#being there for each other

[rodpower78]

Eddie: I should've been there.

Buck: Hey. You're here now.

[whitedahlia13]

That's Where You'll Find Me

Chapter 9: Reason to Hope

Fandom: Teen Wolf / The Wizard of Oz AU

Characters: Stiles + Lydia, Prada

After an hour or so the light faded away, and they found themselves stumbling along in the darkness. - L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Stiles wakes. Only two hours have passed, but something feels different. Not wrong but not quite right either. Lydia is still sleeping, but she’s restless.

He swipes a few strands of hair away from her face. “It’s okay. You’re safe,” he whispers.

His voice and touch seem to put her at ease, so he figures the best thing to do is not to wake her, just keep her close and reassure her as often as she needs it.

He carefully slides one arm beneath her and rolls onto his back. With minimal encouragement, Lydia moves with him, nuzzling up to his shoulder and grabbing a fistful of his tee shirt. He shudders, half troubled by the tension in her body, half melting over the way she clings to him.

Two years ago, if anyone would’ve told him it would be like this between them, he’d have been stunned. Happy, but stunned. He never could have predicted they would affect each other on so many levels. Never could have presumed that Lydia would have trembled the way she did when she swore she didn’t want space from him. Never could have hoped he would have the courage to say it back.

Now, he can’t imagine it any other way, can’t imagine them being anything other than completely raw and honest with each other.

If she were awake, he would tell her that, as long as she wants, he’s never letting go.

He stretches out his other arm, intending to draw her closer when his elbow bumps something solid. The hard cover of a book.

It gives him an idea.

Read more: ao3

It's here @folglore13, @kylermalloy (anyone else? drop a comment if you'd like me to add you to the list)

[always-coffee]

The other day, a dear friend paid me a wonderful compliment. And it’s really how I strive to be in the world, as a person, so it made me a bit emotional. The thing is, I’m not a person who runs when things get hard. I don’t run. It’s not in my nature. Good, bad—in between, I’m there. I am really not someone who wavers or hesitates, especially if my heart is involved (spoiler alert: I am all heart, oops). I go into most situations with a firm understanding of what the difficulties might be. I'm a Libra. I know how to assess and be mindful. I may be blundering in, but I’m not blundering in unseeing.

Yesterday, I came across what was meant to be an inspirational meme about how love is great and all, but having someone love you when you’re difficult or a burden or a mess or inconvenient is really what counts. And yes, but I would also argue that if love isn’t all those things, it’s not love. And I hated the bit about the burden, because no one I have ever cared about has ever been a burden to me. Caring for my dying mother was sure unfun (a little over a decade ago), and I really don’t wish that entire experience on anyone. But was she a burden to me? No.

Making meals for a friend going through surgery was not a burden to me. Sitting with another friend when they were having a bad time—just chilling out on the couch together was not a burden. I could go on and on, but the point is this: being there for those you care about is never a burden. And if someone makes you feel as if it is—as if you’re wrong for being messy or having a hard time—than they do not deserve you.

For me, and I’ve said this before, being there for folks is part of what I love about life and relationships. God knows, I can be a messy human who feels too much and talks a lot (when I feel comfortable). But being close to someone is an honor. I love it. Truly. Makes my heart sing. Even on the bad days. Will I try to make you laugh? Sure. Will I sit with you and hug you if you need to cry? Yes. I will definitely try to feed you (Italian American), and probably learn how to make your favorite things. Because that’s love, to me. Here I made this for.

The thing about life is that is never rainbows and kittens and sunshine all of the time. Leaning on each other during the tough times is what gets us through it all. And I don’t understand anyone who thinks that care is conditional. Care and love are not. And if someone has told you that it is, they can go pound sand.

I am the softest person on earth in a lot of ways. But there is strength in that softness, trust me. And I will absolutely use that on behalf of those I care about, no hesitation. Because that's the whole damn point of why we're here.

[stagehunt]

more thoughts on aven and topaz and why i don't really interpret them as having the close relationship that i see a lot of in the fandom + his general feelings about her. talking about the checking out quest a little in the beginning.

screenshots from my own transcript but they're still word for word. aven is more than aware that the tb is never going to accept a job offer from the ipc and treats this entire exchange as the joke that is, and an excuse to get under topaz' skin a little. just for fun. interesting then, how topaz immediately starts to get very personal during this little debate — while simultaneously displaying how well she actually knows aven, which is honestly not at all. i wouldn't blame this on a lack of understanding on her part, but on the way aven keeps everyone at arms distance, a distinct lack of trust in her from aven, and radically different outlooks on their work and life.

both of the dialogue excerpts kind of highlight that but i want to focus on the second one here because it immediately reminded me of a personal headcanon when i was playing the quest through.

so. i'd already made the assumption that aven didn't have many staff working under him — both because of his treatment within the ipc / the varying reactions to who he is and his history with the previous aventurine which is pretty much public knowledge, his preference for working solo, and his habits of putting himself in harms way and taking very unreasonable risks. he'd assume that topaz sees these " work habits " she mentions as the main reason that people don't work to him but he also knows that she isn't foolish enough to think that's the only reason anyway. which is why he then immediately reminds her that diamond doesn't particularly care WHAT he does so long as he secures the bag at the end of the day.

it's for things like this, and her general hostility towards him ( which does seem to vary, but her voice line about him is very harsh as opposed to what she tells us about him when she knows he's around / how she acts to his face ) and with the sheer amount of manipulation she's under, the things she genuinely believes about the ipc and her job there, he does personally think that it's impossible for her not to have absorbed at least some of the ipc's common opinions on him, the avgin + avgin extinction event / ipc's involvement on sigonia, and the egyhazo - aventurine case, and allowed them to colour her impression of him before really getting to know him.

however as i mentioned in those disc screenshots, aven is obviously aware of the predatory nature of the ipc. he's been working there for almost a decade now, he was a teenager when he first wound up there, and he understands what happened on topaz' planet very well. he understands that she's naive. he understands that she has been essentially groomed, as well as the fact that she's very dedicated to her work. but he also understands that she's a kind hearted person, and that she does try to do what she thinks is the right thing in most situations. it would be ridiculous for me to say that he doesn't sympathise with topaz, even if he does find her a little obnoxious and annoying to be around.

so while he doesn't necessarily feel enough responsibility towards her to put up with her apparent dislike for him, he does subtly keep an eye out for her. when she first became a stoneheart he figured that she should be able to understand his situation better than anyone and that it would make sense for them both to have each others backs as much as possible. but from what he's observed and how they interact with each other, he just cannot convince himself that it would be safe to trust her. he knows he'd have to be careful with his words around her, and that at least currently, she wouldn't ever choose him over the job. still, he has a feeling that if she were ever to open her eyes to what she is complicit in, she'd despise the truth and herself as much as he does, if not more for being so easily strung along by the likes of jade.

so are they friends? no. but if topaz ever genuinely needed help he would be there. he would understand.

[sga-owns-my-soul]

hey can we like. can we go back to celebrating things when they actually happen instead of 4 months in advance. i've been seeing halloween shit for a month and a half. halloween hasn't even HAPPENED yet and now im seeing christmas stuff. they got the back to school stuff out the second week of july

im just. im so sick of getting holidays and events shoved down my throat for months and then there's not even any time to enjoy it bc the next fuckin thing is being shoved down your throat. can we just go back to actually celebrating holidays when they happen. pls

[swan2swan]

Whoever conceived and animated this moment, I hope they're doing well and thriving. This is S-rank romance stuff here.

[odetokeons]

♱ Nosferatu (2024) dir. Robert Eggers ♱

+ bonus

[whitedahlia13]

Besides those hours sharing the passenger’s seat, there were other moments. Like the two of them walking the streets of Mexico, his hand frequently brushing against hers or hovering at her back. Like when he stepped between her and a boy who almost knocked into her because he wasn’t looking where he was going. Like when he bought her the beaded bracelet with the tiny star charm she had been eyeing, handing the cash to the street vendor before she could protest and shoving the eight pesos change he received into his pocket with a crooked grin. She remembered those moments too, each of them like little rainbows in the midst of so much gloom.

Read more: ao3 & ffnet

[videogamelover99]

No but Jax and Pomni becoming close friends makes so much sense BECAUSE Jax would rather eat glass than have Pomni be his therapist friend. Like when he's talking to her, he's talking to her like a peer vs letting her fix his problems. Because he would rather die than have anyone do that.

And Pomni...kinda needs someone who doesn't bullshit her but keeps her from getting too anxious. And Jax needs someone who will take all his bullshit and accept that about him instead of trying to fix him or make him better. Funnybunny shippers how are we feeling?

[symphonyofsilence]

Let the poor man rest.

[kwadlayns]

talk to me in french, talk to me in spanish 🍒

[melonsharks]

au where everything is the same except mabel and dipper have been going to gravity falls every year before the show takes place since like kindergarten.

its a pretty simple premise that derives mostly from my desire to explore interpersonal relationships and the ways a place and people can change from a young child’s point of view. it doesn’t change canon that much either, admittedly, i just wanted to draw childhood friends stuff LOL. ill call it uhhhhhhhh every summer au.

[chloesimaginationthings]

FNAF Golden Freddy and Doey’s spirits could get along,,

[artsymeeshee]

sillies!! :D

[indigonite]

despite everything….

bitter jonmartin makes me a little bit insane actually. despite everything, all the anger and fear and betrayal, still together, not by fate but by choice