Arden

You're going to make mistakes. I certainly have. You're going to say something with the best of intentions and it's going to come across wrong. The alterhuman community is vast, the terms can be confusing, and this little counterculture society of ours is constantly evolving. It happens. And sometimes we just mess up! It's okay. The graceful thing to do is admit your mistake and learn from it.

And when you see someone else make a mistake? Be kind. Say your piece, of course, but be gentle. We're all we've got, after all.

I mean, how many of us can say our mothers know we're really wolves on the inside? How many of us can talk to their best friend about their past lives over hot tea and sushi?

“So…I fucked up a bit,” James said awkwardly, scratching at the back of his neck as he stood in front of a stone-faced Regulus, praying that the other boy would find some mercy in his heart.

“Obviously,” Regulus drawled, gaze full of hatred.

So this was going well. “Yeah,” he nodded, swallowing thickly. “So…um…remember yesterday? When you told me you’re…uh…trans?”

Something complicated flashed across Regulus’s face. “Vividly,” he said in a dull voice, body language hinting that he was close to cursing James.

“Right. Uh, right. And how I started, um–” James began, wishing he was doing anything else other than this.

“Calling me a girl? Yes, Potter, I bloody remember. Are you planning on continuing to be the most royal prick in existence or perhaps making up for your absolute arseholery at some point?” Regulus snapped. But his pink face gave away the fact that he was clearly hurt about what’d happened yesterday.

“Yes! I mean, uh–no? I mean–Reg, Sirius came to yell at me, and you need to know–I had no idea what we were talking about!” he tried to explain, feeling utterly terrified. “I mean–when you said that…I thought you meant you wanted to transition. Like…into a girl.”

Regulus froze, his crossed arms falling slowly to his sides like brown leaves in autumn. His face did something complicated, emotions flickering in his eyes as he processed James’s words. “You–wait, what?”

“I thought you were saying you wanted to be a girl. And I was like–that’s fine! I love you for you, y’know? Not for…for whatever name you use or what’s in your pants, so I was just trying to be supportive, but instead I buggered it up by being a prick, and–” James tried to explain, but Regulus cut him off.

“You love me?”

Now James froze. “Oh. Fuck,” he replied eloquently, blinking rapidly. He’d not meant to say that. Not now, anyway. “Um…yes? Yes, but I know now’s a shit time to mention that, I–fuck, I should probably just g–”

Regulus’s lips, pressing to his as the shorter boy stood on his tip-toes to claim his mouth in a kiss. 

When they separated, the Slytherin murmured. “Shut up. You’ll just make it worse, somehow.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’ll just–”

“I love you, James.”

lily's is peach iced tea

She's fat and gets the guy and no one bats an eye.

She's fat and the hottest chick in the sorority and that's normal.

She's fat and an actress and she gets good roles.

She's fat and she's funny and she has character depth and growth.

She's fat and the main character and no one mentions her weight once.

Sirius is cooking dinner, then Remus comes in and kisses Sirius on the cheek before joining him in cooking.

They are cuddled up on the couch and just enjoying each other’s company. The silence occasionally interrupted by hums of “I love you”

After a long day they both just can’t wait to get home to each other.

When Remus’ chronic pain flares up, Sirius is there to make him feel as well as he can. Taking care of him in all ways, big and small. Helping massage his aching muscles or fetching him medicine and heating pads.

When Sirius’ mental health isn’t doing great, Remus is there. Whether to comfort him after nightmares and flashbacks or to help him take care of himself when his depression doesn’t allow him to.

When things are good, they have each other and just love nothing more than to be with one another.

When things are bad, it’s more of the same, except they try even harder to help each other get through it, until things are good once more.

a few tips i have found helpful (feel free to add) —

keep in mind that healing isn’t linear

write down accomplishments every day even if they’re small such as “i ate dinner today”, “i washed my face”, etc.

seek out a good therapist/psychiatrist that you click with even if it takes a few tries

reach out to loved ones when you need help

practice forgiving yourself often

make a point of doing little acts kindness for both yourself and others

work on positive self talk