#i feel like butch suits me best. it just feels *right* in the way that like lesbian feels right.

[tackysapphic]

currently doing that thing i tend to do where i know something about myself deep down but keep pushing it down and coming up with a million excuses of why it can’t be etc etc.

[cowboyjen68]

hiii!

i'm a younger butch lesbian, but there's a bit of a roadblock: i live in a very cis/heteronormative place, so i have no butch role models. i have no idea how to...well, be butch.

tips and tricks?

This is an easy and simple answer. Just be you. Dress in what makes you feel confident and comfortable.

Being butch will come as natural as breathing to you.

The best butch role models will live life as their honest selves whether that be an outgoing smiley extrovert or a quiet stoic introvert or anything in between. She won't need to put on a facade of toughness or act in any certain way to appease the outside world. We are perceived as butches just by existing so we might as well live life in a way that makes us happy.

You don't need to subsribe to any roles or rules as expected by society. IF you are butch you are butch. Be you.

Now some less woo woo advice. LOL Boy shorts or boxer under wear are almost universally comforting to butches. (NOT all by many) so try some Wal Mart boxers on for size. They seriously made me more comfortable and confident in my younger years.

IF you want to shop in the men's (boy's section) go right ahead. Rarely does anyone look twice because, frankly, men's clothes are accepted, in general, as more gender nuetral than women's clothes. Thrift stores are great places to try different clothes on to see what you like. It is a chaotic grouping of all kinds of styles and sizes for much less than retail (in many cases but beware over priced items larger second hand stores ). Once you find a style you like you can go to new or stick with used.

Shoes... I wear women's Columbias because they are good for my feet, affordable and suit my manual labor jobs. DO not neglect your feet for fashion. Find and spend the money on good shoes. Men's are just too large for me and sporting or outdoor activity shoes tend to have similar quality in men's and women's as opposed to dress shoes were women's are crap and men's are sturdy.

Flannel at big box stores are pretty affordable. Estate sales and garage sales, auctions and thrift stores can be a great place to find vintage, unique men's clothing at a fraction of on line or retail. I have found some very cool ties and belt buckles and dress shirts by taking a Saturday to check out estate sales. If you don't like them down the line you are only out a few bucks.

It warms my heart to see young women embrace the word butch and their own butchness because with that acceptence can come a wonderful community and a source of support in life.

Butch hugs from me to you.

[userdogmeat]

Keeping Warm

@falloutober - 15

Keeping Warm

It had rained for nearly four days straight before it had finally snowed and while Lone had been accustomed to the rain - a common occurrence in a coastal region - she had not been ready for snow. How could she have been? From what she’d read about the Capital Wasteland, snow had been fairly uncommon even before the bombs dropped. And what Lone could tell you, holed up in a shabby cabin with nothing but her moth-eaten blanket and her dimwit, jaw-grinding former neighbor and current companion, that she hated the snow. Almost as much as she hated Butch right now.

“This sucks.”

“Yep.”

“I mean, this really sucks.”

“I know, Butch.”

It had to be obvious, just how irritated she had been with him but he hadn’t seemed to notice nor care. Instead, Butch had just complained and complained and complained. It was cold. It was wet. His fingers were frozen. His hair was ruined. Blah. Blah. Blah. And when he’d run out of complaints, all he did was start over again, whining and moaning about just how much he hated the cold. 

Lone hated the cold, too. But you didn’t hear her complaining about it, not that Butch would’ve given her the time to do so. His annoying voice filled the empty space with wasted breath that hadn’t been hot enough to heat it.

“Why’s it gotta be so cold?”

“It’s February, Butch. It’s going to be cold in February.”

“Not this cold!” 

Irritation made Lone’s eye twitch as she stared at him blankly, “I don’t know what to tell you, Butch. It’s cold, maybe you should listen to me next time and bring your gloves.”

“But my gloves make my palms sweaty.”

Lone stared at the gray blanket sitting in her lap, worn and stained from its use in the Capital Wasteland and thought of twisting it. If wrung tightly enough, she had thought, it would’ve made a decent noose that she could’ve used to kill Butch with or maybe herself, were she so desperate enough.

“Again, Butch, I really don’t know what to tell you.”

“Ugh.”

Ugh was right. And unfortunately, Butch was right about pretty everything. This sucked. And yeah, sure - Butch being a petulant brat hadn’t been making the situation any better, but it really was the cold that had sucked the most.

“I feel like I’m ‘boutta freeze to death in here, y’know? ’m gonna get that frostbite or whatever, and my toes are gonna fall off.”

“Don’t be such a baby, Butch.”

“A baby!” He gasped, “I don’t know who you callin’ a baby when you’ve been totin’ around that rag of yours since we were in diapers.”

“It is not a rag.”

It was hard to not be defensive of her blanket. Lone loved her blanket. It kept her safe, secure and sure, it hadn’t done the best job of keeping the heat in since she was ten, but it was her blanket. 

“It is too a rag, that thing’s thinner than paper and there’s more holes in that thing than I can count.”

“Well, Butch - last I recalled, counting really wasn’t your strong suit, was it?”

“Touchy.”

Lone couldn’t help but smirk at the purse of Butch’s lips, his huff audible as he pulled the sides of his jacket closer to himself in another attempt to keep himself warm. Stupid bastard, Lone had thought as she stared at her woefully unprepared companion. How had he not listened to her? Butch had left his hat and gloves in Megaton, refused to pack an additional sweater despite Lone telling him to, and had accidentally left his own blanket and sleeping bag in the last place they’d stayed at miles ago. It was no wonder the man was freezing.

“Here,” she huffed as she pulled the blanket from her lap, offering it to him, “I think you need this more than me.”

“I don’t want your stupid - ,”

“Take it, Butch, before I change my mind.”

The way Butch had reached for her blanket so hesitantly had almost been enough for her to change her mind but Lone had allowed it. He was proud - the proudest person she’d ever met, but he was freezing, too and despite how much she liked the idea of him being dead as a doornail and out of her hair, Lone couldn’t bear the idea of losing him either. Especially not like this.

“Thank you.” He had mumbled as he curled into the blanket that he’d tossed over his shoulders.

“Just don’t lose it, alright?”

“I won’t, I promise.”

It had seemed to do enough for Butch to shut up for a while, sniffing occasionally from the runny nose he’d developed. But Lone could see the way that he was shaking, the way the tip of his nose had turned a dark red from the frostnip, the way his teeth chattered as the muscles in his jaw tried to keep warm. He looked miserable - more miserable than she currently was and Lone couldn’t help but sigh.

“Come here.”

“What?”

Lone felt herself warm slightly at her sudden proposition to him, “I said, come here. You’re going to freeze to death if we don’t start sharing some body heat.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Butch had scooted towards her until his shoulders were flush with hers, his arm raising so that he could wrap the blanket around her but pausing as Lone held her hand up to stop him.

“Wait, you - we - uh, we’ve got to um…,” Lone had swallowed, her eyes trailing down his body before drawing back up to look at him and his stupid and unfortunately, devastatingly handsome, but confused face, “strip first.”

If there had ever been a moment that Lone had been grateful for the cold - it was right now because had there been no cold and no frost-nipped rosie skin, Butch would’ve been able to see the blush that had crept past her cheeks and up to her ears.

“We’ve got to what?”

“Strip,” she repeated, “we’ve got to share our body heat, not just some flimsy blanket.”

Butch’s mouth opened and shut a few times, the gears in his head turning in that weird, clunky way they always had when Lone had to offer a compromising solution for a problem that required sharing and touching. It was the same dumb face he’d made when they’d been forced to share that twin bed just a few weeks ago. 

“Oh - uh, alright. But do we have to - um, like…”

“...Take our underwear off?”

Butch nodded meekly, his Adam’s apple bobbing with a hard swallow.

“I don’t know, I think so?” Lone mumbled, “I’ve never had to do this before but from what I’ve read and heard, this is the only way I can help prevent you from freezing to death.”

Butch didn’t object to Lone's explanation, there was no way that he could’ve not with his ass on the line but he still hesitated, instead choosing to wait for Lone to strip first.

Lone had started with her boots, unlacing them quickly - all thanks to the gloves that she had remembered to bring - as Butch struggled alongside her, his fingers stiff from the cold.

“Here,” she offered, reaching down and replacing his hand with her own, “let me help you.”

He watched quietly as Lone helped him remove his boots, her hand slipping underneath the heel and around his ankle before tugging gently and placing them next to him.

“Stand up.”

Butch took Lone’s offered hand, allowing her to pull him up until they were standing only a few inches from one another. Wordlessly, the two began to strip, peeling off their jackets and unzipping their vault suits until their under layers were exposed. And slowly, but surely - with their eyes glued to one another, Lone and Butch stepped out of their vault suits, pools of gore-tex lined blue leather dropping next to the rest of their abandoned clothes until they were in nothing but their underclothes.

Lone could see the way the cold was getting to Butch as he pulled his undershirt up and over his head, the muscles in his stomach flushed and taught as they contracted from the sudden exposure to the chilled air. 

A huff of fogged breath blew from Butch’s mouth as he chuckled, “Fuck, I’m so much colder now.”

“Me, too.” 

He smiled at her, the same dopey smile he’d been doing as of late whenever they were  normal - or whatever this was - with one another and Lone couldn’t help but smile back. It was awkward and strange but somehow, the concept of being stark naked with her former bully turned companion (if that’s what you could call it) was also, somehow just another one of those days at this point. They’d already been through so much together, how bad could pressing her naked body against his naked body really be?

“Well…” she had started, “I guess we better…”

“...Yeah… I guess so.”

And with another awkward but swift movement, Lone and Butch removed their last article of clothing - their underwear - and made themselves completely bare to one another. 

Butch quickly concealed himself with a cup of his hands as Lone quickly began to move, not that she had cared to look anyways - it had just been too cold. And besides, Lone was just as naked as he was, she knew that any pointed fingers at his shrinkage would be returned with a nasty comment about her own nudeness. Instead, Lone focused on the makeshift bedding that she had to quickly create before the encroaching freeze on her fingers made them too stiff to move.

“We’ll share my sleeping bag,” she said, as she moved to sit on her knees - her fingers fumbling as she tried to unclip the single-person sleeping from her pack, “it’ll be a tight squeeze but with this and the blanket, it should be enough to keep us warm.”

Lone could see the way that Butch’s shaking was becoming more severe, he’d been freezing for far longer than she had and now that he was nude, he was only getting worse. So she moved as fast as she could, throwing down the sleeping roll and unzipping it quickly.

“Lay down.”

Butch moved as quickly as he could, settling on the now open sleeping bag with a low groan and she quickly followed suit. Lone hadn’t been wrong about the tight squeeze as she pulled the blanket-part over her and began to zip with each tug, she felt herself pressed closer and closer to Butch’s chill body until it was finally pulled all of the way up to their chins and they were pressed firmly together.

“Come here,” she whispered, as she rolled over to face him, “press your chest against mine.”

Butch shivered against her as the flat of her palm rubbed small, soothing circles against his back and he wiggled one of his arms around her neck and the other wrapped tightly around her back. The two of them tucked their legs into one another, each other’s knee resting over the other until they were fully intertwined, the heat of their groins providing a small warmth against one another’s skin. And they laid like this for as long as they could, holding one another as they tried to keep warm. And it honestly wasn't so bad, Lone had thought, his body pressed against hers. It was strange but intimate, and almost comforting the way their bodies fit so perfectly against one another.

“Are you starting to feel any better?” 

Butch nodded quietly. He was starting to warm up, Lone could feel it. Thank goodness.

“Do you want me to roll over,” she asked, “or maybe you and I spoon you?”

Butch shook his head, his nose burying into the top of her head and deep into her hair. “I’m fine like this,” he mumbled.

Lone smiled into his chest as she felt it begin to rise slower and more steadier, a sign that his muscles were finally starting to relax, allowing him to finally fall into much-needed sleep. And Lone took this as a sign for herself, as she pressed herself tighter against him with shut eyes, inhaling his cologne for a final time before drifting off herself into a warm sleep.

[amporella]

since ur recent fic has me thinking about it all day every day. fem style headcanons?

WAUGH... THANK YOU <3 of course I must oblige... THOUGH YOU ALREADY KNOW BASICALLY ALL OF THESE?

IN REGARDS TO NAMES, I usually go with Kylie for Kyle (for obvious reasons), and I kind of waffle between Steph and Sam for Stan? I think they would suit her in that they're also a shortened form of a name, like Stan is for Stanley, and they go from seeming vaguely stuffy to very roll off the tongue names.

STEPH IS, OF COURSE, BUTCH. It is simply the law. She is a suit-wearing, mullet-wielding butch. Similarly to actual Stan, her features are very boyish; she gives off the vibes of everyone's girl best friend that you met on the playground in fourth grade and accidentally kind of fell in love with without realizing it.

Kylie is femme, but not super femme. That being said, I also wouldn't call her futch? She's not a huge makeup wearer beyond very light, and she is a skirt/dress wearer but isn't passionate about fashion to the extent that someone like Bebe might be. She is like an academia type femme, if that makes sense. She's tidy fashion-wise in the same way that I imagine guy Kyle being, but not OVERLY interested beyond that. She just dresses neat and cute and is very well put together. Steph is more of a flannel type.

Steph is either a field hockey or soccer girl; she partakes in the Designated Lesbian Sports. I am not an expert on hockey/soccer positions so I can't say which ones she would play BUT rest assured that she is the star player on her team every time.

Speaking of lesbian sports, Steph is a lesbian to me. IT JUST FEELS RIGHT. Kylie is also a lesbian!!! Guy style is a bi/gay relationship for me but fem style is simply two lesbians in love.

I wish I had more to say about them BUT I think they are very similar to their guy counterparts!!! So essentially all of my headcanons for them apply here. But butch Steph is just So Meaningful to me. Like that is her. She is a hot butch who can lift her girlfriend off the ground AND THAT IS ALL THERE IS TO IT!!

And finally, obvious promo is obvious but buny's fem style is really just exactly them. It is really the holy gospel for fem style.

THAKN YOU FOR THE ASK QUEEN <3

[treveonwest]

(PowerRuff part 21 part 1) {The Cutie Prom}

Narrator) today is going to be a very romantic day I feel in the City of Townsville because today is prom let's see what this crazy kids get up to today

Butch🦴) hey Berserk did you dye your hair red

_______________________________

Berserk🔥) yeah I was getting tired of my natural orange hair I thought red would go with my aesthetic also you do know the prom's coming up right

________________-

Butch🦴) yeah a whole bunch of the other kids are asking out there prom dates I just haven't found one yet who are you going to ask

_______________________

Berserk🔥) I mean I was going to ask Blossom but I think brick fucked that up for me at that party but I might try anyway

Bubbles💙) princess are you as excited for the prom as I am

_____________________________

Princess👑) yes and no I've just been through a lot I don't know if this is really the best time for a prom

MissKeane🌼) as you kids probably know tonight is prom night how everyone has a delighted time I remember my first prom when I was your age that's how I found my ex-husband that's also the father of my daughter but I can't forget we have a new student she just moved here from France

Julian🏳️‍⚧️) hey what's up my name is Julian and like she just said I just moved here from French and let me just say I already see some cute faces and my full name is Julian Leroy

Butch🦴) dude she's so hot!!!!

_____________________________

Brick🤬) sure I guess I don't really think any other girls are cute right now

__________________

Butch🦴) I think I want to ask her to be my prom date and dude I love sitting with you and everything because we're Bros but I really want her to sit next to me so can you move

___________________________

Brick🤬) sure

Julian🏳️‍⚧️) hey cutie mind if I sit here

_______________________________

Butch🦴) yeah it's perfectly fine for you to sit here my name is Butch JoJo by the way

___________________

Julian🏳️‍⚧️) oh yeah you're a rowdyruff boy

After class

Bubbles💙) did I mention how excited I am for the prom

__________________________

Blossom🌸) you've been talking about it all day trust me I'm excited too I already have a dress picked out

___________________

Bubbles💙) Buttercup I'm sorry you don't really have a girlfriend anymore so who are you going to prom with

_______________________

Buttercup💚) oh don't worry girls have been asking me to the prom all day I just haven't really been interested in any of them\

_________________

Blossom🌸) I really want to go with brick but I'm waiting for him to ask me

_________________________

Bubbles💙) Blossom I'm not trying to be mean but how do you know he wants to ask you

_____________________

Blossom🌸) bubbles I know how to read people very well brick obviously is a really big crush on me he's just too much of a tsudere to admit it so I'm waiting for him to ask me

________________________

Buttercup💚) oh you're luring him in / playing hard to get

Butch🦴) I swear to God guys next time I see Julian today I am asking her out to the prom she is so HOT and we talked a little bit she is so chill and laid back but really flirty

Boomer😜) well me and Bubbles are of course going together and I already have a suit picked out

Butch🦴) brick what are you going to do considering you haven't really told Blossom you liked her necessarily slow dancing with her at a party doesn't count

___________________________

Brick🤬) yeah I know I think I'm actually going to ask her

Brat🍑) so princess who are you going to ask to prom or you're waiting for somebody to ask you

______________________________________

Princess👑) just like I told bubbles I've been through so much recently that I'm not really focusing on the prom

__________________________

Berserk🔥) there has been so many girls and guys that have asked me out already the thing is that so many of them are hot that I can't pick who I want to go to prom with and I kind of want to ask blossom

____________________________

Brute💋) have fun with that sis

Scarlett🌹) hey Buttercup can I talk to you for a second

_________________________________

Buttercup💚) ummm sure

Buttercup💚) all right first things first if your sister is trying to use you to talk to me tell her I do not want to talk to her at all

Scarlett🌹) that's not what I'm doing at all I came to you for a personal matter

______________________________

Buttercup💚) which is

Scarlett🌹) Buttercup will you go to prom with me

Buttercup💚) Holy Shi............ I would be more than happy to go with you Scarlett thank you

Buttercup💚) you sure won't be weird going to the prom with your sister's ex-girlfriend

__________________________________

Scarlett🌹) I don't see anything weird about it and I'm nothing like my sister I actually like girls

Brick🤬) all right Butch I'm finally going to do it

___________________________

Butch🦴) well she's over there better do it before you lose your chance

_________________

Brick🤬) you're right….. I'm going for it

To Be Continued

[vvh0adie]

ngl chaeok from gyeongseong creature should be in a sapphic relationship (maybe bisexual poly?)

ugh idk (stick with me)

maybe i would feel different if her love story wasn’t unfolded in the course of three episodes

like that’s all it took for them to fall in love?

is it the demisexual/romantic in me? cuz i feel like to should have been slower😭

i say this because on the surface level her archetype is just a butch lesbian (i don’t think that’s a good thing cuz there’s obviously more complexity to butch/studs)

it felt forced but the writers had to force shit for a miniseries

but i was also thinking of those times when she was more fem presenting in terms of clothing and she seemed comfortable

so then i’m like could it be that since she had such a hard ass life she wasn’t afforded that? cuz when you take that into consideration that’s a common thing with WOC when faced with colonialism

in order to not fit in with the status quo and do revolutionary work she is stripped of that by design cuz she and her father could have very well decided that the missing people where pointless and became somebody like taesang

they had become dirty sleuths which in a way proves the japanese ill conceived notions about koreans “right” but it also gives koreans an upper hand because if someone already expects something of you then you have nothing to loses. you are free from respectability politics and that makes wanting freedoms much more valuable to you

cuz take taesang, although korean, he tried to assimilate and this man was really worried about losing material things at first instead of not having his freedom because he was so caught up in appearances. “if they think i’m one of them, they won’t hurt me.” WRONG. THE JAPANESE HURT EACH OTHER POOKIE😭

but i will say that doesn’t negate his trauma. he was trying to survive by playing capitalism’s game when it wasn’t designed for him. hell its not even in the japanese best interest either.

do yall see how much chaeok and jungwon kept putting their lives at risks? they did not give two fucks. it’s either freedom or die trying.

so like before she was a sleuthy butch, a lot of her flashbacks are her in traditional hanbok but also she never comments on not feeling uncomfortable in her baby blue pants suit when they infiltrate the hospital.

had they flushed out her character more in that regard, that would have actually made a conversation with taesang about

“do you not enjoy nice things?”

“yeah, but i would have preferred the suit.”

cuz let’s be honest, i was not feeling the love radiate off taesang until he was crying over her dead body. like yeah he saved her a couple times.

but also the whole hand holding thing😭 SHE DID NOT INITIATE AT ALL and had that man sweating about if he should hold her hand. I THOUGHT YALL WAS IN LOVE. YOU CANT EVEN HOLD A BITCH HAND. WE ARE AT THE FINAL HOUR!!!

but back to chaeok. her father made taesang promise to take care of her and provide a life that wasn’t sleuthing. basically he said “give my daughter a soft life.”

we can’t deny that taesang is a traditional man. he would have her dressed in the finest clothes. she would not have to walk around like a hard ass man anymore.

but i’m stuck at a cross roads where i’m like i see the potential for her to be butch but also keep femme. and i also see potential for her to have something meaningful with taesang but also a woman

in black culture we have stems (stud + femme) so that’s how i imagine her

but really none of this matters because honestly i don’t even think there should have been romance in this at all or at least not as heavily. (the ending pissed me off, they just opened the tropes chest and grabbed shit)

i wonder why they felt nobody would want to watch the show without a romance. it’s a historical fiction with so much history, it could have done without.

[sonneillonv]

Okay! So I binge-watched A League Of Their Own and my opinions are thus (spoiler warning):

I don’t really like Greta and Carson. Like... I don’t much like either of them as people AND I don’t really like them as a couple. Absolutely no interest whatsoever in watching them make out and go through drama. No stakes whatsoever for me when Charlie came home - it was just another drop in the drama bucket. Here we go again 🙄. Charlie seems sweet, I guess we’ll see his true colors now that he Knows. But frankly, I think both of them act like assholes to others and to each other, and I honestly have a really hard time buying that they’re in love because it doesn’t feel like love to me. It feels like someone desperately painting love on a false front, hoping that’ll turn a cut-out into a real building. I can’t get into it. Like when Greta told Carson not to always come to her with her problems, and Carson was like “??? I’m just trying to TALK to you?” I just. Noped the fuck out. There’s nothing wrong with having a just-physical relationship if that’s what two (or more) people want, but you have to discuss that. It has to be okay all around. I think Greta spends the whole season taking ruthless advantage of Carson, taking exactly what she wants from her and slapping down what Carson wants, giving her just enough little bits of sweetness so she doesn’t wiggle off the hook entirely. Carson had more chemistry with Max, tbh, and I’m not quite sure I ship them...? Because there’s that whole ‘invisible white privilege’ thing going on...? But I definitely like their potential more than I like Greta and Carson’s actuality.

I am REALLY fucking invested in what Clance and Guy are going through. That sweet baby boy better come back alive and intact from this war or I s2g I’m gonna set a few tumblr posts on fire. And Clance had better get her comics out there. She is WAY too good to keep her drawings on the kitchen table, and now that she’s moving into more ‘real’ work (like, it can still be superheroes but it will resonate more with folks if it’s about real issues) I seriously think she has nowhere to go but up. I hope to god she and Max can work it out, because I do NOT want to lose Clance to homophobia, I love her so much.

Maxine Chapman has never done a goddamn thing wrong IN HER LIFE and yet she goes around apologizing to people all the time, and it pisses me off. That thing with Bert? Are you SHITTING me? He shows up to her home where she never invited him, where her best friend lives to whom she is not out yet, and hands her that suit and has the unmitigated GALL to be pissed at her because she’s not ready to be out and proud like him. And then SHE apologizes to HIM? Oh fuck no. He could have gotten her fucking lobotomized with that shit, he should have been apologizing to HER. Like, I am not exaggerating, we literally have dialogue in the show about how one family found out their daughter was a lesbian and ‘had her put away’. Max has every reason to be completely terrified of what would happen to her as a black butch lesbian in 1943, and Bert has no right whatsoever to make assumptions about whether she should be Out and how that will affect her. I am so angry about how that scene was handled. How do you walk into a baby queer’s house with a gnc gift and NOT see the terror on her face and see her frantically trying to explain your visit to her housemate who is eying you like you’re the one who handed Eve an apple and recognize that you fucked up.

Esther’s okay, I guess. Once again, she strikes me as a little bit of a jerk and I’m just not sure I actually like her with Max. Maybe it has less to do with her and more to do with how mad I am that Max keeps apologizing for shit that isn’t her fault. It makes me think Esther might take advantage of that or something, even without meaning to. She’s presented as someone who had to fight her way to where she is now, and it makes me wonder if she won’t reflexively try to keep Max down a little bit just so she can feel secure that she’s not about to be shown up.

Lupe, Jess, and Esti are my faves right now, in terms of friendship and family dynamics. I might have a little bit of a crush on Jess, also? But I honestly think I liked Carson best during that very brief honeymoon period when she and Lupe were perfectly in sync and playing ruthless baseball and finishing each other’s sentences and mirroring each other’s signs. As soon as Carson turned against Lupe I was like “oh so the farm girl goes IN the trash, got it”. Lupe and Jess trying to co-parent Esti despite Jess not speaking her language and them not really being a couple is the most wonderful hilarious thing I saw on this show, and Esti’s fierce love and loyalty toward Jess even though they communicate almost entirely through gestures is just *chef’s kiss*. And poor Esti, god, when she made that comment about how she feels like a ghost because she can’t talk to anyone, my heart fucking broke. But even then, Jess is right there proving that love isn’t what you say, it’s what you do, and you can tell if someone loves you by their actions. Jess never treats Esti like a ghost. When she runs off to the bus station, Jess is the first to notice she’s disappeared and to CARE about what her absence means. I honestly feel less charitable toward the rest of the team partially BECAUSE they ignore Esti so much. That little girl is freshly sixteen in ep08 and Jess is the ONLY one actively taking care of her??? TF is wrong with y’all? That is a whole baby trying to make it in a foreign country where she doesn’t even speak the language! Huddle up on her, damn.

So anyway, those are my thoughts on season 1, do with them what you will.

[your-bigender-big-brother]

How could I know if I'm GNC/Butch girl or a bigender f/m transmasc?

I sometimes get euphoric about lowering my voice and using he/him.

Also... I get kinda meh about she/her and stuff. I just slowly started feeling disconnected from femininity a year ago.

Also I'm quite into mlm/achillean media so I guess I might be mlm/nblm. Like... I might like men in a queer way or smth. But I'm unsure.

People say that a deep connecton to mlm media might mean that you're also mlm, but I'm not sure that my connection to it is deep enough or smth.

Right now I identify as bigender transmasculine and bisexual (also i call myself achillean and use ocean flag in picrews but no one know about that so I'm closeted in that i guess)

Bigender to me is both femme and masc, because from the one side I'm quite euphoric about being masculine and boyish (but still can do so in a female way, for ex. wear a suit with shoulder length hair and looking kinda fem cause of it), but I still feel femme when I don't do anything masculine, because I was a "girl" for long years and never thought on my gender that much.

- 🍁

Heya, anon!

I think the best place to start isn't whether or not you like being referred to with he/him pronouns, but whether or not you can see yourself being called a man. Are you a man? Do you want to be (occasionally) seen as a man? Explore that instead of the pronouns. Clearly the pronouns are tied to your masculinity and give you euphoria, but there's often a completely different case when it comes to gender. You might only want to be known by he/him pronouns without being seen as a man.

If you're indifferent or displeased with she/her pronouns, you could experiment with new ones for yourself. There are tons of options out there. And if you still want to have that feminine side to yourself, you can look at pronouns that feel feminine to you that aren't she/her. Or replace them with they/them. You can do whatever feels most comfortable to you.

I wouldn't say that being connected to mlm media would make you mlm. Plenty of people simply enjoy the stories and the characters. I personally love to see characters who are genderless but I don't consider any part of my identity to be genderless.

I hope all that was at least somewhat helpful! Gender can be complicated when you have more then one gender. I totally understand where you're at right now.

- 💙💚

[dykemisspiggy]

a wlw remake of leap year would be sO GOOD I must ask what other wlw remakes are you considering

Hiii!!! You have just given me an opportunity to ramble about my two favourite things combined (rom coms and being gay) so strap in you're getting the manifesto lol

Penelope (2006)

It just makes sense

The themes are literally self acceptance and self love!!!

It's my wlw remakes I get to choose who's gay

French Kiss (1995)

Not a lot of people know this one and the actual film is not great but the bones are there!!

In this one a woman travels to France to confront her fiancé who has left her for a woman he met there

She meets a French guy when she gets there who is going to help her get her man back but then they fall in love (oversimplified but yeah)

NOW IMAGINE IF THEY WERE BOTH WOMEN*

Like???? Woman* helps other woman* to understand how she can make him love her again, falls in love with her instead - transcendant

Also it could be drastically improved by casting a French actor to play the love interest (Kevin Kline ily but your French is just a bit too American)

Falling Inn Love

Another absolutely trash rom com - American woman gets cheated on and loses her job, drunkenly enters a contest to win an inn in New Zealand, wins, finds it needs a lot of work, falls in love with small town NZ and also the hunky handyman helping her fix the place up.

We as queers deserve trash rom coms

Also this one would be incredibly easy to flip, all you have to do is change handyman to not a man and we're good

OPPORTUNITY TO SEE BUTCH LADY* USE MUSCLES

You've Got Mail (1998)/Shop Around the Corner (1940)

These are 2 for 1 because the former was inspired by the latter

This one is an obvious candidate for a wlw remake imo

Maybe I'm just a slut for a slow(ish) burn, love being right under your nose, and rivals to lovers but there's just something so beautiful about watching two people choose to love each other. Now imagine if they were wlw 🤯

The Wedding Planner (2001)

Again an absolutely trash film but we deserve mindless mush goddammit

I just think this had the possibility to be a better film given a few tweaks

First of which being the removal of the white saviour elements

I always loved the way this movie dealt with the bride and groom's break up, it's a very mature conversation in which they both decide they're getting married for all the wrong reasons and value each other much more as friends which would be nice to see in a wlw context

As I'm envisioning this narrative between 2 wlw of colour this would probably be done best by someone who is not me

Just Wright (2010)

This is another one which would best be made by someone else

But with how much we've been enjoying watching the women's euros and the commonwealth games (women doing amazing things 😳) I think we're due a sports wlw rom com

This movie is gorgeous tho, I recommend romance fans to watch it if you haven't already

First Daughter (2004)/Chasing Liberty (2004)

These are together because they are the same movie

WLW DESERVE TURN YOUR BRAIN IN AT THE DOOR ENTERTAINMENT

I reckon in the wake of Happiest Season, this would be the easiest to get made

The premise is not too challenging to the more conservative of the world but just subversive enough for the studios to feel rebellious

It's a wlw brain-rotting movie for people who don't like Christmas

Opportunity to see women* in suits what more could you want?

Sorry it took me so long to get round to this but I saw your ask and my brain promptly deleted every film I had ever seen in my life 😂

*None of the characters necessarily have to be women, the time has come for non-binary romantic leads.

[manygalaxiesinone]

What Digimon Partners would Pokemon Trainers Have Pt. 3 ((Merry Christmas))

((Yup! I’m doing this again, because I find the idea entertaining honestly. Once again, I’m only going to cover trainers who are currently available in the Pokemon Masters Mobile Game as of right now, so for anyone waiting on either Youngster Joey or Butch and Cassidy from Team Rocket, I’m afraid you’re going to have to search elsewhere.

21. Erika. Erika in Pokemon Masters pretty much resembles how she is in the main games, calm, sweet, patient, enjoys a nap, but can get serious when she has to. With this in mind along with the bond that she has with her vileplume, it only makes sense to give her Aruraumon, which is basically a counterpart to Palmon, even down to the part where the flower on its head is known to give a foul smell. I’m also going to give her the main Digivolution line ending it with Ceresmon. Ceresmon is a member of the Olympos (Roman) XII. It’s a giant bird Mega Level Digimon that carries a forest on its back along with a woman like figure that serves as its medium. It is known to have a kind heart and share whatever fruit it grows on its back with starving Digimon, something that I believe would be rather fitting for someone like Erika or at least anyone that mains a Tropius.

22. Let’s talk about the remaining main characters of the Johto region right quick. Ethan, Silver, and Lyra. I think it would be fitting for Ethan and Silver to get Veemon and Wormmon respectively. Any fans of the Adventure 2 anime should know where this is going. While Ethan isn’t as brash as Davis, he is rather energetic and likely would know his way around using the armor digivolutions as well as the Ex-Veemon route. It pays to be resourceful and crafty. As for Silver...he’s the son of Giovanni, hates the weak, isn’t that fond on relying on others, started off treated his pokemon poorly and is now going through character growth to where he questions if he’s a good person and his one rival is now trying to be his best buddy...yeah I don’t think we have a better example of this series’s version of the “Digimon Emperor” and that’s including N from Unova. I think the idea of Silver having to resort to having his Stingmon DNA Digivolving with Ethan’s Ex-Veemon would be like a lesson for him, that’s it’s okay to rely on others if you’re not strong enough to handle it yourself. Perhaps this is where he begins to open up a little more. Finally, Lyra. The Pokemon Masters version of Lyra is another girl who’s full of energy and curiosity. She completely cherishes whatever bond she has forged with her pokemon and will go out of her way to do whatever she possibly can to make sure they are happy and welcomed around her. There are quite a few Digimon I think would be well suited for her, but I for now, I feel like giving her the Lopmon with the Cherrubimon route.

23. Elio and Selene. Time to warp back over to Alola and talk about what potential Digimon out of all the ones we can possibly think of might actually be the best candidates for, yeah I’m just messing with ya. There’s no argument here. Coronamon and Lunamon will be their Digimon respectively. I mean, they’re sun and moon, you can’t get any more clear cut than that.

24. Ghetsis. This is another character where finding a partner Digimon for was piss easy. Considering the fact that Team Plasma were also artificially creating their own Pokemon (the result of which was Genesect), it should come to no surprise that this guy’s Digimon would be Vemmon. An artificial Digimon created for the sole purpose of helping an evil organization with their secret plan to dominate the world, consequences be damned! Aside from Giovanni, who else in this series would make this guy for that purpose? None other than Ghetsis!

25. Bianca. Still in the Unova region with another rival character turned researcher assistant, Bianca. Bianca’s personality in EX is pretty much the same in the games. This one was actually a hard one for me. Not in terms of the rookie stage, because since she’s known for having a Musharna even more than any of the starter pokemon, her rookie Digimon would definitely be Tapirmon as those two and the Drowsee line are based off of the same mythical creature known for devouring dreams. The problem is, it doesn’t exactly have a Digivolution line that...you know...keep resembling that. Just like with Brock, I’m going to have to come up with a line that I think would be the most fitting overall, which would be from that to Unimon, to Piximon, and finally, to MarineAngemon.

26. Lance. I know I’m covering the Kanto region a lot at this point, but at the same time, I think it would be a disservice to not at least talk about one of the most powerful and well respected OGs in the region. Lance is a friendly dragon trainer who will often go out of his way to act like a super hero and protect the innocent, especially due to the similarly good hearted nature of his dragonites. Sadly, I already gave UltraforceVeedramon and Alphamon to Iris and Cynthia and as I said before, I want to keep duplicates to a minimum. Fortunately, there are plenty of other dragon Digimon to choose from and Lance is far from picky when it comes to who he’ll train. As long as they’re similar to dragon in nature, he won’t care. That being said, I feel like he might also try to tame a Dorumon. This time, instead of Alphamon, I’m going to make its final evolution something I think fans of Lance might enjoy...Examon. Examon is one of if not the biggest Digimon in existence and among the most powerful dragon Digimon, earning it the title of Dragon Emperor. I feel like there’s a Fou Lu joke in there somewhere... Examon is also a member of the Digimon Royal Knights, just like with Omnimon and Alphamon, so it might be able to get along with Lance’s more chivalrous nature.

27. Wilkstrom. Speaking of knights, I feel like as the only character in Masters to actually dress up and resemble a chivalrous knight, I feel like it would also be a disservice to NOT give Wilkstrom from Unova a Royal Knight himself, so let’s go ahead and do that. Obviously, we have to give him one that comes from the Kotemon line that digivolves into Knightmon. It’s not the main Kotemon line, but it works here. That leaves Leopardmon, Craniamon, Dynasmon, and Kentaurosmon. Given how his main pokemon, Aegislash, uses a sword and shield style for combat, I think it’s safe to say that Craniamon would be our best candidate here.

28. Acerola. Back again to the Alola region. This time with one of the trial givers. Considering her love of ghosts it would only be fitting to give her a candelmon that can digivolve into a Bakemon. Thing is, while there aren’t a whole lot of ghost Digimon, there are a few of them and some of which Bakemon can actually digivolve into. For Acerola though, given her “big sis” and playful attitude along with her claims to being a member of a royal family, it would be fitting to have that Bakemon become Pumpkinmon and then NoblePumpkinmon. Though if she’s lucky like Nozumi from Re:Arise, her partner could just start off as Pumpkinmon. It’s not the first time a tamer starts their career off with a mon that’s pass its rookie stage.

29. Candice. We’re finally back in the Sinnoh region and talking about one of my more personal favorite gym leaders, Candice. She is a woman of focus. If she has a goal, she’ll do her damnest to concentrate on said goal until that goal is completed. From her own words, that’s how she managed to get an Abomasnow. She kept visiting the pokemon in the harsh cold weather until it agreed to join her. I think it would be VERY fitting to give her a Frigimon. Yup, we’re giving her another walking snowman. And like Abomasnow, Frigimon tend to have a more gentle personality and isn’t exactly fond of fighting, though will help out if it feels the need to. If Candice can get it to be more comfortable with combat, being a gym leader in all, it can probably Digivolve into IceLeomon and then Panjyamon, which is sometimes classified as its X-Antibody form.

30. Flannery. Let’s end this with another gym leader from the Hoenn region, Flannery. Flannery has a lot of passion as a trainer, but she suffers from self doubt as she’s trying to become a great trainer like her grandfather before her. Personally, I think Agunimon might be a decent fit for her. I can see this Digimon in particular respect her passion as well as try to help her mature and become more confident in her talent, which would eventually result in it reaching the mega form, Susanoomon.

What do you guys think? Do go agree with my choices so far? Are there other ideas for Pokemon trainers having certain Digimon you have in mind? Feel free to let me know and I’ll give my thoughts on them. And even though I didn’t plan to release it today, I would like to take this time to wish everyone Happy Holidays and hope you are safe and enjoying yourselves this time of year. Take care. ^^))

[turtlemagnum]

i like screaming into the void about philosophy so here's where i'm at right now: morality is fake, as are a lot of things, but not in a randian "morals don't exist so im gonna be a bitch" kinda way y'know

explanation: a lot of the world exists in terms of social constructs, right? i feel like a lot of people, (especially trans folk) can appreciate that on a conceptual level nowadays. some people apply the concept of social constructs strictly to one thing, like gender or race or money, but usually they draw their line in the sand where it personally affects them, which is totally fair and valid, but as a pretentious nerd dude i've thought about this shit a lot and i've sorta come to the conclusion that Society Is Bullshit, Man.

a common point i see made is gender, where gender is shown to predominantly be about presentation rather than any innate biological characteristics, right? (shoutout to all the butch presenting women who get harassed in public for "looking like men", y'all deserve a hug or lemon cookies or something)

the same thing applies to race, in a lot of senses race is both a social and a legal construct, which aside from the immediately obvious visual characteristics has little bearing on things like genetics or actual aptitude.

some people go as far as to say money is fake, which i'd agree with despite how hard a sell it can be at first. but the thing is, most people (that i've personally seen, anyways) pick out the one that applies to/appeals to them, and say "yeah that's the one thing that's fake", and then generally draw the line there, right? my stance goes rather further than that, and argues that pretty much every intangible concept that has little actual bearing on physical reality, is fake. the most culturally ingrained one i can think of is morality, and funnily enough most people get *really* indignant when you suggest even the slightest possibility that one of the foundational things that they're taught subconsciously from birth is "Made Up" and "Not Real" and "Cringe" and "Is Actually Used To Justify Atrocities More Often Than It Is To Make Positive Impacts In My Own Opinion (subjective)"

so like, morality isn't a quantifiable thing, right? i feel like anybody who thinks you can give a numerical value to innately subjective things like that is at best kind of silly and at worst a major asshole. i remember hearing a quote that goes something like "run the entire universe through a sieve, search for a single atom of Good or Evil, you will turn up empty handed", so like i think most people engaging in good faith can agree that morality comes from a gut feeling, and most rationalization you apply to it afterwards is just that, rationalizing a gut feeling you have. i first noticed this with religious people at a young age, (not to be a Trilby Owning r/Atheism Debate Bro), but like, religion is innately based on something that can only be described on a gut feeling that you either have or you don't, that's what faith is, and i hold nothing against those who have that. but notice that people trying to justify their religion with Facts and Logic is also the same type of logic used when people try to prove their secular morality as right, right? i honestly believe stuff like that is mostly a contest of "this speaks to me, this doesn't, and i'm gonna bend logic to suit this view rather than bending my view to suit logic", which is honestly chill because that's just how humans tend to work for the most part, i wouldn't go so far as to say it's "human nature" or something like that but it is a pretty consistent thing amongst most humans. so like, once i applied that realization i had as a wee lad about religion to other stuff, it was like "oh shit that actually tracks".

so like, money, right? only has the value we give it, if humanity collectively decided that we should all use shiny rocks or monopoly money nothing would fundamentally change about the economy, right? insofar as gender and race, while there are some biological realities to both of them, you can pretty consistently chip away at the innateness of them under enough scrutiny, and a lot of if not most of what we apply to them can just as easily be chalked up to socialization rather than innate biology. god and morality? if that floats your boat man, good for you, just don't try to sell me on whatever you're on because i'm cool on my own supply. math? i hear a lot of people refer to math as superior to other fields due to the sheer objectivity of it, but i think a lot of people fail to realize that much of what we perceive as natural mathematical laws are actually subjective interpretations to better visualize complex concepts, e.g. number lines and all that.

so like, you may be asking yourself, "what's left, then? if everything from money to morality is fake, what's stopping people from just being evil and murdering each other?" and like, here's the thing, right?

being kind doesn't have to be a morally motivated action, it can very easily be chalked up to the whole "this is good for all parties involved, you being happy makes me happy", that is pretty foundational to the human experience. i don't think most of us view our seasonal holidays as innately moral things, personally as an atheist i still celebrate christmas because i love my family. under this framework, it can literally be as simple as "this feels like the right thing to do" without any of the mental gymnastics that typical morality necessitates. like maybe instead of helping that old person with their groceries because "it's the right thing to do", maybe i just did it because i wanted to help them, y'know? and most people are like this!!! that's like, why we have morality and shit!!! it's just that we as humans have a tendency to wanna quantify every little thing objectively when we're inherently subjective creatures in a chaotic and messy world, and isn't that cool? that we can just exist, and try our best to do the right thing, and try to make this world a bit nicer for one another, y'know?

[cowboyjen68]

re: that last anon talking about how coming out as a lesbian made them feel so much more confident: I’ll never forget when I was 18 and cut off all my hair and started wearing more menswear for the first time, I couldn’t believe how much less self-conscious I felt after that! it changed the whole way I existed in public, the way I saw myself and the way people looked at me (both in good and bad ways, obviously, but in my opinion 1 girl telling me I looked cute was always worth 200 weirdos side-eyeing me) and it’s a time of my life I’ll always remember! Experimenting with sexuality, gender presentation, etc. is always worth it even if it’s initially scary (and even if you try a few things that don’t fit before you land anywhere) and finding what you’re really happy and comfortable with does you so much good.

I love this. I started slow, with a mullet. Then slowly my hair got shorter and shorter until I cut it off. I started with boxers, the hidden butch clothing item. Only I needed to know. Then i shed the sweatshirt and jeans over time for button downs, men's pants, ties etc and from there it just got better.

When my the owner/boss of my first job asked me what size I wore in men's so he could order me some uniforms it was nice. I thanked him and he said "I just can't see you in the other cut, wouldn't fit right". I had to wear a button down uniform and dress pants for 25 years but once I left that job I dove deep into what really suits me. I am rarely clean during the work day, or any other day I and feel great.

I often say, if you are comfortable, no matter what others might think about where you shop, it builds confidence and allows you to reallly be your best at work and in social situations.

And you are 100 percent correct. Having a woman tell me I am handsome or look good is worth any amount of "why do you want to look like a man" BS>

Thanks for chiming in.

[plus-size-reader]

Promise

Henry Bowers x Plus size!reader

Word Count: 2264 words

Warnings: Abuse, proceed with caution

Summary: Reader is Henry’s girlfriend and always takes care of him after his dad gets violent

—————————————————————————————————

You hated him.

Butch Bowers was a monster, who got more joy out of beating down his son than actually being any good to anyone as a cop.

Above all though, and perhaps the biggest strike against him for you was the fact that he was absolutely awful to your boyfriend Henry, his son. There was no real reason for it, as being cruel to the younger male did nothing for him, but that had never been enough to keep him from doing it.

It didn’t matter what kind of day he had or what Henry did, nothing could have stopped Butch or his rage, and that wasn’t even the worst part.

The fact of the matter was that no one around would have believed you if you told them about Butch’s violence, considering his high position in the Derry police force and manipulative personality.

To the rest of Derry, you and Henry were trouble, two people who couldn’t be trusted or believed. For all intents and purproses, Butch could do whatever he wanted and nothing was going to change that.

You understood their hesitance to be fair, but that didn’t make it right. Nothing was going to change your hatred for the man or how wrong his actions were.

It was hard not to be a bit biased seeing as you loved Henry more than anything, but even if you didn’t, anyone would be bothered by all the bruises you’d witnessed that he sustained at his father’s hand.

It wasn’t right.

However, your overarching hatred of the man wasn’t your biggest priority right now. You knew from what Henry told you at school that Butch was in a particularly bad mood this morning, and it wasn’t going to go well when he got home.

Henry didn’t come to you every time his dad hit him, of course, as it would be too often, but he did call you over to his home when he needed you. Sometimes, he got really shaken up and needed to be talked down from the ledge.

Something you were pretty good at at this point in your relationship.

It was awful, and something you would have preferred not to have to do in the first place, but if it was going to make him feel even a little bit better, you were glad to do it. You were just glad that he had someone he could rely on.

Henry was a bit notorious for being closed off and harsh, but that was more of a forced persona that he would have let on. You knew a different side of Henry Bowers that most people weren’t lucky enough to see.

With you, he was vulnerable and sad, angry and lost, so many things at once without any guidance that it would drive anyone mad.

By the time he made it to your house that night, in fact, Henry was shaking like a leaf. It was clear to you that he was angry, the muscles of his jaw tight, but also sad, as you caught sight of his tear stained cheeks.

It really was bad this time.

You had previously been working on your chemistry homework when he showed up, stones clanking against your window pane to let you know he’d arrived. However, as soon as he got there, you found yourself swiping your work to the side.

Nothing was more important to you than Henry, like any young woman in love, especially not school work.

At first, you didn’t realize just how bad it was.

You got up from your bed, bouncing slightly off the edge of your mattress as you headed over to the window. A small smile found its way onto your face as you made your way over to pull back your curtains.

...And your smile only grew when you saw Henry standing in the grass below you.

You had just seen him a few hours ago when he and the guys dropped you off at home after school but you wouldn’t have known that based on how you reacted. You loved him, a whole lot, and any amount of time seemed to be too much.

You couldn’t help that.

“Hi handsome” You called, sliding the window all the way up so that you could lean out to see him better. You always greeted him like that, of course, but when he said nothing back, that was when you knew something was wrong.

Henry always greeted you with just as much gusto as you did, but today, he didn’t even bother. Instead, he stood where he was and waited for you to come down, just like you always did.

“I’ll be right down” you decided, wasting no more time than you already had as you made your way down the stairs and out your front door. Your parents weren’t home, again, so there was no need for you to tip toe or sneak around.

There had been some occasions where you had to finagle your curvy frame out your window without falling to your death, an action you had gotten pretty good at over the course of your relationship.

At this point, it was basically second nature for you.

As soon as you were in front of Henry, he was holding you in his arms. It wasn’t a completely unheard of action but it would have been a lie to say that you weren’t a little shocked by it.

Never had Henry been so brazen about holding you before, but here he was, with his arms wrapped tightly around you and his head tucked into the crook of your neck.

There was silence between the two of you for a moment as you held the man you loved so much, silently racking your brain to figure out what you could do for him. You knew that, realistically, there was nothing you could do to improve his situation at home.

However, you did have something you could do for him tonight. While it wasn’t a long term solution, but your house was empty and could be a bit of a solace for him tonight.

“Do you want to come in, it’s just you and me tonight” you suggested, not even really asking, because before he could answer, you had already taken his hand in your own and were heading inside.

Henry wasn’t sure about your house the first few times he’d been there, but it was a nice place to relax, especially when your parents weren’t around. He could finally take a breath, while being about to drop the façade he so often wore.

It was a nice break, especially when he had nowhere else to go. The last thing he wanted right now was to go back to his house, where Butch was still there, fuming and half way through his third six-pack.

“Do you want to tell me what’s going on?” you asked, not bothering to speak until the two of you were safely behind his bedroom door. You knew that there was no real reason to lock the door, or even close it in the first place, but it made Henry feel better.

That way he knew that it was really just the two of you there.

Henry shook his head again, sitting down on your bed with his back to the locked entrance. You always hoped he would open up to you about it, but he never wanted to talk about it after. More than anything, he seemed to just want to exist.

He wanted to know he was safe, and you couldn’t blame him.

You didn’t bother trying to get him to talk, if he didn’t want to then who were you to push that on Him. Even if you had to sit here in silence all night, it would be worth it if he felt even a little better.

“It’s okay, you’re safe now” you hummed, laying back against your bed, a throw pillow between your knees and your stomach as you curled up to look at Henry, who had now taken to staring out the window.

You sat there for a while, just watching him with curious eyes before you finally spoke again.

“There isn’t anything out there that’s going to hurt you” you promise, flinging the above mentioned pillow at his head, although it fell short on the comforter of the bed, not even close to where he was perched.

“You don’t know that” he muttered, his tone lacking the general smartness that was always present there, tossing a look at you over his shoulder before returning his eyes to their original position.

The male was understandably paranoid, doing his best to make sense out of anything that had happened tonight while also worrying about something terrible coming through that window to snatch him up.

“Come on Henry, come lay down” you tried, tossing your arms open for him although he ignored you once again.

You knew better than to take it to heart, you didn’t do anything to hurt him personally. Henry could be a little touchy when he came over here after taking a beating, but you couldn’t blame him. All you could do was make him feel better, which you intended to do as soon as possible.

“Suit yourself, I guess I’ll just go to bed” you teased, flopping down on your side, hiding your face in your pillow in the most dramatic way you could. You figured that unless you got Henry’s mind off of it, he would be standing there all night.

“You don’t get it Y/N, I don’t understand what I did to him” he starts, startling you out of your act with the clear shaking of his words. He had never asked you that before, not in all the times he’d been here, but it was obviously hurting him.

Henry had always wondered that.

He had never had the guts to ask anyone that before, mostly because it was terrifying but also because he was afraid of the answer. Even saying it out loud had practically choked him up, but you were proud of him.

“You didn’t do anything to him baby, he’s violent and cruel, he’s always been that way” you assured, sitting up gingerly before shimmying down the bed to sit on the edge of it, pulling Henry to stand between your knees by his wrist. As soon as you said it, the tears started coming, and while you could tell Henry wasn’t thrilled about that, it was almost comforting to see him expressing himself this way.

“But why?” he hummed, his voice low as he took your hands in his own and leaned down, resting his forehead against your own to stare into your bright eyes, almost as if you would have all the answers.

If only you did.

“I don’t know” you level, lifting your right hand to brace his cheek “But I do know that I love you, and I will never hurt you” you smile, kissing his cheek in the gentlest way you could, licking away the salty taste that found its way onto your lips from his tears absently.

It was one of the most soft, honest moments you and henry had ever had in the history of your relationship and you could tell that you both needed it. Henry went through so much, and he deserved to know that you would always be there.

That he was safe with you.

“You promise?” he muttered, after a few more seconds of silence breathing in your scent. In all honesty, you didn’t know what to say, because you were telling him the truth but something about his words shocked you into silence.

He was so broken, letting you into the deepest darkest crevices of his feelings, and it was a lot of pressure. Thankfully, you were pretty good at talking to Henry and all you had to do was tell him the truth.

“Of course I promise, baby. Do you see anybody else in here?” you tease, trying your best to lighten the mood although you weren’t as successful as you wanted to be.

As much as he wanted to be as upbeat as you, there was still too much heavy on his mind.

“Come on, I wanna snuggle” you sighed, taking his hand in your own once again to urge him to climb into bed with you. If there was one way to make him feel better, it was to get him all snuggled up with you so that he could finally relax.

You were sure that if there was one thing that you knew that no one else in Derry would believe, it was that Henry was a huge cuddler.

Even when he was in a bad mood, or having a hard time, he was always ready for a good cuddle.

Your back hit the plush bed with a light thud before you pulled Henry into you, wrapping your arms around his broad shoulders. His chest heaved under your touch before he relaxed into your grasp, giving in to what you both knew.

He was safe here.

While you couldn’t do much about the rest of the world, you could always protect him in this place. Right here, curled up in your arms, he couldn’t have been more at home or more protected.

“I love you” he hummed, nothing more leaving his lips as he snuggled in for the night and let his heavy eyes drift closed. For now, all he needed to do was exist, everything else was a problem for another day.

[docholligay]

If you have the time & inclination: I don't think you're much for the whole cosmetics side of things, but if you could, what kind of special seasonal skins or maybe (your) lore based skins would you have your creative team design for your favorite Overwatch heroes?

It's true that I am much more character than cosmetic but OH YEAH I AM INTO THIS

WInter Wonderland with my kids:

Mercy is of course getting a very specifically Hanukkah skin. Some kind of tacky Hanukkah print legging with a blue sweater/dress thing, whatever you’d call whatever the hell is going on with her outfit, a silver halo, and her wings and staff would be a menorah and candle.

Pharah is getting what I like to call “The Snowblower” as I know, I KNOW, in my heart of hearts, that she is devoted to appropriate and immediate snow removal. I KNOW THIS. I also call this one, “The lesbians are gonna love this” So big Carharrt style jacket, plaid shirt underneath, jeans, big snowboots, and a ski mask type thing for her face.

Tracer I would actually like to see in a tacky Christmas sweater--I really did like the Wooltide skin, I just don’t believe Lena has ever, in her life, been that understated left to her own devices. So I would pick a pair of like, corduroy lookin pants, and a big printed sweater with Christmas stuff all over it, and I actually do like her Wooltide hat so she can keep it.

And I want Winston to match her! I want it to feel unavoidably “They are going to the same family Christmas party” and I want Winston wearing silly reindeer antlers and I want it right now.

Hana for winter I would actually love to do in like, a pair of plaid jammies and some bunny slippers. I am absolutely certain the community wrought large would lose their shit over her not being sexy or whatever, but they’ll hate all of these anyway so that’s fine by me. I want “Hana spending the Christmas break in front of her computer” realness.

Other skin stuff:

I actually would love to have a Purim skin for Mercy! I know everyone thinks Hanukkah but Purim is actually the Jewish dress up holiday. I would love to put her ina big gaudy dress with a crown and everything like she’s dressing up as Esther and maybe her staff is like one of those yard long drinks.

I also want “date night Tracer” where she is dressed in a suit like this

Mostly because I am tired of the way they keep pushing her further and further femmey from when she first came on the scene and I want something that is very expressly butch and you could do a whole comic about how she’s called away in the middle of a date with Emily and it’ll be great, I’m a genius, I am taking no notes on this at this time.

It’s interesting how little I can think of for Pharah enough though I fucking love her, because in my mind she’s just so PRACTICAL. Her wardrobe is very much like, military wool and presidential suits and she’s very handsome but not at all flashy. Tracer is loud in almost every way it is possible for a human being to be loud, but I think of Pharah as not putting much stock in “fashion.” And Eid is mostly, as I understand ait, just, “dress your best” so there’s not a lot of ‘fun’ to be had with that when it comes to her. OH I KNOW. A “Commander Amari” outfit with the Overwatch 2.0 dress uniform. We can even call it “Press conference” instead, I love it.

[ultimatetornshipper]

Steam

A lot of facts could be seen as only opinions. A lot of facts could be seen as flexible depending on one's experiences and perspectives. Facts could change and facts could be more than just the part of it that you're made aware of.

Blossom knew this.

But there was one simple fact that would remain the same for all of eternity.

Blossom Utonium hated Brick Jojo.

And he hated her.

Nothing, NOTHING would change this simple fact. They were natural enemies, opposites made to challenge and contradict one another.

It was simple.

Key word being was.

It's easier to hate and despise one another when your siblings weren't all friends and dragging the two of you along every chance they got.

It's easier to hate one another when your morals are directly clashing on a weekly basis.

Yeah, they still didn't exactly agree on a lot of moral questions but the boys aren't really evil anymore either.

But when the boys stole something the girls would fight them, take it, arrest them, they'd escape and everyone would let bygones be bygones.

By everyone she meant the blues and the greens.

She was pretty sure Brick was the only one who actively wanted to still do that stuff and Boomer and Butch just followed his lead. Or maybe Mojo still had something on them. She couldn't be sure, but the point was that they still committed crimes and that was illegal so it was their job to stop them.

And she wasn't stupid, she knew full well that she and Brick were the only ones who weren't pulling their punches and treating it all like a game.

So like she said. It was simple.

Until her sisters decided to make it complicated by befriending their rivals.

Blossom despised complicated social situations.

In any other context she could handle complicated. Fights? Sure. Science? She adored it. Books? What other kind is there?

But in group and friend dynamics? It annoyed her more than yarn catching on her nail, more than nails on a chalkboard, more than a dirty, uncleanable chalkbo-

It annoyed her a lot.

Why? Because it created situations like the one she was in right now.

Where her sisters and their counterparts were play fighting and joking around while she and Brick maimed eachother.

And it was always followed by a lecture by Bubbles on how she was too hard on him and Buttercup telling her to chill out while Brick and his stupid smug smirk would mock her and wouldn't leave her alone and how his red hair would be messy afterwads and half out of his ponytail and wisps falling into his face surrounding his gorge-

No.

She flew up to dodge a kick and landed behind him, pushing him forward so that he lost his balance.

She was fighting him right now. She couldn't think about his eyes or his pink lips forming a smug little grin and how she just wanted to kiss that stupid little smile off of his dumb face-

She froze in shock.

Kiss Brick?

Since when had that been an option?

She felt him get a hit in her stomach and her bottom collided with the ground.

She shook herself out of it. Later. She could analise... whatever this was... later.

She started getting up but suddenly he was straddling her waist and pinning her hands down above her head.

She stared at him in silence for a few seconds, because he was really close now and she could see the light freckles dancing across his nose up close and-

Bad Blossom! Now is not the time! You hate him, you despise him, he is the enemy! Stop checking out the guy you're fighting!

He smirked down at her victoriously, "At a loss for words, eh, Pinky?"

She felt him lower his guard and loosen his grip and quicker than lightning she flew out beneath him.

What in the name of Einstein was wrong with her?

She flew quickly and as high as the tallest building in Townsville, then she stopped and turned around and the handsome bastard was right there in front of her-

Wait a minute- handsome?!

Blossom needed to lie down.

Sadly, he seemed determined to keep this going.

They traded blows and each time he said something she didn't reply.

She was too busy freaking out about the fact that she had not only wanted to kiss him but also mentally referred to him as handsome and what the actual frickty frack?!

"What's wrong Bow Pink? You're awfully quiet today, afraid me and my brothers are finally gonna beat you and your sheep?" Brick taunted.

Blossom's brain with all its genius level intellect then decided that the only way to deal with whatever was happening to her heart was to stuff it in a jar and bury it deep, deep down and pretend it wasn't real.

She hated him.

He hated her.

That was a fact that couldn't and wouldn't ever change.

So she did what she did best.

She riled up Brick Jojo.

"I'm not the one here with sheep, Rock," she said mockingly.

He narrowed his eyes, throwing a punch that she quickly dodged, "Oh now she speaks?"

"You finally said something worth replying to. Though I must say, Rick, I'm disappointed, I can't believe you've been reduced to using puns," she replied, kicking his side and pulling away quick enough that he couldn't grab her leg.

"It's Brick and you know it, and don't pretend you don't pun, Pinky, we both know that's a lie," he said with a small growl in his voice. Dodging her once more.

"I still think your insult was just some good old projecting. Clearly if one of us have sheep it's you. My sisters fight of their own violation," she taunted, smirking. He grabbed her and they wrestled midair, each one gaining and then losing the upperhand.

Suddenly they pulled apart, flying in circles, eyeing one another. They were both panting, clearly out of breath.

Anyone could sense the electricity crackling through the air from a mile away. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed that her siblings and their counterparts have stopped fighting and were now eyeing their leaders wearily.

She'd deal with it later.

She turned her full attention back to the man in front of her as the silence grew sharper.

His shirt had small tears in places, his hair was all over the place and he sported a few new injuries. She was certain she was in a similar state.

"They choose to fight," he broke the silence, glaring at her, "I don't force them to do anything they don't want to. I don't control them,"

The sharp, delicate silence fell apart and she felt her temper flare. The electricity turned to fire and she launched herself at him and felt her eyes heat up.

"The only reason for that is the fact that you're too busy being controlled," she screamed.

She could almost taste his fury at her words and their fight went to a whole new level.

Neither of them held back anything as they shot lazerbeams and went for one another unlike ever before.

She pushed him against a building, trapping him. And for a moment they locked gazes and time froze. The anger and frustration and denied attraction flared between them like a wild electric cable, their faces only inches apart.

"Are either of us really in control, Pinky? Or are we all just the result of someone else's choices?" he whispered harshly as they gazed into one another's eyes.

She felt her guard lower only for a split second before he grabbed her and pushed her against the building.

"But then again," he said quietly, and she felt his breath mingle with her own, "maybe if we want control we need to take it ourselves,"

He closed the distance between them and she only felt his fire approach for a second before she reacted with her ice.

So that's the was he wanted to play this?

She deepend the kiss and poured all her hatred and love and frustration and attraction into it.

She bundled up his shirt in her hands and felt his own get tangled in her hair. She faintly heard his hat fall to the ground not too far below.

Yet she couldn't care less as she kissed him the way she'd never allowed herself to kiss anyone before for fear of their life.

But she could do this with him because he could counter her perfectly.

He really was her opposite, huh?

Then she registered the fact that the air around them was slightly more humid than before.

She ignored it though, because this was the best kiss she'd had in... well, ever, and she was not going to pull away because as soon as she did that it would be over and it wouldn't happen again because now that they knew that it didn't-

Blossom felt him pull her closer and pushed all her previous thoughts away. She'd worry later, for now she just allowed herself to disappear into the kiss.

A few minutes later she became aware of a rather large amount of water hitting her.

They pulled away from one another in search of the source.

She quickly noticed that Brick was in a similar state as her and they turned to find their siblings staring at them.

Bubbles was holding the hosepipe that was likely the source of the water and Buttercup handed Butch 20 dollars.

"Really?" Her black haired sister asked, "You couldn't have waited just three more days for your murder make out session?"

"Our what?" she asked while Brick replied with a simple, "Fuck you,"

"Actually, Brick, you've got the wrong sister, I'm Buttercup, the one you wanna fuck is in your arms, her name is Blossom," Buttercup replied slowly, in a mocking tone of voice.

The red heads turned to look at each other and when they noticed their proximity, they jumped away from one another like the other had the plague.

Brick turned to them, "I was trying to kill her!"

And Blossom followed suit, "And I was just defending myself!"

"Nothing else!" They said at the same time.

Bubbles rolled her eyes and Boomer smirked. Butch waved them away, "Don't worry we have a completely different bet for when you two will acknowledge and accept your feelings for one another,"

"Yeah, and I can still win it!" Buttercup agreed.

"Feelings? What feelings?!" Blossom screamed, "Bubbles, tell Buttercup she's being ridiculous,"

Bubbles rised an unimpressed eyebrow, "Bloss, you're both redder than Brick's cap,"

"And you just spent 10 minutes making out so much that literal steam started surrounding you," Boomer snickered.

No matter how much Blossom or Brick denied it, no one in all of Townsville believed their denial after that day.

Buttercup won the second bet.

Approximately 3 months after what was dubbed their first Murder Makeout session the two finally confessed to one another.

Those 3 months are another story entirely.

But it was this that proved to Blossom that truly no fact was concrete, facts changed and facts expanded. Facts were flexible depending on your experience and perspectives.

And the fact was that while once upon a time, maybe Blossom did hate Brick and maybe Brick did hate Blossom, things changed.

But that mutual hatred melted away into something new, something beautiful, something flexible.

Something a little bit like steam.

Authors note:

Inspired by this post

I don't plan to continue this but if someone wants to continue or expand this idea or world like tag me I'd love to read it

Thanks to @maltrashdump for coming up with this idea, I love it, hope u enjoy my version of it

Also sorry for not putting a read more thing I'm on mobile atm

[adarlingwrites]

Absolution

Summary:

noun: formal release from guilt, obligation, or punishment

The Capital Wasteland lauded the Lone Wanderer as a hero, a Messiah, a savior who’s willing to give her life for the Good Fight. Beyond the legends, the propaganda, and the mythification that surrounded her legacy, there is only one person who knew her bare soul. She gave him his absolution, and now he will fight for hers.

XXX

February 11, 2278.

Ten fifteen in the evening.

I loaded my shotgun and watched the rear, gunfire bursting as the tin cans yelled. This was supposed to be a stealth operation. If only DeLoria hadn’t tripped on that one guard…

Truth be told, this was an absolutely fucking stupid plan. Taking away a comatose patient from the Citadel isn’t the brightest idea DeLoria and I came up with, but we had no other choice. Whatever secret about Percy that Dr. Li wanted us to protect, it seemed important. Seeing how Lyons figured out that she’s a living atomic weapon, I understand her.

DeLoria looks goddamn constipated as he helped me push the gurney with my partner in tow, secured with leather straps so she wouldn’t fly off. In the front, Fawkes soaks up most of the damage.

Of course we had a Plan B if the stealthy approach didn’t work. Thank fuck Fawkes is willing to cooperate, too. This wasn’t the first time we worked together to help Percy out of the tight spot. Then again, Percy got us out of our predicaments first. Knowing her, when she wakes up, she’ll scold us for risking ourselves for her, and for coming up with this awful plan.

Too bad. She can’t stop us now.

“Charon, what now? I only brought a pistol,” Butch yelps, narrowly missing fire.

“We’re gonna let Fawkes soak up the brunt of the gunfire, and we keep pressing forward and watch his six,” I grunted in return.

“Shit, this is a bad idea man! What if they hit Percy?”

“That’s why we’re fucking here to shield her! Are you scared of a little gunfire, DeLoria?!”

The younger man gulped and kept pushing. Our group kept pushing forward, already at the courtyard. How we managed to pull this off is beyond me. I expected to be dead right now.

“Hold your fire!”

Whoever issued the command is old, judging from their voice. Almost immediately, the tin cans stopped shooting.

“Father, what’s the meaning of this?” a more feminine voice called out. “They’re kidnapping a comatose patient! An honorary member of the Lyons Pride! I-”

“Sarah, please, enough. I’ll talk to them,” the Elder says, emerging from the crowd.

Another one of the tin cans interrupts. “Elder, they let in a Super Mutant in Citadel grounds! We-”

The old man gives the soldier a stern gaze, and he backs off. Coming face to face with Fawkes, the elder looks up, a neutral expression on his face.

“Please explain the meaning of this.”

DeLoria rushes over from the rear, facing the old man. “We’re getting our friend out of here! Clearly you assholes haven’t been doing her any good, so we’re transferring her to another hospital.”

“Another hospital?” the younger Lyons interrupts. “Listen kid, the Citadel is one of the few places on the Wasteland equipped to handle Zhou’s injuries.” Armor clinking, she marches towards the greaser, a livid expression on her face.

“What makes you think that whatever ‘hospital’ you’ll be transferring her to is equipped to help her, huh?”

A shouting match erupts between those two. Before things get ugly, Elder Lyons intervenes again, placing himself in front of the greaser and his daughter. Grumbling, I reach out and pull DeLoria back.

“I’ll take it from here,” I griped, and shoved past Sarah Lyons. I came face to face with the Elder, and I folded my arms.

“Before she left, Dr. Li told us she doesn’t think that whatever tests you’re running on Percy isn’t for her best interests. Percy trusted that doctor, so I trust her.”

Blondie scoffs, about to go off on us again, but she stops in her tracks, looking at something, or someone, behind us.

“Then, why don’t you ask Zhou herself, if she wants to stay here or not?”

My eyes widen, and I turn around and see Percy, sitting up on the bed, her restraints loose. I checked again, and no, they weren’t loosened. They were pulled away from the bed, and she’s gripping the leather straps.

My breath caught in my throat.

“Percy,” I mumble, taking slow, tentative steps towards her.

She’s looking blankly ahead, eyes glassy. No. Oh no.

What the fuck is happening?

Rough and calloused, my fingers brush against her arm, and her eyes flick towards me. “Percy? Are you there?”

Letting go of the leather strap, her small hand grips mine, and she exhales sharply, panic rousing within her. Through her hospital gown, I see a sickly green glow pulsing below her throat, at her chest.

Barreling her way through, Sarah Lyons points a minigun at my partner, ready to fire.

“Everyone, get back! She’s going to blow!”

“No!” I screamed at her, and instinct kicking in, I scoop Percy’s frail body in my arms and started to run to the exit.

“Move, fucking move aside!”

My lungs are burning as I run through the Citadel gates, Percy still pressed to my chest, unnaturally warm to the touch. Fawkes is following closely behind, footsteps pounding.

Away from the people, I gently laid Percy to the ground, the green glow emanating from her searing now, and covered her body with mine. If I’m gonna go, I’m gonna go holding her.

Screwing my eyes shut, I wait for the inevitable.

Instead, I was pulled aside, and Fawkes crouches over Percy’s body, careful not to crush her.

A bright, blinding light flashes from Percy’s body, and Fawkes covers her completely. Her body erupts, heat and energy bursting outwards, and Fawkes just absorbed all that. I watched the explosion barely made a dent on the mutant’s thick skin, and the mushroom cloud that billows towards the dark sky.

He pulls back, and Percy lies there, hospital gown in tatters.

I rushed to her side, checking for breathing, and felt my heart drop as I heard none.

“We need a medic, get a medic!” I snarl at the bystanders who witnessed the entire ordeal. After the initial shock has worn off, DeLoria weaves through the crowd and runs towards us, kneeling beside Percy.

“Shit man, shit! She’s not breathing, she needs CPR, oh my fucking God I don’t remember how to do it,” he babbles, tears pooling at the edge of his eyes.

Gnashing my teeth, I try to remember whatever first aid I learned from observing Percy in the past. I pulled away Percy’s hospital gown, and with my palms together, I pressed between her nipples, pumping and hearing her ribs crack underneath her skin.

I tilt her head, pinch her nose, press my ruined lips against hers, and blow. Twice.

Then, I go back into giving her chest compressions, and I look over my shoulder. I must’ve looked so feral at that moment.

“Where the fuck’s that medic?!”

I turned back to my partner, and after another set of compressions, I breathed into her again.

“Percy, remember what you told me when you got captured by the Enclave, huh?!” I rasped, gritting my teeth.

“Well, it’s your goddamn turn to listen to me now!”

January 14, 2278.

Fingers clacking on the keyboard, Percy hacked away at the terminal. Once given access, she terminates the hostile creatures in the other holding cells. I wince as I watch one particularly screwed up creature burst into flame, high pitched, inhuman squeals coming out of its… mouth?

Jesus Christ. I don’t want to think about it, ugh.

Then, Percy selects another command in the console, and the doors hiss open.

My partner turned around, footsteps urgent, and I followed her closely behind. Fawkes emerges from his cell, carefully, like an animal let loose from a trap, and he turns to us, towering us both.

“Thank you,” he boomed, and though his voice sounded rough, I felt his gratitude for Percy. “As promised, I will retrieve the GECK for you. This is a debt I am most happy to pay, my friends. Follow me!”

Percy smiles and nods, and she turns to me, looking over her shoulder with a pleased expression.

“See Charon? He isn’t bad at all,” she starts, and I only grumble in response. Percy senses the apprehension that lingered in me, and chuckles.

“To be frank Charon, the first time I met you in Underworld, I might have felt the same thing,” she says, and I look down with a questioning look.

“Dad told me to judge other people by what they looked like, but even then, I felt kind of uneasy around you. Then I heard you beat up Patchwork, and I was really angry for a while.”

I gulped. I never thought about what she thinks of me during that time. It was an entirely different reality back then; her thoughts, or anyone else’s, didn’t matter. Only Ahzrukhal’s did.

“But what Tulip said to me about you being Ahzrukhal’s employee really challenged my perspective. Getting back at you would only end in me getting hurt. You were at Ahzrukhal’s mercy as much as Patchwork was.”

“So is that why you bought my contract back then? You felt sorry?”

“No. I felt your frustration at being powerless. So, I bought your contract to create an opportunity to seize that back. Of course it wasn’t easy after that,” Percy chuckles sheepishly, and I sigh, remembering all the times I struggled with the contract’s hold over me.

But it’s gone, right?

No sense in dwelling over that.

“So, where were you going with this, Percy?”

“Give Fawkes a chance.”

I stop in my tracks, feeling guilty as hell. All this time, all I thought about is Percy, and myself. Meanwhile, she tries to consider everyone around her.

“Fine, Angel, I will.”

I felt a light jab on my ribs; Percy elbowed it playfully. “Whatever, big guy.”

“I don’t think that nickname suits me anymore, Percy. We’ve got a bigger guy now,” I tease her, pointing at Fawkes, who’s taking our conversation in stride as he pummeled a dumb mutie in our way.

“Nah. Fawkes doesn’t need a nickname anymore.  You’re my big guy,” Percy teases back.

Is this flirting? Is Percy flirting with me? Goddammit. If I had more skin left on my cheeks, I would have blushed.

I almost ran into Fawkes when he stopped walking. I look to the right, and see the sickly green glow of the irradiated room that the GECK is in.

“Alright. You better not enter, human. This radiation is lethal to you. Stay here, and I will fulfill my end of the bargain,” he grunts, and my partner nods at him.

“Thank you, Fawkes.”

“No. Thank you, human.”

He turns around, and enters the room. On her tiptoes, Percy watches him inside through the window, while I keep watch, guarding her six just in case. Soon after, Fawkes returns carrying a briefcase.

That’s the GECK? What the hell?

“You got it!” Percy exclaims, taking the briefcase off of the super mutant’s hands gingerly. “Again, thank you so much Fawkes. You wouldn’t believe how important this is to us.”

“It’s my pleasure, Percy. Now, I believe this is farewell.”

Farewell?

I turn to Percy and see her somber expression. Good grief, don’t tell me she’s already getting attached to him. This happened with the Big Town kids too.

“Farewell? Fawkes, why don’t you come with us?”

Okay. Okay, I am definitely accepting that Fawkes indeed is good and that I shouldn’t judge him because of him being a super mutant, or metahuman, but this? Had Percy gone mad? Travelling with him could get us killed!

Before I can open my mouth and say something that might possibly anger her, Fawkes already took care of the problem.

“Sorry, I’m afraid a Super Mutant wouldn’t be welcome in the places you frequent.”

“But you said it yourself, you’re a metahuman! You’re different from the other mutants we-”

“All I would do is cause you undue attention and probably get you killed,” Fawkes interrupts, a tinge of sorrow in his grating voice.

“I- you’re right,” Percy sighs, relenting.

“Take care of yourself, friend.”

And with that, we parted ways.

I can tell Percy is sad by the slump in her shoulders. As much as it pains me to see her like this, it’s for the better. The Brotherhood can barely tolerate my presence. Fawkes? They’d shoot him on sight. It’s definitely for his safety too.

“Do you think we’ll see him again, Charon?”

“I don’t think we’ll see him anytime soon.”

“I’m worried.”

“Worry about yourself, angel. Have you seen him? He pummeled that other mutie no problem, like a kid throwing a teddy bear.”

“I guess you’re right. I- Charon, get down.”

Out of instinct, I listen to her. Percy pulls up her PipBoy, and a worried expression is etched on her features. “So many red dots… Charon, I think we’re about to encounter a huge group of muties.”

“Should we go back and get Fawkes?”

Gripping her rifle, she checks the magazine, then she pats at the ammo pouches on her waist. I proceed to check my own ammunition too. Just two boxes of shotgun shells left, and a grenade; the same grenade Percy gave me when she first hired me. I haven’t used it yet, after all these months.

We’re running low on ammo.

“No, no. Stay low. We’ll sneak out of here,” Percy tells me, and she crouches low, the helmet of her stealth suit protracting over her face, then her suit’s stealth mechanism activates. All I can see is a faint silver-white outline.

“I’ll scout ahead. If I raise a fist, move to my location.”

I nod, and she proceeds.

Cautiously, Percy moves through the hall. My grip on my shotgun remains steady, watching her inch slowly but surely to the open area ahead.

Then, the unthinkable happened.

A pulse grenade drops from the ceiling.

It felt like time slowed all around us. Percy sees the grenade landing near her foot, and turns around, movement abrupt, her helmet retracting from her head and revealing her panicked gaze. Her eyes are wide in terror, lips trembling as she yelled at me.

“Charon!”

My feet are ready to take me to her, but what she screamed before the grenade fried her suit’s systems and took her down made me freeze in my spot.

“I order you to live!”

The pulse grenade burst, and so did the walls of the vault. The rubble flew at Percy, who was falling backwards, her helmet thumping against the metal flooring as she hit the ground. Losing consciousness, the GECK escapes her grasp, and skitters a few feet away from her.

From the newly formed hole in the wall, a man emerges. Colonel Autumn. I thought that asshole was dead!

The Enclave is here.

Heart in my throat, I didn’t know what to do. At that moment, I forgot the contract was gone. I turned around, and obeyed, fleeing from the scene with Percy’s words echoing in my head.

“Charon! I order you to live!”

“I order you to live!”

“Live!”

Live.