters were very on the nose when we think about today's society.

I enjoyed the twists and turns and how these girls fought to save each other and others like them. They didn't depend on men to help them--they were total bad asses. They were just a little hungrier than most badasses, and you know what? That's perfectly fine.

I also find it strangely timely (for when I read it) that these catastrophic events take place during a huge musical festival when the events of Burning Man were happening. It was an interesting and totally coincidental line up of events.

Also, love, LOVE the romance in this and how diverse it was. And the flashbacks, although sometimes a pet peeve for me, really helped me understand why some of the characters were the way they were.

Finally, this book really made me think of GIRLS SAVE THE WORLD IN THIS ONE by Ash Parsons. If you enjoy this one as much as I did, I think you'll enjoy that one!

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173. Stiff by Mary Roach--⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was really excited to read this one because I've heard really good things about Mary Roach. And while I DID enjoy this for the most part, it got to a certain point where I kind of just wanted it to end.

The first half was really interesting. It was morbid, but I've never been too squeamish when it comes to the topic. We are all temporarily in these bodies and when we leave, our bodies are left behind. So, learning what we can learn from those bodies and how they're treated was fascinating. There was humour thrown in there to break up the dark tension and I really appreciated it. There was also a lot of historical research about grave digging and how certain practices have been adopted over the years.

But then the second half started and I just...I'll admit, my attention started to turn away from Roach's words and my interest started to wane. Just goes to show that even though these topics have always made me wish I had more aptitude for the sciences, my attention would never linger long enough to fulfill such fanciful futures LOL.

Anyway, this was good overall--even with that latter half (for me). I think this is a great Autumn read. You get to learn some neat stuff and get the sometimes creepy forthrightness of science.

___

174. Fall of Ruin & Wrath by Jennifer L. Armentrout--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I received a copy of this book from the publisher because I interviewed the author for Indigo on Instagram. This did not affect my review in any way.

I usually read books like this one as audiobooks because my attention strays so much now that I'm older. So, I was a little wary because I had to read this by a deadline AND I had to read the physical copy. I was so happy to see how easily the story pulled me in and how addicted I was to the story.

I loved the main character and her energy--it gave me huge flashbacks to when I read Armentrout's books in the past and how addicted I was to them. There's just something always so compelling and addicting about her writing. I especially loved how the MC spoke her mind and was honest with herself about what she wanted and needed to survive.

When the love interest came in, I was even more hooked. I LOVED the sexual tension and how he was so unapologetically himself. Listen, I have acknowledged that what would normally be red flags in real life are very green flags (sometimes) in books like this one because, sigh. This love interest can get it.

There were other pretty cool things about this book, like how we learn about why the world is the way it is and the power of the natural world around the characters. I also felt like the story, even though it's mainly set in one place, was so compellingly written that it didn't need too much complication settings-wise.

My one complaint is the over-use of the ellipsis punctuation. The story was great, but some pages had at least two instances of...the character...talking...like...this...or describing...describing something...something like this. For me, it ruined the flow of writing and even if the scene happening was a serious or emotionally-charged one, I was taken right out and found myself giggling at yet another ellipsis.

My biggest way of recommending this book for reluctant readers is that it very much gave me SJM vibes, so if you're a fan of her fantasy romance books, then you might like this. I had a lot of fun and the spicy moments were very, very fun.

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175. The Stranger by K.A. Applegate--⭐️⭐️⭐️

While I found this instalment to be one of my least favourites, I DO see the importance of it.

THE STRANGER is a perfect example of how these are just kids who are fighting a nearly impossible war. They are given the opportunity to either stop what they're doing, or keep going and honestly, what do you think you'd do if given that opportunity?

As the story progresses and the stakes rise, we are constantly being reminded that these are kids.

I'm still incredibly excited to keep seeing where this series takes me. The books are short, but they pack some pretty great messages.

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176. Go Down Hard by Ali Seay--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My friends have read and loved this book and I can completely see why.

This book was so much fun. I know that this is horror, but I was so entertained by the one-liners and the comedic timing. Also, what are the chances of a woman serial killer moving in next door to a men who is also a serial killer?

I also loved how he eventually showcases why she is the way she is and that despite all the stoicism and the mask some people wear, people like him are all the same in the end. The cat and mouse game between the two characters really emphasized this point and made it even more entertaining to me, as a woman.

I highly recommend this one for those who want to read horror novellas, but are wary of gory horror. Yes, there is murder, but the social commentary and icky factor of this man makes this book more than worthy enough for the horror category!

Also, not to mention how ADDICTING this book was. I had to put the book down because I had to get up early the next day. So worth the sleepless night, though.

Never have I rooted for a serial killer before. Oop.

___

177. Landbridge by Y-Dang Troeung--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was one of the more creative memoirs I've had the pleasure of reading. The text was full of photography and was cut into, as the title describes, fragments. It was incredibly readable and I enjoyed learning more about the heartbreaking history of Cambodia, and the reality of life as an immigrant in Canada in the '80s.

I think, however, that my absolute favourite part of this text (as heartbreaking as it is) were the letters Troeung wrote for her son. They were moments and thoughts captured in time that he can one day look back on whenever he thinks of his mother. While the rest of the text had really important experiences and histories retold, even personal experiences, it was these snippets that capture my heart.

The author's story is heartbreaking and that dedication at the end broke me, especially knowing just how important those letters will now be to her son.

I highly recommend "Landbridge" for anyone who enjoys reading immigrant memoirs and for those who want to open their world up a little more. Not only does this explore the grief one might experience over a country your family had to leave, but you will be a part of the living grief the author shared with the reader in the letters for her son. Gorgeous and heart shattering.

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178. The Murders of Molly Southbourne by Tade Thompson--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I LOVED this one. The writing, off the bat, was incredibly compelling and addicting. It felt beautiful and full of so many things I wanted to highlight. The story idea is so unique and had some genuinely terrifying moments.

What would you do if your blood was enough to create clones of you almost instantly--murderous clones that hated you?

There were searing moments of sadness where I grieved with the mc, and moments where I laughed until tears came to my eyes because she's so socially awkward.

This being a novella also made this a super quick and addicting read.

Immediately ordered the next two books and will hopefully read them soon!

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179. Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Re-read in September 2023-

Oh Eric, the things that happen to you. I was a little wary going back into this one because I vaguely remembered what happened with Eric, but I was happily surprised and thoroughly entertained. For once, Sookie got to have a hot girl summer moment with the vampire. Screw Bill.

We get to meet a character in this one who will also change Sookie's life forever and I'm exciting to re-explore that world with her. This is where the story starts to truly get more and more fun!

Also, I was hella looking forward to that conclusion. Iykyk.

___

Have you read any of these books? Let me know your thoughts!

___

Happy reading!

[evilpenguinrika]

Since being able to play ffxiv, I ended up making my hosie fankids because I Am Weak to character creation lol

But also since I created my hosie fankids here, it got me thinking about what jobs Hope and Josie would have (along with the kids too). So I'm going to put my musings here under the read more if anyone is interested lol

Additionally, the jobs I'll be writing below for the kids are the jobs I will be giving them in the game once I get to unlock it (they're currently in their base class right now and I gotta lvl them up to 30 and do some quests before that)

.

Hope, even though she's a tribrid, I decided that she would have Dragoon as her job. I also did play around with the idea that her second job would be Red Mage since they use both magic and melee, but I definitely prefer the idea of her as a Dragoon way more. I mean, think about it, Hope with her lance/spear, jumping at great heights, and then plummeting down on her enemies to land hits? Hot.

For Josie, I was stumped between Black Mage or Blue Mage. Black Mage because that would be the obvious choice since it's a magic class. But Blue Mage was also appealing since Blue Mages--from what I've read--mimics the abilities of their enemies, and that felt really fitting since Josie is a Siphoner. However, I decided to stick with putting her as a Black Mage instead. It just felt better to me.

For the kids:

Lana is the first born between Hope and Josie and is a Tribrid like Hope, so my thought process for what job Lana would be is the same as Hope. I just think them being Dragoons is neat and totally not because I am biased lol (okay maybe I'm a little biased, but you cannot tell me Dragoons like Fang from ff13, Aranea from ff15, or even Dion from ff16 aren't badass as hell). Currently her base class is Lancer.

Hayley never inherited the magic genes and is a werewolf. So for her, I picked Monk for her job. She's a tough fighter and is always the one to rush into the front lines. Plus, with the training she got from Hope, Hayley is one powerful opponent. Plus, she has a mean right hook lol. So Monk made perfect sense for me when I chose her job. Currently her base class is Pugilist.

Jay was the same as Josie. Debated between Black Mage or Blue Mage, but I ultimately went with Black Mage foe him. I did think about picking a melee job for him since Jay is also an exceptional fighter when not using/relying on magic. But in the end, I decided to stick to my gut and keep him as a Black Mage. Currently his base class is Thaumaturge.

Leo is the last of my Hosie fankids! He was adopted by Hope and Josie after they found him scared and alone in an alley around Mystic Falls. He's also the only human in a family of supernaturals. He always felt like he's missing out in all the cool things because he's only human. Leo ends up learning about magic and can only create potions that don't require him to use magic or spells, only dumping and mixing ingredients and that's it. So anyways, I decided that with that logic, his job woukd be Scholar. As well as Summoner. Scholar because it would be the closest thing I'd think would fit with what he wants to achieve. And Summoner because I just think it'd be neat for him to be able to summon creatures. Plus, I honestly feel like Leo is just that personable to the point where he'd be befriending all sort of creatures (and giving Hope and Josie mild heart attacks when Leo comes home with a hell hound or something lmao). Currently his base class is Arcanist.

Edit: WAIT I NEED TO ADD ONE MORE THING FOR LEO! I think he'd also be great as an Astrologian as well!!!!!!! I mean I think that job fits pretty well, maybe more so than Summoner if I'm being honest.

Oh! And because Leo is adopted, I chose to give him a different race than the other three in the game. Lana, Hayley, and Jay are all Hyur and Midlander clan. When I was creating Leo, I originally wanted him to be an Au Ra Raen, but the shortest i could go for height was like. 5'7" or something? So I picked Miqo'te Seekers of the Sun instead and then I had a realization: Leo = Lion = Cats = Miqo'te. Unintentional Galaxy Brain lmaooo

.

Anyways, that's it for my Hosie and Hosie fankids in the world of FFXIV musings lol

[mfpeace]

@justbeingedgy @weird-colombian-gurl You asked me to elaborate on the "Ches already has a kid" theory in the notes of that one mf analysis post (which I really liked, go check it out!!), so that's why I'm making this one, cuz notes are a bit too restricting for what I want to talk about!

Though next time think twice before asking me to talk about something I'm interested in, because you never know when you're gonna wake up lovecraftian horrors!! :DDD you'll see what i mean when you press read more :))

So, I'll say it right now - this post is largely inspired by the second story highlight of this Instagram user (sorry, I don't know their name, only that their Instagram handle is dee_girl_metalfamilyfan), it's in Russian though, so keep that in mind

Alright, so I'll break this theory into two parts: the first one will be all about Ches, and the second will be about his potential child (spoiler: you might've seen her!)

Without any further ado, let's get to the Ches part:

1. The creators said that they're gonna explore Ches' character in the second season. Obviously, it doesn't mean anything on it's own, but just wait.

Dima: Let's talk about the second season a little. Of course, the seconds season will show development of the old characters, as well as new ones. That's in short. As you see, Ches looks a bit different here.

Alina: Yeah, we'll show a bit more about Ches at the ages of 18 to 20. His past. We'll reveal a bit more about his complex character, as much as it's possible.

(The source of the translation) Also I think they also said at one point that adult Ches will get some character development too? But that's probably a given, considering that we wouldn't see his youth if it wouldn't have affected him in the present, flashbacks without any relevance to the overall story don't sound so good

2. Not sure about this one (we don't know how much in character it was) but I can't not mention it.

Alina: Actually there was this one fanfic that I really liked. I don’t remember what it was called, but it was about Ches having a daughter, which is a cool topic. It was relatively in character and truly interesting. It’s great when people focus not just on sexual relationships of the characters, but also try to look at their development. That was a really interesting one. That’s it.

(UnityCon '19)

3. This one's a pretty big one, in my opinion. So, this is what they said on ArtWave '19:

Dima: Ches also has flaws.

Alina: [to Dima] Don’t spoil stuff.

Dima: His flaw is that he's very... irresponsible, let’s say.

So, maybe, just maybe, Ches does have a child but he, you know... left them? As the Instagram highlight from the beginning say: "he might be irresponsible enough to leave his child, and he's probably irresponsible enough not to use any contraception" (rephrased, not the exact quote)

4. Alright, so, the only mention of this one I can think of right now is the aforementioned Instagram highlight. The Metalfamilyfan says:

I contacted Korg/Корж, (admin of @ metal_yama [and I believe one of the organizers of the Metal Family Meetup in Moscow]) and she asked Alina on one of the meetups: "if Ches were to be a father, what kind of father would he be?"

And she said: "The kind of that would say "kid, look at that birdie over there!" an then he would run away"

Someone's words are not the perfect source, but they did tag Metal Yama and from what I know they didn't disagree with what the author of the page said. if anyone has anything to say about this (disprove or definitely prove what I said) feel free to do so in a reblog, notes, DMs, send me an anonymous ask, or in any other way you feel comfortable with

5. Ches has literally been through the same thing, and we know how important the theme of the cycle of abuse is in Metal Family (or, in this case, the cycle of neglect? Abandonment? Idk)

You managed to hide your PREGNANCY from me! AND you've been hiding the child from me for a whole year!

YES, because you would've insisted on aborting him!

AND NOW I'M INSISTING ON PUTTING HIM UP FOR ADOPTION! OR I'LL LEAVE RIGHT NOW!

6. Here we can see Ches with a blonde girl. Nothing too special, probably just a one time hook up. He doesn't seem to be interested in her, and she seems to be annoyed with him.

But wait...

What is this?

Like, it doesn't even matter if there's actually a punk/rock/whatever band named MOM or not, I just think it's pretty weird to put it in this particular drawing of Ches and this random woman who is implied to have slept with him. It's not integral to Ches' character as, for example, Korol i Shut is. It's just... there. For some reason.

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

Alright, now, finally let's get to the second part of the theory: who is, exactly, his child?

The short answer is, according to this theory, her:

First, let me list every single instance of her appearing in canon (and by canon I mean everything made by the creators. Even with this definition of canon it's not much, I promise): The screenshot you can see above on the left (it's a screenshot from the second season and it appeared here), an instagram story posted by Alina (above, right), and two drawing with a lot of characters where you can spot the girl which I'm gonna call her PinkHair or PH for short, I'll mention them later I feel like I should mention this, comparing the sources of the images and the dates when they were posted, it's safe to assume that the screenshot in the classroom has the latest and final version of her design. The red hair most likely doesn't mean anything

1. Alright. So. we've seen Dee and PinkHair in a classroom together, so they're most likely related in some way, or at least they know each other. Their exact relationship doesn't matter here, because all that matters here is that they're related story-wise

Let's look at the first image. This is the banner of the main Metal Family channel. Ches is near Heavy (they get along quite well and I'm sure Heavy aspires to be like Ches in many ways), Dee (we can see his classmates/friends near him, they're all about his age), and we can see people related to Glam on the left side of the image (including Ches!), and Vicky's - on the right side (notice how the hell sign is also there)

Now, I'm not absolutely sure about this one, but it's still kind of weird - look at the image on the right (it's from ArtWave 2021 btw) - wouldn't it make more sense to put PinkHair near Dee? Also, Curiously enough, not only is she not close to Dee on this image, but she's also standing next to Ches.

Though this whole thing could be explained by art theory (too many small things in one corner of your drawing isn't great composition wise lol sorry PH) but I still can't quite skip this point

2. Remember the "MOM" lady? Fun fact, she has the exact same pearl earring that PinkHair has on the screenshot.

3. I'll put all similarities with her supposed parents in this point: Mother: * She's also pretty uh.. glam? for the lack of a better word? Or feminine in a traditional sense, yeah I think that's a better way to put it. Like colors they prefer to wear for example, and jewelry. Characters like that aren't common in Metal Family * She's gotta be a blonde. I can't imagine her being anything but blonde. If she manages to maintain that hair color as a brunette I'm just straight up assuming her character arc is gonna be killing God because these kind of people are capable of anything. I fear them with every fiber of my being. * I can't say for sure because of the shading, but it seems like they both have gray eyes, and she also has darker skin compared to most MF characters. Though, it's likely that Mom just applied a lot of fake tan Ches: * We know that Ches for sure has darker skin * AND grey eyes * There's also some possible personality similarities but I'm not sure if you can compare a child to a parent they've never really known in this way

That's about it, I suppose, I hope there isn't that many grammar mistakes and logically unfinished parts and whatnot in this post I forgot to edit lol x) I'm not sure how to end this post other than to remind you guys that almost all the points in this posts are inspired by the "тупая теория" highlight on the dee_girl_metalfamilyfan's Instagram page, so go check them out and subscribe, they post Dee x The Quest Girl fanart and and always credit the artists. Without them this post would be much, much shorter.

Thanks for reading this post, please feel free to let me know your thoughts on this post <3

[tortilla-of-courage]

Yeah, kind of insane that the Adoption AU started with a 3am Taco Bell run.

I do actually have a few one shots already written for this AU! There's the Taco Bell story, the time Sky got arrested, the time Twilight got shot, a funny story I wrote based on real events with Twi, Wars and Wind trying to cook, and something based on that one picture of the boys playing the floor is lava by cherypaii(? I think that's the url?). And I have a half finished fic about Lullaby reacting to Time's increase in kids I call "Lullaby reacts to Time's Batman-Level Adoption Bullshit", and a half finished fic introducing Wild's twin. So if anyone is interested in reading some of the fun bits for the AU, since I'm still writing for the plot part (although this conversation has given me inspiration and motivation to write the bit where they find Twi after he was kidnapped, so,) then I'd be happy to post them.

And since you mentioned hoping more info would magically appear, consider this magic.

Midna is a mafia princess, and her family immigrated to get away from it. Zant is her cousin, and his parents followed to make sure Midna's parents didn't embarrass the family. She briefly had to move away after the incident where Twi got shot, but she's back before the plot happens.

Twi and Time both have their face markings in this AU. Time had his tattooed on after the FD incident as a reminder of what he's capable of and what he's lost (considering this plot beat's connection to his family and the Order), for better or worse. Twilight was gifted his by Midna after he fought Zant to try and protect her and Dusk from Zant. The markings are traditional Twili tattoos, painted on with some kind of something that acts as a mix of tattoing and henna, and have to be earned. Twilight's represent courage, boldness and sacrifice.

Warriors has a whole plot I've done nothing with involving Cia being, well, creepy as all get out. Basically I read somewhere that a victim of abuse is more likely to end up in other abusive relationships when looking at how Warriors' bio parents being abusive would effect him and then I remembered Cia and decided to be mean to him.

The underground hospital that took care of Wild after the wreck is called the Shrine of Resurrection because I thought that was a cool way to connect that.

I had this stupid idea once that Midna writes purposefully terrible fanfic and a few people suspected she wrote 'My Immortal' for a while, and when she comes back everyone is like "The Chaos Corner guy's brother is dating the lady who wrote My Immortal???" and Midna decides to set the record straight by doing a small livestream on like, Instagram or something where she explains she's actually dating Dusk. She's reapplying Twi's markings as she says this, and is basically in his lap. Twilight spends the whole thing looking like he wants the floor to swallow him.

Rottla is informed by a therapist that she should try and do something since her kids don't feel safe (which, considering Time got stabbed in their living room, not feeling safe is understandable), and decides the best way to fix this is to teach them how to fight. Time and Lullaby are both black belts in several martial arts and can use most weapons well as a result. To Rottla's credit, this does actually work.

The sorority Warriors befriends is made up of the fairies I saved in his game. Because I love those fairies. They're my favorite part of his game. Also, Proxi is here.

Navi lives! She's rescued by the Order, like how the rest of Deku's kids were. She plays the role of a Great Fairy for the order. Her fairies are actually Warriors' sorority. And Tatl, actually.

Saria is a strong contender to become leader of the Order eventually.

Majora is here and I can't tell based on my outline if I have Time kill Majora or not. So, Time potentially kills a man.

Wind has a boat with an old radio connected to a lighthouse where an old man lives. This old man is Daphnese Nohanssen, but Wind always calls him Red. They talk a lot, and Daphnese is glad he has someone who will talk to him because he is very lonely.

Wild has a motorbike (Master Cycle) that it is honestly a miracle he hasn't wrecked yet. He breaks himself but never the bike. Wars has an older car that he's put some elbow grease in and you'd never know it wasn't new. Twilight has a beat up old pickup truck everyone is just waiting to die, but it hasn't yet. This is impressive, considering Twi does drag racing.

Also, Warriors has a tendency to get in fist fights, and between them and Legend (who is never arrested for the same thing twice), Time happens to be on a first name basis with most of the police in the city. The chief has his number on speed dial for when he needs to go pick up a kid.

Wild's friends are all alive and they love him. Flora is laser focused on helping him with his memory issues. And feeding him weird things. For science.

Wild's twin, Knight, is mute. He speaks in sign. He's also a bit blindsided by how chaotic the house is, but he fits in very well. They buy a roomba that Knight tapes a knife to and blames Wild.

At some point I'll write the fic where someone modifies a nerf gun and things escalate until Time shows up with one of those machine gun nerf guns hooked up to a car battery (a modification he did with help from Sheik and Ruto). Who needs depth perception who you can shoot 60 darts per second? It's chaos and when Malon gets back from a trip she takes this week she finds the house in disarray and a hockey puck in the wall. Clean up takes three days, and they are still finding nerf darts in weird places.

This is off the top of my head. I am certain I am missing something.

Forgive the weird formatting, I don't know what happened there.

-Attllhak

honestly i’d love if you ever posted any of the one shots you have already - and i think i saw one or two other people say they wanted to read the story too in the post where you explained most of the plot, so i’m not alone on this aha

Can i say i love how you somehow connected a lot of their games’ original details and made them make sense in a modern setting???? like it can be a hard thing to accomplish but with wat you just told us here it sounds like you did it amazingly and it makes me all the more excited to see what other connections there are!!! 

[hello-mojo]

[Ok so the following is a story, (Rise Above This was was a working title) I was working on this completely on my own and I was quite excited about it. I actually had tried to plot out the progression and main plot points, and a few other notes for things I needed to look up and research to mesh the timelines a bit better. I hadn't gotten around to it though and now... well I don't know if I'll ever bring myself to write fanfiction anymore. I loved this story premise though and had such Hope's for it... ah well. The first chapter was completed but there was supposed to be so much more.. Frances having accidental magic and then getting sick and Healer Harry to save her... ah well. If you like the fic let me know, if you want to adopt it, comment.

Oh one other thing... not all the songs are actually nirvana songs, there's a pearl jam song used too but I was looking for songs in the right genre that seemed to work for the plot. It's all fair in fanfic right?

Anyhooty... I doubt I'll post the stories that were completed on my main profile as I orphaned them and they can still be viewedon archive just look up my old. Penname CagedNTorn.

For unfinished stuff I had oh let's see... 3 different charlie/Draco fics I was working on, one that was all but complete... I had a draco/spike crossover fic, plus there was the sailormooon/Harry Potter crossover... that was actually a Drarry fic too, there were a bunch of things that I'll likely never finish. So I'll post them by and by.

Do let me know if there's a better place to post the plot bunnies that are up for grabs.

Now I've blathered enough so here's the first chapter of Rise that can be adopted if someone is interested in finishing it.]

Rise Above This

Draco was backstage at the place he was playing that night.  He sat tuning his guitar wearing ripped jeans and a white long sleeve thermal t-shirt with thumb holes burnt in and also a mohair sweater he was particularly comfortable in.   Western Washington state was wet and cold pretty much all the time.  

This didn't really bother the English man though as England had similar weather.   He'd grown his hair out and had it cut shaggy and it hung in his eyes perpetually now but he didn't care.  It drove his mother nuts whenever she came to visit.  

Narcissa still hadn't quite gotten the hang of blending in with muggles but she was getting better.   She was sitting nearby chattering about her trip to France.   She was wearing faded bluejeans and a fitted corset top that she'd bought in paris.  She also had a posh cashmere sweater on where most of the kids were wearing flannel and converse sneakers, just like Draco. 

She had her long blonde hair pulled up into a ponytail.   Draco smiled at her as she nattered-on about wines and the latest runway fashions.  At least he still had her.  Pansy was floating around somewhere too, probably flirting with someone.   

"I just don't understand why you have to look so scruffy though darling.   You have such a lovely face!  Can't you at least comb your hair back?"  Narcissa was saying.   Draco rolled his eyes at her but gave her a shit-eating grin.  

"Because I like looking scruffy.  It pisses off the establishment.  Even if it didn't, I'd still do it.  Hiding myself away is comfortable."  Draco said, handing his guitar to a stagehand.  

"Besides, this grungy war refugee look suits him.  He's ridiculously hot."  Pansy stated with a grin as she sidled up to accompany Narcissa out front to watch the show.  Draco could already hear the crowd cheering as the lights went down.  Draco and the 2 other blokes, 1 squib and one muggleborn, all cast outs of the wizarding world lined up off stage.   They formed a circle and everyone put a hand in and they shook them, clapped and cried out their chant.    

"Music and ass, gas or grass.  We're here for a good time, not here for a long time.   Lets do this!"  Draco led the chant the guys all cheered and then took the stage.  Dave went first and started a drum beat, Krist was next and began the base-line.  Then Draco, carrying his electric guitar, went to the mic.  He never looked at the audience.   He wasn't here for them,  not really.  He was here for himself.   Because he had something to say.  Even if no one really understood him or interpreted his messages clearly.  

"Come as you are, as you were

As I want you to be

As a friend, as a friend

As an old enemy

Take your time, hurry up

Choice is yours, don't be late

Take a rest as a friend

As an old memoria."   

He strummed the chords and sang the song not really looking at anyone.  He was trying quite unsuccessfully not to think about a certain messy haired brunette.   

After the war he'd had every single door slammed in his face.  Even the most menial of jobs wouldn't hire him.  Potter had kept his word and put in a good word for him and his mother but the blonde on stage really didn't know why he'd bothered.   No one in the Wizarding world wanted him or any other Slytherin around.   Dave was a muggleborn Slytherin in the year below Draco and had also been chased out.  

"Take your time, hurry up

Choice is yours, don't be late

Take a rest as a friend

As an old memory."  

It was hard not to think of Potter when he sang this song because it was about him, at least mostly.  There was always a thinly veiled anti establishment opinion mixed in. The fans loved it though and he didn't really mind.  It’s not like Harry would ever show up and hear it.  He was too busy still saving the world,  having babies and whatever else it was that heros did.  Not Draco.  His long shaggy hair hung in his face as he sang the chorus, and shook his head.  Just one word.  Memory.   His best and worst thing.  His respite and the source of his nightmares.  

He finished off the song and they hit a heavy chord progression into the next song.  

"Load up on guns, bring your friends

It's fun to lose and to pretend

She's over bored and self assured

Oh no, I know a dirty word"  

The kids surged forward jumping up and down and shaking their heads as they raised their fists in the air and sang along.  

Draco had worked with Dave to put his thoughts on the war into muggle terms.  He thought they'd done pretty good honestly.  Even if they hadn't,  the teenagers in Seattle and California couldn't get enough.   He screamed the chorus and the kids screamed it with him.  

"With the lights out, it's less dangerous

Here we are now, entertain us

I feel stupid and contagious

Here we are now, entertain us

A mulatto

An albino

A mosquito

My libido

Yeah, hey, yay"  

Five years ago Draco had left the wizarding world and his mother behind.  Narcissa was more than able to take care of herself.   Draco wasn't concerned about her in that respect.   His father had been a lot of things but stupid had never been one of them.  Misguided certainly,  but not stupid.   

Luscious had moved money around in various accounts all over the world.  He'd taken Draco with him on nearly all of his business trips.  Draco had had many private tutors growing up and could speak French, English, Russian and German fluently.  He could read in several languages.  His father had insisted.  Draco learned to balance a ledger when most kids were learning to ride a bicycle.   

When the ministry had seized their accounts in Gringotts,  they hadn't even seized a tenth of the true fortune.   Draco hadn't needed to work.  He'd wanted to.  However no one would let him.  So he'd packed a duffle bag of casual clothes,  taken his muggle id and cards and left for America.  He'd covered his accent fairly well he thought, and if he came off sounding like a stoned southerner at times… no one pointed it out.  

He met Dave hanging around kings cross station panhandling.   The two 18 year olds decided to strike out together.   Draco and Dave were sitting together at some boardwalk in Seattle, Washington when Draco flipped his skateboard and saw a kid playing guitar near-by.   He'd been hooked from the first chord.  He'd bought them instruments and they taught themselves to play.  

"I think you'll all know this next one."  

Draco hit the distinctive chords and the kids in the audience squealed with delight.  This was more personal,  more singing than the growly screaming.   More about his feelings than anything else.   He hid in his hair not seeing anyone.   In his mind he tried to be back in that skatepark with scraped knees, just him and Dave.  

"What else should I be?

All apologies

What else should I say?

Everyone is gay

What else should I write?

I don't have the right

What else should I be?

All apologies."

He sang the words not looking at his mother, not caring about her reaction to that statement.   He'd forgotten she hadn’t heard this particular song before.   Well she had to find out sooner or later he supposed.   

"I wish I was like you

Easily amused

Find my nest of salt

Everything is my fault

I'll take all the blame

Aqua seafoam shame

Sunburn, freezer burn

Choking on the ashes of her enemy."  

Draco finished the song and the kids were crying out various songs they wanted to hear while cheering and clapping.  Draco loved it.  He lived for it.  They only had one more song to play.  It would end the show on a high note before the next band took the stage.  The next song he was about to play was about a lot of things.  Various parts of the war, Tom Riddles beginnings, the discrimination in the Wizarding world,  his own parents a bit.   In hindsight, Draco realized that he likely should have adjusted the set list a bit when he'd found out his mother was coming to the show.  'Too late to do anything about it now.' He thought to himself.   Maybe they'd finally have a real conversation for a change.  He set his guitar in a stand nearby and took a deep breath.  

"At home

Drawing pictures

Of mountain tops

With him on top

Lemon yellow sun

Arms raised in a V

And the dead lay in pools of maroon below."  

He shook his head, hiding in his hair and not seeing anyone.   Only Dave and Krist, only his guitar.   The kids screamed and jumped and sang along.  Draco thrashed around stage with them, just the microphone cord wrapped around his hand.  

"Daddy didn't give attention

Oh, to the fact that mommy didn't care

King Tommy the Wicked

Ruled his world

Tommy spoke in class today

Tommy spoke in class today" 

The guys backed him up intermittently on the chorus and the base thumped throughout the song, a steady heartbeat.  Draco couldn’t let himself worry about hurting his mother's feelings.   He sang what he needed to say.  He knew nothing was ever simple.  There were at least two sides to every story and a variety of contributing factors.   

"Clearly I remember

Pickin' on the boy

Seemed a harmless little fuck

But we unleashed a snake

Gnashed his teeth

And bit the recess lady's breast."

Draco knew the words painted a vivid picture.   He didn't care.   Maybe people would learn that bullying others for shit beyond their control was stupid and had far reaching consequences.   There were certainly a few chapters in his story that he'd like to rewrite.   

"How could I forget

And he hit me with a surprise left

My jaw left hurting

Dropped wide open

Just like the day

Oh, like the day I heard."  

There was no possible way he could make up for some of the shit he'd done.  He knew that.  He tried to just pass on the lessons.  Hoping that if he could even reach just one person,  it'd be worth it.  Exile in the muggle world.  They weren't so bad really.   Their fashions were quite fun, and much more functional than robes.  He missed making potions, doing magic.  It was a particular skill set that he was good at.  There was no place in the muggle world for magic.  He had to be even more careful now that they were getting really famous.   People were always watching him.  Hiding in the bushes, trying to sneak into his hotel room, everyone wanted pictures of him to sell to the press.  He couldn't risk anyone seeing him perform magic.  He did little things like casting stasis charms or heating up a hot beverage,  or casting a cooling charm on himself and the guy's.  He knew his mind was spiraling away from the uncomfortable conversation with his mother that he was anticipating after this.  

"Daddy didn't give affection, no!

And the boy was something that mommy wouldn't wear

King Tommy The Wicked

Ruled his world

Try to erase this (try to erase this)

From the blackboard." 

He knew his parents had loved him.  They had been very cold, and reserved in all things though.  His mother could be formidable when she wanted to be and his father was doting yet terrifying.   That was something about Tom Riddle's life that Draco had been able to understand.   Feeling alone, as if no one cared, no one understood you.  He knew how cruel kids could be,  because he had been the one leading the mockery in his day.  

He'd never once thought about what it might feel like on the other side of it.  Until he'd been on the receiving end of such mockery, ridicule and unfairness did he begin to re-think his actions as a snotty young man.  The crowd was going wild.  

Draco stood as the lights came up and he bowed with the guys.  They all smiled and waved to their fans.   Off stage, he saw his mother standing with Pansy.  Narcissa looked a mixture of hurt, worried and angry.  A reporter from MTV was there, shoving a microphone in his face.  Draco smiled his small smile,  just a turning up of the corners of his mouth really.   He answered all of the questions asked in a rare and rather lengthy interview,  glad for the temporary reprieve from his mother for the moment.   

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a familiar set of green eyes and messy black hair, accompanied by none other than Hermione Granger and a regular. Analese Taylor was no stranger to Draco. She had been a fan since the band's boardwalk skate park days. Now that they were famous, she was their number one fan. The way Granger was clutching her arms, the strong resemblance between the two women, Draco could slap himself for not realizing what was so familiar about the girl. She had to be related to Granger, no other explanation.

Before he could really panic about the three familiar faces another familiar set of arms was thrown around his knees and a very delighted

"Daddy!" Rang through the room as his daughter Frances threw her arms around him. Draco glanced around for his soon to be ex wife. He spotted her nearby with arms crossed, looking furious. He sighed deeply as he scooped his daughter into his arms. The child was his whole world outside of his music. Draco glanced back towards Potter and Granger as his wife stormed over as the press and other onlookers were cleared out by Pansy.

[danni-chuu]

The 7 brothers with a 10 year-old lilith (+ side characters & mc)

This is an hc is inspired by the chapter 14 flashback, so the gist of this Hc is what if lilith gets turned into a 10 year old child try as diavolos way to save her. This is gonna be a really long post so strap in~❤️.

This hc post is made with the help of my friend, @heeminchan, thankiez.

General info about 10 year old lilith:

She has no recollection or memories about the celestial war or being an angel at all.

The post might say 10 years old but she's probably already pass the 1000+ mark, but still is and acts like a child.

She looks like ruri chan ( for reference here)

So without further babbling, lez go❤️

Lucifer

" if you behave I'll give you a princess poison apple and play with you "

Lucifer being the eldest takes it upon himself to be a father like figure to her. In front of the others, he makes sure to keep a strict front but in private, he's alot more softer on her.

Lucifer's room has a toy chest for her since she likes spending time and playing in his room. And being the child that she is, she even dresses up the skeleton in his room. If he's not busy, he would play with her, simple playing house and all.

One time while lucifer was doing paper work,lilith wanted to help him . So to keep lilith busy, he handed her a bunch of void documents and told her to sign them. In the end she got bored and decided to draw her with her 7 older brothers. Which luci decided to frame and put up at the entrance hall.

If lilith gets into trouble, luci doesn't shy away from punishment. But rather than stringing someone upside down and leaving them like that for 100 years, he would just ground lilith and take away her toys. (Buuuuut her other brothers would just sneak some of her toys to her room, especially beel and belphie)

Mammon

" heh you should be greatful you're brothers with the GREAT mammon, shortie! Huh?! w-wait dont cry! "

Mammon loves teasing lilith. Be it calling her a pipspeak, shortie, cry baby, etc. He's said them all, buuuuut he always takes it back because lilith might tell lucifer and he gets punished AG A I N.

Lilith as much as possible doesn't leave any of her things in mammon's room, because her other brothers warn her that he's going to sell them away.

One time mammon stole something from lucifer (probably something to profit from), and lilith was in lucifers room because she was playing hide and seek with beel. Seeing mammon stealing, she gets out of her hiding spot and tells mammon that she will rat him out to her big brother lucifer.mammon taking non of this shitz says he'll do whatever she wants. By the end of the day, lilith gets a new plushie and mammon still got ratted out because how can she lie to her big brother lucifer?

Mammon does try to get her involved in his schemes sometimes. Making her ask money from her other brothers and other more shenanigans, but when he's feeling it he will in fact spoil her with little treats such as candy.

Leviathan

" wooah you look so much like ruri-chan! Can you sing too?"

Levi is still as much of a shut- in, having a younger sibling that he can teach TSL or play games with is his dream come true. Lilith goes to his room to watch anime (for her its cartoons but dont tell levi because he will be very triggered) with him and play video games.

If lilith does go to levi's room , he's always watching out just in case she ends up using his precious figurines as dolls or touching his precious merch. Sometimes( most of the time) when he's too busy playing his games, lilith will just talk to henry 2.0 and feed him.

Levi is a mega ultra super duper (insert more hyperbolic words) fan of ruri-chan, so during lilith's birthday..he gave her a ruri-chan costume (the other brothers already knew where this was heading but they couldn't stop it since lilith liked the cute clothes). She wore them and levi literally freaked because she looked just like her! He posted a picture of her on devilgram and the pic got a decent amount of likes.

The only time that lilith gets in trouble with levi is her staying with him past her bed time, she gets pouty about it but in the end she still gets taken to bed by her big brother lucifer.

Satan

"i can read you a story or we can play tea time, what do you prefer? "

Satan acts alot like a tutor to lilith, he teaches her about manners, reading and writing, and many other things. Satan loves teaching lilith especially when he sees her trying to pronounce big words, which he finds adorable.

Satan for the most part wants lilith to stay out of his room because there are too many dangerous books around. But he would rather play with her in her room instead, either reading a children's bed time book before going to bed or playing tea time with her. They both share a love for pets and animals, so in his free time, he will take her to a kitty cafe where she can play with the lil furballs.

Satan was regulary teaching lilith about different animals, until they got to the cat. Lilith became so intrigued by cats that satan spent a good 30 minutes to an hour of answering her questions about cats. One day, he saw lilith crying by the stairs. He quickly went over and asked her what's wrong, only to find out that she asked lucifer if they can adopt a cat wherein lucifer completely dismisses the idea. Knowing that Lucifer's mind wont change, the next day satan surprises lilith with a black cat plushie with a red bow tie thats as tall (or alitte bit smaller) than her. Until this day, the cat plushie satan gave her is her favourite. She is never seen without it, and she even gave it a name, mr. Momo.

The only time that lilith ever gets in trouble is if she joins in on satan's pranks on lucifer. But most of the time she's let off the hook if they're harmless ones.

Asmodeus

" waahh~ lilith's so adorable, but not as adorable as me"

To lilith, asmo is the closest thing to a sister she can have. Being the only girl in the house( before mc, if mc is a girl ), asmo likes to doll her up and make her his little dress up doll. He often buys clothes for her because he just LOVES making her pretty.

She doesn't spend as much time in asmo's room because there isn't much to do there, but when asmo calls her in after a shopping trip. She already knows he's going to make her pretty as a peach!

It was lilith's birthday and Asmo wanted to dress her up for the occasion! Hair? Check! Make up? Check! Clothes? Check! She was looking as pretty as ever (but not as pretty as him). After dolling her up , lilith went to her other brothers to show Amos work. All of them asked if a child should be wearing that much make up, but asmo tells lilith to shrug them off because they can't appreciate beauty even if it hits them in the face!

The one thing that gets lilith in trouble is lucifer seeing her being dressed by asmo , wearing clothes not fit for a 10 year old girl. Seriously, devilgram level make up on a kid is not appropriate (well in lucifer and some of the other brothers point of view)

Beezlebub

" the eggs taste like plastic..huh? I'm not supposed to eat them? Sorry, they looked too realistic"

Beel is very close with lilith. He spends most of his time watching over her or bringing her to his favourite food joints to eat. Since beel is so big, she loves it when he carries her around, either on his shoulders or just being carried in general. Beel wants to protect lilith at all times, so if sorcerers or witches want to summon lilith, he comes along to watch over her still.

if its not Lucifer's room, lilith's next stop is always the twin's room. She goes in and jumps on either of the beds and having her toys there as well she can already entertain herself. When beel is there to play with her, she likes to play chef and make him food using her plastic kitchen toy set( though some pieces are missing since beel keeps forgetting that its plastic). If she doesn't want to play with her toys, she tries to tickle fight beel and always wins.

Beel was in his room eating a box of cupcakes until lilith barges in and sees him eating cupcakes, she pouts at beel asking why he didn't tell her that he had cupcakes. Beel, being beel just says to her, " they're my cupcakes". She pouts even more and says that she wants a cupcake as well. Beel couldn't resist and splits the cupcake, giving the other half to her. After finishing the cupcake, he promises to buy her a box aswell next time.

Lilith having a sweet tooth herself will often look in the fridge for sweets. She sometimes ends up eating beels food(custard), and hides the evidence. Beel rampages again and breaks the kitchen. Lucifer then lines all of them up and ask who ate the custard, and all of them immediately suspect mammon. But being a good girl, lilith admits her mistake and apologizes to beel, who calms down and says ," you could have left me some..".

Belphegor

" how about later...? Im still too sleepy to teach you..."

Belphie, same with beel, is pretty close with lilith. If he isn't cuddling her as his favourite cuddle buddy, he's teaching her how to dance ballet(Based it off his dancing sprite). Lilith spends most of her afternoon napping with belphie.

Besides playing with beel , lilith also loves playig around with belphie. She makes it an everyday challenge for herself to wake him up in the most creative ways. It can be things such as ice,drawing on his face, tickles, etc. When belphie is too lazy to stand up from bed( which is often), she just plays with his hair and does whatever she wants with it. When he finally does stand up, he teaches lilith some ballet. While she's even wearing her full ballet attire, with tutu included.

It was the middle of the night and lilith had a nightmare, she wanted to go to her big brother lucifer, but it was already late and she might be disturbing him. But then she remembered that mid nights is when his big brother belphie is awake, so she goes over to him with mr.momo. belphie is alittle confused since its way past her bedtime so he asked her whats wrong. She climbs up his bed and hugs him, after calming down she tells belphie that she had a nightmare. Belphie was well acquainted with nightmares, so he knew exactly what to do. They went to the kitchen and both had a cup of warm milk. Going back to his room, he cuddled up with lilith and made sure she had a good nights sleep.

Lilith ends up over sleeping and gets very cranky if she gets rudely awakened.the others find it very adorable.

Mc

"...." * Huwgs*

So this depends on the mc's personality but lets start from the beginning. After being sent to the devildom and having the basic run down of what is to come, mammon takes you to the house of lamentations. The first thing you notice once the door opens, is toys scattered all around the entrance hall. Not only toys, but you see a height lines at one of the door frames. Mammon gets more annoyed because he stepped on one of the toys and he shouts out," lilith!". A small girl carrying a black cat plushie almost her size comes down the stairs. Mammon scolds her for leaving her toys out like that and he introduces you to their 8th sibling, lilith. Lilith immediately hugs you (no matter the gender), because it's been a while since she's seen a human. And you become her instant play mate.

The mc's room already has a toy chest, filled with lilith's favourite toys. She likes to play around with the mc and actually gets quite attached to them.

Lilith gets so comfortable around the mc that she ask permission from her big brother luci if she can make a pact with the mc. Of course, lucifer is skeptical but he allows it because of liliths enthusiasm.

Diavolo

" ah lilith , I didn't think you would be accompanying lucifer today. "

Dia acts alot like the rich uncle that only comes back during the holidays to give out presents. Lilith rarely gets to see diavolo because most of the time it's only lucifer that gets to see him. But, when lucifer does come back he often gives lilith sweets that barbatos made by diavolo's order.

On the rare occasions that lucifer brings lilith along with him, she acts very reserved and shows off the manners lessons that satan has been teaching her.

On one evening, lucifer brings lilith along to dinner with diavolo. While eating, diavolo jokes around saying that lucifer should just stay in the castle with him. Suddenly, lilith bumps in and protests against the idea, " no big brother luci's staying with us". She hugs as much of lucifers arm that she can, giving diavolo her most pouty and "menacing face". Dia loves seeing how much she cares for her brother, while lucifer is trying his best to hide his embarrassment.

Luke

" ahhhhh! Im not a child! I dont want to play with a demon!"

When lilith first saw luke, her mind immediately said," playmate! ". Though luke always complains about being treated like a child because he's short, he tries to bare it because simeon convinced him to play with lilith.

When in the purgatory hall, she brings along mr.momo and some other toys. luke sometimes pretend he isn't there so he doesn't have to play with lilith, but once he hears a sniffle of her almost crying. He couldn't help but open the door for her and play.

Upon first meeting luke, the key difference in height was..still... apparent. Somehow, lilith is still a few inches taller than luke. Being the giddy child she is, she tells her brothers about it and they all start laughing their lungs out. And when luke finally got wind of it, he was so flustered and embarrassed, he almost refused to leave his room.

Solomon

" why not make a pact with me?"

All her brothers warn her about solomon and to stay as far away from him as possible, she rarely gets to interact with him. But most of the times they do meet, he often ask her to make a pact with him. She always replies to him, " i have to ask big brother luci's permission first". Solomon just smiles and pats her head.

Huhu not much i can say about him since im sure the brothers distance lilith from solomon as much as possible.

And that concludes this very very long post , hope you guys enjoyed it❤️❤️❤️

[hardforbenhardy]

the perfect gift | benxfem!reader

summary: the first time ben is meeting your parents, and you are nervous. but not as nervous as you are to give ben his present

warnings: intense fluff so prepare yourself coz ben is a d o r a b l e in this

based on two prompts: "that's what your wearing?" and "i tested positive"

word count: 4.5k

thought i'd do a little christmassy themed oneshot considering it was ... yakno... christmas; it’s been in my drafts for a while so there’s no better time than the present (no pun intended😊) i had fun writing this so i hope you have fun reading it! :)

Christmas had always been the same; through the 27 years of your life, you stuck to your traditions. You would always spend the time with your whole family, with the traditional Christmas roast and gift-giving. You loved it; you were extremely close with all your family, and spending time with them was always cherished since it only happened twice a year. However, there was one part that you couldn't stand. The worst part of it all was the fact that every year you were the only adult who was yet to find a relationship. All your siblings, your parents, aunt and uncles, grandma and grandpa, even some of your older cousins; they were all coupled up. You had even tried to convince them one year that you had finally found yourself a man; of course, you had simply bribed your best friend to pretend to be your boyfriend for the one day. He, however, was not as good of an actor as you thought he would be - caving in after only 3 hours in the household by accidentally spilling that he was in fact gay.

Though, this year you didn't have to pretend; you had finally found a man who you truly loved. He was the spitting image of what you considered perfection and you were sure he was the one. You and Ben had taken your relationship quite quickly, you had only been together for 10 months and yet you had already moved into a house together and adopted a small puppy. Though, you didn't see it as a particularly bad thing; you knew for certain that he was the man you wanted to spend the rest of your life with, the man you wanted to start a family with, grow old with. And you were also pretty certain that you were that woman for him; I mean, that's what he told you every single day. Every morning as you sat around the table to eat your breakfast; every lunch time when you'd facetime him from the office; every evening when you were snuggling in bed and he just had to mention it, which of course often led to more. You were absolutely hooked onto him, like a baby to a bottle; you simply couldn't resist him. So showing him off to your family was assuredly what you were most looking forward to this Christmas. You had already met Ben's family, and so it was now his time.

The two of you were about to leave to drive down for Christmas Eve, and the nerves were beginning to set in; what if they didn't like Ben? What if they thought you were both moving too fast? What if the nieces and nephews didn't want to play with him? What if they all took one glance at Ben and thought he could do better? You saw Ben as an angel, but you didn't know about them; after all, your mother had always wanted the perfect step-son.  She had been pretty adamant about it from the start. Nevertheless, you brushed the nerves off and paid attention to curling your hair. Your concentration was broken, however, by the sight of Ben entering the bedroom in the reflection of the mirror in front of you. You grinned widely at the sight before you, or rather behind you, as the strapping blonde man strode in wearing what you noticed to be a rather formal suit considering the fact you were only attending a Christmas dinner with your family. In fact, it was extremely formal considering the fact you were only attending a Christmas dinner with your family; meaning you couldn't help but giggle.

"That's what your wearing? Baby, we're going to my parents for Christmas, not a wedding!"

"What? I wanted to impress them!" He exclaimed rather seriously, which made you chuckle before standing up off the little stool to walk towards him to give him a small peck on the cheek; which funnily made him blush like a madman. That was something you loved about Ben; he seemed like every day he saw you was as if he was seeing you for the first time again. Somedays, he acted like a horny teenager who couldn't resist your touch. Other days, he acted like you were made of glass, as if you were the most precious, fragile thing on the earth which led to being peppered with little kisses and hugs of every form whenever he saw you. And other days, he acted like he was made of glass, and would blush or smile every time you even placed a gentle finger on him; and you had a strong feeling, this was one of those days. "I mean, what if they don't like me, or they don't think I'm good enough for their daughter? What do we do then? Because I love you, I really really love you and I want to spend my whole life with you but I can't do that if your family doesn't like me because-“

"Baby, I know they're going to love you, okay. Maybe not as much as I do, but trust me; my mum is going to take one look at you and she'll treat you like the son she never had. You look gorgeous, and as much as I am admiring the way you look in this suit, you need to change. Swap the shirt and tie out for a tshirt, and the tapered pants for some of your nice jeans." you encourage him, stroking his upper arm lightly and smiling up at his face which looked extremely defeated. You could sense the anxiety emanating from his body, he was just as nervous to meet your parents as you were for them to meet him. But you didn't tell him that, because you didn't want to worry him anymore than he already was. He simply nodded, taking a deep breath and unsleeving his arms from the blazer so that he could unbutton his shirt. You pushed his hand out the way and did it yourself, after seeing the way his hands were pretty much shaking. He still preoccupied himself, beginning to pull his trousers off to fasten the pace, as he knew you needed to set off soon to make it in time.

Once he was dressed in more appropriate clothing, which you deemed suitable for a first impression, you were finally able to leave for your parents. The car journey over there was a little less stressful, as Ben had began to calm down and forget all about his little moment in the morning. However, as you stood outside your parent's house, your own nerves began to set in. You had arrived a lot later than you expected to, having been stuck in traffic for a lot of the journey. Your hand trembled as you went to ring the doorbell, Ben stood a step behind you so that your parents would be able to greet you first. The door swung open after a few seconds, revealing the bright cheery face of your mother.

"Darling, hello! It's lovely to see you! Come in, come in!" she cheered, stepping to the side to allow you and Ben to enter. You gave her a warm hug as you walked in, in which she responded with a small kiss to your temple. Your father entered the room too, a smile emerging on his face, and you couldn't help but laugh as you noticed the apron he was wearing; it was the same one he wore every single year, with an awful christmas pun which to be honest was not a suitable apron to wear around children.

"Mum! Dad! I've missed you so much! Sorry we were late - the traffic was awful" you squealed, pulling your dad in for a hug as well, until you looked to the side to see Ben standing there incredibly awkwardly as you greeted your parents. "Mum, Dad, I'd love for you to meet my boyfriend, Ben"

"It's nice to meet you, Mr and Mrs LN. Thank you for having me, especially during a time which is meant for spending time with family" He greeted, holding his hand out to shake my fathers, but rather he pulled Ben in for a hug. You then realised you had completely forgotten to mention to Ben quite how open and friendly your family were, meaning he had quite a shocked reaction to the sudden embrace.

"Please, call us Lydia and Michael. And you are part of this family Ben; any friend of YN's is a friend of ours, lovie. Now why don't the two of you head up to your room and settle down - that way, you'll be awake in time for tomorrow morning when the kids come up and completely wreck your lie-in!" Your mum whisper-yelled, chuckling as she handed your suitcases over to your dad to help you haul them up the flights of stairs to your old childhood room that you and Ben were planning to stay in for the next two nights. Admittedly, you were a bit embarrassed considering you knew your mother hadn't changed anything about your room since you were 18 and moved out to University, so you were in for an awkward and humiliating moment when Ben first saw the posters of Roger Taylor and Queen all over your wall like you were some kind of crazy fangirl. Which, of course, you were but you didn't even think about having to explain that until now.

After a good 10 minutes of Ben laughing at your seemingly-passionate devotion to the band, you had finally settled down in your bed, which was thankfully a double. It was rather cold, being wintertime, so you and Ben were cuddled up extremely close together under bundles of blankets in an attempt to keep some warmth between you. You spent a majority of your nights curled up like this, Ben's touch providing a haven for you. And just like every other night, you ended it with the same words.

"I told you they'd love you, you practically had my mum wrapped around your finger!" You grinned, poking Bens stomach jokingly as he released a low chuckle at your point. He knew you were right, because you had mentioned that your mother was often more removed from people if she didn't like them.

"Okay, okay; I was worried for nothing, I'll admit it! But I had every right to be!" He defended himself, his warm breath on your shoulder sending shivers down your spine. You couldn't help but cuddle closer, wrapping your arms around his torso and place your head in the nook of his shoulder.

"I know, I know; I really do love you Ben"

"I love you too"

*****

You were woken by the feeling of a small body pouncing onto your stomach, shouting and cheering filling the otherwise silent room; "Aunty Yn, Unca Bwen! Wake up! It's Christmas Day! And Santa's come!"

You chuckled, partly at your nieces urgency to get downstairs and open some presents, but mainly at Ben's low groan at being woken at 7 in the morning. Your heart softened at her reference to Ben being her Uncle, and not just a random man who had joined the family for the day. You urged the 4 year old to move off you so you could climb out of bed, grabbing the dressing gown screwed up in the floor and pushing your arms through the sleeves. "Lilah, give us 10 minutes and we'll be right down, okay?"

"Okay!" She squealed, wrapping her tiny arms around your legs before running off to shout to her brother Jackson that you'd be down in "twen" minutes.

"Baby, wake up" You whispered, shaking Bens arm lightly and kissing his forehead, only to hear him grunt and roll to face the other way. "Tired"

"So am I, but it's Christmas hun; come on, I want my presents!" You giggled, giving him a shove and jumping out of bed to tie the newly-clad gown. Ben pulled himself off the mattress and lugged over to the en-suite bathroom, mumbling that he was taking a quick shower before they head down. In the meanwhile, you busied yourself with helping your mum out in the kitchen to prepare Christmas dinner.

"Is Ben not joining us this morning?"

"He's just taking a quick shower, he'll be down soon" you explained, chopping the veg; you found yourself grinning at the mention of his name. Of course, your mother noticed this.

"You seem perfect for each other, you know. He seems like a very lovely lad too; your father and I are very happy you have found yourself someone" She smiled, elbowing your side a little which made you chuckle and grin widely; you were extremely happy that your parents actually accepted Ben into the family so unquestionably, and liked him. "So when can Michael and I expect more grandchildren!"

You saw the question coming; there was no doubt that your mother loved being a grandmother to Lilah and Jackson. But they were getting older now, Jackson being 7 and Lilah being 4, and Lydia desperately wanted a baby to care for. So, your next words came like a haven to her.

"What if I have reason to believe roughly 9 months?" You mumbled, placing your hand on your stomach and looking up at your mum with nervous eyes. Her own eyes widened in shock and happiness, taking in your words.

"You mean? You're pregnant?" She whispered, not wanting the rest of the house to hear. You nodded, worried your mother would think you and Ben were moving too fast, having only been together for roughly 10 months. "Darling, oh my gosh, that's amazing! I'm so happy! Does Ben know?"

"No not yet; in fact only you know. I was planning on telling him today, and the rest of the family, but I'm seriously beginning to second guess everything; what if Ben doesn't want the baby? I mean, we're not even married and Ben is always away for press tours and filming. What if he thinks we're moving too fast? I don't want to scare him away-" You stumbled, tears beginning to brim your eyes. Whether it was the hormones or your nerves you didn't know; but it was most likely a mixture of both. Your mother hushed you, rubbing your arm in a way to calm you down as she understood you tended to over worry about a lot; and of course, this is an extremely reasonable thing to worry about.

"Lovie, look; you will not scare Ben away. I see the look of lust in that boys eyes when he looks at you, and I can tell just how much he really loves you. This is a big thing, of course it is, but you need to tell Ben; whether you plan on keeping the child or not. He deserves to know, and if he turns you away then he was never a gentleman to begin with. You have this whole family to support you the whole way, but at the end of the day; it is both yours and Bens decision" She comforted, her words calming you a little as you realised she was right. You couldn't just not tell Ben, it was his child and you were a couple. And, to be completely honest, you were excited as hell to start a family with the man you considered the love of your life. The only reason you were hesitant with this was because you and Ben had literally never spoke about having children or starting a family, so you didn't have his opinion on the matter to fall back on. The moment between your mother and you was interrupted by the man himself, hugging you from behind and pressing a small kiss to your neck.

"Hiya love, everything okay?" He muttered, his arms wrapping tightly around your waist as you continue to chop the carrots as you were before the conversation with your mother. You hummed, leaning back into his touch, hoping he hadn't heard the previous conversation between you and your mother. You felt the smile on his lips against your skin, and he tucked his head into your neck.

"Why don't you go and meet my siblings huh? I'll be in in a few minutes, just finishing up with this" You suggested, to which he nodded and placed a small kiss to your temple, before walking into the living room to join your family. You could hear the loud voices of your older brother, Sam, and his wife greeting Ben from the other room, and painfully worried that Ben wouldn't get too nervous as your brother tended to be quite boisterous at times. In fact, your whole family did; which was extremely different to Ben's family who were much more calm and collected. Although by the sight you received entering the room a few minutes later, you were immediately filled with joy; the sight of Ben sat on the living room floor, cross legged, with Lilah on his lap and Jackson sat beside him, as he read them a story Lilah had begged him to. You were a little confused as to how he was getting on with them all so well; Lilah didn't usually warm up to people so well unless she had been properly introduced. And your mum was usually very judgemental of your boyfriends that you had brought home before. And your brother was often extremely protective over you. And your sister would most likely try to steal any guy you brought home and have him for herself.

You can't help but admire the way he is around the 2 children; it's as if he's done the whole parenting thing before. Lilah was smiling so widely, you thought her face was going to get permanently stuck like that. The two were amazingly engaged as he spoke the words on the page, acting out the story with little actions and different voices,  making sound effects when needed. Your brother's wife, Sophia, walked up to you with a small grin on her face before mumbling "You've got a good one there, don't ruin it" in your direction as she passed by to enter the kitchen. At the sight before you, you realised exactly how correct she was. You had got someone in your life who you could never lose; you'd be a fool to ruin what you and Ben had. So of course, you began second guessing telling him the news once again. If you told him the truth, he may leave and then you've lost him for good. But seeing just how well he was around the children and how engaged he was, you actually considered that this was a good idea.

The time came to finally exchange presents; no doubt after the children had nagged the adults for 20 minutes straight, asking "when can we open them?". The children spent the most time opening presents, getting excited after each one and showing it off to every single adult in the room. You were sat on the small armchair; well Ben was, and you were perched on his lap, an arm around his neck and head rested on his shoulder. You were admittedly beginning to grow impatient at telling Ben the news; as much as you didn't want to tell him, waiting to do it was becoming painful because it only gave you more time to re-evaluate your decision. Thankfully, your mother had finished giving everyone her gifts, so it was the end and you could give Ben his. You rushed out of the room to where your coat hung up, pulling out a small box that was wrapped in paper and had a bow placed on the top. Ben noticed the box and furrowed his brows, even more so when you went to hand it to him.

"YN, we agreed we weren't doing presents this year?" he questioned, hesitantly taking the box from your hand, almost as if he expected it to explode in his hand. You nodded your head a little, understanding his confusion. Honestly, you forgot that you had agreed to not give each other presents this year because you had spent quite a lot of money so far on your relationship, first buying the house and then investing in a pet.

"I-I know, but you wouldn't have got any other gifts, and I think you'll like this one" You mumbled, urging him to open it and trying to hide your nerves from Ben as you knew he had a strange talent of noticing when you were hesitant to do something. He was like a human radar; he knew when you were happy, sad, angry, nervous, excited. He had a mental notebook of all your habits for each emotion, so he could probably tell that you were absolutely bricking it right now. But you assumed that he just thought this because you were nervous he wouldn't like the gift; which you were, but he didn't realise why. He took his sweet time opening the present, unwrapping it slowly considering he had all eyes of the room on him at that moment, alongside the glare of a camera that your mother had pulled out in excitement of the moment. As he opened the flaps to the small cardboard box underneath the wrapping paper, his eyes widened and his whole body froze. You can't deny, so did yours. He slowly pulled out the small stick out of the shadows of the box to reveal two small pink lines on the small screen.

"A-are you... is this real?" he mumbled, looking up to meet your eyes. You saw the tears beginning to pool at the bottom of his eyes, and you saw a glint of happiness. You nodded, awaiting his reaction.

"I tested positive."

You didn't know if this was a good reaction or a bad one because he didn't really show much emotion on his face. That was until a giant smile stretched across his face and his hands dropped the box so that he could wrap his arms around you. It was rather sudden, but he took you into the tightest hug you'd ever felt; his head rested against your shoulder and you felt the tears of joy seeping into your jumper. You obviously hugged back, relieved that he was actually happy about this.

"I-I'm gonna be a dad? W-We're gonna be parents?" He continued questioning, unable to believe any of this was true because he didn't think contentment like this could exist. You could barely speak your own words, only having the ability to nod and cry as well as Ben.  The whole family was now cheering with you, Lilah jumping on your lap to give you the biggest hug she possibly could, exclaiming that she couldn't wait to have a little cousin she could play with. Well, you assumed that's what she said, considering most of her words were indistinguishable.

"I can't believe this, this is the best day of my fucking life. God, we're gonna be parents in 9 bloody months, love. I love you so much, and you too" he gushed, tears brimming in his eyes once again and also yours. He bent down and gently kissed your practically-non-existent bump as he whispered "and you too" and you couldn't help but admire how well he took the news; you certainly didn't expect this much of a reaction from him and you felt a little stupid for ever second guessing yourself. Of course, being the bundle of nerves Ben tended to be, started questioning everything; "How far along are you? Have you been feeling ill? Because I'm sorry if I haven't been much help to make you feel better but I don't recall hearing you being sick of anything in the mornings so I don't know-"

"Ben, I've been fine so far; I'm only a month along and I've only had two instances of morning sickness, both of which you weren't home for so you don't have to worry. I suppose I've felt a little under the weather recently but nothing that I couldn't cope with." You explained, which brought comfort to Ben as he knew you weren't suffering too much in the time being. Though, he had heard of how harsh pregnancy can be for some women and he prayed to the Lord that you would not be one of the small percentage.

*****

After finding out the exciting news, Ben had been non-stop protecting you like you were a piece of glass; not that he didn't before, he just did it a lot more intensely now. Every time you tried to sit down or stand up, he would help you so that you didn't 'strain your back'. Every time you went up the stairs, he would walk right behind you. Every time you yawned, he asked if you wanted to go to bed and insisted you had an early night so that you and 'bean' were well rested. Oh yes, and he had nicknamed the growing child 'bean'. You, thankfully, now found yourself wrapped up in the covers of your duvet after a long Christmas day and could not wait to fall asleep. Ben had jumped in beside you and cuddled close so that he could rest his hand on your stomach and head on your shoulder. You were so close to being asleep, until Ben decided to create conversation.

"You know, I thought your boobs had gotten bigger, but I didn't want to mention it in case you thought I was complaining" He mumbled into your neck, which woke you up immediately. You slapped his arm and chuckled loudly, making him wince in pain a little.

"They've also gotten a lot more sore so no touching. And alongside that, I constantly need to pee, very gassy and am continually getting mood swings; so good luck for the next 9 months because you're officially dating a zombie" you countered, making him chuckle gleefully. He didn't care how disgusting or gross you may have seen yourself; you were still beautiful to him and he was going to let you know that every day.

"A gorgeous zombie who I love very very much and is literally bringing my child into the world; with my help, of course." He smirked, making you roll your eyes because you completely understood what he meant by 'his help'.

"I'm so happy that your happy and I can't wait to have a family with the love of my life"

"And I can't wait either" He grinned, feeling happiness he had never felt before in his life. Now, all he had to do was propose; luckily, he'd been planning it all along

[that-shamrock-vibe]

Disney+ What To Watch: My Top 10 Favourite Modern Day Disney Classics

#8. Moana

Once again I experienced this movie later than it's original release but i had heard a lot of good things about it leading up to when i finally got to watch it.

I have to say the fact they went with a Polynisian princess and even went so far A I believe to cast regionally appropriate just shows how "with the times" Disney Animation is trying to be as it rides it's new wave of Disney greats.

But aside from the regional appropriateness of the cast and characters, the main thing that takes my breath away in this movie is the scenery. The island that Moana and her tribe live on is stunning, the ocean is beautiful. Every either abandoned or desolate island we see looks either creepy or like a shipwrecked island. This is 3D animation ramped up from Tangled.

The animation on the characters also warms my heart as they can't be considered originally caucasian characters that Disney changed the ethnicity of to appeal to a new audience, Moana, Maui and the tribe are clearly of Samoan/Polynesian ethnicities and it's really great to see.

As I said, even the actors regionally appropriate, Auli'i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Nicole Scherzinger, everyone, including Jemaine Clement who voiced Tamatoa have at least heritage from the Samoan/Polynesian region.

I also really enjoyed the continuation in trend of the almost self-meta references to how the Disney Princess formula has worked for decades. We saw it first in Frozen which looks at the romantic angle but here you have Maui pointing out how every Disney Princess has a cute animal sidekick.

It was, I believe, a mislead in the continuous promotion of Pua the Pig because while he is cute and clearly Moana's pet, however it is Heihei the apparent retarded chicken that becomes her sidekick for the movie.

On that note. I do not approve of the very tasteless trope of retardiness being used as comic relief. Now yes, Heihei is funny and there were moments that got me in hysterics but I still find it unfair to not only make a chicken brain dead but then constantly make him the comedic foil of the movie.

That being said, Mosna and Maui's buddy comedy schtick was very funny in places and I found characters to be not only original for Disney but they both taught and learned from each other

That's what makes great buddy movies, both have flaws to start out with but through a series of events and working or travelling together they both become better people by learning from the other and almost adopting traits of theirs. Think the Jump Street movies or even Detective Pikachu, there's something about the great buddy movies that bring out the best in both/all main characters.

But Moana isn't just a buddy movie, or even your run of the mill Disney Princess movie, it's adventure, it's action, it's fantasy and it's coming-of-age. Disney has not had a great coming-of-age story since Tarzan almost ten years prior.

I also enjoy the development with Moana. She starts of the movie as a "princess" being the daughter of the tribe chieftain. However, unlike every other Disney princess, Moana has a tribal working girl physique, the teenager has muscles and she has a notable muscular frame.

I really also enjoy the tornness in her soul of debating whether or not she does what the tribe expect of her and become chieftain, or do what her heart wants her to do and be a sailor and explorer.

On a side note, I do appreciate how non chalant this movie is in the prospect of having a female chieftain. She's never discouraged or beaten down because she's female, she beats herself up because to begin with it's not what she wants.

The conclusion she comes to in being the chieftain and deciding to take her tribe back to their origins of being sailors is truly the best of both worlds and, I feel, a very earned conclusion.

Maui being a demigod is very obnoxious and believes he is literally God's gift. However, he isn't and fortunately for the movie Moana is the type of girl to call him out on it.

I'm also very appreciative that this is simply a buddy comedy rather than a romcom. Moana never has any hero worship or fan girl moments for Maui but instead decides to call Maui's bluff on everything that he promises and is ready to scold him when he can't.

It's also an original take on a superpower of such, the fact he's a demigod with I'm sure some enhanced physical attributes but needs a hook to shape shift...it's also followed through when it's damaged and we learn it's Maui's crutch for his bravado.

As for the villains, it's clear that the main villain in this movie was Te Kā who was the demon of earth and fire and effectively a living volcano. But, because of the twist revealed that she is in fact Te Fiti the goddess of life but turned into Te Kā when Maui stole the Heart of Te Fiti, it's somewhat arguable that the real main antagonist of the movie should have been Tamatoa who, for me, made a much bigger impact than Te Kā.

The reason I do say this is as awesome as Te Kā is and the twist was surprising, when you connect the dots, Te Kā's villainous motivation is that of a scorned woman rather than Tamatoa's simple greed. Greed is a very effective motivator than whatever the reasoning for Te Fiti becoming Te Kā was because it's never actually explained, did she become a fire demon because she had no heart because if so that is a better Jekyll/Hyde situation than Bruce Banner/Hulk.

Musically, this is a nice soundtrack. This was my introduction to Lin Minuel Miranda's body of work and, I have to say it, he's a better composer than he is an actor because "How Far I'll Go" and "Shiny" are instant classics, as is "You're Welcome" but that is way too much of an earworm.

So yes, I do believe Moana to be a solid Disney movie with some great leaps forward for diversity, animation and storytelling. My chieftain complaint is the villain situation but to be honest seeing Te Fiti at the end not being "reborn" but also just simply lying down and becoming an island's foliage was worth it.

So what do you guys think? Post your comments and check out more Disney+ What to Watch Top 10s as well as more Top 10 Lists and other posts.

[malexfan10]

Malex thoughts

I was watching some old episodes of Dawson's Creek and it made me want to get some thoughts out. I watched a lot of TV shows growing up. For me, the couples I liked were either ones I casually rooted for or on the rare occasion, a couple took me by such surprise that I became extremely emotionally invested. Malex is the latter.

I've been a fan of Captain Swan (OUAT), Stydia (Teen Wolf), Kurt & Blaine (Glee), Buffy & Angel and lots more. The rare pairings I've been completely lost on, I can name on one hand. Pacey & Joey (my first OTP), Chandler & Monica and Malex. I'd say Destiel on Supernatural too but with them, everything is subtext. I don't think the writers will have the guts to go there, not even with the show ending.

With PJ, I love how they started as antagonists, became really great friends, and then fell in love. For me, PJ vs DJ was incomparable. DJ brought out the worst in each other (my opinion) while PJ showed each other what love was supposed to be. The only thing I hated about DC was the constant back & forth between the two pairings. It lasted until the final moment when you realized PJ was endgame (one of my fears for Malex). I hated that but I was a kid so it didn't bother me as much as it would now.

I loved Chandler & Monica because they started out as friends who fell in love, got married and had all the moments in between before adopting a set of twins. I loved their story because it showed their entire journey. True, the show was a comedy but their story didn't end in season 5 when they started dating. Their story just began.

It's hard understanding writers who feel that only the journey matters. Of course it does. The journey is important. It's what makes you root for a couple but the destination and what happens after is important too. It makes you continue rooting for them, seeing all that angst and pain amounting to something substantial in the end.

So as much as I loved PJ, the fact that they kept us guessing until the last 5 minutes before we realized who she chose was too much. The long, drawn out, multi-season, will they/won't they storytelling style is one I'll never be a fan of.

Which leads me to Malex.

They were two broken boys, both brought up under horrible circumstances, who found the missing piece of themselves in each other. When Alex gave Michael a warm and safe place to stay, it was probably the first act of true kindness Michael had ever experienced and it was made by a boy whose pain and suffering mirrored his own. How incredibly heartbreaking but beautiful is that? That initial bond, that "cosmic" connection stood the test of time. Separated for 10 years and it felt like no time had passed at all.

That first moment in the pilot episode outside his Airstream, you could feel the tension. I remember reading interpretations of that scene. People thought Malex were cold and angry with one another "probably over a girl". Are you kidding me? That tension could only be romantic. But that first kiss at the reunion was when I hopped on the Malex Forever train. One stop only. Endgame.

They set them up so amazingly in the first three episodes. The angst was there but you could also feel the deep love between them. They weren't shown as two guys who had a fling back in high school and then crossed paths again 10 years later, said what the hell and hooked up again. No, they were shown as soulmates. Their level of connection even scared and confused them but they both knew it existed. Their love was pure and true and rare.

With all their history and with so many odds already stacked against them, the writers deciding to throw in a triangle just because they could and doing it in such a rushed and messy way really made me scratch my head.

Carina said she loved the triangle on DC. I honestly think she was the only one. That show was incredibly divided, DJ vs PJ. But as much as I hated the constant back and forth, I'll give the DC writers some credit. Joey's feelings for both were fully touched on. I saw her romantic feelings for Pacey more profound and her feelings for Dawson as true friendship (just my opinion), but both sides were shown in depth.

The problem with Roswell? Where did those feelings come from between M&M? They shared a moment when Maria cried and I took that as the start of a wonderful friendship. I was obviously wrong. They hooked up in the desert. OK I hated it but they were two single people and Maria didn't know about Alex so I accepted. All of a sudden, the feelings were real and Maria was conflicted because of how strong her feelings were. Michael chose to be with Maria because he needed something fresh and new and according to the wonderful Vlamis, someone he also had strong feelings for (still hate that last interview LOL).

I understand where Michael was coming from a little better, as much as I hate it and hate how he went about it by leaving Alex just waiting. He'd been through so much trauma and Max and Isobel kept telling him to stop looking to the past (which, really Max? If someone told you that about Liz, would you listen?? But he died so he gets a pass). But as far as Maria's feelings are concerned, I feel like I missed something.

Between episodes 9 and 10, did the M&M feelings bloom overnight from flirty banter to crush to "OMG this is love"? Was their moment in the desert that mind-blowing that the weirdness of episode 11 happened? I don't get it.

The one thing going against M&M is that Malex is overwhelmingly loved and has been embraced by fans and critics alike.

One critic said it best when they reviewed the finale (Vulture).

"I was intrigued by the possibility of Michael/Maria at first, but the love triangle has been so rushed — with so little time spent on Maria’s developing feelings for Michael — that it’s ended up just making her look terrible. We know from Maria’s conversation with Liz that she hasn’t even spoken to Alex about the situation because she feels too guilty, and so having her accept Michael with open arms is such an odd note. Sure, she doesn’t know Alex is waiting for Michael right at the same moment, but she does know that he’s been in love with Michael for a decade."

And therein lies the problem. A lifelong friendship ruined over a guy (unless Carina makes Alex give his blessing next season which would really make me scream) to push forward a pairing that had little development and makes Maria look bad. One side of the triangle is Michael's soulmate and the other side is the friend with sudden feelings. Not the best character development which is sad because we know how awesome Maria can be and as mad as I am with her, her character that I enjoyed until episode 10 and the actress deserve better. But instead of being original, the writers chose the path always taken. They chose to use her as the odd end of a triangle where, unless they want everyone to hate the show, she will likely be the one forced out so Malex can eventually reunite and for what? Drama?

Season 1 started out really strong and it still had a lot of strong moments in the latter episodes (end scene of episode 9 between Malex, Liz & Jenna being kickass in episode 11, all of episode 12 - my fave of the season, Kyle's confrontation with Jesse etc).

But honestly, I feel like the inclusion of this triangle (amongst other reveals like Noah as the 4th alien) somewhat brought the story down. The writing for M&M felt OOC and was messily done.

Only in recent years have LGBT pairings started becoming more mainstream, given better development and importance in the overall story. With Malex, they have the potential of making Michael and Alex one of the greatest love stories on TV. As much as I love the show, I'm not saying Roswell is on the same level as Breaking Bad or The Sopranos etc. But from all the pairings on the show, Malex is the most profound and has the potential to go down as one of the best on TV. To overcome everything they've been through and still choose each other and their love would be the ultimate happy ending because unlike most male/female pairings that go through mostly regular angst, being two males in a small town, Malex have a whole other level of obstacles to face. That doesn't even include their personal history, the fact that Michael is an alien or that Alex's father is the cause of so much pain between them. Or the fact that Alex is a disabled war veteran. I mean, there is so much amazing points to their story. They are the OTP of OTPs.

But so far, it feels like the triangle is the only major roadblock the writers want to concentrate on and that's the biggest mistake of all.

Season 2 hasn't aired yet. We don't know how little (🤞) or how long (😢) M&M will last. We'll just have to wait and see how it goes and hope that Twitter Carina is not the same as Season 2 showrunner Carina.

But for me, Malex will always be each other's endgame. That's what I saw in the first 3 episodes. That's what I saw in the flashbacks. That's what I saw in Caulfield. Try and convince me differently, show. You'll fail.

❤

[katealexandra26]

If You Call, I'll Answer (6/?)

Summary: Emma works in a call center simply to pay off her student loans and she absolutely hates it. She lives with her longtime college friend Killian who moved her in with him after a pregnant Emma was abandoned by Neal Cassidy. Almost four years later, they still live together, raising Emma’s son Henry but they are only friends. Emma is afraid to ruin their friendship but maybe it’s time to take a leap of faith and find out if loving Killian is worth the risk.

Rating: Explicit (For smuttiness coming soon - (I’m not even sorry for the pun))

Word Count: ~5400

Catch up here: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6

Also on: ao3 | ff.net

Aesthetic Series: Part 1| Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Author’s Note: So here is Chapter 6 two weeks later than I originally intended. My mom was in the hospital (she’s home and better now) so everything got sidetracked. This is one of the longest single chapters I’ve ever written so hopefully it’s not an incoherent pile of rubbish. This was not beta’d so all mistakes are my own.

tagging some folks who asked to be tagged or liked this story in the past (if you want to be tagged/untagged just ask): @andiirivera, @teamhook, @atlanticstardust, @noneplus5cups, @fleurreads, @lenfazreads, @lenfaz, @klar425, @deathbycaptainswan, @timeless-love-story, @galadriel26, @sunshine-and-the-catsuit, @liketenerifesea, @snowbellewells, @spartanguard, @kmomof4, @optomisticgirl, @woofiefangirl, @sambethe

Chapter 6: This Dance We Do

April 1, 2016

“Anna, don’t talk with you mouth full! And perhaps it’s best not to regale your mother with your drunken escapades and debauchery,” a voice from the doorway called. Ingrid Jones, her graying blond hair pulled into a ponytail, stepped fully into the kitchen. Ingrid’s warning about debauchery helped Emma squash all of the inappropriate thoughts swimming around in her head.

“Mum!” Killian and Anna exclaimed in unison as he rushed from his chair to hug Ingrid, who found herself in the middle of a hug from both Killian and Anna. Emma had once thought it weird that Anna called Ingrid mom, but she had been a little girl of barely six when her parents died and she called Ingrid “mom” because Killian and Liam had. So even though she was their aunt, she became their mother. Although Liam and Elsa never regarded each other as siblings in the way Killian and Anna had and still did. Teenagers when their families merged, they fell in love at a young age and had been together almost twenty years now.

It had been a complex situation to explain and Killian had done so right from the start. In hindsight, it became a building block that helped Emma understand that family wasn’t always blood and as adopted kid herself, she knew that but she didn’t truly embrace, at least until she got to know Killian, that it was the ties like love and friendship, that bound someone as family. Emma shook her head and watched the joyous reunion.

“Anna, I’m so glad you and Kris made it home safe. I can’t believe I haven’t seen you in four months,” Ingrid exclaimed, cupping Anna’s face and kissing her forehead, before doing the same to Killian.

“And Killian, I can’t believe you haven’t texted me in over a week. I mean, seriously? Emma can’t use her phone except at her breaks and she texts me more than you do. Then any of my kids do. I mean, I’m pretty sure she’s the only one who loves me,” Ingrid pouted jokingly.

Emma hugged Ingrid as Anna, Elsa, Killian and Liam started a heated argument about who loved Ingrid most and who was the best kid. The Jones/Arendelle clan was a competitive bunch if there ever was one.

“Guys, knock it off, or we will never get dinner on the table and these kids in bed by their bedtimes,” Emma warned. That seemed to snap them all out of it and resulted in dinner being resolved in less than fifteen minutes. Competitive bunch who certainly enjoyed challenges; not at all easy to manipulate into a game of one-upmanship on creating the best dish for dinner. No, sir! Emma loved to enjoying the results of the storm of activity they created in the kitchen. Elsa, Anna and Mary Margaret had taught her to cook over the years, but Emma didn’t enjoy it as much as sitting down to a meal without the work. Killian cooked for them mostly or their housekeeper helped Emma make a bunch of meals at one that they could freeze and reheat later.

Emma wandered out of the kitchen to find Belle and Mary Margaret lounging on the couch in the living room, their feet propped up. Both of the women were expecting their second child during the summer. Emma hugged Mary Margaret, then Belle before she plopped down in one of the armchairs as they discussed pregnancy. Regina walked out of the house, curling up next to Mary Margaret.

“Ingrid is really enjoying having all of the children here. I am so grateful for her. She’s the only grandparent most of our children know and she is so wonderful at loving them all,” Regina said with a wistful smile. “Mary Margaret and I haven’t seen Cora since her sentencing. I’m content to let her rot in her cell at Danbury.” Emma could feel the anger radiating from Regina. Regina, at least knew mention of her mother’s name would be upsetting and had a firm grip on Mary Margaret’s hand, carefully eyeing her sister for signs that the combination of grief and pregnancy would reduce Mary Margaret to tears. When Emma had met her, she never would’ve imagined a day that these two women would have such a strong bond. “I’m sorry to mention her. I only mean to say that Robin and I never intend for Roland to meet HER, so Roland doesn’t having any other living grandparents.”

Emma sighed, they had all lost so much over the years. Accidents and crime aside, half of their family had lost parents to cancer. The cycle of life took parents away, one way or another but Emma hated the cruelty of cancer’s destructive nature. She brushed away her tears, focusing on the positive, “Ingrid is the best. I mean she hasn’t been the same since Brennan passed but I know she has so much love to give and having so many children to love and spoil brings her tremendous joy.”

“You know the first time went to England to visit our families with Rose, my dad and Will’s parents were confused by Rose asking for Gramma Ing. They thought she had a speech impediment. I love visiting England and seeing my dad and in laws but this is home. We all haven’t been in the same place since Christmas and with everything going on,” Belle’s waved her hand over her burgeoning stomach, “I’m glad for some consistency. My dad and Will’s parents are …”

“Stuffy?” Mary Margaret prompted, trying not to snort.

“I was going to say overly traditional, maybe distant or absent, but stuffy works too. Don’t get me wrong, I love my father but I was raised primarily by a nanny, so was Will. And when Dad’s work here in the States ended, he was content to leave me in boarding school here at thirteen years old. Will’s parents lived in New York up until our junior year. After his sister died, they abandoned Will here, though he wouldn’t have gone back to England willingly at that point. Anyway, you guys have all been there and I’m just glad to have you all in my life,” Belle confessed.

Will walked into the room from the sitting room, sensing he had stepped into a heavy conversation, he took a moment to survey them before he spoke, “Ladies, I’m sorry to interrupt but dinner is being served out in the garden. My darling,” Will helped his wife from her seat. Regina and Mary Margaret got up and walked arm in arm outside. Will paused to offer a smile and his other arm to Emma, “Come on, Emma. I’m starving. Got to eat for two you know.”

He winked and Belle rolled her eyes. Emma hooked her arm in Will’s and they set off for the outside dining area. Emma loved eating on the outdoor terrace here. It had a spectacular view of the ocean and the table had enough extensions and benches to accommodate all fourteen adults and seven children in the same place. Henry was already seated with Leo on his left and Killian on his right. Ruby and Killian left enough space on the bench between them for Emma.

Liam sat at the head of table with Elsa, nearly seven old Brennan to her right and four year old Kieran and Ingrid opposite. Everyone had settled down as Liam stood to raise his glass in a toast.

“So many of you know Elsa has been ill the last few weeks. We had the doctor stop by and we’ve found out that we are expecting again,” Liam beamed.

“Hopefully, this one is a girl,” his wife chimed in, “There hasn’t been a Jones daughter in the last three generations,” Elsa informed the gathering as she wrapped her arms around her husband’s waist.

Everyone wished them their congratulations and as they were about to move on to dinner, Robin and Regina stood as well.

Robin blushed, but grasped Regina’s hand firmly, smiling ear to ear. “We were going to wait to tell everyone. You all know how long a road and difficult road we’ve had the last few years, but this last round of IVF worked.”

“We’re expecting twins!” Regina squealed. Turning to Liam and Elsa she apologized, “I hope you don’t mind that we have stole your thunder a bit. But we’ve officially made it to the second trimester and both babies are doing well.” Assurances were given that Liam and Elsa were happy for them and in no way upset regarding the nature of their announcement.

Emma was so happy for Regina. Her infertility issues after Roland had caused her and Robin more grief than Emma could imagine. It said a lot for their resiliency that they continued to try for children and that their loss hadn’t driven them apart. Four of her friends were going to have a second child. Must have been something in the water in the last year just as there had been around the time they had all graduated, because Roland, Leo, Rose, and Sarah were born in the following year graduation. Emma had been welcome latecomer to the mommy club. Her medical training gave her a basis for what to expect and Killian had kept her well supplied with different research at all stages of her pregnancy but she remembered how nice it had been to have a bevy of new moms to ask questions about their own experiences. What would it be like to experience it all over again at this point in her life? Not that she didn’t love Henry, but he hadn’t been part of her plan.

Emma sat in a contemplative silence until Killian rested his hand on her leg and startled her. Her eyes glanced at his hand before shooting up to meet his for several long seconds.

“Sorry love, but Kris asked you about your work and you were just staring into space,” Killian said softly, breaking her trance.

Killian watched as Emma shook herself and turned to Kristoff to respond.

“It’s the same bullshit everyday. I hate it. I don’t know how I’ve been there so long. But I’ve almost got my student loans paid in full so I haven’t thought much beyond that,” Emma replied without the normal feeling, or frustration with which she usually displayed when complaining about her job. He knew better than to mention going back to school, at least until she paid of her loans. One final year of schooling and she could be the doctor she once so passionately wished to be. He truly hated seeing that fire go out within her over the last few years.

“I wouldn’t know what that’s like. I’m lucky my mom works for the university. Otherwise I’d probably be pretty screwed. Getting a PhD in Anthropology isn’t exactly cheap,” Kris mused.

“Did you ever think about going to another school?” Dottie asked from the opposite end of the table.

“Never. Even if mom didn’t get a discounted tuition rate, I’d have still gone to Penn State. I’ve bled blue and white my whole life,” Kris admitted proudly.

Killian laughed as this started an argument over who had the best alma mater. At one time, when most of them had lived in Killian’s house, dinner was long drawn out affair for the adults as they could sit talking, or drinking when they were younger, for hours on end but the children were eager, impatient really, to be excused to play. That was how Killian found himself, Liam, Dave, Will and Robin playing a game of tag against all seven children. Kris wandered into the house and probably collapsed on a couch. Killian felt exhausted after a few rounds, wishing he could have gotten in a little nap time for himself, and suggested they show the kids sparklers and firecrackers. The women sat in the chairs around the fireplace as the sun began to set. Killian heard Emma’s laugh sounding and turned to see her with a mug of steaming liquid, knowing it was her favored hot chocolate with cinnamon without needing to see or smell the drink. It was her comfort drink, well at least it was her non-alcoholic comfort drink.

“Oi, Kil, pay attention mate, you’re going to burn yourself,” Will laughed. Killian mumbled a quiet curse realizing the sparkler had burnt down to his hand. He threw it down into the bucket of sand they had brought out for used sparklers, issuing a warning to Henry and Roland, who were nearest to him, not to touch it lest they repeat Killian’s error.

“When the bloody hell are you going get your head out of your arse and tell that woman how you feel?” Robin asked, dropping his sparklers into the waste bin.

“Rob, mate, watch the cursing. Leo likes to repeat words he hears to his mother and upsetting my pregnant wife is not on my to do list, thank you. I’ll throw you on the fire that is Mary Margaret’s rage if it comes down to it,” David whispered, looking cautiously at the terrace to ensure his wife hadn’t heard.

Killian laughed, almost visualizing an angry Mary Margaret, though having experienced a taste of what David was referring to he didn’t need to. He had a feeling that Mary Margaret’s anger would be even fiercer about anything that negatively affected her son then he might have experienced from her in their college years. Life had changed them all in subtle and, for some of them, not so subtle ways. Everything settled down for the most part and the thing that Killian found it hard to deal with nowadays was that it wasn’t as easy to see everyone all at once as often as they once had. They were still as close as family could be, though it had been a few weeks since he and his mates had had a chance to talk at length.

“I intend to talk to her this weekend. I was going to do it tomorrow at sunrise but after we put Henry to bed, I’ll probably sit down with her. I’m just nervous I’m going to ruin it.”

Liam, who had been listening from his seated spot on the lawn, glanced over at the younger men. “Little brother, you couldn’t ruin it. You’d have to be blind not to see what you two have is special,” he interjected, as though there was no disputing it.

Killian shook his head, a few examples popped up in his mind of how close he’d come to running everything a few times, but before he could speak, David spoke up, “Kil, we’ve seen it. You and Emma, it’s magical to see you together. To see you together with Henry. Your love has been the glue holding all of us together as a family for a long time. That love, it’s stronger than you realize, so trust in that.”

David grasped his shoulder and Killian nodded. He didn’t say anything. With everything running through his mind, it was most important to share his thoughts with Emma first. He went back to drawing shapes with the sparklers in the dark to entertain the children.

To the ladies relief, the men took the children into the backyard to play after dinner ended to run off some of their energy. Ingrid retired to her cottage not long after that, going down to bid each if the little ones goodnight before she did. Will and Killian had found some sparklers and were now creating shapes or designs in air that the children called out to them as the darkness of evening settled in. Emma curled up in her own chair around the fire pit, sandwiched between Ruby and Mary Margaret’s chairs. Mary Margaret’s small baby bump, was more pronounced while seated, especially as she fidgeted to find a comfortable position in the chair. Elsa, Anna and Belle sat on a long cushioned settee with Dottie and Regina taking up the remaining single chairs around the firepit.

Emma realized what was missing, hopping up, ran into the house, and grabbed a few glasses and bottles of wine. She came back and handed one glass and a wine bottle each to Ruby, Dottie and Anna as the rest of the women were pregnant and not indulging in alcohol of any kind. Once the wine had been consumed, Ruby disappeared from her seat, coming back out many minutes later with a large tray covered in steaming mugs, passing one to each lady.

“Ruby, you didn’t have to do that,” Elsa insisted as she took the glass.

“Years of working in Granny’s diner gave me some skills time just doesn’t erase. Besides I couldn’t send Emma or Anna for it, lord knows we’d be cleaning up some kind of mess,” Ruby jested, flashing her brightest smile to the two women in question.

“Hey!” Emma and Anna exclaimed in unison. They laughed loudly at their mutual response, Emma feeling mild effects of the wine they had consumed.

“Drink some of that and shush you. Emma, you really need to be sober for tonight,” Ruby informed her, mischief glinting in her eyes.

“Ruby…,” Emma warned.

“Why does Emma need to be sober? She doesn’t have anywhere to go, does she?” Mary Margaret asked innocently, smiling as she rested her hands on her stomach.

“I don’t think it’s about going anywhere. I think it’s about coming,” Anna concluded, which would’ve shocked Emma except for the two bottles of wine Anna had consumed already. “Are you and Killian going to finally sleep together?”

“We all know they’ve slept together before, though maybe under more innocent circumstances,” Belle contended.

Emma could feel heat radiating off her from the embarrassment she felt. Only a few other times did she have to endure this kind of scrutiny about her bed partners. Emma was ready to respond when Elsa caught her eye and then looked at her watch.

“Ladies, if you’ll excuse me, it’s the boys bedtime and I should really help my husband with storytime,” as she departed and went down to the lawn to escort Liam and their sons inside. The rest of the women made similar comments and soon they had disappeared inside as well. Except Anna, who had found Kris and wandered away from the house, down to the beach with a blanket tucked under Anna’s arm.

Killian came up to her holding Henry in his arms. “Poor lad has tuckered himself out,” he advised.

“Well then we should get him ready for bed,” Emma proposed, heading into the house.

Bath time was a bit of a struggle, Henry didn’t particularly enjoy getting a bath and splashed a lot of water on Killian and Emma. Henry’s behavior was likely because he was still very excited about being at the beach. After forty minutes, they finally had Henry in his pajamas, tucked in for his bedtime story, Emma making use of her call center skills to change the tone of her voice for the different character and Killian doing varying accents that never failed to make Henry laugh. They shushed him as Leo, who was sharing the room with Henry, was already asleep. Henry begged them to read the story a second time but before they even finished the second reading, soft snores were emanating from him.

“Swan, why don’t you go shower? I’ll be in shortly. I just want to go downstairs for a few minutes for a drink,” Killian said, slowly extracting himself from Henry’s embrace, careful not to wake him.

Emma tried not to think about the fact that she couldn’t avoid how she was feeling so close to the moment of truth. She made her way down the hall two rooms to Killian’s normal room. It had been decorated for him when Ingrid renovated the whole house and cottage the winter after Brennan passed away as an outlet of grief. It was a perfect room for Killian. White wainscoting halfway up the wall with a navy blue paint on the walls above it. Depictions of ships at sea and some of Emma’s own photographs of times summers past graced the walls. Emma’s favorite features were the two built-in bookshelves made of the same white wainscoting, populated with volumes of classic books and model ships that flanked the door to the en-suite bathroom.

Emma stripped down and got into the shower, enjoying the scalding hot water pour over her from the multiple shower heads. She stood under the water long after she scrubbed her skin and hair. With the knowledge that she should vacate the shower otherwise she’d be red as a lobster, she exited and grabbed a towel for her hair. She flipped her head upside down, covering it with the towel, twisting it tightly. Standing straight once more, Emma tucked the tail of the towel under the part of towel covering the base of her neck to create a sort of turban look. She wrapped another towel around her body and went to the mirror.

The vented fan in the bathroom didn’t prevent the mirror from fogging over completely. Emma didn’t really need to see her reflection to apply her moisturizing lotion and her deodorant. She went to the tub and propped her leg up as she applied the lotion to one leg then the other. She applied the deodorant and then a little perfume to her pulse points. She reached for her clothes suddeny realizing she had left them in her bag in the bedroom. She checked the security of her towel wrap and walked out of the bathroom. Killian was back from the kitchen and had fallen asleep in his only boxers on top of the bed. At the sound of her noises he flew awake, eyes scanning the room for the source before landing on her as he slid down from the bed.

“Emma, I was hoping we could take about a few things before we sleep,” Killian stammered, fighting himself about whether to step closer or look away. Emma could see the indecision etched in his expression.

Killian was flustered by her nudity, though she was covered very well by the oversized towel. “Oh, come on Killian. You’ve seen me naked plenty of times before.” She smiled and chose to joke because she the butterflies in her stomach made her unsure she was ready for a more serious chat.

Killian’s gaze met hers again. Blue eyes smoldering with desire. There was no mistaking the look. She had seen it on his face before. “This is different than before, Emma. I won’t let you run from me this time because of how I feel, how I know we both feel. We danced around the truth of it for so long, it’s always been there in the background haunting us. I can’t be haunted by it any longer. God, Emma, I’ve loved you for so long,” Killian confessed, the words hanging in the air between them.

Emma felt such relief she stood there in utter silence as Killian gazed hopefully at her. She had to say something. But saying something had never been her strong suit. So she took the towel from her hair, shaking it down. Emma reached for the point on her body towel that she had it secured but Killian grabbed her hand to cease her movement.

“Emma, what are you doing?” Killian’s hand trembled as he held hers.

“I love you, Killian. We’ve wasted so much time, I don’t want to waste anymore,” she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him to her lips.

At first he kissed her tentatively, but the longer she kissed him, the more his disbelief faded. He kissed her hungrily, like a man who wandered the desert too long without water. He realized his hand was the only thing holding her towel up, and so he let go, slipping the hand that had been holding the towel down to her breast, kneading it in his palm. His other hand threaded into her wet hair, to the base of her neck, angling her head better so he could kiss her deeper. Surrendering her lips to breathe in the vanilla honey smell of her, he created a trail of wet kisses to her neck and then her breasts, taking each nipple into his mouth in turn.

Emma moaned, running her nails down his back and into his boxers. Her hands drifted from his cheeks to his cock, one hand stroking it firmly, the other caressing his balls. He broke their kiss and removed her hands, laughing at the pout that he found on her face.

“Darling, it’s been too long, if you keep that up, I’m going to come in your hand,” Killian admonished.

Emma smiled boldly, “Maybe another time then, but then, where’s the fun in that.” She pushed his boxers down, sinking to her knees as she worked the garment to the ground. She licked the underside of his cock before taking him down her throat. She leaned back to smile at him again but he pulled her up and tossed her on the bed, climbing on top of her and holding her down lightly with his weight. He pushed her thighs apart with his knees, running his hands on the inside of her thighs with the softest pressure he could just to tease her. He peppered her thighs with kisses skipping touching her core. He could smell her arousal, an intoxicating scent that magnified his desire to taste her.

Killian parted her folds, running two fingers through her sopping cunt to her clitoris, eliciting a series of delightful moans as he circled his fingers repeatedly over the swollen bundle of nerves. Emma met his eyes as he stopped, brought his fingers to his mouth, licking them clean and as soon as he had her arching up craving any touch, he leaned down and thrust his tongue into her. He fucked hear over and over with his tongue, drawing out to lick and suck her clit. Focusing his mouth’s attention back to her clitoris, he inserted two fingers into her, keeping her jade eyes on him the whole time. She started thrusting onto his fingers and he curled them just a bit more to reach her sweet spot. Her head rolled back on the bed breaking their gaze as she covered her mouth with her hand to muffle her orgasm.

“Killian, I need you in me,” she panted, grabbing at his hair and pulling him up.

He complied, reaching for a condom from the side table, she stopped him. “I’m on birth control and let’s not pretend we don’t know each other’s sexual history. I just want to feel you. No barriers.”

Killian cursed at her admission and dropped the condom. He lined himself up to her entrance and sank into her in one thrust. He stilled to allow them each to adjust, he wasn’t ready for it to be over before it began.

Emma’s eyelids shuttered closed in a moment of ecstasy as her body stretched around him. Emma missed this. It had been too long. She needed him to move. She was right on the edge and desperately needed more.

“Killian, please…” coherent words failed her but he knew what she needed. He thrust slowly at first, his face buried in between her breasts. Gentle kisses to her breasts, collarbone and neck were almost too much. Killian pressed his lips just below her ear and she shifted her hips wider, allowing him to sink deeper with each thrust. Her second orgasm crept up on her from nowhere as he bottomed out hard within her.

“Emma, you feel so bloody amazing, love,” Killian murmured, praising her, worshiping her with his body, his hands roaming freely, his mouth barely moving from her ear as he spoke.

“More,” she croaked, unable to articulate further. Killian increased his pace and Emma wrapped her legs around his hips and thrust to match. Killian’s right hand grabbed her ass, his left finding it’s way to the right side of her neck keeping their bodies molded together. Emma was so fucking close. She could feel the pull in her lower body, she knew he felt it too. In their erratic thrusting and the wetness from her prior orgasms, he slipped from her and when he thrust back, he missed her entrance, instead hitting her pelvic bone then her clit. His primal growl as he sank back into her and drove deeper was the push she needed and her muscles began to clench around him, her orgasm an unstoppable wave that just kept crashing, dragging him under with her. Killian’s grip on her neck shifted to the back of her head as he lifted her slightly, his mouth fully against her ear as he growled her name over and over until he stilled.

Emma felt bereft when he pulled from her and they lay side by side, panting as the euphoria faded slightly and she forced herself to get up to go to the bathroom. She retrieved her washcloth and ran it under the hottest water she could stand. Emma could feel the stickiness of their mixed releases seeping from her, rolling down her leg, and was grateful for a moment to pee and clean herself. Killian, obsessive compulsive disorder getting the better of him, walked into the bathroom still naked and gave her an annoyed look as he dramatically hung her towels back on the towel rack. Anyone else watching her washing up would’ve been awkward, but she had lived with him nearly eight years when she factored T.B.N. (time before Neal) and T.A.H. (time after Henry) and it felt nothing if not natural for him to see less than perfect moments. She could be herself with him in the perfect storybook moments or the nitty-gritty of post-sex personal hygiene. She had studied medicine and knew the different hazards of poor personal care, she shuddered and shoved thoughts of medical textbooks from her mind. Killian had hopped in the shower briefly and came up next to her at the sink, dripping wet, a towel wrapped at his waist, a shit-eating grin plastered on his face when he noticed Emma lick her lips at the sight.

They brushed their teeth side by side at the double sink vanity, smiling stupidly even as they each scrubbed their teeth. Killian replaced his towel and left the bathroom first so she swatted him playfully on his naked ass as he walked by, ignoring his exaggerated yelp of pain. When she finally crawled back into the bed once more, she instinctively wrapped herself against him, her back to his front. She felt amazing wrapped up in his arms. She’d forgotten just how powerful and amazing sex could be when you felt more than lust for a partner.

“Why the bloody hell did we wait so long to do that?” Killian whispered in her ear.

“We’re idiots?” Emma postulated.

“I think we just forgot how good we were together. And maybe I was an idiot to let you get away before, but I was just trying to follow your lead and do what I thought you wanted,” Killian turned her to face him.

“I promise, Killian, I’m here to stay. I don’t want to be just friends anymore. I won’t run like I did before,” Emma promised. And she truly meant it. There was no haze on this memory, no pushing it to the recesses of her mind in order to preserve a friendship.

“I think I’ve just got to fuck you so many times this time you can’t run, let alone walk away from me,” Killian smirked, raising his eyebrows.

“I think the third time’s the charm, though you won’t hear a complaint from me if you want to do it again, and again, and again.” Emma drew him in for a kiss, palming his already half hard length, licking her lips as she drew back from him. “But I’ve got to do something first.”