#or at least I don’t want to br alone all the time

[insanechayne]

Went from enjoying silly daydreams to having a panic attack and being unable to think about those types of daydreams anymore, and I don’t fully understand why. Why am I crying at 3am? Why can’t I calm down? Nothing I do is making me feel any better and I hate this

[julilovesyou444]

hotel room ~ tom kaulitz

background- you drank too much and ended up not feeling great. you asked bill if you could go back to his room and he said sure and handed you a key card. you went back to the hotel but couldn’t quite remember what room number he said. you scanned a couple rooms until one of them finally opened. someone comes into the room, but it isn’t who you are expecting.

warnings - mentions of drinking, just fluff ♡

english isnt my first language, I learned at 10 so please go easy on me lol

~

I stumbled down the hallway, holding my heels in my hand. my head was throbbing and I felt so sick. I had one too many at the bar. thankfully, my bestfriend gave me the key to his hotel room so I could go rest. if I hadn’t stopped drinking, I probably would’ve thrown up on someone’s shoes.

yuck.

I got to the few doors I had narrowed it down to a few doors. bill had told me which room it was, but to be honest, I could barely hear him over the loud music. he had two keycards in his hand and he didn’t seem like he knew which was which. I walked up to the first door and put the card against the little sensor on the door. red light. fuck.

next door. red light. fuck again. I knew if I kept scanning the card on random doors it would eventually deactivate. I held my breath as I scanned it against another door.

green light! my luck was finally turning around. I pushed through the door and let it shut behind me. I dropped my heels and sighed as I made my way to the bathroom. I slipped off my tight dress that was pressing way too hard on my stomach. I looked at myself in the mirror. My makeup was smudged and my hair was messy. I walked back into the room and looked around for a suit case. I found a duffel bag beside the bed. My vision was blurry, I could barely see what I was looking through. After looking for a minute or two, I found pajama pants and a random white tee shirt. It didn’t really look like something Bill would wear, but I didn’t think too much of it. I also thought Bill wouldn’t mind if I took a pair of his pajamas, seeing as he borrowed my clothes all the time. I went back into the bathroom, washed my face, let my hair down, and used the mouth wash that was on the counter. I obviously wasn’t going to use his toothbrush, but I wanted my teeth to at least be a little clean. I grabbed my clothes and put them in a small pile on the floor before flopping onto the bed. I got under the sheets. I noticed that the bed didn’t really smell how Bill’s normally did. I was too tired to care. I fell asleep within minutes.

~

“shh, c’mon.”, a girl giggled.

“okay, okay, I’m coming.”, a guy responded. The hotel door shut.

“Um… who is that in your bed?”

“Oh shit. Bill gave her the wrong fucking key.”

“What do you mean?”

“Fuck, nothing, you just need to leave.”

“What?? Why?”

“We can’t do anything tonight, sorry.”

“Just kick her out?!? Do you even know her?”

“Hey, i said get the fuck out, so leave!”, he whisper yelled.

“Whatever, so fucking weird.”

The hotel door shut again.

My eyes were still closed and I was still partially asleep, but I had heard part of the encounter. I lifted my head out of the pillow it had been resting on, eyes still shut and brows furrowed.

“Bill? Should I leave? You can bring her back. Im sorry, Bill.”, i sleepily and drunkenly rambled. I heard footsteps quickly make their way over to me. A soft hand gently pushed my face back down onto the pillow and shushed me.

“No, no, it’s okay. Just go back to sleep, it’s okay.”, he comforted me.

“Okay, im sorry Bill. I just felt so bad. I also borrowed your pajamas, i dont think I’ve ever seen this pair before, they’re comfy.”, i sleepily mumbled as his hand caressed my cheek.

“it’s okay, you can go back to sleep.”

“can you sleep with me? I don’t want to sleep alone tonight.”

there was no answer for a minute. I didn’t take much notice as I had my eyes closed and was on the brink of falling back asleep.

“okay.”

I listened as I heard him change into different clothes and brush his teeth. I felt the bed shift under his weight as he laid down next to me.

my eyes fluttered open for a split second, and I could somewhat tell that he was on top of the covers.

“you can get under the covers.”, I murmured.

it took a second, but he got under the covers next to me. I could feel his warmth, it was comforting.

I turned over and scooted myself closer to him, my head next to his chest. I wrapped my arm around him. Bill and I had been friends forever, and we were rather affectionate, in a purely platonic way.

“Goodnight.”, i whispered as i went to pet his hair. I immediately took my hand back and opened my eyes narrowly. I looked up and realized the man next to me was not in-fact Bill. It was Tom. I put the dots together. Bill gave me the key for Tom’s room on accident. I was wearing Tom’s clothes. I accidentally had Tom miss out on a fuck, one of the many things he was notorious for. I was surprised he wasn’t mad at me for ruining his night.

“Tom?”, i asked groggily. My arm still draped over him, but I was no longer touching his hair. His expression was soft, almost worried. His eyes searched mine for any discomfort.

“Is this okay?”, he asked quietly. I thought for a moment. I was always good friends with Tom, but there was always a sort of tension between us. Something that kept us from being able to do things like hug or stuff like that. We used to do it all the time when we were younger, but now? Never. Usually, I would barely touch Tom. We joked around and talked all the time. He probably knew me just as well as Bill knew me. I didn’t expect him to kick out his date for my sick-ass, though. This was new for me. But I liked it. I liked being this close to him, it felt nice.

I nodded.

“Are you okay?”, i asked, mainly referring to the fact I was right up on him. A very small smiled formed on his face as he nodded his head, gazing down at me.

I mumbled an okay before snuggling my head into his chest. I wondered why he was letting me do this. This wasn’t us. I wasn’t complaining, just a little confused. I took a breath in and immediately recognized that the smell from the bed was Tom’s smell. I just never got too close to him so I didn’t know. He snaked his hand around my waist and pulled me a little closer. I breathed in quickly, surprised by his little maneuver. His hand made slow circles on the small of my back.

“Are you feeling any better?”, he whispered. I didn’t even know that he knew I had left because I felt sick, let alone care.

“I am now.”, i replied, muffled into his shirt.

“Good.”

I couldn’t help but smile. He continued to rub my back until I fell asleep in his arms.

~

I sat up quicker than I ever had before. I gasped for air and opened my eyes. I started to catch my breath. I felt Tom sit up next to me, his hand on my back.

“Are you okay?? Are you sick again?”, he asked, concerned.

“No…no… bad dream… I had a really bad fucking dream.”, i said in between breaths. I held my face in my hands, feeling more embarrassed than ever. First I showed up in his room, ruined his one-night stand, and now i woke him up because of my stupid nightmare.

“I’m so sorry. I ruined your night, I should leave.”, i mumbled. I wanted to leave so he couldn’t see my face. I was so upset at myself. I began to overthink every single thing that had happened.

“What? No. Don’t go. Its way too late. How do you think you ruined my night?”, he moved himself closer to me. I felt embarrassed having to explain to him, but it didn’t seem like there was much of another choice.

“I came into your room, I made your date leave, I mean I stole your fucking pajamas, I probably forced you into sleeping next to me, we literally never touch so why now, and I just woke you up. I feel so stupid, I’m sorry.”, I apologized again. Maybe it was the alcohol that was making me so emotional.

“No, no, no. Its okay, i wasn’t that into her anyways. You can keep the pajamas, i dont really care. And I wanted to sleep with you, I wanted to touch you. I do want to touch you, I just get… shit, how do I say this? Fuck it, i get nervous, okay? It has nothing to do with me not wanting to touch you, trust me, i do. And Bill has told me about your nightmares before, it’s okay. Its not your fault. You are just still drunk and overthinking things. I want you here, so just lay back down. It’ll be okay.”, Tom responded, very lightly pushing me to lay back down. I resisted at first but very quickly gave into his warm touch. I was instantly reassured by his words, even though part of me still remained unsure. I turned onto my side, away from him. He positioned himself right behind me, practically spooning me. He started to run his fingers through my hair. It was quiet for a couple minutes, just peaceful. I felt okay.

“do you still like this?”, Tom whispered.

“Hm?”

“Dont you remember? When we were kids and you would sleepover, most of the time you couldn’t fall asleep, so I would play with your hair until you did.”

“Oh, I hadn’t remembered until you reminded me. To be fair, you’re a rockstar now. You have different priorities, like the band and girls. I’ve read the articles and seen the pictures. We don’t hangout too much anymore.”, i laughed a tiny bit into the pillow. He kept stroking my hair, but he didn’t say anything. It made me nervous. Did I cross a line or something?

“You’re right. My life has changed. A lot. But I’m still me, and you’re still you. We are still the kids we used to be, even though I may not seem like it because of the way everyone views me. As long as that’s true, you’ll always be in my life, same with Bill’s.”

“Why are you so sweet, Tom? I kind of thought you weren’t based on your whole “womanizer” persona.”

“That’s how everyone sees me, so I figure why not live up to their expectations. It’s different with you. You actually know me for me. Not the me from the tabloids”

He pushed his arm underneath me and pulled me back, flush to him. His other hand, still playing with my hair. I felt so relaxed, but somehow still a little nervous, being this close to him.

“It’s late, you should go back to sleep. You’re okay, you aren’t going to have anymore nightmares or anything. I’m right here. If you need anything, you can wake up and tell me, i wont be upset.”

“Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me.”

“Goodnight, Tom.”

“Goodnight.”, he quietly replied.

I felt myself completely ease into his hold, and melt into his touch as he pushed his fingers through my hair, just like he did when we were kids. I was glad that I knew this version of him. His genuine, sweet, self. I knew things would probably go back to the way they were in the morning, so I savored everything second that I got to be with him. I forgot about my embarrassment and let myself fall asleep in his arms.

I wished we could stay like that forever.

~

a/n ~ first thing I’m writing on tumblr!! not rlly sure how this all works but if you read I hope you enjoyed !! more to come <3

[loveslibrarywp]

Little Red

Aemond Targaryen x Stark!reader

Summary: After only wanting to take a simple stroll in the evening, you end up getting chased through the woods by a mysterious stranger..

Warnings: NSFW. Outdoor sex (she gets fucked behind a tree). Non con (at first). Breeding kink. Praising + degradation kink. Werewolf!Aemond. Reader is Helaena’s friend. Aemond lowkey obsessed with reader (Joe Goldberg type shi).

Requested by: @slytherincursebreaker

“I don’t know Helaena, I just want to be married and have children like you!” The young stark girl complained to her friend whom sat beside her on the loveseat. “My marriage is the least bit happy!” Helaena protested with a sigh as she continued to stitch onto her cloth.

“Some women have happy marriages, though I’m sorry yours isn’t..” she said as she placed a comforting hand on her friend’s shoulder. “It is alright, I find solitude in being alone anyway.” She said with a bright smile.

“Well, it is getting dark and I don’t want to talk your ear off, my dear friend. Shall we continue tomorrow?” She asked as she placed down her embroidered cloth on the seat. Helaena agreed as she went to tend to her children.

Y/N tied on her red coat and walked towards the exit of the castle, though she didn’t feel the eyes on her as she did so, nor had she felt them the entire day while with Helaena.

She made it to the entrance of the forest she adored taking long walks in. She loved nature and all of the animals she saw as she strolled through the path. Little did she know, something was following her as the sun came down and the moon hung in the sky.

The stars lit up the gravel path as she walked through the dark forest. She watched little squirrels run up the trees, fighting over the nuts they had collected from the day, she giggled at the small animals but she felt silent when she heard a twig snap behind her.

She whipped towards the sound to see nothing, just the dark abyss between the trees. She let out a deep breath she had been keeping in and decided to just keep walking.

With her foot in front of the other, she heard another stick snap under something foot. Her heartbeat began to pick up as well as her speed. She quickly walked through the trees and began to think if it was time to go home.

The sound of leaves crunching filled the quiet forest. She stopped in her tracks, “hello…?” She called out. Once she heard the sound again, she took off as fast as her feet could take her.

Another figure ran right after her, practically announcing that they were following her. Her heart was beating out of her chest from running and from fear.

Softly and low growls came from the figure chasing her. ‘What was it?’ She thought. She continued to run throw the thick trees of the forest. She looked back to see the figure but she only saw a dark cloak hiding the figures face and body.

Her hair and red cloak flew behind her in the wind as she sprinted. She was terrified for her life. What did this thing want from her? She panted and gasped for air.

She quickly turned and hid behind a nearby tree to maybe lose the creature. She quickly caught her breath and hid her body behind the big tree.

The forest was silent. Too silent. She felt a hand cup her mouth and grab her waist to pull her towards its body.

She screamed into its hand. It’s long claws caressed her cheek. She was then pressed up against the tree she was hiding behind.

The figure only looked down so she couldn’t see its face. Yet, it towered over her. “Please, let me go!” She shouted at the tall figure. She was shaking in fear, fear the she may not see the light of the day again.

“I’ll do anything! Please!” She pleaded. The figure finally spoke, “anything..?” It said with a masculine voice, one she had very well heard before. Tears painted her red cheeks, “please..”

The cloaked man took off his hood to reveal its face. Aemond. It was Aemond.

“Aemond? Why are you doing this? Let me go!” She cried out. Why would her best friend’s younger brother try to scare her like this? Was it a prank?

“I’m going to finally have my way with you, little one..” he growled into her ear as he grabbed her neck. “You said you’d do anything, right? So, just listen to me…it’s that simple, lovie.” A sly smirk was plastered on his face.

“Why? What are you going to do to me?” She asked as she shook in fear and confusion. His hand that wasn’t pressed up against her neck slid down her leg and up her white dress. His long fingers caressed her thigh and her hip as he slid into her undergarments, snapping them off her hips.

“I just wanna play with you, baby..” he whispered with a soft smile, she just stared at him in shock. The names he was calling her and the way he was touching her left her with a burning sensation in her belly and an ache in her cunt. She didn’t want to feel like this for him, not at this moment that is. Not when he was scaring her.

He dipped his fingers into her panties felt the growing arousal she had felt just moments ago. He laughed when his fingers felt the wetness of her cunt, “you like this, don’t you, little girl?”

“Tsk, tsk…sweet girl. What are we going to do with you?” He asked with false worry. She couldn’t draw her eyes away from his face no matter how bad she wanted too. She hated how attractive he looked in this moment.

She let out a small whimper as he flicked over her clit. Her noises made him smile, oh how sick he was. “Aemond, please…” she begged. She didn’t know what she was pleading for, multiple things maybe.

“Don’t worry, lovie. I’ll take good care of you.” He nipped at her neck and moved his hands down her body. He tugged her dress up and over her hips and lifted her off the ground.

She didn’t know what to do, she didn’t even know if she wanted this. He unlaced his breeches with one hand and pulled out his leaking cock. She didn’t know something so vulgar could be so pretty.

He swiftly pulled her panties the side and ran his tip through her slit. He tapped his tip against her swollen clip. She whimpered and whined at his actions, “please…” she begged.

“Please what?” He asked, he dragged his cock against her dripping cunt as he waited for her answer. “Fuck me, Aemond.” She pleaded.

He plunged his cock inside of her in one thrust. She almost fell over as she moaned before he held her up. His pace moved fast and uncontrolled, yet so good. The quiet forest was filled with her moans and whimpers and his low groans.

“What a little whore you are…getting fucked behind a tree, where anyone could stumble upon us..” he groaned in her ear. She could only respond with her whines.

He let out a low laugh at her little noises. They only fueled his desire and drive to fuck her stupid. He pounding into her, her back was hitting the tree but she could only focus on the pleasure the man was giving her.

“Oh fuck!” She gasped as he repeatedly hit that special spot inside of her, “that feel good? Fucking slut..” he said as his fingers moved towards her clit. He pressed lighting into the small button and rubbed little circles into it, earning him a loud moan.

“I heard you with Helaena today. You want a husband, lovie? I can be that for you. I can make every desire of yours come true.” He admitted, making her gasp as he continued to fuck her. “What that to happen? want me to be your husband?” She nodded against the tree even though she hadn’t completely comprehended what she was agreeing too, she was too fucked out to even think.

“I bet you do, sweet girl. I’ll give you anything you want.” He smiled as his thrust became short and scattered. He was reached his peak as was she. She clenched around his cock and her moans became even louder than they were before.

“-so close!” She shouted. He picked up his pace with his fingers, her peak came crashing over her. She came with a groan. Aemond fucked her through her orgasam as he approached his. “Gonna let me fuck a baby into, lovie?” He groaned at the thought of her pregnant with his child. “Yes! Please, Aemond! Let me carry your children!” She gasped.

He groaned as he came inside her at her words. All of his dreams were coming true at that moment, she was finally his.

“You’re mine now.”

[lxmine]

them dating an affectionate s/o. + scara, capitano x gn!reader

+. FluffflufffluffFLUFF, scara gets injured because i said so

+. TW ; toxic relationships (wtf do you expect from them? But trust me this isnt angst)

+. A/N redflag bois are here. HAVE YALL SEEN SCARAMUCHE’S DESIGN!?!?:!:!: 🫣🫣🫣 HE’S SO SIDBEIDBDIBDIDBDIRHE I NEED TO FARM A LOT FOR HIM IM SO LOW ON PRIMOGEMS LETS GET ONTO IT OMG

scaramouche

He only probably got with you because he found you amusing and entertaining not because he loves you or anything thats what he thought at first at least

Of course, knowing who he is. He’s mostly verbally abusive but he never did lay a finger on you because he pities how weak you look definitely because he’ll feel guilty, like everytime he yells at you after trying to help him with something

You aren’t a fatui diplomat, but just a helper. Working around the headquarters who happens to be under Scaramouche.

You often would come knocking on his office door with lunch/breakfast/dinner in hand whenever he would skip eating. He’s kind of annoyed but found it endearing

“Scara, I brought you food!” You happily opened the door as soon as you heard him let you.

He’d glare at you but couldn’t for too long and just place the food on his table and smiles after you bid him goodbye and telling him ‘I love you’.

He never really understood how even after all the shitty stuff he’s said to you, you’re still with him. But he find that very amusing.

And then your relationship lasted for more than 3 months, he’s now quite fond of your visits. How he loves it when you come into his office to clean up, he loves watching you and conversing about things that happened while he wasn’t with you.

He wonders how you’re putting up with him and is secretly scared you’d leave him now that he accepted that he loves you but he wouldn’t say that aloud tho

The first time he said it was when he came back from a mission all bruised up in the middle of the night, you of course was waiting for him because you wanted to greet him back.

And soon the door of his office opens and a limping Scaramouche, and you quickly walked over to him, helping him sit on the couch.

“Please stay still, I’ll go get the aid kit.” You left him there alone for good 20 minutes, he appreciated that you hurried even though the infirmary is literally far from his office.

“Enemy is a tough one huh?” You softly asked as you cleaned up his wounds, his top laid beside him. He hummed in response, looking at your focused face. Your hand felt so light fixing him up unlike the nurses in the infirmary.

“I was worried, you said you’d be back by sunset.” His heart skipped a beat, you were waiting for him to come back? But you always did, you’d always be in his office after he came back from missions or expeditions.

“Tch, if my men weren’t such idiots I’d be by your side earlier. Don’t whine about it now, I’ll take you out some time.” He looks away embarrassed, you stopped to look at him with a smile.

He’s never said things like that before. Not that you hated that he didn’t, you love him like that, you found it weird that you even fell for the guy.

You even questioned yourself why you love him, but oh well. As elders say, love makes you do dumb things.

He bites the inside of his cheeks unsure of how you’re reacting because he cant even look at you right now.

“You needn’t do that, I’m alright with the fact you’re back here.” You placed your hand into his cheek to make him look at you.

He hated that he felt so vulnerable in your presence, hated that every word that comes out of your mouth comforted him in ways he never thought anyone could. He hated himself because he’s feeling just like mortals do even though he vowed to wipe every mortal emotions that he felt.

“Don’t say stuff like that, dummy.” He looks away from your adoring gaze, he didn’t feel like he deserves to be looked at so lovingly by someone so loving, so perfect as you. “You’ll just have to get used to it then.” you chuckled.

Your breath hitched when he wrapped his arms around your face and his face resting at the crook of your neck. He never felt so at home in your arms. “I love you.” He whispered.

“I love you so much, thank you for putting up with me.”

capitano

He met you somewhere in Fontain, fell in love and then you decided to come back to Snehznaya with him despited having to date only for 5 months.

You’re a noble, and you’re also very much aware of his job and you don’t really mind because he treats you right.

He is comfortable with you, but he tells you to not get clingy with him sometimes but not in an aggressive or mean manner

Not that he doesn’t like you being always so affectionate with him, he’s just scared of hurting you ya know despite him almost being so careful while holding you or when you’re doing things for him

“I never thought Master Capitano’s got a spouse!” “Are they married?” were the gossips you heard as soon as you entered the Fatui headquarters, he didn’t wanna bring you and wanted for you to rest and be at home because of the cold weather but you insisted.

Holding onto his arm all the way to his office “Are you cold? Do you want anything to eat? A blanket? A book? Are you sleepy?” and more numerous questions asked by him. “Oh, dear I’m fine! Can we cuddle for a bit?”

You looked up at him with a smile while your arms are wrapped around his waist. He sighed and nodded, he wants to make you feel at home as much as possible now that you’re staying with him.

And though the two of you have been dating for 5 months, he still haven’t showed you his face to you. And of course you understand that and wouldn’t make him do things out of his comfort zone.

While he worked on his papers, you would be either beside him writing letters to your family and sometimes be helping him with his work or you would be sitting on the couch reading a book or talk with Columbina who would visit when she has the time to.

“Love, we should go to the city today! I heard you’ve got no papers today!” You would sometimes invite his to go stroll around the city with his hands holding yours to keep you warm. He loves it when you pick sweets for him to try when you get home.

“Love, can we please go home now? I want to cuddle.” Late nights when you would come with him at work, you’re the one who’ll remind him to rest for the night, he would carry you over to your carriage I just know there is and he would let you rest your head on his shoulder or cuddle onto his arm on the way home.

He got nervous the first time you asked to see his face, t’was probably almost a year with him. He’s scared to let you see the part of him that he hid. What if you leave him? Will you run away?

A tear slipped past his cheeks when you kissed the scar on his face, how can you love him so much so that you arent even shocked or mortified of him.

“Darling, you don’t know how much I’m so grateful to you.” he mumbles against the crook of your neck.

this thing has been sitting on my drafts for a month now it took me a long while to finish it T-T anyway, stay safe and hydrated, take care of your mental and physical health I LOVE YOU <3

MASTERLIST

[writersblog20]

A Christmas break🎄

Jamie Campbell Bower x reader

Credits to gif maker and the picture

Summary: Jamie comes home for a Christmas break. You spent Christmas eve together and with your family. You never liked Christmas but maybe Jamie will change that….

Warnings: pure fluff!

Words: 3,4K

A/N: I’m going to make a follow-up to this story but can be read separately. Since this is someone new I write for, I’m not tagging the people that wants to be tagged in stories with other celebrities. If you do want to be tagged in my Jamie stories than you can hit me up and I’ll add you : )

A Christmas break

Finally Jamie had a break between Christmas and New Year. You were esthetic to say the least because Jamie would finally come to you. You would take him home and to your family. It would be the first time that he would actually see your family in real life. I mean, they already met but through facetime and now they would actually meet.

You were never a big fan of Christmas and New Year’s eve but now you couldn’t be more excited now that you have Jamie by your side. Besides that, you couldn’t wait to spend some alone time with him and Jamie was just as excited as you were, hyping each other up.

You waited impatiently at the airport for Jamie. You were shuffling around a little while the excitement creeped up in your belly which doubled when you saw a familiar hat coming through the gates. You immediately smiled as you saw Jamie pushing his card out of the gates. He looked around but he found you quickly and when he saw you, his eyes started to sparkle and he got a big smile. He opened his arms and you ran to him, throwing your arms around his shoulders. He picked you up and twirled you around. “God how I’ve missed you, darling.” He told you and placed multiple kisses on your head until you looked up and closed the gap between the two of you in a quick but nevertheless, passionate kiss.

You parted and looked at him with a big smile, which he replicated. “I’ve missed you too!” you told him and wrapped your arms around his waist again. He placed his arm around you and hugged you close to his body. “Let’s go home.” You told him, looking up with sparks in your eyes. You couldn’t wait to show him around in the town that you grew up and do all the fun, traditional things with him. He smiled brighter and pulled you in for a kiss again. “Let’s do that, love.” He told you and took your chin between his fingers, giving you another kiss. He got the trolly and pushed it forward, you by his side.

You chatted a bit about his flight and his last convention until you reached your car. You put everything in the back and drove home. Jamie placed his hand on your thigh while you drove off. You felt the butterflies creep up on you again. You’ve never had a healthier relationship than this one and he never failed to make you feel special and loved.

The ride home didn’t take long and you helped Jamie, get everything out of the car. He took a lot of stuff with him, like a lot! He saw you looking and Jamie smirked. He put the luggage down for a minute and turned around towards you with a smirk. His fingers found your chin again and you were forced to look up. “You don’t think I forgot about the presents do you?” he asked you teasingly and giving you clarity about why he had so much with him. You could feel yourself melt underneath his touch and sweet gesture, making you feel shy and flustered again. He chuckled and let go of your cheek before he gave you a kiss on your forehead.

You helped getting everything inside and helped him unpack. You placed his clothes in your closet. Jamie placed his arms around you all of a sudden and pulled you against his body in a hug. “I have missed you so much sweetheart.” You smiled and nuzzled into his shoulder. “I’ve missed you too, you have no idea.” You murmured, enjoying the contact you had right now. He got out of the hug and cupped your cheeks so he could give you a passionate kiss. “I think we’re done here right?” he asked you as he broke from the kiss and looked at his empty suitcase. You nodded and smiled. “Let’s get something to drink and cuddle before we have to leave to my mom.” You suggested and Jamie smiled, pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. “That sounds great, darling.” You loved how clingy Jamie could get because you would be the same.

You took his hand in yours and let him down the stairs. You made some tea while Jamie placed his arms around your waist and let his head rest on your shoulder. While you waited for the water to boil, you jumped on the counter, putting your arms around Jamie’s shoulders, hugging him. “I want to give you something. I didn’t bought it for Christmas so I want to give it to you now.” he told you with a smile. Jamie had brought a big box with him and you were wondering what was in it from the moment you saw it being placed in your car.

Jamie let go off you and walked to the big box and looking back at you as a hint for you to come to him. It was wrapped in Christmas paper and a big red bow. You chuckled and Jamie immediately smiled brightly when he heard your giggle. You looked at Jamie again and he nodded, encouraging you to open it. You smiled and unwrapped the box before opening it. There was a big, like really big teddy bear completely pushed into the box. You chuckled and got it out, realizing how big it actually was. You couldn’t stop giggling. Jamie knew how much you loved teddy bears or plushies in general and you both joked about the plushies that they were never big enough.

“Is this one big enough, darling?” he asked you, chuckling himself. You nodded and threw your arms around him. “Thank you so much!” he chuckled and kissed your head. “Go look what he is wearing.” Jamie whispered in your ear. You let go of Jamie and inspected the teddy. He was wearing a big Stranger Things sweater that you pointed out a couple of weeks ago. “Oh my god Jamie. I love it! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” he chuckled, seeing your eyes sparkle at the gift. “I’m glad you like it love.” He told you and kissed your lips.

You both struggled to get the sweater of the huge teddy bear, both laughing in the process. The bear was almost the same length as you were and you loved it. You finally got the sweater of the teddy and you immediately put it on. It was even some extra sizes bigger because Jamie knew you like your sweater a couple sizes bigger. The sweater smelled familiar and you looked at Jamie. “I put some of my cologne on it so it smells like me.” he told you and you could almost feel your heart burst. You just hugged him and he smiled softly, knowing you were happy with his gift.

You both drank some tea and cuddled on the couch until it was time to get dressed. Your mom said that tonight it would be casual so the smell of food wouldn’t get into your clothes. You put on your outfit that was inspired by Wednesday Addams. The turtle neck with the spencer in black and white. You were absolutely in love with your outfit. Jamie wore his hereditary shirt and lied down on your bed while you were doing your make-up. He held his head up by his hands, elbows on the bed while he stared lovingly at you, snapping a quick pic of you.

“I really love your outfit darling. It suits you.” he told you adoringly. You smiled and felt flustered. You were done and walked to Jamie, who pulled you down on your bed and attacked you with kisses, making you giggle. “Jamieeee….. We’re going to be late.” You whined but your chuckles gave you away. Jamie laid down on his back, his arm stretched out on the bed as he sight dramatically, making you chuckle. You hang above him, surprising him. You smiled and kissed him. “There is that better?” you asked him with a chuckle. “Much better, love.” He told you and got up from the bed with a smile. “Let’s go than.”

You packed your car with all the presents and drinks. You looked at all the presents and chuckled. “We both really went shopping didn’t we…” you chuckled as Jamie stood next to you, looking at the presents as well and chuckled. “I think we did….” Jamie laughed. He reached for your hand and held it. “But I wanted to spoil you.” you felt your cheeks heat up. “I did too.” Jamie smiled and kissed the back of your hand. “Shall we go than princess?” he smirked, knowing the effect it had on you with the pet names. You felt your cheeks heat up and nodded. “Let me drive this time sweetheart.” He told you. You agreed and sat in the passengers seat. Jamie’s hand was resting on your thigh again as he drove to your mom’s house and her boyfriends while you both sang your heart out when running up that hill came up the radio. Your heart was already filled with so much joy that you felt all fuzzy inside.

You arrived at your mom’s place and her boyfriend helped you both getting everything out of the car after Jamie introduced himself to him. You smiled softly at the interaction as you both walked in. You greeted both of the dogs happily before going to your mom, who was in the kitchen preparing food. “Hi mom” You greeted her and gave her a hug, which she returned. When you got out of the hug you looked at Jamie who smiled and reached out his hand so he could properly introduce himself but your mom already pulled him into a hug. “Come on now, we’ve spoke before!” your mom teased.

Jamie was nervous, you could tell but when your mom hugged him, he started to feel more relaxed and welcome. You all decided to get a drink before getting back to the food after you put all the presents around the tree and where there was still some place because it was a lot. You all chatted and laughed while drinking some alcoholic beverage. You held Jamie’s hand underneath the table as you thumb softly rubbed the back of his hand for comfort. His nerves hadn’t left completely so you wanted to make sure he knew that he was welcome here.

After a drink, Jamie chatted with your mom’s boyfriend as you helped your mom in the kitchen with the food. You looked over at Jamie and he looked back at you, giving you a soft wink to let you know that everything was okay. You smiled softly and your mom noticed. “You guys are a good fit. I really like him.” she told you and you felt flustered again. “Yeah, he’s really great.” You told her with a smile. “So.. You think he’s the one?” she asked you and you smiled. “I know he’s the one.” You told her as you looked at Jamie but you noticed that he heard you as he got one of the biggest smiles and you saw him blush, getting shy and flustered himself.

You felt flustered, knowing he heard you. You tried to focus back on the food until the son of your mom's boyfriend came out of hiding from his room. You greeted him and Jamie did too. When the food was ready, you all gathered around the table, you sitting next to Jamie obviously.

After dinner, you all chilled for a bit until dessert and after some more relaxing. The tv was on with a radio station where they play songs that are in the top. They would end it on New Year's Eve and it was very much a tradition in your country to listen to it. After dessert, you slowly started giving the presents to each other. It was mostly small things but you loved every one of the gifts. You made Jamie a t-shirt which you designed. You were a graphic designer and he loved your work so you made him something unique and he absolutely loved it. You got some perfume, things for in the bath, a blanket which you could put your arms through, a very big onesie from Jamie as a care bear. You chuckled and immediately gave Jamie his other present. You giggled, knowing what was already in it.

He eyed you with a smirk and opened the present, seeing it was a onesie from one of the care bears as well. You all laughed and Jamie pulled you against him kissing the side of your head. “I love you, darling.” He whispered. You felt fuzzy inside by the way he looked at you. “I love you too Jamie.” You unwrapped more presents (god you all went really out this year with the gifts.) You gave Jamie concert tickets for the two of you, you got a lot of chocolate and small stuff. You felt so content and happy right here in this moment, you couldn’t remember when you were this happy on Christmas eve or day.

After all the presents, you all had a drink before heading home. You hugged everyone, just like Jamie and packed everything in the car. Jamie wanted to drive again so you sat next to him. He held your hand and placed a kiss on the back of it. “I really enjoyed this.” you told him and he looked over at you. “I’m glad you did. I know how you can feel about Christmas and I wanted to give you the best one.” Your heart was melting at the sweet gesture. “You did. This is the best Christmas I’ve ever had and not because of the presents but because of you.” Jamie couldn’t stop smiling and kissed your hand again.

When you arrived home, you were both exhausted. You put the presents on the table for a minute, not having the energy to unpack it right now. You both headed upstairs to put your matching Christmas pajamas on, which Jamie gave you. You both stood in front of the long mirror. Jamie had his arm around you as he pulled you closer to his body. “Let’s make a Christmas photo.” Jamie suggested and you laughed, finding it a great idea. “By the Christmas tree?” you asked carefully, making Jamie smile adoringly at you, his eyes radiating nothing but love. “By the Christmas tree.” He repeated you, making you smile shyly.

You both walked downstairs and placed the phone down for the picture. You took multiple pictures until you both got into a laughing fit. When you were done, you both looked at the pictures that had been taken. “I love them!” you told him as you scrolled through the pictures. You chose the one where you both laughed hysterically and the one where  you looked into the camera and Jamie looking lovingly at you and the third where Jamie gives you a kiss on your cheek.

Jamie and you posted them on Instagram before you went to the kitchen to make some tea. Jamie walked up behind you. “Darling? I have one more present for you…” he told you and you turned around a bit surprised. “Oh Jamie, you didn’t have to….” Jamie smiled and shook his head. He gave you a perfectly wrapped box to you that he held behind his back. You looked up at him still a bit surprised. “Open it” he told you encouraging you again. You carefully unwrapped the present and you saw the box. Your mouth fell slightly open, not believing what he actually got you.

You got the paper completely away and held the box in your arms. It was a camera. Not just a camera but the one you were saving your money for. You were saving this for over a year and a half now and Jamie just gave it to you. you couldn’t believe it and felt tears prickle in your eyes. Jamie smiled lovingly at you, his eyes radiating nothing but love. “Now you’re not limited anymore. You can show the world your talents. I believe in you darling.” The tears slipped. ( you were a concert photographer and was stressing about the pictures because it was a basic camera, not really doing well in low light situations which caused you so much stress). You threw your arms around Jamie and cried. You never really cried about a present but this meant so much to you and Jamie knew that “Jamie….. I…. I don’t know what to say….. Thank you so much! I can’t thank you enough.”

Jamie chuckled and held your chin between his fingers again. “Darling… seeing you smile like this is already enough for me. You deserve it! You’re so talented but were limited by your other camera. Now you are limitless and I know you���ll be great. Big even!” he told you and placed a kiss on your lips before softly wiping away the tears on your cheeks. You chuckled emotionally and cupped his cheeks, pulling him back in a passionate kiss.

You both were exhausted and plopped on the couch with the tea. You put the grinch on while Jamie started reading the book you gave him, which was your favorite. You laid stretched out on the couch while Jamie let his head rest on your stomach as you went softly through his hair with your fingers. You forgot about the movie and stared at Jamie who got a grin, noticing you were staring. “You’re staring darling.” He told you with a smirk but his eyes never leaving the book. You felt flustered but didn’t stop looking. “I’ve never felt more complete than I do now.” you told him honestly.

Jamie looked at you and placed the book away, turning on his side with his head still resting on your stomach, looking at you with a loving smile. “I believe you’re the one as well, love.” He told you, making you smile. “I’ve never felt this for someone. My love grows with the minute and it’s never been this strong for you my love.” You felt shyly. Jamie cupped your jaw with his hand, his thumb softly rubbing your cheek. You both just stared at each other lovingly, enjoying the intimate moment the two of you shared.

“Let’s go to bed, princess.” He told you and helped you up from the couch. You both got ready and plopped in your bed. Jamie rested his head by your shoulder, his finger slowly tracing your arm and drawing invisible patterns. You turned around so you could face Jamie. Your fingers softly tracing the features on his face before you both lazily made out. “Merry Christmas darling.” He whispered softly. “Merry Christmas Jamie.” You smiled. You snuggled closer to Jamie before falling into a deep, peaceful sleep, happy that Jamie was by your side again.

~Next morning~

You slowly woke up, blinking your eyes a few times while you were still wrapped in Jamie’s arms. You lifted your head up a little bit and could see that it was snowing through the blinds. You smiled, feeling once again all fuzzy and content as the warmth hugged your heart. You looked at Jamie who was peacefully sleeping and quickly snapped a pic. You couldn’t let this perfect moment go uncaptured.

Once you did that, you felt Jamie pulling you back in your place, right in his arms as he murmured. “Let’s stay like this for a while, my love.” You smiled and snuggled closer into the warmth from his body. “I’d like that.” You whispered back as he kissed the top of your head.  Jamie pulled the covers more up as you closed your eyes again, enjoying this perfect morning on Christmas day.

[pocketstoriesstore]

Hey there. Sorry for my choice of words, I’m from BR and I love to write, but I write in Portuguese 🤭 this time I decided to do different so here we are. I hope you like this piece of story.

More coming soon.

————————————🫀—————————————

“SOUNDS FAIR”

Part I.

You're counting the minutes to finish the activities at the bar where you've been working the last few days.

You decided to accept the job just to be able to spend some time with your best friend since you arrived in her city to visit and, to be honest, you also needed to reset your thoughts and inspirations , after working for six years with different types of art.

Maybe it's true what they say about hard work being good for the mind, because the two of you spend the hole time laughing your asses off under your hands and behind the pillars so your customers don't feel uncomfortable with your inside jokes- and whining.

You both complain more than anything, but in your case it's not always a joke.

In fact, exaggerated jokes and lamentations helps you to get rid of memories from a past that you don't want to remember so soon, at least while you can't be strong enough to face it.

But that Tuesday promised more than any of the eight days of staying at Eliz's house.

Almost eleven o’clock. You two were ready to leave work a little earlier, so you decided to spend the last minutes smoking in the back of the bar (hidden from Eliz's father, who abhorred cigarettes although he also sells them to the costumers), complaining about the loneliness of the lack of a new love in your very difficult lives of endless work.

Elizabeth:“Could it be that it was easier to be a hooker than a bartender? “

You laughed out loud at the question.

You:”At least hookers are never alone."

E: "You see: they have sex, they are never alone and they parade around much prettier than the two of us, who smell like cigarettes and beer"

y:”Elizabeth, for god's sake!"

E:”Look at our hair! We need help!"

Y: “Any help is welcome. Anything, seriously, I’ll die one of this days, you’ll see.”

While you put out your cigarette and get ready to make your way to the bar again to take your bag, a motorcycle whose model you merely know as a road passes by you slowly, but you can't see the face of the blond rider. He seemed to be looking for a place to park among so many other motorcycles.

You strain to see his face without looking like an obvious idiot, and hope he's a bar costumer.

Well, he stops where you want. He looks around, so you can see his face. What a godamn face! You feel almost angry.

For a second he seemed to glance at you, but that would be too much for your sick mind. That was too fast, did he see you? You don’t know, but you saw him.

Goal.

E:”Oh, this guy is such a dream! They say he works for the police, but he doesn't talk to anyone so I don’t know. Once I asked my father about him and his name, but he told me that he was only sure that he would like me having all this interest in keeping the family business on tracks.”

You laugh.

E: Seriously, I've already made myself look ridiculous twice trying to get his attention, spent three therapy sessions confused as to whether I felt rejected or whether he really exists.

Elizabeth talks a lot, but that time you WANTED to hear a lot.

E: He literally didn’t look me in the face. NEVER. He always orders whiskey, reads some messages on the phone, checks his watch all the time, looks around as if he’s waiting for someone, and only talks to my father and Sebastian, the waiter who replaces us when we leave earlier. He smells so good! His helmet sits at my dad's feet at the till because my dad is afraid I'm going to grab it and give it back to the owner just to try to talk to him, cause I did that once but he just said "thank you". I hate him.

You laugh even more.

Y: He hated you first, he deserves all your hate, baby. And you know what? Today I’ll give back the helmet to him. After pouring him his whiskey, of course.

E: No way! Please avenge me! I'll pay you fifty dollars if you do this! My God, I feel hysterical, I'm going to die laughing!

Y: Well, let's find out his name, too. If you want to know his age, marital status, even if he is a police officer as they say, increase the value to one hundred dollars and I’ll give it all to you.

You live her at the corner of the bar door, laughing as she watches.

You get inside the bar at the same pace you usually work at, take the bottle of whiskey and pour it into the glass while chasing him around. But you don't see him.

you feel the frustration filling your lungs, because you made huge plans in a few seconds and even less meters away. You already wanted all that so much. Why? Was all that loneliness? What a ridiculous situation.

At least you tried to keep that little heartbeat you felt a few minutes ago.

With your melted face and the eternal seconds passing you by, you felt even more anxious, quitting the hole day like you've paid your karma for betting someone's personal informations for a few dollars.

Y:” Okay, that’s why I never play games.”

You rip off your apron, swallows all the whiskey from the glass at once, lights another cigarette with the bar lighter - because even your own lighter was gone, and goes towards the door, feeling your throat still burning with whiskey.

Suddenly he comes in and your heart stops.

He puts out his cigarette, takes your lighter out of his pocket, holds it out to give it back to you and says, in the lowest and calmest voice as it’s possible, with a hint of laughter:

"A hundred dollars, huh? Sounds fair. Name’s Leon."

[pregination]

The betrayed gynecologist: part I

It’s very early in the morning as you wake up, you gently rub your belly, who would’ve thought you could possibly get this big? And who would’ve thought you’d enjoy every single bit of your pregnancy. You think about the day you found out, you were pregnant. How excited you were to tell your boyfriend Joe and how excited Joe was to tell everyone you know. Your heart hurts a little as Joe appears in your thoughts. As you think of him, you start to notice a slight cramp, but you don’t really pay attention to it, since you were having Braxtonhix for weeks now and you still wonder why he was so in love with you and still left you all of a sudden. Also, you think, it’s at least two more weeks until your due date. You then think of all the babies you delivered before, who if not you would know if it’s a real contraction or not?

You shake your head and tell yourself to stop. It wouldn’t lead you anywhere, would it? You grab your phone, checking your mails, as you notice five missed calls from your assistant. It’s only seven in the morning, you wonder. What was going on here? You get up, slowly, your belly just got so big and you’re still very small. As you sit up, another, yet slightly stronger cramp rushes through, you hold your breathe a second, cause that really hurt.  The phone rings two times, then Paige, your assistant and friend picks up: “Hey Court, I know you’re on  your day off, but I have a problem here, well Dr. Oppner doesn’t pick up her phone and there’s this girl, she’s having contractions, like every five minutes and I need you to deliver the baby, do you think you could do that?” You think about it for a second: “Just send her to the E.R. then?” 

“I don’t think she’ll make it there! Please Court, I cannot do that alone! Please!” 

“Okay, fine. I’ll be there in ten.”, you hang up the phone and rush to the bathroom, you put some clothes on and drive to your practice. You enter the room and the first thing you see is that super young girl, how old is she? She cannot be older than 17. You tie your hair up and put on some gloves, you check in with Paige: “What do we know so far?” “That’s Olive, she’s 16 and as she’s concern 37 weeks along, the contractions are every three minutes now, 4 centimeters dilated.” 

“Okay, thank you, P.”, you say and turn to Olive: “Hi, Olive, I’m Dr. Courtney Preston. We’re going to have your baby today, not gonna lie, it’s gonna hurt, but we’ll get through this together. I’m going to check your cervix now, just keep breathing for me, slowly.” You smile at her, but she doesn’t really seem to notice you, since she’s in so much pain. “You’re having a contraction right now?” She just nods and whines before you. You exam her and she is still just at 4 centimeters and her water hasn’t broken yet. You check in with Paige: “I want to do a sonogram, please bring me the ultrasound, thanks!” 

“Okay, sweety, this is going to take some time, can you tell me, does anybody know about this? Mom, dad, best friend, the father of the baby?” 

Olive catches a breathe: “Yes, the father of the baby, he, oooooh god, owh!”, she groans as another contraction hits her. “Breathe for me my love, it’s over soon!” Paige comes back with the ultrasound and you put it on her belly, which still is rock hard. “The babies father, should we call him and tell him to come here, sweetheart?”, you ask. Olive nods. You send Paige to get to the phone as you check for the baby’s height, weight and position. Everything seems fine and ready for a safe delivery. You smile at Olive: “Perfect little baby, you’re doing  such an amazing job, lovely!” 

Paige returns and looks like she just saw a ghost. You notice and ask: “What’s wrong, P.?” Paige stutters: “Ehm, he’s on his way, but, ehm, Court, don’t freak out, okay? It’s Joe.” You gasp, immediately you hold your belly, no way, this is impossible, that thought is interrupted by a loud scream of Olives and you hear slight drops, followed by it. Her water just broke. You try to get your head back together, focus, you tell yourself. This is not about you. You face her, as she’s lies in front of you in such pain. Paige holds her hand, as she screams, she needs to push. You check her again and she’s now eight centimeters dilated, so you tell her to not push yet, and to focus on her breathing. 

“Get it out, make it stop, please, please! Ooooooowh, I can’t do this, aaaah” Olive cries. The doorbell rings and Paige opens it, Joe walks in and your heart skips a beat. How dare he! But you need to focus on that girl, that’s your job. When suddenly for feel your pants get wet. You look down yourself and notice that little puddle right at your feet. Not now. God, please, not now. “Shit. Fuck. Shit!”, you moan, as a contraction hits you. Paige looks at you: “you’re okay?” You nod: “I’m in labor.” Joe and Paige both look at the little puddle and go: shit! Olive then again screams in pain: “I really have to push!”, as she starts to moan and push. 

[islaytonlost]

The Jigsaw Museum Part 1

This is being crossposted to a03 if you prefer to read on ther but I'll update both platforms at roughly the same time.

Part 2

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

Fendi stares at the envelope in his hands, the garish red puzzles bordered the pink background. It was an eyesore to say the least. An eyesore he would only be expecting to be holding if he’d found it on the scene of some crime not posted through his letterbox, without a stamp, without anything to identify it but his name.

“Dear Detective Layton and his assistant,

You are formally invited to the grand opening of the Jigsaw Museum. As one of the leading detectives on the case and the detective that figured the whole case out, we’d be delighted if you could grace us with your appearance.

The museum was curated to honour those who were lost by the puzzle murders, to commemorate them and so that the general public can understand that these deaths were not in vain but each one lead the famous detective Layton to the killer. Then, at the end of the experience we commemorate the final case, the one was Alfendi Layton proves himself innocent for the crime he accused himself of a few years prior.

Doors open at 18:00 the Sunday coming up. Tickets for opening are £50 but of course you go free as a VIP. The museum curator would love to talk to you one on one.

Regards, The Jigsaw Museum

The letter was garishly perfumed, as if to make up for the fact it was black ink on white paper, as if this too had to be garish. The puzzle they sent him was bad enough, poorly phrased and lacking a certain understanding of what a puzzle should be. Hershel had always taught him about this and that alone put him in a bad mood. So did the fact they seemed to have forgotten Lucy unless you counted the first line, where they seemed to have forgotten her name.

Nothing about this was right. At all.

No shit. We have to go there. Al advises, Fendi doesn’t bother answering, too busy focused on the puzzle. Maybe it was poorly phrased or maybe he was just rusty, but he couldn’t seem to get it. Oh really, you really can’t do it? I thought you were meant to be as smart as me. Al taunts, not exactly meanly. He didn’t seem to be able to communicate any other way. He was making an effort though, which was usually nice but also, at this particular time, was really frustrating as now he was so frustrated, he couldn’t solve the puzzle.

Puzzles are stupid. I can solve a murder in just a few minutes, how is this useful?” laughing echoes. You know the answer don’t you? Smug silence. Okay please, please tell me.

The hesitation was actually worrying, Promise you won’t freak out? Fendi just glares at the puzzle, pencilling out prospective answers, it doesn’t matter. Just try not to freak out too much. The puzzle is an address and it leads to Forbodium Castle.

The world sort of blanked out then. Al taking charge and Fendi finding himself in the backseat, once again, Okay, so you know we can’t go back there, nothing good ever happens there.

I didn’t realise you were superstitious like you are, the location means nothing. It; just to commemorate Lucy’s biggest accomplishment yet! Clearing us of murder.

I just don’t want anyone getting hurt, again! You remember the whole reason we can even talk now, and you know our chest hurts whenever it’s cold because we got fucking shot and could have gone the same way last time we were there. Lucy almost went the same way! Hilda could have died and thank god for Lucy. We should be DEAD…

Well, they’ll probably commemorate her! Why else would they have avoided her name? How else? Anyone who’s spent two minutes researching that case would know she’s associated with us!

Liar.

You can’t stop me, well, maybe you can but you shouldn’t. This is big, we need to know what’s happening, what people are saying about us, and Lucy. If they somehow don’t mention her, we can make sure she gets credit. Now, I’m going to go tell her.

There’s an 78% chance that this will go wrong.

---

Breaking the news to Lucy went perfectly fine, she was her usual; chipper self and things hadn’t been busy. The rest of the force actually being competent for once (and also, extremely busy. Something both Alfendi and Lucy were avoiding for fear of being put on something that involved talking to people who weren’t suspects.

After hearing the news Lucy considers a moment pretending to be reading an old case file, a file she hadn’t read before they solved that particular case, “So it’s a museum about your cases? And you’re the VIP?”

“Yes, mostly, but it’ll feature our cases, the jigsaw killings you helped solve! What idiot wouldn’t want to see their name in lights. They may not have specified that they’re including you, but your name is on the invite and who couldn’t include you!” he was twisting the truth slightly but they had at least mentioned her. It wasn’t a lie that Lucy would really get hurt over.

You should at least let her know what she’s getting into. Fendi yells, hearing Al’s thoughts, Al ignores him. He did that a lot when they were talking to other people.

“I don’t know Prof… It sounds kind of, intrusive.” She bats the page she’s been looking at back and forth giving up even the pretence of reading. She wasn’t looking directly at Al either, pretending like she didn’t care as much about this as she did.

“Lucy, I know you’ve been reading news reports about my father, you’ve been using the news to spy on my family for a while but Hershel has never had a museum built in his name!” Al moves his hand out in a flourish, as if underlining his illuminated name. Lucy smiles slightly.

That’s why you want to go?

“Actually…” the doubt and the worry was clear to see but she didn’t get a chance to finish that sentence as Al continues, ignoring Fendi’s next statement.

And it’s the KILLER’S name in lights. And you call me the idiot Fendi mutters.

“And we’ll be guests of honour, well I am but I won’t let you leave my side, you are after all the Watson to my Holmes.” That got her going, Lucy finally looks at Alfendi in mock anger.

“Oi! I’ve solved plenty without you. I’ve outsmarted you too!” she had, solving the Forbodium case and apparently hiding case files in places so he’d go home and rest. Another way she managed to outsmart him. It really wasn’t so fair of Barton to pick someone who could show him up so much.

“Indeed, you have, and yet I am still your superior!”

“Equal!”

“Superior!”

Their bickering continued for a while, like a long while before. An actual case was deposited on Lucy’s desk and the matter was resolved by Lucy agreeing to go as long as she got to head this case.

---

“So I’ve been told about this museum about the Jigsaw killings,” Barton sighs, leaning back in his chair, the leaflet on his desk.

“Oh -ACHOO- no,” Florence grabs it, “he does not need a bigger ego, y- -ACH00- you know last week he would not shut up about this mistake I made.”

“It’s not that I’m most concerned about, I’m told someone has been interviewing Justin.”

“You do- don- -ACHOO- don’t think… Oh he’s going to lose it. It’ll be a shitshow!”

“or a bloodbath,” Barton sighs, “so you need to go.”

“Why -ACHOO- me?”

“Alfendi is quite…”

“Aggressive?” Florence offers, “angry with occasionally violent tendencies?” she raises an eyebrow.

“Quiet. So, as his friend he’ll be less of… that, towards you.”

“Oh, so I have to deal with his explosive temper!” she glares at him “-ACHOO-, no, I’m not taking this heat, you do it!”

Barton sighs, “I can’t risk being recognised, please.”

Florence pockets the leaflet, glaring at Barton. He raises an eyebrow, and she sighs nodding, “fine, I’ll babysit your favourite detective and when he catches me you’ll owe me, big time.”

[lonewolfel]

Attack of Zakuul: Chapter 10

Read on AO3

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8

Inspired by this post on Tumblr by @bluezeri

"Here's to another successful mission," Ciece said. They raised their glass. The rest of the crew cheered as they all began to drink.

Onorshash watched on half-heartedly from her viewpoint leaning against the wall of the cantina. She had to admit that the criminals tended to have more...lively celebrations. 

A small ding interrupted Onorshash's focus. She pulled out her datapad expecting to see that someone from her old crew or the Jedi Order messaged her asking her why she had thrown everything away, but it wasn't. 

Instead, the alert came from one Theron Shan. Onorshash had interacted with the spy a handful of times during Yavin. She wouldn't necessarily call them friends and she doubted that he would have any qualms about arresting her.

Fear rose up in her but she pushed it down.

There is no emotion there is only peace.

"Are you ok?" Her companion asked. He must have approached her when she wasn't paying attention. She needs to get her emotions in check.

"I'm fine." Onorshash dismissed. She read the message and fear began to try to take a hold of her.

Theron wanted to meet. He was already here and everything. 

Onorshash closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She felt the sway of the Force moving through her. It sent no echo of danger around the corner.

Onorshash opened her eyes. She knew what she needs to do.

She began to walk forward finally catching sight of a familiar red jacket. Her companion began to sputter and follow after her. She paid him no mind.

Theron was alone at a table in the back of the cantina. He had a glass of whiskey and was reclined in a relaxed way. At least relaxed to those who don't have a trained eye. He was tensed with a hand close to where a blaster was likely hidden. He was prepared for a fight but didn't have the energy of one walking into a fight.

"I never took you as the type to hang out in cantinas Ono." Theron greeted.

"I'm not," Onorshash said. The man shifted behind her. "My companion is more than I." 

Theron eyed the man. Clearly trying to decide if he was a threat. The two humans remind silent. Theron clearly decided that he wasn't a threat as he looked away.

"I'm sure he is, but this doesn't concern him," Theron said.

"If it concerns her then it concerns me." Her companion snapped back. 

Onorshash quickly got between the two humans before a fight could possibly break out. 

"We can all have a civilized conversation," Onorshash said. This earned her a huff from her companion and a snort from the spy.

"An old friend of yours wants to meet you," Theron said.

Onorshash frowned in thought. She had a great many friends, but why wouldn't they reach out to her directly? Perhaps it was a trap or something else.

"I have a great many friends. Perhaps you can narrow it down for me." Onorshash said.

"The one that carries this," Theron said. With that, he pulled out a lightsaber.

Onorshash felt shock flow through her as she looked at the hilt. It was Master Yuon's. She had known that Yuon was still alive carrying out historical research on Tython, but unfortunately, their paths have not crossed since they parted all those years ago.

Onorshash took the lightsaber gingerly. She handles it as if it was made of glass and would shatter if handled harder than she was currently.

"Where did you get this?" Onorshash asked. She felt her companion's confusion and she imagined that she wasn't making any sense but she needs to know.

"She gave it to me to convince you to come," Theron explained. 

And convince it certainly did.

Theron was a strong fighter but she would likely be able to escape if he just attacked. 

Yuon was like Onorshash. They were both proficient with lightsaber fighting as all Jedi are but they weren't fighters. Onorshahs a diplomat and healer and Yuon a historian.

Onorshash doubted that Yuon would be working with the Republic to bring her in after all her training under the older master had only been months a small amount of time even during war times. 

No, Yuon has her own reason for meeting. 

Onorshash closed her eyes and focused on the Force. The Force showed no ill will in this invitation.

She was about to agree when she remembered her companion.

"I would, but..." Onorshash started.

"Go." Her companion said. " I can tell this person means a lot to you and if you don't think it's a trap then go."

"Great, I'll meet you guys at the ship. Oh, and try not to be too long I have to get back before the SIS realizes I'm missing." Theron said. 

"Who is he?" Her companion asked when the spy was out of earshot.

"Theron Shan SIS. We worked together on Yavin to defeat a false Revan." Onorshash explained.

The man frowned in thought. Likely confused about some of the aspects of her statement.

"SIS, aren't they spies for the Republic?" The companion asked.

"Yes." Onorshash agreed.

"This could be a trap." The man snarled.

"I doubt it. That was my master's lightsaber she wouldn't lead me to a trap. Besides the Republic likely doesn't even think about using her as a trap." Onorshash said.

The man shook his head. He was clearly unhappy with her choice.

"One of these days you are going to get yourself into trouble and get yourself killed and I won't be there to bail you out." The man growled.

"Dully noted," Onorshash said.

She then turned around and headed toward the landing platforms. The man followed behind her despite his protests. 

Onorshash felt concern rise up in her. Yuon wouldn't be contacting her for no reason, not to mention it has been so long since they have seen each other. She has changed so much since becoming the Barsen'thor. 

Would Yuon be proud or horrified by her?

Onorshash shook her head to allow the thoughts to pass. There was no use dwelling on her fears and concerns. On what had been or what would be. She needs to focus on what is happening now, and right now she is heading to see her old master.

[when-wax-wings-melt]

“I need to know what you meant earlier by my time, [brother]. I keep coming back to that, and I’ve seen that you choose your words carefully, and I know my time was no mistake. Please.” His anxiety and fear was almost paralyzing in its strength, the only thing which kept him from hiding and throwing himself back into the nightmares was his curiosity. Icarus was completely still, for once. He glanced at Tim to make sure he hadn’t woken up.

Bold of Icarus to assume Jason didn't know Ancient Greek -- one of his closest friends was an Amazon. He caught it, but let it slide. "I don't think it's linear, since we're from different universes, and I'm not the historian of the family, but... Greece as you know it was over two thousand years ago."

“Oh.” Icarus felt something crack. It got a bit harder to breathe. “How long have you known about this?” His heart was beating perfectly fine, that fucking traitor. “How long have you known that everyone I once knew was dead? How long would it have taken you to tell me if I didn’t ask so many stupid questions?” His voice was quiet, but the tone was furious. He noticed his knees almost touched Jason, and his expression turned pained. He moved away, avoiding any contact, physical or that of their eyes. “How long would it have taken you to tell me that everyone and everything I cared about there was dead? Why did you put off telling me?” His arms wrapped around his stomach to hopefully ease it some. It didn’t help. There was a pressure in his veins and in his head and it was shrieking. It was so loud and it sounded like the pleas of a father to be forgiven and it hurt. Tears began to well in his eyes. “Why didn’t you just tell me? Does he know? Was anything you told me real?” He was trembling, then. He curled in on himself, and in his eyes was such agony. He was mourning a million things, all at once. “Did either of you mean it when you said I could be safe, that I could live with you, that I could meet your family and maybe even be a part of it? Did I die alone in your world? Oh wait, I’m sure I did. If my father was anything like the one in your world, I know I did. At least that Icarus died in peace.” His next words, the ones which would have hurt lost stuck in his throat. I wish I had never come here. I wish I had never met either of you. I wish I had just died. Everything would have been so much simpler. It’s partially true at least and they don’t get it. He wanted to hurt. He needed to hurt. He had to make his br- Tim and Jason understand what was happening in his chest. His heart was tearing apart and he wished he didn’t care so much. Furious tears began to fall down his cheeks.

Jason forced himself to stay still, despite the hammering of mistake, mistake, mistake in his head. "I didn't want to hurt you." Mistake. "It didn't even occur to me until you mentioned priests and kings." Mistake. "I thought Tim would have told you." Mistake. "I'm sorry, I should have told you from the start."

You can't do anything right.

He held Tim slightly tighter, counting his heartbeats.

"We meant it when we said you could stay," he added softly. "I-- neither of us wanted to hurt you. We just wanted you to feel safe. I'm sorry."

"Well, he didn't. And you didn't either. Fuck-" The rushing in Icarus' head was so loud and it was getting harder to breathe, but his stupid, idiotic, open, bleeding heart continued beating. "It goes two ways, I told you everything. I told you about him. And... and..." The fury in his veins was burning him. He needed to get it out, it hurt, he had to get away before he burned the only people left in his world he cared about. "It hurts. I trust you both and now my blood is burning me, and my heart is being ripped out but I'm still here." He was hyperventilating by that point, and his eyes were wild with panic. He pulled gently at the hoodie, at the part above his heart. Words were trying to escape, but they were trapped behind some fucking barrier in his own head again. The tears kept falling.

He couldn't breathe enough, and he could only hope that Jason understood. He hoped, with the functioning part of his head, that Jason noticed the present tense of trust.

But he had bigger problems.

"I know," Jason said, fighting the urge to reach out and hug Icarus because he knew that would be the wrong move. "And I shouldn't have put off telling you -- clearly exhaustion is nothing compared to this. And you deserve to be told the truth and to have people you can trust. And you have every right to be angry with me." Even though it hurt, worse than the time he'd taken a knife to the gut or a bullet to the shoulder. Stupid emotions.

Icarus put his hands at his throat and gently squeezed before both hands went back to his chest, holding the tatters together. He couldn't stop crying and his head was bowed to hide it, despite how much harder it made breathing. A whimper came from his throat as the rage continued to rampage through his veins and burn everything it touched.

He wished he could speak but his words had shut down. It was so frustrating and he wanted to scream.

"In through your nose, out through your mouth," Jason said, so desperate to control his feelings that that desperation was all he felt. Counterintuitive, but at least he wasn't angry. "If you need to take a walk, do that. I can also shut up."

Icarus immediately got up. He cringed and looked to Tim before he tried to meet Jason's eyes. I don't forgive you. I love you. He slipped out of the room like a ghost, leaving behind one paper in his rush. It was the drawing of Solace, looking concerned.

Jason let out a choked breath and dipped his head, resting his forehead against the top of Tim's head. "Fuck."

That about summed it up.

Tim was just kind of unconsciously vibing in absolute terror, but he was definitely fine. Yep. Actually, being curled against Jason was helping, and so was the tightness of the blanket, but there was only so much those things could do in the face of sheer panic.

Tim woke up with a start -- he was shaking so badly that Jason had to put both arms around him just to be able to keep him balanced.

"It's okay," Jason said as evenly as he could manage, trying to keep his own surging worry under control. "Breathe."

"Where's Icarus?" Tim managed.

"I fucked up," Jason muttered.

Tim shook his head -- that wasn't an answer.

"I told him about the time gap."

Tim stopped breathing. That-- Jason had-- Icarus would--

He couldn't even form the words, just that something about that was so, terribly wrong, and he could feel the anxiety and panic dig its claws in deeper, his heart stammering to pick up speed to match his racing, incomprehensible thoughts.

Jason could feel his brother's panic, and it broke his heart. He hadn't been this helpless since--

Absolutely not.

He forced the memory down with every ounce of resistance he had left.

And that's when the Pit raised its head. You know how to end this.

He did, and his mind immediately began making the calculations. Who was alone? What could he use?

He started to get up-- but Tim clung to his arm with a death grip, like he was drowning. "I know what you're thinking."

"Tim."

"Please don't leave me here," Tim whispered, and it was that that made Jason sit back down and hold his brother closer, against the screaming of the Pit.

HELLO???? IM KIND OF OBSESSED WIRH THIS TBH

[twstrhythm]

“Yawn! I don’t have time for this… Just leave me alone.”

Technical Information:

Name: Aaron Claw Nicknames: Little Sea Lion (Floyd); Monsieur Arbres (Rook); Lazybuns (Matthew); Fluffy Face (Ester); Cowardly Lion (Varian) Voice Actor: Tatsuhisa Suzuki (Ban, Nanatsu no Taizai)

Biological Information:

Gender: Male Pronouns: He/Him Age: 16 Birthday: January 22 Star Sign: Aquarius Height: 178 cm Hair color: Peach Eye color: Magenta Homeland: Sunset Savanna Family: Father †; Mother †; one older brother; three younger sisters

Professional Status:

School: Night Raven College Dorm: Savanaclaw School Year: First Class: 1-A Student Number: 28 Occupation: Student Club: Magical Shift Club Best Subject: Animal Languages

Fun facts:

Dominant hand: Right Favorite Food: Grilled Steak Least Favorite Food: Broccoli Dislikes: Loud Noises; Attention Hobbies: Napping Talents: Can scale a tree in 5 seconds

Appearance:

Aaron is a beastman with lion ears on the top of his head. He also has a lion tail. His hair is peach in color and has a messy cut at the back. He typically doesn’t wear the outer jacket for the school uniform, opting to only wear the inner shirt and vest.

Personality:

Aaron is a daydreamer. He constantly has his head in the clouds when he is not interested in the topic that is being discussed. However, he becomes very competitive if there is something that excites him.

Background:

Aaron comes from a poor family. They live in the more rural areas of Sunset Savana, and do not make very much money. His parents struggled to make enough money to feed them all, but they worked hard everyday. However, one day they hadn’t returned home and were reported to have died in an accident. His older brother had grown tired of living in those conditions, so he had left the family behind and never looked back

As a result, Aaron’s younger sisters turned to him for help. However, he still cared greatly for his family. He would go out on the streets asking if there were simple tasks he could do for neighbors in exchange for a meal. Oftentimes, he could not get enough food to feed everyone, so the food was given to his younger sisters. He never resented them for that, and would only eat when they had enough.

After discovering that he could use magic, he enrolled himself at Night Raven College in hopes of finding a way to help his family have a better life.

His brother had returned when he had been accepted into the school and attempted to make amends, but Aaron left without saying goodbye to him. He refuses to speak to someone who had turned his back on them when they were struggling.

Skills and Abilities

Quick on his feet: He is quick on his feet which has helped him to get away from dangerous situations. He also is quick to run away from unfavorable situations for his own safety.

Flexibility: He is incredibly flexible which has helped him to fit into tight spaces others normally wouldn’t be able to fit into. He is also able to fit into small spaces which is partially due to his cat genes.

Enhanced Strength: He has enhanced strength.

Enhanced Sense of Hearing: He has an enhanced sense of hearing.

Enhanced Sense of smell: He has an enhanced sense of smell.

Magical Skill: He is skilled in magic, particularly Fire magic. He has good control over his magic, and he is able to minimize damage done to his surroundings to some extent. However, he leaves some things partially burned.

Unique Magic:

Aaron’s Unique Magic is All Eyes On Me. It makes everyone in the area focus their attention on him for a short amount of time. The more people it is used on, the more strain it puts on him. It can be used on animals as well as human beings. However, the longer he does it, the more blot will accumulate. If he uses it multiple times in a row, blot accumulation increases. Using it too much can sometimes result in a headache for him.

Chant: "Aren't you bored? Want to see something fun? I have it,  All Eyes On Me!"

Trivia:

Aaron has a strained relationship with his older brother

Despite that, Aaron’s older brother still lives in their home to care for his sisters while he goes to school

He sends money back home for his sisters to use

Aaron’s dislike for broccoli stems from the fact that it was the last meal he had with his parents before they died

Ironically Aaron’s Unique Magic draws attention to himself when he dislikes being the center of attention.

[lifewiththelulus]

I have an idea for more drama at the bakery. Cirrus’s sister, Gen, comes to the store and pretty much inserts herself back into her life out of nowhere.

Kindlin isn't gonna let that happen very easily At least not until she's sure of gens intentions

She's a washed-up athlete, after one too many lost games and bad endorsement deals, she's all out of money and no longer able to play the one thing she was good at. Cirrus is still very bitter that Gen not only never stood up for her when they were kids but for leaving her and Breeze as soon as Breeze needed to be taken care of more and more as she got older.

Having personally seen the toll it took on Cirrus, Kindlin is more than ready for this girl to get lost

Omfg Gen: "Bleh! This cake is horrible!"

Kin: "oh my goodness I'm sooo sorry! I must've used salt instead of sugar 🙃"

The poor kids looking up at their mom asking "Why didn't you tell us we had an aunt?"

Kindlin would probably gives Cirrus a look that she can go and she'd take care of this conversation because she knew it would be a tough one She probably opened up to them that they also had a grandma in fire land but they hadn't talked in years so she didn't know what happened to her after that. She probably gently explained to them that it was best for everyone that Gen not be there, without revealing too many details about why

Gen is desperate to have a roof over her head and apologizes for what she's done (though in her mind she isn't) and plays the we're family card on her. Cirrus says she can stay for a night and give her a little money for a hotel but after that, she's on her own. So they are stuck with Gen for the rest of the day.

Kindlin doesn't say anything about it but makes sure Cirrus doesn't have to be alone with her She's not giving gen the chance to manipulate her any more. She also is noticably quiet the entire time. Normally when they have a guest Kindlin is all over them making sure they're comfortable and feeding them treats but with gen she gives short responses and only gives her the necessities. She's only being that nice for Cirrus sake but could honestly care less about gen at the moment

When the kids start asking her questions she tells them stories of how she was one of the top Air ball players. Without mentioning her controversies of course. Cirrus tries to get them away from Gen, she doesn't want them to get attached to her. Once there gone the adults can talk about more serious stuff.

Kindlin calls up Mimi and Hazel and asks them if the kids could come over for a couple days She phrases it like Mimi is inviting them though so they don't think too much about it

Once the kids are gone kin can be more focused on comforting Cirrus and not letting Gen get to her

Gen: …So, wow you've really come far in life, wife, kids, and you, well look at you, you can finally be yourself now.

Cirrus: yeah Gen: So um, Kindilin right? How has my br- er I mean sister been treating you?

Kindlin turns a little purple Kin: she has been treating me perfectly fine, thank you. And it's Kind-lin.

She doesn't take very kindly to a question at all

Gen sweats a little and stutters. Gen: Right of course, sorry! Uh I was thinking, while I’m staying at the hotel, maybe we could have a um sisters day out, just us, and catch up. Cirrus: Catch up?! Huh funny now that you want to know about my life when you never called for the past.. What was it, 12 years?!

Kindlin kinda places her foot between them Kin: "I think it's best we leave it at just this visit. " She glares at Gen with blazing daggers in her eyes, though her voice is calm. She can't help herself turning more purple by the second though and her flames crackling as she held back an explosion. She didn't wanna lose her cool here.

Gen: Hey now back off! This is between family! Cirrus: Don’t you DARE yell at her! She’s been more family to me than you have ever even attempted! You’ve never wanted anything to do with me when I needed help, and when Breeze needed help you left her! Now you come here expecting me to let you back into my life when you need help?! Gen: I- I don’t know what to do OK! I didn’t know what to do back then and I don’t know what to do now! I was scared to confront mom and dad, I was scared of watching Granny get weaker and weaker everyday and I’m scared of being alone now! I get it, I’m a coward that doesn't deserve a second chance! A spoiled celebrity that never had to face any consequence until now! Someone who’s only hope of not being homeless and alone is to crawl back to the sister she abandoned! I know it’s not right! …But it’s all I can do! Cirrus: Well, I’m sorry… but I’m not going to be the one to get you out of this mess you made. I’m finally happy, and I’m not going to risk losing this. You're leaving tomorrow and I don’t want to see you again. Gen: … (She stands up without a word and walks out the door) Cirrus: (is quiet for a few seconds before she starts sobbing.)

Kindlin is so proud of her for standing her ground She wasn't expecting them to be the ones to explode.

After Gen leaves Kindlin just holds Cirrus tight. Eventually she picks her up and carries her to bed so she can wrap Cirrus up in the blankets and spoon her.

She isn't gonna talk to her about it unless she brings it up She doesn't wanna cause Cirrus anymore heart ache

Cirrus: Did I do the right thing, I (sniff) know she deserved it but.. what if something happens to her, it'll be my fault. (sobs)

Kin: You did the right thing. You're such a good person, you didn't even owe her the time you gave her. She doesn't get to just waltz back in to your life like an old book she put down. You deserve people who really care about you and want to see you thriving.

She kisses her on the nose.

She kisses her back "I'm so lucky to have you, if I didn't I probably would have let her stay." She pulls her down to bed with her. "But it looks like we're stuck with each other." She giggles a bit and rests her chin on top of her head.

Kin: "I'm the lucky one. I just hope you never chew me out like that " she giggles

Kindlin holds her close and hums softly, playing with her cloud fluff while they lay there

[caocao-caokie-blog]

@zumizumi1254

Isagani Christiano Ligaya Dacanay / Kentaro Momoaki 健太郎 桃秋

Dorm: Ramshackle

Age: 18

Grade: 1st Year

Birthday: August 21

Favorite Class: History of Magic

Worst Class: P.E.

Club: Board Game Club

Skills: Not much. Most stuff he knows is easy memorization and video games. He and Idia are butting head to head playing M*rio Ka*t, Sm*sh Br*s or something. I feel like the club has rotating D&D DM’s and at least 3 different campaigns going on, then a special one every other Saturday of the week because SUNDAYS ARE IMPORTANT IDIA -By, Isagani probably. ^ - ^

——————————————————————————————

From a young age, young Isagani was always ill. His family abandoned him in a far off ranch home they never visit, so he has only met the few locals around the area. Usually, his cook, Bryson, talked with a lady, trading food and small talk. His nanny Amélia was around, but not much of a talker. His tutor Max never stayed around to long, preferring to stay with his family.

He always looked to his tutor and wondered how it was like to spend time with your family. Whenever he tried to talk to the few kids he met, they ignored him. Now, he hypothesized it was because of rumors about the house, but that was a story for another day. He conversed with Bryson, which was mostly one sided. But, the lady that gave them fish and meat talked and conversed with him a whole bunch. Nadia was great company for him.

She was like his second mother, and became his cheerleader for most of life. Although he doesn’t talk about his past much, he speaks of her fondly. She was the one to tell him of the world outside the mansion, the one to teach him of how to storytell, and the one to inspire him to go to Japan.

He left his old home for Okinawa, to live with a nurse who only visits to check up on him.

Living alone for the first time was difficult. Bryson never taught him how to look, and the lessons he took with Nadia weren’t enough. He was deeply unprepared. But, he pulled through, and survived in Japan.

He took classes online, and was taught by a private tutors for the morning to mid afternoons. After, he went and continued writing in his book, creating more and more stories for himself.

He met both Kauê and Takeo one day when he started to get faint once again due to the oppressive sun. He was found collapsed by the two, and brought to Takeo’s home, where he was taken care of by both of them, to various levels of effort.

Today, he would laugh at the story at their first meeting proper, but, they visited him every day. Made sure he was alive. Checked up on him, talked with him, and gave him comfort. They became his first taste of friendship.

He remembers when they were taken like it was just yesterday. They were having one of their usual late hangout sessions. Takeo had his nose in a botany book, Kauê was watching a rugby game, and Isagani was beating someone in a game. They all eventually slept, with Isagani being the last one to rest. He felt something wrong.

He eventually ignored it in favor of shut eye.

Not before seeing the black carriage mind you.

——————————————————————————————

Kauê & Takeo: Sticks to them like glue. Very, very, rare if they are all separated, usually since Isagani acts both slothish and squidish, he latches on to either of them. If they are all together, at least something will happen. Something someone somewhere somewhat somehow knew about the event. Even something small like raking leaves could cause a calamity if the universe plays it’s cards right.

Idia: Buddies in antisocial personalities and avoidant interest. They get along well if they don’t have a need to talk, but hearing their conversation can come off a bit…frustrating.

“Um, hey-“.

“Uwwah! Isa-kun. W-what do you want?”.

“…Um, well I needed help with…”

*Silence*

“Some stuff…”

“Y-yeah…sure…”

Azul: Would be constantly wary and avoidant over this man. Absolutely scared shitless the first time they met. Isagani was just like “Hey-“ during one of his briefings, and since then, has made the twins check his office to make sure he isn’t there. Why was Isagani there. Wouldn’t you like to know reader. (´⊙ω⊙`)

Floyd & Jade: Buddies in crime. Even with his weak constitution, he is able to cause havoc safely while ruining the perfect days for people like Riddle and Azul. He set’s up whipped cream traps for them to trigger and cake the person head-to-toe. Has gotten collared before.

Yuu: ^_^ He likes Yuu. Nice, friendly, devious, helpful. Nothing suspicious. Nothing. Nothing.

Yuuken: No opinion just yet, but is amicable to each other.

[simpurnatural]

“Are You Jealous?” Pt. 2

Ikaris x Avenger!Reader, Bucky Barnes x Avenger!Reader

Simpurnatural’s Grand Masterlist

Note from Nat: “Inspiration to write has been low and writer’s block is so annoying”

Warning ⚠️: mAsCuLiNiTy

You realize after letting Ikaris stay at your place for a week and also caring for your sick-self that it’s nice having company. Bucky doesn’t take lightly to the thought of the Eternal moving in...

[PART 1]-[PART 2] (< YOU ARE HERE!)

REQUESTS ARE CLOSED! I AM WORKING ON (4) REQUESTS <3

“Wow!” you gasp, genuinely impressed at the sight before your eyes. 

“Did I get it right this time?” Ikaris asks as he unloaded the grocery bags onto your kitchen counter. “I made sure to get the almond milk since I know you’re lactose intolerant. But also got the tub of cookies n’ cream ice cream you asked for.” he informs before pushing his brows together. “Not sure how that makes sense but-“

“Thank you so much,” you sniffle before blowing into your tissue. “I haven’t been able to go to the store in a while and I’m sure you were getting tired of the Kraft mac n’ cheese,” you sigh, making him chuckle.

“You have my complete assurance that anything you make is almost as wonderful as you are,” he smiles and watched your face heat up.

“Quit sweet talking me,” you tsked, arms pushing him away playfully. “That face is gonna get you in trouble,” you warn as he gave you a knee-weakening look.

“How do you mean?” he jokes as he stroked his imaginary beard. “Wanna finish that show you so eagerly binge?” he proposes and you nodded quickly.

“You read my mind, Ikaris,” you say before pulling him towards the living room.

Upon plopping down on the sofa, Ikaris covered the two of you with a blanket. You snuggled into his side and he embraced you with open arms.

“I’m so glad that you don’t get sick,” you sigh whilst switching on the TV. “Not a lot of people would offer to take care of me,”

“I’m glad you accepted my offer,” the blue-eyed eternal responds as he watched you relax against him. “It’s the least I could do since you let me stay a while though I showed up unannounced,” he reminds.

“Mhm, rent’s due at the end of the month,” you mutter as the Great British Bake Off appeared on screen. 

“Rent?” Ikaris hums, “Is this your way of asking me to be your roommate?” he asks, taken aback by your words.

“I don’t know. Just like having company,” you shrug and looked into his eyes. “Would you want to move in?”

“Well, I’ll have a think about it and let you know before tomorrow. Is that okay?” he replies and you nod wordlessly with eyes now glued to the screen.

You were well aware of Ikaris’s plan of leaving tomorrow and continue to protect the world as an eternal. But after experiencing having another person in your home, you had to admit that it was really nice.

Not to mention that he had his own profile on all your streaming platforms, always offered to clean the dishes, and cared you while you were ill. Ikaris would be the perfect boyfriend roommate.

For now, he was gonna enjoy lounging on the couch with you, his girl. His heart began to race at the thought of this becoming permanent. Just that thought alone out-weight whatever cons about leaving that were on his list.

The topic of dinner was brought up and Ikaris offered to get the takeout you ordered from the place down the street. You were roaming around the apartment with pjs and robe on, then there was a knock at the door.

Opening the door a crack, you greeted by the winter soldier. Buck gave you a big smile as he held up a bottle of sauvignon and two wine glasses. The corners of your lips curved at the gesture.

“You haven’t been answering my texts. I mean granted you were upset with how I acted the other day but I just-” He blabbered

“I’m sick,” you say, making Bucky frown.

“Doll, why didn’t call? You know I don’t get sick,” he says and rubbing your shoulder in a comforting manner. “Could’ve drop by with groceries or-”

“Bucky-” you began.

“-I wouldn’t have left you all on your lonesome. Would’ve watched the Good British Bake Off and-” He continued

“First of all, it’s great and Ikaris offered to stay a bit longer,” you explain with a small smile. “Took care of me and everything“ you blush at the thought.

This made Bucky’s blood boil but he still forced a smile. He wasn’t mad at you whatsoever but he was mad at the guy that was trying to take his place. Who the hell did this guy think he is?

“Did he now?” he asks, peering into your apartment for any sight of the eternal.

“Oh he’s out grabbing the food we ordered!” you inform with a nod. “You can stay and eat dinner with us,” you prompted.

“Sure, why not,” Bucky shrugs, being physically unable to say no to you. “I suppose we could enjoy this some other time,” he says as he approached your wine rack. 

His eyes landed on the already open sauvignon’ bottle and his shoulders faltered from their place slightly. He bought that for you after the whole Flag Smashers tocable since it was your favorite wine. 

“Ikaris had some the night he flew in,” you explain, “I was really upset about it but he didn’t know that I was saving it for a certain someone,” you say.

Bucky’s ears perked up at this as he turned to face you and wrapped his arms around your frame. “Is that so?” he asks with a smile, “Who’s it for then?”

“Oh you probably know him. Ageless, good-looking fella with a vibranium arm,” you teased.

“I might’ve heard of him once or twice,” he says just as a thud was heard from the fire-escape. “What was that?” he questions.

You placed a hand on his chest to calm him down, “It’s just Ikaris,” you assure at the sound of knocking was heard. “Hey,” you smile awkwardly upon opening the window for the eternal. 

“Ah James,” Ikaris nods with a shit-eating grin as you took the food from him. “Didn’t know we were having a guest over,” he says.

“I wasn’t aware that you were still in town,” Bucky replies, “Thought you would’ve gone back to your dumb-ho or something,”

“Domo,” Ikaris corrects and follows you into the kitchen to plate the food. “Need help?” he mutters in your ear.

“Yes please, I probably shouldn’t be touching all the food with me being sick and all,” you chuckled and handed over the styrofoam to-go boxes.

“Good call,” Bucky nods as he grabbed the plates from your cupboard to set the table.

After finally taking your seats and having a few bites in silent solitude, Ikaris decided to speak up first.

“You know, she offered to let me move in,” he says and your face turned a bright red. “I’m not sure if you were joking or not but I’m really tempted to take you up on that offer,”

“I wasn’t,” you reply quietly as something creaked in Bucky’s metal grasp.

“James-” 

“Sorry,” Bucky smiles in embarrassment, his palm opening up again to reveal a abstractly bent fork. 

“It’s okay,” you assure and went to place a hand over his, “It happens. I’ll just get you another one,” you nod.

Coming back from the kitchen, you realized that you had just walked in on an intense staring contest. The two seemed like they were about to tear each other apart if it weren’t for your fingers snapping them out of it.

“Ahem,” you cleared your throat before speaking, “So Bucky, tell us what you’ve been up to recently,” you prod, trying to make the atmosphere less awkward.

“Well I-uh came back from Louisiana with Sam and just had a grand old time,” he starts off. “Er-I no longer have to go to therapy and I finally got a place in Brooklyn,” he says. 

“That’s great,” you smile genuinely, “I’m so happy for you,”.

“Yes, well done.” Ikaris nods, patting the corners of his mouth with a napkin. “Not a lot of men our age get to do that,” he adds.  

“Yeah well people who’ve reached the age of a hundred and seven are usually dead so I wouldn’t think so,” Bucky replies before eating a fork-full of rice.

“What about you Ikaris?” you ask, still trying to keep things civil.

“Myself and the rest of the eternals just finished fighting a celestial that emerged in the middle of the ocean.” he says as if it were no biggie.

“That was you guys?” you gasped, “You never told me this,”

“You never asked,” he chuckled, “I understand that you both took part in the fight against Thanos?” he questions.

“That’s right,” you nod, “It was crazy and the whole universe sorta showed up to help us out,”

“Yeah and where were you guys? Would’ve appreciated the help of the all-mighty eternals,” Bucky chuckled sarcastically.

“We were told not to interfere with the problems of men,” Ikaris replies.

“Well it wasn’t just us. Maybe if you guys stepped in then everyone wouldn’t have disappeared for five years,” Bucky counters.

“Don’t shift the blame on others merely because of your inconsistency to fight your own battles,” Ikaris warns.

“Oh you wanna talk about fighting battles? I’ll fight you right now,” Bucky dared as they both shot up from their seats. “Come at me, superman,” 

“I don’t wear a cape,” Ikaris says snarkily as his eyes began to glow red.

“Enough!” you shout. “First, Tony and Steve. Now you two?” you groaned at the oddly similar situation, feeling a throbbing migraine coming. “Do me a favor and get out,” you plead as you rubbed your forehead.

Bucky and Ikaris looked to each other out of confusion but when your glare landed on them, they knew. The creaking of Ikaris’s chair was the only thing you could hear beside the shuffling of their feet. 

You watched with arms crossed as Bucky let himself out, leaving your mind engraved with the memory of his longing gaze. 

“I’m sorry doll,” was all he said.

Ikaris followed right after with his duffel bag in his hand and sad smile on his lips. 

“I'll miss you,” he nods and you couldn’t help but let a single tear drop fall.

...

This almost sounds like we’re gonna need a part three perhaps?

Here’s the taglist of everyone who asked for a part 2, you’ll be added to the part 3 taglist! @cryingoverbonky​ @tomihoeka​ @alexrodriguez1296 @sebastianevanstuff​ 

Comment if you’d like to added to the taglist!

[theficblog]

NOW AND THEN

LIU YANGYANG

Prologue: Yangyang has been your on-again, off-again boyfriend for quite some time, but there is always one last hope.

Genre: Fluff + Exes to lovers

Wordcount: 1,129

Prompts: “When was the last time we had a real conversation.” + “Being in love with you is scary… not that you’re scary, of course, but that I’d fuck this thing up,” + “If this is your way of flirting, you’re doing a terrible job at it.”

Warnings: Mild Language

This afternoon was beyond dreary. The sky was bland, almost white or whatever other colour it was. You could not bear to look up at the scorching sun. The streets were nearly empty. People were either inside their homes, being all comfortable and escaping the heat, doing whatever pleased them. The other ones were like you, who had by now seen all that Netflix had to offer and still stupidly opted to go out.

You came to the nearby café to delight yourself with some brunch. It turns out that there were a lot more idiots out there, including you, because the place was nearly filled. The din of customers' conversations, the sizzling sounds from the kitchen, and the Rock and Roll music playing in the background. Everything was going swimmingly, just the way you intended it to.

You continued looking for a place to sit upon lifting your meal tray from the counter. On regular days, you had a reserved spot, which was an advantage of being a regular visitor. You didn't want to bother the middle-aged mother with her three petulant children to spare you your seat today.

Thank heavens, you were able to take the last available spot before anyone else. Someone seemed to be seated at your now-shared table, but you had no choice. It wasn't necessary to talk to strangers anyway, your sole focus was on your food.

Random thoughts continued to take over your mind in the meantime. You couldn't restrain yourself from overthinking. Your new job, the house party you attended last weekend, the global population growth rate, and your best friend's goldfish, which her cat devoured. You contemplated everything and anything.

"Y/N" You hear your name being called in a much more familiar voice. Fuck, why did he have to be here? You mentally cursed yourself for coming out today, let alone taking up this spot.

You looked up and elevated your sight to the man. Still clad in black from head to toe despite the scorching weather. His hair was now studded with golden highlights, which was a novel look for him. He stood there with his phone in his hands. You had no option but to confront him.

It was Yangyang.

He had been your on-and-off lover for about three years now. No, you were not a celebrity couple, but complicated relationships were a phenomenon that did not discriminate between the two halves. There were times when you cherished him like Romeo cherished Juliet, and perhaps other times when you despised him like a war enemy.

You drew your gaze away from him and back to your meal. Walking away right now would be a sign of weakness. You weren't weak, and even if you were, you'd despise it if it came through. This was a question about your ego, which was never being compromised with. So what if you had blocked him from all your social medias? So what if you  never picked up his calls? So what if you both had been dead to each other since the last four months?

Yangyang too, probably thought the same as he took the chair right in front of you. He waited for a minute or so for you to utter some words, or at the least, take a look at him, but gave up soon.

"This steak is quite bitter. Over time, their flavour has deteriorated." As he fed himself, he made a random remark.

"Yeah, I guess so." You gave him the dullest response ever.

Silence reigned once more as you reflected on your last breakup with Yangyang.

-

"I don’t really care but I am moving out, my job and my career are way more important than a man. Do you think I am some Damsel in Distress? I can take care of myself!" You raged at him. This was one of the many reasons for breaking up with him. Of course, you had to let your ego win at all costs.

-

"You see that guy, we attended the same school. People change, I think he owns that silver car. At school he was never the type to-"

"When was the last time we had a real conversation?" You questioned him, cutting through his useless words. Maybe this could be another contributing factor to a relationship that kept on failing over and over again. None of you were ready to listen, and the things you talked about did not make much sense either. The most serious thing you and he ever talked about was probably planning a vacation for Christmas.

He stopped with his random comments, not even eating anymore. His eyes were fixed on the rusted wooden table, suggesting it was the stillness before a storm. He had something to say.

"Being in love with you is scary… not that you’re scary, of course, but that I’d fuck this thing up." He expressed.

"We have fucked this thing up more than quite often." You defended yourself. You were not going to buy his opinion that easily.

This was certainly not the first time you both had a conversation like this, you both were aware of how things would take a turn.

"Yes I know we have fucked more than quite often." Yangyang implied, knowing exactly what he was saying.

Your face was still emotionless, as you went down the memory lane again. Maybe you missed him. Maybe it was not a break up but just a prolonged period of fighting. Maybe it was you and not him.

It was hard to let go of someone, no matter how toxic they could get at times.

"Listen, Yangyang, I guess I am sorry." This was your way of admitting your wrong doings.

The boy, on the other hand, was very well aware of this, as he still continued to chew on the steak. "That’s alright." He said.

"We, anyway, have always been a couple, haven’t we?" You try and win his attention, and heart back. Trying the best that you knew of.

"If this is your way of flirting, you’re doing a terrible job at it." Yangyang gave his trademark wide smile.

"Why would I flirt with you?" You revert back immediately.

"Okay then unblock me, at least." He suggested. You gave him the ‘I’m so done with you expression’ as you picked up your phone, unblocking him.

"Yangyang, we are still in love right?" You questioned fearfully, what if it was one sided? What if it doesn’t end well again this time?

"We never fell out of love." He reassured.

Yangyang was your fate. You were destined to stick with him. Yes, your relationship was no less than a rollercoaster, but this time, you were confident that in the end, you both would land safe, together.

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[blindbeta]

Blind/Visually Impaired Person’s Review Of ‘The Blind Bandit’

It is here! At almost 6 thousand words (I have a problem lol). This is a review of season 2, episode 6 in Avatar: the Last Airbender. The episode is called The Blind Bandit.

Note that this is only a review of the portrayal of blindness rather than the episode or show itself. This show also has audio descriptions on Netflix so any blind followers of mine can watch the show if the want to. I would also like to make it clear that this is my opinion. It is my no means lacking in bias and I won’t pretend that it is. I love this character for some of the reasons I will explain here, and that will show even as I consider criticisms of her or things that simply could have been better.

This character, Toph, was my first exposure to a blind character in television.

CHARACTER INTRO:

“Your champion, The Blind Bandit!”

We first hear Toph introduced as The Blind Bandit. She is described as having pale eyes which is usually how eye conditions are conveyed visually. Some online sources describe them as light grey or sea form green, but glazed over. This could be due to cataracts or some other deterioration. Part of me wants to mention that not all blind people have eyes like this. Most don’t; I don’t. However, blind people can have many eye problems outside of just The Blindness, so it isn’t inaccurate either, especially for a time period where eye surgeries are not available, and Waterbenders are not as easy to reach for healings as they may have been before the war. I also suspect her family would not care about cataracts if Toph was not in pain— their main issue would be her blindness. I’m getting ahead of myself.

The point is, I don’t mind the way her eyes are portrayed here. I do think non-blind people are too obsessed with portraying eyes like this, however, and I feel like it is not necessary in non-visual media unless you have established why their eyes are cloudy/lighter/Like That other than Because Blind. I’m happy they didn’t fall into the trap of portraying her eyes as constantly closed.

I also read somewhere that the creators tried not to move her eyes much. I don’t know how true this goal was, but I feel it is not entirely necessary. Blind people can also have uncontrollable eye movements or rapid eye movements. This might be too hard to animate and too confusing for viewers. Therefore, I feel the creators chose a more practical portrayal of eye movements that is the easiest to animate and least confusing for people who may not know blind eyes can and do move, whether due a condition or other factors.

“She can’t really be blind, can she?”

I like that everyone says “blind” without stumbling over it or treating it as a bad word. Katara is surprised and Aang is accepting, feeling hopeful that this girl could at last be his teacher. I even like that she chose to capitalize on it for her persona. Already we can tell Toph has no issue with being blind, nor does she feel the need to hide it in such a setting as this. She is already the champion— it must be working for her. It is this openness and acceptance of blindness that I like, especially from the main character. Rather than make her hide her blindness or angst over something she has lived with all her life, the writers just introduced it as fact. She’s blind and she’s a champion. That is how we meet Toph.

“Sounds to me like you’re scared, Boulder!”

Trash talk. She’s trash talking him. If the champion thing was not an indication that this wasn’t your stereotypical innocent, blind flower, her first line should be! Already Toph is brash and fearless. A far cry from the angelic stereotype we often get in the media.

“Your winner, and still the champion, The Blind Bandit!”

Toph kicks Boulder Butt. Pretty easily. I loved every second of it.

Now let’s talk about the Super Crip trope here.

IS TOPH A SUPERCRIP?

The Supercrip trope is a bit hard to pin down. I found a few definitions floating around. This link has two: Trope: SuperCrip | #CriticalAxis: a community driven project from The Disabled List

The Supercrip is seen as having “overcome” their disability in order to do normal things or even extraordinary things— with a focus on their disability rather than their accomplishments.

The first part is avoided. The narrative doesn’t focus on how extra special it is that Toph is doing things like: walking, talking, eating soup, sitting with her family, yelling at Aang and his friends, etc. Toph is not seen as extra special for doing normal things that her disability does not make more difficult. Not only would this be patronizing and ignorant, this would reflect that attitudes many real life strangers have: disabled people are so strange and mystical to some people that they feel the need to ask blind people on the street how they walk or talk.

Personally, I find this portrayal of disabled people to be the most harmful. It caters to able-bodied onlookers alone and offers nothing for disabled people. To clarify: the problem is not portraying disabled people/characters doing normal things! The problem is expecting your audience to feel inspired because a disabled person did a thing that is completely ordinary for them.

This does not apply to Toph.

Another definition is that a disabled person is portrayed as “overcoming” their disability in order to do something cool/big, usually something able-bodied people don’t do everyday. This disabled person is only noteworthy because they did something extraordinary such as win several gold medals. This presents two problems: 1) it is hard for disabled people to meet these expectations, especially when this is shown as the only positive way to live with a disability. And 2) able-bodied people see this and believe all disabled people must be winning gold medals or doing super extraordinary things because their disability somehow gives them privilege, pity-points, or superhuman powers that make up for their disability. An example of these powers would be the myth that blind people have superhuman hearing rather than simply using their hearing more than sighted people and thus being more attuned to sound. An example of pity-points would be the time my family was watching Dancing With the Stars featuring a blind contestant. After the dance, someone remarked that the contestant would probably get sympathy points and go on to the next round. Her talent was not a factor the same way it was for the able-bodied contestants; pity-points could not be separated from her success. It was impossible that she would be supported and judged the same way as the others, with her blindness being only an extra factor that might make copying a dance to learn it more challenging for her. Keep in mind, these ideas are so ingrained in people that my own family believed it in even when they know me and several of my blind friends.

Let’s consider Tooh:

Pity-Points? - Not even a factor. This was not brought up by Aang, nor Katara, nor Sokka. It was certainly not thought of by the owner of the battle ring nor Toph’s opponents. In fact, she was only doubted when she lost. Her talent was never viewed as the result of someone else’s pity or reduced to inspiration for an able-bodied wrestling audience. The announcer says her name and nothing else. Her parents don’t bring up the idea that Toph only wins because she was pitied either. They witnessed her bending and only believed they needed to protect her more, not that she was not talented.

Privilege? - It is no question that Tooh’s family is rich. It is hard to say how much that affects her here. She has a tutor who undermines her growth and is pretty much useless. She has protection she doesn’t want and riches she doesn’t seem to use. She does have more free time to battle as a result of her riches, not having to work at a young age (although her parents probably would not have let her even if they needed the money). Toph’s family status could have been seen as playing a role in her winning— if her parents allowed the world to know about her. - It is no secret that Toph is rich, however, when privilege is brought up by able-bodied people, they don’t usually mean riches (although the stereotypical rich disabled person is something I could discuss at a later time). They usually mean some combination of government benefits that may or may not exist and pity points. Disability makes things HARDER, not easier. A person can have multiple privileges they did not earn, or lack of privileges they did not ask for. Toph does not gain special privileges due to her disability, nor does she ask for or expect them. My opinion is that no one asks for this, anyway.

Super-human? - This one is a little trickier. It is the one people are obviously hung up on when they consider Toph. It is difficult to consider this without considering Toph’s entire arc. However, I have chosen to focus on her bending and “sight” and how it is used in this episode. I may talk about this more if I do other reviews. - First, bending. Toph is not the only bender in the series. She is also not the only good bender, as Katara is also someone who grows into her bending and becomes particularly powerful. Aang is already a master of airbending in addition to being the Avatar. He is special and particularly powerful, mastering water quickly. Azula is also said to be a prodigy and has mastered lightning at 14. The point is, Toph is a powerful bender. She is not the only powerful bender in the world. The Avatar needs someone to teach him and that person would, reasonably, have mastered their bending in order to teach the Avatar. - Now for Toph’s bending in relation to her blindness. It is true that Toph is powerful AND blind— is she powerful in spite of being blind? Is she powerful because her blindness gives her superpowers? This is tricky. To me, the narrative doesn’t go out of its way to say “she overcame her blindness and was able to win”. It also doesn’t show blindness as a superpower, such as causing superior hearing. - How is it portrayed then? First, Toph never has to “overcome” her blindness, which is important. The obstacle is the limitations placed on her. The obstacle is society, not her disability. Toph does not need to accept her blindness before doing anything, because she has been blind since birth. She does not have to overcome her blindness before fighting or becoming a champion because when we are introduced to her, she already was. She is not expected to overcome her disability in order to teach Aang; he tries to recruit her without seeing her disability as an issue. She does not need overcome her disability because it is not what stops her, as is the case for most people. There are some things being blind makes difficult, different, or impossible to do, but this isn’t one of them. Blind people can learn to fight. They can win. And when people reduce such accomplishments as “overcoming disability”, it can feel like a misdirection, like a dismissal of hard work and talent.

This does not happen with Toph.

Second, does Toph’s blindness give her superpowers? Maybe. I feel like it might be necessary to cover Toph in other episodes. However, this review is focusing mostly on The Blind Bandit and so I will focus on Toph’s unique “sight”. Toph’s bending is unique from others because she can feel the vibrations in the ground, allowing her to sense objects and people. This ability allows her to fight and beat others. In my opinion, this is more of an adaptation perfected through sheer amount of practice. Katara and Zuko don’t always bend. Toph is using her bending constantly. Of course she would be good at it. Her bending is a tool for her use. Fighting? That’s just a bonus, a hobby.

Toph also has weaknesses and is in fact beaten by Aang, who wasn’t even trying. Losing to someone who had no intention of winning is a pretty big deal.

Personally, I don’t think Toph is a supercrip in this episode. She is a Blind Seer, a trope popular in literature. The Blind Seer can’t see physically, but they can see in other ways you can’t. I don’t have an issue with this trope and think it can be used in cool ways, especially if the blind character isn’t the only one with a superpower.

I do, however, want people to question why a blind character always needs to have a power that relates to or makes up for their lack of sight in some way. Unless you are making a deliberate allusion to something or a blind is not the only one with sight-related powers, I ask writers to question why they jump to sight-related powers in the first place. Or powers related to hearing, something to “make up for” their lack of sight.

Can this be done well? Absolutely. Toph, while she can fall into both The Blind Seer and the Supercrip tropes for some people, she is beloved and interesting for many fans, blind or sighted.

I ask people to trace their logic about why they choose to give their blind character powers related to sight. What kind of power is it? Does it make up for (aka erase) their blindness and make them less relatable to blind readers/watchers? Are they the only blind character and/or the only person with such a power? Can they have another power? What works and does not work for good characters like Toph? Why?

Getting rid of these particular tropes are not the answer. I simply invite people to consider other options, try new things, think critically about why and what woks or doesn’t work in other characters.

I absolutely invite blind writers to use whatever tropes they want, as they can probably write it in a more nuanced way.

My personal opinion about the Supercrip trope is that it is somehow focused on success or talent as the enemy without recognizing what it means. Wanting to succeed is not wrong. Being competitive is refreshing!

It isn’t really about doing super things or not— it is about disabled people being made to feel like they will not be successful, accepted, or taken seriously if they do not win everything or succeed at impossible feats. Able-bodied people are permitted to exist without needing to prove anything. Disabled people are not afforded that respect.

Either disabled people fight against the ingrained expectation that they simply cannot do anything, that will FAIL, because of their disability, or they fight against the realization that, for many people, even impossible feats will never be enough. Their accomplishments will never be seen as just that— accomplishments.

Blind characters should be talented or hard-working, prodigies or people who claw their way to the top. Their disability may be an obstacle and it may, in fact, barely even be necessary to mention aside from adaptive tools. The Supercrip is so alluring because people are under the impression blind people— and disabled people as a whole— cannot do anything. To the point that some condescendingly assume certain things are impossible because they did not think of adaptive techniques or technology. This is why research is important.

Remember why this trope/stereotype exists: for the inspiration of able-bodied people who are uninterested in making changes in society’s attitudes and the amount of accessibility it provides. Problematic tropes like this usually have a specific issue behind them and you cannot tackle or discuss r subvert the trope until you understand the harmful reason it exists.

Not everyone agrees with me. Here are some reading materials:

On the pervasive Supercrip trope in martial arts:

http://feministing.com/2010/02/19/media-portrayal-of-disability-and-martial-arts-a-personal-statement/

On the pressure this trope puts on blind people:

Challenging the ‘Supercrip’ Stereotype of People With Disabilities | The Mighty

[In the comments, I would prefer people not speculate about Toph being a Supercrip or not if they aren’t blind themselves. It would be more helpful to focus on other aspects of this review or share posts by other blind people instead.]

Keep in mind, this is only a review of one episode. And I personally will take a powerful disabled character over a powerless, sad one anytime.

This concludes our commercial break. Back to the show.

BEING BLIND IN EARTH KINGDOM SOCIETY

Earth Kingdom Boy 1: “Well, a flying boar is the symbol of the Beifong family. They’re the richest people in town. Probably whole world.” Earth Kingdom Boy 2: “Yeah, but they don’t have a daughter.”

Now this is interesting. It implies that Toph is: a) hiding herself well so as to keep up her double life and/or b) being hidden by her family. I suspect it is a little of both. A) is pretty obvious, especially with the wall surrounding their estate, while b) could be due to overprotectiveness or shame on the part of her parents. Shame may seem harsh. However, this is not exactly a modern time period and respect for disabled people can vary depending on culture, time, place, and individual attitudes.

When portraying poor social attitudes toward disabled characters, writers must work hard to show the attitudes as wrong and work to reduce them. I do feel that, like with gender discrimination, people tend to preemptively assume accepting disability is modern and Western concept- and that any ableism is fair game because it is realistic. That is far from the truth, especially if they get it wrong.

Too much and it could be mistaken for an excuse to be ableist. Too little and it may seem like erasure of societal barriers faced by blind people.

Let’s see how the ATLA writers handle this.

TOPH’S “SIGHT” AND MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

Anyway, the Gaang finds Toph again. Toph: “What are doing here, Twinkle Toes?” Aang: “How did you know it was me?”

Two things stick out here. I love that The Gaang interacts with her normally and this episode is not about the able-bodied characters learning how to treat a disabled person like a person, nor is it about them confronting their biases. Instead, they have a favor to ask, one that Toph cannot grant. The episode shifts focus onto Toph and her emotions and needs.

I also liked that Aang asks how she knew it was him. This is a common question and it seems to be asked in curiosity rather than implied judgment or suspicion on Aang’s part, as is often the case nowadays. Later in the episode, Toph explains how she knew, but she could also have recognized his footsteps (light as they are) with or without her bending. Blind people are also usually more reliant on hearing or smell and so may pick up on scents or sounds others do not. That is not to say their hearing or smell are superior (see the Supercrip discussion), but that they are used more often. This is how I conceptualize Toph’s bending— it is something she uses all day, every day. Like her hearing and smell and touch, she is more reliant on these senses and so uses them in ways others don’t.

I do wish we had a few more examples of this in the episode/show rather than Toph using her bending for every situation. As I said, I do not mind that she can “see” with bending as it is not true sight, but showing how she uses other senses would have been nice details.

TOPH’S PARENTS HAVE ENTERED THE RING

Toph: “I thought I heard something! I got scared.” Guard: “You know your father doesn’t want you wandering the grounds without supervision, Toph.”

With this, we can understand her father is overprotective, so much so that Toph is able to believably pull off this act of helplessness in front of the guards. Her father does not believe even walking around her own home is safe for her.

With that in mind, it is NOT a plot hole that she can walk around her home in front of her parents. Even overprotected blind kids don’t use canes or need a guide within their own homes as they often memorize the layout. Canes are not usually used inside ones own home or very familiar areas. Outside areas might be an exception as they are likely to change due to nature or redesign, but generally familiar, casual areas do not warrant canes or guides. It is completely believable that Toph can walk around in her own home without causing suspicion.

Toph’s father, indicating soup placed in front of her: “Blow on it. It’s too hot for her.”

Not only is her father overprotective, he is infantilizing. He thinks she can’t blow on her own soup and must be confined to basic stances of bending, something Toph is clearly unhappy with. Toph’s parents are the kind of people who wouldn’t let her watch TV lol!

Toph’s father: “And sadly, because of her blindness, I don’t think she will ever become a true master.”

There it is. There are many people in the world who have this mindset, believing disabled people succeeding is unrealistic, or only achieved by pity-driven intervention from others for inspirational purposes or a lie told by overly soft parenting. Toph’s father may seem radical, but his views are very common even for those close to a blind person. Even for those who might like the inspirational stories about blind people doing things.

HOW TOPH SEES THE WORLD

Toph: “It’s kind of like seeing with my feet.”

This is where I disagree with some interpretations of Toph. She can sense where things are and what they are. She has a wider range than someone with a cane would. However, I don’t know if this is quite erasing her blindness. Could they have done better? Yes. However, to claim the show made her sighted with magic is not quite fitting to me. Toph is not seeing with a magical potion, nor did Katara heal her blindness. She is using a power a lot of people in the ATLA universe have in bending, one she has used her entire life and perfected through sheer number of practice hours. I think it helps that she did not get this power, narratively, because she was blind. Rather she is a blind person who adapted a skill to her use.

A cane or an animal guide might have helped make the narrative more relatable for blind people, however. They could have also played up being unable to see people’s facial expressions. In other episodes, they show areas where she is unable to bend, such as on ice, sand, or floating objects like the warship or Appa.

In these instances, they could have shown sighted guide.

However, I think what they did worked. Would I suggest anyone else try it? Maybe not. It depends on their motivation for doing it. Toph’s powers basically act as a cane or Sunnu band would. They aren’t a magic spell letting her see all the time.

They could have done a little better— I still think it worked. It does not seem to have unfortunate implications of sight being better than blindness or blindness needing special cures.

For writing purposes, it is important to understand why this worked, how it was portrayed, factor in that bending is not unique to Toph, understand the nature of her ‘sight’, and understand what they could have done better. Just because it works here doesn’t mean it will work everywhere. It is important for writers to understand that and question their motivation for giving their character a different kind of vision.

THE DISABILITY EPISODE - AVOIDED

Toph’s father: “My daughter is blind. She is blind and tiny and helpless and fragile. She cannot help you.” Toph: “Yes. I can.”

Some may feel uncomfortable that Toph’s first episode is about her parents doubting her, dealing with ableism and being forced into stereotypes by her own family. It is important to remember that this is a show for children and any blind children watching it will have dealt with similar issues from adults in their lives. The show doesn’t seem to say this is the only narrative a blind character can have, but rather that it is a relatable occurrence for blind children who are watching it.

Toph also has many episodes left — this is only the beginning. This is hardly her only arc, and even her personality and abilities challenge so many stereotypes.

In most shows, the blind character gets one episode. Toph, however, is a main character.

Toph is also a well-rounded and interesting character with agency. She hardly seems like an inspirational puppet for adults.if this show had been written for adults or if Toph had been focusing on wanting to become a champion “despite her blindness”, I might have felt upset. It goes to show how important nuance is when writing disabled characters and how powerful it can be to make an effort to challenge stereotypes.

This is not how we first see Toph— helpless, unproductive. Instead, we FIRST see her out in the world kicking butt with her bending skill and I think that it is important.

NOT SO HELPLESS AFTER ALL

Toph’s father uses these words to describe her: Tiny, helpless, fragile. Unable to help others. Unexpected to become a true master or even advance beyond breathing techniques.

Toph challenges all of these at some point. She helps Aang defeat the bad guys. She faces many people in battle and wins, remaining an undefeated champion until Aang accidentally beats her. She advances far beyond basic bending techniques. Toph is good at very active things, with bending as a martial art and as a sport here. It is refreshing to see blind characters being so active and a stark contrast to the passive image her father has of his blind daughter. She does things for herself, including developing her bending style without the help of a master who limits her- and she hides her double life well. Toph’s ability and personality also challenge notions of fragility: she is boisterous and fearless, stubborn and even a bit rude. She mostly says what she wants to and fiercely hides what she doesn’t want to, even when pressured. She yielded only to her parents, which is tied up in love, respect, fear that they will no longer love her, possible aversion to change in some aspects of her life, and cultural expectations. For disabled children, it is often hard to go against your parents because the world teaches you that the world will never accept you or allow you to live in it. Your family is all you have.

Toph IS tiny, although that is due to genetics, environmental factors, and her age. However, her stature is used to prove the other qualities assigned to her when in reality her height has nothing to do with anything her family believes about her.

When the fighting starts, Toph creates a cloud of dust which effectively blinds her opponents. I thought it was a nice, ironic touch. The point is not just that her opponents now cannot see; Toph is already used to fighting under these conditions. She didn’t level the playing field. She is already better than them, already used to working without sight, and so the advantage is hers.

ABLEISM IN ACTION

Later, Toph confronts her parents:

Toph’s father: “You will be cared for and guarded 24/7.” Toph’s mother: “We are doing this for your own good, Toph.”

Unfortunately, this kind of infantilization is not uncommon. They saw her as she truly was and were still unable to let go of their ideas of their blind daughter. At this point, Toph is more trapped than ever despite opening up. The first time, it was surprising to see them not change their minds, given the happy endings we are used to in children’s shows. However, what happens is more relatable to blind kids with overprotective or controlling parents.

Of course, Toph makes the choice to leave them, showing more agency than most blind characters get, with or without controlling parents.

OVERALL

Overall: I loved this episode. It was a nice introduction to a character that both challenged expectations and dealt with obstacles relatable to blind fans. Toph’s struggles with her parents and the weight of stereotypes could have been cheap inspiration porn, but the way it was handled and the target audience of children rather than adults changes things immensely. This episode goes out of its way to challenge many stereotypes viewers may hold about blind people in ways that are fun and exciting. Toph’s personality is refreshing even over a decade later. While her bending as ‘sight’ may be disliked by some, it feels more like something with missed opportunities (the use of a cane or sighted guide), although I thought this episode did it well. Toph is not given special powers so that she can see—she adapts an ability for her own use.

Toph is a martial artist, encouraging children to try something similar if they are interested. She challenges her own parents, which may be very relatable to blind fans.

Unlike most children’s shows of the time (and even now), Toph does not feel like a vessel for able-bodied viewers to learn about blindness.

ACCESSIBILITY:

However, it is important to remember that at the time ATLA aired, there was no Netflix with audio descriptions. Descriptions were infrequent at the time and are still spotty on cable TV. The ATLA DVD did not have audio descriptions either, which is the case with all DVDs I have come across. Netflix also took an embarrassingly long time to add audio descriptions to a show with a blind character.

Consider that Toph was nearly inaccessible to blind children at the time — until 2020, well after other sighted children could enjoy it fully. Blind children could not watch a show about them with the same ease that a sighted child could. Think about that.

Is the show to blame for this? I don’t know. Usually the broadcasting service handles descriptions. I have yet to come across a DVD with descriptions. However, I wonder why it took this long. Did the staff consider a blind audience at all? Could they have pushed for descriptions to be added to the DVD?

And what about fans? Did fans consider that the character who challenged stereotypes for them might not be as accessible to blind people themselves? While they scrabbled about whether the characters were ableist, did they bother to consider Netflix’s lack of audio descriptions? Do they remember to add image descriptions to GIFs, pictures, or video clips in the years ATLA was popular online? Did any of this occur to anyone BUT the blind community?

Doesn’t seem like it.

TOPH AND THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE OF/LESS OF IN BLIND CHARACTERS

I made a post about things I would like to see more/less of in blind characters. You can read it here:

https://blindbeta.tumblr.com/post/637419979125489664/things-i-want-to-see-more-ofless-of-in-blind

Here’s how Toph compares to that!

More of: -Blind main character ✔️ -Blind character of color ✔️ -Active (sports/martial arts) and competitive ✔️ -Acknowledgment of difficulties faced in society ✔️

How They Avoided Things I Wanted Less Of: -Being portrayed as sad or broken because of blindness - Avoided - Toph owns her blindness by giving herself the same The Blind Bandit. The only time she is sad is when facing ableism from her parents.

-Being innocent, helpless, and unrealistically kind or selfless - Toph proves she is not helpless, even directly challenging it in the narrative. - Toph is also not unrealistically kind or selfless, not only insulting other characters- but refusing to help Aang when he needs it because it would change things between her and her parents. She also challenges her parents in the end, putting her desires before their feelings toward their perceptions of her. When she follows Aang, she doesn’t do so only to help him. She has her own want to travel and gain independence. - As for innocence, Toph IS 12, although she is far from naive. She is able to fool her own parents into thinking she is who they want her to be.

-Being portrayed as ungrateful or rude in general - Toph’s rudeness comes from a non-ableist place—herself. She is not rude due to anger about being blind nor rude due to entitlement. She doesn’t accept she doesn’t need and is not demonized for this, even when going against her own parents. Toph’s rudeness is in her personality, making it subversive in avoiding the idea blind people must accept all help and be grateful for it. The narrative does NOT expect Toph to go along with the ‘help’ of her parents or even Aang. She refuses this help until she is ready and willing to receive it.

-Going blind due to accidents or trauma - Toph was born blind

I WOULD HAVE WANTED TO SEE: -more adaptive technology/skills in addition to her bending -how she utilizes her other senses -another blind, minor character somewhere in the show (doesn’t apply to this episode, but still)

Toph is, in the end, a token blind character. It works better because she is a MAIN character, which is still not a common occurrence in modern media at all. Toph works because she does not have any stereotypical traits about her personality, which means the sighted audience does not have to rely on another character to broaden their perspective. However, it is still important to include more than one blind character in your stories. For ATLA, 1 or 2 minor blind characters may have helped, or maybe an additional secondary or even main character with low vision.

Toph has a well-rounded personality, which also means the “token” is not completely applicable to her. Toph is a great character. It would have been nice if she were not the only blind character. In fact, I cannot think of any show that has more than one blind character, as if it is a character quirk that cannot be done more than once.

RANDOM IMAGINES TIME

Now I’m imagining a Zuko whose eyesight was affected by the burn or a Zuko whose father decided he didn’t need that side of face anyway if he could not see out of it. Or an Azula who is blind and still better than Zuko -sticks out tongue-! Or perhaps Sokka or Ty Lee contrasting Toph’s personality and bringing to the table a struggle with a lack of depth perception while hunting or performing in the circus, respectively.

The point is, you don’t have to overload your story with blind characters unless you are setting it at a school or event for the blind. Instead, consider who is blind in your story and who else possibly could be. Consider why you only have one blind character and why.

That about wraps up all my thoughts on Toph. In short, I love her. There are things they could have done better or additions they could have made to improve the episode and Toph’s character as a whole, but she is still one of the most beloved and recognizable blind characters ever. I think that says something about the impression she left on people.

If only she would have been accessible to more blind children from the start.

I hope this review was helpful! If you need help writing blind characters I provide sensitivity reading in exchange for donations. My inbox is also open for questions.