#my great grandfather is one of my favorite people on the planet. love him to death

[ghost-runner]

“Useless” and “Troubled” until the End: Pt. 1

Sully Family x “Useless” Fourth Child male reader

Summary: Y/N is the fourth child of the Sully family after Lo’ak and before Tuk, however, things don’t always seem to be great about being a Sully child when you are forgotten about a lot of the time. It doesn’t help when you also don’t get the normal training or bonds your siblings did so you tend to get into trouble a lot for trying to prove yourself doing the things your siblings can do.

Warnings: Gore, blood, cursing, family arguments….

Note: I’m not too well versed in the language of the Na’vi so I’m not going to try doing it, just in case I end up completely butchering it without meaning to.

— Y/N POV

I knew better than to be out by myself at these hours against my father’s orders. Even after already being grounded once for disobeying dad’s orders a few days ago for secretly following my brothers on a hunt, I don’t care if I get into more trouble for being out here right now. I’m the “black sheep” of the Sully family as some Sky-people would say from what I know of my dad’s home planet of Earth. I never had much training from my parents as I grew up so this caused me to learn from my siblings and train myself in secret behind everyone’s back. This has strained my relationship with my parents and it doesn’t help that dad has been harsh on Neteyam, Lo’ak, and I with raising us, further straining said relationship with him and mom.

Clearing my head, I let out a deep breath as I enjoy the very early morning Pandora air. I love how it’s always peaceful which is my favorite time of day to be by myself and where I can enjoy being me. Although, I’m not here to just enjoy the peace and quiet…i’m here to prove myself. I silently watch as a Thanator passes through the Pandora jungle brush while I slowly follow it from the treetops above the ground. The carnivorous beast stops for a moment as I ready my bow from my back and grab three arrows before readying them on the bow’s bowstring. The beast then jumps at a direhorse, killing it and began eating some of the meat from the direhorse. I readied the three arrow shot before I let the arrows fly. I grinned as they all met their target. The first two arrows went into the beasts legs, throwing it off balance before the third arrows pierced the side of the beast’s hide, throwing it to the ground on its side as it let out a roar of pain. I smile at the sight of my self-training paying off after needing to teach myself my skill set. I put my bow away onto my back as I approached the Thanator before drawing a knife I made years ago when I was 10 years old.

(The knife)

I came face to face with the beast and gave it a sign of respect before I grabbed its head to keep it still as I stabbed the Thonator in the top of the skull. I then used my knife to cut chunks of meat from the body of the dead carnivorous beast for food for my family and I also pulled out a few of the creature’s teeth to put on some bracelets I’m making for my siblings and parents. I love my family, even if they may not give me much attention. I only now realized that my family probably doesn’t even know that I’m out on my own without supervision or someone to watch my back. I sigh at the fact I’m so used to being in the background, I’m used to my family forgetting about me, not asking about me, or worrying about me too much unless I’m actually noticed. I’m usually the one babysitting Tuk while everyone else is busy, I sigh at knowing I’m just the one to be held back and not prepared. I quickly grab hold on the necklace my grandmother gave to me in secret that once belonged to my grandfather before he passed away and let a few tears roll down my face. Whenever I wear it, I always feel the presence of someone watching over me wherever I am which I like to believe is Grandpa watching over me with a smile on his face.

I wipe my face of my tears and shake my head to clear my mind as I finish up with the beast, leaving me with three full bags of meat and a pouch full of Thanator teeth. I’m happy with my work and I then whistle for my Ikran, Ro’nea or “Ghost” as I sometimes call her due to her fully pale white color. When I was young, Dad told me about things from when he was on Earth, these white things called “ghosts” were one of my favorite things he told me about and that’s where I gave her the nickname from. Ro’nea finds me and lands next to me as I attach the bags of meat to the harness I made for her. I rub her head and look at her left eye which still bears a red patchy scar going across it. I still remember the day when we crash landed after we bonded, resulting in that very scar on her eye and leaving me with a scar going from my right ear across my cheek to the side of my mouth. I still remember that day also because I had to tame my Ikran myself because my parents were too busy to help me at the time and I didn’t bond with her until only a few weeks ago which is why Ro’nea and I crash landed in the first place. I sigh when I realize that my family just doesn’t seem to care much for me. I get onto Ro’nea and we begin our journey home.

When I got back to the family Hometree, I saw my parents, Jake Sully and Neytiri; my brothers, Lo’ak and Neteyam; my sisters, Tuk and Kiri; were all still asleep. I looked out at the horizon and saw that the sun was halfway of coming up. I got to work on cooking breakfast for everyone using the meat I gathered earlier and put together a decent looking meal to me at least. I finished the preparations on the meals for everyone when I felt a wave of exhaustion hit me from everything in the last few hours. I’d rather get some sleep over facing the family questioning me about what I was doing up early and alone when I’m supposedly “inexperienced” and “incapable”. I went back outside the Hometree and I began to climb up the trunk to where I have a small area carved out that is a perfect secluded area for me to sleep. I got comfy in my spot and I drifted off to sleep. However, I failed to realize I still had drops of blood on my face and blood spots on my arms and torso from cutting the meat off the Thanator.

— 3rd Person POV

A few minutes after Y/N fell asleep, the rest of his family stirred awake from their night of sleep. Kiri and Neteyam were the first ones to wake up to the smelly aura of food in the home. After getting up from bed and reaching the table, the two oldest children were shocked at the spread of food of meat, fruit, soup, and drinks that were prepared to perfection in front of them. The noise of a crackle made them turn to outside where a small fire pit was smoldering after being used by Y/N to cook the meat. Out of the corner of their eyes, they spotted Y/N’s bloodied knife on a table to their left next to Y/N’s bow and the pouch of teeth. Lo’ak and Tuk were the next of the Sully family to wake up to the sweet smell of food, the two now excited to eat something delicious and yummy. Once they saw the food, the two looked to the oldest children to ask if they made the food.

Lo’ak: Morning Kiri. Morning, Nete. Who prepared breakfast?

Kiri and Neteyam both look at each other.

Kiri: I don’t know, however, I saw something over there.

Kiri gestures over to where the table with the bloody knife is. Lo’ak went over and spotted it immediately before grabbing it and inspecting it. He has never saw the knife before today and was amazed at the craftsmanship of said blade.

Lo’ak; Who’s knife is this? It’s still covered in blood.

Neteyam: I’ve only seen that blade one other time. I think it’s Y/N’s knife. So it was him that made breakfast. But…what was he doing up so early and why is his knife bloody? He knows he needs someone with him as he’s inexperienced and he doesn’t even have an Ikran yet!

Tuk: Where is Y/N?

The four siblings looked around the Hometree and didn’t find him. They looked towards their parents who were just waking up from their deep sleep. Jake was rubbing his eyes as he opened them and was greeted by the smell of food. Neytiri got up slowly and stretched her back before blinking a few times to clear her eyes.

Jake: What’s that smell? Who cooked breakfast?

Neytiri: -sniffs the aroma in the air- It smells like smoked Thanator meat, Yovo fruit, Fungus Soup, and milk. (I’m not sure what they have to drink in the Avatar universe so I’m going with milk as it seems like something they’d have.) Who made it?

Neteyam: We believe Y/N prepared it. However, there is something we need to talk about. Lo’ak, show Mom and Dad what we found.

Lo’ak turned around to reveal the bloodied knife was certainly a surprise to Jake and Neytiri. They quickly got up and rushed over to Lo’ak who still had the bloody knife in hand.

Jake: What the hell happened?! Is anyone hurt?!

Neytiri quickly checked all present children with zero results of finding injuries.

Kiri: Dad! Mom! We’re all fine. But that blade…That’s Y/N’s knife.

Jake and Neytiri both freeze at this revelation.

Neytiri: It’s Y/N’s!?! Where is he?!?

Neteyam says that he doesn’t know where the middle child of the Sully family is at. Both parents look at each other worriedly and ran out of the Hometree to find their missing son. Once outside, the children followed to find their brother. The family searches around when Tuk notices a small nook in the upper parts of the Hometree above them with what looked like a Na’vi tail poking out and she shows Kiri what she saw. Kiri sees what Tuk saw and climbed up to see what it was. She reached Y/N’s small carved out nook and frowned at the sight in front of her. It was her youngest brother alone in the nook as he was curled up in a ball and shaking. The fresh blood on his body that surprised Kiri a lot.

Kiri: I found him! He’s up here!

Y/N slowly stirs tiredly before rubbing his eye and blindly the sleepiness from his eyes only to be met with his older sister looking at him worriedly. He got up in shock which resulted in him banging his head on the roof of his small nook area.

Y/N: Ow.

Kiri: Y/N… Is everything all right?

Y/N: Yeah.. why do you ask?

Kiri: Well, Dad and Mom want to have a talk with you. I think it’s pretty serious considering we found your knife covered in blood and you still have blood on your body….

Y/N: Shit… I thought I washed it all off. -sighs- Let’s go see what they have in store for me.

The two siblings climb down from Y/N’s little nook in the upper branches and he is face to face with his mother and father. Jake is royally pissed at his son for disobeying orders for a second time while Neytiri is looking at her third oldest child with worry about what happened earlier in the morning. Jake turns around to the rest of Y/N’s siblings and tells them to go eat.

— Y/N POV

My siblings turned around to head back inside our home before Dad turned back to me with anger written all over his face. I honestly couldn’t give two shits about what he thinks when I barely get the time of day from him without needing to disobey his stupid orders to get his attention.

Jake: You got anything to say for yourself, soldier?

Y/N: What is there for me to say? I went out against your orders because I’m apparently “not experienced enough” to hunt or do anything besides help Kiri and watch Tuk when I need to. Apparently, I need to prove myself to you.

Jake: Watch your tone with me, Y/N! I am your father!!Why did you disobey direct orders?!

Y/N: Since have you even cared about how I feel with that shit?!? I’m practically fucking useless because of the limitations I’ve had throughout my life!! I have had zero training at all with hunting or being resourceful, the only experience I have that is being even remotely useful is helping as being a healer with Kiri when we go to learn from our grandmother! I’ve had to train myself how to handle my own shit which still is not good and is not enough around here at all!!!

I’m practically shaking with anger from my small outburst as my tail curled up im anger. Dad is taken aback at my outburst with how I felt. He then sighed at the sign that I had inherited his hot-headed temper and stubbornness as well at the fact that he knows I’m right. He hasn’t been there for me when I needed him most.

Jake: -sighs- I know, Y/N. But your time will come, I promise. In the mean time, you’re double-grounded because of your disobedience.

I roll my eyes angrily in annoyance at my father’s words of being grounded again even after already being grounded once and turn away from my parents as some tears form in my eyes. Mom hadn’t said a single word the whole time that Dad and I were arguing. She turned to Dad and squeezed his hand to signal to let her take over now and Jake nods to her. Mom then walks over to me as I now have a few tears going down my cheeks as she kneels down to my height. She pulls me into a hug as she shushed me to calm me down and whispers calming words into my ear. I let my tears fall for a few seconds before I turn around and hug her back as I silently lets the waterworks flow down. Dad looked absolutely heartbroken at the sight of me like this. He knows he messed up badly with how he brought me up, but he also knows that I am stronger than I look and better than what I let on. Mom is speechless at how broken I am from feeling practically useless.

Neytiri: Y/N, we love you and your brothers and sisters more than anything in life itself. We never meant for you to feel like this. We’re sorry.

Y/N: I-I know, Mom. I k-know.

Neytiri: Come on. Let’s just go eat the amazing breakfast you prepared.

Y/N: Alright, I just w-want to have a word with D-dad before I go in.

Neytiri: Of course, my son.

Mom let go of me and went inside our home before I look back up to Dad after I quickly composed myself.

Y/N: Dad.

Jake: Yes, son?

Y/N: You do know that I love you regardless of whatever happens, right?

Jake: I do, Y/N. I want you to know that no matter what I still love you too. I know I don’t say it enough.

Y/N: But…..you need to think about how you treat your children. You treat Neteyam, Lo’ak, and I like we’re soldiers in a military squad. I can’t do anything like in a squad and I don’t deserve the stupid treatment you give me. The same goes for the shitty way you go with Neteyam and Lo’ak. This is a family, not a squad. And you’re our father, not our drill instructor. This will end up with consequences that you won’t want to happen if it continues. You could end up driving one of us away from the family.

Dad gives me a look of shock and a bit of fear from what I just said to him. I know how much he cares about all of us and he doesn’t want to lose any of us. I really didn’t want to have to say something like that, but things have gotten to the breaking point that I just let it slip without any thought. I just stare at my father while he sees that I’m serious about what I said and I walk past him without a second thought back into our home. I walk towards the table where the rest of my family is sitting down and talking about whatever when I feel something grab my leg making me look down. I look down and see Tuk giving me a hug around my right leg.

Tuk: Thank you for the breakfast, Y/N.

I laugh at her cuteness and rub her head.

Y/N: Of course, Tuk.

She pulls away from my leg and opens her arms which makes me laugh. I nod to what she wants me to do. and get down on one knee to give her a full hug. I continue to hug her as i pick her up and jokingly spin around with Tuk still in my in my arms as she giggles at my antics. This is one of her favorite things to do with me. I always treasure the bond I share with my youngest sibling, Tuk. She’s a ray of sunshine in my dark times while I’m her rock in her troublesome times. I put her down with both of us laughing and she runs back to the table of food. I get up from my knee and see the rest of my family smiling at me. I smile back at them and go to sit at the table with them. I grab the lone empty seat that was between Kiri and Neteyam and grabbed a plate of meat and fruit as well as a bowl of the soup. My three older siblings give me different looks written on their faces because they heard what I said to Dad, with Lo’ak looking at me with face of surprise at what I said to Dad, Kiri giving me a look saying “I’m here for you if you need someone to talk with, little brother.” and Neteyam gave me a look of understanding as he understood how I felt from Dad being harsh on us. I shrug it off as I know things will probably just stay the same and I’m at my point where I just don’t give a single fuck about it anymore. I start to eat some Yovo fruit as I quietly look around at the family talking with one another without anyone paying me any mind while we all are and talked.

I roll my eyes at the usual occurrence that I’ve become accustomed to and shake my head dismissively with my ears going flat against my head. I stop eating as I lost my appetite at the shitshow that happened last between me and Dad before I get up and leave the table without anyone noticing. I head to the hammocks that all of the family members sleep in before I climb into the one that’s mine and pull out a small journal out of my pillow where I hide said journal. I found this old journal while I was out scavenging alone one day and stumbled upon an old Sky-people base that had not been raided. Anyways, I open my journal and grab the pencil I keep with it before I start writing into my journal. I write down how well my training is going to myself and what I can improve on. I fail to notice Lo’ak look over to see me in my hammock when he was going to ask me how I learned to expertly make the food when he saw I was no longer at the table.

— 3RD PERSON POV

Neteyam went to ask Lo’ak something when he saw his younger brother looking away from the table. Neteyam then looks over to where Lo’ak is looking to see Y/N writing in a small journal before the alone Na’vi boy closed the journal and put it back into his pillow. Y/N then fluffed the pillow before rolling over and trying to go to back to sleep due to being very tired and overwhelmed from what happened earlier. The two Na’vi boys at the table just frown at the sight of their brother looking sad and miserable. Kiri had tried asking Neteyam about something when she saw her brother looking away from the table. Kiri then saw her younger brother in his hammock. She frowns at the sight and just looks down at the table sadly at the sight of her brother being broken. Jake and Neytiri silently watched the whole thing that happened with their son going to his hammock. Jake knows that he fucked up big time with Y/N while Neytiri just wondered where they went wrong with their son.

To be continued…

This is my first time posting onto Tumblr so I hope people enjoyed this small post I created with the thought I came up with for it. I plan on making more parts, but this is part one. Like I said, I hope whoever read this enjoyed the post.

#jake sully #neytiri #avatar x male reader #avatar the way of water #avatar imagine #avatar kiri #lo’ak #tuk sully #neteyam #atwow x reader #atwow x you

[grace-nakimura]

mara, but in the Meemaw and Peepaw in Tatooine than canon

Sexuality Headcanon: Bisexual/demiromantic. That is true for all verses, tbh, and just something that just...is. Gender Headcanon: She/her. Mara also doesn't really care. A ship I have with said character: LukeMara, but in this aspect I see her maybe meeting some rando pilot at Yavin. If they happen it won't be for a while since Luke only knows Mara as "crazy Ben Kenobi's intense granddaughter", and Mara only knows Luke as "that one kid who whines a lot" for a great deal of her time on Tatooine. (She also doesn't really know Ben is there to look after him. Not 'til ANH which she is like, cool, but he's still whiny.) A BROTP I have with said character: Her best friend, her person, is Satine. Even when it is 0 BBY and she is seventeen years old, it is still Satine. As for a non-relative, she would probably get along with Chopper or Ezra. (Sabine at first, but you know. The Duchess wouldn't go over well with her. At all.) A NOTP I have with said character: Any authority person, or smth, IDK. A random headcanon: Mara enjoyed the fact everyone thought her grandfather was delusional. It meant no one spoke to her, which meant she didn't have to talk to people, which meant she got through school in peace. The chance of Obi-Wan surviving to fight in the Rebellion - Satine isn't happy about it, but she isn't happy about the Empire, either, so - all that changes, and suddenly everyone wants to know her because her grandparents are / were such influential people. It is a nightmare. General Opinion over said character: Indulgent Love Letter for Satine Kryze AU becomes my personal favorite because both Obi and Satine receive the hope they've been hungry for after ROTS and Mara gets to have a childhood. It isn't perfect, especially not on a dangerous planet like Tatooine, and she doesn't grow up with much other than a few trinkets - mostly her rock collection - and necessities, but she is loved and doesn't go a day not knowing it.

#answered #* meemaw & peepaw in tatooine. #* mara jade is a kryze. #otp: just put it in! #otp: like a crab

[calliethetrekkie]

Triumvirate Prompts: Day 20

#20. Favorite Kirk Moment?

As I did last time, I'll do five that I thought up. Somehow picking for Kirk was a lot harder than I thought. But here they are

1. Gangster Kirk

They let Shatner have waaay too much fun in A Piece of the Action. That's not a complaint, either. It's a planet that decided to follow a book on gangsters as a way of government, you may as well go all in. The minute that Kirk gets the upper hand, he goes full-on mob boss, and I love every second of it. You can tell that he is getting so into it and having the time of his life, and it lets what could have been a weird episode be an absolute joy. He may be too good at it haha. Also, we learn that Kirk is a terrible driver, which is also an amazing moment... maybe not for Spock though XD

2. Everything in The Trouble With Tribbles

Kirk hates everything and it is amazing. Usually save for certain occasions, Kirk is able to keep composed and professional. He doesn't even attempt to try here. The Tribbles overtaking everything and annoying bureaucracy people have Kirk utterly salty, and him getting dog-piled by all the tribbles (that keep falling onto his head) is the cherry on top of it all. The look of pure venom he gives Bones when he tells him to find out why the Tribbles are dying, and he's about to make a quip as usual is just perfection. He only likes the furballs when he finds out that they hate Klingons XD It is just amazing to see how Kirk hates everything in this episode. Sorry Kirk, but you're at your most fun when you've lost your cool~

3. The Monologue in Return to Tomorrow

KIRK: They used to say if man could fly, he'd have wings. But he did fly. He discovered he had to. Do you wish that the first Apollo mission hadn't reached the moon, or that we hadn't gone on to Mars and then to the nearest star? That's like saying you wish that you still operated with scalpels and sewed your patients up with catgut like your great-great-great-great-grandfather used to. I'm in command. I could order this. But I'm not because, Doctor McCoy is right in pointing out the enormous danger potential in any contact with life and intelligence as fantastically advanced as this. But I must point out that the possibilities, the potential for knowledge and advancement is equally great. Risk. Risk is our business. That's what the starship is all about. That's why we're aboard her. You may dissent without prejudice.

This is simultaneously one of Kirk's best moments... and one of his stupidest. Only because of everything going wrong after this, but still. So we have Kirk gathering the landing party and Scotty to vote on him, Spock, and Girl of the Week letting God-like beings use their bodies until they get android bodies made. This is dangerous because... well, do I need to explain why?! However Kirk makes his argument, and my own thoughts aside, it does show that Kirk isn't stupid. He is fully aware that this is a risky, very dangerous maneuver and that people like Scotty and McCoy have every right to be concerned. It's why he will only allow a unanimous vote, to make sure that everyone is okay with this and have all concerns addressed. As much as we like to joke about Kirk being reckless, this shows that he isn't... well, most of the time.

I think it also reflects what Star Trek is truly about. It's about the evolution of mankind. To explore the unknown and encounter these other cultures and worlds. To learn and grow, and thus allow civilization to grow. If this goes well with Sargon, they could learn a great deal from these beings. Kirk has always been passionate about his mission. It's what he signed up for. The speech he gives in order to address McCoy's worries just reflects that so much. Sure it's a risk, and if anyone has seen the episodes we know how it all goes horribly wrong. But there's always a risk to discovery and exploration. You have to take it in order to grow and evolve. As he says, risk is their business. It's an excellent moment that shows us who Kirk is and why he's willing to do certain crazy things. I don't see it get talked about much, but if you want a scene that describes who James T Kirk is, this is the one.

4. "What if I'm wrong?"

If there is one thing that Kirk feels that he can't allow, it's vulnerability. As the captain, he cannot afford to show weakness. He must remain a strong, in-control figure at all times. Otherwise, if he slips, he risks losing his crew's faith and their trust in his command. This gets brought up in several episodes. He'll express it to McCoy. He'll sometimes allow Spock to see it. He may slip for a second in front of others, but that's it. But like anyone else, he has fears, doubts, and a lot of pressure placed on himself by himself and those around him. He's responsible for the lives and safety of over 400 individuals... and it's never easy.

This moment in Balance of Terror is so, SO good. The Enterprise is in a very perilous situation. Kirk has had to remain in Captain Mode at all times, not allowing for any hesitation or doubt. He can't allow it, not against an enemy that he knows barely anything about. It's kill or be killed. But when he is finally given a moment, the mask remains on when Rand comes to see if he needs anything. It only falls when McCoy, the one person he is allowed to be vulnerable around, enters the room. When Rand goes, Kirk is finally able to vent:

KIRK: I wish I were on a long sea voyage somewhere. Not too much deck tennis, no frantic dancing, and no responsibility. Why me? I look around that Bridge, and I see the men waiting for me to make the next move. And Bones, what if I'm wrong?

I love this because it allows us to see this side of Kirk. While we as the audience get to see Kirk's vulnerability more than almost anyone in-show does, he still barely allows himself to show it. It's the one time in the episode that he's able to let it out. He's not expecting an answer, but McCoy gives him one, and that's enough for Kirk to have the assurance that he needs to continue forward. It's both a great moment showing off Kirk and Bones' relationship, and a moment in an otherwise intense episode where we can breathe and let Kirk have this one moment before returning to the fray.

5. Sacrificing the Enterprise

Being a Starship Captain means everything to Kirk. It is who he is. It is what he always wanted to be. It is what he lived and breathed for all of his adult life. Nothing symbolizes that more than The Enterprise. That ship, as various episodes had demonstrated, meant everything to Kirk. It was the ship that he got as a Captain. One that he spent many years on. Even when he became an admiral, he fought tooth and nail to get to command it again because he missed it so much. He missed being a captain so much. His career means everything to him...

And in one fatal move, he gives it up.

The Search For Spock really makes life Hell for Kirk. He's grieving his best friend, his other best friend is going insane, he finds out that Spock isn't quite dead, breaks out McCoy, and steals the Enterprise. He knew that by doing this, he was sacrificing his career. The career that defined his very being. But to make it worst, he then watches his own son that he only just now got to know and now he risks losing everyone else. So he makes the choice to abandon ship and take the Klingons out by self-destructing it.

I cannot stress how major this is. Sure it's just a ship, but again this ship symbolizes everything that Kirk worked for. That ship was his life. All the hard-work and sacrifices that he made to captain that ship. He already threw his career away, losing the ship was just the icing on the cake. But it's also important to remember why: to save Spock, McCoy, and his crew. He just watched his son die. He just lost Spock once. He's likely going to not only lose him again, but also lose Bones if he hadn't acted as he did. He's dragged his senior staff into it, allowing them to throw their careers aside just to help him.

He couldn't stand aside and lose anyone else. He had to do this. Because sure, his career meant everything. But Spock? Bones? His crew? They mean so much more. They're the closest thing to a family that he has. They've been with him through everything since he got the Enterprise. Here, he chooses them over himself. It hurts, but after so many episodes that made it clear how much being a Captain meant to Kirk? After all of his accomplishments? All the sacrifices? He threw it all away for the ones that he loves, and that is powerful.

#tos #star trek tos #james t kirk #terms of service-tober

[its-monster-mash]

You know, between talking about the funeral in House of Wax and writing my Horror novel(where the deuteragonist is a retired serial killer turned priest), it's REALLY funny to me personally how weird be religious upbringing was.

Like my parents divorced when I was three, but my dad got me on weekends, so every Sunday until I was 11(Great-Grandparents moved to California) I was forced to go to church (because my Great-Grandfather was the priest) BUT MY DAD DID NOT ATTEND WITH ME. HE JUST DUMPED ME OFF AT THE CHURCH.

My dad is this big, 6'1 death metal dude, long hair, always wears black clothes and a perma-scowl, would drop a tiny girl version of him(I insisted on black shirt red skirt EVERY CHURCH DAY since I was little) at the steps of the church and bail before he had to see his Grandparents(Fun fact, they raised him, because my Grandma--while she is the most loving soul on the planet--is not a competent parent).

Putting the rest of this under the cut because it's just a rant about my weird relationship with religion as a child, if I'm being honest.

The religious weirdness started at my baptism, actually.

When I was that age, apparently my FAVORITE toy was a little Hades figurine--a McDonalds toy from the movie Hercules. My mom, while carrying me up to the big water basin or whatever where my Great-Grandfather(we just all called him "Grandfather", our family had a huge "Head of the Family" complex until he passed), noticed that I HAD HADES WITH ME, so she tried to take it away from me really quickly, because Grandfather was already kind of rude to her(fun fact, she's been a wiccan my whole life and hid it from me until I was like 12).

Well, like ANY child with a comfort toy in an unpleasant situation when the toy is being taken away, I held onto that toy with all my might and mustered my tiny lungs to scream "THAT'S MY HADES"...as loud as possible, in my Great-Grandfather's church.

I should explain that my Great-Grandfather was an Episcopalian Priest. Episcopalianism shares all the aesthetics of Catholicism, with mostly superficial differences (The MAIN differences being that Episcopalian priests can marry, an they don't do confessional).

ANYWAY, it only got worse.

I attempted to accept communion wine all of TWO times; once as a very small child, and once when I was around 8 or so(memories of my childhood are very spotty due to Trauma, but I know I had to be younger than 9 because my brother wasn't born yet). Anyway, BOTH TIMES I tried to take the wine, I projectile vomited all over the velvet altar, as well as my Great-Grandfather's vestments. BOTH times old ladies whispered shitty things about it, and no one tried to comfort me. It was some bullshit then, but it's a hilarious inside joke with my close friends and I now. Funny part is? I'm not a puker in general, and those were the only times in my whole life I ever PROJECTILE vomited.

FUN FACT: When I was little, I believed the Christian God and Santa Claus were the same entity. Both beings are always watching you to judge your merit, and I equated Hell's Brimstone to Santa's Coal for naughty children.

I wouldn't say it got WORSE after my Great-Grandfather retired, but it WAS weirder for me. I was still forced to go because he and my Nana still attended services(I was allowed to stop going when they moved when I was 11), but because I was his Great-Granddaughter I was like...church famous?? I was always highlighted in Sunday School, and special attention was always drawn to me when they'd round the kids up to send us off.

Problem is, I HATED the new priest. He creeped me right the fuck out, and I was not shy about showing that.

I made a scene EVERY single time I got bad vibes, and the congregation always laughed like it was some kind of staged act.

On the flip side, every winter I would always ask my favorite priest to get the shovel for me because I shoveled the ramp and steps every sunday because I was afraid the advanced elderly people would fall; so I was very much A Good KidTM, just HATED every second of being in church.

My Great-Grandfather was a VERY interesting person, but most of that I didn't know until after he died, because all he ever wanted to talk to me about was Jesus. It really hurt my feelings, because I was a science kid--I got GREAT grades--and I worked really hard for it, yet this most revered person in my family only ever responded to any of my achievements with "Thank Jesus for your Gifts." (I was nominated for a Student Ambassadorship that would have taken me overseas to study three times in a row. I was never able to go because we were broke as shit, but like, I worked fucking HARD and all he ever saw were the "gifts from Jesus", and I full on hated Christianity for it)

Now, on my MOM's side of the religious stuff, I mentioned already how she kept it under LOCK AND KEY that she was Wiccan until I was twelve. The reason being, because she didn't want my dad to point at it and tell people she was getting me into Devil Worship, because she was SUPER paranoid about me being taken away (that did not stop HER from abusing the hell out of me, but long story short that was psychosis and memory loss from a medication she was on long term; we are on good terms NOW).

Funny story, I DID have a Satanism phase, but that was a direct result of hating Christianity and wanting to piss off my family, if we're being honest.

ANYWAY THOUGH; I have been Pagan since I was ten years old, and went YEARS guarding that as a well kept secret, because I was afraid I'd get in SO much trouble for not being Christian, until one day when I was 12 I had come into my mom's room when she still had her books out and I was like !!! "WITCHCRAFT!!???!?!?". It was one of our biggest parent-child bonding moments tbh lol.

I went hardcore Atheist for a brief time during a massive mental breakdown I had in college, which was IMMEDIATELY followed by Performative Satanism, but when I Calmed DownTM I went back to general paganism. I have a very loose spirituality and a hyperspecific belief system, but I don't need to get into that here.

ANYWAY RANT OVER. I just think it's really funny that I grew up the way I did and now I write nasty blasphemy kink shit lol OOPS.

#Praey screams #Yeah this is just a big ass rant but it might be fun who knows #religious trauma #vent post #Not sure if it counts as a vent post because I'm not upset about it I just wanted to share the info no one asked for

[garudabluffs]

Shouts & Murmurs History Report By Simon Rich August 29, 2022

Storycorps, the Post-Apocalypse Edition

..."the imminent climate holocaust"...

https://www.newyorker.com › magazine › 2022 › 09 › 05 › when-i-was-a-boy-back-before-earth-got-too-hot-to-live-on

When I Was a Boy, Back Before Earth Got Too Hot to Live On

Simon Rich reads his short story "History Report," in which a father explains the sex robots of the future. And other things as well. (14 minutes)

"...My Great-Grandfather told me how scary it was when Earth became too hot to live on. The skies burned with fire day and night, and you couldn’t walk across the street without collapsing. I asked him if he had had any kind of warning about climate change, and he said yes, there’d been articles, movies, and books about how it was going to happen. I asked him if he tried to stop it from happening, and he said yes, of course. I asked him how, and he said that he had done something called recycling, which is where you throw your garbage into different-colored boxes. I asked my mom what he was talking about, and she explained that when people become as old as my Great-Grandfather their brains start to break down and it is almost like they turn back into babies.

Since my Great-Grandfather is going to die soon, and he is one of the only survivors of Earth, I decided to ask him what his favorite memory of the planet was. I thought he might tell me about the end of World War Four or going to see “Spider-Man,” but instead he told me about the first date he went on with his wife, my Great-Grandmother Kathleen. They met in College, which is a place people used to go to after high school to drink alcohol. Some people drank so much there that they died.

My Great-Grandfather said that when he was in College online dating hadn’t been invented yet."

How I Learned to Shave - This American Life 11/18/ 2023 episode

Act Three available 11/19/2023 after 7pm, CT

When I Was a Boy, Back Before Earth Got Too Hot to Live On . . . | The New Yorker

Simon Rich's most recent book is New Teeth.

Song:

“Song for My Father” by Leon Thomas  (radio) & “I Love My Dad” by Sun Kil Moon (podcast)

#climate change #short story #This American Life

[xtrablak674]

Sixteen Miles

My hibernation in my apartment had lead my body to forget the exhilaration of bipedal movement. My foray to the clerk's office on Monday to file the small claims document was two miles to and from the court, total four miles.

I had said after my niece's visit that I would get back to walking, but at the time it was too cold to be out in the park like that. But now it was summer and albeit a little humid, it was perfectly fine for a stroll around what I think is the best park in New York City, but I may be a bit biased.

As I make my way counter-clockwise around the parks now closed to cars lanes my mind does a few different things. First I am much more aware of my senses, two days a jogger passed me and a bottled musky smell past by me, I knew he was wearing cologne, which I thought was a little odd to jog in since you would probably be showering after.

My ears are more acute, I play a guessing game with bikers and joggers, trying to determine if its more than one bicycle and if its the racing bikes, electric or casual user. Bonus points if I can guess if there are more than one bikers. With the joggers I attempt to guess their sex by their foot falls, I will admit really short men or tall women usually throw me for a loop but my accuracy isn't that bad.

Having run track in high school and also studied dance, I am acutely aware of people's form and this takes two senses, sight and hearing. How the foot sounds striking the pavement speaks to technique and to be very frank I encounter very few runners with a good technical run. But it is a pleasure when you see someone really bouncing off the balls of their feet and getting their knees high. As a former sprinter I can really appreciate running well.

Being a proud owner of a healthy case of body dysmorphia I am also acutely aware the different body types and the races and ages of those exercising in the park. As you may know I of course love tall men, and twice have seen this guy who I just call Shoulders, he's like 6'2" always jogs shirtless, a little pale but has beautiful lean muscles up and down his fine ass form. I usually only see him once because I encounter him when I am on my last leg right before the final hill. #🤤

I love the older Black women who all seem to know each other, and be out there jogging and walking with the best of them slaying everyone with their flawless skin. Our geriatric crew is also fun to see, usually they are whyte and skinny in a variety of heights, its easy to visualize them as someone's peepaw or great grandfather.

My prime group is the super-lean men with the swimmer like forms that are like skeletons with just a little meat on them and musculature that is refined from the perfect fusion of good food and well-balanced exercise routines. I covet this group so much, albeit most of them are quite short. I have never been lean, and don't really think that genetic profile runs in my family, our folks be meaty and big-boned!

There are a handful of Black men in this group but they are mostly whyte men, some with long hair, other bald all with usually superior technique and clearly the bodies that show for their hard work. I will be candid I am not truly envious of this guys, I really just want to be a leaner version of myself. One thing I have learned from my self-portraiture is that when my stomach is flatter I look great. I mean other than the natural aging effect of being on the planet the amount of time I have been here, I am well preserved.

My favorite wind-down is taking off my sneakers a block from my house and walking barefoot the last block carrying my shoes. It give my feet the air they desire after the ninety minute walk and is a wonderful tactile feel for my well calloused feet. I plan to do fifteen miles next week, and may keep it up as long as the weather allows and will switch to yoga on days where I just can't go out.

[Photo by Brown Estate]

#excercise #walking #biking #jogging #body dysphoria #active listening #people watching #prospect park #brooklyn #body types #barefoot #bipedal #shirtless #lean muscle #tall guys

[gayfrasier]

today i learned my great-grandfather had never seen a chicken or a cow until he was 18 years old and it changed me. the man was on a boat, leaving his home in palestine for the first time in his life to live in colombia, goes to eat dinner and just.. sees chicken. he is served chicken. i am told he was so distraught he cried in the arms of his cabinmate who consoled him, isnt that wild. he also apparently saw a cow off the coast in africa while passing by and i just.. what an emotion. imagine seeing a cow for the first time and you cant even process it cause a few seconds later its out of view. id die.

#my great grandfather is one of my favorite people on the planet. love him to death #wish i met him #rambles

[violetrainbow412-blog]

Mission: steal the bride [A. C] part 4

Adrian Chase x fem!reader

Word count: 5.3k

MASTERLIST

Summary: You and Adrian are the best of friends since you moved from the UK to the US. After the death of your grandfather, you find out about an event that changes everything and you find yourself involved in an arranged marriage. Vigilante needs to get the team together before it's too late. The mission? Steal the bride.

A/N: This is my favorite so far, hehe.

I want to ask you, I'm not very good at writing smut and I'm not used to doing it either, but would you like to read something in future chapters? If yes, tell me so I can add it!

Adrian absolutely loved the train ride. He kept asking questions, like he always does, but seeing that you weren't willing to answer him, he just started talking about other things.

You loved that about him, that there was never silence when you were together. And even if there was silence, it was never an awkward silence, it was just a quiet moment.

"Who do you think says what the best tasting brands of dog food are?" he asked in front of you. It was a clear example of how his eloquence and his mind had no limits.

"I don't know, I suppose they test them on dogs and according to the movement of their tail they define the level of acceptance" you continued and he laughed.

Although you didn't know it, Adrian had always adored that about you. He was used to everyone seeing him as a freak or as that weird guy you better stay away from. Even when people got to know him some according to judging him, but you weren’t like that. From the first moment you accepted him even with his strange sense of humor and his fucked up moral compass, even when he confessed to you (or you discovered, rather) that he was Vigilante you continued to support him. Hell, even the nickname that always melted him had been born from his alter ego. Every time he heard you say it when he wasn't wearing his suit it was a nice reminder that he wasn't living two lives or anything like that, but that he was a combination of both parts and that there was at least one person on the planet who appreciated him being just the way he was.

"How long is the trip?" he asked curiously. The truth was that you hadn't been on a train for many years, but you calculated that it would be between one and two hours and he seemed satisfied with the answer. Your phone was forgotten somewhere in your bag and you didn't even plan to call home to explain where you were going. That day was only yours and his.

When you reached your destination and walked out of the station, Adrian was in awe. There were a lot of people on the street, much more than you see on Evergreen's busiest days, and all the buildings looked very nice.

"Are we in London?"

"Bingo! Give the boy an award,” you said with a smile. It made you excited to be there again, it reminded you of that time in your youth when you were happier than you thought and now you were back as an adult with one of your favorite people. You took his arm firmly and pulled him through the crowd, in a direction unknown to him.

Adrian kept breaking into the shops and you didn't complain, because you liked to see the smile on his face. When he finally got fed up checking out literally every single establishment, you led him a couple of blocks until you reached the stop for the sightseeing buses and boarded one of them.

"These buses run through the main attractions of London" you explained, while both of you were shoulder to shoulder on the second floor of the vehicle "We can take several if you want to stop to see something special"

"Where you want to take me is fine" he exclaimed with emotion. He wasn’t very used to traveling, but he had that adventurous spirit as always "Do you think they sell good knives here?" he asked almost immediately, his voice barely a whisper "The ones I have at home are already a bit worn out" he confessed, but you just laughed.

The truth was that even when you lived in the UK you hadn't seen so many parts of London and it was great to visit them with the boy's company. You didn’t go up to many attractions because of his decision, because when he saw the queue to enter the London eye he almost fainted.

“By the time the line ends we will have traveled the whole damn country on the bus” he complained, but you were slightly happy that he had said that, since queues weren't your thing either.

But at least you were happy that you could enjoy some other places where there was less line and you even managed to see a store full of board games in which you stopped by the insistence of Adrian, who was a lover of these.

"Hey! They have many nice cards, we could take a couple to teach the team how to play” he smiled at you, holding a small box of pick your poison in his hands. When you were about to answer him something he put the box down in his place abruptly and opened his mouth to the floor "No fucking way" he whispered, looking at a shelf in front of you.

When you saw what games were about, you smiled with anticipation. It was the ledge of dungeons and dragons.

"Looks like someone found the love of his life..."

“They have all kinds of dice! And they have figures and they have manuals and look!” he exclaimed, showing you a special box "This model is a collector's item, there are very few in stock because it was discontinued..." he started to say and then told you a super long story of the reasons why the company had decided not to produce that model specific. When you left the store, you were wearing a small version of the game and Adrian was like a child that you had bought candy for. You, too, had bought a couple (cluedo, scrabble, and the cards he had showed you in the beginning) while getting ready to catch the bus again.

When you got to your next destination, Big Ben, the reaction he had was completely hilarious.

"And what is he supposed to do?"

"Who?"

"That tower, why is it an attraction?"

"Well... I don't know, because it gives the time?" you answered confused, shrugging your shoulders.

"And only that?" he asked slightly disappointed, looking with a cocked head at the tower. You asked him between laughs what he was waiting for "I don't know, maybe that it had lights or a super conspiracy story or that at least it had a less shit color" he replied shrugging his shoulders.

“Did you want him to shoot laser beams at random?”

"Yes! Something like that would have been nice” he answered, clearly not understanding your sarcasm. You smiled and licked at the ice cream in your hand, while he continued to watch the tower as if he expected you to do something else. "You sure there isn't some crazy alien story?"

“We're not in the US, dude” you laughed, nudging him lightly “But at least you can have a picture. Everyone takes one,” you said and walked away a bit to take out your phone and take perhaps the millionth photo of the day. Well, I'm exaggerating, but the truth was that you had taken hundreds of photos of each place you went, some next to Adrian and others where he was only. There were even some that you had taken from him while he was distracted, which were always your favorites.

Even after the disappointment he had experienced, he smiled broadly and raised his middle finger towards the camera, making you laugh. Then you took another pair without obscene signs in between and thought about sending one to the chat of ‘The 11th Street kids’

Lil boy in the big ben<3, you wrote.

In the photo Adrian was grinning from ear to ear at the prank you pulled on him a second before and you took a moment to appreciate how beautiful he looked.

"Now where will we go?" he murmured next to you, glancing at your phone, “Did you send them? What do they say?" he asked you curiously. The first to write was Chris, who only sent a couple of approving emojis and then Leota replied: Have fun lovebirds, followed by hearts.

"Idiot," you said between your teeth, but with a clear smile on your face. Adrian even noticed the blush on your cheeks, but he decided not to say anything, just walking to catch another bus to your next destination.

It was no secret that you were a huge Sherlock Holmes fan, so when you got to Baker Street Adrian practically had to catch you before you fell. The last time you'd visited the museum it had barely half the stuff it had now and after seeing it all you made sure to buy a couple of things from the gift shop for Adrian as well as one of Sherlock's signature hats to wear yourself.

"I think your love for this guy is directly related to you being British," he observed, while in one arm he was carrying a paper bag with all the things, and in the other, he had your hand holding it. It had been a while since you entered the store, but he seemed to be thinking about it ever since you left. "He's like the UK Superman," he continued, and you smiled, leaning into him a bit more.

“But Superman is real”

"And Sherlock Holmes isn't?!" he asked you with a frown, completely dumbfounded, while you laughed out loud.

It was already past noon and on the way you looked for a place to eat, which ended up being a simple street food stall that you found somewhere. As long as it was edible, it was enough for you.

You traveled a bit more by bus and when you stopped you guided him through some streets until you arrived at a special place.

“I have another surprise for you” you exclaimed smiling. The establishment seemed to be something like a pastry shop, so Adrian looked at you doubtfully from under that deerstalker you had on your head "Since you liked that pumpkin cheesecake so much, I wanted to bring you here to try a really good one" you confessed.

You freaked out for a moment because he didn't say anything and was just looking at you like you just confessed to him that you killed someone. As a normal person would have reacted to that because, after all, it was him you were talking about.

“So… we came here just for that?” he asked softly. He seemed incredulous.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, we only came here for this pastry shop," he insisted. You looked at him blankly and nodded.

“Well, initially we took the train for that, but I thought that if we were already here, we shouldn't waste the trip” you explained “Why? You don’t like it?"

“So... it wasn't like you had this planned”

“Adrian, I am not understanding you. What do you mean by all this?”

"Did we only come because I said I liked that stupid cake?" he murmured and you finally understood the meaning of his questions.

It was no secret that Adrian used to look down on himself and even though he could kill an entire horde of people without hesitation he was pretty insecure in other ways.

Sometimes your heart sinks in situations like this. You had often prioritized his desires over everyone else's and he would never get used to this sudden attention in his life. And well, sudden is just saying, because years had passed since it had started.

He was used to living in the shadows of others, as was the case with his brother Gut and later with Chris, and although he didn't entirely bother him, sometimes he was aware of it. But with you things were different. He really felt loved and appreciated, but above all, he felt valued.

And he knew that you knew about this. He knew you knew his weak points and his fears, but the more you knew about him, the calmer he felt around you.

"Pretty, if after so much time together you find it impossible to believe that I did something thinking entirely of you or your happiness then I think you're more stupid than I thought or I'm not a good friend" you replied, with a smile, looking him straight in the eye. The boy's eyes shone behind his glasses and his hair fluttered in the air that hit him, while his lips looked pink on that pale skin he had.

The clouds in the sky were dark gray, but you hadn't even noticed it because your entire day had been filled with the bright yellow hue that surrounded you when you were with him.

“I'm probably stupid” he laughed “You would never be a bad friend, even if you try"

"The other day you yelled at me that I was the worst friend in the world and you followed me with a knife because I ate a chocolate that you had left in the refrigerator" you reminded him, raising both of your eyebrows. You heard him laugh out loud.

“I was just playing”

“Say that to the ankle I sprained running away from you” you snorted. He wrapped you in his arms and placed a rough kiss against the top of your head, making you laugh.

"Be honest. Could you ever hate me, Y/N?"

You looked at him, happily, and gently shook your head.

"Unfortunately, not. Even if I try"

By the end of the day, it was raining. And it wasn't just a drizzle, it was a real rain of those in which it seems that the sky will fall at any moment. Luckily, you'd had time to put the things you'd bought (and your personal belongings) safely inside a huge black plastic bag so it was just you and Adrian running hand in hand through the streets of London.

Why do we run from the rain? Has anyone ever really arrived at their destination completely dry from running to it? You didn't know and you didn't care, because Adrian and you didn't do it to avoid getting soaked, but because it really amused you.

You were laughing like a couple of high school kids who had skipped class and you were trying your hardest not to bump into someone or get hit by a car. After a few streets, you finally came to a house that had a covered space, where you got into. The gap was small for just one of you, so you had to do your best to get in. Among it was Adrian placing his hands behind your back and you placing your hands on his chest just inches from you.

"We're soaking wet," he said like it was the find of the century. You were panting, trying to catch the breath you'd lost during the streets you'd sped through, but that didn't stop you from bursting out laughing.

“Yes, I think I managed to notice it”

"What are we going to do?"

"The train station is too far away unless you want us to catch pneumonia on the way," you replied. You bit your lip lightly, waiting for something to come to mind after thinking about it for a few seconds until you came to the only logical and possible solution you had “There must be a hotel near here. It would be best if we stayed here.”

"And the money?"

“Oh sure, it is preferable that we die of pneumonia instead of spending a few extra euros”

"I wouldn't prefer that"

“Neither do I, asshole. I'm being sarcastic” you said and then other laughter filled the air. You were so close to each other that it was hard to move without feeling his skin against yours. The wet clothes didn't help, it just made you feel like the layer of clothing between you was almost non-existent.

You had seen that man countless times, but every time you paid attention to him you discovered a new detail. Perhaps a small freckle (of which he was plagued on his back and chest, you had seen it several times) or perhaps a new golden line in the green of his eyes. A new scar, a spot you hadn't seen, or even one of the many wrinkles that already graced his face from how much he frowned.

He was so cute, and his hair fell over his forehead, tempting you to reach out your hand to accommodate it. Adrian felt you move against him a bit more to push those strands aside and you heard him gasp, which made you look up violently.

"What are you doing?" you asked. You were close, so close that your breath could fog his glasses.

"Right now? Trying not to get a boner because of the way your body is against mine” he said with complete sincerity and you gasped in surprise. All thoughts of his beauty were interrupted by his laughter as he watched the blush spread across your cheeks.

"You're disgusting!"

“You can't blame me! We're closer than anyone you're not intending to fuck should be,” he murmured at you. It was true, but still, he kept his hand planted firmly against your lower back as if he refused to let you go.

“Well, in that case, we'll have to go out in the rain and run back because I'm not going to deal with your hard cock against my thigh. We don't have that level of trust yet” you informed seriously and you saw him stifle a laugh. He went out first and then you, taking his hand back to run as many streets as it took to find a decent hotel.

Leaving aside the awkward accident of Adrian being completely hormonal, you were still in high spirits when you entered the building, leaving a trail of water in your wake. You spoke to the receptionist and he told you (quite sadly) that he only had a couple of rooms available and unfortunately, they were rooms with double beds, meaning both of you could sleep there, but you would have to sleep on the same mattress. Your options were between staying there and taking that room or continuing to run down the street hoping there was another hotel with a suitable room. And the truth was that the last thing you cared about at that moment was sharing a bed with him, so you took it without thinking. You also rented a pair of pajamas at the reception, since the idea of ​​sleeping in your underwear or completely naked wasn’t very attractive. Well, it was attractive but not convenient.

“We have to take a hot shower or we're going to catch a cold”

"We?"

"You and me. Individually, idiot” you clarified, seeing him laugh. You took a phone out of the plastic bag and plugged it in to turn it on again. When he did, you noticed that you had a lot of missed calls and messages.

"Do you want to go first?"

"You do it. I have to answer something” you informed him. Once he got into the bathroom you took off your clothes and put on the bathrobe that was hanging, while pressing the call icon next to your mother's number "Hello?"

“Finally you answer! Where the hell was you?! You had us so worried!”

"Mom, calm down" you started to say. You knew that was coming, but you honestly didn't feel like dealing with it “I'm in London...”

“In London?!”

“Listen to me first. I asked Adrian to come with me for the menu tasting and once we were done, I thought it would be a good idea to come here so he could get to know the city. But it got late and now it is raining and we will stay in a hotel to leave tomorrow on the first train of the day”

"You must have called us, we thought something had happened to you, you weren't answering your phone"

"My phone ran out of battery, I'm sorry" you tried to apologize. Perhaps you had done wrong, but after all your father had seen you leave in the morning and you thought that would be enough. The soft sound of water falling through the shower was filling the environment and you concentrated on it while silence settled between you and your mother.

“I don't think it's a good idea for you to stay there. If you want, your father and I can go for you" there was a short silence "You're going to look very bad"

“Bad, mother? What do you mean? you said through the device, already frowning.

“You are going to sleep in a hotel alone with a man who is not your fiancé a few days before your wedding” she began to say. You overheard your father trying to stop her from talking, but she refused "It can lead to misinterpretation and misunderstanding"

"We got stuck in the rain, mom, there's nothing wrong with it"

“Perhaps not for you, but think about Gordon for a moment, how would you feel if he ran away alone with a woman?”

“Let's see, to begin with, I didn't run away with anyone. And second, I think I wouldn't mind at all because within these short weeks my heart hasn't been able to develop a strong enough bond with him to feel any kind of jealousy and I don't think his has either."

"You can't know"

“And neither do you,” you said. Your head ached and you rubbed the bridge of your nose to try to calm down. “You know what? We'll see you tomorrow, today was a very tiring day and I'm not in the mood. If I need anything, I'll send you a message."

"You're making a mistake," she murmured out of the blue. You looked even more confused.

"What?"

"That boy. You are making a mistake with him” she exclaimed. You heard a sigh and then she continued “Child, I know that sometimes we think that a person is the one, but I assure you that he is not. I have seen him during these weeks and he is a very… peculiar person, to say the least. I know he works as a busboy and I don't know what you think, but I think that's not a job you can live with well. Besides, he has no class, no education, and no promising future; Gordon is a better match for you in many ways, my love.”

"We're definitely not going to have this conversation," you exclaimed. To say that you were upset was an understatement, you were angry “Why does it seem like everyone suddenly feels entitled to an opinion about my relationships or my life? And honestly, of all people I think you are the least suitable for that”

"What are you insinuating?"

"You left me alone for years mom!" you answered, raising your voice “You hated me for going to the United States, for not staying here to become your rag doll that you could manipulate. I never got a call, never got a text, never even bothered to know if I didn't live under a fucking bridge. My dad was the only one who really cared about me and I haven't seen him question my decisions."

"That's the problem, you can't stand it when someone contradicts you"

"I can't stand that someone feels entitled to talk shit about the only person I've supported and loved for all these years just because your thoughts stayed in the last century and you think that because you married a man whose father was a millionaire you have the privilege of looking down on everyone who earns an honest living” you continued. By this point, your eyes had already begun to sting. “You really can't let me have a happy fucking day? I made this trip and I am doing all this just so that you don't end up in jail for the debts you have and that you will not be able to pay because you have never known the meaning of the word work in your life. I'm happy like this, my life is happy when I'm with my friends and when I'm away from your stupid claims, but that doesn't matter to you at all. So I don't care what you say, I'm going to stay here, I'm going to eat a delicious and expensive dinner that I'm going to pay for with my own money and I'm going to come back tomorrow at any time I want so I can continue planning this crappy wedding” you didn't even wait for her to answer but hung up right away. It had been such a wonderful day and now you felt worse than shit because of it.

With the back of your hand, you wiped away the tears that had accumulated and turned in the direction of the bathroom door, from which Adrian was already watching you.

"I didn't mean to hear," he clarified, quietly. He looked embarrassed and you felt bad for imagining how much what you had said could have affected him. By God, you felt horrible.

“Forgive me…” was all you managed to say, before covering your eyes with a hand and shrinking slightly. Adrian never, and I repeat, never reached out to comfort a person when he saw them cry.

But you weren't just any person.

“Hey, it's okay. We're fine” he murmured to try to reassure you. The truth was that he didn't care what your mother or anyone else thought of him, what he did care about was seeing you look bad because of the opinion of those people and, therefore, because of him "Do you need anything?"

"Just hold me," you ordered, your voice muffled by the cotton cloth that covered his body, and he obeyed. He held you gently but firmly, as he always did, while you tried to focus on the sound of his heart beating "Today was a great day" you started to say, after long silence "And... I don't know, I felt that for a moment I could forget about all this”

"Y/N, you don't have to get married if you don't want to," he said firmly. You walked away from him and looked at him with a bitter smile.

“Yes, I have to” you whispered.

As you looked at each other, you thought that you could lose your whole life in the emerald color of his eyes and you would be more than grateful. But you also thought that there was another option on your side.

The idea had always been there, but you had been too stupid to notice it. That morning when the woman called you a couple. In Leota's message, her when she made fun of you. Damn, your mother had been thinking that you had a crush on the man in front of you and now she was afraid that it would ruin her plans. Everyone had thought that you had a romantic love towards him, except you. And you just now realized.

He had to say a word, just one, and you would agree to stay by his side.

But he didn’t.

"Don't let this ruin your day," he exclaimed gently, brushing aside a strand of hair that had clung to the side of your face, "Go take a shower, I'll get something to eat and when you come back, we'll either watch TV or just sleep or do whatever you want” he carefully ran his fingers through the space between your eyebrows, to erase the lines that had formed there “Just relax, forget everything that is happening. Imagine that we are on a mission and that tomorrow we will come home and that I will invite you to have dinner at Fennel Fields that horrible dish that you like so much, okay? he murmured. There would be no more homecoming, no more dinners at Fennel Fields, no more missions.

But you decided to listen to him and imagine that all that wasn’t about to change.

You took a shower for a long time and when you came out, he had already got dinner as he had promised. The water seemed to wash away all your worries because when you sat on the bed with him it didn't take long for you to smile widely. Or maybe it was just his company that was responsible for making everything seem less horrible.

"How come those palace guards keep from laughing?" Adrian asked at some point and then you started a long discussion about the possible preparation they could take, saying nonsense like you always used to.

The night had already progressed and when you least expected it you had already turned off the light in the room and had gotten under the huge quilts that you had taken from the closet.

"Are you comfortable?" you asked. It wasn’t necessary to speak more than a whisper to be heard.

"Yes. Everything is fine” he replied in the same way. He no longer wore his glasses, but instead they rested on the shelf next to him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine" you murmured. You knew that it wasn’t a permanent state, but you were sincere when you said that at that moment you were more than fine. It was just him and you.

"You know?" he exclaimed softly, to get your attention "The bed is warmer when you are with me" he confessed to you. There was no mockery in his voice, he really did sound sincere and it made your heart sink a little.

Did he really feel that way around you? Because you felt that way too. You had slept alone for so long that you had forgotten what it felt like to have extra weight and warmth under the covers.

He was so beautiful, with his hair still damp and his sleepy eyes and sweet words from him and his fucking inviting lips curved in a smile.

And for a moment, you wanted to imagine that you were on a mission and that when you returned home you could finally talk to him about those feelings that still had no name but that floated between you every time you were together. You knew it from his gestures, from the way he looked at you, from the way he touched you, from the simple fact that he thought you brought warmth to his bed.

You felt a pit in your stomach at the thought of how much he could have meant that and how you had never realized it. You looked back for a second and thought about the other day, with Gordon and the restaurant. It hadn't felt anything like that, on the contrary, a rather strange discomfort had grown in you. But with him it was different, he was your escape from the real world and at the same time the anchor that kept you in it. He meant so many things to you.

Trying to think of something else, you leaned into him and placed a soft kiss on his forehead that took him by surprise. This action only brought you a little closer to him.

“Today was the best day in many years” you confessed. You wanted him to know how happy he made you, how wonderful everything had been because of him "Thank you, Vi, I love you"

Your thoughts were overwhelmed by his sweet smile at your words and the tender blush that had already flooded his face.

"You're so cheesy, pumpkin" he laughed "But still, I love you too"

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#adrian chase x reader #vigilante #adrian chase gif #peacemaker #hbo peacemaker #dc comics #vigilante fluff #adrian chase fluff #vigilante fanfic #vigilante x reader #romantic comedy #mission steal the bride

[shirophantomvox]

Analyzing Illumi Zoldyck's Character

Chrollo Analysis | Hisoka Analysis | Killua Analysis

What’s up y’all! Sorry for being away for the last few days. I needed a break from social media because I am so tired of seeing toxic, self-righteous people on my TL. Anyway, quite a lot of you liked my posts about analyzing HxH characters and somehow comparing them to VLD characters. Today, I’ll be talking about Illumi Zoldyck and I’ll try to compare him to a Voltron character. I know many people have already analyzed this character before, but it wouldn’t hurt to add to the discussion some years later. If you want me to write about anything else, send me an ask! The formatting of this post may be different than the one I wrote about Hisoka Morrow (click his name to view that post).

HERE WE GO!

In the first season, all of the characters are contestants for the Hunter’s Exam. I say contestants because this is a contest to see who can win without any injuries and can keep up with each host. I forget what number stage they were at, but I do know they were at the stage where each opponent has to fight each other. They are declared the winner if their opponent forfeits or gives up mid-match. (Off-topic, but) I am going, to be honest; Gon was my favorite character but his flaws began to show, annoyed me, and later led to his horrific downfall (based from YouTube clips). He didn’t know when to stop and kept pushing himself over the limit. Anyway, Killua and Gittarackur are set to fight. This is when things take a turn for the worse.

Gittarackur is a form of a disguise for Illumi to mask his identity. His face is long; nearly (and reminds me of) in the shape of a Tiki. His face also reminds me of the Witch Doctor mask from Scooby-Doo and Hell-raiser. He has several pins stuck in his face to maintain the facial features of Gittarackur. On the flip side, if he removes the pins, his biological form is revealed. Once he does this, Killua is nearly paralyzed; he cannot believe his eyes and I’m sure the trauma he endured at home hit him like a sack of rocks. Illumi then tells Killua that he wants him to return home, that he cannot maintain a friendship with Gon, stated that he was going to kill Gon, but realizes that if he does so he will be disqualified and will not obtain his Hunter’s license.

I’m assuming the cops aren’t a thing in this reality and the only way for them to “destroy” under the law is by obtaining the license. What do you think? I rarely see police officers; all I see are the Mafia and every they suck compared to the Zoldyck's and the Phantom Troupe. Shit, it seems like they’re the police but have twisted motives.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a fictional character or not, first impressions matter and he bombed this one...even for a villain.

But you did this for what?

How can you hypnotize (by using Nen) your own brother into killing another opponent because he doesn’t want to become an emotionless zombie like you? At least, that’s my perception. Telling your brother to run every time he faces an opponent that he knows he cannot win against is the sickest shit I’ve ever seen. I know I’m jumping around but another thought popped into my head. As the seasons go on, Illumi expresses an odd way of loving his younger brother and to him, that means to make him suffer in the same way he had to. It seems like Illumi is jealous of Gon in a way. (I’ve seen clips on YouTube) Killua takes Alluka to the hospital to heal Gon. Illumi has stated several times to Hisoka that Killua was hiding rules from him and that he still wanted to get rid of Alluka. Although it is clearly stated why he wanted Alluka gone, I still think that Illumi was jealous of Gon simply because his younger brother preferred to be with a friend instead of him. This is why he emphasizes “You cannot have friends. Either they will betray you or you’ll betray them.”

As I read and watched as the seasons went on, I noticed something about Illumi and his family. We all know that the children were raised by their parents. Specifically, their dad is a trained assassin. I can’t remember but I think Zeno is their grandfather who is also an assassin.

I view him as a character that has suffered from abuse and trauma in order to mold him into an assassin. He is emotionless, doesn’t really care for others, has an odd relationship with Killua that he doesn’t have for his other siblings, and is a hypocrite. Killua can’t be friends with Gon but every time the show cuts to him, he’s with Hisoka? Something is fishy there. Are they more than friends? OK, thanks for coming to my Ted Talk. Here's the physical analysis below.

Face

When masquerading as Gittarackur, his face has several pins in them and his hair is in a rock star form of Mohawk that is purple. I’ll give him 10/10 for uniqueness, yet it still reminded me of Hell Raiser.

I’ve noticed that when he is in public he is in costume. Why doesn’t he reveal himself in public? I’ve researched this and no one could answer this question. My guess is that he is a verified hunter and assassin. How can you carry out your missions if everyone knows what you look like? Without the pins in his face, it reverts back to his natural state. To me, his large eyes and long, shiny black hair are his distinguished features. Although he may be my least favorite character, he does have pretty eyes. Haven’t you all heard of “I got lost in his/her eyes”?

Yeah, that can be said about him. Most definitely. He rarely smiles and when he does, something BAD is going to happen. I saw him laugh crazily once Alluka began the healing process, the Nen (I guess) rose from the hospital and got on him. This scene reminds me of how Haggar reacted once the Komar’s quintessence bounced from Voltron and bounced onto her. Wow, these supernatural abilities make y’all feel that good?

Clothes

Gittarackur and Illumi wear the same clothes, which should be a clear giveaway that they are the same. Illumi wears a neural green short jacket that has yellow pins in them, a light green shirt underneath, and green pants. His shoes remind me of loafers with a heel on them, something my grandmother would wear.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say again, these bad-ass men in this show are very stylish and seem to be in shape more than I am. Although Illumi irks me, his fashion is great and this is why people prefer him to be their favorite character. Shows should always produce characters that are memorable; that is the key to a long-lasting fan base.

In conclusion, this anime (for the most part) has well-rounded characters that make the plot interesting and wanting more.

Illumi and Lotor are somewhat similar. They both grew up in abusive households and lost some sense of sensitivity, common sense, and were often “misguided” by their own selfishness. Illumi wants a better life for Killua by constantly brainwashing him into thinking that he cannot have friends and his can only find happiness through killing. Zarkon raises Lotor to be a prince that shouldn't work with planets and should destroy them. This explains why he used deceased Alteans from the colony, drained their quintessence, and didn't give them a proper burial. Lotor IS just like his father but Killua IS NOT like Illumi. Ironic, huh? As we all know by now, Lotor is the son of Honerva (Haggar) and Zarkon. After the rift accident, he became an emotionless, ruthless monster that colonized and destroyed planets just to gain their quintessence. He taught this to his son and once he was old enough to think for himself, he refused to act in such a way. Although he was exiled and said he wasn’t like Zarkon, he was; but worse. Lotor studied and gained knowledge about Altea and its people while using Allura to gain the secrets of Oriande. I say he used her because he knew from the moment he met her that he was harvesting Altean quintessence. While fighting the white lion, he yelled “Victory or Death” which is a common catchphrase the Galra use when they are in battle. In fact, the Galra have been victims of trauma from Zarkon. Zarkon’s ruthless ways of ruling had no other motive except for obtaining quintessence so he could live forever. Silva’s way of raising his children was done to mold them into assassins. Since he was taught this way he did the same thing to his children. Zarkon, Silva, and Zeno think that their ways of parenting are necessary for survive in life when it doesn’t have to be that way. Illumi and Lotor have experienced this horrific parenting and deal with it in different ways. Illumi is oddly obsessive of his younger brother and Lotor is a fucking liar.

This analysis was fun! Next, I’ll be analyzing Killua and Keith Kogane.

If you’d like to see more posts like this, send me an ASK!

#illumi x you #illumi x reader #illumi zoldyck #silva zoldyck #yandere zoldyck #milluki zoldyck #alluka zoldyck #kirua zoldyck #killua zoldyck #zoldyck family #hunter x hunter #shiro phantom vox writes #hunter x hunter thoughts #lotor voltron #vld lotor #prince lotor #emperor lotor #voltron legendary defender #voltron netflix #hunter x voltron #hunter x voltron crossover #gon freecss #hisoka #hisoka morrow #hunter exam #silva #zeno zoldyck #zarkon #zarkon voltron #haggar voltron

[thanatophobia-thoughts]

What’s the first death in media that you were exposed to, that you can remember?

Mufasa is the first one that comes to mind for me, but easily on the heels of that is Kocoum from Pocahontas. I already had an understanding of what death was, because of my great-grandfather.

How we portray death in media is important, and I think in a way, that’s why Mufasa stands out among so many others I may or may not have seen. It meant something.

Then there’s shows like Squid Game or Hellbound, which have numerous deaths as just par for the course. Very few, if any, mean anything. The lives mean very little, and the deaths are used for shock and horror – and perhaps, because we get used to it – to remind us how normal it is, and how quickly we accept it.

I said today we’re talking about Death in Media, so I want you to reflect on the top three deaths that have influenced you, and your understanding of death – negative or positive. Then I want you to reflect on how this could be improved. What we consume is, after all, so much of who we become, and most importantly, who our society becomes.

I don’t think it’s really surprising why Saw and Squid Games were popular, given the society we live in.

As for mine:

1.      Mufasa of Lion King (movie)

2.      Aerith of Final Fantasy VII (video game)

3.      John Coffey of The Green Mile (movie)

That’s not to say there aren’t others – Stephen Simmons of The War, Nick Andros of The Stand, Sirius of Harry Potter, Master Yoda and Qui-Gon Jinn of Star Wars, and plenty of others, but when I reflect, it’s these three that stand out in my mind.

Mufasa will always have a place of honor. It’s the first one I remember. It’s when I was told that all those who died became stars, and hey look – the movie confirms it! Of course, I know better now – they’re just balls of gas. I think at a young age, I still internalized the “they’re always with you”, in a way, though. I’ve matured that thought to match my adult understanding better, as I know they are not literally with me, so much as they come forward.

Aerith of FFVII, I knew before it happened. I still spent countless hours trying to bring her back, using endless cheats, like naming her “Easy”, and other stupid things, in the vain hope I could restore her. Because this was a video game. And everyone comes back in a video game. I suppose, Aerith, and the many attempts to bring her back, was my first exploration of “death denial”, even though the game makes it clear precisely why Aerith has to die at the end. Because Holy wasn’t enough – but the power of nature, of the planet, was able to save itself. All the lives that died, saved the planet for the living. It was a story about Nature, from the start, as the terrorists are Eco-Terrorists. It was a story about really saving the planet. And for that to happen, people do, in fact, have to die. But I restored her in fanfics. I tried to restore her in the game. She was my favorite. I suppose it says something, too, that I related to her so much and fell into such death denial back then.

Then, John Coffey. My dad was a huge King fan. And so am I. We would watch Shawshank Redemption and Green Mile often, to the point of beating a dead horse, really, but I loved it. And I loved John Coffey. I related to him like Aerith – another healer, another man out to fix the world, just on a much smaller scale, a much more personal scale, and he gets executed for trying to help. For being black, dumb, and in the wrong place at the wrong time. I suppose, this was my introduction to the cruelty and unfairness of life. Aerith’s death was present as an event by someone trying to destroy the world – reasonable, narratively. Coffey’s death was always unreasonable. The cruelty, always unreasonable. There was no justice, there was no understanding, he was just dead. And that’s how it is, isn’t it? A harsh wake-up call. But I’d watch it, again and again, because I liked Coffey. I liked the mouse. I liked everything, until he died.

And then he’s just…gone. I think that, too, was my introduction to the Nothing of death. Because Mufasa persisted, and so does Aerith. But Coffey? He’s gone. Sure, there’s talk of an afterlife, Christianity dominates, but…John’s not coming down to deliver messages from heaven after he’s dead.

I think these three do highlight much of what I’ve brought forward, the good, and the bad.

Death Denial’s there. The INJUSTICE and ANGER of it – dying too young, dying too soon, dying at all. That’s there.

There’s also that understanding of its naturalness woven in, even though all these characters died unnatural deaths.

And that’s where I think there should be more improvements: we don’t see many natural deaths.

Moana is one I can think of that may qualify, her grandmother was old, likely ill, and passed on. Only it didn’t feel too expected.

I’d like to see a long, drawn out illness more often. Or at least the implications of one, if this is something done at the start of a film/first half of a film.

Perhaps it’s out there, and just not in the media I consume as much. If so, I’d definitely like some tips of things to watch, because literally only Moana comes to mind right now.

#death anxiety #death anxiety talk #death in media #the green mile #ffvii #final fantasy 7 #ff7 #final fantasy vii #the lion king #aerith #john coffey #mufasa #thanatophobia

[mariecuttlefish]

New You (2k words, trans girl Marie)

Since it’s Marie’s day, here’s an old piece I wrote back in 2019! For all of the trans Marie fans out there. 💚

External links: [Google Docs], [AO3]

Warnings: None. Appropriate for all ages.

Description: Callie and Marie are preparing for their first performance together as the Squid Sisters, and Marie is nervous from more than just stage fright; it's also her first time coming out to the world as Marie.

-----

"I'm really nervous, Callie."

Marie stared at her reflection in the mirror and adjusted the little ring-shaped hat clipped to the side of her head for the dozenth time. Was her mantle too messy? She quickly ran a brush through to try and smooth the ink out again – it was almost lucky her tentacles were as short as they were, or else she probably would have wrung them dry by now with how anxious she was.

Her cousin stood beside her playing with an anemone doll that she'd brought along, somehow relaxed and upbeat in spite of all Marie's worrying. The two were getting ready for their first public performance together as singers, and Callie had spent the past half-hour helping her keep her cool as the big moment got closer and closer. Marie couldn't understand how she wasn't also losing her cool, but then, it had been Callie's idea to sign up for the Inkopolis Youth Folk-Singing Contest in the first place.

"You're gonna do great, Marie!" Callie insisted. "Look, Miss Zoantha says so, too!" She scooted her doll across the table in front of them and began cheering, in a voice that sounded nothing like the cartoon character she was imitating, "Go Marie! Marie is super cool! She's the best cousin on the whole planet!"

Marie couldn't help but crack a smile, both at her cousin's goofiness and at hearing the name she'd chosen for herself used so readily. "Zoantha doesn't even have a cousin," she said, fidgeting with the sleeve of her yukata. She looked back up at the face in the mirror – at the young girl in front of her with her eyebrows trimmed down, her mantle styled to be as feminine as such short tentacles would allow, her mask decorated with fake lashes just like her cousin's. "Um… hey, Cal?"

Callie stopped parading the doll around and looked up; she knew the sound of unshakeable worry in Marie's voice. "What's up, Marie?"

"What if they don't think I'm a girl?" Marie asked. Her eyes were turned downward, her hands clasped nervously in her lap. Even more than the thought of singing in front of hundreds of people, this was the part of the contest that made her the most anxious: it was her first time being a girl around anyone other than Callie.

"They will!" Callie nodded confidently. "And they'll think you're a super pretty girl, 'cause that's what you are! Promise!" She leaned in to give Marie an awkward chair hug, and Marie returned it hesitantly.

"Do you really think I look pretty?" Marie hadn't been able to stop fiddling with every part of her look since the moment they'd been brought backstage to wait for their performance. She knew that the way she looked would be cute on another girl, but every little issue she noticed and struggled to fix made it a bit harder to be confident that it would look good on her.

"Uh, duh," Callie said, not missing a beat. "We're matching! I'm pretty, and you look like me but green, so that means you're pretty but green! It's like the transitive property like my big brother told me about. I think."

Marie giggled and pulled away from the embrace to look herself over again. It was true, they could almost pass for alternate versions of each other; if Marie had been born with the same near-black ink that Callie had instead of her own silvery-white tentacles, it probably wouldn't have been hard to convince people they were twin sisters. That was even the name they'd chosen to perform under, the Squid Sisters – "That way people will know for sure that we're both girls!" had been Callie's pitch.

Marie took a deep breath, counted to ten, and exhaled. "Okay," she said at last. "I think… I can do it. I think."

"That's the spirit!" Callie nudged her shoulder. "Hold on, lemme go get Gramps!" With no hesitation, she ran off, weaving through the crowd of other children and their parents all getting ready to perform, then disappearing out the door across the room. Their grandfather lived in Inkopolis, and he had been the one to bring them to the contest when both of the girls' parents were too busy to make the two-hour trip into the city. Callie had insisted on him waiting outside while they got ready, though, so that Marie wouldn't be any more anxious than she already was about presenting as a girl.

While she waited on Callie to return, Marie decided to try hyping herself up as much as she could. She locked eyes with her reflection, leaned in over the vanity table as much as she could, and put on a confident glare. "You can do this, Marie. You've got this. Just like Callie said." She spent several minutes there, repeating quiet self-affirmations to herself, until Callie ran back into the room shortly after, slowed down by the elderly man she pulled by the hand behind her.

"Gramps, Gramps, look! We styled our tentacles all by ourselves and everything!" Callie announced proudly as she reached Marie's chair, running up beside her and bouncing excitedly in place. Marie turned away from the mirror and hopped down from the seat to stand beside her cousin, much more timid in her demeanor. "What do you think? Do we look super fresh?"

Gramps chuckled at his granddaughter's enthusiasm, taking a moment to adjust the old sailor's cap he wore now that he'd gotten a chance to slow down. "You look very fresh, both of you. But uh…" He turned his gaze toward Marie, and she felt her chest tighten as he examined her appearance. "What's with the makeup on you, kiddo? Did your cousin rope you into letting her give you a makeover again?"

"I, um..." Marie felt the confidence boost she'd had moments before slipping away, and her mouth went dry as she tried to find the words she wanted. How could she explain that she wasn't a grandson anymore, but a granddaughter just like Callie? And would their grandfather be okay with it? Would he let her go on-stage looking the way she knew she wanted to?

Callie noticed her hesitation and stepped in front of her defensively, puffing her chest up as if in defiance of their only chaperone. "Her name is Marie and she's a girl and I did her makeup because she wanted to look pretty, and if you don't like it then I'll beat you up!" she proclaimed – just a bit too loudly, as Marie noticed some of the others in the room turn their attention to them and felt herself shrinking emotionally just a tiny bit more with each second they stared. Her anxiety wasn't always the biggest fan of her cousin's natural boisterousness.

There was a moment where neither side said anything, and the onlookers quickly lost interest and went back to their own concerns. Gramps doffed his hat and scratched the back of his head as he processed the new information. "I see… Do your parents know about this?" He looked past Callie to give Marie a quizzical look, fishing around for something in the pocket of his denim shorts.

"Um… n-no," she answered quietly. "Are you going to tell them?" She watched his hand; was he reaching for his cell phone? It was the knowledge that her parents wouldn't be able to attend the show that had given Marie the confidence to present feminine for once – she felt a pang of dread that they might find out anyway before she'd even gotten to perform.

"Hmm?" Gramps cocked his head to the side. "'Course not, kiddo. If you haven't told 'em yet yerself, it's not my business to do it for ya." From his pocket he pulled a small, beat-up notebook and pencil, opening the notebook to a particular page and scribbling something out. "Just gotta update my Squidmas shopping list. It wouldn't make much sense to buy a bunch of boy's clothes for my newest granddaughter, would it?"

Marie's eyes widened slowly. Still huddled behind her cousin, she beamed up at her grandfather, all the anxiety of coming out to him (or, rather, having Callie come out for her) being washed away by elation. Here was the first person to learn she was a girl other than Callie, and he had accepted her as readily as he'd accept learning that she had a new favorite color. He evidently noticed, as he reached down to ruffle her tentacles before giving her a big hug. "As long as my granddaughters are both happy, that's all that matters to me," he assured her.

Callie joined in – she took any opportunity she could get to hug people – but after a moment another thought seemed to strike her. "Heyyy, wait a minute," she started, looking up at Gramps. "Gramps, are you buying us clothesfor Squidmas again?"

The old man laughed. "Maybe not, maybe so. I don't want to make Father Squidmas angry by spoiling it, now do I?" Callie just pouted and crossed her arms; she'd been asking constantly for a seapony, and Gramps was the one holdout in the family who still hadn't given a definitive no to that request.

Her protests were stopped early by a tall, energetic inkling woman stepping into the backstage area. She had a clipboard in one hand and was going down a list written on it. "Let's see, let's see… next up is the Squid Sisters, from Calamari County! Squid Sisters, are you here?"

Callie quickly turned and jumped up to get the woman's attention, waving her hands excitedly. "Over here! We're the Squid Sisters!" She stopped bouncing, glanced back at Gramps behind her, then added, "This old guy isn't a Squid Sister, he's just our gramps." A few others in the room laughed at the comment, Gramps included.

"Well, come on over, Squid Sisters. You're performing right after the current group." The woman extended a hand as Callie approached with Marie close behind, and they both shook it politely. "My name is Miss Eventide, but you can call me Miss Tide. I love your yukatas, by the way!"

"Thanks!" Callie grinned.

"Thank you," Marie added, more bashfully.

Miss Eventide went over what to do when it was their turn to perform – wait until their names were announced, take the stage, introduce themselves, and then the music would start – and then rushed off to go help manage some other part of the show. Before the girls could leave for the sidestage to get ready, Gramps walked over to join them once again.

"You two do your best out there, alright?" He patted them both on the back, gesturing out toward where the stage was with his bamboo cane. "I'm gonna be right there in the audience cheering you two on. I know you'll do great."

"Yeah! We're gonna do awesome!" Callie cheered. "Especially you, Marie!"

Marie smiled and lifted her head. Nervous as she still was, she was beginning to feel more confident in herself – both in her ability to go out there and sing for an audience, and in her ability to be seen as a girl while she did it. Tonight wouldn't just be her first night as a singer; it would be her first night as Marie, and she knew that no matter what happened, she had the support of her cousin and her grandfather to back her up.

"We're both going to be great," she agreed, nodding her head. Gramps smiled and turned to leave and join the audience outside.

"That's the way to be," he said. "Break a fin out there, you two. And remember – stay fresh!"

"Stay fresh!" Callie and Marie both cheered back at him, and then both giggled at the catchphrase they had come up with together.

The girls headed through the door and into the sidestage, both of them with their heads held high. As her cousin smiled beside her, Marie could feel in her heart that things were going to go well for her. This was the start of the Squid Sisters, the start of a happier life, the start of Marie. It was her very own fresh start, and no matter how their performance went, nothing was going to take it from her.

#splatoon #marie #callie #cap'n cuttlefish #tidal writing #pepperpost #the backstory for this fic is that i wrote it in two hours while waiting for a flight #funny enough it seems to be my most popular splatoon writing so far

[robinrequiems]

mmm more clishes.... Idk reverse background or personality kind of au? :/

ill do you one better 1 of my favorite mutual, reverse & personality au, they’re the same age bc I have a tiny idea *shy hands*

this is uh. a really long one thay started to lag my phone too

• oh god guys I got vivid memories of ra’s being a good grandfather and I can’t get it out of my head

• i hate it ur honor

• but ok. krypton didn’t get blown up, instead, they all migrated to earth, more specifically kansas.

• the kryptonians are angry and enraged, they are treated as if they are monsters when they arrived peacefully. they tried to kill them.

• so in return, the aliens killed the humans.

• they created a secret underground. that secret underground is to help aliens or meta humans and kill humans.

• all of them hated aliens and sought to destroy them. until kal el found a reporter trying to help aliens who were injured due to an explosion the government did to take out one of their bases.

• kal el.. fell in love with her. lois lane, she is an reporter fighting for alien rights.

• he met with her. in secret. and they.. had formed a connection. an amazing one.

• and then they had a baby.

• at the alien base, but.. she was human and people did not like that. so they wiped her mind and made her believe that they never had a kid. like the last few months.. wasnt real. she had gone missing those months since the aliens didn’t want her trying to hide the baby, they made her believe the last few months was spent in a coma and kal had found her and taken her to a hospital.

• he couldn’t see her anymore. he mourned for her lost presence, but they would have killed her if she stayed.

• but now they had precious jon el. he would be the highlight of their cause.

• they noticed his powers came in faster than kal’s, so they perfected his powers.

• he was going to bring humanity down on order of his grandfather, jor el

• kal saw his son break slowly. loses that childhood innocence that kal tried to maintain.

• his sons amazing bright blue eyes dulling, loses the spark that he cherished.

• kal was going to get him out of there, try to refuge the remaining childhood he had. even if it killed him.

—

• damian wayne! the bright bubbly and prodigal son of bruce and talia wayne ( b & t are married, suck my— ). the press loved him, he was just.. him. he was the baby and was cute, the cutest ever

• he was an expert in martial arts due to the training his grandfather, father, mother, & so much more gave him

• ra’s owns a farm. he’s.. sorry all i get is farm ra’s vibes due to.. something:) think endgame thanos, yk?

• he was the baby robin, one that you never messed with due to the herd of heroes who would come save him

—

• kalel left jon with Lois, a brief note explaining the current situation

• it was weird, jon was ten and was meeting lois for the first time

“Hi, honey.. I’m lois.”

“I know.. Dad told me about you.”

“Oh.. right. What do you want for dinner?”

“I’m not hungry.”

“You have to eat.”

“No! I’m not hungry!”

• an explosive, superpower alien. Lois is way out of her head.

• he had outbursts, a lot of them. it was hard, really hard for Lois; she took some time off from the planet and focused on jon

• he broke a lot of stuff. he sometimes could not control his strength, but she was working with him

• but then one night he ran away, or flew away. he felt remorse for making Lois cry. she saw this as a win, but she lost her kid

• but then a little robin found him

“Um. Are you okay?”

“Huh-what- what do you want? Why are you talking to me?”

“Because you look sad? Yknow - hugs make people feel better. My ahki ( brother ) hugs me when I’m upset and it makes me feel better.”

“Don’t touch me.”

*Damian walked to him, smiling softly* “cmon, i won’t hurt you, silly. I’m robin.”

“A bird?”

“Haha- no, a vigilante- i sorta snuck out. My family can be a bit overbearing- and I sorta embarrassed myself at this theater thing.. some person—“

“Did I ask?”

“No.. sorry.”

“Hey— what are you doing - !”

“Hugging you.”

Jon won’t admit that he likes it, it’s different and weird, like this traffic cone in front of him. Jon pushed him off though, making himself stumble and fall on his ass.

“Ow..”

“Don’t touch me.” With rhat, Jon flew off into the night. Damian didn’t know who this boy was. But he intended on finding out. Even if it killed him. ( maybe not that extreme, but- )

• look damian was smart, right? smarter than average, and smarter than everyone in his school. teachers included ( ha ha )

• so he had to find this boy! so he started looking into aliens. until his family put an end to it

“Damian, this is dangerous.”

“But baba ( dad )”

“No. Go to your room.”

“Ugh!”

• he did slam his door shut if you were wondering

• he will find the mysterious alien boy, okay? he will!

• his brothers teased him and said he had a crush

• no he didn’t! the boy was really mean, he pushed damian- why would he do that? whatta jerk!

• but damian did find him again when he ventured off to metropolis to visit an old friend, colin.

“Alien boy!”

“That’s not my name, bird boy.”

“And that’s not mine. You didn’t tell me yours!”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“It’s safer for you.”

“I can defend myself. You sound so silly, please tell me your name?”

“No.”

“‘Least the first initial?”

“Fine. J.”

“J it is.”

“Yours?”

“Wha- what? I told you my code named.”

“It’s only fair.”

“.. Okay. D.”

“D. Okay.”

• damian talked to him for a bit before jon did fly off when damian was talking about the stars, damian knew he was getting closer to him

• but he got grounded. whoops. he wasn’t supposed to go out

“Give me your phone, Damian.”

“What if I go out? I need a phone, baba.”

“I.. Your computer”

“School work.”

“Switch.”

“What! No- but-!”

“Damian.”

• yeah damian was very mad, but what made him madder was that apparently, his family was listening to the secret conversations between J and him. but d didn’t know that yet..

• his family needed to track down J, they didn’t care if people were aliens, the JL had aliens.. but they had no idea who this boy was, and the way damian was looking into the underground alien sanctuary, that worried rhem. Damian was smart and cunning, but he is able to portray an innocent persona, they all had the habit of undermining his intellect, so if damian began looking into this, it was for a reason

—

• jon found that D rambled. A lot. Even when jon didn’t respond. Jon doesn’t even know how D always found where he was. It’s so weird.

• but Lois noticed a change in jon.. he was. calmer. she didn’t know how, but when he went out, he came back calmer.

“I have to go to Gotham for a gala hosted by Bruce Wayne, would you.. like to come?”

“Do you want me to?”

“I’d like you to, but you don’t have to.”

“.. Fine.”

—

• lois walked to bruce with Jon in tow.

• “bruce.” “Lois, looking lovely as always.. who is this?” “Jon, my son. Say hi, Jon.” “Hi..” “He can hang around one of my sons— Damian, if you want? I’m sure him and his friends would love to have Jon around.” “What do you say Jon? Would you like that?” “Not really..” “I assume you, Damian doesn’t bite. Not anymore. And he’s pretty accepting.” “.. Fine.”

• damian was called over by his father and he did a double take. J. Was here. In front of him. Damian just internally shrugged and held a hand out, “Hi! I’m Damian! Wanna go play with my friends! there’s a game room so we don’t have to be with the gross adults.. you can also just.. sit there. My friends are pretty.. Loud?” “Okay.”

• jon had to take his hand back from damian since damian began eagerly tugging him.

“Damian seems to be accepting him pretty easily.” “I hope they can be friends, Jon.. doesn’t have any. I have only recently got him from his.. father.” “Odd, does he go to school?” “No, not yet, I’m still trying to get him adjusted.” “Ah.. Damian goes to West-Reeves. Maybe he could go there?” “That private school? Bruce.. I cannot afford that- not all of us are millionaires.” “Mhm.. I could pay.” “I can’t let you do that.” “He could get a scholarship.” “In what?” “Academics or athletics.” “Ill.. Talk to him about it. “ “well, ms lane, I just go talk with potential partners, I’ll see you later.”

—

• j got accepted into west reeves under a athletic thingy.

• that was cool. they became best friends!

• sorta

• flashforward 5 years to 15, their dynamic only grew. Damian told Jon his identity, jon didn’t become a hero, but did learn how to stitch damian up because tje idiot showed up bleeding a lot.

• everything was going great

On the phone, Damian: J! J! Guess what’

J: you’re so loud, D, what?

D: I got the lead! In the play!

J: no fucking way?

D: way!

J: Good j—— *crash*

D: J-?

D: J- Jonathan?

D: oh no.

• the call was ended abruptly. Jon always finished his sentences. Something was wrong. Something was really wrong.

• so damian called Lois quickly and ran downstairs to the batcave, lois wasn’t picking up either, she normally always picked up or at least sent a text. She did neither

“Baba!”

“Damian? You should be asleep.”

“Something’s wrong! Somethings really wrong!”

“Jon and Lois- Jon- I heard a crash- and- and”

“Habibi.”

“Mama?”

“Breathe; tell me what’s wrong.”

“I was on a call with Jon.. I told him about the play since I wanted him to go and stuff. Then I heard a crash. And then the line went dead. I’m scared— what if something happened!”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions, what happened with Lois?”

“She didn’t pick up the phone— she normally does! Or she texts me and says she will call back!”

“Maybe she is asleep.”

“No! You need to believe me!”

“Damian, calm down, I do, we will go to see if they’re okay, you get back to bed.”

“No. I’m coming with.”

“No you arent.”

“But!”

“Listen to your father.”

• okay fine. He’ll listen, damian went back up to his room for half an hour before calling his friends to do a rescue mission. He had an extra suit in his room, he can do this.

• with his team, it consisted of shazam, abuse, nobody, and green lantern, himself too, of course.

• captain marvel picked him up once he was ready and they met up with the other 3.

Maya: you said he’s in trouble?

Dami: Yes.

Colin: than let’s go save him!

• they went and saved the bestie, nearly got killed too

• oh and now damians sorta probably grounded when batman shows up 🤡

J:You came for me..?

D:We all did.. why are you so surprised?

J: * wraps his arms around damian * thank you

D: i- yeah.. anytime. what’re friends for?

• friends. Jon liked that. Jon also liked the way Damian’s cheeks went red when jon hugged him

• jon knew he chuckled before Damian’s arms wrapped around him. hard. Damian was a hard hugger

• jon became a superhero at 16. Damian had even more of a reason to sneak into his window every night now! Lois had began thinking the two were dating

D: Us? Dating? Please! He is way too good for me!

J:

L: awwww, gosh, how haven’t you been swept off your feet yet?

J: he has, but he has rejected them all

D: what can I say? I’m a gay theater kid ( this is a /j i promise a big big joke ) so they gotta be dramatic enough to put up with me, AND they need to do something big and bold to actually catch my eye

L: *laughs* take notes, jon

J: mom!

• jon has gone to a few of Damian’s plays and to dress rehearsals

• he was also there to watch damian wreck a car during his drivers test

D: there was a fricking squirrel there, J!

J: are you sure? maybe you’re just a shitty driver?

D: you’re a shitty driver!

J: cmon don’t pout

D: ‘m not!

• he was pouting. oopsie. jon did get him ice cream after

• jon goes by abnormal, because he’s an alien and because I don’t have any other ideas

J: this girl asked me out

M: oh? who! tell us!

D: ..what?

J: yeah, in my physics class

T: ooh! get it, jonno

M: give us a name, coward!

J: her name is Charlotte— but she goes by charlie. she’s.. different. red head. pretty freckles—

M: pretty freckles? does Jonny have a crush?! Oh my gosh, our sons growing up, Tai!

T: im about to start sobbing

J: fuck offff— D?

D: huh?

J: you’re being quiet, you plotting??

D: uh. yeah! duh- *he nudged jons shoulder with his, forcing a grin* figuring out ways to embarrass you in front of your girlfriend.

J: sucha brat- * jon ended up putting Damian into a playfully chokehold *

• damian just played along. he just smiled and watched as jon began walking with her instead of their friend group

M: hey- kid- you alright?

D: I’m onto a year younger than you Maya.

M: tou didn’t answer the question

D: I’m fine, why wouldn’t I be? You’re silly.

• tai ended up pulling him aside

T: when are you going to tell him?

D: how am I supposed to when he basically has a girlfriend now?

T: are you just gonna sit there and pine all day??

D: yes, thank you for understanding

• he’s a stubborn little shit and will absolutely not confess, his best friend is happy, who is he to ruin that?

T: he’s totally jealous.

J: so- do you- do you think it’ll work? That he’ll be surprised?

T: totally

J: thank you for lending me your girlfriend, Maya

M: anytime- not literally- you aren’t having her again

• this was all a trick, sorry, d.. jon does like you

• ( hope you all saw that foreshadowing earlier :) )

• damian needed big and dramatic. jon was gonna do that. even if he was uh. sorta aloof and shy.

• he learned how to sing and play the guitar for Damian. maya and tai were gonna scatter flower petals onto the floor for Damian to follow ( they will tell him too too )

• the whole school will probably watch as Damian finally gets a big dramatic proposal

• damian will love it

M: just follow the petals!

D: I’m confused

M: trust us

• damian did and followed the petals and low and behold, jon kent with a guitar and small smile

D: j-jon?

J: hey. I wrote you a song

D: no you didn’t

J: shut up and listen dumbass

*after that amazing song of how Jon asked damian out to homecoming*

D: that was amazing

J: dramatic enough for you?

D: YES! ( damian went and sprinted to jon, hugging him so tightly before leaning in to kiss him ) we are boyfriends now right

J: yeah, idiot

D: ur the idiot

• I can’t add anymore because myphones really laggy, I hope you enjot

#cliche asks #jondami #damijon #personality swap #Damian wayne #Jon kent #background swap

[luna-helps-writing]

Any chance you could do a lotr/Hobbit match up for me please?

I'm 5'11 So on the taller end of the spectrum for a cis woman. I would like to say I'm curvy as I have been blessed with a decent sized chest and bum though I do have a bit of a tummy and dip hips. My hair is a mousey brown with with green dye at the tips which comes down to my lower back. My eyes are almost black in colour which is strange for my family.

I wouldn't necessarily class myself as strong, I can't do a pushups but people do turn to me to open jars and bottles over everyone else. I'm strong enough to restrain people which is the tactic I go to if I have to step into a fight. As my grandfather always said don't start a fight but always finish one. My true passions are history and animals I can talk about them endlessly and am full to the brim of random useless facts. I have some basic knowledge that might be useful on the quest. My sister is a 3rd generation medical practitioner so I do have some first aid knowledge that I've picked up growing up and I briefly worked in a vets and got to watch some operations so I think I could suture if I needed to. I've trekked through a rainforest so I also know some wilderness camping tips and tricks so if I ever got to partake in a quest I think I could manage. I also am a proficient swimmer and have training in lifeguarding and general water survival (always take your shoes and socks off while swimming!).

I do have some health issues which occasionally flare up and I feel like I'm one of the clumsiest people on the planet. I do care deeply about people and I desperately want everyone to like me or at least find me useful to keep around. I feel like I am most myself with my dog as there is no pressure to be anyone but me. As a result I do have people anxiety so crowded areas are a big no go for me. Despite the anxiety I am a bit of an adrenaline junkie having skydived, ziplined, hotcoal walked and I love theme parks. Rollercoasters are my happy place away from my pets. Oh and I love the theatre, you can catch me singing along to musicals in my spare time.

Sorry for rambling I hope you enjoyed the deep dive into me as a person.

Thank you for your request! And I don’t mind the rambling, really! It gives me a better idea of who to match you with, so thank you for that!

For the Hobbit, I ship you with Fili!

• He LOVES your hair. I cannot stress this enough? The dye, he loves it. He is absolutely amazed by it. Might want to do it himself too. He can play with it for hours without ever growing tired. He likes it in a ponytail, braid, bun or just loose. Anything really. He just loves the general look on you.

• Loves your whole attitude of “don’t start a fight, but finish one”. He might be a bit impulsive himself, so perhaps he’ll jump in too, even though he is aware of the fact that you can handle yourself. He just wants you to know that he’s there for you no matter what.

• Please, for the love of all good, teach him some survival hacks, because he and his brother and walking catastrophes. They carry chaos - no - they are the embodiment of chaos. They need those tips or there will be heavy consequences. Please, safe them because they need it.

•Will get you out of overwhelming situations. He’ll just reassure you and do something fun with you that doesn’t involve...people. Like acting out musicals, because he is so obviously a theater kid. I think he would be a sucker for the classics songs such as Suddenly Seymour, Phantom of the Opera or My Favorite Things.

For Lord of The Rings, I ship you with Aragorn!

• He knows a lot about animals too, but your history remains unknown to him. He would love to learn about it! As a ranger, he doesn’t really get history lessons, despite his heavy lineage. He wants you to tell him about your favorite history subject and don’t hold back on him. Obviously, you won’t, as he seems to love it just as much as you do.

• You share a lot of information based on survival and medical stuff together. Both of you know a good amount, but not enough to be completely on your own. Sharing both of your knowledges, honestly makes a great duo. Issues? Not with you, there’s not.

• When you told him about the one time you went skydiving, he thought you were insane. No person with a right frame of mind would jump from the sky. It wasn’t until you explained that you’re ere completely secured, that he understood. Even though Aragorn is Aragorn and he’s a bad bitch, he will never do it. Ever. I do think he’d love rollercoaster in a modern au.

• Random useless facts? He’s obsessed. Teach him please. You’ll go for walks at times and sometimes you’ll mention some facts. He loves them and wants to hear more. He’s afraid to ask though, but eventually you’ll find out yourself. He finds it fascinating how you find a way to storage all that useless information.

I hope you liked it! Stay safe during these times please❤️

#self insert quotes #requests closed #requests #my asks #match up #aragorn x reader #fili x reader

[rosesloveletters]

Hi dear 💌 just wanted to pop in here real' quick. I saw your post about feeling down and hoping that you'd be anyone but you. I just wanted to say that I hope that you know I appreciate you immensely for just being who you are and always being so so good to me. 🥺 You're one of the kindest souls I've ever encountered and I feel so so grateful that our paths have crossed like this 🥺🥺 your blog feels like a safe place where anyone can freely be who they are without judgement 💗

I hope it's okay if I drop some questions here, I love it when you gush about your F/Os: what's a song that reminds you of them? and what's something that people wouldn't guess about them when they first meet them/that only you know? 🥺

excuse me for dropping for Casanova gushing here 🥺👉🏻👈🏻 something people wouldn't guess about him - given he's always on the move and going places - is that Casanova sleeps like the dead. I can't count the times I've woken up at night and haven't fallen back asleep and then I've just had to lay there alone in silence because the man will not budge. He wakes up on his own just fine but I've yet to meet someone else that can wake him up 🥴

a song that reminds me of him: everybody talks by neon trees 🥺

this is also your reminder that you deserve all the good things the world gives you and your F/Os love you very much 💌😌 -Magda xx (sorry this ask turned out so long lol)

MAGDA🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

This was such a sweet message to find here in my inbox, waiting for me🥺 This week has been a thoroughly rough one and I have felt like retreating in on myself and hoping I might cease to exist. This message made things seem a little brighter and I cannot thank you enough for the little bit of kindness which you have extended to me over the past week or so that we’ve been interacting. I try to keep my blog fairly light-hearted and happy (why would I want to come online if it wasn’t happy?) I feel as though I owe it to myself and to others to put on a smile, even and especially when I am anything but jovial. It is an honor to me to know I have achieved that; I value your opinion, darling. I am so happy to know you and you are always, always welcome here on my blog 💗 This is always a judgement-free zone! 

Oh darling, thank you for asking about my F/Os🥺 I haven’t felt quite right with them all week, so that is why I have held off on answering this ask for a bit. Thank you for extending this bit of kindness to me; it means everything that you enjoy hearing about the relationship I have with them and letting me gush.

what's a song that reminds you of them?

There are lots and lots of songs that remind me of my loves. I’ll list a few here, though I will not go into detail as to why they’re special and/or important to our relationship since I can tend to be a little...emotional😅

Faithfully - Journey

Daylight - Taylor Swift

Lover - Taylor Swift

Your Song - Elton John

what's something that people wouldn't guess about them when they first meet them/that only you know?

This is an extremely good question and I absolutely love that you asked it! I might end up listing several that I haven’t spoken about before, since this question made me ponder a bit deeply on my loves’ personalities.

J: 

The only thing about J that is messy or dirty is his hygiene; he is actually extremely clean within his living habits. He does not like his belongings touched/moved/etc. by anyone. He has specific places where he stores things and where he’ll hang his trench coat and those items will not vary from those spots. He likes to know where his belongings are at all times and it bothers him immensely if they’re removed from his assigned locations. 

J loves fruit. He will try any kind of fruit that you’ll put in front of him; he once came home with something called a jackfruit (yes, the name is why he “bought” it.) If you have not ever seen a jackfruit, I suggest a quick Google Search; it is quite the interesting choice, if mainly for the size of it alone. J’s favorite fruit is pineapple (Pat and I have witnessed him eat an entire pineapple at once), but he is not picky and will devour any kind of fruit that he can get his hands on.

J is ambidextrous; he trained himself to be so after leaving the military. He learned that body parts are expendable and how easy it is to lose limbs. He switches from performing tasks with his right hand versus his left quite often so that no one is really aware which was his original dominant hand. Patrick often jokes that J doesn’t even remember which is his dominant hand. 

Pat:

Patrick has an innate fascination with astronomy/space/etc. When he lived in Australia with his mom, he remembered nights when the two of them would go out into their backyard and look at the stars together. (I haven’t ever shared my headcanons for Patrick’s background/early life, so the next few bits might be nonsensical since I haven’t ever shared my thoughts on this.) Before his grandfather left for America, he would take Pat out to the outback and they would climb into the back of his truck and count the constellations and look at the planets through a telescope his grandfather bought. 

Patrick has a pocket watch he carries with him at all times that was gifted to him by his grandfather. His grandpa told Patrick that his grandfather had given it to him when he was a boy and had carried a piece of him around all these years; now, Pat was to carry his own grandfather within that reminder of the pocket watch and so Pat has never let go of it all these years. It brings Pat great comfort to have this physical reminder of his grandpa with him all of the time. 

Patrick is terrified of the dentist and I mean absolutely petrified. It stems from an extremely bad experience that he had whenever he was very young (I won’t go into detail for those who are also afraid; I don’t want to trigger anyone!)

Thank you endlessly for letting me gush like this and share some more personal things from our relationship! I find it extremely fulfilling to delve into these characters more. Oh my goodness, I had no idea Casanova would be such a sound sleeper! It makes sense, given his tendency to a more active lifestyle. It must tire him out to be so adventurous all the time😂 Your relationship with him sounds so wholesome and lovely💗 Thank you for sharing these headcanons with me and that song seems to fit him perfectly! You both are so very sweet and I love hearing about the relationship you share with each other💗💗💗

I hope you are taking care and staying safe! Enjoy the weekend, darling; you deserve nothing but good things💗 (It’s completely fine! Long asks are so much fun to answer!)

[sweetchup]

Yo~ I Fell in love with the three little spiders too, so I got some questions, first one, are Kai and Chrollo sons on the same universe? Second one, I'll take one of your examples ❤ does Chrollo sons know that y/n is not their real mom? And last one, isn't Kai bothered about the fact that Feitan ""tortures""" his loved mom? Sorry if there are a lot of questions, I really loved this 3 little characters you created

The Three Little Spider Headcanons

Ooooo more questions! I’m so glad people are loving the three little spiders. Maybe I should make some small oneshots of them more or even add another spider to the mix. Hmmmmm.... 🕷

Also, if anyone is reading this through tags and isn’t familiar with my tumblr. These Headcanons are based off of “Family” a chrollo x reader fanfic (where the reader had adopted Chrollo’s twin boys when they were babies) and “The Spiders’ Way” a feitan x single mother reader. Check out my Masterlist for a better description on each if curious :).

Question 1: Are Kai and Chrollo’s Sons in the same universe?

At first when I wrote them and when I did this I didn’t make them in the same universe. But, when you brought it up and the more I thought about it, it actually make sense for them to be.

Though, it also doesn’t matter that much of they are in the same universe because Kai and the twins don’t actually interact as much. This is mostly due to Kai’s personality and their age differences (Kai is 11 while the twins are 5).

Kai actually doesn’t have any friends and has no interests in getting to know people other than his mother. So, he wouldn’t try to interact with the twins. But if his mother or Feitan ask him to babysit or train with the twins, he wouldn’t argue.

Though if, lets say, their mothers got kidnapped or someone hurt their mothers. Then they would the greatest team on the planet.

Question 2: Do the Twins know that the (y/n) is not their real mom?

Actually, they surprisingly do know.

Even though you got cut off by your parents and sister, your grandmother Holly and grandfather John are still in your life. They just aren’t financially well off so they couldn’t have you stay with them since it meant 3 extra mouths to feed but they did try to babysit and save up for small gifts for the twins. Kai’s favorite scarf is actually a gift from grandma Holly.

Your big secret about the boys actually got revealed at one of these babysits, while you were at work. It was due to the fact your mother had come to stopped by on that day because she was unhappy that your grandparents had only given 100 dollars for Melissa’s Christmas present. This is where she met the twins again for the first time in 4 years.

Through pictures around great-grandmother Holly’s house the twins recongnized your mother as their grandmother and actually ran over to give her a hug. They had been bothering you for months to meet their grandmother and grandfather.

The thing is, your mother ain’t that great, and actually kicked Kao away when he latched onto her leg. This hurt the boys but they still wanted to persist and kept on asking “Grandma. We want hugs!” And “Please Grandma.”

Your mother didn’t care however and further hurt their feelings by telling them the truth and showing the twins a receipt from when they were selling them to Meteor City. The twins were only 4 so they can’t read but the physical proof of the paper still devastated them.

Thankfully, Great-Grandma Holly came to the twins rescue and chased the rotten witch out of her house before she hurt them more. This didn’t solve the damage already done however and the twins actually ended up climbing a large pine tree in order to be alone.

It took a lot of talking and coaxing from your grandmother and you, after you rushed their from hearing what happened. But, after 3 hours, the twins eventually came down safetly and you rushed into hug them.

You explained to them how it didn’t matter if they were blood related to you or not since they would forever still be your boys.

The boys ended up crying again, thankfully this time in happiness. Though, just in case and because you felt bad, you tried to make it up to them later by getting them Wackdonalds.

This is also why they you are so over the moon in happiness about you having a baby with their birth father. To them, this baby isn’t a half sibling, it’s their full blood sibling that also fully solidifies the fact they are your sons. Not your sister’s.

Question 3: Isn’t Kai bothered about the fact Feitan “tortures” his loved mom?

Yes, he would be if he ever saw it or found out. Kai’s mother (you) was raped at a party and got pregnant with him. He knows that’s how he was made and is a part of why he is extremely protective of his mom when it comes to love and sex. He just doesn’t want to see his mom get hurt in that way ever again.

Also, Kai is 11 years old so he has also already gotten the talk and is technically almost a preteen boy. So, he’s not dense if he sees Feitan does anything fishy or try anything. Though, Feitan is generally respectful and won’t try to pull anything in front of Kai. Their are times Feitan does things in front of the boy. However he uses his incredibly fast speed (like a small pat on the butt) or it’s a small thing (like a kiss on the cheek) so Kai doesn’t notice or it’s not something causes his warning bells to go off.

Though, Kai’s mother previous boyfriends weren’t as respectful as Feitan. Even if you begged them to knock it off in front of your son they wouldn’t. So, Kai dealt with them quickly.

Kai actually likes Feitan compared to the other boyfriends too and finds him to be an good match with his mother. Mostly due to the fact, he knows Feitan is just like him, a bit crazy. Though that doesn’t mean if Feitan pulls anything huge in front of him or yells at his mom, that Kai will let it go. Kai will make Feitan pay if he has to.

#hxh #hunter x hunter #phantom troupe #feitan #feitan portor #headcanon #chrollo #chrollo lucilfer #the twins #kai #kao #august

[is0gild]

Ice Cream and Fire Oven Pizza - Chapter 26

Pairing: Elsa x Lea/Axel || Side Pairing: Riku x OC

Summary: Modern AU. She's an introvert ball of nerves who works at Ice Palace, a mall food court ice cream shop. He's the outgoing, sassy goofball who works at the Pizza Planet across the way. Hilarity, snark, and fluffy romcom hijinks ensue.

Word Count: 8,801

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

Credit for super friggin’ cute and super friggin’ amazing cover art goes to the super friggin’ talented ky-jane here on tumblr!

We stepped into the ballroom together and everything was just as grand and impressive as I'd remembered it. The room was immense, stretching two stories high with giant, elaborate gold and crystal chandeliers hanging from the embellished ceiling. Majestic columns lined the east and west sides of the room, with heavy red velvet curtains draped between each one, currently tied back to reveal the long banquet tables of food behind them. The celebration was already in full swing and the place was just simply packed with family and acquaintances I recognized, each guest dressed more fancy and sophisticated than the last as they all mingled or took a turn about the dance floor.

Or at least, that's what they all had been doing before Lea and I had made our entrance. Maybe it was just my imagination… maybe I was just being paranoid… but I swear the whole place suddenly went very still, all chatter dying down to a muted undertone as it felt like every last eye in the room turned toward me.

My chest seized and I swallowed hard, taking a tiny step back.

This was a mistake. I couldn't do this. I couldn't be here. I couldn't-

"Crabclaw?"

I twitched at Lea's low voice right next to my ear. My eyebrows knit together and I turned a quizzical look towards him. What… Was he asking if I wanted hors d'oeuvres? ...no, I don't think they were even serving crab tonight. I frowned, mulling it over for another second before squinting at him. "...is this you trying to whisper sweet nothings to me again?"

He chuckled, "Please. You'll know when I'm laying some sweet sweet nothings on you. Nah, I was just taking another crack at it."

"Crack at…?" I cocked my head with a frown. Crabclaw…? Come to think of it, something about it was prickling at the back of my brain. Now why did that sound so…"Oh!" Realization struck. "My favorite ice cream?"

"Yup!" he tapped his nose. Then his lips pursed to the left with a small hum before he was shaking his head. "But that's not it either. Seafood in ice cream? Blech! You're adventurous, but that's a lil too out there, even for me."

My brow furrowed. "...you think I'm adventurous?"

Did I miss something? Was today Opposite Day?

"Course!" he grinned. My face scrunched up in pure disbelief and he laughed. "Well let's check the scoreboard here. You ran out on your wedding and everything ya knew to start a new life from nothing. You followed a devilishly handsome stranger," he jerked a thumb into his chest with a smirk, "up a decrepit old clocktower. You jumped last minute into open auditions for a musical with barely any preparation or practice." Lea shrugged, "Seems to me there's at least some small part of you that's attracted to the unknown. Ergo: adventurous!"

I looked away with a tiny scowl. "I think you mean ergo: stupid."

"Eh. To-may-to, to-mah-to. No true adventure is complete without a healthy dose of stupidity thrown into the mix anyhow. Lil pearl o' wisdom for ya there, courtesy of yours truly," he beamed.

"Such sagely advice," I snorted before my face softened. "...thanks, Lea. I… think I'm ready to do this now."

"But you already are."

With a start, I realized we were walking. Had been walking. I hadn't even noticed when we'd begun. Those big double doors were long behind us now as we weaved our way further into the crowd. No one seemed to be looking at us anymore. I suspected they had only gotten more discreet about it.

"Oh, look, there's the birthday boy now," Lea gestured with his chin towards where my grandfather stood not too far off, greeting and shaking hands with a couple that'd arrived just before us. He was looking a lot warmer and friendlier than I'd seen him all weekend. Then again, Grandfather had always been very good at putting on a cordial mask for the public. Lea asked, "Shall we go give the ol' boy our best wishes?"

I gnawed on my lower lip for a second before sighing, "Alright."

Might as well get this over with.

We made our way over just as Grandfather was finishing up with those guests. As if sensing our approach, he turned to face us and immediately went very still. However, his poker face was in top form this evening for it betrayed nothing as he just stared at us impassively and waited.

"Grandfather…" I paused, floundering a bit under his scrutiny. But then I took a deep breath, forced a tremulous smile and simply said, "Happy birthday." Releasing Lea's arm, I stepped forward and got on tiptoes to plant a swift peck to Grandfather's cheek, just as I'd done for all his birthday's before. Just as if everything were normal, even though they were very much not.

He answered with a stiff nod and a polite smile that did not quite reach his eyes. "Thank you, my dear."

Retrieving my hand to once more fold into his elbow, Lea piped up, "Happy birthday, Sir!" I preemptively winced, waiting for the surely inevitable 'Gramps' that always followed. However, it never came. I stared at him in stunned silence. Pretty sure Grandfather was doing the same. Amazing… perhaps Lea actually could take things seriously when he really- "Wow, seventy huh? Keeping it tight, big guy! I mean, hell, it's gotta be more candle than cake at this point! But man oh man, you're still pretty spry for a dude your-"

"Enjoy your evening, Grandfather!" I said quickly, turning to make a hasty exit and yanking Lea along with me. Once we had put a safe distance behind us, I shot a tiny glare up at him.

"What? I was complimenting him!" Lea defended himself. I gave him a flat look and he snerked, "Hey now, I told ya I would be on my best behavior. No one ever said anything about my best being any good."

I huffed quietly, one side of my mouth twitching up. "Fair point."

"So then," he pulled us aside, stopping next to one of the columns as he grinned down at me. "We've put in our appearance. Did what we set out to do. We came, we conquered. Wanna split?"

A small laugh hummed in my throat. "As lovely as that sounds, we can't leave already. We've only been here a few minutes. I appreciate you trying to get us out of here as soon as possible for my sake, but I'm doing okay at the moment. I can last a little while longer."

His grin ticked wider as his hand rose to gently brush a strand of hair off my cheek. "Okay then. Whaddya say to a lil jaunt about the room then?"

"A 'jaunt' you say?" I cracked a smile at that. "My, sounds fancy."

"Babe, ya got me in a tux for this. Damn right I'm gonna be fancy. C'mon, you can point out all your relatives to me as we go, tell me all their deep, dark, icky secrets they don't want anyone to know about." His hand drifted down behind me, slowing to hover over my lower back as he looked to me in silent question.

I hesitated for a heartbeat before giving him a nod. Then I felt his warm hand pressing to the bare skin at the small of my back as he guided us into a walk once more. Suppressing a little shiver as we went, my eyes scanned the crowd for faces of interest.

Everyone was still doing it. Watching Lea and me. I could no longer see them doing it, but I could still feel it. All those eyes following us as we went. And really, I couldn't blame them for it. Hardly six weeks ago I'd broken off my engagement in the most public and humiliating way possible to my ex, his family, and my family… and now here I was, parading my new "boyfriend" around my grandfather's birthday celebration as if everything were fine and dandy and like I didn't have a care in the world. This seemed inappropriate. Callous. I wouldn't have even done it if my parents hadn't all but insisted… why? Why were they putting me through this? They must have had a goal, an objective behind it all, I just had yet to fathom what it could possibly be.

Trying to take my mind off the swirling questions, not to mention off the ever growing numbness in my knees from anxiety, I focused harder on searching the room. "Hm… ah!" I pointed, "See that man over there? In the wheelchair with the wild poofy hair?"

His gaze followed my finger. "Talking 'bout that mummified corpse they wheeled in? Ya mean that thing's alive?"

I pinched his arm. "Be nice, he's very old. Anna and I have called him Grandpabbie ever since we were little. He's Grandfather's father."

"Shit, that's not old, that's ancient. Have ya ever asked him what it was like, growing up in the freaking Stone Age?" He snorted as I swat his shoulder. "Seriously though, how many years we talking here?"

A crease formed between my eyebrows, "...I don't really know actually. Honestly, I'm not sure anyone remembers anymore, possibly not even Grandfather. Certainly not Grandpabbie himself, he's sadly not really all there these days," I grimaced as we moved on before my eyes landed on another pair of people who were peering in our direction. "And there's the Duke by that painting over there."

"Ah yes, the Duke. Still reeling from the pleasure of the last time we met," Lea waggled his fingers in a teeny wave towards my uncle. Even from all the way across the ballroom, we could see him agitatedly puff out his mustache as he stuck his big nose up high into the air and looked away. "I think he likes me."

"Oh yes, he's positively tickled by you," I said dryly. "That woman he's talking to is Yelena."

Recognition flickered in Lea's eyes. "Right, Anna mentioned her showing up with your cousins this morning. She's your aunt?"

"She's Mother's aunt, my great aunt," I corrected as I observed her. She was studying us both currently with a slight frown and a calculating look in her eye. "She's… strict. Solemn. Very stern and proud. But I think she always means well."

Lea scoffed, "Boriiiing! C'mon, where's all the juicy dirt on these people? Looking for the primo, blackmail-worthy shit here."

My feet came to a stop once more as I half chuckled, half sighed. "Sorry, there just isn't any dirt to share. My family is rather unexciting in general."

"Nah," his hand shifted over to my hip now, pulling me in to nestle up against his side, "they're rich. And the rich always got some nasty skeletons hidden away in their closets, just gotta know where to look."

"If you say so," I muttered, face warming slightly as I leaned my cheek against his chest. It just felt natural. I mean, it's what a girlfriend should do, right? Listening to the low, soothing rhythm of his heartbeat, I cast another glance around. "...oh, there's Mattias. See the woman he's dancing with?"

"Ya mean the one he looks all twitterpated over?" Lea murmured as his hand came up to fiddle with a few of my curled locks.

Nodding, I said, "That's his wife Halima. I've known her since before I can even remember. She's very sweet."

"Mm," was his only acknowledgement to that, fingers still twirling the pale strands between them.

I went on, "She always made the best macaroons… Ah! Here's some dirt for you," I whispered conspiratorially. "Her secret ingredient? Baby applesauce."

"...mm-hm," he hummed softly as I felt him press a kiss into my hair.

Pushing away from him now, I narrowed my eyes up at him, "Hey, are you even listening to me right now?"

"Wha-? I-" he stammered, sheepishly scratching a spot behind his ear before laughing. "Course I am!"

I turned my head slightly, giving him some side-eye. "Really? Then what's the last thing I said?"

He shrugged and smirked, "That Halima's the one in the wheelchair."

A traitorous snort escaped me despite myself. "Oh, you think you're funny, don't you?"

"I'm a goddamn riot and you know it. In fact-" his words suddenly cut off as his gaze landed on something past me. "Uh oh. Inbound, six o'clock."

I turned to see what he was talking about. It took me a second before I spotted them: the Duke and Aunt Yelena making their way through the crowd, beelining straight for us.

Oh goodie. This should be fun.

"Ah!" Uncle Weselton declared as they closed the distance to join us. "Here's the young mongrel-" he forced a loud, exaggerated cough into his fist, "ahem, I mean young man now. Elsa's new consort…" he sniffed and glared down his bespectacled nose at Lea. Or at least he tried to but seemed to be having some difficulty, seeing as how Lea towered at least a good foot over him. "...I believe… Lou, was it?"

He flashed a toothy grin back. "Lea, actually, but that's alright. Names can be tough to remember, especially the single syllable ones and especially at your rather… distinguished age." The Duke bristled, huffing under his breath something along the lines of 'the audacity' but remained otherwise mute. Turning his attention to the other person who'd joined us, Lea held out a hand towards her, "And you must be Aunt Yelena. We were just talking about you a sec ago. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Yelena's face was unreadable, neither cold nor warm as she considered the hand offered to her for a few seconds. At last she took it with a curt, business-like shake but didn't release it right away. No, instead she turned it slightly so she could have a better look at his fingernails. More specifically, at the black painted to them. Her only visible reaction was to arch one silver brow.

"...charmed, I'm sure," she stated evenly in that flat, no-nonsense voice she always seemed to have as she finally let him go. Then her eyes turned to me and she bowed her head slightly, "Elsa. You're looking well this evening."

I ducked my head quickly to return the greeting. "Yes, as… as do you."

Turning her sharp gaze on Lea once more, Yelena began, "So tell me, young man… how did you and my niece meet?"

Wasting no time, I see. Diving straight on into the interrogation.

Just keep your cool, Elsa. We'd already worked out the details to this story, so everything should be fine.

...so then why was there this uneasy feeling churning in the pit of my stomach?

"It was 'bout a year ago," Lea was saying, his hand reaching for mine and lacing our fingers together. "Met on a train and struck up a delightful lil conversation with her."

"I was on my way back to Traverse Town from Corona," I tacked on. "You remember that trip Anna and I took last summer, Aunt Yelena."

Her eyes flicked slowly back and forth between us and I noticed there was now the barest hint of a downward pull to her lips. Settling her gaze back on Lea, she remarked, "And you thought it would be okay to seduce and corrupt a young, innocent woman in a long-term, committed relationship who was engaged to soon be married?"

It wasn't said like an accusation, merely a dry statement of fact. Still the sheer bluntness of it seemed to catch Lea off guard as he stiffened, stammering, "I- uh, heh… well, ya see-"

"And you," she turned those flinty eyes on me now. "You gave little to no thought as to the impropriety and dangers of a girl of your means and station consorting with some strange man you'd just met on public transport."

Again, there was no harshness to it, no criticism but more just a… curiosity. And again, it struck like a blow to the gut, only this time to me. "Ah… Aunt Yelena, it… it was just a harmless chat on the train…" I said, fidgeting with one of my earrings.

"Outrageous!" barked the Duke, startling a flinch out of me.

Yelena's gaze narrowed on him briefly before returning to me with a harrumph. "Harmless, you say… tell that to the fiancé you left standing at the altar."

Ouch.

Sighing deep in her throat, she looked up at Lea. "Please. Go on."

He blinked and echoed, "Go…?"

"I presume there's more to this than a chance encounter on a railcar. Continue," she insisted dully.

"Oh! Right! Er…" he gave a nervous laugh, scratching the back of his head as his eyes darted about. Interestingly enough, Aunt Yelena was the first and only member of my family so far who seemed to give him pause and think twice about snarking her. "...well, there… may have also been a, heh… romantic, late-night stroll round town?" It came out sounding more like a question, almost as if he'd be willing to change his answer if she didn't like it.

She held him with a long, hard stare. Then she was addressing me, still with that ever-present monotone, "You mean to tell me you took your sister to stay out all hours of the night, wandering an unfamiliar town with some mystery man you'd only just met?"

"Disgraceful!" Uncle Weselton snarled, swishing his bushy mustache to and fro. Yelena shot him another not so subtly veiled glower out of the corner of her eye.

Ignoring him, I squared my shoulders and told her, "No, don't be ridiculous, of course not!" However, I was quick to deflate as I nibbled at my lower lip. "Anna wasn't there. It was just me... alone with the mystery man… roaming the streets and back alleys of a city I was unaccustomed to… all night long… straight through to morning…"

Great. Thanks a lot, mouth. Way to make that all sound so much better.

"Deplorable!" was the Duke's deep and insightful commentary this time. Yelena just remained stoically silent.

Pulse beginning to thud loudly in my ears, I licked my dry lips and tried, "It… it actually wasn't as untoward as it- wait, let me start over… you see, there were these floating lights- lanterns! That's what they… what they're called. That's when- on the train, we... " I screwed my eyes shut. My throat was closing up. I pushed past it, "...let's see… there was a… a park, and… a f-ferris wheel… a café with a belly dancer- wait, no, palm reader! ...or p-poet… was it? Lamppost! Almost forgot! Earlier, there was a lamppost! That Lea, he… just bam! Right into… actually, now that I think about it, that part isn't really… all that important to the-"

"Annnnnd that's enough storytime for now!" Lea suddenly chimed in, interrupting the absolute trainwreck that was spewing forth from my lips. Thank god. "If you'll 'scuse us, I promised my lady fair a spin 'bout the dance floor." I felt his palm at the small of my back once more, steering me away from my aunt and uncle.

The Duke blustered nonsensically for a few breaths before snapping, "Listen, you, you, you- we're in the middle of a discussion here! You can't just walk off, you-"

"Watch us," came Lea's dangerously chipper response as he led me away.

"Well, I never! Of all the rude, abhorrent, insufferable, belligerent-"

"If you don't have anything of substance to add to a conversation, could you please kindly cram a sock in it, Weselton?" I heard Aunt Yelena cut him off dryly. Her eyes remained trained on us as we went, her expression blank as ever. Eventually she turned to walk away, leaving a spluttering and blotchy-faced Duke behind in her wake who eventually stormed off.

...was this why my parents had requested Lea and I attend? Were they purposely putting my shame out in the open and on display so it could be met with censure and rebuke? Were they trying to teach me a lesson of sorts? ...or maybe it was more like a punishment. Disciplining me for disappointing them. For being so thoughtless and selfish. Showing me that there were consequences for my actions.

I pulled myself from my musings, only just now realizing that we'd stopped moving. Lea had come to stand in front of me, taking both my hands in his. Brow furrowing, I glanced about to see that we were surrounded by other couples twirling gracefully in time with the melody of the nearby string quartet. My eyes widened, "Oh, we're really…? That wasn't just an excuse? To get away from…" I trailed off, frowning. I could still feel all those eyes. All that judgement. All that disapproval. My hands pulled free of his and I hugged myself, feeling all my muscles beginning to tighten and lock up. "No. This isn't right, we shouldn't do this. People are staring."

"So?" he said softly as his hands found mine again and held them to his chest, tugging me a step closer. "Let them stare."

I looked down, eyes shifting about frantically. "But-"

"Forget them. Don't even give 'em a second thought. They're not important." He hooked a finger under my chin, gently lifting my gaze to meet his. "Just focus on me, 'kay? You and me. We're all that matter right now."

Part of me still wanted to argue, but the words were getting stuck in my throat. So instead I swallowed hard, gave a small reluctant nod, and did just that. I focused on him. On those mesmerizing green eyes of his. On his winged guyliner that he'd still elected to don in all its swoopy glory, even here, to this ball of all places. On his warm smile that was starting to melt away some of that tension inside of me bit by bit.

He was drawing me closer now, pulling my hands up to clasp together behind his neck. Shaking my head, I managed to find my voice enough to mutter, "This is not how a couple is supposed to waltz, you know."

That infamous dimple of his emerged. "This is how we waltz," came his low reply as his arms encircled my waist, hands coming to rest at the exposed small of my back once more. This time, I couldn't hold back the tiny shiver.

"...this could be considered quite scandalous really," I told him, fighting the impudent little tug I felt at the corner of my lips as Lea started to turn us in slow circles. "I suspect that even now the Duke is watching us, stewing and steaming and this close to blowing his combover sky high."

"All the more reason to be doing it," his eyes crinkled as he lowered his forehead to mine.

He was doing it again. Giving me that look. The soft yet intense look. The look that made my insides a little wobbly. The boyfriend look. He was so good at it. As well he should be, he certainly practiced it enough, even at times when it was just the two of us with no one else around. I suspected he probably had trained and perfected it in front of his mirror at home. It was… potent, to say the least. And just not fair, really. My ex had never looked at me this way, so it wasn't something I was used to. I didn't know how to deal with being the target of such a stare. I didn't know how to process. It was overwhelming… confusing…

...ugh, get a grip, Elsa! It wasn't even real! He was just an actor playing a part for the masses around us.

Still… knowing that didn't exactly make this any easier…

Quick! Distraction time! Find something to talk about!

I gave a weak chuckle, "So… I'm royally awful at the whole talking thing, huh?"

Interesting tactic. Starting a conversation by pointing out how bad you are at conversations. I like it. It's gutsy.

"Dunno 'bout that, you do just fine with me," he grinned, not removing his forehead. "But if ya mean what happened back there with your aunt and uncle, heh… maybe you should just leave the chitchat to me for the rest of the evening."

"Probably for the best," I agreed. "But I had to give it a shot at least once. I have to learn to stand up for myself eventually, you won't always be around to fight my battles for me."

His smile faltered a fraction. "...El, I always got your back. No matter what our fake relationship status is, I'm always gonna be there for you, got it? I'm not going anywhere."

There they were again. The warm fuzzies, marching right on in like a parade with banners waving and trumpets blaring. "Thanks, Lea… I'll probably need it. My family can be quite persistent and stubborn, especially when they think they're only doing what's best for me."

Lea shrugged, "Well, no one ever said the fantabulous emancipation of one Elsa Fryse was gonna be easy."

"Don't I know it," a sigh escaped me. Then a tiny, wistful smile pulled at the edge of my lips. "...we should have ran away when we had the chance. Maybe we still can. It's not too late."

"Mm, don't tempt me," he smirked as his hold around my waist tightened, hugging me closer still. I just hummed a soft laugh at that. His gaze became half-lidded as he continued to watch me. Then he cleared his throat, "So, uh… I've been thinking…"

I wrinkled my nose with a snort. "Uh oh."

"Hey now, hear me out. You wanna send a message to your folks, right? Tell 'em they can't boss you around anymore, that your ex is gone for good and that I'm here to stay, so they can take all their controlling bullshit and shove it up their hoity-toity posteriors, right?"

Biting back a grin, I said, "Not quite how I would have phrased it but… yes, more or less I suppose."

"Well I may have a way to do just that. Send a message, loud and clear, big and bold as a giant, flashing neon sign. All we gotta do is kinda, sorta break one of our guidelines we set up at the beginning of all of this. Not so much break though… more like bend. Nudge it, really, into a nice easy curve," he explained as the ballroom kept gradually spinning around us.

One of my eyebrows quirked. "Oh? And which guideline would that be?"

There was a tiny glimmer dancing in his eyes now. "...let me kiss you."

I snerked and shook my head. Impressively, his forehead still managed to remain connected to mine. "You kiss me all the time."

"No," the tip of his nose tickled mine, his breath warming my lips as he murmured, "I mean let me kiss you."

...oh…

...actually, no, I still wasn't quite sure what he was trying to-

Oh!

Wait, no... I mean, he couldn't be- That wasn't what he- Not that, certainly not! He didn't- He would never… He couldn't possibly mean…

"...as in on the mouth?" suddenly came blurting out of me.

No way. There was just no way. He wouldn't-

"Mm-hm," he nodded with a sly little grin.

Oh. Well then, my mistake. Apparently he would.

...ah! This was a joke! He was just messing with me again! That had to be it! Alright, fine then, let's play along.

I breathed a feeble laugh, "And you really think that would get my parents to back off for good?"

"Well, I think it's at least worth a shot!" His grin twitched wider, "So...?"

"So…" I squinted at him uncertainly. Then I blinked. "...what, you mean right now?"

"No time like the present!" Lea chirped.

"But here? In front of all these people?" This was a joke. A prank. That's all it was. A game of chicken to see who would wimp out and veer away first.

"Exactly! What better way to make a statement. A declaration, one that your whole family wouldn't be able to ignore. We could go all out too," his eyebrows waggled. "Give 'em on hell of a show. I could shove you up against one of those columns over there, or throw you on a table and just really go to town on you."

Now I know he was kidding. He was being absolutely ridiculous. With a little huff of a laugh, I said, "Oh wow, you'd be willing to do all that just for me? You're too kind."

"My generosity knows no bounds," he agreed solemnly before the smirk was back. "So…?"

"So…?" I repeated, stretching the syllable out as I knit my eyebrows together.

"Let me kiss you," those words passed through his lips again, this time in a whisper that made my heart flip-flop.

He… was joking… right? Somehow, I wasn't so sure anymore. And come to think of it… the idea of kissing him didn't seem quite so scary as it had a couple weeks ago when I'd first established that rule. In fact, it now seemed like it might be maybe sort of… nice… One might even say appealing and-

Oh gosh, I wasn't seriously considering this, was I? This was a bad idea! A dangerous idea. The line between crushing on the guy and fake dating the guy had already become perilously blurred enough as is. Throw a kiss into the mix and it could only jumble my already befuddled feelings even further.

...then again… how much harm could one teeny, tiny, insignificant little kiss do? Really? We were professionals, weren't we? I could handle it, couldn't I? And okay sure, did I actually think one small peck at a party would be any sort of deciding factor when it came to whatever my parents had to say to me tomorrow? Not really, no. But you never know, it could, uh… rattle them! Yeah! Or-

Was I seriously trying to rationalize the kiss to myself now?!

That's it. Mouth? As the main involved party that will be most primarily affected in this matter, I leave the choice up to you. You should have zero problems coming to a decision, right? I mean, you speak your mind all the time without consulting me first anyway, so just go for it. I wash my hands of this. Go on, decide away!

Pulse racing and face heated and having zero clue what I was about to say, my lips parted.

"Pardon me."

Both Lea and I froze at the sound of another voice.

My mother's voice.

I watched his eyes close and his shoulders slump, heard a faint exhale escape him. Then he lifted his forehead from mine as he straightened up and plastered on a smile that he directed towards Mother. She was standing just off to our right, beautiful and sophisticated in her purple evening gown accompanied by a shawl draped loosely around her arms. Lea greeted, "Mrs Fryse. You look lovely tonight, Ma'am."

"Thank you," she nodded graciously in return. "And apologies, I don't mean to intrude, but it was dawning on me that I've been neglectful in my duties as your host. Please, come with me and we can make our rounds introducing you to some of the family."

"Oh! Uh…" he frowned, his gaze drifting back towards me.

"It's fine," I said hastily, my hands unfastening from behind his neck and retracting as I took a step back from him. "Please, go on ahead. I'll…" my eyes flicked about before spotting a familiar flash of auburn across the way. "Ah! I think I see Anna over there, so I'll just go join her and you can come find me when you're done."

He still seemed reluctant to leave and I didn't blame him. Some of my relatives made Yelena and Weselton seem like an absolute treat by comparison. Finally he rose a hand towards my face, grazing the curled knuckle of his pinky along my cheek. "See you in a bit," Lea's voice was low as he tenderly pressed his lips to my brow.

Then he turned, offering his arm to Mother in a gentlemanly fashion. She slipped her hand around his elbow and he grinned, "Lead the way, Ma'am."

I watched them disappear into the crowd. This was for the best, really. Now I could avoid a repeat of the minor fiasco I'd experienced in front of Aunt Yelena. Lea was so much better at dealing with people anyhow. Who knew, maybe he'd even have the whole family singing his praises before the night was out.

Wishful thinking, but hey, it could happen. You don't know.

I brought a hand up to rest lightly over my heart, which had yet to fully calm down. I still didn't have the foggiest as to what my answer to Lea would've been if Mother hadn't interrupted us. And luckily for me, I'd probably never have to find out. The moment had passed. Honestly, it was probably for my own good too. Now wasn't the best time to be opening up that particular can of worms.

Sighing, I started making my way towards where I'd seen Anna. It only took navigating the crowd for a few seconds before I located her standing next to one of the banquet tables, chatting and laughing with Maren.

I couldn't help but notice how elegant they both looked - Anna in her slinky yet tasteful green dress and hair done up in a voguish bun, Maren in her stylish, strapless black gown that accentuated the sparkle of her jewelry. Anna looked so at ease here, so natural. She was in her element here, while I very much was not. This world had always been more her domain than mine. I could certainly put on a fancy dress and look the part, but beyond that I was a lost cause. I did try. For the sake of my parents, I really had tried. But the more time I spent away from this life, the more I came to realize just how much I'd never truly belonged in it in the first place.

Maybe after this nerve-wracking weekend was finally and at long last behind me, I could start to figure out where it was that I did belong.

"Sis!" Anna smiled as I approached them. "I was hoping you'd turn up soon!"

I tipped my head to one side. "...you were?" Anna? Not taking one look at me and running from me like the plague? And actually, dare I say it, pleased to see me?

"Uh-huh! Because now I can give you this," she beamed, plucking a glass flute up off the table and offering it to me. It was identical to the one in her other hand and filled with some mystery beverage - guessing champagne, judging by the bubbles.

"...oh," I breathed, trying not to let my disappointment color my voice too much as I gingerly took it from her. "Thanks." Bit of a let down, especially considering I probably wasn't going to be drinking it. But hey, at least it was something. At least she had managed to stay in my presence for longer than ten seconds so far. Maybe this could be seen as her way of making a peace offering. Extending the olive branch. Maybe she was ready to talk about whatever she'd been holding back from me.

"So Anna," I began, but immediately stopped as I watched her blanch and go rigid.

Okay… take that as a no, she wasn't ready. Not at all.

I clamped my mouth shut, eyes darting to the left as my mind scrambled for something safe, something light. "...your dress is very pretty. Both of you look gorgeous this evening."

Anna visibly relaxed, piping up with a, "Thanks, Sis!"

"Back at you," Maren grinned, clinking her own glass to mine before raising it to her lips. "Slipped away from that boyfriend of yours, huh? The way you two were carrying on, I thought you were going to be attached at the hip all night."

I laughed softly, shyly twiddling with one of my earrings, "No, Mother whisked him away so she could introduce him around."

"Brave man," Maren snerked.

Trailing a finger absently along the rim of my flute now, I asked, "And where are your dates tonight?"

"Pft, you kidding?" My cousin shook her head. "As if I'd ever drag my girl into the lion's den. Trust me, she's perfectly content staying out of the Lifestyles of the Rich and Snooty and I am more than happy to let her do that."

"I envy her. Staying out of all this sounds like a dream come true," I nodded before glancing to Anna. "And what about you? Where's your new boyfriend? I was looking forward to meeting him finally."

"Oh, him? He, er… couldn't make it at the last minute! That stinker," she gave a weak chuckle, averting her gaze as she took a swig of her drink. "Yeah, he unfortunately… had a thing to do… with the stuff! And you know how important the, uh… the thing and the stuff can be! But he'll be here tomorrow, I promise! You'll totes get to meet him before you leave! Yup! Yooou betcha! Heh..."

"...I see." Tomorrow? Would that really be wise, given all the family drama that was surely about to explode that very day? Ah well, I suppose there was nothing for it. I forced a small smile, "Can't wait."

"Oh hey! Tomorrow's your big talk with Mom and Dad too, right?" she piped up suddenly and I nodded with a slight grimace. "Aw, chin up, don't look so blue! I'll be there holding your hand through the whole thing! We're in this together, Sis, so you got nothing to worry about, I promise!"

Another smile, this one relieved and a touch more genuine. "Thanks…"

Then there was a pause.

Of the long and uncomfortable variety.

...screw it, I was just going to try and ask her again.

"Anna, I-" There it was once more. That panic flooding her eyes. I hesitated, taking a sip of my drink just because it was there. I hardly even realized I was doing it. Oh well, one sip wasn't going to hurt me. I was too anxious to even taste it. Rallying, I tried again, "Could we please maybe-"

"Oh my god, is that Grandpabbie?! Sis, did you know that Grandpabbie was here?!" Anna squealed. "Lookit him, he's so cute and squishy and small! I'm gonna go attack him with snuggles and smoochies!"

Once again, off she went. I had no choice but to let her go, just hastily calling after her, "Be careful, he's fragile!"

"Please, he's tough as a rock!" Anna shouted back before the crowd swallowed her whole.

My lips pressed into a thin line. Maybe Lea was right. Maybe I had to stop trying to push her and instead just give her space, trusting that she'd open up in her own time.

Still… didn't mean I had to like it.

"Sorry about earlier, by the way."

I gave a tiny jolt as Maren suddenly spoke up. Fudge, I'd forgotten she was here. Not quite sure what she was talking about, I turned a bemused smile towards her, "Oh?"

"Didn't mean to make you uncomfortable by drooling over your man," she grinned and shrugged, swirling the liquid about her flute. "I was only teasing anyhow since I didn't think you two were serious, but I never would have in the first place if I'd known."

"...known what…?" I arched an eyebrow, just now becoming aware of the fact that I'd idly brought the glass up to my lips again. Whatever, two sips weren't going to hurt me.

"That you're in love with him."

I choked and spluttered on my drink.

Sorry, who's in what with huh now?!

Wheezing for breath as my face flared up red, I asked, "In love? Who said anything about-"

"It's okay, nothing to get all bashful over," Maren cooed, free hand flicking a dismissive wave. "Anna told me."

My eyes narrowed. "Told you what exactly?"

"I believe her exact words were true love," she used air quotes with a snigger.

"Ugh, Anna," I grumbled, pinching the bridge of my nose. "You know how she is. Just take everything she says with a grain of salt."

Maren cocked her head, a shrewd glint to her eye now. "So then you're saying it isn't love?"

I twitched, cheeks warming again. "I, er… well I never said... um…" Why did this question make me nervous? With a start, I realized my anxious hand had raised the flute to my mouth yet again. Gah! Someone take this thing away from me, I was turning into a friggin' lush over here! Swiftly depositing the glass onto the tray of a passing-by waiter, I cleared my throat and wrung my hands together. "I, uh… I'd rather not talk about it."

She considered me momentarily. Then a knowing smirk spread across her face and she simply shrugged again, looking past me now. "I'll say this for your boy. He certainly seems to be handling the gauntlet well."

"The gauntlet?" I asked, turning to follow her gaze. There Lea stood, a bit of ways off with Mother still on his arm, the pair of them surrounded by what looked to be a small army of my relatives. I frowned, "...you don't think they're giving him too hard of a time, do you?"

"You kidding? Our family is a bunch of vultures who can smell lower-middle class from a mile away and trust me, they're tearing into him like a fresh carcass. Correction, politely tearing into him," she snorted, downing the last of her beverage before swapping it out with a fresh one from the tray of a different waiter. "Love or no, it's not everyone who'll put up with that BS. He must really care about you."

...they probably were indeed putting him through the wringer over there. You wouldn't know it by looking at him, for he was all big grins and loud laughs and modest hair ruffling. But you could see it in the faces of my relatives. In their smiles that were just a little too plastic and in their eyes flashing with poorly concealed disdain.

Perhaps this was why we had been invited to the ball. My parents had indeed wanted to teach a lesson, only not to me but to Lea. Try and make it clear to him how unsuitable and unacceptable they thought it was for him to be with their daughter. That no matter how he dressed himself up, they'd always consider him unworthy and lesser than. That he would never belong in this world… never belong with me.

And yet, he didn't seem to be fazed by any of the subtle yet nasty snobbery. He was still just as bright and cheerful as ever. He was putting himself through all of this and for what? He was getting nothing in return. He was going out of his way and turning his life upside down, all just out of the goodness of his heart and to help a friend.

I'm not sure what exactly compelled me to do it. Maybe it was this foreign, tingly sensation tugging inside my chest. Or maybe it was just the champagne talking. Either way, I quietly excused myself from Maren as my feet started walking forward, pushing my way through the other guests and heading straight for Lea.

Coming to a stop behind him, I reached for his sleeve with a soft, "Pardon me."

He whipped around at the sound of my voice, eyes lighting up. "Need something, El?"

"Could I borrow you for just one moment?" I smiled up at him, slipping my hand into his.

"Course!" He looked back to my mother and the rest of that little group. "If you'll excuse me, ladies and gents, I'll be back in a jiff!"

Entwining our fingers together, I lead him a few steps away from my relatives, just enough to be out of earshot. When I turned to face him again, he grinned, "So what can I do for ya?"

I didn't say anything, just crooked a finger. Probably assuming I wanted to whisper something in his ear, he ducked his head down next to mine. I then gently cradled one of his cheeks in my hand and pressed a kiss to the other.

Except it wasn't so much his cheek I kissed as the corner of his mouth.

I blame the champagne.

Because really, what other logical explanation was there?

His whole body tensed, his eyes growing round and unblinking. As I started to pull away and take a step back however, one of his hands shot out to snag me around the waist. Pulling me back to him, he nuzzled his nose to mine, gaze hooded as he murmured, "You missed."

Ignoring that little flutter in my chest, the corners of my eyes crinkled as I hitched my chin slightly. "I suppose I did. I was aiming for your cheek."

"Right… cheek… that's what I meant," Lea released a breathy chuckle as he let me go now and straightened back up to his full height. "So, uh… what was that for anyway?"

I gave a low, thoughtful hum. "...just a small thank you for everything you've been doing for me. These last couple of weeks can't have been easy for you... putting up with this silly, harebrained scheme, not to mention juggling it with your school and job too. And now on top of all of that, you have to deal with my haughty and condescending family as well."

"Psh, it's nothing," he brushed off with a laugh, scratching his cheek. "I can handle a lil passive aggressive crap from these pompous old farts easy. Trust me, I've dealt with a way worse, so don't even sweat it, El. If this is what'll help ya out, I'm more than happy to do it!"

"But it's not just that. If it weren't for you, I think I might have gone out of my mind over the past weeks dreading seeing my parents again. But you kept me calm… and actually also kind of made it a bit fun too. And you've also always just been so supportive, which has meant a great deal to me. I don't know if or how I'll ever truly be able to repay you for all of this madness, but just know that I… I'm very grateful for all that you've done." Then a slow, tiny smirk tugged at one side of my lips. "...plus, now maybe you can finally rinse off your nose. It has been getting a bit smelly."

Both his hands shot up to clamp over said nose. "Shit, does it really?"

I gave him a flat look. "I was kidding. Please tell me you weren't actually serious about never washing it again after I kissed it last week."

"Dead serious," he beamed as his hands lowered. "And jokes on you, cuz now neither my nose or this spot are ever gonna know the touch of soap again!" He pointed a finger to the corner of his grin, just now drawing my attention to the fact that my lipstick had left a faint mark there.

A noise emitted from my throat that was part scoff, part snort. "Come here," I sighed, reaching a hand up to wipe it away.

However, he snatched my wrist, stopping my thumb a centimeter short of his skin. "And just what do ya think you're doing, Missy?"

"I got some of my lipstick on you, I was just-"

"Leave it," he winked. "It's a gift from my fair maiden. I'm gonna wear it proudly, like a badge of honor. Now if you'll 'scuse me, a gaggle of your persnickety relatives are still just dying to rip me a new one. I shan't keep them waiting any longer." Planting a quick peck to the back of my hand, he said, "Be back at your side before ya know it. Try not to miss me too much."

I crossed my arms, shaking my head as I watched him go. As he rejoined that group with Mother, I couldn't help but overhear one of my aunts commenting, "Lea dear, you got a little…" Her lips pursed and she swiped a finger at the corner of her mouth, causing my face to warm as I realized she was referring to the lipstick.

It only roasted more when Lea declared boisterously, "Hell yeah I do!"

If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go find a rock to hide under now.

Burying my face in one hand, I spun around and made a fast retreat.

"I saw that."

My step faltered as I heard those words and I glanced over, discovering Anna had appeared practically out of thin air to fall in step beside me, a wide cheshire grin stretching across her features.

A crease emerged between my eyebrows. "Saw…? I'm not sure I-"

"Don't play coy with me," she said smugly as she nudged my shoulder with hers. "You know exactly what I mean."

My head tilted to the right. "...you're referring to the kiss? That was just for show," I averted my gaze, dropping my voice to a whisper so as not to be overhead.

"Sis, please. There's being a couple, and then there's being a couple. I can't help but notice you two have been getting awful cozy this weekend, going a bit above and beyond. Maybe it is just all part of the act, but you do realize that there's no bonus points for any extracurriculars, right?" her eyebrows bounced.

A soft hmph. "Anna, you're reading too much into things. It was nothing. Really. Just… just the champagne bubbles going straight to my head, that's all."

"Champagne?" she blinked and frowned at me. "...didn't I tell you? That was apple cider I handed you earlier. Of the totally non-alcoholic variety. Figured you'd want to keep a sober head tonight."

"Cider?" my head jerked back.

"Yup! What, you didn't realize that when you tasted it?" she giggled.

"No, I… guess I was too distracted…" I mumbled, hugging one arm around my abdomen while I brought the other up to bite down into my thumbnail.

Oh gosh, then… all that back there with Lea hadn't been just the champagne talking?

...oh no. My crush was gaining in power, able to control me without me even realizing it now. Today was just my body, but tomorrow? The world.

But that was a matter for another time. Right now, I just needed to focus on surviving this weekend. Putting a pin in it and shoving it back to the deepest, darkest, furthest recesses of my mind where I tended to put any other emotions I didn't know how to deal with, I glanced back to Anna.

...okay, I knew what Lea had told me. I knew that pushing and prodding at her had gotten me nowhere so far. And I knew I had decided but a few mere moments ago to let her be so that she could talk to me when she was ready. But right now, she seemed so content and carefree, just like she always had been with me. Well, that is, up until yesterday, of course. But maybe… just maybe it wouldn't hurt to try one more time.

I took a deep breath. "Anna, I was hoping-"

"Ahhh! Do you see the size of that chocolate cake?! I'm gonna-"

No. Not again. Not this time.

My sister has barely made it two steps before I'd seized her by the wrist, making her stumble into an awkward stop. With a huff of frustration, I snapped, "Anna! Can we please for one minute just-" However, the words died on my tongue when she looked back at me, eyes wide and face stark white. Feeling a small pang in my chest, I released her, my hands fidgeting together. Tucking in my lower lip, I struggled to find the right thing to say to her. If I only knew what that was. Finally, I just settled on, "Please, just… know that I'm here for you. Whatever's troubling you, you can always come to me about anything. Anything at all."

She didn't say a word. Her expression didn't change. There was just the barest hint of a quiver to her bottom lip. Then she took a small step back before turning and running off.

And I just let her, left at a complete and utter loss in her wake.

Author's Note: Ooooo dRaMa! Haha I can't help but laugh because it's so rare for me to write it xD Anyhoo, Yelena made her appearance this chapter! I know she's not a bad guy in the F2 movie, more just a very stern, no-nonsense character. Carrying THOSE traits over into this story however, it kind of turns her a bit into a sorta bad guy, but really only cuz she's reacting to the facts she's been dealt and those facts? Do NOT look good xD Minor fun fact: The Fryse ballroom here is based off Arendelle's castle ballroom from the first Frozen movie! Minor fun fact 2: The ice cream this chapter, Crabclaw, is named after Atlantica's keyblade and I imagine its description on the menu would look something like: "This butter-infused ice cream topped with sweet cooked crab will have you partying under the sea in no time!" This is based on real ice cream that's sold out there somewhere in the world (for real! google it!), except replace crab with lobster (I figured it would probably work out close enough!)

Next chapter, will Elsa finally get to the bottom of what's bugging Anna? And what's that I see on the horizon? Could it be? Is the dreaded, the feared, The Talk (TM) at last upon us? Will Lea ever correctly guess Elsa's favorite ice cream? And just what IS Gramps secret for keeping it so tight for a man his age? Possibly that "Flower Gleam and Glow" anti-aging cream mentioned back in chapter 21 xD In any case, stay tuned!

Thanks for reading, I super duper appreciate it! And an extra BIG thank you to those of you who’ve liked, reblogged, and followed so far, seeing those lil notifications always brings the biggest, goofiest smile to my face!

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