#my friend had childe at that time and gave me that opportunity to mimic that daydream i had + my favorite liyue music accompanied with it

[jils-things]

the more i play genshin the more i remember my hate love relationship with childe

[jamesbuchananxsteviegrant]

She Who Shan't Be Named - Part 1 | Sugar Lips (Tony x Reader, Clint x Reader, ??? x Reader)

Category: Smut (Mandatory) Age: 18+ Trigger Warnings: Explicit language, oral sex (male receiving), suggestive language, alcohol, drunk sexual actions, casual sexual actions, flirting with a lot of people Ship: Tony x Reader, Clint x Reader, ??? x Reader Summary: Tony lets his life-long friend crash at the Avengers HQ while she has nowhere else to go. What could go wrong with so many attractive individuals living in the same home? Word Count: 1.7k Masterlist: LINK

(hmu if you want adding to the tag-list for this series)

---

“I, unfortunately, have someone I want to introduce you all to.” Tony begins as he’s gathered everyone in the living quarters.

“Unfortunately? Well, that always sounds like a good start, Stark.” Natasha jokes, sitting alongside Bucky and Sam on one of the couches.

Tony rolls his eyes and shrugs.

“Yeah, well,” He trails off. “This is (Y/N) (L/N).” He gestures, pointing to the woman leaning against a pillar in the back corner of the room.

She makes an effort to stand upright and walk further into the room.

“Well, hello. It’s nice to finally meet you all in person.”

To say everyone in the room falls speechless with their eyes wide and jaws dropped is an understatement.

“Oh my God, you lot are insatiable.” Tony groans, rolling his eyes once more.

(Y/N) can only smirk and wink at just about everyone in the room.

“You’re welcome, Starky Boy.”

“Put a sock in it, sugar-lips.”

“Sugar-lips?” Rhodey quizzes, amusement dripping from his voice.

Tony and (Y/N) can only stare at one another and grin as they remember where that nickname came from.

*** flashback ***

“One more for the road?” Tony suggests to the very, very drunk (Y/N) beside him.

It’s three-thirty-AM, they’re both at their favourite bar in Manhattan, enjoying a belated birthday weekend of (Y/N)’s which he regretfully missed due to Avenger work.

“You know how to tempt me, Starky-boy.” She teases with a wink, waving her hand up to catch the attention of the bartender, Harrison, who they’ve grown acquainted with over the years of drinking at his bar.

Tony falls into a comfortable silence as he simply stares at the woman he’s been friends with since he was a teen at Phillips Academy.

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer.” The woman’s sarcastic comment pushes him over the edge. Within a second, his hands are grabbing her head and pulling her in for a harsh, desperate, passion-fueled kiss.

Harrison smirks as he sits their drinks down, watching how the pair have had ridiculous amounts of sexual tension coursing through them since they first started coming to the bar over ten years ago.

“What, the fuck?” (Y/N) manages to breathe between kisses.

“Stop talking.” Tony murmurs in response, only intensifying the kiss more and more.

“Tony,” She attempts but makes no effort to stop the man. No. Absolutely not.

She’s gotten herself off to the thought of this man too many times for her to want to stop.

Her hands are grasping at the black shirt that adorns his torso, his own hands moving down to grab her hips, itching to have her closer and closer.

“Jesus Christ.” The woman gasps as best she can. “Anthony!”

The man pulls back at the use of his full name but doesn’t let go of her hips.

“Tell me you haven’t wanted to do that?” He asks, voice deep. Low. Husky.

“Of course I wanted to fucking do it, you imbecile!”

His hand jumps up to grasp at her throat, a gasp escaping her lips.

“Watch your mouth.”

“Guys, you’re gonna make my customers leave; the back lounge is empty.” Harrison interrupts. Tony continues to make no effort to stop his actions. They’re both too drunk to care.

Not that he’d care anymore so when he’s sober.

The billionaire practically drags the woman off of their barstools, (Y/N) frantically grabbing their drinks, spilling half of them on the floor - to which she gives Harrison an apologetic look but he simply rolls his eyes with a grin.

A small shriek escapes the woman’s lips as Tony throws her into the room, her hands managing to sit the, now half-empty, drinks on the coffee table.

“On your knees.”

“Don’t need to tell me twice.” She grins, obeying the man’s order whilst quickly throwing her hair into a messy ponytail.

“Always knew you were a slut.” The man growls, unbuckling his belt and zipper on his smart trousers.

“You know me best, Starky Boy.”

She wastes no time in taking the man’s solid cock into her mouth, moaning at the feeling and taste, Tony groaning in satisfaction.

“Look how desperate you are for it.” He condescends yet continues to thrust into her mouth, fucking the back of her throat.

No words can be formed to give the man a reply. She’s too busy focusing on taking his impressive shaft down her throat, making sure her lips are touching his pelvis.

“Christ!”

He can’t help himself. His hands are in her hair, grabbing it and yanking her closer to his body, not thinking about anything other than the noise of her gagging.

“FUCK! You filthy fucking slut.”

She moans at that, working his cock more and more.

It’s not too long later before the man is releasing all over the woman’s face, her sticking her tongue out and taking as much of it as she can.

“This was a brand new blouse, Stark.” She complains, jokingly, as she licks her white lips. “Ugh, salty.”

“Don’t lie, you know it’s sweeter than sugar.” Tony laughs, re-doing his trousers.

“It definitely fucking isn’t.” (Y/N) groans, standing up and licking the rest of the mess off of her mouth.

“Whatever you say, sugar-lips.”

“TONY!”

*** flashback end ***

“A nickname I gave her once upon a time.” Tony vaguely explains, (Y/N) chuckling.

“Okay. So why’s she here?” Bucky asks, not taking his eyes off the most attractive woman he’s ever seen in his life.

“She has a name.” (Y/N) comments, quirking a flirtatious brow at the man.

The super soldier raises his brows but smirks.

“Why’re you here, doll?”

Now, that does something to her core.

“Starky Boy told me that y’all need a babysitter, so here I am!” She boasts, evidently joking but it makes everyone grin and not ask anymore questions.

“I’ve known her since I was in my teens, she’s a family friend.” Tony adds, reassuring everyone that she’s not someone to be cautious of.

“Pft, family friend? Don’t compliment yourself, Stark.” (Y/N) jokes, everyone laughing with her. “Anyway, in all seriousness, hello, I’m (Y/N). I’m temporarily chilling here if you’re all alright with it since I got nowhere else to be.”

“A pleasure, (Y/N). Steve Rogers.” Captain America begins, stepping forward and shaking the woman’s hand.

“Pleasure’s all mine, Captain.” She winks, the man smirking at her antics which will be refreshing around the compound.

“Bucky.” The Winter Soldier greets, nodding his head at the woman from his seat on the couch.

“Romanoff.” Black Widow follows, (Y/N) biting her lip at the red-head. “Natasha Romanoff.”

“Alright, James Bond.” Sam jokes, everyone laughing.

“Tony, I can’t believe this is the first time you’ve given me the opportunity to meet the Natasha Romanoff.” (Y/N) beams, winking at the woman who returns the gesture with a smug smile.

“Christ.” Tony groans, face-palming harder than ever.

“Sam Wilson.” The man smirks, reaching out to shake the woman’s hand from his position on the couch.

“Bird Boy.”

He gives a hearty laugh at that.

“Sure.”

“James Rhodes, but call me Rhodey.”

“So you’re the Transformer’s identical twin, right?” The woman quizzes, rhetorically, shaking the man’s hand.

Another round of laughter.

“Something like that.”

“Bruce. Bruce Banner.”

“The guy I don’t wanna piss off; got it.” (Y/N) smiles, watching the brunet give her an anxious smile and chuckle. “Or maybe I do.” She adds with a wink, basking in the entertainment that comes from his embarrassed expression.

“(Y/N).” Tony groans, semi-threateningly.

“Yes, Anthony?” She asks, smiling at him like an innocent child who’s never done wrong.

“Good day to you, beautiful mortal. I am Thor of Asgard.”

“Wowee…” The woman widens her eyes as the God leans down to kiss her cheeks. “The one and only.”

“That would be I.” He smiles, throwing her a wink also. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“Stop hogging the limelight already.” A voice complains from beside the God of Thunder.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the God of Mischief.”

“Well, well, well, a beautiful lady such as yourself knows who I am, huh?” Loki greets, taking her hand and leans down to press a kiss to her knuckles, Tony continuing to grunt and groan in the background.

“Hard not to when you get off on destroying New York.” (Y/N) grins, a chorus of laughter filling the room yet again.

“Stop hogging the limelight.” A female voice mimics Loki's previous words.

“Well if it isn’t the Scarlet Witch!”

“That is I.” Wanda grins. “Wanda.” She adds, holding her hand out for (Y/N) to shake, which she accepts graciously.

“Tony, do you know how pissed I am that you’ve not introduced me to these people until now?”

“Oh my God, I’m literally going to kick you out.” The billionaire responds, pouring himself a whisky from the bar at the back of the living quarters.

“Yeah, yeah.” (Y/N) retorts, winking at Wanda before turning to the couch beside her which a certain Archer is leisurely laid across. “Barton.”

“(L/N).”

“Long time no see.”

“Ya think?” Clint quirks a brow, jokingly.

“How’s Laura? How’re the kids?”

“Not bad, not bad. How’s Michael?”

“Dead if I had any say in the matter.” The woman casually threatens as the brunet mentions her ex-boyfriend.

He breathes out a laugh.

“Commitment issues as good as ever then?”

“You know me, Robin.” She jokes, using the nickname she gave me when he came on a night out with Tony and her many moons ago.

“You two know each other?” Wanda questions.

They both shrug.

“Somewhat.” Clint answers, (Y/N) giving him a playful slap on the shoulder.

“You love me!”

He grins and sits up before standing.

“You know I do, come ‘ere.” The man chuckles, pulling the woman in for a tight embrace.

“Missed you, Robin.”

“You too, Marian.” He responds, using the fairytale nicknames from Robin Hood.

“Those two have definitely banged.” Sam snarks from across the room, Natasha agreeing.

“Jealousy doesn’t look good on you, Wilson.” Clint teases, flashing a wink his way.

“Now, now, boys.” The woman settles, turning to the young gentleman on the other couch, staring at her with some much awe in his eyes. “Who’s the kid?” She asks, staring at him directly yet directing her question at Tony.

“Uh, hi, I’m Peter. Peter Parker.” He stumbles, standing upright and holding out his hand for her to shake.

She giggles.

“Corruptible.”

“(L/N)!” Tony yells, the woman only laughing as she shakes the young man’s hand.

“A pleasure, spider-boy.”

Peter’s eyes widen at her knowing.

“Right, are we done? That was exhausting.” Tony complains for the nth time.

“Oh, grow a pair, Stark.” (Y/N) retorts.

“I will literally kick you out of this building.”

“You ain’t got the nerve.”

Downing a swig of his whisky, Tony takes a deep breath but smiles at the woman.

“It’ll be nice to have you around, sugar-lips.”

“I bet.” She winks, everyone chuckling again.

And that’s just the beginning of her relationships with everyone at the Avengers HQ.

---

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[blowmeimdanni]

Para 001. Real Mom

May 25th, 2006

Laying on the couch of her therapist’s office, Dandelion suffered through the usual line of questioning and acted as if she had somewhere better to be.

“I love my brown skin, my coarse hair, my full lips. But I always wanted to look like my mom. She’s beautiful, no make up. Just gorgeous effortlessly. Bright blue eyes that mimic the ocean, dark brown hair that always seem to fall right into place. She never spent hours in the salon like I had to but she never complained about waiting with me. She never complained about having to ask how to manage my hair and she never made me feel resentment of it either. She made sure I embraced my blackness. She told me she named me Dandelion not only because my hair mimicked the shape, but because I was her wish come true. I love her deeply but sometimes I wonder if she truly understands me. My blackness. But I guess she can never truly understand. She can love me, be my ally, be my friend. But, she can’t fully understand something she’ll never experience. I feel like a stranger in my own family. A black child with white parents.”

“So how does that make you feel?” Her therapist responded, jotting down a few notes as she listened to Dandelion speak cashing her to roll her eyes. Dandelion hated that question fiercely.

“I feel alone. I went from thinking our family was normal to kids at school asking me why my mom was white. Hell, now we’re in the south of all places. But I guess I’ll get over it.”

“Are you sure? I mean as you said, she’ll never understand what you’re going through no matter how much she seems to try. She keeps trying and you don’t think she gets it. That must be difficult. It’s okay if you still feel alone.”

She paused for a moment before responding realizing that her self pity caused her to become blind to the blessings before her.

“I’m not alone.” She mumbled as she sat up on the couch, placing her hand on the arm rest and the other on the cushion.

“I’m sorry, can you speak up? I didn’t quite catch that.” Her therapist requested, placing her notepad and pen on her lap, awaiting her response.

“I’m not alone.” Dandelion reiterated tearfully, not bothering to wipe them away as the revelation washed over her. “Oh my God….. I’ve giving her such a hard time since we moved here and she just keeps trying. I yell at her, I scream. I literally called her a slave master the other day, not literally but I implied. I made my own mother cry. No wonder my birth mom gave me up. What kind of person would do that to someone who keeps trying to love them? What the hell is wrong with me?” She blurted out, bringing her hands together in her lap as she began to sob at her sudden self-reflection.

“It is okay to feel alone. You’re right, there are things she can’t relate to because race has drawn stark differences in treatment and opportunities for people that look like you and I. It is easy to take the anger you felt the first time someone called you the n-word or hell, anytime you were bullied for simply existing, out on her. It’s called transference. It is normal. You are not a bad person. Nothing is wrong with you, you are human. It’s easy to hurt the people we love, that love us. But it’s even easier to ask for forgiveness. So let’s try that.” Dr. Campbell interjected, grabbing a cottenelle tissue and passing it to her to use.

“Ask for forgiveness?” Dandelion questioned after taking the tissue, quickly wiping her face as she attempted to regain her composure.

“That’s the first step. You take your anger out on your mom because your parents never acknowledged race in your household until you got old enough to be made aware of the differences. In a sense you became a spectacle, you lost your identity because you couldn’t make the proper connections. Which lead to the resentment you felt. You were angry because you felt that because your parents didn’t address your race, it didn’t matter. And if race doesn’t matter then neither do you.”

“I know that they thought they were doing the right thing, but it was hard.”

“It IS hard, it still is. You were ill prepared for the cruelty in this world. The day you heard the n-word, you stopped feeling seen and heard. It is okay for you to be angry, frustrated and upset but deal with those emotions correctly.”

“But how do I do that? I do want to stop being mad but I just don’t know how.” Dandelionpleaded, genuinely asking for guidance for the first time.

“Stop pushing away people who care about you. They may not be your birthparents, and they are definitely not black but from what you’ve told me at our many sessions is that they love you and they support you. So, help them understand. They’re trying, are you?”

20 mins later.

Dandelion concluded her session with Dr. Campbell and said goodbye before walking out into the waiting room to go home. As always her mom was there, in her usual chair. Her mother stood up to greet her, with a soft smile ready to ask how the session went as she always did, despite Dandelion always giving a petty smart remark before she stormed out the door.

This time however, to both their surprise Dandelion rushed towards her mother, and wrapped her arms around her waist tightly. Taken back, her mother hesitated a bit before returning the embrace.

“Are you okay, Danni? Is something wrong?” Mrs. Turner questioned, looking down at her daughter with a puzzled look on her face.

“I’m so sorry, mama. I love you sooo much, I’m so sorry. I just want to be your daughter and I’m sorry if I hurt you. If you wanna give me back, I completely understand. I’ve been so terrible to you and dad!” She blurted out, meekly lifting her head to stare back at her, tears falling her eyes once again.

“Oh, honey…” Her mother responded softly, placing her hands on either sides of Dandelion’s cheeks, wiping her tears with her thumbs. “Take you back where exactly?”

“To my real mom…”

“I am your real mom.” Her mother responded with a faint chuckle. “You’ll have to run far away to get rid of me and even then I’ll still find you cus I had you chipped remember?” She teased playfully tapping her daughter’s nose. “I love you, little Dandelion. Do you love me?”

“Yes, of course. I love you and dad.” Dandelion replied softly, her tears ceasing to flow as she sniffled.

“Okay, then it’s settled. I’m not returning you and you’re not running away. Can we go get ice cream now? Or, should go find your real mom, whoever that is?” Her mother asked, pulling away from her embrace.

“You are my real mom.” Dandelion answered, a faint smile appearing on her face.

“Good, now do you want sprinkles?” Her mother smiled brighter, grabbing Dandelion’s hand leading her out of the office.

[ener-chi]

Story time.

So a while ago, my friend was inspired to receive a ring that was linked to a spirit. This spirit said that he was related to her past/ancestry; however, he was quite secretive about his past, even so far as to have a mask when meeting with her.

I actually met with and interviewed him on her behalf. For some reason, he was hesitant and slightly embarrassed, and did not want to disclose his identity and past immediately; he wanted to give it time, because in time it would make more sense. He gave me an energetic coin for my time.

Welll long story short, a couple of months had past, and he still had not disclosed anything, and my friend was getting aggravated. Her energy had also dipped for a while, and we couldn’t figure out why, or what it was; we just assumed that she was going through a fallow period.

Well, last night, after getting back from traveling, I casually suggested that maybe the reason her energy had dipped was because of the spirit. Our eyes widened as we thought about it more, and the implications...

Due to the fact that she was energetically dead, I decided to confront the spirit. He was panicking, because he knew that we were talking about him, and he was upset. I actually had a hard time understanding him as he nervously paced around. 

Then, my koi fish spirit guide, Sn, appeared next to me.

Sn: “It's sad, isn't it??”

Me: “What is? Why?”

“When people don't get their way… when they get too attached… they get angry… they get upset…”

We watch him kind of bang around… tantrum like a child…

“So… what do I do?”

“You do nothing. We do nothing…”

“What about my friend?”

“What about her??”

“Is she in danger? Shouldn't we help her?”

“No, sheee”

At this point, I realized that something was off. That was such a weird answer; clearly something had to be done. Furthermore... my spirit guide wouldn’t say something like that.

Then I realized. This wasn’t my spirit guide.

The whole scene just kind of... froze. And it slowly faded. And then I found myself in this really dark, eerie place. And I felt this very large entity in front of me. 

I gave him an opportunity to disconnect and leave; he just kind of chuckled and laughed.

So. We fought. My recent energy upgrades have left em feeling strong and powerful, and I have this new energy that I’ve been using. I wounded him pretty good, and then I banished him.

Just when we thought it was over, in the night he kidnapped my friend, and brought her to his realm. So I went there this morning... I found her limp body in front of the mouth of a cave... where he was in there... hurt; angry; dangerous. There were a lot of other black creepy-crawly and nasties around, too. 

Long story short, we ended up fighting, and I decided that I need some extra help, so I called in a favor that I was owed due to a bounty that I had hunted. He came and fought, and we finally defeated this big nasty, getting out of there as he exploded. 

I’m pretty sure that he was either a demon, or some kind of horrible parasite, or both. But whatever he was, he was powerful; the strongest that I’ve come across so far in my Path. He had the ability to mimic and imitate people and scenes, like some sort of shapeshifter or something. He had strong magic. He was dangerous. I’m glad that it went as well as it did; it could’ve ended very, very badly.

Anyways, the moral of the story is that until you 100% trust a spirit and have very strong confirmation in who they are, exercise some caution. And also: parasites and big nasties fuckin suck.

That’s it for now. I hope that everyone has a wonderful evening!

Blessings!

[bisexualbuckleyy]

eleven’s character development: a stranger things meta

so i love el with my entire heart and i think she’s probably the best developed character on the show so i decided to write an analysis on how she grows as a character because i’m bored and extra

the main thing about el’s development as a character is that her development happens through her connections to other characters. this is shown primarily through two things: her mirroring of other characters and the presence of at least one character each season that provides her with what she needs at that time.

prior to season one, el has no one. she is raised in the lab with very little human contact and is not even treated like a child, but instead like a weapon or an experiment. due to this upbringing, she has very little knowledge of how the world works or how people are even supposed to behave. all she has when she escapes from the lab is trauma and sheer terror.

and then we get to season one. the person this season who is most important to el is (obviously) mike. he provides her with comfort and friendship, something she’s never had before this point and didn’t even have any knowledge of. mike is the first one to treat her like a person and to even see her as a person, so she obviously latches onto him.

el’s mirroring of mike is shown through very physical things: her using the nickname he gave her, her adopting the words or phrases he uses (mouthbreather, friends don’t lie, etc.), him giving her clothes that she wears for the rest of the season, even the eggos that he gives her becoming her favorite food. mike is the first one to give el comfort and any semblance of love, so she takes that and makes it a part of her personality.

el as a character at the end of season one is fundamentally different to how she was at the beginning of season one. she’s not eleven, the hawkins lab experiment. she’s el, mike’s friend. and having the presence of mike ripped away from her as fast as it appeared is what allows her to grow in season two.

in season two, the main person who provides el with what she needs is hopper. what el most desperately needs at this time is protection and safety. hopper gives her a place to live and keeps her safe as best he can.

el’s mirroring of hopper is less obvious than her mirroring of mike, but it’s still definitely there. hopper introduces her to music, teaches her morse code, gives her his clothes to wear, teaches her words, and even tells her what a mother is.

but hopper’s own trauma prevents him from providing el with what she really needs: a family. he never makes it so that the cabin is someplace she’ll be forever—he tells her constantly that it’s just for right now, that she’ll be able to see mike again soon and get to have a normal life. this prevents her from ever being able to feel like she truly has a home or a family. even though hopper views her as a daughter, he never expresses that, and el’s only conception of a father is dr. brenner, so she thinks of hopper as a friend because that’s the only other option for a relationship in her mind.

when hopper lies to her she views that as a violation of their friendship, so she no longer thinks of him as a friend and doesn’t trust him anymore, which leads her to seek out the only other connection she has left: her mother. her mother is physically incapable of providing her with what she needs, and that leads her to the second person who helps her this season: kali.

kali is a completely new discovery for el. she’s not a friend, she’s not a parent, she’s a sister. and she’s also the only one who truly understands how el feels, which leads el to latch pretty hard onto her. kali helps el to grow monumentally as a character, and the transformation is shown physically as well as emotionally.

el mirrors kali pretty heavily: the outfit, the makeup, the hair, the way of speaking (bitchin’), and obviously the way she views her powers. kali helps el to see that her powers can be something good, and that they’re a part of her, not just something that happened to her. kali teaches el how to channel her emotions into her power and use her trauma as a way to regain power and control over her own life. kali helps el to see that there’s another way to live, a way where she can use her powers and still have love and friendship and family.

so the main thing that kali provides el with is perspective. she helps her to see herself and the world in a new light, and shows her another path than the one she’s on. but what prevents el from sticking with kali and choosing this new path is the connections she’s already forged: mike and hopper. it’s seeing them in danger that prompts her to go back, to leave the family she could have and return to her friends.

kali shows el what she could be, and el makes her own choice about who she wants to be, which is an incredible turning point in her character. el has never been able to choose anything for herself, and when she finally has that opportunity, she chooses to protect her friends.

at the end of season two, el knows more about her past and her family, and she understands more about how the world works. she’s grown into more of her own person, but is still fundamentally basing her identity off of her connection to other people, mainly mike and hopper plus the extended party.

and then we get to season three. el at the beginning of season three is still fairly sheltered: she doesn’t really leave the house much, she sees mike every day, and she doesn’t interact with anyone outside of her circle.

and then along comes max, who is the most important person to el this season. max provides el with what she needs most: freedom and independence. mike wanted to control el and still viewed her as the girl he rescued who needs protecting. this is motivated out of love for her, but he still lies to her and tries to force his own beliefs about her identity onto her.

max doesn’t do that because she had no preconceived notion of what el was supposed to be. it’s pretty heavily implied that they didn’t interact much prior to the events of season three, so max probably didn’t know el that well at all. but as soon as they connect, they become best friends.

max helps el find her identity separate from her connections to people, which is something el has never had before. max shows el that she’s her own person and doesn’t need to rely on anyone else to tell her who she is. nobody had ever done this for el before max. el’s entire life, she’s been told who or what she is, what to do, how to live, how to behave, etc., and max never once does that. she encourages el to find who she is and to express that, and to cut people out if they couldn’t accept her.

el mirrors max pretty heavily in the beginning of season 3, primarily with the outfits but also with adopting the words and phrases she uses (dump his ass, give him the medicine, we make our own rules, etc.) but here’s the important thing that happens this season: she only really does that in the beginning. she mimics max for a little while, but then goes back to her normal way of speaking.

this is an indication of how much el has grown as a character, because it shows that she finally has realized that she doesn’t need to mirror other people. she’s grown into herself so much that she has enough to exist without having to make parts of other people part of her personality. what she gets from max is the confidence to realize that, and that’s when she really becomes her own person.

i think it’s going to be really interesting to see el next season removed from everything that she’s used to define herself so far: hopper, mike and the party, and her powers. for the first time in her life she’s going to have the opportunity to really learn and explore who she is as a person, and i honestly can’t wait.

hope y’all enjoyed and let me know if you want me to do any other analyses of stranger things stuff cause i have many thoughts on this show!

[pauldron-pieces]

Rumon 'Crushjaw' Thaerskaine's Backstory: Rearmed

Fandom: Dungeons And Dragons (5E)

Pairing: N/A, Crushjaw-centric

Rating: Holy shit M.

AN: This is a hypothetical scenario featuring original characters in a world created by my Dungeon Master. As usual, this is non-canon and I own nothing aside from intellectual properties specifically attached to Crushjaw. This installment is mechanically unsound in a multitude of ways and ignores certain important lore facets. Trigger warnings are listed inside. Enjoy!

Taglist: @sporadic-fics and @cookiethewriter!

Inspired By: Black Hill: Low Force

[Crushjaw is a level zero barbarian, and his appearance can be found here.]

[!TRIGGER WARNING!: This installment contains multiple triggering scenes including semi-graphic depictions of gore and mentions of bile/vomit. Reader discretion is advised. Stay safe!]

He would have loved to claim he had been goaded into it. Would have loved to say that it wasn't his fault or explain that it hadn't happened like he remembered. Except Rumon knew all too well that responsibility didn't work like that. His memory may be faulty, but the proof was in Krae's testimony.

Himself and his childhood friend Krae had both been interested in the same individual from a neighboring clan, the two of them butting heads over the object of their affections more than once. So of course when Krae came to him with news of an enormous ogre that had set up its stomping grounds near one of their trade routes, Rumon fairly leaped at the opportunity to fight the beast and claim victory over it. After all, what better way to prove his worth and earn a name from the clan leader than with an act of heroism?

Krae naturally came along, saying that he feared the ogre may be too tall an order for even Rumon to handle. This just made Rumon all the more determined to manage the creature single handedly.

They set up camp near where Krae claimed to have spotted the beast, the two goliaths joking and swapping drinks from a canteen of strong spirits. Truly, until both of them had set their sights on the same person, they had been brothers in all but blood. Rumon still regarded Krae as such, trusting to a fault, and thusly he missed the shifty glances the older goliath kept aiming at the treeline while the sun set.

"Come, Rumon! The moon is high. With its light, surely we shall find the ogre." Krae had cajoled after Rumon was fairly drunk, "unless, of course, you are afraid of a night hunt?"

"I fear nothing!" Rumon had boasted, "the gods are with me this night. You shall witness my triumph, Krae!"

Bold words. His grandmatron had always said that pride went before a fall.

Rumon recalled very little of the hunt after that, his memory muddied with drink. Despite Krae's insistence that the moonlight was sufficient, Rumon's recollections were oddly dim. He vaguely remembered stumbling around beneath the thick spruce canopy, his warhammer clumsy in his hands.

He remembered swinging with all his might and striking something that gave under the assault, the liquor Krae had plied him with steeling his ringing blows to something that rivaled even Varandur's mountain shapers.

He remembered when the weight of his weapon suddenly vanished, and there was a rancid gust of seethingly-hot air that blew his hair to the side. The roar was strange to his ear, far-off and faded. Emptiness rang too loud for him to hear as he wondered where his weapon had gone.

Rumon remembered realizing that he was flat on his stomach on the ground.

Where the memory became razor-sharp once more was when he tried to push himself up onto his elbows, and found his body woefully unbalanced. The goliath searched for the source of the problem and quickly located it, the sight of what was left of his mangled right arm more than enough to jerk him back to stark sobriety.

It had been severed at the elbow, though the term was a bit too kind for the injury. The appendage looked more as though it had been crushed with something that might have had an edge at one point.

Rumon had raised his eyes, mind grinding to a halt when he spotted his warhammer several yards away with his right hand still gripping the haft. Past that, along a trail marked by shattered tree trunks, slumped an enormous ogre clutching a slab of a sword. It seemed closer to a chunk of masonry than a true weapon, and Rumon's stomach had churned as he realized what had happened.

Mercifully, the agony had struck him and he promptly vomited before losing consciousness.

×+×

Gods only knew how long he had slept after that. It was a miracle he had even made it back to their healer; apparently Krae had all but carried him home. The embarrassment from that instance alone would have been enough to kill Rumon, never mind the fact that his dominant arm was now nothing but a bandaged stump.

The grandmatron would have none of it though, her craggy face somehow even more stern when Rumon managed to finally rouse himself.

"You have been named Crushjaw, little pebble. A worthy title." Her tone was icy. "I have gone through much trouble to save you. I am indebted to our chieftain."

Crushjaw. Rumon's face fairly burned with shame. "The ogre-?"

"Krae slew the beast. He brought one of its tusks back as proof. The chieftain was quite flattered by his offering, praising Krae for his accomplishment and naming him Tuskclaimer. As for his name for you..." The matron bowed her head, her expression one of grief.

"Grandma…"

"Don't you grandma me, little pebble!" The elderly goliath erupted, glaring fiercely at Rumon. Her eyes filled with tears as she went on, "you are anathema now, dear Rumon. Once you are able to walk, the clan leader has declared that you are to leave. I am no longer your grandmother. This place is no longer your home."

"'Leave'?" Rumon repeated stupidly. It felt as though everything was crashing down around him, his mind racing to comprehend. Their clan hadn't had an expulsion in his entire lifetime, wariness and confidence found too equally amongst their ranks. Compounding his confusion was the claim that Krae had killed the ogre. Rumon had been certain... "I understand." He said finally. "I am unworthy of your kindness. Thank you."

He couldn't comprehend why his grandmother wept harder at his acceptance. This was the way it had always been.

×+×

Crushjaw.

It certainly felt as though he was being crushed to death. Loneliness was a miserable traveling companion.

Rumon, very nearly unable to fend for himself, resorted to setting small game snares in the uncharted wilds. It was a child's way of hunting, but he was too hungry to be bothered by the prick to his already-bruised pride.

The few people he did encounter seemed overly wary of him. After all, a one-armed, exiled goliath would be the type to resort to petty theft.

But he wasn't a threat. He had never been a threat before, aside from just being large. Rumon couldn't understand the sudden shift in demeanor; he couldn't possibly fathom the air of desperation that his injury gave off.

It began to get easier when the weather cooled, the bulk of the thick cloak from his grandmother concealing his missing arm. The wound had not healed prettily, but Rumon knew better than to look a gift horse in the mouth. He hadn't died. That was all he could hope for.

He wandered alone for most of the cold times, his only companions the booming pines that fractured from the weight of the ice and snow. His thoughts had a habit of straying to Krae, and he wondered what had truly transpired that evening more than he would care to admit. Had he imagined killing the ogre? Was his mind that addled by the strength of the drink they had shared?

Surely Krae wouldn't have lied. Nothing good ever came of lying or taking the credit for someone else's accomplishments. Rumon eventually settled on the assumption that his memory must have been faulty.

After that, the whole world seemed a gray and unforgiving place, and the goliath could feel himself fading into something of the same type. Something ragged and harsh, no longer a proud warrior but a lamed animal with a crushed jaw.

That is, until the day he encountered an old elf hanging by the leg from his horse's saddle.

"You there!" The elven man shouted once he seemed to notice the large individual sauntering up through the trunks of barren maples. "Don't suppose you'd be able to lend me a hand?"

Rumon, for whatever reason, found himself throwing his mantle back over his shoulder to reveal the stump of his arm. "Good thing you only need one hand, sirrah. It's all I have to offer." He remarked.

The elf nearly died of laughter, already beet-red in the face from being stuck hanging upside down for so long. To Rumon's shock however, when he circled around the horse to help the elf dislodge himself, he realized that the leg that wasn't caught in the stirrups was severed at the knee. The fellow's pant leg was neatly pinned at the joint, padding sewn into the area as if to mimic a kneecap.

Before Rumon could say anything though, the wiry elf explained, "I lost my leg a few miles back, and this damned animal dragged me along until she got bored. Don't suppose you can accompany me a little ways until I relocate it? Thing is worth its weight in gold."

The goliath easily hefted the older fellow into the saddle before his words caught up with him. "You...lost your leg?" Rumon blinked, his brow furrowed in confusion. "I was unaware that elves could regrow limbs."

The elf looked at him a little sideways, muttering something about still waters running deep before he just shook his head and laughed, "no son, it's a genuine Chuck original. A fake leg."

A fake leg. Rumon seized the horse's bridle, desperation giving his voice a new level of gravel as he begged for more information. The elf shrewdly bargained with him: in exchange for help in reclaiming his prosthetic, he would gladly share what information he had.

"My name is Shawell." The elf introduced himself. "And you are…?"

Rumon hesitated for a moment. "Crushjaw." If people were to know his name, they would serve as a reminder of his foolhardy pride. A constant warning to heed in the future.

"Pleasure to meet you, Crush." Shawell tugged on the reins, turning his mare back in the direction he had come from. "We'd better hurry. We'll lose the daylight."

Crush. Rumon cracked his first smile in months, positioning himself on the elf's left side to steady him in the saddle.

[txthearteu]

extra long tag game (aka a tmi that no one particularly cares for)

tagged by @soobindipity​ 🥰 thank you bb 😌❤️

tagging @btxtreads​​ @choisoobinie​​ @unlocktxt​​ @bffsoobin (this one is long so feel free not to do it ahahahaksksksks)

note: i found the breakers somewhere here in tumblr but i forgot who the owner is, so full credits to whoever owns these breakers

ONE

tell me the first song that made you stan your current fave group and why did your faves attract you so much?

of course it’s their debut song Crown. I have to admit, I listened to them not because i discovered them but because of the whole “bighit is releasing another boy group” fiasco. people thought the hype would die down, i did too, but to this day the boys never failed me. they consistently made me happy with the content they gave out for everyone to enjoy. also adding, i think i’m attracted to them more (compared to their seniors) since they’re around my age– something in which i feel like i can relate to (in terms of the content they put out, or the jokes, etc)

TWO

rule: answer the ten questions and write your own!

what’s your unrealistic goal for life?

becoming a music artist (pop star) 😔

if you had known that we would be in a global pandemic, what’s one thing that you would’ve done before things shut down (if they have for you)?

travel to Japan and explore the place 😩

what’s an unconventional thing that you carry around with you when you go out?

chopsticks hahahahaha because i usually eat using the spoon and fork when i eat out 

favourite type of plushies and why?

anything twotuckgom related! they’re so soft and convenient because of the size. i also kinda wanna buy the bolsters 👀

favourite song right now?

i don’t have any but if you ask what i’ve been jamming to i’d say its city girls by chris brown

something that you’ve always wanted to learn?

producing music, japanese, korean, hacking 

tell a funny story about yourself (or just something that you’ve witnessed)

so in the city where i live, there are places in which the canals don’t have any stoppers. i saw this kid walking with his family alongside these canals and he was just vibing with the song he was singing to. he was so into the song he was singing that he missed a step and he kinda slipped and fell in to the canal (don’t worry though there weren’t any serious injuries) and i swear it was a funny sight 

headphones or speakers? why?

headphones! when the opportunity is present then i’d listen to my music with no outside noise

craving any food right now? what are you craving?

corndogs 👀

which music streaming platform do you prefer? why?

spotify since i’m on spotify family 

😌✌️

questions from eri to me:

what’s the best trip/vacation you’ve ever had?

the vacation i had in Japan last year! 10 days never felt so short in my life and i was planning to go back earlier this year but you know...’rona....

do you have any random fears/phobias? if yes, what are they?

i’m the toughest gal everyone knows but i get really creeped out by butterflies or bugs. i also get scared with inanimate objects that look like a human being when it’s laying still in the dark, i’m scared of mirrors as well HAHA.

weirdest food you’ve ever eaten?

worms

do you have any hidden talents? what can you do?

i can curl my tongue into what seems to resemble a three-leafed clover. i can also mimic voices well and, from what my friends said, i could actually dance well and im super fast in picking up choreography hahaha (ok but it’s what they said okay)

what is an activity you’d like to try out someday?

biking/hiking/camping :> 

when did you get your first phone and what type of phone was it?

i think it was back in 4th grade and it was the famous nokia 3310 

what is a movie you never get tired of watching?

flipped!

biggest pet peeve?

 i absolutely get annoyed when someone tries to rush me and by the time i’m ready, they haven’t readied themselves

earliest childhood memory?

i put sand in this ice-cream-cone-looking rock, and i ate the sand thinking it tasted like ice cream

as a child, what did you want to be? what about now?

a music artist (pop star), until now that’s still my dream but unfortunately, i had to be “practical” 

✌️😌

questions from me to you:

android or apple? why?

words of affirmation or physical affection? why?

bean bag or rocking chair? why?

do you view a half-filled glass as half-full or half-empty or an in-between? why? (go as deep as you can)

if someone were to grant your wish right now, what would it be and why?

if someone were to give you anything you want right now, what would it be and why? (something that can be held)

favorite season and why

what made you enter tumblr?

are you happy with where you are in life right now? why or why not?

to see the boys in real life but for it to happen only once in your lifetime, or to meet the boys via online fan meeting as many times as you can in your lifetime? why?

THREE

rule: bold the statements that apply to you, italicize your aspirations, then tag nine people

.

AIR ༉⋆͙̈

i have small hands / i love the night sky / i watch animals and birds when i pass them by / i drink herbal tea / i wake to see the dawn / the smell of dust is comforting / i’m valued for being wise / i prefer books to music / i meditate / i find joy in learning new truths from the world around me

FIRE ༉⋆͙̈

i don’t have straight hair / i like to wear ripped jeans and overalls / i play an organized sport / i love dogs / i am not afraid of adventure / i love to talk to strangers / i always try new foods / i enjoy road trips / summer is my favorite season / my radio is always playing

WATER ༉⋆͙̈

i wear bracelets on my wrists / i love the bustle of the city / i have more than one set of piercings / i read poetry / i love the sound of a thunderstorm / i want to travel the world / i sleep past midday most days / i love simply lit dinners and fluorescent signs / i rewatch kids shows out of nostalgia / i see emotions in colors not words

EARTH ༉⋆͙̈

i wear glasses or contacts / i enjoy doing the laundry / i am a vegetarian or vegan / i have an excellent sense of time / my humor is very cheerful / i am a valued advisor to my friends / i believe in true love / i love this chill of mountain air / i’m always listening to music / i am highly trusted by the people in my life

AETHER ༉⋆͙̈

i go without makeup in my daily life / i make my own artwork / i keep on track of my tasks and time / i always know true north / i see beauty in everything / i can always smell flowers / i smile at everyone i pass by / i always fear history repeating itself / i have recovered from a mental disorder / i can love unconditionally

FOUR

PERSONAL

name: -

nickname: cj

birthday: oct 12

zodiac: libra

nationality: filipino

languages: english, filipino (and my dialect), lil teeny bit or korean and japanese kskskskksks

gender: female

sexuality: straight

height: 5'1 and a half (spare me the half pls im trying to act tall)

BLOG STUFF

inspiration for muse: --

meaning behind my url: to put it simply, i love txt

blog established: start of quarantine

followers: 43 lovely followers! 

FAVORITES

favourite animals: do you know cat and dog?

favourite books: anarchy by styleslegend (swear i've been hyping it since my 1d days) ; the tale of heidi by johanna spyri

favourite colour: yellow/brown/black (can’t choose)

favourite fictional characters: hulk, hinata shoyo, tomoe (from kamisama kiss)

favourite flower: i don’t have any ahahahhaha

favourite scent: mens perfume/deoderant

favourite season: spring

RANDOM

average hours of sleep: 6-9

cats or dogs: (i love them both but i really love dogs but i just wanna hug them both because i love both cats and dogs)

coffee, tea or hot chocolate: coffee is my go to energizer, for some chill time i’d go for hot choco

current time: 22:34

dream trip: japan(again)/australia/europe 😩

dream job: music artist 😔

hobbies: playing instruments [violin piano ukelele sometimes guitar and drums], listening to music, writing songs, beatboxing

hogwarts house: slytherin 

last movie watched: oh dear god i cant remember HAHA

last song listened to: bbibbi by iu

no. of blankets you sleep with: 1

random fact(s): if given the chance again, i’d combine mint choco and bubblegum ice cream; when i’m bored i try to re-read all my past lessons AHAHAHAHAHA; currently in a 5-year relationship akshsskskssjsjduskgkad

FIVE

10 things I can’t stop listening to

city girls - chris brown, young thug

angel or devil - tomorrow by together

paradise - bts

zombie - day6

see you again - tyler the creator, kali uchis

dally - hyolyn, gray

love - kendrick lamar, zacari

redemption (with babes wodumo) - kendrick lamar, zacari

pyramids - frank ocean

all in - monsta x

[thehermitsforest]

The Hermits Forest

Prologue

When he was a child Simon had wanted to be a tailor, he wanted to make the rich wear what he thought was cool instead of their silly frilly capes, and he wanted to start a movement, a movement so strong that pale skins would stop painting themselves purple, back then the slave trade wasn’t even a blip on his radar. To begin a fashion career he needed to be fashionable, that was Simon’s first hurdle, he couldn’t wear purple paint on his skin, not from pride or injustice, but because he was allergic. He swiftly accepted defeat. Creating a device that would let him and other people allergic to paint appear purple, was not a thought that crossed his mind, the only thought that crossed his mind was, what job pays the most, and ideally will let me retire soonest so that I may sit in my wealth and die with no greater purpose? The Spirits Slave trade was one such position, however Simon did not think he was an evil man, nor corrupt or immoral, so he trained himself to steer a horse. He was only a delivery driver. 

After all had he not helped to push the spirit into the cage, or saddled up the horses he was sure someone else would, although this thought made sense in Simons head it would seldom hold up in court, after all it does not matter if you know your neighbour Beatrice plans to murder her husband Arnold, if Simon killed Arnold first, then his death would still solely be Simons fault. The spirit trade was a dying trade, not through lack of trying,  or customers and money, but lack of spirits. Spirits seldom survived months when captured and could take centuries to rebirth, if ever did.

Simon gripped the horses reins tight. When the horse began to tire Simon would take his whip, and encourage him forth. The horse didn’t like his new job, not only was he carrying Simon, but a fat man called ‘boss’, three spirit hunters, a heavy cart cage made from Airitlium the only the material that could hold spirits, and as if to add insult to injury, inside that cage was Carry. Ancient spirit of the wild horses. Not all wild horses just a small herd to the east that were said to be millennia old and devour humans, although even to the horse’s perception they did not resemble horses anymore, unless perhaps the only knowledge you had of horses was through word of mouth.

            “Simon.” Carry the spirit whispered rolling over to the cage edge. 

His skin was dark, and he had small black quarter moons spotted across his body, where old horse hide clothing did not cover his skin. 

           “Yeah?” Simon asked glancing back, eyebrows half raised as though he was dazed. 

Carry sat on his knees so that he could be face height with Simon, and he tried for a second to wag his white horse like tail out of view, when that failed he quickly scrambled after it with his hands and hid it behind himself.

           “Where are we going friend?”

Simon gave a dramatic roll with his eyes and head, he had only worked for 6 months but whenever there was a spirit in the cage, to the exact letter, this was how conversations began, and they always began with him.

           “We’re going to find another spirit or more if the opportunity arrives.”

           “Who?”

           “According to the kings bounty, there is an evil spirit residing in ‘The Hermit’s Forest’ who does away with anyone travelling through, most spirits that attack humans are normally animal in nature, so I suspect we will pick up a spirit going by the usually imaginative name of Animal.” 

           “A spirit that has the name of Animal must be mighty strong, do you really think you can capture such a being?” Carry asked with an unfaltering gaze.

           “We know other forests had small territorial animal spirits, and we also know that we can catch them, because they are not the spirits, of the animals, that sit at the top of the food chain,” Simon said with an unbearably smug grin “because that would be humans.”

           “I w’d’ve thought they were strong.” Carry said.

           “Perhaps if they attacked us one on one they would overpower us, or if we had no weapons, but they like to fight, and they like to walk into traps, their greatest weakness is their stupidity, it is almost like they forgot to form a brain.”

           “I can’t wait for you to die. I know the animal spirit of ‘The Hermit’s Forest’, she walks though my land at winter.”

           “Oh you’ve seen her have you, let me guess, you think because she’s stronger than you, a singular herd of horses, that she’s going to be stronger than humans, but you’re wrong, and I don’t suppose for one moment she’ll have any luck out smarting us.”

           “The spirit you seek is Forest.”

Simon rolled his eyes and a gentle smile sat upon his face “you trying to tell me the trees are evil?”

           “I do not suppose for one moment Forest is any more evil than any other Forest spirit, from what I understand neither takes too kindly to disrespectful humans, but I do hear Forest looks a bit peculiar and humans have a nasty habit of associating physical form with personality.”

           “I don’t believe you. Why would a forest that began as a few trees in the back of a hermits garden be peculiar? He’s new for a forest, and planted by a human, so they should look like any other forest, plain, simple, with no strong thoughts one way or the other except perhaps a minor instinct to protect himself.”

           “Suit yourself.” Carry said stopping the conversation and she sat back down in a position that was a little more comfortable.

           “Fucks sake” Simon said as he pulled on the reins of the horse who came to a thankful stop, at his action, but his boss looked down with fury in his eyes ready to be unleashed.

           “Why have we stopped!”

           “They’ve changed gender” Simon said tiredly and gestured to Carry.

           “Shit.” The boss said, and Carry looked to Simon surprised at the information.

           “I can quite assure you gentlemen that I have not come to any new shocking revelations about my own gender in the past - nigh at least seventy thousand years, and as such declaring I have changed my gender is ludicrous, besides if I wanted to change the physical gender I generate I could not do it for these chains are tighter than a stallions arse.”

           “Come on lads!” The boss shouted piling up several more heavy rusting chains into his arms.

           “Your form has changed slightly, and you voice is different, slightly higher I think” Simon said to the spirit who seemed generally bewildered.

           “That’s it?”

           “Simon you idiot, you are not supposed to tell the spirits how to mimic us better” his boss growled red in the face as he revealed his black rotting teeth.

           “We don’t change shape” Simon shrugged “if a spirit could work that out I’m sure they would’ve already.”

           “He’s got a point boss.” The spirit hunter with a spear laughed, just as he began to hear the sound of a man screaming, and quickly getting closer. The boss frowned and turned towards the empty marsh, in the direction in which the sound was coming from, just in time to see a man several meters away fall from the sky and hit the marshes swampy water making it splash into the air, his screams stopping immediately.

           “That’s odd” he said.

           “Must’ve been one of the folks from up top” the sword holding hunter said “though I’ve never seen anyone fighting up there.”

           “He probably just tripped” the spear holding hunter said “those stupid rich people would prefer their stupid city looks all magical rather than putting up some damn fencing, tripped over a dog a few months ago when I was up there, almost died, fucking rich people.”

           “I see. As long as they do not land on us I don’t care” the boss said, and he looked up just in time to get a glimpse of the falling elephant that crushed him, and everyone else within the elephants reach.

End Of Prologue

[  Follow me for updates on Chapter 1 :)  ]

[maxlovespigeons]

The Memoirs of The Snork

Chapter 2

Summary:

Spending a great amount of time with the new, little friend, Snork finds out it's not easy to take care of a child do much younger than him. He also has to risk his skin quite a few times for her.

Notes:

This one is much longer than the previous one and it took quite a while to write! I'm happy with it, though, and I hope you're ready for some mild angst! Also, I shall make sure to crop it so it doesn’t take hours to scroll past it dghdf,,

Warnings:

Child Abuse

Word Count: 4072

Read on AO3!

---

Life in the Orphanage had changed quite a bit, at least for the Snork. The appearance of Snorkmaiden, who was probably the youngest child in the entire Orphanage, had given Snork new responsibilities, especially since the Hemulen wouldn't give her the attention she needed. And small children need a lot of attention.

Snork couldn't say it was a good change. He was often annoyed with how much he had to help the little girl, and how he was the only person she'd ask for it. Some of these little tasks had become pretty much a routine after a while, though, and he didn't seem to mind them at all - tucking Snorkmaiden in at night, which sometimes was accompanied by reading her to bed (with which Snork risked getting caught each night, but he got used to that as well and none of the other kids seemed to mind), helping her in the Wash Room or playing with her now and then. It became annoying when he wasn't able to read his books, do his equations or just do anything in peace.

He soon found out Snorkmaiden listened to him and tried to mimic him sometimes. At first Snork was annoyed by that too, but soon he learned it's actually useful to have such authority over someone. He could just tell Snorkmaiden off and at least half of the time she'd listen after Snork repeated himself twice or thrice.

That was quite a power. The kind of power the Hemulen had over all of the children. But everyone was simply scared of the Hemulen and her punishments. Why would Snorkmaiden listen to Snork, out of all people? He rather wasn't the most frightening of the kids… did he do something to scare the little girl?

He was worried about something like this. He tried to be rather kind to her but he couldn't help but raise his voice now and then when she was being truly unbearable. It didn't feel good and he even regretted it sometimes, but at the same time he felt like he wouldn't get a moment of peace and quiet anymore if he didn't do stuff like that.

The regret, the annoyance, the anger. He didn't feel these things before Snorkmaiden arrived. They just came with her. The negative emotions, the feelings he despised so much. That little girl brought only trouble.

One day, he got out of bed on the wrong foot. Everything was just so exhausting and all he wanted to do today was disappear. He didn't even feel like doing any equations, they felt like way too much effort at the moment. He managed to grab quite a few books and found a corner behind one of the beds in the bedroom while all the other kids had the Free Time. The children would get the Free Time only if the Hemulen was in a good mood and Snork was so grateful it was one of these days.

There was no sign of Snorkmaiden either - he began wondering what she was up to, but then he decided to throw that thought out of his head. It was his day. No little girls allowed in his book world. Snorkmaiden would be bored by these books anyway, much like the other kids.

He was at peace in his own world, he didn't know how much time had passed but it felt like a matter of seconds. Seconds, in which he went through two thick books about different, scientific matters. He read them both already, but it was fun to get back to some older literature you haven't touched in months. Or maybe years? Nobody kept track of time in the Orphanage, so it didn't matter.

The thing that snapped him out of his little world of scientific literature was a tiny paw that appeared on the spine of one of his books. He jumped a little at the sight, but he quickly realized what that was.

"There you are, Snork!" Snorkmaiden smiled, pulling the book's cover a little so she was able to look at the Snork's face, hiding something behind her in her other paw.

Snork sighed. He pulled the book back and gave Snorkmaiden an annoyed look. That wasn't enough to stop her, though.

"I didn't seen you since the morning!" The little girl continued. "I was looking for you!"

"Haven't," the Snork corrected her instinctively, "and that is because I've been rather avoiding everyone."

"Why?" Snorkmaiden climbed up on the bed next to Snork to see his book more clearly. She put the thing she was holding on the bed behind her. "Whatcha reading? Will you read it to me?"

"No," Snork answered immediately. "You wouldn't understand it. You're too little."

"And how do you know?" She asked with a bit annoyed yet cheerful tone.

"Because I know everything."

"No you don't!" Snorkmaiden giggled. "...do you?" She whispered back to him, a bit more serious.

"I do," Snork decided to play along, "and I do know you're not going to find any fun here. Go away!" He buried his nose in the book, rather to avoid eye contact with Snorkmaiden in hope she'd listen to him than to actually read it.

"Come ooooon, Snork!" He felt a pull on his arm. He snatched it away. "Come and play! I have something to show you!"

"I don't care! I want to be alone," Snork was getting really annoyed now, "why won't you play with somebody else!"

"But it isn't no fun without you!" Snorkmaiden whined. She tried to pull Snork's arm again but he  pushed her away this time, which almost caused her to fall off the bed. She held onto the sheets strong enough to save herself, though. She sat on the bed above Snork with a grumpy expression.

"Is no fun," he corrected her with his nose in the book.

"See? You agreed!"

Snork sighed. Snorkmaiden lay on the bed and sat like that quietly for a while. Then she rolled over even closer to Snork, looking into his book from above.

"It doesn't even have pictures!" She commented, observing it upside down.

"I told you you wouldn't like it," Snork was trying to remain calm, which was becoming more challenging every second the little girl was hanging above him.

"Can you read out loud?" Snorkmaiden asked, not noting Snork's answer.

" No, " Snork said, harshly. Snorkmaiden groaned loudly.

"You're not any fun!" She called.

"Then go away!” Snork raised his voice, “I told you I want to be alone today, doing boring things you won't like! And it’s ‘are no fun’," he corrected her again.

"But why?!" Snorkmaiden also raised her voice impatiently.

"Because I want to!" Snork brought the book closer to his face.

"But I wanted to show you something!"

"I don't care about anything you'd want to show me!"

"But I made something for you!"

"I don't care about that either!!"

To Snork's surprise, there was no reply this time. He waited a bit to finally look up from his book, noticing that… Snorkmaiden wasn't there.

"...Snorkmaiden?"

The moment he wanted to get up to see if she just walked away, he suddenly felt something dashing at his back. He yelled, falling on the ground with a thud, right onto the corner of the book he just had in his paws. Then he heard laughter.

"That's what you get!" The cheerful tone of the little girl got to his ears from behind. Snorkmaiden was sitting on his back. The corner of the book was still digging straight into his chest.

Snork pushed himself up so suddenly that Snorkmaiden fell off of him and hit the wall with a yelp, but she began giggling afterwards. Snork has straightened up and turned around to face the little girl, picking the book up in the process.

"THAT'S ENOUGH! I am through with you! I have to run around you all the time and I never get a moment for myself and when I'm having a bad day and try to relax reading these stupid books I can't even do so without you bothering me the entire time!" He threw the book on the ground. "It's enough that I have to risk my own skin to read you to bed because you're just a little brat that can't even fall asleep by herself! It's been the most painful few years of my life and I honestly wish you have never appeared in this stupid building! Everyone would be so much better off if you were never here!"

The entire building went quiet. It was as if the wind had stopped by the window to watch. Some kids peeked into the bedroom to see what was happening.

Snorkmaiden was no longer grinning. She looked terrified, worse than she ever looked like when looking at the Hemulen herself on her bad days. Her eyes were watery, the tears just waiting on the very edges of the corners of her eyes for an opportunity to run away down the little Snork maiden's face. Snork just now noted she was hugging a sheet of paper close to her chest, as if she was afraid he would take it away from her.

Snork's expression suddenly softened seeing how the little girl was completely taken aback by his sudden confession. He felt a prick of crippling guilt filling him from the inside, twisting his every organ and breaking his every bone.

And then, wordlessly, Snorkmaiden ran out of the bedroom. She didn't even let out a sob. That was the quietest she's been since the day of her arrival.

Snork followed her with his sight, even took a step after her, but then he froze in place. She left him alone, at last. He could just sit there and read his stupid books in peace, like he wanted. It's not like she would leave him alone in any other way! That was the only possible way. She was going to forget it in like four days anyway, so who cares? He did nothing wrong. Everything was okay.

But then why did it feel like all his insides were set on fire?

He picked the book he threw from the ground and sat down in his corner, opening it more or less where he left on. He tried to read, but he somehow wasn't able to focus on it.

It felt like seconds had passed since he opened it, but then out of the blue he heard a scream. Snorkmaiden's scream. And then an unintelligible yell.

Everybody knew that yell.

Let it be curiosity or maybe worry, but Snork suddenly forgot why he was mad at Snorkmaiden. He got up, dropping the book and running to the hallway to see what's going on.

The doors of the Orphanage were open. The Hemulen was standing in front of them, enraged, holding Snorkmaiden's arm. The little one was trying to break free of the grab, her cheeks wet from tears that were flowing down her face. Her fur was pale. Some children had hid behind the staircase, others behind furniture. None of them dared to stay in the Hemulen's sight when she was this upset, but they were still curious about what happened so they tried to watch in a safe distance, just as they always did.

"...AND WHEN I'M TRYING TO BE NICE YOU BREAK THE ONLY RULE I GIVE YOU!!" the Hemulen's voice squeaked. "HOW CAN I TRUST ANY OF YOU IF YOU KEEP DOING THINGS LIKE THAT!"

Snork was trying to figure out what she meant. There were quite a few rules the Hemulen gave the children when they had free time. There were also the golden rules nobody was to break, ever. But then, the doors were open and… oh gosh.

Snorkmaiden almost slipped trying to break free this time.

"I'm sorry, aunt Hemulen! I'm sorry!" She cried repeatedly. Her voice was shaking and it was difficult to understand anything as it would all get choked up in her terrified sobs.

"Oh, you'll be sorry!" The Hemulen dug her claws into the girl's arm to not let her get away. "You'll be sorry after the lesson I give you!" She walked towards the wardrobe pulling Snorkmaiden after her and took a broom out of it. It wasn't the cleaning broom, though. It was the Broom.

The Hemulen took it out only when she was very angry. It was old, made out of sticks bonded together. And it had a very unpleasant texture. The kids who were unfortunate enough to get in the Hemulen's way were sure to feel it on their own skin.

And now, Snorkmaiden was in her way.

"NO!"

Snork's eyes widened as he saw the Broom and for the first time in his life he didn't think about what he was doing. He didn't even notice when he appeared right between the Hemulen and the little girl as he rushed right through the grab. It took the Hemulen off guard enough for her to let Snorkmaiden go, who cried in pain and surprise (as the Hemulen had quite sharp claws), falling back on the ground. Snork stood in front of her.

The Hemulen was taken aback by the sudden pull and lost her balance for a second. Then she looked at the Snork. He has never seen this much fury in the eyes of a living being. It was enough to kill an adult bear with one glare like this, not to mention a little kid.

Snork whined.

"I… I'm sorry, a-aunt Hemulen, but .. but I don't th-think that… I mean… Snork-Snorkmaiden is just a…"

"How dare you."

The Hemulen's voice was surprisingly quiet, but it was so much more threatening this way. After all, nobody had ever questioned her methods before nor did any of the other children ever plan to. Everything went still. Someone dropped a toy in the other end of the hallway, which fell on the wooden floor with a loud thud.

"I wanted to punish just 22, but I see someone ELSE takes a priority!" Her voice raised back to normal (which was very loud).

Snork began stuttering. The Hemulen dismissed that, grabbing his arm and pulling him upstairs. He was too shocked to protest.

None of the children were ever allowed to go upstairs. It was that mystic part of the Orphanage that belonged to the Hemulen and to the Hemulen only. It's where she slept. It's where she ate. It's where she spent all the time she wasn't downstairs with the children, which makes most of the day. Nobody knew what it looked like nor nobody ever dared to check further than peek at it from the second or third step of the stairs. It was one of the golden rules: never go upstairs.

One of other golden rules was to never leave the building without permission.

Maybe that's why the upstairs seemed so strange and hostile. Or maybe it was Snork's situation that influenced that impression. Technically speaking, it wasn't all that different from the downstairs of the Orphanage; it had wood walls and wooden doors, a hallway, candles here and there illuminating the way, a window even, but it just felt… hostile.

The Hemulen has led him to the first door on the left from the staircase. She opened it and, without a second of hesitation, threw the kid inside. He tripped and rolled through the floor of the room.

"Maybe spending days in the time out will teach you some respect!" She yelled at him, slamming the door afterwards.

The Snork got up and looked around. It was a very small room with no windows, the only furniture being an old, wooden bucket in the corner. Snork got up and approached it, noting it was containing water. It had to be there for a long time as it seemed to have developed a tiny ecosystem inside.

The kid suddenly remembered the rumors the other kids would tell each other (as there were a lot of stories and legends in the Orphanage) about a Time Out room - a room with nothing inside where the Hemulen would lock up the most naughty kids. She'd only let them out for one meal a day and so they could go to sleep.

Snork sat under the wall and whined. And then he began sobbing, as he had nothing else left to do.

---

Time seemed almost nonexistent to him at this point. So much was happening all the time that it sometimes felt like minutes, sometimes like days. He wasn't able to tell the time anymore as he was in a dark room with no windows to look out of. He wasn't crying anymore, no, he'd stopped a while ago. He was just laying on the ground and staring at the ceiling. He tried doing stuff, like writing equations on the walls, but he was afraid of the Hemulen's reaction to them.

And then he heard steps. They were loud yet gentle, they sounded nothing like the Hemulen's harsh and heavy walk. He sat up and began listening curiously. Then he heard a voice. A tiny, quiet, high voice. It was calling his name.

Snork stumbled to the door on all fours and pressed his ear to the wood.

"Snorkmaiden??" He let out in a surprised tone. He looked at the wooden planks the door was made out of as if he saw a ghost.

The steps got quicker and louder as they approached it from the other side.

"Snork!" It was definitely her voice. A cheerful, loud tone he was so used to. The sound of it was almost comforting.

"Snorkmaiden! What are you doing here?!" Panic was clearly audible in Snork's harsh, loud whisper.

"I came to see you!" Snorkmaiden didn't seem to worry as much.

"But-- what if aunt Hemulen catches you?!"

"Oh, she's gone!" There was a pause after that statement as the Snork didn't seem to understand what the girl just said.

"What do you mean gone?" He finally asked.

"She went out!"

Ah. That was good to hear.

"But- but what if she comes back?" Snork didn't seem even a bit calmer.

"I just wanted to show you something!" Snorkmaiden's tone was as carefree as ever. Snork groaned to himself.

"But!" Before he could think of any other counterargument, a sheet of paper slid under the door. He looked at it for a second and then picked it up.

It was a drawing. It definitely looked like something a little kid would make, but Snork was able to make out a sun, a few clouds, grass and… two people holding hands. One was light olive, the other was mauve. The olive one was significantly shorter than the other.

Snork was looking at it for a long while.

"...Do you like it?" Snorkmaiden's voice resounded through the other side of the door, snapping him out of it, but it seemed less confident than usual. "It's us!"

Snork couldn't say it was a masterpiece. He drew a bit himself sometimes and he could tell it wasn't thought out at all, but…

"Not bad," he answered in a teasing tone. There was no sign of previous panic in it.

Snorkmaiden giggled.

"Is that what you wanted to show me before?"

There was a moment of silence.

"Yes," the girl finally answered.

Snork kept looking at the drawing.

"Can I keep it?" He asked after a moment, hoping Snorkmaiden hadn't gone away yet.

"Oh I don't know," Snorkmaiden giggled again. "Only if you teach me!"

"Teach you what?" Snork looked up at the door, confused.

"To read!" She answered immediately. "I want to read!"

"Oh" Snork chuckled. He wondered if it had something to do with what he told her before. "Okay! B-but not now, I can't really…" he suddenly remembered his own situation. "You should go downstairs. Aunt Hemulen can come any minute now."

"But do you promise?" Snorkmaiden asked hopefully.

"Maybe," he answered cheerfully.

"Come on!" She must've leaned on the door, since Snork heard a thud on it.

"Okay. I promise!" He replied.

Snorkmaiden giggled. Then the soft, quick steps began getting quieter.

Snork listened a few more seconds, but after a while when he couldn't make the girl's steps out he returned to the room's corner and kept looking at the drawing he got. And he didn't feel as alone anymore.

---

The rumors turned out to be true. Snork didn't get any dinner for the rest of the day and was dismissed to go to bed at bedtime. The Hemulen kept shaming him which wasn't the nicest thing to hear, but he was just glad he could return to his own bed.

It was difficult for him to hide the drawing Snorkmaiden gave him, though, and he wasn't good at such things so Hemulen easily noticed it, unfortunately.

"What are you hiding behind you?" She asked in a hostile manner.

"N-nothing…!" The Snork tried to hide the sheet, folded into a perfect, small square in his palm. It wasn't any help, though, as the Hemulen forcefully tore it out of his paw and unfolded it roughly, tearing the paper a bit.

"Where did you get it from?!" She asked, looking at the drawing.

"I- I had it on me the entire t-time, aunt Hemulen!" The Snork stuttered out the reply. The Hemulen squinted at him.

"I am much too tired with deal with any more rule breaking today, young man!" She yelled, tearing the drawing apart into two pieces, then four, then eight. She threw it on the floor. "Here, take your stupid drawing!"

Snork watched it happen helplessly, whining. The moment it fell on the ground he quickly picked the pieces up. The Hemulen pushed him to move quicker, so he just wordlessly followed her to the bedroom, hugging the pieces and holding back tears.

Everyone seemed to be asleep. Seemed was the keyword, though, as just as the Hemulen left, Snorkmaiden jumped out of her bed and ran to hug the Snork. He was surprised, but he only took a step back. The girl looked at him from head to feet and then her smile faded.

"Why are you sad?" She asked quietly.

He walked over to his bed, not reacting to Snorkmaiden's question at first and put the sheet pieces on the bedside cabinet (as it is the only place where children could keep their private belongings, if they had any).

"I'm just… tired," He said, climbing up the bed. Snorkmaiden soon followed him and glanced at the drawing, giving out only a sad, quiet "oh" when she realized what that was.

"I'll make you a new one!" She whispered, her cheerful tone returning. "A better one! And that one is going to be for free!"

He looked at her on the side and then giggled. Then the smile on his face disappeared as quickly as it appeared, as he noticed something. Snorkmaiden had quite a big scratch mark on her arm. It must’ve happened the moment he broke Snorkmaiden free from the Hemulen’s grasp earlier that day. He had nothing he could even vaguely dress it with, though, and it didn’t seem to be deep, so he decided to ignore it for the time being. Better not to bring that situation up, anyway.

"Well," he suddenly sat up, "since I'm already here, what about a bedtime story? This time you read it, though."

Snorkmaiden's eyes lit up. Snork opened his cupboard and took out some children's book, putting it on his lap and patting a place on the bed right next to him.

"A promise is a promise," He smiled.

Snorkmaiden laughed (to which Snork shushed her) and climbed up the bed, sitting right next to the Snork as he opened the book on the first page. He then began his teaching.

Since Snork had to spend a few more days in the Time Out room, the lessons could happen only on evenings. At least for a while. Snorkmaiden was a quick learner, though, and when she could read a few letters Snork began teaching her how to write. She'd practice on her own as well.

And soon, she'd be reading herself to sleep. Snork gave in to that habit as well at some point, at first only to make sure Snorkmaiden wouldn't go to sleep too late, but then he began enjoying it as well.

And everything was peaceful for once.

[misssunflowersandsangria]

My True Love Gave to Me

Author’s Note: Merry Christmas!  It's still Christmas in my part of the world!  I just made it!  I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday or even just a great day!  This chapter got longer than I wanted it to so feel free to read through it all or just for your favorite couple.  Read the title breaks just to preface that portion.  Enjoy!

Chapter 11:  Traditions (InoShikaCho)

Ino (Christmas Eve- Modern AU)

 Ino looked gorgeous as she sauntered down the stairs in a deep purple dress molded tightly to her body.  

“Mommy!  You look like a princess.”  Ino scooped her child up to place an affectionate kiss on his head. 

“Thank you, baby.  You look very handsome as well.”  Her son looked adorable dressed in a deep blue suit complete with a bowtie.  Sai grinned as his wife made her way towards him placing a chaste kiss against his lips.  

“You’re breathtaking tonight my Love.”

“Thank you Sai, you look quite handsome as well.  Not as good as Jin but it was a good attempt.” He just laughed as she teased him before kissing her once more.

“I agree. Let’s go.”  As had been their tradition for years on Christmas Eve they always had a romantic dinner.   Even after Inojin had been born they continued to include him in their traditions. He seemed to enjoy dressing up and ordering from the adult menu.  After dinner, her parents graciously offered to watch Inojin they planned to enjoy some time together looking at the light displays through the city.  

The restaurant was warm and inviting filled with couples celebrating the holiday.  Inojin was far beyond his years and he was the perfect dinner guest. The family enjoyed their simple dinner together the spirit of the holiday alive and well.  

When they returned home they changed Inojin into his festive pajamas before reading him a good night story, his blue eyes fighting to stay open.

“We love you, baby.”  Ino told him tucking the sheets around him. 

“I love you too Mommy and Daddy.”  They both kissed his forehead before shutting the door behind them.  They made their way to their room to change into warmer clothing to combat the chill outside.  

He held her hand tightly as they gazed at elaborate displays never taking for granted that she’d chosen him. That she loved him in ways that he could never quite comprehend.  Their first date had been on Christmas Eve years ago. It was amazing to think about how far they’d come.

 Flashback

  “Alright, student’s continuing our work on human form we have a live model for you to sketch today.  As it is our first time using live models it may be a new experience for many of you but I ask that you do your best.”  Sai listened as he prepared his tools. After weeks of drawing bowls of fruit and inanimate objects, a live person would be a welcome change. 

That is until she walked in.  He was stunned speechless his hands shaking so much that he couldn’t grasp onto his pencils to work. 

“Welcome, Ino.  Please take a seat in a comfortable position.  Students, please get to work.”

“Ino…”  His heart continued to beat wildly in his chest as he observed the ethereal creature in front of him.  This had to be a dream, someone this beautiful could not actually exist. Her eyes rivaled that of the sky and her hair shined brighter than gold.  She seemed to sense his stare and for a brief moment regarded him with a smile before her face returned to its relaxed state. 

He continued to stare, daydreams of that smile lingering on him for much longer. 

“Alright thank you again Ino, students please leave your work on your easels I’ll collect them after class.”  Sai’s eyes widened staring at the blank canvas before him. He’d been so enchanted by her that he failed to draw even a single line.  He was going to get a zero on this assignment and yet it was worth it. 

His eyes followed her longingly as she exited the class but her gaze shifted for just a second back to him.  Before the professor could dismiss the class officially he was out the door following after her.

“Ino!”  Surprised he found her just on the other side of the classroom door.

“Take a walk?”  He nodded knowing that he’d gladly follow her to the ends of the Earth.

They made their way out towards the quad finding a small bench hidden under a shroud of trees.

“I’m Sai.”

“It’s very nice to meet you.  I’m Ino.” She smiled brightly at him taking his outstretched hand in hers.  

She had taken the “modeling job” as a favor to her professor.  It was awkward and uncomfortable but also worth it to have met the handsome artist sitting next to her.  The whole time she was sitting there she had to consciously tell herself to focus on anything else besides him. 

Thankfully it wasn’t one-sided. 

“Ino, would you like to go out with me tomorrow night?”  Sai held his breath waiting for her response. He didn’t want to let a chance pass him by. Ino was one of those once in a lifetime loves. 

“Tomorrow is Christmas Eve.”   She thought aloud. It was a pretty romantic holiday. 

“I know.”  She smiled at how sure he was and nodded.

“I'd like that.” 

  End Flashback

 The next morning they watched as Inojin played with his new toys and art supplies. 

She twisted the new ring that Sai had given her the night before. Sapphires were embedded in it and on the inside, their names along with Inojin’s had been inscribed. 

Sai settled next to her resting his head on her lap. Inojin came over and cuddled up next to his parents.  Their family was happy and complete.  

Life at times could be very difficult, but having one another to hold onto through it all made it easier. 

Shika (Holidays in Suna) 

“Uncle!”  Shikadai ran as quickly as his little legs could take him towards his uncles.  Kankuro laughed picking him up and swung him around. 

“How’s my favorite nephew?”  The puppetmaster asked affectionately ruffling his hair. 

Before he could respond a cloud of sand pulled him towards the Kazekage.  

“Hey!”  Kankuro protested while Shikadai giggled falling into his redheaded uncle’s arms.

“How’s  my favorite nephew?”  He asked with a grin.

“Hello, Uncle Gaara!”

“How was the trip?”  He asked the couple who had barely made it inside.  

“The train is a Godsend, it’s much faster and easier to travel,”  Temari explained while directing where their things should go as Shikamaru greeted his brothers-in-law.

He and Temari had some official business to work on but the holiday season was upon them as well, so this was a perfect opportunity to spend time in Suna.  His mother would also be joining them to his relief. She’d have two other sons to nag for a few days. The Village Hidden in the Sand came alive this time of the year as everyone prepared for the holidays and festivals had begun. He was grateful that his family would be there to celebrate.

“Welcome home Lord Shikamaru, Princess Temari.”  Temari grinned turning towards the gruff voice.

“Still calling me that?”

“Still the Princess?”  Baki replied giving her an affectionate hug.

“Grandpa Baki!”  Shikadai ran towards his grandfather and it was amazing to see his normally cool exterior melt in the presence of the small child.    

“Kankuro you’ve got Shikadai for the afternoon?”  Temari asked wanting to get their work done as soon as possible.

“He’s in good hands.  Go be boring adults the kid and I will be fine.”  Shikadai clapped excitedly at the prospect. They always had a lot of fun together when he was tasked with watching him. 

Shikamaru headed off with Garra to the Kazekage’s office while Temari walked with Baki towards the Cypher office and Shikadai remained with his uncle. 

“Alright buddy let’s head to the studio we have to finish decorating for tonight.” 

 “It’s nice to see you so happy,”  Baki remarked over tea. They’d finished translating the documents that Temari needed and decided to take a break before all the evening's festivities began. 

“Are you getting soft on me?”  She asked with a grin.

He just shrugged not the least embarrassed.  “Blame it on old age.”  

“It's weird...sometimes it still doesn’t feel like it’s my life...I have Shikamaru and Shikadai, there’s peace, my brothers and homeland are safe.  They’re all the things I never imagined I could have.” She looked out towards the village as the lights began to dot the landscape  

“I’d imagine that this is the world that your mother would have wanted.”  Temari’s eyes misted over thinking about her. She prayed that wherever she was Karura was proud of her and the world they fought so hard to create. 

Gaara and Shikamaru toasted Sake over finishing their last official business of the year. 

“How are things in Konoha?”

“Good, Naruto sends his greetings.  The baby is getting bigger and bigger.”  Shikamaru grinned remembering the panic-filled state he’d left his friend.  Having to go to Suna was a welcomed reprieve away from the father to be.  

“Yes, please send my good wishes as well.”

“Have you and Temari considered another child?”  Now that Shikadai was getting older he’d been wondering for a while whether the couple was planning on expanding their family.  

Shikamaru couldn’t help but sigh.  “Truth is as lazy as I was as a child I’d always imagined I’d have a son and a daughter, but convincing her to have Shikadai took a lot of work.  I doubt that a second one is in our future but I'm quite content with what we have now but I think she has a hard time believing that.” 

Garra nodded not surprised by his sister’s hesitation.  Shikadai was a miracle in himself. “I see, I fear the circumstances of my birth have greatly influenced her feelings on the matter.”

Shikamaru took another drink thinking about his Sand Princess.  “I’d come to that same conclusion.  Ultimately Temari knows her heart and my own.  She’ll decide if one day she’d like another child and no matter what I’ll support her.”

“Shikadai!  That looks great bud!”  Kankuro complimented his nephew.  He’d created an elaborate design of lines that were meant to mimic his father’s shadows and his mother’s wind, he then layered colored sand over it.  

“This will go right at the entrance.”  Shikadai grinned proudly following after him.  His Uncle was an incredible artist and he hoped to learn from him.  While his parents worked, he had the important job of helping his uncle fill their home with candles and lights.  

They decorated alongside other Shinobi filling the usually dim space with color and candles.  His parents appeared and he jumped into their arms.

“Mama, daddy!  Do you like it?”

“You did an incredible job my little Fawn.” His eyes glowing in the candlelight.

“How about me?”  Kankuro asked with a grin.  

Temari just shrugged.  “I mean it looks fine.”

“Hey!  Thank goodness the kid’s not as bitc-”

“Alright, children get ready for dinner.”  Baki interjected before a fight could break out.  

 *

**

“Mari?  Do you mind coming here for a second?”  They were getting ready for the family dinner a new much-loved tradition. 

She placed herself into her husband’s open arms straddling his lap.  She loved coming home especially because he had a specific set of Suna clothing he wore when he was there. He looked terribly handsome and distracting in it. 

“Garra asked about whether we were going to have another child.”  Shikamaru told her bluntly. This had been wearing on his heart for a while and this holiday was all about celebrating new beginnings.  It was time to put this issue to rest.   

“Oh?”  Temari began to feel herself panic which he noticed and so he began to rub her back comfortingly.  

“It got me thinking.  I just want you to know that I'm happy and content with what we have.  Whether we have another one or it is just us three I’m happy for it. I don’t want you to think for a moment that I'd need anything more.”

She was surprised at where this conversation was going.  “Shika…”

“You're an incredible wife to me and mother to Shikadai.  You’re still the fierce and cruel kunoichi that I fell in love with. I love you and the family we’ve built.   But don’t be afraid of your past or the monsters that may haunt them. You’re so much stronger. Don’t ever let that be the reason you don’t have what you want.”

She nestled her head against his chest her tears littering his coat.  For as strong and fierce as she was she was still haunted by demons and ghosts of the past.  She loved Shikadai and at times longed for another child but still, the memories of her mother and father had a stranglehold on her.  She knew that Shikamaru had wanted a daughter. To know that he was happy with their family as it was helped remove some of the anxiety she was holding on to.

“I love you Shika.”  She kissed him as the light from tiny candles glowed around them.

He placed an affectionate kiss on the top of her head holding her flush against him.  He wished that he could fight those shadows that surrounded her heart but he’d be right there with her as he’d always been in battles.  “I love you too Princess.”  

 That night they celebrated together, a family that could have never existed years ago.  Temari looked fondly at those seated around the table her heart full and complete. Shikamaru squeezed her hand with a grin before placing a soft kiss against her knuckles.

“Happy?”

Her teal eyes shimmered brightly.  “Yes.”  

Cho (I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus)  

For as long as she could remember her dad always dressed up as Santa Claus. He’d be the guest star at family parties delivering gifts to delighted kids. He would listen to her list the hundreds of things that she wanted.  That was years ago and she’d learned the truth behind Santa Claus.  Yet, he still insisted on dressing up. 

ChouChou made her way down the stairs quietly confused by the sight. 

She groaned seeing her mother kiss her dad who was dressed up in that horrendous red suit.   

She was thankful that he wasn’t in full gear tonight rather he wore a red hoodie with white fur around the trim.  Despite her mortification, she couldn’t help but smile hearing her mother laugh as their arms wrapped around each other.  With a grin, she walked back upstairs to give them their moment.   

 She made her way to where her grandparents were staying. She loved when they visited because they would shower her with affection and treats.  She’d get away with a ton of things that she wouldn’t have if they weren’t there. They didn’t blink an eye when she crawled in between them. 

Chouza and his wife sat there amused as ChouChou made herself comfortable. 

“Oba-Chan, Oji-Chan why does daddy still insist on dressing up as Santa.”

Her grandpa got a thoughtful look on his face before responding. “I think because he remembers how happy it made you.  Your eyes would light up so bright when he wore that suit that wearing it year after year makes him remember that feeling.  Besides, even if Santa isn’t real the spirit of it is. Of being good, kind and giving. It’s a nice reminder of that. 

ChouChou could accept that explanation and it was actually quite sweet. During this time her father would volunteer as Santa at the hospital and deliver presents to the kids that couldn’t be home for Christmas. She would help as the cute Christmas Elf and loved seeing the smiles on those kids' faces. Even now at family parties, he’d still dress up sending all the kids into an excited panic.  Her mother too, for her typically stern and strict disposition, seemed to light up seeing her husband in such a silly get up. 

“He’s a good daddy.”  ChouChou whispered sleepily.

Her grandparents nodded thankful for their wonderful family and holiday traditions.  

 “You look ridiculous,”  Karui told her husband but the smile on her face took away some of the bite of her statement. 

“You love it.”  He replied wrapping his arms around her. 

“I love  you , that’s two very different things.”  Chouji adored the joy in her honey eyes. 

“You know ChouChou knows Santa isn’t real right.”

“Yes, but your husband doesn’t know that.”  Karui couldn’t help but laugh and smiled at the innocent twinkle in his eye.  Her husband could be far too sweet and would be insistent on her experiencing certain things that she should have as a kid. 

Her hands went to grip the soft fur trim around his hood to pull him into a kiss as warmth flooded her body. Chouji had been her personal Santa since they’d been together. Doing all he could to ensure that she had everything that she could have wished for. 

“I love you, Honey.”

“I love you too sweet girl.” 

Chapter 1:  Mistletoe (Shikamaru/Temari)

Chapter 2: Snow (Chouji/Karui)

Chapter 3:  Fire (Sai/Ino)

Chapter 4: Peppermint (Shikamaru/Temari)

Chapter 5: Cookies (Chouji/Karui)

Chapter 6: Lights (Sai/Ino)

Chapter 7: Deer (Shikamaru/Temari)

Chapter 8:  Presents (Chouji/Karui)

Chapter 9: The List (Sai/Ino)

Chapter 10:  Matching Sweaters (InoShikaCho) 

Chapter 11:  Traditions (InoShikaCho)

[platonicone]

Devotion -  Story of the Oracle and her Shield

Chapter 9 - Entanglement (noria)

Is love the pinnacle of human emotions? I wonder…

The Day Before Departure

Once Lunafreya calmed down, they took their obligatory selfie at that wonderful site before venturing on to meet all the town folks. Everyone greeted them enthusiastically. They said their final goodbyes to them. Some people thanked them, some hugged them, and some even gave them gifts.

As a form of revenge for his earlier stunt, Lunafreya took Squall to meet one person he hated more than Dr. K, the hotel clerk. Lunafreya spends extra time there which particularly annoyed Squall. After a while he couldn’t take it anymore, so he grabbed her by her hand and dragged her out of the hotel.

Once their meet-and-greet session was done, they finally went to the most famous restaurant in Lestallum. Squall had a table reserved for them. The place was dimly lit with few candles on their table providing yellow glow to the surroundings.

Once they were seated, the waiter greeted them cheerily and handed them the menu. He served them water while as they both browsed the menu. The waiter stepped away to give them some time to decide what they want.

“Shall we start it off with a soup? How about the one which I used to get for you daily?” Squall asked. He loved this soup.

“Umm Squall,” she started hesitantly.

“Yes?” he said, without looking up from the menu.

“I have a confession to make,” she said in a low voice.

He immediately put down the menu. One thing he knew was that nothing good ever came after, ‘I have a confession to make.’

“It’s about this soup. I really, really,” she took extra-long pause before continuing, “hate it.”

“What?” he said, slowly blinking, wanting to make sure he heard right. ‘How can someone possibly hate this godly soup?’

“I really hate this soup,” she said, covering her face with her hands as she rested her elbows on the table. “It’s just that you brought it every day with so much care and love that I did not have the heart to say no to it.”

“Idiot,” he said with a facepalm. “You should have told me sooner. I would have brought something else instead.”

“I didn’t want to be ungrateful for what you did. I didn’t want to hurt your feeling even in the slightest, so I just pretended to like it.”

“You silly girl,” he said, shaking his head. “On the battlefield, rather than the strength of your enemies, trust in your allies is more important. If you can’t trust me even for such a simple thing, how can we trust each other with our lives?”

“No, it's not about lack of trust, it’s the opposite. It’s about preserving the feeling of care. If you care enough for me to go out of your way to get me something, the least I can do in response is to accept it wholeheartedly. I’d rather have a soup I don’t like for the rest of my life than to make you feel bad about doing something you had no obligation to do, to begin with. The reason I am sharing my dislikes with you is that I feel comfortable sharing it with you now. I am not afraid anymore to show you who I am and how I feel.”

“I am glad you trust me.”

“Squall, I want you to trust me too. You often retract in your shell and don’t voice your concern and feelings. I may be an Oracle, but I can’t read your mind. You have to let me know your feeling else I won’t understand.”

“It’s hard,” was all he had to say in response.

“What is?” she had to probe further.

“Opening up like that is hard for me. I used to be very reserved --” before he could continue any further, she busted out in uncontrollable laughter.

“Used to? What are you talking about? You still are very reserved,” she chided.

“I mean more reserve than I currently am. It took a lot of effort from lots of friends to make me this outspoken. So, this is as good as it gets,” he said, setting her expectation straight.

“You really are a work in progress,” she said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Aren’t we all?” he replied quietly.

“Touché.”

They finally ordered their appetizer and main course, and now their eternal wait for food to come out started. She noticed Squall’s neckless, with a lion-like creature, reflected the light from the small flame. She was always curious to know more about it and she figured this was as an opportune time as any to learn more about it.

“What is that lion-like creature on your pendent and that ring you always wear?” she asked. “Now that I think about it, it is even etched on your gunblade.”

“Oh, this?” he said, picking up the dangling pendent on his neckless. “This is Griever. It is the ultimate Guardian Force or Astral as you would call it. Its form is derived from the lion for its strength and pride. Its name is derived from the word grieve, which is to feel great sorrow. The more sorrow Griever feels the stronger it gets.”

“An Astral who feeds on sorrow, it sounds like the god of death from legends Lady Gentiana told me about,” she recalled.

“I like Griever because it teaches me that the more pain I can handle, the stronger I will become.”

“You do have a very interesting take on things. I wonder what goes inside your head sometimes.”

“Trust me, you don’t want to find out,” he said, shaking his head.

The waiter came back to deliver their drinks, which interrupted their flow of conversation.

They silently watched the flames of the candle dancing with the gentle wind. The amber glow from the flames provided ethereal glow to their faces. Their eyes spoke more to each other than their words ever could. At this moment they did not want to think about the future or the past; all they wanted was to live out this moment for as long as they could. If there were a shooting star right now, the only wish they would make would be to hold on to this moment forever.

“Squall, can I ask you a question?” she said, breaking their silence.

“Sure,” he replied promptly.

“Do you like me more now or when I was in a coma?” she said, playing with a strand of her hair.

“What kind of question is that?” he said, leaning on the table.

“Just answer me, honestly,” she said, leaning in as well.

“Awake,” was his one-word answer.

“Then how come you used to talk to me a lot more when I was asleep, then you talk to me now,” she said with a devilish smile.

His eyes widened when he heard that. It was supposed to be his eternal secret. “How? How did you know about that?”

“Squall, I have another confession to make,” she said very slowly, pausing after each word.

He gulped in anticipation of what was about to come out.

“When you used to talk to me, I used to hear it, sometimes,” she admitted, trying her best not to break into a smile.

It was as if someone had drained all the color from Squall’s face. Squall narrowed his eyes and took a fork in his hand, “That’s it. I have to kill you now. You know too much about me.”

She busted out in laughter upon seeing his reaction. Squall just looked away in embarrassment as he recalled everything he had said to her while she was asleep.

Thankfully, for Squall, the appetizers came just in time to prevent any further discussion on this topic. Neither of them said anything as they ate their spring rolls. While Squall avoided any eye contact, she would frequently steal a glance at him and smile cheekily, clearly having a good time at his expense.

Once they were done with their appetizer, there was nothing to do other than wait for the main course to arrive. Lunafreya used this opportunity to snap a selfie commemorating their last dinner in Lestallum.

She looked at the photo she had taken and showed it to Squall.

“Nice photo, Lunafreya,” he appreciated her photography skills, especially because it was taken in a low light setting.

“Thank you,” she accepted the compliment with a small bow of the head. “By the way, you don’t need to call me Lunafreya. You can just call me Luna like my friends and family does.”

“Oh, so I got upgraded from a stranger to friends and family? Nice. Thanks, Luna,” he said with a half-smile.

“You need to smile often. Didn’t anyone teach you how to smile properly? This is how you smile,” she said and proceeded to show a very photogenic smile.

Squall tried to mimic it and it just looked weird.

“No, not like that,” she said with a chuckle. “Do it like this,” she said, showing off her thousand waltz smile.

Squall tried again and somehow ended looking even weirder. She quickly grabbed his phone from the table and snapped his picture before releasing laughter she found so hard to hold back.

“That’s not nice.” He folded his hands like a child and looked away.

“I am so sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh at you but, you looked so funny making that face,” she said in the middle of her laughs. Even though he wanted to stay mad at her, but he simply couldn’t. Seeing her laugh always melts away his anger.

“How come you can smile so naturally,” he wondered aloud.

“Your smile is a reflection of your heart. It should come from within, you cannot force it,” she said sincerely.

“For me, you know what comes from within? Anger and rage,” he said, admitting his flaw.

“We are so opposite,” she said with a sigh while putting her head on the table in resignation.

Their much-awaited main course finally arrived. The chef certainly went above and beyond with the gourmet food.

She took one spoon of it and immediately reacted, “This is so good.”

“It sure is,” he agreed.

Midway through their dinner, a mischievous thought plagued her mind. She dropped her knife and fork in her plated and addressed Squall, “Can you do something for me, please?”

“Sure, what it is,” he said almost absentmindedly.

She looked at her watch and continued, “The princess demands her subject to feed her right now else I will not eat.” She even pushed her plate away for added dramatic effect.

He almost choked on his food when he heard that. He quickly swallowed his food and said in a low voice, “Are you out of your mind. You want me to do that in front of everyone.”

“Yes!” she exclaimed, “that was two seconds. Now I am tied with Dr. K.”

“Seriously?” he said, dropping his utensils in his plate. “Even on a dat—dinner you are playing this silly game?” He corrected himself as he almost used the wrong word.

She winked playfully. “You have no idea how much fun it is.”

‘Well, then, two can play this game. I’d better come up with something.’

Luna had barely eaten half of what was on her plate. He often wondered how this girl survived eating so little. Squall, on the other hand, had devoured it all. He was still getting used to this new vegan diet, which he had to adopt thanks to Luna.

As their dinner was nearing the end, Squall initiated a conversation. “Hey Luna, I have a confession to make.”

“Oh-oh, that can’t be good,” she said, paying close attention to him now.

“When you were asleep, one day Dr. K told me to kiss you. She said princesses often wake up when they are kissed. So, I,” he did not finish is his sentence intentionally to build up the tension.

“You did not,” she said with fury in her eyes and pointing a fork at him threateningly.

Squall just calmly kept eating, ignoring her.

“Finish the sentence, Squall,” she demanded, now equipped with a butter knife in the other hand.

“So, I did it,” he said with a casual shrug. “And it was so much fun,” he added for an extra sting.

“No way,” she said, shooting lasers through her eyes. “You--- you,” words escaped her mind not letting her formulate anything coherent.

This time it was Squall’s turn to laugh. It was a natural laughter of pure innocence, which melted her anger. Eventually, she too smiled.

Squall looked straight into her eyes and asked, “Would you have hated me had I kissed you?”

“I... I...” somehow Squall kept finding ways to make her speechless today. Just the thought of him kissing her made her instantly blush.

“1.5 seconds,” he proclaimed.

“What?” she asked, still blushing.

“You went from pale to blush in 1.5 seconds. I win,” he declared emphatically.

“You are so dead,” she said threateningly.

She was so angry that she wanted to throw something at him, anything. He was lucky that the waiter just arrived in time to take their plates. She made a mental note to get back at Squall for this one.

“I am going to miss this place,” Squall said suddenly bringing up a topic that Luna was trying to avoid throughout the day.

“Yes, I have lots of fond memories of this place. My time here is something I will always cherish. This town and its people will always be close to my heart.”

Suddenly, a strong wind gushed blowing out candles in the entire restaurant. Squall had quickly reacted to cup the flame with his right hand, preventing the wind from directly reaching it. Luna placed her right hand opposite of Squall’s, and cupped the flame from the other end. Their conjoined hands encased and protected the flame from all sides.

The blustery wind ran around unhinged making a whistling noise. Few strands of her hair, which were not pinned properly, decided to breakaway and dance with the wind, fluttering across her face. Squall's unruly brown hair joined in as well, as it swayed freely in the wind. Even in the midst of this strong wind, one small flame still survived, courtesy of the two hands gently protecting it.

“A candle must burn and melt so it can provide light to those around it. Such is the life of an Oracle. Like a candle, she too must sacrifice herself so the world can find a flicker of light in the ocean of darkness.” She shared her innermost pain.

Even though the street was full of people, at this moment it was only them and their small flickering flame. It was easy to get drowned in the surrounding noise, but at this moment all they could hear were each other’s heartbeat. The wind died down and the flame no longer needed their protection, yet they sat there without moving looking at each other, knowing fully well of what each of their fates entails. She was to be with a king and he was a traveler who would have to leave soon.

The waiter came to disrupting their blissful moment. He picked up the remaining items from the table and left, once again leaving them alone. Neither of them said much as they both struggled with their internal conflicts. They both knew that they should live in the present and not worry about the future, but that was easier said than done. How can you live in the present when you know your future is doomed? Yet they tried.

After paying their bill and giving tips, they left the restaurant only to be greeted by more people. Once in public, their masks quickly came back on. One chooses to hide behind a mask of impassiveness, while other choose to hide behind a smile.

After meeting Holly and her crew, they made one final stop. They stood outside an ice-cream shop.

“Oh no, I am so full,” she said, placing her hands on her stomach.

“We can’t leave without eating ice-cream,” he said, examining the flavors on the menu.

“I can’t eat anymore, my stomach will explode if I eat anything else,” she whined, still clutching her stomach.

“Yes, you can,” not sure if he encouraged her or gave an order.

“Nooooooooooo,” she said, trying to be dramatic.

“Okay, fine, if you don’t eat, I won’t eat it either,” he said, folding his arms across his chest.

“Hey, that’s not fair. That’s emotional blackmailing,” she complained.

“Call it whatever you want. We are leaving if you don’t want to eat,” he said, clearly enjoying this situation.

“Okay, fine. You win. But I’ll only take a kid’s scoop,” she resigned. She was certain that she saw a gleeful smile on Squall’s face for a fraction of a second.

“Which flavor?” he asked.

“Let me see.” She got closer to look at all the available options. “What are you getting?”

“Vanilla.”

She responded with a facepalm, “Seriously, Squall?”

He chuckled at her reaction. “Nah, I am going to get Coconut flavor.”

“Good choice. I’ll get that too,” she decided.

“No, get something else so we can try another flavor,” he suggested.

“That is a very valid point,” she said, as she continued to scan the menu. “Okay, I’ll get cookies and cream.”

“Do you want any topping on it? I am thinking about having a chocolate chip on mine,” he said.

“No, I’ll just take the regular.”

Squall grabbed two cones and carefully made his way to the fountain outside of Leville hotel where Luna waited for him.

“Here is your ice-cream, princess,” he said, handing over her cone. He knew she hated when he called her princess.

“Thank you, my butler,” she playfully fired back. Squall just rolled his eyes in response, knowing fully well that he lost that one.

The sound of the fountain seemed to drown out all the city noise. Tiny water droplets bounced around playfully causing ripples in the water. Faint light around the fountain gave a colorful glow to the bouncing water. The mist in the air near the fountain was cool and soothing. They sat on the ledge of the fountain enjoying their ice-cream and their time together.

“You were right, this is so good,” she said, savoring her ice-cream.

“Mine is good too. Here try it,” he said, giving her a spoon he had gotten from the shop. She took a spoonful of ice-cream from him. “Wow, I never imagined coconut plus chocolate would taste this good.”

Squall tried the cookies and cream from her and it was just as good. Just as she was about to eat her ice-cream a huge tremor shook the place. Since the awakening of Titan, the tremors had been a frequent occurrence. She leaned forward, trying to balance herself, all the while holding her ice-cream cone carefully not to drop it. She ended up with ice-cream on her nose for her troubles.

Without missing a beat, Squall grabbed his phone and took a perfect picture. He could barely contain his laughter.

“Hey, delete that picture,” she urged.

“Nope,” he said, as he put away his phone in his pocket.

“Not fair,” she complained, stomping her legs like a child. He ignored her plea and continued to eat his ice-cream.

As retaliation of taking that picture, she dipped her hand in the water and splashed Squall with it.

He instinctively turned away to protect himself.

“How dare you?” he dipped his hand in the water for revenge. Just as he was about to splash her, she screamed, “Stop.”

“I have ice-cream in my hand. Let me finish it first,” she pleaded.

“Fine, I’ll get back to you later,” he said, narrowing his eyes threateningly.

He extended his hand towards her face and she closed her eyes tightly not sure what he was about to do. He gently wiped off the ice-cream from her nose.

They were peacefully eating ice-cream when she randomly said, “Squall.” She said his name absentmindedly barely above a whisper but he still heard it.

“Yes,” he responded.

“Squall,” she said again, this time a bit louder than before.

“What?” he asked.

“Squall,” she said again, this time stretching his name to an extent that it felt like slow motion.

“I am listening,” he said, getting slightly annoyed.

“I just realized that it’s not easy to say your name. It doesn't roll off the tongue easily. I don’t like it,” she said, shaking her head.

“But that’s my name,” he said with a shrug.

“Besides, Squall and Luna do not even sound right,” she said, waving her hand.

Squall did not know how to respond to that. He slowly blinked, trying to wrap his head around what she was getting at.

“Hmm, I have an idea. How about I call you Leon from now on?” she suggested gleefully.

“Leon?” he asked, tilting his head.

“Yes, Leon,” she said with a sweetness which would make even ice-cream feel sour. “Leon and Luna, see, it has a nice ring to it,” she said with a smile.

“Leon and Luna?” he trailed off.

“Can I please call you Leon?” she said, folding her hand with her ice-cream cone in between.

“Fine, call me whatever you want,” he said with a facepalm. Secretly he liked Leon too.

“Yes!” she rejoiced and happily went back to finishing her ice-cream.

Once they were done eating Leon suggested, “Shall we go back now.”

“Yes, it’s about time,” she agreed.

“But before we go, there is just one last thing I need to do,” he said.

“What is it?”

“Just close your eyes for a second,” he requested.

“Why?” she asked, narrowing her eyes.

“Just do it. Please,” he urged.

“Okay, fine,” she said, closing her eyes. For the next few seconds, nothing happened. Suddenly a big splash of water drenched her. She slowly opened her eyes and there was fury in it.

“Oh-oh,” he realized that she was mad now.

She dipped both her hands in the water and started splashing Leon. Not the one to back down, he returned the favor. For the next few minutes, they fought like kids, until both of them were completely drenched. Their friendship had evolved into something neither of them had the courage to admit.

They eventually made their way back to their quarters. After dropping her off to their room, Squall loaded all the luggage in the car they will take tomorrow. It was very late by the time he came back.

In a world filled with war, peaceful days like this were an oddity. Little did they know that this was simply the calm before the storm.

Author's notes

This is my favorite chapter of the story so far. I had so much fun writing it. What should we call this couple? Squnafreya? Leona? idk. What do you guys think?

Sorry, no Easter eggs in this chapter.

Things get serious now. Someone is going to die in next chapter. Any guess who?

If you enjoyed this chapter, at least say 'hi' in the comments below. Please :)

[kumkaniudaku]

Trick and Treat

A/N: The first of two Halloween one shots. Enjoy. 

“C’mon and ease on down, ease on down, down the road! Don’t you carry nothing that might be a load…”

Songs from “The Wiz” oozed from the Bluetooth speaker positioned at the edge of your vanity as you put the finishing touches on a simple scarecrow makeup look from Pinterest. From the corner of your eye, you caught a glimpse of Micah attempting to mimic Michael Jackson’s iconic cross foot shuffle only to get her feet tangled before crashing to the ground with an amused giggle.

“Mommy’s sorry she passed down her two left feet to you, baby. Trust me, it gets better.”

“For her, sure. The jury is still out on you.”

You rolled your eyes with a small smirk as Chadwick rounded the corner into the closet carrying the co-star of the Halloween Night Show in his adorable costume. For months you spent time brainstorming the perfect family costume that would proudly stand next to the couple’s costumes that Chadwick planned for the adult parties. Separate events saw you and Chadwick as Dwayne Wayne and Whitley Gilbert before transitioning into outfits that resembled Michael Jackson and Iman’s ‘Remember the Time’ get up. Though your husband had set the bar high for the family costume, you knew just what to do.

Micah had been obsessed with The Wiz from the moment she heard ‘You Can’t Win,” often begging to watch it multiple times a week. So, it came as no surprise when she was firm in her decision to be Dorothy for Halloween at school. The idea carried over into the house, and with four members of the family, the idea fit like a glove.

“Hush, Tin Man. How’s my mean ol’ lion,” you cooed, allowing Chadwick to carefully place Noah in your arms.

“He’s been mean alright. He refused to take a nap while you and Mikey went out for candy, and now he’s cranky.”

“Not my baby. He’s never cranky. Can you give mommy a biiiiiig lion’s roar?” Noah stirred in your arms, peering up at you through hooded eyes before opening his mouth to let out a long yawn and whimper that let you know he was close to tears if he couldn’t go to sleep soon.

Chadwick released a hushed snicker at your expense, “Yeah, that was a huge lion’s roar. Good job, AJ. Maybe we should just, you know, stay home.” Chadwick’s suggestion came with a tug at the uncomfortable collar around his neck. He was attempting a last ditch effort to stay at home to avoid being seen in public as a six foot, dark-skinned tin man.

“I don’t care if he sleeps the entire time, we’re taking Micah Trick or Treating for at least an hour.”

“But, baby -”

“Don’t ‘baby’ me!”

“Okay, then I’ll Tasha you. Look at me. I look like a baked potato. I can’t go out like this.”

“You look shiny like a pretty diamond, Daddy,” Micah chimed in. The thought of her father not holding her hand as she pranced down the street in her custom, ruby-colored shoes forced the corners of her lips to sag into a frown. “Don’t you wanna go get candy with me?”

Chadwick looked between his twin and you, shooting you a glare when he caught you wiping a satisfied smirk from your face. He was no longer in a position to back out, and both of you knew it.

Releasing a deep breath, Chadwick kneeled down to speak to his pride and joy.

“I don’t wanna do anything else but take you to get candy, Princess. Are you excited?”

“Yes! I wanna get all the candies! Especially the chocolates!”

“Especially the chocolates,” he laughed. “Hey, how about you go grab your bag and wait downstairs for me with I talk to your Mama? Can you do that for me, Dorothy?”

“Yes, sir!” The soft click of her hard bottom ballet flats striking the hardwood floors faded with each second until only silence hung in the large walk-in closet. The sweet twinkle in his eye from seeing Micah smile was quickly replaced by a hard glare in your direction that tried to ignore.

“You can stand there and pout all you want, Coffee Can. I’m not giving you any attention,” you warned him with your back turned as you secured Noah’s noise-canceling headphones against his sensitive ears.

“It’s all good, Co. One day, you’re gonna wanna take a sip of this coffee and the answer will be no.”

“Yeah right! You know you want a little cream for your coffee!” Turning to face him, you found him ending his visual journey across your backside with a smirk.

“That’s tempting, baby, but I’m vegan. No cream in this coffee. Coconut milk only.”

“Oh so, you’re Michael now. You’re canceled. Get out of here.”

If not for the barrier covering his ears, Chadwick’s boisterous laughter would have startled Noah from his sleep.

“You can’t cancel this black man, T!”

                                   ---------------

“Micah, what are the rules for trick or treating,” Chadwick asked as the group approached the first house on the block.

“Stay close to Mommy and Daddy, don’t eat the candy until we get home, and say please and thank you every time.”

“Good job. That’s my girl.”

Your usually quiet Los Feliz neighborhood was now teeming with youth of every age dressed in a range of costumes from adorable to downright scary. 

As a child, your mother never allowed Halloween themed activities. If you and Tiana weren’t stuffed in the back of her station wagon and carted off to the nearest Hallelujah Festival, you were forced to stay at home and watch your friends return with buckets overflowing with treats. With that memory in mind, you promised yourself that you would give your children the opportunity to at least experience the cultural activity.

What you hadn’t accounted for was the type of neighborhood you would live in. Never did you imagine to be the ethnic minority on your street. The amount of full-sized candy bars casually left on doorsteps with instructions to only take one was astounding. Even more shocking were the looks you all received as one of a few black families in search of spooky treats.

You and Chadwick would’ve welcomed family photos with open arms if he meant that it would replace the occasional shocked stares from your neighbors further down the street.

Approaching the first house seemed to set the tone for the evening. With her afro puffs swinging in the wind, Micah nearly drug her father to the front porch to test her award-winning trick or treat song and smile.

“Oh, and look at you,” the older white woman gushed. “I’ve never seen a brown Dorothy before! And look at your hair. So wild!”

“Excuse me,” you blurted, earning a look from Chadwick.

Before Chadwick could offer the woman a much more civilized response to the woman’s ill-mannered remark, Micah took the lead.

“My Daddy says my hair grows to the sky like a crown made by God. This is how it’s ‘posed to look.”

All within earshot stood with their mouths agape at the class exhibited by a child that was missing most of her front teeth and not old enough to understand the ignorant undertones directed at her appearance. You, on the other hand, stood tall. All of the confidence you and Chadwick had worked to instill in her from the moment she was born had manifested into a reality tv show caliber read.

“Well...I guess your Daddy is right. Would you, um - would you like Snickers or Twix,” the woman asked, obviously flustered by Micah’s response.

The six-year-old gladly accepted the shiny gold wrapper housing two sticks of chocolate before adding a chipper thank you and grabbing her father’s hand for the journey to the next house.

Four houses down with no mishaps gave you hope that things would turn around for your first Halloween as a parent. Noah was now awake and receiving attention from every mother and grandmother on the block. Micah dazzled with the charm she inherited from her father dialed up to the highest notch. Several families provided extra candy for their cuteness while others requested pictures with the family as a whole to be thrown up on their personal social media channels.

Arriving at a beautifully decorated house swarming with underaged visitors, you noticed a few disappointed faces retreating down the long driveway to other houses. Still, you passed it off as unhappiness with the amount of candy received and followed Chadwick and Micah to the front step.

“Trick and Treat,” Micah exclaimed before she could reach the homeowner.

“A trick and a treat, huh? My kind of girl! Who are you, lovely?”

“I’m Dorothy from The Wiz! My Daddy is the Tin Man, Mommy is Michael Jackson, and my brother is a baby lion.”

The confusion on the young man’s face reminded you and Chadwick that you may have forgotten to inform your oldest that not everyone had seen The Wiz. She assumed that everyone knew Michael Jackson as a scarecrow, but judging by the blank look in his eyes, it was evident he was unaware that there was a more urban version of his childhood classic.

“What she meant to say is I’m the scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz. Sorry for the confusion.”

“That’s great because I was just about to tell you that this is the worst Michael Jackson costume I’ve ever seen!” His attempt at a joke made Chadwick tense for a moment before catching your eyes pleading with him to calm down. At thirty minutes into the adventure, you both were starting to wonder if this was a good idea.

“Where are your candies,” Micah asked, craning her neck around the porch in search of the plastic bowl she’d grown accustomed to.

“No candy here, little one! Candy is bad for your teeth. But, I do have these!” Reaching into the Hello Kitty backpack that accompanied his Deadpool costume, he presented an apple to Micah with a smile. “Here you go, my friend. One Fuji apple just for you and a Koppleman Family Dentistry business card. Feel free to come by and see us for the post-Halloween cavities. Would you like one for the cub in the stroller?”

Chadwick reluctantly accepted the card and the apple meant for Noah. “Uh, thanks man. We’ll make sure check you out when we get a chance.”

“Mommy, I thought Halloween was for candy!”

“Micah Noelle! Hush!”

“But, you said-”

“Have a nice night, man! Dope costume by the way. Let’s go, Munchkin!”

Scooping Micah under his arm, Chadwick led the mad dash for the street to prevent any more comments from his daughter.

From that point, strange happenings seemed to follow that family at every stop. Word got out that Chadwick Boseman had been spotted in the area, drawing families without Halloween goodies out of their homes and into their front yards for a glimpse at the Black Panther.

A family dressed as the Justice held Chadwick on their front porch for several minutes in an attempt to convince him that he should make the switch to DC and play The Green Lantern. Two doors down, a lively bunch of mimes made Noah scream bloody murder at first contact, leading you to stand at the edge of the driveway while Micah asked questions that they would not verbally respond to.

Rounding out the night, perhaps the strangest occurrence you had ever witnessed would prove to cap a bizarre experience.

“Mommy, look, a red balloon,” Micah shouted as she pointed to the object floating in mid-air on the dimly lit porch.

A sign on the home’s mailbox read, “We’re not home, but there’s candy in the bowl. Take IT.”

“Take the whole bowl? That’s dumb as hell,” Chadwick remarked, reading the note a second time for clarity. “It must be a typo.”

“Whatever it is, make this quick. My makeup is starting to sweat off and it’s getting dark.”  

“Can I eat some candy tonight? Pleaaaaaase? Pretty please?”

“Two pieces and that’s it. C’mon so we can grab your last one and get back home for a bath.”

Micah nodded with the same level of enthusiasm that she started the evening with. Her hair bounced in the wind beside her father as they took the short trek up the driveway and to the front porch. An eerie silence greeted the pair, and the closer they got, the more Chadwick sensed something was wrong.

“Stay right here, Boop. I’ll grab the candy and bring it to you.”

Though disappointed, Micah followed her father’s instructions and remained in place.

Chadwick approached the step on the defensive, putting you on edge once you noticed his calculated movements. One step at a time, Chadwick approached the bowl to grab the desired sweet treat for his daughter.

“You’ll float too.” A voice spoke, tiny and almost too quiet for comfort.

“Oh hell nah,” Chadwick spoke to himself. “Aye, baby, let’s go. It’s some weird sh- AYE WHAT THE FUCK?”

In the darkest corner of the porch stood a terrifying version of Pennywise the Clown sporting a morbid smile and glowing yellow contacts. The figure, clearly a member of whatever family lived in the house, stepped from his shadowy hiding place to “greet” Chadwick.

“If you need help, Don, help yourself to a balloon.” The clown never dropped his smile as he walked closer to Chadwick with his hand outstretched.

“The clown is gonna get Daddy,” Micah screeched during her full sprint to find you at the edge of the driveway. “Daddy, make him stop!”

“Hey, man, she has enough candy. We’ll just go home.”

“Want a balloon?”

Without warning, the person behind the costume made a move that startled Chadwick. Quick and misplaced reflexes ended the interaction with a swift jab to the nose and a pained groan from whoever dared to use a demon clown as a welcoming committee for a neighborhood event.

“My nose! Fuck, dude, my nose!”

“Trent,” Chadwick questioned, finally recognizing the voice.

Trent, your neighbor three doors down and a respected pediatrician, slumped against the railing of his porch to allow the blood seeping from his nostrils to fall into his manicured bushes.

“Shit, man, I’m sorry. I didn’t know. Baby,” he called out to you to get your attention. “It’s just Trent. I think I broke his nose.”

“You what?! We can’t afford a broken nose? Ask him if he wants a band-aid.”

“No, I do not want a bandaid,” Trent answered before Chadwick could ask the question. “It’s not broken, but I have a hell of a headache. You should have those hands of yours registered as weapons. I’ve never seen anybody move that fast.”

“You scared the shit outta me, man. How can we make this up to you?”

“My wife really loves Tasha’s green apple pie. You think she could make us a couple to impress the family with for Thanksgiving?”

“Baby, he says if you make them some pies he’ll forget the whole thing!”

“I got you, Trent! Sorry my husband punched you in the face!”

“Don’t mention it, Tasha! Thanks!” Standing from his slouched position, Trent pinched the bridge of his nose before heading toward the front door. “Wait until Julianna hears this. She told me it was a bad idea.”

After a final apology, Chadwick led you and the kids back to the safety of your home. Bedtime routines and a brief candy extravaganza at the kitchen counter put everyone in a good mood before the kids were tucked in for the night.

Chadwick stood on your right in the bathroom, brushing his teeth while you finished applying night cream to the area under your eyes.

“I can’t believe I punched someone in the face tonight.”

“I can’t believe you let a clown scare you like that,” you laughed.

“Co, don’t go there. You were afraid of Harry Potter.”

“Not the same! Them spells and shit were demonic. I don’t wanna hear it.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Chadwick watched you tie your head scarf around your edges before opening his arms to receive the hug you were initiating. “For the first time, it wasn’t so bad, right?”

“This was horrible, baby.”

“Good. We’re on the same page. Let’s never do this shit again.”

“I ain’t say allat, now!” Chadwick dropped his arms along to match his scowl as he followed you into the bedroom to finally get into bed. “I talked to ‘Vonne and she said that Trick or Treating is way better in her neighborhood. You know she lives around black people. We should try over there.”

“I probably don’t have a say in this, do I?”

“Of course you do, baby,” you answered, adding a kiss to his bottom lip. “You can say yes.”

A bitter chuckled left Chadwick’s mouth before he took his spot behind you and wrapped his arms around your waist. “Good night, Michael Jackson.”

“Good night, Ali.”

Peaceful silence enveloped the house, setting the mood for quality slumber after a stressful string of events.

That was into an ear piercing scream from Micah’s room down the hallway, making you and Chadwick’s eyes shoot open. Seconds later, Micah’s fist pounded at the door before she abandoned the rule of waiting until she had permission to enter, and ran into Chadwick’s arms.

“What’s wrong, baby girl?”

“The balloon! It’s outside!”

Chadwick turned to look at you only to find you up and heading out of the door in record time. Sure enough, when both of you entered the room with Micah cowering behind Chadwick’s legs, you found a single red balloon floating past Micah’s window and to an unknown destination. Neither you or Chadwick spoke a word. A non-verbal cue to take Micah back to your bedroom answered all of your husband’s question, and a trip to retrieve Noah was swift.

Crowding into the California king, you made sure to double check the locks and the security system from your bed.

From the corner of your eye, you found Chadwick burning a hole in the side of your head with his intense stare.

“I told you we should’ve stayed home.” 

Rolling your eyes hard enough for them to cause a mild headache, you turned on your side to end the conversation before it could start. There was no way he would know he was right. There was also no way you would ever trick or treat in this neighborhood again. 

                                   _____________

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[yukiwrites]

The Perfect Kind of Peace

Thank you so much for commissioning me again, @lesibelle! This was so cute to write, I hope you like it!

Summary: Lumina and Tsubaki could say that they were living the happiest time of their lives: Kokoro was a smart and healthy young toddler while Caeldori grew more and more each day, even as a baby. Flora and Felicia, old friends of Lumina’s from her days at the Ice Tribe call their family for a meeting so they can catch up after so many years...

Commission info HERE and HERE!

It was a blessing. Young Caeldori grew bigger each passing day -- she was already able to stand and give a few steps by herself at her early age of one year and a half.

Kokoro would always make sure to cheer her little sister on whenever Caeldori took it upon herself to get up, which happened basically all the time.

"What a great sister you are, Kokoro! I'm sure Caeldori will walk by herself in no time with such a great cheerleader." Lumina giggled as she took the baby's tiny hands on her own to help with the walking.

"Give one hand! One hand!" Kokoro opened and closed her small fingers, wanting to guide her little sister as well.

"Gentle, alright?" Lumina reminded.

"I knooowww," Kokoro puffed her cheeks, nodded and took Caeldori's hand. "It's so tiny!"

"Less tiny than before, though, hm?" Lumina gave a step back so Caeldy could give a few forward, stumbling on her chubby legs.

Kokoro also fumbled on her feet to walk backwards, but managed not to trip, fully focused on the task at hand. "Still tiny!"

Lumina snorted, shaking her head. "Yours is tiny for me, too, you know?"

"Eh?" Kokoro stopped walking, making Caeldori bump into her stomach. "Wah- Caeldy!"

Lumina simply held Caeldori's hand up high, preventing her from toppling backwards. "It's okay, Mommy's got her." She winked, though found Kokoro staring down at her own hands.

"Kokoro's not tiny!" She looked from herself to her little sister. Lumina crouched beside her daughter, placing one hand behind Caeldori's back to support her as she flashed the palm of her other hand to Kokoro. "But your hand is tinier than mine, see?"

Kokoro placed hers over her mother's, seeing the difference. The little girl blinked. "Kokoro's gonna grow bigger than Mommy one day?" She asked, receiving a nod in response. "When?! I wanna be bigger!"

"Hah," Lumina snorted, booping her daughter's nose. "It's going to take a while yet, but now you can grow beside your little sister, hm? By the time she's as big as you, you'll be even bigger!"

"Oh!" Kokoro opened her mouth in surprise, then pointed right into Caeldori's cheek. "I was this big before, right? Even thiiiis big?" She made the gesture of a very small object.

"This 'tiny'? Yup, you were. Like I said before, Mommy protected you inside her belly until you were big enough to come out, like Caeldy here."

Once again Kokoro looked at her hands, then her sister's, then her mother's. "Wonder when I'll be big as Mommy..."

The sound of a shoji door opening behind them followed by a chuckle made the three of them look at who had just come in: Tsubaki. "Daddy is still bigger than Mommy, though. Look!" He held a letter with his right hand, showcasing his left one right beside Lumina's.

Kokoro gasped loudly. "Mommy is still growing too?!"

Lumina chuckled, resting her head on Tsubaki's shoulder at the same time Caeldori cooed for her father to pick her up. "Mommy stopped growing a long time ago; Daddy's just bigger than me, now."

The little girl's expression was one of extreme shock. "Kokoro won't stop growing! I'll grow big big big so big I won't fit in the house anymore! Graoooh!" She stretched herself the most she could, then roared as though she were a monster.

"Oh, no! We'll have to build another house!" Tsubaki indulged his daughter, holding the baby with his left arm. Soon Caeldori was pulling on whatever paper he had been holding. "Oh, no, Caeldy -- this isn't for you!"

"Let me," Lumina swiftly took the letter from the baby's grips. "What's this? It has the nohrian seal..."

Tsubaki sat on the floor, crossing his legs so Kokoro could sit in the middle and peek at the paper. "It's an invitation from Flora and Felicia, actually! Prince Forrest turned one year old recently and they're asking us to come over and meet him. The twins are your friends, yes? It HAS been a long time since you've been over there in Nohr, so I figured we could go -- all of us."

"Kokoro too?! I wanna meet Mommy's friends!" She bounced in her father's thigh, not understanding what was written, but looking from it to her mother excitedly.

Lumina read the letter carefully, smiling softly. "I feel bad for being away for so long without barely any contact -- I didn't even go to Dwyer's first birthday party..."

Tsubaki nudged his nose on his wife's forehead, "to be fair, you had your hands full with... Mother's constant visits and being pregnant with Kokoro, after all. I am sure they understand this -- which is why they're still sending you this."

"Mhm," Lumina rested her head on her husband's shoulder, welcoming Kokoro in her lap for the little girl to 'read' the letter, or interpret it however she thought best. "Before, I didn't really feel much since I avoided being with people; so I thought that our friendship didn't really amount to much. But now -- now that being with you made me able to feel so much, to express myself so much better than before, I KNOW that I truly cared for them. And still do." She clutched her heart, blinking with emotion. "I miss them dearly."

Tsubaki placed one hand by his wife's waist, bringing her closer to him, his smile proud and soft. "I know you do, Lumina." He whispered by her hair, closing his eyes to inhale her scent. "That means we're all going to Nohr, hm?"

Lumina felt her heart ache with how deeply Tsubaki's love seeped into her, securely holding Kokoro by her lap before nodding. "Yup."

"WE'RE GOING ON A TRIP!" The little girl tried to jump, but Lumina's grip on her made her barely hop in place. Lumina knew her daughter well, after all.

"Hahah!" Tsubaki and Lumina laughed aloud, opportunity which Kokoro took to slip away from her mother's arms and run around the room.

"We're going on a trip! Trip, trip, trip!" She extended both hands upwards, the room suddenly turning colder. "Oh- I did it again! Mommy!"

"You truly did!" Lumina scooted on her knees to her daughter, "let's turn this down a bit before you freeze your little sister, okay?" She touched Kokoro's hands, immediately making the cold go away.

"Mhm!" Kokoro nodded vehemently. "I wanna do cold like Mommy!"

"My friends in Nohr also do cold, did you know? There will be four of us now- wait, I wonder if young Dwyer can use ice powers as well? Prince Forrest, too!" Lumina's surprised expression threw a jab of cuteness through Tsubaki's heart.

No matter how many years they've been together, Tsubaki could never get enough of his wife's adorableness -- in fact, each passing year only made her cuter: be it hiding or expressing emotions, Lumina was still the single cutest woman in the whole world.

Tsubaki didn't realize he stared at his wife with a foolish expression in his face until Caeldori accidentally slapped his face trying to mimic her older sister in jumping around by bouncing in her father's arm.

Although sudden, the trip to Nohr went out smoothly: they took a carriage to the port, travelled through Cyrkensia to get another carriage to Nohr, where Jakob and Felicia were waiting for them at the gates of Castle Krakenburg.

"Luminaa! It's been forever! You didn't change a thing! And those kids!! They're sooo cute!" Felicia fawned over her old friend, hugging the living daylights out of her before pinching Kokoro's cheeks until they were as pink as her mother's hair before turning to Caeldori and filling her with smooches. "I miss when Dwyer was this small, aww. Don't you, Jakob?" She asked to hold Caeldori for a bit, though Tsubaki fervently refused. He knew how clumsy Felicia could be and although he instinctively understood that, as a mother herself, she must've outgrown the clumsiness, he didn't want to risk her dropping his child on the ground.

"He's much quieter now, so I'd rather he didn't go back to crying every time he wanted something, no." The butler replied coldly, helping the coach carry the luggage inside. Lumina and Tsubaki both blinked at his seemingly unfaziness towards his own child, but Felicia didn't seem fazed by his remark, however.

"You're just saying it!" She slapped his back so hard it made a loud sound. "That day I got a cold and couldn't take care of him, you were crying-"

"NOT ANOTHER WORD!" He yelled out of embarrassment, his entire face and ears bright red. "We are not here to talk about ourselves, yes? Let us hurry to bring our guests out of the cold." He dodged the embarrassing story like a pro, but Felicia kept giggling by herself as she helped with the luggage as well.

Tsubaki and Lumina exchanged glances before smiling to themselves.

Apparently, Krakenburg and Valla Castles had been 'merged' into one through the power of the portals between Nohr and the Forgotten Kingdom Kamui wielded. The Queen opened a portal large enough to connect the still-standing part of Valla Castle to the eastern wing of Krakenburg, so even though the vallite castle wasn't seen from outside Krakenburg, one just needed to cross a corridor to stand in literally another world.

Kokoro crossed the portal in an awe, her mouth agape as they left the perpetual cold in Nohr to the warm spring of Valla. "It's like we're back home! But it took so long to arrive..." She walked beside her mother as she twirled around herself.

"Although neither me nor Flora mind the cold in Krakenburg--"

"And, honestly, it's not THAT cold, either," Lumina said at the same time Felicia remarked, both women giggling afterwards.

"Yup, even though it's not THAT cold in Krakenburg, Prince Leo wanted Forrest to be raised without ONLY knowing the cold he did as a child, so..."

"So we moved our rooms to the vallite side of the castle, although temporarily," Leo interrupted Felicia as they approached the room they were supposed to meet. "Soon my sister Kamui should be done with the sealing rituals, so we will need to move back to Krakenburg. Until then, however..." He opened the door behind him, showing the beautifully vallite decorated room, full of see through lace tapestries, light blue and golden colors. It was a wonder.

In the middle of it, surrounded by cushions, Flora and little Dwyer sat on the floor. She held little Forrest who was cooing at his mother and his cousin, but all of them looked up the moment the door was open.

"Ah, welcome! I'm sorry I can only greet you like this -- Forrest got sleepy all of sudden and-"

"Mommy! Her hair is blue like ice!" Kokoro ran straight to Flora, inspecting her and the little baby. "So is his!" She then looked at Dwyer. "Yours is like Caeldy's!"

"Well, Felicia DOES also have pink hair, Kokoro. Remember to greet someone before speaking to them!" Lumina nodded to Leo and Flora before entering, "may I?" she asked before sitting, receiving a nod from her old friend.

"To think you'd have such a good expression on your face." Flora teased, nudging her friend's elbow with her own as both of them held their little babies. Lumina snorted, not realizing this had becoming something natural for her to do so after meeting Tsubaki.

"Right back at you. You look radiant, Flora. I'm sorry it took so long for us to meet again-"

"Don't." Flora adjusted Forrest on her arms. "It's fine; what matters is that we're together again. We do, however, have a lot to talk about."

Lumina smiled softly, looking down at her own baby before glancing at Flora's. "Indeed we do. Maybe we should extend our visit -- I had no idea we would be back in Valla, after all."

Tsubaki smiled lovingly at his wife as she conversed with her old friend. Dwyer, Kokoro and Felicia were already getting along, talking about ice powers.

He took a deep breath.

That was what peace felt like.

[shellyscribbles]

Stream of consciousness

Thinking about marriage and my values.  I read an argument on twitter about abortion this morning.  There was a woman who is married, pregnant with a wanted child but a difficult pregnancy.  She said it made her understand that no woman should be forced to undergo that against her will.  

How is it possible that someone could think that?

I have migraines with auras. I can’t take combination birth control that mimics pregnancy because I would have a migraine for weeks on end.  So, while I have not been pregnant, I do not really expect it to be the best time of my life.  I still want children.  I would never terminate a pregnancy if I could help it.  I don’t think my comfort is the goal of life.  I tried it.  I would rather struggle and suffer and do something worth while than waste all my time chasing down comfort.  

I feel like that is missing from society, the notion of suffering.  We want to eradicate it at all costs.  We must give people free stuff because they are poor; they are suffering.

We all make choices in life and while I believe in compassion, I don’t think hand-outs do the soul of a person good.  I think that’s why people get stuck on welfare.  People need opportunity and maybe guidance to make better decisions.  Just giving someone something because they don’t have it doesn’t take into account whether or not they are responsible for having nothing.

I made choices when I was young that resulted in me being a bit delayed in self-sufficiency.  Granted, I was never fully comfortable with the notion of being some career woman who made a bunch of money and lived in a big house alone.  While I did desire to run my own business at one point, maybe I will in the future, I understood I would be in debt for a long time before succeeding at it.  When I got married the notion of doing anything to put us into debt pushed that idea back.  

But back to being young, I worked a dead-end job for years.  I lived with my parents going to a junior college with no real aim and working this job.  For years. Seven of them.  It wasn’t until one of my teachers whom I had for four different classes finally noticed I wasn’t going away and pulled me aside and asked what my plans were.  I realized I didn’t really have any.  I wanted to be a worship leader, so I was taking music classes, but I hadn’t really thought of getting a degree.  So, we looked at my transcript and found the first degree I could get.  Music History. 

I became a full-time student after years of taking two classes at a time, and realized that I didn’t want to study music.  I love music. I love singing and I still plan on leading worship, but I have learned worship isn’t about musical skill.  A good worship leader has a strong relationship with God, not a fancy degree.  Plus, I hated those two years of grueling work to get that degree.  

With music ruled out I then found myself without a path to follow.  What would I do if I wasn’t studying music?  I remembered being young and all the little businesses I tried to start and so I registered for some business classes.  I love accounting.  I fell in love with business.  I wanted to study accounting, but I ended up really behind in an application and got rejected to the closest school with an accounting program so I looked at the other close university and picked the closest thing, management.  

I have doubled my income from my dead-end job and I now have promotion options available to me if I say the word.  But now I am married and hoping to start a family soon and I have zero desire to be working full time while trying to be a wife and mother.  My boss does it and she is amazing, but she also lives with extended family and has a massive support network as well as a different mindset than I have.

As I look back on my life to this point, I have always wanted to be married.  That has always been priority one.  It took me 28 years to find my husband.  Well, I met him when I was 17, but I was 26 before we began dating. But even when I discovered accounting and toyed with the idea of being a big wig accountant, I had a check in my heart. How would a family fit into that? Would I be okay with paying someone else to take care of my kids?  Would I be okay with delaying it?  Would my future husband be okay with that choice?  Would I want to marry someone who was okay with that?

I think ultimately the accounting path was not truly what I wanted.  I think I meandered through school because none of it was really what I wanted.  I wanted a family.  No one really expresses that as an option for women.  We are supposed to pick a career path, no a life path.  Would I have made different choices if I had thought of what I really wanted when I was young?

I think the one time I was on the right track with regards to school was in high school.  I was looking around for schools with good English programs because I wanted to be a writer.  Not really sure why I didn’t take that route.  I guess I am glad I didn’t, I do like the skills I have acquired throughout the years, but sometimes I just wonder why I made that choice. Now that I think of it, I started the junior college meaning to study computer networking and then I learned that I would have to run wires and that sounded like no fun at all.  

I think I started really seeking to be comfortable while I was caring for my grandmother.  She had a heart attack and we discovered she had pretty advanced Alzheimer’s as well.  We knew when we went to the hospital to see her that she could not live alone anymore.  My sister was just newly divorced with a plethora of obstacles of her own to deal with.  My parents both have pretty hefty health constraints, plus they have their own home that isn’t quite designed for an elderly person to live in.  Grans house was specifically designed with convalescence in mind because of her husband who often used a wheelchair due to his health issues and experimental surgeries to correct it with no success.  Given the fact that I was 26 and still living with the parents, plus I went to school where my grandmother lived, I was the perfect option.  

When I moved in with my grandmother, I was terrified.  The first night I remember getting there, gran was settled into the din on the couch where she loved to lay and I sat in the living room on the green chair and my dad started to head out.  He gave me his friend’s number that lived around the corner so I would have someone closer than twenty-five minutes away.  Then he left.  I sat there thinking of the vest the hospital had given grandma which was supposed to shock her heart back into rhythm if it stopped.  It felt like her life was in my hands and I wanted to cry thinking of how I hadn’t even taken care of myself on my own, now I had another person to care for.

I think I took to it fairly well.  It was difficult to not be alone in the way that one is not alone when they live with someone with dementia.  She was afraid and always needed to know where I was.  I had to prepare all of the food, keep the house up, keep the bills paid (granted not with my money, its different doing that with your own money haha), keep gran clean and entertained.  My sister would tell me it was like having a child and I would get so frustrated because I was watching her die not grow.  She knew less at the end of each week.  It was getting increasingly difficult, not better.  The only reward was knowing that I got to show her that she was loved which is something I always wanted for my grandma.  She lived as a widow for thirty years and I wanted her to know she was a treasure.  I got to show her that.  

But it was so hard.  I experienced depression for the first time in those two years.  It’s ridiculous how all day all I wanted to do was sleep and as soon as it was time to sleep, I would become incapable of it.  I would be up until 2 or 3 in the morning watching Netflix, mostly because it was better than laying there thinking about everything.  I wanted anything to make the weight of it lighter, the pain of it less.  I was relieved when it was agreed in my family upon my engagement that I could not bring that stress into my new marriage (there is that instinct I had again, the marriage was priority and I needed to protect it). Gran was moved into a care home on the first day of the month my husband and I were married.  For twenty days I had the house to myself with the exception of my family getting an estate sale together.  The property is in a trust and it was agreed it would be best if my husband and I could move in and keep up the house rather than sell it or rent it to strangers.  

So, then I was married. I had everything I wanted.  It was amazing.  Now I was running the house with my own money and it was so real.  It was nice having the advantage of I knew this house; I knew these bills.  It was nice. It was kind of too nice.  I suddenly felt aimless again.  What now?  I even felt like a bad Christian.  I struggled to read and pray.  I still just wanted to be comfortable, I took no risks.  

I think the struggle and my realization that I have a selfish streak, exacerbated by that period of depression, came when my husband began to mention his interest in going into law enforcement as well as our discussions of beginning a family.  I slowly began to realize that I don’t get everything I want when I get everything I want.  Supporting my husband as he goes through the academy is difficult.  I work over thirty hours a week while keeping up the house and yard on my own as well as the meals.  I don’t always want to, it isn’t always fun, it isn’t always appreciated as I wish it were, but its right.  Its good.  It’s working to get us through to when he gets his full job and we become able to support a family with me not working over thirty hours a week.  

I got on this train of thought because of a pregnant woman saying women should get the option of abortion because pregnancy is uncomfortable.  What good thing comes from comfort?  There is a cost to everything.  You can’t have everything for nothing.  That isn’t how the world works.  And looking back, it was that season of seeking comfort as my priority that was the least fulfilling of all of it.  I am happier now that something has forced my own comfort to play second fiddle to something with some meat to it.  

[storiesofwildfire]

@likesbeingbad - continued from (x)

He never really understood it. Books, literature, the entire fascination and frankly snobbish nature of the book lovers world. Hyde tried it once, bored within twenty pages and itching to go outside and live. There’s a lack of love when the stories are being told through dead wood and musty dust. Awfully lonely. You have a universe to experience! Tales to tell with grand gestures and highly amusing voices.

After all the old lessons were never made to silent. They were made to roar! To tear from the heart and the throat and to keep an audience wide eyed, engrossed in the world you build them. Swayed by the view presented, a gorgeous manipulation, a cautionary telling.

It was boring, all of it. The whole thing was utter nonsense, such a Jekyll way of passing the time really, leaving his skin itching, aching to go and speak to someone, find entertainment, find a dance. The night was young, the day was bright and oh how someone sings with the right hand. No book could mimic that.

But Loki liked them, of course they did, dull pastimes always fascinated minds looking to go silent when left with too much time to think. Driving yourself barmey on what ifs and maybes but he never lived in maybes, didn’t care for what ifs. Hyde could handle those changes, that thrill and ride of the unknown. He never had to try and escape his own head, only Robert dearests, always half asleep with Jekyll, half bored and then? Half alive when his time came. No time to be wasted in rotting pages and the smell of bitter ink.

Loki’s love for it was getting - hm, not annoying, oddly the little thing was far less annoying than he anticipated which was curious, intriguing, amusing to all end. A Hyde and a Norse? Quite the delicious mix for chaos, for fun if Loki would just put down that dead tree and pay him some bloody attention!

How long had it been since he was given true delight? Whiled away across the recliner just needing, clawing in his throat, biting sharp at his heels. To get out, to go and run, to find someone to hold his attention the way slender fingers held that damn chopping block and firmly ignored him.

Ignored him.

Hyde drapes himself over the back, clicks his tongue once more and waits. Still as anything, watching, listening through the stillness of his chest and not a peek! Not a care in the world, what good did that do him? What fun was that? He could be out with thighs about his waist or a sweet voice in his ear but no! No he’s here, bored out of his mind, out of his skin, snapping to sink fangs into a throat and shake the sense of the world into his typically lovely company.

Jekyll’s desire to stay, to enjoy company. It had to be because Hyde would never be so careless with sentimentality a Hyde never could. Caring for them so warmly, until it seeped into Hyde’s chest and cut deep the urge to run. Cursing him surely, oh, but it is something to follow. Something to hear, something to hunt. To wonder why and chase the answer on the curve of an all too smug smile.

He’s bored and Loki’s books are the cause of this travesty of an evening. So the answer is simply, truly, deliciously so. For dead things burn just as brightly as the living and it would be a shame if something were to happen to the attention thieves sitting so innocently on the shelf.

Hyde is out of the chair in seconds, naturally, quicker than Jekyll, quicker than Loki because his feet were made to carry adventure. Made to enjoy and seek and bring about the world to its knees not waste his time in a silent room with nothing to do, nothing to say, only deadly, echoing, ugly boredom.

It’s innocent enough the first touch, isn’t it? Just touching, seeking, having a little drag of his fingers against the spines. Letting them curl, letting them tear just so. A threat and a promise because these things, this unnecessary recording of thoughts, this pathetic excuse for entertainment? They wouldn’t last much longer not whilst he was left to his own devices.

Loki doesn’t look up at the first touch, nor the second and Hyde turns one over in his hands. Stench of mould, a loss of life what a poor waste of a perfectly good tree, of something to sing and live and breathe. Mmm, but humans did love doing that didn’t they? Taking, taking, hating when they were taken in turn.

It hits the floor with a thud and Blue eyes glint when Loki finally looks up but it’s only for a moment the bastard, right back to ignoring him, to watching pages with words in a language that would last only a thousand or so years and then it would be gone, it would fade. The paper would waste away and the world would continue around it because books did not last, no, nothing ever did.

Darling to think otherwise. Another thud and Hyde’s smile widens as he pushes his hand behind a good few volumes. Teetering so precariously on the edge, begging for rescue, ah but time never was a friend and he’s just so… close.

It’s an order he thinks, no - no. He knows it is. Said in a tone that’s cutting and runs a shiver up his spine, defiance in the way he purses his lips in contemplation and pushes another just that sliver bit closer to the edge. Sad, drab, lost little trees. When they’re burnt and fallen to ashes perhaps he’ll mingle them, mix them to paste and let the forests boom from their corpses.

Oh now that’s an image!

“I’m not doing anything untoward. Just… looking.”

Another volume falls at the word, a tap of his finger and so very, very blatantly and invitation to stop him. To make him stop, challenge him for it. Give him some for of interaction before he becomes as domestic and tamed as is whiney human other half. Loki was always so attractive when angry with him.

“Whoopsie! Now is it really my fault if they fall when I’m studying? Just slipfrom my grip. Right to the floor?”

Hyde brings up a finger, pushing harder now, letting the next fall further, harder, clicking his tongue at tutting at Loki like a condescending little Lilly trying to make him behave. He never did and if there was any true justice in the world, any hope left then Loki wouldn’t either.

Why resist after all? When the temptation seeps from his pores and he breathes in that lovely, mingled scent. Not quite female, not quite male but everything he needs to move with new vigor, prowling over to where Loki remained so delicate, poised, perfectly prim and beautifully ready to ruin.

“And if I don’t knock them? If I leave your precious little collection all alone and stagnant in their place in the world, what will that get me? Hm? I’m ever so curious. What is your price for those tedious books of yours?”

♔—- Loki and Hyde represented two very different forms of chaos, as the Norse Chaos Goddess had come to realize. While they derived from the same sort of ideologies, Loki still possessed much more discipline and structure whereas Hyde... Well, if he didn’t have something to keep his immediate attention for five minutes, he’d start itching, start looking for ways to cause a mess, and purposefully seek out the opportunity to cause an uproar because it was fun.

Loki understood that notion more than most. When left to her own devices without anything to keep her occupied, she often found it difficult not to go a bit mad. Endless possibilities and she found herself stuck doing anything but seeing even a single one of those outcomes to fruition. Her mind wandered, sometimes took a turn for the worst, and when she grew bored, so did her magic.

Restless seidr proved to be as dangerous as an unoccupied Goddess who’s mind moved far more quickly than most.

She, however, represented so much more than Chaos. She embodied so many ideas and desires and groups of people that she could not simply focus on moving forward and doing whatever she pleased whenever she pleased without stopping to take a few breaths. Books always helped her keep calm and stay level headed. Without many of her spellbooks and texts, learning to control her magic would have been an impossible task, especially when she so quickly surpassed every other sorcerer who happened to be available to teach her.

They occupied her mind, gave her something to focus on at the worst of times, taught her, and provided her with entertainment. As the Goddess of Storytelling, how could something as simple and trivial as a book not mean the world to her? In a way, it represented everything she was and every legacy she would leave behind. 

Hyde didn’t get that. He didn’t understand Loki’s love of reading and studying, didn’t understand that there was as much value tucked away in the pages of some of her books as there was in spending an entire day exploring a new world. Loki tried a few times, to explain to him why they were so important to her, why she needed them, but he didn’t get it. Trying to get through to him about topics he didn’t understand was something of a chore and when it came to Loki’s love of books? And Loki’s ties to them? It was like talking to a brick wall.

All right, perhaps completely ignoring Hyde for the text in her hands was a bit rude, but she’d been reading long before he showed up, and she hadn’t been secretive about wanting to take a quiet day to herself to study. Hyde staring at her while dramatically throwing himself over a chair to catch her attention did little to do so. She was aware of his presence, of the theatrics he put on in hopes of capturing her attention, but like a child needlessly begging for attention at the worst of times, she refused to give it to him.

He could wait until she was finished and then they could go out, find something to eat, and enjoy their evening together, but before then? Loki needed some Loki time and Hyde wasn’t part of that equation.

She knew he pushed himself up from the chair after realizing he wasn’t getting her attention and she listened to the sound of his footsteps as he made his way over to a wall of shelving that housed some of Loki’s most loved texts. The first thud had her clenching her jaw, her teeth grinding together at the sound of the sheer and utter disrespect of her personal belongings, but she wasn’t inclined to play Hyde’s games right then. She looked up for the briefest of moments, silently shooting him a cold glare, before returning her gaze to the page in front of her.

Though, please know, it nearly killed her to ignore one of her old books being haphazardly tossed on the floor as if it meant nothing at all.

To Hyde, she supposed it didn’t. It was just an obstacle that stood in the way of what he wanted: her attention.

The second thud finally succeeded in capturing her attention, so much so that she promised not to speak to Hyde for an entire week if he knocked anymore of her books down. Threaten him with the one thing he wanted most, right? He was acting out to get her attention, because he wanted her to focus on him and entertain his whims, so threatening to withhold that for a week? He wouldn’t like that.

Though her threats, it seemed, did little to discourage him, as he challenged her demands by inching a few more volumes towards the edge of the shelf, threatening to drop them in their entirety to the floor. Her eye twitched and she did nothing to try and stop that.

She doesn’t move from her seat, but she does set her book aside. Emerald magic surrounds the next two books to tumble from the shelf, allowing them to levitate mid-air before impacting with the ground. The same energy appears around the two volumes already on the floor, carefully hoisting them up so the entire group of books can move to a little table beside Loki.

Her eyes, however--just as brightly intense as her magic--never left Hyde threatening to tumble more books over the edge.

“I am not going to reward you for pissing me off, Hyde. I’m not going to give you anything. I’m not going to make a bargain with you to not destroy my things because I’m not negotiating this. You’re being a right, proper arse. You don’t deserve nice things from me because you stopped holding my books hostage,” she snarled, clearly angry despite a tiny voice at the back of her mind telling her not to be. That’s what Hyde wanted, in reality. He so did seem to love getting off on the notion that Loki was angry with him.

She hadn’t quite figured out the best ways to get Hyde to stop when he got like this. Their relationship was still new enough that she was learning about him and he was learning about her in turn and while it would have been far more effective to just... grow upset with her lover, get sad, pout, maybe shed a tear or two, she hadn’t done that enough to establish a pattern of him really not liking it.

And she was oh-so protective of her beloved books, many of which were actually older than her and needed to be handled with care. Fortunately, Hyde hadn’t selected any issues that were too fragile to toss on the floor. If he had, she likely would have already been beating him.

She did, however, go the extra mile to move the rest of the books that Hyde pushed towards the edge, allowing them to float across the room and stack up on the table beside her along with the four he’d already disrespected. He hardly seemed to notice, as he was already charging across the room to where she sat, poised as elegantly and effortlessly as ever.

“You’d probably have an easier time getting me to pay attention to you if you weren’t purposefully trying to instigate a fight,” she murmured, pushing herself up so she could reach a hand up to cover his face. While her touch was soft due to how seriously she took skincare, the shove she gave him was powerful enough to force him back, giving her more than enough room to stand up so he wasn’t hovering over her anymore like some sort of predator about to pounce. 

Hunger and temptation burned in Hyde’s eyes, though. She’d seen it plenty of times before and it usually made her own blood boil. In a way, it did in this scenario as well. There was something so alluring about him purposefully trying to get her going that she found annoyingly attractive in the worst ways possible, but atop that shimmering desire was just blatant anger at him for disrespecting her things.

“I know you don’t give a damn about books, but if you give a damn about me, then you’re going to have to start respecting my possessions and what is important to me. You disrupting my studies isn’t going to make me want to go out with you and have a good time tonight, it just kind of makes me want to hit you, honestly.”

[aion-rsa]

Doctor Who Season 14 Wish-List: What We’d Like to See

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With the recent announcement that star Jodie Whittaker and showrunner Chris Chibnall will be departing Doctor Who following the next season, we have confirmation that Season 14 will be yet another opportunity to regenerate the long-running science fiction show. In that spirit, we reached out to the many Doctor Who viewers amongst our writers to get their personal fan perspectives on what they’d like to see from the next iteration of Who. Here’s what we came up with. Add your own wish-list items below…

Make the Doctor a Bit of a Bastard

My number one wish-list item for season 14 is I want the Doctor to be a bit of a bastard. Steven Moffat had his flaws, but one thing I loved was his interpretation of what the Doctor *is*. The way Moffat sees the Doctor is that there is this vast, ancient alien god, full of loneliness, grief, and rage that can burn out suns. And when it meets humans it pretends to be this fictional character called “the Doctor”, who is half idiot, half superhero (Of course, I think Moffat would also tell you that, though the Doctor might not know it, if you scratch the surface of the alien god behind the mask, you’ll find that deep down it is part idiot, half superhero).

The Doctor is your best friend, and that’s important, but also, sometimes the mask slips. The Doctor should be a bit scary as well as wonderful, and I don’t think Jodie Whittaker has had much chance to show that side of the character. She’s kind and clever and brave and heroic, but she should also get to bluster and be a massive egotist and look like an actual idiot. I hope her successor does get that. Chris Farnell

Vinay Patel as Showrunner

I don’t know if he wants the job, but writer Vinay Patel is my wish-list choice for the next showrunner of Doctor Who. Patel’s two Who episodes are not only among the most successful episodes in recent Who history, but succeed in different ways. With Season 11’s ‘Demons of the Punjab,’ Patel demonstrates that he is able to work outside the traditional Doctor Who formula, giving us a historical episode that challenges the colonialist framework arguably written into the DNA of the show. With Season 12’s ‘Fugitive of the Judoon,’ Patel was asked to incorporate many, many different plot elements into a single episode, without losing the focus or heart of the story—and he pulls it off. Doctor Who has made a big deal about recent strides in representation both in front of the camera, and in directorial roles—and for good reason—but we have never had a person of color in the most creatively influential role of all: head writer/showrunner. The job of showrunner is much larger than the job of an episodic writer, encompassing producer responsibilities in addition writing choices, and I would love to see what Patel could do with it. Or, if he doesn’t want the showrunner job, find him a good non-writing executive producer to support him in the role of head writer. Kayti Burt

More Solo Doctor Episodes

It’s rare to find the Doctor alone. But some of NuWho’s most memorable episodes―’Midnight’, ‘Waters of Mars’, ‘The Lodger’, and ‘Heaven Sent’ spring to mind―have had a conspicuous lack of companions. These companion-lite episodes run the gamut from comedic to exceedingly dark. But all of them benefit from the increased story-telling space created when the Doctor flies solo. Companions serve an important function in Doctor Who. They are audience stand-ins who interpret, question, and ultimately humanize the Doctor. Taking them away, then, forces both writers and viewers to re-learn who the Doctor is through the eyes of strangers. No companions also, from a practical stand-point, means fewer obligatory characters to juggle in NuWho’s tight 45 minute run-time. The writers are free to spend more time on the one-off casts of a given episode, investing us in the mundane struggles of an ordinary bloke who resembles his couch or illuminating the humanity of a shuttle of tourists before it is ripped away. Of course, Doctor Who without companions wouldn’t be Doctor Who. But sometimes a companion-lite episode is the perfect way to remind us why we keep watching. Zoe Kaiser

Give Big Finish a Crack of the Whip

They may have begun their contributions to the Doctor Who canon with a series of niche audio adventures during the show’s wilderness years, but today Big Finish are a lynchpin of the show’s expanded universe. Playing a pivotal role in 2020’s ambitious multimedia epic Time Lord Victorious, and then squeezing into their garden sheds to keep producing content during the pandemic, the team have repeatedly proven they’ve got the skill and imagination to make the most that all of time and space have to offer. 

Just imagine what the Big Finish team could do if handed the reins for a run of adventures you could actually see. Whether it took the form of a fresh start with the next official Doctor or a selection box of old regenerations romping across reality, a palate-cleansing series of ‘new’ writers giving it their all on Saturday night telly before the regular format resumed could be just the thing to reignite the interest of fans whose attention has waned in recent years. (Also, they’ve got Eccleston’s phone number now. Just saying…) Chris Allcock

More Non-UK Episode Settings

I would like Doctor Who in Season 14 to use the TARDIS to see the Earth’s past and present beyond the UK. In the Classic era, many episodes both modern and period were set in the UK purely out of budget necessity. In addition, the early mandate for the series to teach children about the past also meant a heavy focus on Classic Who to cover many areas of UK history. Modern Doctor Who has filmed episodes or scenes in South Africa, New York, Spain, and Utah. There’s so much unexplored history ripe for alien meddling outside of the UK, especially including Asia, Africa, and Central/South America. The series has mentioned several worldwide alien invasions in modern times and the past. Why not have the Silurians wreak havoc in ancient Nigeria? Why do the Cybermen always appear in London first and not Tokyo? If Classic Who can use a soundstage to mimic the Aztec Empire, what excuse does modern Doctor Who have with multiple times the budget, greater access to research resources, and production technology? Hopefully, by Season 14, most pandemic restrictions would have been lifted to allow international filming to resume. There’s so much human history and modern-day experiences outside of the UK. Fans love reading up on the real history and/or modern references to plot events. The Doctor has seen the whole of human existence, Doctor Who is overdue for reflecting more of this. Amanda Rae-Prescott

Retcon ‘The Timeless Child’ Revelation

I understand why Chris Chibnall was seduced by the narrative possibilities of ‘The Timeless Children’. Now that we know the Doctor has lived countless more lives than the 13 (ish) we’ve come to accept – many of them hidden behind a mind-lock following service to a secret Time Lord sect – there exists the tantalising prospect of a hidden Doctor lingering just over every horizon.

If we concede that it was a master-stroke for Russell T Davies to have introduced the Time War, an event that coloured the first of the modern-era Doctors in heavy shades of guilt and grit and regret, then it’s tempting to conclude that these more recent revelations will serve a similar function; that the Doctor’s seismic re-reckoning of their sense of themselves will unlock reservoirs of dramatic tension.  Except… Well, there’s the old adage that says that if anything can be anything, then nothing means anything, and I think that applies here. A tweak is fine. But ‘The Timeless Children’ is a bite too big, a cheat, a rug-pull for the audience and character both.

Red Dwarf, too, plays hard and loose with canon, but if co-creators Grant and Naylor had decided to continue their saga with the mind-bending events of ‘Back to Reality’ cemented as fact, then Red Dwarf wouldn’t have been Red Dwarf anymore. We can only hope that a future showrunner, or even Chris Chibnall himself, is clever enough to ret-con the events of ‘The Timeless Children’ as nothing more than the cunning malfeasance of The Master. Jamie Andrew

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Doctor Who: BBC Confirms Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall To Leave in 2022

By Louisa Mellor

Make it Scary. Properly Scary

Every time I talk about Doctor Who with my mum, the phrase ‘hiding behind the sofa’ comes up. Though I am a die-hard horror fan, I too had my share of – not hiding – but having nightmares after episodes of my generation’s Who – namely about the Sylvester McCoy era Cheetah People (coming to get me in my bathroom) and the Psychic Circus (my long-standing fear of circuses, clowns and reality TV talent contests was born here). While NuWho has definitely had some good scary ones – ‘Family of Blood’, ‘The Empty Child’, ‘Blink’ – we haven’t had a properly chilling arc in a while. And it does need to be an arc – setting up something terrifying and then defeating it in the space of 45 minutes and then moving along, doesn’t really cut it. I’d love something like ‘The Greatest Show in the Galaxy’ story, which gave us the Psychic Circus and ran for four episodes. Those sofas aren’t going to hide behind themselves. Rosie Fletcher

Writing That Better Reflects the Doctor’s Identity

Perhaps naively, I’m assuming that the Fourteenth Doctor won’t automatically revert to being a white, cis male in the wake of Jodie Whittaker’s departure. (Fingers crossed, I guess!) But, whether the next Doctor turns out to be another woman, a POC, a member of the LGBTQ community, or some combination of the above, I hope that Doctor Who realizes we need to see actual stories that reflect that identity. 

During the Chibnall era, the show has been largely content to write a female Doctor as though that character’s experience wasn’t terribly different from any other incarnation of the Time Lord, with little focus on how historical sexism or the general misogyny of society might impact her. There were a few obvious exceptions to this – Season 11’s ‘The Witchfinders’ comes to mind – but, for the most part, Doctor Who hasn’t seemed terribly interested in exploring how a female Doctor might necessarily have to move through the universe differently than her male counterparts did. (I mean, the idea that random men throughout time and space would just… allow a strange woman to take charge and tell them what to do feels less realistic than the existence of the TARDIS). For our next non-traditional Doctor, I desperately want to see them navigate the world differently because the world reacts differently to their identity, rather than simply pretend there’s no real difference between Thirteen and the other incarnations that have come before her. Lacy Baugher

Bring Back a Classic Companion

It’s unlikely to the point of impossibility that we’ll see a Classic Doctor returning full time to the TARDIS for another crack at the cosmos, complete with age-worn face. But there’s nothing prohibiting a classic companion from rejoining Team TARDIS. Sarah Jane’s reunion with the Doctor in ‘School Reunion’, alongside David Tennant’s Tenth incarnation, provided goose-pimples galore, and kick-started a spin-off show that sealed Elizabeth Sladen’s reputation as one of Doctor Who‘s eternal treasures.

It would be great to see Jo Grant or Jamie or Ace meeting a new Doctor, and adjusting to another new face, while we, the audience, would get to see both how the companions’ lives had changed sans the Doctor, and how a classic companion would look filtered through our modern sensibilities. It could be fun, soulful, and touching. It would also introduce a new generation of Whovians to the people without whom the show wouldn’t have lasted as long as it has. Jamie Andrew

Make Kids Want to Play it in the Playground

This is a tricky ask. Children’s TV habits have moved a long way from the time you could stop a random child in the street and they’d be able to accurately recite the BBC One weekday schedule with allowances for interruptions by the chancellor’s budget and Wimbledon. It’s a different world. Less ‘Watch with Mother’, more ‘Watch a 31-year-old Danish man play Minecraft while also watching 2020’s Funniest TikTok Fails and liking a video of a Year 10 vomiting frozen honey.’ Capturing kids’ attention is hard, but if Doctor Who is going to have a future anything like its past, it needs to ignite a young audience. It needs to be doodled on pencil cases. It needs to transform airing cupboards into TARDISes and multi-colour Biros into Sonic Screwdrivers. Children need to careen around the playground yelling ‘Exterminate!’ and imagining themselves as the cleverest and the bravest, an alien with two hearts and multiple universes at their feet. It has to keep on making them feel bigger on the inside. Louisa Mellor 

​​Add a Non-Contemporary and/or Non-Human Companion

In NuWho, the main companion character has often been situated as the audience surrogate. Because of this, Doctor Who writers have always chosen to make the character our human contemporary, which is to say from our own time and also from Earth—more specifically, the U.K. While there have been exceptions to this rule, from Nardole to Victorian Clara, they have always been fleeting and/or tertiary characters, rather than a central character. Classic Who has a history of much more temporally and planetarily diverse companions. For example, Second Doctor companion Victoria was snatched from 1866 England by the Daleks before the Doctor and Jamie saved her and she continued on the TARDIS with them. Elsewhen, Fourth Doctor companion Romana was a Time Lord from Gallifrey, like the Doctor. After so many seasons of contemporary, British Earthers traveling in the TARDIS, I would love to see Doctor Who get a bit more creative with one or more of their main companions in Season 14. If undertaken earnestly, it would be a simple way of challenging the show’s storytellers to explore new cultures and/or dynamics across multiple story arcs. Kayti Burt

Stop Looking Inwards and Attract a Wider Audience

Much has been made, in this ongoing culture war that grinds against our minds 24/7, of the idea that Doctor Who is somehow a woke show now, as if the show hasn’t addressed political, social and environmental concerns since its first story, or fan forums weren’t simmering with threads unironically titled ‘The Gay Agenda’ in 2005. There are some obvious differences now: firstly the aforementioned cultural shift whereby anything remotely progressive is an affront that must be removed, and secondly the fact the show now has a female lead and more Black and Asian actors in the main cast.

Another important difference to, say, Russell T. Davies or Barry Letts’ approach, is that the writing is noticeably patchier. The concepts in the stories are not necessarily bad, but there’s both a cynical edge and a feeling that the characters are defined more by trauma or disability than beliefs or behaviour. The issue is not that Doctor Who is suddenly woke, it’s that the writing isn’t strong enough often enough.

So what I want for Doctor Who to do next is make me want to watch again, but ideally to continue with what worked with Chibnall’s approach – and despite my criticisms I believe there are successes here. The show should maintain all the elements that would annoy Piers Morgan, but also it needs to reach out to a wider audience as it did in 2005. Much as I enjoyed Steven Moffat’s era, it began to look inwards to the show’s mythology more often than it did outwards, and this needs to be reversed. Andrew Blair

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Doctor Who Season 13 will air on BBC One and BBC America this autumn.

The post Doctor Who Season 14 Wish-List: What We’d Like to See appeared first on Den of Geek.

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