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atimeofyourlife · 5 months

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A family Thanksgiving

This was supposed to be up yesterday, but it took on a mind of its own and instead of the few hundred words it was supposed to be, its nearly 3k. Happy belated Thanksgiving to anyone who celebrates! rated: t | wc: 2847 | cw: period typical homophobia, Steve's asshole parents

The offers from everyone to have him over for Thanksgiving had been great, any other year he would have loved such a choice, but for the first time in a long time, he was spending the day with family.

"But you hate your family." Dustin pointed out when Steve had told everyone about his holiday plans.

"No, I hate my parents. It's my grandma that asked me to go, and I want to see her and my cousins that I haven't seen in like five years. I'm driving myself to Chicago, so I won't be stuck in a car with my parents for hours on end." Steve explained.

"But you're working a late the day before, and I'm not going to cover you so you can drive up early" Robin replied.

"I'm planning on leaving by six on Thanksgiving morning. It's less than four hours to drive, so I'll be there before ten, well nine because of the timezone change. I took the late shift the day before so I had an excuse to drive myself, and my parents wouldn't have any reason to come by Hawkins before. And I drive home either the Friday or the Saturday, ready for our Sunday shift."

Come Thanksgiving day, Steve was somewhat regretting his decision. It had been nearly midnight before he'd gotten home, after a number of people came in just before closing insistent on needing a selection of movies ready for the next day. Then hadn't been happy when the movies they wanted weren't in stock, so they left the place a total mess, causing Steve to stay late to tidy up ready for the opener the next day. Then having to get up around five, so he could get ready and be on track to leave as planned. In an attempt to wake up, he was mostly surviving on a large cup of incredibly strong coffee. He was just counting down the minutes until he could get there.

When he walked in the door, he was immediately wrapped up in a hug from his grandma. "Stevie, it's so good to see you."

"It's great to see you too, Grandma." He returned the hug, melting into it a little. Exactly what he needed after the year it had been.

"Let me take a look at you." She stepped back slightly, giving him a once over. Her hand came up to trace the scar still on his neck from where he had been strangled by the bats and vines. "What happened here?"

"I. It's nothing. It looks a lot worse than it is." Steve replied, trying to get out of the awkwardness of the conversation.

"Oh, if you're sure. If you want to help with dinner, you can join us in the kitchen. But if you just want to rest, anyone who's watching football is in the living room, and the Macy's parade is on in the den."

"It's been a long drive, and I had a late finish last night, so I think I'm going to take a bit of a break. I might come out and help a bit later." He offered.

"Oh, honey. If you don't feel up to it, you don't need to help at all. Take it easy, and we'll call you once everything is ready." She kissed Steve on the cheek, before going back to the kitchen.

Steve made his way through the house, glancing into the living room as he passed. He could see his dad in one of the recliners, and decided against joining them. Wanting to delay the inevitable "you're a disappointment" lecture. He knew his mom would likely be in the kitchen, not actually helping, just drinking wine and gossiping. He moved on to the den, where most of his cousins were. He hovered in the doorway for a second, unsure what to say. So much had changed since the last time he had seen any of them.

"Wait, Stevie?" One of them, Lizzie, said as she looked up to see him.

"Uh, hey?" Steve replied, a little unsure, before he was being swamped in a group hug.

"Jesus Christ, when did this happen? Last time I saw you, you were like a little kid. Now you're a whole grown adult." Another, Mark, said.

After a long catch up, bringing Steve up to date on everyone else's lives, and him giving an abridged highlights of his last few years, they then got into more serious topics.

"Was everything okay after the earthquakes? I tried calling a few times, but I don't know if I had the wrong number because it never went through." Alice, the oldest of his cousins, asked.

"The phones were down across the whole town for a while after, then it was patchy for weeks after that. It was hard to get five or ten minutes without it dropping out. It took me like two weeks before I was able to get hold of mom and dad to let them know that the house was still standing, and that I was still alive." Steve explained.

"Wait, they weren't in Hawkins for the earthquakes?" Harry cut in.

"No, they've not been in Hawkins since February? Like over a month before it happened."

"Oh. They were telling us last night about how awful and hard it had been during the earthquakes, and how they were scared for their lives." Alice replied.

"That's such bullshit. They weren't in the country when it happened, they were in London. They didn't even know that it was Hawkins that was affected until I called them, because all they'd seen on the news was a freak earthquake hitting the Midwest. It hadn't even specified the state. And then they didn't care how I was, if I was hurt or anything, all they were interested in was if there was damage to the house, and how the earthquake could affect the resale value."

"Okay, I call dibs about bringing that up over dinner. I just want to see what shade of purple Uncle Dick can turn." Becca, the closest cousin to Steve in age, piped up. "But were you hurt?"

"Uh, minor injuries. Nothing serious." Steve lied, not wanting to worry anyone. "I was able to start volunteering within a couple of days. You know, helping out at the relief center, helping search for missing people. And when everything calmed down I was helping rebuild and stuff. Just trying to do my bit. But I'm fine now."

"That's good. But thinking of Uncle Dick turning purple, who gets to bring up Fuck Reagan?" Mark asked.

"Stevie's been through the most, I think he should get the chance." Alice replied.

"Uh, I think that would go down about as well as if I told him that my best friend is a dyke and I've spent most of my free time in the last six months sucking off the local drug dealer, who was accused of being a cult leader and murdering three people." Steve said quickly, unsure if he wanted anyone else to pick up what he'd said.

"Was that for drugs, or for fun, or what? Like a hook up?" Harry asked.

"He's my boyfriend. I mean, it helps that I get free weed out of him, but I'd do it anyway." Steve admitted.

"That is something you missed out of your round up. But I love that all of us are some variation of queer."

Dinner was...interesting, to say the least. After saying Grace, they went round the table to say what they were thankful for that year. Steve had to bite his lip to keep himself from laughing as his parents waxed on and on about how they were thankful for their lives and being able to escape the earthquake unscathed. He couldn't keep from laughing when Becca spoke up against them.

"Really? Because Alice asked Steve how he found it after the earthquakes, and he said that he couldn't reach you for two weeks after it happened because the phones were down and you were in London. And you didn't even know that it had hit Hawkins until he called you."

"Steven, why are you telling lies about us?" His mother demanded.

"I wasn't? You weren't in Hawkins when the earthquake hit. You've not been there since February. When I was finally able to call you, you only cared about how the house was, not if I was hurt. And you were pissed that I hadn't called you sooner, despite the fact the phone lines were down for the whole town. I could have died or been injured in hospital, and you wouldn't have known."

"How dare-" His father started, only to be cut off by Steve's grandmother.

"Settle down. There's no need for arguing. I am inclined to believe Steve, because I do remember you telling me that you were going to be spending a few months in Europe at the start of this year."

Both of Steve's parents were visibly unhappy, but they didn't push it any further, allowing the rest of the family to talk about what they were thankful for.

Many small conversations broke out over the table, Steve loving the feeling of being surrounded by family for the first time in a long time. He got pulled into talking to different people, but he did his best to avoid his parents' eye. Not wanting to get trapped by them telling him all the ways he had bothered them since he'd last seen them. But he knew they were up to something, when his father got up before dessert was served.

"Before we have anything else, we do have a big announcement about the future of our family." He said, using the voice he always used when talking to the most important clients.

"You've sucked enough political dick to get what ever tax exemption you were after?" Lizzie asked, before anyone could take it too seriously.

Steve's dad just spluttered in anger as a call of "Elizabeth." Came from at least four different people around the table.

"Ignoring that horrible interruption. What I was going to tell everyone is about Steven's imminent engagement. He is going to be proposing to Melissa Downey, the daughter of my business partner, at Christmas, they've been seeing each other for nearly eighteen months now, and it is going to mean big things for our family."

Steve couldn't respond, processing what had just been said, as everyone started speaking, some offering congratulations, others in confusion.

"That's news to me." Steve said loudly, to get over everyone's voices, once he could form the words. "I'm not planning on proposing to anyone."

"Well, Arthur and I have been discussing it, and it is the only thing that makes sense now, the two of you have been together for long enough, the logical next step is engagement."

"I'm not dating Melissa. We went on one date over a year ago, just after I graduated. It was awful, all she was interested in was if I made enough money to bankroll her spending addiction. I made up a fake emergency to get out of it, and I would rather stick forks in my eyes than suffer through that again." Steve got to his feet, bracing his hands on the table. Knowing he'd been right not to be optimistic that the holiday could pass without incident.

"You will if you know what's good for you. If you don't, it could destroy our business. You wouldn't want to be the reason we go broke, would you? You could end up homeless. Where would you live?"

"First, I have plenty of friends who would be happy to take me in if I had nowhere else to go. It's something we talked about after the earthquake, because some people I know did have damage caused to their homes and I let them stay with me until they could move back in. Second, I don't really care about whether or not you go broke. You don't provide any money to me. You haven't since I started working at Scoops. I pay for all my food, gas, clothes. If you go broke, my financial position won't change at all. And third, I can't propose to her. I'm in a relationship, and we're both very happy."

"Is it that Buckley girl? Or did you somehow manage to convince that Wheeler girl that you're actually worth something? Because I can tell you now, you are going to break up with whatever little slut-"

"His name is Eddie." Steve shouted before he could think it through, and a silence fell across the room. "That's right. Your son is one of those awful queers that you keep campaigning against, to keep them illegal and get them locked up. And you know what? He's easily the best sex I've ever had. Especially when we get high first."

"Why you-" His father roared, his face turning a dark red in anger. "How dare you do this to us? After everything we have done for you. You'd better hope that those friends of yours would be willing to take you in, because you are not living under my roof any longer. You will have until the end of the weekend to collect your belongings, anything left will be burned."

"Except, it isn't your roof, is it Richard? If I remember correctly, I was the one who paid the mortgage. My name is the one on the deed to the property in Hawkins. I just allowed you to live there, rent-free might I add, because it made sense for you to live somewhere close to Indianapolis when your business was taking off. I had been planning to sell up. So I think maybe you should be the one to collect your belongings from that house, because I'm not sure if I want you living under my roof any longer. It sounds life you're almost never there, anyway." Steve's grandma replied.

"But, mother-" His father started.

"But nothing, Richard. I don't know where you learnt your hateful attitude, because I know I did not raise you to be the sort of man that would kick your own son out over something as minor as who he loves. I really thought you were a better man than that."

"It's disgusting." Steve's mother added. "So unnatural, and that disease."

"What is disgusting is your bigotry. I think I want you both out from under my roof, now. So, if you would both kindly leave. And I expect you to move your belongings from the house in Hawkins, as that is now Steve's house, not yours. And you better not touch anything that isn't yours, or cause any damage, because I will take legal advice." Steve's grandmother stood up, anger radiating from her tiny five foot frame. "And, unless you change and apologize for your outdated beliefs, you can forget any inheritance. I will not have any of my money going to support hatred."

"Mother,"

"Leave, Richard. Now. I'm not afraid to get the police involved here."

Steve's parents looked at him with their faces filled with utter disgust, before they turned and left. His grandmother escorting them off the property.

"Are you okay, Stevie?" His grandmother asked after the end of the meal.

"I. I think so. I think I need to make a couple of phone calls." He replied.

"Use any of the phones, dear. Maybe if you know someone who can keep an eye on the house."

"Yeah. I babysit for the chief of police sometimes, so I might call him. He'll make sure nothing happens."

"Good. And, if you're talking to that boy of yours, tell him that he's got to come up here for Christmas. I want to meet him, and make sure he's good enough for you."

"Grandma." Steve protested.

"I'm just saying." She replied before walking away.

Steve shut himself in one of the bedrooms, for a little privacy from the still crowded house while he made the calls. The call to Hopper was quick, just outlining what was going on, and Hopper agreed to keep a check on the house until Steve was back in Hawkins. Then it was the call to Eddie.

"Baby, I wasn't expecting you to call. How's your Thanksgiving?"

"Interesting. My parents decided to announce that I was going to propose to dad's business partner's daughter. They wouldn't accept that I wasn't interested in her so I accidentally came out."

"Shit, I hope that didn't go too bad?"

"Uh, it could have gone worse? Somehow me coming out got my parents removed from the will and kicked out of the house. Because my grandma wasn't happy with them being assholes about it."

"Oh, badass grandma. I kinda want to meet her now."

"I was hoping you would say something like that. Because she has told me that you have to come here for Christmas. She wants to make sure that you're good enough." Steve couldn't help smiling as he talked, somehow the day had gone so much better than he'd ever hoped.

#steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie #steve harrington has bad parents #steve x eddie #steve harrington x eddie munson #stranger things #atimeofyourwrites

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miguelswifey04 · 10 months

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miguel x mexican/black fem! reader

fluff/silly hcs

favorite thing to do together is talk shit/gossip in spanish knowing damn well that the people you’re talking about wouldn’t understand a damn thing in spanish LOL

spanish endearment words! miguel loves to refer to you as “querida, corazón, muñeca (sometimes), mi sol, mi vida, mi alma, mujercita” while you refer to him as “guapo, mi amor, cariño, hombre,”

he loves the way you say his name. it’s like a lullaby to his ears. i think he loves your accent and the way you accentuate his name with love.

he’s surprisingly good at braiding your way when you make him braid your hair before going to bed. well, you sometimes forget that he used to braid his daughter hair a lot…☹️

miguel loves it when you rant to him about anything quite literally anything. whether is about some person you don’t like or a new hyperfixation he will be all ears.

you purposely piss him off…you love when men get mad…you find it funny when miguel is annoyed with you BUT he doesn’t get extremely mad at you. you push it because you wanna see if he would actually get mad at you but surprisingly enough he doesn’t! just annoyed, “stop being annoying y/n.” he says it with a smirk but his voice is dripping with annoyance.

he learned your whole hair care routine. he payed attention when it was your hair wash day. he secretly loves to watch you wash you hair and take note of the different hair products that vest suits your type of hair whether it’s afro, curly, textured, thick you name it.

that’s why when one day you asked him if he could wash your hair, he happily obliged and you were so surprised he knew which products where which and in the specific order that you used them. HE LIKES TO GIVE UU SCALP MASSAGES 💆🏽‍♀️ sometimes you’d end up falling asleep on the sink and he’d wake you up, “okay mi vida, your nap time is over.” he’d make fun of you for falling asleep HAHA

miguel loves loves loves it so much whenever you where long acrylic nails 💅🏽 it’s just something about the way they make your hands adorned and pretty. he’s always grabbing your hands and just awestruck by the artwork done on your nails <3

suggestive: when miguel and you were making out and in the heat of the moment, he hadn’t realized that his claws came out and they were digging into your hips + his fangs were more prominent which grazed against your lips. you jolted from the sharp pain of his claws digging into your skin and he felt really bad. “i’m so sorry, i didn’t mean to.” he apologized profusely throughout the day after that because he would never hurt you. of course you told him you didn’t mind it one bit, and that you kinda liked it which left miguel was dumbstruck by it 😭

“please please please!! i wanna see your fangs oh my god, please please please.” you begging him to show you his fangs and he would be reluctant to, “what? no, not here.” obviously he gave in and you we’re literally literally so intrigued by his fangs. you were awestruck and he kind of blushed because of that.

he was invited to your family’s cookout 😭 the black side of your family definitely had fun with him, showing him the good stuff. he fell in love with the food and he could not get enough of your grandma’s cooking. not him dancing to cupid shuffle with your uncles, aunts, and cousins 😭

now of course, your mexican side of the family would invite him to go to trips to mexico with all of you. you can say it was the most chaotic experience in your life BUT SO MUCH FUN!

miguel bonded really well and was fully accepted on both sides of your family. your mom almost fainted when you brought miguel to your house because it’s the first time you bring a good man. your mom knew you had terrible taste in men but when you brought miguel, lord. she was like “¡¡estoy tan feliz de tu novio!! siempre traes hombres feos a mi casa!!” while your dad was just happy you got a good man, finally. “nice to meet you, miguel. i’m sure you’ll make my daughter happy.” miguel happily nodded, “of course, your daughter’s happiness and well-being is my first priority.”

he takes you out on dates a lot…he plans them more than you do, and he always bringing you flowers with every visit. got you a promise ring and vowed to marry you one day (he’s a man of his words) it took him time to figure out his feelings but he did it!

he always encourages to reach for your goals and dream & promises to be by your side through it all, and you promised him you’d help him overcome his past traumas which really made him soft. he always cried when you said :(

lyla loves you!! she exposes his secrets or confessions he had about you, out loud…he gets super embarrassed and red about it, and you just tease him about it. one time it was something suggestive…he literally had to disconnect lyla for A WHILE LMFAO it was awkward as fuck 😭 “miguel um—wow i didn’t know you had that in you..” he looked down at the floor than at you with an embarrassed face gawd did he want to disappear. “well yeah…” he chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck.

…

a/n: if this gets enough reach i’ll make a pt. 2

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tinyladofladdies · 13 days

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my testimony 🌊☆⋆｡🪼 (of how i returned to God and truly came to know Jesus for the first time after being a distant believer turned atheist) . . 𓆉︎ ࿔*

Romans 8:38-39 — For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

like many, not all, Christians, i was raised in an american Christian church, knowing who Jesus was my whole life.

from the youngest i can remember, i was attending some sort of church, usually with my nana on my dad's side and then for a bit, with my parents at a different church in town. i attended VBS most summers, went to sports camp at a different Christian church, got to a point where i served the coffee station in my nana's non-denominational church, went to 3 services a week with my other grandma, and as a child, i genuinely loved praying and had a deep understanding of the gravity of what Jesus did for us; i remember as a child feeling genuine sadness thinking of how Jesus died for our sins while being innocent. i loved God.

yet still, once i got to around 6th & 7th grade, i could no longer find myself believing in God. i wanted to believe in something; i attended many sweat lodges with my kaka (grandpa), called myself an "omnist" at one point (someone who believed all religions had an equal possibility of being correct and therefore all religions deserved equal respect). but, very quickly, i started identifying myself as an atheist.

there were many reasons for this; when i was a child, my dad went to prison. i saw drugs all around me, both my dad and my aunt being addicted, as well as other distant family members who i didn't meet, to the point that my dad went to prison for 8ish years and i wasn't allowed to see my aunt anymore for several months. because of my dad's addiction, my mom worked hard, multiple jobs, and i was usually with my dad, and as a young child, felt responsible for my two younger siblings at the time. whether i was with my aunt or dad, i felt responsible for keeping my younger cousin and my two younger siblings at that time safe. there was an unnecessary pressure on me, now that i think back i had a lot go anxiety even as a child, and i know these things added up, because by the time i was 8-9 years old (when my dad went away), i became severely depressed. the first time i physically self-harmed was in 3rd or 4th grade, and i had deep suicidal ideations. i was exposed to things as a child that i shouldn't have been (it's hard to comment on this, because i know i had weird behavior and severe guilt as a young child that was definitely influenced by trauma, except i believe some things happened to me that i repressed because i can't remember). i developed a p*rn & m*sterb*tion addiction still in 3rd or 4th grade, and long before that, sexualised myself as a child. leading up to 6th or 7th grade, my addictions got worse, i was still suicidal and depressed, taking very poor care of myself, and i could no longer feel that there was any God watching over me. so, i became an atheist; i then despised being at church with my nana, i didn't want to stand during the worship music even though, before, i would sing with my whole chest, and i just remember wanting to cry and run out one time because i absolutely did not want to be there and did not want to be standing. one morning, i stayed home from church and my nana got upset with me and told me i could not come to her house unless i came to church with her, and when i told my mom i no longer believed in God, she said i had no feelings or empathy. i say all of this, not because it's easy or to be glorified or because i want my family members to feel any guilt over things they said in 2018; i have fully and completely forgiven both my mom and nana, and my relationship with both of them has drastically improved as well as my relationship with God because of their own faith. however, these things are important to be raw about. the hurt i was already experiencing being added onto made me a stronger atheist, and i know that many people feel the same thing or have been through the same thing, and i want to offer them empathy and hope in Jesus. i don't glorify my trauma or sins, i acknowledge them and how severe they were, but i use this as a testimony to glorify GOD and how far HE has brought me and how much HE has healed me, forgiven me, and saved me from.

from the time i was in 5th grade, i identified as bisexual & pansexual, and from 9th grade to the beginning of my junior year, i identified as non-binary, trans, and every queer label under the sun. i was bisexual, i was lesbian, i was a gay man, i was aromantic, i was hypersexual, i was every "mogai" label that i came across on the internet, i was radically queer and this journey as well influenced my view and idea of God. i was a radical queer inclusionist, i was a radfem/terf, i was pro-choice, i used God's Name in vain and viewed myself worthy to be referred to as a "god," i believed in astrology signs and "vibrations," and the "divine feminine," i talked badly about Christianity while calling myself a Christian, all of these things.

and while some of these sins are at different points in this timeline, before or after i became a Christian, all of this throughout my walk added up to who i am, how i view God and what my relationship with God is like here and now, today.

in the summer of 2019, i moved to california from kentucky with my family after being raised in ky my whole life. i was 13, i was battling extreme intrusive thoughts which caused, yet again, more anxiety and suicidal ideation, and i still did not believe in God.

my family & i lived in hotels for the first month or so that we got out here, where i isolated myself as much as possible, battled my own thoughts, and spent way too much time in my head.

when we finally found and moved into a house, where we still live today, my mom, siblings, & i found a church that is a 5 minute walk from our house. i started going with my family, asked for a Bible i believe the first Christmas we had here, and back then, shortly before and after covid first hit, i took a lot of walks. i would pray. i would ask God for silly signs to prove Himself real to me. i got to this point, and this was now in my 8th grade year (where i dropped out of school due to severe anxiety and developed a horrible reversed sleep schedule...whole other story), where i started believing in God again, but now i felt fear because i believed God was real, but i couldn't really believe. and if i did, i didn't want to follow Him, which made me feel even more guilt; i didn't and still don't know why i felt this way.

i do know, that my relationship with my family was getting worse & more toxic, there was still deep sexual sin in my life, and i was still struggling mentally. i was becoming a worse person to myself, to my family, and to all other people around me. i felt isolated, i felt unreal, i felt anxious, and i felt guilt.

i got a point where i was so delusional and mentally detached that i thought i wasn't even human.

i remember that when things kind of built up, and fights with my mom got worse, and i said or did something i know i shouldn't have, i would just pray; crying & sobbing for hours on end, praying, asking God for forgiveness and help. i think the first time i really repented in prayer was during these times. i knew, and i told God this, that there was something within me that was causing these attitudes, behaviors, and sins, and that i couldn't do it on my own. i wanted so desperately to just act different, be different, be better as a person, and i told God that i just did not know why i couldn't just change myself, knowing that everything in my life was wrong. i just couldn't.

one of the last times i prayed one of these long, desperate prayers, i remember distinctly telling God that i felt like i was too far gone for Him to save me or help me. i don't know if this was a saturday night or a few days before the next Sunday, but i know that the next time there was church, "something" (which i now know was the Holy Spirit), compelled me to go. this was still during covid, church was in different area of the building than the main services used to be, everyone was 6 ft. apart with masks, it was bizarre. but the message that day that stuck with me was "nobody is too far gone for God's love."

that was the exact thing i prayed. and all this time i was asking God for a sign, He spoke to me in the most direct, beautiful way.

as a kid, even with my extreme love for Jesus, i always felt that in order to pray "that prayer," or to even be baptised, i had to get my life together. i had to be kinder, be a better sister and daughter, stop sinning, at least for long enough that i could finally be worthy enough to approach Jesus and tell Him i wanted Him as my Savior.

but for the first time, that lie was undone. i left that service early because i didn't want anyone to see me crying, i cried all the way home trying to hold back the tears, and as soon as i got to my room, i fell down with my head bowed on my Bible and i repented; i admitted everything i had done that had been weighing me down for years, and i finally said the words "Jesus, i accept you as my Lord and Savior."

i finally admitted Who Jesus was, that i believed what He did for me, that i needed God's forgiveness, and that i wanted God's guidance for my life.

now, this was january of 2021 (it's actually funny because for a long time, i thought i was saved shortly after my 15th birthday, but it was actually a month-ish before that birthday, so i literally got my salvation date wrong LOL).

i have to admit, that after praying that prayer, although i felt the peace and presence of the Lord in a way i never had before, i started going to church but i didn't start living for God for a very long time. and even with going to my church, i eventually stopped because my stepdad and i got into a fight where he basically said "why are you even going to church if you're gay?" and while that didn't stop my belief in God, i felt ashamed to pass my stepdad walking out the door on Sunday mornings.

a lot of sin in my life actually got worse after i came to Christ; i was still gay and trans, still sexually sinning with my addictions, still not being the best family member, still being a very toxic person, and still using the Lord's Name in vain and using God's Name in fights to defend things that aren't even biblical.

it wasn't until august of 2022, the beginning of my junior year, that i made the step to start going to church again, to get baptised, which i had put off for so long, and to start taking God seriously. i started going through the verse of the day in the youversion Bible app every morning, i started praying every day and more consistently throughout my day, i started trying to learn more about who God actually is, and i started serving in the kids' ministry at my church. eventually i started attending and then serving in the highschool ministry, i started serving in the choir and greeting team, and for the first time, i really sat down and examined my sins & behaviors; even after beginning to take Jesus seriously, many sins, even sinful thoughts as well as behaviors, continued, and it took a lot of help from the Holy Spirit, a lot of self-control, a lot of mindset & heart attitude change, and a lot of repentance, to get to a point where i knew exactly how God wanted me to live and started putting it into practice.

in the very beginning of building my relationship with God, i felt peace and joy like never before, and thought "why on earth did i never follow Jesus before?" but as with every believer, the enemy started attacking and i had, and still do currently, have to navigate through spiritual attacks; i have slipped and sinned and messed up seemingly "way too far" into my Christian walk, knowingly, knowing what is sin and what isn't. it took me absolutely forever to finally and honestly surrender my false identity of homosexuality & gender identity over to God (and His love, comfort, and patience was so present with me through that long process), it took forever to unlearn things i had been taught by the world or that i had somehow believed (and that unlearning process is still continuing sometimes as i read the Word of God and get closer to Him), it took forever to finally manage my thoughts and temptations, and even recently those thoughts & temptations have caused me to either slip or fall into anxiety.

my testimony is still being written every day, but all of this is a testament of God's EXTREME goodness, faithfulness, and grace.

i have been under severe spiritual attack for the entirety of 2024. there are days when my thoughts seem beyond control, where my ocd presides over genuine interaction with God, where i don't feel God's presence almost at all. i have fallen into a deep depression, anxiety, ocd, and a lot of my passion to live out my life as it is right now has diminished, and that's hard.

but God has been faithfully speaking to me through His Word, through my family, through my Christian friends and mentors. He has been teaching me how to relearn prayer and interaction with Him, His presence and protection have brought peace and encouragement like never before, even when i'm in a dark season where it seems like i should be feeling everything but peace or encouragement.

but God is building me up and preparing me for whatever seasons are going to come next, and all of this is to say, God is real.

God is patient, God's grace never runs out; the message that led me to salvation was "nobody is too far gone for God's love," no matter what you have said or done, how broken you are, Jesus is victorious over every single part of the battle. that message is still true.

God loves you, God is near to you, God's grace & patience are extended to you and me time and time again, and God has a plan for you. He created you to know Him and He will meet you right where you are.

one of my favorite verses (and chapters, really), is the one quoted at the very top of this post, but i will reiterate it time & time again for as long as i live . . .

I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

🫧 ⋆｡˚꩜ : creds . .

dividers: roseraris

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purplesimmer455 · 2 months

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It was finally time to age Cam and Piper up so I could send them off to Foxbury. Technically Cam turns 18 in June and Piper turns 18 in October but I was like let me just age both of them up into young adults together.

Cam’s house is a bit more spacious, so I added Piper to the household and threw a party with the household members as hosts so I could invite a bunch of sims. I invited Piper’s moms, brother, aunties Megan and Tess, cousins Emily, Amir and Safiya, as well as her grandmas and grandpas on both sides, and her great-grandma Alicia and her partner Dani. For Cam’s side, it was her parents, (I think her maternal grandparents too), her auntie Iseul and Iseul’s girlfriend Grace, her sister Cece and Cece’ wife Hanh.

Iseul chats with her brother as he makes the cake for both teens and she tries to tamp down on her sappiness. “It seems like just yesterday you and Paenji called me to the hospital when Cammy was born, and she was this tiny baby, and now she’s turning 18.” Iseul says, smiling as she thinks back on holding her niece as a baby at the hospital, joking how tiny and potato-like she was, and being sappy as heck as then-baby Cam wrapped her hand around Iseul’s finger as she held her. “I know.” Min Jun says, blinking rapidly to stop from crying. “My little girl, and now she’s going to college.” He says and Iseul nods. “Appa, auntie Is, save the sappiness for the day you guys drop me off at my dorm.” Cam calls playfully from the dining table, where she’s sitting with her mom, Paenji. “Oh, your dad and mom and I are going to be crying that whole day.” Iseul half-jokes, and Cam rolls her eyes but smiles. She feels sappy as well, knowing she’s going to go and live at Foxbury that coming Fall semester. It’s scary as heck, but a good change.

All the guests arrive, and Cam and Piper both blow out the candles on the cake, and age up. This made me sappy as well, and I was like 🥺 as I took the photos. 😊

#ts4 #mysims #Kaitlyn Chen #Kang Min Jun #Kang Paenji #Iseul Kang #Christine Hecking #Megan Liao #Luna Feldman-Chen #Tess Liao-Feldman #Cameron Kang #Piper Feldman-Chen #Hamuera Feldman-Chen #Emily Liao-Feldman

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avintagepumpkin · 6 months

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The Kitten-Stu Macher oneshot

I read a comment asking someone to write a story about Stu having a wife and kids, so I wrote a quick one-shot.

Trigger Warning: Mature sexual language, Stu being Stu, talking inappropriate around children

Not proofread

It was a little after 5 p.m., and you were running late. It normally wouldn't bother you, but you didn't like to leave Stu home alone with the kids for too long. He wasn't exactly your idea of a suitable babysitter, great father but horrible responsible adult, so you try and limit his nanny care to only an hour two at the most.Your boss had called an urgent meeting and you had told Stu that you would get your cousin to watch them but he insisted, he was even a bit hurt that you didn't trust him with his own children.

"Stu, are you 100% sure you can handle them while I'm gone.?"

Asking for the 100th time from the bathroom while putting on eyeliner.

"You know Y/N, I find it a tad bit offensive that you don't think I can handle taking care of my own sperm nuggets if you're not present."

He finished with a wince as he took a knee to the nuts. Grabbing your oldest child and lifting them into the air as they were laughing maniacally.

"Oh, you think it's funny to make daddy want to vomit?"

He laughed as he body slammed them into the bed, then he reached to his back and grabbed your youngest by the waist, slinging them to the front and pile driving them almost knocking their heads together, then went on to deliver blow after blow to their stomachs as they kicked and screamed, laughing the whole way.

"Honey, it's not that I don't think you're capable. It's just that you tend to be a little lax where you shouldn't."

" I'll have you know I am a strict disciplinarian, just last night I told Boo that 5 year olds can't dress up like Leatherface for Halloween. Do you know how hard that was? "

You rolled your eyes and went back to the mirror.

"The fact that she even knows who Leatherface is, that's the issue Stu."

"Mommy!"

Boo was now tugging on your dress, wanting your attention.

"What is it, sweetheart?"

"Daddy told me that I couldn't be Leatherface because grandma already was."

Stu let's out a loud obnoxious laugh like it's the funniest thing he's ever said. All you can do is give him a stern look of disapproval.

"Honey, why don't you and James go get ready for breakfast? Your daddy will be down in a second."

With that, both of the kids took off downstairs, noise and all. You were trying to finish getting dressed, but Stu, of course, had other plans. He comes up behind you and lays his chin on your shoulder, admiring you in the mirror.

"You know this dress would look so much better on the floor."

He slowly starts to unzip it while kissing your neck.

"Stu sweetheart, our kids need to eat."

"Yes, so does daddy,"

He whispers in your ear as he kisses the lobe.

Turning you around, he lifts you up on the sink, stepping in between your legs. You can feel him pushing up against your groin. He was definitely aroused. Still kissing your neck, his hands start to rub your breasts. You want nothing more than to give in.

"Honey, stop, I have to get to work,"

"Yes, I know,"

He begins to slide his hand up your thigh.

Just as you're about to give in, you hear a blood curdling scream. The both of you run downstairs to find Boo in front of the TV dancing and singing to some show. Stu sighs, scooping her up and sitting down on the couch with her on his lap next to James as you head back upstairs to finish getting ready.

10 minutes later, you come back down and see that Stu has made breakfast. Well, he threw waffles in the microwave and called it a day, but they were content. You give each a kiss and say your goodbyes when James asks

"Mom, what's a cockblock?"

You look at Stu in disbelief as he's putting his hand over James mouth, he smiles

"Dont listen to him, he's crazy"

then Boo begins laughing and says,

"Daddy said I'm a cookbook"

You take a deep breath and pat her on her head, looking at Stu once again

"Nice, I'm out. Are you sure you've got this?"

He grabs both kids in between both arms, leaving them dangling like potato sacks so they can all walk you out.

"Of course, what can go wrong?"

"I'll be no longer than 2 hours, I promise"

And with that, you kiss them all goodbye and pull off, leaving them waving like maniacs as you leave.

Now, finally, after 7 hours, you were pulling into your driveway. You couldn't wait to see everyone and get your hugs and kisses. You half expected the house to be burned down, but there it stood, exactly as you left it.

Walking in, you were shocked to see everything was clean and organized. You weren't sure if you had walked into the right home, it was so quiet. You walked around looking for everyone. Finally, upstairs in your bedroom, you hear Stus voice. He's reading the kids a story as their drifting off to sleep on your bed. He shushes you and quietly gets up and gives you a kiss.

You had to admit you felt a bit guilty for thinking he couldn't do it. You both walk back downstairs and head to the kitchen. He hands you a plate as you sit down at the table,

"You're late"

He sounded a bit upset.

"Yea, I'm so sorry. It took so much longer than I thought it would."

He looked at you and motioned for you to eat.

"So everything went OK?"

The way he was looking at you made you feel a little uneasy. He wasn't talking and was just staring.

You're just about to say something when you hear the kids coming down the stairs.

"Mommy!!"

They both yell, jumping in your lap.

"You're finally home,"

James declares.

"Did yall have fun with daddy?"

"YES!!!!"

They both started going through their day,

"He let us eat icecream and we had pizza for lunch, than we went to the park and he swung the merry go round so fast I flew off."

"You didn't get hurt, did you?"

"No, just fell on my ass."

"James, language."

Stu is still just staring at you.

"Honey, what's wrong? You're being oddly quiet."

Stu kept the same emotionless face

"Mommy!"

Boo starts tugging on your dress again.

"What is it dear?"

"Did you bring home the kitten?"

You looked at her confused but noticed Stus eyes had widened.

"Honey, what kitten?"

"Daddy told Uncle Billy that he couldn't wait to feed the kitten when you get home."

Stu grabbed her up,

"You weren't supposed to hear that, time for bed you two."

He kissed her cheek and pushed her and James towards the stairs. You glared at him as you went up the stairs to tuck the kids in, Stu followed closely behind you. After they were all tucked in, you and Stu went to your own room. He wasted no time kissing the back of your neck and unzipping your dress.

"Stu, I'm tired."

"Oh, come on, Daddy has been waiting to bury his snake all day."

You turned around and looked at him

"You really need to be more careful with what you say around them"

"Oh come on, they didn't hear that"

" No, but Boo heard your kitten comment to Billy earlier"

Stu giggled and pulled you down on the bed.

" I truly didn't know she heard that, plus don't blame me, you're the one who left me for 7 hours alone, you know I can't be trusted"

You just rolled your eyes and went to get up.

"If anything, I should be upset with you"

He scoffed and mocked, being hurt. You laid back on the bed, too exhausted to continue this conversation when you knew you weren't going to win.

"Fine Stu, be mad at me, I'm gonna go shower,"

You went to get up, but he pulled you back down. He laid his chin on your shoulder and stared at you with his big puppy dog eyes. He knew it was your weakness, but you pushed him off and started heading towards the shower. He dramatically threw himself back onto the bed and let out a big sigh. You stopped at the bathroom door and looked his way.

"If you can behave yourself long enough for me to shower, I'll let you feed the kitten."

Stu shot up and gave you a salute, clicking his heals together.

"Sir. yes. sir, my cock and I will be standing at attention till your return."

You finished your shower and sure enough there he stood nude as the day he was born with a huge hard on.

"I'm gonna drill you all night long, baby."

You walked to him as he wrapped you in his arms.

"Military huh, what happened to feeding the kitten?"

"Oh, I'm about to feed her real good,

#headcannon #scream #stu macher #scream 1996 #billy loomis

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elfandomdelpandicornioyeldorito · 5 months

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Chapter 8. Stupid decisions

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Valentina Rivera (OC)

Word count: 940

Trigger Warning: injuries, broken ankle, hospital, talk of absent father, OC character sparring with Steve

Disclaimer: I don’t own any Marvel characters, only the Original characters are mine.

General Masterlist - Willow Series Masterlist

1 year later since the Snap

What started as a fight lesson for the Rivera siblings ended up being a whole activity involving the majority of the women of the Rivera extended family, and of course, Miguel Rivera.

Rogers and Romanoff were impressed the first time they tested the siblings.

"Mom taught me so I could do the same with my sister” he explained “also, most of my uncles and aunts were in the army, so they taught us things too”

“Yeah, that is true. And my grandma taught us how to ensemble a rifle in less than a minute, she was a total badass back in her day” Val smiled with nostalgia “I miss that vieja loca”

Most of the cousins were resting or stretching, it has been a busy day, a year was enough for them to be good at fighting, but most of the ladies were really fast learners. Miguel had some intensity when he started to do something, he started to train every day until he hurt himself, making Valentina the rational one that time and make him train at least two days a week and rest the other days.

“She’s getting better, and… stronger? Did Steve stumble?” Miguel and Nat make a pause to watch the action in the other end of the training room

“That is a nice move, oh, the punch” the spectators hissed when her fist ended in Steve's shield and Natasha winced thinking of the amount of pain in Valentinas hand.

There was a tense silence while they were witnesses of the most ambitious fight that Val has ever done, on the other hand, their cousin Diana takes out the first aid kit bandages and her cousin Michelle runs to the kitchen for ice.

“Sweet yisus , se va a matar, voy a tener que recogerla en pedazos” Miguel was feeling anxious, and his emotion was getting stronger when he witnessed how his sister deflected in the air Steve’s shield with a leg kick.

The sound of the shield getting stuck in the wall was enough to make everyone stop everything, and they started to contain their breath, not knowing what could happen now.

Punches, leg kicks, deflecting the other attacks, both repeat the dance all over again, until Valentina can use her fox quickness to slip away, kick Steve in his back and later in his face with her knee.

“Lo hizo sangrar!” exclaimed Diana, covering her face un surprise

“Please please please, tell me this is it” Valentina supplicates, not moving from her defense pose “I can’t move, I think I broke my leg and something else that I didn’t know I have”

Miguel looks up to the ceiling, catching a glimpse of what it looked like a security camera.

“Cameras are still working?”

“I think so…” answered Natasha. The older sibling only nods and runs to assist his sister.

Steve's nose was bleeding, meaning that was a really well made kick or was strong enough, he cleans himself a little with the back of his hand, being a super soldier means healing faster, a bloody nose was just a little inconvenience.

“Helen!” Diana voice was strong, that was her boss voice “Llamale a tía Gloria y pregunta si está en el hospital. Y dile a Michelle que llame a tio Fer, que perdió la apuesta y que nos tiene que pagar”

“Seriously? I have a potential broken leg y ustedes huevones apostando para cuando pasaba esto?!” Val use Steve and Miguel as help for walk up to her backpack “I’m starting to hate all of you”

Steve drove them to the hospital, aunt Gloria was doing her shift, that helped them a lot.

Both men patiently drink a cup of coffee in the waiting room while Valentina was being checked by a doctor, the poor older sibling was feeling his muscles loose and the nervous tremors starting to stop.

“Something is bothering her, she only does stupid things when she is mad”

“So, she is always mad?”

“Kind of…” Miguel held his head low, the floor was pretty interesting to see when he spoke about ‘the subject’ “Thing is… My dad left us in April like seventeen years ago… And is just a few days left for April to start, which means that she is going to be fucking mad the first fifteen days of the month, she just blames herself”

“Why? It was someone else decision, not hers”

“Dad never loved her back, we even think that he never loved mom either. He is… or was… that kind of person that likes shiny things, he saw a shiny beautiful girl with emotional needs and just used that for his advantage, then he left with his second wife in Portugal, a 23 year old skinny beautiful girl, she was like a model… the last thing i knew was that he married his fifth wife, another young lady to mentally abuse. Mom died believing she wasn’t enough for him, and Val grew up believing she wasn’t perfect enough for having a father”

Both stayed in silence, there weren't enough words for them to describe their feelings.

Aunt Gloria arrived a few hours later, it wasn’t her job to tell them the news, but she was doing it anyway.

“The hand is fine, just needs rest and if possible no movement for at least two weeks. But she had a broken ankle for not using the proper protection gear for whatever the hell she was doing.” Miguel groans, throwing his head back “And honestly, coming from Valentina it has been a miracle that she spent an entire year with no accidents. Oh, and she needs surgery”

“Fuck…”

Tags: @pinkpondofasgard @invisibleanonymousmonsters @dance-dreamer @americasmarauders

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes x oc #bucky barnes x original female character #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes x latina oc

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the-firefly-system1 · 10 days

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Over these past few days my brother and sister have been correctly gendering me and it feels so right and euphoric. People I don't know have been correctly gendering me for a few months and before that it was occasional. They both have still been slipping up and calling me she which is expected because they've called me she for as long as I was born. I'm especially surprised my brother is calling me he, sometime in November of last year around the time I came out he said he would never see me as a man but he'd call me by male pronouns if that's what made me comfortable. He could still believe that I guess I'll never know for certain if he does or not. My mom has also been trying to gender me correct I think, I've noticed when someone slips up and there's someone else around that other person slips up too until the other person starts using he. I don't feel as mad about them slipping up anymore especially since they are actually trying to call me he. Thing that sucks is around my Grammy(grandma) they have to call me she since I'm not out to her yet. I don't know how she doesn't know, she's following one account I have that has my pronouns as 'he/him/his' and every time I'm misgendered I make faces, sounds or hit myself. I really don't want to come out to her, but she lives with us so its impossible not to. Wish mom, bro and sis could just start calling me he around her and her figure it out from there. I wanted mom to tell her, but mom said that we have to tell her together so once I get my AAC device I'll tell her with mom. I know her reaction is more likely not to be as good as all my other reactions to me coming out has been. Same with the rest of my family (aunts, uncles, cousins) they'll probably not like it either and that would probably be the big gossip for a bit. Something I've wondered for a while is how my dad would react but he's not in my life so I don't care but sometimes I'll think 'what would he think about me being his son instead of his daughter. Would he accept me as his son?' he will probably find out at some point though. I wonder what Thanksgiving and the Christmas dinners and birthday partys or Easter with aunts and uncles and cousins will be like, they're already something I don't like (besides birthday partys and easter at a specific aunt and uncles house because they let me go to their room and play my uncles Xbox the whole gathering). Most family probably aren't going to take it well but maybe I'm wrong, I was wrong about what my mom's reaction would be. In the past she's said transphobic stuff not super transphobic or often but still hearing stuff like that makes you not want to come out to a person but I guess she's changed after figuring out I'm trans

#jasper rambles #long post #trans #transgender #trans ftm

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mordcore · 9 months

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it was such a strange experience to visit my family this spring and seeing my aunt & her son, 8, interact on a daily basis.

it was very similar to how i grew up (/neg). he doesn't really get to have boundaries. or, well, he doesn't get to have boundaries if she considers them stupid i guess. there was a recording of him singing a song that she wanted to play for grandma and he didn't want her to. she didn't give a shit and did it anyways and he stormed off screaming. i was kinda shocked (& triggered) by the whole situation and she said that it was fine he just doesn't like to hear his voice. when he came back 10 minutes later i asked if he was okay and he seemed confused that i was asking. on the same day he got some kind of superficial injury like a scratch or something and my aunt demanded to look at it and he Really didn't want her to because he thought it would hurt. again, she didn't really give a fuck and just grabbed his leg.

she also will talk about him like he's not in the room when he is. "ah yeah <name> had this health problem with his muscles but we've been taking him to physio and it's really been improving" or whatever. presumably innocuous stuff but i know that i always feel weird and objectified when it's done to me. he's 8 he 100% notices that it's happening. i'm sure that she wants to be a good mom and she probably thinks that she is and maybe he won't end up as traumatized as i have but goddamn if it isn't. so very much the same crap i had to go through. i don't actually know what autism and adhd look like in children so this is just speculation but it does definitely run in the family and i just have the vague but strong sense that he's neurodivergent as well and. man i just hope he comes out of this better than me, or our shared cousins. i gotta acknowledge that i have 0 control over the situation and it's therefore not my job to fix. even if that's just me being terrified of offending someone who's kinda like my mom (they're not even related, kinda weird. ig both sides of the family have the same brand of intergenerational post-war neurodivergent trauma going on)

#honestly at this point it's a miracle that my brother seems to be fairly well adjusted #how does he do it #anyway #my stuff #tw abuse #yknow just in case. idfk

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marmolady · 4 months

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Grandchildren: Sol and Andi

Summary: Endless Ending timeline. Middle-aged Taylor and Estela are entering a new phase of their life together, welcoming their grandchildren into the family. In four parts; this is PART ONE.

Word Count: 4117

Tagging: @saivilo, @edgydepressedchoicesthot, @sceptilemasterr, @mauvecatfic @rhemenway888

Thanks for reading!

_____________________________

2055

Taylor pulled out an old plastic tub from under the bed.

“You coming, ‘Stel?”

It had been many years since they’d gone through all these things; treasures from their Liv’s baby and toddler days. Many years, but it felt like yesterday that little kid was crawling around their La Huerta home, bright-eyed and curious about a world that was all new.

Estela came into the bedroom and sat down on the rug beside Taylor, her eye going straight to a little cardigan.

“So long since you’ve knitted,” she commented. “You were good at it.”

Where had the time been for knitting while Liv was growing up? And then Rosa… though Taylor had managed to finish a couple of jumpers for their second daughter over the years, desperate that she too have something mom-made to hang on to. Now, Rosa was twenty, and though she still enjoyed the security of the maternal home, she was pretty much independent as she made her way through college. It was a good a time as any for Taylor to break out the old knitting needles and create something for a new generation.

“Thanks-- it always was kind of therapeutic. Maybe it’s time I get myself back in the knitting zone, make it part of my whole grandma asthetic.”

Liv was expecting. And Liv’s spouse Jeimy was expecting. Liv was carrying Jeimy’s genetic child, and Jeimy carried Liv’s. That they’d gone and had embryos transferred almost simultaneously had been, as Liv had put it, ‘just not wanting to put all our eggs in one basket’. Chances were, the first transfer wouldn’t be a success, but if they both gave it a shot, there was simply more chance of a baby-- one way or the other. But then, they’d gone and gotten extremely lucky. Liv’s cousin Reggie, already a father of three, had shaken his head in exasperation, declaring her ‘absolutely stark raving bonkers’. And the expectant grandmothers… could neither disagree, nor contain their jubilation at the news. It was unorthodox, but Liv and Jeimy would be given every support. They’d handled far worse ‘absolutely stark raving bonkers’ than a couple of babies on the way.

Estela smiled softly. Grandma Taylor was going to be about the cutest thing she’d ever see. “We’ll have to set you up with a rocking chair.”

Since the death of Tio Nicolas a couple of years prior, Estela and Taylor had lived in a small house two doors down from the Valle Brava home where they’d raised Liv from the age of eleven. It had been fortuitious that it had come up; while Nicolas had been ill, they’d lived with him to provide care, but soon missed the proximity to their elder daughter and child-in-law. Rather than build a granny flat in the back of the property, they had that little bit more space that allowed Rosa to stay home while she found her feet in adult life, and got to reconnect with a community they’d loved being a part of. Grace and Aleister still lived just a few minutes up the road, and their now-grown children visited regularly. It had been deeply emotional for Estela to leave behind the home she’d grown up in, but she sensed that for this next phase of life, this was where she was meant to be.

She became quiet, sorting through the onesies, and booties, and bibs, and bobble hats. The years just slipped away from her. She couldn’t stop it. The baby who’d worn these things was still that baby in her mind’s eye, and yet… all the things they’d shared, the full days and long nights, tears against her shoulder, puddles jumped in, bedtime stories, bike rides across the countryside, snowball fights, actual fights, hugs that lingered for hours… they were all still so real as well.

“We’ll have to warn Livita not to blink. It goes much too fast.”

Taylor looked up and met her wife’s eye, choked. Too fast by half.

The door swung open and Rosa came through, a couple of bags under her arm. “Have you found much?” Then she saw the large container, bursting at the seams. “Woah! Just… a lot.”

“Yes, just a lot,” Taylor admitted. “We’re pretty sentimental.”

“That’s not news,” said Rosa, and she sat down, drawn wide-eyed to the tiny clothes. “God, if I wasn’t broody before….”

Estela laughed gently. “We’ll make sure plenty of this finds its way to your little ones.”

Rosa ran her fingers over a little onesie, one she knew had been sewn by her Mama Taylor. How different Liv’s early days had been to Rosa’s….

“I wish I’d had stuff kept,” she said quietly. “I’m pretty sure everything got recycled, one baby after another until it was worn. Not that I’m opposed to reusing clothes--”

“Hon, you don’t need to defend yourself,” Taylor said.

Rosa’s cheeks pinkened. “It’s just nice to have some things that were made, or even just given, with love… especially for you. Do you remember my sunflower dress? I think it was the first thing you bought me the first time we went to the market together.”

“I remember it.”

“I cried so much when I outgrew it.”

“We have it, Rosita,” Estela told her. “Of course we have a ‘Rosa box’. No baby clothes, but the memories mean as much.”

“You kept it?”

“I’m sure we told you at the time, but you were eight or nine or something… it’s a long time ago to remember.”

Rosa bounced happily on the spot. “Oh my god!”

In no time, the three of them were looking through two big tubs of childhood memories. The bags Rosa had brought with her soon filled up with things deemed nice enough to pass on, but not so precious no one could bear their getting damaged. And Rosa held her special first Montoya family dress in her lap.

“Mom,” she said, getting Taylor’s attention-- an achievement when there were baby-Liv-sized bobble hats to be cooed over-- “do you think you could teach me how to sew? I’d love to make a patchwork blanket or something for the babies. I could even use pieces of my old clothes; that way I can at least pass something on.”

Taylor’s face split into the biggest of grins. “Baby, I would love that! We can have a proper sewing bee.”

“I’ve been wanting to start for a long time; I just get… daunted, you know….”

Her moms knew. Rosa and ‘new things’ was an ongoing challenge, but one she was winning. Stability in her life had been hard to find, so any perceived change, even good ones, brought up a fear response. Becoming an aunt… was genuinely frightening. Rosa was afraid of losing the closeness she had with her older sister. She was afraid the babies would reject her love. She was afraid to be faced with her own desires to be a mother… when the only person she’d ever imagined wanting to raise children with was highly impractical. But mostly, she was afraid of the unknown of it all. Rosa’s family unit had been consistent, all the way up until they lost Tio Nicolas. Of all the things to change, her family was the one she feared most.

“Well,” Estela said, “now we know it’s something you want to do, we’ll work on it.”

___________________________

Estela passed Liv a coffee-- her daily ration since pregnancy began. “Did you manage to sleep?”

Nine months pregnant, Liv felt like a blimp on legs. Nothing was comfortable, and after a false alarm and being told to keep waiting at home, she certainly couldn’t turn her brain off enough to get any quality rest.

“A little,” Liv replied, gratefully taking the mug. “Jeimy kept me company while I was awake, though. I think I got more sleep than they did.”

Estela looked over her child-in-law, who was reclining on the couch, dark bags under their eyes, and looking every bit as heavily pregnant as Liv.

“You’re sure you don’t want anything, Lorito?”

The nickname had always deeply touched Jeimy, a lover of birds, their mother-in-law’s ‘little parrot’. Estela actually said that ‘little songbird’ would be more accurate, but pájaro cantorito was rather more of a mouthful. At any rate, Jeimy loved ‘Lorito’, for the term of endearment was one their beloved grandmother had once bestowed upon them herself. Without realising she was doing it, Estela had helped Jeimy feel closer to their deceased lola-- really, all of their birth family-- than they had in years.

Jeimy shook their head. “I’m fine. I was gonna drag myself out of my chair in a moment anyway and do my bird round.”

Liv groaned. “Oh my god, Jeimy! Just lay off the damn chores-- you hardly slept, and you’re having a baby in five days!”

She needn’t have worried. No one was overdoing anything when abuela-to-be Estela was around. It was all good practice for when Liv and Jeimy really had their hands full and needed a hand with their various animals. Estela had housesat several times before, so it was really just a case of brushing up on feeding routines and the who’s who of Jeimy’s beloved collection of rescued birds.

“Thanks for this,” Jeimy said, tickling the belly of a colourful parakeet through the aviary wire. “I know you and Mama Taylor-- and Rosi-- are here to help, but it’s easier to accept help when I’m at least able to do a little bit.”

Estela laughed. “I’ll have you take care of the bitey ones for me as long as I can. I’ve got enough scars to be going on with. Anyway… it’s good for you to hang onto some semblance of your normal. It won’t be easy soon.”

It certainly wouldn’t. It had been a gamble to implant two embryos simultaneously, and miraculous as it felt to have two babies now on the way, the reality of what they were facing was hitting hard. Help would be close on hand from Liv’s family, but the care already being lavished served to highlight to Jeimy their estrangement from their own.

“I just wish things were different with my family,” Jeimy admitted. “When you imagine starting your own… you don’t exactly envision your parents not wanting to be a part of it.” They sighed. “I miss my mom. I shouldn’t, after the way she treated me, but it wasn’t always like that. I miss the mom who I thought would always love me.”

“It only makes sense that it’s hurting now… I’d think it would add a new layer of hurt when you have a child of your own,” Estela said, a hint of a growl in her voice. “Your mom and dad are lucky they’ve never strayed across my path.”

The thought made Jeimy chuckle, in spite of the surging pain. Their Mama Estela would take no prisoners.

“Heh, I’d bet. I wish it was as simple as just whoopin’ their asses into being decent parents.

“It’s like…,” they said, “I already love the babies, so, so much. And I don’t have favourites, but I already feel like I’ve bonded with Little Boy; I can feel him there, and I know him. I just don’t know how the hell anyone could feel love like this, and then turn their back on their child. The more time goes by, the more fucked-up it seems to be. I was meant to be their baby.”

Her heart aching in sympathy, Estela instinctively rubbed Jeimy’s shoulder. “It is fucked-up, and it’s not what you deserve.” It was difficult to fathom, even being so well-acquainted with the depths of human depravity. These assholes didn’t have a clue how lucky they were to have the ability to watch their child grow up, to blossom into a strong and capable adult-- they’d thrown it away in a fit of cruelty, while some parents would have done anything at all to be there for their child.

“I wish we could give you what you’re missing. I know we can’t, however much we might want to fill that hole, it doesn’t take away what you’ve lost and how you’ve been hurt.”

Estela loved Jeimy fiercely; her protective instincts flaring up almost immediately upon meeting the meek and gentle person who’d left Liv so lovestruck. Over time, she’d seen the core of steel that had gotten Jeimy through the hardest of times alone, and admired them.

But she wasn’t their mom. Taylor wasn’t their mom. What they shared with Liv, and with Rosa, was something different.

“You’re family, mijo.”

“Sort of,” Jeimy murmured. Liv was their family, so the connections they married into were what they had to hang on to when the faces of the past were beyond reach.

Estela shrugged. “We make our own. Blood isn’t the most important thing you can share with someone. It can be nice, sure, but it’s not everything.”

Jeimy considered Estela quietly. They’d been absolutely bricking it when they first met her all those years ago, with Liv having painted a picture of a hardened warrior who was a fluffy little kitten on the inside. The walls had come down faster than they’d imagined.

“I’m nervous about the birth,” they said after a long break in the conversation. “I think that’s part of why I keep thinking of Mom. And I think, she’s not even the person I’d really want with me… she’s just a substitute because she’s part of what my family used to be. I really wish my lola could be with me through this. She was magic how she could make anything all right… and she’d want to be here. She loved me.” Then, Jeimy ventured a subject they’d never dared bring up with Estela. “Was it hard not having your mom with you when Liv was born?”

“Well, yeah-- she wouldn’t have even been that old, only fifty two! She shouldn’t have been dead-- she should’ve been there. She wasn’t holding my hand because they stole it from us. Everything she did for me… she deserved to be there and see that everything could be perfect. Liv was perfect.” Estela swallowed hard.

“She still is,” said Jeimy with a soft smile.

“Yeah… she is,” Estela agreed proudly. “Mami would have adored her-- she’d have adored both of you. I think you and Livita both chose the right person to be taking this on with… even if you are crazy going for two babies at once.”

Jeimy giggled, the tension flowing from their body. Beyond the-- to be expected-- nerves, there was excitement. Excitement so big that the fear could be overcome. “There’s no doubt we’re crazy. I’m terrifed, but I also can’t wait to have our family of the four of us.”

Their babies… they couldn’t come soon enough.

_________________________

The room was silent; they could’ve heard a pin drop. But the agonising silence was broken instead by the cry of a newborn, rising in strength as she found her breath.

“There we go,” said the midwife warmly, “your baby girl has arrived. Little darling just needed a moment.”

Jeimy put their hands to their face and sobbed, but Liv lay slumped and dazed, utterly spent, barely comprehending the activity around her. All she knew was a sudden emptiness, both physical and emotional.

“...She’s okay….”

Estela squeezed Liv’s hand tight. “She’s okay. You did it, mi alma.”

The infant was quickly transferred to Liv’s chest, and with assistance from Jeimy, the new mother rolled down her gown to allow the little one to feel the warmth of her skin, and to try and nurse.

She sniffed, still stunned, but gradually coming through the haze to a joy and a love unlike anything she’d ever known. She’d done it… their little girl was there in her arms. It all slowly fell into place; the empty space was alarming, but that baby she loved was right there, and she was holding her.

“...Hello, little one… it’s me… I’m right here….” she murmured, taking in the scent of the tiny child’s head as she nuzzled close to her.

She glanced up to Jeimy, who huddled in, shaking, their breath caught in their throat. This was it… they actually had a baby together.

“Hey, Little Girl…,” Jeimy gushed, “I’m your nanay. I’ve been waiting for you!”

But it was time the baby graduated from being just ‘Little Girl’.

“W-we wanted to call her ‘Andromeda’, but, well, ‘Andi’. Less of a mouthful,” Liv said after a little while. “Oh my god, she’s so perfect! Look at her little fingers….”

Jeimy was beaming, and still fending off the tears that rolled down their face. “She’s the most perfect thing in the whole world. Well… tied, I guess. How the heck are we ever going to get anything done with two of these to look at?”

Taylor chuckled. She couldn’t stop smiling; her cheeks ached terribly and it was absolutely wonderful. She hugged Estela, and was held tightly in return, finding herself feeding off the giddiness infectious in the room. “It’s going to be a challenge, that’s for sure. Good thing you’ve got as much help as you want. You’ve got this.”

Jeimy kissed baby Andi’s soft little head, then kissed Liv. “So… she’s baby Andi. I think we were gonna go with….” They paused for the nodded approval from Liv. “…Andromeda Chesa Montoya. ‘Chesa’ was my lola’s name, so we really wanted to use it. And we looked it up, and it means ‘celestial’.”

“Isn’t that just perfect?” Liv’s eyes were shining as she looked up at her moms. She knew well the significance for them. “And we really liked that ‘Andi’ is pretty gender-neutral. That’s what we’re going for with Little Boy’s name too.” That, though, would remain under wraps until he made his own appearance.

There was a blur of activity. Baby Andi enjoyed her first feed, then her first cuddle with a weeping and elated nanay Jeimy, while Liv used the little strength she had left in her to deliver the afterbirth. In no time, the family was transferred to a comfortable recovery room. Jeimy had assistance from the nurse in putting on the diaper and the best technique for swaddling, and was soon back on cuddle-duty.

Taylor put a gentle arm around her daughter’s shoulder. Her baby girl was a mom now, and she could just about burst with pride.

“We’ll let you get some rest, okay? Have some bonding time in peace-- god knows, you deserve it.”

Estela nodded solemnly, tears pricking at her eyes. “You’ve been so strong. We’re proud of you, and we love you.”

“Quick cuddle first, though, yeah?” Liv urged softly. “She’s so, so special to me. I want you to meet her properly.”

Her heart beating fast, Estela sat down on the comfortable couch by the window. How the hell she was going to keep from bursting into outright sobs she had no clue. She caught Taylor’s eye, as she sat down beside her, and saw the very same exhilaration. Neither of them had known the love of a grandparent, or even that of a grandparent figure. It was something new, a sign of the stability their family had found. They were surviving… they were thriving. And the future only looked bright. Her mom would’ve wanted nothing more.

They took the little bundle between them, and shared a held breath. With her free hand, Estela wiped her eyes.

“It’s good to meet you at last, nena…. Welcome to the world.”

Taylor grinned, giddy. “You’re gonna love it.”

______________________

It was a good thing, Taylor noted, that a large recovery suite was available for Liv and Jeimy--it was unusual to have the necessity of two hospital beds in a private maternity room. She recalled that sometime, many years ago, Estela and Aleister had jointly poured a good deal of funds into this hospital, though this private wing had been developed later. The room was nice… bright and airy, and overlooking the central gardens below.

Baby Andi, though, cared not for the comforts. She couldn’t see further than the blurry faces that kept smiling down on her. It had been a long time since Taylor had held a two-day old baby, and she was totally addicted. Taking care of the precious little one while Jeimy was in for the scheduled C-section was about the best gig she’d ever been offered.

“Your water, Grandma?” Estela offered, coming in from the bathroom. She was tense, coming down from the cloud-nine of Andi’s birth two days prior and anxious for news about the second baby. The not knowing what was happening was painful, but it was how it had to be. Liv was no longer their little girl, and hadn’t been for many years. She’d know the same aching maternal tug someday, of that Estela was sure. Andi and her brother would be off and away and living their lives before anyone could so much as blink….

Taylor smiled at her. The air was thick with nerves, and she could see it clear as day in her wife’s face. “Thanks, love. Actually, you look like you need a cuddle,” she said. “If you pop my glass down, I’ll pass you Miss Andi-Pants.”

It had all taken a long time. The scheduled C-section had been pushed back due to an emergency, and the ongoing wait only became more harrowing. There was no reason why Jeimy and the baby wouldn’t be fine… it wasn’t as if there was a life-threatening complication that had prompted the section, it was just a simple case of the baby being breach. But surgery was surgery, and childbirth was inherently risky; no one was breathing easy until everyone was accounted for, safe and sound.

They looked up simultaneously as the squeaking of hospital bed wheels pre-empted the opening of the door. And then, there before them was the rest of the newly formed family; Liv leading the way, Jeimy sat up and beaming in the bed, and a swaddled treasure in their arms.

“Oh, thank god!” Taylor gushed. “Everyone doing all right?”

“Everyone’s amazing,” Liv grinned. “And we’ve got someone special to introduce you to.” She exchanged a glance with Jeimy, who carefully placed the bundle in her arms with a mouthed ‘love you’.

“We’d like you to meet your grandson, Sol Nicolas Montoya.”

Estela gave a sharp intake of breath at the name. She wasn’t surprised; Tio Nicolas had basically been a grandfather to Liv, and she’d always idolised him, but to hear it touched her deeply. Sol would be lucky indeed to have anything of his great-great uncle about him.

“That means a lot,” she said softly. “His name.”

“It seems like we’ve got a family tradition going of naming babies after special people. Actually-- we did think about doing the whole she-bang and calling him ‘Draco’, but the Harry Potter connection is still too damn strong.”

Estela chuckled. “You can name a dog after me as a compromise, I won’t be offended.”

She looked into her newborn grandson’s wrinkled little face, and was enchanted. Sol had much more hair than his sister; actually, he didn’t look much like her-- he looked like baby Liv.

“Livita, he looks about as much like you as Andi looks like Jeimy.”

“Really?” Jeimy asked. “I think he’s got Michael’s eyes and nose. Maybe he’s an equal mix of both.”

“Much bigger than Michael, though--,” Liv said, a smile in her voice as she looked over her baby son, “nine pounds two.”

Taylor whistled. “That is a substantial baby. Good for you, Sollie. I can actually see it-- Andi looks so little next to him.” She looked up at Liv, terrible wrench as it was to tear her gaze from the baby’s darling face for even a moment. “Michael’s on his way?”

“Yeah, and he’s going to bring Auntie Rosa with him. Sounds like they were waiting for news together.”

Swallowing past the lump in her throat, Estela put a gentle arm around Jeimy’s shoulder. “How are you feeling, mijo?”

“Seeing how big my ‘little’ man actually is, grateful for the C-section,” they said with a smirk. “According to the nurse, everything went completely smoothly. It was the most surreal feeling, like I was half-disconnected from the lower part of my body. I have to remind myself that it’s actually happened-- he’s here-- this little guy, that’s my boy. That baby I’ve been connected to all these months.”

Jeimy gazed at the little hand that grasped his Grandma Taylor’s finger. At Liv bursting with pride as she cuddled Andi beside them. At Abuela Estela standing protectively over them all. They couldn’t want for more; what mattered was here.

“Yeah, ‘surreal’ is definitely the word.”

#endless summer #endless summer fanfiction #estela montoya #estela x mc #liv montoya #jeimy montoya #rosita montoya #far future #happy families!

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sparatus · 8 months

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📖

send me 📓 for a fic plot i haven't written yet

thanks j!! let's seeeee well ive been working on the ataats rewrite so with the madelivio-sparatus clan on the brain,

ive been nursing a concept for a while of like, whole big massive clan get-together, probably for a milestone birthday or anniversary of calvetana and virian's since they're the common ancestor between ax's family and sparky's (first cousins once removed, calvetana is ierian's grandmother and axilus's great-grandmother). anniversary would probably have the smaller cast, cause calvetana's birthday is also her twin sister verritana's birthday, and verri has equally as expansive a mess of descendants, lol. farmers and fishers in a food-scarce environment, lots of kids. anyway!

the main focus would be axilus and his second cousin verres, ierian's second child, who were born in the same year and not terribly far apart at that. they're not really the only kids at the event, of course, but finding that one kid who's the same age as you at a big party with a wide range of guest ages is always important. was the kid looking for kids my age to hang with at parties for adults, can confirm. i'm thinking they're both about 5, maybe 6? started school already, but haven't hit puberty yet. they're fast friends and scuttle around looking for some way to entertain themselves. first step: escaping the watchful eyes of their moms, sephira and aediteia, who both married into this clan and do love their in-laws but acknowledge they're mostly here to mind their chicks and keep their husbands apart (because, as well as ax and verres get along, aephis and ierian do not). easiest way to do that? get the dads bickering, of course!

once seph and teia are distracted scolding their grown-ass husbands from squabbling like children, ax and verres are free to slip off and explore and get into shit as young kids who sneak away from parental supervision are so wont to do. they seek out members of the family they know, meet some they don't, talk about stuff in their lives (verres at this point spends half his year on the citadel, half in tiirtias, while ax lives mostly in cipritine with summers in zouklos) and compare-contrast, sneak food from the dessert table, and are generally curious young drakes. there's a slight language barrier, verres's first language is tiirtiak while ax's is zouklian, but they've both been in school long enough to have learned a passable amount of imperial standard, and ax knows a handful of tiirtiak from his dad, so they make it work. they even find parsaemat calvetana, who gives them each a filled hoof to chew on and a wink and promises she didn't see them if their moms ask.

they're having a grand old time being excitable 5yo kids running around dodging their moms, who have also recruited their older brothers tollak and areus (respectively) to help look despite them being Bored Teenagers Too Cool For This™️ who want to go home, until [dramatic scare chord] they finally cross paths with The Sisters™️, aka calvetana's three daughters meana, lisia, and corinn, all hanging out together and gossiping. meana is ierian's mom and verres's grandma, while corinn is aephis's mom/axilus's grandma, and neither of them is terribly impressed with their grandsons getting up to mischief and worrying their mothers. the boys are tempted over to their table with bones and marrow cakes, then as soon as they're cheerfully eating sephira and teia are summoned (with both boys' wrists clamped in a grandmotherly vice grip) to regain control over their brood.

party's over, mom's mad, both kids are restricted to within a few paces of their moms until the end of the party. worst part of course is no dessert, they're still young enough that staying with mom isn't a death sentence, and their moms actually get along quite well and want to continue hanging out, so they still can play calm games and chat with each other. they also get to play with their dads, who are also in wife-supervised timeout for fighting, but can grudgingly tolerate each other long enough to play with their sons.

they do get treats before bed several hours later, though. it wasn't that bad, seph and teia suppose, and it's nice that they made friends while their dads were being bitey with each other, and you're only young once, and they're such sweet kids, really. the boys don't tell anybody that great-aunt lisia and calvetana both snuck them extra filled bones as a treat for being cute and entertaining.

.... oops that got long i have a lot of feelings about baby axilus and his family okay--

#press conference #teamdilf #ierian's ocs #axilus madelivio #verres sparatus #sparatus family #fic ideas

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nysocboy · 5 months

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The Feast of the Seven Fishes: Most of the tropes I hate, but I liked it anyway.

The Feast of the Seven Fishes just dropped on Netflix. All I know is that it's a Christmas movie starring Skyler Gisondo, so the likelihood of gay characters or even subtexts is minimal. I'm going to watch anyway

Scene 1: Beautiful establishing shots of a mining town in West Virginia, winter 1983. Tony (Skyler Gisondo) is painting by the river and gazing at his acceptance letter from a prestigious art school. Angelo (Andrew Schultz, left) and his penis, "Mr. Boner,: stop by to tell him about a party with girls desperate to have sex with any guy who asks. "Nope."

Well, how about coming along on his date? There will be extremely horny girls there, too. "Nope." If I didn't know from the plot synopsis that he has two girlfriends, I'd have pegged Tony as gay.

Scene 2: Back in his shabby working-class home, Pap tries to get Tony drunk on homemade hooch. We cut to a super-elegant mansion, where a super-elegant rich girl named Beth yells at her even-richer boyfriend Prentice (Allen Williamson, left) for backing out of his promise to spend Christmas with the family. He's going skiing with his friends instead. Prentice, baby, the first rule of relationships -- never leave them alone at Christmas. They'll be with someone else by Boxing Day.

Mom is upset: "You'll never land a rich husband with that attitude! Like all men, he prefers the company of other men." So all men are gay? Beth wants a husband who will spend time with her. That's what gay bffs are for, girlfriend.

Scene 3: Beth hanging out with her Italian-American friend, complaining about this whole "get a rich husband" thing. They smoke pot. Meanwhile, Tony's Uncles Carmine and Frankie (Ray Arbruzzo) are stocking up on booze, when they see Tony's ex, Katie, throwing herself at a truck driver. They discuss her boobs for several minutes before getting around to complaining about her post-breakup downward spiral.

Cut to Juke (Josh Helman, left) telling his buds about the Feast of the Seven Fishes, although they obviously already know. He stops to complain about not having a girlfriend, which is especially tough at Christmas. Foreshadowing -- ten to one he gets with Katie.

Scene 4: Rich-girl Beth and her friend, incredibly high, stare at the menu at a hot dog restaurant, trying to decide what to order. How about hot dogs? They discuss going to a party tonight, but all of the parties are full of girls desperate to have sex with any boy who asks, so they'll get groped and prodded all the time. "Well, maybe I'll do a little groping," the friend jokes. Ok, this is a lesbian.

Nope. "I've been dating this guy and his penis." Wait -- her boyfriends are "Come along on my date tonight" Angelo and Mr. Boner. And they have this cousin: "Cute, nice, smart..." A gay guy would immediately ask "How big is his cock?" Maybe Rich-girl Beth could dump her Christmas-hating boyfriend for Tony? Or at least seduce him and then dump him on New Year's Day?

Scene 5: At his parents' grocery store, Tony yells at Vince (Cameron Rostami) for being late. They argue and fight until Dad breaks them up and yells at Tony for being too hard on the kid. So, baby brother? They discuss his future running the family business. Uh-oh, Tony hasn't told the folks about art school!

Cut to Vince walking home. His Uncles, who were buying booze and discussing Katie's boobs earlier, give him a ride. See how intricately everybody is interconnected?

They arrive at Tony's house in time for dinner. Dad yells at them for not bringing any "v.o." "Well, you didn't ask for any." "It's Christmas -- we always get v.o." The family so far consists of Dad, Mom, Grandma, two uncles, Vince, Juke, Tony, Angelo, and his penis.

Meanwhile, Tony, Cousin Angelo, his penis, and the friend (Sarah) are on their way to pick up Rich-girl Beth. They discuss the horrors of Catholic school, with those sadistic nuns, and then wonder why Beth would be into an Italian. "Is she getting extra credit in anthropology class."

How about that? I'm out of space. You know what's going to happen, right? Tony and Beth, Juke and Katie, the end.

Beefcake: None. But no half-naked girls either, not even at the strip club where Katie works (we just see the back entrance).

Other Sights: Beautiful exteriors and a lot of food cooking, mostly the seven kinds of seafood traditionally eaten on Christmas Eve.

Gay Representation: No, except for an occasional line that could be taken as suggestive. No homophobia either, except for an occasional "fruit."

Plot: Minimal conflict: Grandma doesn't like Beth because she thinks all Protestant girls are prostitutes, Beth's mom and boyfriend try to get her back, Tony breaks the news of art school. Very predictable, to the point of being clunky. Of course Tony-Beth and Juke-Katie become couples.

My Grade: This movie has most of the tropes I hate: "small towns are superior to cities," "family is everything," "girls are the meaning of life," and "gay people do not exist." But I still liked it. B-

There are some butts and dicks on the NSFW version of this review.

#Skyler Gisondo #Gideon Gemstone #Feast of the Seven Fishes #Italian-Americans #Christmas

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dulcesiabits · 10 months

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Hi! I'm really sorry if this seems rude but I have a concern about your recent Jing Yuan fic. Shouldn't his nickname be A-Yuan instead of just Jing? (Jing is his last name. His nickname for those he's close with, like family and friends, should be structured like A-[Insert First Name Here]. In a Chinese context, it's very uncommon for close friends, much less lovers, to call each other by their last name as a sign of familiarity. It's usually A-[First Name].)

(referencing this fic)

Hi!!! So I actually discussed the issues of names and naming conventions with Miya (@wangshengs) and Mao (@itoshisoup), who are also Chinese diaspora like myself! Before I get into the specifics of our conversation, I want to explain my own thought processes behind the choices in my fic. It's going to be long, so I'll be putting it under the cut (TDLR also below) :D

So, I'm not going to pretend to be a very expert on Chinese culture. I have a very specific experience with it, and, though I might find commonalities with other Chinese diaspora, I can't say mine are universal. First and foremost, my experiences of being Chinese is colored by being Chinese American. I grew up in America with Chinese parents, and that is completely different from being either "Chinese" or "American." My relationship with the culture is different.

For example, in my family, we more commonly use (xiao name) or (name name) as nicknames. We also call my uncle (xiao last name) LOL so it is common, in my family at least, to use last names as a sign of familiarity. My littlest cousin is affectionately called "little girl" in our regional dialect, and (a-name) is something only my mom does. Hell, my mom's nickname is "three" in Chinese because she's the third sister, and my grandma uses a diminutive of the Chinese zodiac animals my cousins, my brother and I were born under for our nicknames. So, there is a lot of variation for Chinese nicknames, at least in my personal experience!

Why didn't I bring any of this into my Jing Yuan fic, especially when I said in my author's notes I wanted to try to bring a bit more of my own culture into it? Well, that's because, again, I have a complicated relationship on what it means to be Chinese. When I write a more "Chinese fic" I still take a blend of inspiration from other sources: Korean manhwa, for example, and common American/western fanfic troupes. My fic contains a blend of different influences, and I feel that speaks to my experience as a Chinese American woman running around on the internet. I didn't lean into traditional Chinese cultural or historical factors in the fic, either, outside of choices like food and architecture somewhat (I mean, I did make up all those courtship behaviors: I doubt it's acceptable for a nobleperson to throw themselves so boldly at a common foot solider in ancient China LOL. Also, can Jing Yuan actually win a noble title from the war? That idea I borrowed from manhwa troupes.). So, part of the things you see in the fic are stuff I made up, and not ascribed to Chinese culture, as well. That's why I chose to use a more American naming convention: it was a personal choice, especially because I figured a lot of my audience was non-Chinese, or non-East Asian, and might not be as familiar with Chinese nicknaming conventions.

Now, to go into the whole naming conventions: I took Jing Yuan to be his first name, not his (surname first name). After discussing with Mao and Miya, we settled on the fact that 1. Hoyoverse naming conventions for translations are kind of inconsistent (some characters are named like Ningguang, with no space between the characters, and then you have Hu Tao, who has a space. And in Chinese, the "space" between characters doesn't really exist, making it unclear what is a first name, last name or whole name). And people will still use first names only with titles (like "Lady Ningguang" instead "Lady (last name) Ningguang," which would be more polite/"correct"). So, it's a bit confusing as to which is which, and we decided it could be left up to individual discretion on which fit best.

Secondly, Jing is a bit of an awkward nickname for Jing Yuan. But, again, I was working under the assumption it was his first name (I first saw it on twitter where the hashtags made it look like it was spelled Jingyuan, not Jing Yuan lol). It is an awkward nickname from a Chinese nicknaming convention viewpoint, but I chose to use an American-style naming convention for my own purposes. And, if we would like to take it as his last name, it still is an awkward nickname to use, but isn't like... completely unacceptable/weird, haha. A-(name) also isn't the only way to do nicknames, either, like I stated before! I had toyed with calling him "Jing Jing," "Xiao Jing," "Yuan Yuan," or "Xiao Yuan" (Miya also suggested doing a silly nickname like how you could call me "xiao li" or "little plum" bc the "li" in my name can also be read as plum LOL) but decided against it because of (1) audience, and (2) my personal feelings towards my own Chinese identity. Again, I talked to Miya and Mao about a lot of these things, to get the opinions of other Chinese diaspora, with experiences different from my own!

TDLR: Jing isn't the worst nickname to use; it's a bit awkward by Chinese nickname conventions, but makes a bit more sense for American nickname conventions, especially because I thought Jing Yuan was his first name, not full name! Additionally, there are a variety of ways you can nickname someone in Chinese, not just a-(name). I draw from a variety of inspiration and influences for my writing, some of which I made up, so the fic isn't intended to be accurate to a single "Chinese" culture (and Chinese culture itself is extremely varied. 5000 years of history will do that to you). When writing the fic, I considered both my complicated feelings towards my Chinese American identity and my potential audience, so made some authorial choices that I felt fit best!

#liya answers #ig if you consider reader and JY's rls in context of the fic #IT KINDA FITS THEY WOULD ONLY USE HIS LAST NAME LMAOOO #hes malding like my beautiful spouse do you not want to use. an intimate nickname #and reader is like no <3 #and then he goes. ok i love u that makes sense

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wherevenusholdssomeofficespace · 9 months

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Part 5

The Murphy family of Milo Murphy's law is in my opinion the least developed of the main families, due to the shows focus on school shenanigans and a time traveler subplot, not helped by it’s relatively short run time (H&G is already at 23 to MML 40) But the Murphy family, tied together with the hereditary Murphy's Law is an extremely important element of the show. How the family bonds because of it and how even those who don't suffer from it make allowances in their life for those who do.

Milo values his father's advice immensely (as a fellow sufferer of EHML). Sara, while often a bit paranoid, and sometimes plans events around avoiding her father and brother, loves them dearly and makes sure to include them in things important to her. Brigette is shown to enjoy extreme sports and change, but still finds her husband and son exhausting at times.

While most of the extended Murphy family only features in the Christmas special. Beyond Milo's parents, sister and dog, he also has grandparents, an aunt, uncle, cousin and ancestors. These characters are all delightfully charming in their own right. His grandparents are constantly talking over each other so they are incomprehensible unless you're focusing on one, his aunt and uncle are somehow more positive than Milo, and his cousin is in denial about the whole thing. Sheriff Murphy’s attitude. Each member of the Murphy family showcases a different way of approaching the Law. Grandma Murphy is a bit of a badass, presumably necessary when raising two sons with Murphy’s Law. Martin became a safety inspector and chooses to be a bit more cautious, using his condition to his advantage all while managing it to the best of his ability so it causes less damage otherwise. Joey chooses to frame everything going wrong in the most positive way possible, as it can’t be things going wrong if you refuse to acknowledge the events as negative. Meanwhile Nate ignores it and tries to live his life out as best as he can without acknowledging that the things going wrong actually aren’t more than normal troubles and therefore easily manageable. Grandpa depends on family traditions and taking pride in Murphy’s Law to give it meaning, to make him feel empowered in living with it.

There's also a cousin Reggie who Milo mentions once as having painted the Mona Lisa that's hanging in the Louvre, but he's unseen and probably on his mom's side. (The Louvre is in France and there is kind of an implication of French heritage on one of his grandmother’s sides, so he could have family in France. It could easily be Grandma Murphy, which would be funny if she, a Danger married a Murphy. But there really isn’t enough information to make any assumptions and it’s probably more coincidence than anything).

Many of the episodes are about the family. For instance, there’s the family vacation episode, the roller disco derby episode and the episode where Sara and Milo go after shirts they believe to be important to their mom. And even in episodes not just about the Murphy family they still often make appearances, such as in Picture Day, Goulash, or Love Toboggan where the Murphy family may set the scene, providing motivation or the goal.

There’s something to be said about how despite the Murphy family being inherently unusual, and carrying that label with pride, how normal they really are. Brigette is shown to want normal mom things, like half-decent pictures of her son, or beating other mom’s at Goulash competitions, while knowing full well what she was getting into when she married her husband (and even otherwise may even like the excitement Murphy’s law may provide). Sara just wants teenage girl things like her date not going totally wrong, or getting to enjoy a movie premier. Even Milo and Martin are shown to be rather normal and annoyed by their condition at times. Martin likes lattes, and gets worried about their insurance premiums. Milo worries about his future and getting held back in school, gets excited when meeting celebrities or about learning. And of course Diogee may be the best dog in the world, but other than his penchant for getting himself anywhere in the world when Milo needs him, is an extremely ordinary dog. And both Milo and Martin at least are shown to enjoy skiing and really the whole family seems to enjoy just getting out and doing things. So much of Milo Murphy's Law is the Murphy family doing ordinary things just with Murphy's law throwing some curveballs in. The Murphy family is at their core, a normal family.

Even when Milo isn’t spending time with his family, he carries his family in a lot of what he does. Milo constantly brings up his fathers extremely specific sayings, and constantly making references to the wild stories his family has lived through. Milo goes out of his way to invite the Murphy’s to Christmas, he brings up his family as the thing he loves most immediately when asked. Sara carries her family in her love of Dr. Zone, a fan because of her father, and making space in her fandom for her brother and his condition.

The Murphy family is more defined by blood than the families in Phineas and Ferb due to the fact Murphy’s Law is a hereditary condition, and thus the blood relations is something that brings them together rather than relationships forged in absence of it. In Phineas and Ferb family is the similarities despite surface differences, and love despite relationship tensions. In Milo Murphy’s Law it’s the differences despite surface similarities, and love despite external problems. But that doesn’t mean that blood is the end all be all in Milo either. Far from it.

#mml #milo murphy's law #murphy family

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