#considering he ‘had’ younger siblings

[cod-dump]

What would happen if Price got contacted to say his mother or father had died? Would he care? Would he go to the funeral? Would he simply pretend he never saw the letter?

Even worse if someone else found the letter first.

previous

more richborn Price? hell yea

___

Price getting mysterious letter in a PO box he had long forgotten about. It had a hand written name on it, it was familiar, an upon opening it he spotted a name t the bottom, signed off elegantly. One that made his heart almost stop.

Amelia Victoria.

She left out the surname, certainly knowing he would throw it the letter out upon sight of it alongside a name that wasn't his own. He would've crumpled it up by now, but he didn't. All previous attempts at contacting him was from his parents, his siblings had never reached out. Never.

His brother simply didn't care to, he had everything to gain from Price not being present. Of course it had to be Amelia, she was the only person Price would ever considering listening to. It had to be her.

Price stuffed the letter back into the envelope, not bothering to read anything beyond his sister's name. He didn't have the energy for those people, his sister included. It was his own fault, leaving himself open to their attempts at communication, cruel enough to never answer and cowardly enough to never have it in him to respond.

He could disappear, they never would be able to find them. But he never did it.

He threw the letter in the trash as he walked out of his office. If the janitor didn't have the trash dumped by morning then he'd consider reading it.

Of course it wasn't left in the trash.

Price was nursing a morning cup of tea, still waking up when Ghost walked into the lounge. He had a look in his eyes, guilty but also a bit miffed. He looked at Price before he walked over and sat across from him. No words were spoken as he took out the letter and dropped it on the table.

Price felt his eye twitch at the sight. This wouldn't be the first time Ghost had poked around in his trash, Price knew he should've shredded it upon discovering who sent it. It was his own fault for being weak, for being open to reading it.

"Your mum's dead."

Price felt his heart drop, almost dropping his mug. He shakingly put down his tea, breathing as he looked away. Ghost's eyes widened and he looked even more guilty.

"You didn't know."

Ghost spoke upon the assumption he had read it. Of course, he wouldn't have said anything otherwise.

"She's-"

"I'm sorry."

Price took the letter, trying to not rip and tear as he opened it. He skimmed over the words until he found the passage mentioning his mother's death. He was supposed to feel something more than a numbed dread. He was a child who learned his mother was gone, why wasn't he feeling more than this? The shake in his hands wasn't enough, there should be more emotion.

Price honestly didn’t feel much as he read his sister's letter, describing their mother's last moments and the funeral they would have. She wrote as if she already knew he would never attend, and there wasn't any blame. Just sorrow and understanding. Sorrow, it didn't feel enough.

His dear mother, might as well have not been there at all. He vividly remembered her faraway stare, like her spirit wasn't even present. She used to be much more alive when he was much younger, while she was pregnant with his brother. She argued with his father with determination, no fear. Then... it just went away. She never showed much emotion after she became pregnant with his sister. Their father had full reign of the household, of their children.

He wondered if she died that way, numb and absent minded, allowing their father to have his way until the bitter end.

"John?"

Ghost didn't like his silence, probably didn't like the lack of a more earnest reaction. Price never told him about his family or upbringing. Never told him he joined the military to get away from them. Any judgement he was receiving was deserved. Ghost clung to his family when he had them, he loved them fiercely.

"I probably should tell you a few things about me... and keep all of this between us, yea?"

Ghost nodded while watching him carefully. Price really didn't want the others to learn about this, learn everything about him he frankly didn't want them to know.

[arkadijxpancakes]

Yes. The Weasleys had too many kids. An analysis. (Part 2 of 2)

So, where were we? Right. The Weasleys have so many kids that it fucks with their family dynamic and with the mental health of everyone involved. Last time, we looked at Molly and Arthur during the war. We ended in 1981, which means that all kids are born, now. Molly is still nursing. (It’s common to nurse kids up to two or three years, while slowly weaning them, so I assume that this is what Molly does.) She’s finally done with becoming pregnant every other year, however. And it’s about time, because her workload is bigger, than any single person can handle. And while it will decrease over time, it will stay enormous for the next couple of years.

1982 – Bill (who will be 12 at the end of the year) starts Hogwarts. It’s his first lick of freedom. There is no babysitting-duty at Hogwarts. All he has to do is stay out of trouble and earn good grades. Other than that, he is free to do what he wants. He will be the only Weasley-sibling in Hogwarts for two years. Because of this, his parents probably have enough money in reserve to buy him a full Hogwarts-kit without resorting to second-hand-stuff too much. (He might get second-hand books, but his robes and wand are probably new.)

At home, life is still hard for Molly. She has one less kid to take care of, but the kids who are still in her care are a handful. She still needs to teach Charlie. Percy got 6 over the summer and is a little nerd, so she is likely teaching him, too. Fred and George are still chaos incarnate. (And they are just getting started, really.)

Bill’s duties (chores around the home and watching his younger brothers) get passed down to Charlie. Percy might try his hand on this, too, because he is still in direct competition with the twins and Mum gives him attention when he helps her.

The war is over and the Weasleys start to feel the effects of this. As Death Eaters are captured and sentenced, the Wizarding World starts to feel safe, again. The stress eases off (but Molly is probably still grieving.) 

Arthur’s work schedule slowly goes back to more normal levels, allowing him to spend more time at home. However, he missed out on a big chunk of his children’s childhood. It’s also hard to return to his role as a parent, because at this point, the roles of the family are pretty much established: Molly is in charge and does most of the work. Some of the easier chores are passed down to her kids (first Bill, now Charlie, later Percy). This includes watching over his younger brothers while Molly takes care of her toddlers. It’s kind of hard for him to integrate himself into this dynamic. (Just imagine him doing the laundry or the dishes – it’s very likely that he has a different way for doing this, which could easily disrupt Molly’s workflow or simply just annoy her.) 

I think he will mostly stick to the stuff he did when Bill and Charlie were little. So he’s taking his kids out for trips on the weekends. But this is difficult, too, because it’s not Bill and Charlie anymore, but Charlie, Percy, Fred and George. Their dynamic is entirely different, and it’s hard to keep an eye on all of them, while also satisfying their needs equally. (Especially because Percy, Fred and George start to clash.) As a result, the trips are probably not as frequent as they once were.

It’s also possible that Arthur picks up his Muggle-hobby at this point. (Picking up this hobby causes him to spend at least some evenings in his shed, tinkering with Muggle-stuff instead of helping his wife. I imagine him to fade into the background a little bit, while he leaves the household and child-rearing to his wife.)

1984 – Charlie starts Hogwarts.

There are now two Weasley-Siblings at Hogwarts, but things are still pretty chill for them. It’s still just Bill and Charlie, after all. Bill is probably considered trustworthy enough by his teachers to receive a time-turner, so he can take all electives Hogwarts has to offer. (I do wonder how much Molly’s expectations are playing into this. She clearly expects her children to do well at Hogwarts, both in terms of grades and behavior. At this point, he is either a massive nerd like Hermione, trying to perform well to fulfill his mother’s expectations, or both. He is also setting a standard for his siblings here, whether this is on his own accord or because of pressure he receives from Molly.)

At home, Percy (now 8) takes over Charlie’s duties. He tries to control Fred and George. It’s likely that he fails miserably. They are just too close age-wise for this to work. 

Fred and George are 6 now and start to play rough. Last year, Fred turned Ron’s teddy bear into a giant spider (which probably caused Ron to develop arachnophobia). Next year, they will try to talk Ron into making an Unbreakable Vow with them. So keeping an eye on them is getting harder, not easier.

At this point in time, Scabbers exceeds the life span of his species. Rats can get up to two or three years old. (And Rowling knows this. This information is included in book 3, when Ron takes Scabbers to the pet store to have the witch there check on him.) This is Scabbers third year with the Weasleys, so his time is up. No one seems to notice, though. I don’t blame Percy (or the other kids) for this, but Molly and Arthur should notice that they don’t have to replace a rat or have a talk about how Scabbers is happier in the great rat heaven. They don’t and I wonder why. My suggestions are: a) They are either not paying any attention to Percy and his pet (which would suck) or b) Scabbers is turning into Peter and uses a wand (his own or Molly’s) to confund them as needed (which would suck even more).

1987 – Percy starts Hogwarts.

At the end of the 1986/87 school year, Bill (who is a prefect now) takes his OWL in all 12 courses Hogwarts has to offer. It’s possible he returns his time turner after this or keeps it until his graduation to deal with his NEWT-workload. He now starts his sixth year. Charlie is in his fourth year and is already on the Quidditch team. Molly is very, very proud of both of them.

Percy is a wee first year and doesn’t have to watch out for any younger siblings for once. He can focus on learning instead. He is probably the first boy in the family to end up with hand-me-down robes, as he has a similar build as Bill and Bill has probably outgrown his first set.

Scabbers is six, now. So he has lived twice as long as a normal rat would. Still, no one has caught up to the fact that he is awfully old for a rat. It’s very likely that he accompanies Percy to Hogwarts. (It should be noted that Hogwarts only allows cats, owls and toads as pets, so Percy probably got a permission to bring a rat instead. However, no one at the school notices Scabber’s age either.)

Life at home is still chaotic. Fred and George are 10, Ron is 8 and Ginny is 7. Molly is probably teaching all of them. Her workload is slowly going down to a more manageable level, but keeping the twins in check is still a challenge.

She probably doesn’t expect Fred and George to do chores and watch over their siblings. (At least not in the same way she expected from her older kids.) Mostly, because she can’t trust them to do it. (Remember the Unbreakable Vow? Yeah, that.) Additionally, Ron simply has no authority over them, so that’s not an option either.

1989 – Fred and George start Hogwarts.

In his seventh year, Bill was made Head Boy. By now, he took his NEWTs and left school. He probably returns home for a little while, before he takes the first chance he gets to fuck off to Egypt and play with cursed tombs. (We should probably talk about English wizards, Egyptian treasures and colonialism here, but that’s a completely different can of worms.)

Charlie took his OWL and is now in his sixth year. He’s still on the Quidditch team and should be Quidditch Captain by now. He’s also a prefect. So between them, they got all the big achievements Hogwarts has to offer: Prefect (both of them), Head Boy (Bill) and Quidditch Captain (Charlie). Bill also got 12 OWL, which is an achievement on its own. Molly will measure her other children against this later.

Speaking of Molly: While her home life is going to relax a lot this year, her expectations are still around. She is still expecting her kids to do well in school. Considering that Fred and George are now at Hogwarts, the old demand “Watch over your younger siblings!” is back and in full swing. I can’t see Charlie doing it – he has his head full of dragons and Quidditch and lived five blissful years in Hogwarts without the need to look after anyone all that much. Sure, Percy was at school, but he has already learned to look after himself. I don’t think Charlie will start with this now. Not unless the twins interfere with his prefect- or Quidditch-duties or are completely out of line.

Percy is a different story, however. He is in his third year and still taking after Bill. Just like Bill he takes all electives, so it is likely that he also gets a time turner for this. At this point, Percy has ingrained the idea that he needs to perform exceptionally well at school and Bill set an incredible high bar to reach, but he is willing to do just that. He also spent a lot more time at home dealing with the twins. Molly’s expectations for him to be a good boy and to look after his younger brothers will now put pressure on him again. He will probably try to control their chaotic behavior, but they are 11 now, and they will listen to him even less than before.

For Fred and George, this is heaven. They finally escaped the watchful eyes of their mother and have a whole new world to explore. So many secret passageways and even more victims to play pranks on. Percy is annoying, but they can play pranks on him, too. They will soon steal the Marauder’s Map from Filch’s office, which will open up even more possibilities. It’s great. 10/10, no notes.

Life at home is finally manageable. It’s just Molly, Ron and Ginny (and also Arthur and his Muggle-stuff). This is probably a nice time for Ron, because there are no older siblings around to steal his limelight. However, at this point he has the family dynamic internalized and his self-esteem is pretty low overall.

1991 – Ron starts Hogwarts.

By now, Charlie has left Hogwarts. It is unlikely that he actually finished his education, however. When Harry becomes a member of the Gryffindor team in Philosopher’s Stone, Fred says: “We haven’t won since Charlie left, but this year’s team is going to be brilliant.” Had Charlie finished his education, he would have left in summer 1991. The quote is from autumn 1991. In this case, the quote would make no sense, because there were no matches for Gryffindor to lose between Charlie leaving and Harry becoming Gryffindor’s new seeker. So he must have left before then, probably sometime in his sixth or seventh year, after his seventeenth birthday.

It’s important to note that we don’t read about any fights over this. I can’t imagine Molly being happy with this, but he must have had her permission. (Otherwise we would know about it. Molly can’t shut up about the failures of the twins, she would not shut up about Charlie’s failures either.)

Percy is in his fifth year and a prefect. By now he is the career-driven rules lawyer we meet in canon. He will end this school year by taking all 12 OWL – just like Bill. (When Ron is made prefect in OotP, Molly makes sure to tell everyone that he is now a prefect, just like his older brothers, and she seems very comfortable doing so. I assume, Percy heard his fair share of this, when he was made prefect.)

The twins are in their third year and members of Gryffindor’s Quidditch team. By now, they have earned themselves a reputation as pranksters.

Ron is the sixth Weasley-kid to enter Hogwarts. While his older siblings might have gotten some second-hand stuff, everything he owns was basically handed down to him: Bill’s old robes, Charlie’s old wand and Percy’s old pet rat. To be clear: none of those things make much sense to hand down (or at least not to Ron).

Bill’s old robes should have gone to Percy after Bill left Hogwarts. They should be of a similar height, while Ron (as an eleven-year-old) should be somewhat smaller. Instead of handling it that way, Percy got new robes as a reward and Bill’s robes were handed down to Ron. This is clear favoritism on Molly’s part. It’s no surprise that Ron (who already feels overlooked by his parents) feels upset about it.

Giving him Charlie’s old wand makes even less sense. We know, that the wand chooses its wizard. Charlie’s wand did not choose Ron, so it would not perform as well for him. In addition, in book 1 the wand is described as follows: “He rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a very battered-looking wand. It was chipped in places and something white was glinting at the end.”

That thing is basically falling apart. That was either a lot of wear and tear during Charlie’s time at Hogwarts (considering the fact that we have not heard anything about this with other wands, this is unlikely) or the wand was already a hand-me-down when Charlie got it. In either case, giving Ron a wand that has its core more or less poking out, doesn’t sound very safe. I wonder why Arthur and Molly decided to do this. Did they expect Ron to have a great learning experience with a damaged wand? Did they want Ron to use the wand until it eventually did break, saving them another year or two before they had to buy a new one? (And yes, they would indeed need to buy him a new one in his third year, but they had no way of knowing that. Unless there are prophecies for that kind of shit. And even then. The fuck?)

Money is tight, of course. But is it really that tight? They could afford to get Percy an owl, after all. And buying a wand for their son is an expense they've had 11 years to plan. I understand getting second-hand robes and cauldrons, as they see a lot of wear and tear. But this should not apply to a wand in the same way. This is just really, really odd.

And then there is the elephant – and with elephant I mean rat – in the room: Scabbers. Firstly, that rat should be dead for at least seven years by now. No one seems to notice. No one cares. What the fuck.

Secondly, why is Percy giving his pet to Ron? There just isn’t a great explanation for this. Scabbers has been his pet for ten years. TEN. Percy should be attached to his pet like glue. After all, he has Scabbers since he can remember. Why is he willing to part with his rat? The only reasons I can think of:

1) He does it because Molly asks him to. She is clearly playing favorites, here. Not only does he get new robes when he becomes prefect, but he also receives his very own owl as a gift. It’s possible that this owl comes with strings attached, and Percy is required to give Scabbers to Ron to get the owl. Which would be a pretty fucked up situation for every child involved and should’ve been handled differently.

2) Percy wants to get rid of Scabbers. He doesn’t know about Scabbers’ Peter-shaped secret, of course (otherwise he would’ve reported this). But it is possible that he feels, on a subconscious level, that something about Scabbers is off. Not in a dangerous way (again, he would’ve reported this), just in an unpleasant way. (This would still be odd. Especially when we consider that no one noticed Scabbers age.)

3) Scabbers has decided that it’s time to jump ship. Percy just turned fifteen this year. He is old enough to grow suspicious of his seemingly immortal rat. It’s possible that he cozied up to Ron to manipulate both boys into making the switch. Or he turned into Peter and confunded some Weasleys. Who knows. He’s still a Death Eater and mass murderer on the run, after all.

1992 – Ginny starts Hogwarts.

The flock has left the nest. Molly’s work is mostly over. It’s just her and Arthur who stay at the burrow. She still takes care of the household, but the responsibility for her kids rest on other people’s shoulders, now. There is nothing left to do, except knitting, sending care packages, worrying about her kids careers and hexing the occasional howler. Molly could get a job now or pick up a hobby or two. I mean, she does read Gilderoy Lockhart’s shitty books. She is a fan of his, after all. But she doesn’t seem to enter any community over this (no fan club, no reading circle, no nothing. It’s just her). And there are no other hobbies outside of that. 

Apropos community: We don’t really see her having a community. She is a pretty important side character, but the books never mention that she has friends or other contacts outside her family. It seems like she is focusing on her kids and only on her kids.

Which would explain her meddling. Because Molly meddles a lot, when it comes to her kids and their futures. She keeps putting pressure on Percy to look after his younger siblings – this will expand to Harry after she gets to know him. Percy (still a good boy) does as she wishes. It’s not healthy, neither for him nor for his relationship with his siblings (who are mostly annoyed by him), but Molly either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care. In the future, she will be very cross with Hermione after reading Rita Skeeters articles about her. She will also be upset about the twins' career choice and Bill's choice of girlfriend…

And yeah, that’s basically it. At this point, the family dynamic is firmly established and ingrained in her children’s heads. Percy is already set up to explode in the near future. Being Molly’s Golden Child is neither good nor healthy, especially considering all the pressure that comes along with it. His relationship with his siblings isn’t all that great, either.

Fun fact: We don’t know if anyone ever told him about Scabbers’ Peter-shaped secret. If it did happen, it was probably pretty traumatic. That shit-show was his pet for ten fucking years and he handed it down to his younger brother. That’s nightmare fuel, even if Peter never hurt any of them.

The twins have firmly established themselves as troublemakers. At least some of their “jokes” really aren’t funny and border on cruel, neglectful and/or harmful. (Remember the Unbreakable Vow? Yeah, still not funny. In 1993, they also tried to lock Percy in a pyramid. Yes, I don’t think they wanted to hurt him, not really, but that thing was still a cursed tomb. Things could have gone wrong, and at that point they were old enough to know better. In their last year they tested their joke-sweets on younger students who were neither adequately informed nor old enough to consent for something like this. Yes, they tested the sweets on themselves first, but something could still have gone wrong because of allergies and all that stuff. And after they left Hogwarts and started their joke shop, they do sell love potions to students, complete with options to smuggle that shit into school. Additionally, instead of going bad/losing their potency, those love potions get stronger with age. This alone is a horror story waiting to happen.)

Ron is affected, too. His self-esteem is pretty low when he starts Hogwarts and it will stay that way throughout the series. This will inform a lot of his decisions (especially the bad ones) in the future. 

We don’t know much about how all of this affected Bill, Charlie and Ginny. Bill and Charlie just aren’t as involved in the narrative, and Ginny stays kind of… bland and love interest-ish… throughout the story.

So… yeah?

Am I saying that the Weasleys did not love their kids? No, of course not. Especially Molly shows her love regularly. (Her love is more like a water hose than a watering can, however. Very intense and focussed on a single spot at a time, instead of reaching all her kids equally.)

What I am saying is that the Weasleys, as a family, are pretty dysfunctional. Many factors are playing into this – Molly’s and Arthur’s dynamic as a couple and as parents, the number of their kids, the war, etc. It’s impacting all of them negatively. Molly is stressed out, Arthur is out of touch and some of their kids lose their trust (either in their parents, in their siblings or in themselves.) It also makes their love feel conditional. The twins feel this whenever Molly is comparing them with their older (more well-behaved) brothers. Percy feels this when he comes home with that promotion and is demoted from Golden Child to family-traitor within a heartbeat. Ron has internalized it and desperately seeks attention and affection elsewhere.

They still love each other, but it’s a difficult position to be in for most of them.

And the worst thing: I don’t think Rowling notices any of this. She did not intend the family to be as dysfunctional as it is. She keeps portraying the Weasleys as this great, loving family who took Harry in when he needed it the most. And of course they did – but that’s not all there is to it. There are so many issues that go unresolved in the books. Molly never learns to back off. The responsibility for the conflict between Arthur and Percy is placed entirely on Percy, despite Arthur being at fault, too. The twins never really learn that a prank can go too far. Ron doesn’t really solve his self-esteem-issues. Rowling does start to give him some character development regarding his self-esteem-issues multiple times, but he always seems to revert back over the course of the summer holidays. 

The family really deserved more effort to go into the writing.

Note: This analysis is not meant to say that stay-at-home parents are bad or that Molly should have gotten a job while having seven little kids at home. What I am criticizing is the way we treat care work. Because it is work, and a lot of work. A stay-at-home parent is often on call 24/7. A stay-at-home parent never really gets to take a break, never can take a day off, and never just can leave their work for another day. But they do deserve breaks and days off, just like any person with a day job. And that is where their partners and the rest of their families come in.

And this is the other thing I wanted to criticize here: The way we glorify living as a nuclear family. It’s said that you need a village to raise a kid and I do think this is true. Having more people involved in child-rearing (be it relatives, neighbors or professionals like teachers) is a boon. Families had access to this for millennia. Raising your kids with the help of your family and your village was normal, up until very recently. And it’s a shame that the Weasleys seemingly had no help like this. And yes, I do see the fault with Rowling, who wrote them that way. She basically took the concept of the nuclear families of the 1980s and 1990s and slapped it onto the family, without any world building at all.

(Please also note, that I consider stay-at-home parents to be different from tradwives. When I use the term “tradwife”, I am specifically referring to stay-at-home mothers who do not just take care of their household and their kids, but who also commit themselves to having as many kids as possible and who tend to take on other duties (like homeschooling) as well. The most common examples of this are probably families who belong to fundamentalist Christian churches or cults.)

[twst-hottest-takes]

I might have missed somethings while writing this hot take.

Hot take: Sebek should like humans.

I find it weird Sebek hates humans, not just because he's half human half fae. I find it weird because this man grew up with a human father, a human loving mother, two older siblings, and it's even told in some events that Silver and Sebek grew up together.

And I would understand if Sebek didn't like human culture, or if he didn't like humans who couldn't use magic. BUT THIS GUY REALLY HATES EVERY HUMAN. And I get it Lilia pulled out the "He grew up with a grandpa who didn't like humans." But I just don't really understand it. Not only because of his family either. I don't get it because he's been away from Briar Valley before, he's been around humans (and presumably beastmen) as a child. So I really don't understand how his speciest grandpa had such an influence on him.

I also don't really understand why Malleus holds such a different opinion from Sebek. I mean the human and fae war kind of caused his mom to die. And while I don't know THAT much about Malleus's grandma, I feel like she wouldn't really like humans, considering Sebek's grandpa is arguably younger than Malleus's grandma.

And while I do know Malleus was mainly raised by Lilia, is royalty, and did have Silver in his life. Sebek knew Lilia from a young age, and knew Silver as well! If the kingdom is willing to accept a prince who likes humans, shouldn't the royal guards be required to like humans?

I do question how much time he spends with Grandpa Zigvolt.

Now, I don't collect Sebek cards or read every character vignette, but I am under the impression that Sebek just spends a lot more time with his grandfather than his older siblings. However, I don't think that answers the questions here. How much influence does that man have? How much of it is from holding grudges and has any of it been watered down after his daughter married a human? I feel like there has to be some other factor to Sebek's past that contributes to his current bigotry and overall Malleus simpery. Was he made fun of or ostracized for being half human when he was younger? Was he made fun of or ostracized for being half fae? As anon pointed out, you'd think he'd have much more going towards him being more favorable to humans.

Now this conversation has struck an idea in me and we'll see if it makes sense or explains anything:

Hypothetically: Sebek loves Malleus. Sebek wants to be close to Malleus. Sebek pledges his life into servitude to Malleus. Sebek goes to closed-minded grandpa to learn how best to be a royal guard. Sebek also learns from Lilia, but Lilia's influence is much subtler in terms of ideology whereas Baur is very passionate and vocal about his feelings concerning the inferiority of humans (while somehow not badmouthing his family?). Sebek is also very passionate and vocal and latches onto Baur's words and takes them very much to heart. Sebek, being a stupid teenager, refuses to see any nuance or notice any holes in the way grandpa speaks or treats his daughter's family and instead just spouts off a firm belief that humans are trash compared to fae. Sebek essentially took what he liked about what grandpa said and made it a much bigger part of his personality and mindset than was maybe intended and now he's an obnoxious loudmouth with incerdibly transparent bigotry.

Tl;dr: Sebek is a teenager who thinks he knows everything about something he's passionate about and had just enough influence from home to make him think he's absolutely correct and currently has little to know wiggle room in terms of his current harmful outlook. His personality might also predispose him to being very proud and stubborn on certain viewpoints once he has committed to them (most people usually have at least one thing in their lives like this. I hope the train of thought makes sense.).

The good news is, it's obviously a setup for character development. I believe he's supposed to be very immature and he'll grow out of it when he learns a bit more about things like empathy and understanding.

As for the comparison to Malleus, I think this post is long enough for now and that's something that could be discussed in a later post. Suffice it to say, it also got me thinking.

~I am sorry if I got lost in the weeds there! Thank you for the take.

(Also, in regards to the guards being required to like humans as a reflection of their prince, the answer is "No." They may be commanded to not harm or antagonize humans, but I doubt there's much in the way of rules thay say, "Human-haters can't be in the army.")

(Also, also, I am so sorry this took so long to respond to! I honestly sat on my hands too long wondering what picture to feature along with this post. *facepalm*)

[emeraldjuns]

Fairy Tale

genre: fairy king jun x human reader warnings: none, unless you count mentions of reincarnations

synopsis: on a visit to the forest you frequented as a child, you meet a fairy who says he has been waiting for you. after that, you can't shake off the fact that he is very, very familiar.

word count: 4.5k (not proofread)

if you like my fics, please consider reblogging, thank you!

p.s. sorry for the horrible photo editing bc i'm a hoshi when it comes to this ;-; but at least jun's pretty face makes up for it...right?

Near your childhood home, there was a forest with a beautiful lake inside. Back when you were younger, you would spend your days with your siblings swimming in the lake, running around playing hide-and-seek among the trees, and enjoying picnics while the wind blew gently around you. 

Now you were older, and the forest was just merely a place for you to reminisce about your childhood memories. You had moved to another city for work, and even when you returned to visit your parents, you hardly ever went back into the forest. 

Until one day, you were exhausted. Work had been stressful and tiring, and all you wanted was some peace and relaxation. So, on a whim, you took a day off work and drove two hours back home to visit the forest, in the hopes you would find the peace you needed there. 

Soon enough, you found yourself at the lake. You bent down, running your fingertips over the cool surface. You sighed into the silence around you, relishing in the quiet you had yearned for for a while. 

Until someone’s voice cut through the peace. 

“I haven’t seen you in years.” 

Quickly, you shot up from your position and turned around. A man was standing a few metres away from you, studying you. You took notice of a pair of shining blue gossamer wings on his back. 

“Who…who are you? What do you mean, you haven’t seen me in years?”

He took a step forward, compelling you to step backwards as well. “You always used to visit this forest, did you not? Well, when you were a child, at least.”

A child? He’d seen you before all those years ago? Your heart raced in your chest. Had he been watching you and your siblings play in this very forest all this while? Was he a stalker? 

He continued speaking, seemingly unaware of your rising fear. “I was hoping you’d come back. I’ve been waiting for decades. Ah, but then, you probably don’t remember me, do you?” 

You couldn’t take it any longer. Realising he was still a decent distance away, you turned in the other direction and ran. You ran as fast as your two legs could carry you, all the way through to the forest’s exit. 

You sat in your car, locking the door immediately for fear he might chase after you. Your breaths were laboured, and your heart continued to race in your chest. Never had you thought that someone had been watching you for so many years. 

Your hands shook even as you started the engine, preparing to drive home. You couldn’t take your mind off that man. Who was he? Why did he have wings? What did he want with you? 

Two hours later, even after you had parked your car safely in the carpark of your apartment complex, your hands were still shaky.

⋆˚✿˖°

“I just thought of something fun.”

“What is it?”

“Let’s race each other to the other side of this lake. Whoever loses has to grant the winner a wish.” 

“Alright then, if you say so.” 

Just as you watched two figures race each other along the field of grass, your alarm clock rang shrilly, jolting you out of your slumber. Worn out from the adrenaline rush you had yesterday, you dragged yourself out of bed and through to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. 

The rest of the day had been the usual: drive through the morning rush hour to the office, work, attend meetings, eat lunch, and back to work again. Before you knew it, evening had rolled around. You decided to just eat dinner from an eatery downstairs instead of cooking at home, and soon you were slurping pasta noodles while admiring the view of a park nearby. 

“This pasta is delicious,” you murmured to yourself as you twirled your fork. 

“Is it that good?”

“Of course it is. Everything that you cook for me is good.”

“Well, I’m just happy that you like it, my love.”

My love?

You whipped your head around, to see if you had accidentally made conversation with someone without realising, but there was almost no one sitting even remotely near your table. Yet, you were sure that someone had just spoken to you. 

You tried your best to recall, but you were certain none of your exes had ever called you “my love”, nor did any other friend or acquaintance you knew. 

My love, you mouthed the words. 

Why did it sound so familiar?

⋆˚✿˖°

That night, you dreamed again, but this time it was of a strange man.

He brought you to a cozy-looking cottage, and led you in the door. He guided you to sit at a wooden table. Snapping his fingers, two plates of food appeared before the both of you. 

“You cooked my favourite again!”

You couldn’t see the man’s face, but you heard his laughter. “I wanted to see you happy.”

“I’m happy with whatever you cook for me.”

Somehow, you could feel him smiling. “I’m happy when you’re happy, my love.”

Just as he lifted your hand and brushed a kiss over your skin, you saw what was behind his back – a pair of shiny, gossamer wings.

You woke up instantly. The back of your hand tingled, almost as though he had actually left a kiss there. 

All you knew was one thing – you had to go back to the forest immediately.

⋆˚✿˖°

You entered the forest tentatively, trying to hear if anyone was approaching you. Not too long later, you found yourself at the lake again, at the same spot where the fairy had found you. 

“You’re back.”

You had to cover your mouth to stop yourself from screaming out of shock. Turning around, you saw the person you had been looking for, his wings shimmering as he floated toward you.

“How did you know I was here?”

He smiled mysteriously. “I know everything that goes on here. I am the king of this forest after all…ah, but I suppose you don’t know that, otherwise you wouldn’t ask.” 

Your brow furrowed in confusion. “King?”

“Yes. We fae reside in forests, and I am the ruler of this one. I can sense humans coming in and out of this place, and that is how I knew you came back.” He landed softly on the grass. “Would it be too bold of me to assume that the reason you returned is because you remembered something about me?”

You shrugged. “If seeing you in my dreams and having random hallucinations counts, then I guess so.” 

It was his turn to look confused. “Dreams? Hallucinations?”

“Yeah. I saw your face during one of those. That’s why I came back to find you, to see if you knew anything about it.” 

The fairy sighed. “How about we take a seat? It’s a rather long story.” He snapped his fingers, and a fluffy blanket appeared out of thin air and floated onto the grass. He sat down gracefully on one side, and beckoned you to join him. 

You stared at him apprehensively, your hand inching towards the pocket where your emergency pepper spray was kept. 

“Come on. Fae don’t bite, you know, even though some of your human fiction suggest otherwise.”

Somehow, your heart told you to trust him, even though your mind screamed otherwise. Slowly, you inched towards the blanket, sitting as far away from him as you could on the fabric. 

“I just realised I haven’t properly introduced myself yet. I’m Junhui, but you used to call me Jun.” He smiled, holding out his hand for you to shake it. You did so, trying not to notice how smooth his skin was. “What do you mean, ‘I used to call you’?”

Junhui laughed. “I suppose you haven’t figured it out yet. You and I…well, you were my wife. Or your past self was.”

You nearly choked on thin air. “My past self? Reincarnations exist in this world?”

“You could call it that. Your soul gets reborn, but you don’t retain your memories of your past self. Think of it as a reset, the only thing that remains is your core, your soul.” His eyes swept over your body briefly. “If you ask me, you don’t look, sound, or act like anything of your previous self.”

“What…what was I like last time?”

Junhui pondered on the question for a moment. “Well, personality-wise, you were more daring. You wouldn’t have run away like you did the last time we met.”

Your cheeks heated. “Excuse me, but what girl wouldn’t be scared if she heard a stranger say they’ve been watching her since she was a kid?”

He chuckled. “Well, guess that is my fault. Apologies.” His gaze met yours. “I didn’t give you too big of a scare, did I?”

“You kind of did. I couldn’t stop shaking the whole night, thinking that you were some kind of stalker or predator.” 

“Oh dear. I really am sorry. Is there anything I could do to make up for it?”

“Just, maybe tell me more about you. About us last time.” You played with the edge of the blanket. “I really don’t know much about you.”

He smiled. “Well, if it helps, you were very bold. The first time you saw me, you followed me around everywhere. You would insist on visiting the homes where we fae live. You wanted me to show you all over my land.” He paused before smiling again, seemingly into nothing. “And well, you were the one who proposed to me. Right by this very lake, in fact.”

“What – I did what?”

“Yes. You challenged me to a race to run from over there –” he pointed to a clearing a few hundred metres away, “to around where we are sitting right now. You won, and so you told me that for your prize, you wanted me to be your husband.” 

“Let’s race each other to the other side of this lake. Whoever loses has to grant the winner a wish.” 

Suddenly your dream made a lot more sense. “So, did we get married?”

“Of course,” Junhui said it like it was obvious. “Why would I not marry you?”

“Then what about now? Do you still want to marry me?”

“Why would I not?” Junhui turned to face you. His hand reached towards your face, and for a moment, you thought he was going to touch you. Yet, in that last moment, he retracted his hand. “But it’s ultimately your choice. Just because you are the reincarnation of my wife doesn’t mean that you will want to be with me.” He chuckled, but it was tinged with sadness. “I won't force my desires upon you. Since you stopped coming here so frequently, I knew there are always going to be things outside my control.”

“So, it’s fine if you don’t want to be with me. I’m already happy that you returned to listen to my story.” He propped himself on his arms and leaned backwards. “As long as you’re happy, I’m happy.”

“Even if I’m with someone else?” You blurted out.

He nodded. “Even if you’re with someone else.”

Your gaze swept over his figure. Upon closer inspection, he was rather attractive. His facial features seemed sculpted, his wings were the perfect amount of shiny, and his eyes…his eyes were so expressive, so full of emotion.

“Well, I’m still single, so…if you want, I could try things out with you.”

Junhui’s eyes lit up almost instantaneously. “Really?”

You couldn’t help but smile at his enthusiasm. “Yeah, why not? If we used to be lovers, then maybe this will work out.”

“Don’t worry, my love. I will court you the way you deserve, before you make your decision.” He reached for your hand, and gently placed a kiss on the back of your palm. “When will I see you again?”

You sighed. “It might be a while. I have to go back to work tomorrow, but I’ll be taking a week off soon. I could visit my parents, and then..visit you too, I suppose.”

“Very well then.” Junhui stood up. “It’s quite dark; would you like me to walk you back where you came from?”

“Sure.” You got up from the blanket as well. Junhui snapped his fingers and the blanket vanished the same way it had appeared, and he led you towards the exit where you had parked your car. 

“Apologies, but this is where I must leave you. I cannot physically venture out of the forest’s boundaries.” 

“Why not?” You asked. 

The fairy merely smiled. “It’s a complicated matter that I will explain to you some other time. It’s late, you better hurry home.”

You nodded, and waved to him. “Goodbye, Junhui. I’ll see you soon.”

You thought you saw a tinge of sadness in his eyes, but he quickly blinked it away. “Goodbye, my love.”

Somehow, as you drove further and further away from the forest, your heart grew heavier and heavier, almost as though you were leaving something you cherished behind. 

⋆˚✿˖°

The next time you visited the forest, it was nearly a month later. 

Work had been busy, and as much as you wanted to find time to spend with Junhui, it was almost impossible for you to leave. When your major projects were done, you found yourself counting down the days to the week of leave you had applied for, actually looking forward to meeting the mysterious fairy again. 

He had mentioned that you were his wife a long time ago. Was it possible that despite not having any memories of your past life, your soul had somehow recognised him? 

You mulled over the many questions in your head as you walked from your childhood home to the forest. You were staying with your parents for the week, so it was easier for you to visit Junhui. 

“Hello, my love.”

Junhui made his appearance almost immediately after you had set foot into the forest. Luckily for you, you had anticipated his arrival so you weren’t too shocked by it. “It’s been so long since I last saw you, I even wondered if you had forgotten all about me.”

“Sorry,” you apologised. “Work was too busy, I couldn’t get away. But hey, I’ll be here for a week.”

The fairy merely chuckled. “A week would never be enough for me…but I guess I will have to make do.” He held out his hand for you to take it. “Are you hungry? I could cook something for you.”

You placed your hand in his, revelling in how it felt to have your hand in his. “Yeah, I’m hungry.”

“Well, I just procured some fresh strawberries this morning,” Junhui said as the both of you walked hand-in-hand past the lake. “Do you like sweets?”

“Yes!” You grinned excitedly. “What desserts can you make?”

Junhui smiled at your enthusiasm. “What do you want to eat the most?”

You pondered over it for a moment before replying. “Strawberry tarts!”

“Strawberry tarts it is then. I’ll make some for dessert,” Junhui stopped at a group of trees at the end of the clearing. “We’re here.”

You stared blankly at a tree in front of you. “You live in a tree?”

He laughed. “No, but my house is beyond these trees. Can you see the little fissure over here?” He lifted your hand that was still in his towards seemingly nothing in particular. “Use your fingers to feel it. You’ll feel something soft, and if you apply some pressure you’ll push through it and you can enter the fissure.”

You moved your fingers around the air where he had guided you. “I still don’t feel anything.”

“It’s alright. I’ll teach you how to observe and enter fissures next time. It took you a few months last time as well.” Junhui used his other hand to feel for it. “The reason why we fae are not sighted often by humans is because we mostly live in areas behind these fissures. Human eyes can’t see them easily, unless they have been trained to do so, of course.” You watched, fascinated, as his hand slowly disappeared into the air. 

“Hold my hand and follow me,” he instructed, and you nodded. 

As Junhui disappeared slowly, you closed your eyes and followed in the direction he went in. You felt something soft envelop you, similar to what he had mentioned earlier. You dared to open your eyes to see what exactly this fissure looked like, and was shocked by what you saw. 

It looked as though you were still in the forest, but a brighter and windier part of it. Right in front of the both of you stood a cottage so beautiful you thought it came directly out of a picture. It was built entirely out of wood, had a stone pathway leading to the front door, and even had vines and flowers growing around the base of the house. 

“Well, this is my home,” Junhui gestured towards the cottage. 

You couldn’t take your eyes off the house. “It’s really beautiful, Junhui. It looks like it came out of a fairy tale.”

“It looks like a house from a fairy tale.”

Junhui smiled at the memory. Somehow you and your past self were very different, yet so similar. “Shall we go in, my love? I prepared lunch before you came, so it would be a waste to eat it cold.”

You blinked, almost as if you had been snapped out of a trance. “Yes, yes, let’s go.”

As you entered the fairy’s home, you felt a sense of familiarity wash over you. The living room, the furniture, the kitchen all appeared to be something you had seen before at some point. Your eyes spotted a picture hanging on the wall behind his sofa, and you froze.

It was a black-and-white picture of Junhui and another woman next to the lake. Junhui was wearing a suit, while the woman with him wore a long white gown adorned with hundreds of tiny flowers. They were facing each other and smiling brightly. 

“You and I…well, you were my wife.”

“Junhui…is that me? Or…I don’t know, my past self, or something.” You pointed at the picture, your voice a little shaky.

“Yes,”Junhui confirmed. “That was you and I on the day of our wedding.”

You were at a loss for words. Why did seeing your past self make you feel so disconcerted? 

“Hey.” Junhui tapped your shoulder. “Do not think too much of it. I did say it would be your decision. Just because you and I were married once does not mean that I expect you to be my wife again. Just think of you and I right now as…” he paused for a moment to ponder over it. “People looking for a prospective partner, I suppose. I heard humans go on dates too, for a similar purpose.” 

He glanced at the picture again. “I must admit that I am hoping you will return to me though. Before this, I never even considered that human souls could be reborn. So now that you’re here, it is a little difficult to hide my desires from you. I suppose I missed you too much.” He swallowed, and for a moment, you thought you saw his eyes glisten. But then he blinked, and whatever you had seen was gone. 

“Lunch will be cold if we don’t hurry,” Junhui changed the subject. “I cooked cream sauce pasta today, with tomatoes and basil, all fresh from my garden.” He walked into the kitchen and opened the lid of a pot, releasing a delicious aroma. 

You gasped seeing the pot full of your favourite dish. “How did you know my favourite food is cream pasta?”

The fairy’s eyes widened in surprise. “It is?”

You nodded vigorously. Taking a pair of tongs that he had offered you, you piled heaps of the pasta noodles onto your plate. You brought the plate towards you, inhaled the scent of fresh basil and tomatoes and cream, and sighed happily. “I love cream pasta.”

The corner of Junhui’s lips lifted into a smile. “I did not expect you to like it this much. I usually cook this for the other fairies because they like it, so I took a gamble, hoping you would like it.”

As he was talking, you had already lifted a spoonful of pasta to your mouth and ate it. As you chewed, you could taste so many wonderful flavours. How could something that looked so simple taste so good? “Well, you won your gamble.”

Junhui helped himself to some as well, and the two of you ate together. It felt a little awkward talking to him at first, but soon you found yourself talking to him more, and the awkwardness melted away the more you talked. You asked him all kinds of questions: about your past self, what his life as an immortal fairy was like, and about him being a king.

“You don’t live in a palace or something?” You asked between bites.

“Well, I have a small place similar to a government building in the human world,” Junhui explained. “We have meetings there, but I do not have a palace. Even if I did, I would want to stay in my cottage. It’s very cozy here, and it makes me feel closer to my people. If I stayed too far away, I fear I might get disconnected from them.”

He began cutting up strawberries for tarts. “When you’re done eating, you can go explore the area. You can go anywhere, just please avoid destroying my plants in the garden. I’ll need time to get these baked.” He gestured towards all the ingredients lying on his kitchen counter. 

That was why you found yourself in his garden, staring at all the different flowers and vegetation and fruits growing in his huge land. You saw the same people from your dreams strolling down the stone path in the middle of the garden, except this time you recognised their faces to be your past self and Junhui. 

“See right here, my love, are the roses. And those next to it are the carnations, and then these are lilies.”

“Oh, I love carnations. They remind me a little of you, actually.”

“Why’s that?”

“They represent pure love…and you seem to be giving me that.”

As the memories played through your mind, you wondered what it was like to love Junhui again. He made you feel comfortable, in a way your previous partners hadn’t. He evidently adored you, even if you weren’t exactly like your past self…but what if you couldn’t reciprocate those feelings? 

“My love.”

You jumped, turning to see a smiling Junhui. “You really should stop scaring me like that.”

“In my defence, you were spacing out,” he raised his arms in surrender. “The tarts are done. Do you want to try them?”

Nodding, you followed him back into the house, where a steaming tray of piping hot strawberry jam tarts were on the dining table. And as you bit into one of the tarts, tasting the sweetness and the light acidity of the strawberries and the love Junhui had put into them, you thought you were going to tear up. 

⋆˚✿˖°

You continued to visit Junhui everyday for the rest of the week. Your dates were often the same: he would cook for you, after which he would bring you to explore the hidden parts of the forest you never knew about. He brought you to his government building, some fairy villages, and even tried teaching you how to observe and enter fissures (you still failed miserably at that). As the days passed you found yourself feeling sad when you had to leave Junhui to go back to your parents’ house in the evening, and happy when you returned the next morning to see him. 

When it was time for you to leave, you hugged Junhui, managing to finally catch the fairy by surprise. 

“I’ll miss you, Junhui,” you mumbled. “Work will be busy, and I won’t be back for a while, but I’ll come as soon as I can, okay?”

Junhui wrapped his arms around you, and used one hand to stroke your back. “I’ll be waiting for your return, my love. Don’t rush it; I’ll wait as long as you need.”

After returning to the office, you often found yourself drifting off, thoughts wandering to the beautiful fairy. You realised you missed him, that you were yearning for his company. Your fingers hovered over your desk, tracing a heart shape over the table. 

Maybe falling in love with Junhui wasn’t as difficult as you thought after all. 

⋆˚✿˖°

A few months passed before you were able to find time to visit Junhui again, but the time you spent away from him had made you realise that even though you and your past self were different people, your soul still wanted him the way you did years before. 

This time, Junhui had been waiting at the lake for you, almost as if he had anticipated you would come. You immediately ran to him and hugged him. “Junhui!”

He smiled, embracing you happily. “You’re back.”

“I got you a present, I think you’ll like it,” you told him excitedly. “Want to guess what it is?”

The fairy mulled over it. “Well, I’m not sure. You don’t seem to be holding anything big.”

“It’s in my pocket,” you pulled out a small velvet box. “Here, open it.”

Junhui complied, and opened the lid, peering inside the box. As soon as he saw what was inside, he gasped, the box slipping out of his grasp and landing on the grass. 

“Junhui!” You yelled, immediately swiping the box from the ground. “You’re going to get the rings dirty!” 

“What…why did you…”

“The last time I proposed to you, I didn’t have a ring, but when I finally get you one, the first thing you do is drop it?”

“No…no, I…” He took a deep breath and exhaled. “I did not expect this at all! I thought you might want to wait a while more.”

You smiled seeing his bewildered expression. “I wanted to wait a while before giving you my answer, but then the time I was away from you made me realise how much I love you. And…I don’t want to wait any longer, Junhui.” You held out the ring. “Will you marry me? Let me be yours…again.”

Junhui stared at the ring for a moment, before suddenly pulling you into his arms. Just as you were about to say something, he kissed you, taking your breath away. You melted into his embrace, returning his kiss with the same love and passion. 

When you parted, he smiled. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

You laughed happily, before taking his hand and sliding the ring onto his finger, and letting him do the same with yours. 

“I wanted to get you rings this time,” Junhui leaned in and brushed his lips softly against yours. “You’re more bold than I thought you were. It isn’t fair that I don’t get a chance to propose to you.”

“It’s alright,” you whispered. “You can do that in my next life. I’m sure that I’ll fall in love with you again, every single time.”

[sarnai4]

Story Question

Trigger warning for SA.

Greek mythology has a firm grip on my brain and won't let go, so I'm going to write another fic for it. My question now is whether you think it should be a one-shot or have multiple chapters. The story itself will be focused on the gods, but I just had a very grim thought that I wanted to bring to the page.

Athena is Zeus’s favorite and she's also said to be beautiful (kind of how a war started). This would be fine on its own, but we know how Zeus is. However, that's his first child and he doesn't want anything happening to her. So, she's safe from him, but what if that attention is then directed at Ares when he's still a young immortal? He's known for being attractive and it's not unlike Zeus to go after his own family. Considering how much of a creep Poseidon also is, he wouldn't be against doing the same. What makes matters worse is that they're two of the most powerful immortals. Even though Ares has a fighting spirit, there's no way for him to win against either of them.

This has a ripple effect of Hera hating Ares since she sees him as another rival for her husband's affection (considering how she's the queen of victim blaming, I could see it happening). Ares protects his younger siblings from their father and uncle, but they're too young to understand this. When they're told terrible things about him - lies about why he's so short-tempered, they believe them. More and more, he's made to seem like this terrible member of the family.

The only ones who know the truth are Hades, Hestia, and Demeter (who's also suffered abuse at the hands of Zeus and Poseidon). They can offer some comfort, but they're not really strong enough to help. What could make a difference is when Athena learns. All this time, she thought the immortal was the embodiment of hatred and bloodlust, but she finally sees that her little brother is suffering and needs help.

I'm really okay writing it either as the single chapter or with more. I am just very undecided. Please let me know what you think of the idea too!

[waitineedaname]

To Greed's surprise, Mei became more than comfortable with him – she actually started seeking him out. Not just when he happened to be the one piloting Ling’s body, but actively asking for him. She’d call him over to show off a new alkahestry technique she’d learned, knowing he’d gleefully cheer her on, or she’d tug on his sleeve to whisper a joke that matched his sense of humor more than Ling’s during formal meetings, or on the rare occasions when she’d bring them gifts from home, she’d make sure to bring two – one for Ling, and one for him. Despite all that, he was still surprised when she first referred to him as her brother.

I am pushing my "Greed is Mei's favorite brother" agenda, please enjoy

[skunkes]

what they dont tell you about being incredibly introspective is that you'll think you're done making realizations and then you'll just make more realizations always all the time forever

[stardust-sunset]

how my parents feel after always reminding me how much better my older brother is than me

[poptartmochi]

hm.. closing thoughts. bennie deserved better 😔

[kelpiemomma]

Thinking about Khan and how he doesn't wake up from nightmares the way people might expect. He doesn't explode from them, swinging and breathing flame in defense. He doesn't wake up screaming.

He wakes up silent. And it's only if you're paying attention that you'll know he's awake. His eyes might open - but with his poor vision, it's not like he can truly see where he's at - and he might draw in a sudden breath. But it's the fact that he stops breathing that's the Sign. It's the way he suddenly goes quiet. Not that he snores or sleeps loudly anyway, but there is one less person making noise in the night.

Ingo isn't often awake when this happens. Very rarely, in fact, because Khan has nightmares almost every night. It's nothing new. Most of the time he will breathe, eventually, and take in the scents of his surroundings. He will realize where he is and use it to ground himself. And if he can't, then he will get up and find something to do until he can pass out from exhaustion and wake up better.

But it happens a handful of times. Ingo is awake when Khan comes to. And sometimes he doesn't realize it, doesn't realize Khan is awake until Ingo himself is returning to bed and looks down as he passes Khan's cot to see his green eyes open and staring at nothing.

But this time he realizes. He's awake, for no real reason, just sitting and listening to the world around him. Akari is snoring after a long day of survey work, Khan is sprawled out on his cot, the nocturnal pokemon are calling to each other in the distance… It's peaceful. Ingo rests with his head on one hand, eyes shut and enjoying it while he can.

And then one sound disappears.

He doesn't realize it's Khan at first, spends a moment trying to figure out what's missing. Akari is still snoring. The pokemon are still calling. Khan sleeps quietly enough that Ingo has, on occasion, put his hand under his nose or over his mouth to ensure he's still breathing. And it's that, knowing how quietly Khan sleeps, that makes ingo realize that Khan's breathing is what missing. That Khan is making no noise at all.

Ingo gets up and goes over to check, because Khan may be a prickly bastard but by now he's Ingo's prickly bastard like Akari is Ingo's daughter, he's part of the family. And sure enough Khan is awake. Eyes open wide. Staring at nothing. Ingo is ready to return to his seat when he realizes Khan is- not breathing. There's a tension to him that is abnormal, despite his nightmares.

So Ingo stays, sits down by Khan's side, and gently touches his hand. Too much touch too fast will wind up with fists flying towards him, so he takes it slow. Khan's hand is a fist. Ingo asks if he's alright, but there's no response. Khan's chest hitches, his breath sporadic for a moment, before a sound like a whine makes its way out of his throat.

And that- is so out of the norm that Ingo is now concerned. He puts a hand on Khan's arm, on his neck, as he leans over to look in the other man's face. Maybe it's the light of the night, but Khan's eyes seem… Shiny.

And this is a bad one. It doesn't take a genius to know that this is far from average. That whatever Khan has just dreamt of has truly, deeply affected him. Ingo pulls him up, pulls him into a seated position, and directs Khan's face to his own neck. Scent is Khan's strong suit, after all, and the best way to help him realize where he's at. Ingo ignores how his shirt gets a little damp- tells himself, for Khan's sake, that Khan is just drooling.

And Khan does what he never does and wraps his arms around Ingo. There's a desperation there, something terrified, and Ingo knows that this isn't something he can do on his own.

"Do you want me to wake Akari up?" He asks, because it never hurts to offer a choice.

"She's asleep." Khan says, which isn't an answer. His voice is hoarse and shakey. Ingo makes the decision for him, then, and extracates himself from Khan. Khan's hands follow him, reaching out, and Ingo is grateful for the first time his home is so small because he can hold onto Khan's one hand while he uses the other to shake his daughter awake.

Akari's snores vanish and she opens one eye halfway, confused. "Dad?" She asks. Her voice is low and thick with sleep. "Whassups?"

"Khan needs our presence. Would you mind joining us?" He says. And it's not the whole truth, but Akari wakes up more. Khan does not, ever, need anything from them. He's like a stray animal, coming to them when he chooses, but fully able and willing to survive on his own. And maybe now he still doesn't need them. If Ingo hadn't been awake, Khan would have laid there until he decided what to do. But Khan isn't making choices for himself, and Ingo knows he needs grounding.

Akari stands and Ingo helps guide her over to where Khan is still sitting. He's turned now, his legs thrown over the side of the cot as he hunches over and stares at the ground. One hand is still in Ingo's.

Akari reaches out, touches his shoulder, and that whine breaks from Khan's throat again. He leans towards Akari, rests his head against her, and then drags her onto his lap. She wraps her arms around his neck because he is gripping her so, so tightly, holding her like she's his saving grace, like if he lets her go the world will end. His shoulders shudder.

Ingo sits next to them, sliding Akari's legs over his own, and leans into Khan's side. He wraps one arm around Khan and is surprised when Khan returns the gesture, releasing Akari with one arm to pull Ingo into his reach. He is not just holding them but clinging. Ingo wonders, but doesn't ask, what he had dreamed about to make him so desperate. Ingo turns into Khan, places his legs over the man's but under his daughter's, and leans into the hold. After a moment, Khan turns his head to shove his nose into Ingo's neck once more. Akari is pressed between them, still holding onto Khan as if her hug will fix him, and Ingo knows they will both stay here as long as Khan needs them, wants them, to.

[calenhads]

i need rhys to fuck nasty pronto

[amongthezinnias]

So do yall think Wang Mu is an only child?

[appsa]

URGENT: SLOWING FUNDRAISER!

Recently in an update, Siraj ( @siraj2024 ) has talked of the dearth of space in Gaza. He has described how the occupation has caged Gazans into a narrow strip of land; there is no humanitarian zone that has not been bombed or invaded. Deir al balah was considered one of the last safe zones in gaza- and now that illusion has been destroyed too.

Just a few days ago, Siraj had told us that the violence of the IOF had been only a street away from where he and his family were encamped, and that his extended family were displaced in the aftermath.

It is a claustrophobic, uncertain existence many of us will likely never have to experience.

I will try to keep this as brief as possible. Since Siraj's parents and siblings got displaced and have now become fully dependent on Siraj for funds, his family has been seeing some dire circumstances.

First of all, I need you to understand the kind of pressure Siraj is under right now:

His own family which consists of 5 members

His father’s family also of 5 members

His younger brother’s family of 3

His older sister’s family of 6- she is a doting mother to four children

His younger sister and her own family of 4.

I need you to understand that there are 23 people in total for whom Siraj is the sole provider for at the moment.

Currently all 23 members of Siraj's family forced to share two tents. While the funds did go into procuring a second tent, there is STILL not nearly enough space. The women are suffering from a lack of privacy, and it is dangerous for the children as epidemics are spreading in the camp- Amir, Siraj’s son is already suffering from a severe skin infection. Living in such close quarters with no option of quarantine only puts everyone else (including all Amir's cousins) at risk of infection, at a time where they quite literally cannot afford it with the way medical infrastructure in Gaza is in shambles atm.

With your help, Siraj has successfully raised 50K, but the fundraiser is slowing once again.

Currently Siraj is at 50.8k / 82k

To help his family, He needs to raise 55K by monday i.e the next 2 DAYS.

Vetted and appears #219 on @/el-shab-hussein and @/nabulsi's list of vetted fundraisers

If you need further incentive to donate:

Art raffle - 24th aug is the last day of the raffle so PLEASE participate!!!

Enamel pin raffle

People offering digital commissions here and here

In case you wish to donate to his gfm with paypal, or are having any trouble donating in general, PLEASE DM @malcriada who is a trusted friend of siraj and will make sure to donate to the fundraiser on your behalf and send you proof of donation.

Please share and donate anything you can spare!

Siraj has a heavy burden on his shoulders at the moment, the least we can do is try to ease it as much as we can.

[clownwritesfanfic]

So Come One, Come All - Five Hargreeves X GN! Reader

Summary: After you find out that your husband of 40 years cheated on you with his own brother’s wife, you give up on figuring out how to fix the apocalypse and run off. That’s when you’re lead to a suspicious deli full of the exact face you never wanted to see again.

Word count: 1647

Genre: Angst/Fluff

Warnings: Cheating, Heartbreak, Happy Ending, rushed writing, not beta read we die like men

Disclaimer: Five is canonically in the body of an 18 year old in this season. Not to mention he aged like 7 more years with Lila. Also, obvious Season 4 spoilers. This season was awful and Five was done so dirty and he’s still ooc in this fic (or at least a version of him is)

———————————————————————

You had no idea how long you had been walking for. All you knew was that you were tired.

Tired of everything. Of the constant apocalypses, the fighting, the stress, …the lying, the heartache. Everything.

You had to get away from that place. You couldn’t stand to be around anyone from that family anymore. Around…him.

You and Five have been married for forty years. You both met in the first apocalypse as teens. You weren’t special like him or his siblings but you were both grateful to have someone else around.

You slowly fell in love over the years as you grew older together. You had a makeshift marriage with a ring Five had made for you out of random bits of metal he had found.

You had both been recruited into the Commission together and quickly became the most badass couple in the entire organization. You were always put on missions together for your efficiency and speed.

You had followed Five back in time to see his family, consequently getting stuck in your younger body as well. You followed him everywhere. You would’ve given your life for him.

So, how could he do this to you?

Forty years, thrown away all because he supposedly got stuck for seven fucking years in a stupid timeline traveling subway station with another woman.

You wanted to kill him. He knew that you didn’t like how comfortable Lila was with him since the beginning and he had assured you he wasn’t interested in her at all and that you were all he wanted. What a load of bullshit that was.

You had left after their explanation. You saw the way he looked at her. The exact same way he used to look at you. For him at had been years since he last saw you. For you, it had only been a few hours since he last looked at you like you were the world.

You had slipped off the wedding ring and threw it at his face before leaving. You could hear him trying to get you to stay and try to follow you but he was stopped by Diego.

You were so lost in thought before you found yourself in front of the entrance to a subway station. This must be the one they were talking about. You looked behind you, making sure no one had followed you but also as a way to look back on this life.

If they were telling the truth about the timelines…then you weren’t going to be coming back to this one. Maybe there is a timeline where you’re happy. One where you and Five don’t meet. Or maybe one where none of this happens. Where you’re both a normal married couple.

You took a deep breath as you gazed down the steps. Once you took your first step down, you knew there was no going back.

As you descended the steps, the eerie silence unnerved you. You could hear only your footsteps on the ground and the squeaking of the turnstile as you pushed through it.

You were startled by the sound of the speakers playing some sort of announcement. It was impossible to understand considering it was all backwards.

Soon, the subway entered the station and came to a halt. The doors opened and you stood still, you were still a little creeped out. Five always made you feel more comfortable in situations like this…but he wasn’t here anymore.

You swallowed your unease and entered the subway car. You slowly took a seat and looked around before the doors closed and the subway started moving. You looked out the window as flashes of colour went by.

You were there for a couple minutes before you stopped. The doors opened but you didn’t get up. You weren’t sure if you wanted to get off yet. You wanted to be sure you were as far from the timeline you were just in as possible.

You felt something pull inside of you though. Something wanted you to get off and explore. So you did.

You let yourself be guided by this feeling deep inside. It was like your heart was pulling you somewhere.

It isn’t long until you end up in front of a building of some kind. Could you even call it that? You never left the station and it’s the only other place in here. Is it more of a building in a building? You didn’t want to think about it too much.

The words “Max’s Delicatessen” were shining brightly in your face. You were a little amused. Maybe you were hungry and it was actually your stomach bringing you here rather than your heart.

You sighed and decided to check it out.

But when you entered, you were horrified at what you saw.

The entire deli was full of copies of your (now ex) husband. This was the last thing you wanted to see and you internally cursed at your conscious for bringing you here.

You could feel your heartbeat pick up and your breathing become heavy as tears pricked at your eyes.

Finally, one of the Five’s had looked up and noticed you stuck in place at the door.

“Darling!” He shot up out of his seat, audibly hitting his knee on the table but he didn’t flinch.

Suddenly, every single Five in the place had his eyes on you, each with various emotions displayed on their face.

The Five that spotted you quickly made his way over to you. He lifted his shaking hands and held them over your cheeks, too scared to make contact in case you fade away.

You could see the disbelief and love in his eyes. This snapped you out of your confusion and slapped his hands away from you and backed yourself up into the door.

The Five in front of you looked confused and hurt before sighing and lowering his hands.

“Sorry…I forgot that you’re not the same one.” He apologized.

“What the FUCK is going on?” You exclaimed as you looked around to be met with all the Five’s still staring at you. “How did you get here? Why are there multiples of you? Why can’t you just leave me alone!”

“Woah, woah, slow down. Breathe. You’re okay. Everything’s fine.” The Five in front of you tried to calm you down. “You took the subway right? This is a different timeline. We’re all the same person from different timelines. Usually the only new people that enter here are a version of me…or…us I guess. You’re the only…well…you, that has shown up here.” He explained.

“What?” You looked at him like he was crazy.

“They should sit down.” Another Five had said.

“Come on, hun. Come sit down and we can talk.” He had reached out towards you, careful not to touch you while he guided you towards the opposite end of the booth he was previously at.

You sat down, still in shock. It felt weird being surrounded by so many Five’s. Especially when you were trying to get away from him.

“I guess I’ll start.” Five had sat down across from you and sighed.

“In my timeline, you and I had been together for years. We met at the Commission. At first we hated each other but we were always put on missions together. Over time…I had fallen for you, and luckily for me, you reciprocated those feelings. We were together romantically for years. We were on our last mission before our contract with the Commission ended. We were planning on getting married after and retiring somewhere nice. But…it went wrong…and I lost you. You died in my arms.” He looked off to the side and tried to play off wiping away his tears.

“I haven’t seen you in years. You’re just as beautiful as the day I lost you.” He reached a hand across the table and gently placed it on yours.

You teared up as you saw the pure love in his eyes. Your Five used to look at you like that and it still hurt knowing he no longer felt that way.

“If you’re here…then something must’ve happened to the Five in your timeline.” He rubbed his thumb on the back of your hand.

You stilled and took your hand back, making the Five in front of you frown.

You hugged your torso for comfort and curled in on yourself slightly as you looked down at the table.

“We were married for forty years…but he got stuck in the subway with Lila and…I guess forty years didn’t mean anything because in seven years he threw it all away for…her.” You hiccuped as you tried to hold back your tears.

There were multiple grumbles and scoffs around the deli.

The Five across from you reached across the table and held your shoulder gaining your attention.

“Everyone here had a version of you in their timeline. We all lost you in one way or another. I think I speak for all of us when I say…having you here is the best thing to happen to us, and he’s a complete idiot for throwing you away like that.” He smiled as he lightly caressed your cheek.

You smiled slightly at his words.

“Aww there’s that beautiful smile.” Five said as he lightly pinched your cheek.

You giggled and batted his hand away and wiped your tears away.

A sandwich and drink was placed in front of you and you looked up to another Five holding a now empty tray.

“Your favourite, just the way you like it.” He said as he gently grabbed your hand and placed a kiss on the back of it with a wink.

You blushed at the action and thanked him.

Even though you got on that train in order to get away from him…you don’t think you’ll be getting back on any time soon.

[foldingfittedsheets]

My best friend growing up was a matter of convenience over compatibility. The boy across the street was only a year older than me. We had some common interests but our personality types were a terrible clash. I remember fighting with him just as vividly as any peaceful activity.

We were stuck in the same boat though. There was no other kids to socialize with except our odious older brothers, and being together was slightly less wretched than being alone. Most of the time. Our parents joked that we were like an old married couple, always fighting. We’re both gay now.

His family was better off so he brought more toys and video games to the friendship table. My family had more land so we had animals to play with and secret forest clubhouses. We hung out most days but he refused to acknowledge me at school for the sin of being both a year younger and a girl.

He was a terribly sore loser though. When playing fighting games he’d win four out of five rounds but if I won the fifth he’d turn the console off before letting my character do a victory dance. I was fairly prosaic about this. He liked to play them and I went along. When I won I got to suggest other activities.

Now, I mentioned we both had older brothers. His older brother was only three years above him. They scuffled in a normal sibling manner but the older brother was cognizant that he was bigger and stronger and these fights were more what I would characterize as fencing. There was rules and treaties in place.

My older brother was five years older than me. When we fought it was a no holds barred pit fight. I went absolutely feral. Significantly younger and weaker I unleashed my greatest weapon which was absolute berserker tactics. I bit, scratched, went for the balls, I was a menace. I paid no heed to any injury done to me if it let me land another strike. Most of our fights ended in a stalemate of me pinned or him bleeding too profusely to continue harassing me.

I never considered that I was getting more fighting experience than my friend. When scuffles broke out between us without a controller in hand I won every time. He’d jokingly smack me and we’d go down in a ball of flying hair and monkey screeches, but I always ended on top.

The trouble was, I found, that afterward he was no fun at all. His fragile childhood masculinity couldn’t take these defeats from someone younger and more female than him and he’d always sulk home afterward. I didn’t care for that, especially because fighting him was much more fun than my horrible brother.

Then one day I found the secret. I’d whapped him far too hard upside the head and he began to cry immediately. Full of guilt I whimpered that he’d really hurt my knee. He stopped crying. He hurt my knee? Then we were even! He’d hurt me just as badly and therefore the fight was a draw.

I was delighted by this logic. Every fight thereafter I saw no shame in playing up some injury he’d dealt me retroactively. I had no pride to lose and shamelessly acted beaten to avoid hurting his feelings. Our fights were milder as a result, and we both went away feeling elated by the childhood violence rather than defeated.

[ozzgin]

Yandere! Monster x Reader Headcanons

You find yourself kidnapped into a half-breed family of monsters and humans, for the purpose of an arranged marriage. Luckily for you, the groom is their only pure human, terribly handsome and charming. You'd perhaps appreciate him more if your eyes weren't glued to his monstrous older sibling...

Content: female reader, monster smut, reader is a shameless monster hoe

[Part 2]

You always imagined such kidnappings to be of theatrical intensity, being scooped up against your will as you scream and flail your arms, longing for a savior. The affair itself felt more like a formal summoning. Mysterious men appeared before you and merely announced that your presence is required, unfortunately without the choice of refusal. Might as well. You packed necessities under their polite supervision and now you're sitting at the table, facing multiple strangers who are casually enjoying their lunch. One of them, the head of the family apparently, explains that half-breeds are in a rather sensitive place when one considers human and monster politics. Thus, every now and then, they will do whatever it takes to strengthen their bonds and show good intent towards both species. This time it's an arranged marriage with a fellow human.

Why you, in particular? No need to concern yourself with intricate details. What matters now is that you are to be married soon and your groom is right here, enthusiastically waving in a welcoming greeting. You scan his features and can't help but agree with the family: he is, by all definitions, a conventionally handsome man. His face is carefully chiseled in most elegant, yet masculine features. His voice is confident but warm, and you can tell by the flock of servants hovering around that he's rather popular. After the luxurious meal he guides you around the imposing home, showing you to your room and briefing you on future responsibilities. Caring, attentive, and several other checks that you can easily mark in his favor.

Yet one vital aspect has been omitted. The prince's mesmerizing beauty was rather swiftly discarded once you realized the presence of his older sibling, a pure monster blood towering above everyone else and idly eating his food, uninterested. You managed to hide your blush in time, but you couldn't help throwing curious glances. Might've been easier for everyone involved if they handed out 'monster lover' badges. Alas, you weren't prepared to ever be faced with the choice.

The next day you're awoken by the murmur of diligent work, as both servants and family pace back and forth about their plans. You sneak your way out - since nothing is yet expected of you - and wander until you find your intended target: the beastly sibling is polishing a bizarre weapon you don't recognize in what seems to be a storage room littered with battle memorabilia. He notices your presence and acknowledges you with a bored nod. You ask whether you may observe his current activity and he looks up at you, raising an eyebrow suspiciously before agreeing. Why would you care? Certainly there's more entertaining things for you to do as a soon-to-be bride.

As you listen to his little stories from the battleground (hardy monsters like him are better off fighting, not socializing), you have to pat your cheeks in desperate attempts to cool down your burning blush. "H-how comes you don't have a partner?" You mutter, almost feverish. "Not interested. Plus, who would dare to marry me?" he jokes, focused on the sharp item in his clawed hands. There it is. Hesitation and diplomacy out the window, you rearrange yourself, smoothening your clothing, and whisper: "Well, if I had to choose, I would've preferred you as my husband..."

Once again he stares at you bewildered. Have you come here to mock him or something? A frail, pretty human like you, about to tie the knot with his stunning younger brother, showing up here and behind everyone's backs to openly flirt with him. Ridiculous beyond comprehension. His skin is thick enough to not mind such twisted humor, so if anything he's impressed by your audacity. Alright, if you've come for jokes, he'll comply. He places his weapon down and fully turns to you. A little scare might teach you to be more respectful with your in-laws next time.

With a speedy movement that's barely registered by your eyes, he pushes you on the floor and pins you by the wrists, lowering himself uncomfortably close to your face. "If you tease me like this, I might not be able to hold back." He says as he forces himself to smile extra hard, revealing the multiple rows of fangs. "In fact, I can't guarantee you'd make it out of here alive." Hopefully he isn't going too far with his tactics. He senses your frantic breathing and is about to apologize for continuing your prank, but you blurt out in a daze: "Yes, please! I've been thinking about it ever since I saw you." You're panting for dear life as your face is turning a deep shade of red.

Uh oh. Now this is awkward. You weren't...you weren't kidding. For a moment, he freezes in place, trying to recollect himself to no avail. Fucking your brother's future wife in a storage room in the middle of the day feels like poorly written erotic romance. Then again, he can't deny the sudden urge overwhelming him at the mere thought of it. You're squirming underneath him, gliding your legs across his now obvious bulge. His common sense is hanging by a comically thin thread and he can almost hear the instant when it snaps. Thankfully some leftovers of sanity must have remained in the back of his mind and his lustful grunts while pounding you are kept low enough that no one is notified of your horny deeds. Shutting you up was the bigger challenge.

"Is this too tight, miss?" You spin in front of the mirror and the servant readjusts the lace corset adorning your wedding dress. You have to hold back your yawn. Downright shameless and perverted of you to daydream about your monster boyfriend while trying on bridal gowns, but it's not like you agreed to it to begin with. You were kind of hoping to discuss future dating prospects post-intercourse, but someone had been looking for you shortly afterwards and you struggled to regain your composure. Your scary-looking suitor shooed you away with the promise of a reunion.

Before the servant can reach for the next dress, you both jump, startled by angry shouts coming from the hall. You rush outside to witness the older sibling standing before the head of the family. The wrathful threats were coming from the much smaller half-human. "Y-you can't just decide like that!" He screams. "Of course I can. You're welcome to fight me for it." The monster sibling flashes a smug grin. "Can anyone here defeat me?" His question is met with silence. He spots you and gestures you to come towards him. "I'll say it one more time. Find another human for my brother if you have to. This one is mine." He ends his sentence in a low growl and you shiver underneath his heavy arm. Boy, what a time to be alive.