#if this many people are having trouble the system is broken not the people

[crabussy]

ieugh I try so hard to stay positive about being part of a system but god is it hard sometimes

[metalhoops]

The Five Times Eddie Wondered Who His Soulmate Was  and the One Time He Didn’t Have To

1. 

The worst thing about knowing your soulmate was in trouble was understanding there was nothing you could do about it. 

As a whole, Eddie thought the concept of soulmates was bullshit. He thought all that fate and destiny crap was a scam to sell the idea of monogamy or co-dependence. If people were too busy fretting over when they’d meet ‘their person’, they’d forget that actual shit was going on in the world. Who had the time to care about systemic oppression when they were busy trying to work out if the cute girl across the corridor was their one true love? 

That being said, sometimes Eddie got curious about who they were. Not many people found their soulmates. It wasn’t as obvious as you’d think. When they were in pain, you would feel it. Two people could live across the world from one another, feeling each scraped knee and broken wrist but never meet. Hell, you could live across the street from someone and unless you were there to watch them get hurt and feel the same old pang of shared pain, you’d never know. 

It wasn’t like Eddie had never felt his soulmate before that day. They’d twisted an ankle when Eddie was twelve and sprained a wrist when he was fourteen, but he’d felt no pain from them so strong as when he was sitting in detention during his junior year. 

He was counting down the minutes left until he could get out of the high school, hell hole when a sharp and sudden pain flooded his jaw. He gritted his teeth and cradled it with his palm, feeling as though the wind was knocked out of his body. Eddie knew what being punched in the face felt like, and that was it. Just when the ache started to fade, another thud of pain to his cheek made his vision swim. From there, Eddie held his breath, waiting for the pain to end. He rested his head on his desk and felt his heart in his throat as the blows kept coming. 

He missed Mrs Click telling him to go home, too busy gripping the desk for dear life, his fingernails digging into the poorly carved desk graffiti, slicing a line through ‘RB 4 TT.’ He was elated when the pain finally stopped. 

Eddie kept his head down the whole walk home, trying to tell himself soulmates were bullshit, and that he didn’t care about his, but his thoughts kept returning to visions of them. He hoped they were okay. 

Eddie never wanted to know who his soulmate was until that moment. They’d had a hell of a day and Eddie wanted to be there with them, tell them he knew what it was like. He wanted to hold their head in his lap and tell them everything was going to be okay, that if it were up to him, no one would hurt them like that again, but he couldn’t. For all he knew, they could be a hundred miles away. 

2.

The next time it happened, Eddie was at home alone in the trailer. Uncle Wayne was working a night shift, and he was watching a horror movie marathon on the T.V. It was shaping up to be a good night, with him curled up on the couch watching a schlocky creature feature when he felt all the air knocked out of his lungs. 

For a moment, he was worried something horrible was happening to him. When Jeff had appendicitis, he’d reported the same kind of pain. Eddie rolled up the hem of his shirt, watching a black-blue bruise bloom and fade in the span of a second. Sometimes, if the pain was great enough, you’d get what they called an ‘echo’ of the injury. It only lasted a moment, invisible ink fading on pale paper. 

The pain had been so strong that Eddie hadn’t been able to tell if it was theirs or his. From there, it got worse. He felt a sharp pang crash over his head, then another series of blows to the face. It was always the goddamn face.

When it was over, Eddie was left feeling lightheaded. The sensation faded quickly, but he knew his other half would be stuck with the ache for the rest of the night, if not longer. 

There was a lot of conjecture when it came to soulmates. It was hard to conduct scientific studies on something based entirely on sensation, and any research that had been done was less than ethical. All the same, for the rest of the night, Eddie curled his arms around himself, holding his body in the hopes his person could feel it, that he could give them some comfort. 

“I hope you’re okay,” he whispered, burrowing his face into the crook of his elbow. 

Back at school, Eddie floated through the halls feeling less than himself as thoughts of his person swirled. The school was abuzz with rumours of a fight between Billy Hargrove and the former king of Hawkins High, Steve Harrington. Eddie couldn’t care less about some pissing contest for the highest rung on the social ladder, as he still felt the echoed ache of his soulmate’s pain throughout the day. 

He ditched gym, opting to hide beneath the bleachers and smoke. To his surprise, he wasn’t the only one with the idea. When he arrived, he found the overthrown king sitting cross-legged, cradling his still-bruised jaw. Eddie wasn’t a fan of the jocks, but they were the biggest contributor to his wallet, so he tried to play civil with them. Plus, Eddie wasn’t one to kick someone when they were down, and boy was Steve down. He sat beside the man, examined his face, and thought for a fleeting second. Maybe he was the one, but that was crazy talk. The Freak and the King. In what world? 

“You look like you’ve had better days,” Eddie noted. 

“I’ve had worse,” Steve replied. Eddie had a pit in his stomach. 

The two lapsed into silence, hiding out until the bell sounded for the end of gym. Eddie gave the boy a half-hearted salute as he stood.

“Hey, Steve?” Eddie spoke before he left.

“You okay?”

Steve gave Eddie the ghost of a smile, all charm drowned out by Steve’s two black eyes. 

“I will be.” 

3.

Eddie had been worried about his soulmate before, but he’d never thought he’d lose them until the summer vacation after his failed attempt at senior year. He and the rest of Corroded Coffin had just finished their set at The Hideout. Eddie and the boys were carrying their instruments back to the van when the feeling hit. 

He fell to the asphalt. The whole scene sounded all the more dramatic as the hi-hat he’d been holding fell with him. He really wished his soulmate would learn to keep their head down and stay out of trouble because this was getting ridiculous. He got ready to hunker down and wait it out, having gotten morbidly used to their annual beatings. Only this time the pain didn’t stop. 

He was hit with wave after wave of agony. This time, it wasn’t just the face. He felt blows to his jaw, his stomach, and his side. He also felt a sharp spike of pain in his hand, as though someone was trying to peel his nails from his skin.

He could hear his friends around him, desperately trying to get something coherent out of Eddie, trying to work out if it was soulmate bullshit or if the guy was having an aneurysm. By the way he was acting, either seemed possible. When the pain subsided, Eddie felt foggy, like he was going through the worst goddamn high of his life. The neon signs of The Hideout and the street lamps danced before his eyes. Hundreds of little halos clouded his vision. He couldn’t think straight. 

He managed to prop himself up against the wheel of the van and pulled his knees to his chest. He knotted his hands in his long hair and tugged, trying to remind himself what his own pain felt like, though stopped when he realised he’d also be hurting them. That was the last thing they needed. 

“You okay?” He heard Gareth ask when the world came swimming back into focus. Eddie shook his head. Far from it.  

“Are they okay? Are they... alive?” Eddie hadn’t let himself entertain that idea until it was brought up. 

He felt the last flush of colour drain from his face. He could still feel them, but there was something wrong with the connection. Maybe he was dying. Eddie couldn’t help but think of his soulmate as ‘he’. He just knew. 

Eddie kept trying to tell himself he didn’t care about them, but the fact that he could die without Eddie ever having met him made his heart ache. People thought the reason you felt your person’s pain was to protect them, to know when something was wrong. Eddie had done a bang-up job at that. 

“For now, but it’s weird. I don’t... I don’t know how much longer-,” Eddie didn’t let himself finish. 

The rest of the band suddenly took on a sombre mood. Jeff and Grant finished packing up the van while Gareth offered to drive. The boys stayed at Eddie’s trailer for the rest of the night, holding their breaths and waiting for the other shoe to drop. 

Eventually, Eddie dropped off to sleep and when he awoke hours later, he was relieved to realise he hurt all over. He was still alive, still waiting for Eddie to find him and god did Eddie want to. 

His uncle came home at the crack of dawn and let out an elongated sigh of relief at seeing Eddie and his band of merry men curled up together on the living room carpet. Wayne greeted Eddie with a tight hug that still hurt like hell.

“I was worried something happened to you,” His uncle stated in his gravelled tone.

“Why would something have happened to me?” Eddie asked, perplexed. 

“The mall burnt down last night. I was worried you were close by.” 

Eddie shook his head and let his uncle hold him as his mind ticked away. He wondered if it was possible his soulmate was in Hawkins. Eddie wasn’t sure he believed in coincidence.   

4.

Eddie started seeing spots during his lunchtime speech. By the end of his rant, the room had started to tilt. He felt unsure on his feet as he clambered from the top of the jock table to scamper back to the hellfire group. He must look worse for wear because he noticed one of his new recruits watching him.

“Eddie, you good?” Dustin questioned, sounding further away than he should. The lights in the cafeteria were too bright and his head was killing him. 

He felt close to throwing up and wondered where the pain had come from before realising the familiar distance from the sensation. It wasn’t his pain. Eddie didn’t want Henderson to butt into his love life any more than he already did, so he gave the kid a tight-lipped smile that more closely resembled a grimace. This wasn’t the first time he’d felt this sensation from his soulmate, but they were growing more frequent.  

Again, sweetheart? Eddie thought, knowing it was the second migraine that week. 

“Migraine,” Eddie hissed through gritted teeth. He could feel his band members' eyes on him. They knew exactly who the ache belonged to. 

To Eddie’s surprise, Dustin passed him a cool glass of water and barked orders at Mike, getting the kid to remove the ugly Hawaiian over shirt, before throwing it over Eddie’s head, blocking out the light. It wasn’t Eddie’s pain, so it didn’t help but he could appreciate the sentiment. 

“Did they teach you first aid at science camp, Henderson?” Eddie guessed offhandedly. 

“Nah. Steve gets migraines all the time. Helps to know how to deal with them.”

Eddie would never understand how a kid like Dustin came to know Steve Harrington, let alone worship the ground the guy walked on. Usually, Dustin had such good taste.  

“Eddie’s soulmate gets them too,” Gareth spoke unhelpfully. 

Even without looking, Eddie knew he was shooting him a shit-eating grin, knowing the rest of the afternoon Henderson would ask him about his soulmate. Just because the kid found Suzie, he thought the whole world deserved to find their one true love. Instead, Dustin came out with the most bullshit statement Eddie had ever heard. 

“Maybe Steve’s your soulmate.” 

Yeah, right. On what planet would that happen? 

5.

With everything that had happened to Eddie in the past few days, he hadn’t had time to think about his soulmate. He’d watched Chrissy die before his eyes, learnt the existence of another dimension and was walking through said dimension after witnessing Steve Harrington take a bite out of a demon bat’s tail. It’d been a weird ass day.  

He wished he’d been like Robin and Nancy, able to jump in and rescue Steve on a whim, but as Steve disappeared beneath the black water of Lover’s Lake, he’d felt his throat close and his lungs ache for air. It wasn’t a good time for a panic attack. Nevertheless, he’d managed to get his ass in gear and follow the rest of the group down into Watergate. 

He’d dropped back to walk with Steve and found himself complimenting the man. Steve was nothing like he imagined. He was not only kind, but as Dustin had put it, a total badass. 

Once the adrenaline faded, Eddie found himself lifting the hem of his shirt, examining his side. He felt a dull throb of pain. It’d be his luck to bleed out without noticing, but he found there was nothing there. 

“You good?” Steve asked.

Eddie couldn’t help but let his gaze settle on Steve’s bleeding side. He held his breath. He thought about pushing his hand against Steve’s wound, hurting him more just to check, but Eddie couldn’t hurt Steve. Not now. Especially if he was who Eddie thought he might be. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. You okay?” Eddie asked, gesturing to Steve’s side. The boy nodded.

“I’m fine, just a scratch. Can hardly feel a thing.” 

If Steve was his soulmate, he was full of shit. If Steve was his soulmate when everything blew over, they had a few things to talk about.

+1

Something was very wrong. Vecna was going down in a blaze of flame when Steve’s body started to ache. He felt the familiar sting of interdimensional bat fangs digging into dermis flesh. Robin and Nancy were cheering, wrapping their arms around Steve, whooping, hollering and panting while Steve was busy feeling like he was being torn apart. 

He was pulling away from the girls and turning on his heels before he had the chance to explain, running from the Creel House to the trailer park as fast as his feet could carry him. There was only one person this pain could belong to. 

Steve had spent his whole life searching for his soulmate, desperate to know who they were, and he’d been under his nose the whole time. The fact that Steve’s soulmate was a boy hadn’t surprised him as much as it should. That’d been a crisis bubbling away in the background of his brain since he’d gone to his first swim meet. He’d seen a boy in tight swim trunks, with tan skin and felt the familiar heart-pounding, crush he’d experienced on pretty girls he’d passed in the school hallways. 

By the time he got to Eddie, he’d hardly been able to fight through the pain surging through their connection. Dustin was wailing, holding Eddie in the wake of a bat graveyard. He looked up in alarm at Steve’s figure, noticing his pale skin and sweat-slicked brow. 

“Harrington?” Eddie’s weak voice came from Dustin’s lap. 

Steve was busy removing his clothes, trying to stop the bleeding. Dustin didn’t need to show him where the man was hurt, he could feel it. 

“I really must have got some brownie points in the end,” Eddie murmured. 

Both boys hissed as Steve shoved his shirt into a wound at Eddie’s side. That was when Dustin appeared to catch on, his eyes swelling wide as they darted between the two boys. 

“What’re you talking about, Munson?” Steve asked, trying to keep the guy talking. 

“Must’ve got into heaven after all,” He hummed, his deep brown eyes gazing beyond Steve at the distant red sky. 

“Hey. No. None of that. You aren’t in heaven because you’re not dying,” Steve hissed, using what little strength he had left to lift Eddie’s body. 

“Gotta be in heaven, if you’re here,” Eddie spoke, giving Steve a lopsided grin. Steve felt Eddie’s pain beginning to fade and panicked, not ready to let things end before they’d even had the chance to begin. 

He hoisted Eddie up through the portal and waited to do the same with Dustin. It wasn’t long before the distant sound of sirens once more surrounded the Munson trailer and Steve found himself passing out from the pain as red-blue lights swallowed the world whole. 

Eddie woke in pain, his whole body humming with a familiar dull ache that was unarguably his. It took time for him to make sense of the scene. He was in the hospital. Steve was slumped over at the far edge of the room, sleeping in an uncomfortable plastic chair, his head thrown back and his mouth agape. Eddie’s eyes trailed to his bedside, where he met Dustin’s. 

“Holy shit, you’re awake,” the boy gasped, pulling him into a bone-crushing hug. 

Eddie cringed as he felt a rush of pain swarm through his body. He must have gasped, because Steve sprung to life, waking with a start as his eyes trailed from Dustin to Eddie. Steve’s eyes were a storm of quiet conflict, punctuated by deep purple bruises. 

“Eddie,” Steve breathed, standing to hover beside the bed, unsure of what to do next. 

He was surprised Steve was there at all. He wouldn’t say the two were close. Though Steve had probably found some way of twisting Eddie getting hurt into some fault of his, ever the damn hero. 

“Thought I was a goner for a second there,” Eddie admitted, trying to shake some of the strange tension from the room.

“If Steve hadn’t gotten there in time, you would’ve been,” Dustin spoke. Eddie watched as the boy’s hands trembled. He leaned over, fighting through the pain to ruffle the kid’s hair. Steve’s shoulders hunched over, doubling into himself. 

“I’ll get the nurse. Your uncle left for his nightshift, but he should be back in a few,” Dustin muttered as he made a beeline for the exit. It seemed strange the boy was extracting himself from the scene.

Henderson called over his shoulder. “I told you so.” 

And just like that, Eddie knew. 

He looked up at Steve with wide-eyed alarm, only to find his look mirrored.

“How’d you know we were in trouble?” Eddie asked, though thought he knew the answer. 

“After we killed Vecna, I felt... I could feel you. I knew you were hurt,” Steve explained. 

“How’d you know it was me?” Eddie pushed.

“Thought it was too much of a coincidence that it felt like my soulmate was getting eaten alive by giant bats. I’d call it an educated guess.” 

Eddie gritted his teeth and nodded. Surely, as far as soulmates went, he hadn’t been what Steve imagined. 

“I’m sorry,” Steve said, surprising Eddie. 

“For what?”

“Not being the person you wanted me to be, I guess,” Steve spoke so candidly, it made pain and panic swell in his throat. How could Steve think Eddie was disappointed that he was his soulmate?

“I’m not disappointed, Stevie. Why would I be disappointed?” 

“You had to have known,” Steve reasoned. 

Eddie didn’t know how long he’d been unconscious, but it sounded like Steve had been overthinking every second of it. 

“You give me more credit than I deserve. I didn’t know it was you, sweetheart. Cross my heart,” Eddie admitted, surprised at how quickly the term of endearment he’d used for his soulmate slipped off his tongue when talking to Steve. 

He hadn’t worked out shit. He’d had hunches, as though his heart knew, but the logical part of his brain kept overriding it. In what world were he and Steve perfect for each other?

Eddie threw caution to the wind as he saw the genuine look of affection and excitement painting its way across Steve’s face. He looked hopeful. Eddie cringed, sitting up and trying to lean closer to Steve.

“Come here before I hurt the both of us,” Eddie grumbled.

Steve shuffled closer to Eddie’s bed, crouching down, so the two were at eye level. Eddie wanted to kiss the boy so damn bad, and Steve was sending him all the signs that he should, but there was something he had to do first. He took Steve’s face between his hands, running a thumb over the purple bruises beneath his eyes.

“No more playing hero, okay?” 

Steve nudged his face into the palm of Eddie’s hand and nodded, letting out a weak chuckle. 

“I think I can agree to that.” 

Eddie crushed their lips together and despite the pain, it felt like everything was right in the world. 

[tommykinard6]

Should I be eating and resting? Yes. Am I? No, so come join me for a dissertation on Tommy Kinard being lonely.

Edit to add a note since I saw a reblog about it: Tommy has no canonical age right now and Lou is 39, 40 later this year, so that is my basis for saying he’s 39.

Now when I say lonely, I don’t mean that he has no one whatsoever. I can picture him going for drinks with his team or having some Muay Thai buddies that he could call up if he really was inclined. Maybe an old army buddy or two.

But there’s something about Tommy that’s just achingly lonely, both when he was at the 118 and now at Harbor.

Tommy had a broken home, or some other kind of unstable childhood. Maybe his parents split, maybe he was mistreated, maybe he was in the system or was passed around family members. Maybe he was isolated as a child because he was a little overweight (I think Lou said something along those lines) and was bullied. I think Tommy didn’t really have any friends until high school, when puberty hit and maybe he started working out and probably joined the football team. I don’t know if anyone remembers what teenage boys are like, but I can imagine they were the same as they are today back in the 90s/early 00’s. Because around this time, Tommy might’ve started to realize that something was very different about him.

Now this isn’t a meta about how I think Tommy dealt with his sexuality (maybe I’ll do one of those later) but I think he never would’ve risked his football friends knowing even if he himself could acknowledge it, which I doubt. So he messed around, got in trouble with these guys, hung out with the bros, and pretended to be interested in girl talk.

Of course, eventually, his buddies all got girlfriends and he was always the odd one out again.

He didn’t do college. The army was his next step. And I feel like this might have been the first time in his life he wasn’t lonely. He’d learned to blend in by this point and he worked with some great people. But as he started making real friends for the first time, he also started losing them as the war tore them away.

Tommy left the army and joined the fire department. There was an aching hole where the camaraderie of the army had filled previously and with no education beyond a high school diploma, Tommy thought the fire department would replicate that. Not the police though. He’d had enough of guns.

(And ohhhh now so many ideas on his thoughts during the sniper)

But he ended up at the 118 and quickly realized that his team had maybe more of a DADT stance than the army. He realized that he had to put on an elaborate act to fool his fellow firefighters, who had more time on their hands and more prejudice they were willing to wield to pick apart his life. Tommy, who maybe had only just started to acknowledge he felt differently about guys with less panic than before, had no choice but to backslide. He acted and acted and crafted a person he wasn’t until the day that maybe he was. Sal was his closest buddy at the 118 and Tommy had no doubt that Sal would be one of the first to make his life hell. Gerrard seemed to look at Tommy as some sort of mentee. Boxed in by two notorious bigots, Tommy had never felt more claustrophobically alone.

Chim was the first one to reach out a hand of friendship, or at least the first one that didn’t come with caution tape, but he was also an “other” and Tommy, who was confused and afraid and had just had his captain call his bluff on his fake girlfriend, lashed out. Then he allowed Chim in and Chim wasn’t interested in being besties but he was a great drinking buddy and movie buddy and Tommy felt safest around him.

Then Hen came and Tommy watched her get the same treatment he was afraid of. Not that he had to worry about the racism, and he was aware of the privilege, but Hen didn’t exactly hide herself and he watched them bully his lesbian coworker. He let himself get pulled into it all and hated himself for it, but was too cowardly to break away from it. He wasn’t sure why Hen had forgiven him, but she became the only other person on shift he felt even a little safe around other than Howie. But then Chimney and Hen became best friends and Tommy fell to the wayside. They still included him, sure, but they were always a pair and there was something there that Tommy didn’t know but longed for. A closeness he’d never felt.

A best friend. A juvenile idea to him, but one he’d never truly had.

Then Gerrard was gone and Sal got transferred and the 118 moved forward under Captain Nash, but Tommy felt left behind, even in what was the most united A shift team yet. Because he was over 30 and was starting to be unable to ignore everything that he’d had to hide under Gerrard, as he no longer had a distraction from it.

He’d been a pilot in the army, so he transferred to Harbor. And Harbor was great. He wasn’t best buds with anyone (he was starting to think that was never in the cards for him) but his team didn’t carry the same baggage that the 118 had.

So Tommy started to come to terms with himself. He started to date for the first time and came out to his team. And he had several boyfriends, but most couldn’t handle the job or his baggage or the desperate need he had to be wanted. His most long term partner cheated and the one he fell hardest for couldn’t deal when Tommy was injured on the job. Even within his own relationships, he felt like he was destined to stand alone.

Tommy was 39 years old and alone, as always, when Chimney walked back into his life, dragging an adorable and also extremely hot blonde and a stoic brunette that radiated ex military in a way only ex military could know. And then Hen was there and they were trying to rescue their captain and his wife and they clearly loved each other fiercely and like family.

And as Tommy listened, flying through the remnants of a cat 5 hurricane, he thought to himself that he should’ve never left. Simply just never found himself if only that meant being part of the family the 118 was now. However, he knew deep down that he still would’ve been alone and on the outside.

And they rescued the survivors and Tommy thought that was it but then Eddie wanted to hang out. And they liked the same things and had similar experiences and Tommy couldn’t help the hope. Because the loneliness had grown stifling and now he could breathe a little. And then Evan, the cute blonde, wanted a tour of the hanger and he thought that maybe he was being hit on.

And then at the end of it all, Tommy was left realizing that he’d wedged himself between two best friends and that was what happened when he allowed himself to hope. So he went to Evan to apologize. He would get Evan and Eddie to talk to each other and then would fade into the background.

But then Evan was sweet and apologetic and told him that he was part of the 118 family simply by helping them. Tommy couldn’t help it. Here he was, at 39, with a little boy still waiting inside of him to be soothed. And Evan was hot and sweet and Tommy couldn’t help himself.

And he really liked Evan. Evan was adorable. But their first date didn’t go as planned and Tommy knew he was already whipped. So he removed himself before someone could get hurt. Evan deserved better and so did he, even if the loneliness was stifling again.

But then Evan texted him and looked at him with sparkling blue eyes over too sweet coffee and wanted him. Him. He wanted Tommy and to have something with Tommy and he wanted him to come to his sister’s wedding with him.

And Tommy looked at him and saw someone who could finally fill the ache he’d felt his whole life. He saw a man who he knew he wanted to take a chance with. All he had to do was jump.

And he did.

And it wasn’t solved, not immediately and never fully. Too many wounds were left gaping for too long to ever heal. But for the first time in his life, at 39, with the 118 surrounding him and Buck as the sunshine at his side, Tommy finally felt at peace.

[jinhyun]

hii, i was wondering if for the "what are we?" prompts if you could please do some sort of combination of "what do you want us to be?" and "i was hoping we could be more than just friends" with felix? that would be so awesome! thank you <3

“What are we?”

The way you said those words made Felix's heart ache. It was hardly a whisper, for your voice betrayed you and cracked as you stared down to the cold pavement.

This wasn't how either of you expected this night to go. It was supposed to be a fun time; a house party with loud music, lots of people and many drinks to intoxicate your system. You and him were supposed to have a blast and get rid of all the stress you had been feeling lately.

Instead, you found yourselves sitting down on the sidewalk after you had run out one second and he followed you the next one.

Felix sat in silence next to you, concernedly staring into your miserable expression as your eyes remained focused on the ground and wouldn't dare to look back at him — the only sign of you acknowledging his presence right next to you being how you hugged the jacket he had placed over your shoulders a minute ago.

He didn't exactly get what happened. He had been talking to a friend of his he ran into, and then he saw you rushedly crossing the front door. He ran after you before he could even process it, only to be even more confused when he found you sitting down on the sidewalk, looking as if your heart had just been broken.

Still, even with such a look on your face, the words that had so weakly abandoned your lips caught him completely off guard.

He didn't know if he had heard it right. He didn't know what you wanted him to answer, nor did he know what to answer without compromising your entire friendship, which is why he ended up uncomfortably shifting in his place and clearing his throat before his eyes fixed on the house across the road.

“What do you want us to be?” He replied, voice nearly as weak as yours.

“That's not fair” you recriminated.

“What's not fair?” His eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“I'm asking you what we are,” your eyes finally fixed on his, and he could see how hurt you actually were. “I want you to answer, not to leave me with the responsibility of choosing”.

“So I'm supposed to choose?” He asked; not mad, but troubled as hell. “I don't know what you want me to say, Y/N”.

“Just, whatever you want us to be”.

“I'm in the same place as you here” his voice trembled. “I don't think my feelings for you could be any stronger, but we're… you're my best friend. I love you so much, Y/N, I don't want us to… risk it all and then lose you, I don't know”.

A bittersweet smile curved up your lips. You knew he loved you, and he knew you loved him. Neither of you had ever said it before, but you hadn't bothered to hide it either. Therefore, it didn't come out as much of a surprise when he confessed it like that.

Both of you were well aware of your mutual feelings, but neither of you dared to actually act up on them, in fear of it meaning to lose one another in the future. You were in love with each other dearly, but you treasured your friendship more.

Up until that night, at least, for things had just changed on your end.

“I love you, too” you confessed back, feeling him take a shaky breath. “And I used to think the same, that I didn't want to risk it all and then lose you”.

“Then?”

“Then…” you sighed, resting your palms on the pavement as you leaned back. “Then I saw the way Yumin looked at you, and how much you laughed with her and how happy you looked back then… and I realised that I was okay with not risking it all and being just friends til the end of times because it didn't cross my mind that at some point you'd be with someone else”.

“I'm not with Yumin,” he shut that idea of yours down immediately. “I just ran into her back there and we were catching up, we're not—”

“It doesn't matter,” you gave him another weak smile, as they seemed to be the only ones you had left. “You will fall for someone else at some point anyway, whether it's her or not, and I don't think I'll be able to just stand there and keep being your friend”.

“Y/N…”

“I really won't be able to stand it, Lix” your eyes watered. “The mere thought of you and her hurt like hell, what's it gonna be like when you actually do fall for someone else an—”

Your words were cut off by his mouth pressing lightly on yours. Just like that, the fate of your friendship had been settled.

It was the sweetest way you had ever been told to shut up, and you could only sit there and return the kiss after a couple of seconds, when you managed to snap out of it and realised you were in fact not dreaming.

It was delicate, soft, and didn't last long; only enough to stop you from talking nonsense and to let you know just how truly and deeply he felt for you.

“There isn't anyone else,” he whispered once he faintly pulled away. “There won't ever be someone else”.

You closed your eyes, resting your forehead on his and letting his breathing mix up with yours as you took in his words.

You loved him. He loved you. No matter how scared you were of a future without him if things didn't end up working out, you were sure that being so deeply in love with each other and not being together hurt just as much.

It almost seemed stupid not to give in to your feelings now.

“I think I want us to be more than friends…” you murmured, finally opening your eyes to meet his beaming chocolate ones.

Felix smiled, lightly nodding his head as he leaned in once more. “Good,” he pecked your lips. “Because I don't think I can keep myself from kissing you anymore”.

[miss-dollette]

I was thinking in random hcs? Maybe your thoughts about the character? something general? Nothing like nsfw stuff, 'cause it’s all what this fandom have lol

Sure, how 'bout some relationship headcanons! And some character headcanons. Basically, what I believe he would be like in a relationship. At least, the more positive side of being with him. He's a goofy guy, and people take him wayyy too seriously.

Eats food like he's in a competitive eating contest. Consumes enough to feed a small village—your grocery bill might just fund a lunar mission. Don't throw a fit, though; Mr. Riley's mission is to ensure your wallet stays plump at all times. He's a provider through and through.

Transforms into a human fortress at the mere hint of trouble. If someone dares hurt you, Mr. Riley becomes Mr. Ghost in the fraction of a second. And trust me, taking a hit from him is like receiving a love tap from a freight train, minus the love.

Navigates family gatherings like a penguin on roller skates. His military background remains a classified mystery, and his family tales are as fictional as a unicorn on vacation. American relatives? They're convinced he's the next NFL sensation, begging him to join their backyard football league. Spoiler alert: he's more of a brick wall than wide receiver.

Master of the unexpected headlock, coupled with a smirk that screams, "You wouldn't be able to get outta this if you tried your best." Yes, he's a bit of an asshole, but he's your asshole.

Enormous nerd alert. Chuckles at his own jokes. No, he's not ashamed of that.

His humor is on a level of sophistication that revolves around fart and poop jokes. He's not afraid to assert his dominance with a fart, maintaining eye contact for that extra level of charm. Try throwing a pillow his way, and he'll throw it back with the force of a thousand sun's (may have broken your glasses once).

He's British—like, sipping-tea-in-the-rain-with-the-Queen British. The epitome of Brit-ness in a world filled with brits. Probably has a secret stash of crumpets somewhere.

Experienced a growth spurt at eleven that defied the laws of gravity. Shot up from 5'1" to a towering 6'4" by the time he graduated.

His taste buds are stuck in the bland era. Thinks anything spicier than salt is equivalent to summoning fire-breathing dragons. Pepper in his food? Cue him giving you vicious side eye. Introduce any other spice, and he'll act like you're conducting a culinary assassination. Consider yourself warned—he takes his seasoning very seriously. But he'll still eat your food, with a side of milk, of course.

Love Language: Fluent in acts of service and physical touch. To unlock level 10, you'll need a lot of patience, kindness, and understanding. Once you get there, anything you request, he'll do—no complaints, just a casual acceptance of his fate, like a loyal sidekick in a superhero movie.

His commitment is so strong; he'd probably agree to build a rocket to the moon if you asked. He'd do whatever it takes to make sure you get what you want.

Always keeping a hand on the nape of your neck in crowds—part protective gesture, part GPS system. It's his way of ensuring you don't accidentally take yourself off a cliff.

I have so many more ideas.

[plantanarchy]

Many of my blue hydrangeas turned out purple but I've overheard many people say "I love the purple" so. It's fine.

Changing the color of hydrangea blooms has to happen before they've started forming buds so you can't know if you've done it right until the sepals start to color.

Blue happens when pH is low and aluminum ions are available to be taken up by the plant to bind with pigments, creating blue. If pH is too high or other phosphorous too high, aluminum ends up as aluminum hydroxide or aluminum phosphate which isn't available to the plant, and flowers end up pink.

Purple means some of the aluminum was available to my supposed to be blue hydrangeas and some wasn't. I watered them by hand with a watering can since January with only with a low phosphorous fertilizer specifically meant for blueing hydrangea and every other watering with a plain water sulfuric acid solution through our injection.

Our water's default pH from the well is around 8, sometimes higher, so it's difficult to drop below 6 and every pH meter we have is broken so... No cabiliration has been done on the injector for several years and there was no pH testing of the Hydrangea's soil or the acid solution through the hose done this year.

But my big hunch about our trouble with blurple hydrangeas that happens yearly is just that transplanting forced hydrangeas in January into large pots without bottom heat to encourage root growth means their root systems are never the greatest and they can't take up much aluminum without the healthy roots to do so. The solution to that would be growing them on a heated bench in a warmer house or transplanting into 6.5"-7" pots rather than 8".

God, sorry for the horticulture chemistry word vomit. I haven't studied chemistry since my sophomore year of high school and I actually nearly flunked that class because that was the year I got brain damage falling off a horse.

[dazed-and-confused23]

Dear Hearts and Gentle People 18

Summary: Cooper comforts you after the two of you leave Vault 3. There isn't anything he can do to take your memories of that place away, but he sure as hell could try.

Pairings: The Ghoul | Cooper Howard x Female Reader

Warnings: Not many? Hurt/Comfort. Cooper does his best. Drug use and sexual assault are mentioned. Lots of cuddles and crying.

Masterlist

You don't remember how you got out of the Vault, and you don't care to recall how either. You lay in bed in your room at the Atomic Wrangler for three days, recovering from the copious amount of chems that the fiends have shoved into your system. Julie Farkus had told Cooper that she was lucky to be alive and that most women didn't have someone that could save them like he had for you.

Cooper had grit his teeth, lips pulled in a nasty sneer, and told the good doctor that it'd almost been too late, but he was just glad that Julie could help him. Today was the first time that you felt up to more than just sleeping, and the ghoul made sure to be by your side. You sat up, back pressed against the wall, and played with the plate of food in your lap.

"You gonna eat, smoothskin?" He asks and shifts his weight in the stool beside your bed. Cooper's been here for the better part of those three days, only leaving for necessary reasons and never for long. The bounty hunter is dressed down, only his jeans and button-up and boots, and you finally look at him.

You clear your throat, lips pulled in a harsh frown. "Yeah, I will."

Cooper doesn't like the tone you use and sits forward, elbows on his knees, and he stares you down, "Do I need to feed you?"

You scoff at the vauge threat and pierce a piece of steak before popping the morsel in your mouth and slowly chew it. You eye Cooper then swallow, "Happy?"

The ghoul narrows his amber eyes, "Not yet."

He watches your lips purse and look away from him, shoulders slumping and hands going limp. He doesn't expect to see tears growing in your eyes or to watch the way you fold into yourself, lips trembling as a broken apology spills from between your lips.

Cooper rises and takes the plate away from you, setting it to the side so that he can crawl into the bed with you. He sits against the headboard and pulls you back so that you rest between his legs against his chest. You don't bother fighting against him and simply cry a little harder when his hands rub soothing motions across your back.

"Wanna talk about it yet?" Cooper offers quietly. You've not said shit to him about your time in Vault 3. He understood the big picture when he'd arrived down there. His smoothskin had been treated worse than a fucking dog, drugged up and left to wallow in your own filth.

You shake your head. You don't understand how Cooper even wants to touch you right now. You feel disgusting, and the phantom feel of the fiends' hands still haunt you at every second of the day. You want another shower, but hot water was a precious commodity.

"Stop apologizing," Cooper rumbles after a moment, and you snap your mouth shut, unaware that you'd just said everything out loud. His arms tighten around you, and you bask in the strength of the hard planes of his body.

"Nothing those bastards did to you could make me love you any less."

His words only make you sob harder, but you can't help but feel relief at them. Your ghoul loved you and had taken on an entire vault of chem addled cannibals to save you. He had come out on top and dragged your sorry body all the way back to Freeside, snarling and demanding help from the followers.

"Thank you," you say, and press yourself as close to Cooper as you can. You never want to let go, and you never want to see the inside of a vault ever again.

"You're mine, Darlin', "Cooper rumbles and tightens his hold on you, "And nothin' will ever stop me from comin' for you."

*sorry if this one is a little lackluster. I had some trouble with it. ❤️*

[adoreeenina]

I wanna be yours - Ch. 1

(Recom! Miles Quaritch x Sully! Reader x Recom! Lyle Wainfleet)

(Warning: Polyamorous relationship. Angst. Enemies to Lovers. Slow burn. Falling in love. Redemption arc. Canon deaths (but not really). Romance. Smut. Jealousy. Threesome. Anal(both F & M receiving). Mention of suicide, self harm, depression, anxiety. PTSD. Feelings being revealed. Jake and Neytiri not being good parents to reader. Reader being a motherly figure to Spider.)

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

It’s been a year since the destruction of our home. The ongoing war has been hard on my family, especially on my father. My father gotten worse… cold, stricter, becoming less kind, especially to Neteyam, Lo’ak, and me. He became more like a Drill Sargent than a father. My father made us move to the hidden caves in the Hallelujah Mountains.

Within a year, the sky people expanded, their sizes tripled. My father had orchestrated many raids to destroy their machinery’s to keep them at bay from exploiting our home anymore than they already done. But no matter what my father has done to keep them away, they always bounce back. I’ve seen many ships constantly landing, bringing more people onto our home and more supplies to rebuild on what we broke.

Today my father prepares us for another attack. The supplies train was coming through the train rails not far. My father’s plan was to damage their railway system and take their supplies as our own.

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

“Do you have to go” Spider walks behind you as you readied your bow and arrow onto Rawm’s saddle.

“Don’t you worry about me. No matter what they throw at me, I always come back, you know that” Spider walks closer to you as he eyes the scars on your body, it went through so much from protecting Spider and your siblings.

Despite what you tell him, he still feels guilty, and it didn’t help that Neytiri blames him.

“That’s what I’m worried about” Spider softly says as he pats Rawm’s neck. Rawm chirps loving the attention.

You finally turn to look down at Spider. You knew Spider is worried about you. How could he not? You were always getting yourself into trouble and coming back with blood on you. You’re worse than Lo’ak, at least that’s what Jake says.

“Spider” you gently place your hand on his shoulder, making him look up at you.

“I promise you. I’ll come back in one piece” you promise with an encouraging smile. Spider couldn’t help but smile back with a nod.

“Y/n, let’s go” Jake calls for you. You sigh as you turn to check you have everything. You do.

“Don’t do anything stupid until I get back” with that, you bend a knee, placing your foot on Rawm’s harness, pulling yourself up onto his saddle, making Tsaheylu. The bond.

“How can I? You’re taking all the stupid with you” you smirk down at Spider as you lower your Rider’s Mask. With a loud yip, Rawm allows himself fall off the ledge.

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

Ikran’s screech and roars all around you as Rawm fly’s behind Jake and Neytiri. Many of the warriors hooting and ululating, including your mother.

Following close behind, squinting your eyes through the Rider’s mask, you could mask out the fast moving train.

“Ground team, go” you hear Jake speak through the comm.

Hundreds of warriors on direhorses come flooding through the forest, letting out loud war cries. Some carrying bow and arrows while others are armed with heavy artillery.

An explosion went off on the railway, perfectly timed. Part of the track has blown up, the train screeches as it nails its breaks, an attempt to stop, but the destruction was far to close.

The train couldn’t stop in time, colliding to the broken rail railroad, breaking it into pieces and parts of it falling on its side. The two gunships halted a turn. You knew you had to work fast, before they would call for backup to arrive.

Guiding Rawm to one of the gunships with a loud cry. You dove underneath the ship to its left side, readying your bow, you aim to the soldiers chest, killing him. Rawm flys above ship, quickly aiming your bow and arrow, you shoot an arrow, letting it break through the glass and to the pilot, killing him instantly. You let out a holler as you watch the gunship crash down with an explosion.

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

With that, many the Na’vi below got to work exploiting the scattered RDA cargo. You watched from above for any more incoming airships.

“Let’s go. Two minutes, people. Let’s go.” You hear Jake.

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

“Bro, we have got to get down there” you hear Lo’ak. You turn to see your two idiot younger brothers, riding close behind you. A mischievous glint in eye, a look that you knew well.

“No way!” Neteyam calls back.

“Dad will skin you alive” you warn.

“Come on. Don’t be wusses” Lo’ak challenges. with that, Lo’ak guides his Ikran to the ground.

“Lo’ak! Get back here, you… Argh!” Neteyam grunts, watching our younger brother

“Damn it, Lo’ak” you yell after your brother. You turn to Neteyam before he could follow your idiot brother.

“Neteyam, go with mom. I’ll get Lo’ak” you tell him. Neteyam hesitates before glancing down at Lo’ak.

“But-“

“Go!” Neteyam hisses under his breath before listening to you and leaves to the other way. You rather take the blame than let Neteyam take the fall for it.

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

“Taking the whole case! We’re taking mags, the RPGs, the stingers”

You follow close behind Lo’ak as you both land. You hop off of Rawm as you disconnect the bond.

“Y/n, let’s go. Come on!” Lo’ak calls for you before running towards the the rest of the people.

“Lo’ak!” you hiss as you quickly run close behind him.

“Move! Take that!” You hear Tarsem as he hands out RPGs. Lo’ak runs in line, waiting his turn to grab a gun.

“Tarsem don’t-“ before you could stop him, he already handed Lo’ak a gun. Damn it.

“Take these weapons. Here, boy. Go!” Lo’ak excitedly let out a war cry as he walks away with a gun in his hands.

“Lo’ak!” You were getting tired of calling for him. You started sounding like a fucking parrot, the animal you’ve seen on one of the movies Spider has shown you.

You cut off Lo’ak’s ululating as you grab him by his arm, pulling him towards you.

“You don’t even know how to use it” you nod your head towards the gun, visibly irritated.

Lo’ak looks at you with a smirk as he held up the gun, loading the chamber.

“Dad taught me”

You sigh feeling irritated as you watch Lo’ak pick the gun up to look through the scope.

“Stop that! That is not a toy” you hiss. Lo’ak is really testing your patience, you really want to smack him upside the head.

Not far from where you’re at, you hear a spotter hollers out, a signal.

“Gunships inbound! Fall back!” You hear Jake yell.

You look up seeing two more gunships aiming. Shooting.

“Lo’ak, Go!” You push him in front you, running towards your Ikran’s.

“Y/n, come on!” Lo’ak calls for you.

“I’m right behind you! Go! Hurry!”

You look behind and see one of the gunships aiming at you.

“Lo’ak!” You push Lo’ak, just when they shot at you, setting an explosion off. The impact threw you off. You fall with a grunt. Feeling lightheaded from the impact, you reach to touch your head, feeling blood. Shit.

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

Jake runs through the debris and broken parts of the train, looking for you and Lo’ak. No matter how bad the relationship between you and him. You’re still his daughter.

“Lo’ak, where are you?” Jake calls out, his eyes squints as he tries to see through the smoke.

“Y/n!” He calls out for you. Jake hears coughing and a dark figure and quickly runs towards it. Seeing it’s Lo’ak, he reaches for him.

“Easy, easy, you okay?” Jake softly tries to comfort him. Lo’ak is still in shock but none the less nods

“Yeah”

“Where’s your sister?” Jake hurriedly ask.

“That way” Lo’ak points at a direction.

“Where is she? Where?” Jake follows the direction on where he pointed.

“Get outta here! Go on!” Jake demands, climbs on top of the destroyed gunship seeing a trail of blood.

“Y/n!” Jake calls. He looks . His heart beating rapidly.

“Shit” you cough out.

“Oh no” Jake whispers, he follows the trail and jumps down from the ship. He sees a dead Na’vi on the laying face down. “Oh, no, no, no” he leans down to check the body, seeing it’s not you.

“Oh god” Jake breathes. He hears your coughing. He notices your body not far. He runs and jumps over a rock, kneeling down over you.

You’re laying on your stomach, Jake gently moves you on your back. You groan, the pain going from 0 to 100. You hiss feeling a burning sensation on your back.

“Y/n” Jake says softly.

“Dad?” You cough out, seeing Jake holding you.

Jake grabs you by your shoulder to sit you up and looks over your shoulder, seeing multiple burns and cuts on your back. You hiss from the movement as Jake lays you back down.

“What are you doing here, Y/n?” Jake growls as you cough. “What the hell were you thinking?”

“Dad, can we not-“ you reply weakly.

Jake stands up as he pulls you by your arm and puts your body over his shoulder.

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

“You’re supposed to be spotters. You spot bogeys, and you call ‘em in. From a distance” Jake growled angrily at you. “Does any of this sound familiar? Get in here!” Jake tells Lo’ak, who was standing by his Ikran, away from our father wrath. Jake is once again acting like a Drill Sargent rather than a father.

You glare at the ground as Jake berates you. He’s pissed. You never cared of his constant piss show. You did what you had to do, and that’s to protect your brother, and you did. You’ll take pride to it, despite what they’ll tell you. You won’t feel guilty or small by your fathers anger.

You turn to your left feeling someone’s hands on you, seeing Kiri. She looks at your back with a grim look. She gently reaches to touch your back, you grab her hand to pull her away.

“Jesus. I let you three geniuses fly a mission and you disobey a direct orders” Jake scolds you. You once again push Kiri’s hands away when you felt her touch a tender wound.

“Kiri, can you go help your grandmother with the wounded? Please?” Jake says with a softer tone.

“My sister is wounded” Kiri points out, unamused by Jake’s behavior towards you. This isn’t new, Kiri is familiar with how Jake treats you, and she hates it.

“It’s fine, Kiri” you reassure her.

“Baby girl, please. Tuk, go with her. Go.” Jake demands softly. Tuk and Kiri leaves with huff sigh.

“Dad” you call. Jake turns and gives you a hard look. You look back with a glare. Out of all your siblings, you’re the only one who’s not afraid to fight back.

“I’m not going to apologize for this. I’ll admit I went against orders and I’ll take full responsibility for that but-“ Jake cuts you off before you can’t continue, making you clench your jaw.

“Yeah, you do. That’s right. ‘Cause you’re the oldest. You gotta act like it” Jake scolds. Your upper lips twitch with a small snarl you let out towards Jake. Jake glares, challenging you.

“Ma’Jake” Neytiri softly calls. Jake reluctantly turns away from you to look at Neytiri. “Your daughter is actually bleeding”

“I am fine, mother” you turn to glare at Jake. “Not like you care” with out being dismissed by him, you roughly bump your shoulder against his.

“Hey! We’re not done talking!” Jake yells after you, but you ignore him as you went to see Mo’at, your grandmother. Neytiri gives Jake a look as she follows close behind you, not before looking at Lo’ak with a knowing look.

“Neteyam, go with them” Jake dismisses his oldest son. Neteyam gives Lo’ak a look before following you.

Jake sighs before looking at Lo’ak, placing his hands on his military vest.

“You do understand that you almost got your sister killed” Jake lowly says.

“Yes sir” Lo’ak nods.

“You’re grounded. No flying for a month” Jake says. Lo’ak looks down, feeling disappointed. He sometimes wish he had the courage to fight back like you did. Lo’ak Unwilling accepts the punishment, not wanting to anger him.

“Now, see to the Ikran. All of em” Jake demands.

“Yes sir” Lo’ak nods.

“And get that crap off your face” Jake demands before leaving.

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

“Ow. Ow!” You wince as Mo’at works on your back. Spreading the mixed herbs over your wounds.

“Aww, want a kiss on the boo-boo?” Spider teases.

“Shut up” you playfully place your fingers into a bowl with mixed herbs and flick your fingers at him.

“Hey!” Spider laughs.

“Enough!” Mo’at scolds you. A few feet away from you, Kiri is doing another batch of mixed herbs, tasting it with a hum of approval.

Since the arrival of the sky people, your grandmother been teaching Kiri as well but you’re still to be the next Tsáhik and wed to Tarsem. Your grandmother says it’s for the best, but you think bullshit. You know your grandmother is against your father’s mistreatment of you, she assumed if she lays off responsibilities, it’ll give you a break. It somewhat did.

“Give her this” Kiri instructed as she hands the cup to Tuk.

“Okay”

“I would use yalna bark” Kiri mentions to you and your grandmother.

“Here drink” Tuk instructs you. You nodded softly, gratefully smiling at her before taking a sip.

“Ugh” you stick your tongue out, gelling revolted by the taste. Spider laughs at your reaction.

“Oh, you would? And who is Tsahik?” Mo’at says.

“You are, grand… move!” Kiri begins to speak before pushing Lo’ak and Neteyam out of her way. “You are, grandmother. But yalna bark is better.” Kiri argues softly.

“Ow, ow! Ow.” You wince, feeling your grandmother spread more on your back.

“She’s right, grandmother. It stings less” you mention with a wince. Kiri sighs, she hates seeing you in pain, hates seeing you always coming home with a new wound.

“My sister is a mighty warrior!” Neteyam snickers, making fun of your pain.

“Screw you” you curse at Neteyam.

“No cursing” your grandmother chastises before lightly hits your head.

“Ow”

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

Neytiri looks into the tent, with a disdain look on her face. This is one of many times you’ve been in the healing tent, and she hated every single one. She felt lost, she hated seeing you in so much pain, and the worst part is… you won’t even come to her for comfort like you used to. Since that argument about Spider, she had lost you. And she no one else to blame but herself, for letting her distaste of Spider her the best of her.

Neytiri glance over her shoulder, seeing Jake solely focusing on his guns, it angers Neytiri. You got hurt. Yes, you were okay, but you and your siblings are in the tent. He hardly gave glances at the tent from where he’s sitting.

“What?” Jake sighs, feeling Neytiri’s glare.

“Neteyam and Lo’ak try to live up to you. Y/n despises you” Neytiri starts. She finally turns to look at Jake. “It is very hard on them”

“I know” Jake doesn’t bother making eye contact with Neytiri.

“No. I don’t think you do…” Neytiri moves closer and knelt down close to him. “You are very hard on them. On Y/n”

“I’m their father. It’s my job.” Jake says, finally turning to look at Neytiri with a hard stare.

“This is not a squad. It is a family” Neytiri says softly/sternly. “We almost lost our daughter today”

Jake sighs, he looks away before making eye contact with Neytiri. He finally places the gun down. It’s been hard on for the last of couple years, more since the sky people arrived. He almost lost you, and he didn’t know how he would’ve felt losing you. It’s one thing acting like strangers but another when he almost lost you.

“I thought I lost them. I thought I lost Y/n” Jake whispers. His eyes big, watery and filled with so much pain. Neytiri sighs softly before reaching out for Jake’s hand

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

“Hey” Spider softly calls you.

You’re in your own Kelku once your grandmother finished on your wounds. You were carving an arrow when you heard Spider’s light footsteps enter.

“Hey” you smile as you place your arrow and hunting knife besides you.

“What’s up?”

“I wanted to check on you” you notice how Spider fidgets with his hands. You have a feelings on what’s really bothering him. You sigh as you stood up.

“Spider… I’m fine” you tell him softly, you place your hand on his dreads.

“But you could’ve…” Spider couldn’t finish his sentence, he couldn’t bare the thought of losing you.

“Look at me” you kneel down, you grab the bottoms of his mask and gently pick his head up. Spider’s eyes were red and watery.

“Oh Spider” you pull him into your chest, hugging him. Spider instantly wraps his arms around your midsection, hugging tightly. Spider couldn’t hold back his sobs. You gently shush him.

“I promised I would be back. Didn’t I?” You try to lighten the mood, you try to pull away to look at him but Spider resists, not wanting to let you go.

“Spider. You are my heart, my soul, my world, my best friend, and my everything” you promise softly.

“I love you, Y/n” Spider muffled voice say. You softly smile as you lean down and peck his hair.

“I love you brother”

Masterlist: https://www.tumblr.com/aninelover21-blog/731326408887042048/bound-to-you-masterlist

[fakescenariosbeforesleepblog]

Prisoner 505.

König x reader.

You're in a prison, why? War crimes, that's all König knew about you, you will be the new addition to KorTac, he's the one who will pick you up and take you to your new "home" what surprises will you bring to him? Will you be enemies, friends, lovers?

Warning: I'm trying to write this for a gn reader, but idk. Mentions of violence, spelling and grammatical errors.

Pt.2

König wasn't ok with this mission, Why him? Someone else could do this, he hates every second of this, he left the car, walking to that giant black door, a prison, not any prison, this one is particularly a secret prison, not everyone knows about this place, it's a place that works with one purpose, First, take any dangerous people there to rot or let private contractors buy some of the prisoners, for what? Whatever they want, depending on every prisoner's record.

Yours, it doesn't say much about you. König observed the file on his hand once more while he remembered the conversation with O'Conor and the rest.

«Why me? Do I look like a fuckin babysitter? I'm not a fuckin' driver» «You're the best for this you will keep this new guy to line, I read was undisciplined»

Prisoner 505.

Name: (y/n) Age: unknown date of birth: unknown

Codename: Buitre 6-1

reasons for imprisonment:

War crimes (not specified), murders, torture, undisciplined, deserter (prisoner left his position after committing the aforementioned crimes, was captured and executed).

This prisoner was reported as 'killed in action' before the corresponding authorities, therefore, it does not exist in the system anymore, No more information available.

König sighed and walked Inside, the "waiting room" looked really fancy, he walked directly to the man sitting at the central desk, the man was fat but very well dressed.

- I came to pick a package...

The man looked up at him carefree, extending his hand to receive the file König had in hand.

- Ah... The 505, lemme check if they already finished.

The man took the phone, pressed some numbers and Called someone else.

«Did you finish? Someone came for his package... Ahh fuck, well that's Terrible, yeah... Pretty fucked up, I'll take him downstairs then, yeah... See you.»

He hung up the phone and smiled at könig, his smile is not kind, actually it is some darkness in it.

- Unfortunately, our prisoner is in his daily discipline session. You can wait here or we can go downstairs so you can see what you're buying, Sir.

König couldn't be more angry, waiting? Hell no, that was not an option.

- Downstairs, I don't have the entire day to wait for you.

- Follow me please.

Both walked to the elevator in silence, König was curious about that Discipline routine they're giving you.

- what's that shit about discipline session?

- Oh, you will see Sir. The prisoner is always getting in trouble, so we take drastic measures. This morning the 505 sent the prisoner 296 to the nursery, he has a broken jaw and lost one of his eyes.

How many levels does this place have? Floor 99. That's where you were. König didn't say more, that was enough information for him at the moment, finally, they arrived, he could hear some people laughing, the noise of water running and some insults.

«We're having too much fun as always (Y/n) but unfortunately we don't have much time anymore» «Fuck you, you and I know that I would kill you easily if I wasn't hanging and tie up here» «Shut up»

The man punishing you, was opening a Fire hose drenching you, while another was hitting you with a rope and other instruments on a table. There you were, half naked, wet, hurt, but the anger in your eyes doesn't let any sign of pain appear on your face. You looked at the two new people who appeared in the room, the tallest man was looking at you, What a pervert, you thought.

- Do You... Like what you're looking at, Big boy?

You laughed until the water and another hit silent you. König wasn't actually looking at your body, he was looking at the way you were being punished, lost in thoughts. The fat guard who came with König was laughing at you.

- As you can see, Sir, it's very... Enthusiast, a troublemaker.

- Ja... Anyway, I have to go... So, if you can finish now, that would be great.

- Of course. Put it down, dress up, and let us know when it's ready.

That was all, König and the guard left the room, you got dressed, tied up again and kicked out of your cell. You didn't have stuff or something, it was only your prisoner uniform, all black, you started to walk behind König and the guard, you noticed König's hunting knife on his belt, you approached them quietly, König didn't feel when you took his knife, he only heard a body falling on the floor, he turned himself quickly just to see the fat guard on the floor, chocking with his own blood, you were admiring your work and smiling at him.

«i warned you, Frank, the last thing you would see before you die it would be me» you whispered to him. Then you looked at König, cleaned his knife with your shirt and gave it to him, König took it and also took you by the arm, not hard but firm enough to show some authority.

- What have you done, huh? You can't be killing people every time you want, when you're under my watch you will obey me, Do you understand?

You looked at him with deer sad eyes and nodded In silence. Why did you look at him with those eyes? Thank God, König had the mask on, you couldn't see how he blushed just for that, he let your arm go and both ran to the elevator and left before someone saw the dead body. Once you were out, König just pointed at the car, you stopped and thought about it, you were finally free, you could run away and leave König there.

That's what you tried to do, König simply sighed annoyed, you were definitely a pain in his ass, you lost him, or... At least that's what you thought, you stopped to take some air, clearly you weren't in good shape. König hand around your neck took you by surprise.

- Listen, Püppchen (doll), you're free because of me, you're out of that place because a fuckin idiot in KorTac bought you, so don't make it more difficult, this is your only chance, will you work for us or I can take you back to rot in that fuckin' black hole. Hmm? What will you decide, Schatz?.

[frankingsteinery]

dont know if i’ve said this all here yet but i see very often people pointing out victor’s supposedly idealistic childhood in comparison to the creature’s early suffering, and it always comes off as some sort of “gotcha!” moment when i think really there’s room there to be looking at the WHY that is. why, despite supposedly having this ideal childhood, with good, caring parental figures in his life, he fails to give this same upbringing to his own child? the issue is that of those who bring this up, their perspective tends to be already inherently limited: that is, victor is a bad parent simply because he is a privileged asshole. by beginning his narrative by describing his family and childhood as perfect and ideal, victor sets an expectation for parents that is obviously impossible, yet people continue to hold him accountable to it.

and, really, what childhood is really as perfectly happy as victor’s description? his almost-desperate insistence that his childhood WAS perfectly happy is just that — desperate — and it makes it suspicious. this insistence suggests the opposite, and i believe this assertion is taken at face-value far too often; particularly when his childhood, even in-text, was objectively imperfect and troubled, and victor himself directly addresses in his narration to walton that his past recollections of his family and early childhood are idealized, even going so far as to describe them as "religious" and "sacred" in feeling: i think [among other things] that this suggests, like many victims of childhood trauma and abuse, now that there is physical distance between the memories as well as time having passed since then, he has sentimentalized this era of his life

if you step back take a moment and look at the maternal figures in his life as well (caroline, elizabeth, and to a lesser extent justine) an obvious pattern emerges - each one of them was orphaned, and then “saved” by becoming a member of the frankenstein family, where they are afforded an environment where they are able to become these stereotypically motherly, nurturing caretakers. this pattern is broken with victor: when he is orphaned, instead of joining the family, he EXITS it — that is, he is sent off to ingolstadt, and completely stripped of this support system, leading to his “failure” as a mother.

in a similar vein, the same people who harp on and on about how victor is negligent and an unaccountable father fail to hold the creature accountable for his actions as well, and somehow the fault for the entire plot of the book (that is, the murders of the frankensteins and co) rests solely on victors shoulders.

[xx-lemon-drop-xx]

Hi! Are u okay? I would like to request some hcs for Cater, Idia, Leona, Epel and Vil (separated) with a tomboy girlfriend who is friendly and kind to everyone – big sister vibes –, is especially sweet and affectionate to her boyfriend but can change from water to wine if you push her so far; Similar to the bully hcs, someone says something to her that really pisses her off and she throws her hands at the bully and what would be the boys reactions to this change in behavior.

I'm sorry if that's too specific! Sorry for any grammar mistakes, shout-out from Brazil <3

— 𝑴𝑒𝑙☾︎

Hello! I've been doing just fine, I hope you're doing okay as well! And thank you for the request I hope you'll be back for more!

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

Warnings: Female reader, mentions of blood, pinching, slapping, slight insults/Threats (Leona and Idia's), mentions of yelling.

Request: Yes.

Words: 1,381

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

Cater Diamond

One of the many things Cater enjoyed was posting pictures of you on magicam. Eating, laughing, swimming, playing Video-games- it didn't matter. His Gallery was full of you and so was his profile on Magicam.

He didn’t know you could be so rough in a fight. You were always sweet and kind, even to the youngsters at the school. A lot of people looked up to you at NRC because of that. THough it was like skinning an onion when he found out the punches you could pull.

“Girls shouldn't eat as much as you do.” Someone had said, walking up to the table one day. “No one wants a fatty. You should get her under control.”

He was ten seconds away from jumping in and telling this guy off, until a loud Thwap!! Rang out across the lunchroom as you slapped the guy as hard as you could. You turned from milk to fireball in an instant.

And he was impressed.

The fight started in a matter of seconds after that, hair being grabbed, punches thrown, screaming, yelling. A crowd gathered as he attempted to pull you off the student that had a firm grip of your hair.

Blood dripped from your knuckles, and his nose was bent out of place when the fight was over. You had broken the kid's nose.

Cater gushed over you later while bandaging your raw knuckles. “That totally would’ve gone viral on Magicam! Where did you learn moves like that?”

Of course, you did get into trouble, as did the kid that picked on you, but everyone learned a valuable lesson that day.

Milk can sour very quickly.

Idia Shroud

What he doesn't have in guts you have in fists.

That was something he learned quickly in the relationship. You may be sweet and kind but you also had a side burning deeper than hell's fire in your heart. You were very quick to tell off people that picked at your boyfriend.

Likewise he also enjoyed how much you cared for Ortho as if he was already a little sibling. It was like being a natural born leader and guide was in your blood.

He didn’t know the extent of how far you would go in standing up for him until someone made a rude comment about him.

“Don’t talk to my boyfriend like that.” Quickly went to, “I’ll pop your fucking ballsack.” Very quickly.

He didn’t try to separate you from the fight as your fist collided with the guy's jaw, he only held Ortho back slightly in a state of shock as he watched the brawl. Idia gave a witty comment towards the student when they fled the scene with an already bruising jaw.

You had almost ran after the guy, but held yourself back and instead asked the two siblings if they were okay.

Ortho said he was going to scan your body for injuries, Idia was lowkey blushing. Congratulations you fried his brain.

His pride grew higher that day. He also asked you for pointers and was more so clingy with you for the next few weeks following the event of the fight.

He may have also hacked the school system and corrupted the video of you kicking the dude's ass so you wouldn’t get in trouble. Idia makes sure to go out of his way to give a sly look every time you stand up for him towards the person insulting him. He likes causing drama.

Leona Kingscholar

*Smirk*

Yeah that's pretty much it. Leona is more than aware that sweet isn't all there is to your personality before he even was in a relationship with you. He just got that vibe and knew he was correct.

When you threw the punch the other guy had it coming. He wasn't being lazy, though he did lay back with his arms crossed watching you beat the shit out of this guy for his bullshit comment.

Cue happy Lion man. Leona was rather amused at the fight but if it got out of hand- if you were getting hurt- he would break up the fight. And maybe throw a few punches of his own for good measure.

You both end up getting in trouble together, and he's the one that just drags you away without a care in the world to the teachers yelling at him to get back here.

On the bright side, it's nice having someone else to care dump Cheka off with, especially since you seem very good with children.

He does enjoy watching your motherly nature. He'd like to have cubs with you one day. He just won't admit it over his life. Ever.

So yeah, he's not really worried about you. In fact, he likes seeing you get feisty. Just not towards him. That's just annoying.

He has threatened to shove a fork up your pussy. When you two fight the dorm literally grabs popcorn. Who knows who'll win, after all. It's the best show to watch.

Epel Felmier

He's a bit too innocent to realize you have this side of you at first. While he knows he does have a fighting spirit, he'd never seen you remotely angry before, so he just assumed you were a peaceful gal.

Oh how wrong he was.

Expel is small and appears frail, and a lot of people exploit that weakness, not on your watch. One wrong comment happened and you'd shocked the guy in the face, who had immediately gone at you and all hell broke loose.

Rook couldn't help but be amused at the situation he was watching, but at the same time knew poor Epel would have the time of his life if Vil found out.

Epel's lips curled into a large smirk that showed off his pearly whites as he watched you tussle with someone until they had run off like a scared bitch.

"You're gon' havta teach me that!" He said, happily as ever. He was quick to wrap you up in an embrace, squeezing you against him.

You immediately hugged back, happy to be back in his arms. And you'd agreed. Rook's job of keeping Epel out of trouble just got a lot harder.

Epel was excited in a way to learn about this new side of yourself you'd shown off to him, it made him love you even more.

God did he love his girlfriend.

Vil Schoenheit

You were picture perfect and he loved it. You were sweet, reliable, soft, good with children. Honestly he absolutely loved you. He just didn't know about how quickly your temper could be set off until it did.

Someone had called your man ugly.

That's right. Ugly. And you weren't standing for it. Vil stood in shock whilst Rook covered his mouth with a coy laugh as your fist connected with the guys jaw. Vil swore he'd heard a crack. While he would argue greatly that he was prettiest of them all, he also knew people had opinions that sometimes couldn't be changed.

Watching you punch this guy with a fire more fierce than diablo's anus after a bad day was certainly something. Albeit it wasn't what he was expecting at all.

He was almost impressed.

Had he not been ashamed of your behavior first and foremost. Vil was quick to break up the fight and have Rook escort the kid to the nurse while he had a stern talking to you.

He spoke to you that day like you were a child getting scolded, and when you refused to relent that what you did was wrong, Vil ended up giving up, admiring your stubbornness of the subject. It was rather adorable hearing you say you'd smack the shot out of anyone that calls him names in front of his face.

He absolutely had fussed over your bloodied knuckles too. Vil was very quick to use everything he had to heal them to perfection so they wouldn't scar. Not a bruise should be left on your skin.

[evolutionsvoid]

Going out to the canyons and badlands guarantees beautiful views and memorable trips. The majesty of time worn rock, the incredible colors found in their many layers! Get a look from up high, and you see a landscape that is sculptures of nature itself! To sit there and take it all in, soaking up the sights, listening to the wind howl through the rocky canyons and enjoying the serenity of the wor- BAM! The jarring sound of an explosion echoing through the air! The peaceful quiet is randomly broken up by these startling blasts, ringing through the channels and chasms. The first time people hear it, they are quick to panic and think there is an attack happening. Some sneaky group of bandits blasting powder kegs or volatile magic or something! It certainly startles you every time! Even when you know it is bound to occur eventually, it will still catch you off guard! These loud bursts are rare and sporadic, but there is no way to ignore them if you are anywhere near the region! While some think bandits or loud mining, it is actually the result of a native resident of these lands dealing with some trouble. Someone is agitating them, which leads to quite the ruckus and quite the mess!

The species I am talking about is the Blast Cap Scutumback, though most people stick to calling them Blast Caps. As the name points out, they are a member of the Scutumback family, a group of mollusks known for their armor plating and flattened shape in their juvenile stages, which leads to the comparison of them and a shield. Blast Caps live in arid places, typically where rocks are aplenty and water is rare. Fitting that they live in such stony places, as they both blend in with rocks and move about as fast as one too. Blast Caps live at a snail's pace, slowly crawling about with a muscular foot that is hidden by their girdle. Now would be the part where I talk about their day-to-day lives and their incredible behaviors, but crawling about and eating pretty much covers all they really do. Blast Caps have no interest in rich social lives or finding odd ways to pass their time. It is essentially "eat until the food is gone" and then "move until you find more food." While pretty simple, you can't argue with results! 

Blast Caps do not eat meat or plants, instead going for a troll's diet. Rocks, minerals and metals are their meals of choice, and they use a powerful toothy radula to scrape away at stone for sustenance. The process is very slow, but I already said that they live a very slow life. As their radula etches the rock, they feed on the dust and flakes that come off, running it through an odd digestive system to extract nutrients from it. Some suggest that they also feed on lichens and moss, as those have been seen on rocky surfaces they chew on. However, we do not know if they specifically target these food sources or just so happen to eat them merely because they grow on the food they actually want. A Blast Cap will spend days sitting in one place, chiseling away at the stone until they deplete whatever substance they want from it. Once it is gone, they move on, leaving a distinctive wear mark on the rock that lets you know who is responsible! 

While sitting around and eating rocks doesn't sound like the most thrilling species to describe, things get much more interesting when you consider the substances they build up in their guts. The Blast Cap's love for specific minerals and stones winds up making a dusty mixture in their bodies that they add to potent fluids of their own, which winds up creating an explosive compound. It may seem like a real bad idea to create explosive fluids in your own guts, but the Blast Cap's creation is rather stable, only detonating when exposed to flame or sparks. When stored in the body, its own internal fluids and organs do well to prevent any accidental detonations from occurring. When danger approaches, that is when the liquid is put into use, and to powerful effect! Blast Caps will secrete this fluid in different ways, then use flint-and-steel-like setups in their anatomy to create the triggering spark. Their extra "teeth" and radula are capable of being scraped together to make sparks, or their armor plating may be rubbed together to do the job. 

How they utilize this defense varies by age, as the juveniles have one trick and the adults have another. When Blast Caps are young, they are much smaller and flatter, and their coloration helps them blend in with the stone. It is good for hiding, but some predators can sniff them out, or some oblivious beast may accidentally step on them! When a young Blast Cap senses a presence getting too close for comfort, their armor plates will shift to reveal fluid spraying pores. These orifices are tied to their explosive liquids, which can be released in a faint mist. They will only eject the weapon when pressure is put onto their armored bodies, be it a probing predator or a heavy misplaced boot. When they feel their body being touched, they release a small cloud of explosive mist and slam their plates shut, making a spark and then BOOM! While the area of effect is small, the explosion has a punch to it and it can severely mess up a snout or foot. While their armor plating protects them from this blast, those who agitate them are not so lucky. Predators can have a nose blown off, or even be blinded due to damage to the eyes. Beasts who step on them by accident will have chunks of flesh destroyed and nasty burns. Human-sized hikers often straight up lose a foot, having it blown to pieces due to this blunder. Though the young Blast Caps are small and weaker compared to the adults, some would argue they are more dangerous due to how easy it is to miss them and not realize you are walking through a living minefield.

When a Blast Cap gets old, their bodies fill out, almost inflating into a more hunched shape. Two large storage organs develop on their sides, for holding explosive fluid and small stony chunks for digestion. Their mouth parts become more flexible, allowing them to rotate it from its usual downward position up so that it points outward. This helps them eat things at different heights, or reach places where their bulkier body cannot climb. It also makes for a handy weapon when threats approach. While they can still release an explosive cloud around them, this wastes far more fluid due to their larger size requiring more to fully cover them. Instead, when they sense danger, they move their mouths upward and point it at the enemy. They will take a chunk of stone from their gut and bring it to their throat, along with a gob of explosive fluid. If their foe doesn't retreat, they will scrape tooth and radula together to make a spark and ignite the liquid sitting behind the rock. In an instant, their mouth erupts in a plume of light and smoke, and the stone is launched out at incredible speeds. This projectile is shot out faster than a rock sling could throw it, and it can do serious damage to those it hits. Bone shatters easily and armor is damaged beyond repair. If it hits you in the chest, your ribcage is busted and probably embedded in some important organs. If it hits you in the head, well, you won't realize it until you wake up in your afterlife.

To make matters worse, is that sometimes the rock is porous and winds up soaking in some explosive fluid. When launched, it will shatter when it hits its target or the environment, releasing a cloud that can be triggered by a single spark. Folk scrambling for their weapons or falling with armor hitting stone may accidentally create this trigger, and blow themselves to pieces without knowing their mistake. Needless to say, not many animals choose to prey on the Blast Cap, as the cost is massive if they screw up. However, some crafty birds, like ravens, have figured out a way to prey on juvenile Blast Caps. They pick up small rocks and debris in their talons or beak, then fly overhead and drop it atop the Scutumback. This "attack" will cause the Blast Cap to explode its defense, but the birds are far away from danger. They will then drop more rocks again and again until the Blast Cap stops detonating, as its fuel will have been depleted. Then the birds can swoop in to attack, knowing the young mollusk has no weaponry to fight back.

With the dangers that can come from an exploding mollusk, it should be obvious that locals are very careful around them. Areas that are heavily populated by Blast Caps will have warning signs around them (not that those can truly ward off dumb tourists). When traveling these places, people walk slowly and always keep an eye on the ground in front of them, as a single misstep can cost you a leg. While these areas are notoriously dangerous, the native people have found ways to benefit from them. Places where young Blast Caps are plentiful will be scouted out, and then hunters on horseback would go out to track down a nearby herd of game. With incredible coordination, they would scare the animals into a stampede, and direct their escape route towards Blast Cap territory. The thundering hooves would agitate the mollusks and they would prepare to explode. As the herd tramples through, they would trigger the Blast Caps, resulting in explosions, lost limbs and fatal tripping. In less than a minute, dozens of ungulates could be downed by these living traps, allowing the hunters to slowly creep in to collect the freshly exploded meat. It should be noted that most Blast Caps actually survive this crazy tactic, as they are very hardy and can handle being stepped on or trapped beneath a fallen beast. It should also be noted that this hunting tactic was only used in hard times when an entire village needed food, as it can be pretty wasteful with how much meat gets blown to mush and also the state of your food is pretty rough by the time you carve it up. No fine steaks or flanks to be found here, just messy ground beef.

Also, this same tactic has been used on invading forces, where natives tricked enemy armies to travel through Blast Cap territory, using their ignorance of the local fauna against them. One wrong step and the whole force is thrown into chaos, as people panic, flee and trample over more Blast Caps. While casualties would be low due to the small area of these blasts only taking out legs, the effects could be crippling to an army, now laden with wounded and mutilated, while also worrying about where the danger is. It is a clever strategy, I give them that, but it does make me worried anytime I am hiking in these areas. I am careful in my walking and mindful of my step, but then I think to the chaos of these hunts and attacks, and think of how a tumbling rock or a dropped canteen could set off a chain reaction that would turn me to mulch! It hasn't happened yet thankfully! But I guess you know that because I am alive and writing this entry....                 

Chlora Myron

Dryad Natural Historian

-------------------------------------

"Blast Cap Scutumback"

[seafoamreadings]

week of september 10th, 2023

these are written predominantly for the *rising* signs but they are also intuitively "channeled" enough that they should work for any dominant energy you have! (try your sun if you don't know rising, or more advanced readers can try moon, anywhere you have a stellium, etc and see what works best for you!)

aries: in many ways the week is peaceful and calm for you, but there is definitely activity in your daily routines of one sort or another and it's up to you to make that fruitful for yourself.

taurus: you get a lot of 5th house virgoan activity all week but also some pings to your own sign. it's a romantic period! which is great news for venusians like you. while there are some heavy influences about, mostly it is a time for you to have fun and do whatever you're inspired to do - which means don't just live in obligation mode all week.

gemini: mercury direct broadly means good things for you. this week might be chaotic, but you thrive in chaos, you know its value. then as the orbit stabilizes again, your mind clears up, your mental clumsiness disappears, and broken electronics may mysteriously seem to fix themselves.

cancerians: for this new moon, to work its magic most effectively in your favor, bond with your community. siblings, cousins, neighbors. start or contribute to a community garden, lend someone a cup of sugar, things of this nature. being a helpful person attracts helpful people. you will need them some day, as you know.

leo: you're asked at this time, perhaps only implicitly, to make your home and keep your finances in good order. don't get stingy with money, but use it effectively to make a good life for yourself and the people you live with.

virgo: a new moon occurs in your sign AND mercury goes direct there this week. plus, ceres (the 'modern' ruler of virgo in my system) heads for scorpio after a fairly long stay in libra. you are put in an "older sibling" type of role, although this can also apply to coworkers, friends, or your role as a steward of nature. use the new moon to set kindly intentions.

libra: you're hit with a 12th house/2nd house combo this week. your finances are richly blessed, and your soul is putting in serious work as you grow and develop. just be aware, with the new moon in virgo, a secret may be made. keep your promises and stay in your lane, but meanwhile watch out for hidden enemies or "frenemies."

scorpio: the new moon in virgo introduces you to a new friend or helpful acquaintance. be open to interactions with strangers that surprise and delight you. meanwhile ceres into your sign makes you fertile (literally and figuratively?) and luscious, which is great for this harvest season we are in. what delicious fruits are ripe for you now in your life?

sagittarius: you may be placed in the public eye this week in a way which you would prefer not to be. fortunately venus picking up speed helps you navigate gracefully. things that seem like blunders can be corrected, just keep a cool head and move forward as unflustered as you can.

capricorn: it's supportive earth vibe all week and no one appreciates support like earth signs such as yourself. you have prepared, you are ready, as soon as you note mercury direct it's time for you to move forward too. don't expect to go fast, but so expect to go with great strength.

aquarius: there are some signs this week that your financial situation improves by way of other people - an inheritance, a loan, etc. the downside is debt problems and perhaps tax troubles are also indicated. avoid anything shady.

pisces: upheaval in relationships is the name of your game all week. but don't be too discouraged, you know you like things to be interesting; at least you aren't bored. not all upheaval is bad, anyway.

[celiciaa]

GILBERT VON OBSIDIAN EVENT STORY....

CHAPTER ONE.

Rhodolite’s horror night.

translations are not 100% accurate. expect mistakes.

minors and ageless blogs dni.

Gilbert: Hehe, I'm so happy. I never thought that the little rabbit would take my hand.

Emma:…..

Now there is only me and Prince Gilbert in the chapel.

Luke and Clavis immediately went to solve the mystery of a strange phenomenon different from us,

The situation was not so good, being alone with the prince of the enemy country.

(…Both of them told me to reconsider many times.)

(I wanted to reconsider, too. All I know is that I shouldn't have taken Prince Gilbert's hand.)

(It’s just——……)

━━FLASHBACK━━

Gilbert: Hey, little rabbit. I think the day will soon come when you will be forced to make a choice.

A few days ago, Prince Gilbert visited my room and scooped up my chin with his cane.

Gilbert: You'll definitely have to choose me then.

Emma: Why?

Gilbert: You won’t understand unless I tell you, right…?

━━FLASHBACK ENDS━━

(He’s threatening me.)

I can't make any bad resistance against Prince Gilbert, who has the title of the worldwide disaster and the trampling beast.

He’s the kind of person who doesn't make a joke about destroying a country if he gets into a bad mood.

Gilbert: What, you've got a look in your eyes like you want to say something.

Emma: No...it's nothing.

Gilbert: Hehe, that's good to know.

Gilbert: I was so nervous about what would happen if you didn't pick me.

(…The current situation is a lot scarier than the test of courage.)

(You’re definitely up to something. …Some kind of evil.)

That said, I have already had a fair amount of interaction with Prince Gilbert.

Unlike when I first met him, my body was unconditionally tense, now I’m becoming accustomed to him.

(It's true that he's a villain, but he's not the one who hurts me for no reason.)

Now that the situation had come to this, there was no turning back, so I decided to look forward.

Emma: Prince Gilbert...we are supposed to check the "Ghost Tower," which opens only at midnight, correct?

Gilbert: Yeah. That's what Clavis was talking about earlier.

━━FLASHBACK━━

Clavis: There is the so-called "unopened tower" in the annex of the Rhodolite Castle.

Clavis: The lock is broken and you can't normally get inside.

Clavis: Strangely enough, however, only in the middle of the night does the tower's door open and one can enter.

Clavis: Moreover, the tower should have already been reduced to ruins, but anyone says they saw the light, strange isn’t it?

Clavis: The servants are making a fuss about ghosts kept appearing and disappearing, and are reluctant to approach the tower.

Clavis: Well, it's not unreasonable. The tower was originally——

━━FLASHBACK ENDS━━

Gilbert: A tower for confining criminals before execution, wasn’t it?

Emma: Just like you said, Rhodolite used to have a system of public executions….

(There is no such system nowadays, but a tower where people who are about to die are locked….up.)

I don't believe in ghosts, but the tower has enough scenery to give me a premonition of what to expect.

(….I'm curious and interested, not to mention, there's a lot of fuss about it.)

Gilbert: Are you afraid?

Prince Gilbert closes the distance with me and looks into my face.

Emma: No, I'm not——

As I was about to say that, then I remembered that the great villain in front of me hated lies.

Emma: I'm just a little...scared.

Gilbert: Ahaha, the little rabbit is so honest.

Gilbert: But don't worry. There's nothing to fear more than me.

Emma: Is that so….

Gilbert: Yeah. That means I won't forgive anyone who hurts you.

Gilbert: Even if the opponent is a ghost….okay?

(That could be reassuring in a situation like this.)

(As long as Prince Gilbert is here, we'll be fine...right?)

Gilbert: Well then, shall we go? We can't stay here forever. Otherwise the rest of courage won’t end——

Gilbert: ——As I thought, we’re in trouble.

It was nice to arrive at the abandoned tower that stood alone in the forest, but the weather was not good.

Emma: The rain is getting heavier. // It's raining harder now.

(When we left the chapel, it wasn’t strong, so I thought we could go on.)

Thanks to Prince Gilbert for covering me with his cloak, I'm not too wet,

At this rate, both of us will get soaked.

Gilbert: There seems to be a cabin nearby, so let's go in there.

Gilbert: Oh, but before that….

Gilbert: I see...the lock is definitely broken, and it's made of solid stone, so it would be hard to break.

Emma: Will it open at midnight though?

(It's night now, but not quite midnight.)

Gilbert: Isn’t that the reason you came here?

Gilbert: Just the two of us in the cabin until the ghosts appear... hehe, how fun is that?

(….It's really starting to feel like a test of courage.)

When we entered the cabin near the tower, I found that all the equipment was there.

Even though it was summer, my body was cold from getting wet in the rain,

I shuddered, and Prince Gilbert put the linen on my head.

Emma: Thank you very much. But Prince Gilbert is more soaked than me.

Gilbert: I’ll be fine— achoo.

Emma:…No, you’re not fine.

Since there is only one large piece of linen, I handed it to Prince Gilbert.

But the great villain seemed to be kind at a time like this, and he didn't accept it.

Emma: I'm sure Prince Gilbert is more chilled than I am.

Gilbert: My body temperature is low to begin with...But, yeah.

Gilbert: If you're that worried, how about we warm each other?

Emma: Warm each other….

By the time I sensed that the conversation was taking a strange turn, it was too late.

Gilbert: Did you know? People naturally get warm by skin-to-skin contact.

Slowly, Prince Gilbert begins to remove the water-soaked cloak.

Next, I involuntarily averted my gaze when I saw him placing his hand on the button of his military uniform.

(No way…..don’t tell me….)

(You can't be serious!?)

 ▸       [ next ]

[luna-rainbow]

I think both critique and criticism of the MCU needs to occur in context of its genre.

What I mean is, the MCU is a superhero genre, which is distinct from plain action films or sci-fi films. It is meant to be a fairytale for adults, and comes with all the necessary conventions.

The story is meant to be short and by nature a simplified (rather than simplistic) version of the real world. It is okay that not all the complexities of the world is captured on screen (* as distinct from when it introduces complexity then fails to follow it up).

Its core components consist of a hero or heroine, a villain, and a journey of good overcoming evil. In this simplified framework, an entire concept (e.g. fascism) is usually represented by a single character or entity (e.g. Pierce or Hydra), whose defeat symbolises the defeat of his ideals. We know that in the real world the loss of a single man does not defeat an entire movement, but this is an acceptable genre convention. There is usually magic involved: even in the most "grounded" of MCU's franchises, e.g. the Cap series or Black Widow, there is still a magical component even if it is explained away as pseudoscience.

As part of this convention, superhero movies are inherently about exploring morality. It positions its heroes as inspirational, and their moral character as aspirational. Unlikely fanfiction, these Hollywood movies have incredible cultural reach and impact, which is why critical analysis of their themes are not only worthwhile, but necessary. You can choose to not think critically about the media you engage with (god knows I switch off my brain too), but you cannot fault other people for critically analysing a franchise that regularly rakes in billions for what sort of message it is projecting through its heroes.

It is why discussions of who MCU chooses to frame as villains are worthwhile. Why pre-Disney MCU villains consisted of profit-chasing warmongers, eugenics spouting Nazis, governments proposing to execute its citizens before they have committed a crime; and why post-Disney MCU villains consisted of disenfranchised workers, disenfranchised immigrants, disenfranchised racial minorities. Why pre-Disney villains represented the cogs in a broken system, and post-Disney villains were often those who were trying to buck the system.

It is why discussions of what MCU chooses to frame as "heroism" is important. Why pre-Disney MCU heroes demonstrated the many permutations of associating power with responsibility, and strength with protection; why post-Disney MCU heroes simply...just are. They are passably nice folks who passively allow the plot to push them along and they seem to do acceptably decent things when forced by circumstance, but they present no belief of their own.

It reminds me of that long meta about Harry Potter and a particular brand of essentialism that says you are a hero only if you are the chosen one, and if you are in that special cohort then you can do no wrong, because heroism is simply you. It is in direct contrast to early MCU where the heroes have to learn what heroism means to them, and then to earn it by choosing to make a sacrifice of some kind.

The earlier MCU heroes dreamed of a better world, and their fairytale was one of activism. The current MCU heroes wait for trouble to chase them down before they make any stance. They are a fairytale in essentialism, in which heroism is an embedded, quintessential, eternal inner quality they are born with, and their choice - regardless of who they're fighting for or the context it is made - is always heroic.

[verdemoun]

timewarp au btw sean becomes a da also this is why i haven't been able to write any fics yet this is just dot points and it's 1000 words

maeve beatrice macguire was born roughly eight years into the timewarp and chaos would be an understatement.

life was going so well karen and sean are still in the trailer on lenny and jenny's driveway. they'd just figured out how to connect the hot water system in their trailer to the solar panels so they didn't have to go inside the main house to shower.

blissful polyamorous life where lenny gets to be with both jenny and sean, and sean gets to be with lenny and karen and karen is still trying to hit on jenny who surely cannot be the only straight person to ever exist in the VDL gang why is life so cruel but everyone is happy and in love and well adjusted to modern era

karen absolutely did not know she was pregnant until she went into labor she didn't even know she could get pregnant between the lack of access to affordable birth control in the 19th century and getting diagnosed with pcos she just assumed she couldn't because she'd never gotten pregnant before??

every single person lost it. there was not a single brain cell to be found in the house just panicked screaming. grimshaw (who helped abigail give birth to jack) was their literal savior. it was too late for hospitals. the macguire genes are too strong this baby was already restless and impatient and coming now

sean malfunctioned so hard trying to process the fact he was a parent that lenny ended up being the first person to hold the baby and love at first sight is real. instantaneously they were All parents and she was going to be the first VDL to not grow up in a broken home. no name no crib but she had two moms and two dads and she was going to be the most spoilt little princess in the world

karen wanted to name her mary-beth because mary-beth stayed with her the longest in canon era and tried to help her even after the gang fell apart but they all agreed this shrieking siren born with orange curls like fire was not going to be a mary-beth so her initials are intentionally mb. they had to go with the most cliche irish girls name starting with m imaginable and then beatrice is actually bessie's full name c:

cannot overstate how strong the macguire genes are her first words might as well have been death to the english. in so many ways she is a copy paste of sean she is loud and the second she could walk she was getting herself into trouble. the whole gang is trying to help but no one knows what to do jack and isaac were both really easy kids who didn't climb on the counter and eat fistfuls of white sugar.

but maeve is so, so loved. she is exactly what their collective child was destined to be. she's energy she's lightning in a bottle she's smart and messy and overconfident and terrifying when she decides she needs to be and they would not change a single hair or freckle about her.

it deserves its own post but the macsummers crew would all have so many emotions being a parent after the childhoods they went through. sean wishing he could ask his da for advice how is it possible to feel so much love for something. karen just feeling lost because she already had so much self-doubt and a really frail sense of self the idea of being a mother would be so terrifying. lenny remembering his father's letter and even though he knows it word for word he wishes he had it with him and could feel the impressions of the pen on paper as if it would hold some answer to how the hell he's meant to be a parent. jenny who was literally found abandoned at the side of the road only now entering the second stage of grief because how dare the people who were meant to care for her abandon her when she would die a million times over to protect this little girl. they all would.

but even with their own shit they are such good parents they will not push their intergenerational trauma onto their baby girl and the lads are girldads to the max: lenny teaching her how to read and going to work in outfits his daughter picked out. sean holding her against his chest watching the secret of kells for the millionth time. karen playing with her baby girl constantly and using her acting skills to do all the voices. jenny braiding her hair and baking cookies with her which she will regret when the sugar demon takes over. whole family tea parties where they all have to play dress up. matching poorly done nail polish

getting her to sleep alone is hell because they all love her so much they want to take her to bed with them even when she's already feisty and independent and wants to sleep in her own room. everyone has a very important role in the nighttime routine and if anyone isn't home at bedtime maeve is not sleeping. jenny has to check for monsters. sean has to carry her to the bathroom and hold her against his hip while they both brush their teeth. karen has to be the one to tuck her in, and lenny has to turn on the nightlight.

she once looked sean dead in the eyes after he turned the nightlight on and turned it back off because lenny has to do it it's his job!!

they must all pay the kiss goodnight tax independently getting multiple kisses from one parent does not nullify the other parents obligation to the republic of maeve

wind down is either lenny reading to her (which has on multiple occasions also put sean to sleep), karen singing or sean telling (child-safe) stories about the VDLs or darragh macguire. sean's stories are maeve's favorite but she gets so excited it takes an extra 20 minutes for her to get to sleep.

her teachers hate her. they want this child medicated because she definitely has adhd. she will rock up and be telling other kids 'i never got to meet my grandpa because the british killed him' and is trying to radicalize her classmates 'they can't catch all of us if none of us go inside at the bell it'll be recess forever!!'

she is the queen of 'my dads can beat up your dad!! my moms can beat up your dad!! i could beat up your dad!!'

lenny and sean at a parent teacher meeting trying to pretend they know what a normal childhood is. 'your daughter has been playing cops and robbers' 'that is a normal thing children do we definitely did that at maeve's age' 'yes but she started throwing rocks from the top of the playground while screaming "macguires never surrender" and she used a jump rope to hogtie another child'

lenny shooting sean a look absolutely begging him not to laugh

no one taught her these things she just inherited the muscle memory of an outlaw and it's really hard not to be proud of her they were some pretty complex knots for a 5 year old!