#you know that feeling kids (and adults) get when they imagine running away/something bad happening because 'then theyll all be sorry!!'

[good-beanswrites]

How would LCSYS be different if it was "Order of Attack"?

For starters, the only things of OoA that would have happened are the voice dramas.

Hmm, I wonder what caused the admins to decide the attacks would turn out that way.

WAH why haven't I thought to combine the aus yet???

A lot would remain the same, aside from some of the voice drama angst happening differently (both on their end and Es'). I think the biggest difference would be that Shidou and Amane would be forced to interact a lot more -- while their Milgram appearances would be waay more hostile than originally planned, their behind-the-scenes relationship would improve a lot. Shidou spends a lot of time telling her about the side effects of the injuries so she can properly act them out, as well as check in that she's taking off the eyepatch often enough to not ruin her eyesight, none of which are him overstepping on her beliefs. While she still judges him for his profession, she doesn't feel personally attacked by him and can have many civil conversations.

(Meanwhile, Fuuta would have a much harder time acting out these injuries than the canon ones 😅 It takes absolutely all of his willpower not to let his temper get the better of him and jump out of the wheelchair to yell at Es)

As for how it happened...

---

Kotoko knocked on Amane’s door. There was no answer at first, but she knew the girl was in there. She banged harder. 

Amane opened it, lifting her chin to face the woman head-on. Kotoko stared down at her.

“Momose Amane.”

Then, she bent down. Kotoko took her hands into her own. “Are you sure about this?” 

She hadn’t believed it, when she first read the changes to the next trial scripts. Confronting Jackalope hadn’t done much for her; he insisted it had all been Amane’s idea to begin with. He went along with it because he thought the proposed injury swap would be exciting, and grim, and definitely get a big reaction.

Kotoko still had her suspicions until it was finally confirmed, “yes, this is my decision. I stand by it.”

“I don’t want to make you relive something so painful.”

“I do not know what you mean.” 

The way her eyes flicked away revealed that she did indeed know.

“You’ll be more isolated from the others during the trial.”

“Only when the Warden is around.”

Kotoko squeezed her hands. Maybe another route would work. “Injuries like that are impossible to fake nonstop – you’ll need to use medical aid to make it convincing. Will you be alright with that, even if it’s an act?”

“It’s perfect. I will show the warden it is violating to force me into another’s beliefs, without sinning at all myself.”

Kotoko opened her mouth, but Amane interrupted. “Are you afraid it will paint you too villainous?” She wasn’t being harsh – she seemed genuinely worried. 

“I mean, they think I’m here for murder. There’s not much more villainous I can be.” 

It was a truth to hide a truth. Kotoko knew this change would be nothing but a death sentence for her. Yet she’d spent all day planning out her video with the team, shakily writing out notes about a short temper and uncontrollable anger. What if Amane was right? In the heat of the moment, what lengths would she go to in the name of justice?

So the least she could do in return was go to this length.

“I need to make sure you are wholly alright with this. If so, I vow to play the part perfectly for you.” She studied Amane’s expression, but it was difficult to get a read in the dim bedroom. Only the little desk lamp was on, illuminating textbooks and art projects. “Just tell me why.”

“The others asked me about it, too,” Amane said. “They thought it was a dark topic to explore, but I was able to convince them that it would highlight the best in all of us: It would show what a skilled caregiver Mahiru is, when given the opportunity. It would reveal that Fuuta’s passion, his heart, is truly his strength. It would highlight my own virtues and weaknesses, given my beliefs. It would even show your dedication to your ideals, even if not in a fully pleasant light.”

“That makes sense…” She could tell there was more Amane wasn’t saying. She gave her a look.

Amane’s eyes flicked around the room.

Kotoko nodded to encourage her. 

“Well… I also thought…” She swallowed. “The warden saw my punishments in my video, but deemed it righteous when they named me unforgiven. I just…”

“You wanted to see if they saw the things you went through – the things you really went through – would they still think that was okay?”

Amane let her head drop, using the heel of her hand to smear tears that had suddenly spilled from her eyes. “It’s selfish,” she blurted. “I know it’s so, so selfish.”

Kotoko made a sound of surprise. 

“I’ll take it back,” she cried. “I’ll tell Jackalope to undo it. It was wrong of me. I shouldn’t make you suffer for my selfish wishes. I’m sorry.”

Kotoko knew the girl wasn’t the hugging type, but she opened her arms just in case. “Amane…”

After a moment of deliberation, she shocked her by accepting the embrace. 

“You listen to me.” Kotoko held her tight. She kept her voice level. “You’re not going to take anything back. Do you hear me? That is not selfish at all. That is something very reasonable to hope for. If the warden is going to be unjust, then it is our job to teach them, right?”

Amane made a noncommittal sound in reply.

“It is. That’s why you came here – I remember when you told us that. That’s what we’re going to do. You and I both. If anyone dares tell you this is selfish, send them right to me. I’ve got you, okay?”

It was an odd declaration given what she was agreeing to, but everything about this experiment had challenged what was normal.

“I’ve got your back.”

[tornado1992]

Miles doesn’t hate his tails.

No matter how much the people in his town told him to.

Even if every time he tries to play close by the village he gets chased and practically hunted down because some scary adults want to “hang out his tails on the wall”.

Even if the mothers pry their children away from him so they won’t “get cursed by the mutant”.

Even if his first memory is running from some big kids who chased him away from a store for eating some scraps from the garbage while yelling “Two tailed freaks don’t even deserve trash!”

The only apparent difference between him and the people who hate him being the number of tails, or rather, the not singularity of his.

It seemed like the reason why they all despised him was because of them, an abnormality, was the kindest way they called them.

They kept saying his tails were bad. But it didn’t made any sense. His tails weren’t bad. They kept him warm on the coldest nights, shelter him from the rain, and protect him from the town’s kid’s fists.

They were his only company and comfort, his blanket and pillow, and they were the only thing he had. He couldn’t hate them.

It didn’t matter if they were the apparent reason for his loneliness and the town’s rejection, Miles knew that even if he could cut one of them the townsfolk still wouldn’t want him.

His tails were big enough to cover him almost completely, protecting him by curling around him and not letting go even when the fur on them was ripped, torn, or burned. He could chew on the tip of their fur when his stomach hurt too much not to try and bite something, even if the matted fur on them might hurt sometimes. He didn’t have any toys or coloring books, but he could always play with his tails whenever he felt too lonely, he would chase them and they would not go away, sometimes they moved on their own when he was playing, he didn’t know why, but whenever it happened it made him feel a little bit happier, even if it meant as potential risk of him being found by his abusers if they moved when he didn’t tell them too, it still made him happy.

He could hug his tails while sleeping, pretending someone was actually there with him, if he concentrated enough, he could pretend the fur that was keeping him warm wasn’t his own, he could imagine it was maybe a loving mom, a caring dad, or… anyone, but he could feel loved.

He didn’t hate his tails.

Everyone hated him, and that might not have a solution, but everyone also seemed to hate his tails. He knows how it feels when everybody hates you, he doesn’t want his tails to feel like everyone in the world hates them too. So even if it’s just him, even if no one else ever likes them, and even if some day he dies because someone hated them enough to do something about it, he won’t hate his tails.

He doesn’t think anyone could love his tails ever, and he doesn’t know if he is capable of loving them himself, but liking them should be enough. He hopes his tails can understand.

He hopes that at least his tails could feel a little bit of love some day.

[lunamochii]

Need you close to me || EPILOGUE

content warning; age up Neteyam!, adult Neteyam!, smut!, overstimulation, f1nger1ng, neteyam being dom. Fluff at the end!

author’s note will be at the end of the story!

read all parts here! check out masterlist

“Now say cheese!”

You said and did a hand peace sign, the camera click and you hurriedly went to check the photo and saw Neteyam is looking at you with a smile on his face

“Neteyam! I told you to look at the camera!”

“But why? I always want to look at you.”

You laugh and gave him a kiss on the cheek, ever since you became one of the people and those events that have happened, you’ve been doing your best to put it all behind you. You still visit Norm and Max even though Norm teases you by calling Max ‘daddy’ what can you do? He was a father figure to you.

“Something on your mind?”

Neteyam ask as he wrap his arm around your waist, he was so happy when his grandmother decided to train you to become the future tsahik. It also help you to forget those awful events.

“It’s just.. it’s been months now after all that. Time flies so fast”

You replied and he hum as a response and pulled you towards him, you guys are on your usual spot just looking up at the stars. You really do find comfort being with him. Although you feel bad that you left him for years, not like you have any choice

“Say ma Neteyam, what did you do during those years that I wasn’t here?”

You ask him and you felt him tense, his grip on you tightened

“It was pure torture. I don’t even have the slightest idea on how you’re doing. Were you eating well? Were you doing good? Is your health recovering? Did you… did you already find someone and decided not to come back..”

You turn to look at him and caress his face, he press his hand over yours and close his eyes

“The moment I saw you.. the day that I have been dreaming. I was so happy that I wanted to take you away but thay bastard just had to pull you away from me. The thought of you having someone already pained me. It killed me seeing you being so close with that man.”

Neteyam look into your eyes and he put his hands on your face as he lean his forehead to yours

“I can’t imagine a world without you by my side, Y/N. You are the love of my life. I love you so much.”

You didn’t even notice that you’re crying already and Neteyam hushes you as he wipe your tears away. Kissing it away as he made you sit on his lap, your hands resting on his chest as you sob

“Hush now my love. We are together now. Nothing can separate us.”

Neteyam kiss the crown of your head as you both decided to stay there and just come back early in the morning.

—

“You look beautiful..”

Kiri was in awe on how pretty you are and you smiled at her, she have helped you to get ready for tonight’s event. Letting your hair flow freely behind you, no braids in sight. She also put a flower on the side of your ear.

You wore a top that is decorated by jewels, wearing the finest silk for your loincloth. It was a gift from Neytiri.

“Thank you Kiri, I just hope he will like it..”

“Oh sister.. he will! Knowing my brother he might just jump at you”

You blush at what she said and Kiri laugh as you both decided to go out from the hut. The walk towards the tree of soul took long, you felt your entire system shutting down any moment due to how nervous you are.

When you were just mere steps away, you saw Neteyam chatting with Lo’ak. They haven’t notice you and Kiri, you can hear them laughing and it was Lo’ak who notice you first and he immediately nudge his brother

Neteyam’s eyes landed on you and his breath hitches. Kiri grin seeing her brother’s reaction and push you towards him

“Now it’s time for us to go! Remember kids, do not be loud!”

“Lo’ak!”

Neteyam shouted and Lo’ak together with Kiri run away, laughing. He let out a sigh and turn to look at you. Your hand rubbing your arm, can’t even form a single sentence. You felt his touch and it made you gasp

“May I?“

He ask and you nodded. He lean down and press a soft kiss, he pulled away and smile at you

“You look amazing. Beautiful, pretty, gorgeous and—“

“I get it! Please… I’m already nervous as fuck!”

Neteyam can’t help but laugh as he hug you, you hug him back and when the both of you let go. He held your hand and guided you deeper. You look at your surroundings and love how everything is so bright, you can see his back properly and even admire the scars that adorned his body. He have shared with you that he got it all from fighting the sky people. The same race where you came from but you quickly brush it off because right now, you are one of the people. You are a child of Eywa now and tonight..

“I see you, Y/N…”

Neteyam held your hand and kiss it.

“I see you, Neteyam”

He smiled and he slowly grab his braid not breaking a eye contacy on you, you breath in and then exhaled as you grab yours. You felt him squeeze your hand, his eyes searching for any discomfort on you

Slowly you two brought together your queue and form a tsaheylu. You gasp as you close your eyes, your ears laying flat, your tail swishing behind you. Feeling the touch of Neteyam on your face made you open your eyes

“Y/N..”

You bit your lip and nodded as he close the gap between you, his hands on your waist as he lick your lip asking for an entrance, you let him in and you moan between the kisses. He guided you both to crouch down as he tap your thigh lightly, wanting you to sit on his lap which you obliged.

His fingers traces shapes on your back as you try to keep up with his rhythm. You pulled away to breathe and Neteyam trail his kisses down to your neck and softly bites on the skin leaving hickeys

“ma Neteyam…”

You moan and he let out a groan as he caress your hips. You can already feel the growing bulge and the urge to rub him is slowly eating you. Sensing your needs he pulled away and grab one of your hand that is on his shoulder

“Do it. Do whatever you want, my love”

You nod and pulled away a bit enough to get rid of his garment and there you saw his aching cock. Pre-cum already oozing out from his tip

Neteyam moan out your name when your hand touch his cock, he let out a hiss when you start to rub him up and down. He remove your top and decided to suck on one your nipples making you cry out. Feeling way too good, your hand moves faster and Neteyam stop sucking on your breast as he bury his face on the crook of your neck

“Fuck! Hmpf! ma Y/N! I’m cumming!”

“Let it all out, ma Teyam..”

Neteyam’s hands balled into fist as he moan loudly and all his cum spurt out, some getting on your chest area. You were breathing heavily as you stare at your hand that is covered by his cum

“Sorry, it felt way too good..”

“Don’t apologize. You did great, love.”

Neteyam hum and kiss you. You pulled away and stood up making your bond with him disconnected, he was about to say something when you remove your loincloth and reveal your wetness, you look at him. Eyes begging.

“Care to help me out?”

“Gladly”

Neteyam grin and put his hand on your thigh as he inhaled your scent, he open his mouth and let his tongue rolled out and lick your clit. It made you flinch as he did it very slow

“Don’t tease…”

“I’m not? Hm, move closer”

He grip your thigh and you did as what he told you to. You’re practically hovering over his mouth as he starts to devour you. You can feel his tongue inside and it made you moan loud. Louder than his. You scream his name as he flick his tongue inside, slapping your thighs making you feel good more.

Your slick slid at the side of his mouth as he pulled away and inserted two fingers, he look up at you and saw you looking at him with lidded eyes. He lick your clit while fingering you and it sent you to cloud9. You played with your breast as you started grinding on his mouth and Neteyam moan at your movement.

“Ohhh cumming! I’m cumming!”

“Cum into my mouth.”

You shut your eyes as he move his fingers faster and his tongue. You let out a cry before squirting and cumming on his mouth. You heard him gulp and slurp as you felt your knees weakened, he let you lay sideways on his lap, spreading your legs he began to finger you again

“Please! I’m too sensitive— fuck!”

“Gotta loosened you, love. Don’t wanna hurt you..”

“Neteyam! Hmmp!”

You squirm and your second release was out of you, he bend down and kiss you on the lips as he insert another finger and your hands grip tight on his. You want to scream but he won’t let you. He wants to fuck the shit out of you. He wants to see you drunk on his cock.

He grab his braid again and reach out to grab yours and form the bond again. You manage to pull away from the kiss and cry out, tears trailing down to your face as you beg him

“No more please! I can’t t-take it anymore!”

“This is just the third time, c’mon, I know you can do it.”

He kiss your tears away and move his fingers faster and harder, your toes curling as yo scream and squirted again on his fingers. He let out a chuckle and pulled away and take his fingers into his mouth and lick it. You watch it happened as you brought your hands on his face, he pulled out his fingers as he kisses you.

You sat up and he help you position yourself to his cock, he kiss both of your nipples before wrapping his arms on your waist, his tail wrapping your thigh as he slowly lowered you down.

The both of you have gone through hell and deserves whatever happens today onward. As the stars shines brightly on the night sky, you two mated before Eywa.

“I love you”

—

BONUS PART

“Neteyaaaammmm!!!”

You scream and the man hurriedly ran towards you, you angrily huff and drop the basket full of fish.

“What happened you are gonna stay close to me, huh?!”

Neteyam can only laugh as he walk towards you and kiss your cheeks before carrying the basket. You rolled your eyes and walk ahead of him. Minutes later you two got back and a child came running to you

“Mama! Uncle Lo’ak said his gonna take me for a ride!”

Your daughter, Nayla, she’s your first born. The fruit of your first time with Neteyam.

“Dear, it’s dangerous. Also, your uncle Lo’ak is busy.”

Just after you said Lo’ak came, carrying a basket full of fruits.

“C’mon Y/N! Say yes! Also, I’m not busy.”

Rolling your eyes you turned to your mate and Neteyam cleared his throat

“Brother, Nayla is still 4 years old. What if she moves too much and something happens?”

“As if I would let that happen! Nayla is my precious niece! Plus, Kiri or Tuk isn’t here to snatch her away from me. So please can I have this moment with her?”

Neteyam look at you and you just let out a sigh, both Lo’ak and Nayla cheered and before they can go, Lo’ak handed you the baskey his mother wants you to have

“Come on, let’s put this things down”

You nodded and followed Neteyam, the both of you got inside and you quickly sat down while softly massaging your back. Neteyam notices you and decided to tidy everything later as he sit down beside you

He rub your growing belly and you can’t help but smile. You two are bless again by Eywa with a second child. You couldn’t ask for more with the help of Norm you guys have also found out that it’s a boy. Imagine how Neteyam was overjoyed.

“So what are we gonna name him?” He ask

“Hmmm I’m thinking Geor—“

Neteyam quickly covered your mouth and you glared at him

“I think it’s a good idea, I will name our child. Again..”

You slap his hand away and cock your eyebrows

“What? I still think Lydia is a good name”

Neteyam mentally facepalm. He remembered when his mother heard what name you want to give your daughter, Neytiri whispered to him that his father also wanted to name him names basing on what sky people knows

“Baby you name your ikran ‘muffin’ “

You was laugh remembering how Neteyam was so shock learning what you named your ikran, though Jake was proud. You clearly remembered Neteyam and Neytiri rolling their eyes

“Fine fine! Let’s just not think about it for now.”

Neteyam nodded and let your head rest on his shoulder, he played with your hands before whispering

“I love you, ma Y/N. Thank you for giving birth to Nayla and carrying our second child. I’m the happiest Na’vi alive..” he whispered and kiss the crown of your head. It made you smile as you close your eyes

“I love you too, ma Teyam. I’m also the happiest na’vi alive.”

END

—.

taglist: @n1ght5h4d3-24 @mashiromochi @itscheybaby @calums-betch @devil-on-acid @laylasbunbunny @neteyamsmate4life @szchaql @eddiesluvt @kachowness @mirikusashes @incroyablegypsy @abbersreads @grierpilots @dakotali @alice121804

IT’S DONE PEOPLE! FINALLY! NOW I CAN WORK ON MY lo’akxmetkayina!fem reader!

THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO HAVE READ THIS SERIES! I’LL BE MAKING A MASTERLIST FOR ALL OF MY AVATAR FICS!

I hope I made you guys feel a roller coaster of emotions HAHAHAHA although I’m gonna miss writing this series😭

Can I have your words for this series? If so, thank you! I’ll do my best to reply to everyone who comments down!

[jacenotjason]

OK this will be an extremely long ask i am sorry. i love radford

i havent sent an ask to people in years but i am one of the radford fans of all time and demonic possession is a fun concept to me, so the idea of gadreel possessing him specifically makes me INSANE

i just think itd work extremely well. radford doesnt take anything seriously and doesnt understand boundaries, but he always puts his concern for others first and his well-being last. he annoys father gregor and compares him to priests hes seen in the movies, and he does spray holy water + offer free candy against kevins wishes, but he also warns rick about the trouble he could get himself into when not giving the right movie tickets, and helps kevin with his job with no pay in mind. hes annoying, but his heart is in the right place

but gadreel is the Ultimate Prankster. him trying to imitate radford would backfire Hard, because gadreels idea of fun is,, More Extreme. he allows kids to enter adult films, he steals candy and says its fine since hes friends with kevin, he tells his friends and brother to break the rules and disrespect authority, etc etc. im unsure what gadreels motives are other than to ruin everyones day, but hes doing a damn good job at it. all the blame is going to radford, and honestly, its just So Easy to blame him for it

i imagine it takes a while for most people to figure out that somethings wrong with radford. he does what he wants freely, wherever and whenever, so these mistakes could be rationalized by him having an off-day. i assume rad would look extremely tired after a days long session of gadreel torturing him (because he loves pushing the human body. bill cipher behavior). but i think what makes everyone truly concerned is when "radford" starts involving Others in his antics

it isnt like rad to encourage bad behavior. he would never tell rick to swap the prices of two items at his new job, or tell robert the best blind spots to steal from stores, or forcing kevin to take his anger out on someones property. the radford everyone knows is ditzy, but kindhearted. if theres trouble, radford would be the only perpetrator

and god, imagine how much worse it gets if "radford" gets in trouble with the police. john would be frustrated seeing his own nephew be so careless and cruel all of a sudden. itd probably even make him spiral and assume the cult had something to do with it, and that john and his family arent safe like he thought. and i think gadreel relishes in that knowledge

im also so curious as to how gadreel and radford met and how long the possession lasted, maybe it was a week? in my head, he came to radford in the form of a snake before revealing his true self and attacking, leaving no time for rad to fully process it and run away. i also assume skid and pump will have some involvement, and pumps eyes turning blue will be a clear sign that "radford" is associated with a demonic entity, or Is one. either way i love gadreels character being a "twisted" version of radfords if that makes sense

so um ya sorry for the longest ask ever. heres a drawing

OPOOOHMYGOHMOSIEJHIOSRHGIUSADHRUITGHSDUIGSDB !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU ARE AWESOME!??!?!?!?!? FUCK OK OKAYAKOAJTYAOKATY THANK YOU SO MUCH THIS IS SO COOL

THANK YOU FOR THE DRAWING, EATING IT, YOUR POINTS ARE ALL CORRECT

Unlike Moloch whose possessions are more brutal and obvious, Gadreel hides and youre so right! Hes here for the long haul babey!!

yes i imagine the possession lasted about a week, week and a half. Gadreel can't feel pain (at least Radfords pain i mean, he has a higher pain tolerance, as a demon yknow) so he could very well accidentally snap a bone as Radford and not even notice. What im saying is Rad is hospitalized afterwards

AUGHHH the police thing. Gadreel sees the cops and WANTS to get caught by them, just for goofs. in a "Oh what would happen if i did this :)" way.

GOD THIS IS SO COOL YOURE LITERALLY THE BEST

OH!! AND ON THE SUBJECT OF HOW RAD AND GADREEL MET !!

Instead of possessing Patty in the morgue, Gadreel took the form of a snake and.... left lmao. or got noticed and thrown out bc oh my god a snake

he ended up near the candyclub and radford was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Gadreel saw Radford as a hiding place and a means to have fun.

I imagine Moloch doesnt care about what his vessels look like, meanwhile Gadreel won't possess someone if he thinks theyre lame. like yeah he couldve possessed patty but then he would've had to.... do stuff. eugh. This guy looked WAY more fun.

im actually vibrating yourel iterally the coolest dawg.

[honey-minded-hivemind]

Follow-up for Villain!Reader (Bee-themed), Hive!

After trying to flee from the platonic yan/s, and subsequentially figuring out the platonic yans who've been visiting then were infected (or telepaths who could see into their mind and their infected teammates), Reader heads on a night train to New York... Where they were when they were Hive, and where every other hero, villain, vigilante, and super person seems to reside.

Being back is... Not the greatest feeling in the world. Reader feels tense, trudging out of the station and out into the bustling streets with only what they had packed previously, but they can't focus on how they hate being back. Their first order of business: Finding a few hidey-homes to set up shop in. Perks of saving their money over the years from their old villain days is they have a small fortune tucked away, and it definitely helps get them a few places to hide in. Imagine that they have a small apartment/house/studio in each hero/villain/vigilante territory. Some work as homes, some work as small coffee houses, others as antique markets and flea stores. Reader has to keep themself going, and they learned a few tricks over the years on how to keep hidden and to run side lives. That being said...

They're back on the home turf of every single person they've been trying to avoid. And it is driving them INSANE.

Yeah, look. Sure, it's nice setting up little cafes between two or three schools and entertaining tired students with the backstory behind the objects displayed on the walls. It's cute seeing people find items they love from their antique/flea malls, lighting up when they find something they personally found and put in the collection. It even feels good hearing stories from the weird kids and teens and strangers who mill around the places they're at, enjoying a peaceful Saturday... But still, it's NEW YORK! Home of every powerful, rich, and trained person who happens to know their old alias, fought AND chased them, and whom have made it clear that some of them had been infected with their venom or pheromones, by them or their boss or by some freak accident! How the H*CK does one stay calm in the belly of the beasts?!

Reader slowly gets to know some of the teens who show up at their cafes and antique stores, learning a bit about how people their age are supposed to act. It's... sobering, in a way. That that could have been them. That they could have had a healthier life, family or friends, a sense of purpose and community... Yet they cast it back to the shadows. They can't go back in time, and they have to keep in the here and now. When they have teen heroes and villains show up at their places, Reader is shocked. TEEN heroes? TEEN villains? TEEN vigilantes? Where the F*CK are the adults?! Who the H*LL is letting their kids run around fighting psychopaths and criminals and rioters and anti-mutant and racist *ssholes?! When Reader manages to calm down, they realize that some of the teens are the same ones they see on a near-daily basis. And they promptly have an (almost) heart-attack.

Great, JUST GREAT. Their old foes have children in their groups, who they now KNOW. The X-Men, who were only The Professor, Storm, and Wolverine years ago, now have, like, a dozen kids! The Brotherhood, who was maybe Magneto, Mystique, and Sabretooth or Mastermind now had half a dozen brats causing havoc (and had a Havok with them. PEACHY). Spider-man is barely a teenager, and has NO adults, unless you count Nick Fury and the Avengers checking up on him! And he's not the only spider child!

Reader is having a melt down, along with choice words over everything they've learned by the power of observation and intuition. They thought they had been the only child brought into that world of super powers and nutjobs... Now there's near TWENTY of them?! Possibly MORE?!

Reader works on keeping a new distance between themslef and the teens and kids, while also asking careful questions ("How is school?" "Weather is bad tonight, do you have a jacket?" "I heard there's a few new heroes and villains popping up, what do you think about it?") Reader uses every trick in the book they can remember to figure out what's going on. Are the adults treating them well? Are they still after Reader? Is the public leaving them alone, or causing too much trouble? Reader doesn't want to say they care, but they will go out of their way to leave a few leftovers out at their cafes for anyone who needs it (heroes, villains, vigilantes, homeless, hungry kids). It feels nice, doing good... If only they could just forget the nightmares of the past...

All this time, the platonic yan/s have gone back to New York, and have heard word that Hive might be there. They're elated. Of course now, they need to actually find that slippery little bee, and drag them back to their team/group/base, with them. They're glad though, that the teens of their group have a few new hangout spots. Some vintage stores or something they keep prattling on about. It makes them happy, and they belive the teens deserve to have some happiness... Especially since the whole reason they took on teens themselves was to offer them a better home, a better family, job, community, than Hive seemed to have... Finding out that their old boss had basically used them the moment their powers came in, it leaves them feeling sick. Maybe their little bee didn't have much of a childhood, but they'd be d*mned if their own kids didn't.

Sooner or later, the platonic yan/s visit the places the teens recommended (after much pestering, and in some cases, bribery).... And find themselves face-to-face (some of them towering over) Hive; or, at least the Hive outside of the mask. They're trying to stay calm, but seeing how the one kid they'd failed is right there (and those who had been infected, want to hear their thoughts again, and hug them), it's hard to do so, yet they manage. If only their little bee weren't so scared to see them. Don't they remember the chases? The heists? Late nights with moonlight streaming down and the fresh adrenaline of the hunt? Seeing inside their head, if only for a minute (and before they knew that was what they were doing)?

The adults take the time to inform their kids (plus Spider-man and the Spider kids), that their new friend, is also Hive. The old villain they talked about, whenever it was a quiet night and they were in the mood to reminisce. And the teens are floored. THAT person, is HIVE? The odd, kinda funny, and nervous barista/antique collector/owner of the business they visit, is Hive, right-hand man-woman- er, child- to Drone Queen? The most delusional, most vicious and conniving black-clad villain they'd seen since Hydra and the Weapon X *ssholes? THAT Hive? Suffice to say-

They're SHOOK...

Peter Parker had done research on some of the old villains the Avengers, X-Men, even Deadpool, the Brotherhood, and Doc Ock, had faced. And Drone Queen could be described by one word (he wasn't allowed to say that word, Aunt May, Nick Fury, and Iron Man would kill him if he said it), so he used another, more scientific word: a psychopath. They were BAD news. They'd had the latest state-of-the-art drugs back in the day, the type that could control anyone, or make them believe anything. Not to mention hordes upon hordes of guards, all of which were found to have a mindless loyalty to them, even when they were almost killed. It was... scary. Then there was Hive, who was like their weird... sidekick, or pet, or something. Who would run errands. Finding whatever gem or artifact they wanted, causing chaos between various gangsters and local vigilantes, whatever they were told, they did- Until one day, they just- (this part no one seemed sure about)- they just didn't do what they used to. Where they were peppy, talkative, and funny, they went silent. Jumpy. Like even THEY were scared of their boss. And after that, they just kept becoming less active, less loyal, small things they let slide and left alone... The heroes and villains eventually faced down Drone Queen, but it turned out all the control they had was from Hive all along.. It wasn't some charisma they had, or bribes, or even torture- They used Hive's venom, and forced it onto others, making unwilling puppets and slaves. They found that out when Hive actually attacked that freaky liar themself (good for them!). They were defeated, locked up, and life went back to normal... But Hive had escaped in the chaos, never to be heard from again. Yeah, apparently that was NOT the case anymore.

Cue the teens now trying to get to know Reader, the infected platonic yans happily renewing their chase and efforts to open up the hivemind, and the other platonic yans just going along for the ride...

At least Reader has an idea now of who all knows about them... Now if they could just slip past the adults and hitch a ride to Cananda...

Bonus:

Reader: How old were you when you started, twelve?!

Spider-man: No, I was thirteen!

Reader: ....

Reader: I have some choice words for Nick Fury...

Spider-man: Well, fine! How old were YOU when you started?

Reader: ... Do you mean when I met my old boss? Or when I actually started out as Hive?

Spider-man: Um... whichever, I guess?

Reader: ... I was... maybe... ten?

Spider-man:

Spider-man: WHAT?!

Reader: Well in my defense, I met them when I was five!

Spider-man: HOW IS THAT ANY BETTER?!

[cerealboxlore]

hey so ya know the prompts or whatever where cap changes to his billy form and the league think he’s deaged and he just goes with it?

what if that happened but instead of billy pretending he reverted in mind completely as well that he still has his memories as captain marvel?

so like he can’t use any cap abilities but he can use some magic since is still the champion

what if he pretended that while he does have his memories his feelings and behaviours are more like when he was this age?

just imagine the league thinking that the cheerful, childish captain would be even more like that as a child but just seeing him extremely bitter and never smiling

what if they finally make him smile like once around them and notice how different that smile is to caps?

OOO MAMA I'VE BEEN WAITING TO ANSWER THIS ONE

I totally and completely love and worship the prompt/idea of the Justice League believing that Captain Marvel got de-aged when they see his Billy form. It makes me go feral!!

I've really been wanting to see a scenario like the one you described, where Billy doesn't pretend to have amnesia and finally gets a chance to be just Billy around the League and just breathe. That kid needs a break every now and then. He gets to have a little excuse to just sit in the watchtower to eat his fruit snacks and apple juice, and not feel bad about neglecting his duties. I mean, all the League sees is that one of their teammates and heaviest hitters just got turned into a child! Ah well, at least he still has his memories and some magic abilities left, he should rest after pulling so many night shifts and fighting so much lately.

However, despite expecting the Captain to remain cheerful and happy, what they see instead is this tired, malnourished, and bitter, young child. Was...was this what the Captain was like as a child? What kind of childhood did he have growing up??

The Justice League would be very concerned and try to talk to the little Captain Marvel, but every chance they get to get close to him, he flinches. He turns away. He runs away. Little kid marvel isn't as happy and bright as the "adult" version of him.

From the episode of Justice League Unlimited, "Kid Stuff", the League members retained their memories but acted more like their child selves in a way. They conclude this is something similar and begin to try and cheer the little marvel up. None of them know anything about him after all, they don't know what kind of trauma he's been through. Billy on the other hand, just wants to use the zeta beam and get out of there ASAP! He messed up when transforming and got into this sticky situation. When he finally gives in a little and let's them talk to him, no one can even see a glimpse of their Co-worker's smile on Billy's face. None of that glowing shine and warmth that it usually brought, just a small, tragic one that felt given out of pity to them.

Billy doesn't know it, but from that moment, he isn't allowed to leave the watch tower at all unless supervised until they find a way to turn him back.

Wrote my own little thing there for a moment, sorry, but I just adore this idea. So much can happen with the League interacting with who they think is a de aged Captain Marvel! It could also lead to Batman and others trying to corner little captain marvel into getting his secret identity from him, thinking that a kid version of him could slip his real name on accident. Billy doesn't play around though. Billy bites.

[taleasnewastime]

Can i ask for a Drabble? Like oc getting a little jealous when they are like in a parents meeting and a mom starts chatting with jk and she starts getting too comfortable with him? Like she’s trying to hit on him or something cause she thinks he’s a single dad

Thanks for the request. I changed it to a school play, hope you don't mind. Enjoy :)

Word count: 530

Warnings: Reader is jealous, nothing much.

You wipe your damp hands on your skirt. It was bad enough the toilets had doors any adult could stand and see over, making your whole wee stressful, but on top of that they’d run out of paper towels. Your black skirt doesn’t show up any damp spots at least.

Your eyes drift around the room as you start to head back to the hall. It’s the night of the school play, a room full of parents buzzing as they wait for their kids to put on a show. They’ll probably forget their lines, mess up somehow and yet you’ll all still be immensely proud.

You stop when you spot your date, Jungkook, where you left him.

You’re an easily jealous person. Jump to conclusions too quickly, or maybe it’s your too vivid imagination filling in any gaps you can’t fill in.

That’s what happens now. It’s not that you don’t trust Jungkook, more that you don’t trust women around him. You get it, he’s attractive, but that doesn’t mean everyone has the right to just touch him that the woman in front of him is currently doing. Laughing like she’s never said anything, she’s conveniently having to support herself using Jungkook’s arm.

Your blood boils.

You’re slow to walk over there, watch as the woman’s hand lingers a little longer than necessary. She does remove it though and while Jungkook looks uncomfortable he is too polite to say anything.

“Hey,” you say purely to Jungkook as you saddle up to his side, your body angled to his, pressed up along his side as your hand rests on his arm.

He looks across at you, shocked for a second before realising it’s you and relaxing. You wind your hand under his arm, fully linking your bodies.

“Everything ok?”

It takes him another second and then realisation sweeps over his features, amusement lighting his eyes. “Yep.”

You smile up at him before looking to your left, the woman’s still stood there and you feign surprise. “Oh, sorry I didn’t see you there.”

Jungkook’s arm tightens against his body, squeezing your hand in warning. You ignore him.

“Right,” her tone is flat as her eyes flick between you and Jungkook. “That’s ok, I was just going to get another drink anyway. Nice talking to you Jungkook.”

“And you Jodie.”

She gives one last smile and flick of her eyes between the two of you before drifting away. Your eyes follow her as if making sure she’s truly gone.

“I know what you’re doing,” a voice whispers in your ear, his lips are pressed so close you can almost feel the smile on them.

You hum, “and what’s that?”

“You know what.”

You turn slowly towards him giving Jungkook enough time to pull away. He doesn’t go far, his face leaning close to yours, only a few inches away when you look at him.

“I was just so entranced by you I hadn’t realised we had company,” you turn away from him, have to clench your teeth to stop the smile.

Jungkook leans his head forward, forehead resting on your temple as he chuckles. He presses a light kiss to your skin before pulling away.

[seriouslysam8]

Sometimes I think we forget the shit Harry went through. The way you explained it in this chapter just made me want to give Harry the biggest hug ever. His childhood was bad like Sirius, but in a way worse because he never really got a break at school, and despite all of it he’s such a great guy who wears his heart on his sleeve, loves to the fullest, and protects the people he loves with every fibre of his body. I don’t get why he has so many haters, how can people hate Harry Potter? I think a lot of people hated him because of what happened to Sirius. I get it, it was a huge mistake but if he was told about Voldemort being able to possess his mind and the prophecy then he wouldn’t have fallen for that trap. And as much as we loved Sirius can you imagine how devastating it was for Harry to lose the only person outside of the Weasley’s that cared for him? That gave him hope of having a family of his own. This was the main reason he broke up with Ginny in HBP. The fear that Voldemort would find out he loves her and then plant a false vision that would cause him to drop everything to save her but result in it actually hurting her or worse killing her.

This got me thinking in Brumous of Harry finds out Voldemort is still lurking in his mind without his knowledge and that’s how they found out Cepheus… this kid is going to be devastated. I think he would try to pull away from everyone and ask them not to tell him anything. Does Voldemort lurk in his mind when he’s with Ginny? I feel like he wouldn’t be able to because when he’s with Ginny he feels so loved and so much love for her that it would mentally hurt Voldemort to lurk in his mind like in OTP when Harry was willing to die so he could be with his loved ones.

I’m going to put on my completely amateur psychology hat for a few moments.

I don’t think people want Harry to be a kid. I don’t think they want him to act his age. I don’t think they enjoy characterizations where Harry acts like a teenager. It’s not just Harry I’ve seen this treatment of. I saw it in Legerdemain with Lily. People hated that she acted her age and wanted her to be more mature. I’ve seen it in Ron bashing because he had some jealousy issues AS A KID.

Here’s the thing. The human brain doesn’t stop developing until around age 25. So these characters aren’t adults. They don’t know everything. And they’re going to do/say stupid ass things. They’re going to act before they think. They’re going to think they know everything but they really don’t.

Even in Brumous, I’ve gotten reviews complaining about how Harry is annoying, too whiny, too clingy. But he’s also a severely neglected and abused kid who has an adult who cares about him for the first time ever. Of course, he’s clingy. Of course, he’s whiny because he wants to know what’s going on and make sure his only family is all right. Of course, he’s up Sirius’ ass because Sirius nearly drank himself to death while battling depression.

You can see the shift in Harry from OOTP to HBP. In OOTP, he was reckless with running his mouth and jumping into danger. In HBP, he tried to let the adults take the lead. He TOLD Remus about Malfoy in hopes that he’d do something. But like every other adult in his life (minus Sirius), he was told off. He was dismissed. Sirius was the only adult who ever worked out problems with Harry, who talked to Harry like he knew a little what he was talking about, and just listened to the kid.

Sirius isn’t a patient man. Sirius can be moody and grumpy and downright vicious. But with Harry, he’s like a saint with how patient he was! He let Harry ramble on for who knows how long in GOF while he’s in a fireplace of a house he broke into! He just let Harry talk and vent and didn’t even interrupt the kid. He was there for Harry no matter what. He had the patience with Harry to listen to him. Because Sirius knows what it’s like not to have someone listen to him. He knows what it’s like to have everyone dismiss him and paint him as a villain. Sirius can emphasize with the kid in a way no one else can - from his shitty childhood, to being hated for no fucking reason, to having people around him talk down to him as an adult.

On top of that, Sirius tried very hard not to be reckless. He did not leave Grimmauld Place for Order missions or joy rides. He stayed put to show Harry it’s all right to stay put and stay out of trouble. Because Sirius knows Harry. He knows the trouble he attracts. He was trying to emulate the behavior he wanted to see. But he left at the first hint of Harry in trouble because that kid can’t stay out of trouble to save his life.

In HBP, yeah, you see Harry breaking up with Ginny because he can’t bear the thought of her ending up dead like Sirius. He’s trying to learn from his mistakes and not make them again.

In Brumous, Sirius knows he can’t tell Harry how they found Cepheus, he can’t tell Harry about the Horcrux in his head, he can’t include Harry in conversations on where to go from here. He knows Harry. He knows how good Harry is and how big of a heart that kid has. He knows Harry would pack a bag and run from Hogwarts in an attempt to save the people he cares about. Sirius is constantly trying to set healthy boundaries between him and Harry. It’s so tricky because of Harry’s past abuse. Sirius is often cracking those boundaries to make sure Harry knows he’s loved and wanted.

But I think you’re right as well. A lot of people forget about Harry’s abuse. A lot of people like to downplay his abuse.

In the MIT series, I always had Harry not be a fully well-adjusted adult. He’s a helicopter parent. He was downright anxious. He hates cutesy nicknames because he was never called anything even remotely affectionate. He freaks out over dying and leaving his kids without a dad to the point where he becomes addicted to a potion. He purposely gets his son arrested because he views Albus as safer in prison than out in the open. He’s constantly taking charge and doing what he thinks is best because he’s done it since he was a fucking kid. I always say, even in MIT, I think he was too well-adjusted of an adult for everything he went through.

I cannot stand when Harry is this well-adjusted adult in stories who gives pet names and is overly happy. That guy suffered from the moment his parents died to the time he died. Those wounds from the mental and emotional abuse he suffered lasted his entire life. You can’t convince me that there wasn’t x-amount times he did something stupid and then thought this is it, Ginny is going to divorce me. To only be shocked when Ginny assured him that she’s not going anywhere and she does, in fact, love him despite how stupid he can be. No matter how many times his loved ones tell him, there’s always that small seed of doubt in his mind. Because how could anyone love him when his own family couldn’t love him when he was just a small toddler?

But I think I went off on a tangent. 😂😂😂

I don’t understand how anyone can hate Harry. I don’t understand how anyone can look at that cabbage and not want to hug him while he awkwardly pats your back and wishing you’d stop. He is such an amazing character and I love him.

[ddaeng-angmoh]

Curse Like Heritage: 1

Pairings: possible reverse harem, mostly platonic ot7xreader. May change as the flow and characters grow.

Rating: 18+ for Mature Themes. Including blood, gore, folktale based violence, and possible mentally triggering aspects.

Summary: Fairies? They apparently weren’t just for kids. The town folk had warned you of a group of young adults that ran about like children, chasing stories and dreams. Despite your childlike curiosity for fairies, you decided to head their warnings and keep away from the odd men. Like the rest of the town, you couldn’t imagine just what could be wrong with the men that they thought folktales and spirits could actually exist. Maybe if you hadn’t touched something that didn’t belong to you, you could have continued ignoring them. Unfortunately, you didn’t have much of a choice. Something weird was happening to you, and they were the only ones who might know what. 

TW: people being absent in emergency, fainting spells, low-key social anxiety, small panic. Possible Frodo like behaviour?  Not sure what exactly counts for TW so feel free to say if I miss any.

~~~~

  Masterlist - Next

Chapter One

Everyone has instincts, that little niggling feeling of no before something bad happens. Or, even, the cursory thoughts of ‘maybe I should…’ before an event occurs. You had always run on those feelings, felt them more than others, and listened more than others. But that never seemed to stop your impulses from taking over. It was a growing frustration that the thing that stopped you from listening to your emotional instincts was so often your physical instincts. It was that dissonance that had caused some of the most disastrous upheavals in your life. So when you saw the stone the barista was fingering in-front of you, you felt the instinct to run, and to leave the shop behind for a safe hovel of blankets. But as per your curse, instead you opened your mouth. 

  “Fancy rock, how’d you get it to glow?” You nodded to the elegant tendrils of colour that seemed to blossom under the touch of his pale fingers. It was mesmerizing to watch, so much so that you had been frozen upon your turn to order. Watching him flip the stone between his fingers, his veins twitched with each fluid movement and had you biting your lip and tilting your head. Because of course a pretty stone could never distract from such gorgeous hands. 

  “Glow?” He questioned. His eyes slid down to the pale stone before his eyebrows knit together and his lips pursed. It was a strange thing to watch, it was though he had finally realized he had something in his hand as he eyed the rock with a confused dissonance. “You going to order, or keep staring.” He said gruffly before shoving it in the pocket of his auburn apron. 

  You felt your cheeks flush as you squeaked. “Coffee, please. Maple macchiato with an extra shot?” You rubbed the back of your neck as you tried to ease your embaressement, only to jolt in surprise at the feeling of your own cold digits. As much as you loved cafes, this one had welcomed only an unfamiliar tenseness from the moment you stepped through the door. 

“Size?” He crossed his arms over his chest, his biceps flexing under his sweater as he moved. It was clear he had no patience, and was tired of being eyed. As horrifying as it was to know you had been caught, you were determined to pretend it was fine. You weren’t grabbing a coffee because you loved the social aspect, after-all. 

 “Large!” You said trying to push a smile onto your wavering lips. If he was the only barista, you were going to have a very torturous few months. You felt your lips drop as he only stared blankly back before he grabbed the machine and flipped it to face you.”Thanks,” You tapped your card to pay, before trying to eye his nametag. The piece of metal, however, was so thoroughly worn that all that could be made out was a y. 

  With a tsk, the male turned away to make the drink. The dismissal was clear, and ouch if that didn’t hurt. 

I thought small towns were supposed to be friendly. You grouched to yourself before shuffling yourself down the counter to stand under the small sign for pickups. It wasn’t like everyone was going to be nice, that was it’s own impossibility. But the whole shop had an under-layer of judgement. The customers that had decided to sit inside with their drinks had been eyeing you curiously since you walked in. That in and of itself was no surprise, but their hostile huffs whenever they looked over at the barista had you feeling tense and uncomfortable. Not even the soothing scent of roasted coffee or the sound of frothing milk could ease your tension. 

“So-“ You trailed off as you watched him stamp down the ground coffee with flexing arms. “Is the rock from some video game?” When his narrowed eyes shot back up at you, the clunk of him shoving the tool into the machine made you jump. 

“It’s a rock.” He said flatly. His fingers slipped into the pocket of his apron as his spare hand grabbed a to go cup, slamming it on the counter before he dumped the first shot of espresso in. 

“Oh really, I couldn’t tell.” You snorted and rolled your eyes. Your frustration shot up near instantly at his attitude. You had expected a retort from the snippy barista, so when instead he wavered on his feet and stumbled you instantly pressed against your end of the counter. “Yo, are you okay?” He opened his mouth to answer, but instead he gagged and pressed a shaky hand to his mouth as his eyes went unfocused. 

“Hey, hey!” You clutched the counter and watched in confused panic as he stumbled before collapsing to the floor. “Hey! Someone call the ambulance!” You cried as you climbed up and over the counter to check on the male. Everything you knew about seizures was running through your head, but nothing he did seemed like a seizure. Your fingers shook, frozen in the air as you realized you had no idea what to do. If he had a concussion, you weren’t supposed to move him, right? But if it was a seizure, it was better to rest him on his side, wasn’t it?

You gently touched his shoulder and checked that he was okay before shooting up to turn off the machines around you. Most of customers had fled to leave the cafe behind, the few that stayed behind seemed to be watching from their tables without worry. It sent anger through you that after someone had called for assistance, they all had just moved on. How could they not be the least bit worried?

   With the machines off and the scent of burnt milk in your nose, you squatted again and checked on him, only to see his eyes fluttering open as he gripped his stomach. He gave small gasps as he choked on air, unable to speak as his body shook. He weakly grabbed at his pocket and pulled out the rock, staring at it even as his body curled in from the shaking. Staring at it as though it held the answers.

   Watching him stare at it sent chills down your spine. Your stomach churned watching him, because even as the door slammed open with the medics coming in, he didn’t look away. The violent shaking and pained groans did nothing to stop him from the odd look of longing he was giving the stone. The only thing that stopped his mute contemplation, was dropping the glowing stone when they hauled him off the floor.  Instantly he choked and fought against them, weak from the shivers that had plagued him.

    You watched them push him onto the cot, watched him reach out even as they pushed him out the door. You looked down to the rock as it sat upon the floor innocuously. The thought crossed your mind that you should make sure you could give it to him. Pick it up, maybe even keep it? The coloured etches on it taunted you, and itched at your mind. How did it glow?  That was when you knew that you shouldn’t touch it, you couldn’t. That as fantastic as the whole event had been, it was a red flag the size of Europa. 

   But this wasn’t some fantasy, it was just a rock. So you lunged at it, gripping its cool form with a look of firm curiosity on your face.  But nothing happened, there was no burst of heat or warmth. Nor was there a foreboding chill to trace your spine. Instead, the coloured spirals blinked out of existence, leaving a dull pebble. It looked just like any other. Nose scrunching, you roughly rubbed it with your fingers to no avail. There was no indentations to hint to the glowing designs, or any sign of electronics.   

  If only you had known what the barista had done to get it. Maybe then you would have listened to your instincts, and your life wouldn’t be falling apart. 

~~~~

Next

[scorchedhearth]

tell me about childhood friend guy and hal!!!

i know i can always count on you, thank you!!

i used the ‘what if’ idea because hal & guy are for me cemented in their current dynamic, met once as adults and got along as friendly acquaintances before the ring messed up their relationship on both sides and it took decades to slowly and very painfully pick at it work out something better, this hard to bear ‘self-recognition through the other’ dynamic where they both see and know the worst of the other because they’ve been it. so this idea, it’s trying to see what could have happened, how it would have gone if they met as kids and befriended each other, how they might have influenced each other’s life for better or for worse

it boils down to two lonely and misunderstood kids finding kinship with one another, growing up together and feeding into each other both good and bad, crashing away and meeting again multiple times. and im thinking of both a no power au and a canon divergence where they both end up green lanterns because can you imagine how gut-tearing it will be for guy to learn that hal, his friend, was chosen over him? that he spent years already struggling with self-esteem irt to hal and comparing himself to him finding out he wasn’t good enough? that he’s the second choice? after spending years after years being so close to him? and for hal, the weight of the guilt and grief! the what ifs! if he didn’t get the ring, if guy wasn’t made his second, his he didnt use his battery to charge, if sinestro hadn’t tried to use him to get to hal, if, if, if… then he wouldn’t have lost his best friend, because guy now is nothing like the guy he’s known his entire life and it’s because of him, he hurt someone else again and ther’s nothing he can do to make it right

but my favorite out of the two is the non power setting:

hal is born in middle to upper middle class, his family has a second house in their family near baltimore they use as a vacation house during summer

that’s how he and guy meet, guy is younger than hal but they still hang out together a lot jack is already a lot older than hal and has things he wants to do and jim wasn’t born yet, so hal finds himself alone a lot, and guy is already spending as much time as he can outside his house to avoid his father and mace

showing this new kid around, being looked up to and feeling important is something guy will seek out with hal. hal just doesn’t want to get bored, and the kid who can be goaded into showing him risky places with an easy ‘you’re too much of a pussy to do it’ is his best bet for finding cool spots

still they get close on their personality: stubborn and smart and distant big brothers and loving being outside. guy shows him his favorite activities outdoor while hal talks about planes and what his beach looks like, they compare notes

for a few years that’s how it goes: hal and guy hang out for a few weeks in summer until hal goes back to california. they string up a strange friendship that feels timeless, the years go by and they just pick it up from where they left it when they meet, even though they are both changing and quickly, with new things to say to the other

then hal’s father dies when he’s barely a teen

then living in coast city gets harder with each passing day and hal won’t stop going to the tarmac and obsessing over flying and their family house has no one to take care of it anymore so his mom moves the family to maryland, hal sulking and hating everything about it

by now it’s gotten bad enough at home that guy has taken to spending as little time as possible there, roaming the streets of baltimore and all the remote spots he knows. still he keeps hoping to impress his father, to find what will make him love him

they meet up at their usual hang-out spot by pure dumb luck, guy escaping his house and hal running away from his mom and brothers for a moment. they find out they live in the same city, and even though they don't go to the same schools and are pretty far from each other, they grow close and closer and make an effort to meet up as often as they can

they take the bus until hal gets himself a car and start driving them around, picking guy from his school to go to parties, by now both families knowing of the friendship, hal’s mom encouraging it and guy dodging the questions about it

they are remarkable friends, able to get into the worse screaming matches and fist fight and a minute later being best buddies laughing and scheming together, they know the shameful family secrets and they know their fears and shames, ripped out confessions on lonely nights they meet up and confidences made out of trust. hal encourages guy to calm down while guy gets hal to talk out loud more

and, going for a romantic direction, maybe they’re their first gay thoughts, and how badly they deal with it, growing up in not the most accepting places. the looks, the touches, the thoughts, the moments alone and the shared spaces when in public, it’s spread out over weeks and months and years, culminating in a kiss during a party where they’re not even drunk enough to put it on the alcohol

and they both like it, maybe a bit too much, and they both hate themselves for it, and it breaks something between them. hal represses it hard while guy tries to ignore it and they both hate themselves for not conforming to what their fathers would want out of them

guy gives up on his family, just like hal does, and they talk about it. guy hardly find solace in that when hal tells him he’ll leave as soon as he can

and then hal leaves maryland for good and goes back to california, hitchhiking there to enroll in the airforce in his home state. he’s only thinking about the future, about what he’ll get, about flying again like he so desperately wants to

and that breaks guy a bit more, because it feels like hal is leaving him behind in the dirt to get something better, something without him while he’s left rotting in his hometown. he goes into this downward spiral of crime and anger, and mace tries to get hal because he knew they were close but hal doesn’t even pick up, too busy with his own career, and he’s left alone to straighten up guy

this leaves a dent in their friendship, they don’t really see each other, both too busy. hal flies, and guy studies, and they both get somewhere. the occasional phonecalls and beers they exchange every once in a while cannot make up for what broke between them, it just hurts to prod at the bruises

im conflicted about emerald dawn I and II, but the potential here cannot be overlooked, them meeting again by pure luck once again, hal in a bad place despite leaving to become great and guy turning out the best of the two, with a good career and standing. it hurts hal’s ego and brings guy back to bad memories.

afterward, hal gets back to ferris, trying to make things right, and guy gets angry again so he goes to school, to teach kids and be helful

until he gets hit by the bus, goes into his coma, wakes up with the consequences of his brain injuries. until he realizes that he cannot teach anymore, not while he was thrust back to his worst years, out of control, angry, confused and anxious and buzzing with all of that at all time

it hurts even more that no one in his family went to visit him

hal visits until he can’t stand seeing guy like this, not understanding what seeing kari by his side means when bile rises in his throat, not understanding why they’re kissing until kari says she cant, and he leaves him alone because he can't stand any of it

the next fortuitous meeting is a traveling hal stumbling unto guy working small jobs to keep rent. by now guy is angry at hal for leaving him behind, for ruining his shot at a better life by stupidly getting fired from the army and ruining what he had at ferris. and hal is just shocked at seeing guy like this, and hurt to see what he missed, that guy changed so much. it’s like seeing a stranger wearing his friend’s face, finding this young and hurt boy who would show him around the docks when they were kids, so angry and shutting out the world

they get into this circle of bringing out the worse for a while, hal making guy think of what he lost and who he isn't anymore and guy brings proof of hal slowly but surely losing control over his life, made worse by the fact that they end up working for the same company and seeing each other a lot

it's the fights, both verbal and with fists, made worse because they know exactly where to hit to hurt

from now on it’s them dancing around each other, around this baggage they have, what was lost, and following what GL 1990 and the 90s had going for them, guy slowly working at being better once he realizes how low he's sunk while hal gets worse until he crashes and guy is there to pick him the pieces left of him

guy is fired from their company after yet another fight between, and he realizes he doesn't want to be angry anymore, so he works on himself again, like he did when he went to college at 20, and he opens his bars and gathers new friends

while hal overworks himself and has a massive burnout and causes a big accident, and then it's seeing as guy made himself better and doing this too, going to guy for advice. its at nearing 40 years of age that they manage to salvage what was left of their relationship

all of this to say: i want a scene where they get sloshed at guy’s bar warriors and guy closes and keep hal there to talk, and he says he still thinks about their kiss so many years ago, and hal admits that he does too. and they’re both old, graying and with aching knees and many regrets on their shoulders, and they decide right there to not add another one to the list, to give this a shot to whatever has been brewing between them for so long

[nickgerlich]

Battle Of The Brands

I have long preached the importance of brand protection. A brand is one of those things that typically takes years to build, and once you have established yourself in the minds and memories of consumers, it behooves you to do everything it takes to keep it there.

Sometimes a company will do a rebrand, which can involve an entirely new look and feel to packaging and logos, as well as the product itself. How it is positioned, which is effectively the “fifth P,” is usually changed then as well. It’s like hitting the Reset button, getting a do-over because the market has changed.

But what about when a company ditches a branding effort that has been in place for 51 years, and is still working well? Now that’s something that raises eyebrows. Take a look at HBO now. That’s Home Box Office, the long-time king of cable services that has been trying to find its way during the streaming era. It recently announced its HBO Max streaming service will now simply be called Max.

The company thinks it is a better umbrella name for its growing array of options, which recently saw Discovery+ come along for the ride. Essentially, they want to reposition themselves such that they are not viewed as just adult content, but also kid-friendly.

The only problem is that HBO’s second-tier brand, Cinemax, has that nagging suffix. Cinemax was always where you went to watch older movies, those that had run their course and lost some luster. The fact that they even combined it with the name HBO for streaming was enough to make me wince, but now to completely ditch the name that made the company what it is? It’s terrible.

Imagine if Coca Cola Company decided to gather up all its many brands and flavors, and rechristen them all Sprite. Sprite Cola. Diet Sprite. Cherry Vanilla Diet Sprite. I could go on. Fortunately, Coca Cola is smart enough to know how valuable its main brand is, and they will protect it until the end of time.

I know. HBO execs think they know what they are doing. Acquiring Discovery+ was a great move, because it helped build out their portfolio. But Disney is likely to finish acquiring Hulu next year, and do you think they’ll rename their streaming bundle Hulu? Not a chance. Walt would be turning over in his grave.

And what about Facebook renaming itself Meta, and Google now being Alphabet? What’s up with that? We consumers haven’t stopped referring to them by their original names, just like for anyone raised in Chicago in the late-20th century, it will always be the Sears Tower. None of that Willis Tower stuff for us, thank you very little.

Apparently HBO thinks that all the time, money, and effort they put into building the HBO name since 1972 now has little or no value, that we will automatically think of them when we see Max, and then go on as if nothing happened. To be honest, they will probably survive, and maybe even thrive, but this is still not a text book example of good branding.



Of course, I felt the same way when Cingular renamed itself AT&T. I loved the wordplay with Cingular, and I knew the history well regarding the splitting of the legacy AT&T company—much like Standard Oil—in years prior. Hey, Verizon just left their name intact. Cingular was a good name, but in the end, AT&T has still worked. And, I might add, happily takes my money every month.

Still, HBO has provided a good example of a potentially very bad thing. You just don’t mess with what is working, even if you might get away with it. And when I tune in Season 3 of The Righteous Gemstones next week, I’ll still be telling everyone it’s on HBO. Not Max. Somebody’s gotta show these guys how it’s supposed to be done.

Dr “You Can’t Fix What’s Not Broken” Gerlich

Audio Blog

[casspurrjoybell-32]

All It Took Was One Look - Chapter 32a

*Warning Adult Content*

Aiden

"Move," Brett said as I was shoved roughly into the corner of the wall. He walked passed me down the hall and my head cracked against it hard.

"Fuck," I hissed putting my palm on the soon to be bump.

His retreating chuckle vanished when he closed his door.

I took my hand away from my head to see blood and to freak out.

Rushing to the bathroom I flipped the lights on and ran to the mirror.

There was a huge gash with blood running down into my eye.

"Shit," I cursed turning the water faucet on and washed the blood from my face but the blood wouldn't stop.

"Aiden," I heard mom call me from down stairs.

Quickly I grabbed a wash towel and pressed it to the wound.

"Aiden?" she called again, I heard her footsteps coming up the stairs,

"What are you doing?" her eyes widened when she saw me and rushed in the bathroom taking the towel away.

"Oh my God, Aiden," she exclaimed and I put a fake smile on my face to ease her worry.

"It's nothing mom I just tripped," I lied but her face was full of concern.

"Oh baby."

She reached in to the cabinet and took out the first aid kit.

"Here, sit. Let me do this," she ordered tearing open a disinfectant wipe.

I jerked back at the sting.

"Aiden, you've never been so clumsy before," she fussed mainly talking to herself but I shrugged as she worked.

"Everyone has a clumsy moment, mom," I joked.

"Yes but apparently yours are dangerous."

She pulled out a roll of bandages and wrapped them around my head, covering the gash.

It was throbbing bad and hurt like a bitch.

"I guess."

I stood when she was done.

She put the kit back and turned to me.

"You called me earlier. What did you want?" I asked remembering she needed something, her eyes widened in recollection.

"Oh yes. I wanted you to come with me to the shelter."

I instantly cringed.

I don't know what it was about shelters but they made me feel guilty and awkward.

"I-I don't know," I said unsure walking down the stairs unconsciously looking out for Brent.

"Oh come on baby. I don't want to go alone," she pleaded from behind me.

"I always get so depressed when I go to this one and I thought it would be better if I could bring you along with me."

"What kind of shelter?" I asked once we were in the living room.

"It's the domestic violence and abuse shelter."

I froze... I couldn't go there.

It would just be a huge reminder of what I'm going through.

What I just went through not a few minutes ago.

"With that bandage on your head you'll fit right in," she said with a pleading look and I gave her a flat look.

"Are you kidding me, right now? That's not funny mom."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry," she sighed, with her head down like a child being lectured.

Letting out a soft chuckle I couldn't say no to my dear old mom like that... then I sighed.

"Fine, I'll go," I reluctantly said and she lifted her head with a huge smile.

"Really? Yay," she squealed pulling me in a huge hug.

'Geez why is my mother so strong?'

"Alright. I've got to breathe here," I struggled to get out.

Letting go, she ran to get her purse and grabbed my hand, dragging me to the door.

"Brett. We're leaving," she yelled before throwing me into the car.

Good thing I was already dressed.

"Alright, were going to be there for an hour or so and help out. There's this woman I always talk to, she just a sweet heart. It breaks my heart when she told me her story. I just wanted to go and kill... never mind." she cleared her throat, giving me a sheepish look.

"But there are kids there that have been through so much. I can't even believe the things they have been through."

She shook her head.

"I couldn't even imagine any of those thing happening to you, Nash and Connie. I mean..." she was going on and on till I shut her out and stared out the window.

I was starting to develop a raging headache as the back of my head began to throb like mad.

My thoughts were brought back to how I got the painful bleeding gash in the first place.

My cousin Brett... I hate him so much.

He just won't stop will he? I bet he gets off on hurting me.

Making my life a living hell and I wanted to punch him in the face so hard till he saw stars but I wasn't that strong.

Ugh... Liam come back... I need you.

The car came to a stop in front of a huge white house with a sign that said 'The Sanctuary'.

My heart was heavy as we got out of the car.

Was this going to be my future soon?

I know they tell you that you need to talk someone in these situations but that is really hard to do when you're scared.

Telling someone means possibly getting into more trouble with them.

The constant fear of that person getting a hold of you somehow or worse, even killed if they were fueled with enough hate for you.

And that could be the case for me, I could die for what I am and that's not just from Brent but anyone who hates gays to the point of killing.

It wasn't an uncommon thing to hear about.

This is why they always say being homosexual makes your life a hell of a lot harder.

But there's nothing I could do about it, this is who I am.

An unexplainable fear washed over me and I suddenly started rethinking about telling Liam about Brent. It would probably only make more problems for me.

"Aiden?" Mom was standing at the door holding the door open while I stood in the middle of the parking lot staring up at the sign. I shook my head.

"Sorry, coming."

Jogging up to her she gave me a small motherly smile.

It warmed me a bit but not enough.

We walked into a large foyer and there was a lady behind a desk against the wall. Mom went over to her,

"Grace, lovely to see you again," the lady said.

"Hey, Susan." Mom greeted.

"I came to help out. I brought my son Aiden with me, this time."

She waved her hand gesturing towards me and Susan looked over at me with a warm smile.

"Hello there," she said to me and I nodded my head.

"Hi."

"He's so cute," she cooed to my mom like I couldn't hear her.

"I know. Right?" Rolling my eyes I began to wander closer to a door less entry way.

I saw people sitting or playing games in what looked to be the living room.

It had I big TV with a game console that a few kids were playing on, I think it was a Wii.

There was a woman sitting by a huge window just staring outside.

Others were reading books or sitting quietly staring into space.

I turned back to my mom as she finished up her conversation.

"Alright Susan, what do you got for me today?" Mom asked.

The woman smiled.

"There's not much to do, we already had helpers this afternoon but if you want. We did laundry today so I guess you can bring up their blankets. Also Jillian's been asking for you, she really likes your company."

Mom nodded.

"Alright we're on it."

Mom took my hand and led me to a huge closet down the hall, full of blankets.

Reaching in, she grabbed a couple and handed them to me.

"All their doors should be open right now so just hand them a blanket or place it on the bed."

Nodding I headed up a flight of stairs noticing that my mom was correct.

All the doors were really open.

Taking a breath I went to the first door, a woman was sitting at a desk writing something.

"Knock, knock," I said because I couldn't really knock with an arm full of blankets.

She snapped her head up.

"Oh," she said timidly.

I gave her a reassuring smile.

"Blanket ma'am?"

"Yes, thank you."

She stood and took the top blanket.

She wouldn't look me in the eyes as she took it, just kept her head down, put the blanket on her bed and went back to her writing.

Frowning I went to the next door and so on.

I was starting to become more and more depressed at each door I stopped by.

A couple doors back was a woman with her two children, they all shared the same bruises on their faces and arms.

I tried to keep a friendly smile on my face but it was quickly fading.

I don't know how the people who work here do this every day?

It's killing me and I've only been her for a few minutes.

The last door was closed so I hesitantly knocked holding the last blanket I had under my arm.

There was no answer.

I knocked again a little louder but still nothing.

I made the assumption that there was no one in so I slowly opened the door.

I was just planned on placing the blanket down at the end of the bed and leave but when I entered... I saw a girl about my age.

She was sitting on her bed staring at the wall ahead of her.

I froze, scared that I just did something wrong, was I not supposed to open the doors?

"Oh... I'm so sorry," I exclaimed.

She didn't move she just stared at the wall.

I glanced over too but saw nothing.

"I have your blanket."

I tried again, still nothing.

[adamwatchesmovies]

There's Something Wrong with the Children (2023)

I'm unsure how to feel about movies whose titles clearly give away what the movie will be about. There's no ambiguity in a statement like There's Something Wrong with the Children but the movie keeps its cards close to its chest for a while. Maybe it's titled that way to make sure those who seek it out won't be disappointed?

Margaret and Ben (Alisha Wainwright and Zach Gilford) are vacationing with their friends Ellie, Thomas (Amanda Crew and Carlos Santos) and their children, Lucy and Spencer (Briella Guiza and David Mattle). While hiking through the woods, they come upon a delapidated building. Inside is a deep pit. Lucy and Spencer become fascinated with a light within only they can see and begin acting hostile towards Ben. Or maybe the kids haven’t been replaced by malicious dopplegangers and Ben’s pre-existing conditions is what’s causing him to become paranoid.

This horror film gets a lot of the basics right. The cast is small and you get to know them quite well, so you worry once things start going south. In fact, the adult drama stuff would almost be enough to be a movie on its own. As Ben begins accusing the children of all sorts of things, tensions between the couples escalate until they reach a breaking point. At this point, all hell breaks loose between them. The friends say some deeply hurtful things towards each other, the kind that could make this weekend getaway the last time they ever talk. You wonder what’s coming next but then uh oh, the kids are up to something and everyone forgets all about the drama.

Another thing director Roxanne Benjamin nails is the creepy kids themselves. All “bad seed” stories have an inherent problem: an opponent you could pick up and throw out the window is hard to make scary. The film knows this and begins by focussing on Ben to keep whether or not something legitimately malicious is happening ambiguous. You might say it’s a spoiler to reveal that indeed, there is something wrong with the children… but that’s what the title tells you. Anyway, once the sinister behavior is confirmed, much of the evil stuff is kept off-screen. We see the consequences, not the actions themselves. First, it makes this scenario much more believable. Second, it keeps what’s happening ambiguous. There are many unknowns in this picture. The green glow coming from the cave. Who or what created it? Why were only the children affected? Now that they’ve been “infected”, what do they want? We don’t know for sure. There are hints, such as an eerily effective moment where one of the children’s shadows begins to morph into an insect-like shape. Maybe that’s just panic making the person we’re following at the time imagine something otherworldly. Maybe it’s a hint that they’re now slaves to a glow worm queen living deep underground. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that they’re dangerous and prey upon the adult’s trust.

The score by The Gifted is terrific and the film ends on a strong final note. There’s Something Wrong with the Children takes some interesting turns along the way, and makes some unexpected choices to keep you on your toes. So why, at the end of the day, am I only giving it three stars out of five? It’s because of the running time. 92 minutes shouldn’t be too long, but there isn’t quite enough meat to fill that time. To prolong the action, our protagonist has to make some dumb decisions - hiding when they should be going on the offensive, making obvious mistakes, etc. Yes, the characters in the film don’t know they’re in a film and they’re under much more stress than the audience but for the most part, everyone has a solid head on their shoulders. It becomes frustrating to see them do things only (seemingly) to keep the story going on longer than it needs to.

There’s Something Wrong With the Children is no game changer but it does enough new things and enough things right to make it worthwhile. It’s tense, the drama before things go south is engaging. There are some neat visual tricks, and the protagonist provides us with an interesting point of view. It might feel too long at the 2/3 mark but the conclusion is strong and with that killer soundtrack, you’ll find yourself enjoying the scares much more than not. (August 26, 2023)

[lifewiththelulus]

Oh you know for sure that man says it's his money now

So he probably starts hiding his money under his bed in a shoe box so he always has something to get food or other necessities

One day he sneaks back in and doesn't realize his dad isn't sleeping. He starts to tip toe behind the recliner when a gruff voice speaks. "So, wanna tell me where the hell you've been?" He's frozen and before he can respond his dad throws the box of loose change and dollar bills onto the floor. He's interrogated pretty harshly at the table why he's got money, how he's got money and why he's leaving the house when he's supposed to stay inside. Of course him being like 7-8 years old he's in tears and that just makes his dad angrier. He tries so hard to find the words but all the stuttering and sobbing makes him finally lose it and he slams his hands so hard on the table it topples over and accidentally hurts Wilton's arm and snaps a branch In fear he sprints out of the house and to the only safe place he can think of in that moment.

Kindlin and Cirrus already got the kids in bed and were just about to shut off the lights when they hear frantic pounding at the front door. Kindlin throws on a robe and slippers, not knowing what to expect. The last thing was to open the door and have Wilton shoved past her to run inside and go hide behind the cooling racks in the kitchen. He moved so quickly she almost didn't see it was him. She was in such a confused and shocked state she didn't lock the door and went to the kitchen after him. He was curled up in the corner trying to make himself as small as possible and his leaves showed how bad he was trembling

As she got closer her light shone on him and saw his snapped branch. She slowly reached down to put a hand on his shoulder but as soon as she did he yelped and backed away. He had this look in his eyes she would never be able to forget as long as she lived.

Cirrus suggested that they give him space, and cook something for him, leaving the meal at the side of the door for whatever he feels like eating

Aurora sneaks in to find him still shaking, she picks up the plate and sits next to him and encourages him to eat. (I’d imagine he’s more comfortable around kid than he is with adults)

maybe the others kinda follow her out to see what going on

Nebi is the kind of kid who gets into a lot of mischief but knows when things are serious

Same with Charlie, though he’s pretty bad at reading the atmosphere and has to be told when he’s being insensitive

Oh very much He finally eats a little bit and is able to calm down with Aurora there He even lets her look at his arm because she notices he's not using it to eat. He whimpers when she gently touches it, and pulls away again.

Ohhh yeah Maybe they sit down on either side of him and ask him what happened He makes them promise not to tell and tells them what really happened He's pretty jumpy and every little noise has him on edge

Aurora is very much a softie who's pretty in tune with other people's feelings, but there's a lot of social cues she still misses She's a sensitive little soul

… Autistic trio?! : Dc

"Well hey you better eat that food before I do" "charlie that's not cool" nebi pouts

“I don’t want to talk about it” “Awesome, does that mean we can go back to sleep?” Nebi punches his arm

"Don't pay attention to him, we're glad you're here. It'll be like our first sleepover!" She just tries to comfort him and he finally stops trembling when she gives him a soft hug on his good side. He just nods "I've never had a sleepover before."

Nebi just lights up "omg ok ok we need kernals,some movies,oh i need to hook up the palyer, and a bunch of pillows for a fort!"

Kindlin coming back to check on him and when she sees all of them awake she just kinda stays quiet and watches from afar how they stay with him She's never been a more proud mother than that moment right there.

Charlie: I’ll get the scary movi- Notices Aurora’s side eye Charlie: …Um kid friendly movies? Aurora gives him a thumbs up

Aurora might be the soft spoken one but she knows how to keep them in check when it's necessary

That’s why she’s the elected leader

She has the same look that Kindlin does when they're about to do something they shouldn't

So I'm thinking after he starts to get sleepy Aurora goes and finds Cirrus to let her know he was dozing off in the kitchen. She doesn't understand really what happened but gets that something hurt him because he was starting to bruise and he wouldn't use his hand for anything. She just asks Cirrus really innocently if he's gonna be ok, and if he was allowed to spend the night for real

Cirrus looks at her with sadness but says yes, they will make sure he’s ok, and that he’s allowed to spend the night

Kindlin comes in and tells the kids to go to bed, kissing them each on the cheek as they pass her. She gives them all a warm smile and as soon as they're in their room she goes over to Wilton. He's just looking down at the floor when Kindlin sits next to him. After a bit of coaxing she gets him to let her look at his arm and broken branch. Aurora was right, he was already bruised up and he refused to move his arm past a certain point. She felt just so awful and guilty about sending him home at all

She wrapped him up in a blanket, and immediately got dressed to take him to the hospital. Before leaving though she gives Cirrus a soft deep kiss and promises she'll be back soon.

In the morning the kids wake up to the bakery being closed for the week, and Wilton sleeping soundly on the pullout couch with a cast on his arm. Kindlin sits them down and tells them to let him sleep. And that he might need to play more gently for a while so he could heal.

They find her knelt by the couch, she'd been up through most of the early morning gently stroking through his leaves to help him sleep soundly

She couldn't leave him alone for a single moment after seeing him go through what he did

And going to the doctor was a whole other thing because he'd never been so he was terrified of everything It was a struggle to let them put the cast on.

If he had to go to the doctors they almost definitely asked what her relation to him was and tried to find parental contact information

She made it very clear to the doctor what happened and they did contact someone about it Fortunately Birch was still technically allowed to foster/adopt so they granted Birch emergency custody Birch was more than willing to sign for it, and finding out what happened made her so upset for him. It was actually the first time she saw Birch genuinely angry about something (of course she wasn't in front of him but couldn't contain the anger once out of earshot)

She got him a bear from the gift shop for being so brave at the doctor

Kindlin eventually falls asleep kneeling on the floor and resting on the part of the bed that was free She just felt so protective of him and didn't want to leave his side for anything

When he finally wakes up in the afternoon he's a little fuzzy headed, the pain meds causing him to still be drowsy, but at least the pain was low. He sat up to look over when he felt a warmth and saw Kindlin sleeping at his side. Then the memory of the night prior flooded back. He looked down at his cast, then at the bear, and hugged it close. Kindlin woke up to him crying quietly, and immediately she got up to sit with him. Without saying a word she wrapped him up in the blankets and cradled him in her lap. He pressed his face into her chest as he cried and she rocked him soothingly until he was calm again. When he was, she whispered "Hey buddy… you hungry?" He peaked up at her and just nodded. She smiled softly and carried him downstairs He was getting whatever the fuck his little heart wanted and she would make sure of it

Omg I can imagine the triplets fighting over who gets to sign his cast first XD

I can imagine people just looking at him then all of a sudden they have the urge to make the world a better place.

I think he probably starts to smile more after just a week of being with them honestly He's always so quiet so Kindlin had to walk away and cry the first time she heard him genuinely laugh out loud

[kinetic-elaboration]

May 16: MSCL 1x14 On the Wagon

I came into this ep feeling like it was going to be a really heavy episode and then I noticed which one comes after. So, not that bad.

Rayanne to me is such a sad character and I get more sad about her the older I get, because, as I've mentioned, it's hard not to see her as a child that, a real adult, would like to protect. So many people in this ep are trying to help her, but they lack the ability to make a significant enough difference, for various reasons.

Rickie is just a kid, too, and the only thing he really knows how to do is be an enabler. He's not really trying to change Rayanne's trajectory, just manipulate as much around her as possible to keep her as stable as possible. Patty truly wants to help, but as she's not Rayanne's mom, her hands are tied by just, as Graham says, the unspoken rules of parenting. She may have established herself as the person the kids can come to for help no matter what, but she's the Crisis Call, not the first call.

The guidance counselor seems to be doing some good--Rayanne likes her because she's sensitive, and I do feel like it's probably because of this minor form of therapy that Rayanne has stayed sober for 33 days and learned to avoid certain triggers, like drinking to calm nerves or when she's upset (although--was this ever really her issue?). But again, the guidance counselor has only limited power both because of her skill set (she is not a real therapist) and her place in Rayanne's life--an 'optional' person after 30 days.

Amber of course is just a big child herself. She's committed to acknowledging only the good and the easy: she is appetizers and raw cookie dough, never fully balanced meals and vegetables. She's fine if it's time to be encouraging or exciting but she absolutely does not allow discussion of anything difficult or sad, like Rayanne's father, or her overdose. So of course Rayanne has never learned a vocabulary to talk about those things. Even though, like Jordan, I think she desperately wants to.

And Angela... I think Angela could help Rayanne, could maybe the person who ties all her different possible resources together, her entryway to the Chase household and a model of a more stable life perhaps. But I think she's pulled away from Rayanne because she is scared and out of her depth. When Rayanne is fun and adventurous and wacky and knowledgeable, that's easy. That's what Angela wanted to be around. But when Rayanne is at her worst, she is really hard. The reasons that Patty wanted Angela not to hang out with Rayanne are exactly the same reasons Angela is now drawing back from Rayanne. She's not being a good friend and she admits it, but I think it's an understandable (subconscious) reaction to what she saw in Other People's Mothers.

It's hard for me to imagine Rayanne as a functional adult, but I also dearly want to see her grow into a functional adult. I want to see her really sober up, really embrace therapy (she wants to talk! she wants t be listened to by someone sensitive! she needs a neutral party to unpack, you know... all this!!), gain independence and purpose in life. She is a fiercely loyal friend who is at her best when she's defending, protecting, or helping others. And she can be an extrovert without also self-harming or being reckless or callous or (accidentally) cruel. Other People's Mothers made it seem like Rayanne was running from something--the party so intense that there is always something happening and you never have to think. We know she lacks the ability to discern a time from a good time. We know she has an unhealthy relationship toward sex and, imo, she's a closet bi lady or lesbian.

But what if she grew up? What if she came to terms with all of this stuff and matured?

Other thoughts: Jordan and Angela are actually friends now. Love that for them. I really think she's the first person he has in his life that he can just talk to about things, and it's nice to see him become comfortable with that. Angela as well--now that she sees him as just a regular human instead of a symbol or an unattainable dream, they can just be normal together.

The Jordan/Angela/Rayanne love triangle is so weird... They're all in a feather bed together. Jordan and Rayanne both in love with Angela, competing for her, unsubtly but unknowingly. And eventually they'll sleep together, probably both imagining that they're with her.

[teenageguidelinesforcraptimes]

Thursday

It's not a Thursday right now, but it has been almost four weeks since that one bad Thursday, and I haven't uploaded anything in weeks. Yeah, sorry. School and stuff.

I try to be open, but I have to remind myself to do so as I'm typing this up. I don't want to create this blog out of anger and pain, and I'll probably word-vomit a lot of that stuff, maybe. I'm good at being in control when I'm emotional or something.

Did you know that you can literally not think straight when you're angry? It's a psychology thing. Your amygdala is what's responsible for emotions, like fear, anger, and joy. Ha, anyone watch "Inside Out".

So that part of your brain, when it’s riled up with power like an elephant on a sugar high, your prefrontal cortex, which controls conscious thinking, like logic, judgements, and making decisions, literally can’t process stuff properly, since you don’t have a clear mind in that state.

I’ll put a link down. It has information about the amygdala and prefrontal cortex. Not sure if it’ll work on Tumblr, though, since I’ve never done this before. Hopefully it works.

Anger and the Brain: What happens in your head when you get angry (psychcentral.com)

So, one of my many strategies of dealing with a giant adult bully at home is I run away a lot. Of course, I can’t stay gone, I have to come back unless I want to become a street kid for good. I never want to go back home, but I have to.

Four weeks ago, there was a fight. I don’t remember what it was about, but it was stupid, because they’re always stupid. I left to go to school myself the next day, so I could avoid my dad. It worked, but my brother told me that he had started saying things about me in the car on his way to school. Things about how stupid I am. I could imagine what he said. He does the same to my mum.

I knew that our dad was angry, and he was likely going to do more stuff when I had to face him. So I stayed at school after the bell rang, to avoid him.

There are other things that I’m not going to include. But I ran and hid in the school after it was time for everyone to go home. I stayed until I had to leave, and took the long way back.

Fear is a part of living in bad homes. Even if he acts like a total gentleman at times, I will never buy it. He’s gotten mad so many times, and hurt my mum, my brother and me that I will never trust him.

I don’t even feel that betrayed, maybe because I never really loved him in the first place? I hated him for a long time, when I wanted to die, and I got tired of hating. Really tired.

Lately, he’s not burning down the house with his tantrums. But I still expect him to blow up every single time.

And that’s what happened four weeks ago.