#there're so many references in this

[bam-monsterhospital]

the "chroma" out of space

Eso deciding to make apocrypha aesthetically varied by adding an area which isn't drenched in greens is fine; adding aesthetic variety to a daedric prince's realm is a great idea.

But then someone decided to name this new vibrant area "The Chroma Incognito". Ohhh 'the hidden/unknown colour'? interesting interesting, what does this mean? Are we going to find out what's so special about this lil area? Why 'hidden/unknown colour'? How does that relate to hermaeus mora's sphere of hoarding information?

Skipping the nothingness the game gives you for in-universe answers to these questions (you can get them by reading uesp's page on this area), and instead looking at what could influence the writers' decisions... I find myself remembering all the advertising for that chapter mentioning lovecraft. Zos really wanted everyone to know how influenced by hp lovecraft this chapter was going to be, and you can see it in soooooo many of the names and titles chosen (the tagline for the chapter story was "shadow over morrowind", y'know, like the story "shadow over innsmouth"?). Which brings us back to the "Chroma Incognito"...

It's the colour out of space. That area of apocrypha is referencing the story (and eponymous creature in it) "The Color Out of Space", by hp lovecraft. This is a problem if you've actually read the story: the chroma incognito, apocrypha, not even the entire chapter itself ha ve anything to do with the plot or themes in "The Color Out of Space" story. Hell, nothing in the chapter even comes close to working like how the 'colour out of space' monster itself works.

This little quirk is a pattern that continues with the rest of the lovecraft-influenced aspects in the necrom chapter: the supposed lovecraft influence starts AND stops at second-hand knowledge of names, like the writers haven't actually read any of the works they're supposedly pulling from. Like they're actually referring to a memeified version overheard by a friend of a friend.

"The Color Out of Space" story deals with things like slowly encroaching dread, radiation poisoning, wrongness, decay, environmental destruction, something that should not be appearing suddenly and having no control over the horror it slowly is wreaking on your life, the horror of not knowing/not having control, how dependent we are on our environment, corruption in every sense of the word, etc etc. Is any of this in any of the various bits and bobs that reference the story/creature in Necrom? Nope.

Honestly if you wanted an area that really referenced the colour out of space, it would be a brittle grey area devoid of life or energy or colour. (hmm, kinda like the greymarch...)

[catgirl-kaiju]

i don't want to stay on the f1nn5ter topic too much, but it's wild that there're still people in the notes of the post with his coming out video being like "the egg jokes still sucked tho"

like, he references those jokes multiple times in the video and clearly thought they were funny and even mentions how those jokes helped him come to terms with his identity. get the fuck off your bullshit and come to terms with the fact that so many of y'all harassed transfems over something that he clearly considers to be a positive thing in his life.

i still have some problems with him, but i hope he becomes a more positive presence in the community moving forward. character growth is something is something to be encouraged. donating more money to trans healthcare charities to give more trans folks access to hrt, and getting rid of the transmisogynistic click-bait shit (like he said he will) would be good places to start.

anyway, like i said, i don't want to spend too much more time on this, so end of rant.

[tatasoom]

"I'm still turning the pages"

Promised proper analysis of what happened in ep 12 and what creators wanted to tell us. Many quotes and pics and very real stories included. Enjoy!

The more I was thinking about the ending and how much disappointment and even hatred it brought, the more I was doubting the decision to make this analysis. However I believe there're people who open enough to look deeper, so you may like what the writers gave us.

It's three years after breaking up. Mhok and Day are hard-working people (as they used to be actually). Mhok is exploring his potential in cooking. Day is diving into his obsession with books.

There's a little hint for understanding how little these years mean for the brightest picture you'll never forget. It's Aon asking Day about writing his own book:

Should we get someone back here to assist you write?

Day's face has changed signaling that feelings are still there. Even after three years.

And then the meeting. And feelings from the perspective of Mhok.

And when it's almost the saddest scene in the whole world we're back to romantic comedy with P'Aof's one second cameo and pranks from Mhok. It feels like Mhok is silent in this scene only to laugh at Day, but it's a scene where Day is given a moment to think about his own feelings. And to get a little verbal slap at the end.

Then Mhok has a meeting with Phojai and Night. And if you look at their faces, you'll notice that nobody believes MhokDay story has ended. Some viewers have a question for Mhok acting like there hasn't been three years without the love of his life... Don't you think that all three years he has being told about Day by Phojai? I'm sure she did her best to be in contact!

And for Day blocking Mhok's number I have a personal experience reference. I unblocked my ex only when I was sure I feel nothing for him. I needed to be sure that whatever we'll say to each other my heart wouldn't feel the same way as when we were dating. It took around two or three years to learn this. Now do you understand Day better? After three years Mhok's number is still blocked.

So Mhok came to the Day's bookshop. They're playing this game second time. First it was Mhok's voice, and now it's Mhok's scent.

Day almost did it. He almost saved his face neutral. The book he chose as an editor betrayed him.

"Many books encourage us to put the past behind us and move forward. But this book raises the question: if the past was so beautiful, can we simply hold onto that beauty?"

Was their story beautiful enough to begin again with the same person?

Then they're again in the house they used to spent so much time together. And if it seems like Mhok again acts like caretaker, he's not. He is a guest now, he can make jokes, he can freely sit with others and he doesn't say another sorry to Mrs. Mhon. He's enjoying cooking for friends and teasing Day.

Later in another scene (that for sure is a homage to their fitting room scene from the third episode) Mhok said:

You don't have to put up such high walls with me. You know how happy I am when I get to take care of you.

For Day these words raise a question: what taking care of Day means for Mhok now?

And what we need to mention is Day's response to all this flirting:

You're going back in a few days.

That's also a question. For himself. For Mhok. What if going back won't happen? What then?

They continued this walk down memory line with another dining scene. When cake is served Day says something worth quotation.

"Everybody is created for development"

That's when Mhok is saying thank you for breaking up with him. And says something that truly correlates with them having adult's conversation:

I thought you couldn't live without me.

THIS is what tells us that Mhok has grown up due to their separation. When you're young you think that love is about someone you can't live without, but the truth is you can. You have yourself no matter what. And the mature love is about choosing to live this life with someone you can live without, but just don't want to. "Pity" is just a word, but Mhok is apologizing for more complicated thing, for treating Day as someone who can't understand mature things.

Btw, do you have any ideas about this close up of glass? For me it's the representation of something cold starting to warm up. Day?..

Then the wedding is happening and that's where I started crying for this big family becoming happy again. I think this whole ceremony deserves an award for melting hearts. The way Mrs.Mhon welcomed Phojai. The way Night gave a chance to speak up to his father. The way Day assured Night once again that the accident and the blindness have no effect on a strong bonding between them.

"... everyone should get a second chance. Especially a second chance to make themselves happy"

And then they're dancing. Even without flashbacks we can remember that day when they were dancing for the first time.

You were tense. Your palms were all sweaty.

And another try from Mhok:

If you could see, you would know that from then to now, my feelings for you remain.

And another question-not-question from Day:

... no matter what, you will need to fly back to work anyway.

I didn't see anyone mention this, but for me Day's repeating answers almost scream "tell me you have no reason to go back". Day is trying his best to be mature and he doesn't feel he has any rights to tell Mhok to stay. But he wants it, he wants it so damn much and he's afraid of it.

What you felt then should just stay in that moment.

Are these words for Mhok or Day is actually talking to himself?..

It's not like I wasn't happy with him. But how do I know if I give him a second chance, he won't repeat what he did? I can't live with this feeling for the rest of my life.

Some of you may say: "Won't repeat what? Won't go to Hawaii because of you?". Well, three years later things are different. Back then Mhok wanted to take that chance to start a career, we saw his face when rejecting an offer. Now he's experienced enough to find job anywhere. What Mhok shouldn't repeat is to stay just because he's afraid to leave Day alone. And all that words about repeating Day is also addressing to himself: is he now independent and confident enough to be with Mhok without feeling guilty?

This is love that normal people have. We don't know if it's head or tale but we choose to take a risk in order to step forward.

Some of us find love from the first try. Some of us have to try many times. For some of us it's always different people and sometimes it's the same person. As you growing older you realize that your heart is bigger than you could ever imagine and stronger than you could ever feel.

All of this leads to the one of the most hilarious scene in BL history. That whole airport scene also deserves an award for bringing back that 2000s romantic comedy vibes! Pure art, bravo!

Even though this airport scene didn't result in finding Mhok, they meet each other anyway. And dance. And Day says words that must tell us that he wants to see this world again! And he ask Mhok to be his boyfriend again. Not Mhok is apologizing and pleading as some viewers keep mentioning, but Day is asking for a second chance.

Then we have a glance at Day three years later. He can see again and he's helping a person who can't see.

At first I didn't get what the writers want to tell us with such a short scene. But later I remembered my cousin's story and now everything makes sense.

A couple years ago my cousin was diagnosed with a cancer. She was living in a small town where there's no doctor even to take all needed tests. She moved to the capital city, she found a doctor. Her family helped with money, and I know that the price for that medical treatment was extremely high for them. She had a surgery... at it didn't work. A cancer was still there, after months of suffering, after all money spent.

She didn't give up. She tried another treatment. She made a doctor to do more check ups. Finally she had another surgery. And it worked. Months later she's in remission, she's clear. She's struggling with having to take pills for the rest of her life. She also gained 20 kg and also started dieting and lost most of that weight.

My uncle, her father, told me all of this and mentioned the most impressive detail. Now she keeps in touch with different people who have cancer via chats to provide psychological support and to give practical recommendations. This story wasn't written by some novelist and wasn't directed by anybody, but could you believe it if I didn't tell you it's about my cousin?

"I have read Last Twilight countless times. I always wondered how Me would live if she had a normal life. I couldn't think of the answer then. Life amidst the dilemma caused me to forget what it was like to live a normal life or how happy I could be. When I finished Last Twilight for the first time, it was like my heart was shattered to pieces. I had always imagined myself as Me. If she disappeared, I must also disappear. But eventually, I realized that everyone had their unique tale to tell. We were made to discover our own preferred version of the novel's final. I consider myself lucky to have gone past the worst page in my novel. But I don't believe that this is the end. I'm still turning the pages"

As you could realize through these quotations, the story of Last Twilight is mostly about Day. And at the same time it belongs to every person around him, like in his favorite The little prince there're many characters that surround the main one.

In the end we see Mhok visiting his parents and Rung with Day. We see close up of Rung's car and there's no band aid on it, but the little scar is still there. What does it mean? I think it means that Mhok also is not covering his scars anymore. Somewhere behind the story we were shown he can finally talk about everything.

- You completely changed my life,Day.

- You completely changed my life too.

- I love you, Day.

- I love you, Phi Mhok.

As for the main question for the last episode, the mood of it... P'Aof and the writers wanted to show what the storm feels like. If you experienced the hardest part of your life and managed to survive the thought of losing any hope, you will not be the same. You will be funny, you will be ridiculous, you will be spontaneous, you will live your life like it's a damn hard to believe movie.

Btw, we were told a story of a boy who likes sunflowers - the flowers that refuse to stay in the dark🌻

And that's it. That's all, dear readers. If you're here, you should know that it means a lot to me. As much as Mhok and Day I guess. As much as Last Twilight. The story of hope. While writing this analysis I had to omit some details, so I think I will make small posts with different favorite moments. It was a nice journey and I already miss all metas and gifs and memes about Last Twilight every Friday and not only Friday. Let's stay here for other beautiful stories and of course for new stories from Jimmy and Sea and P'Aof!

[somebebop]

This song is one of my favourites by Tori Amos. It's about being parted from someone you love. Just what a heartbroken Good Omens fan needs, right?

By the way, do you know that Tori Amos and Neil Gaiman are old friends? I had no idea until recently, and it turns out there're numerous cross-references in Neil's books and Tori's lyrics. It's so fascinating for me because I've been loving her music for many years.

Music: 1000 Oceans by Tori Amos

[showmey0urfangs]

Please tag your works correctly

I know there're a lot of debates going on here and on IWTV Twitter about the prevalent feminization of Louis and the popularity mpreg within the fandom and I do not wish to add anything to that, but I think something that would help tremendously would be for authors to TAG THEIR WORKS CORRECTLY!?!?!

It would ensure that only the people who are interested in that type of content will see it and I also think it would reduce negative comments and author harassment from disgruntled and frustrated readers (Please don't harass authors though. Obviously. Duh!)

I realize that maybe some people are new to the AO3 platform and don't yet understand how the tagging system works but I've seen some things that kind of boggled my mind and oftentimes I've seen even something as simple as the rating used incorrectly.

This is the rough guideline to the AO3 rating system:

General Audiences - The content is unlikely to be disturbing to anyone, and is suitable for all ages.

Teen And Up Audiences - The content may be inappropriate for audiences under 13.

Mature - The content contains adult themes (sex, violence, etc.) that aren’t as graphic as explicit-rated content

Explicit - The content contains explicit adult themes, such as porn, graphic violence, etc.

I know the line between E and M is not very clear and it's usually up to the author's discretion but when it comes to what qualifies as G or T, it's pretty straightforward.

So if for example, your fic has Claudia, a minor!!! having sex or engaging in sexual behaviour with adults, you should not have that tagged as teens and up!!! That qualifies as mature content at the very least.

If you have descriptions of violence, murder, suicidal ideation or any of the other themes present in IWTV, that qualifies as mature content too. And a vague "canon typical stuff" warning is not enough because readers who want to can't easily filter that out.

If one or many of the party are coerced, tricked or are otherwise unwilling or unable to give consent to sexual activity of any kind, please tag that as dubcon or non-con! — and yes, that applies to the cutesy drunk fics too. That's what those tags are there for, and they carry no implied moral judgement nor are they a dark mark on your fic. They simply let the reader know what to expect and allow those who don't want that kind of content to filter it out.

If your fic features feminization, tag it as such! If your fic references or features mpreg, tag it as such!!! And not just a vague sentence like I might have some mpreg at some point, we'll see lolz because the system will not filter out the tag that way.

And last but not least—if the ship you tagged only appears in your fic in the background or is only briefly mentioned, tag it as such! ex:Armand/Louis (past) or Louis/Lestat (mentioned) etc. And same goes for characters too. This is especially important for smaller or more niche pairings because it sucks to filter for Loumand fics only to get DM or Loustat with Loumand only mentioned briefly in passing.

I know this has all probably been said before, but I think it bears repeating: TAG YOUR WORKS CORRECTLY!!! and then it will be up to the readers to filter and curate their reading experience. I think we would all be better for it as a fandom.

[archenemyintellegence]

"Prince" (15/2/2024)

I saw a photo of him on Pinterest and he's so fucking beautiful. I have to draw him even if it's mean I have to figure out the shiny pieces one by one.

This drawing was much more challenging than I expected, even when I draw it with a reference photo. I tried doing this because I want to use this as a warm up for me to go back to drawing (as I'm going through a hell lot... That's why the updates are so delayed here uggh), but literally everything in this drawing is a challenge.

First, the face. There's a shadow on his face and I seldom draw this kind of shadow on face. I have to figure out the colors to express the value + not making it look too spooky/ like blood dripping on the face. Also the beard. I NEVER DONE BEARD. It's so challenging because I don't see much beard irl so there's so little data in my head for me to work with. And the hair too. It's just black in the photo, but it can't be too dark or else it cannot match the fabulousness of his jacket.

And next, THE JACKET. Oh My God. This takes forever to draw. So many times I just wanted to trace the whole things but I resisted the temptation. I figured out the placement of the discs, one by one. It's not super accurate but it's good enough to work with. The rendering was like an endless boss fight. I had to zoom in so closely so I can do the details but at the same time not lost track of the big picture. It's also so challenging to figure out the colors, as I want to capture the rainbowy effect on his jacket, which caught my attention on the reference photo.

The guitar strap is literally the easiest thing in the drawing but still it's not that easy, as it's gold on purple, which two of the colors are both quite warm. I put lots of cold colors in the gold part so it won't stick to the purple part, but at the same time it has to have warm colors so it looks gold + reflections of the purple strap.

This drawing took me 42 hours to finish, and I didn't expect it to take this long at all. But tbh I didn't even think that I could finish it at the first place lmaooo. It's a fucking boss fight and I learned a lot from the drawing. I can see my improvements during the process, and I am also blown away by the improvement I've made, when comparing this to my other drawings. I've heard that color is the most difficult thing to master in drawing. I always agree with it and I am so feeling it in this drawing. I feel that every time I draw, I'm learning a little bit about colors, just enough to motivate me to finish the drawing. There're still so much more to explore about colors.

[yonemurishiroku]

Having been lurking for quite a while, I've seen a series of opinions regarding TSATS, and as someone who tries their best to remain neutral, I think I can give a bit of insight into the discourse.

(Containing few minor SPOILERS)

So far, I have seen the reasons people have given as of:

Why they like TSATS:

It's a LGBTQA+ representation in a middle schoolers (10-13, according to B&N) book: there're various interpretion of this sentiment, however I believe this would be the general term.

It's about Nico and Will - excluding the homosexual nature of the relationship (which is included in the above claim) and more into their specific dynamic/ interactions.

The character growth of Nico and the emergence of Will as a protagonist/secondary protagonist character.

A minor part: (background) platonic relationships (Nico - Dionysus, Will - the trogs, etc...)

Why they do not like TSATS:

The story's pace, writing style, wording... technically those involving writing techniques (and let me tell you this a HUGE point), including the claims of 'cringness'.

Inconsistences between established canon materials and re-introduced materials (another HUGE point but like. not surprising) - including incorrect recallings, contradictory plotlines...

Unfamiliar characterization - aka supposedly OOC. (Including Tartarus btw)

Again: representation but questionable. (As of now, I still have multiple asks unanswered regarding Will as bi-representation, Nico's coming-out and asking-out Will)

Again: Nico's and Will's characterization

And their dynamics.

So many more small details I don't know how to categorize: inappropriate culture reference, questionable plot choices (including but not limited to the whole Cacodemons thing),...

These are only the majorities, as it wouldn't bring a broad look into the dicourse as a whole if I try to add too many information and opinions with varying level of detailed. As you can see, the negative reviews are overwhelming, whereas even some of the positive feedbacks are still debetable.

Of course, my engagement can play a large role in this report, considering this is my personal summation, and I'm pretty sure there's a number of posts I'm prevented from engaging. So, if there's any popular opinions I've yet to include, please do let me know - especially the good ones.

If anything, I'd like to see what rank TSATS currently holds amongst Rick's books in the scale of idk mayby PJO to BOO.

[shyanddreamy]

You can't save everyone

Happy Lowman x Reader | Part 4

Author's note: When I first wrote this story, I planned to write only three parts, but given the main characters and what happened in Mayans M.C., I needed to give them an ending. A better ending. So, there're slight references to Mayans' season finale. I really hope u like it. Love u all <3

﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋

Every MC had their business and their secrets. In the case of SOA, only their members could know with all its details what was really happening. That was something you hated, but over time you had learnt to accept. The little you knew was that you were living through dark times again and that the Mayans had broken Jax Teller’s last will. In essence, war was here once more.

“We are not going anywhere!”, you told him for the third time. “Are you out of your fucking mind or what?!"

“Fine. Stay”, Happy answered. “I’ll go alone.”

“Fuck no! You are not leaving Charming. Chibs says that desert is Mayans’ territory. And you are in the middle of a fucking war, shithead!”, you explained to him once more. “Do you want to die for nothing? That’s your fucking problem?”

“I’m gonna die of boredom anyway if you keep bitching around me all the fucking day!”

You pursed your lips, and Happy took it as an opportunity to go to your bedroom and slam the door.

“Fucking asshole”, you muttered. However, you took a few deep breaths to calm yourself before following his steps.

Despite the wonderful months you had spent since he officially made you his Old Lady, you had had some problems with Happy recently. You managed to convince him to stay last time he suggested leaving Charming to be the temporary president for SAMDINO, but this time his mood was even worst. However, you wouldn’t get anything by arguing. That’s why you went to the dorm and opened the door softly.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to bother you”, you told him. Happy was sitting on the bed, his face hidden behind the palms of his hands. “I’m just worried.”

“I’m sorry too”, you heard him mumble. “I’m going fucking crazy. There’re so many bodies. So many dead brothers. That's not what Jax died for.”

You walked towards him and sat next to him, caressing his back tenderly in an attempt to bring him some kind of comfort.

“Everything's hard and complicate, but you can’t lose your mind now, babe”, you remembered him. “It’s not safe for you to leave and be out there by your own. When problems knock on the door, you have to stay near your family. Do you remind it? You taught me that.”

“I know. I fucking know”.

Suddenly, Happy rested his head on your shoulder and wrapped his arms around your body as if he wanted even more caresses for all the time that was possible. Unfortunately, your mobile phone ringing cut that sweet moment.

“Who is it?”, he asked at your frown.

“I don’t know. I should take it.”

You didn’t recognise the number. It could simply be someone mistaken, but you had a bad feeling about it. So, when Happy released you from the needy hug, you got back on your feet and answered the call.

“This is a private call from…”, the first you heard was a robotic feminine voice. And suddenly, you heard his voice for just a second before the previous voice kept talking. “To accept the call, press five.”

While doing as she said, you walked out of the dorm leaving the door half open. It only took a few seconds before you listened to his voice again.

“I need your help.”

The conversation was short. And once you were back into the room, Happy looked at you warily. He might have read in your face that things weren’t quite right.

“What happens?”, he asked.

“Something you are not gonna like.”

*

As you had said to Happy, it was too dangerous to be on Mayans territory during the war. You travelled alone for that reason. If you didn’t stand out, no one had to realise who you were and why you were there. Now you were glad Happy had tattooed his crow on your ribs and not in a more visible place, otherwise they could easily spot you were one of SOA Old Ladies.

Once inside the prison, you waited patiently among the rest of the visitors until guards finally let you in. You chose to sit at one of the furthest tables and kept waiting until you saw him.

“I did not expect us to meet again in this situation”, you told him after he took a sit in front of you.

“Me neither”, Creeper nodded. “Thanks for coming.”

News travels fast, so a few months ago you found out Creeper was in prison. You were very sorry to hear that, but there’s nothing more you could do. At least, that’s what you thought. 

“You don’t have to. I told you, I’ll always be there for you”, you reminded him. “So, what do you need?”

“Protection.”

“What?”

���Protection. Inside”, he repeated firmly.

“And why did you call me? Sons are in war with Mayans, Neron. You should talk to your charter.”

“I’m here by my own. They can’t do anything, Y/N. And the thing is there’s a fucking rat among my brothers. I’m about to find out who it is, but with the green light on me, they can kill me at any time”, he briefly explained to you. “I cannot die without finding first who the fuck the rat is.”

“And what do you want me to do?”

“Talk to SAMCRO. There’s a bunch of Sons in here. If they're with me, it may buy me some time.”

“I don’t know if they’ll listen to me.”

“I know. I know what I’m asking you is a fucked up, but I wouldn’t have called you if I had any other option.”

“What if I go to your clubhouse and tell Bishop?”

“Things have changed since you were here. And with the war and without any evidence, it can turn against you.”, he said. “Just think about it, ok? Tell them it’s me who's asking this favour. I know they hate rats as much as I do.”

“I’ll try. I promise.”

“Fine. Good.”

“How much time do you have?”

“Don’t know. Maybe hours. Luckily a few days.”

“So, I should get going. Is better to talk something like that in person, and the ride back to Charming is long. I’ll try to be quick, but call me if anything new happens, okay?” 

Creeper just nodded in response. Nevertheless, when you made a move to get up, he stopped you.

“Wait, Y/N”, he called you. You could read sadness and desperation in his eyes and his voice. “I just want you to know that it’s okay if you can’t convince them. I know you’re gonna try and that’s even more than what I deserve, but it won’t be your fault if I die.”

“Shut up. You’re not going to die”, you assured him while placing your hands on his. “I’ve got your back. You’re gonna be fine and that fucking rat is gonna meet the Reaper.”

Creeper pursed his lips and nodded again. As you saw his eyes watery, you took one of your hands to his face, caressing his cheek tenderly. You knew how much he cared about his club and how much he tried to take care of everyone, but this time, he needed someone to back him up.

“Just be careful and let me take care of you for once. I won’t fail you.”

After leaving the prison and getting into your car, you set off without delay. There was no time to lose. However, barely ten minutes after, you hit the steering wheel in frustration.

“Fuck!”, you shouted. “Fucking war, fucking Mayans and fucking Sons!”

The truth was that you had no idea of how to convince the charter, so you had actually made a promise you weren’t sure if you could keep.

*

“Who the fuck you think we are? Fucking Virgin Mary?”, Chibs said. “Mayans are the enemy now. They are murdering our brothers! And you want us to protect a fucking inmate?”

You’ve been talking about the same thing all night and they haven’t understood a word you’ve said yet. It was exasperating.

“I’m just saying that maybe you could do an exception with him. He’s just asking for more time to expose the rat in his charter. I thought all the MC hated rats”, you insisted. “And he helped me when I was in Santo Padre. I owe him.”

“What I don’t understand is why we have let her talk in the first time”, Tig commented, looking mostly at Chibs. “There’s a reason why we don’t let cunts take decisions.”

Before you could do anything about it or even get mad at him, Happy grabbed him by the collar of his shirt threateningly.

“Don’t talk to her like that”, he ordered to Tig.

“Or what?”, Tig provoked him. “Have you become a fucking pussy too, brother?”

“Enough!”, Chibs raised his voice. Though they held each other’s gaze for long seconds, as if ready to start a fight at any moment, Happy finally let go of Tig and took a few steps back. “The decision is taken, Y/N. You don’t know how things work, so I recommend that you step aside.”

“You know what? Fuck you, Chibs. Fuck you all”, you responded. “You killed Juice for less. And when I went mad and cried for days, you all told me that no rat could be forgiven. That it was a kind of law that every MC followed. Even Mayans respected it, that’s why they give Juice over to SAMCRO. But now you’ve forgotten because you’re just a bunch of hypocrites. You’re not going to do anything even if it’s a personal favour I ask of you for once. So, as I said, fuck you.”

“Y/N”, you heard Happy’s voice calling out to you, so you turned around with one finger raised in a threatening manner.

“I fucking love you, Happy, but if you say another word right now, I’ll punch you in the face”, you warned him. However, before leaving the clubhouse, you remembered one more thing. “Just for the record, if the rat is working with the FBI and you’ve been doing business with the Mayans, he could take you down too. So, if you don’t give a shit about anyone else, at least do something to save your own asses.”

You walked home that night. By the time Happy arrived, you were already in bed, so he lay down next to you without saying a word. That night you slept with your backs to each other. And the next morning, he left to the workshop without speaking yet. You had to wait more than twenty-four hours to hear the verdict from Happy’s mouth. 

“Creeper had the Sons on his side”.

Despite the enthusiasm this phrase aroused, you tried to remain calm and serious.

“Why this change?”

“Why do you care?”, he asked you back. “What matters is that Creeper has the protection he was after.”

“Yeah. I suppose”, you muttered.

As you were making dinner, you wasn’t looking directly at Happy. However, he walked towards you and embraced you from behind.

“You have no right to talk to my brothers like you did”, he murmured above your ear, giving you goosebumps. “But it still gave me such a hard-on.”

You struggled to hold back a smile as you concentrated on the salad you were chopping.

“Of course it did”, you added. You weren’t expecting Happy to turn you around to face you.

“You can’t save everybody, Y/N. You have to accept it”.

“I’m not trying to save everybody, just the few people I care about”, you responded. “Even if I can’t, at least I have to try.”

Happy simply nodded and kissed your forehead for long seconds.

“Why don’t you go take a shower while I finish making dinner?”, you suggested him with your hands on his chest. “And then, we could take care of your yesterday’s hard-on.”

*

This war didn’t affect Charming as much as the others in the past thanks to their decision not to intervene. It was harsher for their brothers from other charters. But as Happy had told you, you couldn’t save everyone, especially when it was a war they had started despite Charming’s advice to preserve the peace.

When you received a call from an unknown number, you thought it would be from the prison again, but the feminine voice you heard was from a real woman.

“Bathroom chick?”

“Who the fuck is talking?”, you answered aggressively, but you also remembered who had put you that nickname. Only one person could know it.

“I have a message from Creeper. He told me you'd know it was him if I called you that”, he briefly explained to you. And you were more interested in whatever she had to say than anything else. “Some inmates stabbed him a few days ago, but he survived. After he was released from the infirmary, Sons have always been around him for some reason, so he has done well. Now he’s in isolation for a fight, but before he went in, he asked me to tell you he had the name he was looking for.”

“I’m glad to hear that”, you said. The truth was that you didn’t like at all the part about him being stabbed, but it was a relief to know that Sons had kept his promise to protect Creeper.

“I guess you’re the one who got him the Sons’ favour.”

“The fuck do you care?”

“I don’t. I just appreciate that someone is taking care of him.”

Your intuition told you that she genuinely appreciated Neron as well, but you hadn’t heard a thing from her, so you remained suspicious. It always could be someone trying to discover with who had Creeper an alliance to destroy it, or maybe the war had you a bit paranoid.

“Call me if you have new information from him”, you asked her anyway.

“I’ll do”, she assured you.

“Can I have a name? To know it’s you in case we talk again.”

“I shouldn’t”, he answered. “But if Creeper trusts you that much, I should do it too. You can call me Kody.”

“Good.”

A few days after that call, you received another one from her telling you that Santo Padre already knew who his rat was. In addition, she let it slip that something big was going on in Santo Padre, so it was better to stay away from them. Less than thirty-six hours later, the war between Mayans and Sons of Anarchy came to an end and Santo Padre’s charter was erased in an FBI operation.

The mood in the Sons of Anarchy clubhouse was low. You were sitting next to Happy with your head resting on his shoulder, a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other. There was a bitter taste in your mouths from all the brothers’ deaths and the fact that the FBI had managed to destroy an entire charter so easily. When Chibs came out of the Chapel, he went straight to the counter bar to have two shots. He had been making and receiving calls all day.

“So? Any news?”, Tig asked him.

“Everything’s quiet. Our charters and Mayans too”, he answered. “It seems to be a one-off operation. Otherwise, FBI would have already entered into other charters.”

“Newspapers blame Santo Padre for all the dead bodies in the streets”, Happy added.

“People was scared of so much blood. And FBI knew they couldn’t wipe us all out”, Chibs commented. “They've decided to focus on one charter and reduce it to ashes. It’s a victory for them and a warning to us all.”

Even though you didn’t know exactly what had happened, Chibs’ words made the most sense.

“I may owe you an apology, Y/N”, Tig said. “If their rat planned all this, it was better for us to make sure he ended up six feet under.”

“No problem, Tiggy. Everything’s good”, you assured him with a soft smile.

“We have to discuss what are we gonna do from now on”, continued Chibs, but as soon as you made a move to get up and let them the privacy they needed, he stopped you. “Y/N, stay. You have to hear this.”

You looked at him frowned, but he simply nodded. You looked at Happy next, but he shrugged his shoulders. You didn’t get why they wanted you to be there during that conversation, but you sat down again.

“I doubt that any charter wants to continue the war. We both have lost too many brothers. We've lost entire charters. In any case, the pipeline is done. It’s going to take months, even years, to build everything back up again. So, we have to choose whether to focus our work on that or on the transition to legality, as Jax wanted”, he said. “If we choose legality, it’s going to be tough months for us. Probably no profits until everything’s up and running. Even then, our earnings could be lower than guns’ business.”

“We have not been able to keep the peace that Jax brought us”, Happy commented. “I say we have to get at least one of the things he wanted for us.”

“What if it doesn’t work out?”, Tig asked him. “Outlaw is our world. It’s what we do. And the risks are what we signed up for.”

“We’ll have time to think before the vote”, Chibs assured them. “Anyway, we have to talk with the Mayans. Rebuild our alliance and make sure there’s no more murders or revenges. You could talk to Creeper about that, Y/N. If he tells his brothers what we did for him in the middle of the war, what we did to help him with the rat, it'll help us pave the way and make new bonds.”

“Yeah. Of course. I can do it”, you responded quickly, still surprised that you were being tasked to do something for them. It certainly didn’t happen every day. “I’ll talk to him. I’m sure he will back us up.”

That day, which was the end of another bloody war, was also the beginning of a new era. Many changes had been made and even more would be made, but you were survivors. You were used to rising from the ashes. 

←Part 3 // Part 5→

[nonomives]

Hey!! I love you’re art!! And recently I’ve been trying to try out digital art! So I hope this question makes sense. But could you give me some tips on how to color? Really any advice you can give would be a huge help!

p.s I love you’re vampire au with Wally! His hair is absolutely fabulous in it!!!

Hello! Hello! First off I hope you have fun in your art journey man! I'm gonna put my advice under this cut just so it won't be a pain to scroll down through for other peeps

Okioki so so here's the thing, I'm not all that good when it comes to coloring my art, sometimes I just experiment on them until the colors feel right. What I do is I usually put colors on different layers, then see if they mix or blend well together, and if not, I'd change their colors on the go

For the most part I also make sure that the color's values are good together, like I'd put my art on a greyscale and see how each color can pop up on their own without clashing with one another. If they don't work, I change them again

Like this

This last one, is probably the most common advice people give about colors. But anyways, whenever you pick what colors to use for shading, try to look through the color wheel and see which can compliment your art's base color. Like let's say you character's skin is yellow, you can shade them using greens or oranges, the ones that are usually next to yellow on the color wheel

If you're struggling to pick out the right colors, you can also always search up palettes on the internet for you to use and reference

Overall, there're many ways you can approach this and give your own spin to your art. It just so happens that this is my personal take on it. Don't be afraid to mess around and experiment and if you're ever feeling a lil worried about putting the wrong color, you can always do it on a separate layer so it doesn't ruin your art :3

[oddlies]

the longest yeah boi irene headcanon ever:

it is with my honor that I bestow upon irene one of the most prestigious character traits I have given other OCs before, that being autism.

Jokes aside, I genuinely have autism and have a general interest in psychology as I am psych major. I'm not a professional or expert, but I've done research and have personal experience, like I've said. I often portray my characters as being neurotypical in some way, anyways, due to it being something I know how to portray. Irene is an interesting case, and I debated about it for a bit, but I do think she’d fall somewhere on the spectrum. Either way, men and women do present autistic symptoms differently, at least for many cases.

Below I’ve compiled a few symptoms / behaviors that Irene has that make me give her this new label.

One of the most well-known symptoms of autism is having restricted interests (also known as special interests). This can include many, many unique things. For Irene, I’ve went with rock music being one, as made obvious for her overwhelming enjoyment of it as shown in her biography. She also enjoys movies a lot and tends to reference them often, perhaps a bit too much so.

A behavior that is often found in autistic women is how much they mask and how (for lack of better words) good they are at it. Some draw reference from movies and shows on how to appear socially acceptable/“normal”. This is the case for Irene. She learned how to socialize better, or so she thought, from consuming so much media. For her, however, she tended to cling to the male or more masculine characters/actors for her behaviors and speech patterns.

Another symptom is having a strange or unusual tone/melody/pattern/volume with your voice. Irene, without masking, would sound more monotone than anything. However, she tends to copy how other people speak, whether it’s people in real life or on the screen. It's how she learns slang and other things.

Another behavior is having expressions that don't quite match what you're saying /how you feel/match the situation. Irene tends to be neutral in expression, having a really good poker face. However, she tends to come off as cold or unfeeling because she doesn't smile often, even if happy. She often has to remind herself to make expressions to come off as normal and show that she's listening. Even then, her smiles may look strange, or her expression may be strange for what is being said.

There're many others, of course, but these are a few of the most prominent behaviors and such that she displays. I didn't want to make things too long, but I can definitely make a part 2 or something if wanted/needed.

Something else I wanted to say, though, was that she varies in personality so much as a reaper from her alive self because she doesn't feel the need to mask anymore. For lack of better words, she's being her true self, now that she doesn't have to present as "super normal" to fit in anymore.

[olderthannetfic]

YA G-D anon again with an analogy concerning "what is/is not YA" that might be helpful or put things into more perspective through m/m fiction:

In the 20th century, shounen ai was a category that described m/m manga, usually about attractive teenage boys in schools (many being boarding schools), and inspired by French films then being shown in Japan. Today, we'd just call this BL (at least, professionally. Colloquially it is still called shounen ai and contrasted with yaoi to mean stories without sex and with sex, respectively. This is incorrect, however, historically and culturally). Yaoi was just nonsensical stories, often parodying tropes of shounen and at times seinen manga. It comes from yama nashi, ochi nashi, imi nashi, translating to approx “no climax, no fall, no meaning.” Both shounen ai and yaoi (as well as BL that was published in shoujo, like Banana Fish, and ) today are called BL. It wouldn't be incorrect to say BL didn't exist before the 2000s because it didn't, as an established genre/demographic. BL technically existed as centuries if we're just generally talking about m/m stories from Japan, or even East and SE Asia in general. However, in the context of publishing, we understand BL to refer to a specific era of time in which magazines adopted to term BL to publish specific manga.

(Of course there's less to muddy the waters because the categorization of demographic in manga is dependent upon the target demographic of the magazine that published it originally. So, there're less confusing things in this aspect than in the context of YA because books can be reclassified as different things upon republication or when published in specific editions, like those that are abridged. *Insert long-winded explanation of abridged books for adults being classified as appropriate for children and YA with specific ISBNs and subjective editor standards*)

--

It always makes me die laughing that 'shounen ai' is cluelessly used for ~clean~ stuff in parts of English-speaking fandom. Granted, you probably won't see dicks on-page in all those tragic 70s schoolboy manga, but they're not exactly fluffy.

[bodrewritten]

THIS is an @atbussysparks side blog. I will be attempting to re-write bride of discord (⁠◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍⁠)⁠✧⁠*⁠。

Rights to the original property belongs to DisneyFanatic2364, the author of bride of discord, daughter of discord, and any other spin-off. This blog was not made to try and one-up the original, but to show love and appreciation for the original fanfiction that touched the hearts of people around the world. (⁠*⁠˘⁠︶⁠˘⁠*⁠)⁠.⁠｡⁠*🩷

The original blog @brideofdiscord-rewritten an entirely separate acc bc I didn't know how to make a side blog back then 😅 but that's also me!!! I can't log into that acc now

Let's lay down some ground rules!

꒰⁠⑅⁠ᵕ⁠༚⁠ᵕ⁠꒱⁠˖⁠♡❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜🤎🖤🩶🤍🩷

If you're a younger child (younger than 14) please blacklist the announcement/update tags! I use foul language, and though you might use it yourself or hear it every day, I ain't tryin to get sued

The story itself is SFW and will not contain any more than subtle pg-13 jokes and light drinking (imo daiquiris don't count lol)

All celebrities, movies, songs, books, and other real life media names will be changed into bad horse puns.

I will omit some ridiculous examples of discord being emotionally or mentally abusive past the point in which he has fully developed as a good character. Instead he will face consequences.

Some characters will be queer or LGBTQ+ but no references will be made to their sexuality. Only romance.

The last bullet point goes for the straight relationships as well!!

I have a playlist for the story on Spotify named "Bride of Discord rewritten (fluttercord)

Voodoo and hoodoo will be shown in a respectful and realistic manner, and I will attempt to show Zecora in a non-stereotypical manner.

Spike will still have a crush on rarity, but spike being a romantic interest for adult ponies, or having his feelings reciprocated in any way will be removed from the story.

I will attempt to keep an early 2010s feel and humor, but there're also so many american exclusive jokes and media references from past that time to make

If this were turned into an audio drama (nudge nudge wink wink) I would love to voice characters or draw for the video

Topics such as death should be handled with care and emotions. It is okay to say stuff related to dying.

Only mild cursing is allowed (darn, dang, shoot, heck, hell, butt, ass, ((but only thrice,)) etc.)

Obviously this isn't being policed but

DNI ಠಿ⁠_⁠ಠಿ ಠ⁠,⁠_⁠｣⁠ಠ

"Proshippers" (degenerates who get off to illegal and morally corrupt relationships)/zoophiles/bigots of any sort (homophobic, transphobic, xenophobic, racist, ableist, ect.)/ Radfems/anti-punks/people who don't like hopecore (I'm not joking)

Ask me questions! (⁠◕⁠ᴗ⁠◕⁠✿⁠)(⁠ﾉ⁠◕⁠ヮ⁠◕⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠*⁠.⁠✧

I will happily answer almost any questions, and I love getting them! To keep anonymity I won't answer personal questions but I'll answer anything (⁠.⁠ ⁠❛⁠ ⁠ᴗ⁠ ⁠❛⁠.⁠)

[stirringwinds]

one of my fav fun facts about alfred is that he's described to be a bit of a film buff. do you think that only refers to his own hollywood movies or is he an appreciator of foreign indie films too? your hetalia headcanons/drabbles are so interesting btw, i love them!

thank you anon! when it comes to this, i generally lean towards alfred embodying the more well-travelled and cosmopolitan side of america, so i'd say he definitely appreciates all sorts of foreign films too. he might enjoy some hollywood cliches a little too much lol, but there's hollywood has long been influenced by foreign cinema to begin with.

this is one thing i see him and kiku often doing together, actually. specifically because japanese cinema and culture has a pretty significant influence on hollywood. for example; akira kurosawa's postwar films, like the incredibly influential Seven Samurai— which is what the 60s western Magnificent Seven is directly based off. as well as his The Hidden Fortress, which Lucas took inspiration from for the original Star Wars. and there's also ofc godzilla, the mecha genre, and other films like the Matrix and the original Ghost in the Shell manga.

i also see Alfred being fluent in spanish (especially due to the influence of his neighbours) and german by the 1900s, so that also made it much easier for him to appreciate a lot of older foreign films in their original languages without any dubbing. so the 1920s german film Metropolis and its dystopian sci fi themes—he's watched that too, besides english-language british films. and since alfred generally enjoys action films, he's watched many hong kong martial arts films and crime thrillers too. there's also the fact that alfred himself can be rather a showman who revels in the flair of a performance, so he finds the dynamic dance choreography of bollywood films appealing too. there're many more films he enjoys, and i think he finds it interesting to watch foreign films both for their aesthetics and different cultural perspectives, the same way he enjoys reading widely and meeting new people. so yes, i'd see alfred as that film buff who enjoys world cinema.

[waeirfaahl]

Some little thoughts about the fallen fragment

Although I analyzed many aspects of Aku, his biology and psychology (the main analysis and small additions are here, here, here, here, here, here and here, here and here), there're still some tiny details that need to be covered or just mentioned. First of all, the Earth was extremely lucky, because the dead fragment fell on land instead of ocean. I think, if this thing fell in oceans, the planet and entire life would be irrevocably dead.

Or imagine the corrupted black hive-like planet with billions of spikes and with necromorph-like black monsters, who were infected dinosaurs and animals previously.

Second. From one side, the fragment was motionless and basically almost dead, and when it fell on Earth, it started to do with Earth the same, what Aku's blood did with Jack — it started to grow and to devour to death. From another side, I still wonder, how (during all these eons) this thing didn't devour to death the entire planet (or, at least, the continent/island, where it fell). I mean, even in Jack's era, when his father decided to destroy this "evil", this thing wasn't so large. Or maybe it hibernates and stays in one territory (becoming smaller and hiding spikes, since there's no danger or prey), and exactly various intruders (animal or human) the fragment sees as a prey and/or threat are the reason, why it starts to grow and to make more spikes (because it feels potential threat to itself and possibly the creature it wants to give the life to)? It is entirely plausible (and it fits to the fragment, 'cause Aku's ancestor, for example, wanted simply to hide and to be left alone, it didn't want to fight the alien gods).

And it started to make these spikes and to grow exactly after it absorbed dinosaurs, drowned in this "pit of hate" (yes, exactly this way Emperor later refers to this black lake "Aku arose from the bowels of hate", i.e. confirming that the demon was born from this deadly lake). Third. There's the question — was there a chance that some humans could worship to this thing? From one side, it is entirely possible. From another side, according to all the laws of natural selection, they will die first, before they have time to form either a religion, a community, or a cult. Because, again, this thing only devours and grows, ignoring anything else. These cave people were scared of this thing and ran to help to their relative, who almost drowned in the black lake.

And as soon as they all were closer to the black lake, they all died. The black lake devoured them. As soon as they were near the lake, it destroyed the ground under them, so they drowned.

I think, this one moment debunks the idea of tribes, who would want to worship to this thing — they'd be eaten first and erased from history. Even if they threw a meat to the lake, it still would devour them. Fourth. Look at these events, which happened during various eras. The cave people, eaten by this lake, lived there.

Later another tribe in the same location.

And the fragment is still near.

Later this guy and his dog were eaten. And they lived in the same location.

And the fragment is again in the same place.

And finally Emperor's days.

Seems to me, the fragment already was pissed off that after these millions years and events humans are so stubborn, so instead of leaving these very dangerous places they still make tribes and kingdoms here, at the same time still considering the fragment as the evil all these centuries.

[gulliblelemon]

Heyy🌻,

If you would like to do 3, 4, 36, 37 and 41 (no pressure and feel to slip the ones you don't want to do)!

Thanks for the ask! (I'm an absolute sucker for ask games, and this is a favourite!). I've already done a few of these, so I've chosen other ones* to answer - I hope you don't mind!

3. Favourite classic fanfic you've read for the first time this year

This year I read We Left Footprints When We Passed By by this_time_its_just_me (@in-amor-veritas) for the first time. Utterly devastating and wonderful.

4. the fanfic you would recommend to someone not in the fandom

I've already answered this one here.

5*. a fanfic marked for later you really want to read but haven't done yet

I'm bending this one a little bit, because I have actually started it now! But it was Other people's secrets by @sflow-er. I'd been meaning to get round to it for ages and finally did, I'm a few chapters in and enjoying it so much!

36. your favourite trope

I've previously answered this as Fake Dating, but since I love so many I'm going to add alternate meetings. I love watching them fall in love in any and all universes. I love ones that are similar to canon but a bit different (like We should escape for the night by @piebingo) or ones that are completely different. I love AUs (which surprised me), so anything where they start from a different point it great.

37. the trope you didn't expect to like

I've answered this one here.

41. how do you choose the fic you read

I have a complete scattergun approach 😅. I mostly go off personal recommendations. Luckily YR Tumblr are very forthcoming with what they're reading at the moment so I use that a lot. Then I'm subscribed to a lot of my favourite authors. I then go through the tags and the summaries. I don't have any triggers that I avoid, but there're some things I choose not to read (or some things that I'm sometimes more in the mood for).

47*. WIP or not WIP

WIP! I never used to, and I'm so glad I decided to give it a try. There's no better feeling than getting an email about a fic you love getting updated 😍 (this doesn't transfer over into my writing, I have to have finished something before I start publishing. I recently went through and deleted an entire character from my WIP and had to go back through the whole thing to remove any reference to her 😅). If I don't have time to start a WIP, I subscribe to it so that I can catch up when I have a chance.

(I'm still willing to answer these if people are interested in asking!)

[daliyla]

Meeting the father (Jegulus os)

Trigger warnings: mild references so child abuse, sex and someone dying of a disease

Someone is knocking on the door. James groans.

"If I have to open that damn door" Regulus murmurs "I'll kill who the hell is knocking without even checking who they are"

James thinks it's fair- and would like to let his boyfriend do it- but it could be Sirius, so he sighs and says "alright, I'll go"

He kisses Regulus' bare shoulder, take his own arms off his waist and stands up. He check he time and groans. Who could possibly be knocking their door at seven am on fucking sunday.

He looks at Regulus, who seems to be sleeping again among the sheets, and then forces himself to go opening.

Quite frankly, their house is a bit of a mess, but James loves it. In their little cottage there're Regulus' books, annotated and colored, James' plants, their cups, so many photos, various black hair elastics Sirius' left, and various other details that made their little place unique.

That morning though James is focused on only one thing: I want to go back sleeping.

And he likes it, the fact that he's so used to be happy with his boyfriend that he forgets there was a time in which he wasn't. But again, at the moment he's only thinking of his bed, warm and with the partially naked body of the most beautiful boy he's ever seen on it.

He opens the door and sees a man he's never seen before. He's quite old, or maybe just aged badly, the few hair he still has more grey than black. He's wrinkled and crooked, but he's wearing fine clothes that looks expensive.

"Uhm... May I ask who are you, sir?"

The man hesitates, then he nods a little, like he just thought "yeah, this man deserves the honor to know my name"

"I'm... I'm Orion. Orion Black. My son, Regulus, lives here, doesn't he?"

James blinks. Then he blinks again.

His sleeping brain needs a moment to catch up the man's words, and maybe that's the reason he doesn't get angry like he would have in any other circustance. Still, he's not pleased to meet Regulus' father. At all.

"He's sleeping" he says, his voice cold "do you want me to call him?"

Orion hesitates again, then he shakes his head. James would really, really like to punch him, but then Regulus would be mad, and Sirius would be delighted, so they would fight, and he doesn't want to cause an argument. This man doesn't deserve to throw tares amont them, he already ruined his sons' lives too much.

"I actually... I actually hoped to talk to you"

James blinks. Him? Why would Orion want to talk to him?

"Okay, I guess" he looks down and in that moment he notices he wears no shirt. He would really, really like to slam the door in his stupid face, but he's quite curious to know what he wants "give me a moment to tell Regulus I'm going out. And to dress a bit, I guess. I'll be here in a moment"

Orion nods, so James closes the door (he won't allow that man to further look into their home, thank you very much) and goes back to the bedroom, sadly not to sleep.

Regulus looks asleep, but he must be still a bit awake, because he asks "who was it?" the moment he hears James' steps.

"Someone who wants to talk to me" James kisses his boyfriend forehead "I'll be back soon, love. Go back sleeping"

Regulus mumbles something, hugging the pillow. James has never wanted to go back in his bed so much in his life, but he puts a shirt on and goes outside.

Orion is still there when James opens the door. Awesome.

"Let's walk" James says "I don't want Reg to see you, in case he wakes up and decides to look for me"

Orion says nothing and follows him on the back of their cottage, where there's a quite big garden where they grow plants. Regulus grows flowers and James vegetables, but they help each other a lot, so it's like they're growing them together. James loves the place. The scent of the flowers reminds him of Regulus' smile.

Orion struggles to walk- he uses a cane- but James doesn't offer to help him. He normally would help an old man, but Orion? No thanks.

"You don't like me" Orion starts when James stops at the edge of the garden, near a bench they put there for Moony (he and Reg like to sit in the garden to talk about books, while James and Sirius run and do chaos), because he's not that evil and his mother raised a boy who respects the eldest enough to let them sit if they want, even if the eldest he's talking to is a fucking asshole.

James snorts.

"I don't"

"Good. I would like you less if you liked me"

"I don't want you to like me"

"I know. That's not..." Orion sits down and sighs "I know I'm a terrible father and I don't deserve my children's love. I just... I wanted to be sure they're alright"

James rolls his eyes.

"Why now? Reg's been out for, like, five years. Sirius even longer. Why have you decided to care now?"

"I'm dying"

James says nothing, so Orion continues.

"I got the diagnosis two days ago. I have a couple of months at most. This kind of things makes you think"

"So what? You want to give them some love just before dying, so you can think you did something good for them when you die? You want to give them other pain just to have someone mourning you? Is this what you want? To give them a little bit of attention in the very end, just to destroy them even more?"

Orion jolts, maybe surprised by James' anger.

"No, no, I don't... I didn't mean to..."

"Then what the fuck do you want?"

"I just want to know if they're alright. You can... You shouldn't tell them I was here, if you think it would cause them pain. I want... I want to die knowing if my children are fine despite all my mistakes, and since you're a friend of both of them..."

James snorts "I'm not Regulus' friend"

"Oh. I thought... Since you live together..."

"I'm his boyfriend. We've been together for almost seven years. I was sleeping with him when you knocked. I mean sleeping sleeping, even if we fuck too, just not at seven am of sundays, usually"

Orion blushes a little.

"Oh. So Regulus is..."

"Gay? Yeah"

"I... Honestly, I kind of suspected it"

"I don't care. I don't care if you approve us of not, so don't bother"

"Is he... Is he alright?"

"He's better than he was when he lived with you, that's for sure. I make him happy. I make them both happy, even if in different ways. They're both loved by many people. Friends, best friends, lovers. My parents are to them what you've never been"

Orion nods a little. His voice is frail when he whispers.

"Thank you"

James didn't tell him those things to help him, honestly. He just wanted to throw in his face how successful his sons are, despite them; how happy they are, despite what their mother did to them, and their father never stopped.

Before he can say it, he notices someone getting out of the house and he instinctively smiles and goes straight to Regulus.

"Hi, love" he says, hugging him and kissing him. Regulus hums quietly, satisfied and at ease in his arms. He looks a bit like a cat.

"Hi. Who was it?"

"Oh, just..." James turns to look at Orion, but the old man is not there anymore. Well, honestly, who cares? Who cares when he's here, in the sunlight, surrounded by flowers, with his lover's arms around his waist? "A neighbour. They asked me advise for their tomatoes. They had some problems with growing them"

Regulus nods, but he looks over James' shoulder with a bit of sadness in his eyes. Does he know?, James wonders.

"Hope they found what they were looking for" Regulus says, leaning his head on James' shoulder.

I'll tell him, James thinks. He and Sirius deserves to know. Just not now. Give us other five minutes of peace.

"Shall we go to have breakfast?" James asks, smiling and kissing his boyfriend again "I really need a coffee"