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joesheistyy · 1 year

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Study Help

You sat at the kitchen table, staring at your physics homework with feelings of hopelessness filling your mind and body. Studying was something you never really had to do, may subjects came easy to you. However, physics was not one of those subjects.

Papers were sprawled all over the table, stacks on stacks of homework, notes, and graded quizzes. Table real estate was beginning to become hard to come by.

After 30 minutes of staring at your textbook and reading the same line over and over, you decided to get up from the table and walk away for a bit.

Water was the first task after you stepped away for a little bit. You stood in the kitchen, your eyes focused on the fridge door as you disassociated for a minute. Things were becoming too much and when lack of understanding began to build, it was a short trip to tumble.

Joe walked into the kitchen as you continued to stare at the fridge. Not hearing him come in, you jumped when you felt a hand on your low back.

“How’s studying going, baby?” He asked, walking past you as you settled back into your comfortable stance.

“Terrible. I don’t understand a damn thing,” you huffed out, wanting to cry but not letting it out.

“What’re you studying for?” He asked as you rubbed your eyes.

“Stupid physics,” you groaned out, your hands falling to your sides.

You began to walk away from the kitchen, heading to the porch to stand outside and let fresh air hit your lungs. Joe followed, joining you in silence.

“How about I help? I used to love physics,” he spoke quietly, not wanting to startle you.

“I don’t know Joey, I just feel so stupid,” you sat down on the cushioned seat, Joe sitting down next to you.

“Y/n, you’re not stupid and you know I hate it when you say that,” he replies in a stern tone, wrapping an arm around your shoulder. You lean into him, needing the slightest bit of comfort.

"I just hate anything that involves math," you groan, wiggling to get comfortable.

"Just let me help," Joe said as he poked at your sides.

"Fine, let's go," you groaned as Joe stood up, pulling you up with him.

You both sat down at the table, Joe to your left. Your elbows propped up on the table holding your head in your hands as you stared down at the problem you had been having such trouble with.

"Which one is it baby?" he asked as you scooted the textbook toward him.

"Number 17. Something about the way it's worded just doesn't make sense," you said as you watched him read it.

"I can see how that's tricky. It is worded kinda funky," He says as he reaches for your notebook and pencil.

As Joe writes out the setup to the problem, you watch him focus. His eyes have slight crinkles in the corners as he squints to focus and his lips are pursed. He is still the most beautiful man in the world.

"Does having it set up like this help?" he asked as he slid the notebook back over to you.

"Lil bit," you say, grabbing the pencil to try to start again.

You continued to stare at the paper that Joe had written on. It still didn't make sense.

"I can see it in your eyes that that didn't help" he sighed a little bit.

"Nope, still don't get it," you huffed and set your head back in your hands.

"Watch babe, you plug this in here and put this here," he continued to show you where to place stuff in the equation, it still not making any sense where he got the numbers from.

"Any better?" he asked again, looking at you. You shook your head no. You could tell he was getting a little frustrating. How could it be so simple to him yet it made absolutely no sense to you.

"Y/n look, you plug this in here and you put this number here," he said with a little more stern voice.

"Where the fuck are you getting those numbers from?" you questioned in a confused and frustrated tone.

"Right here, y/n. They're literally in the book," he pointed with the pencil.

"I can see that, but how do I know what goes where?" you huffed, tears beginning to gloss over your eyes. Joe helping you and getting irritated reminded you of doing math homework multiple nights a week with your dad and him getting onto you for not understanding.

You stood up and walked away in defeat as tears began to spill over. It didn't make sense and you felt stupid. At this rate, giving up was easier. Joe didn't understand what he did wrong to upset you. He finished the problem and moved away from the table to follow you.

You had moved to the living room and gotten comfortable on the couch with your favorite emotional support blanket. Tears still threatened to fall, but you tried not to let them. The sound of sniffles filled the room as Joe's footsteps joined in.

"Baby, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you," Joe said as he crouched down to your level. Your head was drooping down to look at your lap, avoiding his eyes. His hand moved to your chin and brought your face up to meet his gaze.

"I didn't mean to get frustrated with you," he said and grabbed your hand.

"It's not your fault," you sniffled, "it just took me back to being in middle school and not understanding Algebra and my dad would try to teach me and get irritated because I didn't understand," you let a tear trickle down your face. Joe wiped it away as he gave you a sympathetic look.

"But baby I'm not your dad. This isn't algebra, this is hard shit. It's okay to not understand it, I just hate to see you shut down like this," Joe said as he leaned up to kiss your forehead.

You sighed as Joe moved to sit next to you, pulling your legs over his lap and beginning to massage your calfs.

"Let's leave the physics to a day when you're a little calmer, okay?" he asked as he worked at your calves.

"I wanna leave it forever, physics sucks," you groaned and leaned back to lay on the couch.

"You can have that mindset today, but tomorrow we're gonna work to try to get you to understand it a bit more, got it?" Joe looked at you for a nod of approval.

"Got it, thanks Joey," you closed your eyes and let Joe work at the knots in your body, drifting to sleep to let your brain rest up from stupid physics.

#Joe burrow #joey b #Joseph lee burrow #Joe burrow imagine #Joe burrow fic #Joe burrow fanfic #Joe burrow x reader #Joe burrow head cannon #Joe burrow fluff #Joe burrow angst #bengals quarterback #bengals nfl #cincinnati bengals #nfl imagine #nfl #Joe sheisty

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thatsrightice · 3 months

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Okay but Bubbles giving a modified and surprisingly violent version of the shovel talk to Douglass after Crosby gets assigned to the Blakely crew like “I swear, Doug, if anything happens to him I will shove my snow-globe so far down your throat, I will feed your balls to the dog, I will tear you limb from limb and toss you out the bomb bay doors over the channel”

And Douglass is totally unfazed because he’s known Bubbles has been in love with Crosby for a very long so he’s just like “noted”

Pretty quick after he starts flying with Crosby Douglass starts to get suspicious, so he goes to Ham because he’d flown with Croz for longer than Doug has and yep, he is also hopelessly in love with his best friend

So of course Douglass knows he’s gotta play matchmaker because all of their soft smiles and longing looks and pining is actually driving him insane come to find out they’ve literally been in a relationship for a while but somehow still have massive crushes on each other

#I just know Bubbles is feral #bubbles feels like a loose cannon like I want to see him go wild #I know I just used this gif but idc lol #Croz gets butterflies everytime he looks at Bubbles #Bubbles lights up anytime Crosby walks into the room #they’re lovesick fools #Croz and Bubbles #my precious little ‘gators #harry crosby #bubbles payne #joseph bubbles payne #crosby x bubbles #bubbles x crosby #mota musings #masters of the air #mota #crubbles

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pigeonwhumps · 2 months

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Check-up

Immortal Cannon Fodder masterlist

Taglist: @extrabitterbrain @wolfeyedwitch @fuckcapitalismasshole @ghost-whump @whump-tr0pes @rainbowsandwhumperflies @whumpinggrounds @painful-pooch @i-eat-worlds @a-funeral-romance @rainydaywhump @whumperofworlds

WoW's birthday event: day 9: aftermath of rescue | sickness | "you're burning up"

(does a hostage exchange count as a rescue? I say yes, for the purpose of this)

A day or two after Phoenix waking up in the medbay and the revelations that followed, they ask Joseph to check on Aaron (and by extension, the rest of their team).

Joseph belongs to @i-eat-worlds

CWs: low self-esteem, mentioned past abuse, exhaustion, caffeine, self-neglect

Joseph knocks on the door to Phoenix's flat.

He almost hopes no-one answers and he'll have to use Santhiya's key. Then there's a chance they'll be asleep already.

No such luck.

Kai answers the door. Joseph can tell immediately why Phoenix was worried, even if it was only Aaron they mentioned – he's a mess. Clothes and hair rumpled, swaying slightly, brow furrowed in confusion.

"Joseph? This isn't INSUPA."

"I was visiting Phoenix, and they–"

"Are they okay?" asks Kai immediately, looking ready to run at the slightest hint of a 'no'. "What's wrong, what happened?"

"Nothing's wrong, calm down." Kai's shoulders drop and Joseph bites back a surge of anger. What did Abbie do to make Phoenix think this man could hate them?

"Then what–"

"As I said, I was visiting Phoenix, and they asked me to check up on you. Apparently the bags under Aaron's eyes look tattooed on?"

Actually, what Phoenix had done was apologise for being an inconvenience but could he please check up on Aaron? Joseph had felt sick hearing the fear there, like Joseph would do something to them for asking.

Kai sighs, judging the door further open. "Come in."

Joseph slips inside and follows Kai into the living room.

Morfydd and Lian are slumped on the floor, propped up by the couch, and Aaron is perched on the coffee table, looking two seconds from drifting off and falling, under-eye bags true to Phoenix's word. Morfydd winces at their footsteps. A selection of empty caffeine and sugar drinks and snacks surround them all, spread out around a sugar paper epicentre. Lian appears to have been snacking from a bag of whole coffee beans.

Santhiya's presumably still asleep with Phoenix in the medical bay, Phoenix themself talking to Vic about advocacy roles after she took one up for them during their interview with management (which has caused at least one panic attack so far, and which Joseph is still annoyed about). So at least no-one's unaccounted for.

"You all need to sleep."

Aaron shakes his head, taking a large gulp of coffee (which he doesn't even like. Joseph recognises this version of him from their course together). "There's more important things to do."

"What are you doing?" he asks curiously.

"Trying to work out why Phoenix thinks we'd hate them," mutters Lian morosely. "We don't know what we did, or how to fix it."

"How do they not know we value them for more than their powers and fighting?" adds Morfydd through clenched teeth.

"Because they can count on one hand the amount of people who have before." The room is dead silent. "If you slept, you'd work this out for yourselves. And I'm not taking you to medbay if you have a heart attack from all that caffeine, Lian."

Lian looks at him in surprise. That's fair. The others don't know him as well as Aaron does, don't know that he'd drop everything if that did happen.

"Joseph's lying," announces Aaron.

Joseph shrugs. "Maybe. But it's been over 24 hours since Phoenix woke, I suspect none of you have slept since before then, and I'm not going anywhere until you're asleep. Phoenix asked me to make sure you're okay, and I intend to do so."

"Okay, okay, you've made your point," mutters Lian. "Morfydd, shall we–"

They nod then wince. They seem to have got the idea, as Joseph helps them into their chair. They wheel down the corridor, slowly, Lian holding on, and leave the chair outside whichever one of them's bedroom it is.

Once they're safely inside, Joseph turns to Aaron. "Come on."

He shakes his head. "I need to go on my shift soon. I'll be fine."

Joseph snatches the bag of dissolvable HAL-issued stimulants out of his pocket and transfers them to his own.

"Don't you dare. Phoenix will be better off for you getting some rest, and so will everyone else. I'll take your shift."

"But–"

"No. I'm taking your shift."

"At least let me have a bleep?"

"Not until you've had at least a few hours of uninterrupted sleep."

Joseph stares them down until they sigh. "You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"Nope."

Aaron nods, and holds out an arm to let Joseph help them down off the table. He pulls it around his shoulders as soon as they've slid off, stopping them from falling completely.

They're warm to hold. His own heart skips a beat. He has no idea which is the spare room, if any, so he just leads them into a random empty one. Aaron doesn't protest.

Once Aaron is sitting on the bed, they seem to come back to themself and say urgently, "They didn't think to come to me when they thought Kai would kick them out. They don't think any better of me. What if they think I've abandoned them because I let you take my shift?"

"It was specifically you Phoenix asked me to check up on. They won't think you abandoned them."

"Me?"

"You're the only one they've been able to see how bad you're getting."

"Oh."

Joseph pulls him into a hug. "Come on. Sleep. Phoenix will still be there when you wake up."

Aaron nods sleepily, and Joseph helps him under the duvet. He extracts his arm regretfully, and closes the door behind him with a little snick.

It turns out he could've stayed longer, because once he returns to the living room he finds Kai already passed out on the sofa.

Joseph smiles and shakes his head as he drapes a blanket over him. He could wake him, tell him about management probably coming round for their side of the story soon, but he doesn't. Kai won't go back to sleep, especially after finding out they visited Phoenix. He scoops up the mess instead, at least wanting to make the place presentable. The sugar paper – plans to make make Phoenix realise they're valued, apparently – he stacks and covers up, not wanting anyone outside of the team to see, and the caffeine remains he dumps in the kitchen, grinning at Phoenix's moulded Grogu mug on the counter.

And now it's time to return to HAL's medbay. No-one's waking anytime soon. He hopes Phoenix realises their team loves them soon, because it's so painfully obvious to everyone else that they do.

#whump #whump writing #immortal cannon fodder #kai oc #aaron oc #lian oc #morfydd oc #joseph not my oc #hero whump #multiple whumpees #hero whumpee #caretaker x whumpee #aka implied aaroseph #the bleep is a pager btw in case its not obious #*obvious #spent years of my life with my parents working nights and calling it that and now i cant call it anything else #wow birthday whump #wow birthday whump day 9 #aftermath of rescue

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slinky09 · 16 days

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ok so i was thinking ab the concept of blood bending ( if you haven’t watched alta it’s where you control the water in something or someone’s blood and then can control them) and like think ab how cool it would be if it was in the magisterium series yk like i just know joseph would be the craziest blood mage

#magisterium #the magisterium series #master joseph #alta #blood bending #this would actually be so cool #i love it so i’m going to imagine it’s cannon now #also there are just so many possibilities this could have if it was cannon #like maybe this was a way joseph used to manipulate connie #idk #i think it’s cool

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skullislandproductions · 5 months

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Rough painting of concept illustration for “Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale” 2007.

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anonymousstoryteller2000 · 1 year

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Joseph quinn head cannons part 2!!

Part 1

Masterlist

Mouthing "I love you" to eachother across the room

Cooking dinner together (turns into a food fight)

He let's you wear his jackets (secretly he really likes the brown leather one on you it compliments you eyes)

Painting and wine dates 🤧probably in the living room he would probably try to paint something very cool like a sunset but gets all mad when he ruts in the colors to much so he just paints a smiley face overs it and signs it and gives it to you for a early birthday present as joke." It's from the heart love take it"

He would try to be romantic and do the scene from Lady and the tramp but yall end up bumping heads or biting eachother lips NOT very fun

Says he doesn't snore so you prove him wrong when you take a video of him snoring while he sleeping his comeback are always the same "why you recording me while im sleeping ay"

Loves when you wear his clothes to sleep especially his botton up shirts with lace panties

If your short( like me )when you get on his nerves he will put your favorite snack or your phone on the highest shelf in yalls house and act like he doesn't know where it is "dont look at me I would never do that once again ask the dog!"

His morning voice is rusty and deep and he knows you love his morning voice so he will go to your ear and whisper you to wake up "morning love" "time to get " "baby come on" "no you can't have me for breakfast"

Sence he has anxiety he would probably play with your hands or squeeze your knee as comfort

Really good at cooking but not at baking

Trys to do your makeup or test it for himself but doesn't know what is what "why is it called a booty blender" babe!! I got the powder in my eye agian " "why are my lips tingling "

Going back to reality TV shows if he ever got invested in them you'll see a whole new side of him "fucken hell just slap her already " love get the wine my cup is about to be empty!!!" Babe you saw that she trusted him and he slept with her sister who does that" (get angry and riots at the tv )

Random late night thought with joe "babe can pigs see the sky " if we met when we where younger would have we been friends" do you know fire trucks are actually water trucks" finger are wired like did are arms slip into smaller arms"

Randomly stare into your eyes for a couple of seconds and walk away( kind of like the picture ^^)

Leave hand written notes around the house for you

Loves giving you hugs from behind

Loves the morning but hates the sunlight

Very protective of you when it comes to yall being out and fans or paparazzi comes up to yall

It's very dramatic when he's over stuffs himself "God I should have never eaten that much" "baby catch me I'm gonna faint"

Lives trying out new foods

He hates how his mom and you tease him about baby photo " I was a cute baby alright God " mum mum that enough don't need her running away from me"

Daily jogs but never goes as planned "we barely left the front door how are you tired" " sweetheart I told you to pee before we left....never again...never agian"

Sometimes feels guilty for blaming the dog for everything he goes to the dogs bed and sit himself down "look we gotta have a chat yea look I'm sorry that I keep blaming you for what I do but your way cuter then me so if I blame it on you she won't get mad but I'm my case I think she already caught on"

Randomly jokes about having kids with you in the future "imagine a mini use running around right now " "yeah I said it they would definitely have my hair"

Love naps

He only cries when you're around he loves how he can have a person to lean on when he's feeling stressed "I loves my fans their lovely but I'm just so tired"

505 from Arctic Monkeys is probably yours song

Good at cooking but not good at baking

He loves catching you watch edit of him it make him feel very lucky "ay what you watching their"

If it's really cold he will make sure your bundled up cause he doesn't want to hear you complaining later "breath from you noise then" just waddle like a penguin you got it babe"

Gets all mushy in the knees if he see you holding a baby

Buys you flowers everytime they die

Helps eachother what to wear that day mostly he will fit the color groups you have on

Dancing in the rain but the one of yall slip and fall and ruins the whole mood

House hunting

Makes fun of eachother in the rudest way possible to see who gets offended first (obviously it's him first)"YOU TAKE THAT BACK RIGHT NOW LADY"

Alway keep a small comb on him for his hair

Love putting his hands in your back pocket

Takes a couple of clothes home from his photo shoot csuse he over heard you saying you loved the outfit he was wearing to his stylist

He is the big spoon but secretly likes being the small spoon sometimes

Alway has to have you in his arms when yall are asleep and if you get up in the middle of he night he get all whiney and sad "baby where you going" okay I'm giving you 30 seconds hurry please"

When you have a bad dream will alway try to help in the bets way possible even knowing he can't really do anything about it but as long as your smiling your alright "well do you want to to go inside you head and kill him myself cause I wil...I will 😡"

Have a book yall read before you get ready for the day and before bed (mostly like a novel or muder mystery)

When you asleep he loves cuddle you from the back whispering in your ear "don't worry I'm never letting you go "

#joseph quinn x reader #joe quinn #joesph quinn #joe q #joseph quinn x you #joseph quinn #joseph x reader #joe quinn x y/n #joesph q #joesph quinn x reader #joesph quinn head cannons

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roadkillremi · 1 year

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Everyone hear me out

Eddie X Witch!Reader during 1674

He's a tavern worker and plays his lute and sings and what not.

And word around the village is you are a witch.

He hides you away from the village at some point. And he's surprisingly not afraid of you.

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steveseve · 1 year

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EDDIE MUNSON FINALLY IS COMING OUT WITH A BOOK OHBMY GOD!?!? It’s a prequel centered around Eddie 2 years before the events of season 4!!

RELEASE DATE OCTOBER 31ST!!!

More info on bestofjoseephq on Twitter!!

#stranger things #joseph quinn #stranger things behind the scenes #eddie munson #stranger things volume 4 #Eddie Munson book #is it cannon??#I’m so excited #eddie munson smut #eddie munson au #hes my babygirl #HES FINALLY GETTING ATTENTION #stranger things season 5 #Eddie is coming back idc

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master-of-hellfire · 2 years

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Steddie Headcannons

Eddie can’t swim and Steve teaches him

Eddie is afraid of thunderstorms and clings onto Steve for the rest of the night after the storm

Steve cooks dinner every night

Steve has Eddie’s guitar pick on his key chain

Eddie etched an S onto one of his rings when him and Steve started dating

Eddie bites his nails and Steve always hits his hands and yells at him to stop

Steve always asks to play with Eddie’s hair and Eddie always tells him no until he eventually gives into Steve’s excessive pouting

Steve always wakes up before Eddie’s and makes breakfast and brings it to him to wake him up

Eddie always sprawls across the bed when they are sleeping and Steve is always fighting for the sheets

Eddie hyperfixates over a lot of things and Steve always buys him something at the store if he sees something that is one of Eddie’s many interests

#stranger things #steddie #eddie munson #steve harrington #icons #joseph quinn #stranger things icons #joe keery #robin buckley #maya hawke #stranger things headcanons #the duffer brothers #it’s cannon they told me themselves

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1900scartoons · 2 years

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Scaring Uncle Joe Out Of His Boots

November 19, 1906

Joe Cannon, frightened by the smoke of the Defeat bomb ('Tariff revisionist’s plot to defeat Cannon for speaker', it whispers), jumps out of his Stand Pat boots.

Cannon, who was Speaker of the House, had revised his unpopular opinion on Tariff reform, to maintain his position.

See Also: Joe Cannon

From Hennepin County Library

Original available at: https://digitalcollections.hclib.org/digital/collection/Bart/id/5886/rec/304

#Charles Bartholomew #political cartoon #Joseph Cannon #tariffs #stand patter #speaker of the house #american history

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astralbondpro · 9 months

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Invasion U.S.A. (1985) // Dir. Joseph Zito

#Invasion U.S.A.#Invasion USA #Chuck Norris #Matt Hunter #Joseph Zito #Cannon Films #Cannon Pictures #Cult Movies #B Movies #B Movie #Low Budget Movies #Invasion USA Gifs #Gifs #B Movie Gifs #AVB #AVBGifs #AVGifs #AVInvasionUSA #AVInvasionUSAGifs

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80smovies · 1 year

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#Chuck Norris #Cannon #Invasion U.S.A.#Forced Vengeance #Missing in Action #Missing in Action 2 The Beginning #Joseph Zito #James Bruner #Aaron Norris #James Fargo #Franklin Thompson #Arthur Silver #Larry Levinson #Steve Bing #John Crowther #Lance Hool #The Cannon Group Inc.#VHS #80s

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jayeratking · 1 year

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Caejose week day 6: post cannon/ cross over.

I only posted the sad one cause I wanted to use some quotes from songs I like.

When Caesar’s body was recovered he was just barely alive beneath the rubble. He was taken into a hospital run by the speed wagon foundation and there he remained comatose for a month. When he finally woke he could barely move due to the damage his muscles and tendons had taken in his fight with wammu. After lots of physical therapy and healing he can now walk with the help of canes/crutches ect. Some days he can walk on his own and others he can barely get up from bed. But with Joseph at his side supporting him everyday life seems possible after all they’ve been through.

#caejose #caesar zeppeli #jjba battle tendency #joseph joestar #caejoseweek2022 #jjba fanart #jjba part 2 #jjba #cjcweek2022 #post cannon

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pigeonwhumps · 6 months

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Tour

Immortal Cannon Fodder masterlist

Taglist: @painful-pooch @i-eat-worlds @a-funeral-romance @extrabitterbrain @wolfeyedwitch @whumpinggrounds

This is a crossover with Alex & Friends by @i-eat-worlds, who Joseph belongs to!

Aaron takes Phoenix on a tour of Hero Alliance London HQ, and they end up at the cafeteria, where things don't quite go to plan.

4.7k

CWs: immortal whumpee, hero whumpee, abuse, panic attack, ableism, low self-esteem, past starvation, denial of food, fear of punishment, expected punishment, asking to be punished, begging, conditioning, losing control of superpowers, consideration of self-punishment, guilt, flashback, traumatised whumpee, food-related trauma, traumatised caretaker, threats, insults, punch, shove, fear, intimidation

"And this is the cafeteria."

Phoenix stops dead in their tracks in the doorway, looking around.

"It's, um, it's big."

'Big' was an understatement. The place was huge, and always busy, full of noisy heroes, some laughing and joking, some sombre. Some have clearly very recently come off shift.

Unfortunately, Phoenix has been recognised as the hero who got Abbie suspended (even if they're so abused they didn't see anything wrong with her behaviour – but then, so many have swallowed her lies about accessing their medical records to look after them better, why wouldn't Phoenix). The room doesn't quiet, though some of the conversations become more stilted, and there's a few glares. A bit of intimidation tactics from those heroes who can use their powers with any subtlety.

"Come on," mutters Aaron, putting an arm around Phoenix's shoulder in an obvious show of solidarity, "let's fetch some food. You'll love the cinnamon buns."

Phoenix nods, but they're distracted, and for good reason. It's good manners, good practice, good safety, not to use your powers against people in here. It's just one of those things you don't do. If you have a problem with someone, you solve it mundanely. So for that to happen, suddenly... it's a big show of strength against Phoenix and they know it.

"Don't let them win. Don't let the others make you think you don't deserve to be here. You show them something later. If this is going to turn into a contest, you're way more powerful."

"I don't think I am," they murmur, but let Aaron steer them towards the serving counter, grabbing a couple of trays on the way.

"Hey. None of that. You'll be fine. They're fickle, trust me. Ignore them. You've got allies anyway."

Phoenix nods. They still look very small, pressed up against his side. He squeezes them tight.

Aaron's honestly relieved. He'd thought the reactions of the other heroes in disagreement might be worse than that, judging by their behaviour in the medbay lately. It's a shame they recognised them, but hey. Can't have everything.

He tries not to think about how that might be partially his fault.

Phoenix squints at the chalkboard menu. "What, um, sort of chips are they? Fries or chunky ones or... I don't mean to be fussy, sorry. I'll eat them, whatever they're like, please let me still eat." The last sentence is added hurriedly, as if that's a regular problem. And maybe it is.

"Hey. I brought you here to have something you like, it doesn't matter how fussy you are. And if you're worried about the price, don't be, it's free."

That's not completely true. There's some posh things that're just reduced. But Aaron made an agreement yesterday, so if Phoenix wants them he won't have to pay in front of them.

Phoenix nods, visibly trying to absorb that.

"Chunky, like a chip shop."

Phoenix's eyes light up at that. "Can I, can I? Please?"

"Yeah, of course. Do you want to go and order? You can have something with it, if you like."

Phoenix looks very confused, but follows Aaron over to the food counter. Aaron pushes them gently ahead of him. Just in case.

The serving lady smiles at Aaron. "Hello, you. How are you keeping? You've made another friend?"

Aaron scowls at her. She's not supposed to reveal how few friends they have.

"This is Phoenix. Phoenix, Mary. She'll probably try and fatten you up."

Phoenix waves a little, and Mary frowns at them in concern.

"Hey love. You new here? I haven't seen you around before."

Phoenix shakes their head. "No. I just, I, um, haven't been here before. Can I have, um, chips and beans please? It's okay if I can't, I just–"

"Of course you can. We've got some left, haven't we? It's not reserved or anything." She plates it up, then turns to Aaron. "Fish, chips and peas, as usual?"

"Yep." Once it's plated and on his plate, Aaron gives her a winning smile. "So... any chance of the biggest cinnamon bun you have?"

"You can't just use charm to get whatever you want, you know." But she winks and plates a massive cinnamon bun.

Phoenix's eyes are like saucers, and they only widen as the serving lady serves them an extra portion of chips and beans.

"Ketchup and other condiments are over there, love," she points out. Phoenix nods.

"Thank you, sir."

Mary watches them go with a slight frown.

"Polite kid."

"Maybe too much so," murmurs Aaron. "They're getting better though."

"Who's on their team? Bit negligent to not show them this place. And they seem off."

"The Spark, Tempest and Nightkeeper."

"Poor kid. Here, take some onion rings to share, they do need fattening up. You'd better go and help them." She nods to the condiments table, where Phoenix is standing, looking lost.

"Yeah. Cheers."

They manouvres their way over to them.

"Hey kid. What's up?"

"Am I really allowed all this too?"

"Yes, of course. And these two," he points at the onion rings and cinnamon bun, "are to share."

"But... that's, um, that's a main dish, and a side and another side and a dessert. I can't take seasonings as well, that'd be, um, greedy!"

"Is it greedy if I take some?" Phoenix shakes their head. "Then why would it be for you?"

"Abbie says that I don't need so much to eat. I don't. Do I? I'm fine."

"I... Phoenix. You nearly passed out from hunger."

"And?"

Aaron splutters a little. "And? Do you not see how that's a bad thing?"

Phoenix shrugs. "I nearly died from it once. Only one person ever saw a problem then, and he was a villain. So it's not a bad thing if I don't eat much. Why do you– I don't understand."

It takes an enormous amount of effort for Aaron to control himself. Sparks don't literally fly, but it's close.

"Your team. I assume they're the only other people you saw then. What did they say?"

Phoenix shrugs, almost overbalancing their tray. "That I was weak. And Abbie said that it wasn't serious because it, um, wouldn't kill me permanently. And then she punished me for accepting outside help. I don't, um, understand why she let me accept your help, though."

"She has to, I'm your team medic and Kai was on your team. And you did say she'd been getting worse shortly before her suspension."

The lights flicker this time as Phoenix looks so damn confused that Abbie might be hurting them.

"That can't be right. She's my mentor, she must have my best interests at heart."

Maybe at the very centre of her heart, surrounded by unbreakable stone. He doesn't say that though.

"Come on. Let's eat."

Aaron drowns their chips in salt and vinegar, while Phoenix hesitantly picks up the ketchup, looking around. When nobody stops them they squirt out a small pile.

"Thank you."

"'s no problem." Phoenix follows Aaron over to a small square table, Aaron glaring at anyone who so much as dares look at Phoenix wrong. They drag another table over to ensure there's enough space for all the food.

"It's a lot of food. Are you sure it's, um, not too much for someone like me? I don't mean to be ungrateful, I just, um, I'm not worth it, and– I'm sorry."

"Yes." Phoenix frowns. "Yes, you're worth it. Everyone is worth food, Phoenix." Phoenix has a look of confusion on their face, tears welling in their eyes. "What's wrong?"

Phoenix's eyes snap up to theirs for a second before darting away.

"It's, um, it's more than I've eaten since Kai went back to his team. That's all."

Aaron's alarmed by this. Sure, this is a big meal, but not overly. And if they're going on solo missions and healing themself they need bigger meals. They need the energy.

Abbie must worry about him finding out during their weekly check-ups now. Just how little proper food did she feed them before anyone found out?

What did he miss during that first weigh-in in five years? Did they start feeding Phoenix with Kai on the team, to make themselves look like heroes who aren't abusive? Phoenix seemed to know then that they needed to eat more, what's changed? Did they just say what they thought they wanted to hear?

How much of that has there been?

"You know it's not normal to eat so little so regularly, right? If it was by choice we'd call it an eating disorder."

Phoenix frowns. "Abbie's teaching me how to survive. It's, um, part of my training. I have to learn because I, um, I'm a bit pathetic and keep being captured. I'm her apprentice, she, um, she knows what she's doing."

Oh, Aaron bets she does. Keep Phoenix weak, reliant on her, with low self-esteem and terrified of their own shadow some days.

Except they're not weak. Not by a long shot. And sparks do crackle from the end of his fingers this time.

Phoenix shoots back from the table, chair hitting the wall, eyes wide.

"No, what are you– please, don't hurt me, don't punish me, I didn't mean to! I understand that I deserve punishment but please, please, let me eat first before locking me away! Please, sir, I'm, um, I'm begging you!"

Aaron holds up his hands and, with great effort, wills the sparks away. Phoenix's sleeves are rolled up and their forearms are changing colour seemingly at random, parts of their face growing fake scales and illusory feathers and all sorts that keep appearing and disappearing. They're terrified and Aaron needs to deal with this before they end up almost invisible again. That would certainly get back to their team.

"Hey. Easy, Phoenix, where do you think you are?"

"In, um, in the flat, I know that, sir. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I shouldn't show my powers like this, please don't hurt me, please, um, I know I deserve punishment but please."

Aaron glances around quickly. Luckily no-one seems to have noticed or cared. They lower their voice anyway.

"You're not in the flat. You're in the cafeteria. And you're certainly not in any kind of trouble. In fact, I don't even know what you've done that you think warrants whatever 'punishment' you were about to get."

"But you– I– I don't– Aaron?"

"Yeah. It's me. No punishment, and no pain, I promise. Shall we eat?" They're guessing from Phoenix's pleas that Abbie sometimes denied them meals as a punishment, and Aaron's hoping being clearly offered one might help them calm down.

Phoenix nods, arms wrapped around themself. "'m sorry. I fucked it up."

"No, you didn't. Less than five minutes out of a good day? Let me give you a hug."

They nod again, and Aaron crosses to the other side of the table, pulling them in as they lean on him.

"The food won't even be cold."

"Is there, um, someone with powers in the kitchen or something?"

"Yes," says Aaron simply. He knows they're joking but it's true.

"Oh." There's silence for a minute, before they say, tentatively, "I think, um, I would've liked that job. If I had the right sort of powers. I can't save the world that way, but still. It would be fun. And I could, um, make food for people who've been rescued. It'd be a waste of my immortality but I wouldn't be immortal in this scenario. What, um, what other jobs are there here that aren't on the, um, front line?"

Aaron recognises it as a tentative attempt at an olive branch they mistakenly think they need, and leads them gently back to their seat. He takes a bite of his fish.

"Well, there's plenty in medical, for starters. Nursing's a big one. And liaisons. I think you'd be good at that."

"Liaison? What, um, what do they do?"

"Well, first of all, it's not like a medical liaison job on the outside, if you know what that is, so put that thought aside. They're called medical advocates, or patient liaisons. A medical advocate works with patients who are struggling, usually psychologically. Patient advocacy, helping them through trauma, explaining things in their terms, informing us of things we might need to know. Like your sensitivity to general anaesthetic and healing. Long-lasting trauma. A lot of it's in the word liaison, to be honest. And we never have enough of them."

He's trying to think of a way to ask them if they'd like to help with that while Indigo and Segun won't let them in the flat and all they can do is solo missions until Abbie returns, when they hear footsteps behind them. Aaron thinks hopes that they'll just go past, but no such luck.

"Can I sit here?"

Aaron snarls and whirls around, before noticing who it is. "Oh! Hi Joseph."

"Hello there. Still as protective as ever. Phoenix? Mind if I sit here?"

"Yes, sir. I mean, you can, sir," they murmur, going quiet. As Joseph smiles and takes the seat next to Phoenix, carefully blocking their view of one of the heroes whose gaze is boring into them, Aaron notices them curl over their meal, ever so slightly.

One of these days he is going to hack Abbie into a hundred pieces. Without knocking her unconscious first.

"Thanks." He picks up a chip and pops it in his mouth. "So, what were you discussing before I interrupted?"

"Non-frontline jobs here. For example, Phoenix, Joseph works as... what exactly do you do? You're medical, I know that much, but what specifically?"

Joseph shrugs. "Frontline Paramedic. Found out the title recently."

"Okay, maybe not the best example of a non-frontline job, but we're still better than you."

"Not true."

"Oh, come on. Your only decent output is your cinnamon buns and you know it. And we don't even need you to make them anymore, not now we have the recipe."

Phoenix snorts, taking a hurried mouthful of beans to cover it up. "Sorry, sirs."

"'s okay," shrugs Joseph. "How's your injury?"

"It's healed, sir. Completely."

"Good." Aaron can tell he's a little surprised at the speed – it was a large gash, after all, and Aaron's not sure if he knew about Phoenix's healing abilities. It's refreshing to meet someone else who actually cares about their health, especially for non-work purposes. "While I'm here, can I have your phone number? Just for the purpose of sending cat memes, I promise. Nothing nefarious."

"I'll kill him if he does," says Aaron helpfully, when Phoenix hesitates. "And you can always block him if he gets annoying. No-one would blame you."

"O-okay." Phoenix takes Joseph's phone and enters it in. Then he looks between them calculatingly. "If you, um, don't mind my asking, how long have you known each other?"

"Since med school," replies Aaron easily. "We took the same international elective on helping patients with psychological trauma." Like Phoenix. At least... well, at least all this is good practice.

Phoenix nods. Aaron thinks they were right. Phoenix would make a great liaison, especially if they were a little more confident.

"Aand now I'm stuck with you," sighs Joseph theatrically.

Phoenix giggles. Actually giggles, and Aaron wasn't expecting that. "This food is amazing," they say between bites. "It's been a long time since I had chips and, um, beans or onion rings. I don't understand though. My team always complain about my cooking. If it's so bad, why don't they, um, order me to fetch food from here instead?"

"I don't know," lies Aaron sadly. In reality, he can make a pretty good guess. He's just not sure Phoenix is ready to accept it yet. "Go on. Eat up. I want you to try part of this cinnamon bun."

Aaron is the first to finish, and he carefully cuts up the genuinely massive sharing-size dessert.

Phoenix eats slowly, but their eyes pop out of their head as the scent wafts across the table.

"Wow."

"Mary must love you."

Aaron shrugs with one shoulder, feeling a bit awkward. "I saved her son. Physically. You remember after they closed the schools? Some people... didn't do too well. Even six years after the event, when I started, he wasn't doing well."

That's the understatement of the century. Joseph flinches minutely, dropping his fork.

"That's when the medical advocacy role was created. After the abolition. But a token apology and a new role in which there aren't enough employees does not reparations make. It certainly doesn't help enough." They sigh, then turns to Joseph, whose eyes have turned glassy, and taps him on the shoulder. "Hey. Breathe. You've got a cinnamon bun to eat, remember? No blood on your hands."

"There is a lot of blood on my hands," he breathes, but takes a bite of the bun anyway. "These really are delicious. Does Mary save them for you or something?"

Aaron smiles. "Yep."

Phoenix bites their lip, looking up for a second before locking their gaze on their bun like it's the most fascinating thing they've ever seen. "You– you said– well, um, you won't let me go back to living in the cupboard and, um, you won't let me pay you back, I'm sure I could but you won't let me and I still don't understand why, and you've done so much, and... and... and I... I, um, I... never mind. Sorry. Doesn't matter, it's stupid."

"Go on, spit it out," says Aaron gently.

"I– I– I, um, I– yousaidyoudonthaveenoughpeopleandindigowonttakemebackyetandiknowidonthaveanytraumaorexperienceanditsastupidideabutmaybeicouldhelp." They flush bright red after speaking all in a rush, and as Aaron tries to process the words he's heard, Phoenix says quietly, "I told you it was a useless idea. I'm sorry. You can punish me for it if you like."

Aaron shakes his head. He's understood the words now. Did Phoenix just make a suggestion? Not just a punishment one, and not pushed, one of their own accord.

But he needs to respond, or it might be the last suggestion Phoenix ever makes.

"It's not useless. Not in the slightest. I'd love to have you work in the medbay, even if it's only for a few months. And I'd never, never punish you for making a suggestion."

"Oh." Phoenix's eyes flicker upwards, and they must see the sincerity on Aaron's face because they smile. "Really?"

"Absolutely."

"I know it's a lot to ask but, um, will you not tell Indigo or Segun? Please? I don't, um, they might give me something else to do and, um, I'd be better helping you if you, um, think I'd be good at it, even though, um, I'm not sure, and I'm not supposed to– please don't tell them, please, please, sirs."

"I won't, I promise. Joseph?"

"Never."

Phoenix doesn't look much more relaxed, but they glance at Joseph with what appears to be a fraction less fear than before. They finish up their chips and take a bite of the bun, eyes going wide.

"Thank you, sirs."

"It's absolutely no problem. Really. You like the bun then?"

Phoenix nods enthusiastically, almost forgetting about their fear in their excitement. Aaron's heart aches. Over five years without even knowing they exist.

Their left cheek starts to turn the colour of the wall behind them in their enthusiasm. They haven't noticed, and when Joseph opens his mouth to potentially mention it, Aaron catches his eye and shakes their head. That would be a very, very bad idea.

He waits until Phoenix has finished before saying, "Do you want me to fetch you a leaflet on medical advocacy jobs once we've finished here? So that you know exactly what the job entails before you decide for certain whether or not to take it."

"I, um, I'm sure I do. But I'll, um, take a look at it if you, um, think it's best. Are you sure I, um, would be any good?"

"Hey. Stop putting yourself down. I love you, kid, but that has nothing to do with how good I think you'll be. I wouldn't have offered out of pity, would I?"

Phoenix shakes their head. "I'll, um, I'll take the trays up," they say thickly, gathering up the plates and clearly not about to take no for an answer. Joseph looks about to object but Aaron shakes his head.

"Let them gather themself," they murmur, once Phoenix is out of earshot, heading towards the furthest deposit point.

"I am going to murder that team of theirs."

"Just... do it cleanly? I don't want to have to heal them."

"Noted."

They watch as Phoenix deposits the trays, then just stands there for a minute. They raise a hand to their cheek quickly.

"Oh, kid," Aaron murmurs. Then they frown as one of the heroes who was glaring and intimidating the most earlier approaches Phoenix with intent. "I think we might need to intervene."

The other hero – Gorgeous Warrior, Aaron thinks his pseudonym is, and that's a bit much, even for someone of his ego, the name Kevin certainly not enough for him – gets into a conversation with Phoenix, and at first Aaron thinks hopes it might not be too bad, that he might be wrong.

Then Phoenix takes a stumbling step back, and Kevin takes one forward, pressing them against the trolley.

Fortunately, it has wheels, so they're not trapped for long. Unfortunately, all the trays are on the upper levels.

Aaron sees what's about to happen before it does, but he's too late to do anything about it as the trolley topples over with an almighty crash.

The cafeteria falls deathly silent. As Aaron approaches he can hear Phoenix's whispered pleas. White smoke rises around them, and Aaron is forcibly reminded of Morticia Addams, although this isn't relaxed smoke. It's their terrified friend, hiding behind their illusion powers because they can't do anything else.

Aaron doesn't know why their powers are so prevalent today of all days, not when they must've generally been more controlled with Abbie to avoid 'punishment' and permanent damage, but that doesn't really matter. What matters is that they're terrified and the man doing it is supporting Abbie, their abuser, with a smirk on his face.

Even what she's done publicly, accessing Phoenix's encrypted medical files without their permission, is bad enough, and he's smirking.

"Please. I'll do anything, please don't."

Aaron plants himself firmly behind Phoenix, Joseph on their other side. He's a bit unsure about interfering but... right now, Phoenix needs obvious allies, not to deal with this themself. Right?

"Hey. Back off."

Kevin sneers. "What? Can't handle me on your own? Powers too weak to do anything except hide, like a fucking coward?"

Phoenix flinches. "I– I– just leave me, um, leave me alone."

"Coward. You can't expect anyone to take you seriously with that stutter. Abbie's doing her best with you, despite all your issues, and you got her suspended. You should've been grateful for her to take you despite the damage to her reputation. Should've been grateful to all of us for taking in someone so weak and keeping you alive when we didn't need to."

Aaron feels a rush of anger and the lights in the cafeteria burst, sparks flying, the only illumination now except for the setting sun. Before he can do anything direct to Kevin, though, he becomes aware of Joseph moving beside him, shoving at Kevin.

"Don't you dare. Don't you dare put Phoenix down like that. And you are way out of line with those comments. What makes you think they're okay?"

"What the hell?"

Kevin looks genuinely confused, like he doesn't understand why they'd care for Phoenix, and that just makes Aaron angrier. He pulls his arm back and lunges for Kevin's face. Their fist hits the area around his eye with a crack.

"Get the hell out of here," they growl. "Before we make that look like a bloody picnic."

Kevin turns away, walking maybe (hopefully) a little faster than normal. Aaron glares until he's out of sight, then turns to Phoenix, touching them gently on the shoulder. They jump a foot in the air.

"Want to help me clear that up?"

Phoenix nods, bending down with Aaron to clear up plates (Aaron stops them touching the sharp shards). Joseph doesn't help, "keeping watch" instead, and Aaron suspects that he, too, saw the terror in Phoenix's eyes when they looked at him.

"You're not a coward, Phoenix. And you're not weak. I, personally, think your powers are amazing."

"But, but, um, they're not useful. Not like yours. Sorry, I, um, I can't stop that. Stutter. Tried."

"You don't need to stop it. I like you. All of you. Hmm? Don't apologise for yourself. There's someone I need to introduce you to when we get a chance."

Phoenix continues gathering trays, not looking at Aaron. After a minute they whisper, "Abbie used to use him for, um, for medical procedures. Because I, um, couldn't go to medbay."

Aaron's jaw tightens. He knows exactly what Phoenix is hinting at, even if they can't say it. But the fog is slowly dropping, even if their camouflage is nowhere close to it, and he pulls them into a careful hug.

"Shall we get out of here, kid? All the people, and the lights and the noise... it's too much for you, isn't it? I should've seen that, I'm sorry."

"'s okay. But, please, if you, um, don't mind."

"Of course. You okay with Joseph coming?" Phoenix nods, and Aaron helps them to stand on wobbly legs. "We're going somewhere more private. Do you want to come with us?"

Joseph glances at Phoenix quickly before nodding. "Sure. Where are we heading?"

"My room. If you're okay with that, Phoenix?" Phoenix nods, clinging on to Aaron tightly. They're really not hiding their fear of Joseph but Aaron doesn't know what else to do. He can't deal with this alone.

Phoenix walks with them robotically, Aaron's arm the only reason they don't fall, and doesn't seem to even notice as Aaron steers them into their room, sitting them down on their bed.

"Abbie's going to kill me," they whisper. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't, um, I didn't mean to stand up to him, but I did and Abbie's going to, um, she'll be so angry when she finds out. Please don't tell her." They look up at Joseph, back to themself suddenly. "Please don't tell her, sir, please don't, um, don't tell anyone, except you can but please."

"I won't," says Joseph, handing them a mug of hot chocolate and wrapping their hands around it when they don't move, "I promise."

Phoenix sniffles. "I can't control my powers. I need to. I can't, um, I need to but I can't learn, please, help me."

"Phoenix..."

"Please!" they cry. "I can't... it looks, um, it looks terrible and it's useless and what's the point if I, um, I can't even control it?"

"I'm not putting the cuffs on you, and the only reason I'd ever even consider it would be if you were putting someone in imminent danger. Which you're not."

He is, though. His powers are getting seriously out of control when he's angry. And he needs to get them under control, by any means necessary.

Joseph squeezes their shoulder, sort-of threateningly. "I know what you're thinking. Don't you dare."

Phoenix buries their head in their hands. "I don't, um, want to be useless," they say, voice muffled and choked, "I want to be good."

"You are. Stop putting yourself down. I like all of you. All of you is amazing, because you are. If you like, we can start your training soon, as a medical advocate and with more advanced first aid, because I think you'll be fantastic at the former and you desperately need the latter." Phoenix nods. "Great. Just promise me one thing?"

"What? I mean, anything, sir."

"Stop promising you'll do anything for people. You have no idea what they'll ask."

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