#if you can't tell 😅

[ibrithir-was-here]

Almost killed my battery but here's drabble number 4 in the Endless Heirs AU! Another one with some spoilers for the books/setting up the events that caused the AU in the first place. Hope you like it!

Onus

Duty was a word Dream knew well, duty and its many synonyms. Responsibility, obligation, charge, onus, mantle, burden, cross to bear. He knew his duty, it's weight and measure, it's importance and its perils. 

He loved his realm of course, as any good king would love his country and the people in his charge. He guided and guarded and did his best to ensure that the function of the Dreaming and its inhabitants, both the dreams and the Dreamers, went on unhindered.

It was an unending obligation, for of course it was as endless as himself. And for eons untold he had shouldered it without complaint, without a single sigh, at least not one that he would ever let anyone hear. For someone had to fill the function, and there was none but himself to do so.

Until now.

Now there was Daniel, a child born from a love that stretched beyond Death's visitation, a child born from the Dreaming, born from Dream himself, for the Dreaming was him and he was it. 

Dream had known, the first time he saw the child, this being born from his own power, that here was one who could take up his mantle, one who could lead the Dreaming, keep it strong and secure--one who could release Dream from the burdens he bore.

And then Dream had held him. 

It had only been for a moment, the Corinthian had rescued him from The Tricksters, and brought him to the Dreaming for safety before returning him to his mother. Daniel was crawling about in the throne room as the Corinthian reported to Dream what had transpired. Dream had felt a tug on his robe, found Daniel at his feet reaching up for him, and Dream without really thinking had lifted him into his arms…

Dream had loved being a father, had never stopped feeling like he was one, even as the millennia built up between who he was now and the person he had been the first time Orpheus had been settled in his arms. 

Watching his son grow, learn, change and shape his own self; it was the closest Dream had ever felt to what he imagined it was like for dreamers to experience his realm. 

Watching something beautiful and terrifying and wonderful come to form in front of your eyes, knowing at some level you are responsible for its creation, and yet having no idea what could come from it next. Both frightened and ecstatic to see where it all might be going, and standing in awe of watching a story shaping itself.  Never knowing if it will be a triumph or a tragedy, but knowing the beauty of it came from letting it create itself.

The moment Dream had held Daniel, he knew he couldn't take that from him. 

Part of him knew Daniel could and would take on his mantle one day, the circumstances of his birth had bound their fates together. But he would do everything to ensure that Daniel took that role knowing what it entailed, and having the right to shape it as himself. As Daniel Hall, his own being, with his own thoughts, his own soul, his own life to live before he took up that onus. 

And Dream would do all he could to see that life was a long and happy one, he owed this child, this son born to him through strange and wondrous means, that chance, that choice. He would be there to guide and guard him, he would choose to live on as Dream of the Endless, so that Daniel could live on as himself. 

[eddie-redcliffe]

Stede was tired of spending another evening at the Badmintons', always surrounded by the same posh nobs, so he decided to explore what had been the hot topic during dinner; the neighbouring house where weird things were happening... But those stories weren't true, they were just trying to scare Stede, right?

[the-sunlit-earth]

Whether it’s Imperial Tax Collectors or stuffy Redoran guards, Baladas has a special place in his heart for railing against authority ❤

 Neloth was just along for the ride :’)

[reinedeslys-central]

"Hey, man," Percy's voice lifted over on his left before he felt the tell-tale thwump of his hand landing on his shoulder.

"You got a minute? Let's get drinks, on me-" and so Grover finds himself led away from his project for the tenth time this week, because he would never say no to his best friend if it wasn't something Important.

Miles later, when so much time has passed that neither of them are willing to check the clock, Percy's eyes flicker towards him, but he doesn't look at him. Instead, he looks up out the window to the sky, rapidly darkening but still light out in that inescapable, metropolis way.

"Grover."

"Hmm?"

"Sorry, no, it's-.." Grover angles his body towards him, not sure where Percy is in his mind but not so surprised, either. He sighs.

"Percy."

Percy's eyes lift to his for a breath of a second, then skitter away.

"Grover, was I too much?"

Too - too much? He feels his eyebrows bunch together as he mulls it over. He's not so gauche as to ignore what Percy might be implying here, but he's not so sure anymore.

They don't talk about it much, those years between them now that they can't catch up to. Something slipped and fell and broke, maybe, but with all those conversations they've forced themselves to have, they figured most of it out, he thinks. Enough to know they both still love each other, obviously. Enough to know they never stopped.

Also enough to know they have to say so, when they don't understand each other. Sometimes being blunt stops the ship from sinking, or whatever. So that's what he does.

"Percy. Can you - elaborate. Elaborate, I'm serious, I'm basically drunk by now - "

"Was I too much for you, though?" Percy sounds far away, gazing through the window again. Like he's not here, in Grover's apartment, drunk on cheap beer that he bought that neither of them really like but use as an excuse to see each other when there's no other obvious thing to do, and six hours away from the things they're really supposed to be doing.

"It's nothing - or, well, it is something, I just - you know they preserve all those old messages and things on those servers these days, right? And I was going through those old messages. And I know - I was looking back too, a couple years after, you know, and I just - it was everything. It's not - it seems so simple, and I can't tell if I'm overreacting or underreacting, and looking back now I should've stopped always texting like that and let you go sooner -"

"Hey." He cuts Percy off, because - fuck. Hell, no. He gets what he's talking about now. Percy's friendship style has always been a little - not clingy, exactly, almost so respectful and vulnerable that sometimes it tripped the line into - exactly, 'too much' - but he's not going to say that. He's biased. He won't. He won't hurt him like that. Not just because it's not the whole truth, but also because he knows that if he gives Percy's insecurities an inch, they'll really be miles away by morning.

Anyways. "Percy, are you seriously thinking - we've had years. You know I would've said something." He did, technically. Nevermind, that's a terrible example -

"Okay, not that; Percy, listen to me. You're not too much. You'll never be too much to handle, just as yourself. If being your friend is too much for someone else to handle, then they can damn well tell you about it, alright?"

Percy bobs his head slightly, leaning back against the table, since they've decided to sit on the floor for some reason.

(It's Grover. He's the reason. Percy never acts like he notices, but he probably gets that Grover likes to be grounded most of the time - well, as much as they can be, a gazillion feet in the air, anyway.)

"A dam well, you say?" he suddenly giggles, a little wetly.

"Whatever, man."

They clink bottles and lean back.

It's almost black outside now, that dark shade that's something deeper than indigo, violet.

"Is this about Jason?"

"..No. Not really."

The yellow lighting from the lamps settles around them. Grover feels weighed down by it, anchored to the mat where they're sitting. He watches as Percy curls his fingers around the neck of his bottle.

Cuticles perfectly trimmed and obnoxiously perfect nail beds. The bastard.

"You.. this is - okay." Percy jerks his head up, startled by how sharp Grover's voice suddenly is, probably.

He softens it before trying again. "We were kids, Percy."

The idiot genius in question makes a half-sound of disbelief.

"No, shut up. We were. Whether you were too much or whatever - when else are you supposed to figure out these things? When you're twenty? Now? When else are you supposed to find out how to navigate conversations with people? Look, Percy, whatever's gone down between us - I'm not going to blame you for not being a, hell, fully matured flawless conversationalist at age nine."

"Well, when you say it like that.."

"Oh, I'll say it like that. I'll say it like that every time you need me to grow a seed of perspective into your brain, you strain of seaweed."

That's the thing that gets him to laugh, in the end. Grover watches as Percy's shoulders relax and he curls inwards, shoulders shaking.

"I- I thought only Annabeth was going to call me seaweed, but now I see the market hasn't been cornered-"

"Shut up. Clarisse gives you new nicknames every summer."

"Alright, G-man."

Grover grabs the pink-white striped throw pillow from the sofa, pets it affectionately, and then whips it at his best friend's face. Percy squawks and dives out of the way, and they're lucky their bottles are finished because he tips over both of those too in the mad dash to Grover's bedroom, probably to stock up on more pillows.

Grover stands in the middle of the hallway and dodges the first of Percy's paltry attempts at revenge, then another. When Percy has to stop and pick up his pillows again, eyeing him suspiciously, he retreats to the kitchen.

He grins while grabbing the blue blankets from the supply closet. He's not going down alone.

my writing directory if that's a thing you'd like to check out - I put all my writing posts on there so I can't lose track of them TT

[reinvent-and-believe]

okay but actually i’m dying because i just realized

roy taking jamie to get kebabs after the fight...from his kebab place

his kebab place that we saw in the rom-communism episode. where the owner has roy’s picture up on the wall but still makes him pay for his kebabs. where ted asked him to come coach richmond and roy was just horrified that his hideout had been discovered. where roy got super offended about the owner chatting it up with ted. where roy got VERY defensive about “my kebab place” and “well, this place is ruined now” after ted knows about its existence

even after a knock-down-drag-out fight, this idiot still takes jamie to *his* kebab place

[everybodyshusband]

I can't help but wonder, how do you imagine the other ghouls reacting to a regressed Rain, Dew and Phantom sh-ing? And if so, (specifically Dew) do they accept the help or try to fight it?

ohhhh i also have so, so many thoughts about this, thank you for the ask, dear anon !!! (although to be honest, most of my thoughts are just unintelligible mess of Thought Soup that i can't put into words but i'll do my absolute best !!)

under the cut once again. cw for blood, discussions/descriptions of self-harm (numerous methods) in relation to regressed ghouls, INCLUDING GHOULS SELF HARMING WHILE REGRESSED

as i said in my original post, i think phantom and rain are much more easily distracted from their negative thoughts once they're regressed. that's not to say that neither of them have acted on these thoughts before, but it definitely happens less often with those two than it does with dewdrop. or... maybe not less often, but definitely more subtly.

for instance, when phantom is "big" enough in their regression to be able to talk (or at least, nod and shake their head to communicate their wants and needs), they have a tendency to refuse food because they know it will make their stomach hurt after a while. this is quickly picked up by the other ghouls because phantom never usually has any issues with food, so it's a sure sign that their regressed headspace is an upset one. in these events, the pack make sure to swaddle them up nice and tightly in their favourite nicely textured blanket and cuddle them so gently, whispering words of reassurance and love as they fall asleep. they're fairly accepting of the coddling and the help provided by their pack, but that may be because they're just so little that they can't do anything about it. the pack get worried about phantom when they're like this, naturally, but they know phantom's danger levels are fairly low when regressed; there are much bigger dangers to their health when they're in a regular headspace compared to going a few hours without a snack.

(obviously their sporadic refusal of food has the potential to turn into a bigger issue than it is currently, and the pack know that and are keeping an eye out as best as they all can. at the moment though, it's never progressed to anything worse than phantom refusing the cut up fruit cirrus and mountain offer them every few hours)

rain is a little bit more obvious in their self harm than phantom is. they do their best to hide it, but their regression makes it hard to be as subtle as they'd like. don't get it twisted though, sometimes they can be quite sneaky (they're a water ghoul with a very low body temperature; if they snuggle up with dew (or swiss) long enough when he's purposefully cranking his internal body heat up to warm rain up, they can get some pretty serious burns, and they don't even have to lift a finger to cause the pain) but most of the time they're almost incapable of being subtle about it. whether its a slip of the mouth when they're chatting away to aether, telling him that "my legs really hurt from earlier," or "wow, cirrus, i really don't feel good after drinking every single drop of that funny, burning liquid from the pretty bottle." after confessing what they've done to one of the ghouls, they're instantly bundled up in someone's arm to keep them from wandering off and doing themselves any more damage. depending on what they've done, they'll be cleaned up and gently and painlessly as possible (cutting/hitting themselves), or given a somewhat stern talking to about not drinking or eating anything unless one of their pack has given it to them (alcohol/drug consumption). whether they accept the help gratefully or try to resist it depends entirely on the complexities of their headspace. some days the pain/worry/stress that self harming causes to their regressed self is enough that they'll accept any help offered to them easily, and they want nothing more than to be looked after and loved by their packmates. but some days they're very reluctant; they don't believe they deserve the help their pack wants to give them, so they do their best to hide away and isolate to avoid being taken care of (the only downside to this is that they have the same hiding place every time, so it's very easy for the other ghouls to find a freaked out regressed rain).

and dew... my favourite little guy... oh, how i love to make him suffer :) i've actually talked about little dew, his relation with self harm, and the other ghouls' reaction to it in length with @cirrus-ghoulette, so WOW, am i excited for this opportunity to spill forth my thoughts, haha !! thank you once again, anon ! (a lot of our discussions have been centred around dew being in constant residence at the abbey's infirmary due to chronic illness things, so most of my thoughts revolve around that, for some context !!)

dewdrop does his best to fumble around with his collection of blades in a coordinated enough manner to be able to carve some damage into himself while he's regressed. over his time in the infirmary under omega's watchful eye, dew gets progressively better at hiding his self harm from omega (because he knows that omega won't hesitate to place him under intense observation if he thinks dew is in serious danger, and dew Does Not Want That), and that includes when he's regressed. he's been known to mess around with his blades under the blankets while omega's been talking to him and keep a relatively neutral face, even as he cuts little slices into his skin (he can never manage to cut very deep when he's regressed), and the only thing that gives him away are the little splotches of blood that stain his sheets. eventually, omega learns dew's quirks and mannerisms that let him know that dew is self harming while regressed and he puts measures into place to stop that from happening as much as possible.

the easiest way to prevent dew from harming is to take away his blades, but he'll always question it when he's regressed. he'll ask omega in the softest, smallest, most heartbroken voice where his "sharp fings" are when the quintessence ghoul comes in to give him a checkup, insisting that his skin feels all tingly and the only way he can stop it from feeling like this is to make himself hurt. every time this happens, omega has to gently explain that he's taken the blades away to keep dew safe because he was hurting himself, which makes dew quite distressed; he knows he's hurting himself when he does this, but when he's regressed, he doesn't always acknowledge/understand the magnitude of it until someone else puts it into words for him. he asks for his blades back every single time and omega has to insist that "no, dove. he can't give them back, he's got to keep dew nice and safe, okay?"

there are absolutely times when dew refuses to accept omega's help until he's literally kicking and screaming with tears running down his cheeks as he sobs about his meggy being so mean and nasty to him. but as much as i love putting dew through pain, i also think that regressing can also have that aspect of safeness for him. if omega offers dew help, he might not accept it right away, but if omega nudges dew in the right way, he'll practically beg to sit cuddled up on omega's lap with a plushie in his arms and a pacifier in his mouth, sleepily watching an episode of a kids tv show. and because primarily, regression dew's way of keeping himself safe (despite the fact that it's not usually a conscious decision), he's able to find comfort in that safer headspace if someone else is there to help and guide him, and move away from the one that tells him he needs to self harm.

[musette22]

Minnie I see what you're doing.

You're trying to get us all to ship Milex.

It's not working.

It's not.

Stop.

...

kidding!! ily please continue riding that ship writer high (and drop the smutty follow up 👀🙏)

Em, oh my goodness 🥺 The sound I made when I saw you left a comment on my new Milex fic, and then again when I found this incredibly sweet ask in my inbox..!! You're a gem, I swear 🌹✨ Aww thank you!!! I will definitely continue writing this writing high as long as I can, it feels so gooood 💗

Also, I wish I could get you all to ship Milex, I mean, look at them...

...but I know most of my followers and mutuals don't care at all, which is absolutely valid and understandable, and also why I've made my side blog 😅 Still, I'm not going to pass up the opportunity to try and possibly convert you with a little fanvid, because when I saw this one for the first time, it made me think of your incredible Stucky CMBYN AU, which I still think about a LOT 🥺 (please don't feel obligated to watch the video btw, I'm really not expecting you to, lol!)

Anyways, thank you again for being so very lovely and supportive, Em, I appreciate it so much! Ily tooooo, sending love your way!! 💛😘

[princelancey]

NHL admin giving us the goods

[lunabug2004]

I don't really understand it when reactors or just people in general get annoyed at how long it takes for the kids to get Max in-the-loop in s2.

I know that Mike's attitude towards her plays a part in it, bc he's also the one that always responds to them almost letting her in like the times they're talking about Will's "True Sight", but I wish people would remember the fact that no one involved in s1 is supposed to tell anyone about anything they went through. Steve literally explains it in the first episode, I think.

Like, I understand my view is biased as a Mike stan, and I'm not saying Mike wasn't a jerk to Max, but he was literally keeping both them, and her (maybe less intentionally, but still) safe by not allowing Max to know about the Upside Down. Even the first time I watched, I remember thinking it was odd that Mike seemed to be the only one of the boys who actively tried to not tell Max anything when it was literally illegal and unsafe for them to do so.

I think this is backed up by the fact that even if he didn't really like her presence, he didn't actively kick her out until things started to connect to the UD being involved. He was perfectly fine with her meeting and knowing about Dart until Will told him about Dart's connection to the UD.

(Also, maybe less related but something I noticed on this rewatch. Mike clearly doesn't like the idea of Max getting hurt no matter how mean he was being to her. He is so worried when El makes her fall. I am at least a slight believer in Mike not wanting to involve Max, or anyone else really, because bc of the risks they might get hurt btw so disregard this if you want.)

Again, maybe this is just my Mike-bias talking, but it's just something I wish more reactors/people would keep in mind.

[lloydfrontera]

hehehe nice

[marmolita]

getting back into ffxv 5+ years after the first time means I have to migrate my playlists to a new music app, which sadly I have to do by clicking on each individual song because every service hates me and I hate them all too

also this has revealed to me that Google mysteriously deleted some of my files (don't worry I have a backup)

BUT more importantly I am reconnecting with my Noctis playlist, which includes discovering that I still remember all the words to some Gackt songs from 2000 😅

[windor-truffle]

*chants in increasing volume* ghost AU ghost AU GHOST AU GHOST AU

[deanncastiel]

2024 Book #164

Title: Cemetary Boys Author: Aiden Thomas Genre: Fantasy, Romance, YA, LGBTQIA+

Yadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can’t get rid of him. In an attempt to prove himself a true brujo and gain his family’s acceptance, Yadriel decides to summon his cousin’s ghost and help him cross to the afterlife. But things get complicated when he accidentally summons the ghost of his high school’s resident bad boy, Julian Diaz – and Julian won't go into death quietly. The two boys must work together if Yadriel is to move forward with his plan. But the more time Yadriel and Julian spend together, the harder it is to let each other go. 

Rating: 4.75 ⭐

Quick thoughts: this was delightful 😭😭😭. this has been on my tbr for like years at this point and it was so worth the wait. i love Yads and Julian so much.

CW: transphobia, including an incident of deadnaming

[loweryourriskofheartdisease]

so..currently it's kinktober ... just saying 👀😗 🗡️

[adore-gregor]

So I could really use some advice

[novelcain]

Oooh, Skittle I feel that anxiety of correcting people about names… pretty much the entirety of my Dad’s side of the family pronounced my name incorrectly my whole life.. My aunt recently found out about that, she felt kinda bad about it Bless her heart..

(My irl name has “Ana” in it, think of a southern country accent when you hear it, and that’s how it’s said… but my Dads family are Northern city folk from Seattle and kept saying it like “Anna” from Disney’s Frozen.. I would never say anything to them about it.. But when any of my Teacher from school mispronounced my name?? No hesitation, I would always correct them..)

A cringing Pumpkin, remembering her past.. 🎃~

Oh no! 😭 I can only imagine the horror your aunt felt when she realized

But also not to be rude to your dad but how did he never notice? 😂😂😂

Also I totally get what you mean about not hesitating in other situations cause while I literally dread correcting others online I am a totally different person irl. Like I'm literally SO blunt I tend to be rude some times on accident 😅 (omg tho if you could have seen me in high school I was literally so mean. 💀 and not even like a "I'd go out of my way to bully you" way (cause I fuckin hate bullies to the point where if I saw someone bullying someone I'd beat em up) but more of a "if you try to be my friend and I don't want to be you're friend I'm gonna straight up tell you and be excessively rude until you leave me alone" way.)