#this is technically late but it's still 23rd here so...

[harukakitous]

To the second oldest “boy next door” (…ish) who can probably been seen on a futsal field smiling definitely not close to you… Happy 28th birthday Satoru Soma!  

[sshirakumo]

seven favorite levi scenes to count down to his birthday -> 6/7

episode 66 - assault

[gender-trash]

(i am seriously late in posting about this due to The Problems BUT whatever! its here now!!)

somewhere around late november 2022, i asked my dad "hey are there any out of print technical books you'd like a reprint of for christmas?"

he linked me to a dubious black-and-white pdf of Foundations of Mechanical Accuracy. now, i wound up checking out a copy through link+, and the original edition is a really nicely put together book! the chapters are themed around various types of measurements (length, angle, etc), and they all have these cute little diagrams which the endpapers reuse in a lil repeating pattern... the image captions are done in this really lovely dark red that did not scan for SHIT... tons and tons of diagrams and illustrations and images (both color and b&w)... just, all around, a fucking nice book!! (see also @morrak's post about it here.)

and that made me feel kind of bad about the crappiness of the pdf, which is where the Problems began. i used my phone to take pictures of all the photos and color diagrams in the original and went about replacing them in the pdf, using what turned out to be the world's worst pdf editing software (i also got through replacing all the image captions in chapter 1 of 5 before my dad convinced me to give up). i did NOT finish the pdf editing before christmas 2022 (i was going somewhat off the deep end, because both my housemates were away visiting family and i had zero external structure in my life so it was just me and my cat and this stupid FUCKING pdf wrecking my sleep schedule together); i poked away at it for most of the rest of my time off and then got so goddamn sick of it i put the project away for months. "it'll be a birthday gift instead", i said optimistically (my dad's birthday is in april! it should have been enough time!)

gentle readers, i did not finish the pdf editing by april. mostly because it was such a miserable slog that i put it off until the last possible moment and then tried to make up for it with another death march.

hating both myself and the project again, i decided i was Not going to let myself typeset Anything Else before it was done, and then took a break to bind my immortal (using the renegade publishing typeset! i didn't do any typesetting!!). SURELY, i said, i can finish this in time for christmas 2023.

i'm sure you know where this is going.

in my defense i DID finish the pdf editing by christmas, despite first doing every other possible procrastination project (including a second edition of the little second century warlord book), because by this point my dad had managed to convince me to lower my standards. on the evening of the 22nd i kicked off the print job and said to myself "this will finish printing overnight and then tomorrow i can work on sewing the textblock!"

late on the 23rd, after lots of babysitting and using at least one cartridge of every color ink in my printer, the print job was finally done. (my sweet and lovely cat wants SO BADLY to hunt and stalk the printer while it is printing -- more specifically, the printed pages, i think because they tend to make noise and move and then STOP moving. for this reason, the printer is kept in the craft room, because the cat can be shut out of the craft room and thus prevented from chewing on the pages when i have an all-day book printing job going. unfortunately the craft room was also being pressed into service as a guest room at the time so 80% of the floor space was consumed by an air mattress which i had to repeatedly trip over in order to reach the printer and replace the ink cartridges.)

then i went to my parents' house on the 24th and 25th and apologized to my dad (again) for not having the book finished. but this worked out well because we finished putting together my awesome new book clamp:

(the feet still aren't done being painted so they're just dry-fit on for now but you can still clamp books in it and that's what matters!!)

i came home, sewed the textblock (french link stitch over four linen tapes, with sewn endbands made of variegated embroidery floss over linen cord, and kozo paper glued over the spine)

... and promptly realized i SHOULD HAVE PUT IN MORE OF A GUTTER because some of the text was getting reeeeeeal close to the spine. "it's fine!" i said. "i just have to make sure it lays flat!! what better time than to try out K118 binding, a technique i have literally never done before and which people on the bookbinding discord notoriously have a hard time pulling off first try! i even have tyvek tape for it!"

so it turns out that tyvek tape isn't actually tyvek with glue on it, it's tape FOR attaching pieces of tyvek TO EACH OTHER, which maybe i could have guessed if i'd done even the slightest amount of research or planning. at this point i think it was the 27th and i was still angling to get this thing done by new year's, so no time to order Actual Tyvek.

fortunately, i had ALSO received An Package in the mail with yarn for a totally unrelated knitting project... shipped in a tyvek envelope.

i peeled all the shipping labels and stickers off my tyvek envelope, cut that shit up, and glued it on there.

and THEN it was time for gluing on covers, which i thought was going to be easy because i had actually thought ahead and ordered materials (specifically acid-free museum board), except when i cracked open the box of museum board i decided i Didn't Like It because the surface was too soft and easily dented, so i glued onto it the too-thin board material i'd previously been using (so that the cardboard goes on the outside of the book). this worked super well (the cardboard stuff has a tendency to curl up from the glue moisture, but the museum board doesn't!) and i'll probably use it on other stuff in the future.

i thought the blue bookcloth i used was kind of boring but i showed my dad the available cloth options and he really liked it, so... what do you know? i cut the piece i used on the back cover very slightly too short but it wound up being covered by the leather, so you can barely tell.

and the leather... a scrap just baaaaarely big enough from my bag of leather scraps from discount fabrics... and this the first time i'd ever attempted to put leather on a book... AND YET the only complaint i have is that i didn't manage to put an even amount on the front and back. it's reasonably square and straight!! amazing!!

i am super super happy with how this project came out (especially given the number of problems i encountered) and oh my god check out how much the spine bends

AND, AS A NEW YEAR'S PRESENT, I FINALLY MANAGED TO GIVE IT TO MY DAD

[kirishimasmom]

my theory on the birth order of the kids of Naruto and why it’s probably not what you think it is:

So something I've thought about a lot recently is the actual birth order of the kids in Naruto.

We don't have years for any of their birthdays, just the actual dates, so a lot of people, naturally, assume that it likely goes January to December in order when it comes to the ages of the kids and that they were all born within the same calendar year. Out of the rookie 9, this would make Shino the oldest and Hinata the youngest, with their birthdays being in January and December, respectively. This would make sense, theoretically, if you don’t really think about it too much. But, after thinking about it, I realized it's actually literally impossible for that to be the case if they all graduated the academy at the age of 12 unless their graduation took place sometime between the 27th of December and the 23rd of January.

But that is not when graduation takes place in most places in real life, and I can’t really see graduation taking place at that time in the Naruto world either. If we were to base this one when graduation takes place in Japan in real life, it would take place in late March. If we go with this timeline and the assumption that all of the rookie 9 were born in the same calendar year then Shino and likely Sakura would be 13 at the time of graduation.

And yet all of them are canonically listed as graduating at the age of 12. While this could always be an oversight and one of those ‘this detail doesn’t really matter’ type situations, I don’t think it is. Because if you do follow the timeline of an actual graduation in Japan and also consider the fact that, in any class in a normal school anywhere in real life, not every kid in the same grade is born within the same calendar year, it’s actually completely possible for them to have all graduated at the age of 12.

Children within the same school year are usually born within a year of one another, but not the calendar year. It’s different everywhere, but the cut off date is usually shortly before a new school year begins in that particular location.

The school year in Japan begins in April, so any children born before April would typically be in the previous year’s class. If school their very first year started in April then Shino and Sakura would have been a grade above the others due to being born before the cut off date of the previous year. Since that is not the case, I have to assume that, instead, they were born shortly before the cut off date for the class they are in.

Sakura’s birthday is March 28th, so it is possible for her to have just turned 12 at the time of graduation, making her the youngest of the rookie 9, not Hinata.

Choji is born in May, so he would be too young to be in the previous class but be among the oldest kids in his class, making him the oldest of the rookie 9, not Shino.

Which would make the age order:

Choji, Kiba, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Ino, Naruto, Hinata, Shino, Sakura.

and not:

Shino, Sakura, Choji, Kiba, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Ino, Naruto, Hinata.

like most people tend to assume.

The only characters out of the rookie 9 who would really be affected by this are Shino and Sakura, but, as someone who consumes a lot of content with Shino, since he’s my favorite, it’s something I have thought about a lot because I see people quite often refer to him being the oldest. While this could still be true if there is actually a case of ‘not putting much thought into it’ taking place here, I see no reason to think it is given this theory which I have had for a long time.

While none of the rest of the rookie 9 are exactly affected by this, several other characters are. Gaara’s birthday is technically first chronologically, being January 19th, several days before Shino’s. This, if we went back to assuming their ages were in order when it came to the calendar year, would make him the oldest out of the kids their age (so, leaving out Team Guy and Kankurou and Temari). This would also set him as being 13 when we meet him, not 12. But he is also specified to be 12. But if he is also born the year after most of the others alongside Shino and Sakura, then he would be 12 when we meet him during the Chunin exams which start on July 1st.

In regards to even more characters who are affected by this, we have Team Guy. They are all supposed to be 13 when we meet them and are all also listed as graduating the academy at the age of 12. Like Sakura, Tenten’s birthday is in March. If we went with the ‘everyone in one class is born in the same calendar year’ theory here, their birth order would be Tenten, Neji, Lee. If this was the case then Tenten would have to be 14 when we meet her, rather than 13. The only way she could be 13 is if she was born in the next year, which would make her younger than Gaara and Shino, which is obviously not the case.

If we went with the timeline that makes sense for them to graduate at 12, it would be Neji, Lee, Tenten. Tenten, like Sakura, would turn 12 shortly before her graduation. Neji would turn 14 during the Chunin exams, but, given his birthday, that would be the case regardless.

I’ve seen people talk about the timeline of Naruto and also come to the conclusion that graduation takes place in March just like in real life Japanese schools, but the majority of them never seem to consider what this means for the characters’ graduation ages. I’ve only seen one person ever have this same theory about the kids’ birth order before, but it was on a Sakura stan twitter account and didn’t seem to get much attention. I doubt this will either, but I needed to make my thoughts on this known. I tend to get obsessed with little details like this especially when it affects my favorite characters, so I just wanted other people to hear this theory.

If you have any details or thoughts that either add to or even poke holes in this theory, feel free to share, but I just thought it was very interesting and wanted to share and also see if anyone agrees with me now after having all of this pointed out like this!

[greenesmyfavcolor]

What year does Little Shop of Horrors take place?

Alright, as you can tell from the title, Imma bout to dissect which exact year LSOH takes place since there’s never been any concrete answer from an official source to my knowledge and lemme tell ya, it’s harder than you think lol

Ok so we know that Audrey II came to earth on September 21st/23rd (21st in the stage version and 23rd in the movie version) during the 1960’s “in an early year of a decade” but they never tell us the exact year.

However we do know that Kennedy was president during the events of the movie as he is mentioned on Seymour’s radio and his presidency lasted from 1961 to 1963.

And in the directors cut (which I consider canon to some extent), Jason and the Argonauts is shown to be playing in a theater during Don’t Feed the Plants and that movie came out in June of 1963 so that must mean LSOH has to take place after that date. So the year has to be 1963 if Kennedy is still president and that movie is playing in theaters.

However Audrey II mentions during Feed Me that Seymour could be on Jack Paar’s radio show and that ran from 1957 to 1962.

So now it can’t be 1963 as Jack Paar would have already ended by then and it can’t be 1962 as Jason wouldn’t have been playing in theaters yet.

However LSOH can still take place in both years. Who’s to say that Audrey II didn’t take over the world until the year 1963? It could have been 1962 when the events of the film started but by the time Audrey II gained enough power to start to destroy NYC, a few months could have passed for it to be 1963. And the film does begin in September which is late into the year so it is plausible.

But here’s when this whole theory really starts to fall apart lol.

Before the shop is renovated, there’s a calendar in the back that’s very hard to read but based on the positioning of the dates, it matches up with the year 1964 as the first day of the month starts on a Tuesday. And it’s shown at the very beginning of the movie so the solar eclipse has to have happened in 1964 which goes against everything else that has been brought up so far. Although the year the calendar says doesn’t necessarily mean that’s the actual year, it’s kind of a long shot to assume that they would have the wrong calendar year hung up.

Also neither the 21st nor the 23rd of September fall on a Thursday in 1964 which is the supposed day of the week the eclipse happened according to the same radio broadcast that mentions JFK.

Also also I looked up what exact month Jack Paar’s radio show ended and it just so happened to end in March of 1962 so LSOH can’t take place in 1962 if it starts in September.

So right now, it may sound like we’ve officially hit a dead end. But the thing is, I’ve mainly been listing off things that show up in the movie which isn’t the original source material. That would be the 1982 stage version. We have to remember that anything in the movie that contradicts what year it takes place in in the stage version is not solid evidence because that’s not what was originally intended. So technically, we only have to go off what the original stage production states if we want to figure out the year.

So in the stage version, it’s still mentioned that it takes place in the 1960’s “in an early year of a decade” and that Jack Paar had a radio show before 1962. The only things the movie brought up were the argonauts, Kennedy, the calendar, and what day of the week the eclipse happened. If you want to go ahead and count anything in the movie as canon evidence as to when LSOH takes place, be my guest but there’s so many things that contradict when it does happens that I’m just going to go off the original stage production.

Because of this, my bet is that the events of LSOH start on September 21st, in between the years 1960 and 1961.

I wish I had more of a solid answer so if anyone has any more evidence that suggests what year it might take place from either the stage or movie version, lmk cause I’ve been thinking on this for way too long 🥲

[happiestplacehq]

Hey everyone !!

I hope we're all doing okay. I know life is kicking everyone's butt right now. I'm putting out the good vibes!

So, I'm finally on summer holiday and other than having studying to do for my ballet qualification, I actually genuinely have some free time on my hands at the moment. As you can probably all tell, the last few months have not been great for me keeping the main up to date and pushing things out, and keeping on top of everyone else's activity has been hard when I haven't been as active myself. Long story short, my mental health has absolutely tanked the last few months (understandable, given how many things have been thrown at me in a year and a half on top of work stress and studying) and I couldn't in good conscience hound anyone to be active when I was hiding myself.

For now, I feel rested and I'm pushing through the brain fog. I'm committing to being a better mod!

ANYWAY, all this is to say is that I'm planning a small revamp/ reboot of the RP, with the hopes that this motivates all of our players to make a slow and steady return to the dash.

This revamp will include some plot updates, a massive push for the plot moving forward, and an event to welcome the new "era" of the RP. (Trust me besties, I'm excited for the idea I have and I'm already writing things inside my mind!!)

I might change up the graphics and change some bios around here and there too if my mum's laptop agrees with photoshop. I'm not promising new bios just yet (as that is a hurdle unto itself).

The main thing to note going into this revamp is this:

There will be updates to the activity rules. Sadly, being as lenient as I have been has meant that activity has fizzled, which is understandable but not great if we're wanting to keep the RP moving forward, keep everyone feeling included and welcome new writers. (I know the dash has been moving better lately, but sometimes there are points where nothing is posted for a long time.)

I haven't decided on what the new rules will be yet, so am open to feedback and suggestions, but there will be changes to both activity and interaction rules. I will also be messaging each individual character account to ask your plans for the character going forward, or if you would like to drop the character at some point too. (If you're stuck with a character, this is a great time to reboot them.) These rules will not come into effect until the revamp is complete so there's still some time to message me or have a think about what you would like to do going forward.

As always, please send in a hiatus request if you think you will be away for over 2 weeks just so I can keep things as updated as possible.

To help me in this revamp, the RP/ Main will technically be on a semi-hiatus - RP and in character interactions will continue as normal, the main will just be quieter to help me make changes and keep track of everything. As such, I won't be promoting the RP until I'm happy with the revamp, and applications for new characters will be closed for a short while. You can still message me to change character FCs, request hiatuses and all the other usual stuff.

I'm giving myself until mid-August to get as much of this done as I can. I will be away in London for training from the 15th to the 23rd August, so if I put my mind to it we'll have something by then, OR the week I come back. I'll put a poll out nearer the time when we would like the grand-reopening to be!

Like I said, interactions are still to go ahead as normal! The game itself isn't on hiatus, just the main while I change things around and give everything a fresh coat of paint. Thank you to everyone who has stuck around thus far! I can't wait to see what this revamp sparks in everyone ✨

Please give this post a like once you have read it!

[doublegoblin]

A year and some change in retrospective

Okay so technically It’s like a year and 2 months and like a day. While I made the account and started posting things in November of 2022 I made my intro post on the 23rd of Jan last year so that’s when I’m going to count myself as having officially joined lol. I got thinking about this on my way into work today and I got a little reflective. I’m going to be kind of rambling (what else is new lol) but it dawned on me that, damn dude, a whole year is still like 300+ days and life can go wild directions. I also figured this may be nice for the newer people who have started to follow me (hello and thank you btw). Things won’t necessarily be in chronological order, I mean they might, but, I’m also liable to jump around.

So let’s start with some backstory, all good stories start with backstory yeah?

Me and my -at the time- bf(we’re still together lol just fiance now) were on our way to my aunt's wedding…running late actually because I had the day wrong and blah blah blah. To kill time on the 3hr car ride I started to spit ball this idea for a story I had brewing, that would then become Rituals and Red Tape. I was writing it for myself for a while as a way to deal with being let go from my last job. Well I then had the silly idea to maybe share this with people, so then we get to November and I make a profile and start posting.

That’s right, I started my path on here to be someone putting out original works of writing. I mean, if you go to my profile and check out the pinned post you’d know this but let’s be real, nobody really does that lol. And as those of you putting out original stuff also know, it can be pretty quiet at first. I had in my mind that I was just going to have my stuff on my blog, maybe reblog writing stuff only; that uh…didn’t last long. I’ve met some pretty cool people on here, even if we never really talk I’m happy to see your stuff cross my dash. It was the whole song and dance of you follow me and I follow you, support network stuff. Took part in tag games, an OC fighting tourney thing, and just some other fun things. All the while I’m posting little one-offs, a new WIP here and there…that I eventually just kinda stop working on in favor of my first child. 

I make a Wattpad and start posting what could be considered the 1.5 draft of the story. Things are fun, quiet, but fun

I start to engage in more fandom related things, because why not?

Then something happens, something that I didn’t think would take me in the direction I am going now.

I buy a $30 mic.

Voice acting and acting in general were always a passion of mine as a kid, and with a new stable job and comfy living I thought it was time to revisit some old joy. What was even better is that an artist I was following had a “casting call” for an animation she was working on. So with my little microphone and audacity(the program lol) I do the thing that changed my blog, I tried out…and I got a little part! I’ve never really been one to yearn for the spotlight but I took a chance and it worked out, and I was hooked after that.

So I started to use that mic more and more. First recording a short story of my own, recording a short story by a pal, then…well I guess you can call it doing some dub work.

Now in the past I had people follow me just out of the blue, but, with the first Five Pebbles recording it started to happen more and more. And those posts, well, they were getting some attention. Not a lot mind you, but like, more than the original works. Now I don’t say this with anger or bitterness, it’s just how stuff like this works out. So with what I thought was going to be a one-off thing, I knew I wanted to keep doing it. Yes the notoriety was fun, but more so, I was making something that was bringing people joy. So I recorded more, and more people saw it and liked it, reblogged it too.

Then I had that funny little idea. Something new to me that scratches a few itches at once. If you’ve followed me for THIS you know, the Kel Logs. Not only was I playing a game that I really enjoy(btw if you haven’t you should go play the game it is fun and but I won’t bog this down with info dumping), but I was doing some original writing and voice acting. It was the perfect storm.

Now I know I’m not the most well known person out there and this little fan fiction project isn’t like super famous, which I’m very okay with lol, but like the comments and stuff show I was having an impact on people in a small way. And it was having an effect on me, I was becoming more comfortable with my voice. Not going to sour the mood too much but I’ve struggled with voice dysphoria for a while and the joy I am able to bring people is so important to me, which I know sounds selfish.

So now here we are in the present, I know I’ve missed some stuff and simplified others, with people following me for fandom things and all that jazz. I thank every single one of you. Whenever my stuff get reblogged I do try my best to say something in the comments to those who say things in tags lol, sometimes tumblr won’t let me @ you but know I try. You all have no idea how much it means that I can bring joy to you and I don’t feel I can pay you all back other than to keep doing what I’m doing.

I haven’t worked on my original stuff in a while but I don’t think I’ll be tossing it to the side. In fact I know I won’t. I have a story I want to tell and it will be. So if you have any interest, please check it out and let me know what you all think. I want to always improve but I can’t know where to patch things up if I don’t hear about a leak lol. I’m getting super rambly so I’m gonna stop this here.

1 year later and I’ve gone from solely original writing to a strange hybrid of that and fandom stuff, and I couldn’t be happier with where I am.

So once again, thank you all so much for liking what I do and I hope to keep bringing you things to make you feel emotions.

[kickingitwithkirk]

Greetings from Austin pt. III

Pairing: Alpha!Jensen Ackles x Alpha!Jared Padalecki x Omega!OFC

Summary: Jensen and Jared are at odds over a monumental decision that changes their lives in a way they couldn’t have envisioned.  

WC: 3825

Warnings: a/b/o, bisexuality, biphobia, homophobia, angst, cursing, self doubt, depression/anxiety, married life/disagreements, medical stuff, sexual dysfunction, infertility/surrogacy

*flirting, m/m oral sex, Jensen’s insecurities are coming out, Jared gets arrested, both get counseling

A/N: This part consists of several time jumps over four month period.

A/N II: Hey, sorry took me a way longer to get done than planned, rewrote Oct 23 a dozen times alone and hoping makes sense, trying to flesh out characters more and has some stuff that plays into story line in later parts.

Part II

Masterlist

@winchesterandbeyondbingo​​​​​​ square filled-Jensen Ackles

*Series Inspired by this art.

*no beta-all mistakes are mine

September 8th

7:30 am

Jensen was sitting in the makeup chair clenching his extra strong coffee container to help warm his hands. He’d spent a second, uncomfortable night in his trailer on location as Vancouver was having an unusual cold snap this time of year and with the covid restrictions the director decided that everyone needed to stay on site.

While he wasn’t happy about the weather, missing his own personal heater but at the same time grateful for a brief break from Jared now that they were heading towards the next phase of starting their family.

Jensen jokingly said they needed a code name since they were planning on keeping their plans a secret, even from their families, until the pups were born, playfully suggesting a cartoon from their childhoods.

Of course with Jared’s weird sense of humor, he loved it and started throwing ideas like operation: pound puppies.

“Penny for your thoughts.” Frieda said as she applied a concealer under his eyes to hide the dark smudges from not sleeping well.

“Huh?”

“You asked about my new job and haven’t heard anything I’ve said, wanna talk about it?”

“Sorry, not focusing very well today.”

“Yeah, we’re all feeling out of sorts with this being the last couple days.”

Jensen couldn’t believe he was down to his last two days of filming.

“Too bad this virus messed everything up, it would’ve been a hell of a send off if everybody could have been here.”

Alex and Misha had left right after they’d finished but Jim Beaver was back for the ending. It was only right for Bobby Singer to be there at the end, having been such a pivotal character in the brothers lives.

Frieda continues chatting about random things while finishing his makeup. A PA stuck his head in calling Jensen to the set. He stepped out of the trailer and smiled seeing his Baby sitting near the building being used as the exterior of Harvelle's Roadhouse.

***

September 12th

“Jen, I’m taking out the bags,” Jared calls out seconds before the apartment's front door shut.

Jensen was doing one last check around the place for any forgotten anything. Satisfied, he walked into the living room containing neatly marked boxes ready to be shipped back to Texas, relieved they had downsized from the big house Jared had years ago.

He stopped to gaze out the picture window when a pair of strong arms wrapped around his waist, molding his back to the muscular chest of his mate, who rested his chin on his shoulder quietly saying, “I’m gonna miss this view.” Jensen hummed in agreement tipping his head back as Jared nuzzled his neck.

“We need to get going if we’re gonna make Seattle by seven,” Jared softly muttered as they’d stood there for a few heartbeats longer before releasing him. They walked to the door and Jensen turned once more to gaze out the window at the view of Vancouver.

***

September 21st

“This has been a great trip but man, I’ll be glad to be in our own bed tonight.” Jared remarks as they drive past a green highway sign saying Austin 312.

“Can’t wait,” Jensen drowsily says having not slept much the last couple days. They had decided to road trip it back to Texas, stopping at a few places they had wanted to visit for awhile.

Jared somehow managed to finagal, okay so his mind numbing blow job combined with those lethal long fingers that always makes Jensen agree to anything got him a couple extra days in southern Colorado.

Jensen enjoyed the beautiful scenery and hiking in the mountains but hated camping out. Well, it wasn’t technically roughing it the way Jared liked but still.. a frigging yurt in late September?

Oy vay, what he did for love.

The sound of Jared singing along to some classic country song on the radio as he drove finally put Jensen completely out.

***

October 23rd

Turning from the open fridge with a puzzled expression on his face, Jared senses the same vague something he’s felt God knows how many times in the last couple months.

Shutting the door he walked over to the island counter where his husband was seated pushing his unfinished dinner around on his plate.

“Jen, what’s going on? Are you worried about the implantation? Dr. Rodgers said the embryos were healthy and optimistic the surrogate took this first try.”

What Jensen wants to ask, the question that’s plagued him since that day in August choosing their Omega surrogate...how the hell does he phrase it without upsetting Jared?

“Did you choose her because you knew she’d be the one I’d pick?”

Jensen slapped his hand over his mouth, eyes wide, disbelieving he blurted it out.

Jared worked to find a response squeaking an actual squeak before he could get control over his vocals, “That’s what I’ve been sensing!” Gripping the edge of the counter with his big hands, “Are you seriously going there again? I was honest about our interactions when I realized she was the one I knocked down at the clinic and FYI, you weren’t exactly in full control either Alpha!”

Jensen clenched his teeth at being reminded his inner need to be in control at all times slipped.

“I’ve racked my brains trying to figure it out how to ask something like that without upsetting you!” Jensen yells getting up and pacing around the kitchen.

Jared huffed, “So all this time instead of talking to me, you’ve conjured up some..”

“For the last two years I’ve gotten the sense you feel somethings missing, kept telling myself it’s your unfulfilled biology. But ever since you meet that Omega you’ve been.. I can’t explain it and now I’m second guessing our marriage Ja....” his rant abruptly cut off.

Jared’s eyes were glowing red, pinning him with an eerie wolf expression, the intensity disconcerting him. “I chose you, my husband, my soulmate, my everything!“ The words should have been reassuring but Jared’s voice was pitiless, something Jensen's never heard pass from his lips before.

Jared took a deep breath and with normalcy returning said, “I love you Jensen and I thought you understood, for me, in my mind, both of us having pups with the same donor means my offspring won’t be seen as just step relations but will grow up having strong familial ties with JJ, Arrow and Zeppelin.”

Jensen started to speak when a low, reverberating growl from Jared warning him not to interrupt.

“I consciously listened to my inner wolf when it came to choosing the person who is biologically the Om of our children and I,” Jared emphasizes tapping his chest with his long index finger, ”have no regrets but apparently you do.” Taking a deep breath Jared drops a non sequitur, ”The dogs need to be fed,” and walks away.

At the sound of Jared’s SUV leaving Jensen’s legs gave out and he drops to the floor curling up in a fetal position wrapping his arms over his head. Arlo and Koda laid down, one on each side, cocooning him between them.

***

Thanksgiving

“The kids are in a tryptophan coma,” Jensen announces as he walks in through the kitchen's back door. He had followed Danneel home afterwards helping get JJ and the twins cleaned up and put to bed, “they’ll be out till Monday.”

“Good, cause I’m dead on my feet,” Jared replies yawning while loading the dishwasher. It had been their turn to host the holiday with Danneel, the kids, Clif, Jared’s siblings and their broods.

“I told you to wait and I’d help finish the cleanup when I got back.” Jensen said as Jared started the machine.

“I figured you’d wanna stay awhile and be too tired and I didn’t want to deal with it tomorrow. All that’s left is to put the trash and recycling out, could you grab it?”

“On it,” Jensen picked up the bags walking around the side of the house dropping them into their designated receptacles.

When he came back in Jared was switching off the lights downstairs. They made their way up to the bedroom taking turns in the bath getting ready for bed.

Jensen was sitting with his back against the headboard checking his messages when Jared drops heavily next to him, “I plan on sleeping for the next three days.” He mutters resting his head against Jensen’s shoulder.

“Sounds good to me babe, I’m glad we didn’t schedule anything extra this weekend, be nice to spend some time alone.” He finishes wiggling his eyebrows.

“Hmm, do you remember last year's Thanksgiving?”

Jared closed the kitchen pantries door, pushing Jensen against it seductively lowering his fox slanted eyes huskily whispering, “I’m so fucking horny I need my dick you now.”

“Dude, we’re re in my sisters...“

“..you’ll have to be quiet,” Jared dove in for a deep, dirty kiss, grinding against Jensen until he was begging to be fucked.

“You’re the one who got us busted..oh fuck Jensen..so fucking tight..fuck..not gonna last..then later I get Mac saying it sounded like your dick...”

“Okay..buuut,” Jared tilts his head slowly running his tongue up the column of Jensen’s neck, “you gotta admit,” hand slipping under his sleep shirt, “our sex life,” long fingers tip toe up the smooth, freckled chest, pads teasing his left nipple as Jared nibbles on his earlobe, ”is never boring.”

Jensen groans, dropping his arm, still clinching the phone, tipping his head to expose more of his neck to Jared’s wondrous lips, enjoying the scratch of his short beard.

“I thought you were sleeping the next three days.”

Jared answers by removing his hand and straddling his husband's thick thighs taken the phone placing it on the nightstand and starts nibbling along the other side of Jensen’s sensitive neck, working his way to his slightly raised claim mark flattening his tongue licking the ultra sensitive spot that always drives his Alpha wild.

Jensen slides his hands up Jared’s back finding a grip in his shortened hair, unhappy about how much he’s cut off for Walker, unable to tangle his thick fingers into the soft tresses like he used to.

Finding a purchase he pulls hard making Jared groan at the pleasurable sensation tips his head back till it’s the perfect angle for Jensen to run his tongue across those candy pink lips, teasing them open to grant him access, continues teasing, alternating between caressing Jared’s tongue with his and sucking on his lips.

Moaning, Jared rocks his hips seeking friction, breaks their kissing long enough to work Jensen's sleep shirt off. They end up wrestling a few moments before Jared tosses it as Jensen’s lips attack his more desperately.

Tapping Jared’s thigh, Jensen rolls them kneeling between sleep pant clad legs watching as Jared reaches up gripping the strategically placed bar in their custom made headboard with both hands, his pecs flexing in anticipation of what’s to come.

Not breaking eye contact Jensen bends forward, his lips a hair's breadth from Jared’s, slowly slides backwards hovering, caressing the acres of golden skin beneath him with only his warm breath, pausing to hook his fingers in the pants waistband and pulling them with him as he continues journeying south.

Slowly making his way back north he leaves wet, open mouth kisses along the now naked, extra long, muscular legs he loves, sucking on the insides of both thighs, nipping hard enough to leave marks before arriving at his designated stop.

He hasn’t even touched Jared’s beautiful cock yet it’s fully engorged, resting against his flat stomach vigorously leaking precome. Jensen dips his tongue into his bellybutton lapping up the liquid collecting in it, cause fuck, he’s loves how more sweet than salty Jared’s always tasted.

Hips rolling Jared rubs his cockhead against Jensen’s tongue and he kitten licks the dribbling slit before resting his head on Jared’s lower stomach and wrapping his lips around the velvety head.

Shifting his grip on the bar Jared’s makes nonsensical noises, toes curling at the mixed sensations of his mates silky beard tickling his lower regions while sucking on his cockhead, alternates swirling his tongue over the nerves underneath and teasing his slit sending spikes of pleasure radiating through him.

After all these years Jared’s still amazed at Jensen’s knowledge of his body, his ability to keep him on the edge of not enough for however long he’s in the mood to play.

“..pleease...need to cum...got to..so fucking..uhh..Alpha!”

Raising up on a forearm Jensen starts bobbing up and down his shaft, pausing briefly on each downward pass, working his throat open to take Jared further in until he’s nose deep in dark, trimmed pubic hair. Holding his mate's substantial cock in his throat swallows around him as Jared’s knot inflates, pushing his jaws apart till it’s too much.

Letting the knot slip out from between his plump lips Jensen wraps a hand firmly around it and starts vigorously bobbing drawing out a litany of obscene noises, feels Jared’s balls drawing up and backs off swallowing the warm, thick, spurting liquid.

Leisurely licking until Jared hissed, too sensitive for anymore kisses the tip one last time crawls back up the bed searching for his pillow and face plants on it.

“Dude, you’ve finally sucked out my last brain cell.”

Purring deep in his chest, Jensen gives Jared a self satisfied smirk, who mutters, “wasn’t trying to give you a bigger head.”

Rolling onto his side Jensen displays his turgid cock needing attention, “okay, he’s the bigger head,” Jared concedes reaching down running his fingers over the weeping tip, wetting them with precome spreads it over the shaft firmly fisting Jensen’s pulsing thickness, moving his hand up and down excruciatingly slowly.

“So,” his honeyed voice lowers an octave watching Jensen dissolving into a breathy mess, “how does he want me?”

Jensen opens his mouth to answer when a phone rings. Glaring over his shoulder, “not mine,” he growls. Still stroking him Jared stretches for his, “it’s the clinic..hello? Dr. Rodgers, hey, how are you sir?” He lets go sitting up against the headboard.

Why’s the doctor calling them at such an odd time, on a holiday no less?

Jared's brow wrinkles before he turns to Jensen, eyes sparkling breaks out his wondrous smile making his dimples pop.

“Jensen, she’s pregnant!”

Jared's practically bouncing on their bed like he’s on a massive sugar high discussing what comes next with the doctor. Jensen feels his erection rapidly diminishing, gets up heading into the bath and turns on the shower.

Climbing in he crosses his arms against the far wall, resting his forehead against them closing his eyes as hot water bounces across his broad shoulders.

Jensen knows he should be elated. Jared’s getting the pup (or pups) he’s desired for years and the possibility of being a father himself again. Instead, his heart seized up in conflict.

***

After that god awful argument in October he ended up at Josh’s, who confessed his mate and him were seeing a counselor because they were having marital issues too. Spending the night drinking and reflecting Jensen came home the next morning to a still angry Jared cause he didn’t know where the fuck his husband was all night.

Filling him in about his talk with Josh, Jared seemed somewhat mollified but a few nights later...

Walker star Jared Padalecki arrested near the one year anniversary of Stereotype bar altercation.

· Jared Padalecki was arrested once again in Austin, Texas, early Sunday morning on one count of public intoxication…

When he got released Jared sat Jensen down pleading with him to sit in on his next therapy session, saying they couldn’t keep going on like this, it was tearing him apart.

He wants..no..needs Jensen to completely open up, stop trying to protect him and discuss what’s going on in his head, what he’s really feeling.

Jared’s therapist started off informing both of them he wasn’t a marriage counselor but after a brief conversation with Jared knew the situation was having a detrimental impact on his mental health.

He listened to them separately, then together, about their observations and thoughts on each other’s behaviors came up with a hypothesis:

Since Jared’s last depressive episode, his random thoughts/emotions were feeding more into Jensen’s deep seated insecurities over his mate’s open, flirtatious personality and how he perceives others attraction/interactions to him.

And now Jared’s inner wolf is demonstrating an intense attraction to an Omega, something never encountered before with past preferences in Beta females, with this new dynamic Jensen didn’t know how to handle it.

Jensen opened and closed his mouth several times sputtering before saying this was complete bullshit and stormed out.

***

Lost in thought Jensen didn’t notice his husband stepping into the open shower stall until his considerable frame was blocking the water, Jared’s voice drew him out of his musings.

“I can hear you thinking clear in the other room.”

Cupped Jensen’s face between his large hands he gazed into those spring colored eyes that captured his heart the moment he looked into them years ago, “Hey, no matter what happens next, we’re good.”

***

December 16th

Jared was sitting in his chair chatting with Lindsey and Keegan while the crew was finishing setting up for the next scene when his phone rang. He didn’t recognize the number but excuses himself, stepping away for some privacy answering.

“Hey, everything okay?” Lindsay asked after he hung up, concerned by the visible tension rolling off the big Alpha.

“Umm..I don’t know, I need to make another call...” Jared said, waving the phone, “yeah, let us know if you need anything.” Keegan says and Jared nodded his thanks.

The phone rang three times, “Hey Clif, I need a favor.”

***

December 19th

Clif pulled the SUV into the parking lot, “Are you sure this is the right place?” Jared inquires looking around taking in the old motel located in a very questionable area of Austin.

“This is the name the guy mentioned.” Clif replied, getting out heading for the office. Couple minutes later he climbed back in, “the manager said the laundry out back.” He started the vehicle and drove to the rear of the property.

Clif got out again and knocked on the building's door. An older Hispanic woman answered engaging him in a brief conversation before stepping back inside.

Clif nodded to Jared and as he got out of the vehicle that piquant scent hit him seconds before the door reopened. The person he’d spent days searching for froze in the doorway upon seeing him.

***

December 22nd

Jensen, claiming out of the Uber, grabbed his bag thanking the driver, walked up the front stone pathway relieved to be home from L. A. after a hopefully final costume fitting for his new role as Soldier Boy, this flying back and forth every week for the last couple months had gotten old real quick and he was looking forward to enjoying the holidays at home.

Jared’s parents were coming tomorrow and staying for a few days as was Danneel and their pups. Josh said he was still planning on dropping by a few hours Christmas Day since he and Mac were scheduled to spend most of the holiday with their parents.

Jensen felt that mixture of anger and sadness he got thinking about his parents. He was raised in their church and though he never believed in it, respected their choice.

Too bad they couldn’t reciprocate.

***

Alan and Donna belonged to an ultra conservative church. The foundations of child rearing was to be found in the good book and in the Ackles household-spare the rod, spoil the child-was gospel.

When they were growing up neither parent was the physically or emotionally demonstrative type, only showing their offspring a reserved affection, especially in public.

The saving grace was their Beta nanny who gave them unconditional love, especially Jensen, who was shy as a child already knowing he was different from his siblings. She instilled the confidence in them to discover who they truly were inside and encouraged Jensen to come out before moving to California.

Shortly after graduating he told his family about his bisexuality and his boyfriend was moving to L.A. with him.

Alan and Donna tried to stop him. He was to go to their pastor and confess his transgressions, beg forgiveness for his sins against the church and its teachings, threatening to pull the agreed upon six month financial support while he auditioned for parts before going to college if it didn’t work out.

Jensen refused, packed up, took his boyfriend and left. He got his first break shortly after and quickly learned Hollywood didn’t care what his sexual orientation was as long as he kept it behind closed doors.

His management agency decided early on to promote Jensen as the good guy/boyfriend type. They also set him up on dates to events with many up and coming female artists of the time. He had no problem playing along when he wasn’t actually dating a woman.

His big break came on the CW. After co-starring in a couple series for the network he was offered the chance to be a lead in a new series created by Eric Kripke.

At the audition he met former Gilmore Girls heartthrob, Jared Padalecki, flashing his infectious smile, dimples for days and the most beautiful, incredible color shifting eyes Jensen’s ever seen, he was done for.

Jensen might not have his biological parents in his life anymore but his now in-laws, the complete opposite of the Ackles, helped fill that hole.

It’s easy to see where Jared’s personality comes from. His Om, Sherrie, is overly affectionate, excessively physical and verbal with everyone she considers family, biological or not.

The first time he accompanied Jared home on a holiday break Jensen was literally bowled over by the five foot nothing Omega and instantly became part of her brood.

***

Barley getting the front door open Jensen is hit with the piquant scent of orange blossoms and spices he couldn’t quite place.

Dropping his carry-on bag in the foyer he followed the scent further into the house. Arlo sat up near the large picture windows facing the backyard where he and Koda are napping and gets up coming over to greet him.

“Hey big guy, where’s daddy at?” Jensen asked rubbing around his ears like he liked having thought Jared would still be on set before the holiday break.

He heads towards the kitchen where the scent seems to be coming from, “Babe is that coffee shop back open, what’s it called, has those sweet rolls you're obsessed with..” he abruptly stopped and blinks not believing what was in front of him.

More accurately who was in front of him.

“Babe is in his office and dinner will be ready in twenty.”

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?”

***

tbc

GFA: @babypink224221 @waywardjoy​ @let-me-luve-you​ @all-4-wincest

SPN: @donnaintx​ @lyarr24

Sam/Jared @idreamofplaid​

Dean/Jensen: @flamencodiva​

[emy-loves-you]

Wrong Numbers and Useless Gays Chapter 17

Valentine’s Day Gays

Chapter 16 | Masterlist | Chapter 18

Warning: Implied/referenced sex

Virgil sighed, flopping onto his bed. It’s now Valentine’s Day and Virgil had no one to hang out with. His schedule with visiting Patton, Logan, and Roman hadn’t changed much. Sure they got a little starry-eyed at times and they asked a surprisingly large amount of questions about his ‘friend’ Virgil, but their interactions were still the same. Anxiety flirted, they’d sometimes flirt back, and Virgil would leave with his head in the clouds and a hole in his chest. Today was different, however. Virgil already knew to steer clear of Janus and Remus, since they were always extremely mushy and/or horny on Valentine’s Day. Virgil was planning on visiting his crushes, but they had texted him yesterday. They had asked Virgil to tell ‘Anxiety’ that they wouldn’t be at work today. Apparently today was their 8-year anniversary of being in a poly relationship. Virgil sighed, a hollow feeling in his chest. What did he normally do on Valentine’s day? His eyes scanned the room, trying to find something to entertain himself. Guitar, movies, Patton’s drawing, books- wait a minute.

Virgil jumped up, grabbing the framed drawing of Pat, Lo, and Princey. Why was it still here? Virgil shipped it to Patton yesterday! Or did I? Virgil shook his head. Either way, the drawing’s here, and it should be with Patton. Virgil bit his lip, contemplating his options.

He could send it through the mail, but then it would take at least a day to reach Patton. It wouldn’t really be an anniversary gift then, would it? He would usually ask Janus to take it over, but he was, em… busy, with Remus today. That only leaves one option, doesn’t it?

Virgil sighed, standing up. He was about to send a text to Patton, but decided against it. Might as well leave it a surprise. He made sure he looked presentable before grabbing the drawing and walking out the door.

The walk to their house wasn’t too long, maybe 20 minutes at most, but it was long enough for doubts to settle in. Sure, he’d been to their house before, he still had pictures of their TPed house from Halloween. But he’d never visited while they were home. What if they got weirded out? God, what if Patton didn’t like the drawing? When he sends it through post it’s okay, since he can’t see their faces when they receive it. But handing it to them? That’s a whole other level of terrifying.

Before he knew it, Virgil was standing on their front porch, hand raised to knock. Technically, he could just leave the drawing on the porch, walk away, and text Patton to let him know it’s there. He wouldn’t have to show his face, or explain why he’s there, or see his rejection-

No. Virgil shook his head. He deserves better than that. They all do. Before he could second-guess himself, he quickly knocked on the door. He heard a noise from inside before the door started to open. Virgil quickly hid the drawing behind his back. The door opened to Roman, wearing loose sweatpants and no shirt-

Flirt Mode: ACTIVATED

Anxiety eyes purposefully raked over Princey’s body, memorizing every detail for… future activities. Roman blushed. “Anxiety, what a p-pleasant surprise.” He stammered out. “What brings you here?” He paused, tilting his head like a puppy. “And how do you know where I live?”

Anxiety smirked, leaning against the doorframe. “I’ve got a package to deliver. Apparently Virge forgot to send it yesterday, so I decided to drop it off for him. He’s the one who gave me your address.” He licked his lips. “Now, can I talk to Patton-cake? It’s his package, after all.”

Roman’s eyes were glued to Anxiety’s lips, and it took a few moments for him to respond. “Y-yes, of course.” He stepped aside. “Come in, come in.” Anxiety raised an eyebrow but stepped inside. Wasn’t expecting this, but okay. “Patton!” Roman called out. “You’ve got a package!”

“Coming!” There were a few moments of silence before Patton came rushing down the stairs. He wore light blue pajamas with silver hearts. His glasses were slightly skewed and his hair was ruffled. Logan followed him, wearing dark blue pajama bottoms with silver constellations. Like Roman, he wore no shirt. There were hickeys littering Logan’s chest and neck. Anxiety is now realizing two very important things:

He has never seen these three men in the same room, nor has he interacted with more than one of them at a time as Anxiety

He’s really gay

Anxiety whistled. “If I knew there’d be a show, I wouldn’t have taken so long to get here.” Both men squeaked, Logan burying his head in his lover’s shoulder. Which was quite cute, especially since Patton was shorter than Logan, which made Logan bend over slightly, angling his collarbone just right-

“Roman! You didn’t tell us that we have company!” Patton squeaked out, shaking Anxiety out of his gay trance.

Roman smirked. “Well, I didn’t want to keep Anxiety waiting. Besides, I didn’t lie about the package.”

“Yeah, apparently Virgil forgot to mail it yesterday.” Anxiety held out the frame face-down. “He said it was some sort of Valentine’s Day gift? He didn’t want it to come in late, so I offered to drop it off.”

Patton squealed, running over to grab the frame. He quickly turned it around, tears forming in his eyes. “Oh, it’s perfect.”

Logan cleared his throat, a light blush still on his cheeks. “What is it, Patton?”

Patton held up the frame for Logan and Roman to see. It was an exact drawing of the photo Patton had sent. They were on a bench. Patton was giggling, Logan was blushing, and Roman was grinning like a fool. “Do you remember this?” Patton asked, his voice soft.

“That was our first date,” Roman said in awe.

Logan nodded. “February 23rd. Waverly Park.”

Patton turned back to Anxiety, his eyes shiny. “Please tell Virgil that we love this so, so much. It’s going right on the mantle!” He turned to the impressively large mantle, which housed Roman’s katana, Patton’s glass flowers, and now Virgil’s drawing. Logan’s telescope sat next to it on the floor. Patton turned back around to face Anxiety. “Oh, have you eaten yet? We have leftover muffins from this morning!”

Anxiety smiled, turning to follow Patton into the kitchen. “I’m sure I can squeeze in a few muffins. And if they’re anything like the muffins at your work, I know I’m gonna love ‘em.”

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

Taglist: @bisexualdisaster106 @self-taught-mess @itawalrus @arodynamic-enby @sanderssides-angst

[sarsfe]

Prompt #50!

Sorry this is so late! @rotgsecretsanta this is Prompt No. 50 for Bunny coaching Jack through a panic attack!  I hope you enjoy it!

           “Damn it…” Bunny said under his breath as he brushed the snow from his shoulders. “At least it’s not another ’68…” he grumbled as he walked further into his Warren.

           Easter had been a success. Or at least as much of a success as it could be with a blizzard ripping through half of the North American continent. This was one of the earlier Easters landing on March 23rd. And even though it was technically in springtime, Jack had his fair share of snowstorms after that threshold. Bunny never minded having some of them, only under the agreement that the bad ones didn’t happen on Easter.

           “It’s fine,” he sighed to himself as he patrolled his Warren. “The eggs got hidden, children still found them, and the belief is still strong,” he smiled as he greeted his stone soldiers while they started cleaning up the mess they had made.

-----

           A few days later, Bunny traveled to North’s workshop. He was hoping to find Jack there since the grumby normally bothers the living daylights out of him right after Easter. It was particularly intense at this time since there was nothing to do but clean. Being unable to find the trickster anywhere, he went to North’s study, hoping to get some kind of answer to his absence.

           “Hey North,” Bunny said entering the study seeing the man fiddling with his latest ice sculpture.

           “Bunny!” he laughed heartily. “I’m glad to see Easter didn’t tire you out this year.”

           “Ha, ha very funny,” Bunny smiled as he rolled his eyes. “I would’ve been better without the snow, but it went better than last year.”

           “Speaking of snow, have you seen Jack?” North asked, turning away from his sculpture to look at Bunny. “I haven’t seen him poking around for a few days.”

           “I was actually coming here to ask you that,” he stated, with some concern. “When did you last see him?”

           “When he went with you to the Warren before Easter,” North said as he stood. “Did he not help you?”

           “No, he did,” Bunny said. “But he left the day before to tend to some snow in the Himalayas. Then Easter happened and I haven’t seen him since.”

           “But you said there was snow on Easter?” North asked as he grabbed his coat.

           “Yeah, a decent blizzard—”

           “Something must be happening…” North observed. “I will talk with Tooth and see if he went her way. You check in with Sandy.”

           “Got it,” Bunny nodded, thumping his foot on the floor, a tunnel opening as he traveled through.

           Bunny traveled around until he was able to see the dream sand dancing around through the town around him. He was able to see dreams of dancing eggs, and his image sprouting from the different dreams that Sandy would bring. He followed the tendrils until he found the massive dream cloud that hovered in the sky. Getting his attention, Bunny saw Sandy descend, smiling happily and congratulating him on a successful easter.

           “Thanks Sandy,” Bunny nodded. “Ya dreams are still riddled with easter,” he smiled. “But I came to ask if you’ve seen Jack anywhere. No one has seen him since the day before Easter.”

           Sandy communicated that he had seen Jack on Easter, but that he had seemed in good spirits. He’d said that there was some snow that he needed to tend to and that it would be a nice surprise for some children before he’d flown off.

           “Did he ever say where he’d go?” Bunny asked, seeing Sandy shake his head. “It’s been almost a week…”

           Sandy mentioned checking in Burges since that tended to be a place he would scamper off to for some fun with the children.

           “I’ll go check,” Bunny nodded. “Keep an eye out and I’ll let you know if I find him. Hopefully he’s just hiding out there for some fun,” he stated getting a concern nod from Sandy.  

           “I’ll let you know if I find him,” Bunny said before tapping for a tunnel.      

           Burges wasn’t a big town in Bunny’s standards. By the end of an hour he had hopped through most of the town with no sign of the winter spirit. He tried taking to Jamie and his friends, but they hadn’t seen him since Easter.

           “He did seem upset though,” Jamie said. “He said something about the snowstorm and you being mad.”

           “I mean I’m not happy it happened, but I’m not going to tear the grumby apart,” he stated while Sophie climbed over his shoulders while they talked.

           “I’d go check by the lake though if you haven’t yet,” Jamie continued. “He normally goes there when he wants to be alone.”

           “I’ll go there next,” he said flipping Sophie over while she giggled. “Thanks for the help.”

           “Let Jack know we miss him. Snowball fights aren’t the same without him.”

           “I will,” Bunny nodded before traveling through his tunnels, appearing in the forest just outside of Burges.

           Bunny knew Jack came to this area a lot, but never to the lake. He had told Bunny that it was the lake he had drowned in before becoming a guardian and it was also the place where Pitch had been defeated. It seemed to hold a lot more meaning to Jack than Bunny had realized.

           It didn’t take long to find the hooded boy sitting by the lake. He was tapping his staff on the lake making more and more layers of ice so no one else would ever fall in. Being curled in on himself, he wasn’t able to see Bunny coming towards him. When placing a gentle hand on Jack’s shoulder, Bunny could feel him flinch harshly by the contact.

           “Hey, don’t worry it’s just me,” he chuckled, while Jack scrambled to stand up. “Where’ve you been mate? You got everyone worried,” he asked turning to concern as Jack gave a forced smile.

           “Oh, you know, this way and that,” he shrugged with a nervous chuckle.

           “What’s going on Jack?” Bunny asked with concern. “You’re worrying me.”

           “I’m fine really,” Jack chuckled taking a step back from the other as he started to feel his chest tighten.

           “Jack,” Bunny said with concern. “You don’t seem fine.”

           “Oh and I’m sorry about Easter,” he laughed uneasily as he started to breathe harder, taking a few more steps away from Bunny. “It was a bit of a shitstorm on my part…”

           “Jack I don’t care about that,” Bunny scowled. “What’s going on?”

           “You don’t care?” Jack laughed. “I fucked up Easter.”

           “Jack,” Bunny said gently taking the other by the shoulders. “You didn’t fuck anything up.”

           “But the Blizzard… It happened on Easter and we’ve talked about snow and Easter with what happened in 68 and I couldn’t stop it… I just wanted a bit of snow but got carried away… I’m supposed to protect the children. I just wanted to have some fun and—”

           “Jack!” Bunny exclaimed to get the other to look at him. “You’re getting carried away,” he said gently as he guided them both to sit by the lake. “No one was hurt in the Blizzard. Easter was a success. You didn’t jeopardize the children.”

           “I’m a guardian… I shouldn’t have let that happen.”

           “Jack nothing happened,” Bunny said, letting the other lean against him. “You just gave the Midwest a snowy Easter. Even I can’t complain about that.”

           “But it’s Easter.”

           “There’s been snow on Easter before 68 and there’ll be snow on easter in years to come. It’s spring. We get a mix of winter and summer until a balance is met. I’ve known this for eons,” Bunny explained as he held on to Jacks shaking figure. “It happens despite me not wanting it, but it’s not something that I’m going to hold against you.” He finished, Jack saying nothing as tears started to travel down his cheeks.

           They both sat by the lake for a time while Jack let his emotions out. It’s wasn’t often that Bunny would see Jack like this. He knew that the winter spirit took his guardian duties seriously and seeing how he was now solidified how serious he had become.

           “I’m serious though Jack. I’m not upset with you,” he said gently rubbing at his back. “And don’t hide something like this. We don’t want you to be feeling like this. We all mess up and no matter what happens, we’re all a team that helps each other, okay?”

           “Okay,” Jack nodded as he sat up, wiping at his eyes. “I am sorry though,” he sighed.

           “It’s alright. It wasn’t anything that wasn’t manageable,” he encouraged. “But you really do have everyone worried.”

           “Fuck,” he sighed covering his face again. “I didn’t want to worry you guys…”

           “I know,” he stated while they stood up. “Let’s go find them,” he said getting a tight hug form the other.

           “Thank you, Bunny.”

           “No problem you show pony. Let’s go before North sends out the calvary,” he chuckled.

End

[sequackquack]

Takami Babies

So in a bored moment I came up with baby names and then some hawks inspired baby names. I don't ever see a lot of pregnant/parent hawks stuff so I wrote my own that is also inspired by @bbq-hawks-wings

Phoenix and Soarin Takami twins born on the cool September 22nd night. Actually night and morning your daughter born first a strong Virgo. And your son a gentle Libra. Their birthstones being Sapphire and Opal being born at the end of September. Your daughter was born quite late into the night while your son was the next morning. You started labor around 6-7 o'clock you remember seeing the beautiful sunset behind your husband. His wings making a beautiful silhouette against the painted sky. Your daughter arrived several hours later at 11:15 pm September 22nd. And much like the traits of her sign she was very determined to be born and did not want to wait for you it was difficult getting her out. Your son on the other hand could wait and was a much more mellow process. He was born at 7:55 am September 23rd. You saw the sunrise the same as it had set when you began labor. Beautiful oranges and yellows bouncing through the sky leaking into to the room. Your daughter 7 lbs 9 oz. Had dark blonde hair. Not light enough to be a blonde but not a full brunette. A light toffee if you will. And undoubtedly had Keigo's golden glowing orbs with flecks of brown in them. Your son 6 lbs 2 oz. Has tuffs of dark brown hair with golden blonde tips. And the most beautiful eyes one emerald green the other a honey gold. Not as bright as Keigo or Phoenix but more of a brown.

As mentioned before it was a difficult time getting your daughter out than your son. Well that is because she definitely had her dad's family quirk. She has red little nubs on her back. Most children develop quirks around 5 but since Keigo had a mutation quirk your kids are more likely to be born with theirs. Once she was out Keigo cut the cord the nurses cleaned her up and gave her to him.

"She has wings love" he says crying. "She really has wings" he stated again. The only thing other then healthy beautiful babies Keigo wanted was for one of them to get his wings. "Hey there Phoenix. Your so beautiful and I am so happy your here. I love you so much baby girl."

After feeding, holding, and bonding with Phoenix you feel your son ready to make his entrance.

Your sitting in a bath and with a few pushes he's out. Dad cuts the cord again and you both go through a wave of emotions one more time. Just like your daughter he gives his baby a welcoming speech.

"Hey there Soarin your here, you finally made it. I can't believe how beautiful you are. I love you so much baby boy. " And just like his sister he goes to get checked out and cleaned up. While the nurses are taking care of your son your husband holds you still crying.

"You did it babe! You made, carried, and delivered not one but two beautiful healthy babies. I am so proud of you my love. Your so strong and such a trooper. I love you so much." All you could manage was a small smile and nod embracing him.

You guys had decided no visitors while still in the hospital just so you could just have the freedom to bond and be raw and emotional with your new family. Just after a few days of being alive Phoenix is his "Princess" and she is a total daddy's girl and has him wrapped around her chubby little finger. You both love both kids equally but being both avians he has a special bond with his daughter. Soarin is your bugaboo but he isn't necessarily a mommas boy. Definitely prefers mommy over daddy. But to be expected from a baby.

Both babies have various nicknames from the family Keigo has special birdie inspired names for them individually. Phoenix is his chickadee and Soarin is ------. You know Keigo has a thing for nicknames but, you thought you would have to share some of the same names as your children. Keigo feels that names are very important and special to each person just as important as your given name. You do have dove, lovebird, and baby bird those are specially for you. You're happy you still have baby bird even if you do quite literally have baby birds. And of course there is kid but that is his own slang much like ol' sport and Gatsby. He thinks it gives a playful kick to a sentence. You found amusing is that Keigo won't be calling he won't call his own kids "kid" until they are teenagers and are harder to handle. His little name for everyone has a timestamp for his own kids. But the only reason he uses it is to lighten up the mood or make something a bit playful in the same way Gatsby uses ol' sport. Keigo won't even use "kid" in the same sense as he does at work. Instead of a bit serious tone like "Watch it there kid you'll get yourself killed like that". For the kids he'll be more so silly like "Ugh you're killing me kid."But that's for the future right now you were both focused on the newly founded life in your arms.

~Le timeskip~

Your all at home sleeping in bed the twins in their bassinets on either side of the bed. Keigo talked you into the more expensive one that had an opening on the side and rolly wheels. Thank God you opted for that one cause it was much more accessible than a regular bassinet. Especially with Phoenix and her extra limbs you needed to worry for. She would usually be on daddy's side because if this. Like any other baby she would wake up every few hours for feeding time or a change. But being a newborn she had to sleep on her back which could cause her wings to rub raw. You and Keigo spent a decent amount of time cutting holes into her clothes and jammies for her wings to breathe. But that could only go so far. And each cry was for different things and when her wings hurt it was more of a fussy hiccup. Kiego soon figured out what cried meant what and found a solution to when her wings hurt.

He would pick her up and hold her for a few minutes hushing her telling her it'll be alright and she is strong enough to get through it. Then he would take her to change her diaper and put on some different clothes. Off came the footed pajamas and swapped with a pair of thick sweatpants, fuzzy socks, and a hat. He would also change out of whatever he wore to bed into sweats, a baby wrap carrier, and a thick winter jacket lined with fuzz on the inside. He would gently put her on his chest tying the carrier around them careful to avoid her wings. Then zipping his jacket over both him and his little girl. He would keep their shirts off intentionally so he could get some skin on skin bonding time and let baby's wings breathe for a minute. By the time they were dressed she was usually back to sleep but it was the next part that lulled her back into a deep sleep. Keigo would open the slider to the patio connected to your room and take off.

They wouldn't go to far or fast but just a casual fly. They fly over the city filled with bright lights. The air whipping around them as they flew out in the night sky. Keigo would hover overlooking the city and hold his daughters head to whisper just to her .

"When you are big enough princess you'll be able to fly with me and you'll love it up here bebs. Maybe even your brother will get wings and fly with us. But right now with you and these special moments I would trade the world just to stay like this forever."

Then he would make his way home to you and your son. Undressing and re dressing himself and phoenix. He would put her jammies back on check her diaper but hold her for just a little longer while looking out the large glass window.

"I know it's hard right now princess dealing with learning how to breathe,eat, hiccups, and darn little tummy aches. Not to mention these big ol wings that are just in the damn way. But your growing constantly everyday you get so much stronger and bigger. In just a blink of an eye you'll be taking your first steps and first flight. Don't worry we'll get there just get through this and you can do it. Okay princess? I promise."he'll kiss her once more and put her in the bassinet then sink into the bed.

"Have a good flight?" You startled him back awake a bit.

"Mm yeah, breezy night. Did I wake you?"

"No Soarin woke up as soon as you left and wanted cuddles."

"Ah so I did technically wake you up. Sorry babe." He kisses your forehead.

"It's fine. I said you didn't. Let's get some sleep." Keigo sighs in agreement and snuggles you some more.

Thanks for reading:) I have some more baby tamaki stuff coming on the way and even might make a series out of it! But let me know if some ideas you would like to see! I'm also thinking of given Phoenix, Phoe(fee) for short and Soarin So. Soarin also needs a special birdie nickname and middle name so let me know!

[snowfianna]

Fable IV rant:

I'm so pumped up for the 23rd because everything has led me to believe that Fable 4 will be announced this year and the game's existence has been confirmed for a while anyway it's just a matter of time of when will Fable 4 show itself. It's a badly kept secret tbh.

So to those who don't mind a big rant or wish to add on to my rant- here we go!

Can you imagine how good the graphics would be for this game, we've all seen modern games, surely, and they're all bloody fantastic looking. Fable Legends is technically the most recent Fable game despite it being a free to play online game

and that it's cancelled

but it also had a gorgeous look to it all! And the character models did great justice to the concept art and honestly that has my hopes real high because I love the concept art of Fable, specifically from Mike McCarthy, so exaggerated and recognisable- yet in all the games I can confidently say they did not do justice to his character design, specifically for Reaver. Sure, he looks stunning in the third game, but not quite what he looks like in his concept art sadly.

But also, since Fable was made in Unreal Engine (I'm pretty sure at least) we've seen examples of what can be done in Unreal Engine now and it's absolutely breath taking!

If you haven't seen here are some examples and they're so life-like.

Moving on from graphics!

Since Playground Games is behind the development of Fable 4, they would be spectacular at an open spaced world, judging from the Forza games.

I always loved the open world feature added to Fable, it made things more adventurous and you could do so many things that weren't at all related to the main quest to progress the story and it was just thrilling to see there were other things going on! I'd love to just have my dog companion running through fields, fighting enemies left and right and finding buried treasure or forgotten chests.

Run into strangers who request aid in something silly or rather serious and it would be up to you with how you go about the quest or if you even accept it to get renown or gold. Cause a massacre in towns and villages, running off with low morality and plentiful loot- oh one could fantasise of this all day.

Story, characters, writing and voices.

Fable has always had a fun environment of fantasy and a rather good story (despite the curse of mundane or pathetic boss fights in which I hope Fable 4 breaks this cycle) but the one thing that's always kept me on my feet in the games is the writing and the characters. It always just tried not to take itself too seriously, throwing in absurd quests that probably requires cheese or a really weird-looking outfit. It always kept my attention rather than just pure edge and seriousness of life or death.

The characters are a given, the writing done for them all is perfect in my eyes, I love hearing the variations of how characters of NPCs interacted (enough so that I even bought two of the Fable books written by Peter David). Despite Fable 3 not being the greatest at it's time, I found myself absolutely enjoy the characters for how they were- I even cried over Walter's death because it genuinely felt like I lost somebody pretty close (RIP Walter🙏). The writing and the chosen voice actors were superb and I'd love more of it.

I hope this time we can receive a full story instead of how Fable 2 and 3 were where plenty of plot points and such were cut out due to time constraints- thanks Microsoft, very cool. I'm still in anguish when listening to the Developer's Diary 3 of Fable 3 hearing lines that were just never said in the final product and it was definitely not just additional lines that weren't required as it seemed to mention entirely different things that weren't in the game; i.e. Reaver talks about his pirates in Bloodstone and how he misses them- in the final product he never mentions it and it's even shown that he's tried to completely bury his pirate past for whatever reason.

The pacing in Fable 3 was rather strange too, it felt like the revolution should've lasted longer.

Another hope of mine is to have choices that aren't so painfully black-and-white because it's very obvious which is the good or bad option to a scenario- personally for me I'd like to be morally grey rather than pure good or pure evil.

They better have kept the mechanic of your actions affecting your appearance too to the point where you grow horns and get cracked magma-like skin or this slight glow and aura around you and this flawless skin. It kind of died down in Fable 3, only looking more tired or have completely black eyes and the good- eh yeah not much I can say for when you're good. Purity and corruption seemed to also vanish in Fable 3 (at least I think) since you couldn't really change prices of the homes you were renting out, unless I've been a big goof who didn't arrange the rent prices in the game because I didn't know how.

Combat

Combat in all the games was rather straight forward, especially in Fable 2 and 3 where everything was just easy to beat or you could get overpowered around the start of the game. I'd hope the combat improves greatly this time and even bring back real consequences to dying instead of immediate revival with some lost experience and a scar. We need more serious consequences to your actions (this can be applied to all decisions rather than just if you die in a battle) even if it's just having to reload the last checkpoint. Makes things more challenging this way.

Another thing is to make boss fights less repetitive and simple- sure I can forgive it if the boss is from around the start but if they had phases you had to keep ontop of and didn't rely on summoning a bajillion other enemies to strike you, I'd be ever so grateful.

And if there's other characters fighting along side you, I'd hope they'd genuinely be helpful and keep up to speed with the player. I'm sure the AI in the past was the problem for this as AI wasn't at its best during that time so characters fighting by you didn't do too much or just did whatever that wasn't helpful. Now though, AI has improved immensely (I mean look at The Last Of Us 2, the AI is👌) and due to this, I'm sure characters would make battles more fun and the characters be more involved with the fight and even story.

Mana should be brought back as well, in Fable 2 and 3 mana just ceased to exist so you could just endlessly and repeatedly use the same spells and it just gave you too much power and the enemies barely stood a chance.

We need challenges people- CHALLENGES!

Medieval times? Yes.

I love Medieval fantasy and as much as I like the Victorian era too, I didn't think it quite suited Fable, as fascinating as it was to see fantasy turn industrial, it kind of took away from the Fable feel that I so crave. If they have indeed brought the game back to medieval times it means more creatures and enemies are back rather than driven away or limited to the same handful of enemies.

We can all also agree the guns were overpowered, though I did like receiving the Red Dragon late in Fable 2 to absolutely mow down enemies, it was satisfying to say the least. However, guns were far too powerful for the game, so I demand the bows and crossbows back thank you very much- or even throwing knives- I'll take what I'm given.

I'd love to see more of the natural landscape rather than towns or buildings that took over once entirely natural areas (Millfields/Bowerlake). However, I won't object to ruins of old buildings taken over by nature.

Skeptical with Playground Games? Don't be.

Are you worried that Playground Games wouldn't do justice to Fable since it's not Lionhead Studios? Don't be, it's been noted that Playground Games has hired several ex-lionhead workers and plenty other skillful workers to ensure we get the best product. I have high hopes and expectations for Fable 4 even if it's developed under a different studio, I've seen great things from them and I will believe they'll deliver us only the best.

Side note to all this

I will crash and burn if I don't see a crumb of Reaver or Jack of Blades in Fable 4- I don't know how true any rumours are of Fable 4 with time travelling and Jack returning, but we'll just have to see. Reaver still remains as my absolute favourite character of all time and I'd love to see more of him, even see him before he was 'Reaver'.

Jack too, more of his lore is stated elsewhere rather than in the game itself and I'd love to see it all be brought into light and really expand on his lore and make it known- rather than have ever-loving Fable fans like me dig around for these rather delicious bits of canon information.

That's my big rant, feel free to share your thoughts and what you'd look forward to!

Have some accidental art leaks from a Playground Game concept artist- believed to be for Fable 4👀

[auggie-hunter]

the insomnia diaries;

❛ surprise. send an unexpected nsfw image to my muse.

truthfully, auggie should've known this could’ve happened one day. not that he’d ever expect it from her, or even ask, but he should’ve known teddy graham would find new and exciting ways to make him fall out of his chair.

(literally; he’s in the middle of a stream when it happens. he’d seen the notification go off while waiting for his game to load and had the capital idea to fully lean over to check instead of just reaching for his phone with his arm.

he’s could not be more relieved that he falls to the ground because he isn’t sure he could’ve kept a poker face on camera. or that he’d make it to his 23rd birthday with the way his heart is racing)

and while his viewers are likely laughing up a storm at his faux pas, turning his chat to chaos, he manages enough mental capacity to mute his mic, eyes still glued to his phone.

because his girlfriend, bare from the chest up with an arm tucked behind her head and a knowing, bright red smirk on her lips, stares back at him on his phone.

vlauggie: sorry dudes, technical difficulties, we’re back tomorrow, 7pm. ps: you’re all banned for laughing at me :)

…even if technical difficulties were, quite literally, him dramatically unplugging the computer and running to his bedroom where she laughed loudly when he all but jumped her bones.

worth it. totally.

__________________

❛ abrupt. kiss my muse out of the blue.

she’s in the middle of a phone call with her sisters, giggling from her place on the barstool at the kitchen island. about whatever it is they’re discussing. he isn’t sure; he genuinely hasn’t been listening. what he is sure about is how happy she looks to hear their voices and be laughing with them.

he hasn’t seen her smile in so long, he thinks, and his heart squeezes when he realizes just how long it’s actually been. eight months since they lost lip.

her eyes look so bright, and she looks so much like herself. like his teddy. like the heaviness of her heartbreak isn’t weighing her down.

like she might fly again.

he’s missed this for her.

she’s mid sentence when he cups both her cheeks and presses his lips to hers, soft and tender and warm. it catches her off guard; he can tell by the way she stares back at him, lips slightly parted, confusion on her brow. but instead of answering her or explaining, he drops a long, lingering kiss atop her head, thumbs swiping softly over her cheeks.

she mutters something about calling them back and her arms are sliding around his waist a second later, drawing him into her arms.

__________________

❛ go down. go down on my muse.

he almost hates that she’s here like this. almost. that she could come back after all this time, after he finally figured out how to make himself stop missing her long enough to move on. 

he almost hates that he’s so addicted to her that he’s willing to burn it all down for her.

almost. but auggie hunter could be  selfish like that. teddy graham would always make him selfish when it came to her.

they were just supposed to talk. she just wanted to talk, or so she said. the way she’d fallen into his lap in the middle of it all told a different story.

the way he falls right into her makes him angry, because he knows she knew he would, and that he always would. she knows her choosing not to talk and just go straight into the familiar is her way of having her cake and eating it, too.

but two can play at that game. and he can’t say he’s doing much thinking when he lifts her onto the desk in front of him though. or when he’s pulling lace that he wants to pretend wasn’t strategic down her thighs and letting his mouth following the same trail back up them.

the ring on his left hand burns with the weight of what he’s doing, and the pressure of soft, firm skin underneath it. he desperately wonders in the back of his mind if there will ever be a day in his life where he isn’t weak for the woman in front of him.

(he also wonders how in the world they got here)

__________________

❛ note. give my muse a note saying : [ content ].

he’s surprisingly nervous today. ironic, considering he’s technically already done this. but til the day he died, auggie hunter was certain teddy graham would, without much effort on her part, make his heart race.

they weren’t even going to have a wedding. they’d talked about it, sure, once they’d gotten back from paris, matching rings on their fingers. they’d said they could do it one more time for their parents’ sake.

except the world had been put on pause, she’d turned out to be pregnant, and they’d had more pressing matters to attend to in the form of two babies and more love and life than they knew what to do with.

but that was then. this was now. their daughters are eight months old, the world’s eased back in, and their families are waiting patiently in the terrace of the house in maine he and teddy had called home for the better part of the last eighteen months.

they’re getting married. again.

and he’s nervous.

the thing is, if he could see her, then maybe he wouldn’t feel so antsy about it. call it separation anxiety after all the time they’d spent together coupled with way too much excitement.

and he’d see her soon; one glance at his watch tells him they’re only twenty minutes out from when he’d be waiting for her at the top of the beautifully decorated aisle in the garden.

(the watch is a present from freddie when he’d come in to help with his tie, their father’s initials engraved in the back. “he’s here, too…” his brother had said, and they’d both held back tears)

but somehow, twenty minutes feels like an eternity.

he closes his eyes and takes a long deep breath, trying to get it together, before reaching for his suit jacket. he’s getting married. (again).

while running both hands over the front to smooth out the neatly pressed material that makes him look older somehow, wise beyond his years, a crinkling grabs his attention. he furrows his brow, wondering if the dry cleaners had forgotten some kind of tag in the pocket. he’s careful with the boutonniere, trying to make sure he didn’t ruin teddy’s favorite flower resting delicately over the pocket.

an envelope.

he furrows his brow as he pulls it out. that for sure hadn’t been in there before. or at least… he thought he’d have noticed when he pulled it out of the garment bag. the paper crinkles in his hand when he turns it to read it, and then, he smiles.

auggie.

written in a familiar cursive he’s seen a dozen times on post-its, in journals, in love letters. teddy.

he’s careful not to rip it when he opens it, chuckling to himself when he spots the blue paw print sticker on the back. an ode to their ongoing blue’s clues binge when rosie decides she’s over sleeping promptly at 4:07 in the morning.

loving you is my favorite part of waking up every morning. and knowing i’ll get to love you the next day is my favorite part about going to sleep. thank you for taking my hand, and wrecking all of my plans. i wouldn’t have it any other way.

can’t wait to marry you (again!!!)

- ted

yeah. he’s ready now. and would be forever.

__________________

❛ mark. leave a mark on my muse’s body [ specify where ].

working out your history probably wouldn’t end with a purple bruise on your hip bone.

(or it could; it would maybe just lead to a more fun memory than the painful one you’re currently dwelling on)

had you sorted your shit out, you wouldn’t have shown up late at night, dressed (or undressed) in the way you were, to jump into the arms of a married man.

(or you would’ve, except you’d have been his wife, and he’d have been your husband and you would’ve giggled in each other’s arms in the aftermath)

but the purple bruise on your hip bone is angry, a symbol of wanting and taking what doesn’t belong to you, of him having his cake and eating it, too, (literally) even if you’re the one who let him in the first place.

you’re the one who showed up to his restaurant late at night; you’re the one who insisted you talk; you’re the one who found your way onto his lap.

(even if he’s the one whose deep frustration led him to push you onto the desk in his office and find home between your legs, hands gripping your thighs like a lifeline. the red scratches on the side of your right thigh should fade soon; at least the reminder of the band on his finger not having the strength to last as long as the tender skin low on your hip bone.

the secret, wordless brand on your skin is a longer reminder of how much he resents you for leaving him.

or maybe he resents you more for coming back.

then again, he’s the married one, you think selfishly. although, there’s a ring on your finger that makes you a hypocrite since you’d be there soon, too.

had you sorted your shit out, you wouldn’t be staring at a reminder on your bare skin through the mirror. you’d be with him. where you belong.

and he’d be with you, where he belongs.

(but maybe the bullshit ends with you. maybe you’re the one who sorts it by slipping the ring off your finger.)

(and you refuse to be anyone’s secret. and you refuse to have him of all people be yours)

(you just desperately hope he feels the same)

__________________

❛ pin. push my muse against a [ wall, table, other ].

teddy wasn’t even going to have a bachelorette party. she was just planning on grabbing auggie and eloping at the courthouse, wanting nothing more than to just be married to him. but she should’ve known her sisters wouldn’t be able to help herself. even her little siblings bixby and belly, freshly twenty-one, wanted in on the planning.

it’s how she finds herself leading a singalong of four of her siblings, her future siblings in law, her best friends, and fellow patrons while belting “africa” by toto at a karaoke bar, drunk on too many sugary lime mojitos.

there’s a tilted crown on her head that looks too perfectly placed for how tacky it’s actually meant to be, and she’s clumsier than usual, so while the room goes wild, daily has to come to her rescue and help her off the stage when it’s over.

she’s one step down when she spots him, all the way at the back by the bar. her jaw drops and she gasps like she hasn’t seen him in ages though it’s only been a few hours.

her fiancé, her auggie, watching her with his smile like sunshine and cinnamon bun wrinkled forehead. (good lord, she’s drunk) she loves him so much.

(she’s really gonna be his wife. she could cry.)

daily’s calling after her when she clumsily runs away from her and toward his direction, narrowly missing a waitress on her way over. but teddy ignores her, a woman on a mission.

her lips are on his before she even says hi, arms wrapping around his neck and crossing at her forearms. she nudges him back, pinning him up against the corner of the bar, and when he chuckles against her mouth and pulls back to look at her, she grins just as wide.

“sorry to interrupt your big night, i just wanted to—“

she shakes her head and kisses him again. “never, i missed you sooooo much.” this time her smooch is loud, and he laughs wrapping an arm around her waist when he feels her kiss more of the space above this lips than his actual lips.

somewhere behind her, she can hear olive mutter something about it being a bachelorette party, but she doesn’t entirely care. auggie’s here!

“baby,” he mumbles against her mouth, pulling back. “go back to your party. i just wanted to bring you this,” he pulls out her engagement ring from inside his pocket. “i thought you might’ve forgotten it. though i think i should hold on to it for now.”

she pouts, ready to protest, but he grabs her left arm from where it rests at his shoulder, a huge, pink toy diamond ring on her finger. “just until you come home; you’re already covered.” he kisses her cheek three times.

“el—“ she hiccups. “it was eliza’s idea. she said she saw it on one tree hill and was scared i’d lose mine.”

he snorts. “thanks, one tree hill.”

“go ravens.” she giggles and stands on her toes to kiss him. “wanna make out?”

“i think you’ve got that part covered,” he says against her lips, still so very amused at her.

“okay but over there so i can take your pants off,” she slurs, closing the inch of space between them so he’s pinned against the bar counter.

“how about you go have fun, and i’ll wait for you later with no pants.” though he knows a puddle of drunk teddy would end her night in sleep, but he humors her.

she gasps. “can we go now?” and he has to catch her hand before she unbuttons his pants.

“no, olive and allie are already glaring at me for being here,” he tells her and kisses her forehead. “go; i’ll see you at home, okay?”

“…fine. i love you. a lot, a lot. like, to pluto a lot.”

there’s that smile again, big and bright and she all but melts into her boots: “i love you, too.”

as she’s walking away, she turns back to look at him. “i won’t even tell anybody about your whole fake pretest. pretet… pre…” she huffs, tongue tied again:

he laughs. “you caught me.” and with a final wink, she’s finally back with her party, and he’s walking out the door, both hands in his pockets, and his soft grin intact.

__________________

❛ choke. intimately wrap your hands around my muse’s throat.

okay, so it isn’t shocking per se; all the time they spent surviving on stolen moments and making the most of them for so long (before deciding to just say screw it, secrets be damned) had turned into lessons and discoveries.

lessons and discoveries that led them both to understand they were all kinds of kinky.

like how auggie was easily putty in teddy’s hands at the sight of her in any kind of lace. or satin. or leather, and how much she loved how easy it was for her get him to bend at her whim. or teddy being really into being tied up (and tying him up). her affinity for being blindfolded (and blindfolding him)

“i like surprises.” she’d said it at her birthday dinner; herhad eyes met his across the dinner table, knowing he’d know what she meant despite being surrounded by all their friends, none of them any wiser.

there’s auggie’s obsession with going down on her, and the way her legs had a little too much power over him. he was convinced this was why she’d started wearing shorter dresses in his presence. though she’d never admit it.

(it’s how he put two and two together about how having him look, but not touch was a turn on for her, and how she’d put it into practice by having him sit at the edge of her bed while she showed him all the ways she touched herself without him)

marks that scream mine, a slight tug of hair (or two), a hand up her skirt hidden in plain sight was a bit of a power trip, only to be met with bare, wet skin. because two could play at that game.

teddy on her knees. auggie from behind. chasing orgasms in new and exciting ways…

the list went on and on.

so again, finding this out isn’t shocking. a little surprising, considering they thought they’d fully populated the mental list by now. but when she’s pressed into the mattress, and he stops moving in her for a second to help ease her head out of the uncomfortable position it had ended up in, another discovery is made.

she’d winced, and when she’d complained about her head, he’d cupped the back of her neck, and gripped gently to help her get more comfortable. except his thumb puts a little more pressure than intended against her throat in the effort to help her move, and the way her eyes flutter while lips part and she clenches tighter around him gives him pause.

teddy appears a little surprised herself, especially with how her eyes widen when he lets go and she realizes what had just happened. he’s a little blown away, but clearly not as much as she is. but then his brow raises, a silent “really?” appearing on his face with an upward quirk of his lip.

of course, before she can even put together an explanation, her cheeks rouge a deeper shade of red than just a moment earlier to match her averted eyes and bashful expression.

he bows his head to kiss her. a reminder that there’s no need to be embarrassed. not about this, and especially not with him.

(even if the way she usually blushed while turned on, all the way from her face down to her chest, easily made his head spin. the way he could tell the difference was pretty hot, too)

but then auggie slows it down, more deliberate and sensual, and yet a little dirty, his hand eases back onto her neck, fingers and thumb applying careful pressure. he pulls back to look at her. he needs to follow her lead on this one; he won’t do it otherwise. there’s a word for this, too.

 teddy’s eyes meet his, a slow nod of consent and trust allow him to keep going. and when those same eyes flutter again, and her lips part, he knows he’s found it. her sweet spot. and then he moves inside her again, picking back up where they left off.

she comes faster than either of them anticipate after that.

lesson #350.

__________________

missed connections… what if we just missed who we were in a past life?

“wait, so you really just told indy you wouldn’t come to her wedding if she didn’t invite me?” teddy laughed, smoothing out the skirt of her dress, soft pink and ending just at her mid-thigh. indigo graff wanted a wedding of whimsy, which meant seventies florals and springtime energy. “you’re her maid of honor! it’s a small wedding.”

olive shrugged, the blonde highlights in her recently cut hair appearing extra glossy while styled in soft beach waves. “she knows i hate our cousins, i absolutely wasn’t getting through this without someone normal. and eliza couldn’t fly back from bali, and you know drew is still stuck in davenport because he’s the worst--”

“he’s not; you love him, and there’s a random springtime blizzard.”

“teddy stop being rational please, i’m being bitter, let me be bitter.” olive straightened out her own dress, the navy color as close to black as indigo would let her go for the day. she wasn’t hating it, or the way it contrasted with her red lipstick. “who plans an entire wedding in two weeks?!”

“okay,” teddy watches her trying to find the fine line between rational and letting olive be olive, but she’s still quite amused about this. “but scarlett is here. and forest is here.”

“forest is taking his photog job way too seriously so after we’re done being bridesmaids he’s gonna go off in search of the perfect wedding candids,” olive rolls her eyes while wrestling with the spandex shorts she’s wearing underneath to get them straight. “and i adore my sister, but scarlett decided she wanted to bring patrick to the wedding, and she adores patrick and will inevitably dump me for him once she’s done bridesmaid-ing. clearly my siblings don’t care about me and my needs..”

“on this day of all days? what a betrayal,” teddy snorts deadpan. “and you told me to bring ivy!” she walks around to help olive finish freshening up.

“i did, i know. but i like ivy. i don’t like patrick.”

“you don’t like anyone.”

“i know that, too,” olive says simply exhaling heavily before taking a look in the mirror. “okay, this is gonna have to do.”

teddy smiles at her through the mirror. “you look beautiful,” she tells her, wrapping both arms around olive’s shoulders and squeezing her tight. “come on, grumpy.”

as they make their way out of the bathroom, her best friend’s sigh makes teddy turn around. “i just can’t believe my big sister’s getting married.” olive’s lip quirks, pride swelling in her chest.

teddy grins. “you’re so cute. let’s get you over to her before all this real emotion goes away,” she teases, leading her out the door, but not before she bumps chest first into someone’s back just beside the door.

“oh!” teddy exclaims, grabbing onto a set or arms to find her balance.

“shit, sorry!”

olive glares, stopping short just before she could bump into teddy. “who stands in front of a bathroom door?!”

“sorry!”

olive looks to teddy. “auggie. fredward’s lame brother. and best man.”

“hi olive,” he shakes his head, seeming more amused at her antics than annoyed. like they’d been through this before. “hi, nice to meet you…”

“teddy,” she motions to herself. “best friend.”

he smiles. “teddy. that’s cute.”

teddy grins. “thank you.”

“don’t flirt with her, she’s taken,” olive interjects and teddy giggles when auggie blushes.

he clears his throat, shooting teddy an apologetic look before turning to olive. “i was looking for you actually. scarlett sent me. indigo’s ready to go.”

“and why didn’t scarlett come get me herself?”

auggie shrugs, but before he can say another word, teddy’s whisking her best friend away.

“come on, oli; it’s showtime, you can yell at your new in-laws later.” teddy shoots auggie a look of amusement and a friendly wave before disappearing down the hall.

the chaos of it all.

[infinitelytheheartexpands]

Les Huguenots (Sydney, 1990, second liveblog): Reactions, Part IV

In which everything (figuratively but may as well be literally) goes to hell.

quick note: this is technically inaccurate because this is supposed to be the 23rd, not the 24th (because midnight hasn’t struck yet)

“at last I’m ALONE and I can VENT MY FEELINGS and SING MY ARIA”

laying the Catholic Guilt on THICK (and in marvelous fashion)

this is so pretty also: what color do y’all see in this dress here? my mind keeps flipping between green and black

seriously please SOMEONE help her

either the best or worst timing of all time

awwwwwwwwwwwwww

“ordained by heaven” suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuure keep telling yourself that. that totally will not backfire on you

two versus one

SAINT-BRIS YOU ABSOLUTE MOTHERFUCKING BASTARD

(yes the more times I see this opera the angrier I get)

poor Valentine deserves better (and RAOUL IS OVERHEARING THIS ENTIRE THING TOO)

YES COME THROUGH NEVERS

THANK YOU

YOU TELL THEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEM

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

anyway we STAN Nevers and it’s sad to see him go :(

how about NONE OF YOU listen and this massacre thing doesn’t happen

DO NOT DO THAT DO NOT LISTEN TO HIM HE IS A HORRIBLE PERSON

oh HONEY

this SLAPS but also: horrifying

you say “God wills it!” but is that true? (no. no it is not.)

well, uh, your entire plan has been overheard by two people who wholeheartedly Do Not Approve so...

HERE WE GO

a valid point but this is not the time for a theological debate because even though it is religiously motivated, there is a MASSACRE ABOUT TO HAPPEN

AND THERE IT IS

“oh fuck oh NO DID I ACTUALLY SAY THAT”

“you DID! and now I’m gonna start this incredibly gorgeous, absolutely iconic duet”

if this music is a dream then let me never wake up

PROTECT THEM

this cadenza is brutal

HEY BELL CAN YOU SHUT UP AND LET THEM HAVE THEIR MOMENT

I love you and I know your intentions are good but I’m not sure that you’re fully comprehending the sheer gravity of this situation

I think she gets it now :(

poor both of them :(

I certainly hope so, but...

the jumping out the window thing is honestly so baller

at least you’re trying

and that’s all Nevers gets because NO ONE thought about giving him a death scene *fumes*

Tenor Indecisiveness Time! (which is cut down from normal because of cuts)

SHE KNOWS WHAT’S UP

badass

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

oh honey you deserve everything good in the world

the fact that he’s more of a dad to her than her real father...

meanwhile, my heart is slowly and agonizingly breaking

:( :( :(

I’m not crying (I totally am)

NO

FUCK YOU ALL (obviously I am referring to the murderers)

seriously this is just...how do I even describe it

she’s really trying here

NO

STOP MAKING ME FEEL THINGS

this trio (Marcel is not pictured) is so amazing

and they’re all so brave...

okay THAT’S a cool effect and I can’t believe I PERFECLY got the screencap

“maybe we can find a way out-”

“or not”

NO HE DOESN’T

NO

SHE TOLD YOU TO CAN IT FOR A REASON

*incoherent screaming*

NO NO NO NO NO DO NOT FUCKING DO THAT

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

PLEASE TELL ME YOU FINALLY UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH YOU AND EVERYONE ELSE UNDER YOUR COMMAND FUCKED UP

the fact that with her dying breaths, she FORGIVES HIM...*screams*

it never hurts any less

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

“...what am I supposed to do now??? nothing is right anymore...”

annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd he finally realized how much he fucked up

but far too late...

and the soldiers still cry for the Huguenots’ blood

anyway I am not okay

[bigskydreaming]

So I’m writing a short story in my Changelings ‘verse for a galaxy brain commission that was simply “Boyd gets a boyfriend.” Nothing wrong there. But it does mean I feel like I finally gotta nail down the full intricacies of Boyd’s magic, which is unnecessarily....extra, due to the existence of the Curse of the Specialist Snowflake that afflicts me. 

Like, I couldn’t just give him one physical change and one magic like most other Changelings, nooooooo, he’s gotta be the Zodiac Kid and have twelve completely different changes and magics, one for each sign and he changes throughout the year in accordance to the changing of the signs. Why’d I do it that way? Cuz I gotta, obviously. Hahahaha, shut up, me.

I mean, there was a point to it originally, like, his sister Alicia’s Change and magic is that she’s surrounded by ghostly versions of a bunch of her alternate universe selves at any given moment, and she can communicate with them and call upon their skills and is sometimes called Sibyl around town, so like, the common thread/theme of her and Boyd’s magic is like, an infinity of self, but also, by “there was a point to it originally” I also just mean I couldn’t settle on and pick what I wanted Boyd’s magic to be so I was like here’s a fun thing I could do, make up a reason for him to have even MORE options.

.....I feel like, potentially, this self-created problem I’m having could have been avoided somehow, but gosh, fuck if I can see how.

So most of Boyd’s magic is hammered down....

In his Sagittarius phase, he’s physically a centaur whose lower half looks like a night sky studded through with starfields and moving constellations, and his magic from November 23rd to December 21st is uncanny intuition, a kind of off-the-top-of-his-head divination. He just instinctively knows the answers to questions when he’s in his Sagittarius phase, the more specific the question the more accurate his answer. He doesn’t have context, he doesn’t KNOW how he knows the things that he knows, he just knows them. 

You ask him if you’ll meet someone who could very plausibly be the love of your life within the next week, and if he says yes, its absolutely, one hundred percent true and accurate.....but if you ask him then how can I find them, he might say well first thing you gotta do is get out of my face and stop bugging me, and then walk down the street and turn left.....and that too, would be absolutely true and accurately point you in the direction that answers your question but like, that’s all he’s got and you’re missing a few steps at that point. So. Its not an exact science or anything. 

There’s definitely tricks to maximizing the intel you get out of him when he feels like being hit up for intel and doesn’t just string you along to be a total troll. Which he is. Hence why he also spends most of December filling in all of Alicia’s large stockpile of crosswords and sudokus, as he just instinctively and whimsically knows what to fill in even if he doesn’t actually have a clue WHY the Mesozoic Era is the answer to 49 Down. Alicia maintains this is cheating. He maintains he doesn’t care, and answers 64 across with “Johannesburg.” Fuck if he knows why.

In his Capricorn phase, he sublets his apartment in Bordertown and takes a month lease on a place underwater in Sub Francisco.....as for this period he’s more of a classical merman, but also if a classical merman has goat horns. But like, whose to say they don’t? Have you ever met one? Thought so. His magic during this period is horns of plenty.....he touches something to one of his horns, and comes away holding two of that item. So it basically only works on things that can be hand-held, but other than that it could be food, physical items, medicine, etc.

In his Aquarius phase, he’s physically the same as he was when a normal mainstream human....except that his skin has a faintly translucent quality as if that of water, with faint stars spiraling in distant patterns in the depths of his slightly watery form. He’s not invisible or actually translucent, like you can’t see through him or even see his organs or anything....rather, its more like most of the time he just looks like normal, human Boyd, albeit wearing a lot of glitter for some reason....but then he turns and catches the light just so, and for a moment you can see how the light is shining THROUGH him similar to the way it shines through the surface of a body of water. His magic in this phase is based on Ganymede, the cup-bearer of the gods.....water he touches becomes imbued with healing properties. 

Like, he unscrews an ordinary bottle of Evian and reaches in with the tip of his finger, and whammo, you’ve got a healing potion whose magic will last until the last of the water is gone, even if its not used until after his Aquarius phase. Once he’s imbued a source of water with his magic, its a healing potion from then on out, which makes his shop a useful place to find healing magic year-round.....or at least until he runs out. You come into his shop even in late July, if he’s still got some healing potions lying around they’re as good as ever....but if he’s already out of stock, you’re out of luck until next year’s Aquarius phase rolls around, and you gotta go look elsewhere on Mercy Row for a healer in the meanwhile.

In his Pisces phase, he goes back to his Sub Francisco apartment as his physical Change here is that of a centaur-triton....kinda the classic ithyocentaur, but also he’s got kinda webbed-like wings spanning from his back.....its a whole thing. But a good look. His magic in this phase is ‘the perfect pair’....he cups his hands and forms a magical, elemental construct in the shape of a koi fish that’ll swim off in the direction of the perfect complement to something or someone. Like a personal, magical compass guiding him or whomever he makes one for to like, the magnetic north that exists somewhere as the perfect counterpart to an already present south pole. Whatever, this makes no sense and is super confusing, I get that. But it makes perfect sense and is not confusing in my head. Still just working on translating from point Head to point Paper without the concept getting lost in the translation.

In his Aries phase, he’s his ‘normal’ mainstream-appearing base form....but also he’s got golden wings and ram horns. And his magic is that he breathes fire. But its magic fire, and it doesn’t burn things it touches, it turns them to gold. Its a whole Golden Fleece thing mixed with a King Midas thing.

In his Taurus phase.....idk yet. I mean, bull horns seems a pretty obvious go-to motif, but haven’t decided for his magic yet. Mostly because @sunwukxng is a Taurus and he takes things like this juuuuuuuust personal enough that I know if I don’t come up with something good here he’ll decide its a mortal insult towards all Tauri and thus him as well, and he’ll declare a blood feud against me that shall last five hundred years. And he’s already got like, six of those in progress, so....trying to avoid racking up anymore.

In his Gemini phase, he splits into two selves, his physical self and astral self, so he’s basically followed everywhere by both his shadow and a spirit version of himself he can astral project elsewhere. And when his astral self goes through something, kinda like how there’s that idea that when a ghost passes through someone they feel a chill or as if they almost left their body for a second.....his astral self can kinda like....yoink other peoples’ astral selves out of their physical forms temporarily. Yoink is of course the highly technical, scientific term for the phenomenon. Obviously.

In his Cancer phase.....idk yet. Look, its hard to be classy and deep concept-y about crabs, okay? I’m sorry Cancers, but even in the original myths about the constellation the gods were like yeah, this crab constellation was a mistake, we just felt bad about Artemis kicking that one all the way up into the heavens after it pinched Orion, the only himbo she ever almost made a boytoy out of. A lot of other Zodiacs featured animals that had the common perception of being viewed as pushing the sun across the sky, so there’s maybe something there in that direction....idk yet.

In his Leo phase, Boyd mostly appears as his ‘normal’ base mainstream-human looking self....except he’s big in a way that is not exactly Giant Big (and there are a good couple dozen giant-sized Changelings living in Bordertown, so like, he isn’t officially anywhere near that) but he is possessed of a height and size that are nevertheless best described as Ridiculous. Like he’s bigger than the Strange Angel, but not as big as Teddy the Sun-snake. That means nothing to anyone but me. Whatever. Moving on. Anyway, in his Leo phase he also has a fiery red mane kinda....that’s threaded through with silver stars in the Leo constellation shape. His magic in this phase is his ‘roar of command’....basically, he can imbue anything he says with the force of his will, and thus like.....make inanimate objects do what he tells them. He’s like “Open sesame” and a locked door is like you got it, boss.

In his Virgo phase.....I am not entirely sure what he looks like yet. I’m pretty sure its mostly his mainstream-looking ‘base self’ but like.....with an unnatural charisma, but also something a little less generic than that. Needs a specific hook still, beyond just “I’m ridick pretty.” Like, he’s Sinqua Walls. He’s always ridick pretty. Its a thing. But his magic in this phase is like.....an aura of inspiration. He just sorta puts out a vibe that inspires people around him in various ways that are unique to the individual. 

He’s also way shorter than he used to be even before his Change hit, or like, shorter than he is in any of his other phases. Like, we’re talking five and a half feet max. Is there any reason for this whatsoever beyond me being amused at the juxtaposition of him going from his Biggest and Most Ridiculous Phase immediately to his Smallest and Most Ridiculous Phase? No. No there is not. Fear the deep profundity of my creative process, for it is deep and it tis profound.

In his Libra phase....I’m not sure yet what his physical change is, but I do know his skin has a scaled texture, and I know those aren’t the scales normally associated with Libra but there’s a point to it, its just......missing some ingredients still to totally make sense. But he also tends to wear a blindfold a lot of the time during his Libra phase because I know his magic here has to do with viewing things in terms of overlapping possibilities and potentialities, like, he looks at things and sees not just the way they ARE but also a whole bunch of different ways they COULD be, and his magic enables him to kinda tweak things from the way they are more towards one of those other possibilities, in a sense that’s all about ‘balancing’ things.

However, the sensory stimuli of all those potentialities 24/7 is honestly overwhelming and gives him serious migraines, so he mostly tries to rest his eyes behind some kind of blindfold most of the time and just take it off to focus on specific things in order to utilize his magic, and only a little at a time. This is probably the most technically ‘powerful’ of his magics in terms of both versatility and scope, but it takes a toll and he really tries to pace himself during his Libra phase or it just gets to be too much, really fast.

And then lastly, in his Scorpio phase, he’s got a whole scorpion tail and barbed stingers along the outsides of his arms.....but rather than lean into the whole ‘eww Scorpios are duplicitous and manipulative’ and also ‘eww scorpions,’ his magic here calls back to how scorpions are actually protective guardians in a lot of mythologies and folklore, and there’s also plenty of Zodiac lore about the idea of the Scorpio sign being all about uncovering truths at any cost, etc. So his magic here is another ‘liquid/mutable’ type and takes the form of venom from his stingers that’s almost like drops of amber.....and that have various properties aimed at uncovering truths and exposing lies and falsehoods. Like, elixirs made during his Scorpio phase are another highly sought ware at his shop, because depending on the venom concentration he places in each, they have different properties. Like, he’s got vials where just a drop placed in your drink or on your food will reveal if its been drugged or poisoned, or vials of elixirs that basically act as magical truth serum.....and then other vials where like, you splash a little of it on something you suspect to be an illusion or a magical disguise of some kind, and it’ll dispel the false magic and reveal what’s truly there. 

“What happens if like, I splash it in the face of someone I think is wearing an illusion disguise and it turns out they’re not and that’s really just what they look like?” A customer asks.

Boyd shrugs. “Then they’ll just be wet. And probably a little pissed, I imagine. That’ll be $49.95 please.”

“I thought you said it was $29.95!”

“That was before the Asked Stupid Questions tax was applied,” Boyd smiles placidly. “Will that be cash or credit?”

 Okay. So. Typing that all out cleared up some of that for me but not quite as much as I was hoping as Cancer and Taurus apparently still persist in Vexing me.

Hmmmm.

[myhockeyworld87]

23 with Brock Bossser if you are still doing blurbs

For this one, we’re going to have to pretend this is a couple years in the future. Hope that’s good with everyone.

You couldn’t remember a time that you didn’t know Brock. He was literally the boy next door, the one that you grew up with, shared everything with and the one that you fell in love with. Luckily for you, Brock felt the same way. The year he was drafted, ended up being the same year that he proposed. It was truly crazy, you were both eighteen, and way too young to be thinking about marriage, but there you were standing at the Justice of the Peace office saying your vows to each other. At the time neither of your parents approved, so it was just the two of you and two of your friends; who while they thought you were crazy, realized they were better off supporting you than opposing you.

 It had been a decision that neither of you regretted because it meant you were with him every step of the way in his career and that’s what you both wanted. Eventually, your parents came around and recognized that your love for each other was never-ending. It was two years after you spoke your original vows that your families threw you a huge wedding. Well, it was more of a vow renewal for you and Brock, but it was still a celebration of your love for each other. And now here you were married for eight years now, with two adorable kids and one on the way, that your husband didn’t know about. You were saving that surprise for your anniversary.

 Brock had planned a romantic dinner out for the two of you on the exact day that you’d married and then renewed your vows, but it was the night before and you were trying to explain to your kids why mommy and daddy wouldn’t be home tomorrow evening. “So Uncle Elias is going to come over and watch you guys tomorrow night ok? So you have to promise mommy that you’re going to be good.”

 “Yay! Uncle Elias is so much fun.” Exclaimed your five-year-old son Devin. “Do you think he will play hockey with us?”

 “I think if you ask nicely, I’m sure Uncle Elias will.” You told him.

 “As if you could stop him.” Brock chimed in.

 “But I wanna play wif Unc Eyias too.” Added your three and a half-year-old, Jonathan. Who was still having a problem with some of his speech.

 Brock, grabbed the boy, tossing him in the air and catching him easily, causing a hearty belly laugh from the child. “I’m sure he’ll play with you too.”

 “Why are you going out again?” Devin asked, his little mind was working overtime lately and he’d wanted to know even the smallest details of everything.

 “It’s mommy and daddy’s anniversary,” Brock told the boy.

 “What’s an ann..annavesay?” Johnathan inquired.

 Scooping Devin in your arms so the child wouldn’t feel left out, you told them both. “Well, that’s the day mommy and daddy got married.”

 “Ooo when you wore that pretty dress and made daddy cry. I remember because daddy cried.” Devin added to the story.

 Brock reached over and tickled the child mercilessly. “I cried the day you were born too.” Not to exclude Johnathan, he tickled him as well saying. “And you too.” Once the giggling died down, your husband added. “And now it’s time for bed boys.”

 “Aww but dad.”

 “Don’t dad me. It’s already a half-hour past your bedtime.” Both you and Brock took the boys up to bed and tucked them in. Before heading back downstairs to the living room, you stopped off in the bedroom and grabbed your wedding album.

 “Feeling a little nostalgic?” Brock asked as you sat down next to him on the sofa.

 “A little I suppose. It’s been eight years since the first time we got married, and we never really look at those pictures.” You opened the album and smiled down at the two of you and how young you were. “Did you think on that day that we’d be here eight years later?”

 “There wasn’t a doubt in my mind babe. I knew when I married you on March 24th, that I’d love you from every day after that until we die.” He leaned over and captured your lips then, making you almost forget about the album on your lap.

 When you finally broke apart, you flipped through a couple pages and stopped for run your hand fondly over your marriage license. That’s when you looked at the date. “Did you say March 24th?”

 “Well duh babe, that’s our anniversary.”

 “No it’s not. It’s today, March 23rd.” You quickly grabbed the album from your big family wedding and flipped to the announcement. There is was written in black and white March 24th. “That’s when we renewed our vows, not got married.”

 “What? Let me see that.” He took hold of the book to get a closer look. “Wait, you mean we’ve been celebrating our wedding anniversary on the wrong day for the last six years?”

 “Yeah, I think we have.” You said half in disbelief yourself. You looked at Brock and the two of you burst out laughing. “Well Happy Anniversary husband!”

 “Happy Anniversary wife!” He kissed you again, but you were both still laughing so it didn’t last very long.

 “Well, since it’s technically our anniversary today, do you want part of your gift?” Brock raised his eyebrows at you suggestively. “No not that gift, though I mean…well we can do that too. I mean like your actual present.”

 “But I don’t have yours wrapped yet.”

 “That’s ok. I really want to give this part to you now.” You’d waited long enough to give him it. The minute he nodded yes, you headed into the bedroom and got the wrapped box you had for him. “Here, open it.”

 “Ok, ok.” He said as you sat down bouncing with excitement. He ripped off the paper and lifted the lid, revealing the small little Boeser jersey with the number three on the back. “Does this mean?” and you shook your head yes. He wrapped you up in his arms, kissing you all over the place. “I hope it’s a girl,” he said in the midst of his half smothering you because he was so excited. “The boys are going to flip.”

 “I know they are. Even more so if it’s a girl.”

 “Well, I don’t think either of us are going to forget this date again ever. Happy Anniversary (Y/N), I couldn’t ask for a better gift. Love you, babe.”

 “I love you too Brock.” You told your husband, then added. “About that other part of your gift.” And you headed back to the bedroom, your husband chasing you the whole way there.