#like would his birth parents look for him? would court be involved and it just felt too complex so im probably not gonna go with that

[triple-starsss]

Idk if theres anything abt her yet, but—is cream in this AU?

Yes!!! Cream and Vanilla are both included in Triple☆S!!

I'm planning to do their refs next after Amy and Blaze but to give a quick rundown - they own a bakery and Silver worked for them before joining the band, Vanilla cares for him almost like he were her son :]]

[sweetiecutie]

Yandere Draco Malfoy headcanons

Warnings: yandere behavior, toxic relationships, bullying, obsession, sexual implications but nothing is described, mention of anxiety and depression

Draco is a spoiled brat. Since birth, whenever he wanted something - it was delivered to him in a matter of hours - maximum a few days - in a fancy box decorated with huge sparkly bow on top of it. So when you, to his great astonishment, instead of throwing yourself at him tell him to go fuck himself - Draco gets pissed (and extremely anxious)

It’d be just perfect if you were a pureblood - absolutely no restraints for Draco in courting and spending time with you. If you happened to be a half-blood - he’d be extremely conflicted, but eventually just going so far as forging your personal documents, claiming that you’re a descent of an ancient pureblood family that happened to go missing due to a drastic accident and then being ‘found’ and ‘adopted’ by your parents. Same would go to a muggleborn darling, but I doubt he’d even pay attention to them in a first place

Draco grew up in environment where arranger marriages had always been an expected and usual thing, personal preferences and actual feelings rarely being involved; his parents had never felt anything but revulsion and loathing for each other - Draco’s idea of love is extremely twisted. Love, in his understanding, is when you’re official - when everyone in the family, school, country and world knows that you’re together, tied by strong bond of marriage. That’s what he’d been taught, that’s what he strongly believes in

That leads to Draco spreading rumors all around school about you two being in a relationship, even though it’s obviously a lie. He doesn’t need you to agree with all his stories - you may deny everything as much as you want but eventually everyone in Hogwarts will know that you two are involved with each other in some way. Even if some students don’t believe all the rumors going around, they would think twice before approaching you, not wanting to deal with Draco and his buddies

His logic is pretty much “If I can’t have you - no one can”. If you happened to have a partner - not for long. Once again, Draco would spread nasty lies about you constantly cheating on your S/o with him, and oh boy, can this man be persuasive. Soon enough your partner would be so fed up or simply ashamed of being in relationship with you, breaking up on you not even a few months in dating. And that would happen again and again with every one of your little silly love interests until you finally give up and come crawling to Draco since, well, he’s basically the only person in the whole castle offering you comfort and company

Draco is mean. He doesn’t know how to express his fondness and love obsession so he tries doing so through the ways already known to him - bullying. Snarky comments and snickering seem to accompany your every smallest movement, pale eyes being always fixated on you, waiting, praying for you to make at least one smallest mistake so that he’d finally have a reason to approach you, even if it’s to humiliate you

He’d deluge you with presents, basically trying to buy your affection. Anything you want - you get it. You like that sweater that doesn’t cost a quarter of its actual price - it will be lying on your bed neatly folded, a note attached to it saying “It would look better laying on my bedroom floor”. Want a diamond ring - of course, my dear, as many as you wish, but only after official “I Do”. You want ten liters of Unicorn’s bile - “Ew, that’s bloody gross. Here you go, fucking weirdo” - hands you four bottles filled with dark brown liquid. Where the hell did he even get it from? You said it just to test his limits

Even if you do eventually agree to step into relationship with Draco which is more of an act of pity, let’s be honest his behavior won’t get any better. Yeah, he stops with bullying for sure, but his obsession seems to only get worse the more time you spend together. Draco would become extremely possessive, to an extend where someone else looking at you for longer than a few second would send Draco into an ugly tantrum, shouting accusations and threats at everyone around

That leads to thus little number of friends you had reducing to absolute zero - them being too afraid or simply sick of Draco and his constant blackmailing and threats, leaving you all alone in his clutches. Being friends with you becomes simply too dangerous for others

He’ll follow you everywhere. Wherever you are, it seems like Draco and his little squad is always a few meters afar, watching you closely. It gets even worse once you two are ‘dating’ - Draco is like a chewing gum stuck in your hair - impossible to get rid of. You do your homework - he’s right by your side, flipping the pages of your book over when you ask. You’re getting ready to take a shower - he’s already shirtless and undoing his pants “Don’t you care about saving water and environment? Y/n, penguins are dying!”

Constantly touches you. And if you don’t like it or feel uncomfortable with his touch - too bad, Draco doesn’t care. “Darling, don’t fucking resist me. You’re only making it worse for yourself” And that’s true, it’s better to have contended and happy Draco snuggled into you rather than a furious and annoyed one, tightly wrapping his huge hand around your neck

His mood swings are just something. One moment he may be all cuddly and snuggly, looking at you like a lovesick puppy, and the other - he’s frowning and snarling insults, words are pure poison. And just five minutes later he crawls back with the saddest expression on his face, “Sorry, I got really upset, I thought you were thinking about that scumbag Potter again🥺👉🏻👈🏻” - “Draco, how the fuck can you know what I was thinking about?!”

He’d never physically hurt you because, well, Draco is a pussy. The maximum is pressing you against the wall with his hand around your throat, not choking but just holding you in place while glaring down at your smaller form. All the damage that he causes is mostly emotional. You’d definitely develop paranoia because of his constant stalking, feeling as if even walls have eyes and ears, intently watching your every move. Constant anxiety caused by Draco’s harsh words and treatment, may lead to deep depression

From the good things - he’s really eager to please you. As I said - whatever you want - you get, even if that’s not a material thing. Fame, power, influence - all of that is real and you can get it easily by simply being with him. But the more Draco gives you, the more demanding he gets - everything has its price. At first simple affection will be the greatest repay, but the older you both get - the more sexual turn it all gets

Draco would go absolutely insane during the summer break. He’ll be writing you a few times a day, demanding an answer from you containing a detailed description of your day, who you were talking to and all the conversations themselves. He’d defo get a pair of those double ended mirrors for you two (Wizarding FaceTime lmao) so he can see your beautiful face and hear that lovely voice of yours. And oh, don’t you dare not responding to his tenth call of a day - it’ll end up in a biggest tantrum

His parents noticing Draco’s obsession way too late, not being able to fix nor influence son’s unhealthy behavior. Narcissa tries to reason with her son, cool his eagerness and patroon a bit down, for the sake of both him and you. But Draco sees that as a betrayal, his twisted mind turning it into his family trying to turn you against him, to take you away from him. Now he sees it all - he doesn’t need their approval nor their blessing, he’ll have it his way anyways. It ends with Draco basically forcing marriage upon you, doing what he’s been longing for all these years - claiming you as his, so that no one could ever doubt the special bound you two have

After all, you two were always meant to be

Likes, reblogs and comments are highly appreciated! Writers live off feedback!💖

[twopoppies]

Sorry to go back to Bg but I'm convinced Louis team was intending to let it fade into irrelevance until nobody remembered it until B's sugar daddy exposed her and he/his team did what they always do and overreact instead of using it and backdating the whole thing they went in the opposite direction and pushed to try and cover up the fact he had nothing to do with the kid for years. ( just like with larry,, there was no reason to do all that it just made people more interested in them) all they've done with it is made a bigger mess that's going to be MORE sus and make MORE people look deeper into everything when it finally ends or more likely gets exposed (disclaimer: i dont want him to be exposed it's just the fact is the bigger the lie the harder it is to keep 🤷‍♀️)

Yeah, I agree that Boobgate seemed to be the turning point. I don't think it was entirely an overreaction because they could have course-corrected if so. They haven't yet and it's been two years at this point. I really think there's some kind of legal issue he's trying not to get caught in. There's no way Sony would take the fall if the truth came out. It would all fall on Louis.

I'm not an attorney, but from what I can understand, falsely claiming to be a parent on a birth certificate can lead to serious legal consequences. At the federal level, there is no specific law criminalizing falsely signing a birth certificate, but this type of fraud can have various legal repercussions based on state laws.

False Information as Fraud: In California, knowingly providing false information on a birth certificate is considered a form of fraud, and the state may impose both civil and criminal penalties. California law treats falsely establishing paternity as perjury if done knowingly, which can be a felony with significant fines and potential jail time.

Paternity Presumption: In California, when a man signs a voluntary declaration of paternity, the law presumes he is the legal father. If he later claims he is not the biological father, he may face legal complications, especially if he signed the declaration while knowing he was not the biological parent. Depending on the state, this can be classified as a misdemeanor or felony offense with penalties including fines, imprisonment, or both.

Federal Involvement in Fraud Cases: If the false claim is part of a larger fraud scheme involving benefits, such as falsely claiming dependency benefits, federal charges could apply. For instance, fraudulently claiming a dependent on tax filings (if connected to a fraudulent birth certificate) could lead to charges for tax fraud or other federal offenses. I doubt Briana is filing taxes claiming Freddie as a dependent, but Tammi and Brett may be. Or Louis might be required to do it but isn't. I have no idea, but it's something to think about.

Consequences Beyond Criminal Penalties: Falsely signing a birth certificate can also have serious civil repercussions, especially in cases where paternity or custody rights are contested later. Courts may impose penalties, order repayment of child support or benefits fraudulently obtained (ie: requesting government assistance), and adjust parental rights or responsibilities (would this affect who has the right to care for Freddie and make decisions concerning his well-being?). Additionally, Louis' ability to keep his US Visa (thus being able to visit/tour/work in the US) could be compromised if he were found tp have committed fraud.

(If there are actual Family Law attorneys out there, please correct me if I'm wrong)

This is not to say he is stuck forever. But I think he needs to establish that he THOUGHT he was Freddie's dad for a long enough time to then have a DNA test and prove that he's not, but he can't appear to have known the whole time.

This, IMO, is why fans are better off just shutting up about it right now because constantly pointing out the pregnancy discrepancies, or how much he didn't do in those first five years, probably makes things more difficult for him.

[pterodactylterrace]

“The Blacks won because it’s Rhaenyra’s bloodline that continues on.”

Ok, first of all, Aegon II made Aegon III his heir. Rhaenyra was dragon chow by then. Rhaenyra wanted the iron throne more than anything else, and she only held power for 6 months before the small folk had enough of her bullshit. Six months. She managed to rule for half a year before she was overthrown, not by a usurper, but by her own people. Clearly, not a good ruler if you can’t even make it a year without getting chased out of your castle.

Second, Rhaenyra’s bloodline managed to fumble the ball two feet from the finish line. It started with Aegon the Unworthy and it ended with the mad king being overthrown just before the long night. Just one more generation was all they needed to last, and they fucked everything up so bad it put the entire world of men at risk. That… that takes skill. You have to actively TRY to fuck up that much.

After the conquest, there was noted to be one “good” king, and that was Jaehaerys. Between conquest and dance, Jaehaerys was noted as being a good, wise king. Aenys managed to have a mob trap his oldest two children in a distant castle right before he died. Then Maegor stepped in. He may have been decent if it weren’t for the brain damage. Most of the things he did before the battle on the hill were either rumors or just not that bad. He was also very against Kinslaying. Imo, one of the worst things he did was punish everyone involved in the Kinslaying in The Eyrie. Seems kind of strange he would dole out such a harsh punishment only to then kill his nephew in a very one sided dragon battle. That was the first thing he did after he woke up, though. Considering he had such a drastic change in personality, we can’t say how his rule would have been otherwise.

After Maegor’s death, Jaehaerys steps in. You know what made him a good, worthy king? Not the fact that he was a male, or could fight, or held the bloodline, or even that he rode the bronze fury. It was because he listened to the council of his queen. Alysanne was the real MVP of his reign. She did more for women’s rights than any other queen. She listened to her people. That is the mark of a good ruler. Walk softly, but carry a big stick. Know when to speak and when to listen.

People who know they have power and control don’t need to constantly remind others. They know. It’s not necessary to maim or murder people for speaking the truth, yet Viserys and Rhaenyra do just that.

When Saera majorly fucked up, they handled it. Not the way Alysanne wanted, by the way. She was sent to apprentice with the Silent Sisters just for sleeping with men while not married. Yet Rhaenyra can have 3 obvious bastards, insult the house with the largest naval force and prove to the entire kingdom that her words mean nothing, and Viserys still declares anyone who calls the strong boys bastards would lose their tongue.

Sorry, what? The Valaryons are one of the richest houses in the realm. They control most of the naval fleet. Maybe don’t make their son a cuckold?

“They had an open marriage!”

NO ONE ELSE KNOWS THAT. To the court and the small folk, Rhaenyra promised to be faithful to Laenor in front of the eyes of the gods, and she very obviously didn’t keep that vow. Why should they trust anything she says as Queen if she can’t even do something as simple as not birthing bastards? That’s what most people don’t realize in the bastard debate.

Whether you can prove it or not, the strong boys don’t look like either of their alleged parents. Like, at all. Even Aegon’s drunk ass could tell shit didn’t add up. Commoners are not going to be any different. They are going to know, and whether they can say it or not, it will still affect how they feel towards her. Can’t keep your marriage vows, why should I believe that you have my best interest at heart?

Because she doesn’t. She is a horrible ruler that lasted less than a year before the small folk rose up and drove her out. She feasted while they starved. It’s that self centered mentality that taints the bloodline and leads to The Unworthy.

Clearly no one learned about not having bastards, and this mofo decided to legitimize them on his death bed. Wasn’t going to be his problem, now was it? He died, someone else has to clean up his mess.

Hmm, not knowing how to clean up your own bastard mess, sounds familiar… oh, like Rhaenyra forcing her father to crawl from his death bed to make sure no one said mean (and true) things about her.

So I’m sorry, what were people saying about her being a good ruler? ‘Cause everywhere I look, I see another reason she should not have ascended the throne.

[quitealotofsodapop]

Would it just be perfect timing if MK had decided it was time to hatch during the trial for Macaque's soul? Like, Wukong be there spinning this sob story (that's actually mostly true for once) about how he jsut wanted to ensure his child could comenintot he world safely and it would be so very cruel to drag his Bama to Diyu before be even has a chance to see their precious little one! Then Wukong suddenly freezes, ever god and goddess of childbirth, motherhood, and children present suddenly tenses, and the court goes silent.

Wikong jsut whispers out: Oh... the baby.

And suddenly, they're all hurrying to get Wukong to the infirmary or his quarters (the original ones built for him when he first became the Great Sage and before he ruined the festival, nobkdy had bothered to remodel them), anywhere really so long as it's not in the middle of the FREAKING THRONE ROOM!! The good news, literally every maternity god and goddess is there to play wetnurse and tend to Wukong or help keep Macaque calmed (a job that mainly falls to Nez Ha because Macaque is very much freaking out). Bad news is that Wukogn was REALLY hoping his egg would have picked a better time and place because the Heavenly Court and being tended to by the Queen Mother herself (she's THE mother goddess of China, guys, she'llhe involved alongside Guanyin) and every other god remotely related to his child wasn't in his list things he wanted to do. One unexpected benefit of this was that after all was said and done, Sun Qi Xiaoation's arrival had actually helped to push the trial into Wukong's favor since not a lot of people are willing to separate a new mother from her mate right after giving birth, although Wukong will be forced to spend several weeks if not months in the Celestial Realm afterwards during his recovery.

referencing SWK in Heaven's Court.

Oh gosh just imagine. The Stone Egg has been comfortably baking for nearly 500 years, it's parent is awake and has been reunited with their mate, and they're being exposed to a lot of healthy divine magical energy.

So when Wukong steps into the Jade Palace, its like a countdown to when the Egg decides "Hey Imma hatch like right now."

More writting under read more cus talk of childbirth stuff;

Continue'd;

The trial for Macaque's soul and LBD's contract takes hours to resolve, and Wukong is getting more and more frustrated as it drags on, even with Fire Star's amazing lawyer-ing.

Doesn't help that Wukong's stomach has been feeling like a washing machine all day and he seems to have mega indigestion that won't go away. A bunch of gods also keep looking at him with weird concerned glances - Weirdos.

Then, after Wukong is forced to explain his condition/why he sought out immortality in the first place - a small trickle is heard in the quiet courtroom.

Wukong quickly looks down, super embarassed thinking he's lost control of his body - only for him and the witnesses to notice that the liquid is clear.

Complete and utter chaos breaks out in the Throne Room as the situation sinks in.

Someone is giving birth in the Throne Room of the Jade Emperor. And it's THE MONKEY KING!!!

Guanyin, in the defence's side: "BED. NOW." (*Wukong is lifted up by Pigsy and Sandy into a soft cloud-like bed and is brought to the nearest guest room. A bunch of maternity gods follow them, including the Queen Mother herself. Nezha escorts Macaque in seeing how the Shadow Monkey is handcuffed.*) Wukong: "H-hey! I thought the water breaking can still mean a few hours to go!" Guanyin: "Normally yes. But it seems you've been in active labor since the trial started. Your baby wants out now." Wukong: "You sure-OW!" *contractions get stronger* "Yep! It's trying to bust out all right!"

The room has to be closed off from lookyloos as it's already stuffed with at least ten people - most family or gods. Nezha and Sandy are helping Macaque breathe slowly as the shadow monkey/other parent of the baby (at least according to what was heard in the trial) is panicking like any other bama would.

Tang and Princess Iron Fan are at Wukong's side, holding his hand as any good family would, wondering how thrilled DBK would have been to be here. PIF is glad that the Ao-Long couple agreed to babysit little Redson on earth during the Trial, as she's certain that her fireball would have bitten and charged at anyone that came close to his favorite monkey. Pigsy is outside the guest room with all the royal court members, offering to make them some coffee and noodles as he makes some calls to earth - they agree but are a bit confused why Marshal Tianpeng is here and why his cooking is so good?

The Queen Mother is ultimately the one who catches the cracking egg-shaped thing as Wukong pushes it out into the world. Within seconds of touching the air, the shell of the egg practically explodes, leaving a tiny, screaming newborn in the Goddess's palm.

Wukong is sobbing with joy as he hears the healthy crying chirps coming from his baby. He sees them squirming as Guanyin washes remnants of the Stone Egg from their body. His little one is so strong and perfect already.

Macaque escapes his bindings via shadow portal (Nezha: "Hey!") to join his mate on the bed, no god moves to stop him. Mac doesn't last long before he's crying into Wukong's neck at the sight of *their* cub. The cub is quickly wrapped in the shadow monkey's (thankfully laundered) red scarf before being passed into Wukong's excited arms.

The baby isn't a direct copy of the Monkey King. Their face marking is a brownish half-heart that scatters into freckles at their chubby cheeks. Their fur is a silky brown-black almost the texture and shade of Macaque's(!!). They keep their eyes closed for the moment, far more interested in latching on to their birth parent's chest for their first meal.

And if Wukong doesn't feel like he's holding a little piece of heaven in his arms right now, he'd be lying to himself.

Wukong: "Xiaotian. You are my Xiaotian."

A series of quiet Awws ripples through the room and into the hallway beyond the closed doors. The Queen Mother even smiles.

SWK wins his case against Heaven and Diyu for his mate's soul. Even the gods can't bare to separate this new family. Preparations are made to apprehend the Lady Bone Demon for creating a geas that violated Diyu's laws.

PIF pays Fire Star generously for their lawyering.

[lawnchairthethird]

Oversharing on the internet again

I just discovered some insane ass shit. I'm usually not one to overshare to strangers on the internet but my life has been a wild ride the past few months and it's a bit theraputic.

So I know a lot of you saw my whole family drama post when I went to visit my parents. So yeah, family stuff is messy.

A while, I paid to upgrade my 23 and me DNA test because I've been having health problems (nothing super serious, but stuff I need to figure out) and I wound up really looking into it. It's really important because I don't know my father and have no medical family history.

Out of curiosity, I was looking at the family tree feature. My great grandparents on my mothers side were immigrants from Finland through Ellis Island and I love finding information out about it. It's super interesting and cool.

I called my mom and was asking her if she knew any of the names that popped up as relatives so I could put them on the correct side of the family tree. She went ballistic. Told me to stop digging, asking me why I wanted to know. So I ended the conversation and called my grandma. My grandma is a ROCK. She's the only one who has it together in my family and she is an integral part of why I turned out okay. She even told me to stop, that there were things my mother was ashamed of and it was best to leave it. That was probably about a year ago that this all went down.

I had a doctors appointment yesterday, and my doctor and I were looking through the weird drug intolerances that are in my genetic expression so we could find a better medication for me. Of course, it got me curious again because that's human nature.

Last night, I googled my birth father's name. I've done it before, nothing ever comes up. I had always assumed he was dead because my mom told me he was a heroin addict. Well, A LOT came up this time because he's involved in high profile parole case for murder charges from 1992. At first, I wasn't sure if it was him, but the article was from the town I was born in. The timeline REALLY lined up- he would have committed murder when my mom was about six months pregnant.

I told my husband and we started digging. I found a bad picture of a newspaper article from 1994 when he was convicted. My mom was listed as testifying and as his girlfriend. He brutally strangled a woman in a school parking lot with her own pants. His fucking colloquially known as the 'stretchy-pants strangler'. He had previous charges for domestic violence and had been in jail for robbery. The quotes from him in the articles are creepy and manipulative and make my skin crawl.

And ya'll I'M FINE. Like I didn't know the guy and I assumed he was a bad person, but it's just....unreal. He's alive and I know what prison he is in. I saw a picture of him after spending 31 years not knowing what he looked like. I can't talk to my mom about it because she's so mentally fragile and I think me knowing would push her over the edge.

Do I like...write a book? This isn't how real life works. I always liked true crime, but I'm not sure if I like being one degree away from it.

So yeah. Now I decide how deep I dig- part of me wants to foia court records and arrest records. Part of me is like leave it alone.

TL;DR: my bio dad is a convicted murderer and i just found out

[nattinatalia]

Jack Harlow x Reader : BABY MAMA DRAMA PT 3

*Read these beforehand: 1 2 3 & 4

“Y/N, hi.”

“Can we talk?”

“Y-yeah, come in.”

You walk into his parents home and take a deep breath to calm your nerves and yourself in general. You had a lot to say so you’re hoping everything goes as planned.

You enter the living room and sit down on the couch. “Y/N, look I know I messed up today and that was definitely not in my plans.”

You raise your eyebrows. “Jack, you followed me and my boyfriend all day. You, your girlfriend and Neelam kept attacking me on Instagram, how else did you think today was going to end?”

He shrugs, “Definitely not with a bloody nose.”

“Blanca warned you plenty of times, not my fault none of you took her seriously.”

“I wanted to apologize for what Heather and Neelam were saying online and about today. No way in hell am I taking you to court, you don’t think I know I’ll lose? You’ve been with Adrian and there’s no denying that.”

“Blanca must’ve hit you hard for you to say all these nice things.” You tell him jokingly.

“Y/N I’ve been trying, since the start and you just push me away. I hit my limit point, and sure maybe I should’ve done things differently but I needed to be in my son's life.”

You laugh “You’ve been trying since the beginning? Jack please, there’s no cameras around, your friends aren’t here, don’t lie now.”

“I’m serious, yeah maybe while you were pregnant I wasn’t around, and I should’ve treated you differently. But I did show up at the hospital but I was kicked out. I showed up when you gave birth, I showed up plenty of times after that, but I was always pushed aside. When you left I went looking for you and Adrian, do you really think I would leave my kid? I tried, I really did, but you didn’t let me.”

“Excuse me? I was there, I know you didn’t show up at all so stop with the lies Jack.” You tell him getting annoyed and a bit mad.

“I’m not lying, everytime I tried Diego was there and he told me you didn’t want to see me. He would answer your phone and tell me you had filed for full custody. He told me you had planned on leaving me way before giving birth.”

You roll your eyes, “Don’t do that, don’t lie on my boyfriend to try to make yourself look good. You left on your own, you should’ve tried harder.”

He’s shaking his head “Y/N I promise you I did try, the texts I send you, how can you say I didn’t when you would reply to me, telling me to fuck off.”

“Tex- what texts? Jack the moment I moved out I left that phone in our old apartment. I changed my number, I had no communication with you whatsoever.”

“Then it was Diego or Blanca.”

“Blanca might hate you but if you tried like you say you did, she wouldn’t push you away. Diego doesn’t have any motive to do that. So stop with the lying.”

“Here, look” he pulls out his phone and hands it to you “I texted you when my mom told me you were on the way to the hospital to give birth, I’ve been texting you non stop and obviously someone close to you has been replying.”

You scroll through the texts messages and indeed he’s right, he’s telling the truth. “Just because what you’re saying is right, that doesn’t excuse the fact that you weren’t there before and during my pregnancy. It doesn’t excuse the hurtful stuff you’ve been saying online.”

“I totally understand that part, and I’ll forever apologize to you, but Y/N, you saw the texts, you can’t deny that I tried for the most part. He wouldn’t let me.”

“If what you’re saying it’s true, then that’s my issue with my boyfriend and you can’t get involved.”

“I won’t get involved unless you ask me to.”

“I won’t be asking, I’ll handle that part.”

He nods, “From now on I promise you to give you the respect you deserve. I was an ass and I’m sorry for everything I said.”

“I appreciate the fact that you’re understanding my situation, but it’s going to take more than some words to get on my good side. You worry about Adrian and being in his life.”

“What about yours?”

You shake your head. “We’ll forever be tied to one another, but you being in my life any other way is a big no. I’m with Diego and I respect him enough not to cross that line.”

“Please just ask him about the text, I have my suspicions about other stuff and I’m handling that part.”

“Jack, please no more fighting or insults. We both did enough on social media. From now on, anything involving Adrian, it stays between us and your parents, that’s it.”

“And Blanca.”

“Definitely Blanca, whatever you believe, she was there more than anyone else and I will forever be thankful for her and our son is lucky to have her in his life.”

“Okay, that’s fair. I promise you no more fighting between us.”

“Why do I have a feeling that there’s going to be more than fighting with whatever you’re plotting.”

Jack shrugs and smiles, “Not between us, I feel like we might even team up on this. Well, if anything goes as planned.”

You groan, “I can’t with you right now.” You stand up from the couch. “I’ll be heading out, I need to do some grocery shopping and last minute errands that got canceled due to your actions today. But please stick to your words.”

“I promise, no drama between us.”

You roll your eyes at that and head towards the door and to your car.

The talk you had with Jack should’ve made you feel even better but something about his words is making you think hell's about to let loose.

********

An hour later you are finally done running your errands and arriving at your house when you get an incoming call.

You roll your eyes and you answer the call. “Just because we sort of worked things out, doesn’t mean you can call me like we’re best friends Jack.”

“Yeah yeah, quick question, is Diego home?”

You look around your house and where he’s usually parked and you only see Blanca’s car there.

“Uhh, noo, I don’t think so. Why?”

“Nothing, I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Jack.” You warn.

“We’re good Y/N, I promise you.”

“JACKMAN.”

“Chill out, you'll get high blood pressure, I’ll talk to you soon.”

“I hate you.”

“I love you too.”

“What? JACKMAN THOMAS HARLOW.”

“Wow I missed that, but bye talk soon.” With that he hangs up.

“Está loco este gringo.” You say to yourself and shake your head.

*************

Once Jack ended the call with Y/N he got out of his car and looked around his driveway to confirm his suspicion he had from the very start.

He made it into his home and tried not to make any noises so he could catch everyone by surprise.

He walks into his shared bedroom and smiles at what he sees. He sneakily takes a picture, makes a call and puts his phone away and claps. “I knew it.” He yells.

“Wh- Jack baby it’s not what it looks like.” Heather says panicking, rushing to cover her naked body with the sheets.

Jack shrugs “It looks exactly what I think it is.”

“Let me explain, baby please.”

“I honestly don’t give a fuck, I’m not even hurt about it.” He then faces the person he caught Heather in bed with. “You though, you’re an ass and in need of an ass beating for many reasons. But I’ll let Y/N do that.”

“She won’t believe you, she hates you, I made sure of that.”

“Oh Diego, don’t give yourself too much credit.”

“You think she’ll believe you? You left her alone and you weren’t with Adrian, I was. So let’s see who’s actually going to win this round.”

“I think she will believe me, I have a good feeling about this.”

Diego laughs, laying in bed like if he just didn’t get caught cheating. “You see, I’ve been plotting this entire thing since the very beginning. You had all the girls, you had Y/N, you treated her like shit, while I was there, the best friend who held her while she cried. I was there and you weren’t, and that’s where I have the upper hand. She got pregnant, I made sure you were nowhere around. Getting kicked out from the hospital? That was my doing and it was perfect, it was the final nail in the coffin to make her hate you, and love me.”

“So that was your plan from the beginning? Make her hate me so you could swoop in and mend her broken heart? You used her, used her feelings and just to get with her and make my son love you as well?”

Diego shrugs “It worked didn't it? The only problem was, I hate kids, and Adrian, well he’s such a mommy’s boy and still loved you even though I tried my hardest to get him to hate you. He was just this annoying boy who got on my nerves most of the time, but I had a planned for that. That’s where Heather comes in.”

“He’s three, there’s no hate in my boy’s heart. But if you think whatever you and Heather had planned for my son was going to stand, then you’re strongly mistaken. I would never take him away from his mother, I wouldn’t allow that.”

“As annoying as he is, I can admit that. Good luck trying to get my girl to believe you though.”

Jack crosses his arms and smirks, “Then you have nothing to worry about. Now get out of my house before I call the cops and have you arrested for trespassing.”

Diego smirks and gets up from the bed “Heather, pleasure doing business with you.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Please, I know you two are working together. You can leave with him too sweets.” Jack says.

“Jack please let me explain.” 

“I think we’re good, you made things so much easier for me. Thank you for that.” 

“After everything Diego and I did to keep you and her away, you still love that bitch? You still have hope she’ll take you back and be this happy family? Give up, she hates you. We made sure of that.” Heather yells while getting dressed. 

“It is what it is, I’ll be in her life no matter what, we have a kid together.” 

“You won’t, I still have more under my sleeve.” Diego says and walks out the bedroom. 

Jack stares at Heather “Quick question.” 

“Y-yeah?” 

“Were you in on the plan with him from the start? Because that’s the only thing I’m questioning.” 

“After she moved out.” 

Jack nods “So from the beginning then?”

“N-no, I wasn’t with the plan at first, but then he told me how you would always try to go back and see her, then you came over one night and that was it. It was mainly him telling her stuff and him texting you from her old phone.” 

“Got it, thanks.” Jack says, “You can leave now.”

“You’re an ass.” she says and storms out of the bedroom.

Jack shrugs and takes his phone out of his jeans pocket and sees that the call ended, he just hopes the person on the other end heard everything that just happened.

***************

A few hours later, you cooked dinner and set the table up. You convinced Drea and Blanca to take Adrian out for a movie and ice cream. You were now waiting for your boyfriend to get home so you can both have a talk.

“Babe, I’m home.”

“In the kitchen.” You were sitting down at the dining room, sipping on a glass of tequila.

“Wow, what’s all this?” Diego asks, looking around the table.

“I made dinner.”

“Babe, did you forget I hate enchiladas?” 

You shrug, “Oh, that’s for me and Jack.”

He looks confused. “I’m sorry what?”

“Well he and I had a great talk. I learned plenty of stuff and everything just makes sense now.”

“Is he finally going to step up and be the father Adrian needs?”

“I mean he wouldn't have had to step up if you just stayed in your lane. But I can’t control what has already happened. But I can sure control what's about to happen from here on foward.” You take a sip from your drink and look up at him.

He’s standing a few feet away from you looking at you with his arms crossed and raised eyebrows. “Babe, what are you talking about? What lies has he been telling you?”

You chuckle, “I’ll give it to you, you had me fooled. You had everyone fooled.” you stand up, chug your drink and smile. “I heard everything, every single thing you told Jack, I heard it all.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play stupid, you and Heather are together and plotting against Jack and me. You’ve been pushing him away through me. All over a stupid middle school vendetta you had against him.”

“Y/N, you sound crazy.”

You roll your eyes. “I’m not going to argue with you. I heard everything and that’s all you need to know to pack your shit and leave.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“Oh I think you are, you little shit.” Blanca says, walking into the kitchen with her dog and a bat in hand.

You smile and she winks at you. “I rooted for you man, but you played my cousin and you should know by now, that I don’t let shit slide especially if it has anything to do with my family.”

“You both are crazy.”

“We might be, but you’ll be nothing but tiny pieces if you don’t pack your shit and leave.”

“I’m being nice on letting you pack your stuff, Blanca and Drea wanted to burn everything.” You tell him.

“So what, you believe everything that idiot tells you? Adrian doesn’t need him.”

“What? He needs you? You honestly think I’ll be with someone who spoke poorly about my son? Estás sordo o te haces? I heard everything, Jack called me when he caught you and Heather.”

“Enough talking pendejo, pack your shit and leave.” Blanca says.

“Better yet, leave now. I’m not letting you stay here another second.” 

You turn around to see Jack, Clay and Urban are standing in the entrance of your kitchen.

“Oh now it's a party.” Blanca says.

“Alright, I’m leaving, but don’t come running to me crying saying how he broke your heart again. He won’t change. I might have done the plotting, but it’s all his character.” Diego says and walks out, but not before bumping shoulders with Jack.

“Someone wants to explain to me what the hell just happened?” Urban asks.

“Dude, do you just follow Jack into anything without knowing the details?” Blanca asks him

He nods. “Pretty much yeah.”

You shake your head and sit down. “Sit down and eat, Jack will explain everything.”

They all sit down and you start serving the food while Jack explains everything that he had suspected, and everything that happened today.

“So you two are finally good then?” Clays asks.

“I wouldn’t say that, we’re starting fresh. But there's still so much hurt and things we both need to talk about. Like I told him, our main concern here is Adrian and a few nice words won’t change everything. We both said hurtful things, and we need time to figure everything out.” 

Jack nods, “I’m just lucky and thankful Y/N has given me another chance to make things right.”

“If you fuck up, me and my dog will tear you into shreds.”

“I know Blanca, the bloody nose proved you stay true to your threats.”

You all laugh at that and continue with dinner.

Things changed tonight, you don’t know if for the better or for worse. But one thing is for sure, you didn’t make it any easier for Jack, he had a lot to make up for and it will take time, even years.

******

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[coochiequeens]

A piece about surrogacy that focuses on the baby.

We are putting the interests of adults above those of children

Helen Gibson 11 May, 2024

Many readers will have seen that surrogacy clip which went viral on Twitter this week. A man, complete with false nails and hair in pigtails, having a newborn baby handed to him, ostensibly for the bonding process of “skin to skin”; a process usually reserved for the baby and their mother, in order to calm the baby after delivery, stimulate her milk production, and encourage the expulsion of the placenta. The baby in the aforementioned clip was distressed, and shuddering. As the man, apparently the father, held the baby, she started to scream. Not the cries of a hungry newborn, but the screams of a desperate infant.

Whether you’re a mother or not, most people who see such footage will have a visceral reaction 

For the tens of thousands who have seen the footage, the majority of us, I think I can safely claim, felt sickened to our core. For here is surrogacy in all its raw truth. A baby is born, and handed away from the mother it knows and wants, and to hell with the consequences. Whether you’re a mother or not, most people who see such footage will have a visceral reaction.

Of course, the optics of this particular case put the situation even more clearly: a man, cosplaying as a woman, able to design and commission a baby in order to validate his lifestyle choices; with no thought for the impact on the newborn child, desperately flailing and wanting her mother. This particular situation jarred with so many because it so obviously sits at the centre of the Venn diagram between surrogacy and gender ideology, with all the latter’s negatives for women and children already understood by most of the viewers of the clip. 

Outside of feminist Twitter, many people have never given surrogacy any thought at all

Outside of feminist Twitter, many people have never given surrogacy any thought at all; but this is what it is. This is what it looks like. Newborns handed away at birth, with no thought given to their needs or welfare, or who the commissioning parent might be. No follow up by any agency, clinic or social services after delivery. No tracking of the child or idea of where they end up living, or what happens to them. In many US states the baby buyers gain parental rights at birth and the baby removed, often abroad; the mother simply seen as a vessel, in all but name, with no rights to the child or recourse if she changes her mind. If the Law Commission of England and Wales, with the Scottish Law Commission, gets their way, it’s where we’ll be headed in the UK, with oversight and granting of Parental Orders by the Family Court stripped away for surrogacy “teams” proceeding on a new Pathway.

And surrogacy can be far darker even than this video suggests. In March, a Chicago veterinarian was charged on suspicion of distributing child sexual abuse images, just days before he was due to fly to California and collect his son, who was born to a surrogate mother. The child is, as I currently understand it, living with the arrested man’s husband and in-laws. Three weeks ago, the anti-trafficking charity Unseen declared the first cases of forced surrogacy in the UK being reported to their modern slavery helpline in 2023. Meanwhile, we have seen a post which shows a pregnant surrogate mother expressing concern at never having met the commissioning (single) father of the child she is carrying, even online. “I’ve been informed the parent has hired someone to come pick up surro baby after delivery to take him back home(china). Idk how to feel, I would have thought the IP would be more involved…I Guess i just would have thought he’d want to at least be there for the birth:/”. 

And for a very English spin on things, in April the multi-millionaire British socialite Alice Naylor-Leyland had her fourth child, born to a surrogate mother in the US. “I’m aware it was greedy to have this burning desire to complete our Family, but due to too many complications, setbacks and miscarriages & then being told I was no longer able to carry, we decided to venture down the world of Surrogacy”. Naylor-Leyland was already a mother of three but decided to outsource the risk of “complications and miscarriages” to another woman instead, in order to fulfil her dream of a fourth baby. 

Surrogacy only exists to satisfy the desires of adults, and to hell with the consequences for women and children. The numbers have ballooned around the world since the first cases of surrogacy in the 1980s. Tens of thousands of children have been born through “gestational surrogacy” in the US alone; the industry is worth billions. Thailand, which banned international commercial surrogacy in 2015, has recently announced it is to lift its ban on the practice; meaning within the next few years we will see Thailand become the main surrogacy hub for south-east Asia, with women undoubtedly being trafficked in to, and within, the country in their hundreds, if not more, to meet the new demand. 

Surrogacy is growing, just as social media is helping more people come to understand precisely what the practice is, and what it means. Seeing babies taken off their mothers so freely is so shocking that most people who witness photographs and videos which show surrogacy happening can’t believe it is legal. As I have written about previously in The Critic, the women involved in surrogacy are groomed by the industry in to not realising they are the mothers of their own children, even in cases where they use their own egg; believing the lies peddled to them by a rapacious industry, that they are doing something “kind” and “beautiful”. A mother is the primary safeguarder of her child; if the mother in the case of surrogacy doesn’t believe herself to be so, who is acting to keep the child safe? Certainly not the agencies, who are incentivised by both money and an apparent evangelical commitment to the ‘miracle’ of surrogacy. 

The test for whether or not surrogacy is acceptable to its supporters seems to be “she consented”. That old chestnut, which allows so many despicable practices to flourish, while those who might be expected to be tasked with thinking about them shrug and are relieved of the intellectual burden of doing so. 

And is it true consent if it is bought? Is it true consent if she doesn’t understand she is the mother, even when her own egg is not used? It certainly can’t be construed as consent in cases where the woman is coerced, pressured by family, or, as in one case we saw, offered up for surrogacy by her own husband, without her prior knowledge.

It is extraordinary to consider, that in this time of hyper awareness of social injustice, when every perceived slight or misdemeanour can be considered a cancel-worthy offence, that so many think nothing of the process of commissioning a baby to order: anonymous eggs harvested from a twenty-something woman and chosen from a catalogue, surrogate mothers matched with strangers by agencies, and ditched when they have one too many miscarriages. That so many think so little of women and children says so much about our society. None of it good.

This is the X account mentioned in the article

This is who posted it

[just-some-guy-joust]

Full list of Side A OCs under the cut!

Bracket post

Side B list

Jaiden Wells | She/her | @apotheoseity

Jaiden is.. really just some girl. A college student and avid Tumblr user, many of the people she's close to are wrapped up into supernatural or otherwise out-of-this-world situations, but she's just.. not. Everyone around her is terrified that she'll be exposed to some sort of horror, and at some points she's jealous of the people around her for leading such interesting lives, but she remains.. utterly mundane.

Finch | They/them - it/its | @hershelchocolateart

Finch is the newest ghost to appear in the Whisper Court Ghost Sanctuary. While they themself consider this to be unremarkable, somehow everyone else in the cast is convinced that their appearance is malicious in some nature. While they spend the story trying to come to terms with who they are and find a future they want to live with, everyone else has pushed them to the forefront of the story by convincing themselves there's something going on behind the scenes. Even one of the Deities of this world is enamored with them, but Finch is simply too busy hanging out with their friends and attending tea parties to really know what's going on. Finch is simply a widdle guy who wants SOMEONE to come to board game night but no one trusts them :(

Evergreen | She/her | @insertsona

shes just kind of chilling tbh . she's technically unemployed (didn't feel like it) and spends most of her time vibing . her ex recently returned to the city after randomly disappearing for years and she was just kind of oh hey glad youre back . her most interesting trait is that she takes part in a fighting tournament once a year and wins it usually . and shes transgender

Zephyr Fey | He/him | @lord-plague

An averagely built guy who somehow managed to join the military force of his fortress city without a birth certificate, ID, and with dyed hair. Nobody knows where he came from, nobody knows why he is here but there he is. No magic or superhuman abilities or prodigal skills but my god does he make great goo bowls with greater personalities (nobody wants the goo bowls and he does not know why). That one friend that keeps trying to alleviate awkward situations with jokes and random laughter.

Wally Rosette | He/him | @hershelchocolateart

Wally Rosette is a 15-year-old kid who was chosen (and then kidnapped) to attend the Elite Villainous International Learning facility. This position, however, is solely because his parents were world-famous villains. Wally himself has no interest in the business, and is often described as the sweetest person any of the cast has ever met. He spends most of his time in the background, helping out faculty and students with their homework or various tasks, and only ever becoming relevant when homework *is* the plot of the week. Wally is just a kind kid who knows better than to get involved in the plot and loves his friends so so so so so so so fucking much it's unreal

CW: Cartoony bugs, minor eye horror

Mason | He/him | @hershelchocolateart

Mason is a Monster in a world of Monsters that rule the underworld of the city. Mason is an office worker at an office building where he doesn't even know what his job is. He just knows he's an office worker in a real office building :) he's an Insect Monster which usually results in the user becoming an insect themself, eventually losing their humanity and giving in to their animalistic nature. Mason is a beehive. He's friends with all the bees :)

Adan Botello | He/him | @rainecloud020604

Adan is a highschooler who is just looking to pass class, go home and play Minecraft. He doesn't want to be unique or special any more than he is, maybe being a Minecraft YouTuber would be awesome but that's all he wants out of life. No matter what is thrown at him he tends to run away from it, like a fantasy world trying to claim he's a prince, he wants nothing to do with it. He just wants to be a normal kid, graduate high school and play Minecraft. He's also got transgender and autistic swag

Joel Joehn | He/him | @rainecloud020604

Hes a college student, a ghost hunter where nothing ever really happens, and also hes a classic high school bully all at the same time. He likes musicals, and honestly his personality is kinda boring because all it can be boiled down to is "i'm a dick sometimes". his parents love him and support him hes got like two besties who are kinda normal too like nothing is ever going on with this guy except a false ghost report or a misread reading on something.

James Chagrin | He/him | @fispy

James, despite being infected by a parasite that ate his soul, is just some guy. He feels ambivalent about the Matrix films. He doesn’t care for carbonated drinks. In the future he will work at a Target.

Anita da Nevoa | She/her |@angelfishcake

Anita was just out living her life until her cousin ruined everything. Now she's cursed and gotta go find a cure (with the help of friends :D). Scares super easily which sucks because she's gotta deal with lots of scary things. Only one who acts reasonably in these situations. Likes roller-skating.

CW: Cartoony bug

Greg | He/him | @tomfoolery-coolatta

hes a imp. approximately half a apple. he works for a local news station. he has a healthy work life balance, is fairly nice to everyone and is overall just. kind of average, especially compared to everyone else on the island he lives on. hes so normal i dont rlly have much about him

Tulip | It/Its | @joyfulness03

-Literally just a little tulip mouse -Caught in the middle of a monster war, but is entirely oblivious to anything happening (not privy to The Horrors, because it is literally just a mouse) -Day plans: curling up in the sun to photosynthesize. it is fully booked, indefinitely -The most neutral of neutral parties (group pet) and the most background of background characters (group pet) -very friendly to everyone that pets it and gives its treats. it only bites a little bit, just little love nibbles. Average rodent behavior but with slightly sharper, plantier teeth

Bradán Berongoy | He/Him | @serenefig

Bradán is a simple fisher who got swept up by a mercenary crew entirely due to a misunderstanding. By the time the captain realised, it was too late to cut the contract. He doesn't fight much, if at all, and his skills really only lay in fishing, be it rod fishing or spear fishing. He occasionally takes up cooking for the crew, but overall he's just. There. The crew is fond of their gruff civilian, and will go out of their way to prevent their own work disrupting Bradán's.

Andrew Moss | He/him | @flowerrose14

Andrew is just your average nerd, ghost hunter and an anxious wreck but despite it all he is a guy. Despite the horrors of being shrunk and traumatized hes still himself, an anxious wreck of a human who thinks the supernatural is awesome and he wants to study it so so bad. Even though fairy hunting gone wrong is literally the reason he got cursed, he's still interested in the supernatural. After all its awesome, and whats going to stop him.

Blake Stevens | He/him | @azumelia

His entire joke is being a completely normal guy in a very wacky world. He is the only cishet person in the entire setting. He has extremely bad luck and constantly gets fucked over - whether or not this is connected to the cishet thing is unknown, but people in-universe like to joke that he's "cursed by the Gods for being straight." He does not enjoy this. He is tired at all times, both of everyone's shit and just in general - man is suffering.

Rafferty | He/him | @kris-the-kraken

Rafferty is an office worker and aspiring author. Though he has an endless depth of creativity he scraps all his ideas because they remind him of his first attempt at writing.

[tomtenadia]

Detours to you - ch 5

I have a day off and it's the perfect time to post. I wrote a lot thins morning and I think I am about 2 or 3 chapters away from the ending.

For now I' ll leave you with this chapter

The following morning Rowan stood in front of a fancy building where his friend Vaughan had his law firm. He had texted him the night before for help after the exchange with Aelin. He wanted to ask an opinion to his friend and see if there was a road available without going through a full custody battle. He wanted to be in his daughter’s life but Aelin was settled on fighting him on that front. 

He took a deep breath and entered the building. In front of his friend’s office he knocked and waited to be invited in.

“Rowan! So the gossip is true, you are back!”

“Indeed I am.”

“Look at you,” Vaughan pointed at his uniform “Chief nonetheless. How does it feel?”

“Still adjusting,” he admitted.

Both men sat down and Vaughan relaxed in his chair “Before we start, it’s my obligation to tell you that I deal in criminal law. If you decide to really go ahead with this, I would suggest you to get a family law lawyer and I can help you with that.”

“I just need some counselling for now.”

Vaughan nodded “Your situation is complicated. In case of divorce or separation the parents can agree on joint custody, physical, legal or both. But you and Aelin are not divorced or separated which complicates things.”

Rowan nodded.

“As it stands now Aelin is the sole legal guardian which means that it’s up to her to decide how much access you can have to Maya.” He explained “As it stands you have a very weak claim.”

“Surely the fact that I was lied to will count. The fact that I want to be involved in my daughter’s life must weigh something. I was robbed of five years of her life.”

“If you go to court you will have to prove that your presence in Maya’s life would be beneficial.”

Rowan groaned “Of course, I am the father.”

“Yes, but the judge will consider how this will affect Maya. I assume you haven’t told her yet?”

Rowan shook his head “No, Aelin wants me to be just a friend for now.”

“They will consider all of this. Assess if your job will allow you to look after her, if you can provide for her. But more importantly,” he paused “if Maya does not want you in her life that will likely block any kind of access to her.”

“How on earth am I going to build a rapport with her if I can’t be with her?”

Vaughan nodded “I suggest that you and Aelin take some time to discuss all of this. Try to create a plan, a schedule, but most of all tell Maya as soon as possible that you are her father.”

“Aelin will not agree to that.”

“In my humble opinion at the moment she sees you as a stranger who knows her mum, with a very superficial relationship. The moment you tell her the truth that’s when the real thing can develop.”

Rowan let out a ragged breath “This is so fucked up.”

Vaughan chuckled “Oh yes. That’s why I’d rather put criminal behind bars than witness parents fighting over who has the right to the children. It was enough to hear the horror story from Lorcan’s parents divorce battle to actually put me off family law completely.”

“One more thing, do you know if Aelin has added your name to the birth certificate? Because that could be a game changer.”

Rowan shook his head then looked at his watch “I have to go to work. I have a meeting in an hour. Thanks. I have a lot to consider. And I will do some investigating on the birth certificate.”

Vaughan stood and patted him on the shoulder “Talk it out Ro. Do not involve lawyers and keep me posted.”

“Will do.”

Rowan left the building and went back to work mulling over Vaughan’s words.

*

That morning Aelin’s bookshop had a special guest. Maya was staying at the shop with her. She had kept her home from school for a day. She hadn’t slept much because of her injury and when she suggested to go to her grandparents, her daughter had refused so she took her to work. Maya loved the bookstore and presently was sitting at the children’s table and showing off her cast to other kids. She was holding court that it was a hockey injury.

Aelin smiled but her protective senses kicked in. She had also spent the night thinking about the argument she had with Rowan. She had not liked the comment with the telescope, as if he was inviting her to his place. Maya was her responsibility and he should pass any ideas through her first. She was going to allow him in but on her own terms. 

Maya ran to her “Mama, look at my drawing!”

Aelin grabbed the paper and gasped. It was a drawing of her and Rowan on the ice “Can you give it to Rowan?” Her heart raced. One meeting was that all it took for Maya to get attached to him?

“I will do the next time I see him. I am sure he will love it.”

“He is funny.” Maya grinned and walked away happily back to the drawing table.

“What is that?” Asked Lysandra walking to the counter and noticing the drawing.

“Maya drew a present for Rowan.”

“How do you feel about that?”

“Torn. He is too pushy.”

Lysandra sighed “Or maybe he is just a father eager to spend time with his daughter,” she added “You can’t blame him for being smitten already. She is the cutest.”

“That she is.”

“Or maybe it’s all down to the fact that you still have feelings for him?”

Aelin scoffed hard “No.”

“Ae, you two had been together almost forever and I am sure that if he hadn’t left, you’d be married by now. Aeds told me that he caught Rowan looking at jewellery stores online for engagement rings. I think that he confessed him he was waiting for the store to be completed and then propose in here.”

Aelin froze. Rowan was going to propose in her store. Her hand went to her mouth and stopped the sob that was fighting to be let free.

“Why you never told me?”

“He was away, it seemed pointless, but now…” added Lysandra quietly “Maybe it’s worth try and pick up from where you left off. For Maya’s sake too.”

Aelin ran a hand through her hair “my mum said the same thing.”

Lysandra grinned “we all know that Evalin is a wise woman.”

“Ae, you two broke up because he had to leave and long distance was going to be hell, not because you stopped being in love,” Lys spotted some customers “Think about it.” And walked away.

Aelin stared at the computer and at the order that was still open and ready to be sent.

Lys was right they had broken up because the situation was difficult, not because they had fallen out of love. It had taken her a long time to stop missing him and she had a feeling that with time she had only pushed him at the back of her mind but never forgot him. How could she? Rowan had been the love of her life and her home. And in that instant she felt an ache in her soul that she had thought had gone forever. 

Her soul was missing its other half and Aelin knew that everything was all of a sudden a lot more complicated.

*

Rowan went back to his office after his meeting with the commissioner. Chin on his folded hands he stared at the screen in front of him. He was looking at the proposal they had discussed together but his brain was not focusing. He kept thinking about the fight he had with Aelin and the chat he had with Vaughan. His friend had given him some good suggestions. 

He was about to type something on his keyboard when someone knocked at the door.

“Chief, I bring some of the reports from yesterday from the firehouses.” The woman dropped the documents on his desk.

“Thank you, Lyria.” 

Rowan ignored the pile of documents staring at him and started doing some research on family law and the rights of the father in an unmarried couple. He read a few websites and all told the same line. Unless he was married to the mother or had obtained a parental responsibility agreement by a court he would have no rights. He wanted to scream. Then he remembered what Vaughan had said about the birth certificate and started to investigate on the city council how to access the registrar for births. He knew the date so at least he had that. It took him a good fifteen minutes of digging before finally finding the registrar. He registered, followed all the steps and reached the portal to retrieve the certificate. He typed Maya’s name and surname and then her date of birth. A moment later a document appeared in front of him. On the mother line there was Aelin’s name. He was ready for an empty space near the father’s section but he gasped in surprise when he saw his name. Rowan Whitethorn stood there in black capital letters.

He saved the document quickly and then sat back against his chair. Aelin had registered him as the father. It really was a game changer. The law stated that if the father appeared on the birth certificate he’d have same rights as the mother. Why had Aelin added him? He was even more confused, but at least now he knew that he was not totally powerless. A sense of relief washed over him. He still had to convince Aelin that he was serious about wanting to know Maya. It had only been a few days and they were all still adjusting to the new situation. He might give her some days to think about it. 

A small break before trying again. 

*

After Maya was fully asleep in bed, Aelin climbed in the attic and grabbed a box that had not touched in five years. It contained some of the things that reminded her of Rowan. Of the years they had lived together in that house, the dreams. After the break up she had stashed all the stuff away.

She sat on the floor and removed the lid and their past flooded back like a tsunami. A green foam finger of the first game of the Stags they had watched together, the CDs he had burned for her, movie tickets and photo albums, a lot of them. She picked one and opened it. It was their first trip to Wendlyn, when she had met his parents. His clan had welcomed her in with open arms. One one page there was a picture of Alasdair, Rowan’s dad, hugging her. Tears welled in her eyes. She had loved the man, he was caring and had loved her like a daughter from day one. There were pictures of their trip the the southern islands when they had rented a boat and explored the continent. She scrolled through the photos and saw one of her sitting on the bow of the boat while still docked and then noticed the name Maya. Memories came rushing back of the night when, while moored in the middle of the sea, they lay on the deck, made love under the stars and Rowan confessed that he liked the name and they should use it if they ever had a daughter. After her daughter was born the nurse had asked her if she had a name and Aelin had blurted out Maya almost on instinct.

Then, at the bottom of the box she found a letter with a sonogram attached to it. With trembling hands she read it.

Dear Rowan,

While I am writing this, you are probably on the boat towards Wendlyn, towards home.

I am sorry. I want you to know that breaking up things was not easy. I wish I could take it back because it hurts like hell. You are my home and should be here.

But I had to let you go because your mum needs you and I can’t be selfish, not when you have just lost your father.

And now, more than ever, I understand this since I discovered that I am pregnant with your child. I am mad at fate. We had dreams of a family and now that is happening I had to let you go.

I am sorry.

I hope one day you will be able to forgive me.

I love you,

To whatever end.

Then another letter with a picture of a newborn Maya

Dear Rowan,

You are a dad. Maya is born and she is the most beautiful gift I could have asked for.

Yes, Maya like the boat. I listen, see?

She is just like you, her hair is silver as yours as she has your piercing green eyes.

A bit of you, when you are away.

I miss you but I am too scared to call you because the secret I kept from you is too big.

I miss you so much.

And another with a picture of an older Maya

Dear Rowan,

Maya turned one today.

It’s been over a year since I let you go and… I miss you. She said her first word and she crawls all over the house. I baby-proofed our flat because in my head I had your voice telling me to make the house safe. You are always with me. 

I am sorry. I don’t know if you will ever read these letters but I just need to tell you that I am sorry. I hope that you are happy. That your mum is fine.

And the dreamer in me hopes to see you again.

I love you. I will always love you.

At the bottom of the letter there was a small hand print. It was Maya’s.

She had forgot of all the letters she wrote to him. Most of them had pictures of Maya and tales of some important milestones.

One by one she grabbed all the letters and set them aside.

Then she climbed back down and placed the pile in the drawer of her nightstand.

To whatever end… she whispered.

A promise that they had exchanged a long time ago.

A promise that she had broken.

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[boyoungbe]

hello, nerds! it's just me, ryan (h/h, 25+), here with another shot at a fourth muse. this particular muse is newer to me, but the more he revealed about himself over the last few months, the more fond i grew of him, and i can't wait for you all to meet him today! his name is moon boyoung (20040904, h/h)! he's a student at yonsei university (my first ever muse that's attending a SKY university, i'm so proud...) and a lifelong athlete who, despite going through a lot of shit right now, is working hard in his classes, seeing musicals every chance he gets, and is remaining as optimistic as he can...

1.

(tw, discussions of unnamed health issues, parental death, infidelity, grief)

from birth, boyoung was hailed a miracle child. his mother suffered from a lot of physical health issues, and it made conception extremely difficult for her, but similarly to boyoung, the challenge of it never stopped her from trying. her dream was to be a mother, and after years of praying for a baby, she was gifted the perfect son.

boyoung is a golden child, and he wears the title like a badge of honor. his grades are exceptional, he's heavily involved in extracurricular activities (primarily various sports and the student council), and on top of that, he always made sure to come home in time for dinner, and happily did the dishes/kitchen cleanup after. his parents adored him, overall he was loved and supported, and his upbringing was pretty idyllic... until his second year of high school.

his mother's health grew worse, and added onto his busy schedule was being her caretaker. he sacrificed a social life to ensure that she got the care she needed, and to also ensure that his grades never slipped. somehow, his test scores were high enough to earn him admittance into yonsei university, the school his mother dreamed of him attending, and shortly after receiving an acceptance letter, she succumbed to her illness; confident that her son would be alright.

little did she know that, upon looking through her belongings and stumbling upon old journals, boyoung learned that his father was not the man he thought he was, and his mother had secrets of her own, too. it fractured the view he had of his life and of his parents, and he carries that baggage around with him from class-to-class. he's doing his best to keep his head up, but life's curveballs are teaching him lessons he never learned before. all he can hope is that they make him into a stronger, better person.

2.

boyoung is someone with immense patience. this is largely what makes him so good at so many things. he's one of those people you meet who has a massively long list of learned skills, who is frustratingly good at what seems like everything, who makes himself perfect at things by pouring metric tons of energy and effort into them. he's perfectionistic, and doesn't settle for results that are less than flawless. this, however, makes him rather hard on himself.

boyoung has a strong work ethic. the first ever sport he played was basketball, and he started out as a bench-warming water/towel boy. everyone on the team enjoyed his presence, and after months and months of practice, he earned himself a rightful spot on the court, even going so far as to be co-captain in the future. he applies the same work ethic to all things in his life. school work, the arts, sports, his relationships with his loved ones, etc. it's all at 100%, no less.

the pressure to be so perfect, so golden, is crushing, though. he possesses a rather critical nature, and this is largely because he's so polished. he'll spend hours remaining up at night ruminating over fuck-ups of the past; wondering what he could've done differently. it creates anxiety within him sometimes, but he's a master at faking a smile; remaining cool and composed on the surface, even if he's battling inner turmoil.

he's someone who, if you need a favor and you ask him to do one for you, he'll take it extremely seriously and get it done in a timely manner, and the favor will be completed beautifully. he sometimes has a hard time saying no to things, but he's getting better at being practical about what he can and can't handle. regardless, you can rely on him. he likes feeling needed. it's a blessing and a curse.

despite being rather rock solid and even-tempered, he's a big softie. he'll totally cry watching a sad movie or musical. he loooves musicals. loves them so much. he's essentially troy bolton—golden retriever energy jock with a passion for singing and dancing. he's not ever gotten proper instruction for the arts, but he wants it so bad. he's always been practical and wants to focus on landing a good job, but his dream is to be on stage. he's shy about it, though.

i'm still learning more about him, so i can't wait to see him grow!

3.

gimme all plots! i want them all! i prefer brainstorming, so like this or message me and we can figure something out together!

[theshortolivia]

Do you ever wonder who your real parents are

First, thank you for my first ask ever! It’s super cool that I exist to people I don’t face to face know.

I’m gonna assume that by ‘real parents’ you mean biological parents. (Just a note I would try to stop using the term ‘real’ when talking about biological relationships it might offend people). Anyway, I actually do know my biological parents! I have two moms, one of them is my biological mother, and my parents used a non-anonymous sperm donor and artificial insemination to conceive me.

I used to be really uncomfortable about the donor thing as a kid, it weirded me out that there was a stranger involved in my conception. But I love to talk about this now for education purposes and as a fascinating story most people as old as me don’t have to tell (a two mom family having a kid not from a previous hetero marriage in 2000? pretty rare at least where I’m from!) so here’s some further explanation:

When my moms decided they wanted kids they actually chose sperm donation instead of adoption because as a lesbian couple in 2000 Ontario, they would have been pushed to the bottom of the adoption list and it would have been really difficult to get a child basically. So they went with a non-anonymous sperm donor. (This is better than anonymous for a million reasons I could go into another time if you’d like I’d love to talk about it from my perspective as a donor baby!) My moms decided which of them would get pregnant based on who wanted to, health, and family health history. They chose the donor based on a multitude of things: someone who looked like my non-bio mom so I’d look like both sides of the family, someone with good genetics both health wise and characteristic wise (no diseases run in family and family are very smart, creative), and because this donor specifically provided much more information than other did, way more than required. He gave us a video of himself talking about why he chose to do this, family and childhood photos of him, extensive family history including professions and personalities, etc. Then on March 21st 2000 (I’d have to check with my mom but if I remember correctly this is when) at 10am my mom got artificially inseminated and I was conceived. (I think it’s super cool that I know my exact conception date and time btw). Fun (not so fun) fact my moms were common law partners (mostly same legal bindings as marriage in Canada) when I was born but my non-bio mom was not put on the birth certificate out of discrimination (a common law husband to a woman’s biological baby would have been placed on the birth certificate), so, to have legal guardianship over me she had to adopt me. To make things equal my bio mom disowned? me and they both adopted me together! In similar discriminatory fashion, my non bio mother did not originally get granted leave from work and they had to go to court to fight it because a man would’ve. (My parents are trailblazers they’re so cool!)

I can meet the sperm donor if I’d like, he allowed meet ups on his profile at the sperm bank, so once I was 18 I could meet him. I’ve never really cared to though since I don’t see him as anything other than half of my genetic information, i suppose it could be interesting to see what similarities we share since I’m studying genetics but that’s about it. I do think it’s really cool I know my genetics so closely because it’s all written down though. Im half European Jewish on his side and have his eyebrows, and a mix of his and my bio moms hair!

I also know of the other 5 I think? children whose parents used him as a sperm donor scattered around the North America, my parents were in contact with them when I was a baby not not really anymore though, I also don’t really wanna meet them cause they’re strangers to me? Like idk it’d feel kinda weird to make up some connection to them cause we have genetic info in common.

Thanks again for the ask, im pretty much an open book and it’s super cool that I can give my perspective’s answers for questions!

(Sorry this was so long winded and probably disorganized, that’s just how my neurodivergent brain be)

[knightcorqueen]

Tell me about one of your OCs. Please.

Bro you're really gonna do this to me....okay, prepare for a long-ass response:

So my first ever OC was a vampire, because yes, I was that kid. Her full name is Evangeline Erin Corãn.

Her mother was a vampire, and her father was a human wizard. (I haven't quite figured out names for them, but oh well, we'll get there eventually) Her brother, Albus ended up taking after his father; soon becoming a world renowned sorcerer (and recognized military expert once he joined in the Hybrid war)

A little backstory on each of the parents:

Mother belonged to a family of 12. There was a mother, father, 8 sisters, and 2 brothers. In this vampire community, males were used as breeders; once they sired a litter of children, they were used as hunting practice for the little ones, and eventually killed off. If any boys were born, they would be kept around until they were mature enough to reproduce. Another tradition within this community was the "Battle of thy Brethren" which stated that, only 1 daughter could remain per generation - only 1 girl could carry the family's mantle. So Evangeline's mother had to compete against the 8 other girls within her family in order to survive.

It kind of broke her, not having a father, her mother being a terrible person, and then having to murder her other sisters just so she could survive. After her win, she ran away, not wanting to accept what she had done. While on the run, she met Evangeline's father, who was an absolute romantic and eventually won over her heart. She got pregnant - thought it was only with Evangeline, went back to her mother in hopes that her mother would accept her husband and allow traditions to change, mother ignored her until she gave birth,

lookie there, it's a boy and a girl!

Her mother tried to take away Albus- she was furious, mother threatened to kill husband, so she killed mother.

Ending result?: Trauma

Now onto the Father!:

Dad lived pretty normal life. He was a doorstep baby and was raised by 2 witches. He learned very early on that family doesn't have to be by blood, it's about love and those who can look beyond what you appear to be, and make you feel safe.

He was a very curious child and took a large interest in what his mother's were. So they taught him all they knew and watched him as he grew from a little boy, learning little bits of magic, into a masterful wizard who would use his newfound gifts to help spread joy around the world.

(One of the things he would do while courting Evangeline's mom, was constantly summoning bouquets of flowers from thin air to give to her. Bro had rizz.)

He met Evangeline's mom on his way to another town. He was in the middle of his exploration arc.

(Bro just wanted to explore the world and bam, hit with the power of love.)

Fast forward to Evangeline and Albus as young adults:

Evangeline and her mother do not have a good relationship, mainly because her mother was constantly pushing her to be as strong as possible, fearing that the past would come back to haunt them. Evangeline was jealous of her brother, feeling like he had more freedom to do whatever he wanted, while she had to become what she referred to as a "backup bodyguard." Outside of that, it was a loving family unit. Her father continued to use his magic for funny little pranks that he would involve both Evangeline and Albus in, regardless of how old they got.

(Adorable little side note: The dad would refer to Evangeline as his "little angel" The dad definitely had everyone's hearts - including mine)

Unfortunately I'm a terrible person, so here comes the angst-

A military team in charge of monitoring supernatural entities decided that the vampire community Evangeline's mother had belonged to was too dangerous to be allowed to continue on and decided to hunt down and kill everyone associated with them.

Evangeline and her family are surrounded, they all ready themselves to fight-

(I always think of the dad as Wanda Maximoff in this moment lmao)

Fight breaks out, Evangeline gets into the thick of it, and in this moment thanks her mother for preparing her. Dad ends up getting captured, uses magic to catch himself on fire, severely damaging the 3 soldiers who had ahold of him. Another soldier shoots him in the head, killing him immediately. The mother goes berserk, wiping out more than half of the soldiers, before a barrage of bullets finally puts her down. Albus and Evangeline both finish up the rest of the soldiers and rush over to their mother who is struggling to breathe, but will still survive.

Unfortunately, a second squad shows up as backup. Evangeline and Albus are told to run. Mother gets finished off and Evangeline picks up her brother and takes off. They both go into hiding for a few years.

Albus finally decides to finish his studying and goes back to his father's mage college. He buries himself in the work, aiming to be the strongest he can.

Evangeline blamed herself for not being strong enough, for not being a good enough weapon to save her parents. So she pushed herself to be harder, better, faster, stronger. After she felt she was ready, she set off to take down every single soldier involved in her parents death.

And that's my baby. My very first!

NOW UR OBLIGATED TO TELL ME ABOUT ONE OF YOURS!!

[symptoms-syndrome]

UGH and now there's fucking DRAMA with birth parents!!!

My birth dad is taking my birth mom to court AGAIN. It's like his favorite activity. He just takes her to court on baseless bullshit because he has a lot of money and she doesn't.

Apparently this time it's about my little sister's college stuff. He's saying he needs total control over her college decision and that birth mom has to pay for it. What the fuck ever.

My like. Perspective on both of them has definitely changed as I've gotten older. I feel...pity, for my birth mom. She's a very, very mentally ill woman who had one kid by accident and one in an attempt to save her failing marriage. She wasn't ready to have kids and wasn't able to take care of them. She's been dealing with my birth dad, which got worse after he divorced her, and is too proud to accept help financially, medically, socially.

My birth dad...is a bad person. I hesitate to call people "bad people" but I'm obviously biased here. He's manipulative, self centered, and needs to feel important and powerful and admired above everything else. Everything he does is solely for his own gain. He doesn't care about anyone else except as stepping stones to greater and greater things. He's told me so himself, he told me to think of people like that. To him, it's a dog eat dog world and he needs to be seven steps ahead. I see some of the worst parts of myself in him. He takes advantage of my birth mom despite her being less powerful, less wealthy, and less capable than him. Maybe because of it. He needs total and ultimate control over his children because his children are part of his image. That's another thing that's straight from the horse's mouth. Every time there was some minor infraction, that was the scolding. "The way you behave and present yourself reflects on me. You need to act proper or people will think I'm a bad father."

That's the only reason he keeps trying to be nice to me, I think. It looks bad on him to have an estranged kid. He keeps trying to get me back. But I wonder why he hasn't given up on me. Just erased me from his perfect existence. One time he told me a father's job is to "keep his daughter off the pole." Now I'm like. Doing drag that involves stripping. So. I'm not sure how much he knows about that though.

Individual parts (big or little p, not sure, probably both) have varied feelings. Some are scared of him. A lot of them are, I think. Some are neutral. There's also the opinion that I should keep some sort of loose connection. Which is where I am now. There's the very strong but not very popular opinion I need to cut him off entirely. But that's counteracted by the fear. Lots of fear. But there are still parts that desperately, desperately need his love, approval, affection.

IDK. I have a lot of "daddy issues" TBH. Freud would love me.

There's also the issue of. My little sister. She's still... IDK. I can't blame her for anything. She's in a really traumatic and scary situation. I cut my birth dad off (though I don't remember it) around 15. She hasn't done that yet and she's 18. She's scared to. Part of me feels angry at her. She doesn't have the courage to do what I did. But I can understand. She's scared to be on her own without support. She wants him to help pay for her college. All this sort of stuff. But I'm like... you're an adult now, legally. You don't need to do anything he asks of you. You don't even need to live with him anymore if you don't want to. But she's just... IDK. Compliant. I was too. It's like he makes you into a robot that needs to follow orders. He frames it in a way that makes it feel like if you don't do what he tells you to you'll doom yourself to a shit existence. Which I guess. IDK I fell into the doomed shit existence. Things probably would have been easier, in every way except mentally, if I had been compliant. But I didn't make that choice. I couldn't be compliant so I was thrown away. And now he thinks he can fix me, I think. He regrets throwing me away.

I can't blame her for her decisions, or lack thereof. But it does make me angry. I want her to have the courage to stand up for herself. She's so trained by him she can't even tell me what she wants or doesn't want to do. She can't make any sort of decision without three hours of reassuring her that it's her choice and I won't be upset with whatever she chooses. And sometimes that doesn't even work. I can understand it but that doesn't make it less frustrating. Less infuriating. I don't understand even though I do. Just do it!!! Just have the courage and make even the smallest choice to distance yourself!!! What is she going to do when she's living by herself, or in college? If I were to be mean, I'd say it's pathetic. She's pathetic. I can only hope that she toughens up.

[lunarcovehq]

Kenji Matsui is a vampire that currently resides in Celestial Hills and has been a Lunar Cove resident for 3 years.

ITS THE END OF THE WORLD

GENDER/PRONOUNS: Cis Man, He/Him

DATE OF BIRTH: April 19, 1989

OCCUPATION: Lawyer

FACECLAIM: Sen Mitsuji

AS WE KNOW IT, AND I FEEL FINE

SPECIES: Vampire

CLAN POSITION: Member

AGE AT TRANSFORMATION: 29

WELCOME TO LUNAR COVE, KENJI MATSUI

Trigger Warnings: Parental Death, Parental Manipulation

PAST: 

Like the one who came before him, and the one soon to follow, Kenji, the second child born to a couple that did not tolerate disobedience, was quick to realise what being a Matsui actually meant. With the trajectory of his life, and that of his siblings already set, orders were to be followed and expectations were not only to be met but to be surpassed, it was not enough to be good, they had to be the best, the most successful, the most powerful. However, pitting the children to bring about a competitive nature only worked when their mother’s eyes were on them, condescension was an act put on over the other’s failure when their father asked about achievements. It was a game carefully played showing their parents wanted they wanted to see and hating them and all the rules in secret, but it was one that strengthened the bond between the siblings.

Solace and company arrived in the form of neighbours which soon grew into a friendship that was miraculously approved, of course it helped greatly that their parents were business partners, but even so, this friendship through proximity quickly grew into something genuine that was beyond the controlling grasp of his parents. All seemed to be well, business boomed and the children, less afraid and with more support than just each other, carefully toed the line their parents had set for them and began doing things for themselves without seeking permission. But of course, freedom was a rare word in their dictionary, being caught was the children’s biggest fear, but they should’ve looked ahead because something far worse was on the horizon.

A business man and a lawyer make a terrible combo in more than one way. With greed being the driving force and power the end goal, it was no surprise when the years of lies and deceit finally found their mark. When his dad sold out his business partner to make a profit for himself and his mother defended his father when things escalated at court, the shock was felt not only by the Morrell’s but also the Matsui children. Enraged, the business partner, whom just so happened to be a secret witch, cursed the pair of them to a fate worse than hers - a life of betrayals and misfortune would fall upon them. Writing her off as a madwoman, the Matsui’s won the case and reveled in their victory. However, Ken and siblings were alone again as the Morrell’s skipped town hastily. While the other two were finally vocal about their outrage, Ken, who was hit the hardest by this, retreated further into himself and it was this silence on the act that began to drive a wedge between them. His sister had complained to him many a times about the unfairness of their parents, the sky high expectations and finality of their word. But Ken, though sharing the sentiment, was unable to offer any comfort as he had resigned to the fate that his parents would never change their ways. The only way to avoid their wrath was to do exactly what they want. His brother had figured this out too, but being the eldest, he left not long after the incident as his career took off. Becoming apathetic to everything was easy after that, coming across as cold and asshole-ish was a safer bet that involving feelings.

It was a sight that broke his heart when he found his sister leaving in the dead of night, but knew it had to be this way. Helping her in anyway he could he let her go without a word, and in the morning he left too, unwilling to deal with his parents alone. Safe to say, their parents were livid. But these were his first choices without the influence of his parents and unbeknownst to the children, their collective acts of defiance began the curse. It began with simple losses, a missed opportunity here and there, a deal slipping through the cracks they didn’t think to seal. Soon it moved to bigger things, loss of high profile customers, important clientele dissatisfied with the how they were defended in court, and with the losses stacking up, the demotions followed. Bad deals to save face lead to a deeper hole being dug which quickly caught up and landed them all in rip current headed straight for doom.

Ken knew none of this of course, to him LA was the key to freedom but breaking free of the mold his parents had shaped him in was harder than anticipated. In his attempts to do the opposite of what he had been taught, Ken soon learnt that people take advantage of niceness and the world with its preaching's of doing good deeds does not in fact favour the kind. Slowly he reverted back into his shell and the wall of indifference and coldness was put back up as he became insufferable as ever. The years of conditioning couldn’t be shaken that easily, not only did he stay on the career trajectory set by his parents but when they landed on his doorstep, paranoid and muttering something about a curse, guilting him into helping, he fell right back into step and allowed them in. It was not a sight he could ever imagine, seeing the always put together folk now standing weary and disheveled caused a pang of a pity within him, but no matter how out of sorts the Matsui parents were, they were still master manipulators, especially on their children.

When strange people began showing up at his house, he was offered very little in explanation and the morsels he was given didn’t line up; they were business partners, they were friends, they were bodyguards. They were none of your business. Questions fell onto deaf ears, and arguments were simply Ken airing out his frustrations, his parents had no care in the world that they took over their son’s new life with their problems again, it was owed, this was the least he could do. He couldn’t pinpoint when they made the decision, but Ken was finally told the truth. Finding out the betrayal came with a curse was not surprising (after he adjusted to his initial shock of the existence of supernatural begins), they deserved it and he told them as such. As for the strangers, the hunters, they were indeed bodyguards. His parents had somehow come into contact with Supernatural hunters and realising the Morrell’s were Witches, they gave up all the information they had to this group. Anger was white hot when Ken realised what this would mean to his former childhood friends, no matter what he was told about their powers or how unnatural it was, Ken refused to accept his parents excuses, the fact that they had intentionally sent them to death was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Cutting ties once more there was finality in his words when he said he wanted nothing to do with them, and learning from his previous mistakes, Ken moved cross-country this time. Taking New York’s bar exam was a little price to pay for a second fresh start. Three years of peace came crashing as the death of his parents reached him. A pair of strangers brought him the news and before realization dawned on their odd appearance, sharp teeth sunk in turning his world black. Ken was supposed to perish alongside them, the rouge vampires told him as such when he woke up, they were planning to attack the hunters that killed their friend but had found out about what his parents did and decided to take that matters into their hands too. It was retribution, they said when he questioned on why they turned him, tracking him down had been tough and this was them evening out the odds. With choices limited and powers not yet under control, Ken was left with little choice, following them around was more of a need than a want, and they knew it too. Life as a vampire was undoubtedly hell, and Ken saw it for what it was; a curse. And it was his to bear. Though death was a luxury he sometimes hoped for but when the moment came, he didn't want it. When their location was discovered by a group of hunters, the race to safety was only won by Ken and his decision of flight rather than fight. 

PRESENT:

A new house in Celestial Hills was not how Ken planned to ring in his third year of stay in Lunar Cove but he also was never the one to pass on a indulgence. By no means does he consider it safe enough to let his guard down, the killings saw to that, but the need to constantly look over his shoulder had eased as the years went by.

[raincitygirl76]

He’s just a 16 year old who got in a fistfight. He’s probably hurt worse than the other guy, by the looks of him. And where the other guy started getting physical with him first. A normal 16 year old would get get a few days suspension from school (and that only IF the fight happened on school grounds), get yelled at by their parents, and grounded for a month.

Wilhelm, with makeup covering his fresh bruises, is put on national television and forced to grovel to a whole country for doing something many teenagers have done. He is an actor reading a script off a teleprompter, but the script involves a barefaced lie (that he’s going off to boarding school willingly) to atone to the nation for his grievous sins.

And the thing is, nobody, not his parents, nor media, nor the Swedish public, would give a single fuck if the fight hadn’t been filmed and then leaked on the internet. His parents aren’t packing him off to Hillerska for getting in a fight. They’re only doing it because he was unlucky enough to get CAUGHT.

Otherwise it would’ve all been hushed up. A private family matter, where Wilhelm’s parents would yell at him and ground him for a month. Was it stupid for Wilhelm to get into a fist fight? Yes, of course. Use your words, not your fists.

But this ritual of public scapegoating has nothing to do with the fight. It has everything to do with the fact that this 16 year old’s face is instantly recognizable, has been since birth. And total strangers think it’s okay to film him like a zoo animal, in hopes he’ll do something meme-worthy eventually.

The televised apology was never about the fight, it was about an obsession with projecting a false image of perfection. And about Wilhelm being witnessed fighting on camera. The aftermath was entirely performative. He wasn’t sorry, he was furious. But he had no choice but to project abject contrition.

Erik had a relationship with an OnlyFans model. That would’ve been a much bigger scandal than his little brother head butting someone. But Erik was “discreet” and didn’t get caught by the media or the general public. Presumably he also fessed up to his parents and their courtiers as soon as he realized there were rumours. We don’t know that for sure, but it’s inferred.

The royal court handled the entire potential embarrassment, including having the model involved sign a non-disclosure agreement so she couldn’t tell anyone about their affair. Presumably in return for a hefty sum of money. Although some Hillerska students know about it as of 1.06, the media and the general public apparently don’t. Erik’s image was preserved.

And that’s what really matters. Erik being savvy enough not to get caught. And ensuring his parents’ lawyers clean up his mess before it can go public and damage their image. That’s what Kristina and Ludvig care about: reputation and damage control. There’s hardly any problem that can’t be fixed by throwing money and NDAs at it.

The only unfixable problem is someone with a camera phone catching a 16 year old doing something stupid and impulsive, and uploading the footage.

"I would like to start by saying that nobody is more disappointed in me than my family, and especially myself".

This is how fast young royals broke me, right at that moment. They wrote this speech for him. They made this TEENAGER sit there and say_ in front of the whole country_ that his family is disappointed in him.. that he is disappointed in himself.

And I instantly knew I can never leave Wille alone ever again. 💜