#there's also no reason for sunny's family to get the story for how he lost his eye...

[theokusgallery]

What do you think Nick and Sunny's ethnicities are?

I've always somewhat headcanonned Sunny as Japanese-American, and Basil as having at least one European parent, both living in Europe, and an American grandmother. I have no idea where that second headcanon comes from. It's probably me projecting my own French-ness onto my favorite little blorbo -- another explanation is that OMORI seems to be pretty explicitely set in the USA, but Basil's parents are said to travel frequently and Sunny's never seen them in his life... and since it's easier to travel in Europe in my (limited) experience, my brain might've just made the association. Sunny being Japanese-American is a pretty popular headcanon because of his chara-design so I don't feel like I have to explain that one.

Anyway, they both live in France for plot reasons.

[avengetheangels]

curses, like chickens by Kaekokat14, Tierfal. After the sudden death of his wife, Natsuo falls apart – and his two young sons end up with Enji.

My Hero Academia (Enji/Hawks). This is the best fic I read this year. It is an amazing study on the Natsuo and Enji's relationship. It also has some of the best (and most complex) depictions of grief and forgiveness I've read in a fanfiction.

Carry No Burden by RohanBerry. Katsuki and Touya have been talking online for months. When Katsuki Presents as an Omega and triggers Touya’s Rut they are forced to admit they are drawn to each other. But as they try to navigate their complicated relationship they are forced to deal with outside issues.

Katsuki is evicted from Pack 1A when they find out the true extent of his middle school bullying and he’s too busy trying to hide his mother’s abuse to fix anything. Touya is helpless to do anything as his Omega is forced to face foe after foe.

Follow Katsuki and Touya, as they go from a hero and a villain, to a power couple the rest of Japan idolises, one slow step at a fucking time.

My Hero Academia (Bakugou/Dabi). Reading this fic felt self indulgent in the best way. It has all of my favorite ABO tropes and some great smut. There are some interesting background pairings and (some) LOV redemption if you enjoy that. Also, super long so it will keep you busy.

Lessons Learned by Sif (Rosae). Rather than the police station, Katsuki's friends bring him to a hospital after rescuing him from the villains. His wounds were minor, but it didn't make having them treated any less important. As it would so happen, Best Jeanist was also brought to this hospital after the attack.

Sometimes, small choices have a big impact on how a story plays out.

--------------- Aka: Best Jeanist Acquires A Son. Featuring: Serious talks regarding abuse and emotional scars, one adult finally stepping the hell up and trying to help Katsuki, me going off about the sports festival because I'm still not over it, pro-heros having a group chat, and Katsuki finally getting a chance to learn how to be good.

My Hero Academia (Gen). The worst part about this fic is that made me crave Dad Jeanist with Bakugou and it isn't as popular to write about as Dadwaza. This was also my most reread fic this year.

A Sad Song With Nothing To Say by WakingNightmares. It starts with the Make A Wish foundation, and ends with a funeral.

Which, Bruce supposes, is unfortunately how things involving the Make A Wish foundation usually work. But what happens in-between catches him completely off-guard.

DC (Gen). This is a wonderfully painful character study of Jason Todd. It will make you cry but its worth it.

Malfoy Home for Lost Children by Craftybadger1234. After the war, Draco accidentally becomes responsible for a whole passel of children. Along the way, he has to dodge Harry Potter nosing around in his business.

Harry Potter (Draco/Malfoy). This is the first HP fic I've loved enough to bookmark. I enjoyed the focus on Slytherins and their friendships. Plus, cute kids.

Lightning's End by evils. Sanji thinks he’s finally in the clear after escaping Whole Cake Island, until the Thousand Sunny encounters a freak storm that sweeps him and Luffy overboard.

Stranded, they face new trials that force them to confront truths about the strange island they’re on, and about each other.

One Piece (Sanji/Luffy). This fic made me love this ship. I really enjoyed how the writer wrote Luffy. It also had a fun bit of mystery as well.

Salvage by MuffinLance. Mid-Season-One Zuko is held for ransom by Chief Hakoda. Ozai's replies to the Water Tribe's demands are A+ Parenting. Hakoda is… deeply concerned, for this son that isn't his, and who might be safer among enemies than with his own father.

Avatar The Last Airbender (Gen). There is a reason this fic has so many comments and kudos. Muffinlance manages to create a whole cast of interesting characters. If you love found family like me, this is the fic for you.

Tracing a Sparrow on Snow-Crested Ground by whisperedstory. Tied up and left to die at the hands of a monster, Jaskier is sure his life is over—but then he's rescued by a group of witchers, led by none other than the White Wolf himself. The witchers offer Jaskier shelter with their group as they travel to Tretogor to negotiate with Redania, and a new home once they return to Kaer Morhen.

Jaskier is hopeful that he will be able to start over in Kaedwen. What he doesn't expect is to end up being married to Geralt as part of the treaty.

The Witcher (Jaskier/Geralt). This fic has all the best Witcher fanfic tropes. Warlord Geralt, arranged marriages, non-human Jaskier. With the smut and hurt/comfort, it was everything I wanted.

The Kids Will Be Alright, Eventually by NotWithThatAttitude. Bakugou is spiraling in the aftermath of Kamino and his friends are starting to notice. He's stubborn, aggressively independent, and less than willing to dig into his past, but after a breakdown that ends with a painfull secret revealed, he starts to get help.

Whether he likes it or not.

Meanwhile, a new kind of villain threatens an uneasy peace following the loss of Allmight. Whispers build as a new narrative slowly takes shape: Hero society needs to change.

Feat. Therapy, Dadzawa, best boy Kirishima, dysfunctional families, healing, growing up, and the mortifying ordeal of being known.

My Hero Academia (Bakugou/Kirishima). The subject matter in this fic can make it a challenge to read. But it is a fantastic exploration of trauma. It has a great amount of Dadwaza and Bakugou growing as a person as well.

Butterfly Effect by Frecklefrog. “Go, Mob, melt it!” screeches Reigen, and Mob extends his hand, already coated with the swirling blue discs of his aura. Only-

Only he can’t exorcise the spirit, because there isn’t one, and the boy is staring at him with wide blue eyes. His hand is glowing the same yellow as the basket.

(in which Teruki meets Mob much, much earlier.)

Mob Psycho 100 (Gen). This was the first MP100 fic I read after finishing the show. I love found family and this one was great. I loved seeing Teru learning to accept help from others and Reigen was a delight.

[unicorncornflakes]

Little One - Story AU! | Prologue

Next Chapter

Paring: Reader x Aemond Targaryen.

Summary: You are the only daughter of Jacaerys Velaryon, future lord of the tides. After the victory of Aegon and his side in the war, your family suffers the rejection in Driftmark. There you must always give an account to the king's new hand, Aemond Targaryen. However, when the time comes, Aegon and his court claim you as Queen Helaena's lady-in-waiting. As a new piece of the Greens' strategy to coerce your father, you are taken to King's Landing to begin your life in high society. Aemond will be, much to his pleasure, in charge of guiding you in this new stage.

Tags: Alternate Universe/ Enemies to Lovers/ Emotional Hurt/ComfortDrama & Romance/ Eventual Smut.

Warnings: This fic includes noncon, dubcon, manipulation, violence, death, forced marriage, and inc3st, at some points.

Tag-List (If you wanna be tagged in thi series or all of my work, let me know): @thedamewithabook

Author´s note: Pls, enjoy! Feedback, shares and comments are always welcome!

Word Count: 3.5K

A wave crashed against your naked body again and you laughed. Another wave again and another smile. Normally the only laughter on Drifmark beach was from the younger ones. Those who had been born after the Dance of Dragons and they did not remember the horror of the war their parents had been subjected to. So you were one of the few who laughed, much to the delight of your father, Lord Jacaerys Velaryon, current heir to Driftmark, after the death of his brother Luke. Little did you know of the political issues surrounding your father's appointment as future lord of the tides when it was obvious he had lost the war, but Jace also preferred it that way. He had lost the war, his right to the throne and his dragon, but he refused to lose what little he had left. His dignity had long since been forgotten. He now danced at the mercy of Aegon II and his Hand, Aemond Targaryen. For this reason, he preferred to keep you out of all this, and for you to continue laughing while you swam, danced and spent hours reading.

Another wave crashed against your body again, but this time you didn't laugh. Just like your friends playing in the water, you looked up at the sky, at the horizon, where a large dark mass threatened to cover up the sunny light that was shining on the beach that morning. But you knew it wouldn't. Vhagar's huge wings cast a shadow in a single instant, which disappeared with a quick flip of them. You had only seen one dragon in your life, and that was Vhagar. According to what the guards had told you, one of the few survivors of the Dance. You heard she roar as her rider stopped him on a nearby cliff, where a party was waiting for him. You could see the flags and banners of your father's house wave, welcoming Aemond Targaryen, who, as from time to time, would stop by on behalf of the king to see that everything was still in order and faithful to the crown. The dragon roared again just as you saw the figure of Aemond dismount from her in the distance. It was impossible not to spot him even at a distance with his Targaryen presence. You stood there, but you knew that they would be looking for you shortly to pay your respects to the hand of the king.

Dismounting from his dragon, as soon as he set foot on dry land, Aemond already wanted to get out of there. He saw how Vhagar was looking at him, regurgitating fire to burn all of Driftmark's brood if her rider dictated so, but Aemond only raised his hand, without even meeting her eyes. "Lykirī" he pronounced with absolute confidence and felt like his mount relaxed. Total, if she devastated that island not much else was going to happen. He smirked and sneered when he saw at the end of the procession his nephew, Jace, who was waiting for him with a scowl, behind the ever powerful presence of Corlys Velaryon. The King´s Hand was only there to see that everything was in order, for the next day he would be back in King's Landing with… his family. He took a quick look at the beach below the cliff. There was a group of girls playing on the shore. He sighed smugly, as if he found it hard to believe that there could still be happy people there. If there were people like that, it's because he wasn't doing his job well, but he let it go. He was trying to rebuild the kingdom after the war, not tear it apart further. He turned his one-eyed gaze straight ahead and walked confidently. He knew that despite going without an escort, no one there would dare to attack him. Threats could be, but not attack or hurt him. Driftmark was in no shape to afford another war, and Aemond was there, too, to prevent it from happening. He approached the waiting entourage and once in front of Lord Corlys and Jace, he waited with his hands behind his back to be greeted. Courtesy said that it was he who should greet since he was the newcomer, but this was ignored when it was a prince like him.

"Lord Hand" your grandfather, Lord Corlys, greeted him with a solemn nod, his eyes fixed on him. So did your father, his lips pursed and his gaze fixed on Aemond. The hatred that he always exuded when seeing him was not comparable to anything like that. He always clenched his fists when he saw him. He hated it. He was the one who had killed Luke; and Aegon, his mother.

"Your receptions are getting poorer for a person of my rank, Lord Corlys," Aemond commented to him as he looked at the guards posted to the sides, missing Jace's wife and children, as well as the fanfare of the moment. “Should I start worrying about insubordination?” he said with his eye locked on Jace, daring him to speak at once.

“No, my prince” responded Corlys while inviting him with a gesture of his hands to move forward “Driftmark suffers the impacts of war like any other place. Now we do not have the means to receive it as it deserves. We apologize"

Aemond walked in the direction of the Velaryon house fortress with Corlys, followed by Jace at his back. He wasn't afraid of him. He knew he had broken him enough that Jace would not turn against him or his brother. "Where do the resources of your house then go, Lord Corlys?" he smiled cruelly, as if he were suggesting they were re-arming for possible rebellion.

"To feed and support our people" Jace answered from behind, in a bad way, not daring to meet Aemond's eye, but tired of those control visits, which did nothing but harm them.

"Now we'll see when we talk about money and tributes to the crown" the one-eyed prince replied with a smirk. "By the way, I understand about the resources, but couldn't your wife and children be here today to receive me as I deserve?"

"Baela is in bed, my prince, she just gave birth to a boy" Corlys commented, trying to hide a satisfied smile, which Aemond couldn't see, because he just kept staring at Jace.

"Congratulations, bastard, you've finally been able to make a healthy and... strong male" he smiled mischievously, and Jace looked away from him even more, how long would this torture last? He not only insulted him with his origins, but also attacked him with his inability to have fathered only two children. "And your daughter? Is she also she in bed she just gave birth? That would be very bad news for the crown” managed to provoke, Jace looked at him with anger in his eyes. Finally he was going to attack him, when Corlys stopped him by grabbing his shoulder. They both knew the plans the greens had with you, although you were unaware of them. "Let's keep going. But I would like to see (Y/N) before the visit is over” he commented again, bringing his arms behind his back again.

"Now I'll send for her, Lord Hand." Corlys told him as he nodded to one of his guards, who came out of the formation in search of you. Aemond smirked as they continued walking towards the fortress. He had to check that you were ready for the task he had in mind.

"Get dressed quickly" your mother ordered you from her bed, where she cradled your newborn brother. One of the maids came up to you and helped you tie the back of her dress. She picked up the brush and began combing your hair unlovingly, in a hurry. You didn't complain. You knew that circumstances dictated so.

"Your hair is full of saltpeter" was the only thing the woman, who was combing your hair between great pulls and effort, commented with a big snort "She should have bathed" two other girls were running up and down the room, also preparing the clothes for your mother. She had had a painful birth, but if The Hand asked to see you all, you would appear.

"Better, she'll look ragged that way," your mother commented as she rose in great pain and allowed one of the girls to pick up the child, "Careful, please," she whispered. Your newborn brother made a small sound of disgust at being torn from your mother's arms, but he did little else. It seemed that he didn't have the strength for much more and you feared. It had happened with the rest of your brothers. They would die in a few days. At least he hadn't died in your mother's womb. That must be a good sign.

They finished dressing you in your parents' spacious rooms, while they continued with it for your mother. Baela looked at you with concern, but you did not dare to return the look. “Do you want us to put jewelry on (Y/N), My Lady?” asked the oldest of the maids, opening an old jewelry box with the few jewels that your family had left, you wanted to use them but they never allowed you.

"No, she must look like a girl," your mother said as they hurriedly dressed her. "If he asks you, you don't bleed, do you understand me, (Y/N)?" your mother warned you, as if she knew something you didn't.

"Yes, mother" you told her with a quiet and submissive voice. Two years ago you had started bleeding, and it was obvious that you did it regularly, that your body had fully developed and you were ready to give birth to children, but... whenever there was a visit of this type, your parents told you to lie. On that occasion, it missed you even more. This issue had never come to light before if the prince came to visit you. Your mother finished dressing with the maid´s help ,and with your brother in her arms and with you walking behind her, quiet and scared, she headed to her grandfather's throne room. her head held high and her eyes combative. Aemond Targaryen was not going to take either of her two children.

“9,850 dragons were brought to the crown by the end of last month, the remaining 3,045 were used in the following terms within Driftmark maintenance: 275 were destined for fodder for the goats within the castle limits, 132 in the acquisition of clothes for …” that accountant continued counting in great detail all the expenses that the Velaryon family had had in that last month. Aemond listened without paying much attention, simply writing down some of the figures to be able to add up at the end or refute what such stupid expenses were due to... Jace looked at him with contempt, while Corlys tried to avoid any possible tension by looking at the ceiling while they were all in that huge makeshift table in Driftmark's throne room. Aemond continued to smirk whenever he looked at Jace. He challenged him he always would and Jace didn't know the mistake he'd made in having children. Aemond must have celebrated your birth even more than your own father. It was the first nail from Jacaerys Velaryon's grave.

"Cousin" he heard the voice of his cousin Baela of his right behind him. If Jace had been taken from him his brother, Baela had been taken her father after he faced off against Daemon Targaryen and besting him, just as Alys had predicted. He turned in his chair and finally saw that little miracle as the accountant's voice stopped short. The entire place fell silent as Aemond Targaryen gazed at you and your mother, muted. His only eye shone with happiness, although as he had always told you it was cruel happiness. He got up from his chair and walked over to your mother, ignoring you and inspecting your newborn brother. His hand resting on dark sister. It had been the prize for murdering your grandfather. Jace also got up to be able to control the situation, although you always felt that in the presence of that cold man there was little to control. You had feared few things, but Aemond Targaryen was one of the few men who managed to inspire fear in you. You stood there cold, frozen, waiting your turn to be inspected, like you always had from the last time he saw you.

"Finally a boy, cousin" he smiled without getting too close, as if he really didn't care about the little boy or the mother's condition at all "What did you call him?"

“Lucerys Velaryon, like my brother,” your father said proudly, coming up behind your mother and grabbing her shoulders protectively. Aemond laughed, an almost malevolent laugh.

"I hope he has better luck than our little Strong," said Aemond, turning to look at you. Your mother stopped your father with a look. You all were in no position to reply, not after the war. He stood in front of you with a smile and inspected you from top to bottom with a look that you couldn't decipher. At least no man had ever looked at you like that before. He put his hands behind his back and you blushed. If he hadn't been an enemy, you would have found him quite attractive. Even as an enemy of your father, you did. But you had never shown it except for that pink shadow that appeared on your cheeks every time he looked at you, but... you shouldn't have been confused. He was a kinslayer, the cruel prince. “I would have liked you to receive me in the dress I brought you last month, (Y / N)” he said as he smugly looked at you. You looked at him confused. You didn't know what he was talking about and then your father spoke after clearing his throat.

“She's still a girl for those kinds of dresses,” your father said with an icy voice, as if he didn't want to talk about that topic any further.

"Well, when you let her swim naked on the beach, her body looks like a woman's," Aemond commented without taking his attention away from you, without any emotion. You blushed even more and your father tightened his brow even more. At that moment, he would have killed Aemond if the three of you had been alone, but the rest of the room was looking at him, waiting for his reaction. He simply stared ahead, suppressing everything he felt. The prince kept looking at you "Tell me, little one, are you bleeding yet?" You blushed even more and looked at your parents before swallowing hard.

"No, the lunar blood hasn't reached me yet" you lied to him with your gaze fixed on his eye, who listened to your words in disbelief. Aemond had always understood little about women, but he knew that you already bled. It was a no-brainer. For a moment, he couldn't blame Jace for wanting to separate you from your destiny, but he had already begun to get tired of that absurd game that was brought in your house. You were a woman, and as a woman, you had to start facing what was expected of you.

"Well, at this point, in which despite (Y / N)'s age she still hasn't bled, I have to execute the king's will anyway" he said after taking a tired sigh and not expressing any emotion again. It wasn't just Aegon's will, it was his own, the more he could tie the rebels against the crown the better, and doing it by looking like a magnanimous sovereign was even better.

"What are you talking about?" Your father spoke in confusion as Aemond sat back down at the table. Aemond invited him to sit with a wave of his hand.

"Some news is better to receive sitting down, nephew" the one-eyed man told him, while his attention returned to your mother who had now approached you and hugged you, as if she already had an idea of what Aemond was about to say. Your father sat down again and Aemond took out a paper "An Edict of the King, in his own handwriting." He pointed to your father as he offered it to him to read. Aegon could have written it, but it was his idea, like almost everything that was done in the seven kingdoms those days.

"This can't be true," he said as he passed the note to Corlys. You could see your grandfather's eyes widen as he read the wax-sealed letter from the house of the dragon over and over again. "Is this a joke?" your father asked again. "You're not going to take them both," he roared loudly, slamming the table. Aemond didn't even flinch. He only spoke with a clear and firm voice.

“And I'm not going to take them both, but you have to understand that it's time for their life in society to begin. You will want a good husband for your daughter, right?" he asked knowing that he hit where it hurt, that he was giving the last stab gracefully to his nephew. He had already passed sentence on him years ago, at the very moment he fathered you. Your mother ran to read the note with your brother in her arms, but you were still in the same place, as if you didn't know what was happening. Aemond glanced at you, but he said nothing. He just scrutinized you in silence.

"Tell the king that we care little for his wishes for our children's prosperity," Baela spoke grudgingly to Aemond, who remained unperturbed.

“I think that to be sons and grandsons of traitors, the positions that the king offers them are very good. They will participate in court life. I think it's something wonderful given their origin” Aemond tried to explain from his point of view. “Little Luke will become Daeron's squire when he is old enough, that will make him a knight. A great opportunity before inheriting the title of his father... if he survives the cradle, of course ” he smiled again, referring to the other children of Jace who had suffered the same fate and had not survived more than weeks after childbirth. "As for (Y/N)..." Aemond left his seat and under the watchful eye of your parents he grabbed your chin, and made you raise your face, forcing you to look into his eyes "Helaena always needs ladies-in-waiting" he caressed your lower lip, as if his mind was going through a thousand ways to use those lips for his use and enjoyment, but he was not Aegon. He repeated it to him a thousand times while he kept looking at you and you felt how your whole body stood on end at those attentions to which you were not used to "The queen's ladies-in-waiting always find the best husbands" he whispered in your ear without letting go of his grip of your chin

"She's still a girl, Aemond," said your father, coming closer to you. You turned your face away from the prince's grasp, as if now you were ashamed because deep down you had enjoyed that brief contact of his skin against yours.

“I think that's the problem she's not bleeding yet.” Aemond gave you a big smile. “You still treat her like one little girl. In court, she surrounded by young women she will surely start bleeding… and so we can marry her to whoever she best suits…”

Your father grabbed you by the shoulder as if he wanted to protect you "She's still not old enough to get married, nor to be a bargaining chip in your macabre plans," he said, holding you even tighter, trying to protect you. "The court is no place for her." You did not speak, as if you feared that what you might say might offend both Aemond and your father. You were scared, just like a lamb going to be slaughtered.

“She is the daughter of a great heir, isn't she? She is the granddaughter of princes, daughter of lords... Why wouldn't she be among my sister's ladies-in-waiting?" Aemond commented, turning. “This subject bores me, we have already discussed it, I have already said what the king has ordered. Let's continue with the Driftmark accounts for this month and end this meeting. I'm bored with this situation"

Corlys had said nothing in the entire discussion, but his face reflected the worst hatred for Aemond. The accountant waited for your father's order to continue without knowing what to do, and the young cupbearer remained silent, in a corner, a mute witness to all of this. Your mother bolted out of the room grabbing your arm. You heard your father scream and your grandfather answer Aemond, but your fate was already sealed. King's Landing awaited your arrival.

[metallicbluemorpho]

The Letter in Once-ler's Pocket (A Once-ler Fanfiction)

So for my next trick....err I mean fic, I'm going to post an old Normaler one-shot I did called the Letter in Once-ler's pocket. This fic is based on the story The Letter In The Wallet by Arnald Fine, and plays with the whole "Ted is Once-ler's grandson" theory.

fandom: The Lorax, The Once-ler Fandom

relationship: Normaler, Norma/Once-ler (when they are older)

word count: 2407

rating: G

warnings: None

Summary:

Ted finds a letter written by Once-ler's long-lost love. A letter that also reveals a shocking secret. After this discovery, Ted sets out the reunite the Once-ler with his beloved. Based on the story The Letter in the Wallet by Arnold Fine.

Notes:

I came across the story “The Letter in The Wallet” some time ago. I highly recommend the original story. It's a very unique and touching love story. I'm not even a huge romance person but I liked it. For some reason, the story reminded me of the popular fan theory regarding The Once-ler and Norma, so I wrote this one shot. I hope you enjoy the story and please consider checking out my other Once-ler fanfics). Thank you so much for reading. Important Note: Because Ted's Mom (Mrs.Wiggins) does not have a first name in the movie, I have named her Jenny after her voice actress (Jenny Slate) in this story.

It was a beautiful day. Sunny with a slight breeze. In the outskirts of Thnnedville, the Once-ler and Ted were watering the truffula tree saplings near the Once-ler's Lurkim.

“Hey Ted, I need to refill my watering can. I'll be right back.” Once-ler told Ted.

Ted nodded and waved back in reply. As Once-ler turned to head back to the Lurkim, a piece of paper fell out of the hole in his robe pocket, and began fluttering in the breeze. Ted saw the piece of paper and quickly caught it. He was about to head back to the Lurkim to give the paper back to Once-ler, when Ted noticed a familiar name written on it. It was signed by someone named Norma.

Ted hadn't intended to read it, but after seeing that name, curiosity overcame him and Ted unfolded it. He discovered that it was an old letter that read:

My Dearest Once-ler, After everything that has happened, with the trees gone and Thneed inc shut down, my mother has forbidden me from seeing you ever again. You took such great care to keep our family out of the limelight, to the point where the public never knew about our marriage and our daughter. My mother feels as though it would be better and safer if it stayed that way. Even if that means our little Jenny will never know about you. My heart is broken. Despite everything, I wish we could still be together. While I am greatly saddened by the loss of the trees, please know that I still love you nonetheless and I always will. -Norma

Ted's eyes widened in disbelief. Jenny was his mother, and Norma was his Grammy. This meant that the Once-ler was his grandfather! Right at that moment, Once-ler returned. When he saw Ted reading the letter, he dropped his watering can in shock.

“Where did you get that?” Once-ler asked.

“It fell out of your pocket.” Ted quickly returned the letter to him. “I'm sorry Mr. Once-ler, I didn't mean to read it but I saw the name Norma and I-”

“You know Norma?” Once-ler interrupted him.

“Yeah I know her, she's-” Ted saw Once-ler's expression and stopped himself. He figured that Once-ler wasn't ready for the whole truth yet.

“How is she? Is she just as spunky as she once was?” Once-ler asked earnestly.

“She's fine, and just as spunky as when you knew her. My mo- I mean Jenny's doing fine too.” Ted replied.

“Let me tell you something Ted.” Once-ler sighed. “When that letter came, my life ended. After that, I knew that I had truly lost everything. I loved them both so much.” Once-ler began to cry.

“Would you like to see them again?” Ted asked.

“More than anything Ted, but Jenny doesn't even know about me and I doubt Norma would ever forgive me after what I've done. I don't think they would ever want to see me again.” Once-ler replied.

“I think maybe they would.” Ted tried to reassure him “After all Gram-I mean Norma was the one who encouraged me to come out here to see you. She was the one who told me about the fifteen cents, the nail, and the great great great grandfather snail. She was also the one who bought you the marshmallows.

“She really did?” Once-ler's eyes widened in excitement.

“Yeah. If I go ask her if she wants to see you and she says yes, will you come back to Thnnedville with me to see her and Jenny?”

Once-ler hesitated for a moment. “Yes, but only if she wants to, and if she doesn't then I understand. Take the letter with you and show it to her. Tell her I've kept it with me always. Tell her that I've always loved her and Jenny, and how much I miss them.” Once-ler looked up at Ted, hopeful but fearful.

“I sure will Mr. Once-ler.” Ted put the letter safely in his own pocket, hopped on his scooter, and made his way back to Thneedville. He could hardly wait to tell Grammy Norma what he had discovered. Ted reached his house and excitedly burst through the door.

“Grammy! Grammy Norma!” he shouted “Where are you?”

“I'm in the kitchen Ted.” Grammy Norma replied. She smiled when she saw her grandson enter the room.

“Did you just get back from The Once-ler's Lurkim?” Grammy Norma asked “How is he doing anyway? Hopefully things are better for him now that the trees are coming back.” she sighed.

“Yeah, he's doing fine,” Ted answered. “Anyways, I discovered something.” He pulled out the letter.

“Ted, Where did you get this?” Grammy Norma gasped, she recognized the letter instantly.

Ted handed her the letter and began to explain. “It fell out of the Once-ler's pocket. I picked it up and noticed your name was on it so I began to read it and...”

“So you know the truth.” Grammy Norma interrupted.

Ted nodded

“Does he know?” she asked.

“I told him that I know you and Mom, but he doesn't know that you're my Grammy and that Jenny is Mom. I didn't think he was ready to hear that part.” Ted answered, “Anyways, he told me to tell you that he always kept that note with him, and that he always loved you and Mom and that he misses you.”

“He did? He does?” Grammy Norma asked Ted with tears in her eyes.

“Yes,” Ted told her. “He said that he wants to see you and Jenny more than anything, but that he doesn't think you will forgive him.”

“Oh, Ted.” Grammy Norma sighed. “Come here, I want to show you something.”

She led Ted up to her room. Grammy Norma reached into a drawer in her dresser and pulled out a scrapbook, one that Ted had never seen before. She sat down on her bed, opened the scrapbook, and gestured for Ted to come over. When Ted saw the pictures inside, he stared in awe. The pictures were of a much younger Once-ler, along with other pictures of Once-ler and Norma together. Ted couldn't help but notice how much he and the Once-ler looked alike.

“He was so tall and handsome.” Grammy Norma sighed

“Grammy, Do you still love him?” Ted asked.

“Of course I do.” Grammy Norma replied “I meant what I wrote and I still do. Despite what had happened, I've never stopped loving him. More than anything I wish we could have been a family together.”

“So would you like to see him again?” Ted asked, “Maybe it' isn't too late, maybe we could still be a family.”

Grammy Norma paused thoughtfully for a moment, then finally spoke. “I'd love to see him again, but I'm not sure if it's possible now. Oncie felt so guilty about what had happened, he was so ashamed, that he never wanted to be seen again. He probably doesn't want to come back to town, especially after it has been so long. I understand. I'm just glad you were able to meet him Ted, and that the trees are back. That makes me so happy.”

“So you forgive him Grammy?” Ted asked “He's afraid that you're still mad at him.”

“I forgave him a long time ago.” Grammy Norma answered, “I knew how sorry he felt, unfortunately, it seems as though Oncie never forgave himself.”

“I'll go back and talk to him.” Ted got up and ran back to the kitchen. He grabbed the letter and headed for the door.

“Ted wait.” Grammy Norma called out to Ted from the top of the stairs.

“Yes, Grammy?” Ted looked up

“You can ask him, but don't get your hopes up.” Grammy Norma told Ted. “Tell Oncie that I forgive him and I still love him, but that I understand if he doesn't want to come back.”

Ted nodded “I will Grammy.” he hopped back on his scooter and made his way back to the Lerkim. Ted ran up the porch, rang the doorbell, and waited. Ted no longer had to worry about any booby traps, the Once-ler had removed them some time ago.

Once-ler opened the door and smiled nervously when he saw Ted.

“You're back already?” he asked.

Ted handed the letter back to Once-ler “Yep and I talked to Norma. She says that she forgave you a long time ago and that she's always loved you and that she misses you.

“She did? She does?” Once-ler asked.

Ted nodded “So do you want to go back?” he asked Once-ler “Grammy Norma says that she would love to see you again, but that she understands if you don't want to come back.”

“I don't know...” the Once-ler began. Then his eyes widened when he realized something. “Wait did you say Grammy Norma?”

Ted's eyes also widened when he realized what he had said. “Yes. Norma is my Grammy.”

“Norma is your...Grammy?” Once-ler asked in disbelief

“Yes, and Jenny is my Mom,” Ted replied.

“If Norma is your Grammy and Jenny is your Mom then that means....” the Once-ler paused “....that means you're my grandson!” he realized.

Ted nodded and waited for a moment while the Once-ler processed this information.

“I can't believe it!” Once-ler exclaimed “Though now that I think about it you do look a bit like I did when I was younger.” he chuckled.

Ted also laughed. “Yeah, Grammy Norma showed me the pictures. She told me you were so tall and handsome.”

The Once-ler began to blush at Ted's comment. “Really?” he asked Ted.

“Yeah really.”

“Well, I guess that settles it then.” Once-ler took a deep breath, pushing back any remaining nervousness he still had. “I want to go back and see Norma, and Jenny too.”

“Then let's go.” Ted headed for his scooter, with the Once-ler following behind him. “Are you ready?” he asked Once-ler, as they sat down on the scooter.

“As ready as I'll ever be,” Once-ler answered.

At that, Ted turned on the scooter and sped off towards Thneedville. Once-ler sat behind him, holding on to Ted with one arm and holding onto his hat with the other. Once-ler gazed in awe at his surroundings, it had been many years since he had seen Thneedville. The town looked amazing, and now with live trees, it looked even better. Ted finally stopped in front of his house and he and the Once-ler got off the scooter and headed up to the door.

“Let's ring the doorbell.” Once-ler suggested. “I don't want to barge in.”

“Ok.” Ted agreed as he pressed the button. Once-ler took another deep breath as he and Ted waited.

It was Ted's Mom, Jenny who opened the door. When she saw Ted with the Once-ler she looked confused.

“Ted who is this?” she asked.

“Mom, this is the Once-ler.” Ted explained “Grammy Norma told me about him. He's the one who told me about the trees and gave me the seed so I could bring them back.”

“I thought the Once-ler was just some story about a green-armed faceless recluse that lived in an Lurkim.” Jenny replied, now even more confused.

“Erm not exactly.” Ted laughed “Actually he's- let Grammy explain it to you. She's the one who knows him.”

Jenny, completely dumbfounded, turned to Grammy Norma who was sitting on the couch. “Mom do you know this guy?” she asked.

Norma turned towards the door and adjusted her glasses.

“Norma, it's Once-ler. Do you remember?” Once-ler asked

“Once-ler? Oh, Oncie! It's you!” Norma exclaimed

Once-ler slowly walked over to Norma, who quickly embraced him. Both of them started crying. “I missed you so much,” Norma whispered.

“I missed you too. I'm so sorry.” Once-ler replied. They both sat back down on the couch. Holding hands, and gazing into eachothers tear filled eyes.

“Can somebody please explain to me what the heck is going on?” Jenny shouted

“Jenny dear. This is the Once-ler,” Norma explained “He was my husband and your father, and he's Ted's grandfather.”

Jenny's eyes widened in shock as she sat down on the armchair. “How is that possible?” she asked “You told me my father died.”

“In a way I did.” Once-ler replied sadly “After the trees fell and I received that note, my life basically ended. I spent the remainder of my existence haunting that Lurkim like a ghost.” He looked down at the floor sadly as he handed Jenny Norma's letter.

While Jenny read the letter, Ted came over to Grammy Norma and whispered something in her ear. Norma nodded and Ted headed upstairs. He came back down with Grammy Norma's scrapbook. After his mom finished the letter. Ted handed her the scrapbook. She stared at the pictures in shock.

“Why didn't you ever tell me about him? What happened?” she asked Norma

It was the Once-ler who answered her. Norma continued to hold his hand as he told his daughter the same story he once told Ted about the trees. When Once-ler finally finished his story, Norma explained the story behind the note. Afterward, they all sat in silence for several moments before the Once-ler began to cry.

“I destroyed everything, and then I lost everything.” he sobbed “I know I don't deserve it and it's probably too late, but if you could ever possibly forgive me, I'd love to start a new life with you all.”

“I've already forgiven you and I've never stopped loving you.” Grammy Norma pulled Once-ler into another hug. “I'd love nothing more than to be with you again.”

Jenny, although still processing the news, had always longed to meet her father. She wiped away her own tears and nodded. “Yes, I'd love to have you in my life Dad.”

“Alright!” Ted cheered “Welcome to the family Grandpa!”

A few weeks later, a very special event took place at a chapel in Thneedville. Norma and the Once-ler had renewed their wedding vows. Ted stood next to the Once-ler as his best man, Jenny and Aubrey stood next to Norma as her bridesmaids, and it was none other than the Lorax who was the ring bearer.

“I'm really happy for you beanpole.” The Lorax whispered as he handed the couple the rings.

“Thank you,” Once-ler whispered in gratitude, before turning back to face his beloved bride.

As the Lorax watched the ceremony unfold, he smiled, grateful that along with the trees, the Once-ler was able to return and begin life anew.

[whumpster-fire]

I know I already ranted about Queen Coral but I'm rereading Arc 1 for the hell of it and jesus I forgot how much she is just straight up the villain of this book. Egotistical, paranoid, cruel, incredibly easy to manipulate because literally all Whirlpool and Blister have to do is flatter her. I think she's like 50% of the reason I called WOF A Series Of Unfortunate Events But With Dragons is her because man, throwing two dragons in a dungeon because her friend said them being the murderers fits all the mystery novel tropes and locking her daughter and her friends in said dungeon because said friend said so is Person-Who-Fosters-The-Baudelaire-Siblings levels of competence. Also she's an evil tyrant who tortures and murders other dragons, and she can't figure out "have three guard, in shifts, physically inside the hatchery at all times while an egg is incubating because someone is obviously getting inside somehow." Like unironically this isn't just "I don't like her," Coral is legitimately the primary antagonist of The Lost Heir IMO. Yeah Whirlpool and Blister are there but Whirlpool's mostly a problem because of Coral and at this point in the story so is Blister. Tsunami literally spends like half the book either trying to stop her mother from doing evil things or trying to deal with the consequences of her mother's bad decisions.

Other thoughts on The Lost Heir the second time around:

Tsunami may not ever be queen of the Seawings, but she'll always be Queen Of Spending Half Her POV Book Making Bad Decisions and Being Horribly Biased in my heart. Oh god Tsunami is such an arrogant little disaster in this book. I love her but she needs to learn to respect and trust her adoptive siblings so badly.

Rereading this after having read The Brightest Night is so painful. Sunny is so clearly ready to start biting everyone (justifiably). Actually it's very fitting that this is the Sea Kingdom book because the entire DoD is at maximum salt levels the entire time. Literally everybody except maybe Clay is so close to losing it. Sunny is sick of everyone infantilizing her, Starflight is trying to act like a "natural leader" like Morrowseer lectured him about but it's obvious his only role models for leadership are the Guardians and Tsunami so he's trying to emulate them (badly), and Glory is just pissed off at everyone. And then there's Tsunami trying to defend her murderous, abusive mother.

I forget if this gets touched on in The Hidden Kingdom, but man, Glory must have felt so fucking alone and betrayed in this book. Tsunami is normally the dragon she can count on to share her anger at the guardians and never try to make excuses for their abusive behavior, and then she saw Tsunami's mother dragging small dragonets around on a leash, being a spineless enabler to Blister, locking them up in a dark cave and leaving them to die, and so on. A little bit of wasted potential to not have Glory calling Tsunami out on Coral managing to embody some of the worst aspects of Kestrel, Dune, and Webs but Tsunami suddenly being on the side of "Well, she's a complicated dragon" because she still didn't quite fully abandon the fantasy of a loving family she'd built up. Which isn't fully accurate because Tsunami did call Coral out plenty but I kind of want to see Glory go ballistic when Tsunami brings up some of the stuff she the other dragonets weren't there for, like torturing one of her guards to death for following an order Shark gave her, being ready to let wounded soldiers bleed to death for no reason, literally threatening Tsunami's life.

Reading this again I totally see where people are coming from on lots of Clay's complexity being abandoned after his book and him being reduced to "big dumb guy who only thinks about food." It also doesn't help that in the audiobooks the narrator changes to a very different voice for him after his book. However, I do have to wonder if he's doing this on purpose to try to defuse the other dragonets being at each other's throats because nothing else is working.

After going through Arc 2 every single scene with Anemone in it is heartbreaking. She's so scared of being driven insane by her powers and used as a weapon, and then Whirlpool more or less confirms her fear that she'd be forced to cast spell after spell until she lost her mind and was (presumably) killed because now she was dangerous. Then she accidentally killed him, had to keep it secret from everyone, and spent the next however many months with absolutely no support AND she got to find out that the last Animus in her family, Orca, was massacring her family. Yeah I can see how she internalized "I am already too far gone."

Wait a minute... why couldn't Glory go invisible and try to steal the key to Clay's chains from the guards when the cave started flooding? I guess I'll go with 'Glory was going to try it eventually but she and/or Starflight pointed out that wading through flooded tunnels and rain could result in someone noticing a suspiciously dragon shaped arrangement of water droplets mysteriously floating in midair, so that was the backup plan they hadn't gotten to yet.'

The entire institution of the Royal Challenge is irreparably fucked and every tribe in Pyrrhia that doesn't abolish it is doomed to have terrible queens forever because raising dragons from birth with the knowledge that they'll have to kill their mother, sister, or aunt to assume the throne, and they'll have to start treating their daughters like enemies once they get old enough, is ensuring that any dragon who gets on the throne absolutely does not have the temperament to be a good leader. The Rainwings, Nightwings, and Sandwings are probably okay because I think Glory and Thorn will figure out a peaceful transition of power, I don't know how it even works for Mudwings, and who knows maybe Ruby and Snowfall will manage to un-ruin their kingdoms' cultures, but the Seawing Tribe is kind of screwed and Anemone and Auklet deserve better than growing up with "Heir to the Throne" hanging over their heads.

[kix-mm]

Hey! I saw you made a QnA a bit ago, and I have a question. We know a pretty fair amount about Branch himself, but i remember you mentioned he had siblings and parents, could you tell us a little bit about them? Thanks!

Of course! This is picture is a small hight chart from the time Branch was about 5.

Jacob, Robin, Roy, Barron, Allen & Elliot, Vincent, Dusty.

Info is here below!

Jacob, the eldest

He’s the one that’s considered the most responsible of all siblings, at time being more of a father to them than a brother, he was often the man of the house whenever his farther was traveling for work. He was one that followed the rules quite closely and yet wouldn’t be afraid to bend them or stray from the path even going as far as to stand up to his very own father and question the reason for certain rules. But as years went by there was a certain dread felt when they had to call for Jacob… He was a sweet soul despite how fearful his brothers were of him, maybe something about him was just unsettling? He never dared to ask… "Even mother seemed a little intimidated.

Robin, second eldest

Robin is one of the favorites of many, including Branch. He was born with scoliosis and never had it treated as the procedure was expensive and, in his eyes, quite unnecessary. He had a certain charm to his character, a great listener, and quite playful. He always had a calm tone and was known to be quite flirty both with men and women. He tends to drink a lot more than his family knows to keep his silly stories to himself...

Roy, third eldest

The troublemaker of the family. Drugs, fighting his family and dissappeaing for days without contact. He has no filter and can be quite a narcissist. He put very little effort into showing that he cares... The only person he seems to have any consideration for is his canary, not letting anyone near it, especially his younger siblings. That doesn't mean he doesn't care about his family, he yearns for Jacob's approval despite his rebellious actions and never spends a day thinking about how he almost lost Allen in a blind rage over as stupid accident...

Barron

Barron is the adventurous type. Usually, he was the one to make up the games so they wouldn't die of boredom. He was fast, strong, and brave. A hero to his little brothers and a knight in armor to his little sister. He was usually the one that got between people when things started getting physical, except when the adults were involved, then he'd make sure the little ones were distracted so they wouldn't have to hear all that he did when he was their age... Barron became blind in one eye but somehow sees things nobody else can... he sometimes struggles with what is real and what isn't, maybe it was due to his near death experience... that's the only thing he's scared of...

Allen & Elliot, the twins

Elliot was the first of the two, a bright and sunny boy who always had something to do. He was rarely bored and easily distracted by just about anything, taking the saying "watching paint dry" to a whole new level. Allen, on the other hand, was a sensitive lad. He had pretty severe autism, and he had trouble talking with most of his words slurring or lisping, he had a unique way with communicating with Elliot, since the two were inseparable they learned to communicate with each other that the others to this day have no clue on how they do it.

Vincent

He was born with several health complications, asthma,a poor immune system, and sensitive eyes. His “disabilities” are what got him so interested in medicine, reading countless books that were on a far higher level than the rest of those his age. His fascination, however, is what also leads him to severe germophobia and thanatophoia, a fear of dirt, infection, bacteria & fear of dying. Not only did this cause him to be far more anxious then the rest of his brothers but he also started becoming a household doctor of some sorts, giving his brothers regular checkups at first for fun, but eventually out of fear for their safety…

Dusty, the youngest and only sister

Dusty was everyone's little princess, the sunshine of the household, everyone adored and cared for her. She loved all her brothers and would always do her best to make them smile. She is mostly mute, only becoming verbal when she was feeling very high levels of emotions. Due to being the youngest and most loved everyone was always on the lookout for her and being extremely protective of her. She had a special kind of freedom the boys never had, but they worked hard for her to have it. It was all worth it just for her...

[glassedplanets]

OKAY TATTOO AU BECAUSE NOW IM INVESTED, DAMN IT:

please tell me if ASL has some kind of matching something somewhere. tell me everything about ace, you know i love him. and law of course. is cora okay. where's doflamingo in all this.

OKAY THIS IS GOING TO BE LONG.

Ace Survives because we said so and this is for giggles and good feelings

he does extreme sports and jets around the world with yamato to Fuck Around And Find Out, stops by to visit luffy every so often

(this is how The Incident happens; he's in town for some kind of extreme sports Event and of course invites luffy, law's dragged along for the ride, it becomes so much more than anyone bargains for) (but this time the other straw hats are able to be there for luffy maybe only two hours late instead of two years)

but ASL do have a matching something!! it starts w/ luffy absently doodling something on his thigh with a pen one day, thinking about his childhood, and then he bolts into the shop (which is closed by this point), rings up his brothers to shoot the shit, and at one point one of them is like, hey, i hear your machine, thought you were closed? someone run late? but luffy's like :D nah i drew something that made me think of you both so i'm tattooing it on myself. (sabo: BRO WHAT. ace: YOOOO SICK AS HELL 🔥) this becomes a Repeat Process by way of asking sabo (and then ace) to tell him a story from their childhood and then luffy creates something out of that. they're all abstract and vague but very obviously echoes of the same shape in ways that reflect each of the three of them. they all cry during this process (but it's fine)

: ) law and cora.

(this is almost entirely giffy's work, hats off to them)

dofy has a bitcoin empire and is also the sleaziest nastiest dealer you have ever met

(in college he sold oregano to rich shitheads)

(kaido runs a food supplement pyramid scheme cult)

law's family is not around due to canon-adjacent events and he ends up at a group home that's actually like a wild tax write off kind of situation for the donquixote family

this is where cora meets him in kind of an advocate capacity? and sees law on the cusp of getting involved in shady shit, and law really doesn't care because he probably won't live

cora's response to this is well, let's work on getting you better and then you can decide whether life is worth living because i promise you it is

and it's a whole process! but law gets better and cora fights for law to get money from the amber lead settlement along with what his family had left him

i don't think we ended up working out how, exactly, cora dies, just that he does; cora leaves a ton of money to law because anything he can take out of dofy's hands is better than nothing, and god knows law deserves it

so law has, like, Schmoney. what he chooses to do with this Schmoney is open a third-wave coffee shop in a flagging part of town, hire all his friends, and square away his finances down to the penny so that everyone can live comfortably and his prices are low enough that anyone who passes by can reasonably get themselves something nice

this is a great plan until a guy walks in one day with his phone ringing and answers it with "fuck off, i am not lost"

(thousand sunny is directly across the street.)

law does not ever know a normal day in his life after this moment.

(luffy doesn't give law a tattoo over the heart because law isn't crew, per se, but one day law eventually tells luffy about cora, and luffy takes him all in, his tattoos, his whole Everything, and he gets that Luffy Air about him where he's an unstoppable force, and law ends up with a very small blink-and-you-miss-it heart behind one ear)

and what, pray tell, is the shop called?

[rei-does-stuff]

MAKE YOUR MARK CHAPTER 6 LIVE BLOG BABYYYYYYYY

EPISODE 1!!!!!!

-FIRSTLY I’ve been so fucking excited for this that I dreamt about it THATS RIGHT I DREAMT ABT IT

-This is gonna be the last mym chapter….:(((((

-OKOK LETS STARTT

-NO MORE SPARKY TRANSFORMING THE NETFLIX LOGO :((((

-MANESTREAM!!!

-SIBLING BONDING I LOVE THEM

-“Hold onto your cutie marks!” IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE SUNNY

-AAAA THE INTRO ITS THE LAST TIME WELL HERE THE INTRO!!!

-PIPPP YA GOTTA STOPPP

-I love you izzyyyyy

-HOW THE HELL DID SHE BLOW THOSE SO FAST, strong fuckin lungs

-BLAIZE!!!!

-All the dragons have the same model yes, but they all still look unique and pretty good IN MOTION

-OH SUNNY IS TERRIFIED

-Aww trying to put on her tough voice this is why ur my favorite sunny!!!

-AWW IZZYYYY

-I LOVE LUXXE

-Leaf is cuteee

-Tumble and him are def gay

-FOUNTAIN IS A LITTLE CREATURE….Well big creature but yk

-PIPPS FACEEE

-OH SO THEY HAVE THE SAME SHIT AS SPARKY

-OPALINEEEEE

-OOO SONG

-HER VOICE IM IN LOVE

-God that was sooo goodddd

-Love sunny rushing in to defend alicorns

-Also her putting her hoof around zipp GAYYYY

-MISTY I LOVE YOUU

-Hitch and your dad jokes I love youu

-Sunny trying to make friends with Blaize, IS THAT A PERSONALITY I SEE?

-Also her and Blaize? Rlly gay

-Love this green dragon (already forgot his name im a little dumb)

-SPIKEEE

-OH HIS VOICE WILL TAKE A WHILE TO GET USED TO BUT ITS NOT BAD, he finally has the deep voice he’s always wanted, good on you for the transition, plus he is total nonbinary goals

-AWW SAME HUMOR!!

-Also Sunny fangirling a bit

-AWW HE DOESNT REMEMBER :(

-TWILIGHT MENTION

-AW HIS LIL ‘Twi?’ OUGHHH

-okok so we were all pretty right on the real story!

-“You lost magic??” LMAO EVEN SPIKE IS LIKE ‘rlly???? After everything you rlly lost magic yall are wild mannn”

-When sunny gets excited her alicorn-ness starts to show, I’m not saying its a stim but it’s totally a stim

-AWW SUNNY REMINDS HIM OF TWILIGHT AAAA

-Love his speech but I wish they referenced how he thought the same but realized his true family were with other ponies

-GAYYY i need to see ship art of sunny and Blaize NOW

-ALSO WHY ARE YOU ON HER BACK SUNNY YOU CAN FLY, MORE REASON WHY SHES GAY

-YOU TWO PIPP AND ZIPP YOU CAN FLY!!!

-OUFHHHH THAT WAS SOOO GOOD!!!!

OKOK NEXT EP

EP 2

-TWO PARTER BABYY

-NO NOT THE TOGETHERNESS TREE

-The townsponies still freak just the same as g4, some things never change

-SPROUT

-‘And Pipp’s hair is still fabulous!’ I LOVE YOU ROCKY

-YEA MISTY WOULD KNOW

-LOVE THIS SPEECH UGHHH

-“That is…An option!” SUNNY DONT BE MEAN

-AWWW IM GONNA CRY

-PRINCESS SUNNY AAA

-FILLY MISTY

-‘SHE DOESNT KNOW HOW TO CHECK HER MESSAGES’ HAHAH

-NOOOO NOT THE DRAGONS

-SPARKY YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN

-OHH SHE KNEW SHE FUCKING KNEW MISTY BETRAYED HER

-GET HER ASS ANIMAL FRIENDS

-OOO YAY THE DRAGONS ARE BACK

-OOP NEVERMIND

-YES HITCH GET HER ASS

-OUGH SUNNY UNDERSTANDING HOW AFRAID MISTY MUST BE TO SEE HER ABUSER AGAIN AAAAA

-AAAAAA THAT WAS SOO GOOD

NEXT EP NEXT EP

EP 3!!!

-GRAB HITCHS CUTIE MARK MISTYY

-YESSS GO MISTY

-GET HER ASS

-GO AFTER YOUR GIRLFRIEND SUNNY

-OO PIPP YOU SMART

-WELL IT WORKED FOR A SEC

-UGHH I LOVE THIS INTERACTION BETWEEN MISTY AND OPALINE

-HEY YOU GOT TO DO YOUR PLAN IZZY

-SHE IS SO SMARTTT

-DAMN IT NOO

-‘We could just call’ I LOVE THEMMM

-THE NECKLACE

-NOT OPALINE PLAYING THE “you and I were not so different” CARD

-BUT ALSO SUNNY YA CANT REDEEM HER SORRY

-SPARKY YOU GOTTA BRING IT ALL BACK HOME

-SONGG

-DONT CRY REI AAAA

-NECKLACE TIME RAINBOW POWERR

-THEYRE RLLY PULLING OUT EVERY STOP

-ELEMENT OF HARMONY???

-HA GET YOUR CUTIE MARK WIPED

-AWWW

-CRYSTAL PONY TIMEEEE??

-AWWW THAT WAS AMAZING

LAST EP LAST EP

-40 MINS AND NEW NETFLIX PRESENTS LOGO

-THE MUSIC????

-THEYRE SO PRETTY

-ZIPP BEING WORRIED ABT HER GIRLFRIEND

-THEY DID ALL THE STOPS WITH THE VISUALS ITS SO PRETTY

-CRYSTAL TOWN CRYSTAL TOWN

-New threats maybe?

-MISTY I LOVE YOUU

-CRYSTAL PONIES

-SONG

-TRANCE???

-Auroricorns! New name for Crystal ponies?

-STARSHINE TIME

-AWW THEYRE ALL DOING CUTE EYES AT HITCH

-This is def giving me comfort special vibes!!!!

-Trip-Skating!

-STIMMING SO MUCH RN

-THEY DONT KNOW ABT EQUESTRIA

-Never allowed to leave? Ooooo

-SNOW PONIES

-GIRLFRIENDS AGREE WITH EACH OTHER

-If this keeps going this well this might be my fave ep

-WTFFF

-This is some freaky shit

-WTF ARE THISE????

-GRIFFINS??

-ANGEL BUNNY 2.0

-HER VOICEE

-So she’s like Opaline, but probably less fun? Interesting….

-Messed up tbh

-Maybe Allura will get a redemption arc?

-SUNIZZY CRUMBS

-SONG

-WOW she is stupid I love it

-DAMN THIS IS SOME OUR TOWN SHIT

-SNOWBALL FIGHTT

-YEA MISTY

-SONG

-So she might be back!

-VIOLET FROST

-AWWWW

-NEW FRIEND

-LETS GO COMET

-THEY EACH GETTING THEIR OWN FORM OF ELEMENTS OF HARMONY

-WHO IS THAT VOICE???

-BROTHER???

-THIS IS GETTING INTERESTING

-MANE 7 MAYBE??

-NEW GUY TOO

AAAAA I LOVED THAT, even tho there’s no more mym I’m sure tyt will be just as good once the episodes get longer!!

[the0ldmann]

Shaun and MC get into a small argument over his newest project.

"Something's Wrong with Sunny Day Jack" is adult only media, and the associated fandom is an adult only space. Minors and ageless blogs are reminded to stay away or they will be blocked on sight.

Writing below the cut.

"You're going to do WHAT?!"

"Hey, hey, calm down. I know you don't like horror, but this is a little out of character don't you think? What's got you so worked up?"

Shaun was standing there confused while Ian was in the background holding a blue wig and looking as equally perplexed. It was clear by the expression on your face you were angry as hell, fists clenched at your side.

"Calm down? CALM DOWN?! Why the hell should I calm down when you're defacing some poor man's legacy?!"

"It's not defacing a legacy it's- look. We were hired by the company to make a horror movie about a character they've had sitting in a vault. It's not like that character is modeled after anyone real!"

"Excuse me, but some guy trying to make sense of his life, takes on the role, gets killed in the role so it's all he was ever known for, and the company apparently erases any trace of him or the role if the fact internet searches turning up nothing means anything. You look at all of that and tell me that taking this story and turning it into some spooky mumbo-jumbo isn't defacing a legacy. Go on."

"When you put it like that, it certainly doesn't sound good. B-but it's just a character, and this is our breakout chance! It's not like you knew the man yourself or his family, so why the hell is this striking such a nerve?"

"You know what, I can't do this anymore right now." A proper response was not something you could think of without giving away Jack's precarious existence, so you turned around and stormed off with a huff. You slammed the door to your bedroom behind you. Leaning against it, you closed your eyes and slid down to the floor. Your breathing was ragged and you were shaking as you could feel gloved hands pick you up off the floor.

Gently Jack placed you on your bed and then swiftly went over to lock the door. You were already starting to curl up when he came over to lay down next to you.

"Hey, Sunshine, are you alright?" All you could do was shake your head as you wrapped your arms around him and pulled him close.

"No. I can't believe what they're doing. You're a person too, and I just-"

"Shhh," Jack was doing his best to calm you, "I know, and I appreciate you standing up for me. But you've got me more worried about you! I've never seen you this worked up before, and anyone being this worked up is liable to say things they regret or even hurt themselves on accident. You being hurt because of me is the last thing I want."

"I know, I know, I just..." You struggled to even your breathing. Jack held you close while you proceeded to silently cry into his chest. You were scared. People were assholes, and if this movie made it big like everyone- like the studio- wanted, then it was going to be impossible for Jack to avoid facing it. You knew he was set in the ways of this character, you knew and you've grown to accept it.

But had Jack come to fully accept it? How was this going to affect him? Was he going to break down at all in the barrage of what people were going to see him as? Especially if that something just wasn't him?

You didn't know how he'd handle it at all. If he broke down, if he disappeared and you lost him and were left all alone again...

"Hey," you could feel him rubbing circles into your back. "We're going to figure this out, okay? If they won't listen to reason, then there's got to be a way to stop the project."

meanwhile...

"Dude, what the fuck was that about?" Ian went back to trying to fluff and style the wig, though it was hard to focus after that outburst.

"You mean to tell me you don't have a clue what would have set them off, despite having known them the longest and having also dated them at one point? No wonder the two of you are ex's."

"Hey! That's uncalled for!"

"So was that outburst. Really don't have a clue what could have prompted that?"

"No, not a single one. You were right, that was extremely out of character for them."

Shaun sighed, throwing down some papers and leaning against the table. Ian only looked up briefly to see that he actually looked worried.

"What, you're not actually taking what they're saying to heart, are you?"

"They make a valid point but that's not what I'm concerned about."

"There's something else to be concerned about?"

"You might want to take a seat."

As confused by everything as Ian was, he was more curious as to what the hell Shaun was talking about. He put the wig up and walked over to the table, taking a seat. Shaun kept looking around, and it was about a solid minute before he was able to look at Ian.

"I've been doing digging- on the actors from the old show and I found... Well, there might be something that could throw a wrench into our plans. Rather unfortunately, it might have something to do with your dad..."

[prose-priest-potentate]

Imrath's Essentials Playlist

Tough to Be a Dreamer - Felix Hagan & the Family Do My Own Thing - American Authors creature - half-alive Sunlight - Hozier Everything Moves - Bronze Radio Return I'm Gonna Win - Rob Cantor Any Other Way - We The Kings Whisper Something - Aaron Sprinkle

Thoughts and explanations under the cut >

Tough to Be a Dreamer - Felix Hagan & the Family

"Everyone’s a sucker for a taste of glory, but stories are for children, and glory’s not a taste I can acquire… And as time goes by, I must admit it seems like I was sold a lie. Makes me want to cry… 

Well I’m not one to get uptight for no good reason. And everyone’s got problems, no more or less pathetic than mine… ‘Cause I’m trying to project a sunny disposition, but it’s hard to paint a smile on wasted young ambition.

If my whole damn life is set to disappoint, well I guess there’s nothing left to do but smile, so smile… Well ain’t no use in crying, darling… Well if this is that ever will be, that’s okay!"

Imrath's a very well loved family disappointment, making do with what he's given and working his ass off to be the son his clan deserves, but it doesn't mean he doesn't know that he's their beloved failure.

Do My Own Thing - American Authors

"I spent my whole life trying to fit into a lane, but I’m so over it… I spent so long with my head buried in the sand - my future needs a rewrite, so I’ll send a postcard from wherever I may land, I ain’t got no master plan, and that’s alright."

By the time he's ready to assume the mantle of adulthood, he's offered power and oppurtunity to make something of himself - to make himself more, and he takes it. Once he does, he never regrets it.

creature - half-alive

More or less a think piece on being blind and taking the first steps off the edge into the unknown with a god at his back, and how those are the same steps that lead to the rest of his life. Freedom from expectations and learning to carry the weight of new conviction on his shoulders is a major character point.

Sunlight - Hozier

"On first and fierce affirming sight of sunlight… I had been lost to you, sunlight, and flew like a moth to you, sunlight, oh, sunlight. Oh, your love is sunlight… A soul that’s born in cold and rain knows sunlight, sunlight, sunlight… and at last can grant a name."

Amaunator is the Keeper of the Eternal Sun - how could I not? Also, I like the idea that Imrath is a moth to Amaunator, but then once he's walked the width of the world in his boots, he becomes the Light himself for others.

Everything Moves - Bronze Radio Return

This one's about him showing up in Barovia, getting trapped, being lost, spinning with a chest full of faith and willingness to do. Restless, curious, and moving every forward to right wrongs and return order where it is crumbling.

I'm Gonna Win - Rob Cantor

Usually, he's charming and chatty and overly kind. A gracious guest who will put himself in the middle of an awkward conversation to smooth it over, but sometimes - the times Izek likes best - he drops all the pretense and reminds everyone that he's a soldier with a mouthful of sharp teeth.

"It's hard to be charming and smart and disarming... It's hard to fulfill everyone's expectations, it's hard to keep up with the rest, but I'm gonna win. I'm gonna try... You've seen me before, you'll see me again. I'll never give up. I'll never give in."

Any Other Way - We The Kings

I just like this one for a paladin who's already fire themed. This is one of two Final Battle Songs I have picked out for the plot.

Whisper Something - Aaron Sprinkle

This is the Izek song. This whole damn song. Just the WHOLE SONG I could break down the entire thing. SO. 

“-you underestimated who you were supposed to be-” with Izek’s self hatred affecting how he sees himself, but he needs to be alive for the people who love him (even if he doesn’t understand why they love him)

“-you got underneath my skin and you broke into my heart-” this is both of them: Imrath weasled his way into Izek’s attention (and affection) pretty easily, and Izek wedged himself into Imrath’s heart like a blade to the chest.

“-hold on… let me find the words… don’t let go now… we’ll make it somehow” this whole piece of the song reminds me of every night watch they took, trying to get to know each other without prying, Imrath putting his foot in his mouth and having to backpedal, and Izek, who keeps his secrets (and sins) close to his chest. They bumbled through so many conversations, man.

[skautism]

ANSWER ALL THE EVEN NUMBER QUESTIONS ON THE ASK GAME YOU REBLOGGED!!! MWAHHAHAAHA!

(if u dont wanna do that thats ok lol just do like… 2-6… when i rb those posts i always lowkey wanna answer all the questions so i thought maybe u might enjoy this !)

WOOOO oh boy. ill skip the two i already answered (and fucking. misread)

what are 3 things you’d say shaped you into who you are?

im gonna only say happy things. having an art mom, my first internet friend ever who introduced me to vocaloid, and futurama

show us a picture of your handwriting?

3 films you could watch for the rest of your life and not get bored of?

newsies (1992), borderline forever, and ghostbusters :3

what’s an inside joke you have with your family or friends?

incorrectly weighing a package before shipping it so that the recipient has to pay the postage

what made you start your blog?

musicals lol

what’s the best and worst part of being online/a creator?

best: frieeeends :)/worst: strangers not knowing how to mind their damn business

what scares you the most and why?

death. do i need to explain that?

any reacquiring dreams?

mostly fucked up shit like getting sexually assaulted. also lots of getting lost. i only ever have recurring nightmares :/

tell a story about your childhood

my mom pierced my ears for me as a kid since the only option for a 6 year old in georgia at the time was claires and she doesnt like claires at all. we had to do each ear months apart because it hurt a lot and scared me. had to give in and do the other ear because my dads 2nd wife said one ear was tacky and they were about to have their wedding

would you say you’re an emotional person?

nooooooooooo the only place im vulnerable on is here

what do you consider to be romance?

longass walks together

what’s some good advice you want to share?

LEARN TO TOUCHTYPE

what are you doing right now?

about to get back to my fic draft yippeeeeeee

what’s something you’ve always wanted to do but maybe been to scared to do?

nothing really? its either "i dont care that im scared ill do it" or "yeah i dont want to do that i dont think id like it"

what do you think of when you hear the word “home”?

very silly but. wii and 3ds

if you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

we are removing my health problems

name 3 things that make you happy

writing, mario kart, trapeze

do you believe in ghosts and/or aliens?

both

favourite thing about the day?

sunny breeze :3

favourite things about the night?

its quieter and easier to walk around because theres less cars

are you a spiritual person?

i mean i believe in ghosts

say 3 things about someone you love

they make really cool music and are supportive of what i do without trying to force me into bullshit and make me really happy

say 3 things about someone you hate

he doesnt know how to actually take accountability for fucking up, hes a dick to my mom, and tried to force me off my meds when they were still working

what’s one thing you’re proud of yourself for?

im writing again! i thought i never would actually get the ideas and motivation back

fave season and why?

fall!!!!!! halloweeeeen and better weather and stepping on leaves and pinecones

fave colour and why?

purple. its pretty :)

any nicknames?

i have a few based on my real name but wont share them for obvious reasons lolol

what do you do when you’re sad?

jack off

what’s one thing that never fails to make you happy/happier?

card games

are you messy or organised?

extremely fucking messy

how many tabs do you have open right now?

13 on my laptop

any hobbies?

game collecting, playing video games, cd collecting, various art mediums including digital and traditional art and sewing/embroidery and knitting and linocut/blockprinting, obsessively reading tvtropes, bass, piano, guitar, saxophone, sudoku, solitaire, and writing fanfiction

any pet peeves?

people going "shhhh" it hurts my fucking ears SO BAD

do you trust easily?

yeah

are you an open book or do you have walls up?

walls up. i know that directly contradicts trusting easily its complicated

share a secret

id rather not

youtuber you’ve been obsessed with and why?

look at my pinned post and guess. and because i like video games and its funny and i like the characters

any bad habits?

vaping and also my ten billion ocd compulsions

[monstersinthecosmos]

Do you actually like the new show?

Honestly I'm not sure yet?

I'm *enjoying* it and I'm really doing my best to view it as its own independent piece of media, and I'm seeing a few flaws in it that have nothing to do with the books.

Quick examples

I think the score is just, honestly awful lol. imo it ruined the floaty sex scene and Paul's death in particular, both of those moments for me the music was so cheesy that I couldn't tell what tone the show was going for and it was so distracting that it killed the mood for me. The church scene was on thin fuckin ice for me but so much else happened I was like, lol it's fine. (I REALLY love the jazz stuff though.)

They've already created a few plot holes/continuity errors with their own lore, and even divorcing it from book lore because it's its own thing, I don't know how that got through all the writers. The show is clearly being intentional in creating a new universe with new rules, but you have to know the original rules to know what you're changing. RJ keeps claiming that they respect the books so much and that everyone in the writers room read 1-5 but I don't understand how you could familiarize yourself that much with the work and not *notice* lore. (This is about the mind gift error btw like, even me not being MAD about the change went "Oh wow they changed the barrier rule!" when it happened and then 5 minutes later, oh wait what?)

The pacing is so sloppy and confusing and they're doing a lot of telling and not showing. Two episodes in and I'm still not sure *why* they're doing a second interview or why Louis loves Lestat. Like Louis can TELL us he's enthralled all he wants but like in the first episode they turned their courtship into a montage and I would've really liked to see that!!!!!!!! I'm a big fan of reading Loustat as The Worst Ship Ever so like so far for me they're tracking as being extremely toxic and completely anchored in manipulation and I'm enjoying that, but I wanna understand the cute stuff, too. Like this story is really important to me because it shows the complicated grieving process when you lose an abuser/leave an abusive relationship and so far we're not seeing enough of what Louis ENJOYS. So when Lestat inevitably is killed, I don't know what exactly Louis is supposed to be grieving.

On that point, I really really loved how much the first episode shared about Louis's family for that very reason. We got to see how sunny breakfast time was an important part of the family routine, and we got to see how close he was with Paul, so when he loses them we understand what he lost. When he loses Lestat, I'm not sure they're giving us enough to understand why he should miss him. (This might not matter bc the story is so different but, it's what I'm wondering based on the first 2!)

imo the show is really struggling with whether or not it wants the viewer to understand IWTV before they watch, and I think it's kinda fun where they've put in little movie references, I also think they went so far out of their way to say they weren't remaking the movie that it comes off as lazy to me. I get that using these like recognizable icons is going to make it more fun to movie fans who never read the book, but they keep making digs at the movie and saying they're a whole new thing and I'm not exactly sure what they're trying to do here. (This isn't strictly about the quality of the show on its own merits and I'm not sure where to draw the line as whether or not it's a book related complaint LOL, but there's definitely a couple sloppy/unclear world building moments that idk if casuals are gonna be able to follow.)

Other than that, the only things I'm critical about don't have enough context for me to have an opinion yet, but they're on my radar and I'm watching to see how it plays out. IE: Whether or not the incorporation of Covid is tacky, whether or not the marginalized characters are being treated respectfully overall, what is the show's thesis on being ashamed of disability and sexuality and race?

Frankly, the writing on these two episodes (moreso ep2, it feels like they worked extra hard to start ep1 with a bang) has been pretty sloppy at times but I'm happy to stick it out and see how it goes, but idk. And like, there's a lot of awesome enjoyable shows that have sloppy writing moments. I'd still enjoy it if there's enough other cool emotional substance!

Like if this were any other show I might not look this closely but unfortunately I have an extremely neurodivergent relationship with these stupid books and I can't be normal about it. I'm also reviewing it for a podcast so I've been looking very closely to analyze it.

It's a little bit impossible for me not to be disappointed as a book fan, though, and we have to separate here if that's the "show" or if it's the "project" overall. Like, the episodes are fun, it's fine. They've created their own space. At the same time, it's already changed so much of the stuff *I* personally love in VC that like. SHRUG IDK. This is so subjective because everyone has whatever reason they want for liking VC and for some people it's camp & blood & New Orleans and that's fine. But so far a lot of the stuff that I enjoy about the books is simply not here. Honestly it's genuinely unrecognizable to me as an AR piece. And like, I love, honestly--LOVE, the way Sam Reid is playing Lestat, but especially after episode 2 I think he's so HORRIFICALLY out of character I just don't know. It's not Sam's fault bc it's the writing lmfao and he's working with what he's got, but ooof it's rough. It's like he's got all of Lestat's bad qualities and none of his good ones LOL. And I rag on Lestat a LOT but like, I wouldn't like VC if I didn't like Lestat, and this is missing a lot of what I like about Lestat.

And in understanding these new characters I think it's impossible not to use the books as a point of refence to compare & contrast. I think I wouldn't understand Louis on the show nearly as well if I wasn't seeing how intentionally opposite he is from book Louis. That's not a bad thing, in itself, but I find it impossible (for me) not to constantly be looking at the book as a point of comparison to understand the show better.

So it's ALWAYS going to cause a fuss when an adaptation is this radical, you're ALWAYS going to have people who are disappointed if Their Thing gets cut or gets rearranged until it's unrecognizable. That's inevitable. It doesn't make the adaptation bad, it just feels disappointing to losers like myself.

And for me, even letting the show breathe on its own merits, I'm still going to ask if some of these changes help the plot or the characters.

Is it BETTER that Lestat is an edgelord atheist with no respect for humans?

Is it BETTER to closet or straightwash Daniel?

Is it BETTER to change Claudia's story from a grown woman being dependent on others forever because she looks like a child to being about a teenager who can drive and probably be independent if she needed to be?

And if they DON'T help, I'm always going to question why that decision was made. For example, out of the cold if you walk into a vampire show and the interviewer is a random straight guy, no harm no foul. When you know that that was a deliberate creative decision to straightwash a queer character, that's worth criticizing. So I'm not upset as a book purist or anything, in fact I've talked many many many (many, many. Many.) times about how these books wouldn't translate well to TV as a 1:1 faithful adaptation, but when you ask what they ARE changing I think it's fair to make that comparison and ask what it added. A lot of that stuff is subjective, too, so we all might feel differently about it.

so idk.

I'm really trying to be open minded. I'm enjoying it so far but I'm also still super disappointed that they changed so much and it really doesn't feel like IWTV or VC at all to me. I'm, tbh, completely furious about what they're doing to Daniel. I could enjoy it and at the end of the day still be so fucking disappointed that *this* is the version of VC we got after years and years and years of waiting. LIKE YKNOW WHAT I SAW QOTD IN THEATRES AND I WAS JUST ??? DEVASTATED LMFAO. It feels like that all over again. 🤣 And with how long this show might go on and therefore how long AMC retains the rights, it's a very real possibility that this was the only chance in my lifetime to see a faithful adaptation of Armand & Daniel and I can't put into words how upset I am that it's been crushed like this.

It's no secret that my presence in fandom has mostly been as a Devil's Minion nerd so like, idk man. If you were me, how would you feel? I've also never made a secret that Loustat, as a ship, is a little too triggering for me personally to get behind, so like as far as ship content goes and all that fun fandom stuff, this does absolutely nothing for me. RIP :(

So. idk! I'm not sure if I like the new show yet LMAO. I'm enjoying but idk if I "like" it. There's a difference!

[queenshelby]

A NEW WORLD - PART ONE (UPDATED)

A Quiet Place 2 Fanfic

Pairing: Emmett (A Quiet Place 2) x Fem!Reader

Summary: This story will follow Emmett and the Reader before and after the invasion. Each Part will be about 1,000 to 2,000 words long and take place on a particular day (as listed on each part).

Warning: Mild Smut, Age Gap, Alcohol Abuse, Spoilers for AQP2

***

DAY: 41 DAYS BEFORE THE INVASION

It was a sunny Saturday evening and you were out watching the local baseball match. Your half brother Lucas was playing and, as usual, your mother was unable to take him to the game.

Ever since your step father had passed away two years ago, she became addicted to alcohol, drinking moonshine in the early hours of the morning.

Your younger sister quickly moved out when she turned 18 but you couldn’t leave your step brother behind. He was only 12 years old and too young to care for himself.

Most of your mother’s income support payments were spent on booze and you were fortunate enough that your stepfather’s life insurance payout covered the remainder of the mortgage on the house.

In order to buy food for yourself and your brother, you had to work hard. You’ve been attending an educational program in town to become a midwife and, at the age of 22, you almost completed your studies. Your goal was to move to Georgia with your brother and make a new life for yourself.

But little did you know that life had other plans in store for you, beginning on that particular day, at the baseball game.

***

‘Hey Y/N’ you heard from behind you and you quickly turned your head only to see your colleague’s husband Emmett sit there with his son Max, watching his other son Henry play alongside your brother Lucas.  

‘Oh god Emmett, what happened?’ you asked as you saw his hand covered in bandages.

‘This? It’s nothing. Just a hunting accident’ Emmett explained and you recalled Nora telling you that he had been away for several days with two of his friends causing a major fight between Nora and him.

You haven’t seen Nora since and what she didn’t tell you that day was that, following the fight, she decided to take a break from their marriage.

Nora was your supervisor at the hospital where you were doing your work experience hours and she was rather difficult to deal with whenever she and her husband had a fight. She loved him and he loved her, but in recent months their marriage was going through some ups and downs and you could see that she was obviously needing some time to revaluate matters.

‘Did Nora take a look at it. The bandage needs to be changed. It doesn’t look right Emmett’ you said concerned as you took his hand into yours, evaluating his injury. You had done about three units of nursing before changing over to midwifery in your course.

‘Nora is out of town, visiting her sister’ he explained and you couldn’t help but give Emmett a sorry look. They were fighting again you thought and it had become a frequent occurrence.

‘Perhaps when she comes back, I should look after Henry and Max again for you guys and you can take her out on a date or something’ you suggested. You frequently babysat for Nora and Emmett to make some extra money.

‘The truth is that we are taking a break for now. But, if things change, I would gladly accept your offer’ Emmett smiled and you couldn’t help but smile back at him. In your opinion he was a nice and incredibly attractive man. He was also a fantastic father to Max and this was something you picked up on immediately when you first met him several years ago through Evelyn and Lee whose children you also frequently babysat.

You also knew that Nora and him had met over twenty years ago. They were high school sweethearts. Everyone saw them both as the perfect couple but their relationship was far from being perfect.

Just over a year ago you heard rumours that, about two years ago, Nora had a short-lived affair but Emmett forgave her. He was a family man and valued his marriage. His sons were everything to him and leaving them would never have been option for Emmett.

He was incredible and you found it difficult to admit to yourself that, over the past two years, you were developing a little a crush on him.

***

About an hour later, the game had finished and you suggested to Emmett that he comes to your house so that you could have a look at his hand.

Your house was a short five-minute walk from the baseball field and Emmett agreed reluctantly after you told him that your mother wasn’t home.

He knew what state your mother was in and he would not have exposed his sons to her constant swearing and antics when she was drunk.

When you arrived at your house, Emmett’s sons and your brother went to play outside in the garden with your brother’s new soccer ball which you had bought him for his birthday while you looked through the medicine cabinet to find some more bandages and some betadine.

‘Have you considered admitting her to rehab?’ Emmett asked as he sat down at the kitchen table, besides which was a large plastic box with several empty bottles of spirits.

‘That’s the plan. I want to take Lucas to Georgia as soon as she is in rehab’ you explained as you carefully removed Emmett’s bandage.

‘This will hurt’ you then went on to say before cleaning his wound and applying some betadine.

‘Fuck’ he complained as you were rinsing out the wound and, after you were finally done cleaning it, you placed a fresh bandage over his hand.

‘You need to keep this clean alright?’ you said with your hands still holding on to his hand while you looked at him with a warm smile.

This was the first time you noticed how blue his eyes were, a shade of deep shimmering blue just as the sea and just as the depth of the ocean, you could get lost in them.

‘Thanks’ he nodded, not bothering to pull his hand away from you as you were staring at him.

‘Nora is one lucky woman’ you sighed as you finally collected your thoughts and let go of his hand.

‘Why? Because she finally is getting rid of me?’ Emmett laughed but knowing exactly what you meant.

‘No that’s not what I meant Emmett. In fact, I think she is crazy thinking about leaving a man like you’ you said shyly and with flushed cheeks as you looked down at his hand once again.

‘Right’ Emmett chuckled and, just as he did, you moved one of your hands over his cheeks.

‘Don’t doubt yourself Emmett’ you said before, slowly and tentatively pressing your lips onto his.

He didn’t retract, nor did he pull away as, for a short moment, he allowed the kiss. Your lips were soft and sweet and he couldn’t recall the last time another woman had kissed him.

Eventually, you broke the kiss at your own accord and Emmett looked at you as if he had seen a ghost. He was surprised by your actions and his eyes were full of questions.

‘I am so sorry’ you then shuddered while Emmett was still speechless.

‘I should go now’ he quickly said, unable to even look at you after what had just happened.

‘Emmett?’ you said as he got up from the chair next to yours. ‘I am sorry, really…I shouldn’t have’ you said somewhat flustered.

‘Y/N, it’s fine. Let’s just forget about it, aright?’ he smiled as he ran his hand over your shoulder in the way a friend would.

You nodded just before he left but the truth was that you couldn’t forget about it. This kiss stayed with you for the rest of the day.

***

Just as the evening had arrived and you were sitting in your bed, reading yet another novel you had borrowed from the library, you imagined yourself with Emmett.

This wasn’t right, you thought. You should not be thinking about him the way you did. He was a man twice your age. But you couldn’t help it and your imagination was running wild.

His lips were on yours, his fingers roaming over your body and you simply couldn’t go to sleep that night until you satisfied your needs with the small vibrator you kept in your beside table.

‘God damn Y/N’ your inner voice tried to reason. But you wouldn’t listen to it until you found your release that night which is when, finally, you drifted off to sleep.

 Tag List (Cillian):

@lilymurphy03  @deefigs @theflamecrystal   @desperate-and-broken  @weepingstudentfishhorse   @livinginfantaxy  @rosey1981  @atomicsoulcollecto  @peakyboyslover  @nerdy4itall  @elenavampire21  @hanster1998  @mariapaiva13  @fairypitou  @harry-is-my-sunflower  @zozeebo  @lauren-raines-x @kasaikawa  @littlewierdalien  @sad-huffle-nerd  @theflamecrystal   @peakymalfoyscullymulder  @themissthang  @0ghostwriter0  @stylescanbeatmyback  @1-800-peakyblinders @datewithgianni  @momoneymolife  @ntmynouis @lilymurphy03  @mcntsee@cloudofdisney @missymurphy1985 @peakymalfoyscullymulder  @otterly-fey @janelongxox  @uchihacumdump @basiclassy  @being-worthy  @chaotic-bean-of-smolness  @margoo0 @chocolatehalo​  @vhscillian​  @ysmmsy​  @littlewierdalien​

Cannot Tag (please check your settings):

@l0tsofpennies @trolleydolly @avonlady1985 @chrisevanshoeee  @daydreamingnymph  @fookingshelby

[cullen-by-choice]

Catching and Following Up

Series Masterlist

Carlisle Cullen x Fem!OC (Elise Dumont)

2/?

Warnings and Tags: NON CANON, Monsters, Language, Aesthetic Appreciation, Alice is Alice, Deceptions, Lore, Some More Background Information

~

She wracked her brain.

Pieces of what Carlisle hadn’t made sense before, but even thinking of it now she found herself second guessing. She shouldn’t have spent so much time ogling him…. Maybe then she’d be able to try to figure out what it was.

She knew it was something. Elise felt it deep within herself. That egging feeling. One that made her want to leap back into that doctor’s office, chirp until she found her answer.

Elise had her pride, though. This had to be done right. Naturally. Hopefully she would figure out whatever it was that made her so on edge.

~

The Cullens hadn’t been in town for days until the night before. It had put her stitch removal back by a day- luckily she had made sure no irritation followed it. She was pretty well off at healing herself.

Elise was never perfect at it. Techniques had to be done correctly. Her mother had reprimanded her time again and again- study, study, study.

Oh well. She knew enough to get her by. Elise could slack a little, surely.

Then again, here she was with strings in her pinky.

She stood in the parking lot of the Forks doctor office. Long gone were the sunny days. Elise frowned. They only got so many of those… Her garden was grateful for the rainfall. As was she- it kept her in stock.

Her phone buzzed. Elise glanced at the screen.

B. Black

Huh. She answered right away, pressing her phone up to her ear, “Billy?”

“Hey kiddo,” she heard the seasoned voice speak back to her.

Her heart melted. The man checked in on her from time to time- as her god-father, he made sure she was taken care of since she came back. Their families were close for a good number of years- The Swans, The Dumont family and the Blacks.

“How’s business treating ya? You making the big bucks yet?”

“Trying to,” she sighed, leaning against a pillar nearby. A thrum of irritation came from her finger. She switched her phone to rest between shoulder and cheek.

He chuckled tightly. She noted it immediately. Luckily, he didn’t leave her in suspense, “… I… I need to know if there’s something stronger than the vervain.”

“… I mean… it’s pretty much the only thing I can think of to help you,” she frowned.

Vervain. She had done business with La Push since she had come back- just as her mother had. Those boys and now girls over there needed help… to live a normal life.

The Quileute tribe was gifted long ago- when they protected and managed their own land- with the power to shift into powerful beings. She remembered the stories her mother and father had spun for her- why they were so close with the Blacks. For with the future brought security- no reason to fight. The wolves had stopped phasing, and normal lives were led… so it turned to legend.

But now, here they were beginning to shift again. Sam Uley was the first. He was a sensitive man with not much to say, now driven to further seclusion. More were being tagged along slowly…

And now it was obvious.

Danger was among them.

She just wished she knew what was causing the wolves to try to phase.

“Is there anything in the books your mom left behind?”

“Honestly, I have remnants,” she admitted. After a big fire to their family home- which already cost her mother- they had also lost almost all of their library. “But I can research. See if we can fortify the protection… why the urgency?”

“Jacob isn’t doing too well.”

She felt her heart stutter. Jacob. She used to play with him as a child along with Bella. He was such a vibrant, firecracker of a soul. Always joking. Always warm. Such a soul that he had…

The wolf thing would absolutely toss his world upside down.

“Has he…?”

“No. No,” Billy spoke, his voice laced with relief, “We still have time before any of that.”

“Well… let me see what I can do. I can come by as soon as tonight."

They said their goodbyes. Elise sighed, sliding her phone back into her pocket. She fixed her posture, ready to finally head inside and face the doctor-

She ran into the hardest little body she ever came into contact with. Elise grunted, pulling back to give the other person room, “I’m so sorry-“

Alice Cullen was far more unnerving up close. Her intensive eyes dug straight into her as she gave a quick smile, “Don’t worry about it.” She then stuck out her hand confidently, “I’ve seen you around town. My name is Alice.”

Elise was aware, but that bit wasn’t about to be public knowledge. The woman cleared her throat, nodding, “I’m Elise Dumont. I am sorry once again.”She took Alice’s hand. Maybe the Cullen’s had some genetic problem- it seemed all of them were icy on the skin.

Something dinged in the back of Elise’s brain, but she kept it there for now as a note.

“How’s your hand doing?”

Elise blinked. What…?

“I saw my brother looking at your finger the other day. I’m assuming you got hurt?” the smaller woman mused, tilting the said hand. She gazed at the needlework, nodding, “He’s really handy ain’t he? These are perfect.”

Before she could respond, Elise was being led. Alice kept her grip on her hand. The double glass doors opened, revealing Jessica once more.

The receptionist smiled, “Hey guys, what can I-“

“We’re here to see my brother,” Alice stated in a bright tone, walking straight past the woman. Jess gave Elise a look, and she barely had time to shrug back. Holy moly. Alice wasn’t rude, but she did seem to get what she wanted.

Alice sashayed through to the back where the doctor offices were held. Elise really had no choice but to follow. Her mother was a bit of the same way— polite but clear.

Elise almost spoke Alice before she opened the door labeled Dr. C. Cullen- just wasn’t quick enough. She could feel her blood rushing to her face.

The good doctor sat at his desk, gaze flickering up quickly. His expression went through little change, though his eyes lit up differently between Alice and Elise.

His sharp jaw clenched slightly, finally, before speaking to his sister, “Alice, I’m sure Elise could’ve found her way in by herself.”

The sound of her name made El smile despite herself.

Alice shrugged, “I was merely giving her a V.I.P. escort, dear brother. It shows the patient you care.”

The doctor cleared his throat, shaking his head. He gazed to Elise, finally, “I hope she hasn’t scared you at all.”

Huh. Even he was aware of the unsettling quality of the small woman next to her. At least Elise wasn’t crazy for thinking so.

She shook her head no, “Not at all. She was very kind.”

Alice’s nose scrunched as she have a triumphant look to her sibling, “See? I’m kind.”

“Alice,” Carlisle sighed, “Just give me the car keys and go.”

The smaller sister shrugged, letting go of Elise finally. What a tight grip she had… Alice produced a pair of keys from her pocket, tossing them to her brother. El watched as the brother caught it perfectly. Man. She would kill for that coordination.

The shorter woman looked up to El, grinning, “Well, it was lovely to meet you. I’ll be seeing you around.”

“Likewise,” was all she could really respond with.

She waved goodbye to her brother, who merely waved back. “Don’t get into any trouble!”

With that, the shorter girl whipped her way out of the office. The door shut behind her with a swish.

The ticking of the clock persisted. Carlisle shook his head, “Terribly sorry. She is quite the madcap, but never mean. I promise.”

Madcap? She kept the word in mind. That was a new one.

“You mean like the Mad Hatter?” she chuckled.

He smiled back, the curl of his mouth enticing her, “Exactly.”

He composed his expression quickly after, though. The smile was still on his face. It was a more polite expression than warm, though. She found herself longing for it.

“So, thank you for your patience. It’s rare that we get good weather days around here,” he apologized, gesturing for her to sit.

“Only so many chances to get sunburns,” she joked.

He shook his head with a breathless chuckle. He stood, moving around the desk as she made herself comfortable. “I don’t quite worry about that. I appreciate the concern, though.” His tone was teasing and light. She grinned at the banter.

He held out his hand, pulling up a rolling chair, “Let’s get these pesky little strings out of you, hm?”

The tools he gathered clattered for the next few minutes. He made himself comfortable as he examined her hand. His eyes were laser focused, the scissors he used perfectly still. She watched him work on her, content to memorize the planes of his cheeks.

“You must have good nerves,” she commented.

“I’m curious as to what makes you think that.”

“You have a steady hand.”

“Is that the requirement?”

“Well, yeah. Usually people who are nervous tend to clutter about like me,” she went to shrug, but thought better of it.

Elise felt her heart still as he glanced up at her. He kept her gaze for a flicker of a second, his honeyed depths calling out to her. He then averted his look back to the task at hand, “I assure you, I still get nervous. My nerves have their limits.” She wanted to ask how, but he continued, “I’m just glad it isn’t painfully obvious, and that it helps with my career.”

“What made you want to choose being a doctor?”

He hummed thoughtfully, slicing another string. Carlisle didn’t respond until he went for the next one, “Just seemed like the next right thing to do. Helping out fellow man and such. What made you want to open a bookstore?”

She blinked.

“How’d you know?”

“You’re the only bookshop in town that offers texts on the occult,” he responded.

She was. For a reason. Forks didn’t sway one way or the other too harshly with religion. That meant little to no access to texts on other spirituality- which was where she stepped in.

“I think I would’ve been aware had you entered my store,” she commented aloud.

His hand paused. Carlisle worked on the following knot in her finger, “Edward told me.”

“I would’ve definitely noticed him,” she responded.

“Suppose he heard it from somewhere then.”

He finished the last one. Her finger breathed with relief as he pulled the last string out. Just a small, puffy scar remained.

She examined the work closer. She then smirked, shaking her head, “That is some incredible precision work there, Doc. I only look slightly maimed.”

“That, you can blame on yourself,” he joked.

She caught his eyes once more. How observant he seemed to be- hawklike. El could feel his gaze reach into her, extracting a sweet feeling she couldn’t call anything other than-

Carlisle broke the gaze, eyes flickering over to the door.

A knock was heard a moment or two later.

Jessica poked her head in, “Dr. Cullen, we have a fracture that just came.”

The man nodded, standing. Elise did as well, knowing her cue in the situation. Time was up.

The doctor looked to Elise, “Well, I hope you take this situation as a chance to realize not to use dull shears on vervain.”

She chuckled, “Well. I’ll just find another way to hurt myself then.”

They said their goodbyes, Elise making her way around out to the hall. It was a few muted steps in the hall before she stopped on a thought.

She cocked her head, to herself. Carlisle knew about the vervain…

… and she didn’t mention how she had gotten hurt.

~~~

TAG LIST: @not-ellie

[kookies2000]

If you’re going to go after “The Owl House” for using Nazi imagery as a prop to characterise its villain, you’re also going to have to put out a warrant for…basically every major work of genre fiction of the last seventy years.

Yeah, I found it weird how people suddenly have an issue with the show and calling it racist and antisemitic. There's been dozens and hundreds of stories out there that have the same premise. The big villain is trying to kill everyone that they see as bad. Heck, didn't Toy Story 3 do something similar? Let's hide in the attic situation. Sunny side is actually a camp to imprison the Jews. How the toys get abused and then sent to the dumpster to get burned. I feel like the allegory here is a bit of a stretch but you get what I'm saying. This story has been told over and over and over. And honestly it's one of my favorite stories to listen to and watch. It shows how real life can be so cruel and how evil some people are. We can share the story to new generation's and hope we can creat a better future, a future where this never repeats itself again.

The Holocaust will always be remembered because of how massively tragic it was. And it's no joking matter and it should never be taken lightly. But I never saw The Owl House like that. Since when does The Owl House take things lightly or serious situations as a joke? One reason I love the show is because of the way they handle every heavy and sensitive topic. I still cry on "Hollows Mind" and even on "Any Sports in a Storm" just because of how they tackled abuse.

What I'm saying is, The Owl House has been really respectful to the topics they handle. I doubt they would be racist and antisemitic, or at least not on purpose. I looked at more options about this. Some people who are Jewish have said that there's antisemitic symbolism everywhere that became normalized. Like goblins. Goblins were originally antisemitic. Now I'm saying this because I saw someone tweet about it. I'm not sure if it is accurate. But if that is the case, then it is truly tragic that some things that are considered antisemitic were normalized and I'm sorry if I ever did any of that too.

Then we have the Belos being glorified. Turns out some people were simping for Belos and that's how this whole thing got started. Look, I was sympathetic towards Belos for a while. Oh, he lost his family, he was crused like Eda, maybe he feels guilty. Nope! He's just a lier and evil! In my opinion, as long as the villain is being protrayed as a villain, the story is doing it's job.

[volturiwolf]

The Volturi Princess - A Felix Volturi x fem!Reader Story (part 1)

A/N: This is the first Volturi- and Twilight-related story I ever started writing and it is quite long and elaborated/complex, as I tend to overanalyze in many parts. I have wrote a few parts until now and I'll be uploading them in the future. I have been quite emotional throughout writing it, trying to understand the reader's point of view.

A/N 2: I'm sorry if something doesn't make sense. English is not my first language. I also include Italian through the story, with translation, but I'm not a native or a speaker, so I'd like to apologize in advance to those who speak Italian. Enjoy :)

A/N 3: According to "The Amagi" on Youtube, Felix was born in 250 BC (their thumbnail), so I used that in my story.

No of Words: about 5347

Mentions of: Abandonment, Abortion, Anxiety, Blood, Bruises, Coma/Comatosed State, Death Emotional Abuse, Emotional and Physical Pain, Gaslighting, Greece/Greek Language - with translation, Heartbreak, Italian Language - with translation, Manipulation, Murder, Pain, Panic Attacks, Pregnancy, Suffering, Suicide/Suicidal Thoughts, Swear Language, Throwing Up/Puking, Witches/Wizards/Witchcraft

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

My heart felt heavy. I may have just escaped the cruelest vampire of all, but I also ran away from the love of my life, my mate, the only person who could fully understand me in this world. I asked him to run away with me, but, although our bond was strong, he felt obliged to stay loyal to his master, his creator. I drove as fast as I could, away from the sunny Volterra, and away from him.

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

(Y/N) grew up quite privileged, in Vampire terms. Being born into the Volturi coven was something many vampires could only dream about. (Y/N) was abandoned by her parents when she was a baby, but Aro, one of the three Volturi leaders, took her under his protection, and offered her more things than she could ever have imagined. After all, she was his only biological granddaughter, the “Volturi princess”, an heiress to the throne; her mother lost that “privilege” when she met and fell in love with a wizard.

(Y/N)’s mother soon got pregnant with her, and then later turned her husband into a vampire to help her with her pregnancy, and stay together forever. However, (Y/N)’s parents couldn’t raise her because they wanted to run free and careless, not commit to anything permanent, so Aro took over and raised his granddaughter with the highest honors and privileges, “as a princess should be raised”.

(Y/N) was a mix of Vampire, Witch and Human, due to the grandmother, Sulpicia, being human when Aro found her; Sulpicia later fell pregnant with (Y/N)’s mother, and Aro transformed her to vampire, as he had planned all along. Aro raised (Y/N) according to his own rules and morals, teaching her how to kill humans to feed from, how to attack and slip away from her opponents, how to lead other vampires, and most importantly, how to keep her identity and existence a secret, not only to humans, but other non-Volturi vampires as well. No one could know that there was a possibility of a vampire having a child with a human, and that the child could be effectively controlled and raised as a regular vampire.

As (Y/N) grew older and older, reaching the human age of 25 within 7 years of her birth, Aro would spend more and more time with her, examining and studying her possibilities and her potential powers’ development. (Y/N) grew up to be extremely strong and fast, an excellent tracker with great intelligence and understanding of the world around her. However, Aro could not risk sending her to “Volturi duties”. She was his hope for a stronger coven; with (Y/N) in the throne, Aro felt like he could conquer the vampire world with ease.

That’s why he was always searching for the best guards he could find, to protect the coven and do his work instead of himself, Caius, or (Y/N). He couldn’t rely on Marcus, as he proved to be too emotional since Didyme died, but was still valuable for his plan. Caius, on the other hand, although powerless, was far more sadistic and “diligent” in following vampire rules, and (Y/N)... (Y/N) was just too obedient, following every order Aro gave her - a strong asset for the Volturi.

Aro was changing guards and trackers quite easily, disposing them when they were no longer needed or when he found better ones. He needed talented and strong vampires to serve the coven and do their work.

Chelsea was the very first vampire Aro created solely to serve the Volturi, after recognizing her potential when she was human. Chelsea’s gift of relationship manipulation was truly useful in bringing new vampires into the coven and was used thousands of times during Volturi's reign. It could also easily dispose of them, making their bonds with other vampires break at will; those vampires were isolated by the other vampires and then killed - Aro couldn’t risk letting them get away knowing the Volturi’s secrets and life.

About 100 years later, Corin joined the Volturi, just a couple decades after (Y/N)’s birth. Corin’s gift of addictive contentment was the one which kept Marcus in the Volturi after Didyme’s death - along with Chelsea’s to make him committed to Aro’s greater plans, and was also used on Sulpicia, Athenadora and any other vampire in the Volturi guard to keep them satisfied being in the Volturi. Under Aro’s instructions, Corin was keeping Chelsea content with being in the Volturi, and Chelsea was keeping Corin loyal to them, each of them using their gifts against each other, without their knowledge.

Sometime between 230 and 220 BC, while travelling in Rome, searching for additional vampires to add to the coven, Aro supposedly met a young, strong and ambitious fighter, who wished to become a gladiator one day, named Felix. Felix did not only look, but also was physically capable of fighting even with beasts, during his short time as a fighter, way before the Colosseum was built. Born into a poor family, his strength was his only way of making money, and becoming a gladiator was his only way out of poverty, a way to provide for both his family and himself.

When his family was almost imprisoned by Roman army officers for outstanding debts, Felix was forced to make a deal with them to fight, in whatever they ordered him to. Fighting turned out to be the only way for Felix to deal with his emotions and rage towards people in power. When Aro approached Felix, he was promised a good life, where he wouldn’t have to worry about surviving another day. Felix did not seem willing enough, not being fond of the idea of serving people in power, who he so despised.

Luckily for Aro, Chelsea was the one who “convinced” Felix to join the Volturi guard, with Aro changing him afterwards. Unlike previous guards, Felix showed impeccable strength, speed and talent towards both dodging and initiating attacks, eventually making him a permanent member in the Volturi Guard, along with Chelsea and Corin.

Felix was assigned as the leading guard for the three kings’ protection, this role extending to the protection of their two wives and (Y/N); though Aro knew that, if it came to anyone attacking his granddaughter, she would be able to handle it by herself. However, he still wanted to make sure that she was safe and that Aro would do anything to protect her.

For about a couple millennias, (Y/N) was content with her situation, being the “Volturi princess” and all that. Besides, having Felix in the Volturi was another reason to stay in the coven, apart from staying loyal and true to Aro for taking her in, when she was abandoned.

Every time Felix looked into her eyes, she felt her whole body burn - though, it wasn’t a feeling of suffering, rather a feeling of longing, waiting for something to happen so badly that her body couldn’t control itself. Although she was partially a vampire, (Y/N) would feel like she couldn’t breathe, like her legs were ready to give up on her, like she wanted to grab Felix and never let go.

Felix, although not admitting it even to himself, would feel the same way, but he knew that his position would not allow him to approach (Y/N) in such a way. He was just a guard - although he was the strongest of them all, and she was the Volturi princess, one of his masters, whom he was only allowed to approach in order to protect. He didn’t want Aro to know he saw his granddaughter like that; it could cost him his position in the guard, or even his life. So, he kept these feelings deep within him, not allowing them to resurface, or act upon them.

However, every time these two existed at the same place, the invisible sparks between them would fly left and right. And only one vampire was able to see them. One who hadn’t felt these sparks in centuries.

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

(Y/N)’s POV:

I yawned loudly as I woke from a long, much needed sleep. I was the only vampire around who was able to sleep, mostly due to my non-vampire natures. I didn't really need to sleep on a regular basis, but when I did, I could literally sleep 3 days straight and nobody would be able to wake me up. “For my own protection”, as Aro said, I would always have at least two guards outside of my room’s door, in case anything happened while I was sleeping. Like what could even happen? My room was at the furthest side of this huge castle. I’m pretty sure that if there ever was an attack against the Volturi, it would most probably have been dealt with immediately, and the attacker wouldn’t make it anywhere near my room.

I felt the warm sun on my skin, slightly glowing and sparkling beautifully. My eyes, mostly (Y/E/C) with a golden ring around the pupil, could easily adjust to the light. Unlike the other vampires, I could easily live among humans; I could sleep, eat human food, my skin not being as sparkly as others, and I could control my thirst far better than others.

Since Jane and Alec joined the coven, Aro would show an immense interest in them and their skills, helping them train daily and develop their powers further, eventually forgetting about me. I would spend more and more days away from the castle, “protected” by my anonymity, getting to know humans more and more. The longer I was observing them, the more they would trigger my interest in them. They could feel true emotions, real pain, real hurt, real love. They had their families, they received an unconditional love that I could never have.

Unbeknownst to Aro or anyone else for that matter, I have started developing new powers, similar to the other vampires in the Volturi coven or anyone else outside of it. I have also started noticing that I may have an immunity towards others’ talents, feeling that neither Corin’s addictive contentment made me satisfied with being in the Volturi, nor Chelsea’s relationship manipulation could keep me loyal to Aro anymore. If it weren’t for Felix, or Demetri and the Twins, who have all become my best friends by now, I would have probably left.

A vampire named Carlisle Cullen had visited the Volturi and stayed with us for a while, about 100 years ago. He saw the way the Volturi treated humans like they were nothing, and how they were as cruel as to kill other vampires, with the excuse that they were exposing our kind with the way they lived. Entire covens had been wiped out due to such excuses, a way to eliminate potential enemies from becoming too powerful and find as many talented vampires as possible and force them to join the Volturi.

Carlisle was talking about a new way of life, where vampires wouldn’t have to kill humans to survive, a life where vampires and humans could live in peace, without harming each other. He was insisting that vampires could survive on animal blood just as efficiently as with human blood; that animal blood would not make them weaker, and that it would be a much more ethical and sustainable way to feed.

Of course, Aro and Caius were the first ones to mock his proposition, clearly not caring about humans’ feelings and pain. Marcus did not budge at all, his heartache making him indifferent to anything around him. But I was growing more and more interested in this alternative way of life; I was, after all, feeding on human food already, so that I was feeding on human blood as little as I could.

It was a few years after Carlisle left Volterra that Eleazar joined the Volturi. Aro forced him to join after finding out he could detect if someone had any special ability. Aro considered his gift useful in identifying if any of his enemies had any special power when in battles, or when he sent Eleazar around the world to recruit talented vampires.

Eleazar was clearly not liking the way the Volturi forced their ways and wants on others, and how they could take advantage of others for their own benefit. I could just sense that he was displeased and was forcing himself to stay in the coven, one, due to Corin’s and Chelsea’s gifts, and two, out of fear of what could happen to him and his mate, Carmen.

Carmen, a vampire from Spain, like Eleazar, met with Eleazar while he was a guard here, they fell in love, and eventually, Eleazar decided to leave the Volturi and run away with Carmen. Aro decided that he did not care about him and his gift as much as others’, so he let him go unharmed, “blessing” them for safe travels.

Just a few days before he left, I consulted him on my own powers. Though a lower member of the guard, Eleazar had his own room, a decent place to stay, and spend his endless hours in. I knocked slightly on the door.

“Come in”, a calm voice was heard. I opened the door and came into his room. Carmen was sitting on the edge of their bed and Eleazar was reading a book on his desk. They both smiled sweetly. I just felt and knew they were too nice to fit anywhere in here, among the cruel and strict Volturi.

“(Y/N)! So nice to see you!”Carmen exclaimed and stood to hug me. The second we hugged I started seeing parts of her life in Spain, the calm waters of Catalunya, the vast vineyards where she would spend the early years of her life… I quickly detached myself from her embrace. I just couldn’t invade her privacy like that. She and Eleazar both looked at me worried, as if I had offended them.

“I’m sorry. I just can’t let you “show” me your whole life like that!” I looked at Carmen apologetically.

“(Y/N), you saw Carmen’s life?” Eleazar continued, intrigued by my words.

“That’s why I came to talk to you. I..I feel like I’ve been developing a gift, or a few gifts, to be completely honest. And I feel like.. like I have a specific power one day, and another power the next!” I stated frantically.

It was the first time I have openly talked about my powers to anyone, and I was shaking just by the words that came out of my mouth. Eleazar did not say anything, he just stood there for a few minutes, I supposed “examining” me, as if a doctor checking on a patient.

“Remarkable.” He said calmly. He looked at his mate with excitement, as if he just discovered a lost treasure. “(Y/N) has one of the most remarkable gifts I have ever seen.” He then turned to me. “You, (Y/N), are able to copy anyone else’s gifts and keep them as your own. You don’t even have to be in contact with them. Just by meeting someone, you can obtain their powers. I have never met anyone like that. You also seem to have obtained immunity to others’ powers, kind of like a shield. I have met such vampires before. From the stories Aro has been telling, your mother was like that. It is likely that you copied that gift for her. Such vampires are extremely useful to themselves or even others, in battles. Like themselves, you can use your gift to protect others from others’ powers, beside yourself.”

That came too sudden to my ears. I have assumed that I may have at least one power, but I didn’t realise I could copy others’ powers. That is why I was showing signs of Aro’s power!

“How can I train my powers? Eleazar! Carmen! You have to help me!”

“As you know, we will be leaving soon. I don’t know if there will be enough time to train you.”

“It’s okay. We will train as much as you want. Please, Eleazar! Please, Carmen!” I started begging them. As if they were hypnotized, they quickly looked at each other and agreed to help me.

The next few days, before Eleazar and Carmen’s departure, included intense training, far away from Volterra, deep in the woods, where no human could interrupt us. I couldn’t say the same for vampires, but I hoped nobody would cross paths with us. Eleazar and Carmen helped me develop my self-control and self-awareness, concentrating through the deepest parts of my mind, resurfacing my shield and expanding it beyond my existence. I started to have control over it, as if it was an actual solid substance, a veil floating around me towards any direction I ordered it to go.

After Eleazar and Carmen left, I started travelling the world more, trying to copy as many powers as I could come across with, while also training my shield. My excitement for the endless possibilities was what kept me going - kind of when Aro would add another talented vampire to his Guard. His Guard. Felix. I wonder how he was. I hadn’t seen him in a while. I wondered if he thought of me like I thought of him.

After travelling pretty much anywhere I could reach, I eventually went back to where it all started: I went to Greece. Aro met Sulpicia here, apparently my mom met my dad here. Maybe I could find out, understand why they left me. I have never met them, but I felt as if my tracking skills could detect them through my own existence.

I started travelling through the country, hoping that they stayed here or, at least, that they’re alive. I spent about 2 or 3 years in Greece, trying to take in every different place, while also avoiding the battles that seemed to take place in every other corner. I was feeding off animals mainly, mostly when I couldn’t find any other human food. I was washing myself in rivers, streams, whatever I could find.

I was stopping by any village that seemed to be still standing, asking about the current situation. The Greek Revolution, which started a few years ago, seemed to still be going on. The Ottomans, who had been occupying Greece for almost 400 years, could not allow Greeks to turn against them and start claiming their rights within the Ottoman Empire.

Many Greeks I met and talked to, admitted that some of the Ottomans were actually being nice to them; it was only the Ottoman government ordering their armies to execute massive massacres against Greeks, and after all this time, a few Greeks started gathering up and planning a revolution, away from Greece, in fear of being caught. They started getting organized and finding possible allies to help them with the Revolution; they just couldn’t risk getting caught within the country that they were hoping the independent Greece could become. The battles were becoming more and more intense, both on the mainland, as well as on the islands.

I started looking for answers, anything that could suggest that my parents were still alive and somewhere in Greece. To my surprise, I crossed paths with many Greek nomad vampires all over the country. They were also fighting against either Ottoman vampires or each other for territorial claims; however, they all talked me out of travelling north, towards Macedonia. The region had started being reclaimed back by Greek humans, but vampires were also seeing the potential for the area and they fought against each other for the land.

All of the nomads I encountered were talking about some of the most vicious vampires claiming the land, their enemies being literally slaughtered and burned to set an example for other vampires to back off their territory. I was intrigued, and I knew that, most probably, I would be able to deal with them or flee before they got to me.

So, I started travelling north, through the woods and mountains, in order to avoid any possible battle between humans, though many of them seemed to hide in the mountains, preparing for their battles. Macedonia was a quite big and vast region, so I had to travel quite a few days and search every possible corner.

I know I shouldn’t have done this, but I was feeling exhausted from all the searching. I haven’t fed in quite some time, and my throat was burning by the familiar need for blood. I haven’t seen any animals all these days, and I was wondering if they were gone or hiding.

Sadly, I came across a human. He seemed to be wounded, probably during a battle, his blood gushing out of his body. I couldn’t help myself, when I breathed in the smell, the burning sensation becoming unbearable. I thought of approaching him slowly, so as not to scare him, offering to help him, but deep down I just wanted to feed off of him.

“Γειά! Συγνώμη αν σε τρόμαξα. Σε είδα από μακριά. Μπορώ να σε βοηθήσω με κάποιο τρόπο; (Hey! Sorry if I scared you. I saw you from afar. Can I help you in any way?)” I offered calmly.

The man was trying to suppress his growls. I could sense his pain. I tried to help him stand on his feet, and then I saw all of his memories. He was in the army, fighting alongside Greeks against the Ottomans, in Macedonia, just outside of Thessaloniki. I didn’t even know I was so close to a city, let alone Thessaloniki.

He was trying to pass through the woods, when he came across what seemed to be two red-eyed vampires, one male and one female. They tried to attack him, but someone else managed to shoot him first, forcing the two vampires to run away. I don’t know how or why, these two felt familiar to me, I could feel that through his memories.

“Γειά! Μπορείς.. Μπορείς να πας στο κοντινότερο χωριό; Νομίζω.. Νομίζω ότι είδα κάτι στο δάσος, δε νομίζω ότι ήταν κάτι φυσιολογικό! Πρέπει.. Πρέπει να προειδοποιήσω τους άλλους! (Hey! Can.. Can you get me to the nearest village? I think.. I think I saw something in the woods, I don’t think it was something normal! I have.. I have to warn the others!)” He mumbled in between sharp shoots of pain.

“Με συγχωρείς πολύ! (I’m really sorry!)” I plead with guilty eyes. I put my hand in his wound, searching for the bullet, while he was consumed by pain. I took the bullet out of the wound, and quickly attached my lips on his skin, sucking the blood as fast as I could, biting deeply unintentionally. His screams were becoming louder and louder, so I covered his mouth with my hand, while trying to shut him up or break his jaw. A few seconds later, he stopped screaming, and I let his lifeless body fall, completely numb and drained out of blood.

I felt renewed, his blood travelling to every part of my body and giving me a new kind of strength that I haven’t felt in a while. I still felt guilty for killing him, but he was already wounded and I couldn’t risk him exposing our kind to others. I assumed that whoever found him - if anyone found him - would also assume that he died of blood loss, so I tried to position him in a realistic pose for that purpose, as best as I could. I left him there, and continued the search for my parents.

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I was running through the woods, trying to locate the two vampires from the guy’s memories. My mind was chaotic, I wasn’t thinking about something specific. I stopped in my tracks. What Aro taught me, and what I understood from Demetri’s tracking skills, is that you have to stop, take a breath and realize your position in the world. Then, you would be able to realize everything around you and find your targets. I have successfully found other vampires like that before, vampires who I have either met in person or smelled their scent, but I didn’t know if I could find someone through someone else’s memories of them.

I took a deep breath and tried to concentrate as best as I could, focusing on the smaller details of the guy’s memories of these vampires. I felt two vampires running on my west, about 10 kilometers away, and I ran after them. They were running fast, but I was way faster. Within a minute or two, I was running right behind their tracks. They must have realized that a stranger was following them, but, instead of running, they suddenly stopped. I stopped as well, and we were now facing each other.

The female had long, brunette, curly hair, and the male short, dark brown, straight hair; both of their hair looked shiny, healthy, and rich. They were of average height and their eyes were piercing red, as if they also fed quite recently. The female was exceptionally beautiful and enchanting; I could only compare her to Heidi’s exceptional beauty. The male looked quite stoic and austere, though still beautiful.

Both of them on defensive positions, waiting for me to attack. I wasn’t planning to move any further from my position; I was only waiting for their own reactions. I felt that kind of a burning sensation within me again, like a feeling buried deep inside me, trying to find an escape.

Suddenly, the male growled at me, flames springing out of his hands, and being thrown at me. I felt my heart fall out of my chest, fearing that this would be my end. As if my body reacted on its own, I felt my own shield extending out of my body, building a wall around me and protecting me from the male’s attack. My hands started burning and flames came out, ready to counterattack the male. The male looked at the female, dumbfounded by what he witnessed, still in a defensive position, but ready to attack again.

“I’M NOT HERE TO FIGHT YOU!” I shouted at both of them. “I’M JUST SEARCHING FOR SOMEONE!”

The male shrinked back, the female following close by. “Who are you looking for? We haven’t seen you around. Who are you? Why are you here?” The male requested. His voice serious, but smooth at the same time; a voice I could only describe as the warm earth below their bare feet.

“No, I’m not. I come from Italy, though I think I was born around here. My name is (Y/N), I’m looking for my parents. I don’t quite remember what they look like, but I’m pretty sure that they lived around here. They abandoned me when I was a baby.”

“This has been our territory for almost 3 millennials! We would have known if any humans abandoned their offspring around here!” The female exclaimed, as if she didn’t believe a word I said. I didn’t want to tell them the whole story, but I had to show them that I didn’t mean to fight in any way.

“I never said they were humans. My mother was actually sort of a vampire, like you.”

The female started letting her guards down. “What do you mean sort of? I’ve never heard of a “sort of vampire” before!” She continued doubtfully.

“Believe me or don’t, my mother was born half vampire, half human. My dad wasn’t even a vampire before she met him. He wasn’t even human to be honest.” My eyes started stinging slightly. I could have had a good, happy life if they didn’t abandon me. I wouldn’t have to grow up with Aro.

“You said you were from Italy.” I nodded at the male, as he continued. “You never said where exactly.”

I wasn’t sure if I should tell them my real origin; I wouldn’t like them to know I was a Volturi, but I knew I needed help to find my parents. If they were actually here as long as they say, they might have known or met my parents at some point.

“Volterra. I was born here, in Greece, like my mother, but grew up in Volterra with my grandparents.” I looked down, kind of scared, kind of anxious, waiting for their next move.

The female gasped. “Are you a Volturi?!” I looked at her, straight in the eyes, swallowed, and nodded. “I know the Volturi. Who are your grandparents?”

“Aro and Sulpicia.” I answered so quietly that, if they weren’t vampires, they wouldn’t have heard me, my voice trembling slightly.

The female suddenly fell on her knees, the male wrapping his arms around her, comforting her. I didn’t know what was going on. Did I say something wrong? Were they scared? The sheer mention of the Volturi would scare a lot of vampires, but I thought that maybe these two seemed strong enough to deal with them.

The female started sobbing, no tears coming out of her red eyes, her body shaking. I felt something within me break. I felt that I didn’t want to upset them, that’s why I was hesitant in telling them who I really was. The male looked at me, pain in his eyes. I saw a familiar look. I saw me in his eyes, what I looked at in my mirror anytime I was thinking about my parents, or, sometimes, when I thought of Felix.

“Are you a half witch?” The male asked quietly. Something snapped in me. How would he know that?

“I swear, I didn’t do anything to your mate! I DIDN’T!” I shouted at the male. I didn’t want him to think that I would hurt his mate, or himself.

“I know you wouldn’t. It’s just..” He looked at his mate who had stopped sobbing, but was still down on her knees, unable to stand up. “..my mate is Aro and Sulpicia Volturi’s only daughter.”

My body tensed and shivered. If that woman is the only daughter Aro and Sulpicia ever had...could that mean..?

I took a few steps back. “AM I YOUR DAUGHTER? ARE YOU MY PARENTS?” I looked at them in disbelief.

Those were the people who abandoned me! That let me grow parentless, under Aro’s rules and directions! I was breathing heavily, in between sobs. I didn’t even realize that I set my whole body ablaze, until both vampires looked at me shocked. I didn’t feel any pain, but I couldn’t stop the flames licking my body, and in my frantic state, I started panicking even more.

The male started approaching me slowly, trying to not scare me away. “Shush, shush. You’re okay. You’re doing okay. I know how it feels at first. You’re experiencing some aspects of the life as a witch. It’s okay. Close your eyes and picture the flames in your head.” I closed my eyes and tried concentrating on the flames. “Now, imagine them burning out, becoming smaller and weaker.” I focused on the flames, imagining them weakening. After a few minutes, I felt them getting smaller and smaller, and finally disappearing. I opened my eyes slowly.

The female was standing next to the male, watching me carefully. In a quick motion, she pulled me and embraced me, stroking my hair lightly. I breathed in her scent, a mix of mountain flowers and the saltiness of the sea. Her touch was soft, and filled me up with what felt like a thousand different emotions.

But, I mostly felt safe. It was the first time in my life that I actually felt this safe. And whole. I felt like I actually belonged somewhere. I hugged her back. Tears started spilling from my eyes. That was my mom! That was actually my mom! After all this time, we were finally together. I felt the male, my dad, hugging both of us, and in that moment, I felt my legs giving up on me, and I finally fell into a long sleep.