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klimkovsky · 2 months

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Album «past — music — future» • Project «HEAVEN» • Composer Andrey Klimkovsky

Let's talk about new music and new albums - the first of which is in this post

My name and surname are not on the cover. The album is part of the chain of releases of the project "HEAVEN", although until yesterday there was only one link in that chain - the album "sad & soli music", recorded in 2003. I wanted to do something earlier that would continue the undertaking that appeared during the period of my going through some life troubles - I did not understand then that these are periods of the strongest transformations, and unusual times are accompanied by unusual music. But, perhaps, the subsequent times were not about that.

In all the time that has passed since then, I have recorded a couple of tracks - supposedly for the "HEAVEN" project. They are now attached to the first album as bonuses, and in fact have little to do with this story (only in that they were recorded on Korg TRITON series instruments, which were relevant at the time).

Something changed in the summer of 2022. On June 11th, some force made me turn on my already quite old Korg TRITON Extreme - a music workstation from the 2000s (on which the continuation of this project was once conceived, and the first album was recorded on a similar instrument) - and I start creating.

The work moved very intensively. The first 4 pieces were recorded in a few days. True, it was the 4th that became the first stumbling block (I was not fully prepared to create it, and later I reworked it several times, and this energy of throwing is still present in the music, but, as I now understand, it is needed there). Then there was a pause of 10 days - I switched to something else, but soon returned to the album I had started.

After that, the creative process was steady but measured - one piece per week or two. It seemed like the light at the end of the tunnel was already visible - in September I recorded the key track of the album - the eighth, and sketched out the structure, harmonic grid and melody of the ninth. 85% of the work is done - I'm at the finish line...

But at some point, some force leading along these musical paths let me go. I couldn't get back to the finishing of track 9.

Soon I was caught up in another energy. And on the same instrument of the past era, I literally in one breath composed and released the album "Pisces" from the "Starry Sky" cycle (the album was released in November 2022). And then - also in November - the album "Phantom Galaxy" from the "NGC" cycle. It is interesting to note that this pair of albums received similar numbers in the NEANE Records catalog - 1606 and 1303, and they are indeed related.

It would seem that it is high time to gather my creative forces and finish the almost finished second album of the project «HEAVEN». But it was not to be. Without higher powers this does not happen. And there is no point in forcing something that does not come by itself. Any violence in the creative process, and especially over music, is categorically unacceptable. A musician can engage in self-torture - that's not so bad, but trying to attract the Muse and Music from the higher worlds means only - to spoil the relationship with these beautiful manifestations of the Universe. So I just waited patiently. Fortunately, along with this, works for other albums and projects were born (but about them - another time).

I safely waited for the return of the Muse, when in May 2024 (almost two years after this new period began) I felt those same energies and the need to turn on the instrument (no - not that old one, but the current actual Korg KRONOS) and start a new chapter.

Yes, there was already talk about a new chapter, although the old one was not ended. And I understood this clearly - I was already creating the third album of the "HEAVEN" project, although the second one was not finished.

The third album was completed in a couple of months, and on the same creative wave I quickly finished the second one. By mid-summer 2024, almost simultaneously, two albums about the journey of the Soul in the waves of our restless Time came into our World. But the third was born a little earlier than the second. And this revealed an important moment of the message - the idea that from now on Time will no longer be linear and one-dimensional. We will not feel the consequences of this on the everyday level tomorrow, but in Music, and in the process of its creation, it is already fully present and clearly felt.

What is the second album of the project «HEAVEN» about?

About our very near future. A review of probable events for several years ahead. If earlier my listeners associated the music that I bring to this World with cosmic themes, then this music is futuristic. It is also a kind of Space, but Space projected onto our earthly reality. It is about how cosmic influence transforms the lives of People on Earth. After all, it would be naive to think that we are here - covered by the atmosphere and magnetosphere - on our own, cut off from the rest of the Universe.

The Universe has its own plan for us. In it, we can distinguish a plan of transformations close in time, and more distant ones. The second album is about the close ones. About the nearest ones.«past — music — future» — is the title of the album.

Some people might find it strange. But the first album has a strange title too.

You can understand what it is about without the gift of clairvoyance.

In it, "Music" is located between the past and the future - where we are now. And this music came to the World of the Past (many of the People are still there with their consciousness) in order to tell about the future, and to some extent even forms this future, which now ceases to be the same for different people (however, the conversation about probabilistic realities and multiverses deserves several additional publications).

stellarInfluence ( 04:42 )

updateVector ( 06:00 )

nightFireflies ( 05:12 )

chaoticDeformation ( 07:22 )

silentRuins ( 06:23 )

turquoiseGeneration ( 08:49 )

possibilityField ( 05:10 )

selfRenewal ( 07:55 )

betweenLevels ( 05:18 )

omniDirectional ( 13:06 )

The track titles are hard to translate (the duration is in brackets - I decided to leave it when copying). But the first album also had similar titles - this is a strange feature of this project, which came with the music, for which the titles are a separate part - it cannot be banal here, as is customary everywhere, and assumes different perceptions by different listeners.

From the titles we can conclude that at least 8 tracks show us a fairly favorable development of events in the future. And only two - the 4th and the 5th - are a little alarming. They may need additional clarification, but - not here and not now. For brevity, I will only say that every change, every transformation, every transition has its price. Humanity is already paying it. And this process will last at least a couple of years.

If we imagine the album tracklist as a timeline — linear, alas (but not everything is so simple) — then you and I, Friends, and Humanity as a whole, are at the level of the third track of the album “past — music — future”. And ahead is the 4th — the most critical, after which much in the life of each of us will change. But if we treat the next stage as an exam, for which each of us has been preparing all this time, and pass it, then everything will be relatively good.

No, it won't be easy anymore. But it will be understandable.

You know, difficulties are not as scary as a situation of complete misunderstanding - what is all this for, why?

I sincerely believe that this music came through me into this World precisely to give an understanding of what is happening on the planet in our amazing Time. Understanding not at the level of intellect, but at the level of feeling, at the level of spiritual perception of reality.

The consciousness may remain perplexed - how to understand all this, where to put it?

But if acceptance and peace reign in the Soul from the fact that everything is going as it should - as it was planned somewhere in the higher planning departments, then it will be possible to step into this Ocean of change without fear and even with pleasure.

Album «past — music — future» • Project «HEAVEN» • Composer Andrey Klimkovsky

https://klimkovsky.bandcamp.com/album/past-music-future

May you take the care you deserve for yourself and enjoy listening!

#music #electronicmusic #ambient #future #futurism #human #humanity #Bandcamp

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homechefpectations · 1 year

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Posts? Where we're going we won't need... posts.

Right. So I was having trouble keeping up with posting meals as I made them. The more that I was behind, the less motivation I had to catch up. The task kept getting increasingly daunting so I stopped altogether.

I asked and the votes were even on "keep posting from where you were and catch up eventually" vs "do another mosaic catch-up picture." As such, I'm doing the option that got no votes but is much easier (on both me and my graphics card) which is a time skip.

According to the time machine, the last meal I posted was cooked on the 11th of October in 2022; nearly a full year ago. I've still been cooking and taking pictures and I'm about to finish leftovers of the meal I made yesterday from a box that came Friday and was started on Saturday.

I'll likely only get through doing post on this week of meals tonight, but mayhaps I can crank out the actual reviews through the weekend.

Yes, the crappy drawing of the DeLorean Time Circuit panel was also a procrastination tactic- I could've just done this in text.

#time travel #home chef

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joshuasearing · 1 year

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Monday 11th September 2023

Hey journal so sorry I’ve been inconsistent again I’m just struggling to keep up with everything that I want to do. Im just going to take about yesterday and today though as I can’t fully remember past that point if I’m fully honest. So yesterday I ended up being about 45 minutes late to work as I felt so exhausted and mentally not great. When at work yesterday I was on in store. However for about 20 minutes I went on finish which was brilliant and was actually fun to go on for a bit. But I am definitely not as good on that as I am on instore. Instore is my pro area and is where I’m really good at it’s my turf. After work yesterday my mum picked me up as it was my little brothers 6th birthday yesterday. So after work we quickly went home and all got ready to go bowling. So then we made are way to bowling. We ended up playing two games of bowling, with me winning one of the games and it was the first game I won. However the second game I came third as everyone did better and I got a little unlucky and kept on getting 9 a few times which was unfortunate. Also I remember the first bowl yesterday I ended up getting a strike straight away which is crazy. Then after bowling yesterday we walked to Maccies and got some food. However we were going creams afterwards so I only decided to get myself a mayo chicken. We all didn’t get much. Then after having are Maccies we walked back to where we parked are car then we drove to creams. At creams I forgot what you call what I had but one thing I can say is it was delicious and was one of the best tasting food I have ever had. The food was lovely. Also we all had regular sized slush puppies. However all of are food and drinks were so expensive it ended up coming to about £50 which is crazy. After this we went home.

Now for today I started the day of by getting ready then packing everything into my bag. Then I headed out planning to get the bus. However I bumped into my mum taking to one of Kaidens friends mums. Kaiden is my little brother. Anyways she lives near are house and anyways I got talking to them as well. Then my mum offered me a lift instead. I was going into town to get a haircut as I was feeling really insecure about my hair. Anyways my mum ended up dropping me of into town. Then I got cash amount of the cash point then waited to get my haircut. Then when I got sat down I had a lovely conversation with my barber, about loads of different topics whilst he cut my hair. Then after my haircut I went to greggs and got myself a lovely little greggs sausage roll. Then I went to Tesco and got myself some chewing gum. Then after this I made my way to the gym and did a push session in the gym. It took me about 20 minutes to walk to the gym. The session went well. Whilst also in the gym I did some videos of me doing exercises for my gym tiktok account. My username is gymwithjosh, anyways the session went really well. After the gym I walked to Tescos got myself 3 little packs of almonds as I like almonds and they have many benefits physically. Also after this I carried on making my way home. And it took me about 25 minutes to get home. Then ever since I have got home I have not really done to much. I have played on my pc here and there. I have also edited and made loads of tiktoks. I have also posted a few on different accounts. I have also done my documenting my mental health one. Then also for a couple hours earlier I had a nap which was an awful idea as now I am not really tired and I’ve got work at 5am and now I am not going to bed able to sleep so I have fucked myself over. Anyways speak to you later journal, bye journal!

#daily journal #journal #my hobby #my writing #my words

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derekmorganscrocs · 4 years

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Galentines Gone Wrong

Pairing: Wendell Bray x Reader, Valentine’s Special.

Word Count: 2,623

Summary: Y/n Booth is an FBI agent who works under her brother Seeley Booth and is also partnered with the Jeffersonian. Valentines rolls around and Cam, Daisy, and Y/n are all painfully single. Brennen and Angela join in and the group decides it’s girls night, get absolutely smashed, cause major chaos and get arrested for disturbing the peace. When their counterparts show up to bail them out, girls night turns to date night... or whatever this is.

Edit, March 11th: I hate the end of this. I reread it and it’s lowkey trash, but I’m going to keep it up because people seem to be enjoying it. Just a disclaimer that this is not my best work.

Notes: Tbh I second guessed this yesterday, hence the late post. I want to clarify that Wendell IS NOT preying on a drunk girl, and there was no drunk hookup. This is definitely not my favourite thing I’ve written and I was so out of ideas for the ending, but fck it, I have a migraine and feel like the personification of death. ALSO I WOULD NEVER USE GALENTINES IRL IK ITS LAME BUT I SIMPLY DO NOT CARE. HOLDIDAY SPIRIT BABES. Anyway, on with the show.

It’s been a long night. Fun, but long. You wake up against Daisy’s side, stretching lazily, and still partially drunkenly. As you sit up, you recall the events that led to your current seat in a drunk tank.

The five of you ended up in a biker bar, huge leather-clad and big bearded dudes all over the damn place. Despite being big scary bikers, they were chill and actually bought half of your drinks. Then you and Daisy got a little too close to an attractive younger biker, and his girlfriend was not having it. So an argument turned full on brawl caused the lot of you to bail out of the bar and trek back into town.

Only you were real rowdy, laughing and singing, a little to loudly for anyone’s liking. And got the cops called on you. And got thrown in a dunk tank. Unfortunately “you can’t arrest me, I am the law” doesn’t work if you’re drunk. The cops weren’t a fan of your badge, either.

You’re torn from your thoughts at the sound of voices down the hall, and you stumble over the the bars of the cell, holding onto them for balance. A half-hour nap didn’t do much to sober you up. The voices get closer, and your friends and brother walk in. Wendell’s the first one you notice, your eyes immediately darting to him. He’s wearing a hot ass black jacket, jeans and a white T-shirt, and you stare at him for a lot longer than you should.

“Hey, BJ. Never thought I’d see you on the other side of the bars.” Hodgins laughs at your expression of annoyance, and lets the cop they’re with open the cell door. He walks over to grab Angela, and you scoff.

“I told you to stop calling me BJ. I know you mean Booth Junior, but other people might think something else,” you mutter, much less than impressed at the innuendo tied to the nickname.

Your brother and Sweets go collect Brennan and Daisy, and Cam stands up on her own. She’s the most level-headed of all of you, and she’s completely sobered up now. Wendell walks to your side, your brother is too occupied with his (much less coordinated than you are) wife. Wendell puts an arm around you, and you gladly lean into him, hands settling on his chest.

“You’ll never guess what we did,” you giggle drunkenly against Wendell’s chest, overcome with the giddiness of a schoolgirl with a crush.

“Apparently you guys disturbed a lot of peace.” Wendell has somewhat of an impressed/concerned/entertained smirk on his face. He looks down at you, massively interested in the story as to how you got here. Not that he’ll hear it anytime soon.

“How’d you know?!” You look up at him with surprise written all over your face, a gasp escaping your lips, and it takes a lot for him not to burst out laughing.

“The sheriff told me. Let’s take you home, okay?”

“Okay,” you mumble, much more sullenly than five seconds ago.

Wendell keeps an arm around you, more than a little worried that you’re gonna fall over, and takes you to his car. You get in the front seat, smacking his hand away as he tries to help with your seatbelt. After successfully buckling the seatbelt, you glance back at him with a smirk.

“You know if you wanted to get on top of me all you had to do was ask.”

Wendell nearly chokes and dies at what you’re insinuating. He’s also not sure if this is the tequila talking or if it’s you talking. Composing himself quickly, he lets out a chuckle, saying something along the lines of ‘okay then,’ and closes the door for you. He walks around the front of the car, making his way to the driver’s seat. Hodgins drives by, Angela and Cam in the car with him, and waves as he heads home.

Seeley pulls up beside Wendell, looking at him sternly. Daisy and Brennen are singing in the back seat, and Wendell can see Sweets in the front seat, holding back laughter. It’s a funny sight really, the usually stoic Dr. Brennen and overly excitable Daisy, swaying together in the back seat singing an off-key rendition of piano man. Seeley makes a face at a certain piercing high note that comes from Dr. Brennan, before turning to Wendell.

“Listen man, I appreciate it. If we didn’t live on the opposite side of town, I’d take her home.” Seeley leans out the window slightly, looking at Wendell.

“It’s no problem, really.” Wendell smiles, giving your brother a small wave as he turns to get in his car. “I’ll make sure she gets home safe.”

“Wait! Not that I think you will, but don’t try anything. Alright?”

“Course not, man. Don’t worry, I got this. Head home, I’ll text you when I get Y/n home.” Wendell knows your brother means no harm, obviously, yet can’t help but think about why he’d even think to say that to him.

When he gets back in the car, seeing you sleeping soundly in the passenger seat, curled up and leaning against the window, his worries melt away and he smiles. He turns the car on and lowers the radio volume before driving off.

Tonight summarizes the two of you pretty well, actually. Y/n, the chaotic do-good-er badass, and Wendell, the (sometimes also chaotic) best friend, who always has your back. Sometimes it pains him that you only see him as that, a best friend, but he’s okay with just being that. A friend. Because it means he gets to see you happy. Little does he know, you wouldn’t have gotten so sauced tonight if you weren’t drinking away the thoughts of his lips on yours, his skin pressed against yours as the night turns to morning, the idea of a spark that doesn’t exist. The day of love sucks.

And for some reason, neither of you can see that you’re crazy about each other. Maybe it’s because you’re afraid to ruin what you have, or maybe it’s because you’re both just oblivious, but it doesn’t make a huge difference. Nothing seems to be happening.

Wendell is occupied with a lot of thoughts as he drives to your place. His mind bounces all over the place. He thinks about how you met, when you first walked into the Jeffersonian covered in dirt and sweat (in a cute way... even though he thinks anything is cute on you) after a chase in the desert, just to see your brother and make sure he was okay. He also thinks about the time he literally ran into you and the two of you fell down the platform stairs. The alarms went off, and everyone stared at the pair of you tangled up on the floor. Needless to say it took a while to live that one down. He thinks about every time he’s seen you laugh, and the few that he’s seen you cry. Not that you really even cried, you just couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. You don’t exactly do emotions, not out in the open at least.

He thinks about every reason he’s so smitten with you. You’re courageous, selfless, you protect your friends and family, you’re cutthroat and ferocious, yet simultaneously the sweetest person he’s ever met. You care about every detail of his day when you ask how he’s doing, and you can tell when the slightest thing is off with him, or anyone else at the lab, except for noticing his flaming crush on you. And as he thinks about all the little things, he realizes it can’t stay bottled up forever. He has to tell you.

Before long, you’re home. The two and a half hour drive have Wendell a lot of time to think, yet somehow it also feels like he’s had no time at all. The time has also started your trail toward sobriety, and you can at least think coherently. Wendell wakes you, and when you wake up, your hand goes to your head.

“Good god. Did I get hit by a bus?” Your words are still slightly jumbled together, but you’re getting back to business as usual, and that’s good enough.

“There she is,” he singsongs playfully, glad to see your usual demeanour starting to return. You unbuckle your seatbelt, groaning when you go to move. Wendell offers you a hand, and you take it.

Helping you up, he puts an arm around your waist again. You stumble slightly, and when he catches you, you fall against him, leaning against his chest. He ends up just scooping you up off the ground and carrying you inside, placing you on the couch. You’re mostly in good shape, just awful clumsy and distracted due to your headache. Wendell heads into the kitchen, grabbing a glass of water and some crackers.

“How you doing?” He sits by your thigh, putting an arm on the back of the couch and looking over at you. You cover your face with your hands, laughing gently.

“Ugh, please tell me I didn’t actually make the worst sex implication joke ever.”

“Um...”

“Oh shit. This is embarrassing.” You sit up, still a little tipsy, but not as messed up as you were at the police station. Maybe if things go off you can play it off as Valentine’s tequila. “Fuck it. I’m just gonna go for it. Tonight was fun or whatever, but I really wanted to spend it with you.”

“We could’ve done that. We can hang out this weekend if you want.”

“No, no. You really are a blonde.” You laugh, nudging his shoulder with your fist. Suddenly nervous, you start to ramble. “Not that that’s bad, because you’re definitely pretty. You’re a cute blonde, and you do have really nice arms, they’re really toned, and you know, at the garage you wear these tight shirts and sometimes I just stare and I worry you see, but-“

“Y/n! You’re getting off track here.” He puts a hand on your shoulder, laughing at your rambles. “Maybe we should talk about this tomorrow.”

“I like you a lot.” The words are out of your mouth before he’s even finished his sentence. “Like I have feelings for you?” It comes out like a question, but it’s meant as more of a fearful statement.

“Wait, really?” His eyes widen and his smile falls. At first you think he’s about to run for the hills, but when a small smile appears on his face you’re not so sure.

“Ah, shit, I shouldn’t have said anything,” you curse, rolling your eyes at your own stupidity. That’s fuckin embarrassing.

“No, I like you, too. A lot.” Wendell takes your hand, and you lay against his side as he keeps talking. “We can talk more, when you’re sober. But I do like you. And I think that if we decided that this weekend’s hangout was more ‘ice skating in the park’ instead of ‘trying to kill each other at the rink’, I’d be more than okay with that. I’d like that a lot, actually.” He lets out a small, nervous chuckle, and he glances down at you, fingers grazing your cheek as he contemplates if it would be weird to cup your face with his hand and run his thumb over your cheek.

“Really?” You look up at him with an adorable awestruck expression, and he nearly bursts out laughing.

“Yeah, really.” A smile stays glued to his face, and he shifts slightly, which causes you to sit up. “Now, you should probably go to bed, so that you’re not completely useless tomorrow.”

Wendell plants a small kiss on the top of your head, before standing and scooping you up, bringing you to your room. He drops you gently on your bed, and you let out a small giggle as you bounce slightly with the impact. You banish him from your room so that you can change, and not really paying attention, grab a black hoodie and shorts out of your closet. When you open the door again, he’s just leaning against the wall outside.

“Sorry, I didn’t know where you wanted me to set up- is that my hoodie? I’ve been looking for that!”

“Huh?” You look down at the sweater, seeing the small Jeffersonian logo on the left side of the chest, and the initials on the sleeve. “Oh, I guess it is.” You remember when he gave it to you, he couldn’t stand the idea of you remaining in your blood soaked T-shirt, the grey had become a sticky maroon, too much so to be comfortable. “You can have it back-“

“No, you keep it.” He steps closer, lifting your chin so that you look at him, and brushing a stray hair out of your face. His voice drops, becoming softer and breathy. “It’s much cuter on you anyway,” he murmurs, making you blush profusely, a little laugh escaping your lips.

The two of you fall silent, each staring at the other’s lips. A hum comes from the furnace, causing you both to startle slightly, and it ends the moment. You glance back at Wendell again, before sitting on your bed. He tilts his head at you, mildly confused as to what you’re doing.

“Where did you want me to sleep?”

“Wherever you want. There’s blankets and a few pillows in the closet.”

He thanks you and walks out, and you breathe in deeply, not realizing how shallow your breathing had become. Your mind is racing, and so is your heart. This is simultaneously about the best and worst Valentine’s you’ve ever had. As you mull over the events of tonight, you slide under the blankets, laying back and staring at the ceiling. The shuffling in your living room comes to a stop, and you can hear Wendell coming back to your room. He stops in the doorway.

“Came back to say goodnight,” he says softly, making your heart melt.

“You mind staying for a while?” You sit up, looking at him. He glances over his shoulder at you, a perplexed expression plastered on his face. “What?! I’ve had a rough night,” you say, pretending to be offended. He makes his way over, laying on your bed, on top of the blankets. You roll over and face him, looking up at him lazily. “Goodnight, Wendell.”

You drift off to sleep fairly quickly, but not before you subconsciously lay your head on his chest. He’s terrified at first, frozen in place and afraid to breathe, but after a few minutes he collects himself and calms down. You sleep soundly, curled up beside Wendell. He’s warm and he smells good, and he’s pretty comfortable. By the morning, the two of you are completely intertwined, tangled in blankets and each others’ arms.

The two of you grab a greasy breakfast (and some Advil) and spend the day together, actually talking about what happened the night before. Most of the day is spent at your place, you and Wendell lounging around on your couch as you binge watch your favourite series and try to overcome your hangover.

The next days and weeks fly by, you and Wendell getting closer and closer. The pair of you go on a few dates before things are made official, Wendell going as far as taking you on a walk in the snow and officially asking you out by the outdoor rink. He even reserved ice time so the two of you could skate around like idiots and pass a puck around.

And eventually, when people start to see you’re together, and ask about your story, you have to tell them he bailed you out of jail after Galantine’s gone wrong.

#bones #wendell bray x reader #wendell bray #seeley booth #cam saroyan #temperance brennan #angela montenegro #daisy wick #y/n #bonestv #x reader #wendell bray x you #happy galentines #happy valentine’s #valentines

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ohnobjyx · 4 years

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Taking care of you

Hi, guys! I initially wrote this post for an ask, but it got too long to be included, so I separated it in another post.

Disclaimer: fake info.

I’d like to highlight the moments they take care of each other. It must be because of how my own relationship works, but I really feel there’s something real between them when I see them just caring for each other.

Dd taking care of gg

From gg’s angle, I think the biggest clue is not just him taking care of dd, but letting himself be taken care of. From my experience, a independent, proud and competitive person like gg admitting that he doesn’t want to do something, asking for help or letting others defend him like dd does, shows a great deal of trust in the other person. He trusts the other one to do the right thing, to say the right words. And that’s present from start to finish in all of their events.

In the Thai fanmeeting (0:13-0:40 here), when asked a difficult question, gg and dd both said: “you answer”. Gg said in a very low voice “I don’t want to answer”, so dd inmediately turned to the reporter and thought of an answer. However, his answer was too short, so gg jumped in to complete it. Gg is perfectly capable of taking care of himself in events and interviews. He has done so before and continues to do so. However, whenever he’s with dd, he relaxes more, and lets dd take the reins or even asks him to (he asked him in this segment, but dd always rushes to defend him if needs arises, like the “you look at the waist” or the “why rush into marriage” moments). That doesn’t mean that he just disconnects, but remains attentive so he can help dd too if necessary. The way they rely and complete each other is really cp goals.

In CQL bts (the scene of the boat), dd keeps peeling lotus seeds for gg and giving them to him. Gg just naturally takes the seeds from him, and when YB hands him another stem, he just hands it to dd. If it wasn’t dd, just any other coworker, I don’t think gg would bear to just sit there and have another person peeling lotus seeds for him. He’d probably peel them himself, because that’s the “polite” thing to do. However, there’s no such need with people you’re really close to, and gg just sitting there speaks volumes of their closeness to each other.

(And note that when YB asks dd to pass him a lotus seed, dd just throws an unpeeled one to him, and YB has to peel it himself, because dd is only peeling lotus seeds for gg. Dd’s double standards).

In TTXS 11th anniversary, dd brings gg as his special guest. Gg says: “wang-laoshi please take care of me”, and dd answers: “I can’t even take care of myself”. But in the episode, he never leaves gg’s side, slows down the dance so gg can follow and jumps in to dance himself when gg is asked to and uncomfortable to say “no” (note that he also defended gg in the Thai fan meeting interview, when the reporter asked if gg could dance for them, dd was the first one to answer “no”)

Gg’s hearing is quite poor, so he often misses hosts’ questions. Dd is used to it by now: sometimes gg doesn’t even needs to ask him and dd will already be turning to him to repeat the question to him. I can think of at least three times that dd helped him like that: (1), (2) and (3)

(In Tencent Awards night, gg didn’t even hear the host telling him to stay for a bit, and only stopped after seeing dd. He didn’t hear anything the hosts said either. What is remarkable is that dd started to explain as soon as he turned. How did you know that gg hadn’t heard anything if you were facing the other side, dd?)

In Nanjing concert (191101), gg had a infection in the throat (faringitis). He could barely talk in the practice, and it’s part of the reason he’s much more silent in that concert. His throat was bothering him at the end of the concert, when they were both singing WuJi, so dd just simply sang his lines for him, hitting the high notes even though his voice isn’t suited for them. He continued to sing the leading voice of the song, just so gg could rest his voice. Gg’s reaction is so sweet too (his surprised stare, their smiles, gg nodding his head giving his thanks... judge for yourselves). He was smiling much more afterwards too.

Gg taking care of dd

But of course, gg also takes care of dd. As I’ve said, this goes to them both.

We’ve the famous knee pads moment in the 9-minutes boat video. Gg notices injuries in dd’s knees and looks very sad when he asks “b-but these are new injuries?”. They even bicker for a second, but gg keeps looking at dd’s knees and out of concern asks him to wear knee-pads. We all know that more than a year after that, dd is indeed listening to gg’s words, even though at first he laughed at them and asked “who would wear knee pads?”.

In the same 9-minute boat video, gg also asks him “I heard yesterday was so hot that an extra fainted... how were you?”. From my pov, this video allows us a small glimpse into how they interact, and by dd’s answer I think it’s usual for gg to be caring and attentive of dd. Even when they are playing and joking around, gg keeps in mind dd’s health, like when he said “yes, I’ll let you off since you haven’t slept for 2-3days and that’s sad. Rest well, please” here.

I don’t even think gg was thinking of anymore than just friendship with dd at that moment. But it already started to show that he cared a lot about him.

There are also multiple instances of gg taking care of dd’s throat. For some reason, it seems dd is very prone to colds and coughs (he once said he was the kind of kid that got sick every season, and I don’t think the idol life workload is doing anything to fix that).

Bxg digged out that gg gave dd a certain brand cough drop in the Thai fan meeting (and it’s the same one he was sharing with the other hosts in SDoC). Then we jump at Tencent Awards night. Gg sees that dd has something candy-like in his mouth and inmediately asks: “does your throat hurt?”. The amount of knowledge necessary here: as his cohosts from SDoC demonstrates for us, when we see a friend eating a candy, it’s more normal to ask “oh, you’re eating a candy?”. But gg inmediately knows that it’s a cough drop, most likely because he knows that dd doesn’t like sweets and snacks and he gave him those. From there, we jump to gg’s worry about dd “does your throat hurt?”.

In TTXS episode with gg, at the end, when they are eating meat skewers, gg advises dd to eat less of them: “they have black pepper, it’s bad for the throat”. For me, it’s a sign of how gg takes care of dd in a more domestic and daily basis. The comment is taken naturally by dd, as if he’s used to it.

(Actually, I’d like to know what gg has to say about dd eating so many spicy hotpots with his cough. In traditional Chinese medicine, “spicy, sweet, oily and alcohol” are the four prohibitions for people who want to take care of their voice and their throat. By gg’s comments and the brand of cough drops he gives dd, I’m almost sure he wouldn’t like dd mistreating his throat like this).

I’m sure most of you has noticed the next one, but gg always clears the seat for dd. He did so in Nanjing fan meeting, and took the papers and the pen away so dd didn’t sit on them, and again cleared the seat next to him in Tencent awards. So when gg wasn’t sitting next to him in w/ibo night, dd simply sat with a water bottle behind him, and gg noticed when he sat in dd’s seat later, when dd had left.

(It’s also interesting to analyze gg’s movement in Tencent Awards. Everyone in that sofa where sitting widely apart from each other, so a pen placed next to gg shouldn’t bother dd if he simply took his seat keeping the same distance everyone was keeping. But gg assumed naturally that dd would be sitting next to him).

(At the left, an actress who is rumoured to follow other actors cp’s, and was seen observing gg and dd that night quite closely).

Also from Tencent Awards night, dd was confused as to how to leave the stage, which gg kindly points him the correct way. The same thing, though much more subtle, appears again at the w/ibo night, when with a glance from dd, gg points the way with his fan for dd.

Gg also cares about dd’s career. In c-culture, connections and relationships with important people play a large part in your success in any industry. So at first gg was standing between ZLY and dd, but when he noticed ZLY talking with dd, he just gently pushed dd towards her, so they could chat.

This is why I don’t really believe in the famous video of a “jealous gg moment” (when they got off stage and were walking down the stairs, dd looked at ZLY, and that glance was supposedly seen by gg, who stormed off, leaving dd behind). I think gg didn’t react like that because of dd (though he did look at him), but because someone signaled him from afar.

Dd even waited for ZLY to get on stage, and offered his help to her because she was wearing a long dress. This was also seen by gg, who turned to check if dd was following. If this moment didn’t get a reaction from gg, and he doesn’t react poorly when they both chatted at his side, I don’t know why dd just looking at her afterwards would sit so badly with gg (and we get back to the fact of ZLY being married and with a baby).

At the Nanjing concert, in the first day, when gg and dd were singing Wu Ji, there were some problems with their earphones. You can actually see them trying to fix it from here. However, dd ends up taking off his, and there’s a moment of silent communication, where I think dd was asking gg to cue him the start of the next part of the song (which is dd’s). From here, you can see gg keeping up with the beats of the song, and see him pointing with the mic towards dd when is his turn to start singing.

I particularly love this Wu Ji interpretation from them, because it’s first dd asking gg for help, and inmediately after, dd taking care of gg.

They rely on each other, trust each other and they move around each other like the other one is meant to be in their personal space. Neither gives or receives more help from the other, they are in an equally balanced relationship. Now you can take this and compare it to real relationships you know of to get your own conclusions about whether it resembles a romantic relationship or a strong friendship.

#yizhan #bjyx #taking care of each other #bts #mainly #191228 #191101

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jocy-diaries · 3 years

Text

01.05.2022

I woke up a wee bit late with a backache and some dreams I really didn’t care for. The only good things about those dreams was that the environment and architecture was new, which is nice for a change. I’ve been trying to eat some thing for breakfast since I usually only have coffee. It’s nice to take the time to make something nice for yourself, work willing.

You know when you have off days and you low-key hate yourself because you were on yesterday and you really could use an on day again because you’ve got so much to do but you just can’t? Yeah, that’s today for me…

I’m trying to think of the positive mindset pieces I’ve read which prompt you to be kind to yourself on such days because sometimes it can’t be helped and it means you should relax and recharge yaddi yadda, but that’s so impossible when you have a nine to five and everything you’re working on requires active thought and you have perfectionist anxiety and you want to prove yourself but you literally can’t because you’re stumped there :( I am not having a good time. On the other hand, I won’t be keeping this job forever and I have a dnd game tonight so wooo recharge.

To try and keep myself sane, I made a list of things I want to accomplish this week.

Research digitization & archive volunteer opportunities

Research MLIS + Minority + Female scholarships

Finish hair re-tie

Pay for Spring Semester

So therapist homework

And then if I have the time…

Check that Studio Ghibli DVDs work

Read ‘Seance Party’

Read ‘Koko Be Good’

Watch ‘Grabbers’

Watch ‘Sea Fog’

Watch ‘Oh Lucy!’

Apply for library/archives positions

Complete Apostrophe review

Maybe it would be a good idea to keep a running post of things to accomplish here too. This diary, is a mess of flowing thoughts. Which is funny because I hate books written like that lol

I always feel a dreadful surge of anxiety before a DnD game. It’s online with strangers over choice chat and I know I shouldn’t be as terrified as I feel but, here we are. It’s weird, I decided to start doing DnD to get more into story telling and improv and to speak up a bit more, but the old social anxiety tics don’t ever really go away, do they? I’m always fine after a little bit thank goodness haha. It’s too bad I have to stop with the Wednesday campaign, I have a movie to go watch next Wednesday and after that I have classes on Wednesdays. I had to stop right after we got a Goliath into the party. A GOLIATH!!! Gosh darn it I wanted them to be friends. Ah well, I’ll be joining the Friday session instead.

I think I’ll be staying up late today. I want to do my hair and catch up on some of the work I didn’t get to do. Let’s try to redeem ourself~

Okay so it’s five in the morning and I’ve just finished my hair~ I’ll have to take a video of it soon since it’s my 6 month loc’d anniversary come the 11th, and I do have to stop messing with it so much. I had a lovely conversation with 🎨 and finally told her about my sexuality which was nice. And I actually got a lot of stuff on my list done! I’m keeping a little journal of things now so hopefully that continues well. Now I’m off to make some iced coffee and power through the work day hopefully without falling asleep. Yaaay lol

#january 2022 #dear diary #01.05.2022

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qqueenofhades · 4 years

Note

If Cursed had asked you, a medieval historian, what to do, what would you have told them?

Ahaha. Ahaha. Hah. Full disclosure, I know/knew absolutely nothing about the show apart from reading this horrible article, but methinks, enough to get a sense of it. And even without the author of this article wildly making up their Blackadder version of history (as my dearest and oh so correct @oldshrewsburyian put it yesterday), the quotes from the actors/producers/etc are just... they are just.... SO BAD.

Starring:

"But when we got into filming and the brutality, the mud, the bugs and the blood, I thought, 'I'm not sure I could handle this in reality'.

"I have a feeling I'd get sick and die pretty quick."

"I'd be dead," adds Frank Miller, very matter of fact.

"I mean it was a time of wild plagues and disease and they didn't have much use for people who do the kind of stuff I do."

Ah yes, medieval life. Mud, blood, bugs, and death. “Times of wild plague and disease,” unlike today, where we never have a problem with plague at all. And I’m sorry, the medieval world had no use for artists??? What are you even SMOKING MY DUDE MY BRO MY PAL (and if you don’t know this, WHY ARE YOU MAKING A MEDIEVAL SHOW SUPPOSED TO BE “ACCURATE?”) Have you LOOKED at ONE SINGLE MEDIEVAL MANUSCRIPT? HAVE YOU WALKED INTO A MEDIEVAL CATHEDRAL AND LOOKED AT THE STAINED GLASS WINDOWS? LOOKED AT ANY JEWELRY? ANYTHING?????

(Okay I gotta pace myself, there’s a lot to yell at here and it’ll take a while.)

"If I was living in that time, I think I would want to be a witch but you would stink," Devon Terrell, who's taking on the role, laughs.

As would most people, with a lack of basic sanitation and plumbing which meant human waste was often thrown out close to where you lived.

"And I like a good fairy tale but I wouldn't say I was longing for a time that was much less scientific. I'd probably get killed for heresy or something. I'm not great with authority or religious oppression and that sort of stuff. So, yeah, I don't think I'd fare too well."

There’s just... I don’t know where to even.... /SCREAMS

(And I even cut out the especially face-palming quote from the article about “thousands of people burning for heresy” in the 11th/12th century. “Much less scientific,” well, Roger Bacon’s brazen head just called AND IT THINKS YOU’RE A MORON, DEVON.)

The woman playing Morgana Le Fay talks about your life being “very short” and getting drowned as a witch and whatever Bad Guy Du Jour talks about having no dentists or medical care. We get the picture: they.... really did not do their homework. I’m not sure they even touched Google. So basically, we’d need to start by burning everything down and then asking if really, truly, do we NEED to make this adaptation. There are EIGHT THOUSAND MILLION GODFORSAKEN RETELLINGS OF ARTHUR/THE ROUNDTABLE RIGHT NOW. NOBODY NEEDS ANOTHER ONE! EVEN FOR WHATEVER PSEUDO-FEMINIST TAKE YOU SEEM TO BE TRYING TO PUT ON THIS ONE! ENOUGH! ENOOOOUGH! THINK OF SOMETHING DIFFERENT! THERE ARE SO MANY MEDIEVAL ROMANCES OUT THERE THAT DON’T GET MADE!!!

For example, you know what I would suggest? Bisclavret. Where is my lavish beautifully designed historical-medieval-fantasy queer werewolf romance, I ask you? (Answer: just like that novel I stumbled upon yesterday that decided to make some random Vatican maidservant into Cesare Borgia’s ~truest and purest love~, y’all are too cowardly to do it right.) YOU KNOW WHO WOULD LOVE THIS? THE GAYS! THE GAYS WOULD LOVE IT, PATRICIA! We have a central queer love story (Bisclavret and the king). We have a distinct physical and geographical setting (12th-century France). THE GODDAMN THING WAS WRITTEN BY A WOMAN! (Marie de France.) We could develop the character of Bisclavret’s wife and give her backstory and into a sympathetic and complicated but ultimately redeemed antiheroine, blackmailed by the male/patriarchal/heterosexual villains of the establishment, if y’all REALLY want to get into some subversive queerfem medievalism and not your little weaksauce Nimue in her polyester corset. We could LITERALLY MAKE A QUEER MEDIEVAL WEREWOLF ROMANCE WRITTEN BY A WOMAN!!! HOW ABOUT THAT YOU DINGDONGS?!!

You could decorate the sets beautifully by, I don’t know, LOOKING AT THOSE MEDIEVAL ARTISTS WHO SUPPOSEDLY DIDN’T EXIST. You could bring in other medieval monsters, such as walking corpses, and have brawny young men beating them to death with shovels (as various medieval chroniclers matter-of-factly report on). You could do something besides the TIRED ASS “superstitious peasants think woman with vague evidence of a personality must be a witch!!” You could ground your story in the vivid and colorful politics of 12th-century France and the underground queer life for people in Paris (MAKE PETER THE CHANTER THE FROLLO-ESQUE VILLAIN, I’M JUST SAYING!) EXPLORE THE METAPHOR OF QUEERNESS VIS A VIS MONSTROSITY WITH BISCLAVRET THE WEREWOLF! You could STOP ACTING LIKE GAME OF THRONES IS HISTORY AND “DIRTY PEOPLE IN TUNICS GETTING KILLED MEANS IT’S MEDIEVAL!!!”

/takes a deep breath

But alas. As established, they are Cowards. So, if we absolutely HAD to be lumbered with another goddamn Arthur adaptation:

STOP ACTING LIKE SOME RANDOM VAGUELY 12TH-CENTURY SETTING IS ~tHE hISToriCAl ArThUr!!~ IF HE EXISTED IT WAS IN LIKE 5TH-CENTURY POST ROMAN BRITAIN AND A) WE ALREADY HAD THE TEDIOUS BIG BUDGET “ACCURATE KING ARTHUR” WITH KEIRA KNIGHTLEY DRESSED IN WHATEVER THAT WAS, I’M GAY SO I’M NOT COMPLAINING THAT MUCH BUT ALSO ACCURATE MY CYNICAL LESBIAN BACKSIDE!

....where was I...

Ah yes. Post-Roman 5th-century Britain is A VERY DIFFERENT SETTING from the random-ass mishmash of “medieval” tropes you people seem to want to throw in. Or ANOTHER IDEA: junk the idea that “King Arthur” is ever going to be a remotely accurately represented historical concept, and just make it lavish, fantastic, magical, dark, and compelling without yoking yourself to the fuckin’ BORING ASS “must add mud and blood and suffering and misogyny for More Realism!” It’s FANTASY, TREAT IT LIKE FANTASY AND NOT HISTORY LIKE “A FAIRYTALE!” HOW ABOUT THAT IDEA?!?! AND MAYBE STOP ACTING LIKE YOU HAVE PRETENSIONS TO “tHe wAy it ReALLy wAs” because we have established YOU DO NOT!!!

(God Game of Thrones is the WORST, and you KNOW they’re doing this trying to be GoT-lite, and I.... /mutters incoherently)

OR MAKE ANY OTHER OF THE ARTHURIAN ROMANCES IF YOU REALLY HAVE TO DO A CAMELOT STORY! THERE ARE LIKE EIGHTY MILLION OF THEM! PICK A SIDE ONE WITH CHARACTERS THAT YOU CAN DO FRESH RATHER THAN THE ARCHETYPES THAT HAVE BEEN DONE TO DEATH!!! ACTUALLY ASK A MEDIEVAL LITERATURE EXPERT AND A MEDIEVAL HISTORIAN FOR ADVICE BEFORE YOU GET THIS FAR AND EMBARRASS YOURSELVES!!! (OR MAYBE SEVERAL OF THEM!!) ACTUALLY ACT LIKE REPRESENTING THE PAST AS A FULL AND COMPLEX AND BEAUTIFUL PLACE AS WELL AS A DARK AND DANGEROUS ONE CAN STRENGTHEN YOUR STORY AND DISPLAY HUMAN EXPERIENCE MORE ACCURATELY! RATHER THAN “HURR DURR DARK AGES” BECAUSE I AM TIRED!!!

TIRED!!!!

...Anyway. I clearly handled this well. Whew.

#medieval literature #bisclavret #medieval history #....i had a lot of feelings #i swear i am a nice person #anonymous #ask

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mrsrcbinscn · 4 years

Text

Baby Hour || March 3, 2021

Takes place March 2-3, but it’s been done for over three weeks and I’m posting it early just so it can be here

feat. @laszlowrobinson and old Petunia and Cornelius

cw: childbirth, not super graphic but like, discusses what you’d expect

March 2nd, 2021

5:03 PM

FRANNY:

One thing nobody tells you about being pregnant is how difficult it got towards the end solely on account of your own head. Franny could deal with the discomfort and having to pee nine times an hour, because ultimately, that was nothing compared to the waiting. Franny was counting down the days until her March 11th due date and it had long since stopped being a fun, cutesy thing to post on Instagram.

Now she was just mad. She wanted to hold her baby already!

Sovanna had been considered full term for like a week! It’s been safe for her to come out so why not hurry up and be born, huh?

Franny sat at the breakfast nook, sipping at some orange juice, and running a hand over her belly. God, she couldn’t see over this thing almost. She couldn’t wait to feel sexy again and not like Saturn. Still, she couldn’t say she was exactly miserable. Even at her advanced maternal age (hey, only forty-one!) her pregnancy had gone well and both she and Sovanna were in excellent health. Beyond excellent, even! Dr. Leonard even said that despite the initial concern for a c-section being required due to her lopsided uterus, Sovanna was positioned right where she needed to be for a vaginal delivery to be possible.

She’d done it— almost. After twenty years of trying and being heartbroken when her body refused to begin to or continue to create life, her second child was coming. Soon, she’d get to cuddle her little girl to her chest and let her suckle at her breast and she would get to watch her second little baby grow.

How lucky she was to get that privilege again so long after Wilbur had been small.

“Cornelius, will you tell her to hurry up?” Franny whined. “Maybe she’ll listen to you. She’s being stubborn and not just being born already.”

CORNELIUS:

Cornelius had taken a few months off. A few months being, the first half of this whole year. It had come sudden to those he worked with, but the transition itself had been smooth thanks to his team. Honestly, a lot smoother than his anxiety filled brain had thought it would have gone. But he was pleased. And they kept him updated if there was an emergency of sorts that might need him.

Thankfully, there had been none.

He’d been using the time to continue to prepare for the baby, but to address his lackluster job as a partner and father. He was trying to spend more time with just him and Franny before they had a crying baby on their hand, but also with trying to reconnect with Wilbur.

Honestly, it was nice to take time off. Really, take that time. He didn’t realize how much he needed it.

Infact, he was catching up on some reading he’d put off for years now when Franny spoke. He looked up, and smiled fondly. “I’m sure I can’t exactly make the call on that,” He laughed. “But - alright. Sovanna, don’t you want to join us already? Your mom is getting impatient.”

FRANNY:

When Franny didn’t immediately feel any sharp pains in her sides, she took that as a resounding no from the little one.

She chuckled and smiled down at where miss stubborn was hiding and shook her head. “That’ll be two middle fingers up from her, Dad.”

With a sigh, Franny stood from her chair and reached up to tug her hair out of its ponytail. She’d taken a shower this morning, but even in March she felt burning hot at all times, and sweat enough to need at least two showers a day. Today, probably three.

“I’m going to hop in the shower. Then I’ll figure out what to do for dinner.”

Franny winced as right as she was finishing up her shower the now familiar ache in her lower back began to bother her. Sovanna must be beating up her sciatic nerve again, she thought. Pregnancy was much more painful that she’d ever anticipated. The discomfort was a known fact, the ouch was just a mean surprise nobody prepared you for.

As she dried off best she could with her nine months pregnant limited range, her sciatic nerve made sure to send occasional reminders that there was a baby in there making it very unhappy. Jesus, what can she do about it, huh? Not like she can command Sovanna to be born. Childbirth wasn’t like crying-- nobody can do it on cue.

5:45 PM

“I don’t know what to do for dinner. I’m not hungry at all.” She complained, flicking up the kitchen faucet’s handle and sticking a finger under the flow of water to wait for it to warm up. “Maybe I’ll do something with the butternut squash we’ve got. That requires effort.”

Franny’s back, feet, and every other bit of her was telling her to sit down, relax, don’t bother with dinner.

She made to turn back to Cornelius after washing her hands to start cooking when the dull pain in her sciatic nerve spread to her sides...and as she winced and gripped the countertop, she thought maybe it wasn’t her sciatic nerve at all. Franny’s eyes met his and she just muttered, “Back pain.”

Probably, right? She wasn’t due for another week. Wouldn’t it hurt worse if it was actually time? And shouldn’t her water break?

They probably still had a few days to go.

CORNELIUS:

Cornelius was focused on his book, highlighting a couple of lines that stuck out to him. Maybe Wilbur would enjoy this, he thought to himself. They could go back to discussing robotics more like when he was younger. He’d like that a lot…

A smile came to his face as he played back the memory of him and Wilbur in the lab, trying to keep up with his son's questions. He wondered for a moment if Sovanna would have any interest in science. He glanced up after another stroke of his highlighter with a hum. “You know, you don’t have to worry about dinner. The twins are offering to make…”

He didn’t finish though. He trailed off as the words died on his tongue and his brows raised curiously at Franny. Back pain was usual, he learned, with pregnancy. In fact, a lot of pain was usual. But how she was now gripping the countertop and looking at him...the way her brows furrowed together…

Something was nagging him in the back of his mind, but everything he’d read or seen talked about water breaking and - and wouldn’t you know if it was time to have a baby? He was a man, after all, so he wouldn’t know that feeling. But he assumed a woman would know - right?

“...are you sure, dear? Maybe you should sit down.”

FRANNY:

Franny exhaled heavily and nodded, resting a hand over her belly. Yeah, sit. That was probably for the best. She really didn’t need to be super wife right now, not when she was bound to birth a baby any day now.

“I’m fine. I think, anyway.” She smiled, though it wasn’t quite convincing. “I’m going to try and get comfortable on the couch, I’ll shout if I need anything.”

She pressed a kiss to Cornelius’ cheek and wandered into the living room and unplugged her phone from where it had been on the charger, only to change her mind about checking e-mails. Her brain was taking maternity leave early, thanks.

After a good twenty minutes of trying to get in a comfortable position, Franny threw her hands up and accepted her lot in life as an uncomfortable pregnant lady. And for a minute or so, that was fine. Until once again the pain she’d felt in the shower and in the kitchen struck again.

“Fuck,” she hissed, clutching her side. “Ow.”

PETUNIA:

Petunia had been doing her best to be a mediator in the house as of late, a funny idea if you asked her. What with Wilbur going through so much at school and needing a shoulder to rest his weary head upon and both Franny and Cornelius definitely needing someone to talk to about pregnancy and childbirth, she found that it was.. kind of nice to be needed this way. She certainly couldn’t complain.

Petunia had been watching a stupid house renovation show just to have some noise on in the background while she texted Seamus about what he and the boys were up to for the weekend. She thought it was rather amusing, watching him run around with those youngsters. Lachlann certainly helped both sides with how charmingly youthful he seemed.

She’d greeted Franny with a small smile when the woman had first sat down but, now, after twenty minutes of her niece-in-law’s fussing, Petunia was rather curious as to what the young woman was doing. Certainly, pregnancy had been uncomfortable once she’d grown about as large as Franny was but it didn’t usually--

Oh.

“Franny, dear, how frequently are your twinges acting up?” Petunia asked, attempting for nonchalance. “Have you been keeping track?”

FRANNY:

“Jesus, Petunia!”

Franny damn near jumped -- see, a part of Franny’s brain registered Petunia’s presence ages ago. A part of her brain waved in greeting before she sat down. Most of her brain already forgot.

“Uh, what?” Franny thought about it for a moment as she nervously played with her hair and frowned at her split ends. Christ, she needed to get Petunia to fix that Yesterday. “I don’t know.”

There was the shower, after the shower, in the kitchen, and now...about an hour and fifteen minutes had elapsed from the first one until now. (Granted, Franny can’t do math so she was just guessing.)

“A few times an hour, maybe?”

PETUNIA:

Petunia smiled gently when Franny jumped, attempting at not laughing. She knew she tended to sneak up upon people at times. It was a big house and people expected not to run into people not too terribly often despite the number of people living there.

She mulled over the information, recalling how often she had been encouraged to wait before heading to the hospital. She’d been told about five to ten minutes between each contraction. If it was a few times an hour Franny probably still had more time, should her hunch be correct.

Of course, these could always be Braxton Hicks contractions but better to go in than pretend they weren’t happening.

“Well, dear, we need to start timing them. They’re going to need to know at the hospital, after all.”

FRANNY:

Timing them, why? Franny almost asked.

Instead she said, “At the hospital? Why would I need-- oh. Oh. Wait, you don’t think…? Do you?”

Her water hadn’t even broken, isn’t that like, sign number one you’re in labor? Then again, didn’t some women say the doctor had to handle that at the hospital? This was too stressful, why can’t the baby just manifest into her arms like Christians teach their kids babies do.

“Should we tell Cornelius now or wait? He’ll want to go to the hospital right away, I think he’s more worried about me than I am.”

PETUNIA:

Watching Franny’s realization was, well, funny. Petunia certainly hadn’t watched that many ladies go into labor since she had well passed her own carrying age. When her friends back in L.A. or New Zealand had done so everyone had been freaking out and screeching and making a huge deal of it... only to be sent home because they had gone in much too early and the moment had been ruined time and time again.

She would try not to do that to Franny.

“It’s entirely possible, darling. A week or two early is rather common, after all, and if they’re coming as frequently as you claim then.. I imagine you’ll be seeing little Sovanna rather soon.” Petunia shrugged. As excited as she was to meet the little one, she knew that she had to be the calm one since, well, she didn’t imagine Cornelius was about to be.

“I would say we need to start the timer now and, if it’s in ten minutes, we’ll go grab Cornelius. I don’t want to cause any unnecessary trips or any unnecessary fussing. Believe me, the trip home because you’re not far enough along is rather irritating.” She’d been so disappointed when that had happened with Laszlo.

FRANNY:

“You think? It might be baby day? Oh, I hope so. I’d hate for Cornelius to spend his birthday at the hospital tomorrow.” Though, if it was spent at the hospital waiting for Sovanna, maybe he’d forget it was his forty-fourth birthday at all.

God, she hoped they got to meet Sovanna soon. She’d been pregnant long enough! Now she just wanted to hold her baby and feel her warmth in her arms. It’s been baby o’clock!

“I just want to cuddle her to my chest already, it’s been long enough. Too long, if you count how long we’ve wanted her.” All the pain she put herself - and her husband - though over the years, finally, was paying off with their second child coming.

She waited, tapping her foot with nerves the entire time, as they waited for the next twinge of pain. Ten minutes came and went -- but not fifteen. Twelve minutes after Petunia set her phone timer, Franny inhaled sharply and nodded as if to say ‘there it is!’

PETUNIA:

“Darling, I think Sovanna’s decided it’s time and she’s trying to steal daddy’s spotlight for birthday excitement,” Petunia teased. Certainly sounded like a Robinson with that go-getter look-at-me spark. They weren’t exactly a subtle crew, Cornelius being the most subtle of them all and still managing to be the center of attention.

Petunia squeezed Franny’s arm as they waited, her eyes flickering back and forth from the timer to the pregnant woman before her. Ten minutes passed and Petunia nodded solemnly. So not quite the time, yet. Once they hit twelve and the surge began again Petunia stopped the timer and stood up.

“Alright, you tell me when it stops so I can start again. You’re doin’ great, sugar.” She knew it wasn’t easy to wait, Petunia’s patience had always been thin even before the curse. “I think little Sovanna’s gettin’ ready to meet you.”

FRANNY:

“Am I? I feel like I’m --- I should be losing my mind right? Why am I so calm I mean, I’m shaking a little, my hands. But other than that.” Was she somehow not taking this seriously enough?

Should she be shouting and demanding to go to the hospital?

No, reasoned the logical side of her brain. Petunia had two babies, she’d kick you out the front door herself if she thought it was time to get doctors involved.

“...okay, it stopped.” Franny said through partially grit teeth.

LASZLO:

Being the irresponsible person that he was, Laszlo had come home from school and promptly crashed on his bed for a nap. Because at any given opportunity to sleep, he was going to ensure to take it.

When he woke up, with blurry eyes and wrinkled clothes, he shuffled down stairs. His first stop had been the kitchen to grab a glass of water, chug it, and then refill it before ambling off to figure out where everyone else was.

This didn’t take too long. But in a house with this many people living in it (even if the place was huge) it never did. Unless they were all trying not to be found for one reason or another.

He sat down with Franny and his mum— oblivious to whatever it was they were doing. His attention was what was on the television, watching as some person with good teeth was talking to the camera about...what? Cabinets?

“Which one is this?” he asked, gesturing to the screen with his glass full of water that lapped worryingly at the sides.

PETUNIA:

“Truthfully, Franny, it’s not all that exciting until you are actually at the hospital. This part, the less frequent surges --because people call them surges now to sound more positive-- is the boring part. You’re also probably in shock.” Petunia patted her shoulder, glancing over at her son that had joined them. He seemed.. out of it, seemed as though he were a little sleepy.

Petunia set the timer again at Franny’s announcement, setting the phone back onto the table with an encouraging smile. “You’re doing great, sweetheart. It’s almost time.” She knew that it was scary, her proof that she could point to was just beside her as she spoke.

She reached out to touch his hair gently, just as she had done so frequently as he’d grown up. “You need a haircut again,” she mused. “It’s a house flipper or something,” she answered his question with a roll of her eyes. “Surprised you’re not more excited about Franny right now, love, or is this a brave face?” The question was posed with a quirk of her brow.

Must’ve been a long day.

FRANNY:

“Oh, well it's hardly exciting at this point. They could just be a false alarm too-- my water hasn’t even broken yet.”

Franny had a habit, or, a talent perhaps, of saying things right before they ultimately did happen. ‘At least it’s not a tornado warning’ Franny said when a tornado watch flashed across the TV screen in high school; only for sirens to go off minutes later and her whole family huddled in a bathroom. ‘At least Wilbur didn’t catch the flu’ she said more than once, after she, Cornelius, and his parents all battled the seasonal flu, only hours before Wilbur finally showed symptoms.

‘My water hasn’t broken yet’ Franny said, right before she got the feeling that she’d just peed herself right on the couch. She blinked, gasped ‘oh’ and looked up at Petunia.

“I...either I peed my pants, or...I spoke too soon.”

LASZLO:

Laszlo hummed, eyebrows furrowing as he tried to understand why everyone was so up in arms over a certain type of granite that was out of stock. This same confused expression held at his mum’s odd question. Brave face? Why would need to have a brave face?

It was a Tuesday evening. There didn’t seem to be anything special about that.

But before he could ask what it was she meant, Franny spoke, making Laszlo choke on the sip of water he’d just taken. He sputtered, sitting up to try catching what liquid his coughing fit was trying to expel.

“I’m sorry, but what?” His head went back and forth between his mum and Franny, as if they were in the middle of a tennis match, before stopping to stare straight ahead. “Which one of you wants to try to explain what I’ve just walked in on? Because I’m assuming it’s not to do with redecorating!”

PETUNIA:

Ah, Franny had jinxed herself and Petunia, who was sharing the space on the couch grimaced as the world decided to choose irony for them. She scooted half a spot away and tried to assess the situation. So the surges were about twelve minutes apart and now her water had broken. She hummed as she mulled over the information. The question was whether or not she was going to be rushing this.

As Petunia opened her mouth to respond --though what that response would be she did not know-- Laszlo finally seemed to grasp what was going on around him for half a moment. She couldn’t stop the laughter that bubbled from her lips at her son’s antics. She didn’t mean to laugh at him, didn’t mean to embarrass her sweet baby like that, but he certainly had been slow on the upkeep.

“Franny’s in labor, Laszie,” Petunia explained gently. “Her water’s broken, we’re recording the time between surges, it seems little Sovanna’s on her way.” She sighed, turning her attention back to the woman in question. “Deep breaths, darling, and I know a lovely shop in NTO that’ll be able to clean the couch.”

FRANNY:

Right, so Franny was going to ask Petunia to go and grab Cornelius soon anyway. It’s not like she was going to exclude her husband from his part for much longer, she just knew how much he worried over her, and loved her, and cared about her. He would have wanted to go to the hospital right away and like Petunia said, they could always tell you to just go home if you weren’t far enough along.

And Franny was much too pregnant and far too uncomfortable to climb in and out of a car multiple times today, thanks.

But then her water broke on their relatively new couch (less than two years old meant new) and Laszlo was there and if Laszlo was up to speed, Cornelius should be too.

“Um, Lasz? Can you...grab my husband? He’s reading a book at the breakfast nook.”

LASZLO

For a few moments all Laszlo’s mind consisted of was a flurry of rapid: ohmygodohmygodohmygod— then it settled and focused in on the fact that the baby was coming!

Which alerted the part of his brain that said people need you to not be a clown right now, pack up the court jester bells for tonight. Jokes would only be used when necessary from this moment forward! ...probably!

“Right! Yeah! I can—“ He stood, circling around in one spot like a dog as he tried to work out what to do first. Walk? Set down water? Say?? Words? Laszlo put the glass of water down, giving it a loving tap that told it he would be back for it sometime in the future before taking off to go get Cornelius.

Then he stopped, turned right around, and made his way around the back of the couch so he could grab Franny’s head and place a kiss on the crown. “Thank god she’s early, I dunno how much longer I could have held out.”

He went to leave again, giving his mum two thumbs up before disappearing in the right direction this go around.

Moments later he slid on the tile, catching himself with both hands on the table by Cornelius. He plucked the book from his cousin’s hands, tucking it under his arm. “Good news! Franny’s in labor! Bad news! Well—Franny’s in labor. So come on, let’s go, up and at ‘em! You get your wife and I’ll get everything else.”

CORNELIUS:

Cornelius had actually just finished his book. It had been a good read. He was glad he hadn’t forgotten about it after all these years when he added it to his reading list. A list he had assumed he wouldn’t touch until retirement. But now, he had time. He had a lot of time. So much so, he almost didn’t know what to do with it.

Little did he know that maybe the rest of that list would have to wait for retirement.

And when he was contemplating what to do next, which was maybe head to the lab, Laszlo literally slid in, giving Cornelius a start as he snatched the book from him. “I - what?” He started, the words storming his mind like knights storming a castle.

And then, they broke in. And then - it clicked!

“Shit! Franny!” He said, jumping up, knocking over his cold coffee in the nook without noticing and moving towards the door - then running back in to lean in the doorway. “Where is she?” He asked frantically, his eyes searching his cousin as if the answer was written on him. “And where - where’s Carl?”

“Here! Laszlo and I will get the baby bag as I call the doctor!” The noodly, yellow robot said as he seemed to appear from the other end of the kitchen, wearing an apron with cleaning supplies stuffed in the pockets. “I’ll tell Wilbur too!”

FRANNY:

“I knew that’d be the reaction,” Franny said, chuckling as she looked over at Petunia. “Oh, Wilbur won’t want to know he’s- well, I suppose you should. I’m fine! Uh, I mean, it’s really not that ba--aaaad, okay, I lied.”

As another contraction hit, this time it was properly painful, Franny clutched the arm of the couch with one hand and tried to make herself stand up to make for the car. She was not going to pull a Seth Myers’ wife and accidentally have this baby at home, nope. Franny gripped Petunia and Cornelius’ arms to steady herself to make it to the car.

“Uh, Petunia. I think it's best you drive. These two are losing it and I’m in labor so that leaves you.”

CORNELIUS:

“I’m not - I’m not losing it,” Cornelius sputtered. But that was wrong. He was. He was unraveling, unsure what to do despite having read up and prepared for this moment for some time now. All that mental training and preparation had gone out the window. “...but yes. Petunia. You drive.”

And she did. There was no time to call anyone else to do it, and she was the most level headed person here. So they piled into the car, Cornelius doing the only thing that could keep him calm and counting between Franny’s contractions. Her face twisting in pain every time definitely made his heart leap into his throat, unsure what to do.

Except counting. Even now, numbers were his friend.

The trip to the hospital of course was short and they quickly got Franny admitted, Cornelius following along wherever the doctors wheelchaired his wife too.

FRANNY:

10:15 PM

“Four hours. Four hours we’ve been here and the doctor is telling me I’m only four centimeters?” Franny hissed as she paced the room. “Ouch!”

No, she wasn’t bitching about a contraction, although, that wouldn’t be far behind probably. That yelp was because she was gesturing far too wildly and she smacked her hand right into the cabinet where her personal items were kept.

“That’s not even halfway.” She whined, and was about to keep bitching until another contraction hit, making her gasp in pain and lean against the wall. “Fuck,” she grit her teeth and dug her nails into the palms of her hands, as if that could possibly trick her brain into focusing on that pinprick pain than the pain of labor.

Cornelius asked her once an hour so far if he needed to call the nurse for an epidural.

If my mother could have me at home without one, I can do it without one, she’d said the first time.

Slowly that confidence was waning.

CORNELIUS:

Cornelius jumped up - he’d been rather jumpy since they’d gotten to the hospital - and rushed to her side to check her hand. “Please, be careful, dear…” He said, flipping her hand over before looking at her. “Why don’t you sit?”

Then she made that all too familiar face. It was the one she’d made with each new contraction, bracing herself against the pain, but it was always unexpected. It made him pull his own concerned face, looking to her stomach. Then back to her eyes.

By the second hour, he’d learned to stop asking if she wanted a nurse. He knew she’d be very vocal when she wanted one.

“Come on, sit,” He encouraged, trying to usher her back to the bed. “You may as well get comfortable. I don’t know how long we’re going to be here…”

LASZLO

With the news all settled into everyone’s heads and the baby bag with the parents of said baby that said bag was prepped for, Laszlo knew he had nothing more to do. Which was awful. He was so terrible with waiting. Usually he would pass those times by simply sleeping it away. This was different though, since his excitement and worry made him all jittery. He couldn’t even sit still in the waiting room.

And even though everyone had said it would probably be for the best that he just wait it out at home, come when t he knew he would just be doing the same thing there. At least at the hospital there was some sense of comfort at being in the same building. He’d walked the halls (that he was allowed into) a few dozen times, had spoken with several other people waiting for news or an appointment, and gone through at least 100 levels of Unblock Me on his phone.

At the next hour mark he popped up from his seat and slipped passed to go find Cornelius and Franny’s room. He gave the door a little knock before opening it wide enough to stick his head and arm through to wave.

“Hi. Sorry to bother, but um— well can I get either of you anything?” Laszlo looked back and forth from his cousin to Franny and back again. “Anything at all? Even if they’ve already forbidden it? Maybe especially so, then it might give me more of something to do than wear holes in their floors.”

FRANNY:

Franny reluctantly agreed to sit down, biting back a comment about how there was no such thing as comfortable right now.

Another thirty minutes passed, her general discomfort periodically interrupted by contractions and Franny would grip the bed or Cornelius’ hand and hiss.

Laszlo poked his head in right in the middle of one and Franny just snapped, “Drugs! One of you get me the goddamn drugs or I swear to god Cornelius, I am never having sex with you again!”

She grit her teeth as the pain began to subside — for now.

CORNELIUS:

Cornelius looked to Laszlo when his head popped in, ready to ask for maybe a coffee from downstairs to keep his younger cousin busy, when the grip on his hand grew vicious. He jumped, and looked to his enraged wife, eyes widening. His head then turned back to Laszlo.

“Uh, yes - I’ll go get the doctor, dear,” He said, quickly standing up and walking to the door, looking back to her then Laszlo before shoving him lightly towards her. “Here, take a seat with her for a moment, I’ll be right back!”

And then he made a mad dash around the halls to find their doctor.

March 3rd, 2021

2:40 AM

FRANNY:

“Eight and a half centimeters.” Dr. Brenneman had said when he checked thirty minutes ago, and Franny breathed a sigh of relief that there was only a centimeter and a half to go until it would only be a matter of minutes until she got to hold Sovanna.

He sent the nurse who’d accompanied him to tell the rest of the delivery nursing staff — and the two medical school students Franny had agreed to observe her labor and delivery — to come back in the room. With Cornelius holding her hand and Laszlo and her brothers huddled together against the window, offering moral support from a safe distance, it all felt realer than ever had before.

Franny laughed and, courtesy of the pain meds, forgot all her inhibitions when she said, “You know, I should be really embarrassed that like six strangers have stared at my vagina in the last seven hours. But I don’t care!” She clapped a hand to her mouth and chuckled behind it.

“Ten centimeters.” Dr. Brenneman announced, unphased by Franny. “Okay, once the baby crowns you can start pushing, I’ll tell you when.”

CORNELIUS:

With Franny medicated now, Cornelius could stress and panic enough for the both of them. It was really happening. Sovanna was about to be here any minute and he still felt so nervous. He glanced up to the window, getting a nod and a thumbs up, before looking back at Franny.

“It’s all medical, dear, no need to worry anyway,” He said. “Nothing really to worry about…” He said, patting the hand he held gently. Quietly wondering if it was about to have the life squeezed out of it. His heart was pounding, and when the doctor gave the update, it seemed to get louder.

Could anyway else hear that?

He looked to Franny then the window then the doctor. Then once again, back to Franny. “Ready, honey?”

FRANNY:

Ready?

It was such an innocent question and until Cornelius asked, she would have said yes. Yes of course she was ready. She was ready to hold her baby, and ready to not be pregnant anymore, and ready to be the mom of two awesome kids, she was ready. And she also wasn’t ready. She wasn’t ready to bring her sweet little baby into a world that could be as cold as it was wonderful, she wasn’t ready to face the reality that eventually her daughter would grow up just like her son and eventually go into the world all on her own.

Franny didn’t answer and instead lightly shook her head, about to mutter about how she wasn’t sure, but then the doctor told her it was time to push and her body somehow knew exactly what muscles to focus on and there was nothing at all on her mind except channeling her strength where she needed it.

Dr. Brenneman coached her through a few attempts, until Franny began to cry tears of frustration.

“I’ve been doing this forever!” She hissed, flopping back against the hospital bed. The epidural took away much of the pain but the discomfort of having part of a tiny person pokin’ outta you was still present.

“Pushing is a one step forward and two steps back situation, Miss,” said one of the delivery nurses, a tattooed young man from Ireland named Sean. “You’re going great!”

“It doesn’t feel like it. Cornelius-” Franny actually didn’t have anything to say after his name. She whined her husband’s name all pitiful and defeated, like she was about to beg him to do something, anything.

As if he could. Childbirth was a wild ride.

“Come on, we’ve got part of her head, we just need to get the shoulders and we can pull her out.” Dr. Brenneman urged. “Push!”

Franny’s deathgrip on her husband’s hand grew ever tighter and she followed the doctor’s command. One more, one more, she told herself -- over and over.

“I c-- I can’t, I can’t.” Franny said at one point, but Sean pouted and clapped back, ‘yes you can! Are you a badass or not?’ “Watch it young man, I’ll kick your ass!”

“Gotta push that baby out first.” Quipped one of her brothers -- she didn’t know which -- from their spot over by the window.

“Fuck you, Art!” She decided it was probably Art.

A beat.

“One more push, come on, you can do it!” Said Dr. Brenneman.

Franny closed her eyes, sat up at a different angle that just felt like she’d be able to focus on those muscles better, and after that she didn’t remember anything else until she fell back hard against the pillows and a froggy cry broke through the excitement of the room.

“I’ve got her!” Exclaimed Sean the Irish nurse.

CORNELIUS:

Cornelius almost toppled over from Franny’s grip on his hand. When had she gotten so strong? And would he be able to use this hand after this? Both of those questions would have to wait for later though, because right now he had to focus on his wife, trying to soothe her and encourage her to keep going.

“Almost there...almost t-there!” He said, his voice rising on the last word from another strong squeeze from her grip.

It felt like forever, but when he heard the cry, the scream, he sighed in relief before his heart soared. That was her. Sovanna. And she had a pair of strong lungs on her it feels like. He moved closer, wanting to get a look at his little girl as the umbilical cord was snapped. And then she was handed off to Franny - still a mess, but there.

She was there, after all this time.

Something in his heart squeezed. He looked up to the window, then back to Franny. Then to his daughter, realizing just now that he was crying. “Hi...honey. Hi, Sovanna…” He said, his voice hoarse from tears as he leaned over them.

FRANNY:

Sovanna was placed in her arms and Franny felt the warmth of the little human that had been tap dancing on her bladder for the last nine months. Her crying quieted a little, to softer, small sounds of ‘what the hell, did I just do a getting born?’ and she wiggled as if to try and get closer to her mother.

A sob caught in Franny’s throat as she cradled her daughter to her chest and gazed down at her, still a mess because she’d only just come out of her. That’s her! The little human Franny had been growing inside of her for most of 2020, here she was. Now Cornelius could experience everything that she got to and it wasn’t from the outside as her partner anymore.

Franny turned to kiss Cornelius’s cheek before she kept staring at Sovanna. “She’s so little, I — are these even hands? Look how small these fingers are. That’s such a cliche thing to say, toes and fingers...but look! Cornelius, she’s here.”

By the time she finished, she was crying too.

Messy as Sovanna still was, she couldn’t help but kiss a spot on her head that looked pretty clean even before Sean the nurse had time to move in with a towel to dry the baby.

“She’s breathing just fine,” Sean explained. “So we don’t have to take her to assess her, she can stay right here. Do you plan to breastfeed?”

“Uh, yes?” Franny only sounded uncertain because she was still wrapped her head around the whole Sovanna was just born thing.

“Have you before?”

“Our son is adopted, no.”

Sean suggested Franny open her hospital gown so he could explain to her how to get Sovanna to latch once she got hungry and reminded her to just call for a nurse if she was having trouble.

“She’ll wiggle her head from side to side probably when she’s hungry. That means she’s looking for where the food is. Watch out for that, and that’s all you need to hear from me.”

Someone promote that young man, Franny thought.

After the medical staff cleared the room and Gaston gestured for Art and Laszlo to follow him out to give them a minute, Franny did as nurse Sean suggested and laid down to just let Sovanna lie on her stomach with her gown open for skin-to-skin bonding time.

Eventually, Sovanna did start to wiggle about and inchworm her way to Franny’s breast for a snack.

“Oh, sweetheart, I was just about to tell your father to hold you,” Franny said, chuckling as she helped her latch on. “Fine, but don’t make him wait too much longer. Daddy loves you very much and is anxious to hold you and kiss you.”

As Sovanna snacked, Franny finally began to feel tired and also process what just happened.

“I just had a baby,” she laughed, pointing down at Sovanna. “We made and my body grew a whole baby, and she’s right here. God, birthing a baby is exhausting, zero out of ten stars. And— oh! Cornelius, it’s your birthday! It’s March 3rd. Oh, she was born on your birthday! Hear that Sovanna? You’re Daddy’s birthday present this year.”

Sovanna must not have been very hungry because after a short while she decided she was full and went back to quietly lying on her mother’s chest, just staring wide-eyed at nothing.

“You wanna say hi to Daddy? He’s been very patient. You’re gonna like him, he’s the best and your mommy loves him soooo much.” Franny tapped Cornelius’s hand and whispered, “I think you’re good to hold her now.”

She waited for Cornelius to take her and ran her other hand over the light wisps of hair Sovanna had been born with and chuckled when she realized they were curly. “Aw, I think she’s going to have your messy curls. Look.”

CORNELIUS:

Franny just had a baby.

And was somehow still forming full sentences like it was nothing. Along with jokes. Somehow, she was still surprising him to this day.

But nothing could surprise him more than actually seeing his own child in her arms. Wrapped up and resting quietly. Very different from the bloody, crying image she’d first been when brought into the world. Then again, he supposed they all looked like that in the beginning.

That was not the point though, Cornelius.

Franny held her out to him. He took her into his arms. His daughter. It felt like when he first held Wilbur. Tears and all running down his cheeks as he stared into her little, peaceful face. He saw mostly Franny, but the curls were definitely his.

“Sorry, Sovanna...I know those are going to be annoying…” He sniffled out, barely able to keep it together.

FRANNY:

Franny was not a sympathetic crier, not usually, but A. she just had a baby, and B. Cornelius rarely cried, but when he did, Franny did under the most normal circumstances, let alone right after giving birth to their second child. Her eyes watered as she watched her husband meet their daughter. Just like when they first got to hold Wilbur she thought, he’s going to love her so much.

As if he didn’t already. Sovanna already had that man wrapped around her tiny, tiny finger. He was doomed.

“I could just stare at you two forever.” Franny muttered with a tired chuckle. “You’re head over heels for all 46 centimeters and 3.2 kilograms of her.”

She tried to sit up but winced as she felt just enough pain to tell her to not even try. She had, she reasoned, just given birth and did deserve to just lay down.

“I can’t wait until we can take her home and I can hangout with both my babies at once.”

Because yes, even while experiencing this big emotional Sovanna-centric moment, she was also thinking about her son and how much she loved him and loved being his mother. Franny was starting to worry she might realize his fears of loving Sovanna differently since he insisted that it would be so. Now that they were holding their little girl, however, Franny could say with confidence that holding newborn Sovanna felt just like meeting Wilbur. The only difference was how they came to be in their arms.

“Happy 44th birthday darling, enjoy an entire baby.” Franny joked, barely stifling a yawn. She pouted and whined, “I wanna stay awake and admire my hard work, but I’m so tired. How’re you awake, little lady? Ain’t bein’ born exhausting?”

Sovanna did not understand English yet so she only responded by staring up at her father and making a couple content baby sounds.

“Mm, yes, that’s fair. Gazing lovingly at your daddy is my favorite hobby too. He’s very easy to look at.” Franny winked at him — oh? We’re flirting not an hour after giving birth? Okay pain meds, go off.

#cornelius #laszlo #robinfam

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