#and i came home to my parents fighting almost the entire time my mom got back from work and apparently today was

[godslino]

2:45a.m. | minho established relationship. fluff. dad!minho.

pairing: minho x fem!reader word count: 2.5k summary: when a storm hits, minho makes sure your daughter is able to fall back asleep

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You’re not sure what wakes you first: the crack of thunder or the resulting cry.

Your entire body jolts, the room painted in a flash of white that disappears just as quickly as it came. The weather report had stated that there would be a storm, however ones this bad were uncommon, especially in Seoul.

Another cry. It crackles through the baby monitor on the nightstand at the same time it echoes off of the walls of the other room. You move to kick the covers off when an arm stops you, warm and heavy where it’s thrown over your waist. You instantly relax into the touch, sighing when the tip of a nose brushes against the shell of your ear.

“I got her,” Minho mumbles, his voice raspy with sleep.

“It’s okay. You have an early morning, I can do it.” You argue, but make no move to get up.

Minho doesn’t respond, instead he knocks a kiss to your temple and tightens the blanket around you once he’s out of bed. You hear the soft pads of his feet against the floor and crack one eye open just in time to see him slip out of the room, his voice floating into the hallway, ‘Uh oh, what happened to the princess?’

The way the crying stops almost immediately is proof enough that it was a good thing Minho went in place of you. Seola is a fussy baby; she cries loud and wants incessantly—more than the usual ten month old. She can’t go anywhere without her elephant binky and hates wearing hats, if she doesn’t like a food she’ll snap her lips shut and turn her head until her face is pressed into the back of the high chair, when she’s angry she shakes a tiny fist in your direction and pounds it against your arm. But perhaps the most difficult thing, the one that has you wanting to pull your hair out most of the time, is that sometimes the only way to calm her down is if Minho is the one to do it.

A part of you always knew that your baby would favor Minho, as funny as it sounds. When you first got pregnant, one of the things the two of you were most excited for was being able to feel the baby kicking. Minho sang to your belly every night after you first broke the news, even as you laughed and told him that he or she didn’t have ears yet.

“So?” he questioned, glaring at you from where he had his head pressed against the bare skin of your stomach.

“You also know you don’t have to lift my shirt up, right?”

“Yeah? Well then I can’t do this,” he’d said before blowing a raspberry straight onto your belly button. His laughter then quickly turned into a string of apologies as he came to the realization that the sound might have been too loud, his hand rubbing soothing circles along the lower part of your stomach while you watched with fond eyes.

Minho never missed a night. He made sure that he was always home before you went to bed when he could be, oftentimes fighting with his manager to be let out early or skip practice entirely, promising to show up early the next day and put in the work on his own time. On the nights where he couldn’t make it or the two of you were separated by distance that made him want to give it all up, he called and made you press the speaker into your gradually hardening baby bump.

You and Minho found out that you were having a girl on the day of the first snow. The two of you watched with tear-filled eyes as the ultrasound technician pointed to the monitor in excitement, her smile detectable even beneath the mask she had covering her face.

“Congratulations! It’s a girl!”

Minho called his mom first. Her shouts of joy were so loud that he had to hold the phone away from his ear, his smile the brightest that you’d ever seen. Pride. He was so proud of his little family that he thought his heart might burst.

You called your parents next, and Minho held the phone up so that the two of you could give them the news through the camera, his free hand squeezing yours tightly as you cried and told them that you couldn’t wait for them to come visit once the baby came.

The members were last, all seven of them piled on top of one another on the couch in the practice room, Hyunjin and Changbin fighting over the fact that ‘I can’t see, asshole!’ and ‘You’re tall enough just stand in the back!’

Finding out the gender of the baby made everything more real. Bows and dresses and frilly socks—every time Minho came back to the apartment he had a shopping bag hanging from his arm. He spent most of the time on his phone looking at baby things and stuff that was completely unnecessary.

“What about this?” he asked, pointing his phone down to where your head was resting in his lap.

“Minho,” you scolded, glancing up at him with furrowed eyebrows, “I am not buying a booger straw for the baby.”

“It’s not a booger straw—”

“That is one hundred percent a booger straw. You literally have to suck the boogers out of their nose. Can’t we just buy a nasal suction like normal people?”

“What if it’s not efficient enough? I hate when my nose is stuffy, what more our baby? She won’t even be able to communicate with us, I feel so bad for her.”

“Oh God,” you groaned, dramatically throwing an arm over your face as Minho continued to explain in thorough detail why a booger straw was a necessity in that very moment, even though your due date was still months away.

As time passed and your stomach grew, so did the nerves Minho had about not being present enough. With the nature of his career, it was hard for him to not feel like he wasn’t excessively absent most of the time. Stress took a toll on him, mentally and physically. It wore him thin until the circles under his eyes were the worst you’d ever seen and his mornings couldn’t start without a mandatory dosage of ibuprofen to dull the headache he had the minute he woke up.

Minho was doubtful. He had dreams that his daughter wouldn’t know who he was and that his moments with her would be spent through a phone call rather than with his arms wrapped around her tiny body. He felt like he had already failed a million times without ever even having the chance to prove himself.

On the night the baby kicked for the first time, Minho came home late.

Pregnancy fatigue had taken its toll on you that day. You’d remained in bed, too nauseated to move and aching throughout the entire expanse of your back. Minho worried the moment he woke up, but you’d urged him that you were okay and sent him on his way to the company, practically begging him to leave rather than to deal with another earful from his manager about absences. Luckily for you, his mom was able to come over, and you let her dote on you as well as cook and clean as much as she pleased.

You’d fallen asleep early, your stomach full of homemade food and blankets freshly washed, leaving Minho in a frazzled state because you hadn’t picked up his calls for his nightly belly-singing session. To top it all off, dance practice ran late because of a last minute formation change that needed to be perfected before the next day’s performance.

When he finally made it home, Minho booked it to the bedroom, dropping to his knees next to the bed to place his hands on your stomach as you slept peacefully on your side, your head tucked into the crook of your elbow.

Sometimes, unbeknownst to you, Minho would wake in the middle of the night and talk to your stomach, talk to the baby. It was a little self-indulgent, some alone time for him to speak all of his worries, fears, hopes, and dreams out into the world. That night, it was just them again. Just Minho and the baby.

“I’m home,” he’d said quietly, rubbing soft circles into the material of your shirt, “Daddy’s sorry he’s late. It’s snowing outside, so I couldn't drive too fast.” He waited a few seconds before starting to sing, his voice soft, quiet enough that he wouldn’t wake you up:

펄, 펄, 눈이 옵니다

peol, peol, the snow is falling

하늘에서 눈이 옵니다

the snow is falling from the sky

하늘 나라 선녀님들이

the heavenly seonyeos

송이 송이 하얀 솜을

the white cotton

자꾸 자꾸 뿌려 줍니다

it keeps sprinkling

Minho had moved forward once he was done, resting his cheek against your stomach as gently as possible. He let his eyes focus on the snow falling outside the window, the city covered in a thin blanket of white.

“You’re gonna need a name soon, huh?” he asked, lightly drumming his fingers against your belly. “We found out you were a girl on the first snow, did you know that? My little snow girl. My—wait. Seola means snow girl. That’s pretty, right? Do you like that?”

Minho, not expecting a response, nearly screamed when he felt the softest of thumps against the skin of your stomach, just beneath the palm of his hand.

“What—” Kick.

“B-Babe.” He said, louder this time, sitting up straight to stare at your stomach with wide eyes. You stirred awake, shifting slightly to crack an eye open.

“Minho? You’re home? What are you—”

“Has she been kicking?”

You shook your head, pushing yourself up to rest your back against the headboard. “No, of course not, I would’ve told you if she did. Why? Did something—” You were cut off by the strongest kick yet, your hand flying to your stomach.

“Seola.” Minho had said again, his voice cracking halfway through when another kick came before he could even finish speaking.

From that moment on, Minho knew in his heart that your daughter’s name was always meant to be Seola. He’d talk endlessly about how he would always treat the first snow of the year like a second birthday, and he’d always make it a point to say her name whenever he was talking or singing to your belly.

Much like now, with his back turned to you, Minho’s voice is still as gentle as ever.

“Sometimes when the air is angry it makes electricity,” he says, swaying back and forth as Seola rests her cheek against his shoulder. Her eyes are droopy, heavy with sleep as Minho talks to soothe her back to bed. “And then the lightning makes the air really really hot, and it goes boom.” He pats her back a few times, shushing her when she brings a fist up to her face to rub it angrily. He hums a soft melody, something nonsensical, quiet enough to lull her to sleep but also loud enough to overpower the sound of heavy rain hitting the window.

You watch as he lays her back in her crib, black hair fanned out around her head as he places a warm hand on her stomach to keep some added weight on her body until he’s certain she’s sleeping deeply.

“Oh look,” you say from the doorway, making him jump, “You bored her back to sleep.”

Minho laughs, light and airy, walking over to wrap his arms around you and rest his cheek against your head.

“Jealous that she likes my voice more?”

Minho’s voice, still deep with sleep, rumbles beneath his chest, right where you have your face pressed into it. You take a deep breath, inhaling him as best as you can, his cologne mixing with the smell of baby powder and Seola’s soap.

“No, I just wish you would come back to bed now and bore me to sleep too.”

A hand runs up and down your back, Minho’s adam's apple bobs when he swallows too hard. “I wouldn’t have to if you stayed there like I told you to.”

“I just wanted to check on you,” you sigh, “Also it’s nice to see the two of you together. I don’t get to see it a lot, y’know?”

Minho stills on his feet, and you pull back in time to catch the ghost of a frown on his face.

“Sorry,” he says quietly, “I know. I’m—fuck, I have to be gone tomorrow too.” He runs a hand through his hair, and you can practically see the guilt worming its way into his head.

Determined to stop the inevitable self-loathing, you bring your hands up to cup his face, your thumbs running gently along the corners of his mouth. He melts into the touch immediately, closing his eyes and exhaling out of his nose.

“That’s not what I meant. I just like to cherish the time we have when all three of us are together, that’s all. This isn’t a ‘you versus me’ thing, okay? This is me and you making do with what we have.”

“Yeah,” he nods, “Yeah I know. Me and you.”

“Always.” You smile, leaning up to press your lips together.

With the thunder no longer rumbling overhead and the rain lighter than it had been earlier, you and Minho deem it safe enough to retreat into your bedroom without running the risk of Seola being woken up again.

“Do you want me to explain the force of gravity?” He whispers, playful but weak where his fatigue is starting to seep into his bones.

You laugh and tuck your face into his neck, his arms tightening around you on instinct. When you don’t answer, he knows that he doesn’t have to speak for you to drift off to sleep; knows that no matter what you’ll always be at home tucked into his side, and eventually lets sleep overtake him too.

When morning hits the sky is cloudy and the room is painted in a pale gray. The spot next to you is cold, sheets still tousled from sleep where Minho had been. You frown, glancing at the baby monitor on the nightstand that’s oddly quiet. It’s not normal for you to wake without the sounds of Seola beating your internal clock to it.

Your confusion only grows when you step into the hallway, the sounds of light snoring drifting out from the nursery. When you breach the doorway, you stop short, your heart doubling in size at the sight before you.

Minho is there, slumped against the side of the crib, his head leaning on one of the slats of wood and his arm shoved through the gap, Seola’s hand wrapped tightly around his finger. He must’ve gotten worried at some point in the night, scared that the rain would wake her again.

You inch forward to kneel beside him, running a hand through his hair and smiling when the touch makes his nose twitch. Seola’s own does the same when she sleeps, a little mole on the tip of her right nostril, just like her dad has on his left nostril. A direct reflection of one another; of love in its purest form.

On the floor beside him, Minho’s phone lays open:

To: Chan [2:45a.m.]

I won’t be in later

Find a way to manage without me

© all rights reserved. godslino 2024. please do not steal, translate, or re-upload.

#lee know x reader #lee know fluff #lee know angst #skz x reader #skz fluff #skz angst #lee know fanfic #lee know fanfiction #lee know fic #skz fanfic #skz fanfiction #skz fic #stray kids fic #stray kids fanfic #stray kids fanfiction #dad lee know #lee know as a dad #dad!minho #dad!leeknow

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for not walking my dog with my neighbor anymore? 

I (20sNB) graduated from my masters program in 2019 and moved back home with my parents. It was meant to be temporary, but before I could save up enough to move out, the pandemic hit. I ended up living with my parents until late 2022. During that time I was responsible for walking our dog. I ended up meeting and connecting with a handful of other dog owners in the neighborhod and we would walk our dogs together and let them play together at a local dog park.  

One of these dog owners, C (70sF) turned out to live right around the corner from me, so we started walking our dogs together very often. Her dog has always been a bit domineering, and my dog has always been a bit submissive. But for a long time they played together very nicely. They would run and chase each other and play with the toys we brought to the park for them. Sometimes they would play fight, but I could always tell from my dog’s body language that she was having fun, and wasn’t actually feeling threatened or scared. 

Of course, C and I also ended up bonding. She’s a retired kindergarten teacher, and she’s very, very nice and kind, and I would consider her a friend. We now exchange baked goods on holidays and she sends me birthday and christmas cards now that I don’t live down the street from her. And since I moved out, whenever I came to my parents’ house to visit, I would call her up so we could walk the dogs together and catch up. 

However, a few months ago, while my mom was walking our dog at the dog park, a different, even worse behaved dog, attacked and bit her. This attack was bad enough to draw blood, and my mom had to take her to the vet and get her on antibiotics and everything to make sure it didn’t get infected. Plus, the dog we had before this one, got sick and almost died because of a bite from an unvaccinated dog, so this was pretty scary for us. But it ended up being okay. No infections and the wounded healed well. But ever since then, our dog, who previously was very social and good with other dogs (we took her to obedience school as a puppy, so she was socialized very early on) has become much more nervous around other dogs, especially new dogs.

We’re trying really hard to resocialize her, and she’s slowly getting better. She still sometimes growls at new dogs, though. Which brings us back to my neighbor and her dog. Her dog is poorly socialized, and growls and barks at other dogs. I know my neighbor tries her best to fix her dog’s behavioral issues and has even worked with specialized dog trainers to no avail. But I’ve noticed that my dog is much more likely to growl at other dogs when we walk with C and her dog, because C’s dog growls. Not only that, but I’ve noticed that when they play together, my dog doesn’t enjoy it anymore. Now, her body language does read as threatened and afraid when C’s dog play fights (C’s dog is a boxer, which means she loves to play fight.) 

So, I’ve started not calling C when I’m in town. I feel guilty about it because I really like C and avoiding her feels like a shitty thing to do. I feel like I'm basically ghosting her. But I know if I reach out to her, she’ll bring up walking the dogs together. Walking the dogs is the entire basis of our friendship and the only reason we spend time together, so I can hardly tell her I don’t want to do that anymore. 

AITA? I just want to take care of my dog, and right now walking with C is not only causing my dog unnecessary stress, it’s re-enforcing bad habits that I am trying really hard to break.

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

[lolahasmoxie]

Merry Little Christmas (J.T.)

Look, it's me writing for someone other than Eddie!

TW: loss of a parent, all the feels.

(takes place in this universe)

Sad Kid check-in for those who are grieving this time of year. Take care of yourselves out there.

Jamie Tartt was many things. Footballer with a right foot blessed by god, a reformed prick, a beloved mama's boy.

He was also upfront and honest, so when you initially had told him your plans for the Christmas break, his response of "That's the saddest shit I've ever heard" hit hard.

The team was off until after the new year, so you had the time to return home. But holidays just weren't the same since your mom had passed away two years prior. So when Jamie asked what your holiday plans were, you said you would Facetime your friends and their kids, bake some cookies, get drunk on boozy eggnog, and cap the night off by watching Die Hard and eating Chinese food.

"No, there's no way I'm gonna let you stay here and have that be your Christmas."

"And how are you gonna stop me? You're going to be 200 miles away in Manchester?"

"Easy," he says as he flashes you a million-dollar smile. "Come with me."

You try to convince Jamie that there is nothing wrong with your plans, but Jamie is persistent. That's how, on December 23rd, you end up on a train with Jamie to return to his hometown. The train ride is quiet and less packed than you thought it would be. Jamie holds your hand the entire time, telling you everything he has planned for you.

Georgie and Simon meet you at the station, and when Georgie pulls you in and gives you a mother's hug, your heart physically aches. But you let her hold you, followed by Simon, before they usher the two of you into the car for the ride home.

Simon has a shepherd's pie waiting, and after you all stuff yourselves, Jamie takes you on a walk through his neighborhood. The streets are quiet as Jamie leads you by the hand to show you his old stomping grounds. When he kisses you under a streetlamp as the snow starts to fall, you think maybe this Christmas won't be that bad.

It's late Christmas Eve. Simon had made a fantastic dinner. All of you had worn colorful paper crowns and opened Christmas Crackers. You had beaten the pants off Jamie playing cards, and he had retaliated by trying to steal as many kisses from you as he could.

Now, it was almost 1am, and you are wide awake. You had quietly come down the stairs and taken a seat in front of the doors that opened onto Georgie's garden. The snow was falling again, and the world looked serene in the moonlight.

His heart breaks when Jamie sees you staring out the glass doors. He knew that things had been off with you, but he knew better than to push. Roy had told him to be patient, which was easier said than done. Jamie hated seeing you upset.

"If you're waiting for Santa, I'm afraid I have some news that might disappoint ya." You turned as Jamie approached you wearing a long-sleeved thermal and black boxer briefs.

"You should be in bed; it's late."

"Could say the same for you." he counters as he moves to sit on the floor behind you. He looks at you expectantly, and when he sees you give him a nod, he quickly wraps his arms around your waist and pulls you between his legs.

You sigh and let yourself relax into Jamie. There's a comfortable silence as the two of you watch the snowfall.

"I'm glad you came with me. And I know you've got something on your mind, but no pressure. Just tell me when you're ready, alright, love?"

Jamie softly runs his nose up and down the side of your neck as he holds you, and the tears that you've been trying to fight for days can't be held back any longer.

"Christmas Eve was my Mom's favorite, and it's the day I miss her most. We would talk and catch up, and I hate that she isn't here. I fucking hate it."

Jamie pulls you closer, hoping he can take some of the weight you're carrying. He's patient as he rocks you, moving to stand only when your crying has stopped.

"Come on," he says softly as he helps you to your feet. "There's my sweet girl."

"I'm all puffy and snotty." you quip as you wipe your eyes with the sleeve of your top.

"Still as beautiful as the first day I met ya."

"You're a liar, but you're sweet." His hands cup your face, and you let him pull you up for a kiss.

"Come on, I have an idea." You furrow your brow as you let Jamie lead you upstairs to the guest bedroom. His bed is simply not an option for two people, so he's joined you in the small guestroom Georgie and Simon had prepared.

"What are we doing?"

"You mentioned Die Hard in your original Christmas Eve plans," he says as he motions for you to climb into the bed. "So that's exactly what we're going to do."

"It's late. Are you sure?"

"I will consider it Christmas only when Hans has fallen off Nakatomi Plaza."

You curl into Jamie's side, and you are asleep before John kills his first terrorist. The snow outside starts to fall harder as Jamie watches you sleep. You lightly stir when he presses kisses into your hair.

"Merry Christmas, sweet girl."

#jamie tartt #jamie tartt x reader #jamie tartt x you #jamie tartt x y/n

[starvity]

hii! i was wondering if u could write anything for serim<3

— ☆ little things he does that make you fall more in love with him

gn!reader x cravity serim

genre: fluff // warnings: reader wears makeup and their hair is on the longer side, jealous serim, big crowds, kisses?!

author's note: hi thank you so much for being my first request!! i wasn't very inspired and decided to just give you a bunch of headcanons for serim because i think he's definitely boyfie material!!! hope you enjoy reading <3 (★ω★)/ [requested♡]

always having your hair tie around his wrist

when he saw you were struggling to keep your hair out of your face on your date last time, he decided to carry a hair tie around since you tend to forget yours. you were working on one of your assignments on your laptop when you felt a hand put a strand of hair behind your ear ; it was your boyfriend's serim, who was watching a movie next to you. suddenly, he gets up and circles the couch to get behind you. he softly gathers your hair and carefully puts it in a loose ponytail before slightly tilting your head up and kissing your forehead.

pulling you by the belt loops of your jeans to kiss you

it seems like serim has been clingier than usual today. maybe it was how you were carefully applying lipstick in the mirror, brows furrowed in concentration or how you were carefully picking your outfit for tonight that had that effect on him. "can't we just stay here and order takeout?" serim asks in a whiny voice. you look at him confused, why was he suddenly changing plans when he sounded so excited to go to this party earlier? when you didn't seem to quite agree with his suggestion, you feel him slip his index fingers through the belt loops of your jeans before pulling you closer and landing his lips on yours. "are you... jealous?" you giggle through the kiss.

having an arm around you in a crowd

being in such a big crowd did not make you feel very at ease, that's for sure. serim and you did not expect to see so many people at the summer festival. well, it was quite popular and the weather was very good that day but maybe if you knew beforehand that you were going to be squished between strangers the entire evening, you would have probably prefered staying home. it was starting to get very hot standing here, waiting for the people in front of you to slowly walk to the small exit. your forehead started to sweat and your hand holding serim's became clammy. suddenly, you feel serim wrap his arm around your waist and fan your face with his hand. "we're almost there baby." he tries to calm you down with a sweet smile.

speaking to you in a soft voice

you have forgotten how many times serim has let himself fall into your embrace after a long day spent at his agency. he does love his members, so much, but being the leader and living with 8 other boys can be extremely exhausting. it is when you once visited him during one of his dance practices that you witnessed the chaos for the first time. seongmin was running after allen, minhee and hyeongjun were fighting, jungmo and wonjin were having a screaming contest while taeyoung and woobin were loudly practicing their vocals. you look at serim with a concerned and tired face and he softly giggles between sighs. he tries to convince everyone to go back to working with a rather stern voice but nobody seemed to hear him. you don't think you have ever heard him so strict-sounding so when he came to you, softly asking you if you want him to drive you back to your house, you were surprised. so i really do have the partner privilege?

getting along well with your parents/friends

"did you invite serim too?" your mom asks as you and your friend set the table. you raise an eyebrow at her, "i haven't seen you in 2 weeks because i was out of town but you're still asking for my boyfriend?" sometimes you can't help but think she might like him a little more than her own child. your conversation got cut off by the doorbell ringing and you chuckle as you see your mom run to the front door. you hear the faint sound of serim's giggles as she basically engulfs him in a hug. you look at him with loving eyes as he greets your friend and laughs at a joke they make. he finally gets in front of you and plants a soft kiss on your cheek "did i keep you waiting? i didn't know i was going to get attacked with love as soon as i stepped foot in your house." he apologizes timidly. you simply giggle and kiss the back of his hand "we seriously can't break up because i feel like my relatives would be more devastated than i would."

#starvity.text #cravity #park serim #cravity imagines #cravity scenarios #cravity texts #cravity fluff #serim imagines #serim scenarios #serim fluff #cravity x reader #cravity serim x reader #kpop imagines #kpop texts #kpop scenarios #kpop fluff

[angelsanarchy]

Glass Houses: Jack Thurlow x Y/N Series CH 04 -> CH 05

"In my defense I thought you were commenting on my weight." "So you went with skinny 9th grade virgin?"

Tagging: @roryculkinluvr @thatsthewrongwallcraig @icarus-star @cc-luvr @madamemaximoff06 @shady-the-simp

Jack spent the entire day cleaning. Thankfully he was able to find a company that picked up all the donations and junk he had cleared out of his parents room but he didn't trust anyone to come in and clean. He never realized how much his family didn't need this much space until he had to be responsible for it.

The first time he was able to sit down and relax, it was late and he was surprised he hadn't passed out already. He lit a cigarette and sat on the window sill, letting the smoke flow out of the window as he took in the cool breeze. The sound of shuffling below caught his attention and he locked eyes with Y/n who was taking a night stroll wearing her scrubs.

"Hey Jack, how's your night going?" She asked with a smile.

"It's going about as well as expected when your days consist of gutting your childhood home." Jack mockingly held finger guns to his temple making Y/n laugh.

"Hopefully you've got friends to help you. That's a lot of house for one person to gut." Y/n took a long drag and Jack nodded.

"I'm not very social at the moment...or any moment really. I've been told I'm a particular taste." Jack thought about the last time he tried to go out with Shanda and her girlfriend. He had almost gotten into a bar fight and got two drinks thrown in his face. His personality was a bit abrasive but he couldn't it. His passive aggressive narcissism came across rude to most but to the mores sensitive crowd, he was just a prick.

"I'm pretty sure they have companies who work for assholes." Y/n teased.

"Hey I forgot to congratulate you the other day. You would never guess you had a baby." Y/n's face dropped.

"Excuse me?" She questioned.

"I've never known someone to lose the baby weight before the kids a year old. You look great." Jack didn't typically comment on a woman's appearance, especially to their face but he blamed the exhaustion of the day and him fighting sleep for his lack of self preservation. That and she was a beautiful woman.

"Coming from the guy who looks like a skinny 9th grade virgin." Jack's eyebrows went up. Y/n stood her ground. He was caught off guard by the insult but remembered how Cleo would get when someone commented on her weight when she was pregnant.

"Wow I think I may have fucked up, let me try this again. When I met your mom, she said she had just become a grandma. I assumed-" Jack watched Y/n gasp and cover her mouth.

"Fuck! You thought...I am so sorry. My brother's wife had the baby, not me." Y/n explained making Jack nod his head.

"Okay so then I didn't fuck up as much as you did. That makes me feel better, a little offended but better." Jack pulled a long drag from his cigarette and Y/n raked her hand through her hair embarrassed.

"I really am sorry. In my defense, I thought you were commenting on my weight." Y/n defended .

"So you went with skinny 9th grade virgin?" Jack laughed. No one had really called him anything other than the normal insults. Pretentious prick. Son of a bitch (which he couldn't deny). Fucking asshole. He admittedly lost more weight then he would have liked when he was in treatment. He was trying to find little things that would help get him back into better shape instead of just being skin and bones.

"I was going to go with school shooter but it's been a long day, felt too dark in today's climate." Y/n frowned but Jack took amusement in it. He actually enjoy conversing with her. She had a wit about her that made him want to hear her thoughts on random things.

"I got the same response when my parents were killed in a car crash and kept telling people how my dad was decapitated." Jack gestured to his neck and Y/n nodded.

"It's truly a shame you aren't more social in town. I think these oldies need to be shaken up a little more." Y/n and Jack were probably two of the only people under 40 in the neighborhood.

"I was going to offer my condolences but I admittedly didn't know your parents that well and I'm pretty sure a year post-death seems kind of disingenuous. Your parents seemed like decent people. I always enjoyed the sunflowers my mom would grow for your mom so she had good taste in flowers." Jack was pleasantly surprised that Y/n hadn't tried to console him or offer some fake sympathy for people she clearly didn't know well. She had become a breath of fresh air in this small town full of people acting as though they knew him personally.

"I appreciate your genuine solace." Jack finished his cigarette and considered lighting another but instead just took a deep breath.

"I'm sure the last year of your life has been a real dumpster fire taking over this monstrosity but I guess we're just those kind of children." Y/n pulled something from her pocket and put it to her lips, lighting it and taking a pull.

"Yeah I didn't think I would end up...taking a year off but I guess I needed the mental break from LA anyway. Trying to get this place in order is the current goal so if you're looking for someone else's shit, let me know." Jack caught a whiff of the smoke and his eyebrow cocked. She was clearly wearing scrubs but she was absolutely smoking a joint, which wasn't uncommon for Colorado but possibly taboo among the medical community.

"I feel your pain. When I first moved back I did at least 4 garage sales just to clear out some of my parents bullshit. How can old people have so much shit? Baby boomers completely missed the whole recycling trend." Jack hadn't considered doing a yard sale but his lack of social skills would probably just have him boxing it all up to donate anyway.

"Moving back into this house alone is slowly turning me into a minimalist. I don't know if their generation just thought they were going breed like rabbits or if they were just competing to see who would have the biggest house." Jack felt comfortable having such open conversation with her. He felt like he could actually keep a conversation without someone trying to offer sympathies or checking to see if he was on the verge of another psychotic break.

"It's tough being so young in a retirement community." Y/n joked with a smile. They shared a smile for a brief moment before Jack realized he was staring.

"I guess I will rephrase my previous statement, congratulations on becoming an aunt. That kid is going to have exemplary insults by the time they hit the school yard." Jack smirked earning a smile from Y/n.

"Thank you. I'll be sure to send him your way when he's old enough to start wearing trench coats." Y/n winked like she could go tit for tat with Jack and actually enjoy it. She had a feeling they had a similar sense of humor.

"I should get back. Ace waits by the door if no one takes him to bed." Y/n gestured towards the house and Jack sighed.

"Rub it in." Jack teased, fanning jealousy but truthfully he wouldn't mind that kind of comfort this evening.

"He misses you. It's weird, all he can talk about is the strange habits of the mysterious neighbor. Soon enough, he'll tell me all your secrets so hopefully you've never murdered anyone." Y/n wouldn't realize how that joke hit but Jack chuckled darkly.

"Just my dog." Y/n took it as a joke but Jack was grateful they shared a twisted sense of humor.

"Noted. Have a good night Jack." She gave him one last genuine smile and he gave her a wave.

"Good night." Jack watched her walk all the way to her house, walk up the porch and turn the outside light off. He felt a strange comfort knowing that she was so close by and didn't seem turned off by his dry wit and dark humor. He wouldn't call her a friend but she's a neighbor he doesn't mind having encounters with.

#Jack Thurlow #Jack Goes Home #Jack x Y/n #One Shot Series #Glass Houses Series #culkin cult #Rory Culkin #If you want to be added to the tagged list #let me know #4/38

[bensonsbobblehead]

Maybe a criminal minds oneshot where JJs daughter (basically Henry but a girl instead). Is feeling a lot of anxiety and stress about her moms job not able to sleep, focus at school, maybe she ends up really sick in the hospital? (Kind of like the current storyline they’re doing with Henry?)

Pairings; JJ x Daughter!Reader

content warnings; angst, talks of serials killers, knifes, anxiety, and fears

a/n; my first request I hope I did it well enough! Please lmk what you think!

wc; 1.2k

[masterlist]

Growing up your parents worked beyond hard to keep the world as light and fun for you as possible. It was manageable, they both vowed to never bring their work home. Until someone took your dad and almost killed you. Being so young you really had no clue, you just remember your mom getting into a fight with the woman.

It still showed you the truth, of not just the world but your parents jobs. That they were in danger of losing their lives every-time they stepped out in the field.

You were 17 now with the same fears and anxieties creeping back up. Your mom and dad were all you had and losing them would destroy you. Handling all this by taking extra hours volunteering after school and staying at the dance studio.

It was helpful, getting your mind off things until you heard about the case your mom was working on. Some guy was killing people for really no reason at all but he also hated your moms teams. Every serial killer usually had a vengeance for the BAU.

This one scared you the most, your mom was afraid of “not being able to protect you.” She doesn’t know you heard it but until he was caught your anxiety had gotten worse.

School was becoming increasingly stressful being around everyone. Your anxiety increased even more when you thought about your dad. His job was no better than your moms. He was just closer to home and it still scared you. You were pulled out of your thoughts when your mom called you downstairs.

“Yeah mom?” You asked walking down the stairs with her standing next to her go bag, you knew what it meant, that she either had a case or was heading to the office and would eventually be called on a case.

“I got called into a case” of course “I’m not sure how bad it is but I’ll be back as soon as I can.” She said with the same sympathy that she always had. As if she knew how much her leaving effected you.

“It’s fine mom, I’ll see you after” you walked down giving her a hug almost tearing up. The rest of the day was spent lazily around the house. You did some homework, watched tv, even started a new tv show.

None of it could distract your mind from Franky Brown, the rapist, serial killer that was very angry at the BAU. They are getting closer to cracking the case and he knows. Thanks to one of the late nights when she came home and sat on the phone with Auntie Emily you knew more about the case.

JJ was constantly a target not just cause of the BAU but because she was also a woman. Growing up you remember hearing how she was kidnapped and tortured. You visited her in the hospital not knowing the reason just that she was hurt. Life would be pointless without your mom. She was your best friend and you had to protect her.

“Time for bed baby, your mom will be here later” Will said he planting a kiss on your forehead and heading to the kitchen.

“Goodnight dad” you gathered your homework and headed to your room shutting the door behind you. You got ready for bed, checked all your windows, including the one in your bathroom before heading to your bedroom. After that you quickly grabbed your backpack, grabbing the knife that Amya’s brother gave you last week. He has an entire collection of knives all different sizes and colors, so you may have sweet talked your way into getting one for free.

It wasn’t entirely too big but it was big enough. It was sliver and black and you’ve slept with it every night since you’ve got it. You know it’s ridiculous to think but what if Franky does show up here? You allowed your mind to wonder as you slowly drifted to bed.

You were abruptly awaken by the pictures next to your window fallen. Your heart was pounding and you were so afraid you could barley move. You quickly slid your hand to the knife as the person touched your shoulder.

“GET THE FUCK OFF ME” you swung the knife quickly standing up on top of your bed. Pointing the knife toward the figure in the room, attempting to catch your breath.

“Y/N it’s me!” JJ yelled toward you quickly flicking the light on. You were hyperventilating in a corner as you brung your knees to your chest, knife still pointed at your mom.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorr—y” cut off by your sobs,

“I’m going to sit next to you” your mom said as you nodded your head prompting her to sit down. JJ slowly removed the knife but you gripped it tighter avoiding eye contact. Your dad had walked into the room when he heard the commotion. Both your parents had known you were worried more. The tighter hugs and begging them to come home didn’t go unnoticed and this put the cherry on top.

“Your safe baby, I promise, I’m going to take the knife now.” Will spoke up moving closer to you to take the knife away.

You sat in silence with your parents, somewhere in between your dad had taken the knife from you. The concern and worry on their faces didn’t go unnoticed which made you cry harder.

“Sweetie, why did you have a knife under your pillow?” Your mom asked moving a hair behind your ear.

“We’re not upset darling, we don’t don’t want you to hurt yourself in your sleep” Your dad said as he came to sit in front of you.

“Franky Brown” you looked at your mom and bursted into tears, “What if he hurts you or what if he comes here and hurts me—“ you choked on your own sobs.

“Come here” your mom pulled you into a long awaited hug. You squeezed just how you did when you were a little girl, wanting to melt into her. Your mom wasn’t doing so hot either. Her job was important to her but never more important than you.

“I’m sorry I brought this home to you and I’m more sorry we didn’t know.”

“I heard you on the phone with Aunt Emily and I just thought he’d come here next, they have before.” You said honestly, remembering the woman who came here with your dad. The horrible fight you heard your mom in, at the time you were still oblivious to what happened but it happened.

“That’s never going to happen again” will spoke,

“Not if we can help it, I’m sorry I can’t help you feel safe” your mom began to tear up only breaking you more. You hated seeing her sad, you had seen it enough after cases.

That night none of you could get much sleep. Your mom stayed in your room with you as you both were cuddled up together.

“I love you, y/n and I want you to feel safe and never keep this in. I’m here for you. Always.” Kissing your forehead and settling back in. You looked up at her and smiled, “ I know mom.” And you did. At least know you knew now.

#jj x daughter!reader #jennifer jareau x daughter!reader #JJ daughter #jenifer jareau daughter #x daughter!reader #jennifer jareau angst #jennifer jareau x teen!reader #jj x teen!reader #criminal minds reader #criminal minds #jareau reader #jareau!daughter #AskBenTheBob #Criminal minds requests #Jennifer jareau request

[kyber-crystal]

a lil hangman backstory drabble

ALRIGHT you got it :) sorry if this seems lowkey stupid. it sounded a lot cuter in my head i promise

everyone says hangman got his callsign because of his independent, overconfident nature

but the truth is that's not how it happened at all

you were actually the one that gave him the little nickname

he came from a broken family, and leaned on you a lot because you were all he had

since either of you could start walking and talking, you were best friends

so he was crying one day because his parents were fighting yet again. he was maybe 6? 7? years old. you heard him through your walls, and climbed through his window to get to him. (luckily, there was a tree between your houses so doing this was pretty easy)

being as young as you were at the time, you didn't know many was to comfort a distressed first grader

"jake? i can go back home and bring some cookies. mom made some new ones last night, 'cause she remembered snickerdoodle was your favorite"

he kept crying, which really worried you because he never turned down a request to your family's baking.

so you did the only other thing you knew. you pulled out a piece of paper and colored pencils

you drew a familiar series of lines. then thought for a bit, before you came up with a word and drew out a long series of dashes

"pick a letter!"

as expected, jake went through all the vowels first

it didn't take long for him to guess the phrase

through his tears he looked at you and started to smile. "jake and y/n forever? really?"

you grinned super wide. "duh! what else?"

"so we'll be together forever."

"yeah, dummy. whether you like it or not, i'm staying"

you two had set sights on the naval aviator dream for the longest time. so you pushed each other to the max, and always supported each other no matter what. through middle school, high school, and the naval academy, you stayed together

when you both received invitations to top gun you were beyond excited. you sprinted across the field, not caring that you were probably disrupting the whole commencement ceremony

and you jumped towards him and he spun you around and around

"we did it! we're going to california"

"we sure are," and he kissed your forehead - but he was so excited that he almost kissed you full on the mouth

but he stopped himself because you're his best friend and best friends aren't supposed to feel this way about each other. right?

right.

jake finally sets you down and you dust yourself off. your heart warmed as you looked at his nametag

"it suits you. hangman."

"now, who do i have to thank for that?"

you're so excited that you keep holding his hand through the entire 5.5 hour flight to san diego

and you keep holding his hand as you get in the taxi to the naval base

and as you get out

and as you introduce yourself to everyone there

"i'm phoenix, and i think we're going to be best friends," said the first person you ran into. "that your boyfriend?"

that's when you finally let go of hangman's hand. "no"

"i don't believe you for a second"

fast forward several years and you're all sitting around at penny's bar, talking late into the night

the subject of everyone's callsigns comes up and right away everyone starts roasting poor hangman

"hangman always leaves people out to dry!" - bob

"you left me hanging in the air, and during wii tennis. traitor. i can't believe you" - coyote

"i gave that loser his callsign, you know," you spoke up

and the gang is like wait wtf

so you gave a brief explanation on how it came to be. you'd been glued together since you were babies, and played the classic word game all the time. hence the name...

fanboy and payback are full on SOBBING by the time you finish and it's so hilarious

"might as well change both your callsigns to husband and wife at this point!" - penny

oh. he totally calls you wife up in the air the next morning

it throws you off track long enough for maverick to get a missile lock on you, dropping you out of the simulation's competition

"don't get distracted, ms. seresin" hangman said over your comms

after years of waiting, he finally kisses you when you touch down later that afternoon

tags, including people who may be interested (under the cut):

@walkonthewiidside @sarcastic-sourwolf @totomoshi @sebastianstangirl01 @dilfsandtherapy @purelyfiction @93joons @yeehawnana @lunamoonbby @hazelgirl355 @multifandom-fangirl4 @paintballkid711 @lyn-lc @azari-anna @thelifeofthelifeofme @spawn0fsatan @milestomaverick @teacactusworld @icemansgirl1999 @cherry-waved @newlibrary @ellabellabus07 @criminalyetminimal @whatlovegattado @lets-be-gay-for-the-angel @vane28282 @thisismypointofview @organabanks @hufflepuffprincesse @ice-mans-world @burnedbrisket @fangirlinc @marveljunkie45 @knowledgefulbutterfly @levis-butterfingers @minivture @teacactusworld @lunamooncole @skylynch03 @coastingline @chaoticassidy @hbstre @fantasias-creativebubble @mercury-mae @light-the-moon @winteryoungie @aie1840

#top gun #top gun: maverick #top gun fic #jake seresin #jake hangman seresin #jake seresin x reader #hangman x reader #hangman fic #hangman seresin #top gun fanfic #glen powell #hangman x you #top gun maverick fanfiction #jake seresin x you

[tiannasfanfic]

Intuition

Adrian Chase/Vigilante x Reader (Fluff)

Summary: One thing that Adrian Chase has always appreciated about you is how you always listen to your gut. (Crossposted to AO3)

Rating: Teen & Up

Author Note: Gender neutral reader, no pronouns used. This is just a short one that I thought of yesterday while mowing my uncle's old house. It came to me as one of those "what if" self indulgent scenarios.

CW: Brief mentions of cancer, family members passing away, and an attempted assault, but no details on any of those. Some slight sexual inuendo.

Word Count: 2,186

Divider by @firefly-graphics

Adrian Chase loved your mom. Hands down, no question. He ranked her right up there with his mom, and that seriously high praise coming from him.

It still felt a little weird to him to get along with your parents, but that was due to being under the assumption his entire life that a person wasn’t supposed to get along with their in laws. Defying those expectations, both of your parents loved him, and Adrian’s dad and stepdad adored you. He knew his mom would’ve loved you, too.

But, back to your mom, Adrian loved your mom dearly. There was no disputing that, but she had some odd habits at times and was more stubborn than Chris and Harcourt combined. Actually, now that he thought about it, your mom reminded him of Harcourt sometimes.

Once that idea popped into Adrian’s head, he immediately had to tell Peacemaker.

He took his phone out of his pocket, careful to not disturb the branches of the tree he was in. The brightness of his screen was turned down, plus he had recently gotten one of those privacy screens for it, so he wasn’t too worried about giving away his hiding place. Plus, he was about twenty feet up and surrounded by leaves. He planned to make it quick though, not wanting to look away from where you and your mom were for too long.

I just had a thought. Doesn’t Y/N’s mom remind you of Harcourt?

Chris had met your mom quite a few times so it didn’t take long for a response.

Dude, holy shit! You’re right!

Adrian sent Chris the merman emoji then put his phone away. He went back to watching the two of you doing a bit of nighttime mowing and reminded himself again that he really loved your mom, even though this really could have waited until tomorrow morning before any storms moved in. This wasn’t a good neighborhood and not a place you really wanted to be after dark. Too many white supremacist assholes. But, once your mom got something stuck in her head, there was no talking her out of it.

The lawn in question getting mowed was at a house that had belonged to your uncle prior to him passing away. Since he had no next of kin and wasn’t married, his belongings and house went to his sister, which was your mom. Shortly after that, your last two grandparents passed on, leaving them two more houses. In most normal cases, this wouldn’t be a problem. Go through the houses and sell them or rent them out. But this all happened at a time when your dad was at the start of his fight with cancer and was already getting financial assistance through charities for the medications. If the houses were sold, or even rented out, that would put them over the income threshold and the assistance would be lost. Now your parents had no choice but to sit on the houses and keep doing upkeep, which included mowing.

All of this got started almost seven years ago. Adrian met you four years ago shortly after you moved back home to help them with everything. The two of you had met through a mutual friend and started dating shortly afterwards. You’d been married almost two years now. Since you were living in a one room loft house on your parent’s property, Adrian had moved in with you. It was more like being neighbors with your parents rather than living with them. The good kind of neighbors though and usually stayed out of your business.

While Adrian tried to help out as much as he could when he got a proper day or night off, you insisted he rest instead. Since you weren’t working now with as much help as your parents needed, you told him you’d ask if you needed help. He didn’t entirely believe you since you had a habit of overworking yourself, but it would have to do.

That’s one of the reasons why when Adrian got a phone call from your dad as he was leaving Fennel Fields, he nearly dropped his phone in shock.

It wasn’t the fact your dad called. Since he couldn’t be on his feet much these days, he tended to stay in his recliner and find ways to keep himself amused. Sometimes he did this by leaving funny voicemails or texting dirty jokes to Adrian and you, but sometimes he just called to say hi because he was bored. Your dad had known about Adrian being Vigilante for a while now and they frequently texted on slow nights for patrol when it was just the two of them up.

It was what your dad asked Adrian that nearly made him drop his phone.

“Hey Adrian,” your dad started out. “I know you’re about to go on patrol, but would you go keep an eye on our two bozos’ until they get home?”

“I can, yeah,” Adrian said, as he walked to the Sebring. “What’s going on?”

“Y/N’s mom got it in her head that the yard of her brother’s house absolutely had to be mowed tonight,” you dad explained. “She heard about all that rain we’re supposed to start getting tomorrow and freaked out about it. You know how she gets. So, she got Y/N to go with her. They left about ten minutes ago.”

Adrian stopped in his tracks and briefly looked at his phone to see the time.

“It’s just a little after 7 now,” Adrian said. “They should be done by the time all the noise ordinances go into effect.”

“I know, but Y/N just texted from the house, asking me to call and ask you. Said to tell you she has a weird feeling about it tonight.”

Now it all made sense. This was a Vigilante call, not an Adrian call. Your gut instincts always ended up right more often than not. But, even if they weren’t usually tight, Adrian would’ve still gone over there anyway. Making sure you felt safe was just as much of a priority to him as actually keeping you safe.

It didn’t take long to get to your uncle’s old house. It was just a half mile away from home. Normally, when it was something that close, Adrian would take his car home then hurry over on foot. This time, he was in a hurry to get to you, so he parked the Sebring one street over behind an old, defunct sporting goods store. He hopped the fence and shimmied up a tree near the freestanding garage just as you two were finished with the front yard and came into the back.

You were the first around to the back, dragging the silent mower behind you, and Adrian noticed immediately how tense and worried you looked. This put Adrian further on guard. Your gut feelings were one thing, but this looked like you were expecting something to actually happen. His first instinct was to shimmy out of the tree and go cheer you up. He didn’t like it when you were upset or worried, especially when it was about stuff like this that was well within his control. He really wanted to remind you of that so you would know everything would be okay.

But, on the other hand, your mom didn’t know he was Vigilante. The three of you had decided it was best to keep her in the dark about it. So, instead, he did the next best thing to hopping out of the tree.

Adrian took one of his protein bars that he kept in one of his many pockets and lobbed it at your head.

Even from twenty feet up, he was still a damn good aim. The protein bar hit you square in the middle of your forehead, which made you do the Wildly Swatting at a Bug Dance. Adrian had to bite his lip under the mask to keep from laughing while watching you. Once you stopped, you began to dust yourself off, like you were still trying to get rid of the bug that jumped on you. The protein bar on the ground caught your eye then and he watched you bend over to pick it up. It took a second for it to click in your brain what one of your husband’s protein bars flying at your head meant. Adrian grinned with pride as he saw relief wash over your features. You pocketed the bar, then raised your arm in a thumbs up…

Right as your mom walked around the corner with the weed eater.

“What are you doing?” she asked, looking very confused.

Fortunately, you did not share Adrian’s weakness for lying.

“Hmm?” you said, turning to your mom. “Oh! I just saw that the garage hadn’t been broken into again yet, so I was doing the Bender from The Breakfast Club pose.”

You proceeded to do the pose again, only without the thumbs up though, like in the movie.

Your mom shook her head at you and started weed eating along the fence. You got to work mowing. Adrian noticed you didn’t look around to spot him, but he hadn’t really expected you to. As long as you knew he was there, that was enough for you. That was the whole reason he tossed the protein bar at you.

And now you had a snack in case you forgot to eat, which you did often despite Adrian’s best efforts to remind you.

Despite the end of summer temperatures getting closer to normal and the sun going down past the horizon, it was still fairly hot out. You were hauling ass to get the mowing done and Adrian could see your clothes sticking to you from sweat. It stayed out of your face thanks to a bandana wrapped around your forehead.

As the time passed and Adrian watched you, he couldn’t help but think about how lucky he was. Even now in your old yard work clothes, sweaty, hot, and covered in dirt and grass, you were the sexiest person alive. He was still in shock and awe that he nabbed you. And you had pursued him, no less! That’s the part that really shocked him. The total hottie had gone after the total nerd.

Unfortunately, while that was something Adrian had dreamed of his whole life, when it finally happened, he had no idea how to react. He had almost blown things before he’d even asked you out. But that’s a story for another time.

Presently, Adrian decided he was going to skip patrol after you two went home. He knew your anxiety would be sky high based on the fact you’d been so uncomfortable you had your dad call him in. Plus, he suspected that your back was bothering you based on the way you held yourself as you finished mowing the yard. There was some definite tightness and tension around your neck and shoulders. He would need to join you in the shower tonight to start working those out. Anything he couldn’t get while in there could certainly be worked out after the shower when he laid you out on the bed. Adrian fully planned to relax you in several ways, and several times, before the night was over.

A little while after you turned off the mower, but before you two could start loading everything back in your parent’s truck, four men entered the backyard. They walked up to you and Adrian waited just long enough for the men to give him just cause before jumping out of the tree. But, as soon as one of the men grabbed you by the arm and another pulled a knife, it was over pretty quickly.

Afterwards, Adrian fought himself to console you two as he would anyone else rather than as his wife and mother-in-law. He desperately wanted to take you in his arms, take all of the oncoming stress off of you two, but knew he couldn’t. You would have to be your mom’s rock as you dealt with the police, and he would have to wait to be yours.

He did, however, stay much longer with you two than he normally would after resuing somebody. He retrieved your phone and two bottles of water from the truck for you. He dialed 911 on your phone and held it for you while you talked to the dispatcher because you were shaking too much to do it yourself. He even waited until the sirens were only a couple of blocks away before hopping the back fence, making his exit.

If Adrian hadn’t already planned to skip patrol, this definitely would've changed his mind. There was no way he could leave you alone after a night like tonight. You still needed Vigilante, just in other ways now.

And, as he drove home, his own hands beginning to shake at how he could have lost you tonight, he thanked whoever was listening upstairs that you always listened to your intuition.

#adrian chase #vigilante #adrian chase fluff #adrian chase fanfiction #adrian chase x y/n #adrian chase x you #adrian chase x reader #vigilante fluff #vigilante fanfiction #vigilante x y/n #vigilante x you #vigilante x reader

[monpalace]

OKAY IDEA!!! JUST GOTTA PUT THIS SOMEWHERE BEFORE I FORGET

The chain meeting Twilight’s mom (who is totally a milf) and finding out —through her directly or by stories Twi tells them that SHE told him— that Time is HER father, making Twilight his grandson

POINTS THAT I THINK ARE FUN TO EXPLORE

(Before meeting twi’s mom) Twilight telling the group about how he didn’t know much about his family outside of his ma

Tei says that he thinks his mom and her parents had a strained relationship —more with her father than mother but thats what he assumes

Twi being told that his grandpa was a fisher man at heart and could be very child like when in a good mood

Twi being told his grandma had a way with horses and how Twi natural inherited that even tho the two never met

Twi’s mom singing him ssong that his grandma sang to her (epona song?)

Twi’s mom and his grandpa rarely got along, to the point were she had left BEFORE he had died

(During/after meeting Twi’s mom) Twi’s mom nearly having a heart attack at the sight of Time, grabbing Twilight and keeping him behind her

After first interaction and Twi’s mom being reassured Time wasn’t a ghost, they all have a very tense dinner at Their home <3

Twi’s mom is aggressively doing chores as she tries to calm her mind, which isn’t working considering the boys are VERY curious

Eventually one proudly asked she knew that her and her son was related to the hero of Time, she said yes in a very bitter tone

Que the boys asking questions as mama twi passive aggressively does idly chores/cleaning (keeping her back to Time the whollleee time.)

Through gritted teeth she explains the connections. But she did say that she didn’t realize her father was the hero of Time many years AFTER he died

Can you imagine how utter horrified and disgusted Time would be in himself for driving his own daughter away

Okokay! Thats it for now, dont wanna make this too long <3

i sat here thinking you said time and twi's mom were both his parents and not like,, generational,,,,, i genuinely had the thought of "oh. his swimmers stayed alive for a hundred years after he died and was skeletonized?? that's fucking insane"

but ignoring my insanity + inability to read, that's such a good idea??

if time were to figure out that his (unborn/imaginary/planned/etc/etc) daughter was twi's mother before they met, i'd imagine he'd be anxious (in a good way) to meet her-- what with how often twi talks about her and how high in his regards she is

but also imagine if he didn't tell twi that he came to the realization before meeting her? epona's song, twi's natural taking to horses and farmwork, and every other skill handed down to him throughout the generations was an almost immediate flag to time; but then twi starts to divulge information regarding his mom and grandpa?

"ion know if he was dead before i was born, but i never got to meet 'im. she tol' me that she left on bad terms wit' 'im 'n' then he died," and time is immeadiately sent through a flurry of emotions?

what did he mean by she left of bad terms? was it just a usual family fight, or was it something more serious? did she never return? in his line of work, he expected to die, but did she attend his funeral? did they leave off so horribly that she turned her back to him entirely? was it all his fault, or was it some outside force?

time's plagued by his questions, but he doesn't ask them. he didn't want to ruin whatever relationship he had already built with grandson because who knew how much longer they'd have to travel together with whatever emotions that lingered from them

GRAHHH‼️‼️‼️ all i can say is that twi's mom is a bigger person than me,,, time would not be coming in my house and that the rest of the chain can join him in sleepin miles away if they didnt know how to read a room

#i just finished watching talk to me and am in shock so excuse me #the palace answers #stargazing in the palace

[judeschoices]

Good Enough

A Tyler Woods story because I highkey don’t like how PB was setting up his character in the beginning. So I wanna do him some form of justice with a fanfic because he deserves better. Just to make it crystal clear, I don’t condone violence unless it’s a last resort sort of thing.

Thankfully Tyler got more character development as time passes but to satisfy my growing disappointment, I’ll create a backstory for him.

You should know I name my MCs Judith (I actually did a guy route for COP, so any male MC would be named Jude). So it’s gonna be Tyler Woods x Valentine Judith Stone (both characters are black, surprise surprise).

On with the story!

Book: Murder at Homecoming

Pairing: Tyler Woods x Valentine “Judith” Stone

Rating: Teens

Tags: Reflective, Fluff, Mutual Pining (ish)

——————————————

Tyler Woods grew up as someone who was always questioning his worth. With the life he’s lived thus far, it’s been a common thing where he would ask himself the question:

‘Am I good enough?’

His mother worked endless hours at a diner to help support the family and to get Tyler into a good school where he can get a good education. His father has been in and out of jail for selling drugs around the block. This has been happening since he was eight years old.

After seeing what his father is doing with his life and how his dear mom went through so much to put him a better position, he silently vowed to be someone great. Only… it didn’t turn out that way.

Growing up as a kid leading up to his now late teenage years, Tyler didn’t live in a safe gated community like his peers. Where he lived, drug dealing and robberies were common. His version of a lullaby was the sound of police sirens and gunshots. He didn’t wear anything flashy or brand names since his mom couldn’t afford such things. This didn’t go unnoticed by his richer classmates.

They would laugh and jeer at his hand-me-down clothes and sneakers. Whisper amongst themselves to watch their stuff closely just in case he would try to steal it. Talk down at him for what type of family he came from. He was constantly picked on for his lanky build, an easy target for bullies to vent their own anger out on.

His teachers were no better. No matter how many times he’s told an adult or even gotten his mother involved, the bullying didn’t stop. Tyler knew it was because the last thing the school needs is to lose a rich future beneficiary. They’ll gladly expel him first before even thinking about have a parent teacher conference for one of those stuffy rich kids. Gladly tell him that he would never become anyone worth remembering.

Tyler tried keeping his head down best he could but it wasn’t until one day one of his bullies slammed him against the lockers. He was already having a sour day. He missed the bus early that morning and had to run several blocks to the next bus stop if he wanted to the slightest chance to getting to school on time. He failed another one of his math tests for a third time in a row. He forgot his essay at home since he spent most of the night writing and falling asleep at his desk, thus making him miss his alarm and late for school. He almost fell asleep in his last class for the day and the teacher made a show of hitting his knuckles with a ruler with the entire class laughing at him.

With all that and now his supposed daily dose of bullying, something in the young boy snapped. His hand curled into a fist before he could think twice about what he was doing and he swung.

Tyler could never fully remember what happened. The next thing he remember was being the office, both him and the bully dawning quite a few bruises.

He and the kid were suspended for fighting. While he was upset about having to stay home and disappointing his mother, he felt a bit better that there was a bit of justice in the situation. 

That he finally stood up for himself.

He didn’t want to be other peoples’ doormat anymore. 

Granted he didn’t go looking for fights, he didn’t want to jeopardize the opportunity his mother worked so hard to give him. So he took up running. Running was his personal escape from reality. Where he felt free. Where he could be himself. Where he knew it didn’t matter what was your background or what your status was, it was about your athletic prowess. He tried out for the track team and easily got on the team. His skill made him recognizable among his peers. 

But he never got over his anger and trauma from dealing with the upper crest of society. 

It only grew worse as he entered high school. It was like no matter what he did, it was like someone was out to get him. Everyone seemed to hate him because some low life from the rough part of town could easily smoke them on the track field.

He hated what happened to Brett’s sister.

He hated that he stressed his mom about the potential expulsion.

He hated that once he was expelled, they’ll easily replace him with someone else.

He hated that he was never good enough.

When Gabbie offered to save him from himself, he took the opportunity. He couldn’t let his mom down, he couldn’t let himself down. Gabbie had an influence he could only dream of having. She was his friend.

Though he wished how the next several months played out differently. After the incident, she asked him to be her fake boyfriend. While he did want to ask why, he held his tongue. She helped him when he needed it most, the least he could was to do the same to her.

It’s not like he was interested in someone else for him to say no... or so he thought.

It was two months before Homecoming that he really noticed her.

Infamous kid detective, Judith Stone. 

It’s not like he really spoke to her before, it was by chance he even got to interact with her. 

She seemed to be in a rush somewhere, but she didn’t seem to notice that he was walking past the corner she about to round. She collided with him like a speeding bullet. After stumbling back a few steps, he was able to steady the both of them. 

“Are you okay,” he asked her, holding the girl up by her waist. The head of soft bouncy curls looked up, revealing a pair of big dark brown eyes. Tyler felt his mouth dry up as those eyes blinked slowly as him. Full lips parted as Judith spoke,

“Yeah. Thank you, Tyler.” The girl pulled away from the track star’s embrace before rushing off.

Tyler watched after her with a dumbfounded expression and a fluttering heart.

Tyler had little crushes in the past. But Judith was a different story. It wasn’t something that died in a few days or even a few weeks. It lasted for months and showed no signs of fizzling out.

Tyler tried to talk himself out of liking her. Like many of the girls he’s crushed on, they would never give him the time of day. People already look at him sideways for “dating” Gabbie. He would always hear how he wasn’t good enough for the likes of her and how she could possibly see something in him. 

Judith couldn’t possibly see him like he saw her. No matter how desperately he wished for there to be some sort of chance.

Then Homecoming night came.

When he saw Judith slide into the limo, he almost choked. The short shimmery 20′s style dress hugged her figure perfectly. Her hair was braided back and formed a low bun, revealing her face. Those dark brown eyes scanned the car’s occupants and finally landed on him. He could feel his heart kickstart in his chest as she greeted him with a small smile.

On the way to the school, he kept stealing glances at the girl detective, wishing that it was her that was wrapped under his arm...

Then the news of Gabbie’s death came crashing down on all of them. He felt crushed that his friend died, believing it was his fault. During their “relationship”, Gabbie was being highly secretive. It drove him crazy sometimes because he would have to cover for her and he had no idea what exactly he was helping her hide. He even considered following her to get some answers but decided against it, not wanting to risk getting caught.

Though he didn’t expect Gabbie’s death would lead to him talking to Judith...

...well after she broke into his locker, broke into his car, hopped out of his moving car, sent him on a wild goose chase into the woods, nearly smacked him with tree branch wielded in her small hands, and accused him of murdering Gabbie.

What a crazy start to their story.

Even when she looked ready to knocked his head clean off his shoulders, he couldn’t help but to find her beautiful. The setting sun bathe her in a breathtaking glow. He couldn’t look away from her eyes.

No matter how angry those eyes seem to be, he couldn’t help but to be captivated at how they lit up from a dark, almost black, color to a rich mahogany brown. 

They sat and chatted by the cliff side once she was through with interrogating him. Not willing to let the girl go just yet, he invited Judith to the diner where his mom used to work at. He never brought anyone else there before. Not even Gabbie.

The place was one of the few places that was near and dear to him. He had memories of sitting at one of the retro booths, watching his mom flit from table to table while he did his homework. The workers adored her, him as well.

Whether Judith knew it or not, he was letting her in on something he would never show to others.

...and he may or may not have been treating it as if it was date.

What? You can’t blame a guy for wishing for something more with the girl he’s been pining after for months.

Hearing her talk about herself intrigued him. Especially when he learned Judith wasn’t even her real first name. He knew she preferred to go by her middle name but he hoped that maybe one day he would be special enough to call her Valentine.

For her to be his little Valentine.

Though he felt his hopes were being dashed as they started working together. He almost found himself getting into fights with their persons of interests, nearly ruining their chances of gathering any intel. Judith had to step in each time do some level of damage control because his sorry ass couldn’t control his temper.

He felt ashamed with himself.

The last thing he wanted was for her to see him to be more of a hindrance rather a beneficial partner. See him as some bullhead jock.

All he wanted was to be good enough for her...

The dwindling hope he felt sparked anew when they shared their first kiss. At first, he couldn’t believe it. After she basically cornered him into confessing on why the track had it out for him and how he almost got expelled, he felt like she was going to shun him. As if the last shred of good that she possibly saw him whittered away.

Hearing her say that she didn’t hate him and she saw that he was trying to make amends to what had happened in the past nearly made him sag in relief. He really did care about how she thought of him and wanted nothing more but to stay in her good graces.

He wanted to be more than that little boy who was shunned by everyone because his social status in society was beneath theirs. More than the kid that thought that standing up for himself was using his fists first and words later. More than some fake boyfriend.

He wanted to be Tyler Woods, someone who was more than his circumstances. A young man with a promising future ahead of him and was making his hardworking mother proud. A boy who had the heart and affections of a certain girl detective. 

He remembered giving her a small smile when she shifted forward. The solid thump his heart gave against his ribcage when those full pouty lips he secretly daydreamed about brushing against his own nearly made him breathless. He immediately leaned in the rest of the way, kissing her with all the pent up emotion he’s been feeling for months. Feeling her cup his face as she kissed him back with the same energy made him melt a little on the inside. He tried leaning over on her side as much as he physically could, wanting to make the moment last between them.

As much as he wanted the special moment to last forever, they both needed to breathe at some point.

Pulling apart, he felt as if he was blinded by her breathtaking smile.

“I honestly wanted to do that for so long...” Judith raised an amused brow at the track star’s breathless confession.

“Oh? How long are we talking,” she asked. Tyler could feel his face heat up and he knew she could probably feel it, seeing how she was still cupping his face with her delicate hands.

“Since... since you ran into me that one time. Few months before Homecoming. I wasn’t sure if you would even like me and with everything that’s been going since Homecoming, it probably would be weird to confess such a thing,” he shyly admitted. The girl let out a chuckle, the sound was rich and warm. It reminded Tyler of drinking a cup of hot chocolate.

“Dork. It just so happened I like weird,” she mumbled, looking into his eyes. Tyler could see the sincerity in those dark irises and he felt a goofy grin break out on his face and he leaned in for another kiss.

Since then, Judith seemed to be opening up about her feelings towards him, and Tyler couldn’t be anymore happier about it.

The night they stayed out together to share the cheesecake they won with Donovan and Stevie was growing proof that she returned his feelings. She was going out her way to get him alone and that thought alone made him feel giddy on the inside.

He originally didn’t really want to do the trivia night. Donovan, Judith, and Stevie seemed so much smarter to him, what could he possibly contribute. But once they all got a groove of things, he found himself enjoying their company. When Donovan and Stevie left, he felt his heart flutter at the smile Judith was giving him.

They laughed at their first real interaction outside of Homecoming, she comforted him on his insecurities, and got to share something sweet with her. 

And it wasn’t just the cheesecake.

Tyler had been secretly hoping to experience another kiss with her. He hasn’t stopped thinking about their first kiss. Her lips were the softest thing he’s ever felt and she tasted like vanilla. Tasting that familiar vanilla bean chapstick mixed with the cheesecake they shared was a heady combination. He wrapped an arm around her waist, eager to have her closer to him.

The kiss was curious and sweet. As if they wanted to explore their feelings in this new tender way neither of them would have suspected months ago.

“Mmm... I was wondering when we were going to do that again,” he mumbled, gazing into those dark eyes. Judith graced him with one of her bright smiles, slender fingers fiddled with his necklace as she gazed back.

“Whenever you want,” she said, kissing his cheek. He chuckled at the mental image that popped up in his mind.

“I don’t think Donovan and Stevie would like that very much. Especially Stevie,” he challenged with a cocked brow. Judith let out a chuckle of her own.

“Okay, fair. How about this, you can kiss me any time you want to and we’re not with either of them,” she concede. Tyler leaned in, pecking her lips a few more times. When he opened his eyes, Judith could see his eyes darken with want as he slowly licked his lips.

“Oh, you’re definitely gonna regret saying that,” he mumbled, his voice taking on a more huskier edge. Judith smirked at the track star.

“Somehow I don’t think I will,” she teased, her voice coming out as a purr as she ran her fingers over the back of his neck. Tyler mentally groaned.

‘She’s going to be the death of me...’

Despite them coming together under unique circumstances... Tyler never felt like more of a normal teenager before. Some days, his basic goal was just to make the stoic girl smile she rarely lets anyone else see.

Like when she texted him hours before the party.

Well... when he mentioned “pre-game”, he was hoping for a few kisses as well.

Tyler was quickly developing a sweet tooth for Judith kisses, he is man enough to admit he melts a little when she offers him one.

Though when he notice how stressed the girl seemed to be, he was more than happy to take her mind off of it by spending time with her and her adorable fluffball of a dog, Puck.

He loved their afternoon stroll. Tyler secretly hoped when he found the courage to ask her to be his girlfriend that they could do this more often. Seeing Puck bounce around his owner, seeing her smile adoringly at him. The feeling of her hand intertwined with his. Her head on his shoulder. Seeing Judith try to hide her amused giggle behind her hand as he played with “Pucky-Poo”.

The moment between them was something he never felt before in his life...

He felt like he was finally good enough...

Good enough to be with such a beautiful and captivating girl who so happens to go by the name Valentine Judith Stone.

“I’m just some guy. You’re Judith Stone,” he remarks as he sat on the girl’s bed. They were waiting for Donovan and Stevie to show up so they could all go to the party. Judith was standing in front of him as he said this. Her dark eyes soften as she gazed at him, taking the track star runner by surprise.

“Tyler, you���re definitely not ‘just some guy’. Not to me,” Judith said softly. The air surrounding the two seemed to have shifted. As if both them suddenly realized that they were no longer co-detectives working on a case but two teenagers, alone together in a room... 

Judith stepped closer, standing in between the space of Tyler’s knees. Their hands naturally gravitated towards each other. Judith’s hands finding purchase on Tyler’s shoulders, while his hands found the curve of her hips. Their lips met in a gentle kiss, testing the waters and their resolve.

Tyler could feel Judith’s fingers dance along the sensitive skin of his neck before tangling themselves in his curly hair. Her neatly filed nails gently scratched his scalp. A low groan escaped the back of his throat as he tugged the girl closer. Judith seemed catch the hint, straddling the older boy.

“I was hoping this was why you called,” he mumbled against her lips, looking at the young detective with a hooded gaze. Judith gave him a familiar flirtatious smirk.

“Just here for the smooches, are you,” she teased. A low laugh escaped him as he spread kisses all over the girl’s face. Judith giggled at the quick butterfly kisses tickling her cheeks. Tyler gave her a kiss on her forehead, another on the tip of her nose, before finally returning to her lips. Judith let out a small moan when she felt one of Tyler’s hands run up her back, pressing against the space between her shoulder blades to pull her closer. Tyler pulled away to look into her eyes.

“I hope I’ve made it clear that I like you, Judith. Kisses or no,” he whispered in her ear. The girl shuddered at the tickling sensation on her ear. She chuckled.

“But the kisses don’t hurt, now do they,” she teased, running her small hands over his shoulders. Tyler answered her with another kiss.

Tyler knew he would never tire of this act. Getting the chance to feel his crush’s lips against his in an intimate way. Being able to hold her this close. To be surround by the scent of warm vanilla and a sweet musk scent. He let out a soft hum when he felt her arch against him, her thighs tightening around his hips. One of his hands slid in her hair while the other felt along the muscle of her thigh.

He nipped on her lower lip, coaxing her to open up to him. Just as their tongues met, there was a knock at the door.

“Judith! The rest of your friends are here,” her mom called. The pair sprang apart, blushing deeply. But there were twin goofy smiles on their face. Judith place one more kiss on his cheek before answering her mom.

Tyler stared at the teen PI like a lovesick puppy.

‘One day Valentine... one day, I hope to be good enough for you to call me your boyfriend...’

#choices #choices fanfic #Murder at homecoming #mah #mah tyler woods #tyler woods #mah mc #valentine judith stone #tyler woods x mc #tyler woods x valentine judith stone #tyler x judith #fluff #pining

[vizthedatum]

Surreal

During the last week of my relationship with my ex/spouse, I was in constant terror. I was popping klonopin and taking edibles as much as I could. I was dabbing as much as I could. I was on the couch (almost the entire time) trying to listen to music and apply to apartments CONSTANTLY. I was freezing and fawning so bad. Most of the time, I was naked or partially naked. I could barely function.

I wanted to be back in their arms so badly - to really make things work - to try everything to make our relationship work. They sent me these messages right before I came inside:

I would have isolated from society forever. I would have carried out our plan of living separately but still isolating myself so that I could save the marriage. The burden of saving our marriage was on me - because I was the problem. They started a new job, and they told me they couldn't do this relationship and the job at the same time. I needed to stop being a problem.

They accused me of cheating and turned on me within an hour of when I got home. They told me that my hair burned them. I managed to yell out saying that YOU NEED TO GO THERAPY - THIS IS NOT WHO YOU ARE. And they yelled THIS IS WHO I AM. And I saw how monstrous the person who I had married... who I was deeply in love with... looked. Then at some point, I somehow went up to my room? They had told me to get out of their sight. I think it was around that time when their mom convinced them not to take my meds away from me. Then they sent me messages saying I could come down again and it wasn't a trick. (Messages three hours after the 'reading manual' one)

We took our last two selfies together - they looked manic - I just... I loved them, and I desperately wanted to be together. I wanted to make it work.

The yelling and terror continued the whole week. Intermixed with offers to help me pay off all the money I spent on moving my brother out of my parents' home - a very traumatic and involved trip to Minnesota that I absolutely had to do.

(Funny - I ended up going into debt anyway by escaping, paying the lease break fee (of which they are paying LESS THAN HALF (I guess getting a hella expensive lawyer really pays off, huh? You fucking absolute thief)), supporting myself through medical bills (including getting myself checked out for the IUD THAT THEY PULLED OUT OF ME and STI testing because I literally cannot remember if they used protection the last time they had sex with me (raped me, because they forced me to verbally consent, kept fucking me while I had a panic attack, and then somehow I ate and left the home?! I had ingeniously (hah) told them that they couldn't touch me after that unless they could commit to making me orgasm (something they hadn't been able to do in a very long time because they don't make me feel safe). In a daze.), supporting myself through months of wading through life the best I could, fighting to get my stuff back, cleaning or throwing away my things because so much was infested with grime and rodent droppings, etc.)

They would yell how I wasn't trying hard enough to get an apartment and get out of there - I was trying so hard - masking so hard when I'd make phone calls - I received messages from potential landlords correctly assuming I was being abused - I got scammed maybe like 3 times and lost money - I was messaging my friends non-stop WHILE apartment hunting for my life. For us.

I couldn't get high enough. I couldn't stop feeling so horrible. I wanted to die. I thought it was over. They kept trying to talk me out of my touch boundaries while I just looked at them and trembled in fear - I don't think any of my emotions registered to them.

I watched how they chose to appear sane during work calls... and chose to be completely unhinged with me.

I was texting my MIL - trying to explain my affairs (we were poly and open) in detail and how I told Jon what I was up to - I needed to be honest - I told her how they kept trying to touch me without my consent.

So many things happened all at once. I wanted to focus on my friends and the good things in my life. Lose myself in the fantasy of life being okay. I hated being how I was. I was talking to my partners, random lovers, friends, etc. just to know that I was wanted by someone - it felt good.... while my mind and body were falling apart.

They really wanted me out of there - while telling me that they loved me. So much yelling. I was packing.

I finally broke up (Thurs? Fri? The days blended together) with them but they still wanted to be married. They were relieved (they said) when I broke up with them. I told my MIL - (Please note that my ex has friendships I know nothing about, conversations with their really weird ex that I have no idea about, they send money to their ex, I have no idea if my ex cheated on me or not - I literally have no clue - meanwhile they go around slut shaming me even though THEY ARE POLY AS FUCK (but also super controlling)):

We kept doing our marriage ritual - nothing changed. Now I was married in a partnerless relationship where I was still being controlled. We still said we loved each other.

My credit got approved for a place that didn't check employment paystubs (Sat).

And then I got myself flowers.

The next day I left (Sun). I wrote my MIL on Mon:

On Nov 21, 2022, I called my MIL (with the help of a friend) and told her it was DV. And then I posted on Facebook:

"CW: straight up DV

Don’t tell my brother (or my immediate family) any of this. He is blocked from reading this. And I got him out of an abusive situation and he’s doing so much better so please don’t ruin the strides I’ve made with him. I waited my entire life to get him out and safe, so just don’t.

I’m safe. It has unfortunately dawned on me that I’ve been in a DV situation once again - and I didn’t know - it wasn’t until I went to MN and got clarity - I’ve been in several different DV situations and well, I didn’t want to believe it because it was literally the best relationship I ever had? Because well, who else would love me like they would? They were loving and caring and kind - they supported me through surgeries and dr appts and so much shit. They were my rock and my everything. I don’t regret any of it. I really don’t. I loved them and they loved me. Our vows were fucking poetry and it symbolized the love we shared and built together. Our wedding day was unforgettable and beautiful, and I’ll never forget it. I think I’ll always love them.

I deluded myself because - I never thought I could have this. No one ever loved me like that. And that’s why I denied it for so long. The love was and is there but it’s not enough. It hurts to say that I deserve more, but I do.

I left my home Sunday night. I packed what I could in my car and left because I didn’t feel safe. When I came home to them last week, I thought it would be fine but it wasn’t. It was the worst it’s ever been. My heartbreak is beyond belief.

I have a plan moving forward. I need a salaried job and while I know I can get one, my brain is not what it used to be. I think I’ll snap back once I’m living on my own again. I can do certain types of data analysis in my sleep, I swear.

My spouse is going through a lot right now, and that comes with its own challenges, but I refuse to be gaslit and taken advantage of anymore. They DO need support, but I can’t do it anymore. Please know that they’re not a “bad” person - they’re scared and I don’t think they know what’s going on. They need support I can no longer give. This is a nuanced situation. Abuse isn’t black and white - it never is or was. (And fucks sake - don’t any of you call the police - my spouse is a black queer person who is trying the best they can and I fucking love them. We are separated and they’re safe and I’m safe. Just don’t dare do it. I am begging all of you to just listen.)

*I need to put myself first and this is me doing that.*

They aren’t in their right mind right now and will likely say things that paint me in a bad light. I’m putting my truth out here to fight against this inevitability. I am definitely not faultless (a relationship - even a dysfunctional one - takes more than one after all), but I deserve more. I don’t believe that I deserve more but I do and I’m trying to believe it.

I am seeking a divorce from my spouse and going no contact with them except for the logistics of divorce and lease conclusion. Any attempts to contact me on their behalf will be construed as siding with my abuser.

This is a recent realization. I need time to process. Yes obviously I see a therapist. If you contact me and I don’t respond, please know that I’m safe. I’ll try to send my contact info to people before I delete this account."

--

Since then, I've come a long way.

It has come clear to me that much of the emotional and narcissistic abuse was intentional and that they need serious help if they want to stop emotionally abusing other people in the future. It takes time to realize, process, understand, recognize the patterns, and move forward. For both victims and abusers alike.

I am healing.

I never want to be with them again. I hope they find peace one day.

They fucked me over financially with their lawyer (confirmed this morning, and I have been recovering since that phone call - my finances have been the worst of my adult life since I left, and after growing up in a family that financially struggled, I hate that they put me in this situation). After putting me through all of that.

I absolutely gaslit myself through much of our relationship.

I am more stable every day DESPITE the emotions. I will never betray my body or self by not listening to my emotions. My anger is justified. My grief is justified. My joy is so so so real. My health is improving. I am going to succeed despite it all.

--

It's so surreal.

#domestic violence #leaving domestic violence #healing #trauma #neurodivergence #queer #harm #heartbreak #prose #processing #rape #emotional abuse #abuse #psychological mind games #narcissism #narcissistic abuse awareness #codependency #toxic relationships #self love #polyamourous #polyamarous #trans #poly #both of us are autistic and traumatized #i loved them #i deserve a better love

[starblue2406]

Stories from mini-hell III

This one is definitely my favorite. I've talked about my cousin and if my memory serves me correctly, I've also talked a bit about how she discovered the fic, it's a funny and tragic story. You're going to enjoy getting to know her and I'll get a few laughs out of it.

The story occurred in early August 2021. I'm sure it was the first or second of that month.

I was on vacation with my family and this time we had the opportunity to take my youngest cousin from my father's family.... My dear cousin Abraham.

On that vacation I got 440 pesos thanks to him, about 200 pesos because we did an exchange of places (since we both wanted to be at the window but I won the place) and with that I bought a Donald Duck keychain and some pens, nothing interesting, but the great thing was how I got the other 240 pesos.

We had just come back from having some tacos al pastor for dinner, but as soon as I got home I felt like going to the bathroom so I didn't waste much time and went in.

Meanwhile, my cousin had been left alone with a table and a notebook on one side, the entire contents of the notebook being protected by a single blank sheet of paper while a big fat notebook full of contents tantalized him. Abraham being himself, he couldn't hold his curiosity and the desire to cause chaos, he picked it up and opened it.

I meanwhile went about my business very calm and confident until a big question came through the door that barely let noise in and out....

"Rebecca! Is Arceus male or female?".

At that moment I knew what was going on, I came out as fast as I could from the bathroom, washed my hands and I could tell I almost came out like in the cartoons, with a piece or roll of paper on one of my feet.

I took the notebook to the trip to reread it in case it was necessary while I also did volume 2, but I never wanted Abraham to discover it, on the contrary I tried to take care of it as much as I could and he had not noticed it for a long time even when I illustrated it in his house when I went to visit him, more than hiding it because I was afraid of him it was because of what he could do by having such valuable information of my creation.

But Abraham always discovers my secrets sooner or later and there he was, with the notebook in his hands and very surprised by what his eyes were seeing. I automatically snatched the notebook from his hands and told him to leave it alone.

It wasn't a fight, it was more like a chase in which I wanted to take as much as I could while he insisted that I had genuinely caught his attention, but I didn't want to and basically we were like that:

In the end he even got my parents in the middle as they were asking why we were making so much noise as I was screaming in fear and hysteria and he was calling my mom, my evil cousin replied that he wanted to pay to read a comic book, but I didn't want to show it to him. Even my parents (obviously not knowing the context) insisted for the money and Abraham put me against the wall.

I went into our room and talked to him (taking advantage of the fact that the doors were almost silent). Abraham and I talked and I really didn't have many options, I was between accepting his money and peacefully let him read the comic or resist until he accused me with my parents, because we are both fully aware that they would be very angry with me for drawing and writing something Yaoi themed and for the +18 content.

In the end I agreed, he paid me 240 pesos (because it was the last thing he had) and at 11 or 12 at night he started reading all of volume 1 and the little he had of volume 2.

We both stayed awake until 3 or 4 AM. The tension and silence in the room was strong, as there was no good Internet, I had to distract myself with something else, in this case I started reading the first book of the Harry Potter saga.

We were both focused on what we were reading, the only thing alive in that environment were the fans and the heat. Abraham's expressions went from a cultured reader to a big comic book fan, but there was something he said while reading that I will never forget.

While I was at the part where Harry plays quiddich, Abraham was reading what would come to be the equivalent of chapter 6 of the written version. I just when I got to the part where Harry takes the snich out of his mouth and the whole audience is surprised, just at that moment my was in one of the parts of the comic that he likes the most and because of the emotion of the moment he said

"What a passionate kiss"...

Yes... Abraham said that... And I can say that hearing that right in that part of my book made me feel the same awe that the audience felt when they saw Harry win.At that moment I wanted the earth to swallow me.

And he didn't say it to annoy me, he genuinely liked that!

I just laughed after reasoning what I had just heard, we chatted for a while and went on with our business. Abraham doesn't like to read, so not being used to it, he took his time reading because he didn't want to be completely guided only by the images, but in spite of that I could see how little by little his face went from interest, emotion to worry and suffering. Abraham felt the drama little by little, it hurt him a lot in a chapter where the tension is strong and it also hurt him in his heart the betrayal; to bother him when I was getting to the part of the betrayal I left the room and calculated the considerable time to return and I entered the room again with the sad music of the end of five nights ay Freddy's 3.

Abraham suffered a lot for making a happy chapter to tense, separating the couple in such a cruel way and much later when he read volume 2 when it was already complete he hated me for making Arceus a repulsive character. But above all at that moment he reproached me for having separated Damos and Arceus, basically I had reached the worst part of any soap opera, that is when the writers make life impossible for the main characters and separate them.

We were literally like this:

Translation:

Cartman/ Abraham:It's not fair! They were so happy together! They belonged to each other

Buthers/Star blue:Everything will be fine, they will find love elsewhere

Cartman/ Abraham: Of course not! It will not!. Fuck you Buthers/Rebecca, asshole!

Poor thing, she was so sad that she almost threw the notebook in my face, she wanted to but didn't because it was more her sadness than her frustration against me. Also when she finished reading she talked a lot about how great Marcus was and in fact I forgot to mention that she loved his appearances, she was thrilled and even made him laugh with the expressions I drew him and the situations he got into, plus she fell in love with his personality and charisma.It's one of the few things of my authorship that my cousin had to admit that he liked and even loved it.

It's difficult since my cousin will hardly qualify as "passable" something good of my authorship and even more if it's a Yaoi type story, so seeing how he loved, cried and beats his chest for the story and his favorite character to date is an achievement for me and his opinion is still valid to date, plus thanks to him I won 240 pesos >:).

This is without a doubt my favorite experience, because of how spontaneous, funny and tragic everything was.In fact, my cousin wanted to forcefully change the fate of the betrayal and he wanted to pay me a good amount of money to color and add backgrounds to the comic.You might think it would be easy but the comic books are simple and can barely handle all the manipulation I do with the drawings and his pens and whiteoutSo what Abraham wanted would pretty much destroy the notebook and she wasn't willing to change the betrayal part or make an alternate side for just one person, she was too busy and I could barely handle the production of the main comic on its own and I didn't want to get behind with Volume 2, so I ultimately turned it down.

I was also threatened for about two months after he betrayed me, but in the end I think he got bored of having me afraid and in the end he ended up getting bored of it and I Well, I already have all my emergency plans in case a screw comes loose and it's gossipy with my mom xD.

This is my favorite anecdote and I definitely had to tell it as part of the anniversary. It is the one that made me feel the most emotions.

#fanfic #fanfiction #pokemon fanfiction #fanfic aniversary #second aniversary #2nd anniversary #aniversario #stories from mini-hell

[deepfriedseagullfeet]

my jackie! lore rundown under the cut: 

25-30, trans male (he him), queer, 5’9”

i LOVE HIM

uhhh canon comparisons! there are basically none haha, hes sooo different from jackieboy man. like hes not even a superhero

i mean theres SOME comparisons to the superhero story, its just different.

jackie was born with a backstory, that being somewhat of a simple one. he had a mom and dad and grew up somewhat poor in the outskirts of new york (spiderman reference LOL). he was a rowdy kid but always very kind. he came out as trans when he was 14, and his parents were generally pretty supportive. but, jackies dad ended up passing away from cancer a year later. and jackie was, of course completely heartbroken. but grief wasn’t the only thing he ended up dealing with.

that big event in his life triggered something in his head. now, idk if any of yall remember the Cool Patrol video ninja sex party released some years back, but it basically plays out in a similar way in my canon. jackie is approached by a group of people; danny, bryan, and the other members of the patrol, and convince him that he’s a super hero destined to save the world. and jackie was obviously confused at first, but he believed them wholeheartedly and started doing uhhh “superhero stuff”, aka being very reckless. basically, he ended up missing for a few days, and when the cops found him, he was hours away from home in an abandoned trainyard trying to fight a demon. when he was hospitalized, he finally got diagnosed with Schizophrenia.

so yeah. he spent a lot of his late teens in and out of hospitals, getting stable, and when he was old enough, he started transitioning! and thats really where we “left off” when jackie was “created” and brought into the story.

so besides his schizophrenia, jackie is, without a doubt, the sweetest ego out of everyone. hes literally sooo nice. almost too nice at times, but he just has so much love to give, man. every ego that Jack created, jackie fell in love and wanted to protect and care for them. even though he isn’t actually a superhero with superpowers, it doesn’t make him any less of a hero to characters like Chase, when he puts aside his own needs to make sure other egos are safe and taken care of, especially when anti comes into the picture.

now you may be noticing how im drawing this guy. which is Emo. this man is an emo motherfucker. he loooooves emo culture and really holds onto those early 2000’s for comfort, and its just sorta ingrained in his personality. yes, he loves my chemical romance, and yes he wears a gir hoodie, and yes, he wears band bracelets and sometimes does some eyeliner. and he is VALID

as for his hobbies, he likes doing stuff with computers, playing video games, working out (hes a beefy boy btw, despite having a naturally thin build), and hanging out with chase, who, ill discuss later, is like his best friend in the ENTIRE world.

im still messing around with specifics of the “story,” but i like to think hes the one who hunted down jameson and rescued him from anti. jackie’s actually very smart, and because of his background with technology, he became something of a demon hunter and tracked down anti.

overall, jackie is essential to the plot of my ego lore, or at least the little plot there is, which is why he comes next after jameson in relevance. i really dont know what the other egos would do without him. hes kind, hes funny, hes strong, hes battling a serious psychiatric disorder, and he would die for his friends. and really, thats all thats important when talking about jackie.

#jackieboy man #jacksepticegos #my art #ego lore #ego posting

[come1nalone]

List of things I managed to do at the ripe age of x without my parents noticing even one bit (my dad was more attentive actually, but he had depression for most of these years and was quite absent at home so it’s mostly my mom):

Ages 6-10:

- having ocd

- get sexually harassed by an elderly creep

Age 11:

- go on a diet (thought I was fat)

- start self harming

Age 12:

-starving myself (eating 500 cals a day) for 6+ months

-binging and purging by throwing up everyday for a month :)

-throwing up 3-5 times a week at other times

-going on plenty of mono diets, which included 3 days straight of only eating apples, 1 day of eating only chocolate, various days of eating only fruit, at least 2 days of eating only vegetables.

- packing only vegetables and diet food for school.

-losing 5 kgs and going down to a 45 kilo weight (was a 1.60 meters tall)

-losing my period for a year and a half!

-self harming after I’ve told them I would stop at age 11.

Age 13:

-bullied in school

-plan to commit suicide ~almost tries and fails~

Age 14:

- find an abusive online friend who hurt me a lot and said it makes sense I have no friends in school and I’m being bullied because I’m a shitty person

-my mom didn’t realize why I had depression: my dad however, did get it, and was absolutely lovely and took me out to walks so I wouldn’t stay in bed all day. ❤️ u dad ur my everything

Age 15:

- be hypomanic

-try to kms again (failed)

-get drunk often, even black out sometimes, and cry in public events with friends while I was drunk out of my ass

-hidden vodka in my clothes drawer :)

-self harm quite often

-eating disorders 2: electric boogaloo

-almost get assaulted by some creepy ass mf who said he likes his partners drunk so he gave me a buncha alcohol and gave me rapey hugs and hand massages and my best friend at the time almost fought him physically so he didn’t assault me :)

-throwing up a tonnnnn going home entirely drunk asf and throwing up every time because I was bulimic ✨

-abusing coffee and pain killers to maintain my schedule and deal with crippling headaches (my mom noticed I had a lot of painkillers and threw them out: she never asked why tho)

- massive downward slope in my grades towards the end of the high school year

-

Ages 16-18:

-these were pretty good times ngl I got better during those years

- I did however have an eating disorder still but it went away after I treated myself

-and I had to fight my mom in order to get an adhd evaluation (which turns out I have adhd duhhh), getting treatment for the headaches, getting help for allergies, and getting some medical help (I ended up paying 343 dollars out of my pocket, and got refunded half of these) for my jaw problems all of which my mom thought were entirely fabricated and untrue

Age 19:

- got raped

- almost committed suicide in my military service (came home to my mom and she refused to hug me)

So ya that’s lovely innit

#mommy issues fr fr #venting #trauma list #is this neglect #? #it might be

[joie6000]

I think about everything I did with our kids that people would shame me for now.

Rockin’ Play sleeper: recalled for safety reasons after both of my babies were grown but I’m sad for moms that didn’t get to experience that amazing sleeper!

Pacifiers (aka Bops) minutes after both kids were brought home the hospital, those things were introduced. I didn’t want the nurses to know I used them so soon but pretty much day 3 we used them. FYI, nipple confusion did NOT occur like they guaranteed it would.

Held for every nap and most evening sleeps - I’m just gonna say that if you want your kid to sleep and holding them the whole time allows for that, then you do that. Abby was held in my arms for bedtime…looking back that wasn’t entirely safe but I was feeding her almost every hour so it’s not like I ever fell into a deep sleep. Ben was held for every nap until preschool….I’m not kidding. Our nanny held him throughout the week and Patrick and I did it on the weekends. Frankly we would fight over doing it because it was the most wonderful, peaceful break from a toddler and every household chore.

Formula: I was just plain grateful for it. I was an extremely low producer - the most I ever pumped was 5 ounces and that took almost 2 hours. And one side produced nothing. Honestly, zilch. So it was feed from the right side and then formula when I switched to the left. I ate the lactation cookies and made the tea with fenugreek and did all of the things but all that stuff is exhausting. You know what’s not exhausting? Formula! Half milk/half formula is still pretty darn good but I know the internet would have a field day with it now.

Winter coats with car seats: pretty sure I never took their winter coats off and I think that warning is a new phenomenon to scare parents.

Canned veggies - I don’t know if this is all that bad but most every green bean or green pea out kids ate before the age of 1 came from a can. When Abby was 5 months I remember making steamed green beans and broccoli at like 4 AM for her breakfast before she got up and quickly realized that I could sleep longer if I just gave her canned versions of many things. Also, I did a ton of steam -in-the-bag microwave veggies. And to my defense, there were times that they would eat the entire family-size can of green beans plus their actual meal so I know they liked them. People always thought it was so weird that I would do green beans or broccoli in their breakfast but newsflash, a 7 month old doesn’t know that those things are not supposed to be normally eaten that early in the day so why not? One thing I can say is that the kids still are incredible eaters and have never been picky at all so maybe I was onto something by feeding green veggies before 7 AM.

These are just a few things that probably would be frowned upon by the parenting gods and frankly I’m sure I do a ton of things now that are questionable. No one has all of the answers except for every single person on the internet waiting to say you are doing it completely wrong.

[forebodingprophet]

Moirai || Clotho C3P4

               Hikaze trudged back home, too shocked to really function past allowing his autopilot to guide him.  He wanted to be angry.  He wanted to lash out.  Damn him, Hikaze may have been a 12-year-old child, but he had the memories and experience of a 78-year-old man.  Sure, his brain was still immature, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t experienced enough to handle whatever Anastasios had to say.  But Anastasios had left no room for argument.  Celia had something akin to an apologetic look (he couldn’t be sure because he’d never seen that kind of expression on her before) but hadn’t made any move to stop him.  She clearly had no intention of intervening.  He walked back through the threshold of his house with a silence his family had never seen from him, and a sullen, sour scowl that left just as bitter a taste in the mouths of those who saw it as Hikaze’d had the entire way home.

               “Oh no, dear, what’s wrong?” his mother asked, rushing over and lobbying obviously fake concern.  Something twisted in him as he realized this was how she’d always handled him, like she was playing a role.

               “It’s nothing mom,” he replied, gently brushing her hands off his face, refusing to look her in the eyes.  Not only had Anastasios thrown him away, but he also had to face the reality that his parents were secretly involved in some pretty dangerous business by himself.  What had the Seer thought he was doing?  Did he think not telling him was going to protect him from the reality of it somehow?  Just because he planned to bolt tomorrow morning didn’t mean that he didn’t have to spend one more night next to potential slave traders.  The thought only made his scowl deepen, and his ragged finger nails dug into his palm.

               “Nonsense now,” his mother replied.  Her voice took on an irritated edge, like his attitude was an inconvenience that she had to appease.  Her hands found their way to his face again, this time more forcefully, the tips of her fingers grasping the lines of his cheekbones and jaw as she forced him to look at her.  What she got was not the face of the energetic and overly-emotional child she knew, but the cold, unwavering stare of an adult, and Hikaze saw her falter.  “Young man, I don’t know what kind of day you had, but you can’t glare at your mother like that,” she said, feigning sternness.  Hikaze almost rolled his eyes.  Had he actually been a child with only twelve years of memories, he might have caved to the gaslighting and broke down sobbing, unloading everything that happened that day.  But he wasn’t.  He recognized manipulation- people had tried to manipulate Kazuya and Esaias countless times in their attempts to gain some degree of power from their popularity.  Esaias had t it worse, but Kazuya had his fair share.

               Are you even really my mother?

               The words sat on the tip of his tongue, and he came so close to saying them, but bit his lip.

               “Sorry,” he ground out.  “I just had a fight with Stasi.  That’s all.  I’m not feeling good, so I’m going to-”  He paused, the sound of his uncle’s footsteps stomping over stopping him, and his mother backing away.  Within moments his cheek felt like it was burning, and his neck had been snapped to the side.

               “I don’t care what happened, you go apologize right now,” his uncle growled.

               Hikaze held his cheek in shock.  It wasn’t like he hadn’t been struck before.  On a couple of occasions where his rowdiness and crass behavior had gotten out of hand, his mother had slapped him, but never this hard.  He tasted blood in his mouth.  The impact must have scratched his cheek against a tooth.  Was this because of how he’d spoken to his mother?  But he had swallowed his pride and apologized even though he hadn’t done anything wrong, so why-

               “You go back, and you apologize to that boy.”

               Hikaze’s rage from earlier came back.  Still holding his cheek, Hikaze snapped back.

               “I ain’t apologizing to that asshole fer shit!” Hikaze yelled.  “He’s the one being a sanctimonious douchebag, pretending he knows what’s good for everyone else just because he knows a little more than we do.”  Another smack, this time stinging his other cheek.  But, instead of backing down, Hikaze just continued to glare at his uncle.  The look his uncle was giving him wasn’t exactly peaceful either though- rather than rage, the man had a calm, wide-eyed scowl that would have made a real 12 year-old run whimpering with their tail between their legs.

               “The Ofthalmós are a powerful house.  You have no idea how lucky you are to be able to be able to interact with one so regularly,” his uncle bellowed.  “Do you have any idea what a friendship with the Ofthalmós could get us?  It doesn’t matter who is wrong here, you will march back there and apologize to him.  You must maintain a friendship with that Ofthalmós boy.  Do you hear me?”

               Hikaze’s frown took on a whole new meaning.  His mother wasn’t trying to stop this at all.  It was ridiculous, yet she just stood off to the side, holding her hands to her chest and frowning at him.  There was no way he was going back to apologize.  Even if he did, Anastasios wouldn’t be there.  He’d probably already teleported back to the estate.  There was nothing for him to do.  But the look in his family’s eyes said it all: he wasn’t going to be permitted here until he did.

               “And what’re you gonna do if I don’t, huh?  Kick me out?  Go ahead.  I’ll be fine even without you.  Fuck this, I don’t have to put up with this.”  Hikaze turned back to the door and made to leave only to find himself scooped up like a sack of potatoes and thrown back to the ground, knocking the wind out of him.  It felt like all the air had been forced out of his lungs, and he vaguely heard his mother gasp as he tried to work air back into them. 

               “Hey now, don’t you think you’re going a bit far?” his father asked.  His uncle ignored them and dug his foot into Hikaze’s chest.  Hikaze glanced off to the side and saw Itsu gearing up to take his uncle on, but Hikaze shook his head.

               “Go get Stasi,” he choked out.  Itsu froze.  He was just supposed to leave?  Run away and leave his human behind?  With no protection?  “Itsu- AH!”  Hikaze got cut off when his uncle ground his heel against Hikaze’s sternum.

               “Minoru, grab it.  Make sure it doesn’t go anywhere.  It’s still useful,” his uncle barked at his father.

               “R-Right!”

               Itsu panicked, looking back between Hikaze and the door before finally moving to escape, but it was too late.  By the time he reached the threshold, a bucket of cold water that was normally kept aside for the stove had been dumped on him, nearly extinguishing his fire and sending him into a fit of shivers.

               “ITSU!”  Hikaze struggled with his uncle’s foot, wrapping both his tiny hands around the man’s ankle, but not getting anywhere no matter how much he twisted and tugged.  “You leave Itsu alone!”

               “You have bigger things to worry about right now, boy.  We aren’t done talking.”

               Hikaze had his tiny hands wrapped around his uncle’s tree trunk of an ankle in vain.

               “Nothing… you say… is gonna… make me suck up to that asshole,” Hikaze hissed weakly.

               “See Minoru?” his uncle hissed as his father grabbed Itsu up by the arm.  “I told you this idea was useless.  Of all the kids you had to pick, you picked this ungrateful brat.  The least he could do for all that time you spent ‘raising’ him is get you that cash cow, but now, because of him, we can’t even get a lead.  I bet this punk knew you were following him, and that’s how you kept losing him.  Fucking useless, all of you.  Can’t even tail two brats.”  Hikaze’s uncle lifted his foot, Hikaze’s hands still attached, and shook him off, flinging him into a nearby chair.  “Boy, you’re gonna go back there, apologize to that petulant brat, and bring him here to us, understand?”  His uncle walked over and took a nice fistful of Hikaze’s black-brown hair in his hand and lifted up his groaning head.

               Hikaze took several moments to respond as he worked to catch his breath, but, when he did, the man was met, once again, with a gaze that couldn’t possibly belong to a child.

               “…Not a fucking chance.” 

               Théo sighed as he rapped his knuckles against the wooden door in front of him.  He’d never seen Anastasios so depressed.  When he’d returned the previous day, he’d been uncharacteristically emotional, which told Théo that something had to have happened with Hikaze.  Hikaze was the only person he got that emotional for.  Add to that, this morning, Anastasios had thrusted a satchel of coins in his face and struggled to command him to deliver them to Hikaze, saying it was payment for the week’s services.  Last Théo had checked, Anastasios had been planning on financing Hikaze’s journey by bringing him along, so what had changed yesterday?  Anastasios had also told him very clearly to be very careful of Hikaze’s family.  Did it have something to do with that?  But, whatever it was, Anastasios should have known this fact well in advance, yet he’d still hung out with Hikaze.  Was this what all his waffling about had been for?  Théo sighed again when no answer came and knocked again, harder this time.  Just as he was pulling his hand away, the door flew open to reveal a rather irate man who looked nothing like Hikaze.

               “What do you want?” he growled.

               “My name is Théodore Ofthalmós.  I have come, at the behest of the young patriarch, to deliver payment for services rendered by a child of this house.  Is Hikaze in?”  Théo didn’t need to be a Seer to notice how the man’s demeanor quickly changed.

               “Oh, one of the Ofthalmós- yes, now that I see, you do have some of their features,” the man said unusually loudly.  Although Théo lacked the blond hair and golden eyes that poured with psychic energy, he still had beautiful features, olive-tanned skin, and the tapered ears that dominated his lineage.  “Come in, come in.  Let me get you something to drink.”  The man opened the door wide and motioned for him to come inside, but, to Théo, the threshold looked like a gaping maw.  He may not have been raised on quite the same curriculum as the gifted, but all Ofthalmós were raised to be cautious.  Even the aníschyros were all highly intelligent and beautiful in their own ways.  They weren’t worth as much, but they would still be worth something significant as slaves, not to mention there was always the high possibility of the gift skipping a generation.

               “I’ll have to politely decline,” Théo replied.  “My master is, unfortunately, rather busy at the moment, hence why he sent me.”  A half-truth, Anastasios was busy, but that was not the reason Théo had been sent.  Regardless, Anastasios would definitely permit the usage of himself as an excuse.  “I need to hand these over to Hikaze right away and return so that I may aid my master in house affairs.  Is Hikaze in?” 

               The man’s amicable mask faltered slightly.  Something was going on.  It didn’t take being one of the gifted to see that.

               “Well… y’see, we heard about the trouble he caused yer boy yesterday, and he’s been grounded.  Now he’s sulking and won’t come out of his room.”

               “I see.  Well, surely he’ll emerge if you inform him that his payment has arrived.  The Young Master indicated that he was greatly looking forward to it.”

               “I dunno…” the man drolled on.  Was he stalling?  Something about how he was talking didn’t seem right.  “He must be going through some kind of rebellious phase, because he didn’t even come out for breakfast.”

               “Then I will return when he is more amenable,” Théo replied curtly, trying to cut off the conversation.

               “No, please, come in.  You can just drop it off with us, and we can hold it for him, but I’d hate for you to come all this way and not at least offer you some tea,” the man insisted.

               “Apologies, but my master insisted that I confirm that the money has been handed over properly.  It was very impo-”  The Espurr on his shoulder chirped loudly, and a sudden grunt behind him made Théo spin around.  The Espurr had thrown someone to the ground and pinned them there with an attack.  This man seemed to resemble Hikaze a bit more, but only in so much as they were the same ethnicity, a rare thing in this nation.  Even still, Théo couldn’t see anything real of Hikaze in this man.  “What is the meaning of this?”

               “Damn, just a little more…” the unknown assailant grunted out.

               “Skirí, Tele-”  Before he could finish the command, something covered his mouth and he was pulled backwards towards the house.  Skirí fell off Théo’s shoulder and bounced on the ground, stunned, her hold on the other man, also failing.

               “Damnit, Minoru, you’re so useless!” 

               ‘Minoru’ grunted as he stood up and cracked his sore joints.

               “How the fuck was I supposed to know it’d do that?  Their attention was supposed to be on you,” Minoru hissed, grabbing the Espurr and starting to drag her inside. 

Shit.  If he couldn’t get to Skirí, then there was no chance of escaping.  Fortunately, his hands were still relatively free.  He was physically fit.  Théo didn’t do the same kind of martial arts training that Anastasios did, he still had some fight in him.  He managed to jab his free elbow into his captor’s ribs.  The man grunted and released him, and Théo put distance between them.  He wanted to run properly, but there was no way he could leave Skirí.  Not only would he not be able to make it back to the house without her, but she was his. 

“Bastards…  You’re behind Calypso’s disappearance too, aren’t you?” Théo spat.

“Like it even matters.  Just give up.  There’s no way you’re going to get away from us.” 

Théo could feel his chest quivering.  He was scared.  Although he’d always hated how oppressive the house had been, now he understood why they were that way.  He’d rather be under their thumb than be these people’s captive.  He had to get Skirí away so he could give the teleport command.  Théo glanced around.  Although not on a main street, people had started to gather because of the yelling.  Doors were opening, heads were peeking out of windows.  If he could cause enough of a scene, then they’d have no choice but to let him go.  He took the brief moment he had while his opponents tried to figure out their next move to gather his breath and think of what he could say that would get peoples’ attention.  Should he call them thieves?  Should he alert them to the real situation?  No, all of that relied far too heavily on sympathy- for someone else to be a hero.  Théo knew there were few as willing as his master to do such a thing.

“If you think House Ofthalmós will let you poison the well, you have another thing coming!”  That seemed to work.  The crowd behind him was swept with waves of murmurs.  Poisoning a well was a serious offense.  It would make the town unlivable.  Even House Ofthalmós would struggle to mitigate that kind of damage.  That kind of accusation from someone who claimed to be from House Ofthalmós no less, was an all but certain stigma.  Loud shouts and yells started to come from the people behind him, and Théo’s opponents scowled as they tried to determine their next move.

“What now Raoul?” the man called ‘Minoru’ asked Hikaze’s ‘uncle’.  “This is bad…”  Being accused of trying to poison a water supply wasn’t something they could just come back from. 

‘Raoul’ spat disdain for Minoru’s perceived incompetence back at him alongside some truly vile slurs.  “Since we couldn’t get our hands on the golden goose, we absolutely have to get this one,” Raoul snapped once his tirade was over.  But now the tides were against them- menfolk from the crowd had started stepping forward, yelling and shouting, convinced by the man from House Ofthalmós’ accusations and eager to prevent calamity from befalling their families.  Théo started trying to weave a lie to get them more riled up, only for Raoul to slam a hand over his mouth before he could make the situation any worse for them.  House Ofthalmós were known protectors of the towns around their land, and it behooved all parties involved not to let any harm come to the people from it.  The pounding in Théo’s chest began to subside as the other townspeople stepped forward to ‘help’, but he couldn’t help the distinct feeling that something was wrong.  As much as he needed Skirí back, they should have taken off running as soon as it became clear that they were outnumbered.  But they hadn’t, which told Théo that they still had something else that made them believe that they could get something out of this.  As the crowd approached, Théo watched as Raoul reached into a pocket and pulled out something.  Whatever it was, it seemed to fill his entire hand as his fingers curled around it.  Théo didn’t need The Eyes to See to know that thing was trouble. 

“Minoru, cover ‘em!”  Minoru threw down Skirí, who landed on her side with a loud squeak, and shielded his eyes.  Raoul also covered his eyes as he crushed the orb.  It shattered like glass in his hand, spraying invisible shards that glinted iridescent as they flew through the air around him and releasing something that was nearly the size of an adult human.  Had it been a Pokeball of some kind?  But those didn’t exist anymore, not to mention it’d shattered, rendering it unusable.  There was so much to unpack, but Théo’s newest concern was that what’d it’d released was now looming over them.  The creature resembled a Pokemon he’d only seen before in books, but the color and plumage were completely different.  It screamed loudly over the rooftops as it glared down at them.  A few people turned to run but then froze in their tracks staring up at it, unable to look away.  Théo too found himself unable to move as crippling fear was poured through his whole body.  This must be its ability.  The weaker-willed were the first to faint, but they were lucky.  They couldn’t feel the fuzziness that started to creep into their minds.  The fear was still there, ever-present, but now other things were starting to slip away.  Why was he here?  Hadn’t he come here to do something?  It was definitely something important.  His master had sent him explicitly-  Wait… who was his master again?  Théo caught a glimpse of Skirí trying to reach towards him on the ground.  He needed to go now, before he forgot that he needed to go… but Skirí couldn’t reach him before he’d forget again.  “Skirí, teleport…”  A sad chirp left the Espurr’s mouth as she obeyed, leaving without her master.  Théo barely registered her disappearance as the last of his consciousness faded out.

#swearing tw #Hikaze #Théodore #Return of the Progenitor || Sun!Verse #Moirai || Clotho #Clotho || Chapter 3 #violence tw