#but my fathers also been saying that hes started barking at other dogs a lot recently

[thatoneluckybee]

Okay, so lemme ramble about the Wild Hunt for a sec, given the new episode, because I am certain there is/will be symbolism at play

Essentially, the Wild Hunt is this germanic (though there's many similar ones around the world) myth. It's this horde of spirits/ghosts that travels through the night on an eternal hunt. Crossing their path is generally seen as a big no-no and a good way to become part of the horde of hallowed dead stuck in the eternal hunt. The same goes for copying their sounds of howling wind (and sometimes barking dogs). However, either of these can be rewarded (usually with something that seems worthless and usually turns out to be gold)

Now, for that sweet symbolism. First of all, the Wild Hunt usually consisted of the hallowed dead. They didn't get to pass onto the afterlife, instead bring swept up by the hunt. In the story this more than likely is replaced by those floating eyeball thingies - the souls of those who got stuck in this world before the afterlife

What I'm more curious/concerned about though is who leads it. It's most certainly someone's Phantom, given the little card with abilities. But who could it be? Let's use some clues from both the episode and the myth

First, the episode. There's 3 main things to consider here. 1) this phantom was outside the gate (and thus also unlikely to be a dean or student). 2) your phantom has to do with how you die (this also ties in with the myths). 3) looking at it's abilities, it has something called 'overclock', and while this could be some sort of rage mode, I think it'd make more sense if it means that this Phantom form can stay up either for a long-ass time, or straight up indefinitely

Now, for the myths. The figure who leads the Hunt actually changes a lot depending on the specific telling, and it's been both men and woman. A largely common factor though is that they get stuck in the Hunt after exclaiming their love for hunting, and something along the lines of wishing they could do it forever (potentially specifically instead of an actual afterlife). Given the thing I said before, I think it's a fairly safe bet the person who's Phantom it is died hunting, or at the very least pursuing something

The person who leads the hunt also seems to be searching for Lenore specifically, which is interesting to me. The Wild Hunt generally hunts animals, not people. So I propose 2 possibilities:

1, mythological: The Wild Hunt, like I said, should generally not be interacted with according to most myths. A possibility is that Lenore or on of her predecessors did do that in some way, shape, or form. Maybe in the real world, but Phantoms can't really be there I think? Maybe someone else like her brother or parent were also in this between dimension and messed with it, though I don't believe that's how it generally works. But maybe that thing at the start of the story, where they got noticed by those monsters, was actually them getting noticed by the Hunt, which is why it's now after her (and likely Annabel too in that case)

2, relationship driven: Essentially, my other idea is that the Phantom that is the Hunt is going after Lenore specifically because of who she is. Maybe her father died or something? But in that case I think her brother is way more likely. Think about it, Theo was first looking for (pursuing?) Lenore. The tree got knocked down by lightning (one of the Phantom's abilities). And he was riding his horse when he was killed. Just saying, it could be possible

Also, interestingly enough, both Lenore and Annabel have a certain degree of connection to the Night Hunt? Lenore has already denounced the 'natural' way passing onto the afterlife is supposed to go in favour of having herself and all her friends coming back to life, somewhat reminiscend of the leaders of the hunt commonly rejecting the afterlife in favour of their hunt. And the woman that led the Hunt in some stories likely all stem from the same figure, the supposed Old Mother Frost (and what, if I may ask you, is Annabel's ability?)

No matter who it is though, I'm hoping they touch on that idea of someone who crosses the Wild Hunt (and shows cleverness/boldness) sometimes gets rewarded. And while is generally looks useless at first, it often turns out to be valuable. Who knows, this endeavor just might be the key to escaping...

...well, that or I'm looking way too deep into it and the writer just chose the Wild Hunt because it looks/sounds cool and vaguely fitting of spirits of the night coming to get you. I mean, most thing I just said are honestly closest to incoherent rambling with vague connections, but who knows...

This is nevermore, you’re NEVER looking too deep into it

IM MAIN TAGGING THIS THIS IS AMAZING

I think it could be Theo? We know SOMETHING happened to him as he was at the top of his class. Was he reincarnated? I doubt it. Theo is also connected with deer and hunting. Would also explain why the Wild Hunt (which Lenore thinks is her curse) seems to be targeting her and her family.

[armandism]

my dog just snapped at another dog and hes never done that before and now idk what to do. like was that dogs vibe just off or is my guy starting to be a shithead

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for exposing my sister-in-law's secret during a fight?

Ok, this one is going to need a bunch of context.

I (29F) started to date my fiance F (31M) when I was 26. While he is the sweetest person ever, his family is a bit difficult and it was hard for me to fit in. They are a very traditional family of Japanese descent, very rich too, and his mother MIL (60sF) had a dream of seeing all of her three sons married to other rich girls of Japanese descent. I am white and from very humble origins, so I was not very well accepted at first. The thing that bothered me the most was the constant comparisons to my brother in law BIL's (34M) wife SIL (33F), who is rich and of Japanese descent. I was deeply in love with F and decided to fight for my place in his family; I started to take Japanese classes and ended up really good at it, and I was also the one who took care of MIL after her appendicitis' surgery. She recognized my hard work and we became closer and closer, at the same time she realized SIL didn't make the same effort for her and the family as I do, and she started to be very vocal about how I was her favorite daughter in law and how SIL should do better and try to be more like me. Suddenly, the tables have turned and SIL was the one being compared to me, no the other way around.

Of course she didn't like that at all and started to antagonize me and criticize every small thing about me. She would complain my dog would bark too much (which she did, but SIL was a little mean about it), and when my dog died, she made a comment about how finally she wouldn't have to hear her barking anymore (that stung a lot since I loved my dog with all my heart and she was like a baby to me), she would also complain about my apartment every time she visited me, saying it was too cheap (as I said, I come from humble origins) and her newest topic of complaining are my earrings: I like to wear cute and funny earrings (only at work and family gatherings, I don't wear them at social events or anything like that) and she always talks about how I'm too old to wear them and how tacky it looks. F and I noticed she's been progressively meaner the closer we get to our wedding (three months from now) and think she's trying to scare me away before I become an official part of the family.

One last piece of context: some months ago, F told me in confidence about how 6 years ago SIL's brother and sister in law died in a car accident and left an orphaned boy of 4 years old. SIL was the little boy's only family, but she refused to take him in saying she already had too much work with her own son (who was also 4 at the time). That didn't go well with the family; MIL and my father in law (who was alive at the time) assured her they would help with the kid and she would have all the support, but she simply didn't want the boy, so he was sent to the system. That was something MIL never forgave her for, since family is everything to her, and it was something only MIL, BIL, SIL, F and his younger brother knew. He told me that in confidence and asked me to not tell anyone. I promised I wouldn't.

Now for the actual situation.

Our last family dinner was one of F's cousins' birthday, so all the extended family was around. No kidding, I think there were around 60 people there or more. SIL, once again, decided to mock me about my earrings (little cherry earrings, very cute) and talked again how I was to old to wear them, how they were kid earrings etc. I've been tolerating her bullshit for so long now and after her comments about my dog's death, I was more sensitive than usual, so I snapped back and said that it's not because she dresses herself like an old lady that I have to do the same. She got angry at that and a proper fight started; we saying worse and worse stuff to each other while everyone stopped to watch. It ended up with her mocking my upbringing and calling me a gold digger, accusing my of only being with F for his money. That really struck a nerve because I heard that before at the beginning of our relationship and it always hurt my feelings, since I genuinely love F. Before I could even think about it, I said: "At least I'm not a heartless bitch like you. How's your nephew doing, by the way? Oh, you have no idea, right? Since you put him in a fucking orphanage!"

She got speechless after that and left the place, went straight to her car with BIL and went home. I didn't hear from her or him since them. F is furious with me since he told me that in confidence and now all the extended family knows SIL's secret. MIL doesn't care at all; she never got over what SIL did to that little boy and it's been a while since SIL isn't in her best graces.

Now that I'm calmer I feel a little guilty for exposing SIL like that, but she was always so awful to me that I can't really feel that bad. Mostly, I feel bad for BIL, with who I always had a good relationship and even defended me back in the day when the family didn't accept me very well. Now he's not talking to me either and, as far as I know, he's also not talking to F.

So, AITA?

What are these acronyms?

[pinkeoni]

Will’s Creation Powers: A Man, His Dog, and a Baseball Bat

I don’t think I’ve ever made my own concrete creation power post that actually went into detail about this, so let’s discuss how the monsters in the Upside Down perfectly align with Will’s fear of his dad.

Pretty long post and discussions of child abuse under the cut

So right now my working theory is that while Will was being abused by Lonnie as a child, Will’s consciousness traveled to the Upside Down as a place of safety. There, Will subconsiously manifested his fears as the monsters in the UD.

We aren’t told in the show exactly how long the monster have been living in the UD. Perhaps with The First Shadow we will know more, but as far as we know it’s possible they haven’t always been there. We just know that they’ve been there at least before Henry got there, meaning that he at least didn't create them.

Why Do I Think Will Has Creation Powers?

I guess maybe I should explain why I believe that Will has creation powers in the first place.

Let's say you had a character that had certain powers, but you couldn't reveal them until the final season, how would you hint at them so they don't come out of nowhere, all without blatantly revealing them?

Will's art has been a staple of his character since the first season, it's even been used in regards to major plot points. IE Joyce recognizing that El's art in the lab is not Will's art, and Will drawing the tunnels in season two. Will uses art as an outlet for his creativity, but he also uses it to express his emotions, such as hurt, fear, or love.

We also know that Henry needs Will for something, although what exactly hasn't been stated. I don't personally believe that Will was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, given how much we have been shown in season 4 is actually very calculated by Henry. We do know, however, that Henry wants to destroy the world in order to rebuild it in his image. So how would he gain access to an ability like that?

In season two, we learn through Kali that some power users have abilities that other power users don't have. Kali is able to create visions for other people. We also learn that gate opening in a power unique to El, and the "Vecna Visions" that we see is something that we've only seen Henry do. If Will had a power unique to him, and that power was related to his art, it wouldn't come out of nowhere.

Lonnie the Demogorgon

I’ll start with Lonnie, which will lead us to all of the other monsters. He is the main perpetrator here. kaypeace21 has a ton of theory posts on her page that goes into a lot of detail, I reccommend checking them out since it’s my main source of inspiration for this theory.

In my mind the coding between the demogorgon and Lonnie is pretty clear. Lonnie was mentioned as a possible suspect as to who Will could be with. The demogorgon eats its eggs. Lonnie is the predator that is hunting down and hurting his family. Demogorgon literally means “deep father.”

I wanna point out this scene too. Will is talking to Joyce through the wall and he says “It’s coming!” in reference to the demogorgon. It’s not the very next scene, but the next scene with Joyce shows Lonnie arriving at the Byers home.

Chester the Demodog

When the demogorgon appears outside of Will’s house on the night he vanished, Chester barks at the door. (Notice too how Chesters head is positioned right next to a plant, similar to how demodogs have flower shaped heads) When Jonathan goes to see Lonnie a little later, there’s a dog barking in the distance.

Perhaps, whenever Lonnie would come home, maybe after a night of drinking, Chester would bark signaling his return? Maybe Will associates Chester barking with his father?

One of the demodogs, formerly D’Art, was being kept as a pet by Dustin. Chester was Will’s former pet, who seemed to die before the season where demodogs are introduced. D'Art also killed Dustin's other pet, Mews, creating another dead pet correlation.

The Baseball Demobat

This one might seem like the biggest stretch, but if you pair it up with the other two it may not be that far of a reach. We know from season one that Lonnie used to bring Will to baseball games, baseball games that Will didn't even like going to. I propose in a theory here that baseball games may be associated with a particularly bad memory for Will. We see that Will did hold on to a baseball bat, which he uses to destroy Castle Byers with.

The demobats have long tails, similar to the long hilt of a baseball bat.

In season 4, when being attacked by the demobats, Steve grabs one by the tail and swings it to the ground like a baseball bat. Steve is also a character who was seen using a bat before in season 2.

Proposed Timeline:

When Will is a young child, he is abused by his father (possibly on his birthday?)

Will consciousness travels to the Upside Down, and possibly links with the Shadow Monster

Through a fear response, Will creates the monsters in the Upside Down as he associates them with the abuse of his father

Will, however, doesn't remember this abuse (similar to how El doesn't remember the massacre of the lab)

In season 5, Will will likely have to confront these missing memories and his powers will reawaken

[wheretheharekissesthefox]

The place where we belong

Halsin returns to Waterdeep and is greeted by Astarion. They start to talk - secrets (and feelings) are revealed.

(Trigger warning (18+): graphic description of sex, smut, body worship, consensual blood drinking, fellatio, frottage, mentioning of past non-con/rape, fluff, the feels, character study)

Notes:

I used official D&D/Forgotten Realms maps to pinpoint the locations of Gale's tower house. The maps can be found here , here, and here.

A few other fanfics (Tav’s gift, Tav’s sex parade – Chapter 8: Just in time for dinner, Why do you make me feel this way? - Chapter 13: Contentment) are mentioned.

To avoid confusion: In one of my other fanfics Halsin and Tav had named the owlbear cup Naïlo, which means 'night breeze' in the Elven language.

Halsin's quasi-official last name's based on this tumblr post.

According to DnD lore, elves reach their physically maturity at 25 and their mental maturity at around 100. This is also the time, when they get a new, 'adult' name.

According to DnD lore, elves don't sleep, but rest in a meditative, trance-like state called reverie. You can see Astarion (and your Elven Tav) do exactly that in camp during a long rest when a sleep-around-the-campfire cutscene plays.

Halsin closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The spring air smelled fresh and slightly sweet even in the City of Splendors. It probably helped that Gale's tower house was located right next to the sea and Mount Waterdeep. Halsin knocked at the door, heart thumping against his breastbone. He smiled when Astarion opened it and looked up at him.

"Oak Father, preserve you, Astarion. How are you?"

"Hello, druid, I'm doing fantastic. And you?"

"It's good to be back. Can I come in?"

"Of course."

The vampire spawn stepped aside and waved Halsin inside. The latter chuckled amused, entered the tower house, took his boots off, and dropped his bags with a relieved sigh.

"Where's everyone?" he asked.

Astarion leaned against the door frame casually, arms crossed and hip canted to the side.

"Well, as you know, a lot of things have changed. Shadowheart became a high priestess of Selûne, Gale teaches at the Blackstaff Academy now, and our beloved bard's travelling around North Faerûn again, singing her heart out. It's just you and me, darling."

"I see. I'm glad you're here even though you can walk in the sun again," smiled Halsin.

Astarion smiled back.

"Are you hungry?"

"I wouldn't say no to a meal."

"Tea?"

"Would be appreciated, thank you."

"Come on then," lilted Astarion and turned towards the kitchen, but before Halsin could follow him, Scratch and Naïlo barged into the entrance hallway, barking and hooting. With a laugh, the druid distributed some well-deserved affection. When they finally had their fill, the dog and the owlbear scuttled back into the living room. Only now, Tara made her appearance.

"Welcome home, Mister Silverbough," she purred, slinking closer to receive chin scratches.

"Hello, Tara. It's nice to be back," smiled Halsin and provided her the volitional caresses.

Astarion choked on air he didn't need to breathe in.

"You have a last name?!"

Halsin blinked at him dumbly.

"... yes?"

"I thought you're just Halsin. You know, Halsin the druid and so on, but you have a family name?"

"Doesn't... everyone?"

"Gods! I'm shocked." Theatrically, Astarion placed a hand on his heart. "Are there even more secrets I need to be informed about?"

The addressed stayed silent for a while, then he said quietly: "I don't have an adult name. Just like you."

The vampire spawn stared at him wide-eyed.

"You don't? Halsin..." His voice broke and his hand shook as he touched the druid's arm. "Why not? What happened?"

Halsin swallowed thickly, averting his eyes from the intense ruby-red gaze.

"My... my parents died before I hit Elven Maturity. It felt wrong to get rid of the name they gave me. It would have been like throwing away a gift."

"I'm sorry," Astarion whispered sincerely.

The druid nodded.

"So am I. But other than me, you had no choice. You got turned into a spawn when you were only thirty-nine. It would have been another sixty-one years before your coming-of-age celebration."

Astarion barked a bitter laugh.

"As it turns out, I rarely had a choice in life."

"And I'm sorry about that."

Astarion bristled at the softness of Halsin's eyes and the sincerity of his words. 'Don't pity me,' he wanted to snarl, but he didn't. He knew it wasn't pity but compassion. He took a deep breath and calmed the storm that raged inside him.

"Thank you. For everything," he said and Halsin nodded, smiling understandingly.

"I'll make tea," Astarion remarked, rushing into the kitchen to hide his traitorous teary eyes.

Halsin followed him, surprisingly light-footed and silently for his height and width. The vampire spawn placed the sandwich tray on the table without looking at him.

"Astarion," the druid spoke softly. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" the addressed snapped. "Everything's fine. Mind your own business!"

Halsin took hold of Astarion's shaking hands.

"Why are you in distress? Tell me, little vampire."

The addressed shivered and finally looked up at the wood elf.

"I - I hate it. I hate that I never had a choice. I'm stuck with my child name – my child name – forever! I'm a member of the Ancunin family, godsdammit, I was promised great things: a dignified name, a powerful position in politics, wealth, respect. And I got fangs, red eyes, and fragile immortality instead! It wasn't my choice. I never had a choice!"

Now, tears were running down his cheeks.

"Don't you get it, druid? I'm jealous of you! You kept your name because you wanted to. You had a choice I never had. And now, look at you: the great druid Halsin Silverbough. Dignified and distinguished. And all I am is a spawn."

"Now, now," Halsin murmured, gently wiping Astarion's tears away with his thumbs. "Why so bitter about your faith? I know how unfair life was to you, how much pain and horror you had to endure, but that lies in the past. Just look at you and how wonderful you turned out even after everything you went through. Or maybe because of it. You're extraordinary, Astarion. You have such a big heart and you're so good, little vampire."

The addressed sobbed, squeezing his eyes shut. The druid's words hurt, downright burned in his chest, and he felt the bitterness eat at him like acid.

Halsin's thumbs brushed over his wet cheeks again. So gently. Too gently. Astarion wanted to scream and rip the other elf's throat out.

"May I kiss you?" Halsin whispered, and even though his entire body wanted to kill instead of kiss, Astarion nodded with a sob.

Halsin's mouth was soft and undemanding. He just brushed their lips together gently before pulling back and wrapping Astarion into a hug. The latter sighed. The druid was so warm, soft and firm at the same time, and utterly unthreatening. The vampire spawn melted into his arms and started to calm down. He only let go of Halsin when the water threatened to boil over. Reluctantly, Astarion stepped back and brew tea. Lavender, of course. The druid touched his tense shoulder.

"Feeling better?"

Astarion nodded.

"Drink your tea and eat your meal," he ordered.

With a small smile, Halsin obeyed and sat down at the table. While he devoured the first sandwich, generously topped with salted butter, cucumber slices and garden cress, the vampire spawn went to the bathroom to splash some cold water in his puffy face. He felt a bit ashamed about his emotional outburst and scolded himself an idiot for telling the druid about his true feelings. He wished for the ground to open up and swallow him whole. Astarion took in a shuddering breath – still always breathing even though there was no need for it – and willed himself to calm down.

"Astarion?"

"Give me a minute!"

He exhaled, opened his eyes, and look into the mirror above the sink. All he saw was his white shirt and his black leather trousers. And all he could conclude from it was what he already knew by looking down at his body: he was skinny. Astarion left the bathroom. Halsin looked troubled.

"I'm fine," the vampire spawn sighed. "Stop worrying and eat up."

Lost in thought, the druid gazed at the half-eaten sandwich in his hands – triple cheese – before, finally, finishing it with gusto. Astarion watched him fondly.

"Gale made a lingonberry jam pie. Do you want some?"

Halsin's eyes went wide, sparkling with joy, and the vampire spawn laughed.

"That's a yes, I wager."

He got up, grabbed the pie, and cut off a big slice. Then, he slid the plate over to the druid and handed him a fork. Halsin moaned at the first bite. The tartness of the berries and the sweetness of the sugar were perfectly balanced with the exotic spices in the crust.

"Yes, yes. Gale's a god in the kitchen, I know," teased Astarion and the druid nodded, still chewing.

"Delicious," the latter sighed then, shovelling more of the pie into his mouth.

Chuckling, the vampire spawn observed him. When Halsin had emptied his plate, he leaned back with a satisfied sigh and a stupid smile on his face. Astarion was in the mood to play the good host, refilled the druid's teacup, and washed the dishes.

Afterwards, they moved into the living room and joined the animals in front of the crackling fireplace. Contently, Halsin stretched out like a cat on a hot tin roof and cracked his knuckles, leaning against Naïlo's large, feathery flank. Astarion sat down next to him, avidly petting Scratch's ears. The dog's tail thumped against the carpet as he grumbled happily. Lazily, Halsin turned his head around and stated: "If you want, you can drink from me, little vampire."

Astarion froze, a shiver running down his spine at the pet name. He locked eyes with the druid.

"Really?" he breathed.

Halsin nodded with a smile. The vampire spawn licked his lips in anticipation and crawled towards the druid. He remembered how Halsin's blood got him drunk every time like a bear's. He still wondered why that was. Maybe it was an elf thing, but Astarion hadn't had the chance to test said theory yet.

"This is only our third time," he purred. "It's still exciting, isn't it?"

Smiling, Halsin stroke Astarion's cheek.

"It always is, little vampire."

He got off Naïlo and lay down on the floor instead. Astarion crawled on top of him, already salivating. With mirth dancing in his hazel eyes, Halsin whispered: "Be gentle."

"Anything for you, darling."

Astarion made a show of opening his mouth and presenting his sharp fangs, slowly running his tongue over his teeth. He felt smug when Halsin shuddered underneath him. It was a heady feeling to dominate such a hunk of a man. Astarion felt powerful and was, to his own surprise, utterly turned on and hard. He bent down to lick a broad strip across the druid's neck who's pulse was hammering under the suntanned skin. Astarion placed a gentle kiss there before biting down. Halsin gasped when the vampire spawn's fangs pierced his skin and icy cold numbness flooded the affected area of his neck like an anaesthetic. Astarion couldn't hold back the moan as the first gush of rich blood hit his palate. It tasted so different from other people's, almost animalistic in a way, and Astarion loved it. He swallowed another mouthful greedily and Halsin arched up into him, hips bucking.

"Astarion," the druid moaned, burying his fingers in the silver-white curls.

As an answer, the addressed slid his knee between the other man's legs and pressed his thigh into his crotch. Halsin moaned, rutting against the offered friction. He already was embarrassingly close. He could feel – and hear – how Astarion sucked his blood to the surface and gulped it down. Goosebumps spread over his skin and his thick legs trembled. Halsin deliberately stroke Astarion's pointy ear – a most intimate gesture in Elven culture – rolled his hips up, and panted: "My little vampire."

Astarion moaned into his neck, still feeding from him, and his fingernails dug deeper into the druid's chest. Halsin's eyes rolled back in his head and he climaxed with a loud, guttural moan. He felt lightheaded.

Maybe Astarion had taken too much of his blood this time, he thought, but didn't really care because he was too blissed out.

The vampire spawn finally drew back, panting and with his pupils blown wide.

"Amazing," he slurred. "Delicious. Delectable."

Halsin tugged at the laces of Astarion's trousers.

"Let me. Please."

The vampire spawn closed his eyes with a moan and nodded. Hastily, the druid fumbled the trousers down his pale, skinny legs. But Astarion flinched when Halsin's hand ran over his rear to help get the item of clothing off.

"I won't touch you more than necessary," the druid promised.

Panting, Astarion nodded and did his damn best to keep himself up on his arms.

They weren't intimate with each other. Ever. The only exceptions had been that foursome they'd had with Tav and Shadowheart which had made Astarion incredibly uncomfortable, and the other time had been when he'd first fed from Halsin almost five years ago. There had been a few sweet, chaste kisses in between, but nothing else. Astarion had never wanted anything else.

Now though, he moaned when the druid wrapped his hand around his member and started to stroke. The position wasn't favourable and Halsin's arm was at a weird angle, but he was experienced enough to make it work. He was sure that Astarion wouldn't approve if he'd flip them over. Thus, Halsin let the vampire spawn have the upper hand – at least, he gave him the illusion of it. Carefully, the druid stroke the vampire spawn's erection, spreading precum around, and rubbing his thumb over the glans. Astarion whined, lips still smeared with blood. His arms shook, saliva started to drip down from the corner of his mouth. If Halsin had been younger, he would have felt smug, but since he was over three hundred and fifty years old, he was simply enjoying making his partner feel good.

Heavy-lidded, the druid looked up at the trembling vampire spawn and another, new desire rose.

"Astarion, let me taste you. Please."

The addressed moaned and went cross-eyed.

"I… can't. Aah... Gods..."

"Please, little vampire. Let me suck you off."

Astarion's hips stuttered, his arms gave out and he landed face-first on top of Halsin's heaving chest. The latter caressed the vampire's spawn prominent hip bone.

"Sit on my face."

"Can't. My legs feel like overcooked noodles."

"May I turn you onto your back then?"

Astarion stayed quiet for a moment, only panting and twitching.

"Alright," he finally muttered.

Halsin reacted immediately, grabbing Astarion's waist, rolling them over, and swallowing his cock down to the root. Astarion cried out, almost jack-knifing off the floor. Halsin hummed, kept sucking him off, and stroke his pale thighs soothingly.

"F... uck!" Astarion whined.

He bucked his hips up one more time and came down Halsin's willing throat. The druid drank it all with relish. He hadn't had such a good cock in months. With closed eyes, he swallowed again and licked his lips.

"Gods above," Astarion wheezed, surprised about the intensity of his orgasm. He hadn't even hidden in his head. There had been no time. He definitely did not squeak when Halsin gently pulled his foreskin down and slurp at the head. Astarion's leg kicked out involuntarily.

"Off," he groaned, overwhelmed by the heat of the druid's mouth on his sensitive, spent member.

Halsin immediately complied and licked his fingers clean.

"My seeds aren't honey, you know?" the vampire spawn joked weakly.

"True. But you taste good nonetheless," the druid replied.

It made Astarion whimper and his cock twitch.

"Come here, druid," he said, opening up his arms.

The addressed embraced the vampire spawn and rolled onto his back to position his partner on top of him. He didn't want Astarion to feel suffocated. The latter hummed in appreciation and kissed Halsin as a thank you. Their tongues slid along each other, cold against hot, the taste of blood and cum mingling. Halsin slurped on Astarion's tongue before releasing it and sleepily smiling up at him. The vampire spawn sighed and lay his head onto the druid's chest. They rested like this, slipping in and out of reverie.

Halsin caressed Astarion's arm. Suddenly, he said: "I know one should not poke a bear, but your name is beautiful."

The vampire spawn smiled a little.

"Thank you. So is yours."

After a moment of comfortable silence, the druid mumbled: "There's another secret I haven't told you yet. After losing my parents, I always wished to belong somewhere again. Sure, I had the village community and later the Grove, but... I never felt like I truly belonged there. I always felt like a stranger. But now... here... I finally found a place where I belong. Tav, Shadowheart, Gale, you. Even Lae'zel, Karlach, and Wyll. I love you all, and you gave me a place in your family. I feel like I finally belong again. After decades, no, centuries. I'm grateful for it."

Astarion stayed quiet for a while, playing with Halsin's shirt while contemplating his reply.

"I feel the same. Cazador called us a family, but that's not what we were. I was lost, scared, bitter. And then, I found Tav. Our beautiful, good-hearted Tav. And I fell for her. Deeply. She brought us all together, believed in the good in us. Helped me heal. Helped me find the parts of myself again that had been lost for two centuries. And now, I belong. We all do. This is the place where we belong."

A smile spread over Halsin's face and he stroke Astarion's curls while he answered: "It truly is."

[poisonheadcrabsalesman]

More Promethean Knight Palmer because I’m a sucker for reunions

-

Roland's given her camera access, as if it'll somehow make the meeting go better.

It won't. She knows it, knows him. But it's kind of Roland to do and it helps her nerves. She shakes her head and gently clacks her faceplate together as she watches Tom go to meet him with a handshake.

Her dad looks older, smaller.

Maybe because it's been too long since she's been home, maybe it’s because she’s only seen him on the other side of a screen for so many years, or maybe it's a trick from the angle of the cameras, or the pinched way he's holding himself. Bracing for the hit, retired but ready for what comes with having a kid in the Corps. 

At least Tom is good with small talk, even if her old man waves him off. She thinks he's impressed with Lasky's handshake. He even gets a pat on the back.

"Good to finally meet you in person. Sarah's told me a lot about you."

She chitters from the next room over and even though the humans can't hear, she's starting to panic. Roland brushes her code and starts speaking to her but she's trying to catch everything they're saying. She focuses the cameras and studies the footage until it's time for her to go in.

"Now sir, you've been briefed and shown the videos, but I want to warn you, it's a lot to take in in person." Tom makes his kicked dog face but her dad isn’t affected.

"Son, I signed your paperwork, I'm ready. Let me see my girl."

If she could still cry she would.

"She's a bit taller than you might remember, but she's really glad you're here." Roland pipes up from the holodisk, betraying her right before her own doors slide open.

Tom and Roland are there, right next to her father. The Spartans assigned to her, to them, are outside in the hall because of course Lasky is breaking protocol for this. Her new eyes take in all the little details the cameras couldn't quite catch.

More gray in his hair and beard, more lines on his face, and a look in his eye she could never master reading the right way. Former Corporal Palmer steps forward gracelessly, wipes a hand against his mouth, and clears his throat with a wet rattle.

His eyes waver for a moment, looking for something. He raises his hand out.

"Sarah dear, what have you gotten into now?"

She ducks her head like she's 12 years old again and getting scolded for clambering around in the vents on Luna rather than 30 and made of metal.

He barks a laugh and closes the space between them, coming to a stop before reaching out to touch her arm. She extends it, letting him place a warm wrinkled hand on her steel skin.

"Same as you always are, so tough in front of the boys, but you know I can see right through it." His eyes waver more and shine, and then he's crying. Her dad is crying.

She warbles and he startles a bit, before attempting to wipe his tears away.

Tom and Roland are giving them space, so she nudges his free hand with one of hers.

He's so small compared to her. It's more of an adjustment than after becoming a Spartan, but Palmers are made of tougher stuff. They'll be alright.

She leans down and pushes her faceplate against his chest and he chuckles and pats the back of her head. His hand was still as warm as she remembered it.

They'd be fine.

-

Like my writing? Check out my writing tag! I also have a ko-fi and I’m taking comms!

[sab3rto0thed]

my senior year english teacher served in the united states military. when we were reading a story about war, he told us that when you’re young, you don’t really believe in death. you know it’s there and you’re aware that it exists, but it seems very far off. you’re young and you can’t be touched. you have your whole life ahead of you, stretching so far that you can’t fucking see it, like how the horizon fades. the earth is too damn big, just like your future.

my senior year english teacher was also a hardass, and he never had anything good to say about us until the day of our graduation. our class had elected that he be the one to give our speech, and his voice broke a little when he did. two days earlier, he had signed my yearbook with “i’m proud of the young lady you have become.” this was the highest compliment coming from someone who never really complimented anyone.

in 2020, when covid got really bad, my grandma on my dad’s side died. i had met her maybe twice in my life and neither of those times were recent. i can’t remember if i cried but i do remember that something shifted that day. not permanently, but for a week, maybe, i was skirting around the edge of it, trying to figure it out. i did not miss her absence. it did not hit me like a truck. it was just this: one day, she existed and one day she did not. she was just an idea either way, and i was more upset that my dad was upset than anything else.

i grieved a million different things in 2020, and maybe one of them, very briefly, was my dead grandmother that i had met twice. it was less about grieving her and more about grieving the relationship i would never get to have. i was not broken and it did not hurt that badly. i have had a million other things that have hurt more. i have grieved friendships and past versions of myself and memories. i thought i was familiar with grief, because i have been living in a version of it for most of my teenage years.

i have grieved many things. teachers leaving, friendships broken apart, loss and loss and loss. none of it was death. a lot of it was pity for the girl i had been and the girl i had been forced to become. i grieved for the mother that would never be what i wanted and the father that would never be a father. i really thought i was intimate with grief.

my dog died on a thursday. it actually wasn’t even specifically my dog, it was my grandma’s dog that had become the family dog since she moved in. the dog was called hershey. she was obnoxious and hard-won and bossy and often my family hated her. often she annoyed me but i think deep down i did love her in the way that i always get too attached to animals. i hated dogs for the majority of the time that we had her but i had a soft spot for her. we called her hershey kisses, after the candy, though we never gave her chocolate.

she was an awful dog. as a puppy, she was an absolute monster, full of boundless energy. as she got older, she was still loud. whenever you went downstairs to talk to grandma, her dog would bark at you. she would pick up plastic containers and crunch them right in your face until you played with her. she would cry for hours until you pet her. she was love-starved, as my grandma described it. none of us loved her enough.

she would get trash from the trash can and spread it around the living room when my mom wasn’t home. this irritated my mother so much that she had to get a new trash can. once, when we got a loaf of bread and left it out on the counter, hershey ripped through the plastic and ate the whole loaf. she really was an awful dog.

a few years ago, i promised myself i would try harder with hershey. i mostly avoided her when i could because i hated dogs and she was loud and obnoxious and hard-won, of course; but she was getting older and i knew that i would feel incredibly guilty if she died and i had not given her my love. so i did. i started making visits, patting her on the head whenever i saw her, scratching behind her ears and giving her treats. it made me happy to see her happy.

she tore her leg in january. we were playing ball, and i have never been able to shake the feeling that it was my fault. i have always been a selfish creature and i went out to the dog park not just because hershey needed to get some energy out, but because my grandma would buy me something if i did. i always had dual reasons when it came to my family. it was how i survived.

after that, my mother and my brother and my father all said: put her down. she was an old dog. the fur around her mouth was all gray. we checked her leg out, but there was no way to fix it except for an expensive surgery that might kill her anyway. she was a big dog, a mixed chocolate lab and red-bone hound, as my grandma liked to brag. but those kind of surgeries don’t work on big dogs. it might’ve made her worse.

up until this point, i had fought for hershey as i fought for everything else that i wanted: quietly. i treaded the stairs with careful feet and scratched behind her ears when no one was looking. it was always a fight with me, and it was impossible to explain to an outsider. but i listened to my mother and my father and my brother as they said, it’s time to put her down.

i talked to my grandma about it. my grandma often hated her dog but deep down they were best friends. we agreed: we would do what we could for hershey. it wasn’t time for her to die. not yet.

those last few months were the closest i got to her. i would take her on walks after school, and she would have fun at first but her leg would hurt and i would coax her the rest of the way. there were dips in improvement. some days she would be able to walk up the stairs on her own and some days she would throw up because of how much pain she was in. there was never a win, but i guess that’s how it is with sickness.

i really didn’t even think i liked her that much. i hated dogs because they were loud and big and hard-won, and hershey embodied all of those traits. but we became friends, her and i. i would always get her fresh water if she was out, with extra ice. i would always take her out when no one else would. we would race down the sidewalk back to the house, because even though she was an old dog with an injured leg, she still had so much energy. she loved to run, even if it was just for a little while.

i didn’t think i would care that much if she died. in my head, i was always desensitized to everything. i was just like the dog, in a way: loud and hard-won and bossy. that’s probably why we became friends. she was a crazy fucking dog, too. she would dart out into the street in front of cars and i’d have to pull on her collar to bring her back, because she always wanted to be holding her damn leash.

on thursday morning, when i went downstairs to take her out before work, she did not stand. when i finally coaxed her outside, she just looked at me, mouth hanging limply over the leash when i offered it to her. it was hopeless but i didn’t accept it. this was just another dip in her progress. she was an old dog and she was injured but i had been fighting for so long for her, and death couldn’t touch anything around me.

after work, my grandma came upstairs in tears. she had booked an appointment but it was too far away, and so while my mom looked online for someone that would take her sooner, i went downstairs. hershey was laying on the floor, but her eyes followed me as they always had. i crouched by her and held her paw in my hand, scratched her behind the ears like i always did. i told her she was a good girl, the very best.

i drove. it was twenty minutes away. logically, i knew it was over. my father and my grandmother had had to physically lift her into the car. she wasn’t eating or drinking. but in my head i couldn’t accept it. death couldn’t touch me.

when we got there, i thought it was just an appointment. things happened too fast. i couldn’t watch. my last memory of her is scratching her head, my body flinching to go, and calling her a good girl. the very best. she watched me with those big green eyes, trusting till the last. we were best friends.

i waited outside while my mother and grandma soothed her inside. i was a coward. the day was beautiful, the grass sharp, the sun making a halo of the sky. i sat next to a tree while bugs gnawed away at me. i could not quite believe it was happening.

i did not believe it when my grandma and mother returned to me twenty minutes later. i actually didn’t believe it until we were halfway home and i started crying. it wasn’t even real crying. i just felt tears on my face. i kept driving. in my head, there was no way she was gone.

i didn’t cry for the rest of the night. i was exhausted and careworn. when i woke the next day, i was a blank slate until i broke. i bawled. everything was so empty without her. i hadn’t realized how important she had been to me until she wasn’t there. her leash and collar hung on a peg in the garage, a silent tribute. there was still a pile of her fur in my grandma’s living room. in the backyard, there was the chewed-up hedgedog toy she had loved.

she was a good girl, the very best. if she were still here, i would hug her like i used to. i would scratch behind her ears until i fell asleep. she deserved more. she deserved the very best.

grief is a funny thing, but especially where death is concerned. the morning she died, i woke up and i was untouchable. the night she died, the world had shifted. there is a version of me before she died and a version of me after she died. i have two cats and i feel a little hollow petting them now. i don’t know what to do with all of this love i still have for her. it’s over, you know? it’s just over, flat. there one day, gone the next. there’s no preparing for it.

she was a good dog, though. the very best. i hope that she at least knew that.

[myckicade]

Mayans M.C. - 04x10 - 'When the Breakdown Hit at Midnight'

So much. So much. I'm on my lunch break, so let's just dive right in, shall we?

Spoilers Under the Cut

Phffffff. Okay. I want to start with something that I loved. TIG. Omigosh, how I have missed Tigger. He was the breath of humour that this whole series has been missing. (That's one of my Major Gripes, is how deep and serious-Nah, y'know what? Let's gripe in a few paragraphs). When he was greeted with a, "Hi, Beautiful", I knew what kind of scene we were walking into. "Don't you dare kink-shame me." I... I loved that line, so much. I picked up on a bit of a tonal shift in his character, which I choose to attribute to different writers, but most of it felt like Classic Tig. I just... I have missed him, so dearly.

That leads me right into something else that I loved, which was Tig's discussion with Alvarez. Oh, hell, was that scene beautiful, and much needed. Mn. They know what they are getting into, and that they are stuck in a younger man's game. But, if they want to survive said game, they still have to play, age be damned. They're on opposing sides, and they can't do a damned thing about it (despite Marcus' best attempts).

Speaking of Alvarez... How dare they? That even the ones who know what war will cost them, and have wanted to avoid it from the start, are suddenly willing to go all-in? I can understand some of them changing their minds, but... everyone? I'm actually glad that Taza wasn't around for that one. (And, yeah, I may have missed a bit of that scene, because I was outside feeding the cat that some asshole dropped off. I want him to trust me, so he was my top priority... Then, my dogs barked, off and on, through the rest of it). Anywho, I'm honestly relieved that Alvarez is out, if only for his own sake. I don't know that it will keep, and I don't believe it will save him, but, for right now, I can breathe a little easier.

I hope Letty is breathing a bit easier, now, too. I'm so, so glad she said her peace at the funeral. While she's absolutely right that the Club got him killed... He was also a grown-ass man, who made his own decisions. He knew the risks he was taking, and he put himself where he was, but, BUT!! It was someone else's shit-show that cost him his life. Letty needed to say it, though, and she deserved that moment. I'm glad they wrote it in for her. She has a piece of Coco, with that chartreuse Nova... And, I loved her shake of the Magic 8-Ball keychain.

Kudos to Louie for being a decent dude... Y'know, for someone who sells drugs, and produces porn. (I mean zero offense, as any of y'all's business practices are your own, and this is just about one dude).

Back to Letty. I'm also plenty relieved that she went after Hope. Y'all know I haven't been Hope's biggest supporter, but she worked so hard to get herself right. I didn't want to see her spiral back down, thinking that nobody gave a shit about her. I'm hoping they stick around the series (y'know, if). There's still so much potential for the both of them. (Gabby's death, Isaac's return, there's a little something for each of them).

Other than that, was much else really resolved?

No Taza. Whelp. Okay.

Miguel Knows. It's about damned time, too. I guess I was hoping for a bit... more to the reveal, you know? I didn't want to see Felipe get shot, and we still have no evidence that he wasn't, but it might have lent itself to the storytelling. (Again, I'm glad he didn't get hurt, that we know of, because I fucking love him). If all goes well, I'm hoping Felipe gets one son that's worth a damn. They can't all be duds with the father-son relationships. (At least I never wrote that EZ/Miguel fic, huh?).

I don't really even want to get into the deal with Packer's younger brother being... Ugh. I'm sorry. Unless I missed a whole lot of somethings, this bit feels like sloppy writing. (Any Nip/Tuck fans out there? The Carver seasons? Yah-huh. That kind of sloppy). I hope someone takes care of him, in Manny's name.

MANNY. Boy, am I steamed. What the fuck did they put him in there for, just to snatch him away? And, so violently? So horrifically? This is what I am talking about, with sloppy writing. We already hate Isaac. They didn't need to force the point home, quite like that. I was kind of hoping he really was a Fed, y'know? There's still a chance that he could have been, and that his death will be a catalyst for the Sons to get looked into, right along with the Mayans. Still doesn't fix the evil that they've committed. So devastating.

Yeah, I'm still talking about Manny. I'm honestly kind of heartbroken over him.

My heartbreak extends, next, to Creeper. How dare that bitch? The softest target. She basically just called him the weakest link in the chain, and I want to take a chain to her. Now, he's doing what he can, as the most exposed and vulnerable member of the Club, to try and protect them. He probably thinks it's what he has to do, as the cause of the issue, and as the most disposable dude in the bunch. GRRR. I'm so fucking mad for the man!!!!

Mm. Again, I had some emotions, last evening.

So, in the category of little things that irked me...

Did El Banquero have an actual point and purpose, or...?

Is that what Potter wanted of Adelita? Ah, why? I don't get it. I mean, sure, Power Broads, and all that, but.

They're really forcing this Old Lady feel on Sofia, huh?I know, I'm not feeling it.

And, now... The EZ-shaped elephant in the room. What the fuck is he doing?! Once he darkened Bishop's door, it was obvious the fix was in. I was hoping he'd fail with his vote, but... Yeah. I could complain for an hour about how much this anti-hero-turned-villain arc is pissing me off, but I think my opinions on that are in good order. Now, El Presidente can deal with whoever torched his selling point. I want to say it was Angel, but with that form... Hmmm...

I want to close with this little beauty, for anyone who hasn't, or even has seen it. See it again. I'm still in stitches over it.

Until Season Five...?

P.S. Sally made it, and that makes me happy.

[megarywrites]

Beer cheese soup, bouillabaisse, and bread soup :)

thanks!

Beer Cheese Soup | A scene from your wip that made you laugh

hmm this is hard, because the laughs have been few and far between for this wip lol there are some funny moments but I've been working on some of the darker moments lately so I can't really remember when I last laughed while writing a scene? but I may have during this snippet, because this is my dog's cameo in this book lol

An enthusiastic black and white farm dog greeted us not with barks, but the wag of an overly swishy tail, as we turned off the lane to the last farm on the outskirts of Grokolis. He lapped at our hands as we bent to pet him, his fur sun-warmed and soft. Solera hurried off, leaving the pair of us to follow her, when she noticed the farmer’s wife peeking out of the house. The dog bounded inside without a care, but I stopped beside Solera to listen to our instructions for the day. 

We were to tend to the farm animals and the garden, as she had more than enough on her hands with a gaggle of young children and a sick husband to care for to add farm work to her list of things to do. So, we set off, gathering eggs and milking goats. The dog joined us, scattering the chickens and stressing the goats out enough that they refused to stand still long enough to be milked. So, I offered to take him with me to the gardens while Solera finished up with the animals. 

He kept very close, nagging me for the occasional belly rub as he lounged beside me in the dirt, his head lolling in my lap, no matter how often I had to move. I picked the weeds, gathered the ripe tomatoes and peppers, and when Solera joined me, she started picking some of the citrus from the trees casting precious little shade over us in the increasingly warm day.

Bouillabaisse | Which character was hardest to name?

probably Solera and her younger brother, Aziri (who will be coming up later) 

their father is a native to Scinra, the nation/island she grew up on, and her mother is the daughter of immigrants from Betii, so she has a mixed culture home, so I wanted her (and Aziri’s) name to represent that. Scinra is inspired by Spain, and Betii by Ethiopia, so I was looking at the different languages to make a combination of words into their names. 

Sol is taking from the Spanish side, which means “sun” and -era is taken from the Amharic (romanicized) word yaberali, which means “shine” so Solera means “sunshine”

Aziri has a similar name construction. In Dracrie, there are two moons. One is silver in color, and the other a sort of turquoise-y blue. So Az is taken from the Spanish word azul--”blue”--and -iri is taken from the Amharic (again, romanicized) word biri--”silver”

it was fun figuring this all out but it took me a while to decide exactly what I wanted and what would fit them both alsdkjfalj

(also, the family’s last name is Aurado which is a combo of the Latin word aureum and the Spanish word dorado, both of which means “golden”)

((also, just for the record: Thala is taken from the (romanicized) Greek word thalassa which means “sea” and Galanis is a Greek surname that means “blue”))

Bread Soup | A character that developed into way more than intended

I’d probably say Cilia Rimal. I don’t think I’ve posted much about her, as she does have a smaller role (currently), but she’ll definitely be showing up again in the second half of the book. She is the Elder Sorma, aka the woman who is in charge of looking after the Stoli of Katania. She’s a lot more...lenient with the Stoli than the Diamo (Geros) is aware of, especially given that she makes a potion to protect them before they’re taken away on merchant ships for months at a time. Which is....highly illegal so to be doing something like that under Geros’ nose is quite brave and telling for her character, and this aspect of her will be developed further in the second half when she gets posed with the question of “who will you choose: the Stoli? or Geros?” 

send me soup asks? 

[articus-icecream]

HELLOOOO <333 could u tell me about your mml/pistachion hcs? :D

EEEEEE OKOKOK LEMME GET MY THOUGHTS IN ORDER-

Their skin is rough(because it's bark) but their bodies/muscles are squishy (like us humans! :D)

They only eat meat and have a huge prefrence for human meat

I feel they would have mixed feelings on deez nuts jokes. Some like them and some find them offensive. It depends on the pistachion really

The 'adult age' for them is 30 years

Speaking of ages, by a 100 years one starts to asexually reproduce by having a pistachion tree grow out of their nutshell and sprouts growing from the branches. King pistachion has been the only instance though (I'm not sure about Derek-)

If you were to cut one of their limbs open you'd see rings that show their age

Despite their looks, their anatomy is similar to humans! They vaguely have the same organs and stuff, though their blood is like a thick yet liquidy sap.

They have a way higher immune system and stamina, toughness, strength though.

King pistachion had cried tears of joy once he realized he became a father.

Child pistachions are about 4'9 ft, teen pistachions are about the average size of a human adult and full adult pistachions are taller than human adults! Their height can range from 7ft to 9ft! King is the tallest one (15 ft) and Derek would become the second tallest one! (12-13 ft!)

Despite hating humans they do have standards. None of them would hurt a human baby. They'd simply leave it somewhere safe.

They don't know why they hate humans. Some say it's instinctual. Some would say that they simply want to protect nature from humans. But most of them would avoid that question.

They're neutrual towards insects, but they love bees and butterflies the most!

They hate all birds, espiecally wood peckers.

A lot of them have the same name, so they use numbers to differentiate themselves better

The female pistachions are trans. KP is a lil confused/uneducated about lgbtqia+ stuff but he's still supportive :D

Speaking of the female pistachions, since their hair comes from under their shells then it would mean that the other pistachions have hair as well.

Some pistachions would wonder what it would be like to have a human as a friend or as a romantic partner...xtheyxarexallxvirginsxixmeanxwhatx

Sibling wars are LITERAL. But they mostly end in peace and hugs :p

They're love language is physical affection!

The leaves on their lower body are their equivalent of clothes.

Eating pistachions is a hate crime for them.

They're pretty neutrual towards other types of plants that aren't in the nut family or trees but they still take offense at any harm done to them.

They sleep in gardens. Like, half buried in the ground. They can also sleep in beds just fine :p

If a limb is cut off they can just easily regrow it. But if their shell gets damaged there's nothing they can do.

They're all pretty emberrassed that their main weakness is dog piss. Espiecally KP, he's ashamed of it.

I think that's mostly it tbh! I apologize(not really /hj) for no hcs on the other characters ¦p

[lostyetfinding]

cold without you

Hoseok is in Chicago to perform alone for the first time, Lollapalooza is a huge event and his nerves plus the distance from Jimin means he is not eating well. Also spending a lot of time in the studio. Jimin isn't much better, struggling to sleep in an empty bed. So he decides to hop on a plane and support his boyfriend in person.

read on ao3 or below

 Jimin has never been a big morning person. Unless he avoided sleeping the night before, those mornings he felt energetic and prepared to take anything on. The only other way he would enjoy a morning is if he woke up to sweet kisses on his forehead. Silly puns whispered to him.

     As he opens his eyes, the empty cold bed makes his morning worse. No sound of the shower running and no note to explain the absence.

     Oh. Right.

     Hoseok is in Chicago, Jimin kissed him goodbye and promised to cuddle Mickey everytime he missed his hyung. Jimin forgot how hard it was when Hoseok wasn't in the same country as him. Spending years together, in the same apartment or hotel room or tour bus makes Jimin feel like he is missing an arm.

     So he closes his eyes and decides to stay in bed until he feels better.

     Jimin knows this is just temporary, Hoseok will be home in a week. But the hiatus and push from the members to take a break and breathe has left him feeling a little untethered.

     *whine*

     Mickey jumps onto Jimin's back and starts licking his ear while he continues to whine.

     "Okay okay I'm getting up I promise," Jimin grumbles. The pillow muffles his words bit he does stick to them, sitting up as Mickey hops around the room. "Do you want to go outside? Is that what you want?"

     *Bark*

     "Hoseok should have never taught you to answer in bark form."

     *Bark*

     Jimin rubs his face and swings his legs over the bed, feet dangling over the side. "Ugh your appa is an evil man, he trained you this was because he knew one day I would try to sleep in, the evil mastermind."

     Mickey seems to agree, leaping into Jimin's lap with a bark. The dancer let's the little dog lead him to his slippers and a thin hoodie to slip over his head. Jimin blindly grabs his phone off the nightstand and heads to the door.

     Mickey already has the leash in his mouth, waiting for Jimin to catch up with him. Like father like dog.

     By the time they are on the rooftop garden his phone starts ringing. Hoseok's smile fills his phone screen, bright and beautiful. Jimin let's Mickey roam free since no one else is in the area made for resident's dogs.

     "Hi hyung."

     "Hi baby, good morning!" As always Hoseok is smiling and happy, even without being on the roof with Jimin he already feels more alert.

     So jimin smiles, "How did you manage to know exactly when I woke up?"

     "I may not be in the country but the camera on the doorbell is still hooked up to my phone Jimin. I got a ping when you left the apartment and thought I would call and say hi, anything wrong with that?" His hyung's face is too adorable to even try to pretend being mad. "Nothing wrong at all hyung, just think you are silly. What time is it for you?"

     "It's only 6:30pm, I'm in the dance studio trying to make sure my new choreo works." Hoseok pans the camera to show a large wooden floor and walls full of mirrors.

     "So you have already had dinner or you are getting ready to go eat dinner?" Jimin knows he hasn't eaten. Mickey runs into his legs to grab his attention before Hoseok can respond. He throws the rope toy that the dog had somehow found up here and brought to him.

     "Well I was just taking a break, I think I'm gonna get a bit more practice before fo-"

     "Nope." Jimin doesn't even want to let him finish.

     Hoseok whines, "Jimin I'll eat I swear but I need a few more reps before I call it a night!"

     That makes Jimin sigh. "You remember when we first started training? How we were the only 2 who refused to leave the studio until the others had to force us out? We promised each other that we would keep each other in check. Making sure we both eat and sleep and take breaks."

     "I know! But babe I will eat this is not the same, I have left the studio today, multiple times," they both know how excuse is not going to change anything.

     Jimin sits himself down on the single bench on the roof, throwing the toy Mickey brings him again. "You got to say I would take 2 months off from everything so I get to force you to leave that dance studio right now and eat something. Something nutritious."

     He doesn't need Hoseok to say anything, already hearing the shuffling of his duffle bag.

     "Fine, I will go eat but I am coming back right after to get a few more reps, happy?" Hoseok pleads his boyfriend.

     "If you go back it will only be for an hour, or I will call Soobin and tell him to come find you." Jimin states. If he has to wake up to an empty bed then Hoseok has to promise to rest some too.

     "How is Soobin going to enforce anything? I'm his hyung!" Hoseok sounds exasperated and a bit muffled, slipping a mask on. Jimin can see him starting to walk and placing his earbuds in.

     "Soobin is stronger than you hyung and I am going to give him permission to throw you over his shoulder and put you to bed." Mickey has gotten bored of his freedom and climbs back into Jimin's lap, watching the phone.

     Hoseok grumbles something that Jimin cannot hear but he waits for his boyfriend to provide an actual response. "Ugh Jimin there is a vegetarian place on the corner and I am headed there for something with lots of vegetables, and then I want to practice for an hour and a half."

     "Deal, I'm going to text Soobin now that he needs to check in on you in about 2 hours and you have to go to bed then. Please eat well hyung and I miss you." Jimin gives him a big smile and blows a kiss.

     Hoseok blows a kiss back, "Mickey you better take care of my boyfriend."

     Jimin giggles, "I love you hyung."

     "I love you too baby, you eat breakfast and rest for me. I'll call you before I go to bed," Hoseok tells his boyfriend.

     As soon as the call ends Jimin shoves his phone into the hoodie pocket. Now that he is more awake he realizes it belongs to Hoseok. He looks at Mickey and sighs. What is he going to do with his day? He has spent the last month or so being in charge of feeding and putting Hoseok to bed when he stayed in his studio to long. Now Jimin has to find something else to do with himself.

***

     "You cannot be serious."

     Jimin simply says, "I'm dead serious."

     25 hours, that's precisely how long Jimin lasted before he went stir crazy. He tried playing the video games that Hoseok has set up but he finds no enjoyment playing them alone. He went and grabbed the kit to make your own jewelry at home. He broke his pliers on the first earring he tried to make. Mickey and him have even been on 2 walks and watched a grand total of 5 romcoms.

     In fact he is proud he even lasted this long, being on a break has driven him crazy.

     Being on a break and missing Hoseok? Not possible, if the members are going to keep enforcing this "Jimin must rest" rule they cannot expect him to willingly be separate from Hoseok.

     "Look, Taehyung I know this makes me seem needy and honestly I feel needy but I miss him. And I miss performing and having a set schedule, having my full day planned and all the free time spent in a studio."

     Jimin can hear Taehyung sigh even if he also knows that his soulmate tried to hide it. "You know why you are taking a break right? Jimin we had 2 years of a pandemic without huge performances and somehow you managed to stress your system the same amount as before. You know what the doctor said, you are not in the danger zone or anything but you are always stressed. We are just trying to help you."

      Jimin has heard the speech.

     He has heard the speech from all 6 of them. From the management team. From his mother when he spent his 1st week off at her house. The reason the members were so supportive of him and Hoseok was because they both overworked and together they somehow forced each other out of it.

     "Okay I get it, but I agreed to your terms okay? 4 months with no more than 2 hours of dance practice a day and avoiding any and all studios. I just feel like I'm missing an arm and now Hobi-hyung is gone so I guess I'm missing a heart and an arm." If Jimin knows anything, it's that his best friend in the whole world is a suckered for romantic sentimental shit.

     "Ugh fine buy the damn plane ticket," Taehyung concedes. To be fair he lasted much longer than was expected but they both knew he would cave.

     "Oh I did an hour ago, but I needed to tell you because I'm dropping Mickey at your place." If he can get Taehyung to dogsit and his bodyguard to take him to the airport he will be good.

     "Of course, I mean what else would I do since you don't need me to help you make decisions!"

     "Aw you know I love you, I'm just excited. I mean he is going to perform alone for the first time."

     Taehyung let's out a loud laugh, "Wait, you have to call Bang-pdnim!"

     Crap.

     "Oh no I forgot he was there too, do you think he will try to stop me too?" Jimin asks.

     "No but I do think he will tease you and give the whole 'be careful boys' speech again which I need you to record this time," Taehyung sounds giddy as he talks.

     Jimin can handle that. As long as he gets to hug his boyfriend while it is happening.

***

     Hoseok grumbles at the ringing phone. It's too far away for him to shut it up. He would have to move. He doesn't want to move. After a minute it stops and he sighs back into the pillow he has over his face.

     *RING*

     And there it is again.

     Resigned to his fate of a lack of rest he throws the pillow away, paying little attention to where, and moves towards the phone with as little movement as possible.

     This results in a very ungrateful rolling off of the bed paired with a short crawl to the coffee table. Of course he does not raise his body off the floor, instead just grabbing the phone and bringing it down to his face. Proud that he never even opened his eyes.

     "Hello?"

     "Ah, hello Mr. Jung, I apologize to disturb you but you have a guest waiting for you in the lobby."

     That gets his eyes open. "A guest? Is it Mr. Bang?"

     The concierge politely says, "No. He told me to tell you his name is Christian. I'm terribly sorry, I know you have a strict no guests policy but Mr. Bang brought him in and told me he could be trusted."

     "Did you say Chirstian?" Hoseok is still groggy, crashing from his long morning in the studio. He sits up.

     "Yes sir. Should I tell him to go or come back later?"

     "No no, send him up. And um, could you just give him a key to my room, he will be staying here."

     "Of course sir."

     Hoseok is left sitting there with the phone in his hand. He must be hallucinate from the lack of sleep. Or maybe he did fall asleep and this is all just a dream. These are the logical explanations he can come up with, because why would Jimin be here?

     That's why when Jimin does enter the room he finds one Jung Hoseok slouched over a coffee table in front of a king sized bed.

     And it's only 10am in Chicago.

     "Are you serious?" Jimin chuckles.

     All Hoseok does is hum into the glass surface.

     Jimin grumbles, "How come I was the one put in practice jail while you got to work at all hours of the night to release an album and exhaust yourself practicing the day before the performance?"

     Another mumble, this time the words 'silly dream' are intelligible.

     Jimin just sighs and drops his handbag bag at the door, his suitcase is in the small living room area that attaches to the bedroom. His hat gets thrown to the ground and his sleeves get rolled up. Jimin steps closer to the exhausted man and crouches down next to him.

     "Hyung," he says softly. Kissing his boyfriend's head and combing his fingers through the sweaty hair.

     "Jimin-ah," Hoseok whines. His voice is low and scratchy.

     Jimin smiles, softly saying, "Hi there hyung how about we get you into the shower and then to bed?"

     "Hm kay jimin-ah but you are in Seoul."

     Jimin holds back a giggle as he says, "You are right hyung, I was in Seoul but I got on a plane to come see you. Now stand up for me."

     Jimin slings Hoseok's arm over his shoulder to hoist him onto his feet. Of course first he needs to lift up his head which means Hoseok actually sees him. His eyes grow, mouth forming a big O.

     "Wait Jimin?" He asks, his voice is a little more focused but still low.

     "I told you hyung, wanted to test out the whole plane thing, thought it seemed sketchy to fly," Jimin jokes.

     He gets his boyfriend to a standing position and starts walking him towards the bathroom. Ignoring the confused looks on Hoseok's face as he leans him on the counter. Jimin leans down to wiggle the bright tennis shoes off and throw the smelly socks as far as he can.

     Suddenly there is a hand in his hair, gently tugging him up. "Wait you are actually here?" Hoseok asks once Jimin's face is level with his.

     "Yes hyung, I'm really here and now I'm really going to put you in a shower because you smell." Jimin kisses him quickly before turning and pulling his boyfriend into the bathroom.

     He opens the shower door and turns on the water, trying to adjust the temperature as fast as he can. He does have to kick the pillow that somehow made its way into the bathroom door and then further when Hoseok and him shuffled in.

     Hoseok does his part and undresses himself, throwing the clothes willy nilly. Eyes trained on his boyfriend's back the while time. Once he is down to just his boxers he steps forward, wrapping his arms around Jimin.

     "Why hi there, are you ready for your shower?"

     Hoseok just nods into his back, starting to lift Jimin's shirt up as he does.

     Jimin turns around, "What are you doing?"

     "If we go into the shower you need to undress too," Hoseok pouts. He may be the hyung but he knows Jimin and him care for each other equally.

     "Why would I get into the shower?" Jimin smirks, looking up at Hoseok's face.

     Hoseok knows that means yes and just starts undressing him without responding.

     Jimin smiles and says, "I am only going to shower with you hyung if you promise to take a nap with me after, deal?"

     Hoseok smiles at that, "Deal."

     And he keeps to his word, they shower, maybe a little slow and maybe they kiss a lot but it remains just a shower. Then they both end up in the bed wrapped in soft bathrobes and curled up together. Hoseok falls asleep first, his soft snores fill the room and make Jimin smile.

     "Sleep well hyung, I love you." He kisses his boyfriend again and rests his head so Hoseok's snores move his hair around.

     That's how they both fall asleep.

***

     It's hot, so much so that Jimin worries the sun will never leave the sky. He seriously regrets going along with Hoseok and wearing all black. Jimin was too distracted by making sure Hoseok ate after their 2 hour nap to argue when his boyfriend dressed him to go to the festival.

     Of course Hoseok is now talking to some music producers and American artists, the English is too difficult for Jimin's basic knowledge.

     Hoseok seems to be shining, he is in his element. Even with limited ability to communicate he is networking with some of the biggest names. Said man does his best to involve Jimin in every conversation with the help of the translator who is tagging along with them.

     Right now Hoseok is getting to talk to his idol J. Cole. He makes Jimin stand next to him and keeps gripping his forearm to keep from vibrating.

     Jimin just does his best to follow along and ancor Hoseok without being too boyfriend-y. Mr. Lee, their translator, does tell him the bullet points of the whole conversation. So Jimin keeps his nerves at bay, this isn't about him. The festival is important for his boyfriend.

     "Omg Jimin, he noticed my album Hope World is named like his Cole world!" Hoseok's grip tightening grabs his attention. His boyfriend is smiling so big and Jimin can see his feet shifting back and forth. The need to move intensified through the excitment.

     "Of course he did hyung, you are so talented," Jimin tells him.

     This does the impossible and makes Hoseok smile even more.

     "He said he wants to get some photos with us, is that okay?" Jimin just smiles back and nods, it's the real reason he let Hoseok talk him into dressing up.

     Mr. Lee and J. Cole's assistant take the photos for them. Jimin only let's himself be in one photo and pushes Hoseok to take more.

     Mr. Lee comes to stand next to him while Hoseok says goodbye. "Tomorrow x together are performing soon. Bang Si-Hyuk just asked me to remind you."

     "Thank you so much, we will head over now. Do you remember where we can go to watch?" Jimin asks him. He knows the wristbands they were given are full access but Bang PDnim said something to them about how to watch the younger boys perform.

     Mr. Lee nods. "You can go stand in the barricade area with other VIP guests. You will be close to the stage so it may be louder than expected."

     "What will be loud?" Hoseok asks as he joins them again. Jimin is hyperaware of how he stands next to him and avoids holding his hand.

     Dating in secret sucks.

     "Mr. Lee reminded me that TxT are performing soon and we get to stand in the barricade area." Jimin brushes his pinkie finger against his boyfriend's.

     Mr. Lee nods and checks his phone again. "Would you like me to accompany you?"

     They make eye contact and Hoseok answers. "I think we will be okay, thank you so much hyungnim for helping us out."

     "Of course, please contact me if you need me. Until then I am going to help out backstage with TxT." Mr. Lee bows to them. They both bow back.

     "So let's head to the barricade, or do we need to get anything first?" Hoseok turns to face him.

     "We should probably go grab some water," Jimin responds.

     So they do. And they watch their dongsaengs kill their performance. They keep talking to each other about how they are proud.

     Afterwards they make sure to go congratulate the boys. Both of them do give a couple of critiques on their performance. Although they are things probably only Jimin and Hoseok would notice.

     When Bang Si-Hyuk joins them he suggests a company dinner and the couple cannot say no.

     Of course the whole night they try to be normal friends and not boyfriends who want to kiss. Bang PDnim may know but they haven't told the younger boys yet, they are still new to the secret keeping side of this business. Plus even in an empty restaurant someone can photograph them.

     Which means when they manage to get back to Hoseok's hotel room they both collapse onto the bed and...well let's just say it was not PG13. Not to be a very descriptive narrator but Hoseok does need to let off some steam. Afterall, Jimin doesn't want him to be too nervous for tomorrow. 

***

     After crashing the night before (and other activities), Hoseok having to place his boyfriend in bed early. He may have let Jimin drink a little bit. Which always leads to Jimin flirting at him loudly while he tries to brush his teeth. And Jimin's teeth.

     Surprisingly Hoseok slept well too.

     He even allowed himself to be cajoled into a lazy(ish) morning. Which equalled about an hour for breakfast, coffee, and chatting before he headed to the stage. Soundchecks always made him feel both nervous and goofy. So small of a crowd that it feels more intimate.

     Jimin claimed to want to stay behind and sightsee a small amount. Hoseok happily predicted it would not last. So he found himself 10 minutes into soundcheck when his boyfriend appeared on stage next to him.

     This led to the performer's attempts to just be serious to fail.

     Jimin was handed a mic and they may have gotten goofy.

     May have. Now that he is getting into position for the performance, he focuses on that memory. Allows the goofy morning performance to battle with his nerves that grow with the sounds of the crowd.

     Then of course, he jumps.

***

*cringes in unsmooth transition*

     Jimin has watched so many performances in his life. Varying from small dance performances to huge stage productions. Last night he got a feel for how the crowd is so varied and loud.

     Still he feels that this is the one performance he looks forward to most.

     Apparently dating the person on stage brings you to the same emotional state as performing on one. Hoseok had asked him to be objective and provide critism.

     That was not going to happen. No, because the moment his hyung popped up on stage Jimin felt himself fall in love again.

     He saw the serious man who he would spend hours in a dance studio with. Hair thrown everywhere and eyes full of passion. Hoseok's voice was even deeper somehow, than it ever sounded on a recording.

     Jimin felt pulled towards him. The beat filling his ears.

     He even found himself singing along, he cannot always rap as well as Hoseok. But he has heard all the hours if practice so he is decent. Jimin also notices the crowd. He thought they would be very diverse. People who may not know who his boyfriend or he are.

     Instead he sees it filled with army bombs, hears them chanting the lyrics along with him. That's why Jimin is proud. He is proud of his boyfriend who looks effortlessly gorgeous on stage and proud of army who support them no matter what.

     Jimin misses the stage.

     He misses practice.

     And he really misses cuddling Hoseok even though he was just kissing him good luck an hour ago. So Jimin jumps up and down he sings and raps. He responds to Hoseok's banter while his hyung catches his breath.

     When dynamite starts playing he mimics the dance moves. Playing around since he doesn't exactly know the new moves. He has no critique. He loves every moment. He loves every glance in his direction.

     Jimin is as much of a fan as everyone in the crowd. He wishes for an army bomb.

     Jimin also wishes to run his fingers through Hoseok's sweaty hair but all in due time.

     Then Becky appears on stage. Jimin knows this dance, although he is aware he is in a crowded space.

     Becky makes eye contact with him a few times and he always gives her a big smile.

     Then he watches as Hoseok finishes off his set. His boyfriend is definitely sweaty so Jimin will be forcing him to take a LONG shower. Sweaty boyfriends are only attractive so long into a relationship.

     Jimin even leaves a little early to be waiting for Hoseok back stage when his boyfriend gets there.

     "So..." Hoseok pants. There is a makeup artist handing him a hand towel for the sweat.

     Jimin just smiles. "Hyung I love you." And then he grabs his boyfriend and gets him to the privacy of the trailer they have been using as a changing room. He kisses his hyung.

     Hoseok laughs when he is allowed to take a breath. "That good huh?"

     "Jung Hoseok you belong on that stage. I have nothing I would change. I loved it, I was singing and dancing and I just love you," Jimin says. He keeps his hands wrapped in Hoseok's shirt to hold him close.

     His boyfriend seems to smile brighter than he has all night. Of course this means Jimin needs to kiss him. Like a lot. Maybe sweaty boyfriends are attractive after years of dating.

     Also maybe he really likes watching Hoseok perform in front of thousands and get him alone after.

     Jimin does his best to convey his feelings to Hoseok through the kiss. When they finally pull apart neither feels the need to talk. Maybe Hoseok chuckles and maybe he giggles.

     But it's theirs. It's private and special and Hoseok is with him, his.

my other works are here!

[folkpunkchicken]

Big Dreams in a Small World

As I gazed out the window of my classroom I started to imagine what was going on outside. Perhaps the trees were laughing, the flowers giggling, and the blades of grass were all singing together like one enormously loud and beautifully sounding choir. I was missing it all. I had to study my arithmetic. My teacher would always get mad at me for daydreaming and writing poems down in my notebook. She said, "there is no practical use for that nonsense. Stop it at once and practice your numbers. You want to have a real job one day don't you?"

I nodded my head up and down and muttered, "yes ma'am." However, if I answered honestly, no I did want a "real" job. Well, at least jot a normal one. I wanted to be a writer. Writing stories about the world I see and imagine to be around me is the only way I connect with others. My teacher, she would always say, "Now my dear Poet, there is no place for such ramblings of fairytales and stories in the real world."

The "real" world, god what a load of bull, I thought.

My parents were the same as my teacher. They wanted me to study hard and become something like an engineer, a lawyer, or perhaps even a doctor, but certainly not a writer and never a dreamer.

The life I wanted was not one of money, but one of pleasure and enjoyment. My name is James Poet, but people just called me JP.

Finally, the bell rang. Mrs. Jackson's math class was my last class of the day. At long last, I was free to go home. I was free to sneak into my room and write, that is if my parents didn't catch me and demand that I either study or help with chores. I flew down the hallway and ran straight to the main door of my high school and ran across the parking lot. I stopped just before crossing the street and decided to make a left through the woods where I could find the trail that I usually took home. It wasn't really a short cut, in fact it was significantly longer, but I indeed enjoyed the solitude. It was a time to clear my head of all the useless information I learned at school. It was a time to dwell on my deepest thoughts, my biggest dreams and the next story I wanted to write.

I made it home just in time for supper. "Where have you been?" My mother scolded. "I guess I got a little distracted on my way home from school, I'm sorry," I replied.

"You guess?" My father interjected. "I don't know what we're going to do with you James, if you don't get your head out of the damn clouds all the time."

"I said I'm sorry." I wasnt of course, but it made them less upset for me to apologize.

After supper, I ran upstairs to my desk. There my fountain pen lay just where I left it on top of my notebook. I picked it up and began writing. Before I knew it, three hours had passed by and it was after nine o'clock. I completely spaced my homework. I was tired though and I honestly didn't care. I thought about the scolding I would get from my teacher and beating I would get from my father for blowing off my homework. I lie still in my bed sobbing with blankets pulled over my head leaving only enough room to barely breath. If I was lucky, the hole wouldn't be enough.

The next morning I woke to the sound of the neighbors dog Samson barking outside my window. I looked over at my alarm clock to see that I was late for school. I jumped out of bed, threw on some clothes, grabbed my backpack and rushed out the door.

As I ran up to the front door of the school, the principal was there to greet me. "Mr. Poet, may I see you in my office please." I shrugged my shoulders and followed the short, bald, grumpy looking man to his office. Once there, I popped myself down and sunk deep into the chair.

"James, I called you in here cause you are once again late for class, and I presume you also, don't have your homework finished as per usual. Is that correct?"

"That's correct sir. I was going to but I."

"No!" He interrupted harshly. No buts, you are to do your homework, that is to be your priority Mr. Poet. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir," I muttered.

"What's that?"

"Yes sir," I said more clearly.

"James, you are indeed a bright student, but this nonsense cannot go on. You have to live in the real world, no more dreaming with your head in the clouds. I will have to meet with your parents but for now get back to class."

"Great, that's just great." I thought sarcastically.

As I entered the classroom, the teacher glared at me, because I had interrupted as she was in the middle of explaining something, but then she nodded in approval for me to sit down.

I took my usual spot and tried my best to listen to the rest of the lecture. I ended up spending the whole time doodling in my notebook.

After school I went straight home, no "shortcut" through the woods, just home. I wasn't feeling well, but that was normal. People always asked me why I wasn't happy, but to be honest I can’t say that I wasn’t happy, my life was objectively, pretty alright but for some reason and I can’t answer why, none of it was for me. Simple as that, life just didn't work for me. I watched so many people go to work, go to school, have their perfect little lives,and they seemed genuinely content. I tried, but I wasn't. When I arrived at my house, I went straight upstairs without saying anything to anyone, which was normal.

I pulled out my leather bound journal and wrote, "To have a life is to simply live, but to have a dream is something more, something." Signed at the bottom of the page with a stain from a tear. JP tore out the page and left it with his favorite pen on his desk.

The next morning his parents found the note sitting folded neatly where he had left it. The window was open and no one ever heard of James Poet ever again. The following day the school had an assembly while the family had a memorial service, but afterwards everyone moved on. Life kept going and Earth just kept on spinning, whether JP was there or not. His dreams were bigger than his life and too big for such a small world.

[augustinewrites]

hq dads that can’t say no to their babies & come home with a pet + » bokuto, atsumu, suna, oikawa, akaashi

BOKUTO - resistance: -3/10

akaashi once explained to you that bokuto had approximately 37 weaknesses. in a surprising twist of fate, it turns out that his best friend was wrong, because bokuto has 41. (the last four being you and the three sons you share.)

so you shouldn't have been surprised, really, when a trip to the grocery store ended with you having no ingredients for dinner. you're in the kitchen flipping through a well-loved cook book when you hear the front door open, your mini army returning from their trip to the store.

"hey, did you remember the onions?” you call over your shoulder, humming when you pull a mixing bowl from the shelf.

you're answered by a fit of giggles from your children. bokuto's standing behind you when you turn around, holding two things that are definitely not onions.

"bokuto koutaro,” you start slowly, hands placed on your hips. “what is that?”

he holds up the plastic bag, grinning. “takeout. your favourite.”

“i’m talking about the dog.”

“oh, him!” he laughs, hefting the wiggling husky pup in his other hand. “this is oreo.”

“and what is oreo doing in my house?”

he sets the takeout bag on the counter, holding oreo to his chest. “um…being a cute puppy?” his eyes widen a little when you don’t reply. “boys! c’mon, just like we practiced in the car…”

eyes narrowed, you watch as your children flank their father, making promises of, ‘we’ll fill his food bowls and take him on walks!’ and ‘we’ll pick up his poops and give him lots of pets!’

“fine, but i’m adding it to your chore charts,” you grumble, bokuto high-fiving them all as you rub your temple. he sets oreo down on the floor and letting the boys run out into the yard with him.

he wraps his strong arms around you, pressing a kiss to the crease between your brows. “babe, the puppies were on sale and the boys talked me into it—”

you roll your eyes, watching the puppy in your yard barking excitedly as he chases a soccer ball, wondering just how a seven year old, five year old, and two year old could talk a grown man into doing something. “did you even go to the grocery store?”

he nuzzles his face in your neck (affection is the best distraction). “we were on the way, but we passed the pet store and they said they wanted a puppy, and— well, you know i can’t say no when they look at me like that!”

ATSUMU - resistance: 1/10

it’s been a while since atsumu’s succumbed to anyone’s charms. he’s long used to being the one doing the charming and it’s a gift, really, that he’s such a natural at it. it works on you, doesn’t it? all it takes is a hooded gaze, a pout of his lips, and you’re mush. absolute putty in his hands. what a blessing it was, to have (as he claims) syphoned a chunk of osamu’s charisma and wile in the womb.

but as his seven year old daughter flashes him the look, he knows that as much as it’s a blessing, it’s also a curse.

and he’s succumbing to it. in fact, the only thing stopping him from immediately whipping out his credit card is the thought of you, and how pissed you’ll probably be.

all it takes is one trip to the countryside to visit kita (and get some rice), a look down at her precious eyes and the adorable pout on her lips as she says, “please, daddy? i really really love him.”

the miya charm has been turned against him. weaponized, actually. this is karma, he knows it, and one week later, everything catches up with him.

“miya atsumu!” your yell echoes through the house, your footsteps heavy on the stairs (like a death march personified) before you kick the door to your bedroom open.

oh, shit. (should he take his shirt off?)

“something wrong?” he asks, feigning cluelessness.

it only seems to piss you off more though, shoving your phone under his nose. “why did i just get a confirmation email about full boarding for our new horse?”

he hardly has time to open his mouth when your daughter trails in behind you, an excited glint in her eyes as she unintentionally adds fuel to your flames. “his name is chestnut!”

SUNA: resistance: 3.5/10

suna tried really hard to say no, he swears. tried to walk quickly past the pet store and to go grab aran’s birthday present without distraction. but all it took was a little squeal of, “look, daddy! kitties!” and he’d been powerless to fight the insistent tug on his hand as his five year old daughter pulled him towards the litter of kittens in a storefront.

he’d just gone in to let her look, he swears. but then his baby was crowding the little pen, and suddenly he was asking an employee if she could hold one. and seeing his daughter hold that little kitten (white with little brown patches) was all it took.

he’d spent at least half an hour at the pet store, leaving with a cute pink collar and a tinkling bell, ceramic food bowls, veterinarian approved food and treats, toys with feathers and pom-poms, and a kitten named patches in a carrier.

your daughter doesn’t even give him a chance to come up with a valid story or reason, immediately coaxing her new kitten out and hauling it up into her arms, running into the living room to show you.

he’s well aware of how lucky he is when the kitten curls into your lap, your daughter gazing down at it so adoringly, stroking its fur so lovingly.

"we're definitely going to talk about this later," you promise, and suna tries to recall the list of chores you'd asked him to do before then. if the bathrooms are cleaned, maybe you'll go a little easier on him--

"oh, did you pick up aran's birthday present? i need to wrap it."

suna, standing there with an armful of cat supplies, just sighs.

OIKAWA - resistance: 2/10

"a puppy is fine," you'd said when oikawa brought up finally getting a family pet. "not a cat, not a hamster, not a turtle or bird. a dog."

"i've always wanted a big dog," you'd told him, when he'd asked which breed you'd preferred. it'd be so cute, a handsome golden retriever or labrador dressed up in a bow for this year's christmas card.

"a dog, tooru," you remind him as he herds the kids into the car. "come home with a bird and you're sleeping on the couch."

"you underestimate me, mi amor," he laughs, kissing your cheek. "i'll come home with a dog more loyal than iwa-chan."

so when he comes home from the pet store with your son and daughter in tow, you expect their excited babbling to be accompanied by barking.

it's not.

instead, your children present you with a cage holding a guinea pig.

your eyes immediately lock onto your husband, who is standing behind them holding a box containing an unassembled guinea pig hutch and a box of chocolates. the ones from your favourite chocolatier in retiro.

you take the chocolates with a huff, all your dreams of the perfect family photo for your cards flushed down the drain.

"explain yourself," you say flatly, the kids giggling as their new guinea pig sniffs at their hands. meanwhile, you smack oikawa's arm with the box of chocolates. "i wanted a dog."

"but they really, really, wanted the guinea pig," he tries to reason. "and i--" he reaches into his pocket, pulling out a little bow. "look, a bow! for your photos!"

he sleeps on the couch that night.

AKAASHI - resistance: 3/10

"akaashi?"

he glances up at you over the rims of his glasses. "yes, love?"

"how was the mall?" you ask, obviously probing as you set your blazer aside.

"good," he shrugs, your daughter snuggling into his side. "we got some new books. how was work?"

"that's nice," you hum in agreement, standing before the two of them now. "and it was fine, i got a great author to sign with us today."

he's sweating a little now, the anticipation building in the room. "that's great news. we should celebrate. would you like to go out for dinner--"

"akaashi."

"yes, my love?"

you pluck the book from his hands. "why is there a rabbit laying on your chest?"

"his name is nibbles!" your daughter exclaims, patting the rabbit's white fur. "he's so cute!"

"he's very cute," your husband agrees, kissing the top of her head. "you see, we were on our way to the bookstore when we saw the rabbits in the--"

your daughter reaches under the blanket. "and this is sniffles! i didn't want nibbles to get lonely when we go out!"

so, naturally, he purchased another rabbit.

"akaashi," you say a little more firmly, squeezing your eyes shut with a sigh.

"...yes, love?"

you lift nibbles off of his chest, stroking a hand over his admittedly soft fur. "did you even try to say no?"

"no."

because that's how akaashi is. one bedtime story always turns into two. one more episode of paw patrol always turns into two more episodes of paw patrol.

and like a magic trick, one rabbit turns into two.

[pearlgisa]

badhaai do: how some of us from the queer community missed its point

I've been back after 9213049 years to announce that y'all MUST watch Badhaai Do, it's literally the most beautiful form of queer representation I've seen. another thing, ignore those who say there are zero queer people involved.

a few spoilers ahead, so please watch the movie before reading this :))

1. the script consultant is queer.

2. the people in the pride parade (which had the unfortunate straight flag in the trailer) were queer. I saw plenty of instagram stories by those in there, posting about it, and checked out their profiles. if they didn't spot it, that means not all queer people keep up with news that makes them sad lol.

3. the girl who hands the mask to Shardul was his sister-in-law, also queer.

4. we also don't know for sure whether there aren't any other queer people involved in the making, so let's not just assume that only the hets were a part of this.

and check out the interviews by the crew - they have mentioned more than once that they showed this film to a LOT of queer people, showed the script to a lot of queer people too. the script consultant recently mentioned just how far the writers and directors went to keep it as sincere as possible. that doesn't sound like "rainbow capitalism to me". that doesn't sound like capitalizing off queer suffering.

i, for one, can see some sincere and genuine effort put in by people who are not even gay. we got a pride anthem, some solid gay-lesbian solidarity (#sumiandshardulbesties5ever), realistic queer romance, and several milestones in Indian cinema too, I think (I do not recall a blood test being portrayed as sensual in bollywood before OH MY GOD). i remember tearing up at sumi's father destroying her (and me) with the singular line: "mere ghar me hi kyu?" (why does it have to be at my home AKA why does it have to be my daughter?). i remember the joy of seeing a pride parade and my date bawling like a child watching sumi and rhimjhim run underneath the rainbow. i had to watch it more than once to fully understand the little details and the subtleties of the characters. some of my favourites are:

1. rhimjhim blowing kisses at shardul during the pride (hints at the start of the second half, when shardul blows her kisses)

2. guru giving such a fruity kick to shardul it melts my heart dkjsfji

3. not all members of the family are present in the last scene. taiji and sumi's mother are absent, another unnamed aunt, shardul's nieces, etc. but we see her brother, who was the one who called her a "pervert". character growth there and we dont need to get into how it happened. this is not about them, after all.

5. sumi wearing the red glasses to not let shardul's coworkers find out that she's a part of the parade.

6. the walkie-talkie during the scene with shardul's superior and his wife visiting them for tea is blaring about loud, barking dogs and the dialogues SEND ME.

7. kabir's text messages. you really need to pause to read them but they're so sus (i think he might be cheating? idk)

basically, it ages like an evergreen forest.

i didn't expect to walk into the theatre to watch an arthouse, indie film. at its core, what badhaai do has achieved is something phenomenal - it has retained what defines a bollywood movie while simultaneously portraying queer relationships as something not extraordinary or reserved for the "woke" segments of society. the characters aren't just their sexualities and sumi says it herself: "hissa hain, puri zindagi kaha hain." (trans: it's just a part of us, not our entire life.) shardul slaps his lover, kabir is an asshole, sumi decimates her partner's career, rhimjhim makes assumptions on shardul's sexuality, etc. it is bad enough that i have to sit through homophobes calling this as a disgusting film filled with obscene scenes, giving their low-iq opinions on why it's wrong. now i have to sit through seasoned, jaded queer individuals like me, give some of the worst reasons to cancel a film and call it problematic?

The characters are not pinnacles of perfection and I'm here for it. I don't want a cardboard vincian protagonist. some

of the reviewers clearly don't understand what nuance is and I'm okay with that. some of us who have grateful access to resources and inner pride meetings forget that there are those still in closet, those who still don't know that gender is a social construct. that we still live in a country which has some of the most homophobic outlooks. sure, homophobia was a concept popularized by the British, but are we really going to forget that there are scriptures dated BC that have specific laws for punishing lesbians? homophobia has been as rooted in our culture as the urge to search for a suitable groom for a girl the minute she comes of age (the number may change with each passing century, but does it really matter?).

those that go as far as the city's outskirts for a chance to live a life free from the heteronormative eye. there are also those who want a child as their own. what's so heteronormative about that? what's so heteronormative about wanting to be a mother? are we seriously going to nitpick on the littlest things? and let us not forget that guru isn't at all interested in the child. he states this himself and is hesitant to join Shardul until he is told that it is just to be by his side. the ending is not meant to be perfect. heck, I would go as far as to say that the true ending was when it was just Sumi and Shardul with the child. perhaps the filmmakers wanted to offer us a happy ending, or at least, a bittersweet one. and i will quote the director from his interview with PeepingMoon: "they never really come out of the closet. instead, the closet just gets bigger."

this is coming from someone still in the closet, living in a somewhat conservative society and still grasping with their own gender identity. my closet keeps getting bigger, with the recent addition of my mother to it. watching this movie encouraged me to come out to her and my mother to give some of most supportive words a queer child can hear. and for that, i cannot thank Badhaai Do and its makers enough for it.

[griffintail]

hey, i love your storys and i was wondering is we could get a part 2 to Dad!Sam X Child!Reader. thanks.

Thank you!

In Training

Pairings: Parental! Awesamdude x Teenager! GN! Reader

Warnings: Mild Violence, Non-Descriptive Wound Mention, Past Manipulation by the Egg, Mentions of Kidnapping

Part 1

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Y/N) whirled around as their sword struck the training dummy, Fran barking in excitement. (Y/N) chuckled at the dog’s excitement before continuing their own imposed strict training.

Sam had been at the prison for days recently but, (Y/N) while sad, didn’t falter. They tried to improve! Sam said he’d around more if he had help but trust was a hard thing to get in the SMP, and Sam had to really trust someone to help guard the SMP’s only prisoner. It was taking longer than Sam and (Y/N) would have liked but Sam had to be sure and (Y/N) understood.

Striking hard against the dummy, (Y/N) paused when instead of excited barks they heard Fran growl. Looking around as they carefully lowered their sword. Fran smelled something foreign to their area.

“Fran, protect.” (Y/N) muttered and started to move forward as casually as they could, Fran on their heels.

Trying not to alert the foreign intruders, (Y/N) tried to be casual as they picked up their shield and went towards the house. Fran was still softly growling as she followed orders from the teen while looking around. Halfway to the house was when Fran started to bark furiously. (Y/N) followed Fran’s locked gaze at the two figures approaching entering their clearing. One in white and black robes and the other a hybrid with startling red eyes.

“Hello!” The one in white robes spread their arms. “You must be Sam’s child, right?”

“Yeah.” (Y/N) said slowly. “You seem to know me, but I’m afraid I don’t know you gentlemen, and my father has taught me not to talk to strangers.”

Fran was still barking and (Y/N) made no move to calm the dog.

“Sam hasn’t talked about us? We’re good friends of his! I’m Bad and this is my friend Ant!” Bad introduced themselves. “And now we’re not strangers!”

“Afraid that’s also not how it works. If you’re looking for dad, he’s currently feeling a bit under the weather and not taking visitors. So, if you don’t mind…” (Y/N) said going to move to the house again.

“We actually wanted to meet you!” Ant quickly said. “Sam talks about you so much.”

(Y/N) stopped, gripping onto their sword. “What does he say about me?”

“Oh, a lot of wonderful things! Like how much he loves you and cares about you, how good you are at sword fighting, how well you can build, and how much he trusts you to be home alone.”

“Damn.” (Y/N) whispered as they looked at Bad.

“Language,” Bad said but grinned.

They’d caught (Y/N)’s lie but (Y/N) also could hear the underlying threat.

“What do you want?” They growled quietly.

“We wanted to talk about the Egg!”

“Don’t care. Good day.” (Y/N) huffed.

“Now!” Ant stepped forward, making (Y/N) take a step back as Fran stepped in front of them. “The Egg has a lot to offer you. And Sam! We can talk about it if you can just calm down the dog and we just sit.”

“What makes you think I want anything? I’m pretty happy.”

“Even with Sam gone so much?” Bad threw out, making (Y/N) frown. “You must be alone so often.”

“You think that’s going to help convince me? That just makes me want to get farther from you.” (Y/N) laughed.

“Come now, let’s just try and talk.” Bad spread his arms.

“No. Now, get off my property.” (Y/N) held gripped their sword tightly to make a point.

Bad sighed. “We tried to do it calmly.”

Quick as a flash, Ant pulled a bow and shot at the teen. (Y/N) was luckily just as quick to block with their shield, growling.

“Fran, attack.” (Y/N) ordered before getting low to the ground as they raced behind the dog bolting for the two intruders.

Bad pulled a sword as Ant fired at Fran first, the dog managing to change direction out of the way. Bad yelped as (Y/N)’s sword rang against his with the strong force before his face went hard and he started to fight against (Y/N). The teen could pretty easily hold their own though, they had been training. Swords scrapped against each other and (Y/N)’s shield as not far away, Fran was taking bolder and bolder snaps at the cat hybrid, keeping him occupied.

(Y/N) doubled down against Bad before managing to disarm him and knock him over before putting a point of the sword to his neck.

“Fran! Heel!” (Y/N) commanded and Fran growled at Ant but moved no further as Ant watched the teen. “I suggest…you put that down.”

Ant looked at Bad then (Y/N) going to put the bow down before smirking as (Y/N) felt a hit on the back of their head. They fell to the ground, trying to get the world to stop spinning as they heard Fran give a pained yelp but then they felt another hit and they blacked out.

“Thank you.” Bad took Hannah’s hand. “Let’s get them to the Egg. Sam can’t deny us if the Egg shows his child the path.”

…

Sam struggled slightly as he ran with his little creeper in his arms to Church Prime with his wounded side as potions did so but damn it, he’d make it there. Fran ran beside him as they made their journey. Sam hated himself for all of this. It was all his fault.

He had been guard duty for weeks. He had no one to take over for him. Ender knew how long (Y/N) was with the Egg! If he had been there instead of only finding out from Tommy!!

He’d fix it now though and he wouldn’t screw up again.

“We’re almost there Fran and (Y/N),” Sam muttered as his side, burned but he saw the tower of the church and he’d make it.

Sam looked over (Y/N) again as he sprinted down the prime path. Their usual clothes were now a deep red but the vine-like lines that had been around their eyes were now gone. He’d reverse the damage.

He stood on the edge of the holy ground a few minutes later and went over, (Y/N) finally giving their first sight of movement as they winced as they went over the line. But it was good, (Y/N) was on the grounds. Rushing inside the church, Sam put them on the edge of the pool before using an empty potion bottle to scoop up the water.

“Alright. (Y/N). (Y/N), wake up for me little creeper.” Sam muttered as he shook the teen.

It took a bit of trying as (Y/N) had passed out earlier but he managed and (Y/N) blinked awake slowly.

“D-Dad?” They muttered, disoriented.

“Yeah, here, drink this quickly.” Sam quickly propped them up.

(Y/N) couldn’t think straight yet and took the bottle without question and took a drink before wincing. Holding their head, Sam quickly hugged them.

“It’s ok, you’re ok. It’s just trying to fight against the cleanse.”

“C-Cleanse?” (Y/N) questioned as they winced at the pain.

“Drink, just drink.”

(Y/N) looked at the blurry room around them as they didn’t want to drink. They didn’t want to feel more pain.

“Come on, drink kiddo.” Sam pleaded.

(Y/N) whimpered before chugging the drink to get it over with. Dropping the bottle when it was gone, they held their head with both of their hands. Sam hugged them tightly, whispering comforting words with Fran’s head in their lap, as he waited for the Egg to leave his child. Slowly, the deep red on their clothes disappeared, and ever so slowly, the pain subsided.

When the pain was gone, (Y/N) waited a few moments before looking at Sam, who smiled so happily as he held their face.

“There’s my little creeper.” He said.

“What-What happened?” (Y/N) muttered as they looked around at the church around them.

“What…do you remember?” Sam asked carefully.

“I…There…Those men!” (Y/N) sat up straight. “They-They attacked Fran and I!”

“Who were they?” Sam clenched a hand.

“I-Bad and Ant. And—” They put a hand on the back of their head, wincing. “There was a third. They hit me from behind.”

“I-I don’t know what happened after that,” Sam admitted. “But, you’re alright now. Let’s get you home and we’ll figure this out later.”

Sam stood up and took their hand, helping them up and letting them lean on him as they started the slow walk back home.

“I…I fought them off for as long as I could.” (Y/N) told him.

“You fought them?” Sam looked at them surprised.

“Yeah, but not well…I didn’t even know there was someone else and Fran helped me.” They muttered, the dog wagging her tail.

“Still. That’s really good, Bad and Ant aren’t weak fighters.” Sam mumbled, planning a long “chat” with the Eggpire.

“Not good enough to be a guard.” (Y/N) said under their breath but Sam caught it.

“What? A guard?”

(Y/N) flushed as they looked away from the father, Sam stopping their walk.

“(Y/N), I…I know haven’t been around a lot, what’s going on?”

“That was kind of the point.” (Y/N) shrugged. “I-I know you have a lot of work to do on your own with the prison and you don’t have help! So…I’ve been training to try and help you at the prison and then we can also be together more.”

Sam’s heart melted as he gently hugged his child. “(Y/N)…Ender, you have such a big heart. I love that you tried to get better so you can help me and we can be together more often, but I don’t want you in the prison. It’s a bad and dangerous place but I promise, I’ll get guards to help me.”

(Y/N) hugged Sam back tightly, tearing up slightly. “I just…I miss you so much and I just want to help.”

“And I’m so happy to hear that you want to help and I’m so, so, so sorry I’m not home more often, but I will be. I’ll find guards and I’ll be home. I love you so much little creeper and I’ve missed you too.”

He wouldn’t let something like this happen again. He wouldn’t screw up again…

[unnecessarywriting]

Him? That’s My Dad - Fred Weasley

Requested: Hi! Can I get a Fred x reader where the reader is Sirius’ child and is best friends with the twins and when he first sees them they are maybe pranking snape and maybe they reunite in the shack cause they are protecting Harry and just fluff really? A/N: Thank you for requesting. First I want to apologize for the wait, but I had some personal stuff going on and I needed some time off. Also, I was a bit confused by your request, so I took it into my hands and tried to match it to the best of my ability, but if you want me to write something else (More of what you wanted) just let me know and I'll write something new! Requests are still open of course, and I hope you all enjoy!!!

ITALICS ARE FLASHBACKS

Him? That’s My Dad

Fifth year at Hogwarts meant that there was a lot of chaos, not to mention that you were dating one of the biggest pranksters in Hogwarts history. Fred had been there in your life from the beginning of your Hogwarts experience. Despite your last name and the reputation that comes with it, you were able to have a decent time with Fred and George by your side. By third year, you had become very close with the twins, and they even began to include you in their schemes. When Fred asked you out in fourth year, you began your work at becoming one of the masterminds behind some, if you dare say, epic pranks. Then, fifth year came around, and well, the chaos of OWLs ensued, and so did your more personal issues. 

You had been aware of the return of your father, or rather the escape of the murderer who just so happened to share your DNA. Were you happy that he was out? Well, that question was difficult for you. On one hand, he may have murdered a whole lot of people, and he may have been involved with the dark lord, resulting in making an orphan out of Harry and you. On the other hand, he could be innocent and have a real reason for not making more of an attempt to get out of Azkaban.

Before Sirius was sent away for the murder of the muggles and Peter, your mother had died. Luckily for you, Remus was made your godfather, which gave you a home, but Remus was sure to never overstep his role. He had never wanted to imitate a father to you, but there were times in which you wished it had happened. When you found out that he would be a professor at Hogwarts, you couldn’t tell if you were happy to spend more time with him, or worried that he would become too involved in your personal business. You knew Remus found education very important, as did you, however, spending time with Fred and George was sometimes prioritized. Not to mention, Remus was not familiar with your relations to one of the twins. 

You were sitting in the great hall with the twins trying to study, but you couldn’t help but overhear some of the murmurs from around the room. There was a lot more hatred pointed towards you because of the Sirius situation. It was hard to focus on too much that was meant to be actually important to you. Fred saw this, and he was right by your side to remind you of how amazing you were, and not to let the actions of your father define.

“You’re not like Malfoy. Who your father is, and what he has done is not a reflection of who you are. Now, let’s do something to get your mind off of all of those gits.” He motioned to where some other students were loudly whispering. You smiled at him and turned your attention to what George was working on.

“Who’s it for?” A simple question, but the answer would be the secret to your happiness.

“Snape.”

~ A Dog Tale ~

Sirius had his reasons for escaping Azkaban. When he visited Harry, he was in emotional turmoil. He felt terrible for being trusted by his best friend to take care of his son, and yet he failed. Then Sirius thought of you. He was never ready for a child of his own, but he was ready to give anything for your well-being. Him and your mother were not in a real relationship at the time, but he was heartbroken that she had died. He worried about his daughter and the lack of a mother figure, but he was sure that he would do everything he could to give you the life you deserved. When he was sent to Azkaban, however, he didn’t know how to react.

While he was not the one to sell out his friends, he was guilty for wrongly putting trust in someone. He spent his time repenting for making those choices. He reminded himself of his innocence, but there was a part of him that believed that he belonged there. Often, he would find himself thinking about you. He wondered what you looked like and what your personality was like. Did you take after him? Were you happy? Did you miss him? These questions lived in his head everyday, but he needed to grieve and take accountability for his crimes. 

When he got out, he wanted to go and find you, but he knew you were with Remus, and he was aware that Remus was very careful. His old friend knew about Padfoot, and for certain, he was keeping a close eye for any dog that came near you. He knew that he needed to go to Hogwarts to get to the rat he once called a friend, but there was a part of him that was convinced his main reason for returning was to answer those questions that had been eating away at him. 

When he first saw you, he knew exactly who he was looking at. You were the spitting image of your mother. Despite his dog form, he couldn’t help but feel a smile come on. Without thinking, he let out a bark and a whimper. He watched as your head whipped around to look at him. You stared at him with confusion written on your face, but you quickly returned to the twins that were beside you. He whimpered quietly to himself, but he refused to take his eyes off of you. You had grown up so beautifully, and from the looks of it, you were a bit mischievous yourself. 

He recognized the sound of a particular person he wished that he could remove from his memory. Snape. The git himself was a professor at Hogwarts. Of course. He pointed his gaze at your sudden change in demeanor. You got down and cast a spell. One of the twins towered over you as they cast another one. The other twin seemed to be the lookout. After hexing the greasy professor, the three ran off in a direction that would allow them to watch the mayhem ensue without getting caught. 

He also watched on the sidelines. He saw the obvious immediate spell cast. It was simple. A color change to the hair. He was concerned that this was the best that the three of you could do, but then he thought that there had to be more to it than what meets the average eye. He hoped that if he got to meet you, he would be able to ask you about it. Then he saw Snape’s legs start to falter, and he ultimately collapsed to the ground with an angry grunt. Sirius did everything he could to keep the laughing quiet, but it was riveting to see his old rival take such a nasty fall, especially at the hand of his daughter. His heart filled with pride knowing that she may not look like him, but she definitely took after him.

Sirius looked over at where you were hiding and watched as you hugged the twins. Then he watched you do the unthinkable.

~ What did you do? ~

When Fred and George had a plan, you liked to add a little bit of your own spice to the mix. You liked adding something that could only be thought of by you. Nothing was different with your prank with Snape. It was simple really. The twins had this new, altered version of the hair color changing spell. The plan was to make it near impossible to get rid of it. In fact, there was a particular potion that was needed to remove the effects of it, however, they weren’t planning on giving it to Snape too soon. The counter jinx would only change the color on Snape’s head. You thought it was genius, but there was a part of you that wanted a bigger reaction.

“Okay, I think that it’s great, but what if, and just hear me out, we change his feet.”

“What does that mean?” Your boyfriend looked at you intrigued by your suggestion.

“It’s easy really, there is an opposites spell that I found, and it would allow me to change his left foot to his right and his right to the left. It could be reversed, but there is a specific spell to do it, and I doubt Snape would know what it is.” George laughed at the idea of Snape trying to stand up without knowing how to fix his issue.

“This is one of the many reasons I love you,” Fred said as he placed a peck on your lips.

The three of you had learned which hallway Snape would be in, and you made your way in that direction. The three of you stood in the hallway chatting, so as not to raise any particular suspicion to your actions. You heard a bark from behind you, and you turned your head in that direction. There stood a large black dog. He looked as though he was trying to smile, but he also looked like he was punched in the head. You gazed at the dog to see if it was deranged or just a strangely happy dog. Eventually, you turned your attention back to the twins.

You heard the slow footsteps of the annoying professor, and you all got into position as you awaited with a nervous excitement. You ducked down to get a more accurate aim at his feet, and Fred towered above you where he focused his attention to the top of the greasy haired man. You both carefully cast your spells and retreated to a nearby space to watch the chaos unfold. As Snape fell, you laughed quietly. When he angrily struggled to stand up, the three of you had to move slightly to avoid bringing attention to how much you were enjoying his struggle. You hugged George, congratulating him on a good idea and a successful prank. Then you hugged Fred and pulled him in for a joyful, passionate kiss. You both pulled away and smiled at each other, while George awkwardly evaded his gaze. You felt eyes boring into you, so you turned your eyes to the culprit. The dog from before looked furious. Then, he began to run away.

“Hey, I’m gonna go for a walk, but I’ll catch up with you two later. Alright?” The twins nodded, but Fred was a bit suspicious of your sudden change in behavior. He kept his eyes on you and watched the direction you walked towards, but he kept his distance. He didn’t want to intrude on your time to yourself.

You followed the dog and watched as it ran into the Whomping Willow. You had a feeling you knew what was going on. You had often referred to Remus as Uncle Moony. When the twins showed you the map, you had a feeling that there was a connection. Cue you Sherlock skills. You thought about the other names on the map and tried to connect them to Remus’ friends.

“Uncle Moony?”

“Yes?” His gaze lifted from the Daily Prophet to your inquisitive face.

“When you were in school, did you ever feel connected to the animals there?”

“Why do you ask?” You needed to cover your ground otherwise he wasn’t going to give any information. 

“Well, I know that you don’t remember the events of what happens when you change, but I just wondered if there was ever some sort of connection with the animals on the grounds. I have found that there are some friendly deer around. I’ve also seen a few rats and mice wander around the castle.” You were trying to hint to some of the hints from the map. Prongs being a deer and Wormtail being a rat. Remus chuckled at your words.

“Yes, the deer and rats can be quite kind and they can often invade your personal space. Not to mention the wild dogs. Those can be the most intrusive creatures on the grounds.” A dog. That was the last detail you needed. Padfoot. Now you just needed to figure out who was who. 

In your years at Hogwarts, it was relatively rare to find a dog on the grounds. That didn’t mean that it never happened, but this dog seemed different, and you had a hunch as to what was going on. You stood far away from the tree and contemplated going into the whole that the dog ran into. If you were right, then you could easily be heading to your one way trip to the afterlife, but you wanted to protect the people you cared about at all costs. You didn’t trust the professors with this information, and Remus was no exception. Harry had become a friend to you over the years, and if the disgusting rumors held true, this could be your chance to help him. Afterall, this was your father who was trying to kill Harry. The least you could do is fight this man and prove that you were capable of not being like him. 

You ran by the swinging branches and launched yourself into the whole. You found yourself in what appeared to be the shrieking shack. The floorboards creaked all around you. You pulled the wand out from your pocket and pointed in the direction you were walking. Eventually, you found yourself face to face with the dog.

“You know, I had a feeling you were the dog. Remus never admitted to anything, but something about all that he told me about you just reminded me of a dog. You don’t have to stay in that ridiculous form since I know it’s you.” You were surprised by your own confidence, but twelve years of anger can spark a lot. Suddenly, you were met with the man you thought you would never see again. You raised the wand up to his face, and locked your jaw in anger. 

“You look just like your mother Y/N. I know you think I’m a murderer, but that’s not the case. I’m innocent. Why don’t you lower your wand and we can talk this through.” He spoke carefully and clearly so as not to push you to hex him into another life.

“I don’t know why you came here, but I’m not going to let you hurt Harry, and I sure as hell am not going to let my guard down. You escaped from Azkaban for murder. Did you really think that I was going to believe you? Honestly, you must really be an idiot. Even if you are innocent, you let Harry and I live without you. You were supposed to be there for us.” You yelled the last line with an anger you didn’t know you had. “You were supposed to be there for me.” Your voice was low and full of pain. Sirius felt everything you said to him.

“I know, but allow me to explain.” You kept your wand in place as Sirius told his story. He explained how he was framed by Peter, and his reasoning for returning to Hogwarts. “You’re right. I should've done more to be there for you, but I can’t change the past. I sure as hell am never going to forgive myself for allowing you to grow up without me. I’m here now though. I know that I cannot make up the lost time, but I can try like hell to be there for you now. I have no right to ask for anything but I beg you to give me a chance to be in your life.” 

You lowered your wand and sat down on the nearest surface. Sirius sighed at the removal of the threat. He stayed silent as he watched you think about everything he said. He knew it was a lot for you to handle. It was a lot for anyone to handle. Neither of you were aware of how long you both sat there, but when you heard a distant creak and the familiar call of your name, you both launched into action. Sirius transformed into Padfoot.

“Y/N? Are you in here?” Fred appeared in the doorway and sighed at the sight of you. “George, she’s in here. Darling, what are you doing here? We've been looking for you for hours. You had us both worried.” He pulled you into a tight embrace and kissed the top of your head. You breathed in his scent and smiled. Maybe having your dad in your life wouldn’t be so terrible. You thought about Fred and your future together often. You thought about what it may be like to have someone that you could call your dad be there to watch you achieve all of the milestones in your life, and be there for any future children you may have. You thought about how happy Fred and George were with their family, and how jealous you were of their parents.

“Were you just here with a dog all of this time?” George asked as he walked into the room. Fred moved his gaze to the big, black dog in the room. You giggle quietly.

“Oh him? That’s my dad.” You smiled and sat next to the dog and gave him a reassuring look. “And judging by the way he’s looking at you Fred, he doesn’t seem too happy that his only daughter is dating someone.” Padfoot offered a small growl at your boyfriend who was both confused and slightly scared. 

“Y/N. I think you might be losing it.” George muttered. You laughed and motioned for Sirius to regain his human form. The look of fear and shock on the twins’ faces were priceless.

“Mr. Weasley I presume.” Sirius held out his hand. Apparently the Weasley hair was something that exceeded generation. Fred reached out his hand to meet your dad’s and he muttered his response. “I understand that you are dating my daughter. I will allow this, however, after I am proven innocent, and we can have a word alone, I think we should get to know one another. Thoroughly.” You watched the interaction with joy. You knew that sirius was pranking Fred, although there was a bit of seriousness in his tone as well.

“Boys, I assume that I don’t need to tell you that the knowledge of Sirius should remain a secret. I will also say that he is of no threat to any of us, so there is no need to worry.” You grabbed Fred’s hand and gave him a reassuring squeeze. “I think that you two should return to the school. I’m going to stay here a bit longer, but I am perfectly fine.” You kissed Fred’s cheek and gave a side hug to George as they wandered out of the shack. They weren’t happy that you were left alone with someone who was notorious for mass murder, but they understood that you wouldn’t put everyone in danger.

“So, you’ve taken to pranking old Snivellus eh?” You laughed and nodded. You wouldn’t have expected your day to go from terrible to one with an amazing boyfriend, and a supportive dad, but fate works in mysterious ways.