#and she got the chance to *grow up* with her grandma

[hecatesbroom]

Blanche's grandma's place is the only place she felt consistently loved in... no I'm fine. I'm fine

[certifiedcoffeeaddict]

sometimes i am my 85 y/o grandma and life is an iphone 15 pro max

[sapphosclosefriend]

-Thanksgiving Fun-

Pairing: Stepcousin! Masc! Natasha Romanoff x Fem! Reader

Genre: smut

Summary: you were never able to resist her, not even on Thanksgiving.

Word count: 3.5k

Warnings: top! (beefy and tattooed 🤤) Natasha x bottom! R, stepcest, enemies with benefits, allusions to weed consumption, SMUT, oral on strap on (R giving), throat fucking (R receiving), strap on sex (R receiving), extremely brief oral (R receiving), squirting (R)

A/N: this story contains smut so anyone who isn’t 18+ DNI. I literally wrote this in 2 days out of a frenzy so Idk how good it is…M, P, G pt 2 will come, I promise!!!! Once again, thanks to @rt--link for being so sweet! As usual, likes, reblogs and comments are very appreciated! Enjoy ♡

Masterlist

It was already November, which meant it was Thanksgiving time! You were so excited to finally get back home for a little bit after the couple of months you had spent away at uni. Contrary to most of your friends, you actually really liked Thanksgiving. Yes, it meant having to undergo the neverending interrogation from your classically nosy aunts, but you gladly did it every year to be able to spend some time with all of your relatives, even the ones who lived a bit more far away. Of course she was also one of them, though.

Natasha was one of your aunt’s daughters. Her mother had married your uncle 3 years before, making her, the redhead and her sister officially part of the family. Everyone liked Nat as soon as she became part of the group and her sister Yelena, with her sharp wit, was, if possible, even more beloved by everybody. As soon as the two girls regularly entered your lives, you had followed everyone’s advice and started to hang out together. You’d always felt very lucky for having cousins of your same age range, making them some of your closest friends ever, and having the chance of adding someone else to the group immediately sounded like the best idea ever, or at least that’s what you had thought at first.

That was because you didn’t like Natasha, you just didn’t. If at first, while witnessing her interactions with other people, she seemed to be the sweetest girl in the world, once you finally got to know her personally you started loathing her. She wasn’t necessarily a bad person, she was just so irritating all the time. And the worst part was that, apparently, she only acted that way with you, not with her friends, not with your other cousins, not even with her own sister, just with you. If you thought that, thanks to uni’s social life, you had met the cockiest motherfuckers in the world, you were utterly wrong. Natasha was the most terrible one of them all. It was constant teasing, constant comments, constant jokes, constant snickering and each time you heard her voice or looked at her, you wanted nothing more than to wipe that smug smirk off her pretty face.

You didn’t know how it all started. Well, of course you knew that one time, at your grandma’s house to celebrate her birthday, Natasha had been particularly annoying since the moment you’d gotten there, which resulted in you being bitchy and her pulling you into the bathroom and kissing you once she had you trapped against the locked door. You hated it, every second of it and the fact that you ended up begging her to keep going while she was with her fingers knuckle deep inside of you wasn’t of any importance. You weren’t proud of what happened that day, but you were too nice to deny her when a couple of days later she was at your door ripping your clothes off of you. You were both attending the same uni and, despite literally never seeing each other in academic nor social settings, you started finding the closeness to be a much bigger impediment to your initial want to put a stop to your newly found situation. You were growing weaker and weaker to her charm, only while in the bedroom of course, and your intent to end it all kept getting pushed to the back of your mind each time you came with her name on your lips, until it was completely gone.

And that’s how you ended up at yet another family gathering partly ruined by her, this time to celebrate Thanksgiving, having to try to push away the tingle between your legs at the sight of her in her usual casual clothes hiding the defined muscles underneath as she talked with her dad and your grandpa about something involving a bike she was fixing up for herself. You were keeping your distance for your own sanity, but you could clearly hear their words and her low, raspy voice regularly adding to the conversation. You didn’t know what the hell they were talking about and either way, you had stopped actively listening long before, once you got lost in the view of her hand as she held her glass. The second she noticed your eyes fixed on her, you were thankfully saved from her most definitely coming over to tease you, by your cousin Clint, bored out of his mind and equally in need of leaving as soon as possible, even if for very different reasons than you. Ok, maybe him being the person talking to you didn’t exactly make him your savior, he was the person Natasha had gotten the closest to after all, which meant that, as soon as she once again turned to get a peek of your outfit she particularly appreciated, he immediately called her over, most definitely hoping to lure her away from the party. She couldn’t have been more obvious with the way her eyes kept ranking your body head to toe as she listened to his frustrated rambling, but thankfully Clint’s desperation blinded him from noticing the less than innocent way in which her gaze was on you.

“I’m begging you Nat, I’ll get on my knees! Just one!”

You both couldn’t help but chuckle at the grown man’s antics, when you suddenly realized that you had no idea of what the hell they were talking about. You barely had the time to open your mouth to ask them directly, when, of course, she interrupted you without a care to keep talking to her friend.

“Fine, but I’m taking half of it”

As soon as the first word barely left her mouth he was throwing his fist in the air and putting his coat on to go to the guest house she was staying in with you. Because of course you had been placed in the same room, in the small guest house in the backyard that only consisted of one room with one bed. You didn't know why, but everyone apparently thought of you two as some sort of best friends just because you both went to the same uni, despite, again, the known fact that you did not have one single class together, lived in different places and had completely different friends, meaning that you only saw each other when she called you over or randomly popped up at your place to fuck, but of course they didn't know any of that.

“A quarter..”

He was already leaving once he spoke his final words, leaving her alone with you to shake her head at her friend’s antics.

“Fine”

You hated how easily she seemingly had you under a trance as she murmured the word while smiling to herself. She was able to put you out of it equally fast, though, as she turned to you to regard you before leaving the celebration to follow after Clint.

“Are you coming?”

Her almost soft tone had to have given you some sort of whiplash as you stood there, looking at her without being able to utter a single word for a second, before regaining control over your own mind, and sanity, once you noticed her lips starting to curl into her usual mischievous smirk.

“Don’t worry, I’m gonna stay here a bit longer”

She was once again putting at risk your ability to talk as she ran a hand through her short hair to get it out of her face and moved closer and closer to you, sneaking her gaze towards the other side of the room where most people had moved to, before reaching behind you to get a snack from the table you were leaning against, pressing her front against yours and letting your feel a certain something poking your lower belly.

“I’ll wait for you then”

She looked way too pleased by your slightly widened eyes as you tried to contain your emotions in order not to draw any attention to the two of you.

“You’re packing?”

Her brows furrowed as you whisper yelled at her, before speaking matter of factly.

“Of course I’m packing, I’m always packing when I’m with you”

She didn't give you the time to respond to her, immediately licking the chocolate off her fingers while shamelessly looking at your cleavage before turning to go to the guest house. She was infuriating, her and her constant horniness. You decided to casually join some conversations here and there for the brief rest of the night, until almost everyone had gotten to bed, including a much more relaxed Clint, and it was just you and your aunt gossiping in the living room. The moment your phone buzzed in your lap you almost had a feeling of who might had been trying to get in contact with you, so you cautiously lifted the screen, in case a certain someone decided to share something a little too private, and noticed she had sent you a picture.

The moment you clicked on it, the initial, brief awe you found yourself lost in at the sight of her posing with her tongue peaking out and the hood of her sweatshirt over her cap, was unfortunately wiped away once you finally read the caption under it. You couldn’t help but mentally facepalm at her dumb words, even if you had to reluctantly admit that the text was successful in making your heart leap at its crude nature.

“Not enough pressure on my 🍆”

Her finger was pointing to the word “pressure” printed on her hoodie, why did she have to be that way? You knew what she wanted from you, it was all she seemed to be thinking about, like some pussydrunk teen, and the way she didn’t even ask you if you were down for it, expecting you to just indulge her wish, didn’t sit right with you. Who did she think you were? Her whore always waiting for her like a pet?

You locked your phone with a frustrated sigh and got up from the couch, quickly finding an excuse with the immediate questioning you got from your aunt as to why you'd go back to your room so early.

By the time you walked across the whole backyard and got to the entrance of the guest house you were finally able to make out her figure, sitting on the wicker armchair under the small porch with all the lights off, in complete darkness, to hide the very end of a hand rolled cigarette between her fingers and the suspiciously smelly smoke coming from her.

“Your tits look good in that shirt”

You knew it was coming, as soon as you had chosen your outfit, you knew some sort of comment was to be made by her, although it had taken her a bit longer than you had expected. You were wearing a quite simple blouse with a boob window, in reality nothing as scandalous as it sounded, but the complete opposite in Natasha’s eyes. The way your jeans perfectly hugged your ass and the sway of your hips anytime you had walked past her, were just the cherry on top to the main course right below your pretty face.

You barely looked at her as you kept walking by her past the door without acknowledging her words, hearing her chuckle at your usual uptight self. You hated to admit it, but the way she was manspreading, making a bulge under her sweatpants slightly visible, while she casually smoked, had made you even more willing to help her out with her “pressure issue”, not that she needed to know about your enthusiasm anyway. By the time you were just starting to get undressed she entered the room, locking the door behind her and standing against it to shamelessly look at your ass as you leaned down to take your shoes off. As soon as your pants were off too and you were about to slip off your shirt she spoke up.

“No no no, keep that on”

Despite the way too pleased look on her face, you were silently thankful for the piece of clothing still on you in the slightly chilly room. You didn’t even bother to take your warm, ankle high socks off and left yourself fall on your back on the bed, feeling satisfied after noticing her swallowing and wetting her own lips as her eyes stayed fixed on your boobs’ slight jiggling as you had dropped on the mattress. Once you got comfortable on top of the soft duvet, you made sure to look right at her as you slowly spread your legs and immediately started lightly rubbing yourself through the fabric of your own underwear, moaning softly at the light stimulation as a way to tease the motherfucker in front of you. Without uttering a word, she left her spot by the door and walked over to you, stopping at the foot of the bed to grab her cock through her pants and slowly pump it. Pushing down her sweatpants just enough for the dildo strapped to her hips to spring out, she gave you a peak of the beautiful, defined v lines you had kissed over so many times and the bottom of the tattoos on her torso and abdomen you had to admit you loved. There was some ink peeking out from the cuff on her wrist as well, making the sight of her strong hand holding the base of her cock even more pleasing.

“Come here, get it wet”

You wanted to come up at least with a remark at her blunt order, but found nothing but anticipation in you and your body, as if moving by its own accord, immediately left your spot to kneel on the bed right in front of her crotch. You didn't waste any time, you couldn't have even if you wanted to, and, as soon as your lips touched the head of her cock, you tried your best to relax your throat in order to take as much of her length as you could, earning a pleased hum from her at the sound of your gags every time she reached the back of your throat.

“Now that's a cocksucker”

Her words pulled your eyes to her face and found her looking intently at you. The groan that came from her once you stopped bobbing your head to stay still with her cock still in your mouth sent a strong twing of arousal through you as she easily understood what you wanted.

She gently grabbed your head with both hands to keep you in place and immediately started to move her hips to fuck your face. Relishing the sight of a string of spit dropping on the part of your chest exposed by the cut in your shirt, she started pushing even deeper to see just how far you were willing to go for her. The resistance was clear as she pushed a bit more of her cock with every other thrust, until you finally couldn't wait anymore and grabbed her ass to give her a push and hopefully make her understand what she needed to do. With one final thrust she managed to push herself past your tight throat until your nose was touching her crotch. She couldn't help herself and rushed to get her phone from her pocket to snap a picture of you looking up at her with watery eyes as you grasped her ass cheeks through her pants to keep her from moving away. It was only once the need to breathe got the best of you that you pushed yourself off of her, sucking in a deep breath while Natasha stared with hooded eyes at your swollen lips and the spit connecting them to her cock.

“You say you hate me but you need my cock that much?”

You hated so much how true her words were and tried to distract yourself from the thought by lying back down and grabbing her cock now covered in your spit.

“Well, you're obsessed with my pussy so it's even”

She just smirked at your remark, deep down knowing that you were so fucking right. She couldn't get enough of it, all the girls she had fucked and she had to loose it for her stepcousin? Well, she honestly didn't give a shit, as long as you were careful she was going to keep fucking you like the slut she knew you were for her deep down.

“For the first time I've gotta say you're right”

You didn't even have the time to process her words and the shock that they had caused when she suddenly moved your underwear to the side and grabbed your ass tightly to lift your hips and get a taste of you, moaning exaggeratedly at her now favorite snack. Despite the leg shaking orgasm you knew she would've easily gotten out of you with her mouth, you pushed the delicious thought to the side and firmly grabbed her hair to lift her from your center.

“Right now I need your cock balls deep in my pussy, not your mouth”

Her lips looked way too delicious as they glistened with your juices and as they curled up she suddenly left go of your ass, making you yelp as you fell back to your lying position, before grabbing your thighs and pushing them to each of your sides, waiting for you to keep them there yourself with your arms to fully open yourself up for her. From the position you had a clear view of her strap as she rubbed it over your wet folds before finally pushing its head inside of you. She could never get enough of seeing your reaction at her entering you for the first time and once again, she couldn't help but keep her eyes on your face from the first moment. She fucked you just with the tip for a bit in order for you to get used to her and, gradually pushed more and more inside as you rubbed your own clit. You knew you were very far away from everybody else, but you still tried your best to keep your volume as low as you could, making her smirk at the clear signs of your struggle to do so.

“More, go faster”

She loved it every time when your uptight, moralist voice turned in a second into the pathetic begs of her own cockdrunk whore and who was she to give up the chance of fucking her personal pussy when she asked for it? After lifting up her hoodie a little to get a better view of your center begging to be filled up more and more, she firmly grabbed your waist, gradually thrusting faster and harder until she had set a pace that knocked your breath away every time she pushed her hips forward and her tip stroked your g spot so deliciously a deep sensation quickly started to build up inside of you. Her flexed abs and veins popping up on her hands made the pleasure she was making you feel, become even stronger, getting your orgasm closer by the second. It honestly amazed you how fast she was always able to make you cum and, despite not wanting to show her any weakness, you admittedly always felt a little self conscious because of it. You could barely keep it anymore, though, it was going to happen in a matter of seconds and your mouth opening in shock told her everything she needed to know.

“Wait, I think I'm gonna-”

You didn't have the chance of finishing your sentence before an earth shattering orgasm hit you so strongly that small, clear droplets spilled out of you every time she pulled back.

“Holy shit”

She panted the words to herself before swiftly pulling out completely and quickly rubbing her fingers over your clit, making you moan loudly as you squirted even more for her while you rode out your orgasm. By the time you were done, your legs were a little shaky and you were almost sobbing from how intense and quick it all was. Once you looked back at her, though, you knew you would've gladly done it as many times as she wanted. Her abs were a little wet from your orgasm, with a couple of drops still lingering on her tattooed skin, and, once your eyes locked with hers, she looked like the most dangerous predator eyeing its prey, ready to eat it in one bite, and, god, wasn't she going to do exactly that.

After all, maybe Thanksgiving was actually going to be even better with her.

.

.

.

Tags: @fxckmiup @natashasilverfox @dmenby3100

[vendetta-if]

Hello, hi. This is my first day in actual Tumblr society and I wanted to make a good impression by going out and about the neighborhood. If this question doesn’t disturb your day, or the rest of the week forward, who are the best dancers among your cast?

Oohh 👀😁 I’ve never thought about this but I can already see the best dancer ranking 😂 This is not really a rigid and definite ranking and some have smaller gaps between them than the others.

From best to worst:

Skylar, Viktor, Takashi

From solo dance to romantic slow dance, they’ve got the moves—and confidence 🤭 They would be the type to dance without shame in dance clubs. Also, they would either know a bit from different types of dances or would be a fast learner if they need to learn a new one. They’re just groovy like that 😎

Rin and Azami

Rin specializes in waltz-type of dance while Azami, their mom, used to learn some types of Nihon-buyō (classical Japanese dance whose purposes are for art and performance) when she was younger and a little bit of waltz as well to round up her whole interest in music.

Yvette and Cara

Not as good as those above, but not bad as well. It nit be too hard for them to learn if they ever wanted to (they don’t 😆).

Yvette, especially, has the grace and fluidity of the motion belonging to a dancer’s, but not really the confidence because she keeps thinking she’s bad at dancing or that people will judge her if she makes a mistake and becomes the laughing stock of the city.

Cara, on the other hand, has the confidence and energy but don’t expect her to pull sick moves 😂 But she doesn’t care if her dance is a little bit awkward or even goofy sometimes, and she usually doesn’t mind if her family and friends laugh at her silly dance. She’s like the class joker type and enjoys making her loved ones laugh.

Santana

Not really big fan of dancing usually, but will enjoy just slow dancing casually with a partner, swaying side to side to the beat of the song. But that’s as far as their dancing skill goes 😭

Grandpa & Grandma

Similar to Santana, they just enjoy slow dancing with each other in private on rare occasions, especially as they grow older and fall in love with each other more and more 🥺 Trying to experience the romantic moments that the younger them missed or didn’t have the chance to do.

Ash, Luka, Jackal

Stiff as a board in actual dancing but excels in a dance of death, violence, and destruction—if that counts 🤣. Below are some exaggerated examples of how they might look like trying to do some trending moves 😭

[kykyonthemoon]

oh gosh i loved your “a surprise visit” so much that it had me lamenting over caleb again ☹️

if you’re up for it, i would like to request headcanons for caleb with a reader who wants to cuddle him but is too shy to initiate. (i feel for the shy girls whose love language is physical touch 🙈)

thank you so much and have a great day!

Dear Anon-san,

It flatters me so much that you enjoyed "A Surprise Visit" I wrote for Caleb <3 With this request of yours, I decided to turn it into a story. I'm aware that it would be a little different from what you expected when sending me this request. Still, I do hope you enjoy this cute little piece.

For all the shy girls out there, I wish you courage to put your feelings into actions, just as MC does at the end of this story <3

When The Crabapple Blossoms

You had been waiting for a chance to tear down the last bit of the wall separating you both. He also wished for the same thing.

❀ Caleb x Female Reader/MC who is really shy

❀ Tags: fluff, shyness, adoptive siblings who are secretly in love with each other, domestic fluff, longing, pet names

❀ Word count: 1k3

❀ Masterlist

❀ Request

You had always been Caleb's shy little girl.

One day many years ago, when he had just been brought home by Grandma, there was a little girl, barefoot on the grass, holding a teddy bear, coming out to greet him. Grandma told the two of you to quickly get to know each other, but you said nothing and looked down. One hand kept the teddy bear tight, while the other grabbed the hem of Grandma's dress. You hid behind her and refused to look directly at him. Grandma had to coax you for a while before you could tell the boy your name.

It took you a while to open your heart to accept him into your life. You were the little girl so shy that she only talked to him through the teddy bear used to cover her face. Then, on another day, you got lost. You were terrified and cried until your tears dried. When you saw Caleb, the first thing you did was to rush to hug him. Since then, it seemed that the wall between you and him had begun to crumble.

You said, Caleb had such warm hugs. You would always feel safe and comfortable in his arms. A few more years passed, and Caleb grew up so quickly. He began to grow taller, and his arms became larger. That made you feel even more protected. He said, he must grow up fast to defend you.

And you gave him a new moniker: Mr. Bear. Instead of using the old teddy bear to talk to him, you began to regard him as a teddy bear with the size of a human; which was able to move and talk, and knew how to take care of you.

Still you were very shy. Except for that time when you got lost, you never made the initiative to get close to him. All the time, it was Caleb who started first.

“Pipsqueak, come here.”

Simple as that, you would obediently go to Caleb. He would pull you into his arms, caress your hair and gently rub your back. At times like those, you felt like all the troubles in the world disappeared, leaving only the two of you with this simple yet extremely precious warmth. And because you could not say it with words, you used those gentle brushes against his chest as a way to express your feelings.

Then, both of you grew up. Caleb went to the Academy and you started your training to become a Hunter. He and you had both gone separate ways, and there was little time spent at home or seeing each other. But you missed the feeling of being buried in his arms. It seemed that when you grew older, all your emotions no longer retained the simplicity of a child.

You were not sure how Caleb felt about you. You were too afraid to ask, and then received an answer you did not want. You anxiously waited for him to come back home every weekend, covertly studying every change in him. His skin began to tan, his hands developed calluses, and his muscles grew more visible. You wondered, during those days at the Academy, did he have a girlfriend? Had anyone else shared the same warm embrace that Mr. Bear once reserved just for you? You wanted to ask Caleb numerous questions but did not do so.

Since he knew your timidity, Caleb took the initiative in everything, from planning outings when he was on a break to holding your hand in crowded places. He was also concerned that you would dislike it; since after all, you were now a young lady and no longer the child who would follow him everywhere. He started asking more questions like: "Do you want to sit next to me?", or "Can I hold your hand?", and waited for your approval.

Of course, you were happy with the touches. Still you wanted a little more. You counted every day to see him again during breaks, hoping to touch him just a little more. But he never asked for it. Did he no longer wish to embrace you in his arms?

That day, you were silent the entire trip home from the movie theater with Caleb. As if realizing what you had in mind, he spoke up:

“Pipsqueak, is there something bothering you?”

Your footsteps paused on the bridge. Sunset tinted the sky with mild orange and pink, mixed with clear blue. You did not say anything, only shook your head.

“I know when something's wrong with you.” Caleb added. He did not accept your answer. “Say it, I'll help you out.”

You still felt like it was difficult to speak up. Your hands gripped the wooden bridge, nails barely scraping the surface. What to do? There was so much to say, but you had no idea where to begin.

“Some guy made you sad?” Caleb asked, half joking, half serious. You smiled and replied briefly:

"That's not it…"

While all you wanted to say was: No. The only person I care about is Caleb.

But he would never hear that, because you were too shy to say it out loud.

Caleb sighed. He leaned against the bridge, gazing at the sky in the East, while you turned towards the setting sun. In secret, you glanced at Caleb, halting at his shoulder. There was a small petal staying on it; that one must have fallen at the foot of the bridge where a crabapple tree was in full bloom.

Out of the blue, you reached out and picked up that flower petal. Caleb reacted fast and grabbed your wrist just in time. The wind surged. He stared into your eyes for quite a while.

You had been waiting for a chance to tear down the last bit of the wall separating you both.

He also wished for the same thing.

Since a long time ago.

“Well… um…” You hesitated. “There is a flower petal on… on your shoulder…”

Your fingers extended, the flower petal was lifted high by the wind. You glanced at it, as if to say farewell. Caleb still locked his gaze on you. Intense yet gentle.

He had yet to let go of your hand, while getting closer and closer to you.

"Pipsqueak." He called softly. “The truth is… Can I…”

You continued to wait. Caleb was about to say something but paused.

“Ah… Nevermind…”

His fingers wrapped around your wrist gradually loosening. You started to panic.

If I don't say it, he will never know...

If I don't say it, he will leave again...

If I don't say it, we will forever just be brother and sister...

“Caleb!” You called his name, so loudly that he was startled. You did not know where to start. Since when did you start looking forward to his touch? Since when did you hope to be a little bolder and tell him what you really wanted?

Better late than never. You looked at his hand that was slowly retracting, then decided to grab onto his arm.

“Caleb I… I want to…” It felt like something was bearing down on your heart and suffocating your throat. You could not do this. Your entire body trembled. But you had decided to seize this chance no matter what.

“I want to be embraced by you!!!”

After those words, you shut your eyes, your lips pursed hard. You clung to Caleb's arm but he did not feel the pain since his mind was preoccupied with something else. After a long while, when you felt his arms wrap around you, when the sound of his heart beating strongly and clearly heard, you opened your eyes then.

“Come here, pipsqueak. I also want to hold you close..."

Caleb breathed the words in the late spring air, faintly scented with crabapple blossoms; it made your heart burst. This was enough. Step by step, one at a time. There was no need to be in a hurry and let this dream slip away. Gradually, you would find ways to let Caleb know what your heart had to say.

[jade-green-butterfly]

'Stars In His Eyes~'🌌(💚John Dory x Amalthea🪐)

As promised in my recent post -> https://www.tumblr.com/jade-green-butterfly/739625758724685824/got-some-more-johnalthea-jd-x-amalthea-my-space?source=share I finally get the chance to share more goodness of my newest Trolls ship, John Dory x my Space Troll OC, Amalthea and...~ 👀👀👀 BEHOOOOLD~!! 😍🌟😍🌟😍

Done by the sweet and epic @fernistired~💕🌿

Done by the lovely and amazing @jaguardorado16~✨🔥 The true magnificent beauties of two stunning masterpieces you see before you~!!💖🤩💖🤩💖

They're both just so, so gorgeous - I could cry!!😭😭😭 I am absolutely love, love, LOVING them both to the stars and back~!!🥰🥹🌠🥹🥰

Speaking of stars, both commissions of this tenderly romantic scene were actually inspired by the famous Aristocats' sapphire eyes scene and a romantically exciting RP me and my dear bestie, @x-elyssa-x are doing of how JD and Amalthea met in an explorer AU - where Amalthea is experiencing life in Troll Kingdom for the very first time after travelling from her Space Kingdom, finds herself in Troll Village during a huge storm and is taken in by Grandma Rosiepuff (yes, she is alive and well in this AU, along with BroZone still together, yet living their own lives but still visit their dear grandma~😌) Amalthea and John's relationship begins to grow over time and JD, feeling love, finally plucks up the courage to propose to Amalthea, which she happily accepts, for she really loves him back for who he is~💚😊The two of them then travel with Rhonda, back to Space Kingdom so John can experience life there, just like Ama did in his kingdom✨ Hope you all like, my lovelies!👍🏻😁💞And a MASSIVE thank-you in a million to my awesome Fern and Jaguar for these wonderful treasures - you have both done such a fantastic job and I am ever soooo happy, over the moon and grateful for them both~!💝🫂🌟🫂💝Bless you both, my dears~!🌹😘💕🫶🏻xoxo.

*~Reblogs are also deeply appreciated as well, so please do reblog as well as like! Thank-you kindly!~*

Space Trolls (c) @x-elyssa-x~💜 Amalthea (c) @jade-green-butterfly (Me~!) John Dory (c) DreamWorks Trolls/DreamWorks Animation

[gothicflowers]

Til Death Ch.1

Alex Keller x F!Reader

Warnings: MDNI, Angst, some fluff eventually, maybe even some smut, who knows. Bad grammar/writing because I didn’t go to school past 8th grade (dead serious)

“Hi sweetheart” Alex’s mom’s south voice came through the phone.

“Hi mom” Alex cheerfully replied.

“How you been sweetheart” she asked.

“Been alright, just staying busy with work” alex knew better than to give his mom too much stressful information about his job. She’s one to worry.

“Don’t you think it’s time to find something new to do for a living? You’ve been at this for almost eight years” she asked once again, she’s been trying to push him to change careers for what feels like forever.

“I know” Alex tried to not sound annoyed because he knows it’ll start a fight. He knows she means well but she always brings it up every chance she can.

“How are you two gonna start a family if all you do is travel around doing God knows what” she said almost bitterly.

Alex sighed “I know mom”

“How is she” his mom asked. She loved hearing about Alex’s sweet girl. She was everything she hoped her son would find in a partner.

“She’s doing good, same as me. Busy with work” Alex smiled at the thought of you.

“Well I was gonna ask just to make sure, she is coming to your sister’s wedding with you. Right?” His mom was growing impatient having never met you. You were always out on mission, meetings, sleeping. Every phone call you seemed to be unaccounted for.

“I don’t know mom” Alex replied trying to stay calm and quiet so nobody else in the building heard him. Last thing Alex wanted was for someone to find out.

“Hold on your dad and sister just got here, I’m putting you on speaker” she said.

“Hey kiddo” his father yelled into the phone.

“Hi dad” Alex knew this was about to go terribly.

“Hey bitch” Alex’s sister Beth chimed in.

“Hello to you to” his voice filled with annoyance from hearing her voice. It wasn’t that he hated her, it’s that she’s the golden child he’s always been compared to.

“So she’s coming right” his mom asked again.

“Mom I said I don’t know, our boss is picky with time off so he might not let us both off at the same time” he replied trying to cover as best as he could.

“You’ve been with her for three years. She’s never even visited with you the past two times you came home” his dad said in a stern voice. Alexs dad is the only one to have met her, he works a job similar to Alex and they crossed paths about three and a half years ago.

“I know, it’s not that she doesn’t want to meet you guy. It’s just that it didn’t work out the last time” he tried to sound sincere.

“Three years, she’s never around when you call, no visits, no pictures of you two together” Beth said.

“We can’t have personal phones or cameras with us on assignments Beth” Alex contemplated if just hanging up would be best.

“Ok, well what about when you’re off work” she’s persistent to crack him.

“Beth what are you trying to get at here” he sneered at her.

“You’ve been faking having a girlfriend haven’t you” her tone was cocky.

“Seriously Beth? You think I would lie about having a girlfriend for almost three years?” Alex said nervously laughing knowing the truth.

“I think you would, you’ve always been jealous of me so your trying to make yourself look good to the family”

“Beth, that’s uncalled for” his dad said to her.

Alex sighed “No Beth I’m not lying”.

“Ok, well if you two have been together for three years when’s the wedding? Three years and you haven’t fully committed to her. You must just be a easy lay for her”

“Beth” His mom yelled at her.

Before he could stop himself he said “Beth I’ll have you know we got engaged last month” it was too late to take back.

For the rest of the conversation his parent were ecstatic. And Beth was pissed off to say the least. The questions seemed to be never ending, his family was excited to be growing. When would the wedding be? Where? Can we give you a list of who to invite? Have you told your grandma yet?

Alex tried and tried to tell them not to share the news of his engagement. Alex told them he wanted to be the one to share the good news, but knew they are going to share the news regardless of his wishes. His mother especially, she lives for gossip and drama.

His mother finally slowed the conversation after almost another hour “Well I best get off this phone now dear so you can go get some sleep, tell your sweetie I love you both”

“Will do, love you too mom” Alex said still trying to grasp his own stupidity.

And now Alex sits alone in the mess hall wondering how he could have dug himself such a big hole. And why did he have to drag her into this.

He couldn’t just tell his parents they ended their engagement. Surly not before his sister’s wedding. Last thing he needed was for his visit to be filled with pitiful conversations about him.

How the hell was he going to fix this?

[scribble-dribble-writes]

Plastic hearts - (5)

<<<Prev Next>>>

---

Blast from the past

---

As you stood there clutching your chest, all your emotions catching up to you at once causing your eyes to leak, a door behind you burst open.

You turned towards the creaking sound to see a man step out. Another Ken most likely, but he didn’t hold himself like one. He was scowling, his fingers pinching his nose as he mumbled hastily pacing up and down this alley way, oblivious to your presence.

But when you sniffled, his head whipped up to see you, his face flooding with a brief second of relief before it crumbled further into anger. An expression you knew well now.

“You.”, he pointed a finger at you.

“You’re hours late.”, he said dramatically and you weren’t sure what the confusion was about.

“I think you’ve got me –

But he didn’t give you a moment to explain before he got a hold of your elbow to begin to lead you inside the establishment.

“I told you specifically to dress professionally, not look like some vintage grandma who makes butter cookies.”, he said, his words having an edge to it. You began to understand that although it sounded like a compliment, it wasn’t meant as one.

But the dark hallway passed to reveal a hot and steamy kitchen environment. Not many were around, but the vessels were bubbling and the dishes piled up. It reminded you of your shop, except that you had it well organized unlike the disarray around you now.

There was an older woman seated by the counter top, chopping tomatoes with a steady hand. Although she looked frail, the precision of her knife could only have come through years of practice. But just seeing her stopped the clock for a second. The wrinkles around her eyes, the only one to give you soft smile, the silent confidence with which she held herself. You had never seen anyone like her.

“Melissa, here’s your hired help.”, he set you in front of her but did so with a slight shove as though you were disposable.

“Not only was she late, she’s also dressed for the circus.”, he rolled his eyes looking down at your rollerblades. He moved away from you, to roll up his sleeves to begin prepping his station.

“Sam.”, the old lady chided him but it was incredible, she did it with just a slight alteration in her tone.

“Did you give her a chance to explain?”, she asked to which the man on the other side huffed.

“Just so she can tell me what I already know?”, he started to add his ingredients into his soup.

All his comments were beginning to alter your melancholic mood. It was as though a fire had sparked within you and with every word he spoke, it only began to grow bigger.

It was all in reverse here, for the first time ever, you began to truly feel how hurting it was to be in Ken’s shoes. To be spoken for or spoken over. To assume, to push aside another person just because you could.

“She’s here now, that’s all that matters.”, Melissa smiled at you and it felt comforting.

“Anna, a close friend of mine from the orphanage said that a girl she knew was looking for a job.”, she began to explain.

“It’s not much but I do really need an extra hand around here apart from Sam.”, she spoke as she slowly moved around to mix the salad together.

Even though you hadn’t known them before, you could pick up on the slight tension in the room. It almost looked like Sam wasn’t too happy with your presence being here.

“We’ll get you started with washing dishes first but as time progresses I could –

“You are only hired for a month, so during that tenure all that is required of you is to just wash the dishes and help with the flow during rush hours. Nothing else.”, he jumped in again.

But this time, Melissa only pursed her lips as she gave you an apologetic smile.

“What is your name?”, she asked trying to simmer down the heat in the room.

But the question only then reminded you that you never officially had a specific name. A name apart from the brand that felt personal, you could only remember one. As much as you wanted to forget all of it, all of him. You couldn’t.

You could still remember it now. The exact way he reclined by the window in your bakery, the way the sun seemed to always make him have that golden glow. He was impatient for you to finish the cupcakes he had ordered to present them as a surprise to Barbie but it was how he called for you in a sing song voice that it made it impossible to let this memory go. It had made you smile once, it still did.

If you were a cheesecake, I would call you Brie.

Only he would call you that, out of his silly nature to poke fun and somehow as you stood here feeling out of place, you knew it would strengthen you to move ahead with whatever this opportunity was.

“Briella.”, you nodded along.

*

Thinking about that unforseen start to your life in New York made you feel all the more grateful that in this cruel world, you met Melissa. She took you in under her wing. She was from the orphanage herself, she didn’t have children and her husband had passed early on in her life. But even through all that, she kept her wonderous smile.

Barbie land was a distant memory now, the skates you had first arrived with now in some cardboard box somewhere. But after five human years, you had achieved what you had come here for. To forget Ken and to understand yourself. You couldn’t remember how blue his eyes were. Or the sound of his laugh. Or the feeling when he pushed you away. None of it. You were very much a human now, so much so that you had no interest going back home.

Sam progressed to become the owner and star chef of this small deli that now was a fancy restaurant. You, however, were only allowed to progress to higher roles based on your skills that were assessed by one of Sam’s close circle of culinary school friends. And every time, the result would be unsatisfactory.

At first you thought it was your fault. You questioned your skill and talent. But as days passed, you soon began to understand this world’s working principle and how because you were a woman, you’re promotion was never going to come.

It grew more difficult when Melissa too passed with time. It wasn’t too long since when you had put together the funeral, but she was very much like a mother to you. Teaching you everything, from etiquette to ideals and what it means to survive as an independent woman. She helped find your identity and now your world was rocked to the core again.

Barbie land was cruel in it’s perfection while the real world was depressing for its mortality, only that losing a loved one hurt more than words could describe.

As you laid on your bed staring at the ceiling, hating the norms of this world, the status division, the unequal pay, the true woman experience of always having to be judged ten times harder or having to work ten times harder, you were now well versed that this world was a man’s world.

Your phone lit up with the notification of a text message and you picked it up with no motivation to get to work. It was from Sam with another petty task that wasn’t even in the kitchen.

“We’re catering for a local public school’s parent teacher meeting. Make sure you get there on time.”

You put it away. Sam loved his position of power and used it to also be a very difficult boss or maybe he just enjoyed making your life even more miserable. You were sure that nothing with regards to this party was even organized or ready. You got out of bed, having hardly slept, the sharp beep of your clock when the time read as six in the morning meant you had time to grab some fresh ingredients from the local market.

As predicted, nothing was set. So you put together the team and the menu for the day, did the prep, go to the location to set up, to begin the event and start serving orders, all while the acclaim and credit went to him as he turned up late to interact with the parents to get more funding, funding where not one cent was put towards kitchen repairs. Tolerating him now made you grow more bitter.

All the men you had dealt with so far have all been mediocre or worse. No one saw you, not here, not in Barbie land and listening to that stupid Ad made it impossible for you to imagine you could break out of that box or to reimagine your life because this was how good it was going to get. You can’t be anything or do anything in a world that has already pre-defined your value and trajectory of life.

You took a break to step out and heard the sound of kindergarten children in the playground. It was hard, to watch little girls carry dolls when their dreams could never get to be real. The fresh air was soothing. This uniform had become another form of containment, that what once was a mark of honour now became a cage.

All you craved now was a tenderness that you were convinced this world could never offer. A tenderness that was often present in Kens back in barbie land. But searching for that, here, was another foolish attempt. So you turned to leave when you heard a child squeal.

“Mister Ken, you made it.”

Your heart dropped, your feet wanted to run, while your eyes wanted to look towards the noise.

“I told you I would.”, you heard him speak and your eyes snapped to this approaching man.

His dirty blonde hair mixed with darker roots, his rimmed glasses and tucked in blue shirt that matched his stellar eyes. You stood in awe as you saw him, a near perfect replica of your Ken or most likely the only Ken to exist on this planet.

You pinched yourself in the hopes that this was a dream or a hallucination because all the memories you had forgotten about him only need a refresher to come back to flood your mind.

The children ran to him and he greeted them with the same warmth he had before. You couldn’t move, your feet stuck to the ground as you watched him. It was as though he had sensed it too, the way his gaze shifted from the children around him to slowly find yours. His blue eyes widening in surprise as he got up slowly, shocked as though he too had seen a ghost from the past.

“Brie?”, he asked and you were sure this was all make believe.

The stress got to you, from the deprived sleep and the grief, your knees wobbled and felt yourself begin to fall. So you did, in the hopes that the ground might treat you a bit nicer that your life had.

---

Tags:

@imogen-skye @ateliefloresdaprimavera

@meowkid1000 @jokersgrf @linacool13 @oh-kurva

@dreamsarenicer @memospacexx @haleysucks00

@ibetyouthinkaboutmefics @tempobaekh

@fallingwallsh @whatafreakingloser @lcversrockk

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@eddiemunson4ever @freyafriggafrey @neptunelixir @iamruiningmylife @floralsightings

@ynbutbetter @lazyboikat @mrharringtonsbae

@spookyscellar @harleyquinn03 @haydensith

[lovelyladyabsinthewrites]

Always Safest Near the Sea

Pairing: Percy Jackson x Demigod!Reader

Warnings: hurt&comfort, conflicted feelings, siblingxsibling implied, aphrodite meddling with poor kids, mentions of car accident, death

Words: 1,014

Summary: You always found it odd when your grandparents had told you "It's always safest near the sea". Normally children were told the exact opposite. Or had they known all along about your true parentage?

Cabin 3 was quiet except for Tyson’s loud snoring and the soft trickling of the fountain at the far end of the cabin. Tyson had been the only happy one to find out that you were his sister. Everyone else. . . They treated you like a pariah. Especially Percy who you had been growing close to.

You burrow deeper into your blankets as despair entrapped you. You missed the Hermes cabin, you felt awfully lonely.

To learn that you shouldn’t have even been born. . . It was enough to bring tears to your eyes. All the friends you had acquired were distant now as they stared at you. Daughter of Poseidon. There was no joy in your father having claimed you. You wished he had just ignored you. That would have been the considerate thing to do.

You missed your grandparents who had done their best to raise you; not knowing about your paternal parentage. Your mother had died when you were just a toddler, never getting the chance to tell you the truth. That was if she even knew herself.

Deciding that sleep would not have you that night, you peeled your covers off of you and quietly left the cabin to go down to the beach. The night was cool and calming as you sit on the sand. Camp Half-Blood didn’t feel like home anymore.

“I’d rather have Hermes as a dad.” You told the ocean bitterly, hoping it would carry the message to your father. The longer you watched the lazy waves, the angrier you got.

“I felt like that in the beginning too.” Came Percy’s voice from behind you. “But I wouldn’t say that out loud. Don’t want to upset. . . our dad.”

You just glare at him as he sheepishly stood there, his black hair blending with the black backdrop of night. “Oh, you’re finally talking to me?”

Immediately he flushes and stumbles over his words. “I-I deserve that. . .”

Hugging your knees to your chest, you hid your tear streaked face. “I thought all of you were my friends. Then you just turned on me. That hurt. A lot.”

The sand quiets his footsteps as he draws closer to you. “I know. (y/n) I’m so soryr. It’s been a shock to everyone. I should have known better. They treated me like that too when dad claimed me. And then when Tyson came along. . . I didn’t deal with that well either.” Swiftly Percy sits next to you, careful to leave a distance between. “Everything is just so confusing now.”

You lift your head up to rest your chin on your knees. In a slow fashion, your fingers were mindlessly weaving themselves through the soft sand.

A sigh fills the air like a passing breeze. “This is why Annabeth calls me Seaweed Brain. Can you forgive me?”

Going through this would be easier if you had both of your brothers by your side. Delicate music that the water played in the background. It always soothed your tempers.

Always safest near the sea.

Odd that your grandparents would tell that to you. Had. . . Had they known? Or was it one huge coincidence. Normally children were told the opposite. “Stay away from the water” should have been what your grandma yelled at you that one day. Like many demigods, you were a rambunctious child. Filled with endless energy and not being able to sit still, your grandma and grandpa had surprised you to a trip to the beach. The painful hours spent in the car was worth it when you finally arrived. Personally you didn’t remember much as it was years ago. Bits here and there, but not everything. You remember her words though.

They ended up proving true. Ultimately it saved your life.

“You found me here.” You quietly whisper.

Percy nods and looked out to the calm surface. “Yeah. I had this nagging feeling that I should go to the shore that night.” Deep green eyes flick nervously over to you. “Guess now we know why.”

It had been several weeks since Percy had found you there. Having thought you were a mermaid for a moment, he realized that you were just unconscious. You had woken up to identical green eyes. That’s when you had remembered what had happened.

You and your grandparents were taking another trip to the beach. Excited that it was finally summer and you could go to the beach, you grew antsy in the car. Temporarily distracted by your CD player, you were spared the sight of the monster that came barreling into the side of the car. Straight into the sand. They screamed at you to get in the water as fast as you could and instructed you not to look back. Bleeding and stumbling through tears you did so. Immediately the waves swallowed you whole.

The warmth of Percy’s hand on top of your’s made you look up at him past your lashes. “Things will get better. I promise.”

As Percy said that, something fell into the pit of his stomach. His rotten luck that the girl he had developed a small crush on was his sister. A snake of shame coils itself into tight knots inside of him. Amidst the chaos in his life, (y/n) had come out of nowhere and reminded Percy that he wasn’t just a demigod, but still a growing adolescent who deserved fun every once in a while too. He laughed more around (y/n) and enjoyed being a playful boy around his crush.

But. . . He had to forget about what he had felt for her. There was no place for such feelings now that he knew she was his half-sister.

Aphrodite seemed to have other plans for Percy though. Looking at (y/n) now, he still felt the same tug in his chest and the fluttering in his cheeks. The goddess of love wasn’t letting him off that easily. To Aphrodite, this would be the romance story of the century; greater and more impossible than that of Helen and Paris.

It would prove to be equally as tragic as well.

[theangrycomet-art]

Sonic Underground Reprise: Hedgehog Family Tree Hedge

Here- the parents, the aunts, the uncles, the grandpa and grandma's and even some cousins.

Now, are most of these characters relevant to the main plot? No. But if you have followed me for any amount of time you should know of my love of expanding character's family trees.

COMMISSIONS OPENED

Kofi

Family Notes: (this gets kinda long)

Parlouzer Lore (paternal side)

Charlotte was a sailor who split her time exploring and fishing with her crew

she may or may not have been a pirate

Maurice was a skilled carpenter who worked from his home workshop in Port Mobius

he was just a humble, if a bit on the quiet side,

the two met by chance when Charlotte was exploring the area while Maurice was trying to get groceries

instantly charmed with one another, they kept in touch and she made it a point to always come back to see him every chance she could

after about 5 years of this she proposed to him and the two were married the next day

Chuck was born shortly after (honeymoon baby)

he mostly stayed on the mainland with his father while Charlotte continued working on the high seas

Julius was born when Charles was 12, and Pauline Pauli when he was 19

Chuck left for college early at 16, so he wasn’t particularly close with his younger brothers until they were practically adults

Jules ran away when he was 13 to join the circus, completely cutting off contact for nearly 5 years

At 17, he and several other members of the circus (including Argus) were arrested in Casino City after being framed for treason by a rival performance troupe. Due to their age however, the two were given an alternative to jail time: enlistment, which they begrudgingly accepted (this was HIGHLY illegal btw, as both were underage and therefore not qualified to be enlisted)

around 3 years into service, Chuck got wind of the bullshit charges placed on his brother and threatened to raise hell if the two were not brought back home immediately

Jules and Argus were then hired as a part of the Royal guard where they were charged initially with guarding King Max’s son, Crown Prince Nigel

Pauli avoided trouble growing up, having taken more after his father than his lovely, impulsive older brothers

Ihe developed a passion for piloting and decided to start his own delivery business, which would be how he would meet his future wife Bernie

Bernie

Nadim Lore

ditch the royal family part and exchange it for a powerful magic fam

Hatshe is the matriarch of a powerful magic guild, the Rising Sun, though she has retired from any official position

the Rising Sun was formed by Aman-Rapi long ago

Hatshe met Olgilvie when traveling through the Kingdom of Mercia when the then King requested the aid of the Rising Sun’s strangest magician (they had meant to request “strongest” but their had been a slight typo, luckily for them Hatshe was both)

Bastard son of a a duke, Olgilvie was knight renound for his skills with a blade as well as the strings

he was assigned to aide Hatshe in her assignment

the two did not get along initially, as both were headstrong individuals who had their own way of doing things, but eventually became friends, and later lovers

He ran off after her once her assignment had been completed and continued courting her back home

Layla is Aleena’s older sister, as well as the current leader of the Rising Sun

Though she may appear calm, collected, and regal, outside of official appearances she is a very much a dork who is not above a little mischief

she met Terios when the were children during the family’s travels

more specifically, she found his half dead body lie partway out of a river bank

he was taken in to the guild, where he showed strong promise in healing magic

childhood friends-> lovers, slowburn 160k words basically

everyone knew that they liked eachother except themselves

despite some initial mishaps, the guild has been thriving under her leadership

despite Robotnik’s efforts, their guild halls have remained hidden to him, as well as serving a safe havens for those trying to escape his reign

they work loosely with the Resistance, though Layla leaves it up to the individuals to come forwards and offer aid

[svt-rosalie]

. . . ♡ ROSALIE ! ? 🌹 INTERVIEW ★ ﾟ๑

ׁ ׅ ୨ ❪ vogue interview ❫ ୧ ⊹ ࣪

© 2023 , svt-rosalie rosalie masterlist!

author note. this was requested by an anon asking about rosalie being overlooked with seventeen and i hope this is good enough! i wanted you guys to get a good look at her background hope you like!

warnings. hints of depression, racism towards rosalie, rosalie cries, being overlooked and being shadowed, online hate/bullying

The Truth Of Behind Seventeen’s Rosalie

By Kim Iseul

Photography By Jeon Jisoo

Styled By Choi Harin

March 23, 2021

Interviewer: “Thank you for sitting down with us at Vogue today, Ms. Rosalie! We’re excited to have you.

Rosalie: [Smiles] “Oh well thank you for having me, I’m excited to be here!”

Interviewer: “You have such a beautiful name! Rosalie is just gorgeous but it’s not your birth name, it’s just a stage name?

Rosalie: “Yes it is a stage name!”

Interviewer: “How did you decide on Rosalie being the name for your Career instead of sticking with your birth name Jihye?”

Rosalie: “I love my birth name, do not get me wrong.” [Laughs] “Well my Dad is Korean so he chose my name Park Jihye where as my Mom is French and chose the name Rosalie Dumont, which is my Mama’s surname!”

Interviewer: “Oh really! It must’ve been nice growing up in France!”

Rosalie: [Holds her hands to her heart, pouting] “It was, I miss it so much.”

Rosalie: “But I was called Rosalie my whole life by all of my friends in France as well as my Mama’s side of the family, it kinda just stuck once I got to Korea for training? My dad started to call me Rosalie too. The only time I was called Jihye was by my Appa’s side of the family or when I was in serious trouble!”

Interviewer: [Nods her head] “Oh wow. Well I feel like it suits well!”

Rosalie: “Thank you!”

Interviewer: “Speaking of your training in Korea, tell me about that. How many years did you train to be an idol?”

Rosalie: “I trained for 2 years, from March 2013 to May 2015. It was a brutal couple of years.”

Interviewer: “Why do you say that?”

Rosalie: [She sighs] “Well I was brand new to the country. I mean I had visited every now and then to see my Grandma and Grandpa but never on my own for my own personal reasons. It was very hard for me to be there without my parents and little sister.”

Interviewer: “You seem very close to your family?”

Rosalie: “Oh, I am completely. When I was little I was very attached to my Appa and my Mama and wanted to do everything with them. If I was playing dollhouse, Appa had to join me but Mama had to be there too so she wasn’t left out! Ya know?”

Interviewer: [Nods and chuckles]

Rosalie: “When my little sister Valentine or Sarang, whichever you’d like to call her, came into the world my parents thought I would be upset but they told me they were suprised when all I wanted to do was hold her and play with her.” [She giggles] “My parents said if I got something like on my birthday I would immediately share it with Valentine! And Valentine is my little mini me, she loves to play dress up with my clothes and always facetimes me on Mama’s phone telling me all about her day!”

Rosalie: “Sorry I got a little carried away there! But, it was definitely a struggle for me to be away from them but i took any chance I could to see and talk to them! I still do!”

Interviewer: “That’s so sweet. It’s nice to see such a deep love someone has for their family!”

Interviewer: “Whenever you were training for those two years, supposedly only a quarter of it was spent training with the other female trainee’s and then the rest of your trainee period was spent with the males.”

Rosalie: “Ah! Yes, I was training for only maybe three (3) months with the other female trainee’s before the Pledis CEO requested that I train with these specific trainees. Which I thought was maybe a mix between both female and male because that’s what I was told” [Fake laughs] “But no I was training with the members that would turn out to be SEVENTEEN.”

Interviewer: “Did you get along with the boys when you first met? Was it awkward or did you just go about it as you would with your fellow female trainee’s at the time?”

Rosalie: “I think I got along with everyone when we were younger. I’m sure it was a bit awkward in the beginning because we were all told it was a mix of boys and girls and Pledis was finally going to debut a co-ed group, but no I was the only female and I didn’t think i ever got an explanation for that one!” [She laughs and scratches at her head in confusion]

Rosalie: “I mean technically Pledis did debut a co-ed group it’s just there is only one female compared to thirteen males.”

Interviewer: “I was meaning to ask you about that. You’ve never really spoken about the after effects of you debuting in a male dominated group, have you?”

Rosalie: “No I have not, but I’m assuming you would like too?” [She smiles]

Interviewer: “If that’s alright with you I would like to ask some questions regarding it.”

Rosalie: “Of course I don’t mind.”

Interviewer: “How was it for you when you first debuted in SEVENTEEN? Cause it did come to a shock to fans of other groups when news was released of a female debuting in a mostly male group.”

Rosalie: “Well, while we were all trainees we had those video logs the company would upload to the youtube channel and the comments weren’t too bad, I think some of them thought I was one of the boys younger sister who would just come around for no reason and had like ‘special’ permission to be with them.”

Interview: “That’s a way to look at it!” [She laughs]

Rosalie: “Oh yeah!”

Rosalie: “But I could handle those comments because it wasn’t anything personal! Most people just thought I was adorable and enjoyed my voice. Nobody took me seriously at that point and I don’t think I minded, but it gave me a false sense of security you could say.”

Interviewer: “It gave you a false sense of security for what would happen with your debuting?”

Rosalie: “Yes exactly! Maybe it was me being cocky or ignorant but I assumed everyone would like me and I wouldn’t have any problems but I was also 15 years old when I debuted with the boys so I was in my own LaLa Land at that point and focused on school and singing.

Rosalie: “When I did debut it was very 50/50 reactions. Some of korea loved me and some of korea hated me. It was very hard for me to come to terms with it. Again maybe it was an ego thing but I could not handle the fact that the people didn’t like me but I also didn’t want to bring the group. So I trusted in Pledis and hoped that everything would settle down.”

Interviewer: “It didn’t, did it?”

Rosalie: [Unenthusiastically laughs] “No, it did not.”

Rosalie: “There was the constant messages that I couldn’t keep up with the boys, that I was a slut for being around so many guys and sleeping in a dorm with them, that I don’t deserve to even be in Korea because I didn’t look the part. It was troubling for me. I was fifteen (15) and didn’t know how to handle it in the beginning so I just cried to be honest. Every night I would cry on Seungcheol Oppa’s shoulders and just constantly ask if I was good enough to be in a group with the boys.”

Interviewer: “I’m sorry you had to go through that at such a young age! I have to say I saw your performances and I can declare with confidence that you can keep up with those boys and dance so well!”

Rosalie: [Blushes] “Oh, thank you. I appreciate that a lot.”

Interview: “Another thing, SEVENTEEN is a very big group do you ever feel overlooked or outnumbered especially being the only female?”

Rosalie: “I do and for a long time it was hard for me to admit because I didn’t want to seem ungrateful for the fact that I even debuted because I know some people who were training for longer than me and never even got chosen to debut:”

Interviewer: “Of course, I can see where you’re coming from.”

Rosalie: “In SEVENTEEN there are a lot of big personalities and we all try to have our own time to shine but yeah it does become difficult. Yes, me being the only female gives me some time to shine but not in the best light most of the time. There will be times I’m overlooked in interviews because all they wanna know is if I’m dating one of the members or if I’m ever going to go solo!”

Rosalie: “It becomes frustrating after so long. There was even a couple instances where fans and even Idol groups that I looked up to assumed I was just a female backup dancer. It became discerning for me and I lost faith in myself and was trying to figure out a way to make it work. I tried to find a way where people knew me for who I was as Rosalie but also how to establish myself as the 14th member and maknae of SEVENTEEN.”

Interviewer: “Did you ever consider leaving SEVENTEEN? With how you’re describing it all it seems like it was very intense for you at such a young age.”

Rosalie: [She sighs deeply] “Wow you are asking those hard hitting questions!”

Interview: “Oh I’m sorry if you don’t feel comfortable answering than you do not have to! We can move on to a different topic.”

Rosalie: “No no! It’s fine I appreciate it, it’s very different from my usual routine questions.”

Rosalie: “Um. . .” [She pauses and chews on her lips] “I have actually thought about leaving the group.”

Interviewer: “Oh really? Can I ask when you thought about it and why?”

Rosalie: “Yeah.” [She smiled] “Sorry I’m going to try not to cry cause this was a really hard point for me when I was thinking about it.”

Interviewer: “Take your time.”

Rosalie: “I was having these thoughts around 2017 and 2018? I’m pretty sure it was around that time. It was when we were getting extremely popular and finally getting recognized. With all the attention on the group meant more attention on the fact that I’m the only girl.”

Rosalie: “At that point I was getting hate comments every single day. On every single social media post I made there was hundreds of comments about how I shouldn’t be in the group and that I should just go back to whatever country I came from because I’m not Korean. Pledis would constantly get letters asking for the removal of me from the group because SEVENTEEN would do a lot better without me. It even got to the point of people were finding my mother’s bakery and were sending letters and reviews on the website about me, and she had to close down for some time.” [She starts to tear up]

Rosalie: “And at that point I knew that these fans didn’t see me for me, they didn’t see the time and effort I put into keeping up the boys and trying to establish myself or at least they did and they just didn’t care. I had spoken to the CEO of Pledis and let him know that I was contemplating on my position in the group. Nobody saw me as Rosalie the Main vocalist of SEVENTEEN, they saw me as a block in the road for what SEVENTEEN could become. It hurt so much.”

Interviewer: [Passes some tissues to Rosalie]

Rosalie: “Thank you.”

Rosalie: “I was ready to go but the boys weren’t ready for it and literally would not let me leave the dorm.”

Interviewer: “Really?” [Makes a surprised face]

Rosalie: “Really!” [She laughs while wiping her tears] “They locked my bags in Mingyu’s room since they knew he’s the one member I couldn’t get around and hid my plane ticket that was going to take me from Seoul, South Korea back to Paris, France. So if it wasn’t for that day I would probably be back in Paris finishing off college.”

Interviewer: “Well I’m sure Carats are glad they held your luggage hostage that day.” [She laughs]

Rosalie: [Nods] “Same”

Interviewer: “You’ve come a long way.”

Rosalie: “Thank you! I feel a lot more comfortable in my position with SEVENTEEN and I’m hoping for more positive memories in the future.”

Interviewer: [Nods]

Interviewer: “I’ve got one last question that is on a lighter note! Who is Rosalie? What do you want people to know when they think of SEVENTEEN’s Rosalie?”

Rosalie: “Wow, I love that question.”

Rosalie: “I want people to think of passion and love when they think of me. I have a lot of passion for what I do and I try to spread love and positivity to wherever I go. I hope to bring more joy to people’s life and to be a comfort to those who need it.”

Interviewer: “I love that! Well thank you again Rosalie for taking the time out of your day to visit us at Vogue and answering the questions we had for you!”

Rosalie: “Of course! I hope to be back for more some day!”

taglist — @angie-x3 @alixnsuperstxr @allthings-fandoms @peachyaeger @sakufilms

click here to join the taglist!

[milaisreading]

Blue lock in the Demon Slayer au

A continuation of this one: pt1

Warnings: Reader uses she/her. If smn has requests for this specific au, they are open.

⚽️Blue lock belongs to:Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yusuke Nomura. Demon slayer is owned by Koyoharu Gotouge ⚽️

The duo had quickly after left for Noel's house. (Y/n) was growing more and more nervous as the sun started breaking through the clouds more and more. Yoichi just clung to her (f/c) haori and yawned from time to time. Eventually, the two couldn't escape the sun for much longer and (Y/n) found a cave, where she left Yoichi to hide while she went to look for something she could transport Yoichi in.

'Maybe a basket? One of those with toppers would be good!' (Y/n) thought as she walked into a close by village, hoping to find something there. And sure enough, she came across a market where she could find various items, from vegetables to household items, everything was there. (Y/n) looked through all the items, when she suddenly came across the perfect basket. It was not too small or too big, with Yoichi being able to shrink, it will be easy to put him inside.

'Crap! I have no money with me!' (Y/n) gulped, looking around frantically as the shopkeeper came to greet her.

"See anything you like, miss?" The man asked as (Y/n) nervously nodded her head, pointing at the basket.

"How much is that basket, sir?"

'It's not like I can pay, why did I ask?!' She thought, gripping onto her necklace, a habit she had since a young age. Every time she had a difficult moment or she was nervous, she would look for comfort in the item, it belonged to her grandmother and she always gave her comforting words.

"Hmm... it's a fairly new basket." The girl looked at the man as he thought over the price.

"And it's handmade... 800 yen." He simply stated as (Y/n) was close to chocking on her spit. She gripped onto the necklace tighter, thinking of a solution, when it suddenly hit her.

"Do you... do you accept trade offs? For the basket?" (Y/n) asked, taking off her necklace with a heavy heart. The man raised his eyebrow as (Y/n) presented the item in front of it, then his eyes slowly widened when he inspected it more. The girl knew her necklace was worth more than 800 yen, it was in her family for 300 years and was made of gold. But... she had to sacrifice it.

'Sorry, grandma...' The girl thought as the man took the item out of her hand and looked at it.

"You sure you want to trade this for a simple basket?" The man raised his eyebrow as (Y/n) quickly nodded her head.

"Yeah! I really need it!"

Thinking for a moment, the man nodded his head and went to grab the basket for her.

'A small sacrifice... we need to get to Noa-sama's home before the sun goes down.' The girl thought.

"Yoichi! Yoichi, are you still here?!" (Y/n) yelled as she made her way into the cave where she left the demon boy, who peeked his head through the hole, waving his hand happily.

'Right, he can't speak normally anymore...' The girl smiled sadly and ran to where the boy was, dropping to her knees as she put the basket in front of her.

"Look, I found this basket for me to carry you in, it even has a lid! I can carry you through the day." Isagi's eyes lit up and he got out of the hole, then crawled into the basket. (Y/n) blinked when she saw how big he was in the basket and giggled, patting the boy's back.

"Can you turn tiny again like you did hours ago? It will be easier to fit inside." The girl encouraged him and Isagi let out a hum. She watched as his body slowly shrunk, giving him a better chance to get into the basket. Once fully inside, the boy looked up at (Y/n) and she petted his head.

"Great job! We are all set to go then!"

"Mhm!" Yoichi answered as (Y/n) put the lid on top.

"I am tired... and so hungry too." (Y/n) groaned as she stopped walking for a moment, looking at the slowly setting sun. Taking this moment of rest, she started thinking about her life back in the village, and how today's day would have looked way different if everything had stayed the way it was.

'Looking back, my life home was really great. I had a great childhood, parents who loved me and a friend who stuck by my side ever since we were little.' (Y/n) bit her lip, surpassing the urge to cry as she shook her head.

'I really shouldn't drown into self-pity, Yoichi should be my priority... Though, I wonder if our parents made it safely to the other side. I wish I hadn't left like that, maybe I could have done something? But it was a demon attack, even my own strength wouldn't have saved me...' Sighing, the girl glared at the setting sun and ran through the path in front of her, determined to make it safely to Noa's house.

"Yoichi..."

Night had eventually set and (Y/n) took a good whiff of the air, hoping to pick up the familiar sent of the white haired man. If she could smell him, even just faintly, (Y/n) would be able to figure out where his house was. She was doing that for the past 2 hours, but sadly was unsuccessful in all her attempts.

"This is weird, based on all the explanations I got... it should be here somewhere. But there is no smell... not even a sight of a house." (Y/n) muttered to herself, panic growing in her when every scenario hit her mind.

"Did he lie? Did he want to distract me so that he can sneak up and kill Yoichi?" (Y/n) muttered to herself again.

"I shouldn't have trusted that man like this... Now I just look stupid and-"

"And what? You look weird talking to yourself." The girl jumped in her spot and turned around, only to come face to face with Noa's stoic expression.

"N-Noa-sama! How did you sneak up on me like that?" (Y/n) wondered, surprised she didn't smell his presence even for a moment.

'Can demon slayers hide their smell now?' The girl thought as the man looked at her for a moment, and then at the basket she was carrying on her back.

"Your demon friend is inside there?"

"Oh? Yeah, I put Yoichi in here since it gives him a lot of shade."

"Mhmm. Come along now, you have a test to do prior to becoming my student." The white-haired man said as (Y/n) followed after him.

"What is the test, Noa-sama?"

"It's an endurance test. I could see with the way you held Yoichi back in the forest, that you have a good muscular built. Am I right?" Noa questioned when (Y/n) nodded next to him.

"Yeah, I was born with a big muscle density. Holding Yoichi back wasn't that hard for me."

"Alright, the test you will be going through will be focusing more on your other senses and you endurance. But we will first leave Yoichi at my house. Hurry up." Noa said, running away from (Y/n). The girl took a deep breath and followed after him, tired from the whole day, but she needed to become stronger.

"That's your house?! It's more like a mansion!" (Y/n) exclaimed as she walked through the gate, looking in amazement at the garden and the exterior of Noa's house. The man just nodded his head, letting the girl look around as he opened his front door.

"A lot of Hashiras own such houses. Now come inside, I already had a room prepared for Yoichi."

'Hashira? What is that now?' The girl wondered, but decided to leave this question for a later time. She followed after the man as he lead her into a semi-big room, which had a futon ready as well as some decorations. (Y/n) put the basket down and picked Yoichi out of it, the brought him to the futon to tuck him in.

"Your friend didn't attack anyone, right?" Noa asked from the entrance to the room and the girl shook her head.

"No, he actually slept ever since noon." The man nodded his head, relieved that the boy seemed to live up to the expectations he made for him.

'Maybe he really is different.'

As soon as Yoichi got tucked in, Noa escorted (Y/n) out of his home and towards a mountain. The girl kept quiet the whole time, wondering what the man had prepared for her. They eventually came to a stop, and (Y/n) looked up at the man.

"Eh? What are we doing on top of this mountain, Noa-sama?"

"This is where your test starts. As a demon slayer, you need to depend on your senses as much as on your physical strength. This side of the mountain is filled with different traps. Holes in the ground, ropes,logs that can be activated and hit you... in short, this place is where I will decide if you are worthy of my time or not."

(Y/n) gulped and nodded her head, looking at the path she came from.

"Come back to my house before the sun rises." Was the last thing Noa said before disappearing, leaving the girl in awe again.

'I wish I was that fast! It's so cool!'

Recovering from her initial amazement, (Y/n) looked at the road in front of herself, trying to prepare mentally for whatever was waiting for her.

'Not again!' The (h/c)-haired girl groaned as she crawled out of the hole. This was the 3rd one she fell into, and with how it was going she won't be finished with half of the mountain by the time the sun rises. Groaning, the girl sat on her knees for a moment, thinking over her next moves.

"Noa-sama said to train my senses. My sole strength can't help me here at all... I just need to focus on my surroundings." (Y/n) told herself and stoop up, determined to finish this.

"I promised to save Yoichi... I won't fail that promise." Woth a deep breath, the girl ran down the mountain, jumping when she noticed holes and ropes that could trap her legs. It was going well for a while, but (Y/n) ended up accidently stepping on a rope. Tensing, she heard a creek on her right side, noticing a log going her way. With wide eyes, the girl jumped away from oncoming object, flinching when she saw the log take down a tree.

"Noa-sama is very merciless...all these traps and so little time." (Y/n) muttered, and started running again when she noticed that the sky was getting brighter.

Noa looked into the room where Isagi was, humming when he noted that the boy was still asleep.

"Maybe he is regaining his energy back? If he really didn't eat anything since the transformation, he must be starving." Noa told himself and walked out of the room and towards the entrance of his house. He looked outside noting that the sun was close to rising and (Y/n) was nowhere in sight yet. The man was growing a little worried if she will make it, but decided to hide his emotions behind the stoic expression.

'If she can't complete that, she won't be fit for my training.' He thought, looking at the gates, patiently waiting for the girl to arrive. And sure enough, minutes later a disheveled and bloodied (Y/n) arrived at the gates, panting as she walked towards Noa. The man kept his neutral expression as the girl now stood in front of him.

"I completed the test, Noa-sama." (Y/n) said as relief washed over the man.

"Congratulations. (L/n) (Y/n), from today on you are officially the student of the Flame hashira, Noel Noa. We will start your training as soon as you are well rested." The girl sighed in relief and bowed.

"Thank you, Noa-sama."

[kaythejay]

Sometimes I forget just how privileged my life is as a queer person. I mean, I live in the US. It is completely legal here. When my partner and I decide to tie the knot, we will be able to do so. Though I am old enough to remember when that became legal, so I'm not in any deniability about the fact that I know it can be taken away (especially knowing that Roe v. Wade has already been taken away and they will certainly do the same to Hodges v. Obergefell if given the chance). But regardless, I do not have to worry about going to jail or getting killed because of my sexuality.

I have a lot of family that supports me. My partner's entire family has been absolutely wonderful in accepting me into their family. I mean, her mom has already started calling me her daughter-in-law, and we're still several years out from that being true (mostly for financial reasons/I'm still in school because I changed my major and added time to my degree). My grandma is always asking about my partner because she absolutely adores her. The reason I don't really talk to my parents has nothing to do with the fact that I'm gay (they like my partner more than they like me). They don't care about the gay thing, there's just a lot of other stuff that happened while I was growing up (before I even knew what gay was) that makes it hard to talk to them.

I'm growing up in an era where queer pride is becoming more and more mainstream. I know a lot of young kids whose parents have gone out of their way to teach them about queerness and that it is ok. There's one kid that I knew that was even taught things beyond the "basics" (he knows what pansexual means for example). Rainbow capitalism is proof that the world is shifting. I can walk into Target right now and get myself a bold (though, admittedly probably ugly) pride outfit. When I was little, that just was not a thing.

I get to see the shift in how controversy is handled with celebrities. For example, the whole thing with JoJo Siwa at the moment is all about her as a person, not the fact that she kissed a girl in her latest music video. When I was little, if you were gay, you had to hide it or be ridiculed for that reason.

And honestly, in my day-to-day, I really don't have to think about it that much. I mean, if I'm out in public with my partner I still have to think about if we're in a safe space if I wanted to like. Hold her hand or anything because we do live in a red state, so we're not 100% safe from being harassed. However, I don't have to think that much about it otherwise.

I mean I will once I'm a teacher (and my partner who has just gotten her teaching license has already talked to me a lot about that). I have a friend who is teaching in a district that simply putting a poster up that has a rainbow on it (even if it has nothing to do with pride) is enough to get yourself put under fire. She got into trouble for introducing herself with her pronouns (and she's a cis, straight woman, no queer shenanigans going on there).

J talks to me a lot about the fact that she feels bad that she can't about me in a professional environment like a straight couple could. She assures me that it is not because she doesn't want to. But honestly I have to remind her that like. I avoid the topic probably even more than she does. I haven't been out for nearly as long as she has, so I haven't gotten as comfortable with people knowing that stuff as she has. She's also talked to her mom about it, but her mom doesn't fully understand that it is a safety thing. J's mom's response is almost always "I don't really talk about my husband much either." She kind of struggles to understand the point of "but you could if you wanted to without repercussions." Whereas if me or J tells the wrong person that we have a lady partner, we've immediately put ourself (and possibly the other) in danger. Sometimes I forget just how deep the danger goes.

But then things happen.

People in our dorm have put notes on our door (because we were ✨roommates✨) that were less than kind. We had to get our RA and RLC involved, but they couldn't do anything since there aren't cameras in our building. But boy did my RLC want to (she's also a queer lady, freaking awesome, Imma miss her when I'm over RA-ing in a different building). And I'll be honest with you. Even in our dorm, we were super, super careful about how we presented ourselves because we knew it wasn't safe. And still, someone with ill intentions somehow found out about us.

Someone crawls into your Tumblr inbox to call your slurs and tell you that you're faking for attention and that you'll never understand what it really means to be gay. Only for them to disappear when you turn the anonymity off.

Someone yelled "faggots" at us out of a car window while we were all decked out heading to lunch after the pride parade.

And I know, I know I'm incredibly lucky that that is the extent of the harassment that I've faced because of my sexuality.

But honestly it just goes to show just how important pride, and pride month as a whole, still is to this day.

For me, pride is a huge celebration of who I am as a whole person. It is the one time of year when I can take the mask off completely and just feel free to be me, knowing that I'm safe from judgement. Like my partner was saying the other day, I don't really realize just how much of myself that I sanitize for the majority's consumption until I'm at a pride event and am no longer doing any of that. There's certain ways that I would carry myself/dress/etc if I didn't have to worry about the people around me saying or worse doing something to me just because they pick up on my queerness.

Pride events are a chance to be around a very large group of other queer people. It is a chance to show people who are important to me a massive aspect of my life in a way that isn't sanitized for public consumption. It's a place where we get to be freaks and weirdos and not have to worry about getting looks. Because honestly for as weird as you might look, there's someone not all that far away that looks even weirder and it is so freaking cool to get to see.

But pride is so much more than that. They're also an "in your face" of the people who hate us. It is a show that we are not going to back down and stop being who we are as people just because people don't approve of our "lifestyle." It is the community banding together to welcome everyone who is accepting and protect people from those who aren't. It is a place for "baby gays" to find that it is ok to be be queer and find their place in the world.

I hope you all have a happy pride month, whether you are celebrating out and proud, or hidden in the closet.

[readyforthegarden]

Breakable Heaven - Part Four

Pairing: Danny Wagner x Female Reader

Synopsis: Being the maid of honor in your best friends wedding is already stressful enough without the best man being the ex-boyfriend who tore your heart to shreds. Stumbling across a dating app with dates for hire, you take a chance, inviting a perfect stranger to pretend to be your boyfriend for the weeklong celebrations. But how long can the charade last when the champagne starts pouring and feelings start growing?

Warnings: talks of betrayal and cheating, drinking, slight voyeurism (watching someone change) 18+ MINORS DO NOT INTERACT!

WC: 3808

Dinner that night was fine, Danny was introduced to a few more bridesmaids that had made the journey in. And the next day was lackluster for him, the groomsmen didn’t have a plan, but the bridesmaids were all meeting up at a local dress shop, for one last look to make sure all the alterations done were perfect. 

 Danny was grateful Gavin seemed to keep away from you and him, though the occasional glare was tossed Danny’s way. It made Danny feel proud in some ways, that he had this effect on the man, and he wasn’t even really dating you. And that Danny was intimidating enough to keep distance from, well that was a cherry on top.

He didn’t really think much of Gavin outside of seeing him, until you burst into the hotel room in the late afternoon on Tuesday, your garment bag tossed over your shoulder. Your face was red, and you were doing your best to catch your breath. Danny paused the movie he had been watching and got up from his relaxed position on the couch, coming over to you. 

“Hey, are you okay?” he asked, taking the garment bag off of you and draping it over the arm of the couch behind him. “You seem upset.”

“Naomi showed up early.” you grumbled, kicking off your shoes. 

“Oh.” Danny shoved his hands in his pockets, not exactly knowing what to say. “Uh, what happened?”

“She showed up to the dress shop, Gavin told her where we’d be. She just showed up, uninvited and unexpected.” you moved around him, going to the couch and flopping on it. “Olivia was going to send her back here but there wasn’t any point.” 

“Did Naomi do something?” Danny asked, lifting your legs and sitting under them, resting them back on his lap. “Say something?”

“No,” you pouted. “I just…it’s so stupid but I hadn’t seen her in a long time. And I didn’t think seeing her again would make me feel like this.”

“Like what?” Danny leaned in, his voice soft. You shrugged, avoiding his eyes. 

“I don’t know…I guess kind of like a loser?” your fingers busied themselves with a loose button on your cream colored knit cardigan sweater. “It just makes me feel pathetic. I shouldn’t care about her or Gavin.”

Danny watched as you bit your bottom lip, staring down at the button. 

“You don’t care about them.” Danny told you softly, rubbing a hand up and down your jean-clad calf soothingly. “But that doesn’t mean the hurt doesn’t come back when you see them again. Gavin really hurt you, honey.” The pet name slipped out, but if it bothered you, you didn’t show it. 

“Naomi was another friend of mine.” you mumbled. “A coworker, really but I trained her and we got close and started hanging out. I should’ve noticed Gavin would leave the bed when she’d stay the night.” your name fell from Danny’s lips in a soft whisper, panged with sadness. “I thought ‘wow, what a great guy I have, checking on my friend in the night, making sure she has enough blankets.’ I was so stupid…and maybe I was a bad girlfriend and deserved it.”

“I’m so sorry,” Danny leaned over, wiping a stray tear you failed to hold back from your cheek. “You didn’t deserve it, even on your worst day.” your shoulders shrugged in response.

“My grandma always said ‘you’re either a lesson or a blessin’’. your response was paired with a sheepish smile. “Maybe this is my lesson.” Danny pulled his hand away, sitting back up as he rested it back on your calf. 

“I hope you get your blessing soon, then.” 

“Who knows, maybe I’ll get it this weekend.” A small laugh rippled from your chest. “Maybe they’ll fall down a well and go missing.”

“I’ll dig one myself if I have to.” Danny grinned, making you smile. 

“Olivia will gladly help.” You smiled. “She’s been waiting to knock him out.”

“More hands make less work.” Danny laughed. A silence lulled between the two of you, his hands still resting on your calves. “Uh, do you want to get ready first or should I?” 

“Oh I will.” you withdrew your legs from his lap. “I need to wash the day off of me.” you got up, going into the bedroom and laying out tonight's dinner outfit before getting in the shower. You tried to keep events of the day out of your mind under the hot water, but it was little use. You ran through fake scenarios, all from confronting her with sharp words and splashing a complimentary mimosa in her face to having a heart to heart and clearing the air. None of the scenarios made you feel better. 

The walk down to dinner came quicker than you anticipated, there were only so many passes of your eyelashes you could do with your mascara wand, not wanting to risk annoying clumps resting on your lids. 

Danny guided you down the stairs again, and at the bottom, wrapped an arm around your waist, tucking you into his side. Looking up at him, you smiled softly as his large hand gave your hip a squeeze of reassurance. There was something about the man next to you, you knew he was doing the job you hired him for, but he exuded comfort to you. You knew as long as he was there, you wouldn’t have to worry about anything.

The meal went off without a hitch, Olivia kept you preoccupied with your maid of honor speech, Danny’s arm lounging on the back of your chair as he spoke with Thomas about a golfer they both liked keeping you warm. Maybe it was the fact that every time you looked towards Danny, you caught the image of Naomi and Gavin at the other end of the table or it was the fact you felt so relaxed, but you allowed yourself to indulge in your drinks more. 

When dinner was over, you and a few other bridesmaids had been talking excitedly as music played in the bar. Your laugh rang through it, hitting Danny’s ears and making him turn from his conversation at the bar to watching you bop to the beat that was playing while listening to your friend. The chardonnay in your glass swished with your movements, playing a dangerous game of trying to spill over the rim. 

You had happened to look away from your friend, catching Danny’s eye and grinning. He watched as you excused yourself and made your way over to him. 

“Hey lover,” you giggled, wrapping an arm around his torso, “Long time no see.” 

“Hi honey,” Danny laughed as you took a sip of your drink. He gently took the glass from your hand, setting it on the bar. Instead of fighting him, you just wrapped your other arm around him, clasping your hands behind his back and smiling up at him. Your cheeks were tinged pink from your drinking and the excitement of the previous conversation. He wrapped one of his arms around you, hand on your back as you relaxed into him. “Are you having fun?”

“Mhm,” you hummed. He watched you as you stared at him, your mouth falling open slightly. One of your hands unclasped from the other, coming around and tapping the apple of his cheek, just under his eyes. “I figured it out!”

“What did you figure out?” Danny asked, confused. Your smile widened as you batted your lashes at him. 

“Your eyes, they look like those caramel apple suckers you get at the cider mill.” your finger moved up and Danny was quick to catch your hand, pressing a kiss to the finger that was pointed up before linking your fingers together. “They’re so pretty, the caramel brown melting with the candy apple. They’re my favorites.”

“Well thank you, honey.” Danny laughed, his cheeks now turning pink.  “I’d like to keep them, though, so I’ll hold onto this.” he squeezed your hand gently. 

“Ugh, you two are gonna make me sick.” Olivia winked as she passed by. “Get a room!”

“That’s a good idea,” Danny winked back with a laugh. He looked down at you, watching you stick out your tongue at your best friend. “Wanna go get cozy?”

“Oooh yeah!” you nodded. “I’m done with this dress, and these heels.” After saying goodnight, you and Danny went back upstairs to your room. You moaned exaggeratedly after taking off your heels, making Danny laugh as you went to the bedroom, grumbling about never making your bridesmaids have fancy dinners for a week, shutting the doors and breaking off your own words. 

Danny walked over to the couch, glancing towards the doors as the light flicked on. Through the frosted glass, he could see your dark silhouette moving about the bedroom. He meant to look away, but you were posed perfectly, taking off your dress at the foot of the bed. He watched you shimmy it down your body. Danny blushed, looking away, but not being able to ignore the movement out of his peripheral vision.

Danny’s eyes traced the curves of your body, feeling something stir in his stomach as he imagined being in there with you. The sound of another hotel room door in the hallway snapped him out of it, making him jump and scold himself. Turning around, he shook his head, telling himself it was the alcohol from dinner that was making him feel a little loose. 

“I meant to say last night,” Danny called out after clearing his throat. “Your friends all seem really nice.”

“Yeah?” you called back, no longer in view of the doors when he turned around. “They’re pretty cool.” the conversation lulled for a few moments until your shadow reappeared before opening the doors, greeting him in your pajamas. Danny watched as you moved to the bed, sitting on it as he came in, grabbing his pajamas off the bed and walking into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Danny changed quickly, coming back out and fishing his phone from his dress pants pocket, plugging it into the waiting charger on his bedside table.

“I’m glad you’re getting along with them.” you smiled, setting your own on the table on your side.

“They’re fun to talk to, for sure.” Danny sat on the bed, getting comfortable. You followed suit, getting under the covers and laying on your side, facing him. 

“Tell me about your friends.” Danny smiled at your request, awkwardly reaching behind him to grab his phone off the nightstand.

“It’s easier to show you, they’re kind of hard to describe.” he laughed, unlocking his phone screen. 

“Ooh show and tell.” Grabbing your pillow, you pushed it closer to Danny's, nearly overlapping it and scooting your body closer, leaning in to see his screen. He scrolled through his photos before landing on one. 

“This is Sam, he’s my best friend,” Danny tilted his screen to show you. “He’s probably one of the smartest people I know, he got accepted into Harvard. But he chose the band over it.”

“Oh wow, that’s a big decision.” you sighed, “What does he play?” 

“Bass and piano, he dabbles in a lot, we all do.” Danny proceeded to list off the instruments they all could play, watching your eyes get wide. 

“Okay go back to your friends before I feel even more talentless.”

“Sure,” Danny laughed. He swiped a few times, then landed on a picture of him and two others. “This is Jake, he’s the guitarist in the band. He’s insane, he’s always thinking of music and always playing these wild, complicated solos. And then that’s his twin Josh, he sings, he’s got this insane range.”

“Can I hear it?” At those words Danny became nervous. What if you didn’t like the music he dedicated his life to? What if you thought Josh’s vocals were too strange or it just wasn’t your genre? What if he picked the wrong song? “Please, Danny?” you pouted up at him from where your head lay partially on his pillow. 

“Okay,” Danny exited his photos and pulled up his music app, typing in his band's name. 

“Greta Van Fleet?” your voice was soft, as if you didn’t mean for him to hear. “Oh no, I told Olivia you were a rock band, and that sounds folksy.” 

“We are a rock band,” Danny soothed your worries. “Here, this is a good one to start you off with.” You sat up as Danny leaned back on one of his arms, propping himself up and setting his phone in the small space between you on the bed. The beginning of a song titled Heat Above started playing, and Danny watched as you tilted your head curiously at the organ. 

You kept your gaze on his phone screen, listening to the song as it played. Danny’s eyes were laser focused on you, noting every twitch in your lips, watching to see if they would turn down, if your head would shake instead of nod along. He suddenly despised how long the song was, near six minutes of agony as he awaited your thoughts. 

“Oh wow,” the words slipped from your mouth softly as the first chorus hit. Danny couldn’t help but lean in slightly, exhaling a silent sigh of relief when you started to smile. “Danny, this is really good!”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah! Nodding eagerly, you turned back to him, eyes twinkling before pointing back to the phone screen where clips from the music video played. “I don’t know that I care for that metal thing they put on your head, though. I can’t imagine that it was light or fun to wear with those curls.” 

“It wasn’t so bad.” Danny shrugged. 

“I like Jake’s puffy sleeves though.”

“Oh that’s Josh,” Danny corrected gently, making you blush. “Jake is the one with the hat.”

“I’m sorry,” you slouched down, feeling embarrassed though there wasn’t much reason to. 

“You just learned who they were five minutes ago,” Danny assured you. “As long as you don’t confuse them to their faces, they’re fine.” Something stung about that comment, making you lay back down and get under the covers. Maybe it was the alcohol still in your system, but suddenly you were tired, and didn’t want to have this conversation anymore. 

“You okay?” Danny picked up on this, taking his phone off the bed and pausing the song. You closed your eyes, turning over so your back was to him. 

“Yeah,” you answered quietly. “Just got really tired.”

“Okay,” listening as Danny got under the covers, you started to drift to sleep. Danny paused momentarily as he turned from plugging his phone back into the charger, realizing you hadn’t moved back to your side of the bed. There was still plenty of room for him to comfortably lay, but your close proximity surprised him. Once settled, he turned out the lamp, sending the room into darkness.  

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked softly into the dark. The sheets rustled a bit as you moved, though you were still placed close.

“I’m just sad,” your voice was whisper-quiet, forcing Danny to turn his head towards you.

“Why?”

“Because in a few days, we won’t know each other anymore.” you replied, mumbling lazily now you were drifting farther into slumber. “And I’m gonna miss you.” Danny’s heart fluttered at your admission. You were going to miss him. Instantly the words ‘I’ll miss you too’ were at his lips, but your even breathing told him they wouldn’t be heard. 

Danny laid awake next to you, his eyes adjusting to the dark of the room and counting the seconds to distract him. Why did it bug him so much that you would miss him? And that he would miss you too? Everything suddenly felt new to him. He’d gone on fake dates before, but it was nothing more than a night out, a dinner with long distance relatives or a work function. Never something as involved as this. 

Slipping out of bed, careful not to disturb you, Danny grabbed his phone and headed to the living room, shutting the doors quietly. Taking a seat on the edge of the couch, he opened facetime, pressing the first contact. 

“Daniel!” The young man grinned when the video call connected. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“Hey Sam,” Danny felt like he could breathe a sigh of relief. “I’m glad you’re up.” Sam rolled his eyes with a smirk.

“It’s only midnight,” he scoffed. “What’s up?”

“I need to talk to you about something.” This sobered Sam’s smile, Danny’s face was nervous, serious, and Sam began to run through every scenario he could.

“What’s going on?”

“Okay,” Danny took a deep breath. “You know how I’ve been going out on a lot of dates the past few months?”

“Yeah, you’re a real stud these days.” Sam laughed, letting his guard back down. “What about them?”

“Well, they’re not really….real.” Danny grimaced, realizing he didn’t know how exactly to explain it. Sam’s face reflected confusion and Danny continued. “So there’s this app where people can hire dates-“

“Are you telling me you’re an escort?” Sam deadpanned. Danny shook his head, rolling his eyes. 

“No, I don’t sleep with them. It’s like if they need a date to a party or something, they can hire me and I’ll stand in.” Sam’s brows furrowed as he took the explanation. “I just got tired of you guys always trying to hook me up with someone, so I thought the dates would stop it.” 

“Danny you could’ve said something,” Sam frowned. “If you’d said it was uncomfortable we would’ve stopped.” 

“I know, but I just thought this was easier.” Danny shrugged. “Anyway, you know how I’m on my vacation?”

“Yeah?”

“Well my vacation is actually a date.”

“Wait what?” Sam moved on his couch, and Danny heard the gentle sound of his dog Rose’s tags clinging together as she adjusted presumably next to him. 

“This girl asked me to be her fake boyfriend for a wedding, and I said yes.” Danny told Sam. “It’s this weekend but she’s in the bridal party and there’s a bunch of stuff, and her ex is a groomsman and she’s asleep in the other room right now.”

“So, why are you coming clean now about this?” Sam asked, watching the journey on Danny’s face. “You could’ve waited until you came back.” 

“I-“ Danny began, but stopped. Sam arched an eyebrow at his hesitancy. “She’s a great girl, she’s sweet, and she’s funny, and I think we’re becoming friends,”

“Uh huuhhh,” Sam nodded, the tug of a smirk pulling the corner of his full lips up. 

“Her ex is a dickhead, and he tried talking shit about her the first night and I could’ve knocked him out there.” Danny continued as Sam’s smirk turned into a grin.

“Is she pretty?” Sam narrowed his eyes as Danny rolled his. 

“Gorgeous.” Danny nodded. A flash of your smile as he picked you up off the ground when he saw you after golf entered his mind.

“Daniel,” Sam leaned in close to his phone's camera. “You like her.” 

“Of course I like her, we’re friends.” Danny shrugged. Sam shook his head.

“No, no,” he corrected. “You like her. Might even be falling in love with her.” 

“I am not!” Danny whispered sharply, then turned to glance over his shoulder to make sure you didn’t wake. “I’ve only known her for three days.” Sam looked indignant and shrugged. 

“Sometimes that’s all it takes.” he sighed. “Do you think she likes you?”

“I don’t know,” Danny shrugged. “That’s why I wanted to talk to you. When we were going to bed, she had asked me about you all, and I showed her some pictures and I told her about you-“

“That’s where you went wrong, now she’s in love with me.” 

“Shut up,” Danny laughed softly. “But then she wanted to listen to a song, and she got Jake and Josh mixed up and then got sad.” Sam looked at Danny ludicrously. “She had a lot of wine after dinner, she’s a little tipsy.” Sam nodded in understanding. “But then when I asked if she was okay, she said that she was sad because after this week, we won’t know each other anymore, and that she’ll miss me.”

“Will you miss her?” Danny felt the words bubble up in his throat again.

“Yeah, I will.” Danny admitted, feeling a weight off his chest he didn’t realize was there. Sam stared at his best friend for a long moment, then spoke.

“Do you want my honest opinion?” he asked. 

“Always,”

“A drunken mind speaks of a sober heart.” Sam recited the old adage. “I don’t know if she feels the same as you do, but at least she said she’s going to miss you. That tells me she feels something for you.”

“What if she just sees me as a friend?” Sam shrugged at Danny’s question. 

“Then you’ve gained a new friend.” he leaned back against his couch, yawning. “Something tells me she likes you back, though.”

“What makes you say that?” Danny asked curiously. 

“You said ‘we were going to bed’. Are you in the same bed?” Sam asked nonchalantly. 

“Well, yeah.”

“Listen, I don’t know her but most women wouldn’t share a bed with a man they didn’t like if they didn't have to.” Sam answered. “Especially a stranger they only just met.”

“I don’t know,” Danny worried his bottom lip between his teeth. 

“Daniel, make a move.” Sam advised. 

“We still have five days left, what if she doesn’t and everything is awkward? We have to really sell that we’ve been together for six months.” Danny sighed, leaning back. “What if it messes everything up?”

“And what if it doesn’t?” Sam questioned back. Danny groaned, knowing Sam was right. Hearing shuffling from the bedroom, he sat up again, lowering his voice. 

“I think she might be up, I gotta go.”

“Good luck, Daniel,” Sam gave his friend a little salute. “Keep me updated.”  They hung up, and Danny slowly made his way over to the bedroom doors. He didn’t hear any movement, so he gently twisted the knob of one of the doors, opening it slowly. 

The shuffling he had heard turned out to you rolling over in your sleep, head fully on his pillow now. Danny smiled at the sight of you, sound asleep on his pillow, arms encircling it. Had he stayed in bed, would that have been him? 

“Shit,” Danny sighed under his breath. He was going to have to send a text in the morning, one he knew he’d never hear the end of.

He really was falling for you.

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[theresawritesstuff]

Maisel: An 18 year old Esther announces at Yom Kippur that she’s changing her last name to Weissman-Bruce. Chaos ensues.

So, little personal author fun fact... While my situation was different from Esther's growing up, I very likely would have taken my step father's family name had I not gotten married right out of high school. So stepfather/daughter stuff like this is definitely has a place in my heart.

Love the prompt! Enjoy the chaos ❤️

Yom Kippur 1976

"I changed my name."

The table fell silent for quite possibly the first time in family history. Certainly the first she could remember.

"What?" her mother asked finally, swallowing down her bite of food.

"I changed my last name. I'm not Esther Maisel anymore," she repeated.

More stunned silence followed.

"When?" Mama wondered.

"Just before fall registration. I had been thinking about doing it for a while and it seemed like as good a time as any. Save the hassle of changing it later with school records, signing up for classes, eventual diplomas…"

Papa Abe nodded sagely to himself at her logic. "I do not miss the clerical errors of academia. The number of spelling mistakes I caught at Columbia…"

Pop finally got over his shock enough to speak. Unfortunately.

"What do you mean you changed your name? You're a Maisel."

"Not legally anymore," Esther countered into her wine glass. "At least not according to a lot of paperwork I had to file."

"Don't get smart with me, young lady. This is serious," Pop warned.

"Too late," Chiam muttered under his breath, prompting his mother to choke back a barely stifled laugh.

"What'd she say?" Grandpa Moishe adjusted his hearing aid.

"Esther changed her name," Ethan replied casually, returning to his chicken.

He was the only one who wasn't surprised. 

Because he was the only one who already knew.

Grandpa Moishe nodded, satisfied with the answer. "Oh. Good for you, pumpkin."

"I always thought the matching sibling initials was a weird trend," Grandma Shirley chimed.

"So what are we calling you now? Deborah?" Grandpa asked.

Esther groaned. "God no, there's so many Debbies on campus already."

"Are you one of those transexuals, honey? Because we'll still love you no matter what," Grandma Shirley promised.

Ethan nearly spit his drink across the table, earning a pat on the back from Kitty beside him.

"Just as long as you don't go parading around in an ill fitting suit," Grandpa amended.

"Nope. Still Esther Grandma. Not that kind of name change," she replied.

"How do you two know what a transexual is?" Ethan wondered, fighting back a laugh.

Grandma Shirley's eyes lit up at the chance to tell the tale. "We saw that movie! The one with all the singing and the thrusting. It was very sparkly. I think there were aliens at one point?"

"I don't know. I fell asleep around when Meatloaf showed up," Grandpa admitted, unimpressed.

"We thought we were going to see that new boxing movie."

"It was not about boxing."

"The songs were catchy though!"

"Very catchy."

Susie barely concealed her amusement as she looked pointedly across the table at Mama.

"That's so going in your act," she muttered knowingly.

Mama gave her friend a look. It was true, but not the time.

"You can't just change your last name," Pop insisted indignantly.

Her stepfather scoffed. "Why not? I did."

"Stay out of this, Lenny," Pop barked.

"We're in my house," Lenny reminded him.

"And she's my kid," Pop spat back.

Lenny tossed down his napkin and started to stand, the limits of his patience finally reached.

"Oh shit," Uncle Noah breathed, preparing for a scuffle to break out and looking a bit too excited about it.

Mama put a hand on Lenny's arm in an attempt to keep the peace. "Joel–"

"I changed it to Weissman-Bruce," Esther blurted over the mounting chaos, bringing the table to another uncharacteristic standstill.

"What?" Pop looked like he might have an aneurism.

"Really?"

Esther turned at the awe in her stepfather's voice.

"Yes."

Lenny swallowed, his eyes getting misty as Mama squeezed his hand, looking between the two equally touched.

Oh shit. Of all the people she expected to cry during the course of this conversation, her money had not been on Lenny. 

Herself, maybe. 

Grandma Shirley had been the front runner. But Lenny…

"Cool. Welcome to Team Hyphen," her little sister Lilah quipped, looking up from her book.

Esther couldn't help the breathless laugh that escaped her. "Thanks Birdie," she whispered.

"We'll teach you the secret handshake later," Ari offered, earning himself a light smack on the back of the head from Mei.

He gave Esther a wink across the table all the same, the lovable little mensch.

She smiled and gave him a nod in agreement.

It would have been so easy to resent her half sibling, to blame him for the way her relationship with their father had disintegrated over the years, for taking him away from her and Ethan. 

But she was smarter than that. She'd learned pretty quickly that the kids aren't the ones responsible for their parents' choices. 

And frankly she'd take her little brother over Pop just about any day of the week these days.

"You traded my name for his?" Pop growled, gesturing derisively to Lenny.

Mei turned to glare at him. "Joel–"

But Lenny wasn't the only one done with putting up with Joel Maisel for the evening.

"For fucks sake Pop, not everything is about you!" she cried.

"Language, young lady," Grandma Shirley gasped.

She barely registered the rebuke, venting, "It's not like I'm the only one left to carry on the family name for the next generation or some bullshit. You've got two sons. That's their job!"

Ethan looked up mid-bite. "It is?"

"That and dispatching really big bugs," Kitty confirmed in mock sympathy.

"Esther!" Grandma Rose reprimanded.

She rolled her eyes. "Grandma please. I was raised by two of the most foul mouthed entertainers in the country and had Susie as one of my primary babysitters. That is not the worst thing that has been said by a member of this family by a longshot."

"Why am I getting dragged into this?" Susie wondered through a bite of kugel.

Ari looked up. "Wait, what's our job?"

"Procreation and extermination, apparently," Ethan chuckled.

"College first," Mei reminded him in a veiled warning.

"What brought this about?" Mama wondered gently.

Esther exhaled a sigh. "I just…I'm going to be a scientist someday. And Mama, as much as I respect the work you've done to build your career, I can't walk into every classroom, interview, and workplace and hear 'oh hey just like the foxy comedienne who tells all those dick jokes! Say, you kind of look like her too'. I just can't. It's already hard enough getting anyone to take me seriously. I have always been a Weissman anyway. Papa Abe has said so since before I could read. It will make things easier and it just…felt right. So I did it. I didn't know how to tell you before."

"It's okay sweetie," her mother reassured her, taking her hand.

"So why tack Bruce on the end? People know his name too, you know. Why not just leave it at Weissman?" Pop demanded.

Her mother glared at him.

"You wanna know why?" Esther laughed mirthlessly. "Because he's earned it. I've earned it. Lenny has been more of a father to me in the past 14 years than you ever have been."

"What are you talking about? I've been there for you!"

"You've been in Chicago on and off for almost my entire childhood!"

She shook her head, so fed up she wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh or cry.

"And you know what? I get it. You felt like you had to follow Mei when she got her residency because of true love or whatever and yeah Mei is amazing. I get you not wanting to give up on that. And then Ari came along and that made things complicated. I get that part now.  But as a little kid all I knew then was that Daddy left. Again."

To his credit, Pop did look genuinely pained by her reply. "I split my time as best I could..."

"For a while, yeah," she admitted. "But it only took a few years before it felt like you stopped trying. Even when you were here it never felt like you cared. You'd check in with Ethan but sometimes I wondered if you even remembered I was there. And don't say you didn't know how to talk to me because you never even tried. Meanwhile, Lenny…" 

She blinked back tears thinking about all this so openly. "God, even when he was going through hell fighting for his career, dodging obscenity convictions by the skin of his teeth, staying sober when it would have been so much easier to fall off the wagon, he always was there for us when we needed him. He always cared. Always. And he never once stopped trying to do right by our family. He's the one who actually taught me how to ride a bike instead of just saying 'here watch your brother do it'. He's the one who helped me with my debate homework when the thought of public speaking made me want to hurl and let me talk his ear off about music and dumb science fiction novels and what Karen said in home economics and didn't laugh when I had to wear headgear for six months. I had braces by the way. But you wouldn't know that because you ran off to Chicago and left us."

"Esther…"

"I visited. I called. I'm here now. I–"

"So that just makes it all okay? I'm supposed to feel grateful? Honored to share your name because you decided to waltz back to New York now that Ethan's back stateside?"

She shook her head, getting up from the table.

"I'm still your father."

"No. No you're not."

"Esther."

"I need some air."

"Esther!"

"Joel." Mei put a hand on his arm. "Let her go."

It was Susie who eventually broke the silence, reaching for another piece of challah.

"You guys always did know how to throw one hell of a break fast."

The fall air was a welcome reprieve from inside as she collected herself on the fire escape. 

"Room out here for one more?"

She smiled slightly as Lenny came to sit beside her on the cool metal.

They let the sounds of the city fill the silence between them, Esther eventually letting herself slump against his shoulder.

"I didn't mean to tell everyone like that. It just…" 

"It's okay, sweetie," he murmured, wrapping an arm around her.

She nodded, sniffling as she wiped at her face with the back of her hand. "I don't care what he thinks. As far as I'm concerned he lost his fathering privileges a long time ago."

"You're an adult now. You get to decide what your relationship with him looks like."

She nodded again. Somehow it didn't make her feel better.

"What you said back there…"

"I know you haven't always been perfect but at least you've always tried. You did the work. You never stopped trying to be there for us. And you've owned up to your mistakes. I don't think he's ever done that."

She swallowed, looking up at him shyly.

"Is…is it too late to ask if I can call you Dad?"

Lenny smiled softly, hugging her tighter. "You can call me whatever you want. But Dad would be pretty fucking great."

"I've wanted to for a long time," she admitted. "I did once. Not to you, just to myself for a little while. Trying it out in my head back when you and Mama first got married. I slipped up and called you dad when I was talking to him over about… I don't know, some plans we had for the weekend or whatever. He took it about like he did back there on a smaller scale. I still wanted to call you Dad but I was little and wasn't brave enough to stand up to him. I was afraid I'd slip up and set him off. I guess I grew out of that."

"You and your mother sure know how to throw down a tirade when someone pushes you hard enough, I'll give you that," he chuckled. "But I'm proud of you for standing your ground. I mean it."

"He just makes me so mad sometimes. The way he just pretends everything is fine and normal no matter how long it's been."

"Oh I get it." Lenny shook his head. "We've had a tenuous truce over the years for the sake of you kids but…"

He let out a sigh through his nose.

"For what it's worth, I've always considered you and your brother my kids, no matter what you called me. Just as much as Kitty and Lilah."

"I know."

"You gonna be okay?"

Esther nodded. "Yeah."

He leaned over to kiss her hair before getting to his feet. "Love you."

He paused at the window before climbing in.

"I'm not saying you have to forgive him or let him in your life in any capacity you don't want to…But try not to stay too mad at him forever. It's not good for your health."

She heaved a tired sigh, knowing he was right.

"Maybe just a little longer?"

Lenny chuckled. "Okay. You've earned it."

"Hey...Will you let me know when he's gone so I can have some honey cake?"

Lenny nodded. "I'll send someone out with a big slice in a few minutes. That way you don't have to fight Susie for the last bit."

She smiled genuinely at that.

"Thanks Dad."

Lenny nodded, looking a little watery again at hearing her say it. 

Finally.

"No problem kiddo."

[ceph-the-ghost-writer]

Heyy happy STS! If your characters were real, would you get along with them? Would you have stuff in common? Would you hang out? And if so, what activities would you guys do? (For any character(s) you want from any story!)

@orphanheirs Hiii hello! Thank you for the ask! (Do you do STS or any events, btw? I know you collect inspiration/aesthetic stuff for your writing, but didn't see any tag or ask posts.)

For Apophenia's characters...I'd get along with most of them, partly because many share fragments of personality or interest with me already.

Isaac and I would awkwardly make small talk until animals or supernatural stuff came up, then we'd lose track of time being gd nerds. We're both people who can enjoy just being around each other and doing our own thing, but also like to discuss ideas and do chill activities together (games, watch stuff, museums, etc.). We have some of the same flaws, but we'd encourage each other to do better because it's much easier for us to do that for others than it is for ourselves. All in all, I think we'd be close friends.

Renato has some of my more sociable/charming traits, just dialed up to 11. Honestly, he's too cool for me and would lose interest pretty quickly, especially because he's allergic to having genuine or introspective conversations. We don't have much in common beyond some general knowledge of ships and the ocean. If I had a party and invited him, all the other guests would forget about me and go follow him to a bar. (Then regret it after he, you know, drank all their blood or got them into a fight or something, but still.)

Another too-cool-for-me character is Elfy, but she's much easier to have a conversation with, and her charm and energy aren't weapons. We both love spooky stuff, and like Isaac I'd go with her to haunted sites. (Unlike Isaac, I'd enjoy myself.) All the stuff I could do with him I could do with her, plus if we did something more socially engaging I wouldn't have to worry about awkward lapses in interaction--Elfy would keep that ball rolling.

The best I could hope for with Kinslayer is that they adopt me like tarantulas will live with those frogs. We do both like books, poetry, and stories in general, and they're fond of Isaac, so I think I have a decent chance.

Breezy would be like the cool grandma or aunt I never really had. She's done a lot of traveling and had a lot of adventures, so she's full of stories and useful advice. These days she's content to run her hotel/bar in the middle of nowhere and stay slightly stoned at all times. I'd enjoy learning gardening tips from her and trying some of the, uh, special mushrooms she grows.

Friends aren't exactly Motley's thing, being a shapeshifting necromancer. I'd want to be friends with it, though, so, so, so bad. Maybe it would let me just hang out nearby as it sits in the desert and stares into the horizon, or wanders through abandoned places.

Oleander would be annoyed by me at first, but then again, she's that way with everyone so I wouldn't take it personally. She'd eventually warm up to me, I think. We could listen to Sisters of Mercy and practice throwing knives. I could probably convince her to try video games or DnD, which she'd enjoy once she got over how nerdy they are.