#ya know what i consider this my birthday present

[cipher26]

So funny that before this episode imodna fans were like “i hope they at least talk 😕” lmfao. Now we here!

[valerie-is-in-the-cupboard]

Birthday present - Alastor x fem!reader

Hello! It's my birthday today, and I wanted to share something sweet and on-theme. Just a heads-up, I’ve just finished writing it, so please excuse any mistakes. I hope you enjoy!

Words: ~2100 TW: mostly none, just some light swearing and some light mentions of sex

It wasn't usual for Alastor to forget important things. Important dates, appointments, details... They all had their special place in his head. In fact, his attention to detail was one of the things you admired most about him.

It struck you as odd when you woke up alone in the morning, the bedsheets on his side of the bed cold and undisturbed, a sign that he didn't bother to sleep last night.

You got out of bed, dragging your body across the room, to your bathroom. Your eyes fell on your reflection, taking in the faint bruises on your neck that Alastor loved to see - a simple, yet powerful reminder to anyone who would even think about approaching you that they should reconsider such a reckless act.

You wore a nice red gown, thinking that maybe it would make him consider giving you a small, special present... if he would've bothered to come to bed at all.

But you shrugged it off, knowing who you were dealing with and that his unpredictable behavior shouldn't bother you at this point.

You got dressed as you usually did - sliding into your clothes as your mind still wandered. Maybe he forgot... Maybe you weren't as important to him as you thought.

You shook off the feeling that came over you, deciding you would not let him destroy today. So, you made your way to the hotel lobby, ready to do anything, anything to take your mind off it.

A slight sense of anxiety came over you as you made your way there, but a sudden pressure on your leg stopped you in your tracks.

Niffty held tightly on your ankle, rubbing her face on your soft skin. You chuckled as you crouched down to her level. "Well, good morning to you too, Niff."

She grins and looks up at you with big eyes and a giddy smile. "Happy birthday!!!" she shouted happily, holding a necklace made of dead roaches and a few flowers. Your skin crawled a little at the sight, but you couldn't help but feel touched by her gesture.

"Aw, Niff! This is so... endearing!" you said as you watched her smile grow. "I love it!"

Her eyes sparkled, shining brighter than you'd ever seen before as she bounced up and down with excitement. "I got it just for you! And it's made from the finest roaches in all of Hell! And I even added some pretty flowers to make it all pretty!"

"It's wonderful, Niff. Thank you!" she put it around your neck, hugging you tightly.

"You're welcome, silly! I knew you'd love it! You love bugs just as much as I do!" She pulls away slightly and grabs both of your hands, swinging them back and forth like a child. You laugh awkwardly at her statement, not really knowing something farther from the truth, but you go along with it. You get up, and she follows you to the others.

Angel Dust walked into the lobby right as Nifty was giving you the roach necklace, giggling a little as his lips curled into a smile. "Wow, that's a mighty nice gift Nift. Really makes ya' sparkle," he chuckles, leaning against the wall casually. "Hey, today's your birthday, ain't it?"

"It is, yes," you said happily as he made his way to you, pulling you into a tight embrace.

"Happy birthday, babe." He held you like that for a few moments before pulling back slightly, a sly smirk returning to his face. "I have just the perfect gift for you," he said as he handed you a bag. You looked inside, your face suddenly blushing as you saw what it was.

"Angie!" you said smiling, your cheeks burning.

"Don't mention it, toots! Given how low Smiley's libido is, you might enjoy it!" he smirked, winking at you, earning a laugh out of you.

"It's ya birthday, kid?" you heard Husker ask, a small smile on his lips. "Here ya go then!" he said, handing you a bottle of booze as a gift, which you gladly accepted. "One of the finest you can find in this shithole."

"Aw, thank you, Husk!"

Pentious slithered into the lobby, his eyes roaming the room until they fell on you. A frown of confusion etched across his long face. Everyone was giving you gifts, and yet he had forgotten your special day. How uncharacteristic of him to forget.

He approached you, holding out a bouquet of flowers he probably snatched from one of the vases. A pang of embarrassment tugged at him as he watched the others congratulate you and give you gifts. Pentious cursed himself for letting such a detail slip past his usually sharp memory.

"Happy birthday, miss (Y/n)... I am so sorry but I truly forgot about your special day..."

Your smile softened at his words as you accepted the flowers. "They're beautiful, Pentious. Thank you!" you said, softly placing a hand on his shoulder.

Pentious's frown lessened ever so slightly at your kind words, a small sense of relief washing over him. You didn't seem angry or upset that he had forgotten your special day. He coiled slightly, seeming to relax as your touch soothed his initial tension. "I'm glad you like them, dear," he replied with a touch of embarrassment. "I know it's no excuse—but I truly didn't mean to forget." Suddenly, a determined look appeared on his face. "I will create the greatest invention for you, miss (Y/n)!" you chuckle at his words.

"Can't wait to see it!" you smile, as your eyes scan the room. "Where are the others?"

"Charlie and Vagina are solving some Heaven-related business. They might be out the whole day." Angel explained, but even as he spoke, your mind wandered to someone else—someone you were hoping would be here.

"And... Alastor?"

They exchanged looks, but Angel decided to speak. "We don't really know, toots..." he said, feeling a bit sad for you. "But hey, let's not let smiley bring ya down now!" he said wrapping an arm around you.

You looked at them as you realised they were right. It was your birthday and you really had some great people to spend it with, so there was no need to feel sad.

"Angel, call Cherri! We're gonna have some fun!" you announced, as everyone in the room lit up.

Angel, feeling your excitement, grins widely. "That's the spirit! We're gonna hit the club and get fuckin' wasted! Let's get this thing started!" He looks down at you, analyzing you for a moment. "But first, let's find you something that shows more of your tits, babe."

He took your hand, making his way towards your room as everyone began to prepare. Excitement filled you up with every step, the worries that flooded your mind just mere moments ago slowly disappearing.

This was supposed to be your day, after all.

You made your way to your room, stumbling a bit as you still laughed at a joke someone at the club said three hours ago. You were careful with how much you drank, feeling a bit responsible for everyone else, but you couldn't help but feel a bit tipsy too.

Your hand fell on the doorknob and as you opened, jazz music echoed in your ears as your eyes opened wide, your gaze meeting Alastor's. He stood in his armchair, a glass of whiskey in his hand. Normally, the sight of him like this, his coat thrown gracefully on a chair and his appearance slightly dishevelled would've made your mouth water. But today, you couldn't help but feel a bit mad at him.

He got up, slowly making his way to you as you closed the door behind. His expression became somewhat more clear in the dim light. You expected him to be angry, given how late it was. But... he felt somewhat relieved.

Your breath got stuck in your throat as his hand clawed at the thin straps of your dress, tugging it slightly. You knew he wasn't really a fan of you going out like this, but his face remained the same.

"I see you had some fun, my dear," he said, his voice calm and suave, making you relax a bit. His eyes fell on your cleavage, frowning a little at how much it showed. He let out a hum as his eyes fell on the bruises on our neck, his claw dragging across them gently, sending a shiver down your spine.

"I went out with the others," you said, not giving any more details, but given the smell of alcohol and smoke that came from you, it wasn't hard to guess.

He sighed, his eyes finally meeting yours, his claw gently caressing your neck, your heart skipping a beat at the gesture. "I can see that, my love..."

"How was your day?" you replied, a hint of annoyance in your voice. He chuckled, knowing exactly where you're going with it. You expected him to be mad, to act like he was the victim because he had to wait for you to return.

But what you didn't expect was his arms wrapping around you, gently pulling you to his chest. "I don't want you to believe I forgot, my dearest..." he whispered, his hand running through your hair ever so carefully as if you were a porcelain doll, ready to break at the slightest pressure. He pulled away a bit, looking down at you. "Our lovely princess decided today was the best day to give me a ton of chores to do..." he said and you could feel the frustration in his voice.

His grip on you tightened a bit, his smile becoming strained. "She said we'll make it up to you tomorrow, but you have no idea how much it annoys me that I had to spend this day away from you, my love...."

His face softened again as he crouched a bit, resting his forehead against yours. The touch of his hands sent shivers down your spine, his breath hot on your skin as he whispered. The room felt warm and intimate with him so close to you, and you found yourself unable to stay mad at him. His words washed over you, melting away your annoyance and replacing it with a sense of understanding.

"You should've told me..." you said softly, your voice laced with affection. But you couldn't help the warmth spreading in your chest. He was here now, and that's what mattered. You reached up to gently touch his face, bringing a small smile to his lips. He took the opportunity to place a kiss on your hand, his eyes still locked on yours.

"I thought I could make it back in time, but some demons I had to deal with did not... cooperate." he sighed, giving your hand a little squeeze. "But I still got something for you."

You watched as he made his way to the closet and your face lit up as he pulled out a beautiful black dress.

"Alastor, I-" you tried to say, but you were completely taken aback by the gesture.

"You like it? I came up with a design and Rosie helped me make it," he said, a hint of pride on his face, as he looked back at you. "Of course, it is not as... revealing as the one surely our effeminate fellow chose..."

"No, I-... I love it," you said and with a snap of his fingers, the dress replaced the one you were wearing, gracefully falling onto your body. The dress hugged your curves perfectly, and you couldn't help but admire how stunning you looked. Alastor’s eyes lingered on you, his smile widening in clear satisfaction with his choice.

"You look beautiful, my dear," he said, his voice dripping with affection. He walked closer to you again, his hands running over the fabric of the dress, feeling the silky material under his touch.

You smiled up at him, wrapping your hands around his neck. "Thank you, Alastor..."

His hands fell on your waist, his grip firm yet gentle as he pulled you closer to him. His smile widened at the feeling of your body against his, his touch soft and intimate as he rested his forehead against yours once more.

"Anything for you, my love," he whispered, his voice low and tender. He nuzzled his face into the crook of your neck, taking in your scent, his lips leaving a trail of gentle kisses along your skin.

You stood like this for what felt like hours, slowly moving as jazz music delighted your ears. It wasn't usual for Alastor to forget important things. Important dates, appointments, details... They all had their special place in his head.

And you sure were someone very special to him.

Tags: @ratsematary @littlebluefishtail @n0tmentallystable

[dixons-sunshine]

Someone To Love | Young!Daryl Dixon x Young!Fem!Reader

Summary: Daryl treasured his friendship with you. You were everything to him, someone he could go to when he needed you. On his sixteenth birthday, you did something for him that made him realize that his love for you ran much deeper than he had initially thought.

Genre: Fluff.

Era: Pre apocalypse.

Part of the Shopping Spree, Hangout Dreams AU.

Warnings: Swearing.

Word count: 1.8k.

A/n: I'm really sleep deprived, so this potentially sucks really bad. It's also not exactly like what was requested, but I went with my gut and this was born. However, I hope you like this! (Requested by @ddamm. I'm not gonna be home this weekend and won't be able to write something for your birthday, so I wrote this for you as an early birthday present!)

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“Where are ya takin' me?”

“I can't tell you that. It's a surprise, Daryl.”

“Y'know I hate surprises.”

“This one you'll like, I promise. Now shut up and just follow me.”

Daryl rolled his eyes at you, a small, affectionate smile annoyingly tugging at the corners of his lips. He walked with his hands tucked into his jean pockets, carefully stepping over any logs and big rocks in his path. You were walking slightly ahead of him, a skip in your step as you lead him somewhere—to his supposed surprise or his death, he wasn't sure.

“Ya sure ya didn't jus' bring me out here to kill me?” Daryl questioned playfully, chuckling at the glare you threw his way over your shoulder. “Jus' askin', sunshine. No need to get mad. S'a valid question. Most'a those murder books ya read start in the woods, so m'jus' curious if yer takin' a page outta those characters' books.”

You looked at him over your shoulder. “Believe me, if I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't do it in the most common, boring way. I'm more creative than that.”

Daryl raised his eyebrows at you. “Should I be scared?”

“No, of course not!” you laughed and shook your head, reaching over to grab his wrist. You tugged him along behind you, taking off into a steady run.

Daryl stumbled over his feet for a moment before laughing, quickening his pace to keep up with you. “Jeez, girl! Ya dun' have to rip my damn arm off.”

You giggled. “Sorry, I was excited,” you apologized, stopping in your tracks. You turned to Daryl when he stopped next to you, releasing your grip on his arm. “We're here. Happy birthday, Dar.”

Daryl looked ahead and was surprised to be met with a small, intimate setting—a picnic basket resting on top of a blanket. You had really gone above and beyond, Daryl thought I'm surprise, trying to ignore the odd feeling of warmth that spread through his body when he looked back at you and saw an excited smile on your face.

“You said no parties, so I thought we could have a little picnic instead, just the two of us,” you explained, taking Daryl's hand in yours and leading him over to the blanket. You motioned for him to sit down, following suite and getting comfortable on the blanket you had swiped from your mom's closet.

Daryl eyed everything around him curiously. The two of you were in a part of the forest he wasn't familiar with. It was rather surprising, considering he spent most of his time either at your trailer or in the forest, so seeing that you were able to locate a spot he didn't know was rather impressive.

The movement of your hand towards the picnic basket instantly peaked his interest. He watched as you pulled out an old portable CD player that your mom had gotten you a year prior, settling it onto the blanket and fiddling with a few buttons before pressing the play button.

Daryl's eyes widened when the melody to Ozzy Osbourne's “Crazy Train” flooded the relatively quiet air. His eyes met yours and he let out a shocked noise. “Where'd ya get an Ozzy CD?”

You shrugged nonchalantly, leaning back on the palms of your hands. “Mr Jones owed my mom a favour. She finally called it in and borrowed a bunch of music for us for this.”

“Ya got other artists?”

“Yeah,” you nodded. “Guns 'n Roses, Dio, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, Queen—”

“Ya got Queen?” Daryl questioned in amusement. “Ya know I dun' listen to 'em.”

“And you know that I don't believe that,” you countered, sending him a teasing smirk. “I've seen you quietly sing along when I play Queen in my room. There's no hiding the truth from me, Daryl.”

“Nah, yer only seein' things. Gotta get yer eyes checked out or somethin',” Daryl replied defensively, crossing his arms over his chest in mock annoyance.

You rolled your eyes and sat upright, reaching into the picnic basket to grab a sandwich to hand to Daryl. “Whatever you say, birthday boy.”

Daryl accepted the sandwich and took a bite from it, humming in approval at the taste. “Taste's real fuckin' good. Thanks.”

“Only the best on your birthday,” you mused, reaching into the basket to grab your own sandwich. “You deserve it. And as long as you have me around, we'll always celebrate it.”

Daryl gave you a small smile, taking another bite from his sandwich to avoid saying something that could potentially ruin the moment. As he looked at you, he couldn't help but admire you. From the beautiful colour of your eyes to the way your lips curved when you smiled, to the outfit you were wearing that day that hugged you in all the right ways. Everything about you in that particular moment was perfect, and Daryl found himself very confused at the feeling that entered his body. There was a strange knotting in his stomach when you met his eyes, and he froze at the weird sensation.

Thankfully, you started talking about some band you had discovered that snapped him from his thoughts, and Daryl pushed the strange feelings down. He wouldn't ruin a perfect moment with his best friend because of some stupid sickness he was getting. He would worry about his health later. For now, he would appreciate your company on a day that he rarely celebrated anymore.

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“Stay right here. I'll be right back.”

Daryl looked up at you in confusion when you got up from the blanket, the Lynard Skynyrd song that was playing in the background forgotten for the time being. “Wha' do ya mean? Where are ya goin'?”

“Just wait here. I need to go grab something I put here earlier,” you explained, turning on your heel and walking off.

“Ya sure ya ain't jus' gon' get yer gun to shoot me? I knew ya were plannin' on killin' me.”

“Very funny, Dixon.”

Daryl chuckled and shook his head, watching your retreating figure in wonder. He leaned back on the palms of his hands, humming along to the song playing. He looked around at the wildlife that looked even more beautiful in the light of the setting sun, content for the first time in a while. The day had been uneventful; he had spent most of the morning and early afternoon in your trailer watching movies while you were busy setting up the surprise for him, then he had a calm picnic with you, swapping jokes and stories, and after that, he would go back to your trailer for the night.

Daryl felt calm, and it was all because of you. All because you refused to let him spend yet another birthday on his own, cooped away in his room.

The rustling of the leaves alerted him to your presence. He looked up at you, instantly noticing the box in your hands.

“Wha's tha'?”

You sat back down on the blanket and extended the box to him, giggling when Daryl only eyed the box in suspicion instead of taking it. “Daryl, it's just a box. It can't hurt you.”

“Las' time someone handed me a wrapped box, I found a bunch'a spiders inside tha' crawled all over me,” Daryl told you, still refusing to take the box.

You shook your head and laughed lightly. “Let me guess, Merle?” When Daryl simply nodded, you continued. “I promise there aren't any bad surprises in here. Only a good one, I hope.”

Daryl hesitantly took the object from you and lowered it onto his lap, slowly starting to peel the wrapping paper away. Once the simple brown box underneath was revealed, he looked up to you, but was only met with an encouraging smile. He opened the box at a snail's pace, but once the object inside was revealed through the small opening, Daryl practically ripped the rest of the box open.

Daryl carefully picked up the object, inspecting it carefully as his eyes widened in surprise. He looked over at you again, a shocked smile on his face. “A Walkman?”

“Yeah,” you nodded, a smile on your face at his obvious excitement that your best friend failed to hide. “I know you've wanted one for a while now, so I spared up some money to buy one for you. It's not new because I didn't have seventy bucks to buy a brand new one, but it works and it's not all banged up. I made you a tape as well. It's already in there.”

Daryl looked surprised. Unwillingly, a few tears started to well up in his eyes, but he quickly wiped them away. There was no need for tears in a moment like that. He sent you a small, unsure smile, feeling that same strange feeling from earlier creeping up on him again.

“Thank you,” Daryl whispered, moving the Walkman around in his hands. “This is the best birthday I've ever had. S'jus'... Ya gave me somethin' I've been wantin' fer so long, even though ya didn't have to. Yer amazin'.”

Not realizing the true, deeper meaning behind his words, you leaned forward and hugged Daryl tightly, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek. “Anything for you, Dar. You know that.”

Daryl hugged you back tightly, lowering his head to rest on your shoulder. Daryl's feelings hit him with the force of a hundred freight trains—he was falling for you. He was falling for his best friend, and he didn't even realize it until that moment. The only reason he realized it was because of the gift you gave him. And it wasn't the picnic or the snacks or even the Walkman. No, it was something much deeper than that, something much more valuable to Daryl than anything else in the world.

You gave him someone he could trust. You gave him someone he could go to with his problems, someone who never judged him or belittled him for feeling emotional. You gave him someone he could love without the fear of being disappointed, someone he knew would be there for him.

You gave him you, and that was more than enough for him.

©dixons-sunshine 2024. I do not give permission for my works to be copied, modified, adapted or translated to any other site or platform without evidence of my given consent.

[f10werfae]

Barefoot and Pregnant

pairing: Lumberjack!Henry Cavill x Shy!Pregnant!Wife!reader

summary: Henry and his cockdrunk wife go through an emotional love-making experience, after being pressured by her friends to give her husband a ‘hall pass’ because of her growing body (DILF!Henry) (Dom!Henry)

likes, comments and reblogs are appreciated🫶 Disclaimer 18+

Lumberjack Masterlist, Henry Masterlist, Full Masterlist

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“Baby bun? Why are you cryin’? Is there somethin’ wrong with our miracle?” Henry rushed placing both of his hands onto his precious wife’s four month bump: he had come home to see her sobbing her eyes out into her pregnancy pillow. “I-I have your b-birthday present, h-here” She cried handing him a crumpled piece of paper, “A fuckin hall pass? The fahk do I need this for?”

- A few hours ago -

“So Y/n, I know your man’s birthday is coming up soon, what are ya getting him?” Chloe smirked putting down her beer, she wasn’t really someone Y/n would hangout with, but considering she was friends with Stephanie it was kind of obligatory. Y/n shuffled uncomfortably as all eyes panned to her, this brunch with her girls had taken a weird turn, with them questioning her sex life and very clearly overstepping private boundaries. Y/n on the other hand was adamant that she would spill nothing, ultimately leading to the other women becoming increasingly annoyed.

“U-Uh I was t-thinkin’ of givin’ him the s-sweater I made him, a-and cookin’ him a m-meal” She whispered, pouting when she heard the others giggling and scoffing at her gift idea, her hand falling to her baby bump for comfort. Her little gemstone always had her back. Henry always loved her knitted goods, in fact most of his jumpers were ones she had made, and he never left home without a packed lunch from his woman.

“Girl, just cause you’re preggers doesn’t mean you can’t spoil him! Get him somethin’ better than some lousy knitted shit” Jenny giggled nudging Chloe playfully; Y/n’s hands now started to tremble, she had finally gotten used to nothing but praise thanks to Henry, but now that she was back in this toxic environment she could feel her anxiety start to swirl at the pit of her stomach. She wanted her Henry, and she wanted him now.

“B-but he usually likes m-my meals and h-he asked for a j-jumper” She whispered pursing her lips and clasping her hands together over her stomach, the lemonade she ordered now tasting like absolute poison on her tongue. “Why don’t you get him like a subscription to beer or somethin-“

“OR A HALL PASS? Omg a hall pass would be so good, because you’re obviously pregnant you should give him one, poor guy will need it” Chloe snickered interrupting Stephanie, “A-a hall pass? Whats t-that?” Y/n questioned tilting her head to the side like an adorable puppy, her hand softly rubbing over her stomach, her little miracle’s kicks following her hands every move.

“Basically girl, now that you’re pregnant, every man finds it harder to fuck his wife; let’s be honest it’s a very natural thing. A hall pass is like giving him a ��get out of jail card’ like letting him fuck someone else for a night or something” She explained placing another chip into her mouth, as if she wasn’t just excusing cheating on Y/n. “B-But I don’t want him t-to” The smaller woman sniffled feeling tears already start to collect in her eyes, did Henry really find her unattractive now that her body was changing?

“I mean come on, are you really going to give him a lousy sweater? Here if it makes you uncomfortable for him to fuck someone else, I’m single!” Chloe joked motioning her hands to pretend she was sucking someone off, the rest of the girls giggling along with her, except for Stephanie who was disgusted by the whole exchange. If anything she was the only friend Y/n really enjoyed hanging out with, and the only friend Henry trusted her with.

“You guys need to knock it off and stop being disgusting shits, come on Y/n Henry texted me to get your somethin’ from the pharmacy” Stephanie grunted pulling Y/n up from her seat, scowling when Chloe tucked in a napkin into Y/n’s purse that said “Hall pass” followed by her own phone number. A poor sniffling Y/n, felt her own emotions starting to shuffle all over the place, her hormones truly had her. With her hand tightly clasped in Stephanie’s the both of them got into her car, when she finally let out a massive sob, wrecking through her smaller body; Stephanie reaching over giving her hugs and whispers to calm her down.

“I-I D-Do you t-think h-he should get a H-hall pass?” Y/n questioned wiping her eyes and nose onto a hankie, her hands smoothing over her stomach, her baby must have realised she was upset; the little thing was wriggling around like crazy almost as if it was trying to provide its momma comfort. “I mean I was gonna suggest beer or a razor, Chloe is just a bitch and insanely jealous because you two are an absolute power couple. Plus it’s not exactly a secret how much Henry is in love with ya” Stephanie smiled booping her on the nose, sighing in relief at the sight of a smile on Y/n’s face.

“B-but maybe he does find me u-ugly now, h-he even offered to shave me down there” She pouted looking down, “Girl he did it because he wanted you to feel more comfortable, you’ve always been the trim typa woman”

“I guess so, s-so what do we need at the pharmacy?”

“Nothin’ I jus’ wanted outta there, Ya sure you’ll be alright girl?”

“Y-yeah H-hen gets home soon a-anyway” After seeing Stephanie go off, Y/n bolted for the bedroom, even after all the comforting words from her friend; she still couldn’t help but feel unwanted and ugly. Would Henry find her pretty again if she let him fuck Chloe? Fuck, just the thought of it haunted Y/n’s thoughts, her man had always told her that he was only for her, and that she was only for him. There is no Chloe in the equation.

- Back To Present -

“A fuckin hall pass? The fahk do I need this for?”

Henry growled holding the napkin and seeing some random number beside it. “I-I” Y/n couldn’t even get words out without sobs shaking her whole body, leading Henry to pull her onto his lap as he sat against the headboard, one hand cupping her face gently while the other cupped his baby miracle. “Calm down sweetpea, tell daddy what happened to your n’ our miracle today”

“W-well we all went t-to that cafe b-by the s-square” She stopped, crying again

“S’okay sugar pie, breathe with me, m’right here and m’not lettin’ ya go” He whispered kissing her cheek softly, the hand one her stomach sneaking around and grabbing a cheek full of ass, making her squeak and gasp. “C-Chloe said t-that because i-i’m pregnant, you wouldn’t find-find me pretty a-anymore, a-and that I should l-let ya b-be with her for a-a night” She explained nuzzling into his palm, his thumb running over her cheek affectionately.

“Are ya fuckin’ crazy, you are the g’damn sexiest thing on this planet sweetpea, my sweet gorgeous wife. You’re takin’ care of our little baby in there, how could ya not be more beautiful? Ya shoulda jus told them we still fuck every night like rabbits-“

“Stoppp, s’embarrassing, b-but then why’d you offer t-to help me shave?”

“Cause baby bun, I know you’re not a grower, n’ I had an idea for ya”

“o-oh I see” She said now realising that her thoughts were jus messin’ with her, “I get so worried cus a forget how fast ya mind is runnin’, ya gotta keep me in the loop sugar, cause you’re mine” He explained leaning in and kissing her wet lips, his hands grasping her waist, kneading her skin.

“I-I know, m’sorry, she j-jus really freaked m-me out. C-cause you’re m-mine and I don’t w-want ya l-lookin’ at anyone else” She explained, Henry smirking at her shy nature, the way she shuffled closer ok his lap, her arms clasping around his neck. “Now ya understand how I get baby, we just need each other n’ no one else” He said lowly, his lips pulled up into an almost eerie smile, as he then stood up from the bed and walked them both towards the bathroom.

Nodding at his words she giggled at the cold feeling of the bathroom counter underneath her thighs, just letting her wild man of a husband rip off her underwear, his electric trimmer already laid out on the side. “W-what was your i-idea?” Her hips bucked as his fingers rubbed her clit slightly before turning on the trimmer, if her stomach wasn’t already huge she would have looked herself. “You’ll see baby bun, jus ta remind ya, of me” He laughed skilfully moving the trimmer around, with Y/n giggling every time he leant forward and kissed her inner thighs or her stomach, he just could not keep his hands off her.

“W-will you help me, r-rinse off after?” With her lips puckered out waiting for a kiss, Henry stood up, letting her suck on his tongue for a few seconds before pulling away teasingly: he had already planned on rinsing her off himself anyway. Lifting her onto the shower bench, he rinsed off her freshly shaven pussy, clearly proud at the thing he had engraved onto her nestle of curls. The letter ‘H’

“What ya think baby, are ya mine or what?” He sang snapping a picture of her pussy and showing it to her, it wasn’t unusual that during sex he would simply take pictures of him leaking out of her, or the faces she would make whenever he was cumming right inside her warm centre. “ I-I love it, m’all yours” She giggled watching him pat her dry with his towel, following him as he led her back into their bedroom, softly setting her on top of the array of cushions and blankets.

“Who made this blanket baby?” He said holding up a woollen baby blue blanket, “M-me” She whispered watching him pull up her dress over her body, leaving her body naked in front of him, his precious masterpiece. “Mhm ya made it for us, n’ our little gemstone, our little family. No one else” He grumbled kissing up her stomach, smiling every time his baby kicked up at him, he couldn’t wait to find out the gender in a weeks time.

“Our little family” She whispered, trying to hold back a smile as Henry peppered hundreds of kisses up her body, his hands grasping at her growing tits, kissing at her nipples and watching them harden. Every night Henry would treat her to a nice breast massage, claiming it would help the milk come in faster, now was that true? Y/n didn’t know but any excuse to have him touch her was a welcomed one. Frankly Henry didn’t know either.

“I’m not gonna fuck you tonight sugar pie, m’ gonna make love to my gorgeous pregnant wife, who is the most amazin’ woman av’ ever seen” He whispered directly into her ear, kissing the shell of it as he felt her hands splayed out on his chest. “R-really?”

“Mhm going to take it nice n’ slow, love on every single parta you, n’ show ya jus’ how much ya mean to me” Looking into her widened doe eyes, he gave her an eskimo kiss, then let their lips meet in a slow, long passionate kiss. Their lips simply feeling each other, their tongues gently massaging each other as she whimpered against him. “Love you so much, my baby bun, all obedient n’ beautiful; my wife, mother of my baby”

“I-I love you too, can’ wait to m-meet our little m-miracle” She hiccuped pushing forward for their lips to meet again, whining when Henry pulled away and turned her body so he could spoon her, placing a soft pillow underneath her bump to make sure she was comfortable. “Ya comfy momma?” “Mhm, miss holdin’ y-you though” She whispered, gasping when she felt Henry’s hand intertwined with hers, his head settled into the crook of her neck; his warm breath fanning her neck to make sure she knew he was with her. He was staying.

He whispered that he was momentarily going to let go of her hand to prepare her for him, his hands lifting her leg up slightly, to allow his hand to venture in massage her slick set of lips gently; her soft gasps and whimpers causing her to nuzzle back into his chest. His athletic shorts were easily shrugged off, revealing that he wasn’t wearing anything underneath, his cock already slipping itself through her folds. Y/n whined opening and closing her hand, clearly wanting to hold his again, smiling in relief as he held onto hers tightly.

Both of them breathing out as she took him inch by inch, bottoming out inside her as his balls rested against her ass, with Y/n holding Henry’s hand close to her chest; kissing his knuckles every so often. “Love this pretty pussy a’ yours, always so welcoming n’ warm, all for your husband isn’t it?”

“A-all for you, m-my husband” She whispered softly bucking her hips to let him know he could start going, and within seconds his hips started rolling against hers, slowly and deeply reaching every inch inside of her; dare I say he even poked her womb a few times with how deep he was going. Taking his hand he reached under his pillow and retrieved his phone, angling it in front of Y/n as he kissed her neck sloppily, taking a photo of her eyes rolled to the back of her head; her mouth agape and drooling onto Henry’s arm under her head.

“My pretty girl, you’re doin’ so well for me, so prouda ya” He whispered dropping his phone, his hand landing onto her tits, grasping both of them in the middle of her chest, rubbing both nipples in a circular direction; his cock stuffed into her velvety walls, his rhythm staying the same. “F-feel you so deep, t-too good” She breathed out cupping her stomach which was now bouncing along with his thrusts, which caught Henry’s eyes as he then cupped the bottom of her stomach. That photo was definitely going to be his phone wallpaper

“Who knocked you up? Who got you this full n’ swollen?”

“Y-you did daddy, f-fuck, feel so full” She moaned, his hands rubbing up and down her stomach lovingly, the fact that she was holding his baby just made her that more irresistible to him; she was taking care of the perfect mix of them both, their baby miracle. “You dare call yourself ugly, you wouldn’t call our baby ugly would ya? So why would call its home ugly? You’re protectin’ them with this beautiful haven inside ya baby, you’re amazin’” He whispered, his hands flowing down to her pussy, feeling the pattern of the H, his fingers found her precious little clit, rubbing the sensitive button until he felt her clench around his length. “These beautiful tits are gonna feed and nourish our baby, n’ maybe me sometimes, how can you say they’re not sexy as fuck; how you’re able to do all these things naturally, as my woman” He joked nipping her shoulder, feeling her giggle and her hole clench at the idea of her own husband sucking on her hardened nipples.

“Can feel you gettin’ close honey” He whispered watching her face turn to the side, her hand reaching around to his head, her lips pushing his into an open mouthed tongue kiss; his thumb lovingly wiping her drool covered chin, his thrusts not letting down. “b-baby, beautiful, f-family” She said clearly cockdrunk, muttering out words that she had heard from her husband, “Yeah baby that’s right, now do ya think ya can let go for daddy?” He cooed letting her nuzzle her head back into her cushion, his smile softening at her smile and at the way her hand instantly reached to hold his.

“Am’ gonna cum H-Hen”

“S’okay sugar babe, m’ gonna cum too, together okay?”

Henry picked up the pace just for her, her whines and whimpers getting louder until finally he felt her creamy onto his cock, his own juices spurting inside her; causing her to breathe out happily at the warm stuffy feeling inside of her. “I love you, don’t ever fuckin’ doubt that, you have a nasty thought in your pretty head? You tell me n’ i’ll sort it out” He growled kissing her cheek as he turned her to lay on her back, with him propped up on his elbow as he traced over her stomach. “What are ya t-tracin’?”

“Hearts, so our mini baby bun knows what love looks like” He chuckled finishin’ his tracin’ looking up to his wife’s eyes, with her getting all giddy and smiley at his confession. “I-I already love ‘em so much, g-gon dress them so p-pretty. N’ w-we can play i-in the fields w-with them” She giggled playing with his fingers which were on her chest, the post sex haze doing nothing but accentuating their love for each other. “Pretty like their gorgeous momma” Henry whispered pecking her lips once more before he remembered something.

“Now how about I show ya somethin’, ya don’t havta walk, ill carry ya” He whispered as she nodded, the both of them trodding to the end of the long hallway towards his work room, her eyes widening at the site of two wooden bassinets sitting at the corner of the room. “Y-you made this for mini bun?! B-but why two?” She wondered looking up at his deep blue eyes, “m’ preparin’ for the next one bunny”

“t-two babies” She giggled whispering to herself at the idea of her big gruff husband handling two tiny tots at once, watching him dote on them like the protective man he was. “Mhm m’ gonna keep ya barefoot n’ pregnant, like ya this way baby bun, all swollen an’ big for me” He gruffed nuzzling his rough bearded cheek against her soft one, “Told ya, you don’t need those stupid friends a’ yours when you’ve got me sugar, m’all ya need and our mini bun right ‘ere”

———

PSA: Hope this is all good! I wanted to show a more emotional and loving side to their relationship 🫶 But still sprinkle a bit of dark!manipulative!Henry

library blog of works @f10werfaes-cosy-collection

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Hope you all enjoy this instalment xoxo

[raconteur-wanpi]

One Piece 1131

It's finally here after the 2 week break!

I'm glad we begin right where we left off, with Luffy and Loki finally having a proper interaction! This instantly made me laugh, Luffy is a certified yapper. His true power really is responding to the most serious and broody of intimidating figures with his silly guy ADHD and making fools out of these try-hards by annoying them. He really is a walking cartoon! I just knew in my heart, turning the page, Loki would cut him off by telling him to shut-up already. This is a classic bit and I live for it.

This also instantly kinda makes Loki more fun of a character to me lmao. Being presented with a scary guy only to immediately kinda make fun of him is Oda's expertise. Nobody is immune to being laughed at a bit, and it does instantly make Loki more charming.

He soon confirms what fans have been theorizing since Water 7; that the Yggdrasil-style-tree that encompasses Elbaf is the Treasure Tree Adam! Nice to finally know for sure, it'll be interesting for the Sunny in a sense to have returned to its "birthplace".

Also interesting how he introduces himself as the "pride of Elbaf's strength" when in the last chapter we learn of him as the "shame of Elbaf". Is it his own ego? Trying to twist the way his people see him? Is this him being a liar similar to Usopp, exaggerating who he is? Or is it his own delusions? It's an interesting contrast, I wonder what the language used here is in the original Japanese.

Loki is also, well... extremely Luffy-like in some ways actually. Being introduced as a "sun god", getting new people's names wrong, and as we'll see later, befriending wild beastly animals... This is an extremely interesting parallel. It seems to me they're already sides of the same coin, and I am soooo intrigued by it going forward.

It seems Loki has really met his match, and I doubt he expected someone like that to show up. Luffy responds to the beasts with nostalgia instead of fear, I wonder how that make the "accursed prince" feel...

Interestingly enough, Loki seems to have a sort of cult or following of human-sized people dedicated to him! They call him master and listen to his commands... maybe they're people who really see him as the Sun God?

Luffy immediately tames the beasts, like he did back during the timeskip! Of course, once he hears Loki insulting Shanks, his good mood seems to go away.

Loki also pulls a "I'm just joking bro, I'm just a silly guy c'moooon, you wouldn't punch a guy tied to a tree would ya? A birthday boy?" when he realized Luffy is actually pretty powerful. Good 'ol Schrodinger's douchebag. He does showcase a lot of duality, acting all mighty and smug towards "puny humans", but then his facade breaks a few times, he twists his reputation and claims he's just joking etc, it does fit the idea of a "trickster" a lot, considering his mythological basis. I'm still struggling to grasp his true personality and goals, and while he does speak the way you'd a expect a villain would... he kind of doesn't feel like he's going to be the main obstacle of the arc to me, and I can't truly explain why.

He also, interestingly, seems to have a negative bounty!? If I read that right, at least. Perhaps the government's way of saying "we don't want him, if you bring him in YOU'LL have to pay us to deal with him" or something??? We'll see if it's indeed a minus or not, it is described as a "special bounty".

Back to the Strawhats on the bridge, Gerd, Goldberg and Rodo seem to be rushing out with the Sunny as fast as possible. I'm assuming they're trying to get to where Harjudin is and explain the situation to him, considering that the ship belongs to their crew's grand fleet commanders. These two are probably mad as hell at Rodo lol. I can't tell if they're chasing him angrily here or what, haha.

Despite Usopp's insistence (and him being correct as always) the group still decides to run away from these giants. Oh Usopp, if only they listened to you, this debacle would be over much quicker. As per usual.

Speaking of Harjudin (and the one missing member of his crew, Stansen), here they are! They're in the same area actually, going for a hunt so they can prepare a feast for the Strawhats! That's kinda sweet, I wonder how the reunion of all separated groups so far will happen.

I wonder if it'll end up going to disaster because of Luffy accidentally freeing Loki or something. Loki did try to convince Luffy to find the key to his seastone chains earlier, but Luffy seemed to kinda ignore him. I wonder if Luffy will end up actually being manipulated, especially after Loki insulted Shanks and pissed him off. Then again, Luffy not only forgives easily, but he is also convinced easily, so who knows!

Back to the giants' ship...... oooooh my god. I think I almost cried. My heart expanded in size seeing this alone, you have no idea how happy I am. She's back. Our girl cut her hair so Saul will recognize her....shut up. Shut UP. That's so sweet, I think I am going to explode. Welcome back bangs Robin I missed you so much. This better be permanent!!!

In which Franky is literally me. I knew it before they confirmed it, it really is about meeting Saul........ I'm going to explode.

But uuuh, bad news. Saul might.... not be in good health? Did he get injured? What does this mean. I swear to god, if something happens to him before Robin gets to see him......... Please god tell me this is going to just be a bit or something, oh god. Ending the chapter here, huh? Straight up evil!!!!

Anyway, I am soooo looking forward the next chapter. I am still... on the fence about Loki being the main Bad Guy. He clearly thinks of himself as a grand destructive force, yes, and looks down upon "puny humans" and the such, sure, and even contemplates about killing Luffy after he is freed if need be, but... I'm just so suspicious of the way he's introduced. Maybe he'll be more of a morally gray anti-hero, or a temporary antagonist. Maybe I'm wrong and he'll indeed be the next pure-evil Doflamingo type threat. But maybe he could even be a "redeemable" Bellamy type character instead. I have no clue, it's way too early to tell. But just seeing the way Luffy just kinda chills with him in some of the panels in this chapter.... I'm kinda hoping it's the latter, they have a charming dynamic. They're already so similar, surely there's more to Loki's story.

After all, this is the guy that was infatuated with a lovable character we know dearly as the audience, Lola, to the point of denying to marry her identical sister. That tells me there's more to this guy than meets the eye. Am I reading too much into it? I could be completely off the mark, but we'll see!

[leiflitter]

Gale Dekarios and The Wizard of Waterdeep

Aka Leif vents their brain into Tumblr again because I have Thoughts About The Wizard! Is it coherent? PROBABLY NOT I'M DOING THIS FOR FUN.

General rambling below the cut!

Firstly- this little braindump is based upon my interpretation of Gale as a Neurodivergent Individual, so I guess if you're not on the "Gale would be so fuckin into magic the gathering if he was in this realm" train, then this may not be for you. Which is fine! I'm just yelling into the void here.

Also; characters are fun because we can interpret them in different ways! This is in no way meant to stomp on anyone else's headcanons of Gale, and may even be entirely overwritten if more info comes out about him from Larian.

I wrote a ton and then fuckin lost it all but hey that's fine I can condense it WAY more now. So let's go, bullet points!

Gale of Waterdeep is Gale Dekarios' mask.

If you don't know what Masking is- a quick definition for ya-

Neurodivergent masking refers to the practice of concealing or suppressing aspects of one's neurodivergent traits or conditions, in order to fit in with the norms of the workplace or society.

Let's begin at the beginning-

Gale as a child would have been insufferable. He was a prodigy, yes, but also clearly lacked proper consequences for his actions (his punishment for Blackstaff hijinks in his first year? Writing lines. HE OPENED A PORTAL TO LIMBO AND ALMOST DIED). This may be due to Mystra's influence, even if it was indirect, but there's no faster way to alienate a child from their peers than to both mark them as Very Special and let them get away with everything. Gale's magical education likely left his social education lacking.

As Gale's also mentioned that he was a prodigy, and was using 4th level spells (summon elemental) when he was living at home (at least part of the time), he may even have been younger than his fellow first year apprentice wizards when he was admitted- further isolating him. He specifically says he was a child when he, uh, "borrowed" the blackstaff- we just don't know how old Blackstaff first years tend to be.

Also, from Gale's story about the Blackstaff, he seemed to be attending Wizard Boarding School (he wanted to get to the first year dorms). So he was not only set apart from his peers, he had to live in a dorm with them.

To navigate this difficult social situation, Gale Dekarios becomes Gale of Waterdeep- he starts Masking. He puts on his Wizard Suit and acts the way Wizards should, because those are the Wizard Rules.

For an example of these Wizard Rules- the closest equivalent we have to Pre-Folly Gale would probably be Lorroakan - and Lorroakan is a great example of Wizard Language and Wizard Rules. Yes, Lorroakan is an absolute shitweasel, but let's consider him an extreme example- pre-folly Gale turned up to 15. Heck, he even does the little ☝️ when you speak to him (Gale does it better bro, sorry).

Elminster is also a good example- he's almost allergic to just saying something straight out until he absolutely has to, but he'll dance around the point repeatedly. A trait Gale shows before he reveals the orb:

Gale. Seriously. He'd get you a birthday present and make five billion hints about it, I swear. But again- that's How Fancy Wizards Talk in this canon. And Gale does it excellently.

Gale masking also explains how his Wizard Rizz and his loneliness coexist. Gale of Waterdeep has a practiced tongue and has totally had sex with mortals. Gale Dekarios, on the other hand, is stuck inside Gale of Waterdeep like that little alien in Men in Black.

The Wizard of Waterdeep can only facilitate shallow connections because there's nothing behind the Thesaurus Vocabulary. The confidence he projects is essentially an illusion, but it's one he relies on to navigate his world. He's isolated by default- as you grow closer, he admits this:

Note how he says Tara was "always" telling him to get mortal friends- we know that Gale conjured Tara when he was young. Assuming that he's not exaggerating to an exponential degree, we can assume that Gale's never really had a friendship based on actual mutual appreciation- more that any connections he had were entirely due to his magical ability and proximity to Mystra.

Thus while he may not be a virgin on the physical plane, I doubt that his experiences were in any way personal or meaningful.

We know Gale's a romantic at heart- but again, he cannot remove the mask. From personal experience, masking can often lead you to do things you don't quite "get" because it's what "normal" people do.

Although it could be explained by scripting limitations, I would have expected any meaningful romantic encounters to be mentioned- especially as you directly ask him if you're his first mortal partner. Gale is an expert at oversharing- I would consider it in-character for him to ramble about his first mortal love before realising that he's cramming his foot into his mouth and shutting up (similar to the "Mystra once took the tiniest piece of weave and-" scene).

Again, without further info from Gale's writers, we've got space to play in- my personal feeling is that Gale has had hookups, most likely with his wizarding peers, but as he didn't let his peers see beyond the Wizard of Waterdeep, anything more than casual just wouldn't happen. He couldn't let anyone close enough to get behind the mask, especially not another wizard- as other wizards are those he's most trying to blend in with.

Enter Mystra (Derogatory) + a lil more Lorroakan (Derogatory)

A minor sidetrack here- part of why I tend to see Gale as early-mid 30s is to do with the Mystra timeline and my own personal experiences. So- firstly, as BG3 is set in 1492. Mystra was slain (aw yeah) in 1385, which started The Spellplague, but she was restored (boo, hiss, we were fine without her) in 1480. So there's about 12ish years where Mystra was, y'know, alive and able to interact with Gale. Gale spent one of those years with the orb, and before that he had to go and find the orb. So let's say he and Mystra spent about a decade together, from teacher > lover.

I've already expounded about why I think Mystra doesn't give a single shit about Gale in my previous GaleRant- my basic thoughts are that Mystra's relationship with Gale was a form of damage control to prevent him becoming Karsus 2.0, but as she didn't actually care enough about him to get to know him, her plans actually made him more likely to go all Netherese Magic.

We're going to hop back to Lorroakan for a sec. Again, he proves to be a good analogue for Gale. Lorroakan has been in residence at Ramazith's Tower for about 10 years- even though context clues show us that he's definitely not up to Gale's standard, so we'll assume he's probably a little bit older than our Child Prodigy- and he's definately less of a go-getter, seeing as how he's paying folks to go get the Nightsong instead of doing it himself. The big baby.

Lorroakan is important because he demonstrates the sort of shit egotistical wizards do when they aren't distracted by Mystra's blue sparkly tits. Again, a minor assumption that he's maybe a little older than Gale- he has taken ownership of a famous Wizard's Tower, absolutely upped his PR game to Kardashian tier over a decade, and now he's trying to find the Nightsong. Is it just me, or is there HUBRIS in the air?

Now, back to Gale. We know he was trying to prove himself from childhood. Elementals, Tara, The Blackstaff- and, frankly, does he seem like the kind of guy to leave it at that? I doubt it- hence why I peg him at early-mid 30s, depending on when Mystra tried the Godly equivalent of danging keys in front of a cat. I reckon he'd have dashed into some sort of cataclysmic bullshittery as soon as he graduated from Wizard School. And we know he probably became a full-fledged wizard early, given that he's a smart lil guy.

HOWEVER, back to my actual point about Gale's general social life/etc- Gale absolutely lacks real-world experience.

I'm not talking him hanging out in the Yawning Portal. I'm talking his actual, prolonged exposure to the world outside of Wizard Life.

(Yes, it is absolutely possible that he spent however-long just quietly studying for Wizard in between him becoming a full wizard and his exile, but! With age comes exposure- and Gale is actually a fairly adventurous lil dweeb. He's curious- and again, had he been given true freedom, he probably would be off gathering eldritch relics and causing havok)

My main point, though, is that a major point of Gale's entire plot is that he is being forcibly unmasked by the circumstances he's in- and this is in many ways the catalyst for late-game stuff.

Gale's primary conflict isn't truly against Mystra, because let's be real- Mystra doesn't give much of a shit about him one way or another. I'm not even convinced that she cares about The Absolute- I think she just doesn't want to go through the hassle of dying again, and she doesn't respect Gale enough to even consider a way to actually communicate with him about it.

Gale's arc is a struggle between Gale of Waterdeep and Gale Dekarios- and Gale coming to terms with himself as a person. Not as a wizard. Not as a prodigy. Not as anything special- just a man.

You see it in the language he uses- he goes from speaking in monologues to telling you to stop licking the damn thing!

You see it in his emotional range expanding- when you yoink him from the portal, he's immediately cheery! You could whack him in a faculty party and he'd probably behave in the exact same way- and then the night before Moonrise he's terrified. He even becomes more honest in his aspirations- yes, he still dresses it up to be persuasive, but he doesn't try to play it cool. He's absolutely geeking out about it alongside everything else.

Gale of Waterdeep demands a lot to be maintained, and it's a comforting outfit to wear. He slips, but the beauty in the story is that you can take Gale Dekarios by the hand and show him that he can be mortal. He can feel pain and greed and desire, disgust and shame and sadness, and it isn't a bad thing. He can be confident for real, and not as camouflage- he can be horny on main and as long as it's genuine, he's absolutely rockin' it.

And as someone who was and is going through it, it's made me appreciate him immensely.

[mai-mai-lim]

"What do you wish for?"

An all-dialogue birthday work for Ashley Jang.

A/N: yup, i am.... very late on this. It was supposed to post a week around her actual birthday (July 20th) and what day is it today? ... yeahhhh

and because im actually proud, here's the post that only has the artworks.

--- “Saengil chukha hamnidaaa~”

“Happy birthday Hye-chun! Make a wish yea? What do you want?”

“I-i want-”

“Shh, dont say it out loud, or else your wish wont come true!”

“Alright, do it like this. Close your eyes and say your wish, not out loud. And then blow it all out.”

“You did it!!! Now we can eat the cake!!”

“Yaaayy!! Cake time!!”

"Alright, here give these to the elders first, these should be enough.”

“Oh look who’s coming for the cake!! So eager, its not your turn yet, Seung-jae.”

“Aw.”

“Auntie!! Have a cake!”

“Its alright, you can give it to Seung-jae.”

“Bleh, he has to wait! Mama said so!”

“Hey!!!”

“Haha, kids these days…”

--- “Do you like your lunch here?”

“I love it!! I’ve never been to a buffet here before. It’s quite nice!”

“Glad you love it. Also, we ordered a slice of red velvet cake for you. Happy birthday my girl.”

*gasps* "Thank you!!”

“So do you wanna make a wish? I mean, we can ask for a candle-”

“No need, I can just wish in my heart and just, eat the cake you know?”

“Oh yes yes. Haha, you are growing up, don’t feel like doing that anymore isnt it?”

“Y-yeah…”

“Hm? What’s wrong, dear? Are you ok?”

“Oh, it’s just…, I was thinking of the old times back then. There was a time when Uncle Ethan brought us to the island for my birthday years ago! It was really fun.”

“That was years ago? Time sure flew fast… ” 

(How long… did the accident happen? Hold on, this year is… oh. They were gone… for more than a year…)

“...I, I actually miss them, it’s just not the same anymore…”

“Y-yeah, I miss them too.”

“*sighs* let’s not think about that today, alright?”

“Sorry, I sort of brought down the mood on my own day.”

“No no, dear, you didn’t. It’s understandable. Come on, the cake’s not gonna get eaten by itself, no?”

--- “Heeeeeeyyyy!! Happy 21st Birthday Ashley!!!”

“There it is, the magic number!! Now can fully do whatever you want liao!”

“Whoa, you guys…”

“21 leh! I see people always make 21 years old extra special one, so we also made it like this for you, with balloons, deco, food, also matcha cake, one of your favourites!”

“T-thank you.”

“Wait, actually back in your home, you are considered 22 is it? Must be confusing.”

“I mean, I’m studying here, may as well follow how you guys count.”

“Well, fair enough. Also I just noticed you got your hair dyed! Looks pretty!”

“Thanks, been wanting to do that for a while.”

“So, any wishes you made?”

“I dunno man, I just wanna survive another school year, then it’s off to… wherever we go after grad-”

“Shush!! Too early to think bout the future! Let’s just celebrate your day, afterwards we go for karaoke, k?”

“It’s more like, are we gonna stay in touch after grad?”

“Like I said, it’s too early to think that! Course I hope we stay in touch, but who knows?”

“Ok ok fine, soooo, I heard karaoke just now~”

“The cake can wait then, let’s go!!!”

--- “Hey, you guys actually know Ashley’s birthday is coming up soon?”

“Wait really? Huh, never knew that. She didn't really tell anyone that.”

“Ooo, why dont we gave her a lil’ surprise then?”

“And that’s what im thinking about! Let’s start planning…”

- “Haaaaaaaaaappy birthday girlypop!!”

“Heard today is your special day, gurl! We planned this few days ago just to give ya the best of the best!”

“... oh my god…”

“Yup, I asked around and got your favorite cake flavor too!”

“Red velvet, eh, I guess it’s alright…”

“*whispers* He found it from the finest cake shop and stole it.”

“What the- Don’t tell her that!!!”

“There are also presents given from some of us who couldn't come, but they wished ya too."

"I... I didn't expect this, all of this really. T-thank you, all of you..."

"Aw, don't mention it! You are one of the coolest people I met here, may as well returning the favor. By the way, did you wish for something?"

"Bet it's gonna be loads of plushies- ow, hey!!"

"Uh you are completely wrong. I'm not telling you all then."

"BOOOOOO"

. . .

(Besides, that wish had already came true, and they are right in front of me.)

---

Formatted text for whose speaking: Pink - Ashley, Blue - Seungjae, Orange - Brutus, Green - Cameron, Non-colored text in part 4 - Jinjer

[sanaxo-o]

We can’t be friends (Kevin Moon)

Warnings/genre: ah well lovers to strangers, misunderstandings, angst, hurt comfort at the end ig? Not proofread so let me know if there should be any corrections. Plz let me know if more warnings or anything should be here.

Word count: 1,340

Sana: I am back (only for a while lmao) and I present you my first ever Kevin Moon fic which I am slightly proud about. I had to write on we can’t be friends because yes. Like the song is just so SHSHSHDJD it’d be a crime if I did not do anything considering I am known (I like to believe that) for my fics which are inspired by songs. My all time favourite beta reader izzy is not available so no proofread because yas 👏. And a huge thanks to @mosviqu bar for making the banner despite it getting on her nerves. Love you loads mwah.

Tagging: @mosviqu @kimsohn @cloverdaisies

@o-onikix @quaissants @deoboyznet

🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸

Date: March 30th 2024

Sitting in the corner of the room you stare at all the people mingling with each other, laughing and giggling as if everything is normal and going oh so well in their lives when in fact it’s crumbling apart.

Taking a sip of the beer which was almost over you look around the room once again when your eyes meet his, staring at you from across the room.

You could feel your heart beating again, the way it started beating loudly made you scared, not because you feared him but because you feared yourself.

You swore to yourself that you had moved on from him. After everything you both went through, you thought it’s better if you stayed just as friends but you yourself knew that you both cannot be friends.

Every passing second of the day made you loathe him more, not because he was your ex but because he just decided to give up on your relationship just like that when you decided it was the end.

Keeping the can of bear on the nearest table you found you grabbed your coat and walked away from there. Not being able to sit there and act as if everything was alright when it in fact was not. You knew it was not, he knew it was not.

Date: March 20th 2024

Sitting on the bed you hold the necklace in your hand as you take in a deep breath. You hated arguing with him, in fact you hated when you would snap at each other simply because you both would bottle up your feelings.

The countless misunderstandings you both went through meant nothing at this point when your whole relationship is tearing apart like this.

“What’s the point?” You hear Kevin mumble briefly as he sits up from his lying position and places his head in his hands.

You could feel your heart breaking when you heard his voice for the first time ever since the argument you both had in the living.

You muster up the courage and strength to speak as you let out the words which were oh so irritating for someone in his shoes because of the obliviousness “What do you mean?”

You close your eyes when you hear Kevin let out a scoff, “You know what I mean, this is not working out. Whatever we have going on, none of it is working out. We can pretend that it’s all fine but deep down you know nothing is. Let’s stop wasting each other's time and just..end it.” Kevin says that as he stands up from the bed and grabs his coat to walk out of the room.

“Can we still be friends?” You ask him, halting in his steps Kevin turns around and lets out a small sigh when he sees your expectant eyes which were now filled with tears threatening to fall down and roll down your cheeks.

“We can’t be friends..” he says as he leaves the room and slams the door of your house shut.

You sit there in silence as you look around the room, on this very bed you celebrated your 20th birthday with him.

“We can’t be friends, but I’d just like to pretend…” you mumble to yourself as you bring your legs to your chest and let your tears fall down.

Date: March 30th 2024

Time: 12:47 PM

Walking down the street you hug yourself closer as you look up at the sky, it was empty which made you smile but it had no feelings.

You stop walking when you hear footsteps behind you, turning your head you could feel your face stiffening when you see Kevin running in your direction.

“Are you going back home?” He says once he is in front of you. Giving him a single nod you start walking again, not being able to stare at him for another second.

Walking in silence you stare at the ground while kicking the stones on the sidewalk. Taking in a deep breath you look up at Kevin who was walking beside you.

In his words he just wanted to make sure you reached home safely. Hence, the reason he decided to accompany you.

“Do you regret it?” You ask suddenly. You notice Kevin stopping in his tracks for a moment only to walk again as he tries to act nonchalant.

“Regret what?” He asks softly as he looks down at you, his eyes looking like daydreams. You still remember how you always felt seen and heard at night.

For you night is when you can finally be yourself, you don’t have to hide yourself anymore.

“Us breaking up…”

Letting out a deep breath Kevin looks at you with a small smile as he holds your hand guides you towards the end of the footpath to sit down on the ground.

“We needed to put an end to our story Y/N…I did not want to continue feeding on the monstrous fire which was increasing day by day. It’s difficult, yeah…but that’s the best for us.” He says softly as he holds your hands in hid for comfort.

“It’s hard. Really hard. I don’t know how you’re acting all fine..” you tell him as you pull your hand away from him.

“I am not fine if that’s what you’re wondering. I tell myself countless times to just wait for you to come back but then I was the one who broke up with you. I wish we could still be friends but I cannot get myself to do it. I cannot pretend to be your friend when I know I want more than that.” He says as he lets out a small sob.

“I can wait for you. I can wait for your love, I can do that..” you say as you try to stop yourself from crying over this again.

Shaking his head he lets your hand go as he stands up and helps you stand up.

“Can I just say one thing?” You say softly, your words coming out slurred as the alcohol starts getting to you. Giving you a small nod he helps you walk towards your house, “Know that you made me the happiest person when we were together. I couldn’t ask for more than what we had…it feels like you left me hanging by myself but I know I would have to move on and let this story die.”

You say everything in one go as you cough and hiccup. You notice Kevin opening his mouth to speak again but you stop him by putting your finger up telling him that you want to continue and that you’re not done yet, “For now, it’s only me but…but I’d like to pretend that we’re still friends, okay?” You say as you look at him with your expectant eyes.

“Okay…whatever you say..” he says softly as he looks down at your shining eyes which were staring back up at him. “Maybe that’s all you need to move on from me..” he says, mostly to himself but you catch onto it but he doubts you’d remember all this in the morning tomorrow.

Reaching your door steps he helps you stand straight as he looks through your bag to find your keys.

“You keep on clinging to your papers and pens, yeah?” You say softly in a joking manner as you enter the house and slam the door shut on his face.

Letting out a small chuckle Kevin looks at your door as he takes a step back, stuffing his hands in his pockets he takes a one last look at your door and walks away.

That’s an end to a story then, something which was bittersweet. There are some moments he wishes he could forget all together but most of them are the ones he cherishes the most and that’s what matters to him.

You guys maybe strangers to each other now but the time you both spent as lovers was some of the most valuable ones.

🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸

[ang3lfory0u]

~ shh ~ (Carl grimes x fem!reader)

————————————————————————————————-

I love Carl sm it’s not even funny 🪐

It’s rlly short sorry abt that and it isn’t proof read-sue me 💋

Carl grimes x fem!reader

————————————————————————————————-

Stripes of daylight pouring through the bars of the windows decorated the cell walls, also making the girl squint as it shone in her eyes. Carl slightly chuckled at this, admiring the way his partner's face scrunched in annoyance.

She smiled In confusion, “what?”

The boy shook his head, “nothin just admiring you.”

The two were sat facing each other on Carls bed which was positioned against the war right next to the door that was currently shut for privacy.

Y/n grinned, “isn’t that sweet. C’mere.”

She draped her arms around Carl’s shoulders, pulling him closer to her and connecting their lips. Carl reciprocated, cupping her jaw with his pale hands to deepen the kiss. Y/n smiled at his action, sighing happily as he guided her onto his lap. Her legs tightened around his waist, making him groan slightly, pulling away. She chased his lips, still smiling.

“Don’t do that.” His tone deepened.

“And why’s that love?” She teased

The boy rolled his eyes and smiled, “you know damn well.”

Reconnecting their lips, he moved one of hands to her right thigh, squeezing slightly. “God you’re so amazing.” He didn’t move his lips away as he spoke so neither did she.

“Yeah well, anything for you.”

They didn’t stop, completely soaking each other in, enjoying the time they spent together. Even in a world that was far from perfect, they both saw each other as such, and for them that was enough.

This continued for some time before someone swinging the door open caused the two to disconnect their lips, turning to face the sound. Their stood Rick, shaking his head in disapproval with his arms crossed. The pair both had smiles tugging at their mouths, trying not to burst into laughter. This just made Rick roll his eyes.

“Really?” Is all he managed to say.

“Really” Carl nodded.

“Use protection for heavens sake-can’t afford another kid runnin around.”

That sentence made the pair break out I to laughter, catching her breath Y/n huffed out, “I wouldn’t worry about that Rick.”

The man sighed, “well I would-I’ll be back” He walked out of the room, shutting the door aggressively behind him.

The girl turned back to face her lover, beaming in amusement. “Well”

Carl’s dazed eyes met hers, “He won’t be back, trust me”

He pulled her back towards him, this time falling back on the bed with a gentle thud, allowing her to straddle his hips. His hands snuck under her risen up shirt and cupped her ribcage, rubbing slow circles into her exposed skin. Y/n’s hands however tangled themselves in Carl’s dark hair. She loved that hair, soft and framed his face so perfectly, she begged him not to cut it, and he’d do anything for her so it stayed long.

“Oh for fucks sake.” A male voice rung out, surprisingly the two, a great deal considering Carl practically flung Y/n off of him, making her hit the wall with a grunt. Carl immediately apologised and felt her head for any bruise, sighing with relief when he found nothing.

“Prick.” Y/n mumbled.

“Sorry Darling.” The boy murmured back, pecking her lips.

A cough caught the twos attention, remembering Rick was present the two looked over to see him holding up a packet of what appeared to be condoms. They both looked at Rick and then each other, grins rising on their faces.

“I know you’re laughing but I really don’t want you knocking Y/n up.” He snapped.

“Wouldn’t give him the chance sir.” Y/n Smirked, earning a glare from Carl. Catching his eye, she just winked in response.

Rick lost out an unexpected chuckle, “Just take them, alight? Better safe than sorry ey?”

He tossed them at the bed, them landing in Y/n’s lap, before walking out the room for a final time.

The girl picked up the packet, dangling them infront of the boys face teasingly, “there ya go my love, happy birthday.”

A sour expression was present on Carl’s face, “my birthdays in June.”

Y/n hummed, “I know I know, happy Valentine’s Day then.”

“It’s September.” The boy chuckled.

“Shhh.” She pushed her lips against his to shut him up.

[gojos-thot-patrol]

Happy birthday love!! (Or belated birthday)🩷🩷

Satoru gojo, funny, "You landed in jail how?" (Maybe featuring nanami)

Ryomen sukuna, funny, "You look really thirsty, have you considered drinking water?" 🌶

Whichever sparks your interest 🩷

thank you so much!!! 💙💙💙 For this one, I went with the Gojo Nanami request, only because another person gave the exact request for Ryomen (Which, Is coming I swear!) Also, because the idea of Gojo bailing Nanami of all people out of jail is so funny to me.

Now Presenting...

Starring: Nanami Kento and Satoru Gojo

“Come on Satoru, pick up..” You muttered softly, nervously tapping your own shoulder. “I only get one of these..” The ringing of the phone seemed to go on forever, until finally,

“Hello?” Satoru answered, though, questioned is the better verb to use here. The man was more confused than a boomer trying to use twitter.

“Hey, Gojo! How ya doing? I hope I didn’t wake you.” You laughed nervously, trying to ease our way into what you were about to say.

“Y/n why the fuck are you in jail?” He asked, passing at least half of his confusion onto you.

“Wait, how did you know I was in holding?!” you asked, pulling the bottom of the receiver close to your face and stepping closer to the phone booth, as if sharing a secret.

“The operator told me the call was coming from the prison, I had to accept the charges.” He informed you. Oh.

“Huh, I didn’t know it did that.” You admitted.

“That's why they asked you to say your name Y/n. so they could tell me who was calling from, ya know, jail.” Oh. 

“Is that why they had me say my name? I thought it was so they had a record of it to prove I got my call.” Which, is not a bad theory to be fair!

“You’re so drunk.” Satoru almost laughed, starting to put the pieces of the puzzle together. 

“Yes I am!” You proudly announced, “And I have to pee really bad, there is no bathroom here, just a toilet. You should come get me. Fast.”

“You want me to come bail you out?” Satoru chuckled, finally starting to wake up, “With what money?”

“The money from the bail fund you keep for when shit like this happens!”

“I regret telling you about that, you know. It wasn’t an invitation to get locked up!”

“If it’s not an invitation, then why have it?” You challenged. Satoru shook his head even though you couldn't see it. He was grinning though. He knew who his friends were. 

“Whatever. I’m going to call Nanami and pick him up on the way, he’s probably the guy you want dealing with the cops.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it! Kento is here with me!” You cheerfully announced. 

“Hi Satoru!” Nanami yelled in the background from the holding cell. Gojo expected a lot of things when he got the inevitable ‘I’m in jail’ call from you, but a Nanami Kento guest appearance was not one of those things.

“What?! Why is Nanami there?!” 

“He punched a cop.”

“He what?!”

“He. Puched. A. Cop.” You said, loudly and slowly, being sure to enunciate every word. Sometimes you really had to spell it out for the strongest. “Hey Satoru, I gotta go- this pig is oinking at me to get back in the cell-”

“Wait, I-”

“Byyyeee!! Please come soon!” You sang, the line going dead before Gojo could answer any of the questions he had. Kento Nanami Punched a fucking cop?!

🚨🚨🚨

“Are you here to pick up the two drunkards!?” A particularly stressed cop asked as Satoru walked into the station, startling him out of the script he was writing for this encounter. 

“Um…Probably?” Gojo asked.

“Thank god.” The policeman exhaled, scrambling to grab out the bail paperwork for you and Nanami, “They haven’t shut up since they got here. The blonde one keeps trying to unionize the other inmates, and the other one keeps offering doughnuts in exchange for freedom.” Yep, those were Gojos' friends. Is this what it was like to be the responsible one? He hated it, Kento could keep this job. As Satoru finished up the paperwork, the tired bastard from behind the counter went to retrieve his two delinquents.

“For the last time, you can not unionize prison inmates!” Gojo could hear the arguing before he saw anyone’s faces.

“That union busting and it’s illegal.” Nanami said, “But, I’m not surprised. Cops break the law all the time.”

“Yea, what he said!” You added, “Keep this up and piggy wont get a doughnut!”

“I don’t even like doughnuts!” The cop snapped, “I have a gluten intolerance!” 

“Weakling,” Nanami scoffed as the three came around the corner, “How are you going to be ruined by a protein? Just tolerate it.” Satoru noticed a darkening bruise on Kentos cheek, and a cut on your lip. Jesus, what happened?

“Gojo!!” You yelled happily as you saw your friend, running into his arms. “My heroine!” 

“Yea, I think you mean Hero,” Satoru quickly corrected you, not wanting any of the feds to get the wrong idea. “Come on, let’s get you to the car.” He said, giving you a quick hug in return before ushering you and Nanami to the car. 

“Can we go to Ihop?” You asked as you crawled into the front seat.

“Sure, as soon as you guys tell me what happened.” Satoru said as he started the car.

“We got arrested.” Nanami said as he buckled up. Gojo rolled his eyes. 

“You landed in jail, how?” Satoru clarified. 

“Oh, easy!” You laughed, “Kento and I went out for a drink after our mission, and some guy thought it would be a good idea to try and get handsy with me. So we got handsy back!” You smiled.

“He called me a Ken doll!” Nanami snapped, “A ken doll! I am very clearly a barbie!”

“Buddy, I don’t think that was the insult you were supposed to take from that.” Satoru giggled.

“What else could he have ment?”

“He was calling you dickless Kento.” He explained. You could see the math flashing and flying before Nanami's eyes as he tried to process the words coming out of his friend's mouth. He finally shook his head.

“No, I don’t think he was trying to fuck me.” He said. You nodded in agreement.

“Yea, he definitely had homophobic vibes.” You added. 

“No, that's-You know what? It doesn’t matter, let's go to Ihop.” Gojo shook his head. He just wanted to get some carbs into his drunken friends, and thankfully they seemed to want the same thing, as they howled in joy at the idea.

[evolnoomym]

hello hello hello!

💌 birthday bash ask here for you. so, you requested one of each so, I’ve linked them 🌝 hehehe.

which pedro boy would you ask to make you a birthday cake, what flavour and how well would they do? (any images in mind, is appreciated)

now, when it comes to the clean up, do you help? does things get messy, and if there’s frosting, where oh where are you eating that off their body or equally yours.

hehehe, lots of love @undercoverpena aka birthday jo

I’ve finally gotten around to answering so here we go :

I would of course ask my favorite Joel Miller to bake me a birthday cake 🎂

In my opinion Joel’s not the most advanced baker, sure he can cook me a good meal but baking is not for him. However for me he’ll try his best. Since he knows which cakes I like he picks the one he can’t fuck up too bad, a simple chocolate cake and after going over the recipe a million times (and even considering to ask Maria for help) he completely, on his own, without too many problems bakes the cake.

His decorating skills are also not too great but he doesn’t let that discourage him. Once the cake has cooled down he smears Vanilla cream cheese frosting allllllll over it and then with light pink frosting writes a sweet message on the cake. Here I present the end product to you 😅🩷

Now we get to the second part :

It’s close to 8pm when you get home from spending all day with your girlfriends celebrating your birthday. Those lunatics practically kidnapped you earlier, dragging you from one activity to the next and all that was partially a ploy so your wonderful boyfriend Joel Miller could have enough time to bake you a cake.

He put so much sweat, energy and love in to baking you that much loved chocolate cake you swoon about every time Maria decided to make it for party’s. He got the recipe earlier in the week and spend almost every day studying the instructions as if it was the most important test of his life. Which, let’s be real, it was. Joel was nervous about your reaction to the finished creation, but if this present flops he has one other option, something you too love devouring as if it’s your last meal.

When Joel hears the car of your friends screech to a stop outside, he starts to get really nervous. The seconds before you enter the house feel like hours. He wipes his clammy hands on the jeans fabric of his pants just as you enter the kitchen.

“Hiiiii Baby wha-….” You don’t get to finish the sentence instead you kinda gasp like a fish out of water. Your eyes frantically scan the kitchen from top to bottom.

“Oh my god, Joel….What did you do to the kitchen?” Before you even have the chance to freak out about the state of the kitchen, he tugs you out of said one and pushes you towards the dining room table, where his masterpiece was sitting waiting for you, the birthday girl, to come home.

Immediately the emotions switch from being upset at the mess to sheer overwhelming joy. Not once before did a partner ever did something so sweet and mindful for you. Joel and you have only been dating for 6 months and this is the first birthday you spend together. Clearly he wanted to make it a memorable day.

Joel stands by your side fishing out a lighter from his pockets to light the single candle resting in the upper half of the cake.

Once he does that he leans in close to whisper “It’s Maria’s recipe, the chocolate cake ya love so much. Happy birthday sweet girl” pressing a kiss on your cheek.

“Joel this-….this is way too much I lov-“ you scrunch up your eyebrows and tilt your head away from Joel’s. Then after a moment you turn to look him in the eyes. “Did you really write that on my birthday cake?” Pointing a finger toward the pink letters. Seems you did not read what was written on it before, due to being so stunned by the gesture. “Well it’s true, you do make me smile and superrrrr horny. I mean look at ya sweetheart how could I not write that.” He’s nervous until the angelic sounding giggling from your lips makes him return his eyes to your face, which now looks quite amused. “Ah very funny, ya lucky it’s your birthday today otherwise I’d have to punish you for being a lil bratty girl huh?” That send a shiver up your spine, Joel knew exactly what that sentence combined with his deep Texas drawl would do to you.

“Hmmmm let’s see, how bout that, huh?” You swipe one finger through the white frosting Joel seemed to have spread on the cake and wipe that on the top of his prominent nose. You were so quick that he couldn’t even react fast enough. “Ohohhhh Baby ya did not just do that, did ya?” You could tell he slowly got more riled up. “Don’t worry Daddy I’ll clean my mess up.” With that you lean up to gently suck the frost off of his nose. “Hmmmm Vanilla, my favorite flavor, well second favorite” you say winking at him. Joel did not think that this could turn him on as much as it did. “Fuck sweetheart blow the candles out, so ya can unpack the biggest present waiting for ya.” You did as instructed and then glanced down at his crotch, the growing bulge in his jeans looked almost painful. Flicking your eyes up to his you asked “Do you have more of that frosting?” Joel’s expression turns curious at that “I do, whatta ya want with that?”. A mischievous smile grazes your lips “Well since I’m the birthday girl, I want to enjoy some more frosting with my second present.” Joel’s breath hitches at that, his throbbing cock perking up more and more at those filthy prompts falling from your lips. “Hmm sounds good, but how bout we make it even better?” At that you just nod so he continues “I’d love to lick some sweet cream off of ya gorgeous tits and then eat that juice pussy, how bout that Angel?” You are speechless the two of you play this game so well.

“You got yourself a deal Miller, now take me to bed and show me that big present.”

I ignored the cleaning up part, sorry, but my man would not have me clean up his mess, at least not that kinda mess 😏😌

[dreadsuitsamus]

Jubilee | Renji Abarai x Reader |

author's note: this is an au where renji is a mechanic and reader is his secretary/bookkeeper. i plan to do an overall larger story with this au, and will likely consider this fic 'canon' to that one when it's released lol. but i love this idea and had to write something quick for it, and it's lightly inspired by an outing with my friends the other night 🩷

pairing: renji abarai x fem!reader

warnings: fluff, modern au

The sound of the door between the garage and the office area alerts you to your mechanic's presence, eyes quickly flitting to check the time— around his usual time for a snack, so you expect to soon see him with a bag of popcorn as he sits in his usual seat at the edge of your desk. But when you hear the jingling of his keys instead of the microwave popcorn popping, all sense of time and the world as you know it shatters. This man, while not strict about routine at all, has always naturally followed the same way day in and day out.

Renji appears before your desk, the keys to the building and his car swinging around the ring looped on his index finger. "C'mon, we're closing early today."

Blinking and quickly pinching your thigh to ensure this is real and that you haven't nodded off at the desk again, you perk a brow at your friend and technical boss. "Huh?"

"Gotta clean your ears out." He teases with that handsome smile. "I know everything I tell you goes in one ear and out the other, but clearly some stuff sticks since you apparently didn't hear me. I said, c'mon. Shop's closed the rest of the day."

"But you've still got-" Your hands search for the daily schedule Renji wrote out for himself, and on it it shows he's only got but four of the six oil changes done, not to mention the—

"Hey!" He knocks his knuckles against your wooden desk. "It's fine. Trust me, the work'll still be there tomorrow. Now can you please come on?"

Irritation twinges at your lips, pulling them into a bit of a pout, not that you'd admit that to him and take the chance of him wanting to stay late another day to make up for the short workday. He slips into one of his nice button-up shirts he keeps on standby— his favorite Hawaiian shirt, actually. It's black and the flowers are a mix of white and warm colors, and you've always thought it looks stunning on him.

"What's the occasion?" The question is a hum on your lips while you tidy up the desk and shut down your computer.

"It's the last night of that lil carnival that's in town. I wanna go check it out." Renji says boredly, swinging his keys as he waits for you to finish getting ready to go. "I want you to go with me. My treat."

"Aren't you generous, paying for a lady's three dollar entrance ticket?" You tease and pick up your purse, following him out of the door and waiting as he locks up.

"Turns out 'm not the worst boss after all, eh? I remember birthdays too, punk, so consider this part of your birthday present." He pokes at your forehead with a sly grin, and damn him to hell— you were quite hoping he'd forgotten your upcoming, dreaded thirty-third birthday.

Your lips pull into a pout. "So you're admitting you're the boss here, hm?" Renji always tells customers you're the one in charge and sticks with that mindset even when you're alone, so such a statement from him is odd.

"Just for today. Had to give ya a break." Renji winks, the light from the sun that's just barely starting to set casting a nice glow on him.

Your scoff is light and followed by a warm laugh, and soon you're ducking into one of Renji's many cars. It's his daily driver, nothing fancy or classic or particularly stunning, but it's the only automatic he owns and thus the only one you can actually drive, so it's your favorite by default. "This jubilee happens every year, y'know, and this is the only time you've ever mentioned it outside of complaining about all the traffic it causes."

Renji shrugs, looking far too relaxed as he drives. "I wanna go."

Good enough for me.

The city park is full of people and madness as Renji drives in, swooping into the last miraculously-empty parking spot. And bless his foolishness as he smiles cheekily at the father of five that's fuming in the minivan as he has to make another rotation for an empty spot. You hide a snicker in your hand and walk with Renji to the entrance, watching as he charms the old lady selling the tickets and making her day.

"What?? Six dollars?! You're cleaning me out, missy." He teases, opening his wallet and pulling out the cash for the entry fee. Bless the old woman's heart as she laughs and blushes at Renji's innocent flirting and slaps the two tickets into his hand.

"I think you'd make more money as a stripper for old ladies." You snort and walk with your friend into the carnival, the bright lights from the rides and the smell of greasy food attacking your senses.

"I don't have the rhythm for stripping." Renji laments with a dramatic sigh.

Your giggle is music to Renji's ears as you survey the carnival. The lines are all long and he's not quite sure how he feels about some of these rides— this was put together in a matter of days?? Hell no.

The ferris wheel still looks kind of fun, however…

Renji leads the way to the ride, and after a quick glance back to make sure you're still there, he takes your hand. "Don't go missing on me now!"

The warmth of his hand is just barely hotter than the burn of your cheeks; it's been five years since you met and subsequently started working with Renji at his dingy little auto shop, and you loathe to think about the truth of why you've been single all this time— if that sort of love with your friend was in the cards, it would've happened by now.

Renji, oblivious to your mental plight, finally finds the end of the line to the ferris wheel and staunchly takes his place and quietly dares anyone to try and cut in line. His hand is still firmly holding yours and it's like a switch flicks in his mind with how suddenly he drops it.

"Your hand is oddly soft." You murmur as you begin people watching.

"I keep telling you, WD-40 is the best moisturizer you can use!" Renji insists with a laugh, and you shove him playfully— he knows how much you hate the smell of the degreaser.

The line moves slowly, as expected for a ferris wheel, and it's dark by the time you're loading into your carriage. The breeze is cooler than it has been all day long, and Renji notices your shiver as the ride gets going. "I didn't bring a jacket." He murmurs. "You can use my shirt, if you want."

You shake your head and rub your arms as they litter with goosebumps. "No, it's okay. It's just a little chilly."

"Mm. Well, come here." His leanly muscled, tattooed arm slips around your shoulders and already you feel a certain warmth enveloping you. "Been told I run like a furnace."

"You do."

"Guess that makes me pretty hot, huh?" Renji's smile is full and you just can't help yourself but laugh at his cheesy little joke.

"With all the swearing I hear from that garage and that red hair of yours, you're definitely at least a hothead."

"Ooooh, deserved." The redhead hisses. "I don't try to be, y'know."

"I know. I also know all that effort goes out the window the second you hit your head on a hood."

"Hey, you give it a try and tell me you wouldn't let out a swear or two!" Renji pouts, brow furrowed and he looks so stupid but still so damn cute.

"I don't have any reason to be under a hood— that's what I have you for."

"Damn right." He's smug now, the bozo. He squeezes you tighter to his side, running his hand up and down your arm a few times. "You feel okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." He's so warm, and damn that fancy cologne of his, the one that cost him more than one of his tattoo sessions. It's essentially been designed to set every nerve of yours alight and fill your chest with a pounding urge to pounce on the poor mechanic that just wanted to smell nice.

"Good." He mutters lowly, his thumb swiping across your chilly skin.

The ferris wheel is filled up eventually, and you get maybe five rotations before a sudden stop, the LED lighting on the sides of each carriage going out as well. Renji groans, louder than the other voices in the midst of the outage, and looks down at the ground and tilts the carriage enough to make your heart skip a terrifying beat. Before you can even think twice you're grabbing the back of his shirt and tugging him closer to you.

"We are all the way at the top! Do not tilt this fucking thing!"

"Scaredy-cat." Is all Renji responds with, the bastard.

"Shut up!" You hiss, and Renji finally settles in as someone down below alerts you through a megaphone that the fireworks show is about to begin, and that they've had to pause the ride.

"Well look at that. We got the best seat in the house." Your mechanic settles in, pulling you close to his warm side as the show begins.

And truly, it's worth being stuck at the top of the ride. The lights are fantastically bright, the shapes and pops and booms all backed by a playlist full of some of your personal favorite bops and classics. Renji smiles as you sing along, and finds himself looking at you more than the show, not that you notice his watchful eyes.

Renji carefully slips his phone from his pocket and snaps a few photos, and by the time he takes the last picture you've caught on long enough to smile for the camera. And that's as long as your interest lasts as the finale starts up, but Renji's too busy setting the perfect picture as his phone's wallpaper to witness it.

His heart warms when you meet his eyes just as the last few fireworks go off, and his cheeks flush red at the gentle, brief touch of your lips to his cheek. "Thank you for the birthday present, Renji."

He makes sure to bring you to the local event and do the same thing each and every year after, if for nothing other than your sweet kiss.

[windblume-wishes]

So….I hate that you love to torture me with my simps and one of them is deuce..

I want a fluff request of GN! S/O giving Deuce a gift for his birthday which is chicks and a spade card with the adorable note for no reason. And then proceeded to kill him with kiss after the gift giving..

I am SOO gonna kill you BLUME!!!!

𝔾𝕣𝕖𝕖𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤, 𝔻𝕖𝕒𝕣 𝕋𝕣𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕣! 𝕀𝕥’𝕤 𝕒 𝕡𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕒𝕔𝕔𝕖𝕡𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕣𝕖𝕢𝕦𝕖𝕤𝕥! ♡︎

Rose, I’m wounded! Kill little ol’ me? What have I EVER done you you?/j Well, no matter, I see you want some Deucey, eh? That can be arranged. What’s next, dearie? Some Rinne? Some HiMERU? Kufufufufu~!

𝙵𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚢 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚌𝚛𝚘𝚜𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚎, 𝙸’𝚕𝚕 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚊 𝙶𝙽 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛. 𝙸 𝚍𝚘 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝’𝚜 𝚊𝚕𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝, 𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚃𝚛𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚛!

𝕃𝕖𝕥’𝕤 𝕤𝕖𝕖 𝕟𝕠𝕨, 𝕀 𝕓𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕖𝕧𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕖 𝕘𝕠𝕖𝕤 𝕒 𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕥𝕝𝕖 𝕤𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖...

Deuce Spade x GN!S/O - Chicks And Kisses

You absolutely loved Deuce, he was your world as much as you were his- after all, he always said you reminded him of his mother who he loves deeply. When he says words like that how could you ever not like him? Simple, you could not and you would not. Now that it was to be his birthday soon, you had to give him something special- but what?

You sat at your bedroom desk and pondered about what to gift your boyfriend, it had to be something special, something sweet yet something simple. Deuce was never the sort of guy to go the extravagant route, he enjoyed simplicity as he himself is a very simple minded guy. You eventually came to the conclusion that you should ask his dorm mates, they had to know at least something, right?

“Oi, human! Where ya goin’?” Grim ran over to you with a huff, planting himself right on your feet so you could not move. “Ya ain’t leavin’ me! I know I ate your sandwich earlier but ya can’t stay mad!”

“Grim, I’m not mad, you silly cat! I’m just heading over to Heartslabyul to get some present ideas for Deuce, his birthday is soon.” You smile, bending down and picking your feline companion up and scratching behind his soft ears. “Could you be a good boy and watch over the dorm for me? You are on Guard Kitty duty!”

“So whatcha sayin’ is in officially the man of the house and I’m in charge! HAHA! Thank you, henchman! I’ll be sure to bring you a reward tonight!”

You froze, knowing full well it may yet again be another deceased mouse or bug. “Just as long as it’s not another dead bug or mouse…”

“Fnnggaaa! Fine!” He huffed and hopped out of your arms, leaving fur on your clothes. “I’ll be sure to bring ya a live mouse then!”

————

Asking about was more difficult than you had anticipated, every answer was vastly different from the last and you did not know how to pull off half of the outlandish responses you were given. Ace has proved himself useless saying that all Deuce would want is an A in a class for once in his life, the other roommates were also useless, claiming they really did not have a clue as to what to get him. Cater was not particularly the best at giving advice on what to give Deuce while Trey suggested that you simply bake him a recipe from his mum- no that would not do, especially considering that Deuce would know something is up the second you ask about a recipe his mum would make for him.

Back to square one indeed.

You sighed and began to stroll towards the Rose Garden Maze where you could hear faint laughter coming from the bushes- you knew that precious laugh, it was Deuce! You quietly hurried over to the noise and hid, watching him from a distance as he played with the hedgehogs and baby flamingos. You had never seen him so soft and gentle, holding hedgehogs with the upmost love and affection and petting the baby flamingos gently as they gave him their version of a kiss.

That’s it! What baby animal does Deuce have the most love for? Chickens! He loves little chicks! This should be an easy little present- all you had to do was talk to Riddle about allowing them in the dorm and then finding out how to get your hands on some unhatched eggs containing baby chicks.

Riddle approved of the chicks under the condition that Deuce takes care of them all the way that Deuce takes care of them and is responsible- of course, you knew that meant Deuce would try and be as attentive as humanly possible for the baby birds in his care. You took a trip to Sam’s shop and asked him about baby chickens for a present for Deuce, surprisingly he was able to order some just in time for Deuce’s special day.

—————

“Happy Birthday, Deuce!” You called out, running to him with a blindfold and a smile on your face. “I have a surprise for you, birthday boy!”

Deuce began to blush the second he saw you run up to him so happily, never once letting his goofy smile fade from his sweet face.

“Y-Y/N, thank you! U-um what’s with the blindfold…? There’s no piñata is there? I did not see one so…?”

“No, no there is not!” You giggle. “Now come and put this on, I have a special surprise for you!”

Deuce did as he was told, the rest of Heartslabyul staring at him knowing full well what the surprise was and how happy it would make him. They watched in anticipation as you tied the blindfold carefully around his eyes and lead him out to the Heartslabyul gardens, where the baby chicks were waiting for him with Ace. You remove the blindfold and immediately Deuce fell to his knees in surprise, letting out tears of happiness as Ace releases the chicks who immediately run to him.

“Hello, little ones! Oh hello! Y-Y/N did you do this?” He smiled as tears fell from his blue eyes as you nodded. “Thank you! This- This is the best day of my life! I’m now a chicken daddy!”

“Happy birthday, Sweet Deucey! I love you!”

—————

*Later that day…*

Deuce picked up his phone and called his mum, the phone immediately answered and the cheerful voice of Ms. Spade immediately spoke up.

“Hello sweetie! Happy birthday!”

“Mummy! Mummy, guess what!” Deuce exclaimed excitedly.

“What, baby boy? What’s going on?” She asked happily, genuinely curious as to what got her son into such a excited mood.

“Mummy, I’m now a father!”

“D-Deuce…?! I’m sorry, love, what d-did you say?!”

“I’m a father now! Guess that makes you a grandmum now!”

Ms. Spade felt her soul leave her body at that very moment…

[howlingday]

Can you the studio c scetch operation breakup with black sun and yang.

Operation Blake-Hole Sun

Blake: Thank you for helping with this, Yang. I'm not the best with ending relationships cleanly.

Yang: Hey, what are friends for if not to... end the friendships of other people?

Blake: I'm just worried I'm going to lose my nerve and do something I'll regret. Especially since I feel like Sun is a lot more invested in this relationship than I am.

Yang: No worries. I've broken plenty of hearts in my dating sim games. (Puts on cap) Got your ear-piece?

Blake: Yeah, I do. Do you wanna test it?

Yang: Sure. This is Golden Dragon. Do you read me Black Cat?

Blake: Could we maybe try a different name for me?

Yang: Uh, sure. How about Heartstomper? Soulstealer?

Blake: You know what? Black Cat is fine.

Yang: Fine, fine. Commencing Operation: Blake-Hole Sun. (Hides round the corner)

Blake: (Knocks)

Sun: (Steps out) Hey, Blake! (Hugs her)

Blake: Hey... I, uh, need to talk to you about something.

Yang: You are doing great. I repeat, you are doing great!

Sun: To be honest, I was worried, because I thought you forgot it was my birthday today.

Yang: You are Salem. I repeat, you are Salem.

Blake: N-No, I, uh... I didn't forget.

Yang: I did not sign up for this, Black Cat! You didn't tell me it was his birthday!

Blake: How was I supposed to know?!

Yang: There's this neat little thing called a scroll! You should try it!

Sun: You feelin' hungry? I'm feelin' hungry. What say we get some noodles?

Blake: Uh...

Sun: Tell ya what; I'll grab my wallet and you think about it. (Reenters house)

Yang: Are you sure you want to continue? If he's anything like me, then he is going to cry. A lot. Like, a lot a lot.

Blake: I have to! I can't keep living a lie!

Yang: You lie all the time!

Blake: Yeah, but I also really wanna break up with him.

Sun: (Comes back out) Of course, I could also take you to this awesome taco place.

Yang: Alright. Let's ruin his special day.

Sun: 'Course, it's your special day, too. Y'know, 'cause it's our six-month anniversary.

Yang: ...HAVE YOU A HEART OF STONE, WOMAN?

Blake: What do I do?

Yang: You need to stop the conversation and change topics!

Blake: STOP! I... want to talk about cheese.

Yang: ...Okay, now transition from talking about cheese to... breaking up with him.

Blake: This isn't easy for me, like how cheese isn't easy for me because of my... lactose intolerance.

Yang: But...

Blake: But-

Sun: Say no more. I saw this coming. So I'll save us the awkardness.

Yang: Great. Great so far.

Sun: I love you, Blake.

Yang: OOOOOH! Red alert! The L word has been brought into play! We need to regroup!

Sun: Hold tight! I gotta grab something! (Runs inside)

Yang: Stop him! Don't let him bring out any presents! Stop him!

Sun: (Comes out, Holding black kitten) What do you want to name her? I'm thinking BB. For Bitty Blake.

Yang: RRGH! That is such a cute name! We're losing control of the conversation! We need to regroup!

Starr: Well, howdy there! I'm Starr Sangzang, Sun's cousin. It's great to finally meet the Blake he's been gushing over.

Yang: Engaging multiple hostiles!

Blake: Yang, help me!

Yang: On my way!

Yang: Hey... there!

Sun: What's up, Yang?

Yang: I'm... robbing you?

Starr: ...I'd wished a bitch would friggin' try! (Jumps Yang, Pounding the daylights outta her)

Yang: (Crawls back to her corner)

Sun: That was... weird of her.

Starr: See, this is why you need to carry a bag of sand like I do. (Leans near Blake) Both a distraction AND a melee weapon.

Yang: ...Man down, Black Cat. Man down... D-Don't worry, we can still pull through this...

Blake: Mhm.

Starr: Y'know, it's really great to see Sun all happy again. Considering this is the one-year anniversary of when his last girlfriend broke up with him. Can you believe that? And on his birthday, too? Only way it got worse was when Uncle Buck-Bill died.

Sun: (Cuddling kitten) You won't die like Uncle BB, will you, new BB?

Yang: ...Abort mission.

Starr: I mean, what kinda sick, twisted kinda person would do that?

Yang: Abort mission, Black Cat. You gotta date him for at least three more weeks before breaking up with him. I... My conscience and my ribs are screaming at me!

Blake: No, no, I... I would never do something like that. Uh, just let me slip into this alleyway to grab your present.

Yang: (Dragged away by Blake) Requesting MedEvac.

Blake: Oh, shut up!

Neptune: (Rappels down from the roof) Mission accomplished. Nicely done, everyone. Operation "Stop Blake From Breaking Sun's Heart And Come Up With A Better Plan Name Later" was a complete success!

[thoselethalarts]

𝓝𝔂𝔁 𝓝𝓸𝓬𝓽𝓾𝓻𝓷𝓮 - 𝓟𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓸𝓷𝓪𝓵 𝓢𝓽𝓸𝓻𝔂

(SSR) Birthday Union Jacket (Part 1): “Happy Birthday!”

(Scarabia Dorm: Birthday Party Venue)

Nyx: (Yawn…) Alright, I think the interviewer should be here soon… good thing I woke up on time to get ready. Nyx: They told me that the interviewer was chosen by the “Magical Birthday Dice”… I don’t buy it. Nyx: How the hell even do a couple of dice pick someone out of every person here at this school…? Seems hella unlikely to me.

Lee: I’ve got no idea how it works either, but here I am!

Nyx: Lee! My brother, my man!

(They high five)

Nyx: No shot you were the one picked out of everyone else here! Tell me the truth, you rigged the dice, didn’t ya~?

Lee: Actually, I beat up the original person that was gonna interview you and took their lunch money to pay for your present.

Nyx: Wait, forreal?

Lee: Nah, but could you imagine? That’d be so funny, hehehe~ Lee: It actually was just pure luck. What’re the odds, right?

Nyx: Like 700 to 1? Literally? Either way I’m not gonna complain. I woulda invited you over anyway though, ‘cuz what’s a party without my brother? Nyx: Buuuut since you’re here now, didja get me anything~?

Lee: Course I did, who do you think I am? Anyway, here ya go.

Nyx: Sweet~ I can’t wait to see what it is!

(Nyx opens his gift)

Nyx: Oh cool, a new acrylic paint set.

Lee: It’s more than just an acrylic paint set! It’s a set of iridescent acrylic paints. Lee: I figured as far as art supplies go you probably have everything already, so I wanted to try and find something kinda different that you can use. Lee: There’s samples of the colors on the lids, and it shows what the paints start as and what colors they shift into in the light. Lee: The yellow one turns from yellow to green, the purple one turns from purple to yellow, the silver one turns from silver to blue, and the teal one turns from teal to pink!

Nyx: Oh shit? You’re right actually, I don’t have anything like this! This is WAY cooler now!

Lee: Also also, I know I was only supposed to give you one present for the interview thing, but I got you something else since I couldn’t decide which one to get you. So, consider this one just from me, not for the interview.

Nyx: Oh? …OH WHAT, THIS IS ADORABLE. It’s a little mini frog statue!

Lee: It’s an incense burner! You put the incense stick in its mouth and the ash falls on the little lilypad it’s sitting in! Lee: Since your, uh… old stick incense burner broke, I wanted to get you a replacement~

Nyx: You mean since you broke my old one?

Lee: You pushed me into the table! That wasn’t my fault!

Nyx: I know, I’m just givin’ you a little shit for it~ Nyx: But seriously, this is awesome dude. Thank you Lee~

/ To Be Continued…

[thenovelartist]

Second Chances, Epilogue 2

In honor of publishing my popular Miraculous Ladybug fanfiction Second Chances as a novel, I've decided to release the new epilogue, both to drum up some hype and just as a thank you for all the readers of the original story. Maybe marketing-wise, I should have withheld it and made it exclusive to the book, but you all have been so awesome and supportive that I just couldn't do it. Thank you all again, and hope you enjoy ;)

For several years, Emma had had a question: just what were all these crates in the basement?

It was a simple question, yet she had always been scared to ask. But no longer! It was her fifteenth birthday tomorrow. She was plenty old enough to know.

“Hey, Em!” a voice hollered from upstairs. “Where are you?”

… Or, she could gather the courage to ask her dad now. “Basement!”

She heard the drum of footsteps as her dad came down the stairs. “We didn’t hide your presents down here this year, ya know.”

“Oh, I know,” she lamented. “Last time I found them, I was nine. I have no freaking clue where you’ve hidden them since.”

Her dad shot her a fingergun. “Exactly the point.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “However…”

That was all she got out before she hesitated.

No, no Emma. You’ve got this! “Question.”

“Shoot.”

She walked over to one of the many crates stacked up and drummed her fingers against the top of it. “I’ve always wanted to know what these are.”

Her father’s expression fell, which made her second guess asking.

Staring at the crates, he rubbed a hand over his jaw. “Em... you know how Mom was married before she married me?”

Although a rock settled in her gut, Emma nodded. She’d heard about it from Mimi and Papi. They’d shown her pictures of… well, technically, her step-mom, but Marinette would always just be “Mom” to Emma. And in those old pictures, there had been a red-headed guy that always seemed close to Mom. When Emma had asked, that’s when Mimi confessed Mom had been married beforehand, and that guy had been her late husband.

It was weird to think about, considering Marinette had been in Emma's life for almost as long as she could remember. It was a lot to wrap her mind around. Emma always felt guilty for being thankful that Mom came to marry Dad, so she just shoved it into the back of her mind every time so as not to think about it.

“Well,” Dad continued. “Her first husband was a painter. Those are all his paintings.”

With wide eyes, Emma looked over the crates. All the crates. They were all paintings?

“It’s been a while since they’ve been opened,” Dad continued. “I bet if you asked, Mom would be willing to show you.”

Emma hummed as she looked down at the crate in front of her. “Like… what kind of paintings are they? Do you know?”

He nodded. “They’re… they’re pretty cool. Saw them… dang, ten years ago now? Am I that old?”

“Yup.”

At her quick retort, her dad pantomimed being stabbed through the heart. “Oh, oww. Daughters are ruthless.”

Fighting a smile, Emma rolled her eyes. Her dad was so dramatic. It was so weird considering Grandfather and Grandmother were so… stoic. But then again, she hadn't ever met her biological grandmother—it was bizarre that all the women in her living family weren't related to her, but Emma just accepted it as her reality at this point—and she could have been where Dad got his theatrics.

That's when Mom’s voice echoed down the stairs. “Adrien? Are you down there?” 

“Oh, you’re home early,” Dad responded.

“Yeah. Managed to finish everything up in good time.”

“Hey, come down a moment? Emma’s got something to ask you.”

Emma pursed her lips. Dad was really going to put her on the spot, wasn't he?

The sound of footsteps down the stairs grew louder as Mom came into view. “What’s up, Em?”

Before she could ask, Dad gave Mom a quick kiss on the cheek, then he slipped up the stairs, Mom smiling at him all the while.

It was times like this that made it feel extra weird to think about Mom having a previous husband and Dad having a previous wife. To Emma, those were just her parents being her parents. The fact Mom wasn’t actually her mom and her mom was actually someone else Emma had never met was too strange to comprehend.

Slowly, as Mom realized what Emma was standing by, her smile faded.

For the second time today, Emma almost regretted asking, but she'd come this far. No turning back now. 

Wringing her hands together, Emma awkwardly motioned to the crates. “Dad said these are all paintings.”

With a bittersweet smile, Mom nodded. “Yeah. They’re from a long time ago.”

Emma shuffled her feet against the dingy carpet, trying to find the words to say. “Dad also said if I asked, you might let me see them?”

Mom’s breath caught, her eyes widening for a moment. But as she let out a sigh, her shoulders relaxed and she nodded. “Okay. I… it's been so long. I've been thinking about looking through them again. But I should get dinner on the stove, so—”

“I’ve got dinner and the boys!” Dad called down. “Bond with Emma.”

His words got both Emma and her mom to giggle, all previous tension easing away. 

“Well, I guess that settles that.” Mom then came forward toward the box Emma stood by. With a dazed fondness in her eyes, she rested her hands over the crate. Carefully, Mom took the lid off the crate, then began taking the paintings out one by one to show her. 

Dad had described them as cool, and as Emma looked over the pieces, she had to agree. They were like those paintings that would be in the old part of an art museum but with superheroes. All the while, Mom told Emma about the subjects of the paintings, most of them her friends from the past, and why they were painted the way they were.

Emma would say she found the most joy in the paintings of people she recognized. Auntie Alya, Uncle Nino, and even Miss Sabrina.

Then came one that made Emma… uncomfortable.

“This is your mom.”

As Emma stared at the painting of a blonde woman staring down from a throne of gold, she crossed her arms in front of her as an unsettling feeling twisted her gut. Because that woman there faintly reminded Emma of how she looked, but that woman also looked so haughty and arrogant that Emma felt herself shrinking under that sharp gaze. However, that wasn’t the most disconcerting thing.

She just couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that was her mom.

Certainly, she had seen pictures of her mom before, and there had been plenty of times her family commented that she looked quite a bit like her. But for Mom to say that woman was her mom…

Siding up to Mom, Emma wrapped her arms around her.

Though Mom tensed for a second, she gently set the picture down and wrapped her arms around Emma. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re my mom.”

Mom sighed, relaxing into the embrace before squeezing Emma tight. “I’m not officially your birth mother. I’m just the only mom you’ve known.”

“That’s okay with me.”

Mom didn't answer, but no words needed to be said as she continued to hug Emma.

“Thanks for being my mom.”

Pulling away from the embrace, Mom stroked Emma's hair, smiling all the while. “Thank you for being my daughter. I love you very much.”

“I love you, too.”

~~~

“Hey, Aunt Alya," Emma began over the bustle of the busy cafe. All these years, and she hadn't gotten tired of the food, but maybe that's because her grandparents' restaurant just tasted like home to her now. "You know how Mom has all those paintings in crates?”

Her aunt nodded. “Yeah. What about them?”

“It’s kinda weird they’re all in crates. Like, don’t artists put their stuff online to see? They’re just kinda… there.”

Aunt Alya hummed in understanding. “Back in the day, your mom was trying to get Nathaniel—er, your mom’s first husband—to show his stuff in a gallery. He could have done it.”

“Why didn’t he?”

She shrugged. “Beats me. I still think it’s a shame. It would be cool for those images to see the light of day. Especially to show off to all our friends. I bet they’d love to see them again.”

Absently, Emma stirred her soup as the gears in her mind turned. “Could you convince Mom to do it?”

Sandwich halfway to her mouth, Aunt Alya froze. “I don’t know," she said, setting it down. Slowly, a mischievous smile crept across her lips. "But… I have the sudden urge to be a really bad friend. Is your dad at work today?”

“No, he’s at home. Mom’s at work today.”

“Even better.”

~~~

Emma had never kept such a big secret from her mom. It was extremely difficult to keep her mouth shut, but considering just how many others were in on this secret, she was determined not to be the weak link in this chain.

Thankfully, that would end tonight. Dad had successfully dressed the family up, first by telling Mom that they were going to a surprise at a classy place tonight. Dad then managed to get Emma's younger brothers into matching button-down shirts and even clip-on ties, convincing them that doing so would make Mom happy. Emma had to admit that her little brothers, who were growing fast for being nine and seven, were adorable all dressed up.

Currently, they were driving through downtown, with Dad and Mom trying to find a parking spot.

“Just where are we going?” Mom wondered, looking around.

“I wanna know, too!” Hugo chimed in.

“You’ll find out soon, Bud,” Dad assured. “It’s something very special for Mom.”

“See, now I’m twice as curious," Mom muttered.

“It’s really cool, Mom,” Emma piped up. “I hope you like it.”

“Oh, so you’re in on this, too?” she asked, leveling a quizzical look at Emma.

Feeling the pressure, Emma struggled to keep her smile from faltering. “Yup. But don’t pressure me any more because I’m about to explode.”

“I’m not sure if that should make me happy or worried.”

“Happy,” Dad answered. “I have the feeling you’ll love it.”

They eventually managed to find a spot, then all disembarked to walk through the streets. Dad led the way, Hugo and Louis on either side of him. Mom followed behind with Emma at her side.

“Do I get a little hint?” Mom questioned.

“It’s somewhere close.”

Mom rolled her eyes, which, with an answer like that, Emma had fully expected.

After one more block, Dad stopped in front of a deceptively small shopfront. “We’re here.”

Emma bit her lip to temper her smile as she watched for her mom’s reaction. 

Mom's brow furrowed in confusion as she stared at the sign. “An art gallery?”

“We’re here to look at pictures?” Hugo lamented. Louis didn’t seem too keen on the idea, either.

“Yes, but they’re very special pictures that your mom loves.”

Which only served to confuse Mom more.

If they didn’t get inside soon, Emma felt like she might burst. As it was, she was already bouncing on her toes like they were springs.

That’s when Uncle Nino came to the door, pushing it open before Dad could open it. “Are you going to stand there forever?” he asked.

Mom’s eyes narrowed at him. “You’re in on this, too?”

“For sure,” he said with a beaming grin. “Actually, I’m the one who made it happen, so if anyone dies tonight, it’s me.”

Mom's gaze somehow grew sharper as she placed her hands on her hips, and the summer evening suddenly carried a chill. “What did you do?” she growled.

“Only something that should have been done a long time ago.” With that, Uncle Nino grabbed Mom’s hands and pulled her inside.

Chuckling, Dad pushed Hugo and Louis inside after Mom. Then he motioned for Emma to head inside, and they shared a subtle fist pound as she passed by him.

“Oh, you are kidding me!”

Her mom’s cry might have been heard outside even with the door shut. She whipped around to face Emma and Dad, her hands over her mouth while tears began forming in her wide eyes.

Dad grinned as he approached her and wrapped her up in a hug. “Pretty cool, isn’t it?”

“They’re superheroes!” Louis cried, pointing at the paintings.

“Cool!” Hugo agreed. And just like that, they scampered towards the closest painting to marvel over it.

Which was great because Mom was currently crying, and Emma knew her brothers would freak if they saw.

“You okay?” Dad whispered, rubbing her mom’s shoulders.

Silently, she nodded as she looked over the room, taking in all the artwork that had been framed and hung on display.

Uncle Nino rubbed Mom’s back in support, too. As much as Emma wanted to give Mom a hug, she would wait her turn and keep an eye on the boys. Not that they needed her to keep an eye on them seeing as Aunt Alya was doing just that.

“Do you like it?” Emma tentatively asked.

Nodding, her mom stepped up to Emma with open arms, and Emma gladly hugged her back.

“You helped?” Mom asked, voice warbly with tears.

“I… kinda started Aunt Alya on the idea trail that lead to it,” she admitted.

Her mom chuckled. “Thank you.”

With those two little words, all the worry Emma had stuffed away for weeks on end disappeared.

As her mom pulled away, she looked over the gallery again. “I cannot believe you pulled this off under my nose.”

“It was a challenge,” Dad said, “but I thought it was a great idea. I had Father and Nathalie stall you long enough to sneak the boxes out of the house.”

Mom huffed, tossing her head back as she rolled her eyes. “Is there anyone who wasn’t in on it?”

“The boys,” Dad returned.

“So my parents were in on it, too?”

“Yeah,” Uncle Nino confirmed. “They helped send out all the invitations for the event.”

At that, her mom’s expression pinched with confusion as she glared at Uncle Nino. “What invitations?”

“The ones inviting all our school friends to this showing.”

Blinking in shock, Mom’s jaw hung open, no words coming out.

Chuckling, he gave her shoulder a bump with his fist. “Better pull it together because we have a full house tonight.”

It took a moment for Mom to form a response. "I. Cannot. Believe. You."

Uncle Nino just grinned like a fiend. "You are so welcome."

Over the next twenty minutes or so, a barrage of Mom’s old friends entered the gallery. Mom had to introduce many of them to Dad and Emma, who had stayed close by. Louis and Hugo were now being attended to by Mimi and Papi, who had promised to take them out around town later to keep them entertained for the evening. If Emma had to guess, they'd do so after the official introduction she and Uncle Nino had planned.

“Can I have your attention, please?”

Standing on a small platform in the middle of the now crowded gallery, Uncle Nino started speaking, and Emma took it as her cue to join him. She weaseled her way through the crowd to hop up on the platform right beside him. Only then did he start his speech.

“Thank you all for coming tonight. I see many familiar faces here, so while I doubt I need to introduce myself, I will anyway. I’m Nino, organizer of this event and a friend of the late Nathaniel Kurtzburg.”

“I, on the other hand,” Emma began, looking over the crowd, “should introduce myself because I do not recognize many of the faces here tonight.”

At that, a chuckle rumbled through the crowd.

“My name is Emma, co-organizer of this wonderful event. Sadly, I never got the chance to meet Mr. Kurtzburg, but he is the late husband of my stepmom, for whom we organized this event tonight.”

As Emma motioned towards her mom in the crowd, Mom returned her smile, laying a hand over her heart while the crowd around her cheered.

“We are so happy to have you all here this evening,” Nino spoke. “Thank you for coming, and we hope you enjoy this showing of the late Nathaniel Kurtzburg incredible paintings, ones that portray many people in attendance now in a more fantastical reality and likely evoke memories of the past.”

“For those who, like me, are new to these works,” Emma continued. “We hope that you will be able to admire the artistic ability and unique vision of an incredible artist. Each piece holds its own unique story, and we wish to share those with you. There are a couple people throughout the room who will all be wearing special lanyards—” At this, she lifted up the colorful lanyard around her neck with an artist palette charm on the bottom. Nino waved his around as well. “—that are ready and able to explain the art in further detail, so please feel free to ask.”

“Thank you again for coming,” Nino concluded. “We hope you’ll enjoy the exhibit.”

The crowd applauded as they stepped off their platform.

“Good job,” Uncle Nino whispered.

“Thanks,” Emma returned.

After giving Emma a pat on the back, he removed the small platform from the floor, setting it out of the way of guests. Emma, for her part, returned to her parents.

Her mom was misty-eyed but smiling proudly. “You did a great job.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

“One question, though.”

“Yeah?”

She pointed to the lanyard around Emma's neck. “Do I get one of those lanyards?”

In response, Dad pulled one from his pants pocket to hand to her.

Shooting him a smile, she took it. “Good grief, it would be downright embarrassing if I couldn’t speak the most on these.”

Watching her mom sling the lanyard around her neck, Emma couldn’t help but be relieved. She’d been worried Mom might be overwhelmed tonight, but instead, Mom seemed eager to join. “We wanted to get your opinions on each piece so we could be better prepared, but spoiling the surprise was out of the question.”

Placing her hands on her hips, Mom shook her head at Emma, but she couldn't completely hide her smile. “What am I going to do with you?”

There was no need to answer that question with anything other than a smile and a shrug.

That’s when Mimi and Papi appeared. “We’ll take Hugo and Louis out for a treat so they don’t get antsy,” Mimi said. “And if the event runs late, we’ll take them home. They can have a sleepover.”

“Sleepover!” the boys shouted, throwing their fists in the air.

Papi laughed. “Or we can just call it now.”

“Thanks, Papa,” Mom said, giving him a side hug.

“No prob, Sweetie. We’re always glad to take them. We figured we’d let you enjoy the night.”

“By the way,” Mimi added, grinning as she pointed behind them. “Did you see who’s here?”

Mom looked over to where Mimi was pointing, only for her to gasp and flail her hands. “Oh my gosh. Okay, excuse me! Bye, love you!” With that, she scampered off.

Mimi chuckled. “Nathaniel’s parents,” she quietly explained.

Dad just nodded in understanding. “Thought I recognized them.”

Emma, who had been looking the direction that Mom took off in, turned back to Dad in confusion. “You know them?”

"I got to meet them on a couple of occasions," he easily answered. "They’re very nice people.”

It seemed a little weird to Emma that Dad would know them, but Emma just shook it off as something she didn’t understand.

“Emma.”

At Papi calling her name, she turned towards him.

With a beaming smile, he gave her shoulder an encouraging pat. “You did a great job helping and hosting tonight.”

Next to him, Mimi smiled. “Agreed. You did a wonderful job.”

Emma felt herself preen under the praise. “Thank you, but seeing as I am one of the hosts, I suppose I should be walking around.”

“You’ll do great,” Mimi encouraged. “Did you learn about the pictures from Nino?”

From a pocket in her dress—Mom had thought of everything when she had made it for her last year—Emma pulled out a little notebook. “Yup. I’ve memorized everything. And I have even more written down here in case of an emergency.”

“Someone was very well prepared,” Dad commented.

“We can tell,” Mimi agreed. “Well, then best of luck. Have fun tonight. We’ll take the boys.”

“Thanks, Sabine,” Dad said. “Really appreciate it.”

“No problem,” she said.

After waving goodbye to her grandparents, Emma started walking around the gallery, watching as people observed and chatted about the artwork with various expressions.

Throughout the night, she got to meet a ton of people. Some asked her about the paintings, but many of them were more informed than she was. She even had the honor of meeting several of the subjects of the paintings, including the cupid, the clocktower girl, the stone monster, and the alien hunter. They were all so kind to her, gladly telling her about the paintings and the stories behind them in more detail than she knew. While thrilled and honored to learn so much, it made her feel even more conflicted towards the artist of the night. It was hard to rationalize how happy she was that Mom had become her mom when the cost was that someone so kind and creative had to leave this world.

It was a heavy topic to put on the heart of a fifteen-year-old girl.

Nevertheless, Emma made it through the night with a smile. As the gallery began to empty, she found herself continually drawn to one piece in particular. There, in black and gold, sat a rendition of her mother, a woman that had been hated by most of the people Emma had met tonight. Yet, despite so many knowing Emma was this woman’s daughter, they never treated her with anything other than genuine kindness.

“What are you thinking about?”

Emma turned to see Miss Sabrina siding up next to her. Unsure how to answer, she shrugged and turned back to the painting.

With a sigh of understanding, Sabrina turned back to the painting as well. “It’s a little odd for me to see. I hadn’t realized Nathaniel had painted her picture considering… everything.”

The ball of lead in Emma's gut only grew. “Was… er... my biological mother that mean?”

Sabrina cringed. “I wish I could lie, but I’ll be truthful with you. I'm ashamed to admit I wasn’t much better.”

Which only made things more strange to Emma. To her, Miss Sabrina had been nothing but kind. Awkward, sure, but kind all the same. 

Biting her lip, Emma looked back at the picture. It felt… wrong to ask so many of the questions she had. But then again, Sabrina had always been honest and patient. “Do you think I would have been like that, too?" Emma hesitantly asked. "If she hadn’t died?”

Sabrina paused, her lips pursed in thought. “I can’t say,” she finally answered. “Who knows what Chloe would have been like had she not passed, or how you would have been raised. I might have been her close friend, but I can’t speak for her or how she would have changed after you were born. I don’t want to make assumptions just to give you an answer, but beyond that, there’s no point to that answer. We can’t change the past. We can only live on in its wake. Speculation will only lead you down dark paths. I would know.”

The sadness in Sabrina’s tone hung heavily in the air. So heavily that Emma almost didn’t want to ask the next question. But the weight in her heart was heavier than that of the silence. “Is it mean… to be glad she died so I can have Mom?”

The bluntness of the question caught Sabrina off-guard, but ultimately, she shook her head. “I’m going to guess you’re not glad she died, per se. You’re just thankful to have Marinette as your mom?”

Emma nodded.

“It’s not mean,” Sabrina assured. “Your life just happened to turn out this way, and you’re thankful for it. Yes, sad things happened to get to this point, but it’s not wrong to be thankful for what you have now. If those sad things never happened, you never would have known this life. You would have lived your other life believing that was just the way things were. I highly doubt you ever would have wished for your mom—that is, Chloe—to die in that hypothetical life. Nor would you have ever wished for Marinette’s husband to die. Being thankful for how your life turned out is not the same as being happy about the tragedies that happened that led to your life being the way it is.”

Paired with Sabrina’s encouraging smile, her words brought a sense of peace to Emma’s stormy mind. The weight on her heart eased with it. Not all the way, but enough to relieve the suffocation.

“If you want a piece of unsolicited advice,” Sabrina continued. “I’d do what I could to escape the ‘what if?’ rabbit hole as soon as you can. It’s a heavy weight to put on anyone. That might sound like some flippant life advice from an adult, but it’s a lesson I wish I could have learned sooner.”

Those words somehow held both sadness and hope, and they stuck to Emma’s heart. “Even if you feel guilty for shoving those thoughts away because they’re too confusing?”

“It’s not always bad to shove away feelings like that. It's admirable to face your feelings head-on, but deciding not to engage in a downward spiral is something most adults still need to learn. So don’t feel guilty. I’d say let that weight go and learn how to love what you have. Maybe it deserves so much love because of the cost it came at.”

Nodding, Emma turned back to the painting of her mother. Suddenly, it didn’t feel so intimidating to look at, nor was the storm in her mind as dark as it had been. “Thanks, Miss Sabrina.”

She smiled. “I can’t speak for Chloe, but I can speak for me. I’m quite proud of the woman I see you becoming. I hope you continue to grow up as wonderfully as you are.”

Bashfully, Emma bit back a grin. “Thanks.”

“Emma,” Mom called as she approached. “It’s time to head out.”

Briefly looking around, Emma realized there were only a few stragglers left in the gallery, and they were all making their way toward the door. “Oh.”

“What’s got you so lost in thought?” Mom asked, glancing at the painting of Chloe.

Before she could answer, Emma felt a little pat on her shoulder. Turning to the side, she saw Sabrina give her a smile and a wink. “I’ll head out, now. Thanks for all your hard work, Emma. You did a great job.”

Emma beamed. “Thanks, Miss Sabrina. I’ll see you later.”

“See you. You have a good evening, too,” Sabrina said, smiling at Mom.

Mom returned the gesture. "You, too."

With that, Sabrina headed towards the door, only to get stopped by Dad for a short conversation of their own.

Turning back to Mom, Emma smiled, but when she couldn't find anything to say, she gave her mom a hug.

Mom accepted it easily.

“Thanks for being my mom," Emma said. 

“Of course. What brought that on?”

“Nothing,” she dismissed. “Just… thankful to have you.”

With a sigh, Mom squeezed her tight. “I’m thankful for you, too.”

“Best mom in the whole wide world.”

Mom giggled. “Best daughter in the whole wide world.”