#on proper childcare
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authortobenamedlater · 1 year ago
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and 6, fransher xD no obligation, just if you'd like! platonic or romantic as you like
(Send me two characters romantic or platonic and I’ll write a little fic)
6. “Have a good day at work.”
Friend you NEVER have to qualify with a “no obligation” I love this rarepair swap we have going on 😂
“I’m running late.”
“Hm. And will your target be less alive when you do get there?”
Franco strapped on her holster and glowered at her husband. “I’m serious, Vinsher.”
“I’ve always wondered, why the rush,” Vinsher went on, annoyingly placid. “Do you suppose another assassin will swoop in and take your place if you’re a few minutes late?”
“And what if one did?” Franco took both of her pistols out of the safe and holstered them. “This is a big job. Plenty of other people will take it if I can’t get it done.”
“I must point out, my dear, this would not be an issue if you invested in proper childcare.”
Franco rolled her eyes. “Not that again.”
“Luciana has never been on time for anything, a day in her life.”
No argument there. “Luciana is also free.”
“You get what you pay for. Imagine an assassin who didn’t charge?”
Franco had had just about enough. “You don’t have anywhere to go for the next two hours.” She sheathed her knives and pulled on her vest.
“And I don’t doubt your sister will still be taking her own sweet time.”
“She won’t be.” Franco tied her hair back. “I’ll be back to get the kids in bed.”
“Mom!” Elaine hollered the second Franco stepped out of the bedroom. “Max—“
“Take it up with your dad, honey.” Franco gave her daughter a quick hug. “I have to go.”
“Have a good day at work,” Vinsher called.
“Have a good day at work.” Franco shook her head as she left the house. A good day at work, as if she were filing insurance claims and not about to take out the biggest, baddest mob boss on Madrigal.
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tinfoil-jones · 15 days ago
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Tate Pines AU: Parenting Styles
Did Stan ever talk to Fiddleford after the truth was revealed? Yes, they had one direct conversation about it pre-Weirdmageddon, post-Ford return. It went exactly how you think it would go:
Fiddleford: I had to protect him from the portal! You didn't know how to prioritize his safety over your guilt, Stanley- for Gods sake, he committed sixteen felonies by the age of five!
Stan: First of all, they don't count as felonies because he was never caught. Second of all, it was nineteen if you count the different types of counterfeiting. Third, YOU want to call ME out on bad parenting, McGucket!? You literally started a cult!
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bidean-byedean · 3 months ago
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I get it and love that for them but 11 shifts a month is craaaaazy
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adhdbisexualramblings · 1 year ago
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idk I think we should focus a little more on minorities that are more minority than others
#LGBT issues are fine and they mean a lot to a lot of people#Sexism and racism and classism are relatable to a lot of people and encompass a large part of their struggles#But I’m tired of seeing a difference between how single dads and single moms are treated in books and media#Because single moms are obviously trying their best but to put down single dads who are genuinely trying by saying that they’re bad#As an over generalization of men’s ‘lack of proper caretaking’ skills is really…iffy#I want to see a single dad who is just as capable as a single mom in the tense of childcare. Maybe he had a lot of siblings#The point of the feminist movement isn’t for a power shift - it’s for equality#And I’m frankly not seeing that for the small things and details#Because now instead of saying “women can’t do men’s jobs” it’s turned into “men can’t do women’s jobs”#It’s been flipped#ALSO I want neglectful (NOT physically abusive) parent rep as the child of a dad who did care but wasn’t ready for a kid#I think physical abuse is the media’s baseline for what counts as actual abuse which is just downright stupid#THATS not ALL that bad parenting can be SHUT up#I understand that there are a lot of cases of physical abuse but there are also a lot of cases that don’t involve it#I want to see minority stories that go DEEPER than the usual minority stories#For all the little things that are outliers that aren’t seen as often or talked about because they’re not status quo#Anyways thanks for coming to my TED talk#Goodnight
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a-most-beloved-fool · 9 days ago
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tos jim kirk is very funny to me because he is so bad with children. you'd think he'd be good with them, but he isn't. i think he probably likes them well enough, he just. doesn't know how to talk to them. not one bit. has no idea how to interact. kids can tell he's trying, but he's bad enough at it that they don't really like him more for it. type of guy who you'd hand a baby to, and he'd hold it out in front of him with stiff arms. like, um. what do i do with this. he could be coached on proper holding technique, but he'd still look visibly uncomfortable the whole time.
tos spock is Not Much Better. i think that he feels more clueless around kids than kirk does, but kids also like him more. he doesn't have it in him to be mean to a child ever, so all the awkward kids adore him, and he spends the whole time with them sending desperate looks to other crew members, being like, 'help, i am ill equipped for childcare' and everyone around him is like, 'nooo, you're doing great!!!' while the child has a blast and he is wishing desperately to be Anywhere Else. however, he does refuse care of babies. somehow, he is even worse with babies than jim is.
bones, though - he's a kid guy. he loves kids and babies. he adores them, they adore him, it's a win win. and he looks over at kirk and spock Struggling and he laughs and laughs and laughs. (the kids, of course, think this is hilarious, and they join in on making fun of kirk and spock, even if they don't really know what they're making fun of them for.)
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twst-kumi · 2 months ago
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Sorry please,my English is not very good ( it's not my mother tongue) it's silly but you can do a headcanon on pregnancy ( from the dorm heads) or an alphabet on either of them!
Don't worry, English is not my mother tongue too. I will consider reader is in a relationship with them and that they are the father. Reader is a girl in the story.
Dorm leader with Pregnant reader
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Riddle Rosehearts
Riddle would be the most shocked if you were pregnant.
You two were still in NRC. IN SCHOOLS! He knew he should have waited for marriage.
Riddle is worried, and rightfully so. He knows nothing about child care, let alone parenthood. He is scared that he won't be a good father. Or worse. What if he becomes like his mother and repeats the trauma circle?
Reader and Trey will need to be the voice of reason here.
Make sure to assure him that everything is alright.
Riddle will gather EVERYTHING he could get about childbirth and childcare.
He will learn everything from start to end. At this point, he knows more about your pregnancy than you do.
Expect him to be there at every doctor's appointment, even better! HE will make those appointments.
Your doctor would be a bit tired tho...
Riddle will ask him a lot of questions. From your diet, to what is needed for the pregnancy, how to make sure you and the baby will be safe.
Reader will be taken care of like a queen.
You will also have to move to Heartlsabyul. Ramshackle is too rundown and dangerous for you or the baby.
Trey mentioned that Mozart was good for the baby's brain development. Care to try it?
Riddle would spend hours talking and reading to your belly.
Will cry before the first ultrasound you did. It's his child's first picture in a way.
Mood swings with Riddle would be funny. He knows it's because your body changes for the child but it's hard sometimes.
Ace would laugh because this time he is the one who has to walk on eggshells.
If you cry, Riddle will be completely helpless. He would panic trying to make you smile.
The one to take care of your food carving would be Trey. Riddle tried to do it, but some of the things you asked for, were unknown.
I think Riddle would be a little jealous of the other. He would feel a little helpless about the situation. And having to rely on others even though he is the father. He should be the one to take care of you!
This would be where Riddle would see the difference between theoretical and practical knowledge.
Marriage will be expected. He will try to at least get a civil marriage. If you have any religion, he will organize a proper wedding following your beliefs once the baby is born.
Riddle's biggest worry is his mom. He doesn't want her to hurt you or the baby.
Riddle will try to take care of everything for you. He isn't the best at it, but he has the spirit.
BONUS Childbirth :
Poor Riddle would definitely want to be there during the birth.
His poor soul didn't support it.
Riddle would either cry or faint. He is sorry he put you through something so painful and potentially traumatic.
You will have to assure him that you are okay.
Leona Kingscholar
Leona with a pregnant reader could be interesting if he was a Yandere.
Lions kill young cubs (not his) to get the lioness more inclined to bear his cub.
But this isn't a Yandere headcanon. So I will keep this in a drawer.
That doesn't mean he wouldn't try to push Grim a little away. Or bribe convince him to leave you and him alone a little longer.
Leona is the first to know you are pregnant. Way before you do.
Cliché but it's true.
He would not try to tell you directly, so he wouldn't sound too insensitive, but he will insist that you take a pregnancy test
Or even better he will try to convince you to do a blood test. It's more accurate than a stick you pee on.
And surprise surprise, you are pregnant.
Leona can't help but be smug about it. He is the father, and if it wasn't obvious before for some stubborn herbivore or... A particular lizard.
Leona is close to his sister-in-law so he had some experience with pregnancy.
But this time he is the father. And the mother is a magicless human.
Unlike beastwomen, you are more weak. This is what worries him.
The first person Leona asks for advice is his sister. Who is the best to ask about pregnancy if it's not someone who experienced it?
This also means that Falena now knows he will be an uncle.
Leona could hear Cheka rambling happily that he would have a younger cousin to everyone he saw.
If you wanted to keep a low profile during the pregnancy, he is sorry. That would be impossible. Say goodbye to your peaceful days.
You must go with him to meet with your in-laws during the weekend.
Leona is a prince. Even if he is just the second prince, he is still from the royal family. Which means, a lot of regulation, tradition, etc...
Leona's family would happily welcome you and try to make you feel accepted.
During the pregnancy, Leona would make sure to get you everything.
You want chocolate and pickles? Of course! Need a massage? The servants are here for you; if you wish, HE would do it.
While in NRC, expect to stay with him. Leona doesn't want you to strain yourself too much.
He will make sure that Ruggie runs errands for him AND you.
Leona will sleep with a hand on your belly. He will never say it but he loves feeling the baby kick.
Another one who will follow you to your ultrasound.
The royal family has their own doctor. And he is your doctor from now on too. You are his royal spouse after all.
BONUS Childbirth :
It's a known fact, that Leona drinks his respected woman's juice every morning.
Well after childbirth? He drinks it morning and night.
Seeing you endure so much pain just because you love him, made him feel even more in love.
Leona could never do what you did.
You are weak compared to beastwomen, but even more brave. As expected of his future wife.
Leona would cradle the baby carefully next to you. He tried not to show it but you could see the small smile on his lips.
Azul Ashengrotto
Azul would be another one shocked. He almost spit his ink.
Floyd and Jade would congratulate and tease him.
It was unexpected but Azul is happy about it.
Don't worry about the future, he saved enough money to care for you and the baby.
For your carving, he will ask the twins for help. Floyd is having a blast with your funny demand.
Azul will accompany you to your doctor's appointment.
He will have done his research before coming with you. And while Riddle would ask the doctor way too many questions.
Azul just takes notes and asks questions only when needed.
He will take you to look for the baby's clothes and maybe even the furniture.
Mood swing with Azul is a nightmare for him and comedy gold for the Leech twins.
No, you are not fat, just full of love.
You are not ugly! You are the prettiest mother who ever existed.
Azul would watch you with bated breath for any outburst.
Please don't mind the contract he asked you to sign. Mariage contract? Don't mind what was written on it.
Bonus Childbirth
Azul would panic the moment your water broke.
He would come in the room, hold your hand as you are pushing the baby out;
And then?... Nothing.
Azul just fainted, he wasn't even able to hold the baby. The tweels will tease him about it.
Kalim Al Asim
LET'S THROW A PARTY!!!
Kalim is way too happy, and you can tell from Jamil's face that he is losing 5 years of his life.
Kalim has been poisoned and kidnapped a lot since childhood, and now he has to protect you too.
Poor Jamil can't take a break. And now you are overworking him.
You will obviously move to their dorm because now you are under careful watch.
Kalim is just happy and is already preparing a room for the baby.
Tell him what you want, and he will give you EVERYTHING.
Your Carving? Don't worry, Jamil can make them for you.
You want a midnight snack? Kalim would try to do it but would fail miserably. He will have to wake up Jamil to prepare your snack and clean up the mess. poor guy
Meeting with the Al Asim family would be great.
Usually, they would do a long background check and be suspicious of you. But if even Jamil trusts you. Welcome to the family.
Another one who has a private doctor.
Mood swings with Kalim would be impossible.
He is such a sweetheart, you can't get angry at him. Instead, he will smother you with love.
You would feel frustrated by the constant monitoring but it's for your safety.
Bonus childbirth
Kalim absolutely wanted to come with you in the room.
Jamil stopped him, so he had to wait with his family.
He would be anxiously pacing until they were allowed in.
He is the first at your side to look at your baby.
Kalim would cry and laugh proudly. He is a father now.
Vil Schoenheit
Vil is happy but also worried. He has always wanted to form a family with you.
But just not this soon. He is an actor so he knows how fans can react.
He wants to be present during every step of your pregnancy but can't.
Vil will keep it as private as possible.
He is not ashamed but it's for your safety.
Vil knows how crazy fans can be, I believe he had some stalker, and you can't tell me otherwise.
Vil would be one of the people who wouldn't cave into your carving.
If he deems it as unhealthy, he will refuse to give it to you.
He will be here for you during your mood swings.
About Vil's dad, I don't think he would mind too much. His son is responsible enough for him to trust Vil's decision. He is also excited to be a grandpa.
Will come with you to your doctor's appointment. He isn't there at every appointment but he tries.
Bonus childbirth
Vil is both in awe and worried. Giving birth is both the most beautiful and strong event he could witness.
He would hold your hand, staying by your side every time
Vil would hold the baby with a tender smile. He doesn't say it but you can see he loves the baby already. It's the most beautiful child.
Idia Shroud
Idia would be happy and MORTIFIED. For him, it's a miracle he was able to pull you.
And now, you say you are pregnant???
He fainted.
Idia is happy but it's too much emotion for him.
He is going to be a father... A FATHER! Idia never thought you would be interested by him, let alone share your blood and have a child with him.
He believes he ruined your life and feel guilty for being happy for it. You will not leave him when you are with his child... Right?
Will ask you if you want to keep the child or not. (Please don't say you don't want it, his heart gonna break.)
You will have to reassure him that you are happy and actually want the baby.
Please hug, Idia! He need a lot of PDA.
Idia will work his courage up, to accompany you.
He will be worried about you and the baby. It's to the point he made something to monitor you and the baby. Or just ask Ortho to keep an eye on you.
Any abnormal change would warrant a panic attack in Idia. He is an overthinker.
Mood swings is a nightmare for both of you.
Idia is an anxious guys, so he would cry.
Any carving you have is like a game where he have to be fast.
His family would welcome you with open arms.
They did a background check, surviving 6 Overblot in a row is incredible. Mind if they study you?
Anyway, you are totally welcomed in the Shroud family.
Don't worry about the wedding after the baby's birth. They will take care of it.
Idia's family is wealthy and he is the heir. So don't spare the details for the baby room.
Bonus Childbirth
Idia would go with you in the delivery room.
I can see him cry like he is the one giving birth.
Poor guy tried to focus on you and only you. Holding your hand tightly, kissing your forehead while whispering encouraging word.
But the moment he glanced at what was happening down there?
He is gone! Idia fainted from horror and shock.
How could you support that? It must hurt!
Did you see the size of his head? He is shocked.
Well was, because he fainted.
Malleus Draconia
I'm going to cheat for this one as I'm planning on doing a Yandere headcanon/one shot involving a pregnant reader. (A personal request of a close friend.)
So I will just link it here.
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f4c4r · 1 month ago
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Suitable jobs for females who need to work
While the ideal is females married while young, becoming stay-at-home wives and mothers, that isn't reality for many females today. Some family require their daughters to work so they can afford to live, some are forced by their parents to study or 'find a job' instead of wait for marriage and some females only discover the truth about patriarchy and female inferiority when they are older.
There are some jobs suitable for females because of the skills they teach which will be handy in a future marriage.
Housekeeping for a hotel - teaches proper cleaning, making beds and tidying up
Waitressing - how to lay out a table, how to serve, can include washing dishes
Kitchen hand - how to prepare meals, wash dishes, organise and clean a kitchen. How to stock and maintain a pantry.
Childcare worker - what babies need and what is appropriate for each stage of development
Nursing (especially in retirement homes) - not the type of nursing required for working in hospitals, there is a lower level which teaches nursing skills for patient care. In Australia we call them Enrolled Nurses
Teacher's Aide - not an actual teacher. Someone who helps out in the classroom. You still learn the most beneficial way to teach children math, reading, etc that is age appropriate
Hairdresser / Beautician - learning the latest fashion trends and helping other females look their best
Sex worker - controversial. Teaches females to please Men sexually putting only His needs first.
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bekaroth-reads · 5 months ago
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Baldur's Gate 3 Characters x Reader/Tav with childcare habits
[ Not sure what to title this. I work with toddlers and very small children, and there are so many habits that leak over into other things I do. Thought that it would be funny if Tav had the same problem. Not necessarily romantic relationships, it can be platonic too. This is written gender neutral so it can be any reader or Tav.]
Gale- There was a general air of exhaustion that hung over the camp. But, on the bright side, at least Gale could rest easy in the knowledge that there was a very powerful, easy to consume artifact in his hands. While he usually liked to go through the whole song and dance of this unfortunate requirement by himself, he didn’t mind if you were there. You had both seen each other in stranger situations by this point. Add to this that you looked like you were about to fall asleep at any moment, there wasn’t much to be self conscious about.
Just as Gale put the artifact to his lips, you suddenly moved his hand away, giving it a few gentle taps.
“Ick, ick! Makes a Gale sick.” You mumbled, not conscious enough to be considered awake before you rolled over and fell asleep proper.
Gale gave a tickled chuckle that was slightly tinged with the bitterness of the truth in the situation.
“Oh, believe me. I know.” He patted your shoulder and got back to the deed at hand.
Halsin- Everyone else had retired to their tents except Halsin and yourself. The both of you had offered to clean up the mess from dinner. You had talked for awhile, but finally got around to actually cleaning. The pot that was used to cook dinner was left too close to the fire, so it was still too hot to touch with your bare hands. You had used a cloth to move it away, and were waiting for it to cool off when Halsin came over to pick it up.
Moving faster than your thoughts, you moved away his hand while instinctively saying.
“Hot, hot for Halsin!”
You were hoping that he somehow didn’t hear what you had said exactly. And, when all he responded was a polite, “Thank you for the warning,” you thought he might have not. However, Halsin was literally biting his tongue to try not to laugh.
A few days later, he teased you by taking a lit torch from you and gently scolding, “Hot, hot for Tav.”
Astarion- Things haven’t been great for him lately. And, by lately, he meant decades. However, he could wallow in self pity later. Right now he needed to feed, and animal blood wasn't cutting it. Lucky that you seemed to put your bed roll a bit farther from the fire than the others in the group.
He quietly sneaked his way over to you, and prepared to strike. However, when his fangs hit your neck, things took an unexpected turn.
"No bites! Not nice!" You scolded in your sleep as your hand moved to rest on his forehead and gently push him away.
You suddenly woke up. The two of you stared at each other, neither saying anything. After an agonizing awkward few minutes, he walked away.
The next morning he pulled you aside from the rest of the party and sternly whispered, "Look- you don't mention that I'm a vampire and I won't tell them about the baby-talk."
Shadowheart- She and Lae'zel had gotten into an argument. Nothing new for either of them. This one really got under Shadowheart's skin this time.
"Can't believe that slimly toad of a woman thought she could pull something like that..." She grumbled as she stomped past you.
"Hey, are you using your kind words?" You asked.
This stopped her in her tracks and she turned to look at you, her anger almost completely replaced by myrth. "I'm sorry, what did you just say?" She questioned, her voice sounding as devious as she felt.
"Are you speaking well about our teammates?" You rephrased.
Raphael- He had insisted that he recite a new poem that he was working on, even if he had to wake you up to do so. Despite trying to stay awake, you couldn't help but doze off on Haarlep's shoulder. They didn't mind as, though they weren't physically tired, they would also rather be anywhere else. The two of you both being Raphael's quite literal captive audience.
"Oh, no. That most certainly is NOT what you asked me." Shadowheart teased. She wouldn't let you live this down for a long time. She's never too hard on you though.
Once the cambion had finished, he looked at the both of you expecting praise for his prose; Haarlep elbowed you just in the nick of time so you could sit up before Raphael noticed.
"Well?" He goaded.
"Truly, you have outdone yourself." Haarlep gave a purposefully unconvincing cheer.
Raphael rolled his eyes before moving his attention to you. "And, you, Tav?"
Still not fully aware of how you sounded or anything in the actual contents of the poem, you said, "Oh, how pretty, Raphael!" like you would have to a child that just gave you a finger painting.
The next thing you knew, Haarlep was rushing down the hall, you slung over their shoulder, their wings hitting your head with every movement, as they were laughing so hard it almost turned into a coughing fit. The quick escape must have been from the vaguely Raphael shaped fire right behind you, snapping and flinging blazes your direction while cursing and yelling about you not knowing what true art is.
Haarlep- They had heard that you had taken a pretty nasty hit to the head. Still, they hadn't quite expected what they were greeted with when they went to take stock of your condition like they were asked to. (Nurse work wasn't usually in their duties, but Raphael couldn't be bothered to do this himself.)
They appeared in your room to see you sitting on your bed, staring at nothing.
"Knock, knock, little mortal." They announced their presence which tore your eyes away from the space you were looking at.
You looked at them for a moment before giving a exasperated sigh.
"Where are your clothes?" You asked.
They blink a few times, not knowing how else to respond. "I beg your pardon?" They eventually asked.
You walked over to your closet and started digging through it. Eventually you walked over with a completely mixed matched set of clothes. "You have to wear something. You can't just run around in your undies!" The last part was very exaggerated as you lightly pinched and wiggled their nose.
They immediately returned to Raphael with you in tow. "It's worse than we thought." Was all they said as they sat you down and walked away.
Gartash- To say that Enver Gortash's work and habits were messy would be an understatement. It was certainly no different tonight. He had gotten blood and viscera all over him. And, seeing as he loved to get a rise out of you, he chose not to wash it off before going to find you.
When he saw you reading, he took a moment to compose himself to seem as though nothing was amiss, and walked calmly up to you.
"Anything interesting in your books today?" He asked, barely holding his excitement to hear you yell at him.
You started to say something, but when you turned to look at him you took a cloth from your pocket. Reaching up, you rubbed the blood from his face; each pass of the cloth was acompanied with a sing-song, "Wipe, wipe, wipe, wipe, wipe."
Gortash was baffled and indignant that he didn't get the reaction he wanted. He smacked your hand away and yelled, "What in the hells was that?!"
"Sorry," you offered sheepishly, "force of habit."
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the-starry-seas · 5 months ago
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actually i think the clones are kinda scared by the concept of a nuclear family. they were raised by several hundred beings, almost a hundred of them from a culture that values childcare above all else, so the idea that just two people are supposed to be responsible for the entire family of kids??? two??? are you fucking good besties?????? you need at least four parents like a squad has?????? they're relieved to learn about polyamory because finally someone has the proper number of parents
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sonicscrewdriverstantz · 6 months ago
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Headcanons, Being Ray Stantz's Child
gender neutral!reader, child!reader
Being born during the groups college days, and just adding a dose of daily chaos to their otherwise uneventful studies.
Three men and a baby. Enough said. It's absolute pandemonium.
Ray being the mother hen. Egon being the irresponsible father, and Peter being the fun uncle.
You have an entire family, even if not by blood.
Ray bringing you to college with him, and multitasking because he can't afford childcare.
Him using you as someone to rattle off all his theories about the occult and paranormal to before you can even crawl.
Peter uses you as a 'mini wing-man'. Women flock to him because they think you're his child and find the fact that he's a seemingly decent single dad attractive. (GIRL, IT'S THE BARE MINIMUM) Peter being himself, of course, doesn't bother to correct them.
Constant compliments being directed towards you by women, to which Peter's reply is always the same.
'Mhmmm, yeah, they get their looks from their father' *insert cocky, arrogant smirk*
Ray then reminding him that he's not actually the father.
'Oh, no, I know, I was complimenting you, honey' *cocky, arrogant smirk still in place, this smug guy knows exactly what he's doing*
Ray immediately becoming quiet and turning a bright, red colour, stumbling, tripping, collapsing over the English language, of which he's usually quite eloquent with. Then picking you up in his arms, and walking off muttering variants of profanities and insults directed at Peter
This section was greatly inspired by a ficlet my friend, @xraylovers wrote for me :) Thanks for letting me use your idea bestie.
Egon views you as a science experiment... problems ensue.
Days spent leaning over old occult books, the dusty aroma worn like a birthday badge as a testament to the age of the journal drifting into his child's face as Ray carefully reads each line.
Him having no concern as to whether this is proper bedtime story material for a 5 year old, as long as their happy, which, judging from the small inquisitive smile and plethora of questions asked, they most definitely are.
Ray is so excited to have a mini replica of him, just as interested in the occult as he is, someone to share his special interest with and experience the excitement and wonder of it all for the first time through their eyes.
Peter looking upon Y/N as his niece/nephew and calling them 'Baby Stantz' or 'The Littlest Ghostbuster' or variations upon. All the while, Y/N constantly complaining about wanting to be a Ghostbuster now.
Naturally, Peter buys a mini Ghostbusters suit with 'Baby Stantz' custom inscribed as the name tag, as well as a toy replica proton-pack. Which Egon promptly turns into a miniature, but fully-working proton-pack... until Ray confiscates it, sharing some harsh words with Egon about children's safety.
'Ray, I was merely teaching Y/N the proper way to operate a proton pack to prepare them for when they become a Ghostbuster'
'EGON! You can't give a child an unlicensed nuclear accelerator!'
Winston becoming the only semi-normal parental figure you have: Egon knows nothing about children, your dad is an extreme mother hen, and Peter is... himself.
Your dad would often take you out in the Ecto-1, wheels spinning, sirens blaring (after you begged ro have the sirens on, and every time he agrees because he has no backbone when it comes to you). You roll down the window and hold your hand out, letting the air rush through your fingers in quick succession as you take in the sights of New York City.
Despite his initial protest, when you became a little older and he realised how serious and passionate you were about following in his footsteps, your dad taught you how to use a proton pack and ghost trap (while supervised of course!) in the basement. While others your age were playing sports or video games, you were being taught how to wrangle ghosts and spirits.
Despite the dangers and challenges of being a Ghostbuster, you've always been proud of your dad and your family. They're not just heroes to the world, they're heroes to you, too.
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azzys-secret-kink-blog · 8 months ago
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Ghitian Breeding Program
CW: alien pregnancy, birth, etc etc 3400 words
The CF Osiris had just finished a job when Kaiz got the call. It was her turn to participate in her province's breeding program. It had been a few years since she'd last bred, and it was something she looked forward to, serving her planet in the best way she could.
The Ghitian species was largely female, with about a 95/5 split between the males and females. There were two types of females: breeders and layers. Each province had a few breeder females who oversaw the breeding programs, and handled the frequency and size of the breeding program. Most all females were drafted into the program once they came of age, sans those with health issues or other circumstances that would bar them from breeding.
A breeder female would mate with multiple males, grow hundreds of eggs, and implant the eggs into multiple layer females. After being implanted, the eggs would grow quickly and hatch within the layer female, before being born and taken to the proper childcare facilities. The children were not raised by their parents, but rather facilities specially build to raise and train them to contribute to the planet however they could.
Kaiz took her ship, a small armed shuttle, back to Ghitia. She touched down in her province mid morning and a transport was waiting for the newest batch of layers. Kaiz saw a few she'd been raised with and a few she didn't recognize, a few younger and older than her, but most around the same age. They all boarded the transport together, some of the younger ones talking amongst themselves. Kaiz heard that it was their first time breeding.
She had bred twice before, the first time she'd only been able to lay 8, but the second time shed gotten all the way to 14. She figured she could get even higher this time. Once they arrived at the breeding facility, they were asked to strip and clean themselves for the next step. Once stripped, they stretched properly, both their bodies and their loins. Then they were taken, one at a time, to see the breeder female, who would lay her eggs in them one at a time. Kaiz was near the back of the line, and could hear the mixed noises made by all the ones that went before her.
Finally, it was Kaiz's turn. She entered the room with the breeder female. Her name was Diyahux, and was a younger breeder female. Diyahux was tall, and her abdomen was massive. Like all pregnant breeder females, her insectoid abdomen stretched far behind her and supported by a huge cushion and woven fabric support bands. The room was bathed with red light and flowing fabric decorated the walls. Diyahux sat in the center on her breeder seat, and greeted Kaiz with a warm expression.
"You are Kaiz Dejslayer, yes?" Diyahux asked. Her voice was deep and comforting, and her pheromones filled the room, making Kaiz feel relaxed and almost lightheaded, but she tried to keep herself composed and professional.
"Y-yes, ma'am. I look forward to laying for you," Kaiz said. She wasn't nervous, but was having a hard time keeping it together around all the pheromones. They were starting to get to her even deeper. She began to feel the desire to be filled with eggs, and her nethers burned for stimulation.
"Come, when you are ready," Diyahux said. Her ovipositor emerged from between her legs. It was long and prehensile, and a bright green that almost glowed. Kaiz almost drooled at the sight of it. She approached Diyahux, and the larger female motioned for her to kneel on the mat in front of her. She knelt before the breeder and spread her legs, and was quickly met with the ovipositor. It entered her and slid in and out for a few moments, before probing deeper, all the way to her egg sac.
The ovipositor quickly began to swell, locking itself in place, and the first egg started to come down. It was deposited in Kaiz's egg sac, and followed by another. This continued until Diyahux had laid about 12 eggs, when Kaiz began to feel full.
"You're doing so well, Kaiz. Would you like me to stop there, or can you take a few more?" Diyahux said. Her tone was gentle, and she guided Kaiz's chin up to look her in the eye.
"N-no I-I can take more," Kaiz stammered. She wanted to get more than last time, then maybe eventually she would get promoted to carrying breeders. Normally most layer females would carry other layer females and males, but exceptional layers could be asked to carry new breeder females. Kaiz wanted to carry a breeder one day, for the good of the Ghitian race and her planet. To get promoted, one had to be able to carry at least 20 eggs, as breeder eggs were much larger than the others. It was a common goal for young Ghitians, but she took it very seriously.
"Alright, just tell me if you want me to stop." Diyahux deposited another egg into Kaiz, pulling her out of her thoughts. She almost whimpered, but she was determined to keep herself as composed as possible and not give in to the pheromones. Her egg sac stretched as yet another egg was deposited. She'd hit her record now, but felt she could take a few more. She been stretching herself since her last breeding, and figured she could carry at least sixteen eggs this time.
She endured as two more eggs were laid in her, and her egg sac almost began to hurt. "Ma'am, I-I don't think I can take any more," Kaiz said. She put one hand on her now slightly distended stomach and moaned. Diyahux pulled her ovipositor out, and some of the pressure in Kaiz's belly was relieved.
Kaiz stood and bowed slightly to Diyahux. "Thank you, ma'am."
"Oh, you don't need to be so formal! You'll be bearing my children, there's no need for all the professional talk," Diyahux said. "The guides outside will show you to your room, and you'll be given something to eat. I hope to see you again soon, Kaiz!"
Kaiz almost bowed again, but nodded instead. She exited, and was given a soft robe by the guide on the other side of the door. The guide led her to a nice room decorated similarly to Diyahux's, with flowing yellow fabric on the walls and a nice bed against the center of the back wall. Her bag had been placed on a chest of drawers against one wall, and a window showed a nice view of the city.
Currently the region was in a dark cycle, and the city was lit up beautifully. Tall spires reached towards the clouds, and ships could be seen coming in and out of the port. There was a knock on the door, and Kaiz opened it to another facility worker with a cart full of containers. She handed a container to Kaiz and hurried off to the next room. The container was full of vegetables and fruits native to the surrounding area and a few bits of meat. Ghitians were mostly vegetarian, but did eat some meat, especially when breeding. Kaiz closed the door and began to chew on a piece of fruit from the container. After finishing her meal, she checked her datapad, washed up, and promptly fell asleep.
. . .
Kaiz woke up a few hours later feeling noticeably different. Her belly felt looser and fuller. Shortly after having eggs laid into them, a layer female's egg sac would expand to make room for the larvae that would hatch and grow inside them, and it appeared to have grown quite a bit while she was asleep. She opened her robe to look at her belly, which had grown considerably, but not enough to be noticeable if she were to wear loose clothing. Over the course of the next few hours, the eggs inside of her should grow rapidly and then hatch into larvae, which would be birthed a little while after.
Soon there was a knock at the door, and Kaiz opened it to a worker with her morning meal. She handed a container to Kaiz and told her that a doctor would be in shortly to check on her progress and administer some medications as necessary. Most layers were given hormones to speed up the brooding process, as well as some other medications to make the whole thing easier and speed up recovery. True to the worker's word, there was another knock at the door after Kaiz had eaten, and the doctor entered.
Kaiz had already removed her robe, and the doctor wasted no time in her examination. She made sure Kaiz's egg sac was expanding properly, and that the eggs inside were all healthy and growing. After verifying that everything was well and good, she took out a needle and inserted it between two of Kaiz's sclerites to administer the growth hormones. She was also given a few pills before the doctor went on her way to see the next layer.
It wasn't more than a few minutes before Kaiz started to feel the effects of the medication. Her belly began to feel tight as the eggs grew within her, and she could almost feel them moving. After about an hour, her belly had reached the size of a full term human pregnancy. The hormones were affecting more than her eggs though, as her arousal skyrocketed. She could only try her best to relieve herself with her hands, but her belly in the way made things difficult. Her breathing was heavy as she moaned, looking around for something she could use to alleviate the feelings between her legs.
Suddenly, there was yet another knock at the door. A worker with a datapad instructed Kaiz to follow her to the breeder's chambers. Kaiz tried to ask what for, but all the worker said was, "Diyahux's orders."
When they arrived, the worker left her in the room with Diyahux. She sat on the bed in the center of the room, her abdomen now significantly smaller. She sat up when they entered, and perched herself on the edge of her bed.
"Kaiz, dear, you're looking well! Those eggs are growing so fast!" She said, smiling at Kaiz, before beckoning her over. "Come, come!"
"I know you must be feeling a little, shall we say, excited by the medications, and I've taken a personal liking to you, Kaiz." Diyahux's smile turned a bit more playful, and she motioned for Kaiz to come sit on the bed next to her, and she quickly obliged. Diyahux looked at Kaiz with a look she'd never seen on a breeder before. "So, are you alright with letting me help with that?"
Kaiz was surprised at Diyahux's forwardness. "Are you sure, ma'am? I'm just a layer, I mean, really, I-I could just-"
Diyahux put a finger over Kaiz's mouth. "A simple yes or no will work."
Kaiz hesitated for a moment, wondering why a breeder would want to service her like this. Layers lived to serve the breeders, and that had always been the case in Kaiz's experience, every breeder she'd met had commanded authority. But this one seemed . . . attracted to her, in a way she'd never seen before. She finally nodded.
Diyahux was delighted, and hoisted Kaiz onto her lap with ease, with Kaiz's back facing her and her belly out. She laid a hand over it, feeling the eggs inside, before her hand drifted lower, between Kaiz's legs.
She began to feel around, figuring out where everything was, before plunging one claw into Kaiz's hole. She gasped and moaned in pleasure, while Diyahux began pumping her claw in and out. Kaiz held her belly as Diyahux sped up, and Kaiz could hardly take it. She'd given up trying to stay composed in front of her breeder.
Diyahux laid her other hand on Kaiz's stomach and rubbed it gently while she continued down below. Kaiz had never felt pleasure like this before. She'd had sex with other layer Ghitians, and even other species on her travels, but none had made her feel like this. Maybe it was Diyahux's pheromones, or Kaiz's own hormones from being pregnant, but Kaiz couldn't hold herself back. She came onto Diyahux's claws with a cry of ecstasy, before leaning back into her chest to catch her breath.
"Mm. Those hormones really do a number on you, don't they?" Diyahux asked. Kaiz nodded.
Kaiz was taken by surprise when Diyahux suddenly picked her up and laid her on the bed. Diyahux laid down next to her and laid a hand back on her belly. Kaiz was still out of breath from her climax, and whimpered a bit. Diyahux used both hands to massage Kaiz's belly, feeling around the eggs and shifting them around. It drove Kaiz crazy. Diyahux seemed to enjoy watching Kaiz squirm in pleasure, and she kept massaging her belly as Kaiz gripped the sheets of the bed.
Crack.
The sound startled both of them, and Kaiz sat up and laid a hand on her midsection.
Crack. Crack.
The eggs were hatching, one by one, inside of Kaiz. The sound of the cracking filled the room, and soon Kaiz's belly was full of squirming larvae. They made small bulges all over her belly as they moved inside of her. Even after all 16 had hatched, the cracking continued as they ate their shells. The movement lit Kaiz's arousal once again, and she groaned as they squirmed inside her. Diyahux began to trace the bulges of her offspring, one by one.
This continued for about an hour, with Kaiz laying back down and clutching her belly full of larvae while Diyahux rubbed it and used her claws and ovipositor to pleasure her. The room was filled with the humid scent of pheromones and Kaiz's fluids. She had lost count of how many times she'd climaxed, until a cry of ecstasy turned into a cry of surprise as one of the larvae pushed against the exit of her egg sac.
The larva's head began to peek into Kaiz's birth canal. Diyahux looked concerned for a moment, thinking Kaiz was in pain, but it was quite the opposite. Kaiz whimpered as the larvae became more agitated, ready to leave her body. The first one was large, and reached her entrance before it was fully out of her egg sac. Kaiz pushed, and Diyahux caught the larva as it came out of her.
Diyahux called for a worker, who was there in the blink of an eye with a segmented bassinet for the larvae. She took the first one and paced it in the bassinet. The second one came shortly after.
"Good, girl, Kaiz. You're doing great," Diyahux said as Kaiz pushed out the third larva. She continued to whimper, but threw in the occasional grunt as she pushed. She pushed out larva after larva, climaxing after the fifth, and staying in a perpetual state of bliss until number twelve.
The twelfth was bigger than she'd ever laid, bigger even than she'd ever seen. It took a few minutes of pushing to even get the head of it out into the open before it got stuck. She tried to push it more, but it wouldn't budge.
Diyahux pushed on Kaiz's belly to try and get the larva out as the worker tugged on it gently. After a bit more pushing, it finally popped out all at once with a gush of fluid. Kaiz tried to catch her breath for a moment, but another larva was quick to replace the last.
Each one hit all her sensitive spots on the way down, and that mixed with the hands on her belly, she couldn't keep her composure. She was just letting herself moan and whimper in front of her breeder, her superior. No breeder would accept this kind of unprofessionalism! They were to be treated with the utmost respect! But Diyahux didn't seem to care about the social hierarchy, and Kaiz didn't know how to feel about that.
She hardly had any time to think about that, though. She had just one more larva to birth, and then all would be said and done. But this one didn't want to leave her egg sac. She couldn't push it out until it entered her birth canal, but it had to actually do that itself, and it seemed perfectly content wiggling around in the egg sac.
Eventually, Diyahux started to get worried, and called in the doctor. She suggested going in and getting it surgically, but that would be difficult and could harm Kaiz. But if the larva didn't come out on its own soon, it could be detrimental to both it and Kaiz. Kaiz was too busy with her arousal to think too much about it, but was surprised when she felt something enter her from the outside. Diyahux's ovipositor penetrated her all the way into her egg sac. The ovipositor was prehensile, and Kaiz could feel it moving inside her, searching for the larva that didn't want to come out.
After a bit of feeling around inside of Kaiz, Diyahux found the larva, wrapped her ovipositor around it, and slowly pulled it out. Kaiz climaxed again as it left her, and finally, all the larvae were out of her and in the bassinet. She slowly sat up to look at them, and that was the last thing she remembered before passing out.
. . .
She awoke, clean and larva-free, still in Diyahux's bed. Diyahux was on the other side of the room, talking to the doctor, but Kaiz couldn't hear what they were saying. The bassinet and all the larvae had been wheeled out of the room, and soon the doctor left too. Diyahux turned and noticed that Kaiz was awake and rushed over.
"Are you alright? The rest of the layers had relatively easy births, but you had two stuck larvae, and that's got to have been painful." Diyahux said, looking concerned.
It was true, Kaiz was sore, but not so badly that a few days rest wouldn't fix.
"I'm fine, ma'am, just a little sore. I've had much worse," Kaiz said. She had had worse, almost losing an arm during her time as a soldier.
"Well, you stay right there and I'll have someone bring you something to eat, okay?" Diyahux said.
"No, ma'am, it's alright, I can make it back to my-"
"Absolutely not, you are staying right here, that's an order," Diyahux scolded. "You need to rest, and you will do so right here. We don't want my favorite layer to hurt herself, now do we?"
Kaiz felt her face flush. Favorite layer?
Diyahux called a worker over and sent her to get Kaiz something to eat, and headed back over to the bed.
"They'll be back in a minute. But wow, I don't think I've even seen someone push out such a big regular larva!" Diyahux said. "Seriously, that was impressive. I think I'll be calling you back for another round soon enough, Kaiz."
Kaiz had never been praised like this for her births. She'd only gotten the usual "good work, layer" and nothing more. Her previous births had never been anything terribly remarkable of course, but still, it was nice. And more breeding meant more opportunities to lay a breeder, or at least train to be able to.
. . .
After a few days of rest and recovery, and being doted on by Diyahux, Kaiz was given the all clear to head home. Before she left for her ship, she stopped by the breeder's quarters one last time.
Diyahux answered the door and smiled down at her. "Oh, Kaiz, dear! Heading home?"
"Yes, ma'am. Thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to breed with you, I look forward to our next breeding cycle." Kaiz bowed.
Diyahux put a hand under Kaiz's chin and lifted her out of the bow before planting a kiss on her forehead. "And it was a pleasure to have you as a layer. But please drop the formalities. We'll be seeing far too much of each other for that," she said.
"If you insist, ma- um, Diyahux." Kaiz gave a nod and started back down the hall. Diyahux waved and Kaiz waved back before turning the corner to leave the facility.
She was excited for the next time she'd be called for the breeding program.
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kelpstheshifter · 3 months ago
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Introducing My 1950s Housewife Life
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︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶
Abt me ˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗
˚୨୧⋆ 𝑵𝒂𝒎𝒆: Alice Lexington <33
˚୨୧⋆ 𝑨𝒈𝒆: 19 years old <33
˚୨୧⋆𝑯𝒐𝒃𝒃𝒊𝒆𝒔: Childcare, Ballroom dancing, Dancing, Crocheting, Cooking, Cleaning, Baking, Sewing, Fashion Designing, Horseback Riding, Snow Skiing, and Horse Dressage
˚୨୧⋆𝑵𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚: American
˚୨୧⋆𝑳𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒔: English, Spanish, Italian, Patois, German, Chinese, Tagalog, French
˚୨୧⋆ 𝑵𝒆𝒕 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉: 3.5 Billion Dollars
Relationships (mostly family) ˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗
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𝑴𝒚 𝑯𝒖𝒔𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒅, 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝑬𝒅𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝑳𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒐𝒏
˚୨୧⋆ 𝑨𝒈𝒆: 42
We married 2 months ago, but we dated a year before that. I am this man's PRINCESS. He is the CEO of the biggest oil company in the world (It's generational) and he's an amazing man, whom I love dearly. This man basically created Princess Treatment. When he's not working on business deals and such he's at home being a great husband and father. He loves the piano, collecting vintage cars, and yachting. He's the whole package and I love him.
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𝑴𝒚 𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑𝒅𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒓, 𝑫𝒆𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒉 𝑳𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒐𝒏
˚୨୧⋆ 𝑨𝒈𝒆: 15
Deborah and I are 4 years apart, we went to the same high school and we were friends, but not extradionarily close since I was a senior and she was a freshman when we met. We get along well and now that we're family we're the best of friends.
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𝑴𝒚 𝑩𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅, 𝑭𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝑾𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒎𝒔𝒐𝒏
˚୨୧⋆ 𝑨𝒈𝒆: 22
Frances and I are best friends because of our husbands but that doesn't mean we love each other any less. Our husbands (Charles was my boyfriend at the time) introduced us to each other at a Charity Banquet and we hit it off immediately. When we're at our homes in the suburbs we talk shit about the other moms, bake, drink, and dance together. This woman is my other half.
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𝑴𝒚 𝑯𝒖𝒔𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒅'𝒔 𝑪𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅, 𝑱𝒐𝒉𝒏 𝑾𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒎𝒔𝒐𝒏
˚୨୧⋆ 𝑨𝒈𝒆: 28
This is John, He's Frances' husband and a very close friend of Charles. Charles considers him as his little brother. He inherited his father's spot in the Lexington Oil Company so he's very wealthy and highly ranked amongst the families. This is man can DANCE. When we all go dancing if I'm not dancing with Frances or Charles I'm dancing with him. He's such a gentleman, he's into pottery and swimming. I actually scripted a scenario where he teaches me pottery. I love him. Frances bagged herself a GREAT man.
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𝑴𝒚 𝑮𝒐𝒅𝒔𝒐𝒏, 𝑱𝒐𝒉𝒏 𝑾𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒎𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝑱𝒓.
˚୨୧⋆ 𝑨𝒈𝒆: 5 months
I LOVE MY GODSON! Me and Charles are the godparents of Frances and John's beautiful baby boy. Whenever me and Frances are hanging out in our houses in the suburbs we watch him while tidying up, baking, or watching movies. He's my pride and joy I love this kid.
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𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒐𝒏 𝑫𝒐𝒈𝒔, 𝑺𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒇𝒇𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑷𝒆𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒓
˚୨୧⋆ 𝑨𝒈𝒆: 1 year old and 4 years old
Scruffy is Charles' German shepherd and Pepper is the poodle he surprised me with when we first started dating. They're best friends and you can NOT separate these two I swear. They have such different personalities, Scruffy being a rough-housing hooligan and Peppers being this proper and polite baby. I love them both dearly and they mean the world to me.
︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶
˖𓍢ִִ໋𓇼⋆𝑭𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒓˖𓍢ִִ໋𓇼⋆
ᡣ𐭩 Racism is not a problem in this reality
ᡣ𐭩 The Lexingtons are the richest family on earth while the Williamsons are the twenty-first richest
ᡣ𐭩 We own 3 houses the Lexington Villa, Mansion, Beach house, and then a whole bunch of miniature properties that I did not take the time to memorize
ᡣ𐭩 All the wealthy families get together for banquets, fundraisers and balls a few times a year
ᡣ𐭩 The world is always like the 1950s-60s even as time progresses
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secreteviltwin · 1 year ago
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welcome to creek hill church! your friendly local evangelical congregation. we have childcare every sunday for the little ones :) if you take a peak in you'll notice most of our nursery volunteers are girls between the ages of 11-16, their brothers are nowhere to be seen. in fact the vast majority of all our volunteers are women, running summer camps, fundraisers, community programs, prayer teams, events, supporting every church need. sometimes their husbands volunteer as ushers. of course all of our worship team leads are women who have been volunteering with worship for 10+ years, the worship pastor who directs all of them is a 28 year old man. if you're an unwed women here over the age of 22 you'll start to notice that every conversation is about if you're seeing someone and what kind of family you imagine for yourself someday. the married couples may stop talking to you, especially after they have children. wouldn't want those kids getting any ideas. most of the deacons are male. all the pastors except the children's pastor are male. a woman has never given a sermon here, though occasionally we'll let one speak for a few minutes if she's a single missionary. if she's married her husband will speak for her. the sunday school teachers for the young kids are women but the older ones have male teachers, we want to make sure they are being taught proper biblical truth. there's a women's study every thursday where we go through a book about how to be a godly woman. this church is your entire social circle and support network now, aren't you glad to be here? women are explicitly banned from being church elders
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craykaycee · 1 year ago
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sneaks onto ur dash to talk ab one of my aus with these magma doodles------
This is a Street Artist AU I-- basically adopted from @starrspice (thank you, lovelyy!!) This is a post-fire AU where the DCA escapes the fire themselves and into the city. They're stripped of the proper prompts and triggers for their childcare and entertainment programming, but are able to find something their coding can latch onto: a group of children who need entertainment. They modified their performance and entertainment programming with their arts and crafts protocols to create art as a performance!
More details (so many details-- I went off xDD) and designs of the AU, of which I've titled "City Lights and Paint Water", under the cut :3c
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They're pretty beat-up from the fire, and without proper access to maintenance, they've retained the burn marks, splattered paint, and other grime associated with being outdoors. Over the months as street artists, passersby donate their old paints and other supplies, hence the oversized trousers and worn apron! (P.S.: cloth placement is more accurate in the magma doodles)
Sun and Moon each have preferred mediums and styles!
Sun prefers acrylic paints and spray paint, his paintings a controlled chaos with loud, scattered colors, large brushstrokes, and splatters. His paintings always have a lot of movement due to his freeform painting style, splattering paint and getting a laugh from the kids.
Moon like to work with watercolors and colored pencil, the colors more muted with small pops of brighter colors (such as lights within windows). He likes to capture the lights of the streets, wondering what the true night sky looks like, his art giving a soft and ethereal mood.
Then we have our Main Character (MC), the viewer/reader! They're a graphic designer for a big corporate tech company, tasked with making pamphlets, brochures, posters, et cetera for the company. Though they do good work as a graphic designer, their true passion is fine arts, but their work isn't taken seriously due to its "childish" appearance despite the real-life deeper meanings. In the meantime, they create for themself, crafting and making trinkets for their apartment. They even make some of their own clothes, made up of several different garments to make something one-of-a-kind. Their outfits are fairly chaotic, typically accompanied by a hair accessory, but the patterns and colors compliment each other well.
MC grew up in a rural area, and still love the open and free areas it provides, but they had to move to an urban city for work and better opportunities. It's a big step up from their small town, overwhelmed by the activity. At the start of the story, they feel disconnected from their work, drained by the cookie-cutter bland work of their graphic designer job, but it's the only way they can reliably earn income.
The story starts with Sun spotting MC beyond the crowd, rushing somewhere. He continues to see them in the distance, unable to approach them due to their haste. He's mesmerized by their appearance, drawn to their creative expression just in their outfit. Moon catches a few glances of MC in the evenings, but doesn't have the same draw to them as Sun, figuring them as just another "everyman" in the crowd. One day, in MC's haste, they lose a paper from their portfolio. When Sun catches it, he sees a presentation sheet of several different designs meant for a business card or a t-shirt emblem. Sun is astounded by them, making MC more interesting than they already were.
It's not until about a week later that Sun takes an opportunity to return the paper and give his compliments. When he does this, however, MC's face falls before forcing a polite smile, thanking him. Before Sun could say anything more, they're gone.
There's so many small moments I'd like to explore, but that's the set-up :3cc I nearly have chapter one (1) completed, two (2) chapters after that already planned. The chapter length is pretty short right now, but I don't know if I wanna beef them up or keep them at this shorter length. We'll see! :D
Welp, these are my boios! I hold them gently in my hands and present them like a proud parent
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journey-to-the-attic · 4 months ago
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3rd anniversary req 21: [DDVD] levi, satan, beel / babysitting
ao3 link
note: i tried to incorporate most of what the request form said - hope you're happy with this, anon! this one's just precious <3
∎ ∎ ∎ ∎ ∎
“Behave,” Lucifer says sternly, and shuts the door.
Levi exchanges a look with Satan. For some reason, he gets the feeling that Lucifer was talking to them, and not the toddler clinging to the back of Satan’s leg.
He cranes his neck down. IK is already staring wistfully at the door. Satan would probably compare her to a lost kitten; Levi thinks the look is more akin to a sad Lotan.
“Beel’s in the kitchen,” He says to Satan in an undertone, and the two of them hastily adjourn to three-sevenths of a family meeting.
Couldn't Lucifer have picked any other day for whatever fancy reservation he's made for their date? It's clear he doesn't entirely trust the only three babysitters available. He knows this because Lucifer added all three of them to a hastily-made, very secret group chat a few hours ago - to warn them of what would happen if anything went wrong. 
The three of them sit silently around the kitchen table for about five minutes. Finally, Satan clears his throat, and looks at Levi.
“You’re the oldest here,” He says. “You should know what to do.”
Levi grimaces. “Well, I don’t.”
The three of them look to IK, who is sitting solemnly in the head chair. None of them know where Lucifer keeps her booster seat, so she can only just about see over the edge of the table. (IK usually protests about having to use it, so she seems happy with the situation.)
“It can’t be that hard,” Satan mutters, mostly to himself. “If Lucifer can handle it.”
Usually that means no one else can, Levi thinks, but wisely chooses not to say this out loud. But it can’t be that different to what we usually do… right? I mean, I guess we don’t really do the proper care stuff. That’s Zhao’s thing. We just hang out with her…
“Pom-pom,” IK mumbles.
Satan blinks, then tilts his head to the side and leans forward. “Sorry?”
“Pom-pom,” IK repeats, louder this time.
“I don’t… what’s ‘pom-pom’? Is it one of your toys?”
“Hmph,” IK says, then hops down from her chair and toddles out of the kitchen with such authority that none of them think to stop her.
It takes Beel’s phone going off to bring them back to reality. Lucifer has sent them, rather aptly, a parenting book. Satan decides to stay behind to read it while Beel and Levi are sent to wrangle the kid - and figure out what she’s actually after.
IK hasn’t made it far. She still can’t get up the stairs on her own, nor can she open any of the doors without full-body ramming into them, so she’s only managed to make it a little way down the corridor.
“Pom-pom,” She insists when they catch up with her.
“We don’t have pom-pom,” Levi says a little breathlessly, even though he really didn’t go that fast. “Can’t you just tell us what you want?”
IK cannot, apparently. She leads them on a merry chase in about five circles around the ground floor (she kicks every time they try to pick her up) before finally sitting down in a huff in the middle of the living room. Levi’s secretly a little grateful for the chance to rest his legs - this is the most he’s moved in the last month.
“The floor’s cold,” Beel says patiently, attempting to pick her up. IK manages to wiggle cleanly out of his hands and goes straight back to the ground. “Come on, let’s go sit somewhere comfy, okay?”
“Pom-pom,” IK mumbles, beginning to look a little tearful. The look on her face makes it clear: if Lucifer was here, he’d totally know what to do by now. 
It’s, quite frankly, unfair. He’s already good at everything else. Levi had really expected childcare to be the one thing to trip him up.
Situations like these really call for Asmo. Once again, Levi finds himself wondering why in hell he’s here.
“IK,” He tries - unable to muster one of Asmo’s many pet names and resorting instead to sounding as pathetic as possible, in hopes that she’ll take pity on him. “IK, c’mon. Wanna come see Henry? You like Henry.”
Beel tries to pick her up again. IK gives him a severe, uncannily Lucifer-like look, then stubbornly slips down until she's lying flat on her back.
“We need some blocks,” Satan announces, walking into the room with far too much confidence. “Do we have blocks?”
“Of course we don’t,” Levi says miserably, about two minutes away from lying on the floor himself. “Why would we?”
“Then I will go find some blocks,” Satan says decisively, and walks straight back out again.
IK stays on the ground, staring blankly up into the ceiling. She doesn’t look as if she’s throwing a tantrum so much as she looks like she’s lost all hope in the world. It kind of hurts his heart.
He glances up at Beel. His brother’s brow is deeply furrowed in thought. After a moment, he sits down, and carefully pushes his palm underneath IK’s head. If she won’t get up, at least he can give her a pillow.
Satan comes back with a crate that he says Lucifer’s been keeping in his study (which is supposed to be locked right now, but that’s on Lucifer for not using a strong enough charm), and produces a set of patterned blocks that he attempts to gently encourage IK to play with. All IK does is hold them limply.
“Maybe she needs a nap?” Beel suggests, but IK doesn’t seem to like that idea. In fact, after hearing the word, she appears to start deliberately keeping her eyes open for as long as possible out of spite.
Satan looks something up on his phone - steadfastly refusing to call Lucifer - then abruptly hurries off again. He comes back with some cardboard, a ball of wool, and a pair of scissors. IK lifts her head to watch him with interest as he sets about snipping and tying. Finally:
“There you are,” Satan announces triumphantly, and presents IK with a little green ball of fluff. “A pom-pom.”
IK sits up and holds it blankly. Then she shakes her head.
The dismay on Satan’s face would be funny if Levi didn’t feel terrible for him. “No? Is it the wrong colour?”
“Pom-pom,” IK says sadly.
“Fine…” He reaches out to take it back, only for IK to snatch the pom-pom-that-isn't-the-right-pom-pom back. “Hey. I thought you didn’t want it.”
“Mine,” She mumbles stubbornly, and dodges his next grab as well. “Mine!”
“But it’s not your pom-pom, is it?” Satan asks, now beginning to grin. “Come on, give it back.”
“No!” IK scrambles to her knees, then shuffles to hide behind Beel’s broad back. “Mine!”
“I made it! Give it back!”
“NO!”
Clutching the pom-pom, IK jumps to her feet - and, wobbling unsteadily from side to side, full-on sprints out of the living room.
Satan reacts first, almost as if he were expecting it. Hauling himself to his feet, he practically gallops after her, leaving Beel and Levi in stunned silence, still sitting helplessly on the floor.
“I didn’t know she could go that fast,” Levi says after a moment. “Do you think Mammon’s been teaching her?”
“We should probably go after them…” Beel glances down at the crate. “Should we bring the blocks?”
Satan has cornered IK in the library when they catch up with them. Even as they sidle awkwardly through the door, she looks sharply around the room, spots the still-ajar door to Lucifer’s office, and promptly zooms inside. Satan, of course, doesn’t hesitate to do the same.
Levi follows just in time to see him double-evade her around the desk, then shoot forward and sweep her cleanly off the ground - “Got you!”
“No!” IK insists, even though she’s giggling so loudly that the word is barely discernible.
“No? Certainly looks like you’re— ow!”
Something has flown out of Lucifer’s desk and propelled itself directly into Satan’s face - so hard that he’s shoved backwards into a cabinet and knocks a bottle off its stand. IK does not help things grabbing a fistful of his hair to keep herself steady.
“What the—” On closer inspection, the thing that came out of the desk appears to be a little stuffed pigeon. As Satan spins around, attempting to regain his bearings, it folds its wings and jabs its little felt beak at his eyes.
“What do we do?!” Levi yelps, hands braced to do something, though he hasn’t the faintest idea what.
IK isn’t giggling so much as she is wailing now - Satan, though still reeling, has enough sense to pass her off to Levi before attempting to wave the pigeon off. His arms windmill around so wildly that it’s only a matter of time before he—
“Oof!” Levi manages to shield the back of IK’s head with his hand, but his own nose isn’t so lucky. “Watch where your hands are going!”
“I’m getting attacked!” Satan snarls, and looks one peck away from zapping the pigeon into dust. “Do something!”
“What am I supposed to do?!”
Beel, at this point finally stepping into the situation, clearly has more wits about him than either of them. He surveys the situation, steps forward, and plucks the pigeon cleanly from the air.
It goes straight to ferociously attacking its fingers. Without the momentum of flight on its side, though, its blows are virtually harmless. At this, Levi hesitantly lowers his hand from IK’s head.
“This definitely has Lucifer written all over it,” Satan grunts, a hand pressed over his eye. “Smug bas… ahem. Am I bleeding?”
Levi leans over and peers at his face for a moment. “Nah, you’re good.”
He lowers his hand, but he doesn’t look any less mutinous. “Who gave him the idea of putting toy security in his desk?”
“I don’t think it’s security,” Beel says, holding the pigeon’s head still with one hand and reading its label with the other. “I think it’s a toy for IK. See?”
The company name does check out. That doesn’t explain why it comes to life and attacks people, though.
“Well, it’s not a spell I’ve seen anywhere before, so don’t look at me,” Satan grumbles.
Beel inspects the plush pigeon for another moment, then (still carefully holding it still) holds it out to IK. She looks frightened - but, under his reassuring gaze, slowly reaches out, and bumps a little fist to its beak.
The pigeon immediately stills. Levi would’ve thought he’d just hallucinated the whole thing if it weren’t for the red mark on Satan’s forehead.
“Oh,” says Satan himself, realisation dawning. “He enchanted it. That’s…”
He doesn’t finish the sentence, but clearly he isn’t angry anymore. Beel gently presses the pigeon into IK’s arms, and it comes briefly to life again to tuck its head lovingly against her cheek.
“That isn’t an easy enchantment,” Satan murmurs, wiping his brow. “He’s probably not done testing it.”
“Looks like it works fine to me,” Levi says, watching IK attempt to feed the pigeon her green pom-pom. “Do you like it, IK?”
“Mmm,” IK says, flapping the pigeon’s wings. The pom-pom falls out of her arms and lands softly on the floor.
She notices its absence after a moment and makes a sound of dismay. Satan huffs, then stoops to pick it up for her.
“At least you like it,” He mutters, passing it back to her. “Are you sure it’s not your pom-pom?”
IK shakes her head seriously. She gazes at him for a moment, then mumbles something and makes a gesture in his general direction. Levi obligingly leans forward.
“What now?” Satan sighs, but ducks down to her level anyway. “Are you going to hit me, too?”
Far from it. IK pats his cheek until he stops frowning, then stretches up to the red mark on his brow and gives it a kiss.
“...oh.”
If Levi didn’t know better, he’d say Satan was dangerously close to tears. His brother clears his throat and offers a slightly shaky smile. “Thanks.”
IK hums, then pulls both pigeon and pom-pom tight to her chest, and tucks her head under Levi’s chin. Before he can stop himself, he lets out a sharp squeak, like a poorly-oiled door.
“I think it’s time for a nap now,” Beel says, watching her with a little smile. “Let’s go.”
“Okay,” He agrees, voice quivering, and follows him out of the office. Satan stays behind briefly to shut the drawer the pigeon flew out of, but doesn’t bother re-locking the door.
The crate of toys is still sitting in the middle of the library. Levi gingerly lowers himself into an armchair and lets IK figure out how she wants to sleep; Beel sits down on the floor directly opposite him and contents himself with watching her.
Satan stands silently for a while, then settles beside the toy crate and starts methodically stacking the blocks himself. Levi watches him, too afraid of disturbing IK to move.
“She’ll probably be hungry when she wakes up,” says Beel, setting his chin on his knees. “I think there are some strawberries left in the kitchen.”
“We need something more substantial than fruit.” Satan sets the final block on his tower, then promptly knocks the whole thing over and starts again. “Sandwiches, maybe…”
IK isn't asleep for long before she abruptly startles awake again. Levi opens his mouth to say something sappy that'd usually come out of Asmo - then quickly realises that something's up. 
"What?" Satan asks, sitting up. 
"I don't..."
IK is practically ramrod-straight in his arms. Her eyes are open, but she stares directly ahead of her, far into the distance.
Beel lifts his head and rises to his knees. "Give her here."
Levi can't do anything but acquiesce. IK doesn't respond at first, but almost as soon as she leaves Levi's arms, she takes in a sharp breath, and begins to whimper. 
"Wait—" Instinctively, he tries to snatch her back, but Beel holds firm. "Why... what's wrong?!"
"Nightmare," says Beel shortly. "Belphie used to do the same thing. Can you go get some water?"
It might be the fastest Levi has ever gone to do something. Beel doesn't get IK to drink it - instead, he dips a finger in, and draws a streak across her forehead. At this, IK pauses, eyes wide. 
Satan darts to pick up the pigeon from where it's fallen to the floor. It begins to move as soon as he presses it to IK's face - fluttering its wings and gently grazing its cheek against hers. Levi imagines he hears it coo. 
"Hi," Beel murmurs, doing the same trick with the water again This time, IK makes a sound of protest. "Don't worry, it's gone now."
IK mumbles something and twists away, attempting to wipe her forehead. Beel smiles and does it for her. "...there. That's how you know she's awake again."
"Bad dream, huh?" Satan clicks his tongue sympathetically, then leans down and kisses her forehead - returning the favour from earlier. "Are you still tired?"
She blinks slowly, then makes a quiet noise of affirmation. Beel nods seriously. "You can sleep again, then. We'll keep you safe, okay? Your dad will be home soon."
"Okay," IK whispers, and closes her eyes again.
———
Some time later, Belphie gets home. By that weird twin-sense he shares with Beel, he comes straight to the library. Since IK went back to sleep, Levi's taken a turn on the building blocks, for want of something to do. 
“Do you know where IK’s pom-pom is?” Satan asks without looking up from his book.
“Huh?” Belphie drops his bag with a loud yawn. “What d’you mean, where?”
“She wouldn’t stop asking about it.” Levi precariously sets one tower on top of another. “We didn’t know what it was.”
“Oh, she wants pom-pom? That’s easy,” Belphie says with infuriating nonchalance, then wanders across the room, where IK is beginning to stir in Beel’s lap. “Hey, twinkle-star.”
The three of them can only watch in dawning realisation as Belphie crouches down, shifts seamlessly into demon form, then offers the end of his tail like it’s some kind of toy. IK blinks at him, then scrambles up and makes a grab for the fluffy bit at the end.
“Oh.” says Beel a little weakly. “You were talking about Belphie’s tail the whole time?”
“Pom-pom,” IK says happily.
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x0x0josephinex0x0 · 1 year ago
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The Hope in the Fault Lines, part 1
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Summary: after your sister and her husband are tragically killed, you become the guardian of their daughter, your niece. As you try to pick up the pieces of your life, you become aware that you need help. Desperately. So you hire a nanny. Enter Mingyu, an ex-agent-turned-childcare-professional with a past of his own.
Genre: fluff, heavy themes, (light) smut in later parts (minors DNI)
Warnings: (applies to most of the parts) descriptions of grief, mental illness, disordered eating, instant parenthood, loss of sibling, vehicle-related death, police investigation, child custody court, parental abuse
Word count for pt 1: 4.3k
part 2 | part 3 | part 4
Why aren’t I numb yet? you think to yourself.
Because really, you should be there by now. Hell, you’d even planned to be there by now so you could go back to work. But here you are — standing in your seven-month-old niece’s bedroom, crying along with her, the agony in your chest building like water that slowly heightens to a boil, its persistent, grief-tinged bubbles roiling in time with every pointless beat of your absolutely shattered heart.
You stroke the back of your niece Sara’s head and made soothing noises as well as you could around your own tears. Surely, at some point, she had to stop crying, right? Then maybe you could get back to sleep, which so far has been the only semi-consistent way to forget the grim truth of your reality.
Which was that your sister, Jeri — the proper mother for this fussing thing in your arms — and her husband, Jisung, were dead. That was why you were here, with a child who was missing the same person you were missing but had much less of a vocabulary to express it, so she just cried and cried and cried until you realized she was voicing your own internal monologue. Both of you were hoping that she’d walk in any minute and hold you and make the world stop its incessant spinning for a moment.
“I’m sorry,” you whisper. “I’m sorry you only have me. I’m sorry that’s the best I can give you.” You stifle a sob. “I’m sorry that she’s gone. I miss her too.”
Eventually, Sara’s wails quieted, and she slumped against your shoulder, exhausted. You collapsed into the chair in the nursery, exhausted enough to fall asleep immediately, holding Sara in your arms.
You were awakened by the sound of the door opening. Had you forgotten to lock it? You suddenly panic, gently placing Sara’s still-sleeping form into her crib before tiptoeing into the hallway, colliding with your best friend, Bora.
“Did I not lock the door?” you blurt in shock.
She looks you up and down. “No, you did,” she reassures, her worried look intensifying. “I’ve had a key for five years.”
You deflate in relief. “Right,” you say aimlessly, looking at her. “Okay. Um…coffee?”
“Girl, I should be making you coffee,” Bora said. She put a hand to your forehead. “You’re ill, sweetheart.”
You blink at her. “I am?”
“Undoubtedly,” she confirms, leading you back to your bedroom. “Don’t worry about Sara. I’ll be here all day, so you just rest, okay?” She nearly pushes you onto your bed, and pulls a blanket off the floor to tuck around you.
You take stock of yourself. Head aching -- that wasn’t new. Eyes dry and puffy -- same as always. No, the only difference you could tell from last night is a hollow, cavernous emptiness in your chest where the clawing agony used to sit. Right on cue, the numbness has begun to engulf you.
You pass the day in a haze, only briefly aware of the activities of Sara, who at seven months old is only fussy around strangers when it gets dark, and your friend. You simply lay there in bed, not sleeping despite your tiredness, not even able to muster up the energy to reach for the food Bora brings you at midday. In fact, the sun is setting before you’re able to become conscious, sitting up and rubbing at your stinging eyes as Bora comes in to check on you.
“What about Morrie and Cal?” you ask her, referencing Bora’s own daughter Morna and her husband Calvin. “Did you really leave them all day?”
Bora nodded. “Yeah, Cal’s got it. Which is what I wanted to talk to you about.” She brushes your hair out of your face in a motherly way. “You need help here.”
“I’m not getting married anytime soon, Bo,” you say dryly.
“I’m not talking about marriage,” she says. “I’m talking about a nanny.”
You bite your lip. “Are you saying I’m bad at motherhood?” you ask, and if you could sound hurt through all the nothingness you feel, you’re sure you would.
“No,” Bora says gently. “I’m saying you didn’t bargain for motherhood on top of dealing with your grief, and you still have a whole life ahead of you that needs your attention, outside of this apartment. You have a job you love that you really need to get back to -- for you, sweetheart, not for the company, because I know that the work you do makes you happy. You need more time like that, more time for you. I know there’s a big difference in the circumstances, but when I became a mother, having Cal as a partner made it really easy for me to do things outside of the house that gave me purpose. It really helped me get a handle on myself outside of motherhood so that I could maintain a healthy relationship with Morrie without resenting her or losing myself. And honestly, you need that. We all do. And since marriage isn’t the move right now, and you have the means, a nanny might be the best possible thing for you.”
You nod slowly. “So they’d just come watch Sara while I’m at work?”
She nods. “They can be here as much or as little as you want.”
“Okay. How do I make sure they’re not a child snatcher or a pervert?”
Bora snorts. “Well, I’d recommend interviewing them so that your spidey-senses can alert you to any potential creeps,” she advises.
“I’m tired just thinking about that,” you groan. The phone begins to ring, and you check the ID — it’s your head editor, Cory.
You answer. “Hey,” you say, trying not to sound as dead inside as you are. “What’s up?”
“How are you doing?” he asks, his tone hesitant. This was one of the worst parts of tragedy, you thought to yourself: the awkwardness. Suddenly there was no comfort anywhere. Nobody knew what to say to you, or how to address the event, so everyone skated around it and you in a cautious dance of embarrassment and pity. Part of you wishes someone would just acknowledge it -- “so, your sister is dead,” and then move on.
“I’m fine,” you lie. “I should be back to work...soon. I just need to find a nanny for my niece.”
“Oh, that’s...that’s good,” Cory says, sounding surprised. “I wasn’t actually calling about that, I was actually just...worried about you.”
You sigh. “Everybody is, Cory. But I’ll pull through this. I always do.”
“I know,” he says, “and I trust that you will. I just...wanted you to know that we’re -- that I’m thinking of you.”
You try to feel curious about his choice of words, but can’t muster the energy to care that much. “Thanks, Cory,” you say. “I’ll let you know if I need anything.” Another lie, but the last one you feel compelled to tell him. “Bye.”
Bora is looking at you with a raised eyebrow. “He seems friendly,” she says, and through the haze that seems to coat your brain you know she’s making an implication.
This is yet another thing you don’t have the energy to address right now, so you don’t. “So, I need to interview nannies.”
“Well, you could also have your assistant do it,” Bora offers. “She’d lay on train tracks for you. I’m sure she’d do a good job.”
The corner of your mouth twitches as you think of making Emily, your eager assistant, vet nannies for Sara. She was young and enthusiastic and proactive, and she’d do a great job. “I think that’s a good idea,” you say. “Thanks, Bora. I know I haven’t been -- well, I know you have better things to do than worry about me, and I’m s--”
“Don’t you dare finish that thought,” she says, holding her manicured hand up to silence you. “You have people around you who care about and love you. Me included. This is the time where you need to lean on those people. And we all want that.”
“Thank you,” you say again.
“Eat,” she says sternly. “I need to get home, but I refuse to leave Sara with you until you’ve got food in your body.”
You wrinkle your nose at the idea of putting something in your mouth and chewing, but you realize that Bora’s made you some kind of thick, creamy soup that requires nothing but small sips. It’s easy to eat, and before you know it, despite not really tasting it as it passed through your lips, you’ve finished the bowl. Bora nods approvingly, leaning in and kissing your forehead before standing up to leave. “I love you, sweetheart,” she says. “Call me in the morning, okay?”
And with that, she leaves.
***
Six days later, you’re somewhere that you never expected to be at this point -- at dinner with your friend Gwen and her husband, Chan. Bora had showed up, instructed you to get ready, and taken Sara home with her as the couple had showed up at your front door. “You need a night out,” she insisted as you halfheartedly protested.
You had taken her advice and asked Emily to start interviewing nannies, but so far, her search for someone who could be there during your required time period and had the right background checks and qualifications had come up with very few results. This was a bit disheartening, but you hadn’t really given up yet, hoping someone would pull through for you. If you believed in God at this point, you’d probably pray for it.
These are the thoughts that are consuming you at dinner with your friends, when you’re supposed to be listening to them talk. They, gratefully, are a comforting pair, who make a point not to look at you with the customary pity. Instead, they ask about work and Sara and even about your thoughts on how the funeral had gone, which is kind of a relief -- none of that timid skirting around the big, ugly elephant in the room. Maybe this openness they’ve pulled out of you is the reason you feel you can speak to them about your current issue. “Actually, I’m trying to get back to work,” you say. “Those bills aren’t going to pay themselves. The only issue is, I need to find a nanny for Sara, but my assistant has been having trouble finding someone who fits the bill,” you explain, picking at the food in front of you.
To your surprise, Chan’s eyes light up. “I might know a guy. He used to work with me, and he just moved back here after awhile.”
You stare at him. “Chan, aren’t you a federal officer?” you ask.
“Yeah,” he says.
“Why would a federal agent want to work as my nanny?” you ask him.
“Former federal agent,” he corrects you. “Turned nanny.”
“You know someone who quit being a secret agent to become a child-care worker?” you say in disbelief.
Gwen nods. “Actually, he’s really good. The family he was just with fell on some hard times, which is why he’s back now, but I think he might be looking for a new gig.”
You bite the inside of your cheek. “You got the contact information for this guy?” you ask Chan.
“Yeah. His name’s Mingyu. I’ll forward the info on to Emily.”
“Thanks,” you say. “Really, Chan.” You allow yourself to hope for a moment, which provides just the right amount of energy to finish dinner and make your way back home. Once you’re inside your wreck of an apartment, which hasn’t been really cleaned since the accident, you lean heavily against the door, releasing a big breath.
You head to Sara’s room before realizing she’s still at Bora’s house. You text her that you’re home, and before you know it, Bora is handing a sleeping Sara back into your arms.
“She was really good today,” Bora whispers. “How was dinner?”
“It was...okay,” you say, and for the first time, you’re honest. For some reason, you feel like this Mingyu person is the one who’s going to stick, and that leaves you with a modicum of relief. A change is coming, and this one feels like it’s bound to be better than whatever you’re trying to do now. Bora leaves, and you go to the nursery -- the one room that’s intact and clean -- and sink into the rocking chair with Sara.
“Sometime soon, we’re going to have someone to help us out, Sara,” you promise. “I know this isn’t the life your parents probably imagined for you, but I’m going to try and give you something close to what they wanted you to have. I mean that.”
Slowly, you pull her off your shoulder to look at her cherubic little face -- at the black curls that surround her face, her long eyelashes fluttering in sleep. She’s a darling baby, but what you notice is something that penetrates through the cloud of numbness: she’s smiling, her little dimples so reminiscent of --
“Jeri,” you breathe, and a rush of warmth hits you right in your chest for a moment before it’s once again extinguished by your grief, like a flaming arrow shot into a dark, black lake. You suppose, as you hold her close to you once again, that in a way, Sara has immortalized your sister.
You fall asleep holding Sara, who for the first time since she became yours sleeps through the night.
***
You’re standing in your sweatpants, braless, your hair thrown haphazardly on top of your head, feeding Sarah some baby food as she babbles happily in her high chair, when the doorbell rings. You check your watch in disbelief -- it’s seven in the morning, which is the time you had asked Mingyu to show up for his first day of work. You’d never met him in person, although you had talked to him on the phone, and you’d wanted to make a good first impression. But then Sara had had a blowout, and you’d had to change your own sheets because she’d slept in your bed with you, and then you’d had to bathe her (it was that bad), and you were finally getting to feed Sara. You hadn’t even eaten yet, and you’d planned to be fully ready and put together by the time he arrived.
But there was no postponing this -- you couldn’t just let him rot on your porch. So you head for the door, praying Sara won’t throw the spoon on the floor as she has been wont to do recently, and look through the peephole. When you see him, the only thing you can do is whisper “shit. Shit shit shit shit shit.”
Because how could Emily not have told you that the man was beautiful?
And he isn’t beautiful in like, your everyday way either. The man on your porch is tall, probably dwarfing you by both head and shoulders, with a broad chest that pulled at the simple black tee he wears and arms that the pre-accident you would have swooned over. His hair is cropped short like a fed, and he is dressed practically, and yet, he was a god. There was no other way around it. You look down at yourself -- stained t-shirt, sweats with holes in embarrassing places, hair in disarray -- and shrug. There’s nothing you can do but pull the door open. “Hi,” you say. “Mr. Kim?”
“Yeah,” he replies, and he doesn’t seem to register your haggard appearance, just smiles. “I’m guessing you’re --”
“Yeah,” you confirm. “Um, please come in.”
He does, carefully removing his tennis shoes and stepping into the entryway. “Sara’s in the kitchen. Probably throwing stuff.”
He chuckles. “She’s seven months?”
“Yeah,” you say.
“They do that,” he says conspiratorially.
It has taken you very little time to realize you might be in trouble. Mingyu’s smile is open and warm, his eyes full of life. He is nothing like the gruff, stern former agent that you were picturing in your head. You watch him crouch to greet Sara, whose face lights up at his friendly wave. “Hi, Sara,” he says, brushing a bit of blended squash off her nose. “You’re a cutie, that’s for sure.”
“I’m so sorry for the mess,” you can’t help but say. “It’s...it’s been insane.”
He looks up at you. “I get it. Your assistant kind of explained the situation. How are you holding up?” he asks.
You scratch the back of your head. “Well, Sara’s still alive, and that’s pretty much the extent of my current goals, so I guess we’re doing pretty well, all things considered.”
He nods sympathetically. “Honestly, great job. Becoming an instant parent can’t be easy.”
“I actually need to be at work at 8:30,” you suddenly realize. “Can I show you around? I’ll have to dash right afterward.”
“Yeah, sure,” he says, following you down the hall.
“This is the guest room,” you say. “It hasn’t been touched for a minute, but this is where you’ll sleep if we ever need you to stay overnight. I occasionally have business trips.” You lead him further down the hall and up the short staircase, opening the door to the nursery. “Right there is the bathroom. This is Sara’s room, so when she goes down for naps, this is where you can put her.”
You look at him, and his face is thoughtful as you point down the hall. “Door at the end is my bedroom,” you say, remembering what an absolute disaster it is. A blush rises in your cheek. “And please,” you say, going back down the stairs. “You can make yourself at home. Feel free to use the TV while Sara’s napping, or eat what’s in the fridge or pantry if you’re hungry.”
“Okay,” he agrees.
You pull out your wallet and hand him a card. “This one is for you. If you ever feel like eating anything or going somewhere with Sara, you can use this. I opened it for you specifically -- I figured it’d be easier than reimbursing you.”
He pockets it. “Sounds good,” he says.
You stand there, feeling awkward. “Well, I think that was all.”
He nods. “Go get ready,” he says reassuringly. “If I need something or have any questions, I’ll shoot you a text. Is that okay?”
“Of course,” you say in relief. “Thanks.”
You nearly sprint upstairs and jump in the shower. It takes you two minutes to do everything you need to do -- you’ve been taking micro-showers since you took Sara in, terrified that something would happen to her in your absence. Watching the time, you blow your hair dry, apply simple makeup, and change into a comfortable pair of black slacks and a white button-up. You arrive downstairs to see Mingyu at the sink with Sara, having sat her in the crook of his arm so he can wash her sticky face.
The sight of them warms your heart. “Okay, I’ve gotta dash,” you say. “Please, reach out to me if you need anything.”
He smiles. “I will. Drive safe.”
“Okay,” you say, bounding out the door and into your car.
The office hushes a bit when you walk in. They knew you were coming back today, but it must be surreal after the three months you’ve been gone, especially when this is your magazine -- you’re the only person at the company who’s been there since the beginning, because you started it. Cory is quick to hop to your side. “Hi, boss,” he greets. The rest of the office goes back to their activities as you enter your large, glass-paneled office.
“Hi, Cory,” you say. “How are you?”
“I’m good,” he says, seemingly lost for any other words. “It’s good to have you back.”
“Thanks,” you say. “So, update me. Where are we at with the Serena Williams feature?”
“She was super understanding, and the publishers were too,” he says. “Ruby wrote a great piece, though, so as soon as we’ve got the green light we’ll start the launch. I’ve got Jojo on the social media build, and she’s got a two-on-one scheduled with us later to go over it.”
You nod in approval. “Okay, sounds good. I’m gonna contact Park Seojun’s agent today, so I’d like a list of writers you think could write that story well before our meeting with Jojo. I’m thinking we use someone in-house, but I’m open to contracting out if you’re worried people in the office already have too much to do.”
Cory gives you a thumbs up. “Got it,” he says, heading back to his desk.
You breathe in your office air, feeling some of the tension in your shoulders dissolve. You can’t say you’re happy, per se -- but you aren’t as empty as you have been. Bora had been right -- getting back to work is going to be good for you.
***
Toward the end of the day, though, you begin feeling a strange pull -- a pull toward home. You know Mingyu and Sara have been fine, because Mingyu has been texting you periodically throughout the day:
9:49
MG: hey, we’re out of wet wipes over here. do you have any extra boxes?
You: yeah they’re in your bathroom under the sink!
MG: okay I should’ve thought to check there, thanks! You saved my life haha
You: no worries! Is everything ok?
MG: yeah its good, no need to stress. Sara just needs a diaper change.
You: ok, sounds good! Thanks!
11:30
MG: sara reeeeeeeeeeeally likes pears
You: oh yeah they’re her favorite lol
He’d sent you a video of Sara screeching with joy as he put a spoonful of pear mush into her mouth.
MG: like i’ve never seen anyone so enthusiastic about pears
You: i love it when she screams at her food, that’s the best
MG: me too its so cute haha
1:43
MG: ok i forgot to ask
MG: how long are her naps supposed to be
You: tbh I usually let her sleep an hour or so...i should probably do research on what’s developmentally appropriate
MG: lmao nah i gotchu
Then a few minutes later:
1:52
MG: so apparently huckleberrycare.com suggests 2-3 hours of daytime sleep for kids sara’s age
You: damn, that’s a long time
You: well, i guess let her sleep? She might not stay down that long, but we can adjust her routine a bit to try and get her there
MG: sounds good. Is she a light sleeper? She’s on me rn and i don’t want to wake her up if i move her
You: oh no you can totally put her in her crib lol she won’t wake up
MG: ok thanks haha my arm was kind of going numb bc i was too scared to change positions lmao
You: hahaha yes you’re totally fine to put her in as soon as she goes to sleep usually
MG: great to know, thanks lol
And more throughout the day, littered with photos of Sara in varying states of ridiculousness. You found yourself actually smiling as each text rolled in, grateful for the updates, knowing you would’ve felt a lot more anxious if you hadn’t heard anything.
Still, you didn’t want to keep Mingyu waiting too long. He was supposed to get off at 6, and you wanted to make sure he didn’t feel like you were taking advantage of him. So you left work earlier than normal, beating the rush hour traffic and coming through the door to see Mingyu playing with your niece on the floor. He looks up at you as you come in and waves you over. “She rolled over just barely,” he whispers excitedly. “Watch!”
Sara struggles, whining a little bit, before rolling from her stomach to her back. You clap excitedly, lifting her from the floor into your arms and kissing her pudgy cheek. “Good job, Sara!” you coo, and she burbles happily, touching your face with a fat hand.
Suddenly, you notice something -- the house is clean.
“Mr. Kim,” you say slowly, “did you clean my house?”
He suddenly looks sheepish. “Uh, yeah, I did,” he says. “I’m sorry if that was...I don’t know, not my place.”
“Are you apologizing for cleaning?” you ask him, amused. “I feel bad you felt the need to do that! I shouldn’t have -- have let it get so bad.”
He gives you an extremely gentle look that you are sure he didn’t intend to make your knees go weak. “You’ve been through a lot recently,” he says. “I think you should be kinder to yourself. Also, there was a time when I was in college and living with roommates, and it was way worse cleaning up after some of them.”
“Well, at least there’s that,” you say, returning his smile with Sara propped on your hip.
You stare at him for a minute, and then shake yourself. “Well, I’m here now, so I guess you can...go?” You make a face at your phrasing. “I’m not trying to kick you out. I just don’t want you to feel like you have to stay past your hours.”
He chuckles. “It’s okay. I get you. Have a good night.” He heads for the door, calling over his shoulder. “Actually, I made some fried rice this afternoon. The leftovers are in the fridge. Help yourself.”
Your jaw drops. “Wait a minute, Mr. Kim,” you call after him, following him on his way out.
He turns around, smiling at your tone. “You can call me Mingyu,” he offers.
You nod. “Okay, Mingyu. You cooked, cleaned, and took care of Sara while I was at work?”
“Yeah,” he says, a laugh in his voice. “Is that so odd?”
“I never managed to do all three in one day,” you admit ashamedly.
“Well, I’m not mourning the loss of my sister,” he reminds you, and his voice is a bit stern. “That kind of thing takes a lot of energy.” He rests a big hand on your shoulder comfortingly before opening the door. “See you tomorrow.”
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