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laisai · 2 years

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So this OTW Election drama is getting out of hand...

I see a lot of panic and fearmongering, and I think some facts need to be stated to help put things into perspective.

The OTW, which operates AO3, has yearly elections for the Board of Directors. This is position which is occupied by SEVEN PEOPLE total. You can see the members of the current board here: https://www.transformativeworks.org/board-directors/

The entire Board of Directors works together to oversee the OTW as a whole. They cannot and also do not oversee the details of day-to-day operations, such as your tags being wrangled, or keeping track of donations, or responding to support tickets, or keeping the servers working, etc. (https://elections.transformativeworks.org/what-the-board-does/)

Therefore, ONE person being elected to the Board will not be able to completely shift the direction and goals of the OTW as a whole. You would need a 4 person majority at the very least, and the maximum number of seats up for election in any year is usually 3.

The requirements for running for the Board are fairly simple: 9 months in the previous year as a volunteer (everyone in the OTW, including Board members, are volunteers), not being in the Elections committee, being a legal adult, and being a paying member (basically the same as being a voter in the election). More info: https://elections.transformativeworks.org/becoming-candidate/

There is no nomination process or any sort of internal popularity contest at play here. Any views being expressed by a candidate therefore doesn't mean anything about the OTW's culture internally as a whole.

There is a period of time before the election where all eligible voters get emails at the same email address they will send the ballots to, with instructions to a mock-up page of the ballot so that people can work out technical issues if needed. People who need accommodations for any reason are also able to request them during this period weeks before the election. So asking for a "tech testing" period before the election happens is... pointless. It's already there!

Asking for more "screening" of candidates is reasonable on the surface, but the truth is, it could be ripe for abuse by people in charge of the process. Sure, perhaps the people who put these rules into place won't use the process badly, but who's to say nobody will ever be tempted to do so? It could lead to a Board and Elections Committee that works together to keep new ideas and changes in the OTW from ever coming to fruition. Just imagine the Board of Directors we hate in movies: old white men in suits who never want anything to change, and only let in people who are just like them. Also -- the reason we have elections AT ALL is so everyone gets a voice in how the OTW will run.

This isn't like the US Election (or British, or wherever you are) where your vote is one drop in an ocean of millions. The OTW and AO3 are actually not that big in the wider world, and that means each vote counts more. Also, the ranked voting system means peoples' votes can count towards their second- or third-favourite candidate, or so on. It's not all or nothing here!

I know a lot of people are worried seeing what seems like anti views coming from "within" the OTW itself, but it is still one person out of hundreds. People are always going to have varying opinions; the GOOD thing is that people are voting against opinions that they don't agree with. That means the voting process is working.

There is a conversation to be had, perhaps, about changing some policies and requirements for candidates and members future elections. But right now? Breathe.

There is no risk of the AO3 censoring and banning fic overnight, even if you personally cannot vote this year. After all, the candidates weren't revealed until after everyone donated, and we know antis would never give AO3 their money.

(And for the conspiracists out there: ballot-stuffing is not 100% impossible, but EXTREMELY UNLIKELY. You would need to have paid 10$ donations for HUNDREDS if not THOUSANDS of fake people (which is $$$$) months in advance and also set up hundreds/thousands of email accounts for all these fake people, or for real people with nefarious aims. The reason we know the moon landing wasn't faked is because that many people could not have realistically kept a secret for that long. We would have heard whispers about it. The same applies here. This entire debacle came out of left field over the course of a few days!

And all that work, for ONE member who can't unilaterally change anything? Please.)

#just leave candidates you don't like off your ballot #ao3 #otw #fanfic #fanfiction #fandom #elections #archive of our own #psa #signal boost

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mapileonxputellas · 1 year

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Holiday Loving (Patri Guijarro x Reader)

One of my new favourites!!! Loved writing for someone different. Loved writing this, with help from these requests (1, 2, 3) and this picture. TW: mentions of body image issues, suggestive language. Requests open!

The season finally drew to a close and despite the disappointment of the Champions League final you were determined to relax for a week in Ibiza before you had to start the preparation for the European Championships with Spain. Of course you were thankful that you got to play football for a living but if there’s one thing you loved most in the world about your job it was the people you’ve met because of it.

You’d been at Barcelona since you were 19 and they’d the best five years of your life. Like everyone always said, you were more than a football team, it was a family, a group of individuals who gave their all to each other every day.

Within that you had your own little mini family in Claudia, Leila and Patri. Claudia and Leila could only be described as your sisters and best friends, annoying but loving all the time. Patri was different, you’d always had quite an affectionate friendship but you knew you were destined to be more than just friends. The two of you had finally made the leap and began dating almost two years ago after finally ‘growing some balls’ as Mapi put it. With football however and the ever-changing pandemic you’d never been able to go away together, until now.

Which is what led you to Ibiza with the three of them, boarding a small yacht ready to spend the day in the sun along with some of Leila’s other friends.

“You ok?” Patri whispered in your ear as the four of you sat in the little lounge area, your back to her front as you sat between her legs, light kisses being peppered along your ear. “You’re quiet.”

“Tired.” This was your first day out with everyone as you’d spent the first day of the holiday as just the two of you, leading to quite a late night.

“Sleep baby, I’ll wake you up when we stop.”

Patri gently stroked your hair as you fell asleep facing the seat, almost cuddling her leg as you slumped down so your head rested on her chest. She could have been watching the blue water surrounding them but she found you much more interesting, watching as your face scrunched up every so often, as your leg naturally wrapped around her own. She could do this forever even if she already had every part of your body memorised in her head forever.

“Hola.” The silence was broken as Claudia roughly sat down next to Patri, earning an immediate scowl from her teammate.

“Shh, she’s asleep. Don’t wake her up”

“Woah, I wasn’t going to.” The younger girl settled down, dropping into a whisper to stay with her friend. “Why didn’t you come out last night?”

The plan was to have the day to yourselves and then join up with the rest of the group but you’d cancelled on the club at the last minute. “We were planning on coming but then we ended up in this little town and found this cute little restaurant. Just didn’t want to leave.” Patri recited the little story you’d come up with.

Claudia though saw straight through it. “More like you couldn’t get out of bed, no wonder she can’t keep her eyes open.”

“Don’t be jealous Claudia.” You whispered, forcing both eyes to look down on you as your arm snaked around Patri’s waist under her cover up. “You’d be the same if your girlfriend was as hot as mine.”

“You two make me sick.” Claudia said as she observed the hand resting very low on your back. The disgust in her voice though couldn’t disguise the smile on her face as she watched you interact. “You know even though I love you both I never signed up for this.”

“You love us really.” You reached up with your other hand to pinch her cheeks. “Also I specifically remember you pushing us to go on that date so you can’t back track now.”

She couldn’t deny that one, moving closer so she could wrap her arms around you both. “I love you both, just don’t be having sex on this boat.”

“Yeah I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

….

Once the boat had stopped moving and settled in the middle of the ocean you all made your way up onto the top deck to sunbathe before the food was due to come out.

Through not being able to go on holiday for the past couple of years, you’d forgotten how comfortable Spanish people are around each other and how they all naturally settled for going topless. It wasn’t that you were against this, in fact you would also naturally go to do this, but in the last few years you’d become extremely body conscious. It took a lot for you to be comfortable around Patri and that took a lot of patience and encouragement from her.

“We don’t have to if you don’t want to.” Patri sensed your discomfort, wrapping her arm around your shoulder as the two of you sat watching everyone move around. “We can go back downstairs or just keep our tops on.”

“Everyone will just think I’m weird.”

“I promise no-one will care and if anyone does make a comment they’d have me to answer to.” Of course that got a laugh out of you as you knew she was actually the softest person ever off the pitch and hated confrontation. “What do you want to do baby?”

“I’ll just wait till everyone’s settled and then see.” You lied down, Patri leaning over to press her forehead against your own.

“Promise you’re ok? If you don’t feel comfortable then we can go down.”

“I promise I’m fine, you go ahead.” You knew she was used to going topless.

With a final peck of your lips she sat up, slowly taking her over up and bikini top off, almost teasing you as she could see your eyes trained on her body, a smirk on her lips.

“I think I’ve changed my mind, maybe we should go downstairs.”

“Don’t be jealous.” She chucked, remembering the words you had said earlier, lying down on her front so your faces were only inches apart, her hand intertwining with your own. “You know are friends wouldn’t judge you and we’re a bit away from the rest of them. Like they could even judge you, you have an incredible body.”

“Patri…”

“It’s true. It’s only my job to remind you how perfect you are in every way.”

Being a footballer you had to be athletic and you couldn’t deny that you did have a good physique. The problem however, at least in your own mind, was that since you were a teenager you have noticed that one of your breasts is noticeably larger than the other.

Of course you had this checked and the doctors have assured you that there is no underlying problem with this but it made you so self-conscious wearing anything that was low cut in public. You’d considered having corrective surgery but you could never justify the recovery time and how it would impact your footballing schedule.

It had taken a while for you to open up about this to Patri when things began to heat up but since you’d told her she never failed to reassure you that it didn’t matter to her. She regularly switched which one was her favourite, sometimes saying the small one deserved more love and sometimes picking the big one for the attention.

Once everyone was settled, with Claudia led on the other side of Patri, you took a few moments to sike yourself up before sitting up to remove your cover up. You could feel Patri’s eyes on you as you then undid the bikini top, letting it fall to the floor as you led down turning over to be on your back.

“I’m so proud of you.” Patri whispered, leaning up to place a delicate kiss on your shoulder.

“I’m only taking my top off.”

“Don’t do that, I know it was a big thing for you.”

“Thank you.” The sincerity clear in your voice as you shifted closer together so your sides were touching. “I love you.”

“I love you too. I think I like the big one better right now.”

“Oh yeah, why that one?”

“Because that’s the one giving me a lot of side boob right now.”

“Patri!”

Both of you possessed the love language of touch, spending the next hour just delicately touching the other, grazing your fingers over the other’s back to having your pinkies intertwined. You had the confidence to turn over, knowing everyone around you was a bit tipsy and probably wouldn’t even take notice of you.

As the crowd slowly dissipated and it was only your three close friends up there you became a bit more confident, sitting up to talk to them without reaching for your cover up.

“You look great Y/N.” Leila reassured you, noticing your discomfort and you repeatedly that no-one else was around you.

“Thanks Leila.” Leila was quite a big flirt but it was definitely harmless.

“Don’t look for too long.” Patri said, reaching to pull you between her legs, her hands moving to cup your breasts away from their view. “They’re mine.”

“All yours.” You reassured her, twisting your head to meet her lips. “Always.”

“Again no having sex on the boat.” Claudia repeated. “Come on lets get a tan.”

…..

That night you held up your promise and joined the rest of the group for a meal at a restaurant overlooking the sea.

Even though you were going out with the larger group you had definitely gained some confidence from today, you’d spent most of the time as just the three of you and never felt the need to cover up, so that night you went for a low-cut mini dress.

“Have I mentioned how incredible you look tonight?” Patri whispered as the two of you sat at one end of the long table her hand firmly on your thigh with yours intertwined on top of it, Claudia and Leila opposite the two of you. “Sensational.”

“I think you mentioned it once or twice.” More like five times, since you’d walked out the villa her hands had not left your body.

“Ladies have you decided what you would like?” A waiter appeared next to me, noticing we had put our menus down. “Lovely lady first.”

“Sex on the beach please.” You responded, quickly glancing to Patri to see a blush rising on her face. “The tapas set menu as well.”

The rest of the group gave their orders, Patri simply ordering a vodka and coke, the two of you agreeing to share the tapas.

“Did you not fancy sex on the beach?”

“Maybe later.”

Patri had definitely had a few drinks throughout the day and was edging being tipsy. With that came the wandering hands and frequent displays of affection, as she leading to Patri leaning down to place a kiss on your exposed collarbone. In keeping professional, you shared the occasional hug but you never really shared any displays in front of your teammates.

“You know I think I’ve seen you kiss more times today than the like two years you’ve been together.” Claudia commented as the two of you had another kiss. “Is this why we never go round to your place because you just can’t keep your hands off each other?”

“You wouldn’t be able to either if you had a girlfriend like this.” You commented, also getting a bit tipsy and confident.

“And to think neither of you were going to make a move.” Leila added. “You were both so obvious yet so oblivious at the same time. Now you’re here practically eye-fucking each other.”

“They’re just in love.” Pina teased. “As much as it is weird I do love seeing the both of you so free and happy.”

“Thank you.”

“What’s the plan for after the Euro’s then?” Leila asked.

“We’re spending a few weeks with my family and then Patri’s.” You answered. “A few more weeks in the sun before we get back to business.”

“Got any more tattoos booked in?” That question was obviously directed to Patri, that was one place where you were almost complete opposites. Patri had the love of tattoos whereas you had an extreme phobia of needles.

“Yeah I’ve got one planned here.” Patri pointed to her forearm but in doing so revealed something else.

“Wait what’s that?” Claudia gripped her arm stopping it from moving and pointing to the little words on her wrist.

“Oh yeah I got that last week.”

“What does it say?” Leila and Claudia were currently trying to contort their faces to read the writing upside down before literally getting out of their seat to read it. “’Love you always (Your Initial)’.”

You couldn’t help but smile at the mention of the new addition to her wrist, she had surprised you with it last week, the words permanently now on her skin in your handwriting.

“I think I’m about to be sick.” Claudia faked a gag. “Where has my tough friend gone?”

“She fell in love.” Patri pressed her lips onto yours. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too, even if I won’t get it tattooed on my skin.”

“Y/N just has to wait for the wedding ring to have something permanent.” Leila commented but the food came before you could reply to her.

You could feel the stress of your friends on you but you couldn’t care less right now as you just soaked in the holiday atmosphere, feeding each other the odd piece of food whilst continuing to graze each other’s hands. Everything was perfect as Patri leaned over to whisper in your ear.

“You know I think I prefer the smaller one right now.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, it’s definitely giving me a better view right now.”

“Patri!”

@patriguijarro: Found a summer fling and now she won't leave me alone

Comments:

@claudiapina: You two are disgusting

@y/n: @claudiapina you love us really x

@y/n: my love forever, so thankful for you x

#patri guijarro #patri guijarro x reader #patri guijarro imagine #barcelona femeni #espwnt #espwnt x reader #woso #woso x reader #woso imagine #woso imagines

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lover-of-mine · 4 days

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I keep thinking about the Tommy leaving post and the Buddie being ready for each other post and I feel like there's a comparison I want to make here but I'm not sure exactly what it is but something about Tommy leaving because he was not down with that whole mess of date, understandably, but also Buck's boatload of issues still even tho Tommy came back & they're in this "maybe this could be the something I'm ready for" & potential issues that might crop up going forward like will Buck be hesitant still or dive headfirst or some combination, will Tommy feel like it's too much or just not working, will it be the thing that finally makes something click in Buck's head that he needs to go to therapy bc hey Tommy is different from his exes but the issues are still the same idk or he decides it's not working bc it's not the thing he wants but he's ready to figure that out so again therapy! but also when he realizes he's in love with Eddie & they could be it for each other he knows he doesn't want to make those same mistakes and the way to do that is to be honest with himself and Eddie and it's not perfect but they're both in it and self enough aware they know they can make it work together (therapy would be so good but also Maddie or Bobby have some wisdom here too) like a desperation almost of I love him and I want him and this is it for me but I'm so scared of losing it all and it's like well. What are you gonna do about it? Are you gonna let yourself have this? I read a fic today where when they were discussing starting something but Buck was scared Eddie was like "we deserve to be happy too and being with you makes me happy" and that's all I want now okay sorry this is so long and probably makes no sense but I didn't know who to send it to I can stop rolling it all in my head over and over again send help or a sedative my god they make me feral and all these new ttpd edits are making it 10000x more

Okay, I see what you mean, and I am team Buck/Therapy first and foremost, but let's discuss Tommy outside the perfect queer Yoda people seem to have put him in. First of all, Tommy didn't come back, the energy that exists there is that there would be no second date if Buck didn't ask him for coffee (and Buck only called because Eddie told him to). I don't blame Tommy for walking away, the situation Buck put him in is shitty, but he did not come back, he indulged Buck in a coffee for whatever reason I don't understand. I don't understand why someone would agree to go to someone's sister's wedding after one kiss and half a date they walked out of. But what I'm getting from Tommy is that he's not gonna put up with Buck's bullshit just because he's cute. And Buck is diving in head first, asking someone to be your date to your sister's wedding after half a date where they left you on the curb when he's out to exactly 2 people is somehow crazier than buying furniture with Natalia, because at least there he had what? 3 successful dates under his belt? Buck is in the hamster wheel, this time with a guy. Dating a guy is bringing him clarity in some aspects of his life, but he is still showing the same patterns when it comes to dating. Will he break out of his pattern this time? Who the fuck knows. Realizing he's repeating these patterns and letting go before he gets in too deep, realizing he needs to work on himself, would be a major sign of growth from him, but Tommy pointing something out and making him take action works too, but I don't know what or how that could be approached. I was talking about this with someone last week, I'm pretty sure i sent them a voice note of like, 12 minutes on this, but do we trust Buck to separate the way he's infatuated from what he actually needs? That his bisexuality is his no matter what? Because I don't. If he's still that insecure about Eddie when Eddie has been stable in his life the whole time they've known each other, then I don't trust him with anything emotional, really. Could he wake up one day and realize maybe it was about Eddie, see what's in front of him and proceed to work through his insecurities? Sure, they could go there, especially with how intertwined Eddie is to bucktommy, make Buck realize his feelings, work through his insecurities somehow and realize he needs to talk to Eddie and that they will be okay no matter what. But the thing is, Eddie loves Buck too much. Like the post said, he loves Buck at his own detriment, so if Buck goes all weird on him for whatever reason again (which he probably would if he realizes he might be in love with Eddie, he would panic, 705 Buck would freak out if realized he's in love with Eddie) he's gonna internalize that, and that's something they need to address before there is any movement into making them romantic.

Because now that there's a real chance buddie is gonna go canon, they need to address some problems that were created between them, mainly the way they assume things about each other a lot instead of having an open conversation. All they need is an open conversation, I will accept if the show magically decides they can talk to each other now, that the issue was the denial, but Buck needs to ask for shit, he needs to talk when he's insecure, he needs to not let Eddie get away with assuming he's right, and Eddie needs to stop assuming he can read Buck's mind, he needs to call Buck out when he's getting in his head, and he needs to stop trying to fix past mistakes with someone else, they need to actually be able to address things that hurt them, because they will hurt each other, the question is how they work through the problems. Dating your best friend, even more after being best friends for this long comes with issues, the adjustment would be intense because they have an intense relationship already. And they both need to let go of the idealized version of what a relationship should look like they have. Can Tommy help Buck there? Yeah, absolutely, but he also shouldn't be expected to hold a grown man's hand through his own feelings, yk? Buck doesn't know what he wants and he's working through it, allegedly, so, like, there's potential there but I have no idea how this can unfold tbh. They need to get to the point where they're like "I deserve happiness" but also realizing that happiness doesn't look the way they think it does, that it's never gonna be perfect, but that it is worth fighting for, you don't find it, you make, works here too, but the thing is, you need to keep making it as long as you're together, love is not all it takes, the fight never stops. I've been thinking about this a lot too.

#yeah #i dont know dude #but i feel you #911 #911 speculation #i really need a tag for asks #anon 😌

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perpetualexistence · 1 month

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Coils and Toils

Alenoah Week Day 3: Role Swap / TDWT Ending Rewrite

I decided to use woah-i-am-here's roleswap Alenoah for my funky little AU for today. The personalities are based mostly on their AU, and most of Alejandro's backstory is as well. Noah's I took more creative liberties with. It was a bit hard to translate that one over with this being a naga AU.

Because this is me, I couldn't help but make this a tiny bit dark at the end. So I'm just going to put a content warning for murder here to be safe.

Alejandro and Noah are fine! ...Someone else, not so much.

Alejandro is forced to go on his family's annual hunting trip. It's a week-long 'bonding' activity. He really doesn't care for it. He knows it's just an excuse for his parents to brag about traveling the world and conquering nature. José always turns it into this big competition that no one asked for, gets their parents praise, and rubs it into Alejandro's face. It's predictable, it's annoying, and it's bound to drive Alejandro up a wall.

The instant they split up, Alejandro focuses on putting as much distance between himself and the rest of his family. He's not going to hunt a damn thing. He'l just have 'bad luck'. It's an excuse he's used before, but it's not like they can truly make him do anything. He turns off his walkie talkie, the only thing that works in these godforsaken woods, because otherwise he'll have to hear his brother incessantly praising himself for each kill he bags. He has a bag of supplies, GPS included, and a gun. He'll be fine.

As he walks through the woods, he starts to notice strange markings on the ground. He'd mistake them for signs of animals having passed by. Except this looks wider than something like a bear having pushed through some brush. He climbs up a tree to get a better vantage point. From here, he can notice that it looks more like something large was dragged through the woods. The concerning part is it was dragged continuously. As if whatever was doing the dragging was having no issue in doing so. Despite the thing being as wide as train tracks.

That's when he heard the rustling. He couldn't tell where it was coming from, but it was getting louder.

Climbing down would attract too much attention. He could only cling against the tree as tightly as he could, and hope whatever it was didn't look up.

"Oh. You're new." said the voice that came from his right.

He dared to turn his head. He met the gaze of two slitted pupils.

Alejandro was over 12 meters off the ground and he was directly meeting the gaze of another.

He looked down to see the torso of the giant he was now looking at connected not to legs, but to a snake's tail.

He's grateful his instinct was to cling tighter to the tree, and not to loosen his grip.

After Alejandro successfully doesn't faint, the two get into proper greetings. Noah's incredibly polite, and is clearly doing everything in his power to make himself come off as careful about the height difference as possible. He's controlled in every action he takes.

...Too controlled for someone currently claiming that he's lived by himself in the woods his entire life. If he had, then he probably wouldn't know to control his volume or have anything resembling manners.

Alejandro calls him out on this, which shocks Noah for a bit. Not only that Alejandro found him out, but also that he'd have the courage despite Noah's size advantage. Alejandro realizes he might have screwed up hard, except Noah laughs and lets some of his mask slip.

He tells something closer to the truth this time. He's from the fae realm, and got cursed to look like this. He's trapped in these woods, serving as its guardian. Meaning he does need to know why Alejandro's trespassing.

Now it's Alejandro's turn to start lying his ass off. He knows about the fae thanks to reading, but he has no idea how much is true and how much isn't. He doesn't know what answer is acceptable, what answer will get him killed, and he doesn't know if Noah can read people.

He admits to being on a hunting trip, but he hadn't killed anything yet as his priority was finding somewhere to make camp. He didn't know he was trespassing, and wants to ask proper permission to stay in the woods for a week. He says nothing about the rest of his family because he knows that they've certainly killed animals by now.

Noah chooses to believe him. And because Alejandro did ask nicely (though with a bit of sarcasm since he couldn't help himself), Noah will let him stay. But he's only allowed to hunt what he needs to in order to survive. In return, Noah will promise not to hurt him. He'll even make a fae bargain, so both are bound to keep to their deal.

Alejandro doesn't really have much choice but to accept. Not that he planned to do any hunting anyways, but he has to go with this now or risk Noah catching wise. Noah lets him know that if Alejandro needs anything, Noah'll stay around here to make himself easier to find.

So Alejandro is allowed to leave to 'go find a place to make camp'. Which means returning to his family's camp and checking that Noah isn't following him. At least he's too loud to get away with sneaking up on the human.

Still, now Alejandro is going to have to convince his family not to go near the area Noah is in. He can't tell them Noah exists. They'll think he's finally lost it. Instead, he settles for committing to heading in that direction when his family splits apart to hunt each morning.

He doesn't have to actually go anywhere near Noah's slithering grounds. He just needs everyone else to think he's going there.

...Yet, Noah has been the most interesting thing that's happened to him in quite a while. The only other person who has proven to be an intellectual match to Alejandro is Jose. And he's insufferable. Noah is dangerous, certainly, but he isn't hard to be around. So long as Alejandro is careful about what he says. Besides, if he can keep Noah occupied, then he'll know that the rest of his family is safe.

This has absolutely nothing to do with how attractive Noah is or how his laugh made Alejandro melt like butter.

So he goes back to Noah the next day and says he wants to know more about Noah.

"Sure, I'm an open book." Noah replied. "You're as open as a mouse trap." Alejandro retorted.

This gets another laugh out of Noah, and the two begin to bond.

Over time Noah reveals that he hates the outdoors. He misses being small enough to read in peace. Not that he even has any reading material on him. But Alejandro does since his original plan had been to find a spot in the forest to read the entire time. So he pulls out one of his books and offers to read it aloud to Noah.

"Is that the only one you have?"

"I thought you were desperate enough to read anything."

"I just want to know what my options are. I don't want to read anything trashy if you're holding out on me."

This would be enough to make Alejandro snicker at how spoiled Noah was acting. He might have been imagining things, but he swore he saw the tip of Noah's tail flicker in delight at the sound.

Alejandro found himself going from keeping a respectable distance from Noah to leaning against the naga's coils.

Alejandro would begin to open up about his family. How he tires of playing second fiddle to Jose, and how his parents do everything in their power to encourage him. They put on a show for the world to see that Alejandro is 'lucky' enough to be a part of. He tried to show Jose up, once upon a time. But loss after loss whittled away at him. Until there was nothing left but a bitter, snarky teenager who would rather stay in his room than deal with anybody. Still with the knowledge of how to charm and fight, but none of the motivation.

It would lead to Noah opening up about his own family. He came from a line of powerful fae. Having eight siblings in the fae realm meant they were constantly fighting for everything. He was last in line to inherit anything by birthright. If he wanted anything, he'd have to fight for it. As the youngest, Noah could never hope to win in a battle of strength. He adapted to winning battles of wit instead.

He didn't care that he had to fight dirty. He never got a fair chance in a fight with his siblings. Why should he return the favor? The only way he'd beat his siblings is if he performed just a minor coup, so he did. Or well, he tried. He underestimated his parents' ability to catch on to his tricks.

So they cursed him. "You'll live as you truly are in the wild until you learn the sanctity of a life." Rather shitty of them to exile their own child instead of acknowledging the environment they created in the first place. But, oh well. Noah's here now. ...and it feels surprisingly refreshing to let his guard down and tell someone else this.

Alejandro is reminded that he should in no way shape or form trust someone who tried 'a minor coup' on his own parents. ...But it is nice to have Noah agree that Alejandro's parents and brother are in fact terrible. He'd been around so many sycophants to the Burromuerto name, he thought he must be the mad one for thinking ill of them.

Sadly though, the week is up before they know it. Alejandro is going to have to go back home, and miss his new boyfriend. Alejandro finishes reading the last book he brought over so Noah can have a proper ending. At this point, he's grown so comfortable with Noah that he's nestled in between Noah's loose coils. Noah could kill him easily anyways, so why deny himself something so warm and cozy?

By the end, Noah gifts him the largest moose he can find. It'll be rations for the road, plus the antlers will make for a good hunting trophy. He knows it's gauche but his options for giving gifts as a giant snake thing are limited.

Alejandro suspects something's up by the look in Noah's eyes, but doesn't say anything. Rejecting Noah's gift would be a terrible idea if fae work how he thinks they work. He could just bury the gift when he's far enough away from Noah. He can't imagine anything good would come from bringing this to his family.

...Yet he's so tired of them. He feels more comfortable with a stranger he's only known for a week than with his own family sitting down for dinner. That stranger could squeeze him to death without a second thought and he'd still trust Noah more than he would trust Jose not to find an excuse to shoot him in the head when he's in a mood. So you know what? Whatever happens to his family will just have to happen to them.

He takes the gift back to his family so he can actually win at something for once. Jose tries to play it off, but it is the biggest thing hunted, so that's what the Burromuertos decide to eat as their final meal here before heading out.

Alejandro, not trusting Noah, wisely waits for everyone else to eat the food first. He gets away with it because the second they take a bite, they're hooked. They're scarfing the food down like animals. He pushes his portion into the fireplace. He's grateful he did when his mother starts coughing, then gasping, then choking for air and foaming at the mouth. Soon followed by his brother, then his father.

Noah said his new body reflected his true self. Alejandro isn't surprised that means he's a venomous snake.

Noah slithers quietly behind him. He's genuinely happy that Alejandro did survive this. Because if he didn't, Alejandro wasn't the type of person Noah thought he was.

"If you hadn't found a way around it, then you weren't worth all the time and effort I put into you. And that would have been such a pity, truly."

Noah knew Alejandro was lying about being by himself the whole time, and that it was probably because his family had been hunting without his permission. Fae rules said he had to do something about it, and from how Alejandro described them, there was absolutely no reason to let them live. Alejandro getting caught in the crossfire was a calculated risk. 'Noah' couldn't harm Alejandro, but that isn't to say one of his gifts couldn't.

However, he genuinely thought he had done a great job of gaining Alejandro's trust. He believed Alejandro had no idea the gift was a trap, or at least didn't realize it until later. To find that Alejandro actually did know that the gift was tainted from the beginning, and that he still chose to give it to his family? He's delighted. Especially when Alejandro admits he's not that worked up about their deaths as he feels he should be. And when Alejandro pulls one last contigency:

Noah never gave an end condition to when he could harm Alejandro. So as long as Alejandro only hunts for food and not for sport, Noah can't cause any direct harm to him, ever.

Noah could of course try to find another work around to get rid of a final loose end. But he's much happier to offer him a place in the woods for as long as Alejandro wants. And he wants to start dating Alejandro properly. Alejandro has nowhere else to go, and he's much happier here than he's ever been. So he agrees to the home, and to being Noah's boyfriend.

Noah takes care of Alejandro, and Alejandro works on a way to break Noah free from his curse. 'A life' could just mean one person specifically after all. So if Alejandro just makes sure that person is him, he'd be set for life.

Everyone else?

Not their problem.

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androgynousblackbox · 2 months

Text

Welcome to Hazbin Vale. 5 [Appleradio, Radioapple]

"Good day to all our loyal listeners. You are all the very blood and vein of this beautiful community we have established here. Our one true home wouldn't be complete without each and everyone of you tuning in each day to share

As you all know, the community center has been closed for some time now for reason that aren't worth getting into right now. Despite the warning signs outside, the building has become a center of reunion for youngster looking to pass a good time. Normally that wouldn't be an issue at all, but in the next few days a renovation is going to take place there and all the space will be neccesary.

Especially the basement. Especially at night. And definitely, absolutely, at 3 AM. Do not come near it. Ignore any voices you could hear. Just go home and don't look back. Make sure all the windows are close tight, even the one on the library in the second floor.

If any of our younger listeners left anything there, this is the time to go pick it up.

Now.

Don't pay any attention to the workers that are doing their best to bring back this town it's former glory. They aren't interested in you, so don't give them a reason to. They are just tidying up the place. If you don't seem them moving anything out of the place or cleaning up, that's not for you to worry about.

If any of you want a potentially dangerous place of reunion, there is a lovely cave on the outkirts of the town that will serve just fine. I heard the risk of suffering a cave in is still very much present. That outght to cause some form of excitement, I imagine. I wouldn't know. My idea of fun is a little more involved than that.

But yes, the community center is officially off limits now. Technically the cave I just mentioned is too, but what is life if not breaking a few rules in a whim? I promise I won't tell a word if you don't.

Speaking of those who can't say a word! Unfortunately for today I have no deaths to report. I know, very dissapointing indeed, but sometimes it happens.

The only thing on the obituary is just an old woman who died in the hospital after battling neumonia for a week. Service is Saturday, yes, yes, very sad, very painful, so tragic, you all know the drill. A completely normal and unremarkable death that I feel sleepy just by thinking of it. Nobody wants to hear about that, do you? Be nice with the widow though. He makes a killer jambalaya.

No, that is not a pun, you cheeky little listeners. Just a sincere form of appreciation. I would give you more of those more often if I had a reason to.

As for those of us who are still breathing, ha, get it?, everyone else just spend a lovely night yesterday, safe and comfortable on their beds, contemplating nice memories of events passed merely hours ago. Sometimes even death just likes to take a break. Not everything fun and entertaining has to be so… final. New starts also have their own appeal.

For the oldest listeners, the Jazz club near the supermarket is still very much open and happy to receive new people in for when the night is still young.

My good friend Mimzy has especially requested for me to inform you that Friday nights are a two for one especial. She informed of such just yesterday when I was there with some company.

Who was that company, you ask? Since when are you so intrusive, dear listener? You all should know by now that a true gentleman would never just tell so quickly.

Although, I want to make it clear that they didn't tell me not to say. I even asked and they said they don't mind.

I just can't resist causing you a little bit of pain whenever I can, dear listener. I will only talk when and if I want to. Thank you for understanding.

Oh, but what I am saying? We were about the jazz club. Well, I will admit it had been a long while since the last time I entered that place. I could hear the music just fine from my own livingroom, so why I would spend the effort of dressing up, putting on cologne, shaving, brushing up and all that work just to be surrounded by the same people I already know and can talk about everyday? It doesn't seem worth it.

Oh, Mimzy, dear, I can feel you frowning from here. Please don't take any offense to that. You know I never had your same kind of flame to keep up that lifestyle every night without fault. I am just a boring old man at my thirties that can't compare with your youthful disposition. Maybe ten years ago I could come close to, but not now. I need to save up my energy for that.

Last night I just happened to find a new charge. Mimzy told me that she got a bunch of new music and there was even a live band there. I am afraid I can only trust on her word for that because I don't remember a single thing about that once I was on my table.

I knew there was music and it wasn't grating on my brain making me wish I was deaf, but I couldn't tell you from my experience more than that. I also know there was a stage but I have no idea if someone was there.

Something else must have kept me distracted. Wonder what could have been, mmm?

The food was amazing, that I can promise you. Mimzy hired a new cook a few days ago that knew exactly to give it that spice that turns out as such a nice surprise as soon you really bite into it. The wine, well, I didn't take that much but I thought it went rather well.

For some reason I do remember that one detail extraordinarly well. Down to the label on the bottle and the thick glass landing against the wood of the table. The way it swayed inside of the glass and went down behind lips lightly tinted red, as if flushed after receiving a good bite.

What a delicious meal that was.

I don't think I have tasted something as delicious in years.

My personal rating, that is completely unbiased and therefore objectively true: 10 out of 10. I would love to do it again.

For a certain someone that I know is working very hard right now, and keeping the radio right nex to their desk filled with papers, design plans and sketches, that is the answer to your question last night.

But!

Um, but you don't go to a place like that just to ignore whatever live band that may or may not being there in the first place just to eat. It's a club, not a restaurant, dear listener. So even though you may bring your own entertainment while enjoying the food, that is not supposed to be the only reason you are there.

After that wonderful dinner, I got to try again the renewed wood floors for a few pieces. Don't ever let anyone tell you that our dear Mimzy still doesn't have the energy of a girl on her 20s. She would keep up with whatever move I was making like she had read the manual front and back without missing a bit.

That is what being an old member of this community means, of course. You get to know each other. You know what to expect, most of the time at least. So when you dance with someone for the first time, it's only to be expected to be a little bit awkward at first and step on a few toes. There is no shame on that. No need to apologize so much.

It just means that we have to keep dancing until we manage to find the right rythm.

Once you figure that one out, it will be as easy as if we had danced a million of times before across multiple lifetimes. As if our feet were connected to the same brain and we didn't had to think at all. Thank goodness that it was a slow song. It's okay to get closer so we are sure of what we are doing. Your own cologne doesn't bother me at all.

It does make you wonder, though, how someone that does so many things with their hands can have them so soft. What secrets are hiding even as you look into each other eyes and sway together like the wine on that glass?

Would you want to find out? Or it would make you ran away?

The moon was shinning so bright last night. Maybe even death had to stop it's feeding and admire it for a bit.

A long walk at night is good for the soul, or so they say. You can't leave your dance partner to go on their own. There are raccoons out there, silly. And they get too creative if given a good enough excuse. But don't worry, I have a feeling they won't bother us for now.

Reaching a renewed building I have only seen in a picture and a doorframe that remained open for one last good night. Ignore the fact that we said goodnight at least three times before.

Good night.

Maybe just one more for good measure.

Someone that was waking up from their nap was demanding attention. Babysitters needed to be driven back home. That is why I couldn't stay. I understand.

I hope you all had sweet dreams last night.

And don't ask me where that music is coming from. I have no idea what to tell you.

Wait, what I was on about? I forgot.

Well, I am sure it will come back to me. Or I could go look for it again later. Maybe this afternoon? At the Chocolate Boutique? I will be there regardless if someone wanted to talk.

Tomorrow is going to be another day, dear listener. Let's embrace each day as they come.

Oh, and stay away from the community center if you want to do just that.

Now, the weather…"

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMv3a7Kx3eQ the song of the background]

#radioapple #appleradio #duckiedeer #lucifer x alastor #hazbin hotel lucifer #hazbin hotel alastor #hazbin hotel au

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sequinsmile-x · 4 months

Text

Buy the Promises

It gets harder to keep the promise as time goes on, as Emily goes from his girlfriend to his fiancée to his wife. He wants nothing more than to put Elizabeth in her place, to stop her from hurting her daughter in a way that only she could.

AKA The three times Aaron doesn't tell Elizabeth off, and the one time he does

Chapter 1/4

-x-

Hi friends!

This was an idea that very quickly turned into a four chapter fic. I really hope you like this, and the normal mommy issues that come along with Elizabeth being involved.

I have the rest of the chapters planned out so they should all go up over the next week or so around my other fics/updates.

As always, please let me know what you think <3

-x-

Words: 2.8k

Warnings: Injury/hospitalisation

Read over on Ao3, or below the cut

Emily curses under her breath as she shifts in the bed, her hand pressed against her immobilised shoulder as she breathes through the pain.

“Shit,” she says, leaning back against the pillow behind her, gritting her teeth as the wave of pain starts to dissipate.

The takedown was supposed to have been simple enough, but they’d misjudged where the unsub was hiding in the abandoned warehouse they’d tracked him to. He’d pushed Emily into a wall with enough force that her shoulder had dislocated, forcing itself out of its joint as her head also connected with the wall, leaving her with a concussion.

There’s a quiet knock on her hospital room door and she looks up as it opens, smiling softly at her boyfriend as he walks in, concern painted across his features as he looks at her. He’d been so worried at the scene, immediately by her side as he instructed the rest of the team to chase down the man who’d hurt her. She was grateful that they were still in DC, that this hadn’t happened on the other side of the country, because she knew the flight home would have been rough on both of them. That any jolt would make pain shoot through her and Aaron would have to watch, wholly unable to help her in any way other than holding her hand.

“Hi honey,” she says as he walks over, offering out her good hand to him, linking her fingers with his as he sits on the edge of the bed, “What did the doctor say?”

He squeezes her hand and reaches out to tuck some of her hair behind her ear. He knew she wasn’t going to like what he was about to say.

“They said you have to stay tonight,” he says, pressing his lips together to stop himself from smiling when she reacts in the exact way he knew she would, a mix of disappointment and defiance spreading across her face as she scoffs. She opens her mouth to refuse it, to insist that she is fine to go home, but he cuts her off before she can, “I’ve spoken to Jess, Jack is already asleep so I’m going to stay here with you all night,” he says, smiling as she pouts, something he knew she would deny if he pointed it out, “Keep you company and out of trouble.”

She can’t fight her smile, too much pain medication in her system to allow her to, so she nods instead, “I guess thats an acceptable compromise,” she says, removing her hand from his to tug at the collar of his jacket, pulling him in for a gentle kiss. She smiles as she pulls back, “Love you.”

“Love you too sweetheart,” he replies, warmth spreading in his chest as he says the words, the ability to do so, to be so open in his affection for her still new enough that every time it was liable to take his breath away.

They’d been together for four months. It was a type of happiness he never thought he’d find again, a type of love he didn’t think existed. It felt like a dream sometimes that they’d found each other after everything they’d both been through, a chance at a happy ending neither one of them thought they’d have.

He clears his throat as he pulls back properly, his eyes fixed on her face as he tries to measure her reaction to the next part, well aware that it likely wasn’t going to go down very well.

“There’s something else,” he says carefully, his smile tight as he carries on, “Your mother is here.”

Her eyes go wide in a way he’s sure would be funny in other circumstances and her mouth falls open, making her stutter for a moment before she finds her voice, “What? How? Why? You’re my emergency contact.”

“I know, sweetheart,” he says, his hand landing on her thigh, the weight of his palm a comfort through the scratchy sheets, “The nurse said there was a mix-up with your file.”

She rolls her eyes and groans, the sound turning into a pained one as she leans back and her shoulder hits the mattress a little too hard. He shushes her comfortingly, a sound she’s sure he’d find irritating if it was anyone other than him, his comfort something she sought out not something she avoided, and he cups her jaw, letting his thumb move back and forth on her cheek.

“Any chance I can get away with not seeing her?” She asks, sighing when he raises an eyebrow at her, “Right, of course not. Because of everything about her,” she blows out a breath as she tilts her head to look at him properly, “Want to go hide somewhere?” she says, lifting her hand to reach up and run her fingers through his hair, “I wouldn’t blame you.”

Elizabeth didn’t know they were together. She was the last person they had to tell, and he didn’t take Emily’s reluctance to do so personally. He knew their relationship was beyond complicated, that there were many layers to it that he wasn’t even privy to yet. She wanted to protect their relationship, he knew that, and he would wait as long as she needed to.

He chuckles as he stamps a kiss against her forehead and then her lips before he pulls back, “I think I’d be a shitty boyfriend if I left you at the mercy of your mother.”

He stands up, suppressing a smile when she frowns at the loss of contact, and he walks over to the door, briefly popping his head out to let the nurse know to let Emily’s mother in. He walks back over and sits in the chair next to her bed, keeping a respectable distance so they wouldn’t get caught out. He feels himself itching to reach out for her hand, to link their fingers together so he could remind himself she was fine, that he still had her here with him. He knew he’d be hearing the scream of pain that had left her as her shoulder dislocated for days, the sound still echoing around his head.

The door opens and Emily immediately tenses, forcing her to blow out a steady breath as her mother steps into the room.

“Mother,” she says, smiling politely, “You didn’t have to come down here, I’m sorry they called you. I know you’re busy.”

“Nonsense, Emily,” Elizabeth says as she walks into the room, “I got a call that my daughter was in the hospital, of course, I’m going to…” she drifts off as she seemingly notices Aaron in the room, “Agent Hotchner, I wasn’t expecting to see you here,” she looks back and forth between Emily and Aaron and she clears her throat as she sits in the chair on the opposite side of Emily’s bed, “It’s nice to see you, despite the circumstances.”

He smiles politely at her, his eyes flicking to his girlfriend, her discomfort clear to him even if it wasn’t to Elizabeth, “You too, Ambassador Prentiss.”

Elizabeth hums as she looks back and forth between them, “So, do you always make a habit of sitting with your agents when they get injured at work?” She asks, clasping her hands together on her lap, “Although, I suppose it’s the right thing to do when they don’t have a spouse of their own or children, otherwise, they’d just be here by themselves.”

Emily doesn’t have to look at Aaron to sense the protectiveness flowing off of him like cologne, the need to shield her from any kind of harm, even something as simple as passive-aggressive comments from her mother, stronger than usual. She knew he was carrying some guilt from not being able to stop her from getting hurt today. It was something that lingered from when Ian had torn through their lives, something that made itself known every time she got hurt even a little bit. His reaction to things as simple as a papercut or a blister from new shoes more aligned with the injuries she’d suffered then, the love he now had a name for trapped inside his chest at the time with nowhere to go.

Later when he’d ask, she wouldn’t be able to explain what makes her reach out for his hand, why she links her fingers through his and makes a point of squeezing them in full view of her mother, but she does it. Love and affection, and no small amount of painkillers, making her braver than she’d felt in a long time.

“Actually, Mother,” she says, looking back at Elizabeth, “Aaron is here because he’s my…” she drifts off, the word boyfriend always seeming so juvenile when she thinks about what he means to her, “We’re together.”

Elizabeth’s only physical reaction is a slight raising of her eyebrows as she looks at Aaron and then at her daughter. She clicks her tongue and clears her throat, “I see,” she says, her lips pressed together, “You’ll have to accept my apologies, Agent Hotchner, Emily doesn’t tell me much about her life and I didn’t know that you two were…dating now.”

Emily stops herself from rolling her eyes at her mother’s obvious attempt to bait her, “Well,” she says, squeezing Aaron’s hand in what she hopes he takes as a silent request to stay quiet, “We don’t exactly see each other a lot, and I don’t remember the last time you called.”

She actually did remember the last time her mother called her. It was months ago, and it hadn’t been a social call but a request to go to an event she was hosting. It was shortly after Emily’s first date with Aaron, the giddiness from it all still lingering under her skin, his fingerprints still tattooed against her hips and thighs. She couldn’t help but wonder if she had a different relationship with her mother, if they’d been what each other had always wanted, she would have told her. If she would have sat on her couch and gushed over the new guy she was seeing to her mom and shared in her excitement for what she knew was the last relationship she’d ever be in, the feelings she’d had for Aaron for years confirmed by the first press of his lips to hers.

“The phone does work both ways, Emily,” Elizabeth says, and Emily feels Aaron’s hand tense around hers and she squeezes again, briefly looking at him and shaking her head every so slightly.

“Do you have any assignments coming up?” Emily asks, changing the conversation on purpose, wanting to move things along before Aaron marks his first meeting with her mother as more than just her boss by telling her off.

By the time her mother excuses herself to leave Emily is relieved that it will just be her and Aaron again, the tension Elizabeth always brought to a room something she could do without on her best days, let alone when her head was aching and her shoulder was immobilised. Aaron shows her out, ever the gentleman in a way Emily’s sure should annoy her, and for a moment she’s alone. She rests her head back against the pillow and blows out a steady breath. She pinches the bridge of her nose and groans, the pulsing in her head that had been made worse by her mother’s presence making her want to do nothing more than sleep.

“Are you okay, sweetheart?”

She opens her eyes, groaning as the bright hospital lighting makes her head hurt even more and she smiles softly at him as he sits on her bed.

“I’m okay,” she says, sighing, “I’m considering having Pen break into the hospital’s systems and fire the nurse who called my mom,” she says, her lips curling into a smile as he chuckles, “But I’m okay,” she looks at him and can see the stress that was still lingering in his jaw, the concern for her that was still in his eyes, and she smiles softly, “You know what I need though?”

He furrows his brow, ready to jump up and get whatever she wants, “What?”

“You to climb into this bed with me,” she says, her smile getting wider as he immediately tries to argue with her, something she cuts off as she wraps her hand around his, “Please? You know I sleep better when we snuggle.”

It’s a dirty trick and she knows it, the way he sighs as he leans forward and presses his forehead to hers a sign that he knows it too, “Em, baby, I don’t want to hurt you.”

She cups the back of his head and stamps her lips against his, “You never could,” she says softly. There’s a beat of silence before he nods and she smiles widely, kissing him again before he stands up.

He slips off his shoes and is careful as he climbs into the bed, both of them ignoring how she winces when she settles against him, the movement enough to jolt her shoulder. She sighs contentedly as he wraps his arms around her and she smiles when he kisses her temple.

“Better?” He asks, his lips still against her skin, and she nods, turning her head to press her forehead into his neck.

“Much better,” she replies, settling further into his embrace, into the comfort he always provided just by being there with her.

“She didn’t even ask how you are.”

She frowns, her brain not quite able to keep up, the pain and the medication catching up with her, exhaustion slowly taking over, “What?”

“Your mom,” he says, holding her slightly tighter but still managing to ensure he doesn’t hurt her, “She didn’t ask how you are.”

“Oh,” she says, chuckling mirthlessly, “Yeah,” she tilts her head to look at him, “She never does really. If she did we might get dangerously close to actually talking instead of just speaking.”

He clenches his jaw, irritation at the mother of the woman he loves burning him from the inside out, “I always knew things were difficult between you,” he says, running his fingers back and forth over her arm, trying to press comfort into her skin, “But she was rude to you, sweetheart. The dig she made about you not having a spouse, and the comment about the phone going both ways. She’s your mother, she should-”

She can feel him getting worked up, the need to look after her, to protect her, coursing through him so strongly she can almost feel it. His love for her passing from his chest into hers as he sits behind her, his arms around her as they provide the anchor she never knew she needed. She cuts him off, her hand on his cheek as she encourages him to look at her.

“Honey, my relationship with her has always been complicated. This…is as good as it’s ever going to get.”

He frowns again, “But you deserve better.”

“Maybe, but-”

“Definitely.”

She presses her lips together to stop her smile from spreading, her cheeks already aching with it, “Even if I do, it’s not going to happen. She’s never going to change and I had to accept that a long time ago in order to maintain some kind of a relationship with her.”

He sighs, “So you just accept the way she speaks to you?”

She hums as she nods, “And you’re going to have to too,” she says, and his frown deepens, outrage painted into the fine lines on his face, in the dark circles under his eyes that she can see in more detail when she’s this close. She cuts him off before he can say anything, “I don’t need you fighting my battles with her, Aaron. I’ve been doing it myself for as long as I can remember. What I do need is for you to be there afterwards,” she says, her hand cupping the back of his head, holding him in place as she looks deeply into his eyes, “Help me paint over any cracks she may have created.”

He hates it, hates that she’s asking him to just sit back as her mother of all people continually hurts her, but he knows he has to. He was never one to deny her anyway, his desire to be exactly what she needed him to be something that had been around long before their first kiss.

“Okay.”

She smiles up at him, “You promise?”

He nods, leaning in to kiss her quickly, his reply escaping even though he’s unsure if he’ll always be able to stick to it, “I promise.”

She smiles and kisses him before she settles against him again, “I think I need some sleep.”

He kisses her temple and runs his hand up and down her arm again, “You get some rest,” he says softly, “I’ll be here when you wake up.”

“You promise?” She asks again, her words more slurred this time as she finally gives in to the pull of sleep.

“I promise,” he repeats, well aware that was one he was able to keep.

-x-

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#aaron hotchner #emily prentiss #aaron hotchner fanfiction #emily prentiss fanfiction #hotchniss fan fic #hotchniss fanfic #aaron x emily #aaron hotchner x emily prentiss #hotchniss fanfiction #hotchniss

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myhauntedsalem · 27 days

Text

MOON MAGIC

The moon governs many magical workings. Even if you are not doing work specifically with lunar energies or entities, the moon does provide a guideline for the type of work being performed. Of course, there are also other factors that you should consider, such as the planetary day and hour of the work.

If you picture the movement of the moon in terms of a clock whose hands are moving backward. The moon rests on the clock’s hour hand, Earth sits at the clock’s center, while the sun shines far off in the direction of 12 o’clock. As the moon orbits counterclockwise around Earth, its position relative to the sun and Earth changes, giving us the varied phases of the moon. Each phase of the moon lasts approximately 5 days.

The New Moon:

The first phase in the lunar cycle is the new moon. The moon is positioned between the sun and Earth at 12 o’clock. From Earth, the sun and moon appear to be in the same part of the sky and will rise and set together. The side of the moon that receives the sun’s light is facing away from Earth, so no moon is visible to us on Earth’s surface. On a very clear night, you might be able to make out a faint gray outlined view of the moon. This comes from the light of the sun being refracted off the Earth and back out to the moon.

The New Moon phase is best used for personal growth, healing and blessing of new projects or ventures. It’s also a good time to cleanse and consecrate new tools and objects you wish to use during rituals, ceremonies or an upcoming festival.

One day after the new moon, a faint sliver outline can be seen low on the western horizon at sunset. The moon has moved from new to a waxing crescent phase. As the moon continues in its counterclockwise orbit, the crescent grows larger, or waxes. One week later, the moon reaches its second primary phase, the first quarter moon. Accordingly, the moon has moved one quarter of the way around Earth.

The First Quarter:

At the first quarter, the moon sits at 9 o’clock. The sun, Earth, and moon form a right triangle on the left side of the clock. Here only half of the moon’s disk is illuminated. At first quarter, the moon rises 6 hours after the sun – at about noon. It reaches its highest point at sundown and sets around midnight. That means the moon can be seen during daylight hours in the afternoon.

The Waxing moon is best used for attraction magic, inner love spells, protection for couples and healing energy for couples. What you want to attract to yourself and your path can be enhanced during this phase of the moon.

For several days after first quarter, the moon continues to wax but it is in a waxing gibbous phase instead of a waxing crescent. A gibbous moon is more than a quarter moon but less than a full moon. During this phase, the moon moves from 9 o’clock to 6 o’clock on the dial, and the sun-Earth-moon angle is getting larger – just like the moon’s phase.

The Full Moon:

When the moon reaches its 6 o’clock position, the phase is full. The side of the moon that faces Earth is fully illuminated – that large circle of light a certain two-year-old child (my son) called the moon ball. On the clock, the sun, Earth, and moon form a straight line. From Earth, the sun and moon appear to be at opposite ends of the sky. So as the sun sets, the moon rises. The full moon is now visible all night.

The Full Moon is best used for banishing unwanted influences in your life. Think of it as ‘shining a light’ on issues or challenges. It can also be a good time for creating protection magic and performing divination. You can use this time for releasing old patterns or issues, and open the door for healing by giving energy to positive patterns you’ll put in place. Full Moon magic can be conjured during the 3 days prior to the rise of the Full Moon, the night of the Full Moon and during the 3 days after.

Once it is past full, the moon moves from 6 o’clock to 3 o’clock and the sun-Earth-moon angle begins to shrink. The moon’s phase is also getting smaller. It’s moving from waning gibbous to its third- or last-quarter phase.

The Last Quarter Moon:

This third-quarter moon sits at 3 o’clock on the phase dial, where the sun-Earth-moon angle is once again 90°, but this time it’s on the right side of the clock. From Earth, we see half of the moon’s disk illuminated – the side opposite as the one illuminated at first quarter. A third-quarter moon rises about six hours after the sun sets, reaches its highest point in the southern sky at dawn, and sets at about noon.

The Waning moon is used for banishing and rejecting those things that influence us in a negative way. Negative emotions, diseases, ailments, and bad habits can all be let go and special spells for clearing negative energies from the self, home, ritual circle, tools and so on can be performed at this time. Simply remember that when you remove an energy, you want to fill the void with a more positive energy. So this is also a good time to consecrate the future with what you want it to be as you move forward.

As the moon orbits Earth (the inner circle) its position relative to the sun and Earth changes. This causes the lunar phases we see in our sky (the outer circle). In the week after the third quarter, the moon moves through its waning crescent phase to it’s dark phase.

The Dark Moon:

About 3 to 5 days before the eventual return to the new moon phase, where the cycle begins again, the moon enters a dark phase. The moon sits at about 2:30 on the dial. Here the moon is neither illuminated by the sun (in a crescent phase), nor is it able to reflect the light of the sun providing an outline of it’s surface (as in the new moon phase). It is truly dark and seemingly has disappeared from the sky.

Typically no magic is performed during this time. This is the time to give yourself a break, to turn to self and pamper or replenish your own energies. Vision quests and deep meditations are called for at this time to focus on personal matters, questions and answers. The Void of Course moon is not recognized through astronomical means, it’s purely a nature based observance or astrological phase.

Lunar Eclipses

A Lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes into the Earth’s shadow. This type of eclipse does not occur every year. But when it does, it’s a wonderful and magical night. It lasts for only a few hours, so you need to plan your rituals well in advance. A lunar eclipse on a full moon is perfect for all purposes. Simply plan your spells to coordinate with the passing shadow. When the moon is in full eclipse, treat those few moments as if the moon were in its Dark phase. Some practitioners forgo magic work all together and use this time to honor lunar deities in a special ritual.

The Penumbral moon occurs when the moon passes into the outer shadow of the earth. This type of eclipse is hard to spot unless the moon is 70% into that shadow. These type of eclipses are more common and generally occur at least once a year. When you can see it, the lower part of the moon becomes distorted. During a waning phase for instance, the lower half of the moon will look blurred or smudged. Once again it’s a special night. This is the perfect night to honor the magic of the lunar deities. No work or casting, just thankfulness and gratitude.

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feudalconnection · 4 months

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Hello! First of all, thanks for hosting the awards ❤️

I think I read somewhere in your blog that you take suggestions. I imagine it is a lot of work to make this even happens, but I do have a suggestion. I know some categories are separated by ship and that’s really good, which brings me to my point: complete separation between ships for all categories. Some corners have more active participants than others, and in those categories where you get different ships in the options, it can get a bit [how to put it…] messy because the ship with more active participants will definitely get votes (and sometimes, not always, of course, there’s those that vote X ship to make sure Y doesn’t win).

Thank you and hope you guys have a happy new year.

Hello there!

Thank you so much for such a kind ask! We appreciate the thoughtfulness! So, this has been a suggestion/question/ask practically since FC's inception. People want to see their ships represented and acknowledge those creators just as much as the larger ships that often overshadow those smaller circles. That's completely understandable and totally fair!

However, breaking down each category into different ships is near impossible right now. In order to be able to host that, we would need far more participation than we currently have. Otherwise, for example, we would have 3 fics competing for Best Action/Adventure InuKag Fanfic versus 1 fic competing for Best Action/Adventure MirSan Fanfic. Can you see where that issue lies? We're not sure if we would ever be able to reach participation levels to give us the ability to do that. However, we also realize the community's desire to have ships represented fairly. So the mod-team has come up with an idea that may be able to give the community just that. On a trial basis, we could host a miniature term, separate from the 3 terms we are currently hosting per year. This term would be exclusively for those who want to indulge in shipping works. Here's a break down of how this would work:

This term would be shorter, with only 1 week for nominations, 2 weeks to enjoy the works, and 1 week for voting. This will help the mod-team garner how much interest/participation it receives, as well as help from overloading the mod-team with the tasks that come with hosting a full term.

All of the same FC rules would still apply that are currently in place. The exception is that we would lift the Winner Ban, so those works would be eligible just for this "Shipping Term". That rule is subject to change pending feedback and interest.

The categories would be simple: The Best of InuKag Fanfiction, The Best of KogKag Fanart, The Best of InuParents Fanfiction, etc. Ships can be added or changed pending on the interest check form.

We would have categories for both fanfiction and fanart to match up with shipping.

If this is not received well, then the mods will simply go back to the drawing board, as well as continue to take suggestions. If there is enough interest, then we will move forward with attempting this Shipping Term as a one-time thing with a date TBD. Depending on how it goes, it could become a more permanent occurrence in the future.

FeudalConnection was created for the community, and we want to abide by what the community wants as much as we can. We hope this will help in that endeavor.

You can find the link to the Interest Check Here.

As always, we welcome your feedback and will continue to do our best to bring love to the creators of this fandom.

-FeudalConnection

#feudalconnection #interest check #mod team

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red-write-hand · 4 months

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y’all are going to make me cry...

i just got to 200 followers croutons after being here not even two months.

i mean this with all my heart. i love each and every single one of you guys who follow me. you all mean so much to me. all y’all who like and reblog my oc fics. all y’all who are my mutuales. SHOUT OUT TO MY WONDERFUL MUTUALS!?!1?!1? (stick around for personalized thank yous!) i can’t thank any of you enough. this is something that i could have never thought i could do in two months.

thank all y’all so much.

if you’re a mutual who i know fairly well (i love all my mutuals but some of you deserve your own award, y’all put up with me), your thank you is under the cut :]

and soon a 200 follower fic will come out…👀

Only fair i start with my sibling, @birminghamshelbyboys, alright where would i begin? you are one of the nicest people I have ever met and you exist in the world as my sibling and my best friend. you helped me grow my ocs and you love the ocs that i thought no one else cared about. you hear out my issues and i do my best to help with yours. you have changed my perception of tumblr all together. i thank you so much for being my silly internet sibling.

next is, (i’m not going in any real order) @mrkdvidal1989 you are one of my favorite inspirations. you write so beautifully and so vividly. sometimes if i can’t get inspiration for a fic, i go and read whatever you just posted. i thank you so much for helping me in my writing process and being my friend.

next is, @forgottenpeakywriter you were one of the first people to follow me and you always leave such amazing comments under my fics. it doesn’t matter what the fic was, oc or reader, you always left a good opinion. you brightened my day up with every reblog. i thank you for hyping me up when i think no one likes my writing

next are, @hllywdwhre, @hanawrites404, and @cassius-casim all three of you have been my friends for such a short time but i feel like i’ve known all of you for so long. @hllywdwhre, you were also there in the beginning and somehow always read what i write and pitch in your opinion during my dumb polls. @hanawrites404 you are genuinely so nice to me and you have no reason, i’m just here writing my stuff and you’re just so nice. @cassius-casim i genuinely didn’t expect anyone to care about my rants about how gay the great gatsby is or what the meaning of dorian gray is. ive known you for maybe a week and if i had met you irl, you would be my best friend. i thank all three of you for being there for me.

next @goosita and @billysgun thank you so much for letting me spam you. you guys have fed my obsession and led me into a whole new one. i thank you for letting me be y’all friend

@atsv-enthusiast @mentallyinsanebsdfan @milkiestofteas @kuppy20008 i know the four of you irl. i thank you for dealing with me >:]

i love all of you so much <3

#cal goes on a rant

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sarcastic-kaz · 4 months

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about me!

my name's kaz! 15 currently

birthday is the same as giyuu's!!

they/them, sexuality... uh.... girls. yeah.

japanese, but live in canada!

trilingual (meh sorta)

theatre kid loll (help me i love it too much)

my socials!!

sarKAZtic on ao3

sarkazumi on tiktok

message me if you want to friend on discord

the sideblogs!

@manamitsuchisa about my three ocs, tomomune chisato, kunugi mitsue, and sumigama manami! come roleplay with them!

@protest-for-peace is where i raise awareness for the issues happening in palestine and the israeli occupation there. 🇯🇴

fandoms im in!

kimetsu no yaiba

studio ghibli

spy x family

fullmetal alchemist

attack on titan

the apothecary diaries

bocchi the rock

tokyo magnitude 8.0

gakuen babysitters

lego ninjago

the owl house

hamilton

hadestown

heathers

percy jackson

a good girl's guide to murder

grishaverse/six of crows

camp camp

his dark materials

good omens

the house in the cerulean sea

spiderman: into the spiderverse

coraline

osemanverse

hunger games

!!this is not a spoiler free blog!!

meet the moots!

@amanitaknowsbest lots lots lots about baldurs gate 3 and definitely helped with my most popular fic about iguro

@octoooo just. just look at their catyuu and usagito au help me also the single dad giyuu au their artstyle is so cute

@androgynous-bee genya genya genya we love genya together. so many reblogs of genya circling and i find lots of cool stuff

@scrimblyscrorblo were big fans of each other, i gobble their art like theyre so cute and indulge my night thoughts

@kozmicmizuu so many aus. so many things to think about and indulge in whilst going to sleep, only to forget and come back lol

@tidalwaveoctave their artstyle is so captivating with all the bold colours and the giyuu arts are badass but hes still our wet cat

@shycroissanti the work put into irina is seriously inspiring and all the doodles posted daily always look really good

@savyknyfan read my genmui/shinazugawabros week fics!! glad you liked them since another week of fics is coming in june!

@echo-stimmingrose this is one of my only sources where i get my percy jackson content, aughh i love it but im sooooo starved

@milyki genya all the way, they reblog lots of cute ships and arts that i always love to see on my dash and the art they make is cute

(i think i used to have one of these but well ill start fresh with the new year)

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theworldvsyoshiko · 7 days

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Although that does remind me, I've been meaning to post about it for a while now, and I've got some free time and energy tonight, so...

I think it's not going to be surprising to anyone if I say that The Dancing Flock is effectively over at this point. The big issue, which I kinda mentioned: some of the mods updated, and they busted some stuff in the process. I actually played several sessions past my last update, but they were all in a separate save file while I messed around with mods trying to get it stable again. I never quite managed that.

But, even before that point, I'd been thinking about cutting it short, for several reasons:

By that point I'd been playing Rimworld daily and documenting it for 3 months, and I'd kinda gotten my fill of the game for the time being.

Like I said before, the win condition was... problematic. Even after gifting the colony's huge hoard of silver and befriending a pile of factions overnight, I was only a bit past halfway through my goal of world peace by allying with everyone.

And related, once the colony was stable, the moment-to-moment gameplay was... kinda dull. I couldn't do much to work toward peace; I basically had to wait for people to attack and then capture them. Building the giant lavish compound was a good long-term project, since it required a ton of resources. Once it was built, though, there was only so much I could upgrade that felt actually meaningful. Like, sure, I could've bartered for weeks to get enough gold to put a golden statue in every bedroom, but it wouldn't have changed anything or been particularly satisfying. The Hospitality stuff lent some variety now and then, but most Hospitality guests just kinda wandered in, claimed a bedroom, and then spent a few days hanging around and smoking joints.

And yet, at the same time that they were too comfortable and well-established, the colony was also uselessly inept at fighting. Remember the bear incident? I never actually finished that, because my well-established, fortified, late-game colony couldn't actually handle 7-8 angry bears. Nonlethal weapons just do not scale to late game well, especially if you're committed to the 'nonlethal' part and thus also not building traps or anything. I had the enemy spawn rates turned way down by the end, and it was still iffy at times. This also undermined the group's commitment to taking in everybody who came by looking for help, because every single fight was a gigantic slog toward the end.

Related to #3, once the colony was well-established, there wasn't much to talk about compared to Yoshiko and Umeko. The pacifist bent also rules out a lot of sidequests that involve going out into the world, because a lot of them give pacifists huge mood penalties even if you don't kill anyone. I was avoiding fights on top of that because of the tedious nature of nonlethal combat. Josefin bravely helped with this issue by being a pathetic little lizard creature, but she can only do so much. I had a couple of sessions where I'd play for two hours and come away with nothing much to report, because everyone had spent that time mass-producing hats and sculptures in between hanging out in the hot tub. Which seems like a great way to spend time, but isn't necessarily eventful.

So, I guess they're gonna settle into a long and peaceful life of giving each other blowjobs on the floor of their personal dance club, but offscreen.

Once the Anomaly DLC has been out for long enough to have really robust mod support, I'll probably grab it and start messing around with it, so there are good odds that'll lead to something new.

#the dancing flock loves you unconditionally

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sendmyresignation · 4 months

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Favorite Albums of 2023 ^_^

To celebrate the coming of a new year, I wanted to spend this first week looking back a bit at the things I enjoyed both old and new. So I put together a little list of albums I spent a lot of time with this year, for a bit of personal posterity, a little of getting into the groove with music writing on a very conversational but nonetheless sincere level, and also just because I enjoy, on a base level, the exchange of music. So hopefully one person will give a new album a try, or somebody will tell me their favorite thing they listened to in 2023. That's all you can ever hope for <3

Here's the albums I loved that came out in 2023 itself:

100 gecs 10,000 gecs: If I’m honest with myself- my album of the year, both in what I spent the most time with and the tracks I’d hold up the most fondly by the end of the year. the high-octane blast of creativity in these short, sweet, never dull, and always inventive bursts made listening a very joyful experience. Hollywood Baby and Dumbest Girl Alive bangers of the year though one million dollars just oooozes and chirps sounds in the most satisfying way.

Paramore This is Why: very much preaching to the choir with this one. undeniable groove through everything– the whole thing brims with contained energy- like trapping a storm cloud in a bottle and displaying it like it's no big deal and then, every once in a while, electricity arcs through the room. The only issue is it ends on a bit of a weak note, with back-to-back ballads I don’t revisit often. but it's a minor quibble, they’re both distinct enough to stand on their own and neither is insufferably long. forgivable transgression.

Kesha Gag Order: This is self-explanatory, to me. Kesha was the first artist I ever truly fell in love with and everything she makes is like watching a flower bloom over and over again as I grow and change and wither and regrow right alongside. But on top of that, the record itself is so. powerful. Not in the cheap, congratulatory “you’re so brave way” but in the energy it radiates, in the way it stands its ground over and over. the way it grasps its own story by the throat and still lets you peak into all the messy pieces sliding out over the knuckles. Happy is one of those truly great album closers, but the whole album is so solid.

Vastum Inward to Gethsemane: Absolutely crushing in just about every way, This is like, the platonic ideal of death metal for me. Dense and malevolent as fuck, but there’s still room for these nasty riffs buried deep in all the disgusting muck. That opening guitar on Priapic Chasm is the sickest 8 seconds of the year.

The Gauntlet Dark Steel and Fire: At first glance, this seems like a textbook Bathory clone. And even if it was just that it’d still be amazing, I love that sound. But there’s space! and dynamic growth! And a growling echoing personality that every other standard in this space just never attempts. Even the hints of black ‘n’ roll and thrash are expanding a series of very narrow spaces– there are these mid-tempo stadium rippers scattered throughout the album that give the whole project gravitas which loops around and gives the faster stuff more swagger and aggression. really cool record.

McKinley Dixon Beloved! Paradise! Jazz?: I checked this out because McKinley Dixon has a great featured verse on Soul Glo’s Spiritual Level of Gang Shit. To make matters worse (or better, in terms of Shit I Am Interested In), the record’s named after Toni Morrison novels. To make it even crazier Hanif Abdurraqib opens the record (he reads this really beautiful passage of Jazz that's sampled later). An album so supremely up my alley I was almost scared the pieces wouldn’t fall together– they did! It's incredible! it's short but each second is purposeful and lush in a way that speaks to measure and care. the jazz isn’t just beautiful, it's a full embracing of the album’s central conceits (not just the Morrison, but the typography of cities, the people in them and the lives they live) and Dixon just oozes poetic ingenuity. Repetition is one of the best devices in his toolkit and nowhere is that more apparent than Tyler Forever which. man.... really really good project.

Tresspasser Αποκάλυψισ: catchy-as-fuck. not what you’d expect from an album which is very explicitly about debt strikes and anarchy. usually RABM (red and anarchist black metal) leaves me a little cold, a lot of bands in this loose conglomerate aren’t musically inventive. rabm isn't just a stand-in for anti-fascist bands, the projects associated with the label are usually politically lyrically explicit (sometimes in ways that are overtly shocking or simply following a trend). which is nice! and necessary in black metal. but it doesn't automatically make it… good. trespasser have always stood out within that paradigm. clearly grounded in what actually works in black metal (the drumming across their albums is crazy kick ass in particular) and i find myself humming some of these tracks which is such a hard skill to pull off in melodic black metal without being dull or predictable.

MEURTRIERES Ronde de Nuit: very surprisingly, a lot of this list ended up including black metal, which is uncharacteristic of me. but thankfully, MEURTRIERES is much more aligned with my tastes– epic old-school heavy metal with that galloping Maiden-esque bass and fiery, straining vocals that sit so expertly in the groove and then just push and push and push against it. simple, enjoyable, energetic.

Home Is Where the whaler: At its most basic level this is like. what emo can pull off when it wants to sound incredible. The swirling layers, the inclusion of shit like horns, the abrasive but catchy screams, crashes in and out of earshot, the rhythms!!! this is a very 2023 album, thematically and that's important and immediately apparent, but it's going to last much longer just with how the sound works and works and works until you find yourself continuously coming back, listening to it out of the blue.

Thantifaxath Hive Mind Narcosis: quote-unquote dissonant metal is so hit or miss for me. dissonance is oft a cover for boring, or unoriginal material that hangs its lapels on being disorienting or impenetrable. but when the tone is just right it swallows you up. Thantifaxath got the tone right; I was listening to this a lot while reading or writing during the latter half of the year because it just becomes a part of your world in such a wonderful, subsuming way. I really love these vocals too, they’re vaguely inhuman in a way that pairs so exactly with the balance of spacey and gross earthy magic, outside the world and grounded in flesh simultaneously.

Crotaline The Hemipenes Demo: This is my friends’ band. They are cool and talented and I love first-wave black metal. They are also people whose projects I listen to in a fundamentally different way; when they pull something off it's a little bit life-changing because you know that person, you’ve seen them do human things! And then they are capable of great art. It's weird and disorienting and one of the best parts of being alive. But I do also think their demo is good without quantifiers, it's exactly what they wanted, it's got riffs that sound gnarly on tape, and it's dedicated to salamanders. like what else could you need in life?

Dawn’s Reflection Demo MMXXIII: This short little demo is a perfect burst of raw-ass lo-fi black metal. Which I usually cannot stand. but for some reason is just incredible here. I think it's the way the riffs and vocals interact– there’s these really solid, almost crust-punky guitar lines that shine perfectly in this kind of (basically non-existent) production. And then the vocals just completely rip over them in the loudest most batshit way possible, but there are always pauses that allow the instrumental to recalibrate. The synths are just a fun touch that drone in the back until they’re pulled to the fore which makes for these great, dense peaks instead of overwhelming the balance. It works! I am always hooked!

And here are some new-to-me albums I listened to for the first time in 2023:

Nuclear Death …For Our Dead: Nuclear Death is already a favorite of mine (I feel like I never stop talking about them) but I finally got around to their demos/EPs this year. this one takes the cake, easily. Topping out at under 10 minutes, this record achieves a kind of demented brutality other death metal bands would kill for in a fourth of the time. It's a miasmic stormcloud of a project that proves (as everything they recorded did) that nobody can out-sick Lori Bravo.

Moral Decay To Build an End: This is a couple of kids in the 1990s writing a thrash record. Not notable in and of itself. However, it becomes clear immediately that these technically proficient metalheads are obsessed with emo. Like oldschool dc emocore. And it is thrown into their mix of sonic influences plainly and obviously. It is one of a kind. It shouldn’t work. It probably doesn’t, unless, of course, you are me and obsessed with it. The vocals on this are punky as hell and they work surprisingly well over these speedy, late-stage neoclassical thrash riffs. It's wild. I love it; the gem of the year!

Little Teeth Child Bearing Man: you will either love this or find it insufferable. Mathy emo-y touches, but this is freaky folk through and through. Flits in and out these crazy choral vocal moments and harmonies that fall in and out of comfort-level– lots of borderline screaming (or just gives up the ghost and becomes screaming). Everything devolves but the sense of melody is always lurking out of frame and comes back around to quiet and confessional. Manages artful and cathartic with a lack of grace and a hell of a conviction.

Helen Love Love and Glitter, Hot Days and Musik: the best punk understands punk is pop music. This is why I love this record. Helen Love loooovvess The Ramones, she does. And since she loves them so much she wrote dance music in their honor and got Joey Ramone to feature on the record. Incredible.

The BellRays Black Lightning: Soul-filled garage punky rock that’s just masterfully loud, catchy, and full of unlimited swagger. Lisa Kekaula’s vocals are clearly grounded in a long, long line of rockers and soul-stirrers but what stands out is her maturity and control which allows for the slow-burners to feel huge and impressive– she’s the center, the burning star of the whole enterprise.

Chinchilla 101 Italian Hits: this album is weird and, obviously, I love weird. Situated in the already weird San Diego post-hardcore scene, Chinchilla still stand out with their epic song lengths, murky 90s alt-rock depths, and the way Sioban Dixon’s vocals shift endlessly between a distorted fry, throaty shouts, and sweet elongated falsetto. So fun to get lost in these songs.

Heaven’s Gate Livin’ in Hysteria: German power metal is always good. Heaven’s Gate is so obviously following in Helloween’s footsteps but Helloween is one of the greatest metal bands on planet earth and they execute that Keepers era sound so well they make a little magic themselves. Add onto that an album cover with a dragon smoking a pipe… it's over, it was love at first sight.

A Few Honorable Mentions (if you've made it this far):

-Corinne Bailey Ray Black Rainbows (mostly here because I got to it wayy late in the year and haven’t sat with it long enough. but this was incredible all the way through)

-Smoulder Violent Creed of Vengence (was initially disappointed by this one and then I finally got a tape player for Christmas and it just… clicked in the new format)

-Be Your Own Pet Mommy (i love, love, loved be your own pet as a teen and seeing them return to music after so long with the same blast of energy is so cool. I just think the album overstays its welcome; the EP they released with just a handful of tracks just puts it into sharper relief too)

-Melissa II (incredible it was just such a good year for black metal it didn’t quite squeeze up there for me)

and that's it for me; Happy New Year may we all find new music to fall in love with in 2024 <3

#whew this isn't even like a quarter of the top stuff i loved this year- had a blast trying to listen to more new music #can only hope to keep it up next year!!#and this was a super necessary low stakes break from all Serious music writing I'm trying to figure out rn haha.#sometimes you Need desperately to talk about things you love :)#music recs #my posts

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itsgoghtime · 10 months

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I have a little story to tell…

*skip past the writing if you only want to see the pictures haha*

I know it’s not like… super important or anything, but I just have to tell someone how this quilt came about cause there really isn’t anyone to tell haha

In November, I found myself in the middle of an endless winter (seriously, the snow piles were 5 feet high and rising, like the Johnny Cash song) and I needed change. I needed something to distract myself with.

During this period, I had also decided I needed a new hobby. I had recently made the dive back into writing, but there was something missing.

As ironic as it is, I was on Instagram - which rarely happens nowadays - and found a quilt pattern that I instantly fell in love with.

this is the pattern for those who are curious - no secrets here haha

I sat on the idea for a month - I’m an anxious money spender (great for my bank account, not so great for any sort of aspiring to new hobbies like quilting) so nothing happened for a while. Then, on the spur of a moment, I bought the pattern.

And the pattern sat in the bottom drawer of my dresser for another month. (Almost two actually)

My friend finally convinced me that I needed to do something for me (for once) and so I made a trip to the fabric store and bought the yellow fabrics.

On the spur of a moment, in early January, I began cutting fabric. There was a moment where I really realized how much I was going to have to cut - and so I recruited a friend and let me tell you, for the next three weeks, we spent almost every evening together cutting fabric. We made a playlist of music we both enjoyed and kept adding to it and watching random films as we did so - it was a LOT.

And then - all the fabric was cut. But now we had to sew all the pieces together.

That took another month - stats to follow at the end because I think they really put this into perspective.

It was during this time I began watching The Mysterious Benedict Society. My good heavens friends, I loved this show from Episode One - and I had to share it with everyone I knew. (There will be a lil part about this at the end, cause I love you all so much)

We spent another threeish weeks sewing pieces together (again, stats to follow) - but we spent literally basically every day together making it happen.

To kinda skip some stuff - I chose the blues/whites on the back sometime in March, and I made the pattern myself (not crazy, it’s just a bunch of squares, and if you look at it at an angle, they’re lil hearts 🥺

I put the back together, which didn’t take long at all, and then got fleece to put in the middle as filler.

Long story short - there’s lots of issues that I had - right before I took it in for quilting, I washed the layers and had some holes that opened since some of the edges weren’t quite 1/4”, so that was frustrating. Also ran into some issues of the backing and the fleece not being big enough to allow quilting.

I ended up finally taking it in to be officially quilted on May 8th - to one of my aunts.

I got the quilt back (she had quite a few before mine haha) this last Monday, June 26.

Made the last trip to the fabric store on Friday, and did the binding yesterday - that was quite the adventure - this thing weighs like… 10-15 pounds, I swear. And not to mention, its 7ish feet by 9ish feet long.

What an absolutely wild adventure.

I have met the kindest, most genuine - and funny people in the history of ever because I watched MBS while I was doing this quilt. If I hadn’t started the quilt, I might’ve not seen MBS - and I might not have met all my amazing mutuals.

Lots of good things come so unexpectedly, you know?

Here, my friends, are the statistics:

- the design is 10x13 - totaling in 130 total squares

- each square has:

- 3 rectangles (390 total)

- 2 lil white squares for the corner of the stars (260 total)

- 2 each of color and white squares, sewn together at an angle to make 4 mismatched triangles that make the sharp pointy edges of the stars (520 total)

this means each square has 9 pieces that are sewn together. two different designs, so they match up to make stars at their junctions.

then, the back’s a lot simpler hehe - 64 pieces, we won’t count the extra white on the sides cause that’s technically part of the binding

IN CONCLUSION - this quilt has a total of 1,234 individual pieces

the front - all the Number Two vibes. when I first started watching MBS, it brought me so much joy that she always was wearing some sort of shade of yellow and that my quilt was just like that.

the back - Nathaniel vibes. the blues and the crisp whites, the fish kinda remind me of the island haha - but @sophieswundergarten bringing up that he wakes up in her childhood room just brought it full circle. two of my favorite characters represented on the same quilt - GAH (again, Nathaniel after his redemption arc, and specifically his arc in @nobody33333333 ‘s SOS, because to some degree, I can relate)

I’d like to think that Nicholas has quilts like this in his house - maybe even a quilt for everyone that represents them cause he seems like the type to have that.

thank you all for coming to this incredibly long TedTalk and for being so kind about it - I’m super proud of this quilt and I’ve been so excited to share it with someone!

#kinda mbs #you guys - I’m just so proud of this #it’s probably my favorite thing I’ve done #thank you for being so supportive and kind and all the things #you are the best

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spacecasehobbit · 2 years

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I've been thinking more and more lately about the idea that Azula is naturally so much better of a firebender than Zuko, in combination with the idea that Azula only lost their Agni Kai in the finale because she was in the midst of her breakdown, vs. the way that Zuko often fares poorly in comparison to Azula in past episodes where he is the one in the midst of emotional distress.

In the first season, Iroh is constantly trying to get Zuko to slow down and relax, while Zuko is meanwhile still failing to deal with the immense pain, fear, guilt, and anger he feels over the traumatic event three years prior in which his father publically humiliated him and burned off half his face in front of a bunch of the Fire Nation nobility and then banished him with nothing but an impossible quest to pin his hopes for "redemption" on. So Zuko starts S1 apparently still needing to work on his basics, according to Iroh, but he also starts S1 still deeply emotionally unbalanced by the loss and trauma that his father put him through three years earlier.

Yet even in S1 Zuko also wins an Agni Kai with Zhao, an adult firebending master who has recently been promoted by Ozai, because Zuko is able to get control of his emotions and put Zhao off balance with anger instead.

In S2, the first time Zuko faces Azula, she taunts him with emotional barbs and dodges his attacks until he's off-balanced enough by his rage that she can knock him down in a few hits. Azula, meanwhile, gives the appearance of being emotionally in control of herself, not least because she's the one with a whole ship full of loyal soldiers and her father's approval behind her.

The second time he faces off against Azula, it's in their 3-way fight against each other and Aang. In this fight, Zuko is just coming off several weeks of traveling alone, starving, nearly finding acceptance and saving a kid who'd been kind to him, and then getting rejected by the town he'd just helped when he reveals who he is. Aang, meanwhile, spends the encounter both fighting Azula and Zuko, and fighting several days of sleeplessness because of Azula chasing him in a tank with Mai and Ty Lee. Azula, meanwhile, has been able to take shifts with her friends and sleep just fine while chasing the Gaang, so she is once again the most put together person in the fight. When the rest of the Gaang and Iroh arrive, however, it's Iroh who she tries to strike down before fleeing - Iroh, the one person she so far hasn't been able to unbalance with exhaustion and/or emotional manipulation.

Finally, in Ba Sing Se, when Azula initially captures Zuko it is because he's stopped running away and tries to issue a challenge to an Agni Kai. Instead of accepting, Azula laughs at him and refuses his challenge. The next time they fight, they're on the same side fighting against Katara (who is emotionally compromised by her feelings of betrayal when Zuko joins on Azula's side of the fight) and Aang (who came into the fight already emotionally compromised by the conflict between his fear for Katara's safety, vs. the knowledge that he came into this fight without completing his work with Guru Pathik, and against the Guru's advice).

The closest thing we get, in canon, to a fight between the Fire Siblings on even emotional ground is probably the fight at the beginning of The Southern Raiders. Zuko is finally integrating into the Gaang, but there's still tension with Katara and his peace with Sokka is still very new. Azula on the other hand has just been betrayed by Mai and Ty Lee, but she still has a fleet of airships full of soldiers at her command and hasn't completely fallen apart, yet.

This is also, I suspect not at all coincidentally, the fight in which they seem most evenly matched in terms of their bending.

(Even in the flashbacks during Zuko Alone, the best direct comparison we see between Zuko and Azula's firebending skill is from Zuko's memory of Ozai showing off Azula to their grandfather. In that memory, there are fairly clear indications that Zuko and Azula are already aware, at least to some extent, that Ozai finds Zuko displeasing and considers Azula the inherently better child.

We see how Zuko's desire to prove that he's just as good as Azula and thus also "worthy" of his father's affection makes him impulsive and easily goaded by Azula, who pokes directly at this sore spot by telling him smugly that he'll never catch up to her so he really shouldn't even try. All together, this means that Zuko's attempt to replicate the kata Azula just showed off perfectly is doomed before it begins, because Zuko starts off in an emotionally volatile headspace, rather than calm and confident.)

And anyway I feel like there's a point in here, about how the question of whether Azula or Zuko is a "better bender" maybe has a lot less to do with natural talent and a lot more to do with which one is feeling more confident and in control of themselves in a given encounter, instead of the narrative of Azula's inherent superiority over Zuko which Ozai did his best to drill into his kids. A point, too, in how Azula's one major loss in a bending fight is often brushed off as a function of her unsettled emotional state at the time, while ignoring the way we see her consistently seek to undermine her opponent's emotional (and sometimes physical) balance before striking in every previous fight she's won.

(And, perhaps, a broader point about how constantly making a kid feel inferior to their peers might in fact lead to them performing worse in practice at tasks they are made to feel inferior in, while kids who feel confident in a given skillset and are praised for their progress might also find it easier to make progress more quickly.)

All this to say, I feel like there's a pretty solid chance that a fight between them on truly equal footing - if Azula were to get a redemption arc and they both went into the fight after taking some time post-canon to grow and heal, to a point where they both felt calm and confident in themselves and their bending - would be a very even fight and a total toss up over who would win on any given day.

#atla #zuko meta #azula meta #this may have gotten away from me a bit #it was supposed to be short...#oops

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thedelusionreaderbitch · 11 months

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Peter Parker x Nb! Sibling! Reader - Calm of the mind, mind of the calm (PRIDE 2023)

A/n: Whether reader and peter are biologically related or adopted is never specified and up to the reader! Also don't ask me how this works in the timeline because it doesn't. Enjoy the second installment to the fics of pride 2023!

*There is a note at the end of this fic, there is a disclaimer about the fandom, but I didn't want to put it at the start because it would spoil the fic!*

(The reader's agab is not mentioned in this fic!)

Summary: To Y/n, they've never been one or the other. Now that it's out though, they need a new place to stay.

Warnings: swearing, homelessness, transphobia/homophobia, self esteem issues, mental parental abuse, I think that's it? You have been warned!

The 3 P's:

[Pronouns used: they/them] [Pov: 3rd person] [Pairings: (sibling!) peter x reader, (platonic!) peter x may x reader, (parental!) peter x tony, (parental!) tony x reader, (mentioned! platonic!) avengers x peter]

They never really understood it.

The way people would be well- people. Look at each other and think boy, or girl, instead of; red head, or brown eyes. It all seemed so silly to them, the way the world appeared to work.

They never told Peter this, their lovely brother, their brother who had enough on his shoulders. He didn't need their shit added onto his trauma, and workload. Peter's always been too self-sacrificing for his own good, yet there was a need to tell someone, so they told May.

They told her how sometimes when they looked at the stars they wished they were one of them instead of some person on earth with everyone else. How sometimes when they looked in the mirror they would trace their face thinking about everything they would change about it to appear more the way they wanted it to. To have someone look at them and have to look twice, then again, and maybe even four times, they want strangers to gaze upon them and debate; "Boy or girl? What is it? I can't tell!"

They told her how sometimes they'll stare at the animals across the street and think about how easy it must be for them, to just be who they are and not have to be forced into a box.

Forced to chose, one or the other - how lucky they must be.

And lucky they were, because May had not agreed to them at all.

She had told them that they had to realize that- that, whatever they were doing wasn't natural, that it wasn't real. What they were trying to get themself to feel was delusional, and that there was only 'he' or 'she' nothing more.

Their aunt had quickly stormed out saying that; "I don't want to hear another word about it from you again."

Then she left for work and the tears didn't come. They didn't flood forward with gushing waves, they just felt nothing, empty, numb. Probably, shock.

They had trusted someone with- with something so vulnerable, and deep, it was like ripping open their own skin and showing the truth underneath. Here! I am here!

For someone to reject something so pure, and true, was nearly criminal. How could someone do that?

Then the tears came, not rushing - not at first anyways. Maybe they didn't come unrestrained, but they didn't stop. They didn't stop for a long time, so long they were afraid that someone was going to see.

Therefore they locked themself in their room.

They did this for weeks, they didn't talk to Peter, May or any friends at school. They didn't attend dinner, they barely ate as they didn't want to be around the people in their own home.

It was May's words that clinged with them after, that circled around in their head for hours on end just stuck on repeat.

"I don't want to hear another word about it from you again."

If nobody wanted to see, then why ever bother showing up in the first place?

Peter was frankly fed up, and worried about their behavior.

Nobody seemed to have any answers as to why Y/n was disappearing, the only person that looked as though she had any idea what was going on was his aunt May. However she wouldn't say a word about it to Peter and would just roll her eyes and say; "Y/n is fine."

Peter was not very convinced that a quote on quote "fine" person will isolate themself from everyone.

Finally he decided Y/n needed to talk to him, and the time was now.

"Y/n." Peter whispered from the other side of the door gently. Barely loud enough for them to hear him but still loud enough for them to jump when they hear it.

"Can I come in?"

As soon as they hear their brother's voice they very nearly start running crazily around the room shoving stuff around to stop Peter (from coming inside their room no doubt) before jumping out the window (they'll be fine) and running off hopefully before he could catch them.

That didn't happen though.

Of course that didn't happen.

This is Peter Parker, their brother, and fucking Spiderman, he didn't wait for their response he was already pick locking the door. (Y/n's going to have to have a serious talk with him later when to use his superhero abilities, and when not to use them. [And no, they do not care if the one and only Natasha Romanoff showed him how to do it herself, it's not cool to invade someone's privacy.])

When he opens the door they definitely don't expect him to look worried. Angry perhaps, but concern? For some reason it had invaded their mind that their brother had stopped caring about them.

(They tell themself that May hadn't planted that seed. But they don't quite know if they believe it.)

He didn't talk to them right away, he just slowly guided them to their bed where they sat, while Peter took one of those rolly chairs they had in their room.

"What's going on n/n?"

"I-" Their voice is hoarse, not from lack of use but rather the emotion that comes with it.

"May, she-"

Peter nodded his head understanding slightly that this had something to do with May. "Ya, I got the part that May was involved somehow."

"I don't want to hear another word about it from you again."

But that's not how it works is it? You can't force people to be quiet, they'll be an out cry, people will riot. People aren't meant to be quiet they are meant to be loud and annoying and maybe even obnoxious, but that's what makes them human. It's what makes us all human - our voice, even if we don't speak with it, or if the people around you don't understand it. It shapes us.

"I told her I'm nonbinary." They spoke calmly, and strong now. "And now I'm also telling you I guess." Their voice flatters by the end.

Peter blinks for two, three, four, five seconds before finally - finally breaking the silence.

"Oh thank god, that's it? OH! I didn't mean it like that! But when you're a superhero you kinda assume the worst so-"

Their giggle cuts off Peter's ramble and he smiles at himself because he made his sibling laugh when he's sure they haven't in a while.

"I'm guessing May didn't take it very well basing off your expression from before?"

They just shake their head; "No, she- I don't know if I can stay here." They whisper while they curl into themself slightly.

Peter had always loved May like a mother, while Y/n coming from where they came from always saw her as more as an aunt rather than a mother. A very parental aunt, but an aunt nonetheless.

Meaning that they were a little scared of what their brother's reaction was going to be.

"That bad? Well, I might know a place where you can stay."

Everything in the room seemed to sag in relief at his response, the tension dissipating within a mere second.

And they knew everything was going to turn out just fine, maybe not great but fine was better than terrible.

_______

While they had most of their things with them, there was some stuff that they did leave behind. Not anything absurdly big, or anything that they would miss, just some blankets and sheets, that kind of stuff.

Peter had said they wouldn't need to bring their mattress, sheets, blankets, or anything along those lines. It made them wonder where they were going to stay.

After the first few awkward sentences of that conversation with Peter that felt like just yesterday. While the both of them had talked about a lot more since then. Like what their were pronouns (they/them,) if they thought they were going to get any surgeries in the future, or if they wanted to take hormones of any kind.

Of course they had talked about the living situation but Peter had never said with who, they would be living with. Which made them extremely nervous, and leaving them feeling like an idiot.

If they had known who they were staying with, they would have never said yes.

Oh, what a shock it was when they stood right in front of the Avengers compound in upstate new york. Really though, with their brother being Spiderman they should have seen this coming.

Although they thought they would be staying with maybe one of Peter's friends temporarily? Like Michelle, she seemed cool! Plus Y/n knows enough about the Avengers and Tony Stark (or Tony Stank as Y/n and May used to say jokingly to Peter to piss him off. [Now the memory is harsh around the edges and blue in color.]) to know that any commitment with them is anything but temporary.

"Peter, there's no way I'm staying here."

Their brother only grins, almost mischievous but loving in nature. "Mr. Stark already agreed, plus you can't even move out of May's place legally until you turn eighteen, and Mr. Stark has the best lawyers money can buy."

They couldn't help the rolling their eyes at how formal Peter was despite knowing Tony for quite a long while now. (Even though they know they will probably be doing the same.) Yet their heart warmed, they hadn't even thought about the legal side of things. Although it would seem unlikely that May would call any authorities over them running away, it would be good to be with someone who could back them up if she did.

As they sigh in defeat the car rolls to a stop at the Avengers compound, and they have to mentally prepare themself for what's to come.

Oh, come on, who are they kidding? Their life has been shattered, there was no way in hell that they were going to being able to properly mentally prepare themself for living with a bunch of superheros that have better things to do. (They have people to save, universe to keep from collapsing! Much more pressing issues than a homeless teenager.) They shouldn't have to worry about them.

Suddenly, their door is happened by a man in a suit so expensive they want to let their head smash into the pavement. As their eyes examine the man's watch all the way to his piercing brown eyes.

Eyes that are sad, but wide, like they've seen thing they can't even imagine. Wars, death, victory, and new hopes. Yet they look at them, like they can't imagine what their going through, like their problems is more important than keeping the world from imploding.

(It makes the seed wither slightly, yet it's roots still remain.)

"Hey Kid, call me Tony, because if I have to get called Mr. Stark by someone who lives with me, I might just lose it."

Their face splits into a wide grin as Peter groans behind them. A fondness spreading across their body as they smile at Iron man like he's just saved them from an monstrosity.

(The best part is, he did.)

Words 1863

*disclaimer! I know May would have probably never kicked the reader out but I was venting!*

-thedelusionreaderbitch

Marvel taglist: No one yet! :)

Fics of Pride 2023 taglist: No one yet! :)

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