#on a side note toddlers are actually harder to draw than they look

[feliciadraws]

A full view of Waka and Mei's kids, human/Moon Tribe hybrid twins Rin and Yumi! I had already drawn them with Nippon's number one babysitter Ammy, but I figured that they needed a proper full view! Being Waka and Mei's children, they're half human, half Moon Tribe, and each inherited a different degree of human/Moon Tribe DNA from each parent.

Rin, the boy on the left, is the more human-looking of the two, and has Mei's physical traits but Waka's cheekier, more outgoing personality, and he's the more energetic, naughtier of the two. Yumi, the girl on the right, is the more Moon Tribe twin, inheriting Waka's physical appearance but has Mei's quieter, more gentle and reserved personality. Because of her blonde hair, Yumi likely has more Moon Tribe blood in her than her brother Rin, and possibly inherited Waka's clairvoyance, too! I have alot of ideas for these two, mainly concerning Ammy babysitting them but also of what they might become when they grow up!

[crazy4dragons]

Motherhood

HTTYD Creative Week 2021

Day 2: Questions 

While Hiccup is away, Astrid begins to question whether she’s a good mother. Rating: G.

“Why?”

Astrid rolled her eyes as Zephyr questioned her instructions for the third time in a row. “Because you can’t leave your dirty dishes on the table.”

“But why?”

“For the love of Thor, Zephyr, just put your dishes in the sink!” snapped Astrid, lifting a fussy Nuffink out of his high chair and grabbing his favorite blanket.

Shrugging, the little girl climbed down from her seat and placed her bowl and spoon on the counter.

“That’s not the sink,” Astrid reprimanded as she turned to walk out of the kitchen.

“Why do I need to put them in the sink, Mama? They’re okay right here.’

Biting back a curse, the blonde carried Nuffink to her bedroom and placed him in his crib. “There you go,

little one. Enjoy your nap.” She bent down to press a kiss against his forehead. “I love you.”

Whimpering, the toddler reached out a hand towards his mother.

“Fine,” sighed Astrid, picking up Nuffink and settling him against her chest as she climbed onto her mattress.

Having Hiccup away at tribe meetings had always been rough for her, but having him away while she had two children under five to care for, one of whom wouldn’t stop asking questions about everything, made his trips even harder.

“Mama, where are you?” Zephyr’s small voice drifted up the stairs.

Cautiously sliding off the bed, taking care not to disturb Nuffink, Astrid shuffled into the hall. “I’m sitting with your brother,” she explained in a hushed voice.

“Well, I’m bored. I want you to play dragons with me.”

“I can’t, Zeph,” sighed Astrid, rubbing Nuffink’s back as he stirred.

The little girl crossed her arms over her chest. “Daddy always plays dragons with me when I ask,” she insisted. “Why can’t you?”

Astrid struggled to suppress her emotions. She’d always had a feeling that Hiccup was Zephyr’s favorite, but hearing her daughter actually compare her to him hurt, even if she was only four years old.

“Why?” repeated Zephyr.

“Mama’s busy,” the blonde explained, keeping her voice steady. “Maybe I can play in a little while, after Nuffink wakes up.”

Frowning, Zephyr plopped onto the couch and folded her arms over her chest.

As Astrid walked back into her room, a wave of guilt washed over her. She was perfectly okay with the kids when they were babies; that was the easy phase. All she had to do was feed them, cuddle them, and change their diapers. But with Zephyr, she almost felt as if she didn’t know how to be a good mother anymore, now that there was more to it than nursing and snuggling.

“At least you’re still easy,” she murmured to Nuffink, who was still comfortably resting on her chest.

…

Two days later, Hiccup arrived home, weary from his journey, but happy to be reunited with his family. While he liked getting a chance to catch up with old friends like Dagur and Alvin, Astrid and the kids were the most important people in his life, and he felt a sense of emptiness when they were apart.

“How was everything while I was away?” he asked, kissing Astrid’s lips before lifting both Zephyr and Nuffink into his arms.

“Mama didn’t play dragons with me!” Zephyr complained, wrapping her arms around Hiccup’s neck.

Astrid sighed. “It was…okay,” she answered, pretending to ignore her daughter’s comment.

“That okay didn’t sound very convincing,” Hiccup began as he walked upstairs with his wife, each of them lugging one of his travel bags.

“Am I a bad mother?”

“What?” Eyes widening, the Chief raised an eyebrow. “Why would you be a bad mother?”

Pushing her hair out of her face, Astrid sank onto the bed. “I just…you’re so good with the kids…and sensitive…and patient…especially with Zephyr, and I can hardly balance spending enough time with both of them and running the island when you’re not here.”

Hiccup eased himself down beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Hey, just because parenting is a little harder for you, doesn’t mean you’re not good at it.”

The blonde didn’t reply.

“Look at my mom. I don’t know if she ever told you, but she had a hard time with me when I was a baby. That’s why she didn’t bring me with her when she left; she was afraid she wouldn’t be a good enough mother to parent me by herself. But I’m close to her now, and she certainly hasn’t been doing a bad job since she came back.”

“I don’t know,” Astrid shrugged. “I just feel like I’m failing. I mean, Zephyr clearly hates me already and she’s only four.”

“She doesn’t hate you,” smiled Hiccup. “She might act like a spoiled Daddy’s girl sometimes, but she doesn’t hate you.”

“Yeah, right.”

“I’m serious,” he insisted, pressing a kiss against her cheek. “Zeph loves you. Both the kids do. And you’re an amazing mom.”

Astrid rested her head against his shoulder. “But if there was a contest, you’d still win parent of the year.”

“Don’t say that. We’d both win.” Hiccup grinned. “And I’ll talk to Zephyr about how she’s been treating you. Maybe she just needs a little nudge in the right direction.”

…

The next morning, Astrid awoke to the smell of her favorite breakfast — scrambled eggs with cheese and fried potatoes. Climbing out of bed, she put on a cozy robe and shuffled downstairs to see Hiccup standing in the kitchen with Zephyr.

“Is today a special occasion or something?” the blonde asked, her eyes narrowing.

“Today is Mama Appreciation Day,” announced Hiccup.

“And I made you a drawing!” Zephyr chimed in, running to her room. A moment later, she returned with a sheet of paper, which she proudly handed to Astrid.

Astrid studied the drawing. Although it was largely composed of scribbles and stick figures, she could still make out the image of herself hugging a smiling Zephyr. “Good job, sweetie!” she complimented.

“Turn it around!” the little girl shouted. “Daddy helped me write you a note!”

Flipping the page to the other side, Astrid read:

You are the best Mama in the archipelago. I love you.

Zephyr

“Babe,” Astrid began cautiously, turning towards her husband. “Did she come up with this, or did you?”

Hiccup paused. “I uh…I’d rather not answer that, milady. I —”

“You are the best Mama!” Zephyr interrupted, flinging her little arms around Astrid’s waist. “I don’t want to have any other Mama but you.”

The blonde felt her heart melt as she lifted Zephyr up and settled her on her hip. “And I don’t want to have any other daughter but you,” she smiled. “I’d also love to play dragons with you after breakfast.”

Zephyr grew thoughtful. “Actually, I want to go axe-throwing.”

Astrid’s eyes widened as she cast Hiccup a puzzled glance.

The Chief shrugged. “She is your child.”

“Yes, she is,” Astrid said, hugging Zephyr close. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

[svnflowervol666]

An interview during self-isolation with Zane Lowe (Harry Styles x fem!Reader)

Word Count: 2.2k

Author’s Note: I’ve gotten a ton of asks to the tune of this scenario - about what a quarantine video with Harry and his family would look like. I put as many of them together as I could for you all! Hope you enjoy and it’s not too confusing, as this isn’t my typical writing style, but I tried my best to make it worth your while! Take care and TPWK.

“Harry, can ye’ hear me alright?” Harry heard Zane Lowe’s voice fill his right ear as he readjusted his headphones.

“Yeah, I can hear ya,” he responded, running his fingers through his hair once everything was situated and his laptop was balanced perfectly on his knee.

“I’ve just been video calling and chatting it up with everyone on how they’re navigating the pandemic, so I’m very thankful you’ve agreed to join in.”

“‘S no problem. Thank you f’ having me.”

“Oh!” Zane interjected his own strain of thought, “I see you’ve brought a special guest for us today,” he said when Harry’s screen finally focused and he was able to see everything on Harry’s end.

Harry chuckled, the dimples on either corner of his mouth growing wider at the mention of the sleeping body on his chest that’s got a fuzzy blanket tucked into their sides and draped over Harry’s upper half.

“I have,” Harry agreed, “Though he’s not gonna be worth much. Being a two-year-old is exhausting apparently.”

He gave the toddler a few gentle pats on the back and continued to look at Zane through the webcam.

“This is your son, right?” Zane asked.

“Who? Him?” Harry asked, nodding his head in the direction of his child, “Nah. Found him on the street.”

Both men laughed, but Harry tried to lower his volume as to not wake up his son.

“Well, he looks an awful bit like you t’ be a stray, don’t ye’ think?”

“I suppose the curls are quite convincing, aren’t they?” Harry sighed, playfully rolling his eyes.

“What’s brought your bubs along with you for this interview?”

“Erm,” Harry thought, wondering if he should be talking this much about his personal life but ultimately deciding it wasn’t too invasive, “Y/N’s been pretty tired lately, so I’m just trying to keep him out of her hair so she can rest. He’s going through a phase where he’s very clingy right now so he’d probably be crying f’ me at some point if I left him in his room.”

“Oh, that’s right!” it suddenly dawned on Zane, “You two are expecting again, aren’t you?

“We are,” Harry smiled softly yet proudly into the screen, “‘s kinda scary for us right now, but we’re hoping everything is cleared up before it’s time.”

“Yeah, yeah. I was just about to say right now’s probably not the greatest time to be havin’ a baby.”

“Well, the baby’s not due for a few more months so I think everything’ll be alright, but it’s still just kinda nerve-wracking ye’ know?”

“Absolutely,” Zane added, “This has all got t’ be tough on your guys; having to self-isolate with a toddler plus having one on the way.”

“Ehh, it’s not so bad,” Harry countered, rubbing his eyes with his knuckles as he spoke. “We’ve been spending a lot of time t’gether, which is pretty great. I just got done with all of the album promo, so I’d already been gone for a while. Plus, I was about to leave for tour for like a month so we were kinda sad about having to say goodbye before, but now I don’t have to. We talk to our families a lot and keep in touch with everyone pretty regularly so we don’t feel like we’re going too crazy.”

“Good! That’s good.”

Harry nodded in agreement.

“I was going to ask you about tour actually. You’ve pushed the European leg of your Love on Tour to next year, is that correct?”

“Correct.”

“That must be hard for you, I’m sure. I bet you were so ready to get back on the road and to have it all pulled out from under ye’ was probably not the greatest feeling.”

“I mean, it’s obviously disappointing, but like, in the grand scheme of things, it’s not the most important thing in the world. But I think everyone kinda understands that there’s not anything you can do about it and ye’ have to do what you can to keep everyone safe, ya know?”

“For sure,” Zane nodded, readjusting the hat on his head.

“Plus, it gives you time to practice doesn’t it?”

Harry’s belly shook as he laughed softly.

“Definitely gives us plenty of time to be prepar-”

Harry stopped in his tracks and looked down at his son who was still napping away, lifting his hand up from where it had been rested on his tiny bum.

“Everything alright?” Zane asked Harry after he was still quiet for a few seconds and his eyes were as wide as saucers.

“Uhh, yeah,” Harry stuttered as a noticeable heat climbed to his cheeks, “Think m’ son’s just farted on me in his sleep.”

This made Zane laugh even harder than he had before, clutching his chest while Harry remained embarrassed that his son had just passed gas on him during his first interview.

The commotion seemed to stir Harry’s son from his sleep. His pudgy legs began to stretch against Harry’s chest and his balled-up fists reached up to rub at his closed eyes. Harry seemed to sense some trepidation, like his son was going to start fussing at any given moment, so he quickly began bouncing his small body against his knee to soothe him and shushed him quietly in his ear. Zane didn’t draw much attention to it, but he couldn’t help but swoon over how easily Harry’s son settled back down.

Harry whispered, “’s alright, bubby. You’re alright,” before kissing the top of his curls gently, no doubt making the viewers lose their minds at home with how gentle he was being towards his boy.

“So your boy farts himself awake, huh?” Zane joked.

“Wouldn’t be the first time. He’s an absolute mess,” Harry added.

“Does he take after you or Y/N?”

Clearly, neither of them were interested in talking about music or tour anymore. Harry’s son had stolen the show, and he wasn’t even conscious.

“A little bit of both I’d say. He’s extremely kind and caring like Y/N, but loves to mess around like me. Can’t really say he got any of Y/N’s looks, though.”

“Absolutely not,” Zane chuckled into his mic, “That one’s all you.”

Harry laughed again, rubbing the tip of his nose with the palm of his hand out of habit.

“Is he excited to be a big brother?”

“Ehh, I think he kinda gets the idea, but not really,” Harry tilted his hand back and forth to symbolize the fact that his toddler could just barely come to grips with there being another baby in his mum’s belly.

“He knows there’s ‘something in mummy’s tummy,’“ Harry noted using air quotes, “And he like, gives Y/N’s stomach kisses all of the time because we tell him to and he sees me do it, but I don’t really think he’s come to grips with it.”

“Well, that makes sense,” Zane responded, “He’s only two.”

“Right, right,” Harry agreed, “But he’s, like, super cuddly and loves his stuffed animals and stuff, so I don’t think he’s gonna have a hard time at all really.”

Just when Zane was going to try to get back on topic with his prepared list of questions he had written up for Harry that didn’t involve his son, there was a commotion on Harry’s end that occurred somewhere beyond the view of the camera.

It was the sound of a door shutting a feet padding against hardwood steps.

“Harry!” a voice called out.

“Have you seen my laptop charger? I’m trying to FaceTime Gem- Oh,” the voice stopped.

“Sorry, baby,” Harry spoke above the laptop screen to whoever had just walked into the room, “Couldn’t find mine and I had t’ talk t’ Zane.”

“Which Zane?”

“Is that Y/N I hear?” Zane asked Harry.

Harry laughed at his wife’s words, quickly specifying that it was Zane Lowe and not his former bandmate.

“Yes, it is Y/N. She’s awoken from her beauty sleep it appears.”

The camera wasn’t able to pick up the way Y/N rolled her eyes at Harry.

“Gimme one of those,” Y/N demanded, holding her hand out for the other earbud that Harry wasn’t wearing so she could join in on his conversation with Zane.

Harry swung the free earbud around his chest with his free hand as to not disturb their son, smiling smugly at his wife while she settled onto the sofa next to him and cuddled into his side.

“Hello, gorgeous,” Zane greeted her.

“Hello, handsome,” Y/N responded, “How come you never call to talk to me anymore? Why do you only care about this nobhead?”

She playfully shoved Harry’s shoulder, but not hard enough to actually knock him sideways.

“He does have the number one album in the country right now. Kinda makes sense to check in on him now, dunnit?”

“And I’m his baby mama, so where’s my praise for carrying his little spawns?”

“You truly are a saint for tha’ one. I won’t lie.”

Harry feigned offense but failed to hide the smile that tugged on the corners of his lips.

“I’m sitting right here!” he scoffed.

“We know, love,” Y/N cooed him as she looked over at him and brushed his curls that had fallen onto his forehead back into his mess of hair. 

“How are you doing, though, Y/N? We talked a bit about you while you were away. Harry said you’re strugglin’ a bit?”

“Umm, I mean, it’s just normal pregnancy stuff,” she dismissed his qualms as she absentmindedly stroked her protruding belly that was just barely in the frame, “I’m at the point where everything hurts all of the time and everything Harry does annoys the piss out of me, but other than that I’m pretty much normal.”

“Goodness. He didn’t tell me that part,” Zane chuckled, “Please elaborate.”

“Okay, well first of all-,” Y/N started.

“Why are you acting like you were just waiting f’ someone to ask you that question?” Harry forced through laughter.

“Because I’ve got a lot to say!” she exclaimed.

“You don’t pick up your dirty clothes, you leave your tea mugs all around the house, and you and your son eat all of my bread!”

“I do not eat all of the bread!” Harry started to playfully argue with his wife.

“I caught you sneaking into the pantry at midnight eating bread right out of the bag, Harold.”

“Well, what were you doin’ awake in the kitchen at midnight anyway, hmm?”

“I’m pregnant. I’m allowed to be hungry every twenty minutes. You’ve got no excuse.”

Harry sighed in defeat, meanwhile, Zane sat back and enjoyed listening to the two of them bickering like children. 

“Sounds like the quarantine might getting t’ the both of you, huh?”

“Oh, no,” Y/N dismissed Zane, “We’re always like this.”

Just then, Harry felt the weight distribution on his chest shift, and saw a pair of emerald green eyes identical to his open and look back and forth between him and Y/N. His pudgy cheeks were flushed a warm, crimson color and the t-shirt he had taken a nap in was tugged over to the side from how well he had slept.

“Well, hello there, bubby. Nice of you t’ join us,” Harry spoke calmly to his son that was in the middle of waking up, gently brushing his fingers along the side of his face.

“Dear god. He looks just like you, Harry,” Zane said in disbelief.

This made Harry blush and hide his face in his son’s plush blanket, and Y/N looked lovingly down at her two boys.

“I know he does,” Harry confirmed, “Poor thing.”

Y/N rolled her eyes at Harry’s comment. As if that was meant to be an insult.

“Hung-y,” the three of them heard the toddler mumble.

“What’s that, lovie?” Y/N perked up.

“I hung-y” he repeated, his arms outstretched for his mother to which she happily accepted.

The boy crawled right over Harry towards Y/N, his foot sinking deep into Harry’s gut and making him grunt in reaction. 

“You’re hungry?” Y/N asked, “You want some lunch, bubs?”

He nodded into Y/N’s shoulder where he had tucked himself away, clearly still in the mood to be loved on and cuddled.

“Well, let’s go make you something to eat then. What do you want? A banana?”

“Bread!” cheered the two-year-old, which earned a laugh from everyone in the room and an eye-roll from Y/N.

“Of course, you want bread. Wouldn’t expect anything less from your father’s child.”

“Why are you bullying me?” Harry fired back.

“Because you’re eating all of my damn bread!” Y/N yelled before scooping their son up from the couch and teetering out of frame into the kitchen.

“Alright,” started Zane, “Seems like it’s time for me to leave you three alone. Thanks for stopping in t’ chat.”

Harry chortled, readjusting his headphone one last time to sign off.

“Thanks again f’ havin’ me. Sorry my family crashed your interview.”

“It’s no bother at all, mate. ‘S actually quite refreshing seeing ye’ like this. I’m sure everyone watching would agree. Reminds us all that you’re human and not some robot with perfect hair and the voice of an angel.”

Harry hid his face in his hands, blushing for what felt like the thousandth time during this video call. 

“I hope you lot continue to stay safe and healthy through all of this.”

“Thank you so much. You as well,” Harry added.

“Of course. Tell Y/N I’ll ring her up soon.”

“Will do,” Harry nodded, “If she doesn’t kill me f’ asking her t’ make me some toast first.”

[free-pancakes]

Don’t Worry, I’m Here

So I ended up writing a part 2 to this

And crossposted both chapters to AO3

sorry for all the recent angst, i blame the recent chapter lol

Summary: Alternate epilogue-like ending if SNK chapter 138 didn’t occur

(italicized portions reference chapter 1!)

Chapter 2

“It’s your turn,” Erwin said with a warm smile. “I’m thinking they all need you right now.”

“Maaaaan, this is a lot of work isn’t it? Why did he ask me to watch over everyone! I thought I’d finally get to take a goddamn break when I got here…”

“Stop joking around, Hange, we all know you’re happy to do it,” Mike said. “And at least he can’t smell you when you cross over—can’t believe you alone could stink up the whole afterlife,” he teased.

Hange playfully shoved Mike into Erwin as they burst into laughter. She smiled big at the both of them. “See you morons later!” she yelled back.

“Hange-san, don’t forget to check on Connie and Niccolo for me! Let me know how good Connie’s pranks have gotten, and if Niccolo has gotten any better at tolerating him,” Sasha added.

“Of course, dear,” Hange said with a smile. She waved back at the three as she opened the door to go see everyone back home.

— She breathed in the cool, summer morning air and walked down a cobblestone path in town, smelling the decadent aroma of bread lingering over the bakery just ahead. She peered through the window, seeing Connie poking holes through bread dough, making something that looked like a little mask for himself, squishing it onto his face. Niccolo turned around the corner holding a box of pastries and threw them straight into the air, croissants showering down from the ceilings. “Connie, stop startling me like this!” he whined as he looked at all the pastries now all over the place, a massacre of flaky crumbs on the floor. The sound of Connie’s laugh was music to Hange’s ears. She took another whiff of the sweet smell and laughed as she watched Connie sadly pick up the croissants while Niccolo lectured him—“They’re doing well, Sasha,” she whispered to herself.

As she continued on her stroll, she saw Onyankopon walking alongisde Pieck. After hurrying over to walk alongside the two, she waved hello at both of them—sometimes she forgot they couldn’t see her whenever she came to visit.

“That’s so sweet, Onyankopon,” Pieck said as he flipped through a small book in his hand. “Oh, it wasn’t just me—without Armin I would have never gotten this all to work out.” Hange’s eyes glimmered with happy tears—she was so proud of her successor. She wanted to see him, but unfortunately it would probably have to wait for her next trip down here.

“I’m sure Hange-san would have loved it, no way we couldn’t publish all her hard work on titan research. Something that generations can learn about—real truth in books for them to read, to understand why they all dedicated their hearts,” he said, balling his other hand into a fist, gently tapping his chest with it, right over his own heart. Hange placed her hand on his shoulder and squeezed.

“And what do you have there?” he asked Pieck with a curious look in his eye. “Oh, just another record for Levi,” she said as she ran her hand over the smooth case. "I think he’d like this album.” Hange whispered a small thank you right by Pieck’s ear, happy that she continued to help Levi, and that their little record player was being put to good use.

Onyankopon patted Pieck on the back. “Well, please send the Captain my regards, and let him know that Hange’s texts should be published soon!” Pieck gave him a little smile and waved as she walked towards the forest path. Hange was about to follow her to see the little grump, but she stopped herself, sad to wait a little longer to see him. “Not yet, a few more I have to check on first,” she said to herself as she turned left, heading in the opposite direction from Pieck.

A familiar, warm voice echoed behind her, “Hi Pieck!”

Hange spun around to see Jean and Mikasa walking up from the forest path passing right by Pieck. "Just the people she was looking for!" Hange exclaimed, and smiled warmly watching her favorite little pair walk hand-in-hand.

“Date night I’m assuming?” Pieck asked. Jean blushed, scratched the back of his head, and responded with a nervous chuckle. Mikasa smiled back at him and left a little kiss on his cheek. “Yes we are, Pieck,” she said with a shy smile. “Are you visiting the Captain?”

“Yes, heading that way now. Are the kids with Levi?” Pieck asked excitedly.

“Absolutely, and Historia’s son as well!” Jean said.

Hange couldn’t help but feel overcome with emotion watching the scene. She was so happy to see them all happy, alive, and well. As the group parted ways, Hange followed Jean and Mikasa up a winding path, snaking up the green grassy hills just beyond the edge of the town.

“A graveyard?” Hange asked aloud, both hands instinctively gripping at both sides of her head. “That’s your date night?? Jean, what are you doing?? This is not what I taught you!” She tried grabbing at his shirt to turn them right around. “This isn’t even an Ackerman-related issue, this is just common sense, you idiot!” She ran around them in a frenzy, so distracted that she didn’t even realize who they were actually trying to visit.

“Thanks, Jean. Sorry to ask you for the detour. I know our reservations are—“

Jean quietly pushed a small bouquet of sunflowers into her hands, and stared into her eyes, his expression telling her that he wanted to be here too. Mikasa gave him a quick peck on the cheek and she placed the flowers down onto the grass as they sat down together, knees bent and elbows resting on them. He wrapped his arm around Mikasa as they stared at the headstone, Hange’s name etched neatly into the rock.

“These were her favorite, yknow?”

“I know.”

The wind whistled by their ears, leaving cool kisses on the tops of their heads, bringing them a moment of sweet relief from the heat as the sun began to rise higher into the sky.

“Sometimes, I feel like she never left,” Jean whispered.

Hange sat behind the two of them, arms encasing them in her embrace, and kissed the tops of their heads. She smiled at Jean’s words—“I never did,” she said softly into their ears. She tried to wipe the tears from Mikasa’s eyes with her sleeve. “So don’t be sad.”

Time was almost up, so Hange hurried her way down the path, and stole one last glance at the two. She smiled when she saw Jean lay his head on Mikasa’s shoulder. She couldn’t wait to do the same with the other Ackerman on her mind.

She stared at the little cabin, pangs of heartache clawing at her chest—her one and only regret. But the pain melted away as she heard the sound of children’s laughter escaping through the open window. She walked in to find a little boy and a little girl stumbling around, toddlers still getting used to their legs, their little minds still figuring out how fast they could go before falling over. Her heart melted as she watched the two.

She wondered where Levi was, but he didn’t keep her waiting—he never did. He walked through the doorway of the kitchen into the room where the two kids were running around, holding two mugs of tea. He then walked out onto the front porch and set one of the teas down next to him, steam rising from the cup, drawing Hange towards it with its familiar aroma. Just the way she liked it.

She turned to Levi, looking him up and down, drinking in every bit of his appearance, from every wrinkle in his white, button-up shirt to every strand of hair on his head. She laughed as she counted a few grey hairs peeking through the deep sea of black, and gently ran her hand through this hair. He looked rested, a rare sight for her to see, and nothing could make her happier. She left kisses on his cheek and wrapped her arms around him—she never wanted to let go.

Sunlight wrapped around Levi’s body like a hug, the cool breeze softly ruffled his hair and left cool kisses on his face—sweet relief in the summer heat. “Thanks, Hange,” he thought. He pressed his fingers up to his face, feeling the soft, smooth fabric of her eye patch covering his right eye and smiled.

“You’re welcome, shorty,” she whispered as she held onto him tightly.

As he went back inside, she followed him and sat down right next to him as he pulled out his little journal.

“My notes?”

She stared at Levi, his eyes filled with happiness as he read over every inside joke she scribbled into the margins—she was a little embarrassed about him reading all of that, but overall happy nonetheless.

The two toddlers suddenly jumped up onto his lap breaking him out of his trance. “Uncle Levi, can you please tell us a story??” they chimed together, staring at him with cute little puppy-dog eyes. He nodded.

“Yay!!!” They yelled in unison. They both sat on either side of him on the couch and stared up at him with eager eyes.

Hange sat right next to the three of them, ready to hear Levi’s story—she wondered what he’d come up with. She was ready to laugh at the inevitable constipated look on his face as he tried to conjure up a story for them.

“Once upon a time there were two best friends. They were the strongest heroes everyone knew. They climbed giant walls and looked at the vast lands in front of them from the top of it, knowing it’d all be theirs once they defeated the big, bad titans!”

Hange chuckled at the kids’ excitement.

“They jumped on their necks and cast a spell and they’d disappear!”

“Good call, Levi, I was scared you’d start saying we slashed them up or something,” she said with a small laugh.

They did this for many years until all of them were finally gone. The two best friends were happy and searched for more land to see and explore until they found the big blue ocean. Water that was salty and laid home to many creatures both friendly and dangerous. Now there were more bad guys on the other side of the ocean but they were a little different than titans, and they looked like you and me so it was much harder to defeat them. So the two best friends tried to find a way to win. They went on adventures together trying to figure out their secrets until they almost died trying to do that.”

Levi hesitated.

Hange’s eyes softened at seeing him like this, so she wrapped her arm around him, laying her head on his shoulder.

“And one day one of the best friends asked the other if they wanted to live in the forest together, and leave their younger, smart and powerful comrades to defeat the bad guys.”

He paused once more, and took a deep breath.

“It’s okay, Levi, keep going—the kids are waiting,” she whispered.

“And the other best friend said yes. Their comrades won the battle and the two best friends lived happily ever after in the forest. The end.”

He looked down at the two children, who nuzzled their heads into his lap and were now fast asleep. Jean’s kid snored loudly and drooled over his pants, and he couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight. “Oh Hange, I wish you could be here too...” Levi said aloud. He felt tears well up behind his eyes but he blinked them away.

“Don’t worry, Levi. I’m here.” Hange tried to wipe away his tears with her sleeve before she began to wipe her own.

His mind went to the last page of his book of Hange’s notes:

“I hope Levi could live a long life and be happy for the rest of his days. Nothing brings me more joy than seeing him experience happiness behind his dumb scowl. And Levi if you come across this someday, remember that I love you and goddammit try to smile or something in front of someone other than me!”

Levi of course memorized these words, and repeated them in his head as he ran his fingers softly through the children’s hair as they slept.

She drank in the bittersweet moment—watching him smile through his pain. He was trying so hard for her, and it made her heart ache. She hoped that he was genuinely trying to find happiness through all of this. But she knew it was nothing he couldn’t handle. She was always watching him, after all.

Hange felt a pull at her shoulders—time was just about up for today. She peppered his face with kisses, hoping that he might feel them.

A gentle breeze blew through the open window, leaving sweet, cool kisses on his face. He swore he could hear her voice, whispering “Love you, Shorty,” in his ear.

“Love you, Shorty,” Hange whispered as she stood up to leave. She visited him every week, but it was still difficult for her to leave each time.

“Stupid four-eyes,” he thought. He breathed in memories of her and promised he’d try to live the rest of his days happily and smiling just as she wished for him.

“Til next time, Levi,” she said softly, as she closed the window behind her.

[red-talisman]

Snippet during the CQL canon timeskip from a WIP that's turning out much longer than I expected. （；´д｀）ゞ

_______

“I admit I wasn’t expecting that,” says Lan Xichen, tilting his head towards the other side of the garden when Jin Guangyao looks at him in question. Sect Leader Jiang is speaking with a heavily pregnant Qin Su in a voice too low to carry, Jin Ling’s growing toddler self propped easily on the man’s narrow hip. There’s nothing untoward happening - they stand a very proper distance apart in full view, and Jin disciples pass freely in and out of the garden - but as Lan Xichen watches, Sect Leader Jiang gives Qin Su something like a smile when she laughs at whatever he just said. Lan Xichen doesn’t actually remember the last time he saw Sect Leader Jiang with any expression other than anger or carefully blank coldness.

“In retrospect, I feel like I should have,” Jin Guangyao replies, a little wry. “It’s hardly a secret that, historically speaking, Sect Leader Jiang has fewer defenses against kind, older women, and my Qin Su is more than capable of deflecting his sharpness.”

“A-Yao…”

“Aah, no, Er-ge. The man is a very different type of predator than other men can be. That has never been my concern with him.” He shoots Lan Xichen a look with a note of mischief and says very quietly, “May I offer you a secret?”

It’s a struggle to bite back his own grin. “Of course.”

“You understand, of course, how these cultivation conferences can wear on even the most patient of men. Should it appear that, ah, a storm is threatening to pass over the company, I recommend shoving a child at it.”

Lan Xichen snorts a surprised laugh before he can stop himself. “A-Yao!”

“What might kill any other man won’t hurt the child, and it will take the wind out of the storm, so to speak.”

Lan Xichen gives him a look.

“...And yes, it’s hilarious to see Sect Leader Jiang completely derailed from violence by a drooling infant.”

Lan Xichen wants to argue that Sect Leader Jiang isn’t that violent (at least when he’s in public, surrounded by other cultivators; Lan Xichen has otherwise taken a carefully neutral stance on the gossip that’s filtered down), but Jin Guangyao is unusually relaxed despite being in public and he doesn’t want to ruin it. “Should I even ask how you discovered that?”

Jin Guangyao clicks his tongue and gives the question more thought than Lan Xichen had expected. “He fought my father much harder for access to Jin Ling than many actual parents would, let alone a maternal uncle trying to rebuild a decimated sect. During one of his visits to Koi Tower, I found him close to drawing his blade against Jin Guangshan, so I tested it by telling him that Jin Ling needed a change. He immediately took the boy, yelled at me, yelled at the nursemaid with me, and then stomped off to his guest quarters to take care of it.”

Lan Xichen shakes with suppressed laughter.

“Besides, if Qin Su is a miracle-worker who can win him over, then I suspect that his tendency towards extremely selective altruism may one day extend to include our own child.”

Before Lan Xichen can reply to that, he sees Jin Ling suddenly reach over his uncle’s shoulder, grasp a handful of loose hair, and yank.

“Ow, ow, fu - let go,” Sect Leader Jiang grumbles, “let go, ow!”

“Ling-er, Ling-er,” Qin Su coos through an audible laugh, reaching out to help untangle the toddler. The toddler, meanwhile, just yells, “Jiujiu! Jiujiu! Jiujiu!”

“I’m right here, you little beast.”

“Jiujiu! Snek!”

“‘Snek’...? Jin Ling, Zidian is not a toy.”

“Snek!” he shrieks. Sect Leader Jiang looks so inhumanly aggrieved that Lan Xichen raises his sleeve to hide his own laughter, and when he glances at Jin Guangyao, he sees a rare moment of honest fondness as his wife wraps her arms around her very large belly and laughs herself nearly to tears.

“Clearly there’s a demanding little beast here who needs attention. Excuse me, Madam Jin,” says Sect Leader Jiang, and he tips Jin Ling over backwards while keeping a firm grip on the boy’s legs. Jin Ling shrieks again with laughter.

[avengerscompound]

The Tower: Family - 19

The Tower: Family An Avengers Fanfic

Series Masterlist PREVIOUS //

Pairing:  Avengers x OFC, Bruce Banner x Bucky Barnes x Clint Barton x Wanda Maximoff x Steve Rogers x Natasha Romanoff x Tony Stark x Thor x Sam Wilson x OFC (Elly Cooper)

Word Count: 2349

Warnings:  Pregnancy

Synopsis: With new powers, Thor now living on Earth full time, a wedding to plan, and Natasha and Wanda expecting, a lot is changing for Elly and her large and rather unconventional family.  When Elise’s parents try to reestablish connections, Elly questions what being a family actually means.

Chapter 19: Names

I was just under twenty weeks pregnant when I went to have my glucose test and the ultrasound that would tell us about any major abnormalities and possibly what sex the baby was.  The twins were on one of their home days and we were taking them along too, so they could be there when they learned if the last of their new siblings would be a brother or sister.  Everyone was excited and there had been bets made on if it would be a boy or a girl.  Some people seemed to think that statistically, it would have to be a boy as there were already three girls on their way.  However, Tony, Bruce, Sam, and Bucky all knew that’s not how statistics worked and seemed to think that it would be a girl just because the universe wanted us to have to all agree on four different girls' names at the same time.

While I was waiting for the sugar drink to take effect Natasha and Wanda had their checkups.  They were now up to 28 weeks and everything was really good.  Even Wanda with the twins was looking very on track.  Both girls were growing strongly and Doctor Schroeder had no concerns at all about her getting to full term with them.

When I’d finally had my blood test and come into the examination room, Natasha and Wanda were finishing up and I was directed to get up on the table for my ultrasound.  Steve, Tony, and Bruce were in attendance.  Pietro was sitting on Bruce’s knee playing with a stethoscope, while Steve held Riley and she tried to grab every single thing that was in reach of her.

“How have you been feeling, Elise?”  Doctor Schroeder asked as I got into position and she set up the ultrasound machine.

“Good,” I said. “The morning sickness passed.  I have more energy.  They kick a lot so I don’t get worried about them too much.”

“That’s good.  And you’re keeping your stress levels low?”  She asked, squeezing some gel on my stomach.

“Well…” I said, guiltily.  “Less stress than when I was pregnant with the twins.”

She shook her head and pressed the paddle to my stomach.  “You really need to be taking care of yourself, Elise.”

“You tell that to the world,” I snarked, and she laughed as she pressed the paddle down on her stomach.

The baby came into view on the screen, looking like an actual baby right down to the fingers and toes.  “I’m assuming you’re all finding out the sex,” she said.

“Oh yeah.  I definitely want to know what flavor of spawn El is cooking,” Tony said.

“And I’m guessing you’re all hoping for a boy,” she joked.

Tony went to speak, but Steve quickly cut him off.  “We’ll all be happy either way.”

“What about you kids?”  Doctor Schroeder asked.  “Do you want this to be a brother or a sister?”

“I wanna sisder,” Riley said quickly.

“No, Wiley,” Pietro argued.  “Deres fwee sisders.  I wanna brovver.”

Doctor Schroeder started laughing.  “Well, let’s see which one of you gets your wish.”

She moved the paddle getting it into position to see better.  “Alright, if you’re placing bets, now’s the time,” she said.  Tony crossed his fingers and started chanting, “Boy, boy, boy, boy, boy.”

“And we have a…” she said slowly, dragging out the suspense for as long as possible.  “Boy.  You’re having a boy.”

“Yes!”  Tony said, pumping his fist in the air and leaning over and kissing me deeply.

“You hear that, Piet?”  Bruce asked.  “You get a brother.”

“Yay!”  Pietro said, bouncing on Bruce’s lap.

“Oh, no,” Steve said.  “We’re going to have a little mini-Tony in the family.”

I started laughing and cradled Tony’s jaw.  “I know.  Isn’t it great?”

“A boy,” Tony repeated.  “Three girls and a little boy.”

“Will this make picking names easier or harder, do you think?” I asked.

The answer to that question was ‘harder’.  Having one boy made deciding on the name harder.

After we finished up with the doctor we met the others on the garden deck with the dogs for a kind of picnic to try and work out names. With the twins, I had been the one to decide their names.  I accepted input but no one was willing to argue with me about which names I settled on because I’d been under so much stress during the pregnancy.  This time, we were all deciding together.

Having three girls on the way meant that everyone was willing to be more open to accepting girl’s names put forward by other people because there was always another daughter to have the girl’s name they preferred.  There was only one boy and anyone that had a name they liked or was special to them wanted it to be the one used.  So while the kids played with the dogs, we all sat around arguing about names.

“Hey, hey,” Steve said, putting his hands up.  “Maybe we need to write a list.”

Tony opened up a screen that we could all see.

“So for girls we have; Sarah, Rebecca, Kate, Thour, Torunn, Ada, Lyra, Rose, and Marya,” Steve said.  “And for boys we have; Paul, Thomas, William, Módi, Edwin, Ian, George, and Alex.”

“That’s more names than kids alright,” I joked as I helped myself to an egg salad sandwich.

“Should we vote?”  Natasha asked.  “I only suggested a girl’s name and Tony only suggested a boy’s name so we might be able to work it out through votes.”

“I don’t know about that,” Bucky argued.  “Some of those names are important.  Some are just names we like.”

“Maybe people who have names they wanted to be used already should get less of a vote this time,” Wanda suggested.  “I mean, Pietro is already named for my brother.  It is only fair that the names I suggested be put at the back of the line.”

“Does that mean El doesn’t get a say this time?”  Clint asked.  “I mean, Piet and Riley were named without a vote. She just decided.”

“Whose fault is that, Clint?” I snarked.

“Right,” he said, holding his hands up.  “I know.  Sorry, I was just asking.”

“Elise gets just as much a say as everyone else,” Steve said firmly.  “She may have selected Riley and Pietro’s names but she chose them based on people who were important to some of us.”

“Daddy, daddy, daddy,” Riley said, running flat out into the group, followed by Spotty.  She slammed into Sam’s side, drawing a soft ‘oof’ from him before grabbing his arm and pulling on it.  “Come, come pway.”

“Hold on, you monster.  We’re just trying to pick the names for your new brothers and sisters,” Sam explained, picking her up and tossing her in the air.  “After I finish my lunch I’ll play.”

“Why don’t you and Pietro get in the swings and I’ll push you,” Wanda suggested.  Riley seemed to think that was a good idea as she ran back off with the dalmatian on her heels.  When she and Pietro climbed up into their toddler swings, Wanda flicked her wrist and used her telekinesis to push them.

“Is it worth noting that Sarah was a name put forward by two people and so was Rebecca?”  I asked.

“That’s a good point,” Steve agreed.

“Plus those are family ones.  I’d really like to name one of my daughters after my sister,” Bucky said.  “And it was Bruce’s mom too right, Bruce?”

Bruce nodded.  “That’s right.  I would definitely like to honor my mother.  She was the only reason I made it through infancy.”

“And I’d like to use Sarah for the same reason,” Steve agreed.

“Plus Sarah was my late sister’s name,” Sam added.

“I’m fine with Sarah and Rebecca being two of the names,” I said.

“Anyone not okay with that?”  Tony asked.  When no one argued it, he moved the names Rebecca and Sarah to a new column.

“Was there any other girl’s names that were special to us?”  Steve asked.

“Marya was my mother’s name,” Wanda said, still flicking her wrist back and forth as she swung the kids.  The sounds of the squeals floating over to us.

“And Rose was the name I chose when I had a miscarriage,” Natasha said. “I know that’s not the same thing but… I feel attached to the name.”

Clint put his arm around her and rubbed her side.

“They’re both really pretty names,” I said.  “I’d be happy with either.”

There was a murmuring of agreement from the others. Tyr who seemed to be finished playing with the kids came over and curled up on Bucky’s lap and he started playing with the spaniel’s ears.

“I guess the question would be if either of you is happy to have the name as a middle name?  And if not, do you want to hold onto it in case we have any more children in the future.”

“I can wait,” Wanda said, caressing her stomach. “Pietro was named for my brother and I want to do this again.  Maybe not for a while but I love being pregnant.”

Tony moved the name Rose under Rebecca and Marya to a completely different line.

“Alright, we’re getting somewhere,” Steve said.  “Anyone not okay with any of these girls' names being middle names?”

“If we ever use Thour, I’d like it to be a first name,” Thor said.

“Same with Kate,” Clint added, and both names were moved to the row with Marya.

“Well that leaves three names, which is exactly what we need,” Bruce said.  “So let’s just see how they sound together.”

There was a little toing and froing, and at one point Clint and Sam got up to play with the kids while we argued about how the names sounded together.  In the end, we settled on Rebecca Torunn for the baby Natasha was carrying, and Sarah Lyra and Rose Ada for the twins.

“Alright we have eight boys’ names and one boy,” Steve said.  “How are we going to do this? What names are important to us?  Ian was my grandfather and George was Bucky’s dad.”

“Paul was my dad,” Sam added.

“Edwin was Jarvis’ first name,” Tony said.

“But all of you have also had a kid or more named after someone important to you,” I reasoned.  “Has anyone not done that?”

“Well you, and you’ve carried the most babies,” Sam said playfully.

“That is true. But I did also name the twins with no discussion,” I added.  “I don’t know if I have any names that I really love anyway.  I like having the names be important to all of you.”

“Seriously though, El,” Bruce said.  “All of us have put names forward and all of us have had at least one name that was important to us used already.  Isn’t there a name you grew up loving?  Or a family member who you did love?  A grandparent maybe?”

I shook my head and shrugged a little.  “I liked the name Nova I guess,” I said.  “But I’d much rather he be Edwin or Ian or Paul than Nova.”

“Not George?  Rude,” Bucky teased.

“Come on now, Buck,” I teased back.  “You have a common name like George and you don’t even use it.”

“Oh and Paul is so… uncommon,” he snarked.

“Anyway,” I said, rolling my eyes.  “Bucky, Steve, Sam, and Bruce now all have first names for kids.  Yes, Riley’s middle name comes from Tony’s mom, but given that this baby is one he specifically asked to have, I think it’s fair that we name him Edwin unless anyone has any huge objections to that.”

“I don’t!”  Tony joked.

When no one argued with it the name Edwin moved from the maybe pile to the list under Rebecca, Sarah, and Rose.  “Alright, Eddie is gonna need a middle name,” Tony said.

“I say George,” Bucky said.  “Seeing as Elise just seriously dissed my dad’s name.”

I smothered a laugh and pushed him.  He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me back so we were both lying on the ground.  I squealed and started wrestling with him and soon the dogs and then the twins were trying to get in on the action too.  “Bucky!”  I squealed as I struggled under him.  “This isn’t how you get what you want!”

“Really?”  He asked as he started tickling me.  “I think it’s gonna work.”

“Stop it!  I’m gonna pee myself!”  I squealed.

“Daddy!  You weave mommy awone!”  Pietro said, protectively pushing Bucky to get him off me.

Bucky sat up laughing.  “Oh no, I’m sorry, peanut.  I shouldn’t be so mean to mommy should I?”

Pietro put his hands on his hips and huffed.  He looked so much like a mini Steve that it would have been easy to forget that Clint was actually his biological dad.  “Oh man,” Tony laughed.  “Cap version 2.0.”

“Thank you, Piet,” I said, pulling him into my arms and cuddling him.  “We were just playing.”

“Otay, mommy,” he said, snuggling up to me.

“Daddy Bucky wants your little brother’s name to be Edwin George Skjodbærer.  What do you think?”  I asked.

Pietro seemed to think about it for a moment and nodded his head.  “Is good.”

Steve chuckled.  “Well, I think the king has spoken.  Edwin George?”

Everyone nodded in agreement and Tony moved George next to Edwin in the list.  “That’s one more thing done,” he said.  “Now all we really need to do is stock up on baby supplies and hire the nannies.”

“There is one other thing we need to work on,” Steve said seriously and looked at me.  “We need to figure out how to get rid of El’s stress.”

I frowned and nodded.  It was definitely something I needed to work out, but I was afraid that any steps I took might just make it worse.  Whatever the case was, I need to go speak to my mother and hope that I could get some kind of closure for good.

// NEXT

[ask-the-riders]

Not Unlovable

In this, you get to see a bit of Famine's past - part of his childhood, then part of his adulthood before he died and became a rider. Unfortunately, the boy's haunted by ghosts of his past mistakes, however, and it's up to Retribution to provide him the comfort he needs

Because of the contents of this, I'm gonna offer a bit of a trigger warning for implied character death, as well as the actual depiction of character death. It's not super gory or anything, but hey, better safe than sorry, am I right?

"Sans... Take your brothers and go home. I'll meet you there shortly and we can make dinner together, alright?"

The skeleton child stared up at the human woman with wide sockets, another skeleton child standing beside him and holding onto his coat while a babybones was in his arms, smooshed against his chest. He glanced around, noting the look on the adult monsters' faces; Their eyes were sunken, they were thin from starvation, and among the group, the ones with fur looked as though they'd somehow contracted mange. Sans met his step mother's gaze again and frowned, not wanting to leave her side, "Mom, I can't. I don't wanna leave without you." The woman sighed, lowering herself to her knees in the snow and reaching out to gently cup the child's face, offering him a small smile, "Sans, please. This won't take long, I promise. Just be a good boy and take your brothers home. I'll be back in time for supper, I promise." Sans' frown deepened and he leaned into her touch almost desperately, his voice a fearful whine as another adult monster stepped closer to her, a sound similar to a growl escaping its maw.

Lila gently stroked the skeleton child's cheek with her thumb in an effort to soothe him, a pleading look in her eyes as she murmured, "Sans... please. Just... please just do this for me. Can you get your brothers home?" The fear the bubbled in his stomach became too much, causing a blue tinted tear to run down his face as he nodded and sniffled. Lila's expression softened as she wiped away the tear, sighing as she pulled him into a hug, careful not to crush the toddler in Sans' arms. Holding him close, she pressed a soft kiss to his forehead and murmured against his bone, "I love you, Sans... Look after your brothers for me, ok?"

Sans nodded again, trying to bury his face in the crook of her neck and muttering, his voice shaking now, "I love you too, Mom." Gently tugging a tiny Papyrus closer, Lila pulled him into a hug, also kissing his forehead as well before mumbling, "And Papy... You're such a brave boy. Do you think you can help Sans look after Toby for me while I'm away?" Papyrus eagerly nodded his head, "OF COURSE, MAMA. WHEN WILL YOU BE COMING HOME?" Her smile became one of sadness as she hummed, "I'm not sure yet, but hopefully soon... I love you, ok? Don't forget that." The skeleton child beamed at her, his grin wide, "I LOVE YOU TOO, MAMA!" Lila released him, her attention settling on the youngest of the children.

As the toddler peered up at her with wide sockets and innocent confusion, she fought to choke back a sob, kissing his head and whispering, "My baby... Stay safe, Tobias...ok? I love you so much." The toddler reached out to grip the sleeve of her coat, his voice soft, "Love you, Mama." As the small circle of monsters began to close in on the tiny family, Lila slowly rose to her feet, gently nudging Sans and trying to usher him away. As Papyrus latched onto his elder brother's coat again, Sans held his step mother's gaze, a mutual understanding passing between them. As a realization clicked into place, his eyes widened further in horror, and more tears pricked at his sockets. He took a few steps back away from the human, then turned, using a shortcut to whisk himself and his two younger brothers away. Lila's chest began to heave as she turned to face the small gathering of monsters around her.

Offering them a saddened smile as a tear finally ran down her face, she sniffled, "I... I know you're starving. I know you're doing this because you're hungry. So please... if you really plan to eat me, promise me that my kids will be safe, and that they'll be cared for. Promise me you won't leave them to die." Her bottom lip quivered, and she cried out as she felt someone's teeth sink into her shoulder. She let out a much louder sob; her final thoughts circling in her mind, "I'm sorry, boys... I won't be home in time for supper..."

~

Tilting his head and grinning widely, Sans curled his fingers into his empty socket, watching as Toby weakly attempted to crawl through the snow, dragging himself away from his eldest brother with wide, fearful eyes. Sans chuckled softly, his pace casual as he stalked toward the child, his voice now a baritone growl, "Sorry, little bro... I wish it didn't have ta be this way. Really. I love you, and I did my best ta keep ya safe like Mom wanted, but y'know... we're all starvin'. There's no food and rations are startin' ta run out. There's barely enough food for Paps and I, let alone you too. We tried ta make it work, we really did." He paused, roughly stomping on one of Toby's legs and appearing unphased as the child screamed in pain. As he began to sob and plead with his eldest brother to stop, his small body began to tremble, and Sans sighed, continuing, "But it didn't go the way we wanted. We can barely feed two mouths, and with you here... it's makin' gettin' enough food even harder. 'Sides, you're sick and weak anyway. By gettin' rid a' ya, I'm actually helpin' you. Puttin' ya out of your misery, y'know?"

Tobias whimpered, "S-Sans, brother, please! Please don't do this!" Sans hummed, leaning over his kid brother to reach around him, his stained fingers tracing along his jaw. As his grip suddenly tightened, his smile faded, now a frustrated frown, "Toby, I been thinkin' about this whole thing nonstop for a while now. I've exhausted myself from it, and we've already run out of other options. This is the only thing left that we can do." The child sobbed, attempting to turn his head and look up at Sans over his shoulder, "Sans, come on... I love you, brother! You're really smart, there has to be another way! Maybe something you haven't thought of yet!" The eldest of the two growled softly in irritation, shaking his head, "I'm sorry, but there's not. If it makes this any easier on ya, I love ya too, and I so wish I didn't have ta do this." Processing Sans' words, Tobias began to thrash in the snow, screaming and calling out for their other brother to come help him. Sans grunted, roughly jerking his little brother's head to the side. There was a loud crack, and just like that... silence.

Sans let out a deep sigh, releasing Toby's head and stepping away from the body, hanging his head in shame as he began to tug at the edge of his head injury, mumbling to himself, "I tried ta protect him and Paps, Ma. I really did. I couldn't do it though, and I... I let you down, didn't I? I'm a disappointment, a failure, a disgrace. Ya shouldn't have gone and left us alone like ya did. If you were still here right now, we wouldn't be-" "SANS? BROTHER, WHERE HAVE YOU GONE OFF TO NOW?"

Upon being interrupted by Papyrus, Sans blinked, taking notice of something wet on his face. He gently touched the wetness then pulled his hand back, noticing the blue tinted tears on his fingertips; Huh. So he'd been crying, it seemed. Papyrus appeared at the end of the path and called out to Sans again, snapping his older brother out of his hazy train of thought. When the two finally left, an apparition appeared, standing beside Toby's body. It became the shape of a human woman, frowning as she looked down at the child who laid in the snow. As a single tear ran down her face, she knelt, reaching out to gently run a hand over his skull. One of his eye lights reappeared, now resembling a snowflake as it flickered in his socket. He lifted his gaze, his tears now crimson as he whimpered brokenly, his voice barely audible, "M-Mom?..."

~~

Thunder clapped loudly, causing the walls of the house to shake. Famine could hear War nearly shrieking through their thin, shared wall, and he sighed, slowly sitting up in bed. Moving over to his window, he pushed the curtains aside, peering outside and watching the sky as he listened to the sound of the pouring rain. He hated and loved thunderstorms at the same time; It was always cool to watch the lightning that came with it, but the noise from the thunder and the way the rain made everything wet? He could live without those. Along the edge of the nearby forest, he could've sworn he'd seen a figure moving. Squinting his sockets as he tried to get a better look, lightning flickered across the sky, illuminating the figure again.

It was a woman.

That hair, those clothes, the way she held herself... It was familiar, somehow. Through his fractured mind, he attempted to put the pieces together and make sense of it, his memories not quite aligning with one another. Lightning flickered again, and a second figure appeared, smaller than the first. The way they stood together made it appear as though they were holding hands. Just as Famine thought he'd figured out why the first figure seemed familiar, both of them vanished. A moment passed before he spotted the next flash of lightning, and the childlike apparition that now stood much closer to his window. Tilting its head up to lock gazes with him, the apparition stared, crimson tears running down his face. Famine also stared in a mix of confusion and shock, his sockets widening. There... There was no way. That wouldn't make sense. There was no way in hell that could be Toby... right?

The temperature of his room dropped by a noticeable degree and the rider let out a shaky breath. As he began to hear a woman crying, he slowly turned around, his soul pounding in his rib cage. A ghostly figure now stood in the room with him, tears running down her face as she watched him. Drawing in a sharp, trembling breath of her own, she sobbed, as if completely heartbroken, "Sans... Why did you do it? Sans, why?..." Famine began to tremble, frozen in place as he stared at her. She reached out to him, her touch chilling him to his very core as she continued sobbing, "Please tell me why, Sans... Why did you do it?..." Blue tinted tears began to drip down his face and he shook his head, his rough voice cracking, "...I... I'm sorry, Mom. I'm so... so sorry." Chest heaving, he used a shortcut, vanishing from the room.

Reappearing in his partner's room, he practically dove into bed with him, shoving the curtains that surrounded the bed out of the way. Visibly startled, Retribution stared up at him, his brow bones becoming knit in confusion, "Famine? What are you-" He yelped as Famine lunged forward, wrapping his arms around him and hugging him tightly. As he pressed his face into his boyfriends chest, attempting to hide in the fabric of his pajama shirt, his body shook and he began to cry. Feeling sadness, fear, and guilt practically rolling off of him in waves, Retribution frowned, gently wrapping his arms around Famine and holding him close, gently petting his head. Clinging to him, Famine sniffled, his voice soft, "Ret, 'm sorry... I didn't mean ta just... appear like this. I needed ta get away from her though. I can't face her, not after what I did." The former prince sighed softly, his normally sharp tone now soothing, "Hush, hush... It's alright, Famine. It's alright, I don't mind you coming here... Who did you need to get away from, though? What happened?"

Famine reluctantly pulled back just enough to meet Ret's concerned gaze, pointing in the direction of his room with a shaky hand, "M-My mom... and Toby. They're supposed to be dead, but they came back. Mom was... she was cryin' and she kept askin' me why I did it. She was askin' me why I killed my brother, why I killed Toby. I couldn't... I couldn't deal with that, and I had ta get away from 'er." Sensing nothing but truth coming from his partner, Retribution hummed, continuing to delicately run a hand over Famine's head, being mindful of his head injury. Without a second thought, he asked, "Would you like to stay here tonight? I'll be up for a while yet, so I can keep an eye on you, if that'd make you feel any better."

Famine seemed to immediately perk up, his single eye light growing brighter as he stared at his partner hopefully, another tear dripping down his face as he nodded, "Y-Yeah, I'd like that... Are ya really ok with that though?... I could ruin your bedding with my claws and spikes. Then you'd also be close ta somebody that used to eat people, somebody who kills kids, somebody who murdered his own baby bro, somebody who-" Retribution sighed deeply, narrowing his sockets as he cut off Famine, "Famine, do us both a favor and shut it. I know what I'm getting into, ok?" The taller rider trailed off into silence and as his eye light dimmed the slightest bit, the former prince's expression softened. Gently wiping away the stray tear, he continued, his voice softer than before, "I know what I'm getting into... I've known since I started feeling things for you. Hell, I've known since I became your friend. I know what you've done. While those things can't be undone, you've learned from them. You have no desire to repeat those mistakes, so you're a different guy now. I never thought I could've learned to love someone who could so readily kill their own family... their own marrow and magical essence. But..."

The smaller of the two paused again, hesitating a moment before he delicately traced his thumb over Famine's teeth, his own cheekbones flushing cyan. Sheepishly meeting the taller's gaze and holding it, he offered him a small, yet genuine smile and murmured, "But I did. I learned to love you, regardless of the things you've done, and I don't intend to let anything change that, either. Also, Famine, I couldn't care less if your claws and spikes ruined my bedding. I have money. If we need to buy more, then we will. It's not a problem to me. If you'd feel better here with me, then I'd be happy to have you." Famine continued staring at Retribution, a blue blush slowly spreading across his face as he processed everything the other had just said to him. When he spoke, his voice was no more than a low mumble, "You... Ya really mean all that, Ret?... Ya really... love me?" Sensing the embarrassment and confusion coming from his partner, Retribution smiled softly, his blush visibly darkening, "I apologize if the words are too strong or sudden, but yes. I really do love you, Famine."

The taller rider was silent, his eye light becoming brighter again. More tears pricked at his sockets and he whispered, "Why though?... Look at me, Firefly. 'M a child killer, a former human eater, I scare everyone who looks at me, and I'm hideous. I got so much baggage, and I'm... I'm unlovable. Why would ya love someone like me?..." Retribution sighed softly again, gently cupping the other's face with both hands, "I love you because I can see all the guilt and pain you carry, and how despite that, you press on. You keep going, and I think that's admirable, and so, so strong. You don't let your past define you anymore, and that's beautiful. Also," he paused, his tone growing stern, "Don't ever call yourself hideous or unlovable again, understand? I don't want you saying such things about yourself. Not when you're so full of love to give, and so very handsome."

Famine's blush darkened several shades and he nodded, still clinging to his smaller partner. At his silence, one of Ret's ghostly tendrils appeared, hooking itself around the covers beside Retribution and pulling them down. Pointing to the open space with his tentacle, the former prince murmured, "There you go, you big oaf. I hope the bed is comfortable enough, and that you're able to sleep well tonight." Famine smiled sheepishly, and as he began to loosen his grip on Ret and move away from him, the same tendril from before stopped him, gently wrapping around his arm. He glanced at it curiously, then shifted his attention to Ret, who merely lifted a hand to lightly tap on his teeth, playfully arching a brow bone at him, "What, no kiss goodnight?" Famine felt more heat rush to his face and let out a deep breath, smiling slightly, "Damn, I shoulda figured ya might want that."

Retribution chuckled softly in amusement, the sound dying down as his partner kissed him. The kiss, though soft, lingered a moment, and as the two began to part from it, Famine breathed out, "I love you too, Ret. Ya dunno what you mean ta me..." Ret's cheekbones became dusted cyan again and he smiled softly, watching as Famine laid down beside him, curling into a ball on his side and trying to muffle a soft yawn. It didn't take long for Famine to doze off, still curled into a ball as he snored softly. Retribution's gaze was full of affection as he kept watch over his sleeping form, occasionally caressing the top of his skull or touching his face. As he decided to finally call it a night, he made himself comfortable beside Famine, feeling vaguely embarrassed as he cuddled closer to his partner.

He'd felt himself beginning to doze off as well, but then he snapped to full awareness again as he began to sense the emotions of someone who'd just appeared in the room with them. As the first of two figures began to make their way around the bed, Ret's cyan eye lights locked onto them, watching closely as they drew nearer and nearer to Famine. The ghostly apparition of a human woman passed partially through the curtains that hung down around Ret's bed, her cheeks stained by tears as she looked down at Famine. As one of her hands reached out to gently touch his face, he shivered, but otherwise remained asleep. Tapping into the woman's emotions, Retribution felt her sadness and a sense of betrayal, he felt her disappointment and anger, but above all else, he felt her immense love for Famine. Turning her head, the woman met the former prince's gaze, offering him a small smile. Although it was very faint, she murmured, "My son... You love my son... Thank you..."

Retribution blinked in surprise, while the spirit shifted her attention, watching as a smaller figure moved around to Famine's side of the bed to stand with her. The former prince stared as a child pushed aside the curtains, appearing much more solid than who he'd assumed was his mother. With his good arm, the child reached out to delicately pat his elder brother's arm through the blankets, radiating not a single ounce of hesitation or fear. The child wrapped his arm around his brother in a half hug, momentarily lying his head on his back despite his spiked spine. Famine grumbled something under his breath, but showed no signs of waking up.

Then almost as soon as they'd appeared, the two figures were gone again. Though they were strange and slightly spooky, Retribution squeezed his eyes shut, deciding to brush them off. Cuddling close to Famine again, he felt heat rush to his face as Famine shifted, wrapping an arm loosely around him. This was precisely what Retribution had meant when he'd said his partner had a lot of love to give, and he wished Famine knew what he was doing right now so he could make his point. When the next morning arrived, the taller rider stirred first, groaning faintly as he opened his sockets and yawned. He absentmindedly stretched his arms and legs, but then he paused, feeling someone clinging to him. He blinked; Oh yeah... this wasn't his room, was it?

Looking down at his shorter partner, he sighed, smiling softly. The former prince was still asleep, cuddled as close to him as possible and tightly clutching his shirt. He gently placed a hand on Ret's face, and despite his aching back, he leaned down a bit, pressing a soft kiss to his head and murmuring lowly, "Good mornin', Beautiful..." Retribution yawned, releasing Famine's shirt to rub his sockets. As he began to wake up and register the other's presence, he hummed, his otherwise sleep-laced tone holding a hint of playfulness, "Good morning, Handsome." Famine snorted softly in amusement, arching a brow bone, "I dunno if 'handsome' is the word for it, but yeah, I guess maybe I have a certain charm, huh?" Retribution hummed again, his tendrils suddenly emerging and capturing his partner. While Ret scooted back away from him, two tentacles gripped his arms and pulled him up into a sitting position, while the other two wriggled behind him. The first two pushed him back down onto his back, his spiked spine cushioned between the second pair of tendrils.

As they widened and grew in size, the first pair released Famine's arms in favor of joining then, adding to the cushioning beneath him. Famine's sockets widened in surprise as Retribution climbed on top of him, straddling his hips and trying to look stern as he crossed his arms over his chest, ignoring the cyan heat that rushed to his cheekbones. Famine's hands instinctively moved to hold the other's hips, his entire face immediately flushing a deep shade of his signature faded denim blue as he stared up at Ret. In turn, the former prince huffed, his eyes narrowed in false irritation, "Famine, don't try to say otherwise. I'm attracted to you, and I think you're handsome... Very handsome. Do you really wish to contradict me?"

Famine nervously swallowed, shaking his head, "Nah... 'm not tryna contradict ya, firefly. S'just that I don't see what you do, I guess." Retribution let out a deep breath, rolling his eye lights. A brief moment passed before his expression softened and he tilted his head, looking down at the taller of the two and murmuring, "Firstly... you should see yourself when you're in the kitchen. When you're in your element and cooking for everyone, your movement becomes graceful and knowing. Everything is done with purpose, and is deliberate. Secondly, although your sense of humor is questionable at times, it's unique and it's part of what makes you... You. And then next up, there's your eye..."

He paused, slowly leaning down over his partner and gently cupping his face with both hands, lowering his voice further, "You might've lost one of your eyes a while ago due to a series of rather unfortunate events, but the one you still have is utterly captivating. When our gazes become locked, it's like I'm mesmerized. I can't bring myself to look away. That eye of yours ignites this flame in my soul, and I can't describe the way it feels." Famine felt as though he couldn't breathe, still staring up at his partner with widened sockets, flushed blue all the way down to his shoulders. Noticing the rush of surprise, embarrassment, disbelief, and elation that the other was feeling, Retribution smiled to himself; He wasn't lying when he'd told Famine that he found him handsome, but at this particular moment, there was nothing cuter than that look he was wearing. So surprised, so flustered... Ret loved it.

[ailec-12]

14 for House Potter? Love the previous drabble lots!Thank you

Thank you for the prompt! Sorry for taking so long, I had like three ideas for this one and couldn’t decide which one to choose. I hope you will also enjoy this drabble.

14. Sitting on Someone’s Lap + House Potter

Harry is a very nice lad, in James's maybe-a-bit biased opinion. He cries little and is quick to calm down, eats without a fuss, takes his naps like a boss. He trusts easily and does not hesitate to seek out other people's company. He gets his softness from Lily and James hopes he will also inherit his mother's fierce spirit when he is older. So far, James is watching his own recklessness reflected in his toddler as Harry tries to jump off his lap head first.

"Careful there." On impulse, he kisses Harry's unruly mop of black hair as he lifts him and places him down on the grass of the garden room.

Pads is completely right. He has turned into a sentimental dunderhead since Harry came into his life —but then again, so has his old mate. Moony, too, but he has always been a bit mushy anyway.

As usual, Snape is subtly watching his every move. James may notice it less often if he had not come to expect it. He bites back a sigh. Lily, asleep next to him on their picnic blanket, is blissfully oblivious.

Harry wastes no time in crawling towards the other child, though Merlin knows why. Snape barely pays him any attention and, whenever they are together, he remains tense as a bowstring. Like right now, when his black eyes have shifted from James to the toddler coming for him. It is hilarious —and odd— that his expression has grown more alarmed. James makes a mental note to talk to Lily about it later.

She is the one who has convinced Snape to give a chance to Harry's building blocks. The boy has scowled, saying he is not a child, something James has also become used to. However, it seems no one can resist Lily's charms. Whenever Snape was not watching James, he has been tentatively playing with the blocks.

Snape has always acted strangely, but right now it is downright unnatural how he does not seem to know to behave like a regular eight-year-old. James wonders if the abuse Pads suffered would be equally obvious if he could also witness the consequences as an adult.

Shaking off these thoughts, James focuses his attention on the scene in front of him. Harry has promptly claimed one of the blocks in Snape's structure and, as a result, half of it has come down, floating around the children. James does sigh this time, steeling for Snape's outburst. It does not come. In fact, the older boy pushes the blocks towards Harry.

Ah, there it is the look again. Snape stares at James for a fleeting moment and the man feels irritation clenching his jaw. He relaxes it at once, pushing down the feeling. If he scares the little brat again, Lily is going to have his head. Also, he does not enjoy freaking out Snape, even less so since they found out the real extent of his abuse. He cannot help thinking of Harry every time. How can an adult do that to a child? To their child? Once again, he vows no harm is ever going to come to Harry. His son will be protected and loved and will only know of the war through his uncles' stories.

Harry's shouting breaks his train of thought this time. Despite being an easily distracted child, he hates playing alone, so it is not surprising he is trying to get Snape's attention despite the latter’s reluctance. Snape has his knees up to his chest and his chin resting on them. He keeps staring at Harry, making no move to join him. James decides to watch the situation unfold rather than intervene —something that has not changed is Snape's willingness to pick up a fight with him.

Harry takes another block and hands it out to Snape, who looks at it blankly. When the toddler starts chanting his name, James cannot help an amused smirk. His son decides to take action and crawls towards Snape, boldly climbing on his lap as soon as the older boy must uncurl to step back. Although Snape's panic is utterly ridiculous, James sobers up quickly. He still does not understand what crosses Snape's mind at moments like these and he is afraid Harry will somehow get hurt.

It is obvious Snape has no clue what to do with an excited toddler on his lap. His eyes snap up again, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. James points with his chin to the blocks, trying to encourage him to play —for the umpteenth time, the thought that this is now his life crosses his mind. It does not work.

Snape looks at Harry, who has not stopped trying to get his attention. The chubby little hands are on his face and Snape grimaces.

"Go back to your things. I don't wanna play."

He tries to pry Harry off, but for someone who has no experience with handling babies it is an impossible task. Harry only clings onto him tighter, seemingly thinking it is a very funny game.

"Stop, leave me alone!"

The hushed whine compels James to act unless he wants to see someone cry —and wake Lily up. He gets to his feet and, right away, Snape freezes, as if unable to decide whether to attempt harder to get away from Harry or to pretend he has never tried in the first place. In the end, the boy does not move, does not react to Harry trying to force the blocks into his hands. When James sweeps his son up, Snape leans back and one of the blocks falls from Harry’s grasp.

“C’mon, Harry, stop bothering Snape. It’s clear he doesn’t know what to do with you.”

Instead of going back to the blanket, he sits down near the blocks. The baby looks up at him with wide eyes and puts the toy in his mouth. James takes it away and offers his hand. With the other one, he draws his wand, consciously not gazing at Snape, and makes the blocks build a castle. That should hold Harry’s attention for a bit longer.

Indeed, the lad climbs off his lap right away and crawls inside the castle, using the magically reinforced walls to stand up. When he looks at the side, Snape has gone back to his defensive position and is glaring ahead of him. James’s temper rises again.

"No need to look at him like that," he snaps. "He only wants to play with you."

Snape turns to look at him and glares harder.

"I don't wanna play with him! You can't make me."

As if he had even encouraged Harry to seek out Snape’s company. He can understand that, for an eight-year-old, playing with a toddler is not the most fun activity to do, but the subsequent drama is unwarranted. And, in any case, he is not going to let anyone look daggers at his son.

Yet, he rolls his eyes, as if it did not bother him much.

"Wasn't planning to."

Suddenly, there is a crack in Snape’s haughty demeanour. It comes with almost no warning, but it has happened before and James is learning to read the tiny signs. The boy jumps to his feet and takes a step back. When he speaks, there is a catch in his high-pitched voice.

"It's not my fault!"

James has no clue what he is referring to. The only thing the boy has been blamed for is his glaring and that is actually very much his fault. Still, there is no need for these hysterics, so James lifts his hands and speaks calmly in an attempt to appease him.

"I didn't say–"

"I didn't do anything! It's not my fault! I– I didn't mean to..."

His outburst deflates as soon as it has appeared. Snape hugs himself, eyes fixed on the ground, and it is indeed a sorry sight. Before James can decide how to fix this, he hears Lily walking towards them.

“What’s going on?” she asks, worry replacing any peace she may have managed to get with her nap.

“Harry wanted to play with him and it seems it’s upset him,” James replies, not wanting to make much of it.

Of course, it has the opposite effect on Snape.

“It didn’t! I’m not a baby!”

Actual tears in his eyes give away the truth, though, and James is immensely relieved when Lily steps forward and kneels next to the boy. She whispers something that has Snape nodding and, then, James hears a choked breath and has to look away. Snape would not want him to witness it anyway. Fortunately, Harry, who does not mind being a baby, sees this as the perfect chance to play with his father, hence distracting James from feeling like a coward.

Fancy a touch prompt?

[fantasmalforces]

Delphine Headcanons

// Bc my head and my heart are full of love for her-

In light of what’s happened to her, Delphine tends to feel incredibly uncomfortable directly talking about or viewing things relating to babies. Cribs, cradles, playrooms, toys. Older children, like grade school age kids don’t seem to bother her and she finds herself able to interact with them easily. But when discussing infants in particular or very young toddlers, she tends to sway on her feet, goes off balance, gets lightheaded, starts sweating and panicking, feels sick, and she needs to immediately remove herself from the situation. If it’s really bad, she’ll literally turn tail and run away from conversation or the area causing her distress. On rare occasion, she might end up sobbing so hard she actually becomes sick from it.

As a sidenote, the odds of Delphine ever wanting to have a baby again are slim to none. She just feels so horrible about Todd that she never wants to risk putting herself through that pain again. (The only exception to this is the Genesis Verse, where she has a child with Joseph and that child is Ethan.)

Similarly, Delphine is reluctant to take a partner again. She’s very kind and willing to lend a hand but she struggles to form deep or meaningful connections. She tries to keep people at arm’s length. It will take her a long time to let anyone get close or for her to get close to anyone, let alone become romantically involved.

Delphine tries her best to keep a cool facade going as much as she can, but foxes are quick to panic and Delphine is no exception in that regard. She masks it well, but you’ll always know she’s nervous if her wrists start shaking and/or her breathing speeds up.

Delphine doesn’t have muscle mass to help her. She relies on stealth and range with a sniper rifle, or her impeccable charisma to charm or intimidate. Being essentially “half-fox” in a sense makes it easy to pacify and communicate with the wildlife, while her human appearance makes it easier to persuade or intimidate more human (or human-like) enemies. Push come to shove, she’ll climb up a tree to escape enemies— especially melee attackers.

Delphine has an easier time getting along with some species than others. Generally, mammals are her best and broadest category. She especially gets along with dogs and cats best. Yao Guai, Radstags, Feral dogs, Brahmin and the like are easy to pacify and communicate with. Molerats, Mutant Hounds, and Deathclaws are harder to read but depending on the circumstances she can get on with them. Mirelurks are a bit outlandish but she can get along with them. The mutant bugs can be communicated with on her part, but she just generally doesn’t like doing it. Bugs creep her out. 

As a side note, Delphine really likes Mirelurk meat.

She also really misses old world donuts and cakes. Especially cheesecake.

A lot of Delphine’s expertise in stealth skills came from her father. Her technical skills like hacking and programming came from her husband Holly. Prior to being transferred to the forefront of the war, Delphine was a medic and Holly was a software and hardware engineer. They both taught each other everything they knew before being trained for the fight.

As for her skills as a sleuth, Delphine’s brother, Donovan, worked for the local police force. He started off as a typical highway patrol but after being saddled onto a case for a usual hit and run, he made the connection that it was tied to a missing person that was supposedly kidnapped. He worked closest with the detective, having good instincts, an rye for detail, and a keen technique for drawing out details and confessions. He was promoted, and as a result, he taught his sister a lot about reading people, being both persuasive and intimidating, and how to look at both finer details and the big pictures. Paired with the fact she was into True Crime at some point, she secretly helped Donnie get a lot of leads on his cases and hunt down the perpetrators/lead them out into the open where they confessed.

Delphine ended up becoming a sniper during the war. She never got very far beyond the basics of power armor training. She can maneuver around it but overall, she’s not a huge fan of it.

Delphine in her Fox form is very soft, very fluffy, and very wiggly. And she laughs and chitters a lot.

Delphine knows Morse code and can communicate through tongue-clicks and whistles.

Delphine dwells a lot on what her old life was like. She thinks especially about her wedding day, the day Todd was born, the day she saw Donovan on her way home from the war. Things like that stick with her and she gets a little choked up thinking about it sometimes.

Delphine often suffers from bouts of insomnia. As a child and even as an adult, her visions scare her a fair bit, to the point where she used to stay up to try and avoid the “nightmares”. The result of that is now she has trouble falling asleep or staying asleep in fear what kind of future she might see.

On a similar note, Delphine had a tendency to mumble, cry, and cry out in her sleep. Night terrors are usually rare but they certainly do happen.

Just because Delphine can see the future, doesn’t mean she can always change it. She’s come to understand that there are some things that can be prevented, and some things that can only be avoided.

Delphine knows how to play guitar, violin, and clarinet, and flute. String and wind instruments instruments are are her forte and she enjoys creating melodies with them or playing songs she likes.

Delphine is a great dancer. She loves classic solo or partner dances especially. She and Holly used to dance all the time, it was just something they did to bond as a couple. Since he’s been gone she’s wanted to dance to the music she hears in the radio so badly but she just can’t bring herself to do it.

Delphine’s song for her main story is I’ll Never Love Again. Canonly, she ends up working for the Valentine Detective Agency as a field detective while also traveling for the Minutemen with Dogmeat. She never fully or truly heals from what happened, she doesn’t even fully cope with it. She just accepts that it happened and tries to keep living as best as she can with her baggage.

If you need someone who’s really good at digging really fast, Delphine’s your go-to.

This has only happened a handful of time, but it is possible for Delphine to laugh so hard or get so so super excited about something that she will actually pee herself a little.

Delphine frequently has doubts about her own judgements or abilities. It’s spurred on by the fact the loss of her family constantly hangs over her in a way where she believes their deaths are her fault. It was on her for not protecting them, not knowing sooner what could or would happen and acting to save them. She tries to be optimistic but sometimes that hopefulness slips and she finds herself so afraid and unmotivated she physically cannot find the energy to move.

Delphine got her ear graft but didn’t have the chance to graft her tail.

Delphine was a very active girl growing up. She could run like hell and no one could keep up with her, although her endurance wasn’t the best. Though truthfully, it was only meant to get her out of danger and show she wasn’t worth a threat’s time, not to chase or be chased. She was also big into acrobatics and swimming. As a result, she was— and still is— very flexible and limber.

[novaent]

** This episode was uploaded at 12PM on Nova Entertainment’s official YouTube channel.

It all starts with the happy song chosen as the opening theme. After the animation gets its moment of shine, the trainees appear again in their broken line. The news of what their positions meant was already shared and now they all knew what the risks were for the following weeks. The only thing left to share was what exactly they’d need to do.

Hyun Bin leans back, looking around at the coaches beside him. “You must be curious what will be given to you this month, so I’ll let the coaches take over.” Yonghwa nods along before speaking. “Unlike the previous month, every week will be completed with a group performance instead of a solo. Your group mates are the ones in the same zone as you are, totaling in four different groups. The theme for this week is time travel.”

There’s a grin on Hyemi’s lips before she takes over. “That’s right. No one will be traveling through time, but we will be attempting. Each week, the groups will have to choose a song from a different time period to perform. Since the '10s are coming to an end with this year of 2019, it’s the best time to do it. The first week will have to be from the ‘90s, the second week from the ‘00s and the third from the '10s.”

“The fourth week, of course, will be explained on a later date,” Minsoo adds in the finishing details. “We’ll keep monitoring you, of course, and assisting you on your training. If I were you, I’d make sure to work extra hard.” Hyun Bin prepares to say the finishing words. “So work hard, or it’ll be your last month here and a missed opportunity at debut.”

A voice somewhere screams cut, a part of recording never showed before in the other episodes. The cameras zoom in a couple of staff members as they rush towards the trainees while holding colorful things in their hands. While they start handing them out, Hyun Bin’s voice takes over until the scene eventually completely changes into a drawing. “To differenciate the trainees between SAFE and DANGER, each of them will have to wear a colorful vest that represents their current position. RED means DANGER; BLUE means SAFE, and GOLD shows who did the best the previous month. It impossible to wear red twice as such thing leads to elimination, but the vests may still change owners after the next evaluation.” Different scenes show the trainees putting their vests on for the first time and then it all just cuts completely.

Ricky appears on his chair wearing the bright yellow as it was his right. “How does the gold vest feel?” The voice questions it. “Ah, this…” The boy lets out a quiet sheepish laugh, gaze falling somewhere below the right corner of the screen. “It’s heavy, to be honest.” He nods. “Not actually heavy, but… it feels really symbolic… maybe of my time training. It’s sort of like a big sign that says I have to do extra well or what’s the point? I mean… we all have to do well but it’s sort of like I have to do perfect. It’s not burdensome, but I feel like I have to keep working to prove, to myself too, that I deserve it.”

This time its Chaeyoung with the same colored vest on to indicate the title that she had won. “How do you feel about the results last month?” They ask her and she crosses her arms. “When I was standing there, I was feeling uneasy at first. During that time, I kept thinking, ‘is he going to leave me last?’ or ‘maybe I wasn’t surprising enough?’. I really didn’t like those doubts but I think it’s because anything he would say, everyone in the room would hear.” Lowering her head, she drops her arms and continues with her response after a brief pause. “Then when it came to me, I thought that if he had anything negative to say that I should view it positively and take that negativity as motivation to do better. But once he mentioned how impressed they were with my singing and rapping, I was so happy that I couldn’t stop smiling.”

A brief scene shows the exact moment she mentioned when she was still back in that room standing in line. “This vest…” Chaeyoung points to the piece of clothing. “To some people, they may think of it as something you would want due to the symbolism it holds. To others, they may see the person wearing it as a threat - a rival they have to overtake. But to me, it has a very unique meaning.” Shaking her head, the girl tries to explain herself. “MVP means ‘the most valuable player’.” Chaeyoung does her best to speak in English before shifting back. “Valuable is something that has great worth. We have P for ‘player. So that means we are a team and the MVP is someone who has significantly helped the team succeed. For me, I think wearing this reminds me that despite this being a competition, we need to work well as a group and I have to do my best to be the glue that can help make it possible.”

When her smile starts to fade along with the rest of the scene, something that has become familiar appears. The camera shows an image from the top of the girls living room, as it did before, and then it changes to the boys. While the images play on screen, the words on the bottom change from ‘Month 1, Week 4’ to ‘Month 2, Week 1’. It was the start of a brand new month.

Solji and Wendy sit together as they go through the lyrics, both of them wearing blue. “What did you think of the song when it first came out, unni?” The younger, Wendy, asks. Solji’s brows automatically furrow. “Yah, are you calling me old? The song came out in November of 1997… I was only four,” she noted. The years of their birth appear below them. While Wendy was born in 1998, Solji was from 1993.

“Unni~” The girl adds playfully. “I’m not calling you old~.” Wendy tries a pout for full effect. “I was only wondering whether the song was one of your childhood favorites.” The screen keeps showing Wendy, except now she is in the middle of her interview. “What do you think of this week’s concept?” They ask her and Wendy lets out a laugh. “Admittedly, the 90s were difficult, since at least three of us grew up aboard. Most of the unnies were still toddlers when majority of these songs came out, while Chaeyoungie and I were born toward the end of the decade.”

“How do you feel about the results” She sighs. “I was mostly thankful that CEO Hyun Bin and the rest of you considered my performance as sufficient enough to be considered safe,” she says with a soft smile that instantly fades. “However, I felt like I was complimented on my singing before being slapped in the face. Figuratively, that is. I mean, I’m thankful that I was given a direction on what I must improve on this month. But at the same time, a little bit of validation would have been nice.” Wendy smiles. “Being in the safe team motivates me to work even harder to show that I deserve to be kept in the project.”

The one next on the seat is Solji. “I feel really good,” she admits. “I mean, I know there is still a lot to be worked on, but I’m very happy with how the first month went as a whole. Honestly, to hear the comments give to me… I’m very thankful.” A smile appears on her face. “To hear Sajangnim himself telling me that he wasn’t expecting me to impress him…” she chuckles softly. “Well, it’d be a lie if I said that I wasn’t nervous when he started with those words.”

“How do you feel about your placement?” It is Sunmi now, another member of the SAFE zone. “I don’t feel like I deserve my spot in the safe zone.” They ask her if she’s insecure. She shakes her head. “My performance this first month wasn’t the performance of a five-year trainee and for that, I should be in the danger zone. It wasn’t a good performance and honestly, the group performance, in the end, didn’ help my standing much either.” When they ask her if she thinks she did worse than everyone, she shrugs.

“I can’t really say if I was really the worst of the group but you have to evaluate everyone fairly. The fair thing would be to evaluate me as someone with more experience than half of them there. So for someone with my caliber of experience, I did badly. It’s just the reality.” Sunmi looks off for a moment. “I think people should learn to be more self-critical.”

The girls in red sit together in their own circle. It’s not easy to know you’re in danger and that much is evident in their faces. “So-” Yongsun decides to be the first to speak. “This is unfortunate but at this point, we got nothing to lose and everything to gain,” she nods her head. “How do you feel about the results?” The voice asks her this time and the girl leans back on the chair, glancing down. “Somehow, I felt lacking- Hyuna suggested the song for the last week and I thought it wasn’t a bad pick but none of the other songs were good picks either.” She smiles anyway. “I wasn’t eliminated but punished because I had been a trainee for a less amount of time. Not prepared enough and then I don’t stand out enough.”

When it’s Hyuna’s turn to speak she doesn’t sound too enthusiastic. “I have nothing to say. I feel the same as I did when I started this show.” She shrugs, reaching up to pull onto the blue vest. “I’m safe. There is nothing else to it. I suck at dancing. I’m good at rapping, which is something the public already knew.” After that, she takes a deep breath. “Can I leave now?

There are two girls now side-by-side. The cameras stare at them while they stare at their own lyrics sheet. Meiqi knocks a fist against her head to her to focus. “Sorry, I zoned out for a second,” she laughs dryly before continuing. “Are you sure we should give me that many parts? Hyun Bin said my singing isn’t that good so maybe you should take one more part of mine…” Yongsun is the one sitting with her and she quickly shakes her head. “No, I won’t do that. You need to prove Hyun Bin and everyone wrong - practice makes perfect and I’ll support you to the best of my own abilities. You just gotta remember the lyrics and I think you will do just fine.”

While she gives the other a smile, the background music clearly gets more serious. They focus on Meiqi’s reaction. “Was that supposed to be a joke or…” She looks down at her paper, taking a deep breath. For those who didn’t remember it, a flashback to the girl forgetting her lyrics during rap week plays followed by the CEO himself sharing his thoughts about it at the end of the month. “Yes, joke.” Yongsun nods her head, but the editing team makes it clear that the air feels much denser than the type you’d have after a joke.

Meiqi pulls the sleeves of her shirt over her knuckles when it’s time for her interview. “It was hard to hear,” she admits through a heavy sigh. “I’ve never… been criticized so heavily. But he’s right. It’s disheartening to hear it, you know? But it’s even worse when you know it yourself. When you think you’re decent, but then you make all these mistakes that you know aren’t you. When you let  nerves get in the way and you start doubting yourself at a level you never have…” Tears start piling up in her eyes but she doesn’t let them fall. “I know I belong in the danger zone,” Meiqi’s voice cracks, forcing her to take a deep breath. “But I don’t like being in it.”

The girl appears again in front of a camera inside her empty room. She runs a hand through her hair, pushing it back even when it’s not falling into her face. “You know that saying? ‘New year, new me’?” Meiqi switches to English for the common phrase and then goes back to Korean. “I want to change it to ‘new month, new me’ because that’s how I feel right now.” She giggles, tosses her hair over her shoulder and continues. “Cam, do I look good in red? I’m going to do my best to look good in another color. Make sure to cheer me on, okay?” The girl pouts. “To everyone who believed in me, I’m sorry for disappointing you. I’ll work hard so that I can be a Meng Meiqi that you can proudly say you are a fan of.”

Someone else is fidgeting with their vest, and it is still very red. Kaeun tries to straighten it out, but it proves to be difficult. “Honestly, I thought that was the end for me. I wasn’t expecting this division, per se, but I’m glad to stay a little longer. I think I’m starting to grow attached to this place and the training, a little. Sajangnim’s words… aligned with my thoughts. I’m still searching for what I truly hope to do as a trainee, and it’s not easy.” She smiles, hands resting on her lap as she speaks. “And I was thinking maybe, just maybe, I want to rap and dance. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and there probably isn’t enough time to become an amazing rapper, or dancer, all at one go. How many steps I can progress, I’d be happy with that alone.” The girl nods, leaning against the chair slightly. “Also, this red vest isn’t all that bad looking either. I think it stands out.”

Chaeyoung walks inside an empty practice room and remains still momentarily while closing her eyes. While she does so, a text appears on the bottom of the screen to let the audience know that was not a still picture. The girl finally opens her eyes and looks at the came, getting a bit closer to wave. “Hi! I don’t know if the other member told you, but we’re going to be performing ‘I’m Your Girl’ by S.E.S.” She chuckles. “But before I resume practice, let me end this talk with one of my favorite parts from this song.” Chaeyoung takes one of the water bottles and uses it as a microphone. She starts by humming the melody before saying the first line. “I like S.E.S y’all!” And so she turns the bottle towards the camera as if it would sing the missing line. The trainee does the same thing again before laughing.

The SAFE girls are the firsts to perform and the same song Chaeyoung had given the pleasure of introducing is the one that plays. It’s a famous song that even recent female idol groups made sure to cover. Being formed by only the best trainees, they make it a good and cute performance. The DANGER girls ended up choosing the same artist as the last group, but still a different song. The angelic aura of S.E.S takes over the segment and all the girls get to shine with their talent and dreamy visuals.

The week returns to the past, right after the results are given. Hosung heads straight to his room, climbs up to his top bunk and buries himself under the blanket with his face towards the wall. He’s clearly crying, but he doesn’t want to show that. “I’m fine,” he whispers it loud enough for the cameras to catch.

Someone else follows him into the room and the same path the boy had taken before. Hugo carefully slides in beside him, wrapping an arm around him. “Hey…” The other shifts slightly so that they could both fit a bit better but he’s still facing away. “Hey… congratulations on being safe. You deserve it. Blue never was my color…” He tries to lighten the mood with a joke but it trails off weakly. “I really messed up, didn’t I?” Hugo buries his face into the back of the other boy’s shoulder. “Blue is your color, it will be. Don’t give up hope, yeah? Show them why they need you, like you showed me.”

Leaving their bed behind, Hugo is the one who appears sitting in front of the camera. “I’m safe,” he tries to say with a smile but it proves to be hard. “I feel very conflicted right now. Last week when I was here, I was saying I couldn’t leave Hosung behind, and now that’s exactly what has happened. I don’t know what to do. I wish I could help him… I hope he can move up to the safe team with me. Then everything will be good.” He nods.

Hosung shows again, except this time he is with Haknyeon, another member of the DANGER zone. “Hyung,” the younger says. “This feels familiar, huh? Cat dog from the MGAs.” Hosung looks away from the mirror and towards him with a smile. “Yeah, cat dog from the MGAs.” Haknyeon continues. “Could you… help me a bit more with my singing this month? I don’t want to bring you or BamBam hyung down… I want to be useful!” He says, determined.

The smile on Hosung’s face turns a little brighter and a bit bigger. “Of course I’ll help you with singing. Although, are you sure you want me to? CEO-nim pretty much told me I sucked.” He shrugs before pulling Haknyeon into a one-armed hug. “Better than being told that you’re frankly an awful sing,” the boy tried to impersonate Hyun Bin to the best of his abilities. “I think you’re a good singer, hyung, that’s why I want you to help me.” He smiles. “Yeah, well, I think you’re a fine singer,” he replies patting the other’s cheek affectionately. “And thank you for thinking that I’m a good singer. If just one person likes it then it’s all worth it.”

Hosung’s interview is next to air. “What are your feelings after last week’s review?” They ask him and Hosung picks at the red vest to show them. “As you can see, I’m wearing red. Normally I love a good strong accent color but this time…” He takes a shaky breath before continuing. “Was I surprised by my critique from Hyun Bin CEO? Yes. Am I happy to be on the chopping block? No. I take full responsibility for not training my vocal techniques to the level that they’re supposed to be at.”

“So who in your group will take responsibility if you all should fail?” He opens his mouth but it takes a moment before the sound comes out of it. “I will take responsibility. We are all working together in a democratic fashion but I will say that I am the one who is trying to keep them on task.” When they ask him if he’s the leader, he denies. “I wouldn’t use that label, no, more like… manager? I take notes, make sure people are eating, drinking, and resting…”

It’s a practice room this time, and the people inside aren’t wearing red. Jungwoo holds onto his water bottle while he approaches Ricky with a smile. “Feeling good? I would’ve picked you for MVP too. You helped me a lot during the group week.” Ricky looks over to him. “Oh… I think so… I guess so. Thanks… I’m glad you’re here. You did good.” He glances down. “To be honest, I’m nervous. The expectations are really high for us. It’s important that we do well.” While he speaks, Ricky fiddles with the hem of the vest. “We can’t just show a better side of us than the other teams and leave it at that, we have to be better than ourselves. Always.” Jungwoo sucks his lower lip between his teeth, chewing on it. “I know.” There’s still a smile on his face. “I feel the same way. There’s not any less pressure on us being on this team. I feel like we have to work even harder now to prove we belong here. We deserve this.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t… offer to help sooner,” Ricky utters. He pauses, leaving an awkward breath suspended between them. The scene fades over to Jungwoo’s interview. “Haknyeon is on the danger team.” His brow furrows deep. “He’s got such talent for dancing and I thought his rapping was really good! I’m really worried for him.” The boy clasps his hands together tightly on his lap. “Of course I’m worried for the others too. I don’t want anyone to go home. But Haknyeonnie is my best friend. I want to debut with him.”

Jungwoo goes quiet for a moment. “I’m glad Ricky got MVP, though. He really deserves it, especially after last week. I was going to drag the whole team down, but he really helped me with my part, and he did his own amazingly too. Wow, he’s really a force to be reckoned with.” Meanwhile, Haknyeon appears to share some similar feelings to Jungwoo when it comes to him. “It’s tough. Terrible. I let myself down.” He pauses. “If I’m being honest, I feel angry at myself. At the start of the week, I couldn’t stand to look at myself in the mirror because seeing the red uniform made me so sad.” He looks down at his uniform and grips at it. “But I felt that… I should channel that anger and sadness differently. You know, to not let myself down again. I want to debut.”

SAFE boys start to follow along about the same path as the girls did as they take on a bright concept to start things off. The song picks are quite a contrast to what’s famous nowadays and the style change is quite apparent. The DANGER boys go for something more intense instead. The rap-heavy song features a demanding choreography which the three boys manage to handle through most of the song. It’s only the first week, but things were already getting interesting.

The camera shows an image from the top of the boys living room, and then it changes to the girls. While the images play on screen, the words on the bottom change from ‘Month 2, Week 1’ to ‘Month 2, Week 2’.

The girls are shown enjoying their meal at the common room as it’d be expecting them to. It cuts to the inside of one of the bedrooms where Sunmi sad with a packet of chips in her lap and tears in her eyes. She turns to the nearest camera and wipes her tears. “I’m alright,” she says. On the other side of the door, Wendy leans closer to the door and appears to understand what was happening inside of it. The girl returns with a cup in hand and enters their room. “Sunmi unni? Are you okay? I brought you some tea.” The girl sets the drink on top of the dresser. Sunmi doesn’t appear too interested in it. “I know that fate works mysteriously but it sucks, you know?”

“How do you find working with the girls from the safe group?” They ask Hyuna. “I love it,” she replies in a heartbeat. “I really, really like it. Everyone has something they add to the group and it’s really refreshing to see them all work hard and adapt, help each other. It’s a motivating environment. I wish we wouldn’t change. Is that selfish?” She asks, grin pulling on her lips as she laughs. “Being in the safe group is a first for me. Nova likes their dancers, and I’m… I’m working on it, but I have quite a long way to go before I even manage to get on the level of some of the trainees here, like Sunmi, for example.”

Wendy is the one to appear after her. “What’s different about this song compared to the previous weeks?” The girl looks pensive before she gives her reply. “We rarely get to do playful and flirty songs,” she says with a fond smile. “This is our chance to show off our fun and sexy side!” She bursts out laughing. “What’s the biggest challenge for you this week?” And she replies making a face. “I’m not sexy enough,” she answers flat-out. “I mean, you’ve seen the girls I’m with, right?”

The scene changes to Wendy as she tries making flirty faces at the mirror. She giggles at herself before winking. “Unnie~” She whines at Hyuna who is beside her. “How do you do it?” The other lifts her eyes from her lyrics sheet. Hyuna blinks for a second before moving closer to the younger. Instead of doing a wink, she looks at Wendy and lifts her hand to gently grab her chin and make her face her before winking at her. Wendy blinks and maintains eye contact until she starts to laugh.

Chaeyoung appears on her seat sporting the golden vest people aimed for. “I felt that I was experiencing so many emotions at once, especially this week? I couldn’t help but wonder a lot. For example, last month we were evaluated on whether we could sing, dance, and rap well, right?” The girl begins to explain her train of thought. “Then on the fourth week, we were given a task where we had to incorporate that because that’s what you see some idol groups do. But this week, I kept contemplating moreover what is the purpose of this month’s missions? Was it a review for us to see the history of music throughout the decades?”

She purses her lips as she shakes her head. “Then during the song selection process, that’s when I began to think ‘what if Hyun Bin sajangnim is testing us to see if we can adapt to various concepts?’. If we stuck with the same one throughout this month, that would be a boring performance, wouldn’t it?” Chaeyoung confesses out loud. “At some point, I even asked myself ‘what if he wants to see us adapt in general? Both in concepts and roles?’ Like rappers singing and singers rapping?” The girl tilts her head. “I thought about that a lot and it reminded me of theatre. When the actor cannot perform on stage, you have the understudy. They have to be ready for anything that could happen. Throughout this week and last week, I imagined myself as that.”

“It’s been… interesting,” Solji nods her head. “When the mission was first given, it didn’t seem that difficult, but then, as we got to picking out the songs, we realized that we didn’t know the earlier years as well as we thought. And then, of course, the later years are just so jam-packed with music that we’re much more familiar with so it was decision overload,” she chuckles. “But I think having more options is good. After all, we can talk through why something would work better than something else.”

Kaeun takes her sit, a girl with a red vest. “I liked this week’s challenge a little more, I think? S.E.S sunbaenim’s song is a long-time classic, but this week’s song was something that I sort of grew up with a bit more? It fits us, or that’s what I like to believe. Always be confident in yourself, right?” She shows a smile with a finger gun. “There’s more of a strong rap focus this week. I think that makes me nervous but, a little heart fluttering? Being in a smaller group really made me realize how much work one had to prepare because we all want to come out of the performance doing well. Since there’s only 3 of all, each of us has to do our roles really well, that’s how we help the group”.

One of her groupmates appears next. “How was our performance last Sunday?” Meiqi chews on her lower lip. “I think it went well…?” She raises her tone slightly at the end of the sentence. “I don’t want to jinx myself though… I know I’m not supposed to be proud or happy of this thing,” she says while pinching at the material of her red vest. “But I’m grateful for it, in a way. It put me in a group with two hardworking, talented, truly beautiful people. I’m really happy to go on stage with these two by my side.”

It’s the same girl, but she approaches the camera with her hoodie over her head, concealing her hair. “Cam, have you ever wondered what I would look like if I was a boy?” Her voice comes out muffed and one tug on the string unravels it and her hood falls to reveal a dark, short wig. Meiqi does her best to imitate a smoldering look. “What do you think? From today, tell people that I’m your boyfriend.”

The DANGER girls start things this time around. They’re all dressed up exactly like someone would to cover a boy group song. Their choice is strong and intense unlike their choice for the previous week. It’s a good contrast and the three girls make a good job out of their challenge. The SAFE girls also went on an opposite route from the first week, but still different from the DANGER girls. Instead of strong and intense they went for sexy and flirtacious. It’d be hard to compare the two now that their concepts are different, but people always enjoyed picking sides.

Jungwoo is laying down on the practice room floor, chest rising and falling in desperate rapidity. “How are you doing?” He calls over to his practice partner and lays still for a moment longer before stretching out to reach for his water. “Feeling good about the trick yet? I’m not.” Hugo hobbles over and descends, laying half on top of Jungwoo, head resting on his chest. “Hold me,” and he drapes a jelly-like arm over Jungwoo’s frame. “Gross,” the other complains. “I sat here to cool down. You’re not helping.” Yet he does nearly nothing to push Hugo off, just a half-hearted little shove at his floppy arm that does not nothing.

“I hate this. Dancing is so hard, especially for me with no natural ability to speak of,” Hugo complains. “It is hard,” the other agrees. “But we’ll be okay. We gotta be.” Hugo starts to move around, sitting up. “Alright, let’s get back to it.” He sighs, and Jungwoo sits along with him. “I want to debut,” he admits. “And I don’t want to leave anyone behind. But we can’t all make it, can we?”

The boy sits in front of the camera and stifles a yawn, obviously tired. “Our teamwork is great,” he smiles. “Picking songs was hard, of course. We had a whole decade of music to go through, but we all seemed to be on the same page. Last week, I was sad about who I didn’t have on my team. This week, I’m excited about who I do have.” His practice looks about just as tired on his own interview. “I’ve been working extra hard. This week’s performance is no joke.”

Hugo proceeds. “I’ve worked hard for performances before, but not endlessly like this. You get through one week but it doesn’t stop, becuase you have the next week to worry about. I imagine this is what an idol’s life must be like during promotions.” He gives a nod. “Huidong hyung has been helping us a lot with our dancing. With his help, I think I’m improving a lot faster now. He’s a good leader and a good dancer, too. It’s really comforting to be on his team.” The man smiles.

“What are your thoughts on this week’s theme?” They ask Hosung this time. “I think the song for this week is… different than what people would’ve expected of us. More mellow and not as upbeat but it still does a good job on showcasing the rap skills of our two members. Originally, the vocal parts are really high so I had to adjust it to fit my range but overall I think we fit well together.”

Haknyeon shares the same color of vest as he does and proceeds with his own answers, nodding before he speaks. “I’ve been working hard. Last week we did a song from the 90s… I was born in the year 2000 so that was interesting,” he says. “We’re doing a song from the 2000s this time. I was nine when it came out, so I know the song.” Haknyeon pauses for a moment. “Honestly, it’s still a little tough, but I’ve come to accept the reality of things. I’m in danger but being sad and angry at myself won’t do me any good. I’ve been trying to channel all of… what I’ve been feeling into putting on a good performance.”

“It’s been a month and a half. Do you miss anyone?” He doesn’t have to think much to reply. “I miss my mum. I miss having her homecooked food, I miss hearing her voice… I even miss fighting with her,” he lets out a weak laugh. “But I need to make her proud here,” the boy smiles.

The DANGER boys go first, as the girls did. As metioned by the members, their choice is more mellow instead of upbeat but also allows them to show their skills well. Meanwhile, the SAFE boys are the one going for intensity this time around. It’s a nice contrast and it’s interesting to see how every group followed the same strategy, but each one of them decided to take a different path. After they’re all done, there are still two weeks left and the fourth remains a secret.

EPISODE FIVE TEASER: It’s the end of the second month, and the possibility of eliminations leaves anyone nervous. Flashes of red and blue go by the screen as the trainees give it their best. But there’s a twist, it seems, expect it’s nothing that can be confirmed through a teaser. As the show goes by its halfway mark, will your favorite contestants make it until the end?

**Note: None of the performances were shown fully, but separate videos will be posted IC on Nova’s official YouTube channel during the week of each trainee’s full performance.

[lyssala]

Parental

Pairing: Terra/Aqua

Rating: K

Words: 4140

Notes: Another one that ended up vastly different than I originally intended lmao I wrote the memory and then started the present part and went OH YOU KNOW WHAT haha One of my favorite tropes for female characters is that super badass lady who don’t need anyone to be who they are but they still have this sweet maternal way about them. I love mama Aqua, you can see it so easily in the way she interacts with Ven and the other kids. I just thought it was a sweet idea for her to secretly enjoy the thought of children herself (and in turn getting flustered over the idea lmao)

AO3

Aqua loved her home very much; she wouldn’t wanna be anywhere else but she absolutely loved it when Master would say the words:

“Go on and get ready, we’re leaving in a few minutes.”

It always meant they were getting to leave their world, even if just for a few hours. She and Terra would race back to their rooms to change into clothing less appropriate for training and more appropriate for seeing people in. Then they’d race back to docking bay where Terra almost always won, she had no idea how.

Usually it wasn’t for exciting reasons; normally meetings or formally meeting other masters or people in high ranks. But traveling to new worlds was always exciting. Even standing in front of the ship, Aqua could barely keep a bounce out of her step. Terra seemed a little calmer as he stood next to her, his arms crossed against his chest. She looked up at him to see his eyes looking out at the new area but before she could follow his gaze something caught her off guard.

When did he get so tall?

Aqua swore just the other day they were even heights. Yeah sure she knew he was fourteen now, but still.

“I want you both to be on your best behavior,” Master told them, drawing their attention back to him. “I have to be in a meeting for a little bit so I’m letting the two of you have your free time in town until I’m done.”

Aqua tried not to let out an audible noise but judging by the way Terra snorted in laughter it didn’t work super well.

“But…” Master Eraqus held up one finger. “That doesn’t mean you’re not being watched, so behave and try not to cause any trouble.”

“Us? Master, how could you think such things?” Terra asked, feigning such innocence Aqua rolled her eyes.

“Us?” Master Eraqus arched an eyebrow. “Don’t lump Aqua in, I was talking to you.”

Terra’s shoulders slumped but she knew he wasn’t actually upset. “Harsh.”

Master chuckled as he reached to ruffle Terra’s hair. “Go on now, stay together and be safe.”

Aqua couldn’t hold in it any longer, she ran past them heading towards the town before she turned to jog backwards. “C’mon, Terra, don’t be so slow!”

There was a glint in his eyes that she knew all too well. He couldn’t ever resist a challenge. “Slow? Excuse me?” He was already chasing after her when she turned to run again.

Master might’ve called something after them but Aqua honestly didn’t hear what it was, she was already skidding to a stop onto the main street of the town, Terra not too far behind her.

“Told you not to be slow,” she said as she turned around to face him, hands victoriously placed on her hips.

“You had a head start,” he said.

She laughed a little but turned back around to look at the busy street in front of them. People were going about their daily lives, running errands, shopping, cleaning, getting from one place to another.  Aqua’s world was so quiet all the time; it was always exhilarating to be in a world so bustling with people and things to do.

She didn’t even realize she was staring until Terra started to walk a head. Despite how happy she felt, her heart started to sink at seeing his retreating back. He was her best friend, and yet lately he had been taking more time to himself, running off on his own without her. She always tried to not let it bother her, knowing she had stronger feelings for him than he probably had for her but that didn’t mean it still didn’t hurt. It made her feel like she was losing the one person who meant the world to her.

Aqua hurried to catch up. She knew they were told to stay together but she didn’t want him to feel like he had to spend time with her. As much as it made her want to cry on a public street surrounded by strangers she had to give him the option. “Hey, if you…you know wanna go do something else it’s okay. I mean, I’ll be okay on my own.”

Terra turned to her, an amused sort of look on his face. “What? You trying to get rid of me?”

“No,” Aqua said, probably more defensively than she needed to. “I just meant…” She honestly had no idea what she meant.

“It’s fine,” he said, reaching a hand up to push at her head lightly. “Where do you wanna go?”

“Umm…” She looked around the area, trying to remember where things were, and trying to ignore the much lighter feeling in her chest. “The overlook.” She pointed forward where she could almost see the cliffs over the vast ocean of this world.

“Alright,” he said, starting to make his way through the street nearly full of people.

She followed after him quickly trying to stay by his side, you know, like she was told to do and all but the closer they got to the market place, the harder it was to actually do that. People weren’t being rude but they had places to be and things to do, so pushing themselves between any gaps in the crowd they could probably didn’t seem all that problematic.

There were vendors calling out their goods, women and men all around moving to get to which booth they wanted to. Some laughter caught her ear, making her turn her head behind them. It was a mother with a little baby wrapped against her chest, her hand holding the much smaller hand of a toddler who was giggling as they walked. It wasn’t unusual Aqua supposed, this was a town full of people but she didn’t see young children very often. Seeing them with their mother who was speaking to the little girl as she gently rubbed the baby’s back, all smiling and happy, made Aqua’s chest feel warm in kinda a weird way.

She looked back to where she was going and nearly ran into the back of someone. She quickly looked around for Terra but he wasn’t anywhere in sight. One moment she had been walking with him and the next thing she knew she was surrounded by people she didn’t know. They weren’t pushing or anything, just trying to get to the market. She tried to look up to see if she could see his head anywhere but she couldn’t see past the crowd of people.

She tried to keep moving her way through, kinda remembering the way to the cliffs. She was more than capable enough to get there on her own but she couldn’t stop the sinking feeling in her stomach. Had Terra even noticed she was gone? The answer was probably yes, but also that he knew she could get there on her own and probably went on without her. It was the truth, but it still made her feel stupid.

Aqua took in a breath and started to maneuver her way through the crowd but before she could get very far a hand grabbed a hold of hers, pulling her through the thick crowd of people. When she finally could breathe again, she saw she was standing on the other end of the street, past the busiest part. Terra’s hand was still holding onto hers and almost unreadable expression on his face.

Before her face had a chance to heat up over the fact that he was still holding her hand, that he did come back from her, he gave her slight smirk. “You’re getting too short, Aqua, I could barely see you in that crowd.”

“I am not getting too short,” she said, using her free hand to hit him in the arm. “You’re too tall, but apparently not tall enough since I couldn’t see you either.”

He opened his mouth to respond but he was cut off before he actually could.

“A flower for your girlfriend?” a flower seller asked, coming up in between them.

Aqua almost felt her face turn as red as the flower the woman was holding at the implication she was giving. Aqua couldn’t even stutter to deny it, she could only stare and barely be able to glace over at Terra.

He seemed a little surprised, like he was caught off guard by the question but he recovered far better than she did. “No, thanks,” he said simply. He did let go of her hand, much to her relief and disappointment all rolled up in one, moving his hand to the back of her head to push her slightly. “Keep moving before you get lost again.”

“I didn’t get lost,” she grunted, crossing her arms against her chest. “Maybe you got lost.”

He snorted but he didn’t say anything else. It didn’t matter too much, because a few moments later Aqua was completely distracted by the ocean.

She ran the last few feet to the overlook built for people to sit and enjoy the view. She went right up to the railing, kicking her feet in between the bars so she could pull herself up and get a better view over the fence.

They had a lake and streams back home but it wasn’t the ocean. There was just something about the salt air, the way the waves crashed against the cliffs, the sea foam bubbling on the edge of the water; not to mention the giant waterfall in the distance that poured off a tall cliff, making it loud and soothing.

There was that laughter again. When Aqua turned her head, she saw that small family again. She watched the little girl climb up into the lap of a man who judging by his happy greeting was her father. He picked her up, swinging her above his head as the woman sat down next to him. He leaned in to kiss her when he placed the toddler in his lap and Aqua quickly turned away.

Terra eventually caught up, leaning his back against the railing next to her though he didn’t seem too interested in it.

“Do you not like it?” she asked, her face feeling unusually warm as she could still hear the happy family talking behind them.

“It’s just water,” he shrugged.

“It’s not just water. It’s a whole ocean full of water with its own creatures and life system to support them. And it’s pretty, just look at it.” She gestured down to the water rippling in the wind. “It moves like…I dunno, like its dancing or something.”

Terra didn’t look towards the water, but he did look at her. She expected some sarcastic response but instead he smiled. “Yeah, maybe you’re right.”

She gripped her hands down on the railing. In that moment, Aqua thought maybe his smile was nicer than even the ocean. She wondered if it would look as bright as that man’s did, if Terra had a little girl to swing into his arms too. Aqua could almost see him much older than now, tall and strong and holding a cooing child over his head, small hands reaching out to him. Maybe she’d have vibrant blue eyes like his, and maybe she’d have blue hair.

Aqua forced herself out of her mental image with a cringe so hard she couldn’t help but curl her body slightly around the railing, hiding her face that she could feel was burning up from Terra. Oh gods. She couldn’t believe she just thought that. It was more embarrassing than she even knew how to comprehend. If he ever knew…

“Hey, you got sun burn already?” Terra said, reaching a hand out to her chin to tilt her face over to him.

“No!” she exclaimed far louder than she needed to, but her heart was still racing in her chest, pounding in her ears. “I’m fine.”

He arched an eyebrow. “You don’t look fine.”

“I am.”

Terra didn’t look like he bought it at all but he shrugged, looking back out over the area.

Aqua placed her chin on the railing and closed her eyes, letting the salty air blow over her face. Sometimes she wished she could just stop feeling the way she did about him. She wished it would just go away.

“Please behave yourselves!” Aqua called after the retreating backs of her students. It didn’t look like any of them were paying attention any more, not after being let loose to do as they pleased in the town.

At least Sora turned around to give her a thumbs up before Lea grabbed the back of his collar, dragging him off with the rest of them. When even Ven was out of sight she sighed, feeling a mixture of pride and dread.

“You worry too much.”

“I do not worry too much,” she said, glancing over at Terra who was leaning against nearby railing.

“They all did plenty fine before they ever knew you, I’m pretty sure they’ll be perfectly okay in a contained town for the day.”

He was probably right, and yeah, sure, maybe she worried too much. She was pretty sure if she vocalized that, Terra would reaffirm there was no maybe about it. They were all much older than she and Terra were when they were given more freedoms in regards to training and she had seen them all triumph in ways that shouldn’t even be possible. They had barely been living in the castle for half a year and yet she still felt a desire to protect them all, to make sure they always were smiling and happy.

“I guess,” she relented.

Terra rolled his eyes as he straightened his back. “They’re fine. We were always fine, weren’t we?”

He had a point. “Mostly.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

She still knew he was right but she crossed her arms against her chest anyways. “And why aren’t you worrying more? You’re just as responsible now.” She paused for a second looking over to him. “Master Terra.”

After all this time, it did feel very nice to finally be able to call him with the title she always knew he deserved. He passed the exam with no problems what so ever, just like she said he would and she had no problem reminding him of that.

He tilted his head up towards her, a sly sort of smile on his lips. He reached his hands out to place them on her shoulders, leaning in so his chest was against her back, his lips close to her ear. “Oh, please, keep calling me that.”

“Oh, knock it off,” she breathed, though it was a little hard to ignore the shivers on her spine with his warm breath so close to her neck. Aqua did manage to elbow him in the gut though it admittedly wasn’t too hard.

“Relax,” he chuckled, pressing his hands down on her shoulders. “They’re not babies, they’re teenagers. C’mon, I’m not letting you stand here all day and wait for them to come back.” He dropped his hands from her shoulders, just to grab her hand instead.

Aqua started to follow after the last place she saw the kids go, it was a fairly big world after all, chances are they wouldn’t run into them.

“The opposite direction, Aqua,” Terra said, though he sounded more amused then mad as he tugged at her hand.

He was probably right, she was being ridiculous. She followed after where he led, down some other streets to another open area of the town, some sort of performance center in the middle of the large clearing. She heard the waves of the ocean crashing against the side of the cliffs even from she was.  They weren’t her children, they were her students; even Ven more like a brother than anything. Once they passed their exams they’d move on, she was there to teach them and help them grow. It was never to be permanent.

Terra walked over to the edge of the area, dropping her hand to lean over the railing overlooking the vast ocean. He seemed content enough so she leaned her back up against the railing near where he was standing, eyes looking out over the people walking through.

She didn’t know why, considering she didn’t even know some of the kids all that long but the thought made her want to cry. Even Ven would be able to be a master himself soon. He wasn’t that small scared child who came to them so long ago.

“Hey, what’s the matter?” Terra asked.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” she waved him off, though she really felt ridiculous now that she couldn’t even mask her feelings from him.

“Liar.”

When she looked over to him, he was watching her with those deep eyes of his, like he could see right through her. She didn’t have it in her heart to lie to him.

“Ven’s gonna be a master soon too.” Hearing the word’s aloud like that made her feel like she was going to exclaim in joy for him or start to actually cry.

“Yeah, he is,” Terra said, clearly not quite following.

“So will the other kids.”

“Yeah, that’s very true.”

“I don’t want them to.”

He laughed, he actually laughed and she was about ready to hit him. “Yes, you absolutely do. You want them to move on and be the best people they can be. That’s why you agreed to teach them even though we had barely had the world back together. That’s why you’ll accept the next group of students that may come our way, and the next, and so on. That’s who you are.”

Terra was unsurprisingly right. She didn’t actually want them to stay because that would mean they wouldn’t be able to live their lives to the fullest potential she knew each one of them had. “Then why does it feel so bad?”

He had this knowing smile on his face. “You’ve always been a very maternal person, Aqua. You always took care of me even though I was older than you. You took care of Ven when he had no one else in the world. You took care of these kids to help them reach the next part of their lives. It is what makes you a good teacher, because you genuinely care about them and raising them to be good people. But that also mean you have to watch them leave your care, and yeah, sometimes that may be sad, it’s for a good reason. Hell, I don’t even know how I’ll feel watching them move on, especially Ven. He’ll probably stick around with us, but even then he’s not a child anymore.”

It was against her will, but she felt her face heat up at his choice of words. Maternal, he said, like a mother. Aqua looked away, towards the ocean and the cool breeze blowing over her. He wasn’t really saying anything she didn’t already know about herself but there was something about Terra calling her motherly that made her both want to hide her face in embarrassment and also feel a warm feeling in the pit of her stomach. She wasn’t sure why her emotions seemed to be all over the place today but it was hard to feel any way than how she was feeling.

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” she said.

“Probably?” he snorted and that time he did get hit on the chest.

He didn’t say anything else and neither did she. Aqua took to looking around the plaza again, watching the people as they came and went, some hurried like they had something to attend to and others more leisurely wandering. There were individuals, there were couples, there were groups, and there were families. Children chasing the birds in the center of the area, teenagers looking over the edge of the railing, babies cooing as their parents entertained them.

It was a carefully guarded secret of Aqua’s, one she held very close to her heart and never let anyone else have. She had a feeling Master Eraqus might’ve known but no one else, not Ven and especially not Terra.

She very well knew keyblade wielders didn’t live conventional lives. They were protectors, they were peace keepers. They had a job that required travel and careful negotiations; it required battle and the ever lingering danger of Darkness. A lot of the masters she had known in her life weren’t married and didn’t have families; there were a few exceptions of course but not many. She knew from a very young age, it would probably never happen but she could never quite let it go.

Aqua never wanted to give up the life she loved so much but as she watched a small child run into the arms of his father, she couldn’t deny that part of her who always wanted that too. She never dared tell anyone she wanted the house, the husband, the children knowing the answer would be doubt that it would be the best thing for anyone. She understood, she did; she saw what the people she loved, what she went through. Their lives would always be hard. It was safe right now sure, but peace was never a guarantee.

She looked back over at Terra who was still watching the water. She couldn’t quite tell if he had anything on his mind or if he was just enjoying the break. The wind blew his hair around slightly. It was longer than it even used to be, so much so that he was starting to pull it back. It reminded her so much of their master that Terra had to have known it too. Maybe it was his way of paying tribute to the man who trained them, and really the only father the two of them ever knew.

Aqua wondered if Terra ever noticed how much he took after Master Eraqus, not just as a person but as a teacher too. Terra was always patient when he needed to be and strict when he needed to be. He encouraged them but let them learn on their own and never accepted “I can’t do it” as an answer. He took care of Ven and those kids just as much as she ever did.

Though she’d still never admit it, she barely did to herself let alone to him, sometimes watching Terra interact with them she couldn’t help but imagine how he’d be with his own children. The thought used to make her almost cringe from embarrassment knowing the look he’d probably give her if he ever found out. Now it made her face flush with a mix of embarrassment and a strange sort of pleasure knowing that at the current time if he ever chose to have children, it would be with her.

Aqua knew she shouldn’t because the likeliness for her small little dream world to happen was rather slim but she couldn’t help but see it so easily. Sometimes she could see it as herself playing with Master Eraqus before Terra even came to live with them, smiling and laughing over a game she made up, Master Eraqus playing along effortlessly. Sometimes it was Terra with a little girl who looked like him, playing with just as much enthusiasm and joy, making the child feel just like Aqua did when she looked up at their master.

It was a silly thought maybe, but it made her smile.  

Terra glanced over; an amused sort of smile on his face that nearly made Aqua jump, some silly notion in her head that he could actually read her mind. “What?” he asked.

“What?”

“You were staring at me with that sappy face of yours.”

She felt her face heat up a little at being semi-caught. He didn’t know what it was but he knew it was something.

“Oh, you’re blushing, now I really wanna know.”

“Terra,” she started as a warning but it really lacked any force.

He dropped it easily enough, just a smile and a shake of his head. She turned around so she was facing the ocean too, leaning in to nudge her shoulder against his.

“Finally stopped worrying then?” he asked, eyes glancing over at him.

The answer was probably no but she didn’t know if there would be a day she wouldn’t worry about Ven and her very first students. “They’re gonna be okay.”

“Yeah, course they will,” he said, no ounce of doubt in his voice.

Aqua leaned her head over against his shoulder causing him to lean down to nudge his head on hers. She really was happy just how her life was, but maybe one day she’d be able to share the one thing she never shared with anyone before with him.

[ultrascentedbouquetduckus-blog]

5 Tips for Flattering Maternity Photography.

people’s hobby in maternity  photography has without a doubt exploded over the previous few years. eight years in the past, while i used to be pregnant with my first son, you couldn’t have paid me a million bucks to report myself in that “condition.” being pregnant kicks my trash. I don’t simply do the “basketball under the t-blouse” appearance. . . oh no. Oh exact mother of Phineas, no. That belly   b l e e e e e e n d s    into the the rest of my terrible, sorry self. Head to toe, I’m puffy. imagine the Pillsbury Doughboy, affordable maternity photography sydney.

It ain’t quite.

OR IS IT?

The latest surge within the recognition of documenting this interesting time in a mother’s lifestyles is causing me to reconsider. The pix I see (and take) of these girls, are beyond description. They’re lovely inside the sort of manner that there without a doubt aren’t words to describe, but that’s ok, because you don’t want words. these photographs make you sense.

but the fact stays, it definitely ain’t at ease to have a digital camera all up on your area while you’re nine million sizes more woman than your regular self. here are five methods to make certain to flatter your mommy-to-be: 1. GET creative together with your digital camera perspective

Getting up excessive and capturing down to your concern is a certain fireplace way to create a slimming portrait. It creates the illusion of elongating the frame and hence it has a outstanding slimming impact (pregnant or now not, i would upload).

Above, I targeted in directly on the stomach, and the feet respectively, to spotlight some of the details of the pregnancy. It’s absolutely flattering within the above example, but even if particularly while you’re taking a full body shot, you’ll locate the same holds proper.

capturing from above surely flatters the body. high fives, girls! high fives. 2.  angle Your concern

If you turn your issue, even ever-so-slightly, you’ll observe that the perspective is much extra flattering. note Jane, above, by means of really having her move her left leg a hair closer to the digicam, her proper hip obviously pulled lower back, for that reason hiding the booty. . . only a little. every pregnant gal will thanks for that. each.unmarried.one. regrettably, Sir pregnancy doesn’t discriminate within the distribution infant weight . . . stomach, booty, boobies, it’s all the same him. (Did I simply say boobies on DPS? Don’t each person inform Darren.)

The splendor of this pose is that it hides the booty, even as still preserving the slimming perspective of the belly. capturing the belly from the side is nearly continually greater flattering, because it allows you to peer the curve of the lower back, therefore making the subject look pregnant, no longer virtually. . . nicely, simply. . . no longer pregnant. . . you understand? Gosh, this publish is lots harder to phrase than I idea it'd be. . . 3.  strive some abstract shots

The photo on the pinnacle of this put up is a fantastic instance of an abstract maternity image. That darling stomach poking out from at the back of Daddy? GOSH, i really like that shot. it is creative whilst simultaneously telling a story. Love.

right here (left) is another model of the photo referenced above. the second image (right) uses summary intensity of discipline to provide a comparable flattering impact. we will draw the eyes faraway from the belly as the point of interest, while nevertheless telling a powerful tale. It looks like we’re peeking in on a few beautiful, intimate moment among mother and her unborn toddler. i like the manner this photo makes me experience and the tale it tells. four.  Distract with Dad

including Daddy to the equation makes the pix more approximately courting and emotion than they may be approximately mother’s body. looking at these pictures, you find your self completely immersed inside the love and pleasure of this couple. . . and oh, she simply happens to be pregnant. these are the forms of maternity images that I without a doubt resonate with. They’re alive, joyous and actual. they're more approximately taking pictures memories of a special time in a own family’s life than they are approximately highlighting a country of the body. side notice: when I explain to my clients that this is my purpose, to seize this unique time of their lives, not sincerely to image her pregnant, it constantly places mother comfortable. And whilst mother’s cozy, every image you're taking of her can be greater flattering—she’s secure, because she no longer feels like there’s a spotlight blaring in her face on her discern.

Aaaaaand I’m simply together with this one (above) as it makes me chortle. difficult. examine Jane’s face. She doesn’t know pretty a way to react. Ha! 5.  Take it critically

Hind sight clearly is 20/20. I want so desperately I may want to go returned in time and love my pregnant body. I’ve had four beautiful little boys, and that i infrequently have any photographs of myself pregnant with any of them. That’s tragic. the bigger they get, the greater I wish I may want to maintain directly to the ones valuable instances when they had been tiny. . . all the way back to when they have been dancing round internal my belly. . . . that is particularly true of my little Gavin.

Gavin died in 2010. I need desperately to forever do not forget each 2nd I had with him, and guess what? i have a total of one image of myself pregnant with him. It’s a cellular phone picture my husband stuck one night time at dinner (and i simply spent the closing hour seeking out it— i'm able to’t even discover it).

The point of the matter is: these photographs matter. They do. And if you technique them as such, you’ll do better paintings, your situation will experience greater comfortable and related, and people factors will usually result in extra flattering images overall.