#Okay that are the necessary ones for now

[ancha-aus]

RealAge AU Drabble - Parentalbond Dust

I am back :3 Another drabble for the RealAge AU (Thanks @spotaus as always for starting this treat by treating me to the first prompt that got this ball rolling)

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Remember how in the last drabble I uploaded i mentioned those parentalbonds? (honestly if you read my drabbles in order these before things won't make ANY kind of sense... anyway!)

I had been thinking about how all of them bond with they new tiny boss and finally settles on how. The question then was. Who goes first?

I decided to go in order of who bonded with Nightmare first :3

So, big surprise. Dust. (everyone was surprised by this)

Warnings as always, unedited and unbeta'ed. We are here for a good and fun time.

Slight warning for Ghost/hallucination Papyrus being rude and mean and intrusive thoughts.

------------

Dust can admit that Nightmare is fast. Dust is just faster, by a lot.

As soon as Nightmare shifts Dust has an arm around him and drags him back to his side.

Nightmare glares at him, and it would have been terrifying and effective.

If Nightmare wasn't tiny.

Fuck DUst is still not over how TINY his boss is now.

Can Dust even still call him boss? That would be weird. Kiler tends to call Nightmare Tiny Boss now but Dust isn't quite set on a name yet.

Nightmare grumbles nad glares to the side once it becomes clear once again that Dust isn't going to get intimidated.

Nightmare glances at him before crossing his arms as he looks to the side "This is stupid."

Dust nods "I agree." Dust did not want to be here just watching Nightmare and keeping him from wandering and getting lost.

A cackle and then a whisper Really? First kidnaping and now keeping him a prisoner? How low you have sunk. Keeping a child captured and locked away.

Dust's hand forms a fist as he tries to ignore the muttering. They just need Nightmare to see he can trust them. That is all. That takes time. The chackle just chackles on.

Nightmare shoots him a look "It is stupid. I don't need supervision. I am fine on my own."

Dust goes to nod before blinking and shooting him a look "Yeah no. Nice try. I am staying right here."

Nightmare looks beyond annoyed but it is justified that one of them watches over him. Mostly because Nightmare had already managed to almost escape three times.

Look, it has been an hectic week since they euh... found Nightmare again.

Even more laughter that no one else hears Oh? That is what you call it now? That is what you call stalking a child? Following him everywhere? Finding out where he feels safest and surprising him there? Hah! Found! You are a liar and you even lie to yourself.

Dust glares harder at the dark wall as he pulls his knees up and leans on those as he watches the wall, still being a physical barrier between Nightmare and the door.

Nightmare glares at him but Dust just keeps glaring at the shedwall. Waiting. Hoping one of the others will come to relieve him of this babysitting duty. He hates it. He feels useless and stuck.

A huff Wow? Really? You decided to capture him and now you are annoyed you have to watch your prisoner? And even better the one you captured was the one to save you before? You really are thankless and impossible to please. You will never be happy or content and you don't deserve to feel other of those things.

Dust takes another deep breath. He needs a distraction. But what?!

Dust takes out his phone and scrolls through what he has on there. He sees a few movies and gets an idea.

He needs to wait while the others get supplies anyway. Cross is getting information about the multiverse, Horror is getting them food and Killer is getting them overall supplies.

Which means they should still be busy for a while.

Dust pauses as he shoots Nightmare a look. Nightmare had just been sitting there staring at his own feet as he wiggles his feet a bit. Distracted for a bit.

Dust grins as he reaches for Nightmare and quickly grabs him.

Nightmare immediantly freezes for a moment before glaring "What?!"

Dust grins and just turns him around and his old hoody that Nightmare had taken and stolen ages ago. and as Nightmare has his arms crossed he puts the hoody on him. He yelps but Dust doens't give him time to try and get his arms in the right sleeves. Instead Dust ties those together.

He thinks for a moment before grabbing his scarf and using that to tie up the slippery skeleton.

Dust takes a step back to watch his handy work and can't help but snort.

Nightmare looks shocked down at his state. The hoody already making it harder for him to move and now the scarf kept him even more from moving. The problem was. With Nightmare just being tiny and looking like a babybones... He looks plainly adorable. Fuck Dust kinda wished he had made a bow instead of a knot but he has a mission.

Dust nods and looks at Nightmare "Don't move. I am going to grab some food." He turns and leaves the shed.

It should take Nightmare at least a little while to escape that situation. And Nightmare hadn't tried another teleport after he butchered the last one and got them all thrown into a river. Which means that Dust doubts he will try another one soon.

Dust follows the road and by memory finds the pizza place they walked by not too long ago. He only has to wait for a little while before a delivery boy goes by on bike. He kicks off the guy and snatches the bag. Dust is already in the bushes again before the human has time to form a completely sentence.

Dust has to take a bit of a longer way back to make sure he doesn't go over the road. But as he cuts through backyards and gardens he can't help but feel a bit anxious. What if Nightmare escapes? How is he going to explain that.

By the time he is by the shed again he is close to shaking. He opens it and snorts as Nightmare seems to have fallen over. Less funny is the fact he has almost wiggled his way out of his trappings.

Dust puts the bag to the side and silently joins Nightmare's side "And? Is it working?"

Nightmare freezes before a mutter "I hate you."

That.

Dust isn't sure how to explain how much that hurts.

A sneer Really? Are your poor feelings hurt? By just that? What? Are you sad your so-called boss finally hates you? After all the disappointment and betrayal? And yet you feel sad? You truly are nothing but disgusting and disapointing trash.

Dust ignores it as he pulls Nightmare back upright and undoes the scarf binding and unknots the sleeves. Dust has already helped Nightmare with getting on of his arms into the right sleeve before Dust realises what he is doing.

Dust freezes and Nightmare ignores him as he quickly finishes dressing himself. After which Nightmare glances at him with an expecting look.

Dust instead just sits down on his spot on the ground. Opens the bag and fishes out the food. Oh nice. two pizzas instead of one. He lays both open near him before spotting some weird shake things, three of them. Dust shrugs again and places them near them. Next he grabs Nightmare again and pulls him right by his side as he opens his phone and scrolls through the movies.

Dust very quickly realises he deosn't really have movies without a high rating on his phone.Dust isn't even sure how far Nightmare's mind is at the moment.

Dust knows that Nightmare knows who they are. But Dust doens't know how old Nightmare is mentally at the moment. It isn't like Nightmare is sharing any of that information with them at the moment but Dust thinks he is at least a child again. He just also still has his adult form's memories and that is causing a bit of a disconnect.

Dust sighs and looks at Nightmare "Do you like horror movies?"

Nightmare shoots him a suspicious look before answering "I don't dislike them. They can be..." a frown as Ngihtmare thinks for a while before answering with some difficulty "interesting."

That was another thing that is slightly adorable. Nightmare is trying to still speak like he used to before but it seems that some of his knowledge has disappeared after regaining his true body.

Dust nods as he puts on the horror movie. It is one he thinks is okay even after seeing it four times. And only one of those four was because Dust had wanted to watch it.

He presses play and the movie starts.

Nightmare at first tries to keep his distance but it is a matter of time before he is focussed fully on the movie.

Dust grabs some food and eats it. He makes sure it push some towards Nightmare including one of the drinks.

The movie plays and they watch as some dude bro guy walks through the froest. Shouting about how he isn't scared and to come get him!

"... Why?"

Dust blinks and looks at Nightmare. Nightmare stares at him.

Dust looks back at his phone and the now paused movie "Why the guy is screaming? Mostly he is stupid?"

Nightmare frowns beofre looking away "No. I mean... Why.... this?"

Dust looks at the pizza and his phone "I just wanted to watch a movie?"

More frustration on Nightmare's face before he sighs. He then just looks back at the phone with a resigned expression. "okay."

Dust hates that. No. That isn't right. Nightmare doesn't give up and certainly doesn't give up getting answers to questions he has. Dust doesn't press play and looks at Nightmare "What why?"

Ngihtmare glances to the side. To all their things. "You don't... want to be here... with me. Why..."

Dust frowns "I told you? To make sure you don't escape."

More frustration on that tiny face and Ngihtmare looks away "it's not..." another sigh "whatever. When will you kill me?"

dead silence.

Dust turns sharply "What?!"

Nightmare shrugs "I figured... I wanne know."

Dust stares at Nightmare "What the hell? No we don't want you dead?! Why would we go out of our way to find you just to hurt and kill you?!"

Nightmare sits very still before shrugging again "it is the normal thing... normally."

The book. The fucking story. Fuck! He is a fucking idiot!

Nightmare is a child again! Nightmare is in the middle of his fucking trauma! To him the trauma happened days ago! Of course he thinks they would hurt him. That is what always happens.

How long has Nightmare thought that was the only reason anyone ever came to him? How long had a six year old have to fear the sound of someone approaching.

Dust looks away "We... aren't going to kill you... or hurt you." but... why would he beleive his words? Why would he believe anything any of them say after they arleady betrayed him once?

"okay."

It didn't sound like an okay in the way that he heard and believed what Dust said. it was an okay in the sense of a child being afraid to disagree.

Fuck.

Dust isn't sure how to... how to fix this mess. The mess he had partly created. He isn't even sure this can be fixed...

Dust glances back at him and speaks quieter "I mean it... we aren't going to hurt you. We don't want that." wait... he never... "I am sorry."

a long silence but he forces more out "we shouldn't have left. I shouldn't have left. I just... figured it wasn't my place anymore. I was wrong. I am sorry i left you." and it won't happen again.

Even just saying those things. Apologising. Dust feels lighter. It feels good. He needed Nightmare ot hear that Dust now realises.

Ngihtmare doens't say anything about it but does relax a tiny bit next to him. A very very fragile and tiny show of trust and Dust wants to grab it with both hands but he does't know how!

For now he turns the movie on again and makes sure the babybones is near him and eating and drinking.

Dust isn't even watching the movie anymore. He just listens out in case there is anyone who will try to hurt Nightmare or tempt this uneasy peace they have managed to create.

THe movie plays on and Dsut suddenly feels a weight against him. He turns and stares. Because Nightmare is asleep while leaning against him. Out like a light.

It doesn't even surprise Dust. As Dust doubts that Nightmare slept at all in this last week. Maybe even not before they took him with them.

Dust can't help but notice the very dark marks under those sockets. clear sighs of lack of sleep.

Dust moves slowly and carefully as he picks Nightmare up and puts him in his lap. Fuck he is freezing. Dust wraps his own hoody around him and it helps him relax.

He is safe. He is asleep. And while getting Ngihtmare to trust them again will be a long time and healing will be even longer... For now Dust is happy with his arms full of babybones.

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[charmac]

I think getting railed by Mac would give Dennis a new perspective that doesn’t change who he is and is consistent with his characterisation... Just a thought tho.

[lefthandarm-man]

Steve Rogers // Captain America Captain America: Civil War (2016)

the way he looks at bucky (part 1, part 2, part 3)

(bucky vers.)

[trash-can-sam]

What happens when your coworker kills your other coworker but both of you are in a relationship (kind of) with the same ethereal woman who had an admiration for said dead coworker.

+bonus Evandrey because it’s funny to me (I’m sorry Eva.)

[bitchthefuck1]

That one chef saying that the worst thing about a bad boss is how they unlock that behavior in you and seeing Carmy mirror the attitude of the chef that terrorized him and gave him panic attacks and then ending the season with Syd having a panic attack because of the stress of working with Carmy...diabolical.

[ur-fairy-of-mimicry]

A headcanon before I go take a nap.

Helia is super picky and super meticulous whenever it comes to his hair. When I meant super, I mean super. This man knows that our hair is the crown of our heads. He wouldn't want his luscious hair to be ruined, right? Because of this, he'd definitely bombastic side eye the person who dares to destroy his hair's beauty.

Whenever it comes to braiding, he only trusts his grandfather Saladin and Flora. They're very honored to be able to touch and plait his hair, knowing about Helia's attitude when it's about his locks.

And bonus, Helia uses the best shampoo and conditioner all around the magic realm and takes 45 minutes in the bathroom just to wash his hair. The other Specialists are not very happy about it, though...

[goldkirk]

I'm so proud of myself about finances in the past couple months. I still struggle with money but I did enough meditation and journaling and practicing about it to make myself able to actually face my loans and credit cards and savings and bills and start really truly organizing and addressing them for the first time in years instead of just flying by the seat of my pants.

Like. This is a huge deal for me. I've felt like I'm in deadly danger every time I've tried to think about money for years and years. I'm finally able to look it in the face and stare it down and start to organize and plan on purpose instead of just keeping up with the minimum to stay afloat. I'm so proud of myself.

It's still a refrain of "GUILT (funny link)" every time I think about money but I'm able to actually make spreadsheets and face the numbers and monthly tracking again, and even make a new full budget which I haven't been able to do in ages.

still feel guilt, overwhelm, and helplessness, but no longer feel as much deep elemental shame and terror. that's progress baby

[kusuokisser]

terusai go on a date and the whole time in saikis head hes monologing a bunch of excuses about how he doesnt want to be there and theyre obviously excuses but. teruhashi cant hear what hes thinking. to her he just looks uncomfortable and avoidant, not saying a word to her. obviously the "date" started with her wanting to spend time with (and, if all goes right, woo) saiki, but now? now what? when he wont so much as glance her way?

Segway for lazily made comic from 1am Eastern Standard Time

[bitternace]

a·tone·ment

noun

reparation for a wrong or injury.

[Image ID: two digital drawings featuring kingdom hearts’ characters Even and Saïx in a dark blue background, with an angled stylized partition in the middle that makes the left part of the image lighter. the drawings are lightly rendered. they are shown as if hovering, with parts of their hair and clothes flaring.

in the first image, they show their backs to one another. Even, on the left, presents most of his back to the audience. his head is down in profile, his left arm bent at waist height, his palm facing up, with his ankles crossed. the front partitions of his hair cover his eye, and his mouth is slightly open. over his lab coat, he “wears” his organization 13 coat on his left forearm, some fabric scrunched up in his right hand over his back and the rest of the coat draping to his ankles. Saïx, on the right, is shown from the side. in a 3/4′s profile, he looks at the audience with a blank expression and a single visible glowing eye. his right arm is slightly extended before him. with his left hand, he crosses his fingers over the little of his back. one of his knees is slightly bent as if taking a step.

The second image is the same, except Even is shown without the organization 13 coat. /End ID.]

Close-ups under keep reading!

[ID: a close-up of Even’s face. /End ID.]

[ID: a close-up of Saïx’s face. /End ID.]

[lengthy-artery]

.

[eloquentsisyphianturmoil]

So you’re Oromë starting some exiting new campaign with your mates and your annoying little sister forcibly invited herself to play, not that it matters since it immediately goes to shit and you panic-call an old biker friend (shady af by the way) who sorts it out, your sister promptly hooks up with him—

Nessa was in it for shits and giggles.

[autumnoficarus]

i can't stop listening to the 'purpose is glorious' track from this season's ost and thinking about how lovely the title and its meaning are. it's just such an amazing underlying theme in this show, and - while i do have criticisms about some of the choices made for the series finale - i really do feel the writers wholeheartedly delivered in sending that message home. for me personally, loki's ending is so gratifying and a large part of that is solely from viewing their arc's conclusion with the perspective of this theme in mind. to have spent years watching this character i hold very dear to my heart struggle to find belonging, to feel as though they matter and there is reason in their existence, finally get a chance to show - and recognize - their worth was so, so rewarding. and honestly, i think the message behind the phrasing of 'purpose is glorious' is all the more meaningful because of how loki's arc finished. yes, the outcome was bittersweet; yes, we're left knowing loki didn't get the happiness they undeniably earned after everything they'd gone through. it smarts something fierce to know their journey up until they deviated from their timeline and became a variant, as well as seen their eventual intended fate. the ache is only worsened after witnessing everything that happens within the TVA and the entirety of loki's character growth leading up to a redefining moment where they willingly choose to undergo a nightmarish amount of time in the endeavor to do the right thing. of course we want them to emerge victorious when they've struggled for so long, but that's not the point. loki's final moments are them forfeiting their right to a happy ending to preserve the stories of others because all stories matter and should inherently reserve the free will to be written; as sylvie says, loki makes their choice so their loved ones and life across the multiverse still have a chance to belong somewhere and embrace their place in the world. the take away is that even burden can be glorious. even with all the hardships of life - all the inevitable heartache, disappointment, and grief we encounter just by being alive - we have meaning in our existence. there is meaning in the trials we face, and the suffering we endure in order to overcome them. our pain gives us purpose; it gives us the ability to love, to grow from and for each other, and choose to sacrifice our happiness for the benefit of another. loki's purpose was forged in the bonds of those they met in their time at the TVA and the sense of value they gained from their companionship. their sacrifice perfectly conveys how the human capacity to love is one of cosmic greatness, which can ultimately surpass our instinctual desire to preserve one's self. we can move immovable mountains and challenge insurmountable adversity in behalf of the ones we love and their welfare. if that isn't an act deserving of glory, I don't know what is.

tldr; loki's purpose is the friends they made along the way = as the saying goes, 'tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all'. or: our own lives have purpose because of the connections we share with others, even when we are met with great loss.

[rosekasa]

following up from My Body Is Being Concerning, today i learned that i am in fact capable of experiencing a panic attack so severe that i faint

[coquelicoq]

i understand being disappointed that the kurodachi kiss was off-camera because of what it implies about extratextual attitudes towards depicting gay affection. but from a storytelling perspective, for this particular story, i really liked how they shot that scene actually! specifically i liked that the camera focuses in on their hands, because i found their hands more relevant in that moment than whatever was happening with their faces (smooching, presumably).

this scene is happening in the context of the earlier scene on the bridge when adachi was reaching out his hand to touch kurosawa in order to secretly read his thoughts. up to this point adachi's hands have been, or have at least held the latent potential of being, a weapon adachi can wield against people, a way for him to violate their privacy should he choose to do so. in fairness to adachi, usually he hears people's thoughts without actively trying. but the fact remains that he could. and he did try on the bridge, which judging by kurosawa's brokenhearted reaction was a clear violation of kurosawa's trust (as well as an admission that adachi didn't trust kurosawa enough to believe his words).

adachi can hear thoughts through any part of his body, but it's his hands that he can purposefully reach out with. it's his outstretched hand that gives him away when kurosawa turns around and sees him on the bridge. and it's always been (i think) kurosawa in the past who has initiated hand-holding, and often when it happens, the camera cuts away to adachi's face for his reaction and then returns to their hands to show us adachi's fingers curling around kurosawa's in return. lots of things happen to adachi that are out of his control, but he can control his hands. he makes choices with his hands. his hands represent his intentionality.

adachi's power creates an imbalance in their relationship because it only goes in one direction; in the past, their touches have always given adachi some information about what kurosawa feels for him, but not the reverse. the great thing about the kiss scene is that they've just sat down and communicated clearly with each other about both the nagasaki transfer (the thing they were hiding their feelings about during the bridge scene) and adachi's accident. they are being open, consensually and reciprocally. they're on an even footing. adachi thinks "how can i make him feel all the love i have for him?" and that's when he touches him. this touch has nothing to do with adachi reading kurosawa's thoughts - presumably that is happening incidentally (though in a further sign that that is not the point of this touch, we the audience do not hear kurosawa's inner voice here), but this touch is adachi's way of communicating to kurosawa the way that adachi feels. it's an inversion of their usual dynamic. it's touch as true, two-way intimacy.

one more thing and then i promise to shut up about this. adachi reaches out after seeing the way kurosawa, who has just apologized for being a mess (aka having emotions), is compulsively squeezing his own hands together in a crushing anxiety grip in his lap. adachi can by now i think recognize these as symptoms of the classic kurosawa self-blame spiral. he touches kurosawa's head with one hand and with the other takes one of kurosawa's hands and replaces kurosawa's fingers with his own. and it's their two hands, not their faces, that the camera focuses on while they're (presumably) kissing. this means that the story's answer to "how can i make him feel all the love i have for him?" is not "kiss him" or "sleep with him" but rather "hold his hand" - something that they've done before but that is being given new meaning in the context of their conversation (see above) and that is being initiated by adachi for the first time. we know that adachi has lost the magic by the next scene, which presumably means they had sex after this, but the story completely downplays the loss of adachi's virginity (which i appreciate, because i'm always looking for interpretations of this show that fit my The Concept of Virginity Is Stupid and Reductive agenda, especially when "the magic is about insecurity" is right there). the cherry-popping (barf) is not as important to adachi's arc as the fact that he proved in this scene that he has grown past the need for the magic and that he's ready to explore emotional and physical intimacy without it.

okay i lied, last thing. i mean it this time though. not only does adachi initiate, he also interlaces their fingers, which i think might be another first (usually they just clasp hands or kurosawa curls his hand around adachi's). which is like! a visual representation of the stuff adachi keeps trying to communicate to kurosawa throughout the rest of the movie!! interlocking their fingers is saying: when you're weak, i'll be strong. it's saying: we'll go together. it's saying: i know you're beating yourself up over this, and you don't need to. i don't want you to. you're enough. we're enough. we're together. we're a team!!!

[a-gaime]

Every time I see bull red son an angel (me) loses it's wings (gets mildly annoyed)

[noblest-roman-of-them-all]

Contemplating the concept of "potential" when it comes to intelligence and realizing how heartbreaking Logan's "Dreams come true, that's news to me" line in the Crofters Musical.