#if she wasn't my cousin we would not be speaking anymore

[confinesofmy]

phone time until my thoughts grow abstract and it's hard to keep my eyes open, log into sleep tracker turn phone off close eyes, thoughts loop to distressing thoughts that make me feel worked up with regret and rage, phone time again. when i sleep i will have nightmares because i usually have nightmares. i can't take it anymore!!!

[sunnyie-eve]

7. Rekindle

Fandom: House of the Dragon

Series: Devious Opportunity

Pairing: (Aegon II Targaryen x Cousin! OFC Targaryen!)

Word Count: 1.4k

Notes: Incest, Rhaenyra and Aegon making up,

| MASTERLIST |

Aegon didn't waste a second rushing to embrace her. She stood there knowing she shouldn't hug him back but she couldn't help it. "You shouldn't be in here." She says in the bone breaking hug.

"I know but I needed to see you." He holds her even tighter, "I tried to forget but I can't do it. I failed you. I'm sorry." He tears up wanting to stay like this forever but she gets out of the hug.

"Aegon, you have a child." She says meaning the one he has with Helaena.

"Not really..." He makes a face, "Everyone thinks she's mine when she's really Aemond's. I've never slept with Helaena or anyone else other than you." He tells her the truth. "I can't do it. I tried going to the brothel but none of them are you."

"Aegon..." She starts to get upset, "Why must you make this so hard? Once we leave going back, we go back to not seeing each other or taking."

"I don't want that anymore. I'm sick of drinking till I pass out to get you out of my mind. That doesn't even help because I dream about you." He grabs her hands.

"We can't. I can't let you get in trouble."

"It doesn't change anything. I'm still a disappointment to my mother. She hit me earlier and said I'm no son to her. I can try to forget about you but either way... I can't do anything right." He tells her, "I've been miserable since you left and even more since that night. I don't want to be alone."

Before she could say anything, Jace comes in with Dahlia on his back and Astraea on his hip. They were all laughing till he saw Aegon in the room. Aegon looks at the three and thinks the worst that his mother was right, she did move on from him.

"Umm..." Jace looks at Celeste.

"I'll take them. It's fine, thank you." She takes Dahlia off of Jace and he puts Astraea down before leaving the room quickly.

"Mother was right..."

"What?" She asks him, putting Dahlia down to go play with her sister and their toys.

"She said you moved on. I see she was right." He looks over at girls.

"I didn't move on." Celeste tells him truthfully, "It's impossible to move on when I have her in my life." She walks closer to him, "Aegon, technically speaking, you do have a child." She tells him the truth. She had to and what Jace said on the way there. She would know what to do when she saw him, "Two,"

"What?" He looks back at her.

"They're your daughters. Like you, I have not slept with anyone other than you."

"They're...they're mine?" He asks in shock so she nods her head.

"There's Dahlia." She looks over at her so Dahlia looks over at them watching her. She gives them a huge smile before going back to her toys. "And Astraea," She adds so Astraea looks back hearing her name as well before turning back around. "I wasn't sure if I wanted to tell you."

"Why would you not want to tell me?"

"I don't know." She tells him truthfully.

Aegon looks back over at girls playing then walks over bending down to their level, "Hi," He gives them a smile.

They both look at him and then Astraea holds out a toy to him, "Hi." She gives him a smile, "I Astraea, you?" She asks him.

"I'm Aegon." He smiles taking the toy from her, "And you?" He smiles at Dahlia so she says her name too. As he plays with them, Dahlia stops to look at him and he notices, "What?" He asks as she stands up stepping closer to him touching his face looking him in the eyes.

Dahlia doesn't say anything as she starts to smile pinching his cheeks before running over to Celeste giggling wanting her to pick her up. "Why did you leave Aegon?" She asks her, "You can trust him. He's family like uncle Jace and Luke."

"Egg," Astraea pokes Aegon to get his attention making them laugh at her. She opens her arms wanting to be picked up so he does what she wants.

"I should go before someone starts looking for me." Aegon walks over to Celeste with Astraea to pass her off, "I'll see you around." He smiles at the girls before walking towards the pathways.

"Aegon," Celeste stops him, "I'm sorry for what I told you last time we saw each other.."

"I never believed the words that left your mouth that day." He smiles leaving them just at Rhaenyra enters the room.

"You all right?" She asks her.

"Yes," She turns to face her.

"Perhaps you had a visitor?" She smiles slightly, "Did you tell him the truth?"

Celeste puts the girls down and they go back to play, "I did. He told me that Alicent had told him I moved on so he thought I did. The pain in his voice hurt me so I told him the truth. Before telling him, I brought up Helaena's little girl and he told me she's not his like everyone thinks. Her father is Aemond truthfully."

"Did you use the word father around them?" Rhaenyra looks at the twins.

"No, we didn't. Aegon introduced himself by name and I said he was family as well. Dahlia wasn't very shy around him but she also didn't know him well enough. And then you know how her sister is."

Rhaenyra nods her head, "I wanted to just come check on you being here."

"I'm fine, thank you."

When Rhaenyra leaves Celeste's room, she makes her way to Aegon's apartments to chat with him about things but mainly about him and Celeste. Arriving the guard outside the door announces her to him as she walks into his room and he was looking out the window.

"Rhaenyra...sister." He turns to face her surprise she came to see him.

"Brother..." She says and they just look at each other.

"What brings you here?" He asks her.

"Celeste tells me you met the twins secretly sneaking around." She rests her hands on her belly.

"I did, I still cannot believe that they exist. They're beautiful little things and take after their mother." He nods his head going to take a seat.

"I thought you might like to know that Daemon no longer has a dislike for you. Once Celeste found out she was with child she had happy tears, Daemon started to see how much you really meant to her. Then when they were born he apologized for how he acted with all the letters."

"It is nice to know that he doesn't want to kill me." He chuckles a bit and she laughs as well, "Only if my mother and Grandfather would get over it as well. I could be truly happy."

"I know how you feel, Aegon. At one point I had to do what was expected of me as well." She walks over taking a seat across from him.

"I do not want to take the throne from you. You are the heir to it not me. Father wants you to have it not me. He's had plenty of chances to change his mind but he has not." He looks over at her, "I mean it, Rhaenyra."

"What do you want?" She asks knowing the answer to it anyways but she wanted to hear him say it.

"I want to be happy...with Celeste and the girls. I want to give them what I did not have growing up. I want to be with someone who has always cared about me. Someone I know who loved me even when I was a pain in her ass growing up."

"Then stand up to those around you or you will be stuck, Aegon." She gets up to sit next to him, "I know we never were close and that is mainly on me, sadly. I know father always wanted a son and when Alicent had you... I was upset. I'm sorry for never trying or treated you like a brother." She apologizes.

Aegon nods his head, "I don't blame you. He may have wanted a son but I will never be loved like he loves you. I think deep down I hated you because you get to experience that love I never have. Nothing beats first born love."

"I'm glad we could make amends." She gets up heading towards the door to leave.

"You'll make a good queen, sister." He tells her before she opens the door. She turns to face him and they share a smile before she leaves him.

[kishibe-kisser]

Hi!! May I request for fluff with Baizhu and a reader who works at the funeral parlor (maybe a relative to Hu Tao?)

Either way, I hope you have a nice day!

Sorry this took so long to write! i was wracked for inspiration.

Tags: gn!reader x Baizhu, fluff, reader needs more than a painkiller for a headache, and that's about it, Changsheng is a little bit of a smartass.

Word count: 1066

Your head was absolutely throbbing, every step you took making it effectively worse. Going into work was absolutely out of the question, the funeral parlor would simply have to wait and so would Hu Tao. You needed medical attention because this wasn't good anymore, simple painkillers weren't taking care of it.

You could hear Hu Tao in your head as you ascended the steps to BuBu Pharmacy, warning you, yelling at you to turn around and that she could help you even though you knew she couldn't. She just really didn't want you to look for help from the pharmacist. Personally, you had never met Baizhu but you couldn't help but think your cousin was exagerating. You needed help and well, you were willing to risk it.

"So many stairs." You mumbled, the top coming into sight as you felt yourself getting lightheaded. Stumbling a little, you placed your hands on the step in front of you, trying everything in your power not to pass out, not when you were this close to the top. "Are you alright?" A smooth, calm voice asked as you were trying to stay steady. "Not particularly." You said in return, finding a way to maneuver your body so that you were sitting down on the step instead.

Looking up at the owner of the voice, you found yourself swallowing thickly. The light lilac snake around his neck being a beautiful contrast to his green hair. "Baizhu?" You asked, squinting your eyes at the throbbing headache. "You know me, I don't believe we've met however." He crouched in front of you, golden eyes scanning your face. It was undoubtedly clear that you weren't feeling well, your skin completely devoid of color. "But that doesn't matter right now, let's get you help." He added on before you could speak again, picking you up princess style before you could even object not that you particularly could, the sunlight being way too bright. Opening your eyes even hurt.

The sunlight went away when you were brought inside, not into the front of the pharmacy, but the back. A little room with a bed, desk and privacy screen.

"There we go, I assume you were coming to see me." He said, smiling at you softly as he laid you down on the bed. The lighting made it easier for you to look at him, finding your cheeks heating up at the sight of him hovering over you. "Yes, I've had this splitting headache for days and it won't go away." You said and he stood up again, clearing his throat as he wandered to his desk. "Okay, I'll run some tests to see what I can do for you." He grabbed a little light to check your pupils.

"So, you know me but I don't know you. How is that?" He asked, helping you sit up and looking over your face. It seemed some color had returned to your face by simply being inside and not on the stairs. You were good looking, even in your sickly state Baizhu could see that. If he had seen you around before, he most definitely would have remembered you.

"I work at the funeral parlor." You winced when the light reached your eyes, Baizhu reaching out to hold your hand gently for comfort. "Hu Tao's my cousin." You admitted and the pharmacist couldn't help but laugh. "That's you why didn't come to me when this started." He said and you nodded, continuing with his tests. "Yes Hu Tao has become quite mixologist for my head ache, she doesn't know I'm here." You told him and he nodded his head.

"Well I think she'd throw an absolute fit if she knew you visited me for help." He was smiling at the thought and you couldn't help but find it endearing how he enjoyed messing with your cousin. "I think you're right." You laughed only to immediately stop and clutch your head, shooting pain making you whimper. Baizhu frowned, not enjoying that you were clearly in pain and excused himself for a moment.

"You like them." Changsheng remarked as the pharmacist mixed together herbs and prepared a cool compress. "Be quiet." He shot back, getting flushed at the snake's deduction. "Their cousin will give you Hell." The snake pressed on further and Baizhu sighed, knowing she was right. "What Hu Tao doesn't know won't hurt her, besides what am I supposed to do? Not treat her cousin? They can barely keep their eyes open." He said, taking the medication he had concocted and shushing the snake further as he re-entered the back room.

"You're not like Hu Tao describes." You remarked as the cool compress was pressed to your forehead, laying back down in the bed. "In a good way I hope." He grinned and nodded, holding the compress to your forehead. "I have no qualms with Hu Tao, she seems to absolutely despise me. Considering you're family, I thought you might do the same." He added on and tilted your head up for you to drink the bitter medicine he had made you. "We might be family but our ideologies don't always align." You said once you finished grimacing from the taste.

The medicine nearly instantly took effect, however also making you drowsy, finding it more and more difficult to keep your eyes open as you spoke with Baizhu.

"One of the reason's for your headache was fatigue, so I gave you something to help you rest as well." He explained, noticing your fifth yawn in the last 2 minutes. "Oh." You said in realisation, giving him a lazy smile as you decided to stop fighting the drowsiness. "I want you to rest here, where it's peaceful and quiet and you can't be disturbed. We want you back on your feet quickly." He patted your hand as he spoke and you felt your cheeks heating up again. "Are you always this quick with remedies?" You asked him, curling up in the blankets he had provided for you.

"Yes, but I particularly want you back on your feet quickly." He admitted, ignoring the look Changsheng was giving him. "Why's that?" You laughed, feeling butterflies in your stomach for the way he was looking at you.

"Well, the faster you're on your feet again, the faster I can treat you to a meal and maybe we can call it a date."

[eri-pl]

A fic in need of a name (I'll be grateful for ides, not necessarily will use, but I'll be grateful) and maybe some proofreading

<2k words. No TWs, very fluffy. Lúthien and Finrod talk about art.

One warning: IDK how to explain, but: my friend dfw and everyone else who sees Lúthien as unfairly treated well by the narrative: I do kind of admire this unfairness in this fic. Also, she has an …intense personality here. Read at your own discretion.

Lúthien looked at Finrod with her strange, Light-filled-but-not eyes. “Why are my songs so boring to you?”

They stood under the stars and the new moon, in a small glade, now filled with nightingales that looked at the princess of Doriath and whistled, as if pleading her to continue.

“I would not call them boring.”

“You do not say it, but they seem dull to you. Dear cousin, you don't need to speak in courtly lies with us. Never. We are not— hypocrites.” She almost said “Noldor”, he could feel it from her. So who was the hypocrite there? The princess continued: “I simply seek to know how to sing better.”

Despite being born from an union of an elf and an Ainu, she was in many ways like a child. All the Sindar were so. Finrod smiled, but didn't try to conceal his thoughts about the conversation. There were some secrets he needed to keep from her keen mind, but if his feelings could be revealed without enraging anyone…  “They are beautiful, but there is never any conflict in then,” he said gently, observing Lúthien's reaction.

It wasn't anger, but surprise. “Why would a song need strife to be good?”

This gave Finrod pause. How could she have questioned something as obvious as one of the fundamental laws of art? But indeed, the ancient songs — from the Journey, and even the early ones from Aman — did not have any strife in them. Just like hers, they were about things and people simply …being. 

He pondered about it for a while, until the answer came to him. “Without conflict, there's no change. No progress. No clear point to end the song.”

“You end the song when you don't want to sing anymore. Or when you want to sing a different one,” said Lúthien in a tone that was half curious and half patronizing. “Besides, we didn't really have time until recently. At least we didn't have anything to measure its passing. Maybe except me and Daeron maturing. Hey! This is a change. Cherries blooming, bushes growing — that's progress. Walks in the woods—” she put the last idea into action, leaving the glade.

Finrod joined her and they went between the tall beeches, on the forest floor filled with violets and niphredili. “A song about nature never really reaches any destination. Flowers grow and die, and then new ones come to life. It's not a true change.”

“You can't simply replace a rose with another, or a yesteryears’ snowdrop with the next springs’ one. Hmmm, you're a Noldo, you do not know flowers well enough to notice them, so maybe you could. But even then: we do change. We grow. I was a child and now I'm a woman.”

Finrod didn't reply and for a while they just walked.

“You need songs that are about sorrow, don't you?” asked Lúthien softly. “Due to— your king and all that.”

“And all of that… Yes. I think we do. We do need art which promises a change mightier than just the turn of seasons, which tells us that the darkness may one day end and makes it almost— makes it possible to believe. And to achieve this, you do need to start with the darkness.”

“I was born in darkness, dear cousin. Under the stars,” she said, gesturing at the sky, but the moon’s narrow crest peeking between the branches spoiled her reference. 

“I mean a different kind of darkness, sweet child of the stars. Deeper. Not a darkness that never saw light, but darkness that saw light and—” Finrod shivered. “Darkness that comes after the light is gone, not before it's born. Darkness without a single star to break it.”

“I don't think I can imagine it. Still, I'm sure there is a way to sing interesting songs without making them all about violence.”

“Not all conflict is violence.”

“But it's all— you, Noldor, absolutely love to argue. We try to understand each other instead.” 

“So do I.” 

They awoke a sleeping deer at a distance, but it didn't run away like most beasts of Beleriand used to, it only watched them cautiously.

“Well, this is true, you don't argue that much. Anyway, maybe that's it. When people meet and get to know each other more, it also grows in time. And it means more than flowers.”

“Maybe. Is that how you see art here in Doriath?”

“No. As Daeron sees it, the supreme art is: you see a thing. Then you see another thing. Then you see them together in a way that awakens new meanings in both of them. And then you weave all that into words with enough alliteration. The same with music: you play a motive, then another motive, and then you marry them to each other. This makes the verse, the chorus and the ending.”

They entered a denser part of the forest and now walked a narrow path, surrounded by blackberries, bushes and ferns.

“What if the motives don't fit together?”

“He would say it means you're a mediocre musician. But… I think if they don't fit you need to find a way to force them. Or, rather, help them. Change one or the other into a different mode. Or change the tuning. Or keep playing the harp but add singing to it and tell everyone that it had been your plan since the beginning.”

“You can't change the rules of art.”

“What force is going to forbid me?”

Finrod laughed. “I don't think it's that easy, but maybe you are right. Maybe there is a way to reconcile both of our ideas. To create art that is not boring, but not violent either. But I do not know where to even start looking for inspiration.” Right now, the bushes clinging to his clothing and pulling on the delicate embroidery weren't particularly inspiring. 

“You always seek something, wandering here and there. I'm sure you will find a lot of wonderful inspiration.”

“Don't you want to travel?”

“Oh, I love to travel!” said Lúthien in a laughing voice. “But in Doriath you can discover wonders too! Maybe the same answers that you seek far away I'll find in here. Or maybe we'll both find sorrow.”

Finrod blinked. That had been a strange turn of the conversation, but not the first of them. “I don't think beauty can exist without sorrow.”

“Then should I wish sorrow beyond measure for both of us?”

“That would be a very Noldorin approach to art, wouldn't it?” he asked half-jesting, but curious.

“Sorrow and strife aren't the same.”

“How are they not? Sorrow is born from loss, and loss is born from violence.”

“When I was a child, I cried about clouds disappearing, because I knew I'd never see any of them again. And yet nobody took them away from me by force. And I wouldn't fight for the clouds, as that would make no sense. So I remembered them. But it's not really the same.”

As Lúthien spoke, they entered a small clearing and, as if responding to her, a small cloud hid the moon and hung above them, backlined with silver. A few others passed nearby: fuzzy dark shapes, but not as dark as— Finrod looked away from the sky, back at the princess.

“You could see clouds in the starlight?”

“Of course. Can't you?” She looked back at him with wide eyes.

“Not with enough detail to miss them. I never looked much into the sky anyway, not back then.”

They left the clearing. The forest was even darker now, but there was a peace to it.

“You Noldor are so strange. I wish I would know you better.”

“I wish I could understand you better too.”

“I have an idea.” Without saying more, Lúthien led him to a small grassy hill, not even as tall as the surrounding trees. A narrow path went upwards. “I'll show you another way in which we entertain ourselves here—well, I do— but first tell me, cousin, what would you want if you could wish for anything?”

“To meet my loved ones again,” said Finrod quietly. “I'm not sure how this would happen, unless— but even then… I'm sorry. You deserve better than hearing about any of that.”

“Only so little?” Lúthien laughed, though it felt forced. “I want everything! I want a love like my parents’, but let it be even more so. I want songs to be sung about me— not only by Daeron — songs that even to you would sound interesting. I want to behold the most beautiful treasure in the world. I want to be free and to fly. I want to sing a song mightier than my mother’s. I want to seek a star and wear it as a trinket. I want—” She paused as they reached the top. “No, now it's your turn. What would you want if you could ask for anything?”

“I want there to be a solution to all that.”

“All what?”

He looked away. “All the darkness I won't trouble you with.”

“If you won't, surely someone else will.”

“Even so, I shall not.”

“Then try not to trouble yourself with it either, at least for now. Only look.” Lúthien lied on the hillside and tumbled down, like a log, if logs could laugh loudly. 

She rose from the grass at the bottom and began walking back. “You are humble and I do ask for so much. But it's alright if I can't have any of that. I'm not stubborn. Well, I am not as stubborn as some believe. But if I can, I do want all of my wishes to come true. And I want to travel. To see strange lands beyond stormy seas, cities both old and young and alien, new countries my mother never knew, never dreamed of… To have my home there. I hope I will not miss her too much.”

“You know such places may not even exist. Except maybe one—” Finrod shivered at the very thought, even though they were miles South from there and under Melian’s Girdle. “—but nobody would ever go there of their own will, especially not someone like you, sweet princess. And about all other lands your mother could surely tell you. After all—” 

Lúthien waved her hand dismissively. “Yes, she saw the world before it was born and sang it into being. It's boring how everybody keeps reminding me about that. But she is also my mother. Of course I desire to reach beyond her, that's how it is with mother's and daughters. Also, how would you know there's no place unknown for her, Noldo? You've barely seen any of Beleriand, and yet you try to tell me how the world is?” Her words were a challenge, but her tone was friendly.

Finrod bowed his head. “That is true. Neither of us have seen much yet. But if you ever find such a place…”

The princess stood next to him again, picking leaves of grass from her hair. “I will surely show it to you. Though you could probably wish for a better guide.” 

Finrod smiled, remembering the chaotic string of excited tangents that the last few days have been. “Many things could be better, your guidance isn't by far the first of them. And anyway I am really glad to be here with you, Lúthien. You are very kind and fascinating. And I'm honored to learn the customs of your people.”

“Like tumbling from tops of hills? It's not a very Noldo—”

“That's the point.” Finrod lay on the grass and let the steepness of the terrain pull him down. 

It felt only half as bumpy as he'd expected, and in its strange, wild way liberating.

[storiesbyjes2g]

3.99 The llama

"What is it?" she asked.

I was so smiley and nervous. This was one of those things that could go left really quickly, and I didn't want that at all. But I felt like we couldn't ignore it anymore. No married couple knew every single thing about each other, and I looked forward to learning the good, bad, and ugly about Sophia as time went on. But this? Family dynamics were basics. Previously, I tried to blame it on the newness of our relationship, but she and I were not new to each other. She had plenty of opportunities to share this story with me while we got to know each other as friends. I shouldn't have been wondering if her parents were alive or dead still.

"I think, uhhh... I think it's time we talk about...your parents...if that's okay."

She sighed heavily, but not in an annoyed, exasperated way. It felt like she conceded reluctantly, torn between not wanting to but knowing she had to.

"Yeah...I guess I have kept you in the dark long enough."

I almost told her she didn't have to if she didn't want to, but I bit my tongue. We were married, and I didn't intend to end up like my parents. Sharing the hard things with each other was of utmost importance to me.

"I'm adopted...as you know."

She paused for a few moments, staring at the floor, searching for the right words. She found some, but her eyes remained on the floor.

"When you adopt a child, you don't get to choose who joins your family."

She let that line hang in the air for a moment and had me on the hook already.

"You simply state what age you prefer and wait for an agent to arrive with a child. My parents...I think they were just so enamored with the idea of finally having a child of their own, they failed to consider this."

My stomach felt queasy. I had no idea where the story was about to go, but it was definitely not heading in a positive direction.

"They didn't want you?" I asked nervously.

She hesitated.

"They would take offense to you saying that, but they often made me feel that way. I wasn't mistreated or anything. They made sure I had everything I needed and took care of me to the best of their ability. But they didn't love me."

I groaned in agony, thinking of what she must have gone through in her childhood. My parents may have put me through a lot, but never have I ever doubted their love for me. I believe their love sustained me. Who or where would I be without that?

"Sophia...I'm so sorry."

She shrugged and kept going.

"I used to be sorry, too. Throughout my childhood, I thought I was the problem and needed to be better. But as I got older, I realized there was nothing I could do. I was a pretty freakin' amazing daughter. They were the ones with the problem."

The cat was out of the bag, but I was still nervous.

"But...how did you know?" I asked. "I mean, what did they do?"

"To start, they never gave me their name. They claimed they wanted me to remain connected to my heritage or whatever, but that was cowplant poop."

Given that we just got married, that one cut deep. I think it would upset me greatly if Sophia didn't take my name. That tradition had seriously deep significance, and they didn't give it to their own child? I feared what else she would tell me.

"They always made a big deal about where I came from. We read books, watched documentaries, and whatever they could get their hands on so I understood what kind of blood flowed through my veins. In truth, it's really great they did that. So many adopted sims are clueless about their histories. But when I got older, I found it to be weird. Like, they put all this energy into teaching me about my biological history, yet I didn't have relationships with my own family. I can count on one hand how many times I've seen my aunts and uncles and cousins... I felt like they were trying to get me interested in my biological family so I could go find them and forget about theirs."

Both my parents were the only child, so I had no extended family to speak of. Still, I couldn't imagine my parents not interacting with them. I don't think we would be super close, but I'd have a relationship with them, at least.

"We never went on vacations and barely went to local places together. My parents were not wealthy, so it took them a while to save they money to adopt me. It was easy to think we didn't go anywhere because we couldn't afford it or because they were older. But one time, my mom took me to the park. I was sooooo excited to be outside among other kids. I found something and wanted to show it to her, so I picked it up and ran over yelling, 'Mommy! Look!' She was talking to some other parents. The look on her face when I finally reached her... I was almost a young adult when I realized what that was because I'd seen it many times by then. She was embarrassed. The other moms were looking at her for answers because they'd never met me before, and she clearly never told them she had adopted a brown child."

Maybe all the sims in my six degrees of influence were just cool because no one ever made a big deal about me having mixed heritage. I wasn't naïve enough to believe that kind of thing didn't happen, but how could sims be so ignorant? I had no trouble imagining Sophia being the perfect child, but that was not enough for them, and it angered me. How could they go through the heartbreak of realizing they couldn't birth their own children, struggle through saving the money to adopt, finally get a child, and not shout it from the rooftops? What kind of parent is ashamed of their own kid??

"Like I said," she continued, "they took good care of me, but they kept me at a distance. By my young adult birthday, I had a clear picture of the situation, so I left home and never went back. Their care was an obligation, not love. It took me a while to see, but I was empty and it affected me; I hated them for it. I wanted to be loved so bad and went from relationship to relationship trying to fill that void in my heart. My ex was cheating on me pretty much the entire time, and I knew about it. I was that desperate for the crumbs he left me. It took a while, but eventually realized what a gem I am and what a llama turd he was. I didn't have to settle for crumbs. And I didn't have to be anyone's obligation. My parents had died by then and left me some money, so I broke up with him and went on vacation for the first time in my life."

I smiled.

"Mt. Komorebi?"

"Mmm hmm. It always looked so pretty and peaceful in pictures, and I definitely needed some peace. I went to spend time with myself, heal, and reset my mind. Then I met you."

"Wow. I had no idea you had gone through so much then."

"I just wanted it all behind me. I'm sorry for not saying anything. I know it wasn't fair."

I loved her before and tried to show her as much as possible, but I was even more compelled to ensure she never questioned my love for her. She was no obligation to me. It was an honor to love her, especially knowing she chose me after deciding what she deserved and how she wanted to be treated. I vowed to cherish her with every pixel of my being for the rest of my life.

[simnationlifebefore]

"You know, most people consider hitting people with a walking stick to be uncouth, Mother"

"Heavens I have no idea where you and Cassandra inherited the snarky attitude, because it wasn't your father or I. She kept disregarding my wishes so I hit her, I don't want to speak of it"

"Odd that you had this grave moved here, Father could have been buried here in place"

"You wouldn't understand, Mortimer"

"Try communicating with me instead"

"Coming from the man who as of late refuses to communicate with his wife"

"She knows I'm working on something important, we will be fine in the long run"

"She gives off quite the opposite impression"

"Don't change the subject"

"Mother, I know so little about our family history. Every home we have is filled with the bones of people I know nothing of, surely I deserve to know who they were"

"You wouldn't believe me if I uttered a single sentence of the truth"

"Thank you for agreeing to coffee, Sky"

"No problem, Michael"

"Ah so no more Dad?"

"Just let me know why you're now in contact after thirty-two years and we'll see"

"Well...How much contact have you been in with Bella?"

"Constant since birth"

"Okay well. I-want to move here to be close to you, to get to know you"

"Why? Why now, Michael?"

"Because, Sky. After your Auntie and cousins were almost killed in a fire, it made me reevaluate the things I've been too scared to do. For example, getting to know the child I was terrified to acknowledge as a teenager"

"And you want to upend your life to get to know me?"

"And my grandchild, apparently. Bella never mentioned her"

"And it's okay to do that? You don't have a wife or anybody at home?"

"No, just me"

"Hello, would you like anything else, or shall I bring the bill?"

"So all the presents are wrapped, the bedding for the oldies and twins is sorted upstairs and Daniel and Mary can take his old room?"

"Yes, Jeff. Thank god Jennifer decided to stay with Brad next door, makes everything much simpler"

"Thank god the dog died"

"JEFF, better not say that when Brad and John are here on Christmas day"

"Oh come on, you hated the animal too. Plus means Jennifer won't be taking her room for a change, makes everything easier"

"Being glad a dog died isn't very Christmassy"

"It was old"

"I'm just glad there are no dogs on spaceships anymore, I was actually worried I'd have to travel with one in the 60s"

"Jeff Pleasant, just be happy you get to be the first man to walk on mars and forget about dogs"

"Bella, you know my intern?"

"Yes, Mary-Sue used to babysit my daughter back in the day"

"I'm sure she's fitting in with you well here Holly?"

"Of course"

"It's nearly lunch time, what do you say the three of us go out? As a thank you for helping with my Mother in-law's care?"

"Oh I think that would be great, we haven't really spent much time together outside of work, Mayor"

"I'm afraid I'm booked this lunch time, but the two of you have fun"

"The algorithm will rotate on the shortest path from

the start to the target configuration"

"Cassandra!"

"I know it's the last lecture of the term before the holidays, but please pay attention"

"Sorry, not been getting much sleep recently"

"This is ridiculous"

"Mrs Goth, please calm down"

"I am perfectly calm, my tone is not raised, I am calmly explaining your bank's mistake with my friend's account"

"Again, as we informed Mrs Pleasant there is no error"

"Then where did this money go?"

"That is private information Mrs Goth"

"As you keep repeating my name, you are aware of who I am and what my name does for Sunset Valley? What my stocks do for this bank?"

"Yes. I'm afraid this information can only be given to the owners of the joint account. We will happily supply the information to Mrs Pleasant once she has calmed herself down"

"Fine then, but please do enjoy the lovely little complaint your branch will be getting"

"Come along Mary-Sue, I'll take you home"

[katana-no-neko]

Call Me By My Name

ao3

Natsu laughed voraciously as he flew, twirling through the air while the wind gust around his scales, not paying any mind to his cousin shouting after him. Many of his fellow dragons were remaining in their den with the rumors of a fae in the area, but Natsu didn't really care. He'd never met a pureblooded fae before, but really, how scary could one be? He was way stronger than some hoity-toity faerie, and it's not like he was stupid enough to tell one his true name.

He soared past trees and through mountains, smiling the whole time before spotting a crystal clear lake down below and deciding to drop in for a swim. With a big splash, he landed, diving deep into the water and transforming to his human form as he came back up with another hearty laugh.

It didn't take much longer for him to feel a gaze upon his back. Spinning around, Natsu quickly spied a pair of round, brown eyes peeking out at him from behind a tree. The eyes widened and turned away, the owner realizing they'd been caught.

"Hey!" Natsu called, "Wait! I didn't mean to bother ya, come back! I promise I don't bite," he smiled a toothy grin as the eyes hesitantly peered back at him again. "At least not usually."

A gorgeous laugh rang out from the eyes' direction, and Natsu found himself wanting to hear it more. He made his way towards the shore, closer to his mysterious visitor. An 'eep' sounded out as he approached, and Natsu was suddenly very aware how naked he was. With a bashful flush, he dipped back in the water before he flashed this person any more than he already had. "Heh, sorry. Forgot I wasn't wearing clothes in this form. Not used to running into people while I'm out like this. I'll stay in the water!"

"I..." a voice started to say, and Natsu was eager to hear more of it. "I suppose that makes sense. Dragons probably don't often wear clothes."

Natsu grinned excitedly, finally hearing his new friend speak. "Yeah, I'm a dragon! I guess you saw me fly down, huh?"

The woman laughed again. "It would have been hard to miss..."

He chuckled. "'Spose so. Why don't you come out? It'd be easier to talk if you weren't behind the tree. Or don't," he added, sensing her hesitation to reveal herself. "You don't have to. So how are you? What're you doing all the way out here?"

"I'm a traveler..." she started. "I wander from place to place and this lake looked like a nice spot to rest for a while."

"Oh wow, I bet you've seen lots of cool stuff doing that! I've flown about everywhere near here but I never leave home for too long - always back before dark. Dad'd have my head if I disappeared like that," he laughed.

"Sounds like he really cares about you," the voice responded, almost a little sadly.

"Well sure, he's my dad! Doesn't yours?" Natsu cursed his lack of filter, sensing the woman tense. "I'm sorry, that was a bad question to ask. Sorry if you've got a shitty dad."

"Yeah, he's... Something all right." She let out a sigh. "But it's okay! I don't have to deal with him. Not anymore and with any luck, not ever again."

He smiled at the determination in her voice. "Yeah, screw him! Who needs that bastard!?"

She giggled. "You don't even know him!"

"Ah but if he's made someone as cool as you upset, he's gotta be a bastard." He grinned, hearing her laugh some more, the sound her quickly becoming his favorite. "Hey, I just realized we never introduced ourselves! I'm Na-"

"DON'T!" the woman shrieked, finally coming out from behind her tree, frantic in her cry.

"You're..." Natsu took in the sight of her as his eyes widened. The pretty brown eyes he'd already been watching, supple pink lips that had released those wonderful laughs, braided golden hair that reached near to the ground, and long, pointed ears poking past the strands. "a fae," he finished.

She nodded, ears twitching nervously. "Do not tell me your name."

Natsu cocked his head. "But why not? I wanna be your friend. I think you're really cool, I wanna keep hanging out."

The woman shook her head with a frown. "You know I'm a fae and you want to be friends!? Don't you know how dangerous we are!? Everyone avoids faeries for a reason - as soon as I learn your name, I have full, complete control over you!"

"You seem trustworthy! I'd trust you with my name," he grinned.

She shook her head again, "that's only because of my magic - of course it's going to make you THINK I'm trustworthy, we have that magic to trick and lure people in!"

Natsu scoffed. "Well you did a real good job of tricking and luring me, stopping me from telling you my name like you did before!"

"I refuse to steal control over a person like that. I don't want anyone to be chained to my will," she admitted, ears drooping.

Natsu smiled. "See, that's why I trust you! If you were really trying to control me, you'd have stolen my name and never thought twice about it." He watched her ears twitch with nerves again. "Besides, you would need my true name, wouldn't you?" The woman nodded a confirmation. "Dragons never go by our 'true' name, specifically so that fae won't learn them!"

The faerie looked thoughtful. "I suppose that makes sense..."

"Call me Natsu, then!" The woman held her breath, eyes widening with fear. "It's not my true name, I promise," he reassured, her body relaxing as she realized he was not, in fact, under her magic's control. "Now come on, let's be friends!"

She smiled as she let out a sigh of relief. "You're persistent, aren't you?"

He laughed. "Some might say it's my best quality!"

"Alright Natsu... I'll be your friend. You seem truly wonderful, and I'd love to spend more time with you," she admitted.

"Yay!" he shouted, leaping out of the water in excitement. Landing on the shore near his new friend, he took her hand and grinned. "This'll be so much fun!" He cocked his head as he noticed her gaze avert and her cheeks burn. "Ah!" he realized with a start. "Still naked, aren't I."

[mothraantics]

Crimson Born

Chapter 2

Summary: Regulus only wants to not live in his brothers shadows anymore, so what does he do? Date the enemy, the opposing prince of the Crimson Court James Potter, also known as his brothers best friend to retort and for once be in the light instead of his older brother.

Notes: This took me a while to write and I apologise.

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“Master Regulus is alive and well ma’am” says the mediwitch as he starts to gain consciousness again, “good, get him up” he hears his mothers voice before the door to his room closes. He quietly opens his eyes, “Happy debutante master, the house elves and the maids will be here shortly to give you your clothes for the breakfast ceremony” regulus groans, of course there's the ceremony first thing after a blood moon, as the doctor leaves the room he sits up, blood was splattered around his bedroom, he smelt of blood, he can feel blood. 

Ew. Was the only thought going through his head as he put his feet to the floor. His own bodily matter, blood, was soaking into his socks once more. The maids will not be pleased. Regulus shuffled to the bathroom adjacent to his bedroom, it was luckily clean. He turned the water on. Put in some soap. Stripped and cleaned. The stone tiles were littered with bloody footsteps as he threw the clothes he had ruined into the bin.

The mirror above his sink was yet to be fixed. He broke it one time and they haven't changed it yet. “Lousy house elves” he scoffs, exiting the bathroom, the blood was cleaned up already, his clothes neatly placed on the bed. He will speak to his mother about it. He quickly put on his clothing before the dinner started. A man did never have a debutante, it was mostly for the ladies of the land. Alas young royals in Lissara were put up on the podium after the women to have good engagements, true many were just in it for the money or sirius, but now it would be for once, all about him.

+-+

Scratch that it wasn't, no engagements were discussed in breakfast, a word from Sirius was heard about his current boyfriend but it was shot down by his mothers icy glare. Many women asked for regulus’ hand but none were up to his mothers standards. He was dreading the outcome. Was he going to end up marrying some unknown cousin? All three of his female cousins were already wed to your betrothed, exclude out Andromeda who has been missing for almost a few years now, had run off with some muggle from the east. It was truly worrying, if the bloodline of sirius ended with him and his dreaded boyfriend, it would be upon regulus, and if not on his bloody cousins.

Having Bellatrix on the throne was as terrifying as if letting the malfoys take up the seat. He had to think of something. “Well we may always marry him off to that girl. What's her name? Pandora Rosier?” says his mother, “Isn't she studying at That school, Academe Inspire?” says Bellatrix twirling her fork in her hands ,” how will we get her to come back, on top of having the weight as an heir.”

Walburga waves the girl off, the other frowning, “We shall get her with the right ways, The rosiers are in a scandal such as ours, with their son running around with the Mindspire spawn, Crouch was it? It's a scandal really” she scoffs. Regulus perks up hearing his friends, “A scandal, well he deserves to be in that” sirius says under his breath, regulus held himself back from kicking his own brothers shin out of sheer hatred. The Rosiers and the crouches were rather close familiar friends of his, Sirius never bothered to speak with anyone from their Empire as they attended the Etiquette lessons and so it was up to regulus to bring forth the connections. “Mother” regulus pipes up as the whole table turns to him. 

“I would like to correct slightly, Bartemius, is a full citizen of Lissara and one of my closest friends, him and the son of Rosier have not been, ��running around’ as you may claim they are rather just…friends” he says as his mother gives him a cold glare. “Very well they are not being scandalous, but alas their reputation is not as bad and from the deepest depths of my heart I shall give them a visit today, see if they accept the proposition”

The table conversation ended on that, from the depths of his mothers icy heart, he was getting married off. She knew she had nothing to do against the rebel of a brother he had, sirius. One way or another the boy has evaded two marriages, one with Narcissia and one with another young lady from the  Harmony dominion, and now dating a man, werewolf. Nonetheless there was nothing she could do, she would hate him for eternity. It was nothing to do with sexuality no. Many known nobles were known to be homosexual, or on the lines of, and many more from the middle class of Lissara, it was unknown to regulus how the non magical ones treated such things in different regions, it was the werewolf part that was rather iffy to his mother and that he is apart of the Crimson Court. And the fact that he was dating a man. Homosexuality was commonly frowned upon. 

Breakfast was stale and gloomy after the conversation, the two princes were left to their own devices as the rest of the family scattered away. Some to their own parts of work, others to go meet old friends. “You dont think mother is angry with a man do you?” asks Sirius abruptly to Regulus. They were taking a passage in the gardens.

“she may be, you know her views on homosexuality, she almost passed a law to make it illegal brother” he says as they walk, more like he walks, Sirius was following him hoping for some honesty. “Why must you follow me?” Regulus asks, “if it's sympathy for what you are doing to the throne, it will never come.” He says turning to Sirius, “I am aware you love him, I can see it. I saw it, Remus means much to you, but mother will not allow a werewolf on the throne…no less a homosexual” Sirius sighs running his hand through his perfectly made hair messing it up, “i wish to remind you that if you do not succeed, i am for the throne. And if I do not succeed it is whom of our cousins first produces an heir. So Bellatrix or Malfoy. I wish not see mother repeated nor those malfoys crawling to the top” he Huff's. 

“Fair enough…” Sirius sighs, “I'm a lost cause-” “yes you are. You're lost and for that I must be betheoded immediately. As much as I do not care for marriage, I must marry this…woman, one who's sisters with one of my closest friends to fix your mistakes. I am tired of being your cleaner, be careful Sirius, because one day I may not be there to fix what you fucked up” – Sirius audibly gasps at his language – “in this family, one day I will not be your shadow and you will have to pick up after yourself” Regulus' says before turning around and stalking off. 

As much as he hated for getting angry at his stupid dumb brother, it was needed. Sirius was an airhead, he didn't think before he acted, Regulus was cunning, he thought he planned and he knew what to do. 

+-+

The ball that evening was in full swing, girls were basically hanging off of his waist for the majority of the night as Sirius paraded his boyfriend around the whole ballroom, everyone knew who the werewolf lover was by now. His face was famous. Remus was a quiet guy, he was shy and reserved, nothing you'd expect Sirius would date but there he was in the flesh. Regulus can say he will like the boy as a brother in law, of course if his mother allows it…or maybe she never will and they'll marry after she passes.

The trumpets blew, four, five, three toots in a row, the crimson court. The door master called out, “Prince James Potter of the Crimson Court!” The girls around Regulus basically dissipated to crowd around the new coming prince. So much for attention. It was stolen once again by some stuck up friend of Sirius'.

“Regulus' darling come, Auntie wants you” Bellatrix says, grabbing him by the upper arm. In the few years between them, him being sixteen her turning twenty one, he reluctantly followed her, the rosier family stood around his own, evan was for once present standing next to a girl with long blonde hair. It was platinum just how the Evans came. Blondes. 

“There he is the man of the hour” Mr.Rosier smiles as he and Regulus' shake hands, “Well it is lovely to hear that you have taken up our request to marry Pandora and Regulus your highness, we promise there will be no disappointment to you or the royal family. He says. The night was spent with Pandora and Evan, as Sirius once more stole the shine, as he and Remus danced in the ball, Regulus' did have a couple dances with the Rosier daughter and a few other ladies that asked him to dance. 

By the end he was tipsy, his cousins were flat drunk and he could hear the activities that the couples ensued. Pandora went home. 

It was sad and uneventful as the slow ball where mostly adults danced and chatted continued through the night. Most guests went to their inns, others stayed to leave last. Of course The Prince of the crimson court was still surrounded by lovely women. Muggles and magicals alike. 

Or so Regulus thought, “Well isn't it a nice night tonight” he hears behind him, he almost spins around in shock as the prince of the Crimson Court leans on the railing near him, “James” he says with distaste, there weren't any adults around he does not need to respect him, “Regulus'” the prince combats back as they stare off over the forest, the lights of the village can be seen to the right of the palace.

“What do you want potter?” He asks, looking down, debating. If he pushed James Potter down from here, how long would it take for the guards to find his annoying dead body, “I want nothing, can't I hang around with a friend?” He asks coyly. “We are not friends” Regulus quickly retorts. James puts a hand on his chest, “You wound me Black” he says, how annoying. “I was just here to ask if you have found a courtship yet” Regulus rolls his eyes, as if he wished to find one, “My mother has” James frowns, “your mother? You are to say you haven't chosen your own courtee?” 

“Unlike Sirius I listen to mother…so yes, I'm being betrothed to Rosier 's daughter.” He says as James nods understandingly, “you like her?” He asks out of the blue, “of course not, but i shall tolerate her for the sake of my empire” James stands quietly next to him, “I can always help you with-” Regulus cuts him off, “I wish not for one of your whores potter. As much as I appreciate you helping my brother I am not him, if it means cleaning up his mess and being forcibly married off to a woman i do not love then be it.”

He says turning and walking back to the ballroom, “You don't have to always be the fixer upper, Regulus..you can be yourself if you wish” Regulus' stops at that. “I am myself. I am the one that quietly in the shadows fixed my brother's wrong doings”

“you don't have to always be in the shadows-” 

“I do as I wish” 

+-+

Regulus stayed up all night thinking of what James said, he was right, he doesn't have to be always in the shadows. He stopped himself, Regulus almost wanted to puke, scream, possibly slap himself across the face. He was letting the Prince's words get to him, just like how they got to Sirius. His mother always said to never listen to the people of the Crimson Court, they aren't like Lissarians who twist their words with dual meaning or manipulate, but they get in your head. They make you feel brave to act out and not be who you are meant to be. 

That's how Sirius came to become himself and there he was with a werewolf hanging off his hip like a lost dog begging for his attention. How could he let the words of James Potter get him to think other than his true destiny. He was second he could never become first, he could never find a woman to love and dote on him as one would on his brother…or a man for all he cared, Regulus' wanted attention he wanted love. Any form or kind didn't matter anymore. He felt the hunger, the need for any kind of attention. He wanted the public to look at him and call him by his name. 

Not the Second Prince. 

Not the Second Son. 

Not the Younger one. 

Or the shy one

Or the one to save them from his brother's rowdy ways. 

He wanted to be known to the whole Empire of Lissara…no to the WORLD He was Regulus Atticius Black, the Prince of Lissara, and the one who can one up his brother. But this was impossible. He could marry a muggle woman, but then he would be a disgrace, he could always marry a man, but who can combat the attention his brother would get with that mutt. What was better than Remus John Lupin?

Regulus thought all night, and as the rays of the sun peaked from in between his curtains and the passing of maids and house elves arose in the halls, it hit him. It was as if the Cruciatus curse was shot at him, he hated himself for these thoughts for just a quick second, before he decided it was the best way to gain this attention he seeked. But would he agree? Would he join him? Would he help? 

“I can always help you–

Regulus felt if those words had another meaning…a different meaning, one that between alcohol, the need for sleep and pure hatred he misjudged. Maybe he would be willing to help. Regulus had to be fast, the convoys did not leave until noon and it was yet to even hit the first hours of the morning, the prince did not wait for any house elf or maid to come before he threw a bath for himself and got clean. He dressed and rushed out the door as Dippy apparate within the walls of his room, looking rather stunned. 

He followed his senses as he waves through the rushing maids of the morning and towards the west end of the palace where he knew the Convoys and the maidens rested. Some were already leaving, bidding them good morning as he passed, he quietly avoided the rosiers throughout all of this, lest they stop him to speak about the betrothal. At the far end as far away from his family as possible he made it to the last room. The one where he knew he was resting. He knocked on the door, and he heard shuffling from inside as the person quickly got themselves together and then opened the door. James Fleamont Potter, in all his morning glory, stood in front of him. 

“Regulus? What? It's like seven am? Is everything alright?” he asks as regulus pushes past him and stands just inside the room, James closing the door. “Remember the offer you asked of me last night?” James looks at him confused, Regulus can tell the man was hung over even slightly, he looked at him as if he had three heads before it clicked in his brain and James nodded. 

“I accept…But there will be my own terms”. James almost doubled over, he looked at him wearily. This was going to be one heck of a challenge.

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Chapter List here (including Ao3 Link)

Taglist:

[pidayforpi]

Favorite villain and what you wish we could have seen more of - DT ask

(I am super aware this has been nearly a year and I am so sorry for putting you on hold for so long you don't have to see this but if you do I hope you will like it thank you and sorry ahhhh)

(1) First: Favourite villain...Jim Starling Hum...this is immediately a hard one...

Okay yes...If Mister Starling counts as a "villain", he is my favourite (at least, the first favourite that comes to mind when I see this question). For purely subjective reasons. not my fault that he is my type of duck man a huh huh huh

("The Duck Knight Returns!" literally gave me 2 of my favourite characters in DT17 in 1 episode who then never appear again. Sadge)

But if Jim doesn't count and I turn off my extremely biased mind, I would say Lunaris.

Solely because of his moonvasion plan. As complex as DT17 writing could possibly be (it is still a children's comedy show, after all), the plan is actually quite clever. He really uses Della as much as he can:

(a) Steal the rocket blueprint because I can't for my life build one myself

(b) Get as much information about the Duck Family and their allies, who will be one of (if not) the biggest adversaries I will encounter on Earth

(c) Lastly, fake a betrayal as the casus belli

Perfect.

Honestly, Lunaris only lost because of a lack of resources/knowledge that he can't possibly obtain/predict:

There is literally only 2 military personnel on Moon, while the rest are all civilians (who make up a barely functional army)

One of said military personnel immediately deflected, and that personnel ultimately helps dismantle the plan

He doesn't have all the information about all people on Earth (e.g. Flintheart, Fethry, Gladstone), because he is not based on Earth in the first place (unlike, for example, Bradford)

Our protagonists literally have the power of god and anime on their side (if Zeus wasn't being cringy and childish, the moonvasion would have ended as soon as it had started)

Now that I have finished the entire series, I actually like the resolution to Moonvasion more than that to The Last Adventure. Bradford has everything that Lunaris lacks: He has a functional task force (okay still one person deflected but she is taken care of soon enough). He has all the information about everything he needs. He somehow can disable and overpower the protagonists' power of god and anime.

Bradford is literally winning until he is somehow not anymore.

FOWL is literally OP until it is somehow not anymore.

The Last Adventure is definitely epic, even more so than the Moonvasion arc. It has a wonderful buildup with interconnected stories (one thing I absolutely love about Season 3 is how the Kit Cloudkicker episode - which seemingly is just a cameo episode - is still tied to the main conflict of Season 3). Everything looks amazing. But as an action anime fan the solution to the conflict is one thing I feel somewhat confused about.

For one, I have to agree with Mister Buzzard: "Family is the greatest adventure of all" is not a reasonable rebuttal.

(For any JoJo fans reading this, I think this is the DT17 equivalent of "So it's the same type of Stand as Star Platinum.")

(And speaking of JoJo, Lunaris literally got Kars-ed at the end lmao)

Sorry @shychick-52 if you have no idea what I am talking about, I will stop now.

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(2) More I wish we could have seen more of...JIM STARLING I wonder...

Okay, I am honestly curious about what they had in store for Negaduck. I think I have seen the behind-the-scene episode idea somewhere (i.e. The ultimately scrapped idea). At the very least, "Let's Get Dangerous!" could have featured my man, but for what it ended up to be now, I am not complaining either.

Other than that, I want to see more interactions between the Duck Cousins, actually (i.e. Donald, Della, Gladstone, Fethry). With DT17 introducing Fethry (for which I will be forever grateful), the quartet (?) being together is something I would like to see more of. Especially with how extensive HDL and Webby has been interacting since literally the first episode of the show, I feel like it would be awesome seeing a grown-up version of this group in the Duck Cousins.

(Perhaps an episode of the 2 groups hanging out together? Moonvasion is the closest there is to something like this)

There are some interactions between the 4 of them, noticeably the Moonvasion mentioned above, and The Last Adventure. But ultimately there could have been more potential, which might have been limited by Gladstone's and Fethry's little screentime (as much as they are part of the Duck Family, both of them are ultimately guest characters).

That being said, this is purely my subjective feeling. If truly implemented into the show, the Duck Cousins thing would be a bonus instead of a missing piece or missed opportunity (e.g. No Della - Gyro interaction whatsoever, despite the rocket-building manual and Oxychew. And I say this not as a shipper). So, just my personal opinion.

[melanieph321]

Ruben Dias x Reader - Set Me Free Part 6/15

Part 7 and 8 are already out on my Patreon for Free!

+18

Ruben and Carla have grown apart. With Rubens career taking off he leaves Portugal to live the life of his dreams, breaking Carla's heart doing so. Years later, upon his return home, Ruben learns that Carla has moved on, happily engaged to another man, but not any man, Ruben's childhood bully João Mendes.

Enjoy!

Christmas, three years ago,

It was still early in the morning. However, Carla's father entered the kitchen to see his daughter already up and about.

"Carla, what's this?"

His eyes widened at the state of the room. Wrapping paper lay tossed onto the kitchen floor, along with men's shoes and clothing.

"Pai, you're up! Good morning."

Carla barely threw her father a second glance, as she was too invested in the activity of wrapping more gifts.

"What has happened to my kitchen?" Her father exclaimed. All he wanted was to make a fresh cup of coffee. But how on earth would he even make it to the kitchen counter with all the unwrapped items on the floor?

"Oh, sorry." Carla said. "I'll clean it up once I'm done."

"But querida, why are you wrapping more gifts? I thought your mother already put everything under the tree last night?"

"Yes, but those gifts are for uncle Martin and aunt Carolina."

"But my dear, why do you feel the need to spoil your cousin this way? I thought we all agreed to cover your cousin's tuition fee for flight attendant school as a Christmas present this year?"

"Pai," Carla chuckled. "These gifts aren't for Maria."

He scratched his head. "No, who are they for then?"

"They're for Ruben."

"Dias?"

"Yes."

Carla had been so excited leading up to Christmas. She hadn't seen Ruben in months since her decision to move back home from England. Their talks over the phone just wouldn't do anymore, so when Ruben told her that he was coming home for Christmas, Carla was simply over the moon, rushing to buy him gifts.

"Carla?" Her father said, clearing his throat. He had fallen silent for a moment, regarding his daughter with a troubled expression. "Are you sure he is coming?"

"Of course." She chuckled. "Ruben is coming for Christmas, he said so himself."

"When?"

"What do you mean?"

Carla paused the gift wrapping, noticing the look on her father's face.

He cleared his throat once more.

"When did he tell you that he was coming, since neither your mother and I have been informed."

"Yeah, sorry about that. I was so wrapped up in buying him gifts that it must have slipped my mind to tell you."

"I see." Her father muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing." He waved.

"No, tell me dad. What's wrong?"

"It's nothing querida, I just don't want you to be disappointed again."

Carla's parents were accepting of her and Ruben's decision to try long distance, however, it wasn't the first time that Ruben promised to come visit for the holidays but ultimately failed to follow through. And each time left Carla heartbroken, leaving her family to pick up the pieces.

"Dad, don't worry. Ruben has been very busy lately, I told you how life was when I was living with him in Manchester. However, he is coming home for Christmas" She assured. "He is probably in the air on his way here as we speak."

Carla's father sighed but cleared a path as he made his way across the kitchen. He patted his daughter's head, planting a soft kiss on top of it. "Okay, querida. If you say so. Your mother and I just don't want to see you get hurt again."

"I won't be Pai, don't worry"

Worry.

Days passed and Ruben was nowhere to be seen. Carla was a nervous wreck, constantly checking her phone for any sign of him. She was starting to worry that he had changed his mind again. Christmas Eve was about to be Christmas day. After spending the day helping her family feed the less fortunate, Carla took it upon herself to drive to Ruben's to see if he for some reason had gone over there without notifying her. Perhaps he was jet lag, exhausted from his two hour flight from Manchester to Portugal.

"Senhora Dias?"

"Senhora Dias?"

It was all in vain. Ruben's parents' house was found empty, their car gone from the driveway. Carla was starting to feel a bit embarrassed, having once again fallen for Ruben's empty promises. Carla didn't know how much of it she could take anymore. Maintaining a long distance relationship was simply tearing her apart from the inside out.

"Carla? What's the matter?"

Carla returned after taking the long way home, her car radio on full blast to tune out her sobbing.

"H...he's not coming, is he?" She sniffled, terrifying her mother at the door.

"Minha querida."

Carla's lips tremble from holding back the  tears. Her mother was quick to pull her into the house and in for a hug. The rest of her family were poking their heads out from the living room to see what's the matter.

But then, the doorbell rang.

"It's him!"

Carla's heart skipped a beat as she rushed to the door, hoping against hope that it was Ruben. And when she opened the door, there he was, standing tall and handsome in his full grown beard, like her very own Santa Claus.

Ruben had a big smile on his face. "Merry Christmas, babe," he said, sweeping Carla into a hug. "I'm so sorry I'm late but you know how my mother is."

"Bernadette!" Carla's mother exclaimed. Ruben's mother appeared in the door.

"Gloria!"

The two women embraced each other as Ruben's mother entered the house followed by Ruben's father and brother, who looked miserable carrying big bags of...

"I hope you don't mind, but we brought gifts!"

"We were out shopping all day." Ruben smiled. "I got something for everyone."

Carla was over the moon. She had never been so happy to see anyone in her life. She had been dreaming of this moment for so long, and it was finally here. She forgot all about her family's skepticism and just enjoyed the moment, basking in Ruben's embrace. It was the best Christmas Eve in Carla's life, with all of her and Ruben's family members gathered.

"I missed you."

Ruben stayed with Carla for the night, holding her close, serenading her face with kisses.

"So much." She whispered.

They lay in the dark with Ruben on top. His breath was heavy against her skin, the panting increasing with the pressure of his cock against her pelvis.

"Ruben, tell me you'll never leave me."

"I'll never leave you." He kissed her neck, moving on to bury his face between her breasts. They were naked under the sheets. Skin against skin.

"Promise me." She gasped.

Ruben lifted his head, a smile on his lips. His hands searched for hers in the dark, pinning them above her head. "I've already made my promise." He said, fiddling with the ring on her left finger. "You're mine forever Carla."

"Forever?"

He bent down and kissed her. "Forever."

Carla wanted to be sure, sure that Ruben would always come back to her no matter what.

"Fuck." He groaned, his cock aching to be inside of her.

"Put it in." She nodded. "I'm ready."

"I didn't bring anything." He said, thankful that the sheets prevented the tip of him from slipping inside of her. He was leaking already.

"I don't care." Carla said. "I want you like this, now."

Ruben paused all movement, raising himself to his elbows to meet her eyes below him. "Are you sure?"

Her tongue swiped across her bottom lip. "I'm sure Ruben. I want you."

He hesitated, but the ache between his legs was unbearable. Carla didn't make it easy for him to resist her either as her legs spread, inviting him to place himself between her.

"Fuck, Carla." Ruben rolled his hips until his cock aligned with her entrance. Carla's thighs wrapped around his waist, locking him in.

"Please." She begged.

Ruben was conscious for the first few strokes, but quickly went under her spell as the demon inside of him took over. He fucked her raw that night. Perhaps not their most gentle encounter. Either way, Carla was determined....determined to have Ruben's child.

Part 7 and 8 are already out on my Patreon for Free!

[sugolara]

𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙢𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡

feat. izuku midoriya x fem! reader

cw: angst, comfort, alcohol, mentions death, implied drugs

˗ˏˋ+ ´ˎ˗ going to a party that izuku's friend hosted, in a dark state he meets the lovely, y/n.

❝we didn't make out or do anything i just remember i was lonely. ❞

+ i was all over her by salvia palth

he stared at the other people on the dance floor, with a bottle in his hand izuku takes a small sip, griming from the taste of alcohol. he sneered at the couple who was next to him making out on the couch and grinding onto each other with no shame.

why did i even come, he asked himself. sitting on the couch, his eyes wondered as they found itself on a short brown-haired girl; ochaco.

their relationship wasn't steady. izuku was to bombarded with his essays to get the job of his dreams, that he forgot to give ochaco the love that she needed.

which was why he wasn't surprise when he found out that she had been cheating on him. as a matter of fact, he didn't mind, knowing that they would give her the love she deserved, and then wished her a very good life.

he was also in a very depressive state from losing his mother. he couldn't handle the death of his mother and he needed someone to reassure him that everything would be fine.

but ochaco couldn't stand the look on izuku's face when he came to visit her. his smile that she loved was gone, the sparkle in his eyes were also gone.

as he stared at her laughing with her friends, seeing she was much happier, izuku stood from the couch and left the room. he entered the backyard where it was peaceful and seated himself on a bench.

he stared at his full beer bottle, swirling it around. he felt the bench move, indicating someone sat next to him but he didn't look up. he thought it was someone else who was high off their marbles or was going to get high.

but all he heard was a sniffle. thinking that the person was crying, he lift his head and saw a (h/c) girl. she rubbed her nose and glanced at izuku feeling like someone was staring at her. she smiled, "cold night, huh."

izuku nodded and looked away not bothering to return the smile.

"you're, izuku midoriya, right?" she asked. izuku glanced at her, "do i know you?"

she waved her arms, "no, no! i'm y/n! my cousin, denki, has a picture of all his friends and i've pretty much everyone except, well, you."

izuku noticed how chirpy she was. she reminded him of who he used to be. seeing her smile, made him want to smile. he saw a little bit of him in her.

"yea, i'm izuku." he sheepishly rubbed his neck, "i didn't know you were denki's cousin, he never talks about his family."

she giggled, "well, denki's embarrassed about his family. he says we embarrass him to much."

hearing her laugh, izuku chuckled. he then heard y/n speak, "can i ask you something? and i hope you don't take offense."

y/n waited for him to nod and when he did she continued, "i heard about what happened. about your mother. the same thing happened to me. denki told me—and i know it wasn't any of his busy—but he was worried about you, saying how you weren't yourself anymore."

izuku sorrowfully looked at the ground, not wanting to hear about his mother. but he glanced up as she reached down to grab his hands, replacing the beer bottle with her soft hands.

"maybe, if someone was there for you when you needed it the most, you wouldn't have turned into someone who you're not." y/n watched as tears began to form in his eyes, "words won't bring her back, but i hope that help finds you and you keep those people who are still around, close to you."

smiled softly and wiped izuku's tears away with her thumbs. izuku returned the smile and thanked her. with their hands still intact, izuku couldn't help but stare at her beautiful features.

taking her words within his heart they watched the twinkling stars, knowing, after the party ends, they won't ever see each other again.

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

"Look, Adam, we need to talk about the other night. I've had some time to think about it, and I don't think that we're good for each other anymore. Everyone I talk to thinks that we're toxic together."

"Wait, what?"

Adam Darktide stared in shock at his apparently ex-boyfriend. Theo had gone home for the weekend and ignored all of Adam's messages, leaving Adam with an idea of how angry Theo was at him. But breaking up with him?

"It was just a stupid kiss," Adam insisted. "You kissed my brother. I think that's worse than kissing a friend."

"See, this is why people think we're toxic," Theo snapped, making Adam flinch. "I can't just compare two actions and decide which is worse for the rest of my life. It doesn't matter if kissing your brother is worse than you kissing a friend, they're both bad! I don't want to have to justify you cheating on me because I did something you think is worse. You cheated on me, Adam! On purpose and with someone I know you're attracted to. You want let me even touch your hand, but you'll kiss someone else in front of me? I'm tired of this."

"This is just a mistake," Adam pleaded, suddenly realizing how serious this conversation was. "Look, I'll try to be more open about physical contact, and I'll never speak to Josh again if you want. We're supposed to be a team, remember?"

Theo scoffed at the idea.

"We're not a team though, Adam. Teammates work together through problems, while you just keep pulling away from me, no matter what I do. I'm done with this. We're over."

Theo made a stern face, one that he'd been practicing all weekend. Rien thought it was acceptable, though it could use some work.

"But we're tied together," Adam tried. "Lukas bound our powers together. We need each other."

Theo rolled his eyes.

"Our powers are tied together," he replied angrily. "You ground my abilities and I give you access to some of my power as thanks. We can do that for years and be an ocean apart from each other if we have to. I don't need to talk to you for the magic to work."

"Theo, please, let me make it up to you," Adam pleaded. "I can't lose you. We're meant to be together, I know we are."

"Adam, my parents cheated on each other, my Aunt Ulyssa cheated on her wife, and I can't prove it, but I'm pretty sure my Aunt Lucy has cheated on her various partners too. There are too many cheaters in my life, and I'm not going to just stay and put up with someone who cheats on me. I'm better than that and I'm better than you. We're done."

Theo turned away from Adam, unable to witness the tears in Adam's eyes or his heartbroken expression. He needed to stand firm in this decision, or he'd just watch the same thing happen over and over. Adam could kiss other guys and whatever else he and Josh got up to, but he wouldn't be doing it while dating Theo.

Once Theo had left, Adam broke down crying. The last thing he needed was for Theo to see how upset he was. He wasn't sure which would hurt less: Theo's pity or his scorn.

It was a dark time for the Darktide twins. Remy had been dumped by Malika, and now Adam had been dumped by Theo, all because of a stupid dance. At least Remy seemed to be spending more time with Victoriana and was doing a terrible job of hiding her crush on the crown princess. Adam was just alone. Josh had been weird since the kiss and Despina had clearly taken Theo's side in the breakup. Every time he walked past his cousin, Despina looked like she was about to spit on him just for existing. Adam hadn't always been close to his cousin, but he thought that Despina would back him of his life imploded. Apparently, she was Team Theo.

"Thanks for the invite, Theo. I'm sad that you've broken up with Adam, but damn does your dad make a good cheesecake. He really made you a cake for breaking up with Adam?"

Bronwen wasn't always a fan of human food, but Roman's cooking was always appealing. Plasma was growing more important to her now that she was maturing, but you couldn't do much to spice it up when it got boring.

"He said it wasn't a celebration of our breaking up, but as a consolation for after. Like how people eat a tub of ice cream while watching sappy movies after a breakup."

Bronwen laughed at the thought of Theo's father not celebrating the removal of Adam from his son's life.

"You do know that that's a celebration cake, right?" she replied. "Your dad's probably drinking champagne at the moment. He hates anyone who gets involved with you or even flirts with you. The man's insane."

"Adam always said that my dad didn't know what he was talking about," Theo sobbed. His cheesecake sat untouched while his actions caught up with him. He was mad at Adam, and he was right to break up with a cheater who was afraid of being anywhere near him, but he had really just ended his first relationship. It was supposed to be his forever relationship and now that was gone. He wouldn't be marrying Adam in college, and he wouldn't be picking out baby names when they had their first kid. They were never going to buy a house together or travel the world like they'd planned. Whatever he had with Adam was gone. His well planned life was dead now.

"Hey, things will be okay," Bronwen promised. She smiled, thinking about all the times she'd fantasized about this day, when Theo and Adam broke up and Theo was lonely. Today, now that it had actually happened, Bronwen wasn't interested. Things with Davis had been going pretty well since the dance, and she was excited to get to know him better. They were technically dating but were taking things slow. Davis didn't want to rush into things until she for sure could handle his parents. Being the son of Life and Death was a lot to handle, and Davis didn't blame her if she couldn't deal with them. So far, she'd only met his parents once and that had gone okay. Death had tried to impress her with homemade blood pie that had appealed to neither her human or vampire tastes, while Life had largely ignored her in favour of mumbling to themselves and flipping through the pages of a heavy, leatherbound book. So overall, Bronwen counted that as a success.

"I'm sure you're right," Theo sighed. "Everyone keeps saying that it'll be okay, but none of this feels like it's okay. It feels empty and sad and hopeless. I know that he's upset too, and all I want to do is comfort him. Is that stupid?"

Bronwen shook her head slowly.

"Of course, it's not stupid," she assured her friend. "You haven't even told anyone but me about the break up. It's all still new."

"Well, actually, Despina was the first to know," Theo corrected her. "She all but forced me to break up with him and probably cast a hex or two just for fun."

"She sounds like a good friend to pick you over her cousin," Bronwen noted. "Is she interested in you?"

Theo paused, remembering all the times he'd picked up on a potential interest from Bronwen. Adam had said that it was nothing, but Adam wasn't around anymore to give him advice.

"I don't think Despina is interested in me," he offered. "She's got the future king of Strangetown following her around, so I doubt that she'd be interested in her cousin's ex. She's not really my type anyway."

"And your type is?"

Theo eyed his friend cautiously

"Well, not related to my ex, at least. I know Edana would probably murder me for even looking at Despina, despite how much of a bitch she is to her niece and nephew. They're all she has left of her demented brother, and she's not going to let me anywhere near them, even if I wanted to. Despina's nice, but only Adam was worth dealing with his mother to date. No offense, I know she's your stepmom."

"Yeah, that's fair. Elowen and Remy have millions of stories about Edana. She still doesn't know what to do with a half-vampire stepdaughter, but she tries her best, so I'm grateful for that. She's still unhinged about her brother though. My dad’s had to talk to her a million times about how creepy she is about him. She can't let go of the guilt of not saving him. It's sad, really, but I could picture feeling the same way if Elowen died in some cult I couldn't pull her from. We've been best friends since the day I was born. It's hard to break that bond."

Theo tried to think of a sibling that he would ruin the lives of innocent people with his grief over but came up empty. He'd be sad if any of his siblings died, especially Rien, who he probably knew the best, but Edana's grief consumed her like a poison. Theo knew that life had to be lived even with a broken heart, which was precisely the situation he was in now with Adam.

Speaking of Adam, Theo could hear the sound of a piano drifting from the music room. It had to be Adam playing it, as very few other students did, and the song being played was Adam's favourite to play. It was an old Tredony lullaby about the Pirate Queen, and it had been burned into Theo's mind by how often Adam played it. There was nothing more that Theo wanted than to run to Adam and wrap his arms around him until the sorrowful music stopped, but that couldn't happen. That wouldn't happen ever again, and Theo's heart broke again after realizing that.

"It's so hard not to just go comfort him," Theo said, trying to focus on the cake before him and not on Adam. "Do you think it gets easier?"

Bronwen shrugged.

"I haven't really dated someone before, and my dad had been married to Edana for most of my life, so I'm not sure. I guess so? Remy seems to be bouncing back from her breakup, so maybe you'll be the same. Maybe you just need to date someone new, and things with Adam will hurt less."

Theo nodded thoughtfully.

"You may have a point. I have a lot to bring to a relationship, and I don't need to worry about the feelings of a cheater, no matter how Adam is hurting. He did this to himself."

[snowbarryiscoming]

Day #2 Christmas Confessions- Matthew Gray Gubler

so am I supposed to be doing these everyday? lol

oops

sorry guys. but i do have five days off so hopefully i can get everything done and be caught up, but do not hold me to my word

no smut this time either, just fluff

It was Christmas time again and you were headed to the airport to go back to your hometown to see your family. Your longtime friend, Matthew, was supposed to be waiting for you when you landed so he could take you home.

Before you boarded the plane, you texted Matthew, letting him know that you were about to board and that you'd text him once you've landed. A few minutes passed before getting a response that made your heart drop.

'I don't think I can be home for the holidays.'

You decided not to reply. I mean, what could you say anyway?

Glancing back your phone, you noticed there was a new message.

'Your sister will pick you up instead. I am so sorry.'

With a heavy heart, you boarded the plane when it was time and went to sleep for the whole flight. Once you landed, you texted your sister and you couldn't help but smile when you saw her.

"Hey, stranger."

You embraced each other tightly and after getting your luggage in the car, you were both on your way to your parents' house.

"So guess who got divorced?"

"Who?"

"Lola and Scott."

You gasped. "Shut up!"

"Mhm, apparently Scott found someone else and wanted to end the marriage because he didn't want to hurt Lola but he also wasn't feeling anything for her anymore."

"Oh, my God. That's so sad. They were together since high school."

"I know. It makes me so grateful to have Daniel, you know? And speaking of significant others, do you plan on dating someone anytime soon?"

You rolled your eyes with a sigh. "Here we go."

"I'm just saying. Oh, maybe you could tell Matthew how you feel about him. Where is he, by the way? He texted me saying if I could pick you up instead."

"He said he wasn't sure if he could come home."

Your sister didn't say a word and you glanced at her.

"Did you hear me?"

"Yeah, I was just listening to your heart breaking."

You glared at her as she shrugged.

"Look, maybe it's not as obvious to him as it is to us. Sometimes you might literally have to spell this out for him to understand."

"And when he tells me he doesn't feel the same? What then?"

"Then you pick your heart up and move on. There are other guys out there."

The rest of the car ride was silent and once your sister had pulled up to the house, you saw your parents waiting outside.

"Mom, Dad!"

You gave each of them a gentle but tight hug as your sister helped with your belongings.

"Hi, sweetheart. How was the flight?"

"It was good. I slept for all of it so I'm wide awake now."

Your mom smiled. "Well, it's good to see you. You look radiant."

"Thanks, mom."

The four of you headed inside where you said hello to all of your relatives who came to visit. You took a seat on the couch next to your aunts and cousins while they drank and talked about everything from jobs to the news and to their own families and lives.

And then the attention turned to you.

“Where’s your really nice friend? Matthew?”

“Oh, yes. He always comes with you. He’s such a gentleman.”

You laughed nervously. “He wasn’t able to come this year.”

“What a shame.”

“You would make such a good couple.”

You began to think about Matthew and what he could be doing in that moment. You decided to give him call in your old room upstairs and he answered after the second ring.

“Hey.”

“Hi, Matthew.”

“Did you get my texts?”

“Yeah, I did and I was a bit bummed that you couldn’t come with me. They were asking me about you.”

“I am really sorry I couldn’t come. Something came up last minute and I had to go. I promise I will make it up to you.”

“It’s okay, Matthew. Just do what you got to do. I’ll see you after the holidays.”

You hung up and sighed as you heard footsteps behind you.

“Are you okay?”

You and your mom sat down on the bed and you sighed.

“I didn’t think him not being here would affect me this much but it does. He always came with me, mom. He always does everything with me.”

“You two are inseparable. There wouldn’t be any possible way that you two could ever stop.”

“I think I have feelings for him. I miss him so much and I just don’t want to be away from him.”

“Then tell him.”

“How? And what if it’s just one sided?”

Your mom laughed. “Sweetheart, have you seen the way he looks at you? The boy is head over heels for you and probably has been all his life. Nobody said anything because we wanted you two to come together on your own without interfering. All you have to do now is take that leap.”

She stood up and held out her hand and you placed yours in her. The two of you headed down the stairs and she led you out the back door where you froze in place at the sight of it.

Christmas lights were hung from the patio ceiling and the fire pit was lit by none other than Matthew himself. Your mom let go of your hand and headed inside.

“I know I kind of lied about coming home and about having something last minute. But I promise that this was with good reason. I really-”

You had walked closer to him and cut him off with a kiss. You wrapped your arms around his neck and he placed his around your waist.

“You beat me to it. Like always.”

“I really like you, Matthew. You telling me that you weren’t coming just made me realize that I couldn’t be away from you ever. You’ve always been there for me and have been a huge part of my life. I guess I didn’t notice when I started to see you as more than a friend.”

“That’s why I planned this whole thing. Because I was starting to see you as more than a friend and I just knew that this was the right time. But I only told your mom. Everyone else thought I wasn’t coming.”

You smiled at him and he smiled back at you.

“So does this mean we can go on a date?”

“One and a whole lot more.”

You kissed him again, a little bit deeper this time than the first.

“Merry Christmas, Gubler.”

“Merry Christmas.”

[hel-phoenyx]

Willy and Lan Yue belong to @noa-de-cajou !

_________

"Pssst, Emerens-"

He's standing next to me, so awkward in his costume that's not supposed to be worn by seven years old children. We had to be very slick to not be noticed by mom or his dad, because they don't like us playing together ; it is why he stills speaks on a low tone, even now.

I turn my head towards him, still amazed at how similar we look. He's my cousin, but we share so much physical traits people sometimes mistook him as my brother. Mum and uncle hate it.

"yea ?"

"I saw Elvira getting out of her room and I have Carlijn's suitcase. Let's go dress up."

He asks me to dress up a lot. We both like this game. Elvira's dresses suit him, better than they suit me, and we have fun going through mom's makeup palette. Once I did his nails, and I never saw a bigger smile on his face since.

So of course I'm gonna say yes.

Who am I to say no to a smile?

***

"So this is not a phase ?"

We are sitting on my hospital bed. Elvira and Carlijn brought them in complete illegality to see me, and I know from the countless missed calls I am still hearing from my sister's brand new phone that it is gonna be nasty when they all get back, but I feel the selfish inclination to still be happy. I see so few people during my recovery.

They are looking at me, anxious, while I am telling them about all the people I talk to in the geriatric pole of the hospital. Gay people, trans people, and so many other words I wasn't aware of.

When I talked about some of my favorite stories, the ones of the girls that are boys that are neither and that are happy, they told me they were feeling this way too, and weren't sure if it was normal. So I could tell them of the people who discovered that is was.

I shrugged.

"I don't know. Maybe. I'm not in your head. i'm just telling you there are people like that."

"... I thought I was the only one, that it wasn't normal to... Not feel that your body is your body. Or that it was, but not like this. It's complicated..."

"Yeah, I didn't get it at first, either. You want me to introduce you ? Mr Hunchausen is adorable, I'm sure he would be happy to talk to you too."

A tiny smile grew on their lips.

"Yes, please."

***

"My name is Willelmien, by the way."

We met for Christmas, like every year. I'm back from Saint-Cyr, feeling the weight of the first year without Thibault, and seeing my cousin is probably one of the biggest if not the only joy of those holidays.

Her hair is a bit longer, as long as someone who appears as a boy could wear without nasty looks. It looks nice on her. I want to let mine grow too, but mom never agreed. She says it's unprofessional.

Hearing that made me smile.

"New name ? It's cute."

"Thank you, thank you. Also, look at this !"

She shows me her hand, hidden under a winter glove she didn't bother to remove before now. Under it is fingers laced with a beautiful ring, adorned with a splendid green nail polish. It matches our eyes.

"Wow ! It looks so cool!"

"I bought it myself, she said, brimming with pride. I saved all my Christmas money for this, but it was worth it. Mom and dad can't see it, tho. Please just pretend I'm cold if they ask."

Fair enough. Mother and father wouldn't like that either. I remember the time they caught me in the bathroom holding mother's lipstick. I will never forget father's stern lecture about how boys don't play with makeup. I can undernstand why she didn't want to be a boy anymore. Can girls be more left alone about that?

This is not only at home, though. Saint-Cyr is worse. We can't hug, we can't kiss, we can't laugh. And I miss my friends so dearly.

I really hope she won't live the same thing.

***

I landed in the hospital again. This time for an entirely different reason.

Everything hurts. I prefered when it was nothing.

This time I can't roam around free, or talk to people, or listen to stories. I can only read in my corner, too much in pain to pick up a pen again, and too unstable for visits. At least that's what they said.

The doctor still comes by sometimes, tells me he found a good edition company for my book, that they promised to read it in behalf of their good relations to the hospital.

I miss them so much.

But as much as I want to see her, I hope for nothing more than the fact she isn't in that hospital.

***

How many years has it been ?

I grew up so much since our times together. We weren't older that twelve when I said my goodbyes, and years later when I finally landed in France, I expected it to be forever.

And yet, after "van Heel, Emerens" the list calls for "van Heel, Willelmien" and there she is in the gymnasium, taller and leaner and so much happier than last time we saw each other. She heard my name and my Ultimate too, and she is searching in the room, too far away for me to see her face but yes not enough to miss the frenzy in her movements.

Finally, our eyes meet. And on her face appears the biggest smile I have ever seen.

Mine is probably the same.

***

Hope's Peak is both an enter towards future and a jump back in the past. I indulged in both during the past week, meeting new people, making new friends, and making up for lost time with my most beloved, my Sharon that, too, grew up so, so much.

And now I am with Willy talking about what has been, and she laughs when I mention my first attemps to play an electric guitar, funny enough for me to land my first time with a girl. People already know us as "the siblings of the school". I do nothing to correct them.

We sit on that bench near the sakura trees. After my exposition of pride about my books and my musical talent, all the art I let myself thrive in after all those years, she boasts about her skills in make-up, care and all the things that earn a woman the title of socio-esthetician.

"And grandma promised to pay for all my hormone replacement therapy," she says with that huge, sunny smile. "She doesn't understand a lot about transidentity, but she is so much better than the other old fucks. Living at her place really was an upgrade, you have no idea!"

She does not talk about how she landed at her maternal grandparents, as I do not talk about Saint-Cyr. I know that she knows, and she knows that I know. There is no need to open up old wounds. I hide mine too well under bands, and her under makeup.

"Old money paying for transness, best revenge ever, right ?"

I wink while saying that, and she laughs.

"Oh, fuck yes. Sadly that's not the van Heels', that would have been a huge slap in dad's face. But, eh, good enough. Still, can't depend on them for everything. I'm out of the will for sure now, and soon enough I'll have to earn my own shit..."

"Need some help in the meantime?"

A fist come hitting me right in the shoulder, his strenght countered by a hearty laugh.

"Oh come on, I do not need another trust fund! Don't worry about me, I'll manage. But I appreciate it, though. One of those days, when I'll be broke, old and unable to work, I'll aim for your bank account, pinky promise!"

That's the kind of promise I do not want to see broken.

***

"Say, Willy, how do you feel about having a girlfriend ?"

My dearest cousin sighs dramatically for the third time this day.

"Oh, please don't ask me! I'm DESPERATE for a relationship, and I can't spend my life in nightclubs like you do, I'll never get to your level of hoeing!"

"Woooooow. Ru-u-u-u-de!"

"Oh don't be sad, Rapunzel, no one can whore around as well as you do. But back to the matter at hand, why do you bring that on the table?"

I smile, albeit mischeviously.

"I want apologies or I'm not telling~~~~"

Acting like a little shit does earn you good things sometimes, but right now my only victory is Willy pulling on my hair. Not quite a victory per say, but hey, I'm laughing, and she is too.

"Oh come on, I know you take that as a compliment!"

"I do, but the condition still stands, Willelmien~"

"Fine, fine, I'm sorry, you little bitch. Now tell me, you made me curious."

"Good enough."

I stop on my tracks, noticing the silhouette of a splendid young girl, sat on a bench with her laptop. She taps on her keyboard completely ignoring the sunlight, only stopping in her tracks to put back a strand of blue hair behind her ear. Her clothing, not quite fit for january, show off a lot of her stomach, probably the source of protection against the cold. And the looks of countless starstruck ladies, including, I noticed earlier, my very own cousin.

"I have this friend that complained about not finding a girlfriend earlier in the week, and I happen to know a very single girl that could be very interested and is right in front of me..."

Willy burst into laughing.

"You wanna set me up a date ?"

"Not quite, not my job to do all the talking, my dear. But I was considering putting you two in a situation where you could talk, and maybe it would lead to something more... Well, not that something more," I add when noticing Willy's wink. "She's asexual and from what I know, sex is absolutely out of the question."

"Oh, I don't care, I want a girlfriend, not a hookup. Well, I hope she isn't fully exclusive, though. I can bear just fine, but van Heels and sexuality, you know..."

"Oh, I know too well. But she may be your ideal girl, because she's polyamorous as hell. So? Interested?"

I know her well enough to recognise that gleam in her eyes.

"Of course I am. Never thought my cousin would find me a date, the wonder of the world... Sure we're gonna hit it off ?"

I let out a laugh.

"I am never wrong in that kind of things."

And as always, I was right.

Because seeing Willy's smitten smile the morning after, holding Nako's phone number written on a beautiful note in one hand, is enough to lighten my whole week.

***

On the other side of the phone I hear a gasp in astonishment.

"You're coming over at the mansion for Christmas?"

"Elvira asked me, I grunted, trying to hide my frustration. I would have said no, but she already asked the old fuckers, so now I guess I'm expected. Never thought this would happen again, and yet..."

Silence takes place one second or two. Before Willy sighs in the mic, static ringing in my ears.

"I guess that's a good opportunity to convince her to get out of here. She missed you, you know. You may be able to make her realise this is not an environment suit for neither of us."

"That's what I thought. And afterwards, I'll go right to Louna's anyway. Her father is bedridden because of an injury and she wanted to be there all holidays, so I'll spend more time in the family-in-law than those other old bitches..."

Not that I ever wanted to see either of those old bitches ever again. The birth givers, the second roles, Leonard still being a rat and Carlijn probably searching for the best way to annoy her parents without paying attention to us.

At least I'll meet Annelies. From what I've been hearing, she's around six and very much not neurotypical. She'll need someone to gift her dinosaurs until she gets tired of that specific interest, because I'm sure as hell no one with money except Willy would try to listen to her.

And maybe I'll have the occasion to talk to Mareva.

Maybe.

My silence must be revealing, since the phone is not enough to mask Willy's worry.

"Hey, man. If you wanna talk about it, you can. And I promise I'll do what I'm able to for you to spend at least an okay Christmas. I know all the ways to sneak out from that rotten house."

"Don't get yourself in trouble because of me, tho..."

"I'll get in trouble for my very nature, Emerens. Let's get in trouble together."

Somehow, that is the most reassuring thing I have ever heard about that godsdamned Christmas.

***

"What the actual FUCK ?!"

I grit my teeth. Willy's reaction is exactly the reason I left her out of this, including the whole family trauma and a big ass lack of time. But I had to warn her at some point why we got a completely trauma Elvira staying at Lan Yue's, and also probably why I think they're gonna fuck in the next days or months depending on the situation and I'm not happy about it.

"Yeah. Father went too far this time. i thought he was a goddamn doormat, and yet..."

"This is not going too far, Emerens, this is goddamn illegal. Please tell me you're taking them to court."

"Oh, I will. But not now. I'm giving her, and us, time to recover. We need that. All of us."

Willy clenches her jaw, and sits down next to me, anger still plaguing her face. She is angry after my fuckers of parents, I know that, but that look in her eyes tell me she's also angry at me, and looking back, she has every reason to.

Still, there is no animosity in her attitude when she throws her arm around my shoulders.

"Fuck. This is insane."

"It is. Sorry for keeping you out."

"I am not happy about it, but I understand. This is high-level rich people fuckery. Nobody would involve someone on their own volition in there, even family."

"Especially family."

A sigh escapes my lips, and I let myself lean against her. I won't lie and say I do not need the contact. That was an awful week for me. Productive. But awful.

We got Elvira out of here with enough grounds to get her at least a restraining order against them, or at the very least a serious dent in their reputation. She won't ever return there, and I have one less reason to spend Christmas at the van Heels'. I finally managed to put words on what happened back at Saint-Cyr to another person than Senri and my therapist, and that person is my sisters' crush and one of my best mates.

Still, I feel like I've been dragged to the bottom of a garbage dump. Probably look like it, too.

Luckily for me, Willy does not push further. In place, she smiles, before poking my nose with her long-nailed finger in a classic Willy tease.

"And now Vivi stays at Lan Yuyu's flat? Lucky her."

I roll my eyes so hard I swear I saw the back of my very filthy brain.

"Oh please don't remind me, I am tired of being the overprotective little brother. I've just been so anxious all this time when I heard about their crush on her."

"Why anxious ? We are talking about LAN FUCKING YUE!"

"I know! Imagine if it was anyone else, my heart wouldn't handle..."

"Pitt-bull that you are, Rapunzel. I know she just got out of a very abusive environment, but she'll be fine."

"Yeah, we can only hope."

Because I want to see her fine. I want to see her happy. And Lan Yue can make her happy, I know that, I trusted him with my secrets and I would trust him with my life. I can trust him with my sisters.

I just don't want to lose her again.

Neither of them.

***

The call in the middle of the night took me by surprise, but when I see Willy's name of the screen, I have no choice but to respond. We do not leave family astray. At least, a specific part of family.

Sharon is sleeping next to me. So my first reflex is to rush to the bathroom, the most silently I can, before answering the call.

"Hey, Willy, are you okay-"

I'm cut short by incoherent stammering. Oh, for that nonexistent god's sake, I think she's hyperventilating... Is she having a panic attack ? why is her voice so far from the mic of the phone ? Jesus fuck, if only she wasn't currently in Amsterdam visiting her grandparents, I would have tried to reach her asap, I can't leave her like this...

I hate feeling powerless but in that situation, I can only try and take control of the conversation so she's grounded to something. Jesus Christ.

"Willy, I'm not going anywhere, take a deep breath. There. focus on my voice, okay? Whatever happened, I'll listen, I promise, but i won't be able to help if I don't understand you."

"Emerens-"

She takes a big breath. Her voice gets a little steadier, but I can still hear the anguish.

"I have a half-sister."

Whatever words I had in stock just end up stuck in my throat.

All I can do is hear Willy tell me about how her world ended crumbling.

***

A half-sister. Of course that was expected to happen. Mother noticed, Mareva noticed, of course I noticed my uncle was not as faithful as he appeared to be. It got worse after the old fucks moved to retirement home, when he just stopped caring about gaining something from being good.

I'd never have imagined it was bad to the point he didn't even take precautions.

She's called Rosaline. Pretty name. History student, around Justen's age. The daughter of a maid of their house, probably very young if I judge by the pictures. I wager she was about twenty when that motherfucker knocked her up.

When she reached out to Willy, it was to connect. But also because she heard about the family feud and wanted to drag her asshole father to the mud. So we're gathering proof for the most nasty divorce ever. With maximum consequences for my bitch ass cheater of an uncle.

And now I'm with Willy to meet her because she wanted nobody else around. Maybe because it's not my first trial against a van Heel, I know the drill. Or maybe just because she needed support. Who knows.

"This feels so weird," grunted Willy rubbing her hands against one another. "I'm meeting a sister I never even heard about months ago, and we're doing that to fuck up my parents marriage."

"No offense, but Diederik fucked his own marriage, not us. By fucking other people in his wife's back."

"None taken, and you're absolutely right, that ass had it coming. But it's still weird."

I let out an ironic laugh.

"Think about it that way, Willy, he fucked to much, and now he's gonna get fucked. Karma always comes to bite you in the ass. You can't fuck without being fucked. The eternal cycle of fuck..."

"Says the bottom."

"Bitch I'm a switch?! And I certainly don't want you to find out!"

"Oh, ew, please, no! There is enough incest in this bloodline already!"

We burst out laughing, and that is enough to forget even for one moment the situation we're in.

Family stick out for each other, huh. I didn't think that would happen again in my lifetime, and here I am, happy to be of the same blood of someone.

[piece-of-the-pie-if]

[ HUSH ]:          while standing close to one another and hiding from pursuers, the sender reaches up and places a finger against the receiver’s lips to prevent them from speaking and revealing their location.

AND

[ TUG ]:          the sender tugs the receiver close against them by resting a hand against the small of their back, pulling them flush against their body.

I believe these two work really well when combined! Can we have these with best girl Kinsley!

lmao this feels so unserious for these prompts... anyway! from this prompt list. 521 words.

Had you known that just being out in public with Kinsley would come with so many stipulations and... restrictions... you doubt you would have agreed to it in the first place.

Now, it's not like you had no idea that Kinsley didn't particularly want to be seen with you just out and about, decidedly not arguing or being vaguely threatening to each other like you were at school──but being pulled away from lunch early because Kinsley spotted her friend, Tiffany, wasn't on your agenda.

(Not that you wanted to be seen by Tiffany of all people either...)

"Kin.." You called to her, slowing down to a stop and slipping out of her grip as she continued on with determination.

"Kinsley!" You repeated, brow furrowing as you watched her scan your surroundings before turning to face you properly. "What's going on here?"

She pauses─more like freezes─at looks up at you properly, blue eyes wide as if she were pleading with you. A long sigh leaves her as her entire body deflates before she slowly walks back to you. She bites down on her bottom lip─more of a nervous tick than anything suggestive─as she steps into your space.

"I know what it looks like." she whispered, her eyes flickering all across your face but not settling anywhere before she was talking again. "I promise I'm not... ashamed of being seen with you or anything. Not anymore... never was really."

"Yeah?" You asked. She nodded, finally connecting your gazes. "Then whats with all the running?"

"I kind of told Tiff I was busy babysitting my cousin's new baby." She rolled her eyes, "when Tiffany wants me to come be her... crony... she's relentless──and she hates all talks of babies and children she left me on read." Kinsley sighed again. "I didn't expect to see her out today and I panicked."

As she explained herself you found yourself resting your hands upon her waist, playing with the hem of her short jacket. You could feel how your eyes softened as she rambled on, hands hovering around your shoulders as she used them to shallowly gesture with certain words.

Just as things elapsed into silence, you caught the faint familiar shrill of Tiffany Dawson's voice flatly commenting that 'she swore she saw Kinsley around here'. You had only glimpsed at the widening of Kinsley's eyes before the hand at her waist tugged her closer to you──pulling her into your chest. Her hands finally made contact with your chest as she looked up at you in shock.

Taking a chance you lifted a finger to her lips to keep her quiet as you looked over her shoulder to the other end of the alleyway you had found yourselves in. Being so close to one another, you only wished that the thumping of your heart was mirrored in hers, that the hitching of her breath as your finger gently brushed over the softness of her lips meant she was just as affected as you were.

"I think..." you paused, looking back to Kinsley to see her cheeks heated up to a soft pink, "we're in the clear now."

[reachingmygoalsss]

Life Update

April 25 2024

Got multiple new jobs, a new apartment and new dogs literally 5 days after the December post. Lost some weight around 15lbs rn! Things are looking up the dogs have helped me relax so so much.

My boyfriend got a new job as a carpenter now and actually stepped up after a fight we had on Valentine's Day. He started trying really hard, and I admit I wasn't the best person during the time because of how hurt and betrayed I felt. I feel a lot of guilt for that, and like I don't fully deserve this new beginning to some extent with him because of how angry I was up until he got the job. I'm really happy for him and thankful too. After all I wouldn't be dating him this long if I didn't love who he is. Stress just gets in the way of that sometimes.

My new dogs are the best little girls! They are German Shepherd lab mixes and are beautiful. Now around 7 months old. I will upload some pictures with this of them! They literally help me so much in my dream realms and through my healing stuff as well as with the transmutation of my emotions. I try to give back as much as I can to them by getting them treats, bones, and things they need or want. I really think I'm gonna try and walk them more, though. It's something I have been lacking with. That and training, and they deserve more of that, so that is a new thing I want to do for them going forward.

I have lots of big plans for the future. I'm going to make a goals list soon, so be hopeful for that. But I think the rest of the post I'm going to rant.

My parents still suck. I don't like how they take everything as me trying to hurt them. It's very frustrating. I'm not going to say I didn't have a lot of hate for them from all the buildup and stuff but I have let go of most of that now. I don't hate them anymore I just don't like them because I realized they will never actually understand me or how I speak.

Something I have been having issues healing lately is feeling like I'm hurting others. Today I talked to my mom for the first time in months and we were having a conversation about my brother since he is in the process of having a kid. Said conversation:

"you know your brother he gets stressed so easily and is nervous"

"that's because you yelled at him for so many years"

"that's because he never would listen unless I yell at him"

"he never was able to hear you because his ears were damaged from you yelling at him"

"I'm not going to let you ruin my day today I'm about to have a grandkid"

"I'm just telling you where that comes from"

✨️conversation ended 2 mins later✨️

This is how every conversation goes and yet I still somehow feel like I'm a dickhead for just stating what I see when she tries to bring stuff up. I feel this way with everyone, either in a state of confusion or guilt and shame for triggering them. I genuinely don't mean to trigger them either I'm just looking at a situation and word vomiting what I see, hear or feel. Sometimes I think I'm autistic because of this. With my mom though I do question if my motives are good. Like is it a subconscious jab at her character? Am I living in the past? Part of me does feel like I am still there in the house a scared kid waiting for her to come in my bedroom and tell me to do some chore or scream at me. During those times my throat feels tight like I'm being strangled and I still can't seem to get the words out clearly. It's hard for me to be in a relationship when there is no relationship because it will always be one-sided. She still wants me to wear the golden child, straight A student, favorite cousin, grandchild, bullshit mask I wore for so long. Perfection mask curated to her, otherwise I'm imperfect, but more importantly she is imperfect. I find myself with traits like her sometimes. Cold and cruel due to insecurities and superficialities. I see how hurt she is too and I guess that's why I still hold so much guilt, shame and hurt for cutting her out. She will never see me. Just like her mother never saw her.

I hope I'm not like her.

My father, I cut off from Jan 1st to early April. It's nice to talk to my dad, and I miss him. The problem is that I usually go into an anxiety attack after I get off the phone with him. Even if the conversation is good, it feels like he invades my whole being, and I have intrusive hate thoughts every time I talk to him that I have to clear out of my head almost every time. He also defends my mom with her behavior, and then he lets her into conversation a lot. Which has put a lot of strain on our relationship in general. I didn't want to have to make him choose between me or mom, but she made that the case a lot of the time. I wish he had the balls to say no to her and just have a relationship with me. I don't expect him to ever stick up for me though at this point. If he defended her to a 5 year old me saying I was the problem at 5 why should I have expected anything different at 22. That's the part I think that hurts the most is still dealing with the same thing younger me dealt with. No one to help me stand up to my bully other than myself.

Good news is I'm an adult now and I no longer feel helpless against them. I can stand up to them and they can't put their shit on me anymore. Though I'm the villain now and that kinda sucks considering I went from being perfect in their eyes. I destroyed their image of everything they saw in me and I feel like myself for the first time but I have no family because of it. I will have to build my own.

Everyone in my family looks at me like I'm an asshole and none of them other than my dad want to see me truly succeed. And even then my dad will try to change my plans or will outright judge or insult them behind my back to my mom. I know this because that's how they all work. Then they get sick or get into a car accident or some shit because they are fucking mean. I don't know why I keep going back. When I disconnect from them I feel so much anxiety, sadness, and hate and it's hard to focus on anything else. I hope there's a day where I can just let go or talk to them without feeling so fucked up. Self harm or self hate maybe? Self sabotage? Layers of bullshit that needs to go. Too much manipulation. Sometimes I wish they would just die so I can move on and get some relief.

I guess the end of this is just me wishing I had a supportive and loving family. One where I don't have to be fake to avoid making people upset or afraid.