#i still love her i just don't wanna study her armor too much

[kaiserouo]

big armor

[newtabfics]

Could I ask for a drabble with drunk Astarion? It was adorable how he got drunk from a bear. I wonder what would he do if he got even more drunk later in the story? What would do his female Tav, would she make fun of him or get drunk too? Thank you in advance!

In my personal headcanon: Absolutely would get teased for it. But I'm feeling a type of way today :3

Basically, they're all at an inn for this.

Below cut for scrolling

Triggers for I guess drinking, mild angst. basically going into astarion's thoughts and fears about not being a sexual being.

His stumbling into her arms made her sigh as she helped him to his room. "You're drunk again. What happened?"

"Some...guy...he was drunk first," Astarion slurred, leaning into her. He nuzzled against her hair and gently pressed a kiss behind her ear. "Gods, you're so sweet to me. Makes me love you so much."

Her cheeks warmed at his words as she helped him to his room. They were lucky they could afford separate rooms. After the camping, it felt needed for everyone.

Though, as she helped him into his room and gripped her hips, she felt that desire building again. "You're drunk, Star," she said gently, guiding him to his bed.

"You're drunk, Darling," He giggled out as she helped him sit. "Ooh. Gonna take advantage of me?" He joked. His eyes flickered a slight as a panic rose in his chest.

Tav smiled gently and knelt down, carefully removing his boots. "Let's get these off," She said softly.

He watched her through rosy vision. It was startling. She was so careful with him, not letting her touch linger too long. He could see it in her eyes, how much she wanted to be intimate with him again...

"Do you hate me?" He mumbled out.

"No, Astarion," She said firmly as she set his boots aside before reaching up and helping him out of the padded overcoat. "Let's get this off. You can't sleep in armor. You'll be fussy in the morning."

Astarion felt his throat tighten as he reached up and touched her hand. He couldn't grasp it still. She was so careful. Her hands stopped, letting him do what he needed. It was like she refused. to move now without his permission.

"Why...not?" he asked softly. "You could...whatever you wanted."

Tav looked up at him from her kneeling position as she gently took his hands into hers as she rested them on his thighs. "Because you keep asking that," She said. "Astarion..." She blushed a slight. "You mean so much to me. You're the first to...to really look at me. And you didn't have to. You said you wanted us to be real. I want us to be real too."

His heart fluttered when she gave a gentle kiss to his knuckles before resting her forehead against them. "I'm not going to do anything, because that's not what you need. and I think you know that too, My Shining Star."

Astarion's face went red at the nickname. "W-Why do you keep calling me that?"

Tav smiled and shook her head. "No particular reason," She giggled.

"What? But I wanna know," he whined.

Tav's soft laugh made his heart melt as she carefully got off the overcoat, leaving him in his loose shirt and pants. He gulped and looked at her, eyes flickering with anxiety as he studied her. His eyes glanced to her neck, seeing the familiar fang bruising on her flesh.

"I feel like I owe you," He sighed, gently tracing the marks. He watched her shiver and still. It was like she was reigning herself in for him. His heart dropped as he thought about how he was neglecting her. How he could do better or--

"Astarion," She said firmly, reaching up and cupping his face as she adjusted. She stood and his hands tenderly found her hips as her lips pressed against his forehead.

He shivered and hugged her close, burying his face against her stomach as he sighed heavily. "I'm sorry I'm a mess," He muttered.

"Don't be sorry," She sighed, running her fingers through his hair as she held him. "I just want you to be comfortable again. I'm never going to make you do anything you don't want."

Her words stopped. She almost wanted to think of something else to add to the statement, but even unsaid, she had spoken volumes more.

Tav smiled as she watched him starting to fall asleep against her. "I'm going to tuck you in now, alright?"

"Don't go..." He muttered into her stomach. His hands clutched the back of her shirt, almost cradling her close to him. "Just...stay?"

She smiled and kissed her head. "I can do that." She hummed as she lay with him in the bed, watching him cling to her. "next time, you're not going out for blood alone though," She told him with a gentle look. "Or at least, maybe don't grab a drunkard."

Astarion smiled softly as he felt the alcohol already clearing out of his mind. He couldn't tell her that his vampirism made him process alcohol so much faster and that it was a buzz. Not after it meant he could be wrapped in her arms and feeling her hands through his hair.

maybe he'd tell her in the morning once his mind stopped reeling.

[felixstudios]

Every since that post about the managers playing Subnautica, I just wanna know what they would think about Minecraft

Random Corporate Clash Headcanons, Playing Minecraft Edition

Duck Shuffler

🎰Has a house made of random blocks he decided were neat. Together it looks like a complete mess, but he loves it

🎰Finds the freedom of choice a bit overwhelming sometimes, so he uses his slots to decide what he's gonna do next. Even if he ends up getting "fight the Ender Dragon" 32 minutes into a new world, he will do it or die trying

Prethinker

🧠You remember those Minecraft essentials books we all had as kids? He got those and studied them, learned they were heavily outdated, and looked on Reddit for guides and knowledge on the game before he'd even launch the game

🧠Wants to do everything he can think of in the game so he has bragging rights

🧠His house is a hole he dug in the ground because, "Appearances don't matter. What matters is all my tools are inside!"

Derrick Man

🛢️Plays on hardcore just because

🛢️Pretty much just likes to get OP tools and armor and then go hunt monsters and kill bosses

🛢️Preparing for a fight with the Warden

Deep Diver

🫧Very interested in the ocean biomes and will make an underwater base with a huge glass dome so he can watch the fish swim around

🫧Plays on peaceful because she just gets annoyed by all the monsters, especially drowned

Rainmaker

⛈️Plays on peaceful because the monsters scare her, and she still gets scared because she expects monsters to still lurk around or glitch in

⛈️Had to turn off cave noises because they always made her run out of caves

⛈️Loves her farm, though. She will grow a lot of crops just because she really likes it

Land Acquisition Architect

🚦He's the guy who builds a mega base, entire cities, ETC. ALL IN SURVIVAL MODE.

🚦If he goes on creative mode {he will a lot}, let's just say he's gonna become famous in the Minecraft community for his builds

🚦Knows a lot of really niche things about the game, which makes him good at the Minecraft prison escape niche as well

Gatekeeper

⚔️Fights monsters constantly and plays on hardcore

⚔️Her biggest flex is beating the ender dragon on hardcore with only leather armor, a stone sword, and a bucket of water

⚔️She wants to fight the wither and the ender dragon at the same time

Witch Hunter

🔱He doesn't play it

Public Relations Representative

🧱Has a lot of fun playing the game, though he frequently forgets important things about the game and has to re-learn them

🧱His favorite thing to do is explore the different biomes on the surface and just run around

🧱Builds small bases, but he never stays in one place for too long because he just wants to explore

Bellringer

🔔If he sees a monster, he's gonna kill it

🔔Likes to carry a LOT of potions of regeneration with him. He's learned a thing or two from fighting Toons, after all.

🔔Builds a really cool base over the course of a few months

Multislacker

🥪Plays on peaceful because he doesn't feel like having to constantly fight

🥪Mostly just sits around and watches animals walk around since he's too lazy to play

Mouthpiece

☎️She's that one person who plays on normal difficulty. Probably the only person

☎️Has a modest base and doesn't get super far in the game, especially because she mostly just plays it to spend time with her grandchildren

☎️If any monsters hurt her grandkids, she will THROW HANDS.

Major Player

🎹Makes a lot of note block redstone contraptions

🎹Has a HUGE house, and of course the stage he performs on is recreated in his house

🎹Loves showing off his builds online

Firestarter

🔥Plays with Graham... yes, their beds are right next to each other

🔥Flint wants to play on peaceful but Graham doesn't, so they decided to play on hard but make Flint undetectable by monsters

🔥Mostly mines for materials and just goes along with whatever Graham wants to do

Plutocrat

🌑Doesn't really care much for the game

🌑Likes going on creative mode to build whatever's on his mind, but otherwise it's just not very interesting to him

Treekiller

🪵Plays with Chip a lot. They have a large base together

🪵Likes cutting down lots of trees and made the base himself just out of said wood. It looks amazing, actually

🪵Also loves to go mining for materials

Chainsaw Consultant

🪚Plays with Spruce a lot

🪚He doesn't really enjoy any one thing in particular and just does whatever he feels like in the moment or whatever Spruce wants to do

🪚Watches animals walk around a lot since it's really calming and peaceful to him

Featherbedder

💤Falls asleep while playing a lot

💤Zzz....

Pacesetter

👟Plays with Flint a lot

👟Is always wanting to expand the base just because why not? But he usually gets frustrated with how long it takes to gather all the materials and then do the building part so he cheats a lot to do it faster

👟Has a content pack that replaces paintings with pictures of him and Flint together. Their room is covered in paintings

[nat1vibes]

@manygalaxiesinone thank you for asking me this and i shall use the same template as you for ease. (might have missed some)

(inspired from this post)

Disgaea Generic Classes/monsters i'd hang out with!

Warrior: NEATHER YEAH! just coz im biased and couldn't say no. he could help me get into the mindset of working out! and... maybe get me one of them deals with the god of combat

Valkyre: Probably-maybe not. If she is as tsundereish as she seems then it would be a maybe not. But she is still kinda just a dorklike M warrior, so prob yeah!

Martial Artist: wouldn't hang out more than just maybe sparing with them to learn from them, or tea together.

Fight Mistress: yeah! but they seem a bit too high energy for me

Magician: Neather Yeah! we would be nerding out so much! and i'd love to see how magic is studied, even if i couldn't do it

Witch:...the gothic lolita is stronger than my ablity to see red flags. So yes i would. Maybe i'd just be her goofer but its fine

Clergy: yea. lil cute booger. He don't got anything wrong

Cleric: yeah! they are prety calm. maybe though i wouldn't find that much in common with us

Ninja: maybe. He seems cool. but like. trained assassin? can they have fun? would they not kill me?

Kunoichi: same as ninja

Samurai Male/Female: Loyal! pretty calm most of the time. Good friends to have around

Ranger/Strider: Cool guy, we could vibe

Archer: Not sure. she seems nice. But i might find them annoying after a while. Probably my fualt

Magic Knight: Sure! she is just great! i can't imagine they would like me much though.

Thief Male/Female: i'd maybe do some panks with them and that's it. I don't wanna stay close enough to be a target

Angel Male/Female: Hate them.

Gunner: Wild west nerd, we could vibe

Gunslinger: Smh Merchant from Phantom brave just dressed difrently. i dont trust her

Armor knight Male/Female: Yes! i will feel so at ease when being around them!

Beastmaster: Greaat gal. I'd love to hang out with the more dangerous monsters through her

Sorcerer: Ok ok, curses, voodoo. But she so cute tho! I'll overlook my lower lifespan

Masked Hero: Nah, posers

Professor: sure? but it's an other one of those that i don't thing we will hae much t otalk about. If she tries to teach me math i'll pocket sand her and run away

Psychic: she looks like a Chuunibyu. We vibing

Mecha Girl: Maybe? but idk

Sinner: i'd be afraid , they pretty scary

Prinny: i'd feed them like. 2 sardines PER DAY. With the profits i make from thier labour, i'd contiue to amass a following and be treated as prinny Jesus. Valvatorez will have t ofind me and try to change my ways.

Cheerleader: dont know alot about her. But id be worried where to look and be uncomfortable

Android: Nah. ill save my life to kill it with an other calss that would hate me

Necromancer: yes. Again lolita fashion wins

Medic: sure! I'd even go as far as trying out on flied medic assistant

Maid: HELL YEAH! Nat1vibes loredrop. Monstergirls are one of my weaknesses. And maid. Are an other one

Wrestler: Not alot. But i'd for sure let him coach me. work out together. he could lift me and my spirits!

Pirate: nah. Posh dudes

Dark Knight: YES. yeah yeah emo. But they are my chuunin babies. I'd play pretend with them

Sage: yeah! Give me multy attack!

Geomaster: nah. Hated those Old farts. Disgaea 2 item world was made a pain

Majin:Maybe? maybe not...depends if they seem me as like, a lowly human they might develop feelings like those of a pet rat. Or just kill me.

Bouncer:My own body guard!

Onmyo monk: Uptight smucks that think they are better than everyone? I'll slug him one! and die... coz they are high ranking

EDF soldier/Battle shuit:Literlly just human dudes. Depends on the guy

Kurtis bot:Maybe? probably not

Asagi(d5):Only if i could somehow make them belive, i am the true Asagi of an other dimention. That came here to find the TRUE asagi

Spirit: yeah...Kinda, they look lonely

Undead: nah. Zombos. Bleh. ''But nat1, you said yes to the mai-'' ''I'll slug you one''

Dragon: If they don't see me as a threat or food. Sure. Big guys. Seem to give nice hugs. Also... a point i missed. MAGICHANGE D2 SPEAR! D4 SWORD!

wooden Golem: Yee. nice tree bros

Lanturn: they look kinda scary. But they chill we vibing

Living Armor/Horseman: I wouldn't mind. But they probably won't find any value in me.

Felynn: Yeah! cat ladies! just hope they don't break me accidentally

Succubus: nah. Hang out? Well... Maybe. NO, they just out for my soul.

Gargoyles: i wouldn't mind one guarding my house

Nether Noble: maybe? Not like Sherafinas dad. But they aren't that bad. I remmember that lil oiky boy in d1

Orc: Only if they don't think they can mess with me. lil fart boys

Winged Warrior/If you mean mothman: Nah. I'd fall assleep to easely. not good for the slumber party

Flora Beast: yeah. I don't see how it could go bad

Roc: nah. Sorry. too smelly a breath

Rifle Demon: maybe if i could win their faivour with alcohol

Nosferatu:vampire dudes? nah. they would kill me

Feary: lil fae boys. Sure. adorable!

Sludge: nah. Slime

Shroom: nah. Again i dont wanna fall asleep when disgaea ppl are REAL!

Mythical Beast: Yeah! doggo!

Slumber Cat/Deathsabbers: i mean. They are just cats. Sure

Reaper: Well. they don't look only like they usually do. As we saw from Emizels dad. But still. They would probably kill me

Evil Eye: what even is this

Holy Dragon: Nah. too uptight about their pride

Imp: nah. lil shits

Fairy: Sure. lil guys

Rabbits: yeah!!! peaceful demons! yeee

Bear: YEEE big hugs! WAIT THAT A MOUTH in thier belly

Nine-tails: I mean... kitsune ladies

Twin Dragon: Again as with the dragon. MAGICHANGE SWORD

Zombie dragon: Yeah. looks evil. Probably is. But... they look so lonely and also kinda like. Friendable

[poisonouswritings]

Smooches :(

I'm going to assume this is a request about the Last Legacy M4 since that's what I write the most of. Mayhaps this is your way of saying you want a smooch, in which case I say 'same'. But I'm not actually sure. So while I appreciate you thinking I'm smart enough to get this, I am actually Very Very Stupid and taking a swing in the dark here. Hope you enjoy!

GN!reader, fluffy fluff

Felix

I think Felix is a very big fan of casual smooches. He's been studying or working on experiments for nine hours straight and you just swoop in out of nowhere to kiss his cheek. Instant Dopamine Boost. Instant energy.

In as much as I like to joke about Felix being Easily Flustered, he's also the only Starswon (Rime notwithstanding) that's been in a canon long-term relationship. He's definitely get a lil embarrassed hehe blushy blushy man but he keeps his composure fairly well. Sometimes makes a little noise, sometimes shrinks up a little bit, the tips of his ears turn pink. But he'll look at you and pout and ask if That's All He's Getting™

If you sit with him while he's reading, I think he smooches you a lot. Doesn't even pull his eyes away from the page, just kinda leans over and kisses your cheek, your jaw, your neck, whatever's close enough. He's Focused™ but he still wants to worship you a lil

When he's not distracted by studies, he's a bit more flustered but he still gives you a lot of little kisses and smooches and pecks

I think especially when something reminds him of Rime. I feel like we don't talk enough about Protective!Felix being afraid of losing MC. So anyways when something makes him think of Rime, it kinda automatically makes him think about how Rime died, and that stresses him. Even if it was Unavoidable, he still worries about that happening to you. So he'll randomly pepper your cheeks and lips with little kisses and hold your hand. Kisses the back of your hand too.

I feel like all of Felix is very soft,, includes his lips,,,, do with that info what you will,,,,,,

He do Big Spell. Head Hurty. When he tries to sleep, smooch his temple. Makes him feel better.

Anisa

Heheh...ehehehe.....cat wife kisses

Gods i miss her

I feel like she loves all types of smooches, but especially sneaky ones! She's spent such a long time following the rules and being The Model Citizen™ that she likes the thrill of it. She's also incredibly proud to be your Knight In Shining Armor!! And as long as you guys aren't doing anything too dirty she doesn't care who sees a bit of PDA.

I think she'd like being kissed on her hands/wrists, tip of her nose, and collarbone. If you wanna be cute and kiss her chest where your heart is, she'll be super flustered but like it (as long as you guys aren't in public at that point).

Her favorite places to smooch you would probably be,,, your forehead (she uses her hands to smoosh your cheeks a lil whenever she kisses your forehead) and the spot below your ear. Maybe nips at your earlobe a little bit when she's feeling flirty but probably not in public

I feel like she hugs you from behind a lot!! Possibly sneaks up on you to give you surprise kisses.

She comes home after a long day of work,, she's so tired,,, help her pull her armor off,,,, give her a lil kiss on the shoulder,,,,,, she melts,,,,,,,,, and when she has nights when the memories are too much for her to deal with and she can't sleep, cuddle her. In between stories and jokes and dreams you two shares, smooch her hand/wrist. Makes her very calm.

I think if you guys are laying around and just kinda relaxing and you suddenly start kissing her, she would purr a little. I don't even know if half-ilephtas can purr, but damnit, she does.

Sage

I was gonna say that I hc that the only source of wholesome smooches Sage ever had before you was probably like, when he and Tulsi were younger and say she was afraid of a thunder storm he would probably kiss the top of her head or whatever (which is something my older sister still does to me a lot when I'm upset) but after That Post from the Insta I feel like that'd be inappropriate,,, which is really shitty because siblings should be allowed to show affection for each other without people being freaks about it,,,,,

But anyways

I think Sage is used to making out and whatever, but soft lil smooches??? Foreign concept.

The first time you smooch his cheek out of nowhere he just bluescreens. He's dead. Gone. Vanished. Slain. He tries to be flirty to hide his embarrassment but you give him this wholesome little smile and he just puts his head down because he needs a second

He's a bit of an attention whore so once you start he doesn't want you to stop. If you're busy studying he 10,000% does the lil headbutt thing.

Definitely likes kissing your hands and nibbling on your fingers a lil but also your forehead, the top of your head, and the crook of your neck because he's trying to hide his face a lil cause he's blushing

Ooh big strong cat man blushing like a tomato because he's being sweet on his loving partner

I also think Biting Is A Love Language! You will get nibbled on often!! Obviously when he's flirty he's messing with you that way but even when he's just being a blushing dork, he gives you a lil love bite. Though I have a thing for marking so porhaps I'm projecting but I'm sure you don't mind

Loves it when you kiss his head/ears, his cheeks, probably his chest too. And if you kiss his scars? Especially while mumbling a bit of praise about how big and strong he is? He simply Ceases To Exist.

Purrs a lot. Is grumpy about it. If you tell him you like his purring then he isn't grumbly but he's still flustered. And going from intense making out to soft little smooches? He's putty in your hands.

Rime

The least visibly affected but probably the most internally screaming. During/after his redemption he feels a lot of guilt for the stuff he's done and, therefore, like he doesn't deserve anything so soft and sweet and loving. In fact the first time you lean in to smooch him he probably jumps a lil cause he wasn't expecting it.

But when you do manage to plant one on him? He does this slow blink and then smirks at you. Makes a catty comment about, gee MC, if you want him so bad you can just say so. But his ears give this little flick and he can't quite look you in the eye and You Know You Got Him

Did you guys knows that deers tails swish around when they're content? You nuzzle up against him and smooch the side of his neck and his tail does a little dance.

Yes I know that horns are keratin and therefore not really sensitive but I think if you kiss at the base of his horns he'll get flustered. Mostly because it's an intimate spot. You might have to gently hold him in place so he doesn't accidentally whack you with his horns or whatever. Otherwise he likes when you smooch his palms or nose.

For some reason I feel like he'd kiss your chest a lot, like where your heart is. Maybe as a lil apology for trying to kill you several times. Always very soft and delicate about it, like he's not entirely sure if he's allowed to do it. Encourage him and he'll calm down, but it takes time.

He has ice magic so I feel like his skin is always cold. Offer to heat him up and he rolls his eyes but his cheeks do get warm. So you've already kinda made progress. Yay you!

[anonymous-swiftie]

If you are on twitter, please retweet this:

https://twitter.com/ASwiftie00/status/1334245577933148164?s=19

Dear #Swifties,

I'm new on tumblr, and I really don't know how to use it.

I know you are the best supporters of the music industry and I'm here to ask your help.

I'm fighting with a crippling depression, that due this covid situation just got worse.

I'm at my lowest, I truly don't know if I will make it through this time.

I always dreamed to talk to Taylor, since I was a teenager. She is the only one that make me feel like I do fit in this world.

I've created this account because I know she is very active here, and I'm trying to reach her with this part of my story.

You can read everything below.

I didn't write any personal information because I don't want this to be seen by my family or somebody that can recognise me.

I don't want upset anyone.

I know that everyone hope to meet or chat with her, and so you are probably wondering why you have to share this here.

You're totally right, maybe it's a stupid idea to ask you this, but I haven't anything left in my pocket to fight this situation, and you're my only hope right now.

Thank you.

#taylor #swift

*******************************************

Dear Taylor,

I keep writing and deleting this, over and over again.

I feel so dumb to write my personal story here, but this truly is my last chance to feel better and try to overcome this giant monster called depression.

I genuinly don't know if I can make it through this year. It's the worst period of my entire life and i don't even know if it's worth living this hell anymore.

I know you have millions of supporters (that probably write you every single day, and they are all better fans than I am, that's for sure) but I know that you proved, time after time, to be so down to earth and to use your time to read your fans messages.. so, in this moment, I'm just trying to share a part of my story with you.

You are the one that make feel understood, since I was like 13teen.

I'm so sorry if my English isn't very good but I'll do my best.

I'm not very active on social media , because I'm very shy when I have to talk about myself.. but If this could work, I must do it.

I will try to send a letter, If I can find the strength to mark this feeling on paper.

**IF I'M WRITING TO SOMEBODY FROM HER STAFF, PLEASE JUST LET THIS MESSAGE REACH TAYLOR**

I'll try now to resume, because I don't want to bother you too much.

This has been a crazy year so far, and the all the time I spent by myself during the lockdown didn't help at all.

This situation brought me back to childhood.

I spent a lot of my days back and forth in hospitals, due to my allergies.

I had to wear a mask all the time I wanted to go outside to avoid severe allergic reaction (that's why this Covid thing awakened some hurting memories)

I didn't have real friends back then, 'cause I've spent most of the summers at home, watching other kids playing around, from my window, or from the windows of my classroom.

It was so hard to make new friends, because the only thing that other kids saw was my mask.

I was the masked kid.

I was the strange kid.

I couldn't play with them.

Everytime I tried to play with them, the only thing I heard was "oh you are ill , I don't wanna be like you so stay away".

This situation made me start to write things in my personal diary.

I wrote small sentences, as a kid, and that was the only thing I could do alone inside an empty classroom during all summer.

This situation continued  for many years.

I wasn't the cool kid before, I wasn't the cool guy after.

The only things that let me enjoy those days were writing and listening to your songs.

I started to listen to your music thanks to my English teacher. She was a fan of folk and country music and she gave me a pic in which you were singing near a lake (I still have that photo somewhere, I strongly remember the white banner with your name written in red on it) and told me to listen to the cd she gave me that day.

I immediately fell in love (I think I still have a crush on you, I'm sorry).

I loved your album. I loved your voice. I loved the lyrics.

I remember having a "test" in school: each one of the class had to write their favourite lyrics and let the others guess the song.

If the someone guessed It, We could play the cd.

I chose Love Story and I translated it in Italian.

The class guessed the song, and I played it.

After the lunch break I went back to my desk and I saw some bullies that were breaking my cd-album and they started to laugh at me because I loved your music an I loved writing poems.

I was a boy so I was a loser because I enjoyed those things.

That felt terrible, but I continued to love your songs even more .

Those were my inspiration to write and to study english.

I felt so good when I listened to your album and this still happens.

Then I went to a private high-school.

Nothing changed, I still was the nerd guy that always got good grades and I have to say that the first year was quite good, but the second year was the start of the apocalypse.

I choose that school because two girls that I knew from childhood went there.

One of the cool new guys started to spread a fake "news" about me.

He said to everyone that I was the boyfriend of one of the two girls that I mentioned before.

So he was the cool guy and one of the girls believed him and told me to f*** myself.

The other girl was her best friend, so you could imagine by what happened next.

After 14 year spent together, I was nobody.

I didn't have "friends" in that class anymore.

I didn't say hello to anybody for 4 years, and nobody would say anything to me.

Nobody to talked with me.

That's great when you're a teenager.

I hated to wake up every morning.

I had an eating disorder, I lost like 22pounds in less than a month. Got hospitalized twice. I kept vomiting for 3 years, every single morning before school.

During that time I only talked with one of my cousins, who lived like 2 hours by car from me.

He was older than me but he always tried to help.

He knew that I loved to write poems so he started to give me guitar lessons.

I made it through a lot of things thanks to him.

I'm sorry, It's hard for me to write this part of the story.

I still get emotional when I think about this.

On the 10TH of December 2013 (some days after his birthday) we received a phone call from his mother: She warned us that he didn't return home after the last working shift.

I wrote a message to him like 3 hours prior to that phone call.

Never had the opportunity to get a reply again.

This year is the seventh year that he is missing.

That destroyed me.

I felt empty.

I felt like nothing couldn't help me.

I still feel that everytime I care about someone in my life, it will disappear someday.

This have happened several other times.

You know when ignorants say that men don't cry, is real bullshit. Men cry. I cried a lot.

I wrote so many poems , lyrics, thoughts in that period of time, that I destroyed my hands.

That was the only way to close my eyes and let me reach another reality because the real one was way too much for me.

Be a sensible man in this world is somehow a curse.

All these things made me afraid  even to hug someone 'cause I feel I'm too ugly or just to scared to be refused.

I will stop here my story, but there's so much more to tell.

I make it through all of these things and memories because I keep dreaming that one day I could meet you and we could talk together.

Dreaming about the fact I could spend a day with you made me find the power to battle my depression.

I'm 25 now and this year I'm not dreaming anymore.

I was going to start again university, I wanted to get a degree in marketing and have the chance to live in the us.

For years I believed that I would make it and hopefully be part of your marketing team.

I'm so stupid. All these years I kept dreaming to avoid pain.

I wanted to pursue my passion and continue to write lyrics but all I was doing was putting myself in unrealistic realities.

This covid situation made everything clear.

When everyone had someone to facetime (or video call) I was alone.

When everyone had someone asking them "how are you?" I only had myself looking in the mirror saying: "Will I ever feel better?"

I've never been the one for anybody, and I think I'll never be.

I won't be the one among all your fans to realize his dream.

Nobody likes me, and I'm exposing myself once again just because I want the opportunity to smile at something that could happen to me.

I'm tired to smile only for others best moments.

I've always seen the sun through a window.

I want to feel happy.

I want to burn my face with the sun.

I'm so sick of hiding my pain,

sick to cry when I'm alone in my car before going to work,

sick to let my eyes rain on my pillow every night.

I'm sick to say to my mother that I'm fine, just because I don't want to make her feel bad.

It's not her fault.

She is battling with a degenerative autoimmune disease, why I should put other weight on her shoulders?

I didn't give up to my weakness before because I don't want to hurt her.

I always say to her that soon she will feel better, that's why your song It's stuck in my head.

But when she won't be here anymore, how I can go through all of that?

I don't even know if will ever get better for me.

Will this pain ever stop?

Sometimes it's so hard to live and so easy to die.

Hope that my dream to spend some time with you can become true.

Thank you for everything, you gave me the strength to go on for many years.. But this time is so hard to put on my armor and continue this battle.

But is this even worth if thy I try to surround myself with people and I always feel lonely?

D.

@taylorswift @taylornation @jackleopards-thedolphinclub

[soup-fish]

Hiya I meant to send you asks like forever ago but I'm bad so I didn't do that so here they are now they're from this ask prompt thing you reblogged

Feel free to answer these about any of your OCs cause I don't really remember any except rabbit and Knight so~

1, 10, 25, 29, 33, 37, 46, 50, 61, 63, 78, 80, sorry there's so many you don't have to answer them all, I am just cursed with insatiable curiosity only balanced out by my fear of asking too many questions and being annoying—

Hi!!! You’re not bad!! You’re one of the coolest aliens ever!!!! 

I am absolutely answering them all with multiple OCs because I will take every opportunity I get to talk about them. 

Putting it under a cut because it is LONG and I don't wanna bother.

1. What is their gender?

The Knight: (she/her)

Rabbit: agender but they use (they/them) pronouns

The Apprentice: (he/him)

Dijon: (he/him)

Julienne: (she/her) (they/them)

Monty: (he/him) (they/them)

Diana: (she/her)

Captain Pumpernickel: (he/him)

William: (he/him)

10. What are some of their talents/skills?

The Knight: Swordfighting, Dancing, pottery

Rabbit: Parlor magic, puppetry, Acting

The Apprentice: collecting, Dunescotch [the world's rough equivalent of chess], chemistry

Dijon: cooking, writing, gardening

Julienne: biking, photography, bird watching

Monty: people watching, bingo, garage sales

Diana: fencing, archery, calligraphy

Captain Pumpernickel: Singing, acting, swordfighting

William: whittling, philosophy, accordion

25. What is their biggest flaw?

The Knight: her naivete 

Rabbit: Their reluctance to be vulnerable

The Apprentice: His aversion to change and the unknown

Dijon: his self-pitying nature

Julienne: Her self-centeredness

Monty: his...not quite human-ness

Diana: She’s uptight

Captain Pumpernickel: hooboy where do I start? For one, his complete and utter dismissal of everything that doesn’t contribut to ADVENTURE

William: his lack of ambition

29. How would they describe their own personality?

The Knight: “Hmmm. I try to be as nice as possible and I’ve been told I’m rhapsodic! I don’t think my singing’s that good but it’s a sweet compliment!” 

Rabbit: “Witty. Yes. Sarcastic? Yes. The people’s demon? In more ways than one~ Even hell can’t handle me.” 

The Apprentice: “Simple, studious, and an enjoyer of quiet studying. I tend to be rather straight-forward in my methodology.”

Dijon: “God do I even have a personality? What am I besides a vaguely human shaped pile of mistakes and disappointments?” 

Julienne: “A fun loving fun person!” 

Monty: “Just your average Earth person! Nothing else to see!” 

Diana: “Calm, cool, collected, the perfect dignitary”

Captain Pumpernickel: “AN ADVENTURER! And a lover! Of your mother! Bring out the good ale my good fellows! Your captain has won another battle of the wits!”

William: “Personality? Never heard of it. Wouldn’t even begin to know what the word means. I know no such words such as sarcastic, laid-back, carefree. Nooooo.”

33. What is their biggest fear? How would they react to having to face it?

The Knight: Being ignored and unheard. She’d probably get really frustrated and maybe cry a little as a result. If it really got to her, she’d need help being pulled out of a dark place. 

Rabbit: Abandonment. Their general reaction to it is to put on a veneer of not caring and close off from the outside world more, even going so far as to act annoying and unlikable so that people leave before getting close. 

The Apprentice: Not knowing. Or, by extension, not being able to learn. He’d probably lash out in anger and storm off. 

Dijon: Being an unredeemable person. He faces it every day and he deals with it by being melodramatic in all of his writings and wallowing in misery. AKA, not dealing with it. 

Julienne: People being genuine. They’d probably get really uncomfortable and try to excuse themselves from the conversation or make jokes to redirect the conversation. 

Monty: The republic finding him hiding out on Earth. He’d fight or do anything possible out of desperation. 

Diana: Being a disappointment 

Captain Pumpernickel: Not being able to bang your mom not having adventures with his crew. He'd probably be reduced to a shell of his former self.

William: Not being able to talk his way out of a situation. 

37. How easy is it for them to say “I love you”? Do they say it without meaning it?

The Knight: Pretty easy but she means it when she says it. She's just full of love tbh.

Rabbit: It's really hard for them to say "I love you". Really really hard. Especially at the start of their arc, they would never say it, however much they mean it.

The Apprentice: It's hard for him to say, simply because it's not quantifiable enough. How does one properly explain how much they love someone? He prefers showing love through actions and more direct compliments.

Dijon: It's not easy for him to say, but he says it without meaning it, both knowingly and unknowingly.

Julienne: She doesn't say it often, but she says it to the people she cares about occasionally. She prefers to say it through time spent and physical touch though.

Monty: The Dude Loves Everything. But they also barely understand the meaning of the word so...

Diana: She doesn't say it almost at all, but prefers to use acts of service and gift giving.

Captain Pumpernickel: He never says "I love you" because he usually doesn't really mean it. He'll use some other compliment or compound of it.

William: He doesn't throw it around easily, so when he says it, it has so much more weight behind it.

46. How easily can they express emotions? How easily can they hide emotions?

The Knight: She expresses her emotions a lot and very easily, but she has a hard time hiding them.

Rabbit: They think they're sly at hiding their emotions, but they let micro-expressions slip constantly. If anyone decided to notice, one would

The Apprentice: He's a blank sheet baybee. What is he thinking? Unless it's frustration or anger, you'll never know.

Dijon: He's just kinda sad all the time. He's miserable and everyone notices.

Julienne: She allows some emotions to come through. It's a bit of a calculated effort.

Monty: All of his emotions come through all the time and he doesn't mind.

Diana: Well, she hides her sadness and happiness, but allows her frustration and such to shine through.

Captain Pumpernickel: He expresses emotions very openly and very loudly. He is a dramatic ham of a captain.

William: He keeps a near perpetual smile that occasionally wavers when things go wrong. He doesn't like to open up emotionally.

50. How would you describe their style of clothing? How would they describe their style of clothing?

The Knight: "fun and comfy!" Light armor with room for mobility but colorful

Rabbit: "...sexy" literally naked except a cloak.

The Apprentice: "practical and sensible" like a fucking nerd

Dijon: "presentable" the best time to wear a sweater, is all the time

Julienne: "quirky" quirky.

Monty: "human clothing for humans! :D" weird mixture of 1800s stuff and modern day stuff. Weird guy.

Diana: "regular??? Clothes???" Fancy ballgown at first then swashbuckling but still expensive.

Captain Pumpernickel: "EXTRAVAGANT AND ASTOUNDING" sexy hobo pirate.

William: "only the highest tier clothing/s" ...rags. doesn't care enough.

61. Which season is their favorite season?

The Knight: Spring

Rabbit: Autumn, harvest festivals and such are good for demons.

The Apprentice: Winter, you have excuses to stay inside and work. Plus the vibe is nice when it's harsh outside and cozy inside

Dijon: Summer, fewer holidays and he's not really cold resistant.

Julienne: Summer. They like the general vibe and popsicles and shorts and sunglasses and such.

Monty: Winter, they love the holidays.

Diana: Summer, she likes the heat.

Captain Pumpernickel: Autumn! He just thinks the weather and vibe are RIPE FOR ADVENTURE!

William: Winter! He like staying inside and the cold.

63. What is always guaranteed to make them smile?

The Knight: her partner! Or a silly joke! Or a delicious snack! Or friendship!

Rabbit: schadenfreude

The Apprentice: order and productivity

Dijon: his favorite childhood book

Julienne: her pet rats! Or pet frog!

Monty: A human thing like paperclips

Diana: this one is a hard one. Succeeding at any of her hobbies.

Captain Pumpernickel: ADVENTURE. and friends

William: seeing Diana smile and be free.

78. Who do they consider to be their best friend?

The Knight: The prince!

Rabbit: the Knight

The Apprentice: books

Dijon: julienne

Julienne: no one. Monty is close.

Monty: ALL HUMANS ARE BEST! AND FRIENDS!!

Diana: no one [William eventually]

Captain Pumpernickel: The sea. And his first mate. And his quartermaster.

William: no one [Diana eventually]

80. Are they a morning person or a night owl?

The Knight: Morning person

Rabbit: Night Owl

The Apprentice: Morning Person

Dijon: Night Owl

Julienne: Morning Person

Monty: Morning Person

Diana: Morning Person

Captain Pumpernickel: Morning Person

William: Night Owl

[vendeavendea]

How Entrapta Has Become My All Time Favourite Autistic Representation in Media: Long Version

Just so you know what to expect, this is more of a very long and boring personal post and less of a character analysis. By "very long", I mean "very long". Also, half of it was written at night when I was supposed to be sleeping (like, right now), so some parts might not even make sense. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Just days before I started to watch She-Ra, I answered a question in a writer group where someone asked what are the do's and don'ts of writing an autistic character. I've been told a couple of times in my life that I can’t be autistic based on the fact that I'm not really interested in or good at science, so I think special interests of autistic people are something that definitely has to be presented better in media. So I advised this person to make their character have a special interest that's NOT related to science, technology, space or computers, because it's a very common misconception that people on the autism spectrum are always into these stuff, and there are so many autistic fictional characters based on this stereotype that I feel like we absolutely don't need any more.

And then I saw Entrapta.

I didn't know she's canonically autistic until a much later episode, but it didn't surprise me when I was told she is, because my autism radar went off like a hundred times while watching System Failure and all her other season 1 appearances (so did my ADHD radar, by the way, but as far as I know, this hasn't been confirmed by the creators, so it's just my headcanon). And she looked like the purple ponytails princess version of the autism stereotype that I didn’t want to see any more of. The genius who is into space and robots, knows nothing about human relationships and keeps driving everyone nuts with her long and impossible-to-follow scientific monologues. Also cute and funny, yeah, but still, as someone on the spectrum who is super artistic and has nothing to do with science stuff, my first reaction was "dang, not this shit again." Just for once in my life, I wanted to see an autistic representation that's not just that typical weird tech-lover but a character that's at least a tiny bit more like me. Seeing her only in her first episode, little did I know that Entrapta's character has an incredible depth and her whole arc was going to be hair-raisingly personal to me (I know I'm not funny, but pun intended).

First, let’s talk about robots, because we can't talk about Entrapta without talking about robots. Entrapta builds robots just for fun, because technology is her thing, but there's actually a lot more behind this. Starting from as early as her debute episode, we see through the whole series that she creates robots with different designs, abilities, personalities, very similar to real people, as a sort of substitute for the human (or whatever species) company she'd wish to have. She even gives them names. She programs them to like being around her, to understand her, something that she hasn't really experienced from real people, which is sad enough on its own, but even sadder if we consider that she actually has human staff working at her fortress. She pretty literally makes friends, and she does it with the help of her special interest. And this totally reminds me of my primary school years when I had zero real friends and used my special interest, which was writing fictional stories and creating worlds/universes/languages in my head, to make up imaginary characters that could be my "friends" so that I wouldn't be that lonely.

Then, her interactions with other characters, especially with Hordak. Entrapta consoling Hordak in Huntara is a very powerful scene to me, not only what she says, but also how she says it. When Hordak starts venting about how he is a failure and all, Entrapta's first immediate response is to provide a practical solution, to design an armor for him, and comforting him with words is only a secondary action. She's helping in her own way, with technology, because that's what she's the best at, but she also wants to make sure he understands that fixing imperfections isn't always the solution, embracing them is. I also love how it's hinted with the "loved" crystal that Entrapta's love language may be acts of service (and probably quality time as well), which is another thing we have in common. And there's another thing in that scene I found very relatable: that part when she stops consoling him and starts to talk about herself being a failure instead. In real life, most people would read that in a negative way. I've been in many situations where I've tried doing something similar to people who were venting to me, and normally, they're like "ew, I'm the one complaining now, stop making it about you." But Hordak's reaction is different, all he does is try to tell her she's not a failure before she shushes him, then he just listens. He understands what Entrapta means by saying all those things about herself isn't "hey, look, my life is also horrible, so I get to complain, too" but rather "I feel you, we're the same". For a person who thinks and acts as differently from average people as Entrapta does, connecting with someone through similar experiences and feelings is a huge thing, and this is so relatable to me that I cried like a baby while watching that scene. Also, kudos to Christine Woods for making Entrapta's monologue sound so factual and casual. It really gives the impression of someone who is fully aware of her own strengths and weaknesses and accepts herself as a whole with all her flaws. The way she lists all the things that make her feel like a failure right after saying "imperfection is beautiful" is just... wow. But seriously, this whole "imperfection is beautiful" thing in general is such a cliché that it's not even supposed to work on me, but hell it does, because it's so well-presented that it's actually one of the most powerful moments of the whole series. Entrapta giving me self-acceptance lessons is all I've ever needed in my life (Hordak probably agrees, lol).

Speaking of self-acceptance, I also love how Beast Island shows that it's a long and difficult process with its ups and downs instead of just a door you walk through once in your life and then stay on the other side forever. Even if I accept and love myself the way I am, it's still totally normal to have low points with thoughts like "I'm not suited for friendship" or "everyone leaves me behind". And it's very nice and uplifting to have someone's love and support when I'm in a bad mood with stuff like this on my mind, but personally, I often find it easier to deal with if I have something related to any of my special interests around that I can focus my thoughts on. My "we flew here on an ancient First Ones ship, do you wanna see it?" would be something like "do you wanna create some characters and then write the shit out of them?" and before this show I've never actually realised how neurodiverse it is to use a hobby or interest for self-care like this. The "definitely the ship" part called me out so hard, and I just adore how the writers were able put so much meaning into a single joke line.

Back to interactions, there's also something painfully relatable in the way the other princesses treat Entrapta. Even in the beginning in No Princess Left Behind, but mostly in season 4 and 5. In most cases, Entrapta is only considered to be worthy enough to not be left behind in situations when her skills are useful. Other characters "liking" her isn't really about herself as a person but her tech knowledge. Just like when you go to school and the only reason your classmates want to make friends with you is because you always do your homework and let others copy it, or you're good at explaining stuff and are willing to help people getting prepared for tests/exams. When I was in grammar school, my classmates ignored me or mocked me for liking animation and comics, but every now and then they did the bare minimum of treating me like a human being and expected me to do their arts homework in return, because I was the only one in my class who was good at arts. When I studied linguistics at the uni, I was really into phonology and historical linguistics, and those were the compulsory subjects most of the other students were struggling with, so many people wanted to hang out with me just to make sure they could get my notes before the exams. The same people kept calling me nerd and making fun of me behind my back. I also had a few genuine friends, which I'm grateful for, but I still know what it feels like to be needed only for a specific skill while not being noticed and respected as a person, and Launch portraits this experience in a very clever way. It's so amazing to see how the princesses realise who Entrapta really is and start to treat her as someone who just thinks differently instead of someone who's a deliberate bad person. They finally get to see that she's not just an unwary tech nerd, but also a determined, caring and loyal friend who gives others so much love in her own geeky way and deserves love, too. But I shouldn't even be surprised, I mean, we're talking about a show that teaches us "you worth more than what you can give to other people," and it's great how this message applies to other characters as well, not only to Adora. And the best part is that this whole conflict is not presented as something black and white, it's not like Entrapta is the poor misunderstood autistic person and the princesses are the evil allistic bad guys who mistreat her. It's simply a miscommunication between neurotypical and neurodivergent individuals, and while the other princesses get to understand that they hurt Entrapta by their actions and that they should be more respectful of her, Entrapta also realises that she's made mistakes and hurt people, becomes aware of her own bad habits and makes efforts to get rid of them in order to save Glimmer. Plus I also love the faint implication that most of the princesses never really, genuinely, 100% make friends with Entrapta even after this scene, because sometimes people just don't resonate with each other enough to become close friends, but they learn to accept her differences and treat her with respect, nonetheless. This episode is so full of realistic interactions and character development it blows my mind every time I rewatch it.

I could just go on and on about all those tiny relatable details such as "I've waited years for someone to ask me about my theories!" I think this was the line that first made me fall in love with Entrapta's character. I mean, if someone from the crew wrote this line, that means they might know the feeling, too, so I'm not the only dork who feels this way every time someone asks me a question about my hyperfixations. And it's just so reassuring. Entrapta has many lines of the kind, they're not even important plotwise, but still super relatable and validating.

Now that we're here, and I know that I probably should have said this at the beginning of the post, but I'm too lazy to rewrite the first paragraph accordingly, I'd like to note that these are all my own interpretations and reflections on Entrapta's character based on my own experiences. This whole thing is totally personal, and I don't want anyone to think that this is how Entrapta is supposed to be seen by the whole fandom. So yeah, that's pretty much it for now.

[fire-the-headcanons]

Port reached the door and started on the mess. Tai reached out— "Oh, Pete, I can get that."

"Nonsense! This is what I'm paid for."

"...You're paid to let us into our rooms when we forget our scrolls."

Peter raised the mop threateningly. "Go take care of your teammate."

"Yessir," Tai said, throwing his hands up and skirting around the business end to avoid needing a change of clothes for himself too.

Follow the Beacon Taiyang—Dannit

[Link to Masterpost]

[I posted two today, read this one first]

Something felt wrong. Qrow seemed… Tai shook his head. It had been bothering him since yesterday, but he couldn't place it. And why wouldn’t Qrow want help?

"Taiyang! Is he all right?" Peter Port called, dragging a mop and bucket from the small closet between the bathrooms. He'd come over to investigate why Dan was screaming his head off, and promptly volunteered to get cleaning supplies.

"I mean, he's not great," Tai said, following him back down the hall. "I'm getting him something to change into."

"Oh, dear. How unfortunate."

Unfortunate. Yeah, that pretty much summed up the weekend. First the twins come home from class looking like death, then the gamestation acting up, then the lovely little embarrassment at the thrift store, and now food poisoning of all things.

Port reached the door and started on the mess. Tai reached out— "Oh, Pete, I can get that."

"Nonsense! This is what I'm paid for."

"...You're paid to let us into our rooms when we forget our scrolls."

Peter raised the mop threateningly. "Go take care of your teammate."

"Yessir," Tai said, throwing his hands up and skirting around the business end to avoid needing a change of clothes for himself too. He stumbled into the room, careful not to step in anything, and—"Where's Raven?"

"Cafeteria."

Well, at least she wasn't following Qrow's lead in the next bathroom over. "Alone?"

"I offered, " she grumbled, before pitching her voice up in a slightly mocking impersonation of her mother's. "Ozpin likes to make everyone work with different types of people! And, get along with your teammates!" Dropping back to her normal pitch, she set Carmine's apron on the desk and dropped her head into her book. "Come on, I'm trying. "

"What is with these two and accepting help?" Tai grumbled, turning toward Qrow's closet. "He's bent over the toilet and won't let me get his clothes for him!" The door opened with a creak, and Tai paused, glancing over its contents.

His bedroll took up the top shelf, the glasses and scarf from yesterday on the one beneath it along with his pajamas. School uniforms hung neatly in a row next to his armor, and a small leather bag—the right size to hold a couple of textbooks—sat in the bottom with a tiny pile of dirty laundry. Three or four pieces of dingy, worn-out clothing at most. 

Tai's sense of unease solidified as the reason for it clicked into place. "Summer?"

"Huh?"

"They used to work on a farm. Not their family farm, someone else's."

"Yeah…?"

"They had jobs."

She nodded, frowning as she glanced at the near-empty closet. "...Probably room and board, too." Sliding from her chair, she crossed to Raven’s and cracked it open— "So why don't they own anything?" she asked the identically bare shelves.

"I mean, Qrow likes comics. They're only a few lien each, the Kingdoms pay most of the cost. So why doesn't he have any?"

Summer's eyebrows pushed together. "He said yesterday one of the other hands trashed them."

"Something's wrong," Tai muttered, grabbing the pajamas. 

***

Qrow sat on the floor, leaning against the toilet, paler than Grimm bone and still out of breath.

"…This was all I could find," Tai said, holding the clothes out.

"Thanks," he murmured, reaching up but keeping his eyes down. He paused for a moment, as if about to speak, but then closed his mouth and said nothing.

Tai offered a hand. "Come on, I'll help you over to the shower."

 "I'm okay, really," he rasped, using the toilet seat to push himself to his feet. "I'll meet you in the room in a few minutes." Qrow glanced at him through his bangs, eyes darting up toward his face before returning to the floor. The clothes shook in his hand, white-knuckled with tension, and… and it wasn't because he was sick.

... Scared. They were scared.

The twins weren't weird, or asocial, it wasn't culture shock—they were always terrified. 

Something was very, very wrong. 

Should he ask…? What would he even say , though? "Why are you scared all the time" was probably not a great way to get either of them to open up. "Hey, why are you so poor? " was worse. 

Tai shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. "If you're sure." 

 "Yeah. Thanks." Qrow smiled like it was hurting him. Tai took a step back to let him past, but he closed the stall door and started to change on the other side. 

What do we know for sure? It was almost more of a habit than a question… but maybe the twins would be a little easier to figure out than Ozpin.

Okay, first, they don't own anything. He headed toward the bathroom door, scratching his neck. And what they do have is beyond shabby. If they really had jobs, they didn't pay much. If they have parents they either can't or won't take care of them. His stomach lurched. 

"Hey, I'll be out in a minute. Hold up?" Dan called, peeking around the shower curtain.

"Sure," Tai said, hopping onto an empty washing machine to wait. Second, they can fight. Really fight. ...The teachers don't correct their technique much either, so they're probably not self-taught. And telling the truth about learning from a Huntsman, from their styles. He frowned. Though, the way they fight is different enough they might not have been taught by the same person…

 But both of them got their weapons from Carmine, we know that for sure too. So whatever they were using before wasn't good quality.

The stall door squeaked as he emerged, old clothes wadded in one hand. Tai stared at Qrow's back as he tossed them in the sink and started scrubbing with the hand soap. "You wanna borrow some detergent?" he asked, softly enough Dan wouldn't be able to hear over the water.

"No, thanks."

"...Hey, are you okay?" Couldn't hurt, right?

"M'fine," he mumbled.

"You don't… seem all right."

What little of his reflection Tai could see over his shoulder twisted in fear. "I'm just sick."

"...Okay. Rest up.”

"Thanks." 

He watched as Qrow shuffled from the bathroom, rubbing at his shoulder. Maybe the curdling sensation in the pit of his stomach came from the lingering smell of the accident, but he couldn't shake the thought something was very, very wrong.

What else do we know. They are from Anima, it's on their student IDs. I don't think they were lying about coming from the middle of nowhere. ...Their work is the only thing that doesn't fit. So if they weren't farmhands, why would they lie? And if they were... what happened?

"Well, that was fun," Dan griped, pulling his t-shirt down as he walked out of the stall and tossed his towel on the counter. "Starting to think you're jinxed, man."

Tai shook his head to clear it, giving him a sideways glance. "Huh?"

"Oh, y'know. Our friend going to the wrong school. Spraining your ankle during initiation, the three of us getting split up, Ozpin picking on you at the obstacle course. And don't forget getting detention on the first day of class."

Tai snorted.

"I'm just saying, whatever funk you've got going on, keep it to yourself," Dan laughed back, play-punching his arm.

"Sure, Dan. I'll make sure you don't trick me into wearing a skirt to Grimm Studies."

"I still can't believe he fell for that." Dan grabbed the comb out of his shower basket and started on his hair. "There's the worst luck of all, getting stuck with a teammate that can't even walk through a door without screwing something up."

He rolled his eyes. "Dude. Come on. There was an accident. It's nobody's fault." 

"Well, he could have looked where he was going."

So could you. Better change the subject before he got invested in it. "Yeah, whatever. Did you see the new trailer for—"

"Tai, I'm serious." Dan set down the comb and turned to face him. "You need to be able to rely on your teammates. If you or Summer gets hurt because of their damn incompetence—"

 "Just let it go, will you?" 

Dan scowled, tilting his head. "Why are you taking their side?"

"Why do there have to be sides?" Tai spread his arms. "Why are you still so angry? Even Zaff isn't this upset, and he's the one freezing his ass off in Solitas!"

"They shouldn't be here!"

Tai almost laughed. "Dude, have you ever sparred with either of them? They should definitely be here."

"So they're competent in a fight." He grabbed the comb and finished sweeping his hair into place. It was already halfway dry, but a few wet curls draped over the base of his neck. "Want do they want, a medal? That's a basic expectation, not something special—he doesn't even have a Semblance! "

Annoyance cooled and hardened like hot steel plunged into water and any humor Tai might have been feeling vanished in the cloud of steam. "Neither does Summer."

"...Well, that's different," he protested, clearly trying to cover his ass. "She can fly."

"I don't see a difference," Tai snapped. He should know better. They'd watched her frustration at Signal, how she stuck to the edges of the class during combat training, how much time she'd spent meditating. Hell—Qrow didn't even seem to care about his at all! Who was Dan even trying to insult?

"C'mon, Tai," he said airily, grabbing his stuff. "You're blowing this out of proporti—"

"I don't want to talk about this any more."

"What?" Dan threw an incredulous glance over his shoulder as he pushed the bathroom door open.

"Look. It'd be better if Zaff were here too, but there's nothing any of us can do about that. You're the only one who won't accept it," Tai said. "He says you don't even call him!"

He leaned back in a swagger that he probably thought was charming. "Do you really want me talking to my ex?"

"YES!" Tai shouted, and Dan flinched in surprise. "Because, yeah, I like you, but the most important thing is that we all stay friends!" Deep breaths. Shouting never helped anything. "...Y'know, Ozpin keeps saying that we need to learn to work with different people. I'm starting to think he's right. We were too comfortable with the four of us."

"You think th—"

"Dan, just because we're not all on the same team any more doesn't mean that we're not a team! Qrow and Raven are our friends now, too. I'm sick of listening to you rag on them." He pushed past, out into the hallway.

"It's okay to say you feel sorry for them."

Tai froze, staring back at him. "What?"

"I mean, you've seen the shit they wear—and they wear their uniforms or gear most of the time so they don't have to! They hoard food from the cafeteria when they think no one's looking." 

Tai's stomach lurched. 

"All they've got on their shelves are schoolbooks. I get it, they're kinda pathetic. But they don't need to go to Beacon to get a roof over their heads and three meals a day, there are plenty of services in Vale—"

How had Dan noticed, but he hadn't? "I'm done with this conversation."

"Tai—"

"I said I'm done."

"All right. Fine. I'm sorry," Dan said with a tone that spoke louder than the words. " You're making such a huge deal over nothing, Tai, calm down." It had the opposite effect, if he was being honest with himself, and it took effort to keep from being drawn back into the fight. "Oh hey, did you see the new trailer for Fatal Fray 3?"

"...Yeah." 

Why can't we all just get along? 

At least Dan wasn't insulting Qrow to his face any more. Small victories.

Next Chapter: Summer—A Moment’s Peace

[warlock-enthusiast]

maybe we don't wanna stay the same

Yet another scene from DND (I had to alter it a bit, though)

(Nithys belongs to @feylen, Dráven belongs to @marriedkillianjones, Alessa belongs to @infragalaxia and Malcer is mine now, because our GM can’t do shit with him.)

nsfw

“You don’t have to be strong all the time.” Phedre bit the inside of her cheeks waiting for a response, but Nithys watched her tea getting colder in the passing moments. Thanking her for the kind words, yes, because politeness defined her every move, and yet, Nithys’ sadness seemed impalpable. Hidden so well and beneath layers upon layers of court education and years spent at the side of princesses and emperors.

Not unlike Alessa, with her temples and gods and loss, and yet rather different.

There weren’t enough flowers to cure such a thing.  

And she felt useless and stupid and a bit lost. She hated this town and how it poisoned everything.

Dráven sipped at his beer, watching his sister and Nithys and also Alessa, who sat at another table studying her book, lost in her own world. In their youth, Phedre had always known what was on her twin’s mind. The years of separation had changed them both and now, he appeared like a stranger from time to time.

Fiam’s face seemed exhausted when he came down the stairs, shadowed, he had to console Serenity after the news broke, hoping that maybe her best friend would bring her some peace of mind. How? Being forced into a marriage was gruesome and her disagreement could cost Serenity’s mother her life and the thought made her head ache. 

They couldn’t fight a whole Empire. Or two.

Even after a month of traveling together, Phedre found herself unable to speak with the heir of said Empire, though, or to exchange more than some hastily spoken words and plans. She stemmed from the woodlands and slept beneath the stars and not in silken sheets and knew nothing of the politics, which held their realm together. 

Dumb. So, so dumb.

And Phedre’s cheeks burned as Nithys left the table to talk to her. The beer had been strong and she loved the tingling numbness in her fingers and the way it quietened everything, lulled her into a fake kind of serenity.

Malcer watched her. 

Eyes golden and green in the dim lightning of the tavern. Almost like a forest. Maybe, … maybe he was her chance of feeling less and feeling more. To forget about everything for once. The broken faces of the women they’d found beneath the water, the cries and the fear in their eyes. Nithys and she had slept at their side, calmed them, tried to hold their hands during the nightmares, but nothing would ever make them whole again.

She’d changed during their travels, not much, but every day brought new challenges and they forced her to act and she still thought herself utterly useless in the presence of those former slaves. 

The bravery of the drunk let her voice sound confident. “Dráven?”

He raised his brows. “Hm?”

“I’m going to lie down for a bit. I don’t feel that well.” A lie. It rolled off her tongue so easily.

“Take care, nésa.” Dráven squeezed her hand and she saw the doubt in his eyes and how he thought about asking her what was going on. He didn’t.

Phedre rented a room for the first time in her life, handing over the coins. It still seemed so weird to exchange them for anything. She looked at Malcer and he followed her with his steps a bit too eager to appear casual.

The room was nothing special. A narrow thing with a bed and a nightstand. She lit the candles with a move of her hand, feeling the fire calling to her.

He came to stand at her side. “You sure about …” Malcer rubbed his neck. “This? Us.”

“Yes.”

She wasn’t. 

He was a druid, yes, but still a human man. Not aging as fast as the rest of his frail species, but aging nonetheless. And weighed down by the loss of his family. A hurt they shared, which had formed a bond between the two of them.

Phedre kissed him. It was easier than thinking and giving into her own nervousness.

Malcer even tasted like the forest. Sweet and of rain and sun. Leaves. Something earthen. His thumbs circled her jaw and she had to stand on tiptoes. She knew where this was going, where she wanted it to go. Phedre had never wasted a thought on desire. On this. But lately she dreamed. Thought about him, about Nithys, and she felt the blood rushing to her cheeks and heart beating hard against the inside her chest.

Her knees hit the bed and she tugged at his clothing. They hadn’t bothered donning their armor in the morning and it was easier to just pull off shirts and trousers, boots, undergarments. It all fell to a wooden floor.

But Malcer’s hands shook, nervously fumbling with the bindings of his trousers and Phedre helped, equally nervous.

He breathed a sigh of relief and Phedre tried to look at his face, ignoring the broad shoulders, his chest and how the tattoos changed his golden skin. She knew about lying with another person, in general at least. This, though?Something different.

Phedre didn’t know what to do with her hands and her trembling legs and how to process from here. Naked and vulnerable and reminded of the imperfection of her body, the freckles on her shoulders, the narrowness of her frame, scars, the vines of her clan’s markings, how frail she must appear.

Malcer touched her chin, making her meet his eyes. “You’re beautiful.”

No one had ever called her that and he lifted her up into his arms and carried her to bed. Phedre had to laugh then and he answered with a smile. It was getting easier. Slowly.

The bed creaked beneath them and it was too small to offer much comfort for two. The linen seemed scratchy but clean and she tried not to hit her head on the frame. Malcer was on top of her a second later, careful not to crush her beneath his weight. Phedre felt the heat of his skin and saw how dark his pupils had become. She’d seen him like this after a fight and after their first kiss.

Magic surrounded him. It smelled ancient.

She squirmed. “I have never. This is…”

Malcer furrowed his brow. “I can stop.”

“No. It’s alright.”

“Just tell me, if you’re not comfortable.” And he kissed her again. Her forehead and nose, her lips, her chin, following the line of her throat and chest. Phedre felt his hardness against her legs and couldn’t fathom how she could cause such desire. He seemed a flustered and yet far more confident in his movements and where to touch and kiss her. She watched the muscles of his back and in his arms.

And she suppressed a moan when he kissed her breasts, his lips around her nipples  Grabbing the sheets, she arched her back and closed her eyes. She found herself in her forest, save and not alone but with him. Warmth spread throughout her body and Malcer’s hands found her thighs. His thumbs circled her skin and he moved them between her legs.

He caught her moan with a kiss and she thought that she felt him smile against her mouth.

Phedre put her arms around his neck, forcing him closer and trapping his hand between them. She moved against him, trying to create friction. Her body needed more of whatever he was doing and her hips buckled. She bit Malcer’s shoulder, pressing her face against his body. With the thin walls, the Inn wasn’t made for screaming, nor were her friends. Her heart beat so fast and she felt numbness and bliss and lost her mind.

“Phedre.” Malcer didn’t mind her teeth in his flesh and his cheeks seemed flushed.

His mouth went to her throat, sucking her pulse, almost breaking her skin. 

Malcer’s fingers were wet and she blushed, as he touched her stomach and the small scar beside her navel. Phedre tried to even out her breaths, but nothing in her body listened to her commands. The sheets suddenly felt too rough, Malcer’s body too warm and the room too small. Was that really happening? Amidst the chaos and confusion and the terrible fate, which waited for them all?

“Still alright?” He whispered. “Yes.”

Malcer lifted her hips, waited for Phedre to voice her doubts and when she didn’t, he brought their bodies together. It hurt. Not much. Just a bit and he moved and she felt the heat again and any pain vanished. 

She pressed her knees against his hips and Malcer grunted her name. He seemed to like being restricted in his movements. 

Phedre lost the track of time and heard his voice near her ear, whispering unintelligible nothings. Maybe telling her stories of his home and himself, just trying to make her comfortable and loved. She couldn’t remember ever feeling this complete. 

Malcer’s hand stayed between them, rubbing against her with every thrust. This time, she couldn’t stiffle her moans. Phedre pushed her head deeper into the pillows and he licked her throat, moaning against her. She smelled the salt on his skin. 

His body jerked and then they kissed and stayed still. He was still inside her, not letting go of her body yet.

“You liked that?” Malcer’s voice sounded deeper than usual and a bit raw on the edges.

“Very.” It seemed stupid to blush, but Phedre lost against the heat in her face. Suddenly she was sleepy and exhausted and wanted nothing more than the crawl atop of him and find some rest. Malcer stroked her face and shoulders and put a chaste kiss on her mouth, before moving. Suddenly she felt cold and Phedre put her head on his chest to catch some warmth. Listening to his steady heartbeat was comforting and his tousled locks made him look vulnerable and young. He covered them with a blanket, because the room got cold quickly. They hadn’t thought about heating up the fireplace or using some coals.

Malcer kissed her hair and stroked her arm. “I think we have to leave soon.” 

They had to travel to the city of the Emperor, to save someone that she’d never seen or even heard of. But right now, she had this. And him.

Phedre followed the lines of his tattoos with her fingers and raised goosebumps on his skin. “Just a few more minutes.”

“Okay.”