#tristan's dad is an asshole

[gawrkin]

Arthurian Trope Spotlight: Love will make you stronger

(and Queen Guinevere and the other ladies function like support buffs

Historia Regum Britanniae - A description of Arthur's Court

Knight of the Cart - Lancelot's Strength and Courage

[...]

Vulgate Cycle - Lady of the Lake's advice to young Lancelot

La Tavola Ritonda - Sir Viano's advice

****(Ouch. Tristan's father is a huge asshole here...)

Le Morte D'Arthur - Arthur commands Guenever to accompany him to war

This should put a perspective on a lot of things about Arthurian Literature, Chivalric Romance and Courtly Love: Love is objectively a force/element present in the World of Romance.

[kashilascorner]

Actually, I do have a lot of thoughts about Prose Tristan (not necessarily coherent ones) and I'm only halfway through

[a-aexotic]

✫𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒏𝒆, i can see you.

✫ 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 | fighting, swearing, tristan being an asshole, breaking things (not too graphic promise LOL) ✫ 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 | hey yall, i'm back! i hope everyone enjoys! also i tagged everyone who seemed interested, i'm sorry for the VERY late update. i'm back, mwahhh. also planning a nate archibald series, who'd be interested? lmk! ✫ 𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 | @colbybrocks @weepingwitchofthewest @shady-writtingtalk @zulpix-blog @wheelerslover @dogmom600 @damnhati @remussbitch @yourmumstoyboy2-blog @1-800-starkindustrie

The front door opened suddenly and she whipped her head to make eye contact with... Tristan Dugray? Oh, so that's where she's heard that name!

Y/N couldn't control as her mouth flew open. She also couldn't control the words that came out of her mouth as she saw him. "Oh, you've gotta be shitting me."

After Y/N had locked eyes with Tristan she whipped her head to face her father. "You're engaged to Tristan's mother?!"

Her father and Kristan looked surprised — they both exchanged glances before they looked back at her. "Yeah, I guess I am?"

His answer sounded more like a question rather than a straight up reply. He didn't know why she was now seemingly opposed to the idea of him being engaged to Kristan simply because of Tristan.

Y/N looked shocked, her jaw practically on the floor. "You're engaged to Tristan's mother." Instead of a question, it sounds more like a statement.

Before any of them could reply, Tristan spoke. "Oh, hello step-sister." You could practically hear the smirk in his voice. He was enjoying see your shocked expression. Tristan's smug remark only fueled your growing frustration and utter disbelief. You shot him a glare that could freeze lava before turning back to her father and Kristan, your mind racing with a whirlwind of emotions.

"So, this is what you meant by wanting me to spend time with my old 'friends'?" Your tone was laced with sarcasm as she addressed her father. "You conveniently forgot to mention that my 'old friend' is now my soon-to-be stepbrother?"

Her father shifted uncomfortably under her accusing gaze, realizing he had failed to properly prepare Y/N for this bombshell. "I... I thought it would be best to tell you in person."

Your frustration mounted with each passing second. "Well you thought wrong, Dad."

Kristan interjected, her voice gentle yet firm. "I understand this is a lot to take in, Y/N. But we're all going to be a family now, and I hope we can find a way to make this work."

Y/N fought the urge to roll her eyes at Kristan's attempt to diffuse the tension as she gave her a sarcastic smile. "Right, a family. How convenient."

Tristan leaned against the doorway, his arms crossed with a smirk still playing on his lips. "Well, this should be fun. Welcome to the family, stepsis."

Y/N resisted the urge to launch herself at him as she shot daggers with her eyes. "Don't call me that."

Kristan shot a glare at her son as she turned to you once again. "We didn't realize it would be such a shock to you,. We should have handled this better."

You took a deep breath, trying to calm the storm of emotions swirling inside me. You knew you couldn't blame her father entirely, but the whole thing still felt like a betrayal. "I just need some time to process all of this," Y/N muttered, her voice tinged with resignation. "Excuse me."

"I thought that went great." Tristan mumbled as his mother shook his head, your father pulling her in closer.

You turned on her heel and stormed out of the room, leaving your father, Kristan, and Tristan as your retreated to her old bedroom, you couldn't shake the feeling that your carefully constructed world was crumbling around you, and you had no idea how to pick up the pieces.

You stepped out of the car, dramatically slamming the door as you took in the school: Chilton Prep School, where she would be going to school from now. She heard footsteps from behind her, she already knew who it was.

"Welcome home, Cromwell." Tristan's voice rang. You gritted her teeth at the sound of Tristan's voice behind you. You turned slowly, fixing him with a glare that could cut through steel.

"Save it, Dugray," you snapped, your tone dripping with disdain. "This is hardly my idea of home."

Tristan raised an eyebrow, his smirk never faltering. "Well, get used to it. Looks like we're going to be seeing a lot more of each other from now on."

Tristan raised an eyebrow, his smirk never faltering. "Feisty as ever, Cromwell. I'm just offering a friendly welcome to our new classmate, no need to get all... bitchy."

You narrowed your eyes at his remark, resisting the urge to roll them. "I'll take that as a compliment, Dugray. And I don't need your welcome. I know my way around just fine."

Tristan's smirk widened, clearly enjoying getting a rise out of you. "Oh, come on, Cromwell. Where's that famous New York charm? You're going to need it to survive in this stuffy place."

"I'll manage just fine without your help," you shot back, your voice dripping with determination. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have better things to do than stand here and listen to your bullshit."

You turned away from Tristan, walking into Chilton. You already hated it, everyone looked so pretentious and elitist, just like Tristan. But you weren't going to let that intimidate you. You had faced down Manhattan's elite, and you could handle a bunch of snooty prep school kids. You had grown up with these kids, they couldn't be that hard.

As you made your way through the halls, you couldn't shake the feeling of being out of place. The students eyed you with curiosity, whispers following in your wake. But you held your head high, refusing to let them see any hint of insecurity.

Chilton was a far cry from the bustling streets of Manhattan, and you couldn't shake the feeling that you were in for a rough ride. But you were Y/N Cromwell, and you didn't back down from a challenge.

With a flick of your hair and a confident stride, you made your way to your first class, ready to show Chilton Prep that Y/N Cromwell was a force to be reckoned with.

"Where are you two going?" You popped a grape in your mouth as you watched Kristan grab her purse from the chair as your father tightened his tie.

"I told you earlier, we have a date."

You raised an eyebrow at your father's response, a hint of skepticism in your voice. "A date? You two are acting like lovesick teenagers."

Kristan chuckled, smoothing down her blouse as she shot you a warm smile. "Well, your father does know how to sweep a lady off her feet."

You rolled your eyes as Kristan and your father shared glances. You all knew what that meant, you had to be left alone with Tristan. You had barely managed to tolerate his presence since arriving at your father's house, and the thought of spending an evening alone with him was enough to make you want to crawl out of your skin.

"Well, have fun on your date," you forced out, the words tasting bitter on your tongue.

With a quick goodbye, your father and Kristan headed out the door, leaving you alone, turning around and seeing Tristan in the spacious living room. He caught your gaze and his lips curved up into a smile.

You felt a shiver run down your spine as Tristan's gaze met yours, his smirk sending a wave of irritation coursing through you. You knew exactly what he was thinking – that he had you right where he wanted you, trapped in his company for the evening.

Suppressing a sigh, you turned away from Tristan, refusing to let him see how much he was getting under your skin. Instead, you busied yourself with anything that would distract you from his presence – flipping through a magazine, checking your phone, anything to avoid acknowledging him.

But no matter how hard you tried to ignore him, Tristan was a persistent presence in the room. You could feel his eyes on you, his smug smirk burning into the back of your skull.

Finally unable to take it anymore, you turned to face him with a glare. "What do you want, Tristan?" you snapped, your patience wearing thin.

Tristan's smirk widened, his gaze flickering with amusement. "Just enjoying the view, Cromwell," he replied casually, as if your irritation was nothing more than entertainment to him.

You let out a bitter laugh as you shook your head. "Real classy, Tristan."

Tristan's smirk only widened at your remark, his amusement evident in every line of his face. "Oh, come on, Cromwell," he said, his tone teasing. "You can't tell me you're not used to being the center of attention. You were in New York for five years and you're telling me you didn't have the boys throwing themselves at you?"

You narrowed your eyes at Tristan, refusing to let his words rattle you. "I don't need validation from boys like you," you retorted, your voice dripping with annoyance. "Unlike some people, I have more important things to focus on than relationships."

Tristan's smirk faltered slightly at your cutting remark, but he quickly regained his composure. "Touché, Cromwell," he replied, his tone laced with amusement. "But don't act like you're immune to a little attention. I've seen the way you strut around like you own the place."

"And you don't? Please, I see the way every girl at Chilton looks at you. And I know you well enough to see how much that strokes your already, inflated ego." You paused, your voice laced with sarcasm as you leveled a pointed gaze at Tristan. "But hey, who am I to judge? If you want to bask in the adoration of your fan club, be my guest."

"Oh, I will, Y/N." Tristan let out a laugh as he watched you get all heated. He continued you watch you as you scoffed, turning your head back to the magazine.

You could feel his eyes on you, his amusement practically palpable. But you refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing you squirm. You weren't about to let him see how much he was getting to you. With a determined flick of your wrist, you closed the magazine and stood up from the sofa, shooting Tristan a glare.

"I have better things to do than sit here and listen to you," you declared, your voice laced with determination. With that, you turned on your heel and marched out of the room, leaving Tristan behind with his smug smirk and his insufferable ego.

You refused to let him drag you down to his level – you had bigger things to focus on than his petty games, like actually getting back to Manhattan where you belonged.

As you walked away, Tristan's amusement turned to frustration. He wasn't used to someone challenging him like this, especially not someone like you. With a determined stride, he followed after you, catching up just as you reached the hallway.

As you stormed out of the room, Tristan's smirk faded into a scowl. He watched you go, frustration bubbling up inside him. How dare she walk away from him like that? Without a second thought, Tristan followed after you, his footsteps echoing in the hallway as he caught up to you just as you reached the foyer.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Tristan called out, his voice sharp with annoyance.

You stopped in your tracks, turning to face him with a glare. "Away from you," you replied sharply, crossing your arms over your chest. "I can't stand being around you for another second."

Tristan's jaw clenched, his own temper flaring. "Oh, please," he scoffed, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Like you're any better. You're nothing but a spoiled brat who thinks she's better than everyone else."

The words hit you like a slap in the face, igniting a firestorm of rage within you. "At least I'm not a narcissistic asshole who gets off on belittling others," you spat, your voice rising with each word. "You think you're so much better but you're not."

Tristan squared his shoulders, meeting your gaze head-on. "I want to know what your problem is," he replied, his tone angry. "You've been acting like you a complete bitch when I'm all trying to do is be your friend."

You scoffed, shaking your head in disbelief. "Oh, spare me the act, Tristan," you shot back, your voice dripping with sarcasm. "We both know that's not what you're after. You just want to play your little games and stroke your own ego."

Tristan's jaw clenched, his frustration bubbling to the surface. "And what about you, huh?" he retorted, his voice rising in anger. "You act like you're too good for everyone, like you're above it all. Well, let me tell you something, Y/N – you're not as special as you think you are."

"You know what, Tristan. I don't care about you or your stupid games because all I'm trying to do is get back to New York. All this shit is just a rock in the road," you spat as you turned around, walking away.

"Oh really? What about your obvious drinking problem, that's why your mom sent you away, right?"

You stopped in your track as you took in Tristan's words. Fury was etched across your features as you spun around to face him, your fists clenched at your sides. "How dare you," you seethed, your voice trembling with rage. "You stupid asshole!"

You pushed him as hard as you could, causing him to trip and fall into a table. You heard a loud shattering and both of you just stared at each other before looking down to see glass everywhere.

"Shit, that's my mom's vase." Tristan's eyes widened in shock as he glanced at the shattered remains of the vase on the floor.

Your chest heaved with anger as you glared at Tristan, your fists still clenched at your sides. "You deserved it," you spat, your voice thick with venom. "You had no right to say that."

"Y/N, this vase is like two grand. It was my mom's favorite vase," Tristan scoffed as he stared down at the ground. "She's gonna be fucking pissed, idiot."

You stared back at him with anger but you knew that you needed to figure something out. Taking a deep breath to steady yourself, you clenched your jaw and met Tristan's gaze head-on. "I know I messed up," you admitted begrudgingly, your voice tight with frustration. "You shouldn't have been a bitch."

"Well you shouldn't have pushed me, like an psycho." Tristan's voice was sharp, but there was a hint of surrender beneath his irritation. He knew that pointing fingers wouldn't solve anything, but he couldn't help but feel defensive in the face of your accusation.

"Well I'm not apologizing-"

"Y/N, we need to figure out what to do before they come home."

And right on cue, the front door opened, revealing your father and Kristan, who froze in shock at the sight of the shattered vase and the two of you standing next to it.

Your father's expression hardened as he took in the scene, his disappointment evident in his eyes. "What in the world happened here?" he demanded, his voice a mix of frustration and disbelief.

masterlist !

series masterlist !

[gringolet]

would you mind sharing ur thoughts about agravaine and lamorak. please. i need to know

god the idea of shipping them (i know its odd to use that term for medieval literature characters but lets be real im not better than some weeb just bc my fandom thoughts are channeled into manuscripts) emerged from a joke discussion on a (i believe now defunct?) arthuriana discord server so what the original justification for it was i don't know but it's so cemented in my brain that it makes sense to me. the thing is conceptually it's really funny but its also quite fucked up and weird and sad, which is like the sweet spot to me

i think both characters occupy an interesting place in the like social makeup of camelot; lamorak is a successful knight and well liked but he doesn't seem especially popular, if that makes sense? like in the morte he's alone usually, or hanging out with tristan and his coterie. he also seems to be kind of a loud asshole. theres a bit in the morte where morgan sends this maguffin that reveals affairs to camelot via him, and, as a joke, he redirects it to tintagel to fuck over tristan instead. which is a kind of intense prank to play on your friend who is having an affair with the queen but okay man.

who else is kind of an asshole with no friends? thats right, agravaine (sorry agravaine). joking aside tho per the vulgate agravaine is also kind of abrasive and rude but in a witty, funny way (one of the only good traits it grants him is a quote quick tongue) . i feel like they would sit in the corner at feasts talking shit about people. also theyre both second sons w shitty ass dads, but lamorak actually does what agravaine never could and outstrips his older brother in terms of fame and accomplishment. the foils of it all. i think they can snipe at each other and lamorak is like haha fun playful flirtacious banter w my buddy agravaine and agravaine is like my fucking mortal enemy lamorak has insulted me yet again i need to strangle him to death (sexual)

it kind of fits that shitty loser vibe for lamorak to then sleep with his mom (im so sorry to say this but. eve sedgwick triangulation of desire).

what a strange, darkly funny, cringefail loserboy little doomed romance for agravaine. does that not fit his whole deal? i think agravaine deserves a boyfriend, but like, not a good one you know.

also the morte at one point deliberately parallels lamorak and lancelot and im sure you are aware with my theories vis a vis agravaines weird obsessive hate-crush on lancelot

[sbuggbot]

Let me talk about my favourite crewenbers:

Wesley: His morbid obsession of dying honorably was really funny but the way he learned he actually wanted to live thanks to how much the crew meant to him was beautiful.

Beacon: Love how the constant support of the crew allow him to develop their self esteem and realize that the people who bully them in the past were just assholes.

Tristan: Just his constant blowhard attempts to be "Cool" that he developed as a coping mechanism for a traumatic event and that the crew accepted him with open arms allow him to actually be that cool.

Poe: Not only because she is related to a character from the first game, she has a really compelling story about letting go of her father's way once she finds heroism to be much more rewarding.

Daisy: Just her constant enthusiasm for legendary heroes is very adorable and how she resolves to write about their adventures so they inspire the next generation like they did for her is really moving.

Cornelius: At first his philosophical rambling was just funny but then you learn the way he really trying to redeem himself from the evil he has done in the past and how they still haunt him but the crew let him see light in the darkness.

All of the characters are really good. I also really liked using Poe, Beacon, and Daisy a lot just gameplay-wise. (Beacon's ability Scram is so powerful, especially once it's upgraded to a free action.) While I didn't articulate it in the first post, I also love the fact that Sola knew what was about to happen the whole time and on a second playthrough you can really see it in her dialogue.

Another thing about Poe's arc is that she learns things about her dad that weren't so black-and-white, and that he did do genuinely heroic things himself--particularly while working on Piper's crew.

[spro-o]

Is there any four knights of the apocalypse ship that you don't like? Just curious 👀👀

Personlly isolde x tristan, chionx nobody(he is a asshole) Percival x anne lancelot x guinevere(eww)

Honestly - and once again speaking from limited reading of 4kota and having tumblr retell me the new updates in lore - I agree with all of those being very not good

especially Lance and Guinevere,,,, please ma’am don’t kiss him,,,

Percival x Nasiens for the win ‼️ (also Lance and Tristan if I didn’t ship their dads djdbjsgdkd)

[divinelovers]

gilmore girl hot takes & opinions

if you don’t agree byeeeee

spoilers below

+ first and foremost richard was way more hurtful to lorelai then emily was. especially when they found out christopher got sherri pregnant- richard lashed out on lorelai. idk it pissed me off

+ everyone blames rory for dean cheating but it takes two to tango, he could’ve & should’ve said no they were both in the wrong and lindsay didn’t deserve that.

+ i know we ALL agree lane got a shit deal but they really screwed her over. not only did she get pregnant the first time she and zack slept together but she really wasn’t ready to be a parent and i feel like the writers glossed over that and made it a joke. poor girl was miserable

+ rory and christopher, let’s discuss. i know all about having a shitty dad, i mean mine is a world class asshole but christoper, he deserves the worst. i feel like the writers didn’t really divulge on rory’s daddy issues ie., needing validation from men (hello dropping out of yale because mitchum didn’t think she was all that great) and never being happy in any relationship. it’s sad really, i feel her pain.

+ everyone likes to say how amazing lorelai was but dog on rory?? like rory was a product of a teen mom raising her ALONE i can’t even imagine how hard that was. rory was the way she was because lorelai was more a friend then a parent.

+ in addition to the previous one and kinda contradicting, lorelai actually showed up when she needed to. she really loved and provided for rory. going to her parents for money, when she knew it would come with a catch, and supporting rory to get her into an ivy league school??? she had flaws and both she and rory were messes but lorelai did the best she could. + now for this one… yes, i love and adore jess will every fiber of my being, however he had too many issues to be with rory when they were younger. like yes rory had her own issues but she didn’t know how to cater towards him and be the person he needed in that season of his life. however if the truly reconnected it would’ve been magic, there’s a reason rory cheated on every boyfriend with jess they should’ve been endgame.

+ once again jess was JUST A KID!! having to deal with his alcoholic mother shipping him off to crazy town- of course he was pissed he got the raw end of the deal.

+ my bby tristan deserved so much more, i wish they would’ve brought him back a bit later and made him into a fantastic addition to show.

+ if dean and rory stayed just friends i would’ve actually liked him. tbh i really liked his and rory’s friendship.

+ we can all agree that rory and lorelai were a bit self absorbed however the show is literally called gilmore girls. it’s all about them, they are the main characters of course the storylines are going to revolve around them.

[randomestfandoms-ocs]

👄 Kirsty?

She’s going to have other silly ones + the dance squad still but her main ones —

Rory — Ror

Jess — J, Dodger, Kid Kerouac, Babe (platonic in My Way, romantic in Piece By Piece), Asshole (affectionate unless he’s denying her coffee)

Luke — Dad

Lindsay – Linds, Babes

Tristan — Tris, Goldilocks, Babe

Logan — Lo, Blondie, Babe 

Gigi — G, Honey, Kiddo, Baby Girl

April — Kiddo, Kid

Send me a 👄 + an OC and I’ll tell you all the nicknames they have for canon characters

[thecandywrites]

Monster March 2023 Day 26 Part 3

Courting Gifts

Sadly, this is where I must leave you. As much as my hand slipped and wrote 24k+ words. And I want to write another 20k easy. Trust me, I wanted to write that sweet, hot werewolf sex. And when I get a chance to come up for air and circle back to this. I will, later. But, sadly, it's FUCKING MAY. And I'm TWO WHOLE FUCKING MONTHS BEHIND. So I will just give you what I have so far. And now I only have five more left to do. I gotta get these done. And then I gotta make a Monster March 2023 Masterlist like I did with Kinktober.

Thanks to the ever patient @borealwrites for keeping this up and open for as long as you have. I appreciate it so much.

Part 3

Tristan worked the rest of the day, and wanted to “return” the catalog back to her when she and her dad would be home, so he wouldn’t be too creepy. He plugged the address into the GPS and the satellite still showed the house as being under construction. Which was odd. 

But when he figured they would be home, he nervously drove to the address on the catalog and realized…it was really close by. It was on South Eagle Lake between where they were in Paw Paw and Portage that was practically the other half of Kalamazoo. And it was within running distance. He could run there himself in his ware form without a problem. 

The house was practically new. And it was obviously a custom build. And because of where it was, meant that it was at the end of the road where there were pastures behind the house but the lake was beside it. The house itself was practically a mansion as far as how big and nice it was. He felt like even if he worked his tail off, he was never going to ever be able to give Sasha anything close to this. He was half tempted to turn his truck around and just burn the magazine, before he heard a horse whiney and Sasha’s voice yelling and cussing up a storm before he got out of the truck and came around the house, just in time to see Sasha get bucked off and land in the ring she was riding her horse in. 

Tristan didn’t think, he just immediately ran to her. 

“Sasha! Are you ok?” He asked as he ran and practically jumped over the sides of the circle to cradle Sasha’s head in his lap as she fought to get air back into her lungs before she turned to her side with her head resting on the inside of his knee before she finally got her lungs to start breathing again. . 

“Tristan?! What are you doing here?” Sasha asked between heaves and coughs as she fought to re-establish her breathing pattern. 

“You forgot, um, your magazine at the house.” Tristan answered. 

“So you followed me home?” She asked. 

“No, the magazine still had your address on it. But the way you had it marked up, I didn’t know if you had ordered what you wanted from it and so I was…trying not to be creepy or a stalker by returning it to you. Sorry, this looks really bad.” Tristan admitted before the horse came around and sniffed him over. 

“No, it’s ok. You’re not gonna make me regret doing that are you? And just…show up unannounced or stalk me or shit like that or anything?” Sasha asked. 

“Gods no.” Tristan quickly shook his head rather violently. 

“Ok, then we’re ok. Well, welcome to my parents house, it’s still under construction. Don’t let that facade fool you. There’s still a bunch of shit inside that needs to be finished. Hell, there’s not even carpet laid down yet.” Sasha explained as she fought not to practically curl into a ball and curl around him in the process. 

“And what’s your problem? Why’d you buck her off?” Tristan asked the horse as he sat in the soft sand with Sasha still partially in his lap before Sasha rolled back over to her back because, in all honesty, this was actually really nice actually. 

“That’s Brillo De Noche, he’s an arabian, he’s barely 3 and barely greebroke. All arabians are flighty assholes. His mom, Sisi, is a sweetheart and the exception to the rule. A B52 could land on her and she wouldn’t care. But he’s a scardy cat and the sound of leaves rustling in the wind spook him practically.  He’s a big baby who doesn’t like the color blue apparently. I got a blue saddle pad to go with his black western saddle and you would have thought I put a blue grizzly bear on his back.” Sasha answered as she clutched her middle and tested her legs to make sure she wasn’t paralyzed or anything as Noche then took a step towards her to sniff at her before she lifted her finger to boop him on the nose. 

“That wasn’t very nice.” She touted as she booped his nose with every word. Which Tristan found utterly adorable. 

“No apple treats for you young man or sugar cubes. You’re the reason why I love quarter horses and rocky mountains. Hell, I’ll take a percheron over an arabian at this point. Or just fuck horses altogether and go full Harley or Indian or even Yamaha at this rate.” Sasha mockingly complained as she then pinched Noche’s nose and upper lip to make him move his lips which got her to laugh and Tristan to chuckle.   

“Sasha? Who’s out there with you?” Renee asked before Tristan helped Sasha sit up on her own. 

“Tristan Leduc, Dad and I worked on his house and I brought him the Kabluey blueberries and showed him the catalog I ordered them from and I left the catalog there and he’s just returning it. It’s fine. Noche bucked me off, I apparently turned his head and he noticed he was wearing that blue saddle pad and freaked out again.” Sasha answered as Tristan helped her to stand up on her own two feet, which she greatly appreciated. 

“Oh, that’s sweet. Thank you Tristan. Did you want to stay for dinner? It’s about ready. Sasha put a pork shoulder in a crock pot this morning, so we’re having pulled pork for dinner if you want some.” She offered. 

“Oh I don’t mean to impose.” He tried to refuse. 

“Do you have anything else going on? Do you have to get home to get your own supper?” Sasha asked as she twisted and turned and got her back and neck to crack back into alignment. 

“No. I already ate mine before I came.” He answered. 

“Oh well you can still stay and hang out. Come on in, take your shoes off and stay a while.” Renee waved him in. 

“Are you sure? This isn’t like…weird?” He asked Sasha. 

“No, you’re fine, you’re welcome to stay. Really.” She reassured him. 

“But I have to get back on him because I can’t end things like this with him. I don’t want him learning that bucking people off means he gets to get out of riding.” Sasha addressed Noche with a pointed look. 

“Mrs. Wright, I’m gonna stay with Sasha, and make sure Noche here doesn’t hurt her worse than he already has.” Tristan offered before he let her use his knee as a step stool to get back up on Noche. 

“Aww, aren’t you a gentleman.” Sasha practically cooed before Tristan got back up and simply sat on the top rung of the circle and watched as Sasha put Noche through his paces and had to fight his urge to go home and come back on his own motorcycle- just to impress her. Renee simply smiled happily and turned around and waddled back into the house to watch them from her kitchen window. 

“Hey, Noche, cut that out.” Tristan growled at Noche the moment Noche started tossing his head a bit before Noche stopped and began to behave before Sasha stopped Noche right in front of Tristan. 

“Ok, you seem like you know a thing or two. Show me what I’m doing wrong and can start doing right.” Sasha invited as she handed him the reins and got off on the other side. 

“You were doing just fine Sasha.” He tried to say. But she was already off and the reins were already in his hands. 

“Yeah, but he listened to you better than he’s ever listened to me. I need to know if it’s me, or if he just doesn’t like women and prefers men or what. Because I have nearly pulled my hair out with him. Noche was a dream to deliver and he was so sweet as a colt and now that he’s grown, he’s turning into a problem child.” Sasha explained before she got up and sat down on the top around of the circle and watched as Tristan and Noche got acquainted before Tristan double checked the saddle and the pad to make sure nothing got on it and was stuck between Noche and the pad or between the pad and the saddle for that matter. 

“This is a really nice saddle.” Tristan praised. 

“Thanks. It was my mom’s when she lived in Alaska. She rode a bashkir cross to the various little villages and of course sled dogs in the dead of frozen winter. But it’s way too hot and humid for the really cold breeds down here.” Sasha grinned proudly as Tristan continued to go over the rest of the tack and even checked Noche’s hooves to make sure a little stone hadn’t gotten stuck between the frog and the hoof wall. 

“Well he picks his feet up nice.” Tristan appraised. 

“Do you have horses too?” Sasha asked. 

“Nope, got family and friends that do though. So I still ride a fair bit.” He answered. 

“Nice. Me too.” Sasha nodded as she didn’t hold back from really appreciating her view of him as he went around Noche checking to see if Noche was touchy about any part of his body before Noche outright side stepped him the moment he touched his flank. 

“Ah, ticklish huh? Does Noche have super sensitive sides?” Tristan realized in a soft, soothing coo before he heard Sasha groan and peeked over the saddle to see Sasha holding her head in her hands. 

“Gods damn it. I should have picked up on that. I’m an idiot. Fuck.” Sasha griped to herself. 

“It’s ok. Arabian plus green broke, plus just plain super sensitivity equals blow ups. You just got to work on him and desensitize his sides a little. That’s all.” Tristan reassured her as he went back to the front and ran his splayed hand down Noche’s side to get him used to the sensation before repeating it in streaks, from Noche’s chest all around his belly before scratching at Noche’s belly to get Noche’s lips to curl and his head to stretch out as he enjoyed the belly rub before Tristan did the same thing with the other side and then got on Noche before Noche was practically a model student. 

Sasha just sat there, with her eyes narrowed at Noche for this. Just, embarrass her and expose her as the noob she felt she was right in front of her crush. ‘Well this is just going great’, Sasha thought sarcastically. 

“What?” Tristan asked as he got Noche into a lope around the ring as he tried to read Sasha’s expression. 

“Oh, just kicking myself for completely missing the obvious. Which, for me, happens a lot more than I like to admit. I get so caught up in the little details, I forget to see the big picture or back up and see things and people and situations and in this case, animals, for what they are and figure out what’s really going on. I thought it was the blue saddle pad. I didn’t think that what the issue really was- was what that saddle pad was laying over, specifically, his sides. I should have figured that out sooner and on my own way sooner than just now. I’ve been so preoccupied with my mom and her pregnancy, I haven’t been keeping up with Noche. Much less, anything else. And in an effort to stay close to my mom and keep a watchful eye on her, I’ve gotten into the same hobbies she has. Which, she has two green thumbs and can make just about anything and everything grow. And before now, I’ve had black thumbs. I’ll kill cactus’ and aloe vera for crying out loud. And when we got this house and we got it zoned the way we wanted it and needed it to be. I went so hard and head first into the whole self-sufficient homestead farm thing, that I didn’t pay attention to the building plans. Or plan on them changing four times between when they were drawn up and as the house was getting built. I’ve had to change where I plant things three times already and if I have to do it a fourth time- I’m giving up because all my trees and bushes would have been better off if I just kept them in the damn containers instead of jumping the gun and putting them in the ground when I did. I’m surprised anything is still alive or even growing at all. My poor plants could practically grow curse words on their leaves for how much I’ve replanted them. Poor things are still in shock I think.” Sasha pouted before Tristan rode Noche right up to her and took a chance and reached out- with the back of his forefinger to lift her chin so she’d look at him. 

“They’re just plants. Even if everything died tonight. It’s not too late to try again. It’s never too late to try again ok? If it’s something you’ve found that you really like and really enjoy. Then keep at it, and if you’ve found you really don’t like it, then there’s no one saying that you have to keep at it. It’s a hobby. You’re allowed to quit hobbies anytime the hobby no longer suits you. But otherwise, sometimes trial and error is the only way most people learn things. Hell, the pros get their asses handed to them by mother nature all the time. And so what if you’ve had to replant them? They’re all young enough that they’re resilient enough to overcome that. And if anything, you taught them to really put down good roots but keep their rootballs the strongest part of them. Which for them, is probably the most important part. A tree may look just fine on the outside but may be rotten to the core. And those few pretty leaves are riding the fact that that tree is one good storm away from falling over and crashing altogether. From what I can see from here. They’re doing just fine. And while they might be a bit slow to really give you much of anything this season, that’s just because they’re inwardly getting stronger and will better for it in the long run. You’ll see.” He encouraged as he watched as her pretty blue eyes got glassy before she blinked the tears away before they could really form and fall. 

“Thanks.” Sasha whispered before a B-52 buzzed right by just as Tristan was ready to throw caution to the wind and try to lean over to kiss her and suddenly Noche turned into a bucking bronco and it was all Tristan could to stay on before Sasha nailed the B-52 with her own hands. Like a cat reaching up to catch an insect, she reached out and seemed to cup her hands around it and squished it between them. 

“Holy shit, how’d you do that?” Tristan asked once he got Noche settled back down as Sasha had to step out of the ring to wipe the bug’s guts off on the grass. 

“I’m the designated bug killer in my family. Spiders, wasps, flies, mosquitos, whatever.” Sasha answered before she wiped her hands on another patch of grass. 

“Well, I think we better call it a day before another one of those things comes to claim his life.” Tristan urged. 

“I agree.” Sasha laughed before she got the gate and he rode Noche over towards one of the barns. 

“Nope, that’s the workshop. The other one is the barn.” Sasha said as she followed behind him, taking advantage of her chance to continue to appreciate Tristan’s fine ass in that saddle some more before Noche practically tried to trot right to the hitching post where he got his tack on and off and promptly stopped, forcing to Tristan to grunt when his nuts practically collided with the front of the saddle as he hunched over a bit as he tried to recover from that. 

“You ok?” Sasha asked as she took the bridal off and replaced it with Noche’s bridal and lead rope. 

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” Tristan tried to cough and squeak out as his eyes watered a bit. 

“Got’cha right in the boys did he?” Sasha assumed. 

“Yup.” Tristan nodded before he gingerly got off of Noche and tried to help take the saddle back off and the pad before Sasha showed him where to put it before she sprayed Noche down with fly spray and put him back out to pasture with his mom as Tristan slowly recovered and realized what a really nice barn they had built but only had 2 horses. Noche and his mom. But this barn was made for 8 horses, big ones too. 

“Nice barn.” Tristan praised. 

“Thanks.” Sasha grinned before she closed it up. 

“So this is the garden?” Tristan asked as he nodded over to it. 

“Yeah,” Sasha confirmed before she took him an a slight detour to show him how she and her mom had to set it up and what she was trying to do to make the ground itself- sound to grow what she wanted to grow in it, having gotten some of those older tricks from the older farmers that used to do such things before industrialization of the farming industry with the turn of the century as Sasha explained where she wanted to build a greenhouse so that she could keep her more “tropical plants” and maybe dabble in hydroponics if at all possible and Tristan knew he was in way over his head because every word out of her mouth was making her even more irresistible than the last one had left her looking as it became abundantly clear to him that his mate was her. As he was mentally already knowing what and where he was going to change things to suit her and so he would have it perfect for her, so she would be happy and proud to call the little farm- theirs. 

But Sasha seemed to give the new apple tree that was set next to the other ones a frown as she looked for any kind of stocker or anything to show what variety it was as she quickly painted the teeth marks that were on the base of the tree over with a special paint to help heal the bark and keep bugs from infesting it as she thankfully didn’t smell urine, because she had hoped that the giftee wouldn’t have marked it as he gave it to her. 

“So what kind of apple will this one be?” Tristan asked. 

“I have no idea.” Sasha sighed tiredly. 

“So, you don’t remember what kind you ordered or…?” Tristan asked. 

“Oh, this was a, um, a gift. But the person who gifted it to us probably lost the tag in getting it here. I can identify it later.” Sasha waived off and hoped that the person who most likely put it at her house, was hoping she’d reach out and ask, which Sasha- really, really didn’t want to do before she otherwise ignored the tree and brought him away from it, because heaven forbid smell this idiot and be scared off of her over it, because honestly Sasha was hoping that issue would resolve itself sooner than later.  

And by the time they got inside the house, and he got to taste her cooking, oh, he was eyeing her finger to look to see what ring size she would need.

And Frank and Renee were so sweet and welcoming to him and he felt right at home and would be happy to call them inlaws, if he could prove himself to Sasha- that is. 

Autumn though, gave him a wide berth and was the only one who tried to hide her wariness of him behind a wall of indifference as she continued to try to be glued to her phone and continually texting on it. 

And when it was bathtime before bedtime for Amaryllis, Sasha insisted that she needed to do that for her little sister and Tristan took the hint that it was time for him to go. And Sasha at least walked him out to his truck, which he now felt a bit self conscious about.

“Nice truck.” Sasha tried to praise. 

“You don’t have to lie to be polite. I know it’s not a nice truck.” Tristan sheepishly offered. 

“Is it mechanically sound?” Sasha asked. 

“Well yeah. I’ve been keeping up with all the maintenance and it just got a new transmission rebuilt for it last year. So it runs pretty good, it just doesn’t look the best.” Tristan answered.

“It’s a truck you drive year round. And the salt on the roads every winter eats every vehicle every winter, some faster than others. Just because something is older or used or even scratched and dented a little here and there, doesn’t mean it’s a bad vehicle, it adds character. Is it safe? It doesn’t have any holes in the floor boards or missing seatbelts or anything like that, does it?” Sasha continued. 

“Yeah it’s safe. It doesn’t have anything like that. It’s just rusting here and there and the paint is starting to chip here and there. But otherwise, it’s perfectly safe.” Tristan clarified. 

“And is it paid for? Or do you have a truck payment that you have to pay every month?” She asked. 

“Oh, it’s all bought and paid for.” Tristan answered. 

“Then as long as it’s insured, it’s good to go. My uncle insists that Brianna and my other cousins can’t go on dates unless the vehicle itself is bought and paid for, insured, safe and sound. Which Kihro has had since he was 16. Which was a hoop Kihro had to jump through and will be a hoop my dad will probably copy too. So, honestly, the fact that you own this outright, it’s safe and sound and well maintained, you’re golden. So don’t feel bad just because it’s not brand spanking new and not all perfect and shiny. I’ve seen more pretty trucks with no mechanical soundness, just sitting and rotting in lots. Looks aren’t everything, you know. This truck is great where it counts. It’s a lot to be proud of.” Sasha insisted.

“Goodnight Tristan, drive safe on the way home.” Sasha insisted before she patted him on the back and returned back to the house before Tristan could just reach out and kiss her before he got in the truck and just waved as she waved at him before she went back inside before he looked over at the catalog and grabbed it and ran it to the house and simply knocked to try to give it back before Sasha opened the door. 

“Catalog.” Tristan held it up. 

“Oh, thanks.” Sasha held out her hand before he put it in and used the moment where she took it from her to lean over and put the catalog into her hands and kissed her cheek before leaving before he could shift and do anything more. 

“Thank you!” Sasha called after him with a laugh as her palm over her blushing cheek before she shut the door and pressed the catalog to her chest before she ran upstairs to get Ellie in the bath as she ran around the upstairs squealing and running around naked before her bath as Sasha had to chase her down and pick her up and put her in the bathroom and draw her little sister a bath. 

“Ok Stinker in the bath so you’re not so sticky and stinky.” Sasha urged her sister as she got Ellie in the hot water before she gave Amaryllis a bath and was washing her hair before Autumn slipped into the bathroom. 

“You need to be careful with Tristan.” Autumn insisted. 

“How do you mean?” Sasha asked.

“You know what I mean. Tristan is about to become your new Lance. Plus, Jake left another apple tree on the porch this morning after you and dad left for work.” Autumn predicted and Sasha’s heart sank as she recalled seeing the new apple tree, still in it’s pot next to the others that needed to be planted. 

“Oh gods no. No, it was just a coincidence.” Sasha tried to excuse. 

“Mmmhmm. Just wait, you’ll see. Keep your gun loaded and by your window.” Autumn insisted before she left as Sasha glared at her sister’s back and as much as she liked Tristan, Autumn was usually, rarely wrong about this kind of thing. And that simply left Sasha feeling like she just got gutted. 

“Sisi?” Ellis asked when she saw her eldest sister’s face fall and her eyes begin to glass with tears. 

“Sisi’s ok Ellie.” Sasha insisted as she put on a brave smile and tried to refocus on her sister and finish her sister’s bath before she rinsed the conditioner out of Ellie’s hair and helped her youngest sister out of the bath and dry her off and then rubbed lotion into her delicate skin and put on her underwear and pajamas and put Amaryllis to bed in her little toddler bed before Sasha got ready for bed herself. She got a shower and once she was out of the shower, she saw the catalog still on the counter of the bathroom and now she was conflicted about Tristan. So she simply- quietly, silently prayed that Tristan would not be another Lance, or Jake for that matter because she had the worst luck with wares so far. 

But no sooner had she said “Amen” before their motion flood lights turned on and Sasha groaned when she got up and looked out the window to see a werewolf with something else in their mouth as they were bringing it up to the garden and were currently digging for it, causing Noche to whinny and neigh. 

“Fucking hell. I swear I’m gonna kill him.” Sasha grumbled as she pulled her shotgun out of it’s safe in her closet and hurriedly got down the stairs as Autumn was right behind her with hers too.

“Told you!” Autumn insisted. 

“Shut up Autumn, just get the police on the phone.” Sasha barked at her younger sister over her shoulder before Sasha slipped into her crocs and stepped out of the back door and put her shotgun to her shoulder and aimed at the werewolf digging a hole for the bush he brought and another for the tree too before the sound of her chambering a round into her shot gun got him to pause and look at her with wide eyes as she walked towards him her eye lining him up in her sights. 

“Who are you?” Sasha demanded before Tristan gulped. 

“Look Asshole, I told you if I caught you on this property again, I was gonna shoot you. You have to the count of three- to leave and never come back, never call me again and never bring me another courting gift, animal, vegetable, fruit, or otherwise or whatever. I don’t care if you even bring me a mercedes benz in my driveway. I am never going to accept another courting gift from you for as long as I live, no matter what it is. And when I told you that, I meant it. I swear to every god we both believe in, I don’t give a fuck what you and instincts say. I’m not interested in being your mate, I never was and I never will be, you can bring me every apple tree in the world, but you harm another pregnant animal, I’ll abort you post birth myself. I will never court you and I sure as hell will never marry you. Run now before I stuff you full of lead.” Sasha growled dangerously as she approached the werewolf. 

“One…” Sasha began to count down before Tristan held up his clawed hands before they shifted into wolf paws again and backed up. 

“I don’t remember you telling me that, I’m sorry to bother you, I’ll leave you alone, please don’t shoot me.” Tristan blurted before Sasha blinked and let the barrel fall from his head to his chest. 

“Tristan?” Sasha asked when the voice didn’t match what she was expecting. 

“Yeah, sorry. Who’s Asshole?” Tristan asked before Sasha let the barrel of the shotgun lower and aim at the ground as she sighed in relief. 

“Oh thank goodness it’s just you. Hang on a minute. Gotta call off the calvary. Excuse me.” Sasha said as she put the safety back on the gun and put it down and turned to gesture to her sister- using sign language who was there and to not call the cops, but that she was ok. It was someone new- T-R-I-S-T-A-N. And that Sasha wanted him there. Autumn hung up on her phone but stayed on the porch and sat down with her own shotgun resting across her lap and kept her watchful gaze on her sister and everything else, but still gave her sister some relative privacy. 

“One of my two exes who- wish they could be my boyfriend until I told them to take a hike and I wasn’t interested. But I thought you were Jake, the asshole who brought me that fucking apple tree with no tag. He’s done that with all the apple trees. He brings them with no tags and no way to identify them unless I have no choice but call him and ask him to come out and identify them and has threatened to push out any other from his pack who is also in the apple business if they do that for me instead of him. He’s a werewolf too, from the Meadow Pack. Are you from that pack?” Sasha asked carefully. 

“Nope. Eagle Lake Pack.” Tristan offered. 

“Ok, good. Jake has- despite me turning him down, gotten his whole pack convinced that unless I’m with him and accept his courting gifts, to otherwise not have anything else to do with me and my family. Because I turned him down, no one in his pack will even use my dad’s plumbing business. He has the whole self entitled toxic alpha on him all the way, because his dad is the alpha for his pack. For the last year he’s been trying to court me and I’m…I don’t know how much I need to tell him ‘no’ or even tell his parents ‘no’. But they refuse to take that ‘no’ for an answer. So now I’ve had to resort to threatening to shoot him- for him to get the picture I’m not interested. Fuck.” Sasha cursed as she leaned on her knees to catch her breath and recover from the fuck ton of anxiety that had been pumping through her veins a moment ago. 

“God damn it. Not again!” Sasha started to cry. 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I should have…I’m sorry I should have told you or talked to you or something.” Tristan laid his ears back and took up a very submissive pose as his tail wagged while it was tucked under him. 

“No, you…you tried to tell me and you showed me, I just…I just didn’t see it. I just…This is the third time this is happening to me. The first guy, also a werewolf, from the Black Water Pack, Lance, who fell into puppy love with me, he brought me actual dead animals. And my uncle who is a butcher helped me with those at least. But I was all of 15, had no idea who he really was or what was happening. And the economy had crashed and the business was barely hanging on by a thread and we needed the food so we accepted the free food supply. But he just kept bringing me bigger and bigger animals, until our freezer and our deep freeze was packed and we had to share the food with our friends and family. And then he kept bringing me younger and younger animals, because he wanted the meat to be especially tender or some bullshit like that.  Until he brought me a pregnant cow. And when I rejected him for that, he killed my dogs and all my chickens in retaliation and actually dug up everything I had tried to plant. Like it got so bad we had to move out of Kalamazoo to Portage because all the neighbors complained and called the cops several times and my mom was pregnant with Amaryllis and she had all kinds of complications like preclampsia and it was all I could do to help my mom carry Ellie full term and then to juggle Lance and his “advances on top of that when I was way too young for this shit. But once we got to Portage, that’s when I tried to swear of wares all together and that didn’t last but a year. And then from there, we moved from there to here. But then once we got out here, when I was, very, stupidly and naively just researching apples, Jake Launtner, his family owns Gull Meadow Farms out of Richland. We met when I was getting into apples last year and he gave me my entire orchard for free as his courting gifts. And because of my bad experiences with Lance, I’ve tried to let Jake down gently. But he hasn’t gotten the hint, obviously.” Sasha complained as she gestured to the apple tree with the most exhausted and disgusted expression. 

“And what Jake has done, is he purposefully doesn’t leave tags or any other identifying marks on the apple trees. Just so I can call him and have him come out and he can be Mr. Smarty Pants and tell me all about the apples and where I should plant them and all about each one and he’s one of the ones who is starting a microbrewery for hard cider. But every other person I try to bring here to help me with the apples, who isn’t Jake, he’s killed off their pets if they’ve had them and he’ll outright destroy any landscaping they have and actually plant beetles in their trees to destroy their own orchards and is practically a damn terrorist. All because his dad is the Alpha of his pack too and Jake thinks he’s gonna inherit that and that’s all there is to it. God damn it. Autumn called this. I owe her a hundred bucks now because she bet me a hundred dollars that this is what you were gonna do and I thought we were good and that you wouldn’t…just…give me courting gifts, at least so soon. You get one werewolf to scent mark you and suddenly every werewolf in a two hundred mile radius thinks it’s a challenge.” Sasha explained as she simply sunk down to her knees in the dirt and wiped her tears away from her face as Tristan eased closer and closer but didn’t try to touch her, as much as he wanted to, because seeing her cry was ripping his heart out. 

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t smell it or anything. I’m so sorry. I should have said something or asked. I’m so sorry.” Tristan apologized. 

“It’s not your fault. You’re not in Jake’s pack, so you wouldn’t know.” Sasha admitted. 

“I’m not. But you should get inside, before any of them decides to come back. I can..I’ll leave, I’ll leave you alone.” Tristan offered as he put his head down and began to walk away as Sasha simply hugged her legs to her chest. 

“But I don’t want you to.” Sasha cried into her arms. 

But she said it loud enough that his ears perked up and he came back to her and began to try to comfort her and lick her tears up while his tail wagged so hard he feared it was gonna wag right off of him as Sasha lifted her head and dropped her legs so she could just hug him and bury her face into his soft fur. Because with Lance, she felt like she was drowning, with Jake, she felt like she had been kicking and screaming- trying her best to put a stop to it before it could start. 

“If it’s puppy love, I get it, it’s gonna be hard for- for however long it’ll last. But I can’t…” Sasha’s voice broke off. 

“I would never want you to accept or even agree to do anything you don’t want to do. If you don’t want me to try to court you, I won’t. I will try to just…stay your friend for as long as you’ll let me. I just…I got too excited and ahead of myself and I’m sorry.” Tristan offered as he just sat down and then pulled her into his lap and just hugged her and held her and rocked her in the cool grass. 

“No, that’s not the problem, the problem is me. I’m part ware, but I’m not ware enough to shift, but I still have some of the senses. Specifically the sense to tell whether someone is pregnant or not which is why I’m as natural of a midwife as I am. I’ve helped…way too many friends at school get abortions when I could sense they were pregnant before they knew they were. But that’s…that’s all I have. My mom is ware, and Autumn has the gene to shift, Ellie, she’s just, hyper ever full moon but doesn’t shift. But because Autumn is full ware and can shift, she’s been able to see Lance and Jake coming from a mile away. And I didn’t know until I saw dead things that they were ware at all. Like I couldn’t even tell you were ware until just now. And I feel like I’m practically blind when it comes to stuff like this. And I like you, a lot. But if this is just your puppy love, this needs to end right here and now, before…” Sasha sobbed into his chest before he cut her off by kissing her, his face shifting back enough to let him do that as Sasha clung to him and kissed him back. 

“It’s not puppy love.” Tristan answered. 

“Oh thank goodness, cause puppy love sucks. Gods, it just rips your heart out and leaves you bleeding out.” Sasha confessed as she felt such a sense of sweet relief. 

“It does. That’s what’s scared me since the moment I met you on that tractor.” Tristan confessed. 

“Oh jeeze, so you’ve been fighting this a while huh?” Sasha laughed as her tears stopped coming. 

“Yeah, and when you came to the house to fix the water heater, it was really hard then too and it was really hard earlier when Noche bucked you off to not shift out of my clothes then too.” Tristan admitted. 

“Oh, you poor thing.” Sasha cooed as she was simply happy to just be held as tightly and securely as she was as she felt like she could practically melt into his divinely soft fur right in that moment as she pet down his head and pet his super soft ears and felt his snout regrow as his head nestled in the crux of her neck and shoulder. 

“So..what…what did you bring me?” Sasha asked as she gestured to the bush he clearly just planted next to the others. 

“It’s the Leduc blueberry, it’s a southern highbush hybrid. It’s a cross between blue gold, peachy blue, aurora and jewel.” He answered. 

“Aww, thank you. I love it.” Sasha smiled happily before she reached out to grab a few of the ripe berries from the little bush to popped them in her mouth. 

“Perfect, just as good as Kablueyes, if not better.” She praised. 

“Actually, now I need to crossbreed Kablueyes into it, and then it’ll be perfect.” Tristan offered. 

“Oh, I see, next season right?” Sasha guessed. 

“Yeah,” Tristan nodded as he couldn’t help but scent her more which got her to giggle but happily accept it nonetheless. 

“Here, get in the house, before I cross a line I can’t uncross.” Tristan urged her as he walked her back to the house. 

“Thank you. Such a perfect gentleman.” Sasha thanked him before she kissed his cheek sweetly and got back into her house with her shotgun resting over her shoulder as Autumn continued to simply glare at him through the window as she had gotten up from the seat and gotten in the house when Sasha got up and was walking back to the house. But the moment Sasha went in and Autumn got a whiff of her, her own face shifting slightly to give her the longer nose to smell his scent. 

��Really? You want to do this again?” Autumn questioned Sasha. 

“With Tristan? Yes. With anyone else, no. I know, I know, I owe you a hundred bucks.” Sasha answered as she gently pushed the barrel of Autumn’s gun down and away from Tristan. 

“Keep it, you’re gonna need it to buy more plants. You know Jake is going to destroy every plant that has Tristan’s scent on it.” Autumn predicted. 

“Oh gods, please, no.” Sasha whimpered. 

“He can try, I have more.” Tristan reassured as he simply sat on the porch, not even getting his toes across the threshold. 

“Mmmhmm, you say that now. Just wait until Jake and his pack burn you and your family farm down to the ground in retaliation. Jake is not a guy who likes to get rejected.” Autumn warned. 

“And if he does, he’s gonna regret it.” Tristan insisted. 

“Just don’t getting your ass handed to you ok? I don’t want you getting hurt, especially over me.” Sasha pleaded. 

“Scratches and dents add character right?” Tristan repeated which got Sasha to huff a laugh and shake her head. 

“They do. Get home safe and sound and get some sleep. You need it for the beach tomorrow.” Sasha encouraged him. 

“Ok, ok, I’m gone, see you tomorrow at the beach.” Tristan smiled before ducking his head into the house and kissing her again and then went running off home. 

“I give it less than 12 hours before Jake makes his displeasure known and felt.” Autumn snipped as she closed the door and locked and looked out among the darkness, trying to see if she could see anything or anyone else out there and kept an ear out for any howling or growling either. 

“Gosh I hope not.” Sasha sighed tiredly. 

“Well, we’ll have to wait and see then. I swear, I’m not putting up with this alpha, beta werewolf shit when I grow older.” Autumn insisted. 

“I know, no one’s dick is as big as yours, metaphorically speaking anyway.” Sasha teased. 

“You know it.” Autumn praised before she shut the lights out as they both went to bed before Sasha’s phone chimed, it was a text from Tristan, saying he had made it home- safe and sound which she appreciated and texted him goodnight. 

Come morning, Sasha was relieved to see that Tristan’s Leduc blueberry bush didn’t show any signs of damage or anything in the morning and happily picked the few remaining ripe blueberries from it in the morning, kissing the bunches of green and unripe blueberries as she carefully sniffed at the delicate little flowers were more would grow from. She carefully put a small net over it so the other birds wouldn’t eat the berries before she could harvest them. 

“New blueberry bush?” Her mom asked as she came out to the yard.  

“Yeah, it’s a true Leduc blueberry bush. From Tristan Leduc himself.” Sasha sighed dreamily as she carefully pinned the net down. 

“Wow, courting gifts from him already eh?” Renee grinned smugly. 

“Yeah,” Sasha nodded. 

“Well just be sure you actually love Tristan and not his name or his blueberries more than him.” Renee warned evenly. 

“Yup. I don’t think that’s ever going to be a problem.” Sasha shook her head as she got to her feet and dusted herself off but still had that happy, contented smile on her face. 

“I see, well then.” Renee giggled into her morning cup of coffee as Ari kicked happily to get her morning coffee too. 

“So is Little Rocket gonna take off any time soon?” Sasha asked. 

“Well, she’s dropped, the mucus plug is gone, and now we just get to wait for the inevitable. But I haven’t gotten any indications she’s gonna take off.” Renee shrugged.

“But what do your senses tell you?” Renee asked before Sasha felt around her mom’s belly.

“She’s gonna be another stargazer.” Sasha noted as she felt how Ari was laying in her mom’s womb. 

“Yup, just like everyone else.” Renee nodded. 

“If she gets too much bigger though, she might have shoulder dysplasia like Brianna and I had.” Sasha noted.

“But you’re not having pitted edema and you don’t have preeclampsia this time around. So that’s nice.” Sasha noted as she looked down at her mother’s bare feet in the grass. 

“Nope, thank goodness.” Renee shook her head. 

“I hope you don’t have postpartum with this one.” Sasha softly murmured. 

“Me too.” Renee sighed tiredly, because when her sister law was pregnant with Gavin, she was pregnant too. But Renee ended up miscarrying due to complications and got severe postpartum depression. Which was why there was a huge age gap between Sasha and Autumn and Amaryllis. But now that Amaryllis was a small toddler, she needed a little sibling the same way Sasha had Autumn. 

“I really like Tristan.” Sasha felt the need to say suddenly. 

“Good. I’m happy you like him.” Renee smiled sweetly. 

“Like, the moment I saw him on that tractor I was ready to go full farmer’s wife and fuck him right there on the damn tractor or fuck him among the blueberry bushes themselves. And it’s been hard to go out there every day or go out and kill a steer and leave it on his own front porch as a courting gift.” Sasha admitted. 

“And then when we went to his house, I tried to use everything I could to try to deter him, praying that it was just puppy and he wouldn’t like me for my views. But when he agreed with them, then it hard not to bring him into that truck and fuck him right on the bench.” Sasha admitted. 

“Well, Hun, you’re more ware than you think. Because every ware has those instincts when they meet their mate. First you get scared and try to send them away with a bark, hoping it doesn’t come to a bite. And when they stay and if anything prove they’re not going anywhere and they’re ready and willing to stick it out and stay no matter what. Then you found a keeper. You didn’t have those instincts with Lance or Jake, if anything they both have repulsed you. Which is normal for puppy love when one feels a draw and the other doesn’t. But when it’s the right one, you’re both supposed to feel the attraction and the pull. So the fact that you feel that, means that he’s the one- if you want him to be.” Renee grinned happily. 

“Even when we’re both this young?” Sasha asked. 

“I was all of 19 when I met your dad, barely counted as a midwife myself, I was in way over my head with your aunt, but after that disaster. I got him a moose, he had no idea what to do with it and was barely 19 himself but was down for it and while we had some growing pains ourselves, we’ve made it work. I know you’re both pretty young, but as long as you both want to make it work, just try to make it work and if it works, it works, if not, you can still choose to walk away if he isn’t what you want, that mate instinct can come a few times in someone’s life.” She encouraged her eldest daughter. 

“What if it’s just…puppy love for us both?” Sasha asked as she fidgeted in cleaning out her own fingernails. 

“Then just make sure to keep taking your birth control and try not to swear off blueberries when you’re done.” Renee shrugged. 

“But it would be nice for you to have someone, and if his scent can keep the others at bay for now, then so be it.” Renee shrugged again as she drank down more coffee. 

“But what if Jake wants to hurt Tristan or his family or his farm?” Sasha asked worriedly. 

“You warned Tristan about Jake right?” Renee asked. 

“And Lance.” Sasha nodded. 

“Then Tristan and his family will be ready if Jake is stupid enough to try anything. And especially if Lance does either. Tristan seemed like he came from a large and pretty well supported family. I’m sure he’ll be fine.” Renee waived off before Sasha’s phone chimed a goodmorning text from Tristan as Sasha scrambled to get to her phone which got Renee to outright laugh to watch Sasha begin to text Tristan goodmorning and give him the update that the precious heirloom plant was just fine and had now had protective net over it to keep the berries safe from the birds and asked when he planned on meeting them at the beach that afternoon, as the hours between that moment and the evening seemed to be a small eternity long.

“Just, don’t launch today, tomorrow, you can launch tomorrow.” Sasha insisted as she reached over and patted Ari in her mom’s belly before Ari kicked out and Renee hissed in pain. 

“Oh don’t say that. I think she might start to come just to spite you now.” Renee teased. 

“Are you serious?” Sasha asked as her eyes widened worriedly. 

“Nah, just teasin.“ Renee reassured her daughter. 

Sasha pulled out all the stops. She got the best steaks to grill at the beach. She called Brie and Kihro and wanted everything to go really well with Tristan and his family, the same way Brie was when she had Kihro over at her house the first time the year before. And with Kihro and Brie getting engaged only a two months prior and had already picked out a house and were already in the process of buying it. 

Sasha, while happy for her cousin who was as close as a sister, couldn’t help but feel jealous that Brie’s life- for as messed up as it was, was coming together and she was practically a princess with her knight in shining armor in Kihro. And while Sasha preferred to think of herself as her own woman, there was something, that while it may have been a touch childish, still was romantic, in that whole- courtly love dynamic. And while Sasha knew she needed to be a whole and complete person in her own right, to see Kihro and Brie be such a great match and be so happy and have so much…peace- and happiness in their choice for a mate in life and have contentment and Sasha wanted to just- stop having to fight off every other guy, fearing that she was somehow cursed to only attract every stupid toxic alpha werewolf asshole everywhere she went, like she was a magnet for them. And she could only hope Tristan wouldn’t be caught up in that either. Although, if Sasha recalled, she never asked, and frankly, she stopped caring about that kind of thing a long time ago. Besides, where Tristan stood in his pack should have no bearing on their relationship, as long as the alpha of his pack was older and already married and would not challenge Tristan over her, Sasha would be happy. She didn’t care if Tristan was at the very bottom of the pecking order in a matter of speaking, or not. Most modern ones didn’t give a shit, because there was always an alpha male and an alpha female and that was usually the only things that mattered to the pack, which tended to be organized similarly to orc clans. And all she could hope for was that Tristan’s family would accept her as she was, even if she wasn’t “ware enough” in many respects. 

But once they got to the beach, Sasha got the surprise of her life. Tristan, riding a horse among other friends and family who had brought their horses to the beach. And he was on nothing other, than a blue roan quarter horse and Sasha’s jaw was practically in the sand. 

“Oh damn.” Zara, Sasha’s friend said as she watched Tristan ride up to her. 

“This is the guy right? Tristan? Mr. Leduc Blueberry himself?” Brie murmured from the other side of her cousin. 

“Yeah-huh.” Sasha confirmed with a nod of her head as she was about ready to ride off into the damn sunset on this beautiful creature with the most amazing person in the world riding him. 

“And he’s walking over here with your favorite horse in the world?” Brie asked. 

“Yeah, huh.” Sasha nodded as she just stared in awed adoration at Tristan who just looked like the perfect vision of what she never thought to imagine her perfect mate would be, but here he was. That perfect balance of farmer, cowboy, yet modern man- all in one. And when she thought he couldn’t look any better than any other time she had seen him, she was pleasantly surprised when he still managed to look even more attractive. 

“Hi.” Tristan offered before he stopped the horse right in front of Sasha as he could tell she couldn’t decide to look at him or the horse and then back to him and back to the horse several times over. 

“Hi, who’s this?” Sasha asked as she stepped forward and let the horse sniff her as the horse curiously did so as she looked into the horses eyes as her own glazed with tears. It was the most perfect horse she had ever seen in her life. 

“Kabluey.” He answered. 

“Shut up. Stop. No, you didn’t.” Sasha gasped as an excited smile plastered itself onto her face and she couldn’t let out a breathless chuckle as she looked from the horse up to him. 

“Who named him Kabluey?” Sasha asked. 

“You did. He’s yours. I figured Noche could use someone else to pester in that pasture other than his mom and teach him some manners, especially when it came to how to treat a lady.” Tristan proudly proclaimed and Sasha’s happy tears finally fell as she just closed her eyes and put her head to the horse’s head while petting his head and tried to not dissolve into a puddle of tears right there on the beach. 

“He’s perfect. I love you. I love him too. Just…Thank you so much.” Sasha thanked Tristan before the horse lifted his head and actually tucked her under his head as she reached around and hugged as much of his neck as she could reach before she reached up where his hands were resting on the withers and held his hands before peeking up at Tristan as her face nuzzled into Kabluey’s neck. 

“What’s his real name?” Sasha asked. 

“He goes by Blue.” Tristan said. 

“Like Blue’s Clues!” Ellie squealed as she came over before Sasha backed up and got her little sister up to properly introduce the two together. 

“Yup. Yup, Blue like Blue’s Clues. Only this Blue is a boy. He is a Rocky Mountain, Mustang and Quarter cross. He technically doesn’t look that blue of a roan, more of a silver grulla or even a dapple gray. But, he’s, obviously, very well mannered and very well trained.” Tristan confirmed. 

“Kabluey, perfect.” Sasha smiled happily. 

[imketchup]

I'm bored and need to get some stuff on here, so have some old oc art. There is plenty more of it, so don't worry, it looks bad, but that's cause it's old.

Tristan: 1 and 4. 18, he/him, hot head, pyromaniac, pyrokinetic. He's a bit of an asshole, but anyone would be with his parents. He hates "normies" and does everything he can to show he's not straight.

Bel: 1. 30s, he/they, dad of the group, basically a werewolf at will. He's a grump, but a loveable grump. My man has amnesia bad and can't quite recall why he has big scars on his chest. Maybe he was attacked? It's probably nothing anyway.

Emily: 1. 8, she/her, literal child, can influence the emotions of those around her. Literal pocket of sunshine, she wouldn't hurt a fly. Well, as long as you didn't make her angry. Then you won't stand a chance.

Nova: 3. 28, she/her, mom of the group in a not married to dad kinda way, has wings. Burnt out gifted kid with dead parents, one of which she didn't care very much for. She'd rather be anywhere but babysitting these kids, but not much she can do about it now I guess.

Florian: 2. 23, he/they, asshole and he knows it, can make people forget he's there. A dickhead and manwhore through and through, he likes to creep in the shadows. A bit of a kleptomaniac and longing for someone to love him.

Raine: 6. 19, they/he, sweetheart, can manipulate water and heal people with their water. Loves to spend time with their friends and his partner. Would rather be laying on the beach than fighting, but can't always get what you want.

Bex: 6. 25, she/her, raging bitch and murderer, can summon the spirits of those she has killed/watched die. Literally kills people for fun and to amass an army of ghosts. Legit dresses like shes constantly "thirsty".

[theuniverseawakens347]

A few surrogate ways out a coochie or IVF incue babies

INVITRO PUSSY ULTRASOUND BAYLEE SCARLET .. how you get yo coochie checked then pregnant or get vacced lady parts start acting weird get a vaginal sound and boom pregnancy or piss on a stick after vacc or shot and coochie lady time being weird while unprotected sex test fake say pregnant or don’t but body saying check me out or spouse - INVITRO coochie sound - LEE FAKE MY DAMN CERVICAL CANCER LETTING ME GET THE LEEP PROCEDURE THEN A YR LATER INVITRO ME ON MY CHECK UP - MISSCARRIAGE THAT NIGHT THANK YOU BODY HEALING - ANOTHER REASON TO KILL ME AUG 17th YOU WAS TRYNA PUT IAN MCDOWELL DDG BABY IN ME SO TRISTAN WOULD LEAVE ME ASS HOLE! - jimmy scarlet Basel. BAYLEE.

But Lee GARLINGTON LEAVING OUT MAJOR DETAILS W HER SAG AFTRA FUNDING HEALTH INSURANCE - HOWARD WHY SHE MARRY A SON OF A NURSE .. her dad regime they cleaned up then she Hitlered it her own way and USING YOU AND YO BROTHERS N THEY WIVES + HER BROTHER and Mary loving it - the money was coo til I knew this back story ..

Okay liar. Laura.

1. Full term baby birth but doctor take and give you a clone - incue baby made - HOWARD NUGENT … how many have you made look like me Darniece and gilbriona .. dark kin to white LEE. Valerie and Howard his damn self. LOSERS. FUCKING CUNTS. SNITCH ASS BITCH SUCK MY DICK.

2. Fake a belly and incue baby on the back for fans and distant family to not suspect

3. Premature babies.. inject WHITE MAN OR ROYAL ORIGINAL BLOOD FAMILY DNA WHILE THEY GROWING - 3a. Switch out if unplanned uproot in the pregnancy BEFORE 9 month due date - take out the incue off “military “ but it’s black market landing and put in the hospital “nursery” KAISR ME COI. JASMEAN

Bc niggas why you got this bitch but yo baby don’t look like none other in the family on Tonya why tee look like Tawana and ddg split.. and whoo oop look like who hammer head dub.. tonya..

But ddg YOU REALLY TRIED TO DROWN MY NIGGA OUT- U COLORIST. and HES ORIGINAL LIKE ME 1st NATIVE BLOOD TO THIS LAND SPLIT IN THREE FITKINGG - COPY MOMMY DANIECE AND DWAYNE ROCK MASKO DADDIES.

ASSHOLE LEE. GET ME OFF THE STREET SINCE YOU YOURSELF CANT COME NEAR ME SEND SOMEONE WORTHY - IM NOT TAKING HOMELESS HOUSING YOU DIPSHITS.

The longer I’m here the more it cost you - WE ALL BROKE DUMMIES GOOD LUCK W TAXES 💋💋💋🖕

[a-aexotic]

✫ 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒘𝒐, i can see you.

✫ 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 | asshole!tristan, mention of family issues, just usual enemies to lovers things ✫ 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 | lmk if yall wanna join the taglist! also if anyone is interested in a nate archibald series lmk!!!! ✫ 𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 (send an ask or comment to be added!) | @colbybrocks @weepingwitchofthewest @shady-writtingtalk @zulpix-blog @wheelerslover @dogmom600 @damnhati @remussbitch @yourmumstoyboy2-blog @1-800-starkindustrie

series masterlist !

Your father's expression hardened as he took in the scene, his disappointment evident in his eyes. "What in the world happened here?" he demanded, his voice a mix of frustration and disbelief.

You exchanged a nervous glance with Tristan, both of you realizing that you were about to face the inevidentable consequences of your actions. Taking a deep breath to steady yourself, you stepped forward, ready to take responsibility for what had happened.

"We... we had a little... accident," you admitted reluctantly, your voice tinged with guilt. "I'm sorry, Dad. And... Kristan."

"That vase was Kristan's favorite, you know that, right?" You'd never seen your father more livid as Kristan's eyes began to fill with tears. You couldn't believe it, crying? Over a vase?

"Is this because of that grudge against Tristan? Come on, Y/N." Your father's voice sounded disappointed as he interrupted you, his tone heavy with reproach. "I thought we were past all that."

Tristan's voice responded, annoyance evident in his voice. "It's a vase, come on. Can't we just get another one?"

You couldn't help but roll your eyes at Tristan's insensitive. "Of course you'd say that. It was your fault anyway."

"My fault? You pushed me into it!" Tristan turned to face you, anger evident in his face as you scoffed.

"After you said I had an alcohol problem!" You shouted back, your voice rising with frustration. "You know nothing about me, Tristan!"

"Oh really, so you're a stuck up bitch from Manhattan who thinks she's the best thing that's ever happened-"

"Enough!" Your father's voice boomed, silencing the both of you. He took a deep breath, clearly trying to rein in his own emotions. "I don't care whose fault it is. What matters is that you both acted irresponsibly, and now we're left to deal with the consequences."

"Consequences?" You blurted out. "I've had to deal with a lot of consequences, dad. I really can't deal with one more."

"Oh, yes. You can. And you will. I know your mom lets you run your own life back in Manhattan but this is my house, and you'll abide by my rules," your father retorted firmly, his tone leaving no room for argument.

You bit your lip, feeling a mix of frustration and shame wash over you. Your father was right – you had acted recklessly, and now you had to face the consequences of your actions. As much as you wanted to argue, you knew deep down that you had to own up to your mistakes.

"I know that your mom insisted on you having my old car but no, you will not." Your jaw dropped. No car? "You will share Tristan's until we figure this whole thing out. You guys are family now and you better start acting like it."

Tristan's expression was priceless - how looked pissed. But so was yours. "You're not my dad, you can't let him do this. Mom?"

Kristan's eyes met her son's and she shook her head. "He is right," Kristan interjected gently, her voice tinged with disappointment. "We need to address this behavior, and part of that means facing the consequences. Y/N, you'll be living with us for a little bit and that means you have to follow our rules."

"Especially if you wanna go back to New York." Your father added. You couldn't believe this bullshit.

"So what now?" You mumble, not really knowing how to respond.

Your dad shared a look with Kristan before looking back at you. "You and Tristan are going to share a car until you learn how to get along with each other. This is insanity, you two are almost adults and acting like five year olds."

Your jaw dropped. No car? No freedom? Sharing it with Tristan? You suddenly felt light headed. Sharing a car with Tristan was bad enough, but the idea of having to rely on him for transportation was almost unbearable. The thought of being trapped with him and being forced to tolerate his presence day in and day out made your blood boil.

"Dad, you can't be—"

"Enough, Y/N," your father interrupted firmly, his tone leaving no room for argument. "This decision is final. You and Tristan will share the car until you learn to get along with each other. End of discussion."

You glanced at Tristan, the smug smirk on his face only fueling your frustration. You knew that sharing a car with him would be a nightmare, but you also knew that you had no choice but to comply with your father's decision.

"Fine," you muttered through gritted teeth, your tone laced with resentment. "I'll share the damn car."

Clutching your sweater tightly around you, you stepped out of the house, with Tristan following close behind. The sun was barely out yet and you two had to get to school together, in the same car. Last night, before you went to bed, you decided that you were not going to give Tristan what he wanted from you; a reaction.

The chill of the morning air nipped at your skin as you made your way toward the car. You could feel Tristan's presence looming behind you, his footsteps echoing softly on the pavement.

As you reached the car, you readied yourself for the inevitable tension that would accompany the drive to school. Taking a deep breath, you climbed into the passenger seat and avoided making eye contact with Tristan.

Tristan got into the car with a loud sigh, immediately shutting the door and turning on the car before he turned on the heater. As he began to drive, he turned on the radio and began blasting Country music. You couldn't help but send him a glare, he didn't peg you as a country fan.

You could feel the car vibrating loudly as you drove - this was not a good way to start the morning. "Tristan." You turned your head to face him but it looked like he was too engulfed in the music to notice. "Tristan!"

He rolled his eyes and turned to you. "What?"

You shot him an annoyed glare before turning down the music, causing Tristan to let out a loud groan. "I don't wanna listen to this right now."

"Well, too bad."

"Tristan, we're sharing the car. Don't I get a say in this?" You shot back, Tristan shaking his head.

"No, it was my car first before you decided to push me into a table and knock down my mom's vase. So, no." Tristan began moving his hand to turn up the volume and you couldn't help but smack it away, causing Tristan to groan once again.

"Country music before 8 am should be a damn crime. It is too early for this shit." You reached for the radio dial yourself, switching it to a different station with a pop song playing softly.

"No, Y/N." He switched the radio back to country, causing you to scoff. You waited a few seconds before quickly turning it back to Pop, causing Tristan to glare at you.

"Focus on driving, pal." You teased as Tristan changed the station, again.

"Stop changing the damn station!" Tristan snapped, his patience wearing thin. "You don't get to call the shots here. If you have a problem with the music, you can deal with it because guess what - it's my car."

"Tristan-"

But before you could finish your sentence, Tristan reached over and turned off the radio entirely, his expression annoyed.

"Hey, why'd you do that?" you protested, irritation evident in your voice.

Tristan ignored you, his gaze fixed on the road ahead. "I'm not listening to your shitty music. We'll drive in silence if we have to."

You stared at him, unable to believe his audacity. "You're unbelievable, you know that?"

As you finally arrived at Chilton, you practically jumped out of the car, eager to escape Tristan. You slammed the door shut behind you, not bothering to look back as you stormed off towards the school entrance. Today was definitely not going to be an easy day.

Yesterday, all you had done the entire day was sit in the Dean's office as they tried and figured out your schedule, today was your first real day. You weren't nervous though, you knew half of the people at Chilton already worshipped the ground you walked on because they know you're from Manhattan.

You walked into your first period, trying to exude the same confidence you had back in New York. The students turned to look at you as you entered the room, whispers trailing in your wake. Your eyes immediately landed on a brunette girl, her hair pinned back in a half up half down style and immediately recognized her. Paris Geller, the girl you used to call your best friend. Her jaw slightly slacked as she registered you were back, her eyes widened slightly.

The teacher, Mr. Remmy, greeted you with a warm smile. "Ah, you must be Y/N Cromwell, the new transfer student. Welcome to Chilton."

You returned her smile politely, nodding in acknowledgment despite the nervousness settling in your chest. "Thank you, I'm looking forward to being here."

You immediately walked toward an empty seat and settled in, feeling Paris's gaze lingering on you. The tension in the air was palpable, and you couldn't help but wonder what Paris was thinking. The two of you used to be inseparable, but things had changed since you left for Manhattan.

"As for our upcoming group project," Mr. Remmy announced, drawing your attention back to the front of the class, "you'll need to partner up with one of your classmates, preferably someone nearby." Glancing around, you spotted a girl with black hair and bright blue eyes seated right next to you. She was seated right beside you, and you offered her a smile, which she returned.

"I'll give you a few minutes to discuss."

You guys both shared a glance before you turned your body to face her. "Hey." You began, a smile playing on your lips.

"Hi. So, uh... are we partners?"

"Only if you want to be. I mean, I don't really know anyone else." You let out a nervous chuckle as she smiled back at you warmly.

"Yeah, me too. This is my first week," she explained, her voice tinged with a hint of nervousness.

"Really? Mine too," you replied, feeling a sense of relief that you weren't the only new student. "I'm Y/N, by the way."

"I'm Rory," she introduced herself, her smile widening. "Nice to meet you, Y/N."

After a few minutes passed, Mr. Remmy called for everyone's attention once more. He continued his lecture and you felt slightly more at ease now, knowing that you weren't the only new student. Maybe, today wouldn't be so bad.

The door of the classroom opened abruptly as Tristan walked in, a late slip in his hand. Oh, you've gotta be kidding me.

"Ah, Mr. Dugray, nice of you to join us."

"My apologies, sir, my car wasn't starting this morning." He gave him the slip as he shared a glance with you, a smirk playing on his lips.

He was lying because you were in the car with him this morning, you couldn't believe him. You couldn't help but roll your eyes at Tristan's blatant lie, feeling a surge of irritation rise within you.

You clenched your jaw as Tristan made his way to the back of the classroom, shooting you a smirk on his way. You couldn't believe he had the audacity to lie like that, especially after the morning you'd just endured with him.

By the time the bell rang, signaling the end of the class, you were more than ready to leave. Packing up your belongings hastily, you made your way out of the classroom, eager to put some distance between yourself and Tristan.

You felt someone tap on your shoulder and you looked up to meet Rory's eyes. You gave her a tight smile as she began to talk. "So uh, do you know where any of your classes are?"

You returned Rory's smile, relieved to have a familiar face to talk to. "Not really, I've been sitting in the Dean's office most of yesterday. Why?"

"Well, we have most of the same classes together. I could show you around," Rory offered as she picked up her backpack.

"Really? Thank you, Rory. You're a godsend." You grabbed your backpack as you two began walking to class together.

"So, our project... should we meet somewhere?" Rory began as you two walked.

"Yeah, sure. Where would you wanna go?"

"You can come by my house or yours and we can study there. Or we can go by Luke's, your choice." Rory explained as you continued down the hallway.

"Luke's?"

"Oh, I forgot you're not from here." Rory chuckled, realizing her mistake. "Luke's is this diner in Stars Hollow, it's by my house. They have great coffee and it's usually pretty quiet during the afternoons."

You nodded, intrigued. "That sounds perfect, actually. Let's go to Luke's then."

"Great choice," Rory replied with a smile. "We can grab a booth, get some coffee, and tackle this project together. It'll be fun."

"Who was that girl you were talking to earlier?" Tristan's voice cut through the silence, pulling you out of your thoughts as he drove in silence.

"That's Rory," you replied, turning to face Tristan. "She's in a few of my classes."

"She's pretty cute." Tristan's mouth curved up into a smirk as you rolled your eyes.

"Yeah, she's nice," you replied, trying to keep your tone neutral despite the irritation bubbling beneath the surface.

Tristan's smirk widened at your reaction, clearly enjoying getting a rise out of you. "So, are you two like, friends now or something?" he teased, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "That's cute."

"Yeah, we are. What's the issue, Tristan?"

"There isn't an issue, Y/N. It's just you don't seem like you'd be friends with a girl like that, you know, the genuine kind." Tristan remarked as he smirked, his eyes fixed on the road.

You fumed at his insinuation, feeling a surge of anger rise within you. "And what exactly do you mean by that?" you shot back, your voice tinged with irritation.

Tristan shrugged casually, but you could see the mischief dancing in his eyes. "Hey, I'm just saying what I observe. You're more of the 'big city, high society' type. Rory seems more... down-to-earth."

"Oh, right." You let out a bitter laugh. "Yeah because you seem like you're the expert when it comes to me."

Tristan's smirk widened at your retort, clearly enjoying the exchange. "Just calling it like I see it," he replied, his tone unapologetic.

You arrived at home and immediately felt a sense of relief wash over you as you stepped out of the car, glad to be away from Tristan's prying eyes and stupid comments. You made your way inside, quickly running up the stairs and going into your room, slamming the door.

As Tristan walked into the door, Kristan shot him a glare. He just shrugged but before he could walk away, she spoke. "Take it easy on her, Tristan."

"What do you mean?" Tristan feigned innocence as his mother shot him a pointed look.

"You know exactly what I mean," Kristan replied, her tone firm. "She's adjusting to a new school, a new home, and she doesn't need your antagonizing. I know you like to push her buttons, but she doesn't need extra stress from you."

Tristan rolled his eyes, but there was a flicker of guilt in his expression. "Mom, I'm just messing around. She can handle it."

Kristan sighed, shaking her head. "Tristan, she's going through a lot-"

"And what about me, mom?" His voice snapped as his expression turned to hurt. He glared back at her before rolling his eyes, beginning to walk up the stairs. "Right, like you're the expert on feelings."

series masterlist !

[optimistredsox]

8 July, OAK @ BOS, 3-10, win

I might have mentioned that it was important to kick the shit out of bad teams. It is. And we did. There was something about Saturday’s game... and it came from the bottom of the first... the Red Sox felt in control. Yes, it was against the A’s, but it’s still important. So we did. The Red Sox did something important when they had to. That’s nice.

Also, once again, fuck Oakland’s ownership, sell that team to a slightly less douchebaggy billionaire who will keep that team in the home that loves them. The A’s showed some shambolic play today, especially in defense. Every time that sort of shambolic dipshittery takes place I put it on the forlorn hopelessness the fucking asshole owners have inflicted on those young kids trying to get their start but kind of being doomed by design. It’s like Major League but there’s no Tom Berenger or Wesley Snipes. 

Once I got past that lingering sadness about the A’s, that was a fun game to watch. Bright sides.

James Paxton started really well, buoyed by starting up ahead 3-0 no doubt. He was at 57 pitches 2 outs into the fifth. He struggled and racked that up a bunch for the last out and then through the sixth, but damn. That was some impressive shit. Way to go, Big Maple, and congratulations on your wee sapling (he just became the dad of a wee baby girl).

Jarren Duran went 3-for-5, hit a dinger, knocked in three, scored three, was a triple away from the cycle, made a great catch. You know, that’s pretty cool.

Masa Yoshida hit one of the most laser-like ground rule doubles I’ve ever seen at Fenway. He went 2-for-5 with a RBI and a run scored but wow. That laser liner was incredible.

Dugie had a cracking dinger too, the first Sox dinger of this home stand, in the first. He went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs and a run scored. 

Christian Arroyo had a hell of a game, going 3-for-4 with a RBI and a run scored. He also played some great ball. 

Tristan Casas went 2-for-5 and scored twice. He also made a great grab at first but was not backed up so he didn’t get the out. To Walter’s credit, he knew that he let Casas down on the play. 

We won!

We’ve won four in a row and are 3 games above .500!

Oh my goodness I would love to get the sweep going into the All Star break.

[void-botanist]

7, 22 & 37 for Cady :3

Thanks Red, these were really fun to think about. I'm gonna do this out of order to put the cut lower in the post.

22. What does your character like in other people? He likes people who don't take themselves too seriously. They don't have to be jokesters, but they gotta be a little loose. He had trouble getting along with Rodney at first because he read Rodney as a self-serious asshole. He's incredibly weak to tattoos and piercings and will immediately try to make friends with anyone who crests his very low "cool" threshold with those (read: Tristan and Declan). He also likes people who are passionate about something so he can egg them on, and people who can make unexpected connections in their casual jokes that catch him by surprise.

37. Is your character more concerned with defending their honor, or protecting their status? He cares a little bit about his status as Cool Guy and also Captain but honor matters way more to him. If he acts honorably and people perceive him that way then obviously he's a Cool Guy and someone people want to keep doing business with. He loves playful insults but won't tolerate people actually talking shit (well, maybe unless it's true). Occasionally he does run into trouble where defending his honor or someone else's costs him a customer or an opportunity or lands him in a "sir this is a Wendy's" moment but he mostly just shrugs it off. (But there has to be at least one "this is a Wendy's" moment that he looks back on with embarrassment even if he still thinks he was right.)

7. Does your character have recurring themes in their nightmares? I'm pretty early in the planning stages for this story, but I have a tendency to forget about dreams and nightmares so this was interesting to dig into. Before his disappearance, Cady rarely had nightmares, and they were in response to weird experiences or spooky media. Now they're much more common and they do have a central recurring theme: that in the emptiness of space, no one can hear you scream.

There are two general forms of the nightmare. The first is a sort of abstract one, the kind you also have in normal dreams where you're on a boat but it's also your dad's Wal-Mart. Here, the store is meant to be the planet he's stuck on. There's some kind of monster somewhere in it, and he's been around the store a thousand times but there are no doors, and he's not even certain that there's anyone else inside, because they seem to disappear if he looks away too long. He ends up on the PA system, trying to page for someone, anyone, using his calm captain voice, while he can feel the unseen, perhaps unknowable monster getting closer. The dream ends shortly before it reaches him, as the absolute certainty he is going to die settles in.

This second one is a bit more graphic, so mild warning for claustrophobia, suffocation/difficulty breathing, and, uh, impending death.

The second builds on his real experience sitting in an ejected racer seat, which is its own little short-term life-support capsule. Sometimes he's on the surface of the planet, sometimes out in space, but its distress signal keeps droning out with no response. He knows that someone's supposed to save him, but they're just not coming. They're not picking up his signal. Maybe it's blocked by the landscape and there's not enough of an atmosphere for it to reflect off of. Maybe their equipment is just not listening. But the tone goes on and on and the capsule, which is literally only a bit larger than the seat itself, starts to seem smaller and smaller, like it might crush him before anyone arrives. It inevitably starts to crack at the seams. The smallest gap between the pieces is enough to let the air out. The low oxygen warning lights come on. He's breathing evil, thin atmosphere, an unrealistic but insidious green that feels like it's infecting his lungs with every breath, or trying and failing to breathe vacuum. Now his lungs feel smaller and smaller until there's no space for air—there's no air—and he knows with leaden certainty that this wasn't how things were supposed to go, but it's too late now.

Then he wakes up and wishes like hell he remembered in the dream how it was going to end so maybe it would be less horrifying.

[trimont]

Drabble: Wrong Way

Title: Wrong Way Rating: R for language Word Count: 1795 Trigger Warnings: References to underage drinking, reckless driving, car accidents, semi-graphic depictions of injuries.

Last Night – 11:30pm 

“Are you sure you’re good, kid?” John Sparkes asked as they left the fundraiser, and walked out to the parking lot of the hotel. Becoming friends with his best friend’s father was pretty par for the course, and having known the Sparkes family for as long as he had, these days he typically spent time with John without Eden around. It was complicated, and how could it not be? Eden had been in love with Lacey and she chose Tristan, and during a particularly rough patch in Lacey and Tristan’s relationship, he’d slept with Eden, knowing somewhere along the line she’d fallen in love with him. He wasn’t sure how much John knew about the complexities of his, Eden, and Lacey’s relationship, but he was pretty sure he knew that Tristan and told Eden one thing and chose Lacey instead. Regardless, that didn’t seem to fuck their own friendship up too much.

Tristan nodded as he scanned the parking lot. He wasn’t sure how many drinks he’d had, but he knew it was a lot. “Yeah, yeah. Lacey’s gettin’ me. In the Tesla. Thing practically drives itself.” He promised, walking John over to his car. “I’m good, Pops. I’ll see you on Wednesday for our weekly lunch.” He offered the older man a hug, and stood off to the side, watching as he drove off after agreeing they were still good for Wednesday. 

About ten minutes later, the Tesla came screeching to a halt in front of him. Frowning, Tristan peeked into the window. Lacey was driving, but Troy was sitting in the passenger seat and they were screaming at each other. He glanced back into the car, and Merritt was sitting in her carseat, fast asleep. Instead of forcing the sixteen year old out of the passenger seat, he slipped into the back with his sleeping daughter. “What the fuck?” He asked in greeting. 

“Nothing! She’s overreacting.” Troy tried to justify as Lacey pulled out of the parking lot. “I went to a party, and the cops got called. It’s nothing that you guys didn’t do when you were my age.”

Lacey took a turn sharply as she merged onto the freeway. It was late, and there was something about the way she turned onto the mostly empty freeway that was nagging Tristan, but he was focused on how distracted Lacey was. All her attention was on Troy, which was something he’d always wanted, but this wasn’t the type of attention he wanted her to lavish on Troy. “I had to come and pick you up from the police station because this asshole.” And she took her hands off the wheel to gesture back towards Tristan. “Was out with Eden’s dad.” 

“Why is this suddenly about me?” He whined, slumping back down into his seat. From this angle, the headlights of an oncoming vehicle were suddenly in his eyes. That was weird… They were on the freeway. Why were there headlights in his eyes? Unless… FUCK. That’s why the turn felt weird. “LACE. You’re going the wrong way! You got on the off ramp!” 

His fiancée turned away from the road to look at him. “What are you talking about?” There was frantic honking that forced Lacey to look back onto the road. 

The bright lights of a semi truck filled the car, and the only thing Tristan could think about before impact was: “Fuck.”

12:03am

Tristan slowly opened his eyes. Something sticky was slipping into his eyes. He ran a shaky hand over his brow to push the blood out of his face. Wait… blood? He blinked again as he remembered what happened. Lacey was driving distractedly because she was too busy fighting with Troy over… a party? And she’d accidentally gotten on the freeway via the offramp. There had been a semi truck and… “FUCK!” 

He glanced around, and realized that the car was upside down. They must have flipped when they hit the semi. He could barely move, but he heard sniffling next to him. “Daddy?” He reached out towards his daughter’s voice and grabbed her hand. “I’m here, Mer. I’m right here.”

There was the sound of someone outside the car, and he wasn’t sure if it was a good Samaritan or if it was emergency services. “Lace?” He tried, swallowing again as he tried to push blood out of his eyes again. “Troy?”

Not getting a response, panic spiked in Tristan’s stomach. “Troy?! Lacey?!” He tried again, kicking out, in hopes that he would be able to hit the seats in front of him from this angle. Merritt started crying, and he gave her hand a soothing squeeze. 

“Tree?” Troy garbled out. “Wha’ ‘appened?” 

He struggled against his seat in an attempt to get a better look at his brother. “Car accident.” He tried to get closer to Merritt. “Can you see if Lacey is okay?” 

There was silence for a moment as Troy shifted in his seat. “I can’t see her head.” He said after what felt like too long. “I don’t think she has a head anymore.” There was a level of panic in his brother’s voice now.

“What do you mean she doesn’t have a head?!”

Before he could say anything, something heavy hit the car and his world went black again.

2:41am

“Mr. Montgomery, you’re at the U-Dub Medical Center.” A strange voice told him as he struggled against sharp, white lights. “You were in a car accident.”

There was something over his mouth, and a weak hand fumbled up to pull the offending item off. Oh – an oxygen mask. “Kids?” He managed out, finding it hard to breathe. Why was it hard to breathe? 

The oxygen mask was gently placed back over his mouth. “Your children are okay.” The voice promised. “They have minor injuries. The majority of the impact was on your side of the car.” 

That information was enough to relax him. He started to fade back into the darkness again before he suddenly remembered something. Frantically he pulled the mask back down. “Lace?” He asked, panic edging into his voice.

“We’ll talk about her later.” The mask was back over his face, and his world went dark again.

5:38am

This time when Tristan woke up, there was an uncomfortable feeling in his nose and no feeling in his hand. His eyes fluttered open, and this time the light didn’t hurt his eyes. It was soft and allowed him to open his eyes fully. He glanced around the room. 

Troy was hunched over his bed, his hand wrapped tightly around Tristan’s. So, they explained why he couldn’t feel his hand. His brother’s face looked awful, bruising and cuts criss-crossing everywhere. Troy’s other arm was in a sling, and judging by the empty bed next to him, Troy wasn’t supposed to be out of bed. “You okay, asshole?” He rasped out, realizing that the weird feeling in his nose was an oxygen cannula. 

His brother startled, and looked up at him. “Am I okay?! Are you okay, fuck face?” Troy asked, the exasperation evident in his voice. “You’re bleeding in your brain and in your internal organs!” He accused.

Tristan pushed that thought away for later, and focused on the important things. “Mer?” He managed out.

The younger boy relaxed, and shifted so Tristan could see the rest of the room. John Sparkes was slumped over in a chair, and next to him on the crappy little window bench was Eden, Merritt spread out across her chest. That made sense. Troy and Tristan’s parents weren’t listed as their emergency contacts. The hospital would have called John, who would have told Eden immediately. 

“Lacey?” He asked, not understanding. He was obviously sharing a room with Troy, and the rest of their family was right there. Why wasn’t she in their room? 

A weird look passed over his little brother’s face. “Tree.” He said in a little voice. “Maybe I should wake up Uncle John…”

He closed his eyes again as he thought about the last thing he remembered his brother telling him in the car about Lacey. He didn’t think she had a head… “She didn’t make it…” He finished for his brother.

Troy looked like he was about to cry. “Tree, I’m sorry. If I hadn’t gone to the party…”

He slowly opened his eyes, and squeezed Troy’s hand. “Not your fault.” He mumbled out before he slowly drifted off again. “Not your fault.”

9:51 am 

The next time he woke up, the only person in the room with him was Eden. She was sitting in the chair her dad had been in, just staring down at her phone. 

“E?” He mumbled out. “Water?”

She jumped and dropped her phone. “Shit! Trist!” Her eyes were soft, and it took a moment before she picked her phone up and scrambled over to the bed. “Yeah, water. I can do that.” She grabbed the pitcher and the cup with the straw and helped him take a couple of sips before putting the cup back down. Her hand hovered over his face for a moment before slowly smoothing out a bandage. 

“I wanna see Lace.” He announced before reaching to pull out his IV.

Eden’s hand immediately slapped his hand away from his IV. “No. No you really don’t.” She kept hold of his hand so he wouldn’t try to pull it out again. “And you’re not allowed out of bed. Not until your MRI.”

Tristan sighed, and collapsed deeper into his pillows. “Right… Where are the kids?” 

“Dad took Merritt down to the cafeteria, and the swelling went down enough for them to put on Troy’s cast.”

He swallowed, and closed his eyes.

“Trist, are you okay?”

A wet laugh bubbled out of his mouth and he squeezed Eden’s hand. “No.” He wheezed out. “I’m really really not.” 

Eden let go of his hand, and climbed onto the tiny little hospital bed, head on his chest, obviously listening to his heartbeat. He wondered if that helped. “Me either.” She whispered out her breath warm through the thin hospital blanket. “How are we supposed to plan a funeral?”

And it was suddenly too much for him. “A funeral.” He said hollowly before bursting into hysterical laughter. “A funeral. We were supposed to be planning a wedding.” 

The bed shifted as Eden sat up to look at him. “Trist…” She tried, but it was too much. Pain erupted through his body as sobs wracked through his body. 

He shook his head, pushing Eden away from him. “Just get the nurse, okay? I… I can’t do this right now. I can’t.” 

As he closed his eyes, he willed all of this to be just a nightmare. A really crappy nightmare.

[iamnathannah]

Compared to Logan, his high school jerkiness was light and he left at a perfect time where military school truly could redeem him, and there was at least potential and Rory helping him improve. I would not ship them if they still had that going in 2023, but as teens, it was truly acting out.

Meanwhile Dean just grew into insufferable, stalkerish and unredeemable for screwing over Lindsay, and Logan was Tristan up to 11 if he NEVER took anything seriously outside what was around his you-know-what, and once he utterly ruined his sister's friendships by sleeping with most of them before her big day, the only thing I thought about when he was with Rory was about how many STDs he was foisting on her (plus his dad was an asshole and had no business judging an intern on a newspaper he owned, that was the LOCAL EDITOR'S JOB ONLY and the very definition of a conflict of interest).

Why do so many Gilmore girls fans like Tristan? I mean I love chad michael murray but Tristan is an awful character. He was constantly an asshole to Rory. He harassed he multiple times even after she CLEARLY told him she was not interested and continued being a dick and persuing her when she got a boyfriend. Also he was unnecessarily mean to Dean who was just protecting his girlfriend. Honestly if he was played by some non conventionally attractive actor he'd be called a creep ( which he was) but since it was Chad Micheal Murray people think it's charming. If this isn't pretty privilege then what is?.