#is their later birthay

[universe-nero]

Very late but Agents take their -time... to die-

HBD James Bond! 09/03

007 with MI6

[peoplepersonoaktree]

I can now legally drive :D

[flower1622]

Years later:

There was a little girl with blonde hair and green eyes playing with her sword toy around a chair, which has another young girl seated on it with black hair and gray eyes. She was reading about greek mythology, a book she received as a birthday present from her grandma Sally, whom she also received the name from. She was reading about the god Poseidon, but she couldn't concentrate due to her sister running and making noise with her mouth while playing with her toy. Sally gets frustrated at her.

Sally: Elle, could you stop it?

Her little sister Estelle or Elle, how people like to call her, just looks confused at her sister.

Elle: Stop what?

Sally points to the toy with her finger angry.

Sally: This!

Elle: But i like to fight with my sword.

Sally only rolls her eyes and crosses her arms.

Sally: Yeah? So, fight somewhere else. I'm reading right now.

Elle: Okay!

Elle leaves Sally alone and goes to play in another part of the house.

Sally sighs and continues reading her book.

Sally: Finally!

Then, two people appear in the leaving room arguing with each other.

Annabeth: Percy, i told you i wanted chocolate cake!

Percy: And i wanted a strawberry cake!

Annabeth rolls her eyes, sighs and crosses her arms.

Annabeth: Sally doesn't like strawberries.

Percy crosses his arms too.

Percy: And Elle can't eat chocolate now or she won't let me sleep. Everytime she cries or does something at night, i end up being the one to handle things.

Both stare at each other serious with their arms crossed. Sally only looks at them and sighs.

Sally: You must be kidding me...

Then, the bell rings. Percy and Annabeth keep staring at each other. Sally rolls her eyes and goes to answer the door. She opens it and sees Nico in front of her holding two presents.

Sally: Uncle Nico?

Nico gets a little shy.

Nico: Hey.

Then, someone screams making Sally protect her ears with her hands. Nico winces from the sound. Percy and Annabeth continue staring at each other, not caring about the noise.

Elle: UNCLE NIC!

Elle runs to hug her uncle, making both fall to the ground.

Nico says under Elle's body, almost out of breath:

Nice to see you too, little hurricane.

Sally only sighs and crosses her arms.

Sally: Elle, get off uncle Nico. Let him breath.

But, Elle doesn't move. So, Sally thinks another strategy.

Sally: There are blue cupcakes in the fridge.

Elle stands up quick and runs back to her house to get some blue cupcakes.

Nico takes a time to breath on the floor and Sally reaches her hand for him to take. Sally helps her uncle to stand up.

Sally: Sorry for Elle.

Nico: No problem. She wouldn't be Elle if she didn't do that. She really reminds me of your father.

Nico says and daydreams a little bit. Sally only looks at him confused and snaps her fingers in front of Nico's face, getting his attention.

Sally: Are you alright, uncle?

Nico: Oh...yeah, i'm good.

Sally: So...uh...where is uncle Will?

Sally missed her favourite uncle a lot. He was always teaching her things...like how to save a person in cases of heart attack, drowning or another thing. Sally also likes to hear uncle Will sing. Sally finds uncle Will's voice very beautiful.

Nico says while he gets his presents from the floor and looks at Sally:

He is very busy in the hospital right now. He may arrive later.

Sally nods and motions with her head to inside of her house, asking her uncle Nico to enter. He nods at her and both enter.

Nico sees that there were some decorations of princesses and fishes around the house. Inside the living room, Nico also notices "Happy Birthay" written on the wall and Annabeth and Percy looking at each other with angry faces and their arms crossed.

Nico: Hello?

They don't answer. Nico sighs.

Nico: Chocolate is better than Strawberry.

Annabeth celebrates and gets close to Percy with a mocking expression on her face while she points a finger to him.

Annabeth: Take that, Seaweed Brain!

Percy: That's not fair!

Annabeth and Percy start arguing again with each other. Nico sighs, puts his hands on his waist and yells frustrated.

Nico: WHY DON'T YOU GUYS USE THE TWO CAKES AND HIDE THE CHOCOLATE ONE LATER?!

Percy, Annabeth and even Sally get shocked with Nico's outburst. Percy and Annabeth look at each other with thoughtful expressions on their faces and nod their heads. Then, they smile and kiss each other.

Elle appears in the living room with a happy face.

Elle: Did someone say chocolate?

Nico, Sally, Percy and Annabeth look at Elle and sigh.

[airy-mod]

Ghappi birthay (the artist is a dumb and not rembember ur birthay he is soooo stupid)

it's even worse when I reply to this ask 2 Months Later I am so sorry but THANK YOU!!

[roboyomo]

Hello yes throwing ✨ at All. woe

oKAY HAIII I HAVE BEEN AWOKEN FROM MY SLUMBER.

✨- How did you come up with the OC’s name?

FOR ALL 30+ BEASTS???? okay boss!! o7

Ephai / Prometheus - Ephai was named that because i have been searching for names. Yeah the name itself didn't just appear in my head. but their nickname 'Prometheus" did!! I knew the word but never actually knew the origin so i looked it up. Lo and behold, the Implications (tm) (Prometheus is best known for defying the Olympian gods by taking fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technology, knowledge and, more generally, civilization.) Well uhm. What do they mean by that

Yi Ha-neul and Yi Ae-ra - Again. I have been researching about how the korean naming system works to make sure that the names would be correct. I didn't wanna butcher them,,,,

B7E - I saw it a few years ago,,, and loved the idea of a name made out of uppercase letters and numbers,,, uooouu,,

Yi Dal (Ken and Kenix) - Yeah again. Researched to come up with Yi Dal for these two. But fun fact it was Kenix who originally was named Ken because Ken, at the time of 2021, didn't exist! Later on, lore-wise Kenix is called Kenix only because in the early story, he used to sign off as "Ken IX" for no particular reason (it was a roman numeral he signed off as Ken's name + both his birthay and his own death month. Why the hell would you do that) but others just didn't respect him nearly enough to actually read the IX as a number so they just added it to his name. Boom, you get Kenix. Yeahg

Okazaki Yaku, Xu An, Tao Yuqi, Liliosa, Alaya, Azrael, Artemis/Sora, Maude, Aridam, Achlys, Nahara - These guysies, again, had their names researched. Basically almost everyone on this list had their names researched before i have decided to pick them

Amor and Apollo - OKAY i just wanted new names for them and i just remembered these names. However Apollo'sdoes have at leeast some degree of Implications and possibly Amor's so ???

Rosemary - I just liked the name. Beautiful woman with a plant name :]

Alionora and Ruby - okay so they are part of the trio of characters based off my bestfriends! :] which is why we went with names related to them (Alionora is a modified version of the name and Ruby is the name of the other friend's cat cuz kitties ^_^)

Aileth - The last one of the trio previously mentioned. This time, the name has been found through googling and figuring out which name both of us liked

Kamaria and Inzhu - THE TWIN GIRLIES!!! Wanted to rename them based on their nationality (that i projected onto them) and so i picked Kamaria and Inzhu because i liked them and Inzhu meant Pearl :)

Jef - There is no reason actually. I just liked it and so i gave it to the 8 yr old child. Shrimple as that ^_^

Agatha - because. Agatha from Dark Deception. I named her that back in my severe DD obsession ehfjehdejeh

Arai/Erebus and Inspiration - ??? Bro i have no idea how i get their names. Just these unknown eldritch horror beings with (random) names.

Nemesis, Yakov, Yuriy, Eda, Rina - I just. Felt like it. Remembered the names and decided "Hm yeah you guys are getting named this now"

OKAY I THINK I DIDN'T FORGET ANYONE??????? IF ANYTHING I'LL UPDATE THIS LATER

[eritehia]

I will try to do something more finished later, but there is a cute doodle for Vash birthay

[acoraxia]

LIVE RHY REACTION TO INVESTITURE OF THE GODS

Disclaimer: this is an English translated version and I do not know how accurate it is so if some things are wrong or improperly translated please let me know. I will also be including screenshots of dialogue and scenes every now and then but please keep in mind I will probably not go into too much detail of these chapters and that I am just reacting to the scenes that happen in the book.

This is also VERY LONG because the book itself is very long. Do not read it if you don't want spoilers/want to sit through a lot of text.

I’ll be covering Chapters 1 - 10 in this post

Once again, do not read if it's a lot of text and mute the tag #live rhyactions

CHAPTER 1 (GODDESS NU WA AND KING ZHOU):

I can’t believe they made Li Shou king because he was strong. He threw a pillar and everyone told King Di Yi to make him king like ok cool ig

also in the other version I was reading, King Di Yi was called Da Yi.. wonder if that was a mistranslation or something

“King Zhou established his capital at Zhaoge, a metropolis on the Yellow River.” interesting, in the other version they call it Morning Song. huh! The more you know

“The king placed Queen Jiang in the Central Palace; Concubine Huang in the West Palace and Concubine Yang in the Fragant Palace. They were all virtuous and chaste in their behavior and mind and gentle in manner.” (…) im not gonna comment on how much that last line irks me for some reason but… ough

ANYWAYS HE RULED IN PEACE… YIPPEE

“and his peasants were especially blessed by favorable winds and rains” why did that make me laugh a little ok

the four dukes!!!! yippee!!

East Grand Duke Jiang Huanchu, South Grand Duke E Chongyu, West Grand Duke Ji Chang and North Grand Duke Chong Houhu

i hope none of them die

SEVEN YEARS OF PEACE!!! and then a report was sent to him oh no

ough a rebellion.. of 72 marquises in the North Sea District — surely Grand Tutor Wen Zhong can take care of it right?? surely he’ll take care of it.

Shang Rong asks King Zhou to honor and hold a ceremony at Nu Wa’s temple for her birthay (the 15th day of the third month) and King Zhou has the gall to ask, “What has Goddess Nu Wa done that a great king such as myself is obliged to to go her temple and worship her?”

What if i stab him. what then. 

thank you Shang Rong you will always be the smart one of the advisors

King Zhou then makes an announcement that he's going to go worship Nu Wa at her temple. amazing. thank you for that.

“It would have been better if he hadn’t gone at all, for it was this very pilgrimage that caused the fall of the Shang Dynasty, making it impossible for the people to live in peace.” i think it was because he disrespected Nu Wa actually

why did he need 3,000 cavalrymen and 800 royal guards if he is such a well known and respected king… hm… 

But they were under the command of General Huang Feihu, Prince for National Pacification and of Military Prowess. so maybe this guy’s important for later. hopefully. i do not want anyone to die yet

except King Zhou but anyways

PRAYERS!!! RESPECT FOR NU WA YES

why are you wandering King Zhou. King Zhou go back.

KING ZHOU.

KING ZHOU NOOO

the most beautiful passages describing Nu Wa and how beautiful she is and how she looks at him with joy and this mfer gets horny. ok.

Or, perhaps, it is about how men’s desires in the past were always the cause of their own downfall because he was warned that Nu Wa was a respected goddess and one he shouldn’t take lightly and, in the end, he ends up disrespecting her all on his own and that is what causes his downfall. 

“He desired to possess her and thought to himself in frustration, ‘Though I’m wealthy and powerful and have concubines and maideservants filling my palace, there’s none as beautiful and charming as this goddess.’” 

rip bozo you signed your own death warrant

AGAIN, I AM SURPRISED HE ACTUALLY DID WRITE ON THE WALL ABOUT HOW MUCH HE WANTED HER. I THOUGHT THE WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE WAS LYING TO ME BUT NO: 

Shang Rong: Nu Wa’s been a proper goddess and the guardian angel for Zhaoge, I only suggested that you worship her so that she would continue to bless the people with timely rains and favorable winds and ensure that they’ll continue to live in peace. But with this poem, you’ve not only shown your lack of sincerity ubut have insulted her as well. This isn’t the way a king should behave. I pray you wash this blasphemous poem off the wall, lest you be condemmed by the people for your immorality. King Zhou: shut up i’m king

NOT THE REST OF HIS MEN LOWKEY SIDE-EYEING HIM….

anyways they go to the Dragon Virtue Court they go where he meets up with his queen and concubines happily. hooray!

Nu Wa paying respect to the three emperors — Fu Xi, Shen Nong and Xuan Yuan — before returning to her temple on her birthday is so nice to me? I know Fu Xi is her brother in some iterations and it makes me happy idk :(

WAIT THE MFER WROTE THIS IN THE MAIN HALL?

IT SAYS SHE SEATED HERSELF IN THE MAIN HALL — NAHHH HE DESERVES WHAT’S COMING TO HIM WHAT THE HELL??

GET HIS ASS!!!

did not know King Zhou had two sons (Yin Jiao and Yin Hong)

anyways he still has 28 years to go before his downfall and Nu Wa realized “that she could do nothing about it at this moment, since that would go against the will of Heaven.”

surely this “against the will of Heaven” won’t be a reocurring theme in the book and it’s successor, Journey to the West, right? Right?

of course it will

NU WA SUMMONING DEMONS AND EVIL SPIRITS FROM THE DEMON SUMMONING PENNANT LET’S GOOOO

“All demons the world has arrived to receive her command” queen shit

IT’S THEM!!! IT’S THE THREE QUEENS OF THE SHANG DYNASTY LET’S FUCKING GO!!!

“May you live eternally, dear goddess!” they have more respect than King Zhou LMAO

“you mustn’t bring harm to the people” uh. anyways.

“since his visit to the Temple of Goddess Nu Wa, King Zhou had sunk into deep depression” shut the fuck go hold your wife

“He had no passion for his queen, his concubines, or the numerous maids in his palace. They now all appeared to him like lumps of clay.” Something poetic about Nu Wa making people out of clay and King Zhou now seeing them as clay—but also fuck this dude

King Zhou: im sad because im in love with nu wa and can’t marry her

what if i kill you

NOT THEM SUGGESTING HE ORDER 100 WOMEN FROM THE GRAND DUKES — BRO NOOOOOO

why is that the end of the chapter

[.....]

CHAPTER 2 (THE REBELLION OF SU HU):

King Zhou: bring me 100 virgins. they must be gentle, virtuous and above all beautiful

i cant with this man.

Shang Rong: you already have 1,000 women you can’t ask for more when your people are dying of drought and floods King Zhou: fine

HES SULKING LMAO

Su Hu… i like Su Hu he doesn’t want to give you any bribes smh

Shut up King Zhou i miss Su Hu

“we greatly appreciate the kind concern shown us by your majesty” i dont trust like that…

what if i killed them all

why are you mentioning Su Hu has a daug- STOP

ISN’T THAT SU DAJI’S FATHER HOLD ON

King Zhou: can i marry your daughter Su Hu: fuck you King Zhou: >:O

NOOO HE FUCKING ARRESTED SU HU WHAT THE HELL

he was right though this kingdom is dying because you’re being too horny King Zhou please listen to REASON

HE (SU HU) WROTE HIS POEM ABOUT KING ZHOU ON THE WALL HELLO?

idk if it’s intentional but it seems like he’s making fun of King Zhou for writing on Nu Wa’s temple wall LMAO i love that

we stan Su Hu

“Our goal is the utter decimantion of the city.”

I miss Su Daji

where’s my wife

Fei Zhong is like… the worst fucking instigator huh? He’s the one who keeps giving King Zhou ideas- i hate men

Ji Chang taking place for King Zhou so he won’t get caught in the cross fire… interesting that he hesitated on that? ig?

“How could possibly have offended the king? He’s known to all for his loyalty and good conduct, and for his many outstanding military successes. There must have been good reason for him to write the poem.” Ji Chang you’re one of the few smart people in this novel

tiredly reading this chapter because…. ough… ji chang,,,, rebel,,, ji chang,,, j i c ha ng,,

ANYWAYS BACK TO SU HU ARRIVING BACK AT JIZHOU

he has a son (Su Quanzhong)???? HE’S A DAD???

wait why am i suprised his daughter’s literally daji nvm

honestly this is great for learning how names work yppee

NOT THE 50,00 STRONG ARMY FROM CHONG HOUHU… OUGH

Su Hu immediately getting angry when he learns Chong Houhu is leading the armyncjks

“Chong’s an evil fellow” LMAO??? OK DAMN

not Su Hu apologizing for not being able to salute properly becuase of his armor

“King Zhou has of late become corrupt and immoral as a ruler” SAY IT LOUDER

LMAO NOOOOOO

NOT THE GUYS FIGHTING

STOP PLEASE NOT SU QUANZHONG

nvm they won HELL YEA

RUN AWAY CHONG HOUHU YOU COWARDS

SURPRISE ATTACK AT MIDNIGHT LETS GOOOOO

i forgot peopel took drums with them to war

not Chong Houhu drinking after Huang Yuanji reassured him it’ll be fine. fool. you’re at war. don’t drink before sleeping

“They rushed in like tigers and wolves, slaughtering and maiming on all sides.” ough i love this novel’s descriptions

SO MANY PEOPLE DYING 

“Chong Houhu dismount from your horse and die!” these men are violent

if this is how violent they are im terrified for su daji now LMAO

Su Quanzhong my beloved

NOT HIM KILLING SUN ZIYU WHAT THE HELL

not Chong Houhu fleeing and distracting his son and he ends up gettig killed by Su Quanzhong

THAT’S WHERE IT ENDS???

wow wtf

[.....]

CHAPTER 3 (DAJI ENTERS THE PALACE):

MY QUEEN’S ARRIVING LET’S GO

My queen did not, in fact, arrive

These men are going through it

also i thought Chong Houhu’s son died but no hes just wounded LMAO

MOST OF THIS CHAPTER IS MEN CRYING I CAN FEEL IT

Chong Houhu is finally smart for once in acknowledging he cannot win this

“A huge army is marching towards us at great speed.” PLEASE SAY IT’S SU HU COMING TO KICK EVERYONE’S ASS

oh. 

nvm

Chong Heihu, the Black Tiger, the Marquis of Caozhou

why does he have a brother-

Black Tiger: i heard you got your shit rocked

Su Hu: Black Tiger’s here? We’re screwed

Sun Quanzhong is so cool but also so so stupid

bro your dad is telling you this guy is trouble because he knows MAGIC bro

Bro don’t go off to fight your dad’s sworn brother bro no

NOT THEM CAPTURING SUN QUANZHONG

BRO

BRO WHAT THE HELL

HERE COMES BLACK TIGER WITH THE STEEL CHAIR

nvm the steel chair was Black Tiger winking and trying to give Sun Quanzhong a signal that he is, in fact, siding with his dad but Sun Quanzhong is too stubborn and fucking decides to fight Black Tiger

honestly bro what did you expect

GET FFUCKING CAPTURED BRO

DUMB OF ASS… STUBBORN BOY SOBS

also no Black Tiger isnt a tiger he’s a human thats just his name i hope i dont have to clarify that again oops

bro

bro???

SU HU WHAT THE HELL???

so… petition to beat up Su Hu??

NO

NO

NO

NO

OH MY GOD

BRO ALMOST KILLS HIS DAUGHTER- WHAT THE HELL??

Why does he blame her and not the man who is lusting after his, supposedly, young daughter? Why doesn’t he curse the man that was a tyrant and has been growing lustful with power? Why doesn’t he realized that she is not to blame for she does not even know what is happening? 

Ough.

Black Tiger: Brother, if only you would only consult with me, I could withdraw my troops. Why do you fear and refuse to see me? I don’t understand! There’s no ned to launch an attack. 

black tiger and su hu have an interesting relationship.

hm.

tfw even your men are wondering why you are suddenly acting so strange

bro Black Tiger did something to Su Hu huh….

GENERAL ZHENG… OUGH

hes going to fight black tiger oh boy

“Black Tiger was mounted on a fiery-eyed monster” what if i eat him

General Zheng Lun of Jizhou… inchresting

interesting.

NJKCDSNJCD FUCKER CAPTURED HIM SO QUICKLY WHAT???

also Black Tiger’s smoke magic >>>> LMK!Macaque’s shadow magic sorry lmao forgot to mention that

Su Hu: I cant believe Zheng Lun died Zheng Lun: i’ve captured the black tiger Su Hu: what the fuck-

“I’ve never forgotten that we’re sworn brothers. I’m ashamed to be a captive and greatly appreciate your courtesy.”

Black Tiger And Su Hu Have An Interesting Relationship (by which i mean it's strange seeing male friendship represented like this in such an old novel but it's a /pos kind of strange yknow)

uhm.

anyway.

SHUT THE FUCK UP SAN YISHENG PLEASE. STOP

WDYM KING ZHOU WROTE A POEM NOOOO

Poem basically says to let him marry Daji or else they’ll all die.

Su Hu Is Considering This.

“How could I dare to oppose his wishes!” bro you literally told him to act like a better king what’s happening right now-

what if i die

wdym the chapter ends there.

what

[.....]

CHAPTER 4 (THE FOX SPRITE MURDERS DAJI):

the title goes straight to the point huh-

“I won’t sacrifice my life on account of my adoration for my daughter” Su Hu what if you shut the fuck up

yo what the fuck

Black Tiger going off on Chong Chouhu what

wow.

anyway-

“As I cannot let the family perish on account of Daji, I’ve got no choice but to send her back to the palace and apologize to His Majesty.” Su Hu i want you to choke

aw madame yang crying over daj-

what the fuck

huh

huh

huh

WHAT

I MEAN I GET W H Y

BUT

HUH???

y’all she’s gonna die either way im sorry-

“The old couple spent the whole night in despair and sorrow.” and y’all didnt… like.. want to fight for her or…. ok

when’s erlang showing up so he can beat up everyone

OG DAJI DID NOT DESERVE THIS

LOOK AT HER SHE BREAKS DOWN INTO TEARS WHEN SHE HEARS ABOUT WHERE SHE’S GOING

OUGH MY POOR GIRL

Su Hu after hearing there might be a murderous spirit haunting the place they’re staying at: SURELY THIS WON’T AFFECT US IN ANY WAY POSSIBLE

He checked in on Daji to make sure she and her maidservants were sleeping before reading a book on war strategy…

sir make up your mind either cherish her and love her or send her off to be married to a man probably twice her age

HE STARTLES THE GOES TO CHECK IN ON HER

OUGH

EITHER BE A GOOD DAD OR DONT BE A GOOD DAD WTF

the fact he stays awake to keep her safe

wtf

oop

OOP

LMAO

SHES DEAD SORRY LMAO

so.. who’s gonna tell him..

Fei Zhong: Su Hu is here to offer his daughter King Zhou: Why??? Fei Zhong: …b…because you asked for it-

mfer is so offended and for what

Shang RONG MY BELOVED

THE ONLY MAN WITH FUCKING COMMON SENSE LETS GO

and then Fei Zhong ruins it by saying if Daji is beautiful enough then they can forgive Su Hu and if she’s ugly then they can kill her and his father ok wow wtf

SU DAJI MY BELOVED <333

the fact they say she wears red… and i hc’d she wore pink/violets on her way to the kingdom.. and when the spirit kills her and possesses her she’s fully red clothed…. ough..

Can he like… not…. can he not….

I MEAN

i know why she’s so ethereal to him

because hulijing are said to be bewitching to people and they fall in love with them easily

but also fucking come on dude what the hell

sorry this whole thing is jsust… you have to read it to understand how ANGRY i am at this motherfucker right now

“passionate blissful night” daji im so sorry dude ough

NOT HIM FUCKING NEGLECTING ALL HIS DUTIES IMMEDIATELY

BRO I THOUGHT IT TOOK… LIKE 13 MORE CHAPTERS

MFER IS JUST…. GONE

WOW

WHAT A WAY TO END THE FUCKING CHAPTER

OUGH

[.....]

CHAPTER 5 (A VAIN ATTEMPT BY MASTER OF THE CLOUDS):

Master of the Clouds: she’s going to bring calamities

GOD FORBID WOMEN DO ANYTHING DAMN

also like???

she hasnt murdered anyone

Nu Wa sent her

why are people triyng to exorcise her already wtf-

TNE FUCKING MONTHS?

KING ZHOU HAS BEEN DRINKING AND FUCKING FOR TEN MONTHS???? HASNT APPEARED IN TEN MONTHS??? BROTHER WHAT

everyone: we’re worried King Zhou: anyways

HES SO FUCKINGNCJKDSNJK

im so tired of this dude

JUST DO YOUR FUCKING WORK??

where’s his wife bro

where are his sons

what the hell

Master of the Clouds explains taoism

ngl it’s pretty cool

i wont post the whole thing but it’s genuinely cool

he made a poem about the spirit lmao

PINE SWORD… SOUNDS SO COOL TBH

i want a pine sword

HE MADE ANOTHER POEM SAYIG HOW NICE HIS LIFE IS AS A TAOIST MASTER

THAT’S…

i like this dude

funky

Master of the Clouds: this pine sword will kill the spirit in 3 days King Zhou: Cool! Daji:

MOTHERFUCKER BELIEVES HER

OH MY GOD

GASLIGHT. GATEKEEP. GIRLBOSS.

motherfucker you CANNOT BE THIS DUMB OH MY GODNJDKSNJCKDS

bro 

BRO

i cant believe it fucking ends there DAMN LMAO

[.....]

CHAPTER 6 (THE BURNING PILLAR TORTURE):

i wonder what this chapter’s about oh boy

she recovered and carried on with her merry-making… i love her actually

“(…) Jiang Ziya will enjoy worldly glory and filfth, and fifth, gods are to be created.” ayo?? first even Jiang Ziya mention 

iirc Jiang Ziya was Erlang’s mentor? I could be wrong but yknow yippeeee

so basically, to recap: Master of the Clouds sends a poem to Grand Tutor Du Yuanxian and he immediately writes a report to King Zhou. Shang Rong receives the report and tries to present it to the king at his personal palace

oh boy

Du Yuanxian: hey so the spirit in your home is growing really powerful to the point where the spectral light she emits can be seen in the ninth realm King Zhou: HE ALMOST KILLED DAJI >:(

sorry guys he is…

he sure is something. this man. yea

He asks Daji if she knows anything about this and she just

oh my god.

SHANG TRYING TO REASON WITH HIM OUGH…

Du Yuanxian waiting eargly for news of what King Zhou said,,,,,, only to be told hes a criminal and will be executed bro what

Mei Bo: dw bro i’ll talk to the king and tell him this is all a misunderstanding

i bet hes gonna get killed too lmao

HE CHASTIED SHANG RONG FOR TELLING HIM HE’S LETTING INNOCENT MEN GET SLAUGHTERED BRO PLEASE

KING ZHOU IS SO ANGRY MEI BO ENTERED THE PALACE LMAO

Shang Rong gets a pass because hes so polite (and he’s a veteran and served for three Shang Dynasty emperors)

MEI BO FUCKING CALLING KING ZHOU OUT…

“Du Yuanxian’s a loyal minister. If you put him to death on account of your concubine, you’ll be cursed for butchering your father’s old minister, and denounced as the destroyer of the nation, for your act tantamount to wrecking a house by removing its pillars and beams. I exhort you to let Du Yuanxian live, for it you do, people will honor you as saintly ruler.” i like mei bo

KING ZHOU IS NOW KILLING MEI BO AS WELL

MEI BO WENT OFF LMAO

“You listen daily to the fawning courtiers and spend your nights in dissipation with Daji. The kingdom will suffer disaster soon, and I fear that I won’t have the face to contront our deceased kings in the nether world.” GO OFF MEI BO…. OUGH

….go off girl

go off

like

i - go off honeslty

KING ZHOU LOVES THIS IDEA

SHANG RONG RETIRES BECAUSE HE CANNOT HANDLE THIS ANYMORE

HE WANTS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS ANYMORE

GO OFF SIR GO

LVIE YOUR LIFE

GOODBYE SHANG RONG… YOU WILL BE MISSED GREATLY SOBS

“King Zhou continued to indulge with Daji day and night, ignoring all state affairs.” daji if you kill him now i wont tell anyone promise

iMMA GET YOU OUT OF THERE GIRL

aside from that, some princes arrived and they were all horrified by Mei Bo's execution after witnessing it and declared they have to do something to stop King Zhou

King Zhou is too infatuated with Daji to notice this ofc-

i feel so bad for King Zhou’s wife

ough… next chapter

[.....]

CHAPTER 7 (FEI ZHONG PLOTS TO DEPOSE THE QUEEN):

…uh oh-

“When the guards announced her (Queen Jiang) arrival, King Zhou glanced at Daji with half-closed eyes. ‘Lady Su! Would you please meet Her Majesty for me?’” bro you have little to no decency…

mfer you’re not even going to go greet your own wife??????

what the fuck man

also i do like that they explain Daji is a “mere concubine” so she doesn’t get to sit down. very interesting

NVM KING ZHOU IS IN FACT THERE TO GREET HIS WIFE BUT I FULLY BELIEVED HE WAS GOING TO STAY BACK AT THEIR ROOM DRINKING WHILE DAJI HAD TO ENTERTAIN HER OKAY

i love daji she’s just singing and dancing and enjoying herself i bet

fuck off King Zhou i don’t need you complimenting her

Queen Jiang: this isn’t good King Zhou: why can’t you enjoy yourself Queen Jiang: BECAUSE OF YOU

GO OFF QUEEN JIANG????

HOLY SHIT

i sure do hope nothing bad happens to Queen Jiang today

King Zhou is fucking drunk!!!!

amazing!!! /s

we love a manipulative queen holy shit

SHE’S SO GOOD AT IT TOO???

HOW MANY TIMES HAS THIS MFER FALLEN FOR EHR CRYING

IT’S INSANE

i’m pretty sure any other man would’ve told her to stop crying or something

damn

abusing the fact he’s so in love with her huh

Queen Jiang: You’ve seduced and incited him to all manner of evil. You’re the instigator and must repent at once. If you continue to wreck havoc upon this dynasty, I will deal with you according to the law! You may leave now. Daji: Daji: so i’m planning to murder her-

no really she tells Gun Juan she must seek her revenge i love her nckjs

Gun Juan is so cool?

“I’m a mere maidservant” girlie you are so smart actually

it’s a solid plan too? i didn’t expect it ngl i thought they were going to curse Queen Jiang but nope! just regular plan which is very nice

bro this isnt a debate come on man

let’s go murder the queen

come on fei zhong-

HELL YEA FEI ZHONG HAS A PLAN

Everyone: go back to work King Zhou: bah Daji: go back to work King Zhou: ofc anything for you daji <33333

i fucking hate this man

this man tried to assassinate the king and failed

you disgrace me you should’ve killed him bro

wait nvm it was all part of the plan???

what the fuck omg

King Zhou: WHY WOULD MY WIFE CONSPIRE AGAINST ME

because you’ve ignored her for almost a year, mayhaps?

“Who has so shamelessly condemned this innocent woman?” Queen Jiang im so sorry but im a daji stan through and through, off with her head

daji about to pull an ultimate powermove i can feel it-

daji i dont trust like that

ma’am?

i dont have the words to describe this so uh placing this down here HAHA

King Zhou is a yes man for Daji and i cant even blame him right now

he still sucks

QUEEN JIANG CRYING

CONCUBINE HUANG CRYING

EVERYONE’S CRYING WHILE DAJI’S PROBABLY SITTING THERE SMILING WAITING FOR QUEEN JIANG TO GET TORTURED

god forbid women do anything smh

so they took one of Queen Jiang’s eyes

y’all will have to read this book yourselves lmao i am not sharing this scene

but it was good

anyways Daji wants to keep torturing her and King Zhou has an inkling of doubt on her for once

i doubt it will last tho

IT DID NOT FUCKING LAST LONG

OH MY GOD????

he has no spine

THEY FUCKING BURNED OFF HER HANDS????

MY FUCKING GOD

AND THE CHAPTER ENDS WITH DAJI SUGGESTING THEY BRING IN JIANG HUAN OKAY ALRIGHT GOOD IG

[.....]

CHAPTER 8 (PRINCES TAKE FLIGHT):

General Chao Tian and Chao Lei bring Jiang Huan to the west palace. yippe

Rip Queen jiang she only has one eye now

Queen Jiang: SAY YOU LIED Jiang Huan: but you ordered me to assassinate the King Queen Jiang: BITCH

HELP

Yin Jiao and Yin Hong playing chess…. free from guilt… not knowing whats about to happen lmao

Yin Jiao is fourteen and Yin Hong is.. two years his junior? So fourteen and twelve i think

no wonder theyre not paying attention

me too guys

YIN JIAO LET OUT A ROAR??? OK IG THEYRE RUNNING TO THE WEST PALACE TO SEE THEIR MOM

theyre crying now awesome

“I’ll cut off Daji’s head in revenge for my mother!” Yin Jiao buddy you’re like fourteen and you just kill your uncle- buddy n- oh boy

oh no nvm Yin Hong is sixteen then since they said Yin Jiao is too young to understa- yeah ok my bad

THE KING THINKS THEY WERE GOING TO KILL HIM LMAO NOOO

HE’S ORDERING THEM TO MURDER HIS SONS

QUEEN JIANG’S FUCKING DEAD?

WOW

OKAY NVM

RUNAWAY TEENAGERS LETS GOO

i would feel bad but i dont want to get attached i dont think children live long in these types of novels

HELLO?

CONCUBINE YANG FUCKING DID WHAT?

King Zhou: i wonder why she did that

BROTHER SHE WAS TERRIFIED YOU’D TORTURE HER

MFER JUST DOES NOT CARE HUH

still tries to kill his sons- im cdnsjkcndks

ERLANG PSPSPSPSPSPPSPS PLEASE I NEED SOMEONE TO COME BEAT THIS MAN UP

help is this why the war starts… because daji wanted queen jiang dead? damn

REBELLION REBELLION REBELLION

why does Huang Feihu have a rainbow ox

what

anyways

Fang Bi and Fang Xiang are taking the princes somewhere safe

BOTH THE PRINCES AND MARSHAL HUANG ON THEIR KNEES KNOWING THIS IS AWFUL AND WRONG BUT DAMN

NOT YIN JIAO SACRIFICNG HIMSELF SO HIS LITTLE BROTHER WILL LIVE AND RAISE AN ARMY AND SEEK REVENGE ON THEIR DAD

OUGH

ough,,,

E CHONGYU?

OH MARSHAL HUANG HAS AN IDEA

YES

YES THEY WILL ALL LIVE

SECRET BETWEEN ALL OF THEM HAHAHAHA

i already forgot who e chongyu was- wasnt he like….. hold on

no i forgot but it’s ok

Marshal Huang giving the boys his jade pendant with gold so they’ll be ok bc they have no money :( aw

Marshal Huang: yeah so i couldnt catch them idk where they went King Zhou: DAMN… it’s ok you can go now

UH OH DAJI HAS AN IDEA

Daji ily queen you go girl

ANYWAYS HUANG FEIHU ONLY SELECTINGT HE OLD AND WEAK SOLDIERS TO GO FIND THE PRINCES LMAO

why are you.. letting two little boys go off on their own 

what is wrong with you people

THANK GOD YIN HONG GOT SOME FOOD FROM SOME NICE FOLK DANG

anyways onwards he goes to find E Chongyu

he collapsed at a temple… uh… yippee

SHANG RONG????

SHANG RONG!!!!!!

LETS FUCKING GOOOOO

Yin Pobai and Lei Kai are now in pursuit of the brothers,,, oh boy

chapter ends there aaaaaaa

[.....]

CHAPTER 9 (THE PRIME MINISTER'S DEATH):

ayo what the FUCK

yknow i wasnt going to comment but immediately the generals find the Temple of Emperor Xuanyuan where Yin Hong is sleeping and they find him LMAO

Yin Pobai arrives at Fengyun to talk to Shang Rong uh oh

GET HIS ASS SHANG RONG

also conspiring with shang rong would be the best thing imo

NOT THE BROTHERS REUNITING AND BASICALLY GOING “FUCK! NOW WE CAN’T AVENGE OUR MOM”

uh oh Huang Feihu’s mad-

OH LORD HES REALLY MAD OH NO

no one wants to execute the princes 

im assuming a riot’s going to happen?

Daji said to execute the princes today and King Zhou agreed

yep riot i can feel it

JIANG ZIYA MENTION

I CANT BELIEVE SHANG RONG TOLD DAJI “KYS” IN HIS REPORT TO KING ZHOU 

WOW

YEA NO WONDER YEAH UHM

shang rong you will always be famous 

THATS WHERE IT ENDS? SHANG RONG DIES AND HIS BRAINS AND BLOOD DRIP DOWN THE COLLAR OF HIS ROBE….?

DAMN

MY GOD

OKAY...

[.....]

CHAPTER 10 (THE DISCOVERY OF THUNDERBOLT):

Zhao Qi angirly stepping out of the ranks to snap at King Zhou? uh oh

WHAT AN INSANE WAY TO START THIS CHAPTER MY GOD

WELL IG HES DEAD… HUH….

UHM…. DAMN….

“‘Have you any better means to deal with these stubborn jackasses?’ he asked Daji.”

uhm how about stop killing these men

also i can’t even entirely blame Daji for this she’s genuinely just carrying out orders from Nu Wa to ensure King Zhou is the downfall of the Shang Dynasty? She’s doing her job and it’s going ridiculously good and although a war’s coming… King Zhou is at fault for not listening to everyone that tells him he is being a bad king

YIPPEE SHES OFFICIALLY QUEEN DAJI NOW LETS GO

so hes going to behead the four dukes…. ok

WHY IS SAN YISHENG IN CHAGRE OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS NOOOO

Bo Yikao is a funky name i wonder what it means

Ji Chang���s son going in his place to King Zhou’s court… hmhm

THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN JI CHANG HAS NINETY-NINE SONS????????WHAT

“the star of a great warrior has come to existence” ji chang why do you speak in riddles

WHY ARE YOU ABANDONING A BABY SOBS

MASTER OF CLOUDS

his name will be thunderbolt…

so

like

like his name’s just lightning?

hm

ok well master of clouds have acquired a baby

oh boy the dukes are drinking

well E Chongyu’s drunk at least

HES INSULTING CHONG HOUHU NOOO

Ji Chang stopped Chong Houhu from slapping E Chongyu… damn

so close

JI CHANG SAID TO DECAPITATE EVERYONE SINCE NO ONES SPEAKING UP LMAO

YAO FU???

i have a character named Fu Yao that was wild

anyways

YAO FU TELLING EVERYONE ABOUT DAJI AND KING ZHOU AND HOW QUEEN JIANG DIED

oh shit Jiang Huanchu’s her dad right

uh oh

HE FAINTED

Jiang Huanchu: MY DAUGHTER IS DEAD… MY DEAR DAUGHTER…. HOW HORRIBLY YOU MUST HAVE SUFFERED!

i like this guy

hes just sad over his daughrer dying ough :(

aaaaand King Zhou is killing everyone ok

THATS IT… HE JUST.. GETS ANGRY AT JI CHANG FOR SPEAKING UP AND THE NSAYS HE’LL KILL ALL FOUR DUKES

wild

can’t wait to read chapters 11 - 20

[followingprotocol]

//Happy Birthday!// Flicker gives Chase a bag of home-made energon candies and a drawn birthay card, featuring two dinosaurs on front. Inside, there's a hand-written story about those two dinosaurs and how the big one gives the smaller one new home and family and keeps him safe, making him very, very happy. Considering that Flicker couldn't read nor write Cybertronian a few years ago, it truly shows how far he's come, thanks to Chase.

“Oh Flicker, thank you, I absolutely love it.”

Chase gave his son a warm hug, then began to consider where to keep such a special card.

The bulletin board in his office was the usual go-to spot for Flicker’s artwork, it still showcased pieces that the young mech had drawn for him years ago, starting from just a few days after the two of them had first met. But space was quickly becoming an issue and Chase had no desire to remove anything that was already there.

“Well, good thing I’ve already ordered a second bulletin board. It should be arriving later this afternoon, but where to store this card in the meantime….”

Leaving it out in the open was just begging for the Griffin Rock brand of chaos to cause damage, so Chase decided to tuck the card into his subspace for safe keeping.

Once the new bulletin board finally arrived, Chase pinned Flicker’s story card right at the center to await more new pieces of artwork destined to join it.

[greatestcreations]

The deltawarriors hear weird activity going on in an abandon playplace and decide to enter.

Ralsei: um kris This Place is uh really dark. Why are we here.

Susie: um yeah kris lets go. it smells in here as well.

but just as they were about to leave they hear something. they turn around and there is a present on the table. they open it and it explodes. and birthday music starts playing.

Happs: HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

Happs:??? oh its not your birthday oh my bad.

Susie: Who The Hell Are You.

Happs: What. What do you mean W Who am i. ISN'T MY FACE ON LITERALLY EVERY POSTER.

Ralsei: confused?

Happs: My Name Is Happs. AND I LOVE BIRTHDAY PARTIES

CAUSE ON BIRTHDAYS I GET TO MAKE ALL BOYS AND GIRLS OF ALL AGE HAPPY.

but then happs looks at kris.

Happs Kris i is that you.

Happs: KRIS ITS SO NICE TO SEE YOU AGAIN.

Happs: I REMEMBER THE FIRST BIRTHAY WHEN YOU GOT ME. WE HAD SO MUCH FUN THEN I POPPED THEN YOU

Happs...

Happs: then you cruelly through me a away.

Happs: BUT DON'T WORRY I FORGIVE YOU.

Susie: look kid can you please stop saying garbage i don't understand. like what do you even want

Happs: what do i want. WHAT DO I WANT.

happs pulls out a kitchen knife.

Happs: LETS PLAY A GAME. IF YOU DODGE ALL MY BULLETS YOU WIN. AND YOU GET PRESENTS.

Ralsei: and what happens if we don't dodge all the bullets.

Happs: WELL IF YOU DON'T DODGE ALL OF THE BULLETS.

HAPPS: YOU DIE HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

after the battle.

Happs: WOWWY WOWWY THAT WAS AMAZING.

happs covers them in presents

Susie: OW Asshole what the hell is your problem.

Happs: THAT'S YOUR PRESENTS.

Ralsei: um ok thanks.

but just as there about to leave happs stops them.

Happs: WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT KRIS STOP.

the deltawarriors turn back around.

Happs: YOU KNOW KRIS EVER SINCE WE PARTED WAYS. I THOUGHT WE NEVER SPENT TIME WITH EACH OTHER.

Happs: SO LETS MAKE A DEAL. DOWN NEAR STARLIGHT VALLEY THERE IS A LITTLE TUNNEL. GO THROUGH THE TUNNEL AND MEET ME THERE OK.

Happs: WELP SEE YOU LATER. HAHAHAHA.

happs leaves and ralsei notices kris is hurt.

Ralsei: oh god kris he hurt you badly hold on.

ralsei heals kris.

Ralsei: there you go kris. I don't know who that kid was. but he didn't look sane.

Susie: yeah he was a weirdo. lets hope we never see him again.

Ralsei: same. lets get out of here and keep going. the gate should be open now.

they leave the playplace and proceed too the dark fountian.

@katebolak

[malewifepalamedes]

⭐Get to Know People Game⭐

its 2023 i didnt even know tag games still existed quite frankly but i am always overjoyed to be noticed by cool mutuals like @every-captain who tagged me also im so so jealous of the folie commission in ur icon i am soooo keen to get a commission from them waaa

Current time: 10:40pm yipee

anything you've been doing lately: prepping hardcore for artfight lol. i was hoping that earlybird signups would open sooner so i could target hunt better buuuut it is fine im saving a load of characters for when the website inevitably crashes. so far ive done everything including animate my icon so i think im all prepared (i always think that until the fight actually starts lmfaooo)

anything you intend to do later: today is my last day off work before artfight so im using it to relax and i intend to play overwatch until my brain leaks out my ears

anything you recently watched or played: mostly been playing overwatch lately but my friend got me into dead by daylight. soloqueueing is so sort of a nightmare so i dont play it unless my friend is free but its super cool. and ive been watching the 1998 trigun anime bc i have an addiction

anything you want to watch or play: i wanna replay night in the woods sometime. and also hollow knight Silksong please team cherry please please please just give it to me GIVE IT TO ME

anything else youd like to say: its my partnes birthday soon yayyyyyy and im so excited for them to open their gift yipeee everyone say happy birthay tooo my babbyyyy and also Elwyn my partner does furry commissions!! @queerstalline-void is their art blog on tumblr you should definitely check out their stuff yipee

ill tag @corvidable and my artfight enemies @theriverwaves @a-smol-gay-tree and @kfcrow3 if they wanna :3

[citrustan]

But I want oc and yoongi together 🥺🥺🥺🥺 it's just so unfair. oc still cares about him and he obviously still cares for her... like no WAY would an ex take the time to plan special birthdays... why is yoongi suddenly ready for marriage? What was so different about this girlfriend?

Your writing and the emotion behind it all is flawless. Thank you.

i know, my guy, im bouncing up and down the walls trying to build a story up and it's so hard bec i just want them to happen already like pls lord just kiss or something

i think it's clear how much oc likes him still but yoongi hmm hmm let's see hmm u do make good points on the special birthay celebrations for sure yes

we'll know more later hopefully

thank YOu for the compliments 🥰🥰🥰

[chiakiakito]

Gifts are fucking hard

What do you give a bookworm that's also a bookshop owner, and an incredibly well-informed one at that? Whatever I come to know of that he might like, he's already heard about it, formed an opinion, and either purchased it for himself, bought it for the bookshop or discarded it bc it's not to his tastes.

I'm gonna fucking strangle him before the holiday season ends.

[tetsunova]

notes they’d give you

with: multiple characters x gn!reader as always

genre: fluff + crack

type: imagines??? 

a/n: i go on hiatus for a couple days and forget everything bare w me. writing’s still the same (i think)

masterlist

Doodles. Expect a crumpled piece of paper aimed straight to the back of your head that could contain anything from small hearts with both your initials in them to a whole comic strip. This boy makes sure his pencil case (if he ever makes one; it’s usually pens and pencils just dumped into his bag) has coloured pens, since ‘it brings out the best of his art’. Needless to say the drawings look miserable and nothing like they’re supposed to but it’s the effort that counts. His face lights up when he finds out you store all (well the almost decent looking ones) the doodles he makes in your journal. He’s most likely going to get caught throwing the paper but oh well that’s a story for another day.

Bokuto, Tendou, Matsukawa, Nishinoya, Tanaka, Hinata

Pick-up lines. He thinks he’s so cheeky and sly when he’s doing this. If he gets a single giggle or smile when you read the most pathetic pick-up lines he could ever find, it’s over for you. Thereafter, expect one of those either already placed on your desk when you get to school or just placed in between the pages of one of your notebooks. Now what he didn’t expect was getting pick-up lines in return, not the stupid kind, rather the ones that are aimed straight at his heart. Ladies and gentlemen, and my non-binaries, I now present to you a blushing mess. (Just imagine a blushing picture of him thank you). When I say he cannot even bear to hold your hand because of how flustered he is, I mean it.

Kuroo, Tsuki, Oikawa, Lev, Semi, Suna, Atsumu

Letters. Just a few words or lines aren’t enough for him to express what he feels, no no. Only a letter seems adequate at most. Now he knows he’s not always the best at expressing his feelings or talking about what’s on his mind, so he writes. That’s what he does best so why not put it to use. He’d probably give it to you once he’s walked you home and will request you to read it before you sleep. Loves talking to you about it later. Sometimes they’re just poems that he thinks can express only a fraction of what he feels for you. I swear they’re the most beautiful things someone could ever write. 

Kita, Akaashi, Osamu, Ushijima, Asahi, Sugawara

Sticky notes. You’ll find them stuck on your lunchbox, in the inside of your locker or maybe just over your table right before that one test you’ve been worrying about for weeks. They’ll have the cutest little messages- ‘I love you <3’ (yes with the heart drawn exactly like that) or maybe a ‘never doubt your looks, you’re the prettiest person I’ve met, inside and out’ when he knows you’ve been looking at the mirror a tad bit too much. He knows he gets a little too busy sometimes, so he thinks of this as a way of showing you that you’re always on his mind no matter where he is or what he’s doing.

Kenma, Yamaguchi, Kageyama, Konoha, Iwaizumi, Daichi

Bonus for Kags cause happy birthay to our lil blueberry headed gremlin <3

Greeting Cards. He’s so quiet all the time, and he knows that. It’s just that when you’re around, he feels a little too much. His heart beats a little too fast, he’s mesmerised by the trail of perfume you leave a little too much and your hands entangled with his make him smile a little too much, but he doesn’t mind. He could never mind. So he makes his actions speak louder than his words. Since he isn’t quite well aware of which one he should give you, he ends up picking the ones with the most idiomatic expressions. High chance he picks one with a dirty joke and doesn’t get why you’re laughing once he gives it to you, at all.

taglist: join here :)

@ri-days @bokubear @yatsurinamikaze @sakusaww @mxtchalilies and @ushijimacentral cause she hyped me up ily

[vic-kingsleigh]

°•°LSA #05: Birthday Shopping

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: "Jungkook wants to spoil Jimin for his birthay, so he takes him out to do some shopping... With a way higher budget than the younger would ever imagine..."

𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: Dom!Jungkook x Switch!Reader x Sub!Jimin

𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Fluff

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 1079

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: Everyone starts catching feelings

→→→∙:♛:∙←←←

It was a cute birthday party, really. He didn't ever celebrate his birthday like you and Jungkook had, so he felt happy and appreciated.  The next day he wakes up with your soft knock on the door, his voice lets you in, you're holding a tray in your hands, with the breakfast you and Jk prepared this morning.  "We've been up for a little while, but we thought that you would want to sleep a bit more, hope the noise didn't bother you" He smiles, such a sweet boy. "Not at all, I couldn't notice it really, until you came here." You smile back at him "It's good you got to rest after the stress you were having, I don't know a lot about your career, but judging by your homework you showed me the other day it looks complicated." You get the tray on his lap, and he calmly starts to eat "Well, kind of, but nothing compared to the career I would've studied otherwise. Everyone says what I did is a stupid decision, but I like it when I compare the work I would be doing." You're sincerely really curious about this other career, but by the tense tone in his voice at the mention of the mather you decide it's not a good moment to dive in to that conversation, you let it go for now.  "So, does it taste good?" He nods "Yeah, these are some good waffles, really" You feel happy at that "Jungkook has something, I don't know what it is, but when he is the one preparing the waffles they just taste especially amazing,I've looked closely and he doesn't do any special steps... Guess it's one of those indecipherable secrets of the world around us or some shit." He laughs, he's having a good time and you can tell. "Well, then I'll make sure to always have ingredients for waffles, just in case he randomly feels like cooking those, we wouldn't want to lose such a good opportunity just because were out of... Whatever he needs" He responds jokingly, then takes a sip of the tall milkshake glass "You're late to that party honey, that's already my job, but you can bring something to put on top of 'em~." He rolls his eyes with a little smile "By the way, this milkshake is also amazing, incredible... Thank god I don't know the recipe for all of this stuff, otherwise I would absolutely loose shape" You smile at him, proud, that delicious milkshake is something you did. "Well, actually, that was my part of the breakfast~" He looks at you "Well of course, a delicious woman can only bring delicious food when cooking, it's kinda obvious but yet impressing, thanks for sharing this privilege with me" You two spend some more time together until he's done with breakfast, you start to pick everything up "You should get ready later, Jungkook wants to take you birthday shopping" You mention casually, he tilts his head to the side, looking at you "What do you mean with birthday shopping? You both already did something cute for me yesterday, I don't need nothing more, don't wanna make him spend more money..."

"Oh, that was me the first time, but believe me, you're going. He's determined, and kinda knew you were gonna say something along this lines, so he won't take no for an answer... I know you're not used to this stuff, but this is one of his ways to show he appreciates you and cares for you, the money you're gonna spend in this isn't really that much for him, but he just wants to do something special and this is his way... he would be hurt if you didn't accept... But, whatever you choose is good, just think about it"

He makes a little pout, you kiss his cheek and go out of the room with the dirty dishes, he just sighs and decides he will take a bath... He's still sticky from yesterday. He takes a slow shower, and once that is done he takes special time pampering himself. Doing the skincare routine for special days. If he's gonna be seen around Jungkook in public he might as well look good, otherwise it would be embarrasing for the elder.  He chooses a cute and casual outfit, after that going to the living room, where you both are hanging out. He just walks to the kitchen and gets himself a good glass of water, then walking to the free individual couch to watch what you two are binging, Jungkook looks at him. "I'm ready to go, what about you?" Jimin takes his look from the tv to the man talking to him "Oh, I am too, whenever you want to go It's fine" He answers with a polite smile.  They go shopping, and they tell you everything when they're back. Turns out Jungkook knew about a game console the younger wanted, but Jimin went looking for perfumes at a very comfortable price range at some random store.  He's almost mad at the "ridiculous" amount Jungkook spent in the best perfumes, and then in the console. Jimin tells you he was dragging Jungkook out of the game store, until the elder said "But wait, you can't do anything with that yet!" And then he was unstoppable, buying every title Jimin lowkey approved of... The younger was so embarrased when returning home carrying so many expensive stuff in their bags, you just laughed and teased him

"Yah, such a cute boy, with the most expensive taste. I can't ever get you a gift, Don't have enough money!" He only blushes, you and Jk laugh. You try to take his embarrasment off with some cuddles and kisses, which seems to do the opposite of what you wanted it to do, but he looks so cute you can't stop. Being completely honest, you're totally happy he got so many good things, you know he deserves it, definitely. And sooner or later he'll have to get used to both of you getting expensive stuff for him. Obviously only things he will enjoy, but you feel happy the numbers on the tag of whatever he wants, are not a problem anymore.

You're feeling something more than lust for him... And the smile your boyfriend has, looks... More brilliant than it does when he just appreciates someone... You know those cute laughs and smiles carry much more than a mix of courtesy and amusement.

And for some reason, that doesn't make you feel anything bad.

[villainousshakespeare]

Could I request the “forbidden/secret relationship” with Loki and reader? They dated back in Asgard, but with Loki as prince it was somehow forbidden so they needed to keep it secret. Someone found out and the reader was sent to Midguard and to not see Loki again and while she is there she found out she’s pregnant. Years later Loki found a way back to the reader and is surprised to see that they have a child together

Absolutely! Thanks for the request! Hope this is the kind of thing your were looking for. :)

First story for my 200 Followers/Birthay writing challenge! 

The Rarest Flower

Loki/ReaderRated T - kissing, forbidden romance, implied smut, angst, fluff

"Darling, we have to stop this," you told him, wishing you could mean it as much as you should. "If someone finds out..."

 "I want someone to find out," Loki insisted. "I want everyone to find out. I want to proclaim from the dais in the throne room how much I love you."

 His voice was rising alarmingly as he spoke, arm encircling your waist pulling you close beneath the bright night stars. The air was cool and crisp, but in your princes' embrace you felt only the heat radiating from his lean muscled body. Just a bit franticly you raised your hand to cover his lips to keep him from shouting out your presence. Loki merely smiled and kissed your fingers, a stubborn look in his bright green eyes.

 "You know that can't happen my love," you said, silently wishing it were otherwise. "You are a prince. In line for the throne. I am a nothing, a nobody."

 "You are everything to me," he interrupted, claiming your lips in a kiss that tasted of wine and chocolate covered fruit from your picnic. Resolutely you fought against what his kisses always did to you. There was too much at stake to give in, yet again, to the passion your dark prince could evoke in you.

 "Loki, we must stop. I may be everything to you now, but we have known from the start how things must be. For your own sake and for the good of the realm."

 "The good of the realm," he scoffed. 

 "Yes!" you went on tenaciously. "You could be king some day, Loki. Ruler of all Asgard."

 "Oh min kjaereste, Odin will never choose me," he said with a bitter laugh.

 "Not if you are tied to a peasant, he won't!" you said triumphantly. "You have to make an advantageous marriage. That is the duty of princes, to secure the safety of the realm. And yes, Odin may seem to favor Thor now, but things change, my love. Time will show him who the worthy son is, and he will turn to you."

 "You believe that?" the need in Loki's voice when he spoke of his father was almost enough to break you. He so craved the approval and acceptance of the harsh old man, though he would rather perish than admit it. For yourself, you thought Odin was a foolish king with a glaring blind spot when it came to his sons. How anyone could miss the shining potential just waiting to be nourished within Loki was a mystery to you.

 "I believe in you, Loki," you told him, rising on your tiptoes to kiss him. "I believe you are destined for greatness."

 "I love you, min kjaereste," he told you, crushing you to him. "I don't care about your station. I don't care about anything but you. Say you love me too."

 "I love you Loki," the words flew from your lips, unable to be curbed when he looked at you so intently, hands mapping your body in the moonlight.

 "Then let me show you, darling," he coaxed, plucking the rare white night blossom that grew only in this one place, high atop the hill overlooking Asgard. You gasped as he trailed the precious white bloom down the side of your cheek and over you lips. You had never seen one before, let alone felt how soft were its petals. “Tomorrow we can discuss succession and dynasties. Tonight let me worship you." 

 You closed your eyes and let the night recede as he  lay you down atop his cloak. Tomorrow, as he said. Tomorrow you would be strong and do what must be done, for both your sakes. You would give yourself the fairy tale of tonight. One more night where you would feel what it was to be loved, truly, deeply loved, by a prince.

Loki looked around the open space with disdain. They called this a park. Flocked to it in droves as though it deserved the name. Back home on Asgard it would not so much merit a bench. The gardens and parks at home, fragrant with teeming variety of blossoms, were each more glorious than the next. All of them, including the one where a very special flower grew. The one that he never went to.

"It's lovely, isn't it?" Thor beamed, waving his arms to encompass their surroundings.

"It's crowded," Loki groused in response. "All of these Midgardians and their pets."

"Dogs, brother!" Thor enthused. "They're called dogs!"

"What are they exactly?" Loki was mildly intrigued by the creatures, he had to admit. While his contempt for the humans might be thinly veiled, the beasts that led them about on woven and chain leads seemed rather noble creatures. 

"Well, from what I gather they are loyal and playful, if a bit of handful to clean up after. They follow one around and fetch things, and protect you when the need arises. Also, they jump on you and drool a bit. Jane and I are getting one of our very own soon, she promised me!"

"Jane already has one of her own," Loki laughed, watching as Thor slowly took his meaning and blushed with rueful self awareness. That was one thing that had improved about his brother since his time on Midgard had begun at least. He seemed more aware of his own rather... well, dog-like tendencies and temperament. Loki supposed that there must be something redeeming about this planet if it could so enlighten the chronically dense.

"So what do you think, Brother?" Thor asked, voice betraying his anxiety. "Will you do it?"

"Will I do it," Loki repeated, looking around him with unseeing eyes. 

"Yes. Will you take the throne?" Thor urged. 

"This is really what you want?" he could not believe that his brother, born to be a king as he was, would settle... would long for this pedestrian life.

"It is all I want," Thor told him seriously. "A life with Jane. Protecting Midgard from her enemies. But I can not do that if I am King of Asgard. Take the throne, Loki. You have the wisdom and patience to rule. Let me be free."

"I will do as you ask," Loki began, raising one hand in warning as Thor began to build in excitement, "with one proviso. I will not marry. I will not have children."

"But you must!" Thor insisted. "The line of succession must continue!"

"I have sworn it, Thor," Loki spat out, eyes going hard. "I will not go back on my word. I will rule until my time is done, but you must provide the heir. It will not be of my getting."

"As you will," for a man who had just gotten his wish, Thor sounded less than happy. "Come, there is one more place I wish to show you."

Loki rolled his eyes and rose from the bench where they had been sitting to follow his bounding brother down the nearest path.

You had lost Lael somewhere in the Ramble, a series of twisting paths that ran through a section of the park near your home. A hint of anxiety stirred within you, he was not a large child and only ten of the human years in age. Still, he was strong for his size, and had the dog with him. Of course he did, the two were practically inseparable and had been since Lael's birth.

What a miserable night that had been. Though nowhere near as glacial as your homeland could become, it had nonetheless been cold and snowy enough to impede your way to the medical center where you were scheduled to give birth. All alone in the dead of night you had trudged there, not trusting the mortal transit system as much as you had your own two feet. It had been a long time before you trusted much of anything. There had been a man there, though, who while cold and somewhat distant in demeanor had nonetheless taken an interest in you. He was not your doctor, he had snidely comment that child birth was far beneath his skillset, but having looked at your scans and seen the anomalies therein he had tracked you down in the wing reserved for new mothers.

Steven was a friend now, and had introduced you to others like you; those imbued with gifts or physiognomy beyond that found on this backwards world. It gave you a sense of dark amusement that you were considered special here. Back at home it had been your very ordinariness that had sealed your fate. He had also gifted you with the small black puppy, saying that every Earth boy needed a dog. You had pointed out the obvious, Lael was not of Earth, but he had just smiled and reminded you that he was now.

You were actually on your way to meet Steven now, not far from here in the park. You missed Steven. He was still in New York, of course, but he practiced sorcery now instead of medicine and was usually quite busy. You found that ironic. It seemed you attracted sorcerers. Particularly the arrogant, dark haired variety with a caustic wit. 

The other sorcerer, the first one, had been on your mind so much of late. It was only natural, you supposed. Thor, the golden Thunder God, had been splashed all over the television. It was almost comical watching the people of this planet fall under his spell as so many had before. You could not blame them; Thor was charming, handsome, noble, all that a God should be. If he did not have hair as dark as midnight and eyes as green as moss, well, not everyone cared for that. And if he was a bit dim it had never seemed an impediment before.

"Well hello there, little fellow! And you too, big fellow!" a booming voice interrupted your revelry.

You stopped in your tracks, all of the air rushing from your lungs in one gush. You had exchanged barely ten words with Thor in your time on Asgard, but you knew his voice. Turning to the side of the path, you looked down into the small ravine carved out by a little waterfall to your left. There, as if conjured by your memory, was a hulking figure with bright blond hair and bulging muscles. He was hunkered down on his knees, petting the dark fur of a large black dog you were all to familiar with. 

For all the combined space taken up by the blond God and the frisky Labrador however, they barely occupied a moment of your notice. No, the figures below who had taken the very air from your body and caused your heart to beat so loudly that it threatened to deafen you were the two slim, black haired ones standing to either side of the clearing.

It was unfair, drastically, extraordinarily unfair, how handsome Loki still was after all this time. Dressed as he was now in Earth clothes, he was somehow even more remarkable to look at. It was as if his unparalleled beauty was rendered even more exquisite in the ordinary (though you were sure exorbitantly expensive) black suit he wore. He had filled out since the last time you had seen him. The youth you had loved so dearly with all your heart solidifying into a man with all his soft edges filed away. 

Unable to endure the sight of him any longer, your eyes flickered to the boy facing him. Once more your heart beat a wild tattoo. It the dark hair, smooth and brushed back from his face, the straight spine and haughty tilt of the head, you had always known how much they resembled his father, but seeing them now, face to face, it was like looking back into your youth when the two princes of Asgard had first come into the city in search of tokens for their mother and stumbled into her parents' shop. Only his eyes, the color of your own, were different from the boy you had met then.

"Loki," Lael spoke in a commanding voice, "behave yourself!"

Oh sweet Norns, you thought, suddenly finding your feet and hurrying around the bend towards the figures in the clearing.

"I bed your pardon," came the voice you had never thought to hear again. The one that made your stomach launch into butterflies and your mouth go bone dry.

"My dog, sir," your son's voice carried through the trees.

"You dog is named Loki?" Thor guffawed.

"Yes sir. My mother named him. It is a noble name. The name of a God."

"It is indeed," Loki's low, dark voice agreed. "And what do you know of the God Loki, boy?"

"He was the Trickster, sir. The smartest, cleverest God ever to exist. He was a warrior, and could best any of the other Gods at fighting, but chose instead to use his superior intelligence and his magic. My mother also says he was the most handsome, but that is not important."

"On the contrary," Loki purred. "I find it very important. And where is your mother, boy? Aren't you a bit young to be cavorting about by yourself?"

"I'm old enough," he huffed, puffing out his chest. "And besides, Loki will protect me. But here she comes now."

You skidded around the final bend and came to an ungainly stop just behind Lael. You hand, shaking visibly, came to rest on your son's shoulder, and you drew him protectively to you. Lael resisted, squirming a bit and rolling his eyes like any boy his age but you held him firmly.

"I know I'm not to talk to strangers in the park," he said defensively, "but Loki liked them! And you know what good taste he has always had."

"Yes," Loki's voice sounded strange, almost strangled to your ears. "Yes he always has."

You swallowed, unable to speak. You were suddenly intensely aware of the careless state of your appearance. You never spent much time on it when you were not at work. It was not as though you were seeking to attract anyone; who could possibly draw your eye when you had lost your heart irrevocably to a God. To the God now standing before you with unblinking eyes.

"Wait," Thor's voice cut into the tension filling the clearing. "Don't I know you?"

"Distantly, Your Highness," you said, curtseying as well as you could in your jeans. 

"You are from Asgard!" Thor smiled, placing you. "Your family owned the small shop that sold trinkets and books in the village."

"Indeed," you nodded, eyes still not leaving Loki's face.

"What in heaven's name are you doing on Midgard?" Thor asked, sounding baffled.

"Yes," Loki spoke at last. "I would like to know that as well."

"The All Father arranged it," you said, eyes going to the ground.

"You spoke to Odin?" Loki's voice was no more than a whisper.

"I did."

"Your idea or his?"

Painfully you dragged your eyes up to meet his. A world of pain, long remembered, shone in his eyes.

"Mine," you confessed. "The morning... the morning after."

"I see," he rasped.

"Loki?" Thor looked from one to the other of you.

"You deserted me," Loki's voice sounded as though it had been dragged across the rocks.

"He would have found out," you said, words coming in a rush. "He would have discovered us. Already he was suspicious. I went to him and asked what would happen if you bound yourself to a commoner."

"And?" Loki asked.

"It would not have been allowed."

"I would have liked to see them try to stop me!"

"You would have been stripped of your crown," you insisted. "Devested of all royal duty and privilege. I couldn't do that to you!"

"I would think that was rather for me to decide," he told you coldly. "Did you have so little faith in me? I would have denounced all titles, all rights, to be with you."

"I didn't want you to denounce anything!"

"Except you!"

"Mother, what is going on?"

"Mother?" Loki's eyes went larger as he looked, really and truly, looked at the boy before him. "Min kjaereste, who is this child? Have you... have you given yourself to another? An ant of Midgard? Where is he? Take me to him that I may eviscerate him for having dared lay a hand on what is mine!"

"Loki," Thor grabbed his arm. 

"My father is gone!" Lael said defiantly, flipping his hair back from where the wind had blown it in his face. "But he was not an ant! He was a Prince! And one day he will be a King!"

"Lael, hush!" you said, blinking tears from her eyes. "Loki. Look at him."

Loki stared, wild eyed, at Lael and slowly understanding lit in his eyes.

"Lael?" he whispered.

"It means God," you said quietly.

"When did you know?" Loki asked.

"I found out the last day we met. I wanted to tell you that night in the garden, but I couldn't find the words. I went to Odin to see... to see if we would be allowed. To be together."

"What did the old man say?" surprisingly, it was Thor who growled the question.

"I told you, Loki would be forbidden to see me. Cast out if he disobeyed."

"And? There is more than that, is there not?"

"He was..." you closed your eyes, trying to calm yourself enough to speak your greatest fear, "he was going to take Lael. When he was born."

"Father has many flaws, but he would never hurt a child!" Thor shook his head.

"Are you so sure of that?" there was murder in Loki's voice.

"He would not be harmed," you rushed to assure them. "He would be placed with a family far away, on another planet. There were reasons, he said, why he could not allow a child of Loki's to be seen on Asgard and acknowledged."

"I can turn blue," Lael said proudly, startling both men and causing you to gasp. "I am not supposed to talk about it, accept around special people, but Mother this must count!"

"Lael!" you scolded, earning a sullen pout from your son.

"He is - like me?" Loki asked, fear in his voice.

"Sometimes," you replied, squeezing your son. "I have a friend. A sorcerer, though not like you. Steven Strange. I believe you know him, Thor. He has cast an illusion so that Lael can only turn blue when I allow it."

"It's not fair," Lael sulked.

"So Odin wanted to send him away. To hide my shame."

"Or his own," you cut in. "He is the one who should feel shame, after all, kidnapping a baby and lying for all those years."

"Odin and shame do not keep company, believe me," Loki said harshly. "He sent you away."

"I had a choice, such as it was. Stay in Asgard and have the child taken from me at birth, or go away before his arrival and remain with him in exile. Leave you, or leave our child."

"You didn't think to tell me?" Loki's voice betrayed a heartache that cut you nearly to the quick. "I could have protected you, min kjaereste."

"There was no time. He was sending me away, to exile or a cell. I chose to protect what we had created, and I would do so again!"

"I never knew," Loki staggered forward and knelt before Lael, searching his face with an intensity that bordered on frightening.  "I had a fight with Father that day. I told him that I planned to ask for your hand, and he laughed at me. Asked what family in their right mind would wed their daughter to one disowned. I decided to call his bluff and sought out your parents, but when I got there they said you had run away. That while you cared for me, you did not want to suffer for my disgrace."

"Loki, no!" you breathed in horror. 

"You didn't run away from me?" he asked, looking up at you with hope in his eyes.

"Never, my love," you shook your head, ignoring your tears.

"Mother," Lael broke out of your embrace at last and stumbled. Loki's quick arm shot out to steady him. One look at the small shoulder beneath his hand and Loki let out a cry of pure emotion. Canine Loki began barking, leaping about around the pair in the center of the clearing. "Tell me what is going on!"

"Lael," you said, looking over at the dark prince with his hand resting on your son. "I would like you to meet two old friends of mine. This is Thor, and this is Loki."

"Mother, your being silly!"

"She is not," Thor said seriously, winking at your son. "Those are our names."

"Then your parents were silly," he said.

"Our father, certainly. But our mother was very wise. Just like yours. I'll tell you what, Lael, it looks like your pup wants to run. What say we indulge him for a moment."

Loki made a panicked noise as Thor swooped Lael up onto his shoulders, but Thor smiled reassuringly at him.

"We will not be far. I think you two have a bit to say to one another."

As Thor trotted off with the boy and dog happily whooping, Loki stood up and took your hand between his long, white fingers.

"Min kjaereste," he said. "Can you ever forgive me?"

"For what?" you asked, confused.

"For not believing in you," he said, eyes, welling with tears. "For not moving earth and sky to find you. For leaving you to raise our son alone. Our son! I have a son!"

"You do," you smiled. "Loki, there is nothing to forgive. It was my mistake, going to Odin."

"It is what we are taught to do," he laughed hollowly. "Bring our problems to the All Father."

"Well, I will never do so again," you said witsh feeling.

"I hope you do not mean that, my love," he said quietly.

"Surely you don't think I could ever trust Odin after what he has put us all through?"

"Never," Loki shook his head. "But Odin is no longer the All Father. He is gone, darling. Gone to Valhalla. It is why I am here, to see Thor."

"Ah, then Thor will become King at last?"

"It was the plan," Loki said, playing with your fingers. "But he does not wish to take the throne. He has renounced Asgard and chosen to remain on Midgard."

"But that means..." you stared, open mouthed at Loki.

"The throne is mine," he nodded. "As of now I am the All Fathe of the Nine Realms."

Slowly, with great reverence, you sank to your knees on the dirt before him.

"My King," you said gravely, kissing his hand.

"Darling," he smiled at you, "there is one reason and one reason only I ever want to see you on your knees. And unfortunately, this is neither the time nor the place for that."

"Loki!" you gasped, a heat flushing your face as he helped you to your feet. 

"Asgard needs a Queen, my love," he told you, "and I have told Thor already that I will have none but you."

"But can not be allowed!"

"I am the All Father," he grinned. "And I am Loki. I do what I want. And I want, I very, very much want you, my only love. Say you still want me as well?"

The insecurity on his final words sliced you to the heart. With a cry of joy you through your arms around him and lost yourself in that long remembered intoxication of his embrace. His kiss was just as you remembered, but even more desperate. You wished with all of your heart you were someplace private that you could allow the feelings, long kept shut up behind the highest walls, to over come you and lead to their inevitable conclusion. Loki was right, though. It was neither the time nor place. Reluctantly you untangled yourself from about him and smiled into his brilliant eyes.

"I have something for you," he told you fondly. With a wave of his hand he drew from nowhere a delicate white flower, perfectly formed. "I kept it, from our last night together, safe in my pocket dimension. As long as I had it, I could dream that I had you."

As you took the flower from his hand, your eyes overflowed with tears. He was perfect, just like the blossom.

"But I have nothing to give you," you told him, upset.

"Nonsense. You have given me a son, and you have given me hope. I never thought to have either. Now come, before Thor corrupts the boy more than we can undo in this lifetime!"

"As you wish, my King," you smiled.

Loki raised your hand to his lips and kissed your palm. He tucked it into his arm and started to walk, but stopped momentarily and turned to face you.

"One thing, my heart," he said, raising one eyebrow.

"Yes?" you asked.

"You named the dog Loki?"

"He was our protector!" you giggled, as Loki rolled his eyes.

"I see. Well, I suppose we shall have to take him with us. And just when I have finally gotten rid of Thor!"

@yespolkadotkitty @caffiend-queen @hopelessromanticspoonie @nonsensicalobsessions @devilish--doll @hiddlesholic @wolfsmom1

[blackfemmecharacterdependency]

18. Am I the Adult?

Word Count: 4349 Trigger Warnings: Mentions of child endangerment

Previous

Hazel was very excited for Grace’s upcoming birthday. She spent every day that she went outside trying to find the perfect leaf, and she DID! A very red one that would go great with her strawberry dress that would match the theme of the party she was throwing. The caretakers were going to bring Hazel to Grace’s quarters for a scheduled “play date,” and Hazel would take that time to decorate and set up gifts. Staff had gone to the store to get some things for Hazel and basically… They just grabbed all this strawberry stuff from the bargain store party supplies, so Hazel was gonna work with it. 

Grace’s caregiver had even gotten permission to take photos and post them! Which was HUGE for Hazel, as she was never able to be featured online for safety measures, but she guessed that they worked some details out in order for her to be able to be featured on Grace’s page! There would be a photo of them out there, somewhere! It may seem small, but to her, that meant so much. All of this did. 

On the morning that Hazel was setting up things in Grace’s quarters, one of the other staff members came to find her current chaperone. They were talking quietly, in that voice that made Hazel suspicious, so she listened a little harder than she might have if they had just not been sneaky. 

“I promise to take care of it personally, but she’ll be heartbroken if we do it right now.” 

That was all that Hazel heard before she had to pretend to still be doing stuff, like she hadn’t been listening in. “What just happened?” She asked.

“Oh, they were telling me what we need to do after the party. Do you need any help setting things up?”

“Hmmmm…” Hazel studied her, then shrugged her shoulders and said, “I think it’s all set.”

Grace had woken early that day, getting her morning therapy done a little bit earlier than usual. She hadn’t had the time to do any meditation or anything… which was usually her just sitting there trying to think of stuff that she was happy about. The list was short, so it tended to be a quiet time for her. Today, it was even shorter, because her thoughts were irrationally loud. This was the second birthday since her 10th that she was without him. Today was about her, not him. Hazel had asked her to wear something with strawberries on it. Whatever that kid had planned, Grace wanted to be excited about it.

“And that stinks, you know? I’ve got this really good friend in my life and I’m constantly thinking about the one that got away. The one that pushed me away. The one that hurt me. I’m still wearing his stupid charm bracelet.”

“You don’t have to wear that charm bracelet, Grace,” her psychiatrist said.

“I know this, but also… I lost my hope chest. Whenever I gave it to the police, there was even my other gifts from Simon in it. Ones that weren’t related to crimes, but I couldn’t take them out. They gave me the chest back empty and the rest of it was all evidence. This is the only gift that I still have from him, and it is sort of all encompassing too. This pumpkin, because of our visits to the pumpkin patch. This train, because that’s what took us to most of our adventures. This skateboard, the tube of lipstick, the little soldier… They ALL have a part in our childhood and our friendship. The charm bracelet tells the story of who we were before it went wrong.”

“When would you say it went wrong?”

This was a trick question, or one to make her think more carefully about her words. From 10-12 she was sneaking away to frolic with him, and while that may have been a little mischievous, it wasn’t anarchy or anything. But, whenever they were 12, she started unleashing all of the rage that she had to keep pinned up at home. Simon had rage of his own to release and seeing her so boldly accept hers helped him to do the same for his own. The next few years were borderline sociopathy… So, like… maybe it had always been wrong, but it didn’t always feel wrong. That came later.

“I’d say that it went wrong whenever it started to feel wrong for me and not for him. I think whenever I began to deny certain things in myself, he probably felt like I was rejecting them in him, and I was, a little bit. I felt like certain things should have stopped. But, that wasn’t what did it for him. For him, whenever I wanted to find my own avenues… it was betrayal.”

“Have you felt that it was betrayal?”

“No. I wouldn’t have left him or hurt him.”

“I want to focus on you more, instead of him. What do you think of when you think of betrayal?”

“Turning against someone, doing things to them that are inexcusable.”

“So, to be disloyal to someone.”

“Yes. That’s a good way to put it.”

“What would you say that you were loyal to, prior to where it went wrong?”

Grace thought for a moment. “I was loyal to Simon. When it went wrong, I was still loyal to Simon. Nothing that I did was disloyal.” She scoffed and shook her head, “Nothing that I did was disloyal, and I’ve been trying for over a year to figure out what I did, instead of being loyal enough to myself to realize that I didn’t do anything to deserve any of that. Is that what you were trying to get me to see?”

“I’ve been helping you to come to healthy conclusions, whatever you feel and know is best for you. I haven’t been trying to get you to see this so much as get you to know what you make of the information. You’ve passed over this many times. Sometimes semantics is helpful. The word “betrayal” is commonly used in gritty young adult series and memes on the Internet. “Disloyal” isn’t so much. It’s less convoluted. You were struggling to realize that you didn’t betray anyone, because you’ve heard the word a lot and it’s taken on many forms. The word disloyal has the same meaning, but for you, it felt like a different, more serious accusation.”

“Because I know I was loyal, for a fact… So I know that I wasn’t disloyal. Ma’am… You couldn’t grab your thesaurus a year ago?” Grace joked. She appreciated a new POV, for once. It felt like she had maybe made some sort of breakthrough.

.

When she got back to her quarters, Hazel and her caregiver were there and there were cheap decorations and Hazel had a sign with “Happy Birthay Grace!” written on it and a drawing of the two of them in strawberry dresses. Though, Grace had a strawberry romper in real life.

“Oh, Hazel! You are so sweet!” She cheered and picked her friend up to hug her and pelt her with kisses as she laughed. 

They played a few games, had a couple of cupcakes from the cafeteria, made dancing videos, and then talked while the caregivers ‘monitored.’ Both were on their phones and not really paying attention to the conversation too deeply. 

Eventually, Hazel said, “Whenever I was out there, I used to tell people that Tuba was my mom.”

Grace furrowed her eyebrows, “You used to say that your mom was a tuba?”

Hazel laughed, “No, Silly! Not A tuba! THE Tuba! The Mighty Tuba and her Musical Bunch!”

Grace gasped, “OOOOOOOH!!! The big gorilla with the,” she gestured towards her shoulders, “With the tubas. Why her?”

“Because I didn’t really get TV. I thought she was there with me. Every time she sang Don’t Be a Worry Baby, I just felt like she was singin’ to me. I also didn’t know that she wasn’t real! So whenever I told kids that she was my mom, they’d say stuff like, “Your mom wears the gorilla suit?” I’d just lie and say yes. Even if I switched homes and somebody said that I can call them mom… I knew that they probably wouldn’t be there for me later on, and Tuba always would. She was only a TV away.”

Grace smiled, sadly. “That’s kinda cool… You got to pick yourself a mom that you approved of!”

“You’re doing it again, Grace.”

“No, I mean it. I wish I could've picked my mom. Heck, maybe Tuba can be my mom too. That show is BIG, so I know she’s got bank.” 

Hazel laughed and Grace brushed her hair from her face to look at her. Hazel leaned into her touch and confessed, “Whenever I leave, I’m gonna tell people that you’re my mom.” Grace froze and forced a smile, despite feeling very uncomfortable at the moment. “Our little introduction… remember?”

“Right! Right…” Grace laughed and took her hand back. “I was just thinking, if you get out there and say my name… if people remember me, they might not have nice things to say. I don’t want you to have to look at me that way.”

“Grace… We’re both in here. I know how people outside are. They judge us very meanly. I won’t pay attention to them.” Grace gave her a big hug. Their gathering was over a short while later. She was happy about the gifts that Hazel made her and since she did have her old hope chest, she stuck them in there, with the leaf in the baggy, from the day that they became friends. “You can’t replace Simon with Hazel. You’ve gotta have a healthy sense of self and a healthy sense of friendship.” She said. She shut the chest, “This is healthy. I mean, we’re 12 years apart in age, but I think that as far as 18 year olds with child friends goes, we’re doing great. No, 18 year olds aren’t usually friends with 6 year olds, BUT, they also aren’t usually in an institution for a year.”

Whenever I leave, I’m gonna tell people that you’re my mom. “You really should have nipped that in the bud. You’re not her mom, and never could be. It was wrong of you not to remind her of that and to advise her to look at you as just another patient here that happens to care about her. You’d make a terrible mom, and you’re returning to the cycle of being a terrible friend. NO! I was a good friend! I was loyal.” She took a deep breath and sat down to meditate. 

.

She awoke with a start and put her hand over her chest. For some reason, she’d thought that she heard some loud crash or something. But, now the room seemed totally silent and it was too dark to see if anything was out of place. She took a deep breath and laid back down. “Grace!” A loud whisper called. She screamed, but a small hand cupped her mouth. “It’s me.” Hazel.     

“Hazel?” Grace said, removing the girl’s hand from her mouth. “How did you get in here?”

“The vents,” Hazel said. “We’ve gotta go!”

“Yeah, back to your room, before you get in serious trouble, young lady.”

“They’re sending me away,” Hazel said. Grace’s heart stopped. Hazel continued, “After the party, they started packing up my things and making inventory. They’re sending me to a foster home!”

Grace wanted to cry, but she knew this was good news for the child, even if she didn’t seem to. “Hazel, that’s great! You get to get out of here.”

“I don’t want to get out of here! Here is where you are,” Hazel sobbed. 

Grace sputtered air and collected Hazel to herself. “Hey… I know that this is rough. It’s scary out there. But your workers care about what’s best for you. If you’re getting out, that means that you’ve gotten better. They don’t wanna keep you here if they don’t have to.”

“It doesn’t mean that I’ve gotten better. It just mean that I’ve had some good days! Whenever I start having bad days, then what? They’ll put me back in a place like this, and what if it isn’t here? What if it’s not with you? I have bad days because I get scared and the turtle is the only thing that keeps me safe. I haven’t had bad days because I’m with you and I know that you keep me safe!” Grace rubbed her arm and Hazel climbed on her and held her tightly, sobbing. “We’re supposed to protect each other, and they’re sending me away.”

“It’s okay. Just hold on to me. It’s okay.” She let Hazel sleep there, but as soon as the sun peeked through the blinds in the morning, she scooped her up to take her to the staff. 

Hazel hoped that maybe this little scheme would land her a longer stay, but all they did was revise the way that they rooms were, to try to ensure that she couldn’t get to the vent to crawl through it. She was filthy and needed to be made presentable before it was time for her social worker to collect her.

“Did she have something with her?” the staff asked.

“No. Not that I saw. I could check the room, I guess. It was pretty dark whenever she showed up. What am I looking for?” Grace asked. 

“We’ll send someone to search her room and then stop by yours.” 

They didn’t want to tell her. She went back to the room searching, not knowing what for. Her caretaker was waiting outside and would check in with her every few minutes. She was in her room that day anyway. After searching everywhere, she sat on top of her chest and surveyed the room. Maybe she left whatever it was in the vent? She moved to try to push the chest and see if it could help her to reach, but she noticed that the flaps weren’t secured. She opened it and there it was… a file. Hazel Doe. 

Grace’s hands shook as she picked it up. She didn’t know if Hazel put it there because she wanted to take it with them wherever she wanted to run away together to, or if she just needed Grace to see her. Whatever the case, Grace picked it up and began to read it.   

The medical reports from being left in the bushes at almost 2 (and unable to walk by that time???) She was malnutritioned, had multiple illnesses picked up from the elements, was covered in insect bites, some very infected, had drugs in her system, organ issues… GOD! This kid had it tough. They had her in a children’s hospice… They didn’t even expect her to survive. But, she did. “Of course she did. She’s a trooper.” 

However, she suffered from some behavioral problems from age 3 on, thought to possibly be related to exposure/ingestion of drugs from a parent via neglect or breastfeeding, though she began recovering at the time... Bounced around to multiple homes between ages 3-5 (the turtle “transformation” began at age 4, too early to consider a dissociative disorder), and from children’s mental health centers to foster care from 5-6… 

Hazel… was probably correct in thinking that she might be sent elsewhere again. This poor kid had been bounced around like a pinball. That’s not even covering some of the incidents surrounding her turtle persona, like crawling out into the street and nearly being hit by a car at one of her homes, prompting them to send her to get help… eating poisonous leaves and having to be rushed to the ER… She had emotional AND physical trauma. More than Grace could imagine, and all Grace wanted to do was to help her. She hoped that the help would be in finding a proper family. All she knew for sure was that the mature thing to do was not get in this girl’s way of help just because she was lonely. She had been down that road before.

Her caretaker peeked in and Grace said, “Oh! I think I found what they were looking for. Hazel’s file.” 

She came to retrieve it, “That girl’s definitely crawled those vents before. Got into the office. Hers was on the desk, because they were going to put it in the outpatient ones as soon as she leaves...Did you read this, Grace?”

“Who do you think I am?” Grace asked, avoiding answering honestly. The tears in her eyes said it all. “Do you think they’ll let me say goodbye to her, when she leaves?”

“Sure. I’ll set that up while I go bring this back to them.”

“Can you also get her a gift from me?”

“I can take you to pick something out. Get ready, and we’ll go when I get back.”

Grace didn’t go out much, but sometimes, her caretaker took her on trips to the store, a food place, or just to the mall to grab something really quickly. As long as they had the proper permissions, it was fine. She could take her out more, but Grace wanted to be inside the amount of time that she was. 

She couldn’t seem to decide on a gift though. None of this stuff could say, “Sorry that life has treated you so poorly that I seemed like a good mother figure. Hopefully, it’ll stop doing that shit to you.” She heard Don’t Be a Worry Baby playing and followed the sound. There was a huge Tuba display with toys, games, and other fanfare. She found one of those oversized birthday cards and looked in it. It was too birthday-ish, so she put it down. Hazel didn’t need any of the keychains or... lighters? Why would there be Tuba lighters? Grace picked up a stuffed Tuba, with speakers on the inside of her tubas. When she pressed the try me button, it began to play the song from the tubas. Grace put it in her cart and went to look at the other cards that weren’t for birthdays. She found one with a turtle on it that read, “You’ve come out of your shell!” And on the inside, the turtle is still in its shell but it reads, “Just kidding, but you’re turtley cool, no matter what!” She cried as she put it in the cart too. Her caretaker placed an arm around her and led her to the checkouts.

Hazel looked like a different kid whenever Grace arrived to see her off. She wasn’t smiling. She just seemed defeated. “Hey… I came to give you something to remember me by…” Hazel’s eyes looked up at Grace, but she wasn’t prepared to change her face yet. Grace presented her with the card and the Tuba stuffie, which she liked a lot and hugged her for them. She still seemed… sad. “Also…” Grace took off her charm bracelet and placed it on Hazel’s arm It was too big. 

“Grace, this is the only good thing that you have left of your friend.”

Grace shook her head, “We laid that to rest in the bush, remember?” Hazel started crying and Grace knelt to her level. “Hazel. You are going to do so well. You’re smart, brave, special, a survivor. You are so much better than so many of us already, and in the right space, you’ll become even greater.” Grace was crying too, but she meant it all. 

Hazel jingled the charms on the bracelet and said, “I have this. You keep her.” She gave Tuba to Grace. I know that you’ll take care of her.” 

That defeated the purpose of Grace buying it, but she said, “I’ll guard her with my life.” 

As Hazel got into the car with the social worker, the woman said, “I’ll speak with the family about allowing you to keep in touch. They might be open to it…” Grace nodded. 

Hazel rolled the window down and said, “Good luck Grace,” before the car pulled away and Grace finally let herself cry as hard and loud as she wanted to. She also determined that she needed to get out of here as soon as possible… She was ready, right? Or very close to it…

.

The semester was nearly over, which meant very little to him, with the exception of midterms, because his work schedule was a constant, anyway. He had numerous projects, several business ventures. The man rarely slept and always woke up in a rush to move along with whatever was happening for him. 

Currently, he was looking at the plans for a weapon that he had been trying to design for an electrical engineering project. Professor Hughes had commented that his choice of a weapon, of all things, for the project was, “bold and unexpected.” He knew that to mean that she did not support his decision and would be extra hard on him for making said decision. Therefore, the product had to be perfect.

Simon had become interested in weapons designs. He didn’t necessarily switch interests so much as he liked to explore various mediums within the fields of study that he was involved. For some reason, he liked the thought of pioneering a new and amazing weapon. He started some theoretical designs a few years ago as equipment used in his fantasy novel, but now he was officially working on one.

His other projects included robotic action figures, software for a virtual reality social network, and his most ambitious stunt - carrying on Professor Hughes’ noble work of nanotechnological eugenics… She left behind the attempts within the past couple of years, but Simon found it fascinating a thought - to be able to use science in such a way that perhaps mankind could be better physical specimens. The woman had lost her fiance in an accident and became obsessed with artificial evolution and the concept of building stronger bodies - more durable humans, without robbing them of their humanity. She made several various attempts in several fields of engineering until eventually realizing that even if she did find an ethical way to proceed with any of her work, it would never bring her lover back.

Simon was of the mindset that maybe it could, given the right possibilities. If it could do that, it could also potentially grant humans immortality. But, he never actually said that much out loud. He simply just became fluent in her research and devoted to progressing it. Many scientists had gone off into trying to establish wider boundaries of the human body and human experience. Professor Hughes wasn’t the first or even the brightest or best... But, she had research and work on the matter that was more advanced than anything he’d ever been privy to, and he was confident that he was better and brighter than her.

He had other things for other classes, too, but those listed were the main ones that he knew would take a while and also could change the world if he was successful.If he started right out of the gate on his biggest ideas, he’d have more time to work through them during his educational journey.

He still kept various tabs open, but now that was done on three different laptops that he carried with him. NO distractions while working, so he generally had his phone both muted and put away. After several hours in whichever lab he was working out of on any given night, he would pack everything up, grab his skateboard and head home while listening to a podcast or something. 

Checking his messages on the way home, he saw one that was from somebody with a pic of red lips as their profile (he assumed they were likely fringe Apex) and the caption, “Is this YOUR Grace?” 

He looked at a report of a woman with a bountiful afro, sunglasses and bags getting into a car. He read the caption, “Will Teen Queen Grace Monroe be Home for Christmas?” He stopped to read about how the reports claimed to have not only seen her getting into this vehicle outside of a mental health facility, but to have seen her on the campus of the Monroe estate, and a few times around Monroe Square’s gated community. Reports were unsure if the prosperous princess is home to stay or simply allotted a visit for the holidays. 

Simon felt something nagging at him whenever he saw her face in the photo. Whenever she was inside, and all of random moments he might come around an image of her was either old or from the institution, she still felt like a concept that no longer touched his life. Like old photos of his sister. He could look at them and remember, but he could also put them aside and forget her. If she was out now, who knew what she would try? She can’t harm you. She can’t affect your work. You solved that issue…

Or, you created a bigger problem. Had you just let her go, you could call her and see how she was doing. Had you just let her go, you’d have been ok by now, instead of wondering if she’s going to try to strike back. You know her better than anybody. She’s the vengeful type, just like you. Strike first! 

“No!” He grumbled and a passerby stared at him momentarily before awkwardly moving away. “She’s not going to come anywhere near me. I showed her what I’m capable of. She’s done. Over with. She’s not going to do anything but try to get on with her life… without me.” He felt a pang in his heart. If she was out, that meant that whatever damage he caused had most likely been repaired. Maybe she was better than ever now, stronger than ever. Without him. He played one of his music playlists made specifically for The Void, and got onto his skateboard. Sleeping pills tonight, it is. 

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