Apple Seed 5: The Name Game
Buckle up, Buttercups. We got another long one here.
Charlie: (beginning to waddle from the cantaloupe sized bump in her belly as she makes her way towards her office) Ugh... This thing is starting to weigh a ton, and we're barely halfway there!
Vaggie: (walking with Charlie and holding her hand while rubbing her lower back) I know, babe. I know. Good news, though. You're not puking every morning and evening anymore.
Charlie: You have a good point. (enters the office and sits in her plush chair. She tries to lean over to untie her shoes but winces in discomfort, both from the baby belly pinching and how the heels are constricting on her sore hooves) *whiiiiiiiine* Vaaaaggiiiiieeeeee~
Vaggie: I gotcha, babe. Relax. (kneels down and removes the heels, watching amusingly as the hooves flex and spread in absolute glee from being freed, before sitting cross-legged on the floor and gently rubbing the soreness out of each hoof from tip to calf)
Charlie: (melts into her chair as the soreness and stiff muscles relax, tears instantly springing to her eyes) You- *sniff* You're an amazing wife, Vaggie. I don't *sniff-sniff* deserve you.
Vaggie: (rolls her eyes fondly as she continues massaging Charlie's hooves) So you say every day, hun. I'm just trying to take as much stress and ache away from you as possible.
Charlie: I say it every day because it's true...
-Pleasant silence spreads through the room-
Charlie: I have about an hour before I have to do anything.
Vaggie: (slightly perks up) Oh?~
Charlie: (wiggles excitedly) We haven't talked about baby names yet! Can we think of some now?
Vaggie: (not where her mind was going) Oh....
Charlie: Yeah! We should think of a couple to have on hand! Since we don't know the sex yet, can I-
Vaggie: Choose the girl names while I pick possible boy names?
Charlie: *gasp* How did you know?!
Vaggie: I watch you sketch names into your little baby notebook every night, babe. It's not rocket science. But, sure. I'm game. Do you want to throw a few out and the other can agree or disagree on the name?
Charlie: Yes! Okay! Me first! Rhiannon!
Vaggie: Rhiannon?
Charlie: Mm-hmm!!! And if she wants to go by a nickname like me, She can call herself Ria!
Vaggie: I guess that's alright.
Charlie: What about you?
Vaggie: Me? I don't know. I haven't thought of anything. I'm not exactly the creative type.
Charlie: Come on, Vaggie. I know you can come up with something!
Vaggie: Okay... Uh... CJ?
Charlie: CJ?
Vaggie: (blushes) Ya know... Charlie Junior?
Charlie: (big puppy eyes) Awwwww.... You want to name him after me? You're so sweet, Vaggie~ But pass. Not a fan of naming kids like that. Having you moan my name during sex would be ruined forever.
Vaggie: That's fair. (works a nasty knot out of Charlie's left calf muscle) You're turn.
Charlie: Lucy or Lily? Oh! Lucily!!!
Vaggie: After your parents?
Charlie: (nods relentlessly) Mm-hmm! My relationship with my dad has gotten a lot better since the war with the Exorcists. I think it'd be sweet.
Vaggie: You know he would cry worse than the baby when they arrive if we did that, right?
Charlie: Babe, I'M going to be crying worse than the baby when they arrive. What's your point?
Vaggie: (sarcastically) Ah, yes. The Morningstar theatrics. How could I have forgotten. (stands up, pulls a second chair over, and sits next to Charlie - gently stroking her hand over the taught skin of her belly) We're gonna have to get you new shirts and pants soon. I'm surprised we haven't had to yet.
Charlie: (groans) Don't remind me! I'm getting fat! ...Aurora?
Vaggie: Not fat, maternal. And not naming a daughter after the most useless Disney Princess. Next..... Santiago? Call him Diego for short?
Charlie: *gasp* How dare you?! Princess Aurora is.... she's..... okay, you got me there. You want to name our son after a saint? And how about Calista? Cali for short?
Vaggie: Ouph... never mind. Scratch that one..... So we go from Salvadorian to Greek names? That one's not so bad. I'm for Cali or Lucy. Rhiannon is on the fence.
Charlie: Okay, possible girl names. Check! You need to come up with one more boy name.
Vaggie: Hmmmm..... (drums her fingers gently against Charlie's belly)
Charlie: (giggles) Vaggie, that tickles.
Vaggie: (smiles) Sorry, hun. Let me see.... Well.... I'm not fully versed in the Bible or anything, but if we wanted to keep the motif of naming them after your folks. How about Samael?
Charlie: Samael? What does that have to do with my parents or the Bible?
Vaggie: Wasn't your dad's name Samael when he was in heaven? He only changed it to Lucifer after he fell???
Charlie: I.... I actually have no idea.
Vaggie: Well, we can name him Samael and call him Sammy for short? It won't be as confusing as calling him Lucifer, and I'm sure your dad will be over the moon having the baby be named after him anyway.
Charlie: (giggles again and swats Vaggie's hand off her belly) Vaggie, stop it! I said that tickles.
Vaggie: .....I didn't do anything.
Charlie: Huh?
Baby: (flutters again)
Charlie: *GASP* (holds her belly) VAGGIE, HOLY SHIT, THE BABY KICKED!!!!
Vaggie: What?! (plasters her hands to Charlie's belly)
..............
Vaggie: Nothing....
Charlie: Hmmmm.... (mental lightbulb turns on) Say the name again!
Vaggie: Samael?
Baby: (little flutter)
Vaggie: ............Sammy?
Baby: (big flutters)
Charlie: (crying quiet happy tears) Okay... Sammy... We got a name. We'll just think of a boy and girl version when they're born.
Vaggie:
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From a PTSD perspective, thinking about fight/flight/freeze/fawn: I really think Hunter's military training is helping him survive, especially in his current state. He doesn't outright freeze like a deer in the headlights because of several years' worth of muscle memory and many fighting stances and moves he has practised.
Even back here, he didn't stay on the floor for too long:
He could get up and run to safety pretty quickly because he doesn't even trust that The Owl House is a safe place yet. He had only opened up to Luz (grabbing her hand in Belos's mind) not long before his breakdown.
I wondered whether he'd try to flee here:
However, he's in a worse place now, flinching more easily than pre-breakdown, outright knowing the truth about his whole life and having panic attacks, so he decided to risk staying to learn the deep breathing exercise from Gus, even though he still withheld almost all info about his trauma.
But.......here's the catch: he does not feel fully safe enough yet to truly fall apart. Trauma be like that, at least from my own repeated experiences. When things got 'better', they then worsened because there's no more adrenaline coursing through your veins, the body knows it's safe now and then bam! Fall apart more when you think you can't go lower. For years I would freeze and just oversleep as my main coping mechanism but as I got better, I turned to strategies that I personally felt were better (it differs for each individual) - going for a walk or run, or driving/taking the train to places that would inspire me - that minimised my own guilt and other trauma emotions.
Hopefully the writing will continue to impress regarding mental health issues.
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Fuck Free Fall Fic Bingo Card
So full time work, long fics are on hold for one shots.
I like to make it fun so bingo card.
While I have written so many, and tip my hat to my fellow writers, I am so tired of rare pair one shots tending to be pwp. I want the soft, I want the fluff, I want the feels.
So for the fall, focusing on rare pairs with fics that never go above a T rating on AO3.
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