#Pan American Energy

[theearnestonion]

(Just found this in my drafts)

What's holding me together is that some day, I will have a place of my own, with a sunny window in the kitchen, and a garden, and a cat.

One day I will have a partner or a friend or a roommate there with me, someone I love, to dance with in the kitchen while we wait for the pasta to boil, and laugh until we can't breathe, and speak freely about anything, or about nothing. We will call each other whatever we wish to be called, and do our best to see each other as we wish to be seen.

[cupcraft]

Some easy cooking/meal tips as an adult grad student:

You dont need to chop amazingly perfectly and meticuously. At the end of the day chop safely and however. If it tastes good its good.

Instant things can make things 1000% easier for yourself. Instant mash/instant mac/instant rice/instant pasta/etc. Add Frozen things. Add premade things. Your dishes don't have to be from scratch at all aspects ever. Do what is easiest for you and delicious!

You can use pre-ground spices. I know, yes, whole spices and roasting them and grinding them and using a mortar/pestle yourself is delicious and wondrous. But you can use preground spices to save time. You can use a food processor to blend spices/garlic/etc. together.

If you struggle with making too much food (ie food waste concern), try to make dishes you know will freeze well that way you can have leftovers that store for a long time (ie potatoes dont necessarily freeze well imo, whereas rice freezes just fine!). I also recommend just halving recipes and try to shoot for as many portions is suitable for you.

Uh oh made too much rice? What do I do and i dont want to freeze it? 1-2 days in the fridge and you have rice that is going to make an excellent fried rice. You always want to use old rice! And you can put whatever you want in it!

Canned food is okay. Canned food is okay. Canned food is okay. Eat canned meats, fish, vegetables, etc. Imo some canned veggies arent my favorite flavor wise but if you like it and it works USE IT.

Add mayo to each side of your bread when making grilled cheese. It'll make a great brown crust in a buttered pan.

American/processed/velveeta like cheese is fine. Its delicious it melts well its totally fine. Stop demonizing processed foods and "preservatives". Velveeta/kraft cheeses are going to melt so perfectly for your grilled cheese the end.

Instant pots & slow cookers & air fryers can make your life a lot easier, and at least for instant pots/slow cookers I find them easier to clean!

Meal planning will really help you. Plan what you want to eat every week (or as far ahead as it helps you). Pre-cut vegetables. Buy meat in bulk and freeze/thaw as needed. Etc. Prepping/planning will make your life easier!

You can often buy shrimp that is pre-peeled & deveined, and even pre-cooked. This makes cooking time easier and faster.

It's okay to order takeout if you dont have the energy to cook. Its okay to order takeout if you do have the energy to cook. Enjoy and treat yourself.

Preboiling your potatoes (tender but not fully done) then baking them can make a crispier roasted potato.

[greenwitchcrafts]

March 2024 witch guide

Full moon: March 25th

New moon: March 10th

Sabbats: Ostara-March 19th

March Worm Moon

Known as: Crow Moon, Eagle Moon, Goose Moon, Hrethmonath, Lenting moon, Lentzinmanoth, Moon of Snowblind, Moon of Winds, Plow Moon, Sap Moon, Seed Moon, Sore Eyes Moon, Storm Moon, Sugar Moon & Wind Strong Moon

Element: Water

Zodiac: Pisces & Aries

Nature spirits: Air & water spirits & Mer-people

Deities: Artemis, Astarte, Athena, Cybele, Isis, Luna & Minerva

Animals: Boar, cougar & hedgehog

Birds: Sea crow & sea eagle

Trees: Alder, dogwood & honeysuckle

Herbs: Apple blossom, broom, high John root, Irish moss, pennyroyal, wood betony & yellow dock

Flowers: Daffodil, jonquil & violet

Scents: Apple blossom & honeysuckle

Stones: Aquamarine, bloodstone, jasper, opal &topaz

Colors: Pale-green, red, violet, yellow & white

Energy:  Balance, beginnings, dream work, energy breaking into the open, exploring, fertility, inner development, karma, prosperity, spirituality, success & truth seeking

For many years, it was thought that the name "Worm Moon" referred to the earthworms that appear as the soil warms in spring. This invites robins and other birds to feed—a true sign of spring.

However, more research revealed another explanation. In the 1760s, Captain Jonathan Carver visited the Naudowessie (Dakota) and other Native American tribes and wrote that the name Worm Moon refers to a different sort of “worm”—beetle larvae—which begin to emerge from the thawing bark of trees and other winter hideouts at this time.

March’s full Moon often plays a role in religion, specifically in Christianity, this Moon is known as the Lenten Moon if it is the last full Moon of the winter season (i.e., if it occurs before the spring equinox) or as the Paschal Full Moon if it is the first full Moon of spring (i.e., if it occurs after the spring equinox).

Ostara

Known as: Alban Eiler, Lady Day & Spring/Vernal equinox

Season: Spring

Symbols: 8-spoked wheel, butterflies, chicks, decorated baskets, eggs, feathers, jellybeans, lambs, rabbits, seeds, shamrocks, spring flowers & sunwheels

Colors: Green, indigo, light blue, pastels, pink, red & yellow

Oils/Incense: African violet, florals, ginger, jasmine, lotus, magnolia, rose, sage & strawberry

Animals: Cormorant, hare, hawk, rabbit, sheep, sparrow & swallow

Mythical: Dragon & Unicorn

Stones: Amethyst, aquamarine, bloodstone, moonstone, red jasper & rose quartz

Food: Dairy foods, eggs(hard boiled), fruits, honey, honey cakes, leafy greens, vegetables, pine nuts, pumpkin, sunflower seeds, sprouts & waffles

Herbs/Plants: Acorn, cinquefoil, dogwood, ginger, Irish moss, olive, strawberry & woodruff

Flowers: Celandine, crocus, daffodil, dandelion, Easter lily,  jasmine gorse, honeysuckle, hyssop, iris, jonquil, linden, narcissus, peony, snowdrop, tansy & violet

Goddesses: Aphrodite, Ariadne, Artemis, Athena, Coatlicue, Cybele,Demeter, Diana, Eos, Eostre, Flora, Gaia, Hera, Idunn, Iris, Ishtar, Juno, Minerva, Persephone, Venus & Vesta

Gods: Adonis, Attis, Celi, Cernunnos, Coel, Dagda, Dalon ap Landu, Dumuzi, Green Man, Lord of the Greenwood, Mithras, Odin, Osiris, Ovis & Pan

Issues, Intentions & Powers: Agriculture, balance, beauty, fertility, growth, life, love & rebirth/renewal

Spellwork: Air magick, fertility, new beginnings & water magick

Activities:

• Go on a hike/walk & look for signs of spring

• Add Ostara symbols to decorate your altar space

• Plant vegetable &/or flower seedlings

• Decorate eggs with bright colors

• Set your intentions for the weeks/months ahead

• Start a new class or hobby

• Create eggshell candles

• Make plans & new routines for the future

• Participate in rituals & ceremonies that connect you with energy & the life force of nature

• Have a feast with your friends &/family with sprouts & leafy greens

• Bake hot cross buns or lavender/lemon flavored treats

• Clean & de-clutter your home

• Try a re-birthing/ renewing ritual

• Bring fresh flowers or plants into into the home

• Host a spring & floral themed tea party

• Make egg based food dishes & desserts

This holiday marks the Spring Equinox, which happens before March 19-22. It is the second of three spring celebrations (the midpoint between Imbolc and Beltane)  during which light & darkness are again in balance, with light on the rise. It is a time of new beginnings & of life emerging further from the grips of winter.

There is much debate regarding the origins of Ostara due to the lack of primary sources about this sabbat. One theory is the name of Ostara came from the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre. Another theory is that Eostre is more of a localized goddess in Kent County, England. Despite the questions of her origins, Eostre is associated with modern-day Pagan traditions of Ostara.

There is no evidence that the ancient Greeks or Romans celebrated Ostara, although they did celebrate their own spring festivals, such as the Roman festival of Floralia & the Greek festival of Anthesteria. It was a time to honor the returning sun, fertility & rebirth.

Related festivals:

• Nowruz- March 19th

Nowruz marks the first day of spring & renewal of nature. It is celebrated on the day of the astronomical vernal equinox. It is also celebrated as the beginning of the new year by people all around the world for over 3,000 years in the Balkans, the Black Sea Basin, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Middle East & other regions.

It promotes values of peace & solidarity between generations & within families as well as reconciliation & neighbourliness. Nowruz plays a significant role in strengthening the ties among peoples based on mutual respect & the ideals of peace and good neighbourliness. 

Traditional customs of Nowruz include fire & water, ritual dances, gift exchanges, reciting poetry, symbolic objects & more; these customs differ between the diverse peoples & countries that celebrate the festival.

• Holi- March 25th

Holi is a popular & significant Hindu festival celebrated as the The festival of colors, Love &Spring. It commemorates eternal and divine love of the deities Radha & Krishna. Additionally, the day signifies the triumph of good over evil, as it celebratess the victory of Vishnu as Narasimha over Hiranyakashipu. Holi originated & is predominantly celebrated in the Indian subcontinent, but has also spread to other regions of Asia & parts of the Western world through the Indian diaspora.

Holi also celebrates the arrival of Spring in India, the end of winter & the blossoming of love. It is also an invocation for a good spring harvest season. It lasts for a night & a day, starting on the evening of the Purnima (full moon day) falling on the Hindu calendar month of Phalguna, which falls around the middle of March in the Gregorian calendar.

• Easter- March 31st

also called Pascha or Resurrection Sunday is a Christian festival & cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred on the third day of his burial following his crucifixion by the Romans at Calvary c. 30 AD. It is the culmination of the Passion of Jesus Christ, preceded by Lent (or Great Lent), a 40-day period of fasting, prayer, & penance.

Easter traditions vary across the Christian world & include sunrise services or late-night vigils, exclamations & exchanges of Paschal greetings, flowering the cross & the decoration and the communal breaking of Easter eggs (a symbol of the empty tomb) among many others. The Easter lily is a symbol of the resurrection in Western Christianity traditionally decorates the chancel area of churches on this day & for the rest of Eastertide. Additional customs that have become associated with Easter & are observed by both Christians & some non-Christians include Easter parades, communal dancing, the Easter Bunny & egg hunting.

Other Celebrations:

• Festival of Luna- March 31st

Is a feast day honoring the Goddess Luna who is seen as the divine embodiment of the Moon.

The Temple of Luna was a temple on the Aventine Hill in Rome, dedicated to Luna, the moon goddess. Its dedication was celebrated on March 31st, thus the celebration.

According to Tacitus, it was built by king Servius Tullius. However, the first confirmed reference to a temple to Luna dates to 182 BC & refers to one of its doors being knocked off its posts by a miraculous blast of air & shot into the back of the Temple of Ceres. That account probably places the temple at the north end of the hill, just above porta Trigemina. The temple was struck by lightning around the time of the death of Cinna, as was the temple of Ceres. After the destruction of Corinth, Lucius Mummius Achaicus dedicated some of his spoils from the city to this temple. It was destroyed in the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD & not rebuilt.

Sources:

Farmersalmanac .com

Llewellyn's Complete Book of Correspondences by Sandra Kines

Wikipedia

A Witch's Book of Correspondences by Viktorija Briggs

Encyclopedia britannica

Llewellyn 2024 magical almanac Practical magic for everyday living

[mostlysignssomeportents]

End of the line for corporate sovereignty

I'm on tour with my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me next weekend (Mar 30/31) in ANAHEIM at WONDERCON, then in Boston with Randall "XKCD" Munroe (Apr 11), then Providence (Apr 12), and beyond!

Back in the 1950s, a new, democratically elected Iranian government nationalized foreign oil interests. The UK and the US then backed a coup, deposing the progressive government with one more hospitable to foreign corporations:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationalization_of_the_Iranian_oil_industry

This nasty piece of geopolitical skullduggery led to the mother-of-all-blowbacks: the Anglo-American puppet regime was toppled by the Ayatollah and his cronies, who have led Iran ever since.

For the US and the UK, the lesson was clear: they needed a less kinetic way to ensure that sovereign countries around the world steered clear of policies that undermined the profits of their oil companies and other commercial giants. Thus, the "investor-state dispute settlement" (ISDS) was born.

The modern ISDS was perfected in the 1990s with the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). The ECT was meant to foam the runway for western corporations seeking to take over ex-Soviet energy facilities, by making those new post-Glasnost governments promise to never pass laws that would undermine foreign companies' profits.

But as Nick Dearden writes for Jacobin, the western companies that pushed the east into the ECT failed to anticipate that ISDSes have their own form of blowback:

https://jacobin.com/2024/03/energy-charter-treaty-climate-change/

When the 2000s rolled around and countries like the Netherlands and Denmark started to pass rules to limit fossil fuels and promote renewables, German coal companies sued the shit out of these governments and forced them to either back off on their democratically negotiated policies, or to pay gigantic settlements to German corporations.

ISDS settlements are truly grotesque: they're not just a matter of buying out existing investments made by foreign companies and refunding them money spent on them. ISDS tribunals routinely order governments to pay foreign corporations all the profits they might have made from those investments.

For example, the UK company Rockhopper went after Italy for limiting offshore drilling in response to mass protests, and took $350m out of the Italian government. Now, Rockhopper only spent $50m on Adriatic oil exploration – the other $300m was to compensate Rockhopper for the profits it might have made if it actually got to pump oil off the Italian coast.

Governments, both left and right, grew steadily more outraged that ISDSes tied the hands of democratically elected lawmakers and subordinated their national sovereignty to corporate sovereignty. By 2023, nine EU countries were ready to pull out of the ECT.

But the ECT had another trick up its sleeve: a 20-year "sunset" clause that bound countries to go on enforcing the ECT's provisions – including ISDS rulings – for two decades after pulling out of the treaty. This prompted European governments to hit on the strategy of a simultaneous, mass withdrawal from the ECT, which would prevent companies registered in any of the ex-ECT countries from suing under the ECT.

It will not surprise you to learn that the UK did not join this pan-European coalition to wriggle out of the ECT. On the one hand, there's the Tories' commitment to markets above all else (as the Trashfuture podcast often points out, the UK government is the only neoliberal state so committed to austerity that it's actually dismantling its own police force). On the other hand, there's Rishi Sunak's planet-immolating promise to "max out North Sea oil."

But as the rest of the world transitions to renewables, different blocs in the UK – from unions to Tory MPs – are realizing that the country's membership in ECT and its fossil fuel commitment is going to make it a world leader in an increasingly irrelevant boondoggle – and so now the UK is also planning to pull out of the ECT.

As Dearden writes, the oil-loving, market-worshipping UK's departure from the ECT means that the whole idea of ISDSes is in danger. After all, some of the world's poorest countries are also fed up to the eyeballs with ISDSes and threatening to leave treaties that impose them.

One country has already pulled out: Honduras. Honduras is home to Prospera, a libertarian autonomous zone on the island of Roatan. Prospera was born after a US-backed drug kingpin named Porfirio Lobo Sosa overthrew the democratic government of Manuel Zelaya in 2009.

The Lobo Sosa regime established a system of special economic zones (known by their Spanish acronym, "ZEDEs"). Foreign investors who established a ZEDE would be exempted from Honduran law, allowing them to create "charter cities" with their own private criminal and civil code and tax system.

This was so extreme that the Honduran supreme court rejected the plan, so Lobo Sosa fired the court and replaced them with cronies who'd back his play.

A group of crypto bros capitalized on this development, using various ruses to establish a ZEDE on the island of Roatan, a largely English-speaking, Afro-Carribean island known for its marine reserve, its SCUBA diving, and its cruise ship port. This "charter city" included every bizarre idea from the long history of doomed "libertarian exit" projects, so ably recounted in Raymond Craib's excellent 2022 book Adventure Capitalism:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/06/14/this-way-to-the-egress/#terra-nullius

Right from the start, Prospera was ill starred. Paul Romer, the Nobel-winning economist most closely associated with the idea of charter cities, disavowed the project. Locals hated it – the tourist shops and restaurants on Roatan all may sport dusty "Bitcoin accepted here" signs, but not one of those shops takes cryptocurrency.

But the real danger to Prospera came from democracy itself. When Xiomara Castro – wife of Manuel Zelaya – was elected president in 2021, she announced an end to the ZEDE program. Prospera countered by suing Honduras under the ISDS provisions of the Central America Free Trade Agreements, seeking $10b, a third of the country's GDP.

In response, President Castro announced her country's departure from CAFTA, and the World Bank's International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes:

https://theintercept.com/2024/03/19/honduras-crypto-investors-world-bank-prospera/

An open letter by progressive economists in support of President Castro condemns ISDSes for costing latinamerican countries $30b in corporate compensation, triggered by laws protecting labor rights, vulnerable ecosystems and the climate:

https://progressive.international/wire/2024-03-18-economists-the-era-of-corporate-supremacy-in-the-international-trade-system-is-coming-to-an-end/en

As Ryan Grim writes for The Intercept, the ZEDE law is wildly unpopular with the Honduran people, and Merrick Garland called the Lobo Sosa regime that created it "a narco-state where violent drug traffickers were allowed to operate with virtual impunity":

https://theintercept.com/2024/03/19/honduras-crypto-investors-world-bank-prospera/

The world's worst people are furious and terrified about Honduras's withdrawal from its ISDS. After 60+ years of wrapping democracy in chains to protect corporate profits, the collapse of the corporate kangaroo courts that override democratic laws represents a serious threat to oligarchy.

As Dearden writes, "elsewhere in the world, ISDS cases have been brought specifically on the basis that governments have not done enough to suppress protest movements in the interests of foreign capital."

It's not just poor countries in the global south, either. When Australia passed a plain-packaging law for tobacco, Philip Morris relocated offshore in order to bring an ISDS case against the Australian government in a bid to remove impediments to tobacco sales:

https://isds.bilaterals.org/?philip-morris-vs-australia-isds

And in 2015, the WTO sanctioned the US government for its "dolphin-safe" tuna labeling, arguing that this eroded the profits of corporations that fished for tuna in ways that killed a lot of dolphins:

https://theintercept.com/2015/11/24/wto-ruling-on-dolphin-safe-tuna-labeling-illustrates-supremacy-of-trade-agreements/

In Canada, the Conservative hero Steven Harper entered into the Canada-China Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement, which banned Canada from passing laws that undermined the profits of Chinese corporations for 31 years (the rule expires in 2045):

https://www.vancouverobserver.com/news/harper-oks-potentially-unconstitutional-china-canada-fipa-deal-coming-force-october-1

Harper's successor, Justin Trudeau, went on to sign the Canada-EU Trade Agreement that Harper negotiated, including its ISDS provisions that let EU corporations override Canadian laws:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-eu-parliament-schulz-ceta-1.3415689

There was a time when any challenge to ISDS was a political third rail. Back in 2015, even hinting that ISDSes should be slightly modified would send corporate thinktanks into a frenzy:

https://www.techdirt.com/2015/07/20/eu-proposes-to-reform-corporate-sovereignty-slightly-us-think-tank-goes-into-panic-mode/

But over the years, there's been a growing consensus that nations can only be sovereign if corporations aren't. It's one thing to treat corporations as "persons," but another thing altogether to elevate them above personhood and subordinate entire nations to their whims.

With the world's richest countries pulling out of ISDSes alongside the world's poorest ones, it's feeling like the end of the road for this particularly nasty form of corporate corruption.

And not a moment too soon.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/03/27/korporate-kangaroo-kourts/#corporate-sovereignty

Image: ChrisErbach (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:UnitedNations_GeneralAssemblyChamber.jpg

CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en

[rendezvouz-fling]

Astro Observations #19

• I’ve noticed a pattern with Air and Earth risings and their dads not physically being there in their lives or being away for long periods of time and staying for shorter periods of time.

• People with Gemini rising and mercury at Leo degrees (5, 17, 29) or with their 3rd house in Leo tend to be very animated, expressive storytellers and are great at mimicking others! If they’re into singing then they might be good at imitating the original singer of that song’s voice.

• They’re also good at making impressions of other people.😂 Same goes for Leo rising with mercury in Gemini degrees (3, 15, 27) or people with their 5H in Gemini!✨

• Another thing about people with Leo in their 3H is that they WILL be over the top or dramatic when they see fit!! I have this placement and I literally pretended to faint when I saw my mom about to hit me while holding the pan she was washing with her other hand when I was a kid.🤣

• Capricorn moon kids aren’t the mini adults I see a lot of people stereotyping especially when they have Air/Fire in their charts. 🧐 Yes they might become very responsible as kids but they can also be the loud charming ones with the funniest laughs!😂

• Most 70s music/dance show hosts had prominent Scorpio/Libra placements with a dash of Aquarius energy! E.g. Dick Clark a 70s/80s show host from American Bandstand was a Scorpio moon/venus/rising & his sun was at 7 (Libra) degree while his rising was at 11 (Aquarius) degree!! And Don Cornelius the creator and show host of Soul Train throughout 3 decades was a Libra sun/mercury/venus with an Aquarius moon at 20 (Scorpio) degree!!🤎

• They also had inner planets at 28 degree!✨

• I’ve noticed some people with Fire venuses don’t get along with their dads that much, some of them had more of the ‘tough love’ type fathers.

• The reason most air moons seem to be emotionally aloof especially Aquarius moons, is because at some point in their lives they might’ve been shown that the only way to get by is by intellect and logic. They might’ve also been told as kids that they’re being too emotional and to stop crying/being upset.

• Another is because they’ve adapted to bottling up their emotions all the time that they might not know a way to express them openly and might just internalize it.

• Earth mars artists from the late 70s/early 80s were your go-to, classic R&B artists!! E.g. Patrice Rushen, Bobby DeBarge from Switch & Teena Marie are all Capricorn mars. Tommy DeBarge from Switch, Rick James and Donna Summer were all Virgo mars. Bunny DeBarge from DeBarge & Wayne Cooper from Cameo are both Taurus mars. 🍂

• If you feel like some placements in your composite don’t really add up with your relationship then check your Davison chart because I promise it’ll feel more accurate!

• Gemini suns with Sagittarius moons are very talkative and seem so feisty!😭

• Saturn doms have very attractive/prominent body shapes!

• Aquarius suns with Aquarius mercuries are funny without trying. ✋🏽😂

• Pisces suns with Aquarius mercuries and Aries venuses be literally taking the words out my mouth and say some of the meanest things!🤣

• Aries mercuries will literally say mean things before laughing and then hit you with the “What? It’s true.”😭🤣

• Fire mars men are built different!😭 Their height/weight might often trick people into thinking they’re soft but they are SO strong.

• Venus doms, how does it feel to get more beautiful every day?

• Mercurial risings kill me!😭 Virgo risings have a hilarious sometimes dry or more introverted humor while Gemini risings can be all over the place cracking jokes and exaggerating things lol.

• What’s with 5H suns and having a thing for verbal expressions. They’re literally the types to imitate a sound track when they’re explaining things.😭😭😭

• Some Gemini risings tend to have a signature laugh or people might point out/compliment their laughter often.

• They might also have them crazy laughs too and you’ll notice it specifically when you get close to them.🤣

• That one Aquarius moon family member 🤝 every other family member always going to them when they have problems with their technology or doing something online.

• Aries venus is that one cousin that will be spontaneous and very funny when you’re both good but will mean mug and say hurtful things to you/about you when you’re not on good terms anymore.😭

[mysticheathenn]

What is Your Soul Here to Learn?

Hi there! Remember to take what resonates and leave what does not. This reading does not supplement your need to seek professional help.

Take your time when choosing your pile. Ask yourself the question and choose the picture that you can’t stop looking at. Listen to your intuition.

The extended reading includes:

What is your soul here to learn?

What lessons and people are here to help you?

(This extended reading is available for free!)

Pile l:

What was your past life like? (Cards: 3 of Wands, The High Priestess (reversed), The Hermit, Knight of Swords)

This may be my spiritual pile (don't have to be but I feel you're either spiritual or religious). In your past life, you may have been a monk. Living your life in solitude but you were celebrated and loved by a large group of people giving your guidance and knowledge to any and everyone who needed it. This energy may have transferred over in your current life but instead of being a monk, you are the friend that everyone goes to for advice or when they need comforting. In your past life, you helped those who needed help with grounding themselves and help with healing. I'm seeing a lot of broken people with deep traumas came to you not just for your guidance but for loving energy.

What were your past life's faults? (Cards: 6 of Wands, 4 of Cups (reversed), Page of Swords, & King of Swords)

You're past life faults were you allowed other people to get in your head which caused your downfall. Some of you may have experienced greed while others of you allowed haters and others that wanted to see you fall get in your head. There isn't much to go on with this question as there seems to be a wall as if your past life is ashamed for the way they have lived and allowed others influences lead the way you lived life. It's as if you had trouble standing up for yourself because you feared judgment of others and didn't want gossip to paint you in a negative light. For others, you let your popularity get to your head and while you did good things you did more harm than good. (Extended reading on my Patreon - Available for free)

Pile ll:

What was your past life like? (Cards: 6 of Pentacles (reversed), The Empress (reversed), The Hierophant, 10 of Swords (reversed)

Pile 2 in a past life you let other people dictate your life telling you what you should do and who you should be in life. You were the type of person who did everything by the book, it gives me the vibes of what used to be the American Dream where if you worked hard, went to school, and stayed out of trouble you were on your way to having a good, long, and successful life but instead it led you into depression because it wasn’t what you truly wanted to do. It gives me “Don’t Worry Darling Movie Vibes.” Maybe you were fed dreams that didn’t pan out to be exactly what you hoped for and anytime you spoke out about it people would gaslight you telling you things would get better or even go as far as chastize you for wanting to do things differently than how they were always done.

What were your past life's faults?  & What is your soul here to learn? (Cards: 3 of Cups, The World (reversed), Page of Swords, & The Tower)

I’m getting a sense that your past life’s faults is the same thing your soul is here to learn.  You tend to let other people dictate what is good for you instead of making these decisions yourself. Maybe you are born into a family with strict expectations where everyone is a doctor, and you have to be a doctor too or maybe your family continues to carry old expectations of how the world used to work and they pass them down to you. An example would be maybe your mom was a stay-at-home mom or something and keeps nagging you that your “biological clock” is running out and you need to shackle down with just about anyone who won't abuse you to give them grandbabies and populate the earth.  I’m sensing in a past life and even now you have tried to break away from the mold but each time you do you are met with manipulation tactic after manipulation tactic like maybe your family and friends saying they will disown you if you don’t follow what they feel is best for you. You want to appease your family and friends but you also want to stand true to who you are as a person and you’re finding that very hard to do because of the many fear tactics you were fed and also you're not believing in yourself that you will land safely on your own two feet but will crash and burn making you feel that maybe your family and friends were right and you should listen to them.

(Extended reading on my Patreon - Available for free)

Pile lll:

What was your past life like? (Cards: 9 of Wands, The Moon, Queen of Cups, The Hermit, 8 of Swords.

I’m getting in your past life you grew up in a household where you were taught to be seen and not heard. This may have crossed over into your current realities as with the 9 of wands you felt a lot of burdens that didn’t belong to you. Maybe you had parents who didn’t get along but would go to you to vent about each other, or maybe you, unfortunately, fell into the trap of being an older sibling having to take care of your younger siblings and you didn’t feel heard because every time you would speak out about how you would feel you were shut down which caused you to go into hermit mode and just move through life as a robot and not actually live your life how you should have. For a moderate amount of you, I feel this has crossed over into your current reality. This may have even emotionally stunted you to where you don’t know how to process your emotions maturely. Maybe some of you currently or even in your past life would lash out at any and every one anytime anything would happen even if you didn’t mean to and you would feel horrible about it because you don’t mean to cause anyone harm or make them feel some type of way.

What were your past life's faults? (Cards: The Devil, Knight of Wands (reversed), Page of Cups, & 3 of Swords)

Your faults in your past life were because you didn’t know how to emotionally process your feelings and felt the heavy burden of others on your shoulders you resulted into drinking, drugs, and maybe even sex to feel something other than the pain you felt daily from not having a safe space to go to amongst family or friends. Again some of you this may have crossed over into your current reality where you feel alone and don’t have anyone you can talk to about the many struggles in your life that are going on and the only thing you do to help ease the pain is by taking on vices whether its drugs, sex, alcohol, maybe even spending a lot of money on things you know you don’t need but temporarily gives you joy. Some of you if this has crossed over into your current reality you aren’t sure how to pick yourself up and try to do better in your current reality which blends into a little bit of what your soul is here to learn.

(Extended reading on my Patreon - Available for free)

Pile lV:

What was your past life like? (Cards: 9 of Wands, The Moon, Queen of Cups, The Hermit, 8 of Swords

Similar to piles 2 and 3 your past life may be reoccurring in your current reality. In your past life, you had a hard time letting go of people and things that were no good for you. In your current reality you could be the one friend who goes to your friends for advice on your sh!itty relationship just for you to do the complete opposite of what you were advised to do because you believe things will get better and you have so much history with a person or even a job for some of you. You have a strong sense of loyalty to anything you see potential in that could be great for you in the future. This pile gives me “I can fix him” vibes even though the situation, person, or job could be draining for you, you still refuse to let go.

What were your past life's faults? (Cards: The Devil, Knight of Wands (reversed), Page of Cups, & 3 of Swords)

You’re faults in your past life just like the first question could bleed into your current reality as well because you believe people can change and time and time again you have been hurt and led astray believing this kind of thinking only to get back up again and try a different plan to make something that has been dead come alive again. I’m getting the TikTok trend “Staying delulu is the solulu.” Some of you stay in a delusional universe when it comes to situations or people that drain you. No matter how many people tell you that you need to leave a job or person you keep telling yourself it’s going to get better. I just have to do a little more of this or a little more of that not seeing that you are watering dead soil. I’m seeing the clip of Viola Davis and Denzel Washington in the movie Fences where she goes off on her husband saying “It didn’t take her 18 years to know she was watering rock-hard dead soil but she stayed and kept fighting and pushing and showing up because she’s loyal and sometimes still has a little bit of hope.”

(Extended reading on my Patreon - Available for free)

Thank you to everyone who likes and reblogs my post. Always truly appreciative of all of you. Remember to check out the extended reading on Patreon for FREE!

I hope you guys enjoyed this one. Until next time, stay safe and be blessed.

[gremlingottoosilly]

Sooo I am from the Southern United States,and so I can't help but picture Konig having to deal with a Southern!Wifey.

One thing Konig will have to get used to, if his little wife is Southern,is her food and drinks. She will make Biscuits and Gravy(White Gravy) and drink Sweet Iced Tea by the gallon. Also,if she is the home maker he will learn he can not set foot in her kitchen while she is cooking otherwise he will be put to work. "Oh handsy hmm? Well if you have energy to be handsy you can peel potatoes,shuck corn,and shell some peas now can't you?"

He will never go hungry,or have to worry about her defending herself. Nothing is scarier than an angry southern woman with a cast iron pan in her hand.

Sorry if this like came from no where,I just don't see a lot of southerner rep in COD headcanons or stories and sorta just wanted to share my thoughts!

Hi!! Omg sometimes I forget that Americans are real, it's sounds so cool!! Konig is FOLDED. Southern wifey actually goes really well with his traditional values and how he perceives his possible wife-to-be. He was raised on the belief that a true Austrian woman should always care about home, cooking, going to church etc, and be ready to face the attackers with her own powers - so when his adorable wifey from overseas cooks for him, takes care of him, all with that cute accent of hers...poor guy is ready to get USA citizenship and buy a farm in the midwest. He loves your food! He is a big boy and he needs meat, and he would gladly sacrifice his time to cook with you just so he could get an opportunity to grop your ass and steal a few kisses while you are too busy with doing the meat. Someone is trying to harass you and before Konig could step up, you already defeated the attacker?? Omg he wishes he could marry you a second time..... He is a bit of a cringe cowboy fan because he is a loser who was reading that very old western and exported Italian cowboy movies, so he still thinks of you as a bit of a cowgirl...he would silently push a hat to your direction, but would actually fucking die if you'd wear it.

[whatyadrawin]

The Fruit After the Flesh 18+ -Chapter 7-

Minors DNI!

Masterlist

Approximately 3,543 words

Pairing: Thomas Hewitt (Headcanon) x AFAB reader

This chapters Warnings:  Sexual language, health concerns, foul language, mild mention of abuse, brief mention of infertility. I guess just all the usual slasher fucker warnings? Use your own discretion.

A/n: I went into the ZONE for this one, I spent all day on it, ALL DAY. In this chapter I round out some characters a bit more and I get Y/N to push some boundaries. I'm falling in love with this little world. Check the masterlist for some home layout references if you're interested in the layout of the property. As always, reblogs, likes and comments are extremely appreciated, and I hope you enjoy the chapter and art!

Tag-List: @fan-goddess

Chapter 7

A week went by slower than molasses as you stayed in Luda Mae’s room the entire time, only leaving to get a little bit of movement. You were generously allowed to stay at the Hewitt house until your home could be repaired, the entire time you stayed at the house you were weak with a persistent cough from the smoke, so you slept most of the time you were there so that you could recover; Today, you finally feel back to normal.

You had made a call to a company in the next town over who specialized in reconstruction from fire damage, they let you know that the work would take at minimum 4 months to complete and the cost was fairly high; You were fortunate enough to have a large sum of money from Tilly, who left you a dragon’s horde of wealth in her will, so money was not a stressor for once in your life.

Waking up to the sounds of a farm everyday was comforting, the wind blowing through the tall grass, crickets and birds singing songs, chickens and cows going about their business, it was extremely pleasing to hear these sounds every morning. The more you explored the property, the more beautiful you realize it was, despite being banned from viewing certain rooms and areas, there was still so much to see; you could tell that this family was once quite wealthy, they had a large mass of land and the home was enormous, there were fixtures which only the rich could have afforded, they were old and a bit damaged but the extravagance was still there.

You made your way to the kitchen for some coffee and see Luda Mae frying some eggs, she turns to see who entered and smiled when she saw you,

“Mornin’ sweetheart! It’s real nice to see you up and movin’ around this early. Want some eggs? I just been fryin’ some up for breakfast, there’s also coffee in the pot over by the stove.” She turned back to her frying pan and grabbed a plate to place the eggs onto.

You accept her offer and make your way to the coffee pot, you had been so drained of energy the past week that you always woke up so late and were unable to walk around much without coughing up a storm, today you felt strong. You place your coffee on the table and sit down, the kitchen was quite a decent size much like the other rooms in the house, American houses in the south had such massive rooms, they all felt so spacious.

The kitchen was full of mixed technology from varying eras, the stove and fridge were from the 50’s while the coffee maker and the smaller appliances were all from the late 90’s or early 2000’s. There was a theme to this kitchen which tickled your brain, strawberry themed. The kitchen window was situated in front of the tub style sink, it had white curtains with a red strawberry pattern which just added to the coziness. The walls were colored a salmon pink which beautifully accented the white laminate countertops, you saw that the molding was painted that same soft eggshell white from Luda Mae’s bedroom but the floor was still that dark walnut wood which ran throughout the house.

You turn to Luda Mae and say,

“I feel really bad for staying in your room, I really don’t mind sleeping on the couch or somewhere else so you can get your space back.”

She laughs and replies,

“Funny you mention that ‘cause I have a surprise for you. Been workin’ on it the whole time you been here.”

You were wondering what she got up to everyday, it seemed like she was nowhere to be found whenever you were awake. You even rarely saw Tommy while you stayed at the house, but Luda Mae assured you it was just him wanting to give you space to recover; apparently, he asked about you every day, and would keep watch for whenever you emerged from the room.

You quickly finished your breakfast in the anticipation to see what this surprise was,

“Ok Luda Mae, I want to see what you have in store for me and then I’ll come back and do those dishes.” You didn’t want to seem like a lazy freeloader, it was the least you could do. She responds,

“You ain’t wasting time doing no dishes while you have your first day of full strength. After I show you what I been workin’ on, you best go outside to get some fresh air.” She smiles at you playfully and takes your hand to guide you to where the surprise was.

You pass the main foyer and make your way through the dining room to reach the edge of the living room where there was a door. You were not allowed to go in the room past that door so you were curious to see what she was hiding, she stops you before you go any further and says,

“Ok Y/N, I know you been wonderin’ what’s behind this here door, and I don’t blame you. I want you to close your eyes and don’t peek ‘till I say so.”

You agree and cover both your eyes with your hands, she guides you through the door and walks you into the room,

“Ok now open ‘em!” she says excitedly.

You open your eyes to reveal a large bedroom, there’s a queen size bed still covered in its original plastic in the far corner of the room, and a writing desk by a large bay window overlooking the meadow. Large cabinets and wardrobes fill up space on the walls while another set of doors can be seen on the opposite end near the bed leading to the outside patio; The walls are a very old white color with one good size chandelier in the middle of the room dangling from the high ceiling, still with all its crystals in-tact. Your eyes widen and you are struck with awe, Luda Mae squeezes your hand gently and says,

“This was bein’ used as storage, it was meant to be my daughter’s room from a very long time ago but, I was never fortunate enough to have her.” She looks down at the floor,

“What happened?” You ask, not realizing that it may be a touchy subject,

“Oh, I’ll tell you that story someday. I want you to know that this room is yours to have, regardless of when your home is fixed, it’ll always be here for you.” She smiles at you endearingly and then continues, “And you can call me Mae from now on hun, no need to say its entirety, just don’t call me Luda.”

You nod and follow with, “How come you don’t like Luda, if you don’t mind me asking?”

She shakes her head,

“Me n’ Charlies Pa used to call me that, he was as mean as a starvin’ coyote, liked to hit and berate us both.”

You understood and dropped it, “I’m sorry you went through that, I’ll make sure to just call you Mae then.”

Luda Mae smiles and hugs you with one arm from the side, you match her and hug her with your arm and you both look at the room together side by side.

“I have no words for how grateful I am to have you in my life Mae, you have been like a mother to me and I feel like I could never repay you for your kindness.” You start to feel tears well up in your eyes, overwhelmed with the generosity of this woman.

“Theres’s nothin’ to owe dear, I did this of my own volition. I want you to enjoy it, all I ask is that you start feelin’ like family, because you are.” Her sincerity was enough to make tears stream from your eyes, which she wipes with her handkerchief.

You give her a hug and hold her tightly; you don’t know how to thank her but you promise yourself to make her as happy and loved as she has made you feel.

“You’re such a sweet girl Y/N, I want you to make this here room your home, do whatever you want with it, paint it, move the furniture, hell, whatever your heart desires!” She kisses your head and you release the hug saying,

“Will you help me decorate?” you ask.

Luda Mae looks at you with an excited smile, “I was hopin’ you’d ask!”

-

After the incredible surprise, Luda Mae left to go clean the kitchen and she sent you to go outside to get some sunshine, she handed you a straw hat and said,

“Go on now, explore a bit. Maybe go bug Thomas for a bit, he’d like that.”

You laugh and make your way outside; you start looking around the property and notice a whole lot of things. In one end of the property, behind the house near your new bedroom was the meadow for the cows to graze, next to the house across from the barn was a wheat field, in another end behind the small forest there was what looked like a vehicle graveyard which spooked you a little; there were cars with license plates from all over the U.S. and many different kinds of vehicles in varied states of decay. You decided not to explore that section due to potential hazards; you make your way through to an unexplored part of the property behind the forest which was between the meadow and car graveyard.

This area of the property had some trees around it which gave it privacy, in the middle of this tree perimeter was a large swathe of tall green grass, you found this odd since most of the land you saw was covered in dry, yellow grass. You tried to make your way through the bush, ensuring you don’t step on something dangerous, the further in you went the more wet the ground got -this must be where all the ground water is rising up- you felt a sense of excitement as you got closer to the center.

You finally reached a pond; it was fairly large and was surrounded by beautiful native plants. The water was crystal clear; you could see right to the bottom which was modestly deep, there were lily pads dispersed throughout the surface, and tadpoles played in the shallow zones. You felt an overwhelming desire to swim in it, the water was so pure looking that it was like a dream. So, you did.

You took off all your clothes, the surrounding forest shielded you and the Hewitts were all too busy with chores and farmwork to bother coming by, so you felt sure that you would be left alone. The water was a refreshing temperature and it felt amazing on your skin which was sweating from the heat of the day, as you made your way into the deeper parts of the pond you see small fish bolting out of your way, you decided to only go as deep as your shoulders.

You weren’t sure how long you were in the pond for, it was too incredible of a sensation to pass up spending time in. The birds sang for you and the water felt so comfortable, the shine of the sun passing overhead left a shimmer effect on the pond surface. You kept your hat on to protect you from the intense rays and you could not have been more relaxed, the small fish now were coming up to your toes and nipping at them which tickled you. Nothing could be better than this, it felt magical.

Back at the house, Luda Mae checked the clock on the wall and called out for you, when she didn’t hear a response, she went to ask Charlie if he had seen you.

“I hadn’t seen that sweet piece of ass nowhere Luda, I been busy as hell fuckin’ with this damn broken fence.” He was mending the fence by the road all day which had some damage from cows messing with it, he followed with,

“Go ask that kid of yours, I bet he knows where she went. He’s always tryin’ to get a peep on her. He needs to let off some of that pent up frustration, the boy’s brain is already like mud we don’t need him fantasizin’ all day.”

Luda Mae rolls her eyes and heads toward the barn where Tommy was feeding the chickens, she walks up to him and rubs his back asking,

“Son, have you seen Y/N today? She isn’t responding when I holler.”

He shakes his head and looks worried,

“Can you go check to see she hadn’t gone too far out? I worry she got herself lost. I have lunch ready for everyone too so both of you come on back to eat when she’s found.”

Tommy nods his head and immediately heads out from the barn to search for you, he began looking around in the wheat field which didn’t take long because of his incredible height he could see over all the wheat. He goes to check the meadow but doesn’t see you, the car graveyard was next which worried him. When he looked around all the vehicles and didn’t see you, he grew more concerned, the forest area had human traps still left in it from the bad days in the past, he was scared that you were stuck in one.

Tommy carefully made his way through the forest, cautious to avoid trap areas, he still didn’t see you and this made his heart race. He didn’t want to find you hurt and there was a very real risk of that, he paused and tried to listen. The sounds of humming could be heard in the distance, that’s when he remembered the pond and he bolted towards it as quickly as he could.

When he got to the pond area the humming was just you singing a song to yourself, he thought it was the most beautiful sound in the world. He decided to quietly make his way through the reeds so he wouldn’t scare you and stop your singing. For such a bulky man he was incredibly quiet, and with his hushed footing he got past the reeds and saw you in the water, naked.

Tommy immediately turned his head away; he was already intoxicated by your body from the night he saved you from the fire where you had so little clothes on already, and now your body was completely bare. Tommy tried his best to be gentlemanly but his aroused curiosity got the better of him and he just sat there gazing at you like a lion hiding in the tall grass watching their prey.

You looked like a mermaid, your singing was like a siren calling to him, putting him under a spell, he didn’t want this moment to end. He couldn’t see anything much below your shoulders thanks to the sun illuminating a glittering glow around you, he wanted to black out the sun for hiding your beauty from him.

Tommy couldn’t resist moving in for a closer look, he had never seen such beauty in his life, all he wanted was to be with you in this pond sharing in the relaxation and freedom. He wasn’t careful where he stepped and his weight was too much for the soft mud shelf to bear, so he fell in the pond making a lot of noise. You let out a scream and turn around to see a large splash, you try to think if there’s alligators in Texas, and panic sets in.

Tommy got his footing and stood up in the pond, the water in that area was deep for you, but on him it only reached under his pecs. You felt relief at the sight of him, his hair was slick and stuck to his face, he looked like a dog with long fur who was getting a bath, it was cute. Tommy gasped for air and moved his hair from his face pushing it back away from his eyes. You were so taken by him revealing his face again that you didn’t move, his dark green t-shirt clung to his chest and revealed erect nipples underneath. You couldn’t help but giggle a little bit after he turned his head to you looking embarrassed.

You had the biggest crush on this behemoth of a human, every day last week was like agony not being able to see him, he was all you could think about which helped keep your mind off the memory of the fire. He didn’t move from where he stood, he also couldn’t stop staring at you, a devilish smirk appeared on your mouth. You move your wet long hair over your chest for modesty and call out to him,

“I didn’t know you guys had a paradise hiding on your property.” He rubs the back of his head and looks around nodding, you follow,

“Why don’t you come out of the pond this way, it’s a gradual incline here so it will be easier to get out for you.”

He shakes his head and tries to turn back to get out the way he came, so you push,

“Thomas, I can move out of the way if you are too scared to look at my body. Don’t put yourself at risk of drowning, just come out this way.” You felt so bold, the magic of the pond gave you a strange confidence, and Tommy being so shy was endearing and only bolstered your sudden jolt of extroversion.

Tommy hung his head and covered his eyes as he made his way past you, he slipped on the slick mud underneath and fell backwards into the water right next to you, splashing you as he went down. You giggled as his head slowly came up from the water, a very annoyed and embarrassed expression on his eyes. He was able to sit with his butt on the pond floor and his head was able to remain above water, he didn’t move from being too scared of further making a fool of himself.

Seeing him so close to your bare body made you incredibly aroused, you couldn’t help but swim up to him and get between his legs so you could hold onto his chest. You smiled at him and said,

“Don’t be embarrassed, I don’t think this pond is very friendly to such… impressively large men. Why don’t you stay a while and just relax in the cool water with me?”

Tommy’s eyes were so wide you thought they would fall out of his head, you saw his cheeks flush and he was breathing heavily, you were close enough to hear his heartbeat which was racing. He had never been this close to a woman before, well, a woman who was alive and willing to be near him, let alone a naked one. You stare into his eyes, they were so full of emotion and deeply blue like the Pacific Ocean on a summer day reflecting the light of the sun on the water, you were mesmerized, you said,

“You have the most beautiful eyes, Thomas; I could get lost in them.” You reach out to move some stray hairs away from his face.

Tommy was overwhelmed with carnal desire; it was taking a lot of restraint to not touch you and he was worried that if he did, he wouldn’t be able to stop. He had never felt this way before, he thought his heart was going to explode from pumping so fast, he could feel his veins throbbing and a very specific organ was painfully pressed against his jeans. When you touched his face, he couldn’t take it and instead of just grabbing you and taking you, he got up and ran out of the pond towards the house at lightning speed. The last thing he wanted to do was to hurt you, or overstep a boundary you didn’t want him to cross, his head was so full of new swirling emotions, he was drunk on the desire you put in him and it was too alien of a sensation for him to handle.

You watched as Tommy got up and ran away from you, it made you laugh seeing him flustered like that. You knew you were tempting a beast but there was a deep lust and longing inside you that wanted him to let loose and ravish you. You were so erotically excited that your groin was aching for touch, it didn’t help that you noticed a massive snakelike shape pressing through his jeans as he got up to escape your spell, the prospect of his size was enough to make you bite your lip thinking about what it looked like freed from the bonds of his pants.

You got out of the pond and put your clothes back on, you made your way back to the house feeling proud of yourself -at least now he must know where I stand- you were looking forward to more overtly flirtatious encounters in the days ahead.

[natlacentral]

Forget The Haters, Avatar Live-Action Star Elizabeth Yu Is Our Princess Azula

When Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbenderannounced that newcomer Elizabeth Yu was cast as Princess Azula, some fans of the original Nickelodeon cartoon immediately took to social media to complain. Some thought she looked too innocent to play the Fire Nation princess, an antagonist in the Nickelodeon series that takes place in an imagined world with people who can master and manipulate the different elemental energies of Fire, Water, Earth, and Air. Others lamented that her face wasn’t angular like Azula’s is in the cartoon, or that she looked too young for the part. (An especially odd critique considering, though never specified, Azula’s age is believed to be 14. Yu herself is now 21; she was 19 during filming.) But when it comes to the fan reaction, the young actor is completely unphased. “I’m a hit with the kids,” she jokes to Refinery29, adding that she doesn’t take it personally. “I think anybody playing this part would’ve gotten some kind of backlash.”

Yu is confident that when the show premieres February 22, fans will see the live-action show is doing more than recreating the cartoon. In the original, Princess Azula, the ambitious daughter of the Fire Lord Ozai (Daniel Dae Kim), doesn’t appear until Season 2 when she emerges as a new threat to the Avatar, the boy with the power to control all four elements and unite the nations against Ozai’s dictatorial rule. In this iteration, Azula is a recurring character, allowing fans to see her in a brand new light. “It’s an origin story for her,” Yu says. “It’s this foundation being laid out for a lot of things to make sense when we eventually pick up where we first met her in the original series.” So if you were worried Yu’s Azula had lost her villainous edge, don’t be. Yu describes her as “a girl boss,” but “evil.” Still, she says, “Azula is my baby girl, she’s my boo thing. I love her.”

Not only is she unbothered by the early reactions, she’s not at all nervous when thinking about how the show might be received by hardcore fans. Instead, the actor is more concerned with what her two younger sisters will think. The actor has seen Asian American representation grow from Disney Channel’s The Suite Life of Zack and Cody — “All I had growing up was London Tipton,” she says, giving a shoutout to star Brenda Song — to recent Oscar-nominated films, like her 2023 favorite Past Lives starring Greta Lee. As half-Korean, Yu is proud to be a part of this current shift. “The idea that my little sisters are going to be able to watch TV and movies, and the likelihood of them getting to see someone that looks like them is so much higher, is such a win. It’s so healing to know that we’re creating an industry where little girls — little anyones — can feel like that.” 

The fact that Avatar: The Last Airbender stars Asian actors is arguably the new show’s biggest break from the original series. When the cartoon first premiered in 2005, it only featured a few Asian and Asian American voice actors, despite the fact that it took place in a world inhabited by mostly Asian and Indigenous peoples. When the beloved series was adapted into a widely panned live-action film, The Last Airbender (2010), the cast also remained mostly whitewashed, save for members of the Fire Nation, who were depicted as South Asian. Now, two decades after the original’s debut, Asians are finally getting a seat at the table. “It’s monumental,” Yu says.. “It’s so important to be able to see yourself in stories. That’s what storytelling is about.” 

Yu’s confidence is impressive, especially considering Avatar: The Last Airbender is only her third credit on IMDB. She gives off the air of an old pro. And in some ways, she is. Born and raised in New Jersey, she’s been auditioning for acting roles since she was 16. She’s also been dating Stranger Things star Gaten Matarazzo since they were 15. They currently live together in New York City with their three cats, and she’s had a front row seat to his rise to global celebrity. Though she insists she has always tried to keep their careers separate from their relationship, she admits, “Getting to see someone with such a huge heart navigate this industry is the best advice that I could be given.” She adds, “We’re both still trying to figure it out, and it’s really cool to be able to do it together.” 

She continued to audition throughout her last years of high school, though “it was a struggle,” she says. During her senior year, she debated whether or not to go to college or commit to acting full time. In the end, she stuck with her passion. Then, in December 2021, just months after her high school graduation, she booked Avatar. “‘Oh, thank God,’” she recalls thinking. “I’m doing what I should be doing.” She has since gone on to appear in the Oscar-nominated May December, opposite Julianne Moore, Natalie Portman, and Charles Melton.

It wasn’t until her fourth and final audition came around that Yu finally learned what role she was fighting for. “It was insane. I cried on the phone with my mom.” Months later, she was standing on the Fire Nation set next to the legendary Daniel Dae Kim in full armor and regalia, acting between bursts of flames. (“Before they’d call action, they’d be like, ‘Pyro!’ and the flames would ignite from these sconces on the walls. It was insane.”) And though she admits acting opposite Kim was intimidating at first, it was also pretty damn cool. “Who wouldn’t feel like the baddest bitch in the room sitting next to Daniel Dae Kim as Ozai?” 

It sounds lucky, but her road to Azula had more than a few bumps. First, there was the fact that she didn’t know what project she was actually auditioning for. “They sent this completely fake, made-up storyline for this fake TV show. I was auditioning for a character named April,” she explains. After getting a callback, she hit the internet to do some sleuthing. “I became an FBI agent trying to figure out what I was actually auditioning for, because I was like, ‘Something about this does not feel real,’” she says. When she realized that it might be an adaptation of Avatar, a show she watched growing up, she couldn’t believe it. (“I was like, ‘No way. That is definitely not what I’m auditioning for.’”) Then there was the “minor car accident” that she got into right before her first callback. (She made it safe and sound and “did the damn thing!”). 

As for what big names she hopes to work with next, Yu is open for whatever comes her way. For now, she’s got her eyes set on a not-yet-confirmed Season 2 of Avatar, which she hopes will include Azula’s time on Ember Island with her brother Prince Zuko (Dallas Liu) as well as some of her character’s famous lines. “I’m really excited to go into a second season and finally do these iconic line reads that Azula has,” she teases, adding, “I quote them all the time to myself. There’s this one scene in the original where she says, ‘Do the tides command this ship?’ And she’s basically threatening this soldier that she’ll throw him overboard if he doesn’t do what she says. It’s just so badass.”

Live action or not, Princess Azula will always be badass.

[glennk56]

William Hootkins in the 1970s.

William Hootkins was born in Texas in 1948. He was active in theater in High School and at Princeton University and interested in becoming a professional actor after graduating. His his friend John Lithgow recommended he move to England to continue his acting education, probably because he knew he'd get greater opportunities. So he moved to England in the 1970s and trained at The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. He continued mainly in theater and took film roles when he could. His first film role was a small role as a henchman in the British R rated film, Big Zapper in 1973.

Big Zapper, 1973. Small role and Hootkins would've been 24-25 years old during filming.

Anthology series Plays for Britain. Hootkins gets a small role in the episode The Paradise Run in 1976.

An anthology Documentary series, Horizon, which featured film adaptations of real-life events. Hootkins had a greater role in this 1976 offering Billion Dollar Bubble which starred James Woods about Insurance Company fraud in the early years of computers.

Still in his 20s, Hootkins got a small role in a major American film directed by Robert Aldrich and the opportunity to share a scene with Charles Durning, Twilight's Last Gleaming in 1977.

Also in 1977, Hootkins played Porkins in a small role in the 1977 blockbuster Star Wars. Small role but big enough to get his own action figure.

And again in 1977, Hootkins worked with Director Ken Russell in Valentino in a high energy scene of a drunken, egotistical silent film star. The movie was a bomb mainly because it wasn't the biopic of Rudolph Valentino that people expected. Russell took too much license in the life of Valentino to tell a more interesting story. I think what was known of the real lives of stars back then was greatly what the studio wanted to present to the public. So I think Russell was justified.

1977 was an especially good year for William Hootkins. The above photos are from a US-UK collaboration of a teleplay version of Come Back, Little Sheba starring Laurence Olivier and Joanne Woodward. Hootkins is in one scene only. Also in 1977, Hootkins appeared in episodes of British TV series, Van der Volk, Yanks Go Home, Plum's Plots and Plans and Documentary Series, The Lively Arts.

In 1978. Hootkins appeared in Part 1 of Clouds of Glory, a 2-part series of the lives of Poets, William Wordsworth and Samuel T Coleridge. Hootkins appeared with David Warner.

Late 1978, now William Hootkins is 30 years old and no denying the hair loss. He appears in all 3 episodes of the British miniseries The Lost Boys, about Peter Pan writer J. M. Barrie starring Ian Holm, presenting Barrie as homosexual and a pedophile (at least only in his mind). Hootkins plays Barrie's American friend, Broadway and London Theater Producer Charles Frohman.

Hootkins appeared in one episode of British 13-part miniseries Lillie, the story of Lillie Langtry in 1978.

In 1979, Hootkins appeared in Hanover Street as Beef with Harrison Ford.

Also in 1979, he played a very small role in a remake of The Lady Vanishes with Cybill Shepherd and Angela Lansbury.

[tiredwitchplant]

Everything You Need to Know About Herbs: Yarrow

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

*Poisonous *Medical *Feminine

Folk Names: Achillea, Bad Man’s Plaything, Carpenter’s Weed, Death Flower, Devil’s Nettle, Eerie, Field Hops, Gearwe, Hundred Leaved Grass, Knight’s Milfoil, Knyghten, Lady’s Mantle, Milfoil, Militaris, Military Herb, Millefolium, Noble Yarrow, Nosebleed, Old Man’s Mustard, Old Man’s Pepper, Sanguinary, Seven Year’s Love, Snake’s Grass, Soldier’s Woundwort, Yarroway, Yerw

Planet: Venus, Sun

Element: Water, Air

Deities: Cernunnos, Hernes, Pan

Abilities: Courage, Love, Psychic Powers, Exorcism, Clarity, and Healing

Why Poisonous?: Contain thujone (just like Wormwood) Thujone is a chemical compound in yarrow that excites the nervous system. Causes seizures, hallucinations and other adverse reactions.

Characteristics: Has white flowers that bloom atop straight stalks with grayish-green serrated leaves that have a feather like appearance. Is a perennial plant that can grow to 3 feet.

History: Is native to Northern and Western Europe. Is famed as the wonder healer. Was used by Achilles to heal wounds, hence it’s botanical name. It is also known as nosebleed because the leaves were used to staunch blood. It was used in tea by the Native Americans for the treatment of menorrhea, the blood flow of menstruation. In the traditional Yi Jing age, the dried stalks were thrown into water to predict the future.

Growing Yarrow:

Easy to Grow? Yes

Rating: Beginner Friendly

Are the seed accessible? No

How to Grow Yarrow

Video Reference

Where to Buy Seeds

Magical Usage:

Placing the herb on top of graves help the dead peacefully crossover

Weaved into braids creates an energy web that taps into your inner wisdom

Helps develop psychic gifts

A cup of yarrow tea with a cinnamon stick can warm your bones and release hidden truths about oneself

Can be used for divination of the future and relationships

If worn on person, can stop fear and grant courage

Can be hung as a wedding decoration to guarantee seven years of a loveable marriage

Washing hair with water infused with yarrow can prevent baldness

Carrying it around can attract love, friendships, and distant connections

Exorcises evil and negativity from a person, place or thing

Medical Usage:

Clean and heal wounds

Can reduce fever

Stop internal bleeding

Lower blood pressure

Helps with menstrual issues such as: heavy bleeding, period pain, and heavy flow

In tonic form, can help with colds, flu, hay fever, weak digestion, and improve blood circulation

Sources

[prager-lover]

Recom Headcannons!!

These are my own, if ya aint like em, get over it :)

Send me your own, love hearing from others, also these are sfw, let me know if y’all would be interested in nsfw ones too, also these arent all the recoms, just ones i wanted to think abt

Quaritch

+ Was lowkey upset when he realized his new recombinant body doesnt have his old scars he got as a human, absentmindedly runs his hands over where they used to be and doesnt get used to the now smooth skin in their place

+ Wishes he had a rocking chair cuz hes a geriatric ass bitch

+ Used to be adventurous when he was younger, eating live bugs and worms that other military goons egged him on to eat but he learned from countless nights of endless vomitting to not be TOO much of a dumbass

Lyle

+ Avid Kanye fan

+ Randomly sings The Bad Touch by The Bloodhound Gang (Listen to the song and try telling me i’m wrong)

+ Can fall asleep anytime, any place in under 2 minutes but wakes up quickly too

+ Loves Blueberry muffins

+ Has at least 10 pairs of Pit Vipers

+ Twists his tail around in his hand when hes nervous 

Z-Dog

+ Mansk tried teaching her how to cook and she almost burned a hole through a pan somehow, so she sticks to MREs when she’s alone

+ Gently bites the chocolate coating off from around peanut m&ms, then eats the peanut

+ Loves green, red and purple skittles only and if you try telling her they all taste the same she will punch you in the face

Lopez

+ Has a Rosary tattoo

+ Mad skills on a skate board, is trying to get scientists on Pandora to make him a custom sized skateboard since the human ones are too small

+ Likes whacking humans on the back of the head with his tail as he walks past them, but denies it was him

Mansk

+Likes watching youtube videos of people making bead bracelets and necklaces but mutes the sound if they talk, he just wants to hear the beads clack

+Takes Z-dog's yellow and orange skittles since she doesnt like them

+ The only thing that he was excited for when he woke up as a recom was the new and improved human weapons that had been developed while he was dead

Prager

+ Sings Somebody to Love by Queen at least three times during drunk karaoke

+ Tears bits of lined paper and tissues off and eats them

+ Uses an android

+ Loves milk, can sit down and just have a nice glass of milk, sometimes warm milk

+ Cant tolerate caffeine at all, you give him a can of energy drink and he is off the walls 

+Speaks insanely fast when he’s nervous or hyper

Ja

+ Can and will sing the entire Mamma Mia soundtrack

+ Theatre kid in disguise

+ Genuinely find Progressive Insurance Ads funny (bless his soul)

+ Loves gummy worms but not the sour kind

Brown

+ Sneaker head

+ Shits on Prager for using an Android

+ Can recite American Psycho from memory

+ Looks like a pretentious douchebag because he is one, but is very kind to select people

Felt silly so i typed this up literally 10 mins before work okay bye have a good day

[proudcyanide]

Albert Wesker headcanons!! 👾

this bitch has been in my mind for way too long, so now is the moment i just talk about him online.

mind a couple things:

these are headcanon for a wesker in a normal life au, where is yes still kind of an asshole, but also kinda softer? like he hasn’t been through the traumas (spencer) and all, so yeah, he can love and prove emotions?? also this has parts that include a romantic relationship between wesker and you? idk. also there’s nsfw

so=significant other

i might have done some grammar mistakes or a mess with the usage of the adjective used for his so, since i tried to use they/them, but sometimes i might have used you.

edit: i’ve taken my time and i tried to fix all my typos etc. hoping that i found ‘em all *pokémon theme starts playing*

this man is pan, he doesn’t care about the gender or the physical aspect of who he’s dating, he just wants them to be smart enough to be interesting (in his opinion). i feel like he would dislike unintelligent people because he feels like they aren’t trying enough.

he loves pet names. i feel like he would use them for call his so ALL the time but when he wants to start a serious conversation.

if his so isn’t american, he would probably try to learn their culture and maybe also their language (he would absolutely learn pet names in said language because he finds cute how his lover react when he uses them). knowing him, he would probably learn the new language easily, and would be also good at it. with his accent, yes, but with proper grammar and vocabulary. he also would like to visit his so’s country both to see where they grew up and to see the biggest attractions said country offers (i am italian, and i usually picture this with him visiting my small and empty town but also milan, rome, venice, florence, naples etc.).

he chose his s.t.a.r.s. career over his umbrella’s one. in re0 he’s defined something like «practical Al», so i think that despite liking biology and generally science, he would find himself more comfortable with a career where he can spend his energies in a constructive way.

he’s rich, but doesn’t like bragging about it. he has a big house, a very nice car but tends to live very simply, spoiling himself just for particular occasions. that can’t be said for his so, who he likes spending money on. like, they would be so embarrassed because they would feel like using him, while he’s like that meme that goes «i like seeing women spending my money». after a while he just decides to not going through the same process of «you really don’t have to» and starts to buy things and then make them appear between his lover’s properties. he loves buying them clothing he thinks they would look good into.

he’s jealous af. he doesn’t throw jealousy fits in public, but when he feels someone is trying to get too close to his so (like someone getting flirty in public), he would magically appear near them, slipping his hand around their waist and kissing their head. and if he feels like they’re getting closer than he likes to someone, he would probably just go berserk on them, throwing them on the bed and reminding them whose person they are property of.

with jealousy it comes also possession. he loves to show everyone that they are his. so in public he would probably always have his arm around their waist or his hand on their knee.

he’s a dom. also a pretty kinky one. despite not disliking sweet and tender sex, he like an animalistic one more. he has many kinks (breeding, cnc, dacryphilia, bondage and i could go on for hours) and likes experimenting. but he’s also very attentive to his lover, makes sure they have a safe word for anything (also non-verbal ones) and that they are always having a good time. his after care is very simple, but he makes sure his lover is cleared and that they know it was all an act. he likes submission, but also like people who rebel: he’s definitely a brat tamer.

i’ve already said this, but i repeat it again: he’s a girl dad. with his children he’s very attentive, and despite being a little in difficulty with showing affection in a way a child can comprehend (which is a very direct one, not the subtle one he can show to his lover and few friends), he’s still a great dad and he’s very present in their life despite all the things he has to do (i am sorry jake that you live in canon and not in my mind).

alone together time!! he’s working, his so is minding their own business, but their are in the same room and this comforts him.

he doesn’t tell, but he cherishes all his s.t.a.r.s. colleagues, and considers them friends.

he likes non-sexual intimacy, like making his so shave him.

he has tons of beauty products and loves skincare (he doesn’t admit he’s getting older and wants to gaslight himself that he isn’t in his 40s/50s/60s).

i can’t imagine any of his relationships not having an age gap, so, yes, there’s an age gap.

he likes cooking and experimenting with cuisine.

he reads a lot, and has his own personal library.

he loves hanging out with birkin, and since they barely see each other, they organize this big and embarrassing foursome dates, with his so and annette being so embarrassed at first, but warming up later on.

he doesn’t believe in god, despite this he’s sherry’s godfather.

he is extremely sensitive to light, this is why he wears sunglasses. he takes them off only in his office and in his home, both places where the blinds are shut and the lights are very dim.

okay, for now it’s over.

for now.

[leslightq]

So I have a few Mandela Catalogue headcanons so I'm just going to share some of them.

Adam and Jonah both have heterochromia. Adam's right eye is blue and his left eye is green. Jonah's is less noticeable with his right eye being a darker brown than the other.

Six kills the kids through extremely high frequencies that their parents can't hear. The frequency causes damage to not only the ears but also the brain. When the alternates replaced them, they weren't affected.

Adam is a defective alternate. When he replaced the real Adam, the frequencies did affect his eardrums, causing him to go deaf. He does use hearing aids but Jonah still learned sign language just in case.

Adam acts the way he does because he never learned how to fake emotions like other alternates. If he was able to feel, he would have cared about Jonah and Evelin.

Thatcher and Ruth had major crushes on each other when they were in high school but neither of them knew. The rest of the school did and would make it their mission to get them to start dating. Friends making plans with them and ditching the two to be alone together, teachers making them sit next to each other. (It never worked.)

Jonah once dyed his hair red and green in front of Adam. Adam told him to dye his roots white and put black spots in the red. And that is how Jonah got the nickname "watermelon".

Sarah still has Mark's hoodie.

Evelin has a wall of polaroid photos and fairy lights.

Adam called Gabriel ugly once. (He cried for three weeks.)

The BPS + Evelin all have their own tasers.

Preacher is an alternate of Cesar's mother.

Mark and Cesar met at church when they were eight.

Adam is almost identical to Lynn. He gets his hair and his blue eye from Jude.

Adam has named each of the hands in the hallway. His favourite is Handy Mandy.

Evelin bitch slapped an alternate once.

Six and Gabriel used to co-parent Adam before he moved to Werksha with his grandparents.

Jonah and Sarah are the equivalents of "I thought you were American".

Sexualities and Genders

Mark: AroAce

Cesar: Transmasc

Alt!Cesar: Gay (Accidentally canon)

Sarah: Lesbian

Adam: Bi, Transmasc

Jonah: Gay, Non-Binary

Evelin: Bi, Transfem

Thatcher: Bi, Genderfluid

Ruth: Omni

Dave: Pan, Genderfluid

Six: Bi (Prefers men)

Gabriel: Demi

Lynn: Bi

Jude: BWE (Bi Wife Energy)

N: AAA (AroAce and Agender)

[fatehbaz]

On January 18, 2023, as thousands of Peruvians were taking to the streets in Lima to denounce the spiralling political crisis in the country, Canadian Ambassador Louis Marcotte was meeting with the Peruvian Minister of Energy and Mines.

Protests have been ongoing since December [2022] [...]. Demonstrators have been met with widespread arrests and brutal violence. According to Yves Engler, since [protests began] [...] the Canadian mission has met with numerous top-level Peruvian officials in unprecedented fashion. [...] Ambassador Marcotte tweeted several photos from the meeting, using the occasion to promote mining as a benefit for communities and to express Canadian support for the upcoming Peruvian delegation who will attend the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada’s (PDAC) annual conference in Toronto from March 5 to 8. Each year, the world’s largest mining convention draws tens of thousands of industry experts, company officials, and government representatives to talk industry trends and promote an expansion of mining -- with little concern for the consent of those most affected, including in Peru. [...]

For years, MiningWatch Canada and the Justice and Corporate Accountability Project (JCAP), alongside organizations including Red Muqui, Cooperacción, Derechos Humanos Sin Fronteras-Cusco and Derechos Humanos y Medio Ambiente DHUMA, have documented the many harms caused by industrial large-scale Canadian mining to rural communities, as well as the associated police violence that often accompanies the imposition of these projects. [...] [T]he systematic and often violent exclusion of Indigenous, peasant and rural peoples from the political economic system, as well as the legacies of land dispossession and contamination, are indeed linked to centuries of extractivism.

The ambassador’s tweet has to be taken within a context of centuries of colonial and decades of post-colonial violence against rural peoples at the behest of resource extraction. [...] Ambassador Marcotte chose to promote more Canadian mining investment in the country and plug PDAC 2023 -- where a session dubbed “Peru Day” promises to discuss “opportunities [...].” Canada’s priorities in Peru could not be more clear. [...]

---

Canadian companies invested over $8 billion in 10 projects [in 2021] [...]. Toronto-based Hudbay Minerals operates the Constancia mine; Vancouver’s Pan American Silver operates the Shahuindo and La Arena mines; and Teck Resources’, also headquartered in Vancouver, operates the Antamina mine, with a 22.5 percent ownership stake in the project. Antamina is Peru’s largest mine, ranking among the top 10 producing mines in the world in terms of volume, and is the single most important producer of copper, silver, and zinc in the country. In 2021, the mine generated over $6 billion in revenue and nearly $3.7 billion in gross profits. [...]

---

When Canadian mining companies are embroiled in a conflict with local communities [...] [in] Peru, companies benefit from state-sanctioned police protection and impunity. Companies can sign service contracts directly with the National Peruvian Police, and off-duty police officers are permitted to work for private security companies while using state property, such as weapons, uniforms and ammunition. [...]

Violence isn’t only used against rural peoples at blockades or during massive marches; it’s a daily occurrence [...].

As the Cusco-based organization Derechos Humanos Sin Fronteras has demonstrated through several environmental and social impact studies related to Hudbay’s Constancia mine, these contracts not only permit explicit state violence, they also form the backdrop of racialized and class-based intimidation and threats [...].

---

These harms are not minimal: contamination of agricultural lands and waterways around Pan American Silver’s Quiruvilca mine and the criminalization of community leaders and land dispossession due to environmental contamination at Shahuindo; violation of Indigenous self-determination and the right to a clean environment around Plateau Energy’s proposed lithium and uranium mine, sitting atop the region’s most important tropical glacier; undercutting of economic benefits for communities most affected by mining operations, and more.

---

Yet the Canadian embassy in Peru has a track record of ignoring the concerns of human rights and environmental defenders affected by Canadian mining projects in the country -- even ignoring the concerns of Canadian citizen Jennifer Moore who was detained in 2017 by Peruvian police while screening a documentary film with Quechua communities affected by Hudbay’s Constancia mine. Moore, who was subsequently banned from re-entering the country [...], is the focus of a recent report by the Justice and Corporate Accountability Project (JCAP) on the role of Canadian embassies in prioritizing the interests of Canadian mining companies at the expense of their own policies and commitments regarding the protection of human rights defenders. [...]

But it should be made clear: when the [Canadian] embassy chooses to promote mining in Peru during PDAC, it is doing so knowing the reality of what these activities mean for people who are facing ongoing threats, intimidation, and explicit state-sponsored violence.

---

Headline and text by: Kirsten Francescone. “State-sanctioned violence in Peru and the role of Canadian mining.” Canadian Dimension. 6 March 2023. [Bold emphasis and some paragraph breaks and contractions added by me.]

[letstevengrantsleep]

Give In To Us

Part 1 (Part 2)

Steven Grant x Marc Spector x f!reader

summary: after being friends with Steven for months and hiding your growing crush, you finally ask him if you can meet Marc, and things heat up quickly.

word count: 1,699

warnings: 18+ content, smut, dirty talk kinda, praise, f receiving

masterlist

Steven has always been so unbelievably lovely to you. From the minute you met him at the museum gift shop he was opening doors, pulling out chairs, asking if you were okay all the time. It was endearing, really, how caring he could be towards someone he called a friend. And how possessive he could be too.

You could see it sometimes in his eyes. They’d change. He’d go from having caring, deep brown irises to having jet black eyes that would latch onto you like prey. You saw it first when you were both getting coffee after work, a man had approached you for your number and you could have sworn you heard Steven growl under his breath.

It wasn’t until eight months into your friendship that Steven told you about Marc, and you didn’t meet him until a few months after that.

-

Your mind was wondering, as if often does as you sit with your legs swinging, perched on the counter top watching Steven cook for you both. Watching him it crossed your mind what Marc what Marc might think of you, as selfish as it was you didn’t like the thought of someone so close to Steven disliking you. You wondered what he was like, whether he was as gentle as Steven, what he liked, whether he’d roll his eyes at you and your growing crush on Steven.

“Steven?” You call, quiet so as to not startle him as you often did when he was cooking. It was cute how engrossed he could get in these things.

“Yes, love?” He responds, not taking his eyes off the pan in front of him. He has a habit of using pet names, and as much as you’d hate to admit it you’d become accustomed to hearing them - they always sounded so lovely coming from Steven’s lips.

“Does Marc like me?”

At that, Steven puts down what he’s holding and turns to look directly at you, a frown setting across his features.

“Why d’you ask?” He turns off the hob, crossing the kitchen to stand in front of you.

“I wonder about him, not a lot I just… I don’t like the thought of us not getting along when me and you are so…” you choose your next word carefully, “close.”

“Oh God, well, uh,” he stumbles over his words as he mumbles out “Me and Marc we…” another stumble, a sigh, “we feel the same way about you, I just think that-“ he pauses again, collecting his thoughts. “I think maybe Marc would want to show it in a different way.”

You’re confused, mind wondering again about what Steven could mean - you know Steven enough to know he sees you as his best friend, so Marc does too? Clearly he can see the confusion on your face because he sighs and continues.

“I just - Marc can be a bit uh, a bit less subtle with how he acts. He’s… possessive.”

After a moment of silence between the two of you, you raise your gaze from the floor to his eyes, deep brown and caring, searching yours for some sort of response.

“It’s him, isn’t it. When you pull me away from creeps and keep me safe when I’m not paying attention. That’s Marc.” You watch as he nods sheepishly, knowing what you’re going to ask of him next. As much as he hates to admit it, Marc was the confident half of them and if it was up to Marc, Steven reckons you’d be theirs already. This was going to happen eventually, he knew that. “Can I…”

Steven sighs, looking down, and nods. The energy around him shifts and you find yourself wanting to shuffle backwards to give him some space. A low groan escapes his mouth as he looks back up, dark eyes taking you in. You hear your name whispered under breath.

"Hey princess." He starts, looking up with a shit eating grin plastered across his face. The accent was different, new to you, American.

"Marc." You respond simply, not really knowing how to approach him, he was a stranger after all.

You aren't sure whether it's just how much time you spend around Steven but you can see the difference in how Marc stands, how he moves, how he breathes even. It's all... bigger.

"I've been dying to meet you, y/n. I can't believe Steven's kept you to himself all this time." He moves over to the cabinets in a few long strides, grabbing himself a glass from the cupboard.

"Kept me to himself? I wouldn't say Steven has really done that." You make Marc laugh by saying that, he turns with another huge grin on his face, pointing at you, discarding the glass entirely and turning his full attention to you again.

"No, you're right, and that's because he doesn't have the balls for it." He laughs some more, leaning up against the worktop.

"What on earth are you talking about?" You scoff, a blush creeping onto your face as you think about the connotations behind his words.

"Steven and his infinite amount of chivalry would never allow him to act on his wants, his needs. I on the other hand have absolutely no issues with telling beautiful women exactly what I want."

"And what does Ste-" you pause, "what is it you want?" You trail off, hoping that Marc will finish your sentence for you, put you out of your misery and answer the unanswered question.

"You." He responds, stalking across to you and placing his hands firmly against your thighs. "Steven would never admit it, princess, but we've been pining over you since the day you met us." His gaze drops to where his hands are placed. "Is this okay?"

You mumble something incoherent under your breath .

"I'm going to need you to speak up, doll." He whispers back.

"Yes, it's more than okay." He huffs in approval and smiles at you as you gaze up at him.

"And this?" He taunts as one of his hands wraps round your back to pull you closer, the other playing with the waistband of your leggings.

Nodding quickly, you breathe out another "yes" before biting down hard on your lip.

What happens next comes all too quick. Marc's lips are on yours, his hand snaking down into your underwear as you moan into his mouth. His fingers ghost your core and you feel his eyes on you, gauging your reaction to every move he makes. It's only when he's absolutely sure that your comfortable that he slides his fingers down through your folds, coating them with your arousal.

"Fuck, y/n, I've barely done anything and you're dripping." He groans, pushing his middle and ring finger deep into you, hitting just the right spot that makes a strained moan leave your throat. "Mm, that's right pretty girl, make some noise for me." You can hear the grin on his face as he speaks, pumping his fingers slowly in and out of you, watching every reaction you have to make sure he's hitting just the right spot.

"Marc, please." you whine, not entirely sure what you're begging for, but he seems to understand anyway. Picking up the pace, he groans and attaches his lips to your neck, leaving bruise after bruise in his wake as he makes his way up to your jaw. "Marc, god, I-"

He chuckles against your neck, keeping a steady pace, knowing you're close from the way you start to shiver against him.

"Come on, be a good girl, use your words y/n." He taunts again, keeping you on the edge of falling off, right where he wants you to be. Shivering against him as he draws you closer and closer to bliss.

"Please, Marc, I want to come." You whine again, a deep blush setting over your face as you beg. "Please." You practically whisper into his hair.

"Mm, good girl baby, come for me, come on my fingers." He groans as he feels you start to shake, fingers curling inside you to hit that spot over and over as you come. He doesn't stop after that, fingers still rocking in and out of you as he speaks. "Do you want Steven, doll?" Marc asks, watching as your half closed eyes stare into his. "You want him to fuck you?"

Nodding, you watch as he smirks, winking before closing his eyes, dropping his head into the crook of your neck.

His fingers come to a stop and abruptly pull out of you as he snaps his head back up, deep brown eyes frantically searching your face. Steven.

"No, no please." You beg as his hand leaves you. "Please, Steven, I-" You're desperate for it now. After feeling how his fingers filled you up so well you can't help but drool over the thought of his dick inside you.

"Fuck, y/n, is this-," he takes a look at you, at the bruises on your neck, and then to his hand, dripping wet. It doesn't take him a second before he's realised what Marc has done. And he's jealous. He wants what Marc had.

"Steven, I want-" before you have time to finish your thought, Steven has taken a step forward and is bringing his hand up to his mouth. You watch in awe as your lovely, innocent Steven sucks your arousal off his fingers and closes his eyes in bliss, moaning.

"I've been wanting to have my hands on you since the day we met. And he beat me to it." Steven practically growls down at you, his hands going to your sides.

"I wanted you back, Steven I- oh fuck." You're caught up again as he pulls you to the edge of the counter top, his bulge pressing firm against you. "I wanted you, I asked him for you."

By now he's close enough that you can feel his breath on your lips, and you don't think you can take any more of this.

"Please, Steven. I need you."

At that he groans, practically ripping his shirt over his head before attaching his lips to yours, growling into your mouth.

"I'm going to fucking ruin you."