#Parenting and snacking strategies

[kidsinnowadays]

Snack Attack Solutions: 7 Healthy and Convenient Snack Ideas for Busy Parents

As a busy parent, finding the time to prepare healthy snacks can be a challenge. However, nourishing your body with the right foods is essential for maintaining energy levels and overall well-being. In this guide, we’ll explore seven healthy and convenient snack ideas that are perfect for busy parents on the go. These snacks are not only quick to prepare but also nutritious, ensuring you have the…

[gremlingottoosilly]

konig falls in love with his therapist and kidnaps her because he thought her compassion was her showing interest in him

how instead of breathing exorcises as a coping strategy he’s using therapist!reader as a fleshlight for a coping mechanism

You dared to say he has a problem with showing affection and committing to people in non-violent ways. He can be good at showing affection! Great, even! And he will show it to you once he is settled with the basement where he is going to keep you for the rest of your life. At least now you will have time for therapy sessions when he needs it - because you're literally going to be at his beck and call. And on his cock, too. You whimper something about him still having a chance at redemption if he just lets you go, that his coping mechanisms in the form of kidnapping people he cares about are not healthy and won't help him in the long run - but he doesn't fucking care, not when he can pepper kisses across your face and make you warm his cock with your pussy like any good specialist should. Fuck the boundaries and morality - Konig is convinced he can heal his social anxiety by banging his cute therapist. Surely, this is going to make him so much better as a human being. He is very good at breathing, exercises, and counting to ten when it involves plunging his cock deep into your warm pussy and making you milk him for all his worth. He is even better at listening to you when your words are muffled from his cock entering your mouth. If you really want to help him become a functional human being, you will have to adapt - and you will have to let him nuzzle in your chest and listen to his rambling about how much he fucking hated his parents and his old classmates. This man is a bundle of psychological curiosity, and you sort off feel like an explorer, trying to understand whatever the fuck is wrong with him. It's almost impossible to know, honestly - but you're trying to unwrap the layers of trauma settled in this man's head. While giving him head, yes. Konig keeps his pretty therapist chained to his bed and only ever lets you roam around when you're indulging in his mommy issues and domestic fantasies, creating a stable home environment that he never had as a kid. Playing his wife and a little bit of a caretaker, making sure he eats 3 meals per day, all of his snacks, and gets to fuck your pussy while you stroke his head and ask him how many people he killed on his last mission. It is fucked up - but it's a civil service in keeping this man in check.

[kayentokk]

Could you write about aizawa having a younger sister or daughter in his class (or 1-B) and have some sort of angst to/or fluff with them? Thank youu <333

A/N;I have no excuses 😔 I’m so sorry this took me forever 😭. I really love the idea of an older brother Aizawa!! Dad too ofccc so maybe I’ll do a dad version of this later! I did it in like a headcannon style for part of this so hope ya don’t mind. Thank you for this request anon, and I hope you enjoy! 💕

Pairing; (platonic)Brother!Aizawa x Fem!Reader

Contains;age gap between reader and Aizawa is at least 10 years, platonic brother Aizawa, protective Aizawa, angst to fluff, sibling bond, pick your own quirk,

Wc; 1,134

Older-Brother!Aizawa who you used to be super close with growing up. He was your best friend and super caring towards you. But after U.A and becoming a hero he changed.

Older-Brother!Aizawa who became more distant and closed off, despite being the only parental figure in your life. You mom and dad were there, but not there. He was the one who fed you and taught you important core values, he was the one who loved you.

Older-Brother!Aizawa who, in your hopes of getting back close with, you beg to move in with. And promise to be on your best behavior and not bother him at all.

Older-Brother!Aizawa who gives in and moves you in with him.

Older-Brother!Aizawa Who is not as excited as you thought he’d be to know you made it into U.A High. He swallows thickly almost as if holding himself back and then he just gives you a non-enthusiastic ‘good job.’ Maybe it wasn’t good enough for him…

Older-Brother!Aizawa who barely even smiles when you tell him you made it into class 1-A. You were so excited, your brother, the person you admire most was going to be your teacher! But with his reaction, maybe he didn’t want you in his class….

Older-Brother!Aizawa who marks you off on the littlest things and is constantly correcting you. You thought you executed your strategy correctly, you had successfully eliminated the practice robot thingy with minimal damage to yourself and your surroundings. But according to your brother, you had been ‘extremely reckless and over confident.’ You just wanted to show him you could do it, maybe you couldn’t…

Older-Brother!Aizawa who used to be close to you and despite growing apart you never allowed yourself to believe he hated you. Maybe you should have…

Older-Brother!Aizawa who you overhear having a heated conversation with principal Nezu about expelling you.

“Shota, let’s be more reasonable about this-“

“No, you have to, I can’t stand-“

Older-Brother!Aizawa who hates you. You’re absolutely sure of it now. You stand right outside the door absolutely choked up, not even wanting to listen to his explanation about how he can’t stand you.

Older-Brother!Aizawa who hears a choked sob come from outside. He turns towards the noise to see your teary eyes through the slight crack of the mahogany door right before you run away embarrassed. Your own brother didn’t think you were good enough.

Older-Brother!Aizawa who is internally panicking. Why were you crying outside the door? Did you overhear? What did you hear? How much did you hear? Why were you even there? More importantly, where the hell were you running to?

Older-Brother!Aizawa who can’t wallow in questions and self-pity. He has to find you.

Older-Brother!Aizawa who is searching the whole city for you. He’s looked everywhere. Your favorite cafe, all the way across town, that he secretly goes to every morning to get your tea, the library that you always go to when you’re frustrated and need some much needed relaxation, the gym in case you wanted to blow off some steam. Everywhere, he has searched everywhere.

Older-Brother!Aizawa, who, even though has been searching for at least 2 hours in the rain, is not giving up on finding you.

Older-Brother!Aizawa who wanders into a convenience store to buy your favorite snacks for when he finds you, knowing you’ll be hungry since you left right before lunch.

Older-Brother!Aizawa who’s never been more happy to see you at the register digging in your pockets to find some change to buy…onigiri, his favorite?

Older-Brother!Aizawa who comes behind you and gently sets the money on the counter.

Older-Brother!Aizawa who you don’t even have to look at to notice the familiar scent and gruff gentleness of.

Older-Brother!Aizawa, who, having been relived to find you, realized you might not be so relieved to see him. Especially when you try to make a bolt for the door.

“Stop,” he says grabbing your arm, “please. Stop.”

The trek back to your shared apartment was silent. You should’ve just ran, you thought to yourself. It would’ve been a lot easier than this awkward silence that fills the kitchen now.

You get up to walk away and he speaks, “I don’t know what to say.”

You simply turn and stare, blinking, almost blankly into space.

“Im not sure what you heard- or what you think you may have heard. But I assure you-“

“What? That you don’t want me expelled?”

“It’s not like that Y/n-“ he tries to explain.

“So how is it then Shota?” You say, quite frankly tired of this whole ordeal.

“I-“ his voice falters for a moment, and you make a ‘tch’ before trying to continue your exit. Then, a voice so quiet, you wouldn’t have even heard it if not for the silence of the kitchen, says, “I love you.”

Your heart drops into your stomach and shatters into a million pieces, it’s been so long since you’ve heard him utter those words. But you’re so confused, what does that have to do with him wanting you expelled?

“Wh-what?”

“I love you Y/n. You’re my sister, and I don’t want you going down the same path I did.”

“You’re a great hero Shota, what do you mean-“

“I mean, I don’t want you to go through your life endlessly saving people and running yourself out. It’s tiring, Y/n, taxing. I want you to have fun and actually be a child, instead of worrying about everyone else’s safety.”

You sigh and move closer to him, “why didn’t you just tell me?”

“I don’t know y/n-“ he says running a hand through his hair exhaustedly, “I guess I wanted to be the older brother you always looked up to. I wanted to be strong for you.” As he says it he laughs, it’s a ridiculous thing to say but it’s how he feels.

“Shota, you know I never meant-“

“I know, but I still felt that way.”

“You never have to prove yourself to me, you could have the most boring office job and I’d still look up to you. You’re my older brother,” you said with a matter of fact tone and a shrug.

Those words did so much for him, and before you could even blink he had wrapped you in a warm embrace.

“Thank you,” he said burying his face into your shoulder.

Of course you guys would talk more later but right now what you both needed was comfort, more importantly, comfort in each other. You plan to work on your relationship once more, especially since you knew it wasn’t because he hated you now, and more importantly you were going to heal.

Older-Brother!Aizawa, who’s trying.

@/cafekitsune for the divider

[lemonflavoreddishsoap]

CAN I REQUEST LA SQUADRA WITH AN S/O WHO HAS A SWEET TOOTH?? (like they would be late at night just eating something sweet and they would get caught because of the candy wrappers making noise)

I cannot handle much sweetness in my food but for some reason i love writing about characters who have sweet tooths???? idk why. very cute request idea :3

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La Squadra with an S/O with a sweet tooth

Formaggio

He learns about this trait of yours when the two of you get a crap ton of sweet treats together, only for him to find 90% of it gone within a day. He's not pleased, the way he complains about it you'd think it was the cat crying if you weren't watching him.

He isn't actually mad, obviously. I mean, in all honesty he was probably overestimating how many sweets he can handle, but...but the betrayal!!

Great new information now, because you're getting a new treat for your stash practically every day! He'll even come home with some incredibly bizarre sounding treat for either you to keep or for you to watch him eat.

Illuso

Illuso learns when he finds you stuffing your face sometime around midnight. He plucks the sweet from your hands and holds it over your head (if you're shorter than him). "Having a snack right now? If you were planning to stay up for some sweets, you should've let me join you." He doesn't let you stay up for much longer though, just enough for your sugar buzz to end before dragging you to bed.

He's absolutely the kind of fellow to just steal some treats right out of your hand/bag. Make sure you aren't standing around any mirrors as you happily snack, unless you WANT to be jump-scared by an arm suddenly emerging from the wall.

He's picky with sweets, too, so not only is staying cautious keeping you safe from theft, but also from criticism. If you decide to start subtly eating more of his favourite sweets to avoid this, it definitely won't go unnoticed.

Prosciutto

He became aware of your sweet tooth before you ever told him, and before any kind of eating-candy-late-at-night incident. He probably realises by the first time he's brought to your place. Whether it be a dedicated snack-y area somewhere in your kitchen or a few too many colourful wrappers in a trash bin, he takes note of the detail.

Prosciutto stays up pretty late, so it should've been expected that he would run into you digging into some chocolate "secretly" like a raccoon chowing down on some garbage. He stares at you, just a bit surprised that you'd decide to eat something so sugary in the middle of the night.

He doesn't mind your affinity for sweets and sometimes likes to indulge you by buying you fancy little candies and chocolates he thinks you'd enjoy, but he is strict about when you can eat them (no messing up your appetite or sleep!) it makes him seem like a parent but he just wants his partner feeling alright.

Pesci

Shuffling through the kitchen with the lights off was an obvious challenge for you, but flicking on the light's would've been a surefire way to get caught at this late hour. Well, unfortunately that worry is thrown out the window as you end up crashing into something that...yelps?

So, yeah! You discover each other's sweet tooths and bad habits in that same moment. Your best survival strategy is to team up, becoming the Late Night Delicacy Duo - Pesci feels bad about his secret snacks but having you indulge in it with him makes it go from shameful to fun.

His favourite sweets are hard candies, but he'll have a try of anything the two of you manage to scavenge!

Melone

Dude. It's fucking Melone. You don't need to get caught doing jackshit, he tastes the sweet on your fucking lips and figures it out from there. He can tell your favourite chocolate brand just based on your body language or something.

Sounds weird but hey! At least you've got a partner who knows what you like incredibly well, and you often find your preferred treats either in his hands when the two of you are going out or laying on your bed when you return home. He's always right on the money.

He's far from a sweets person himself, save for a few exceptions (namely cake), so he has absolutely no qualms with you having any treats he ends up receiving. Probably likes feeding you a bit. Not in a kink way or anything but like, listen, I think it'd be nice to have his gloved hand gently place chocolates in my mouth while he watches with those beautiful eyes. No don't leave no listen please-

Ghiaccio

He's grumpy enough when he wakes up in the morning, why would you even risk waking him up in the middle of the night? No matter now, because he's ripped the sweet from your hand, tucked it into a cupboard, just nearly slammed the door shut, and is dragging you back to bed.

But as long as you aren't snacking late at night, he's fine with it. He can be a tiny bit strict about it though; doesn't want you overdoing how many sweets you eat, and he does not like trying other people's food so don't ask him.

Just as with most things about you, he loves the trait subtly. His love for this one lies in how he glances at you when the waiter asks if the two of you want dessert after your meal, or the way he taps your arm if the two of you pass a colourful candy store mid-stroll.

Risotto

He likes licorice doesn't he. He does, doesn't he. Look me in the eyes, don't you see what i see hes a LICORICE LIKER

"I really hope your body goes through sugar well. That crash will not be pretty," is a very stupid thing to get jumpscared by, but in your defence you were MINDING your OWN BUSINESS and it's TWO AM- DOES THIS MAN SLEEP!???

Pleaseee ask him to share sweet treats with you, this man doesn't let himself have as many treats as he probably wants to. Beyond just the intimacy of sharing a moment together, you get to see him smile at the flavors. and isn't that what life is just all about.

Honestly if you're really really really in love with candy, he may get or make one one of those candy/chocolate bouquets, y'know the ones?

[loregoddess]

sometimes I start thinking about Anna Triangle Strategy and like, she's one of the coolest characters ever, I love her lots, but she's also one of the funniest characters ever. Girl's like, an honors student in spy school, she's in her early 30s, she and her father-figure have the most convoluted, professional relationship known to parent-child relationships in the game, random kids love her bc she's nice to them and carries around snacks, she accidentally adopts a sentient automaton barrel as a child, she becomes the guardian-person older-family-member-figure for a child who can literally warp space-time and see the future, she attracts two edgy teens who are Going Through It bc they think she's cool and relatable--which is extra funny when you realize both teens are also delinquents and Anna's never actually committed a crime in her life (aside from the bribing and assassinating and stuff relating to her spy job, but she's never stolen anything, and seems so thrown off by the idea of these thief teens with dropout energy thinking she's the same as them) like

Anna Pascal really is one of the most characters of all time, and I love her

[ninjaturtlemaniac]

Do you have headcanons about broppy as parents? Like who's more strict parent? Who's that fun cool parent? 💖💙

Hello Gorgeous 💖

I think we know who would be the strict parent and the fun parent 😏

Buuuuuuuuuut

I think they can overlap at times. ❤️

E.g.

Kids want to build a blanket fort with Branch. Branch is 100% serious about it but in like a playful way. 💛 Like, he plays into the fantasy. Which are the sturdiest chairs in case it's windy? Which blankets would be the warmest during winter? Which of these snacks would last the longest in storage? Definitely the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that Poppy made. The kids looooove when he is serious about their play time.

Tea parties? ☕ Branch will remember every make-believe characters name the kids come up with and he will drink the air from the tiny tea cup.

Knights and Dragons? 🐲 He discusses the best defense strategies and what weapons to use. It's usually pillows. Pillows always beat the dragon. 😋

Also typical kids games are perfect for teaching survival situations! Hide and seek? Perfect for teaching things like camouflage. Tag? Building the kids endurance and evasive maneuvers. 🌲

People think that Poppy is the fun parent. She is most of the time. But you have to remember....

Harmony will be the next Queen.

Rosiepuff and Ace have some royal training too but as next in line, Poppy has to be especially serious about Harmony's training. Poppy makes a games of it when they are young, so that they are more engaged and it lays the foundation for the more boring stuff when they're older.

E.g. memory games with all the tribe leaders and knowledge about the different tribes cultures, helping her cut shapes out for party invitations, having them play in the same room she has meetings in, so that they are exposed to the kind of discussions they'll one day be in charge of.

All in all I think Poppy and Branch balance each other out and would make sure they other isn't overdoing it with the fun or the rules. 🩷💙 💜🩵🧡

[custardcrazy]

A Ted jealous fic pleaaaase! reader and/or him being jealous, or both, whatever you prefer :)

tenaciously uptight

summary: for the longest time, you thought you were the only jealous one. but soon, you realize your feelings for your best friend might not be so unrequited. (gn!reader)

wordcount: 4.3k

A/N: IM SO SORRY FOR THE WAIT OH MY GOD. thank you for requesting. im so sorry. please let me know if there's any glaring errors i barely beta-ed this

You were aware that your best friend wasn't the most observant guy, but seriously; he was completely and utterly unaware of anything even slightly related to romance. 

After all, he never noticed whenever anybody sent longing glances in his general direction. He never picked up on any hidden intentions when people batted their eyelashes at him or asked for his phone number. And he certainly didn't understand the fact that most, if not all of the people who wanted to hang out with him or just spent time with him in general found him attractive. How could they not? A tall, broad-shouldered golden retriever who didn't have a mean bone in his body was repulsive to few. 

However, you knew him very well and his self-esteem … was in the gutter. For many reasons, most of which were a certain individual parent who you preferred to leave unnamed. And that was mostly the reason why, even though he could pick up on whenever someone was flirting with someone else, he couldn't get a clue when somebody took interest in him. 

Even though you were very patient with him, and appreciated him dearly, sometimes you wished that he would just get a single clue. You were used to being the one who watched from afar as he was flirted with -- as girls shamelessly looked him up and down and pretended to be interested in Van Halen or Kiss (pun not intended) in order to segue the conversation to more intimate topics. It wasn't anything new, but you still couldn't stop the thing with claws and fangs which tore at your chest whenever it happened.

You knew that you couldn't do much else, even when you had felt something for Ted since the sixth grade; which was funny to look back on, because he was always asking for a spare pencil from you, and somehow, when you were twelve, that was cute. Ever since he hit his growth spurt, you'd been dealing with the immeasurable amount of jealousy that came with having feelings for a boy who was sometimes oblivious to the extent where it seemed he was blind. 

There had been a couple hints here and there over the time that you'd known him. That maybe he reciprocated all of the mishmash of stuff that you harbored for him. It wasn't enough, though.

(Were you really going to ruin everything you had over an awkward hand brush that one time at the movies?) 

Nowadays, you both worked at the Pretzels 'N' Cheese booth in the mall, which was an excellent strategy for being able to hang out while simultaneously earning money. And it was true that your clothes always picked up the smell of cheese and stayed that way until thrown in the wash, but it was worth it. Way better than working at American Eagle, which always attracted the catty middle-aged ladies. At least you could pacify them briefly with an excessively salty pretzel. 

Since it was summertime, there were more than enough mall-goers looking for unhealthy snacks to waste their money on. 

Occasionally you saw people you vaguely knew from high school, in various states of panic or otherwise. It was weird at first, but you'd gotten used to it. Today was no exception. 

Tyler McClellan (who had somehow been in all of your English-related classes) hadn't changed much. He was still blonde, mullet-ed, and smiled too much, but it was better than him just being plain rude, so you didn't mind. 

What you did mind was the way he was leaning over the counter towards you, acting as if Ted wasn't there at all. 

"So, uh," he said, grinning like he was being real smooth. "Been a while. You come here often?" 

"I work here," you answered politely. "Are you going to order anything?" 

He ignored your question. "Y'know, you haven't changed in the slightest." 

"Oh, cool." You tried again. "Can I get you anything?" 

Yet another failure. "Kinda sucks that we're both bumming around San Dimas, huh? I've been thinkin' about heading down to the beach." Tyler ran a hand through his hair for the third time in the span of roughly two minutes. "Catch a few waves. Weather looks good." Wiggling his eyebrows in a move that would've only worked in a terrible romantic comedy, he leaned even closer -- if that was possible. "It'd be pretty dope if you could come along." 

You snuck a look at Ted, seeing if he was possibly going to intervene or anything before you shut Tyler down; he met your eyes before quickly glancing away. 

Huh. 

Well, he'd never liked confrontation. 

"I'm not interested." Keeping your tone clear, you sincerely hoped that Tyler and his hopeless baby blue eyes would go somewhere else and maybe flirt with Hannah who worked at Claire's instead. "Please. Do you want a pretzel or not?" 

He looked at you for a moment, but you held your ground. 

And finally, gradually, to your relief, his shoulders sagged, and that ever-present smile slipped off his face. "... Okay, okay." He straightened up, stuffing his hands back into the pockets of his jeans. "One pretzel. No cheese or salt. Please." 

He paid in a couple crumpled bills, and slouched off somewhere else; not even bothering to say a simple 'thanks'. 

Ted was still quiet. 

"Um." Awkwardly, you looked over at Ted again after putting the money in the register and making sure you didn't give Tyler any extra pennies. "You okay? He's gone now, I think." 

Your words seemed to shake him out of whatever reverie he'd entered while you were talking with Tyler. "Oh! Uh." His hand automatically flew up to scratch the back of his neck. "... Sorry, dude. Yeah, I'm good." Another weird thing -- he was religiously avoiding eye contact, where he'd normally be focused intently on what you were saying. You were skeptical at best as to if he was telling the truth, but didn't want to make him uncomfortable.

So you dropped it. "Alright."

For the rest of your shift, Ted was … tense? Stiff. He eventually eased up a little, once you asked him about his and Bill's progress on marathoning all of the low-budget slasher movies they'd rented, but there was still a hint of something there, in the way he kept fidgeting with his hands. Again, you didn't mention it. Maybe he was just uncomfortable because of Tyler's presence. 

You couldn't blame him. 

But later, when you were both making sure neither of the machines had leaked cheese onto the floor; he brought up the topic again. 

"Dude, stop me if this is weird, or boundary-pushing, but… " He gently rolled his shoulders, as if he was shrugging off a jacket. "Did you actually wanna go hang out with that dude?" There was something in his voice that you were, unfortunately, familiar with. Vulnerability. But, unlike the other times, you couldn't exactly place why. 

"Y'know, just wondering," he added.

You squashed your curiosity down in favor of a disgusted expression. "Ew, no way. I barely know him -- or knew him at all." Dismissively, you waved a hand. "He's not my type, anyway." The exact opposite of it, actually. 

"Oh." He paused. 

"I'm … gonna go wash my hands." 

And with that, he practically darted off to the tiny employee closet, too fast for you to mention that there was no trace of anything on his fingers. 

You stood there for a moment, bewildered at his sudden escape. Maybe he just wanted space or something -- but, still, you had absolutely no idea what was going on. It wasn't like he was hard to read. But you just didn't know why he was acting so … skittish. 

Thankfully, when he finished "washing his hands", everything looked like it was going to go back to normal. He laughed aloud when you cracked a joke about that one time Bill spilled a metric ton of cheese on the floor. 

About two minutes later, you were both sitting in the van. It was a short ride from the mall to your apartment, which you "shared" with an acquaintance who was basically never there. You didn't know exactly why, but you got the gist of it from the fact that she always came back either inebriated or hungover. At least she did her laundry. 

Noticeably, Ted wasn't strained like before. Seemed like your admission concerning Tyler made him less nervous. He let you fiddle with the radio for a little while before settling on a channel. 

"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot you liked this kind of music, dude!" He beamed, having to shout over the sound of the wind whistling through the window; the air-conditioning had been busted for the longest time. "Stellar!" 

It wasn't too long until the van pulled up outside your apartment complex. Making sure your keys hadn't fallen out of your pocket, you hopped out. Just before you shut the van door, you offered a smile to Ted. 

"Thanks for the ride. See you later." 

"Wait!" 

You paused. "What?" 

He still had a hand idly on the wheel, but you noticed he was clutching it a little tighter. " … We're still on for tomorrow, right?" 

Right. Every Friday since forever had been movie night. He didn't often clarify it with you, since it was an unspoken thing. Even if Ted's memory wasn't the best, he always remembered. 

You gave Ted another curious look. "Yeah. Of course."  

"Cool." 

There was an awkward pause, before you filled it in again. "Cool. Uh, yeah, see you." Shutting the van door, you didn't linger long before walking up to the door of your apartment complex, mind whirling a little faster than usual.  

If you claimed that you didn't think about Ted's behavior later in the evening, when you were shoving some leftovers in the oven or when you were getting ready for bed, then you'd be a huge liar. 

The next day was uneventful at best for the most part, since it was your day off. You were usually a bit antsy before hanging out with Ted, nothing out of the ordinary for sure. But this time, there was something else alongside the typical restlessness. Not being able to specifically pinpoint what this something was made you even more restless, which wasn't fun. 

At around seven, the familiar van pulled up. You'd already been waiting -- summer evenings in San Dimas were nice and cool, unlike the unrelenting heat that arrived in the afternoon. 

Bill waved at you from the driver's seat, rolling down the window. "C'mon!" 

He was maybe a bit more of an aggressive driver than his taller counterpart, but the route to their apartment hadn't changed. As per usual. 

"Dude." Drawing out the 'u', he smirked. "Listen. Ted rented a bunch of these cheesy forties movie musicals --" Bill snickered to himself, " -- can you believe it? Never in the history of mankind would I have expected a genre such as that one to be selected for our movie nights, much less by Ted." 

"I mean, it's kind of a nice change from the terrible gory flicks you guys watch all the time." You were mostly indifferent as you watched houses and other assorted buildings cruise by through the window. "Well, yeah, still kind of surprising, though. But it's good to have a change of pace, right?" 

Your mind abruptly conjured up an image of Ted dancing in a smart black suit and matching top hat, a la Fred Astaire. 

"True," was Bill's thoughtful reply. 

Luckily, just like the drive to work, it wasn't too long to Bill and Ted's apartment. The second you stepped in the door, you were engulfed by an aroma of incredible, delightful, microwave popcorn. Ted waved semi-wildly at you from his comfortable seat on the couch, already sinking into the horde of different, brightly-colored pillows. A large bowl of what you'd smelled earlier was sitting in his lap. 

Without any fanfare, you walked over and plopped down next to him. He smiled brightly. "Hey!" 

"Hey yourself." You reached over his lap to grab a handful of popcorn, and he moved the bowl a little closer to make it easier for you to do so. 

A long sigh drifted over from Bill's general direction. "C'moon. Why do I always gotta be the one to put in the tapes?" 

"No one said that you had to, dude." 

"I don't see you getting up to help." He shot a look at Ted, who grinned innocently. 

"I'm totally stuck under this most hefty bowl of popcorn." 

Bill narrowed his eyes at you next; you just shrugged in response. 

"You both suck," he declared, but moved to get the tapes anyway. 

A bit later, all of your eyes were glued to the small screen, and all of the popcorn was pretty much gone. The first movie to be chosen was about halfway through, and still, the tune of the catchy titular song was stuck in your head. You had assumed that was the point. 

"Do all babes fall for dudes who help them turn off the lights?" Questioned Ted aloud. 

"It has to be more complicated than that," insisted Bill. "I have learned from experience that the process of woo-ing is not just. Like. Being able to reach up to switch off a chandelier or whatever." 

"Right, but who knows?" You chimed in. "Some people really like acts of service." 

"Acts, plural," came Bill's defiant assertion. "Nobody's that easy." 

"I dunno, dude," chirped Ted. "I would be totally flattered if somebody turned off the lights for me." 

"Well, yeah, you become deeply infatuated with various babes on sight," shot back Bill. 

You were suddenly glad you had an excellent poker face. 

"That's different," pleaded Ted. "You know, everyone has those sorts of things, right? Little crushes?" He sounded embarrassed. "Well, you can't really use that as an example! That is totally underhanded of you."

"You cannot deny the intense attraction and infatuation you feel for certain babes on sight," recited Bill solemnly. Suddenly, his focus was on you. "We both know that for sure. Right?" 

"Uh." You faltered. It was the truth. But something inside you refused to accept it, which was both infuriating and yet another validation of your feelings. 

"Yeah, I guess," you settled for. But you quickly added, "he's kind of matured since high school, though." 

"That's what I'm saying!" Burst out Ted, and you were glad that the bowl was nearly empty, as he would've sent it all flying in the air. " 'Sides, Bill, weren't you the one makin' eyes at the sales lady at the record store the other day? You sure looked infatuated, all from the fact that she helped you to find that Ozzy record -- " 

" -- even you admitted you found her cute -- " 

"Dude, shut up!" 

You let them bicker for a little while longer, until you couldn't hear the dialogue over their petty arguing. And then, an intervention was necessary. 

"Okay! Okay." 

They both fell silent, and you were glad. "Who cares if you're both easy or not. I think, personally, I would also be at least kind of flattered if someone helped me out with a chore or something. It's polite." 

Bill just pouted, looking back at the television. Ted turned slightly to face you, looking curious. 

"So … If a dude helped you with your laundry or something, would you take interest in him?" 

You didn't interpret it as anything other than a genuine question. 

"I mean, since laundry is boring, I'd definitely get a good opinion on him. It takes more than that for me to, like, seriously consider dating a guy." Like maybe always remembering your birthday, and giving you little special homemade gifts he made himself. Or like listening closely to everything you said. Or maybe giving you his jacket on a chilly day; disregarding himself even though you could see the goosebumps on his gangly arms, or … 

Man, you had it bad. 

Ted nodded in that distinct way of his. "Gotcha." 

"Would you find it attractive?" You asked, surprising yourself. 

He didn't seem bothered, though. Just a little sheepish. "I suck at doing laundry, you know that. So yeah, I'd probably be. Like. A little interested, at least." 

"Yeah." 

The movie was pretty good for the rest of its runtime, and there wasn't much conversation that passed between the three of you. By the time the credits rolled, you heard either of them stifle a yawn. 

For a moment, all of you just sat there. Then, slowly you and Ted turned to look at Bill. 

He threw his hands up in the air. "Are you kidding me?" 

The rest of the night passed in a near-blur, and before long, Ted was rummaging through the cabinet of their tiny bathroom, looking for the spare toothbrush. Bill was probably already fast asleep; around one, during yet another dramatic tap-dancing scene, he'd dozed off, and it had taken a bit of effort to wake him up and get him to bed. He'd always slept like a log. 

"So," you said, from your perch near the sink. "What'd you think of the movies? Better than Cujo?"  

"Oh, dude, that particular film is an experience." He was crouched on the floor, but looked up in order to make eye contact with you. "But, I don't think I can compare 'em. They're too different -- all-American movie musicals versus B-movie slashers." 

"True." 

A few seconds later, Ted let out an 'aha!' as he found what he'd been so doggedly searching for. "Think fast!" 

You fumbled for the neon green toothbrush he tossed at you, but managed to not drop it. "Thanks." 

With a bit of effort, he got to his feet, then stretched; you politely averted your eyes from the way his old tee shirt rode up his stomach. 

"What'd you think?" 

Pausing from where you were squirting toothpaste onto the bristles of your toothbrush, you thought it over for a moment. "Pretty decent and enjoyable in general. Obviously cheesy at some points, but that's kinda the novelty of it all." You smiled. "It's not called the Golden Age for nothing." 

"I agree wholeheartedly," he replied. 

Strangely, he was lingering. Usually he just left you to do whatever you needed before you settled down on the couch, but even after you finished splashing water on your face, he was still by the doorway. 

"Something up?" Turning to face him, you leaned back on the counter, ignoring how it dug into your back a bit uncomfortably. "Still thinking about that little debate with Bill over easiness?" You couldn't help but tease. 

The combination of the late hour and the fact that it was just you two, in relative close proximity, made this feel intimate, almost; like you were the only two people on Earth. Since the apartment wasn't in the more populated areas of San Dimas, the only occasional sound outside was the revving of a car engine or the rare hoot of an owl. 

"Well, kinda." Averting his gaze for a moment, his hand found a familiar place on the back of his neck, "but, um, not really. I just … " 

You waited patiently, and he eventually picked up the sentence again. "I just wanted to, uh. Ask you another question." 

"Why didn't you ask me earlier?" It slipped out before you could stop it. 

"I … I didn't want to," he said, and you thought that was it, but then; "not in front of Bill. He would probably never let me forget it." 

"Oh?" Both interested and nervous, you looked at him imploringly. 

His Adam's apple bobbed. "Um. Yesterday, you mentioned that dude wasn't 'your type', and then like, a couple hours ago you said you liked acts of service, right?" He kept barreling forward. "So I'm just, like, curious -- " 

"What is your type?" 

Your first instinct was to find it funny. All that build-up, for a simple question like that? But then, the truth hit you; you couldn't be completely honest when answering it. And normally that wouldn't be a huge problem, but guilt was slowly creeping up on you. You never had lied to Ted, and you didn't want to start now, just to protect your own dignity or whatever. Disregarding the fact that Ted had somehow remembered a one-off comment you'd made, you hastily put together an adequate response. 

"Well, uh," you started, "you know I'm not too picky, but what I really look for in a relationship is being able to support each other, no matter what. Always being there for one another. Always being able to remember what makes them happy and what doesn't." Exhaling slowly, you felt oddly … Exposed. "And being able to make each other laugh. That's all. " 

He didn't respond for a few seconds, but then, 

"Did you find him funny?" 

You were caught utterly off-guard. "What?" 

"Tyler." 

Another case of avoiding eye contact, and you were worried. 

"What? No!" Dumbfounded, you didn't notice that you were repeating yourself. "Ted, I told you that I wasn't interested in him at all. Why're you bringing him up now?" 

"I just wanted to know," he said, shrinking in on himself a little, "you know, you could've said yes, he's real good-looking -- " 

"Why does that matter?" Cutting him off, you shook your head. "I'm gonna answer that myself. It doesn't! He was being a huge creep, there's no way -- " 

" -- I know you'd like to go to the beach, dude -- " 

" -- no, I didn't, that'd be really inconvenient, you -- " 

" -- you didn't have to feel forced to say no just 'cause of stupid outside factors, I saw you considering it -- " 

"I wasn't!" You exclaimed.

Seeing the expression on Ted's face, you hurriedly reeled yourself back in, dropping your voice to nearly a soft murmur. "... I wasn't. Why don't you believe me?" 

The silence was so thick, weighing upon your shoulders like a heavy blanket. 

But instead of being comfortable, it was suffocating. 

A beat longer.

"Sorry, sorry," he finally mumbled, "sorry, I got… Ahead of myself. Sorry. I do believe you, I swear." 

"No, no," you rushed to fill in the gap, "no, it's fine, it's alright." You'd stopped leaning back, now at full attention. 

Ted peeked at you from underneath his bangs, and you took that as your cue to continue. 

"I'm just … I'm just confused. Why…?" 

Your voice trailed off, but before you could pull yourself together enough to clarify what you meant, he spoke up instead. 

"I'm sorry, just -- " your heart broke; you heard the emotion warping the edges of his voice, but before you could say anything once more, he interrupted. 

"Just forget … all of this. I - it's nothing. Sorry. I screwed up, that's all." He turned away, but not before you could catch sight of his trembling hands. 

"See you in the morning, dude." 

No. Not like this, you couldn't let him shuffle off to bed like this. You'd known how many times he'd done that already in his life. You'd witnessed it firsthand; the way he always bottled it all up, acting as if nothing happened while that was anything but the truth. You couldn't let him turn away and act like everything was normal the next day. 

You reached out, wrapping a hand around his wrist. 

He stopped immediately. 

"Please. I can't forget this, and I know if I try it'll just keep getting harder not to." He was still facing away from you, but you didn't let that stop you. 

"We've never hidden anything important from each other, Ted. You know I'm always here for you." Maybe there was a hint of desperation in your words -- but you were, and you were on the edge of begging. "Please, I hate fighting with you. I shouldn't have lost my temper."

He didn't speak for a little while; but he didn't pull away. 

Then, eventually. 

"I thought I could handle it, like before, but this time I just couldn't."  

Now, he was facing you, your hand still around his wrist; and now, your hand was in his. 

You couldn't speak, but that was fine, because he was still talking. 

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, dude. But seeing him looking at you like that -- " His breath caught in his throat. "... I never could be so forward, especially not with you. But I think I gotta." 

Was this really happening? You felt light-headed all of a sudden. Did you fall asleep during the movie?

But his touch was grounding. 

You could feel the calluses on his fingertips. 

"I'm," he began, voice trembling. "I've been. In love with you. For a really long time." 

Floored. 

Maybe you were dreaming. Your Ted wouldn't be looking you directly in the eyes, professing his feelings to you, the blush on his face clear as a bad vocalist underneath the ugly fluorescent lights of the bathroom. Your Ted wouldn't be still holding your hand as if it was the most precious thing in the world. Your Ted didn't see you as anything other than a great pal. 

… Right? 

Wait, no, your Ted was still talking. 

"A - and I know this is really sudden and you're not obligated to return anything because obviously it's kinda awkward because we're best friends and it's gonna change everything -- I like everything, but -- " 

If he could be so brutally forward, it was probably your turn to do so too. 

"Ted." 

His mouth snapped shut. 

"Ted," you repeated, face flaming. "I love you too." 

There. Years of feelings all expressed in Four. Simple. Words. 

For a moment, he looked like a fish; mouth opening and shutting uselessly. 

Then, you were pulled into a bear hug. 

Nothing unfamiliar, but this time, it was somehow so much different. Automatically, your hands were around his neck, and his around your waist, and together you stood there for a while. Rocking a little. No words necessary to convey what you were both thinking. 

Finally. 

[cialovesklopp]

𝐕𝐀 𝐃𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐀 𝐓𝐎𝐍 𝐄𝐗 ➺ k.mbappé

𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒚 — where an event thrown at psg has Evan Henderson crawl back to his ex for forgiveness but she already has other plans

𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 — kylian mbappe x amara imani, Evan Henderson (oc) x Amara imani (oc)

𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 — va dire a ton ex [dadju]

𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕 — @aechii @lorarri @charlesleclercistheloveofmylife

masterlist

gracey sierra wood was truly a godsend gift — amara was certain of that.

just the way the black woman handled the entire press since it had been leaked online that amara had resorted to legal help for evan, she couldn’t have been more thankful that she had put her trust in grace three years ago.

was suing evan a smart idea? probably not. but did it make her feel like a badass bitch? absolutely.

as much as amara prided herself on not being petty and resentful, her pride would have probably hurt a lot more if she had let him get away with it. she couldn’t resent the press, after all they had only done their jobs that they were paid for. but evan… she couldn’t find any other excuse for him except his fragile masculinity that could explain why he had spread all those lies.

or maybe he had always been this malicious and amara had turned a blind eye to it because she thought she loved him — either way, she couldn’t explain his doings and what had exactly happened for him to do her so wrong. but she was adamant on not letting it go just like that. she wouldn’t allow the media to forget for people to forget what evan henderson had done. and that had been where grace had come in.

the two had spent nights hunched over documents (occasionally with kylian providing them snacks) as they looked for a way to avenge amara without tarnishing her newly restored image. while discussing several strategies, grace provided her advice as best friend as well as manager, making sure that amara was still the one winning and not leaving empty. the singer honestly couldn’t remember anymore how she had done when grace hadn’t been in her life — the south african girl had been for so long already in her life.

their relationship had started out simple. amara had been a fresh lamb in the music industry, walls built up high as she was careful who she trusted while grace had lived for a time in the music industry due to her parents being known music producers. the two girls had been made for each other — one wanted to make a name for herself, the other wanted to leave her name and create a new one. both fit perfectly.

for the legal issue, amara didn’t have much experience. she had actually wanted to keep the lawsuit between the two parties but someone (and they all knew very well who) had leaked it to the press that amara wanted to drag evan to court. and by the time they had found out who, it was already all over the news.

even though that had been two weeks ago, amara still hasn’t faced evan yet. originally they would have been forced to meet with each other, when amara had launched the lawsuit but her ex-boyfriend had snubbed both meetings (for which amara was very glad) — his lawyers had tried to get her to settle for a specific sum but she had rejected each one. her career was not something that could be bought, amara had thought at the meeting.

was she malicious for suing him just after his girlfriend had broken up with him? maybe. but it felt good to give evan a taste of his own medicine. after all, all the pain, each tear she had shed, every panic attack she had experienced— all that needed to be avenged and she had to start somewhere.

and of course, kylian was her biggest supporter — as he had said, where she went he went (tu monte, je monte, tu descends, je descends) and nothing could make him break his promise, not even a lawsuit. kylian was known as someone who liked his privacy; he was one of the most discussed topics in football every year and yet the only information people knew about him was what he was willing to let them know. and yet he had never felt so ready to take court to defend the woman he loved, screw what the world would think. all that mattered was she.

he had comforted her during the meetings with the lawyers, had convinced her to change her previous solicitors when he had had a premonition that they were truly representing her and tried to schedule meetings in between his training sessions to support her the best he could— it was exhausting, with both having two different important events coming up but both tried to make it work the best they could.

she was grateful for the way her boyfriend understood her so quickly and tried to be the positive side when things were crashing down, especially since she had no idea what she was actually doing and had never been to court. well, she had a small idea of court but her knowledge was mostly based on seasonal reruns of how to get away with murder and who knows how accurate those were — shortly, she had no plan and was just following what people were telling her.

and that had been where grace sweeped in to save the day again. scheduling meetings with evan’s lawyers, negotiating appearances for her, defending her when they tried to make her come across as a petty bitch who wanted money— amara honestly felt like a ghost during those, her mind wandering far away as her best friend handled those things. she truly wondered how johnny depp and amber heard had the energy to go through these twice; she hadn’t even accomplished one trial and she was already tired. (but god forbid, someone aired their trial live, that would really be the downfall for all of them, including evan).

right now wasn’t the moment to focus on those things anyway. she had more important things to do; for example choosing an outfit to wear to the psg benefit gala. what sounded so easy turned out to be more complicated than she had thought. that was also the reason why she hadn’t hired a stylist — how should she have known that it would be so difficult to find the right dress?

and again, deep hate and resentment bubbled up in her when she realized why she struggled so much with her outfit choice — even apart, evan still managed to traumatize her. when they had been dating, without even noticing she had let evan take control over her own body. body shame her and lower her self-esteem. the more she looked back, the more she realized that had not been love — it was toxic and a power play.

he had chosen what she wore on the rare occasions that she had managed to convince him to go out with her. evan had found that date nights were unnecessary, just a waste of money. she had to practically beg him if she wanted a nice night out with him instead of spending the entire evening in front of the tv. And for the times when they went out, things between them hadn’t been any healthier.

with evan being very possessive and judging, amara had truly never been able to wear what she actually wanted even though she had a closet full of gorgeous dresses. her ex-boyfriend had disliked most of those, either dissatisfied with the amount of cleavage they revealed or how much they showed her legs off. he had reasoned it off with explaining how men thought and that they would probably get ideas if she wore a too shiny dress. and because she didn’t want to ruin the mood, she complied and he chose simple dresses for her. dresses that undermined how extraordinary she was. the constant judgment had chipped away at her self-esteem, leaving her feeling unsure about her own sense of style.

but now evan wasn’t there anymore and she was responsible for her own outfits. which is how she found herself on the floor, her once tidy space transformed into a realm of fabrics, patterns, and colors as she tried not to panic while the hours ticked away and the pile of clothes grew taller.

what did people normally wear to such galas? when kylian had asked her whether she had wanted to be his date (even though the two weren’t public yet) she had immediately accepted, scared that maybe if he thought too long about it, he’d take the offer back again. back then, she couldn’t have phantomed how difficult the choice of the outfit would have been. and she needed to shine, after all it would be their first night out as a couple and she absolutely needed to slay for that one. even if the media didn’t know about them.

‘this one makes me look like a prostitute’ she thought, tossing the red dress on one of the huge piles of clothes. ‘that one shows my fat thighs too much’, she thought, remembering that the last time she had worn that dress, evan had suggested that she should get plastic surgery. ‘this one’s for nuns’ she exclaimed angrily in her head, throwing it behind her.

taking a deep breath, she inhaled loudly before exhaling and letting out a piercing scream. her stomach turned and she used all her willpower to keep herself from throwing up and crying. another side effect of evan. she just couldn't shake off the feeling that dressing up would only invite similar criticism, even though she knew that kylian could never be evan.

she grabbed her phone as she contemplated whether she should call kylian and cancel. she was a mess, there was chaos and she absolutely didn’t really feel in the mood to go to an event if she wasn’t even able to choose an outfit. and she could still feel the way her body tensed as she thought back to the times when evan’s disapproving gaze had made her feel small and insignificant.

amara’s mind was absent as she curled up on the floor. she hadn’t noticed kylian entering her bedroom, too deep in her thoughts to even acknowledge anything going on around her. she didn’t see him approach her from behind, ignoring the state of her room as he approached her, without a word. her body reacted instantly to his scent, her muscles immediately relaxing and she enjoyed his presence, a soothing balm to her frayed nerves.

a part of the nervousness disappeared when she felt kylian’s arms wrap gently around her, enveloping her in a warm and reassuring embrace. she cuddled closer into his chest, her hand immediately intertwining with his as she found solace in his arms. they didn’t need words, they understood each other with touches, small hugs — affection.

“tu veux me dire ce qui ce passe?” he asked her softly, nuzzling his hand on her neck as he felt her heartbeat take a steady rhythm again. she shook her head, her mind still filled with doubts and continued to draw circles on his skin in an attempt to calm down. — do you wanna tell me what’s going on?

they stayed like that for another ten minutes, completely forgetting that they were expected at the other side of the town. somehow spending the evening cuddling and spooning seemed so much more tempting than wasting their time at a gala and having to play pretend with people that were only there for publicity. kylian had always cared about welfare - which had prompted him to open his own organization - but spending the evening at the benefit gala, thrown by psg, it just felt wrong. even if the cause was right.

“soo…,” he began softly, trailing off as his hands trailed down her body, halting at her hips. “qu’est-ce qu’il y a, ma belle? ça ressemble à une tempête ici.” — what’s the matter, beautiful? it looks like a storm here

amara shrugged, her eyes staring emotionless at the ceiling. “couldn’t find a dress. none of them seem to fit.”

he chuckled, staring at all those clothes around them. “you wanna tell me from all those piles of clothes, you didn’t like one dress?”

“i can’t just wear any dress. this is my first event since the scandal and in case i’m caught by paps, i can’t look like i just threw a random outfit together. plus it’s our first event as a couple.” she added, her voice turning shy at the end.

she detached herself from kylian’s arms, crawling to one of the many piles of clothes and held up a blue dress. “that one makes me look like a nun. i would be a feast for ruthless journalists.” she muttered angrily, throwing it at kylian who caught it perplexed.

she picked up another dress, a beautiful silver dress that reached her knees and had a long slit down her right side. “the media tore me apart when i wore this one. i was slutshamed for weeks just because it showed a bit of my décolleté and men couldn’t help themselves but stare at my breasts. but of course they blamed me.” she laughed bitterly as she recalled the memory.

kylian’s heart broke as he listened to her rant, feeling a sting whenever she brought herself down because of a simple dress. his eyes softened and he grabbed her arm tenderly, preventing her from throwing another dress.

“amara, i can assure you, you are beautiful. no matter what the media says, you are one of the most beautiful persons to have walked this earth. and who cares about the gala. you don’t have to be afraid anymore of wearing something nice. you can wear whatever you want. on s’en fou de média.” — screw the media

“and there’s the next problem,” she exclaimed annoyingly, sitting down angrily on the bed. “i’m not used to this. the whole going out thing. evan didn’t like to go out.”

“well, we already established that evan was an idiot. a big insecure money baby who couldn’t appreciate what he had,” kylian clarified, his voice soft and tender. he smiled at her fondly. “the problem was never you but him. don’t let anyone’s judgment from the past — and especially from an idiot like him — hold you back from looking like the supernova that you are. tu es ethereal, avec ou sans belle robe.” — you are ethereal, with or without beautiful dress

if amara could, she would have proposed to him right on the spot — his words had touched her deep, not to forget that in nearly two years with evan, nothing remotely close had ever left his lips in hope to lift amara’s self-confidence. instead he destroyed her further from the inside, nourishing her self-doubts and insecurities. she truly asked herself how that devil had managed to stay in her life for so long.

she hesitated at first but nodded firmly and started to put her dresses back into her closet, kylian passing her the huge piles of clothes. she grinned at kylian, who matched her face expression, both knowing that they were more than late as parisian traffic was horrible. but they were enjoying each other's presence too much to stress now.

after having finished with cleaning up and putting every dress back, amara rummaged a bit through all those dress before taking off two from their hangers. both were gorgeous, breathtaking even but her brows furrowed a bit in uncertainty as she scrutinized them. she put the second dress back as she reminded herself of kylian’s words, warmth spreading through her body when she remembered them.

putting the dress on, she stared at herself hesitantly, more specifically at the sleek black cocktail dress with a gold chain gracing her waist that hugged her curves and revealed a lot of her cleavage. trying to pull the dress a bit lower without showing too much of her breasts, she turned around, instantly panicking when kylian didn’t say anything and instead just stared at her.

hesitantly, she asked him, “is this dress okay? i can change it if you think it’s too much cleavage.”

as if woken up by his trance with her voice, kylian gently turned her around, placing his hands on her waist as they faced the mirror. she saw the way his eyes filled with adoration and love as he drew her closer to his chest and pressed a tender kiss on her neck that sent shivers down amara’s body and created a feeling of butterflies in her stomach. “mon amour, you don’t have to worry,” he began, his voice low and gentle as his kisses trailed up her neck. “wear whatever you want, i can fight.”

god was truly great for not having given her the ability to blush. the way kylian had said those two sentences, his voice low but yet filled with love and devotion — she had never felt so beautiful. he saw her in such a different light, as one of the most brilliant and loving people in the world. she was the sun in his universe, the one that brightened his day every time.

she bit her lip, stopping herself from laughing as she watched their reflection in the mirror. amara turned around, putting her hands around his neck as she pulled him close. she leaned in, their foreheads touching and grinned at him. “you’re the best boyfriend i’ve ever had,” she gave him a small peck, smiling at him.

evan was over —he was history, the past. someone amara no longer needed to pay attention to. and probably never see him again except for the ongoing lawsuit. she had kylian and that was enough, she had never needed more.

“and hopefully your last one.”

she gave him another quick peck again before they let go of each other, kylian grabbing his phone while amara reached for her high heels next to the mirror and started to do her make-up.

standing before her huge mirror, her confidence growing as she looked at herself wearing that gorgeous dress, she fell completely in love with an ethereal version of herself. the first step to loving was loving yourself and amara could happily say that she had succeeded, that she had learned to love herself.

a soft, yellowish light from the mirror lightened up her face, pointing out her beauty and kylian looked up from his phone, completely forgetting it as he looked at his girlfriend in awe.

captivated by the way she applied the cosmetic products so gracefully, he sat on the bed as he memorized every of her products and moves. his heart was probably beating at an unhealthy rhythm, full with love and a smile graced his lips. he had never felt that way, full of joy and happiness, not even when he had won the world cup and even less about a woman. he must have been the luckiest guy on the world if he was able to call the gorgeous woman in front of her his own.

the more he watched her do what seemed to be the most mundane thing to her, the bigger the urge came up to touch her. to feel her warmth and hold her close. creeping up from behind her, she shrieked up in surprise when his breath tickled her ear. he leaned closely and whispered, “t’es tellement belle.” his lips were inches away from hers, longing to connect with hers. — you’re so beautiful

she turned her head slightly, looking at him playfully with a mischievous glint in her eyes as she blew him an air kiss. his lips formed a small pout making her let out a light, melodious laugh. “merci cherie. but still, not yet.” she teased, her eyes twinkling with affection. “let me finish quickly, we’re already late,” she scolded him jokingly, pushing him back on the bed.

she smirked at him through the mirror, applying her final layer of lipstick and putting on her shoes before she could finally present herself to kylian. she turned around, her face wearing a smile able to illuminate the entire room and stepped closer to kylian who was rendered speechless for a moment. his eyes gazed at her, filled with pure love and happiness.

unable to contain himself any longer, he leaned in and kissed her passionately, their lips meeting in a fervent embrace, and amara’s initial surprise gave way to a reciprocated intensity. for a few moments, the world faded away around them and the only people that existed were them.

though amara pulled back after a few seconds, pouting slightly as she looked at him accusingly. “ky, you’re gonna ruin my lipstick,” she murmured softly, her words met with a grin from kylian who couldn’t help but smile cheekily at her. she rolled her eyes at his reaction and grabbed her black clutch along his hand, dragging him along. “come on, we’re already late.”

“i don’t they would mind if we didn’t show up,” he replied nonchalantly, shrugging dismissively.

“i know, but i’ll mind donc bouge tes fesses,” she retorted back sassily as they walked out of her apartment, not ignoring the way kylian rolled his eyes. “and stop rolling your eyes at me.” — move your ass

“your wish is my command.”

the party was fully in motion when amara and kylian finally arrived. the psg event organizers had spared no expense, and the result was a visual masterpiece that left an unforgettable impression. entering the room, they found themselves in a stub in a modern black interior, clearly inspired by the famous starlight room. huge chandeliers dangled from the high ceiling, projecting a soft glow over the entire room and with the help of well-placed projectors, beams of light danced gracefully, creating a mesmerizing light-spectacle on the ceiling and the floor.

the gala was undoubtedly the footballer event of the year with psg being renowned for their extravagant galas. invitations were not only priced but also not extended to just anyone. the room neatly organized with tables for eight places to ensure that there would be enough space. each table was decorated with lavish golden accents, matching the aesthetic of the interior design. and to add a personal touch to the evening, a small card graced each table, elegantly displaying the seating arrangement.

amara and kylian didn’t have to search long for their table with their friends calling them over the moment they walked through the door. they had been lucky that psg had instituted an absolutely no-picture rule for the event, giving them the chance to attend together without having to fear for exposure. they joined their friends, who immediately started to gush and tease the couple over their little tardiness as they enjoyed the privacy of being able not to hide around each other.

little did they know a pair of hardened eyes watched them from afar, with a glass of champagne and a bucket tone of regret.

a fault confessed is half redressed. which is why evan henderson here, was agreeing that he was a total dick.

regret wasn’t enough to explain how he felt. disgusted with himself, ashamed, embarrassment were all feelings he had experienced in those past few days since it had gone public he and kaia had split. the two hadn’t even lasted long and their honeymoon phase had lasted as long as the attention on amara had when the scandal had gotten out. looking back now, he wasn’t even sure whether they truly had a honeymoon phase or if they just lived off the adrenaline that they were the top news of the moment. it wouldn’t surprise him if it was the latter — after all, that’s how everything had started.

he and kaia had started working together for a few modeling gigs and soon, the tension between them grew unbearable with old history and past feelings coming up. before he even realized, there were subtle touches between them and official working hours turned into late nights spent at her place. and during all that he had been able to lie to his girlfriend without even batting an eyelash.

he had been horrible to amara and that was her way of karma finally getting to him. thinking back to how they meet, he truly recognized that he had never valued her worth. from the way they had started dating to when they broke up, he had never had the decency to even lift a finger for her. work a bit to earn her. she’d always been a little side piece that he dragged along wherever he went and he knew she didn’t know any better — another thing he had exploited: her innocence in love.

the two had had an age gap. he was way more mature than she was and he had already experienced his couple of love affairs in hollywood. she had been new to his world and had used the media to guide her, making her land in front of him as this innocent lamb that he had destroyed. he had cheated on her and she had forgiven, he had hit her and put the blame on her and she had accepted, she hadn’t left when she should have because he had manipulated her into staying. staying when she should have left a long time ago. she had given him more than anyone else ever had and he had ruined it.

and what made it worse was that he missed her so fucking much. from all the girlfriends he had gone out with in his life, she had been the first one to be genuine about her feelings. she had cared for him while he had humiliated her on a daily basis.

to be honest, he hadn’t been completely horrible with her from day one. his unexplainable behavior had started maybe a year into their relationship. after his parents had expressed their disdain for her and he had grown bored of her but didn’t want to leave her (which he realized now he should have done).

he had been a coward and the regret was eating him alive. nagging at him and tearing him apart in his sleep. why had he even spread all this lies about her? why was the public’s opinion so important for him in his relationship? after all that that had been the reason why and said all those things about her. he didn’t want her to have the victim side, the one that had been wronged. he needed it to be him and kaia if their relationship was to have a chance in the media. he hadn’t care about the damage that he could cause. and at first it had worked, he had scared her into hiding and she had kept her mouth shut.

but had he expected her to turn up with chart winning songs and a fucking album that clearly indicated she had another man? — not in a million years. perhaps he could have never phantomed that outcome because he spent his time treating her horrible and painting her horrible to all paper outlets, or because he could see how many songs he had gotten from her. and that man had already proved to everyone that he was the better man.

the lawsuit was only a small sting compared to the pain he felt when he saw amara with another man. he would have to be truly blind to not recognize her the moment she stepped into the room accompanied by a man he assumed to be her new boyfriend. he had immediately recognized the dress she wore, the black cocktail dress he had once accused her of looking like a slut with it. even though it looked gorgeous on her and he saw that now— when she wasn’t his to touch anymore.

his hands gripped the glass tighter as he watched her laugh and hide her face in that man’s neck. he felt like throwing up when he neared her face and whispered something in her ear that made her nudge him lightly — evan remembered the way she would always jokingly scold him like that. he wished it was him again who her eyes looked at, who was on the other end of her smiles. he saw the twinkle in her eyes, the one that he had extinguished a year into their relationship. it was sparkling brightly now, mischievous and playfully. she was actually happy.

god, he would do everything to talk to her again and he seized his opportunity when amara excused herself to go the bathroom. he put his glass down, following her to the bathroom and casually leaned next to the door as he waited for her to come out.

“so that’s the mysterious boyfriend who’s letting you wear something like this?”

amara froze, goosebumps appearing on her skin. she recognized his voice instantly, there were no doubts — no second guessing that this was her ex-boyfriend. she hadn’t seen him waiting for her as she exited the bathroom as he had hid in the shadows next to the door or else she wouldn’t have gone. she would have stayed next to kylian and waited for him to accompany her.

a bit shocked by the way he talked to her, she turned around with a disgusted expression, facing him. “well, he’s not an insecure, spoiled prat who thinks he possess his girlfriend's body,” she sassed back, turning on her heel swiftly.

“wait,” he called her back. “i’m sorry.”

she raised an eyebrow at him, crossing her arms. “that’s all you can do? sorry? you really wasted my time, didn’t you?” she asked him rhetorically, about to make her way back but evan held her back again.

“no, please don’t go yet,” he begged her, wanting to grab her hand but she stepped back. “i am truly sorry about what i made you live through. i treated you horribly and acted like an asshole. those months apart were the hardest and made me realize how much i screwed up. they made me see what i had taken for granted and lost just because i didn’t know what i wanted.”

looking into his eyes, amara saw that he was genuine and sincere but all she could think of when she saw his face were those months spent in pain. her bruised wrists, the constant yelling and mental manipulation. she couldn’t associate evan with anything positive. “you truly loved me and i threw that away because i wanted to play playboy. no one ever loved me like you and showed me what a true connection with a person really felt like the way you did. i am sorry it took me losing you to recognize your worth,” he looked at her sadly, hoping to find a small part of hope in her eyes that could indicate that his apology was working. “please let’s forget all this and go back to the way we were. let me make it up to you. we can forget the lawsuit and all that.”

she laughed coldly, staring at him boldly. “do you know what you made me go through during that time we were ‘apart’,” she asked him incredulously. “did you ever realize what you actually did? you didn’t take my money, you didn’t just cheat on me. you had an affair behind my back. you destroyed my career. you ruined my name just because you thought you could. because you were insecure that maybe, maybe people could actually have sympathy with me. i had mental breakdowns because of you. i cancelled my tour because of you. those are not things i’m just going to forget.”

and she wasn’t finished, continuing with her tone unwavering. “you’re right. you didn’t acknowledge my worth. the problem though is that you still don’t. it took kaia leaving you and a lawsuit for you to realize that the least you owed me was an apology,” she ranted angrily. “and even then i’m not even sure that can be called a true apology for all the things you did. you ruined your chance by taking me for granted. and i’m over it now. even if you were the last choice on earth, i wouldn’t choose you because i deserve better than what you offered."

she turned around to make her way back to the others but not wanting her to leave, he grabbed her arm, noticing the way amara’s entire body flinched. she tore her arm away from him angrily, glaring at him. “just let go. you lost me and everything on the way and the only person to blame is you. in those months we were apart, i found someone who knows how to treat a woman. who taught me how to love and showed me what it actually felt like to be loved.”

amara walked away, shaken as she looked for her table. her body relaxed a bit when her eyes spotted kylian, whose eyes were already travelling through the entire room, searching for her. she made her way over to them, as quick as her heels allowed her to be without falling and immediately intertwined their hands, looking for comfort.

kylian immediately noticed that something was wrong with his girlfriend. excusing himself from his conversation with achraf, he turned, facing her. the way her body trembled a bit didn’t go unnoticed by him as she picked around her food. he grew even more worried when she finished her glass of champagne in one big gulp, and reached for the bottle.

“t’as durée aux toilettes? tout va bien?” he questioned her, worry lacing in his voice. — you took your time in the bathroom? is everything alright?

she contemplated whether she should lie to him as he seemed to enjoy the night or whether she should be honest and tell him the truth. with evan she hadn’t even dared to express her discomfort but since the latter was now the cause of her discomfort and she truly did not feel comfortable knowing he was around and they would be forced at one point to talk. so she chose option two.

she lowered her head and whispered into kylian’s ear, “evan’s here. he cornered me and tried to apologize or at least that’s what i think he tried but i don’t wanna see him. i’m not comfortable with him.”

his eyes flickered with concern and he followed amara’s eyes till his landed on evan, making some small talk with other guests. “on n’est pas obligé de rester ici, bébé. on peut partir.” — we’re not forced to be here, we can leave

she smiled softly at him and shook her head. she wouldn’t want kylian to ruin his evening just because she couldn’t handle her stupid asshole boyfriend here. “ca va aller ky. je ne veux pas gâcher ta soirée. et t’as l’air de t’amuser.” — it’ll be alright. i don’t want to ruin your night. and you seem to be having fun

this tune, he was the one to shook his head. “if my girlfriend isn’t comfortable, then neither am. i shouldn’t be having fun while you’re clearly not comfortable,” he replied firmly yet sincere and grabbed her things. “let’s leave. the evening was getting boring anyway. we can explore paris by night if you want?”

her heart burst with gratitude as she nodded excitingly and gave kylian a quick peck on the lips. she appreciated his understanding and the one of her new friends who nodded at them as the couple bit their goodbyes.

still chatting a bit with sarah, she waited for kylian who had told her he would be joining her in a few seconds. grinning, he turned around, his mind so focused on their next adventures they were about to experience that he didn’t notice the person that was going into the opposite direction and the two men collided, with champagne nearly landing on the floor.

he was about to apologize but shut his mouth when he saw that he had bumped into no one other than evan henderson, the reason why he was even leaving early. as much as kylian wanted to punch the shit out of his adversary, he knew causing a scene was not the way to avenge amara so he sucked up his anger.

evan on the other hand smirked at kylian, especially after his newfound discovery about the french star striker. “so, you’re enjoying my sloppy seconds now?” he smirked at kylian arrogantly, oozing misplaced confidence.

knowing that evan was just taunting him and trying to get a reaction out of him, kylian ignored the insult and retorted, “didn’t you just beg for her to come back to you? pathetic. is that the way you handle rejection? by insulting her afterwards?”

laughing it off bitterly, evan smiled slyly at him. “you’re really stupid if you think she’s gonna stay with you. she always comes crawling back to me. it’s just the way things are meant to be,” his words were intended to hurt, to inject pain like poison but kylian rolled his eyes.

“if you think your little words are going to make me leave her, you’ll need more than just that. i’ve heard more intimidating words from a five year old. and what concerns amara, if you think you can just take her, you’ll need to wake up early. amara is not a prize to be won, you earn her. and it’s clear, with the way you talk about her, you never even deserved her.”

evan was about to say something but kylian hadn’t finished yet. “you and amara are finished, your history is over. you can delete her number along with your memories together. you’re over,” he stated firmly. “and if you think you aren't replaceable, don’t worry about that. your place was never going to stay empty.”

kylian wasn’t usually one to start fights or get into dramas, always preferring to stay outside but he wouldn’t just let anyone insult his girlfriend, especially if that someone was evan henderson. “you closed a door that could never be opened again,” he smirked, his tone filled with pride. “you don't have to worry about her anymore because i’ll treat her better than you ever did."

gritting his teeth, his hands formed fists as he watched kylian’s smug face. “i could go to the press. expose the two of you and reveal some pretty secrets on the way,” he threatened, clearly frustrated with the way the situation had turned around.

kylian shrugged dismissively, not even a bit fazed by evan’s threats. “if you think that will make her run back to you, you clearly didn’t know her but do as you want. you’re only hurting yourself. amara and i couldn’t care less of the press knew about us. it’s you they will be worried about and hating.”

with those words, kylian turned and walked away, leaving evan to digest the speech he had just received as he bathed in his regret and bitterness. he knew amara was never coming back to him — for that he hadn’t worshiped her enough and showed her, her worth. and watching amara grin as she threw her arms around kylian before the two left the event, he knew she was lost. she was never coming back.

in all those times that amara had visited paris and had lived in the city of love, she had never had the time yet to appreciate the french capital at night. paris at night was a breathtaking sight — the eiffel tower, adorned in a golden glow, stood tall at trocadero while the seine river reflected its light and projected the lights. cafés and bistros were still open, spreading their warm atmosphere all over the streets of paris as people crossed them. amara couldn’t believe she had never taken the time to truly see paris at night.

the couple wandered around, hands intertwined with their arms linked as they enjoyed the night. after finishing their little expedition on the champs d’elysee the two had taken a taxi that had brought them to trocadero where the eiffel tower was already expecting them. amara and kylian sat down on a bank not too far away but good enough to not be recognized and enjoyed each other’s company. especially after such a turbulent evening.

kylian had told her about his encounter with evan. he had told her what the milliardaire heir had told him and his empty threats, also assuring her that no matter what he had planned, his pr team was already making sure no word of them left anyone’s mouth. he had hugged her tightly as her heart broke when she listened the way evan viewed her and had scoffed ridiculously when she thought back to his half-ass apology.

but amara wouldn’t let her evening be destroyed by that. instead of sulking, she took out her phone and searched for the nearest mcdonalds. finding one not too far away. she stood up and dragged him along, already feeling a bit hungry which made kylian snicker.

after having ordered through the drive-in, out of fear of getting recognized, amara happily smiled at kylian who was holding her things as she ate her food calmly, occasionally feeding kylian one of her fries. the two joked the entire way as they walked back to the eiffel tower, knowing they were probably attracting attention with their fancy clothes.

“you think the others are mad that we left them there?” amara asked her boyfriend and took a sip of her drink.

he shrugged nonchalantly. “well, they know why we left and i’m sure they understand. i almost pity evan but only almost because i know they will give him a hard time there.”

“he doesn’t know what’s about to hit him,” amara snorted happily. “did i even tell you everything he said to me?”

kylian shook his head and amara gut ready to lash out. “he mentioned the lawsuit. tried to make me go back to him. and he didn’t apologize for the things he did. except ‘i treated you horrible’ the entire apology was about him.” she ranted off angrily and scoffed. “the only reason he even thought of apologizing was because of the lawsuit and i guess kaia leaving him. and speaking of kaia, she dmed me and apologized. dazing something along the lines of being immature and that now she knew the real evan.”

“non, ne me dit pas qu’elle a fait ça?” — non, don’t tell me she did that

instead of replying, amara quickly took out her phone from her bag and showed kylian the last messages she had received on instagram. “usually i’m all for women support women but i couldn’t here. especially because if she was really sincere she wouldn’t have allowed evan to spill such bullshit about me,” she pointed out. “but who cares what these two are doing now. i don’t care enough.”

listening to her, kylian was proud of the way she had changed from the amara he had gotten to know at a bar. she had stopped caring about what others thought of her and prioritized herself now. she had gone from the insecure, self-doubting, broken woman to an empowering, self-loving icon that was ready to continue her story. who had grabbed the commands now after having her life controlled by someone else. it made him so much more than just proud and he felt blessed that he had even been part of her recovery.

as they strolled along the seine, with the soft glow of the streetlights reflecting on them, amara laid her head on kylian’s shoulder, who occasionally whispered sweet things to her. it was a usual autumn night with a gentle chill and cold air hanging in the air. the wind breezed past them and amara pulled her arms close to stop herself from shivering which did not go unnoticed by kylian.

without a second thought, kylian slowly slipped off his jacket and put it over her shoulders, his warmth immediately spreading over her body. she was a bit taken aback by his act but smiled at him, her heart swelling with love and gratitude. she had truly been blessed with kylian. she wrapped herself in his jacket, immediately engulfed in the faint scent of cologne that she usually always found comfort in.

she pressed a tender kiss to his cheek, thanking him slowly. “merci cherie,” she thanked him genuinely, a fond smile on her face. their fingers intertwined again as they continued to stroll by the seine, the city’s beauty perfectly matching the beauty of their love. “thank you for showing me what love actually feels like. it’s an amazing feeling to be loved by you.” — thank you

“anything for you.”

𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐌

𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐚.𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢

liked by liyah_clark, k.mbappe and 18.038.264 others

𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐚.𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢 driver roll up the partition please

view all 129.374 comments

liyah_clark i think i might leave him for you

amara.imani wanna get married?

liyah_clark time and place?

charles_leclerc ey, stop stealing my girlfriend

username henderson must have really fumbled the bag to cheated on this goddess

this comment was liked by liyah_clark and 2568 others

danielricciardo how much champagne did you drink?

amara.imani stopped counting after the second glass but i also left after two so

username omg daniel commented and it seems they were together judging from his comment

username wasn’t she also rumoured to date timothée chalamet? both were spotted in paris once

username this is true torture, not knowing who your favorite singer is dating

username as long as it’s not evan henderson i’m okay with that

graceywood teach me your ways please

amara.imani this is all for you

username i don’t know if i wanna be with her or be her

username FR that boyfriend is lucky

liyah_clark double date asap

amara.imani name the time and place

bellahadid you look gorgeous, i’ll definitely have to borrow that dress sometime

kaiagerber you look amazing amara

username WHO INVITED HER

username the audacity she has to even comment

𝐤.𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞

liked by neymarjr, achrafhakimi and 10.283.991 others

k.mbappe the light don't shine as bright as u

the user turned off the comments on this post

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Today was Derision. And I love my SO, but I don't love him that much, so he watched it solo while I made him a snack and then we talked about it once he was done.

His feedback: as someone who actually has professionally diagnosed and treated PTSD, fuck this episode. PTSD doesn't just magically turn on and off. If Marinette had it pre season one, then she needed to be showing signs of it from season one on. She also needed to be seeing a mental health professional.

PTSD is not something that you can get over by talking with your boyfriend and that's a terrible lesson to teach. A significant other should be supportive, but they cannot be your therapist. PTSD also had no true cure. You can get better and learn coping strategies, but you will always have PTSD. My condition deserves better representation than this bullshit.

He was also bothered by how the bullying was handled. With how serious and common bullying issues are, the show shouldn't have treated it as something that kids should deal with on their own. The parents should have stepped in and either got Chloè expelled or pulled Marinette out of school. Bullying on that level is no joke. If you're going to show it, show strategies to deal with it. Marinette is supposed to have good, loving parents. Where were they? Even shitty parents have been known to step up in cases like this. If Marinette has loving parents, then there's no excuse for any of this.

That's all stuff that I've said before, but hey, at least I can now give even more context for why I've said it and why I actively hate Derision and its fallout when bad writing usually just leads to mild disappointment! Derision just hit a lot of personal soft spots.

[kidsinnowadays]

From Picky Eaters to Foodies: 10 Tactics for Nurturing Healthy Eating Habits in Children

Explore proven strategies to transform mealtime challenges into opportunities for your children to embrace a diverse and nutritious diet. #HealthyEatingHabits #PickyEaterSolutions #ParentingTips #NutritionForKids

Nurturing healthy eating habits in children is a journey that can transform picky eaters into adventurous foodies. By creating a positive and supportive food environment, parents can encourage their children to embrace a wide variety of nutritious foods. This article offers ten effective tactics to help parents foster healthy eating habits and set the stage for a lifetime of balanced…

[hydropyro]

Raphael — the humble farmer

(I love writing villains justifying themselves)

Hellweave snippet

Hellweave — that’s your warning — sfw

“I’m sure you can appreciate how difficult of a decision this is,” Gale said, fidgeting into what he hoped was a more comfortable looking position.

The devil seated across from him took a large bite of some round, crisp fruit before gazing lazily at the fang marks he left. “Can I?

“I don’t see how.

“Acceptance means life - power. Refusal is guaranteed eternal torment at the Wall.”

“Does acceptance not also guarantee torment?” Gale asked before his bravery tucked tail and ran.

Raphael smirked at him. “Whatever would make you think that?”

The wizard swallowed. His palms were sweaty, and he dumped the various exotic nuts he had been holding in his hand and idly snacking on back onto the plate in front of him. “Well - considering all of the - well - evil things you do-”

“I have never done *anything* evil,” Raphael sounded offended, though Gale couldn’t tell if it was feigned or genuine. “I have * only * done things to the letter.

“Nor have I ever faulted on a contract. I uphold my end of *all* bargains - *exactly*.”

Gale gave a small shrug, “I don’t doubt it - but your contracts aren’t *always* really - erm - *fair*.”

“How not?”

“Well, you make contracts with people who - reasonably - can’t *really* consent,” Gale tried to explain without being insulting.

“Such as?” The devil did not seem offended, but he was not amused, either.

“Well,” Gale’s mind locked up. “Children - for example.”

Raphael frowned. “Which? In every case where I’ve dealt with children all necessary consent was obtained. Devils cannot secure contracts with someone under duress or against their explicit will.”

“Can *children* really determine their will?”

“It’s case-by-case,” Raphael said matter-of-factly. He seemed amused by the wizard’s poorly concealed gobsmacked expression and continued:

“There was a boy once - my contract was not with him, it was with his parents. I did not buy his *soul* I bought custody of him. Once he became an adult he was free to go. It was a contract likely similar to the one Zariel had with your tiefling friend.

“Now, in cases like - Mol’s - for example, she was an adult before long before she’d even blossomed.”

Gale physically cringed at the idea.

“Your discomfort does not lessen the desperation of that *poor* girl’s predicament.

“One would *hope* - at her age especially - that she had not yet taken a lover, and yet she was truly a single mother.

“Though - let us not delude ourselves into thinking that there is no true evil that would have depraved desires and gold to pay a desperate, budding woman and single mother to provide.”

The wizard made a disgruntled sound and shifted in his seat.

“I agree!” Raphael said, “considering how *heroes* treat her - one shudders to imagine what a villain might do.

“What heroes?” Gale asked.

The devil scoffed. “You, of course! You and your merry band of adventurers!

“Thankfully you happened to be in the right place at the right time to swoop in and ‘save’ them on a couple of occasions - but you were not ‘*good*’ to those tieflings - and less so the children.

“Safety in numbers is a well-known and understood strategy used by prey to protect them. But you were all heroes, no? Not predator - but *too good* for prey.

“You *could* have led them to Baldur’s Gate. That’s where everyone was heading, after all.

“*Someone* had to step in lest all the children perish.”

"In return for the power I grant her, she is my eyes and ears into the 'seedier' parts of the Material Plane.

"I am the 'guy she knows of' who can help - and she sends them my way. Otherwise, she's free to live however she chooses.

"Now, she's no saint - but that is not my doing - besides, who is?"

"So you're using her," Gale said. "You haven't helped her out of the 'goodness of your heart' as you sound like you're implying."

"Our contract is mutually benefitial.

"Everything has a price, Gale. Everything costs someone something.

"The power that I grant Mol - that allows her to continue to care for the children she has been saddled with - where do you think it comes from? If it were easy or free no one would need saving in the first place.

"The souls of thieves and wretches who thought they could swindle me grant power - and I pass on some of that power. Is that evil?

“Are you suggesting that *all* of the souls that you’ve taken have been those of evil people?”

A smirk flashed across the devil’s face, like a child caught in a white lie, before his expression sobered again.

“Souls are the food and fund of devil kind. We - the predator - mortals our prey.

“Don’t look so offended, Gale. You’re an intelligent man, and you want me to be honest, do you not? What would be the point in sidestepping such realities?

“Devils were created because *man* is evil. The faithless and the merciless would reform in the Abyss and wrought havoc on the Material Plane and in Celestia.

“Asmodeus was sent down from the Heavens to rule over the Hells - to build a force whose *purpose* it was to create and maintain balance.

“Much like the fox and the rabbit - or the cat and the mouse, if you will - neither *created* the system. They exist within it - it is in their nature. It is their roles and there is balance.

“Ought the fox die so the rabbit may live? Then the world would be overrun by rabbits! They do so enjoy breeding, it’d take less than a decade before their numbers became oppressive, their resources thin, and their lives strained. Is the fox evil for simply acting in its nature? For fulfilling its role?

“Of course not. But, we do not hunt *indiscriminately*. There must be balance. There are rules.” He thought for a long moment. “We curate - we *farm*.” He laughed, amused by his own analogy.

“This, my House of Hope, is simply a farm.

“And like a farm, the more resources the farmer has, the more they are able to *share*, and the better care they can take of their flock.

“A farmer may have their favorites of the bunch - but at the end of the day - truly - all mortals are naught more than -” he thought again and then gestured to the food between them. “*Chickens* to me.

“I try to cull the *unproductive* and the *burdensome*. The kinds of mortals ripe for temptation who would have likely fed the Abyss anyway — but, sometimes, the hen that is chosen to be slaughtered, plucked, and roasted is no more deserving than any other.”

“You could have just said ‘no’,” Gale said, his appetite continuing to wane.

“Where’s the fun in that?” The devil gave him a wide, toothy grin.

[eastwindmlk]

This has been stuck in my head ever since reading the little Jily/PJO mircofic by @alittlebitofeverything23 So, now I have to join in. With 600 words we also humbly offer this to @jilymicrofics though it might not quite fit a prompt.

Capture the flag was the highlight of camp activities and to James Potter, it was his whole life. He lived for the strategy and fights. It was thrilling! And as a son of Athena, he saw it as a way to honour his godly parent. Nothing quite came close to the pride he could feel swelling in his chest when they won. His offerings smelled extra fragrant on those nights.

He was one of the lucky ones. He had loving mortal parents who had always called him their miracle child. Their gift from the gods. They wrote to him and sent him care packages from home. Who had been sad to let him stay there when he got too old, too skilled. When dangerous things would come to interrupt their time together.

Then there was his brother for all intents and purposes. Sirius. From the moment they met, they were inseparable. Always by each other's side. Be it in battle or kitchen duty. They were half the noise coming from the Athena cabin and all the trouble.

Their third man came from the Apollo Cabin, shaggy-haired and warm like the sun itself. Always down for a laugh and best of all; remarkable foresight. Absolutely invaluable when planning anything. Where the other team went in blind, James trusted blindly in his friend's precognition.

Their quartet was rounded up by Peter, son of Demeter. Provider of snacks and deceptively sneaky despite his heavy footfalls. Always keen to listen to the whispers of the forest to give them an edge.

With the four of them, they never lost. Holding an incredible record of seven wins in a row. Until she showed up.

Lily arrived around the same time as them. But unlike the four boys remained unclaimed for a long time. Long enough that people started to speculate.

Some said she had to be a daughter of Apollo, picking up healing as easily as the senior campers. But Apollo never shied away from claiming his children. Especially not those as capable as her.

After hearing her scream and carry on at none other than James for pushing her into the lake, people decided Ares must be her father. The god of war did nothing, even when she broke James's precious winning streak.

Plenty of campers mentioned Aphrodite and Lily would laugh at them, flick her fizzy braids over her shoulder and walk away. A brave few even subtly asked Mr. D. why he had not claimed his daughter yet. But they would be laughed off the porch.

Whispers starting to go around the camp. Lily was a forbidden child, a daughter of Zeus himself. That is why she remained unclaimed. She was doomed to be Hermes's guest forever.

It was rare for a half-blood to be claimed by anything other than the Big 12. That no one seemed to figure it out, to see it coming.

Lily was claimed by Hecate. A child of magic itself. Fearsome on the battlefield and off.

To James, this meant one thing, and one thing alone. He needed her on his team. Partly because he believed that with real magic they would be utterly unstoppable. Which was accepted with a hum of agreeing voices during their strategy meeting.

Partly because he was convinced he could get the redhead to kiss him if she would only see how skilled he actually was. This he only brought up with his friends, who laughed at him.

Little did they know that, eventually, it was James who'd get the last laugh. Flag raised high in victory, he had captured it. Another victory under his belt.

Though no capture tastes as sweet as Lily who had captured his lips.

[quitealotofsodapop]

Ok OK but. I have to know. Baby Mei. Does she do the lazer sounds!? The little lazer chirps baby gators and crocodiles do??

Absolutely

I feel like since eastern dragons have a lot of traits from chinese alligators, I love the thought of them having sharing crocodillian traits.

Fun fact! Baby alligators start chirping/"lazer sounds" (like this video) days before they hatch! I hc that dragons are most likely Ovoviviparous; carried by the mom for a while human-style (detaching from any placental tissue + developing a shell in the last few weeks) before being laid, and hatching after a few days.

Imagine the sheer *joy* in Mei's parents faces as they heard the furious "pew-pew!" sounds coming from within their critical-condition egg. Mei was very vocal as a baby with her dragon sounds. Little lazer chirps and the tiniest little roars. very rarely did she ever actually cry like a human baby.

Also because of additional croco-dragon instincts, parent sea dragons will occasionally hide their babies in their mouths - an effective strategy in the open ocean when your baby is the size of a cucumber and everything sees them as a potiential snack. Baby dragons in turn occassionally try to leap into their parents' mouths/under their clothes for safety - even when everyone is in human-mode XD

Ao Guang in the Nezha (2019) film is even shown holding Ao Bing's egg in his mouth whilst talking with Shen Gongbao. They probably have special pouches in their faces to hold the egg/baby dragons safely without the risk of eating them - or they maybe even convert sacs in their throat for this purpose. Sacrificing their offensive breath power (fire, water, otherwise) for the safety of the next generation. A bit like how many mouth-brooding fish will refuse to even eat when they've got eggs to care for.

Now I'm imagining grown Mei and/or Bing making lazer sounds when they're startled by something, and getting super embarassed. It's not exactly an imposing sound to make as a dragon. Unless it draws in their parents...

[emilythenavi-animorpher]

•🌸|ᴋᴀᴢᴜᴍɪ|🌸•

Her voice by Tigress (Kung Fu Panda)

Desgins: Old Desgin | Disguise Outfits | Different Forms | Animal forms | Ages | Scars | Weapons |

Full Name: Princess Kazumi Samaira Faye/Suoh.

First Name Meaning: Harmony, Peace, Beautiful.

Middle Name Meaning: Goddess of Beauty; enchanting; reality; girl of shine, destiny; fashionable.

Last Name Meaning: Fairy-Dragon.

Nicknames: Princess, fairy princess, the eldest daughter of fairy hybrids, the first daughter of fairy princess and dragonlord, first granddaughter of dragon king/fairy queen, strongest daughter, cold-hearted, Lil Sakura, mio; Meaning a beautiful cherry blossom, or a beautiful thread (by her parents and grandparents).

Birthday: March 12.

Age: 221/ 21 (human disguise).

Species: Fairy Dragon Hybrid; Asian Dragon, Cherry Blossom Fairy, Elemental Dragon, Elemental Fairy, Sakura Dragon.

Gender: Female

Relationship status: Divorced/Single.

Sexuality: Straight Ally.

Home: Hidden Home Planet (currently)

Like: her family, cherry blossom, martial arts, training, weapons, fighting/batting (sometimes), Mulan (favorite idol), her close favorite/best friends (Akane and Emily), dinosaurs (mostly raptors as well as T-rex; favorite dinosaurs), Asian food, helping and caring for her family & close friends/allies, cherry blossom festival (as well other festivals and events) fashion, planning last minute, strategy games, sakura, strawberry, vanilla, and raspberry-flavored snacks, drinks, and food.

Dislike: her Cruse (Cruse by her maternal grandfather) Disappointing her family, messing up, rudeness, losing her temper, someone interrupting/disturbing her plan or life, roses (she is allergic to roses🌹), annoyed or wannabe villains, brothers/friends' fooling/silliness, sometimes forced/broken marriage/romance/relationship/friendship, and Brigade of the Wicked (most of her ex; Kuragari the Yo-kai dragon).

Bonding Partner: Emily the Queen Alpha. (Still connected byt separated)

Relatives:

Longwei Suoh/Faye (Biological Father)

Mizuki Faye/Suoh (Biological Mother)

Cryo Sahir Faye/Suoh (Twin Brother)

Doku Jiro Faye/Suoh (Second twin and older brother)

Fuji Adalie Faye/Suoh (Second twin and older sister)

Daichi Caesar Faye/Suoh (Third twin and middle brother)

Eimi Maren Faye/Suoh (Third twin and middle sister)

Kazuya Aiden Faye/Suoh (Fourth twin and second middle sister)

Chikao Sage Faye/Suoh (Fourth twin and second middle brother)

Keitaro Faye/Suoh (first Quadruplets and younger brother)

Aiko Faye/Suoh (first Quadruplets and younger sister)

Hikari Faye/Suoh (first Quadruplets and younger sister)

Tsuyoshi Faye/Suoh (first Quadruplets and younger brother)

Li-Jing Faye/Suoh (second Quadruplets and youngest sister)

Shen Faye/Suoh (Fifth twin and youngest brother)

Kira Faye/Suoh (Fifth twin and youngest sister)

Getsumi Faye/Suoh (Fifth twin and youngest brother)

Suoh Family Ancestors †

† Longwang, the First Dragon King (Deceased First Great Ancestors)

Long Suoh † (Deceased grandfather)

Tatsuo Suoh † (Deceased grandmother)

Ju-long Suoh (Patrernal Great uncle)

Demeter (Great Aunt-in-law)

Alexander (Uncle-in-law)

Persephone † (Deceased Aunt)

Iris (Cousin)

Longwang Suoh (Paternal grandfather)

Kayda Suoh (Paternal grandmother)

Draco Suoh (Paternal Uncle)

Tatsuya Suoh (Paternal Uncle)

Ryu Suoh (Paternal Uncle)

Kaida Suoh (Paternal Aunt)

Ryoko Suoh (Paternal Aunt)

Belindo Suoh (Paternal Uncle-in-law)

Yong-sun Suoh (Paternal Uncle-in-law)

Tawn Suoh (Paternal Aunt-in-law)

Druk Suoh (Paternal Aunt-in-law)

Drake Suoh (Cousin)

Deborah Suoh (Cousin)

Natsumi Suoh (Cousin)

Yaiyoi Suoh (Cousin)

Jax Suoh (Cousin)

Sax Suoh (Cousin)

Max Suoh (Cousin)

Julong Suoh (Cousin)

Yinxing Suoh (Cousin)

Xiongjong Suoh (Cousin)

Faye Family Ancestors †

Queen Tanish Faye † (Deceased First Ancestors)

Oberon Faye (Maternal Grandfather)

Titania Faye (Maternal Grandmother)

Preston Faye (Maternal Uncle)

Sebille Faye (Maternal Aunt)

Amitola Faye (Cousin)

Munja Faye (Cousin)

Fabian Faye (Cousin)

Diamond Faye (Cousin)

Emerald Faye (Cousin)

Moonstone Faye (Cousin)

Partner(s):

Kuragari the yokai dragon, the leader of Brigade of the Wicked (1st ex-friend/boyfriend/broken engagement ex-husband)

Ex-Prince Buster the Wolpertinger (2nd ex-boyfriend/husband)

Prince Ehecatl the Quetzalcoatl (3rd ex-boyfriend/ex-husband)

Prince Stolas, the owl demon (4th ex-boyfriend/ex-husband)

Prince Orepheus, the Vampiric Dragon (5th ex-boyfriend/ex-husband)

Prince Euandros, the Hippalectryon (6th ex-boyfriend/ex-husband)

Prince Francisco the Ahuizotl (7th ex-boyfriend/ex-husband)

Prince Anwir the Red Dragon (8th ex-husband)

Drobot the Draconic Machine (9th ex-boyfriend/ex-husband)

Prince Angelic Dragon (10th ex-husband)

Prince Shang Chi, the Chi Dragon (11th ex-husband)

???

[iu-jjang]

[FANCAFE] 230302 IU replies uaenas on fancafe

IU: Ah and if anyone bullies you, tell me! ⚔️😡⚔️

IU: Ah.. ok ok not everyone is able to reply yet..

I totally understand~~! 0_<

So I’m about to meet my dayookies 😌

(t/n: most uaenas just got demoted back to full members as 5th gen had ended. Also, ‘dayookie’ or succulent plant / cactus won the YouTube poll for 6th gen.)

🌵: Unnie, give a word of encouragement for university students starting classes too..

Give me strength too, for I’ve been a uaena since the time back when you endorsed for MyChewㅜㅜ Then I’ll buy a box of MyChew and go to school!!

IU: So there are people starting classes too…!!

🌵: Unnie, don’t forget about the university students tooㅠㅠ

IU: Fighting for your first day of classes!!! 🥹🥹 You’ve been a baby uaena until now!!

🌵: Unnie, is there a more matured snack for university students to offer others, rather than MyChew sweet?

IU: jjondeugi..? (Traditional Korean chewy snack)

🌵: Jieun-nim, my son is starting childcare tomorrow!! As a parent, I’m feeling a little nervous, so thanks for your message heh I’ll hang in there ❤️

IU: Goshㅜㅜㅜ That’s cute. Baby fighting!! Mummy uaena fighting as well!!

🌵: Unnie-ya, is it decided that dayookie will be the nickname for 6th gen uaenas then?? (Does that mean there’s no hope for yukbuley at all then..?)ㅠㅠkekekeke

IU: Yukal (t/n: Meaning ‘six legged’. Watch IU TV for inside joke reference).. I mean, yukbuley is packing its bags🥹

🌵: Unnie, I’m starting classes… I don’t feel like going to school.. I don’t like lessons.. I don’t like to go for orientation.. I don’t like my professor…

IU: I hope you patch things up with your professor by offering him/her a MyChew sweet keke

🌵: I don’t feel like going to school tomorrowㅠㅠ But I have to right? I’m the teacher after all…

IU: kekekekekekepeuhehehehehe

I’ve never been a teacher, so I didn’t know.. Even the teacher doesn’t want to go back to school.. Teacher uaena fighting too ㅜㅜ

🌵: Unnie, it’s my first day as a nurse today and I’m really really worried about whether I’ll be able to do a good job and I don’t like(?) that now I’ve started work, I don’t get school holidays and I’m having trouble sleeping, but right at that moment, unnie came here and made me cryㅠㅠ I’m not going back to school or starting school or a baby uaena,,, but I’ll try my best with your words of encouragement🥹 Thank you so much!!! I love you 💛

IU: Fighting!! Baby member of society!! Thinking of this message, I’ve got to be kind to nurses all the time.

🌵: Unnie, when are you going to bed?

IU: I’ve got to go to bed now. I only came to five words of encouragement, but it was fun reading the comments 😚

🌵: I’m a university student… but I shall go with the MyChew strategy…. Brothers and sisters let’s go~

IU: Based on my experience, MyChew works for those in their 30s too..

🌵: Unnie, I’m on the verge of tears. I missed you so much. I needed this today 🥺 But what if I can’t make friends at school?😭

IU: Don’t be impatient.. How about finding out if there are others who like IU too..?

🌵: Is it decided that we are going with dayookie then? I can’t give up on yukaleyㅠㅠ

IU: We’ve got to decide the winner fair and square…! 🥹🥲 kekeke dayookie is so cute too 😌

🌵: Unnie anyway you never reply to my messages……🥹 I’m going to bed first! Have a good rest as well, unnie!!!!! I wrote yesterday that I hope unnie has a good sleep too. I hope you sleep well today and tomorrow and the day after too!!!! Don’t fall sick!!!!! Stay healthy!!!!! Got it~~? Don’t just take care of uaenas, you must must must take care of yourself too. I love you, unnie. Love love love love love love love love love you 💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗

IU: Goodbye goodbye good night 💗

IU: I think keke I’ve held back the people keke who actually need to sleep early 😂

That was fun. All of you have got to do a good job tomorrow.

You can’t wake up late, so hurry and go to bed 💗

I hope your day turns out to be better than you were worried about

Goodbye 🙂

Translated by IUteamstarcandy with love

[ridiasfangirlings]

Yata Megumi (or Minoru whichever you like) getting panic attacks frequently and Mr and Mrs yata not knowing how to care for them because Misaki was always the one to help Megumi / Minoru with getting through them and she / he still gets them frequently so Yata comes over and/or they stay nights at his place for the panic attacks / aftermath?

Maybe it happens to both kids, like Yata’s stepdad has some neurodivergence that runs in the family and the kids are prone to panic attacks. Minoru is the first to really struggle with them when he’s small and Yata turns out to be unexpectedly good at handling them, like the first time it happens Yata’s mom is in the other room and Yata panics himself a little but manages to Big Brother his way through calming Minoru down. After this Minoru has a therapist who gives the whole family tips on how to handle things when he’s having a panic attack but somehow Yata is still the best at it, when no one else can calm Minoru down Yata can.

So then when Yata moves out he probably is a little concerned about this but thinks his parents can handle it. His mom and stepdad do their best but they aren’t as good as Yata at it and so as a consequence they bring Minoru over to Yata’s apartment every so often to help him relax and feel better. Minoru is initially embarrassed about needing to see his big brother all the time but imagine it turns out to be pretty fun for him because sure the panic attacks suck but he gets to go spend time with Yata and, more, importantly, Yata’s super cool friend Saru so there’s a good side of this after all. Fushimi clicks his tongue and complains whenever Yata tells him Minoru is coming over but he never actually refuses to let him stay the night and doesn’t complain about having to help Yata keep him entertained. One day of course Minoru shows up and Fushimi isn’t there, and Yata just gives a tight smile as he says it’s fine, it’s just the two of them for a while okay.

Eventually after a few years Megumi starts exhibiting some of the same symptoms as Minoru and of course Yata turns out to be the best at helping her through the attacks too. His mom apologizes about having to always bother him when he’s trying to be independent but Yata doesn’t mind, these are his siblings after all (and in a weird way I imagine this making Yata feel less like an outsider the way he did as a kid, like he really is part of the family after all and these are his siblings who think he’s great). Minoru starts coming less often as he gets older and learns more strategies to handle his attacks and maybe gets some good medication too, but he still has panic attacks from time to time and his parents will let him go to Yata’s afterward to recover. Yata’s kinda proud at being so trusted to handle his little siblings, imagine him maybe taking them out to fun places that aren’t so busy once they’re feeling better or buying them snacks. I bet he takes them to the bar occasionally too, Kusanagi doesn’t mind lowering the blinds if the lights are bothering them and he’ll happily make the kids a pile of pancakes. Yata is initially worried that he’ll look uncool bringing kids around but imagine one day Mikoto puts a hand on his head and tells him he’s doing good and Yata just beams, having his big brother abilities praised by Mikoto.