#its also so complicated to take care of... but i do it happily

[puesiria]

a mokka coffee pot is like a dog you train carefully and consciously . those motherfuckers will take months even YEARS to start living up to the expectations you put into them but once they do... they're loyal and amazing and respond to your every wish and NOBODY else can tame them. best thing to have in your kitchen forreal it'll be hard at first but it'll be worth it...

[inkskinned]

there are a lot of posts out there that are positive and healthy coping mechanisms for handling the holidays. this is not one of them :)

i think there's like. going to be times in your life you will be stuck in a social situation that you cannot escape from gracefully. i do not know why the internet doesn't believe these times exist. it's not always just that your physical safety is at risk - sometimes it's legit like "i just don't currently have the energy or time to put in the effort of responding to this." sometimes it's a coworker you hate so much. sometimes it's just like, fine, you know? like you know you can handle your aunt when she's cheerily horrible, but if you actually set a boundary around her, it's going to be weeks of fallout with your father.

i don't know why people think the answer is always just "cut them out!" or "don't let them get away with that!" because ... the real world is tricky and complicated. i think kind of a lot of us have an internal "radiation poisoning" meter for certain people. like - i'm talking about the ones who are absolutely giving you gradual ick damage. like, you can handle them, but you'll be exhausted.

and yes. you absolutely should listen to your therapist and the good posts about handling others and set good boundaries and take care of yourself. prioritize peace.

HOWEVER :) ...... since im often in a situation with a Gradual Sense of Ick person i cannot just "cut out" of my life (without losing someone else precious to me) - i have sort of developed the most. maladaptive form of mischief possible. because like, if i'm going to have to listen to this shit again, i like to have a little bit of private fun with it.

now! again, i am physically safe, just mentally drained by this man. you should only do this with people you are not in danger with. which leads me to my suggestions for when your Unfortunate Acquaintance shows up and says oh everyone pay attention to me.

my favorite word is "maybe!" said as brightly and happily as possible. whenever the Horrible Person starts in on a topic you do not want to go further with, particularly if they make a claim that you know to be inaccurate, do not respond to it. you and i have both tried to actually argue with this person, and it hasn't gone well, because this person just wants the drama of an argument. however, "maybe!" gives them literally nothing to go on. it is incredibly disarming. they are used to people having some response. they know they can't prove what they're saying, and maybe! treats them like the child they are. it dismisses them in the politest way possible.

i like to say maybe! and then, in their stunned silence, immediately change the subject. this is because i have adhd and i will have something unrelated to talk about, but if you can't think of topics fast enough, i recommend just pointing to something and saying, "isn't that lovely?" because fuck you let's bring in some positivity.

by the way. that second trick - of pointing to something and stating an opinion about it? - that just works on its own, like, 70% of the time. i picked it up from teaching preschoolers. it's an intentional "redirect". it stops children crying and it also stops grown adults from finishing their explanation on why women belong in kitchens. dual wielding!

keep it silly for yourself. i absolutely do not care if people think i'm fucking stupid (it's more fun if they do) and as a result i will purposefully misunderstand things just to see how long it takes them to realize i've completely removed them from the subject at hand. when they say "women aren't funny" i get to be like. "which women." "all women." "all women in america?" "no in the world." "like the mole people? the people in the world?" "what? no. like, alive." "oh are we not counting the mole people?" "what the fuck are you talking about." "you don't believe in the mole people?"

similarly, i play a personal game called "one up me." my Evil Acquaintance literally knows this game exists (my family & friends caught onto it and now also play it) and it always fucking gets him. i don't know why. you have to be willing to be a little free-spirited on this one, though. the trick is that when they make one of those horrible little bigoted or annoying comments they are always making, you need to go one unit weirder. not more intense, mind you - just more weird. "you don't look good in that dress." "yeah, actually, my other dress was covered in squid ink due to a mishap at the soup store." "you shouldn't wear such revealing clothes." "wait, what? oh shit. sorry, your son tears off strips when no one is looking and eats them. i swear it was longer before we left the building."

the point of "one up me" is to completely upend this person's narrative. we both know this person likes setting up situations where you cannot "win" and then they really like telling other people how badly you handled it. in a usual situation, if you respond "please don't say something that rude", you're a bitch. but if you let it happen, you're letting yourself be debased. they are not usually expecting door number three: unflappably odd. because what are they going to say when they're telling everyone how badly you behaved? "she said my son eats her dresses" ".... okay?"

if you can, form an allyship with someone whomst you can tagteam with. where they can pick up on your weird "soup store" story and run with it.

the following phrase is amazing and can be deployed for any situation: "oh, be nice :) it's the holidays!" i do not know why this works as often as it does. i'll say it for the most random shit. i think this is bc most of the time these people know they're being impolite, they just like to fight.

godbless. when in doubt, remember that you could always start stealing their pens.

the whole point of this is - if you can't escape. maybe see how long you can just be. like. a horrible little menace.

[noroi1000]

That Snow Leopard 2

Paring: Snow Leopard Gojo x reader

More tags: Pregnancy, beastman Gojo, little kittens!

Words: 2,5k

A/n: I just read a lot of beastman manhwa and now after that I knew exactly what to do with this one shot.

Part one

As you sat on the chair, you looked at Satoru's head resting on your lap as you stroked the fur on his head.

His tail wagged happily as you talking with your friend.

"He became tame pretty quickly." The brunette said as she sorted the necessary documents on the desk.

"Yes." you replied.

In fact, on the second day he acted like this.

He was so kind and loving.

At least for you.

He was happy when you came home.

You convinced him to at least wear pants when he wanted to be in human form.

You managed to get him to stay with you.

He is with you for research. At least that's how it was recognized. Snow leopards are an endangered species. So he was going to be the research subject, and also, when needed, he'd be the breeding partner.

However, at the zoo, he wouldn't even approach the female and ran to you all the time.

That's why you let him go. Because apparently he didn't want to.

When you asked him why, he said you were his mate.

A snow leopard with a human mind who got a partner for life? This is him...

He was impatient and kept asking you about "kittens".

However, few people get pregnant the first time.

But a month later, your big cat was still next to your belly.

And that's why you're sitting with your friend right now, with your round belly under your shirt and your cat close to you.

Shoko wanted to know who the father of your child is. But you didn't tell her.

You stared into Satoru's blue eyes as he suddenly snuggled against your belly.

You stroked his head more.

"Still won't tell who the father is?" she asked you.

"It's complicated..." you murmured.

"But you're going to give birth soon, right?"

"In a month..."

"You've kept this secret from me for so long. Say finally! If he left you, I'll kill him."

"He didn't leave me."

You were afraid of giving birth. Because you can't go to an ordinary doctor. You can't deliver your own childbirth. Satoru can't either. Because you want to do it in conditions that will keep you comfortable. Besides, Satoru probably doesn't know that.

Would you like Shoko to help you?

Since you are human and Satoru is a snow leopard shapeshifter, your children will not be normal people.

Satoru told you that they will probably have ears and a tail like him in human form.

Therefore, if a doctor saw such a child, it would be bad.

You have two of his kittens in you.

You are afraid of what might happen when people find out about your relationship with him. You keep it a secret from everyone for almost eight months. You control your pregnancy yourself and you are sure that everything is fine.

Because you knew you'd love a big cat more than a human. Especially when it comes to Satoru. If you were thinking logically at that moment, would you take the morning after pill to get rid of the pregnancy. However, you couldn't even think about such a thing. He wanted a mate. He wanted kittens. Why would you take it away from him?

He will never leave you. Because you became his partner forever. You have no turning back. Especially now. Especially after you fell in love with him...

Your Satoru is your cat. Your lover. The father of your children. And your beloved. He is everything to you.

Much more human than humans. He can write, he can read. He can do so much. He loves sweets. That's why he ate your cupcakes.

You couldn't deny him a happy life. Not especially after you woke up with him that night. And he slept with his arms wrapped around you protectively. His eyes stared at yours. And it wasn't the gaze of a predator looking at its prey. It was the gaze of a slightly wild but caring lover.

You fell more in love with him as the months passed. To know now that he is your true love.

His nose happily nuzzled your belly as he continued to cuddle.

"I didn't know males had such an instinct..." the brunette purred as she watched a large cat cuddle up to your bulging belly.

"He's like this..."

"So are you going to tell me who the father is?" she asked.

"Will you give me an ultrasound?"

"Here? Shouldn't you be seeing a gynecologist?"

"I haven't been there since the beginning of my pregnancy."

"Do you..."

"I controlled my pregnancy on my own." You replied quietly.

"Why?"

Her face looked very surprised.

"When you give me an ultrasound, you'll see..."

She sighed and suddenly reached for her gloves and sterilized examination device.

You walked over to the couch and sat there. Satoru followed you, carefully watching your movements.

He was so careful. He always made sure that nothing happened to you and was always by your side. Just to know that you and the kittens are fine.

And suddenly your friend lifted your shirt to get to your belly. She put her hands there. And you heard a growl.

You looked at the bright cat next to you, who was threateningly approaching Shoko, showing her to get away from you.

"Satoru. Satoru its okay. You don't have to worry." You got off the couch and knelt beside him, catching his soft fur around his neck.

His tail wrapped around your leg as he continued to be menacing. Shoko stepped back slowly.

"Satoru, calm down..." You groaned to calm him down.

He was overprotective.... Very overprotective. Because he couldn't help thinking that something might happen to you. You were his mate. And he couldn't let you get hurt. No one can touch his mate.

"Why is he acting like this?" the woman asked, looking at the menacing eyes.

And suddenly she saw the cat turn into a human who crouched down in front of you protectively. His ears on his head are slightly bent backwards. The tail has wrapped around you. You had your arms around his chest.

"Leave my mate, human! Don't touch her or my cubs!"

He was very smart. Like a human. But if it was about you and defending the mate and the kittens, he became aggressive and unpredictable. He wasn't thinking the way he always did. Because then all he thinks about is protecting you.

"Mate? Cubs? (y/n)... You..."

"Listen to me before you say anything!" you said with tears in your eyes.

Your Satoru cuddled you against his chest, letting you find solace. He let you relax as he continued to protect you.

This distinguishes him from others. He protects you and loves you unconditionally!

"This is snow leopard which I took with me. He is no ordinary big cat. He is a beastman. He is a man who can turn into a snow leopard. He's... He is the father of my children..."

She was looking at you seriously.

"S-Shoko! It's not what you think, please understand... I love him..." you said with tears in your eyes looking at her unreadable face.

You cuddled up to Satoru to get more solace for you.

"Fine. I understand that. If someone had told me I was going to have a baby with a cat like him, I'd probably have to drink a whole case of spirits for that to come true."

"You... Really?"

"yup. Stop crying, tell your cat to stop growling at me and come for a checkup."

Hearing that, you placed your fingers on your cheek to feel the tears flowing there.

It's all because of pregnancy!

You hugged Satoru a little tighter and whispered in his ear to calm down.

Then you got up to go to Shoko and lie down. She gave the white-haired man an apron to cover his private parts that she doesn't want to see.

And then you saw little kids on the screen. Two little ones.

Their little tails were visible wrapped around their bodies.

"I don't want to know what gender it is. We'll know when she gives birth." Said the man with the tail as he sat next to you.

You gave him a questioning look and he turned his eyes on you.

"How do you know that you can tell the sex of the baby by doing this?" You asked, grabbing his hand.

"You think I never knew about such a thing? Are people really that stupid to believe that there is no non-human who is as smart as they are? I have technology and everything else is the same as here!"

"You have? You're the fucking cat that lives in the snow!" The brunette laughed as she wiped your big belly off the cold gel.

"I'm Snow Leopard! Beastman Snow Leopard! Which means I'm human, damn!"

Did you wonder if he learned those words from TV?

Also, now you're wondering how he was able to talk from the beginning... Is it the same magic that turned him into a human?

"You're just a cat." She replied to him.

"I'm not a cat! And you make me hate this world!"

"Kitten is depressed? You hate the world?"

He growled and his claws lengthened.

There's no way Shoko can beat him! She will die if she doesn't calm down!

You grabbed your boyfriend's hand with both hands, holding tight. Taking his attention away from the woman in front of him.

"Tch... I really hate the human world...."

(A month later)

"How they are? How they are?!"

You watched as the man with his tail sticking out from behind his shirt ran around the bed and looked at your tired body.

He was practically kicking out the woman who'd been helping you for an hour. Just to see his kittens lay on your chest looking for milk.

Your body was tired.

"They're good." you replied, showing him them.

Two boys who look like him.

Satoru recently explained to you that the birth of cubs just like their father is very likely. As for the sex of the children, he's not sure. Snow Leopards had litters of up to three cubs at a time. Most people give birth to one. That's why you gave birth to two healthy snow leopards.

Their little ears and tails were so cute!

If you were a snow leopard, your cubs would be born snow leopard and later learn to transform.

Satoru told you that next time maybe you can have two girls.

You're not skeptical about it, but you also need to rethink it.

He, as a snow leopard, will think about breeding. It is certain.

But from the days you looked at your children, you knew they wouldn't have a good life among humans.

Their mother is a human and their father is a snow leopard. What can happen? They may try to catch them for research. After all, people do not know such a thing.

In almost a year of being with that gorgeous snow leopard you love, you haven't learned a thing.

He is not of this world.

"Sometimes during the mating season we go to the human world. There we are looking for luck to find a partner. When we take her to our world, she will become like us. There are few snow leopards with us and with you. I am a young male, therefore there was a chance I wouldn't find a female of my species easily. But compared to your wild snow leopards, we bond as mates forever. Just like the rest of Beastman. All animals. Cats, dogs, fish, birds, reptiles. All. But by the time I found a mate here, I realized I couldn't find one, because there's none around." He said holding your son in his arms.

"You were just being dramatic." You laughed as you fed your son who was wrapping a little tail around your hand.

"I was not. I wouldn't die. I wanted to go back and wait until the next mating season. But then I felt a fertile female." he pointed at you. "Beastman can breed with human and the babies will be beastman. My babies are snow leopards. If you were a snow leopard too, they would have been born into a full snow leopard. But you're human, so they'll have to learn to change into a cat instead of a human. Well, it's better to master two legs first than four." He laughed.

"I'm worried about them... And you... You're not human... How are we supposed to live among humans?" Tears welled up in your eyes..

"Maybe I'll never be human and you'll never be a snow leopard or any other animal. Our children too. But in my world, what we have is normal."

He sat next to you, rubbing your cheek with the tip of his tail and then his thumb.

"We have few humans, but some agree to be mate for someone. Just like you. Have you ever wondered why there aren't any humans with animal attributes around here?"

You nodded and sideways.

"This is because each mate will look after his partner. Looking for a partner, we also go here. And when we find it, we come back to us knowing that it will be best there."

"Couldn't you have told me earlier?" You asked with a slightly furrowed brow.

He tilted his head back with a strange expression as if he was thinking.

"I always forgot that... And I also thought not to stress you when you're pregnant..." He scratched his chin as he thought.

Nice of him. Because that would be stressful.

"Our world is like this. Only instead of people there are beastmen. People like me walk the streets. Everything is the same. I have my own big house and lots of money. It's the perfect start for our family!"

You saw his big smile on his face.

"You want to..."

"Come with me to my world! And let's live as we should live! Together with the children! Nothing will ever happen there! Our children will be wonderful there! My clan will be happy!"

Gojo Clan, Snow Leopards Clan. A whole family like him?

Well, apparently he has a distant cousin who is an ordinary cat... There aren't that many snow leopards.

In your world, they would never accept that.

In his world, a man as a mate is something normal. You gave life to two more snow leopards. Or will there be more in the future?

You love Satoru and your children. You want the best for them.

You never want to leave them and you don't want anything to happen to them.

You will be the perfect mate and the perfect mother.

You want their happiness so much.

That snow leopard is your snow leopard. your mate. your love.

The only place where you can live the way you want is his world. A world where you don't have to go back to people and you will see their smiles. The smiles of your whole family. Children and your Satoru.

You agreed.

You will live in his world.

Because you love that snow leopard. And that snow leopard loves you.

Taglist: @tohsri; @hren17; @weebotaku21; @yihona-san06; @mikkies; @raysheil; @dreeamiea; @safaia-47; @porridgesblog; @weebnk-popper; @mc-reborn

[spectrumgarden]

I keep thinking about how no one seems to think about nuance when it comes to like, the concept of "autistic traits / symptoms" and discussing them, and how that is intertwined with the push to not consider it a disability. And its complex to discuss, but here's my convoluted thoughts. I know it's long but I hope people will take the time to read it.

There are in fact people who do fit some commonly associated with autism traits that are not impaired by them. Let's make up a guy, for a second:

They like routine and repetition a lot but easily handle change in them. For example they wear the same set of clothes for years with no desire to ever branch out, but if you made them wear something else they wouldnt really be bothered by it as long as they dont think it's super ugly, etc. They like to watch the same movies over and over but happily agree to watch other things with their friends when spending time together, and are engaged and interested in those movies. Etc. They speak very formally or choose "complicated" words for things that could be expressed easier. They however do not face problems with communication beyond annoyance of others because they're able to rephrase things easily to be understood, and they also have a normal back and forth in conversations and initiate conversations normally. They sometimes engage in subtle self stimulating behaviors and recognize the desire to do so during boring or stress inducing times (which pretty much everyone does, btw). They dislike loud environments but do not respond with melt- or shutdowns or any other "severe" reactions, and while for example preferring to go to a museum over a club, they easily go through their daily life in busy areas like city centers, shops or cultural events like parades without issues beyond like, mild annoyance and no desire to stay for longer than necessary. They have strong interests in seemingly random topics and spend quite some time researching or engaging with those, but they do not view the world through the lense of said interest, they do not neglect caring for themselves or fulfilling academic or professional responsibilities because they are so engrossed in their interests, they are easily able to hold conversations about other topics. I could go on.

This person would not be diagnosed with autism by any doctor who pays attention to the impairment clause of the diagnosis. They would probably be told "you're subclinical / you do not meet enough criteria / ..." While his person would probably relate quite a bit to (parts of) descriptions of (level 1 and / or low support needs and / or high masking) autism. And this is an imaginary person I made up, but these people obviously exist (and as a side note, are probably what people refer to when they talk about "everyone being a little autistic" etc)

And this person being told they're not autistic might be upset. Because clearly, they have so many autistic traits. They relate to so many videos! But the thing is! There is no impairment! The one thing that connects all of the symptoms related to autism to the actual diagnosis. This does not mean they do not in fact relate to the autistic experience. This does not mean these parts of their life or personality are fake / non existent / not important to who they are and how they experience things. But it is important to differentiate. If they consider themselves autistic, if the world considers them autistic, it waters down the definition to a point of being categorically useless from a medical standpoint, from a standpoint of figuring out who needs support and in what ways. Who needs (early) intervention, who needs extra support in school or at work or at home or in public.

And like. Humanity at large will probably always want to shove themselves into random categories. "Which character are you like?" "What is your personality style?" "What is your star sign?" or "which sports team do you support", and countless more come to mind. I dont think this imaginary person is wrong or silly for wanting to find a category of people they are like, or recognizing this similarity with some autistic people. I wouldnt even mind if they made up a non-clinical category / group of people who relate to autistic experiences without the impairment. It would get the point across that it is a group of people with shared experiences, but it is not the same as autism.

However autism is increasingly treated like something thats just a personality type without impairment, by people online and offline. And when they go "this is an autism symptom" without nuance, without looking at the need for impairment, or even differential diagnosis, it spreads that attitude. "Liking to eat the same foods is an autistic trait"... or is it normal to have food preferences to a degree if it does not cause you stress to eat new foods, if you are capable of eating other food if hungry and presented with them and not the food you prefer? Or is this person anorexic and their mind has created categories of "allowed to eat" and "not allowed to eat" based on arbitrary categories relating to their fear of weight gain? "Only eating with small spoons at home is a common autistic trait"... or is it a harmless preference as long as you are still able to eat food outside a strict routine set up with zero possible deviations? Or is it a person with OCD and eating with small spoons is a compulsive behavior for some sort of intrusive thoughts?

I could go on forever. But in the end, these short sentences are all the same. They are, at the same time: autistic experiences and allistic experiences, because they are so non specific. They are watered down and any additional information is removed.

autism is about a specific combination of experiences that impair you. That's literally all it is. It does not automatically turn us into a category of "other" that is fully not possible to relate to, because we are human too. And some of it will be relatable to people that are not autistic!

And there is value in discussions of experiences of autistic people that go beyond the impairment, as long as we do not forget about it, or treat it as secondary instead of the defining factor. I dont mind if autistic people bond over something they're not impaired by, that they see as a common experience, for example not easily going along with authority. Being creative. Preferring the small spoon (without being impaired by it while having other impairments), whatever, and call those common autistic experiences. But those are not the pillars of what make up autism and solely relating to them should not be your reason for calling yourself autistic. Neither should relating to commonly impairing symptoms without being impaired by your version of them. The impairments resulting from abnormal development are what makes someone autistic.

There needs to be more nuance, detail, when discussing autism symptoms. And the push to, at the very least, expand autism into an area of experiences that do not cause impairment of any kind, or worse claim it never caused impairment, need to stop. It does not help anyone.

I genuinely think part of the whole "everyone is autistic these days" crowd who likes to go after people and invalidate them has picked up on some of this, but they lack the skills to criticize it for what it actually is and / or they want there to be a simple solution, which is that everyone who calls themselves autistic online who does not fit their very stereotypical view is faking. They are wrong of course. But I dont think this comes out of nowhere. There is something to criticize about how autism is treated in many circles, especially among younger people.

I'm really not sure how to end this post because I like to come to some conclusions on my long posts but just. Uhm. The way some people treat "autistic traits" as completely unrelated to the impairment they cause while staying exclusively autistic traits is wrong. The way people try to redefine autism is harmful and in the end not needed because they could simply invent other words for that experience.

[allineedisonedream]

omg i stumbled across your blog recently and your art is gorgeous!!! i love the style and the way you draw dick in particular so much!

also i couldn’t stop thinking about your tangled au it’s so clever! it got me thinking of an au of your au (if that’s presumptuous or annoying feel free to ignore this ask lol). but it always bugged me slightly in the original tangled that rapunzel could remember stuff from when she was a baby bc babies can’t do that lol (obv she also has magic glowing hair so suspension of disbelief and all). but what if dick was actually older when slade (or court of owls tbh take your pick) kidnapped him? like he came under bruce’s care just like in canon after his parents died, and was around long enough to become brothers with jason, and tim had just been adopted when dick and bruce have a fight and dick storms off. not as bad as comics and bruce doesn’t kick him out bc he’s not an ass lol, but maybe dick wants to do more with his powers and bruce is overprotective, so dick storms out fully intending to come back, but slade has been watching him and takes this chance to kidnap him. and when bruce goes looking for him all he finds is a bloodstain and no dick.

and obviously dick is very keen on escaping the creepy dude who’s kidnapped him, but slade brings him to the basement of the tower and begins to torture/brainwash him sort of like the apprentice arc. and over time bc slade sucks and is good at the whole brainwashing thing, dick slowly looses his memories and eventually can’t remember a life outside of the tower at all. and he continues to grow up in the tower with slade as his “father” and he always has this sense that something isn’t quite right, but he can’t put his finger on it. like he has all these weird torture-like scars that he can’t remember getting, but slade tells him that it was from when he was young and before slade rescued him, and that’s why the world is so scary and dangerous and he has to stay in the tower where slade can protect him. and ofc he does bc slade loves him and wouldn’t lie to him right? and he doesn’t know why the name richard doesn’t fit him quite right, or why his heart races when slade appears unexpectedly (that’s how love works right?). but he stays in the tower like he’s supposed to until wally and roy show up.

and slowly after traveling with them he begins to get weird flashes of both painful and good memories, and strange sensations of deja vue. while meanwhile bruce is still all brooding and mourning bc it was his fight that led dick to run away. and added angst is that jason and tim actually remember and miss dick, even though tim had just started to get to know him. and damian is angsty bc he’s the only one never to have met dick (handwavy on the ages just like dc lol). meanwhile the kingdom still remembers and mourns the charismatic adorable prince that they lost.

and then when slade eventually catches up to and captures wally and roy, dick offers to give himself up and promises never to escape if slade spares them. and it’s extra sad bc he finally remembers what he’d be giving up. he remembers bruce and alfred and his brothers, and he remembers all the trauma slade put him through, and he’s willing to go through it all again to save wally and roy (bc is it really dick grayson if he isn’t super self sacrificing lol). and ofc it eventually ends happily and dick is delighted to go back to his family with his new friends and see his old brothers and meet his new brother all with a new haircut.

but yeah overall your au wormed its way into my brain and i couldn’t stop thinking about it lol, it’s so good!!!!

Ahjajfk thank youuuu<3

And OMG, this is amazing! Beautifully written, yes, absolutely love all the details, especially Slade's and Dick's relationship in all this. I've actually thought about him being taken later on so Tim and Jason would also remember Dick. But I think I started overthinking everything and made it way too complicated (I think I wrote about 20 pages of notes and stuff, I kinda got lost in them. I was/am pretty obsessed with this AU), so I just reeled back a bit and stayed close to the plot. It also simplifies things; I don’t have to rewrite the whole story, which, with my overthinking skills, would take forever. 💀

And that part with Slade making Dick forget who he was is great. I kept the whole AU pretty open with some stuff for imagination. My running idea at the moment is that he got sick when he was 8, so Bruce found the flower, and later Slade kidnapped him, making him forget everything and thinking Slade is his father.

But yeah, OMG, this is awesome. I totally love it. I tried to make it as detailed as possible story-wise, but at the same time, I really needed to limit myself to finish fast because I was scared I would lose interest or don’t have the patience haha But Now I’m kinda even more excited about how people will react to the next chapters. 👀

[nicki0kaye]

I just wish that they’d modelled Kallus more off his VA, David Oyelowo, so that he could just pick up the part in live action, bc I’m gonna have to find it in my heart to love some look-a-like that will probably sound entirely different, all bc they made Kallus white. Like, I get it, the optics in 2014 or whatever of having a black villain in star wars is a lot different than it is today, bc even if Kallus got a redemption arc, I don’t think it was decided from the jump he would have one. Also fan racism would completely change how ppl reacted to Kallus, nevermind how that would complicate any shipping with Zeb (cross-species shipping is already rare in canon, adding real world racism to the mix would effect fan reactions)

I just DONT CARE, and I WISH IT WERE DIFFERENT. I wish that David could jusT TAKE THE JOB and PLAY HIS BOY, but he CAN’T and thats BULLSHIT

like--there’s this fucking interview with him where he talks about how fans coined ‘Hot Kallus’ after season 3 and were DISAPPOINTED when they finally met the voice behind ‘Hot Kallus’ and he didn’t SAY it was bc racism, but ITS BC RACISM. THIS MAN IS HANDSOME AS HELL. 

HE COULD SO EASILY GROW THE ICONIC MUTTON CHOPS, HE WOULD KILL IT and I don’t think anyone is even considering giving him the job bc people would lose their minds over ‘accuracy’. 

I say this with utter sincerity. I Do Not Care how much effort I’ve put in to learn how to draw Kallus’ stupid face, I would throw it all in the garbage and happily teach myself how to draw David Oyelowo if he got the part. I know he won’t. I’m so angry he won’t. He deserves to be adored. 

maybe I should just draw him in Kallus’ outfits and pretend, idk

[pixaho]

Hi,how are you today? Did you have a good weekend?I was wondering if you can do the Ice alphabet NWSF (I think that’s how you spell it)thing?

NSFW Alphabet Headcannon | Ice

♥ A/N | Hiii, I'm doing good! My weekend is good! I hope you are doing equally as good. I will happily do this because I am weirdly attracted to both Ice and Sarah (she may be next, I don't know) and I'm really excited to do this one soooo HHEHEHEH! Enjoy. Also, if anyone can recommend me a site where I can watch all of the movies (besides Netflix) and the show... that would be really appreciated. I haven't started the show..

♥ Warnings | Smut obvs <3

M.LIST H&L LIST

☺ A - Aftercare

Even if he seems closed off and cold, he's actually decent with aftercare. I mean, even before he met you and had Mighty Warriors, he took care of his brother. He's really good at taking care of others. And bonus, he'll cuddle with you after.

☺ B - Body Part

Definitely your thighs but it's also your face. Ice likes laying in between your legs whether it's during the spicy tango or not. It's his favorite area to lay. Your face is pretty obvious, he'll just be staring at it all day as if its the most amusing thing ever.

☺ C - Cum

More of a clean guy so even when you're doing it together he'll put a towel beneath you. To speak of cum, he prefers to pull out and (if he isn't wearing a condom, which is rare) cum on your stomach or back depending on the situation. If you're not on birth control, he will wear condoms every time. It isn't that he doesn't think he could be a good father, it's because considering his line of work, he has a target on his back.

☺ D - Dirty Secret

He doesn't really have a dirty secret that you don't know of besides having very, almost real, dirty daydreams about using your body. He won't ever tell you unless you're both drunk, in which you'll probably forget about it anyways.

☺ E - Experience

Surprise surprise, our baby boy is not at all experienced whatsoever. Even when he was a teenager, he wasn't doing normal teen activities (He literally was a Mercenary) so he was bit embarrassed when you asked him about it.

☺ F - Favorite Position

Cowgirl and missionary, he isn't too picky about the potions so usually you can try new stuff, but his favorite positions are definitely Cowgirl and missionary.

☺ G - Goofy

He is pretty serious when you guys are doing it, but if you do crack a joke or two he'll be okay with it but majority of the time you spend together, he's quite serious.

☺ H - Hair

Quite the clean shaven dude, as said before, he's a clean type of guy. He tends to keep himself more clean than everybody else around him. As for you, he doesn't really care because he knows hair is natural and he loves you.

☺ I - Intimacy

He's iffy about romance but he is really romantic. Even when he doesn't realize it, he can be. It's hard for intimacy to be that way for him due to how he grew up.

☺ J - Jack off (Masturbation)

He does it all the time, but he only does it in private. He doesn't like public stuff unless he's with you. He'll also do it if you guys do mutual masturbation (if you don't know what this is, you basically don't touch each other and instead masturbate, watching each other.)

☺ K - Kinks

Believe me, this is not a vanilla man. Ice is a switch, he'll be a top if you want to be dominated and he will be a bottom if you want to dominate. He's also into blind folds for some reason, even if he can't see your face (which he loves) he'll imagine it. And... surprise surprise, he's into face fucking. He enjoys having you sit on his face, or him laying between your thighs and going ham, holding you in place as you squirm.

☺ L - Location

As said before, he doesn't like doing stuff in public so most likely you'll be fucking in your shared bedroom or if you are at the Mighty Warriors, in Ice's "office".

☺ M - Motivation

Anytime you feel like you want his hands over you is his motivation, or when he's done day dreaming. This boy is slightly complicated.

☺ N - No

No to dirty kinks (piss, blood, shit) but he will spit on you if thats what you want, it icks him tho.

☺ O - Oral

Loves giving more than receiving. For Ice, he believes you deserve more pleasure than he does. He will let you give if you want but majority of the time he'll give.

☺ P - Pace

It truly depends on you. :)

☺ Q - Quickies

He prefers to take his time with you but he'll settle for a quicky if you're both too tired.

☺ R - Risk

Ice only cares about his reputation around the others, but with you, it doesn't matter. He'll try to keep things under control so his reputation isn't ruined.

☺ S - Stamina

ALLLLLL NIIIIIIIIIIGHT LOOOOOOOOOOONG! Probably like 2 - 4 hours max..

☺ T - Toys

He doesn't use them. Most likely won't.

☺ U - Unfair

Not that unfair. Not unfair at all. Besides when he overstimulates you... then he's unfair.

☺ V - Volume

He tries to keep quiet but when he can't, let the whistle blow! He's more on the quiet whimpering side of moans (I just love whimpering men omgggg)

☺ W - Wild Card

You best motherfuckin' believe he'll go ALL DAY AND NIGHT when he sees you wearing sweats and an oversized t-shirt because HOOOOOOOOOOOOLY It turns him on. (Personally, I am offended we did not get to see this man or any other man of H&L in sweats.)

☺ X - X-ray

:) 6.5 inches.

☺ Y - Yearning

Literally will drop everything just to come and fuck you, whether its out of frustration or just because he wants to. He always makes time for you, except when he's fighting.

☺ Z - Zzz

He won't fall asleep until you do. It's a given, he wants to make sure you are okay before he is. Scrumptious little ex-mercenary cutie <3

Mutuals | @talusional

[that-ari-blogger]

Chekhov's Gattling Gun, Part 2

Usually, the climax of a story is the climax of someone's life. Right? There will be moments afterwards, but this is the main thing to happen to the protagonist, and they will spend the rest of their time winding down.

And yet, life doesn't work that way. Happily ever after can happen, but its usually more complex. New problems come into being and old ones might fade without every really being addressed. So, what if there was a climax to a story that mirrored this? How would that happen?

It would probably be about how to move forwards. It might suggest that there will be more trouble ahead, you just need to bear this with a smile and move on with your life. Push through to a greater tomorrow.

Maybe the antagonistic force is centred around regression? Maybe they want to preserve the past at any cost, even killing those whom they claim they want to protect.

You might end up with something like The Trial, from Stray Gods: The Role Playing Musical.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Stray Gods pays homage to a ton of Ancient Greek stories. The Odyssey is a notable one, as Adrift is a reference to Odysseus and his journey. But this moment is, at least in my eyes, reminiscent of the Orestia.

The Oresteia details the death of Agamemnon after the Iliad (because he was a wanker), and the consequences thereof. You can see the theme of choice and consequences pretty boldly there. The story is named after Orestes, the exiled son (it's complicated) of Agamemnon, and the murder spiral that leads to the invention of the Athenian justice system at the hands of Athena. Overly Sarcastic Productions has a fantastic video on the subject.

In any case, the story's climax decides how Orestes will go forwards, specifically alive, because of a murder he committed in revenge, because its technically a tragedy. This is reflected in Stray Gods, with the climax featuring a trial, with Athena serving as a judge, over a murder that the protagonist "committed".

The difference here is Athena's position in this. Because Calliope was killed on Athena's orders, in an attempt to preserve the past. This is a complete heel face turn from the Oresteia. Now instead of changing the world for the better, Athena is trying to keep it the same. But I would argue this isn't out of character.

There is another theme at work here, and I will get there in a moment.

Before that, however, the callbacks. My favourite is Freddie's moment, because it is Freddie, not Grace, that is Athena's antithesis. Grace falls in the middle of themes, unable to choose, unable to decide. She gets swept up in a murder plot, in which everyone is thinking grand scale, and wrapped in complex relationships with the past and future. Athena wants to control the future to hang on to the past, for example.

And Freddie doesn't care about that. Freddie is there for Grace, that's it, she's concerned with the little things. She believes that life will find a way, and you just have to ride the waves. It is notable that this is a version of the song where you, as Grace, have very little say in the events. Grace has relinquished control and will do as Freddie says. She will make her move, and await the result.

"Only, if only you knew

that you can't force the future"

I also love that little look at Grace as she says that, I take it as acceptance and forgiveness, momentarily, for the revival against her will.

But I also find the wording fascinating. Athena is the goddess of wisdom, and yet the response to her is "if only you knew." Wisdom should have gotten her this far, but something is holding her back.

Look at Apollo's body language here. This is the tune of Phantom Pains, a song notable for its deeply morose atmosphere, and now Apollo sings the tune with a bit more oomph, but his posture is... relaxed? He stands there, chest bare, heart open, holding out a hand to Athena.

And look at Athena's response to it. She's expecting a fight, something to stop her. But instead, Apollo is calm, and quiet. He's reassuring in posture, in contrast to what he's saying. Apollo means no harm here, there's a care for the enemy there that I really like.

"You're lost, little boy.

You've lost all perspective

You're ready to throw this away,

You call that wise."

For a woman who's whole thing is reason and debate, Athena's response to Apollo's question is fascinating. She doesn't answer it at all. Apollo asks if she is still a voice of wisdom, and Athena's response is an insult.

I think she knows she's losing it, and like Apollo does earlier in the musical, she is lashing out. "The best defence is a good offence" is a sentiment with debatable success in war, but in conversations like this, it is foolish.

Pan represents living in the moment. He is a smooth talker, here for the dancing type of character. But if you linger around a beach long enough, you will probably get an idea of what the waves are like, and what might happen when the wind changes.

"I'm here for the dance,

But I don't want to dance

with blood on my hands."

Athena is trying to keep everything the same, to crystalise a singular moment in time, and while all the other idols are suffering, so the obviously don't want to stay motionless, Pan is the truest embodiment of what Athena is trying to protect. Athena wants the carefree life of dancing, and that moment personified looks back at her and calls her out for destroying it. The dance isn't fun when people are being killed.

"Lost little girls, they dream up a future.

They're sure how they feel, sure their vision's true"

Who, exactly, is Persephone talking about here? Because it could fit Grace, as a compliment, to say Grace is sure of herself. Or it could be directed at herself and Athena.

Persephone was a character who saw everything as a threat and a weapon to be used against her, she tried to get back a past that was lost. But here is Athena, dressed in armour for a trial, ready to fight at the slightest hint of trouble, trying to hold on to a moment that has long passed, if it ever existed at all.

This reading is made even more apparent by Persephone's words in a different version of the song.

"A great shiny throne, but still in the darkness.

Kill her today, and Athena... that's you too."

The fact that they're standing in front of Hades' empty throne is poignant, because its a symbol of an empty ambition. Persephone has brought Athena to a baren kingdom and effectively said "this is what I wanted, you are the same as me."

I mentioned another theme in effect here, and that would be trauma. Athena has repeatedly taken the fall for the idols, over and over again, for hundreds of years. And she may be an idol, but she is very human. Of course, she is going to slip up from time to time, but she has internalised it in a martyr complex.

When Athena is challenged on her views, the screen goes red to mimic her blind rage in possibly the least subtle metaphor in the entire musical.

I wouldn't exactly call this a cycle of abuse, but it's not spontaneous either. Athena is lashing out at those closest to her, because she is scared, and she can't get through to them. Athena is lost, and the rest of the idols are getting caught in the crossfire of her own mind falling apart on itself.

"This lost little girl,

she's got a few tricks now.

She's taken some punches,

she's made some friends."

Once again, this melody comes back, now accompanied by a drum to hammer home the anger and the betrayal. The power of the muse has always been to empathise, not merely to make people sing. The music is a gimmick, this is what a muse does, and this is why Grace was chosen. Grace takes all of the pain and fear and throws it back at Athena, calling her out for it.

But the repeated wording here is important. Grace knows Athena is lost, and is trying to talk to her, maybe to help her, maybe not. But there is that recognition there. Grace has empathised with Athena, and is weaponizing that.

This is backed up here, in another version of this segment. It's a call back to The Ritual.

"I won't have you dying for me.

That's not how this should work,

I need you to see,

That you're lost in a moment, lost in a song"

I love that Athena is represented in the same way Ares was. All red (Ares had a bit of orange, but you get the point), and where Ares held Aphrodite in his hands, under his control, Athena now holds all of the idols. Their fate is up to her, and they're begging her to not destroy them.

The moments when everyone comforts Grace is cathartic for a number of reasons. First, up, it is a relief from all of the red and horror movie soundtrack of Athena's delusions. But more importantly, this is the moment in which you realise what you have achieved here.

You have saved Aphrodite and Eros from self-destruction. You have brought Asterion and Hecate together. You have made Apollo and Persephone get over themselves. And, maybe, just maybe, you have reconciled with your oldest friend.

You have made everyone in the trial room a better person by your actions, and now they stand up to help her in return. And this fading reveal that they are all still there, still behind Athena is empowering.

It doesn't matter how much the matron of the idols can posture, they have all changed. And now they are offering that aid, that chance to change and be better, to Athena. This is not a story in which everyone gets a good hit in on the villain before they are dramatically killed by the hero or fall from a great hight; this is a story about healing, and it would be callous to not extend that healing to Athena.

I love all the little callbacks in this one scene, the eye is Medusa's thing, the lighthouse for Apollo. I don't need to point them all out. What I want to talk about is the general mis en scene. There is a distinctly storybook aesthetic that these characters are holding onto. In contrast to Athena.

You would think that Athena, the person trying to get back to the past, would be associated with this aesthetic, but no. Athena has been cast out of this idyllic world by her own hand, and everyone else is trying to get her to see that.

"My Olympus is gone,

And you're all looking on,

At a stranger wearing my face.

My Olympus is gone,

now I'm some other one.

Just how long has she been in place?"

This is the Adrift tune again. I think that's so cool. This is Athena in the same place Grace was at the beginning of the musical. She's lost, and she knows it, and she doesn't know what to do.

Athena is in a rut of her own actions, and it's heartbreaking.

Look at the scale of Athena here. She is dwarfed by her own statue, and her own helmet. She is fragile, and small, next to the enormity of her image. And that image is covered in enough blood to drown someone. All of this serves as a fantastic metaphor to show just how crushed Athena is by her own guilt.

"I was wrong and now I don't know what the right thing is.

I leave it up to you what to do with this."

"I forgive you, Athena"

Final Thoughts

Bloody hell, this was long. Thank you for reading this far.

I really love this song, and while I think The Ritual is my favourite, The Trial definitely wins my award for being the most technically impressive, both on a musical level, and on a storytelling and visual level. There is so much cool stuff going on here that I didn't have the brain capacity to talk about in full.

Which brings me to my final thing. I would like to know what you think of Stray Gods, and I would like to create a little collage of opinions other than my own. So, send me a message or comment on this post your analysis, or even reblog this. It could be of a single line, or an entire song, or the entire story. And in two weeks time, when I put up my own final thoughts on the musical as a whole, I will show some other views as well, as a kind of collaborative discussion.

I'm going to be using It's Time to frame my analysis next week, so stick around if that interests you.

Previous - Next

[possibilistfanfiction]

More of Avatrice and their dog? Or whatever soft, everyday life stuff you wanna write most tbh.

[baby korra! also, there were a bunch of prompts (all of which i loved!) that asked for some more about ava & disability, so that's in here too!]

/

'okay, i know you're here because we genuinely need groceries and i refuse to stick to a list.' beatrice suppresses a smile but nods anyway — soft and gorgeous this morning, in sweatshorts and an oversized t-shirt with the sleeves cuffed a few times, pristine sneakers, because it's hot outside, a little cap on backward. sometimes you don't want to wear shorts if you're in your chair, but today is too warm, even on the water, to want to wear pants. you admit that you like your arms, still, maybe even more, in tanks, so, in your opinion, you're gonna be the hottest couple in the whole foods. you take a moment to sigh, happily, and then get back on track with your mission. 'but you can't help me and korra at all.'

'i know,' she says, unfazed and understanding. 'i'll just be right behind you monitoring your questionable deviations from the list. despite that, i don't have to come in at all if you don't want.'

'no, that's fine. it'll be good to practice with you there in case we need to slow down.'

'okay, my love.'

she turns the car's ignition off and then gets out, comes around to the passenger side and gets your chair situated for you by your door. it makes you ache, a little, because this is your fucking life; you've hurt for so, so long, and now this beautiful person you love so deeply has to care for you in ways that you hate, in ways that you have been terrified of since you were seven and woke up alone and unable to move and unable to grieve, or see the stars or the sea. but — bea holds your hands just like your physical therapist had shown you, a transfer that keeps you safe and doesn't put a particular amount of strain on beatrice either. and all she does, after you make sure you're situated comfortably, is kiss the top of your head, almost absentmindedly, and then hands you your reusable tote bags.

'thanks, bea.'

she just hums, waves a hand to say of course, to say i don't mind, to say i am thinking of you always with love; this isn't any different, to say you're the most incredible person i've ever known. you know these things because she tells you all the time, and she shows you all the time; you've gone over it again and again in therapy, too, beatrice sitting patiently on the couch next to you and holding your hand while you sort through your messy feelings around mobility and pain that have, honestly, never seemed messy or complicated for her: she loves you, and that's the beginning and end of it.

you tug on her shirt, just for a moment; she smells so good, like her cologne and your laundry detergent and your lavender lotion and, always, a little like the ocean. she puts a gentle hand to the back of your head and lets you rest, your ear against her ribcage.

'if all goes well, which it will,' she says, moving back a little and looking clearly into your eyes; you love her, 'we can get brunch after? korra will probably be tired but we could do some neutrality training? if you're not feeling great, we can pick something up too. i could use a nap, honestly.'

'you slept until 10 am.'

'i can always sleep more,' she says, and you have to laugh.

you get korra out of the van, easy with its automatic doors and her happy little expression. she has her service dog in training DO NOT PET, I'M WORKING vest on — already getting a little small on her constantly growing body — and when you tell her it's time to work, she obediently sits at your right side in a perfect, small heel. you give her a piece of kibble — her breakfast this morning, because anything more interesting than kibble makes her kind of lose it and doesn't help with neutrality, which is funny more than anything, but counterproductive.

'well, i'll take the stairs,' bea says, 'so you can handle the elevator on your own with korra. meet you at the south entrance.'

it's kind of tactical, and you want to laugh, but she's already striding off purposefully and you shrug at korra, with her too-big paws and the wagging white tip of her tail. 'let's go,' you say, and, although she's on a short lead, made especially for handlers in chairs, she doesn't pull or sniff, just trots right at the right wheel, and automatically sits while you wait for the elevator. 'good girl, korra,' you praise and feed her another piece of kibble, much to her calm delight.

the elevator is new and big, so it's easy, and beatrice is patiently waiting by the south entrance with a cart for you, as promised, on her phone — probably looking up highlights from some tennis match she didn't get to catch this morning; she nods very seriously, which makes you smile. she looks up and sees you and then waits for you to situate the small cart in front of you, like you'd practiced in occupational therapy too, using the front of the chair to push the cart pretty effectively.

korra seems a little nervous about the cart, mostly because it's new and you're still a big clumsy with it, but you feed her a lot of kibble and reluctantly get all the produce beatrice had put on your list, but your also joyfully add chocolate covered dates and a bottle of champagne that the store had so nicely left right by strawberries. you look back at bea, who rolls her eyes, but she doesn't move to stop you, just walks silently and patiently, comfortable without any urgency, her hands in her pockets and her bangs messy beneath her backwards cap, her freckles spread down her arms now. you've used the chair enough by this point that you have calluses on your hands and your arms don't get tired or sore if you're just doing tasks, especially if the space is relatively accessible.

one day, korra will be bigger and way more coordinated, but you still practice with her getting a box of quinoa — beatrice's addition to the list, unfortunately — and bringing it to you, which she does pretty well: she drops it twice but happily completes her task, and you almost cry when you pet her soft, small head and offer her more praise and a few pieces of kibble. she ignores everyone, even when they try to talk to her. bea sends everyone withering glares when they do so, which is funnier to you than it really should be.

but for now, korra follows you attentively and, other than a few things you have to ask bea to get you from high on the shelves — which, if you came by yourself, wouldn't be hard to ask an employee or someone else in the same aisle; it loosens something in your chest, the ease with which you will be able to move through the world, even on your most limited days — everything goes off without a hitch.

you get everything on your list — mostly boring — and then add everything fun you want; bea eats all of her snacks too, especially if she takes an edible, and you know she'll pout eventually if you don't get chocolate and popcorn. korra heels attentively as you pay, and you think that, very soon, she won't need her lead at all in places she goes often. you work with your trainer all the time but it fills you with a sense of pride that you get to work with her so much, that she's so smart and good and loves you, clearly and deeply.

you pay and the clerk happily loads your bags into your cart for you. it's — it's not bad. it's not easy, but it's also not impossible, and bea gives you a goofy high five when you get outside.

'that was amazing, ava.'

'it was — it was amazing, wasn't it?'

she's so excited she's vibrating slightly, you think, even though she had really kept her cool in the store. her smile is so big and she put her sunglasses on but you can tell her eyes flash with joy anyway. 'it was. do you want me to take the stairs, or can i take the elevator with you?'

'come with us, of course.'

she squeezes your shoulder and then lets you press the button, lets you push the cart, lets you get situated with korra before she steps on as well. she asks if you want any help with putting the groceries into the trunk, and you're sure you could do it yourself, but she's here and proud of you and — 'can you, like, do a few bicep curls with each bag? that would be so helpful.'

she laughs, bright, and rolls her eyes, but she does appease you anyway, taking two of your tote bags in her hands and then lifting them a few times.

'ugh, perfect.'

'you're so ridiculous,' she says, even though she clearly lets you ogle as she loads the trunk.

'you got plans for after brunch?'

she hums, considering. 'maybe getting up to something with my very sexy girlfriend.'

'getting up to something?'

she shrugs. 'whatever you want.'

'oh, i want to fully fuck.'

she grins, leans down to cup your face in her palms and kisses you fully on the mouth, way too dirty for a whole foods parking lot, but you are not complaining.

'do we need brunch? we could order in.'

'i'm not opposed to that,' she says, nonchalant but you know she's probably horny already. 'do you want to drive?'

'i — yeah, if that's okay?'

'i wouldn't have asked if it wasn't,' she says, like it's a fact. and it is.

she just waits in the passenger seat, on her phone again, while you get korra situated and then put down the electric ramp. a minivan isn't the sexiest car — beatrice has a sleek, fast volvo hybrid that you're a little jealous of sometimes — but you learned how to drive and then had to learn how to drive again with hand controls. for as frustrating as it can be, some days, to have to learn so many different ways to do things, it's a life, and you can learn and practice and now, you get your chair into the car without any issue and transfer to the driver's seat easily. beatrice smiles at you, looking up from her phone where she is, indeed, checking tennis results.

you drive home while you bicker about what to order for brunch, and beatrice puts the groceries away while you get the chair out from the van and situate korra with a frozen lick mat, so she won't bother you. you wheel to your bedroom, a master beatrice had fully remodeled so it was on the first floor, without any frustration — i get to fix every small detail that bothers me, she had said, and genuinely meant, and, plus, you had gotten to watch her help your contractor blow out a wall and then put up shelves eventually.

when you get to the threshold, you gulp because beatrice is lounging on your bed in just a pair of pale blue boxers, a dark, wet patch between her legs. 'hi darling,' she says, and it's hard to scramble in your chair but you manage well enough, let her help you transfer quickly into bed, and the she hands you the soft wedge you'd bought a few months ago to help lift your hips. you nod once you're settled and tug her toward you; you kiss her chest and she kisses down your stomach and then settles between your legs.

and like, maybe things are different, maybe things suck a little, because you're in pain and there's a lot of thought that goes into tasks, but you come three times before you have to tug her up toward you and she kisses you, beautiful, with your taste on her tongue.

she rides your fingers and comes with her hand firmly on your throat, then flops down next to you with a sigh. 'our brunch has probably been outside for a while.'

you laugh. 'i can go check.'

'great,' she says, 'i'll move in... a while.'

you kiss her, laughing, and then brush her hair out of her eyes, scratch once, tenderly, along the shaved sides, tug fondly on an earlobe with one small stud. 'thank you, for today, my love.'

she touches your cheek tenderly. 'it's the same to me as any day. you ruin my grocery list and then i get to make love to you. can't complain.'

'i can,' you say, and her brows pinch in worry for a moment before you kiss the crease. 'i only came three times.'

she laughs, relieved. 'we have all afternoon. i can remedy that.'

you sigh. 'a pretty good life, huh?'

'oh, ava,' she says, 'yes. beyond my wildest dreams.'

[storkmuffin]

People not believing James and Miranda are romantic really baffles me as well. I get that its a plot twist that James loves Thomas but this isnt a plot twist where its you think person a loves person b but they actually love person c.

And like the evidence for them not being romantic is like what? That we dont really see them kiss? That the one time we are shown they are having sex its bad? Im pretty sure the sex scene is more to establish that James is not like the other pirates. And there are a plethora of reasons for why the sex was bad this one time instead of jumping to the conclusion they only have bad sex. For example james is wounded at the time. As for the kissing people dont need to kiss often to be in a romantic relationship. Anne and Jack dont kiss that much on the show either. And theres the fact everyone knows barlow is flints woman that would not have come out of nowhere.

Dont people like the poly aspect of it? Is it biphobia? I hope not because this is the best i have seen of a poly relationship in media, though I havent come across it a lot. Where i can clearly see how and why three people all love each other rather than it being a convenient way to end a love triangle where i feel like two of them dont care for each other that much.

Can I just say THANK YOU for giving me these Miranda-James thoughts? Because thank you.

Miranda Barlow and her ways of being loving, her ways of being romantic and sexual are all pretty unique and there's not a single thing about her that isn't complicated. In addition, she's a WOMAN woman, not girly, not crushing out, sexually liberated AND discreet about it, not constantly in the throes of some trembly emotion but is actually a very tough person, designed to be a fully grown lady - in sum, she's a bit hard to wrestle with for a lot of people. She's happily (very very much) married to a man and they adore each other as people AND ALSO for how they can together build a joint life they both like. There's a hard edge of pragmatism to her, which I find super hot, because I'm a hard edged pragmatic woman myself, but I think that makes it hard to see how romantic she actually is. The joy of the Thomas-James-Miranda poly connection for me is from the fact that these two men not only find her hot but they find her hardness and pragmatism hot. SO unusual. Second, she likes men who are bi, and doesn't seem to have much interest in monogamy or faithfulness at all. Again, non standard. Third, she DOES have a romantic relationship with James BUT there's always that constantly calcuating, assessing mind that she has - she approaches James because he's cute, she can tell he's a rule breaker and fucking around with rule breakers is ironically a good way to be discreet, AND she can see that he's crushing out on her husband, which she actually likes about him. She recruits James into the group project of protecting and enabling Thomas - that was part of the attraction. It's not a swooning, like, I must have you and will die without you type thing at all, which is generally the easily digestible formulation of romance. Moreover, Miranda uses sex in a variety of ways - for fun, for love, as stress relief, as a game, to make a point to a houseguest - and on pirate island she just does NOT have as many options as she used to in London, so I take it as, we saw her have "make Guthrie unhappy and I need an orgasm" sex rather than "express my desire for you" sex with Flint, which he fully accepted and uh, cooperated with.

And then there's the fact that shipping in most fandoms tends to be done by male-attracted women who want to just do yaoi (very valid, I do this in other fandoms, just not this one) and so it's kind of inconvenient to have to acknowledge that James Flint does actually have a romantic relationship with a woman and does actually have sexual attraction to women, so that may be motivating the desire to just dismiss their romantic connection out of hand.

By the way - I would recommend (unless you are a super very pro John Silver person in which case the episode comes with a warning) listening to this podcast episode made by @heycarrots (It's REALLY great, overall, as a podcast full stop). TLDR for our discussion - in that episode Dr. Tankard posits that James Flint's romantic orientation and real sex life is basically to participate in a group project - he loves being part of a group that is doing a thing, and that's where all his motivation, erotic energy, everything, comes from, and that analysis really works very well for my understanding of Flint.

[coderedblood]

So I love She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. It is beautiful, and I adore both how it handles relationships and redemption. No relationship is a perfect fairytale, but a plate of spaghetti; messy but wonderful. And redemption can come to anyone, as long as you’re willing to work for it. And sometimes it takes a lifetime and sometimes you aren’t forgiven, and all of that is okay. (Once Upon A Time also does it in an exemplary fashion with Regina Mills, who may’ve been the blueprint for complicated redemption in modern television.)

Anyway, I love the show, and its relationships, and today I’m doing…

ANGEL’S TOP 5 SHE-RA SHIPS!!

5. Scorfuma (Scorpia x Perfuma)

This ship is so wholesome. It is a huge refresher in SPOP; yes, like I said, the relationships here are worthwhile, but also difficult. Scorfuma is not that ship. It’s a beautiful femme lesbian falling in love at first sight with a magnificent butch lesbian. Another reason I love SPOP is because it subverts character stereotypes; Scorpia is butch as all hell and I wish she were real, because she is soft, sensitive, kind and sweet. Perfuma is assertive, self-confident, speaks her mind and does whatever she thinks is right regardless of what others think. (Although, she’s far from perfect and I don’t like how she treats Entrapta for a lot of the series.) Perfuma sees Scorpia for the wonderfully good person she is, and she falls in love with Scorpia for it. They are similar people, in which they’re both kind and sweet, but they are also noticeably different people. My mom says that a couple cannot be too similar or too different otherwise they won’t work, and Scorfuma is a perfect example of her wisdom.

4. Spinnetossa (Spinnerella x Netossa)

Spinnetossa should be every married couple’s endgame. I am sad that they didn’t get more screentime or lines, because they have the ideal marriage (next to the Addamses from The Addams Family and the Belchers from Bob’s Burgers and every marriage counselor should have these three couples in their waiting rooms as the couples to be like). This is a couple who loves and respects each other, and who are (rightfully, hehe) obsessed with each other. My favorite thing about them is their devotion to each other - as much as they wanna save the universe and magic, they are each other’s primary goal. They want to be together and want to keep each other safe and happy above all else. My favorite moment is where Spinnerella wins their bot-slaying contest and instead of getting annoyed, Netossa happily kisses her wife and calls her “my girl”. MELT LIKE 🧊 BABY!

3. Seamista (Mermista x Sea Hawk)

Oh my. If Spinnetossa are obsessed with each other, then Seamista is the definition of insanity. Sea Hawk is not immune to the flaws of Mermista, he loves her for all she is and celebrates her, singing her praises and building her up even if it just seems like silly simping (need me a person like that). Mermista is not immune to the positives of Sea Hawk even if she doesn’t act like it. She knows him to be a moral, kind, devoted, loving, caring and affectionate man, and shows it accordingly even if it seems to annoy her. (If it really did, you think they’d be a couple? 😉 ) She loves him, and I hate how people say she’s abusive to him. If their genders were flipped, it would be the definition of the gentle girl, brooding boy trope. Mermista has a whole kingdom (a crumbling one as she adds) on her shoulders, it would get to anyone! She appreciates Sea Hawk for sticking by and loving her, and they obviously care about each other very much.

2. Glimbow (Glimmer x Bow)

Glimbow is childhood friends turned romantic partners done RIGHT! Originally, I didn’t see it, but the hints were always there and they weren’t hints. They are legitimately friends but imo every good romantic relationship begins with and maintains friendship as the base. They go through hell together, with the loss of their parents (which Bow finds his and Glimmer finds hers, but for awhile, they’re alone together), an invasion and attack caused by Glimmer, and regaining magic in the universe. This ship shows that apologizing and working towards forgiveness is important part of any relationship. Glimmer will do anything to fix her mistake, and Bow forgives her because he loves her for every part of her, and deep down knows her guilt will always be the price she pays for that mistake. I love this ship for these reasons.

1. Entrapdak (Entrapta x Hordak)

My favorite ship in SPOP and it is above and beyond an ideal relationship for me. Like Glimbow, they were friends before they were lovers, but they wholeheartedly accept each other from the get-go. It isn’t about accepting flaws and positives - Entrapta sees Hordak as beautiful and wonderful because of his imperfections and she adores all of that in him, while Hordak worships Entrapta (oh you know he does) because she is the first person to accept him so readily for who he is. Not as a clone or a tool, as a person. He accepts her autism and immediately knows how brilliant and creative she is. They are constantly on each other’s minds as each other’s best friends, and they fall in love because of their imperfections. Just how they like it.

[mothmans-wedding-photographer]

Mothman's Buffy Rewatch: Season 2, Episodes 5, 6, and 7 "Reptile Boy", "Halloween" and "Lie to Me"

Reptile Boy

Ok I actually watched this episode last week and forgot to write a post about it lol my bad

Anyway Buffy and Cordelia get drugged! Horrifying!

Damn Giles let Buffy have fun she's fucking 17 and facing death every day

Kind of love Cordelia and Buffy sort of starting a friendship

Is the snake like. A metaphor for dick. Like the club is dangerous because you'll get drugged and then men will take advantage of you with the "snake"?

Especially since its university age men trying to date high schoolers like freaks

And then there's the guy who told buffy not to talk to the snake because she's a woman and then gets the shit beat out of him get fucked shitidiot

I wish he died horribly <3 misogyny is punishable by death if you're a fictional character in my book tbh

Damn they've really been sacrificing women for centuries, i originally thought this was a newer group due to the lack of old people

Halloween

Xander is such a loser lol at least tell Buffy thank you for saving you from getting the lights beat out of him

Cordelia and Angel interactions are so funny to me 😭😭

Honestly I really feel Willow when she feels uncomfortable in revealing clothing. I want to be, but it's hard

Yo Oz and Willow first conversation

Noooo the poor old lady 😭 at least she's fine

Princess Buffy is so silly but kind of annoying and Army Xander is better than real Xander if I'm being honest

I think princess buffy should've had a moment where she accidentally hurt someone or broke something and was surprised and confused because she's just a weak woman (in her words) and she doesn't know she's the slayer

Honestly seeing Buffy like this makes me insanely uncomfortable and I don't know why? I'm just not used to it ig

ETHAN THE GUY GILES HAS BEEF WITH I FORGOT ABOUT HIM

GILES JUST FUCKING PUNCHES HIM I LOVE IT

"Hi honey, I'm home :)" iconic but it also made me think of the song "Honey I'm Home"

Beat his ass Buffy! I love to hate Spike

Oz already being infatuated with Willow is so cute

Tbh I think this was a really cool episode concept in general

Lie to Me

Damn this kid knows stranger danger. Almost wasn't enough to save him though rare Angel W

I kind of love Drusilla she's so

Every time Cordelia opens her mouth in class I become violent

Oh Buffy long lost friend? He's gonna be evil for sure

FORD F-150

Xander and Angel both being threatened by a man who knows Buffy, get a life

Lmfao the lonely ones

"Ours is a forbidden love." Lmfao

Spike possessive moment. I do appreciate when he realizes he's hurt drusilla he apologizes, good boyfriend I guess

Ah man fuck Ford <3 I hope he dies

"I don't deserve to die" yes you do <3

Ain't no way he's calling Buffy out because she didn't know he has a terminal illness when he's about to commit MASS MURDER 😭

Buffy don't apologize he sucks

God everything about this man pisses me off more than the average Buffy villain of the week

I love how much Spike actually cares about Dru

"Uh. Where's the doorknob" his tone was so funny to me

Lol get fucked Ford

NOOO HE DOESNT DESERVE FLOWERS

WAIT THEY ACTUALLY TURNED FORD LMFAO

Ok I understand hes afraid and he has a horrible illness and it's complicated and whatever it's just Everything about him pisses me off so much and I refuse to feel sympathy. Idk it's interesting what horrible circumstances leads people to due though, I think this episode has a lot to think about I'm just a hater

"Lie to me." "Yes, it's terribly simple. The good guys are always stalwart and true, the bad guy are easily distinguished by their pointy horns or black hats, and we always defeat them and save the day. No one ever dies, and everyone loves happily ever after." I'm fucking sobbing this line gets me so hard

[the-eldritch-it-gay]

@thedragonagelesbian replied to your post “Majexatli’s health”:

ur honor i love them 💕💕💕 and also... if you'd like to, i'd be very interested in hearing more about them bearing althyran's child?? knowing how preoccupied they are with being part of a normal family & how they ruminate on althyran now having kids with someone else... my heart..................

​Oh it's SUCH a thing that's constantly on their mind and has shaped who they are. I was going to just write a short reply but this turned into a whole long thing rip.

(CW: Abuse, loss of pregnancy)

Like, from day one with Althyran, all they wanted was like, the idyllic fairytale life and happily ever after, they very much wanted and constantly imagined that future, of marrying Althyran and having children with him. In their mind, they had gone through so much suffering, and this was the happily ever after, where Althyran is the prince charming who saves them.

Of course, this dream was quickly complicated as it became more and more clear that Althyran was using them and taking advantage of their desire for that happily ever after. But they pushed away doubts because before Althyran and his help, they had nothing and no standing, and now they were on the rise and being respected more in the circle. This was their happy ending, they had nothing before, so they should be grateful.

Before the attack, freshly 19, Althyran did start hinting at the possibility of marriage between them sometime in the future, which was something they clung to. And when they learned they were with child, something that they hadn't been sure was entirely possible, it seemed like. Yes. Everything is finally okay, they had been through so much hardship and had come from nothing, but now they were going to have a child and get married, like Regular People do.

However, a tiny part of them was... hesitant? Because their relationship with Althyran was not always idyllic, and while the two had gotten together somewhat recently, Althyran was quite against being public about their relationship. And part of them has begun to wonder a bit about, what do they want, really? Is it different from what Althyran wants? Is the picturesque life they've imagine and longed for what they want, or do they want it because it's something straight out of a fairytale and it's the only context they have for what a Normal Life is?

So perhaps for that reason, they didn't tell Althyran they were pregnant, and planned to tell him later, especially if he didn't want their relationship to be public.

And then... the owlbear attack. They technically die. And so does their chances of not just having that child, but any child. And then Althyran quite publically shames them and denies that there's anything between them. And Majexatli, stripped of their status and all the love and respect they now realize was conditional, flees from the circle and Althyran.

Yet, even so, they cannot stop their preoccupation with What Could Have Been. What if they had done something different? What if they had escaped the attack relatively unscathed?

Majexatli realizes that it's quite possibly, and in fact likely, that Althyran never cared for them. Not only that, but he might have puposefuly lead them to what he knew could have been their death. They understand its possible he saw them as just something he could manipulate and get to do whatever he wanted, and discarded them once they were no longer useful enough.

BUT deep down, Majexatli wonders if they could have done something to win him over. The fact it's likely he knowingly hurt them just makes them wonder more and more if it was their fault and they could have done something differently and gotten the happily ever after he promised. If they could have done something to change his mind, make him realize he cares about them.

They grapple with that, and then years later, against their better judgement, they keep tabs on their old circle and Althyran. And they learn he's happily married and has children. And Majexatli can't stop themselves from thinking that could have been me.

And it just eats away at them.

Majexatli thinks too often about what if they had done something different, if they did get to give birth to his child. They think about what the child would be like, what their life would be like. A druid, with a husband and children, still loved by Silvanus, with flowers in their hair.

I think I said somewhere that Majexatli's fatal flaw is that they carry around the corpse of the person they used to be and the the life they could have had, and that really is the case. As they see it, they had a single chance at happily ever after, and they lost it. And now they've spent so much of their life mourning for a life they never had. Their benchmark for happiness will always be the life they never got to live.

Not only that, but they have to live knowing the person who hurt them, the person they could have had a life with, is out there happy and unbothered and living the life they will never have.

I also think I shared a snippet from a fic I was working on, and while I ended up scrapping the line, it just sums up how Majexatli feels succinctly.

“If I was a good person, I would be out somewhere with a husband and children instead of alone hundreds of miles away with a parasite in my brain, tearing flesh apart with my teeth to try and fill emptiness that festers in me,"

[wooahaes]

is it... is it not mutual anymore? :(

first of all anon the lil :( is so cute of u thank u for checking on me haha i was just kinda surprised its only been a week when it feels like its been way longer

but uh. ill go into it under a readmore.

its... kinda complicated? we still like each other, but i think being back in this situation reminds me of the last time i was in Something with a guy similar to this one (the biggest difference is current guy actually cares and adheres to my boundaries and i do the same for him). i think i've been kinda open with the fact how i was in an abusive... something with someone (said guy was never my bf, but we weren't Just friends, yknow? situationship or w/e you wanna call it) and this guy reminds me a little too much of the good parts of that other guy (few as they may be). he knows of said past (we were friends well before this and i've mentioned said ex-something before), and he's been mindful of it in the same way i try to openly communicate and discuss things with him (once i know how i feel).

like idk. i set a boundary recently, he's fully adhered to it, but i think that realization has... ultimately sent the fucked up part of me into defense mode and i don't know if i'm actually ready to be in a relationship. we're still going on another date next week and i've set that as the day for me to figure out how i feel for sure. i still feel fluttery and warm with him now, but if it's all punctuated by this dread i can't get rid of... then it's not fair to either of us, y'know? i'll admit said dread isn't as intense as it was before, so maybe i will be fine, but at the same time... he deserves to be in something with someone who Can fully be there for him and i'm still figuring out how much of a hold my trauma still has on me.

if anything, this might just be "right person, wrong time" if i'm honest. he likes me, i like him, but we've both agreed we can call this off at any time and go back to being friends without worry since we both have our fair share of baggage. nothing wrong with that, y'know? just... i guess i didn't how affected i am until it became real.

i'm still figuring it all out though! maybe this will pass, but... i dunno. i think if anything, i'm trying to use this as a learning experience for myself? if this doesn't work out, then i know i need to figure out what's scaring me so badly so that when i can, i can work it out in therapy. if it does work out, therapy is still in the cards, just... gotta figure things out.

i keep feeling like a shitty person for thinking "we'll do this next date, and then i'll figure myself out" but i know i still want to go on it. it's only a second date, y'know? it's okay if things don't work out. but... idk, the guilt is still there.

on top of that, i think i'm also dealing with a lot outside of this and it's definitely affecting me. figuring out grad school, dealing w my family, etc... it's a lot haha and maybe that's another sign i'm not fully ready yet.

but we'll figure it out. and if it doesn't work out, we'll probably take the time we need to take care of ourselves, and then we'll go back to being friends. neither of us wants to lose a close friendship just because we went on a few dates and it didn't work out, and i hope he's as determined as i am to ensure that doesn't happen. he's sweet. he deserves the world. and if that's not with me, then i'm still going to happily stand by and cheer him on--because he said he'd do the same for me, too.

[thedumbguywithaheart43]

A spark of hope story 1

Chapter 17 next day

1. It was early morning as Sparks walk down the stairs of the castle. He hadn't slept much. But apon seeing twilight Allready down stairs with a much better look was enough to sooth him.

2. He took a seat across the table from her. But now that he was closer he could see that the smile was fake. And there were bags under her eyes.

3"good morning Sparks we need to talk."the words caused him to take a deep gulp as she spoke."the assassin awoke an was interrogated over night. He doesn't know who sent him. He was hired anonymously."

4. Sparks slowly nodded and felt anger enter his heart. " So now what? " twilight sighed as sparks asked her this. " Its complicated for now ill be remaining here in ponyville an I am not to be left alone. Some of the girls are infact moving into the castle so at least thats taken care of."

5. Twilight then rubed a hoof against her forehead. " The bigger question is you. What are you?" Sparks huffed not really wanting to awnser the question. Still he had to. "A long time ago I had an...incident it changed me"

6. He held up a hoof witch sparked with small bits of electricity. " Since then ive been able to generate lighting an summon wild weather. The kind that Pegasi can't control." Twilight looked at her face now filled with curiosity.

7. "Beyond that I cant tell you much more. Only that it took years for me to get a handle over my a abilities most of witch I spent near the dragonlands." Twilight nodded in understanding. At least a few questions were awnsered.

8. Not much else was said between the two beyound a few questions about breakfast. Of witch sparks made simple toast for them both. After witch he headed back to the everfree to meet spike who had allready started his stretches.

9." Heya sparky." Spike smiled widely at his freind. "Hello spike are you ready for you next lesson?" Spike ran right up to him an stood tall.

10. Sparks couldn't help but smile. "Today we'll be discussing your fire." Spike raised an eyebrow. Confused he inquired about what sparks met. "My fire? Pretty sure we covered this ya know powered by gems."

11. Sparks rolled his eyes an chuckled." Yes thats true but your fire is very unique. Infact your one of very few dragons ive seen with magical fire." Spike thought about this for a moment.

12. He wasnt wrong spikes ability to send mail through his flames is fairly rare allthough he didn't know by how much. Sparks noticed spike in thought.

13. "Kiddo there are only two dragons currently able to use that ability. You an the current dragon lord." Spike eyes widened unsure of how to respond. Sparks smiled an patted him on his shoulder. "You seemed surprised. Magic is considered a lost art for dragon kind only the scepter the dragon lords carries the knowledge of old. Luckily for you i guess your egg must've been exposed to a large bit of magic."

14. Spike nodded slowly. " yeah twilight hatched me in her exam witch lead her to become Celestias student." Sparks raised an eyebrow surprised. He had figured spike was found as a hatchling but he didn't expect him to been hatched by a pony. "Huh well ok now you know...ah right uh also for someone your size your fire output is pretty strong but in a fight you gotta make it last."

15. Spike nodded again now getting excited for his new training. "Today you'll be practicing on controlling your own flame." Sparks pointed to a large stone. "I want you to melt that rock."

16 spike looked at the boulder it was fairly big an he wasn't exactly sure he could do as sparks said. Still he knew sparks knew his stuff an he did as he asked breathing out a steady flame for about 10 seconds before needing to breathe.

17. The rock was unfazed with only some scotch marks. "Hmm impressive most dragons your age would've stopped at 6 seconds. Good job." Spike smiled happily at sparks. " now focus breathe in through your noise let the air hold for a few seconds then breathe out slowly. "

18. Sparks then demonstrated as he breathe out a little bit of lightning form around him. Spike was in awe. He had noticed during there time together that the weather would change depending on his mood. Spike had assumed he had some sort of magic but he didn't wish to pry.

19. Spike then started to try what sparks had taught him. He as he did blame exited from his snout. Sparks watch with approve. ' hes doing well. Perhaps you should teach for a living' it was the mare again.

20.He closed his eyes attempting to block the thoughts from his mind. ' not this time we need to talk rammer. Tonight ' He sighed quietly. "Thats enough for today spike I need to deal with something. " spike looked to his freind suprised. "Oh ok uh we gonna head back?."

21.Sparks nodded as he started to walk with spike in tow. Tonight was going to be interesting.

[deepspacedukat]

Since you said I could ask… I would love it if I could pamper Keval. I love him. SO MUCH. You know the post about the soft intimacy where the lady washed her boyfriend’s hair in the tub and he cried because it was so nice? I want that. With Keval. Soft, gentle, beautiful with some cuddles. Big jacuzzi tub soak spa day with the beautiful blue man.

Or if not Keval, Tholos (I have a complicated relationship with him 😭). He needs it but he also needs a little fresh cerebrospinal fluid to flush out that awful personality from his brain (that’s not how it works irl but it’s like changing your oil, very important). Especially if Andorians don’t remove excess neurotransmitters by crying.

-Horta-in-Charge

Oh, you can totally have this, friend! Ask and ye shall receive. (I have a complicated relationship with Tholos, too, all things considered, so I understand what you mean.) Keval doesn’t get enough love. He’s just a good soft boy who needs a little pampering. I know I tweaked your prompt just a little bit, but I hope I still did it justice, my friend. So: KEVAL DELIVERY FOR ONE *glances at paper* HORTA THE AMAZING! PLEASE COME CLAIM YOUR ANDORIAN FLUFFBALL! HE NEEDS A HUG!

This takes place in the fifth season that never happened. Shran and the rest of his boyband (Keval, Tholos, and Thon) are all serving in Starfleet on Enterprise. Cross-posted to AO3 here.

~*~

Tranquility

Keval (ST:ENT) x Reader

[A/N: Side characters really have my remaining brain cells in a chokehold, so this was super fun to write! Also it was hard af to get a clear gif of this good boy, which is ✨very✨ not fair. 😤 Keval deserved more screentime, so in my brain he had a lot more to do with events than he did in canon.]

Warnings: Non-sexual nudity, bathing, a soft alien mans being treated with love, forehead kisses. Literally, this is just super soft fluff.

~*~

Keval had just finished a double shift and returned to his quarters when he finally laid eyes on you, his partner. A tired smile wove its way across his lips at the sight of you reading quietly on the couch, curled up in a soft blanket. When you looked up and smiled at him, he felt his heart speed up in his chest.

As though you could sense the exhaustion rolling off him in waves, you set your book and blanket aside and drew the Andorian into a gentle hug. Keval melted into your embrace as he always did, burying his face in the crook of your neck.

“Hey there,” you breathed as you ran your fingers through his hair and held him close. He’d never admit it, but he would stay like that forever if you allowed him to. Keval hummed quietly in response, and after a few moments of silence, you pulled back just far enough to take his hands and start to lead him deeper into your shared quarters. At his quizzical look, you just smiled a little wider. “Let me take care of you.”

Keval, like most Andorians, had been taught that self-sufficiency and self-reliance were of the utmost importance. Depending on someone else for something that could be done alone was...well, for Keval it was a new experience that he wasn’t sure he should allow himself to enjoy or not.

Then again, he did want to make you happy. If letting you try your hand at caring for him would make you happy, then who was he to stop you? Carefully, you had him sit on the bed and walked over to the bathroom. Keval nearly let out a whimper at how nice the soft mattress felt as it supported his tired body, but he bit his tongue. 

The Andorian heard the flow of water as you began filling the tub. When Shran and his friends came aboard, they had requested tubs instead of showers in their quarters. It was Keval’s understanding that his Commander had explained the significance of Andorian bathing customs to the Captain, so he hadn’t been surprised when Archer had happily granted the request.

After a few minutes and the sound of you shuffling things around, you emerged from the bathroom and walked over to him. Looking at you curiously, Keval reached for you, pulling you into his arms. You were the only one he had ever felt so comfortable around, so he wouldn’t berate himself too harshly about letting his eyelids flutter shut in your embrace. The feeling of soft, warm lips placing a kiss in the center of his forehead was enough to make him blink in surprise.

Really, those gestures shouldn’t surprise him anymore. He’d been with you for several months now, and you showered him with affection quite frequently. But it wasn’t quite that simple. He wasn’t used to being treated gently. Keval had spent his whole life in combat. Fighting was an integral part of Andorian culture, and he’d always respected that. He never really liked it, but he was accustomed to it. The first time you’d held him, you did it so softly that he thought he was going to faint. Every part of Andorian culture had a harsh edge to it, even hugs. Keval had known from that very first time you wrapped your arms so gently around him that he was a goner.

Even now as you undressed him, there was something inherently painstaking about your movements. Most of the time when one of you undressed the other it was to tend to a wound or for more pleasurable activities, but this time was different. Your touch was as light as a feather as you coaxed the fabric of his uniform off.

Without a word, you led him into the bath and gestured for him to get in. He knew he shouldn’t be suspicious of you, but he’d never had anyone do any of this for him. He sank carefully into the water, and let out an involuntary sigh of relaxation. You’d even made sure the tub was filled with water of the correct temperature to be relaxing for his physiology.

“Thank you,” he murmured looking up at you, but instead of leaving him to bathe, you knelt beside the tub. Looking at you curiously, Keval watched as you reached out for him. Placing a gentle kiss on his cheek and coaxing him to lie back, you slipped a small cushion between the edge of the tub and his neck as a support. “What...are you doing?”

“I’m just trying to help you relax. Think of this as a spa evening.” Keval’s antennae twitched at the unfamiliar term.

“A...’spa’?” The Andorian was thoroughly perplexed even as you moved around behind his head and started massaging his shoulders with your warm hands.

“Yeah, spas are places where people go to get pampered with relaxing treatments like steam rooms, massages, and that sort of thing,” you explained, and Keval blinked. You were doing this...to relax him? But surely you needed to get something out of this? His thoughts became molasses as you skillfully kneaded away a knot of tension at the base of his neck. “That’s it, sweetheart. Just close your eyes and let me take care of you.”

He...saw no reason not to, so he let his exhaustion decide for him. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Keval basked in the warmth of the water and the attention you were lavishing so freely upon him. What would Commander Shran say if he could see Keval like this?

Your hands roamed softly up his neck and into his hair, massaging his scalp. A gentle brush of your lips against his forehead made his breath hitch.

“You’re thinking too much,” you breathed as your fingertips ran so gently across his scalp. After a few minutes, you started dampening his hair. Keval wondered why you’d bother, but then you removed your hands and he heard you fiddling around with something. His antennae perked up curiously. What could you be doing?

The answer came in the form of the familiar feeling of soap-covered hands threading gently through his hair. Only they weren’t his hands. They were yours. Like everything else you did, you were being so gentle with him. Every time your fingers met even the lightest resistance, you paused and massaged the tangle or snag away, murmuring an apology despite your caution preventing you from causing him pain in the first place.

Keval hadn’t realized he’d started crying over the tenderness of it until a quiet sniffle tore from him. Embarrassment flooded over him, but you didn’t say a word. You just began to rinse the soap from his hair in sections, careful not to get the soapy water in his eyes. Then, with the lightest touch possible, you started to wash the rest of him, only having him sit up when it was time to get his back, which you left for last. By that time, the Andorian had opened his eyes and was regarding you openly with awe.

This sort of care was uncommon where he came from, but for you, it seemed almost second nature. When it was time for him to get out of the bath and you started to help him dry off, Keval slid one of his hands around the back of your head and drew you into a gentle kiss. He didn’t know how else to thank you. What could he do that would adequately express his gratitude for your kindness? He didn’t know how to voice that this was all new to him and that he’d give anything for you to touch him like that again. He didn’t know how to convey that nobody had ever loved him the way you did.

But maybe that was alright. You seemed to know more about what he was thinking at any given time than he did. You had a knack for knowing what he needed before he did. Maybe - just maybe - you’d be able to tell how grateful he was, too.

As the two of you laid down to sleep that night, Keval nuzzled greedily into the softness of your neck, humming contentedly when you wrapped your arms around him and tangled your legs with his. Oh yes. You were more of a home for him than even Andoria would ever be.