#where they all get married/get put as guardians on all the legal stuff so they can take care of each other's children

[keirawantstocry]

Well now we’ve got to have Fit and Pac adopting Sunny as well! Perhaps even adding on Richas if he feels like it! I know Sunny would sure love more parents! They can be a big family

It would start as a big "convivence" thing for sure. just imagine how with fobo, foolish says he's sunny's dad on the weekend. They would just say at first that the three of them are in a relationship to take care of each other's children and then only afterwards would they become a qpr.

wait thats such a good story idea for a longer fic thing

[epicbuddieficrecs]

Weekly Recap | January 29th-February 4th 2024

Ao3 history still fucked :/

Repeating again: if I've ever reblogged one of your WIP fics, consider this my permission to tag me in them!!

Complete

🔥 Say You Were Made to Be Mine by ElvenSorceress/ @elvensorceress (Canon Divergent - Different First Meeting, Soulmarks AU | 11K | Teen): It's Valentine's Day 2018, and Eddie saves a man from choking to death in the middle of a restaurant. It's only after the man is rushed away by paramedics that Eddie realizes his hands are green. The man he saved is his soulmate. And he doesn't even know his name let alone how to find him.

For hope I'd give my everything by dragon_rider/ @evanbdiaz (Post S1, CW: Eating Disorders | 8K | Mature): After the disaster of his first date with Abby, Buck’s relationship with food changes rather dramatically.

where would you rather die by tempestaurora/ @tempestaurora (Pacific Rim AU | 4K | Teen): “Care to explain why you’ve brought a child to a military base?” Bobby asked when they returned. The base was alight with celebration; the day had been saved, the world was safe for a little longer. “Uh.” Buck glanced back at Christopher, currently talking to Karen Wilson from the research division. “He was an unaccompanied minor?” “So we leave him with the social workers, with first responders,” Bobby said, a pointedly raised eyebrow in his direction. “His dad’s a cadet at the PPDC,” Buck replied. “And his grandmother probably died in the attack, so it just felt… I don’t know, morally right?”

i've been dying to catch you dizzy by diazbegins/ @evanbegins (Esablished Buddie, Fluff | 2K | Teen): Eddie and Buck go ice-skating. Oh, and Chris is there too!

🔥 The Aftermath of Liberation and Love Confessions by ElvenSorceress/ @elvensorceress (Post-S5E9, Getting Together | 17K | Teen): Still, Buck says, “Yeah, Eddie. Why don’t you teach us. What would you say if you were professing your love?” You mean something besides, “In the event of my untimely death, I made you legal guardian of my child”? ~ In which Eddie comes out, sexuality is complicated but coffee is not, Buck makes an excessive salad and is also roasted, everyone has a love confession, and December is the most dramatic time of year.

let the choir bells sing by foxwatson/ @eddiediazes (Madney Wedding, Getting Together | 3K | Teen): All at once, Eddie has an idea. It’s definitely the stupidest idea he’s ever had in his entire life, but he has it all the same, and there’s no time to come up with a better one. He puts his hands on Buck’s elbows, tugs him in closer, and says, “Kiss me.”

When You Broke Her Heart, I'm Watching it Burn by ElvenSorceress/ @elvensorceress (Post-S5E11, Buck/Taylor Break-Up | 4K | General): When Buck confesses he kissed someone, Taylor makes an assumption about who. Eddie deals with what all of it means for his own future while picking up the pieces for both Buck and Taylor.

🔥Plus or Minus by ElvenSorceress/ @elvensorceress (S5 | 10K | General): “Why are you cleaning out the kitchen? Why is my stuff in boxes?” Eddie slows, then stops. “Figured you’d want it back.” It’s quieter. Pained. When he says it. “I haven’t decided anything. So unless you’re kicking me out—” “Buck. Come on.” He’s not angry or snapping. It’s still quiet, and somehow that hurts even more. He’s resigned and defeated, and Buck is a scooped out, gutted, hollow shell. “I know how this ends the same way you do. You want to be loved, you want to be married. You’re going to leave. Might as well…” His voice cracks before he can finish and get it under control. “Shouldn’t drag it out.” ~ Taylor is offered a job across the country and asks Buck to go with her. Buck has to figure out if he wants to start over or if he has a reason to stay right where he is.

Color Him Father, Color Him Love by ElvenSorceress/ @elvensorceress (Post-S6E12 | 3K | General): “Connor was worried he wouldn’t feel like it’s really his kid. But I put him back in Connor’s arms, and I could see the way his face changed. The way he lit up and teared up and might have cried because that is his son. And all I could think was that I know that feeling. I know what it feels like to hold a kid and care about them and want to protect them. But it’s so different when it feels like they’re yours. It’s so much more. Even if you didn’t— Even if it’s not biological and you’re not. You’re not really the father. Because I hold Chris— I hold him and I feel like he is part of me.” ~ Buck has a revelation about what he is to Chris. And to Eddie.

turns out freedom ain’t nothing but missing you by Daffi_990_ao3/ @daffi-990 (Post-S6, Getting Together | 4K | Not rated): To protect his heart, Eddie pulls away from Buck when he starts dating Natalia. When he decides to move to B-shift, Buck finally confronts him and certain feelings finally come to light.

with blood in my nose by hammersmiths/ @henswilsons (Canon Divergent, S4E14: Survivors | 9K | Teen): The spray of blood hits him, first. And then Buck drops like a fucking stone. or, Buck is the one who gets shot instead of Eddie.

🔥 3 Men 1 Baby by Tizniz/ @tizniz (Canon Divergent, Accidental Baby Acquisition | 21K | General): It’s a good thing the groceries have made it to the table, because the eggs would certainly have cracked from Eddie dropping the bags to the floor. Because Evan Buckley was standing there holding a baby. A baby. OR: Buck, Eddie, and Chim get a baby. Here's what happens.

you can see it with the lights out (you are in love) by wikiangela/ @wikiangela (Post-S6, Love Confessions | 5K | General): Turns out, Natalia does see Buck, though maybe not in the way he expected. In which Natalia realizes Buck's in love with Eddie and help him see it, too.

we could be corny by devirnis/ @devirnis (Established Buddie | 1,6K | General): Or, Chim and Maddie have Buck and Eddie over for their first official couples’ game night.

🔥 Facets of a Diamond by countrygirlsfun/ @acountrygirlsfun (Canon S1-S2 | 35K | Teen): Southern California is where Buck has spent the most time since leaving Pennsylvania. Of all the places he’s lived and worked over the last few years, this place is where he decided to stay. It’s why he picked LAFD: to put down some roots. It’s warm, has the ocean, and it’s the opposite coast of his parents. So if he’s going to be here for a while, he thinks he’ll need to make an effort to let people in.

a little of that human touch by devirnis/ @devirnis (Established Buddie, Secret relationship | 1,5K | General): Buck closes his book and places it on the coffee table, pushing himself up a little more as Eddie trudges over to him. “Couldn’t sleep either?” Buck asks quietly. He wanders over to the far end of the couch and Buck moves his feet out of the way so Eddie can sit down. “Woke up and you were gone,” Eddie murmurs, pulling Buck’s feet into his lap.

you kiss me in a way that's gonna screw me up forever by heartbeatdiaz/ @loserdiaz (Getting Together, Valentine's Day | 2K | Teen): The LAFD throws a Valentine's Day charity event, there's a kissing booth and Eddie is definitely not going insane with jealousy.

🔥 Winter Prayer by Daisies_and_Briars/ @cal-daisies-and-briars (Road Trip, Buck&Bobby&May | 18K | General): When a work conflict prevents Athena from accompanying Bobby to Minnesota for the ten year anniversary of his family dying, Buck and May offer to go instead. Over the course of the trip, they all learn more about each other, and Bobby faces his grief.

Fractals from the Lightning Bolt by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels/ @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels (One Shots Collection | 47/54 | 87K | Not Rated): A collection of oneshots, some originally posted on tumblr. Each chapter is individually rated.

47. But What if They Were Secret Dating (S4, Explicit)

You Can't Surprise Evan Buckley by Daisies_and_Briars/ @cal-daisies-and-briars (Established Buddie, Fluff | 5K | Mature): Ten months into their relationship, Eddie has not been able to execute a romantic surprise for Buck. But on Buck's birthday, things are about to change. (Part 2 of Birthday Surprises & Other Shenanigans)

WIP

because we'll all arrive in heaven alive by callmenewbie/ @puppyboybuckley (Post-S6, Disaster Fic | 1/9 | 7K | Explicit): During a search and rescue, Eddie disappears without a trace, leaving Buck to grapple with the sudden possibility of a life without him.

🔥 Things We're All Too Young to Know by Daisies_and_Briar / @cal-daisies-and-briars (Canon, S1 through S6 | 111/? | 315K | Mature): This is a love story. Even if it doesn’t always look like it. Even if it doesn’t always feel like it. A look back on Eddie and Buck's lives up to now, and what led them to each other, interpreted from the current 9-1-1 canon.

🔥 A Minor Delay by rainbow_nerds/ @rainbow-nerdss (Post-S6/S7 Spec | 6/11 | 21K | Mature): Almost a year after the bridge collapse, a lot has changed. The team are scattered—Bobby and Athena on their Honeymoon, Hen on adoptive parent's leave, and Buck and Eddie... They may still work together, still have movie nights with Chris whenever they can, but things have changed. With Maddie and Chimney's wedding around the corner, Buck tries to make it perfect. And maybe, along the way, he might figure out why everything still feels... wrong.

if i need to rearrange my particles — i will for you. by dylaesthetics (Post-S6, Social Media fic | 1/16 | 4K | Teen): OR Buck joins a support app for first responders and matches with a firefighter who has PTSD and a kid who likes giraffes, apparently.

[tamarajanegreer]

I am BEGGING people that have a choice to think about divorce when they are deciding to get married. Most people think “oh, if you are thinking about divorce, you WANT to relationship to fail!”

No.

What I mean is, you should think “is 6 months of dating enough for me to decide I wanna be with this person forever?”

“If we broke up 7 times before getting engaged, should I legally tie myself to this person?”

“Are I AND my partner both emotionally mature enough to fight for this relationship when things start to get tough, or do we tend to cut and run?”

“Have I and my partner ever been in an important argument? Do I know how they would act in that situation? And am I ok with it?”

“Do I or my partner have an aversion to apologizing for our mistakes? Especially when it comes to each other?”

“Is the emotional and physical labor of our relationship balanced? Am I ok with our current dynamic?”

“Do I know the marital property division/alimony/child custody laws in my state/country?”

And no, I’m not saying that the above examples are always reasons to not marry someone. My sister was on/off with her BF before they married and they’ve been happily married for years. People CAN make mistakes and learn from them and grow. But if the answer to the above questions is “no or idk” just THINK about it some more. I’m not saying “don’t marry this person because you answered ‘no’ to one of these questions;” I am just asking, for the love of all that’s good for you, for you to sit down and CONTEMPLATE. Get opinions from other people that genuinely care about you.

I have seen people treat divorce like it’s just gonna be a “tough breakup” and no man. If y’all ain’t agreeing on how to split your stuff up? You gotta get the court involved to decide what is and isn’t marital property and to decide who gets what.

You got a joint bank account? Marital property.

You bought a house/car while married to this person? Marital property.

You bought/inherited a house before you married and after you married you put your spouse’s name on the deed? Depending on where you are? Transmuted marital property.

Your retirement/pension/401k? Possible marital property.

And if you get lawyers involved? What’s the initial retainer gonna be to even start the case? (Probably thousands) What’s the attorney’s hourly rate? (Probably hundreds)

Does your state/country required mediation before a contested trial? If so, that’s more $$$.

Do you have kids together? Can you agree on a custody/visitation schedule that is going to be best for your kids (not you - custody/visitation should never be about what works best for you unless it is also best for the child)? Or are you or your partner the type to use your children as leverage in a court case?

Can’t agree on custody/visitation? You may have to hire a Guardian to represent the best interests of the children. That’s more $$$.

This isn’t some attempt at legal advice, it’s just common sense. Please THINK before making big life decisions. Just loving someone isn’t a good enough excuse alone to legally bind yourself to them.

[swimfuel]

okay humanstuck thoughts under the cut

i owe a lot of this to @/rhythmic-idealist's kankri/vantasposting bc holy shit theyve got such a big brain (ill link to their individual posts when im on desktop since im using this to keep all my thoughts straight and i agree with most of what they say wholeheartedly)

general status quo stuff:

signless works in an extremely demanding career involving helping others (i'm leaning towards an attorney who works with organizations and does pro bono work), and is also extensively involved in social justice work outside of his job... he is very rarely home

he loves and cares for his children deeply and tries to express it whenever they're face to face, but the couch in his cramped and messy office has seen far too much use over the years for him to have been able to say it enough

his habits of working himself to the point of exhaustion are handily passed down to his kids btw

the kids had to grow up quickly because signless was out of the house so often and so consistently—kankri, who was already pretty high-strung, has to learn to take care of himself and karkat

they grow up near ms firuzeh maryam, who's their pseudoaunt/grandma (she took in a nine year old kavana vantas when she was about twenty), but they just call her ms rosa

they spent a lot of time in the maryam house growing up, with miss rosa's two nieces. porrim is a year older than kankri, while kanaya and karkat are the same age

kankri grows kinda sensitive to people trying to mother him since it rubs against the notion that he's the "adult of the house" and that he can take care of himself and karkat just fine

(and it also kinda underlines the fact that kankri has no idea what he's doing at the best of times)

and ironically enough, kankri becomes overbearing and naggy towards karkat in his own right, which forestalls them becoming close in any brotherly sort of way

they grow up really just... unable to communicate with one another clearly

karkat develops his ornery exterior in response to kankri's constant stream of opinions and frantic attempts at making up for the presence of a guardian in the house

i think there would actually be some really interesting parallels with rose in this au.. maybe i'm drawing from my own experiences as well but i think he'd begin to assume that every time his brother opens his mouth, he's going to criticize karkat

but instead of reacting like rose with the "making yourself more of a puzzle"/passive aggressive stuff, he gets a more defensive/hackles raised/"argue with you before you can argue with me" approach

and the thing is that they do love each other and would take a bullet for the other etc etc etc.. but they don't know how to express it because they've fallen into these shitty patterns

and it really doesn't help that kankri has grown somewhat resentful of signless over the years... that mix of resentment and fear and love gets more extreme and more polar every time signless gets injured during a political demonstration

i think kankri and signless would also be slightly closer than karkat and signless, as signless' job really only started to ramp up when karkat was less than years old and kankri was in his early double digits

kankri autistic btw its word of god (i am god)

karkat has a pet crab. its name is also karkat. he vents his frustrations to it.

i feel like the vantases exemplify both the best and worst parts of their aspects with one another as well... the strength of their bonds keeps them together and grounded, but TOO grounded. [insert Blood rant here]

the Blood rant:

i define Blood as bonds, responsibility, and the "core". if Life is the fertile soil and everything living on a planet's surface, then Blood is the gravitational core of the planet keeping everything together

i also think Blood, Heart, & Mind work in tandem to define a person just as blood serves to connect the pieces of the human body... Heart is the soul and the self, Mind is the application of one's self through active choices (agency), while Blood defines both the self and the choices one makes in greater detail [and, as an aside, Life provides the physical spark of life needed to keep the heart pumping blood]

OKAY wow that got tangential anyways

SO BASICALLY! too much Blood makes you stagnate, so for example:

kankri is split between staying home with karkat or going to college across the country and being truly unbound for the first time in years

another crisis of Blood: signless is caught between his empathy and responsibility to the whole world and his responsibility to his own children

okay so here's more status quo stuff:

the maryam and vantas kids grow up together and its hilarious because you'll see them all together and its just like (girlboss) (girlboss) (physical manlet) (emotional manlet)

the maryam girls are actually miss rosa's nieces but she took them in when they were both pretty young

the pyropes know the vantases well enough considering pyrope senior and sign have known one another from their respective legal practices for years, but they live on the other side of town

the leijons lived in town when kankri and meulin were very young, but they moved and travelled for a long time before coming back and reestablishing their roots

the captors (psii being one of sign's oldest and closest friends) move into town with the peixes family pretty early on though

the condesce is.. a horrible spouse and guardian, to put it plainly. she's very emotionally manipulative and isn't averse to smacking people around, including her own family. she moves herself and her perfect little family into town so she can properly oversee a new business venture close by

feferi is one of the best young swimmers in the country and has a pretty good shot of getting onto the olympic team.. a lot of this drive to be perfect and to be better results from the condesce's unrelenting pressure and thinly veiled resentment throughout her whole life

so yeah psii, )(ic, feferi, and sollux all live together and it's really not great for anyone involved. (meenah ran away years ago, and crashed on aranea's couch for a pretty long while—mituna moved out with latula for college before psii and the condesce got married)

it gets bad to the point of sollux staying with the maryams for two months while the adults try to sort out that absolute clusterfuck and get the divorce proceedings going (meenah finally convinces feferi to get out and come stay with her and aranea for the duration as well)

in terms of relationships i think latula and porrim were really really close in high school, and probably had some kind of unacknowledged thing going on for a while that never actually turned into anything because latula and mituna were going steady

kankri has had a crush on latula for years but never acted on it for similar reasons

meenah still carries a lot of that give no fucks attitude (it's developed moreso as a defense mechanism here) and can't understand why feferi refuses to leave the condesce with her

okay back to VANTAS MANPAIN i also think that karkat feels the weight of a lot of expectations on his shoulders as well

he feels responsible to live up to the example his dad and his brother set, even if it's to his own detriment—and kankri's oblivious rambling about his grades and his teachers and all his clubs certainly aren't helping the matter

kankri is one of those overinvolved kids taking a million AP's while simultaneously shitting on the collegeboard at every single step

hes this super overachiever anal retentive perfectionist type dude and (just as karkat preemptively criticizes others to forestall their criticisms of him only to harshly criticize himself) kankri subconsciously holds the people around him to the same expectations he holds for himself

so karkat also develops this sense of lacking which, in combination with everything else, culminates in self loathing and thinking he has to solve everyone else's problems and getting horribly mad at himself for every little mistake

GOD i have a lot more but lemme post this before i accidentally close out of the app and lose it all

more little details:

vriska's mom and terezi's mom HATE each other like HATE HATE HATE one another it's so bad

karkat wrote a ten page review of my immortal in middle school

jade is one of nepeta's best online friends

sollux can't raise one eyebrow at a time.. karkat gives him so much grief about it

the vantases eat a lot of shitty renditions of persian dishes until karkat learns to cook because literally the only person in the world with a CHANCE of getting KANKRI VANTAS to make an EDIBLE DISH is miss rosa

kanaya is really good at persian dance too but is VERY VERY embarassed to perform in front of people.. however porrim definitely is not

karkat has insomnia while kankri just stays up stupidly late for assignments that really shouldnt be taken that seriously.. but they both have the same rumination/sleep anxiety thing where your brain goes insane with horrible and depressing scenarios as you try to sleep

and more ideas that i thought were interesting but idk how to fit in the context of this au:

signless and disciple getting married pretty late in life after having been in love for years, the vantases move in with the leijons and karkat suddenly has two sisters

nepeta and karkat are both juniors at this point, meulin is probably in her third year at a local college nearby while kankri is about to start his second year at a university pretty far away

the kids in general honestly but ill figure it out

more random hcs this time with kids:

kanaya and rose get into a flame war online that gradually settles into elaborate courtship rituals

also nepeta + jade online besties

also bec can inexplicably still teleport

the first sbahj movie comes out and the next six months of dave strider junior's high school career are absolute hell

actually hc that dave senior goes by d strider professionally. the d stands for a lot of things

aradia and dave frequent a lot of the same forums but never end up really interacting

meanwhile karkat and john frequent a lot of the same forums and DEFINITELY end up interacting. this turns into grudging (at least on karkat's part) friendship after they find themselves fighting for their lives defending an objectively shitty movie together on the same thread

[witchkings]

The One Engagement Ring

An Angbang Modern AU drabble as prompted by the lovely @darklord <3

Three seconds. Barely any time at all. Negligible in the greater scheme of Mairon’s life, nothing to the ever-advancing flow of the universe, miniscule, dismissible, stupid. Three seconds was all it had taken to ruin Mairon’s picture book life. Melkor would kill him.

These were the facts as Mairon had them:

1.       He’d slipped into the bathroom at the university library for a short piss and to get a minute of quiet in the constant chatter of his study group which was spiralling head-first into a discussion about the meaning of life. Even though they were anthropology graduate students with at least half the group minoring in either philosophy or sociology, this was never a good idea.

2.       When he’d been in the stall, his engagement ring had still gleamed golden on his ring finger, a constant, warm reminder of the grand day to come. Mairon had planned an autumn wedding, complete with matching tuxes, a seven-course feast and was already training Draugluin to carry the wedding rings down the aisle with Thuringwethil as his reluctant guardian. Melkor, of course, would have preferred for them to pop into Vegas and have some drunken fat Elvis proclaim them married, or better yet, simply hand in the necessary paper work on his way to the office, but Mairon was having none of that. If for one day in his life he wanted to feel special, be marvelled at and fawned over, it was going to be this day, his accursed father be damned.

3.       After completing his business, he’d slipped the ring off and into his pocket to wash his hands. He wouldn’t chance it being dulled by hard water or rough soap. Mairon always did it like this, only putting the piece of jewellery back on whenever his hands were dry and spotless, but when he’d made to retrieve it, his pocket had been empty.

4.       There’d been two other people on the bathroom with him and he couldn’t remember whether they’d ever come near him at all, but their childish faces, curly heads, and mischievous giggles could only mean one thing: freshmen.

5.       For three seconds between drying his hands and reaching for the ring, Mairon had leaned over the sink and inspected his own face. The stress of upcoming exams together with his thesis‘ due date drawing ever nearer gave him red spots along his jawline and he’d glared at them to will them away before Melkor picked him up.

Conclusion: As Mairon had been caught up in his own flaws, one or both of those bastards had sidled up to him and stolen the ring out of his pocket without him noticing. This implied many things, for example that the fatigue was getting to Mairon’s mental capacities or that those freshmen were unusually sneaky. Chiefest of all was this though: Melkor had paid half a fortune for that golden band. For Mairon to lose it, well. It would spell disaster.

Mairon glared at himself in the dirt-speckled mirror, bracing himself on the sink. Three seconds, oh he would show those impertinent, stupid, drunkard gnomes what he could do to a person in three seconds. Mairon took a deep breath and marched out of the bathroom, back to the round table his study group occupied. Eönwe and Tilion were at each other’s necks with arguments dissecting Descartes’ meditations while Osse and Uinen had their tongues down each other’s throats with disgusting slobbering noises. No studying to be done here, one of the sodden constants of Mairon’s life. He grabbed his notes and tablet and shoved them into his bagpack with more force than necessary which had Curumo look up from where he had hovered over his mess of tiny handwritten notes. He looked a little like a deer in head-lights, always lost was poor Curumo. Mairon rolled his eyes and tugged at his classmate’s sleeve.

“What?” Curumo whined, reluctant to forgo the last stretch of productivity he illusioned himself with, but he was already packing up.

“Come with me,” Mairon replied. “We’re going to hunt down some freshmen.”

After a quick text to Melkor to explain he needn’t be picked up today, Mairon dragged Curumo out of the library. The dismayed reply came seconds later, and Melkor wasn’t at all happy with the excuse of needing to tutor Curumo on their upcoming French test. Melkor and Curumo had never gotten along and if Mairon was honest with himself, he would have ditched Curumo after the first week of the first semester, but sometimes the guy proved useful. Especially because, in spite of his timid disposition, he somehow knew everyone on campus, ranging from the most introverted freshman all the way to the creepy maintenance guy who smelled like he lived in the sewers.

“What for?” Curumo asked. They crossed the student-littered yard, dodging peer-pong balls and caffeine-crazed grad students to the cafeteria where Mairon figured his best bet would be. Freshmen were always hungry, and he had a vague memory of four curly-haired heads positively camping in there at all times, claiming they needed seven meals a day to function.

“They stole something from me,” Mairon muttered, raking his hands through his hair. He’d neglected to trim it to its usual chest length and it was getting quite out of hand, tangling at the lightest breeze. Still better than what Curumo’s mother had done to him over the last holiday, short and ragged so that he looked like Jack Frost.

“What did they steal?”

“My engagement ring.”

“What?” Curumo spluttered, and almost ran into the door, but Mairon held it open in time. Under the pretence of having lunch – Mairon never had university lunch if he could help it, the stuff was vile and Melkor was a great cook if he wanted to be – they both got into line, eyes darting about for the thieves.

Mairon spotted the usual groups as he scanned the perimeter. The musical theatre kids led by a haughty grad student with a harp who had a gazillion brothers around. The nature-loving hippies who smoked too much weed for their own good and gave themselves funny names and pretended to be trees on weekends. The burly punk rockers who rode Harleys and had a kink for arson, Mairon had met their gang head Gothmog in a colloquium once, he wasn’t too bad. Even the naval engineering students who usually spent all their free time down by the beaches to test their self-crafted boats where in attendance, picking at salads and discussing hydraulics. Not a sign of those nasty burglars though.  

The guy behind the counter handed him a tray, and Mairon took it, paying with his student ID chip card before turning back towards the room, just in time to see a pair of dark, curly heads disappear through the swinging doors of the cafeteria, chips trailing after them like crumbs. Mairon dropped his food and took off after them, spitting curses. Curumo, the good dog that he was, mirrored this. They tore out of the cafeteria and down the hallway together.

“Hey,” Mairon screamed. “Hey, stop!” The two freshmen threw hasty glances over their shoulders, hollering as they ran and dodged around students, but Mairon and Curumo were faster, knew these halls better and soon enough, they had the two cornered against a row of blue lockers.

“Now,” Mairon crooned and made to advance on them, but before he could, someone interrupted him. “Now you will repent.”

“Hey, what do you want with them,” he barked and two people stepped into Mairon’s and Curumo’s way, obscuring the goblins from view. They were both jocks, broad-shouldered and bearded, and towered a head over Curumo and Mairon. He knew the blond one, Eomer, an agriculture major, from a finance class they’d both taken as an elective, but he’d never seen the other man before. He was the one who’d spoken and wore a sports shirt of a team Mairon had never heard of. A white tree was their logo and their motto was written in a strange swirl of letters that looked almost Arabic.

“Just a friendly chat,” Mairon said through gritted teeth. “Not to worry.”

“That didn’t sound so friendly to me,” the guy growled and Eomer put a hand on his shoulder, nodding. His scowl deepened and his eyes burned, staring daggers into Mairon’s.

“Weren’t you that condescending guy at the back of Accounting 101 who called everyone peasants?” he asked and Mairon sighed inwardly. One bad day to haunt him. Or well, a whole semester of bad days, but who was counting anyway? Melkor had been abroad for that time and Mairon had suffered terribly.

“Why do you even care?” Mairon asked, and Curumo put a warning hand to his arm. It wasn’t unlikely that he’d seen these two beat someone up at some frat party before, but Mairon wasn’t intimidated by such mundane things as physical violence.

“Because they’re our friends,” the second jock growled, crossing his arms over his chest. It was hard not to laugh, these fully grown men proclaiming themselves friends of two troublemakers who weren’t even legally adults yet.

“Look, guys,” Curumo said quietly. “Merry and Pippin stole something very valuable from my friend here and he is rather upset about it.”

Eomer bared his teeth, but the other guy whirled around to stare at the two thieves in question who were huddled against the lockers, but silently giggling amongst themselves.

“Is this true?” he asked, and the tone of his voice implied he knew already. Helpless or not, they probably had a reputation for mischief-making.

“Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t,” one of them said with a thick accent.

“You said it yourself,” the other added, “he is a condescending ass.”

“Boys.”

“Boromir.”

“Enough,” Mairon hissed and pushed through the two jocks and bore down on the freshmen, holding out his empty palm. “You give me back my ring or I will make your lives here a living nightmare. You can hire as many football players and wannabe wrestlers as you want, I am very good friends with the dean, I have more than enough money to bribe every professor in the state to bully you and my boyfriend will beat every last one of your bodyguards to a pulp. Is that clear?”

Merry and Pippin stared at him, their facial muscles contorting in a series of impossible expressions, torn between laughing and crying. They settled for blankness and, at last, Pippin handed over the ring. It was smudged with grease from his fingers and Mairon pulled out a linen handkerchief to polish it with.

“I’m sorry, they’re still not used to their actions having consequences,” Boromir sighed and Eomer nodded sternly.

“Whatever,” Mairon said with half a shrug and he stalked off the scene, leaving Curumo to deal with the polite formalities or whatever the situation demanded. He had his ring back, he could call Melkor to get him after all, he would get laid tonight while all these losers were busy with their parties and teenager friends and studying until their eyes bled. It was not ten minutes later that Mairon was comfortably tucked into Melkor’s Chevrolet, the heated seat warming his ass-cheeks.

“Have a nice day?” Melkor grumbled, not taking his eyes off the parking lot around them. Mairon leaned over and pressed a kiss to the corner of his beloved’s mouth.

“Nothing special,” he replied and leaned into the backrest. “Nothing special at all.” The ring glinted in the low-afternoon sun and everything was as it should be.

[taco-calamitous]

Evangelion: 3.0+1.01 Thrice Upon a Time

****MAJOR SPOILERS THROUGHOUT*****

When did the last Rebuild of Evangelion movie come over to the States? Like, 2015? I remember watching it in my apartment in Arkansas, back when I was in the Air Force. That was a long time ago. So much life has happened since then. After I watched that one, I decided to write about it. I was kinda bewildered by my experience with that movie. There was a 14 year time jump between it and the second movie, and everyone was pissed off at Shinji, because he had somehow caused Third Impact. The last image I recall from the second movie was Kaoru’s Eva ramming a spear through Shinji’s Eva unit. All of the sudden, in the third movie, everyone but the Eva pilots have aged 14 years—something to do with their use of the Evas. Misato acted completely cold and distant to Shinji, contradictory to how she had been behaving at the end of the last movie. By the end of the third movie, however, Shinji had been duped by Nerve—which seemed to only consist anymore of Gendo and Kozo. After causing another disaster and watching Kaoru die, Shinji was dragged off somewhere by Asuka, alongside the… Third Rei, I believe (not the one Shinji seemed to have saved at the end of the second movie, if I recall correctly). So what’s going on in this fourth movie? Well, there’s no time jump this time, it seems. Misato’s new organization, which consists of old Nerve employees and new people—along with the new glasses-wearing Eva pilot girl, Mari—are trying to reset an AT field, or base, or something, in the heart of Paris, and they’re attacked by some Nerve robots while they’re doing this. They have these flying battleships that they use as shields, as well as Mari’s Eva, to protect themselves while they do this. Mari’s able to hold Nerve off, and they get the AT field going. This is the most action we see in the movie for over an hour, probably. For the next long while, we see Asuka drag Shinji and Rei through a red wasteland to a village of survivors, which is protected by a large AT field. We meet grown up Toji, Kensuke, and Hikari. Toji’s a doctor now, and married to Hikari. Kensuke is a surveyor or scientist or something. While here, the third Rei learns what it’s like to be human—works, makes friends, learns about concepts like “Good morning,” “good evening,” “good bye,” etc., and what cats and babies are. Shinji falls into a catatonic state of despair due to what he’s done, and watching Kaoru die. Asuka has no sympathy for him and is angry about how he is behaving. Kensuke thinks he just needs time and space, and allows him to run away to an abandoned building and stay there for weeks. It was cool to see some of these characters grown up, as we never got to see any of them age in the original series. Toji I remembered the most for punching Shinji in an early episode, but then coming around and being mostly cool, until he died when Unit 1 went out of control. Since Asuka was the victim of that episode in these movies, Toji got to live this time. It’s also cool to see these characters because they’re actually well-adjusted, and aren’t suffering from deep emotional damage. Eventually, the third Rei’s kindness seems to get through to Shinji, and he goes back to the village to help out. It’s then that he meets Misato and Kaji’s son. Misato made sure this kid never met her or knew anything about her, for some reason I don’t recall. Something to do with emotional damage, though. Meanwhile, the third Rei is finding that her body is failing because she has left Nerve facilities, I think. So after spending time watching her learn to be a human, we watch her say goodbye to Shinji, and then disintegrate. Asuka, who’s been hanging out either in her Eva suit or mostly naked for some reason, gets recalled back to Misato’s team, and Shinji decides to go with her. So she hits him with a stun gun and knocks him out. Shinji awakens to Toji’s little sister Sakura standing over him, who then slaps him and starts sobbing because he got back into an Eva after she’d told him not to. I vaguely remember her from the last movie (apparently she was dead all along in the original series. I went and looked her up just now to recall what she was like in the original series. I guess she wasn’t.) To keep Shinji from doing anything, they put him in a holding chamber. That Asuka and Mari are just able to go in and out of of their own free will, and he seems to just be able to leave later on in the movie. Maybe they didn’t put him holding chamber? I thought they said they were doing putting him in one, though. There’s this pink-haired girl who’s mad that he’s back on the ship. I think she was in the last movie. Her family died in Third Impact, and she blames him. Like everybody else. There’s some exposition stuff at this point in the movie between Misato and Ritsuko, and Gendo and Kozo. Misato and Ritsuko talk about the purpose of the ship they’re piloting to repopulate the Earth if Nerve succeeds in the Fourth and Final impact, and Kozo and Gendo talk about the Instrumentality Project, involving Christian symbology and names, but also talking about “the Gods,” and other things that wouldn’t exactly mesh with Christian ideas. After these two scenes of exposition, Misato’s team tells her that whatever Nerve’s headquarters or whatever are in has moved to its final destination, so they have to act now. Misato decides to use the ship they’re in as a weapon against Nerve, and deploys all the seeds it holds containing Earth’s life, or whatever. Then they go to where Nerve is, and try to break through it’s outer AT Field thing. There’s a line about humans trying to pass through to the Gods while still being in sin. My thought on that is that Gendo and Kozo are human, and they’re already in there, but eh. Anyway, Kozo pops up in a big ship and attacks them before they break through. They deploy Asuka and Mari’s Evas, who fight with a bunch of pilot-less Evas, until they drop to the ground, where Unit 13—which looks just like Unit 1—is laid out on a cross. Asuka tries to stab it with one of those giant spear things, but it puts up an AT Field, so she takes her eye patch off, and a power up item comes out from her eye. She rips open the AT Field, but then Unit 13 grabs her and starts choking her. Meanwhile, Kozo’s ship takes hold of Misato’s ship, and they realize that Gendo had been planning this, or something. The Second Rei, I think, appears to Asuka, disintegrates her body, and pulls her into Unit 13, I think. Next, Misato and Ritsuko meet Gendo some weird red landscape they all can get to, apparently. Ritsuko shoots Gendo in the head multiple times, but it only momentarily knocks him down, and reveals a glowing, cross-shaped hole where his eyes should be. He’s apparently ascended or something, using the information of the gods or whatever. He goes into Unit 13, and they realize they can’t stop him, but Shinji shows up and says he’s gonna pilot Unit 1 again to fight his father. Pink-haired girl and Sakura show up with guns to try and stop him, and Sakura actually tries to shoot Shinji, but Misato jumps in the way of the bullet. Earlier in the movie, she flashed back to when she was cheering Shinji on at the end of the second movie, just before Third Impact, and she states that as Shinji’s legal guardian, she’s still responsible for whatever he does. They let Shinji go, and Sakura treats Misato’s wound. As Shinji and Gendo start fighting, they end up locked together, falling into some weird “anti-reality” space, I think it was called, to the “Golgotha Object.” The two spears they’re carrying, “Hope” and “Despair,” Gendo plans to use at this “Golgotha Object” to make a wish. The two Evas fight in some virtual reality created by the gods or something, spanning across Shinji’s memories, and Gendo fights far more aggressively and effectively than Shinji, while yelling that Shinji doesn’t understand. Eventually, Shinji stops fighting and starts talking to Gendo. So Gendo explains everything, and seems to indicate that the End of Evangelion happened, but Shinji rejected it. That was Gendo’s initial wish, and now his new wish is to see his wife again, but everyone around there is Rei. Also, they see “Evangelion Imaginary,” which appears as the Black Lillith thing that was hung up on a cross in the original series. It comes off the cross, floats up to the world above, and turns into Giant Naked Rei from End of Evangelion. Also, all the weird wandering Evas out in the wasteland that I forgot to mention earlier start turning into less giant, headless, naked Reis, and start floating around. Misato decides as a last ditch effort to convert the power of her ship into making one last spear for Shinji to use to cancel out Gendo’s wish with his own. Also, Mari meets Kozo in his ship, he calls her “Mari Iscariot,” gives her permission to use his ship or something, and then he explodes into tang, like everybody did in End of Evangelion. I didn’t really understand the exchange, to be honest. Meanwhile, as the final preparations for Misato’s plans are finished, she orders everyone else to abandon the ship but stays on, as someone still has to get the spear to Shinji. I realized then that we had to watch Misato die again, and got kinda sad. In any case, she pilots the ship through Giant Naked Rei’s eye—with help from Mira and her Eva—gets the spear to Shinji, and then her ship explodes with her still in it. In the next few scenes, we learn about Gendo, Kaoru, and Asuka’s deepest issues. Gendo was always a loner and hated being around people until he met his wife, and then when she died, he thought being left with a son was punishment for himself, so he kept himself distant from Shinji. He realized he was afraid of Shinji, and I Shinji forgave him, they realized they were similar in some ways, and then he stepped off the virtual train they were on. Next, Kaoru appeared, but Kaji also appeared to explain to Kaoru that he thought making Shinji happy would make himself happy, and that he had to live his own life, or something. So he also exited the virtual reality—this time they were in a garage. Next, Asuka relived her childhood, being without her mother and father, thinking everyone hated her and would only except her as an Eva pilot, but Kensuke appeared to her and comforted her, and she also left. Finally, the second Rei appeared to Shinji, and Shinji explained that he planned to make a world where they wouldn’t have to pilot Evas, and that she could be whatever she wanted. She likes that, and leaves. Back in Unit 1, Shinji’s gonna stab through Unit 1 with the spear, but his mom appears as Unit 13, takes the spear away from him, and pushes him out of Unit 1, taking his place as the sacrifice. Shinji sees her and Gendo together, and goes back to reality, where the less giant, headless, naked Reis are turning into people and animals and descending back to Earth. Shinji appears on a beach, and Mari lands just offshore in her Eva, which disappears as she jumps out into the ocean. As Shinji reaches her, the scene jumps to him at a train station—I think the one we first met him in in the original series—and they’re there together, all dressed up. Mari’s coming on to him, he’s acting far more reciprocal and confident than he would have in the original series, they run out of the station together, and the credits roll. I think this ending makes more sense than the original End of Evangelion. I think it also had way less disturbing imagery in it, which is nice. It also felt less bewildering than the previous movie. Most of the characters that blamed Shinji for everything wrong in the last movie seemed to be more forgiving in this one, except for Asuka. Of course, Asuka is Asuka. She’s less loud and obnoxious, and more reserved than she was in the original series, although she’s also 14 years older than she was, even if her body remains that of a teenager. She just has a raging hate-boner for Shinji. She seems at least tolerant to everyone else. Meanwhile, we learn that Misato is a bit more conflicted about than she seemed in the last movie. She doesn’t just seem to blame him for everything that happened, like she did in the last movie. She also has a line to Ritsuko about being stoic being better than being emotional. I liked her a lot better in this movie than I did in the last one, as a result. I didn’t watch any of the other movies again before I watched this one, so a lot of the characters, names, and events weren’t fresh in my mind or anything. Most recently, I watched the first episode of the original series again with my brother, when he saw it was on Netflix. I might have understood things a bit better if I had watched those again, but then again, knowing Evangelion, maybe not. Overall, although I did like the last movie, I probably liked this one a bit better. It felt more coherent to me, and dealt with some of the things I found confusing from the last movie. If I recall correctly. But yeah. I just wrote this because I remembered writing a thing for the last movie, and I thought, “eh, why not do it again?”  I haven’t posted on this site in a while, but I remember writing about the last one on here, so eh. 

[iammarylastar]

9. FAREWELL

"So, you're leaving without saying goodbye?"

She said, her voice like a ghost.

Shit.

Cal leaned his hand on the door frame, his forehead followed and he closed his eyes. He could feel Jess trembling behind his back, he could foresee her face soaked in tears, her sobs stuck in her chest.

Shit.

Leaving her was the hardest thing he had ever done, he doubted he could gather the strength to walk out the door, but now she was awake, crying, he knew it would be impossible.

Yet, he had to.

"Chris?" She begged.

He had planned everything, every little detail, like he already had, to break Oyster out.

He got all his stuff ready: a car fueled up, the maps with all the secondary roads highlighted, 4 different options to cross the Canadian border. His backpack, enough military rations to survive for 2 weeks, in case he'd have to ditch the car and cover the distance by foot. A compass. An extra pair of trekking shoes, just in case. Water. Lighter. Headlamp. Emergency kit. US dollars. Canadian dollars.

No phone. 

No pics, not even one of Jessica. He wouldn't risk to get caught and have her involved. Beside it would be too painful to look at her beautiful face. Dealing with her memory would be hard enough.

But he had no choice. More than 3 years he hadn't see his brother. 3 fucking long years he hadn't heard his voice. Teddy, his little brother, the reason he had kept living after their mom died, the one he had fought for. And kept fighting for.

He'd all planned in his head, playing every scenario again and again at night, all those sleepless nights, Jess cuddled against his chest. Looking blankly at the ceiling, on the hunt for what could happen, what could turn wrong, and come what may: keep walking.

Until he reaches Lac-Sainte-Marie, Quebec, 260 miles from here. Until he meets his brother again.

"Chris!" She yelped, like she was drowning.

For a millisecond, he thought he could just give up: forget his little ass of a brother, forget his oath to his mother, forget his responsibilities, drop on his knees and beg Jess to marry him, give her 3 kids, get a pet and live happily ever after. Why not? He deserved a little of happiness, didn't he?

"What is happening?" she whispered, her voice torn by sobs, like stabs in his back.

What the fuck was happening, good question. He was happening. That fucking deceiving Cal was freaking out and ruining everything again. Like it was meant to be.

Like he was meant to screw up every chance of happiness.

"I have to see him. Jess, he got back in touch with me. Those postcards. There must be a reason." He said under his breath, not daring to glance at her.

"Chris, you're still in probation! A single step out of the State and you're in parole violation! You're going to get caught and thrown into jail again!" She knew this argument wouldn't work with him, but she was a lawyer, well almost, she had to plead for her case.

"I know..." Chris whispered. The next words would be excruciating to pronounce.

"That's why I won't come back..."

"Noooo!" She totally broke down.

As he listened to her heart shattering into pieces, taking his own heart down, he couldn't help thinking about time.

It took her days to tame his fears, weeks to heal him for his trauma, months to forge deep, trustful ties between their hearts.

Ties they both thought were unbreakable.

And as it took a heartbeat to fall in love with her, he'd been quick to break her heart.

Now he was running out of time. With her. For Oyster. Fuck.

"At least wait for your probation period to be over! You'll be a free man and you could go wherever you want!" She begged.

Like he didn't know. Like he hadn't spent the last days counting how many days it would take to be reunited. Like he hadn't thought of it from top to bottom. Like he hadn't been obsessed and torn about that fucking choice he had to make.

"Three more years! Jess, I can't leave him alone for 3 more fucking years! He needs me!" He let his anger flow out of his chest.

"What about me????" She thundered, gripping her nightie where her heart ached, then pointing a furious index finger out.

"He's not a kid anymore! He made his choice! You don't owe him anything anymore! When are you going to start thinking about yourself? About us?"

Touché.

Cal wavered at her words. The more she spoke, the more his determination weakened. He had no choice but cling to his same old song.

"I'm his legal guardian, I promised mom I'd take care of him. I can't break my oath. Not again..."

It would have been easier if Chris was the selfish type. But he didn't choose Marine corps and law enforcement by mistake. He was a man of principle, loyal, honest, trustful. A man with Semper Fidelis inked in his flesh forever.

"Chris!!" Jess was burning with rage and desperation. She was fed up with his sempiternal lame excuses.

She would have slapped his face full force if she could have moved, again and again until he got it, but violence never fixed anything, she was dead certain of this.

Chris’ childhood to adulthood, his former job in the Marine corps, his time in jail, his whole damn life had been nothing but violence, he deserved better from her.

She breathed in and out slowly to calm her nerves down and regain control of her thoughts.

Give him what he needs, that's the only way...

"You're strong Chris. You're a good man! Why can't you see it?"

Cal shook his head, tears threatening again behind his lids.

"I failed. I failed to keep my mom alive. I failed to protect my brother. To serve my country... To make you happy. I don't deserve you..."

"When are you going to stop punishing yourself for things, you're not responsible for? Jesus, your mom died, who's to blame? Not you! You struggled to provide for your brother though you were barely an adult, Chris, you did your best! Oyster made some bad choices, his choices, he fucked up but it was not your fault!"

Gone his sweetheart of a girlfriend, he was facing a new, fierce, unstoppable soldier ready for anything for her love.

Anything. Maybe, even ready to throw everything away for him.

Cal slowly extended his hand to a trembling Jess. This gesture was a dangerous step back, he had promised himself not to touch her, not to smell her nor to get too close. No way he could leave this place without her if their hands were linked.

Jess nearly jumped forward to take it, intertwined her fingers so tightly with his, their knuckles turned white. She closed her other hand over their clasped ones, then pulled them against her cheek, nuzzling against the slightest piece of his skin she could.

The contact of her skin against his made him jolt. His plea slipped through his lips before his brain realized their impact.

"Come with me. I hate to put that on you but... Jess, come with me. I don't want to lose you..."

His words were like slaps in her face. Her jaw dropped down and the look she threw at him slapped him back.

Shit.

She thought she had won. She thought he had heard her words. She thought he would stay. Why would he have offered his hand otherwise?

"Wh..? But... Cal, what are you doing?"

"Come with me Jessica. Let's start a new life in Canada. I love you. I love you!"

His turn to wrap his hand around hers and pull her closer, so his gaze pierced hers, his taut body hovering over her. This could fix everything.

Say yes! Say yes! Say yes!!

Jessica froze in shock, her pupils widened. She would have left all she had behind to follow him. The solution was easy: just go with him!

Just go with him, and become an outlaw. Say goodbye to your family, your career, your dreams, your life. On the run forever with the man she loved. With no future but hiding and lying.

"And you saved your first 'I love you' for the day you leave me..." Jess whispered under her breath, defeated. He killed her hope the second before, and kept doing an excellent job to trample on her heart.

Her whole body slumped down; Cal had to tighten his grip on her hands to get her upright.

Her pale complexion and her trembling voice made her look like a ghost.

"No. I can't. You can't... do that. You can't drag me into a runaway and make me a fugitive. I... I'm... My family is here, my career is here, my life is here... with you!

If you really love me, STAY!"

Chris wobbled, his knees weak under him. She was right, he knew it. He was wrong, doing all wrong, as he always had done. Jessica saw her chance in his hesitation, and played her last card. Faithfulness, Chris' obsession.

"That's not what you promised me. Chris, you promised me..." she burst into tears again, clinging onto him like he was a lifeline. Their love was like the Titanic, they thought it beautiful and in submersible, but it was irremediably sinking in the middle of nowhere and will end up broken shipwreck.

Hold on Rose, you have a chance.

Sorry Jack, you're screwed.

Shit.

He promised her, that day he talked his heart out, in the wee hours of a beautiful day, lying in bed, slowly brushing her delicate face with his fingertips. That day he told her about his plans for the future, their future. Openly daydreaming of his will to marry her, build her a house, have kids with her, three he said, if she agreed. Plus, a dog. One day, he promised, when she would graduate and he would have a better job.

He solemnly promised her to make her happy, happy ever after.

"You deserve to be happy, Chris. We've been so happy together. For fuck sake, why couldn't we just be happy?"

Because happiness is not meant for me.

"Jess, I miss him so much... I have no choice."

"There's always a choice... Let me help!" She begged a last time, squeezing his hands even tightly.

Chris closed his eyes, his sigh shaky through his tight throat. Just do it. Say it.

Now.

"No. Not this time... Let me go, Jess, please..." Chris grudgingly untied their fingers but Jess kept gripping at him, his wrists, his arms, his hoodie. He patiently unhooked each of her attempt, gently but firmly holding her wrists together.

It was so hard, Jesus, to see her face, desperate and drowned in tears, to hear a plea, to hurt her so deeply. But it had to be done. Like ripping off a band-aid. Just do it.

"No, no, no, no, Chris, please, nooo!" She begged, she would have given anything, everything to have him think, find another way, change his fucking mind. To have him stay. Choose her.

All her expectations vanished when Cal took her hands in his large palms, bent to kiss them but just leant his forehead on them, shaken by both their sobs and cries. He knew he couldn't leave if his lips touched her skin again. She knew it too.

Slowly, too slowly, he extended his arms until her fists laid on her chest, her fingers writhing in pain, and stepped back. Unable to look a last time in her eyes, Cal turned his heels and grabbed the doorknob.

"What if I'm pregnant?"

He froze, like punched in his guts.

"What?" His world collapsed. He had all the scenarios figured out, even the worst, but not this one.

He had made love to her earlier that night, knowing it'd be the last time. He made it last long, savoring each second with her, kissing each piece of her body, learning each of her curves by heart with his fingertips. He made it sensual, passionate, beautiful. He had given her all, all of him.

He had laid on his back for hours, his love cuddled on his side, her arms around his chest, like to keep him from running away. Like she felt it.

He had stayed like this forever, staring at the ceiling, listening to her deep breathing, feeling her, smelling her, until he was drunk from her.

"I said, what if I'm pregnant." She stated again, interrupting his thoughts.

"Are you?" He blankly asked.

She might be. From tonight.

She could be. They've been careless for a couple of weeks, their desire so strong they skipped to put a condom on. They both silently agreed, since they had a talk about it: they wanted to spend their lives together and grow a family, one day or another...

Jess had tried the pill, but it hadn't fit her. She tried 3 different brands but every time something went wrong. Cal hated seeing her with cramps or moody and IUD was a big no no due to her young age, so he decided to take the responsibility of the birth control, and simply pulled out at the right time.

Which was, according to Jess, like a firework without the final. Several times, half of the time in fact, she trapped Cal between her legs so he came inside of her. She found it so sexy and powerful.

Sexy but likely give rise to a baby.

Their baby. His.

"You won't stay for me. Would you stay for your child?"

Bitch. She knew how push his button, where it hurt the most. Given what he was doing to her, it was fair.

His guts twisted painfully and nausea invaded his throat at the thought. His deepest nightmare resurfaced: a kid with no father to take care of them, ruffle their hair, tickle them until they're breathless from laughing, play football with them, hug them tight when they're scared or sad. A kid with no dad to love them. A kid like he'd been, grown up before his childhood even had started.

A missing father. That was what he would become if he left now. The worst of the worst. A man he promised himself to never be. Fucking never hurt someone like he'd been hurt.

He unsuccessfully was trying to clear his mind from sadness and anger to redo his math and remember when was her last period. Calculate the odds of a pregnancy. Rate his chance to stay.

Zero.

He sucked. He wasn’t worth anything.

Maybe living was the best he could do to save this child from himself. He was no better father than his own, unable to make a good decision.

Chris dropped his head, his hands tightened in fists, his eyes closed in a frown. He stopped breathing for a long time, until he made his decision.

"I'm sorry." He muttered, grabbing the doorknob.

That was it. She couldn't go, he couldn't stay. I guess that's just the way the story goes.

Such a waste.

Chris pushed the door open, wiped his tears with his sleeve and walked out, without a last glance at her.

[genogenocrazycatman]

Heed the Siren's Call

Rumours on the tide say he's got a girl in every port, but sea-sayings tend to exaggerate. There was only ever one port—and the one girl.

Pre-series. Bookish and wilful, Makino is not even twenty when her legal guardian leaves her on her own, and with a bar to boot. And it figures he'd choose the greatest personal upheaval in her life to make his entrance. After all, he's that kind of guy.

Sailor's Folly

There's a sea, and a port, and a girl. And there's him, who wasn't prepared for either, especially the last one—that wide-open heart and gentle stubbornness pulling him in, soft as a siren's song and just as compelling. And he doesn't know if it's fate's doing, but even if it isn't, Shanks knows his own is sealed the moment she looks at him, lovely frown in place, and tells him to order his drink or get out of her doorway.

Companion fic to Siren's Call, wherein a cheerful scoundrel sweeps a village barmaid off her feet. Or was it the other way around?

Sea Songs

The world has its long-awaited King, but there’s an island where an Emperor still reigns; a sovereignty of retired pirates that answer to no one else, and a peace left undisturbed—at least if you know what's good for you. There's a bar there, the seat of an Empress of gentle things, of homely comforts and good liquor, no crown on her head but her authority an undisputed fact.

Sequel to Siren's Call. It’s the end of a voyage, but not the end of their story—not by a long shot. There are many verses still left to sing, sweet and bitter, of the love that endured a long decade and then some; of the marriage that came of it, and the partnership that didn’t flinch at war and separation and distance. And lastly, of the new life it made, conceived in the sun-warmed surf at the junction between two worlds that had once been separate.

Penelope

She’d waited ten years for him to come back, like he’d promised. And it hadn’t been without its hurdles, or with her heart free of doubts. Ten years is, after all, a long time. But...some things are worth the wait.

Companion to Sea Songs. There's been waiting, and ten years of it. Now there's peace, and long-earned at that; the culmination of a crew-wide betting pool, and a wedding at sunset, flowers in her hair and across the deck of his ship. And there's drinking, and a lot of it, but of course that's no surprise to anyone. Their Captain is getting married—it only figures they’d throw one hell of a party to celebrate.

Charybdis

Being an Emperor’s wife didn’t come without risks, but she hadn’t been prepared for what the sea would ask of her for choosing him, and the ways it would touch her quiet life, in her peaceful corner of the sea. Her little port, which had never been anything but safe.

Sea Songs AU. Fuschia is gone, and the man she loves thinks she’s dead. The sea is dark and vast and terrible, and has no more kindness to spare her than those seeking to use her for their own gain; a pawn in a game she never asked to play, and one they didn’t think she would.

Makino doesn’t blame them. She is, after all, just a girl in a port. But like the sea, appearances deceive, and every sailor knows this truth, and to fear it: that however still and beautiful the surface, the unknown depths should never be taken lightly.

Scylla

They say she's as terrifying as her husband, Red-Haired Shanks' wife (she's a sea witch, a siren; she took his arm as payment, as punishment, for kicks), but for all the names they gave her, and all the rumours to them, they did get one thing right.

She's a pirate.

Married the Sea 

Not all couples spend their 10-year wedding anniversary behind bars for indecent exposure.

Companion fic to Scylla, depicting the marriage of a certain illustrious pirate and the woman who stole his heart (figuratively speaking—at least unless you believe the rumours).

Tethered to Kinder Shores

She’s part of the crew, always has been. A pirate on land, no sea legs to speak of and no bounty to her name, and no crime committed except loving them for who they are.

Makino and the Red-Hair Pirates. Oh—and their Captain, of course.

Whose Heart is a Safe Harbour

She's more than a port of call and a parting glass, and even the sea couldn't hope to compete with all that love.

Makino, and twelve very different birthdays.

Some Things Even Whiskey Won't Fix

It's a humble request, and a promise that will bind all three of them beyond death:

"Tell him I said 'hello'."

Love In Good Liquor 

Their marriage is like an old vintage—enduring, sweet on the tongue, brewed with laughter, and liable to get you cheerfully drunk.

A Scallywag's Checklist for a Rousing Seduction

An honest and hard-working tavern owner's impeccable work ethic is put to the test.

The Wilfulness of Water

Navigating the many straits of parenthood isn't always easy, especially when your kids become old enough to chart their own course. And it's never smooth sailing when it comes to matters of the heart.

“Not to be dramatic,” Shanks announced, with a sigh that contradicted the whole statement, even before he’d added, “but this is probably what kills me.”

Rivers Running to the Same Sea

It's a different port, and a different bar; a different sea altogether, and different circumstances for their first meeting.

But it's the same girl, and the same pirate. And it'll be their story, in the end.

Mnemosyne

She doesn’t remember her life before the human market, or before Amazon Lily. The only clues she has is her name, and the silver anchor around her neck.

And that her daughter has red hair.

Andromeda Unbound

She's never set foot off the docks.

It's a truth she's shaped her life around. Often she'll say it with a chuckle, to soften the ruthless fact of her sheltered upbringing. Sometimes it's an excuse, so she won't have to deal with what it might mean to change it. Many times she's wondered if she would ever dare, and more times still she's imagined herself doing it, bold, brave, pirate. But most often, it's said with the knowledge that it will remain that way; that there's no reason to challenge it.

Her husband's execution changes things.

Bind Me to the Tide

She was thirteen the day it happened, old enough to know what a soul-bond was, but not to fully understand what it meant, to bind two souls so thoroughly as the Fates were said to do. Every new thread they measured was tied to another; a knot that ensured their paths would cross, somewhere along the line of their lives. It was the stuff of romances. Or it would have been, if it hadn’t been for an unfortunate side-effect.

For as long as Makino could remember, she’d been feeling the pain of another as her own.

Verses Not Fit for Singing in Public

It started, innocently enough, with a comment.

“Hey, how did you lose your v-card, Yasopp?”

[twtd11]

Legal Aid

As in, you should get some. I’ve put off writing this post for ages, but with the wave of evictions we’re probably about to see, now seems to be the time.

If you have any sort of civil legal problem, by that I mean not criminal, you should google [your location] and [free legal aid]. No, I’m not kidding. Any legal problem. Ok, not any. We can’t help you sue the bastard who wrecked you car on the freeway last week. But anything else, including:

Your landlord is refusing to fix your toilet or give you your security deposit back

You just got an eviction or foreclosure notice and you don’t know what to do

You’ve been abused and you need legal protection and a divorce

You’re trying to get custody of your kids

You need a will/power of attorney/advance medical directive (super important for people who aren’t married and/or lgbt+ people)

You’ve been discriminated against at work

You need help figuring out what to do with your parent’s will after they’ve died

You’ve/your kid’s been suspended from school (if your under 18, you’ll have to get your parent/guardian to call)

You need a name change or gender marker change (becasue you’re transitioning or for whatever reason)

You’re having problems getting Social Security Disability benefits

You need to file bankruptcy or you’ve got creditors harassing you

You’ve been denied unemployment benefits

If it sounds like a lot of stuff, that’s because it is. This isn’t even a full list of what legal aid can help you with. This was just the stuff off of the top of my head that I remembered.

Legal aid organizations get funding from Congress (including some funding from the CARES act, so get your coronavirus help too) to provide low income individuals with legal help. Your tax dollars are paying for you to get a lawyer if you need one. Low income is basically anyone making less than 200% of the federal poverty guideline, so for a one person household, that’s $25,520 per year. If there are more people in your household (not including roommates) that number goes up. If you even think you might qualify, give legal aid a call. All it’s going to cost is your time.

Seriously guys, legal aid is here to help you! We like standing up for the little guy! So blow up this post where everyone knows about this.

(Obviously this is entirely US centric. I have no idea how this works other places)

[jj-lynn21]

it’s Roman and reader 3rd anniversary coming up and reader wants to do something really romantic like go dancing. If course he’s against this, but comes around to the idea. So there having a good time, dancing to slow songs and that’s when Roman decides he wants to propose.

I am not big on marriage myself so that is why I was thinking Roman and Princess would just love and trust the other not to stray even without a piece of paper. But maybe a situation as you described just feels a certain way to Roman and he thinks just maybe they should get married. This is about two years from now since it is the third anniversary of when they moved into together. They have a kid. Roman is a bit more mature. Peter and Letha are already married in this Alternate reality. They have six pups/kids.

Roman and Princess: The Third Anniversary

You are gathering up toys in the playroom Roman built for the children last year. The huge, elegant dining room with full bar was cut in half by a new wall with a door between both rooms. This cut his bar in half, but there was still enough room for the oak table and chairs for 20. Tiny Furniture for children and a few comfy spots for adults were added. A bathroom just for children was put in the playroom. Cherry wood toy chests and shelves were filled with every toy a child could possibly want.

Roman still bought more when his little one expressed interest in anything. His angel got everything just like you did. There was plenty of room for Peter and Letha’s “hounds from Hell” as Roman and Peter called his kids lovingly. This was a safe area for the children to play.  

Roman came home at his usual time. Not a minute late tonight. He brought dinner from your favorite restaurant like he told you he would on the phone earlier. He checks on the little one sound asleep before changing into sweatpants and a tank.  

“How’s my Princess tonight?” He kisses your lips softly before moving down your jaw line to the sweet spot on your neck. Then moves back to nibble your ear. “Did you get to eat today or drink something vital?” He noticed you were pale.  

“I didn’t get the chance really.” You moaned slightly. “But we played all day. I read a little to relax when the little boss napped.” You turned to put your arms around him. “I cleaned up the playroom.”  

“You never have to do that Princess.” Roman wrapped around you putting your head to his chest. “We have people for that. You have been taking care of the little one all day. How about you let me baby you for a while?” He swayed. 

He led you to the table of takeout food. “It all looks delicious.” You sat down as Roman was pouring you a large wine glass of the good red stuff. You take a few sips and your color starts to come back.”I should have had some of this hour ago.”

“You need to take care of you a little more, Princess.” Roman sipped his drink. “I will come home at lunch from now on to take a turn playing so you can eat and drink something.”

“You don’t have to do that Roman.” Your eyes farrowed not wanting to change up the baby’s routine or bother Roman.  

“I think I need to because I never get to see our child.” He took a large bite of rare steak. “And I think you could use a little midday break. I could do that, or we get a Nanny.”

“No Roman.” You pouted. “I don’t want someone else raising our child.”

“Then it is settled.” Roman sipped his drink. “I come home at lunch.”  

You ate slowly. Drank all he poured you and he poured you more. “Do you know what Saturday is, Roman?”

He teases you. “Um Grocery day? Perhaps a birthday for someone?”

Your lips purse. Brows knit together. “No, you should know it is our...”

“anniversary.” He says the same time you do.

Roman chuckles. “I was just teasing you. Of course, I remember Princess. What would you like to do?”

“Dancing.” You suggested. “Can we go dancing? A night or a few hours at least for just you and me? Damn that sounds awful for a Mother to say. So selfish.”

“You are not selfish, Princess.” Roman assured you.” He thought about your proposal for a moment. “I was waiting for you to be ready. I’m not sure about the dancing part but I will find a nice place to take you for the evening. Peter and Letha can watch our little one. The kids love playing together.”

You sighed a little disappointed but put on a smile for Roman. Wherever he took you would be fabulous. “They do have the most experience with kids and the kids do love spending time together. Just keep your mind open to the thought of dancing?”

“I will think about it.” You both finish dinner. Then head to the bedroom for some quiet sex so you don’t wake the young one.  

On the morning of your anniversary, you woke seeing your toddler and Roman Reading a a story book quietly. Roman smiles when he sees you looking. “Happy Anniversary. I’ll get your coffee.” He took the little one on his hip. They brought you back breakfast in bed with your coffee.

The little one crawled beside you. “I made toast.”

“Is that so?” You took a bite of toast first. “Good job.”

Roman sat on the other side of the child already in his suit sipping his coffee. “I have to go into work for just a few hours before I give you your big surprise. He winked getting up. “You two have a great day.”

After breakfast you took your two-year-old with their book down to the playroom. You put on a warm robe to read and play. The maid cleaned up the remains of breakfast, cleaned the rest of the bedroom and worked her way downstairs. She never touched the playroom until Roman, Princess and their little one were in bed for the night.   The fruit bowl was full on the kitchen counter when you and your toddler ventured to the kitchen for lunch. After lunch you put your hyper two-year-old down for a nap. This is when you finally got to shower.

Roman calls you as you are putting on some light daytime makeup. You picked up right away. “How is your day going sweetheart?”

“It is going good.” You have the phone on speaker as you continue your routine. “How is yours going?”

“I will be home soon to swoop you away.” He had his last client for the day on hold on purpose as he talked to you. “Wear my favorite dress. The longer more sophisticated one. Peter, Letha and their pack should be there shortly.”

“I’ll be ready.” You brighten your look a little and bring out the crimson lip stain that stays on no matter how much Roman kisses you. “Well, I don’t think anyone is ever really ready for that many kids to visit but I am ready for you.”

“You better be.” He was grinning wide.  

His words. His tone. It gave you chills. The kind of chills you felt to your core. Roman’s seductive low voice was good for that. You finished getting ready just as the child woke toddling into your room as you slipped on your dress.

“Momma, pretty.”

You smiled at the child. “Thank you, baby. Are you ready to play with your cousins? They should be here soon.”

“Ya ya ya.” The young one spun around happily.  

The doorbell rang and the child dragged you down the stairs as the maid was announcing Peter and his pack. Letha and Peter hugged you as the little ones ran into the playroom to destroy it.  

“Go keep an eye on them.” Letha patted Peter’s shoulder. Peter did as she told him. “You don’t worry about a thing. Peter and I can handle one more. We have a system. “

Roman came in the door with a single rose to present to you. He had changed from the suit he left in to a sleek all black suit. A black satin dress shirt with matching tie under his jacket.  “Happy Anniversary, Baby Girl.” He kissed your cheek. “Hey, Letha. Thanks for coming over.”

“No problem.” Letha smiled. “You two have a nice time. Excuse me. I should make sure they ain’t all climbing Peter all at once.”  

She disappeared into the playroom. Laughter could be heard as Peter chased the children around the room. This put your mind at ease before you left with your love.

“Where are we going tonight?”  

“You will just have to wait to see.”  

He drove a little way out of town. He pulled into Club Class. The sign was golden light. White lights lined the walkway. Two muscular men stood at the entrance.  

“This is very exclusive.”  Roman escorted you. “Godfrey.” He told the guardians of the door. They nodded opening the door for you to enter.

You were a little surprised to see couples dance to a live Orquestra. Only five other couples. Two more sitting at what seemed to be sold gold tables with chairs to match.  

The Maitre'd took you to your table. “Your Armand de Brignac Brut Rose Champagne will be out shortly. Then your 4-course prefix meal will start.” He leaves you and Roman.  

“Oh, Roman.” You reached for his hand. “This is perfect.”

“Not yet, but it will.” Roman said slyly.  

Caviar and crackers came out with you champagne. You nibbled a little and sipped a glass of perfectly chilled champagne. A chilled caprese salad came out next. When you were finished with that course Roman surprised you by standing and offering you his hand.

“shall we dance?” He bowed to you.

You rose taking him up on his offer. He glided you across the floor like a pro. You were pleasantly surprised. He spun you out and back into him. It made your head spin. “I thought you couldn’t dance?”

“I never said that.” He smiled. “I said I didn’t like to dance. Olivia made me take lessons when I was in grade school. It was extremely embarrassing and felt very wrong. It feels right with you.” He murmurs as he looked into your eyes with love. He was satisfied that he had given you what you really wanted tonight.

You ate the next two courses as he fawned over you. He told you how lucky he was to have you. How beauty you truly were. Everything you always liked to hear come from his mouth. The more he looked into your eyes and saw sincere love the more an urge came over him. The urge to finally proposes. He knew right then he would not wait much longer before he made you legally his.  

[god-save-the-keen]

Family matters

Book: Mother of the year

Pairing: Thomas Mendez x MC (Tara)

Summary: This was a request for the lovely @desiree-0816, Thomas and Tara decide to adopt the other daughter.

Words: 2155

Warning: a little bit of angst but, like always, mostly fluff.

Prompt: #14 from this list! Although, she asked especially for the adoption thing and I freaking love it 💕

Note: I always love to take request, even if I'm a little slow sometimes 😅💕

Thomas' tag list: @chetachisblog @annekebbphotography @princess-geek @lilyofchoices @ao719 @marycarrillo21 @blackcatkita @kamybelen-blog @cxld-play @vaticanwaltz @thmasmendez @flyawayboo  

Permanent tag list: @gardeningourmet @client-327 @dawn-1994 @malakbesharah

"So, how do you want to do this?" Thomas and Tara were sitting in the living room, a cup of coffee in their hands and the snow falling behind them on the window. She had put her legs on his lap as one of his hands absently caressed her there.

"I don't know…" She leaned against the couch backrest and drank a sip of coffee. "I don't know if we should do it together with them both or separately or if you should talk to Luz and I talk to Rory." Her fingers tapping on the side of the cup, frowning a bit. "I just don't want them to take it the wrong way."

"I know, gorgeous. Me neither." They stood like that, in silence, lost in their own thoughts, thinking about the best way to do it.

"What do you think they are talking about?" Luz asked in a hushed whisper. They were going to the kitchen when they heard their parents talking and stopped in the hallway, hiding and listening.

"I don't know, but must be something important. Normally, they are not this serious."

"Yeah… Normally they have their lips stuck together like with super glue or something." Luz said with a grimace as Rory quietly giggled. "Should we go in?"

Rory observed her mom, her face was worried and she could see she was nervous, still tapping the side of the cup until, a moment later, Thomas took her hand in his, she could see how her mom smiled at him and how she started to relax. "No… I think we better leave them alone. Come on, I know where my mom hid the Christmas candies in their bedroom." And they started walking as quietly as possible, on their tiptoes. She had always liked Thomas, in the last three years he had been more of a father figure to her than her own father had in her whole life, she knew that thanks to him she was with her mom and that alone was enough reason to like him.

"How do you think Luz is going to react?" He hadn't seen her this worried since the trail with Guy. "I don't want her to feel like I'm replacing Soledad." He took both of their cups and put them on the coffee table, his arms encircled her body, holding her close, caressing her back softly.

"I know, Tara. We'll make sure of it." She nodded against his shoulder, hugging him back. "I think maybe the best way to have this talk is all of us together, so they can ask us whatever they need."

She separated from him and snuggle against his chest. "Yeah, I believe you are right. Tomorrow morning?"

"Sounds perfect" He kissed the side of her head, gently leaving his lips pressed there for a moment. "Wanna go to bed?"

"Only if my husband comes with me" She said standing up and taking his hand as he chuckled and followed her. They turn off the lights, only leaving the tree and the fairy lights around the house on and they went to check on the girls. They were in Luz's bedroom, soundly sleeping with a few empty candy packages on the bed and floor. Tara laughed quietly shaking her head, dropping the packages in the garbage, and tucked Luz in bed as Thomas carried Rory to her bedroom, careful to not wake her up. Once both girls were settled, they went to their bed, Thomas spooning her, holding her waist like every night of the last two year. She pressed her back to his chest and entwined their fingers together, making soft circles on his skin with her thumb.

"It's going to be okay, sweetheart." He kissed her nape. "And, if they don't agree, we don't do it and everything continues like always." He said quietly.

"I know… I know you are right, but I'm just so nervous"

"Me too, but right now, we can't do anything about it until tomorrow when we talk to them." He tightened his hold a bit and kissed her behind the ear. "Try to sleep" She snuggled closer to him and, after a while, they were asleep.

When Tara suddenly woke up, the anxiety she felt was driving her crazy, she looked at the clock on the nightstand and muffled a groan with her hands. 5 AM, the house was in complete silence and darkness, Thomas was sleeping beside her, his arm loosely on her waist, snoring a bit and she was completely awake. She sighed, carefully moved his arm and stood up, she changed into a t-shirt and some yoga pants and went to the kitchen as she tied her hair in a messy bun. If she was going to stay up at 5 in the morning she was at least going to use that time to do something. She took a few ingredients from the fridge and the cupboard and started to mixed them to make some cookies, the girls would love them and she couldn't be still, by 6 AM, she had finished cutting the cookies with a ginger man shape and put them in the oven. In a matter of minutes, the kitchen and the whole house smelled delicious. At 7:15 AM the cookies were ready, cooled and decorated, the coffee maker was ready to get started and the mix for the chocolate and the waffles were in the bowls.

"Tara? Are you here?" Thomas entered the kitchen, his eyes sleepy and his hair messy, he was putting on a t-shirt as he walked. "What are you doing up, gorgeous? It's Sunday, you should be resting." He hugged her shoulders from behind, kissing her cheek.

"I can't, I'm too anxious." She leaned against him. "I'm sorry if I woke you."

"You didn't." He took her in his arms, bridal style, and started to walk to their bedroom. "But the girls aren't going to be up for at least two hours so you come with me" She laughed and held onto his neck. They lay on the bed, quietly talking as Thomas' hand caressed her face until she fell asleep, he kissed her forehead and pulled her closer, drifting asleep as well.

The next morning, the breakfast went like always with the exception of freshly made cookies. They ate, chatted and planned the rest of the day, while the girls were finishing, Thomas took her hand under the table and cleared his throat.

"Girls, there's something we would like to talk with you about."

"And we want you to be completely honest with us, you can say whatever you are feeling or ask whatever you want." Tara's voice was gentle and even, her eyes were warm but her hands, under the table were shaking, Thomas' thumb was caressing her skin trying to calm her, to tell her he was beside her.

"We're sorry about the candies!"

"We aren't going to do it again!" Rory and Luz put on their best puppy eyes and looked at them.

"It's not about that, you thieves! Although, we are going to talk about that later." The girls looked at each other. Tara smiled, squeezing Thomas' hand, and continued talking. "We have been talking… And we want your opinion first… We would like to legally adopt you. But only if you like and agreed with it!"

"What about my dad?" Rory asked after a silent pause. In the last year she had seen Guy no more than ten times, always too busy or simply forgetting.

"It's just legal stuff, he will always be your father, but, if we do this, I'll be your legal guardian. Same for you, Lulu." Thomas said, observing both girls reaction as Tara's hand squeezed his again. Luz was serious, a thoughtful look in her eyes, she didn't seem mad just uncertain, Rory, on the other hand observed Thomas and Tara for a while until a big smile blossom on her face.

"I think it's a great idea!" She took another cookie and bit it happily. "We are going to officially be sisters!" She said, excited, watching Luz.

"Yeah, it's great." Luz said and stood up, leaving the table.

Tara felt how her heart broke and her smile disappeared, she didn't know if she should talk with Luz or give her space. Thomas kissed the side of her head and stood up too, following Luz as Rory sat beside her, hugging her mom.

When Thomas reached Luz's bedroom, she was sitting on her bed with a picture in her hands, he sat beside her and hugged her.

"Are you okay, Luz?" She nodded. "You don't have to agreed with this. We don't have to do it." He said, his eyes on the picture of Soledad hugging Luz a few months before the accident. They still had a few pictures of her around the house except in the bedroom he shared with Tara, he didn't want Luz to feel like he was forgetting her mom but he didn't want Tara to feel like she was living in Soledad's shadow.

"It's not that, I like Tara. It's just I'm scared that… someday... I might forget mom, I don't want her to feel like I'm replacing her."

"You think that I replaced mom when I married Tara?" He asked. He had talked with both girls before his proposal and they were okay with it, but right now, he was terrified of what she would answer.

"No dad! Never!" Her eyes widened and he let out a sigh of relief. "I like Tara, a lot, since she came she has been supporting and nice to me. And she makes you happy." She trailed off, smiling for a moment. "I just don't want to forget mom."

"You won't sweetheart. No one wants that to happen. Your mom will always be your mom, no matter what, and she is always going to be part of you" She hugged him.

"You think Tara got mad, for how I left?" He kissed her forehead.

"I know she's not. Tara loves you and will respect whatever you decide."

"Is Rory going to call you dad now?"

"I don't know, depends on her."

"And… should I call Tara mom?"

"That also depends on you… I know she doesn't expect it and she wants you to feel comfortable. She doesn't want to replace mom either."

"I want to do it" She smiled, happier than before, standing up. "I want Tara to adopt me"

"You sure?" She nodded enthusiastically.

They returned to the living room, where Tara was sitting on the couch with her legs on the side reading a book.

"Where is Rory?" Luz asked and Tara lifted her gaze and smiled at her.

"She went to her room, to work on her new rocket." Her voice was as warm as always.

"I… I think it's a good idea too. The adoption thing." Her cheeks a little flushed making her smile thinking of all the times she saw Thomas with his cheeks like that.

"You do? You know you are not obligated to do it, right?"

"I know. But I want to." Tara stood up and hugged Luz tightly and the girl returned the gesture.

"That makes me so happy, kiddo." They separated and Tara kissed her forehead before she went running to Rory's bedroom. Thomas took her hand and led her back to the couch.

"Are you okay?" He asked her cupping her check in his hand.

"I am now." She smiled and kissed his palm. "She really is okay with the adoption?"

"She is. I'm going to start the paperwork on Monday."

"Do you need anything from Guy or me?" She asked laying on the couch with her head on his lap as he smiled, still holding her hand.

"No. It's enough that he doesn't bother you or Rory." Tara smiled wide at him, she loved how much he cared about Rory. "That asshole. What was his excuse this time?"

"None, actually. He just wrote me that he couldn't come." She sighed. "Should I be worried that Rory is used to that?"

"I don't know, in some ways it's better. You say the word and I'll take him to the courthouse again." She chuckled softly as she sat up and kissed him, his hand took her lower back, one of her hands on his nape and the other on the couch, supporting her weight.

"What did I tell you? Super glue." They separated and observed Luz and Rory watching them. Tara giggled as Thomas' cheeks flushed immediately, no matter that they had been dating for two year and married for one, he still blushed like the first day.

"Come on, mom! We were supposed to go to that new park!"

"Okay, okay, we are coming!" She stood up and Thomas followed her, he took his car keys and they drove to the park, feeling like a family more than ever.

❣️

[nightklok]

YOU KNOW I'M GONNA SAY CHARLES/PICKLES FOR THAT SHIP MEME :D

Shipping Meme [Open]

AAA AND I LOVE YOU FOR THAT- 

My ADHD is incredibly strong tonight so enjoy the rambling headcanons I have because I just love them too much ;^;-

General:

Rate the Ship -   Awful | Ew | No pics pls | I’m not comfortable | Alright | I like it! | Got Pics? | Let’s do it! | Why is this not getting more attention?! | The OTP to rule all other OTPs

How long will they last? - Forever obviously, they’re in it for the long road ahead!

How quickly did/will they fall in love? - I think it was a gradual thing for sure! Definitely met during the SnB era and Charles was the one who fell in love quickly though wasn’t much aware of it until later. Pickles had probably become a bit wearier of falling in love then so it took him a bit longer to admit he even had feelings for him. They probably didn’t even admit it until years later when they began to work for Dethklok-

How was their first kiss? -  they probably didn’t have a first kiss until nearly a decade or two of meeting each other, they were really fucking awkward haha-But I think their first kiss together would be sweet; they probably had a really well needed heart-to-heart talk and just eventually, it happened. 

Wedding:

Who proposed? - Charles 100%-it’s nothing elaborate or extraordinary, just quiet and probably between them while they’re alone or planned with the boys. 

How fancy was the ceremony? - Back of a pickup truck | 2 | 3 | 4 | Normal Church Wedding | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Kate and William wish they were this big.

Technically the rating would be a 2 as their first ‘ceremony’ would be those quick courthouse weddings. I mainly like the idea of them getting engaged and possibly married sometime after Doomstar and before they have to confront Salacia. Kind of in a ‘now or never’ kind of situation but they both would’ve gotten married regardless of the prophecy or not. Though once the prophecy is fulfilled, the boys will insist they have a proper big red wedding

Who is the best man/men?  Pickles initially chose all of Dethklok to be his best men to avoid a battle to the death combat. Though, later on it became safer for him to officially choose one best man and that would be Nathan. For Charles, it was easier and he chose his best man to be Huey Lewis, no explanation further needed.

-Who did the most planning? Definitely not them-the boys, Dick, and Abigail would’ve insisted that they do the planning. Magnus and Murderface were the only ones to actually know about organizing a wedding surprisingly, actually asked for their input but kept it as vague as possible, and despite the ridiculously typical setbacks, managed to pull off a pretty elaborate wedding that they were both pretty pleased with. 

-Who stressed the most? Charles definitely-since everyone wanted to keep it a ‘surprise’ and he knows pretty well that a surprise from them is going to either be really extravagant, out of this world wedding or a Hot Topic Parking Lot wedding. Luckily, they got the first. 

-Who was specifically not invited to the wedding? - Rockso and Pickles’ family for sure. They didn’t even know they got married until it ended up on the Dethklok Minute and they were pissed but Pickles probably got his new family through Charles (if they’re alive and decent?) and by extension, Dethklok so to Pickles, his real family was at the wedding (no matter how many times they tried to argue that to him.) Seth probably sent him that blender as a wedding gift though

Sex:

Who is on top? - Top/bottom roles are non-existent to them; it’s really on whatever they’re up for at the moment. 

Who is the one to instigate things? - Pickles obviously; if he feels like Charles is working a bit too much or they haven’t done it in a while (three days), he’ll definitely instigate. Considering how well he knows him and what gets him riled up, Charles never says no-

How healthy is their sex life? - Barely touch themselves let alone each other | 2 | 3 | 4 | Once a couple weeks, nothing overboard | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They are humping each other on the couch right now 

How kinky are they? - Straight missionary with the lights off | 2 | 3 | 4 | Might try some butt stuff and toys | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Don’t go into the sex dungeon without a horse’s head

How long do they normally last? - It can depend on how horny they both are or if they just want to take their time-probably lasts between under half an hour to an hour. 

Do they make sure each person gets an equal amount of orgasms? - It’s probably hard of them to be completely sure if they’ve been going at it repeatedly but really it’s all up to when one has had enough and the other will stop for the night. Or if the other doesn’t feel satisfied enough, they’ll easily come up with something quick to do. Overall, it’s just making sure that the other is satisfied at the end of the night!

How rough are they in bed? - Softer than a butterfly on the back of a bunny | 2 | 3 | 4 | The bed’s shaking and squeaking every time | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Their dirty talk is so vulgar it’d make Dwayne Johnson blush. Also, the wall’s so weak it could collapse the next time they do it.

How much cuddling/snuggling do they do? - No touching after sex | 2 | 3 | 4 | A little spooning at night, or on the couch, but not in public | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They snuggle and kiss more often than a teen couple on their fifth date to a pillow factory.  (Pickles accounts for like 80% of this, hands down-)

Children:

How many children will they have naturally? -  none-Pickles is a Trans Male is a theory I take to the grave but I do headcanon he got bottom surgery. Even if he didn’t, they’re both too old (fuckin rip), and raising children is way too much responsibility/commitment for their lifestyle and there’s probably that lingering feeling that they might get called to fulfill their roles again so it would be borderline selfish to put kids into trauma/danger. (Charles spent years basically raising man-children he needs the retirement haha)

How many children will they adopt? - I don’t think they’ll adopt either, for reasons I stated above. I kinda like to think that when they retire or move away from Mordhaus to create their own home, they become that couple that opens their home to whatever troubled teens/kids/young adults need a place to stay, no questions asked. They might end up fostering a teen or two or take temporary custody if a situation calls for it. It just never turns to an official adoption and if the kids stay for a longer period of time, they end up making sure they get put in a good foster/adoptive family. 

Who gets stuck with the most diapers? - Probably Pickles though the situations where he had to watch over a baby/toddler while their older sibling went to school/work was very few and far between (the dude lived through the 80s with hairspray and everything, no smell can get to him now-)

Who is the stricter parent? - I think it depends on the situation. Pickles can be a bit stricter than Charles surprisingly because there is no way you’d be able to lie or try and go behind his back. If he sees that a particular kid reminds him of himself, he may just be a bit stricter than usual and it has to be Charles to remind him that the kids are in good hands now. Besides that, Charles is definitely strict but fair. He’s just as hard trying to go behind his back and can actually ground them (he’s not even their legal guardian, they just know he can’t be messed with.)

Who stops the kid(s) from doing dangerous stunts after school? - Charles definitely-But usually he’s the last to find out about it haha-

Who remembers to pack the lunch(es)? - Charles (though mainly he remembers to tell Pickles as he’s the one who has the time to make it in the mornings)

Who is the more loved parent? - They both are for their own reasons! Charles is loved for helping them with advice, homework, whatever they need and being the stricter parent needed for the troubled kids’ lives and Pickles is loved for being the laidback parent who genuinely takes interest in their interests and helps encourage them to follow their dreams.

Who is more likely to attend the PTA meetings? Neither; both are too busy in their own lives. Charles tried once for the hell of it. He realized it was the most difficult meeting he had ever sat through, even hosting meetings for Dethklok. Never again.

Who cried the most at graduation? - Pickles; he’s especially emotional about it if it’s the most troubled kids that invited them. Very proud of all the kids who remembered them enough to invite them to their graduations.

Who is more likely to bail the child(ren) out of trouble with the law? - Pickles-but he might fuck up in the process and Charles would have to bail them both out of jail-

Cooking:

Who does the most cooking? - There are klokateers for it but Charles does sometimes like to surprise Pickles with some of his favorite food!

Who is the pickiest in their food choice? - Charles; Pickles’ food palette is non-existent so he’s willing to eat anything. Charles? Not so much.

Who does the grocery shopping? - Neither; thank god for living in Mordhaus- (And even after that, they just hire someone to do it for them-)

How often do they bake desserts? - Fairly often, it’s become a pretty quick date night for them! They like to make macaroons, pies, or whatever they have their heart set and just enjoy the next few hours of getting some quality alone time.

Are they more of a meat lover or a salad eater? - Meat all the way-

Who is more likely to surprise the other(s) with an anniversary dinner? - Charles once again! Though Pickles does surprise with an anniversary dessert. It’s not really a surprise if they both know the other will cook them something but it’s the thought that counts!

Who is more likely to suggest going out? - Pickles; while it’s fun having small dates inside, he definitely suggests going someplace else whenever they have the time. 

Who is more likely to burn the house down accidentally while cooking? -  Toki 

Chores:

Who cleans the room? - Charles cleans his own room, Pickles gets a klokateer to do it though recently he’s been cleaning his own room? Wow, Charles is rubbing off on him.

Who is really against chores? - Pickles; they can just hire help like the rich jackoffs, who the fuck needs to do chores?

Who cleans up after the pets? - They don’t have pets but it’d probably be Pickles.

Who is more likely to sweep everything under the rug? - Pickles but thank God he’s never really asked to clean much-

Who stresses the most when guests are coming over? - Charles

Who found a dollar between the couch cushions while cleaning? - Whatever klokateer cleans mordhaus and/or their house--

Misc:

Who takes the longer showers/baths? - Charles; he knows self-care very well and often makes sure his schedule has a few hours to himself so he can do just that! Definitely has fallen asleep in the bathtub more than once but Pickles luckily memorized his schedule haha

Who takes the dog out for a walk? - They both would! By the time they adopt a dog, they probably both would have time to do it together :)

How often do they decorate the room/house for the holidays? - They hate the idea of it; probably hire klokateers or whoever to do it for them-

What are their goals for the relationship? - They just want to be able to complete the other without overstepping boundaries. There are probably things that both are afraid of bringing up or reminding the other. It’s no longer become a game of walking on eggshells because they have known each other for so long and know what their intentions will be. They aren’t going to change the other unless the other genuinely wants to change. They will simply help fill in the gaps the other lacks so naturally like they fit in together. 

Who is most likely to sleep till noon? - Pickles, not that Charles lets him anyway-

Who plays the most pranks? - Pickles but even then the pranks are pretty rare or more of ways to get Charles out of the office (’Hey Charlie, Nathan is tryin’ to sneak a whale in his room again’ But then it turns out that Nathan really tried doing that so who knows if it was even a prank-)

[rotationalsymmetry]

How to Vote

(the other half -- ie, not about how to register, the complicated mess of voting during a pandemic while the USPS is being sabotagued, disability accommodations etc but rather: how to go about deciding who and what to vote for.) (focused on the US) (lefty wavering dramatically between obvious bias and attempts to be politically neutral)

You can probably get info from your county and/or state’s Department of Elections (website, phone number, email, etc) and/or from the library or 411, if there’s info that you want but don’t have yet, like finding out who and what is on the ballot so you know what research to do. (Or where to deliver your ballot because you’re worried the post office won’t -- but that’s not what this post is supposed to be about.)

I desperately miss California’s voter guides -- when I lived in CA that was always my starting point. They’re not perfect. But, like Wikipedia and school research projects, they’re a perfectly good place to start. Anyways: if you got a voter guide or can access one online, start there.

If you’re not sure about a post or issue, or don’t care, it’s OK to only vote on the things you care about and leave the rest blank. You might be asked if you did that on purpose, but that’s it. It’s not going to disqualify your ballot or anything, and it doesn’t mean you’re doing democracy wrong. I mean, I think it’s generally worth voting on everything? But if not knowing who to vote for county dog catcher is stopping you from voting for us president, or vice versa, the important thing is that you do vote about what you care about.

Endorsements: which newspapers, advocacy orgs and other politicians like which candidates and propositions, and why. There’s two ways you can go: you can just go “OK, I trust this group/newspaper/org, I’ll vote how they say” (voting all Democrats or all Republicans is the most straightforward example of this) or you can pay attention to their reasoning and see if you agree with it. Local newspapers are especially useful for local candidates and ballot measures, and if you’re significantly left of center (hi) there might be an alternative weekly newspaper in your area that you can look at. (Dunno about other places, but the San Francisco Bay Guardian routinely rises from the dead to make election endorsements.) There’s advocacy groups for LGBTQ+ people, women, racial and ethnic groups, the environment, renters, disabled people, and people who have strong opinions on other specific issues like gun control and campaign finance reform. Oh, and labor unions make endorsements, so if you like labor unions, you can look at who they endorse.

Friends’ and family members’ opinions and reasoning, similar but less official. Incidentally, if there’s someone whose political views you can’t stand, you can just decide to vote against whatever they’re for and vice versa -- once in a while this can backfire, but most issues and candidates are very partisan. This goes for groups too: there’s some SF groups where if they spoke out against a ballot measure, I almost always ended up voting for it and vice versa.

Looking at history: has a proposition like this come up before, how has this politician voted in the past, to what extent did this politician keep last election’s campaign promises, how do they respond when you send them an email, etc. Kind of like cramming for a test vs paying attention throughout the semester, this is easier the more you’ve been following what your representatives have been doing in between elections. But, cramming is better than nothing. (In this case by “history” I mean like what’s happened in the last 4 years or whatever, not what you’d find in a history textbook, but you’re welcome to take that kind of history into account too.) If you’re young or especially bad at following politics, asking the opinion of someone who’s older or better at following politics and shares at least some political views with you can help.

Reading the actual legal text (for propositions.) Honestly, ime this is one of the least effective things you can do, but it’s an option.

Platforms -- generally candidates say what they stand for and what they intend to do in office on their website. There’s sort of a stereotype of politicians as never fulfilling their campaign promises, but it’s still good to know what politicians say they’re going to do.

Debates, town halls, speeches, rallies, following candidates on social media, etc. Basically: what do the candidates say, and/or do you have a good gut feeling about them. (Gut feelings can be miseading. But so can literally everything else. It’s OK to take a politician’s character into account, as far as you can tell what their character is, in addition to how they stand on the issues.)

Political ads: will probably not tell you anything useful, and will distort your emotional “read” of a candidate. If you can avoid exposure to these entirely that’s ideal; if not, you might want to deliberately give mental points to candidates who are being slammed and take them away from candidates doing the slamming. This stuff has nothing to do with reality. (People putting up signs in yards/windows might give you some sense of whether a candidate is electable in local elections where a dark horse independent or third party candidate is running and will give you a very approximate sense of how popular major candidates are, but that’s about it.) Ads are not really intended to convey meaningful information, they’re intended to create emotional reactions.

If you’re new to voting, this will get easier with time. I mean, it’s always a bit time consuming, and there’s also “the more you just follow one group or person’s endorsements exactly the easier it is, and the more you make each decision individually the harder it is”, but also, you’ll pick up patterns and get a sense of how different groups stand relative to your values (and probably get more confident about your own political beliefs in time as well) and you’ll get a good sense of where you can cut corners and still be happy with your choice, vs where you really should spend the time to do thorough research and reflection.

If you’ve got executive function issues or very limited time, do what you need to do. Set a timer? Do the research with someone else? Ask someone else to do the research for you and tell you what they found? Put a time limit on how much research you’re going to do, and at the end of the time just make a decision whether you feel ready or not? Give yourself lots of get-psyched-up time before and unwind time after? I know I was making test analogies earlier, but there really is no cheating here.

Maybe you’ll make a mistake and regret a voting decision later on. This is OK and it happens to everyone (at least, everyone capable of admitting they made a mistake.) Mistakes can be learned from.

It’s OK to be uncertain. People can be certain and wrong. The whole idea with democracy is that, while any decision-making mechanism can spit out wrong decisions, democracy will overall involve fewer wrong decisions because the people affected by bad decisions are part of the decision-making process. (Which is why being convicted of a felony should never remove someone’s right to vote, but I digress.) It’s an attempt to cut power imbalances, oppression, and cruelty out of the system. Obviously it doesn’t always work in practice. But that is why if you can vote you probably should, even if you feel unsure. Young people should vote. People with mental illnesses should vote. People who have less access to information and resources should vote. Learning disabilities or developmental disabilities? Take your time, ask for help/accommodations if necessary, and vote.

Because, here’s the thing: sometimes it’s hard to figure out who and what to vote for and you have to do a lot of research and thinking it over, and other times it’s really really easy. Because you need healthcare. Or because you know you should be able to get married to your partner. Or because you know that you should be able to use public restrooms like everyone else. Because you’re swimming in thousands of dollars of college debt. Because ludicrous numbers of people are dying from a contagious illness and relief checks are being treated as optional, because your city got wiped out by a hurricane, because your state got wiped out by a derecho, because your state is on fire, and because you know who isn’t handling all that the way they should be. Sometimes the decisions are really, really easy. But only really really easy for some people.

[hannigramfanfic]

Hannibal Fanstory: “The Ripper’s Child” or “Son of Il Mostro of Firenze”

Quote

“You were already having an affair, Hannibal.” Alana Bloom, Season 1 – Episode 7

Involving

Will,  is a manipulative Alpha and not as innocent as he seems to be at 11 years old and when he becomes an adult at the age of 35.

Omega Hannibal trying to understand what is going on

Hannibal is still the Chesapeake Ripper

Jack  is Will’s Guardian

Hannibal is also in  a secret relationship with the married Garrett Jacob Hobbs an Alpha until after 24 years later

Abigail is Hobbs and Hannibal’s daughter that Hannibal gave birth to

A new killer is the mysterious Mr. Lusin who comes from the City of Venice who starts to court the Chesapeake Ripper aka Hannibal.

No underage sex happens between Hannibal and Will ( because I don’t write that kind of stuff )

Blood and gore

Description of Crime Scenes

He refers to Mr. Lusin or Nisul.

Time skipping in this. So Hannibal is about 23 years old in Chapter 1 then fast-forwarding to chapter where 24 years later have gone by he is about 47 years old.

Hannibal and Will are Soul-mates, but just don’t know it yet.

Mpreg

PRELUDE or PLOT SUMMARY

Hannibal’s P.O.V:

“Alright, Dr, Lecter. Let’s go. Court starting in 3 minutes. Get dressed into this suit.”

Those words echo and re-echo in my mind, reverberating around it with noise and clarity as I change out of the blue starchy uniform into the suit for the Court Case that is coming up.

Looking at myself in the bathroom mirror of the prison bathroom that came with this prison of three solid walls and one of glass with air-holes to breathe, I see another version of myself wearing a white striped shirt covered in blood and looking like been battered to hell by something or for that matter when everything had gone wrong that night by…the one person who changed me.

“Two minutes, Lecter.”

I hear the Orderly shouting through the open bathroom door.

Taking a deep breath in and out to calm myself, I slip the suit jacket on and button it up followed by sorting the collar of the white shirt then look at the tie hanging over the towel railing. I could use it to escape, strangle the first Orderly and stun the other one with his baton then cause carnage, mayhem and disorder around me.

I leave it behind, even though I want to escape from this place I had been put in by…the one person who I would be meeting in Court.

But what I really should be telling you, Dear Readers is how it all begin and what set off this chain of events in the first place.

Author’s note –

“Have you seen blood in the moonlight, Will? It appears quite black.” – Hannibal, Season 3 – Red Dragon Episode

PROLOGUE

Lightening booms overhead, illuminating the trees in the large forest while rain starts to fall down heavily as small Alpha child runs weakly through it, nearly stumbling over hidden branches and stones. Their breath is coming in laboured gasps due to running for so long and finally they reach a car.

“MAMA!!!!” they try to shout in the now howling wind, which has now started up causing the rain to lash heavily at everything and whip the trees back and forth that you can hear the creaking groans each-time roots buried deep beneath the soil are nearly pulled out by the strength.

Trembling and soaked to the bone, the small child quickly scrambles into the car when they find it is open and the car keys have been left on the dashboard then scrambling for them, know they must get out of here.

He…mustn’t find them.

—————————————-

A fiercer wind now has begun to pick up like it is trying to keep the small child from escaping as they drive past a sigh which is illuminated briefly by the beaming headlights saying “WOLFTRAP, VIRGINIA. WELCOME!!!” then keep on driving into the darkness down the large empty road, with the windscreen wipers going back and forth trying to get rid of the lashing rain.

Suddenly out of the darkness, a branch comes flying towards the car and hits the windscreen with such force it cracks it causing the small frightened child to lose momentum of the car. The tires start to spin across the wet surface of the road, sending waves of water splashing in all directions and sea bluish-green eyes widened as they see the large tree coming towards them.

——————————

The small child, blood trickling down their forehead from somewhere stumbles out the car swaying slightly when black spots appear before their eyes – dancing little shadows reminding them strangely of flies – and manage to walk forwards a few steps then gives soft moan, when their legs give out from underneath them and they land with muffled thump on the grassy verge out cold.

Up above, lightening still flashes across the sky illuminating the black rolling storm clouds and rain continues to fall downwards as smoke starts to rise from the car with its front crumpled like coke-can after hitting a large towering tree with branches looking like long wicked fingers reaching down to the small child below.

To snare them into their grasp.

PART 1

Quote – “Tell me about your Mother.” – Hannibal talking to Will about Parenthood in Season 1

12 DAYS LATER

Hannibal’s P.O.V:

“Please?”

Franklyn Froviendeux, a pudgy Beta man reaches out his hand to me, asking for the box of tissues to my right hand side and picking them up hold it out to him as he reaches for it then sits back after getting some wiping his eyes of the tears, followed by blowing his nose noisily.

“I hate being this neurotic.” He states to me, when I place the tissue box back on the small glass table next to my right arm.

“If you weren’t neurotic, Franklyn, you would be something much worse.” I reply, by curling slightly in displeasure leaving the crumpled tissue on the small table at the sight and he settles back into the chair. “Our brain is designed to experience anxiety in short bursts. Due to your neuroses you experience more of it.”

He goes to say something only to close his mouth because I’m right in what I say and so continue speaking to him. “Franklyn, you have to understand you perceive it as almost like lion in the room.”

“And?” He asks me, the ticking of the Grandfather clock filling the office space around us and wonder why this poor, bumbling fool couldn’t move on to a new Therapist instead of hanging around me.

“When the lion is in the room, I will tell you.” I reply, making him accept the answer for now and thus ending our session for today.

—————————

Opening the back office door, I still at the sight of large burly black man who stands immediately mistaking immediately Franklyn for myself and it is only when I correct him that Franklyn gives a sigh of relief then I remind the man “Same time next week, Franklyn. Please don’t be late this time.” then a little voice pipes up with “Rude” making me frown to look around the large, burly black man to see who has spoken and see sitting in one of the waiting room seats is small young boy of eleven years old scowling for some reason.

“Will!!?” the large, burly man admonishes the young boy who slides off the chair and comes over to him, staying very close to his leg – like a duckling following their parents feet – glaring up at me with sea blueish-green eyes.

There was fire in those eyes that I could see and it made me wonder what had stoked those flames to make such a strange Alpha child in front of me. I indicate for them to both come inside the office and see Franklyn is still hanging around making me look at him seeing he is watching the small child.

“Franklyn, don’t you have elsewhere to be?” I ask him, drawing him out of the haze he is in and looks at me trying to make sense of what he had just seen.

“Sorry, what!!!? Oh.” He says, realising he gotten distracted and turns his gaze to me still standing at the doorway of the back office door. “It’s just that….I thought for minute there that child was your son or something.”

These words jolt me unexpectly and looking back at the young boy, see is now sitting on the chaise lounge – feet dangling and not touching the floor.

“No matter. Umm, see you next week, Dr, Lecter.” He says, waving it off like he not said it all to me and quickly leaves before I can say anything back about how unspeakably rude it had been to think that.

Closing the back office door, I turn to face my two new guests and heading over to the glass tables clean away the discarded crumpled tissue in the bin then turn to face the large, burly black man.

“Detective Jack Crawford of the F.B.I Science and Behavioural Unit.” He introduces himself, holding out a hand for me to shake and taking it in mine feeling the firm grip of it.

Crawford lets go of my hand, choosing to sit down in one of the leather seats – thankfully the one Franklyn had been sitting in – and sit down myself crossing one leg over the other feeling the gaze of the young boy called Will on me.

“So, what brings you to my door?” I ask him, seeing how he is thinking of how to voice his answer to me and trying to keep on Will, who has gotten of the chaise lounge to have a explore around my office looking at the paintings of artwork on the walls and to the ladder leading up to the mezzanine library.

“It’s about if you are willing to become a Therapist for….Will, even though he is child of eleven years old. You have to understand, Dr. Lecter, Will was involved in horrendous accident twelve days ago near Wolftrap, Virginia.” He says, clasping his hands together as I see Will has clambered up the ladder to have look around at my extensive book collection.

“Jack, you have to understand the legal obligations here.” I state to him. “I signed the Therapist Legislation Contract, which states only patients of certain age can be interviewed. Like for example if they are child under the age of 18 then a Guardian or Parent must be present during the appointment. I can’t just talk to Will alone.”

He accepts this statement, followed by flicking his gaze up to the said child up in the mezzanine library and making me look up at as well seeing the young boy is flicking through one of my notebooks of Medical History from when I had been at John Hopkins’s as an E.R. surgeon.

“Excuse me, Jack.” I say politely, getting up out the chair and heading over to the ladder climb up seeing how Will lifts his head to see what is happening then lowers it back down again.

I go around to where he is sitting on the floor, looking down at what he is looking at - my sketching of the Wound Man – and bending down so we’re eye level then reach for it, only for the young boy to pull the notebook out of my reach.

“Will, do you mind returning…what you took please? I’m rather punctual in keeping everything in order in this office. Including my sketching’s and notebooks.” I say, telling the young boy and wait until he gives small huff of irritation, handing it back with my sketch and gets up walking past me as I stop him again from going any further.

“And my scalpel, Will.”

“I don’t what you’re talking about.” He says naively, causing me to reach for where I know it is hidden and he strikes so fast – like a cobra lunging with fangs bared – that it is only my quick second reflexes that save me from having my eye stabbed out as I feel my own scalpel draw blood from my cheek.

Now holding his delicate little wrist in my large hand, I find myself glaring down into defiant sea bluish-green eyes and ignoring the light trickle of blood running down my cheek then suddenly the little boy leans upwards on the tip of his toes, lapping it up with his tongue causing me to flinch backwards at the action.

I let him go, watching him scramble away from me and down the ladder so fast that I don’t have even have time to reach him. I stop at the top of the ladder, when Jack who had gone out of the office to answer a phone call comes back in and Will immediately latches onto him gripping his long coat tightly with his little hands.

“Dr. Lecter, is everything alright?” He asks me, when I descend the ladder to lower floor and getting out my handerkerchief of my breast pocket wipe the trickle of blood from the cut on my cheek.

“Everything is fine, Detective Crawford. It’s nothing to be concerned about.” I lie to him, heading over to my desk to sit down to compose myself and placing the notebook in the drawer where other objects lay within - an ultrascan photo of when I been pregnant with Abigail; a photo of me and Garret on our wedding day and a form stating myself as Omegan and working as a legal Therapist from the Baltimore Therapist Board Office

I close it. It would not be a good thing to remember the past at the moment and getting back out the chair head around the desk to go over to Crawford.

“I’m afraid something has come up, Dr. Lecter and must be going with Will now. It is okay to see you…umm…next Thursday?”

I’m asked, while I remember that was usually my most busy day of appointments with patients.

“I’ll see if I can fit you in. Thursdays though are my busy days, I’m afraid.”

“Understandable. Phone this number if you have a free space.”

He hands me a card with the number for his office at F.B.I Behavioural and Science Unit, which I calmly slip into my breast pocket and watch them calmly leave as they had both come in.

  “MUM!!?” Abigail shouts, surprised to see me and runs over to me, with the rifle hanging on her shoulder jostling with the movement then finally his in my warm embrace, making me smile softly down at her and kiss the crown of head lightly.

“Hello, Little Deer.” I say, using my affectionate nickname for her and notice Garret – my Husband even though he was married as well to Susan Garret Hobbs nee Dubri - as appeared walking up to us both then Abigail slips away from me to head home, when he gives a certain look that he wants to be alone with me.

“I’ve…missed you.” Garret says, stepping close to pull me into his embrace and walk me over to the Hunting Lodge.

 Where inside the long oak table has been wiped down and yet, I can see evidence of what I had asked him to promise me after Abigail’s birth not continue to do because he would get caught as he walks me into the downstairs area closing the door behind.

“Garret, you promised me you would stop this.” I say, making him turn to face me and pulls me close to him to place me between his spread legs brushing the aroused bulge within his trousers against my groin forcing me to tremble slightly when tingles run up my thighs to make wetness start to pool between the wet heated core of my body.

“Hannibal. Hannibal.” He admonishes me, placing the palm of his hand on my chest to soon slip it downwards before I can stop him to unbuckle my belt and unbutton my suit trousers then flicks his gaze up to me, seeing how I’m trying so hard to keep a calm composure continues to speak by saying. “I’m…gonna taste you and…you’re going to let me, because you know what will happen if you don’t.”

He pulls the zip downwards, followed by whirling me around to place down on the long oak table where he just gutted his latest victim – a young girl who looked like Abigail because he honoured every part of her – and bends his head downwards after pulling the suit trousers down, along with my boxers and surges forwards to lap up the slick that has formed in his presence because he was an Alpha and I’m a Omega.

Tremors run through my thighs, followed by tilting my head backwards and wish I had the strength to tell him that we can’t do this anymore as lewd slick slurping and lapping noises reach my ears at the sametime his fingers spread me more apart so he can delve his tongue right within.

He swirls it around, tasting my innermost core of me.

He devours me.

In his mind….he is honouring me by doing this to me.

PART 2

24 YEARS LATER

Hannibal’s P.O.V:

Beautiful soprano filled with rich harmony fills my ears as I sit among thousands of others listening to the Opera singer for the Baltimore Charity Fundraising Ball hosted by Madame Chairwoman – a female Alpha herself - followed by her coming to rousing finish. I’m the first to stand up and clap followed by everyone else doing the same at her amazing vocals.

Lowering my hands as the Opera Singer steps off the stage to shake hands with Rich elite of Baltimore society after such a fine performance  it is when I sense I’m being watched by someone behind making me look over my shoulder to see one person I had not expected to see after all this time.

Will Graham, grown up and no longer the little eleven year old boy who come into my office with Jack Crawford. But now a young Alpha man of in his 30s and without Jack’s companionship meaning he was here on his own free terms then walks over to me, making me turn fully to face him.

“Surprised to see me, Dr. Lecter?” He asks me, in his rich seductive Louisiana accent of his it causes a shiver of aching want to pool deep within me down below and go to reply, when female voice interrupts us both.

“Hannibal!! There you are hiding.” Madame Chairwomen says, drawing some attention of a group from the Baltimore Surgeons’ Society to my displeasure which I not wanted and holding out my arm for her lead her out into the main ballroom where thankfully there no longer their prying eyes.

“Apologies. You know how hot in can get in there.” I lie, when she gives me a certain look of “Explain?” and she accepts this for now as Will comes over holding three glasses – one which he hands to me.

I take it off him, feeling in the process are fingertips brush causing a slight spark to jump between them and pulling my hand away with the glass can still feel a faint tingle residual of it.

Will doesn’t seem to show he has been affected by it at all and starts talking to the Soprano singer – who was born in France, Paris – in French Creole, where I internally consider turning her into a Tableau when she doesn’t bother to hide a sneer of “Who is this person and why should I be so bothered? Because my Daddy is the Senator Gruntos – a superior Alpha who is planning to win the next Election coming up.”

I take a sip of the drink, wincing at the slight taste of cheap champagne assaulting my tastebuds and place it on serving tray as waiter passes by looking to take one’s away then notice that among the Baltimore Surgeons’ Society is my old friend Dr. Donald Sutcliffe who politely excuses himself from his friends to come over to me.

“Hannibal, thought it was you. Good to see you again.” The Alpha says, filling my nostrils with the scent of cheap cologne and his musk, not holding out his hand though to me to shake.

Meaning he was still not getting over the fact I had lied about my status when I had been an E.R. Surgeon at John Hopkins’s  Hospital in not saying on the official document for it that I was an Omega. I had lied by saying my status was Alpha at the time.

“You too, Donald. Drinking with the higher elite Surgeons are we I see.” I state making him, curl his lip slightly at me and step closer when Will suddenly appears beside me slipping his hand around my waist tightening his hold on it.

This makes Donald, step back seeing a more powerful Alpha beside me and heads back to the group Baltimore Surgeons’ Society leaving me alone with Will.

  Senator Gruntos daughter – not yet Presented - would be dearly missed by all of the Baltimore Rich Society. Not by me, while I calmly watch her weakly crawl across the polished floor of her kitchen in her gaudy apartment with myself walking silently behind her then grabbing hold of her, pull her upwards to flip her onto back.

I shush her calmly, cupping both her cheeks and for moment she relaxes thinking I’m going to let her go when she notices I’m smirking down at her then bending down grab her tongue with Omegan fangs, ripping it hard severing muscle and tissue from her mouth. Blood fills her mouth, dribbling down the sides of it. Something though makes me crawl backwards on my hands and knees until hands suddenly touch my hips.

I stiffen at the heat coming from them that seems to spread through the plastic suit I wear over my suit and whoever they are lean over me to nuzzle my nape. Where my unblemished Crest rests, feeling soon a piece of fabric being placed around my eyes, blocking out my sight to effectively paralyse me.

In Ancient Japan, this technique had been used by Alpha Warlords to calm their Omega mates during and after childbirth or even when they were going into Heat to make sure they were utterly subdued.

Lips take hold of the severed tongue, I hold between my fangs – curved and wicked looking when unsheathed – and begins to chew it until the warm, moist lips cover mine – devouring in such a way, I mewl heavily begging the unknown Alpha or Omega to do something. Anything.

I couldn’t tell if they were Alpha or Omega because there is no scent coming from them then let go of my lips, moving away as I hear Senator Gruntos daughter being dragged away across the polished floor then silence, except for the thudding of my heart against my ribcage.

[malecsecretsanta]

Merry Christmas, @wolfspirals!

Read on AO3

*****

Everything I Didn’t Know I Wanted For Christmas

"I can't believe you stole your own nephew's Christmas present!" Alec hissed at Jace, shoving him hard enough that he lost his balance and bumped into the fridge.

"Woah, chill, man," Jace said, both hands held up in surrender. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"The hell you don't! That present sitting right on the top of the stack is Henry's Christmas present! I wrapped it up myself!" Alec fumed.  

"I could have bought the same wrapping paper, and wrapped it up really terribly on my own," Jace said defensively.  

"You also left the card I wrote for Henry stuck to the wrapper," Alec said flatly.

"Oh fuck!" Jace's eyes widened, trying to manoeuvre around Alec to go back out into the living room. "I have to go get that before Willie starts opening the presents!"

Alec moved to block his way, glowering at his brother.

"Ok, fine! I'm sorry, ok?" Jace said, running a hand through his too-long hair in frustration. "It's just, you know, life has been a bit of a mess around here, with the new baby coming and Willie being more of a brat than usual. I promised Clary I'd handle this whole birthday party and present thing so she wouldn't tire herself out, but I wasn't expecting it to be so much work!"

"Izzy helped you plan this party," Alec pointed out stonily. "If you were too busy to go out to the shops to get Will a present, you could have ordered it online, or just asked one of us to get it for you. Not come over to my place with the spare key I gave you for emergencies and steal the fucking present out of my closet!"

"I was desperate, ok? I only remembered yesterday, and all the nearest shops said they were all sold out. I couldn't let Willie down, and Clary wouldn't have gotten mad, you know, she'd have been disappointed, which is even worse. I knew you'd have bought it for Henry months in advance," Jace said, trying to turn pleading eyes on Alec. "Look, they'll probably still have stock at Roosevelt Field, since that's the biggest mall around here. You could leave Henry here tonight for a sleepover, pop over there in the morning tomorrow, and still be in time to meet us for the Christmas Parade in the afternoon."

Alec sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I hate you."

"I owe you one, ok?" Jace said, tension leaving his shoulders now that he knew Alec was probably going to give in. "Now let me just go out there-"

"I've already removed the card. It's in my pocket," Alec said wryly.

Jace heaved a sigh of relief. "Thanks, man. I knew you've always got my back."

"No, fuck you - I was looking out for Will," Alec muttered.

"What are you two doing hiding in the kitchen?" Izzy suddenly said from the doorway, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Nothing. Guy stuff," Jace said quickly.

Izzy rolled her eyes. "I think we're a bit too old for the 'No Girls Allowed' club. Come on, Will's going to start on his presents!"

Alec sighed and followed his siblings out into the living room, already mentally trying to calculate travel times in Christmas Eve traffic and around roadblocks because of the parade. He'd like to think that Henry was well-adjusted enough that the kid would be ok even if he didn't get that particular toy for Christmas, but every boy around Henry's age was probably getting an action figure of the superhero Silver Shot for Christmas this year, and Alec hated the thought of Henry feeling left out. Besides, Henry's smiles on Christmas morning was one of the few things Alec really looked forward to.

Technically, Henry was his godson. Henry's biological parents, John and Lydia Monteverde, had been Alec's best friends in college. When Henry was barely over a year old, his parents had been killed by a drunk driver in a tragic accident, and Alec found out that they had named him as Henry's legal guardian, since they had no other living relatives they were close to. So at the age of 23, Alec had become a single parent. Even with all the Lightwoods chipping in and a more flexible work schedule courtesy of working in the family business, the last four years hadn't been easy. Alec had been the one changing diapers, holding Henry's hand when he'd been taking those first few baby steps, nursing him through cuts and bumps and fevers and colds, reading him bedtime stories, and hugging him close after nightmares and during thunderstorms. And when Henry was learning to talk, Izzy had taught him to call Alec 'Daddy' - and that was that.

Alec tried not to grind his teeth when Jace's son opened the present he'd bought months ago for Henry, and clenched his jaw when Will threw a tantrum and wouldn't allow Henry to even take a closer look at the action figure.

"Hey. You alright?" he asked his son, drawing him to a quiet corner after all the presents had been opened. "Uncle Jace said you could sleep over if you wanted, but we could go home instead."

Henry shrugged. "It's ok. I know Will wasn't being mean on purpose. Aunt Izzy said it's because he's worried about the new baby coming, that Uncle Jace and Aunt Clary will love him less, which is dumb because it doesn't work that way."

"You've got it all figured out, huh?" Alec said, trying to hide his grin.

Henry nodded solemnly. "Yeah, plus the special extra-long Silver Shot show is on tomorrow morning, and I wanna watch it with Will. It's going to be so cool! I think Silver Shot is going to find out who The Shaman is!"

"The Shaman is the bad guy, right?" Alec asked, having only the vaguest idea what the cartoon was about.

"Only sometimes. But he's also actually Silver Shot's boyfriend. You know, when they're not in their costumes."

Alec blinked. "His what?"

"His boyfriend," Henry repeated patiently. "Silver Shot kisses other boys - like you, Daddy. Can I go tell Will that I'm staying over tonight?"  

"Yeah, ok," Alec replied, still slightly flummoxed. A gay superhero on mainstream media? Who would've thought?  

Then he registered the rest of what Henry had said, and realised that Henry must have been up awake past his bedtime with Will, watching from Jace's house across the street on the rare occasions that Alec had actually been out on dates and the even rarer occasions when he had invited his date home for... "coffee".  

"...Crap."

Magnus reflected that not that long ago, he'd probably have been nursing a hangover on the morning of Christmas Eve, preparing to go out and drink some more that night. That Magnus would never have imagined getting up at eight in the morning to cook waffles and scrambled eggs while his son sat with eyes glued to the screen watching some cartoon where a guy in a silver half-mask was fighting someone who was throwing fireballs from his hands. But some changes in life were for the better, and Magnus didn't regret a thing - not the sleepless nights he'd spent rocking and singing to a colicky baby, not the expensive silk shirts Rafael had ruined with spit-up, not the ugly rubber bumpers he'd had to fix to the corners of all his lovely teak furniture when his son had started toddling around. In fact, he didn't even regret the two years he'd spent married to Camille.

He'd caught her having an affair with her colleague and filed for divorce before Rafael turned two, citing irreconcilable differences and demanding full custody of Rafael, which Camille had been only too happy to give up. She still visited Rafael at least twice a year though - once on his birthday, and once on Christmas Eve.

Just as Magnus was placing the plates and cups on a tray, as if thinking about her had somehow summoned her, someone jabbed the doorbell several times in rapid succession. Magnus rolled his eyes and put the tray on the coffee table.

"Eat, Rafe. I know you hate your eggs cold," he told his son, then went to get the door.

Camille was standing outside the door of his penthouse apartment, dressed to the nines, with a parcel clutched to her chest and an expression of impatient disdain on her face. She pushed him out of the way, heels clicking sharply on the hardwood floor as she walked towards the living room.  

"You're early," Magnus observed. Unlike him, Camille hadn't changed her habits much over the years - he didn't think she usually got up before noon.

"Louis is taking me on a luxury cruise down the East River," she replied.

"Because sailing down a river of stinky, polluted water is the very height of romance, I'm sure," Magnus said snidely.

Camille shot him a nasty look over her shoulder, gaze flicking to his appropriately festive apron, which had a picture of a candy cane and the words 'It's not going to lick itself' printed on it. "Yes, you always were a great romantic. Too bad the only hot dates you've been getting these days have been with your right hand."

"Nonsense. I occasionally date my left hand instead. Sometimes both, at the same time," Magnus said cheerfully.

Camille snorted inelegantly, then crouched down to hug Rafael and plant a kiss on his cheek. "Merry Christmas, sweetie!"

"Hi Mama. Merry Christmas," Rafael replied a little distractedly, wiping lipstick off his cheek with the sleeve of his pajamas.

Camille pushed the parcel into his arms. "Open it!"

"Um, ok," Rafael said, tearing his eyes away from the screen with effort to peel open the wrapping. She'd given him a toy puppy with body parts labelled in large black lettering - ear, hand, tummy, foot. There was a heart-shaped button in its chest, and when pressed, it lit up and played the ABC song.

"Yes, perfect - if Rafe was five months old, instead of five years old," Magnus said, and Camille glared at him.

"Um, it's ok. I love it. Thanks, Mama," Rafe said quickly, giving her a hug and a small smile before turning back to the screen.

Camille stood up slowly, then flashed a smile at Magnus that was all teeth. "May I use your bathroom?"

Magnus swept his arm in a grand gesture. "Be my guest," he said, frowning as she stalked down the hallway towards the bedrooms.

He was just about to follow her to make sure that she was going into the common bathroom, when Rafael said very softly, "Papa, my eggs have gone cold. Could you...?"

"Of course," Magnus said, whisking the plate off to the kitchen to give the eggs another quick stir in the pan.

He was just setting the plate down in front of Rafael when he thought he heard the sound of a window being opened. Walking quickly towards his bedroom, he was just in time to see Camille flinging the present he'd bought for Rafael out of the window - seven storeys down, straight into the busy morning traffic.

"What the fuck did you do that for?" he snarled in a low voice.

"Oops. Guess Papa doesn't even have a present for his darling little boy - how disappointing," she replied sweetly, before sauntering out of the room.

Magnus had to take a few deep breaths before he'd calmed down enough to kick Camille out of his house as civilly as he could manage in front of their son. He'd bought that Silver Shot action figure a month ago, and even then he'd had to try a few places before he'd managed to get his hands on one. Rafe was a sweet kid and wouldn't mind receiving something else, but for this to happen because of fucking Camille...

Checking to make sure that Rafael's attention was still on the television and he wouldn't overhear the conversation, Magnus grabbed his phone and hit Ragnor's number on the speed-dial.

"Ragnor, I need you to do me a favour - could you and Raphael watch Rafe for a while? I've got some emergency Christmas shopping to do."

The Christmas Parade was at three in the afternoon, so Alec was at the mall by 10am, figuring that it would give him ample time to buy the toy, get it wrapped, and maybe run some errands if he had the time. He'd expected parking to be a nightmare and insane crowds at the malls - but he hadn't expected to walk into the toy store and find the shelves for the Silver Shot toys completely empty. There wasn't a scrap of merchandise left, not even an overpriced water bottle, much less an action figure of Silver Shot.

"Erm, excuse me..." he said, trying to get the attention of a harried store worker. "What happened to all the Silver Shot stuff?"

The guy frowned at him. "Whaddya think? All sold out of course!"

"Everything? Isn't there even like stationery, or a lunchbox?"

"Yes, everything," the guy snapped. "Sold out a week ago."

"Could you please check the back room? Maybe something fell behind a shelf?" Alec asked a little desperately. "I just need to get something for my son - anything."

"Look, buddy-" the irrate store worker began to say.

"Hi, sorry - I couldn't help overhearing the conversation, and I'm looking for something for my son as well," someone interrupted them smoothly.

Alec half-turned and froze - the speaker was a very handsome man wearing a well-fitted grey topcoat that showed off broad shoulders and biceps to die for. Alec tried not to stare.

"I know you're busy, but it would really make the day of two kids - and two very desperate fathers," he continued, looking over at Alec with his beautiful brown eyes to include him in the conversation - and fuck, it was just Alec's luck that this guy was probably happily married.

"I'm sure with how well-organised this place is, a quick check of the system will show if there's supposed to be anything in stock, but that was misplaced. That's all we're asking for," he said, but the store worker just frowned. "We'll be sure to call up the store and tell them how you went above and beyond in your service - Raj," the guy added, after a quick glance at his name tag.

The store worker heaved a loud sigh and stomped over to the nearest register and typed in the search terms. Alec sneaked a peek at the other father's left hand resting on the countertop - he was wearing a couple of rings, but his ring finger was bare, though that didn't necessarily mean that he was single.

Their not-so-friendly service staff, Raj, shook his head. "Nope, not even a pencil."

"How about the other one? The Shaman?" Alec asked.  

Raj let out a short bark of laughter. "Where have you been? The Shaman is just as popular, plus with that Christmas special this morning - I promise you, everything is gone," he said, but humoured them and typed in a new search, then hit 'enter' and frowned. "Wait - there's one Shaman action figure left. But it's reserved."

"So they'll be coming here to get it today?" Alec asked. He supposed he could try his luck and hang around to wait for the person who'd reserved the toy and see if he could convince them to sell it to him instead.

"I suppose so. Collection of reserved stuff is at the main counter at level one."

"And there's just one?" the other father asked, and Alec saw the mischievous gleam in his eye a split second before the guy turned and dashed towards the escalators.

"Hey! Remember that call you promised, my Christmas bonus is depending on it!" Raj called out after them, but Alec was already hot on the heels of the other guy, dodging shoppers left and right and mumbling apologies.

For once, Alec was thankful for all the times Jace had dragged him to the gym, but the other guy was pretty fit as well, nimbly slipping between people on the narrow escalator faster than Alec would have expected from a guy that broad. He glanced over his shoulder, searching for Alec when he reached the bottom of the escalator, and flashed Alec a grin when he saw that Alec still stuck at the top, before making a beeline for the next escalator. By the time Alec reached the front counter two floors down, he was only in time to catch the tail end of the conversation - the other guy asking the counter staff, "What was she wearing?"

"Uh, a red parka," the flustered girl replied.

Alec scanned the crowd quickly, using his height to his advantage, and spotted a woman in a red coat carrying a shopping bag that was about the right size, heading for the exit. He ran after her and caught up with her just outside, tapping her on the shoulder.

"Hey, sorry, I really need to talk to you," he said, panting from the unexpected exercise.

She turned around in surprise, then smiled at him. "Hi!" she said in a flirty tone, very blatantly checking him out, and Alec's only excuse was that he panicked.

"I'm gay, I just wanted to ask if you would sell me the Shaman toy," he blurted out.

Her face turned stormy immediately. "Fuck off," she snapped, and stomped off.

Alec heard a snort of laughter behind him, and turned to find the other guy leaning against the wall, trying to catch his breath as well.

"Are you always that straightforward?" he asked, then laughed again when Alec shrugged helplessly. He stuck out a hand. "I'm Magnus."

"Alec," Alec replied, shaking the proffered hand.

"Well, I hope your better half isn't going to hold it against you," Magnus said.

"Um, there's no better half. It's just me and the kid," Alec said.

"Ah, that's tough. As a single parent myself, I understand completely," Magnus said.

"Yeah. Guess we'll just have to think of something else to get for our kids," Alec said gloomily.  

Magnus groaned. "God, I think I need a martini - or two - before I can even start to think about that," he said, then looked up at Alec slightly coyly. "Care to join me?"  

"At 11.30 in the morning?" Alec asked.

"It's always happy hour somewhere," Magnus said airily.

Alec huffed out a laugh. "Yeah, what the hell, why not?"

"You see, it wasn't even my fault. And it wasn't your fault, either. We've just got the worst luck," Alec complained, taking another gulp of his beer. "But it still feels like we're the ones who let our kids down."

"It does," Magnus agreed. "Even though Rafael wouldn't say anything. He'd be disappointed, but he's not the type to throw a tantrum about things like that."

"Yeah, Henry wouldn't, either," Alec said morosely.

"Sounds like we're doing something right, then," Magnus said with a smile.

Alec let out a small chuckle. "Yeah, I hope so."  

"I guess that makes my sad date-less social life worth it," Magnus said musingly.

"Seriously? You, too?" Alec asked in surprise. "I mean... You're you."

Magnus laughed lightly. "I could say the same for you," he told Alec with a wink, and was amused when a slight colour rose in Alec's cheeks.

Alec cleared his throat and checked his watch. "Crap. It's already one o'clock, and we still need to get presents."

"I suppose we can't go wrong with a nice book?" Magnus suggested, half trying to convince himself.

The bartender had put the radio on for some Christmasy tunes, and just as Magnus was trying to catch his attention to call for the bill, an announcement came on the radio.

"Thanks for tuning in to Power NY FM, and pssst, we've got a little surprise for our listeners! Come on down to our booth at the Christmas Parade this afternoon, answer one simple question, and you could stand to win a limited-edition Silver Shot figurine!"

Magnus exchanged a look with Alec and quickly threw down a handful of bills. Alec grabbed both their coats off the back of their chairs and held Magnus' out for him.

"Keep the change, Merry Christmas!" Magnus called out to the bartender as he slipped into his coat, and both of them hurried out into the cold.  

It had made more sense for them to share one car, so they'd taken Alec's practical Honda instead of Magnus' flashy Jaguar, but with all the roadblocks and Christmas Eve traffic, they honestly might have had better luck just jogging there. They reached the booth set up by the radio station with only half an hour to spare before the start of the parade, but when they finally reached the head of the queue, they were in for more disappointment - the radio contest was just for a lucky draw. It would be weeks before the winners were announced.

"Looks like we might have to do our shopping after the parade," Magnus sighed, checking his phone. "My friends were helping me watch Rafael this morning, and I need to go find them."

"Yeah, Henry is with my siblings and their families. I need to go find them too," Alec admitted, skimming through the messages from Jace and Izzy. He really had to go, they were already waiting for him, but he didn't want to leave just yet.

"Do you want to continue our shopping together later?" he blurted out.

"Yes, of course," Magnus replied quickly. "I would love that."

Alec was just about to suggest that they exchange numbers when someone grabbed both of them by their arms.

"Oh thank god, I thought you guys weren't going to show!" she exclaimed, pulling them towards a tent marked 'staff only'.

"What? What's going on?" Alec asked. Magnus looked just as confused.

"You're the actors playing Silver Shot and The Shaman, right?" she asked impatiently, and Alec noticed that she had a pass hanging from a lanyard around her neck that said 'parade manager'.

"No!" Alec yelped.

"Oh shit. I'm so sorry!" the flustered parade manager gasped, letting go of them. "It's just that we've got ten minutes before the parade starts, and the guys who were supposed to dress up as Silver Shot and The Shaman for the parade never showed up. I thought it was you two - you kind of look perfect for the parts."

"No, we're not actors. But what happens if the actual actors don't turn up?" Magnus asked.

"Well, there're going to be lots of disappointed kids for sure," she replied, running a hand through her hair in frustration.

"What would we have to do? Just stand on the parade float and wave?" Magnus asked.

"Pretty much, yeah."

"I think we could do it - don't you agree, Alexander?" Magnus said brightly.

Alec's eyes widened in horror. "Wait-"

"Really?! Oh my god, you're lifesavers! I'll be sure to get one of those special-edition action figures for the both of you as a thank you," she gushed.

"That would be perfect! You're our lifesaver," Magnus said, beaming, then turned to Alec. "Were you about to say something?"

"No, it's nothing," Alec said, licking his lips nervously. "Let's do this."

Magnus had to say that he looked pretty good in The Shaman's costume: dark red flowy pants embroidered with gold thread and heavy with beads, a matching crop top and armbands, and a burnished gold cloak that billowed behind him in a way that satisfied the 8-year-old in him. There was a feathered and beaded half-mask as well, but he left that off for now, and went round the privacy curtain to find Alec fidgeting with his costume: skin-tight militaristic black clothes that clung in all the right places, silver cuffs on his wrists, fingerless gloves, and a silver half-mask. Alec glanced up, his gaze lingering on Magnus' exposed abs and bare arms, and swallowed hard.

"You're going to catch a cold in that," he said a little gruffly.

"It's only for half an hour, I'll be fine," Magnus assured him. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, it's just... I've never worn so much spandex in my life," Alec grumbled, then dropped his head and groaned. "I can't believe I agreed to do this."

Magnus laughed and adjusted Alec's mask for him. "You look fine. More than fine."

Alec blushed charmingly, but before he could reply, there was a knock on the door.

"Everything alright in there?" the parade manager called out, sounding a little panicky. Alec went to open the door for her, and Magnus put on his mask.

They were whisked away to the parade float and briefed on what to expect, and before they knew it, they were standing on the float waving at the crowds and trying their best to look the part. Magnus scanned the crowd, trying to spot Rafael with Ragnor and Raphael, but all he saw was a blur of excited children and adults.

The float came to a stop in front of the ice skating ring at Rockefeller Plaza, which was the midpoint of the parade, and the theme song from the cartoon began to play over the speakers. They were supposed to do a short skit here, pretending to fight each other; Magnus got into the swing of things immediately, pretending to throw fireballs from his hands, but it was hard keeping a straight face with how earnest Alec looked trying to stay in character while firing imaginary arrows from his plastic silver bow and dodging Magnus' attacks.

At the end of the skit, Magnus and Alec moved to the front of the float and held hands, to show that Silver Shot and The Shaman had made up. And when the music stopped, Magnus heard a loud cry - "That's Papa!"

He turned and finally spotted Rafael, who was sitting on the shoulders of his namesake, Magnus' adopted brother. He blew a kiss at his delighted son, and noticed that a little blond boy sitting on the shoulders of a bespectacled guy standing just next to Raphael was also grinning from ear-to-ear, waving madly and shouting, "Daddy! My Daddy is Silver Shot!"

"Is that Henry?" he asked Alec, and Alec nodded, waving and grinning at his son.

As they stood there laughing and waving at their surprised families, a chant started up in the crowd, mostly from the teenagers and adults: "Kiss! Kiss!"

Alec looked a little wild-eyed, but he licked his own lips self-consciously and Magnus saw his eyes dart lower to Magnus' lips.

"It's Christmas, after all. We should give the crowd what they want - that is, if you don't mind," Magnus murmured, stepping a little closer.

"Yeah, we should," Alec agreed. He ducked his head and kissed Magnus gently, to a resounding roar of approval from the crowd.

"I know we don't need to do any more Christmas shopping after this, but I'm gonna be needing your number," Alec told Magnus, his arms still resting lightly around Magnus' waist, and Magnus laughed.

"I have a feeling it's going to be a very Merry Christmas for the both of us," Magnus joked cheekily.

Alec grinned. "Merry Christmas, Magnus."

"Merry Christmas, Alexander."

[thecomicsnexus]

Dragon Ball Vol. 1

DRAGON BALL VOL. 1 (2003) PUBLISHED ORIGINALLY IN WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP IN 1984 - 1985 BY AKIRA TORIYAMA AND ADAPTED BY GERARD JONES

SYNOPSIS

This first volume consists of the first 11 chapters. Son Goku meets a girl named Bulma, who is looking for the seven dragon balls. Whoever gathers all of them, can summon the dragon god Shenlong. The dragon god will grant that person a wish. Bulma wants to ask him for a cute boyfriend (priorities, I know). After seeing Goku help her against a dinosaur, she decides to trick him into accompanying her in her quest.

Goku has never seen a girl before and never even realized that his grandpa didn’t have a tail. On their journet, they find a stranded sea turtle. Goku manages to convince Bulma to take the turtle to the sea, where it rewards him with the Turtle Hermit (Kame-Sen’nin). The Turtle Hermit gifts him a cloud (Kinto’un) that serves as a transportation for those pure of heart. Bulma gets jealous of the gift and asks for something in exchange of showing him her undies (not knowing that Goku removed them during the night to investigate). The hermit gifts her a dragon ball (making this a total of 4 balls).

Their next stop is a town terrorized by a demon that demands material things and girls. This demon is named “Oolong”. Bulma negotiates with them, saying that they will take care of Oolong in exchange of a dragon ball. When Oolong comes to town, he transforms into a handsome man, complicating our protagonists plans, as Bulma wants to go with him. This is when we discover that Oolong is actually a little piglet that can only change shapes for 5 minutes and then has to rest for 1 minute. Goku makes him apologize to the town and he takes them to the girls who have been taken care of very well with all kinds of luxuries.

They take Oolong with them in their quest, in their next destination, Fry-Pan Mountain. They lose the capsules (these contain cars and other useful things) and end up walking through a desert. That is when they are seen by Yamcha and Pu’ar.

Yamcha is a thief that takes advantage of people that get lost in that area. They start a fight but has to escape when he sees Bulma, as he gets very shy around women. That night, Yamcha discovers their plan to get all the dragon balls. He thinks it would be great to get them so he can wish not to be shy around women (as he wants to get married). After failing in getting the balls, they decide to stay at a distance and snatch the balls at the moment they get them all. To encourage them to reach their destination, he gifts them a capsule with a car.

When they finally get to the castle in Fry-Pan mountain, Goku is unable to break in. Lord Gyu-mao, the guardian of the mountain, asks Goku where he got that cloud and he tells him about the Turtle hermit, who happens to by Gyu-mao’s old master.

REVIEW

Well, this was a very particular thing to review. First of all, I never read a manga in my life. I knew I was supposed to read them in reverse, but I wasn’t aware that the visual direction was also inverted (going from right to left, even for text balloons). To make things a bit extra difficult, Comixology doesn’t have a Guided View for manga

So it took a while to get used to it and every now and then I would read the dialogues in the wrong order. I managed anyway.

The first thing that I noticed was that this is an adaptation by Gerard Jones

Gerard Jones is a famous comic-book writer, that got even more famous recently for being sent to prison for 6 years, for having big amounts of child pornography files. So that kind of taints this a bit. What I understand as an adaptation is that he had to change some dialogues to make more sense (where a simple translation may not resonate with an american audience). As a result we have dialogues that seem taken from “Clueless” (As If!!!!)

Apart from that, not only I never read a manga before... I never watched Dragon Ball either. I’ve seen clips of it, but mostly from Dragon Ball Z, so to me, this didn’t look like it was the same thing (I actually had to check).

Now, I know manga is different than american and european comics, and I know the japanese culture allows for certain topics to show up in a page. Where I am going with this is... this is a book for 12+ years old. While the story is very innocent and can be seen as a coming of age... there are some topics here that I am not sure are “illustrated” in the tone they should. Probably the tipping point is a scene where Oolong puts roofies into Goku and Bulma’s drinks, so he can “do stuff” with Bulma. Now, almost nothing happens, but it isn’t exactly a laughing matter. We can laugh at it... but we have seen this go very wrong in the real world. In another scene, Kame-sen’nin gives Bulma a dragon ball in exchange of looking at her undies (he ends up seeing the whole thing by mistake). Now, this was her idea, but again, in the real world, that wouldn’t be legal (she being a minor).

But I can let these things go, because the overall tone of the book is innocent. And it’s funny. It’s just a bit edgy, but it might be one of those cultural things, where the east and the west look at this topics in different lights.

Goku in particular is cute. Even when he is touching someone’s genitals to check if they are male or female, you can’t help but laugh.

So I can recommend this because it is a fun read, but for westerners... perhaps wait until you understand the consequences of the topics above.

I give the book a score of 8