#and part of it is almost certainly stuff we were taught as a kid and have mostly unlearned but it still fucks us up

[thethingything]

I had a really weird dream last night but the only thing that's really stuck with me after waking up was that at some point I uses "lol" in a text and went "y'know, that just feels right somehow" and I'm dying to know what our brain is doing this time

[ladamedusoif]

Starry Night (Joel Miller x Stargazer f!reader)

A Merry Fic-Mas - December 1

Part of A Merry Fic-Mas: A Holiday Fic Calendar - click for masterlist.

Pairing: Jackson!Joel Miller x Stargazer F!Reader

Rating: Teen

Word count: ~1500

Warnings: Strong language (Ellie is involved); canon doesn’t go here; alcohol references; fluff; almost certainly some stargazing errors please forgive me

Summary: There are a lot of wonderful things about making it to the safety of Jackson, but the darkness of the night sky makes it a perfect home for a stargazer like you - and you’re only too happy to share your knowledge with a space-mad teenager. Oh, and her grumpy dad.

Every time you set up your telescope, you remembered the look Maria had given you the day you returned from a scavenging mission with it strapped to your back, still in its packaging.

“Seriously?”

You shrugged as you got off your horse. “Seriously. Got plenty of other stuff too, so let me have this, please?”

She looked dubious, but threw up her arms in resignation. “If we need it for lookout - it’s ours, okay?”

You nodded, hugging the telescope close to your chest, and raced home to set it up. 

Space was your dad’s thing, and he’d made it yours, too. Nights in the backyard with his very basic kit trained on the skies, stargazing maps in front of you, climbing on his lap to look through the viewfinder.

He taught you the major constellations, how to find planets visible in the night sky, explained how stars helped people navigate, long ago. 

Little did you know then how that information would come in handy years later, finding your way to the safety of the Jackson settlement with nothing else to guide you. 

Stargazing in the suburbs wasn’t ideal. Too much light pollution. In Jackson, though? Wide, open dark skies, far as the eye could see. 

Every time you watched the night sky, you looked out for your dad.

Cold, crisp, clear winter nights were your favourite time for stargazing. Bundled up in your warmest coat, hat, and blankets, you sat on your porch, telescope in front of you and an old Atlas of the Night Sky on your lap. Out of the corner of your eye, you became conscious of two people walking along the sidewalk past your home. Recent arrivals, you guessed, seeing as they weren’t familiar; a young girl, an older man. Father and daughter, probably.

“Whoa, dude. She’s got a fuckin’ real telescope!”

The girl had stopped to stare at you, eyes wide in astonishment. You offered a shy smile and a little wave, and were about to speak when the man interjected, beckoning the girl on with a frustrated tilt of his head.

“Mind your manners, Ellie. Sorry, ma’am. Didn’t mean to disturb you. You have a good night.” He nods and you return the gesture, touched by his somewhat old-fashioned manners, and they walk on as you go back to seeking out Castor and Pollux.

Over the next couple of weeks, you learned that the man was Tommy’s older brother, Joel. His exact relationship to Ellie, the teenage girl, was not clear: she wasn’t his biological daughter, you suspected but Tommy tended to refer to her as “Joel’s kid”.

They tended to keep to themselves, for the most part. But she would peek in your direction if she spotted you at social events in the community, as if she was weighing up whether she should go and talk to you. No amount of friendly waves and smiles from you could ever convince her, it seemed.

You took matters into your own hands at the holiday tree lighting ceremony. You picked them out easily: Joel, big and broad in a sheepskin-lined winter coat, greying hair curling over the collar; Ellie, ponytail bobbing from side to side as she looked at the illuminated tree in absolute awe and wonder. 

“Joel and Ellie, right?” 

They turned to appraise you, still wary of new people. You held out the mugs of eggnog you’d grabbed for them on your way across the room. 

“Thought you might like some eggnog, and I wanted to introduce myself. I’m the telescope lady.”

Ellie’s eyes widened. “So cool,” she murmured, as if to herself.

Joel nodded and accepted the eggnog gratefully, the mug suddenly appearing doll-sized in his large hands. “Ellie’s got a thing for space, don’t you? Loves hearing about the space programs, the astronauts, all that.”

The teenager looked down at her shoes and blushed a little as she nodded. Apocalypse or not, teenage girls will always be embarrassed by their dads. 

Ellie took a sip of her eggnog. “How’d you get a fuckin’ telescope, anyway?” 

Joel scolded her, but you chuckled. “I found it in an old hobby store on a scavenging mission one time. I wasn’t gonna leave that behind, now was I?” She grinned at your conspiratorial wink, and Joel seemed to relax a little.

“Come over whenever you want, and I’ll give you a guided tour of the sky. We’ve got perfect conditions here for it.”

She beamed and turned to Joel, who shook his head softly. “We don’t want to be disturbing you, ma’am.” You corrected him with your name, and he repeated it, low and slow, in that warm, dark voice of his.

“I mean it, Joel. You are both very welcome to do some stargazing with me, whenever you’d like.”

“No fuckin’ WAY!”

Ellie tears into the kitchen on the morning of December 21, excitedly brandishing a piece of paper under Joel’s nose as he sips - or tries to sip - his morning coffee.

“Whatever it is, El, it’s far too early for this kind of excitement.”

“Look at it, dude!”

He rolls his eyes, puts down his mug, and looks at the piece of paper. It’s a handwritten invitation, decorated with drawings of celestial bodies and, at the bottom, a bright red telescope. He can’t help but chuckle as he reads the words aloud.

“Ellie (and Joel) are invited to a special winter solstice stargazing party tonight, December 21, at 6pm. Wrap up warm and be ready to see stars.” Underneath, you’ve carefully written your name and address in neat print.

By now, Ellie is positively bouncing with excitement. “The fuckin’ telescope! I’m gonna look through a fuckin’ telescope! At fuckin' SPACE!”

Joel’s heart swells as he takes in her sheer joy at the prospect of looking up into the heavens, knowing how hard everything has been for her, how much he has wanted to make her smile again. 

“Alright, but there’ll be no telescope if you don’t eat and get dressed for school. Go on, now.”

The telescope is already set up on your porch when they arrive later that evening, Joel carrying a flask of hot coffee and Ellie a tin with a few cookies - the best they could rustle up at short notice. 

“I’m so glad you came!” You beam at them as you open your front door, beckoning them inside. “I’ve got some snacks ready, and some hot punch.”

A smile creeps over Joel’s face as he realises you’re somehow playing a compilation of holiday music. Brenda Lee is singing about rocking around the Christmas tree, Ellie is nodding her head in time to the song as she makes a beeline for the bowls of snacks you’d set out, and he is struck by just how long it’s been since he’s experienced anything akin to “holiday cheer”.

“What the fuck does ‘rockin’ around a Christmas tree’ mean, anyways?”

Joel tuts and rolls his eyes. “Ellie. Language.”

You giggle as you hand Ellie a cup of non-alcoholic hot punch. “It’s fine, Joel. I think she means people are dancing around a Christmas tree, Ellie.”

Ellie looks sceptical. “Fuckin’ weird. Hey, when can we look at the stars?”

Joel lets you take the lead, as Jackson’s resident stargazer. He sits on one of your kitchen chairs, sipping from a mug of punch, watching you show Ellie how to navigate the night sky. 

The punch is warming in more ways than one. As Ellie bounded out to the porch earlier, you’d subtly held up a bottle of liquor at him and raised your eyebrows in a silent question, before adding a little to your and his mugs of punch once he’d nodded his assent. 

“See that really bright, orangey one there? That’s Betelgeuse. It’s a red supergiant.”

Ellie’s mouth hangs open as she squints through the telescope’s eyepiece. “Red supergiant,” she repeats. 

“See if you can find Orion’s Belt for yourself. It’s not too far away.”

You turn to Joel, checked blanket wrapped around your shoulders, and raise your mug towards him with a warm smile. “Happy holidays, Joel.”

He reciprocates the gesture, dark, warm eyes crinkling as a gentle, genuine smile spreads across his face. It might be the first time you’ve ever really seen him smile.

He looks to the heavens, taking in the perfect, pitch-dark blue-black carpet of a night sky embroidered with millions of twinkling stars. For an instant, he finds comfort in remembering that we all - everyone who is, who has ever been, and who will ever be - gaze up at the same firmament. 

General fic taglist: @agentjackdaniels, @julesonrecord , @tessa-quayle, @vermillionwinter , @iamskyereads , @tieronecrush , @perennialdoll247 , @love-the-abyss , @imaswellkid , @intheorangebedroom , @fuckyeahdindjarin , @littlemisspascal , @khindahra , @pedrostories , @readingiskeepingmegoing , @rhoorl , @red-red-rogue , @princessanglophile , @katareyoudrilling @survivingandenduring , @trulybetty @fictionismyreality @sunnywithachanceofjavi , @joeldjarin , @lahoozaherr, @s-u-t, @its-nebuleuse, @veryprairieberry (let me know if you'd rather not be tagged!)

[hisdarlingabsurdity]

Frankenstein's Monster

Pairing: Neteyam x Fem! Human! Reader

Tags: slow af. Part two otw. Bitter, jaded reader. Stressed Neteyam. Slow burn. Reader is a reader.

You haven’t been yourself lately, and you think it might have something to do with how everything is just so blue. Ever since you were so disrespectfully given birth to, you’re almost always surrounded by blue. It wasn't annoying at first, except the color never seems to be out of sight, there's always something that's blue everywhere you look. Literal blue aliens talk to you. And nobody has any idea how vexed you are at how ridiculously blue the sky is. Now the sea. Everything is just so goddamned blue. 

But you say nothing. It would be unbecoming of you to complain (about something so silly too) after all, it was the Sullys who saved you, Jake had taken you under his wing and taught you almost all he knows about surviving here as a human, so it makes sense that they would take you with them in their self-imposed exile.

They saved you from Dionysus Red, Container 12 where you were known as Subject 003. Even your uniform as No. 3 back then was blue. No wonder you hate the color.

 You really do not know where you stand with all of this. You are grateful, yes. You now eat three times a day, and not those shitty slop they served you back in Dionysus. You had a room of your own and you were free to do as you like, study, learn, listen to music, read, and use the technologies so generously bestowed upon you at Hell's gate. But you didn't belong there, hell, you don't belong anywhere on this moon you were so kindly shoved into existence on.

But you were glad that there was another human there that was your age. His name was Spider and you think he's stupid, especially when he tries to hiss. You adore him, but he gets on your nerves sometimes.

"I wish I could breathe outside like you. It's so unfair," he said one day.

You were watching a video about earth when he strutted in, and stared at you for five minutes straight, before finally speaking. You peek over the screen in favor of looking him in the eyes when you respond. "Sorry we couldn't salvage any of the tech they used to experiment and torture me for an ability I did not ask for. Though it would've been better if you waited for them to make it to subject 14, maybe by then they'd be working on people like me but with tails so they can make tsaheylu."

He shook his head, unraveling his crossed arms. "Okay, sorry. But that wasn't what I meant. You know that."

You shrug. "I don't know what you need my lungs for when you can just stay here with me and just…not go outside, to a world where everything tries to kill ya." You see him giving you a pointed look.

"But you don't even stay here all the time like that, I also envy how Jake gets you himself and teaches you how to survive here. Like, are you kidding me? The Chief himself? And he's practically adopted you." He mumbles the last part.

 You wonder if he sees the arrangement as  special treatment. You don't see it as such but of course, leave it to Spider to overthink things. If he pursues this logic, as ridiculous as it is, he might even one day think that Jake sees you as part of his family. Fool.

"He tries, and I have no idea why. I'm just going with it because I respect him and I believe he's doing it because for some reason (you sigh) he sees me as his responsibility. He's got like what, six kids? Ain't that enough brats to handle?"

"He's teaching you all that stuff because it's all you need since you can breathe their air, all that's left is for you to learn skills and stuff. Y'know, stuff scientists can't inject on you." he says as he plops himself up on a table. "And he's got four."

You roll your eyes, before they flickered to his legs, freshly smeared with spartan fruit, dyed to mimic the Na'vi body stripes. He sees you looking and sighs once again. "You see what I do to try and feel like I belong with them?"

"You certainly belong with them more than I do, you grew up here, and you get along with his children too."

"More like they tolerate me." He rolls his eyes.

"Their mom tolerates you, the kids like you." You drop the datapad on the table to completely focus on him. "That's something, isn't it? At least the kids don't hate you. His eldest glares at me like I personally offended his ancestors."

"Oh, they don't hate you. You don't exactly make it easy to approach you."

"Yeah, well I'm not that interested in making friends, ok? I've got you already. In any case, I think you might as well be part of their family with the amount of time you spend around them."

"I still think being able to breathe the same air as them would help a lot," he replies. 

Sometimes you still miss him.

You do hope that he's still alive…unless he's in a situation where dying is much more preferable.

Naturally, since Jake Sully more or less became your guardian, you had to leave with them. You didn't mind really, and you felt a kind of loyalty towards him, loyalty that's bordering on obsequiousness, and it scares you because you know you would do anything he asks of you (so you've gotten good at hiding before he gets the chance).

And that same loyalty made you feel anger again for the first time in a long while. 

"Absolutely not." Ronal says, the moment her eyes landed on you, she's already decided. 

You feel blood rush to your ears, your fingers digging into your palms as you feel everyone's eyes on you. You knew what Jake's family was thinking. That Neyteri was right and that they shouldn't have taken you with them. Now, they were moments away from finally convincing the chief to let them stay, and your mere presence ruined it. You hated the fact that they would be rejected, and sent away because of you. You knew you'd cause an inconvenience, everyone did, yet they just had to drag you along.

You were seriously even considering friendship with them, since you don't have a Hell's Gate to hide in, no Spider. Now they're all you've got. And you thought that maybe they don't hate you that much. But now the inconvenience of your presence was palpable, you realize that you've got no right to even think about friendship.

"She's one of us…" 

You could hear Jake in the background, voice too muddled because you couldn't focus, you didn't want to focus, because if you did, you'd hear what they had to say, and when you do, you wouldn't be able to help but formulate a response, and then you'd never be able to keep your mouth shut like Jake practically begged you to. So you bit your lip, kept your eyes on the ground, and held your tongue.

⌛🌊⌛

You yawn as you stretch, popping a few joints here and there. You step out of your new home with the Sullys, which was what they called a marui. You look up at the blue sky, then down at the blue sea. Then you catch some of the reef folks giving you the stink eye. You glare back and they shuffle away with a grimace, all pride and indignation. You really wanted to give those blue, lanky-ass grumps a good throttling.

"Stop glaring at the locals, dad told us to behave." The eldest of the Sully kids say as he steps out, already geared up for the day. You look up at him. "He only meant it for you troublemakers. Also, it wouldn't matter if I behaved or not." 

It didn't matter because they would always find something to be displeased about when it came to you.

 

You knew that he knew exactly what you meant and you walked away. Then you went padding right back, then past him to grab the book you forgot from inside the marui. You feel his gaze at you as you leave until you rounded a corner, walking far away to go look for a hiding spot for the rest of the day. 

You plan on making the most of your freedom before Jake masters whatever water animal it is he's practicing on, because then he'll have time to spare on you. 

You hear someone call out your name.

You turn and watch as Kiri sprints her way towards you. You squint up at her, almost blinded at the bright smile she was sending down at you. What an angel. 

"Now, where are you skulking off to again?"

"Anywhere that's far enough."

She looks around comically. "I don't think dad would appreciate you migrating off to another island for your reading time."

"Haha, very funny." You say, trailing off awkwardly, not knowing how to further contribute to the small talk she was obviously initiating.

She giggles as she proceeds to walk ahead, slow enough to let you know that she wants to walk alongside you.

"Look, I just…" she starts, waving her hands a little as she looks for the words she wants to say. "I don't think separating yourself from us is a good idea."

You say nothing, so she continues.

To be honest, it wasn't surprising of her to approach you about this. Of course they might care a smidge about you, like one would normally feel for a stray cat they occasionally give food to.

"They might see that. That we aren't that close. They might realize the distance you're creating and use it to their advantage, to try and hurt you."

"Then you underestimate people, and their capacity for cruelty."

"I think they'd be too disgusted to even try and approach me."

"Oh, I'm well aware of cruelty, I never underestimate anyone's capability for it. But I know I can be just as cruel. You can count on me to not be a pussy and let them trample on me."

"I know. But I think it's better if you don't go looking for trouble…" she says.

"What do you mean?" 

"I think it's better if you stay close to us, don't give them the opportunity to approach you. Don't give them a chance to get a rise out of you and cause conflict."

Oh but of course. Of course she wasn't worried about you, she just doesn't want you to cause more trouble for them. Fair enough. It was presumptuous of you to think that you'd even be on the same level as a stray cat.

"But I don't think your siblings would appreciate my presence around them. Believe me, I also don't want to cause anything bad for your family. Why'd you think I keep my distance for? I stay far away from you, because I know that they'll attempt to provoke me, maybe possibly even try to hurt me, get rid of me, or kill me. I stay far so no one will get involved. The conflict would be contained. Just me. Get it? " 

You stop, and she turns to you with an even more worried look on her face as she scans your features. "That's a valid point," you say.

She stammers, struggling to reply as her cheeks darkened. What she was getting worked up for, you do not know. But you do hope that your genuine wish to not cause problems for them would set her mind at ease.

You walk off.

⌛🌊⌛

You think that perhaps they shouldn't worry too much about you causing trouble, when they can't keep away from it themselves.

You hear Jake's voice from inside the tent. He was seething, and you watch as Lo'ak, the second son, walks out of the marui, his face bruised. He huffs as he pushes past you. You decide against loitering around there like a nosy eavesdropper, not wanting to come face to face with anyone from the tent. Then Neteyam walks out of the Marui. He raises an eyebrow at you, then you turn your back, about to escape from the reaches of the flame, or at least tried to.

"And you," Jake calls out. 

You turn towards him, and you see Neteyam grab this opportunity to vanish.

"You're coming with me."

"...um, no. I don't think so."

From the corner of your eyes, you see Neteyam pause, then pivot towards you, probably with a 'the fuck?' look on his face, the usual one he sends towards you.

Jake narrows his eyes as he stares you down, and you gulp.

"What I meant was, I am not ready yet, sir. I would like to have more time to gather my  courage, please." 

You hear Neteyam scoff.

Jake's brows drew together, deep in thought. You knew you had at least a little bit of a chance that he might relent when he takes his time to decide. If you had no chance at all, then he wouldn't have to think about it. You knew he was too busy for you, and you were right.

"Fine. But prepare yourself. I won't be as lenient once your training starts. You have a lot to learn." 

You, in your relief, grinned up at him. He blinks, clearly taken aback, his stern gaze softening. How it baffled you even more, when he nodded and patted you on the head, before striding off.

You almost burst out laughing when you catch Neteyam gawking at you. You try to keep your lips from curling into a smug, shit-eating grin for his sake. You failed.

⌛🌊⌛

You hate how that exchange improved your mood so much. It was revolting, the way the world seemed so much brighter after receiving a pat on the head from your saviour. You must've been a lot more lonely than you let yourself realize.

Perhaps Jake knew, because he went ahead and dragged you with them to dinner. The dreaded communal gathering that you've been avoiding.

You should've attended these gatherings sooner.

You loved watching the reef folk squirm under your blank stare. And since Jake successfully mastered riding a skimwing, his reputation improved significantly. The reef folk are more careful not to offend him and his people now, at least in front of the chief. Now you can creep them out without having to worry about getting beat up (at least not right now).

The fun was cut off though, when Neteyam notices what you've been doing. He was onto you at once, smiling politely at the people he passed, then as he reaches you,  his smile falls into a scowl. He leans down to you and whispers "will you stop doing that." It was more of a hiss, really. His smile was back again as he pulls away.

For the rest of the night, you can feel his gaze on you. You don't see your life flashing before your eyes, so it probably wasn't a glare anymore. It was unnerving, still. Especially since he's also, quite obviously hovering around you. He wasn't even trying to hide it, like a reminder, a warning.

It was a pretty nice distraction though. At least it was a far cry from the kind of looks you always get from the reef people. Granted, you kind of deserve it for creeping them out with your perfectly practiced, blank eyes, but they wouldn't receive such disturbing stares if they weren't looking at you in the first place. Since the beginning, they look at you like you were a walking direhorse shit. Except for that one girl named Tsireya. You could practically feel her curious stares like laser beams. At least they hurt less than the usual repulsion. Ah. Hurt. Yes, of course it hurts. No amount of bitterness and pretense of indifference can protect you from your very human weaknesses. The desire to be a part of a community. How completely alone you are now, without Spider, without those agreeable middle-aged scientists back in Hell's Gate, who exerted so much effort into building rapport with you. Tsireya's curious gaze is refreshing.

And as if she was summoned with the mere thought of her, Tsireya taps you gently on the shoulders. You meet her squinting eyes, sparkling with mirth, with your dead ones.

"Hi," she says

"Hi," you answer.

She looks down, still smiling. Shouldn't you say something? But she's the one who approached you, if anyone's gotta say something it should be her. 

You watch as she purses her lips in thought. Then she meets your gaze again.

"I apologize. I've never met a human before, and don't really know how to say what I want to say exactly the way I mean them."

You feel a bit warm, right in the chest because she talks so gently and she's so nice and her voice doesn't bear any disgust or hostility…

"What I do want to say is that," she continues. "I would like to be your friend."

"No, thank you."

Observe, the way her eyebrows meet but with anger so nonexistent, its absence apparent in the way her lips form a pout, her eyes glistening in dismay. You know she feels guilty because of the way her villagers have been treating you. You start to feel a little guilty yourself, but her mortification at your unexpected rejection of her offer of friendship gives you that unhinged sense of satisfaction. It gives fuel to the tiny flames licking at the hollow feeling in your knees. It was exhilarating.

You knew Neteyam was watching, too stunned to try and save the day.

You also knew that her brother was watching, his body tensing at the sight of his upset sister. He was far enough away to give you time, and you wait as he pushes himself off the tree he was leaning against, his eyes burning holes at the side of your head.

"You wouldn't gain anything by becoming friends with me. If anything, it would probably upset your parents." You explain.

Tsireya shakes her head, and she grabs both of your hands. Your eyes widened at the contact. 

"I do not think you deserve the way you've been ostracized. You are different, yes. But you are not evil, not like the demons we've heard so much about. Let me be your friend, we can show them that you are not one of those demons."

You did not expect this reaction, and you look around, hoping that no one other than her brother and Neteyam was looking, fat chance because everyone in the village has been blatantly looking at the two of you the moment she took your hands in hers.

"How do you even know that I'm not one of them?" 

Aonung reached the two of you, his lips curling in disgust at the sight of your hand in his sister's.

"I have a feeling. And let us confirm this feeling of mine by spending more time together!" She gives you an earnest smile.

You wanted to shoot her down again and reject her, this time right in front of her brother, just out of spite. But with her round, bright eyes, her genuine smile and reassuring grasp, you couldn't do it.

"If you really want to, I guess." You shrug, trying to appear nonchalant, even as she squeals, shaking your hands as she gleefully bounces up and down. You wanted to smile too.

"Do you wish to be one of us or something?" Aonung asks, clearly giving his all to appear civilized.

"No." You answer simply, and as fast as you can before you could think of a rude answer.

You notice everyone losing interest in your conversation with the chief's children. The reef people are slowly getting back to mind their own businesses. You don't want to gain their scrutinizing gaze once again, and upsetting these two kids would. 

"Then why are you trying to associate yourself with my sister?"

"Aonung," Tsireya groans. "I was the one who asked her first. I'm the one who wants to be friends."

Aonung ignores her as he steps closer towards you, his eyes flickering over to Jake before down again at yours. You couldn't help but steal a glance at Jake too, only to find him too busy talking with Tonowari, the chief. You meet Aonung's gaze once again, this time he was wearing a predatory grin.

"A human, a demon, trying to worm its way into somewhere it doesn't belong. That's what you are. Do not forget."

You take a deep breath, feeling the cool night air stretch your lungs as you try to resist the urge to deck him, right in front of his own village.

"What's up?" Lo'ak saunters toward your friendly group, both his arms resting on top of his head in a lazy manner. His clueless gaze shifting from Tsireya, then to you, then at Aonung. "Am I interrupting something?"

Simultaneously, the metkayina siblings answer a negative and a positive.

"Great, what is this? The gathering of freaks?" Aonung laughs. Neteyam winces, his eyes burning a fiery glare that you've become familiar with.

Kiri follow behind Lo'ak, sheepishly looking at you through her eyelashes.

"It must be, since you're here too." You say before Neteyam could even open his mouth.

The other three, Lo'ak, Kiri, and Tsireya blanches at your answer, the two other 'freaks' not even given enough time to feel offended. Silence ensues and you could almost hear the gears in Aonung's brain as he processes your unexpected retort. It definitely wasn't one of your best, and you cringe.

Lo'ak all but explodes in raucous laughter, causing eyes and heads to turn in your direction once again.

Aonung's sharp eyes flicker once again towards the direction where his father and Jake were, before huffing as he slowly backs away.

"That's right. Enjoy yourself tonight. It is a party after all."

He was definitely going to have you killed.

You know you've contradicted yourself when you told Kiri that you do not want to cause them trouble, only to later start provoking reef people. You managed to not make a scene (you kinda did) and ruin the party (you nearly did) though. That's something.

"What was that?" Neteyam asked, eyebrows slanted downwards in disapproval. You shrug. "Some guy walked up on me and started spouting shit?"

He huffs, clearly irritated. "You've obviously been annoying people on purpose," he says in a low voice, so as to not gain more attention. 

"It was me who approached her!" Tsireya whispers, vehemently defending you.

"What happened?" Lo'ak asks, also whispering, his head bent and leaning towards you.

"We all know you've been making others feel uncomfortable on purpose." Neteyam says to you.

You scoff. "Story of my life in a nutshell."

"What?"

"I only treat people the way they treat me, Neteyam. They glare at me and it doesn't matter if I ignore them, they'll still see me as a monster and treat me like shit. I just decided to have fun with it."

Neteyam sighs. He looks around before meeting your gaze once again. "Just stop with the troublemaking, it's the least you can do."

You wanted to rip your hair off. 

"Well, I'm sorry then. Sorry for terrorizing the metkayina people by mirroring their stares!" You flip Neteyam off, mouthing a very aggressive 'fuck you'. He gapes at you, mortified. You shake your head, muttering a tiny "shit" as you leave, already regretting the way you handled things, but still leaving as fast as you can to escape.

…

"You kinda deserved that." Lo'ak states.

Neteyam gives him an offended look, before also shaking his head as he walks off to the opposite direction, his head filled with thoughts of you.

[atripandahalf]

you still think we live in a world so beautiful (you see, i think i don't believe in this stuff anymore)

(ao3) (AU link)

In which a mother is too overprotective, a daughter is too big for her boots, and Eddie is left to unknowingly pick up the pieces.

AKA "You ruined a perfectly good, puppet. Look, it's got anxiety."

part of my mlpth au for welcome home but can be read as standalone! please send me asks about this AU :)

tags: implied childhood abuse (infantilisation/gaslighting if you squint), panic attacks, trauma

"What did I say, Poppy?" Ma's voice rang throughout the wood, echoing around the clearing, "About practicing your flying alone?" The clearing was large, surrounded by towering oak trees. They stood strong and thick, casting large looming shadows over the clearing. Their presence was imposing, almost like they were standing guard, reminding Poppy that there was no way she could escape. Ma had brought her here after finding her jumping from tree branch to tree branch, attempting to capture a breeze under her wings, gathering enough momentum to glide to the next branch. The crunch of the sticks under her was loud as Ma paced back and forth, animatedly gesturing along with her words, and her eyebrows were creased together in the way they always did when she was displeased with something Poppy had done.

Poppy shifted uncomfortably from where she was perched on a log laid sideways. The frustration at her mother for not letting her fly had long ebbed away, having sat like this for long enough to only feel embarrassment and shame. She hated being in trouble, and even more so hated doing anything that resulted in her Ma's anger. It made her feel small, like a little kid again, and worst of all made her feel like her mother didn't believe she was capable enough to do things the way the adults did. She wasn't a kid anymore, she could do it. Just because her wings were smaller than other birds, doesn't mean she couldn't fly. She just had to try a little harder, keep practising.

"Not to do it..." She mumbled, "But Ma, how will I ever learn to fly if you don't let me try?" She looked up, hopeful. Her feathers were moulting, the dark grey and black patches left were due to turn colourful soon, like the rest of her plumage. She was a small little thing, only just beginning to grow up, Ma thought. Her wings weren't fully in yet, certainly not enough to fly safely - and besides, Ma liked having her home, where she could keep an eye on her.

Ma moved closer, sitting next to Poppy, "You can fly when your wings are ready; you shouldn't push yourself, dear." The older bird's feathers were duller, greying slightly, and her left wing was crooked, bending at an awkward angle. Whenever Poppy had asked what had happened, she was regaled with tales of horrible monsters - a cruel world full of violence, and a dark look on her mother's face. She didn't ask Ma very often. Poppy opened her mouth, about to cut her mother off, arguing that there was no good reason why she should wait, before Ma finished, "I wouldn't be able to catch you if you fall."

Ma's gaze dropped and she flexed her hand repetitively. Poppy grasped it firmly with a smile that didn't reach her eyes, and Ma moved her hand out of Poppy's, holding Poppy's chin, pulling it up and making sure she could make eye contact with her daughter as her expression softened, "Promise me?" She murmured, "Promise me you won't fly 'til your ready?" 

Poppy blinked twice, before biting her lip, "Of course, Ma."

---

Poppy cracked her window open slightly, leaning out into the cold air. It was nighttime, and her mother was fast asleep in the other room. She doesn't have to know, Poppy thought, and, if she doesn't know,  then what's the harm? She had a bag in one hand, with a mason jar of water and some snacks tucked inside.

It was just her and Ma in the flock, Pa died when she was young, and Ma took over all the responsibilities. Ma taught her to read and write, cooked dinner and taught her to bake. Gentle hands were always used to guide her, letting her try things as many times as she needed. "Perfection takes time," Ma always used to say. Poppy knew that it could take nights to get it right, and that was okay. She knew that when she had got it when she could finally fly, she would be free. Besides, Ma had said she should wait until she was ready - and she was ready now.

She squeezed herself through the window, leaving it open. She'd be back soon, learning to fly could take weeks or months, and she knew she shouldn't get her hopes up. Still, she could feel the familiar adrenaline through her veins. The world wasn't cruel, she would prove her mother wrong.

Poppy followed the tree branch across, warming herself up by jumping from platform to platform. Ma couldn't fly, but she still liked having her perch in high places, so their home was nestled into the crook of an oak tree, with a platform between each of the branches. Pa had built a safety net just under the tree's canopy, in case Ma did fall, so it would only be a short drop. Poppy usually practised flying within the forest, the safety net there just in case - she may disagree with her Mother's fretting but if she breaks a wing then she'll never fly anywhere again. But she had been training enough, she could glide short distances, and as she neared the edge of the forest, on a high enough branch to truly gain momentum, she knew she was ready.

The forest was almost eerily silent. Poppy had chosen a clear route for her first flight path. She stretched her wings gently, back and forth, the repetitive movement soothing her. Her feathers rustled slightly in the wind, the tree trunk hard and secure under her feet. It was important her muscles didn't cramp mid-flight, and that she was calm enough to keep a clear head. Her breath was still a little shaky as she exhaled. She dropped the bag on the ground, and took a deep breath, in and out, calming herself. She cracked her neck. Her heart raced, and she focused on her body. She backed away from the edge of the branch, getting into position, before running, and jumping off the branch.

There was a horrible second where she was falling straight down, a momentary pang of "What if Ma was right?" as her stomach dropped out from under her before she felt the wind catch under her wings. She exhaled a breath of relief, and then a noise of joy as her face split into a grin. She was doing it, she was flying! Her wings billowed out on either side of her, and she flapped a little, practising changing the height she was flying at as she tested her new ability. The wind rushed past her face, stronger than she had ever felt it, and she was higher than she had ever been.

As she looked around her, the trees looked like they were flying past her, and the fireflies helped provide light as she got the hang of flying for the first time, joy bubbling up inside of her and leading to laughter as she swooped in between branches, up and down, left and right. She flew just above the nearby river, watching the fish jump in the water, and she leaned her right wing down and ran the tip through the flow of water, cold against her wing.

She pulled up, flying a little lower than before as her wings started to ache. She needed to find a place to land and soon. She looked down and found a small clearing nearby, shady and surrounded by trees. There were a few rocks and a small pond. It was good enough and she landed. She sat down on the rocks, tucking her wings in, and letting out a tired sigh. Her eyes drooped with tiredness, and her body was sore and ached. She might have overdone it a little, but it was worth it to finally feel the breeze on her face. She'd just rest here for a few moments, she thought, and then when she was well-rested, in the daylight, she'd fly home.

---

Poppy yawned, stretching as she woke up. She was resting on something hard, harder than her usual bed of soft leaves. There wasn't the familiar scent of Ma cooking breakfast or the warmth of the fireplace she was used to. She wasn't home. She looked up and took in her surroundings. She was in the same small clearing as last night, with twigs and leaves on the floor, painting the flooring in red, orange and brown. The trees still towered above her, but as she looked closer she could see that in the daylight the trunk was thinner, the branches were more spindly; there were a few clusters of blackberries in the trees. She looked around. Her stomach sank, and dread filled her, as she frantically tried to find the direction where she came from, but all the trees looked the same. There was no difference, no markings, not even a suggestion of which direction she had come from. Everything looked different in the daylight.

Ma had never told her what to do if she got lost, because she had promised to never leave; and now all Ma was going to find was her bag, and she was going to die in a clearing all alone, starving to death, with no way to escape. She hadn't broken a wing, but maybe flying hadn't been what she wanted - maybe Ma was right, and home was safer. What was she going to do for shelter? What if the world really was cruel, and something was going to get her sooner rather than later? Her hands grew sweaty, and her breathing quickened, and she knew she was spiralling, but what else was she supposed to do?

A series of noises sounded through the clearing, rhythmic and echoing, like the beats of a drum. Poppy hid behind a rock, although it was far smaller than she was, and crouched down, making herself look small.

"Oh, hello!" A voice echoed, but she stayed hidden, eyes down, even as the man continued speaking, "Are you alright?"

The footsteps moved closer, and she looked up briefly. Was this one of the monsters Ma had been talking about? His skin was a warm yellow, and he had pink-red hair hidden under a blue thing on his head, the rim black and sticking out, with something circular and shiny on the front - a status symbol perhaps. Although, he had a rainbow thing around his neck that looked to be made to keep him in place. He had a bag round his middle, with the same emblem on it and some words written on it. He looked friendly, but Ma had said so did the people who broke her wing, and she couldn't afford to take that chance.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he moved closer still, just the other side of the rock, "You can come back to the neighbourhood, and you can eat and sleep in a bed, and you can meet the others. We're like a family."

There were more of them? She had to admit, being somewhere warm with a bed was a better bet than sleeping out the others. Poppy looked up at him, and he smiled in response, "What's your name?"  

"Poppy. What's yours?"

With unbridled confidence, he looped his arm under hers and pulled her up to her feet, "I'm Eddie. Welcome to the neighbourhood, Poppy."

[disappointingyet]

The Holdovers

Director Alexander Payne Stars Paul Giamatti, Dominic Sessa, Da’Vine Joy Randolph USA 2023 Language English 2hrs 13mins Colour

Payne and Giamatti reunite for unhurried snowy comedy-drama

The Holdovers almost sets a challenge for the cynical filmgoer: here’s the irascible teacher, here are the obnoxious private-school kids, here’s the situation that strands them together – and by the end, the characters will have learned something about getting beyond surface judgments. The question is: will the audience, who have seen The Breakfast Club and a dozen other films that do some of the same things, nevertheless get pulled along with this story? And will the humour – this is a movie that is aiming to make us laugh as well as feel stuff – balance out the sentiment?

It’s just before Christmas 1970 and we are in a long-established boarding school in Massachusetts. A handful of students are unable to go home for the holidays and Mr Hunham (Paul Giamatti), who teaches ancient history and is equally unpopular with the boys and his colleagues, is stuck looking after them. Also still on campus is Mary (Da’vine Joy Randolph), the cafeteria manager, whose son has just been killed in Vietnam.

So we’ve got Christmas, a Scroogy teacher, some boys furious at their fate, the older ones shaggy-haired pot smokers who combine their generation’s disdain for authority with a sense of entitlement – what they are missing out isn’t a cosy family Christmas but a ski trip or a week in the Caribbean – and a woman who dealing with trauma. That’s a loaded set-up. 

Alexander Payne is self-consciously trying to make not just a film set in the 1970s but rather a 1970s film. It comes complete with retro film company logos and credits, and some of the shots feel of that time, although it’s visibly on digital not film. (The trailer, meanwhile, goes full pastiche.) Bits and pieces of assorted movies from that decade drifted through my mind: The Paper Chase*, Breaking Away… The director who has been mentioned as an inspiration here is Hal Ashby (Harold And Maude, The Last Detail), whose movies are arguably engaged more with feelings than those of some of his New Hollywood peers.

This is a somewhat sprawling picture – two and a quarter hours for a story that takes place over a couple of weeks. It’s certainly longer than it needs to be. 

I suspect there will be some comments about race in this movie – Mary manoeuvres through a largely white world without experiencing the kind of casual bigotry you would expect in 1970. On the other hand, the film is very clear on the structural racism and classism that meant her son ended up on the frontline of a war and his white classmates did not, and that (ultimately) is the bigger issue. 

Giamatti is easily within his comfort zone (he's played grouches before plus his father and grandfather were academics, his mother taught at private school.) The kids are well-cast. Randolph does her best with a part that’s a bit too at service of the narrative.

I was both looking forward to The Holdovers – it’s the Sideways team of Payne and Giamatti working together again! – and a bit suspicious of it, a suspicion amplified as I started watching it. Re-reading my review of Payne’s Nebraska, I realised that because Election was the first movie of his that I saw and it made a big impression on me, I have been misinterpreting Payne’s world view ever since. But taken on its own terms, The Holdovers works and yes, in the end won me over. 

*In all honesty, I’m not sure I’ve actually seen the 1973 movie - I know I watched some episodes of the TV series that followed. In any case, John Houseman’s character in The Paper Chase is more who Giamatti’s character in The Holdovers hoped he would be, rather than is. 

[coinandcandle]

Story Time: My Best Friend Accidentally Cursed Me

You read that right, my now best friend accidentally placed a curse on me a few years back. Now I'm going to tell you about it and how I:

Realized I was cursed, broke it, and also how he managed to do it.

Let's start with the important stuff:

How did I know I was cursed?

People have bad days, weeks even, and it doesn't mean anything most of the time. In fact, sometimes it's simply your mindset that makes it feel like you're going through a bad luck streak. Even as a witch, someone who believes in magic and practices witchcraft, I don't usually attribute mundane things to magic or curses. If I did, I would probably go insane trying to connect every little thing that happens to me to a mystical or magical higher reason!

However, I had been going through it for weeks. Here's what I was feeling:

Constantly felt anxiety (more than my general anxiety)

Felt like someone was watching me at all times, even in the comfort of my own home.

A dark cloud seemed to loom over me constantly and other people started to notice that something was off about me.

So I did a tarot spread to ask if I was cursed. The cards told me yes, but not on purpose, or at least the person wasn't aware that they even did it.

I asked the cards who it was, I asked them to give me a card that represented the person who was causing this annoying curse on me. I got a card that represented my (now) best friend.

Why did he do it?

Well, we had dated for two or so months and I broke up with him over the phone. I was 17 (and dumb) and that's all I'll say about it.

Thankfully we are adults now we have both gotten over things that were done wrong when we were kids and we laugh about this now.

How did he curse me?

In many cultures there is almost always a curse that resembles the "evil eye", a curse that can be given with a nasty glare or by wishing evil upon someone.

Somehow, through how angry he was with me, he managed to cast this kind of curse similar to the evil eye curse. He didn't mean to... but he did.

How I broke the curse

There are a lot of ways to break a curse. Many cultures have different ways to go about it. Sadly I am not from a family that taught me any witchcraft so I had to learn this part on my own.

So here's what little 17 year old me had in the cupboard:

Cinnamon

Salt

Lemon juice

Basil leaves

Bay leaf

Cloves (whole)

Hand held mirror

and a skull-shaped stone that I can't remember the type but I know it was linked with absorbing or deflecting bad energy.

And here's what I did:

1. Boiled all of the ingredients together with as calm of a mind as I could manage

2. Cleansed my bathroom with incense

3. Placed a mirror at an angle from the shower towards the window so that if you pointed a laser beam or anything like that at it, it would bounce from the shower to out the door

4. Placed the skull-shaped stone in front of said mirror (to help deflect/remove the curse)

5. Took a shower and poured the concoction of ingredients that I had made all over myself (a bath would've been best but I couldn't do that in my bathroom, also idk if it'd be a good idea to bathe in all of those ingredients...)

and that's it. I went to bed after fully cleaning off the concoction and slept woke up, all the bad energy that I had been experiencing for weeks was gone!

Notes

You could certainly call this the placebo effect, and maybe it was, but as a witch I have experience a lot of spooky or supernatural stuff to discount the idea that it was magic.

Since the curse wasn't done on purpose it wasn't that strong, which could be why it took so long for me to notice it, and why it wasn't hard to break.

Normally I am of the mindset that if someone curses me, I send it back to them but he didn't mean to, he was hurt, young, and dumb, so I don't hold it over him.

That is how my best friend cursed me and how I broke the curse. :)

[anabsolutetrainwreck]

it’s just what we know || h. styles

warnings: dad!harry, talks of pregnancy, slight mention of vomit, talks of kissing

word count: 1.6k

summary: having your second child takes its toll on you and your relationship...

Your daughter was three now. And yet it only felt like yesterday that you’d brought her home from the hospital. She’d certainly tired you and Harry out for a good while after she was born. You both loved Vera unconditionally, so when you discovered you were pregnant again, Harry was worried he’d lose a bit of his love for Vera to give to your new baby. He was scared he didn’t have enough love to share between the three of you.

He’d spend his nights awake, his hands resting on your stomach. Anne had assured him that the love one has for one’s family is never limited. There’s always enough affection to go around. Your own father had said something similar, though it was slightly less poetic.

Your second pregnancy had been far worse than your first. You felt constantly exhausted, dehydrated and sick. It amplified Harry’s guilt immensely. He already felt bad about not being able to love Vera the same as he did when she was an only child, but now you were in pain and there was nothing he could do about it. All he could do was help you sleep comfortably, fetch you water whenever you needed, hold your hair back when you were disposing whatever food you had eaten into the toilet, and provide you with plenty of cuddles.

When your baby boy arrived in June, neither of you were surprised. Your entire family had predicted a boy because Harry had an older sister and you had a younger brother. So, when George Styles arrived, you’d been overjoyed to finally meet him and to have the rough pregnancy over.

Bringing him home, where Vera finally met him, almost solidified the reality that you and Harry had had a second baby. Vera became very obsessed with him very quickly. She would get up early just to come and watch him sleeping soundly. She’d sit and admire as you and Harry took turns in putting him to bed. She hated it when he cried and she hated it when you or Harry got frustrated with him for not stopping. Vera was naturally curious.

At first, it seemed easier than you’d remembered it to be with Vera. However, it quickly became just as stressful. There was nothing as bad as putting in hours upon hours of effort to seemingly get nothing out of it. The constant headaches and heavy eyes were beginning to feel worse than the pregnancy.

You’d always been aware of how tough pregnancy could be. Watching your aunt go through it when you were younger and hearing Anne talk about it when you first revealed you were pregnant with Vera had taught you that much. But you’d never expected it to be this hard.

As of present, you were balancing George on your hip. He was almost nine months old now. He’d found such joy in tugging on your hair and your ears. You tried your very hardest to ignore his actions as you prepared dinner. With only one free hand, it made it incredibly difficult to cook. But it was your only choice. Whenever you put George down, he began crying. And the last thing you needed to hear was more of his crying.

Vera sat at Harry’s piano, pressing her fingers down on random keys, giggling loudly as she went. The tune emitted was far from pleasant. And with the combination of George’s physical torment and Vera’s masterpiece of music, you were nearing your limit.

You’d dealt with them all day. And it was definitely one of those days. To make matters even worse, Vera was going through her daddy’s girl phase. She needed to know where Harry was and when he would be back and she’d only ever do anything if Harry asked her to. As far as she was concerned, you had no authority in her life whatsoever.

Harry had been at the studio all day with Mitch, writing and toying around with the instruments there. There was only so much he could do at home without being interrupted by a clingy Vera Styles. And, as much as you knew how much his music meant to him and his fans, you just wished he’d take a day to look after Vera and George. You were constantly tired, constantly aggravated and constantly stressed. All you wanted was a break.

You heard the front door close. Harry had always slammed the door, it had just been a habit of his. That was until you first had Vera and he learnt that she became easily frightened by the loud bang and it often woke her up. And when she was awake and on edge, she wasn’t going back to sleep. Which, in turn, meant you and Harry didn’t get any sleep either.

You listened silently as Harry hung up his coat and kicked off his shoes. He wandered into the living room. You heard him gasp, “That’s beautiful! You’re so talented!”

It was swiftly followed by Vera’s giggles. She said something to him, something you didn’t quite pick up. You heard his footsteps as he arrived at the threshold of the kitchen. He grinned, “There’s my baby boy!”

You let out a sigh of relief as Harry lifted George from your arms. You smiled to yourself as Harry peppered George’s face in light kisses. He turned to you, “And my gorgeous Y/N.”

He pressed his lips to your forehead, squeezing your hand with his free one. You smiled, “How was Mitch?”

Harry sat himself down at the kitchen table, tickling George as he did so. He shrugged slightly, “He was good. We wrote a great song today, Y/N. Oh, God, you’d have loved it.”

You nodded, “I’m glad you had a great day.”

Perhaps there was an air of bitterness to your tone. But you couldn’t help it anymore. You were just so tired. Besides, Harry didn’t pick up on any traces of sourness, but a part of you almost wanted him to. Maybe then he’d bring you up on it and you could tell him about all your problems.

You felt almost guilty being the person to bring it up; you didn’t want to burden Harry with what you were dealing with. Communication between you and Harry seemed scarce these days. Sure, you’d have a brief catch up in bed, but half the time, you were asleep so quickly the conversation didn’t last all too long. And then the hours between Harry’s arrival home and when you fell asleep was only filled with Vera and George. You knew that’s what parenthood was about, but you just craved some alone time. Harry nodded, “I did. The band is gonna come down tomorrow and we’re gonna play around. You know, see if we can put some music to my lyrics.”

Slowly, you said, “So, you’re going to the studio tomorrow?”

“Yeah. I just have a really great feeling about this song, Y/N. I mean, you really would have loved it.”

“I’m sure I would,” you said, suddenly filled with the urge to cry. “Can you take over for a second?”

You gestured down to the pan you were preparing dinner in. He quickly shot up, much to the glee of little George. You wiped your hands on your trousers and left the kitchen with your head down. Rushing into the bathroom, you let it all out quietly.

You splashed your face with a bit of water in an attempt to wake yourself up a bit. It was only two minutes later that Harry wandered in, ruining your only time alone all day. Upon realising you were upset, he rushed to kneel in front of you, taking your face in his large hands. “Baby, what’s wrong?” he asked, his eyes large and inflated with sympathy.

“Nothing, I’m fine,” you smiled forcefully, kicking yourself internally for that being your default reply whenever you were asked how you were feeling.

“No, please don’t lie.”

“I’m just… just so tired,” you said, feeling lighter already for finally confessing. “I just can’t physically do it on my own. I’m so lonely all day. And I know I’m just being selfish, but I feel like I’m raising them without you. It feels like I never see you anymore.”

“You’re not being selfish, my love. Please, don’t think you’re being selfish for feeling alone. I love you. I love you so much. Okay? I’ll make the effort now, okay? I will. I promise. Please, darling, don’t keep stuff like this to yourself anymore. I need to know. I’ll tell you what, I’ll tell the band to have the day off tomorrow and I’ll stay and look after George and Vera. You can do whatever you want all day, whether that be sleep or go see your parents.”

He never failed to make you smile, with slightly flushed cheeks.

“Are you sure?”

“We shouldn’t even be a big thing. I’m their father, I should just automatically put in as much effort as you,” he said.

You sighed, “Well, yeah, but you are a lot busier than me.”

“I’m never too busy for my three angels. Alright? I love you,” he said softly, kissing you.

It felt as if something within you had reigniting. It felt as if this kind of intimacy had been lost on you and Harry since having kids. And, for a split second, you felt seventeen again. “Thank you,” you whispered, laying your forehead against his.

“Stop thanking me for doing the bare minimum. You know I hate it,” he sighed, leaning into your touch. “Now, come on, before we end up with spaghetti all over the kitchen walls.”

[scolopendress-tag]

I said I'd make a post detailing my kid Asra working for Lucio theory in this post so here it is! 

So Let's get STARDED.

So! To start off, how it began. We do know when Asra and Muriel were kids, Lucio came to them each seperately with a deal.

Essentially: work for me, or I'll hurt your friend.

This was the sentiment he repeated for both of them. So, not wanting the other to be harmed, they both agree - unaware of the other's deal.

For Muriel, it was playing heel/excecutioner at the coleseium. For Asra, it was doing... Well, we never know, aside from he worked under Lucio. But that's what we are here to discuss in any case.

Continued under the read more, for the sake of people's dashes.

Now presumably, if I got my timeline right, Asra at this time would've been around 12 or 13. We don't know much about how Asra was when he was younger, other than that he has certainly changed.

It's also worth noting that it's not amiss to say they were both also still homeless at the time, and the hut hadn't come into the play until after.

Asra was still living on the streets.

This all isn't overly important for any of my claims later, but perhaps someone else could make something of it. It does provide us with some framing for the situation as a whole, though.

Now onto Asra's time under Lucio. I don't know that we have any indication of how long it was, but presumably at least a year if not more.

We do also know that Lucio knew who Asra was. Both in that he knew Aisha and Salim had a kid, and that he knew Asra was said kid.

This is bring this up because we know Aisha and Salim were incredibly talented, and likely incredibly powerful. Lucio wouldn't settle for any run of the mill magician or alchemist for the work he needed. So he must've had some idea that Asra may take after that power as well.

To top it off, he also interacted and talked with the dock kids he also used, (two of which would actually later become palace guards,) and seeing as this is seemingly how he learned of Muriel, it's not off to think that this is also how he heard of Asra again to start. The kids knew of Asra's magic, and roughly where he was, and could've even continued talking about both Muriel and Asra to Lucio for unknown amounts of time.

So now Lucio knows that the kid of his two powerful practitioners of magic is not only still around, but taking after them as well.

If Muriel's intimidating size and physical power are what drew Lucio to him, why wouldn't Asra's considerable metaphysical power and talents draw Lucio in as well?

We know how much Lucio loves power, and that he has an interest in magic because of it, as mentioned in the main story. (no ss sorry... If you have one send so I can add. )

Plus, homeless kid in a vulnerable spot. Easy pickings.

That's what I think this whole thing was about, really. It's all power. Though Asra likely didn't have the full scope of power he does in the current game, he was probably still considerably talented, and was only getting better.

What Lucio specifically probably wanted from Asra then was either to be taught how to use that power, to use Asra for things that required it, and/or use his power for entertainment akin to how he used Muriel.

I think out of these however, using him for his power was most likely. Why? (And teaching him now, more on that further down)

(Sorry for bad quality lmao it's a small image. Also thanks to @8-bit-space for showing these to me like months ago. As you can see I can't stop thinking abt it)

These are screenshots from the old prologue. While they're not canon any more, there's reason to believe they still hold merit as to how Lucio feels about Asra.

Two things to me are major here. First is the "powerful potent magic," and how it's the "real deal," equating to a large part of how he views Asra yet again tying back to a heavy interest in his power. Now, you could argue this relates to using his powers in the palace during the plague, but the second point stands out even more to me.

"The one who broke him for me?"

What this implies to me is that Lucio could never quite get all the way through to Asra or control him when he was younger, and he's been dying to do so. He wanted Asra broken, presumably so that he'll become essentially a tool for him to use for his skill and not put up a fight- something Asra likely did as a child.

Because it seems that Lucio for the most part relied on control through fear when it came to Asra, threatening to hurt Muriel, lying to him about how he executed his parents, likely other things as well. But things seem to point to that never quite working like he had hoped.

This could allude to this as well. Though "impossible" is something Asra's been called a few times, namely also by Julian, there's no reason to assume Lucio wasn't also including his work with him as a kid in "always". Impossible to hate could be his draw to Asra for his power, his talent, his skills, the prospect of which I'm sure Lucio found practically mouthwatering. Impossible to love could be his stubbornness or reluctance to do what Lucio wants, always pushing against him or being hard to deal with, both as a kid and during the plague.

And lines like this, where he calls him a coward. I find it hard to relate this to the plague ritual as he was for the most part willingly helping with that, so it could be resenment for when Asra eventually ran off as a kid, unwilling to put up with him any longer, or his reluctance to do certain things for him then in general.

We know, and it has even been mentioned by a character within the canon, that Asra can be incredibly stubborn, to back that up. Plus, he could've been even harder to work with then both being a kid and as I mentioned earlier he has changed from how he was then, so he could've had more spunk to him or such.

This also easily means that what Lucio was trying to get Asra to do then was something Asra was quite obviously opposed to. Being used for his power is already degrading enough, but there could be more to it.

You'll notice in the post that was linked at the top (the reason I'm writing this) I mentioned pushing Asra to his physical limits and magical extremes. This could be one of the reasons for a push back.

If Lucio was having Asra do things for him involving magic, it's not out of pocket to assume he'd practically run him into the ground- I'm sure he really wouldve loved testing the limits of what Asra could REALLY do.

Wether it be huge expendure of power all at once, or tons of smaller things one after the other, it would absolutely take it's toll. We are shown a few times that using magic can exhaust someone, and I don't remember if this is shown in canon ever (tell me if so!) but pushing it even further could definitely lead to other things such as passing out, (Or nosebleeds, for the aesthetic,) alongside likely being incredibly painful and draining, both mentally and physically.

Basically, abusing his powers and the body that commanded them. It's also possible that the stubborness to work with Lucio could also be partially percieved because of this- Lucio taking Asra's literal physical inability to continue as defiance.

Another reason for push back from Asra would be making him do morally compromising things. This is a little more vague, but intimidation is a common headcanon I see for what Lucio made Asra do, and that could tie in here. Other things could be meddling in things and business he shouldn't, but again, it's a vague thing. Make of it what you will. Fucked up stuff all around.

[EDIT - TEACHING LUCIO]

(THANK YOU @tea-tye for showing me these, and credits to @hangedman-magician for the video they came from!!!!!!!)

...I cannot BELIEVE I forgot this, I KNEW I was missing something. Especially when I was fairly certain I remember Lucio being obsessed with the idea of magic. SO, MOVING ON,

There's not terribly much to pick apart here as it's rather direct- Asra saying he has in fact tried to teach Lucio magic. So in my eyes this solidifies that this was a component of Asra's time under Lucio. I still think my points about Lucio treatment (pushing Asra to his limits) stand, as well.

This can also tie in the stubborness mentioned as, well, can you imagine teaching Lucio? Asra backs this up by saying nothing he has ever said stuck with Lucio, and you know how Lucio gets when things don't go his way. He would've blamed his inability to learn on Asra, likely.

Looking to other quotes mentioned: the 'broke him' line still rings to me like he was trying to use Asra in other ways, and the 'coward' line could go either way from refusing to teach Lucio certain things, or refusing to do certain things for Lucio when he was merely being used. The "impossible" line could also go for others, as trying to teach someone like Lucio would've undoubtedly caused some head butting.

This is certainly really exciting and interesting to me as it gives a more complete picture on the exact situation at hand here. I still stay by my reasoning for Lucio simply using Asra as well on top of being taught because it seems highly likely that Lucio would've been too impatient to learn to do certain things himself, and like I said as well, I don't doubt he also just wanted to see what Asra was REALLY capable of. Something he could've saw as a tantalizing insight into the kind of power he could aquire of this kid would just... work with him.

NOW we have a MUCH clearer answer as to what exactly Asra was likely doing under Lucio, or at this point, almost certainly doing. It's a sad picture for Asra of course, but with this you can draw some interesting points as to how he could've been affected by this, as I'm sure it would've left some kind of imprint on him.

Sure it may not have been as traumatic as what Muriel went through, but when you look at it, it's hard to say it DIDN'T leave it's scars. If we consider all the points presented in this post truth we have:

A 12/13 yo homeless child, threatened with his friend's life to work for the Count that he knew was the one responsible for orphaning him and making him homeless in the first place.

Said child believing his parents are still alive, and as we see in Travel at Night, could very likely still be trying to find them. In a situation like Asra's that glimmer of hope probably was a big deal in helping him push on. This may also be a reason he agreed on top of Muriel's safety.

While working under the count, he is told that his parents were executed, no doubt devastating. The manner in which this was mentioned is up for debate, and could affect exactly how it was taken. Options could be Lucio joking or bragging about it (treating it as trivial or an accomplishment), or using it to threaten Asra, (as in I killed your parents, I'll kill you too,) both would work when it comes to controlling by fear.

It is also mentioned that Lucio told him the reason for his parents execution is that they messed up his gold arm, so Asra also has the knowledge that his parents were killed over something so unbelievably trivial.

Being used as a source of power and nothing else, both for teaching and pure work/entertainment, all for the man who killed his parents, day after day.

Being pushed to physically painful and mentally draining limits, expending so much energy that he completely exhausts himself, day after day.

Likely taking all sorts of verbal abuse from Lucio, day after day.

Like mentioned earlier, it seems clear that Lucio wanted to break Asra, so some other form of trying to chip away at his psyche to make him more convenient for Lucio is likely as well.

Those points alone, to yet again a CHILD no less, seem more than enough to cause some traumatic impact, and depending on certain specifics of what exactly went on during that time, it could be worse. I may make a post looking into the long lasting effects of this on Asra, I may not. It would mostly be headcanon regardless. If you want to add your hc relating to this situation though, I'll gladly reblog it!

And now that we are closing out, it's time to revise my summary. So, without further ado, THIS is what I think was going on during this time.

Lucio knows of Asras existence and parentage.

Lucio learns Asra is around and that he's got power.

Lucio LOVES power, so he threatens Asra into working for him.

Lucio uses Asra for his power and to be taught how to use it for himself.

While using Asra for his knowledge and power, runs him into the ground by pushing his limits to physical and magical degrees, possibly even moral.

Asra pushes back against a lot of this, or is at least percieved to, frustrating Lucio.

Lucio does what he can to try and control Asra even more, primarily via fear, but can't seem to crack him.

Eventually it's too much, and Asra leaves. Likely when the plague hit like Muriel, but it's possible it could've been somewhat sooner. Lucio is PISSED, because he wanted that magical power all to himself.

Less related, I can see Lucio trying to brush it off and pretending to be fine with it, excuse being "he was too difficult to work with, anyways," or something.

...And then... years later, as far as Lucio sees it, Asra comes crawling back- and he's tamed down to a degree! He's actually working with him. Lucio might not know what or who did it, but Asra is finally broke for him, and I'm sure he was absolutely ecstatic to have that power back in his hands- and more than ever before.

Think of all of this as you would like!

At the end this is all still speculative, so definitely feel free to make your own points or say if you feel any different abt anything- expansions or counters on this theory/headcanon welcome!

And if you also have any other screenshots or info not here that could add to the theory or change the outlook of certain things definitely add them!!! I feel like I'm missing stuff for sure, and my memory has probably muddled some things (hopefully I didn't get anything wrong, though.)

And @asrascherry thanks for the offer in helping word my hcs also! I forgot to say that. This one is just so long I wouldve felt bad bringing it all to you 😔 it's probably still messy as a result but I tried lmao (worried it's repetitive or unclear 😬)

Uh yeah! That's mostly it for NOW.

+All the love to Asra for going through so much I'm so sorry bb,,

Thanks for reading!

[187days]

Day One Hundred Sixty-Six

Spring Spirit Week ended with a day of shortened classes, fun activities, and a raucous pep rally. The dress-up theme was school colors + gold, so it was fabulous and sparkly. I wore one of my faculty t-shirts that has gold lettering, added some gold hair ribbons and glittery eyeshadow, and threw myself into the fun.

The changed schedule meant I taught my three sections of World in a row (40 minutes each). Students took their last vocabulary quiz in the course, and they pretty much all crushed it (one kid was so surprised by how well he’d done- because he’d actually studied- that he kept telling me how proud his dad was going to be, and that’s adorable). So they left class feeling good about that. And then I had my GOV students. I had them do a quick review assignment on state and local government, and then we took a leisurely stroll out to the parking lot so they could put their backpacks and stuff in their cars before outdoor activities started. 

Our first activity was kickball against Mr. N’s class (we lost, but they outnumbered us). After that, we watched some students and staff members get dunked in a dunk tank, and then we got to go out front where a local agency that trains service dogs had some of their demo dogs for students to pet and play with. Longtime readers know I’m allergic to dogs, so I just stood back and took pictures, but my seniors loved that. And then we went to lunch- cookout in the courtyard- and enjoyed burgers, hotdogs, pasta salad, and some amazing watermelon. I’d have had fun doing all that with any of my ninth grade classes, but I’m glad I was with my seniors since they’re graduating soon. It was a fun time to spend with them.

And I got to spend the pep rally with them, too, which was an experience. I usually sit in the freshmen section. The senior section is LOUD, and it’s so much fun. The Principal fired everyone up with a cheering competition between the classes (I think being out on the gym floor during a pep rally might be his favorite part of his job), and then the band played the National Anthem. The seniors decided to sing along, so then everyone was singing along, and it went from there. There were some zany games: a human version of hungry hippos that almost got too heated between the juniors and seniors so they cut it short, a bunch of matches in one of those inflatable jousting things, and the most competitive game of musical chairs ever. I repped the faculty in musical chairs, and was one of the last five standing, but then I got knocked out by one of my freshmen. It was a riot, though. But my favorite part was when our drumline performed because they were really good, and everyone gave them a standing ovation afterwards.

It got a little hectic at the end because the student council didn’t plan enough to fill the block, so kids got restless, but it’s been a while since we could do a pep rally like this (our fall one was out in the stadium, and a bit more subdued, and last year, obviously, covid restrictions kept us from gathering as a school), so it’s live and learn. 

I certainly had a fun day!

[lemon-boy-stan]

bruises, boys, chasers and detention - fred weasley x reader requested by @yourlocalauthor, anon, and anon. i basically merged all your requests into one. sorry it took so long. for the anon who requested x ravenclaw reader, i’m sorry i couldn’t do that. instead, i’ll probably make a hc. hope that’s ok. warnings: lee jordan. sexual references.

You'd been looking forward to the first Quidditch match of the year all the holidays. And now you were positive that the match was the worst event of your day that had happened. Fred got a week's worth of detention, you were in the hospital wing and Adrian Pucey had a broken nose.

The rest of the day was actually pretty good. The bad stuff started halfway through the Quidditch match. The weather was terrible and you could barely see or keep your hands on your Bluebottle.

You only just managed to catch a glimpse of your boyfriend - a whir of bright vermillion, maroon, brown and yellow. He waved at you and you waved back. 

"L/N!" Snapped Oliver, "get your head in the game!" You nodded grimly and tried your best to concentrate.

"Oi, Y/N! On your left!" Shrieked Angelina, swooping to your right. Slytherin chasers Blaise Zabini and Adrian Pucey zoomed over.

The two of them grinned at each other before steering their Nimbus 2001s, hooking their brooms and going on your left and right side.

"Zabini and Pucey have cornered our beautiful Seeker of Gryffindor house, I've got a sinking feeling in my stomach here and a determined force in me - I think it's humor - that's telling me the two gits won't have a happy ending if Y/N’s boyfriend of - is it six years? - Fred Weasley is going to do anything about, I daresay the two pigs will find a lot of nasty surprises, sponsored by the Beaters in red -" began a gleeful Lee Jordan, sniggering loudly into the microphone. 

You could only just hear Professor Mcgonnagall barking at him to shut up. You would've laughed at Lee’s words to yourself but you had other things to worry about. Blaise and Adrian had cornered you.

You gritted your teeth and tried your best to spot out the Snitch in the dreadful weather - you certainly weren't going to let a couple of dickheads ruin your chance of winning.

When it came to cheating, however, Slytherin house certainly didn't give up. There was an upset roar from the crowd and an assortment of hooting and cheering which came from the Slytherin stands.

There was a bang and a grunt and your shoulder made contact with the fabric of the curtains.

Your stomach churned from the motion but you were determined to stay focused - you'd only just seen the Snitch and now you tightened your grip on the handle.

"She's seen it, lads and lasses! She dives! She escapes the violent clutches of Pucey and Zabini, only just making it out by the luscious strand of hair over -"

"JORDAN!" Bellowed Professor McGonnagall. Lee snickered loudly into the microphone as you puffed before diving again.

"Right, sorry for the biased narration, Professor," the snicker Lee gave off wasn't very apologetic and it distracted you long enough for Adrian and Blaise to get back on your tail again. “Can’t really help it when we all hate Slytherin house any - alright, alright!”

Something, a bone, most likely, in your arm cracked as you smashed into the wall, taking all of Pucey's weight. There was hooting from Slytherin and an outraged roar from Gryffindor. Oliver was almost as outraged as Fred was; the Snitch had now disappeared.

You took another hit and then another and there was a loud thud; you realised that you were the one making the thud, soaring into the dirt below.

There was more excited screaming and snickering from the wave of silver and green and an even louder outraged roar from Gryffindor as you tumbled.

"Exhibition B shows us the obvious cheating ways of Slytherin House and what an incredible (and furious) boyfriend Fred Weasley is, oh, look at him dive, look at him dive!” grinned Lee. "Angelina gets the Quaffle, but is there really any point when all eyes are on our gorgeous Seeker? Something doesn't seem quite right with Y/N! And look at this, everyone, Weasley's face is as red as his mother's hair!" Lee cackled into the microphone.

"JORDAN!" Professor McGonagall bellowed the words as the Gryffindor team flew down to your side. You groaned loudly, clutching your arm, gritting your teeth. “What’re you all doing?!” you exploded, “they’re going to win!” none of the Gryffindor team, not even Oliver, seemed the least bit frustrated about winning. George pointed and zoomed down to join you all. “Fred’s still playing, absolutely clueless. If he looked at what was going on more than he looked at her boobs, he’d be outrag -” 

“JORDAN! TEN POINTS FROM GRYFFINDOR!”

“Weasley dives down to join the huddle of red and gold, you can’t even see any of his freckles, they’re all camouflaged with the hideous anger, if you have Omnioculars, zoom in, look at how pissed he is - going to be, even more so when he finds out his girlfriend won’t be able to - alright, Professor, alright…” Lee huffed before silencing. The outrage from the Gryffindor stands endured a battle between the cheers and hoots from Slytherin house as Stacey Linkman caught the Snitch. “Slytherin cheats their way to victory in this one…” grumbled Lee, “Slytherin wins.”

“Get out of the way,” you could hear and see Fred shoving Angelina and Katie to the side. Soon he was by yours, George pushed the rest of the team out. 

“Think I broke…” you mumbled. “Arm,” you held your right up before cursing loudly, “ow!”

“I told you not to play!” Fred grumbled loudly. “I said ‘sit this one out, we’re going against Slytherin - your arm is already fractured!’ and you said, ‘no, Freddie, I want to play, it’s no fun watching you all!’ and I said, ‘well, fine, then, five Galleons if you break something,’ and you owe me five Galleons!”

You tried to cross your arms before realising you couldn’t, giving him a vicious death glare instead. “I’m going to kill those two cheats if it’s the last thing I can do…” he hissed, fire kindling dangerously in his eyes.

“No idea what he’s saying,” said Lee, still going on with the commentary. “Slytherin house looks like a bunch of smug cheats… and, look! Weasely’s playing doctor! Professor, let me have my fun!”

“Ouch…” you let out a small whimper, Fred’s eyes glowered dangerously as the Slytherin team walked over, smug smiles on each member’s face.

“Good game, L/N,” smirked Pucey, holding out his hand. “Let’s shake on it, eh? Oh, wait,” the rest of the team laughed loudly, cackling. “Must be upsetting, isn’t it, Freckle Fred, when your girlfriend’s the only toy you’ve got, you’re going to have to return her, you won’t even get fifty percent -” 

“Fred, stop,” you muttered. “Leave it alone,” Fred took no notice of your words. “Fred, it’s not worth it,” 

“Pucey has obviously said something offensive, Weasley’s face is even more red now, Weasley charges Pucey, Weasley Number Two doesn’t even bother to hold his brother back, this is getting interesting!”

“Got something to say, you -”

“Listen here, you little dingbat,” you were positive that you’d never seen Fred this angry since your second grade. “If you think for one second that Y/N is a toy -” he spat the words with disgust, nails digging into his palms. “You can go home to your little Death-Eater -” his snarl was furious, terrifying.

“Fred,” you muttered, “Fred, stop.”

“Come on, Fred, it’s not worth it, mate,” began George. You forced yourself to get up, knowing that Fred would never listen to anyone else. 

“Fred, let’s go,” you muttered again, “come on.” He ignored you.

Pucey smirked in satisfaction, crossing his arms with a snicker. 

“Well,” Pucey wore an even bigger smirk than he had before, “at least my parents spend their time with time-worthy people rather than yours with Mudbloods,”

Angelina and Katie let out angered gasps. You wished that you could shrink to the size of an ant - so small that not even derogatory terms would be able to hurt and embarrass you. 

Because even George was angry now. Not as angry as Fred was, but still angry. 

“Pucey calls Y/N a Mudblood, Merlin, he must be wishing for a good kick in the dick!” cackled Lee Jordan, a hint of disgust in his voice that only his close friends would be able to sift out. “Broken arm or two…”

“SHUT UP!” roared both Fred and Professor McGonagall. 

“Aren’t you thick?” growled Fred, “haven’t your foul parents taught you to read a room?”

“They have,” snapped Pucey back, “and I do, only when I want to.”

“You over entitled piece of -” began George loudly.

“Who are his parents, anyway?” Whispered Katie. Oliver shrugged, watching silently.

Fred’s lip curled.

“One’s in Azkaban,” he stood his ground, and the other’s friends with the Malfoys. Bill told us last year,” hissed Fred.

“At least my parents taught me the worth of Muggles and their kids. Which is -” Adrian turned to you, “a big, fat, zero.”

Fred charged him.

“Don’t - you - dare - insult - her - or her - family - in front of - me - STUPEFY!”

“Fred!” 

“Weasley casts Stupefy on Pucey, serves him right!”

Fortunately, Fred didn’t get all of him. He did get his nose, though, and because Stupefy didn’t really work on body parts, there was a loud crack. You and the girls gasped, covering your mouths in horror.

George shook his head in dismay. 

Professor McGonagall, Snape, Madame Hooch and Promfrey came running down.

“Fifty points from Gryffindor! Detention, Mr. Weasley! A week’s worth -”

“Now, now, Professor Snape,” Professor McGonagall came to Gryffindor (and Fred’s)’s rescue, tutting loudly. “Although duelling is against school rules, Mr. Weasley had a very good reason for it - Mr. Pucey did break Miss L/N’s arm (with aid from Mr. Zabini, who will be put on a week’s worth of Quidditch ban, Mr. Pucey will also be spending that week’s ban in the Hospital Wing, and Madame Pomfrey will put him in her utmost care (although not too comfortable)), and I will be deducting fifty points from Slytherin for the use of derogatory language and violence and I will ask Madame Hooch what she would like to do.”

Snape seethed through his nose.

“Yes, Minerva, a week’s worth of Quidditch ban will be perfect for Mr. Zabini. Miss L/N may have to take a few day’s break and because Slytherin cheated their way to victory, Gryffindor win.” Madame Hooch waved her wand and you assumed that the numbers on the scoreboard had changed.

“Lemons really do make lemonade! Broken arms award ten winning points! L/N, break a literal leg next week, please!”

Gryffindor house roared with laughter.

“Alright, Miss L/N, Mr. Pucey, come with me...”

I suck at endings lmaoooooo. I AM SO SORRY I TOOK LIKE TEN YEARS TO WRITE THIS OMG THE OTHERS ARE COMING I PROMISE GUYS

MASTERLIST

[ramp-it-up]

Damage, Pt. 2

Pairing: Rafael Casal x OFC Holly Woods

Word Count: 3.8 K

Warnings: 18+ Only, Minors DNI. RPF  Read at your own risk. Pining, angst, FWB, graphic sex, protected sex, talk of getting tested for STD’s, Krispy Kreme, and all the feels.

A/N: It’s my birthday and I missed Rafa and Holly, so I wrote my own deliverance. At this point, these two are so oblivious, it isn’t funny. This happens just after Last Christmas.

This December adventure began early that morning, as Daveed and Rafa taught your writing classes and then hosted a Holiday showcase for your kids. 

They donated their time and talents as a favor for you. It was so damn cute and thoughtful that you’d thanked Rafael and then kissed him under the mistletoe. Almost as if you were in a relationship.

Almost.

You weren’t in a relationship, however. You’d only shared two nights together, as friends who fucked, and you had an understanding that it wouldn’t be any more than that. Rafael and you had an agreement to service each other for the time being, no commitment, no feels. 

And who were you to him? He was a creative, a star who could jet off around the world in a moment’s notice for a glamorous affair.  You were just a school teacher who worked every day in LA. Rafael would never want you for his girl. So this situationship served a utilitarian purpose, not a romantic one. 

After the kiss, Rafael’s mind was whirring. He slowly backed away and checked the time, noticing that it was just after 9 pm. The night was young. He didn’t want the night with you to end. 

Rafael felt the urge to be with you again, but he didn’t want to push his luck. You were so dope and the fact that you didn’t know it made you even more so.  You were refreshing with your intelligence, adding to the facts that you did not give a fuck who he was, did not play to his ego, and did not want him to wife you.  

That last part was refreshing, but also troubling as he evaluated his feelings for you. But there were no feelings to be involved; you’d made that clear.  If he fell for you, you’d probably end it. You clearly didn’t want to be bothered with his lifestyle, and frankly, he didn’t deserve you. 

But he could possibly have tonight. It would be the last chance to be with you before you went to Houston to visit your family for Christmas, and the thoughts of you he’d had since Tuesday couldn’t wait another week.

You gathered yourself together and got your emotions in check.  You told yourself that you were just fond of him as a friend, but that’s where the sentiment ended.  You only had to repeat that to yourself about three times before your heart started to slow down.

Rafael smiled at you, crossing his legs and leaning on your desk while watching you work, finally getting your things together so that you could leave.  It had been a long day.

You were wearing your work clothes, white button down shirt, black pencil skirt and heels. Your Christmas cardigan had been discarded when you started cleaning up. That skirt was fit. ting.  Damn, that ass.  You were all covered up, but the clothes got him a little hard. 

You watched him watching you and gave him a smile that made his blue-greens light up.

“Did you have fun with my badass kids today?” 

Rafa laughed at your joke. He saw how much you loved your students. 

“They’re not bad. Some kids just need different ways to learn and show that they’ve learned. But you know that already.”

He shook his head at you. He could read you like a book.

“You try to pretend that you’re mean Ms. Woods but I know better. They wouldn’t love you so much if you were mean to them. Like young Timothy. He sure does love you a lot. You’re… what is it he called you?  His Cutie Pie?” Rafa looked at you with a cocked eyebrow. Timmy was his nemesis.

There was something in his voice that made you stop and look.  Could Rafa be jealous of a kindergartner?  Nah. But he was certainly worked up.

You smiled mischievously, walking towards him with some workbooks in your hand.

“I am ‘Mean Ms. Woods.’” 

You came close to him and leaned beside him to put the workbooks on your desk. Standing in front of him, your legs on either side of his, Rafael got caught up. He kept his hands clasped in front of him and eyes on you as you got close. But he couldn’t help but lean in, try to look down your shirt and kiss you on your neck.  

You stepped back before his lips made contact, teasing him.  The way he huffed and clenched his jaw got you going. That smoldering look and flashing green eyes always did.

You  definitely wanted to give him some, if he wanted, after what he had pulled off today for your kids.  You were happy that he seemed to want you too. But you were chilling. You wondered about other women in his rotation. 

You laughed a little and smiled, shaking your head at yourself.

“What?” 

Rafa smiled, seeing that you were flustered about something and hoping that something was him. He knew the cat and mouse game was just beginning.

It had been just three days but he was feening for you. Especially after seeing you with your kids this morning. You were something special. Someone he couldn’t let… He stopped his train of thought as you started talking.

“Timothy is a handful.  Mischievous, hella smart, quick witted. And a little charmer. He’s always trying to get a kiss. He has a ton of potential. Reminds me of someone else…” 

Rafael’s quick wit turned you the fuck on. Not to mention his face. And... Whew. Your thoughts were getting out of control. 

The way you were smiling at him made Rafa‘s heart leap. He tried to push the emotions down and just feel the physical.  But he did care about you. A lot. 

“Ok, enough about Timenstien.  Let’s talk about adult things…”  He just wanted to pick you up and carry you outta here the way you cocked your head at him.

“...Like the arrangement for benefits without borders. The tests, the shot… “ You just continued to stare at him.  When you licked your lips, Rafa put his hands in front of him to cover up his hard on.

You laughed again. “‘Benefits Without Borders,’ you should copyright that.”  

“Yeah, or call it, ‘FWB Raw’” Rafael had jokes.

You cracked up.  “I can’t with you, Rafa.”

Rafael’s face fell. “I mean your jokes, I can’t with your jokes. Sheesh.” 

You turned around to gather more books. Rafa fixed his face, but his eyes couldn’t leave your ass.

“Anyway, I already started the process. I went and was able to get an appointment Wednesday after school, so the shot should take effect next week.”

After the night you’d had Tuesday, you definitely wanted to experience that again. It was fortunate that your doctor had an opening on such short notice.

Rafa’s heart leapt when he heard that, but his face showed no emotion, just a cocked eyebrow when you turned back around.

“Word?”

“Word. Yeah, I’m actually leaving Sunday morning, Christmas Eve, and won’t be back until the 30th...So.”

“So…” Rafa’s eyes, they were changing colors on you. It put you off balance.

“So, if we go get the tests tonight, next week might be available for no barrier method benefits between friends  That is if you still want to….” You bit your lip. Rafa cleared his throat and you saw a smile playing around his mouth.

“Let’s think about the last time when that almost happened.” And he paused so you could go there. You had to lean on one of the children’s tables to think of the shower. You were most definitely wet right now.  

Rafa watched you as you had to open your mouth to breathe.Yes, he was definitely about to get some tonight. He wanted more than just sex, but right now he would take what he could get. Then your face changed to uncertainty.

“By the time I get back, you’ll probably have other plans for New Year’s weekend…”

Rafa was confused. “Nah, I’m going next door for Utkarsh and Naomi’s party… aren’t you?”

“Yeah, but you-- we-- might have dates or something.”

Ohhhhh. That’s what was up. Rafa nodded.  Shit.  You might have someone else in the rotation.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. True that.  There’s a couple of people, I mean. A few.”

Rafa was lying through his teeth, no one in his phone could hold a candle to you. Sure, they were ready, willing and able. But they were not you. And you didn’t have to know that.

“See, so…”

Rafa mourned the lost vibe.  He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, not caring how it looked anymore. You watched him and longed to have your fingers in his mane, but you were chilling.

“Look. The other night we said that this was a special deal between us. I don’t wanna tie you down.  We’ll just see how things go, I mean, you might hook up in Houston…” He watched you, waiting for you to deny it.

You didn’t deny it simply because you did not know how to say that the only one you wanted to take advantage of the situation was him. You just stared at him. When you didn’t say anything, he went on.

“...old flames, new boos, whatever.  The tests will be good information to have in any circumstance.  I say we go for it.”

"Let's get it!"

An hour later you were at the Krispy Kreme donuts on Crenshaw on the way to your place. You had already dropped your car off and were now chilling with the homie after getting tested for STDs. 

You were staring in the window of the bakery, watching the donuts getting that hot glaze now and licking your lips.  They were so tempting. You were thinking donuts and Rafa was thinking the same about your lips.

"I don't think these will help with my anemia."  Your little laugh was so cute to Rafa.

The only bad news you’d got from the blood tests was that you needed more iron. You were both clean and ready to go.

"Let's get some. That glaze does something to me. I just want to lick some of that creamy stuff from around that hole..." Rafa was staring at you while he spoke, the “Hot Donuts Now” sign casting an eerie red light on half of his face.

"You’re so nasty...." you giggled.

Rafael screwed up his face. 

"What? I'm talking ‘bout some donuts.  I don't know what you're talking about." Rafa felt irrationally happy being here with you. Because you were a great friend. Yeah, that was it.

You got a dozen and left on the way to your house.  You stole a donut while riding. You looked at him while licking your fingers.

You’d decided that you wanted to have him before you left, even if you had to use protection. After you ate the donut, you put your thumb in your mouth, sucked for a second, and removed it with a loud pop, still staring at Rafa.

He almost pulled over to the side of the road.  But he was determined. "Hmmmm." Was all he replied as he tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

You put your hand on Rafael’s knee and moved it up a few inches to his dick. It was appropriately swollen. You smiled and started stroking it through his pants.  You felt it get harder. 

"I’ve been thinking about you a lot tonight. What you did for the kids was so… It was nice. On the other hand, I can’t wait for you to fuck my throat."

Rafa almost choked on nothing. You always surprised him and made him feel like an insecure, horny teenage boy.  But he wasn't going out like that. You were just a few minutes from your place.

"You know what. I'd love to see those tits right now."

“Right now? While you are driving?”

“I’m grown. Been driving since I was 15. I got this.”

You giggled, but reached up and unbuttoned your shirt. Your breasts were bathed in the moonlight, sitting perky and upright in your sheer black bra. Holy fuck. Your nipples were calling to him.

He'd distracted you from his dick, but his mouth was watering.  All he wanted was to fulfill your dirty fantasies. He reached your apartment and turned off the car.  You leaned back against the window. Rafael turned towards you, appraising you impassively. He had to use his acting skills to seem calm. Damn, you had him twisted.

"Touch them for me."

You licked your lips at his command.

"But I think I still have some glaze on my..."

Rafa just stared at you.

You did as you were told and pulled your bra cups down, freeing your breasts.  You started feeling and pulling on your nipples.  Your eyes were half closed in ecstasy as you started moaning and fogging the windows of Rafa’s car. He was right there with you as he palmed himself through his pants and feasted his eyes on you for a few minutes.

He leaned over and took over your breasts with his mouth. He licked and sucked each of them, making you wet all over again.

“Mmmmm. So sweet.” He looked up at you, his breath fanning your face from below.

You giggled. “It’s the icing from the donut.”

“Nah girl, it’s just how you taste. Like the sweetest ambrosia.”

Damn, his words. Rafael Casal and his damn words. You just stared at him, speechless.

Rafael drew in a ragged breath and reached over to pull your bra up and button your shirt just enough to be decent going into your apartment. It was so tender. But in a no feels kind of way.

“Let’s go on up.”

Rafa peered into your soul. Sure, you wanted him. But was it really just for friendship and occasional dick?

“Eager, are we?”

His voice did something to you. The soft tenor and the earnestness of his requests of you made you melt. How did he do things to you without touching you? You didn’t want to analyze it too much, so you threw the question back on him.

“You’e not?”  Your challenge threw him off. He chuckled to hide his nerves.

“Yes, I’m eager Holly.  I’ve been thinking about the last time since the last time. I want you.”

You closed your eyes and licked your lips, trying to center yourself. “That’s cool.”

You reached for your bag and moved to get out of the car.

“Hold on,” Rafa moved quickly to get out and go around to open the door for you, his chivalry not unnoticed by you. Again, the little things made you want him even more.  This was not going to be good for your heart when he decided to move on.

You led the way to your place and started up the stairs to your apartment before him.

It seemed as if that ass was going left to right in slow motion as Rafael watched it intently. He shook his head to see if he was bugging. When you glanced at him over her shoulder, he knew.

He grinned at you and looked back at it when you turned back around, catching a glimpse of a garter belt on your thighs through the slit in your skirt as you climbed the stairs.

Holy fuck! He had to have you. He rubbed his fingers right before reaching out to verify, then drew them back, because it wouldn’t do to fuck you outside on the stairs of your apartment building.

Rafa gave you some space as you opened the door, but as soon as you were inside, he pushed you up against the wall, hands everywhere.  It seemed as if he’d waited forever and not just three days. You had him addicted. 

You moaned as Rafael started kissing down your neck to your cleavage, dropping your bags on the floor by your feet. He saw a peek of your black bra through your shirt. He remembered the garter set and had to see the entire affect. He backed up, taking you in from head to toe.

"You wanna take those clothes off, or do you want me to rip them off?"

You smiled. "I guess I'll choose the first option."

You slowly unbuttoned your blouse, and peeled the skirt from your hips. It was so seductive that by the time you were done, Rafa had undressed as well, his thick dick in his hands, getting it ready for you.

You stood before him, in a sheer black lace bra and garter set, with no panties. The fact that you had been like that all day under your clothes made him get even harder. And you were looking at what he was holding and licking your lips.

"You hungry?"

"Yes. Please."

"C'mere."

Rafael laid you down on the couch. He turned your head and filled your mouth as he stood at one end of the sofa. He used his free hand to twist and flick your rock hard nipples through your bra. Damn, he loved it when you moaned with his dick in your mouth.

“You like that Holly? This what you wanted?”

You were ravenous, stroking off what you couldn’t fit in your mouth naturally. And you were busy, so you just nodded. Rafa continued to torture your nipples with one hand, but moved his other hand down to your clit, swirling insistent and concentrated circles around it.

You were so worked up that it did not take too long for him to manipulate an orgasm from you. “Damn, girl.” 

He was in heaven as you came with your mouth around his dick. Good thing, it muffled the sound. He was concentrating on not shooting off down your throat as he watched you, writhing in your garter set and licking his fingers, and then moving down to eat some of your delicious cream. 

Rafa held your hips down mercilessly as you fought your next orgasm.  He tongued you through it, taking all that you had to give him and successfully keeping you from running from it.

When he rose from between your legs, and wiped his face with the back of his hand, you looked as if you were going to sleep, your eyes vacant and rolling back in your head.  You were in shock from all the pleasure.

"Get that ass up."

You languidly obeyed and stood before him, eyes glowing and sexy ass lips smiling. Something in Rafael’s heart lurched and he couldn’t explain to anyone why. He was mad for some reason. 

Conflicted with different emotions, he just grabbed your waist and roughly turned you around, grabbing your arm and twisting it behind your back as he bent you over the arm of the couch.

You looked amazing in what you were wearing. He rubbed your ass before he smacked it, hard. Rafa was rewarded with a moan and an arched back. 

“Are you ready for this dick?” He smiled as he put the tip alllllmost in.

“Wait…”

Then he remembered.  “Shit.” 

He went into your bedroom, seeing your suitcase set up and mostly packed for the trip.  He brushed away the feeling that he had at what that meant and quickly went to your bedside table for a condom. He didn’t want to lose the vibe.

He came back into the living room to the sight of you still bent over, head resting on the couch cushion.  He stroked himself to full staff again, put the condom on, and lined up with your cunt.

“Still ready?” 

He didn’t have to ask as he heard your moan and felt you try to push back to take him.  He stilled your movement with this hand on your hip, wanting to prolong the anticipation.  His heart skipped a beat as you asked him for it.

“Please, Rafa, please give it to me…”

“Damn.”

He sank into you, none too easily. 

“Fuck, you’re so tight. And so wet. I love to see you cream for me, Holly. Can’t wait to feel it again.” He couldn’t wait until you returned, so that he wouldn’t have to worry about condoms. That is if you hadn’t…

He brushed the thought of you with another man out of his mind and slapped your ass, angry again.  You whimpering beneath him had him almost out of control.  You, it seemed, were on the same page.

“Oh, Rafa.  I’m so close already. I’m going to….” Rafa just kept hitting that spot, making your knees buckle. You were grateful for the support of the couch arm.

“Fuck, Rafa… I’m gonna c-c-cummmmmm.” You started pounding around him, and he grabbed the back of your neck.

“Fuck, fuck, FUCK, fuck, fuck.” Rafa had no other words at the moment.

You were screaming into the couch cushion as he emptied his cum into the condom, his hips stuttering and erratic in their rhythm. 

He leaned over you and onto your back after he was spent, for just a few moments. Then, he straightened up and made his way to your bathroom to get rid of the condom. 

Rafael washed up a little and looked at himself in the mirror. It was hopeless.  He brought out a washcloth for you and found you curled up on the couch.

“Let me..” Rafa approached you to clean you up, and you let him, trying not to register the intimacy and tenderness of the act.  He was just being a good friend.

When he was done, you thanked him and went to the bathroom, shaking your head at yourself in the mirror. You felt helpless and a slave to the feelings that weren’t supposed to be there.

You made your way back into your bedroom, took off the garter and hose, and pulled on some sweats and a tee.

In the living room, Rafa was dressed as well. And standing by the door. Your heart sank a little. But you smiled and went toward him.

“Thank you, that was just what I needed after a long week. You headed out?”

Why didn’t you just invite him to stay over?

“Yeah, I better go. You probably have a ton to do before you leave.”

Rafael didn’t know how to say that he wanted to stay, but if he did, he would wind up saying too much. “Can I have a hug?” He needed you in his arms, just one more time.

You smiled at him. “Is it even a question, after what we just did?”

You were sad that he didn’t want really to hug, he just wanted to fuck. He was just being nice, but that didn’t keep you from burying your head in his chest and squeezing tight as you went into his embrace. 

Rafael inhaled the scent of your hair and closed his eyes as he cradled you, holding you close to his heart. “You have a safe trip, and a good time with your people. Merry Christmas again, Holly.”

Your eyes welled up as you kept your head in his chest. “I will, Rafa. Thank you so much again for today. It was everything. Merry Christmas, Rafa. Have a good one.”

You lowkey wiped your eyes on his shirt before you looked up at him and smiled. You gazed at each other for a minute before he let you go.

“See you in a few days. You know, maybe.” He fumbled for the doorknob behind him.

You laughed and smiled, catching his heart. “Yeah, see you next week. Possibly.”

“Bye Holly.” He’d finally found the doorknob and was backing out of it.

“See ya, Rafael.” You were shaking your head at him as you closed the door.

You leaned against it for a long time as Rafa made his way to the car, and banged his head on the steering wheel.

You both were idiots in love. And you didn’t even realize it.

-------

Let me know if you liked it! Like, comment, reblog, please. 😁

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[ordinaryschmuck]

Walt Disney Animated Pictures Studios from Worst to Best-Part Two: The Mediocre Films

Salutations, people of the internet who certainly won’t read this! I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons.

And welcome to part two of Walt Disney Animated Pictures Studios from Worst to Best! Yesterday, we covered the top ten worst Disney movies, and today we’ll be talking about the mediocre ones. The movies that weren’t really awful, but I don’t see myself willing to rewatch any of them. Once was more than enough as there was a lot that dragged each film down despite some good that comes from it. So, let’s just get it over with and move on.

#50. Ralph Breaks the Internet-This was the first time I watched the movie, and I was not looking forward to it. I’ve heard good things about it but much more bad, to the point where I felt a little anxious when getting to Ralph Breaks the Internet for this list. And, I can say…it’s not so bad. Oh, it’s not great, don’t get me wrong. But, I guess all things considered, it could have been worse. The animation, for example, was top notch, having some fluid movements and some great expressions. Even though it didn’t have a great story, the animators still poured so much of their heart and soul into each scene, and I hope they’re proud of what they created, especially with the creature they built in the climax.

Another great thing is the lesson the movie tries to teach. It’s a bit muddled given how the writers went about teaching it, but it is an admirable thing to share with kids. Sometimes, friendships fall apart, and it’s better you both go your separate ways than to force something that’s clearly flawed. You’ll still be a part of each other’s lives, but not to the greater extent as you once were. And that’s totally fine…and is better taught in Amphibia. Just saying.

So, not awful…but there are some big problems with Ralph Breaks the Internet. Primarily Ralph himself. He’s just so…stupid. Like, he wasn’t the brightest bulb in the box in the last movie, but he was nowhere near as brainless as he was in this one. And the mistakes he’s made really hurt the lesson the film teaches, as it’s maddening to find out that Vanellope still wants to be friends with Ralph after what he’s done.

And then there’s the comedy. There are some good jokes and a hilarious song, but when it comes to poking fun at the internet itself, the movie’s held back by a LOT. Let’s be clear here: You can’t make kid-friendly jokes about the internet. Why? Because, despite how hard certain websites try, the internet is not for kids. There are certainly kid-sanctioned websites, but the whole place is a toxic cesspool of swears, violence, and porn. Lots of porn. It’s honestly disturbing how easy it is to find porn on the internet. And I don’t even look for the stuff. I just go onto Deviantart (my first mistake) to look up fanart of my favorite characters and are hit with wave after wave of porn. To the point where the devil will say, “Man, this is gross even for me.”

You see? That’s a joke you can’t make about the internet while in a kid’s movie.

It also doesn’t occur to you how held back this movie is with it’s humor when Sonic’s the one describing the internet. Sonic. The Hedgehog. Describing the internet. There is a mountain of comedic potential served on a silver platter for that moment…and the writers don’t follow through on it. It’s almost frustrating how much they chicken out! The same goes for the whole movie.

Ralph Breaks the Internet is a frustrating mess, but it’s not a disaster. I might not watch it again, but I didn’t hate watching it at least once. At least it looked pretty and tried to convey a message. There are way worse films that don’t hold that standard.

#49. The Rescuers Down Under-To some, The Rescuers Down Under is criminally underrated. To others, it's underrated for a reason. I'm more or less from the latter group.

Percival C. McLeach and his dumbass lizard is a major step down from the manic energy of Medusa and her terrifying pet alligators. And the story is just...boring. A lot of it is pretty uninteresting and, with certain scenes, time-wasting. For example, there's this entire scene where some characters are getting out of a situation, only to end up exactly where they just escaped from. This makes me wonder: "What was even the point of that scene!?" Still, there are some pros. The animation is fluid and often gorgeous at times, and...yeah, that's about it. The animation is the only thing that makes this movie feel worth the watch. But if I had to pick which to watch more, I’d probably choose the first one.

#48. The Rescuers-I have no strong feelings toward this movie one way or the other. I mean, Medusa's a fun villain with all of the insanity and none of the chill. Penny's a sweet little girl that you feel for, and hope gets a happy ending. And Bernard and Bianca have a cute dynamic, with Bernard being heavily superstitious and Bianca being all for adventure. It's not a bad movie...but it doesn't exactly wow me. I know that's probably not a great way to look at a film, but I don't know. I feel like a movie wins when it gets me emotionally invested enough to really care about the characters. And while I do feel bad for Penny and hope she gets out of her current situation, I still think this movie is missing an extra oomph factor. I don't know what it is, but it just feels like The Rescuers needs something more.

#47. Oliver and Company-...It's fine. And cute. Very cute, even. All with a charming cast of characters...except maybe the Chihuahua whose personality is built on offensive stereotypes. That one's a yikes.

The one thing to really complain about is how much the dogs decide that Oliver's part of the family despite spending less than a day with him. I feel like more time together would have sold that bond better. As is, it just feels formulaic and uninspired. Still, I'd say Oliver and Company is an enjoyable movie that I was happy to see. Even if it's one that I probably won't go out of my way to watch again.

#46. Brother Bear-I like the idea that Brother Bear is going for. It’s a story about a man going on a spirit journey to learn about the mistake that he’s made and learning to rectify it. Through bits and pieces, this works, as you get a sense of how much Kenai regrets his actions and how much he wants to make it up to Koda…the problem is that it’s Kenai and Koda’s relationship that doesn’t really work. There is too much time dedicated to showing how Koda is annoying to Kenai and not enough to showing their bond as “brothers,” thus making the conclusion fall flat. There are some moments like Kenai and Koda’s talk about the spirits and how Koda misinterpreted what Kenai meant by monster, but I feel like we need more to prove why Kenai is willing to go through such a tremendous change for Koda. Maybe if the movie cut out these weird comedy bits involving moose and mountain goats, we could have gotten that time. But, no, as is we got a pretty average movie that, while sometimes works, could have been a little better.

#45. The Three Caballeros-I actually don’t mind this one. It feels a lot more this time around that The Three Caballeros' job is to entertain rather than educate. This is preferable because the last thing we need is Disney of all brands to teach us about Latinx countries and cultures when they don’t have the best track record of good representation back in the day. There are some moments of trying to teach the audience something, but there's more leaning towards having pretty charming shorts and some animation that is pretty groundbreaking for the time this movie came out. Nowadays, it wouldn't mean much to have hand-drawn characters in a live-action environment or real-life people in an animated one. But for 1945, it seems fairly revolutionary, especially with some shots. I will say, though, that the movie does go a little too long, primarily in the end. Plus, there might be some...very not great representations of Latinx people. It's not the most racist Disney's ever been...at least, I hope it's not the most racist Disney's ever been, but you might want to take most of this film with a grain of salt. Or an entire bucket. I don't know, it depends on you. Still, it could have been worse, and I had a good enough time watching.

#44. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh-I feel so bad for ranking this so low. Because it's Winnie the Pooh, man. Winnie the Pooh! I can't hate something so delightful! I mean, sure, the movie is a bit dull to watch as an adult, but its characters are just too damn loveable that to say something bad about any of them is just...not warranted. It might be better for little kids, and I mean really little kids, but it doesn't stop The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh from bringing many smiles.

#43. Winnie the Pooh-Slightly better because the animation is an improvement. Also, this movie has Tom Kenny playing Rabbit, and anytime I hear his voice my inner child lights up with glee.

#42. Fun and Fancy Free-It's pretty charming. I mean, Disney took two short stories, crammed it into one movie, and called it a day, but still pretty charming. The story of Bongo is pretty sweet and legitimately funny with how it comes up with the idea of bears slapping each other to proclaim their love. It got a good chuckle out of me. And Mickey, Donald, and Goofy reenacting Jack and the Beanstalk is also pretty charming, mainly because seeing those three together is always enough to get the kid in me to smile. Although, it also has this weird man telling the story to this little girl with the help of his creepy puppets. And that’s just…no. 

Other than that, it’s still a great time. Calling Fun and Fancy Free a movie might be a bit of a stretch, but hey, at least it's charming.

#41. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad-It's just a movie that takes two short stories, combines them, and calls it a day. Again. This time, though, nothing connects either, as they're not from the same regions or narrated by the same person. And keep in mind, neither is awful by any means. The retelling of "Wind in the Willows" is delightfully charming, and Disney's version of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," while not as spooky as the original tale, still manages to have a solid sense of humor. I just wish there was a bit more of a connection between the two. But at least no weird puppets are interrupting the story this time, so that's a plus.

Like I said, none of these movies are bad. Well, not that bad. I’m sure some of these have their audiences, but I’m not one of them. In a way, I’m glad I watched each film, but the odds of me seeing them again are highly unlikely.

But tune in tomorrow–Oh, wait, I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow…Alright, tune in Friday as we go from mediocre to just…Ok.

[oasislake76]

I’m finally getting around to organizing just what the Admin Academy is and what they stand for in like... almost all my Mcyt Au’s.

First we have the ‘home base’ of the four, Admin Academy of Leadership. Almost all A-class, I’ll explain what that means a little later, server Admins and Godlings graduate from here. Almost every big server owner and all the higher Cabinet had graduated from here. It’s the OG school and it’s very old. Old styled castle buildings, gardens that have been thriving for millennia, very Harry Potter themed. Their the strictest with uniforms, all Classes have different colors and embroidered letters on one side of their chest. Their the only school with all student dormitory but instead of separating by class their separated by graduation year not gender mixed. Unlike the classrooms and the exterior of the school the dormitory is kind of like a fancy frat house in a sense. It’s the only spot for kids to drink and smoke weed and King Sparklez, the main dormitory officer and the one that lives with the kids for the most part, doesn’t care as long as it doesn’t stink up the place or cause problems with roommates. He even indulges with the older kids when their legally allowed to drink, which also allows him to keep a close eye to the younger students to make sure they don’t consume to much under his direct care.

The second us Admin Academy of Safety. Their a little less strict on the outfit, no student wears skirts durning school hours as they are practicing Safety, maneuver and demos with big sharp objects. Most B-class students notoriously graduate from here but they have been seeing a surge of C-class students. They have dorm rooms but only for the older classes, year 4 through 8, to easily transitioning into living on their own and not with parents/guardians. Their much more of the calmer Admins and seem even more stricter then the Leadership ones. Always being joked about having a stick up their butts but they all till love them as they play a big role by keeping all severs up to date and helping Players with glitches before the true server Admins can help. Their grounds are very much still Harry Potter themed but they have obvious updates like automatic doors, ramps, and high end security cameras around the stone buildings.

Their sister school, made just a few months apart, Admin Academy of Innovation is much on the looser side of the spectrum of strictness. Allowing students to fully view what their world is and reflect it through outfits and belongings. Most of Innovation Admins tend to flock towards building SMP’s, artistic SMP’s, or fairy tail kind of SMP’s. Letting their creative juices flowing and helping creating ideas for plugin’s and Mods making almost all plugin’s and mods come from this Academy rather then the other three. They offer dormitory for all Year’s and they seem to continue having an influx of younger Admins who seem to not want to go home when summer approaches and the year ends. This Academy is very not traditionalist in its decore. All the walls are painted a different shade so all the details blend together to make this rainbow shade, like a rainbow cloud or something. Lockers are scattered and depending on the size will easily describe what year someone is in. There’s still old buildings like the ‘park’ grounds where all the fruit Notch is testing, before bringing it in as a realm wide update if he likes them enough, is growing.

Last but certainly not least is the last, Admin Academy of Coding. Unlike the other three who generally set their skill sets across the board as much as they can, Coding Academy is prepared to ‘keep the code running’ which means keeping all the public and private worlds and Servers safe from corruption and or folding in on itself. They have access to most worlds, some are strictly watched over by the Admin Cabinet only, cods and are constantly keeping eyes out for stuff like Virus demons or any of Herobrine’s losses monsters he’d created while possessed. They don’t keep dormitories because it forces all the students to go home, shower, get some actual fucking sleep, and socialize outside of teachers and other students. Their building is very high tech with multiple elevators instead of stairs, water fountains, vending machines, also a fucking coffee bar.

Now this is how the ranking goes. There’s A-class, B-class, C-class, and D-class. They all mean very different things in all of the Academies.

Usually the difference is between Leadership and Safety against Innovation and Coding. While A-class to the first two school means that their the best Admins. The best grades, attendance, school social life, just the best of the fucking best on the field. A-class is literally just a rank you gain once you hit a certain Year. It doesn’t matter how good you are or if you’re absolutely dog shit, you’ll get the grade.

D-classes are generally just “hey you’re new to all of this. This is your class. It’ll change over time, have fun.”

B-class and C-classes are of course the middle grounds. B-classes for Innovation is basically their A-classes students who work great but still need to be taught on some subjects. While C-class Safety students will most likely be drafted as what older Admins call as ‘helper Admins’. They help keep larger populated Servers safe and keep the code of safety contact always up to date.

So Dream could refer to himself as “I’m Dream Adams. Graduated as an A-class Admin from the Academy of Leadership, my position in my class is A-1, and I’m the main Admin of the DreamSMP.” Or “I’m Philza Craft. I did not graduate from any Admin Academy but, compared to the skill set against the Cabinet and the Emperors, I am D-class with a position of D-15. I am the secondary Admin of the DreamSMP.” Or even “I’m Illumina. Graduated as an B-class Admin from the Academy of Innovation, my position in my class is B-5. I hold no ownership over a server but I do have open worlds.”

This generally lets other Admins your general skill set, how good you are, and where to put you if you offer your help in some case. Also a great conversation starter if you’re meeting a lot of people you don’t know.

The numbers work in Home Room classes, not graduation years like the letters. So there could be multiple A-3’s or D-17’s, it just depends on how many Home Room teachers there were for that year. This is all literally just a four way spectrum that Admins can quickly place each other in. It’s confusing to a lot of players, don’t even try and explain it to a villager, but its a system that works and have been implemented for years.

[ruby-whistler]

Srry but i noticed in one of ur dream posts u Referred to tommy's cat as hope. I must correct u, that cat was born pussbou and died pussboi. /lh Also tommy killing that cat was nothing compared to dream killing mushroom henry in exile btw just wanna say Also for ur posts about dreams trauma or wilbur manipulating him can u provide links to vods or other proof? Srry if i seem rude i mean that in a "genuinely curious way"

Aaa sorry if my ask came off as rude im just genuinely curious :(((

hi! dw, you don't seem rude at all, and i'm extremely happy someone with a different perspective has found my blog! i really appreciate that sort of attitude and am happy to answer :]

/dsmp /rp

the cat was called pussboy by tommy, but dream only called it "the cat" and then said that "it was hope", which is why it sort of became a symbol (his hope is dead, basically) - that's why i kind of made its name capitalized, because it was more of a metaphor than anything.

most c!dream fans call the cat hope because it's just really nice and really symbolic, and also really sad when you think about it. that's why the name was used in the essay, just to clear up the confusion!

tommy killing that cat was nothing compared to dream killing mushroom henry in exile

i don't really think so? mooshroom henry was entertainment more than anything, and even if it was bad, when watching the stream i don't remember seeing him mourn that much - on the other hand, dream was very quickly and very obviously attached to the cat, with it being his only companion in months of isolation, along with the hope that even when tommy left it would keep him company.

keep in mind c!dream has been deprived of stimuli and human contact for so long it's officially classified as psychological torture at that point.

i don't mean to compare trauma or even compare deaths - because honestly, what c!dream and c!tommy have gone through individually is incomparable and i think neither should be diminished in favor of the other since they're both terrible situations.

that's why i disagree that it "was nothing compared to" - it had an obvious effect on c!dream, and was still c!tommy killing an animal specifically to hurt him, no matter what reasons he had.

when i'm talking about effects people's actions have had on c!dream, i'm not talking about those people. i'm talking about him. :) /lh

as for the trauma, a lot of people agree that a lot of the things he says or does are trauma responses, and hence it's very possible that he's had trauma before he went into prison!

this includes being repeatedly called a tyrant via propaganda by about half of your friends who decided to betray you, trying to keep peace and being pushed deeper into villainy instead, repeatedly being put in between a rock and a hard place in order to make sure the people you care about don't start killing each other, then being betrayed by your closest friends after merely trying to keep peace (sapnap & george) and just in general having no control over your life or image and grasping at straws to gain it back.

i know a lot of people with trauma who heavily relate to certain trauma responses, which aren't always just shaky breaths and flashbacks, but trauma often also manifests itself in extremely ugly and destructive ways, both inwardly and outwardly.

trying to control the people around you is also very often a response to going through trauma, as well as emotional repression which is... rather evident on c!dream during season two. it only seems to get worse with repeated abandonment.

in the end, during the vault scene, the way he acts really just isn't at all the way a healthy person would act, and a lot of his really bad mindsets come from the way he was taught by the world around him.

the character is very reserved however, and since we don't have his pov we can't really say for certain - a lot of people claim it in good faith because they have a lot of evidence for it, and i think they're certainly valid in that.

that is just before the prison, however. from what happened during the prison arc? there is no denying he's traumatized at this point.

he's been emotionally and physically abused by c!sam since the very beginning of being imprisoned, and being in solitary confinement for over two weeks is generally considered psychological (and maybe also physical?) torture. that alone shows up in a lot of symptoms of his mental deterioration while in pandora's during people's visits, and quackity's "sessions" just absolutely drove the point home.

what he's gone through during this arc is absolutely incomparable to anything others charactes have faced before, and it's just plain suffering being endured by someone who is, despite everything, still a human being.

as for the wilbur manipulation thing!! it's talking about the whole vassal scene (though even beforehand a lot of their interactions are pretty iffy), and here's a post about that :]

I also have a small question about the analysis u last reblogged cus it says "why dream needed lmanburg gone rightfully" and like. The house analogy is poor because for one cus the land is infinite. And 2 cus punz's yard was literally larger then lmanburg. And also stuff about dream being a mediator? Can u provide examples?

i wouldn't say it was poor. dream's said a lot of times that he didn't care in the slightest about the land - a lot of his problems with l'manberg arose with the fact that wilbur basically built it on lies and tried to disallow half of the server to come there. c!dream was mad about the division and the fact that wilbur wanted "freedom" to have authority in his lands - over others, as can be seen in this post also.

the table analogy was fitting not because dream was some overlord, but because these were literally friends he invited to hang out and live in a place he wanted to call home. claiming a part of it for yourself and saying people of a certain nationality can't come in is directly opposing those goals.

in the early days of the smp, dream's always been a mediator between his friends - sapnap and george, who would often get into fights and go around killing each other! he would always do his best to stop the conflict, which continued after tommy joined when he took him to court and then later tried to mediate conflicts he was a part of, which resulted in tommy killing him unprovoked, stealing his gear, and starting the disc wars when dream was trying to get his stuff back. later, during pogtopia, he is also most concerned with peace over everything, and this seems to continue indefinitely after.

Today i was thinking about how messed up the final control room was. Like. Dream arranged the betrayal and punz and sapnap killed tommy and tubbo who like. Were literal children and their pals (because the author, wilbur soot, is dead/j but srsly if u take the streamers words tommy said he was 9 during the revolution sooo)

Sorry im gonna ramble about how dumb canon ages are for a second cus like. Streamers can say the characters are one way or another (wilbur saying he is mentally 30-something, etc.) But in the end the characters act like they(or at least their streaming personas) do.

i... honestly don't find it that bad? they were in a war, and the final control room was basically just supposed to end it quicker. the l'manbergians made it clear they were going to fight to the death, so they really left c!dream no other choice. and it's not like he didn't give them chances to give up.

also yeah the 9 year old thing was retconned, because in that case c!dream would've been 14 and i don't think that's true.

c!tommy and c!dream were both young and once again, in a war. the final control room was an attempt to assure victory, which both sides would've taken if possible, but only c!dream saw he had the option.

i do agree the whole child soldier thing was bad but... complain about that to c!wilbur, methinks. he talked naive kids into fighting for his personal power. however, the age argument isn't really valid either way. they had enough agency to sign up for it, and whether or not c!wilbur pushing the intense nationalism onto them had something to do with that is another debate entirely.

Bacl to final control room cus like??? Also fun fact punz took 2 of wilbur's canon lives. And like that probably is what started wilbur's paranoia which later lead to his spiral and i. Many thoughts full of lmanburg today.

i'm pretty sure cc!wilbur said what lead to c!wilbur's spiral was a "dark, twister view of possessions" and "disregard for his fellow citizen whom he claimed to love so much", but i really wouldn't say it was the control room; if anything the sudden loss of power after the elections seems to me like the trigger for his spiral.

I watched the exile arc live and. I feel dirty almost for feeling little to no sympathy for c!dream (srry ive been forgetting to add that aa) because of his actions toward c!tommy and like. The whole probation was so humiliating and unfair and c!dream was planning to frame him for the crimes he and puffy did under the the guise of "pranks" and c!quackity was planning to seize the vice president role.

i mean... to be fair, if you didn't watch the prison arc much yet or only watch tommy's perspective i understand not feeling that sympathetic - however, i encourage you to maybe watch a few prison visits, since they could help you see the whole picture better!

i also watched it live, and i also thought it was terrible, but i share very much the same sentiment for the prison arc because. absolutely no one should have to go through either of those things, you know?

i don't think probation was that humiliating? he was just. being asked to not start conflict with the other factions for two weeks. of course, what happened as a result is in no way justified, but i don't think probation itself would've been bad at all. either way yeah the framing and c!quackity's behaviour was. very yikes, i agree.

Also c!tommy antis are dumb because they say "he deserved exile angry emoji" i dont see u saying that about ranboo. Just say you hate cc!tommy and go. Also people say c!tommy was just as toxic to c!dream and i??? No. One is the victim and one is the abuser and like. :/// man. This part is rambly srry

i wouldn't say they hate cc!tommy? cc!tommy has a persona who people think is annoying at first ( but then they subscribe because he is super entertaining big man! ) but a lot of c!tommy's actions are straight up toxic to certain characters, such as c!funndy and c!jack. he has a very dismissive attitude towards others and their trauma and it does affect the people around them very negatively.

examples; his repeated bullying and behavior towards fundy:

Tommy: “Fundy, I’m just here to kinda let you know that I – if you weren’t Wilbur’s son, you would be out of L’manburg, alright? Just remember – you need to keep that relationship with your father. I saw how asshole-y and bratty you were acting in the courtroom the other night. You need to pull your shit together young man.”

......

Fundy: “I’m wearing glasses…are you making fun of my eyesight?!”

Tommy: “Yes.”

Sapnap: “Your father would be very disappointed.”

Fundy: “Wh – disappointed for wearing glasses?!”

Tommy: “You got glasses, like what are you wearing…”

Fundy: “What do you mean?”

Tommy: “Sapnap, Sapnap, over here. Fundy, Fundy, Fundy, I’m really sorry to say this – I’m just here to publicly denounce you.”

Fundy: “…What?”

( credit for transcript: @/findingjoynweirdstuff )

he's also responsible for a big chunk of c!jack's trauma, both with actions and words, and that's why i think certain people might dislike the character, and i don't think that's wrong of them. anyone can dislike any character they want if they don't attack people for liking them, in my opinion.

also c!tommy was most definitely toxic against c!dream in the cell. it's of course understandable but that doesn't change the fact he was constantly hitting and insulting him (without dream doing anything back for a long while until he snapped) which is toxic behaviour.

i wouldn't say he was "just as" though, so i agree with you on that. they're different and they behave differently.

i made a dream blob keychain today. Is it possible to send images if u wanna see? Idk cus i havent used tumblr before. I think that's all for now. Thx for letting me talk :D peepoShy -curious anon (but fr a connoreatspants c!dream redemption arc would be cool)

yooo that's cool! i don't really,,, know if it's possible to send images? try it out and if it isn't i'll try find a way to turn it on.

also, no problem! just please remember this is a c!dream sympathetic blog, and me as well as my followers are uhh,, oftentimes emotionally attached / personally relate to the character, so if you could avoid sending hate on the character (not that you have or that i expect you to, just a friendly reminder) in the asks that would be great! we already see a lot of it unwillingly so, i'd rather not see more, but as long as the discussion is civil i'm absolutely ok with you asking more and with me answering more questions if you'd want to! :)

if anyone else would like to reblog this and add some things i might've missed with my answers, feel free to, just go easy on her (she uses she/her pronouns!) and keep it factual.

i hope u had a good or at least ok time at school today :D

thanks! i gtg now because exam tomorrow but i'm going to try write the redemption essay tomorrow as well because ohhh boy i have a lot of ideas about what all i could write around the concept.

also sorry this was long, i can't keep my tongue on the leash :[

[readyplayerhobi]

Flower | 39

; Hoseok x Reader

; Genre: Fluff

; Word Count: 4.6k

; Warnings: Drinking, mentions of pain

; Synopsis: You finally decide to take a dip into the world of online dating and find the Flower dating app. One of the top matches for you proves to be a guy who looks to be your complete opposite; tattooed, pierced, a metalhead and oh…incredibly handsome. What happens when you throw caution to the wind and reach out to him?

; A/N: Much faster this time, huh? For only the second time in the story...enjoy Hoseok’s POV! I hope you enjoy it and please reblog if you do so others can read <3 let me know your thoughts in a comment or ask! :D

; Flower Masterpost

-

“Everyone, take a shot,” Jimin says loudly, thrusting the tray holding a dozen or so filled shot glasses around the table. “Good, good. Now, let’s drink to Hoseok defying all our expectations and getting married!”

The younger man is already half-drunk, never being one to go slow or take it easy when there’s plenty of alcohol around. Hoseok isn’t particularly surprised, not when the group had already visited three bars by this point. It was his bachelor party tonight, only two weeks before his wedding and his friends were determined to give him a good time.

He’d been adamant that he wanted absolutely nothing to do with any strippers or anything that could be accidentally misconstrued. The last thing he needed was you thinking he’d cheated only weeks before the big day. Plus, he just wasn’t into that anymore.

Instead, he’d asked Jungkook to try and plan something that would avoid stuff like that. Hoseok just wanted to have a good time with his friends, not potentially cause a scandal. Thankfully, his best man had agreed happily and had instead planned the night to be a series of bar hops around the city. The day had involved everyone driving an hour to a place that let them drive quad bikes, do archery, have some paintball matches and loads more.

He was hurting from the paintballs, particularly the awful gauntlet they’d made him run at the end in which everyone had formed a tunnel for him to run through while shooting the shit out of his ass, but he’d enjoyed every minute of it. Now, he was just comfortably buzzed while some of his friends were well on their way to drunk. 

Namjoon, who was currently suffering from his toddler’s inability to let him sleep past 5 am lately, looked half asleep across the table from him. His eyes were glazed and unfocused, jaw slightly dropped as he tried to focus on the glass in front of him. Jungkook had placed it there about ten minutes ago, full of water. 

All of the guys were here today, having made sure to block out the time to celebrate with him and he felt a little shy at all the attention surprisingly. You didn’t have any other male friends, which meant his friends were all he had in his groom’s party. Six groomsmen for him and five bridesmaids for you.

You’d had to diplomatically pick between Chungha and Soyeon for your maid-of-honour, ending up with Chungha being chosen. Hoseok was forever amazed at how strong the friendship was between you all. Decades of media had taught Hoseok was women saw each other as rivals in everything and he’d been beyond worried about the fact you had to pick between your two best friends.

Reality had been a good slap in the face though, and he’d learnt over the four years of being with you that he should firmly ignore everything the media said. Your best friends had been gracious with each other, both trying to encourage the other to take on the role before Soyeon had given Chungha her full support. It amazed him but also made him happy that you had such a good friendship with them both.

The final space in your bridesmaid lineup wasn’t filled, and Yoongi was going to be walking alone at the end. You’d kept the space free to symbolise his sister, letting her be a part of the ceremony even if she couldn’t be there physically.

That had gotten him a little choked up when you’d told him your plans, but it had made his parents cry when he’d, in turn, told them. Any lingering concern that his parents might not actually like you had vanished then. Your sweet insistence of making sure she was a part of the day and not forgotten cementing your place in his family.

He’s brought back into the moment by Jungkook slapping his back hard, causing him to wince and almost spill the entire shot out of the glass. Glaring at him, Hoseok pushes him back before swallowing what was left of the shot. It makes him cringe, the taste of the straight vodka, not his favourite.

“Man,” Jimin sighs, flopping back into his seat before running his fingers through his hair. “Can you believe it? Jung Hoseok. Getting married. If you’d have said that in college, I would’ve laughed hysterically at the thought. The only thing I thought you’d marry was your dick into any available pussy.”

His words make Hoseok’s nose wrinkle, even if he couldn’t deny what he’d said. It was still amazing even to him that he’d finally found someone that he genuinely loved and who he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. For his friends, it was probably even more fascinating. Yet here he was.

Loving every moment of it.

“You know, I’d have thought after four years that you all would have come to terms with this. It’s not exactly a surprise anymore.” Hoseok was pleased that he hadn’t drunk enough to have his words be slurred. The last time he’d been truly wasted had been when he’d decided to introduce you to the lovely male concept of a dickcopter. Not his best moment.

Perhaps one of his funniest though.

“We have come to terms with it. Still a surprise though.” This comes from Namjoon, causing Hoseok to give him a betrayed expression. Of all his friends, he’d have thought that Namjoon would’ve been the one who understood how his life had changed upon meeting you. While Jimin had married Eden since Hoseok had met you, everyone had known that Jimin was one of those guys who wanted to have a loving, monogamous relationship.

He was the one in their group that had fantasised about marriage even in college. Meeting Eden had been the icing on his cake, even if neither of them was too sure whether they wanted kids or not.

But Namjoon had been much like Hoseok during the first years of college. Something which had certainly surprised you when you’d found out. Despite how diligent he’d been at his studies, Namjoon had discovered that he was attractive to women. Combined with the help of his friends to make sure he presented himself to highlight all his best points, such as his tall and broad physique which only looked better with a few workouts or how glasses seemed to make the girls swoon, he’d been in his element.

And then he’d met Amelia in his final year, falling hard and defying everyone’s expectations. There had been many heartbroken women, and men, around campus upon finding out that Kim Namjoon had finally succumbed to love.

They’d consoled themselves in Hoseok’s bed instead, for years afterwards as well.

Images of all the girls he’d entertained throughout his life ran through his mind like lightning. Girls of all skin colours, heights and backgrounds had graced his bed, or him theirs. All of them beautiful and worthy of a fun night, or at least ten minutes of his time.

He’d used to be one of those guys who was proud of his sexual prowess, safe in the knowledge that he could probably get any woman he wanted with some effort. It made him cringe now. Hoseok had never been one of those asshole guys who’d bragged and boasted about his body count, but he’d not exactly been subtle either. 

Throughout those years, he’d been adamant that he didn’t want a proper relationship. Hoseok had been more than fine with one-night-stands and short-term relationships that were probably better as being categorised as friends-with-benefits. He hadn’t thought he could monogamy. The thought of reducing himself to one woman and denying all the delights that life had to give him was dissatisfying.

The Hoseok from back then was a fucking idiot, he thought now. A self-centred, dick-centric idiot. The very idea of what he’d been was embarrassing to him now, making him more than thankful that you’d never met him back then. You’d deserved way better than whatever he’d had to offer.

Hoseok knew that he couldn’t go back in time to change things. But he also knew that if he was given the chance, he probably wouldn’t either. Because as humiliating as his old self had been, he knew that it had formed the person he was today. And if he’d been open to a serious relationship for all those years, then he probably wouldn’t have met you.

So, yeah, he wasn’t proud of his past. But he wouldn’t change it. Not when he knew that he’d finally grown up in time to find you. You’d shown him that relationships weren’t something to roll his eyes at or be afraid of, that love was something he was deserving of and was also capable of giving.

And here he was now, frowning at the glass in front of him on the table and being a sappy idiot. The way he kept drifting away from conversations made him wonder if he was a little more than buzzed, but he found that he didn’t care. He was enjoying himself, even if he kept having these more serious thoughts.

It was a good job none of the guys could hear his thoughts now. They already gave him enough grief for going googly-eyed over you, as they called it.

Shifting back into the conversation, he realises that everyone is now talking about who they think will be next to get engaged. Hoseok is a little surprised at how quickly the topic had moved on, but given his friends, he’s also wondering how long it’ll take until it changes once more to how many farts a human can hold or something dumb.

Still, it’s his bachelor party and he feels the need to get involved. So he throws an arm over Jungkook and gives him a smirk, raising his brows in expectation.

“I bet our little Jungkookie here is going to be next. Got any plans on popping the question to Soyeon?” He grins broadly, taking in Jungkook’s expression with pure amusement. The younger man looks remarkably like a deer caught in headlights with his expressive eyes wide and sparkling with their usual youthful exuberance alongside more than a little alcohol.

“I-er,” He stutters, his cheeks turning a rosy pink even in the lowlight of the bar that makes everyone snort with laughter. “I haven’t really thought about it.”

“Bullshit!” Jimin’s small fist slams down on the table hard, causing the multitude of glasses to shudder and some of them to clink together. It also causes most of the guys around to almost clawing the ceiling with how hard they all jump. Eyes squinting at Jungkook, Jimin points one finger at him in an accusatory manner that seems a little out of proportion for the question.

“You’ve been together...a while now,” Hoseok’s shoulders jerk as he tries to hold in the snort at Jimin’s lack of numeracy skills suddenly. “There’s no way you haven’t thought of it. Women think we don’t think about that kinda shit but we do! And you’re the biggest fucking romantic on the table, Jeon Jungkook!”

His words are more than a little forceful and Hoseok has to bite his lip to stop from laughing, particularly when he glances at Jungkook’s shellshocked face. Alongside those impossibly large and wide eyes, his jaw has now dropped open and he’s staring at his friend in disbelief. Taehyung has an equally surprised look but Yoongi is nodding along in agreement, nursing his glass of whiskey that he’s had for at least half-an-hour now.

“He’s right, you are. I mean...you cried at Hercules when Meg died, remember?” Everyone goes quiet as they try to recall the incident from long ago. Even Hoseok is trying to remember it, his head tilted before giving up. There have been so many incidents of Jungkook crying at films that the Hercules one doesn’t even leave a mark.

“Sorry I have emotions, unlike you lot.” Jungkook is pouting now, crossing his arms over his chest. On another man, it’d probably look a little intimidating given the way his biceps bulged in the black dress shirt he’d put on or the way the buttons strained a little from his shoulders and chest. But Jungkook’s face negates that with his lower lip pushed out almost comically and his cheeks full.

Hoseok can’t help but reach over and cup them, squishing them until everyone laughs at the sight and making cooing noises to him. It’s with resignation that Jungkook lets him, his deep sigh brushing past Hoseok’s fingers while his shoulders slump. 

Almost immediately, Hoseok is reminded of how you call Jungkook the baby of his friendship group. It’s with a grin that he realises it’s true. He’s their baby, despite the fact he’s bigger than most of them all and can probably kill them just by squeezing their head between his arms.

“Girls dig that. Soyeon likes it, right?” Taehyung comments, brow rising from where he was sitting. His arm was resting on the back of the seat, body looking long and lean with his legs spread. He hadn’t been lucky enough to be in the booth itself and had had to grab a chair from another table.

There’d been more than a few hungry looks given to him from other patrons in the bar but Taehyung had remained oblivious, his long black hair ruffled from the day's activities and tiredness on his face. Although part of his obliviousness may also be because he was both asexual and aromantic, so it may be more than he’s purposefully not paying attention to it.

“Let’s not generalise women,” Seokjin interrupted, reaching out to gesture wildly with his bottle of Asahi beer. “It’s rude and they get angry when people do that.”

Everyone pauses to look at him with eyebrows raised, wondering where that came from. But no one questioned it, instead shrugging or nodding in acknowledgement to avoid him going on a rant. Not that there was anyone who didn’t agree, but the last thing Hoseok wanted was to listen to a bunch of drunk guys debate that.

“Anyway, I think she finds it more amusing. Like...sweet but...mostly funny. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Soyeon cry at a film yet. Maybe I just haven’t found the right film or genre yet.” Jungkook has a thoughtful look on his face, his gaze distant and Hoseok realises that he’s probably too tipsy for this kind of conversation.

From personal experience with Jungkook, Hoseok did not doubt that he would spend far too long having internal conversations, arguments and debates without even realising other people were talking to him. If anyone thought Jungkook was introverted normally then they hadn’t seen anything until he was drunk.

“Keep looking,” Hoseok says cheerfully, taking another shot and trying to clean his tongue with his teeth to remove the flavour. “You’ll find it eventually. I discovered that Meeps doesn’t cry at most things but she will cry at videos of cats that have been nursed back after being hurt.”

“Well...duh.” That comes from Taehyung, who’s giving Hoseok a serious ‘wtf’ look right now. It makes him feel a little self-conscious and so he grabs one of the random beers on the tables before taking a swig.

“Yeah, who wouldn’t cry at that? What the hell.” Placing a hand on the table, Yoongi looks at them all with a serious expression that could almost sober a person. It causes him to start ranting on about animal rights for the next five minutes, no one feeling brave enough to interrupt him. When Yoongi got going, everyone had long since realised that it was better to just let him get on with it.

By the time he finally stops, sitting back with a triumphant expression on his face before swallowing the last of his whiskey, everyone else has already finished another bottle of beer. Almost like they were trying to get themselves drunk as fast as possible to cope with Yoongi’s insistence that people who hurt animals should receive the same injuries back to them.

While Hoseok agreed, he didn’t quite like hearing about some of the incidents that Yoongi was talking passionately about. It made him think of Kasumi and Ciri, which made his chest hurt. 

He was a bit of a baby when it came to his furbabies.

Suddenly though, he’s overwhelmed with the intense desire to go home. To see his dog and stroke his cat and cuddle with you. Blinking slowly, he stares at the bottle before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. The bright light as he unlocks it causes him to squint, trying to avoid being blinded before he realises with a shock that it’s after one in the morning.

His day had started at 10 am when he’d met up with all the guys at Jungkook’s place. They’d then made their way to the place for the day’s activities, having spent until 4 pm there before heading back to Jungkook’s to change into some clean clothes for their drinking time. Soyeon had been amused as she’d watched them all emerge almost like a new man, clean from the quick showers they’d taken and ready to get wasted.

But now he was tired. And holy fuck, he hurt. Hoseok had avoided trying to get up whenever possible. Which meant he fucking needed to piss right now, but moving hurt. His joints ached like fuck from all the activities while his body hurt so bad from the paintballing.

Licking his lips, he finished the last of his beer before sighing deeply. It caught the attention of the others, despite the music and noise. Upon seeing everyone’s gaze on him, he smiles at them.

“Okay guys, this has been a pretty great day. Thank you Jungkook for organising it and thank you to everyone for coming. It means a lot to me. Now, before I get too sappy...I’m going to head home.” He’s already organising for an Uber on his phone, ignoring the outraged noises that start from everyone.

It’s Jimin that’s loudest though, his voice rising in pitch and yet simultaneously getting deeper as his accent gets a little stronger.

“What? It’s not even late! We’ve still got plenty of drinking to do.” Now he’s the one pouting and Hoseok notes in amusement that Seokjin and Namjoon are nodding in agreement. Taehyung doesn’t seem to give two fucks, either way, giving him a lazy shrug before taking a drink of what Hoseok realises is a glass of water while Jungkook remains quiet.

“Guys, it’s one in the morning. I know that I’m flaking out early, but you guys can keep drinking. I’m okay with it, honestly. I just...I’m really tired. A little drunk too, probably not as much as you’d all like but enough for me. Also, I have a bruise on my ass that’s probably the size of Ireland from all the fucking paintballs you fired at me. I hurt.” He whines out the word, wanting to wiggle almost like a child but the pain that shoots up from his asscheek causes him to inhale quickly and still.

“Shit, does it hurt?” The question comes from Jungkook, who’s scanning Hoseok up and down as best he can. It’s not a good attempt given he’s had a little too many drinks and he doesn’t seem to be able to lift his head properly once it’s gone down too far, causing Hoseok to snort.

It doesn’t stop him from giving the younger man a droll stare, which he can only see when Hoseok forcefully lifts his chin back up. “Yes, it fucking does. Why do you think I’ve barely moved all evening?”

“Sorry.” Jungkook’s face is scrunched up and Hoseok knows why he looks so awkward. He’s pretty sure he may as well have Jungkook’s name imprinted on his back in bruises from how many times he’d been hit by him. The guy was far too fucking good at paintball, something Hoseok had regretted agreeing to within five minutes of being in the arena.

“It’s okay. But I’m done for the night. I’m going to go home and sleep so fucking hard. Meeps might think I’ve died in the morning or something.”

“Morbid.” Yoongi chuckles, tipping his new glass of whiskey towards him before grinning.

“Yep. Really glad that I asked for this to be done two weeks before the wedding. I’d have been like an old man if I’d agreed to do it the day before.” The very thought of having to hobble up the aisle made him cringe.

A notification on his phone distracted him though, the Uber app telling him that his ride is here. He feels a surprising amount of relief at being able to go home, the thought of his bed almost like a siren call that was too tantalising to resist.

“And with that, my Uber is here. Thank you for today, really,” Hoseok lets out a yelp of pain as he stands, gingerly holding his ass and causing everyone to simultaneously laugh and look concerned. “I appreciate it. It was fun and I enjoyed it all.”

It takes him another few minutes to finally get out of the bar; hugs being given out repeatedly to the guys while he accepts all their praise and well wishes. The Uber was idling by the side of the road and he wished that he could slump inside but instead, he had to gingerly get in and position himself with the least amount of pain. 

To make it even worse, he had to explain to the very sober driver that he wasn’t shitfaced but was actually in pain from the earlier paintballing. That had led to a whole conversation that Hoseok hadn’t anticipated, lasting the whole trip as he’d discussed where they’d gone and the activities they’d done. The guy seemed to be very interested in it and had given him many congratulations when he’d found out that Hoseok was at his bachelor’s party.

It never failed to amuse Hoseok how easily people wish congratulations upon finding out as if they felt obliged. What he didn’t quite appreciate was the guy's remarks about marriage, which were more than a little derogatory. Hoseok didn’t know why anyone would think it was a good idea to disparage marriage to someone who was only weeks away from marriage.

As he was leaving the car, he put on a polite smile and thanked the driver for the trip. Once he was out though, he resolved to not leave a good review. Maybe he sounded a little harsh, but having to listen to how he should ringfence all his finances to avoid them being leeched by his soon-to-be wife for whenever she inevitably cheated or left him had been more than he could handle.

If Hoseok hadn’t been tired before, he sure was now. 

Opening the front door, he kicks off his shoes with a heavy sigh before heading into the living room in darkness. Ciri is in her cage, fast asleep until Hoseok unlatches the door and calls her out. She’s slow to react, her little body tired until he opens up the backdoor and lets her out. He figures that you can both have a nice lie in if he lets Ciri out now. 

Closing the door once she’s out, he heads into the bathroom and brushes his teeth while peeing before washing his wash. He gets to see how badly bruised he is in the mirror for the first time and winces at the sight of the already black and blue flesh, knowing he’s going to be in even more pain tomorrow.

Sighing, he towel dries his face before heading out and letting Ciri back in. He’d love to have a little cuddle with her but he’s too tired, so he just puts a treat into her cage to coax her back in before giving her an attentive stroke and locking it. She’s too busy eating her chew eagerly to notice him. 

Heading to the bedroom, he pulls off his clothes in the dark before fumbling around to find his pyjamas. He’d go to bed in just his boxers but he wants to try and give a little bit of coverage to his poor body for tonight. Which is why he doesn’t even know if he’s put them on the right way around or not. Hoseok doesn’t even care, he already feels asleep.

There’s a little light when he gets over to the bed from your clock, the numbers glowing brightly in the night and highlighting your face as you sleep. Kasumi is curled up against your stomach on top of the covers, her eyes blinking slowly at Hoseok as he leans over to give her a stroke as well. She gives a quiet chirp of appreciation and he smiles softly at how her body vibrates as she purrs, her paws flexing and closing as she pads at your covered thigh.

And through it all, you don’t even stir. Your breathing is slow and steady while your body is completely relaxed, unaware he’s even arrived home. Hoseok doesn’t even realise he’s smiling until he lets out a soft laugh, knowing that you probably won’t wake up at all. Once you’ve fallen asleep then you’re truly out like a light until the early hours of the morning so he has no fear of waking you up.

Carefully, he climbs into bed and throws the cover over himself with a quiet groan as his limbs feel so heavy. He can’t even remember the last time he hurt this badly. It takes way more effort than he’d like to admit to not wake you up and have you coddle him. Mainly because you’re grumpy when you’ve been woken up.

What he does do though, is shift onto his side that doesn’t have the most bruises before carefully shuffling closer to you. A soft mewl of pain leaves him as he does so but he doubts he could get in any position without some level of discomfort right now. So he’ll be damned if he denies himself some comfort in cuddling your sleeping form.

Wrapping an arm around your waist, he moulds himself to your back as gently as he can before letting out the deepest sigh he’s done in a while. His whole body relaxes, causing him to almost whimper as the pain he hadn’t realised he had is exacerbated by his now lax muscles. Fuck, that’s the last time he paintballs with Jungkook.

Pressing his nose to your back, he inhales deeply. You haven’t even moved, despite all the jostling he’s done behind you and there’s no change to your breathing. Taking in the comforting scent of you, he recalls his earlier thought process about his past. Feeling you solid and warm in his arms provides him with a sense of peace that he’s never found with anyone else, causing him to feel content despite his discomfort.

Yeah, he wouldn’t change a thing if it meant he ended up with you. And he doesn’t care how cheesy it sounds. In only two weeks, he’d be marrying you. He was allowed to be as sappy as he wanted, whether it was internally or externally.

You deserved to be praised and shouted about and goddammit, Jung Hoseok was going to worship you.

[nukapind]

Hi can you pls continue the late night visit fics their great and I love seeing dad!dabi content yours became a new favorite of mine 🥰💜🤗

Enough (Dabi x Reader)

+ Request: “Hi! I was wondering if I could request a continuation of your series Of Visits and Drop Ins? Honestly I look forward to seeing more interactions between Dabi and his son along with how the family dynamic has changed to accommodate Dabi. Happy New Year!”

So I actually didn’t even notice it was the day to post and I did literally all of this on my break at work lmao. Lemme know if y’all have any requests and like always, this was crossposted to my AO3.

Late Night Visit (Part One)  Daylight Drop-In (Part Two)

___

The first change you made was the olive branch— a small key to your apartment that you’d left on the counter with a note. It’d always been an extra key but lately it’d found a home looped in some twine around Dabi’s neck in a makeshift necklace, hidden to the prying eyes of his so called coworkers under his shirt.

The second was the extra space that’d seemed to free itself up— from the empty hook on the coatrack to the new seat at the dinner table, there’d at least been an attempt to accommodate a third person in the house, even if there was no guarantee that it’d be used. After all, Dabi had never seemed to care about the smaller things before— never once cared if his placemat was at the table or if you’d freed up space in your closet to make room for his clothes— yet you still made space for him in your life.

And the final change certainly had to be Takeshi himself, he’d always been such a sweet and quiet boy outside of the home. He’d never been one to be loud nor to be mischievous

With Dabi here, he seemed to come to life just as his powers had.

“Mommy, look at what Dabi taught me!” An excited squeal rang in your ears, quickly followed by the sound of little feet running around the house. Those words had never been followed with anything good, the last he’d said that your hair had been singed slightly— Takeshi was very apologetic, Dabi not as much but he’d certainly got a kick out of it.

Immediately your eyes darted over the fire extinguisher on the kitchen counter, fingers antsy to reach out for it already. “Mom look!” He whined and reluctantly you turned, a soft gasp leaving your lips. A small blue flame rested on his fingertip, glowing just as much as the smile on Takeshi’s face.

“Wow sweetie, that’s wonderful. But remember that we don’t use our quirks inside the house, practicing is for our outside time.” He huffed but the proud look on his face didn’t seem to vanish. “It looks just like Dabi’s fire! I’m getting good.” You snorted, he certainly did seem to be getting the same amount of confidence that Dabi had, that’s for sure.

“It looks very cool, now put that fire out quick.” He pouted but nevertheless the flame quickly dissipated— only proving that though Dabi may have been a pain to have around before this, he had been teaching Takeshi quickly. The elementary school you’d sent him to had already said his control was far greater than the other students, that he had a remarkable quirk— a quirk that was an awful lot like Endeavor’s, that could work perfectly for a hero. You wanted absolutely none of that, and you were sure Dabi would rather skin himself alive than to hear that Takeshi had been compared to Endeavor at your parent-teacher conference.

Thankfully, Takeshi hadn’t had such an interest in heroes like all the other children his age— hopefully he never would.

“Kid’s got good control, better than me at that age.” Biting your lip, you nodded softly— though you’d made all these changes to fit Dabi in both of your lives, it didn’t mean seeing him was any less uncomfortable. It was obvious, from the beginning at least, that you’d only wanted him around to help Takeshi— who still hadn’t wanted  to call Dabi his dad.

It’d been a nightmare at the beginning, but slowly things had started to get better.

“Well, you’ve had more than enough time to learn how to control that firepower. Now you’re just passing it on I suppose.” You’d threaded your fingers through Takeshi’s hair, frowning softly at the white that was poke through at the tips— Dabi had said it was something that couldn’t be helped, that it’d happened to him as a kid too and the only solution would be to dye it back.

“Kid, go clean up. Your mom and I have to talk.” And just as he always did whenever Dabi told him to do anything, Takeshi nodded obediently before running off to the bathroom— Dabi had been his idol recently, hanging around him every second he could.

Which made this talk a whole lot scarier.

“Doll I—” “Dabi, I just wanna say thank you for being here.” You quickly interrupted him, wringing your hand nervously. What other reason would he have to talk other than to say he was done with teaching Takeshi? After all, Takeshi was already ahead of the curve, the schools could handle his quirk from here on out— there was probably no need for Dabi to stick around. But these last three months had been the easiest of your life, with the help with Takeshi you’d barely had to worry too much.

Because despite everything he’d done, you trusted Dabi to keep both you and Takeshi safe. That’d been enough.

“Takeshi has been… so so much better with you here, honestly I’ve never seen him this happy. He loves being around you, It’s all I fucking hear.” You laughed, rubbing the back of your neck. “You’re… you’re really helping us out Dabi.” The conflicted look on his face was enough to prepare you for the worst.

And his mind was conflicted indeed, all he’d promised was to get the brat’s quirk in check— he’d never promised all these family dinners and babysitting while you were out. He had better things to do than to watch a shitty movie with some snot-nosed brat while you did the dishes in the kitchen.

But then again, he’d been the one dragging out the training sessions, and he’d been the one that’d been showing up at the league less and less each week. He’d been the one passing out on your couch even though he’d told himself that this was just gonna be a quick thing.

He’d gotten too comfortable with all this fucking domesticity, and it was just causing him even more fucking problems.

“I can’t be here anymore Doll, you think they wouldn’t take your ass to Tartarus if they catch me with you? And if they find out who Takeshi really is, they’ll send him right to that asshole. He’ll do to Takeshi what he fucking did to me.” He kept his voice low, Takeshi had never liked hearing the two or you argue. “We can leave this place then, we can figure this out.” Your pleading almost made something in his chest twinge, but it was easy enough to shove that away.

“They could send him to the hero commission too, they’d make him a fucking soldier there.” He spat, the very idea was vile— for his own son to be working in what was one of the most flawed hero systems ever.

“If you run out on us again, you’re not coming back, Dabi. You’ll be out of his life for good. I mean it this time.” He hesitated, watching as Takeshi ran out the bathroom only to settle himself into the couch, cartoons already blaring way too loudly. And he hesitated again as he watched you: arms crossed and defensive, ready to protect your little fucked up family at any cost.

What he’d give to have just a little more fucking resilience.

“Fine.” He hissed. “You have one week to sort out all your shit, I’ll be back and we’ll take the kid and go. But don’t fucking say I didn’t do anything for you two.” Promptly he was pulled into a bone crushing hug, your face buried in his chest as tears dampened his shit. “I gotta do some stuff before we go, but seven days. Don’t go changing your mind.” “I won't! I won’t” Your grin wasn’t at all dampened by the sniffles escaping you. 

“Dabi, thank you so much.” 

And in that moment, it was a reminder of what had dragged him into your life in the first place. “Don’t fucking bail out on me, alright Doll?”

The nod into his chest was enough.

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